The kids crowd into a phone box with their cousin Daniel, near Piccadilly Circus

Our lounge Rome in Charles St, Mayfair - we're very posh now.

Sunday 30th September - Arriverderci Rome and Hello London!

Sunday 30th September
After an action packed and all too brief visit to Rome we got up and packed our final things before hitting the chaos of the Rome airport. At least the kids have had a taste of Rome and all want to come back for more though they are not happy they didn't get to see the Colosseum - ah well, next time. As the plane took off earlier, to the amusement of the other passengers,  Finbarr yelled out, "Bye Gelati!!"  We are on the plane now and I'm finally catching up on my blogging - before I forget what we've been doing.  Damian is sadly not joining us in London - he's got to get back to work, but he's softened the blow by using frequent flyer points to upgrade to first class - very nice!
Ok - it now much later, we landed in London and collected our bags to hear Finbarr's next clanger... While walking through customs he yelled out, "Why do we have to go through here? They'll find our guns!! (Damian had taken the kids to a wooden toy shop and the kids had bought guns and swords which were in their suitcases). Great timing Finbarr!
We sadly farewelled Damian - it will be strange not to have him here this week but I'm sure he's coping with the champagne and massages in first class! We made our way to London and it was so exciting for me, especially when we got into familiar territory - from about Hammersmith onwards. The girls eyes lit up when we went past Harrods, Harvey Nichols and started seeing other well known sites or names. We are staying in a great spot - in Mayfair just off Piccadilly. This place looks better than what we saw on the Internet (unheard of) and it's fabulous - we have the whole floor.  Tink has rejoined us, but best of all, we've met up with Stephen, Lillian and Daniel. We had dinner with them tonight after having a walk up to Piccadilly Circus, seeing the lights and the sites, and watching the very excited kids going crazy.  We headed home reasonably early as we have a big day tomorrow - off to Harry Potter world in Watford.  

In other exciting news, Downton Abbey series 3 is on here. Peggy's great line of the night was, "I hope Tink doesn't arrive while Downton Abbey's on - I won't be going down to let her in!!  It's going to be a great week!

Last night in Rome - dinner with Fr Mark and Lewy.

The world's best gelato - as declared by us - eaten in Piazza Novona

Perhaps the most famous scene from the Sistine Chapel - the creation of Adam.

Sunrise from the steps of St Peter's, Rome.

Day 3 - Saturday

Damian, Peggy and I got up early again and made our way back to St Peter's for 7am mass on the feast day of St Michael, the Archangel.  Fr Mark very kindly offered Mass that morning for Dad, and has added him to the list of faithful departed, prayed for in the Vatican each day - how wonderful. As Mum said beautifully, how amazing that such a humble man has had a mass said for him at St Peters! 
After Mass we walked home and had a coffee on the way, before finding the kids at home had made it out of bed at last - sleepy heads with sore feet and legs, all of us! We had about an hour of shopping in the little lanes in our area before going to the Vatican museum where Fr Mark had again organised a tour through the museum and Sistine Chapel. I can't believe how much more we were able to get out of this visit again, with the guidance and knowledge of someone in the know.  We were so lucky, though nothing could help with the crowd - it was just as I remembered and completely packed. Damian and Joseph stayed in the Vatican Museum for an extra hour or two, and also went to Jesu church, but Emily, Alice, Finbarr and I walked home through all the lanes near Piazza Navono and found the best gelato ever - all natural, home made and a long queue that was absolutely worth the wait.  Fr Mark and Lewy told us later it was the best one to find so we'd hit the jackpot.   We went home eventually to pack for the flight out of Rome on Sunday and got ready for our last dinner in Rome. After all of their kindness and generosity of time, we offered to take Fr Mark and Lewy out for dinner, and this turned out to be a good move - Fr Mark asked around the Curia for a good dinner recommendation in the Trastavere area and an archbishop suggested Romolo - just delicious.  Good to have people in the know.  Peggy decided to miss dinner and catch her breath - smart lady!  We got some traditional favourites; stuffed zucchini flowers, bresaola (air dried beef with Parmesan, rocket), melon and ham, carbonara, lamb, gelato - even gluten free pasta!    It was such a great night - so wonderful to have such engaging and interesting,  young religious people - great company, and good fun!  Thank goodness we'd packed already because we didn't get home until after midnight (again).  The partying in the Trastavere area was in full swing and also in our street when we got home. We had one last night time sit on the rooftop to see the full moon - perfect! It rained at about 4am so the party crowd went home - in backpacking days I'm sure we would have been out with them - but I was glad for some sleep!!

The Pope's bedroom window - top floor on the left.

The best fountain ever - in the Vatican Gardens

The pond we might get to swim in, and the helicopter pad we might get to land on if Fr Mark becomes the Pope!

Touring the Vatican Gardens

The Grotto in the Vatican Gardens

The roof of St Peter's before heading up to the top of the dome

Day 2 continued!

Day 2 continued
We made our way back to the Vatican and met the Tyndalls before going to Fr Mark's office.  He took us on a guided visit of the Vatican Gardens - a very special thing to do as it's only available with a private tour.  It was lovely to explore the gardens and see beautiful artwork, religious monuments and fountains. We were shown the old summer palace of the Pope, his helicopter landing pad - he comes in each Wednesday from the place he stays during warm months - the window of his rooms and the beautiful grotto holding the original altar from Lourdes in France (Phill you would have loved it!).  Fr Mark promised the kids a few things if he should become Pope - he'll let us swim in the Vatican Garden fountains on hot days, he'll let us fly in aboard the Pope's helicopter, and we'll be allowed to go for a spin in the Pope Mobile.  He thinks he's fairly safe making those promises as he's not likely to have to make good on them, though he thinks he has a better chance of being Pope than his sister does. We finished the tour and then Fr Mark took us through the back streets to a great restaurant where they all welcomed the Padre loudly and gave us the most amazing meal that just kept on coming - antipasti, pizza, pasta, tiramisu, coffee, limoncello. 

Afternoon:He had then lined up a young seminarian, Lewy Barakat, from Melbourne, who gave us a really wonderful tour of the inside St Peter's - it's so good to have the story behind the amazing artwork and relics, and to have things pointed out that we would have missed. For example - most of the original paintings inside St Peter's have now been replaced by mosaic replicas of the painting.  The mosaics are made of tiny, tiny tiles, and the originals are in the Vatican museum, because the year-round humidity inside St Peter's was ruining the artwork.  When you looked really closely and at the right angle, you could see the mosaic, but you would have never noticed it otherwise.  Lewy gave a great tour as long as possible - until a security guard told him no more talking after 5.30. Fr Mark says the security have no authority whatsoever, which is why they like to wield it so strongly! After a long day, we made our way back to our apartments and got the kids some food and ready for bed, before Peggy, Damian and I  headed out to dinner at La Veranda at Hotel Columbus - he'd been wanting to take us there as it was a real favourite from his last trip.  A divine dinner again, and great wine (the waiter made a point of saying our food was good but the wine Damian picked was even better!).  Home through a very packed Campo Di Fiori (Em should have been out partying with the young people), to sit on our terrace again before collapsing into bed.  We're all getting so tired, but can't bear the thought of missing anything! 

My favourite - Michelangelo's, "The Pieta" - sculpted by him when he was only 24 years old!

St Peter's early in the morning - look - hardly any tourists!!

The children meet the Swiss Guards who protect the Pope.

The view from St Peter's Dome - good shot considering my jelly legs after walking up the stairs!

Fr Mark made Finbarr's year...

Finbarr has been dying to get on a motorbike since getting into Rome - he thinks they are SO cool. Fr Mark drives one and asked Finbarr if he'd like to hop on! Woo hoo!

Looking back at the Vatican from the area where Fr Mark works - only accessed by Vatican staff and hanger-on-ers

The fishpond near where Father Mark works - this Pope wasn't so nice (the big white fish) as he kept attacking the little tortoises!

Roma, Day 2

Day two was a bit of shock to the system for this family who have been staying up late mand sleeping late each day.  While Damian was here for the Canonisation of Mary McKillop, he had met a number of lovely priests who live in Rome.  We got up at 5.50am so we could be at the Vatican for 7am Mass at St Peter's.  Fr Mark Withoos, an Australian priest who's been based in Rome for 4 years, and is passionate about his studies in Latin, says Latin Mass in St Peter's each day and had invited us along.  It was challenging to keep up but amazing to be in St. Peter's with such an initimate sized group of people (great photo opportunities before the hoards of tourists arrived). Finbarr wasn't quite in the spirit of things - he fell asleep on my handbag on the marble floor, but as Fr Mark pointed out, the benefit of saying Mass in Latin means he has his back turned to us and can't tell if he's lost his congregation! Fr Mark was so lovely - he's only just in his 40's and is so great with kids and adults. After Mass he took us around the Basilica for a while and then took us to the special area where he works to the side of St Peters. He showed us the fishpond in the centre of the court - the big white fish is named "The Pope", then out a private door and back to Rome where we had breakfast together.  The kids thought it was hilarious when he explained the different sirens heard around Rome - the ambulance siren sounds like, "Already dead, already dead" and the police siren means "Too late, too late".  After brekky, he took us back into St Peter's where he'd arranged for us to go to the roof and up the top of the Dome. It was a really hot and humid day, so we struggled a bit with the 500,000 steps (I'm sure someone counted that many) but it was completely worth it - anyone who's made it up there will know that the view across the roof of St Peter's and out to Rome is 

amazing. The breeze was very welcome too but Fr Mark says the best bit is he saved us about 55 euros! We went home for a quick rest and morning tea in Campo Di Foiri before heading back to St Peter's at around 12.30 for a tour of the Vatican Gardens and lunch. 

Believe it or not, this is gelato... for the Senorina

As we walked into today's gelateria of choice, it appears the young men serving at the counter took quite a shine to the young Signorina, Emily, after looking straight past the old Signora (me) who paid for the gelato!! 

The Signore who served us told Emily she had to wait until the end and then when he got her order, he worked quickly behind the counter to make this beautiful flower out of her ice cream (the rest of us got a big blob of gelato in a cup or cone - tasted great, but I think Em wins!).  I might have to hang around with the Signorina to see what other treats are in store!

Dinner on the terrace

The moon comes up - looks like it will be full moon tomorrow!

Our lovely rooftop terrace with Steve, Katie, Anna and Xavier

Alice models Valentino

The bottom of the Spanish Steps

Ah Roma - I love that view - from the top of the Spanish steps - while dodging all the sales people!

First day in Roma

A hot, hot day in Rome, but it was perfect - especially when we know it'll be cold in London next week. We spent a day showing the kids the sights - the markets first at Campo Di Fiori for tonight's supplies, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Popolo (the original main entrance of Rome) and the Zara Megastore on Via del Corso - Main Street and shopping area, and the glamorous shopping area of Via dei Condotti. Emily and Alice enjoyed the Valentino store, and Peggy and I had a Mother-daughter-in-law moment and bought a handbag each in the same shop. 

We tried new flavours of gelato today - yum - and then came home and cooked our meal - a delicious carbonara with side salad. Damian was horrified that Peggy and I didn't choose plain pasta, as is tradition for carbonara, but we couldn't resist trying the fresh porcini mushroom pasta (and yes, it was well worth defying tradition!). Steve and Katie and the kids joined us for dinner and we again sat on our lovely terrace - this place was a real find for Rome in this weather.

Lovely shot of the Marais district where Victor Hugo lived.

Oops - accidentally took a photo of this Cezanne before realising we weren't meant to take photos!

Finbarr's finds a way to amuse himself in the queue

Rome to Paris

Bonjourno!  Well a quick trip on Easyjet (never heard of them? Neither had we, but they were cheap and no problems!) and we arrived in Roma.  After a wait for our luggage that took longer than the actual flight, we made our way to the centre of Rome and found our next home for 4 nights - a fantastic location right next to the Campo Di Fiori, where there are daily fresh food markets (anyone who watched this year's Masterchef would have seen them cook off in the Piazza).  The small things we got excited about included a separate washer and dryer - luxury (!), 3 bathrooms, and a rooftop terrace which has an amazing outlook over the local area.  We settled in and had a wander around before meeting up with Katie, Steve, Anna and Xavier, who have also made their way to Rome after being in Italy since leaving the chateau. The kids had a ball catching up, and we found the most little amazing restaurant near the Piazza Navona which had plate after plate of antipasto dishes - we think around 15 different sorts altogether. The kids had huge bowls of pasta so we were all happy before heading homewards, and stopping for the compulsory gelato on the way- delicious, just as I remembered! 

We headed home for sleep but after putting the kids to bed, we had a cup of tea and sat on our roof top terrace watching falling stars, listening to the many bells chime and having the moon rise over us. The weather is so much warmer here so it was a perfect way to finish the night - so beautiful!

Queuing at the Musee D'Orsay...

Last day in Paris

We woke up to another cold and windy day in Paris, with a few light showers of rain - the perfect day to go to an art gallery! Unfortunately the other 1000 people in the line at the Musee D'Orsay thought the same, so we waited quite some time before we got in.  
Despite the wait it was well worth it to see the Impressionist paintings and all our favourites - Alice and Emily were thrilled to see Degas' Little Dancer, Damian fell in love with the Van Gogh's and we all loved crowd favourites, Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, Sisley....  It was a fitting day to go to the Musee D'Orsay - 25th September is Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary (58 years this year since they were married) - so the daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren of two great artists, visited the works of some other great artists! I had a lovely chat with Mum the night before and she also spent a lovely day with family for this special day.
The rest of the day was spent lunching, wandering around St Germain, walking through the Marais district (Emily and I), and even visiting Victor Hugo's house - very fitting as we'll be seeing Les Miserables in London next week! 

One last dinner in Paris at a restaurant called Bouillonn Racine - a gorgeous example of Art Nouveau style decor and then home to bed.  Emily and I snuck off for one last look at the Eiffel Tower lit up at night and then collapsed into bed, happy we'd squeezed every possible thing we could into our visit to Paris. 

What a wonderful trip to France we've had!! Today we're off to Rome, so will be leaving our beautiful apartment at around 10. I'll have to put last day photos up later.  For now, Au Revoir and Merci to France - thanks for a truly wonderful and memory filled time!

The chef whips up an omelette or 8

A couple of shots to show you our location in our apartment

The Louvre (later in the day when the sun finally came out)

The rest of the day...

After crossing the Seine in the rain, the girls made our way to the Louvre, not necessarily to go inside (because of the enormous queue), but for Emily to visit the flagship Apple store there underneath the famous glass pyramid. For those who don't know, Emily started a new job at the Apple store at Carindale before we left. It was a bit challenging to find it, but we persisted and it was worth the break from the rain. Em had a tour and we enjoyed playing with the new iPhone 5 and having a seat! Ps. The queue for the Louvre was not any different just because it was raining - it was enormous!
Next stop was finding the metro to take us to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.  We found our way and after about 100 circular steps to get out of the Metro station (!!!??!)  we happily took the funicular (train) up the last steps - Cath A and girls - I thought of you and THAT song all the way. Sacre Coeur, or Basilica of the Sacred Heart was beautiful but we think the rain scared off the artists around Montmartre.  We meandered down the hill and found a spot to rest weary legs and have some lunch, before hopping on a couple of metros and doing some shopping and more walking on the way home, but not before finding a patisserie stop too! We also found Grandma and Tink in the vintage shop across the road, eyeing off the vintage Chanel and Hermes bags.
We all had a bit of a rest before Damian and I had a shopping trip around Rue de Honore and I finally bought something! Yay! (2 shirts and a dress).
As the boys had also had a big lunch, Damian whipped up some omelettes before bed.  We want a good sleep as it's our last full day in Paris tomorrow and we're off to Musee D'Orsay - I'm excited!

Love Padlocks on Pont des Arts

Sainte Chapelle - the not-so-fancy lower level for Royal Staff

Hmm...something's gone wrong with this photo but its too late so I'll fix it in the morning. You get the idea anyway!

Sainte Chappelle - windows in the upper chapel- used by the king and queen.

The boys and girls go separate ways...

Today we planned to split up to cover different interests - Damian and the boys headed to Les Invalides - to the army museum, where the highlight for them (apart from guns and cannons) was Napolean's tomb. I haven't got photos from them yet, but will post them when I can.

Emily, Alice and I had a lovely day that didn't involve any guns, but a lot of walking.  It was a miserable day for weather - really windy and raining hard in squalls, but we braved it by starting at Saint Chappelle - originally the royal chapel, built by St Louis to house the relics of the Passion of Christ. It was a stunningly beautiful chapel - stained glass walls around the perimeter of the building.  It was so beautiful that after Emily had taken a lot of photos she started looking at the gift shop items and I asked her if we could shop at the end. She looked really confused as she hadn't realised that we'd only looked at the lower level of the chapel - where the royal staff were allowed to worship, and we hadn't been to the actual chapel yet (only used by kings, cardinals and close family)!!

Next stop was taking Pont Des Arts over the Seine - a romantic bridge of Paris, covered in "love padlocks".  The idea is that couples in love place a lock with their names on (many are engraved with names and dates) and they then throw the keys into the river as a sign of their everlasting love.  A couple of days ago we saw a bride and groom placing their padlock and throwing the keys (though they weren't Parisian, but had definite British accents!). It wasn't completely romantic today as it was so wet and cold, but we took photos anyway!

These gates could be quite nice at St Leonard's St.

Palais de Versailles

After a beautiful Gregorian Mass at Notre Dame (with absolutely beautiful singing of hymns), all of us made our way to Versailles to see the Palace of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoniette.  
The Château de Versailles, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, is one of the most beautiful examples of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful.  
We have to say, while it was a absolutely beautiful, and the gardens were spectacular (particularly for their ridiculous size), it was also the most extravagant monument to one person, and it's easy to see why the French peasants revolted against their King.  It must have been infuriating for the peasants to see Marie Antoniette's "play village",  built to amuse her so she could pretend to be a peasant.
We had a lovely day going through the palace and then the gardens, having a picnic and watching the many fountains come to life - they still have their original pipes! 

After arriving home Emily and I went for a wander through the Marais District - across the bridge from where we're staying. We found a place to book for dinner and then had a wander through the shops. Em found a fabulous sequinned silk top at a vintage store and then we had an aperitif before the others joined us for a lovely meal (it's fun with Emily being 18 - we can go out for a nice drink together!).  Another great day!

I've had a few good ideas for redecorating our lounge room...

The kids think it would be quite fun to have some fountains in the back yard, and Em thinks there's nearly enough room to have a horse....

Looking at real estate in Paris

We found this nice little place after jumping off the Metro - Damian thinks it would make a nice little country retreat for us.  Someone called it Versailles but we could probably rename it to the Power Palace if we can get it for the right price.

Gregorian Mass in Notre Dame to start our Sunday

The Paris Metro

I forgot to mention our first time on the Paris Metro (subway) and the great success it was. As the only person with any experience on the train here, I was tour guide. We were just going from Notre Dame to Tour de Eiffel, so no train changes needed - we just had to point in the right direction. Damian and I took the kids downstairs, found the right line, the train arrived, and Damian (being a gentleman) helped a lady get her baby and stroller on the train. Joseph, Alice, Finbarr and I jumped on the train and turned around just in time to see the doors close with a panic-stricken Emily and Damian still on the platform!! With a bit of sign language through the glass door, we were able to arrange that we'd jump off at the next stop so we could find them again! It was all very easy as when their train pulled up they were in the same spot so we just jumped on, but it was a bit of a laugh to start the day.  

Amazing buskers on the bridge between our island and Notre Dame's - playing the violin and piano!!! A handy instrument for a busker!

3 expanded children after another patisserie OR it could have been the air vents in the footpath

Joseph flying around the flying fox!