normabyrne – Page 3 – beyondthenorm

Sardinia – Cagliari, Olbia, Alghero and Santa Teresa

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in the Western Mediterranean, to the immediate south of the French island of Corsica. Population: 1.652 million

Flag of Sardinia

The four heads represent four victories achieved by the Kingdom of Aragon against the invading Moors: Zaragoza, Valencia, Murcia and the Balearics.

We spent the last 21 days between two islands, Sardinia which is part of Italy and Corsica which is part of France.

Our first stop, Cagliari the capital of Sardinia, we stayed in a wonderful Airbnb which was close to everything the city had to offer. The apartment was spotless clean and very spacious, the host is a great guy that gave us lots of tips about what to see and do and good places to eat. if you ever stay in Cagliari I would recommend this apartment, to find it on Airbnb look for “ROSINA House-apartment design splendid view”.

I will remember Cagliari for its amazing cheese, we went to Mercato San Benedetto wonderful markets, that sold seafood, fresh fruit and vegetable, bread, meat and cheese. We spent about 30min going through several different cheeses with one of the experts. We finally decided on 3 different types of cheeses Grand Pandano, Pecorino and the final one was a Pecorino with truffles running through it the best cheese we ever had. Another thing I loved about Cagliari, each evening the locals gather together in the square to dancing, it was the sort of dancing that everyone could join in as the steps where simple. I joined in myself, it was great fun for everyone.
The old, historical district develops around what was once the “Rocca di Castro”, a fortress dating back to the Pisan period which gives the area an impressive and medieval quality and the elegant Umberto I terrace, which commands sweeping views over Cagliari’s jumbled rooftops to the sea and distant mountains makes for an impressive city. Crowning the Bonaria hill, this religious complex is a hugely popular pilgrimage site. Devotees come from all over the world to visit the 14th-century Gothic church sanctuary and pray to Nostra Signora di Bonaria, a statue of the Virgin Mary and Christ that supposedly saved a ship’s crew during a storm. To the right of the sanctuary, the towering basilica still acts as a landmark to returning sailors.

Mercato San Benedetto great markets, amazing selection of cheese

Beautiful streets in Cagliari

Santuario & Basilica di Nostra Signora di Bonaria.

It has great beaches like Poetto beach, 8 km long which is only 15min from the city centre, the water is very clean and clear and great for swimming. From Poetto beach, on your right, you will see a beautiful rocky mountain the name is Saddle of the Devil, it has magnificent views over the sea to be enjoyed from its. Across from the beach the Molentargius Park covers an area of around 1600 hectares is a bird sanctuary. After 6 nights in Cagliari we hired a car and spent the rest of our time travelling around the island.
We stopped at some amazing places, Santa Teresa, Olbia, Alghero

Poetto beach

Saddle of the Devil Mountain

Olbia’s is based around Corso Umberto, a lively shop-lined street leading uphill from the waterfront. At the top of a low hill, it opens into Piazza Margherita, a kind of low-key hub of the city. We spent a day visiting 1. Chiesa di San Paolo is a church built on the site of an ancient temple, it has a beautiful multi-coloured dome and a handsome stone exterior belying its relatively recent date (1700s). Modern frescoes inside celebrate popular recent saints and religious figures including Padre Pio and Pope John Paul II. Olbia’s other significant church is just outside the heart of town. 2. The Basilica minore di San Simplicio is a Romanesque granite church dating back to the eleventh century.3. Fausto Noce Park is a favourite among the locals and tourist, there are lots of species of Mediterranean flora, benches, exercise paths, sports structures (tennis courts, football pitches, changing rooms, a small amphitheatre, and bowls club). Four fountains which decorate the park. We had a wonderful day. We stayed at the very nice Geovillage a sport wellness and convention resort, the pool area was very nice.

Chiesa di San Paolo

Basilica minore di San Simplicio

Fausto Noce Park

Geovillage

On the drive from Olbia to Alghero we stopped at Sassari to see the Basilica di Saccargia built in 1116 and the Fountain of the Rosello built in 1603.

Basilica di Saccargia

Fountain of the Rosello

Alghero one of Sardinia’s most beautiful medieval cities, is the main resort in the northwest. Its origins can be traced back to about 1300. The imposing town walls, the refined historical palaces, the old churches and harbour– together with the local restaurants, souvenir shops and bars make the old town the most vivid parts of the city.
The Neptune Grottoes can be reached by boat or by stepping down (the Cabirol Staircase) – with its 656 steps – which allows you to reach the Grottoes directly from the promontory, the view going down the steps is incredible the huge white cliffs with the amazing blue sea crashing against the rocks and the caves at the bottom make the climb worthwhile. Before 1959, the date when the staircase was finished, the Grotta di Nettuno could be visited just from the sea and, consequentially, only when the sea was calm.
We enjoyed a few afternoons on Porto Conte Beach and the lovely Hotel Corte Rosada which had a great pool area.

Alghero harbour area

Very interesting house boats

Steps down to the Neptune Grotto

Cliffs on the walk down to Neptune Grotto

Neptune Grotto

Santa Teresa Gallura is a town on the northern tip of Sardinia. The southern coast of Corsica can be seen from the beach. It is a seaside resort in a lovely coastal setting. The central square, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, is a large open pedestrian space lined with cafe-bars and souvenir shops, coral and jewellery stores. The tip of the promontory is crowned by a historic watchtower, the Torre Longonsardo, which you can climb to admire the views, there is also a beautiful statue of either St Teresa or Our Lady looking out to sea. I could not find any information on it. I think it is a new Statue. It is lovely to walk from Santa Teresa to Capo Testa lighthouse, there are some very nice beaches along the way and the views and rock formations from the light house make it worth the walk. There is also a very nice bar (‘sea lounge club) – not cheap, but just so nice to enjoy a drink and snack, it’s also above an amazing little cove – Cala Spinosa which is breathtakingly beautiful. We had to stop for a swim here.

St Teresa or Our Lady looking out to sea

Capo Testa lighthouse

Sea lounge club

Cala Spinosa

M doing his best impression of Daniel Craig

From Sardinia we took a ferry to Corsica. Corsica is only 12 kilometres by ferry from Sardinia

Malta – Valetta, Birgu, Gozo and Camino island

Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy. Malta is one of the world’s smallest and most densely populated countries, at over 316 km² with a population of about 475,000. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km. Its largest town is Birkirkara, while its chief economic centre is Sliema. The official languages are Maltese and English, with Maltese also recognised as the national language.

Flag of Malta

Malta has an array of things to discover. And no matter where you go, the scenery and architecture provide a spectacular backdrop. The colours are striking, with the honey-coloured stone of the buildings against the deepest of Mediterranean blues, just beautiful. Valetta and the three cities are stunning as they are surrounded by a beautiful harbour. We stayed in the city of Birgu in a wonderful Airbnb right on the Harbour. The city had a nice town square with some beautiful old homes with cobble streets. There is an area on the harbour that was designated for swimming, it was great to have a swim after a day of sightseeing. It was interesting to see how families would come to the swimming area in the evening time or to the town square, to socialise or just catch up on day to day living.

View from our Airbnb in Birgu

Harbour of Birgu

Valetta

Amazing storm that came through Valetta

Valetta Harbour

A tribute to all the fallen soldiers

Behind the Green door

Interesting Sculptures throughout Valetta

View from the upper Barrakka Gardens on Valetta

Church of St Publius Valetta

Traveling by ferry or motorised Gondola is a great cheap and wonderful way to travel in and around Malta. What is unique about Malta is that so much of the past is visible today. It is steeped in History, you can retrace the footsteps of St. Paul or see where the Knights of St. John fought their most famous battles. St Johns Co Cathedral is one of the best and most interesting we have seen, although plain on the outside, it is very beautiful inside. From Valetta you can see great views over to the three cities Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua from the Upper and lower Barrakka Gardens. On Birgu the oldest of the three cities we bought a ticket for 13 euro each, that got us into, the Forth St Angelo, Malta Maritime museum, and Inquisitors palace the only one left in Europe with public access. All very interesting.

We spent a morning at the small but picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk and an afternoon at the blue grotto. The blue grotto is several sea caverns on the south east coast of Malta. It was lovely to have a swim here.

Fishing village of Marsaxlokk very quaint

Blue Grotto

If this were not enough, there are two other islands – Gozo and Comino that boast wonderful water sports, and a more relaxed atmosphere. In Gozo we stayed at Xlendi beach village, it is a small place but perfect for a few days. We did a great boat trip out around the Gozo coastline stopping at places like blue hole, Dwejra Bay where we had a swim and snorkel it was divine.

Gozo

Xlendi on Gozo our second Airbnb accomadation

Boat trip around the coastline of Gozo

Dwejra Bay our swimming spot

From Gozo we took a day trip to the Blue Lagoon which is on Camino island, beautiful but too many tourists this time of year, we walked around to the side of the island for a swim as it was a much nicer spot with a lot less people.

Blue Lagoon

We have had a great 10 days in Malta 5 days in Birgu and 5 days in Gozo, Malta is a place that Martin and I said we could happily live, especially if we had a place on the harbour of Birgu or the Harbour of Valletta.

Panorama a Great Bar and Restaurant in Valetta

Morocco – Imill Atlas Mountains, Marrakech

The Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign state located in Northwest Africa. Morocco is characterised by a rugged mountainous interior, large tracts of desert and a lengthy coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Population: 35.74 million (2017) Language Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often used for business, government, and diplomacy, Currency used is Moroccan dirham

Moroccan Flag

We knew Morocco was going to be very hot this time of year, so we decided to spend some of our time in the quaint village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. It is 1,800 metres above sea level. The settlement offers stunning views over the valley and of Toubkal, the highest peak in Morocco. The drive to Imlil was interesting to say the least but as always Martin took it in his stride. The forests that surround the village are walnut groves, walnut, apple, and cherry harvesting has been the primary economy through the years, but in recent years the tourism trade has become the main source of income for Imlil. Not only do foreign visitors come to the mountains, but so do other residents of Morocco who want to escape the heat. It was at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler here than in Marrakech. We stayed in a wonderful raid on the side of a mountain, we needed donkeys to bring our luggage up the last 700 meters as it was too steep for cars to drive. We enjoyed simply sitting back and relaxing on one of the roof terraces while sipping some Moroccan mint tea and enjoying the landscape! We also did a small hike out to the Imlil waterfalls and the surrounding area. We had a few wild storms when we were here, it looked amazing across the mountains. We met two ultra-marathon runners they stayed in the same accommodation, both were training for Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon. approximately 166 kilometres. They were a very interesting couple and wow 166 kilometres I cannot imagine doing this, it kills me to run 5 Kilometres.

View from our accommodation in Imlil the Atlas Mountains

Imlil waterfalls

Accommodation and Donkey transport

After 3 nights we headed to Marrakech we stayed in the old city of Marrakesh, or “medina” is separated from the rest of the city (the Gueliz) by a brick wall that spans about 20 kilometres and has 14 entrances. this was a common setup for Arab cities at the time and provided protection much like the castles did for villages in Europe. It’s still where the action is in Marrakesh and the pace inside the walls is intense. We stayed close to the hectic main square of the Jemaa el Fna with its winding souks (market) of spices, carpets, leather, and pottery and were your senses are bedazzled in every way with snake charmers, vendors selling street food and everything else plus some interesting artists. But Marrakech is also a buzzing modern city, with an increasingly happening culture. Hot summers can be bearable as there are lots of green spaces, the well maintained Gardens flourish and offer blissfully cool and tranquil escapes from the dust and chaos of the city.

Kotubia Mosque and the Markets (souks)

Jemaa el Fna

Walled Medina and Martin having a coffee uptown

Bahia Palace in the media plus a wonderful sculpture made from old wheels

Cyber Park Marrakech

Beautiful courtyards in Marrakech

We had a wonderful time in Morocco, thanks to my good friend Lorraine for all the great tips.

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands is a Spanish archipelago and the southernmost autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres west of Morocco at the closest point.

Flag of the Canary Islands

Looming volcanoes, prehistoric sites, sandy coves and miles of Sahara-style dunes. We spent most of our time on Fuerteventura’s with it endless plains, punctuated by cacti, scrub and lots of goats. The Canary Islands has near-perfect year-round temperatures, which means whether it’s summer or winter you can enjoy You can pump up the adrenalin by riding the wind and the waves – kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing are all big here or slow down the pace with camel rides, rounds of golf, horse treks and boat rides. If your idea of a perfect holiday is that enticing combo of R&R, you’re in the right place.There’s also a tidal wave of ocean-front bars where you can enjoy a cocktail at sunset while contemplating the gently lapping sea.

The last three weeks we spent holidaying from our travels. We have been relaxing in the Canary Islands with some great friends, Nicki, Ian, Anita, Gary, and their wonderful families. Both couples spent a year in Australia back in the nineties and what fun we had, so it was great to spend time with them again. Nicki was celebrating a big Birthday so we surprised her by joining them on their family summer break. The surprise went really well and Nicki was delighted to see us.

Costa Calma where we spent our first few days on the island

Corralejo where we spent 3 weeks with friends

A day at the water slide park with the children, we all had a great day

My favourite coffee shop

View from our Airbnb

Sand dunes and water sports

The holiday was perfect, relaxing by the sea, eating, drinking with great company. What more could we ask for. Feeling refreshed and ready to go again.

Great Britain England, Wales and Scotland

Vastly diverse and with a wonderful blend of international cultures from around the globe, Great Britain is situated in Western Europe, is a thriving nation that offers all the elements of modern day living. Its amazing heritage are the historical monuments and buildings that rise tall in every village, town, city, and country. At the forefront of British culture are the values of education, religion, and the rich traditions of the performing arts. Britain also host the preservation of thousands of acres of picturesque nature parks, reserves, and ancient gardens in the parliamentary districts of England, Wales, Scotland.

Population of England 55,619,400 Wales 3,125,200 and Scotland 5,424,800

Flag of England

We had been to England on several occasions but spent most of our time in London, on this trip we wanted to move outside London to see what else England had to offer. We were not disappointed.

Our first stop was Essex, we stayed in a lovely B&B in the small village of Henham, it was close to Stansted the airport we arrived into. It had lots of thatched cottages and a beautiful pub that served great food the called the Cock Inn.

We drove from here to Avebury, Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire. it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world, we also watched a local game of Cricket while having a picnic lunch.

For the next two nights we stayed in the most picturesque villages I have ever seen Castle Combe, with its beautiful thatched cottages that line the main street, an old water pump in the centre and a small river known as the By Brook. it is no surprise that nowadays it enjoys a reputation for being one of the most photographed and prettiest villages in the UK. This magical village was once a weaving town at the heart of the Cotswolds wool trade: you can still see weavers’ cottages where the local red and white cloth were produced. In St Andrew’s Church, don’t miss the Norman monument to a knight; his legs are crossed to indicate that he fought in the Crusades. Also in the church is a medieval faceless clock, one of the oldest working clocks in the country.

Castle Combe village (not far from Lacock) is a popular Filming location. Part of ‘The Wolfman (2009) ‘ shot here and the TV series Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989): ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd TV Episode’. Other films include Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Stardust (2007). More recently used as the backdrop to Steven Speilberg’s film War Horse
The Manor house and Golf Club is definitely worth a visit the house and grounds are just breath taking.

And Castle Combe presents this charming scene,
of hill, woods and meadows cloth’d in green.
Here grand terrestrial scenes, almost celestial nice,
makes Castle Combe, sweet vale, an earthy Paradise.

Poem by Edward Dowling

From here we took a day trip to Bath it is a unique, feel-good city combining contemporary culture a rich history and heritage. Bath is the largest city in county of Somerset, known for its Roman-built baths. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles west of London and 11 miles south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is a beautiful city and the day we visited the temperature was 24 degrees very pleasant.

As the weather was so good we decided to continue down the coast to Bournemouth South Dorset it is a large coastal resort town to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, 96 miles long. It has seven miles of award-winning sandy beaches and perfect place to be in this hot weather.

We stopped at Durdle Door it is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset. It is privately owned by the Welds, a family who owns 12,000 acres in Dorset in the name of the Lulworth Estate. It is open to the public. It is a beautiful area and you would never think you were on the English coast line. The photos speak for themselves. We stayed two nights in Bournemouth.

We stayed 2 nights at Torquay a seaside town in Devon, It lies 28 miles east-north-east of Plymouth, it is Renowned for its healthful climate and the town earned the nickname the English Riviera. The writer Agatha Christie was born in the town and lived there during her early years.

From Torquay we did a day trip tip to St Michael’s Mount a small tidal island in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite setts, passable between mid-tide and low water. The castle and chapel have been the home of the St Aubyn family since approximately 1650. Marazion is a beautiful tourist resort with lots of artists who produce and sell paintings and pottery in the town. We had a lovely lunch that included the famous Cornish pasties.

Our final stop that day was to Lands’ End it is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall. It is the most westerly point of mainland Cornwall and England, it was beautiful but very wind here.

Wales with its rugged coastline, mountainous national parks, Welsh language and Celtic culture is definitely worth visiting.

Flag of Wales

Cardiff, the capital, is a coastal city. Cardiff medieval castle with its ornate Gothic Revival interior and lush green gardens is sure to whet your appetite. The city has all the usual shops and restaurants but looks better at night, during day light it can look somewhat tired and worn. Mermaid Quay is a nice place for an evening stroll or meal. It would not have been a trip to Cardiff with visiting Barri Island Beach (the old TV show Gavin and Stacy was set around this area)

Mermaid Quay

Barri

I was happy to move on from the city out to the country side, our first stop was the Springfield Hotel which was North of Wales to celebrate our 28th wedding Anniversary. The hotel in Ireland we got married in 28 years ago was called the Springfield therefore Martin felt this was very apt, and surprised me by booking us in here for two nights. We had a lovely time and a beautiful dinner. The next day we went to Bodelwyddan where we visited the Bodelwyddan Castle and local fair. We had a very nice breakfast at the castle, Martin tried the Welsh rarebit he thought it was very nice.
On our way to Beddgelert we stopped at a village, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch it is the longest single-word village name in the world 58 letters. Translated to English, the name means, “Saint Mary’s Church in a hollow of white hazel near the swirling whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave.”

Bodelwyddan Castle

Train Station at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

From here we continued to Beddgelert in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd a beautiful country village, with Thatched roof cottages and each with its own name. Beddgelert is situated eight miles north of Porthmadog in a secluded valley at the merging of two rivers, the Afon Glaslyn and Afon Colwyn. Above the junction of the rivers, in the village centre, stands the old two-arched stone bridge. The stunning landscape surrounding the village was used in the 1958 movie, ‘The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.

We stopped for a swim at Black Rock Sands, even though the name suggests a dark beach, there was no black sand to be seen, it is an open, wide beach with fine sands. The name comes from the area to the west of the beach dominated by a large, multi-coloured headland rock, low-tide caves and rock pools. You can drive onto the beach here – so it’s a popular spot not just for picnickers and sandcastle builders, but also for motor boats and water bikes which have a special zone designated for their use.

We stopped for dinner in Portmadog a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd. It developed in the 19th century as a port exporting slate to England and elsewhere, but since the decline of the industry it has become a shopping centre and tourist destination. It is a quaint town and we could not believe that it had an Australian Pub, so guess where we had dinner. Very good too.

Scotland towering mountains, glittering lakes, thick woodland and valleys surrounded by mountains in the Highlands, miles of rugged coastline, a landscape that will really take your breath away. Its major cities are Edinburgh, the capital, with its iconic hilltop castle, and Glasgow, famed for its vibrant cultural scene. Scotland is also famous for golf, the game first played at the Old Course at St Andrews in the 1400s.

Flag of Scotland

Located on the River Clyde, (67 km) west of Edinburgh and (639 km) north of London, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city. Glasgow Cathedral is an impressive structure the current congregation is part of the Church of Scotland’s Presbytery of Glasgow. This magnificent example of Scottish Gothic architecture was built between the 13th & 15th Centuries and is widely regarded as the high point of cathedral building in Europe. We moved onto George Square the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow. It is named after King George III. Built by Glasgow Corporation it is the continuing headquarters of Glasgow City Council.

Very cute Tardis coffee shop

Great street Art by Smug, an Australian artist living in Glasgow beautifying the city

We spent a few hours walking through the Glasgow Necropolis. close to the City Centre, this beautiful Victorian garden cemetery. The Necropolis is the resting place of the great and the good of Victorian Glasgow. it is multi-faith, the 50,000 residents are made up of Catholics, Protestants, Quakers, Jews, Lutherans and everybody else. Due to their beliefs the Jewish people buried in the Necropolis had to be buried in a separate plot. The view over Glasgow is wonderful from here, a nice place to be buried.

We took a walk-through Glasgow Green and the People’s Palace, although a concert had been on the day before so a lot of it was out of bounds to the public while they dismounted the seating areas.

We could not go to Glasgow with doing a tour of the Tennent’s Brewery, the history of the brewing in Glasgow can be dated back to 1136, when the monks began building the Glasgow Cathedral and undertook brewing not for profit, but as a service to the local population as beer was often safer to drink than water. The Wellpark Brewery is home to more than 450 years of brewing tradition, making it the city’s oldest on-going commercial operation. The tour is well worth taking and Martin reckons it is not a bad drop at all.

Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and an interesting Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers.
Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill which is topped with monuments and memorials both worth a visit.
The city’s Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the monarchy in Scotland. The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The city’s historical and cultural attractions have made it a popular tourist destination. It was great to walk through the medieval old town and to have lunch in an old pub, it was like walking back in time.

St. Andrews is a seaside town northeast of Edinburgh, on Scotland’s east coast. It’s known for its many golf courses, including the Old Course, with the landmark Swilcan Bridge at the 18th hole.

We were very excited to visit St Andrews Links golf courses. It was one of my bucket list items to play a round of golf at St Andrews where the sport originated back in the 15th century. Some of the greatest golf courses in the world are in Scotland, St. Andrews is a nationally recognized name and is one of the oldest golf courses in the world.
We learned a lot about how things work at St Andrews Links golf courses. Firstly, there are 7 golf courses. There are 5 private Golf clubs but none of them own any of the courses. The land is owned by the public and managed by St Andrews Links. The only course you need an official handicap to play is the old course. There are three ways to get a game on the old course, book into one of the more expensive hotels that are allocated a number of tee tmes each year, go into a ballot 48 hours before you wish to play and hope your name is selected. (We spoke to several people that had been successful doing this) Finally queue up very early to be the first in line to be paired up with a two or 3-ball. These tee times are announced at 7am so if your tee time is not until 3pm you can go home and catch-up on sleep. Most people seem to manage to get a game on the old course, keep in mind it is not cheap and you are recommended to have a caddy as you must carry your golf clubs, there are no buggies allowed on the course unless you are over 65 and have a medical condition. Note when you play the old course you must play a second round of golf on one of the other courses as a package. Don’t be surprised, but there is a road and walk way, that cuts across the 1st and 18th fairway. Yes, I know who would have guessed, at any time you can cross the fairways wants you are careful. The reason for this is that it is public land. The old course is closed on a Sunday unless there is a major competition. The old course becomes a picnic area to the public most Sundays. As we did not have our official handicap we could not play on the old course, but we did have two wonderful games, one on the Strathyrun Course the second was a fun game on the ladies 18-hole par three course that is affectionately known as the Himalayas. I had a wonderful refreshing swim in the West sand beach that runs along the front of the Links golf course. Nothing better to loosen up your bones before a game of golf. It really is a wonder place to play golf, we are so happy we got to play a round and we had a better round when it was over.

The town of St Andrews is very quaint with lots of pubs, restaurants, shops and coastal walks. On a headland nearby are the ruins of St. Andrews Castle, with its medieval bottle dungeon. Close to the castle is the University of St. Andrews, founded in 1413.

We stayed in Dundee for a couple of nights, the area is simply but nice with the wide Tay estuary running past. They do have wildlife that many in the UK don’t have dolphins, otters and sea eagles. The hangover from a failed industrial past is still felt, but Dundee itself is improving as a city with lots of shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities their coffee shops are particularly good.

We really enjoyed our time in Great Britain from the amazing coastline, magnificent Gothic cathedrals and fairytale-like towns and villages to large fortresses that dot the landscape, England’s architecture of the medieval era offers a clear look back into history.

Scandinavia – Norway, Sweden and Denmark

Norway is a Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords, Oslo is the Capital, population is 5 and half million, area is 125,004 km. Crime rates are low and they have a law called Allemannsrett which means you can pitch your tent or hike through any land that is unmarked (or non-cultivated). Which would be great if you wanted to hike around Norway. Norway is known for fishing, hiking and skiing.

Norwegian Flag

We flew into Tromso which is at the Top of Norway within the Arctic Circle, we were very excited as we had not been to the Arctic before, it was also the first time we would experience the Midnight Sun (24 hours of visible sun). Tromso is surrounded by jagged snow-capped mountains that plunge into ice cold water. I know this because M&I had to go for a swim, we had gone for a swim in the Antarctic, so we had to take the plunge in the Arctic. It was freezing but what made it so memorable was the small beautiful beach that we found to take the plunge. It did feel very strange to be walking around the town at 2am and it was still daylight. We asked the receptionist in the hotel when it would go dark again “he said September” it was now early June

Flying into Tromso and Tromso Harbour

Arctic Cathedral

Our swim in the Arctic

The beautiful beach we swam in

View from the beach

Tromso Mountains

From here we joined the MS Nordkapp cruise for 4 nights which took us down the coastline of Norway to Bergen. We stopped at lots of small picturesque towns, Trondheim being one of my favourites.

Trondheim Cathedral

The old town in Trondheim

The famous red bridge in Trondheim

Two beautiful sunsets on the cruise

The town of Bronnoysund with it beautiful church and a poster saying the BoomTown Rats where coming to town. Who would have guessed ?

Klippfiskkjerringa Sculptor on Kristiansund

A highlight was going into Trolifjord while a men’s choir sang. The acoustics within the Fjord and the Fjord itself were amazing.

We had organised to meet up with some friends from Australia on the cruise and it was wonderful to see and spend time with Elizabeth and Harold and four of their very close friends. I have known Elizabeth a long time, we met back in the early nineties when we both worked at Lend Lease.

Our five days in Bergen went by too fast, it is a beautiful City with lots of colourful houses and a lovely harbour, we had unseasonably good weather in Norway, if the weather was to continue like this, Bergen is a place I could live. The view from the top of Mount Floyen of Bergen city is a must see, it gives you a bird’s eye view of Bergen. You can take the funicular to the top and walk back down if you like or return on the funicular. It was wonderful to see the locals swimming in the harbour, lakes, rivers or any other water source they could find. The feeling was that spring was in the air and summer was just around the corner. We stayed just outside the city centre along one of the many rivers, it was a very trendy up and coming area. One thing I liked about the area is that it was close to water and although they have a lot of apartment living none of the apartment blocks were over 4 stories high. In most countries we have been to there are lots of high rise apartments and I think they look terrible, the secret is to keep them no more than 4 stories high (but then again I suppose the developers are more interested in making money than making the area look more desirable to live in)

Bergen had some beautiful gardens

The view of Bergen from Mount Floyen Bergen

View from our airbnb

A wonderful coffee shop and sculpture close to the airbnb

Our next stop in Norway was the Capital Oslo, it has a nice city with plenty of green space, one of my favourite places was the Vigeland Sculpture Park, it has amazing human sculptures the best I have ever seen.

We could not visit Oslo without seeing the famous painting ‘The Scream” by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch that sits in the National Museum, there were other paintings by Edvard Munch which I believe are far superior than the scream. There are several other famous artist paintings displayed here like Renoir, Rodin and Picasso.

The Scream

A second paintings by Edvard Munch

The view from Oslo Opera House

A surprise visit while our hiking in Oslo

Restaurant at the top of Grefsenkollen great for a beer after a hike

We loved our 13 nights in Norway and although Norway is expensive there are tons of jaw-dropping beautiful places to see.

Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe, with great diversity in its nature and climate. Sweden is a sparsely populated country, characterised by its long coastline, extensive forests and numerous lakes. With its variety of landscapes, Sweden has everything from bears and wolves in the north to Roe deer and wild boar in the south. The country also has a wealth of flora and aquatic life, which contribute to its biological diversity, because of their limestone-rich bedrock and favourable climate, the islands of Gotland and Öland and parts of the Scandinavian mountain range have an interesting flora that includes numerous varieties of orchid. People in Sweden have a lot of room to move, with only about 23 inhabitants per square kilometre. For the EU, the average is more than 100 people per square kilometre.

Flag of Sweden

We spent 5 nights in the beautiful city of Stockholm it has lots of great bars, restaurants and tourist things to do. Stockholm Centre was the only place we found busy in Sweden, everywhere else seemed relaxed and sparsely populated. We did what most Swedish do in Spring, went hiking, swam in the rivers and lakes, and on nice evening eat outdoors.

Good restaurant for Lunch the Hairy Pig Deli.

One museum we just had to visit was the ABBA museum, it brought back wonderful memories.

We did what most Swedish do in Spring, went hiking, swam in the rivers and lakes, and on nice evening eat outdoors.

We spent 4 nights on Gotland island which is off the coast of Sweden, it has a beautiful old town that is steeped in history, the town is surrounded by a 3.44 km wall, it is amazing how the locals have blended the old and new architecture together.

Gothland Visby old town

Beautiful old church built in 1250 still being used today. Wonderful

We hired a car and drove around the island, it has quite a varied landscape, parts of the island reminded me of the west coast of Ireland, with it somewhat rugged coastline, barren fields, blustery winds and without the sunshine would have been quite bleak.
It has several fishing villages along the coast and although they seem quaint I am not sure how I would weather the winter.

The barren landscape of Gothland

Blue Lagoon on Gothland

Old fishing village

The rocks of Langhammars

Smoked salmon is something the Swedish love to eat, it was very interesting to see how simply they smoke it.

Smoking Salmon

Things to note, Sweden is not as expensive as Norway. If you do get across to Gotland, Car hire on is ridiculously expensive so hire a second-hand car from Lasta Gothland we did, and the car was fine, it saved us over $2,000 Australian dollars.

Denmark is a Scandinavian country comprising the Jutland Peninsula and numerous islands. It’s linked to nearby Sweden via the Öresund bridge. Copenhagen, its capital, is home to royal palaces and colourful Nyhavn harbor, plus the Tivoli amusement park and the iconic “Little Mermaid” statue. Odense is writer Hans Christian Andersen’s hometown, with a medieval core of cobbled streets and half-timbered houses

Flag of Denmark

Our last stop in Scandinavia was Denmark when we arrive in Denmark Copenhagen we noticed the relaxed atmosphere, lots of people on bikes, and things generally run smooth. A blend of old buildings and modern sustainable architecture speaks of a city that treasure the old but love experimenting with the new. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world – with priority bicycle green waves and bicycle-friendly traffic regulation.

St Nicholas Church and Amalienborg Palace

Hans Christian Andersen

The little Mermaid

Nyhavn is a 17th century waterfront

Opera House

Tivoli Gardens

Plenty of windmills in Copenhagen

Christiania Freetown is a self-proclaimed autonomous anarchist district of about 850 to 1,000 hectares.

Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen

Dry dock apartment conversion

Botanic Gardens

A clean environment is important to the Danes and they are world leaders in renewable energy technology, including wind turbines and energy efficient waste management.

We had a great month in Scandinavia and can now understand why people love it here.

Finland – Helsinki, Russia – St Petersburg, Estonia – Tallinn

Finland is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. The country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. To the south is the Gulf of Finland with Estonia on the opposite side. Finland is a Nordic country and, together with Scandinavia, is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia. Population: 5.495 million Area: 338,400 km² Capital: Helsinki

Flag of Finland

Our week in Finland was very relaxing to say the least. From the moment we got to Helsinki everything was calm, organised, clean, efficient and easy. Nothing is overstated and yet they have a lot to offer. The people are polite, and the children are seen but not heard. It is the first country we noticed a lack of multiculturalism, a great variety of food but not of people. Except of course when a cruise ship hits town. The weather was unseasonably warm for May which was great for us. Our Airbnb was in walking distance to Hietaniemi beach. When people picture Helsinki, they probably think about anything but a beach, although not as good as some of our Australian beaches it was still very nice. I did not know that Finland was once ruled by Russia, there are still traces of that era around the city.

Monument to Celebrate Finland 100 years of Independence from Russia

Hietaranta Beach in Helsinki

We did a ferry trip out to Suomenlinna, or Sveaborg, translation Finland Castle, it is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands which now forms part of the city of Helsinki, the ferry trip is very pleasant if it is a nice day. You can buy a day pass that allows you to hop on and off each island. Worth a trip.

Around the harbour is always a hive of activity with markets, food stalls, locals and tourist soaking up the atmosphere. Approaching Helsinki from the sea, the skyline is dominated by the white Lutheran Helsinki Cathedral and the redbrick Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe.

Helsinki and Uspenski Cathedrals

Helsinki Townhall

Old Market Hall

Monument to the famous composer jean sibelius

One wonders are the finish people trying to keep this wonderful calm understated country to themselves? and then again who can blame them !!!

And the final picture of Finland “the piss boy at the port” are they trying to tell us something Ha Ha

The Capital of Russia is Moscow, Russia is one of the few countries with a negative growth rate, and its 2018 population is estimated at 143.96 million, a decline from an estimated population of 146.3 million in 2015. It’s currently the 9th most populous country on earth, despite being the largest by area, at 17,125,200 square kilometres, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven-time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms.

Flag of Russia

We were able to get an overnight ferry from Finland that allowed us to stay 3 days in St Petersburg without going through all the hassle of getting a visa. You can only apply for a visa from your place of residence 3 months before your visit, but this was no good for us as we have been on the road now for over 2 years. St Petersburg is a beautiful city, we did a lot in our 3 days, from visiting the Hermitage, Faberge Museum, Peter and Paul Fortress, several Cathedrals and Castles.

Peter and Paul Fortress

St Isaac’s Cathedral (picture on the right)

The Church of the Saviour on the spilt blood

The Troitsky Cathedral

Palace Square with the Hermitage Museum

Faberge Museum

We also spent some time in the beautiful summer gardens. I have always thought any city surrounded by water is beautiful and St Petersburg is no exception with the Neva river and a multitude of canals water is everywhere.

Summer Gardens

A few things to note about Russia, Uber is very cheap and eating out is very affordable. When we got off the ferry at St Petersburg Russia, the customs and border patrol was chaotic, there was no organisation what so ever. A 3 and 4-star Hotel in Russia seem more like I or 2-star hotel in Australia (actually I am not sure if we even have 1 or 2-star hotels in Australia. This being said it is still a wonderful place to visit. Russia is getting ready for the soccer world cup, it will be interesting to see how it goes as it is hard to find a local that speaks English, but then again why should they, when in Rome !!!We also spent some time in the beautiful summer gardens. I have always thought any city surrounded by water is beautiful and St Petersburg is no exception with the Neva river and a multitude of canals water is everywhere.

Estonia

The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,227 km², water 2,839 km², land area 42,388 km², and is influenced by a humid continental climate. Population: 1.316 million. For the last 300 years Estonia’s been linked to Russia, but the two states do not have much in common. Estonia is located in Northern Europe and shares a border with Latvia and Russia. Estonia became the 17th member of the Eurozone on the 1st of January 2011, when the Euro replaced the Estonian Kroon (EEK). Estonia seems very happy to be part of the EU and the EU are happy to have them.

Flag of Estonia

After 3 days in Russia we got back on the overnight ferry and continued our journey to Estonia Tallinn. We stayed in the old medieval town of Tallinn Estonia, like some of the other countries we have visited we did not know much about Estonia, well only that they were in the Eurovision Song Contest when I was a kid 😂. It really is a lovely place and the medieval town is one of the best we have seen. Our Airbnb was right in the centre of the old town square, a great location.

Our Airbnb was in the triangle section of the building in the photo the old town square

We spent most of our time in the old town as there is so much to see and do, we visited the Freedom Square, the beautiful Alexander Nevsky Cathederal, walked around the walls of the old town, had dinner in a Medieval establishment, climbed up Toompea Hill to see the views of the city and castle. My favourite thing to do was to stroll through the cobble streets, window shopping and stopping for a coffee or glass of wine.

Alexander Nevsky Cathederal and Freedom Cross and square

Walls and towers of the old town of Tallinn

Alexander Nevsky Cathederal

View from Toompea a limestone hill in the central part of the city of Tallinn

Medieval Restaurant

Martin loving this medieval restaurant

Love this place and the weather was a perfect 24 degrees.
Estonia’s ability to accommodate a large number of cruise ships makes it a popular destination. I am surprised that the locals do not get annoyed with the amount of tour groups traipsing through their town, but I suppose for some of them, tourism is their bread and butter.

Iceland

Iceland

Iceland is an island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Overall, Iceland has a surface area of 103,001 square kilometres. However, that harsh geographical landscape is one of the reasons why it’s population remains so low (337,780 in 2018). Iceland has the lowest population density of all European countries at just 3 people per kilometre The capital and largest city of Iceland is Reykjavik, which is also the northernmost capital in the world and a major tourist destination.

Flag of Iceland

No place we have been seems as pure a showcase for the most raw and active geological features as this island with it’s mossy hills dotted with countless waterfalls, icebergs on top of volcanic ash, turquoise waters of the blue lagoon against the barren landscape, roaring white cap waves pounding against the black sand and the constant steam that fills the horizon from the geothermal activity the hot geysers provide heat for many of the country’s homes and buildings and allow for hothouse agriculture year-round. Beautiful fishing village where the salmon is the best I ever had, and the unpredictable weather that makes it seem like three seasons have passed in the course of five minutes.

Icebergs on top of Volcanic ash

Turquoise waters of the blue lagoon against the barren landscape

Black Sand Beach

Hot Geysers

We spent one of the days following in the foot steps of Walter Mitty from the movie “The secret life Walter Mitty” it was set in Iceland back in 2013 I was so impressed with what I saw in the movie I put Iceland on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit. That day we visited a number of locations that had been used in the movie. It was lots of fun.

Hallsgrimskirkja in Reykjavik

Beautiful Churches, Homes, Lighthouses and fishing villages in Iceland

A few things to note about Iceland. The best way to see the island is to drive, it is best to hire a car when you arrive at the Airport, Icelanders drive on the right side of the road. There are plenty of organised tours, but they are expensive and as always with organised tours you are limited to the time at each spot. You can visit the blue lagoon without having to pay 75 Euro to get into the hot springs, you can take some beautiful photos here and go into the spa area and have a coffee, there are other spa’s in Iceland that are just as good and a lot cheaper. Be very careful at the Black sand beach as the water has very strong currents, the water in Australia can be very rough but here is the roughest I have ever seen. Iceland is expensive, especially dining out, but then again, they had to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. But believe me when I say it is worth every penny. So, if you visit make sure to push yourself outside the comfortable confines of Reykjavík the Capital and see this amazing island for what it is. Iceland would be in my top 5 places in the world to visit

Amazing Scenery in Iceland

USA, Seattle – Detroit – Boston – Washington DC – Provincetown

The USA was not going to be a large part of this trip, on previous trips we had visited a number of States, there was five places we wanted to visit on this trip. Seattle, Detroit, Boston, WDC and Provincetown.

Seattle started out as a logging town, then grew as a stop-off point for gold prospectors at the end of the 19th century. It was called “Jet City”, when plane manufacturer Boeing rose to prominence in the 1950s and 60s. Seattle began to shake off its blue-collar roots and in recent years its cultural credentials have been boosted by the addition of the Olympic Sculpture Park and a showpiece public library.
They say it was Seattle’s free spirit that gave birth to Grunge, therefore I was not sure what to expect on arrival. I was pleasantly surprised, as Seattle has been blessed with a beautiful setting from green wilderness to the west, volcanoes and glaciers to the east, and all around the brisk waters of the Northwest. The viewing deck on the Space Needle is a great way to see this.

We spent a few hours at a wonderful exhibit showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly, it is truly the best I have seen.

Museum of Pop Culture is definitely worth a visit, it has a Sound Lab, where you can jam, sing, pick and drum as loud as you want, Martin tried to bring out his inner pop star, TG the room was sound proof!!!.

It also featured a temporary exhibit of Jim Henson’s work (the maker of the Muppet Show) it brought back lots of childhood memories.

For fresh produce in Seattle the Pike markets is the place to go. Bill Speidel’s Underground tour is a must if you are interested in how the city was built.

Lake Union Seattle

As for grunge seemingly, it was Grunge music that came out of the city in the early 90s, when local bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana were around, otherwise no grunge to be seen. Despite its rapid growth, Seattle has kept its trees and parks and many areas maintain an almost suburban feel. The city and its residents are laidback and liberal, and that famous free spirit is as at home in the great outdoors as in Seattle’s bohemian neighbourhoods.

Detroit was full of interesting characters, our main reason for the visit was Martin wanted to visit the Pawn Shop from the TV show Hard Core Pawn he was delighted that Les the owner was in the shop, he is a nice guy, we had a good chat with him and he seemed happy to get into a photo with us.

The City of Detroit was better than I expected, it had the look of a city that had been through hard times but was once again about to take off. It was nice that their baseball and football pitches where in the city centre and the people seemed very passionate about their sports.

Boston City is very compact and full of history.

The Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum plus the Old State House Museum, (from the balcony the Declaration of independence was read) is worth a visit. We wondered around Harvard and M.I.T but did not feel any the wiser from doing so.

We had a cold Samuel Adams Beer in the Beantown pub across the road from (The cold Samuel Adams).

We could not be in Boson without a visit to Cheers “Where everybody knows your name”

We stayed just outside Boston City at a place called Salem the location of the infamous Salem witch trials of 1962. Very interesting place, it would be a great place to visit around Halloween.

The main reason for our visit to Boston was to see the Red Sox play a baseball game at the Famous Fenway Park, On Patriot day, the same day as the Boston marathon, but to our disappointment the game was cancelled as the weather was so bad. 😫😫😫. There was not another game on while we were in town. We did a tour of Fenway Park; a game would have been wonderful but not to worry we will just have to come back !!!!

Washington DC

So nice to be back to warmer weather. Washington looks beautiful this time of year with gorgeous Cherry blossoms and nice green lush grass after a long winter.

We did all the touristy things, like visit Capitol Hill, Lincoln Memorial, the Pentagon, the White House (very surprised we were not invited for drinks with Macrone and Trump, but then again did we really want to spend an evening in Trumps presence!!!). The Botanical Gardens, the Smithsonian Air and Space museums was amazing, if you are interested in Flying and Space plus the history of both this is the place for you, to the first attempts of landing on the moon and the first women to fly across the Atlantic Amelia Earhart, it is all here, I would suggest the full day for this museum. I do not think Martin would have made it as an astronaut, while in space one must exercise for 3 hours a day not my man. The Spy Museum was also good fun. Most of the museums and gardens have free entry here which was a pleasant surprise. My sister that lives in Nashville Tennessee came to WDC for the weekend to catch-up with us, it was great to see her and her husband Wally we had 2 lovely days together.

We spent another day walking through Georgetown a really nice part of the city, it reminded me of Paddington in Sydney, very trendy and expensive.

We also had dinner with Meredith a beautiful young girl that was part of our group that did the 4-day trek to Machu Picchu, it was so nice to see her and to hear about her recent travels to India and Sri-lanka. Overall a great week in WDC.

Provincetown

Provincetown is a beautiful costal town at the very point of Cape Cod. It was wonderful to walk across the breakwater out to two Light houses Wood end and Long Point. The break point is over a mile long one-way on giant uneven boulders, With high tide lurking to swamp or strand you it is a lovely walk to do but watch your step.

They have the most beautiful homes clad with wooden shingles. I would love to build a home like this back in Australia. The people are very friendly, and the food was great. There is also some very nice hikes you can do out to the coast.

We did take a ferry across to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, and thought we would spend the day visiting wineries, but although it is a beautiful Island there was not one grape to be seen on the island. Seemingly the founder of Martha’s Vineyard had a daughter called Martha and when he first founded the island wild grapes were growing, but that was it for grape growing. This is what happens when you do not investigate the area you plan to visit. You can be sure we found a pub. The island has 6 towns which offer a one of a kind image to the world, from the Victorian gingerbread homes in Oak Bluff to the Stately mansions of Edgartown to the rambling up island farmhouses. The island is unique in many ways there are no traffic lights, no fast food and no chain stores, Outdoor lighting is kept to a minimum, the better to enjoy the extraordinary night sky.

Provincetown is full of Art Galleries, restaurants and coffee shops. One restaurant we particularly liked was Fanizzi’s it is right on the water and the service and food was very good.

Both Provincetown and Martha’s Vineyard are places in the USA that I would revisit.

Canada – Vancouver – Whistler – Banff – Toronto – Niagara Falls – Ottawa – Quebec – Montreal

Canada

Canada has the seventh largest economy in the world. Most of the businesses are privately owned, although the government does play a major role in the health care system and operates many services including transportation and utility companies. Population is 37 million, Capital is Ottawa, Language mostly spoken is English and French. We had 3 months to travel through Canada.

Flag of Canada

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city in Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. population of Vancouver is 610, 000. The Greater Vancouver area has a population of more than 2.4 million

Vancouver Flag

Vancouver differs from other major cities because of its diversity. In one day you can hike Stanley Park in the morning and then shop Downtown among the masses in the afternoon. Foodies can buy produce at Granville Island and enjoy fine dining in Yaletown the next. You can walk historic Gastown before slurping noodles in Chinatown. It is also very nice to walk through the waterfront area, there are sea planes, boats and it is beautiful to look back at the city from here.

Stanley Park is a massive public space with paved paths for bicyclists, roller bladers, and walkers. Here you can enjoy the trees, totem poles, and the waters of the Vancouver Harbour

Near Canada Place is the oldest neighbourhood in the city, the historic Gastown. You can visit Gastown and see the Steam Clock and a chance to shop for souvenirs. Next to Gastown is Canada’s largest Chinatown. Vancouver’s Chinatown traces its history back to 1885

Further west, across the waters of False Creek, is Granville Island. Here at the Granville Island Public Market are vendors galore. You can buy fresh produce, straight out of the oven breads and pastries, and a huge variety of fruit and vegetables plus other food products.

We were lucky with the day we went to Capilano suspension Bridge Park as it was dry and sunny. The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The current bridge is 140 metres long and 70 metres above the river. There is an impressive cliff walk you can take and you can stroll the rainforest canopy on a Treetops Adventure and walk through a number of Totem poles. It is a lovely day out.

While in Vancouver I ticked another item off my bucket list, I went to see an ice hockey game, wow what an exciting and exhilarating game, if I was younger I would definitely take up this sport. We went to see the Vancouver Canucks play against the Buffalo Sabres in the Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, the Buffalo Sabres are based in New York. Unfortunately, the Sabres won the game. We really enjoyed our first hockey game, lets hope this is the first of many

We stayed in a wonderful Airbnb that I would recommend to everyone. It is run by Mike and Juanita it is on Templeton Drive, Garden level Vancouver. Great couple and very nice accommodation, close to everything.

We really enjoyed Vancouver but we were surprised to see so many homeless people. We were told that because Vancouver is the warmest State in Canada that this is were most of the homeless will congregate too. Such a shame and very sad.

Whistler/Pemberton

We decided to spend a month skiing in Whistler, we have not been skiing for a few years and when we have skied in the past it has always been a bit rushed, we would book a week skiing and feel like we had to ski every day to get ours monies worth, whether our legs ached or not. So we decided if we went to Whistler for a month we could at least have every second day off if needed. Whistler is a very expensive area to stay for a month so we stayed in a beautiful town called Pemberton which is about a 35min drive to Whistler.

The skiing is as good as they say in Whistler, with the Peak to Creek 11km long, making me feel my age and a bit more each time I skied down it. The runs are a lot longer than I had experienced in New Zealand, Australia or Andorra. The village is very nice, but the locals say, since Vail took over the resort it has less of a community feel.

I fell in love with Pemberton the small town we stayed in, it is surrounded by mountains and is breath taking. For the first time I can see the attraction of living in a small town, from the wonderful coffee shop that sits in the old train station, to Hazel the oldest lady in Pemberton, 102 this year and looks fantastic, to the kids waving hello each morning as they head to school and we head to the slopes, to the very friendly neighbours and the for the smell of pot on the bus each evening as we travelled back from a day of skiing in Whistler.

The street we stayed on in Pemberton and the view from the window that I had my office.

A beautiful house at the end of the street

Hazel 102 years old this year, amazing lady, in our favourite coffee shop Blackbird Bakery

The street at night time

Besides skiing we could not visit whistler without going to the Whistler Sliding Centre which hosted the bobsledding, luge, and skeleton competitions for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It is the fastest ice track in the world and we experience the action first-hand with me bobsledding and Martin doing the skeleton ride down 1,450-meter-long ice track. It was a huge adrenalin rush, and not something I will forget.
The day after we had a relaxing day at the Scandinavie Spa which is in peaceful and natural environment within the Laurentian forest.

Norma Bobsledding

Martin Skeleton, faster than the speed of light

Scandinavie Spa

The sun shone in the afternoon, just beautiful and relaxing

A wonderful month of Skiing and relaxing in Whistler.

Banff

The scenery is the best we have seen in Banff the Rocky Mountains Canada. Snow-cap mountains, frozen lakes waterfalls and beautiful clear blue skies, sun rise and sunset over the mountains make it a true photographers dream. We did some hiking while here, but some of the trails were closed for safety reasons, too much snow and possible chances of an avalanche. We hope to return one day in early spring or late summer to complete these hikes as I am sure it will look completely different without the snow. We did manage to hike to Johnston Canyon, Fairmont Banff Springs, Mash loop, Spray River East Trail and the Sundance trail.

Beautiful scenery in Banff

Different Hikes in Banff

Frozen waterfalls at Johnston Canyon

View from the Fairmont restaurant Lake Louise

Frozen Lake Louise

We could not leave the snow without trying Dog sledding. I am not a real dog person but if I was to buy a dog, a husky would be it. Besides being beautiful looking dogs, they are also very good natured. The dog sledding was lots of fun, but in some ways I felt bad for the dogs pulling us around on the slay. But the owners assured us that the dogs are working dogs, and this is what they do. They did seem to be very happy dogs and seem to be great with people.

Banff truly is a beautiful place and next time we come here it will be for longer than a week. We will definitely remember Banff for its beauty.

Toronto

I was expecting more of a wow factor from Toronto. I had been here over 15 years ago on a conference and although I did not get to see much then I remembered it differently. One thing that remained the same was the cold weather. I thought by mid-march the weather would have warmed up but it was -4 degrees most days with a very cold wind, but at least the sky was clear and blue. The CN Tower in Toronto is impressive it showed us just how flat Toronto is, because of this i would have expected more bikes on the road. Maybe it was just to cold to cycle.

We spent one of out afternoons visiting Casa Loma it is a Gothic Revival style home, very beautiful, it was more like a small castle, with beautiful stables and definitely worth a visit.

One thing for sure Toronto knows how to celebrate St Pats Day and I thank them for that. We had a great St Pats day in the Irish Embassy Bar in the Centre of the City. They played the 6 Nations match at 10.45am between Ireland and England, not only did Ireland want to beat England as they always do but if they win this match they would win the Grand Slam. The excitement in the Bar was fantastic and I am sure the cheers could be heard back in Ireland when they won. The day continued with 4 different bands playing great music lots of drinking, dancing and good crack. Not a day I will forget easily.

Niagara Falls are beautiful and very accessible, I am sure this is why Niagara Falls get more visitors every year than the likes of the Iguazu falls, which are more expansive and impressive. We saw the falls from both sides the Canadian and American side, I think they are more impressive from the Canadian side. The hotel we stayed in had great views of the falls, it is called “The Tower at falls view”. The town of Niagara is like a poor cousin of Vegas a bit tacky with lots of fast food restaurants, mind you it is not cheap.

The area is saved by the fact that a thirty-minute drive from the falls there is a town Niagara on the lake which is a beautiful and surrounded by wineries. Good restaurants and coffee shops. We visited a few of the wineries and my favourite was the Two Sister Winery, the wines are very different than the ones I am used to in Australia but still not bad at all.

Ottawa the Capital of Canada. I was not sure what to expect as I had not heard much about Ottawa. It was slightly warm than Toronto so that’s a plus. We stayed in a great Airbnb in walking distance to the city Centre. Capital Hill has some beautiful old government buildings, there is a great view from the hill over the city area and across the river. The byway markets are good for a browse, What I have noticed about several of the markets in different countries is that all the stalls are selling the same stuff so there is very little variety, personally if it was me I would look to sell something unique that would target the audience.

Capital Hill

Views from Capital Hill

My favourite thing to do in Ottawa was to cycle along the canals, the Airbnb we stayed at had bicycles we could borrow and although it was cold it was sunny and dry. Most of the Canals were still frozen over, in the depths of winter the Rideau canals become the world’s largest Skating rink.. The first day we went out for a short bike ride we got lost, 3 hours later we got home. I was stuffed as it had been a long time since I had been on a bike, actually the last time I was on a bike was a mountain bike, going down death road in Bolivia. Cycling along the canals although not as exciting as death road, was a lot safer and more relaxing. I am sure I could live in Ottawa in spring and or early summer but not winter.

Cycling around the canals, waterfalls and bridges of Ottawa great fun.

Quebec : Our train journey from Ottawa was very relaxing but I was not to happy to see that the snow was still quite thick on the ground, just when I thought I was done with the snow. Our week in Quebec included a few days being house bound because of the snow and very cold weather, the only thing we ventured out for was coffee. We stayed in the old walled city which is quite beautiful, it reminds me of a French village and of course everyone speaks French here. They say the best way to get a good photo of the city is to take a short ferry ride across to Levis, on the way across you get a great view of the city. We did manage to do this one of the warmer days. Ottawa has some beautiful old buildings and several lovely churches. In particular the Basilique Cathedrale Notre-Dame. The inside of this church is very ostentation with lots of gold. Whenever I see this I wonder if our lord was on earth today what would he think of this, as a child I was brought up a catholic being from the south of Ireland this was the norm, and one thing that has always annoyed me or conflicted with me was the wealth the Catholic church seems to have, it is not only in Rome that is very obvious that the Catholic Church have a lot of wealth but most countries we have visited the catholic church has huge amounts of land and usually in the best areas. Is this right when there are starving children in the world. From the stories I read in the bible the church was not about wealth it was about looking after each other and sharing what we had. I believe God would be disappointed in this. I do not have pictures of the inside of this church I do not take photos inside churches, Mosques or any place of worship my personal view is that it is disrespectful. Anyway, rant over back to Quebec. There are some very good artists in Quebec and it was lovely to visit their studios and admire their wonderful art works, in particular I liked Galerie Zen and Le Chien D’Or both artist where very happy to explain their art work to us. I am not sure how life continues as normal in places like Quebec when it is so cold and snows for 6 months of the year, on the 9^th of April there was still a lot of snow around and it was -9 degrees.

View of Quebec City from the Ferry to Levis

Still lots of snow

The Old walled city of Quebec

Montreal was warmer than Ottawa but only just. In Montreal there seems to be a good mix of English and French spoken. The old port and town of Montreal is beautiful with great restaurants and bars, it is also full of amazing artwork. If you are looking for a new piece of Artwork this is the area to go.

If you go to Mount Royal you will get a great view of the city, it is a large volcanic hill or small mountain west of Downtown.

The botanical gardens although not as impressive this time of year the glass houses and butterfly enclosure were some of the best we have visited. The gardens I am sure would be outstanding in summer. While here you can also pay a visit to the 1976 Olympic Stadium which is just across the street from the Botanical Gardens.

We went to the 2Cellos concert in the Bell Tower, these guys are fantastic a wonderful performance, very entertaining.

This concludes our three months of travelling through Canada, and wow did we had an amazing time, Canada really is a beautiful country, the people, food, stunning scenery and fresh air will really take your breath away, the only negative thing I can say about Canada is the cold 6 months of winter they seem to get, otherwise I would have no problem living here. If I visit again I will be sure to visit mid may to mid September.