The Plan

So the plan is to see Bronte at Badminton, Sheldon at Eurovision, then Italian lakes, Milan, Verona, Venice, Florence and Rome. Back to the UK, and then Canterbury, Dover, Brighton, Havant, Salisbury, Bath and Oxford. A couple of nights in London then home

Popular posts from this blog

Day 8 - England - Heartbreak

Image
We rose bright and early to get to Badminton after hearing many horror stories about the traffic jams and parking. Fortunately the competitors pass allowed us to park really close to the action. I am sure that and our stupidly impractical yet fancy car made the officials think we were owners and more powerful than the plebs we actually are. We caught up with Bronte and gave Clifford a pep talk, then found our way to a great viewing spot. It was surprising not more people were there, but we soon realised most folk move between fences.  As an aside, Badminton food prices are the worst in the world. Someone tried to sell me a coffee for 6.50 POUNDS!! I snorted and walked away to a much cheaper, awful coffee for 4 pounds. A box of fish and chips was 15 pounds. We bought an ice cream for $8aud. It has put all other food shopping in perspective. Anyway, we bagged our great spot at the Vicarige V and played cards till the event started. It was a big, stiff course this year and one of the ...
Read more

Day 13 - Torino - Egypt and Flag Ears

Image
It was a busy Eurovision day with two shows, the family matineeand the live semi final, but we also had time to visit the Egyptian museum which was an excellent reminder that plundering lesser nations isn't just for the British. Torino has the biggest Egyptian museum outside of Egypt and while it is extensive, it is also a bit overwhelming too. We then quickly dashed go the arena for the family show. This is like dress rehersal for those not into Eurovision. Sheldon gave a pitch perfect yet meandering performance so room for improvement. Home again to get changed into our Aussie supporter gear and back to the arena. Met lots of Aussirs and others and had plenty of pictures taken, some by media so if you saw us, yay! Eurovision fans are the best, and we had some great chats, including a facinating comparison between French and Australian geopolitical influences post WW11, I kid you not. Sheldon was much more on point which was a relief and made it through to the final. I...
Read more

Day 11 - Torino - Ciao Italy!

Image
Today was mostly a travel day with a live Eurovision semi final thrown in just to add extra stress. Fortunately it all went pretty smoothly despite a late plane which I must say is due to Jo's excellent planning. We flew from Heathrow to Milan, then caught the fast train to Torino and walked with our wheeled bags to our Air bnb. We started at 5.30am and had to be at the venue for Eurovision at 8.30pm for a 9pm start so a very long day! Our apartment was great, very large, central and comfortable. We found it hard to adjust to restaurants not opening until 8pm and also found it hard to find places for lunch or even groceries at first, but that had a lot to do with the quiet area we were in, and our Eurovision commitments. After a small rest and change of clothes we caught the tram to Pala Alpitour, the Eurovision venue. We were a little concerned about the security but they were very efficient and we had time to buy some super expensive sandwiches for dinner. Our seats were great an...
Read more