David and Ang were also babysitting Molly for the duration of our trip, so piled into the back of their car were our two suitcases, our two cabin bags and Molly…
The last time we were at the International Airport was only a couple of months previously when we took David and Ang there before they embarked on their honeymoon trip overseas. It was much better this time to be the ones traveling rather than the ones saying goodbye. We sat with them in the lounge for as long as we could before our flight appeared on the board as being open. We said our goodbyes and headed down the escalator to the Customs area very excited that our holiday was actually happening. My friend Renee very wisely quoted to me a saying “Every step of the journey is the journey” and I was determined that I was going to live by that motto.
It wasn’t too long before we boarded our flight. We had never traveled Emirates before and were lucky enough to get one pair of only a handful of ‘two seats’ at the rear of the plane. It was great – not as good as business class but we still felt better than economy as we didn’t have anyone else sitting next to us.
DAY 2
It was a long flight, but we had a short stopover in Singapore and another stopover in Dubai which gave us a chance to stretch our legs. We finally arrived in London at lunchtime on the Thursday – it took us twelve years to get back but the feeling was still the same. It felt like we had arrived home - it’s still the most exciting and wonderful city in all the world.
We had organized a shuttle bus to take us to our hotel, Rydges in Kensington, but it was a long journey as there were protesters blocking the way, protesting against the new No. 5 Heathrow runway – a pointless exercise really as it was going to happen no matter what.
We finally checked into our hotel around 3pm and it was so nice to have a shower and freshen up. But we didn’t linger for too long as we needed to stretch our legs. Rather than roaming too far afield, we decided to explore the surroundings of Kensington.
If I was lucky enough to live in London, Kensington is definitely the place that I would live. We wandered through tree lined streets and row after row of gorgeous homes and apartments...
all the way down to Queens Gate and the Albert Hall where the BBC Proms are held. Unfortunately time did not permit us to actually attend a concert there this time – but maybe one day.
It wasn’t too long before we boarded our flight. We had never traveled Emirates before and were lucky enough to get one pair of only a handful of ‘two seats’ at the rear of the plane. It was great – not as good as business class but we still felt better than economy as we didn’t have anyone else sitting next to us.
DAY 2
It was a long flight, but we had a short stopover in Singapore and another stopover in Dubai which gave us a chance to stretch our legs. We finally arrived in London at lunchtime on the Thursday – it took us twelve years to get back but the feeling was still the same. It felt like we had arrived home - it’s still the most exciting and wonderful city in all the world.
We had organized a shuttle bus to take us to our hotel, Rydges in Kensington, but it was a long journey as there were protesters blocking the way, protesting against the new No. 5 Heathrow runway – a pointless exercise really as it was going to happen no matter what.
We finally checked into our hotel around 3pm and it was so nice to have a shower and freshen up. But we didn’t linger for too long as we needed to stretch our legs. Rather than roaming too far afield, we decided to explore the surroundings of Kensington.
If I was lucky enough to live in London, Kensington is definitely the place that I would live. We wandered through tree lined streets and row after row of gorgeous homes and apartments...
all the way down to Queens Gate and the Albert Hall where the BBC Proms are held. Unfortunately time did not permit us to actually attend a concert there this time – but maybe one day.
On the walk back to our hotel, John spied this London pub called “The Stanhope Arms” whose sign boasted the “Best Fish and Chips in town”. Of course we had to find out for ourselves – and they were indeed pretty darn good. So there we were sitting at a table outside the pub in Kensington, with a beer and an absolute feast of fish, chips and mushy peas in front of us, watching the London passing parade. Definitely ‘pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming time’.
Early to bed to enable us to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for tomorrow!!
DAY 3
In retrospect this was probably THE best day of our whole holiday. We had breakfast in the hotel and it was really weird because just about everyone in the dining room were Aussies – it felt like we had never left home. There was even a jar of Vegemite on the table!
After breakfast we walked a couple of blocks down to Sainsburys to stock up on our provisions for the day, then we walked back to the bus-stop in front of our hotel where we boarded the double decker opentop tour bus. What a sight we must have been - John in his “Top Dad” cap and backpack and me with my camera around my neck – talk about ‘spot the tourist’!. I was so excited I thought that I was going to burst! The smile just kept getting bigger and bigger as we drove past all of London’s landmarks – Harrods, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace. The camera was working overtime.
After a couple of hours we hopped off the bus at Buckingham Palace with the intention of going in (certain rooms are opened to the public a couple of months a year) but the line-up was so long that we pulled the plug on that and wandered around the outside of Buckingham Palace instead.. By this stage it was lunchtime, so we sat on the grass in a nearby park, unloaded the contents of our backpack and ate our Sainbury’s sandwiches...
After lunch it was back on to the opentop bus bound for the London Eye. The last time we were in London this hadn’t been constructed so it was a ‘must do’ this time around. We had to line up for about half hour but it was definitely worth it. The view of London is amazing – but once is enough
Included as part of our entry to the London Eye was a Thames river cruise. By the time late afternoon came we were starting to get a bit weary so this seemed like the perfect time to sit back and cruise for a couple of hours – this gave us a different perspective of London as we traveled passed a whole lot more of London’s finest attractions such as the Tate Gallery, London Bridge and the Globe Theatre.
By the time our river cruise ended it was too late to catch the opentop bus back to the hotel, so we hopped on the Tube and traveled to the nearest station to our hotel (Gloucester Road). We dumped our stuff in the room and wandered a couple of blocks until we came to this little Italian restaurant – La Gondola – where we ordered a very delicious pizza and the best tasting beer we have ever had (not sure if it was because of the actual taste of the beer or because we were so exhausted from such a long day).
It was 10.30pm before we arrived back at our hotel room – not bad for a couple of old buggers! After a very welcome shower we crashed!
DAY 4
Today was the day we were saying goodbye to London for a while – but not until the afternoon. And any trip to London would not be complete without a visit to HARRODS!!! It was only a 20 minutes walk from our hotel, however on the way there it only took half that time (I wonder why???). We didn’t spend too much time wandering through the actual ‘shop’ part, but were more drawn to the food hall and the souvenir shop. I ended up spending nearly £300 pounds on Harrods memorabilia (mainly on presents for the kids and friends, but naturally I had to buy the 2007 Christmas Bear for me!).
Everything is so expensive at Harrods, but sometimes you just have to forget about the cost and indulge yourself – which is exactly what we did. How posh did we feel sitting in the Harrods coffee shop with our dainty cups of hot coffee accompanied by freshly baked scones, jam and clotted cream!! Another great coffee moment.
A trip to the Her Majesty’s Post Office was our next port of call so that we could post back all of the spoils from our trip to Harrods. Then a spot of lunch before checking out of our hotel and heading off by train to Gatwick airport where we caught a plane to Dublin for the start of our “Focus on Ireland” tour.
We arrived at the Burlington Hotel around tea time and we were given a terrific room overlooking the hills of Dublin. Our first impression of Dublin was that it was a very bleak sort of place, but it was all a new adventure so we kept an open mind.
By the time our river cruise ended it was too late to catch the opentop bus back to the hotel, so we hopped on the Tube and traveled to the nearest station to our hotel (Gloucester Road). We dumped our stuff in the room and wandered a couple of blocks until we came to this little Italian restaurant – La Gondola – where we ordered a very delicious pizza and the best tasting beer we have ever had (not sure if it was because of the actual taste of the beer or because we were so exhausted from such a long day).
It was 10.30pm before we arrived back at our hotel room – not bad for a couple of old buggers! After a very welcome shower we crashed!
DAY 4
Today was the day we were saying goodbye to London for a while – but not until the afternoon. And any trip to London would not be complete without a visit to HARRODS!!! It was only a 20 minutes walk from our hotel, however on the way there it only took half that time (I wonder why???). We didn’t spend too much time wandering through the actual ‘shop’ part, but were more drawn to the food hall and the souvenir shop. I ended up spending nearly £300 pounds on Harrods memorabilia (mainly on presents for the kids and friends, but naturally I had to buy the 2007 Christmas Bear for me!).
Everything is so expensive at Harrods, but sometimes you just have to forget about the cost and indulge yourself – which is exactly what we did. How posh did we feel sitting in the Harrods coffee shop with our dainty cups of hot coffee accompanied by freshly baked scones, jam and clotted cream!! Another great coffee moment.
A trip to the Her Majesty’s Post Office was our next port of call so that we could post back all of the spoils from our trip to Harrods. Then a spot of lunch before checking out of our hotel and heading off by train to Gatwick airport where we caught a plane to Dublin for the start of our “Focus on Ireland” tour.
We arrived at the Burlington Hotel around tea time and we were given a terrific room overlooking the hills of Dublin. Our first impression of Dublin was that it was a very bleak sort of place, but it was all a new adventure so we kept an open mind.
There was a lovely Irish pub located on the ground floor of our hotel, so we decided to experience the atmosphere – and the beer. I opted for a Smithwyks shandy and John went the whole hog and ordered a Guiness. This was the defining moment when John developed his passion for this dark brown beverage and this was to be the first of many that he had while on our trip.
DAY 5
This morning was ‘at leisure’ so a bit of a sleep-in was on the agenda. Breakfast was an absolute taste thrill – all the old favourites like bacon, eggs, mushrooms etc etc BUT adorning the servery was a humungous bowl of fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and redcurrents) and an equally humungous bowl of yoghurt to lather on top. I was in seventh heaven. John was worried that I would end up with a stomach ache – but not a problem!
To give us a chance to recover from our wonderful breakfast we decided to take a walk around the precincts of our hotel. We wandered in the direction of Dublin city and found ourselves in the area of the Grand Canal. It ran for miles and we enjoyed seeing all of the typical Irish cottages, little families of ducks on the water, the greenest of grass and beautiful healthy trees, the odd church or two and quaint little shops such as “Joe Byrne…Bets Here”
DAY 5
This morning was ‘at leisure’ so a bit of a sleep-in was on the agenda. Breakfast was an absolute taste thrill – all the old favourites like bacon, eggs, mushrooms etc etc BUT adorning the servery was a humungous bowl of fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and redcurrents) and an equally humungous bowl of yoghurt to lather on top. I was in seventh heaven. John was worried that I would end up with a stomach ache – but not a problem!
To give us a chance to recover from our wonderful breakfast we decided to take a walk around the precincts of our hotel. We wandered in the direction of Dublin city and found ourselves in the area of the Grand Canal. It ran for miles and we enjoyed seeing all of the typical Irish cottages, little families of ducks on the water, the greenest of grass and beautiful healthy trees, the odd church or two and quaint little shops such as “Joe Byrne…Bets Here”
After lunch we were introduced to our Irish tour group and our tour guide Shona who turned out to be an absolute legend. She had an amazing sense of humour and was the best storyteller. Over the next nine days of our tour she regaled us with the history of Ireland interwoven with jokes and the odd bit of blood and gore.
We all loaded on to our tour bus for an afternoon tour of Dublin, the highlight of which was a visit to Dublin Castle. It didn’t look like much of a castle, but the inside was spectacular. It’s even used today for special government meetings and functions – I could live there! Outside the castle was an exhibition of sand sculptures depicting Gulliver’s Travels which was amazing…
Over drinks this evening we got to know our tour group a little better and they are a nice bunch of people, which bodes well for the next nine days.
DAY 6
Today our merry little group made its way to Galway. All the talk about Ireland being the Emerald Isle is absolutely true – it’s so green and beautiful. We passed through wonderful little towns such as Kilbeggan and Moate and traveled through some magical countryside
An ‘optional extra’ tonight was to attend a medieval dinner at Dinguaire Castle situated on Galway Bay. It was built in 1520 and has been fully restored and now is said to be the most photographed castle in the whole on Ireland. It is owned by an Irish Corporation that manages a lot of Ireland’s historic tourist attractions.
The medieval banquet which was held in the castle’s tower was terrific. The banquet hall was decorated just as it would have been back in the 1500s. The food was prolific and was served by waiters and waitresses who were dressed in the costumes of the time. While we ate we were entertained by costumed performers who recited Irish literature and played traditional Irish music with lutes and harps. A very enjoyable evening.
DAY 7
Off to Tralee today – another day of picturesque scenery and perfect weather. Our tour bus drove on the road beside Galway Bay and we got out at The Burren for a very cold and windy walk around
Another highlight of today was a visit to Bunratty Castle and the adjoining Folk Village in County Clare. The village was set up to show visitors what everyday life was like in rural Ireland 100 years ago…
At the end of our day’s journey we were booked into the Abbeygate Hotel, which just happened to also mark the end of the “Rose of Tralee” festival. This festival is held in August every year and at the end a young lady is chosen to be this year’s ‘Rose’. The winning ‘rose’ is the woman who is deemed to best possess the qualities contained in the song “The Rose of Tralee” ie lovely and fair. There is no swimwear section which separates it from your typical beauty pageant and contestants are not judged on their beauty, but rather on their personality and suitability to be ambassadors of Ireland (and from some of the contestants we saw, it was just as well!). Apparently this whole shebang goes on for a couple of weeks and tonight after the judging (won by the New York contestant) it sounded like about a million people converged on our hotel…very noisy.
The next morning was so funny though. We all wandered down to breakfast all refreshed and ready for another day’s sightseeing and there, scattered throughout the foyer, bar and crevasses of the hotel were decidedly wilted “roses”.
DAY 8
Today was the most picturesque day of our whole tour as we drove the Ring of Kerry. Some of the scenery we saw was definitely ‘take your breath away’ stuff…
The next morning was so funny though. We all wandered down to breakfast all refreshed and ready for another day’s sightseeing and there, scattered throughout the foyer, bar and crevasses of the hotel were decidedly wilted “roses”.
DAY 8
Today was the most picturesque day of our whole tour as we drove the Ring of Kerry. Some of the scenery we saw was definitely ‘take your breath away’ stuff…
Our lunchtime stop was at the village of Sneem (prounounced Schneem). Because we always enjoy a large cooked breakfast on our tours, we are never really hungry at lunchtime and prefer to buy something light and walk around exploring. In Sneem we chanced upon the “Garden of the Senses” which had only been opened since 2003. We spent quite a fair chunk of our time enjoying this peaceful and beautiful garden…
Then we were off to Killarney where we all explored the town from the back of a jaunting cart and finally ending up at, you guessed it, another castle (Ross Castle this time)
We went on another optional extra tour tonight where we had dinner in this lovely little hotel and afterwards were entertained with a Ceili (sort of like an Irish barn dance). A small local group of singers and musicians entertained us with dances, songs, poetry recitals and music from a fiddle, flute, tin whistle and accordion. It was quite entertaining, but we got to hear yet another version of “Danny Boy”. By the end of our stay in Ireland I was well over this song!!!
We spent another night at the Abbeygate Hotel in Tralee but, unlike the previous night, everything was very, very quiet so we got a good night’s sleep.
DAY 9
The highlights of today were a visit to the famous Blarney Castle as well as to Waterford and its famous crystal factory.
We spent another night at the Abbeygate Hotel in Tralee but, unlike the previous night, everything was very, very quiet so we got a good night’s sleep.
DAY 9
The highlights of today were a visit to the famous Blarney Castle as well as to Waterford and its famous crystal factory.
The grounds of Blarney Castle are absolutely spectacular and we could easily have spent the whole day there. There were lots of people lining up for the climb to the top of the castle so that they could kiss the Blarney Stone, but John and I opted to roam the grounds after having considered the high risk to our health of either putting our backs out leaning back to kiss the stone OR catching some awful disease actually kissing the stone!
After leaving Blarney Castle (via the Woollen Mill and its wonderful shopping opportunity) we traveled through Tipperary and Dungarven, finally reaching Waterford and our tour of the crystal factory. It was fascinating to watch the crystal being made and etched and the shop at the end of the tour was very tempting, but common sense prevailed as I really do have more than enough crystal at home. All I did want to buy though was a crystal thimble for my collection – the one thing that they had sold out of!
DAY 10
Our tour group left Waterford this morning and traveled through the Vale of Clara, stopped at the town of Avoca for a short visit to the Woollen Mill and then on to Glendalough, (which means “Glen of Two Lakes”) a glacial valley located in County Wicklow where we stopped for a visit to the 6th Century Monastery of St Kevin. While wandering around the monastery grounds we saw many tomb stones for “Byrne” and we wondered whether this may have been where John’s Irish ancestors came from.
At the end of our day we arrived back at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. Insight Tours put on a bar tab for us all to celebrate the end of a great trip and to give us the opportunity to say goodbye to all of our traveling companions. Guess what John had to drink?
DAY 11
This morning we said farewell to everyone from our Ireland tour and after breakfast we boarded our Aer Lingus flight en route to Edinburgh. We had been to Edinburgh before but this time was to be one of the highlights of our trip – in fact, one of the highlights of my LIFE!!! We had watched the Edinburgh Military Tattoo many times on television, and I always used to say to John that one day it would be a dream of mine to actually go there. And this was my opportunity to fulfill that dream.
After checking into our Edinburgh hotel (the Mariott) we introduced ourselves to Peter, our tour guide for the next seven days. We had plenty of time to get ourselves ready and to have some dinner before we had to board the bus for the ride to Edinburgh Castle where the Tattoo is held. The weather was perfect – fine, cold but not freezing, with a slight breeze – very lucky given that apparently the night before it poured rain during the whole of the performance!
We had to line up for a long time as there were hundreds of people waiting to go through the gate but eventually we entered the grounds of the Castle and walked up to our seats. At first I was a bit disappointed, as John and I weren’t seated next to each other but were actually behind each other. However, it turned out to be a real bonus as the seats were tightly packed together, with virtually no leg room, but we both had seats at the end of the row so were able to stick our respective legs out to avoid cramps!
When the show started I was overwhelmed and found it hard to hold back the tears of absolute joy. I was actually there, at Edinburgh Castle, watching the Edinburgh Tattoo – something I had only ever dreamed of. It’s a wonderful feeling to fulfill one of your dreams and I was determined to remember and to enjoy every single minute of my night. Each act was wonderful – the Russian band probably my single favourite act – but the lone piper playing from the parapet of the castle at dusk was something that sent shivers up my spine. And then the very end when all of the bands came out for a ‘grand parade’ complete with fireworks was the icing on the cake. When it was all over I said to John that if I had to turn around and go home at that moment, I wouldn’t mind. It was that good.
DAY 11
This morning we said farewell to everyone from our Ireland tour and after breakfast we boarded our Aer Lingus flight en route to Edinburgh. We had been to Edinburgh before but this time was to be one of the highlights of our trip – in fact, one of the highlights of my LIFE!!! We had watched the Edinburgh Military Tattoo many times on television, and I always used to say to John that one day it would be a dream of mine to actually go there. And this was my opportunity to fulfill that dream.
After checking into our Edinburgh hotel (the Mariott) we introduced ourselves to Peter, our tour guide for the next seven days. We had plenty of time to get ourselves ready and to have some dinner before we had to board the bus for the ride to Edinburgh Castle where the Tattoo is held. The weather was perfect – fine, cold but not freezing, with a slight breeze – very lucky given that apparently the night before it poured rain during the whole of the performance!
We had to line up for a long time as there were hundreds of people waiting to go through the gate but eventually we entered the grounds of the Castle and walked up to our seats. At first I was a bit disappointed, as John and I weren’t seated next to each other but were actually behind each other. However, it turned out to be a real bonus as the seats were tightly packed together, with virtually no leg room, but we both had seats at the end of the row so were able to stick our respective legs out to avoid cramps!
When the show started I was overwhelmed and found it hard to hold back the tears of absolute joy. I was actually there, at Edinburgh Castle, watching the Edinburgh Tattoo – something I had only ever dreamed of. It’s a wonderful feeling to fulfill one of your dreams and I was determined to remember and to enjoy every single minute of my night. Each act was wonderful – the Russian band probably my single favourite act – but the lone piper playing from the parapet of the castle at dusk was something that sent shivers up my spine. And then the very end when all of the bands came out for a ‘grand parade’ complete with fireworks was the icing on the cake. When it was all over I said to John that if I had to turn around and go home at that moment, I wouldn’t mind. It was that good.
After we got back to our hotel, it took some time for our adrenalin levels to settle down, but we eventually got to sleep.
DAY 12
What a lovely day we had today. This morning after breakfast we went on a general sightseeing tour of Edinburgh, after which we were dropped off in Princes Street to have the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
And what better way to start off a leisurely afternoon than with a cup of coffee! But we decided that, instead of finding a café to eat in, we would get ourselves a takeaway and sit in the beautiful Princes Street Gardens…which we did. It turned out to be one of those ‘great coffee moments’ – sitting on a bench, with a delicious hot coffee (and a muffin), warm sunny day, looking up at Edinburgh Castle. Amazing!
But one can only sit for so long when there are new and exciting places to see and things to do. So, fully fueled up, we made our way back up to Edinburgh Castle to see it in the daylight.
We were fortunate that this week the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was on, where there were lots various performing artists all along the street leading up to the Castle. We stopped at several on our trek – very entertaining…
DAY 12
What a lovely day we had today. This morning after breakfast we went on a general sightseeing tour of Edinburgh, after which we were dropped off in Princes Street to have the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
And what better way to start off a leisurely afternoon than with a cup of coffee! But we decided that, instead of finding a café to eat in, we would get ourselves a takeaway and sit in the beautiful Princes Street Gardens…which we did. It turned out to be one of those ‘great coffee moments’ – sitting on a bench, with a delicious hot coffee (and a muffin), warm sunny day, looking up at Edinburgh Castle. Amazing!
But one can only sit for so long when there are new and exciting places to see and things to do. So, fully fueled up, we made our way back up to Edinburgh Castle to see it in the daylight.
We were fortunate that this week the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was on, where there were lots various performing artists all along the street leading up to the Castle. We stopped at several on our trek – very entertaining…
DAY 13
Today we headed off to the Scottish Highlands. When we were here back in 1995 I never forgot the magical countryside with its babbling streams, high rugged mountains with waterfalls cascading down them and the heather on the hills. And here in 2007 it was just as magical…
Today we headed off to the Scottish Highlands. When we were here back in 1995 I never forgot the magical countryside with its babbling streams, high rugged mountains with waterfalls cascading down them and the heather on the hills. And here in 2007 it was just as magical…
Our first stop was the town of St Andrews and its famous golf course. Last time we were here I remember a bitterly cold day, rain and galeforce winds. Today we struck the jackpot – we had gorgeous sunshine, a light breeze and cool temperature. We had a couple of necessary purchases to make – we bought Joseph and David St Andrews golf shirts and caps – but after that we had a wander around and ended up walking on the beach where the movie “Chariots of Fire” was filmed...
After departing from St Andrews we traveled through the Perthshire Highlands enroute to Inverness. We made a stop at Blair Castle (owned by the Earl of Atholl) - originally built in the 13th century, but revamped into the very imposing private residence it is today.
The grounds of the castle were particularly beautiful and, even though it was very cold and drizzly, we spent quite a bit of time wandering around.
Our hotel at the end of this day’s travels was the Highlander Hotel in the picturesque village of Newtonmore, set within the Cairngorm National Park. Here we spent some of the more special moments of our overseas holiday…as we had a few hours to kill before dinner, we took the opportunity to take a wander in the village. It didn’t take us too long to walk the whole distance of the main street, but on the way back to the hotel we detoured down a side street and ended up at the golf course – which was probably one of the most beautiful settings for a golf course in the whole world. Luckily there was a bench by the edge of the course and we sat there for quite a long time just taking in the beauty of the area and enjoying the peace and tranquility.
Dinner tonight was also pretty special with the “piping of the Haggis” – the hotel staff dressed in their kilts and playing the bagpipes, followed by a huge platter of haggis. After all the effort they went to it seemed rude not to try some, so we both took the plunge….and actually quite enjoyed it. You wouldn’t want to eat too big a plateful, but it tasted a bit like a spicy mincemeat. Easy if you didn’t think about what you were eating!
DAY 14
Our first stop this morning was to the Tomatin whiskey distillery. We were supposed to have visited here late yesterday afternoon but we were running late and had to be postponed to this morning. 9.30am was not really a great time to be sampling whiskey and creamy liquors – although a couple of the Aussies on our tour group made a total disgrace of themselves and got blind! John bought a couple of small bottles of their own Tomatin Distillery whiskey as a gift for Pat and Rob.
Back through the Scottish highlands and on to Loch Ness – where we stopped right on the banks of the Loch and walked down to the beach. It was cold and windy but very appealing, maybe because of the legend of the Loch Ness monster. There was one guy who had been living in this dilapidated caravan right on the banks of the Loch Ness for many years, ever hopeful of catching a glimpse of Nessie.
DAY 14
Our first stop this morning was to the Tomatin whiskey distillery. We were supposed to have visited here late yesterday afternoon but we were running late and had to be postponed to this morning. 9.30am was not really a great time to be sampling whiskey and creamy liquors – although a couple of the Aussies on our tour group made a total disgrace of themselves and got blind! John bought a couple of small bottles of their own Tomatin Distillery whiskey as a gift for Pat and Rob.
Back through the Scottish highlands and on to Loch Ness – where we stopped right on the banks of the Loch and walked down to the beach. It was cold and windy but very appealing, maybe because of the legend of the Loch Ness monster. There was one guy who had been living in this dilapidated caravan right on the banks of the Loch Ness for many years, ever hopeful of catching a glimpse of Nessie.
John had been looking forward to again visiting Culloden where back in 1746 the Battle of Culloden was fought – the final clash between the Jacobites and the Hanovarian British Government. The Jacobites wanted to restore the House of Stuart to the throne of the Kingdom of Great Britain but they were soundly defeated.
Later in the afternoon on our drive to Thurso, we made a stop at the quaint little town of Dornoch where the town’s claim to fame was that the singer Madonna was married in the cathedral some years ago
Finally we arrived in Thurso, the most northerly town in mainland Scotland. As we had plenty of time before we needed to go to dinner, it was the perfect opportunity to wander around this lovely fishing village. I would hate to think what it would have been like in winter, because it was freezing cold in August!
DAY 15
Today we traveled from Thurso to Ullapool passing through some of the remotest scenery I have ever seen. We stopped at Joan O’Groats at the very tippy top of mainland Scotland. John got quite excited at being able to see the Orkney Islands across the water and was only sorry that we were not going to have the chance to visit them on this trip.
Today we traveled from Thurso to Ullapool passing through some of the remotest scenery I have ever seen. We stopped at Joan O’Groats at the very tippy top of mainland Scotland. John got quite excited at being able to see the Orkney Islands across the water and was only sorry that we were not going to have the chance to visit them on this trip.
A optional extra tour was a visit to the Castle of Mey which used to belong to the late Queen Mother. She bought it in 1952 and had it fully restored into what has to be the most beautiful castle I have ever seen as far as scenery is concerned. When we were waiting to go into the castle and we having our download from the tour guide, a Tornado Bomber on a training mission from the nearby Lossiemouth RAF base used the castle as its target – what a thrill!
DAY 16
Today we returned to the Isle of Skye. When we visited there in 1995 the bridge had not yet been built and the only way to access the island was by ferry. I remember it being a lovely trip and I can’t really say that the bridge has done it that much justice.
Unlike last time though, we got to stay overnight and have a much better look around. After tea we were taken on a bus tour of the island – it was drizzling with rain, very cold, very windy – but magical and stunningly beautiful.
Today we returned to the Isle of Skye. When we visited there in 1995 the bridge had not yet been built and the only way to access the island was by ferry. I remember it being a lovely trip and I can’t really say that the bridge has done it that much justice.
Unlike last time though, we got to stay overnight and have a much better look around. After tea we were taken on a bus tour of the island – it was drizzling with rain, very cold, very windy – but magical and stunningly beautiful.
DAY 17
The last day of our tour as we left the Isle of Skye for our day’s journey to Glasgow. We traveled alongside the Kyle of Lochalsh, made a stop at Fort William (where we had stayed back in 1995), through the Glencoe National Park (stunningly beautiful)
The last day of our tour as we left the Isle of Skye for our day’s journey to Glasgow. We traveled alongside the Kyle of Lochalsh, made a stop at Fort William (where we had stayed back in 1995), through the Glencoe National Park (stunningly beautiful)
and when we arrived at Loch Lomond we were all taken for a cruise on the Loch which was a real highlight
I wasn’t really looking forward to returning to Glascow as my 1995 memory of it was being very dirty and bleak. But the Glaswegians seemed to have ‘cleaned up their act’. What we found this time was a clean and very friendly place. The Mariott Hotel where we stayed was really lovely and only two blocks from the train station, where we needed to go in the morning to catch the train to London.
Unlike our Ireland tour, there was no farewell party of the tour group. Some of the people were quite nice, but there were some absolute pains – particularly our fellow Aussies who were very loud and very embarrassing. Instead we had a wander around Glasgow and brought a takeaway meal back to our hotel.
DAY 18
After breakfast we walked down to the Glasgow railway station where we caught the 10.20am Britrail to London. We could have flown back but we had decided that it would be a nicer experience to see some more of England’s beautiful countryside. And we weren’t disappointed, especially traveling through the Lake District with its undulating hills, green countryside and pristine lakes.
It was 3.30pm before we arrived at Euston Station in London. A particularly exciting time for us as we were going to see our Sally again! She had been living in London for over a year and we hadn’t seen her since she left home. When we first arrived in London she was traveling in Europe so we had to wait until the end of our UK travels.
We arranged to meet her at (Gloucester Road tube station) so that we could check back in to Rydges before having her escort us to the house she was staying at in Dollis Hill.
Another special memory…we traveled on the Tube to Dollis Hill and walked the short distance to Sally’s London home. We met most of her housemates, and got a huge hug from Mark who was also living there.
She went to so much trouble for us. She had bought wine, meat (which is very expensive and was a real luxury for her), a tablecloth, candles etc and we dined like kings in the backyard. It was a fine balmy night which we spent amidst fine food, wine and lots of laughter.
Unlike our Ireland tour, there was no farewell party of the tour group. Some of the people were quite nice, but there were some absolute pains – particularly our fellow Aussies who were very loud and very embarrassing. Instead we had a wander around Glasgow and brought a takeaway meal back to our hotel.
DAY 18
After breakfast we walked down to the Glasgow railway station where we caught the 10.20am Britrail to London. We could have flown back but we had decided that it would be a nicer experience to see some more of England’s beautiful countryside. And we weren’t disappointed, especially traveling through the Lake District with its undulating hills, green countryside and pristine lakes.
It was 3.30pm before we arrived at Euston Station in London. A particularly exciting time for us as we were going to see our Sally again! She had been living in London for over a year and we hadn’t seen her since she left home. When we first arrived in London she was traveling in Europe so we had to wait until the end of our UK travels.
We arranged to meet her at (Gloucester Road tube station) so that we could check back in to Rydges before having her escort us to the house she was staying at in Dollis Hill.
Another special memory…we traveled on the Tube to Dollis Hill and walked the short distance to Sally’s London home. We met most of her housemates, and got a huge hug from Mark who was also living there.
She went to so much trouble for us. She had bought wine, meat (which is very expensive and was a real luxury for her), a tablecloth, candles etc and we dined like kings in the backyard. It was a fine balmy night which we spent amidst fine food, wine and lots of laughter.
It was close to 11.30pm before we decided to say goodnight and head back to Kensington. Instead of going on the Tube, Sally and Mark convinced us to go by mini cab. Mark organized it all and got a quote for £15, which seemed like a great deal. Only problem was that the driver was an Indian who I’m sure had only arrived in London that day. He got us hopelessly lost and after driving around for well on an hour - John completely lost his cool and told the guy to just drop us off and we would find our own way. He chucked him a £10 note and told him to *#!@ off!
We did manage to find our way back to Rydges – it turned out we were only about a ten minute walk away. The hotel never looked so good when it came into view, but once we were in our room we did have a good old laugh about it.
DAY 19
Sally and I had a ‘Mother/Daughter Day’ today, starting with Harrods. We wandered through the various departments and spent a fair bit of time in the pet shop where I bought Molly a lovely new collar (John nearly had a fit later on when he found out how much it cost!). We then went to Leicester Square and had lunch in a Mexican restaurant of Sally’s choice then on to Covent Garden where we wandered around all of the many shops there. Sally bought her Dad a great new cap for Father’s Day – and this has become one of his most prized possessions.
Later that afternoon we went back to Rydges where we met up with John who took Sally for a beer while I chilled out for a while in the hotel room. For tea that night we went to a terrific little Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away. I think Sally really enjoyed being spoilt – I think it had been quite some time since she ate a meal that good!
DAY 20
This morning John treated himself to a visit to the Imperial War Museum and Sally and I met up with him at the Elephant and Castle tube station at lunchtime. Joining us for lunch was Sally’s pommy friend Richard who was coming to Australia on his very first overseas visit at Christmas time. As he would be spending Christmas with us, Sally was keen for us to meet him and get to know him a bit – he turned out to be a great bloke that we would be more than happy to welcome into our home for the duration of his stay.
Sally and I had purchased tickets in Leicester Square this morning to see “We Will Rock You” for tonight. John was a bit reluctant to come as he is not fond of loud music, but we called in at a Boots chemist on the way and bought him a pair of industrial strength earplugs. They didn’t block out all of the noise so he could still hear everything, but just at a much lower volume than everyone else. It was an awesome show!
At the end of the night Sally had to catch a tube train home to Dollis Hill and we had to catch a different tube train back to Kensington. We were only a couple of stops from our station when the train stopped and the announcement was made that, due to industrial action, there would be no more tube trains that night and we would have to find some other way to get home. When we messaged Sally she had already got home so we didn’t have to worry about her – only about what we were going to do. As a bus seemed to be the best option, we turned left at the station exit and caught a bus. It was like a scene from the movie “Sliding Doors” – if we had only turned right we would have caught a bus that took us the couple of stops back to our hotel. Unfortunately we turned left and the bus we caught took us to Piccadilly Circus, right in the heart of London. So here we were, 12.30am, in Piccadilly Circus, with no idea how we were going to get back! It was really exciting (at least I was excited – John was a bit worried). But, we eventually found a bus and we crammed in with what seemed like half of London, finally arriving at our hotel around 1.30am.
DAY 21
As the tube strike was still on, we decided to bail out of London for the day and head to Brighton by the sea. It’s a place we had seen on TV many times and was on our wish list for this trip. Sally met us at Victoria Station and the three of us took the train to Brighton. It was a lovely trip down – not just because of the passing countryside, but mainly due to the relaxed and happy atmosphere between the three of us.
We walked from the Brighton train station all the way down to Brighton Beach, stopping along the way at a hobby shop for John, where he bought a couple of model cars. Brighton beach was just like on TV - but much prettier. It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed a walk along the pebbly beach. There are lots of natty little shops along the waterfront – one extra special one that sold fish, chips and mushy peas…how could we resist!
We did manage to find our way back to Rydges – it turned out we were only about a ten minute walk away. The hotel never looked so good when it came into view, but once we were in our room we did have a good old laugh about it.
DAY 19
Sally and I had a ‘Mother/Daughter Day’ today, starting with Harrods. We wandered through the various departments and spent a fair bit of time in the pet shop where I bought Molly a lovely new collar (John nearly had a fit later on when he found out how much it cost!). We then went to Leicester Square and had lunch in a Mexican restaurant of Sally’s choice then on to Covent Garden where we wandered around all of the many shops there. Sally bought her Dad a great new cap for Father’s Day – and this has become one of his most prized possessions.
Later that afternoon we went back to Rydges where we met up with John who took Sally for a beer while I chilled out for a while in the hotel room. For tea that night we went to a terrific little Indian restaurant a couple of blocks away. I think Sally really enjoyed being spoilt – I think it had been quite some time since she ate a meal that good!
DAY 20
This morning John treated himself to a visit to the Imperial War Museum and Sally and I met up with him at the Elephant and Castle tube station at lunchtime. Joining us for lunch was Sally’s pommy friend Richard who was coming to Australia on his very first overseas visit at Christmas time. As he would be spending Christmas with us, Sally was keen for us to meet him and get to know him a bit – he turned out to be a great bloke that we would be more than happy to welcome into our home for the duration of his stay.
Sally and I had purchased tickets in Leicester Square this morning to see “We Will Rock You” for tonight. John was a bit reluctant to come as he is not fond of loud music, but we called in at a Boots chemist on the way and bought him a pair of industrial strength earplugs. They didn’t block out all of the noise so he could still hear everything, but just at a much lower volume than everyone else. It was an awesome show!
At the end of the night Sally had to catch a tube train home to Dollis Hill and we had to catch a different tube train back to Kensington. We were only a couple of stops from our station when the train stopped and the announcement was made that, due to industrial action, there would be no more tube trains that night and we would have to find some other way to get home. When we messaged Sally she had already got home so we didn’t have to worry about her – only about what we were going to do. As a bus seemed to be the best option, we turned left at the station exit and caught a bus. It was like a scene from the movie “Sliding Doors” – if we had only turned right we would have caught a bus that took us the couple of stops back to our hotel. Unfortunately we turned left and the bus we caught took us to Piccadilly Circus, right in the heart of London. So here we were, 12.30am, in Piccadilly Circus, with no idea how we were going to get back! It was really exciting (at least I was excited – John was a bit worried). But, we eventually found a bus and we crammed in with what seemed like half of London, finally arriving at our hotel around 1.30am.
DAY 21
As the tube strike was still on, we decided to bail out of London for the day and head to Brighton by the sea. It’s a place we had seen on TV many times and was on our wish list for this trip. Sally met us at Victoria Station and the three of us took the train to Brighton. It was a lovely trip down – not just because of the passing countryside, but mainly due to the relaxed and happy atmosphere between the three of us.
We walked from the Brighton train station all the way down to Brighton Beach, stopping along the way at a hobby shop for John, where he bought a couple of model cars. Brighton beach was just like on TV - but much prettier. It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed a walk along the pebbly beach. There are lots of natty little shops along the waterfront – one extra special one that sold fish, chips and mushy peas…how could we resist!
After this spectacular culinary experience, we went for a walk along the famous Brighton Pier all the way to the fun parlour at the end. The views from the pier looking back towards Brighton are just gorgeous…
When we arrived back in London we had to say goodbye again to Sally as we were leaving for Istanbul the next day. We thanked her for the lovely time we had over the last couple of days and look forward to seeing her in a few weeks when we meet up in Athens.
DAY 22
We didn’t stray too far from our hotel this morning as we were being picked up shortly after breakfast by the airport shuttle which would take us to Heathrow for our flight to Istanbul.
When we boarded the shuttle bus there was another couple already on board. The driver of the bus asked us to confirm where we were heading off to and when we said ‘Istanbul’ the other couple looked at each other and whispered “wow, they are going to Istanbul”. I think it was at that point that it occurred to me that, yes, we were really going somewhere quite exotic and exciting! John and Sue Byrne of Petrie!!!
Never, never, never again will we EVER travel via British Airways. When we arrived at Istanbul airport and waited for our luggage to appear on the carousel, John’s didn’t show up. He wasn’t the only one – about fifty or more travelers on our flight also were in the same predicament. But, selfishly, we were only interested in John’s. We finally had to go to the Lost Luggage point at the airport and report it. They told us that it was more than likely on another flight which would be arriving later that evening and if it was located they would deliver it to our hotel. So, not only did we leave the airport with only one suitcase, we also missed the shuttle bus which was to take us to our hotel. We ended up taking a taxi, which was quite a frightening experience – maniac driver!
We did settle down a bit though on the trip to the hotel, as Istanbul is a very exciting place – you pick up the vibes immediately upon leaving the airport. There are vast numbers of people, the skyline is dotted with mosques, the Bosphorus Sea is very blue and a hub of activity (loads of ships of all sizes from fishing boats through to enormous tankers), Turkish families cooking tea along the waterfront, there was a mixture of beautiful old buildings and some very modern buildings – you couldn’t help but be enthused.
The World Park Hotel where were staying was in the Old District of Istanbul. It was very old and quite magnificent with its ornate carvings, Turkish carpets and mosaic tiles. The concierge spoke very good English and was a very pleasant and obliging person. When we told him of our dilemma with John’s lost luggage, he promised us that, no matter what time it arrived at the hotel, he would bring it up to our room. And that is exactly what happened – about 3am our room phone rang and we were informed that John’s suitcase had arrived safely and it was wending its way up to our room. The poor little chap who delivered it must have been totally traumatized, as John first kissed his bag and then shook the guy’s hand vigorously! Out of sheer relief John gave him a very handsome tip to help ease his shock of meeting this over zealous Aussie tourist.
DAY 23
With all of our luggage intact, we were picked up from the lobby of our hotel at 6.30am for the long bus ride to Gallipolli. It took some time before we were actually out of Istanbul as there were a lot of stops to be made to pick up our fellow travelers. At one place it looked like we would be waiting a little while, so John got off the bus and walked a little way down the street until he located a bakery, where he purchased some freshly baked bread rolls – they were absolutely delicious and as it turned out, a very wise purchase as we didn’t stop for refreshments until nearly 11am.
When we did stop it was a very disorganized process – there was this café way out in the middle of nowhere run by only men (naturally – that’s probably why it was so disorganized!). We had to line up to get a ticket for our food (we opted for the safest looking option – a toasted cheese sandwich type of thing), then line up again to pay, then line up again to hand the ticket in, then line up again to get the food. By the time we actually got the food we had to scoff it down because we had to get back on the bus!
We reached Cannakale late morning and were ferried across to Gallipoli in this dodgy boat which I’m sure was overloaded with all of us as well as our luggage. I didn’t really know what to expect, and was not overly excited about being there. This whole experience was purely for John’s benefit – probably the highlight of the whole trip for him. However, it turned out to be one of the most profound experiences for both of us. Gallipolli is a most beautiful place. The sea is pristine blue and the whole area has been beautifully and respectfully preserved by the Turks.
DAY 22
We didn’t stray too far from our hotel this morning as we were being picked up shortly after breakfast by the airport shuttle which would take us to Heathrow for our flight to Istanbul.
When we boarded the shuttle bus there was another couple already on board. The driver of the bus asked us to confirm where we were heading off to and when we said ‘Istanbul’ the other couple looked at each other and whispered “wow, they are going to Istanbul”. I think it was at that point that it occurred to me that, yes, we were really going somewhere quite exotic and exciting! John and Sue Byrne of Petrie!!!
Never, never, never again will we EVER travel via British Airways. When we arrived at Istanbul airport and waited for our luggage to appear on the carousel, John’s didn’t show up. He wasn’t the only one – about fifty or more travelers on our flight also were in the same predicament. But, selfishly, we were only interested in John’s. We finally had to go to the Lost Luggage point at the airport and report it. They told us that it was more than likely on another flight which would be arriving later that evening and if it was located they would deliver it to our hotel. So, not only did we leave the airport with only one suitcase, we also missed the shuttle bus which was to take us to our hotel. We ended up taking a taxi, which was quite a frightening experience – maniac driver!
We did settle down a bit though on the trip to the hotel, as Istanbul is a very exciting place – you pick up the vibes immediately upon leaving the airport. There are vast numbers of people, the skyline is dotted with mosques, the Bosphorus Sea is very blue and a hub of activity (loads of ships of all sizes from fishing boats through to enormous tankers), Turkish families cooking tea along the waterfront, there was a mixture of beautiful old buildings and some very modern buildings – you couldn’t help but be enthused.
The World Park Hotel where were staying was in the Old District of Istanbul. It was very old and quite magnificent with its ornate carvings, Turkish carpets and mosaic tiles. The concierge spoke very good English and was a very pleasant and obliging person. When we told him of our dilemma with John’s lost luggage, he promised us that, no matter what time it arrived at the hotel, he would bring it up to our room. And that is exactly what happened – about 3am our room phone rang and we were informed that John’s suitcase had arrived safely and it was wending its way up to our room. The poor little chap who delivered it must have been totally traumatized, as John first kissed his bag and then shook the guy’s hand vigorously! Out of sheer relief John gave him a very handsome tip to help ease his shock of meeting this over zealous Aussie tourist.
DAY 23
With all of our luggage intact, we were picked up from the lobby of our hotel at 6.30am for the long bus ride to Gallipolli. It took some time before we were actually out of Istanbul as there were a lot of stops to be made to pick up our fellow travelers. At one place it looked like we would be waiting a little while, so John got off the bus and walked a little way down the street until he located a bakery, where he purchased some freshly baked bread rolls – they were absolutely delicious and as it turned out, a very wise purchase as we didn’t stop for refreshments until nearly 11am.
When we did stop it was a very disorganized process – there was this café way out in the middle of nowhere run by only men (naturally – that’s probably why it was so disorganized!). We had to line up to get a ticket for our food (we opted for the safest looking option – a toasted cheese sandwich type of thing), then line up again to pay, then line up again to hand the ticket in, then line up again to get the food. By the time we actually got the food we had to scoff it down because we had to get back on the bus!
We reached Cannakale late morning and were ferried across to Gallipoli in this dodgy boat which I’m sure was overloaded with all of us as well as our luggage. I didn’t really know what to expect, and was not overly excited about being there. This whole experience was purely for John’s benefit – probably the highlight of the whole trip for him. However, it turned out to be one of the most profound experiences for both of us. Gallipolli is a most beautiful place. The sea is pristine blue and the whole area has been beautifully and respectfully preserved by the Turks.
We visited the Gallipolli museum first and after that our tour group gathered in the paved area out the front of the museum to listen to a commentary by our Turkish guide. It was while I was there looking out over the beautiful blue water, with the lush green hills in the background that it finally hit me the incredible waste of human life that took place here and how very sad it made me. I got all choked up and remained that way for the rest of the day (interspersed with tears of sorrow) for all the men – Australian, New Zealander and Turks as well as their families at home who suffered such a great loss.
I think that every Australian should try to visit this amazing place as a lesson on the futility of war, but also to gain an appreciation of our heroic ANZACS.
At the end of a very emotional day we were taken to our hotel – the Kolin – in Cannakale. We were given a GORGEOUS room – or should I say suite – and I can honestly say that I had one of the best and deepest sleeps of my whole life that night. I don’t know why, but it would be great if I slept that well every night.
DAY 24
This morning the same tour group headed off to the mythical city of Troy, or at least I thought it was mythical until we actually went there and found that it really did exist! It was featured in “The Iliad” by Homer as being the centre of the Trojan War. What it actually is, is an archaeological site, the traditional location of Homeric Troy and dates back over 5000 years.
There is a replica of the Trojan horse at the entry way, but we didn’t bother go into it as there were so many people in there already. It was pretty hot and dry walking around, and it was hard to get our heads around just how very old this place was.
At lunchtime we arrived in the lovely waterside town of Cannakale (prounounced Chanarkalee) and the next five or so hours to ourselves. We didn’t much fancy looking at any more museums, but we did find a lovely restaurant by the waterfront where we treated ourselves to a Turkish meal. After that we found a dodgy little internet café and sent an email back home, then spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering along or sitting by the waterfront, taking in the passing parade in this lovely town.
As can be seen in the photo on the right above, there was a storm brewing which hit only about 15 minutes after the bus left Cannakale to drive back to Istanbul. And what a storm it turned out to be! We had strong winds, hail, torrential rain and loud thunder. The bus driver really earned his money that night as we drove through places where the water was over a foot deep. But he got us back to Istanbul safely – it was after 2am when we finally walked into our room at the Point Hotel (this hotel located in the New District of Istanbul).
Another adventure for John and Sue Byrne from Petrie!
DAY 25
Today was a day at leisure, although after our late night last night we did treat ourselves to a sleep in. And it was just as well we did have a sleep in – to give us the stamina which we needed for our trip to the Grand Bazaar! What an absolutely amazing place this turned out to be. There were over 5,000 shops and there weren’t too many that we didn’t see. Poor John, he was so good and very patient given that he hates shopping so much. But it was something very different and I discovered my previously untapped skills in the art of haggling! I bought some nice jewelry for myself and leather jackets for Kelly and Ang, as well as lots of other little do-dads. In the end though, John gasped that he needed coffee so we had to call it a day – but it was after nearly six hours. We had a wander around the general area as well and marveled at The Blue Mosque, St Sophia Museum, Sultanahmet Square, Topkapi Palace but in the end we were buggered and had to call it quits.
Another adventure for John and Sue Byrne from Petrie!
DAY 25
Today was a day at leisure, although after our late night last night we did treat ourselves to a sleep in. And it was just as well we did have a sleep in – to give us the stamina which we needed for our trip to the Grand Bazaar! What an absolutely amazing place this turned out to be. There were over 5,000 shops and there weren’t too many that we didn’t see. Poor John, he was so good and very patient given that he hates shopping so much. But it was something very different and I discovered my previously untapped skills in the art of haggling! I bought some nice jewelry for myself and leather jackets for Kelly and Ang, as well as lots of other little do-dads. In the end though, John gasped that he needed coffee so we had to call it a day – but it was after nearly six hours. We had a wander around the general area as well and marveled at The Blue Mosque, St Sophia Museum, Sultanahmet Square, Topkapi Palace but in the end we were buggered and had to call it quits.
DAY 26
Today was another day at leisure. Some of the research that I did before we left on our trip suggested that a ferry ride on the Bosphorus was a ‘must do’ – so we did. We managed to buy tickets from the hotel desk. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and lasted around three hours. We sailed past magnificent palaces and homes all lining the Bosphorus- with the Asian side of Turkey on one side and the European side on the other.
In the late afternoon Insight tours put on drinks and we got to meet the tour guide, Borad, and our fellow travelers for our “Danube and Black Sea Explorer” tour.
DAY 27 & DAY 28
This morning our tour group went on a sightseeing tour of Itanbul. We were fine when we were in the bus traveling past the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, but when we reached Topkapi Palace we were both feeling really crook. We decided to pull the plug and take a taxi back to our hotel where we collapsed into bed. For the rest of this day – and all of the next – we were sick, sick, sick! All we wanted to do was go home to our little house in Petrie.
DAY 29
Fortunately we were feeling much better today and our stomachs seemed to have settled. Which was just as well, because our tour officially commenced today and we were to head off to Sunny Beach. We were really quite fortunate, if we had to get sick, that it was in the last couple of days where we could just isolate ourselves and recover quietly.
We fronted up for breakfast but took things VERY carefully. There were lots of very spicy and nondescript foods but there was actually a honeycomb frame sitting on a large plate with natural honey dripping from it. The absolute best thing for a delicate stomach (next to toast and vegemite). Turkish tea is not the same as English tea, so I opted for a drink of pomegranate juice which was very soothing on the stomach.
By the time we were on the bus ready to head off on the journey to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, we were feeling rather human again and could enjoy the drive through Istanbul (which takes a considerable amount of time, given that there are 20 million people living there – pretty much the whole of the population of Australia). It’s quite mind boggling really.
Sunny Beach turned out to quite a beautiful place, as was the town of Nessebur about a 3km drive from Sunny Beach. We had a good old explore of Nessebur, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. There are ancient fortress walls, medieval churches, narrow cobblestone lanes and old wooden houses – not to mention some very interesting shops!
Today was another day at leisure. Some of the research that I did before we left on our trip suggested that a ferry ride on the Bosphorus was a ‘must do’ – so we did. We managed to buy tickets from the hotel desk. It turned out to be a wonderful experience and lasted around three hours. We sailed past magnificent palaces and homes all lining the Bosphorus- with the Asian side of Turkey on one side and the European side on the other.
In the late afternoon Insight tours put on drinks and we got to meet the tour guide, Borad, and our fellow travelers for our “Danube and Black Sea Explorer” tour.
DAY 27 & DAY 28
This morning our tour group went on a sightseeing tour of Itanbul. We were fine when we were in the bus traveling past the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, but when we reached Topkapi Palace we were both feeling really crook. We decided to pull the plug and take a taxi back to our hotel where we collapsed into bed. For the rest of this day – and all of the next – we were sick, sick, sick! All we wanted to do was go home to our little house in Petrie.
DAY 29
Fortunately we were feeling much better today and our stomachs seemed to have settled. Which was just as well, because our tour officially commenced today and we were to head off to Sunny Beach. We were really quite fortunate, if we had to get sick, that it was in the last couple of days where we could just isolate ourselves and recover quietly.
We fronted up for breakfast but took things VERY carefully. There were lots of very spicy and nondescript foods but there was actually a honeycomb frame sitting on a large plate with natural honey dripping from it. The absolute best thing for a delicate stomach (next to toast and vegemite). Turkish tea is not the same as English tea, so I opted for a drink of pomegranate juice which was very soothing on the stomach.
By the time we were on the bus ready to head off on the journey to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, we were feeling rather human again and could enjoy the drive through Istanbul (which takes a considerable amount of time, given that there are 20 million people living there – pretty much the whole of the population of Australia). It’s quite mind boggling really.
Sunny Beach turned out to quite a beautiful place, as was the town of Nessebur about a 3km drive from Sunny Beach. We had a good old explore of Nessebur, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. There are ancient fortress walls, medieval churches, narrow cobblestone lanes and old wooden houses – not to mention some very interesting shops!
All along the waterfront where the tour buses and car parks are there is a continual recorded message being blasted over the loudspeaker ‘welcome to Sunneebeech’- we heard it that many times that we now always pronounce Sunny Beach, sunneebeech!
DAY 30
Today was a day at leisure in Sunny Beach or an optional tour to the Summer Palace of Queen Mary of Romania located at Balchik. Although Sunny Beach is a beautiful place, there’s not really that much to do except to walk along the beach and go for a swim. So, we went on the tour to the Summer Palace, which turned out to be a good decision. We stopped along the way at the old capital of Bulgaria, Varna – lovely city
DAY 30
Today was a day at leisure in Sunny Beach or an optional tour to the Summer Palace of Queen Mary of Romania located at Balchik. Although Sunny Beach is a beautiful place, there’s not really that much to do except to walk along the beach and go for a swim. So, we went on the tour to the Summer Palace, which turned out to be a good decision. We stopped along the way at the old capital of Bulgaria, Varna – lovely city
The Summer Palace was gorgeous – not so much the palace itself which was just another palace really. But rather the gardens – they were magnificent
DAY 31
Goodbye to ‘Sunneebeach’ and over the border into Romania. First impression was a very bleak, very dirty, incredibly poor country…which it was. The people have had to endure life under Communist rule and then the terrible Chaucescu who lived a decadent lifestyle at the expense of his people. Now they are free – and their attitude is so beautiful. They have nothing but they have their freedom which means more than anything. What a humbling lesson to learn.
The capital city of Bucharest is a disaster area but the People’s Palace that Chaucescu had built when he was leader of the country was incredible. It was originally called the Parliament Palace but after Chaucescu was overthrown it was renamed The People’s Palace. It is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon and 7,000 houses, churches, monasteries and a hospital were knocked down to be able to build it.
Goodbye to ‘Sunneebeach’ and over the border into Romania. First impression was a very bleak, very dirty, incredibly poor country…which it was. The people have had to endure life under Communist rule and then the terrible Chaucescu who lived a decadent lifestyle at the expense of his people. Now they are free – and their attitude is so beautiful. They have nothing but they have their freedom which means more than anything. What a humbling lesson to learn.
The capital city of Bucharest is a disaster area but the People’s Palace that Chaucescu had built when he was leader of the country was incredible. It was originally called the Parliament Palace but after Chaucescu was overthrown it was renamed The People’s Palace. It is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon and 7,000 houses, churches, monasteries and a hospital were knocked down to be able to build it.
DAY 32
Today was my 50th birthday and if I wanted to leave town I certainly succeeded! This was probably the coolest day of our whole Eastern Europe trip – we traveled through the Transylvanian Alps and ended up at Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle). Well, Dracula didn’t really live there because Dracula is not real, but Bran Stoker when he wrote his famous book modeled the castle in his story on this one and the character of Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, a real person who lived in Transylvania back in the 15th century. Still, a little imagination never goes astray and I thought the whole thing was very exciting and spooky!
Today was my 50th birthday and if I wanted to leave town I certainly succeeded! This was probably the coolest day of our whole Eastern Europe trip – we traveled through the Transylvanian Alps and ended up at Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle). Well, Dracula didn’t really live there because Dracula is not real, but Bran Stoker when he wrote his famous book modeled the castle in his story on this one and the character of Dracula on Vlad the Impaler, a real person who lived in Transylvania back in the 15th century. Still, a little imagination never goes astray and I thought the whole thing was very exciting and spooky!
On our return journey back from Transylvania to Bucharest, Borad our tour guide announced to the bus that it was my birthday and presented me with a birthday present of a jewel box in the shape of a treasure chest and a Bran Castle fridge magnet (which is now forming an embellishment in my scrapbook). Everyone then sang me happy birthday – very embarrassing but nice all the same.
And if that wasn’t enough, at dinner that night I got another happy birthday song and a special dessert with candles on it. A most memorable birthday!
DAY 33
We said farewell to Romania and headed back over the border into Bucharest en route to Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital. At lunchtime we stopped in Veliko Turnovo, a city in central northern Bulgaria which was at one time the capital city of Bulgaria but now just a tourist town (more good shopping!).
After arriving in Sofia we had a walking tour of the city, visiting the National Theatre, The Church of St Nicholas, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All very impressive – and much cleaner and more organized that Romania’s capital city of Bucharest.
We stayed at the Hilton Hotel which was really flash. For dinner that night we decided not to go on the optional tour of a Bulgarian Folk Dancing evening but ended up having dinner outside in the grounds of the hotel where we were joined by a lovely couple from our tour, Warren and Margaret who came from Adelaide.
DAY 34
While some of our tour group today had the day at leisure, we went on the optional tour to the Rila Monastery. This monastery is about 117km away from Sofia and lies in the Rila mountains, about 1,147 metres above sea level. The monastery was founded in the 10th century and is still a working monastery. It was an amazing place, very peaceful and inspiring – very glad we decided to go here
We stayed at the Hilton Hotel which was really flash. For dinner that night we decided not to go on the optional tour of a Bulgarian Folk Dancing evening but ended up having dinner outside in the grounds of the hotel where we were joined by a lovely couple from our tour, Warren and Margaret who came from Adelaide.
DAY 34
While some of our tour group today had the day at leisure, we went on the optional tour to the Rila Monastery. This monastery is about 117km away from Sofia and lies in the Rila mountains, about 1,147 metres above sea level. The monastery was founded in the 10th century and is still a working monastery. It was an amazing place, very peaceful and inspiring – very glad we decided to go here
DAY 35
Today we said goodbye to Bulgaria and crossed over the border into Greece. Although Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey were a wonderful experience, Greece seemed to welcome us with open arms. It just felt right.
We stayed overnight at the town of Kalambaka where we scored big time with our hotel room. From the balcony we had an awesome view of the Meteora Mountain range and the monasteries that were built on the very top (and which we were to visit the next day).
After tea we took a walk through the town and browsed in the many little shops, as well as enjoying our first sample of Greek yoghurt with honey drizzled on top – what a taste thrill!
DAY 36
This morning our tour bus hiked up the Meteora mountain ranges passed the monasteries which dominated the mountain tops. What an architectural feat – they had been built in the 1500s and all of the building materials had been either hoisted up the mountainside by a flying fox contraption, or were carried up by hand climbing up rope ladders. They sure built them tough in those days. We got to visit the Monastery of Rousanou which is home to a group of nuns – fascinating to visit but if I had to live there I would slit my wrists!
After leaving Kalambaka we traveled to our next port of call, Delphi where there was an archeological museum and the so-called famous Oracle of Delphi. The museum was probably quite interesting but the tour guide was a real pompous little pain, not to mention the fact that we were tired and it was hot and dry. So our hearts just weren’t in it and then when it came time to walk up to the Oracle of Delphi, a number of us decided not to bother. Instead we found a shop near the entrance to the museum where they sold the most delicious fruit slushy drinks and just sat in the shade and tried to keep cool. When all of our tour group were assembled back on the bus, those that had done the trek to the Oracle looked decidedly worse for wear.
We arrived in Athens in the late afternoon and a few of our tour group wandered to a taverna nearby for a magnificent Greek feast washed down with sweet Greek wine amidst lots of laughter. A great night.
DAY 37
This morning was another highlight – a sightseeing tour of Athens ending up at the Acropolis. As we walked around the Parthenon I had to pinch myself – all those ancient history lessons seemed to have come alive and I was actually standing there in person! I loved every minute of it…
This afternoon we were given the option of staying in Athens to do our own exploring or go back to the hotel. Naturally we stayed in Athens. We walked for miles to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guards (in their funny little uniforms),walked through the National Garden of Athens and stopped at a little Taverna in the grounds for lunch
down to the Temple of Zeus where we sat for a while taking in our surroundings and looking up at the Acropolis…
and did a spot of shopping before being taken by bus back to our hotel ready for the night’s festivities – a Greek show and Taverna meal. And it turned out to be terrific. The taverna was on the roof top of this building and when we looked up we could see the Acropolis and the Parthenon all lit up. It was unreal! Unfortunately just before the meal was served it started to storm and everyone was moved down into the reception room which was very hot and cramped. We ate our meal but then our little group (together with a bottle of wine each) bailed out and went back up on to the roof – rain or not. But the storm had cleared and we settled back once again on this lovely cool rooftop, with our unbelievable view and had the most awesome time with a great group of people.
We arrived back at our hotel around 11.30pm and about an hour later Sally rang us from the downstairs lobby to tell us that she had arrived! John went downstairs to get her (the hotel staff were blissfully unaware that we were smuggling someone into our room!) and we had another happy reunion.
DAY 38
After finally getting off to sleep last night following Sally’s arrival, we all went downstairs to breakfast together. I think it had been quite some time since Sal had seen so much delicious food in one place! But this was only the beginning – we had another week to spoil her before she went back to her share house in London.
There was one very special person that we found hard to say goodbye to – Helen (no idea what her last name was). She was an American lady in her 80’s who was definitely everyone’s favourite in our tour group. We first met her when we were sick in Istanbul. She was pretty crook herself and the first time we saw her was when she had her head in her hands at the breakfast dining table. Her room was being made up and so she had to vacate it until it was ready. I went up to her and introduced myself and asked if there was anything that she needed. We ended up buying her some bottled water and gave her some of our Imodium and Maxolon tablets to ease her distress. She was so pathetically grateful and it was nice for us to be able to do something to help her – but we became fast friends.
Anyway, we introduced her to Sally and gave her a big hug and kiss goodbye – that’s one of the downsides of traveling in a tour group…you often become really fond of people that you will never see again. Still, every experience of its kind shapes the sort of person you become.
After checking out of our hotel, we took a taxi to Athens airport to catch our plane for the short flight to Santorini. When we first landed there I wasn’t too impressed. It seemed quite isolated and dry and I couldn’t see any of the white buildings with blue roofs that the Greek Islands are famous for. Once we retrieved our luggage we were picked up by a shuttle bus for the trek up the mountainside to the centre of the island, Fira, where our hotel was located. The shuttle bus stopped pretty much in the centre of the main street and we were met by one of the porters from the Cosmopolitan Suites (our hotel). We followed him up, up, up to the very top of the mountain to where the hotel was located (fortunately we made it but it was quite a trek – I had wondered what we had got ourselves into). Our first view of the hotel was that it was pristine white with a blue roof (good start), then the porter undid a rope cordon at the entrance to the hotel, we descended a flight of stairs (white with blue trim – another good sign) to reception where we were presented with a nice cold glass of champagne from Daphne, who turned out to be the absolute best hostess of any hotel we have ever been to.
While we were waiting for Daphne to show us to our room, we were asked to wait a bit further down from reception and enjoy our champagne….what we were confronted with was without doubt the most magnificent view I have ever seen, or am likely to see, in my whole life. I literally gasped, and then when Sally saw the view she gasped, and then when John saw the view he gasped…it was that magnificent
And if we hadn’t gasped enough, when we were shown to our room – or should I say luxury suite – we gasped again. It was built into the mountain itself and the walls were the mountain, Sally’s room was at the top of the stairs and she had a king size bed AND her own ensuite. After sharing a house with about ten other people for some months, this was absolute luxury for her.
We were pretty keen to start exploring this amazing place, and the shops (so many shops!) were only about 50 metres from where we were staying, not to mention loads of Greek restaurants serving the most amazing food in the world. We chose a restaurant even higher up the mountain than our hotel, overlooking the water and the volcano across the water. We ordered all things Greek, washed down with some very tasty and cold alcoholic beverages. It was at this point that we were seriously considering taking up Greek residency!
After lunch we wandered around the many interesting shops but made sure that we were in situ by the pool just prior to sunset so that we could see for ourselves the famed Santorini sunset – and it certainly did not disappoint…
The bed in our suite was luxurious, with the biggest and fluffiest pillows I have ever slept on. That night we all slept VERY well.
DAY 39
After a deliciously wonderful sleep-in we got dressed and went to the area by the pool where breakfast is served. Out of nowhere this gorgeous Greek man appeared and served us up freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly brewed coffee, fruit salad with Greek yoghurt and honey, and a basket of danishes and breads.
After breakfast we caught a taxi to Oia (prounounced WEE-AH) at the northernmost part of Santorini. It was a truly frightening experience – yet another maniac taxi driver, but this time the roads were very narrow and the drop to the water below was a l-o-n-g way down! Oia was even more magnificent than Fira – quaint little alleyways with paved walkways, row after row of white buildings with blue roofs, interspersed occasionally with some pink buildings. We walked and walked and walked – took heaps of photos and did our fair share of shopping and even stopped for another ‘great coffee moment’!
Late afternoon we caught a bus back to our hotel (we couldn’t face another terrifying taxi ride) and once again took up our position beside the pool in advance of sunset. The same little man as appeared at breakfast, this time appeared with a bar menu – how could we insult him by not ordering something!
DAY 40
Today we were supposed to be departing Santorini to travel by fast ferry to the island of Mykonos. Alas this was not what happened. Due to rough seas, all shipping was cancelled. All planes were booked and there was no way we were going to be leaving Santorini that day. Not that it was too much of a hardship, but we were a bit concerned about whether we would make it off the island to catch our flight to Athens the day after to connect with our return flight home.
Because there were so many other people in our predicament, we had no trouble being able to stay the extra night in the beautiful Cosmopolitan Suites. We didn’t waste our day either – we wandered around shops, went back to our favourite restaurants, sat by the pool taking in the incredible view - which is something that you could never ever get sick of, and prayed that everything would be OK and that we would get home according to plan!
DAY 41
The news this morning was a bit better, but not as good as we had hoped. We were supposed to travel on the fast ferry to Mykonos which would have taken only about an hour, but the seas still weren’t good enough to allow them to travel. Our only option was to go by slow ferry, which was a pretty large boat well equipped to handle rough seas, but would take a little over eight hours! Under normal circumstances there would have been no way in God’s earth that I would have elected to travel by boat in rough seas, let alone for eight hours, but I didn’t really have any choice.
As it turned out the trip was quite smooth and for the first five hours it was actually quite lovely. We sailed under clear blue skies on a dark blue sea amidst lots of smaller Greek islands and the occasional fishing boat that was totally unphased by the shipping warning. The ferry called in at Naxos and Paros Islands which provided a bit more of a diversion for us. And as for the sunset – it was magnificent.
After sunset though it started to get quite cold and there was no scenery to look at and we were totally over it! It was pretty much the longest two hours of my whole life. We couldn’t even wander around the ship as we had all of our luggage which was impossible to lug up and down the stairs so we had to stay put.
Finally about 8pm the lights of Mykonos came into view and we heaved a sigh of relief. Everyone and their luggage had to make their way down, down, down to the car parking area of the ship and the ship’s ramp was lowered so that everyone could walk off. We were somewhere in the middle of the throng of people disembarking when something started to go horribly wrong. The moorings for the ramp broke free and ramp started to drop down into the sea. Sally and I made it to the shore but John was caught up in the crowd of people all trying to move back into the ship. It was really frightening – I was terrified that John was going to be dropped into the sea. One lady’s luggage did suffer that fate, but fortunately that was the only fatality of what could have been a dire situation. I gave John the biggest hug of his life when he finally did get on to the shore and I had nightmares for weeks after over what could have happened.
We were staying at the Cavo Tagoo hotel and the hotel’s mini bus was there to pick us up and take us for the short ride to where the hotel was located. WOW!! What a place! Probably the most luxurious hotel I have ever stayed at in my whole life. Although Mykonos was nowhere near as amazing and beautiful as Santorini, the hotel was definitely a highlight…
DAYS 42 TO 44
Sally and I decided to at least make a token effort to see as much of Mykonos as we could before we had to leave it. So at 8.30am, after a delightful breakfast at the hotel in all its luxurious surroundings, we headed off on foot for the town. John was pretty much holidayed out at this stage, and just couldn’t arouse enough enthusiasm to join us, so he decided to stay put at the hotel and enjoy the lovely view from the verandah of our room.
We wandered around the waterfront, had a walk on the beach and a paddle in the water which was absolutely pristine, but when we ventured further inland to do a bit of shopping we found that nothing was open! Obviously, the majority of the population of Mykonos was sleeping in late after partying hard the night before – I guess that must be the norm.
We returned to our hotel room empty handed and it wasn’t long before we had to check out and make our way to the airport for our flight back to Athens, which took a grand total of about 20 minutes (unbelievable considering the 8 hours it took to get here from Santorini!).
After checking in at Athens airport, we didn’t have too much time to wait before our flight to Dubai was called which also marked the time we had to farewell our Sally. She was catching a flight back to London and her temporary home in Dollis Hill. It was quite gut-wrenching to say goodbye. We had spent a magical time with her in the Greek Islands and we had no idea when we would be seeing her again. Still, the memories were pretty special as this was something that only the three of us had shared.
The trip from Athens to Dubai was uneventful and once we reached Dubai we were bussed to a hotel close to the airport for an overnight stop. What I didn’t realize was that our luggage would be onforwarded to our Brisbane flight and we would only have our hand luggage – consequently we didn’t have a change of clothes OR MY HAIR DRYER (disaster!!!!).
Consequently, when I reached Brisbane I looked like crap…and to make matters worse, Channel 7 were filming “Border Security”. John was very comforting though – he told me that the cute little beagle sniffer dogs looked much more appealing and they were more likely to be filmed than me (oh well, I guess he meant well).
There were three flights arriving in Brisbane at pretty much the same time, so it took a l-o-n-g time to clear Customs. What a lovely sight it was when we finally did walk out into the Arrivals lounge to see David and Ang waiting for us!
They took us to The Coffee Club at Aspley for breakfast, but all I felt like was an Australian cappuccino and all John wanted was a coffee and some toast with vegemite. Delicious!
After breakfast we went back to their house to where Molly had been staying. She was so happy to see us – all 34 kilos of her (David had overfed her slightly to discourage her from eating his plants – didn’t work though). Although I didn’t unpack all of the gifts that we bought David and Ang, we did give David his OP rum and Ang the pink leather jacket we bought her at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. She was pretty happy and looked gorgeous in it
DAY 40
Today we were supposed to be departing Santorini to travel by fast ferry to the island of Mykonos. Alas this was not what happened. Due to rough seas, all shipping was cancelled. All planes were booked and there was no way we were going to be leaving Santorini that day. Not that it was too much of a hardship, but we were a bit concerned about whether we would make it off the island to catch our flight to Athens the day after to connect with our return flight home.
Because there were so many other people in our predicament, we had no trouble being able to stay the extra night in the beautiful Cosmopolitan Suites. We didn’t waste our day either – we wandered around shops, went back to our favourite restaurants, sat by the pool taking in the incredible view - which is something that you could never ever get sick of, and prayed that everything would be OK and that we would get home according to plan!
DAY 41
The news this morning was a bit better, but not as good as we had hoped. We were supposed to travel on the fast ferry to Mykonos which would have taken only about an hour, but the seas still weren’t good enough to allow them to travel. Our only option was to go by slow ferry, which was a pretty large boat well equipped to handle rough seas, but would take a little over eight hours! Under normal circumstances there would have been no way in God’s earth that I would have elected to travel by boat in rough seas, let alone for eight hours, but I didn’t really have any choice.
As it turned out the trip was quite smooth and for the first five hours it was actually quite lovely. We sailed under clear blue skies on a dark blue sea amidst lots of smaller Greek islands and the occasional fishing boat that was totally unphased by the shipping warning. The ferry called in at Naxos and Paros Islands which provided a bit more of a diversion for us. And as for the sunset – it was magnificent.
After sunset though it started to get quite cold and there was no scenery to look at and we were totally over it! It was pretty much the longest two hours of my whole life. We couldn’t even wander around the ship as we had all of our luggage which was impossible to lug up and down the stairs so we had to stay put.
Finally about 8pm the lights of Mykonos came into view and we heaved a sigh of relief. Everyone and their luggage had to make their way down, down, down to the car parking area of the ship and the ship’s ramp was lowered so that everyone could walk off. We were somewhere in the middle of the throng of people disembarking when something started to go horribly wrong. The moorings for the ramp broke free and ramp started to drop down into the sea. Sally and I made it to the shore but John was caught up in the crowd of people all trying to move back into the ship. It was really frightening – I was terrified that John was going to be dropped into the sea. One lady’s luggage did suffer that fate, but fortunately that was the only fatality of what could have been a dire situation. I gave John the biggest hug of his life when he finally did get on to the shore and I had nightmares for weeks after over what could have happened.
We were staying at the Cavo Tagoo hotel and the hotel’s mini bus was there to pick us up and take us for the short ride to where the hotel was located. WOW!! What a place! Probably the most luxurious hotel I have ever stayed at in my whole life. Although Mykonos was nowhere near as amazing and beautiful as Santorini, the hotel was definitely a highlight…
DAYS 42 TO 44
Sally and I decided to at least make a token effort to see as much of Mykonos as we could before we had to leave it. So at 8.30am, after a delightful breakfast at the hotel in all its luxurious surroundings, we headed off on foot for the town. John was pretty much holidayed out at this stage, and just couldn’t arouse enough enthusiasm to join us, so he decided to stay put at the hotel and enjoy the lovely view from the verandah of our room.
We wandered around the waterfront, had a walk on the beach and a paddle in the water which was absolutely pristine, but when we ventured further inland to do a bit of shopping we found that nothing was open! Obviously, the majority of the population of Mykonos was sleeping in late after partying hard the night before – I guess that must be the norm.
We returned to our hotel room empty handed and it wasn’t long before we had to check out and make our way to the airport for our flight back to Athens, which took a grand total of about 20 minutes (unbelievable considering the 8 hours it took to get here from Santorini!).
After checking in at Athens airport, we didn’t have too much time to wait before our flight to Dubai was called which also marked the time we had to farewell our Sally. She was catching a flight back to London and her temporary home in Dollis Hill. It was quite gut-wrenching to say goodbye. We had spent a magical time with her in the Greek Islands and we had no idea when we would be seeing her again. Still, the memories were pretty special as this was something that only the three of us had shared.
The trip from Athens to Dubai was uneventful and once we reached Dubai we were bussed to a hotel close to the airport for an overnight stop. What I didn’t realize was that our luggage would be onforwarded to our Brisbane flight and we would only have our hand luggage – consequently we didn’t have a change of clothes OR MY HAIR DRYER (disaster!!!!).
Consequently, when I reached Brisbane I looked like crap…and to make matters worse, Channel 7 were filming “Border Security”. John was very comforting though – he told me that the cute little beagle sniffer dogs looked much more appealing and they were more likely to be filmed than me (oh well, I guess he meant well).
There were three flights arriving in Brisbane at pretty much the same time, so it took a l-o-n-g time to clear Customs. What a lovely sight it was when we finally did walk out into the Arrivals lounge to see David and Ang waiting for us!
They took us to The Coffee Club at Aspley for breakfast, but all I felt like was an Australian cappuccino and all John wanted was a coffee and some toast with vegemite. Delicious!
After breakfast we went back to their house to where Molly had been staying. She was so happy to see us – all 34 kilos of her (David had overfed her slightly to discourage her from eating his plants – didn’t work though). Although I didn’t unpack all of the gifts that we bought David and Ang, we did give David his OP rum and Ang the pink leather jacket we bought her at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. She was pretty happy and looked gorgeous in it
We arrived home just after lunch, unpacked, did the washing and stayed awake until the early evening before crashing into our lovely comfortable bed for a long and fitful sleep.
It had been an awesome holiday.
It had been an awesome holiday.
