Adventure to the Atlas Mountains of Marrakesh, Morocco– and that Camel Ride....

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After hearing that our camel ride was going to be around 3 hours in duration – so we understood – and were warned that a half hour was more than enough, we were delighted to find out that our ride was to be 30 minutes only – and on the flat too!! In fact it was the subject of our first stop. After partaking in some local tea - the Morocco tradition, we were dressed in the local garb - all blue  - and hoisted on to the back of our friendly camels.  It took a few minutes to work out how to balance and relax on the camels’ back then it was time to enjoy the sunshine, fresh air, and peacefulness of the balmy countryside.  Then it was off to the majestic Atlas Mountains – huge alps looming an hour away high in the sky. We detoured to a natural health and beauty products place where all was made from oil by a women’s collective, a quick stop to inspect the outside of Kasbah Tamadot -Sir Richard Branson’s place  - the base of his mother’s Eva Branson Charity – offering projects to enrich the lives of the local people of Morocco  - and at the movie location for a recent Tom Cruise Mission Impossible  – now to be the location for a war movie, then past a place that Meryl Streep set up to educate girls in the area.  More ‘names’ to come…  The scenery of the alps is dramatic –  reminding one of Central Otago Scenery – redder, more trees, precarious roads red river valleys with much greenery and higher mountains in the distance. Plus many small terra cotta neat villages everywhere. We trekked up through villages past the Kasbah du Toubkal  - a ‘premier’ mountain retreat – and National Geographic Unique Hotel. It was the film set for the Dalai Lama Movie and has hosted Martin Scorsese, Lady Gaga and others.  The local villages, unlike others nearby in the Alps, thrive on Tourism (The Kathmandu of Morocco)  - walking and skiing. – with mule deliverers – the local 4 x 4’s, Air BnB’s and tour guiding being the most popular jobs.  A typical Moroccan lunch accompanied by lots of laughs from our fellow travellers, topped up this highlight of our trip to the Atlas Mountains by Marrakesh, Morocco. Well worth the trip!

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Our adventure at Cinque Terre

Why go to this lovely world heritage site in winter?  Why not? Actually, I would go again, at any time, and stay longer, and swim and walk....
 The dramatic cliff scape, the buildings are perched on top of each other going up the mountains and are such lovely colours - I wonder if they were always so colourful???

There were no ferries at this time of year  for us enjoy the dramatic views of  villages from the ocean, so we travelled by train to Le Spezia, the main port of the area, then changed to a local train. We first visited Monterosso –the furthest away and with a lovely long beach. Oh, the openness,the freedom, the fresh air and the quiet wave shushing after all those days of narrow smoke stinking streets!!  Bliss….   feeling of freedom...... This and another village got flooded out in 2011, apparently due to global warming, however all the locals got together and fixed everything so today, one would never know.    A quick look around the town at street level and on the train to the smaller village of Vernazza to watch a fishing dingy being hoisted up from the waters far below….  Travelling to Europe in Winter, is so cool - there are no crowds or queues.   However an Asian tour group joined us on the train and we wondered why they did not get off at Corniglia.  This was the only town that had a ‘Welcome to our Village’ sign  and a barking welcome dog - and we soon found out why – there was a switchback series of many stairs to the village high in the hills!  Nothing was open, being the time of year, but thankfully there was a bus service to deliver us to the station down below. Corniglia – visited!! We decided to  eat at Manorola, perched on the edge of the cliff and discovered that the Asian Tour group was dining at a very nice looking restaurant in the main street. As we had plenty of time  for the train before travelling to the next village we elected to settle in for a long lunch of local fare  -  a very good decision, we discovered.  At Cinque Terre one is expected to go walking, we knew, so we elected to do the shortest walk from Riomaggore. However a few minutes into the walk we discovered a very padlocked gate and a notice informing us that the walkway was closed due to slips…….

We then decided to walk up what we thought was the main street only to discover that this was a well  off residential area – odd!!  Back to the station to find an interesting wall lined tunnel  of art leading to the busy main street leading upwards……but we have done enough ups!  Now when is the train leaving to Le Spezia?????

An evening in Pisa, Italy, mid December 2015

While we were travelling by train to Pisa we became rather concerned when the blue sky changed to haze which became more and more dense as we travelled.  However it did clear and we arrived, late afternoon to pleasant grey balmy day at Pisa.

As it was still afternoon we  decided to visit the Palazzo Blu, about 30 minutes walk away from our hotel,was open til 8pm and thought we would check it out.  However, upon arrival we were surprised to be charged a significant fee to enter. But we dutifully paid and trouped upstairs to admire the impressive art and original décor of the palace museum. Most interesting was a collection of drawings of early buildings and scenery of Pisa. Collected and drawn by Adele and her daughter Adele, many of the buildings either do not exist or have  changed, making this a very valuable and treasured history of Pisa.  Just as we were about to leave, we noticed that people were going downstairs to the basement. We decided to follow and  discovered the real reason for the exhorbitant  entry fee - The Toulouse Lautrec Exhibition! This large dramatic display of his works and of the era that he lived and worked –  the stories and history  - most interesting! Here til February and well worth the visit if anyone is passing by.

We also wondered why all the Pisa crowds had decided to cruise down the Main street and why everything was humming.  It turned out that this Sunday evening was one of a series of Christmas festivities.  The featured band, Soul Wood treated us all to a couple of hours of excellent jazz – a perfect end of day event at Pisa. 

Our travelling from New Zealand to London Adventure

Perhaps the most interesting sights when flying from New Zealand to Australia are the cloud formations. Today’s display was ‘out of the box.’ For the past few days in Auckland the days had been grey with much low cloud cover, so to rise above this blanket into the dusky blue brightness of the early evening sky was quite ‘uplifting.’  (you may laugh….)  We did not have to wait long for the first display. In the distance a line of black puffs of cloud rose above the border of the now dark grey blanket below and morphed into a long spinal skeleton of bones against a white sky.  Then they moved on to become the Southern Alps of our South Island  - a fitting way to leave New Zealand, we agreed.  But Australia, not to be outdone - after the sun set, rearranged the clouds into two charcoal vertical bands – separated by a band of brilliant orange!     Welcome to Australia!!!

We are now on our final leg of our flight to London, without any incident so far – apart from the fact that Christ spent ages in the shower at the Dubai airport and I had to send in an attendant to get him to hurry along – and we are enjoying the scenery outside, that is if you like rows and rows of rocky mountains sticking out of beige desert sands. Not as colourful as Australia’s outback.  Soon we ascended high over more rocky mountain ranges and plateaus which, to my surprise, were all snow covered.

 Just before our last trip this way there had been a dramatic sand storm and we had to divert to Bahrain to refuel, then return to Dubai so we saw nothing of the terrain.   From the air Dubai looks a bit like what Auckland might become   - many suburbs of apartments and occasional blocks of leafy suburbs and a city center of tall buildings.  Otherwise lots of sandy sand spits and bars, a few ships – no concentrated port that I could see - but no doubt there is one!!  So here we are on the plane – 7 hours to go  - after 17 hours of flying the seats are getting very hard – great to be offered thin mattresses and chardonnay to make the going easier……..

Thank you to the assistant at the Melbourne’s duty free shops who was able to help us with daughter’s duty free order.  ‘She has had 8 months to come up with her order and she text’s me when we are travelling!!! ‘ grumbles father.  Five minutes after tapping this lovely lady on the shoulder   HELP! – only in more colourful language – all was sorted.  BTW Christian Dior fragrance prices have risen significantly over the last vey weeks. I had to pay about NZ $40 more than expected – I should have bought when I first enquired (note to self).

Time for a doze – or shall I watch a movie??  All these choices when flying…

A glimpse of Waterford, Ireland and its Layers of History

Waterford, the oldest city in Ireland has a fascinating history, and thanks to the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, which has its own stories since its inception 225 years ago, we were treated to a tantalizing glimpse of its layers. The Vikings first settled near Waterford in 853 and after an exchange of various raiders, resettled at Waterford in 914. Over the centuries various visitors, including invaders and even royalty have influenced and shaped the city to what it is today. One of the oldest and most distinctive buildings in Waterford is the circular Reginald’s Tower, reported to be built at the beginning the 13th century. Nearby, and of great interest to we visitors from New Zealand, was a round blue plaque on one of the old buildings which stated that this was where William Hobson, the first Governor of New Zealand was born.

These days most people relate to Waterford because of the Waterford Crystal brand, so it was natural that we should visit this factory. Founded in 1783, the mission of Waterford Crystal was to have crystal ‘as fine a quality as anywhere in Europe.’ Along the way there was a financial downfall and Waterford Crystal and its crystal making techniques were dormant for around a century until, in the 1940’s and 1950’s a group of businessmen revived the industry. In 2009 the business was forced into receivership and after much negotiation the current Waterford Crystal factory visitor center was opened in Waterford. It is most interesting for visitors to view the beechwood molds, named after people such as Justin Timberlake, the crystal craft exhibitions, crystal blowers and the dramatic crystal trophies and artifacts they were producing. After visiting Waterford Crystal we then explored the Viking Triangle and other historical buildings in Waterford, feeling most grateful to have the opportunity to capture a mere glimpse of the history and architecture of this most intriguing city, before moving on to our next adventure in Ireland.

Travelling from Chester to Dublin via Honeyhead, Wales.

I always had a dream to travel to Wales, not sure why. My concept is of coal, Cardiff, dramatic rugged beauty, caring people, a wierd language and Tom Jones. So I was thriled to find out that yes, our trip did include Wales, even though it was a two hour rail trip along the top, from Chester to Honeyhead, on the Island of Anglesea. However, much of my curiosity about Wales in that short time was satisfied. The hills are ruggedly round and knobbly, often covered with bracken, the land green, the houses tall, narrow, made bluestone or concrete and chimney pots at each end. All signage is in English, and I presume, Welsh. At Honeyhead we were bussed to the fast ferry. This trip was one of the most comfortable I have ever had on a ferry. Not only was the sea smooth, the winds light but also our seats, the view and the food. One of the great plusses of the internet is the opportunity to view something before purchasing. Having looked at the 360 degree camera view of the ‘Jonothan Swift’ fast ferry on line, we booked upstairs by the windows, in the no children zone. Peace, quiet relaxation, and if we wished to dispose of cobwebs then we could avail ourselves of the extremely cold, windy decks outside. Just the perfect way to travel to Ireland, which would turn out to be one of the busiest holidays ever.......