23rd October...and the hills are alive, with the sound of music (Salzburg)

Today we drove to Salzburg and the magical setting of the musical the Sound of Music. It has always been a dream of mine, since watching the movie as a kid, to come to Salzburg and see where the movie was made. We had a local guide who took us around this beautiful village and along the way she pointed out parts of the village that appeared in the movie. It is also the birthplace of Mozart and we saw the house where he was born, and another house where he lived. We saw some beautiful produce markets that had the most amazing looking fruit and vegetables. We then headed up to the cemetry to see the gates from the film where the family hid in the convent. It just so happened that the doors of the chapel were open, our guide was beside herself because they are rarely opened, usually only once or twice a year and we were privileged enough to get a glimpse inside. After our walking tour we stopped at a restaurant to have some potato, bacon and mushroom soup and in the words of Julie Anthony....a "crisp apple strudel" for dessert. I bought a christmas decoration from Salzburg just before it was time to board the bus.

We then had a four hour drive to Vienna, so what do you do when you have four hours to fill? Watch the Sound of Music of course....and say as different scenes appear...I saw that!!

Tonight was an optional extra dinner...and I have chosen to do ALL the optional extras! We were taken to the Marchfelderhof restaurant which is very famous and MANY celebrities and royalty have dined here. We were greeted at the door by the staff waving Austrian flags. Linda from the group had to cut the ribbon and then they rolled out the red carpet for all of us to walk down. It was an amazing place with so much history packed into so many rooms. The walls are littered with photos of royalty and celebrities who dined there...including George Michael!!! There was a man who played a keyboard while we ate, a trio who played guitar and violin and then two dancers, who once they danced together, went around the room and picked dance partners from our group...yep even me! When we arrived we were served a pesto/garlic topped bread which was delicious, a salad with dressing, I chose the spare ribs as my main meal and then there was some sort of mousse for dessert. I was soooo full!! It was another fun night and on the way home we sang to Patrick's music mix...most of us agreed he needs a new mix!!!