Around the world once more.

Journey End,

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

Brisbane

San Francisco, United States

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

October 22nd, San Francisco. I know San Francisco sounds impressive, but believe me, this area of South SF near the airport, has nothing romantic about it. There’s no Otis Redding ‘sitting’ here and watching anything go by, but trucks. We have just had breakfast in the Ihop restaurant, next door to the hotel. I can’t say I wasn’t warned. I overheard a conversation between two cabin staff on the shuttle bus last night. One was asking where to get breakfast, the other suggesting McDonalds. The reason was, the airport prices, as he put it, charged in and around. This was all bourn out buy our $US47 bill pre tip, for eggs, sausage hash brown, toast and coffee. We are seriously saying 39 pounds or $78 Australian! The steward was correct, we should have gone for an egg McMuffin! I realised that we could have got 4 huge breakfasts (including Black Pudding) in Wetherspoons and still had change! The flights getting here, were quite uneventful, once we were selected once more for special interrogation. This time at least, we were let into the problem by the check in staff. Apparently, we had travelled from Barcelona, to Washington and on to Dallas on a ticket, that according to United Airlines, had never been used. To use the ladies description, the ticket was still open, as if we had not made any of the journey’s. Once this was rectified, everything was smooth. Including our online check-in, for our flight back to Brisbane tonight. Unfortunately, travelling with United internally, is a little like travelling by bus. Its’ a ‘no frills’ way of getting from A to B. The planes are almost in take off mode, whilst still taxiing to the runway. When we reach the runway, there’s a sharp turn, full throttle and we are on our way. Today, we have a day to kill in an area, as I have already said, is in a pretty unattractive neighbourhood. The skyline is dominated by hotels and electricity pylons. However, from memory there is Latino community of shops and restaurants, just on the other side of the freeway, which luckily has an underpass!

Dallas Airport

At the gate and waiting for the bus.

Denver

The ‘BILL’

Irving, United States

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

Friday 20th October, Irving, near Fort Worth. It’s quite amazing when you think of it! We started travelling this morning, on our way back to Australia and we will be travelling until Tuesday October 24th, before we arrive. Well its not quite all travelling, but its definitely living out of a suitcase for the next 3 days and another 2 in the air. The exciting bit is at the beginning of any trip, but the bit you want to finish as quickly as possible, is the end. We left Lawton/Fort Sill, Oklahoma this morning at 8.30 am, to try and arrive at the Dallas and Fort Worth Car Rental by noon and no later. As any of you will know, if you’ve tried, its not an exact science. We left at a temperature of 42f, with the sun blinding every traffic light on our way onto the first leg of our journey. We went from long straight single lane roads and ended on multi tiered, 5, 6, 7 lane freeways. The GPS looked like spaghetti, the freeway had more entrances and exits than an Elton John encore and I had wiped the perspiration off of my hands so many times I was looking at severe dehydration. We arrived in temperatures of 92f and realised, the shorts were the correct attire. Do I enjoy driving in these conditions? Do I get a kick out of wandering what, ‘keep left and exit right’ means, from the GPS and am I abnormal, when I wonder, if maybe I should have taken the, ‘bring the car back empty option’, when suggested, rather than save a few dollars by filling it up at some gas station on the opposite side of the 8 lane highway? No, I don’t, but I fall for it every time. We arrived at the rental centre at 11.55, what a result! But at what mental cost? It doesn’t matter now, we are here, at least that’s how I comfort myself. It’s noon, no hotel is going to let you in at this time, when the check in time is 3pm! I nevertheless, give the hotel a call, play my best poor Brit line (this is Texas, my favourite state by a country mile) and the lady on the end of the line tells me ‘of coarse you can check in early, where can we pick you up?’ Then I have to tell her, that we are not at the airport, but the rental car return. She is not perplexed at all and sends the courtesy bus here, to pick us up! Now I am very aware that an early check in starts at $US50, dependant on what time I want, because I had previously enquired. On arrival, I was charged only our original tariff, maybe I will have a shock tomorrow, I don’t care! As we had so much time, we walked up the road to the Aspen Creek Grill, somewhere we have visited on previous occasions. We really enjoyed, what the menu called “Comfort Food’, Fried chicken, Mama’s meatloaf and a serve of broccoli each, to give ourselves the impression, we were remaining in touching distance of our 5 and 3 indoctrination! A few pints of Samual Adams completed the mirage! Tomorrow, our flight to San Francisco, via Denver. Hopefully no more airport dashes, at least its all internal flights!

Aspen Grill Tucker

Lawton, United States

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

17th October, somewhere between Dodge City Kansas and Lawton/Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Lets forget Dodge City for a while and take in this amazingly huge state/country, as we drive from Dodge to a place I bet, none of you have heard of, Lawton, Oklahoma. If you have, I apologise. If you know it, I bet you have’t driven there from Dodge City and found anything or any place worthy of remembering, or writing in a blog about? Well here goes, I am going to try one! Driving East, out of Dodge City on a 32f (0c) bright sunny morning, was hard for a person like me to cope with. I admit she, (my trusty GPS navigator) obviously got all of the ‘rights and lefts’ spot on, I unfortunately, didn’t waste an opportunity to blame her for my misfortunes. Once the sun had risen a few degrees, along with the temperature, things became a little more comfortable and the scenery took over. Scenery! Quite honestly, a blue sky that is 180 degrees, form east to west is truely magnificent! What’s in between, although important to Oklahoma and it farmers, is not to the average tourist. Guess what, I am not even an average tourist (I hope), but after 100’s and 100’s of miles (not Kilometres) of red ploughed soil, fresh cut hay and cows (sorry beef), I yearn for a mountain, or I will even settle for a hill. Nothing! Maybe this 50 mile straight road will end after 50 miles? Well it certainly does, but usually at a crossroads, and a the GPS says, follow the US State ‘whatever’ for another 43 miles! Goodness me, in the US, I expect another monument, another attraction, another National Park! Are you really telling me, farmers actually farm? I must stop watching ‘Real Los Angeles Housewives’, its spoiling my entire holiday. Seriously though, I would like to think that we have been lucky enough to drive all over the US. Oklahoma and Kansas have shown us one of the countries ‘bread baskets’ however. My only recollection of fields so huge with crops, was on a Greyhound Bus, travelling from San Francisco to LA and on a detour from the highway. We travelled past miles and miles of ‘Ice burg’ lettuce. To this day, I cannot imagine, that a crop so perishable, can find a market to use what looked like millions of lettuces, that can spend only a week or more in our fridge! Maybe, I’ve just answered my own question. Before I wrap up these ramblings, and because I mentioned Greyhound Buses, and because we travelled through a place called Clinton today, I must relate a bus trip we took, many years ago. We were travelling from New Orleans to Dallas, via Memphis, Nashville, St Louis and all the other must see places, as you do. The Greyhound bus drivers, cocooned in their bullet proof, armoured glass drivers seat, could make or break a journey, dependant on their sense of humour and the clarity of their microphone. Anyway, as we approached the very same Clinton, on our route from Oklahoma City to Dallas. The driver pulled into a McDonald’s for a break. As we approached he said over his microphone, in his southern drawl, ‘Clinton, this is Clinton. Before ya’ll ask, No, I did not have sexual relations with that woman!’ Priceless and so unexpected! He and others like him, are probably the reason that makes us keep coming back and travelling the backroads of this wonderful country! We arrived in Lawton for one reason, to hopefully see wild Buffalo. We have travelled to Canada to see wild bears and Montana to see Moose. We failed on each occasion, so our fingers are firmly crossed. Wednesday 18th October Lawton, Oklahoma What a wonderful day out it was. The Wichita Mountains are only a 20 minute drive out of Lawton. All of a sudden the freeway ends and you find yourself in the middle of what should be a National Park. The Wichita Mountains, capped by 500 million year old granite tops and abundant with walking trails, lakes, campsites and wildlife. We saw, what we had come to see, Wild Bison. There are Elk and Deer, there are Prairie Dogs and all manner of smaller critters, racoons, foxes and even a mountain lion has been spotted. Over 59,000 acres, there for you to explore. No charge, a fantastic visitor centre, well signposted trails, lakes, fishing, camping, public toilets, picnic tables and during the week, solitude! We spent around 5 hours there, we counted no more than 10 people and only 2 close enough to talk to. It was so relaxing and beautiful, we are going back tomorrow to explore some more, as it will be our last day in Oklahoma. We have lucky to have seen Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Great Teton and Grand Canyon National Parks. All of them undoubtedly hold the better cards, but none of them have the ease of travel and the feeing of solitude for the average tourist. This place is “do it yourself’ exploring, with everything accessible dependant on your adventure gene. As one reviewer on Google Maps put it, ‘Shhh! Oklahomas hidden secret!’ Within 20 minutes of leaving the area, we were in Walmart, stocking up with some goods! If you are ever in Oklahoma, the place is called ‘Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge’. Thursday 19th October, Lawton/Fort Sill, Oklahoma After such a good day yesterday, we just had to return to the Wichita Mountains. Just as if we needed a welcome, as we pulled into the first car park, there on our left, was this huge beast! I only really noticed it by mistake. I was just pointing out, how easy it was to see and walk around these fantastic places, when, there, on our left side, was this pair of eyes! Brown, black, who cares, they were dark! I think it was the eyes I saw first! Or was it the huge head, with two horns, quite innocuously protruding from this wooly and most definitely, huge head. The head was almost too big to fit the body. I thought and wondered, who designed this amazing creature? I couldn’t help but notice the flies hovering around the whole head, it almost gave this beast another aura I had not considered. The only sound, the munching of the grass, it was pulling from the steps it was slowly climbing. Yes, as it climbed towards me, there was a moment, when I thought, this is a wild animal, I have no Tonto with me! It took me a few minutes to actually realise this was a cow (or in this case a bull), even worse! As reality then overtook my thoughts, that were visualising thousands of Bison, thundering over the prairie, with only one aim, to trample me to death, I started to enjoy this very passive beast. A big beast, a beautiful beast. At one time a nearly extinct beast! We just stood and watched it go about its day, looking for fresh grass on the man made steps down to the lake. I became so blasé about the whole moment, when a family of Indians turned up to witness the same, I remarked to Debbie, they are probably wondering how many curries they could get out of that! A great start to the day and there was more to come. We drove up Mt Scott, a mountain straight ahead of us and beckoning, in the only way American tourist sights can. The road wound around the side of the mountain, with numerous places to stop and admire the views. The top was huge carpark. There were seats, there was a lookout, the views were 360 degrees and there was no litter and there were no barriers! Jump off if you wish, control your own children, take responsibility, read the invisible warning sign! So refreshing! To top off the day off, we came across a field/home/run, I don’t know what to call it, of Prairie Dogs! We could have stopped and watched this commune (maybe that’s the word) for hours. These creatures resemble Meerkats and give some fantastic and cute entertainment. The lookouts squeak their warning call of the perceived danger and the others run to their burrows, only poking their heads up to see if and when the danger has passed. We have seriously loved being here and probably one of the highlights of the entire month away. Seriously, I will mention it again. If you are passing this way, stop for a night and see a part of America that is often passed by. Of coarse, that may be the reason its such a good morning out!

Blue horizons

Buffalo

Lunch somewhere in Oklahoma!

The midfle of ‘nowhere’ for lunch

Wichita Mountains

Another friend

Mount Scott

Prarie Dogs

Trail

Dodge City, United States

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

Saturday October 14th Dodge City We have just arrived in Dodge City and I wonder with the hotel I have picked, if it’s all a black and white cowboy movie? The journey from Tulsa has been the most boring 6 hours I have ever spent, other than listening to a party political broadcast on repeat! Flat fields as far as the eye can see, have an early fascination, but after an hour or so they become a blank wall. A road that doesn’t bend for over 50 miles becomes a narcotic and a car travelling a little less than the speed limit, becomes something that has to be overtaken! You are probably judging my state of mind by now, better than me! I have seriously spent mindless hours thinking about the musical Oklahoma and how beautiful it was portrayed. Then when Judy Garland was swept away in a tornado to the land of Oz in that other great story from Oklahoma/Kansas ! But hey! Dodge City is now on the horizon. Gunsmoke, Marshall Dillon and all. To top the bill, we are staying at the Dodge Hotel on Wyatt Earp Boulevard! On entering the motel, I was seriously taken aback by the cowboy paraphernalia and the tremendous lengths someone had gone to, to present this incredible environment we had entered. Only my photographs can possibly illustrate what I am writing about and trying to describe. But alas, most of this illusion stopped shortly after the reception. Upon entering the motel, we were quite mesmerised by the decor (photos explain better than I). The extraordinary effort someone had gone to was amazing, it was like walking into a Wild West museum. Unfortunately, the room became part of that museum. At first glance it was captivating and then, this feeling of yesteryear became the reality of our room. Huge it was, and even at first glance, in keeping with the period. The second glance however brought us a little back to earth! The carpet was so old, it was threadbare and dirty, the kitchenette devoid of even a matching plate. My feet bare of socks, became so black, flip flops would be the only way of keeping the sheets from developing the same colour. I am sure it will all turn out a little better. Maybe it’s the long drive and a good nights sleep will make everything, including the wifi work a little better! Sunday 25th October Dodge City If Gunsmoke, was your thing back in the day, this is your dream come true. The whole place reminds me of Saturday morning pictures! Marshal Dillon, Doc Halliday, Miss Kitty, Chester! You would want to love the Wild West though, because that’s it really for the modern day Dodge City. Known as the Cowboy Capital of the World, it was founded in 1872 (well within a century ago, for some of us oldies) and was originally part of Mexico. Forts, including Fort Dodge were built to protect settlers taking the Santa Fe Trail westwards. Dodge City boasted more working gunfighters, than any other city in the west, along with brothels, saloons and gambling halls. All of this of coarse depicted, all beit, mildly in the TV series Gunsmoke. The series had 635 episodes over 20 years from 1955. I actually remember my Mum and Dad (me as a kid) doing a pretty good impression of Chester talking to Marshal Dillon! It was big television back in the day and if I behaved, I was allowed to stay up and watch it in glorious black and white! ‘At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp Western as romanticized by [Ned] Buntline, [Bret] Harte, and [Mark] Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."[2]’ Credit to Wikipedia. Famous people from these parts include Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and more recently, Dennis Hopper, who of course played many of these characters. Dodge City is now a cattle and grain centre (Beef Burger heaven 😂). The main industry being meat packing. As I said earlier, don’t ever come here for the beauty, this is a truly working class town. If cowboys is not your thing, don’t bother. If it is, soak it up. It’s definitely for our generation of tourists, although I recognise absolutely, this is American heritage and not a black and white Saturday Morning matinee. Boot Hill was a cemetery and now a museum, although some of the cemetery has been preserved. The museum now does the job of taking the tourist, past the people, the times and what was the Wild West, very admirably. Again, I may be wrong, but I think it was an era thing. I would love to know if a young family, get out of the visit the same emotion as I. God forbid, I watched it on the Television, or at the movies (mainly in black and white), yet I felt a overwhelming sense of knowing and feeling! Dodge City came to fame through the Santa Fe Trail, 780 miles of it, running from Illinois to New Mexico. It took over 3 months by wagon to make the journey and Dodge City was there to provide what was needed. As well as drunks, gun fighters and con men, it obviously attracted women and they were more than capable of making their fortune. Spoiled Doves, Sporting Women, Fancy Ladies or as the Dodge Times liked to call them, ‘Our Girls’, were making their money as prostitutes. The average prostitute would be 23 and had no need to be neither rich nor beautiful to make a living. They were treated as a necessary evil, because they ensured men ‘bathe and behave’. They were totally respected and lived in the community as any other citizen. Dance Hall Girls, made more money in one night, than a man would make in a month! Making $1 per 15 minute dance (although acceptably bawdy), they looked down on those that wanted babies, cook and keep house. I’m not going to mention Gunsmoke again, other than, there is an exceptional part of the museum that deals with the production. Before Dodge City was created, wild buffalo roamed the entire west from Canada to Mexico in their millions, by 1890 it was estimated that only 1000 remained. Today there are over 500,00, but only in National Parks. The highlight of the whole museum to me , was watching a movie of the bison stampeding over the plains at over 30 mph and the floor moving with the thunder of animals, weighing over a ton. We hope to witness these animals when we move on tomorrow to Lawton, back in Oklahoma. Hopefully not so close as to feel the vibration underfoot though!

Road to Dodge City

One long toad

Our room

Always wanted to know what the footplate would be like!

Matt Dillon

Wyatt Eatp

Chester and Marshal Dillon

Gunsmoke

BH Musey

Tulsa, United States

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 23:10:00 -0500

12th October 2023 Tulsa, Oklahoma When we hired our car yesterday from the DFW Rental Car Centre (as big an area as any small airport terminal), we were given the choice of 6 (compact) cars. One of the things I love about the US, a compact car usually turns out to be a family saloon. I chose a Nissan Altima, for no other reason than, when I looked inside the large Ford, the Hyundai Elantra and the others, the Nissan looked like one I could start without assistance, find the handbrake and use most of the modern accessories. We were soon heading on the Freeway Merry Go Round, that circles, bisects and crosses this huge city. Because of coarse I chose not to use the toll roads (just a principle of mine), our route took us basically through central and towering Dallas. Well it seemed like that! Actually from the airport, we were heading north, so we only skirted the northern part of the city. By the way, don’t ever look at your GPS other than for guidance, the illustration of the interchanges, look like the inner sanctum of the Huntsman’s Spiders complicated web and look just as haunting! As the feel of the car and driving on the right, became more comfortable, we were heading north on the Interstate 75. The freeway had now contracted from 6 lanes down to 2. The GPS said the journey would take around 5 hours and our only necessity, was finding a Walmart to get a box of Budweisers for our destination in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We passed towns and cities with Red Indian names, such as Checotah, Kiowa and Choctaw. Some with huge casino’s, I believe run by Indians, on land where they have legal control, as part of reparation rewards, from the Federal Government over the years. We arrived in Tulsa around 5pm as predicted by the machine that I worship stuck to the windscreen. Her voice consoles me at different times on the journey, dependant on my stress levels. She has such a beautiful English accent and even if I shout at her from time to time, she carries on giving me directions! I haven’t the heart to abandon her for Google or Apple Maps! Friday 13th October. Tulsa, Oklahoma We are staying at a Best Western in Tulsa, its quite comfortable and even it’s ‘plastic’ breakfast is tasty enough. I couldn’t imagine how much plastic waste there could be just having breakfast! Utensils, plates, bowls, cups and even the scrambled egg comes in a plastic bag, heated and poured into the Bain Marie (also plastic). The ‘trash bin’, the size of a large wheelie bin, is overflowing with these items by 7.30am. We are around 5 miles from Downtown, somewhere we intend to explore today. The weather forecast is a lot cooler now, with very strong winds and tomorrow cooler still, as the ‘Fall’ starts to arrive properly. Yesterday, whilst the weather was still warm, we took a morning out at the Botanical Gardens, somewhere we like to visit wherever we are. This one was not one of the best, in our opinion and it also charged an entry which is not usual. Although it was well planted and planned, it felt very regimented and used far too much concrete structure. It seemed quite new and not established. After saying all of that, the Halloween display was well done. As the lady at the reception warned us, ‘Halloween is big in these parts’ and that was supported, both within the gardens and throughout Oklahoma. In the gardens here, there was also a scarecrow display competition, which added a little to the visit and the water display was obviously well thought out. There was a 1.5 mile nature walk through woodland and grassland. All of this of coarse would have looked far better in spring or summer. Later in the morning we visited Mohawk Park and took a couple of their trails through the wildlife refuge. It was all pleasant enough and something we like to do, but wildlife, other than a couple of squirrels and a solitary deer, was all we saw. The woodland is very reminiscent of British countryside, but the autumn leaves have hung on a little longer. Tulsa, Oklahoma. 13th October 2023 Friday 13th, what could possibly go wrong? Nothing that I know about yet! There’s a relatively early start tomorrow, so its best I write this tonight. As planned, we had a day out in Tulsa. The most exciting part of the day was deciding which parking lot I should aim for, to ensure we could have a nice leisurely look around downtown. Now, we have walked around downtown Chattanooga, St Louis, Albuquerque, Denver, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Savannah, Montgomery, Dallas, Houston, Baton Rouge, Austin, San Antonio, Tucson, Phoenix, Idaho to name but a few (and I loved boasting about that). And we have learnt nothing, because we are in Tulsa, worrying about where we can park! We have done all the aforementioned and more, and we should know, you can park at any lot, in any city Monday to Friday, because whoever is there, is at the office! Except of coarse, New York, Chicago, Washington and maybe a few others (excuse me). The only time in US, cities in my experience, are anywhere near full, are weekends, because of a ball game, a basketball match, an ice hockey game or whatever. Here we are in Tulsa on a Friday morning and I could have picked any of the 30 or so lots on offer, because there’s no more than 10 cars in each! Tulsa had no one walking the sidewalks, except an old lady walking her dog, or a vagrant peering into a trash bin. We walked the streets of downtown as if it was ours. I walked past empty lots wishing I was more adventurous and parked closer to the action, but there was none. Admittedly, it became a little more lively at lunch time, when the offices shed a few staff to have some food. As I said a little ‘boastfully’ earlier, I have learnt nothing and if you can’t learn from it, what’s the point of doing it! We however enjoyed our stroll, enjoyed the art deco buildings that remain, the many churches (which really did surprise me) and the Arkansas River, which flows through it. Although, flow was rather an over descriptive word at this time of year, as there was more rock than water. As an aside, we visited Walmart and bought some beer. Upon checking out at the self serve exit, I couldn’t pay until the assistant had okayed that I am of age to buy liquor. Anyone who has been to the US will often come across this. This assistant however, wanted to see my ID, luckily enough my drivers licence was in my pocket. She then said, has your wife got ID? I remarked, she hasn’t got any, but I am the one buying it! That didn’t satisfy her, but she then okayed the transaction, remarking she hoped she wasn’t sacked as others had been for not checking ID. I thanked her, as you do, but before I left she warned me to be careful at other stores, because they might not be as lenient as she was! We then drove to a liquor store to buy a bottle of gin, I told Debbie to stay in the car, because that would alleviate any problems. The guy sold me the gin and at no time asked for any ID! I couldn’t resist but tell him my experience and wondered, if you had your 12 year old son with you, could you purchase alcohol, as he would be a minor? He looked at me and said ‘God damn, this is America, who knows what would happen, man! My Mom, has to show ID to purchase cigarettes!’ Fair enough I thought, that explains nothing, but who cares, there’s a war in Israel!

Mohawk Park

Botanical Gardens

Not just in Australia

Mowhawk Park

Our car

Arkansas River

Dallas, United States

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0500

10th October. Somewhere between Barcelona and Dallas, USA We arrived in Dallas at 7pm last night, after a an 8 hour flight from Barcelona to Washington DC and a further 3 hour flight to Dallas, if only it were that simple! We had spent a a beautiful day in Barcelona yesterday. We had a 4 hour, 10 kilometre walk, that probably only took in a small part of a quite amazing city. The highlight had to be the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished Catholic Cathedral, reaching into the sky, complete with a cast of supporting cranes. This construction was started nearly 200 years ago and to the untrained eye, looks near completion, we shall see! We walked the Gothic Quarter, complete with Barcelona Cathedral, we walked La Plata de Catalunya where statues surrounded a huge piazza. We walked along the many thoroughfares, bordered by grass covered tramlines, where modern trams kept the city accessible to all, whilst maintaining a pleasant green and natural look. We ended up, where most of the population in Spain seem to spend lunchtime, sitting in a cafe, eating Tapas and drinking beer or wine. Today however, was to be the polar opposite of beauty and relaxation, this was to be a day that we all have, but none of us need. We arrived at the airport for our United Airlines flight to Washington DC, en route to Dallas. Whilst standing in the line waiting for check in to open and the normal rush to the desks, to unload suitcases et all, our passports were taken and scanned, as most peoples are these days. What followed was unlike most passengers experience. The official asked us a series of questions starting quite innocently with, I see you have visited London and can you tell me why? I see you have travelled quite extensively, where are you heading now? Why are you travelling to the US? Quite strangely, how old are your children? When are you returning to Australia? These questions were interspersed with consultations with her colleagues behind the check in desks. After about 10 minutes, satisfied or not, she returned our passports and told us to have a nice flight! Thinking that maybe this was a random interrogation, we proceeded to the desk with our suitcases. Here we spent over 30 minutes being checked in. It appeared to us, the check in official was having trouble with his computer, or most likely, with checking us in! During this process, he called several of his colleagues at random times, to view his screen and discuss in Spanish, whatever the problem seemed to be. At no time did he converse with us. After around 30 minutes, he checked us in and off we went, perhaps now a little less confident of the situation, but not overly alarmed, after all, who knows the intimate mechanics of airports and security? When it become necessary to board the aeroplane and whilst in the queue, around a dozen names were called over the speaker system and requested to approach the front desk, perhaps an upgrade? No such luck! We were all told, we had been selected for a random security check. Random! Seriously! About a dozen of us were marched off and taken individually behind some opaque glass screens and searched, our bags and us. I can only assume it was for explosives. If anyone asked, they were given the same answer, ‘Security’, Sir or Madam. Now I wonder, if this was to do with the crisis in Israel, a tightening of security. But why us? Two old people, minding their own business and seeing the world in their twilight years. But why not you?, I hear you say, and its a fair point. I would still like to know the ‘trigger’ however, wouldn’t you? This wasn’t to be the end of the drama for the longest day in my travelling life. We all boarded the plane, it moved back from the air bridge and sat on the tarmac, doing what planes do. After about 20 minutes, the Captain announced, we would be returning to the air bridge, because there was a technical fault with the aeroplane.You can probably guess what I thought! However, it was a technical fault with the cargo hold and after a 90 minute delay, we were on our way. Now of coarse 90 minutes into our 180 minute layover in Washington. This is not usually a problem, other than because it was our first port of entry into the country. Therefore we had to go through immigration, security, pick up our bags, pass customs and proceed to the connection, probably not in that order! After the now 10 hour flight (technical issue included), we duly arrive in Washington and the nightmare continues. Immigration has queues snaking through the arrivals hall and there are 75 minutes available to us before the gate closes on our flight. We spend 40 of them, gradually getting closer to the three passport officers working at the ‘Non US Resident’ desks. Even these officers seemed under pressure to speed up the process and the very strict questioning usually applied in the USA, seemed a little less onerous. We now had 35 minutes left. We find our two bags in the baggage hall (here I really must commend United Airlines and the baggage handlers), where the re-checking in was so easy. We were feeling confident at last, we had 30 minutes to make it! But wait, I had forgotten about security! The queue(s) were that long, we couldn’t even see their ‘goal’. This brought out the worst in people, with some unable to control their frustration and anger, by trying to push in, with the excuse that anyone of us could use, ‘I’m going to miss my flight’! What also didn’t help, was the official using her expert ‘opinion’ to inform passengers, whether they would probably, or in some cases, definitely not, make their flight! We were in the ‘probably’ category according to her! We now had 10 minutes left, when we first sighted the conveyor and X-ray machine. There wasn’t a face on any passenger that didn’t show some anxiety or stress. This is a quite common event in the US, missing connections. One plane (our flight and goodness knows how many others) late can cause many knock on problems in a large country, where many use this form of transport regularly. We just didn’t want to learn today, what happens when you miss one! The hotels we booked, the car to pick up, the logistics, I just didn’t want to think about. We were through security after throwing phones, dollar bills, change and dirty paper tissues in our bags, to ensure safe passage without further searches and delaying our progress any more! Minutes, maybe two are left before the gate closure. I haven’t looked at the gate number for some time, I am banking on it being C20, the first one we see is C1! We are now running, well it was to us, anyone watching might have thought different. We make the gate, there is no one in the seats, there are a group of 4 passengers arguing at the boarding gate, I wave my passport and boarding passes at the two officials dealing with the passenger, I am trying to say without speaking, ‘we are here, have we missed the flight? The guy looked up and said, almost flippantly, ‘you have not missed your flight Sir, I’ll come to you in a moment’. The four people in front of me were arguing with the guy, because he couldn’t change their seats, because the plane was full! It was all just too much for the guy in front of me and you didn’t need to be Spanish, to understand the gist of what he shouted!

Our walk

Sagrade Familia

Barcelona, Spain

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

Barcelona 9th October We arrived in Barcelona for disembarkation at around 5am yesterday, thankfully they gave us until 6.15 to ‘get off’ so’s to speak, but that is not all as it seems. We had to be clear of our cabin by 0800, but no one harassed us before then. Those that wanted to leave could, those that wanted assistance were given a time, as were passengers wanting transfers to airports or city. If you were willing and able to take your own bags there was window until no later leaving the ship than 0930. We were so pleased when embarking, to get in to our cabin by 1.pm, it amazed me how lenient the timings were for us leaving. 6500 passengers to go and 6500 more to arrive in a 4 hour window (we could actually embark from noon, depending on your checkin time). Full marks to Royal Caribbean’s logistics person! As our first hotel (Dayuse.com) was for only available from 1000, we hung around for a while. The day use of hotels are obviously far cheaper, makes money for the hotel and stops us wandering the streets with suitcases for up to 6 hours, dependant on check in time of our booked hotel. We are now settled in our hotel for 2 nights in Barcelona, a comfortable, but dated place in the Fort Pienc area close to La Sagrada Familia and hopefully all we want to see. The bustle of Barcelona is easily viewed from our window, but on a Sunday it is positively lethargic. Even this Monday morning, dawn only comes around 7am and the city doesn’t move much until then. ‘Laid Back’, is certainly the Spanish way as many of you will already know, but it’s a new experience for me. A society with little stress I would say. I now of coarse regret making that observation, after witnessing the clear temper tantrums at the coffee machines at breakfast. There seemed to be high blood pressure even trying to open the coffee capsule from its hygienic, plastic, sealed, germ free bag, let alone using it in the machine. The reason this complicated system was being used at all, was no staff wanted to re fill the normal breakfast room machine for a few stragglers!

Around the area

The view from our window

Naples, Italy

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

6th October Symphony off the Seas, Naples. I was so much looking forward to visiting this city. Was it worth it? I guess it was, but with a couple of caveats. Our first mistake was going ashore too early. Let’s face it, this a large city and at 7.30 (even in Italy), people are going to work just like in any other major city. So after being jostled for a good while along the part cobbled, part flagstone, part everything’s missing pavements, we realised we should sit in a piazza like every old Italian does and watch the world go by for a while. Naples was little like I wanted it to be, and sometimes nothing like! The dogs**t and graffiti was our first impression and I don’t think it should have been. The graffiti was so bad, it was daubed on churches, statues and anything up to head height, it was disgusting. Naples is also not the greenest city I have ever visited and dogs would be hard pressed to find a bit of soil, let alone grass to do what they have to do. So most of steps even in the city centre had to be considered. Thank goodness we found the Rione Sanita and Quartieri Spagnoli parts of the city, where roads heaving with traffic gave way to the cobbled backstreets, where every corner and every doorway offered what we had come to see. Churches, towers, shrines, steeples, rotundas and local characters were now around every corner. Cobblestones worn by years of traffic, alleyways hiding religious statues and alleyways so narrow the buildings above seemed to be held up by hope. This area was certainly worth all of the footslog, character and culture ran down the walls, the graffiti nearly unnoticeable, but unfortunately still there took second place to the history and vibe engulfing us. This part of Naples didn’t disappoint. It was a first class morning in a city only meters from the port. The ship looked almost another piece of graffiti as we walked back down the hill towards the docks. Was Napoli worth the effort, indeed it was. I hope the photo’s do it justice. Saturday 7th of October 2023 Symphony ofd the Seas (at sea) This is a day at sea on passage from Naples to Barcelona. I will try and give an honest opinion on what life has been on, what was until a few weeks ago, the biggest ship in the world. No statistics, if you want them you can Google them. Stupid as I am, I didn’t know how big this ship was. This is only our second cruise, the first on one of Royal Caribbeans smallest. I was totally prepared to hate it and some aspects I do. I guess when you get anywhere with 6 thousand plus holidaymakers, you will come across all types and we have. Some, the most ignorant and arrogant I have come across anywhere, most friendly and polite, you can guess the ones we remember? The ship by pure size encourages the bad in people, because you are but fraction of the total. I suspect the bedroom steward remembers them however and probably the waiters in the bar they frequent. But by virtue of what I have just said, we shouldn’t. The majority are just looking for a great vacation (as the vibe calls it here). The ship is monster, without doubt. There is everything for the young, including young parents. Waterslides, Zip lines, wave pools and goodness knows what. On the positive, there is always plenty of room around the pool and always somewhere to sit and have a drink. That said, we have not been in a bar after 10pm and I admit it. I can no longer drink form 11 am until anywhere near 11pm, I admit it (well, not remember it anyway). The theatres, ice skating rink, the shows without peers. The choice of dining, drinking and amusement unparalleled and yet we still were able to find our favourite bars, meet up with some great people and enjoy the voyage at our own pace. The waiters and bar staff were so friendly, should you take the time to have an interest in them. They came from every nation of the world and had a story to tell themselves, if we bothered to listen. My goodness they looked after us and to some of them I will remain ever grateful. Would I ever come again on a ship this big again? If I had the choice, probably not. If this was the itinerary I wanted and this was the only ship, I wouldn’t worry too much! The photographs will give you a taste of the ship, you will love or hate, but always keep in mind, behind the plastic and the noise, there are an awful lot of people, in this case over 2,200 crew that in most cases go out of their way. When you find them, it doesn’t matter about the ship, it still gets you where you want to go.

Vesuvious

My favourite

Naples

Looking back at the ship

The bionic bar

Ice skating anyone?

Civitavecchia, Italy

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

Thursday 5th October Civitavecchia, Italy. Not a bad sort of place although a lot less attractive than the last port of call, La Spezia. Again we had to go to the dock gates by shuttle, although it was only about 10 minutes and it dropped us in the middle of the town. What made the process even more of a trial, was fighting passengers with their suitcases, as this was also a changeover port. Civitavecchia, is the port for Rome, thus obviously also the place to leave and see Rome, again a 10 hour day by coach. One of the things I have discovered and dislike about cruises, are the crowds. Nothing can be done peacefully. The shuttles have queues, the embarkation is a queue and anyone thinking of going by rail to Rome, well good luck with that. The station was heaving, with many passengers, again with suitcases. Civitavecchia was a place visited back in the day by the rich and famous from Roma. Numerous posters and messages around the streets described how they were trying to bring back the old days, by almost reverse renovating. They were building in the old ways to depict a turn of the century resort. Quite frankly after seeing what modernisation had done, it looked a good idea The dock area was very large and there were two other cruise ships alongside, one being the Queen Elizabeth. It was dwarfed by our ship, but only in size, certainly not class! I am still having great difficulty coming to terms with its size and flip flop between words such as ‘wow’ and ‘oh dear’. We have befriended a couple from the UK, which helps to put things a little more in perspective. Although nothing would help us un-see, the influx of kids joining the ship on our return, or the screaming.

Queen Elizabeth

Civitavecchia

La Spezia, Italy

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

La Spezia, Italy 4th October Symphony of the Seas It’s 7.30 and we have just finished breakfast. Now sitting typing this on the balcony, I can see the north western coast of Italy, spoilt by some grey cloud and at times a little drizzle, however it warm enough to sit here in shorts. Yesterday, we were in Marseille and if I am honest a pleasant surprise. We didn’t make the same mistake as Palma and opted for the shuttle to take us to the city. We were dropped outside the Cathedral La Major and walked by what looked like old city walls or fort, towards the city centre. Bearing in mind my only other visits to France, were paying off a ship in Le Verdon, a port near Bordeaux, then flying home, the other time, crossing the channel to Le Havre, grabbing as much cheap beer as possible and returning on the next ship, aptly named Booze Cruises, back in the day. This time, it was a majestic stroll through the vast marina, chock full of the most expensive ocean craft on offer, a walk around a charming and very French city and a cup of coffee in one of the numerous cafe’s on offer. The day was warm and there was plenty to admire. Old churches, wonderful French architecture complete with small balcony’s usually complimented with iron railings. Squares, with so many bistro’s and restaurants, it was hard to count, most frequented by someone drinking their coffee and smoking cigarettes in a way that would only acceptable in France. Everything was so wonderful in the world that I actually forgave the waitress who, when I asked for two white coffees, looked down her nose at me, offered along pause and remarked, do you mean two coffees with milk? Okay, 4th October La Spezia, Italy. Symphony of the Seas What wonderful ‘run ashore’. This is the place to sight Pisa or Florence, if you have a pocket deep enough and 4 hours or so to kill on the coach. Believe me, Florence I did think about, but an 8 hour round trip I did not fancy. Pisa I am sure is beautiful, but after watching people walk around the ship, the restaurants and the toilets (yes toilets) with a selfie stick, I don’t think I could stand watching so many people trying to hold up the leaning tower! So La Spezia it was, and what a beautiful place it turned out to be A little like Marseille without the trimmings. I think the marina area was still a haunt for the rich, but the town/city was a very down to earth sort of place. The town was rich in Italian masculinity, but managed to retain some real charm and ambiance. The piazzas were aplenty, the balconies adorned with washing and the Italians going about life with a smile on their face. Every young woman looked as if she could become the next Sophia Loren and every young lad, with the Italian looks to turn many a young ladies head. This could be nowhere other than Italy. It had a warmth that overcame the mass invasion from a cruise ship, from which potentially 6,800 tourists could invade. It was a place I could happily sit and watch the world go by, if only we had the time to do so.

La Spezia

Marseille, France

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

Palma, Spain

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

October 2nd Palma, Mallorca. Symphony of the Seas Well, where do I start? What an extraordinary ship. Until a few days ago and the launch of the Icon of the Seas, this was the biggest passenger ship in the world, and quite frankly, does it feel like it! It is just about as impersonal as you can imagine. With over 5000 passengers to spend a week with, it is hardly surprising. However, every cloud has a silver lining. We can walk around the ship, drink in any of its 16 bars, eat in any of it’s 15 restaurants, swim in any of it’s 6 pools, zip line across the decks, descend down one of its two waterslides, climb its rock face, visit it’s 2 theatres, have a skate on the ice rink and no one will notice what we did today or care about it tomorrow, in a way, that is quite nice. Its like living in a bubble, say good morning one day and never see that person again. Or am I being too kind, or am I even being too critical, I don’t know! I hope I know by the end of the week. I hope I know how to get from A to B by then, without having to look at a deck map on the Royal Caribbean App, which I admit, I would be totally lost without. The food, which I have tasted so far is very good, with so much choice. Breakfast this morning was a struggle not to over indulge (well, more than normal). The only thing missing, the ability to make a cup of tea in the cabin! Arriving in Palma was beautiful, with the sun coming up red over the island and cruising past the many other ships at anchor. The first signs were of a warm day to come.

Our ship

Barcelona

In the elevator

Arriving Palma

Approaching Palma

One naked man, at least!

Barcelona, Spain

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0200

In all honesty, Heathrow was a little easier than I imagined. Although every part of check-in was self service, it went easily and if I hadn’t forgotten the bottle of orange in the carry on, so would have the security! No damage done, I didn’t have to play the idiot, she recognised one! British Airways was a little better than it had been betrayed to me. The boarding process left a little to be desired, but then we all know a better way, don’t we? The four stewards were like the cast from The Village People and very personable. We had to wait a little while for the hotel transport, but were rewarded with one of the best airport hotels I have experienced. There was none of the impersonal reception, there was a terrace with well priced food and drinks and a superb breakfast. Alpha Aeropuerto Barcelona if you ever need one! Sunday October 1st, Barcelona So the day of embarkation has arrived. Our boarding time is midday, so an 11.30 taxi I hope will set the pace. We had a good sleep in, after not getting to bed until nearly midnight. The dawn didn’t break until 7ish and there was no sun until 8am. Breakfast was superb and a little walk in beautiful morning sunshine, has hopefully set us up.

Nice ambiance on the terrace

Across the road from hotel

Airport Hotel

River running by hotel

Rowlands Castle, United Kingdom

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0100

Friday was a day of consolidation really. Saying goodbye, saying hello and goodbye to Debbie’s sister and Trevor, packing and making sure all was ready for drive to the airport and car return tomorrow. There’s apparently a train strike, the 3 year planned road works at the junction of the A3 London Road and the M25 London Orbital causing substantial delays and a tunnel closure to boot! It’s no use worrying about it now, there’s plenty of time for that tomorrow. Saturday 30th September Rowland’s Castle Although our flight to Barcelona is not until 4pm, we need to return the car by 11am, so there is a need to get on the road with some urgency. Luckily the GPS has foreseen all of our barriers and potential hurdles and takes us across country and up the M3. After filling up the car, we are back at the depot by 1030 and on our way to terminal 5 Heathrow. Just the size of Terminal 5 is amazing, when we consider it only deals with British Airways aircraft and there are a further 4 terminals all just as busy. Goodness knows the size of the workforce!

Terminal 5

Arundel, United Kingdom

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0100

Yesterday, maybe we had one historical outing too far, I don’t know. It was our last day to get out before leaving the UK on Saturday. We decided to visit a town neither of us had visited before, Arundel in West Sussex. Only 30 minutes or so from here and a castle and church I have often admired in the past, whilst driving along the by-pass. The town certainly was no disappointment, a history that began in Roman and Saxon times and the River Arun running through. The beautiful Tudor, Georgian and Victorian buildings lined the high street and all manor of old public houses and buildings were prominent amongst the maze of smaller streets, lanes and paths either side. In different parts of the market town, views of the Gothic Catholic Cathedral ( maybe it’s every city must have a cathedral, not every cathedral denotes a city, I know not) or the imposing Arundel Castle. Obviously the castle was like a magnet, it is just how everyone imagines a castle should look. On a hill, with a moat (now dry), a Norman Keep and a medieval Gatehouse. However in the ‘House’ part of the castle renovations were completed between 1870 and 1890. The Duke of Norfolks family still live in a part of the castle, where the family have lived for the past 850 years. The grounds are truly magnificent and are worth a visit alone, if I am really honest, if I visited again, this is all I would want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I found the older parts of the castle, the Keep, the ramparts, the narrow winding steps to reach them, fascinating, the house not so. The armour, the paintings, the decor, although I found interesting, it left me a little cold. I guess it showed in majestic and sometimes gaudy opulence of how ‘the other half’ lived and sometimes still do! There is no denying the beauty of individual pieces of art and I know this may be the view of a true Philistine, but I felt the people back in the day might have taken their decoration tips from Elvis Presley and Graceland’s. As we passed through a truly gaudy dark red room, with a type of mezzanine floor on both sides, complete with brass balustrades, I couldn’t help but remark to one of the guides, that it reminded me of a prison building complete with landing. All it really needed was a safety net to prevent suicides from the inmates. She was not amused and probably thinks I was probably speaking from experience. If you are into this type of thing though, you will have probably got your monies worth at 27 pounds each!

Arundel

The Castle

The Cathedral

The moat

My Prison Room

Winchester, United Kingdom

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0100

I guess staying where we are and wanting to reconnect with the history of the area, where better than visiting the place known as Englands ancient capital, where the streets are laid out to the original Saxon street plan, a cathedral with the longest medieval nave in Europe and a medieval hall showcasing the legendary King Arthurs Round Table, (which has been hanging here since at least 1463), or walk along the water meadows where people before you have walked for the past 900 years. Just 31 kilometres from where we are staying is the city made the capital of England in 871 by Alfred the Great, Winchester. We gave the famous Winchester Cathedral a miss this time as we have been there before, but instead visited the ‘Great Hall’, billed as ‘the finest surviving aisled hall of the 13th century’. It contains as mentioned before, the mythological King Arthurs Round Table, huge marble pillars, a 13th century garden and huge stained windows honouring Knights and Kings of years passed. We walked down the hill from the Great Hall, along which is now the high street, under the medieval gates and the Tudor and Stuart Westgate Museum. We pass the Buttercross, a 15th century monument and many shop fronts preserving the facades of years gone by. We pass the grand looking Guildhall, the statue of Alfred the Great, sword raised, looking over Winchester, the city he made the capital of England and on to the Abbey Gardens, where we sat and had a sandwich by the Abbey Mill Stream. The Abbey is famous for its survival after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII. A nice spot beside the manicured flowerbeds and the stream in the warm autumn sun, to end our morning in medieval England.

Winchester

High Street

Round Table

Great Hall

The 13th century garden

Great Hall

Westgate Winchester

Guildhall

King Alfred the Great

Abbey Gardens

Winchester

Rowlands Castle, United Kingdom

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0100

Saturday 23rd September Rowlands Castle, United Kingdom Blue sky and sunshine belied the crisp and cool day that greeted us when we left the Travelodge this morning. I had forgotten how crisp an autumn morning can be and should take a little less notice of the shorts and t-shirts still abundant with the British male population! When we left the hotel at Heathrow yesterday and headed for the car rental shuttle at Terminal 4, all seemed rather pleasant in the morning sun, but perhaps sitting behind the windscreen of the car kept us a lot warmer than maybe the actual reality. Still, I will take blue skies no matter what the temperature! It was nice to be sitting once more on the M25 stationary, waiting to join the A3 to Portsmouth! Oh, how I miss it!!!! Eventually, we arrived at the hotel an hour later than the early check-in we had paid for. I shouldn’t have worried, the receptionist told us there wasn’t a room clean and available, then went on to give us chapter and verse about those who stayed in the 18 rooms last night and didn’t leave until noon! She then carried on blaming Travelodge for never informing them, the workers about what was going on. After I swapped some stories about Travelodge’s unprofessional conduct we have experienced, she seemed to think we were on the same side and said, if we gave her 10 minutes, she would get us in! Solidarity seemed to be the answer. It was good to be in early (as was the plan). After unpacking and showering, it was time to get a train to the Isle of Wight, to visit Debbie’s son and family. Sitting on the Seacat crossing the Solent, it was hard to imagine it was only Friday and we had already travelled half the globe between weekends! Sunday 24th September Rowlands Castle A cool start to yesterday, but the day improved enough to sit in the garden of my Daughter and Son-in-Law and enjoy the sunshine. It was good to get out for a walk with Jez, the dog and the family. Two daughters, Son in Law and two Grandchildren. It's always nice after all the travelling, to get quality time with those you love. Lucy (one of my daughters) made a nice chilli, which we ate with a few beers whilst watching England play Chile in the Rugby World Cup, how ironic! A nice day and what coming back to England for a visit is all about! September 25th Rowlands Castle We had a bit of a nostalgic look at Havant yesterday. We walked down to Langstone, almost a pilgrimage when we are here and still in my opinion, one of the most iconic photoshoot opportunities anywhere. The Royal Oak Pub, the Langstone Mill and High Street, providing the subject to make any photograph look interesting. The walk that takes you past Warblington Church, something we didn’t do this time, provides history and countryside in abundance. We have been lucky enough to walk in many parts of the world, but this (in my opinion) is right up there. When I was a teenager and used to walk the family dog here. It was somewhere I yearned to leave, to join a ship and see the world. Ironically after seeing it, it’s the place I want to return. I couldn’t return to England without making the effort. It was also ‘eyeopening’ for me to walk East Street in Havant Town centre and wonder why it was left to deteriorate as it has, for so long. Amongst the Georgian and Victorian facades are some wonderful architecture, something I am the first to admit I didn’t appreciate as a teenager, nor a firefighter based in Havant for a number of years. Now I look at the street, remembering some of the old businesses and only see deterioration and new construction here and there, arguably not at all in keeping with its history. Nostalgia, mixed with a little sadness I guess. September 26th Rowlands Castle Storm Agnes is apparently coming tomorrow! When did this happen? Obviously no longer happy be in typically British weather, we now have names! Maybe it’s a climate change thing, maybe these storms are so damaging these days, we have to give them names like Hurricanes or Cyclones. Poor Michael Fish would be horrified! Anyway, whilst awaiting ‘Agnes’ we took a trip to Bosham yesterday and had a beautiful morning out. Famous I believe, for being the place where King Canute tried to order back the tide, the ill fated King Harold left for Normandy back in the 11th century and now, more the homes of the modern day rich and famous, such as Kate Winslet, Ronnie Wood and Piers Morgan (or nearby anyway). I can see you would certainly need some money to buy a house here and there are plenty of them. I would imagine, even for what look like old coast guard cottages, there would have to be 6 naughts on any offer. The church ‘Holy Trinity’, is Saxon with some Norman modifications, but of coarse bits have been added or replaced over the years. King Canute’s daughter is said to be buried here and there is a copy of the ‘Bayeux Tapestry’ depicting the then Earl of Wessex and latter King Harold arriving at Bosham Church, before his ill-fated trip to Normandy in 1064! It’s truly a beautiful spot on the south coast and provides enough history to keep anyone happy for half a day or so!. Wednesday 27th September, Rowlands Castle There are many reasons for returning to England, the most obvious being family and friends, the other, is to do things we took for granted when we lived here. Yesterday we jumped in the car and went down and parked opposite the Hovercraft Terminal at Southsea and walked towards Old Portsmouth. I have been there many times, to the pubs, the Isle of Wight Ferry and of coarse on a fire engine during the years I was a firefighter in Portsmouth (although I was never stationed at Southsea, whose patch includes this area). I have lived in the vicinity for some 35 years, but I have never taken the walk along (obviously) the new sea defence wall, Battery Row, the Royal Garrison Church, the Square Tower, the Round Tower, the Capstan Square, the Black Horse Tavern (circa 1657), the Boom Tower and on to Spice Island. I have walked, but never stopped and read the plaques and statues remembering the Falklands War, Horatio Nelson, the first migrants to America and of coarse those that left for Australia, all situated beneath the walls in Broad Street. Any Australian should surely make a pilgrimage here, because it was surly here that, the first Australians (though at the time called New South Wales) left for a voyage of many months and settled in what is now their home. The walls are still here, the view through the tunnels and gates are as they were. Close your eyes and you could become your ancestor, your forefather! History written big and obviously for both Britons and the World! HM Sloop ‘Investigator’, under the command of Mathew Flinders (there are many roads and places that carry his name in Australia and a best seller ‘Mathew Flinders Cat’ written by Bryce Courtney has an obvious link) set sail from here on 18th July 1801, to circumnavigate the unknown continent of ‘Terra Australis’. After he returned to Portsmouth some six years and six months and after a circumnavigation, the continent was named Australia. Portsmouth is indeed and old city and was given its Royal Charter back in 1194 by King Richard I. The city’s Coat of Arms depicts the Star and Crecent Moon, shown on King Richards first Great Seal. The motto of Portsmouth has always been, ‘Heavens Light our Guide’ and can be seen alongside any of the Coats of Arms carried on many Portsmouth City buildings and indeed were on the old Portsmouth fire appliances back in the day. To make the day even more nostalgic for me (people I know would laugh at this), I drove along London Road North End and could recall driving a Fire Appliance, the last time maybe 35 years ago, past some new, but predominately the same buildings. You really do have to be away, at least that long to ‘get it’!

The Royal Oak

The Mill, Langstone

Langstone

East Street

The Bear Hotel East Street

Homewell and the Robin Hood

Holy Trinity

Bosham

Million pound house’s

Bosham

The Hot Walls

Heavens Light our Guide

Old Pompey

The old and the new

The memorial to the first settlers in America

The memorial to the first settlers in Australia

Haratio Nelson

The Garrison Church

Heathrow, United Kingdom

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0100

Have you ever sat and written the funniest story, saved it, looked for it, and lost it! Your masterpiece, that charismatic fluent writing that is never going to flow from your pen tip again? Well I have just done it and yes, that Bard was me! It’s Frankfurt, it’s 7.31pm and we are heading towards the runway for take off. The bouncing around makes me wonder if we have flattened every kind of wildlife in Europe on the way. But, hey, we are finally moving. After 21 hours of flying over war torn countries, earthquakes, floods and famine, we have come up against the final frontier, the North Sea! No German has ever successfully crossed it and landed and Lufthansa weren’t about to either! After boarding our Lufthansa flight for London for our 6pm takeoff, we are finally airborne. The reasons given for our late departure are now becoming quite evident, as we bounce around the ‘wild grey yonder’. We have just experienced a 1 hour and 30 minute wait at the air bridge in Frankfurt Airport, due to a banking up of flights over the North Sea, attributed to thunderstorms and general chaos over the UK and all roads leading there. The steward has done his best to entertain us with an early safety briefing, and his words, an early dipping of the lights ‘to get us in the mood’ and a Lufthansa chocolate! The Captain made an appearance and told us, it was nothing to do him and the queue to the toilet was without an end. , Fortunately we are now on our way, only the normal queues in the Heathrow airspace can now thwart us. As we see the Kent/Essex coastline (what storms), that feeling of sighting a Blighty once again makes up for all of the hassle: But wait, the captain has reported a further delay as we wait in a holding pattern for landing, this due to to the storms that went through earlier! It’s a good job we believe what we are told!

Obviously a Jedi at Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt, Germany

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0200

Thursday 21st September Frankfurt, Germany Is it my age, or are plane journeys getting longer and more tiring? Of coarse it’s my age, the planes are faster and they also try to convince us that they are more comfortable. Anyway, this particular journey from Singapore, seemed to make the 13 hours and 40 minutes last forever. Maybe its the flight map that concentrates our mind continually, speed, altitude, direction and more importantly ‘hours and minutes remaining’, are constantly updated. The latter statistic certainly doesn’t move very fast when being watched, so perhaps a nap, a visit to the bathroom or an in-depth look at every ‘Karen’ post on Facebook, will make it move along a tad! Even a movie (which I can’t get interested in) has the information you are trying to forget, running along the top or bottom of the screen! There is no avoiding, the constant reminder of how far we still have to travel. Eventually, we arrive to a warm Germany and a modern airport. The German ‘efficiency’ characteristic usually attributed to Germans, was certainly missing from this airport. A distinct absence of signs, made things a lot harder than they need. Thankfully our bags were going on to London and our only to tasks were to change some money and find a taxi, how hard can it be? The only signs we did find,’this money exchange is closed’. With Australian cash burning a hole in my pocket, an ATM was our last option. When out of the blue appeared a Travelex, open and ready to take fair hunk of our cash. ‘No commission’ was the sign, but who needs commission when the profits are made in the exchange rate offered. My tip, if you have to change cash this way, never look at what the actual rate should be, you will need life support! Anyway with cash to spend, there is no other option! The taxi also took a pretty good wad of Euro’s as we sped along the Autobahn towards the city in an electric Mercedes, on a closer look all of the taxi’s were such. Forty Euro’s later we were at the hotel and for the first time since Monday morning laying on a bed, but not before trying the local beer! Frankfurt turned out to be a place worth a visit, after rather a little too much doubt on my behalf. We were staying not far from the River Main, which flows through the city. On it's northern banks was the Old City and many splendid buildings. Almost a green band of parks, surround the city, a very walkable and relaxing stroll. We took this route and found some amazing architecture and sights, by occasionally deviating towards the city centre.

The Main

The Opera House

Singapore, Singapore

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0800

6am Singapore Airport. I knew the gin had done its job, when the stewardess had to wake me for breakfast, 2 hours out of Changi Airport. Maybe a midnight flight and half a bottle of gin could be the new way to beat jet lag. I think to be completely confident however, it will need regularly topping up! I’ll let you know. We finally found the lounge after transiting Terminal 1, picking up our boarding passes for Frankfurt from Terminal 3 and a good few steps to keep my Apple Watch content with my exercise input. And it’s still only 6am, another nearly 5 hours before takeoff. I’m actually sitting and writing this with a cup of coffee, although the part of the lounge where the Gordon’s Gin sits with its other free flow friends is unfortunately in my eye-line. Perhaps a tipple nearer to boarding would be the wiser move!

No explanation needed!

Changi Airport