Oh and another thing about fat people

There are no fat people in Paris nor are there any in Italy - that is NONE... Well ok some but most of them are tourists. What a wake-up call. I spent days trying on boots in Paris, everyone wears boots with skinny jeans tucked in (socks presumably as well) and me I could not fit my huge caves into them unless they are to be worn unzipped. Turnstiles in the Metro are for the thin only as is public seating. There is no compensation for the fatties. Articles have been written about this lack of fatness and some say it may be a genetic phenomenon but frankly even the genetically "African" girls are thin. When we were there a few days we also found ourselves loosing the weight we had gained in the US. We were walking more and eating less. The portion sizes are smaller (but satisfying) and there are stairs everywhere, maybe that is it? In Paris (and Rome) people value style and quality. You never see a tracksuit or a miss-matched outfit. A uniform of black coat, blue jean, black boots and hint of colour in the scarf - hat optional. Here in London people seem to value novelty and fun. Colour and casual clothing everywhere under these gray skies. Ugg Boots a sea of Ugg Boots - not as many as in New York but plenty but they are still not at fat as us or the US – Why?. SO here is the thing. While we in Australia ( lead by the example in the US) are slowly being brainwashed to think that it is normal to be a size 16 plus and while we are creating allowances for it via expanded portion sizes and seat sizes the truth is we are fatty fatty boombars and it is not normal. I think that because we see so many others who are overweight around us with think it is ok and out of our control. Or is it just me?.

PS here is a tip for the US - (they seem to value quantity above style and novelty BTW) for example they would choose a Restaurant on the basis of the portion size (according to the advertising we saw) “All you can eat is BACK” – cut the portion sizes, cut them now, offer a second helping if people want it. Honestly there is so much left on the plate – no one can eat that much and if they do they increase the size of the portions.

Forgot to say...

When we were arriving at Heathrow airport we were confronted by a gaggle of press and they were there to meet Victoria Beckham - who then followed us into the passport area only a few meters away. Aunty Vicky (as the kids are calling her) was available for photographs today at Madam Tuessau's Wax Works along with a number of other celebs - Warren fulfilled his dream of a picture with Elle and me with Robbie Williams. We took a royal photo as well. After went to Harrods, Harvy Nichols and Piccadilly Circus. Tomorrow night we head home but hopefully we will be able to see the changing of the guard tomorrow morning.

Bangers and Mash

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding
Chips with Vinager
Full English Breakfast
Easy meals from Marks and Spencer

Yes we are in London. It's cold but not wet or snowing so we are able to move about on the tour bus easily. The bus here is heated, unlike Paris, so it gives one a chance to walm up. On our first afternoon-evening we walked to the London Eye and took a spin. It is only about a 20min walk from our flat on Buckingham Palace Rd, past Big Ben (Not so big said Mike) and Parliment. We stopped of at a traditional Pub for dinner and it was very nice.

Yesterday we went to The Tower of London, with the jewels and tails of multiple excecutions from the Beefeater Guide. We wandered to M&S for some pre cooked meals and warmed them in our kitchen. I must say they were top quality and better value than a resturant.

Something about England has caused us to eat.

End of our last day in Paris

Today, our last day in Paris and it was a bit milder at 10 deg. We took the Metro to Musee d’Orsay and it was not a disappointment. Many of the paintings I might have expected to see at the Louve (but were not) were here within touching distance. Van Gough, Degas, Lautrec, Whistler, Gauguin and of course Monet. We also went to “the first department store in the world” and had hot chocolate and crepes in a traditional café.

Paris

We have been in Paris for 4 days. As I said in the previous post the hotel is a bit of a let down but is close by a main drag that has every kind of junk food for the kids. This has meant that Warren and I could sneak off for a real meal. Highlights so far has been Eiffel Tower and trips to the Arc De Triompe (Warren and Mike climbed to the top) and Kait and I enjoyed strolling down the Champs Elysees as a light sprinkle of snow fell. We have been to Notre Dame and taken the bus tours all over Paris, we even used the Metro after a very long day at the Louvre. It has been cold and wet most days, mostly too cold to enjoy yourself. Paris in winter is a bit of a drag to be honest. We have one full day ahead of us and we are dragging our feet rather than face the cold again.PS I feel like a failure as a woman because despite visiting shops and department stores here I have not been able to find anything to buy. I wish that I hade picked up some of the lovely boots in Venice, but I kept thinking that I would be sorry as they would be cheaper else where.. They are not.

Off to cold wet London tomorrow!

Rome to Paris

We spent our last day in Rome walking to the Spanish Steps, where there is a lovely view and beautiful boutiques. Many locals and tourists were taking advantage of the sunny weather and mild temperatures wandering along the streets. We had lunch in one of the very few fast food style places that sells pizza by the slice and walked to the Trevi Fountain for gelato. (BTW there are virtually no really fat people here that we can see. Unlike America there are few fast food and convenience stores and a lot of walking). We were trying to take it a bit easier as Mike is not enjoying the walking and has sore feet. We had our last meal in a small trad Italian restaurant near the hotel, which turned out to be delicious and cheap. Early the next day we were taken by driver to the airport. As it was still dark we were able to see some of the sites still lit up such as the Coliseum. We traveled by Swiss Air with very quick stop in Zurich, flying over the Swiss Alps. We had just enough time to buy Lindt chocolate, a hat and pen at the duty free before heading to Paris. We were very happy to find out that the airline passes out chocolate on the plane as well.

We are in Paris now. The hotel is well located but the room is very worn out, a bit like staying in your nana’s front room. Clunking heater fan, no satellite TV, pealing paint and no luxuries. It was very chilly and the kids bunkered down in the room while Warren and I went on the hunt for a supermarket and food. We could not find the market so we popped into the local “Australia Bar” (seems to be a chain of bars in Europe) and asked for directions – handy! It is early morning now and it has been snowing overnight which means that the temperature will be a bit better than yesterday.

Still in Rome

Today we took in the Coloseum. We found out that although over 700,000 people died there (over 400+ years) only 2 were Christians. This was a suprise to me because we were always taught that was the place that the christians were fed to the lions. Most of the christians were martyred in the Vatican area and on the streets after the great fire of Rome that was blamed on christians. Very interesting but we did not have time to go through the other sites there although we did walk over the Circus Maximus area, an unassuming grassy area that once held chariot races.

We are running out of clothes so we have undies hanging all over our room tonight in the hope they will dry before we leave for Paris on Sunday (today is Friday Night).

Friends Romans Countrymen

We are in Rome the craziest place for traffic in the world. There are few rules and organized chaos in the large, bustling but friendly city. We took the Eurostar train to the main station, which is just lovely. The main station is a hunting ground for the gypsy and we did see a couple being herded off by the politzi. The taxi was very friendly giving us tips of how to avoid becoming a victim of this scourge to the city. After dropping our bags off we caught the hop on hop off bus for an hour long once around the city to get our bearings then back to the hotel for dinner and sleep. Today we went on the bus to Vatican City and as there were no lines or waiting got into St Peter‘s Basilica straight away. It was awesome to the point of breathtaking even to the heathens in our family. It took about 2 hours to do the audio tour honestly one of the best things I have ever done. We walked around to the papal museum that includes a walk through into the Sistine Chapel which is not instantly amazing after seeing all the works along the way but when you take a breath and sit down it is exceptional and extraordinary in just about every way. On the way home we stopped of at the Trevi Fountain to throw our coins in over the shoulder (as in the movies) and had dinner in a café and gelato at a Gelateria. Tomorrow we are off to the coliseum.

Florence and Pisa

We spent the morning at the Galleria dell’ Academia – the home of the Statue of David and then to the Galleria degli Uffizi the home of many of Botticelli’, Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. The most famous work is that one with the woman in the clam shell (if you saw it you would know it.) In the afternoon we took a tour to the leaning tower of Pisa which has other buildings which I actually found more interesting. The Baptistery has an amazing echo that they demonstrate each half hour a girl stands at the center and sings one note then another and another and all 3 echo around the room in unison. Tomorrow we head off to Rome. Sam would be proud of our Italian as we are tring very hard to use the basic phrases as much as we can. So far the funny thing about Italians are that frankly they don’t look like Italians – not distinctly different from other Europeans if you know what I mean. No nona’s dressed in black (in fact they are dressed quite stylishly as are most people here. I guess that is the big city thing??

Florence

We were sad to say goodbye to Venice just as the sun came out but we caught the water taxi to the train station and took the Eurostar (train) to Florence yesterday. The train is a treat and travels with luxury through the Alps with snow caps and traditional countryside life. Florence is a large city and is hard to appreciate until you look down on it from a vantage point. We took the ubiquitous "jump on jump off" tour bus for a hour long once-over and then jumped off at the market. Florence if famous for glass (Venice is better) and leather goods as well as cashmere. I purchased 2 scarves and we walked over to the Piazza del Duomo. By now it was raining so we took in the Cathedral and the Baptisery. Warren and the kids climbed the 414 steps of Giotto's Bell Tower. We are in our hotel now thinking about where to have dinner, as everything tastes so good, not that Mike would know on a steady diet of Margaretta Pizza and Bolognese Pasta.

Before I forget - everyone here wears the most lovely boots 95% are low heal.

When the moon hits your eye....

Venice in winter is lovely so in summer it must be magnifico. We started the day with a gondola ride expensive but you have to do it. We then went walking to the Piazzo S Marco and beyond until we were too tired to walk anymore and bought tickets to the water bus thing and took a loop around the entire island. We stopped in a cafe for lunch and then went looking for the church front that was used for Indiana Jones movie. This place is a labyrinth and we got lost many times but we enjoyed the adventure. Mike and Kait are foot sore and we sent them to the room while we took in a cafe latte next door as we watched over the grand canal gondolas and people wandering about.Cant stop thinking about the difference between Germany and here only one hour by plane but so different. We are using Frankfurt as a punishment tool - behave or we will send you back to Frankfurt!

Venice

We arrived in Italy - Venice this afternoon. We took a 7 min walk from the airport to the waiting private boat that took us to our hotel The Rialto. We went up the so advertised lift - to the first floor, from there we had to walk up about 8 flights of steep stairs to a loft with a loft attached. You would have to be a mountain goat to live here. We have been for a long stroll around the many lanes and shops with many beautiful things to look at. The resturant that the hotel suggested was closed so we darted into the first next one we saw, sat down and realised that it was a Chinese run faux authentic Italian cafe and the food was crap. You live you learn.
The people here are a pleasure after Germany, and even though there is a drizzle of rain it is still lovely. Tomorrow is Saturday and there is a market so we will go there and who knows what else. Just had some hot chocolate and icecream ...

Frankfurt

We have now been in Germany for the day and we took a 2 hour tour of Frankfurt by bus. I found the place to be depressing. There are many interesting buildings but the people all walk around with their heads down and a kind of standoffishness like they think that a fight might break out at a moments notice. When we purchased the tour ticket the sour faced owner told us to come back at 5 min to 1pm (dont be late dont be early). There are a lot of people standing in the street drinking and a few crazy nut jobs (feels like home!) but the tram system is very effecient and clean.

We have spent the last hour trying to find a family friendly place to eat but it appears that such a thing does not exsist... Well on to Italy tomorrow.

Now we are in Germany!

We spent our last day in NY visiting Lady Liberty taking a ferry to the island. It was very cold so we stayed onboard the ferry rather than face the cold. We also visited the candy shop called Dylan's Candy Bar to see the Australian Licorice and buy some things that we had never tried before like chocolate covered cookie dough. We went across the street to Bloomingdale’s (the home of "the big brown bag") and walked down 5th Ave and past the Rockefeller centre (the other ice skating rink) and past fox news studios. At lunch time we were in a restaurant called Applebees - and at noon Obama was sworn in as President. All of the waitstaff and the people you don't normally see at the back of house like the immigrants all came into the main restaurant to watch on the big screens. People jumped and cheered and we all had a toast of champagne. I must admit I got a little choked up to the depth of feeling that each person had to the inauguration. There we big screens set up in the streets around Times Square and crowds were standing there to watch. Our plane took off at 9pm - Singapore Airlines (so nice and great service) and only took 6 and a half hours to get to Frankfurt which got us here at 10:30am local time. Needless to say we were all very tired and have been asleep most of the day and not seen anything yet.

Times Square and New York City

We have spent 2 magical days right in the middle of Times Square with the snow falling intermittently as we walked to the Empire State Building and on to Central Park (by Subway) so Warren and the kids could skate in the rink that is there. Central park was white with snow and the skating was cold but idyllic just like you might dream. On both nights we ate at a restaurant called Ellen's Stardust Express a few blocks away and this has singing waiters and traditional American fair. We all had a great time and Kait wants to spend a future birthday there as it did seem like the place to be for a special occasions. Apparently every Broadway show has at least one ex-Stardust waiter in it. We also visited Hersey World for some 'hugs and kisses' and wandered up to Build a Bear but it was closed.

This morning we met with the QVC rep and there were loads of opportunities there. We have noticed that one in 4 girls and women here are in Ugg Boots even in the wet snow.

New York

I am sitting in the hotel room overlooking Times Square for the 31st floor. We hear that they are currently towing the plane that crashed into the Hudson river up the river on a barge but I don't know if we will get to see it.

Orlando to Washington

We are now in Washington where the weather has been as low as -11. We did a night bus tour and it was so cold that it actually hurt to breathe and any exposed skin hurt. We were not able to see many of the attractions and sites as the inauguration is on in a couple of days and everything is in lock down. They are even welding the man holes in the streets shut and removing the lamp posts!

We could see the Lincoln memorial practice (from a distance) for the concert on Sunday with many big stars. Our room at the Hilton is nice - small beds, free bottles of "Obama" water and coffee. BTW the tea here is crap.

We are across the road from an IHop Restaurant and it is open 24 hours. Very nice food like all you can eat pancakes and breakfast fair, we tried the Philly Cheese Steak as well. Yesterday we went to the Smithsonian - Air and Space Museum, and saw Apollo 11, Gemini 4 ,Friendship 7 - as well as many artifacts of flight. We were there for most of the day but we decided to go back to the hotel as it was too cold to wander about. We used the Metro (train) service which was very interesting.

Now we are waiting for a taxi to take us to our next flight to New York. There are hundreds of thousands of people coming in for the celebrations so we are going against the trend.

January 15th 2009

We are in Orlando Florida - in a lovely place called 'The Fountains'. It is an apartment with two bedrooms and two bathrooms - our room has a spa. I must say we are very comfortable here and the weather has been mild to warm (the last day was a bit chilly). Tomorrow we head off to to freezing Washington.

We left Melbourne on the 6th of Jan with Air New Zealand - and it was such a relief to find TV's and games consoles in each seat that kept everyone entertained for the entire trip. The food was nice too. When we arrived into Las Vegas on the 6th we were tired and stayed in out room and slept. The next day we did miles of walking on the strip with the obligatory viewings of Caesars Palace, MGM, M and M World and Coke World where we tried the sampler from around the world. We had previously purchased tickets to Cirque De Soleil and went there on our second night.

Cirque was fabulous of course, and a feast for the eyes, and we ate at the buffet inside of Bellagio which is very sumptuous. On another day we ate at the buffet inside of Treasure Island - which had a nice feel and all you can eat fairy floss which Kait enjoyed.

In Orlando we visited Epcot, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center (we went twice as on the first day we found out they were going to wheel the space shuttle onto the launch pad overnight and we were able to see it in situ on our return). We were also excited to learn that there was a rocket launch schedule that night and we went to Coco Beach to see it. Unfortunately it was cancelled at the last minute.

We hired a car which was great and we did a day of shopping and managed to over fill our suit cases - in our travels we saw a raccoon, many alligators, vultures, a bald eagles nest, square, geckos and wild pig.