befok!

We have seen snow on the distant mountain peaks every now nd again. Just =
before crossing into Austria there was snow up to the road. Heaps cool! (as =
the Aussies on the bus put it). Unfortunatly there was no snow at the stop =
we made further up in Austria, so we’ll still have to wait a little while =
to play in it.

At the stop we saw an Audi A8L W12! Wow!

So before I left South Africa I activated international roaming on my MTN =
sim. The main reason for this was so I could use GPRS to send email into my =
blog. Unfortunatly GPRS coverage is highly sporadic.=20

What has been my saving grace was a Virgin Mobile SIM bought in the UK. It =
covers the whole of Europe automatically. No 72 hour waiting period and so =
far it has worked everywhere.

I did make a call to my parents on Christmas day from MTN, which was =
crystal clear. Text messages have also worked well. So while MTN get =
serious minus points for GPRS, the main comunication channels have worked =
well.

Another interesting item is that my ABSA cellphone banking works from here.

Yesterday we went to Venice. We were on the main island, San Marco. The =
morning kicked off with a glass blowing demonstration on St. Marks’. =
Square, which was very cool. They made a vase and a cat in under 10 min. =
Venice is known for its glass and embroidery. After that we we went to =
visit the Accademia museum to see the Leonardo da Vinci pieces, only to =
find out they were not on display (after we paid). Next stop was Peggy =
Guggenheim collection. We got to see some Jackson Pollock and Picasso =
amoungst others.=20

Venice is a labyrinth and difficult to navigate. We get maps from Coniki, =
but they don’t have all the street names, so we got a better map from one =
of the hotels. The are also useful sign posts for some of the tourist =
attractions, so once you are on a main route things get easier to =
find.

We then went for a Gondola ride where we drank Bellini’s. It’s another one =
of Venices’ claim to fame. It’s a kind of sparkling wine/alcopop drink. The =
ride was nice and I got some cool pictures. While on the Gondola our =
“driver” was chatting on his mobile phone. Is that legal? Haha.

We then walked around and did some shopping. Salom=C3=A9 got a really nice =
glass calligraphy pen.

We then went up the Campanile for some stunning views of Venice. By this =
time the sun was setting and it was getting really cold.=20

We the went and did some more shopping. We got some presents. It was so =
cold that I bought a scarf. We then camped out in McDonalds (of all places) =
and had some hot chocolate, chips and “burgers”. This was my first European =
McD’s. Some oddities: There is no menu. They only advertise the meals and =
specials. They give you a cup of hot water and you have to mix your own hot =
chocolate and the best of all tamato sauce costs R1 for a small (think =
hotel jam) container.

We then headed back to the pickup point, where I took some pics of the =
square using my new tripod, and caught the boat back to the main =
land.

Next stop is Vienna, where it will hopefully be snowing. Things only get =
colder from here on in!

Trivia: Italy has a chain of petrol stations called Erg. Which if =
translated to Afrikaans means terrible =20

Steps: 12195

Another interesting thing about the Vatican is that they have their own =
postal system. In fact it is quicker to send mail from the Vatican than =
from any other place in Italy!

We thought it would be rather cool to send a postcard from Vatican city. So =
I bought a card and stamp, got Salom=C3=A9 to write the message and popped =
it in the postbox. As the little door clicked back Salom=C3=A9 asked me if =
I had put the address on. Uuuuuh, no. Bugger.

So it was back to the counter for a new card and stamp.

This morning we were out of the hotel by 7am to get to the Vatican museum. =
When we arrived there at 8am the queue was already halfway down the street. =
By the time the doors opened at 8:45 it was down to the corner. We got in =
pretty soon after it opened. The arwork inside is awesome. We also went =
into the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo painted the final judgement and =
the stories of Genesis. Intereting fact: when it was completed all the =
people were naked. The vatican hired another artist to paint clothes on. =
Also; all the nude statues either have a leaf covering the naughty bits or =
they have been removed with a chissel (ouch!).

When we got out we joined the very long queue to see Michelangelo’s Pieta’ =
inside St. Peters Basilica, but with too little time and miss direction by =
one of the attendants we ended up outside again without seeing it.

We are now on a very long drive to Venice. We will only get to the hotel =
late tonight.

Christmas day was sightseeing in Rome.We started the day with a walking =
tour which kicked off at the Collosseum, went through the forum and ended =
at the Vittorio Emanuele Monument. Our guide was a little Italian lady who =
was very knowledgeable and witty.

After that we were free to do our own thing. Unfortunatly most things were =
closed. Churches were however open. We went to see the Cappucine monks. The =
church is decorated with the bones of former monks. Creepy! We arrived =
there just after 12 to find that they were closed till 3pm. Heniette wasn’t =
feeling well (my sickness did the rounds) so we made our way back to the =
Collosseum to be picked up. We had some time to kill, so I bought a tripod =
from one of the street vendors for =E2=82=AC15. Bargain!

Back at the hotel we quickly changed and wrapped our secret santa presents. =
I got a Pinnochio marionnette and Salom=C3=A9 got a Gaudi draco fridge =
magnet.

Dinner wad nice. We went to a restaurant with two other Contiki groups. =
Lots of Chianti (red wine) made up for the small portions of turkey =
Dessert was Itallian cake which is like a white fruit cake.

Oh while walking through Rome I discovered that my pedometer got reset. I =
had over 220000 steps (sigh).

Yesterday on the way to Florence we stopped to see the leaning tower of =
Pisa. The town itsself looks like a regular small town which simply happens =
to have a large tourist attraction.

We arrived in Florence in the early evening. An hour after check-in we went =
to an Italian restaurant. There was plenty of food and drink. We were =
entertained by an accordian player, pianist and an opera singer who took =
turns to strut their stuff. The waiters were funny. They kept skipping one =
person on our table when bringing food or only dished them one potato. We =
ended up dancing the Zorba, Chicken dance and YMCA! Must have been all the =
red wine Just to keep my name in good sted; I did not dance the =
Macirana

This morning we were up early. After a tour of a leather shop, where they =
demonstrated the making of of Florentine jewelry boxes, we went =
sightseeing.

First stop was the Uffizi where we saw the birth of venus. We then went to =
Museo di Storia della Scienza where they had a Galileo exibition, =
unfortunatly it was closed. We walked up to Duomo and took some pictures =
and then went into Galleria dell’Accademia to see Michelangelo’s =
David.

Then it was back on the bus and off to Rome. We took a night drive through =
Rome, followed by a quick walk and dinner. We needed to find our own dinner =
so it was off to find an Italian restaurant. It seems they can’t deal with =
groups of people arriving at a time as we waited 40 min for our =
pizzas!

Tomorrow is Christmas and sightseeing in Rome.

Steps: 16298

Just had my first slice of genuine Italian pizza at one of Autogrills (a =
petrol station restaurant). In Italy a slice of pizza is the equivalent of =
quater of a family sized pizza, which is pretty huge. Interesting fact: the =
Autogrill chain is owned by the vatican. The toilets are mostly terrible. =
In Italy you need to pay 50c (R5) to use the bathroom!=20

Oh I almost forgot. You can buy 3kg jars of Nutella! We have also tracked =
down 99% lindt as well as the extra dark lindt balls. Yum! Yum!

We have just crossed over into Italy. .

We drove along the French riviera this morning while watching a beatiful =
sunrise We also drove past Monaco. The houses and cliffs remind very much =
of camps bay.

I’m feeling better today and looking forward to some more sightseeing.

Today is sightseeing day in Nice. Unfortunatly I am sick. Damn the =
Europeans and their central heating. Passing through sub-tropical buildings =
and then back out into the cold seems to have taken its toll on my immune =
system.

We managed to visit Beaux art museum where we discoverd Gustav Adolf Mossa, =
who I am certain must have influenced Brom. I also like the works of Jules =
Ch=C3=A9ret.=20

Next stop was the St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox church. It was closed, but =
we took some very nice pictures and had lunch in the garden. The was an =
Asian man with about 3 front teeth who kept hassling us for money and =
ciggarets which was a pain.

I also managed to drop my camera. It still works perfectly but now sports =
some huge scratches (bugger). At this point I decided that I had enough of =
today and walked back to the hotel. I did get to see a VW Golf R32 in the =
flesh (yum).

It looks like we won’t see Monaco this evening. We opted not to partake in =
the optional dinner and the only other thing to do is gamble and none of us =
like casinos. So that cuts my trip down to 10 rather than 11 =
countries.

I’m going to have a nap now till the others return from sightseeing. =

PS. You need to watch your step in France; the pavements are full of dog =
poo, ciggaret butts and human spit (and they call South Africa third =
world).