Mackay is known as the sugar capital of Australia, with the region producing more than a third of the nations sugar output. Take a drive in any direction from the city, and you across an ageing sugar refinery belching smoke in the air, surrounded by endless fields of sugar cane. Mackay is also the gateway to the Bowen Basin coal mines, which has the largest output of any coal region in Australia. Read on...
A very cool start to the day but the temperature will be climbing from 15 to 23 degrees between am. Its another sunny day and will get to 30 degrees today. We have vouchers to have free breakfast at Porters and I had an omelette and Kerry had the fruit parfait along with some fresh OJ.
We later caught the Springdale town shuttle from the front of the hotel down to the Zion NP entrance. Its Satur Read on...
Another week has slid by . Another deadline passed . The exchange on the house did not happen . wont either . We are still in lockdown. A dim and dismal place to be . The weather has turned cold . A chill air greets me on my morning walk . The sun is not making any appearance and the grass is covered with a silver covering. It was the first frost last night of the Autumn . What would I prefer ? I Read on...
We landed in Langkawi on a typical tropical Malaysian day. Our hotel was very nice – open plan foyer with a large pool and drinks. Once we checked in, we decided to check out the local area. It was super sleepy during the day (like us) so after a quick walk around we went back for a rest. Langkawi, like anywhere in SE Asia, has food markets every night of the week but in different locations. Tha Read on...
Ich mchte jetzt nicht von Wunderheilung sprechen, aber wie gut es meinem Fu heute geht ist schon berraschend - im positiven Sinn!
Wir starten in dicken Wolken bei Regen zu Hause in den Tag und lassen uns etwas Zeit. Gegen 10 Uhr machen sich die Wolken dann tatschlich langsam vom Acker und wir machen uns auf den Weg an die Ostspitze der Insel. Sehr skuril mutet das Hoteldorf von Canical an: ein ko Read on...
Some of you who have been my regular subscribers through the years might be wondering why you havent seen any contributions from me for around 3 years. Yes, covid has been a significant factor (fortunately neither of us has succumbed to it yet), but there has been a more significant reason. My wife, Joan, suffers from Stargardts Disease (or AMD – macular degeneration) which means she is rapidly Read on...
No. Its just some device. A faint peeping had worked its way into my sleep. It sounded like a cry for attention from one of my lesser gadgets, probably my watch, which told me that it was 2 AM, but wasnt peeping.
My daughter, Laura, and I were on a journey to connect with distant relatives in Yorkshire, England. We decided to add a little glamor to the trip by first spending a few days in Paris. Read on...
I am a true believer in Central Coast wines. My only problem is that their price tags tend to emulate their big brothers up in Napa and Sonoma. Nevertheless, lets look a little deeper in the central coast. Wine Folly says: The Central Coast is a large American Viticultural Area (AVA) that extends from the south of San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara, California. The region contains 40 AVAs Read on...
Cherry blossom – or sakura - season in Tokyo is truly a magical experience. Thousands of trees burst into bloom, dousing the streets with stunning shades of pink. The flowers are a national obsession and people flock to parks to hold hanami parties and picnics to view and photograph them. Stores will stock their shelves with or flavored items, such as sakura bento lunch boxes and even serve pin Read on...
Akureyri, Icelands 2nd city - city, and also referred to as such by my brother, but Pip objected to that, so Phil fired back with municipality ?? - by population (but to then get really, really picky Wiki says that as a municipality Akureyri is only the 4th largest in Iceland ???) .
We didnt travel far at all today, just one brief out of town trip, but still filled a good day (though unfortunate Read on...