Malta

17th-26th Dec 07

Christmas with family - really special. We've been made so welcome in Malta by all the extended family and we've really enjoyed getting to know all our cousins and their children.

In between visits to family and enormous meals, we've seen some of Malta and Gozo, which are fascinating islands steeped in history. We've seen the oldest freestanding building in the world, the cave where St Paul is supposed to have lived for 3 months after being shipwrecked here, the catacombs and numerous magnificent churches.

The time has gone too quickly, but we'll be back!

Italy - Venice and Gardaland Theme Park

14-16th Dec
The Italy leg got off to an interesting start with a mysterious knocking sound coming from underneath the van as we drove down the freeway at 90 km/hr out of the Venice port. "I think we have a stowaway" announced Chris jokingly. "Don't say things that aren't true" I responded and then immediately began to worry that it was true. So we exited the freeway and pulled over. Rob and I jumped out of the van and looked underneath in time to see an Albanian stowaway unfolding himself from the tiny space above the muffler. He'd been on a 36 hour ferry ride and a hair-raising trip along the freeway - I suspect the exhaust pipe was getting hot and I'll bet the road looked like it was awfully close - hence the fairly frantic knocking! We had little choice but to let him go, partly out of concern for our own safety and partly out of pity - who knows what conditions drives people to put themselves at risk like that, and who are we to judge whether he is "bad" - he only looked about 19 years old and I would hate my children to be forced into those sorts of choices.

So that incident set the scene for one of our most interesting days. We headed back into Venice by bus from the carpark. My 4th visit to Venice and just as exciting and intriguing as my first visit 25 years ago. The kids loved the place and were thrilled when we agreed to go on the gondola ride - a must for Venice and one of those lifetime memories. St Mark's Basilica is one of the most impressive churches I have ever seen and the kids loved the pigeons out in St Mark's Square that were so tame they landed on the kids heads and shoulders. James managed to keep one on his arm for quite a long walk down the laneway using biscuit crumbs.

Stopped at a glass shop for a couple of small souvenirs, including a tiny glass Christmas tree since we can't have a real one this year. Liam got a turtle to add to his collection.

Reluctantly left Venice, but had the drawcard of a themepark that had been recommended by Carolyn, who is an expert on theme parks!!

So we camped outside the gates of Gardaland near Verona and were first into the carpark next morning. Freezing cold, but beautifully sunny, so we signed up for a winter season pass so we could go for more than a day and headed on in. Initial concerns that some of the park was closed for winter were soon allayed as the adrenaline was pumped up on the roller coaster and the space vertigo rides (Alan, I thought of you, knowing how much you loved that free-fall ride at Disneyworld!! Left our stomachs up the top and screamed all the way down - screaming was completely involuntary!)

By the end of the day still have plenty left to do the next day, so Sunday was back in the park with slightly warmer weath

er. Focused on the shows this time and saw some fabulous iceskating and Christmas shows. Even got to try out some ice-skating ourselves -kids are keen to do that again back in Australia. Fireworks and the grand finale were a great finish, with the kids keen to go back again after our Malta sojourn. Off to Milan that night to catch flights to Malta.

Greece

Not only do they have great beaches and Tavernas but I (Rob)have since discovered - first hand - that they grow a mean Shiraz as well. Our first stop was a lovely little coastal area called Kavala (where they grow the Shiraz). After a short stop and a very long walk up a nearby mountain, we were off again.

We were definitely out of place at our next stop, home of the Gods, Mt Olympus. After exploring the old monastery and exploring a few of the many walking tracks we spent a very quiet evening in the National Park. The higher tracks were a little out of our reach due to the snow cover, but the peaks made a wonderful back drop for the sunset.

Well being in the mood for mountains and monasteries in Greece we couldn’t go past visiting Meteora. I have since discovered that this place is highlighted in one of the James Bond movies. Well I don’t think I saw the movie but I am really pleased I have seen the place. With monasteries perched precariously atop some magnificent rock spires, this place is truly inspiring. The monasteries are the most peaceful places with some magnificent art within them. The landscape was topped off by a couple of great campsites. The first with an open fire, so we were able to cook a great grill dinner and the kids topped it off with damper for desert. The second was a pension with a wonderful family as hosts. They invited us in to a wonderful lounge area with a great fire burning. That was topped off with another Greek Grill dinner followed by another monastery the next day, where we met two brave souls who had walked all the way up to the monastery from the town. With dusk coming on, we offered them a lift back down to town (Olivia, Kate, we still have your umbrella you left in the van – sorry we couldn’t get it back to you but rest assured it will be put to good use!)

(NOTE, next bit by Bronwen - Rob's back to the soccer - last chance in a while for TV watching)
Next was Delphi – amazing views from a fabulous set of ruins. And then on to Athens, to catch up with Carolyn, who I hadn’t seen for about 20 years. We knew each other as kids and it was so good to get to know each other again, and to meet all the family. We all get on so well, that the kids most definitely don’t want to leave. Carolyn and Maurice have gone out of their way to make our stay very enjoyable, which is a magnificent feat at this incredibly busy time of year.

Carolyn took Breanna and me shopping, and we both now have outfits to be proud of, thank goodness. I was feeling decidedly travel-weary and scruffy in my travel-clothes and Breanna’s clothes were wearing out or getting too small. The boys have spent hours on the computer playing networked games, and Breanna has had great fun having sleepovers and playing girlie games.

We have seen some of the major sites of Athens, been out to a Souvlakia and an Indian restaurant. It was all topped off today with a lovely drive on a gorgeous sunny day out to Sounion to see Carolyn and Maurice’s new house-site. We then went on to the Temple of Poseidon to have a tasty lunch overlooking the Saronic Gulf with the temple standing majestically on the top of the hill, the white marble shining in the sunlight.

Breanna has decided that top on her list of things she has enjoyed the most is visiting friends and family. So with that in mind, we have finally organised ourselves to get to Malta in time for Christmas and to spend time with Rob’s relatives in Malta. So after a few days in the Pelloponese, we will catch the ferry from Patras to Venice, spend a day in Venice and then on to Gardaland in Verona for a day or two at the theme park there. Over to Milan and flights from there to Malta (yes, we finally backed out of taking the campervan there – not because we couldn’t, but because the drive down and back up through Italy was very long, and our days are now running out!! Three and a half months is not long enough!).

10th -12th Dec
Had to almost drag the kids away from Carolyn and Maurice's - they loved it there and the van felt very small after staying in the house. But we really wanted to visit the Pelopponese, with all the history and beautiful scenery. First stop was ancient Korinth, an impressive set of ruins overlooking the modern city of Korinth. On to Mycenae, where we stayed the night and visited the ruins the next day - one of the oldest ruins we have seen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenae
Then on to beautiful Nafplion, once the capital. A gorgeous beach, where Breanna and I managed a swim - a bit cold, but not bad. Kids had a great evening fishing with Rob and we even got to eat the catch. Over to Ancient Olympia next - fantastic views on the way. A national strike slowed us down next day with not being allowed into the site in spite of having bought tickets, but after a couple of hours they let us in - very interesting. The strike delayed the ferry as well but got on eventually - off to Venice!

Turkey

Well I’ve been told that it’s my turn again (Rob), so here we go (I was watching soccer on TV - so this entry won’t be very long).

Well it seems like so much has happened since I last sat to type. As you will notice we were in Istanbul at the last posting. We had a great time in the relative luxury of a hotel in Istanbul and saw all the sights of Istanbul but without a doubt the most memorable part was the people. There have been so welcoming and friendly. After leaving Istanbul we made our way to Bergamo to check out some rather old ruins. They were in great condition and we all enjoyed the experience of trying to picture what the place would have looked like in 300BC. That was topped off with a great campsite on the beach (right on the beach), amongst the olive groves. The bonus was that it is harvest time and we got to speak with and watch the harvesters (all hand harvested). The kids of course availed themselves of the numerous skipping rocks and attempted to fill the Aegean Sea with stones and of course the mandatory swim.

From there, along the coast with a lengthy stop at the ruins of Assos. Once again a most beautiful day, walking through some spectacular ruins and quite extensive as well. That evening was finished off with a great walk at the picturesque little harbour where the fishermen were tending their boats.

Well we had seen the movie and some of us had even read Homers book, but it was time to see the real thing, Troy. One can’t actually say that they have been to see Troy because the excavation that is there has in fact uncovered about ten Troy’s spaning many thousands of years. By far the most extensive archaeological site we have been to and we all had good fun wandering the ruins and climbing into the horse that was nearby. We actually spent the night in Troy and I decided it was time for a hair cut (my first).

Now the local barber in Troy doesn’t speak English and I’m sure most of you know my Turkish isn’t too flash, so this was always going to be interesting. The hair part went pretty smoothly although I’m still blaming him for the unexplainable bald patch that seemed to appear on my head. The beard, well that was a little more interesting. As he approached with the cutthroat, I was very hopeful that the sign language signal for please just trim my beard was the same in Turkish. When he ignited a little torch and approached me I really started to worry. A few taps later and a scrape with the cutthroat it all turned out reasonably well.

A quick ferry ride across the Dardanelles would see us at one of the more moving points on our journey - ANZAC Cove. Two days exploring the sites where years before thousands of Australians and Kiwis fell (and of course, many British and Turkish people as well), enlightened us all of the magnitude of the task, the importance of the objective, and with the weather the way it was on the second day of our visit, the increased difficulty the winter brought. A very moving visit and as a bonus we had the majority of the National Park to ourselves (except for the stray dogs...).

And with this being out last objective in Turkey, other than making it across the border, it was off to Greece….