Day 15 till 25 (Sep 02 till Sep12)

After Warsaw by train to Krakow (still in Poland). Day train this time so able to see some of the countryside, group of Japanese tourists on the train. What is it with these people, they get on the train, find their seat and then stand in the passage having a chat!! everone else trying to get past with luggage etc., I think after receiving several bags in the back and knees they decided to sit!

Krakow is a beautiful city and our hotel is great Hotel Wawel (Castle) great location in middle of Old Town, small and friendly with a beautiful courtyard.

Now overnight train to Budapest, what a horror that was! left at 10.25pm but continually stopped and we were shunted onto other trains or other lines at least 3 times during the night, which meant not getting much sleep! the thing only got up to some decent continuous speed in the morning, when it did not matter anyway!

First night in Budapest went to a concert by the Danube Symphony Orchestra at the Danube Palace and afterwards a dinner cruise on the Danube, wonderful night, nice food, and walked home at midnight!

Met the Gooseberry Hillians and spent a few dinners with them. Did the usual tourist and some not so touristy things, then it was time to head for Vienna.

Budapest to Vienna by Hydrofoil, through two locks and arrive in Vienna and no taxis at the dock, and we look like we are out in the middle of nowhere! no ATM to change money for a taxi anyway, and it is hot.

Finally hail a taxi and he is great "no, problem" he says and we get to the Hotel and an ATM.

Have been getting aroun Vienna using the public transport system, great.

City Tour tomorrow, and another of those yummy breakfasts!!

Days 04 till 14 (Aug 22 till Sep 01)

Well back on-line!! It has been a hectic 10 days or so, have travelled from Dubai to Moscow to St Petersburg to Vilnius in Lithuania and now in Warsaw, Poland.

But let us start by leaving Dubai. Dubai airport is sooo crowded, but very efficient if you are leaving, huge number of counters and we were thru in a flash. Funny place dubai, a two cups of tea and a muffin at the airport cost as much as the taxi ride to the airport!

OK, arrive in Moscow, different story, first no one tells you you have to fill out an immigration card, you just bumble along and do what everyone else is doing (why not hand them out on the plane?). The line is long and slow, our line has an altercation and the immigration officer goes in a sulk and we ALL have to suffer.

Finally arrive at the Hotel (after begging a ride with the tour company who are supposed to be looking after us!) Nice hotel, lousy food, very helpful.

First night dinner (not at Hotel) is included and this is where all the fun starts, for the next week 40% of us have the runs.

Moscow is a great place, lots of character and interesting architecture, load of very interesting churches, but the Russians! they never smile and anyone over 40 tends to totally ignore you if you ask for help in the street. Must be something to do with the weather! In fact it is quite warm.

We do several tours and make friends with the other people on the tour - mostly UK, one Canadian and a group of Aussies from Perth of all places (we hang out with the poms!).

First night in Moscow and we find ourselves in Red Square at midnight, quite safe (I suppose?) We actually find ourselves back here quite often, seems to be a bit of a magnet!.

Ok, seeing this is the Readers Digest version we are now off to St Petersburg by night train. The train leaves at 11.30pm and will arrive in St Petersburg at 8am so we decide to go to bed as soon as the train pulls out. A short time later the tour director knocks on the door with the conductor in tow and asks if we want any drinks, vodka, whiskey, brandy? and is very surprised we are in bed!! dont Russians sleep?. Very nice pancakes for breakfast though, although nothig stays in the system for more than 3seconds at the moment.

In St Petersburg and it is freezing and wet, the Ibis hotel is very nice and well located. The Russians here are no happier. We visit the Hermitage (of course) fantastic, you could spend days in there.

The Summer Palace at Peterhof is magnificent, and we also did a river cruise, did not realise St Petersburg had so many canals interconnecting thru the city.

Free days are spent wandering around the city and using the public transport system, a bit of shopping.

Of the two cities I prefer Moscow (surpringly) it is very uniquely Russian, St Petersburg has the Hermitage etc but the city itself does not have a character of its own, like Moscow.

Now off to Warsaw by another night train to Vilnius and then a flight from Vilnius to Warsaw.

Nice train, very comfy! provided with a hot Dinner (a chicken dumpling with prunes inside-my stomach has improved by now) but still avoid the prunes!!

Arrive Vilnius and everything seems back to normal, people smile, they help wow!

We find our way to the airport using the public transport system, and then you should see the plane (LOT Airways) it has propellers!! something salvaged from somewhere, the only plane I have been in where Business class is at the back! the reason being the noise from the propellers at the front! luckily it was only a one hour flight.

We are now in Warsaw and this is a very nice city, the food is good, the have cafes and coffee everywhere, the people are nice.

The city itself is pretty ordinary, but the it was totally destroyed during the war and was rebuilt in that post war style, but it has a character of its own. Did a city tour and visited the Palace on the Water in Lazienski Park (a 76ha Royal Park in the centre of the city) Visited the Jewish Ghetto and variou monuments and sites dedicated to that era in history, can be very moving. Then to the Old Town, the part of warsaw that was reconstructed as it was in the 1700's.

Revisited the Old Town today, by ourselves this time and wandered about and in and out of a couple of magnificent churches, had an ice crean in the main square (it is warm today) and then got seperated, when i didny get off the bus quickly enough and Rose was left looking after the bus as it took off with me still on board! and it was a hell of a long way to the next bus stop and then to find my way back on foot, however these are the things you laugh at later!!

Tomorrow we are off to the birthplace of Frederick Chopin, which is about an hour out of Warsaw - should be good, a drive in the county,

Europe 2008 – Day 03 (Thursday)

Late breakfast today and off to Old Souk again to check out the Dubai Museum which is located in the Al Fahidi Fort, which was built in 1799 and has been a palace, garrison and prison, but was converted to a museum in the 70's. It houses some very interestin dioramas depicting Dubais history and the way people lived in those old days, some artefacts date back more than 3000 years and apparantley Dubai had a thriving pearl industry also. But now relies on oil.

It is very, very hot today so headed back to the hotel early for some lunch and to recover!

Tomorrow we are off to Moscow

Europe 2008 – Day 02 (Wednesday)

Today we have been off doing some exploring.

Walked (BAD mistake in this weather!!) from our Hotel to a place called Deira City Centre. It is a shopping mall and we were very glad to get there and into the air conditioning, and these place are huge and multi storey .

From there got a taxi to the Mall of the Emirates and this is even bigger!! This mall has an indoor ski slope, but not just a ski slope but toboggan slopes ski school, all sorts of winter sport stuff and it is 43C outside!! (hate to think what their electricity bill for this is). It is really weird seing people getting around in snow gear, when you are in a desert.

Grabbed another taxi (no more walking!!) and headed off to the Gold, Spice Souks (markets). Drove past the Burg Dubai on the way and it is the tallest building in the world (and against a desert background it appears very, very tall). I would not like to go to the top, it tapers to almost a point at the top so I could imagine it sways a fair bit up there. The markets were basically closed in the middle of the day so got a water taxi back to the hotel. These Water taxis are terrific when you get to know how to use them and where they go, very cheap (about $1.00 each per ride) and they are air conditioned (which is becoming a very high priority).

Have not tried the local Abras' – they are an even cheaper open water taxi (however very expensive if you want to hire one privately to do some sightseeing up and down the creek).

In the evening and after dinner went to a place called Old Souk. But the water taxi did not go as far as we wanted so we had to walk, but at least it was evening and the temperature had dropped and there was a breeze up. Anyway walked around to Shindagha to pick up a tourist boat for a cruise on the Creek. When we got there we saw it was also the site of the Heritage village, so may have to do that tomorrow.

The cruise was interesting, we were the only ones on board! Looks like all the other tourists must have been in bed (it was late)

Old Souk is a very interesting place, it is the old Dubai, not the flash big buildings etc, but all the old traditional houses and markets. Will go back there again tomorrow to check out the buildings.

Europe 2008 – Day 01 (Tuesday)

Well we are off and left Perth at 6.00am this morning to fly to Dubai to start a 3 month journey through Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Norway and Holland (phew! That sounds toooo much).

Arrived in Dubai at around 1.30pm and were immediately hit by the crowds of people at the airport trying to get thru Passport control (took nearly an hour for us to get thru)

Anyway the hotel is fabulous, very friendly and relaxed and we have a great view over Dubai Creek to all the buildings on the other side (including the tallest building in the world). But it is damned hot!! Over 40C each day and not much less at night.

Everyone is very friendly, courteous and helpful. Went for a walk along the Creek and watched the sun go down behind the Grand Mosque, what with all the dust in the air, the sunset is magnificent because the air diffuses the colour and it is like looking thru a filter, great!

It is very strange because the people you see out in the street are mostly men (very few women in public)

Coral Bay, Western Australia

Well, here we are in Coral Bay and it is teeming down!! The lawns outside are flooded (but the sprinklers are still on) and our 4X4 tour today into the bush and along the coast has been cancelled.

We arrived Friday afternoon, after a great flight on Skywest from Perth, they have the best legroom of any of the local airlines (and decent lunch also!) to great weather and clear blue skies.

Brett was already here, so we did the beach thing in the afternoon and we caught up with him for dinner, (nice pizza, average lasagne and terrible pasta).

Saturday went for a long walk along the beach and around the headland and the afternoon on the beach (which only appears in the afternoon – because of the tides)

Dinner was on the beach at sunset, fish and chips and champagne as the sun went down.

Sunday we went on a coral viewing cruise in a glass bottom boat, fantastic what is under the water and basically just off shore, and the amount of fish is amazing. Afternoon tea at the Bakery and then a BBQ back at the Resort.

Now it is Monday morning and it is raining, raining, raining!

We are basically stuck at the Resort because it is RAINING, and have watched 'I am Sam' with Shaun Penn, Michelle Pfiefer and Dakota Fanning, very sad but everyone lives happily ever after eventually, had lunch at the Resort because it is RAINING, and we cannot do anything else because it is RAINING. So I guess it is more movie watching!

Nannup / Bridgetown

Today is Saturday and it has been spent getting up late, having a yummy late breakfast. Then to Bridgetown for coffee (cake a little disappointing). Sounds like we are doing nothing but checking out the coffee shops and cafes (not a bad idea) in the South West.
Lunch was in Manjimup (very disappointing) you would think you would be able to find a nice salad roll or toasted sandwich or some nice soup, but no, only pies, pasties and what looked like a sausage covered in batter and deep fried!!
However the scenery and the forests make up for all this.
On the way home there was a forest fire nearby and there is something spectacular about driving through a smokey forest with an orange ball for a sun – all a little surreal.
Back at Holberry House and our hosts had prepared a lovely chocolate cake for afternoon tea, it doesn’t get much better (will have to do a lot of walking to shed all this when we get back)
Have just been to look over a Rover P3, 1949 vintage, fully restored. A lovely Burgandy with cream leather interior – very comfortable and oh so classy. I think old cars are so much more sophisticated (not mechanically, obviously) than modern cars, there is something about them. English cars seem to exude class, europeans passion and of course American cars are in themselves a work of art with all those fins and huge bonnets and garish ornamentation.

Nannup Wanderings

Today we travelled to Nannup to stay at Holberry House Bed and Breakfast. Nannup is a beautiful town in the South West area of Western Australia, it is located amongst spectacular eucalypt forests and Holberry House is in the centre of town, so park your car and stroll about. The gardens are beautiful and with its sculpture walk, a little different, relax and enjoy.
The drive down is easy with a picnic stop at Stirling Cottage for lunch.
Dinner tonight was Fish and Chips from the local Nannup chippery, all washed down with a bottle of a very fine Shiraz, people say you must have white wine with fish, but, hey, who gives a damn!
Strange thing about travelling away, you tend to go to bed much earlier than normal, we were in bed shortly after nine! Strange that.

Rainy Saturday

Got up this morning and it is raining. Rain is a wonderful thing, it sounds beautiful, cleans everything, settles the dust after a long summer and refreshes our gardens.

Daylight saving is finally finished for this year, it is raining and the temperature is below 30, how much better can it get??

The rain has cleared and it is a wonderful day with the sky filled with mounds of white multishaped clouds, different to the bright blue skies of summer.
I think I must be an Autumn/Spring person, these are the best two seasons of the year!

Recipe:
4 fillets Red Spot Snapper, coat with seasoned flour, egg and bread crumbs, fry in grill pan.
Saute mushrooms, onion, garlic and tomatoes with some mixed herbs in a separate pan, season to taste.
Top fish with the mushrooms/tomatoesand serve with herbed gourmet potatoes and Bok Choy.
Accompany with a glass (or two) of white wine.
lovely!

Nothing about cars today, although someone had a black Ferrari 430 parked in East Perth yesterday.

Quiet Day Today

Quiet day today. Have been thinking about having to book some elements of our trip at the end of this year.
Must get on and book the important legs at least - and renew my passport!!
If anyone is in Perth, and looking for a place to eat try "Divido", went there last week, excellento!!

Karmann

Is there anything more good looking than a fully restored 1963 Karmann Ghia? (although I suppose a 1964 Corvette convertible comes close!).

This photo is of a Beetle I once owned, 1968 turbo charged rotary, very quick, unreliable in hot weather, but fun to drive!! a real sleeper.

Starting Off

Well here we go!! its tuesday and one more day to the weekend (well for me anyway).

Thursday is "The Magic Flute" at His Majesty's Theatre, here in Perth - should be good, always enjoy Mozart.