Travels with Gail and Rob

Living in the Castle

2011-09-12T22:01:00.001-07:00

The shearing shed built in 1863

We have just returned from a 5 day trip where we were in residence in a traditional castle - yes, a real castle - Kings Plains Castle situated on an unsealed road between Glen Innes and Inverell.

As the only guests, for the first 2 days we settled in but with car problems, we had to stay another 2 nights and with the owners away, we took over as Lord and Lady of the Castle as well as custodianship of the property complete with cattle (Angus, no less).

We toured the 1860s shearing sheds, inspected the graveyard and visited the local national park via the farm ute. We spent many hours sitting in front of the wood fire....... it was genuine Scottish weather!

Sunday at the Palace

2010-12-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

The Presidential Palace in Santiago

Robert checks out the livestock

Gail checks out the guardsmen

We spent an enjoyable Sunday looking at some of the spots we had missed on our previous visit to Santiago. The presidential palace is quite spectacular with lots of open space around complete with pools, fountains and statues. The guards on duty were friendly.

We also wandered around looking at shops and some of the other public buildings.
We leave for Sydney on Monday night and arrive on Wednesday morning.

More Mouai

2010-12-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Look carefully and you will see
us straightening the leaning statue.

See what they look like when

no-one straightens them. We

learnt how in Pisa when we

fixed the tower.

Restored after being toppled

and washed inland after a tsunami.

The quarry where the mouai

came from. These heads are

full figures buried from erosion.

The headpieces are a different

kind of rock from another quarry.

We have now toured all the major sites on the island and also visited a lovely beach where we swam to a backdrop of royal Mouai (the last picture). Tomorrow afternoon we fly back to Santiago.

Meeting the Moai

2010-12-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

This is the only group of moai that
are facing towards the ocean.

Now you can see them from the front.

There are lava tubes from the

extinct volcanoes. This one

reached the sea.

Overlooking the crater of one

volcano - now one of the water

supplies for the island.

These houses were lived in for

about 1 month each year during

the birdman festival used to

select the king.

We spent a day travelling around the western side of the island with a guide. Today we will explore the southern side of the island with the same guide - hope to meet more moai.

Easter Island

2010-12-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

Gail in the garden of our accommodation.

Our first moai along the beachfront

just along from our accommodation.

We left Santiago quite early yesterday morning for the 5 hour flight to Easter Island. There is a 2 hour time difference so we arrived at lunchtime where we were met with flower leis.

In the afternoon we bought supplies to cook dinner as we have a kitchen here and are missing our own cooking. We walked along the coast looking at the little port where turtles play, tiny beaches with people swimming and sunbaking and platforms where moai are standing.

We are looking forward to our first full day travelling around .

2010-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Museo Historico Nacional Gaucho dancer spins his spurs

Religious dancing at Santiago's cathedral holy day.

One of the dancers at the religious festival on Santiago's holy day.

Since travelling from Valparaiso to Santiago by bus, we have spent an enjoyable couple of days taking in the city sights. We visited a heap of museums, including the National History, Pre Columbian, Post office (ex governor's palace and presidential palace) and the Basilica de la Merced with its Easter Island artefacts. We loved the main square around which these buildings are located with the fountains, jacaranda trees etc.

The cathedral was very interesting as when we visited it on Sunday, it was a holy day and the dancers included bears (not real ones), devils(?) etc and statues being blessed. I don't think even the pope could understand South American catholicism.

We also climbed a local mountain/hill that included forts, fountains and young Chilean lovers. We celebrated our ascent with an ice cream!

Jean departs for Sydney and we head off for Easter Island the next morning.

Valparaiso

2010-11-27T02:47:00.001-08:00

Our hotel in Valparaiso. We have a wonderful view over the harbour. The little balcony on the left is ours.

Toy cars in the central square.

The MS Veendam departs.

Our cruise has come to an end and we are back on dry land although it seems to be rocking a bit. It could be our sea legs adjusting or it could be that we are in Valparaiso, one of the shakiest cities in the world.

Still lots of evidence of building damage from the earthquake earlier this year. Our accommodation is a quaint old converted teahouse, perched precariously on the hillside. The views are spectacular, including at night where it looks like fairyland.

We have been on several walks around the city, travelling down by ascensor - a bit like the scenic railway. Ours was the first built in 1883 and still going strong. They are all over the city which is built on the side of a very steep hill.

We have visited the churches and squares, public buildings and small outdoor markets.

We particularly like the district around our hotel which has a bohemian feel rather like Montmartre in Paris. There are lots of old mansions converted into small hotels and restaurants. There are many artisan's workshops and painters displaying their work. The place has a real buzz.

We are off to Santiago today.

Puerto Montt - Old German Homes

2010-11-27T02:39:00.000-08:00

Another new jetty idea for Conjola

Robert at the grindstone

Early settlers' pram
.

The two volcanoes on the other side of the lake became visible in the afternoon from the ship.

Photos from Punta Arenas , Darwin Channel and Broujo Glacier

2010-11-27T02:29:00.000-08:00

Magellan penguins. Obviously not as cold as we were!

Sea lions in the Darwin Channel

The Broujo Glacier

Ice totally surrounded the ship.

Photos from Ushuaia

2010-11-27T02:20:00.000-08:00

Backdrop to the city of Ushuaia
.

The Five brothers,,,,,,,,,.very cold brothers!

The end of the Pan American Highway.

The Horn panorama

2010-11-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Cape Horn is actually on the Southern most island of South America

We were fortunate to have clear weather and moderate seas so the ship was able to go in close to The Horn.

Anti Whaling

2010-11-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

20,000 whales killed by one gun..how many in total?

Falkland toilets

2010-11-26T13:12:00.001-08:00

The people from the Falklands are not without a sense of humour.
The other funny sign was outside a Stanley pub..it read "husband creche"

Read the book

2010-11-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

We have visited the museum...now read the book.

Happy Feet Pictorial

2010-11-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

A group of Gentoo and King penguins. The Kings are larger and have yellow markings

A Gentoo caring for its egg

Baby King..wearing its fur coat...and its mother..or is it father

A Little Piece of Germany

2010-11-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

Afrer proceeding up the Chilean coast, at times through 20 foot seas, we have passed through the Chilean fiords and a series of channels including the Darwin Channel to reach Puerto Montt. The highlight on the way was the Boujo Glacier where the face of the glacier reached the end of the fiord. It was spectacular but viewing conditions were far from optimal. We could not
get in to visit the Amalia Glacier due to poor weather.

From Puerto Montt we visited Lake Llanquihue the largest in Chile where we visited a series of towns established by early German settlers. behind the lake we could just make out the Osorno and Kalbuco volcanoes. The artefacts and buildings were very much like german towns we have visited including Lutheran churches and pastry shops selling kuchen.

Sorry still no photos. Next post Valparaiso in 2 days.

More Happy Feet

2010-11-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

What do you do on a Sunday in Punta Arenas? We decided to go and visit some more penguins. We travelled by a converted landing barge for 2 hours across to Magdalena Island and had a wonderful time looking at the Magellen penguins. They were absolutely unafraid of humans and frequently walked across within six inches of our toes.

They live in burrows but were mostly standing round watching us. None were dancing. We also saw many down on the beach and even the ones in the burrows nesting could be clearly seen. There were about 75,000 breeding pairs.

The weather was absolutely freezing and very very windy. When we walked up to the lighthouse, we were almost blown away.

At the moment we are in Punta Arenas town, having visited the markets and taken in the sights. Sorry again that there are no photos. When we get a chance we might send a few photo blogs.

The End of the Road

2010-11-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

From Ushuaia we went on a trip on the furthest point south accessible by road. It was the end of the Pan American Highway. It was over 3,000 km from Buenos Aires and over 17,000 km from Fairbanks in Alaska.

We saw picturesque lakes and bays. Any further south and we would have fallen off the end of the world.

Ushuaia claims the title as the world´s most southern city. Chile claims Puerto William which is located further south and where we stopped to pick up a pilot, for the title. The Argentineans say it is just a town.

We took in lots of further south claims.... the most southern train station, traffic light etc but not the most southerly dogwash.... we had seen that in New Zealand.

Sorry for the absence of photos to back up these claims but there is no wifi available in Punta Arenas.

Happy Feet

2010-11-20T07:36:00.001-08:00

We visited the Bluff Cove Penguin Rookery on the Falkland Islands where the penguins are considered to be the best in the world possibly outside Antarctica.

We travelled by 4 wheel drive over private property avoiding the mine fields left over from the Argentinean conflict of 1982 to reach the rookery in a secluded bay. We saw lots of Gentoo penguins sitting on their eggs. The Gentoo is the 3rd largest penguin species. We also some King penguins, the 2nd largest species. The largest is the Emperor found only in Antarctica. The Kings had last season's chicks with them which were as large as the adult birds but covered in brown fluff which some were shedding.

It was a magical spot and we took lots of photos despite the fact that the wind was sop strong we had trouble holding the camera still.

Later we looked at their small quirky museum and refreshed ourselves with tea and homemade cakes. We travelled back to the tender in the 4 wheel drives just managing to avoid getting bogged.

We caught the last tender back to the ship.

News From the Falkland Islands

2010-11-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

Have just arrived in the Falkland Islands at Stanley. Lucky we arrived in almost summer because it is very cold and we are wearing parkas, scarves and gloves.

Unfortunately we missed Montevideo because just as the ship arrived near the port, we were notified that a boat was on fire in the harbour and the port was closed all day. Such a shame!

We have spent the last three days at sea relaxing, reading, eating and having a great time. Last night we dined at the Pinnacle Grill which is the top restaurant on the ship. It is worthy of a Michelin star - Bulgari china, Reidel glasses and the most stunning food.

We have spent the morning walking round Stanley. It is very British. We passed places like Thatcher Drive and the houses and pubs are very British. We have seen Government House the Falklands war memorial from 1982 and will soon be heading off on a tour to a penguin rookery where we hope to see three different species. Hope to send you the photos later.

Tomorrow we go round Cape Horn.

Tigre

2010-11-14T04:26:00.000-08:00

We spent a relaxing day at Tigre at the river delta. We spent a hour or two on the river watching the passing parade. Took about 200 photos of the jetties and the river craft.

Have some great ideas for Conjola!!

We went on the coastal train and visited a beautiful Cathedral and some great markets

Today we sail for the South with the first stop at Montevideo

Colonia

2010-11-13T11:13:00.000-08:00

Colonia was like a step back in time to the days of Portuguese and Spanish rule. A relaxing day...except we walked miles!

Mothers protest for the missing

2010-11-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

La Boca streetscape

2010-11-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

Tango at La Boca

2010-11-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Colonia del Sacremento

2010-11-13T02:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a delightful day in this historic town built in the 15th century.

We travelled across to Uruguay by batquebus (high speed boat) and spent a delightful day strolling round this remnant of a colonial past. We visited about 6 museums, all very small and specialised. eg. Portuguese house, Maritime, old tiles etc.

The old town is full of interesting little laneways that are great to walk round except for your feet on the cobblestones.

We had morning tea with fresh local pastries and lunch at an outdoor cafe where were joined by Lally, the restaurant tortoiseshell cat.

You will be pleased to know there were lots of friendly dogs and not a sign of rabied mongrels.

Sorry no photos but Internet connection is very weak.

La Boca

2010-11-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

Today we visited La Boca with its colourful street market, restaurants, artists, dancers and shops. The whole area is buzzing and vibrant, lively and just a great place to spend a few hours.

We saw tango exhibitions, listened to singers, laughed at the spruikers all assuring us that their restaurant, shop or exhibition was the best of all.

In the afternoon, we watched the parade of mothers in the Plaza Mayer who gather every Thursday to remember their family members who "disappeared" in the troubled political times of the late 20th century. It was very moving.

.

Return to Buenos Aires

2010-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

We returned to Buenos Aires from Rio very late on Monday night and it was nearly 2 am by the time we made it to bed. Tuesday morning after a late breakfast, we decided to walk to the nearby Congress building which was built in the early 19th century. It looks very impressive with a square and park in front of it. The roof has wonderful cupolas, statues and a tower on top. The front doors and gates were closed but we walked around the building and found the side entrance which is obviously the one everyone uses. There was no tour inside until 4 pm so we decided to explore further.

Diagonally opposite was the Congress Museum which contained a wall of interesting political cartoons. We recognised some of the world characters portrayed and understood the message even if we could not read all the words.

There was an interesting collection of old furniture, including a desk and chair used by Evita as well as a dummy wearing one of her outfits.

As we walked back we passed one of the many bars which are all over the part of the city where we are staying. The sign says it all.

Sugarloaf at Sunset

2010-11-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

Sugarloaf in the fading light taken from the intermediate cable station

Sunset from Sugarloaf

Sunset over Copacabana .

We returned to the hotel to share a bottle of icy Rose and then out to dinner
Tomorrow we return to Buenos Aires.

Girl from Ipanema

2010-11-07T16:39:00.000-08:00

The girl at Ipanema.

The beer seller at Ipanema.

Ipanema Beach is the next beach south from Copacabana. After our morning visit there, we returned to Copacabana for a swim.... sorry no camera so no cossy shots!

Raining in Rio

2010-11-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

We awoke to rain this morning so decided to go and see the city highlights rather than the wet beaches.

We caught the Metro to Carioca in the downtown area and visited this beautiful musical theatre with its gilded cupolas. Surrounding the square where this is, are many beautiful historical buildings including the Museum of Fine Arts and the National Library which is celebrating its bicentenary this year.

As a complete contrast we walked over to the Metropolitan Cathedral. This is extremely modern and about the height of a 15 to 20 storey buuilding. It is built as a huge dome with full height stained glass windows.
It was most unusual.

We saw many very modern buildings in addition to the beautiful historic reminders of the colonial past.

Jesus Over Rio

2010-11-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

We headed off from our hotel by local bus, then up the Corcovado very steep hill by cog train - the only one in Brazil, then an elevator and two escalators to reach the top. Hardly walked a step!

The view from the top is amazing with 360 degree

views over Rio. We could see the city centre, Sugarloaf and the famous beaches of Copacobana,

Ipanema and Leblon. It was one of the most spectacular viewpoints that we have ever seen.

The statue is equivalent to a 13 storey building in height and considered to be a marvel of engineering. The head was sculpted by one artist and the hands by another who used her own hands for the model.

Hanging Out at Copacabana

2010-11-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Rob on Copacabana feeling like the
Japanese businessman on Bondi Beach
in his suit.

Some of the locals letting it all hang out. The man with the umbrella is the swimming costume (optional) seller.

Food Glorious Food

2010-11-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

You may recall we reported on the marvels of our hotel breakfast in Bratislava when we were offered beer, coca cola and rum balls at the buffet as well as all the usual fare.

Today in Brazil, we were disappointed that none of these appeared at the lavish breakfast buffet but we were delighted to see among the cereal, juice, fried eggs etc. a very large creme caramel which we enjoyed as dessert at the end of our meal.

We did not try all the cakes on offer but there were some very tasty small warm cheese buns and some "ham pies" - rather like a quiche which would have been a very tasty accompaniment to a glass of wine!

Brazilian Panorama

2010-11-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

We visited the Brazilian side of the falls today and whilst it is much more limited in scope, you get a wonderful overview of the falls. I have tried to create a panorama by stitching 3 or 4 photos to give you an idea of the size of the falls. This one is called "The Devil's Throat". Still learning how to use the new camera. Might try reading the instructions!

We caught a local bus from Puerto Iguazu to Brazil. We went through the Argentinean border formalities with ease but on the Brazilian side, we were the only people on the bus staying in Brazil so we were left at Passport Control and were picked up by the next bus in 15 minutes. An international trip for just under $2!

Staying tonight in the town of Foz do Iguaca and flying tomorrow afternoon to Rio.

Creatures of Iguazu

2010-11-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

We quickly discovered that the beauty of Iguazu

was not only in the falls but in the
flora and fauna. The prize sighting

was a grande toucan which we watched for five minutes before it

eventually flew away.

Iguazu Falls

2010-11-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

Pictures describe the beauty and
grandeur of the falls far better than
words. What better way to start than

pictures of the two of us.

There are about 275 falls along a
2.7 km stretch of the Iguazu River
on the border between Argentina
and Brazil. These pictures are from

the Argentinean side that we visited
on Monday.

Evita: Finally at Rest

2010-10-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

After visiting the Evita Museum yesterday, we felt to complete the story, we had to visit her grave at the Recoleta Cemetery today.

The cemetery is rather like a small town with narrow streets and crypts resembling small houses but adorned with sculptures and religious symbols.

After her death in 1953 at 33 years of age, Evita's body was taken by anti Peron forces and buried in Milan under an assumed name. After seventeen years, her body was returned to Argentina and was finally laid to rest in her family's crypt- the Duarte crypt. Juan Peron is buried elsewhere. Fresh flowers still adorn the crypt left by her admirers

We also visited the Fine Arts Museum with its excellent collection of Impressionist paintings - we particularly liked the Sisley and Monet ones.

On the way to the cemetery we stopped off at the Opera House - "Teatro Colon" that is now open after a 3 year refurbishment........ not quite as big a job as the one we did at Forster! There are no shows on during our visit but we did manage a peek into the foyer. We also queued for tickets at the National Theatre but the only offering was a musical comedy in Spanish and we did not think our Spanish was quite up to the task.

Tomorrow - 31 October- we leave for the Iguazu Falls.

Visiting Evita

2010-10-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

As public attention turned to the south of the country for Nestor Kirchner's funeral, we decided it was appropriate to visit the Eva Peron Museum. This was an interesting account of her life from her days as a movie star to the rise and fall of the Peron government.

She was loved by the poor and hated by the rich for her social welfare values but still managed to acquire an impressive collection of hats, gowns and shoes that were on display.

On the way, we walked to Plaza de Mayo and paid our 3rd visit to the cathedral, this time to look at in detail and then caught the subway to Palermo. Palermo was disappointing but we did spen an hour walking the district in a light drizzle. More interesting was the Plaza Italia near the museum and we walked past the Zoo and the Botanic Gardens.

The subway is an experience in itself, more packed than downtown Tokyo and just a tad more efficient than Sydney.

We finished the day with dinner at a local restaurant, very pleasant especially the bottle of Trapiche Torrontes from the Valle de Cafayate. Torrontes is a distinctive Argentinean white wine unique to Argentina

Nestor Con Peron El Pueblo Con Cristina

2010-10-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

We spent today watching the people of Argentina grieve at the loss of their former president but celebrate his life.

The sign "Nestor Con Peron El Pueblo Con Cristina" means something like "Nestor is with Peron, The People are with Cristina".

So highly regarded was Nestor Kirchner that he is now considered to be in Heaven with Juan Peron but the people are giving their support to his wife Cristina, the current President.

It was an amazing day of public outpouring of grief, of emotion and exuberance in an evocative display by a proud nation. It was an honour to share in this occasion.

As we write this near midnight, the queues of people still extends for several kilometres as they wait to pay their respects to a fallen hero of the people.

Arrival to Drama in Buenos Aires

2010-10-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

View from our hotel window.

After our long flight, we finally arrived in Buenos Aires..... about 1 hour before we left Sydney.

Today is a public holiday in Argentina - Census Day, All the shops, restaurants etc have been closed all day but the restaurants open again at 8 pm. Since dinner is usually after 10 pm it probably does not worry the people here - only hungry Aussies!

We walked from our hotel down to the main square, the Plaza Mayo where crowds were massing following the unexpected death of the former president and husband of the current president, Nestor Kirchner.

We now know the meaning of the phrase "public outpouring of grief". Hundreds and thousands of people gathered in the square and the surrounding streets. They were carrying banners and flags and were singing and chanting slogans.

In the cathedral, preparations were underway for a memorial service. It was very dramatic and moving.

Back in our hotel room, we could look down on the impressive Av de 9 Julio with its 20 lanes of traffic. The crowdswere spilling out at the intersection of Av de Mayo which leads down to the Plaza Mayo, the cathedral and the presidential palace.

The tv stations are all focused on Kirchner's death. He was much loved in Argentina and highly respected in the other Latin American couuntries.

Slow Trip from White Cliffs

2009-08-23T02:23:00.000-07:00

No flies on us in the Mutawinji National Park!

From Broken Hill we travelled up to Mutawintji National Park. After we turned off the Silver City Highway, we were on a dirt road for the rest of the trip. At the park, we went on a walk along Homestead Creek and visited a large rock overhang decorated with Aboriginal art. We walked as far as where a waterfall flows after heavy rain.
We continued on to White Cliffs and did not see another car during the 160 km trip but we did see lots of emus. The road deteriorated - it was marginal for a regular vehicle. Just before we arrived at our accommodation, one tyre gave out. We were down to the steel belts and the low profile tyres just could not cope with the very rough road. After putting on the narrow spare, we found our accommodation.

We stayed at the underground motel, built into the hillside. Our room was dugout 17. After pre dinner drinks, we dined on the set menu with soup, roast lamb and apple crumble.
In the morning, we drove around the mine sites and visited an underground house and museum owned by “Mad Jock”. He lived up to his name! We also visited several opal mines selling their wares but did not end up with any White Cliffs opals to take home.
Our trip to Cobar was very slow and steady. We were on sealed road but travelled at a maximum speed of 80 kph. 400 km is a long way at 80 kph! We finally made it into Cobar in time to replace the rear tyres ready to travel on the next day.

Broken Hill, Silverton and Menindee Lakes

2009-08-23T01:57:00.000-07:00

Burke and Wills stayed in this hotel in Menindee before setting off on their fatal journey of exploration.

The Mad Max movies were made in Silverton and here is the car!

During our time at Broken Hill, we marvelled at the wonderful buildings from the colonial days. These ranged from the grand public buildings and hotels to the simple miners’ cottages. The mine still dominates the town.
We visited Silverton, 25 km from Broken Hill, referred to as a ghost town, that once had thousands of residents. Now it has museums, including the former gaol and school. These were fascinating. It also has artists and galleries of the bush art school.
Menindee Lakes are dry! The huge lakes are no longer the refuge for waterbirds and a place for Broken Hill people to ski and sail. We followed the river road that ran along beside the Darling River and then drove out to the main weir that stores water for Broken Hill. Saw lots of emus but they are so common, we no longer stop to take photos!
Our visit to the Broken Hill Galleries included those of Jack Absalom, Pro Hart and Julie Hart where we made a purchase.

Flinders Ranges

2009-08-17T00:43:00.001-07:00

On Friday we drove out to the Flinders Ranges. We first visited the town of Quorn, a fascinating place which was used as the site for several movies such as The Shiralee and Sunday Too Far Away.

Our next stop was the historic town of Hawker where the original Ghan used to pass through on its way to Maree. The trains no longer run and it is very small and quiet.

We finally arrived at Rawnley Park Station which runs sheep and tourists! We walked to Ferntree Falls which had no water but was very beautiful with interesting rock formations.

On Saturday we drove to Wilpena Pound and went on an amazing walk through the pound where wheat used to growand sheep once grazed. Now it is National Park. We visited the original homestead and walked up to the lookout. it was a steep climb but a great view.

A truly magical place.

Coffin Bay National Park

2009-08-17T00:32:00.001-07:00

On our visit to the Yacht Club in Coffin Bay, it was suggested that the nearby National Park was an absolutely must see place so off we went.

Our first stop was Templetonia Lookout, named for the pea shaped red flowers that grow in the area and are currently in flower. Next we drove to Little Yangie Bay where we were entertained by several wrens that showed no fear, sat on the car, danced at our feet and admired themselves in the reflection on the car windows.

The highlight of our visit, however, was the sighting of several emus and chicks. The emus were very protective but we were thrilled when they crossed the road right in front of our car. We also saw the ‘coat of arms‘- an emu and a kangaroo standing next to each other.

Coffin Bay National Park is also the home of the white bellied sea eagle but unfortunately, we did not have a sighting.

Whale Watching

2009-08-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we headed off from Ceduna to the Head of the Bight to see the whales. It was 300 km there and 300 km back so we were hoping for some amazing sights and we were not disappointed.

At the “Head of Bight” as it is known, the deep water comes right in to the cliff face and this is where the southern right whales come every year from May till August to calve. We saw at least forty whales, many with their small (compared to their mothers) babies. They were so close in to shore and the wooden boardwalk allowed us such a great view, we stood there and just marvelled.

Some of the whales had barnacles on their bodies which we could clearly see from where we were standing. The babies clung closely to their mothers. They stay in the area for several months and after calving, they stay very close to the cliffs.

The whale watching area is in Yalata Aboriginal land and we had reached the Nullarbor Plain before we turned down to the Bunda Cliffs to do our whale watching. It was a marvellous experience.

Lake Mungo

2009-08-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Standing on the Walls of China at Lake Mungo

We drove up to Lake Mungo after dropping our stuff at the homestead where we were staying. We followed a 63 km self drive tour around the lake mungo region and took in the sights. Lake Mungo is part of the willandra lakes world heritage area, one of the original three declared in Australia along with Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef.

We visited the Walls of China, a lunette of sandhills and clay that has been severely eroded. We walked through this most interesting area that includes fossils of dwarf hippos, giant wombats and kangaroos. This is also wher Mungo woman and Mungo man were discovered, possibly the most significant archaeological finds in Australia.

Other places included old homesteads and ground tanks, driving across the enormous lake beds, an old 1869 wool shed and fascinating vegetation.

Our accommodation was fascinating as we stayed in the shearers' shed on a working property. We had a mulga stump fire and fortified ourselves with sherry and port.

Along the Murray

2009-08-06T16:14:00.001-07:00

This is the view right outside the cottage.

Our stay in a cottage on the Murray was delightful. Brimin Lodge is a working farm- but a rather unusual one. They breed lambs and Murray cod for the restaurant trade. We visited a number of the Rutherglen wineries and dined on Murray cod and chicken (Gail), washed down with fine local wines.

It is a birdwatchers’ paradise. We especially liked the finches and also saw possums and pademelon. Unfortunately we did not spot any of the local platypus.

We had a long drive on to Mildura, following the Murray Highway for about 600 km. We had an interesting break at Echuca, the fabulous old Murray port that still has a number of working paddle steamers, along with stops for morning tea and lunch plus another stop at a fruit quarantine bin. (We ate the oranges and threw the grapefruit.)

We spent the night at a quiet cabin a few km from the centre of Mildura, located at the main beach on the Murray. In the morning (Friday), we head up to Lake Mungo National Park and hope to post this before we leave as there is no mobile or email service there.

From the Murrumbidgee to the Murray

2009-08-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

We left Sydney early on Monday and travelled down to Griffith in the centre of the MIA. First thing we did was visit De Bortoli for a tasting. We were amazed at the number of wines that we recognised that we had not realized were produced by De Bortoli.

We had an interesting drive around the ridge overlooking Griffith including the area where a hermit had lived in a cave from the 1920s to 1952. We also saw the memorial to Donald McKay and drove past his original furniture shop which is still called McKay's.

Yesterday we drove on to Rutherglen and are staying in a cottage right on the banks of the Murray. Previously we had stayed on a houseboat on a billabong on the property but now the billabong is dry. Our cottage is very comfortable and there are frequent sightings of many Australian animals and birds in the area ranging from platypus to the black swans that swam by this morning.

So far today we have visited Stanton and Killeen Winery and Campbell's Winery. The car was full when we arrived in Rutherglen. Now we have a few more dozen bottles to add to the load. We will need to drink any that we can't fit in tonight!

Each winery had its own cat. Stanton and Killeen had Trouble (its brother is Strife) and Campbell's had Muscat (their previous cat was Tokay).

Feeding Frenzy

2009-07-03T05:10:00.000-07:00

Catfish enjoying a meal...thank goodness they weren't dogfish
We have lots of photos of sky and trees...and a few eagles
Safe from the predators
The monkey dance

You may think we are going to describe the three local restaurants where we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner today and indeed it was a feeding frenzy of a type. Instead we are going to tell you about feeding frenzies in the animal kingdom, in one of which we became the meal.

We went on an island hopping trip by fast boat and had some fascinating experiences. Our first stop was at the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden, the largest fresh water lake in Langkawi, on an island off the coast. According to legend, a fairy princess buried her child who died, in the lake and blessed the water so that any childless woman who swam in the lake would become pregnant. We both enjoyed a swim but soon after, had to rescue a man who almost drowned.

After our swim, we dangled our feet at the edge where hundreds of catfish swarmed over them. They were in a feeding frenzy as they eat the dead skin off your feet. We became the meal.

We zoomed off to a bay where hundreds of eagles congregate and we watched them go into a feeding frenzy on the fish morsels used to attract them. They were so fast, it was very hard to photograph them.

Our final stop was at a beautiful bay where we swam but fortunately there were no sharks in a feeding frenzy.

We saw lots of monkeys at both the islands where we visited but there were signs up not to feed them as it sends them into a feeding frenzy.

When we returned to our tree house, we found the ants were in a feeding frenzy on our packet of savoury biscuits. We probably ate some of them along with our cheese and pre lunch drinks!

For the rest of the day we have been in recovery mode.

Sponge Bob Sighted in Croatia

2009-07-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sponge Bob in Korcula
Sponge Bob in Rab
Sponge Bob in Pag
Sponge Bob in Trogir.

There have been unprecedented sightings of Sponge Bob in the Adriatic region. Just look at the photos.

More about our Treehouse

2009-07-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Our treehouse
Gail on the front balcony taken from the beach

Our treehouse is a wonderful place to recover from a holiday conducted at a hectic pace!

It is, as you may have gathered, up a tree..as most treehouses are! It comes with all mod cons and has a living /bedroom area, a bathroom and a front and back balcony.It has air con, a fan, a frig and a TV although we are considering thrrowing it off the balcony to make a bit more room. The back balcony is for leaving your thongs (the type you wear on your feet) and for drying the washing. The front balcony has a tree growing through it but has enough space for the two of us to sit and enjoy a drink, a cuppa or read. It is also a great spot to watch the sunset.

If you want to go we will come with you!

Lovely Langkawi

2009-07-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Langkawi and settled into our treehouse.... yes that's right, our treehouse. Here am I sitting on the balcony that looks straight over the beach. The resort is very pleasant with a wonderful location right on Pantai Cenang beach. It includes 5 treetop chalets and we are lucky enough to occupy one of them.

So far, we managed a swim and a sleep when we arrived. The sleep was to recover from our overnight flight from Rome made even more difficult because for some odd reason, they could not turn the lights off!

By the time we had our pre dinner drinks on the balcony, and dinner at one of the dozens of small restaurants near the resort, we had almost recovered.

This morning we had another swim and breakfast at a different restaurant. Our plan for today is 2 more restaurants, more pre dinner drinks on the balcony, another sleep and as many swims as we can fit in with our reading.

Rome to Kuala Lumpur

2009-06-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

We have spent most of the last few days travelling. Ferry from Split to Ancona in Italy where we just missed a train to Rome. We waited a few hours and then nearly missed the next train as we were on platform 2 and not platform 2 west!

We had a quiet afternoon in Rome, leaving the next morning for Kuala Lumpur. We are currently sitting in the airport terminal, waiting for our flight to Langkawi.

We are looking forward to a few quiet days on Langkawi to recover from our very hectic holiday schedule. Each of the last 7 nights we have spent in a different bed or in the case of last night, sitting in an airline seat.

Last Day in Croatia

2009-06-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Standing on the castle wall in Trogir

Having packed our bags and waited for the rain to clear, we still had the best part of the day as we could not board our ferry to Italy until 6.30 pm.

We headed off by bus to visit Trogir. We crossed the historic bridge into the old town and it was just as good as all the other stari grads! We did not even bother with a map but ambled through the streets and narrow laneways with their marble cobblestones. The squares were delightful and the souvenir shops had exactly the same things as all the other stari grads in Croatia.

The cathedral was especially interesting with the church being quite ornate with some unusual carvings of Adam and Eve wearing fig leaves and looking embarrassed. There was a separate baptistery with a hooded font surrounded by lots of carved cherubs - all boys. The Treasury had reliquaries of gold and silver, including arm bones encased in a golden arm studded with gems.

We climbed the bell tower that provided wonderful views over the city. It did however, have particularly steep and narrow stairs.

We had an enjoyable lunch in a restaurant near the harbour that provided great views and cover from the rain.

Our final visit was to the castle where we walked round the walls and looked at the views of the harbour and the town. Right next to the castle wall we had a view over the amusement park complete with trapeze trampolines. What a contrast between the old and the new!

Makarska Riviera

2009-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

National Day in Croatia
The limestone mountains behind the harbour in Makaska.

We travelled from Mostar down to Makarska, located between Dubrovnik and Split. It has a stunning setting with a mountain range behind and a beautiful coastline and some of the best beaches we have seen in Croatia. (smaller pebbles)

We headed out to look around carrying our sunnies, hats and rain jackets and by the time we returned, we had used them all but this time, just a light shower.

We did not originally plan to visit here but are very glad we did. The place has a real holiday feel but without the significant cultural highlights, other than the nightly disco.

We now return to Split to reunite all our baggage and to prepare for our crossing to Italy.

Celebrating Croatian Style

2009-06-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Earlier, we posed the question as to how we should celebrate Anti Fascism Struggle Day and the National Day.

We asked lots of locals about the first holiday and most did not seem to know what it was for. Perhaps they could not explain the concept in English. Since the last public holiday we experienced, they have repealed the law requiring everything to close so on outward appearances, it was just another regular day.

The best answer we received on how to celebrate was “It is a day for eating and drinking.” Sounds like some holidays in Australia.

We were out of the country for the national day but there must have been some formalities because when we returned to Croatia, there were wreaths on several significant monuments. Like some holidays in Australia - wreaths, then eating and drinking.

We visited Trogir the following day and again saw wreaths commemorating those who had lost their lives in the fighting from 1991. Like all wars, many were very young.

Mostar

2009-06-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our bus trip to Bosnia Herzegovina was an interesting journey. In fact, we visited twice. Driving from Dubrovnik along the coast was beautiful. Heading north, we entered the narrow coastal strip of Bosnia Herzegovina that cuts across Croatia to the Adriatic Sea. It only goes for a few km and we went through Croatian and Bosnian immigration and then Bosnian and Croatian immigration as we exited back into Croatia a short time later.

About 65 km from Dubrovnik, we turned east to Mostar and soon reached the border to repeat the passport formalities, our 2nd trip to Bosnia Herzegovina.

Mostar is a fascinating city but sad in some ways. It was badly damaged in the fighting and its famous bridge, built in 1556, was destroyed in 1993. It has now been restored in the same style. A poignant sign says “Remember 1993”. This small sign is the only indication that it has not been standing since 1556.

The town is truly beautiful with wonderful views over the picturesque Neretva River. There are more mosques than churches, a 16th century Turkish bath, a great bazaar and overall, a fabulous ambience.

While we were in the town, the heavens opened again. Our washing was out drying on the line as were our new rain jackets. We found a restaurant to shelter in for a late lunch. It had fabulous views of the bridge. It was a great time to take photos of the bridge as no-one was silly enough top be out walking. We sat for a long time over lunch and only got a little wet on the return trip to our accommodation.

Research Update

2009-06-24T22:01:00.001-07:00

As we continued our research last night on our new economic indicator, we discovered a flaw in the ‘basket of commodities’.

It is based on the premise that the commodities are all equal. Now while some ice creams may be slightly better than others, we can tell you that if we apply the premise that all wines are equal, we have to say that some wines are more equal than others.

We should have followed our brother-in-law, Tony’s advice and spent more than one euro on a bottle.

If the image is blurred, it looked ok to us! Maybe you are just seeing double!

Motor to Kotor

2009-06-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Outside the walls of Kotor
Back to Dubrovnik

Off by early bus to Kotor in Montenegro. The weather looked threatening when we left Budva but over the mountain, the sun was shining. We were walking around Kotor by 9.15 am and enjoying the old town. Like all the other old towns (Stari Grads), it was the same but different!

We explored churches, the Maritime Museum and lots of old palaces (grand houses). The walls are amazing running up from the town to the top of the mountain, around the top and back down. We sat in a restaurant eating local food for lunch looking up over the buildings at this astonishing wall. What a feat of engineering!

The harbour was a contrast - lots of boats, many costing over $100 million.

It did rain when we were in the Maritime Museum and when we were on the bus back to Dubrovnik, but we stayed dry as we had new rain jackets by now. The others are back in Split!

The trip around the lake was glorious with wonderful views. Back in Herceg Novi, this time in dry weather, we discovered that it wasn’t much better than the 1st viewing in the rain.

The views over Dubrovnik, as we returned from our 2 days in Montenegro were superb.

Split Baggage

2009-06-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

No...no nasty accident resulting in dirty washing all over the old town!

We realized this morning that as light as we are travelling, we have managed to have our bags spread over 3 cities and 2 countries.

Our main bag is in Split (intact we hope), our 2nd bag was left in Dubrovnik and our small day packs were with us in Budva in Montenegro.

They will all be reunited next Saturday when we return to Split.

Tomorrow we will take all the rest to Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina for a few days.

Cost of Living Index

2009-06-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

With everyone focused on the economy, we have developed our Cost of Living Index for Croatia. Normally this is done by calculating the cost of "a basket of commodities".

Our index is simple but effective. It has only one item..the cost of an ice cream cone. We have found this reflects the cost of accommodation, meals, etc.

On the quieter islands like Pag, ice creams were 5 kn. In the slightly more upmarket spots like Rab and Kircula, they were 6 kn. and in the happening and tourist mecca spots like Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik, they are 7 kn.

We have called this new economic tool The Ice Cream Cost of Living Indicator.

As much fun as it was carrying out the research, we are working on a new tool..The Local Wine Cost of Living Indicator. This may delay our return.

Sorry no photos of us eating the Economic Indicator were on file.

Four Seasons in One Day

2009-06-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

View of Budva from the city wall
Herceg Novi

‘Here under the azure dome of the sky
Everything blossoms and ripens
In the sunshine.
The poet might say:
“Here one lives for sunshine
Because of sunshine, for sunshine…”
That is why I stayed in this town.’
Zuko Dzumhur

We travelled from Dubrovnik to Herceg Novi in Montenegro. By the time we arrived, it was pouring rain! The town has a beautiful location at the entrance of one of the loveliest bays in the world and is backed by the Orjen Mountains that peak at almost 1900 metres. It’s just that the scenery does not look so good when you are dripping wet.

On we went around the bay…. stunningly beautiful…. depressingly rainy! We travelled past Kotor to Budva where we found a nice apartment and dried ourselves off. Everything we had with us was wet to some degree! Then the sun came out….. we headed down to the old town and the locals headed off to the beach.

The old town is a beautiful sight…..especially in the sun. The city has Greek, Roman and medieval structures. We explored the churches, the archaeological museum, the citadel with its great views, as well as the modern harbour with millions of dollars worth of modern boats.

A very different afternoon from how the day started.

Delightful Dubrovnik

2009-06-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

The cloisters in the Franciscan Monastery.

Wow! Dubrovnic’s old town is really delightful.

We arrived and found an apartment in the centre of the old town, only steps from the wall, the cathedral etc. It is such a great location, we keep calling in … to have cups of tea, go to the toilet, drop off shopping etc. It is in the area where they believe the earliest church was built but not located….. We believe it is just under our apartment!

We spent the last 2 days simply strolling the old town. We have walked the famous walls, visited the cathedral and treasury complete with the relics of St. Blaize; the church of St. Saviour, the Franciscan Monastery and St. Blaize’s church; lots of beautiful buildings, old palaces and museums including the Rector’s Palace complete with original furnishings and artworks, the Franciscan and the Maritime. We have others planned for tomorrow.

We have now walked the walls of Dubrovnik but unfortunately got wet for the last 10minutes but the views were wonderful. We have also visited another few churches and museums and have been totally impressed with this beautiful city.

We are spending 2 days in Montenegro

Living in Marco,s Street

2009-06-19T12:11:00.001-07:00

Korcula from the sea

Why is there a love seat outside the Bishop,s Palace?
The ferry from Hvar approached Korcula town and we immediately knew we were going to like this place! The approach from the sea is spectacular - one of the best in the Mediterranean. The old town with its high sea walls, towers and old houses is unforgettable.

Our accommodation is waterfront with great views. It is on the corner of Marco Polo’s street from when he was a boy! To swim, we walk just a few paces and go down the steps to the water.

We have enjoyed wandering through the old town. It is very compact! We have visited churches, museums, towers, but best of all is simply strolling along the waterfront and the labyrinths of lanes that make up the old town.

It is a place to relax, to eat, drink and unwind. The restaurants that are set up for the summer along the waterfront are great, as is the local food and wine.

Starry Stari Grad

2009-06-18T06:29:00.001-07:00

Stari Grad harbour

Lunch in the lane
Simply translated, it means “Old Town” and it was originally the capital of Hvar until the 13th century.

We leave Hvar today for the island of Korcula but our ferry does not depart until 6 pm so we are spending the day at Stari Grad, a 30 minute bus ride from Hvar town. Our bus trip took 1 hour as we went via the Stari Grad ferry port, a few km before we arrived at the old town.

Stari Grad does not have the hordes of tourists and has not changed much since the Venetians ruled it. We wandered round the old port and visited several churches, museums and old historic houses it is the sort of place that you could spend 1 hour or a lifetime.

At the time of typing this blog, we are sitting in a small outdoor restaurant in one of the little narrow lanes just back from the port Our chicken was stuffed with ham and cheese and so are we!

We are catching the 2.30 pm bus back to Hvar Town to pick up our bags, hopefully post this and catch our ferry to Korcula.

Swimmiing and Storming

2009-06-18T06:24:00.001-07:00

We decided we needed an easy day so caught a taxi boat across to Parmazana on the St Klemen’s island. After landing, we walked across to the other side of the island and found a shady spot under some pine trees. The bay had crystal water the colour of turquoise. We settled down on our slab of marble, - it is supposed to be the best local beach - but our marble slab was better than the stoney beach.

We swam and read and swam again beforSwimminge going to a restaurant with perfect views over this delightful little view. It is obviously a favourite with boaties as about a dozen yachts bobbed around in the bay.

We caught the 4 pm taxi boat back and collapsed for a late afternoon siesta.

Soon after 6 pm, we were recuperated enough to attempt the climb to the castle which towered above our apartment. Even Hagar could have pulled this one off. With about a 20 minute walk and not an archer or boiling oil in sight, we stormed the castle, after paying our admittance fee.

The castle was interesting with an amphora museum, a prison etc but it was the views back down over Hvar made the climb worthwhile.

Hvar

2009-06-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

Hvar Island has a wonderful blend of history and culture with scenic beauty. It is the place in Croatia with the most sunny days and it is a very, very hot place in more than one sense.

We enjoyed strolling to the cultural sights, keeping to the shade whenever possible. We visited the cathedral of St Stephen and walked around to the Franciscan Monastery and church. This has an interesting museum attached containing art as well as Roman and Greek antiquities found in shipwrecks near Hvar mainly by sponge divers and fishermen.

We also walked along the Riva (Corso) to the tourist resorts just outside the town.

The most impressive thing is simply the ambience of the place. (We may have said that before!) The large town square is lined with beautiful buildings and it was still alive with people when we went off to bed after midnight.

Brac Marble

2009-06-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

We had a brief stop on the island of Brac on our way to Hvar. It is a beautiful island and a very interesting main town.

Brac is famous for its marble and provided the building materials for the Diocletian's Palace in Split. Less well known is the fact that it also provided the marble for the US White House. The buildings in Brac are not as grandiose!

Splendid Split

2009-06-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Reflections on Split harbour

The old and the new

Split is a large city but a beautiful blend of the old and the new. The old city has as a focus on Diocletian’s Palace and this is adjacent to a modern harbour with cruise ships and yachts as well as old fishing boats.

Diocletian’s Palace is not a palace as you naturally picture them. It is described as one of the largest Roman ruins in existence but is a working part of the city with old walls, bars , Roman columns and churches, discos and jewellery shops, crypts, internet cafes and buskers, just to mention a few. There are the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron Gates on the cardinal points and it all faces a fabulous harbour.

We have spent 2 days here and have not done much! Visited the old Roman based church, its treasury and its crypt as well as St John’s Baptistery, originally Jupiter’s Temple. We also visited the 12th century St Francis’ Church that is just a few doors from our accommodation.

We spent some time organising ferry tickets. Tomorrow to the islands of Brac and Hvar as well as our return to Italy on Sunday 28 June. We got the 3rd last cabin available!

We are travelling light for the next couple of weeks and leaving our 1 big bag behind with Mrs Ana. Hope it will still be here when we return to Split as all the presents are in it.

Plitvice Lakes

2009-06-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

We changed plans to visit the Plitvice Lakes as a day trip as we wanted to see the coastal scenery from Zadar to Split. It was a long day leaving after an early breakfast for the 2 hour trip and arriving back just in time for a late dinner.

It is hard to describe the lakes. The water is an amazing colour with azure blues and turquoise. It has incredible clarity. There are 16 main lakes linked by waterfalls and cascades and there is a unique interaction of water, rock and plant life undisturbed since the last ice age.

We followed the wooden foot bridges right round the lakes and at times over the cascades and waterfalls. We took the route that traversed the upper and lower lakes, completing several long walks as well as using their road train and a boat trip across a large lake. Nearly all day, no matter which direction you looked, you could see waterfalls or cascades. It was a marvellous experience.

The lakes have UNESCO World Heritage Listing and it is well deserved.

Lets pretend we are not tired!

Words can't describe the beauty of this place

The water is so clear you can pick your fish for dinner

Zany Zadar

2009-06-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

We had an interesting bus trip from Pag which is joined at the southern end back to the mainland by an incredible bridge.
We had no great expectations for Zadar but were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the old town. We crossed over to it by footbridge and entered through a gateway in the historic walls. We visited a number of interesting churches.
At the cathedral tower, we climbed the 160 steps to the top with its magnificent views over the city and even down over the bells. The cathedral was very interesting and was built partly from old Roman columns.

St Donat’s church was particularly interesting and was built over Roman ruins. You could actually see columns on their sides that had been used as foundations Being in a climbing mode, we went to the top of the dome.
The markets outside were located in the Roman ruins with objects for sale draped over fallen columns.

The waterfront was also very interesting. People were swimming and sunbaking on the quay. The world’s only sea organ is located here. The pressure of the waves operate the pipes that produce the sounds.

It also had a huge circular object of solar panels that you could walk across called “Greetings to the Sun”. Quite zany.
.
Balloon seller outside the Cathedral

I'm not at the top yet!....Just hope to get there before O'Clock

Another Public Holiday

2009-06-11T13:24:00.001-07:00

Pag harbour

Pag is famous for its lace. Most of the best is in churches as altar cloths.

We are still on the island of Pag but have now moved to old, medieval Pag Town.

Today is another public holiday. We only found out late yesterday when we arrived in Novalja. No-one could tell us what the holiday was for but late today we found out it was for Corpus Christi. Most things are closed.

We set off to catch the 11.50 am bus for the ½ hour trip to Pag Town. We discovered that it doesn’t run on a holiday but another one at 11.40 did. Finally it arrived along with the next scheduled bus at 1.30 pm.

We decided on a waterfront apartment a little out of town and after lunch on our balcony, we went for a swim.

Pag Town is located on a very protected bay that cuts right into the very middle of the island. When we walked down to the old town, it has most of the walls intact although only one of the eight original towers remain. We visited 2 churches, the bishop’s palace, the old salt stores and the beautiful narrow streets and squares. We like Pag Town better than Novalja but are ready to move on to Zadar tomorrow.

Pag Island

2009-06-11T01:47:00.001-07:00

We arrived at Novalja on Pag at 7.30 pm last night. Everything was open and we had no trouble finding a nice room.

Novalja is the largest town on the island and has an active harbour ith lots of fishing boats.

It is mainly a place for swimming so we are about to move to PagTown for our 2nd night on the island.

Pag cheese, the distinctive paski sir, is a sheep's cheese that is salty and sharp. The sheep graze on the salty herbs and grass transmitting the flavour to their meat and milk. it is only gathered in May.
Sunset at Novalja on Pag

Fishing nets by the harbour

Local produce including the famous pag cheese

Putting Rob on a Pedestal

2009-06-10T04:54:00.001-07:00

Rob on the Rab pedestal.

The Roman columns were reused in the building of a medieval church which is now also a ruin.

Rob is not!

Rab Ravings

2009-06-10T04:43:00.001-07:00

We spent this morning wandering the beautiful town of Rab. The old town wall remains including 4 wonderful towers. Each is linked to a church mainly dating from the 12oos.

Rab has less that 600 residents so it is not too large to wander each of the narrow laneways and walk around the delightful harbour. The town square is an old Roman forum and lots of buildings are made of recycled Roman buildings.
View of 3 of the towers taken from the top of the 4th.

Gail and Rob on Rab tower.

Island Hopping

2009-06-10T04:25:00.000-07:00

Rab Harbour taken on our way to dinner.

Rijeka town gate

Rijeka fountain

We are now island hopping down the Croatian coast.

We caught the bus from Rovinj to Rijeka and then a catamaran down past the islands of Krk and Cres to Rab where we are now.

Rijeka is Croatia’s third largest city but is not a great tourist destination. We spent a few hours walking about the pedestrian streets and along the waterfront. We checked out the Roman Arch and the beautiful Hapsburg buildings but the St Vitus’ Cathedral was closed when we arrived.
Rab is a beautiful island and a fantastic little town. Lots of marble cobblestones that look great but are hell to wheel your bag along! Our room has a view over the harbour and across to the four city towers.

We depart tonight for our next island, Pag. There is only one ferry per day and it leaves at 6.45 pm.

Celebrating in Croatia

2009-06-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

We have just discovered that we will be in Croatia on one of its national holidays. Anti Fascist Struggle Day will be celebrated on 22 June.

We would welcome suggestions on how one should celebrate this significant day.

Au Naturale Croatian Style

2009-06-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the ferry to Rovinj

Is this a Japanese seagull?

It's not a church. It's a restaurant.

Gail at the posh resort on Sveti Addrija

All the other photos of people swimming were censored!

Rovinj from the ferry on the return trip. Later we climbed up to visit the tomb of St Euphemia.

We are leaving Rovinj. It is an old style Croatian sea port town that still has the fishing boats come in each morning. We read about this but have not been up in time to verify it.
Arriving late on Sunday from Zagreb, we were fortunate to find a brand new apartment. We are the first customers! It has a fantastic location just up from the harbour with heaps of space. We love it.
We spent the afternoon wandering around the waterfront and the laneways that lead down it. Dinner was at a quiet little spot just back from the water.
The town is quite Italian. It was part of Italy for longer than it has been Croatian! In fact, we are not far from Trieste from where we headed off to Ljubljana and Zagreb.
Today we caught a ferry to Crveni Otok (Red Island). This comprises 2 islands Sveti Andrija and Maskin. There is just 1 huge hotel on Sveti Andrija but we enjoyed a swim in the balmy Adriatic Sea.
We crossed the causeway linking Maslin (a 5 minute walk) and realised we were the only people wearing swimming costumes.
How do you greet a person walking towards you along the track who is only wearing sunglasses and beach shoes? We could have saved space in our bag if only we had realised! We enjoyed a swim in a quiet secluded cove….. no other details provided!
The boat trip was worth the outing without the island visit but we enjoyed the swim, the secluded mausoleum and the castle. (no difficult climb)
After a lunch of pasta back in Rovinj, we spent the afternoon exploring the old town and the church of St Euphemia.
Tomorrow we leave Rovinj and head off to the island of Rab.

Communing with nature but the bird was a seagull!

It's Not the Destination.. It's the Journey.

2009-06-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

The castle well.

The destination.

It's not the glass but what's in the glass.

Gail at the Zagreb Botanical Gardens.

Journeys of Note

We travelled to Zagreb by train from Ljubljana. Before we reached the Croatian border, we were joined in our compartment by a large man from Serbia carrying a big suitcase that wouldn’t close. We figured that it was the barrel of a bazooka! At the border, the Croatian customs simply glanced at our passports but he received a thorough search - all in our small cabin for 6. It turned out that it was not a bazooka but a whipper snipper in pieces. A most interesting journey.
Zagreb was wonderful. Great accommodation in a private room in a central location…. With the 2 most popular things - a frig and good washing lines.

The cathedral was beautiful and we enjoyed the many public monuments. We even rode the free tourist train to save our legs. The city was alive with special events and performances everywhere. We enjoyed Croatian music and dance performed in a lovely park.
We decided to make a special journey to Zagreb Castle. This is rarely attempted without a private car. We took a tram to the end of the line and then a bus up the mountain with its many hairpin bends and twists and turns until we finally alighted in the small town of Sestine.

With help from a few local people, we set off through the forest following a track next to a small stream. Up and up we climbed. After about 1 ½ hours, they continued on their hike and we turned up towards the castle. One of the men in the group was surprised we were going to the castle. “Why would you want to go there? It isn’t finished” Did he mean the restorations?
Another in the group, having heard we came from Australia, asked us did we have a kangaroo for a pet and was surprised when we said no.

Finally arriving at the castle, we knew it was the journey that really mattered and not the destination. We had enjoyed the beautiful “bush” walk.

After a few photos on the ramparts and some of the very distant views of Zagreb, we headed back. This time, we followed a different path. Finally we arrived in a village… but it wasn’t Sestine. Our return bus didn’t go from wherever we were, so we had to walk to the correct village. We caught the bus and tram and returned to our room exhausted.

We enjoyed the journey…. and the destination.

PS. Sorry we don’t have a picture of the bazooka

Bled Picture Gallery

2009-06-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

The castle at night taken as we ate our dinner at a restaurant on the opposite side of the lake.

Long drop at the castle. Very handy if you get caught short.

The castle chapel. Never did find out wheere they kept the horses.

The swan family.

Robert by the lakeside taken this morning before we returned to Ljubljana.

More boats. Note the fish.

Leaving Ljubljana for Zagreb by train tomorrow morning. Back on schedule.

Dragon V's Cream Cake

2009-06-03T22:53:00.001-07:00

We beat this dragon crossing Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana.

We beat this cream cake in Bled.

Belokranjec Pridelanov Sloviji. We translated this as Pride of Slovenia

but later realised it was Product of Slovenia. The wine almost beat us.

DRAGON V's CREAM CAKE

The city symbol of Ljubljana is the dragon. The symbol for Bled is the cream cake! Now you know what a dragon is..... you have probably met lots of them and you think you know what a cream cake is!

The Bled cream cake was only invented in 1951. It is more like a vanilla slice with a thick layer of cream on top. We read that 9 million have been eaten since then. Well now it is 9 million and 2.

This reminds us of the game, paper, scissors, rock. Now a dragon could quaff down a cream cake even faster than we did but at some point, one too many and it could become extinct. For the game we have added a third symbol..... the one of our travels in this corner of Slovenia - wine.

The dragon beats the cream cake, the cream cake kills the wine... experience says you should finish your wine before starting your cream cake..... but the wine puts out the dragon's flame.

In fact, too much of any of these is not a good thing.

Storming Bled Grad

2009-06-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

Bled Castle sitting above the lake complete with resident swan

It was a long way to the top but it was through a beautiful forest except the sheer rock sections.

View from the top.

Arriving in Bled, we were amazed at the beautiful lake. It is a postcard destination - or a chocolate box if you prefer.

The tiny island in the lake has a picturesque church and the lake has boatmen, swans and ducks especially to add to the picture.

Our greatest achievement was climbing to the top of Bled Castle (Grad).

Look at the photos to appreciate our achievement.

Ljubljana - Photo Gallery

2009-06-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Look what they are digging up inLjubljana

Dinner

A Roman ruin

Ljubljana Castle

More window shopping

Lady in Red

Look at Me!

Franciscan Church

This ia a fabulous city. There is no single must see place.

The castle is just a castle. The museum is not world class. The churches are nice but not breathtaking. The squares are very pleasant and so on.

But.. overall, it is a delightful place that has a fabulous feel to it. A good ambience. A real buzz.

It is a must see place.

Ljubjana - a Beautiful City

2009-06-01T22:53:00.001-07:00

The bridge just down from our hotel has flowers on each side.

Ljubjana seems to be a city for the young...... but these 2 oldies are really enjoying it.

We spent our first afternoon strolling and enjoying the sights.Everywhere there are young people as well as many outdoor cafes, bars and lots of public squares. About 20% of the population of Ljubjana are university students.

Slovenia only has about 2 million people It was part of the former Yugoslavia and gained independence in 1991, joined the EU in 2004 and converted to the euro currency in 2007.

Tryst in Trieste

2009-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Roman Theatre 1st century AD

Piazza d'Unita d'Italia. Gail 21st century AD

We left Cividale this morning on the small 2 carriage local train down to Udine. We. enjoyed our few days and I am sure that Cividale will grow in popularity. It is nominated for UNESCO world heritage listing.

The next train took us along the Slovenian border, eventually arriving in Trieste mid morning. W checked our bags in at the bus station and headed off to explore everything in Trieste before our bus left at 2 pm.

Trieste is a large city with an interesting old town centre. There are great public buildings as you can see from the photos.

On to Ljubjana on the local bus. It went via all the back roads up over the mountains with fascinating little villages and rural scenes.

More aboout Ljubjana in the next blog.

A Quiet Sunday in Cividale

2009-05-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

fresco in the small temple

Dad and the kids skipping home from church.

A Quiet Sunday in Cividale
It rained during the night so we had a lazy start to the day. We breakfasted in the hotel before heading out, wearing jackets for the first time since we left home. The sky was overcast but the rain held off.
The town was originally called Forum Iulia and a statue of Julius Caesar still stands in the main square. The Romans were followed by the Celts, then the Longobards (from Germany) and then the Venetians so the town abounds in history.
We visited the Archaeological Museum, the Duomo’s Christian Museum and the Longobards small temple built in the 8th century. All marvellous! The photos just can’t do justice to them.
We watched the people strolling through the town after Mass, all beautifully dressed, on their way out to lunch. The young girls wore smocked and embroidered dresses with white stockings and pastel shoes. Men wore formal suits and ladies were smartly turned out in dresses with jackets, very high heels and stockings. You could tell we were not local by our jeans and t shirts.
We think we are the only English speaking people in Cividale at the moment. It is, however, a popular place for Italians to visit and it hosts many cultural events during the year. We have had a wonderful visit.

The Ghost Under the bridge

2009-05-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Natisone River divides Cividale (pronounced Chivvydarly) with a huge canyon. The original wooden structure is now replaced with an impressive stone bridge that provides significant views of the river and town.
We found a hidden, locked door and borrowed the key from the nearby bar. We descended stone steps into grotto like rooms deep below the bridge. Scholars are divided on what these rooms actually were used for…… Roman gaol, Jewish bathhouse or Celtic funeral area?
When we looked at our photos, we saw either a mask sculptured into the wall or was it the ghost of Devil’s Bridge?

Cividale del Friuli

2009-05-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Cividale is located in the Friuli region, just a few kilometres from Slovenia, almost as far north east as you can go and still be in Italy.

We are staying in the medieval centre and so far have visited the Duomo, wandered through the Saturday markets and enjoyed lunch in a small trattoria. When we went in to lunch, the markets were in full progress and by the time we came out, they were all packed up and gone.

We plan to visit a number of ancient Roman sites, museums and walk across the Devil's Bridge. Legend goes that to make the construction easier, the devil asked for the soul of the first person to cross it. With their wise astuteness, the Cividalesi allowed a cat to first cross the bridge, thus saving human souls. Perhaps a dog was not a good enough substitute!

We head off for Slovenia on Monday as the bus does not run tomorrow. We remain two days behind schedule.

Window Shopping

2009-05-29T07:55:00.001-07:00

The many faces of Venice.

Bling, bling, bling.

Venetian glass in every colour of the rainbow.

Venetian glass chess set.... the cats beating the dogs!

Just as well we watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” on the flight to Italy!
Venice has enough glass and bling to tempt anyone. The photos are from windows and scenes in Venice.
Our bags are a little heavier.

Old and New

2009-05-29T07:53:00.001-07:00

Couldn’t resist this….. the old and the new.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvv Towns

2009-05-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

On the Rialto bridge

Vernazza, Varenna, Verona……. this time it is Venice.
We stayed an extra day in the Dolomite mountains and again in Venice so now we are 2 days behind our schedule. Plenty of chances to ‘catch up’ a day later.
It was a long trip from the quiet, tiny town of Castelrotto to the bustling city of Venice. We found the same hotel where we had stayed previously. It has a great location, just off the Grand Canal and the walkway to St Mark’s Square….. but it is quiet.
Venetian glass, carnival masks, the Rialto bridge, gondolas and gondoliers, the Doge’s Palace, the canals and the wonderful St. Mark’s Square….. Venice is a magnificent place.

Hiking in the Dolomites

2009-05-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

View from the Alpine Meadow

Wildflowers on the meadow

The two Hikers

After a fortifying breakfast, we set off by bus to the cable car up to the Alpe di Siuse. What wonderful views from the gondola…… simply magnificent. (We are going to run out of superlatives).
From Compaccio, we set out on a long walk in this high alpine meadow.. the largest in Europe. (20 x 8 miles). The views were on all sides. The spectacular Sciliar, the home of medieval witches, was among the best.
We were on the track by 9.30 am and had stops for morning tea and lunch as well as lots of stops in between for photos or just to gasp and catch our breath! Our lunch stop overlooked the town of Castelrotto where we are staying. We could see the church and the bell tower and we think we could see our hotel. We were more than 1000 metres above the town.
After temperatures in the high twenties and low thirties in the past few days, we walked in temperatures of 7 - 9 degrees minus wind chill! We completed the walk in about three and a half hours and back in Compaccio, we caught a local bus out to Saltria with its magnificent views of Sassolungo (3101 m.). We had 360 degrees views of the Italian and Austrian Alps. As good as it gets!
Back inm the bus and down in the gondola, we caught the shuttle bus back to Castelrotto, where we collapsed. Rest, hot showers and baths, wine and chocolate, we were finally ready to go out for our last dinner in the Dolomites.
What a great place! We must come back.

Castelrotto

2009-05-26T13:03:00.001-07:00

Our hotel

Walking the Dolomites

Wildflowers

Castelrotto or Kastelruth as the locals call it in German, is a delightful town in the Dolomites. We had a “warm up” hike for our major outing to the Alpe de Suisi tomorrow and have included a few photos of the views and town.
We have excellent views from our room with its large balcony and have consumed German wine and apple strudel.

Meeting the Ice Man

2009-05-26T12:57:00.001-07:00

We finally met Otzi the Ice Man. He had waited about 4,500 years to be found , so I am sure that he didn’t mind the extra day’s wait to meet us! All the museums were closed yesterday.
In 1991, this Bronze Age man was found frozen in a glacier in the South Tyrol. After being taken to Austria, he has finally found his home in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. This museum focuses on him but includes a number of “bog men”, South American petrified corpses and even Egyptian mummies.
He lies still frozen and his clothes, weapons and possessions are displayed separately. He was found in skin clothing, shoes etc and carried arrows and simple tools.
At 46, he was considered to be a very old man. It was an honour meeting with Otzi.
We left our main bag behind in Bolzano and departed for a few days hiking in the Dolomites. As we sit in our hotel in Castelrotto and look out over the Dolomites, this little town looks like part of Austria….. but located in Italy. The language, houses, food and clothing tell us it is Austria but it is Italy.

Is That Juliet on the Balcony?

2009-05-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

There is more to Verona than Romeo and Juliet!
Arriving from Varenna, we found a quiet, central hotel and then headed out to explore the sights of Verona. We visited two excellent cathedrals, the Roman Arena - 3rd largest in the world but somewhat disappointing; the Roman Theatre and Museum - again, a little disappointing and the wonderful Piazza Erbe, with its beautiful fountains and sculptures.
We also climbed the Torre dei Lamberti - well, we actually took the lift so that left us only about 100 steps. (It was over 30 degrees.)
Finally, we visited the House of Juliet (Casa del Guilietta) -= sometimes called the ‘faux’ house of Juliet. We had purchased a combined ticket and this gave us entry to the house. Most of the tour groups congregate in the courtyard and look up at the balcony. When Gail appeared on the balcony, a busload of Japanese tourists were heard to say, “Look! It’s Juliet.”
We returned to the air conditioned comfort of our hotel to recover before eating at a quiet restaurant

Even the Parking Meters Have a Siesta Around Here

2009-05-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Everything closes for a siesta in the old town of Varenna!

The toilet library

2009-05-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Even the books in the toilet library were published in the 1880's and 1890's

Gail with male and female chastity belts

2009-05-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Gail on the snow line

2009-05-23T13:12:00.000-07:00