Happy anticipation

2011 and another trip is being planned - it is all exciting and a little more adventurous - a trip up to the northern polar regions - Spitsbergen, Murmansk in northern Russia, some fjords, a little Copenhagen, and back to our beloved London. http://www.cruiseaway.com.au/special/oceania_insignia_-_lands_midnight_sun?sd=23/06/2011 This is a link to the itinerary, as it stands in March. It can always alter, but that is part of travel. The flights are booked, hotels arranged, so now it is the happy anticipation bit. I am even trying to learn a little danish, but that is another story. More soon

The owl and the pussycat went to sea, in a beautiful pea green boat.......

...and then went to London to visit the Queen. Well, she is not here at the moment, as the politicians are trying to work out who will go and see her. So we are in London on our last two days. The time has gone so quickly, but it will be lovely to be home as well. We have done so much, seen so much, met some lovely people who will be friends. The holiday has seen us spend a lot of time with english folk,as the ship was principally UK passengers, and it has been an interesting expereince. I have a significant portion of english blood, so I can comment a little - they love activities in group format - the sailaway parties on the ship were group singalongs, they were usually in groups line dancing classes, lots of card games and bingo. Similar to what you imagine many will spend time in their home towns. Now everyone is waiting to see who will guide them out of the recession and slump which seems to be still pervading the country. I hope they get some perceptive leadership - they need it and deserve something better than before. I cannot say what has been the best highlight - there have been so many - sailing into and out of Venice in a ship which was taller than virtually everything in the city was a once in a lifetime experience, and every bit as amazing and jaw dropping as you hoped it would be. The sights and sounds of that city are spectacular, and even if I am never back, it has left wonderful memories. Croatia is a little gem, and I hope it never gets too commercialised. Gibralter was interesting, I never saw planes landing on such a tiny strip of land (they even have to stop the traffic on the main road from Spain, when planes take off or land! But the monkeys scared me rather, and I was pleased to be off the rock. England has been special as usual - even familiar spots have had surprises, and new vistas as the weather has been different. And it was wonderful to be back in Cornwall, the area of many of my ancestors. And to help fellow travellers with directions around this great, but slightly bewildering city is always satisfying. Tonight I will survey it from on high - the Eye, to be precise. I hope there will be a couple of photos to prove the experience. What an experience - sailing up over the sights of London as the dusk came, sipping a glasss of champagne, with two others in the capsule - and trying to absorb all the sights and record it as well. The photos do not do it justice, but I tried. There is a 3d film which you can see prior to the flight which was amazing in itself, sailing over the landmarks of London, and having seagulls appear , sprinkles of moisture, and dry ice clouds at your feet - it really gets you into the mood and ready for the flight. A thoroughly recommended must do in this city. It is time to come home, though, you get the feeling that home is calling, so ash clouds permitting we will soon be on our way, with wondeful memories, photos if any one interested, and which will remind us of special times forever. That is all

A walk in the park

It is not as cold today, London has been freezing, but the sun struggled and showed a little, so we walked up through the Mall, to check on Buck House - the flowers in St James Park are still prety and make a lovely background to the Palace. St James park was full of french students on the regular field trip to London, must be a right of passage to all french children. But it is a pretty place, we spotted young squirrels, lots of ducks, and pidgeons, and some brave locals siting in the stripped deck chairs that adorn all London parks ( and you pay to use them)
The beauty of this apartment is that we were in front of the palace within around a quarter of an hour - allowing for photo stops all the way.
Earlier we walked up through the theatre district, then on towards The City - the lovely term used for the financial district, there is always something new to see, but at the moment, there is a lot of road work and city beautyfying going on - I think the Olympics is an excuse for a lot of city work now, but the sad thing is that that a lot of buildings are also getting permanent bollard structures in front of the for security, a sign of the times.
The only news is the election - it will be interesting to see the country wake up to most probably a new governement, of sorts, as it could well be a hung parliament. We are off on a train again tomorrow - Liverpool, so will have a lovely day through the midlands.
We wait with baited breath to see if the ash cloud develops again, some flights in the north were closed this morning, but opened again later - it seems to be a day by day issue at the moment.

A wet Sunday in London

The forcast predicted it. And sure enough we woke to a cold , wet day - London has not forgotten about winter yet. But we rugged up (memo - always bring those warm clothes. I have worn every item of clothing I packed, only regret I took out the puffa jacket!). So we rugged up and after buying an umberella, we set off for a walk in London on a wet Sunday morning. It was lovely and invigorating, even if quite soggy. The city has quite another character, grey and a little sad, with lots of large puddles, evidence of nonexistant drainage in places. We walked the bordges - Lambeth to Waterloo, the Embankment, and admrred those going on the Wheel in the rain, not sure what they would see. We wandered back to our unit, a little damp, to change, and peruse the wonderful London Sunday papers - they are huge, with large plastic bags of extras (why dont we do that - stops them all falling out).
We spent lunch and a little of the afternoon at the Sherlock Holmes pub a minute from where we are staying - a wonderful example of the little English pub, with a glass of wine and fish and chips which only the Brits can do, and the best sticky toffee pudding ever. We felt just like locals, with the rain coming down, and all cosy and warm inside. For those here in the winter, the temps dont seem to have moved far!
So now I can catch up on the blog and emails, and regroup for the last full week, we will be home before we know it - I am missing my puppies badly now.
The trip to Penzance was lovely with the country so green, the lambs alll bounding round or snuggling with mum, and the little towns all inviting . ( I think I am off lamb for a while)
I will put some more photos to the trip[ reports as time permits,and add more thoughts to those put down in haste as the satellite permitted.
Even in the wet, London is full of surprises and some nice things
More soon

Some reflections from land and London

The train whisked us through the 'green and pleasant land', away from Southampton, and back to the city. The fields were so green, and some blossom is still there. We had sailed into the Solent about dawn, and disembarked mid morning. It is hard to believe we seen so much, travelled so far in a few days, and as I write, the ship is heading out again to the Canaries. It was a wonderful trip. One of my special ports was Korcula, a little island and port on the Dalmation coast, part of Croatia. It was a pretty place, with a wonderfully preserved historical town, reflecting the many nationalities who have conquered the country over the centuries, Italians, Greece, Romans. The people still seem to live very simple, happy lives, very welcoming and proud of their country. They are so pleased to show you their history, but you are just welcome to see how they live day to day, and I loved it. The scenery is beautiful, you can see why it is becoming so popular as a holiday destination for people from all over Europe.
There have been soo many highlights, sailing into Venice on a sunny spring morning was something we will never forget, the photos hardly do the experience justice, all I will say is that the pictures in travel books and brochures do not lie, it is every bit as beautiful and amazing as is said. That said, it was also very crowded, and it must be pretty hard going in the summer months. It is VERY expensive, the cups of coffee were commented on - we just walked and, looked. The handbag salesmen on the street are pretty intimidating - they come right into a group, and stand in front of you. The rules in the city are that the person buying the bag can be fined heavily (thousands) if caught buying - in an effort to get rid of the trade. It is not nice when they are right in your face. (Should have bought a mask). We saw gondolas, though a lot were waiting for customers. They are very expensive - I just did not want more swaying, so was happy to just look. The hundreds of bridges are wonderful, they are everywhere, and turning 360 degrees can show several in sight. It is very easy to get lost, but in a nice way. It is weird to be in a city with no cars. We saw the floating trucks - barges with a semi trailer on the back that go along the canals delivering - I wondered how they got goods in.
There was so much to see, and so little time, but the sail in and out of this fairytale city was just stunning. We seemed so big and brutal beside the delicate features of the city sitting so precariously in the water.
We had a pretty easy time on the water - very few very rough days, the worst being when we could not get into Malaga - so we were lucky. The ship had a few Australians on the crew - shop crew mainly, and they appreciated having a little Anzac service. There were a few tears after, as homesickness hits a little. We did not find any other Australians in the passengers.
Now we are back in London, with the news all about the election (with the odd gaff from the Prime minister being played over continually). Voting is not compulsory, but there seems to be a feeling that there could be changes afoot here in the govt. Greece is causing huge economic problems, and I am pleased we dont have too many euros - the currency is having a few problems. That is the end of the news bulletin
I still feel as though I am on the water a little - feel as though I am going up and down, so we will go and walk the embankment, and absorb the ambience of this city that seems to pull us in. It is hard to explain.
More soon

Sailing home

There was a band, a lot of people waving the union jack as we sailed from Gibralter, that little UK outpost. As "highland cathedral' was played, the tears came to my eyes, and we waved farewell not only to the Rock, but the last port of call before Southampton. It is hard to think it is almost all over, and it has been wonderful. I will report about Korcula, a pretty little island and town on the Dalmation coast later (wireless is about to run out), I think Croatia is my new favourite place after Northern Europe.
R became the first chaplain to take an Anzac day service on Azura, with over 100 people coming to support the aussies - I will write more from London - losing the wireless all the time, speak from London
More son

A new Dunkirk for travellers

The headlines all say - bring us home / the ships are coming
It has been interesting to be on this side of the world in the middle of the results of the ash cloud and consequent airline problems. Ther were huge issues here, with so many trapped in counrties and ports and airports with no chance of getting out soon. Apparently they will take a week or more to clear them all. The shiip had problems with staff unable to get to the ship for duties, and others with no way to get home. The navy has ships going to Spain, and Calais has so many they cannot cope with the numbrs for the ferries. You soon realise how reliant we are on various transport methods, and when it goes wrong, we are marooned, physically and perhaps mentally. There must be huge numbers of Australians who will have trouble getting back to Australia - the flights are full usually anyway without extras. It was an odd feeling knowing that in an emergency we could not get home for a few days at least. Another piece in the travel patchwork.
More soon