WE WAS ROBBED!!!

WE all saw it... Lucas Neil´s sliding tackle... NO WHERE NEAR HIM!!!

Ah well, we made it that far...

We found a plaza with heaps of little bars and may i say the best sandwhich shop i have ever been in, like Subway, but gourmet, and real food. So after having my T-Riffic chicken shnitzel sanga and tucking into a couple of cheeky ones before the game started, we nestled into the small pub with a stack of I Tais and an hand full of Aussies...

I actually couldnt watch the penalty... i walked outside the pub when Totti lined up... i heard the screams and new that our World Cup was over... No tears... for me, but Em was balling (sorry Em)...

That night, walking the streets, still dressed in our green and gold (very proud Aussies we were), was similar to Chapel St on a Saturday nite... I think every car had some sort of doof doof and they just kept beeping their horns!!! I think we were gracious in defeat, and decided to lay low, it was a quiet evening and we found a small bar...

One thing to look out for is the guys selling roses all over Europe... I cant work out how these guys make a living... I think maybe they would sell, two or three a night... all for what 5 euro take home... doesnt add up... I was told to wait till the end of the night and buy the whole bunch for like 6 euro... i didnt, i had no one to give them too... awwww.

Did the Colleseum tour the next day and walked through the Forum to the Mussolinis Palace... Truly a spectacular day... And something i recommend everyone to do, just once...

It started at a small cafe, a stones throw from the Colleseum, and while eating our grub (i say grub, cause it was a bit av'), a lady came in claiming she was about to faint... So an ambulance rocks up and this is the part i love... The ambulance officer, is smoking... Obviously being educated enough to know the dangers of smoking, and dealing with sick people every day, never mind, he was in absolutely no rush to get to this woman until he had finished his smoke... That is Italian, that is Europe. Love it.

The next day was a scorcher and Luka had promised to take us down to the beach... About 30 mins away... He showed me where he had come off his motorbike at about 150km/hr... massive scars...

The wind was blowing a gale but we managed to make the most it and spent the day just getting some rays and having a dip.

I walked around town that night, eating proper pizza and found some massive italian concert in this square twice the size of Federation Square, and saw some wicked Opera singers... they love em over there.

Oh another thing, whilst trying to find a cab the nite before, i hollered down a BMW 7 series, thinking it might have been a private taxi... We hopped in and he told us, he was just a guy on the way home from work... he was headed the same way as us and agreed to give us a lift... Stop It!!! Random. Never underestimate the kindness of strangers... But never take candy from them... ok?!

Later That night we went to one of the beach clubs, which was pretty much a resort with deck chairs and heaps of little pagola's scattered around this pool... cost us i think 10 euro to get in, with a free drink, and every drink was 10 euro after that... not great for the thrifty back packer but it was "the place to be"... very stand off-ish crowd at the start, almost like a high school dance, girls to one side, boys to the other. So i hit up the dance floor with some killer Aussie moves, the sprinkler, the lawn mower, and may have even chucked in a reverse park later on...

Once the DJ sparked up, this girl, started singing along with the house beats... Very cool... It was her first night there and she was the bomb... She even let me sing a couple of tunes with her... We had that place rocking!!! Such a wicked night, good times had by all.

Off to Venice the next day... And may i say a big thankyou to Em and Nic, my big sisters, They made sure i had my bags with me and my shoes tied tight, and that i wouldn't get into a fight. It was a Saturday if i can remember and i had just put some more cash on my travel card... Note to everyone, it takes two BUSINESS DAYS for money to be transferred onto the card... Lucky EM lent me some cashola, or i woulda been up the preverbial creek without a paddle when i got to Venice...

So i gave them all a hug and a kiss (european style of course), told Luka he was a "teste di cartzo" (sorry in joke) for the last time, and jumped on board the train to the city of love... would i find love here? Accomodation was higher on the priority list... Good bye Roma and bye to my travelling buddies... Thankyou for everything...

The next time i would see a familiar face would be in Barcelona when i would meet up with my Mate Doff and some of his girlfriends... Wicked... that was a week from now...

The adventure continues...

Roma.... well just a teaser

Roma!!!

When Em, told me to watch out for Gypsy's at the central Train Station in Roma, i was thinking, what the hell is a gypsy, and what are they going to do?

Well... My first gypsy spotting was right up in my face, we were sitting out the front of the station, minding our own business when an old lady, say 60, walks up with a child attached to her sagging bussom (it had drooped to new levels i had never ever seen, not even on the discovery channel) and asked for some money... Now im all for street performers and crazy antics, and dont even mind public breast feeding... but this was something else... Em grabbed my hand and said, "Dont you dare give her money"... but i was actually reaching for my video camera... got a great shot... youtube it when i get home... haha.

My new found italian buddy, Luka, picked us up (gracìe) and we went to our pension, which was in a great spot... Walking distance from the Colleseum...

Em wanted to take us out for dinner to her favourite spot in town that night, which was right near the Pantheon... what a site to see. i love Roma were my first thoughts after walking through the old cobble stone (hmmm maybe not cobble stone but they're old and have much history to them) streets and alley ways... There were so many little cafes, bars and restaurants, im glad we had Em and Luka as tour guides... we went and saw the Tivoli Fountain that night, which is just a spectacular work of art... and speaking of fountains there are fountains every where in Rome... And you can drink out of all of them. Obviously no Water Restrictions in place there.

Saw the Spanish steps that night and then headed back home for a quiet nite in... after all the Aussies were playing Italy the next nite!!!

Gotta run

Speak soon

Millswah

Now it was the night of the Italy vs Australia final, so after settling in and getting our Australian gear on, we headed down to

A sick little Robbie, but managed to soldier on

It was a long bus trip up to Split and for some reason we messed up the times for the bus so we would not be catching the ferry to Hvar that night...

But all worked out well, Australia was playing Croatia that night and we managed to get some wicked accommodation (thanks Ems parents for the hook up) at this Croatia couples Place... I love Pensions.

That night we found a square right in the middle of the old city that had a projector screen set up and about 200 CroatÂSs... Flares went off when the Croatian national anthem started and they all sang but Jamie, Em, Nic and I stood proud in defiance in our Australian Socceroos guernseys...Ohh yes, and we sang loud and proud.

I remember the bartender telling me to not shout out abuse for dodgy calls that went Croatia´s way, he was fearing for my life. When half time came, and after several anI i mean, several, dirty looks from some very scary looking Croats, we decided it might be best to go find a bar with some more Aussies. After all, it is their national sport and they are quite patriotic.

WE found a place down on the water, it was like a pokie venue, (won some Kuna later on which was nice), it was easy to spot the Green And Gold out from the distance...

The game although not a win, a draw was enough to take us to the next round... why am i telling you this, of course you already know it, but to see the joy on my fellow AUstralians faces, was magical. I can only imagine, what it wouldve been like at the game, or even back home. Did Johnny announce a public holiday?

A slight amount of fear struck us, when some rowdy Croatians, obviously unhappy with the result started throwing bottles into the crowd. hmmm nice. time to move inside. After chaos had settled we ventured out to find a bar, to celebrate the win. I should not have done this. after feeling ill for a couple of days, the drinking session, although small, was the straw that broke the camels back...

I got bear sick (bear is a term i picked up a couple of days ago from some English guys, you will hear more about them in time, the term means "very", or "extremely"), and for the next week, i didnt drink... Thank you so much to Ems Dad, who is a chemist, and had some antibiotics on him... LEGEND! Caught the ferry to Hvar and spent the next 3 nights there... just amazing... I was told to go check out a place called Campe Dium, i did, and it was pretty much like one of those toffee sydney bars... well thats the impression i got. but it was very glamorous and maybe i wouldve liked it better if i could talk, and didnt have a fever. The magna doodle was a great help.

In Hvar, which is an island off croatia, you can take either hire your own boat or get a ferry to one of the islands for real cheap, and go exploring... such a beautiful place. I had the best steak of my life (sorry Corey, the pepper steak at the Leveson is a very close 2nd) on one of the islands. I made good use of the lilos, we had purchased for a bed for the ferry to Italy the next day, and lay out in this little cove, trying to escape the massive wasps that were there. I may have a slight phobia of wasps, its something about there unpredictability and their irratic movement, and their sting. They just freak me a little.

Unfortunately my camera went bung for a little while so have no photos of Hvar or much of Croatia but for some reason it just started working again we got into Rome... I tell you what, that was some serious trravelling that day... From Hvar to Split, to Ancona, then the long train ride to Roma (Rome, but i like it as Roma)... I think it was like 20hours all up... massive.

Gotta run..

Speak soon

Wah

Yessss... Welcome back...Croatia... well the first bit.. there is so much more to come

Ok, i must admit i have been extremely slack of late...

Lets start in Croatia...ok.. Si? sorry Da?

After the partying and festivities in Munich, young Mills was obviously run down and managed to get himself a flu/fever/near death experience, lucky for my mate Em who´s Dad is a chemist and happend to be in Croatia with a bag full of Anti-biotics... legend!

Ok so after the plane flight from Munich and a short bus ride to the old city in Dubrovnich we were greeted with no less then 20 old ladies offering accomodation (thankyou Lonely Planet for the heads up or else it might have been a bit weird with old ladies propostioning us with a room), so Jamie (travelling compadre) went for a wander to check out the spot... we took it... right in the heart of the Old City of Dubrovnich... AMAZING!!!

Cheap and breathtakingly beautiful, it is seriously an old castle like you see in the movies!!! we did the tour around the old city walls... decided against the audio guide and just took in the magnificent sites of the Old City and the Coast Line of Dubrovnich... I will put some photos up asap and show you just how amzing dubrovnich is...

The first night, My big Bro and sisters (Jamie, Nic and Em) decided on seafood (apparently Croatia is famous for it) for dinner... hmmm thought it was necessary to tell them of my distaste for everything from the sea (mum you tried with that Tuna/Chicken and rice thing too many times!!!) but not wanting to spoil the party, we found a wicked place right on the water which (according to our land lady, who was awesome and washed all of our clothes) served the best seafood in town!

I myslef decided on the the cheese with oil and a salad, absolutely everything else on the menu contained seafood... DOH!!! but all good, met some newly wed Aussies and headed to a wine Bar to watch the Sweden Vs England Match!!! funnily enough bumped into another couple on honeymoon (from Sweden), both so passionate about their football, i loved it! "The sites and city can wait my love, there is footbal to be watched!!!" Very Aussie.

Nic, Em and Jamie thought, because we are Australian and in Australia it was my birthday (time wise), that they should buy me some shots to celebrate... after a couple of B52s and bit of boogie it was time to hit the hay... actually not quite... in the old city, all the streets go STRAIGHT UP! it was about a small everest trek up to our pension.

21st June - My Birthday
After a bit of a sleep in, i ralised that i wasnt feeling the best but decided it was probably just the lack of food... so after a hearty breakfast (the Wraps at Fresh are brilliant, they even have ones with egg) it was time to spend the day my way... For some strange reason i had the urge to do a bit of kayacking, and there was a trip from the beach to kayack around the island... now since i had done a wee bit0(of kayacking) in thailand, i figured this little adventure was going to be pretty much the same...

OH NO, after 45 minutes of paddelling solo (everyone had their own kayack) and passing past the 40 year old naked people on the rocks (not exactly the picture you want to keep in your memory banks, but even as i type this, i still cant shake those awful, saggy skin images... HAPPY AS LARRY FOLKS! thanks Mick!) we made it around to the back of the island... had a couple of beers and watched the soccer, Plasma screens are massive in Croatia, it is the ultimate Old but New city!

After a quick dip and a massive 5m jump off the rocks into the water it was time to head back to the mainland...

about 30mins back and a quick kip before heaqding out to an amazing restaurant recommend by our tour guides for the day...

The food was amazing and i was totally blown away when all all the waiters came and sang happy birthday Brucey to me... the guys had organised a cake for me with a card and a shot glass for my birthday... there were nearly tears... nearly... it was smokey with all those candles ok!!!!

It was a actually quite a quiet night, but one well deserved after the kayacking adventure and the night before... watched another soccer match on the steps of the old city out the side of some pub... the best.


The next couple of days i was so sick, i had the shakes and my temperature was through the roof... just wanna say thankyou to Em, Nic and Jamie for looking after me... massive thanks!!!

gotta run... more to come and photos i promise...


On to Split for Croatia vs Australia and the to Hvar and Roma for the Australia vs Italia game!!! WE WERE ROBBED!!!!

cheers

Millswah