Italy, Hong Kong & Home to Western Australia
The month of June 2004 - Spectacular!
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| World traveller Devon Clark... age 9 mos. |
 Wow,
this has been a great month.
I can now say I have circumnavigated the globe!
This month my Mom and Dad took me from Ireland to the mountains
of Italy! From there we went on to Hong Kong before finally arriving
home to Western Australia.
They tell it better than me, seeing as I can now only say baa bee.
(Baby). Read what they wrote below... enjoy....baa beee. |
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| Onward from Northern
Ireland |
We had a great time in Northern Ireland with my
family. We spent the last few days relaxing and with Mum, Dad, Catherine,
Paul, Rachel and Matthew mostly.
 It
was great. We had a BBQ on the last night and it was a lot of fun.
We actually left on my sister Catherine’s birthday (3rd of
June) and her wedding anniversary too!
Thanks everyone in Northern Ireland for your generosity, family
spirit and for your love. |
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Il Sentiero
A LONG NIGHTS JOURNEY INTO THE MOUNTAINS |
 Finding
this hideaway was not as easy as we anticipated... but we knew that
the universe would deliver a miraculous trip, all we had to do was
trust...
This is a story of how trust gets tested.
 TO
THE MOUNTAINS:
We landed in Rome after a great flight, and yet again many of our
co-passengers commented on how amazing Devon is at traveling.
Of course, he is such a contented little boy anyway – and
this flight was no exception...
Read the rest of our adventure to the mountains
here:
A LONG NIGHTS
JOURNEY INTO THE MOUNTAINS |
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| Life in the highlands
of Italy. |
 When
I said we were staying in the 'mountains of Italy' I honestly didn't
expect THIS!
I am sitting here writing this staring up at snow covered peaks
of mountains surrounding our hillside oasis which was aptly named,
'il Sentiero' or 'the Path'.
It was quite an adventure getting here, as you will have probably
seen from Tila's story above: A
LONG NIGHTS JOURNEY INTO THE MOUNTAINS, but now that we are
here... only one word will suffice: divine. |
 Looking
down towards the hill town of Fanano, and up towards the town of
Sestola, the house we are renting is ideally positioned.
((The little pink house in the bottom, right corner of the photo
is where we stayed. Check out the MAP
of Italy HERE. Il Sentiero is located half way between Florence
and Bologna, and a little towards Piza.))
I am both amazed that people live here, given the fact that it's
the middle of the mountains, and not surprised, given the fact that
it's in the middle of the mountains!
It's mid June and the weather is mostly sunny and warm, the evenings
quite cool, clear and bright. |
The Italians are a friendly bunch; outgoing and
always willing to help.
 I
expected this adventure to be more difficult than it has turned
out to be.
Why? Well, I figured the language would be a barrier.
This is not the first time we've visited a country that doesn't
speak English, however I read in the guidebooks that English isn't
as widely spoken in Italy. ((At least
not as commonly as it would be in the 'asian' countries of south
east asia.)). |
And the books were correct!
 I,
however, was not. Language was not a barrier.
Italian is not difficult to understand. It was easy to get the
gist of what the Italians were saying.
It could be the pointing, the gestures, or the fact that many of
the words we use in English share the same root. |
 But
after a week here I find the language only makes the adventure more
fun!
We've already picked up quite a few words including fromage (cheese),
pane (bread), caldo (hot), aqua minerale (still water), gelati (ice
cream), latte (milk), grazie (thanks), piazza (square), bellisimo
(beautiful), bambino (baby boy) and heaps more now that I think
about it. |
 The
nicest thing about the towns is the gelati. I always have been an
ice-cream fan, but the Italian gelati takes the prize.
It's softer than American, British or Australian ice-cream (which
means you have to eat it quicker), and much, much more flavourful.
My favourite is bacio (back-i-o) which I think is hazelnut. Devon
likes it too (as you can see above) Yummy! |
 The
second nicest thing about the towns is a visit to the fromaggeria
(cheese shop). The cheeses here are the best I've ever tasted.
The sharp cheeses are by far the nicest in the world.
Note to Coach: Dad, you'd love it!
The pecorino is fantastic and a lot less expensive than in the USA.
!
Note to everyone else: Pecorino
is a normal cheese, very strong, IT IS NOT made from the milk squeezed
out of a chicken, so don't believe it if Coach tells you so! |
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| 10 Days in the Mountains
of Italy |
The countryside and hill towns surrounding Il Sentiero were fun
to explore. View our photos of Sestola, Fanano and the Mont Cimone
region.
We spent our time adventuring when we were not visiting the major
sites of Bologna, Florence and the extraordinary Venice (see below).
10
days in the mountain-towns of Northern Italy |
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| Venice, Venice,
Venezia !!! |
 It
is unbelievable.
Amazing, fantastic, charming and delightful, Venice truly is a
unique city.
We took HUNDREDS of photographs, and many of them are displayed
on a photo page.
This page may take a minute to load as there are LOTS of pictures.
Enjoy.
Venice
- a Unique and Marvelous City |
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| The Bologna Adventure |
 Now
THIS was an adventure!
Bologna.
Gelati, street-parties, and thunder storms.
Two towers and a cathedral. Worth seeing? See for yourself, but
the story ends with a rainbow...
Bologna, city of
Delight.
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| Fiery in Firenze. |
What do we think of the Art capital of Italy?
It was puzzling experience.
Puzzling...
Contrary to popular opinion we wouldn't rate this picturesque city.
Why? Well, read for yourself...
Fiery in Firenze |
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| Our Roman Holiday |
 Well,
we made it to ROME.
One whole day in the car got us into the city, unpacked, and ready
to see the sights.
What first?
The Spanish Steps, of course. . . a fine time to come here, early
in the morning. |
Then on to the centre of Catholic Life, and home
of the one and only pope (except for the hundred or so previous
popes), The Vatican.
 The
view, as you can see, the view from the top of St. Peter's is indeed
spectacular.
Monumental. |
 It
is the same in the inside too!
See our photographs of the four days in Rome and our adventures
here:
Our Roman Holiday
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Yes, Devon's sleeping. At the top of St. Peter's, he's asleep. |
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 We
had a lot of family fun time on the gardens overlooking the colloseum |
 Rome
really is a beautiful place steeped in history. |
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| HONG KONG |
 Made
it to China.
Hong Kong, to be exact.
And as amazing as I expected.
See our journey
through the streets and restaurants of Hong Kong here. |
 See
a map of Hong Kong here. |
My favourite photograph. |
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