Arrivederci Roma

Rome will be remembered by all of us for being hot and sticky, the kids loved the apartment but probably hated being dragged around all the ruins. Highlights for me was a morning run to the Spanish steps while the kids were asleep. Here are some photos and below some input from the rest of the family.

Steve looking 'cool' at the Colloseum 

Bobby lying in an old Roman gutter 

What Bobby thought of the long queue for the climb to the top

 of the big dome at the vatican 

Fountain in St Peter's Square 

The Trevi Fountain

Bobby says I didn't like the Pope's house and the climb to the top of the dome was scary. But at least I did it, Daddy was too scared to even go up. I liked Colleseum but too hot and too much walking around. I liked the open top bus that we went around Rome on. The Trevi fountain was favourite especially as the Police blew their whistle at me when I climbed on the rocks!

Sarah loved the Trevi fountain, it totally took my breath away as we walked down an unassuming back street which led to it, how can something so beautiful be tucked away like that!! amazing, made me well up.  I would like to come back and buy shoes and nip about Rome on a bicycle. 

Amber says I hated the trevi fountain, you weren't allowed to swim or put your feet in!There was this man who got in the fountain and started shouting into a loud haler in Italian so we couldn't understand him at all, there were Caribinere police blowing whistles at him but they wouldn't go in the water to get him out.



Arrival in Rome

Arrived this Friday morning in Rome on the night sleeper from Milan. Casa Della Palma apartment is our home for a few days and is very nice with its own courtyard and would highly recommend to anyone visiting Rome.
Everyone was a bit sad on leaving Chamonix and the mountains, we had a fantastic stay there and could easily have stayed longer. The highlights of our stay were the train to Montenvers and the Mer de glace glacier, the public swimming pool which the kids loved best and just about everything in Chamonix, all very sporty.

Bob canoeing with a new friend at the Parc de Paradis, Le Praz.

Waiting to leave

more ice creams at the pool

views from the Montenvers cable car station over the Mer De Glace

Balancing at Parc de Paradis

lessons on glaciers

The train for Montenvers

So we left Chamonix Thursday morning and with a pleaseant ride through the mountains we arrived in Geneva. Here we whiled away a few hours swimming and sunning our selves at the Baines de Parquis before our train scheduled to leave for Milan that evening.
The Baines de Parquis is a small island in lake Geneva connected by a bridge to the left bank of the city and is overshadowed by l'jet, a 100m high flume of water. A local hangout when the weather is hot with clear fresh water swimming and beautiful mountain scenary, a godsend on a very hot day.

L'jet

Baines de Parquis, Geneva

It's 35° in Rome today.

Our stay in paris was cut shorter than expected, super organiser steve failed to check the train times. We thinking we had another day in Paris suddenly realised at 8pm on Saturday that our night train was leaving at 11pm that night. O dear, Anyway we managed a quick dinner and packed and out and plently of time for our train. Kids were totally unperturbed but we did miss out on the Tour de Eifel as it was out plan for Sunday.

After a sleeper train to St gervais and a short mountain train ride we arrivee in chamonix.

Take me back to london! Only joking but we hate dog poo but the croissants are very nice indeed.