Wallamble

Up early! Mmmmm cake for breakfast! Eli likes this hotel 🙂 and then the train to Pompeii via the cool train station

such a cool train station too!

To the surreal Pompeii

with an ice-cream to tie us over to lunch

Lunch in the piazza…

It was raining so we ditched our original plan of spending the afternoon / evening in Capri or Positano and headed underground instead! We did a tour of the old bomb shelters, cellars and aqueducts…

They also surprised us and took us to a secret (?), newly discovered ancient Roman Teatro whose entrance was under a bed…
(how did they know that we love a good Speakeasy entrance in our family?)

We then headed home only for the rain to bucket down and so we just had to stop and take cover in a Cupcake and Tiramisu shop!

Down time for our tired legs.

Then out for dinner (more pizza!!! for some)

and another walk along the boardwalk a stop at our new favourite gelati bar

and past the sights to home!

Okay this was to be the awkward day in our trip in terms of logistics. Every trip seems to have one!

We awoke in Lisbon Portugal, to change flights for Italy. First up was immigration to EU and a mini-breakfast from what was open at 4am at Lisbon airport. Any time is a good time for a (real) Portuguese custard tart.

..arrive Rome and take the train to Naples…

Snooze (not little but definitely needed)

A wander over for dinner…

Yummy Italian dinner of pasta and pizza… Naples it tourns out claims to be the inventer of pizza! So we were super keen to try the original deal. A Naples pizza it turns out is not dissimlar to NY-style. Naples pizza had a thick crust, just a few toppings and a soupy center…

After dinner, a wander around town…

Past the Castel Nuovo

And the Mergellina boardwalk to enjoy the breezes and views of the Bay of Naples

Since we’re back in Italy a little gelato of course

Before heading home 🙂

For our final day in Accra we wanted to take things back a notch andChillax + swim + hang out with cousin Georgie 🙂
Peta’s yummy banana pancakes…
(such a great start to a day with such a sad end)

Traditional Ghana Food for lunch

Best ice cream ever (as voted by Lachie who said it was better than the gelato in Italy…shhh! or they may not let us back into the country tomorrow).

some final classic catches…

another super yummy dinner..

very sad good bye hugs…

before flying out in the evening.
Thank you Jus, Peta and Georgie – we had a truly amazing time XXxx

Another day – another amazing adventure 🙂

First a tea party (thanks Eli xx)

Wind screen wiper change mid-traffic light stop

A little further traffic-light shopping…home decoration and the Ghanan equivalent to the meat pie

Around Accra

Past the high court (white building)

Around Accra – Kwame Nkrumah memorial – the impressive first president of Ghana.

Whilst we couldn’t take pictures inside the museum and it is a modest one room – it hold an impressive collection of pictures of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with the influential people of the time – Chairman Mao,  JFK, Fidel Castro – to name a only a few

Off to Jamestown to see their lighthouse & port

& Fishing Village

Jamestown Fort where Kwame Nkrumah was held for two years.

Home to meet poor uncle Jus who had been working hard.
Then a yummy dinner 🙂

Today Uncle Jus took us inland 🙂
Roadtrip!

We drove through colourful local villages

Shai Hills Resource Reserve

and rock climbing…
(Eli’s highlight of whole the trip)

with its bat cave

A few of the park’s locals

Homewards for a little chillaxing (yes Lachie we can play classic catches again!)

Dinner @Sky Bar with it’s magnificent view over Accra

Another amazing day 🙂

We left the oasis that is Jus & Peta’s place and ventured a little further a field today.

First stop the Arts & Craft market…where we picked up a few things

Then to the baskets + drums section

Off for a drive

to the Makola Market

To the family day party at the High Commission
(E+L loved playing cricket 🙂  )

Down time with a swim and yummy pizza from Roots. It was a fabulous day 🙂

Good morning 🙂
First day to adjust…lots of chillaxing…

Our first views of Accra in daylight

Some local shopping at the Koala Market (their local international supermarket) and local fruit stand

More awesome chilling and hanging out with cousin Georgie 🙂
Uncle Jus played “classic catches” with Lachie in the pool which is one of his highlights of the whole trip 🙂

Super yummy long dinner at Lord of the Wings

Home for bedtime stories…

A super fun day catching up with family 🙂

For our last morning in Venice, we were up early for breakfast….
(check out our cute little man)

A wander around the Pescaria and Fresh produce market at Mercado Rialto (check this!)

A final wander across the Grand Canal and Rialto bridge…

A final wander around Piazza San Marco

A litle last minute shopping for our shopper…

Before taking a Vaporetto to the airport…
(note for next time: whilst taking the Vaporetto is the scenic route…it takes a loooooong time!)

And grabbing a flight to Lisbon (where N got the jackpot of seats but was lucky enough to move!)

and then a second flight to Ghana. Finally to Uncle Jus’ house!!! We are so excited to see JP+G!!!

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Edited to add some travel colour:
For memories sake, we really should remember our yellow fever experience that we needed to have to enter Ghana.
Bianca got hers ten years ago.
Nathan bravely took Eli & Lachie to the travel medical center whilst Bianca was in London for work. He managed to get all three of their shots and luckily they would be active for life.
Next stop, Accran immigration where you have to produce your yellow fever vaccination certificates. Four certificates were supplied – three were accepted, one was rejected. NE+L were waved through, B was sent to the waiting chair…  Apparently only yellow fever shots from the last few years are good for life, earlier ones expire after 10 years. Nervously B waited on one side of immigration, NE+L the other.
After half an hour B was told that the option was to pay 10 (in any currency euro, pound, usd, aud, …) or leave Ghana. B paid her USD 10, hoped for the best, got her shot and joined the NE+L. Phew!

This morning we caught an early fast train from Florence to Venice, then a Vaporetto to the Rialto Bridge. There it was a short walk to our hotel to drop our bags (the room was teeny-tiny!)

and we were off to explore!
A little from our first impression of Venice…

Before lunch – a home made take away pasta eaten on a tiny bridge watching the Gondolas gracefully glide by. We’re in Venice!

The off to Piazza San Marco…

Then through Basilica di San Marco gazing at the beautiful Duomo D’Oro and the gorgeous mosaics (unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside but noting that it was stunning and well worth the time).

Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace)

Including it’s prison…

And the Bridge of Sighs…

It was there that mum becamed obsessed with clocks…
(clocks with 24 and 6 hour sections!)

A wander around town with a little gelato stop…

A little down time to recharge batteries (although the room was so tiny we didn’t stay long!)

A wander across The Rialto bridge…

to the San Polo side…

Cocktail hour in Piazza San Silvestro

A yummy dinner (Pizza + Pasta of course)

Then a long boat ride up and back along the Grand Canal

A late night wander through Piazaa San Marco enjoying the gorgeous buildings, lights and live music coming from the outdoor cafes. Five of the outdoor cafes had live 5-musician orchestras playing – it was magical and a lovely way to finish a fantastic day!

This is the life!

With no alarm clocks set – we all slept in until 9:30am!!!

Particularly Nathan who had been up working until the wee hours including feeling the 6.2 Richter-scale earthquake 200 miles away that devastated the poor town of Armatrice.

The extra sleep gave us lots of energy to wander around town….

And had brunch where mum may have over-ordered in her best Italian! (or lack thereof Italian)

She “ordered a cheese and cold cuts platter for 3″ thinking the kids would love the cheese, only to find them raving over the salamis and mixed-meat cold-cuts, as opposed to the prosciutto, ham & cheeses.

Then we headed to Galleria degli Uffizi – which was filled with spectacular masterpieces.

Hey guys, stand together and smile for a photo? Not quite what I had in mind…

Down time ….aka recharging batteries for you know what!

Then off for more gelato of course!
(any excuse is beginning to do – the stuff is that good!)

Then off to Galleria dell’Accademia with the main purpose we’ll unashamedly admit – is to see Michelangelo’s David – which met our incredibly high expectations. He carved it when he was 26 and it took him two years. It is incredible! At 5.1 meters high has the finest of fine details – right down to veins and finger nails.

Afterwards we found a little wine bar and introduced the kids to cocktail hour in the piazza 🙂

During cocktail hour we played a game called “20 guesses” – where you have to guess the person the other person is thinking of.
The best comment from the session:
L: you guys don’t know John Ceeno? The Beatles wrestler… Yes I think he’s still alive!

Afterwards we continued our wander around town

Then another Itailan meal…I wonder if we sill get sick of pizza and pasta before we leave? But we are certainly still going strong!

Finishing up with a nice long Pokemon Go stroll along the river bank…