Townsville, Australia

We have made it to Townsville after a huge couple of days. A 12-hour flight, then a full day in Hong Kong at Disneyland before boarding for an 8-hour flight to Australia. Very knackered and only a few hours sleep which we snatched in the airport lying on the airport chairs like vagrants and when we booked into a hotel for three hours for showers and a rapid snooze. Disneyland was great; not amazing. just too old for it now I guess. Grace, Terry and I went on some of the hair raising rides but poor Ella was just done in. There were people, queues and heat! Still, it had to be done and I even went on the cup and saucer ride. Hong Kong from the taxi window looks quite lovely with its backdrop of hills covered in green and its islands. Worth pursuing further I think.


The first day in Townsville we visited the Billabong nature reserve where there were kangaroos, cassowary, snakes, wombats, koala and crocodiles. We were taught about wombats, koalas, snakes and crocodiles and we were able to hold a snake and koala which was pretty cool. Initially, Grace was reluctant but she gave it a go in the end. A very odd sensation holding a snake. Quite a rubbery creature.

Istanbul again

Valerie and Ewan will recognise this building! We are staying in the Sultanamet area in Istanbul and from where we have breakfast we can see the famous Blue Mosque which just has to be visited to believe how beautiful it is inside. The girls were a little reluctant at first which probably had something to do with covering up to go in, and were struck with what they saw inside. The beauty is in the tiling of the ceiling and around the walls.

After the mosque, we wandered around the city just taking in the sights and hanging around the square people watching. I had hot corn with salt and grace sampled the watermelon which is everywhere and delicious.

In the evening we enjoyed a meal out at a rooftop restaurant looking over the city of Istanbul as the lights came on. Such a lovely city with the lights casting a gentle glow on the  I ordered an ottoman style meal of chicken cooked in a terrine. The waiter made a great show of cracking the head from the burning container to reveal a delicious meal of chicken so tender, and tomato, onion and spices. Just yummy. We have had a number of really enjoyable eating experiences. The best places are where the locals go and it's interesting just to watch what they do. One cafe had a lady in the corner cooking the wraps to order: wraps with cheese wraps with cheese and beef or chicken wraps. Orange juice is freshly squeezed and available in many places and so cheap. I enjoyed ordering local cuisine from the shop window and in particular a shredded chicken dish topped with potato and cheese and eggplant stuffed with tomato, onion and unrecognisable spices.

One day trip was a boat ride to Hebeliada island of the Prince's Islands. The journey was a couple of hours long but not without plenty to keep us entertained. From the moment the boat left the port we were offered orange juice, tea, coffee, bread rolls, chips, plastic toys, dresses... it seemed to have a captive market was an opportunity too good to pass up and no one left their seat because if you did it was gone!

Once on the island, we hired bikes for a tour around. This proved a little frustrating because it was unclear where you could go and how to get to the water and you had to pay to pass through gates with no clear reason why. Eventually, we found a swimming spot that was not a patch on swimming spots we have had in the past but it was wet and cool. Two hours later, having fallen asleep on sun loungers, we headed back to the town. There wasn't a great deal to see but it was nice to be somewhere different where there weren't so many people. One point of interest on the island were the buildings made from wood. They were very unusual because there were so few of them and they were clearly not the best-suited material for the environment. We bought cherries and sat on the wharf. Oh, and the girls bought flowers headbands, as you do.

Also visited: A palace, a Hamam (don't forget to ask me about that experience!), a dance show and Gallipoli.

 

Rome

Slept in then hit Rome and the colosseum which is the first thing we saw from the metro station. No getting lost there. Many touts offering a quick route to skip the queues which we decided to take for a price. In the end, we skipped the queue after a wait of some length but we had a tour guide who didn’t really tell us much at all about the real working of the colosseum so we were a little disappointed. The colosseum is pretty cool. So old, so huge, so full of stories and drama. Despite the fact that chunks of it are missing you can still imagine all that went on. There are also some pretty good views from the top of the other ruins around.

After the colosseum, we walked to the Vittorio Emanuele II monument where the tomb of the unknown soldier lies. Some pretty impressive sculptures on a very grand scale on this monument. One of the sculptures took 20 years to create and in the end, the original artist died and it had to be finished by another. Very, very, hot. We stopped for lunch and to have a cool beer before heading for the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps. It was so tempting to put your feet in the water but the whistleblowing police had other ideas. There were so many people and it was so hot, so while the fountain was impressive for the sheer scale, we did not linger. The girls each threw a coin in the fountain…and that was that.

The Spanish steps were somewhat unimpressive; just steps really. Many years ago there were flowers lining each side and in the middle but not so today. We looked, then sat our feet in the fountain at the bottom of the steps, withdrawing them just in time because out of nowhere came the policeman. Off to the supermarket. Grace made her signature salad, I had limoncello, bed.

Venice

It was an early start for us today. We were up at 4.30 to catch the shuttle to the airport. We were flying with Easy Jet so we weren't taking any chances. We ate our breakfast while we waited for our flight to Venice at 7.00am. We arrived in Venice at 8.00 and by 9.00am we were walking along by the canals. We opted to buy an all-day ticket to cruise the canals by boat and this proved to be a very good option. It was such fun! The boats were crowded but if you stood outside the breeze and the view was fabulous. I was like a dog on the back of a ute walking from side to side of the boat taking pictures.

There is something charming about the houses all slotted together in higgelty piggelty arrangement by the water. The boat took us to Murano  Island where they make beautiful things out of glass. It was lovely to be away from the crowds for a time and still have the beauty of the canals. We looked, walked, shopped and ate at a local café where the old men were sitting around playing cards. In the afternoon Ella got to go on her gondola ride. We had a singing gondolier which for a time was entertaining. It was calming floating around the canals getting to see warts and all of Venice. Many visitors arrive at their hotels by water taxi or gondola and it was amusing to see the doors of the hotel lobby facing out on to the water.

In the evening we had dinner beside the canal where the gondolas went past with accordions playing. One gondola had an opera singer! We had a fabulous day in Venice.

Istanbul

Ahhh Istanbul, where the call to prayer wakes you at 5am and sounds like someone is calling down the pipe of a vacuum cleaner! Grace hates it, I love it. We've had some wonderful chats with the locals here. They are such friendly people and I guess I wasn't expecting that, especially on the street. Night times are colourful with lights, stallholders and many people trying to get you into their restaurant for dinner. On our first night, we had to run the gauntlet of restaurant touters before we ate at a local restaurant and had a mixed grill with assorted salad veggies. Not the best but we were trying our best not to eat at a tourist restaurant. There were the usual cats hanging around and it's not surprising when the customers feed them under the table!

After that, we went back to a bar to sit on their bean bags and smoke a water pipe with apple flavouring and strawberry. An interesting experience and we all gave it a go. The girls were quite taken with the guys from the bar and their banter and charm.

The following day we headed for the Grand Bazaar in the blistering heat and we were pleasantly surprised at how the bazaar was so spacious and cool. I managed to slip a tea set into our backpack and have no idea if it will make it home in one piece but I'll give it a go. We wandered around, had something to eat perched on stools and then terry had a hair cut. This was entertaining, especially when the barber commented on the state of Terry's hair and then gave me a hard time because I was the barber in Mike Crouch's back yard. To be fair I had cut a chunk out of his hair as I was getting used to how they work. they really are quite effective.

Montenegro

We have made it to Montenegro after a rather long day on the bus with some interesting characters onboard. Our accommodation faces the amazing fort perched on the side of the mountain. It really is an incredible feat to build it when they did, where they did, with what they had available. they started building the fort in the ninth century...too much! Early in the morning while the temperature was kind, we walked up to the flag at the top of the fort; some 1350 steps. Good effort; exercise done.

It was so hot today and for the first time we experienced 34 degrees and I would have to say, it is too hot to function comfortably, especially when not near water. Fortunately, we are, with the fjord near to where we are staying, but we did not swim today. Terry and I wandered into the old city which is another walled city, just to get our bearings. We had yet another local beer (hence the flabby bellies we both have) under mist sprays from the roof of the outdoor bar; such a relief from the heat. We bought groceries at the local supermarket and it is incredible how reasonable or even cheap things are. For 43euro we had bread, cheese, olives, wine, beer, fruit, juice, salami, eggs and so enough for a feast. Despite that, we went out for dinner, for lamb, and three different kinds of pasta. Around our feet we had a collection of cats; one with a bung eye and all very skinny. There are many cats around Croatia and they all look in the same poor condition.

Our walk home in a very balmy temperature was illuminated by the lights on the fort and the lights from the boats on the wharf All very wonderful.