Italy Recap

Okay, so then we left Qatar and flew to Italy. It was a fun flight for the family because they used points to upgrade to business class. I sat back in Economy (which I certainly don’t mind), but they had a ball up there! The flight attendant, at least, felt sorry for me and said she would bring back some of the “good” wine. Well, that was pretty exciting but then she never brought me any at all, which made it even worse, somehow.

Anyway, we got to Rome and the kids were able to see the last stage of the trip. It was actually kind of cool, introducing the kids to four huge religions. We started with Buddhism in Thailand, then Hinduism in India, then Islam in Oman and Qatar, then finally Christianity in Italy!

We actually started the tour in Vatican City and Saint Peter’s Basilica. I guess technically that’s a different country! But it was incredible…

In Rome, we stayed in the Boscolo Exedra, a place I mega-recommend. It’s centrally located and the whole family was very comfortable and happy there. The kids were getting QUITE spoiled by this point… week #4 in a row of lavish breakfast buffets!

After Rome, we took a train to Venice for a final few days of fun. We went to another Boscolo hotel there the Boscolo Venezia, Autograph Collection, which was also fabulous. You can see it in the below as well.

Well, WHAT a 30-day family trip. I hardly know how to express how grateful I was to spend so much time adventuring around with the family. I think it was a little Extreme for everyone, but I’m just getting them warmed up for next year! 🙂

italy Video Recap

And here’s all the videos from Italy!

Italy Photos Recap

Daily Photo – Floating above Venice

I’ll tell you something embarrassing about this photo! But once I tell you, you’ll definitely be able to see it. Having said that, it’s a happy accident because I really like this photo! Anyway, this was a new quadcopter that I got after the other one crashed in India. So, I realized after I took this shot that I forgot to take off that little clear sticker that goes over the camera… yeah, you can see it now, can’t ya? But still, a cool effect it had! 🙂

Floating above Venice

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-24 08:47:59
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/1400
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Qatar Recap

Once again, I stayed in a place not long enough! Right after three nights in Oman, we came here for another three nights. This was all meant to be sort of an “amuse bouche” of the Middle East for the family… just enough to get everyone excited enough to want to come back!

We arrived at the Sharq Village & Spa in Doha. Actually, it was amazingly close to the airport. I think it took us less than 10 minutes to arrive! And then, upon entry, we met our personal butler. He was a heck of a nice guy from Serbia. He took us to our room, showed us around, and showed us all the various surprises they left for us. There was so much fruit it was insane. And every day they kept bringing more fruit. It was Very Nice, but at some point I had to say, “ENOUGH WITH THE FRUIT I LOVE IT BUT IT’S TOO MUCH!” haha it was so funny… it just kept coming!

Anyway, one of our first stops was to the old souk, which was absolutely incredible. I was amazed and blown away by the feel of this souk. I could have shopped in there forever. Then we went to an amazing Iranian restaurant called Parisa. You’ll see some of the intricate glassworks in a photo below.

Besides more great spa treatments, yoga, and food, we also had an incredible cooking class from the head chef of a new restaurant that is supposed to open there called Al Dana. It’s one of the only beachfront restaurants in all of Doha… and wow was that chef Evangelous Liakouris ever nice!

Qatar Videos Recap

Here’s the highlight video from Qatar!

Qatar Photos Recap

Daily Photo – Sharq Village & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha, Qatar

And here’s the inside of that most incredible restaurant, Parisa. The manager told me that a bunch of women flew in from Iran to do all the glass decorations and it took them over three years. And guess what, this is JUST the hallway! Wait till you see the main room! I’ll save that for a later post.

Sharq Village & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha, Qatar

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-02 23:38:36
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/5
• Aperture5.6
• ISO800
• Focal Length15.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Oman Recap

You’ll see a lot of footage of the Al Bustan Palace, the Ritz-Carlton here where we stayed. What a property! We had just come from India and seen how the royal people lived, and now we felt like them! They made amazing suggestions and we got to see everything from incredible souks to picturesque deserts. You’ll see more below and in weeks/months/years to come as I pour through the photos and share them here.

One of the greatest things that happened in here was totally unexpected! Isabella lost her tooth and it seems the Tooth Fairy went crazy and had a party in the room! You’ll see that and more in the video.

Oman Video Recap

Wow…I just watched this again and it makes me want to go back! We were only here for three days… not nearly long enough!

Oman Photos Recap

Daily Photo – Al Bustan Palace, The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Muscat, Oman

Check out the lobby! We couldn’t believe our eyes when we walked in. The grandeur of the chandelier alone was enough to stagger all of us. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the entire property, but especially the pools and the ocean. We couldn’t get them out of the water!

This was my family’s first trip to the middle east and they were a bit nervous, to be honest! I wasn’t worried one lick, but they were all extremely surprised at how open, warm, and welcoming the Omanese people were. I think everyone felt very safe and happy the entire time, exactly as I suspected!

Probably one of my favorite memories from here was when we took a little family catamaran trip one night… being out on the open ocean and seeing such amazing rock/mountain formations was really mesmerizing.

Al Bustan Palace, The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Muscat, Oman

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-12 21:48:18
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time0.5
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length35.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

India Recap

This was my second time to India but my first time to come with my family. We chose Bangalore as our home-base for a few reasons. First, there was yet another amazing Ritz-Carlton there which was great and relaxing for the whole family. This is where my son learned to fall in love with Indian food! This is saying a lot because hitherto we had only seen him eat hamburgers and pizza! We even got an extended cooking class at Riwaz that the kids loved. And to my surprise, after the cooking class, we got to eat everything and more. I ate SO MUCH FOOD in India it was absolutely ridiculous. And they kept bringing more and more. I’ve heard you’re not supposed to eat to make yourself happy, but I don’t believe that at all!

The second reason was this is where our train trip on the Southern Splendor started and ended! It was my first long train ride like this where you live on a train for a whole week. It was an incredible way to see the country and the whole family had fun. So Much Indian Food and I think we all learned to love it even more as the week went on! You can see a lot more in the videos below 🙂

India Videos Recap

And here’s all the videos from India!

India Photos Recap

Daily Photo – The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, India

Here is the entrance to one of my favorite restaurants in Bangalore. This is Lantern, and it’s one of the many great places to eat inside the Ritz-Carlton. Look, it’s lined with wine on the way in! So much wine, so little time! 🙂

The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, India

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-03 16:37:36
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time40
• Aperture19
• ISO400
• Focal Length50.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

A Thailand Recap!

Now that I’m back home from a the 50-day trip, I’m gonna do a little 5-day recap of the 5 countries we visited along the way! Wow, what a trip… I’m still getting my head around the whole thing. Now, some of you may know how I absolutely love staying at these amazing Ritz-Carlton locations all around the world. I feel so grateful for our partnership and everything…I know I gush about them all the time, but, I mean, comon, really! Check out how beautiful it is there… and the whole team is so nice. Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you! I never want to check out of any location…

Thailand Videos

Anyway, here’s a few favorite videos of Thailand.

Thailand Photos

Here’s a few favorite photos of Thailand this trip, both on the property and around the environs!

Daily Photo – The Ritz-Carlton, Phulay Bay, Thailand

This is a pretty peaceful view on the way to morning meditation, wouldn’t you say? By the time I walked through all these bamboo pathways and peaceful shapes, I was already in the right mindset. In fact, I think this is maybe my favorite memory of this place. It’s not a specific moment, it’s more that I felt like I was in a constant flow of meditation while there. And I can’t wait to go back!

The Ritz-Carlton, Phulay Bay, Thailand

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2015-12-29 17:06:59
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

How are these videos made? With the Osmo and the DJI Phantom 3!

To see more be sure to check out the new Osmo Review and the updated DJI Phantom Review!

Day 30 – The Traveling Circus ends in Venice

Venice is one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world and I was happy to share it with my family for their first trip there. To get to Venice, we took the direct train from Rome. It was a super-fast train and we got there in only about three hours. We jumped into a water-taxi from the train station and went right to the Boscolo Hotel in the northern part of the city. It’s quieter up there… hardly any tourists and where a lot of families live.

From there, we went out adventuring all over the place. You gotta do all the touristy things in Venice, eh? Yeah! We did everything from the gondolas to the glass factories to the gelato. In fact, Scarlett was appointed the Queen of Gelato and it was her job every day to make sure everyone had their daily gelato. The only rule was each day had to be a new flavor!

And here on Day 30 is when the whole trip officially ends. The family flies back to New Zealand and I stay here in Venice for another two weeks for both Carnivale, filming some new videos, and a fun photo workshop! And yes, more gelato!

Daily Photo – The old city of Venice begins to wake up

The old city of Venice begins to wake up

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-24 08:47:59
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/1400
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Day 25 – Rome, Fiat 500 Adventures, and the Holy Catholic Vatican

Awesome Rome!

We left Doha, Qatar after too-short of a trip and flew about six hours to Rome after I finally got my quadcopter out of being stuck in customs! I wasn’t allowed to fly it anywhere in Qatar or Oman, so they kept it at the airport for me. There’s always a confusing process to get it un-stuck! But everything turned out okay…

In Rome, we stayed right in the middle of the city at the Boscolo Exedra. It was another great hotel and a fun home base for the whole family. We did a ton of stuff here in the city. We got started with a full tour of Vatican City, which was even more impressive than I anticipated. Mind-blowing really! I’ve been to Rome four times but never visited the Vatican until this time. We had a private tour guide and it was definitely the way to go… Maria knew everything about this place and it was much more interesting than just blindly stumbling around.

And then we ended up in a 1962 and 1967 Fiat 500s to tour the Roman countryside. What a great way to explore… just about 10 km away was a beautiful lake… and, well you can see more in the video!

A Roman villa stands on a hill with the rest of teaming Rome behind it.

A Straight-up view from another area inside The Vatican.

Driving into the Roman countryside.

Exploring another room in The Vatican.

Exploring the massive halls inside and outside of Vatican City.

Having a quick flight over Rome with the DJI Phantom 3.

Her skirt was a little too skimpy to be let into The Vatican, so they stopped outside for some selfie action.

Scarlett got a new coat in Rome and she never takes it off.

Stopping with our Fiat 500s at a Roman aqueduct.

The amazing golden dome of the Basilica of Saint Peter.

The Basilica of Saint Peter is the longest church in the world and you can see the lengths of other churches represented on the floor.

The girls in front of the Coloseum.

The massive interior of the Basilica.

There are thousands of fountains all over Rome where the water is perfectly drinkable – one secret thing many have is if you plug the bottom, the water spurts out a little hole on top .

We took two Fiat 500’s out to explore the Roman countryside.

With one foot in both countries of Italy and Vatican City.

Daily Photo – The beautiful Colosseum from above.

The beautiful Colosseum from above.

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-21 14:36:00
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/900
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Day 21 – A visit to the amazing Qatar and Doha

Qatar was a tough place for us, with the Ratcliff Family hitting an all-time low. I was pretty sick, and actually still am while editing this together on the 6-hour flight to Rome. Ethan was quite sick and spent over 24 hours in bed eating soup and smelling like old soup. He’s a bit better now, so that is good… my cough and runny nose lingers like the memory of mounting a camel. That sounds bad…

We started out with a morning desert safari that included some awkward moments on both camels and trucks. The dunes here were, even more, extreme than Oman, so the girls were, at least, ready for it. You can see more in the video for sure. Tina sure was screaming when she got on that camel… all of them were. Ethan had quite a grumpy camel, which did nothing to help his mood.

And then we had an incredible cooking class from an amazing chef at our hotel at The Ritz-Carlton Sharq Village named Evangelos Liakouris. He was like a Greek Vic Gundotra that can cook. It was over two hours long and the girls went nuts, especially with the “Deconstructed Black Forest Cake.” From there, we went to another epic dinner at the other Ritz-Carlton in Doha at an Italian restaurant called Porcini where the kids got to make some pizzas. Once again, another day of non-stop eating!

Daily Photo – Artificial Islands keep growing out into the sea as Doha expands to every horizon.

Artificial Islands keep growing out into the sea as Doha expands to every horizon.

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-04 21:49:08
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture4.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length41.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1.3

Day 18 – Adventuring in the deserts and seas of Oman.

Wow, Oman is a secret treasure in the world!

Everyone was warm, kind, and inviting. The landscapes are like nothing I’ve ever seen, from curious canyons to sharp-ridged mountains, to huge epic mountain ranges, and everything in between. Parts are green and other parts are 150km of nonstop desert where it takes 6 days by camel to cross.

We did a ton of stuff just in our short time here… enjoy the video! 🙂

Daily Photo – The incredible interior of the Grand Mosque

The incredible interior of the Grand Mosque

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-13 08:11:25
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1.4
• Aperture9.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Day 16 – Quadcopter Crashing in Kerala and Farewell India

A lot of Quadcopter drama as we leave India! But I’ll get to that. BTW, check out my DJI Phantom 3 Review here on the site to see more about what I fly.

We started out in Kerala, a beautiful area of India that has thousands of little canals. We stayed on a houseboat for a while, drifting around like houseboat people. This is where Quada, which Scarlet calls the Quadacopter, had its last journey. We had countless successful flights with it… and you can see how Ethan launches it from the front of the boat… no problems there. But one time, a rotor would not turn. We got a “Rotor Obstructed” error message. Strange, because I couldn’t see anything. I did notice one rotor would make strange noises at startup, but when it started spinning, it was fine. Then it asked me to do the old 10-minute IMU calibration, which I did and was successful. We had 2 great flights, launching from the front of the boat and Ethan catching it on landing… no problems and we were smooth as silk. Then, on the next flight, It got up to about 40 meters and was only 20 meters from us and I saw the rotor lock up in the air! It tumbled down into the water for a major splashdown right by the boat. Everyone screamed and it was very dramatic! There was no recovery… it sank to the bitter depths… and all that awesome footage is lost foreva! It’s okay… the universe decided it was time for Quada to move on… So that meant I had to go to the camera store to buy another one… I just hope they let me take it to Oman next!

Okay, well, what else happened towards the end of our India trip. You can see more in the video here of course, but here’s a few things. We ended our train trip and went into the India Asha Niketan foundation, a special place here built for people with intellectual disabilities. The whole family spent some time here with the team helping out. It was especially great for the kids! Ethan played the guitar and we spent some time there together.

After that, we went back to Rivas at The Ritz-Carlton in Bangalore for an Indian cooking class from a Michelin star chef. Amazing! And not only that, but then we ate everything that we cooked… we are eating so much it is crazy… but Ethan and Isabella have really gotten into Indian food, which is great. Scarlett, not so much.

And then it was time to cap off our India experience by going full Bollywood! I actually love Bollywood movies from the first one I saw in Mumbai about 8 years ago when I saw Om Shanti Om! I had a small crush on the gal that was in that movie, and it turns out she’s in the hot new movie everyone demanded that we go see, Bajiao Mastani — so we headed off to the shopping mall in Bangalore to see if we could find it… we did and it was great, even though the whole thing was in Hindi. Scarlett and Isabella loved it. Ethan, not so much.

Anyway, a fantastic trip to India… the whole family is now boarding the plane to spend time in Oman and Qatar!

Daily Photo – One of the last nights on our moving hotel

One of the last nights on our moving hotel

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-01-07 17:18:04
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time23
• Aperture9.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length40.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias