It’s hard to decide what to do in 24 hours in this wonderful city.

Revisit the favourites : Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza Popolo, St Peters. So many to choose from. So little time.

Today we chose to have breakfast in Campo Di Fiori. We sat at a cafe right on the Piazza where the markets were set up.

The locals were out buying their fresh produce and wiry Italian men pushed trolleys laden with boxes of fruit and veg to the cafes. They all know each other and were calling out cheery buongiornos to each other as they worked.

The weather is glorious and we wondered if we should jump ship and stay in Rome.

After breakfast we headed off to Trevi in the hope the throwing a coin…… ‘right hand over left shoulder.’ Making  a wish to return (it has worked every time so far!)

We walked from Campo past the ancient site of Argentina ruins, a few quiet cobbled streets and there it was. Rome is as accessible as it is amazing.

We threw our coins made our wishes and returned to the hotel past the Pantheon.

We caught the train from St Pietro station instead of returning to the bustling Termini. For 9 euros  we had a 40 min train ride to the port of Civitavecchia.

It’s a more developed port than I expected. Our ship, the Royal Princess loomed large dwarfing other boats in port. Despite the number of passengers loading it was swift and efficient. You’re given an embarkation time,  to stagger it, and we were in our cabin 10 mins after arriving at the ship. Luggage followed swiftly.

Berti told me we wouldn’t notice the 3,000 + passengers, as it’s so big and I’m starting to think that’s true. Nothing seems crowded.

Our mini suite is great. Lots of room for our things as we unpacked for the 10 days. Our steward,  Keankai met us and delivered flowers, champagne, robes and our information kit. It’s looking good.
Excitement mounted as a knock at the door revealed Fabio Braccelli, the ships Head of Engineering ! He’s married to our niece Roberta ( Berti) and with them were their 2 daughters Cleo and Demi who, until Cleo started school, lived on the ship. Then Birthday girl Marg arrived with her eldest daughter Vashti , Jeremy and their 3 children. Son Kenrick was asleep after just arriving that morning from Austin Texas.

Lots of hugs then down to the serious business of finding lunch.

We all chose cabins on the Lido deck and as  the name suggests is where the pools are located. As well as various eating places and bars. It’s a great location with all the kids. Champagne in hand we toasted our good fortune at being together.

Then it was a nojito ! A no alcohol mojito. I’m pacing myself.

After the obligatory safety demo,  it was a big walk around the decks discovering the places of interest. By now Kenrick was awake wondering where the ‘hot girls’ were hiding. With a fairly high average age I don’t like his chances – though some of the female crew looked pretty excited as he passed by. All 6ft 7in  of him!

The lounges and the atrium are amazing spaces where you could lose yourself all day! And you get lots of walking just moving between venues.

We had a good first dinner in the Symphony restaurant and thought how lucky we were to be here together.

If you’ve been cruising tell me what you liked – or hated about it in the comments box.

Wifi is a little difficult- sorry there aren’t so many pictures.

We started with breakfast at The Cupping Room on Wellington St. When I first saw this sign I thought it was a massage place where they did cupping. 

Turns out they did a great breakfast. Avocado on sour dough is big here in HK. Perhaps all the young people are not able to afford houses because they all eat avocado 🥑! Like in Australia. 

Then we explored the streets of Central and made our way to Pier 7 for the Star ferry to cross the harbour. 

Navigation here looks difficult but everything is well signed. There are little blue sign everywhere guiding you around. Central has steep hill so long escalators are installed to get you up the hills without too much sweat! 

All the buildings seem to be connected with walkways so you don’t have to walk down in the uneven streets if you don’t want to – or it’s too hot or wet. 

I’ve never really stayed in Central before and really like it. Wellington St is a good halfway point up the hill between the Pier area and the busy Hollywood St shopping eating areas. 

We caught the ferry across what must be one of the busiest waterways in the world and this little ferry scoots back and forth all day and night. It’s clean and well organised (unlike their beaches!) and the deck hands are dressed in navy style uniforms. 

We made our way to the iconic Peninsula Hotel and decided on a drink in the lobby bar. Well much to Steve’s amusement- or perhaps horror – we were refused entry, as he was wearing sandals! Lovely leather ones, but open toes are not permitted. They do have their standards. 

Back across the windy harbour for lunch in the ICF mall at a cafe we’d found the other day. Then it was check-out time at the hotel. 

We took our bags to Hong Kong Airport express station, so conviently  located under the IFC shopping mall. You can check in your luggage and get boarding passes hours before your flight. Such a great idea. It seems you buy your airport express ticket or have an Octopus card to get entry to the check in area. We didn’t have either but managed to get in the exit gate without a problem. 

Now we were free to have the afternoon at Discovery Bay. Yves came with us on the ferry as he was heading to the airport for a 7pm flight. It’s about 25 mins on the ferry from Pier 3 to this suburb on Lantau Island which is then only a short bus ride onto the airport. 

Discovery Bay is a bit like a film set suburb for people not wanting to live in the hustle and bustle of HK. So you find expat couples with children make up the residents. 

We were visiting Zoe and her little boy Jack. Her mother is an old friend of Steves and we’ve know here since she was a baby. She married Kunal after meeting him in HK where they both had worked for a few years. Now they have a bub and like the change of lifestyle DB offer. Though Zoe did admit missing their friends and the nights out in HK. 

We enjoyed a walk along the beach front which looked beautiful but Zoe said she doesn’t ever swim there as it’s way too polluted! She’s in a ‘ clean up the harbour ‘ group but it’s efforts are the proverbial ‘ drop in the ocean’.

Dinner was at the DB Club which is on the beach and has tennis courts and pools and a restaurant. Very nice. 

Little 3 yr old Jack was full of chat and told us he’d ride us to the airport bus. Something he’s used to with all the relatives visiting from Australia and India. 

We’re used to HK airport but lucky for the lounge with its showers and bar! By midnight we were on the plane ready for sleep as we flew to Rome – via Helsinki. 

Yesterday was anything but relaxed so we owed ourselves a slow day.

Steve slept and slept. I woke as usual around 7 and pottered and wrote and edited photos then went walking around the Sunday streets. It’s much quieter in the morning – especially Sunday . We are staying in the Butterfly on Wellington St. It’s in the busier restaurant, shopping area. Not the big high-end shops. The interesting boutique shops. It’s off Pottinger St and down from Hollywood Rd.

It’s turned out to be a great find. We didn’t want the expense of the 4 Seasons where the others are staying. So I opted for this busier area and a boutique style hotel. We’re on the 21st floor a corner room,  large with a lounge and a big bathroom. It also has a Nespresso machine, an iPod and, best of all, a pocket wifi. This is a wifi about as big as a iPod ,that can be taken around with you and supplies wifi to your phone / iPad. It’s great as I haven’t had to look for free wifi when out. Great for messaging our group when seperated or for following maps or booking an uber.

Steve finally surfaced and we made our way out for coffee before catching up with the guys at the Four Seasons. Then it was shopping time. Scott and his new fiancé Yan took us out for a browse. Ben bought a beautiful cashmere jumper from a place on Hollywood Rd , then it was time for a beer. It’s hot thirsty work shopping so we stepped into The Globe around the corner. The streets are steep and there are lots of steps.

We then visited an old Police Station which has had a great conversion into an arty shopping precinct. There were lots of little shops along the building with artisans showing their wares. A really interesting place.

Check out the swimmers, Steve did not buy! And the bag I did buy!

We took a short break for cheesecake and gelato. Dan hit the keys. Fortunately they were fake!

The boys then decided they needed a massage to get the stiffness out of their bones. I decided a swim was in order so I took Dan’s room key and headed to the 4 Seasons as Fran Garr (Dans surname). I had a lovely tine at the pool and jacuzzi. And what a view.

The weather is very warm even though it looks cloudy. It’s more smoggy than overcast!

Steve came back relaxed and happy and we headed back to our hotel to prepare for dinner. I had to choose the restaurant  – tonight just the four of us. Chris and brother Ben have both gone, so Dan, Yves,  Steve and I went for an early dinner. This time they needed meat! So it was the Tango Argentinian. Yum. The best steaks ever.

After dinner  we wandered down the steep hills of Central and bid our swim friends Yves and Dan a big good bye. They leave tomorrow as do we. But. We don’t go till midnight so  we are  visiting Zoe and Kunal Dey ( our friend Jill’s daughter ) and their gorgeous little boy Jack. They live here but out at Discovery Bay. It’s a ferry ride away towards the airport. After living in Central HK they decided on a quieter place to live. We’re looking forward to catching up with them and discovering Discovery Bay.

After the BIG swim we made a quick return to our hotel for a shower & change. No time for rest.

Scott (Chris’ son) booked Inakata

We had a private dining room on the 101st floor. Amazing views amazing dinner.

Lots of Dom Perignon champagne and a never ending degustation.

Memorable.

We’d had a great first night with swim trek friends Chris, his brother Ben, Dan and Yves. Chris, from London, is always thinking up a swim they can do together.

Our dinner tonight hosted by Ben was in a great Japanese restaurant featuring meat! Lots of it to BBQ. I wish I’d kept the map of the cow showing the 6 parts of the cow we ate. It came to the table on a large tray in the order to be cooked on the small BBQ set into the table. Washed down with beer and sake it was a great night to catch-up.

The swim day started early. We had to leave by taxi at 8.30 to get to Stanley Beach where the swim began. Stanley is across the island past Repulse Bay and once was a fishing village. Now it’s gone ahead and on a Saturday morning the locals, mostly expats, were down at the beach windsurfing. The beach sadly is littered with plastic and other assorted rubbish.

The swimmers were assembling and it all looked fairly disorganised. For a 15 km swim there weren’t many safety measures. The boys met their paddlers and started stacking the canoe with the drinks and food they would need for the swim. Yves is very experienced at distance swimming. He’s done the Channel  so knows what he’s doing.

Kenny, Steve’s paddler, seemed to understand the importance of making Steve stop for food ( banana, lollies,water, gels ) every 30 mins.

Conditions looked bad. There was a very strong wind which they had to swim into. I was having my doubts and Steve was just a little nervous.

So I waved Goodbye and went off to explore Stanley, the markets, the new mall, bus to Repulse Bay before arriving at Deep Water Bay.

Map of the swim course. Full of rips , currents and wind!

They hoped to be about 5 hours but I thought with these conditions it might take longer.

I was right. After about 5 1/2 hrs Ben came in – but had been pulled out of the water earlier. He was so disappointed. Then in came Chris, Dan and Yves very P*#}# off as they said he wouldn’t make the time so had to stop. Meanwhile no Steve.

By 6 1/2 hrs I was worrying. Everyone was finishing. Young groups of swimmers had formed teams and were all high-fiving each other. Still no word on Steve.

The light was fading, the post-swim BBQ roaring, beer running out. I’m getting frantic by now. The prize giving started.  The race organisers said ‘ they thought they had found him’.

Finally 7 1/2/hrs later he swam in with Kenny who went above the call of duty and stayed firmly with him,  encouraging and feeding him.

He made it. The by now slightly inebriated crowd erupted into astonished applause and I started breathing.

A chair, a drink and he was fine!  Then the hard part … getting a taxi back into Central and a rush to  make dinner as we were now an hour late! Chris was hosting us to a great restaurant on floor 101 looking over the harbour. Then he was flying back to London!

Hello readers I hope you’re ready for a very different holiday experience.

This time I’m not swim trekking! Well Steve is but not me. I’m cruising.

We leave today for Hong Kong and a reunion of sorts with fellow swimmers and now friends Yves, Dan, Chris and his brother Ben. You have heard me talk about them before. (if not check out my blog stories on Tarifa, Morocco). We’ve swum with them in Sardinia – twice, Spain to Morocco and Croatia. Now its Hong Kong. A big 15 km swim.

Some say Steve is mad. That HK is not a great place for open water swimming. But when did Steve worry about things like dirty water, strange currents, long distances. They go in at Stanley and turn right, away from all the busy harbour traffic and then swim along for 15 km. I’ll wander around trying to stay cool and dry for about 5 hours!

Our friend Yves has bought the snacks they will consume along the way to give them energy. Yves knows what he’s talking about. He’s swum the ENGLISH Channel. Here’s the collection for the 5 swimmers!

So it’s 4 days in HK before we fly onto Rome for the family cruise.

It’s Steve’s sister Marg’s special 0 birthday and we are going on the beautiful Royal Princess with 3 of her 4 children and 5 of her 6 (almost 7) grandchildren. So it will be a lot of fun. We are fortunate to be sailing on Marg’s daughter Roberta’s  ( Berti) husband Fabio’s ship. The Royal Princess,  where he is the  chief engineer. So they know the ship well and we’ll be looked after so well.

So our first cruise. Will we enjoy it! It’s ten days long. So not too big to start with.

Have you been cruising? Is so please add a comment about your cruise experiences.

How often do you get to the end of your holiday and realise you haven’t done everything you wanted to do or see?

This time it hasn’t happened to us. We allowed 6 days in Budapest so we could enjoy everything and not feel rushed. After the swim trek last week in Croatia( if you haven’t read about it please go back on the blog. ) we wanted to relax and enjoy this lovely city.

After our very good dinner last night at Bock Bistro we started slowly and had coffee at the little coffee place next to our apartment.

This area has proved to be a really good place to stay. We like the area of Nyagassy St and the public transport options nearby.

This morning we walked to the markets. All the great European cities have their markets. Here they don’t seem to have more local markets like in France or Italy – they do have lots of little fruit shops around the streets.

The central market is housed in a large high ceiling hanger type building. Very grand from the outside and vast and spacious inside. The aisles are wide and the ground floor has lots of meat stalls with big fat Hungarian sausages hanging and cabinets displaying chicken, pork, veal but not much beef.

The fruit areas are bursting with colour. It’s summer berry season and they are everywhere.

Upstairs there are souvenir stalls with lots of embroidered peasant style blouses. Some very pretty.

Then there are the food stalls. Running the length of one side they are like food trucks with high bench tables. The food looks good so we decide to return after our visit to the National Museum which is nearby.

Once again the size of the Museum is impressive. We toured it starting with Hungary’s history which involved a lot of fighting! This country had others coming at them from all sides. It’s amazing they survived and have developed as strongly as they have done.

The rooms of the Museum are lovely, richly painted, domed ceilings in the central areas and guards who don’t seem to take any notice of visitors as they tap away on their mobile phones!

After a lovely casual market lunch we took the tram 6 and to Buda, across the city. We wanted to take a cog tram up the side of the hill overlooking Buda. Fascinating ride up a very steep hill. There is a carriage especially for bike riders with a rack to store bikes. It’s just so steep!

We got to the top and took a walk. There were lots of trees around so we walked through and found a small train offering a ride through the forest. What was special was that it was completely manned by children.

They were so cute in their little uniforms. There were six stops along the 50 min ride with passengers getting off and on and buying tickets.

They were saluted at each stop.

Such a great ride.

We made our way home to pack and head out to the waterpolo couresty of Rob’s friend Pietro who is captain of the Italian waterpolo team.

They were playing Aus. It was a good game but not the result Australia wanted. Though the Hungarians supported Aus. They don’t like Italy!

Locky Hollis in the Australian team. You may remember him for the Support Rob and Locky campaign. He played so well.

Not a bad way to spend our last hours in Budapest. Surrounded by cheering Hungarians.

And as this looks like being the last blog on this trip, it remains for Frannie’s editor to say what a fantastic observer and author she has become; and also what super swimmer – only a couple of years from “first strokes” to playing with the big kids. Well Done Frannie my travel buddy!