Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that Noel and I made it home safe and sound last Sunday night and we were very happy that James and Andrew were able and collect us from the airport now that Sydney is back in lockdown. Everyone was pleased to see us, but Matts girlfriend was the happiest, because now she doesnt have to clean up after my sons any more. Anyone with sons will know th Read on...
According to Readers Digest, the Railway offers the longest continuous train journey on Earth. It traverses 5772 miles from Moscow in western Russia to Vladivostok off the coast of the Sea of Japan. Passengers who ride the route from start to finish will pass through multiple time zones over six days. There are plenty of opportunities for to pass the time; landmarks visible from the train window Read on...
As we expected late yesterday afternoon when we arrived in Fox Glacier, the weather today was not going to offer much in the way of opportunities for outdoor activities. And so it turned out to be.
As light came up outside out motel unit, we had, what would turn out to be a last look at the surrounding mountains before they disappeared behind the mists of rain that persisted all day.
It was cold Read on...
As a schoolboy during the 1950s and 60s, I was constantly eating mince pies and currant cake. These were baked by my mother in the oven of our Reading kitchen. We were a poor family, and Mum was a consummate housewife who saved money by baking all manner of things: apple tarts (using windfall apples from our back garden), apple crumbles, rhubarb tarts, jam tarts, treacle tarts, lemon meringue (wh Read on...
The families of Tastayoc had walked down the valley to where we could drive the pickup. They are a very and most people wore their traditional ponchos and hats.
Like last week, Im at a loss as to what exactly I am counting down to. With case numbers surging around the world and a vaccine still a distant dream, whats the point of counting down? Should I be counting up?
Once quarantine is over, Im Read on...
Today, my story is not so much a tourist story, as it is a story of the wonderful, kind, generous people in the world. I decided to take a cab down to the famous Varvakios Agora, the central market here in Athens for fish, meat, and produce. It is a market where locals and restaurateurs buy their food. Few tourists find their way here. But of course, I love the fresh markets ar ound the world, whe Read on...
We started the day with a quick look around the back rooms of The Gris where we had breakfast that was included in our fee. The taproom where we had dinner last night has been described as the most handsome bar in America. The firearms room has items dating from the 15th century. The largest of their dining rooms is an old covered bridge that was dismantled piece by piece from its original site in Read on...
Theres nothing more annoying than being at an amazing place such as Chichen Itza and the thing Im dying to get to is the car for the air con. It was the same at Ankor Wat. These are places Ive dreamed of seeing and ended up fairly quickly saying I dont care about these stupid monuments, get me to the air conditioning. So the lovely air conditioned drive to Merida was easy enough until we got into Read on...
Finally, after hours of messing around with airplane tickets and this and that, we were in Rome. We found our apartment and settled in.
We had to get an early start to the day as we had a guided tour to the Colosseum. I didnt realize but the tour included the Forum and Palatine Hill as well. I had thought that wed take in the Forum and Palatine Hill in the afternoon so this was a pleasant surpris Read on...
The other day, I came across a statistic that shocked me: Maturin, in Venezuela, is the 5th most dangerous city on earth with a recorded annual 86.45 homicides per 100,000 residents. Caracas, also in Venezuela, leads the field with 119.87. According to United Nations data, a staggering one third of global homicides occur in Latin America even though the just 8% of the worlds population.
There wer Read on...