Our Holiday

Greek Islands and Portugal

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The Greek islands were wonderful: very relaxing and serene.

Paros

Santorini

Mykonos

We had three weeks in Northern Portugal which was magnificent. We lived at the beach in Povoa Varzim and we learnt to ride the local buses and the metro to the main city, Porto (38 km away). Porto is very unspoiled and remains authentically ‘Portuguese’, with red terracotta tiled houses set up on the steep banks of a large busy river in a deep valley, and hardly anyone speaks English! So with lots of hand actions we manage to get around the city, enjoying sitting in the cable car, riding boats up the river, frequenting pubs and admiring the architecture and history of the place. We spent most of our time on the beach in Povoa Varzim but we returned to Porto numerous times. When we were travelling a short way up the river on a little boat in Porto I was thrilled to notice that we passed the River Cruise boat that I am keen to do one day.

Pavo Varzim

Porto

Soon we will be cottage sitting on a little farm in Cumbria, the Lake District; one of our favourite places.

Sandy in Milos

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Patsy in Mykonos

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Itinerary for 2006 India Trip

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09 December 2006 - Hong Kong
13 December 2006 - Delhi
16 December 2006 - Agra - Taj Mahal - Fatehpur Sikri
19 December 2006 - Bikaner - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur
23 December 2006 - Delhi - Hong Kong - Home

Delhi - Hong Kong - Home

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Saturday 23 December 2006

There was a delay of 6 hours at Jodhpur Airport because of fog in Delhi. We were presented with a very nice free Indian lunch by the airline to make up for the long wait. We eventually pitched up at the Rani Castle at 9.30pm and collapsed.

Sunday 24 December 2006

A great day touring Delhi, concentrating on very modern Indian history, taking in the Raj Ghat, cremation site of Mahatma, Indira and Rajiv Ghandi. Then a tour of the Indira Ghandi museum - fascinating. As a sop to pre-Mugal India we then hit Jodi gardens before having a relaxing day at the Hotel.

Monday 25 December 2006

Went to a Christian Church but there were so many people there that we could not get in to the service. We returned to our hotel and enjoyed samoosas for Christmas dinner. A lazy day spent with a walk to our park and then watching "fillims".

Tuesday 26 December 2006

Arose at 3.45am to catch our lift to Indira Ghandi International Airport and took off, almost on time, at 8.10am. Fog had again moved in. We had a 9 hour wait in transit in Hong Kong airport - absolutely huge with a multiplicity of shops, bars, lounges and restaurants. Time passed remarkably quickly. Took off just after midnight for an eight hour flight to Brisbane.

Wednesday 27 December 2006

Picked up by Tertia in Brisbane and after tea at her place drove back to a "much greener than we left it" Toowoomba.

Bikaner - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur

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Tuesday 19 December 2006

Today we took off for Bikaner, a 7 hour road trip (death drive) and after booking into the Heritage Resort Hotel, again amazingly upmarket, were taken to see a camel farm.

Doorman at Heritage Resort, Bikaner

Ganga Raisala (13th Grenadiers), Bikaner

Wednesday 20 December 2006

We were met this morning outside Bikaner Palace by our guide Shalenda and tour representative Vinod. Then followed a really interesting tour. The entrance had a series of hand marks made by the Mahajanis (first wives of the Maharaja) by dipping their hands in henna before being burned alive on the funeral pires of their dead husbands. Currently there is no Maharaja of Bikaner, the line having run out (no male heirs), so the whole palace with antique furniture etc is open to the public. Apparently one of the daughters/granddaughters may produce a son one day soon and if so he will inherit and live in the palace and will carry on the line. We then had a 6 hour drive to Jaisalmer and settled into the Heritage Inn once again very pleasant.

Bikaner Fort and Palace

Huge Bail of Fodder on Truck (hidden)

Thursday 21 December 2006

We were met by our guide Kamal at 9.00am at the hotel and taken to the Gadi Sagar Lake surrounded by the Tilon-ki-phol and pagodas and rest places for caravaneers. This place played a big part in watering the camel trains of the past. Jaisalmer was, up until the late 19th century, a wealthy town slap bang on the trade route to China. Only the opening of the port of Bombay caused its demise. We then entered the living Jaisalmer Fort, living because 2500 people live and work within the fort walls. Jain temples, bastions, great views and havalis made for a good tour which included chai at Kamal's pad. Patsy bought all the spices for Chai tea and learned how to make it, so I guess anyone who visits when we get back will be treated (?) to a taste! We finished the day with a camel ride and a relaxing evening at the hotel.

Musician on the edge of the Gadi Sagar

The outer city from Jaisalmer Fort

Inside the Fort Walls

Salim Singh-Ki-Haveli
The Longest Moustache in Jaisalmer!

Friday 22 December 2006

We had a 4 hour drive to Jodhpur, booked into the Ajit Bahwan Hotel, the most upmarket yet, and then took a trip to the Jaswant Thada royal crematorium with our new guide Hari. Then it was up to the Meherangarh (the Majestic Fort) and I literally mean up - 125m. Originally built in the 1200's, it has been added to since and is a in good state of repair. The views of the Blue City below are stunning and the history of the place fascinating. Every fort has been subtly different on this trip so we are definitely not experiencing repetition. We fly to Delhi tomorrow hoping that there are not too many delays due to fog etc.

The Jaswant Thada, Jodhpur

Looking at the old city wall from the Majestic Fort (Meherangarh)

Views from Meherangarh

The Palace Apartments, Meherangarh

Jodhpur Clock Tower

Market

The Fort from Market
Slum shelters just across the road from our luxury hotel

Agra - Taj Mahal - Fatehpur Sikri

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Saturday 16 December 2006

We were picked up by DC (Duni Chand) at 8 am and driven to Agra stopping at a hotel for tea on the way. We saw Sikandra where we picked up our guide Arif. We then went to our hotel in Agra, the Howard Park Plaza, very upmarket, to drop off our luggage. Then it was onto the Taj, hugely more impressive than the photos show. We finished at the Agra Fort on the Yamuna River the palace of the Mugal Emperors.

Entrance to Sikandra

Road to Akbhar's Tomb

Opposite Gate

Deer in Sikandra Gardens

Entrance to the Taj

Views of the Taj

The Yamuna River from the Taj

The Taj from Agra Fort

Agra Fort

Funeral Procession on the way to cremate a body at the Crematorium
near the Taj on the Yamuna

The Lobby at the Howard Park Plaza in Agra

Rajput Doorman at Howard Park Plaza (ex-Indian Army)

The Palace at Fatehpur Sikri (The Abandoned City)

Sunday 17 December 2006

Picked up by DC and Arif and taken to the Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned city. This was established as a new town by Akbar but ran out of WATER, someone should tell Howard! There was an impressive palace that was being restored. Akbar had three "mini-palaces" built within its walls for his three wives, one Hindu, one Muslim and one Christian. This was part of his quest for harmony between religions. A 5 hour death drive followed with DC to Jaipur. Only the fact that we have a picture of the Hindu Elephant God, the God of good luck, hanging from the mirror ensured our survival! We put up in the Shapura House Hotel again upmarket and very "Rajastan".

Patsy in our room at Shapura House Hotel, Jaipur

Poolside Dinner at Shapura House Hotel, Jaipur

Monday 18 December 2006

Picked up by DC and our new guide Abhi. We took in the Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort - all the way up on the back of an elephant. We scored a smallish elephant but he turned out to be a sports model, younger and stronger than the big fat ones and tore up the hill at a cracking pace, passing all the plodders. Jantar Matar and the City Palace Complex including the museums. Patsy did some shopping, Sandy went for a walk along a long dusty road (Malawi with millions of people) to get money from an ATM and got on the hotel internet.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds), Jaipur

Amber Fort

Elephant Ride

Jal Hahal (Water Palace) sans water (drought), Jaipur

Jantar Mantar (Observatory), Jaipur

City Palace, Jaipur

Garden and pool at the Shapura House Hotel, Jaipur

Dinner and Dancing at top restaurant at same

Delhi

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Wednesday 13 December 2006

We were met at 3am and taken to hotel Castle Rani where we slept well. The rest of the day was spent at the hotel in recovery mode watch cricket on TV and reading.

Thursday 14 December 2006

We were picked up and taken all over Delhi. We saw the Red Fort, the Sikh Miniature Golden Mosque and the place where Mahatma Ghandi was assassinated. This was followed by a rickshaw ride through the streets of Delhi. We also visited the spice markets where monkeys lay on the rooftops, saw the Lotus Building made of white marble and from one angle looks like a lotus flower and from another angle looks like the Sydney Opera House. Finally, we visited the Cashmere Market and bought a beautiful cashmere shawl for my Christmas present from Sandy. It is beautiful, expensive, but something to treasure.

Tonight the driver will take us to a dinner in Delhi where we will be given a voucher to have a lovely meal. All in all a very enjoyable day. The traffic in Delhi is absolutely unbelievable - 15 million people in this one city!

Red Fort, Delhi

Old Delhi

Spice Market, Old Delhi

Chandni Chowk

Sikh Temple

Preparing Food at Sikh Temple

People being fed at Sikh Temple

Ghandi's Last Steps

Ghandi's Assassination Site

Lotus Building

Dinner in Delhi

Delhi Slums

Snake Charmers

Snake with a Charmer

Friday 15 December 2006

A day of recovery at the Rani Castle Hotel. Sandy went for an early walk and found a park. We then found an Internet Cafe for 25R an hour and did some work. Then we walked to the park. Home for a great evening in our room.

Hong Kong

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Saturday 9 December 2006

We had a good flight, 9 hours in all, with an hour's stop in Cairns. It was good to stretch our legs and look at the views of the mountains in the distance. We got to Hong Kong at about 8.30pm caught the Airport Express, A$14, each to within two blocks of The Majestic Hotel, very upmarket, four star at least in the Southern part of Kowloon.

Kowloon Park

Ferry Kowloon to Hong Kong

Approaching Hong Kong

Views of Kowloon and Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

Hotel Room, Majestic, Kowloon

Hong Kong from Kowloon

Sunday 10 December 2006

Sandy was up at 7.00am for a quick recce of the area. We bought an all day rover on the MassTransport Rail (MTR) for HK$50 each (A$1=HK$5.60) and took the MTR to Central before catching the 15C Bus to the Peak Tram station. The trip up to the Tower on Victoria Peak, mostly at 45 degrees was memorable. The views from the top were spectacular and we splashed out on a very expensive beer at a bar overlooking Hong Kong. The only drawback is the haze caused by the incredible polution in the place. All signs are in Cantonese and English but there are a surprising number of people who do not speak English despite Hong Kong being a former British colony. We squeezed in quite a bit of walking soaking up the atmosphere. We got an overall picture of an incredibly disciplined society most of whom live in tiny little high rise apartments unpainted on the outside but with many "mod-cons" including an air-conditioning outlet on the wall outside each unit. Prices other than transport seem to equate to Australia in the heavily tourist areas and shopping centres but if one shops off the beaten track they drop considerably.

MTR Hong Kong

Bamboo Scaffolding

Kowloon Cricket Club

Downtown Kowloon

Monday 11 December 2006

Today we took a trip to one of the outlying islands, Cheung Chai (Long Island). Here we were transported back to China many years ago in a rural setting. Near the ferry terminal were hundreds of Sampans and Junks as well as more modern trawlers - the islands main sourge of income is fishing. Here prices were unbelievably low and at a waterside cafe we had a rice and seafood lunch sitting next to local fisherman who ate twice as much as we did. They had been out since early morning and with all the hard physical labour were obviously famished. We took a three hour walk from the Cheung Chai Village across the island to another tiny hamlet and then back along the coast before catching the ferry home, HK$11.30 each one way. The last couple hours of each day have been spent in our beautiful hotel room relaxing and watching CNN or BBC.

Cheong Chai Island

Tuesday 12th December 2006

We enjoyed a sleep in and a late check out at our nice hotel, leaving the Majestic at noon. We managed to find an internet cafe called Aromas where one could use the internet if one bought coffee! We made our way to Hong Kong History Museum only to find it closes on Tuesdays! Instead, we took a delightful Hong Kong Harbour tour cruise around Victoria Harbour before making our way to the airport. We could check our bags in the city which made things much easier. Enjoyed some Japanes Ashanti beers at the airport before a squashed but non-eventful flight to Delhi.

Itinerary for 2005 Trip

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01 July 2005 - Singapore
03 July 2005 - Kuala Lumpur
05 July 2005 - Vienna
08 July 2005 - Moscow
10 July 2005 - St Petersburg
12 July 2005 - Tallin
14 July 2005 - Riga
15 July 2005 - Bulduri Beach, Riga
16 July 2005 - Warsaw
19 July 2005 - Auschwitz
20 July 2005 - Zakopane
21 July 2005 - Prague
24 July 2005 - Budapest
25 July 2005 - Zagreb
26 July 2005 - The City of Split
27 July 2005 - Dubrovnik
29 July 2005 - Sarajevo
30 July 2005 - Belgrade
31 July 2005 - Bucharest
02 August 2005 - Turkey
07 August 2005 - Greece
12 August 2005 - Egypt
16 August 2005 - Athens
18 August 2005 - Italy
21 August 2005 - Seefeld (Austria)
25 August 2005 - Paris
29 August 2005 - Spain/Portugal
02 September 2005 - France
06 September 2005 - Berlin
08 September 2005 - Scandinavia
15 September 2005 - United Kingdom (including wedding in Scotland)
26 September 2005 - United Kingdom (Part 2)
10 October 2005 - United Kingdom (Part 3)
20 October 2005 - New York
28 October 2005 - Florida
03 November 2005 - North Carolina
05 November 2005 - Canada
16 November 2005 - San Francisco
18 November 2005 - Phoenix
20 November 2005 - Los Angeles
23 November 2005 - Hawaii
30 November 2005 - Fiji
04 December 2005 - New Zealand
10 December 2005 - HOME!

US States Visited

Countries Visited

New Zealand

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Friday 9 December 2005

The last night of our trip! We drove to Auckland booked into a Motel near the airport and then drove to the other side of the city across the Auckland Harbour Bridge to spend the evening with Rod (Jim) and Alison and their tremendous kids Megan and Duncan. Once again a night remembering and updating, giving Jim news, right up to date, about many of the people we met on this trip who are mutual friends. We have had a ball. We have often been asked "What was the highlight?" and every time the answer was the same - "Re-uniting with old friends." We are all scattered now but within a few minutes of reunion it is as if we were never parted. We all have new and productive lives but fondly remember the past. We fly back to Brisbane tomorrow to be met by our daughter Tertia and our grandson David and are looking forward to a restful Christmas and a good 2006.

Duncan, Alison, Megan and Ron (Jim) West

Thursday 8 December 2005

Drove to Cambridge and met Michael, Mary and Kate Fleming at St Peter's School. It was great to see them and we enjoyed a lovely light lunch together. Kate then showed us around this very impressive and beautiful school. We drove on to Hamilton, a much larger but just as beautiful, city. We spent a lovely evening with Peter and Mary West, remembering old friends and people from the past. We really enjoyed their company.

Mary, Mike and Kate Fleming

Peter and Mary West

Wednesday 7 December 2005

Sandy went with Graham Longhurst at 5 am in his boat out to sea to Whale Island. Graham is still an expert fanatic and they caught some beautiful snapper with a long (Hurst) line. They survived big swells and really enjoyed the sea outing. Joan and Patsy had a 'girl's' morning in town which was great fun. We ended the day with a good walk in this beautiful countryside and a home cooked snapper dinner.

Joan and Graham Longhurst

Graham Longhurst's boat

Rusty rides the waves and catches two snapper

Goof Longhurst wanted to throw these two back because they were too small

Tuesday 6 December 2005

Drove into town and met ex PE pupils Grant Robertson and his wife Philippa and also Andre Buitendag who are now running their own businesses in Papamoa. We had coffee together and enjoyed talking about PE and old boys and teachers. It was great meeting them and they have promised to keep in touch. We then traveled through some fantastic countryside to Whakatane to stay with Graham and Joan Longhurst. They are very happy living in a lovely downstairs apartment attached to their daughter (Wendy) and son in law (Roy) 's house. Graham is close to the sea so they love it here. We were taken for a drive around the area and a walk to Otawere Bay.

Phillipa Robertson, Andre Buitendag and Grunter Robertson in Papamoa

Whakatane Falls

Monday 5 December 2005

Hired a little colt car from Budget at Auckland airport and traveled to Papamoa. NZ is so beautiful. We were going to camp but found that it was only $9 more to hire a hut with a bed in it and a kettle for coffee. As it was raining we decided to camp in comfort and took the hut. We were right on a beautiful white beach that stretched for miles and we walked along it before sitting on the steps of our hut to watch the sun disappear. We went and had dinner with ex PE pupil Murray Dykes and his wife Kathy, and met their two lovely kids Michelle and Sean. It was another lovely evening of reminiscing and we enjoyed being with them.

The Dykes in Papamoa Tauranoa

Fiji

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Sunday 4 December 2005

Enjoyed our last morning in Fiji and had a pleasant flight back to Auckland. We booked in to the same motel near the airport because we arrived at 11pm NZ time. The hotel has internet that works so we are able to catch the blog up to date.

David Scoble - Proprietor and Friend

The "Shopping Centre"

Saturday 3 December 2005

We enjoyed a restful day swimming, walking and reading. In the evening the villagers came to the resort and brewed cava for the guests to drink and then they danced (traditional and also with the guests) and sang for us which was wonderful. The harmony was fantastic.

Sunset in Fiji

The Mangrove Flats

Friday 2 December 2005

Of course there was no TV or newspaper or internet that worked so we just relaxed and did many of the activities offered like snorkling, picnicking, swimming etc and there were many more activities offered that we did not have time to do like boating, island hopping, diving, visit to the zoo etc.

Pool and Restaurant Area

Bar at Seashell Momi

Thursday 1 December 2005

We had a pleasant early morning flight to Nadi (3 hours in the air with breakfast served) and were delighted to be greeted by musicians singing and dancing in traditional costume to welcome us on landing. Our 40 minute drive to Sea Shell Cove was quaint and Fiji reminded us so much of Malawi. The scruffy town of Nadi was just like Blantyre and the roads to our spot were narrow tarmac or rough dirt and all along the way were cheerful and happy people waving and smiling. It is all very green with mango and paw paw trees laden and growing wild and palm trees and coconuts and straw huts everywhere. Our 'resort' was absolutely delightful. A natural cove, totally remote and unspoiled with gas for cooking and creek water for washing and rain water for drinking. We were booked into a private room for two off the backpacker dormitory but we discovered that for $20 more we could upgrade to a Bure which is a one bedroom cottage on its own right by the shore with a wonderful verandah and view of the ocean.

Our Bure (Number 5)

Our Patio

Wednesday 30 November 2005

Landed in Auckland and took a motel room five minutes from the airport and slept off some jet lag. We had to rise at 4:30am to catch an early flight to Fiji.

Hawaii

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Monday 28 November 2005

Our last day. We walked into the city centre and had a late breakfast. We did necessary things like mail, phone calls and that last of our sight seeing. Spent the rest of the day and the evening on our beach at Waikiki. Beautiful. We catch the plane to NZ at midnight tonight and then wait in transit for our flight to Fiji. We will lose a day due to our crossing the international date line.

Sunday 27 November 2005

Spent most of today at the Honolulu Zoo. It was only $6 to get in and it is opposite the back packers and looks like a green patchy park from the outside so we were expecting to see a few local birds etc. We were very surprised to find the full range of animals found in most top class world zoos. It was a great day and we saw some very interesting local flora and fauna as well. In the early evening we went to see a modern musical called RENT which we had noticed being advertised all over New York. It is set in 1989 and is all about the street people in down town NY before the big clean up in the late nineties. The music and singing was absolutely fantastic and we came out feeling very glad that we had not missed this sensational show.

Flamingoes at Honolulu Zoo

Saturday 26 November 2005

Made a leisurely start. Walked along Kulia to a very good value for money breakfast before posting two shirts to David and sundry postcards. Then a five hour trip to the north of the island to Sunset Beach where the professional surfers play - good wind and big waves today! A quiet evening strolling along the beach.

Diamond Head

Friday 25 November 2005

We walked along the beach and then went into the city centre and looked at all the shops and stalls. We saw the movie "Walk the Line" and we thought it was excellent. Joaquin Phoenix (River Phoenix's brother) did such a good job portraying Johnny Cash that we think he will be nominated for an oscar.

Waikiki Hotels

Thursday 24 November 2005

We walked up, up up and up from our hostel to the volcano crater Diamond Head. It took four hours and it was tough going but one feels so virtuous once one is at the top looking down on the whole island! Going down was fun because it was down hill all the way. Had a take away salad and Hawaiian fruit meal on a bench on the beach. Hawaii is truly as beautiful and romantic as one imagines it to be.

Honolulu Hill Suburbs

View from Diamond Head Crater

Wednesday 23 November 2005

Arrived at LA airport early (in case traffic held us up) and we found that we could get on an earlier flight and flew through the gate just in the nick of time so arrived in Honolulu 4 hours ahead of our scheduled time. This gave us daylight to get to our backpackers (no penthouse this time - just a room for two off a dormitory and a shared bathroom - but central and close to the fabulous beach) and time to plan and what we would like to explore here. Had a walk on the beach and looked at the shops and buildings and generally soaked up the evening holiday atmosphere. It is humid and pleasantly warm here.

Our beach at Waikiki, Honolulu

Los Angeles

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Tuesday 22 November 2005

We walked from Venice Beach to Santa Monica which took an hour and it was beautiful white, wide sand all the way with many little street shops, hawkers and street entertainers. At Santa Monica we went on the big wheel, watched the singers and dancers, and had a shrimp lunch at Babba Gump's Shrimp Company. When the sun began to set we walked all the way back again enjoying the beauty of the sunset on the sea against palms trees. We are having a quiet evening, enjoying our last night in our huge penthouse on the beach!

Patsy gets to grips with nature - Venice Beach, LA

Venice Beach, LA

On the Big Wheel at Santa Monica Pier

Monday 21 November 2005

We did the genuine tourist thing today and took an all day guided bus tour of Los Angeles. It started at 8am and we have just returned at 8 pm. It was pretty good and we enjoyed it. We toured Venice Beach, Santa Monica, town central, Hollywood Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, the high peak with the view of the whole of the city, the Hollywood sign, down town and up town, peeping at the houses of the famous and we lunched at the Universal Studio area. We saw the first mission when California belonged to Mexico and we walked along the pavement with the stars names and foot and hand prints set in cement and we saw the chinese theatre. We experienced the unbelievable volume of traffic. We were in a seven lane highway and to enter we had to obey a traffic light flicking red and green to try and stop too many cars entering the highway at the same time through the slip road. When we squeezed onto the highway we crawled at 15km/h for one hour to get to the exit we wanted. There are so many cars and they cannot all fit on the road so everybody edges along carefully in one continuous traffic jam. Who would want to live here if they had to drive every day? Crazy. Anyway, we were happy to witness this as visitors. A good day. We like this sunny, gawdy place much more than we expected to.

View of Downtown LA from Hollywood Hills

Hollywood Hills

Hollywood Bowl

Sunday 20 November 2005

Woke up at 5:30am to get on the road back to Phoenix to catch our 11:15am flight. We did not want to say Goodbye to Liz and Wayne but consoled ourselves with the fact that they will be in Australia (Perth for Michael's wedding) and in Brisbane (seeing Wayne's brother) in January and we will see them then. Enjoyed the scenery again for the three hour drive and it was very pleasant tootalling back to the airport (we think we are really getting the hang of right side driving now)!

A short flight to LA and a local bus service trip into Venice Beach Hostel. LA is not much like Phoenix at all. It is absolutely huge and sprawling, really big in every way. Bright, hot and sunny, many cars (some highways have 9 lanes both ways), many palm trees, and it all seems very commercial and glitzy. We reached our hostel and were expecting really dire conditions for $27 per night but we were bowled over when we walked into our private room for two! It turns out that we have an apartment! Scruffy and shabby, yes, but clean enough and we have two double beds (just like the Hilton!), a bathroom ensuite, a room with a safe(?), a room with a kitchen including a microwave and fridge, a TV that works, a private balcony and FREE internet in the room! When we said to the guy that we could not believe what we were getting for our money, he said, "Oh by the way, there are free pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast every morning and every night there are beans, rice and pasta for dinner....er...it is also free but I am so sorry to tell you that you have to cook it yourselves!" Wow, this is unbelievable.

We walked one block to the beach and it was so like the movies it seemed surreal. Huge white sand beach, hundreds of roller bladers/skate boarders with good bodies and tiny shorts, street entertainers trying to outdo each other, blaring music at various intervals, palm trees and hot sunshine. We walked the hundred metres of beach down to the water and watched a magnificent sunset (with the clouds Liz and Wayne were looking for in Arizona, shining brilliantly). We were just gob-smacked at the whole spectacle. Returned to penthouse to microwave rice and beans with a packet of chicken soup. Not bad and we still have treats to enjoy thanks to Liz.

Phoenix

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Saturday 19 November 2005

Jumped out of bed early and sat with Liz and Wayne to watch the dawn break. The light changes all the time and the incredible air is invigorating. We then had a scrumptious breakfast on the porch. We were taken down the street to meet all their very friendly neighbours and we were invited into their houses to look at the architecture and decor and views from their windows. Most of the neighbours have these huge American Dream trailers which they use for about half the year during summer to get away from the heat etc. We then toured the town of Yuma and saw the old prison, the Colorado River, the mall which had a display of old cars and an re-enactment of cowboys in earlier times. We had lunch and a beer in a genuine spit and sawdust saloon. At 4:30 pm the neighbours in the street, Wayne and Liz, Sandy and Patsy all went in four wheel drive buggies in convoy through the desert scrub into the bush and up the sandy, rocky mountains. It was such fun to bounce about and ride the rim of the high rocky escarpments. We stopped on a high ridge, built a bon fire, sipped gin and tonics and beer and watched the sun set. We had 360 degrees of changing blue, red, orange and violet light. Dan played his guitar and sang as we looked into the flames and then the starry sky. We soaked up this section of the day with gratitude. How good it was to be here. We bounced back in the 4 X 4's taking a different path home. Wayne and Liz put on a Mexican BBQ with Carne Asada (Mexican shaved spiced beef) and tortillas with guacamole etc. We enjoyed the company of the entire neighbourhood, all of whom have become good friends of the Ingrams. Thank you Liz and Wayne for such a remarkable and memorable time with you.

Around the firepit with the Ingrams
Wayne and Liz Ingram

Lower reaches of the Colorado River (old Yuma Mission and bridge in background)

In the foothills outside Yuma

Photo and Comment from Wayne Ingram: Patsy, Sandy, Liz and Wayne Ingram at Lutes Casino – we went there for lunch and a beer on Saturday 19th. A quaint place with all kinds of memorabilia hanging from everywhere. It is not a casino as such, rather a fun place to have a light quick meal and a drink. It is in “Old Yuma” town. The ladies were particularly intrigued with the naked male bicyclist poster over my shoulder. Patsy enjoyed her Michelob Amber Bock beer!

Photo and Comment from Wayne Ingram: A Model ‘A’ Ford in excellent condition – our stroll through “Old Yuma” town.

Photo and Comment from Wayne Ingram: We had a splendid outing up the trail to the Gila Mountains (behind our house) and were accompanied by our neighbours. From Left to right - Cherie Jones, Dan Ellis, Paul Jones, Rene Ellis, Liz Ingram, Patsy & Sandy. Went up in 2 little 4WD “Jeeps” plus a 4WD bike. Lit a fire, the men had Pacifico (Mexican) beers and the ladies Gin & Tonics from Ingram’s mobile bar, complete with freshly sliced lemon, ice etc. Dan Ellis treated us to a few campfire/cowboy songs on his guitar, but a highlight was Sandy’s solo rendition of the Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe Grenadier’s song (on guard opposite Westminster Hall) "When all night long a chap remains." We were all impressed with his rich baritone – "sung with gusto"!
We experienced a beautiful sunset and watched the city lights come on – a memorable evening. We went back to Casa Ingram for a “Carne Asada” BBQ – a new experience for the Sandersons!?

Friday 18 November 2005

Hired a car and drove for three hours to Yuma. A very unusual and interesting journey through arid yet beautiful country. Huge mountain rocks surround the boundaries of the horizon and mexican type catii grow on the desert like plains along the roadside. It is strangely fascinating and beautiful. We put the radio on the country cowboy music just to complete the experience for ourselves. Reached Liz and Wayne Ingram who live 15 miles out of Yuma in a new house which is fabulous and intriguing. It is not Mexican but absolutely fitting for Arizona. Liz says the design and decore is called 'Sante Fe" or Adobe style, very popular south western tatse. There are cream coloured gravel tiny stone chips everywhere, even in most people's gardens which is neat and clean but there are very little green lawns or flowers due to the desert conditions. Wayne and Liz have made the most of their beautifully cool home by putting in a pool outside their patio and having a fire pit (a huge circular gas fire that comes up from the ground outside) to sit around and drink red wine on cool desert evenings. The sunsets and the starry sky out here are remarkable. We are so lucky to be having this real American outdoor, outback Arizonian experience! I am off, back to the fire pit and we will probably stay up late! It is great to chat to ex P E pupil Wayne and ex GHS pupil Liz and wonderful to see them again.

Phoenix to Yuma Rest Stop

San Francisco

2005-11-18T01:38:00.000+10:00

Thursday 17 November 2005

We bought an all day travel ticket for the cable trolley cars and travelled all over the city, through the streets, up and down the hills, then explored the water front, the Golden Gate bridge and saw Alcatraz from a distance. By the end of today we were both smitten by this beautiful Quake City. Caught a pleasant flight to Phoenix and found that it was what we expect Los Angeles to be like. Flat wide desert type area with many fly overs, dual carriage ways, palm trees and huge advertising signs everywhere. We had a good night's rest in a hostel downtown.

Patsy on San Francisco Trolley Car

San Francisco Waterfront with Golden Gate Bridge in background

San Francisco from the Trolley Car

Wednesday 16 November 2005

Caught the ferry back to Vancouver and bus to the airport. Managed to get on an earlier flight to San Francisco. San Francisco is not very impressive from the airport to the Bay area but once one gets into the city things improve. Many down and out people about who all seem to own and live out of their own shopping trolley. The city is interesting the way it is built on steep hills. Booked ourselves in to the backpackers and took an evening walk around down town. Will see more of the city tomorrow.

Canada

2005-11-08T00:59:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 15 November 2005

Woke up in this fine house to find everybody else had left for work and school. We really enjoyed a sleep in, some morning TV and getting some washing done. We caught the local bus into town and then explored the water front, the museums, art galleries, streets and shopping malls. When we returned Nick took us to the quaint local pub called the Penny Farthing. At home we shared a delicious curry meal which Carmel had cooked for us and talked until late. Another great day.

Monday 14 November 2005

Rich and Daphne drove us to Whistler this morning. Patsy has always wanted to see Whistler as it is a very popular destination for Australians who all rave about it. It was like a quaint Austrian village and the ski lifts were open. On the drive there and back and from Rich and Daphne's house there are views of large snow capped mountains. We enjoyed Rich and Daphne's warm hospitality and we know that we will see them again one day, hopefully in Australia for their next holiday! We drove back to Vancouver, this time in daylight so the continuous construction work and traffic did not seem quite so daunting. Vancouver has the "Wow" factor. There are many fascinating bridges, lots of ice blue water and many lakes and everything else is either bright emerald green or snow capped. There are no vacant bald spots - just 360 degrees of beauty. We dumped the car at the airport and jumped on the bus which took us to the ferry to cross over to Vancouver Island. We were met in Victoria by Nick van der Westhuizen (ex PE pupil) and taken to his home where we met his wife Carmel and their youngest son Michael. Nick and Carmel are both doctors who have settled in Victoria and cannot see themselves ever moving again because they love it here. A beautiful island the size of England and only 600 thousand people. Sound like paradise?

Nick and Carmel Van Der Westhuizen

Sunday 13 November 2005

We felt sad saying goodbye to yet another dear friend as we waved goodbye to Ruth at the airport. We flew to Vancouver and hired a car to drive the 60 km to Squamish. It ended up being a difficult drive because we lost the light soon after we reached the main highway (so we lost out on the stunning views) and there were so many cluttered road works and very narrow pathways with umteen barrels and markers without any arrows or instructions so we were constantly unsure of where we were allowed to drive and the oncoming traffic was very close to us and very heavy as thousands were returning from Whistler after the long weekend. The bright lights in our eyes was a strain but again we hugged the right edge and reached Squamish safely to visit Rich and Daphne Humphries. We soon recovered from road rage over some wine and a good trout meal. How good to catch up with these great people and we talked and remembered into the night. Great sleep.

Sandy, Patsy, Daphne and Rich Humphries

Daphne and Rich Humphries

Saturday 12 November 2005

We had a pleasant drive to Edmonton with Ruth who introduced us to Tim Horton's coffee on the way, numerous times! Arrived at Pete Fairbridge's home east of Edmonton in the early evening. Pete was instantly recognisable and it was very good to see him. Ruthie found that she knew the same people that Pete knew from earlier Rhodesia days - again small world. Pete showed Sandy their U14A school rugby team photo - in it Fairbridge, Sanderson, MacFarlane, BatesT, and Humphries the only old boys from 1965 (apart from Geoff Hawkins) that Sandy is in touch with. Pete was a great host and cook and we all enjoyed the evening immensely remembering old friends and old times. It was great to have Ruthie with us too.

Pete, Ruthie, Patsy and Sandy

Pete's House

Friday 11 November 2005

All Canadian flags were at half mast for Rememberence Day and we couldn't help thinking that it is hard to believe that UDI was 40 years ago today. Anyway, we had another good look at Lake Louise and then drove through beautiful country to Banff and spent more time enjoying an even better 5 star hotel, wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere and admiring the architecture and decor. We had a sandwich lunch at a natural lay-by ( a log in the bush on a hill) with tremendous views all around. The day was topped off with a delightful evening socialising with Ruth's friends high up in their luxury apartment with river views. Here we met Lu-Inge and Nico Breed, Emor and Johan Kilian, all from South Africa and now well settled in Canada.

View from Banff Springs Hotel

Johan and Emor Kilian, Ruthie, Lu-Inge and Nico Breed

Pete Fairbridge at home

Thursday 10 November 2005

Ruth drove us through the route Bow Valley Parkway and the scenic route to Lake Louise with breathtaking views along the way and the Castle Mountain Internment Camp Memorial to the Ukranian, Austro-Hungarian internees during the first WW. We visited the Chateau at Lake Louise, a magnificant 5 star hotel right on the lake and then moved on to stay at a really cosy back packers youth hostel which is nearby, well appointed with lovely views too. Ruthie, Patsy and Sandy had a great evening in the back packer's kitchen eating Ruth's good chilli and slugging back Chilean cab sav!

Ukranian WWI Memorial Bow Valley

Lake Louise

Wednesday 9 November 2005

Up at 0700 to catch the Express Bus to the airport at 0812 for a 1210 flight. Due to very bad weather, thunder-storms and fog, the flight was delayed 3 hours. We got to Calgary at 1720 (4 hour flight) and were met by Ruth Hargrove. Ruth drove us to her very spacious flat via her old flat that had been flooded and some Christmas lights. The rest of the evening was spent catching up and remembering the past times together. It was really good to see Ruth again after 21 plus years. She was looking extremely young!

Ruthie at Home

Tuesday 8 November 2005

We made another lazy start and walked along the Niagara River to the bus station. A beautiful sunny day. The bus trip was brilliant, we could see Toronto across Lake Ontario, a distance of 70 km. We spent the afternoon shopping in the Eaton Centre with English fish and chips at the Food Hall. The evening was a"get your breath back" watching CNN!

Monday 7 November 2005

Woke up to a warm sunny day and the chilly wind had disappeared. Went to study the beautiful falls in daylight and took a tour underground to view the falls from below and behind. Magnificent. Looked up John and Irene Kotsch who did a years exchange teaching at Toowoomba Grammar in 1998. It was great to find them and we enjoyed a lovely evening in their home.

John and Irene Kotsch

Sunday 6 November 2005

Caught the Greyhound bus to Niagara Falls and walked through town to the Lyons Youth Hostel. We are back to the genuine barest basic living conditions but it is clean and central. The chilly wind nearly bowled us over and we were very glad that the hostel in Toronto let us leave our big packs (with camping equipment etc) in their luggage room. The extra clothes Rose gave us came in very handy when we walked to the Falls to see it lighten up at night. One gets quite wet from the spray and the wind is really cold, but it is beautiful and quite spectacular. A bright fireworks display happened over the falls while we were there. We think this may happen every night so we will be back there tomorrow. The streets are all a bit commercial but great fun anyway and we are enjoying ourselves.

Niagara Falls

Saturday 5 November 2005

An uneventful flight to Toronto and a downown express bus to our hostel in the middle of the city. Not a bad one this time, we have bathroom ensuite (which is very unusual for backpacker price) and TV in the room with CNN. We watched in amasment as CNN announced that 900 cars had been trashed in Paris! It is noticeably cooler in Canada and autumn is more advanced than USA. Met Thanos Dimitrakopoulos (ex PE pupil) and his lovely wife Josie and had dinner with them in town. They have three sons. The twins Daniel and Alexander and the youngest is Nickolas. We enoyed walking through the streets of Toronto (even thouugh the number of beggars was somewhat alarming - drug problems we suppose) and we landed up at the ORIGINAL Hard Rock Cafe for night caps! Sandy's ears are still ringing from the loud rock and roll music (oldie) but it was such good fun.

With Thanos & Josie Dimitrakopoulos

Patsy and Robert Wadlow in Niagara

North Carolina

2005-11-04T12:54:00.001+10:00

Friday 4 November 2005

Another great day which included a trip to Durham and a look at Duce University where Harold graduated recently. A fun filled evening with Geoff and Virginia's friends Dan and Barbara and Cristina. The last hours before bed were spent remembering schooldays, singing and dancing to songs of the 50's and 60's, both pop songs and opera. We all thought we were terribly good! A sparkling time - so much to catch up after 39 years! Bed at 12:30am.

Thursday 3 November 2005

Spent the morning with the Hawkins and had a lovely relaxing day. Virginia showed us how to do one's own checkout bill at the supermarket! We went for a great walk around the neighbourhood and viewed peacocks and a hundred year old house that is part of the farm that this area is subdivided from. We then finished the evening by touring the local Country Club which is amazing. Preston is a delightful family suburb.

Wednesday 2 November 2005

The best, easiest and most convenient way to get ourselves to Cary in North Carolina was to hire a car for 24 hours. We managed to get a pontiac for $60 and with insurance it cost us close to $100. John very kindly took us to pick up the car and kept telling us to remember to look left (something right hand drivers often fail to do)! After an emotional farewell to our dearest friend we set off on the highway 95 driving feeling awkward on the wrong side of the road. All was well until we needed to stop for petrol, sorry, Gas. We wanted to use one of these simple stops where you just pull off into a layby, fill up, and then continue in the same direction to get back onto the 95. We waited until we were almost empty until we found the courage to let go of the slow lane that we were hugging and we pulled off after a sign that said GAS.

To our horror we drove straight into a maze of roads all blocked off and changed because of roadworks and we had no idea where the garage was because we couldn't see it or which roads we were allowed to go down and which were "the wrong way" as there were no signs or arrows anywhere. We decided to give this a miss and try to get back onto the highway so we looked right and proceeded to cross one of the main roads when suddenly we were very nearly wiped out by a huge semi coming very fast on our left. Sandy just flattened his foot and we did an enormous smoking wheelie to project ourselves forward out of its path. It was a near miss and we were a bit shaken, saying quietly to ourselves, "Well, John did tell us to remember to look left!". We reached Cary at 8pm and it was wonderful for Sandy to meet Geoff again after 40 years! They talked about school days and sang songs until bedtime!

Geoff, Virginia, Harold and Tina (standing in for Kirsty) Hawkins

Florida

2005-10-30T13:30:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 1 November 2005

Today we fixed up a change in flights because Miami is devastated by Hurricane Wilma and we have found out that a long lost school friend of Sandy's from Mount Pleasant days is within striking distance in North Carolina so we have changed our flight to out of Raleigh instead of out of Miami. John very kindly looked after us and ran us all over the place to get this done. John then took us to Okeefenokee (1 and 1/2 hrs) to take in the area with its "shaking land". It is a beautiful swamp area with acid water that mirrors everything, wonderful flaura and fauna and an original little homestead still in tact. This is where the Swanee River is which the notorious song is about. The shaking land are islands founded by seeds taking hold in peat that has come to the surface of the waterway. These are the largest fresh water swamps in USA. There were many lazy alligators, big and small, living a life of freedom and enjoying their habitat.Very knowledgable guides who obviously love the area gave us excellent train and boat tours and a red indian (Cherokee heritage) gave us a live specimen talk. We loved being with John and we ended this splendid day with a lovely supper at the Haileys which was prepared by Rose. We felt quite emotional about parting from these wonderful people.

Outside JohnJohn's Flat

Monday 31 October 2005

Up at 4am for a 5am start with Keith, Rosmarie, John, Patsy and Sandy in the Hailey's 4X4. Had a huge American Breakfast with pancakes at Cracker Barrel on our way to EPCOT centre near Orlando (a 21/2 hour trip). The EPCOT (Experimental Project fpr the Community of Tomorrow) is a Dream World type resort which concentrates on possibilities and vision for the Future. It was wonderful. There were amazing displays and interactive and non-interactive rides. We finished the day by enjoying a chinese meal together followed by the best fireworks display we have ever seen which happened over a huge artificial lake surrounded by International Pavilions. We left EPCOT close to 10pm and Keith was able to stay awake for the long drive home. We were all dog tired and fell into bed about 12:40am. What a great day!

At the EPCOT Centre

Sunday 30 October 2005

We left for Savannah, Georgia, at about 9.00am in John's Honda Civic and arrived downtown after a few minutes wandering around the outskirts! We took a city tour on a Gray Line TrolleyBus and were immediately spellbound by the interesting and varied history of the place. Established in 1733 as a British military output most of the buildings of the inner city are 18th and 19th century. It was another magic day.

Saturday 29 October 2005

Today was special. We had a wonderful real American slow cooked BBQ at Keith and Rose Hailey's beautiful home with many of their friends from the neighbourhood. We also met their three lovely daughters Megan, Elizabeth and Annemarie. Great food with ribs, chicken and steak cooked by Keith on his food fired self constructed BBQ and great company with lots of laughs. We loved listening to the Southern accents. This is a good place to be and we are pleased that we are here with John.

Elizabeth, Keith, Rose, Annemarie and Megan Hailey

Friday 28th October 2005

A crazy day! We arrived at JFK airport to find that both our air ticket and itinerary were incorrect (which both had different times on them) and in fact our plane for the first leg of our trip had already left without us and we were not even booked on it anyway! We were in fact only booked on the second leg of the journey from Washington to Jacksonville but we needed to get there. We were told that if we could get ourselves to LaGuardia airport and catch a wait listed flight we would be able to get to Washington in time to connect with the orginal second leg that still held our original booking.

We jumped into a Yellow Cab (our first American Cab ride) and he hit the road fast for us only to be caught in a huge traffic jam after 15 minutes. It was agony suffering the urgency of needing to get to LaGuardia in time to catch a flight and watching the cab metre tick over while standing still! Eventually, after a hefty cab fare, we reached the airport gate in time, only to be told that the plane was 100% full so we could not get on it anyway. We therefore missed our original connection in Washington as well. We waited four hours at the airport for the next flight and were given the last two seats and then had to wait on stand by in Washington for ages and caught the very last plane, the last two seats again, to get to Jacksonville at midnight!

Any other time it would not have mattered being stranded but this one time we were being met at the airport by JohnJohn. Anyway, JohnJohn took us home and we chatted until early hours. It is wonderful to see him again.

John Bousfield

New York

2005-10-22T20:46:00.000+10:00

Thursday 27th October 2005

We went to the Battery and took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was all fabulous. We had American Chili at Wendy's. Tomorrow we are off to Florida!

Wednesday 26th October 2005

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, a bridge that has always fascinated Patsy. We spent many hours in Grand Central Park, a beautiful place. Ate in the Grand Central Station and admired what they have done to the place, the achitecture, construction and revamping are wonderful.

Brooklyn Bridge

Tuesday 25th October 2005

Spent most of the day in Times Square, 42nd Street, Park Avenue and Madison Square garden. This is such a vibrant city and we are really enjoying being here.

Monday 24 October 2005

Today we took the train from Penn Station to Princeton Junction to be met by Wendy, Ken Cunliffe's sister. She gave us a great tour of Princeton, the University and the surrounding area with a walk down a canal with all the different shades of fall leaves making a great display. Wendy gave us an excellent lunch in Princeton and we spent a relaxing evening with Wendy, Larry, her husband and Christopher (Topher), her son. What a tremendous family. We caught the late train back to NY getting home at 1.25am.

Wendy at Princeton
Princeton University
Autumn - canal at the Grigg
Wendy, Christopher and Larry Moretti

Sunday 23 October 2005

Went to the Empire State Building. The two hour queue was worth waiting in for the view with great visability. Dropped in to CBGBs to get some stickers and a T shirt for Tertia. Then another meal at a cheap but genuine, absolutely as mother makes it NY diner before bed.

Empire State Building

Empire State Building - looking Downtown (South)
Empire State Building - looking Uptown (North)

CBGB's on Bowery

Saturday 22 October 2005

A lazy day walking around Manhattan seeing the sights. Broadway, 42nd St, Hudson and East Rivers etc. followed by a little evening meal at the Asian Pub. Bought a seven day metro and bus ticket.

Friday 21 October 2005

Today we ate our breakfast sitting in Grand Central Park and then spent six hours in the Met. It has the most amazing collection of art through the ages and it will probably need another visit. A little meal in the "village" to top off a great day.

Thursday 20 October 2005

Took the Piccadilly line to Heathrow to catch a 7 hour flight to New York. Arrived at 4.00 pm and got to the Whitehouse Hotel at 6.00 pm - long queues at customs. We fell into bed at 9.00pm USA ESB time (2am in the morning for our systems).

The Whitehouse Hotel (our backpackers)

United Kingdom Part 3

2005-10-14T20:50:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 19 October 2005

Sandy spent the afternoon doing the Lords Tour - very interesting. Patsy joined him in London for final drinks and a meal. Prior to that he had lunch with Kesavan Sandrsegaran, a former pupil. It was great meeting him after 21 years and he treated Sandy to a tremendous lunch at a little Thai place near Liverpool St Station.

The Pavillion at Lords

Tuesday 18 October 2005

Today Sandy and Patsy went to Hampton Court, the palace of royals from Tudor to Stuart times. Fascinating before a little meal in the West End and a late night coffee at 273 with Gill.

Patsy and Anne Boleyn at Hampton Court

Monday 17 October 2005

Patsy had a day at 273 Leahurst Rd watching a TV drama before joining Sandy, who had been walking all over London, and Gill for "The Mousetrap". We all really enjoyed it - good actors and the same murderer as we remember when we saw it in 1977 (25th year), now 2005 (53rd year) and the closing exhortation "Keep the secret of who dun it in your hearts".

Sunday 16 October 2005

Today we and Gill took in a series of piano pieces with a string quartet at the Blackheath Halls, Scubert, Schumann and Owen Leech, the latter being there to explain all about his piece, the other two sadly dead! Magnificent! Then onto spend a wonderful evening with Sandy and Di Steven taking in the National Gallery, with Sandy showing us an incredible painting by Holbein with a skull only visable when viewed from a very fine angle, a two pub crawl and a great Thai meal! We really hope we can reciprocate when they come to Australia.

Di and Sandy Steven

Saturday 15 October 2005

Patsy and Gill spent the day shopping at Fortnam and Mason's and elsewhere before taking in "Pride and Prejudice" in Islington. Sandy walked for miles around London taking in St Jame's Park, Streatham (old stomping ground - spent Christmas and New Year here with Adam and Tertia in 1980/1981) and Clapham Common. Then we all met at Gill's to eat the spoils from Fortnams!

Friday 14 October 2005

Sandy hit town, checked out Myrtles - no longer there- and took in the Imperial War Museum. Quite spectacular, with many interactive exhibits. Then Patsy and Gill joined him in London for "The Woman in White", not up to LLoyd-Webber's best, followed by a little snack nearby and a late trip home (2400 hrs).

Thursday 13 October 2005

Sandy went into town and got tickets for "The Woman in White" and "The Mousetrap" then another lazy day with a chicken meal with Gill.

Wednesday 12 October 2005

Sandy walked into London and then came home to hit Sainsbury's with Patsy to get ingredients for a Spag. Bol. which we had with Gill. A couple of drinks, a couple of laughs. A lazy day that we enjoyed.

Tuesday 11 October 2005

We took the Portsmouth train to Haselmere to have lunch and the afternoon with John and Liesel Evans at their beautiful house set on two acres of very well manicured lawn and garden. Once again it was great to catch up with news. John and Liesel are wonderful hosts.

John and Liesel Evans
Evans' Garden

Monday 10 October 2005

Today we took a trip back to our old stomping ground of West Drayton to see if we could exorcise some demons from when we taught at schools there. Ghastly memories came flooding back enhanced by the fact that pupils were coming out of school while we were there. The area if anything was more run down than we remember it. Then onto Patrick and Les Stirling for a wonderful time of recalling the past and catching up. A great evening was had by all.

Pat and Les Stirling

United Kingdom Part 2

2005-10-04T17:01:00.000+10:00

Sunday 9 October 2005

Took the 1017 to Haywards Heath from Victoria to meet John and Leslie Langford. Much remembering over a salmon lunch! Then at 1700 off to meet up with Kim and John Franklin at Ardingly and to have a tour of the school with a 100+ step climb to the top of the bell tower for a stunning view of the school grounds (200 acres) and surrounding area. Spoke to Margaret Falconer (Charlie's wife) about Prince Edward old times. Home for a light supper with Gill at 2130.

John and Leslie Langford
John and Kym Franklin
Emmanual from Prince Edward Zimbabwe
Gill Nevins

Saturday 8 October 2005

From the Rice's we made our way to Hampstead to see Gary and Nathalie Vaughan-Smith and Gigi. A great lunch at their beautiful home before going to the West End to take in a movie, "Umbrella Man" and a show with John Hurt in it, a comedy called "Heroes".

Nathalie and Gigi Vaughan-Smith

Friday 7 October 2005

It was wonderful to meet up with Patsy's niece, Debbie Davis and her husband Scott for lunch at a little place near Monument. We had a great time together and we hope to meet up with them again, maybe in Australia. Sandy had climbed the 311 steps to the top, 200ft up. Impressive when it was built in 1671-1679 but dwarfed by some of the surrounding buildings now. Views of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Pauls and the Millenium wheel. Then onto the internet to catch up and to get photos on CD. After that a trip to Hampden to meet up with Ken and Di Rice at their great home for another night of remembering and updating news.

Debbie and Scott Davis

Ken and Di Rice
View from 1671 - 1679 Great Fire of London

Thursday 6 October 2005

A train trip to Battle was delayed but we arrived only half and hour late to visit and have a tour of the area and a great roast chicken lunch with June Evans. It was a tremendous day spent in rural SE England. A quiet evening spent at Hither green with Gill.

June Evans

Meridian Line at Hither Green

Wednesday 5 October 2005

Today we took a train to Crawley where we met Sandy Steven and were driven to East Grinstead to see Isabel Ayling. Once again time flew, we had such a good time, and we only had time to grab a take-away curry on the way home. Gill was out with friends.

Sandy Steven and Isabel Ayling

Tuesday 4 October 2005

A day spent contacting friends in the London area setting up dates to meet, a shopping trip to the local Sainsburys and cooking a Bacalhau a Bras! Another tremendous evening with Gill.

Monday 3 October 2005

Drove to Harlington and handed the car in then proceeded to Hither Green to meet up with Gill Nevins whom we had not seen for 9 years (Sandy) and 21 years (Patsy). Once again we talked into the small hours, remembering.

Sunday 2 October 2005

Today was magic. The Arton-Powells held a BBQ and Chris and Michelle Sherlock, Mike and Kate Purchase, Gary Vaughan-Smith and Pete and Jenni Whalley were there. We had much remembering and a lot of laughs after, in some cases, 24 years since we had seen them! The day went far too quickly and we were off to London to stop at a pub for the night.

Mike and Kate Purchase

Gary Vaughan-Smith

Peter and Jenny Whalley

Arton Powells and Sherlocks

Arton Powell Family

Saturday 1 October 2005

Another good long, comfortable sleep. Then we left David (he is an absolute Gem) behind to continue de-wallpapering and Keith (crowbar) Doreen (Mrs Ball - Ma Knack), Sandy (Rusty) and Patsy (Ma Rusty) went to the fields of Sherborne School to find past Prince edward pupil John Arton Powell who had brought his Thirds from Wellington school to have a match against Sherborne. We were standing on the side line watching and some asked John if that was his old school teacher and he replied promptly, " Yes. All four of them!" We had a good laugh. After the match the five of us went to a pub and reminisced. Sandy and Patsy followed John home to Wellington. We had a great curry evening and lots of laughter.

Yes, All Four of Them!

Friday 30 September 2005

A lovely lazy day, just what we needed. We were made so comfortable at the Balls and we were so well looked after, even though they are building and redecorating so have much to cope with. Really true friends as nothing seemed to be too much trouble for them to enjoy our company. We loved remembering and chatting with them and with Keith. Another lovely meal (roast pork - Doreens is a wizard at coping under what others might find as difficult circumstances) and a great evening chatting and drinking together into the early morning.

Keith Wells

Dave and Doreen Ball

Thursday 29 September 2005

Woke to a clear day. Drove to Exeter where we parked near the University and walked into town visiting all our old haunts from the times when we lived here. We went past Buller's statue and the Clock to the Cathedral and in the Catheral shop we saw a picture of Gordon Pike, an Exeter uni student Sandy has lost contact with. Sat on our usual park bench where we used to meet, visited the Northcot Theatre where Sandy was Shadbolt in The Yeoman in 1978. Popped into the Sports Centre, now quite changed. We then went to Dawlish, another haunt of the past, where we lived for a while (in our youth - sigh). We located our old flat "Highfields", now an old age home.
Patsy shopped for supplies and Sandy walked to the Dawlish Warren. Pushed on to the Balls in Holwell near Sherborne and had a wonderful evening wirh Dave, Doreen and Keith Wells.

Exeter Cathedral

Old Door of the Mawse

General Buller

Our Flat (1977 - 1978)

Wednesday 28 September 2005

Drove to Penzance and had a look at the famous little town but couldn't find any pirates. We went further to the very south western point, called Lands End. Quite interesting and rugged. The weather closed in which added to the atmosphere. We were in Cornwall so had a genuine cornish pasty for lunch. On our way to Exeter we turned off into Dart Moor. We found miles of deserted moors and it was strangely incredibly beautiful. We eventually came to a little stone village, Widdecombe, which seemed eerie and deserted. There was a note on the pub door, "Open at 7pm tonight". We drove back to the highway and found Parker's Farm camp site for £3 each. Set up the tent and then drove back again into the moors to Widdecombe. We saw pricks of light in the dark stone village and when we pushed the pub door open we found it to be alive inside with warm fires, gentle folk music, friendly people with thick Devonshire acsents. There was good hot food and good beer. When we left we saw the black shadowy outlines of the bell ringers in the old stone cathedral pulling the ropes and making the bells clang and echo loudly. We drove, the only car about, through wind and rain back to the highway and out snug little tent. What a magic, memorable day.

Tuesday 27 September 2005

Drove to Bath to investigate the ancient Roman Baths, something Sandy has always wanted to do. We found it splendid and fascinating. Made our way to Notely Arms near Taunton where past Prince Edward pupil, Russel Deary and his wife Jane run a great old fashioned pub. It was good to see that they are happy in their relatively new adventure. Met their son, Peter, a fine boy. Pushed on to Biddeford to visit Toni (Julie's sister) and Patrick Hamilton. They took us to a quaint and beautiful area where the tide can rise 26m. We all had fish and chips at their favourite pub which had a view of the warf. We ended up staying at a B and B which cost £62 (A$155) which was a bit out of our league! Never the less, it was a wonderful day.

Baths

Russell Deary

Toni and Patrick Hamilton

Widdecombe

Monday 26 September 2005

A great day. Sandy got up, took a couple of photos - bridge and tent and the Barley Mow and visited the little hamlet of Clifton Hampden to buy a paper and a couple of postcards. We drove to a Park and Ride at Redbridge and went into Oxford for the day. Wandered all over town, Magdalen College, Bodlean Library, the Meadows etc before meeting past St Andrew's pupil, Mark Grere, who treated us to a slap up lunch at The Quod in the High Street. It was really good catching up with him and remembering people and events back then. We always value the fact that these vibrant young people could be bothered with their old teachers! We moved on to marvel at Stone Henge, something Patsy has always wanted to see, and then found a camp site near Devizes and hit the Three Magpies pub for an evening beer. Here we met and made friends with a young American couple. Captain Gabriel Trexlor and Ella Lee.

Old Bridge at Clifton Hampden

The Barley Mow

Bodlean Library, Oxford

Mark Grere

Stonehenge

United Kingdom

2005-09-20T23:36:00.000+10:00

Sunday 25 September 2005

Before we hit the road we met Carmen and David and their two lovely daughters. It was great catching up with family news. We travelled all day visiting Holt and Cambridge only finally running a camp site to ground at 8pm near Oxford. It was a delightful spot on the Thames River. A beer and fish and chips at the Barley Mow pub next to the site completed the day.

Greshems at Holt

Gaivs College, Cambridge

Kings College Chapel, Cambridge

Saturday 24 September 2005

Today we headed West through Uppingham with Rhys Kemp as a great host and guide for a tour of Uppingham School. Patsy was impressed that the staff had their own pub, an ex-Public House. He and Jacque are very settled and happy. We then visited Great Yarmouth and doubled back to Dereham to stay with Jane and Don Campbell. We met Richard, Buster's son, Donald, Jane and Don's son and spoke to Trevor. We had a lovely evening.

Rhys Kemp

Petersborough Cathedral

Don and Jane Campbell
David and Carmen

Friday 23 September 2005

We moved on to have lunch with Veronica Garland in Derby who is a fund of information about old St Andrews past pupils and staff. Then onto Chris and Liz Madeley in Sutton Coldfield for a great evening with a terrific meal cooked by their Canadian friend Zazz. Once again it was a joy to exchange memories and news.

Veronica Garland

Chris and Liz Madeley

Thursday 22 September 2005

Saw Vera Garland for a really great lunch and much remembering. She has a wonderful terraced house which is in fact two houses joined up to make one large place. Then onto Stockport frantically looking for a camp site and not succeeding. We found Anthony and Linda Stronge's place at about 5.00pm. We then went round to Vera Stronge's place and brought her back to Anthony's for a huge supper, a couple of drinks and a lot of remembering. Vera kindly let us stay at her place, a great little two bedroom flat. It was a fine day meeting all these old friends.

Vera Garland

Anthony, Linda Stronge and Family

Vera Stronge

Wednesday 21 September 2005

Headed off for York where we stayed at a great little camp site on the outskirts. We then hit York for a walk around the Minster, the Shambles and the wall. Bought sweets in an ancient sweet shop. Contacted Vera Garland in Methley and Linda Stronge in Stockport and teed up visits. A cheapish pub meal finished the day.

Tuesday 20 September 2005

Spent the day driving round the Lake District. Took in Kendal (mint cake), two Troutbecks, the Derwent and Borrowdale, an old stomping ground of ours. Spent the night at our camp eating chicken legs and blue cheese, the 'chippy' had closed at 7.30pm. God, it was like being back in Queensland!

Troutbeck 1

Between the two Troutbecks
Troutbeck 2

Borrowdale

Monday 19 September 2005

Left the Race Course campsite and motored south around Edinburgh and down the East coast to Newcastle before cutting across to Carlisle and south to Sedbergh where we just caught Sue Garnett literally as she was leaving for the first leg of a trip to Slovenia. We had a beer together and heard about her latest exploits in Sedbergh which included a BBC TV programme she took part in and several plays produced locally. The camp site was delightful with our tent next to a small brook.

Susan Garnett

Sunday 18 September 2005

Took the A83, A82, A85 to Perth to meet up with John Napier from Malawi days. He boards with his friend Moira and rents his flat in Stanley. His daughter Janice is a lawyer, his son a body-builder and Helen working in accounting somewhere.

Car and Tent at Perth

Saturday 17 September 2005

A great breakfast followed by a trip to Tarbert to get flu muti for sandy's cold. The wedding ceremony was at 2pm with a non religious celebrant from the local government officiating. Fay seems to be a great girl and Chris, although a little cherubic, is his old cheerful soul. Dave and Doreen seem exactly the same with a few wrinkles. Anthony looks the same and is about to leave a lucrative job in the Foreign Office to take up a post as a sort of secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury working at Lambeth Palace for a pittance! The wedding breakfast began at 5.00pm with festivities, including short speeches going on until 1am.

CJ and Fay Ball

Sandy and CJ Ball (The Groom)

Stonefield Castle (The Venue)

Sandy and Anthony Ball (Brother of the Groom)

Patsy and Anthony Ball

David Ball Junior (son of Anthony)

Friday 16 September 2005

We used Don's phone to get the best price for car hire and after a walk to Maxwell Park in Glasgow we walked into the Central station and caught a bus to the airport to pick up our car. Took the route over the Erskine Bridge to Stonefield Castle. As we arrived the dreaded Ball arrived in the car park of the hotel as well. The meeting with Doreen and Patsy running towards each other was classic MGM. Great room, the best so far on this trip!

Thursday 15 September 2005

Sandy took in the Helsinki sporting museum Paavo Nurmi, Lasse Viren then we took the airport taxi (20E) to catch flights to Copenhagen then on to Glasgow. People in Glasgow were very helpful and we made our way by bus and taxi to 134 Kenmure St with no trouble at all. We sat on the steps for a while before Don Hargrove and tenants came home and let us in. Got to bed at 12.30am.

Don Hargrove

Scandinavia

2005-09-09T19:02:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 14 September 2005 (Finland)

A leisurely walk around Helsinki looking at the Lakes and taking in the 1952 Olympic Stadium plus a whole lot of mundane personal things we were unable to catch up on until now.

St Marks Cathedral1952 Olympic Stadium

Tuesday 13 September 2005 (Finland)

Found our way by tram Number 4 then Number 3B to the IN booked Fenno Apartments to find a little room with bathroom and kitchenette. Sandy ill all day, some bug so a quiet time doing a bit of shopping and watching BBC World on TV.

Monday 12 September 2005 (Sweden)

Spent the day in Stockholm seeing the sights. Gustavus Adolphus Square and the various islands that Stockholm is built on. Then an overnight ferry to Helsinki. Huge ferry with an inside cabin for four with us as the only occupants. A fascinating trip along a river dotted with islands for the last hours of daylight before moving out into the ocean.

Old Stockholm

Pong Sushi Restaurant

Sandy at Sandy's

Sunday 11 September 2005 (Norway)

Took the 1028 back to Oslo. Once again magnificent scenery going the other way - fjords, U shaped valleys, lakes and mountains. We waited 3 hours at Oslo Central for our train to Stockholm. The sleeping cabin was magnificant - own toilet and shower - only the BlueTrain and the Indian Pacific were better.

Saturday 10 September 2005 (Norway)

Took the 1035 to Bergen. The scenery along the way was breathtaking as is the price of everything, literally double anything in Australia. We arrived in Bergen, booked into a very expensive, very smart hotel, The Grand Hotel, and wandered around the city, which is in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountains. Most of the houses were made of wood, Norwegian wood. Temperatures dropping. This is the furtherest North we go.

Friday 9 September 2005 (Sweden/Norway)

Caught the 0823 to Goteborg, going across the longest railway bridge we have seen, crossing to Malmo, Sweden, from Denmark. Then we changed at Goteborg for Oslo arriving 1645. Oslo was as expensive as Copenhagen but we were expecting it this time. Wandered around a bit and saw the fairly impressive Royal Palace.

Thursday 8 September 2005 (Denmark)

Caught an early train to Copenhagen. Patsy was amazed when the whole train rolled onto tracks on the ferry and was taken across the sea to Denmark. We arrived at 1400 hrs and had the greatest difficulty finding accommodation. Denmark is eye-wateringly expensive! 150 Aussie dollars fro a sub-standard double room without a bathroom. We went past an English pub and saw that they had TV with the Ashes Test, so went in and paid ten dollars each for a beer and watched the last two hours. We finished the day with a walk to the Little Mermaid passing the palace where Princess Mary lives.

Princess Mary's Palace

Berlin

2005-09-09T18:59:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 7 September 2005

During the morning we took in the Check Point Charlie Museum and the 1936 Olympic Stadium before a very fast train to Hamburg. Sandy took a short walk to see a bombed out cathedral kept as a memorial to the futility of war.

1936 Olympic Stadium

Tuesday 6 September 2005

Took the train to Cologne where we changed for Berlin. Crossed over the Rhine and checked out the Cathedral again. Nothing has changed since 1979. In Berlin accommodation was very expensive so we booked into a Youth Hostel Dormitory with two young men with tattoos. We walked in the dark to the Brandenberg gate and crossed into what had been Eastern Berlin with ease. It was a two and a half hour walk.

Brandenberg Gate

France

2005-09-06T08:54:00.000+10:00

Monday 5 September 2005

Took the train to Lille and then onto Brussels. Not a lot to marvel at in Brussels. A very dirty Town Square, council mismanagement again. We were in an area of quaint African and Arab immigrants! Another quiet evening.

Sunday 4 September 2005

Took a train to Amiens hoping to arrange a trip to the Somme First WW battlefields. Amazingly as we left the station there was a minibus with Battlefield Tours printed on the side. And so we were on a tour. It was, as with the Anzac Cove trip, very moving. We saw many graveyards and a huge memorial to the missing many of whom were from Sandy's father's old regiment the Kings Royal Rifles, the 60th. Sandy's father was wounded on the Somme in 1916. We spent the night in the Anzac Hotel in Amiens. At 2145 we took in the amazing lighting display at Amiens Cathedral where a projection system lights up the white stone carvings with the colours that existed in Medieval times.

The Somme Battlefields

Saturday 3 September 2005

Took a train to Lyon where we stayed for three hours and walked the Rhone. A neat city but a little dirty. One felt that the council was inefficient; Then we took off for Paris and booked into the Hotel Picardy , a lot more expensive than Montpelier. A little Indian meal finished the day. French restaurants are too pricey.

The River Rhone

Friday 2 September 2005

Caught a train from Barcelona to Montpelier. The latter a great little French University town with a very modern town square. These rural places are quite different from the cities. We stayed in a great little hotel just opposite the station. A get your breath back day.

Spain/Portugal

2005-09-02T23:40:00.000+10:00

Thursday 1 September 2005

Sandy did a 2 hour recce then took Patsy for a walk to Plaza Espanya (escalators all the way up the hill which pleased Patsy). Saw the Olympic pool, the stadium where the arrow was shot to light the Olympic cauldron and the diving pool with the view of the city behind it. A stroll through the narrow streets of the old town (plus town square of course) and down the many boulevards (pedestrian inthe middle with parallel one way streets on either side). The rest of the day 7:30 pm onwards was spent in our luxury room with a view to the west and TV with CNN and BBC and a KFC supper.

View from the room

Olympic Diving Pool

Wednesday 31 August 2005

Returned to Salamanca at 00:02 and spent the rest of the night on the station platform with other younger back packers. We caught the 06:00 to Madrid. Bought a reservation for Barcelona leaving Madrid Atocha.
Put back packs in locker and off to see the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia where Picasso's ¨Guernica¨ is on display. Sandy has always wanted to see this. A great lunch in the Madrid Atocha area and a great train trip to Barcelona, service was like a flight. Got off the train at Barcelona Sants at 21:33 to see a sign on the station for Barcelona Sants Hotel, 70e. We took it and it turned out to be fabulous. We were really tired from staying up on the platform the night before so slept very well.

Tuesday 30 August 2005

Up at 3:45am to catch the 4:51 to Coimbra B (Portugal). Arrived 08:33 Portuguese time, and caught the shuttle to Coimbra A, then walked to Coimbra Parque to get the 09:39 to Maranda do Corvo (10:04). Phoned Major from Coimbra A at 9:30am and he said that he would meet us at the station. We duly arrived to be greeted by BB with Toby on an extendable lead. The Major has aged since 9 years ago, and walked very slowly back to his flat with us, stopping frequently for rests. He is still totally lucid with a slightly gravelly voice. We talked of the present and the past. We took him to lunch after a beer at 'his' cafe. He is suffering grief as he has lost his dear sister and Bill Baker in the same week. He is frail, it was really good to see him.

Monday 29 August 2005

Arrived in Madrid at 9:33am. The only way to get to Coimbra was the 11:00 to Salamanca and the the 04:51 Tuesday morning to Coimbra! Sandy found a cheap pension in Salamanka where the lady was happy for us to get up and leave at 3am in the morning. Salamanca was amazing. An incredible cathedral (Cathedral Nueva 1733) next to a smaller one (Cathedral Vieja 12th Century), a Roman bridge and numerous old 1400's buildings including a University founded 1218! Visited the Mathematics faculty at the university where a lecture was taking place. The buildiing was from the 1700´s.

Paris

2005-08-27T11:41:00.000+10:00

Sunday 28 August 2005

A long sleep in followed by our usual muesli breakfast. Off to Paris city centre at 4pm with Julie. Julie got off at one station before us (Chatelet) to go to an open air concert in the park. A sad moment, saying goodbye. We changed to Garedelyon to get to Bastille, then Paris Austerlitz. A luxury overnight cabin on the train for two to Madrid. Paris was awsesome and French the only foreign language so far that didn't grate on our ears! We are in mourning at the state of affairs re: the cricket. England 477, Australia 1st innings 218, 2nd innings 307 - 7 !! One and a bit days to go in the 4th test. Phoned the Major before leaving Madrid giving him a quick warning that we would be getting to Miranda Do Corvo around 10am Tuesday. He told us that he was under the doctor and taking thousands of pills. He had had a bit of a "heart thing". Has Toby his dog and two cats. He had heard about Bill Baker's death.

Julie and Lulu

Saturday 27 August 2005

Hit Paris again. Bus to Versaille, 7.50 tour of State Apartments and Hall of Mirrors. Then back into Paris city centre to take in Notre Dame then Sandy climbed to the highest level of the Eiffel Tower. The evening was spent with Julie at a little indian restaurant in St Germain Laye. We absolutely love Paris. It is quite a special place.

Versailles

Friday 26 August 2005

We spent the day at the Picasso museum and the Montmartre before getting home at around 20.00. The latter was a wonderful experience but not much in the way of squalid garrets left, only prime real estate. Another great day.

Montmatre

Eiffel Tower from Montmatre

Thursday 25 August 2005

We arrived in Paris EST at 7.01, bought a three day Paris Visite card for zones 1 - 5, took the metro to Opera-Auber and the RER to St Germain en Laye. We bought a phone card and phoned Julie who met us in her silver Peugeot and took us to her flat - really spacious with a garden - lovely. We had breakfast and then Julie went off to work and Patsy and Sandy hit Paris! We took in the Louvre and walked around the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triumph area. A quiet evening chatting to Julie rounded the day off.

Seefeld

2005-08-27T11:34:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 24 August 2005

We left our packs at the Egerthof and spent the day re-visiting and photographing our 'stomping grounds'. We inquired at the station to see if the floods had affected the rail line from Seefeld to Munich. It had. We had to scramble to the Egerthof, grab our gear, catch a bus to Innsbruck and a train to Munich to catch the 20.56 to Paris. We just made it. On the Innsbruck to Munich leg we saw several houses under water with destroyed crops - very sad.

Sandbags for Flooding

Hotel Egerthof

Tuesday 23 August 2005

Apart from a short burst at shopping for supplies, Patsy spent the day in the room sucking lozenges. Sandy hit an Internet cafe only to find his e-mail down and could not read any reply from Julie in Paris. He then took a walk to the Kaltwasser and Rosshutter. We watched the sun go down wondering if we would ever be back.

Monday 22 August 2005

The morning in Seefeld was spent taking a walk down memory lane. We ran the original Hohe Munde Hotel to ground (Sandy and Patsy's first skiing holiday 1977), its now a sports shop. We found the beginners slope, the old church, the Geschwandkopf, the ski jump and the Olympia swimming pool. We also found the Jaggerheim Hotel (Sandy, Patsy, Adam and Tertia 1984), sadly now derilect and unoccupied. All these have huge memories for our family and it was wonderful to see them again. We had a long swim in the pool in the afternoon which probably exacerbated a cold that Patsy caught in Italy. We booked on the Munich - Paris overnight train on Wednesday 24 August. Sandy sent an e-mail to Julie Hasler in Paris giving her arrival info and asking for instructions to reach her place. We had a quiet evening. What a beautiful place.

Jaggerheim Hotel (from 1984 Holiday)

Geschwandkopf

Beginner's Slope

Sunday 21 August 2005

We caught the 7.08 to Innsbruck. It was a great journey. Through Tuscany (Tuscany Villas just like our Brisbane place), the Italian Alps and the Austrian Alps into the Innsbruck valley. We arrived in Innsbruck at 16.33 and caught the 18.35 to arrive in Seefeld at 19.14. We had booked into the Hohe Munde, or so we thought. After a bewildering walk around the village centre with Patsy determined to find the Hohe Munde we got a receptionist at another hotel to ring the number of the hotel we had booked into. It turned out to be a hotel called the Egerthof. The manager drove down to pick us up and for 64Euro a night we were given a huge room with CNN, a huge bathroom and a balcony. Best accommodation yet.

View from Hotel Egerthof

Hotel Munde

Italy

2005-08-20T11:23:00.000+10:00

Saturday 20 August 2005

We walked for 7 hours taking in the Roman Forum, Coloseum, Circus Maximus, Trevi Fountain and St Peters, where Sandy was turned back for wearing shorts by a hysterically orthodox apprentice cleric! Walking up towards Roma Termini three young men deliberately bumped into sandy with a 'Oh I'm sorry!'. Sandy started feeling his pockets to see if they had been picked. Then he recognised the culprits. Three of last year's TGS Year 12s, Fletcher, Innes and Kavanagh. Then Patsy recognised the two girls who were with them, Gemma Innes (Liam Innes' twin sister) and laura Hunt. The girls had spotted Patsy from a bus they were on and the boys had spotted Sando in his TGS cap and had jumped off to accost us. A great moment for both of us. A real Italian pizza finished the evening.

Ex-Pupil Backpackers

Trevi Fountain

St Peters Cathedral

Friday 19 August 2005

Took the train to Pompei Scava and took in the ruins. They are about three square miles in area all buildings preserved to some extent minus roofs. Two theatres and a mini Coloseum. Quite the most amazing ancient site we have seen - better by far than the Roman town at Split. We then went back to Naples and caught the train to Rome. We have just had a great spaghetti meal and are about to go to bed in our hotel.

Mt Vesuvius

Pompeii Ruins

Thursday 18 August 2005

Arrived in Bari at 8.15 Italian time. Caught a bus into the station and booked on a train to Naples leaving at 4pm. Hung around Bari until train left. After a four hour trip, changing at Caserta, we hit Naples at 8.30pm. We did not die, although the station area is pretty full of low life, and booked into the Ideal Hotel for the night. Very comfortable.

Addition for 4th August 2005

Athens

2005-08-17T16:08:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 17 August 2005

Had a long sleep in then took the Metro and a bus to an outlying station to get the train to Patras. From there we caught the ferry, the Blue Star 1. We splashed out on a de-luxe cabin with a porthole for Patsy and had another great sleep. The trip on the ferry cost nothing because of the Eurorail pass but we didn't fancy sleeping on the deck with all the smokers. Hence we took the cabin. The trip alone would have cost 200 Euro with no Eurorail Pass! The cabin really was luxurious with BBC World Service on TV.

Tuesday 16 August 2005

The day was spent seeing the sights of Athens,among them the Olympic Stadium (1896), games first held here in 776BC, the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus. We booked on the 11.55am train to Patras to leave on 17 August, this took an hour as the Patras train leaves from a different station.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and girding up our loins for the travels to come.

1896 Olympic Games Stadium
Acropolis
Athens from the Acropolis
Parthenon
Temple of Zeus
Theatre of Dionysos

Egypt

2005-08-14T23:19:00.000+10:00

Monday 15 August 2005

We caught our lift to the airport at 8am after a drama which involved opening a wooden door, which had been blocking the staircase and going down 9 flights of stairs because the lift had packed up. While waiting to go through security before check in we witnessed in quick succession a man chuck an epileptic fit and a young woman drop a baby with the ensuing hysterics. The flight was quick and local knowledge got us back to the Pan Hotel, in Athens, where we booked in for two nights. Good to be back in the West.

Sunday 14 August 2005

We spent the morning, after an Egyptian breakfast (kidney beans, boiled egg, buns, tomato,cucumber, butter, tea, juice and jam), seeing the Egyptian Museum full of mummies and stone and wood carvings and inscriptions from 2800BC to 250AD (by then Egypt was a Roman province). The antiquity of it all was amazing as was their level of civilisation. In the evening we had a dinner cruise down the Nile, quite special and complete with a band, a belly-dancer and a sort of whirling Egyptian.

Saturday 13 August 2005

Sandy got up early for a walk around central Cairo and along the Nile. We had arranged a tour of the pyramids to be picked up at 11am. Off we went, saw the pyramids, somehow got dragooned into a buggy ride around the site and picked up an enthusiastic guide who took charge of our camera and snapped merrily away at anything that moved. Trip wound up costing us three times as much as we had originally agreed to but it was still quite cheap and we had fun. Spent the rest of the day watching Nile TV, in our room, which had a lot of programs in English including the News. Cairo is a huge place with a population of 22 million most of whom are poverty stricken. Mismanagement and corruption in high places as well as a shortage of natural resources makes for a breeding ground for Islamic extremists amongst the youth. The whole of the Middle East is a time bomb waiting to go!

Pyramids
Sphinx
Buggy Ride

Friday 12 August 2005

Went to a travel agency as soon as it opened, 9am, and got return flights to Cairo at 2.35pm back on Monday 11.20am with Egypt Air. Sandy had a quick walk around earlier and saw some sights. Took the Metro to the airport, very civilised. The flight was delayed until 3.45pm. Good meal and service on board. Saw the pyramids from the air as we turned on final approach. Cairo is amazing, green on either side of the Nile for about 10 km, then harsh desert - no vegetation at all. Negotiated a cheap hotel with a travel agent at the airport and wound up at the Hotel Cleopatra Palace, worn out now but would have been great in its day, a couple of blocks from the Nile. Traffic very heavy and driving totally insane. Death more probable here than in any aeroplane. Settled down for a noisy night - cars hooting at pedestrians!

View of Cairo and Nile

Greece

2005-08-11T10:12:00.000+10:00

Thursday 11 August 2005

Boarded a ferry to Piraeus (the port of Athens) at 8.30am, only one and a half hours late. Took an hour and a half just to leave Samos, one doesn't realise how big these islands can be and Samos is by no means the biggest. The weather was very windy and so big seas developed and Patsy felt a little shaky. We had a great cabin for only 6 Euro extra each and hence could sleep a little and relax with the occasional trip onto deck. Deep blue ocean and dry rocky islands. We arrived at 7pm took the metro into Syndagma and splashed out on a hotel with CNN. Athens clean and modern in keeping with our first favourable impression of Greece.

Wednesday 10 August 2005

Another lazy day in Samos Town a duplicate of Monday and Tuesday.

View from Top of Samos
Coming Down

Tuesday 9 August 2005

This was a duplicate of Monday, a chance to really unwind. This time we gave the bird water through a straw into the cage. It was desperate for water and came across to us the moment it knew that we were giving it a drink.

Monday 8 August 2005

Went into town (12 minute walk) and booked a ferry ticket with second class cabin (no Porthole) to Piraeus, the port for Athens, for Thursday. We had a fruit breakfast in a park and noticed a pidgeon in a cage with budgies that looked thirsty. It seemed to be injured and was on the ground. The rest of the day was spent swimming, walking and relaxing reading English newspapers! The evening was spent at the best restaurant, with the most delicious Greek food, I have ever been to.

Our Swimming Place

Sunday 7 August 2005

After a great Turkish breakfast at the Paris Hotel we got a lift to Kusadasi, from where the ferry to Greece leaves, at about 11am. Hung around in Kusadasi until the ferry left at 5pm, mostly on the water front nursing two beers. The ferry was very crowded and the trip took about an hour and a half. There were no people selling zimmers at the dock but 50m up the street was a little kombie with Pythagoras Hotel written on it! We spoke to a little man and snapped up a room at 30 Euro a night. A great setting with views of Samos Bay. A light dinner and then bed.

Where do two Maths teachers stay when in Greece?
Samos Bay
Sunset over Samos Isle

Turkey

2005-08-07T05:50:00.000+10:00

Saturday 6 August 2005

Took a tour of the ruıns of Troy. Fascınatıng as ıs the realıty of the polıtıcal and economıc sıtuatıon at the tıme of the Illıad - legends apart.
Also the story of the dıscovery of the ruıns ın 1878 usıng amazıngly accurate geographıcal dıscrıptıons of the posıtıon of Troy gıven ın the Illıad very ınterestıng.
A long bus trıp 5 hours saw us set up for the nıght ın a small hotel ın Selçuk - good bıg room wıth great hosts. A beer then bed.

Trojan Horse at Troy
Ruins of Troy

Friday 5 August 2005

An amazing day! We were picked up at the Emek Hotel and taken in a good air-conditioned bus to Garibolu for lunch and then THE BATTLEFIELDS. Quite everything we expected. We spent the night in the Yellow Rose Hotel on the 4th floor.

Emek Hotel Lobby

ANZAC BATTLEFIELDS

-- Anzac Cove --

-- Beach Cemetery --

-- Lone Pine Cemetery --

-- Lone Pine Chapel --
-- New Anzac Day Site --
-- Turk's Words to Bereaved Australian Mothers --

Thursday 4 August 2005

Spent the day in Istanbul. Saw the Blue Mosque and had a long trip up the Bosphorus before bed after another great meal-real Turkish food.

PS: (Added on 19 August 2005) * Patsy heard sirens in the middle of the night in Istanbul. We have since found out that a bomb went off at midnight about half a mile away from our hotel that killed two and injured four people. We knew something was going on in the morning by the police presence but as we could not read the newspapers we did not know what had happened until 18 August 2005 when we read an English European newspaper.

Blue Mosque

Bosphorus River Cruise

Wednesday 3 August 2005

The train finally arrived at 1530 only 8 hours late. A friendly guy got us a room 40 ytl and a package to Gallipoli and Troy to drop us off near the ferry to the Greek Island of Samos. Turkey a very friendly place.

Tuesday 2 August 2005

Rebekah drove us to Pipera Metro. We made our way to Gard du Nord and we caught our First Class train at 1410 as expected. That was the last time anything was on time. WITH NO AIR CONDITIONING we sweated and finished our water by 1900. Train was due in at 0745. There were long delays at the Romanian-Bulgaria border during the night.

Bucharest

2005-08-02T20:42:00.000+10:00

Monday 1 August 2005

Patsy "vegged" at the Yeager house while Sandy and Rebekah went into Bucharest to buy train tickets for Istanbul (Euro100). Then Sandy and Rebekah joined John for lunch at the American Embassy. It was all just like the films with a fit, smart marine manning the entry point, checking the documents (Sandy's passport) and saying "Yes sir, thank you maam". Lots of security. A walk around central Bucharest finished the day before a BBQ at the Yeager's. A very relaxing two days.

Sunday 31 July 2005

Picked up by Rebekah Yeager at Bucharest Nord station. It was great to actually know someone in the place. Rebekah drove us to her house on the outskirts of Bucharest for a relaxingly quiet time in a normal house complete with dog and children. Romania is undoubtedly the poorest of the countries yet visited with the people only just starting to recover from the years of neglect and mismanagement. The usual story of former strong men forming crime syndicates. There is also a Gypsy Mafia (1.8 million Romany in Romania)! 30 000 Old Lei or 3 New Lei to US$1. Still despite problems, Romania is moving forward - EC membership in 2007. Visited a shopping centre, very modern, a gas station and a manual car wash before taking doggy for a walk.

Belgrade

2005-07-31T23:34:00.000+10:00

Saturday 30 July 2005

We got off the bus exhausted but determined to see Belgrade. No workable ATMs. Sandy walked to a bank which refused to cash travellers cheques. Once again we had to cash US dollars. We took in the Military Museum where they brag about the prowess of the Serbian soldier from pre-medieval times to today. No mention of Serbian massacres and rape of Bosnian muslims but there is on display a small piece of a US Stealth jet alledgedly shot down during the 1999 bombings of Belgrade. We also had a tour of the city. A phone call to Tertia to get her to e-mail our friend in Bucharest was necessary as all Internet Cafes in Belgrade were down. We had a good trip in a sleeper - only occupants - to Bucharest. 14 hours. Belgrade was very run down. Sandy took two photographs of bombed out buildings. Many Serbs will never forgive the West for the bombings and consequently English speakers are given short shrift.

Bombed Buildings

Sarajevo

2005-07-31T23:32:00.000+10:00

Friday 29 July 2005

Caught the bus to Sarajevo. We went along the Dalmatian Coast, through the Bosnian "toe-hold" at Neum, up the Neretva River to Mostar, past the reconstructed bridge then onto Sarajevo. We got off at the main station at 3.35 pm to find that the banks closed at 3.30! The ATMs did not accept our card. We had to cash in some of our precious US dollars and get a taxi to the only bus station from which buses depart for Belgrade in Lukavica in the Serb dominated enclave of Republica Sprska. Things are very complicated in the Balkans! There was huge evidence of the hostilities - bullet holes in the walls etc. We whiled away the time in a restaurant attached to the station until our bus left at 22.50. Dreadful bus trip! Think Malawi, think Salima. Not much sleep.

Dubrovnik

2005-07-31T23:30:00.000+10:00

Thursday 28 July 2005

We bought tickets for Sarajevo for Friday 8am then walked a hilly 3 km to Dubrovnik walled town. This is the most substantial walled medieval city wall still in existence. We took in a museum and walked the entire wall, another 2km. The original city state was in a very defensive position. The Serbs shelled it in 1993 - a pointless exercise militarily. The relatively minor damage has been repaired. Dubrovnik is a jewel of a place, with a relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle. We soaked up the atmosphere at the Harbour and at a little restaurant on the waterfront.

Hvar Island

Korcula Island

Medieval Wall

Wednesday 27 July 2005

Caught the ferry at 10am and baked in the sun for 4 hours on the top deck. Beautiful ocean with rugged islands - very mountainous. We got off at Vela Luka and had a tense couple of moments until little miss pushy got us seats on the bus to Korcula. She adopted a low body height and drove through the crowds with little short legs pumping furiously! The bus ride took us through little Terra Cotta villages perched on steep rocky slopes. The island exists on wine making, olive growing and tourism. The last part of the ferry trip took us past more rough mountain terrain to Dubrovnik, the pearl of the Adriatic. A woman offered us a room three minutes away - turned out to be 10 minutes away - Patsy pace. Fell into bed at 11pm.

Looking Back at Split

The City of Split

2005-07-31T23:26:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 26 July 2005

Caught the train to Split after a great ham and eggs breakfast at the Hotel Fala. Had one last CNN fix - TV in room - before leaving. We had an interesting train trip through mountainous terrain. Evidence of the war in the form of burnt out or destroyed houses all the way. When we arrived in Split we managed to beat a land lady down to 200Kr for an ensuite bedroom 50m from the centre of the water front. We walked through the most extensive Roman ruins in Eastern Europe. People have lived or worked in some of these houses since 250 AD, with additions and rudimentary repairs. No invasions and no tidal waves or earthquakes etc have ensured preservation.

Roman Ruins in Split

Zagreb

2005-07-26T09:12:00.000+10:00

Monday 25 July 2005

Caught the 8.25 train to Zagreb. Great trip with a Hungarian who spoke English. Got lots of tips for the rest of our tour. Zagreb fabulous - best yet. Wandered around the town and had a couple of beers - clean with a great atmosphere and really helpful people.

Thomas, our friend on the train.

View from Square Tree

Budapest

2005-07-25T09:05:00.000+10:00

Sunday 24 July 2005

The compartment situation remained the same until we arrived in Budapest - luxury. Conductors tried to get us to pay 24 Euros extra as we had come a different route and had been undercharged. We refused politely explaining that it was their problem since our tickets quite clearly said Prague to Budapest - the bunnies didn't get a bean. Then the little ponce in charge of the backpackers tried to short change us by 2o US Dollars, ferrety little bastard. Budapest is less Westernised than Prague but has its own beauty. It has not preserved its heritage as Prague has, with new and old buildings next to each other. The Danube though is magnificent and obviously Magyer decorative works are all over the buildings. Budapest always was going to be less of a quest of the grail site-seeing-wise, so we have restricted ourselves to wandering around taking in the sights and smells as it were.

Prague

2005-07-22T08:41:00.000+10:00

Saturday 23 July 2005

With our train for Budapest only leaving at 22.23 hrs we spent the day once again wandering Prague, having the odd beer in various outdoor cafes and taking in the National Gallery and again the castle - we simply cannot get tired of Prague. We had a six people compartment all to ourselves when we got to the train - with couches!

Prague from the Castle

Friday 22 July 2005

Walked and had breakfast - hotdogs - next to the river then took in the Municipal Building with the New Art murals. We then went to the Alfons Mucha museum and art gallery - fascinating. We would love to have seen the Slav Epic but it is not housed in Prague.

Thursday 21 July 2005

A good nights sleep for once. We arrived in Prague and found our hostel. We could not move in until 1.oo pm but left our backpacks and moved into Prague. It grabbed us both straight away. Kafka was right when he said - this little mother has claws - implying that Prague grows on you so that you don't want to leave. It is without doubt the most beautiful city that I have seen. No buildings in the inner city, apart from one which snuck in, are later than the 19th century. The river with its bridges is exquisite. Just walking around is a treat. In the afternoon we took in the Castle, Old Town, the Old Town Hall with the astronomical clock and the Saints parading every hour and Wencelas Square before a walk home along the River. Prague is very Western and quite delightful.

Prague Castle

Astronomical Clock

Zakopane

2005-07-22T08:38:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 20 July 2005

A 3.5 hour trip to Zakopane in the foothills of the High Tatras, part of the Carpathians. Verz is interesting and beautiful. It would be great to hike there. An overnight trip with couches saw us depart for Prague.

Ski Jump at Zakopane

Auschwitz

2005-07-22T08:37:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 19 July 2005

Spent a day at Auschwitz. Very sobering. I always thought that the huts were wooden, temporary structures. They were in fact substantial brick buildings built for a long future of extermination after Germany won the war.

Auschwitz 2, Birkenau, was huge, 2km by 2km.

Warsaw

2005-07-18T08:53:00.000+10:00

Sunday 17 July 2005

A leisurely day with a walk down the Vistula River and a beer in the Old Town Square listening to brilliantly played classical favourites on an accordian. Spent some time in the Orgraod Saski where they have the memorial to all Poles who died in 1939-1945. Warsaw lost 50% of its population in this period. Home for a couple of beers and a cuppa soup! Both of us happy and relaxed.

Saturday 16 July 2005

Arrived in Warsaw and bought bus tickets. Jumped on the bus to go to Varskova Centralna but neglected to put the tickets through the machine on the bus. A funny little Pole came up to us and demanded a 120Zl fine because we had not put the tickets through the machine. We both went into Patsy plausible mode. Tourista no understand. Little bastard was obviously trying to rip us off. Eventually he gave up when we mentioned the police and the Australian embassy - this was our intro. to Poland. It took us a while to luke warm to the place.

Older Poles are still a little rude - the young ones are better to the tourists.

We visited the Warsaw History museum, the Old Town - reconstructed after being totally destroyed during the Second WW before bed to a cacophony from nearby rooms - loud music until 3am - quite a good choice of music though!

Bulduri Beach, Riga

2005-07-18T08:52:00.000+10:00

Friday 15 July 2005

Spent the morning at the Occupation Museum and the afternoon at Bulduri Beach (a typical Baltic beach - Caloundra has the edge). Celebrated birthday with samoosas and beer at an Indian restaurant (yes they are everywhere). Spent the last two hours at the backpacker's pub and met Robert Legg from, wait for it ... Toowoomba! Small world. Caught the overnight bus to Warsaw at 2200hrs.

Riga

2005-07-15T14:44:00.000+10:00

Thursday 14 July 2005

Woke for a late breakfast at 9.30am. Caught the bus at 12.00 and got into Riga at 17.00. This time the bus station was 150m from our Hostel. Reception is in the pub run by a young Aussie from Perth!

Our room was great sharing a bathroom, with BATH, washing machine and kitchen with one other room. All clean and recently done up. We had a beer in the pub with a Dutchman, a Kiwi and Adam, the Aussie, with his Latvian girlfriend then went for a stroll and a short shop for breakfast things before bed.

Tallin

2005-07-15T14:42:00.000+10:00

Wednesday 13 July 2005

Arrived in Tallin at 5 am in broad daylight after a seven hour trip in a very bouncy bus on bad roads which improved slightly after crossing the Russia/Estonian border - not much sleep.

There was a bit of a nause at Russian customs as our visa expired on 12 July and it was 3am on 13 July. The Russian Embassy in Canberra had made a mistake - not reading our already prepared travel documents properly. They eventually solved the problem by stamping 12/7/05 on the passport. Russia was fascinating but we were happy to be out.

The instructions for getting to the backpackers from the bus station were short and concise. Turn left at the exit and walk 200m. The only problem was they had a different bus station. The one our bus stopped at was 4 km from the one they were talking about. We found out where we were by Sandy doing a 20 minute recce until he found a street name that matched one on the map (not a lot of help from the locals). We then decided to test our mettle by walking with our backpacks. Due to our incredible fitness we made it.

Tallin Bus Station

Once we were there the people were very helpful but our room only became available at 12 noon. We went back to the bus station to book a trip to Riga (tram and bus this time) and then moved into a great room.

The afternoon was spent exploring the Old Town. Totally brilliant! The houses and city walls dated back as far as 1157 with most having been built 1300-1450. Our visit to a merchants house, now a museum on the history of Tallin and Estonia, was the highlight. The recent history is as interesting as the medieval, all about the struggle for independence from the USSR. Still 40% Russian in Tallin but Estonians slightly more helpful than their former occupiers.

After a beer over-looking the town square we fell into bed at 7pm.

St Petersburg

2005-07-12T22:50:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 12 July 2005

Another stroll around sundry parks, we live in the poorer part of town, City improves closer to the river. Took in the Winter Palace, Yusupov Palace, where Rasputin was murdered and thrown into the Moyka, had a great boat trip 1.5 hours up and down the Neva and took in the Peter and Paul fortress - gun goes off at noon with a huge blast. Went to a pub before catching the bus to Tallin at 12.50am.

Monday 11 July 2005

Woke up to another russian breakfast. Hang on to your food otherwise it gets snatched by overly Slavonic waitresses! A lovely walk along the Neva River to the Summer Palace Gardens - beautiful oaks - to Palace Square, where one of the revolution masacres took place, overlooked by the exotic Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum - the latter closed on Mondays! Went shopping, spent time in the INet Cafe, very yuppy - bloody Russian machines! Posted some goods and then a leisurely stroll back to our hotel for MGTs.

Moscow

2005-07-12T22:49:00.000+10:00

Sunday 10 July 2005

Caught the bus to St Petersburg. Got in at 11.30pm sun still up amazing. Fell into bed.

Saturday 9 July 2005

A brilliant guide told us all there is to know about the history and present situation in Russia. Another Gin and tonic evening.

Moscow River from our hotel

Moscow, Red Square

Friday 8 July 2005

Flew to Moscow 3 hr flight, 2 hours in Passport queue, 2 hours in traffic.
Got tipsy on gin and tonic in hotel room. God what an unhappy place.

Vienna

2005-07-08T08:21:00.000+10:00

Thursday 7 July 2005

We walked in Mozart's footsteps in the centre of the city and then we took in the Schloss Schonnbrunn.

Wednesday 6 July 2005

Woke up early and had a great continental breakfast. We took the 38 tram to Grinzing and walked round this quaint little village almost detached from Vienna and surrounded by wineries. We were moved by a war memorial with a roll of honour for the 2nd and 1st WWs - just like the ones we have! Kahlenberg overlooking the whole of Vienna was awesome. We took the underground to Donaupark and saw the Donauturm (tower). Donau is German for Danube. In the evening we had a meal and a Strauss song and dance show.

Tuesday 5 July 2005

Took the CAT and underground to our hotel after an 11 hour flight on Lauda with seriously Teutonic air-hostesses. 'You vill drink your coffee now!!'

The Hotel Bleckmann is very cute and old world and Vienna amazingly historical. Still intact with architecture dating back as far as 1100! Just a stroll around yields a wealth of culture and history. We took in the Volksgarten, the Hofburg, the Rathaus and the atmosphere. Jet lag forced us to sleep at 5.00pm - conscious of the fact that we were now in EUROPE!

Kuala Lumpur

2005-07-04T19:44:00.000+10:00

Sunday 3 July 2005

We walked to the MRT at Clarke Quay and took the train to Changi airport. A quick 55 minute trip to KLIA then a two hour bus trip to our hovel (with comfortable beds) in KL. KL also vibrant but very dirty, compared with Singapore, with obvious signs of poverty - smelly drains etc. Also there is heavy vehicle pollution. The place we are staying is locked up like Fort Knox with bars on all the windows and a huge padlocked jail type metal door (not a great area) with the lock on the outside and difficult to open through the grill. The most total fire hazard I have yet seen!! Hoping for a paucity of raging conflagrations tonight.

Singapore

2005-07-03T10:15:00.000+10:00

Sunday 03 July 2005

Have arrived safely in Singapore (got to the hotel at 11.30 pm Singapore time). Tiny room. Spent Saturday sight- seeing.

Singapore Botanical Gardens and sundry other sites. Leaving for KL at 1245 today. Singapore vibrant. Raffles the most spectacular hotel we have ever seen!

2005-06-27T16:40:00.000+10:00

Four sleeps left before we jet off to Singapore!

Patsy and Sandy.

Getting Ready ...

2005-06-25T16:36:00.000+10:00

Less than a week to go before we leave! It's hard to believe that we won' t be back on Australian soil for another 163 days!

Sandy