This is the end of the Rhine. (I Rhisp a Rhittle!)

Here we are in Amsterdam at the end of a simply awesome cruise! Only way to travel.

A 135m long floating 5 star hotel. The comfort, food, views, - lifestyle are so relaxing and enjoyable that I am sure we will be doing likewise in future. Maybe the Nile?

The section of the River from Mainz to Coblenz had all the castles - well most of them. It is actually the Rhine gorge and the weather was warm and sunny so we were able to spend the afternoon on the sundeck to get the best views.

River got busier as we got further downstream. Sometimes three or four vessels across all passing each other. Wouldn't mind a $ for every ton of freight that goes up and down this River. even a few cents would make you very rich in a short time. Would you believe that the guys who built the castles did exactly that! You want to pass my castle then pay me the toll (tax) for your cargo. Today this is done by governments to stop the highway robbery (At least that is what they tell us)

We are going to use tonight to try and get our suitcases packed again. Been nice to actually live out of drawers and cupboards and use the same bathroom each day. Tomorrow is back to the change of scenery every couple of days. (Leave a light on so I can find the loo!)

Canal cruise this morning. Like Venice, some of the buildings have got a distinct lean as their foundations sink into the mud or the timber decays. There is one section that they call the dancing buildings because they are leaning at all angles.

Have checked out the Rail station and it is about 5 minutes walk from where we are docked so will stroll over there about the middle of the morning and get on our way to Berlin - and what ever comes next ?????????

I am having such fun Honey!

The way to go!

Here we are at Speyer in Germany on the Rhine. Off the boat (Sorry the Captain says it is a ship) for a walk in the town for the morning. It is 125m long and two decks of accommodation.
At the front is a lounge bar upstairs and a dining room downstairs that would compare very favorably with any 4 star hotel.
The Rhine makes me think of Crocodile Dundee's comment "That´s not a knife..." It makes the Murray look little. The locks are amazing - huge. Changes of level of around 20 metres at each one. We are at the 400 km mark heading downstream with the 1000km mark at Rotterdam.

Zurich was magic. Clean, old, friendly, efficient and weather was fabulous. A cruise on the lake for nearly 2 hours provided a real Swiss landscape / vistas. The cheese tart for lunch was special - a Swiss specialty. The airport at Zurick made us feel we had entered a hospital. It was so spotlessly clean and tidy. Driverless trains to take you to the luggage collection. A great intro for any traveller.

Night time in Zurich is party time in every little square. Thank goodness for double glazed windows and air conditioning. We could have joined in the party cos our room was large enough to have a dance. Full marks to the Wallenberg and to Chris our travel agent.

The whole group on board are either Americans or Aussies. There are people from Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, and Broken Hill so we are having a great time.

All aboard. Must go

Wales, Dartmoor and Beyond

Ferry trip back to Wales was smooth and enjoyable. Then it was off to Chester for the night. What a fascinating place. The old Roman wall still rings a portion of the city so we took a stroll along the top of that to work up an appetite. The buildings in the centre are mostly old and the streets are very narrow. Would never have got to the hotel without the say so of the little man on the gate that stops traffic into the centre during the day.
Next morning had a quick look at the Cathedral (about 13th century) and were most impressed with its structure and interior.

On the road then to Cardiff. Welsh signs are hard to read (thank goodness for English. We kept seeing signs with Allan on them and thought he was pretty popular until we worked out it meant OUT. No wonder Welsh kids can't spell; their school is a Sgkol.

Cardiff was occupied by a heap of German fooootball fans (yes Soccer). They warmed up for the match at any bar in town and they probably warmed down after it because they beat Wales 3-0.
Cardiff Bay is a bit like the Docklands, an old working port now being redeveloped into housing, restaurants, entertainment and marinas. Very nice actually - once we found it. Helps if you are travelling along the road in the same direction as the person who provided you the directions assumed you would be going. Improving my U turns!!

Cardiff Castle and the boattrip on Cardiff Bay were highlights.

Down the road to Plymouth via Bath. Morning tea in the famous Pump Room with a grand piano recital by a pretty good pianist. Would tell you more about the country along the way but the hedges are very nice and the views are limited. The Aussie farmers would go nuts trying to check the sheep and cattle from the road over here. Come to think of it we haven't really encountered any slow vehicles driven by men with a hat!!!

So today in Plymouth we have checked out the British Prison system at Dartmoor (from the outside), and the British Navy's fleet during a harbour cruise (gee it is a big harbour) and tomorrow we will be going further West just for a look before we finally start to head back towards London.

Whew!!

A lot of "killing" in Ireland!!!

Kilkenny, Kilarney, kil*&^%** - you name it they seem to have killed it.
Emerald Isle - to be sure to be sure! Plus a fair few Irish bogs. Seems there is nowhere for the water to run so it just sits and bogs and grows good tussocks. But it is a lovely country with terrific scenery.
Big event here today was the National Hurling final where Kilkenny beat Limerick. Could probably write a limerick about that. The fans from Limerick wouldn't think that was funny though. ALWAYS NEXT YEAR. HOPE THAT IS NOT AN OMEN FOR THE CATS.

In the Riverside Hotel at Kilarney tonight with the GLOBUS TOUR. Can't get away from them. Not as good a group as ours though. Miss our friendly travellers and my singing partner Steven. Ron and Donna, you would love Ireland.

The recent history and sights in Belfast were both amazing and a little worrying. We actually drove through and visited the Shankhill Rd area (Protestant) and ther Falls Road area (Catholic) (IRA) The walls of buildings are adorned with murals of all sorts and the wall dividing the areas is still in place. Police stations, courts and fire stations are all fortified and fenced with 20 ft high frnces because of the petrol bombs, grenades, etc that they were subjected to during the worst of the fighting. We actually drove down shankhill Rd as a procession of Orangemen was marching the other way to place a wreath. Eery feelings!

We are both enjoying the food but afraid to get on the scales. Always an opportunity to shed it when we get home.

Well, tomorrow we are off to the Ring of Kerry to see the scenery which is supposed to be fantastic. Will depend on the weather a little. Raining at present.

Little car is going well. VW Jetta diesel - Nearly 2000 miles so far. Maybe another 700 or so yet.

Until next time.

Farewell the Highlands - Hello Ireland

Well, we have survived the roads and drivers of England and Scotland. Not so bad really. Narrow in places but perfectly driveable and the drivers are less impatient than Aussies. Spped cameras everywhere over here. Fixed locations and the type that average your speed. I know a few people who would hate that. Doesn't seem to slow some people down though.

The drive across the highlands from Inverness to Fort William and then on to Glasgow was really something. Rugged hills (mountains) with heather, the lochs with big, steep hills on the other side. Really something to see. Lots of photos that won't do it justice unless you have actually seen them. Watched some hire boats going through a series of five locks (yes, the other sort of lock) at Fort Augustus, at the west end of Loch Ness. They had to change levels by about 50 or 60 feet to move from waterways going west to water that went East.

We cruised Loch Ness one day whilst at Inverness. No sign of Nessie but we have captured one of her off spring and will try to get it through customs when we get back! Spent a day north of Inverness and travelled through Invergordon where the North Sea oil rigs are serviced. Two in town whilst we were there - massive!!! no MASSIVE!!!

Ferry to Ireland was a big cat powered by water jets and it got along at a pretty good pace. 1hr 50mins for the crossing compared with 3 plus for a conventional ferry. 350 cars and 1500 passengers - not small.

Met Sinead Kilkelly last night and had a couple of Guinesses while we exchanged notes about each other's lives since she came home. We will catch her again when we get to Dublin. Should I say if we get to Dublin. She tells us that road signs are almost non existent in the Republic! That might be a bit of a challenge. She also says the roads are not a patch on the North or the UK. Oh well!! - Might buy a compass. At least we would then know in which direction we are getting lost. If you don't hear from us in a few days time please send help!!

Have enjoyed trying the local food in some of the little pubs and eateries. Judy had some Irish stew today - looked great. I have had traditional scottish breaky with black pudding - black because of what is in it I suppose. Don't have to have it again now that I have done that!!!!

Scotland the Brave

Have finally seen the Tattoo in the flesh. TV does not do it justice. Good seats thanks to Chris. When we watch it this year (and in the future) it will be that much better because we can imagine being there.
Now we have done much more since the last post. London was a buzz! Hop on hop off bus gave us our orientation and then the walking started to have a closer look at St Pauls Cathedral, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, etc. Monument to the Great Fire of London is a feature of the city. Almost as important as Nelson's Column by the way the tour guide on the bus was talking and then it got a special mention on the Thames Cruise as well.
Dinner Cruise was a special event. About 3 hours of sights, good food and good wine that we both thoroughly enjoyed and would do again if we come over again. We went to Greenwich to see the Harrison Clocks at the Museum and to see the Prime Meridian. Yes you can see it because they have actually created a line in the ground that marks the spot. We have photos to prove it. Can't be sure whether I was East or West at the time because I was standing on top of it.
Went there on a light rail train - with no driver - WEIRD!!! True, no driver but we got there without incident. Don't tell John Brumby he might want to save money by trying it with our trams. What a disaster that would be.
Back to London on the boat down the Thames and that gave us another perspective of the importance of the river to the development of London. Very pleasant in the sunshine too. Yes the sun does shine over here.
Concert at the Albert Hall one night was magic experience. A truly magnificent building and can understand the atmosphere for the Last Night at the Proms now.
London Eye really does let you put the eye on the city. 135 meters up is a long way up.

Off to Cotswalds in our hire car Off to Cotswalds in our hire car Off to Cotswalds in our hire car - not a typo - we really did have three attempts before we got on the right road. (Getting used to the signage and the road system by now though)
Need photos to show the sights and do them credit. Suffice to say we would like to visit there again.
On to Coventry, Lincoln and York. A few Palaces on the way like Blenheim and Castle Howard (Brideshead) - magnificent buildings with great histories. Not as overdone as the French Chateux. Coventry Cathedral was a highlight.
Then to Newcastle and some time with Tom and June Steanson. Fantastic hosts and we visited Whitby, Hadrian's Wall and the area generally. The weather was lovely and we saw the wall at its best. Explored Roman forts - 2000 years old.

Had a Rotary night at Tom's where Australia was the theme. It was a fund raiser for a Shelter box. So we have now helped to raise funds for these boxes in Australia and UK.

Our last night with Tom and June was at their seaside place at Seahouses. Right on the waterfront and once again the weather was sunny and very pleasant.

Have explored Edinburgh on the bus and when we finish this we will go and look at the waterfront at Leith on the Firth of Forth and then find some dinner. Weather good, food good, wine good, company good so I guess we will just continue to have a good time.

PS. Bank account - who cares until we get home!

We love Paris

Paris and the west have been lovely. More to go yet though. The Chateaux were very impressive - if a touch extravagant - no wonder the peasants revolted!

The food has been good; and the wines. Beires aren't bad either.

The tour we have been on for the past three days was different. We kept meeting other coaches from the same tour company and swapping people from coach to coach. Commentary given in four languages by the guides; English, Italian,Spanish and French

Mont St Michel was special - really worth seeing.

We are beginning to feel more relaxed as travellers. A decent coffee is hard to find. They all want to serve Espresso over here.

Main impressions - green, damp, old, amazingly old buildings and interiors. Paris at night is Magic. The Louis XIV-XVI all overspent. One even built a huge place that he never even lived in (Chambord)!

But we are loving it.

La belle France!

Florence was clean and full of shops selling jewellery and leather goods - we bought some!!! You will have to wait to see them though.
Couldn't straighten the tower, couldn't finish the job either so it still has a lean. Looks like it should actually fall over.
Nice was nice!! Caught up with a local "Aussie" Karen Bosomworth who is writing her PhD whilst there. Some people have it lucky don't they.
Monte Carlo and Monaco are fascinating places. Never seen so many Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Didn't lose any money - didn't win any either.
STONE beaches Yuk!! - and you have to pay for your patch of stones. Give me Aussie beaches please. The water looked nice though.
TGV to Paris - woosh!! fast and smooth and quiet. Have to get them in Australia. Make travel a lot easier. The airlines wouldn't like it though.
Paris so far - a Parisienne dinner - didn't try the snails - but what we did have was good. Second day wet, elevators on Eiffel Tower broken, first in line to go up but then moved to another leg where we were about 6 groups back so an hour or so later we actually got up to the second level. That's when the thunder and lightning started then the heavy summer rain! Too wet to stand in the open. We got down before the elevators played up again. Some of our tour group were stranded for about 1 hour. All's well that ends well. They got down eventually. So much for good old Eiffel.
On to Versailles. Rain had stopped by then but wet under foot in the gardens. WOW! What opulence and extravagance.
Ate in a Hippopotomus last night. Not the animal - a restaurant. Good tucker and good atmosphere for a small group night out.
Finished the tour now. Made lots of new friends during the trip and will miss them. On the positive side we now have contacts in a lot of places if ever we get to travel to where they all come from. Likewise, if they come down our way we hope they will catch up with us.
Now. it is off into the wild blue yonder!

Week One

What a week! We have done a lot starting in Rome with all the historic buildings we have read and heard about for years. The Coloseum is amazing, the Pantheon, and just the scale of the structures when you think "How did they do that?" The fact that they have survived as well as they have is also amazing. They are still finding old ruins and doing the excavations and studies to determine what they were.

If it was in our part of the world we would have bulldozed the lot ready for the new building!

We walked our feet off in Rome but it was worth it.

Next was Venice. Easy to get wet feet there! Fascinating place. Got photos of the marine fleet -the taxis, the tradies utes, the postie, etc Lovely food and wine - specialy the seafood at Burano Island. The piazza's are great gathering places.

Now in Florence. Michaelangelo's David was a highlight. Dinner in a Tuscan garden last night was a special night. The singer was Andrea Rola who spends time in Melbourne with the Opera Company each year. He found out we were from Melbourne and had quite a chat with us. Will look him up when he comes out next.

We have the rest of today to ourselves and will enjoy just strolling and taking in the sights. Talking of sites the Appenines were impressive. lots of photos. Will try and find out how to add them to this at some stage.

So long for now.

We're packing

What a pain. Will I take this? Will I need that? Will it all fit? How much will it weigh? What will the weather be like? How much money will we need? Oh it is nearly enough to put you off going.

I will take a minimalist approach and take the bare essentials. My bike riding arm and leg warmers will be useful and not take much space. (Might need them at the Tattoo in Edinburgh).

Saturday is D day. The next two days are get organised days -(About time!) Got all my drugs from the chemist today. Hope the customs people don't think I am a pusher or courier. I guess plenty of people have supplies of tablets when they travel.

I think I will relax once on the plane. Too late to worry about anything then.

Our flight leaves about 7pm and 21 hours or so later we should be in Rome via Singapore and Dubai. We are told there is just time for a coffee at each stop over. I think we actually change planes in Dubai.

We intend to use this site to post some of our photos as we travel so keep your eyes open for the great symo excursion exhibit.

Ian