Italy 5 Days - Day 3

Friday, 3 July 2026

Today was a highlight. The blue skies were back and we had a new orienteering area called Lago dei Caprioli which was only 33 minutes away according to Google. Only unfortunately it wasn't because the narrow road and limited parking created a gridlock situation so it took us more than an hour to get to a parking spot. Luckily we had allowed extra time so we just made it to our starts on time.  The terrain was steep and hard to move through (and interpret on the map) - Jon had a less good run, I made one big mistake but was otherwise ok and managed to make the top 10 for the first time, Jett bungled up some numbers and Zali was her usual clean self, both in body and navigationally.

 

The arena was a beautiful little lake surrounded by the steep hills we'd just run on, so it was lovely to relax a bit by the lake when we had finished running  (unfortunately we weren't allowed to swim). The drive back down to the valley was much quicker and we drove straight to the Mezzano train station where everyone but Zali hired bikes and we went for the loveliest ride up the bike trail up the valley to the castle of Ossana.  Paul, Dani and I hired e-bikes while Jon and Jett toughed it out on real bikes.  It was so pretty and super fun.  

 

 

While we did that, Zali took a small budget and went and bought us all gifts from the various souvineer and wood shops in Mezzano. I'm very happy with my christmas decoration bell :)

Afterwards we availed ourselves of Paul and Dani's washing machine and shower then drove to the event centre to pick up our event shirts (that we got for entering early), then straight back down to Mezzano to get pizza with Dani and Paul - which was delicous.  We finished the evening with some gelato then zipped up the 9 hairpin bends to get back to our place. 

 

Such a fun day (except for the parking bit!).  Tomorrow we finally have early starts which will hopefully make the parking a bit easier as we are back in the same place.

 

Italy 5 Days - Day 2

Friday, 3 July 2026

Back up at Passe Tonale but with an extra section of terrain on the map this time.  The starts were changed from the planned times to a punching start free-for-all as there was a storm forecast for 1.30pm. This was good for us as we would have been out in the middle of it otherwise.  Today the start was a fair hike up the hill - which when added to the already high altitude, was tough work!

 

As it was all of us but Jett made it back before it really started to rain. I had a better run but got my controls out of order and had to fix it up while Jon had a really good run and was 4th. We dropped Paul off on the way home and headed back up to our place to wash everything and watch the rain for the rest of the evening.

Italy 5 Days - Day 1

Friday, 3 July 2026

Our first orienteering day had us driving back down the hill, then back up the main valley (picking up Dani on the way) to Passe Tonale where we were orienteering high up in the mountains. The views were great but our orienteering skills were not. Jett was the best of us and was a solid 6th in his class.

 

Rome to Folgarida

Friday, 3 July 2026

This day was always going to be big.

 

We took an early bus to Rome Central Station, had a relaxing 3 hour train ride to Milan, smoothly cleared the train station without getting our stuff stolen (unlike an unfortunate Australian orienteer who lost his passport and laptop in a split second of distraction), jumped onto an airport bus to Bergamo (Milan's most inconvenient airport, but the airport we are flying to Dublin from in a few weeks time). At the airport we had our most stressful 40 minutes as we tried to negotiate with the car rental lady who was unhappy with the lack of an issue date on our licences.  Thankfully it ended up ok and our next stop was a shuttle to the rental cars, then a supermarket, then a 3 hour drive up and over a mountain pass then up again to our airbnb in a little ski town called Folgarida, high above the valley. 

 

 

 

Rome Wrap

Friday, 3 July 2026

 

Rome was incredible - the amazing history that is scattered everywhere in tumbledown blocks or semi restored columns and all the other sites where they are unearthing mosaic floors or old arches from behind construction fencing.  The streetscapes were really cool and public transport was frequent and easy.  But it was really hard to fully enjoy it in the heat - our apartment was our only respite as despite the 6 flights of stairs it had air conditioning and was just a short walk from the colosseum.  

 

Rome Day 2

Friday, 3 July 2026

With another 37 degree day on the cards, I got up even earlier to do a slightly longer early morning jog-hike through the city and up to the Borghaise park via the Spanish steps. My route took me past the Trevi Fountain again, which even at 6:15 am was very busy. Up at the park the views were great and of course the alleys and streetscapes were delightful. I would have taken a photo every few metres if I'd have time.

 

Trevi Fountain is reflected in the glass of this shoe shop 

 

Spanish Steps 

     

Jon and Jett did their own faster paced run and bumped into me just as I was heading out of the park which was nice, especially as I'd just had 5 minutes of getting confused trying to negotiate a very big intersection. 

Once home we had a quick turnaround before we needed to be at the Colosseam for our 20 minute Arena Floor visit which we'd booked exactly 1 month in advance when the tickets were released. 

It was pretty cool being inside the stadium - especially as we were the first group in for the day. 

After a quick break back at home (and to pickup the passports that were apparently crucial for our entry into many places) we went out again to see the Roman Forum, which by 9:30 was absolutely blisteringly hot.  Rome doesn't provide much shelter for tourists and I'm surprised we didn't see more people collapsing in the heat- it was intense.  It also felt a bit like Ikea, if Ikea took away the big arrows on the floor and replaced them with a tiny 'this is not an exit' signs so you just kept walking until you collapsed.

 

 

Back out the streets we climbed the bazillion steps to get up to the terrazza delle quadrighe which gave us some good shade and some great views of the city - we stayed there for a while looking at the views from 3 sides then made our way back home via the local supermarket (a 20 minute walk but once again really taxing in the heat). 

 

 

 

We gave ourselves a nice long lunch break before we took a bus to the panthenon - our prebooked ticket had us and everyone else with similar tickets queuing in the heat again while we waited to be let in. I know I've mentioned this a lot but it's really hard going in extreme heat.

 

 

 


Another bus home from the panthenon and Zali continued home to have the rest of her lunch for dinner while Jon, Jett and I ate at the same place as the night before. 

Rome Day 1 - part 2

Sunday, 28 June 2026

It's hard to really enjoy a city when it's over 35 degrees and every wait in the sun at the traffic lights results in a new wave of sweat dripping down your body.  Added to this was the need to be relatively covered for our visit to the Vatican and St Peters Basilica.   Being inside didn't provide us much relief although the occasional open window did provide some cross winds which also sent ancient hanging tapestries billowing and banging against the walls, sending century old dust clouds into the air.

Thankfully we have the air conditioned haven of our apartment to recover in - in 2019 in Florence we had similar temperatures but we were camping - which was quite a challenge.

Our afternoon activities today started with a walk to the metro then a 5 stop ride to the Vatican Museums, where we underwent the complicated process of gaining entry and finding our guide. (the only way to avoid long queues was to book a guide online months ago - a very good decision given the weather).

We don't normally take guided tours as they are more expensive and take longer but this was definitely worth it as our italian guide was very good and quite funny - and given the weather, knowing us, without a guide we would have shot through the museum and the Sistene Chapel without learning a thing. Instead we learnt a lot and could appreciate the spaces and the history behind some of the art and sculptures.

 

 

 

After the Vatican Museums we walked around to the hot hot queue to see St Peters Basilica - which was thankfully worth the 45 minute wait (and free to get in).

 

 

By the time we were heading home it was getting close to 6, but still hot - so after our 2 bus rides (the final one dropping us sastifyingly about 2 metres from our door), we rested and recovered for a while then went out for some pizza and pasta at one of the many nearby restaurants.  The prices here are surprisingly cheap both in the cafes and in the local supermarket.  

Rome Day 1 - part 1

Saturday, 27 June 2026

After some pizza from one of the local shops and pretty good nights sleep we all managed to be out the door by 6.30 am (25 degrees) for a loop around the major sites before they got busy and hot.  The bigs sites are pretty cool, but the allyways and small streets are even better.

 

 

 

 

 

We're now back at the apartment preparing for an afternoon trip to the Vatican Museums (which will be challenging in the 35 degree heat) 

 

Rome Day 0

Saturday, 27 June 2026

On our budget, there is no comfortable way to get from Melbourne to Rome so I guess China Eastern Airways via a 6 hour stopover in Shanghai is as good (or bad) a choice as any.

We can report that the Pudong Airport is very spacious, but very boring. Despite the lack of wifi we were able to watch most of the Socceroos final group match from a charmless sports bar so that was something. This is me on the floor next to the drinks that we didn't know whether  they cost $50 or $5 as we couldn't google the exchange rate. Turns out closer to the latter.

 

Our arrival in Rome at 7pm was spectacular for 2 reasons, firstly we were off the plane and in a taxi to our apartment in under an hour, and secondly because our 5th floor apartment is just down the road from the Colloseum which we can see if we lean out of the windows.  Thankfully it has air conditioning as it is HOT.

   

 

 

 

Moving out and moving in

Sunday, 1 March 2026

Last year Zali and Jett were both at Melbourne Uni and living in our shared Melbourne Apartment.   While this worked in the most part (and was by far the most cost effective option for us), it was a bit of a hassle for everyone.  If someone came to stay, the kids had to move into a room together, and no-one got the place to themselves. We did once move them out into an airbnb for a week so both bedrooms could be used by the other owners, but that was also a bit of a hassle as they had to almost completely move out and get the place back up to airbnb standard.

So this year we planned to move the kids out into their own apartment.  We had budgetted quite a lot to find something nearby and furnished, but after a tough weekend of inspecting and applying we discovered that only wanting a 9 month lease (as the kids would come home over summer), and not having any recent rental history, made us undesirable tennants.  And in a situation where there was a lot of competition at every livable place, we realised we weren't going to find anywhere.

However just as we steeled ourselves to breaking it to Paul and Dani that we would have to  have the kids stay in our apartment again, Zali and I did a tour of the fancy new build-to-rent building which was just opening up just a 5 minute walk away.  We were totally blown away by the facilities and apartments, the ony problem was the extra $75 above budget and unfurnished status (although it had all appliances).  The upside was that this building had apartments available and they were willing to rent to us, despite the short lease and lack of rental history.

So after working out that we could balance out the cost by reducing the total lease time (and move the kids back to our apartment before the end of the school year), we decided to apply and sure enough, they accepted us. Yay!

So this weekend we got the keys to the new place and to a GoGet van,  and set about rounding up furniture from everywhere.

Ikea shopping and loading the van.. 

 

We got a 'kitchen bundle' of just about everything we needed for $40 from Facebook Marketplace, plus a small couch from another person.  We sourced mattresses from the Salvos and everything else from Ikea or Kmart.  Today we finished putting the last few things together (for now) and the place looks great.  It has such good views that aside from practically being able to watch the F1 from their bedroom windows, they will also be able to see whenever people in the surrounding area put furniture out for free - so they will hopefully be able to snap up the last few things they need - including a coffee table, vacuum cleaner, and if they keep their eyes out, maybe even a tv. For now though it looks pretty good (and worlds away from my first Uni accomodation which had an outside toilet and a bedroom with no windows).

 

 

The kitchen and lounge area above, and Jett's room below.

 

Zali's room:

 

Favourite Places

Friday, 27 February 2026

This is my favourite part of my new local running route which I can only take first thing in the morning or just before the botannical gardens close as there is a rule prohibiting running in the gardens. Although to be fair, it would take a kind groundsperson to classify what I'm doing as 'running' - more like fast walk/slow shuffling...

 

Dad

Friday, 27 February 2026

I normally try to avoid any sad or serious stuff on here, so are some nice photos of dad:

 

 

 

 

Antartica 2025

Friday, 27 February 2026

Although I wasn't a participant (nor was Jett), it would be wrong to omit mum, Zali and Jon's amazing drip down to Antartica from this big blog recap I'm doing. I don't have any photos of mum unfortunately but a great time was had by all!

 

 

 

 

Kangaroo Island 2025

Friday, 27 February 2026

Another very belated post! We had a lovely few days just before Christmas at Penneshaw with Jon's mum.  We did all the usual activites plus a few more pulled out of a hat after chopping up the KI tourist magazine. That sent us to the Wildlife Park (below), the raptor show and to a delicious cafe for Breakfast. 

 

 

 I did a few of my favourite runs:

 

 

And we did some touristy sight seeing: 

 

 

And we had a delicious afternoon at False Cape Winery.  

 

All up it was a lovely trip, and likely to be one of our last as Shirley investigates selling up and moving back to the mainland. 

 

Easter Orienteering 2025

Thursday, 26 February 2026

The Easter orienteering last year was around the Bendigo area, I don't remember a whole lot about it except that it was very dry. In fact one of the places we pass through a few times got very heavily bushfire affected recently. I do remember this guy though, who we walked past on the way to the arena one of the days:

 

And we stayed in a cute apartment at a very little winery outside Bendigo - the winery part was wasted on us but it was very nice:

 

One of the areas we ran at had these scary looking cacti sprinkled all over it :

 

The weekend after the major easter events had us back at Bridgewater on Lodden, which was a nice little town with a delicious bakery opposite us - that was probably the highlight. 

 

Actually as I write this, I realise that while I don't remember a whole lot about my own performance I definitely remember that we were all a bit dissapointed and sad for Jett, who after strong performances in NZ earlier in the year, and a good result at the first day of the competition, crashed out a bit in the remaining two selection trial races, and consequently was selected as a non-travelling reserve on the JWOC team.  Now that almost a year has gone by I can reflect that while he missed out on a week of probably quite stressful orienteering in Portugal in the team, it did mean he was able to do his first year of Uni without the complications of travel interfering with exams, and for the rest of us, since we didn't use up leave and cash travelling to Europe last year (we would have gone to watch), it does mean we're been able to plan a fun trip for this year - so it hasn't been all bad.
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