While our motel last night left a bit to be desired, we slept fairly well, but were eager to get out of there and were in the car by 8:00 am. We got coffee and yogurt with blueberries and granola at a shop in town, and headed out on Highway 6 towards our first stop in the town of Price.
We followed the Book Cliffs Escarpment as it bends north. It is the longest continuous escarpment in the world Read on...
South Africa has some of the best wines in the world and when I visited Cape Town in summer (better their winter) 2019 I had to go on a wine tour. Since I was on my own I booked a tour through a website called Viator, which I usually used when booking tours on my travels.
The tour I chose hit a few wineries in Franschhoek, Paarl and Stellenbosh. It was a full day tour and the driver picked everyo Read on...
This blog entry sends greetings from Iceland! When I arrived in this amazing country, I couldnt quite believe I was there. It is one of those mythical places you often read or hear about, but never imagine being able to visit. I felt the same about Japan, the Galapagos Islands, and now this remarkable island! I had it very much confirmed during my first few days, even hours there, that it is indee Read on...
Today my tour guide along the Grand Canal was with Andrea on a vaporetto, the original water bus of Venice.
We set off from Marco Valleresso, the smaller and older of two waterbus stations near the Piazza San Marco
We passed under two of the oldest bridges - Accademia and Rialto - The Rialto Bridge since its construction as a pontoon bridge in the 12th century has been several times to stand ou Read on...
At 6:30 pm I am sitting on a swinging chair overlooking the astounding Viales Valley, a World Heritage site. An almost full moon is shining down the valley. Rounded karst mountains stretch along the horizon, facing into the dusk. The hotel is called the Horizontes Los Jazmines, because some rooms (as is our privilege) range along a downwards slope opposite the mountains, all with this breathtakin Read on...
Before we move on to the blog proper can we just acknowledge those events. Personally, except for the impacts of lockdowns and new precautions, and the need for Pip to take shielding care for health reasons - asthma - during the first lock down especially, we have been fortunate in our avoidance of the worst aspects of covid. No illness for ourself nor do we personally know of any family or friend Read on...
TUE, 09 AUG 2022 – It was late afternoon/early evening when we made our return to Dublin on the last day of the Ultimate Ireland Small Group Tour by Overland Ireland - Small Group Tours. I was the first tour member to be dropped off at his/her/their hotel. went smoothly and after a short freshen up, I headed for Oscars Caf Bar, a few feet from the hotel, for supper. Linguini and chicken in whi Read on...
It is about Day 700 of Covid restrictions and thankfully not many more of them left. Nearly two years have gone by and we have had enough . There are more problems in the world far worse than a Covid at the moment . Time to move on and get on with life .
I have not found many half decent sayings on my calendar but todays was pretty poignant. Jiddu Krisnamurti came out with a good one One is neve Read on...
But it was worth it because first stop of the day was at The Blue Eye (specifically Blue Eye - south, because there is another Blue Eye in the northern Albanian alps, walkable from Theth where we were a couple of weeks ago).
By being early we beat all the crowds, because by all accounts, it can get very busy (and there were many people heading to the attraction whilst we were leaving).
The Blue Read on...
We got up and ready to head out. Were just taking overnight bags, and leaving the rest of the stuff at the beach house. Sylvia was a little delayed in getting ready, but we still had an hour and a half to do a drive that should just be an hour, so we figured that was plenty of padding.
The drive out from the beach house wasnt nearly as bad as the drive in. It was much easier to see the bumps in t Read on...