Last day in Sorrento back to Rome

Today was our last day in Sorrento, one last swoop around the shops and lunch in town before we headed back to Rome via Naples..  The reception ladies at our Hotel were really sad to see Finn go.

Sorrento Skyline

Pizza and Lasagne

Bye bye Finn (Hotel receptionist)

The alleyway to our Hotel

Lunch time

I'll grab that

The lads

Yum Tiramisu for lunch

Train from Sorrento to Naples

Dinner in Rome

The exploring finger (it mostly lives up other peoples nostrils)

Positano

A few pics from our day in Positano.

The wedding!!

The Venue - Villa Antiche Mura

At the ceremony

After the ceremony

Reception area

Family Photo

Reception

The ceremony venue after dark

We arrive in Sorrento

The day before Liz and Paul's wedding we explored the village and epic views out to Naples and Mt Vesuvius. 

View from our room balcony 

In the carrier

Beautiful old buildings 

The beach at Sorrento, steep cliffs

Finn at the beach 

Mt Vesuvius in the background

Finn's first gelato - mango flavour wasn't a hit or maybe it was too cold...

Hong Kong Phooey and Rome

We set off with a couple of huge flights to get to our destination in Italy, with Finn in tow.

New Plymouth to Auckland he slept most of the way, we made our way to our connecting flight to Hong Kong which was going to be a bit of a test ...

Fast forward 12 hrs, we had made it to Hong Kong, I think we found the flight more difficult than Finn did, managed to get an older Cathay Pacific plane which had some pretty stiff seats.. Finn slept for about 5-6 hrs and was kept busy talking to other passengers and the flight attendants for the rest of the time, so stoked with that.

About to head off

Finn in his bassinet

Out and about in central Hong Kong 

A pretty chilled out day in Hong Kong, had a walk round town with Rick, chowed down on some pizza later on with Beck and Paul before we flew out again at mid-night to Rome.

At Rick and Beck's apartment in Hong Kong about to head out

The Boys (old and new)

Another excellent flight with Finn from HK to Rome he must have slept a good 9 hrs on this leg, newer plane pretty comfy. Caught the train into central Rome and had a wander around town for a late lunch, nice temperatures around 16-18 degrees. Had a bit of a team nap when we arrived at our Hotel, Finn had other plans and did his first roll over on the bed! he then proceeded to do it again another 2 times, so mark that one down "first roll from Finn happened in Rome, Italy".

Bullet train to Naples tomorrow morning then out to Sorrento to catch the crew!

Eating out in Rome

Hawaii - 3 O!

Honolulu, Hawaii was our last stop on the way home and was all about the beach.  We also managed to fit in some good shopping, snorkeling and some well deserved massages after our busy trip. 

Whilst we were in Hawaii it was Katherine's 30th birthday!! Very cool place to spend a very special day : )

Waikiki Beach 

Beach time - Waikiki beach

Waikiki Beach 

Some R&R at Waikiki Beach 

Haunamu Bay marine reserve where we snorkeled

Haunamu Bay

Oreo cheescake at The Cheesecake Factory Restaurant, Waikiki

Beautiful sunset Waikiki beach

San Francisco - Alcatraz, Oakland 'A's, Americas Cup & Tahoe

From Vegas we flew to San Francisco. To our surprise we caught a view of the Yosemite bushfire frontline belowing smoke as it ate into the national park. This had been dominating news bulletins in the US as some of the bushfire was largely out of control, quite a sight.

We were both pretty excited about visiting San Francisco, hearing great things about the city itself and of course the America's Cup which Team New Zealand had just qualified to race for.  Our hotel in San Fran was near the waterfront which had amazing views to the Bay Bridge and was just a short 25 minute walk to the America's Cup village. The day after arriving we caught the ferry out to Alcatraz and were treated to close views of the Team NZ and Oracle boats training in the harbour. 

The audio tour of the Alcatraz prison was exceptional.  It led us up and down the cell blocks regaling us with stories of escape attempts and what daily prison life was like. 

On the Saturday we caught up with mates Mojo and Alicia for a tiki tour around San Fran. We ended up chilling out at the Americas Cup village swilling beers on bean bags in the sun watching the Red Bull youth racing series on the big screen.  That evening we caught the BART train out to the Oakland-Alameda County Colosseum to watch the Oakland Athletics take on the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League baseball - we had amazing seats right in behind home plate.  We settled in with hotdogs and beers for a close game where the 'A's (my adopted team) won 2-1.

For the final few days we went out to Lodi and Tahoe to get a bit of an outer city experience of the area. We visited Squaw Valley resort and Lake Tahoe, where unfortunately the smoke from the Yosemite bush fires spoiled the views of the surrounding mountains.  This all cleared on the second day revealing some stunning vistas across the lake.

Flight from Las Vegas to San Francisco - frontline of Yosemite Bushfires 

Watchtower on Alcatraz

Welcome message - Alcatraz was taken over by native American Indians to protest unfair land takeovers by the US Government.

Emirates Team New Zealand training in the harbour

Team NZ (photo taken from Alcatraz)

Alcatraz main prison building facade

Famous inmate Al Capone 'Scarface'

Basic cell layout

Upper deck (an eerie feeling imagining the history of this building) 

View from Alcatraz towards San Francisco 

Alcatraz island

Thumbs down at the foggy Golden Gate Bridge

Whamp whamp = GG Bridge

Beers and beanbags in the sun

Beers in the sun at the Americas Cup Village on the waterfront

Oakland 'A's vs Tampa Bay Rays baseball game

Go 'A's!!

After the baseball

Hiking near Tahoe

Squaw Valley Tahoe

Riding the Cable Cars in San Fran

Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista - a San Fran institution