Category Archives: Travel Blog

Travel stories – with Eric and Trish

Scandinavia, Santorini and Ireland 2023

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November 2021 was our 30th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we’d booked our first cruise with Viking, exploring Scandinavia.

Then we got the blasted pandemic.

September 2023 I turned 60, more reason to celebrate. So, as the planets aligned, we took that cruise. We boarded at Bergen, Norway cruised to Eidfjord, Stavanger, and Oslo. Aalborg and Copenhagen, Denmark. Berlin, Germany. Bornholm, Denmark. Gdansk, Poland and finally Sweden, where we disembarked in Stockholm.

We loved all these places. Bergen was fantastic. Copenhagen stunning. We learned a lot about Norway and the oil industry at Stavanger. Oslo is also a beautiful city.

And icing on the cake was catching up with friends in Aalborg, who collected us from port and took us to their home for friendship and lunch, and to visit a local farmer (heaven for my husband). Lissi and Henning are so lovely. We met them in 1997 at an international farming conference, Eric met them again in the 2000s in the Netherlands, Henning came to Perth for another IFMA conference, and contact continued via Facebook 😁

I began this post from Gdansk, Poland. I’m a writer who spent six weeks overseas in 2023 (Ireland, Scandinavia and Santorini) and didn’t write. Months passed in 2023 without that rhythm. I anticipated that holidaying would reignite the joy; downtime, freed from the real world, with happy things to write about. But it didn’t make a difference, which is why I’m writing about mid-2023 travel in December.

I’ve enjoyed doing #nycmidnight and #WritingBattle challenges in 2023 and had a 48 hour challenge that began (Friday 9th June) while in Gdansk. I’d hoped that doing some blog travel posts would get the writing juices flowing in preparation, but still I didn’t post. 

We began our six weeks away in Cork, Ireland. When we visit the northern hemisphere we always try to fit Ireland into the itinerary. This time for me, it wasn’t about catching up with people. It was being, breathing, and feeling Ireland that I needed. We settled on a beautiful location in Cork, far enough away that only the very willing would visit with us. And luckily and thankfully my Byrne cousin Kevin with his wife Fiona and my Shelley cousin Pamela and her mum (Aunty) Teresa came down. We spent 9 days at Roches Point, flew to Copenhagen for a couple of days before flying to Bergen to join the cruise.

Eric and I expected that we wouldn’t enjoy cruising and we didn’t really. As a cruise line, Viking was excellent. The staff were fantastic, food was great, scheduling was great. There were no kids, or gambling. 

We were uncomfortable with the degree of attention. I know, you moan when you don’t get service, but we’re complaining about too much. We don’t need someone to come to our room twice a day. We also don’t like scheduling. We’re too used to doing things at our own pace and in our own sweet time. We don’t plan to cruise again.

BUT I would like to cruise the Mekong. Might have to get over myself, hey! 😊

After cruising we spent 10 days in Santorini. We love that island. We first visited in 2013 on a Trafalgar Greek Island tour. We booked a studio apartment overlooking the Caldera, took buses all over, hired a car for one day for a bit more freedom to explore wider, had a beautiful sunset dinner at a winery and spent peaceful hours on our balcony, marvelling at the traffic winding up and down from the ferry (narrow winding roads and coach buses, make for entertaining viewing) while we chatted and read. 

I understand how lucky we are to be able to travel. Could we have paid more attention to saving for our retirement, sure. But we could be dead tomorrow. 

The world is not in a good place, and my joints are terrible. We don’t have an overseas trip planned for 2024. 

But since November 2022 we’ve visited Singapore, Scandinavia, Santorini, Ireland. I’ve been to Melbourne several times, Perth a couple, Tasmania also, so we don’t sit still. 

Once we’ve done the hard work to afford it. 

Norfolk Island 2023

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Norfolk Island is an idyllic place to visit. 

Norfolk has been on my radar as a possible writer’s retreat for years. Because Colleen McCullough lived there and if it was good enough for Coll … 😁

Colleen passed away in 2015 after forty odd years of living in and contributing to the Norfolk community. It seemed to me that she was an intellectual, perhaps at time impatient, who could also be very generous. She had a deeply creative streak, was prepared to put in the work and was loved by millions.

Colleen’s home is open to the public once a week (her husband still resides there, so measured out doses makes sense). I visited as I had some curiosity about how the great one lived. My three favourite things would be the two portraits of Colleen and her courtyard garden.

Did I write while on Norfolk? Yes, I did. About 12,500 words (over nine days). It helped that I had a couple of deadlines. A manuscript I’m working on via a Write Your Novel in six months course, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month) and a 2,000 word short story due for a Writing Battle.

We stayed at Sunset Villas which is gorgeous and well appointed. On the more luxurious cost end of accommodation. It was a beautiful, restful spot with glorious sunset views and our own pool. We booked through Stayz (VRBO).

I think I’ll come back to Norfolk, maybe next November, but will look around at other accommodation too. I don’t need to be spoiled to write but now that I have been 🤣 can I do without the luxury next time? To be discovered.

What we did

Apart from relaxing – reading, writing and for my husband, swimming – we saw some sights.

The cost of our accommodation included a small hire car so we were able to zip around at our leisure. It also included a complimentary orientation tour with Baunti Tours.

The orientation tour was a great setup for a sense of the island and took about three hours.

With Baunti we also did a fish fry, visited Colleen’s home and did the Lantern Lit Ghost Tour (with Rachel. Yikes!). Baunti had so much more on offer but we didn’t need to fill our time with doing things.

We also did a high tea luncheon at Forrester Court (clifftop) and a Tea Shire Drive through the one hundred acre reserve.

Our favourite coffee shop was The Orb for food and service and atmosphere.

On our own, we visited Kingston, the old penal settlement and right next to Emily Beach. We miss being near the sea in Albury, so we walked or brought our books down to spend time there.

We also drove up to Mt Pitt and Captain Cook’s lookout (separate days) for stunning views. Mt Pitt at sunset is recommended.

Also, Fitzy’s baked potatoes, waffles and gelato are delicious on the Lavender Farm premises, right in town.

Make sure you bring a good jumper (even a beanie) for the evening – although temperature wise that stays pretty even day and night. And although the UV index can run high, temperatures rarely exceed about 23 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Put Norfolk Island on your bucket list ❤️

A little Norfolk Island History

An ‘I was there for five minutes, so now I know stuff’ guide to the history.

  • Captain Cook found Norfolk Island on his second expedition around the world and named it after his benefactor’s wife. She never knew because she’d already died, but Captain Cook didn’t learn that until he got home.
  • Norfolk Island’s penal colonies were established twice.
    • The first was abandoned after about 26 years (burned to the ground on purpose) for a move to Tasmania.
    • Then 11 years later they decided Norfolk was a good idea after all and they returned to establish the meanest penal colony they could. Bastards!
  • Whaling was a thing for a while.
  • Norfolk Pine trees made a lot of export money for the island for a long time. Not any more.
  • Approximately one third of the population of Norfolk are descended from Fletcher Christian’s mutineers. That’s Fletch of the Mutiny on the Bounty fame.
    • He landed in Tahiti with his fellow mutineers but after a while they decided to move on (they were on the run). They took his men and their families, and some Tahitian natives to Pitcairn Island where they were predominantly nasty to each other, killing each other, due to their not being easy availability to food and supplies.
    • One of the mutineers taught his children to read with the only book around (you guessed it) the Bible and remarkably this taught those children how to be human and they helped retrain their fellow Pitcairn Islanders how to behave.
    • Things were pretty grim, so they appealed to the fatherland (England) to save them, which they did. They relocated them to Norfolk Island in 1856.
    • Those Pitcairn families (the children of the mutineers) were established in the homes left behind at the now defunct penal settlement – until about 1918 wen the government moved them out to elsewhere on the island because they wanted to preserve the history of the site.
    • Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia (but when you travel there from Australia, it counts as international travel!).
  • Other interesting facts:
    • The main town area (Grid town) has a 40km/hr limit and all entries have cattle grids because cattle run free and they need to stop them entering the town CBD.
    • Outside of the town (other side of the cattle grids) the speed limit is 50km/hr due to narrow, winding, potholed roads with cattle roaming around.
    • Cows can graze all over the island at a cost to their owners of $145 per head per annum.
    • There is a Norfolk Island language.
    • They don’t lock cars (they claim, no crime).
    • And you can’t use international roaming. You need to purchase a local SIM card, except when you’re at your accommodation, if they have decent WIFI.

Ode to the Irish Bus Driver

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Note: I posted this on my travel blog in October 2019 – and thought my Random Thoughts followers might enjoy it. Don’t laugh too hard at the poetry 🙂

In Australia, roads are big! They’re long and wide. In some places, they’re extra wide where they used to be mining towns and needed the room for vehicles (horse and cart) to pass each other and for turning.

Even if you get off the highway and on to a secondary road, you really have nothing to complain about – size wise anyway. Condition and maintenance of is a different story.

In the 1970s when a child, we lived in Port Hedland, Western Australia for a few years. Often at Christmas, we’d all jump in the car (6 of us) and travel down to Perth. The road was gravel (not yet bituminised) and basically one long, straight, 1632km (1014mi) stretch. With wide open vistas. No fences or walls. Occasionally trees.

An unusual memory I have is of driving along this endless highway, in the summer sun, and coming across tiny patches of rain. Just above you for a very short spell. And then back into the sunshine.

Some years, for a change I guess, we’d go more inland via Tom Price or Marble Bar. I guess it broke up that straight line. Marble Bar has the reputation of being one of the hottest towns in Australia (I just read something that said ‘during summer, it’s quite normal for it to be the hottest town on earth). That’s extreme! 😀 We’d visit a pool there, among gorges, with Jasper banks. (Note: I’ve also read that it was first thought to be marble, and so the town was called Marble Bar, but it has since been proved to be jasper; a highly coloured cryptocrystalline variety of quartz).

Roads in Ireland, however, are narrow and winding and often slippery, with blind bends. Hindered by hedges, stone walls and ditches; by livestock and walkers and bicyclists and farm machinery, buses or trucks.

Sure, there are highways now in Ireland, just like in Australia. But for the sake of the drama, I’m not talking about them! 🙂

‘Have Leapcard, can travel!’ has been my mantra while in Ireland. In London, you have the Oyster card, Melbourne the Myki or in Perth the SmartRider (or in The Fifth Element New York, you have the Mooltipass!). This pass has me riding the buses like a local, everywhere I go. And then there are the tour companies, like Galway Touring Co, which I used this week to visit the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin.

I have to salute the Irish Bus Driver. Before they have to even deal with the weather, or roadworks, they have to deal with the roads – and that can be a nightmare. This comes from a confident Australian driver who still closes my eyes if a road train is coming toward me! (Note: A road train is truck rig (prime mover) with two or more trailers attached). (Double note: It’s more a narrowing of eyes. Please don’t tell the police that I close my eyes!).

Now, I’m no poet, but below is my heartfelt tribute to the Irish Bus Driver.

Whether driving Bus Eireann through cramped city streets

or out in the country, with tractors and sheep

or high in the cockpit of a deluxe touring coach

the Irish Bus Driver is better than  most

Behind the wheel of behometh beast

a wily character upon his seat

his wits about him every day

exuding humour, come what may

The roads are narrow, winding, steep

obstacles lurk and idiots beep

the Irish Bus Driver breathes slowly, deeply

and protects his passengers, anger not creeping

He has the patience of a saint

keeps temper even, when things ain’t

conditions worsen, eyes are burning

good music plays, DJ grooving

With nerves of steel, he makes no fuss

he charms the women on the bus

reaches a hand to help the weary

has knowledge to share and is rarely dreary

His driving day is very long

from Dublin to Galway, detour by Cong

he says to his clients “meet back here by 3”

the next stop serves the sweetest tea

Of course, there’s always one who’s late

the driver must smile, and never berate

he gets points for highest of driving skills

and also, for zero ‘recorded’ kills

At the end of the day, on roads not for bussing

he gets us home safely, tired but smiling

“Thank you!” we call to our Irish Bus Driver

who continues alone. Back same time tomorrow.

As I said, not a poet! But hope you enjoyed that tribute

I’ve had only a couple of complaints about the buses in Ireland in six weeks. Both times, the bus was late or didn’t turn up. And of course it was raining.

But on the whole, the service is excellent, they are mainly on time. And the Irish Bus Driver has only always been friendly and engaging.

Trish, Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Irish countryside

Waiting on the Waiters

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It has happened again! I’m out for a meal on my own and the wait staff check with everyone else in the restaurant. Are you okay? Do you need anything else? And they don’t visit me!

Why is that, I keep wondering? Is it my resting bitch face? Am I giving out a vibe? I don’t mean to.

Perhaps it is because I’m reading a book. Head down, clearly engrossed, not looking around. Maybe that’s the message they’re reading. She’s obviously happy enough. She’s engaged in her own pleasure. And if she wanted something, we’d soon know.

I am reading, but I’m also observing.

The older couple near me. How he keeps offering menu choices to his wife, but she isn’t interested in any of them. She wants fish, but not the cod. Too fishy!

The younger South African couple who make many comments ‘under their breath’ about:

a) the size of their meal (too big)

b) the tea strainer not working (leaves in their tea).

Asking the waitress:

a) for a better strainer

b) for another serviette; and

c) to take away their food.

The man who has brought his grandson into the pub, sits at the bar and orders sandwiches and water. School must be out early.

A fellow on his own, drinking beers and watching sports TV.

And the ladies nearby who could be a bookclub. They’re winding up, but talking books as they depart. Makes me think to mention to the TLC (Treasured Ladies Club) about making one Saturday a month a book meeting.

While I pause reading to write these observations on my phone, the waitress has asked a new patron how she can help, but still not looked over to me 😀

Recently, I brunched with two friends, one of whom was annoyed at how often the staff bothered us, while we were conversing! The restaurant wasn’t busy, so perhaps the staff just had time on their hands. But they can’t win, can they? 😀

Oh, here we go. A very lovely Irish lad has offered to wrap up my leftovers, no bother. “Thank you,” say I. “And I’ll have a cappuccino to take away, please.”

P.S. When clearing plates for the older couple I mentioned above, their waitress threw out the standard “Hope you enjoyed the food?” Cod lady wasn’t happy. Her plate was almost completely empty, but something was just not nice.

The waitress (and her husband) were embarrassed. I was not surprised!

BEST PLACES TO EAT IN GALWAY – FOOD + SERVICE

  • Marmalade Bakery (Best Coffee). Also make and sell their own bread, sweet and savoury cakes and scones.
  • Cupan Tae (Great Tea). Huge and interesting range of teas. Also serve brunch and afternoon tea.  I love their courgette cake and coffee and walnut cake.
  • Black Cat, Salthill (Tapas). Good food and atmosphere, great service.
  • Dough Bros (Pizza). Delicious thin crust pizzas with unusual toppings, excellent service and good atmosphere. Won many awards.
  • Gourmet Tart Co (Lunch salads/wraps). Also do delicious biscuits and quick meals.
  • Petit Delice (Patisserie). French cakes and pastries. Also really nice baguette/sandwich bar.
  • Gourmet Food Co, Salthill (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner). Very popular. All meals large and excellent. Make a great cocktail special too!

  • An Pucan (Gastro Pub). All round casually excellent. Very busy. Very attentive staff. Excellent food. Loved their Jameson Black Barrel BBQ Sauce with Cashel Blue Cheese Dip.OTE: If you enjoy my Random Thoughts, you may also enjoy my travel stories – Trish’s Place for Travel.

GALWAY GAL 2019

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There’s this thing in Australia called Long Service Leave. Typically at about 10 years, your employer lets you take 3 months paid leave.

Technically, I don’t get long service leave, because although I’ve been working with my husband for 20+ years, I haven’t been paid for that entire time, so I’m not an employee of 10 years standing.

But since my gorgeous husband (team Eric and Trish) work hard we’ve been able a couple of times now, to take extended leave. The last time was 2013 when we were based in Spain for 3 months, and added the Greek Islands and Morocco with a side trip to the UK and Ireland.

So, 2019. After one week in Dublin to catch up with some cousins and aunties, I moved into Galway. As I write I’m 2 weeks today into Galway. I spent a lot of that two weeks worrying about justifying the cost involved and should I be achieving something during this break. Specifically, something that is measurable, visible and productive.

The answer is NO! According to me and my husband, that is. Others may have a different opinion.

Because I’m a tourist in Galway, there’s the risk that I’ll only get to do and be a tourist. Tourist tours, into a site via the entrance and out via the gift shop 🙂 Only engaging with the people of Galway as a customer. Another woman who has bought a Claddagh ring this year (I have bought one). 

So I was thinking, how can I find a community group where I could do some sort of volunteering, or at the very least engage in conversation with people about more than the weather, the colour or flavour choices in the shops, or what I want to eat for dinner.

I visited the library and looked for a community notice board. And unbelievably, I found a flyer for the Treasured Ladies Club. This is just an opportunity for women to meet over coffee with the potential to meet up with company for various days out during the year. And they have been so welcoming in the two visits I’ve had with them.

These lovely ladies are generally older than me, and mainly retired. Not all though. A lot of them have travelled. One of the ladies still working is a Project Manager who has been everywhere! Some of them have visited Australia, some of them have grown children living in Australia. Some of them have even been to Perth (my home town) which I found unusual because most people say they’ve been to Melbourne and Sydney, but not Perth.

Just in this last 2 weeks, someone is in Greece, someone is in France and somebody is going to France next week. So this is is a group of people with something to bring to the table, to add to the conversation, with open minds.

How lovely!

As a lady of middle-age, born in Dublin but having spent all of her adult life in Australia, this is an opportunity to just ‘be’ in Ireland. I want to listen to the Irish speak, watch their news, deal with their weather, explore their surrounds and engage with as many as I can.

I remain a shy introvert. But therein lies the challenge for me. Reaching out.

Talk soon.

Trish in Ireland
Spanish Parade, Galway 2019
Looking down Quay Street, Galway
View from Kylemore Abbey, Co Clare, Ireland 2019
#galwaystreetclub #thisisgalway.ie #galwaybuskers
Galway Street Club – image is not my own. Taken from thisisgalway.ie event page
Saorise Na Mara

Then the world …. beginning with Christmas in New York and Boston 2015!

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Hi everyone!

It has already been over 15 months since we did THE BIG TRIP to Spain, Greece and Morocco! And that time has passed so quickly!

Life has dragged on – the usual things – although I haven’t been in work since we returned. So I’ve been doing a lot of volunteering – mostly taking ‘Oldies’ to their appointments, but also at the museum and some events around town. I still work with Eric at review time (December to end of March) but that doesn’t keep me too busy.

This year I’ve been concentrating on weight loss and fitness – I know, the modern obsession! But it’s important for my mental and physical health to be in the best shape I can be and I’ve let that go over the years. Eric and I intend to do plenty more travelling and have lots of adventures yet – and to keep up with him 😀 I need to be amazing!!!! So I go to Curves (a women’s fitness centre) 4-5 times a week and I’ve been meal replacing – was doing great before Christmas (lost 9kg) but sugar became my friend again after Christmas and I’m just now (this very day) getting back on track. So bring on the next 10kg loss!!

We did a couple of small trips last year – 10 days in Auckland in May and we visited Mum and Dad in Tassie in November and checked out the east side of Australia a little. Instead of flying to Mum and Dad we drove over to Melbourne to catch the ferry to Tasmania. For the uninformed, that’s just under 3,000km. The first day we did 1,600km and overnighted at Ceduna, South Australia. Then we drove to Adelaide, via Port Augusta and overnighted in Adelaide, visiting a few small towns along the way. We then had a couple of nights in Melbourne before jumping on the ferry (12 hour trip) to Devonport, where we then drove to Mum and Dad – probably about an hour?! We only spent a short week with them and then we ferried back to Melbourne and drove up the coast a little and visited Beechworth, Bright and Albury/Wodonga. On the way home, we went via Bendigo and back to Ceduna and then home. A lot of driving – I’ve said to Eric “next time, the car goes on to the train!”. But I’m not sure if he listened!! 🙂

One of my long held dreams has been Christmas in New York – and this year it will happen. Actually, Christmas Day will be in Boston – but the whole Christmas festivity, lights, shows and FEEL will be happening – arrive in New York approximately 19th December; have a few days there and then train up to Boston on Christmas Eve, so Christmas Day will be in Boston and then back to New York about the 30th Dec to be in New York for New Year! TIMES SQUARE FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE!! Gotta do it! I’m very EXCITED! 😀

Luckily for me, Eric continued to work very hard this year – and we can afford to still travel! GOOD ONE, ERIC! Love you!!!

Eric the Legend faced a great personal challenge this year – by doing the Rotto Swim. This is an Open Water event from Perth to Rottnest Island (19km) and happens annually. His friend Tim (Farmanco partner) asked him to do a duo swim. So Eric started training in the pool back in about July last year (2014) and started swimming with the sharks in Esperance Bay (jokes!! – I was the ‘shark spotter’) in about November in preparation for this swim.

They completed the swim in about 8 hours and 43 minutes (something like that!). No records set, but the challenge for them was doing the swim – not being first!! And considering that there are were elite athletes participating, they were never going to be the winners. BUT Eric has such enthusiasm and can-do attitude that I only stand there gobsmacked when he takes on these things. Eric is the ‘Kiwi Butt’ in the crowd photo!!

So, we have quite a lot of travelling planned for the next 10 years! Before we become too decrepit!! 🙂 I’ll write more when we have done some planning for New York/Boston and of course, while we’re there! Cannot wait!

BYE xxx  (Photos below are: 1. Eric almost ready to go 2. “Here I Am” and 3 ‘Ready, set ….’ Eric is in the Kiwi speedos’

Eric Swimmer No 360Eric Rotto Swim Here I AmEric Rotto Swim

MOROCCO – Casablanca to Fes (via Rabat) November 2013

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I’ve not been good at blogging about Morocco – have I? 🙂 That’s because I’ve been pretty crook for several days and it has been hard enough just staying upright long enough every day to get to the next stop!

I’ve been planning for two years to visit Morocco and as soon as we got here I started panicking! It was mostly about the dress code – being highly conventional for women in this Muslim country. I know I’m not exactly a ‘bosom-baring’ sort of gal ( 🙂 ) but still – was a top too fitting or was I exposing too much neck? Also, as we arrived at a hotel that was quite gucci and very French, I felt my normal feelings of inadequacy (particularly in a fashion sense) were hyper-inflated and I felt I just wasn’t going to fit.

That first evening, before we had met our driver or gone outside the door of the hotel, I was saying to Eric that I just didn’t want to go anywhere the next day! Such a baby!!

The next morning we met our driver Idriss (Morocco Tours). He is our driver for the entirety of the organised tour we are on with Experience It! Tours. This group works out of the US and they do ‘private’ tours – as in your group could be 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 20 …. people and only those people, nobody else will be added. So, we are a group of two. When I first inquired about booking I said that I would actually be a little shy about having all the attention of a driver for 10 days and would be happy if another small group wanted to join up with someone else; but they were clear that they didn’t do that. So, it is Eric and I and Driss – and for this last 7 days he has been great!

On that first morning he quickly took us on a quick drive around Casablanca and to the Hassan II Mosque – which was purpose built about 20 years ago under the direction of the King. He wanted a memorial for his father and something that would bring visitors to Casablanca. It can host 105,000 people for prayers at a time (80,000 outside and 25,000 inside); the walls are handcrafted marble and the roof retracts; the minaret (the needle point part of the building, like a cathedral’s spire) at 689 ft (210 m) is the world’s tallest. It is pretty spiffy all right!

Casablanca is not very attractive really – the buildings are very poorly maintained generally. I think it has to do with the fact that the city’s modern history only starts from the late 1950s, early 60s and the country has been busy establishing itself again with its own constitutional monarchy and without the French (thanks!). All of the Moroccan cities are divided into some combination of an old town and new town – the old town always being surrounded by a wall, often kilometres long.

Our room at Le Doge hotel was extremely nice – as my Facebook friends would have gathered!! It was the Coco Chanel room and was in black and white with photos of Coco all over the room. Drinks at the hotel were expensive – 2 drinks at 300 dirham compared to lunch in a local restaurant for three people being only 100dh (equivalent to AUD 12).

We had a walk on the promenade (Casablanca is on the Atlantic and the Mosque is built on a promontory) and a coffee then were on our way to Fes, via Rabat!

Rabat is the capital of Morocco, is approximately 1.5 hours from Casablanca, has a population of 3 million and is where King Mohammed VI has his official residence (he has palaces in each city – Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Marrakech). We stopped at the official residence (had to show our passports) but only to take a photo of the palace entrance! WHAT? It was pouring and Driss had to park quite far away and sent us off in the rain. We got like 10 steps and went ‘this is crazy; just to take a photo of an entrance!” and went back to the car. Something we have taken pains to explain to Driss and various guides this week is that we don’t have an interest in taking photos of things that mean nothing to us – that is if we learn about it (history or a story) and have some ‘feeling’ involved then we are keen to photograph towards memory keeping. But, drive up to the palace to take a photo and then drive on? Fuhgeddaboudit!

We visited the Kasbah of Udayas in Sale (Rabat). A Kasbah is something like an enclosed small town or fortress. This Kasbah is lived in today and the colours are very similar to the Greek Islands. We were guided by a local young fellow (who volunteered himself 😛 ). It was quite interesting. A little scary because this was the first opportunity we’d had to be waylaid by someone who could help us, without actually working out a deal with us, just taking us on and it gradually turning into ‘I’m your guide’ and us deciding how to tip him! Photos below: 1. Typical street in the Kasbah 2. Gardens 3. Panoramic photo of the outside of the Kasbah

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We also visited Roman ruins (Chella, Rabat-Sale) are from approximately 40 A.D. and one of the earliest identifiable settlements of man in Morocco (some evidence that a colony of Phoenician and Carthaginian explorers was on the site as early as the 3rd century B.C.. This was an interesting small site (unguided). We then visited the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, containing the tombs of this king and his two sons King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah. It is a very good looking area – but we were dropped off and had a look (unguided) – which makes a difference because you admire, but don’t learn much!!

(Photos below: Rabat/Sale – 1-3 At Mausoleum 4. Outside one of the 7 gates at the King’s residence in Rabat 5. Panoramic view of Rabat/Sale from a nearby fort)

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After some lunch we drove for the two hour drive to Fes.

We stayed in a Riad in the Medina in Fes (a medina is the old part of town and this one dates from the 9th century. Our Riad is at the very edge of the Medina, where cars can still drive into. After just a short way the streets are too narrow and only passable by foot or donkey. Driss parked the car out on the street – then we had to walk through a rabbit warren of streets (keep left going in) to reach our accommodation.

A Riad is original accommodation (most likely a home) that has been redeveloped for tourism – in this case an old home. It is in the Moorish (Arabic) style with ‘inside balconies’ – that is they look out over an internal courtyard, rather than out on to the street.

Our room was gorgeous – our bathroom was well appointed, but old!! I went from ‘what an incredible building and what a beautiful room’ to ‘I’m going to die’ quite quickly, because we soon realized that due to the inward facing rooms there are no external windows. I can’t sleep without the window open!! Add to that, our room was on the ground floor and close to where people passed a lot and opposite the dining area (courtyard) and the staff kept closing our big doors, to protect our privacy! Therefore when it came time to sleep I was stressed out, because I’m mildly claustrophobic and a) didn’t have a window for fresh air b) felt ‘locked’ into a room and c) didn’t see the escape route! I was amazed that I did sleep in the end, but I didn’t awake refreshed! Too bad; but not a third world problem? 🙂

Our full  day in Fes was spent mostly with our guide Abdul in the Medina. About 300,000 people live there and it is very old with winding streets, fresh food markets, craftsmen (and artisans) working with metal, wood, dyeing, tannery and carpet making. We visited an old school still in its original condition, including an area for learning that doubled as the prayer area (including the niche pointing to Mecca – called the Mihrab – and is from where the teacher and Imam lead prayers. Also there was a courtyard with a fountain where the children would clean themselves before praying.

Also in the Medina we visited the oldest (believed) university in the world – and founded by a woman; we visited a museum in a building that used to accommodate travellers in caravanserai – the only one that accommodated people only, as the animals were stabled in a nearby building (as opposed to others bringing the animals inside!).

There is a woman’s co-op in the Fes Medina overseen by the government that sells handmade rugs and carpets (Berber) – made in their homes. It is housed in an original Medina home renovated to its original style, which is good because everything you see on the outside looks like crap!! I had been wondering what the insides of homes might look like – and this gave a good idea, although it had been restored to its original condition and not many homes were going to look that good!

We were given the sales spiel – didn’t feel like a hard sell until the end. They gave us mint tea while they showed us lots of beautiful rugs. We ended up buying one – small enough to carry home. These ‘original’ rugs get better with age (apparently) so hopefully it is going to age gracefully with us and become a beautiful part of the furniture!!

Many of you will have seen photos of the dye pots of the tannery in Fes – the outdoor shots of large ceramic pots with either a creamy lime-wash-type substance or colours (dye). It’s pretty smelly! As you enter they hand you a bunch of mint to put under your nose, in case it is too strong for you. It wasn’t too bad that day and is apparently a lot worse in summer (which I can imagine!). After explaining the tanning process you have the opportunity to purchase leather goods – mainly bags and jackets. Because we’d unexpectedly blown our budget by buying our ‘one of a kind’ rug, I couldn’t buy the backpack I’d been planning on – maybe in another town, when the card is recharged! (Photos below: 1. Original school 2. Tannery 3. View of the inner courtyard of Riad Myra (Fes))

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Food-wise; dinner last night was vegetable soup (delicious) tagine chicken and lemon and a honey and almond iced dessert. Breakfast consists of a variety of carb choices (:)) flatbread, pancakes, cakes, porridge, yoghurt and fresh squeezed juice and coffee. Lots to choose from (at our table; not buffet).

For lunch on this day we ate in a ‘typical’ Moroccan restaurant and had a selection of Moroccan salads – cooked carrots, potatoes, cauliflower and peppers and tomatoes with lots of olives, yellow beans, green beans, zucchini (first course) shish kebabs (beef and chicken) seasonal fruits (pomegranate, oranges and some grapes finished with mint tea and a biscuit – WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! This was only the beginning and something we’ve struggled with. Quantity at every meal and richness (AKA oily) of the food – not the spices, that’s okay.

These first few days were pretty great and smelly (:)) and I was SO tired. It was a full start and when we were supposed to eat out at a local restaurant in the evening we declined. I’m a bit like that though; at the end of a busy day, once I’m in I am just not interested in going back out!

Tomorrow we are out to visit Volubilis (Roman ruins from 3 A.D.) and Meknes and the following morning we leave Fes for a couple of days based out of the desert town of Erfoud (over the middle Atlas mountains) and down to the Sahara!

Farewell Alora, Spain

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Alora Perota Soup Day

A cosmic coincidence today – our last day in Alora!

In the bus from the train station up to town, we got chatting with some visitors (Irish and English) who had jumped on the train out of Malaga for a day trip. Unfortunately, as some road work is being done in ‘Alora Centro’ the bus only came partway, so we offered to accompany them up town.

For an hour or so we played tourist guide – handing out snippets of local info learned from Paco! One of the ladies had been looking for some sewing bobbins – her machine has stopped auto-winding (something like that) – and she has been on the lookout for full bobbins and we know where the sewing shop is! Mundane, but helpful to her 🙂

They were looking for lunch, so we took them to our favourite bar/cafe and had a coffee with them and a little chat – pointed them in the direction of the famous stairs (posted in an earlier post with a link to youtube video) and said that if Veracruz Church was open when they went by that it was worth a look in!

We didn’t stay with them for lunch, because we’d already planned to have our last lunch in Alora at Casa de Correos (old Post Office) – nachos, curried chicken and rice, prawns in creme fraiche and Greek salad (all entree sizes) for a mini banquet, so we left them there! Not before one of the Newcastle ladies shared her Morocco horror story (from her 2012 holiday) – thanks for the scare lady! As we were leaving I said to her “I’m a born worrier; so, I’m going to try to ignore everything you’ve just told us!” We all had a laugh!

They travelled independently and disliked the things that most people on travel reviews seem to complain about – mainly the hard sell culture (snakes in their faces!!). Also, one of them got very sick for two weeks. They said “we were staying at hotels, so we shouldn’t have had to worry about the food.” Maybe they didn’t take enough care with hygiene? Nowhere else on our travels have we worried about antibacterial hand wash or wipes, but based on our reading we decided to get some for Morocco. It is our responsibility, so with some care and luck we’ll get through our 14 weeks travel without catching anything 🙂

We had a good Samaritan moment today. Not sure if it’s clumsy to share, or not! In Los Fuentes (our coffee shop) the cook is a young Bulgarian lady and Eric has chatted with her a lot over the weeks. She’s here with her husband and child mainly because there’s no work in Bulgaria. There’s no work in Spain either and her husband still doesn’t have a job! She’s not sure what they’re going to do. So, we asked her would she be offended if we gave her some money. It was only something small for us, but hopefully a small windfall for her family.

So, today we played tour guides, collected out printing, dropped some clothes, books and one of our suitcases into the charity shop, had a coffee with strangers, said goodbye to favourite hangouts, had a lovely farewell lunch – bought our favourite lollies from the lovely old husband and wife team near Veracruz Church – we explained by sign language and pidgin Spanish that we were leaving and he shook hands with us both 🙂 – and walked home to Finca Fenix for the last time!

As we walked under the ‘nun’s bridge’ we heard an Irish voice call out – looked up to see one of the day tourists. They were lost and looking for the bus! So, we had a last change to help out!!!

It feels lovely today! We aren’t sad – we are ready to move on now. Alora has been a perfect place to base ourselves for two months in Spain – even though the hills were a struggle; they are very much a part of the charm of the place!

So, on the train to Aeropuerto tomorrow and flying out to Casablanca, Morocco on the 2.30pm flight – woo hoo!!!

Goodbye and thank you Spain and HELLO, North Africa! 😀

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View from Castle Alora

Non-cultural pursuits, pursued

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We haven’t ‘actively’ pursued culture in Spain (I guess) having really wanted to absorb the culture by living in it!

Of course, we have visited some churches and castles, done some guided tours (including with our friend Paco; probably the best!) learned some local history and enjoyed some day trips. In the last two weeks especially we’ve just ‘been’ here in Alora!

This three month break has also been about escape and relaxation – and for me, books and movies MEAN escape and relaxation!

Funny thing is that Eric doesn’t usually read a lot (although more than when we first met) – usually at Christmas – and it has been great to see him enjoying reading and it has amazed me today to realize how many books Eric and I have read in the last couple of months!

Usually I buy Eric books at Christmas time that he reads immediately before he gets busy with review season, but the rest of the year he doesn’t have much time for it, although he occasionally picks one up!

So far, Eric has read eight Jack Reacher novels on the kindle, the new Roddy Doyle, a Jeffery Deaver out of the Alora cupboard and the Atlantis Lost and Leonardo da Vinci we bought in Santorini – 12 books so far!! FANTASTIC!

At the same time, I’ve read nine Jack Reacher novels on the kindle, both the Santorini books, Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’, Daniel Silva’s ‘The Fallen Angel’, two Dean Koontz ‘Frankenstein’ novels, Stephen King’s ‘Doctor Sleep’, two John Sandford’s and 2 W.E.B Griffins, Tampa and The Stalking of Julia Gillard – so I’ve managed 22 books so far and I’m on number 23! YES! Perfect!!

It took us almost two months to get to the movies – we couldn’t work out how to see English speaking films for ages, because we didn’t have any Spanish. When we worked out that we wanted VO, VOS or VOSE films we then realized that movies don’t start in Spain until about 10 or 10.30pm! So, that put us off! Eventually here in Alora we recognized the versions we needed and that on Saturday and Sunday they had afternoon and early evening sessions. So, now we’ve seen THOR, Ender’s Game, Gravity, About Time, Captain Phillips, Prisoners (a waste of life!) and The Butler. Not good enough for holidays and it won’t get better from here because we have a full itinerary for Morocco – so no more films!

However, this drought of movies was relieved by the presence of ‘Big Beast’ – access to Mark and Kim’s movie drive!!!

Astonishingly we didn’t actually watch as many shows on this as we might have – we watched three seasons of Game of Thrones – Eric loved it – but I was bored by the second season :). We watched three Matrix movies and Skyfall. We also did have SKY TV, so we watched lots of news, old Star Trek, British quiz shows, auction shows, Come dine with me – lots of shows we wouldn’t watch at home – and only in the evenings, when we were at home!

Plaza Mayor was the place for us to go and see movies. This takes two trains – Alora to Victoria Kent and then on to Plaza Mayor – about an hour. I think Plaza Mayor has been created for shopping, eating, cinemas and the game arcade. So, it became our Saturday excursion – and if we had time while waiting for the train we’d play Guitar Hero at the arcade – which has given me the desire to have an Arcade Game Guitar Hero at home 🙂

Last Saturday I played four songs at medium level and was highest scoring on three and second on one song. I LOVE IT – makes me think I’m a muso!

So, in this time of repose from real life and experiencing cultural diversity we’ve had plenty of down time and enjoyed less-cerebral pursuits.

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😀

Costa del Sol – Benalmadena and Fuengirola – November 2013

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Trish, Eric and Bele at Blankko

On Tuesday we had the experience of eat at Blankko Restaurant Lounge Bar in Benalmadena, which is along the Costa del Sol, near to Torremolinos (which whenever I say, see or hear that name a voice in my head sings “Torremolinos! Torremolinos!” – some old movie? We went with Mark and his friend Bele (German and living in the UK). Mark drove us out from Alora – which was an adventure by itself, Mark! xx

Being at Blankko was very much like re-visiting the Greek Islands – a white building and white furniture, high on a hill (lived the lonely goatherd!) overlooking the Mediterranean – breathtaking views! The water views in the Greek Islands AND Esperance are better, but this is the Mediterranean AND you don’t get that at home!

You can see all along the coast line down to Fuengirola and up to Malaga (and beyond?). What is very evident looking at the coastline is the density of the holiday apartments – this IS the Costa del Sol! Luckily for us there isn’t a high occupancy rate right now, out of the summer season. It would be a nightmare come true to be booked in at Torremolinos in peak of summer with streets and beaches ‘bumper to bumper’ with people!

Good decision we’ve made in general to visit Spain in Autumn then!

In general, the weather has cooled off! It will be a miracle if we get into the pool again (miracle = Eric pushing me in!). However, on Tuesday we went off to lunch (Eric and I – not our companions) dressed warmly with backup scarf and rain coats in our bag, just to swelter in 28 degrees! The day before Eric and I caught the train to Fuengirola, which is the town at the end of the line on the coastal route from Malaga. We only visited for a day out; to get out of the house, visit the coast (which we hadn’t done yet; not high on our priorities since we LIVE on the coast!). The forecast said 23, with 18km/hr winds and cloudy. So, again we dressed for ‘cold’ weather (this is all relative guys! It’s been higher than 27 degrees most days we’ve been in Spain; we’ve just spend 2 weeks in the UK and Ireland where it’s about 11 and 12 degrees ‘freezing’ and in our house at the bottom of the mountain ‘in the shade’ it is actually quite cold too!) only to spend three hours walking up and down the foreshore – looking for shady spots! Must be that transitional place where the weather doesn’t really know what it is doing yet!! (Sitting at our favourite bar/cafe in the sunshine in Alora – writing this – it is currently 28 degrees) This is clearly a weather story!!! 🙂

So, back to Blankko – it was Mark’s special treat (Mark, our host at Finca Fenix, Alora) as he is off to the UK for a couple of weeks and won’t see us again before we leave for Morocco. It is extremely generous of him – he is a very lovely and gracious host! Drinks for an hour in the sunshine with the ocean views and then into the ‘shady’ outdoors eating area for lunch.

Mark insisted we have three courses. We have the restaurant dining down to a main and sometimes a dessert – but I think that’s part of the long and relaxing social eating thing that I don’t do very well 🙂 The food was lovely – company excellent and ambiance ‘warm’!!

Thank you Mark and Bele!

A really good thing about travelling by car to the restaurant, away from the foreshore and centre of town, is that we get to see and enjoy the back streets and homes around the town – not just the tourist locations.

When we trained into Fuengirola on Monday it was very interesting to notice the coast coming into view and being amazed at the tourist accommodation. Block after block of high-rise apartments!

We googled Fuengirola before leaving home and decided on a couple of sights we might pursue and found a restaurant that had a good review – amazing views and great food!

So once we hit Fuengirola we fund the tourist bureau, got a local map and noted where the places where and set off towards the beach. We walked for so long!! We visited the port area and then walked one way along the beach, which thankfully had a good promenade and we didn’t have to tackle the sand! We couldn’t see public loos anywhere, so visited Burger King (Hungry Jacks to Aussies) and bought the token coke (didn’t want to spoil our appetites for our splendid upcoming lunch).

At some point we decided to check street numbers because we knew our lunch spot was at number 86. We were at 32 and kept heading in the same direction (leading to zero). After a while we turned around and slowly (enjoying the view and marvelling at all the oldies sunbathing) made our way back up the street – back past Burger King and the port – and we walked and walked – where is it?

Finally, we found it – Plankstek Restaurante & Pizzeria – comfortably furnished restaurant with stunning bar and nice sea views! The nice sea view was alright! Yes, across the road was the sea – between the car park on the left and buildings on the right.

The food was acceptable, but really just a cafe style okay. I laughed because I’d already ‘prepared’ Eric that it might ‘cost a bit’ because it sounded like such a nice place. Funny really!!

This feels like such a negative story :(, but it’s not supposed to be. I guess when just seeing the ocean OR having it in sight while you dine is a novelty, then the descriptions in reviews are accurate. However, we come from Australia (particularly from Esperance) where an ocean view includes colour and movement – surfers, boats, fisherman, sail boats, ships, kite surfers, islands, jetties, wildlife and pristine sands going off as far as the eye can see – on beautiful, clear blue seas!

We did feel it was a good day out – one of our objectives was to get some exercise, which has dropped of in the last few weeks. I think three solid hours of walking counts as having achieved that. AND our meal was substantial and left us with no need for an evening meal.

Visiting a Costa del Sol holiday spot was worthwhile for perspective and we always enjoy the train trips!! The trains are quick, clean and on time, with not a hooligan in sight!!

So, we’ve been sitting at our coffee shop for a couple of hours now; it’s probably time to head home. We’ll be back up town later for Paco’s Spanish class. The shops are all closed for siesta, so I’ll have to look for those shoes I want this evening! Ciao!

P.S. Paco’s Spanish class wasn’t on, because now that Paco has a full-time job he can’t do everything!!! WHAT? Not good enough Paco! 🙂 xxx

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Trish and Mark at Blankko
DSCF2567Foreshore at Fuengirola, Costa del Sol