Le Journal de +Louise

Trip Report – {Florence 8 Nov 2008}

A trip to Florence is not complete if you do not visit its famous designer outlets. So we dedicated day 2 for some retail therapy.

Took a bus tour to Space Outlet in Montervarchi, after a journey of approximately 1-1.5 hours, the bus arrived at a very unassumingly large black building. This houses all the glittery Pradas at (somewhat) amazingly discounted prices. The security procedure was extremely vigilant, therefore no photos within the building.

We found this outlet a tad too overwhelming (probably because the tour only allocated 1.5 hours of shopping time at Space) God knows I don’t shop well under pressure!

Prada score: 1 bag, 1 coin purse and a pair of tooled leather shoes for Leo.

Next stop: The Mall

The Mall is about 1/2 hour’s drive from Space and consists of outlet stores such as Alexander McQueen (sigh), La Perla, Marni, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent. Here we spent the allocated 2 hours and 45 minutes leisurely strolling the stores and trying to avoid the complete hysteria that is in the Gucci outlet.

Score: A demure set of La Perla, a trio of Marni brooches.

We went back to Alloro, freshened up and went out for a quick bite.

Florence, with its cobble stoned streets and beautiful Renaissance architecture, all bathed in warm yellow light is indeed a sight to behold.

We wandered around the streets before heading back. A big day ahead tomorrow, my birthday! =)

Trip Report – {Florence 7 Nov 2008}

We arrived into Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Station via Eurostar. The train ride was smooth, the cabins were comfortable and the best bit was the power outlets located at every seat’s table. It made the 4.5 hour train ride slightly more bearable.

Our itinerary was to leave our luggage at our BnB and then rush to the train station again, board the next train out to Pisa.

Prior to our trip, I have read all about the infamous Italian train strikes and have been crossing my fingers that we would not encounter one. But, of course, as luck would have it, half way to Pisa, our train came to a complete halt in the middle of nowhere.

The PA announcements were all in Italian, and when I asked around, nobody seemed to be able to speak English, until a kind American advised me that students were protesting on the tracks and trains are not expected to head into Pisa for another 5 hours! With that, we decided to cross the platform and catch the returning train back to Florence.

Alloro Bed and Breakfast

Alloro Bed and Breakfast is tucked away in a quiet street off the main pulse of Florence. Christian, the owner’s son, who is the most accommodating, honoured our request for the ‘red’ room. And the reviews on Tripadvisor were spot on, and the room definitely did not disappoint!

San Lorenzo Market

Florence, known for its Renaissance splendour, precious carved cameos, and of course, leatherwork.
Unfazed by the sudden change of plan, we decided to hit San Lorenzo market right away. The smell of leather was intoxicating…

I bought one and wore it straightaway!

Leo haggling away for his lined lambskin gloves… They’re divine!

We were ravenous after our leather shopping spree and decided to stop by a quaint little restaurant (which name I have regrettably forgotten to note down)

I discovered my liking for pollo e funghi pizzas; and Leo learnt the difference between bellisimo and bollisimo (in the most embarrassing way)!

Accademia

The Florentine gallery houses the infamous David statue by Michelangelo. David’s statue was moved from outdoors and into the gallery for conservation purposes.

Photography was strictly prohibited within the premises, however, I managed to curl up in an unassuming corner and tried my hardest to quietly snap away, before 2 burly female guards came running towards me and blurting out incomprehensible (in what I can only assume to be) polite italian.

Duomo/Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

The marble panels are in different shades of green and pink, bordered by white and is part of an elaborate 19th century gothic revival facade. The basilica remains as one of Italy’s largest churches and its dome is the largest brick dome in the world.

We booked tickets for a tour out to the designer outlets bright and early the next morning, so we decided to turn in around 10pm.

Trip Report – {Rome 6 Nov 2008}

Today marked the our final day in Rome. We woke up at the crack of dawn, revisited the Trevi, threw coins over our shoulders, and hoped for the possibility of returning to the Eternal City one day.

Next stop: Florence =)

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.

Mark Twain

The annual Tesselaar Tulip Festival is here again in Melbourne and after many, many wet weekends, we jumped at the chance when the sun decided to sneak out of its hiatus and took a pleasant drive to Silvan.

And we arrived upon fields of blooming tulips…

Tulip Festivals are being celebrated throughout many cities in the world as tulips are considered a welcome herald of Spring.

Time to don those wooden clogs as the entire tulip farm was transformed into a mini Holland.

Fabio, the garden gnome catching a breather amongst the colourful flower beds.

And a visit to the festival would not be complete without a jolt of sugar hit at the end of a beautiful day, Dutch pancakes, of course =)

So I’ve finally decided to return to this space before it’s overgrown with tumbleweeds and spam comments!

It’s finally spring time now in Melbourne, yet, the winter chills are still lingering and the thermostat absolutely refuses to register anything above 18C. It rained incessantly for the past couple of weeks and for the first time in years, the farmers rejoiced and the water catchments in this drought stricken state actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Today is the first tolerable day without the desperate need for a winter jacket, so before the snow melts off the tips of the mountains and the bush fire season begins, here are some pictures from a recent day trip up to the snow.

Still mentally scarred from our first snowboarding experience yonks ago, we decided to take it easy, ride the lifts and enjoy the sights.

The weather was forecasted to be sunny and 21C that day, albeit having to trudge across some very treacherous slushiness at the foot of the mountain, it was an absolutely glorious day.

Note to self: Mt Buller is not a pretty place post 12pm, unless you fancy kicking slush around with a bunch of kids.

So we wandered off to a slightly deserted corner and took pictures with our very own snow man.

Lil’ Jo is only 2 years old and skis like a little pro! Still feeling the shame etched deeply on our foreheads, we vowed to take some decent ski lessons next year.

Future snow trip: Chamonix, France =)

Trip Report – {Rome 5 Nov 2008}

Well rested from our fourth day in Rome, we woke up bright and early for our journey into the Vatican City. Having read that the line into St Peter’s Basilica becomes excruciatingly long post 11am, we gulped down our breakfast and made it to the papal state before 10am.

Vatican City

Vatican City is a city-state and is the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the smallest country in the world and is located on the right bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City also issues its own currency, postage stamps and has its own newspaper and broadcasting facilities.

St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square refers to the large piazza directly in front of St Peter’s Basilica. At the center of the square stands an Egyptian obelisk made of red granite. It is the only obelisk that has not toppled since Ancient Roman times.

Ranks of columns that surround the square.

Saints in the sky…

Papal Swiss Guards of the Vatican City.

This is where the Pope addresses the people gathered at St Peter’s Square.

St Peter’s Basilica

St Peter’s Basilica houses the biggest interior of any Christian churches in the world and it does indeed live up to its apt title of the “greatest of all churches in Christendom”. I was in awe of its sheer grandeur and felt very blessed indeed to witness its architectural splendour.

One of the domes in the cathedral adorned with colourful frescoes.

St Peter’s Basilica also houses the tomb of St Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

Globe structure within the Vatican Museum Gardens.

Sistine Chapel

Photography was not permitted within the Sistine Chapel, however we still managed to sneak a way of capturing Michelangelo’s masterpiece; there was no way we were leaving the glorious chapel without a single memento.

The clever use of bright colours, skillful strokes and the brilliant play of light and shadows breathed life into the paintings on the ceiling.

After a long day and a somewhat confusing subway ride, we made our way back to the centre of Rome. Day 5 is our final night in this ancient city, weary as we were, we couldn’t possibly leave Rome before returning to the Colosseum to bask in its full moonlit glory. So after a quick shower, we hopped on the Metro and bade this magnificent structure a fond farewell…

After the past 3 schedule packed days, we decided to sleep in a little and then take a long stroll around the city. Day 4 in Rome was a day of sorts. A day of streetscape photography, of interesting characters, of a new part of Rome and, of course, a day of utmost importance in political history…

We strolled past this antique shop after breakfast and saw the most breathtaking vintage chandeliers…sigh…

A pleasant morning with long anticipated news…

The most unassuming Obama supporter…

Campo dei Fiori market

Campo dei Fiori is a piazza near Piazza Navona and literally means ‘field of flowers’. The market was filled with food and street vendors.

Characters around Piazza Navona…

I managed to snap a picture of this adorably well dressed old man while crossing at the lights. Everybody should be this well-suited no matter what day of the week and what time of the day…

Trastevere

We crossed the Tiber River and walked all the way to the west bank. Trastevere is almost like the timid sister of the bustling city of Rome, connected, but yet, not entirely the same.

Santa Maria Basilica

Santa Maria Basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the queen of all churches in Trastevere. It was tucked away in a snug corner of a piazza and has the most modest of facades. However, gorgeous ancient medieval mosaics graced the interior of this old church, with the sun streaming in through the glass windows, the entire church was enveloped in a warm glow.

A haggard lady begging for a pittance in front of the church…

These 2 street buskers drew a small crowd in one of the cobbled stone alleys, so we stopped and watched.

Sunset at the Tiber River…

Saw them from a mile away and I just couldn’t help myself….

Rome pedestrian crossing near our hotel at peak hour…

It rained that night but we braved the weather and went out to seek the infamous Giolitti gelato parlour. The limone flavour was both biting yet heavenly. We went to bed around 10pm and were ready to hop out the next morning to the Vatican.

A quick 3 day getaway to Sipadan in the midst of a chaotic trip back home initially seemed like a really bad idea. A 2.5 hour plane ride, an hour of really bumpy bus ride and eventually a 45 minute speedboat ride over extremely choppy waters, we finally arrived.

We were booked in for a 3d2n stay at Sipadan Kapalai Resort. As the speedboat approached the jetty, we were greeted cordially by the staff and were also given warm towelettes to freshen up.

The Restaurant is the main hub of the resort. Being miles away from any land in sight, the Restaurant served all meals and offered free flow of coffee, tea and cakes throughout our entire stay.

The Resort boasts 40 chalets that sit high up on stilts over the most crystal clear water, and are all well connected with wooden walkways.

Our chalet is located right towards the end of the Kapalai wing, it took us nearly 10 minutes to walk from the Restaurant. The interior of our chalet, however, was almost as breathtaking as the surroundings itself. High ceilings, beautiful décor, a private balcony that opens out into the vast ocean, and the best bit, a bathtub with a large window overlooking the turquoise waters.

Initially we intended to book for a beginners course in diving, however there were no instructors available, so we settled for snorkelling instead. And I was glad we did because snorkeling at Kapalai was absolutely amazing, dare I say it? Heaps better than Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef.

On one of our evening walks around the resort compound, we chanced upon the most magical spot to say ‘I do’, sigh… it’s a shame that most guests will not appreciate the long journey to the resort. So we stayed around for sunset instead..

The weather was absolutely pleasant, with clear blue skies, hovering around 27C during the day and slightly lower during the night. However, we did encounter a few windy rainstorms during the nights, with waves lapping mercilessly against the wooden stilts. The chalet swayed to its sides as I crouched in bed, with Leo snoring next to me, hoping and praying really hard that those wooden beams will hold and we won’t be washed out into the raging ocean in the middle of the night.

But when the morning came, the stormy night before had long been forgotten and it was back to turquoise tranquil waters and sunny skies with marshmallow clouds.

We spent the days talking, snorkeling, wondering around the resort, staring out into the endless blue horizon and looking down at the colourful fishes swimming freely just inches beneath our feet.

We left Sipadan recharged, exhilarated and vowed to make another trip back in the near future….