We are back from our epic six-week holiday in Europe. A 24 day cruise in the Mediterranean and two weeks in Croatia. I will do a series of posts with photos soonish. Here is a video to start with.
A post from Strmec
We are currently in Zagreb onthe outskirts in a suburb called Strmec. Our cruise ended a week ago. We travelled by bus from Venice to Pula in Croatia. This took us briefly through Slovenia. Apprently Slovenia was given some land so that they have sea access as part of the EU deal.
Our main reason for visiting Pula was to see the impressive Roman amphitheatre. Pula itself is an old town with the problems associated with these old places. Narrow streets and graffiti are what we usually see. We stayed at a fantastic hotel called the Histria (Verudela, Croatia) which has magnificent views of the mediterranean ocean.
We travelled by car and explored a couple of other town in Istria Rovinj and Opatije. Both places where beautiful and not so crowded. Driving on the righthand side of the road was much less of a hassle than I thought.
Still on tour
We are really into it now. Seven stops so far. Marseilles a rather drab city not helped by the lack of sunshine on the day. There was the obligatory cathedral with the Madonna and “kid” as described by the guide. We caught a little train for €8 a head,good value. Starbucks is everywhere but worth a visit on account of the free WiFi. Got hassled by beggar inside but nothing else.
Lots of shops bought a couple of shirts and watches. Otherwise this isn’t really a tourist town. The ship ran bus tours inland for a taste of Provence we saved our money. We did find a museum featuring the remains of a first century Roman harbour. It came to light during WW 2 after sustained bombing by the Germans. Pity that it was all in French and no English translation, merde.
Leaning on Pisa
We pulled up in Livorno the gate way to Pisa. We had researched the town and there was no obvious train to Pisa. Based on our research we booked a ships tour this took us to Pisa and Lucca. When we were in Livorno we discovered that there wasa local train to Pisa for a pittance.
Livorno it self was a port town but we arrived on a day when there was a local market. We didn’t buy anything bit it was interesting.
The bus trip out to Pisa took about an hour. The tower is amazing imagine if they had done the foundations properly then nobody would care! The church at Pisa is where Gallieleo had his inspiration to develop the equations that describe the motion of a pendulum. Interesting to me but maybe not tho others.
Lucca was a beautify mediaeval town which is walled. Its most notable citizen was the composer Puccini who was born there. The walk was dampened and cut short by rain. Had we known about the local train we would have only visited Pisa. At least the sun was shining there.
Innes National Park
We visited the Innes national park yesterday. The park is located at the foot of the York Peninsula in South Australia. Once the site of a gypsum mining operation the area is now protected. During the time of the gypsum operation most of the timber in the area was harvested and used to fuel the operation. The landscape is slowly regenerating. Continue reading “Innes National Park”
South Pacific Cruise
We have recently been on a South Pacific holiday. This holiday on board P&O Pacific Sun, departed Sydney on December 19, 2010. The ship sailed for four days heading toward the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu. This country is made up of many islands. The first island that we stopped at was a largely uninhabited island called Wala. This island appears to be set up for tourists with lots of stalls and the locals doing their traditional dances etc. I did hear some other passengers from the vessel speaking to a local who said that it actually come from Port Vila that morning to be on the island. A nearby island has a large church and school complex and is most probably the place where these people live. The people of Vanuatu are generally very friendly and hospitable making a very enjoyable day on the beach.
The following day Christmas Eve we docked in Port Vila. There is a mad scramble at the dock for taxis to take us into town. There was an array of local stallholders selling all sorts of souvenirs in what appears to be a fake designer goods. The taxi we caught into town seemed to be a young man making a quick $10 to ferry a carload of people into the town. It certainly wasn’t a taxi with a meter as such. We headed into a duty-free shopping, Vanuatu is apparently the best spot in the Pacific for duty-free shopping, Port Vila is full of duty-free shops. We headed to the shop that according to the Web is the best place to duty-free alcohol. We were not disappointed the booze was cheap and there was quite a variety.
The day was hot and sticky in Port Vila the temperature was about 34°C and there was a burst of rain which make a lovely steamy tropical day. We wandered about and looked at the local market. We marvelled at how many people can fit on the back of a utility. The state of the streets in Port Vila would indicate that the country doesn’t have much money for infrastructure. There was a waterfall that we could have visited immediately outside of Port Vila however as we were later to find out due to the rain it was a mud bath and we would have wasted our money going.
On Christmas Day the ship anchored off an uninhabited island called Mystery Island. There is actually a clerk on the island of states of the island is officially known as mystery Island I was even able to find it on Google maps. The people from the adjoining island come over for the day setting up stalls selling home-made souvenirs. The difference here was that the goods were genuinely made by the people and had a certain naiveté and charm. Five dollars Australian seems to be the basic unit of currency are all these items or multiples thereof. Again a lovely day was had at the beach the water was a bit cooler than the previous island but nonetheless beautiful. Locals with their hand dug outrigger canoes offered rides out on the surf. This island is also well known for snorkelling which can be achieved by almost anyone as the waters surrounding the island is relatively shallow. There is an abundance of fish that is both interesting and colourful.
The very next day Boxing Day we docked in Noumea, New Caledonia. This is a French external territory so the language spoken is primarily French and the currency is the Pacific franc. Being Boxing Day everything was shut only the tour operators who are making some quick money out of the ship were open to business. Noumea it is well known to those who cruise or spend time in the Pacific as being very expensive.
We were lucky to negotiate a bus tour for a very reasonable $10 which took us around the major sites of the city. Our guide was an expatriate English woman who had been living in Noumea for 20 years. She provided a humorous and well informed commentary on the city and indeed the province itself. It was perhaps unfortunate that the organisers of the cruise chose to dock on Boxing Day. It would have been good to see the city bustling and perhaps take the opportunity of eating out having a coffee or perhaps shopping within the city itself.
The Pacific Sun is something of a budget ship it certainly looks tired and in need of some refurbishment, then again the ship may be too old for that. As with all cruises there is plenty of food and you’re essentially live from one meal to the next. We have been on several cruises before it was our impression that the food wasn’t quite as exotic or luxurious as on other vessels. The food itself was fine but lacked that something extra which come to expect on cruise vessels. The big disappointment was the dinner on Christmas Day. There was nothing really special about this meal that set it apart from any other meals on the ship.In the days following Christmas Day we discussed this with many passengers on board and it was generally felt that it wasn’t the big Christmas dinner that we are accustomed to at home.
There was lots of entertainment but again this seemed to be a bit twee. This may have been a reflection of this being a Christmas cruise with lots of people of all ages on board. There were a couple of late night comedy shows which unfortunately were held in a bar that was packed to capacity. But there were lots of activities including dance classes in various crafts activities, wine tasting, cocktail making and so on. Something that I find curious is they have art auctions on board. These go on every day the ship is sea, I for one couldn’t imagine purchasing art when I’m on an 11 day cruise.
All in all though it represented good value and was a relaxing holiday. The company P&O had to be congratulated for their efficiency and getting passengers on and off the ship. We were required to assemble at a prearranged spot on the ship and from there to getting off the ship and through customs took less than half an hour. The cabin crew were fantastic diligent and polite and very helpful.
It is nice being away from all the shopping and general hullabaloo of Christmas time and relaxing on a cruise ship.
Sir Tom – Sexpot and Nearly 70!
This is a post is a review that I posted on the Ticketek website , didn’t want to waste my words
The venue was great, even though there were some showers just prior to and through the first act, The Wolfgram Sisters. The DJ kept the crowd amused with a series of songs which featured rain in the lyrics, even managed “I can see clearly now” when the blue sky burst through the rain clouds.
First on the bill were the Wolfgram Sisters, they sang their hearts out but really didn’t win the crowd over, Second act was local SA boy David Campbell who really got the crowd going covering a variety of styles. He finished with the Johnny O’Keefe Classic “Shout” which had the crowd dancing in the isles.
Tom Jones did not disappoint at nearly 70 he hasn’t lost his mojo. His energetic performance could put performers decades younger to shame. he covered material from his current album ( which I am still waiting for as part of the ticket deal) through to songs from nearly 40 years ago. A great show.
The venue was great, even though there were some showers just prior to and through the first act, The Wolfgram Sisters. The DJ kept the crowd amused with a series of songs which featured rain in the lyrics, even managed “I can see clearly now” when the blue sky burst through the rain clouds.
First on the bill were the Wolfgram Sisters, they sang their hearts out but really didn’t the crowd over, Second act was local SA boy David Campbell who really got the crowd going covering a variety of styles. He finished with the Johnny O’Keefe Classic “Shout” which had the crowd dancing in the isles.
Tom Jones did not disappoint at nearly 70 he hasn’t lost his mojo. His energetic performance could put performers decades younger to shame. he covered material from his current album ( which I am still waiting for as part of the ticket deal) through to songs from nearly 40 years ago. A great show.
Katoomba
Well have just returned from Katoomba in NSW. Fantastic place , went for the Yulefest. That’s like Christmas in July. Surprisingly affordable with a nice range of eateries.
The natural beauty of the Blue Mountains is spectacular the ” three sisters” a natural formation of sandstone columns, which has strong aboriginal story attached.
3G Wireless
Well here is a post from a 3G wireless device from Telstra. I am quite surprised that at the speed. Posting from Port Elliot, South Australia. Even my mobile phone can be variable from here so it seems to GSM mobile or the dreaded dialup. Telstra is unfortunately the most expensive telco on Australia however they do have exceptional coverage. I guess you get what you pay for. At least I am not dependent on it for my main internet connection.
Auckland Harbour
On a recent trip to New Zealand I had the good fortune to have a sail on Auckland harbour. The place we were staying offered a cruise on the harbour. We were taken out on a 34 foot sailing boat. On our return into the harbour we were confronted with one of the old Americas cup yachts. These yachts are available as cruises on the the harbour. There can be up to 30 people on them , standing room only. You can see the crowds on the deck! However under spinnaker it did make a great sight and a perfect end to my first ever sailing experience.