The Italian Alps - Vale di Sole

A couple of years ago we spent a great week in Chamonix, France up in the alps. The weather was so good and not so hot, plus there was lots of outdoorsy things to do. So this trip we decided to find the Italian version of the Alps. We headed towards the Dolomites which are two separate ranges of peaks located in Northern Italy towards the Swiss Border from Verona. We scored some good chalet styled accommodation in some campground and luckily were in a nice valley. Vale di Sol is an alpine valley that is famous for mountain biking and skiing. Therefore there we lots of good trails for walking and running, a free train that went up and down the valley and a dedicated asphalt cycle path linking everything together. It was rather devoid of tourists; maybe we were a bit early.

We spent the first day on an adventure to Lago Tovel which is perched in a amphitheatric type valley surrounded by the Brenta Dolomites. The drove in was a bit traumatic, skinny and steep but the walk to the lake was easy and revealed the most spectacular view. We had lunch by the lake and dragged a sleeping Finn around the remainder of the lake for another half and hour.


The next day dawned with mint blue skies, so we went up to one of the skifields and up a chairlift to the snow to check out the view. Not everything was open, but we decided between the Pasole Tonale lift and the Peio Skifield. Both at the top of the Vale di Sole. Pasole Tonale would have been a bit more spectacular as it accesses a glacier at the top which is used for summer sking along the border with Switzerland. In any case Peio was pretty good and went up to 3000m so, a cold Finn could have a quick play in the snow. Chairlifts to any peak in Europe seem expensive, this was a pretty simple ride up two lifts for $19 Euro or $40 each.

Later in the week we did a long drive out of the valley to the city of Bolanzo which is the last big city in the Trento Valley before you hit the Austrain Border. We were trying to find the Mountaineering Museum in the Firmian Castle dedicated to Reinhold Messner. He became famous in the 1980's for being the first person to summit Everest without oxgyen and then went back a few years later to do it again solo. He is perhaps the only person to summit all 14 peaks over 8000m without using oxygen. Anyway we finally found the castle and museum, we could see it from the motorway but couldn't find the signposts within the labyrinth of on ramps and off ramps in the spaghetti junction. It was a very good museum and slightly different, it was a labyrinth of staircases, ramps and paths within the castle that was supposed to make you feel part of his journey. In any case it was a good was to spend the day and had a great cafe for lunch. Finn was a hit with the bus loads of tourists as I think we were the only English speaking people around.


We spent the last day driving lazily up and over the hill from the campground to the big ski resort town of Madonna di Campiglio. It was a bit of ghost town but would certainly hum in winter. About four sets of chairlifts leave from the town up into the hills. We decided to check out another lake which was perched above the town. There was a huge school group walking around the lake, which made us glad we were on holiday.

The hometown of Leonardo de Vinci

Vinci, is a very cute little town that was the birth place of Leonardo De Vinci. I think this was my favourite places to visit so far. This entire town is devoted the Italian master and most of his inventions. The museum was interesting and it was located in two parts, the second being situated in the castle tower. So, you could climb the tower then be rewarded with some of the most spectacular views of Tuscany. Then we stopped for a drink at cafe Leonardo which was right next door to the information centre. To be honest it barely needs an information post as the town is very well signposted and it is very little. Andrew and I have taught in schools that are bigger!.
Anyway it was a nice slice of Italian life without many tourists in sight. The view from the tower was really spectacular and a hidden gem among dozens of other tuscan villages. Funny that Vinci is not mentioned in the lonely planet.

Lucca - the tiny walled city

Well, what a stark contrast from yesterday. Lucca is a very pretty walled town with only a few tourists in sight. It was a bit closer to the accommodation and down the same motorway as yesterday.

We walked the 4 km along the tree lined wall around the city before venturing inside to check out the shops and find some lunch. We were not disappointed. We strolled through the narrow cobbled streets and looked at all of the quaint shops, we got a little disorientated and had to get out Lonely Planet to find our way back to the car, fortuitously we stumbled across a bakery just as Finn was falling to sleep. We bought some tasty morsels including some canolli's. I have wanted to try one of these Italian sweets ever since I saw them on the Cake Boss TV programme. A deep fried hard shell containing a chocolate mouse like filling, what could be wrong about that?! A really lovely day. Culinary high of the day - a spinach feta quiche/pie thing with short crust pastry, yum!

Hanging in Hong Kong

After three weeks of recovery, we booked a short week trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a reputation as being the big competing brother to Singapore so we thought we better go and check it out. Plus it is only a short and cheap 3 hour flight from Singapore on Jet Star.

As usual we scored a good last minute accommodation deal on http://www.wotif.com/ in a nice part of town. We stayed in Hong Kong Island in a area called Wen Chai. About two MTR stops from Central Hong Kong and the business district.

The first few days were a struggle with torrential monsoon rain, we didn't do much exploring. We did find a nice mall with a series of great restaurants which kept us occupied for the first few nights. We didn't manage to eat much local fare, but did try a ribs place, gastro pub and trendy Vietnamese place.

We did a few touristy things including Ocean Park and a trip on the Cable Car up to Victoria Peak. Ocean Park is a local version of Disneyland, but with a wildlife slant. We saw a few pandas inside big enclosures, a big aquarium with a good array of tropical fish and then rode on some of the rides. The park is perched on the end of a mountain, which juts out into the ocean. The rollercoasts are perched on the edge of the cliff which makes both of them a little more exciting.


The view from the Hong Kong waterfront is one of the most amazing urban vistas in the world. We are lucky to get two clear nights. On the Wednesday night we rode to the top of Victoria Peak, along with a few thousand Chinese tourists from the mainland. On Thursday night we caught a cab across the harbour to Kowloon and the tourist mecca. After a nice dinner in some burger place we caught the night light show spectacular.

View from Kowloon across the harbour to the Hong Kong skyline.

View from Victoria Peak down and across Hong Kong, towards mainland China.

Overall Hong Kong was a chaotic, steroid pumped version of Singapore. The main difference is that is feels like a city of the edge of booming China, with lots of wealth and luxury cars. The shops and transport all seemed pretty similar but the city is crammed onto the coast of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and it feels dominated by the skyscapers. Singapore has a nice and accessible waterfront which Hong Kong is currently building in the midst of a new reclamation project.

Hanging in Vietnam

We are on school holidays at the moment so enjoyed a quick trip to Vietnam last week. We found cheap air tickets with Tiger Air a few months ago so headed away with four other friends. We began with a few days immersed in the chaos of Ho Chi Minh City, whilst staying in a small guest house in the centre of town. Ho Chi Minh is a bustling place with around 7 million Vietnamese people and about the same number of scooters. With recommendations from our work colleagues, we found a few excellent places to eat. A French/Moroccan place, an alfresco barbecue restaurant and a one very vietnamese place with authentic local cuisine. The tourism side of the city was a bit disappointing, we visited the historic centre of town where a tank busted through the gates of the palace to reunite North and South Vietnam in the late 1970's. On the last morning we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels to the north which was a little dull.


We then moved on to a quaint place called Hoi An in central Vietnam, via a flight to Denang and then a 30 minute taxi ride south. The coastline from Denang to Hoi An is a long line of newly built resorts, Greg Norman golf courses and other foreign owned investments. It is a unique juxtaposition to see the poverty and traditional long houses on the opposite side of the road to the glam and manicured lawns of the resorts. Nevertheless we dived off the main road to the ancient town of Hoi An, which was once a trading village with French, Japanese and Chinese influences. The town is now a protected UNESCO site with little traffic and renovated buildings. We enjoyed lots of great food in different styles alongside the river (Cargo, Mango Mango), plenty of art galleries and the ubiquitous tailors.



We spent plenty of money on tailored clothes at about $20 a piece and struggled to bring it all back to Singapore. It was good to spend a substantial amount of time in one place. We managed to spend 6 days in Hoi An with friends which was a nice contrast to travelling every day from place to place. Will definitely be back to Vietnam at some time and try to do some of the northern parts, Halong Bay, Sapa and Hanoi.


The rest of our photos are here... http://picasaweb.google.com/ajmccarthynz/Vietnam2010

Reminiscing about summer holidays

We have been travelling heaps lately, think Rachel is on first name terms with the taxi drivers at the airport. Our summer holiday in Europe was still pretty amazing and a great break. Can't think of anything better than driving around, camping and eating far too much food. Here are some favourite pics of our June/July trip around France then the UK.

Exploring the walled city of St Malo on the northwestern coast of France. The city was destroyed by allied bombing in the Second World War but has been put back to its original form and style, piece by piece.The American war cemetery at Ohama Beach. A place that is famous for just one day in history, when the allies captured the beach on D Day and fought to break the German's hold on France.

Out walking in the French Alps with Mt Blanc forming a backdrop. Fairytale forest and majestic mountains.

The late evening summer sun playing on the buildings in central Edinburgh .

Rach at Euro Disney outside of Paris... who would have guessed?

Our honeymoon

We arrived back from Thailand late last night. It felt good coming home. Singapore really is our home now. Our time in Phuket was amazing. How lucky am I that I arrived home from a fieldtrip to Malaysia to be told that I am being whisked away to a beach in Phuket for an entire week!! Life is great!!! Love you Mr McCarthy!!


One thing that Andrew and I love doing is cooking so of course we had to take part in a Thai cooking class. We signed ourselves up for a day long cooking experience. We were picked up at our hotel early in the morning having no idea what to expect. We drove for over an hour in the mini bus with a couple from Estonia of all places. It was well worth the drive. The Thai cooking school was built on a private beach where we were going to be spending the day cooking on the beach front looking out to sea. This place was paradise. The best thing was that there were no other people. Where we were staying in Kata beach it is full of tourists everywhere people, people and more people. Heaps of Australians. The hillbilly type Aussies.


Andrew was very competitive while we were cooking he wanted his dishes to be the very best. This is of course win win for me. “Yes Andrew that looks and tastes fantastic I can’t wait until you cook it for us as home”. (see what I mean) To be totally truthful he was the best in the class, he really did make the best tomato lotus garnish. ( I can hire him out for all of your dinner parties) We made 6 different dishes finishing with sticky rice with fresh mango. Yum!!


It really was a relaxing break away we read books, walked lots, ate out for every meal, swam and we even visited Phi Phi Island on a day boat trip. All this for probably the same amount that we would have spent in Singapore. Travel around Asia is so very cheap, we are trying to do our bit of spending to help the recession. We really are counting our blessings at the moment. We are not taking anything for granted.


On the last day of our dream honeymoon (I called it that because we may never get around to having a ‘real’ honeymoon) I got a head cold that is making my nose run non stop. There is nothing worse that having a cold when it is 35 degrees out. If that is my payment for a great trip then that is cool with me. Thank again Andrew!!!!!!