La vita in quattro valigie

youngsters showing a bit more flexibility than the old bloke!

Just a quick post for those of you that I haven't managed to contact regarding a race that I'm competing in - Comrades in South Africa.

It is one of the world's most famous ultra-marathons, and along with the enormous challenge of trying to complete the event, I'm also raising funds for my favourite charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

More information on the race, including my training, can be found at:
http://comrades2013.travellerspoint.com/

If you would like to go straight to the donation page, please click here:
https://give.everydayhero.com/au/dan-happell

Many thanks, and all the best,

Dan
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It's not a bad life when you can have dinner in Venice, arrive in Vienna for breakfast, have lunch in Bratislava and finish off with dinner in Bergamo. This was how we spent our recent long weekend (yes, the school does have never-ending holidays).

The kids had been desperate to catch an overnight train; so after undertaking some financial investigation Dan discovered that the cheapest overnight train was from Venice to Vienna (the added plus was that it was operated by OBB Austria, not the locals!). Departing after school on Wednesday, we just made the Bologna/Venice train - fortunately arriving at 6pm. The weather was beautiful, and a far cry from the last time we were here with the grannies ('acqua alta' and 6 degree temperatures). A walk through the streets, pizza, beer for me (Dan not drinking due to training - such dedication) and a few photos later and we were ready to board the overnight train.

Venice

The kids were giddy with excitement and we soon settled into our little carriage. The beds were narrow and Dan and I were assigned to the top bunks - sleeping in missionary position was a must as one small roll could see one dropping over the edge. The children certainly slept better then us, but it was still a fun experience and waking up to breakfast in Vienna was great fun.

Overnight Train

Our accommodation was not available until 2pm, so leaving our bags we filled in the time with a morning coffee, a play in a local park, and walks through Vienna's pristine and beautiful streets (with the song 'Vienna' buzzing in our heads - see below). A visit to the Prater (amusement park) for rides and an excellent Wiener Schnitzel. A little rest after lunch, a clean-up and some free time for Dan, and we were then ready to search out a place for dinner (ending up in the charming pedestrian-only Spittelberggasse).

Vienna Day 1 - Amusement Park, Gardens & Dinner

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Feeling well-rested the following morning, we ventured out to see the Spanish horses undertake training in the Hofburg Palace. The Spanish Riding School is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses. The school puts on performances in classical dressage. However these performances are very expensive and booked out months in advance, so seeing the training is a cheaper option at 50 euro for the family. Overall this was a disappointing experience (no photos allowed) - even though we were in a beautiful arena the horses just trotted around and around, and the most exciting part for the kids was when the horse did a poo. Not sure if we had a dud day or dud horses. Refuelling with coffee and a biscuit we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and tranquility in the nearby Volksgarten.

Vienna Day 2 - Gardens and Hofburg Palace

We then boarded the local underground for a trip to the Schönbrunn Palace. This palace was the Habsburg dynasty's summer residence and the Hofburg palace was their principal winter residence. This palace is also surrounded by magnificent gardens, and contains the Tiergarten Schönbrunn (Vienna Zoo) - one of the oldest zoos in the world - and it is here where we spent lunch and the afternoon. One of the highlights was definitely the seal show, where one of the (biggest) sea lions leaps into the air to grab the fish, and splashes down wetting all the unsuspecting tourists below. Some of the children thought this was terrific fun as they were drenched in fishy water; a lovely cool shower on a 27 degree day. Dinner again alfresco, with a refreshing beer for me and lemonade for Dan.

Tiergarten Schönbrunn

Our time in Vienna ended too quickly, and we certainly could have had a few more days here to cover off many of the fabulous attractions. We completed the morning with a coffee and beautiful apple pastries before catching a train for Bratislava (still singing Oh Vienna). Our time in Bratislava was short but sweet, and lunch was the first port of call (spicy chicken, beef goulash, chicken schnitzel) in a beautiful street next to St Michael's Gate. After lunch we walked the streets of the old town, saw the magnificent Danube River, and climbed the hill to the Castle of Bratislava. Finishing our tour at the brand new Bratislava airport for our last (fortunately) Ryanair flight to Bergamo.

Bratislava

Bergamo for dinner and a half-day of exploration the following day. The weather was certainly cooler and rain dampened our spirits a bit. However, what a beautiful town. The town has two parts - citta bassa (lower town) and citta alta (upper town). The citta alta is the old town and you can reach the top by taking a Funicular which rattles up the rocky face. After exploring the town - which incorporates medieval, Renaissance and baroque architecture - we enjoyed a traditional dinner of mixed meats (rabbit, chicken, pork) and polenta. On Sunday we spent half a day once again exploring the old town, coffee and brioches, Piazza Vecchia, climbed the Torre del Campanone, and finally La Rocca (an old fortress with excellent views of the town). Topping off the day with a slice of Pizza we trundled back to catch the train home to Bologna.

All in all a fantastic quattro giorni.

Bergamo

Taking the punt that Easter would bring some better weather - at least to more southern climes - we booked a week on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Lisa suggested that perhaps we could party on with the young 'uns at neighbouring Ibiza, but I knocked that one on the head after she took three days to recover from a 40th birthday party in London!

A straightforward Ryanair flight (100 mins give or take) plonked us down at Palma de Mallorca Airport, and when we emerged from gate 87 (of 99), it reinforced just how significant tourism is to this Balearic island. As a comparison, Bologna Airport - servicing a population of 400,000 - only has 19 boarding gates. Anyway, expat taxi driver Adrian shuttled us across to the east coast of the island (55 kms), and dropped us at our resort Club Pollentia. It turned out to be a really nice, well-run establishment with excellent staff, and predominantly German and British guests. It has also gained a positive reputation amongst the (amateur) cycling fraternity, so every morning after breakfast there was a sea of lycra out the front as group after group of pretty fit 25-55 year olds set off for some serious peddling (this was slightly disconcerting as we headed back to the breakfast buffet for our second serve of pancakes).

LPH out the front of Club Pollentia (sporting the new haircut)

the common sight of (pretty fit) cyclists whizzing past the resort - Port de Pollenca in the background

The resort had a lovely pool out the back (that was freezing), but thankfully also a spa pool which was heated that the kids loved. It was here that we met a family from Northern Ireland who turned out to be good fun, and all five girls got on famously. They were travelling on the 'all inclusive' package, so Anthony kindly shouted drinks on a couple of days from 11:30am onwards!

pool party - clockwise: Nat, Megan, Gabi, Mir (Anna out of picture)

Mir and Gabi became good mates

Irish eyes are smiling! Anthony and Ann were entertaining company

Club Pollentia was located a few kilometres from Port de Pollenca (to the west) and Alcudia (to the east). We ventured into Port de Pollenca one evening for a stroll and dinner, and enjoyed the laid-back vibe. An Englishwoman at the resort mentioned that (Sir) Bradley Wiggins has an apartment in town, and uses it as a training base; seems to be an effective strategy with victory in last year's Tour De France. The conversation was interesting because it transpired that she had won a silver medal behind Kathy Watt at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

Port de Pollenca ... pre-dinner play

Port de Pollenca ... La Balada del Agua del Mar - a mouthful but worth tracking down

We had all planned to make a day trip to the capital Palma de Mallorca, but Gabi was a bit off-colour, so Nat and I jumped on the local bus and headed back west to take a peek. Outside of the centre Palma is a bit of a sprawling mess - a great shame given the lovely bay - but the centro has plenty of treats including the stunning Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma. After a couple of hours spent wandering and having lunch, we then caught another bus just out of town to see the Palma Aquarium, then reversed the journey to arrive back at the resort in time for dinner.

street theatre in Palma - this time the guitar playing puppet

Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma

no seals in sight, so Nat was lucky to get Sammy face-painted

whoever coined the phrase 'toothy grin' was right on the money!

that glass thick enough Nat?

posted this for the delicious irony ... no doubt it is a thriving practice

The last couple of days were relaxing affairs, with an evening visit to delightful Alcudia (as opposed to the soulless Port de Alcudia), and an afternoon spent at Cala de Sant Vicenc. CdSV - around 15 mins from Pollenca - is one of those beautiful little coves you occasionally stumble across in the Mediterranean, and subsequently dream of buying a seaside apartment and opening a gelateria or taverna ...

Plaza de la Constitucion in the Roman town of Alcudia

paella at last! Bistro 1909 didn't disappoint

Cala de Sant Vicenc ... slice of aquatic heaven

Lisa Penelope with sun and caffe = contentment

little wonder Rafa Nadal still calls Mallorca home

Whilst under no illusion that Mallorca would be as feral as any other popular Mediterranean coastal destination in July and August, it was lovely to experience it at a quieter time with some pleasant weather to boot.
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A weekend in Turin. Why? I can hear you ask. Industrial, congested, characterless, accurately lampooned in "The Italian Job" (the original movie that is). Right? Nope, wrong. Since the 2006 Winter Olympics, and more recently the 150th anniversary of Italia's unification in 2011, Turin, or Torino, has had a successful facelift, and is now a bella citta well worth a visit.

Whisking the kids out of school a bit early on Friday afternoon, we rushed to catch our favoured Italotreno, which got us there in a tick over 2 hours - pretty good for a 334 kilometre trip including two stops in Milano. Our hotel accommodation was right near Porta Susa station (a spanking new station gradually replacing Porta Nuova), so the sometimes precarious initial transfer in a new city was easy on this occasion. Unpacked the bags, and then a stroll into the centro for dinner. We (I) somehow conspired to muck-up the directions to the recommended pizzeria, but we ended up at another place in town which was pumping with locals, and served up some decent Napoli-style pizza.

Piazza San Carlo - the ever popular bubble man (tucked away on the left)

Piazza San Carlo - Nat got the nod to trial the latest bubble gadget!

the girls had a crack at the fencing exhibit (Italy has a strong tradition in this Olympic sport)

Saturday was a beautiful day weatherwise, and we took full advantage with a lot of walking and general sightseeing. Cappuccini and to-die-for pastries in the gorgeous Caffe Mulassano was the right start, and this fortified us for the fascinating, and extensive Museo Egizio - an amazing collection of Egyptian treasures unrivalled outside of Cairo so they say. After an unusual lunch of toasted waffles with prosciutto and cream cheese (a northern Piemonte specialty), we had a peek at Palazzo Reale and the Galleria Sabauda, which houses art collected by the Savoys; Torino's most historically important family. It was then down to the Po River via Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one of many incredibly impressive piazzas in this city. We eventually ended up in the sprawling Parco del Valentino, where the kids enjoyed a well deserved play.

Museo Egizio - impressive from go to whoa

Museo Egizio - a light of other days?

Museo Egizio - these three characters look strangely familiar ...

Why Pepino? Allegedly the first place (in 1937) to think of dipping ice cream on a stick into chocolate!

Sunday was (almost literally) the polar opposite on the weather front, so we scaled back our plans and decided to cover just two major sites. Mole Antonelliana is Turin's most recognisable symbol, and extends 85 metres up - a journey that can be covered in a groovy glass lift that goes right up the middle of the building. An even bigger highlight however was the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, which is located inside the tower. It gives you a comprehensive yet fun look into the history of cinema, and is very cleverly pieced together.

Mole Antonelliana - bit hard to get a proper perspective, but that is the lift ascending to the rooftop

Museo Nz del Cinema - ignore the hammy acting for a minute, and you might recognise some Alien props

Museo Nz del Cinema - a scary enough prop from an Italian sci fi flick I forget ...

We then scurried off to find a metro station as the weather deteriorated, and after a few twists & turns, ended up at the extensive Eataly supermarket. The slow food movement was started in Piemonte by some journalists that were dismayed by the encroachment of fast food into the Italian lifestyle. It didn't take long to gather momentum, and is now a very strong force for the promotion of locally grown produce, slow cooking, and slow eating! Eataly is a Turin supermarket that is closely affiliated with the movement, and supports local growers. It was an interesting place to visit - full of locals, and stacked to the gunnels with great produce. We had some enjoyable pasta for lunch, and then headed back to the hotel to pack for the train.

Eataly - dreary suburb on a dreary day, but worth the trip

Eataly - the regulation photo of the regulation glowing pomodori!

Eataly - gelati ... the third national passion after football and religion

Nat earns the final say by somehow managing to look larger than a car (fiat cinquecento?)

We all had a lovely couple of days in Torino, and Lisa and I thought it compared favourably with Bologna as a destination for people who might want to live in a non-touristic, but beautiful and significant city in Italy. And I didn't even get around to mentioning Juventus ...!
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Once again we chanced it with Ryanair for our trip to Seville. When the prices are cheap and it flies from Bologna the choice is semplice. However the lack of allocated seating slows down boarding, especially when the reluctant staff have to shuffle around even more reluctant passengers so children can (unfortunately!) sit with their parents.

We arrived in Seville at about 5pm and it was lovely to shrug off our coats, hats and gloves and enjoy the comparitively warm temperature of 14 degrees. It was (just) warm enough for us to sit outside for dinner on a roof top terrace overlooking the Guadalquivir river. We took our chances with the menu and somehow managed to order the right dishes despite our very limited Spanish.

dinner al fresco

The next morning was a late start and a café con leche in the local Plaza Duque de la Victoria (not as good as Italian coffee - probably due to the lack of fresh milk) had our tour guide taking us to our first sight.

tour guide and conversation in the plaza

A walk along the streets and we soon found our way to Seville Cathedral & La Giralda - the largest church in the world with an Islamic Minaret. After 500 years of Islamic culture Seville was reconquered by Christian forces, therefore much of Moorish culture can still be seen in the buildings. The Cathedral and La Giralda are stunning both from the inside and outside with a magnificent courtyard that adds to its beauty. It is easy to walk to the top of La Giralda because of the sloping floor, which was built this way so the muezzin could ride his horse to the top for the call to prayer.

La Giralda and Cathedral

After our climb to the top it was time for lunch and we found one of the restaurants that Pedro (our apartment owner) had recommended. At 2pm we still had to put our name on the wait list. However we were shortly seated at a table and enjoying a range of excellent tapas, the restaurant buzzing with locals and the lovely staff managing keeping people happy with quick service. At 3.30pm when we departed the queue was even longer then when we arrived! Late meals are definitely the trend in Seville.

tapas lunch

Feeling sluggish from all the food we slowly walked towards one of the University buildings (Fabrica Real de Tabacos - as the name suggests an old cigar factory immortalised in the opera Carmen) then on to Plaza de Espana. This plaza was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American Exposition. It is magnificent because it is almost completely covered in gorgeous glazed tiles depicting historic moments from the 40 regions of Spain. For Star Wars buffs it was used as a set in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The children loved playing here and in the Parque de Maria Luisa gardens nearby ... Gabi declaring that she loved Seville! I think the kids have been a bit deprived of greenery and parks in Bologna, plus the warmer weather certainly was a bonus. A walk back along the river and an ice-cream (not quite Italian standard) then a rest before dinner at 8pm. This time the taberna was just up the road from our Airbnb apartment. This Michelin star restaurant (Dos de Mayo) provided us with another wonderful dining experience, and when a family of four is fed for 35 euro we continue to thank our lucky travel stars.

Plaza de Espana

Dos de Mayo

The dry weather was not to last however and on Tuesday the rain was heavy. This resulted in a purchase of gumboots for the kids (I think I found the most expensive ones in Spain), however they proved to be invaluable over the next few days. Dan enjoyed some time off in the morning while the kids and I did some shopping. We then met up at Las Columnas, another brilliant tapas bar. The place had plenty of atmosphere and we managed to squeeze onto a tiny table. Our lack of Spanish was again a drawback, so Dan did the obvious thing and left it up to the waiter! After lunch we visited Real Alcazar; this amazing palace complex is a series of beautiful rooms, magnificent gardens and courtyards. The complex has many architectural influences but mostly it is the result of Pedro 1 (1350-69) who rebuilt it as a place of retreat for himself and his mistress.

Real Alcazar

Our final tour of the day was to La Maestranza; one of Spain’s most famous bull-fighting rings. The ring and the museum were interesting and gave an excellent insight into this controversial but important Spanish tradition. We all did feel very sorry for the poor old bulls however.

La Maestranza

Our plans for Wednesday were changed as a three-hour train ride to Granada (and back) with a 5am start was not so appealing. The shorter 45 minute trip on the fast train to Cordoba was the preferred option. Cordoba is a magnificent city set on a beautiful wide river with plenty of gardens. Our first visit was to La Mezquita (The Great Mosque). This amazing building has rows and rows of variegated columns and arches that are supposed to be like date palms. Unfortunately there is a massive cathedral placed in its centre constructed in the 16th century. According to the guide books Emperor Carlos deeply regretted his decision and it certainly is ugly compared to the beautiful flow of the columns.

Cordoba highlights

Other highlights of Cordoba included a walk through the narrow white-washed streets of the old Jewish neighbourhood (La Juderia). Lunch followed in a little courtyard where the children were serenaded by a Spanish guitarist, and then a stroll across the Rio Guadalquivir on a magnificent arched bridge with Roman foundations. However for the children the highlight was playing in an amazing children’s park set on the hilltop with over 30 pieces of play equipment ... a far cry from our sad and sorry park in Bologna.

During our final day and a half in Seville we managed to visit Museo de Bellas Artes, Casa de Pilotos, and take in a free show of flamenco dancing that started at 11pm - a bit late for some! Also an enjoyable walk through Barrio de Triana, a quarter once home to Seville’s gypsies that is well known for it beautiful ceramics. We topped off the day with lunch at Dos de Mayo ... this time I'm sure our lack of Spanish resulted in a plate of crumbed brains rather than crumbed fish ... best not to think too hard about it!

final Seville photos

We arrived home in Bologna to a foot of snow - what a contrast.

Bologna