It was founded in 1808 by John, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal (later King John VI, for introducing and acclimatizing economically beneficial plants brought from other tropical regions of the world. Originally intended for the acclimatization of spices like nutmeg,pepper and cinnamon imported from the West Indies. The garden was opened to the public in 1822.
The park i Read on...
Weve taken the trains and the tube a LOT over the past five days, so I thought this quote was appropriate 😀. We take another train early tomorrow morning, from Eastbourne to Gatwick Airport, for our flight to Dubrovnik. We are so excited about going to Croatia!
But first, weve had a pleasant last two days in Eastbourne. Yesterday we had a relaxing day, walking into town with Carol Ann, and doi Read on...
Thursday July 7 – Maybe I spoke too soon about how to have the perfect sleep. The earplugs worked again this morning but overall I woke up a lot last night. Its just me, no noise to speak of. I got out of bed at 6:30 and went to breakfast at 7am.
After breakfast, I stayed in for a bit catching up with email and planning to do some more work for the Camino when I read an email from the airline t Read on...
Having faced unexpected trials and tribulations during my first three days on the Larapinta Trail, it was with a fair degree of trepidation that I rose to greet the day on Thursday (August 12th), knowing that - according to the map guide at least - I was about to face one of the most difficult days on the trail. Still, it also promised to be one of the most spectacular, with the route climbing up Read on...
I woke up this morning to beautiful, bright sunshine! Ive had awesome weather during my stay here in Sechelt/Vancouver. I slept in this morning waking up around 7:30 or so. I had a shower and went downstairs to enjoy the breakfast that the hotel puts on. It was pretty decent. Scrambled eggs with turkey sausage links, some home fries; chunky potatoes with some chunks of sauted peppers and onions. C Read on...
Nachdem ich diesmal schon in den Regionen Champagne und war, habe ich heute den Atlantik erreicht. Von Nantes bin ich also in Richtung Sden und zuerst habe ich in der Region La Rochelle am alten deutschen Bunker vorbei geschaut. Der ist auf einem abgeschlossenen Hafengelnde, aber auch aus der Ferne kann man ihn gut sehen. Dann berquerte ich eine Brcke zur bekannten le de R. Das ist eine absolute Read on...
When my friend, Mike, saw my HCMC bedroom for the first time, he described it as my shrine. A fitting epithet. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘shrine as ‘a place for worship that is holy because of a connection with a holy person or object. Well, my bedroom is festooned with photos of holy people – my parents, my friends and myself! I marginally prefer ‘sanctum sanctorum (holy of holies) Read on...
Ok total change of plans today - its the last sunny day before (apparently) a week of rain, so I wanted to make sure I got up to Loen today, even if it meant extra back on my tracks. About half the drive was normal highway, half was the narrow roads - Im getting used to them at least..!
I went through this nice valley with super green waters and tiny waterfalls galore. Not many spots to stop, but Read on...
Walking has a bit of a bore. It was fine when I started walking around our Derbyshire village home as it was a novelty. I remember enjoying walking as a change to swimming . Investigating the village I had lived in and never entirely walked around . Cul de sacs, long lanes, the ponds, the lakes and the countryside . There were places I had never ventured down and I remember apart from my aching fe Read on...
After our one night of executive, art deco luxury in the Midland Hotel in Morecambe, it was time to head further north. I reflect on the Morecambe visit with a bit of sadness. The majority of people I speak to look somewhat puzzled by the choice of destination. What the town has to offer is lost on most and there is a definite refusal to give it chance to bounce back. Bill Bryson said as such in o Read on...