When in Rome!

Clare and her lovely Dad John went off travelling for a couple of weeks last week and I went to meet them for a weekend in Rome, my first taste of Italy! We saw all the major sights and ate a lot (if not too much) pizza, pasta and gellati! It was amazing food...

At the Trevi fountain







Kristen on the top of Palatine hill in front of a fantastic view of the Roman Forum - the centre of Rome for 1000 years.


















Clare and John map checking on the Spanish Steps.















At the Vatican












In lies the Sistine Chapel...








Mmmmmm real Italian Gelati

































A prince took this photo!!!!!!! He was spray painting a vespa (which of course sparked John's great interest!), we asked him to take this pic and then we asked him for directions...
He unlocked the gate to this massive palace and led us through as a shortcut... We asked him how he had the keys and he said 'because I live here!' - it was truly the most amazing palace!!!






























The Colosseum was amazing!


We decided to prove the saying 'money can't buy you happiness' and bypassed the 300 metre long line with the purchase of a tour guide. She was fantastic and a crack up!


There were men dressed up as gladiators outside the Colosseum posing for photos with tourists (could you think of a worse job?!).



































Our legs got a big workout! Look at the grotty mess which was Kristen't feet by the end of a day!

Stavanger, Norway to find an old friend

Well we had a great weekend with Kristen's very special old friend Henning in his home town Stavanger. Henning looked after us like queens! It was just so nice to catch up.
Henning cooked us an amazing breakfast with awesome Norweigen cheese and fresh shrimps every morning! What a sweetheart he is!







We set off on a trek to dangle our legs over the a massive cliff 604 metres above Lysefjorden famous Pulpit (prekestolen) rock. It was the most amazing feeling!
Look closely at Hen's face in this photo... He he


On the ferry transporting the car


Nice bum! Ha ha - Hen was setting his camera up on the edge!

Henning, Kristen and Clare
Kristen and Christine, another Norweigen who had come to bendigo to study years ago came from Oslo to Stavanger for the weekend so we caught up with her too!







A big group of us partied at Hennings and then moved on to a Carribean music festival which was amazing!





Because Henning volunteered to help with the festical, one of the musicians, a Jamaican called 'Jah Bobby' made his way to Hennings! Yo Man! What a crack up

At Old Stavanger was amazing and full of gorgeous little cobble stone streets with tiny little sailors houses. One of Henning's friends lived in one and invited us in for a look!