Holiday roundoff (belated!)

The play in London, 'The Woman in Black', was a thriller & great fun, even managed to elicit a few screams from the audience. The rest of us then lol'd at the screamers. There was a huge cast of just two men & they were excellent actors, kept me enthralled. So that was a fitting end to my time in London & the UK. Many thanks to Michelle & Karen & their families & to Alan for having me to stay & showing me around their adopted country.

I flew from Heathrow, with a visit to the Kath Kidston shop in Terminal 3 for some essential present purchases, & eventually arrived in Dubai for 2 nights. I had booked a ticket online to go up to the observation deck on the 124th! floor of the Burj Khalifa, a truly fantastic building with fabulous views over the city & towards the desert, loved that. I roamed around the Dubai Mall for several hours, without shopping, just looking at the exoticism of the place, especially the Souk area. Even took my first video ever, of the daytime fountain show at the foot of the Burj Khalifa behind the Dubai Mall. Next visit I'll try to get the evening show which is even more spectacular with laser lights, fountain & the Burj Khalifa lit up behind. Froze in my hotel room that night. The aircon was set on 17c!, got them to up it but it stopped at 20c. Way too cold for me & the room smelt damp, not my favourite hotel.

 

Dan, my young cuz, picked me up the next day & off to Abu Dhabi in the next Emirate where he is living. He has a nice flat there with a big balcony for entertaining (just getting bbq & outdoor furniture now that I'm back in Brisbane, lol). We went swimming in that lovely, warm, blue/green ocean, really it was nearly bath temp, just lovely. Afterwards, Dan's Dad, David, rang so we chatted to him in turns while showering & changing. Standing on the beach in Abu Dhabi, UAE, talking to David in Brisbane, Aus, sometimes things seemed quite surreal! Anyway after a lovely lunch, saw those smoking pipes!, Dan drove me around the city showing me the sights & the great buildings, including a fabulous mosque. (The pictures are on fb, I think.) Abu Dhabi will soon outdo Dubai with its unique, modern architecture which is fitting as Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It was a good day with Dan & after picking his lady, Lisa, up from the airport that evening it was time to drive back to Dubai for my last freezing night. Thanks, Dan!

I arrived back in Brisbane early in the morning on the 31st August & was picked up by Jan, of course, & 2 v excited granddaughters. Just as well I had shopped at Kath Kidston! So great to see them all again - I really had missed my own little Brisbane family.

My exciting, wonderful, dream-fulfilling 4-month OE adventure was over & it was so awesome! I visited fifteen fabulous countries & landed at/took off from one more, twice. Loved travelling, loved seeing new places, loved catching up with my friends & relations in foreign climes, loved the whole overseas experience immensely! 

But it's not enough, future trips to come!!!!!

Let's go to the seaside!

Scarborough was great, two biggish bays, North Bay where I stayed with mini golf, Sea Life Adventures, Peasholm Park & a mini railway, & South Bay with the trashy amusement arcades, rides & further around was a Spa Centre with orchestra! Both beaches are good for swimming though too cold for me. Peasholm Park was lovely with tracks to roam & it seemed every time I turned a corner there was another view to photograph, lovely wooden carvings too. In between the two bays is a promontory (I think that's what it would be called, could be wrong!) with Scarborough Castle at the top & the ruins of a Roman Signal Tower by the cliff, photos on fb already.
I did a lot of walking around then on my last evening realised I hadn't set foot on the actual sandy beach. So I clambered down to the sand & walked to the other end of North Bay. Btw, North Bay, South Bay? They're as unimaginative as us Kiwis with the North Island & the South Island, eh.
I've been back in Huntingdon for a few days now, did a day trip to Peterborough for a looksee. Again plenty of walking around fens. Great cathedral there with a v unique painted wooden ceiling.

From Wikipedia:
By 1193 the building was completed to the western end of the Nave, including the central tower and the decorated wooden ceiling of the nave. The ceiling, completed between 1230 and 1250, still survives. It is unique in Britain and one of only four such ceilings in the whole of Europe^[6] It has been over-painted twice, once in 1745, then in 1834, but still retains the character and style of the original.

If you want to see it you'll have to google it as I didn't take any photos. The Cathedral only allows photography if you buy a licence for £3! I was too mean to pay it, worth looking up though.
Anyway, I've since been to the movies, so prosaic, eh. City of Bones, the first of the Mortal Instruments series, started yesterday & I couldn't miss that as I am currently reading Book Four of that series. Tomorrow I have booked a ticket to 'The Woman in Black', a play showing in London. 

Travelling on

Stratford-upon-Avon was a v short visit, just overnight then the morning. So I hopped on a red bus, did the sightseeing thing, then wandered along the Avon a little, saw more narrow boats, swans, & rowers.
Anyway I moved on to The Lakes District, Cumbria, for a couple of days. It is gorgeous there. I went on two day trips, one to the Beatrix Potter locations, & then on to see some of the lower lakes including a short cruise, & wandered round another stone circle. The second was to some of the higher lakes & passes, even saw the Irish Sea, & explored a Roman ruin while dodging sheep dags.
I've spent some days in Brampton, also in Cumbria, catching up with an old school friend. We went to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo & I loved that. There was a band from New Zealand & a marching girl team, totally stole the show of course. Even included a little gangnam! The whole show was great, well worth the trip. I walked along a section of Hadrians Wall, only finding out at the end that it was a 'moderate' stretch, not the 'easy' I had hoped for. Thanks, Alan!
Now I'm in Glasgow & today I have followed a trail of Charles Rennie Macintosh stuff. (Great word 'stuff') Macintosh was a Scots architect, artist, interior designer, & was married to Margaret MacDonald Macintosh, also an artist, sculptor, textile & interior designer. I started at the Hunterian Museum & viewed Roman artefacts from the Antonine Wall, another Roman wall built in Scotland. Then found out I needed to be at the Hunterian Art Gallery. That was where the Macintosh reconstructed house was. The house was amazing, loved the lounge especially. The Art Gallery is at the University of Glasgow & while I was there Eduroam Wifi kicked in which was a bonus. Next place was the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery for a Macintosh exhibit, great, with the Glasgow Style Gallery, great, plus I walked through some other exhibits, then on to the Willow Tea Rooms designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh. I stayed there for a late lunch, had a good look around, lovely place & a good meal. The last place I visited was The Lighthouse, home to the Macintosh Centre, a great exhibit & interesting as they had made models of 'unbuilt' Macintosh buildings as well as his built. I enjoyed my day & Macintosh was obviously the highlight. I did do another red bus tour yesterday arvo which gave me a good overview of the central city.
I decided a few days ago that I was all 'historied' out so following the Macintosh trail was a pleasant change & another aim achieved. Even though I missed out five other pertinent buildings! Couldn't get to them all in one day.
Tomorrow the seaside for some beach walks & relaxation.

12 days on!

Wow! I hadn't realised how time was slipping away.  Twelve days since I wrote in here.
I have stayed with Michelle & family at Huntingdon again. A fairly quiet time but then Scott was sent to Cardiff in Wales with his work, apparently an unusual occurrence, & we went along for the ride. So a country I hadn't expected to see, a small amount of sightseeing achieved, then when we went to the beach it poured with rain. But an enjoyable time.
Now I'm travelling again. I'm now in Oxford staying at the YHA for two nights. The only city bus tour here is the hop on, hop off variety which I have done. It only takes an hour, a v small city! Plenty of gargoyles, etc & the University of course with, I think, thirty nine colleges. Today I was going to do a walking tour but it's raining again, so here I am in the Library writing my blog. If it fines up this arvo I'll do some wandering. I'm hoping to visit the Ashmolean Museun tomorrow morning, not open today, then I catch a train to Stratford-upon-Avon.
One funny thing, I always travel with a padlock for those times at a YHA when I need to lock my bag & stuff in a cupboard. So last night I got ready for bed, threw my stuff in the cupboard & locked it. Then realised all my keys & the room key card were inside said cupboard. I had to go down to Reception in my dressing gown & ask for help. They have heavy duty bolt cutters, cut that lock, no problem. I asked if many people did that & was told about once a week, lol.
Tomorrow Stratford-upon-Avon.

My tour of one!

Amazing! I met the GAdventures person (GAP) at the Amman Airport to find I was the only tourist! So I have had a driver all to myself, Mohammed. Strange! I presume you've seen the photos on fb from Jerash. I spent several hours there wandering around. The driver doesn't guide, I now know. So I guided myself by the signposts, then googled Jerash when I got to the hotel, matched up photos on Wikipedia. I enjoyed it though, especially meeting the Jordanian Military bagpiper! I'm glad he spoke English, lol.

Yesterday Mohammed drove me four hours to Wadi Rum, a Bedouin camp in the desert. The drive was really boring, just a long, long road with stony, tussocky scenery. When we arrived, three Bedouin staff had tea cooking in an earth oven, a Bedouin speciality, lol. About an hour later I climbed into the back of a 4*4 small truck, something I haven't done since 1974, & was driven around the desert sights & watched the sunset. Being in the desert was awesome & when we stopped for the sunset, the silence was lovely, just a bit of wind. Lots of tourists in the backs of lots of little trucks were being driven round, plus one group on camels. Later a group of about ten Dutch tourists had arrived in the camp for the night & the earth oven was opened ceremoniously, everyone invited to take photos. I didn't see any need, think hangi. It was a good tea, a good evening, but with a full moon. I had hoped to see an amazing starry sky without light pollution but Mother Nature intervened. The moon sent the stars scurrying, completely washed them out. Still a good night, though.

Today we have driven to Petra & Mohammed arranged a local guide for me, Omar, not Omar Shariff sadly. He was interesting, knew his spiel well, & walked me around for about three hours. I loved Petra, a marvellous place with lots to see. The photos will go on fb. To see all of Petra you need several days & good knees, lots of walking in/on sand, stones, stairs, hills, etc. The colours in the stone were great, would be even better in the rain though I'm glad it wasn't raining. My dream of visiting Petra fulfilled, eh.

Tomorrow it's back to Amman to the Larsa Hotel again & I fly to London on Friday. Jordan has been lovely.

The Dead Sea!

Things happen, things change. I am now at the Holiday Inn at the Dead Se in Jordan. Really cool resort!
Vienna was great, more sightseeing, went back to Schonbrunn Palace 'cos I left my jacket behind. Christine & I had gone there on Monday to wander & lunch & went to the Strudelshow. I got picked to assist the baker putting on the show, complete with hat & apron. Well, I now have a certificate declaring me a Master Baker of Appelstrudel! Haha! Take that Jan! But I left said jacket behind, silly me. I wandered around there for a while, zoo, labyrinth, gardens, etc, nice place.
The next day I went to the Pandora shop & picked up charms for Switzerland, Holland & Belgium, yay. Then spent the arvo at the hospital 'cos I had acquired an infection that needed antibiotics, so not nice. I knew there was a possibility of recurrence so the doc in Australia had given me antibiotics in case. Again silly me, I only brought half of them with me, the rest are at Michelle's in my other case. No good to me there, eh. But all sorted now & I have enough now for 10 days. That should kill it!
Yesterday, thanks to strenuous efforts on Jan's part, I flew to Cairo, didn't leave the airport, then on to Amman, Jordan & transferred to the Dead Sea. I am staying at a v spiffy resort till the 22nd, then I join the Jordan tour as originally booked.
So no Egypt! I had planned to stay in Cairo for 3 nights, visiting the Pyramids one day & Alexandria the other. The 2 seemingly worst cities for rioting & deaths are Cairo & Alexandria! The tour company cancelled, & I like being alive, no brainer, eh. The Pyramids & the new Alexandria Library built on the site of that famous ancient Library will not be seen by me, so disappointed.
The resort is great, four pools, a spa, & the Dead Sea! I've been in the pools already, so warm. I got talking to a 14 year old Armenian girl who wanted to practice her English. She's v good too, learning English, French & Italian. She wants to be a translator after university. Larout, not sure of the spelling, but there has to be a roll of the R in the middle.
Anyway, more swimming tomorrow. I might even float in the Dead Sea, but there is only a small area cordoned off for swimming. Not sure why, maybe we might float out to sea, lol.
I loaded five new books on my iPad & I've nearly finished the first. So these few days are R & R, swimming, reading & relaxing.
Then the tour to Petra & the desert!

Emmersdorf & Melk

I'm now at Christine & Erich's home in Emmersdorf, a lovely house with pine features. After Christine picked me up from the hotel we went to lunch & on to the Viennese version of Luna Park in Sydney, maybe a bit smaller, for a ride on the Ferris Wheel & a literal overview of Vienna. We visited a Porcelain Museum, which was interesting, some lovely pieces. Emmersdorf is a small village near Melk Abbey, which is a big tourist attraction. So far I have seen it from the garden glowing in the sunset. I will visit there soon.
Yesterday was a challenge as we went to an obstacle course built in the trees in a forest park. I only did the easiest course, including a couple of v short flying fox descents. I had hoped to do more on the longer flying foxes but when I had to step off, essential to start flying!, I couldn't. My infamous fear of falling kept kicking in, drat it. So Christine did it, Vickie did it, Theresa did it but not me .
After lunch we went to a Most tasting, including an amusing interactive explanation of Most. Think apple cider with pears added. Nice actually.
Lots & lots of sightseeing for three days, photos on fb later. Austria is a lovely place, so like NZ, only more forested. The weather has stayed in the high 20's, summer is definitely here.
I've learnt to ride a Segway! Really easy & such fun.
You all should see the fire in this place, so amazing, fb later, called 'kachelofen'. I loved it.
I'm now back at the Marc Aurel Hotel in Vienna till Friday.
Jan's still working on the alternative for Egypt for me. So disappointed I can't go there. But it's like me not driving, I like being alive. It's just too dangerous in Cairo now.
More news in a few days!

Sunny Vienna

I'm enjoying being back in Vienna. The hotel is in District 1, the centre of the city, so everywhere is within easy walking distance. I went on a Red Bus Tour yesterday which was really interesting & I saw several places then that I checked out today. If you have seen my photos on fb, if you're able to view them, you will have seen the architecture in the style of Gaudi. That was a pleasant surprise, I had no idea. Amazing!
The walk I did in the arvo was a free addition to the bus tour. The tour guide was an elderly man & seemed v frail. But he had lots of historical knowledge in his head & became the first person I've ever tipped! I got the impression the tours were his retirement money. I was just afraid he might fall over on the cobbles. I'll put up photos later, including the only horses left at the Spanish Riding School. All the other horses are on holiday. Along with the opera, the orchestra, & the ballet! I know some of the ballet were performing in Paris. July/August, they all leave the city, lol..
Last night I attended an operetta movie at the Film Festival at the Rathaus, Town Hall, a really ornate Town Hall.
Today I went on a tour of the Vienna State Opera House which was fantastic. Not the biggest at seating 1,700 but capable of doubling in size by judicious use of side stage, back stage, covering the orchestra pit & other tricks of the trade. The decor is fabulous, lots of marble & gilt, about 13 floor to ceiling tapestries, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. (No, not you this time, Jan.) I then went to the Opera Museum for a look see, then on to lunch at the Opera House again. Afterwards was the Butterfly House which was a real treat. Everyone was walking around with smiles on their faces. The butterflies seemed to be v playful. One woman reckoned they were flirting with her when she was trying to get photos of them. I walked home via another park, of course, & the other half of the Ring Road. Another good day.
Tomorrow Christine is picking me up & I'll stay at her place near Melk  for the weekend, then back to the same hotel till 19th. After that is a whole other story!

Paris to Vienna

My last day in Paris I went walking in a different part of Paris armed with my trusty map. After several inadvertant detours, I found Lac Superieur & Lac Inferieur right where they were supposed to be. Forested surroundings, rowboats on Lac Inferieur, cafes for cups of tea, lots of walking tracks, my sort of place. Success!
Now I'm in Vienna, checked in at the hotel, & of course I've been walking, found several parks. Christine, I've already walked half the Ring Road! Even been to the Rathaus. Did you know about the Film Festival? I may go there tomorrow night. Big Red Bus tour booked for tomorrow to be followed by a guided walk.
Night folks!

Sunshine in Paris!

Sunny days are here again! It's been great, mid-20's, blue sky, fluffy clouds, all that.
Friday I had a totally lazy morning & joined another walking tour in the arvo, Trendy Marais. Another enjoyable time listening to the guide's stories. I was a bit slow the first few days though. I saw lots of 'Soldes' signs in shop windows, didn't think much about it until the guide of this tour mentioned 'the Paris sales'. That's what Soldes means! Apparently the Paris sales started this week, last for a month I think, & everyone comes to town to shop. (Now I'm not a shopper but there were a few things I wanted.) Anyway I wandered around quite a bit more before heading out for tea then hotel, got out my map & found a likely looking shopping centre.
Saturday I went to the Galleries La Fayette & shopped. I had been needing some sandals, got a pair, & a summer top, got it, & more souvenirs for my Pandora bracelet. I bought a birdcage to represent France, think interior decor French Chic motifs, & there was a teapot I just couldn't resist, so me! When I was in Austria I bought a couple of enamelled spacers, one champagne (really brown), one purple. In Bath I found a matching Pandora champagne ring, grabbed it. So, in Paris was the purple ring, now I have both matching. The Pandora wasn't on sale but there was an offer, buy enough, which I had, & get two spacers free, good deal. Sadly they only had one of a colour to blend with all my others but that was okay, it was free.
Marie, you would be proud of me. I have Pandoras from most countries, only Switzerland, Holland & Belgium to decide on still. The Catholic Basilica will be in good company.
Moving on, I did a tour in the arvo starting from the Paris Garnier Opera House wandering right bank Paris. That was fun & because I was there I saw an ad for the Ballet on at the Opera House. If you read fb you know I bought a ticket, yay! Great ballet, good night, back to hotel.
The Galleries La Fayette are in a heritage building with a fantastic high dome in the centre & each floor has galleries around the core. I'll put photos on fb later. It's lovely & reminded me of the restoration of the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, though a different style obviously. This is Paris, after all! There is a great roof terrace with amazing views over Paris, another photo. Also separate buildings for men's & women's shopping. The women share with kids clothes, etc, the men with gourmet food, lol. Lots of other stuff too of course. Worth a look if you're here.
I'm going to be so broke by the time I get home! Save my money for me, Jan. have you replaced all my wine yet?
Love to everyone.

Paris!

Well, Paris is definitely a different place in fine weather. I arrived about 9 pm & found my hotel after a few wrong turns. Blessings for daylight savings, I wasn't having to find my way in the dark. No tea making equipment in the room, most European hotels don't bother, but 24hr supply in the lobby.  That's a bonus. I grabbed a cup from the breakfast room & just wander down whenever I want. The lift's a bit jerky though, got to watch I don't spill it. Mustn't separate me from my cups of tea, eh!
Anyway, Tuesday I just wandered around the locality & checked things out. Wednesday I took a bus tour to Versailles, which was v interesting. An amazing place with v formal gardens, massive gardens! You can walk for a mile straight back from the palace & still not  be at the end, I think 3.5 miles around. Well worth a look.
After Versailles, the bus went on to Giverny, Claude Monet's home & gardens. That place is awesome, to be wandering around the same gardens, viewing the same stream & lily ponds that he had planted & painted so often. Definitely the highlight of my day!
Today I joined a walking tour around the outside of Notre Dame Cathedral & environs, that was fun, the guides always have amusing stories to tell. Then another walking tour with a different guide along the Seine seeing more sights. Then I went on a ferry trip on the Seine with a guy from the second walk, an Iranian student studying Civil Engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne. Go figure! Amazing the people you meet. After all that I went to an Italian restaurant for tea, had Salade Pavarotti! & got to the hotel at 9.30pm, still daylight.
Life can be fun! Now it's midnight, time for another cup & bed.

The fens

I finally went for that walk through the fen reserve near St Ives. It's lovely, peaceful & relaxing, even though I'd walked about 4 miles all up by the time I got back to Michelle's. It was a lovely sunny day & even reached 26c I think.
I'm heading back to Europe tomorrow, will be in Paris by tomorrow night & staying there 9 days. Lots of walking, sightseeing, a couple of bus trips maybe. My first venture totally by myself in a foreign country. Just as well a lot of French people speak English, I'm v limited in French. I'll put up photos, maybe not the usual sights though.
 Who liked the 'dog' building outside Amsterdam? I was talking to a couple of Dutch women at the YHA in Bath & asked them about that building. They hadn't thought of it as a dog, haha! They were going to row about 200 miles in about 6 days in a canoe, passing through 26 locks along the way. They were hoping for no rain, sitting in water for each shift would be unpleasant, to say the least. YHA's often have interesting people. I talked to an Englishman, been travelling around for a few years, could be considered 'homeless' I guess, going from YHA to YHA with the occasional trip overseas. Obviously not broke though. He had decided to go back to his home city of Birmingham to buy a one bed flat 'cos he's 68 & wants a settled base to continue travelling from!
Tomorrow I go under the English Channel by train, no seasickness, yay!

Still in Huntingdon

It's been great catching up with Michelle & family. I've enjoyed being here. On Thursday I skipped walking in the fens, instead I had a lazy morning, then walked into the town centre for a look around. Friday again lazy, mainly because the weather wasn't great & I had a sore knee, had to rest it. We went to see Viva Forever, the Spice Girls musical, that night & it was really good. I would say on a par with the Melbourne version of Hairspray that I saw a few years ago. Lots of familiar songs, the cast had energy & enthusiasm, passable storyline. It was amusing & fun.
Today we went to Foxton Locks to view the narrow boats & see the series of canal locks in action. It was great, we even had a relaxing.short boat trip. Finished the day with a good dinner out. Another enjoyable day. I do like the narrow boats & canals!
What will tomorrow bring?

Huntingdon & Cambridge

I'm now in Huntingdon staying with Michelle, Scott, Eimii & Kate. I've spent the last couple of days in Cambridge looking around. I caught the bus there yesterday & being me slept all the way there & back, wandered around the town a bit & booked a walking tour & a bus tour for today. Today I took my wake up tablets & was amazed at what I had missed. The bus travelled through several small towns, St Ives was beautiful, along a busway through farmland & fens, a potential walking trip in the fens tomorrow. The busway is open to the countryside, no walls, much more scenic than Brisbane's. Anyway the walking tour was interesting & visited the King's & Queen's Chapels at Cambridge University among many other university sights. Then the bus tour went around the wider Cambridge highlights & sights. After that I saw some of the university sights from a different perspective, from a punt on the river Cam! No prizes for guessing where the name Cambridge came from. It was a great punting trip though, chauffeured of course. I enjoy watching others do the work! Peaceful & relaxing. Then the bus trip home, still awake, St Ives is definitely my favourite. Thanks to better weather today I've enjoyed Cambridge immensely. I really am seriously affected by the weather, eh.
Tomorrow the fens!

Bath in 6 days

Only Saturday to go here, I leave on Sunday. It's been interesting & relaxing. I arrived Monday, spent most of Tuesday in the library, my milieu, eh. Wednesday was an arvo trip to Stonehenge which I enjoyed. The pictures are already on fb. Good commentary on the headsets. The police were getting ready for the Summer Solstice influx.
Thursday I booked a day trip to Avebury, another stone site as old as & way more extensive than Stonehenge. At some stage the Catholic Church decided it was too pagan & started burying the stones. Quite a feat in itself, consisting of digging an enormous hole in front of each stone, then toppling the stone in & burying it. Those stones were one third of their length into the ground to start with & weighed many tons! Those priests must have been good conmen to get the people to work that hard. Anyway they eventually, after many stone burials including a crushed barber/surgeon, gave up. Some of the stones were used for local buildings & fences too. In I think the late 1800's, 1900's an Englishman decided to dig the buried ones up & did get a fair number but apparently there are still about 40 stones down there.
An interesting titbit; I saw a stone fence with a thatched roof along the way, only about 3-4 ft high. Thought that was strange so of course I asked. Apparently the thatch acts as a water resistant roof protecting the mortar, ergo the fence lasts longer!
That trip also went to a Cotswoldian village, Castle Combe, no castle anymore, just one street but v quaint. I will get photos up. Laycock was another village, Wiltshireish maybe?, four streets this time. Again worth a look & photos.
Today I have been wandering around Bath, photos later. From the Roman Baths to the Thermae Spa, I only saw the outside of the buildings as to go inside them cost more than seeing Stonehenge. Avebury was free! I walked to the Royal Crescent, a crescent of probably Georgian apartment buildings, each apartment worth a small fortune by virtue of overlooking the Botanic Gardens. No balconies on that side though, go figure. Then I eyeballed the Circus, more apartment buildings, three sets curved in a circle around a small grassy area with five magnificent old trees. In the Gardens I took pictures of a squirrel scampering through the trees, don't know if it'll show up.
Yesterday's bus trip, as a bonus, provided a free cream tea at a local hotel so after all that walking I replaced the calories in a v tasty way. I also scored a ticket to a Noel Coward play, Relative Values, starring Patricia Hodges. I'm looking forward to that tonight. Now the library is closed so I'm using the local supermarket's Wifi!
Okay, that's probably way too much detail. So complain to the management!

The European trip is over!

Okay, the European trip is over - I'll write about those last few days later. Amsterdam was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got a little queasy on the ferry trip from Calais to Dover, drat it. Rivers are so much calmer. Thankfully I'm going under the Channel next time on the Eurostar.
Anyway, back in the UK, I've had 3 days in Exeter, seen the Cliff Richard concert. He's always good, YAY! Amazingly blue sky for the concert though the forecast was for rain!
Now I'm in Bath with the Avon River & the Roman Baths, staying at the YHA. No Free Wifi there, overpriced Wifi! So today I'm using the free Wifi at the local library, great place to spend a gray day. Tomorrow's supposed to be fine, sunny & warm so I hope to do a day trip to the Cotswolds, if I haven't left it too late to book.
Coming into Bath on the bus I was reminded quite strongly of Adelaide, all the stone buildings & the contrasting quoins, no doubt. Not by the time we hit the central city though. All those ubiquitous apartment buildings & terraces, they're inescapable. Gray, dirty looking, mostly boring! Rome was the exception but I must have been on the 'good' side of town, lol. I know they have to fit in all those teeming millions but really! Why not clean them, give them a lick of paint, put plants on the balconies, something!
I'll come back to the library another day for the Wifi.
Enjoy your trip around the sun,
Gail Frances

Lucerne, Switzerland

Switzerland is nice, Lucerne is nice, nothing outstanding though. Lots of little points of interest that make it worthwhile. We've been here 2 nights & I've done lots of walking, just looking around. I've taken photos on my cell but can't upload them to fb, maybe in Germany. I put some up yesterday from my iPad so have a look on fb.
Tonight we went to a 'typical' Swiss restaurant for dinner. That was fun with a band, yodelling, flag tossing, alpen horns, cow bells. Again photos on cell, see later..
Off to Germany again tomorrow,
Gail Frances

Salzburg to Munich

Austria really is so green! We went on to Salzburg today & the scenery is still great, rolling hills & forests. Salzburg is a mountainous area & we did a short walking tour of the city centre, then on into the mountains. It reminded me of driving over Arthur's Pass without the Otira Zigzag, all those steep gorges that Jan hated looking down, eh.
The optional today was a trip up a mountain to Eagle's Nest, a Hitler monument, edifice, conference centre? I didn't go, of course. It was bad enough listening to the local guide on the bus making excuses for the blind following of Hitler. The usual 'They didn't know - life was so hard - Hitler gave them work'. Yes, work killing people! Anyway I spent the time in a picturesque little town I wasn't much interested in but I did get a massive cup of tea, lol. A pleasant change from the tiny cups we're often given. The bonus was I got to go down the mountain again then back up to collect the others, then down again. If only I had been driving - I always enjoyed driving to the West Coast. The pity was the time wasted on that Eagle's Nest trip could have been better spent further on.
From Salzburg we drove to Munich, more lovely landscapes, but I was disappointed we didn't have time to see much of the city, v little in fact, just 1 1/2 hours in a dubious part of town with beer gardens. Definitely not my scene at all. No walking tour, no bus drive around the major sights. There was so much more to see! But no more time, all wasted sadly.
Four countries in one day tomorrow!

Austria, Vienna Woods, so cool!

My first impression of Austria is of greenness, so much green, so much forest, rolling green hills. Amazingly so much greener than NZ! Our Southern Alps are definitely more rugged & we have the so useful plains but Austria has forests everywhere, not just radiata pine either, lol.
I haven't had time to see Vienna yet, sightseeing tomorrow then free time to explore in the arvo. I'm meeting Christine in the evening, yay. Our hotel is right beside the Danube & definitely a step up from the last couple, not that there was anything wrong with the others. But a king size bed beats a single bed any day, lol!
So from one green country to another, & to that brown country too, goodnight!

Capri, Rome & things of interest

The Isle of Capri was beautiful but the boat trip over was a bit rough, made a few of us feel ill. Land was good! Lots of up & down walking on the island but worth every slope & step. An 'upmarket' tourist resort for sure, but so, so nice. If I could remember how I would add photos - I did take them. Maybe I can get some onto fb. The boat trip back was much calmer, lol.
Anyway now we're in Rome & this morning visited the Vatican, interesting; the Sistine Chapel, absorbing & sometimes puzzling trying to figure out some of the pictures; the Basilica of St Peter, awesome. All the 'pictures' there were actually mosaics, the intricacy of them & the size. I am in awe of the talent!
We've also visited the Colosseum, again an interesting ruin but for me overshadowed by the deaths of both people & animals that took place there. I can't separate the use from the building.
This evening I found another park to wander around. It was fairly small so I walked around 3 times, I needed to stretch my legs. Nice to listen to the birds, see the greenery, & hear the kids playing. Apartment living means no back yards, etc, so whole families go to the local parks most evenings for fun & exercise, or just to sit & talk to their neighbours. I'm blessing daylight saving, it's so nice to be out in the evenings in daylight again. I do miss that. (If only Queensland wasn't so backward in that respect.)
Whoops, the others have just come back from dinner. Golly, Australians are more raucous than Americans! The lobby has been invaded with that ubiquitous 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!' Cringe! Just as well they're mostly harmless, lol. The Americans have slunk off to bed, feeling outclassed maybe.
I'll finish on that note, Venice tomorrow.
Ciao

Cannes, Monaco, Pisa, Florence, Assissi, Pompeii, Sorrento!

We've certainly been to a lot of places in just a few days. Lousy weather again, maybe next week it'll improve. I enjoyed wandering around Cannes, old & dingy suprisingly, saw the red carpet being ripped up & dumped into bins. We went to the Fragonard Perfumery & sniffed lots of perfumes. I took a couple of shots of murals on shop walls. I'll add them to fb or here - you can play spot the celebrity!

From Cannes in France we went to Monaco, it's own country, a quick look around, a much more attractive place, then on to Pisa in Italy which didn't rock my boat at all! If it had been in ChCh, it would have been demolished quick smart. Way too many souvenir sellers, all selling the same stuff, cheap & tawdry.

Florence was good, if wet, we did a walking tour around the sights. The sights included the original statue of David. The lady doing the tour took us behind the statue & said she thought he was more sexy from behind, all the ladies agreed, lol.

Then on to Assissi, another of my must sees, the Basilica of St Francis, fabulous, amazing frescoes! That building is three churches on top of each other! I loved that place, would happily spend several days in Assissi, wandering around the old streets & houses*. We did get the blue sky & sunshine, but about the time we went back to the hotel, thunder & lightening started, got there just ahead of the rain. I didn't have time to see St Clare's, maybe next time.

(*Not houses actually - from London, all the way so far, there are no detached houses in the cities! It's all apartment blocks, most old & dingy outside, need a good cleaning, repairing & painting. It's a different way of life for sure. Several of the tour guides have freely said it can be unpleasant living in the apartments with kids. One place we were told, the smallest apartments are only 70 sq mt!) 

For anyone who doesn't know, my second Christian name is Frances, not many wouldn't know that! & I took Clare for my confirmation name. My Nan was called Clare & I have always admired St Francis & St Clare, know their history some, even saw that dreadfully romanticised version at the movies called Brother Sun, Sister Moon. I've got to go back to Assissi, more to see.

Okay, Pompeii was today, a little disappointing but good to see the street & house layouts. It seems all the decorative detail has been stripped out & sent to various museums. I'm glad I went to see the Pompeii exhibition at the British Museum in London. So much more detail about their way of life, their decor, their mosaics, etc. I guess exposure to the elements would be a problem but Pompeii was so bare & stark. Not impressed with the guide there, he kept going on about the brothels, the explicit frescoes (which haven't been removed, btw) & was depressingly seedy. Most of the men enjoyed that & behaved like schoolboys.

Now we are in Sorrento for two nights, a chance to do some washing, lol. Off on a walking tour of the Isle of Capri tomorrow, even if it rains!

Ciao!

Spain - Madrid & Barcelona

Hola,

It's been a busy few days. I've had 2 nights in Madrid which was just another city with some interesting highlights. There were a number of cutout billboards of black bulls about 3-4 metres high dotted around the countryside. While in Madrid I did an optional tour to Toledo which used to be Spain's capital. That place is awesome! Old & special, definitely interesting, the streets are so narrow many do not allow cars. They were preparing the town for Corpus Christi with bunting, flags, even a canopy over the streets the Monstrance will be paraded along, can't have birds crapping on it, or on the people. I'd love to go back there for longer. I even had lunch with an Italian man from Brooklyn, mainly 'cos he had a spare seat at his table, lol. Nice hotel, had heated towel rails which we all utilised to dry our washing. Got to take what chances appear, washing is haphazard.

Next was Barcelona, another city but with Gaudi! The main reason I wanted to come to Spain was to see the Gaudi architecture. It was everything special I expected. Fantastic! The Sagrada Familia Cathedral is amazing, still building after about 100 years, about 30 years to go. Gaudi died in 1926! When the others went on an optional tour in the arvo, I went to Parc Guell, a Gaudi designed park which was intended to be a 60 house residential/park estate though only one house was ever built. Gaudi lived in it for some years & now it's a mini museum, interesting. The park was great with so many features in Gaudi's unique style, again loved it! The hotel in Barcelona was average/nice but the wifi was hopeless in my room & when I tried the PC in the lobby, the Internet kept dropping out. Even on my cell, Gmail cut off! So that why it's been a few days.

Adios

Bon jour,

Now I'm back in France in that famous city, Cannes! The film festival finished a few days ago but there are still lots of people here, even the red carpet is still on the ground, lol. Unless the weather is warmer tomorrow I don't think I'll be swimming in the Mediterranean Sea though. There's a laundromat down the street from the hotel, bonus! Tomorrow is the Fragonard Perfumery, the laundromat, then down to the Med for a walk. This is the first hotel with a pool, almost warm! 

This trip is definitely a trip!

Au revior

Spain - Burgos

Hola,
France has been left behind with all it's gray clouds & showery weather. Now we're in sunny Spain, blue sky & sunshine at last! Quite a marked change. Still not warm but definitely better.
Now that I've found how to work the checkin function on fb, you can click on my location to see about the place I'm at & the attractions around.
We left Lourdes in the rain & cold & travelled around the Pyrenees not over, thankfully, as there was snow on those mountains! Fantastic Cathedral in Burgos, so much carving, so much detail. It's a different architecture here, much Arabic influence of course. France was a manicured landscape, this is more rolling hills & mountains, not rugged like the South Island, but I'll see as we travel around Spain more.
We had the task today of choosing our optional tours, those money eating extras. I've chosen less than half, to do all would mean missing some of what I really want to see. In Barcelona, eg, I'm not doing either optional offered as the attraction there for me is the Gaudi architecture & I want free time to wander off to see that.
So far, I'm enjoying the tour & I'm v glad I have a room to myself. I would have found sharing hard. Now that we're in sunshine I want to do more walking so free time while others are doing their tours will be great.
Adios.

So Catholic Lourdes!

A leisurely start, a quick tour/ride through Bordeaux, then on to Lourdes, that supposed mecca for all Catholics. The place looks great but there are so many, so hopeful people in wheelchairs etc. Interesting titbit, the Catholic authorities built one cathedral on top of another cathedral, literally. Talk about overkill! Then there's one over there (really just a big barn to pack more people in), & another cathedral over the river!
A v nice dinner tonight- I knew I shouldn't have had that dessert & the wine. We took a wander round some of the shops, so much, so same, so twee. Then another wine, & here I am writing my blog.
Tomorrow Spain. There's snow on the Pyrenees! This is spring?
Bonne nuit.

Paris excitement!

Paris is great, so much to see. Yesterday we went up the Eiffel Tower, totally cliche, eh, but I enjoyed it. From the 2nd level I took a photo of Le Sacre Coeur on it's hill way in the distance. I didn't go to the top, not really enough time. In the afternoon we went to Montmartre & I took a photo of the Eiffel Tower from outside Le Sacre Coeur. From there we went down again & cruised on the Seine, I got a couple of good shots of Notre-Dame. In the evening there was an optional dinner at Le Moulin Rouge but I decided not to do that & went for a walk with another lady. We found an underground mall with loads of upmarket fashion shops to wander around, no buying! Most of the shops can be seen all over Australia though.
I'm glad I'm coming back to Paris in July. It'll be summertime & hopefully blue sky, sunshine & warmth. I'll see a lot more on foot.
This morning we started early & drove to Chartres to see the Cathedral there, fantastic stained glass windows. It would have been even more marvellous in sunshine but it's still gray & showery. It was a long day in the coach today & we're now in Bordeaux for one night, had a good dinner at the hotel.
Tomorrow is a more relaxed day with a later start, yay.
You know, there's an option to leave comments on my blog. Let me know if you're enjoying it, or if you're even reading it!
Bonne nuit

London to Paris in a day

The tour group was picked up from the hotel this morning, then Dover to Calais on the ferry, a lovely calm crossing unlike most of my crossings of Cook Strait! A peaceful drive through the manicured French countryside, then into Paris to the hotel.
There are three women travelling alone on this tour besides me. They all paid the single supplement of $1,600 so there was no-one to share with me. Guess who got a single room for free! So great!
Anyway, I'm in Paris, I've had dinner at a restaurant along the Champs Élysées, a bus tour around the city at twilight (yes, Brisbanites, most places have daylight saving & twilight!) & now I'm sitting in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel writing this blog. I'm so pleased to be here!
Interestingly once again, the historical buildings don't seem as exciting as the new architecture. Paris is following the trend to glass & it's looking great. Think Dubai with history. I am enjoying the older buildings, see my photo of the Arc de Triumphe on fb, & I'll take more tomorrow, but the new 'stuff' being built here is great. I'll take a few photos when I come back in July when I can walk around, not trying to take shots from a moving bus in the rain.
Bonne nuit, folks!

Still London!

Yesterday I wandered along Southbank & around Covent Garden, Leiester Square area, rode on the London Eye & went to see the Lion King for the first time. The animals were depicted really well, especially the giraffes, & the cast had lots of energy.
I've decided London is a city is a city. Lots more history maybe, but still just another city. I've enjoyed looking around, if not the weather. (But I don't like ChCh weather either, that's why I live in Brisbane.) London was confusing as travelling underground to specific stations I was not getting a sense of direction or size, somewhat disorienting. So today I went on a ferry ride from O2, the Olympic Stadium, to the London Eye & back which gave a perspective to the city & all the twists & turns of the Thames. I enjoyed just sitting & watching the city pass by. Interestingly from O2 I could look 'cross country' to the London Eye in the distance. Not such a large centre to this city, though the suburbs would be another story obviously.
Tomorrow I pack again & move into a hotel for the night, ready to be picked up on Saturday morning for the start of my European trip. YAY!

More in London

The Moonwalk! The night was v cold but stayed dry during the walk, thankfully. There were 17,000 people, some extremely hyper, some exuberant, some just plain determined, all raising money towards the fight against breast cancer. Many were doing the Full Moon of 26.2 miles, the rest of us were walking the Half Moon but at the venue we were told that due to a slight change of route, the half moon would be 13.8 miles, an extension of .7 mile. So at midnight we started & we walked, & walked, & walked, & walked some more. It really was cold! Alone it would have been incredibly boring but in such a crowd it was an event. Through Chelsea, around Hyde Park, along an awful lot of streets. We even went past Harrods, probably the closest I'll get to that shop. We, as in my two nieces, their three friends & me, myself & I, made it over the finish line around 5.30am but maybe half an hour was lost in loo queues! A pretty good effort we thought & happily collected our medals. Karen had had a knee operation a couple of weeks ago & was unsure whether she could/should walk - she crossed the finish line limping but definitely there. We all did well!

Today I wandered around the Theatre district looking at all on offer. I had pretty much decided on Phantom of the Opera when I saw that the new Star Trek movie was on - I couldn't miss that! So here I am in London & I went to a movie. I did check out a play starring Judi Dench, I do like her, but £85 was too much! 

Another enthralling episode another day.

Westminster wicked?

Westminster Abbey was an interesting walk, touted as 'a three-dimensional walk-through history of England'. Lots to see, no chance of remembering dates, names, etc. way too confusing. Poets' Corner was more my thing, with later memorialisations continuing up on the stained glass window above. No more room at Westminster Abbey, all full up.
After a short stroll I wandered in to Westminster Cathedral, the Catholic one, yay, again interesting. I thought the building was marvellous but v dark. About half of the brickwork, walls & ceiling, was plain dark brown, although the rest was beautifully muralled (if that's a word) or frescoed. Eventually I found a sign that explained the decoration? of the Cathedral was an ongoing project & future generations were expected to contribute therefore areas of the brickwork including the domes had been left for that purpose. I did like that idea of continuity & community involvement.
Friday evening I went to see the musical Wicked which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had seen it in Brisbane but it is worth a second seeing. Well done with lots of energy.
Saturday was 'Brunel Walks on Water', a tour under 3 Brunel bridges, over 2 Brunel tunnels, a view of the launching place, sideways, of a 700 ft ship into the Thames, then down underground to a tunnel system which once housed an early arcade with 60 shops. The entrance to this was through a 4 ft high doorway which extended forward by 4 ft. Think waddling like a duck! It was a good tour by ferry, by train, by tube, & finally by foot to the Brunel Museum.
That Moonwalk! Tomorrow maybe.

More of London!

I'm enjoying doing the walking tourist thing here.  Tuesday's walk was The Secrets & Splendours of St Paul's Cathedral, interesting it was. I continued wandering & ended up at the Guildhall, had a good look around the art gallery there.
Wednesday I went to the British Museum to meet up with a classmate from primary school 50 years ago! & to see the Pompeii Exhibition which was quite fascinating & also disturbing. So much death & destruction. Looked through sone of the Greek & Roman exhibitions too.
Today, Thursday, I joined a walk Royal London & the Changing of the Guard. You guessed it - Big Ben, the Palace, soldiers & horses! The traditional tourist bit. Karen talked me into it - blame her! I did get a couple of good photos though which will have to wait as they are on my phone, not my iPad. A really good one of statues of the Queen Mother & her husband King George as they were before his death. An untimely death, I learnt. George was the King in The King's Speech with the speech impediment. His doctors' advised him to smoke as a relaxation technique in hopes he would stutter less. He died of lung cancer! Unfortunately the sun hid, the rain started, the wind blew, & as soon as the walk was over I headed back to Karen's place to shelter & warm up. With a stop in a pub along the way for a Scotch & dry! The perfect thing for a 'turned lousy' day.

Michelle, Eimii & Kate arrived at Karen's on Saturday & Michelle, Karen & I went to see Michael Ball at Hammersmith Apollo Theatre. He was fantastic as always, great voice & great performer.
Sunday, Scott arrived & Eimii's boyfriend Curt & on we went to a canal boat festival at Little Venice. I do like narrow boats, they are v decorative, & with their shallow draft can access most small rivers & canals. Good atmosphere & lots of people. I was a trifle disappointed though, missed the Morris dancing!
Monday was a holiday & Karen, Paul & I walked along the Thames & under the Thames! to Greenwich. We wandered past the Cutty Sark, through Greenwich Market, & over to the Royal Naval College for a looksee. The Painted Hall was well worth seeing, painted walls & ceilings, renaissance style? (Think Michelangelo), more open-mouthed gazing!
Lots of walking opportunities here but my relatively new pedometer has become unreliable, no idea why. I'll have to get another. It's been handy though, it's set to Brisbane time, saves working out the time difference!
There'll be another episode, another day.

Dubai, London

Dubai was great, took a morning bus tour around most of those fabulous buildings although the bus stopped at malls not the buildings. Mind you, some of the malls had great architectural details too.  I did enjoy hopping off at a souk in a beachside resort. I wandered around gazing at all the fantastic carved wooden elements of the building more than all the stuff on sale. Then I went on an abra (small boat) ride around the canals of the resort, worth seeing & relaxing.
Dan picked me up later & we went for a v nice tea with Lisa & Trisha. Then into Dubai Mall & out the back which just happened to look towards the fantastic, impressive Burj Khalifa. We were in time for a lovely fountain/light show to the background song of The Prayer. They actually have the shows every half hour but the music changes. The Burj Khalifa is amazing to see against the night sky & to stand below gazing up was v impressive. I'm hoping to go up to the Observation Deck when I'm there in August. Google Burj Khalifa & read about it.
An early start yesterday, pickup shuttle to the airport, & a 7 hour flight to London. Then I had the challenge of negotiating 2 suitcases on the Underground Tube with a train change along the way. I succeeded & met Karen for a short walk to her place. She & Paul live on the Isle of Dogs, next to the Thames. Really! I'm sitting in their lounge looking over the Thames to the night-time lit Shard!
Today I went for an 8 mile approx walk to Tower Bridge, to the Gherkin, past Fenchurch Street Station, (Monopoly anyone?) past Dickens' Inn & all the way back again. I wandered through All Hallows' by the Tower Church to discover St Francis' Crypt Chapel & St Clare's Oratory, my favourite saints. Along the way back I heard an alarm ringing behind me, kept walking, then realised 1. I was on a small, low bridge, 2. there was an alarm ringing in front of me too. Most disconcerting. When I stepped off the bridge barriers came down behind me so I asked a waiting cyclist why. He said the street would move! So I watched the street/bridge lift itself up, rotate & slide sideways, tucking itself in neatly. V nicely done! It allowed a boat into the lock then rotated, slid back & became a street again. It was quite something to watch. Certainly a new experience for me.

First step, long journey

Jan farmed out the girls for the night so she could take me to the airport, isn't she lovely. Okay, I'll miss her, she might miss me. On to me!

I flew out at 2.30am, had a short stop in Singapore, then on to Dubai by 1pm, UAE time, all up about 15-16 hours. I had arranged a shuttle to the hotel & everything was easy. I spent most of the shuttle trip gazing at all the buildings. So now I'm checked in, well enough housed, even free wifi in the room. I've had dinner in the restaurant downstairs, nice. It's time to catch up on sleep.

Counting down!

In just 2 weeks I leave on my long anticipated overseas trip, visiting 14 countries over 4 months. Some of my travelling will be on organised coach tours but the majority will be exploring on my own & catching up with friends & family. I am really looking forward to this experience!

Up, up, & away!

Josh Groban - yay! I have booked my ticket for April 26th, just a smidgeon before I go away. I have Josh's new cd 'All That Echoes' & it sounds great. So, a concert to look forward to.

Finally I have been able to apply for Long Service leave & will be away travelling from May to August - 4 whole months! I'm going to the UK & Europe, & hopefully also quick trips to Egypt & Jordan. That is fantastic! I will be able to visit my nieces in London & Huntingdon UK, Christine in Ermendorf Austria, & Alan in Brampton UK. My cousin Dan will have to drive through from Abu Dhabi to visit me in Dubai as that is where I will stopover on both flights. I'm going to have fun.

I have bought an iPad Mini so's I can keep connected while I'm away. I've booked 2 Apple workshops for next weekend to learn how to use it. I'll use free WiFi in hotels, public buildings, libraries, on public transport, etc. With that & my new cellphone I should be all set.

Sir Cliff's Brisbane concert 2013

As always, Cliff gave us a wonderful concert, lots of rock & roll, lots of ballads & some 'new' stuff that others have recorded. I guess he's getting a taste for covering other singers good ones. Thoroughly enjoyable!
I will see the same concert when I go to Powderham Castle in Exeter in the UK in June. That will be a good night too. I've booked my ticket, booked a nearby hotel & will do a little sightseeing while I'm there.
Good news also, Josh Groban has today announced that he is to tour Australia again. He will be in Brisbane at QPAC on the 26th April, 4 days before I go away. Fantastic!

A bit of nothing

This is a bit of nothing just to keep my hand in, so to speak.
But I have been listening to a metal/power ballad group 'Epica' I've just heard of who will be touring Australia in April. Obviously classical training, great music, great vocals, original songs of course. I think they're well worth a listen, try youtube. Maybe I can talk someone into coming to see them.
That's it for today!