A day on the Water, Venice, Italy, Day 2

There is nothing better for maritime lovers to be out on the water, in any capacity, even while on holiday! Today we  boarded our ferry and set off for our water adventure in Venice. The day was so – unusually, we found out – warm and balmy – the water was so calm that we could have reached out and trailed our fingers in the water, and the sky was so blue….  We travelled past the extensive mud flats with a few birds flying here and there, and landed on the formally arranged tree bordered Cemetery Island. Extensive, well maintained, and still to be completely filled, this sanctuary presented a preliforia of family histories of the area – some still in their telling. The monuments also offered a history of memorials over time, in the area.  After a time of peace and reflection we cruised to Murano, an island not only renowned for its lace making, but for its colourful houses lining its canals. We all disembarked, admiring the colourful buildings with their closed doors and drapes, suspecting that their inhabitants might have felt like goldfish in a bowl! However we  tourists all strolled merrily by, occasionally dropping into the few lace and souvenir shops that were still open during this off-season, admired the island’s thick furred cats and all arrived at the one restaurant that was open to enjoy lunch  off an Italian styled family run ‘international’ menu which very efficiently catered for the huge variety of ethnic groups that called by. We thoroughly recommend the soup of the day! Upon our return to the ‘mainland’ we chattered with some very interesting people from China and Germany who had  ‘popped over to Venice’ for a few days break. Oh if only we could do the same……  We concluded this lovely autumn day by strolling  past St Mark's Square through Venice’s very exclusive hotel and shopping area, noting that the Christmas decorations were appropriate to people who might shop in this area. For our last supper in Venice we dined like royalty at another family restaurant - Trattoria Vittoria that we discovered upon another visit and again enjoyed the décor, authentic Italian food and hospitality.  Next day we travelled by train -  you might have noticed that pic of the water as we travelled along the causeway from Venice on to Bologna – our next adventure in Italy…..

A tantilizing glimpse of Cork, Ireland

Ahhhh!!! So much to see in Cork, so little time!! The only perception I had of Cork was that locals partook in lots of sailing, including the biannual Cork Week Sailing Festival, a racing event that many New Zealand sailors aspire to go sailing in. Cork, a major Irish seaport, is the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city. Literally meaning,“swamp,” Cork is often referred to as the “real capital of Ireland” by its residents. There is much rivalry between Cork and Dublin. Cork people consider themselves ‘different’ to the rest of Ireland, often referring to themselves as ‘rebels.’ Indeed they have their own accent, very musical and pleasant to listen to, which is great, because they tend to love talking! On Saturday morning, after a pleasant evening relaxing in the Collins Bar at comfortable Carrigaline Court Hotel, we visited the English Market in the Cork City Centre. Established in 1788, many stallholders, often run by families, have been there for over 100 years. The current market buildings were constructed in the mid 19th century until they destroyed by fire in 1980 and had to be extensively refurbished by Cork City Council. Today the Cork English Markets is very multicultural, selling a huge variety of food and fresh produce, all beautifully displayed, and attract local visitors and international travellers alike. Even Queen Elizabeth visited during her recent trip to Ireland in June.

The shopping precinct of Cork has changed much over the past 15 years, and is perfect for to go shopping along its traditional streets,

to admire the eclectic array of old and new buildings, and indulge in a tad of shopping followed b a delicious coffee in the eclectic Bookshop Coffee house – as we did. Oops! Lunch time and that means time to go sailing with the Royal Cork Yacht club……

The Swedish Winter holiday Adventure

Today I am looking out of the window at the ice covered Arlando Airport in Stockholm,, Sweden on a beautiful cold sunny morning, awaiting our flight to London.

We flew into Goteburg, a city of around 700,000 inhabitants on the west coast of Sweden, four days ago, and stayed with newly found relatives, Hans and Eva. Eva is a great cook, and I am sure that her wonderful cuisine helped my sinus cold to clear up in record time. Hans and Eva took us for a tour around Goteburg, along the street where my late Grandfather, Alfred walked before he emigrated to New Zealand in 1903 and around the spacious city centre. Then we viewed the large harbour which is dotted with islands and reefs, which are the bain of sailors. In the hot summer Goteburg is famous for sailing and boating events, including, I understand the Volvo Round the world event. But on this very cold day there was no evidence of any boating at all. Gotenburg used to have some large ship building yards, which no longer exist. Today it has the second largest tertiary education center in Sweden. A very nice place, I felt, and with all the trees everywhere, would look beautiful in spring, summer and autumn.

The weather in Sweden during our visit, has been settled, due to a ridge of high pressure over the area, so we have seen Goteburg, probably at its winter best, and without the mist that apparently covers the area in winter.

There was frost everywhere, and when we departed Goteberg for Stockholm by train, we glided through a white frost world, white trees, white fields, white streets and white, steep roofed houses.

At Last!! 10 snow ploughs have cleared the runway so it is time to go......