I have always loved visiting our nations capital, Washington, DC. Last spring was my first visit with the new President. It was not pretty (post trump), with security and fencing surrounding both the White House, and Congress. The Smithsonians were still closed. But now, I hope DC is back to normal, though we are now in the middle of an awful war. I guess we hit the trifecta of trump, covid, and w Read on...
Having explored a few old haunts on our first day in Bangkok, wed succumbed to jet lag and crashed early, which often occurs when travel exhaustion and unrelenting heat collide. Its such a heady mix. But here I was, wide awake at 3:30am the following morning, my body clock struggling to adjust to Indochina Time.
I decided to start work on a quotation request wed received hours before leaving Aust Read on...
The Trip around France was a rapid 3800 kilometre epic, and while we saw more than we would if I had planned it - that may have been a few villages and many patisseries - we are grateful for Tims obsessive planning, and his ability to keep the Old People on track. He was very considerate of his mother, as Im sure Andrew would be, because I usually like to just get going and am often a few metres a Read on...
Left Halls Creek & we were soon on a rough winding gravel road, heading East, which soon changed to a better road & then equally quickly bad corrugations..bad enough to loosen your fillings. Riding on the very edge of the road seemed smoother but this had its own challenges as suddenly it could turn into soft sand or a large pothole. Keeps you on your toes!
After a while we experienced smooth lon Read on...
We had a quick breakfast at the hotel before getting on the road. The first place we wanted to stop was the Glasgow Necropolis. Its a huge Victorian era cemetery on a hill overlooking the city of Glasgow. We walked through several different areas of the cemetery imaging what life might have bee like for some of its residents.
From there, we hopped on the highway south towards England. We made two Read on...
The absolute highlight of our Tour the Swiss Mountains was the visit of the internationally renowned, much famous village of Zermatt. It lies on the Southern side of the Rhone valley in the canton of Wallis. This Swiss canton (State) is home to two of the four national languages of Switzerland, German and French. Zermatt is situated in the German part, although in the village you can normally hear Read on...
First time down the Lenzerheide pass to Chur in Smart Arse and it coped very well. Some very tight hair pin bends but at least, on the way there at least, it was downhill all the way. We headed first for the station as wanted to check the way there and parking facilities ready for train rides later in the week.
We drive right through the bus station, which is also part train station as the train Read on...
Natchez, Established in 1716 as Fort Rosalie, it survived a massacre (1729) by Natchez Indians for whom it was later named. Natchez is the oldest city on the Mississippi River
It passed from France to England in 1763 at the conclusion of the French & Indian War and was a haven for loyalists during the American Revolution.
In 1779 it was captured by a Spanish expedition under Bernardo de Glvez an Read on...
We did it folks. Unlike almost every other jurisdiction in the world that has been battered by a second wave of Melbourne has emerged victorious. No cases now for several weeks. An extraordinary effort by every single one of us here, and for some, involving much hardship. We feel rightly proud. Now its December. State borders are open again and we are all thinking of the Christmas period with fam Read on...
Yesterdays celebration for Nuis birthday was a success. Only Nenad ate and drank too much. It is difficult to be disciplined with all that fresh food and delicious wine in this country. The last time Nenad ate a lobster thermidor was also at the shores of the Indian Ocean, in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in 1980 (outsch). The owner the Italian restaurant a son of an Viennese father and Milanese mothe Read on...