Haere ra Hong Kong

Wednesday 25th June 2014

Blog post by the mother

Well our last day of packing up and moving on has arrived.  We did the final 're-pack' this morning (much to the kids relief), a last flurry of lolly shopping and then headed off to the downtown airport  check in the Hong Kong train station.  The kids are all well used to negotiating stairs, streets, escalators and elevators with their suitcases now.  They really are quite incredible.

 After checking in for our flight and offloading our luggage we went off on the Star Ferry over to Tsim Sha Tsui. This was a bit of a change from our original plan of going out to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha but, as fate would have it, the cable car up to the monastery was closed for maintenance. At least we found out before we went all the way out there.
I love the Star Ferry - such a stately and sedate way to see Hong Kong. Worth every one of the 37 cents we paid for the trip.

 The rain clouds were looming over Tsim Sha Tsui but we did manage to walk along the Avenue of Stars and find Jackie Chan's handprint and also his statue.

 After our Star Ferry excursion it was back to our favourite Overseas Dragon for lunch and then we caught the Airport Express Train out to the airport.  Because we felt that we hadn't quite done Hong Kong shopping justice we decided to catch a local bus from the airport to a nearby outlet store mall,  The father scooped up a pair of new running shoes but that was pretty much all we had time for before we had to head back to the airport to go through security before boarding.  No worries about Mr 11's Doc Marten's this time - he got to keep them on! A few last minute Duty Free purchases and then through to the boarding gate for a slightly delayed departure.  New Zealand here we come!

Shopping and a trip up the Peak

Tuesday 24th June 2014

Blog post by the mother

Mission for the day - shopping!  We have not done a lot of shopping on this trip for both budgetary and luggage reasons.  We have been saying that we will wait until we get to Hong Kong and now we are here with no more reasons not to shop.  We set off in the morning with a list of places that were recommended for budget shoppers.Our first stop was Harbour City over in Tsim Sha Tsui. 
Suffice to say that Harbour City is HUGE!!  The father managed to purchase a new suit and we picked up a few bits and pieces for people having birthdays.  As always, we managed to spend far more time than was necessary in a bookshop and took time out for a long lunch.  By 3pm we were all shopped out and shattered.  Yes, we are shopping light weights! Back to the apartment we went on the MTR to unload our purchases and then head out again for the evening.

Our great plan was to catch the Peak Tram up to the top, enjoy the view and then maybe head back down to the harbour and go out on the Star Ferry to watch the nightly light show.  An hour in line for the tram soon put paid to that idea.  Contrary to what the photo might lead you to believe the tram terminus was jam packed with people.  It was so incredibly humid and crowded that we had to send the father off on an emergency fizzy drink purchasing trip while we waited in line - I was concerned that I was going to have children starting to faint from the heat and the crowds.

After a bit of a bun fight to make it onto the tram we finally secured seats for everyone and away we went.  The tram is the steepest funicular railway in the world and the views on the way up are incredible.

The views from the top are also incredible. We decided to stay up and watch the light show from the observation deck.  Unfortunately there were no fireworks but it was still pretty amazing seeing the city light up below us with all the neon lights.

By this time it was nearly 8.30pm so we succumbed to a dodgy dinner at McD's and then went to get the tram back down to Central.  The line to go down was almost as long as to come up - thank goodness the rain held off while we were queuing! When we got back down to Central we decided to catch one of the 'Ding Ding' trams back to the apartment.  The ride was great fun and Miss 9 thought the trams looked a bit like the Knight Bus from Harry Potter.

Humid Hong Kong

Monday 23rd June 2014

Blog post by the mother

So this is it, the beginning of the end of the grand adventure (for now at least).  The flight to Hong Kong on Cathay was ... fine. Nothing amazing and definitely less comfy seats than Air NZ.  Miss 9 wailed and complained "I can't sleep on these stupid planes!", the father and I listened, reflected her feelings, cajoled, threatened and finally snapped that she could stay awake all night if she wanted to.  Miss 9 stayed awake for almost the entire flight and watched way too many movies - but was not sick (one bonus).
Suffice to say that by the time we arrived in Hong Kong at 6.30 in the morning we were all rather frazzled and immediately hit by the stifling humidity.  The kids managed to make it out to the van for the one hour drive into the city and then all passed out.

On arrival at our sweet little apartment the kidlets made it up the lift to the 14th floor, claimed their beds and then sleep took over again.

The father and I allowed ourselves one hour of shut eye and then tried to get up and get moving before we all slept the day away.  The kids took some coercing to wake up and get moving but around lunchtime we did manage to get them all out of the apartment and out onto the streets.

This is the view from our bedroom down to the busy streets of Sheung Wan below.  What you cannot see from the photo is the incredible humidity and the range of smells and sounds that are so different to what we have become used to in Europe.  We dragged the somewhat reluctant children out amongst it all and, after a bit of walking, they started to perk up a bit.  We went to visit an ancient temple dedicated to scholarship (should have lit some incense and prayed for Mr 14's upcoming exams!) and then went up the mid-town escalators to the very top.  There were some protests that I made them go all the way up - but what's the point of only going to half way?!

A stop for gelato on the way back down helped to revive everyone for a little while at least.  Not quite the same as Italian gelato but it did the trick.  At the bottom of the escalators we went into the IFC Mall to enjoy their aircon and get a view out over the harbour. There was plenty to look at but most of the shops were out of our price range - think Armani and Prada.
Went to buy our Hong Kong Octopus cards for public transport and had a very late lunch at Overseas Dragon.  The father loves it when we can find somewhere to eat that is full of locals rather than tourists and Overseas Dragon fit the bill perfectly.  Once we worked out the ordering system it was all very straightforward.  No frills, minimal service but great food at very reasonable prices.  The dumplings and noodle soup are highly recommended!

Home on the MTR, a quick visit to the supermarket to stock up for breakfast and then time for some homework - how much work actually got done is very questionable at this point!

Dragged the children away from their technology and headed off to find some dinner.  Hilariously right downstairs from our apartment we have Monsieur Chatte - a French bakery and deli. Tempting though it was, we bypassed M. Chatte and went to another local hangout for dinner.  It was all a bit odd - starting with the lady who took our orders who was wearing what looked like a 1960's airhostess uniform complete with woollen hat.  Moral of the story is that it is better to eat the local specialities than the local version of a European dish because things often get lost in translation.

A rather full on day to begin our Hong Kong adventure but we will all sleep well tonight!

Hong Kong here we come!

Sunday 22nd June 2014

Blog post by the mother

Apologies for the lack of pictures today.  There really weren't a lot of great photo moments.  I could of course have taken photos of the madness that is the family all trying to get packed and cleaned up ready to leave our lovely Rome apartment - but I just didn't have time!

Joseph, our lovely driver from RomeCabs arrived in good time and was a wonderful source of information on the drive to the airport.  For instance, I now know why all the monuments in Rome are covered in scaffolding and are being renovated/cleaned.  Apparently the Italian government has passed legislation allowing private companies to sponsor the restoration of famous Italian monuments.  In return for an injection of cash the companies have the image rights of their sponsored monument for a set number of years but no advertising on the monument itself.  Tod's (an Italian shoe company) are paying 25 million euros to restore the Coliseum and Fendi  are sponsoring a 2.2 million euro restoration of the Trevi Fountain. Very interesting!

Arrived at the airport with plenty of time before our flight so the father went shopping for an Italian tie (apparently his sock collection is now complete).  Our flight to Hong Kong departed at 12.30pm - see you in 11 hours!

Castel Sant'Angelo

Saturday 21st June 2014

Another blog post by the mother

A slow start this morning following our late night last night.  We made our way to the Piazza San Pietro and joined Nana and Grandad and a very long queue of others to visit St Peters basilica. The queue did move relatively quickly but we still had a bit of time to chat and do a bit of people watching.  Interesting things spotted in the square - sneaky queue jumpers "Oh, is there a queue?", nuns from at least ten different orders, lots of young priests - not something we see a lot of in NZ these days.

 The Swiss Guard are doing their usual sterling job of guarding Papa Francesco and trying to look dashing in their court jester uniforms.

 Inside the basilica was very ornate and also very crowded. What did make our visit special however was that mass was being celebrated so it was nice to see the basilica being used for it's true purpose. Only one missing person today - Grandad - who we managed to find without too much difficulty. From St Peters we walked down (via a gelato shop of course) to the Castel Sant'Angelo which has been the traditional bolt hole for the Pope if trouble has arisen.

 It was wonderful to escape the heat inside the cool heart of the castle.  We made our way up the ramps to the top of the castle where there is a statue of the Archangel Michael.  Apparently in 590 AD the angel appeared at the top of the castle signalling the end of a plague epidemic and thus the castle got its name.

 The views from the top of the castle are fantastic and you can see right around central Rome.

 Nana and Grandad were keen to do some more sightseeing after the Castle but the grandchildren were keen on lunch and a rest.  Nana and Grandad set off for a grand walking tour of Rome while we went to catch the bus home.  We ended up at the same bus stop as the previous evening and  history then repeated itself.  We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited ... Finally after an hour or false promises by the electronic bus arrivals board the bus turned up.  By this time everyone was hot, fed up and totally ready for another gelato.

 We took so long to get back to the apartment that we had barely eaten a late lunch before Nana and Grandad arrived at 5.30pm to out to dinner.  We decided to walk up the Janiculum Hill before dinner and see the botanical gardens.  Well, we didn't manage to see much of the gardens but we did find the Acqua Paolo Fountain which we now know is a favourite backdrop for Roman newlywed's wedding photos.  In the time we spent up at the fountain we saw five different wedding parties.  The girls were in heaven and I was pretty happy too - I do love a good wedding!

Apart from all the bridal parties there were also some pretty amazing views out over Rome.

 Walking back down the hill we gave Nana and Grandad a brief tour of Trastevere including a visit to the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.  Evening mass had just begun when we wlaked in and we were treated to beautiful singing and the opportunity to see the basilica being used as a place of worship rather than just as a tourist spot.
The kids insisted that we take Nana and Grandad to Ivo's for pizza for dinner.  It was a lot busier tonight but the pizza was still delicious.  I'm not sure that our homemade pizzas are ever going to make the grade again once we get home!   The father finally got to have his long awaited Tiramisu for dessert tonight - fortunately Mr 14 helped him out with it as it was enormous.

 

We walked Nana and Grandad back out to the main road and then said our good-byes before they headed back to their hotel.  It has been lovely to have been able to share this time with them in Rome.
Up early again tomorrow to pack before we head off to the airport and our flight to Hong Kong.

Nana and Grandad arrive!

Friday 20th June 2014

Blog post by the mother (albeit a week or so in arrears)

The arrival of the grandparents in Rome this afternoon has been much anticipated.  In order to stop the children asking every five minutes "When are we going to see Nana and Grandad?", we thought we would keep them busy sightseeing for the morning. Across the muddy old Tiber we went and caught the number 8 tram up to the Capitoline Hill. 

View from the Ponte Garibaldi looking towards the Vatican city.

At the tram terminus is the incredible monument to Victor Emmanuel II constructed to celebrate the unity of Italy.

Tucked down a side street to the right of the monument is the oldest surviving apartment block in Rome.  We had some great conversations about what it must have been like to have lived in Ancient Rome and how different it would have been to the current day.

The chapel in the old apartment building.

Miss 7 and Miss 9 were particularly taken with the cordonata (wide stairs) that Michelangelo designed so that horses could be riden up them to the piazza.  From the Capitoline museums there were also great views down onto the Forum so we could see what we had missed out on due to the strike. 

After a brief stop to do some clothes shopping for Mr 14 we caught the bus to the Spanish Steps.  Unfortunately the church at the top of the steps is completely covered in scaffolding so we couldn't appreciate the beauty of the exterior.
What we did discover at the top of the steps however were several artists who draw caricatures and portraits.  Before we left NZ Miss 9 had a wishlist of things to do in Europe which included having her portrait drawn in Paris.  We didn't manage to find any portrait artists in Paris so Rome seemed like a good second option. We found a delightful Italian man named Augusto who drew a gorgeous portrait of Miss 9.  She is absolutely thrilled with it.

We walked down the steps (note the carefully positioned photo to avoid all the scaffolding in the background!) and then broke our McDonalds rule again.  To be fair, this time we were in need of their facilities and the lure of their air conditioning and 1 euro milkshakes proved to be too much for us!

After our McD's recharge we headed off in search of the Trevi Fountain.  Would you believe it!  Again with the scaffolding!!  I seriously think that the Italians should consider staggering the work on their monuments so that not every one is covered in scaffolding at the same time.  We still threw our coins into the empty fountain - I don't think we hit any of the workers - so according to legend we should now all return to Rome again in the future.

On the way to see the Pantheon Miss 7 spotted a toyshop full of wooden toys and couldn't resist the Pinocchio photo op'.

Hooray!  The Pantheon was not covered in scaffolding and we really enjoyed looking at this almost 2000 year old building.

 We were all fascinated by the opening or 'oculus' in the centre of the dome .  The oculus is open and the girls were particularly concerned about what happens to the inside of the Pantheon when it rains.

By this point we were all ready for a rest so it was back on the bus and the tram to the apartment.  After a quick dinner at the apartment we got changed and then headed off to the Vatican Museums to meet Nana and Chugchug.  We were all very happy to meet up and catch up on each others adventures. We had tickets for the evening session at the Vatican Museums from 7pm onwards which made for a lot less people and also less heat than during the day. The kids all had a special treasure hunt audio tour which they used to find specific pieces of art as we walked through the museums.  I think their version of the tour was possibly a lot more interesting than the adult version.

With Nana and Grandad at the start of the Vatican Museum tour

We had one slight mishap in the museum when Mr 11 got separated from the rest of the group.  It seems he thought we were all in front of him and so he just kept going through the galleries and eventually through the Sistine chapel in an effort to find us.  He completed the whole tour in just under 15 minutes.  While he was doing his solo speed tour the rest of us were backtracking, checking bathrooms and starting to have a mild panic.  The guards were very helpful once I was able to get them to understand that I had lost one of my bambini - initially they couldn't work out why I was worried when I clearly still had three bambini with me.  Long story short, Mr 11 eventually found his way back to the group much to his relief and the relief of everyone else.  Needless to say, he stayed pretty close for the rest of the evening.
I enjoyed seeing the Sistine Chapel much more this time round as there were relatively few people and there was plenty of time and space to stop and really enjoy Michelangelo's work.  The kids all enjoyed regaling us with facts from their audio tour about Michelangelo's 'Last Judgement' and finding and pointing out lots of little details from the painting.

The Tooth Fairy - or so we told the girls!

St Peters by night

When we got out of the museums at 10pm we were all in need of gelato so we joined the queue at a place which Nana said had been busy all day.  You know it's a good sign when you are surrounded by locals and not other tourists and the gelato did not disappoint.
Nana and Grandad headed back to their hotel and we went to catch a bus to take us home along the river.  Forty-five minutes later we were still waiting for the bus and trying to work out how to ask for a maxi-taxi in Italian.  Just as we were about to give up entirely the bus arrived and we crammed onto it along with half of Rome.  Finally made it home and had the kids in bed by midnight - it will be a slow start tomorrow morning! 

The Coliseum and other fabulous things

Thursday 19th June 2014

Blog post by the mother

A very warm day in Rome but the sun is shining and there are no thunderstorms - hurrah!  Caught the bus from Trastevere to the Coliseum this morning.  The cobbled roads in Rome make for rather bone rattling bus rides but they sure beat walking in the heat. 
We had another 'wow' moment when the kids first saw the Coliseum up close and personal.  Although to be fair the 'wow' could also have been at the sight of the tour buses lined up and the huge throng of people waiting to get in - at least a one hour wait in the queue.

Fortunately we had pre-booked our tickets online and that meant that we trotted happily to the front of the line and made our way inside. Although there is a lot of restoration work currently taking place the Coliseum is still an amazing place to visit. 

The girls were enthralled by all the gory details of the gladiators and animals that were part of the Coliseum's history.  They were particularly concerned about what happened to the children of the Christian's who were thrown to the lions - were they thrown to the lions too?  Our explanation that the children probably went to work as slaves was not met with any great sense of belief.  In order to set their own minds at rest the girls came up with a great scenario where the children would all hide in the cages meant for the beasts and then jump out and surprise the gladiators and the emperor. 
After spending quite a while in the Coliseum we went across to the Palatine Hill to visit the Forum.  On the way we spotted a Roman maiden who clearly is not enthralled with her job - or perhaps just had a late night?

Would you believe it?!  When we got across to the Forum there was a tiny sign taped to the closed gates - "Closed for the strike".  We walked up to the church at the top of the hill and in the end decided that enough was enough and headed home for a late afternoon siesta.  We had dinner at home and then went out to wander the Trastevere neighbourhood in the evening. 
Our local church 'St Maria de Trastevere' is one of the oldest churches in Rome. It is rather unassuming from the outside but on the inside is incredibly beautiful with gold mosaics from the 12th century.  Apparently Papa Francesco has been known to celebrate mass in the church - sadly not while we were there.

Part of our wandering also took us in search of a couple of local English language bookshops.  One had bargains and the other had a delightful English owner who gave us tips on which restaurants to avoid and also gave Mr 14 a discount off the book he purchased.