Arrivederci Roma (what else?)

Sadly, we had to pack our bags and say arrivederci to our hosts Rafaella and Sante at the beautiful Villa Magnolia this morning. We have really enjoyed our stay here in this peaceful and relaxing B&B so close to the heart of Rome but at the same time felt like a million miles away from such a bustling city.

Rafaella is an animal lover and has five dogs, one beautiful Oriental cat and two rabbits. We had inquisitive visits from the cat and a shy visit from one of the rabbits. Rafaella brought both of them out to us

on the evening before our departure for a little cuddle. When I asked her about keeping these pets at the Villa Magnolia, she told me that they had to be carefully housed at night because there are wolves living in the parkland nearby. That was a surprise.

We also befriended a young couple from Istanbul who were on their honeymoon. Ece and Gokhan had been married the previous Saturday and were really enjoying their stay at the Villa Magnolia and exploring Rome. We chatted with them at breakfast and met up with them in the evening on the terrace to share a bottle of wine.

Our Italian has come along in leaps and bounds in the three weeks we

have spent in Italy. Its pretty simple really, you just have to add an "o", and "ee" sound or an "a" to the end of everything. For example, that chap in the restaurant when we arrived in Milan. "Wherea you froma?" Or, "fantastico" as John managed to use several times a day, usually just after he had finished eating something. Take a look at the signs in the airport toilets. Simple.

We took a taxi to the airport and found no one in the check in queue. Had ourselves sorted in no time.

Our flight departed at 12.30 and we were quickly served lunch. Within about 2-3 hours we flew into darkness and the remaining 8 hours were during the night. Once we crossed the eastern shoreline of the Caspian Sea I am pretty sure our flight essentially followed the path of the Silk Road. Didn't get a wink of sleep.

Arrived in Hong Kong at the scheduled time and emerged into the early morning feeling pretty exhausted. Got a coach transfer to our hotel but we were too early to check in. I was too tired to go exploring so made myself comfortable in the hotel lobby and quite soon one of the staff came over and said that as our room wasn't ready, they were going to upgrade us to another room that was ready. Happy travellers. Crashed onto our beds and slept until late afternoon. Then went looking for dinner followed by a visit to the famous Night Markets. Did a little shopping and plan to go back tonight for some last minute "must have's".