April 30th Robyn writes: We were up fairly early, as we had to organise ourselves to get packed up, clean up our junk and get on the way for Portsmouth. We'd decided that rather than go along the coastal road, which looks like the obvious route, we'd head inland and then down again on the major motorways, and try to avoid the many bottlenecks and life-threatening drivers of the smaller towns and villages! We'd rung Steve and Linda, the owners of our next accommodation, to organise to meet them at 4pm in Portsmouth, and set off a bit after nine, bidding farewell to Dover and the Gatehouse.

This is our building (above) - we're on the seventh floor on the left as you look at the photo. The area has some lovely old buildings as well as all of the new ones. The Customs House (below) is now a pub.

Getting on to the A2 was no trouble - in fact the vast majority of the trip was quite easy with the help of our road atlas as we were on major motorways throughout. We stopped at one of the "Services" just north of Guilford for morning tea then headed south again. The morning had started cool and quite foggy but cleared to a beautiful blue sky and a few moments of an unheard-of 19 degrees - lovely! It was great for travel so we saw lots of the English countryside at its best. We soon realised that we were going to be in Portsmouth much earlier than we'd anticipated so texted Linda, who said that 1pm would be fine to meet up. The most traumatic part of the trip was the last mile or so where Portsmouth harbour area gets very, very busy and there are roads going everywhere. However, we survived that with our marriage intact (just!) to finally arrive at Gunwharf Quays - a huge new precinct in the old naval yards which now has DFO shopping outlets, restaurants and accommodation.

It's just lovely and so central to the historic naval part of Portsmouth. Our apartment is on the seventh floor and is as new as the Gatehouse was old. We look out over the precinct and poking above the building to our left are the masts of what I suspect is Lord Nelson's Victory. Behind that somewhere is Henry VIII's ship The Mary Rose. Tomorrow will be a day dedicated to naval history!

Linda, our host, was on hand to greet us and show us our flat. Just getting into the building is an experience with security levels we haven't seen before - just to get in you need a special "beeper" to tap the door with, then it's very specific about how you use it! Once we'd lugged all of our belongings up (the car is safely parked underground - parking was included, which was a major attraction for this unit as it's VERY expensive in places like this), we headed out to explore. I was starving and discovered that right in front of us was a Jamie's Italian Restaurant - that's Jamie Oliver, so I was hooked! (Sorry but this is about to degenerate into a foodie's rant again....) I had the 12 pound lunch special, which was incredibly good value - a pumpkin and ricotta bruschetta for starters followed by Jamie's beef and pork bolognase. Yum! Lex had "The world's best olives" for starters (he said yes, they were) followed by a pea and pancetta risotto. He also sampled a local Kent beer called "Curious"(!) and an ItalianPinot Grigio so was quite happy after all that...and as a great Jamie fan, I was so thrilled to go to one of his restaurants! I feel we'll definitely be back there again before we leave - the menu is incredible :)

                                                            World's best olives!

After our lunch we waddled off happily around the area then headed to Tesco's (conveniently just across from our doorway) for some groceries and back to the unit to put some washing on (there is a drier in this unit, which the last one didn't have - it took 4 days to get one pair of thick socks dry!) Then we went down to the DFOs to have a bit of a look - I bought myself a new long-sleeved top from M&S, having seriously underpacked warm clothes, a pair of slipper socks and visited the Cadbury shop, just because it was there! We now have some local choccies which I have been nibbling for dessert and can report that Cadbury's is actually different in the UK - a bit sweeter and creamier.

Lex decided to go for a bit of a walk (he found the Mary Rose) while I came back to check on the washing and finally wash my hair - I'd thought that the Gatehouse had no hair drier - Lex found it in a drawer this morning, which was a bit late! Anyway, I finally have clean hair. We had quite a late tea - it didn't get dark until after 8 and we just weren't hungry after that huge late lunch. It's been a big day! We've enjoyed watching the lights come on over Portsmouth.

Robyn writes: Another huge day - today is our last day in the Dover cottage and area (sad :( ) so we decided to head back to Canterbury to really have a good look. It proved amazingly easy to get to - straight onto one of their fairly major roads (A2), then as soon as we got off, we were at the "Park & Ride" bus terminal - you park your car for as long as you like, then catch a bus into the town centre and back - for only 3 pounds. Bargain! We were lucky enough to have a double decker bus going in, so could sit right up the front in the top of it for a brilliant view.

                                                 Scenery on our boat tour

Canterbury is amazing - many of the buildings in the city centre are still medieval, so you're walking past buildings that have been there for 800 years or more! The city was bombed by the Germans in 1942 though luckily they missed the cathedral, but there are several blocks of relatively new buildings due to this. We walked along the street through the new part and into the old, where we took a cruise on the River Stour - 8 tourists in a row boat with a very informative captain who rowed us and told us about the history of the places we were passing. It was really enjoyable and a nice way to orient ourselves a bit, plus gave us ideas of where to go later. Mind you, it's a tiny river, walled by bricks and only about 2 feet deep in most places! After the cruise, we visited the pilgrim's "hospital" - not a medical place, but where pilgrims used to stay, as in the original meaning of the word, "to welcome". An extremely old building, and one that was leaning alarmingly in several places! Some of the ancient buildings we've seen are like that - they bulge out like a convex circle or sit at an 80 degree angle -or at least definitely not the expected 90 degrees!

                                   It's impossible to get a photo that does the cathedral justice

After the hospital we had pasties for lunch then finally went to the cathedral. Canterbury Cathedral is huge and glorious - it seems to go on forever and the architecture is incredible. When you gaze up into the vaulted ceilings, it seems impossible that the building is nearly a thousand years old. We spent ages there looking at the tombs of the archbishops and a royal or two (the Black Prince, and Henry IV and his wife Joan). We went down into the crypts and of course saw the place where Thomas Becket was murdered and where his tomb lay until Henry VIII had it destroyed. You could actually see the dent in the stone floor around where the tomb was made by hundreds of years of pilgrims praying there. Some of the tombs had been defaced by Oliver Cromwell's men, and the cathedral is actually still missing some of the windows destroyed on his orders. Between Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell, there was a fair bit of destruction done to religious buildings over the years (and of course, let's not forget the odd contribution by Adolf Hitler!). We chatted to an nice female minister who told us quite a bit about the history and tombs. After several hours we finally came out and had a look around the exterior - two transept windows are undergoing major renovations at the moment - some have been removed at put on display in the crypt so we were able to get a really good look at them. Renovation is of course ongoing and a major expense for the cathedral, hence our 10.50 pound entrance fee - plus we were glad to dump our excess Aussie money in the international donation box! It is a wonderful place to visit and one I can definitely recommend.

By this stage it was afternoon tea time so we had some much needed caffeine in The Old Weaver's House restaurant - dating back to the 1500. Then we went to visit the "Greyfriars" garden and chapel, built by the Franciscan monks in medieval times. It's an amazing building as it is actually a house built over a bridge on an island in the Stour River, and is all that remains of their abbey (destroyed, of course, by Henry VIII). Time Team did a dig there in 2000 so we'll be hoping to catch that one day on the History Channel!

Then we made our way back to the bus stop and finally found our bus for the quick trip back to our car and to Dover. The weather has been good to us today - overcast but fine and not too cold. Definitely spring weather - there are flowers everywhere and whenever possible we ask a local what they're called. In the last few days we've learned yew hedges and my current favourite, laburnum - trees with beautiful small weeping yellow flowers.

Tonight we going to walk into town to one of the local pubs for our last night in Dover - tomorrow we are heading for Portsmouth for the next 5 days. Although it's only 200km, it would take us ages to get there by going along the coast, as we did to get to Battle yesterday, as that road goes through every tiny little village and can be extremely scary on the tiny, winding road with oncoming trucks, cars and buses and sometimes literally nowhere to go! Instead, we'll head northwest to one of the major motorways which seems like a long way out of our way but will be much quicker! Will come down into Portsmouth through some of the Downs country so that will be nice too.

 

28 April 2014

Dover day 4 - Battle (of Hastings)


Today we went into Battle. This was not an event, but a town. This is where the battle of Hastings was fought (you know- in 1066), and the victor took England. He was a Frenchman by the name of William. As with most sites in England, the place looks quite different now. An abbey has been built on the site, then dissolved by Henry the eighth. Many of the buildings were knocked down (If I had a pound for every ruin in Britain - I'd never work again). The place has been bought an sold three or four times over the last 500 years, and finally taken over by English Heritage.

Before we braved the engagement with (Kings) Harold and William, we took tea ! Here...

This cafe dates from the 1500s. It used to house and feed well-off pilgrims.

The gatehouse is the entrance to the abbey, as it has been since it was built. That was in the forteenth century (nearly 200 years after the battle) and it remains pretty much the same as it was.

The place was pretty smart in its day. Here is one of the common rooms for the monks

That's not a monk. She's just visiting (She must be a pilgrim).

We took an audio tour (with one of those little audio players) around the actual battlefield it was only a couple of hectares, and several thousand soldiers died there. This one battle decided the fate of England. The abbey was built on the site partly to atone for the sin of hacking (former King) Harold's body to bits, and partly to remember the battle and the dead. Also, abbeys were a great money spinner in those days; the monks workd for nothing, and the pilgrims paid to come in and see the place (oh, and to pray for their souls). a real silver lining !

We went to the pub instead of praying (the church was knocked down years ago). The Bull Inn serves excellent food.

Here we see our pilgrim about to take some much needed refreshment.

I couldn't sample the beer because I was driving. I neede all my attention on the road. The English villages have narrow two lane roads going through the middle. Then they park their cars one one side, leaving one lane plus about 50cm for the traffic. The cars on the "parking lane" side stop and give way to the others. The others can be trucks or double decker buses. We quickly learned the technique of leapfrogging parked cars, and diving into vacant spots, just before the oncoming car/truck/bus arrives. Fun for a little while, but totally exhausting after a day. The other joy of this is that the vehicles coming the other way are usually about 15cm away, and the parked cars about the same distance from the passenger side. That is compounded by the fact that there is a village every three miles. I wanted Robyn to get a picture, but she had her eyes shut most of the time. Where is a motorway when you need one ?

Our return journey took us along the fabled holiday strip of sandy beaches. We stopped at Dymchurch, and climbed over the sea wall. This wall goes for miles and miles, and is 10 metres high in places. It stops the sea invading Romney Marshes, which are now productive farmland ( think sheep !).

At this point, the wall is topped by a promenade, about 8 metres wide. There is sand and sea on one side; and holiday parks on the other. You can stay in a tiny cabin, one of hundreds; or you can bring your own caravan and park right close to your neighbour. You have a nice view of an earth bank, topped by a concrete wall. To get to the beach, you cross a busy road and climb the concrete stairs, push through the biting cold Atlantic wind, and walk over about 200 metres of sand (at low tide) to the icy water. If you need to pee, use the ocean, or pay 50 pence per visit at the local facilities. Oh those British - they know how to holiday !

I drove out of there, thinking of Dover as a civilised, pleasant place to stay. As usual, we went to Mcdonalds to upload my Blog post and check Emails. Did I mention that there is no mobile coverage in our house ? Bloody annoying. To be fair, I don't have to use McDonalds free Wi-Fi. I could sit on the side of the road somewhere down in town and use my Mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Mcdonalds however, is warm and dry (and sells coffee).

Tomorrow is our last full day in Dover, so we will go back to Canterbury. Hope this finds all of you, "my followers" well.

Until next time .....

Lex and Robyn.

　

27 April 2014

Dover - Day 3

Robyn Writes....
Today we finally got to explore Dover Castle, after several days of gazing at it from all angles in and out of town. This morning we managed a sleepin – woke up at about 6.20, which was a vast improvement on the last few days’ efforts of 4.30 and 5.30ish! After breakfast, we headed out for a walk around the town area to see what was there – found some lovely old churches and some very interesting shops, plus the local museum which all bear further inspection if we get the chance. The weather was cloudy but fine and cool so nice for a walk (all bundled up in several layers). I have seriously underpacked warm clothes and most days seem to have to wear almost everything warm I have all at once. Am hoping our Portsmouth flat will have a drier as well as a washer…the washing I did yesterday is still mostly quite damp (30 hours later).

On our walk, we finally discovered the local McDonald’s, which of course means free we-fi for the computers.

After coming back for a cuppa and a read of the Sunday papers, we finally headed up the hill to the castle at 10.30.

The Castle, but not all of it. It's huge

As we are English Heritage members, we didn’t have to pay anythingto get in. We decided to do the tour of the war tunnels first, but there was quite a queue so we were told we’d be in the 11.30 tour group. By then it was about 10 to 11, and the sun was coming out and the day warming up, so Lex kept our place in the queue while I headed back down to the Gate House to remove my thermal layer and find our hats! I arrived back in time for our tour, which was fantastic – very informative and enjoyable. Reminds you what an amazing feat the rescue of all of those soldiers from Dunkirk was. By the time we got out it was nearly 12.30 and a lovely warm day. We were hungry so we headed up the hill in search of the café, where we had a lovely lunch and a perfect pot of tea to share in real china cups!

After lunch we went and explored the rest of the castle – the great tower was amazing, and had decorations in some of the big rooms to show how they were used. Built by Henry II in 1180, it is kept in excellent condition and has lots of rooms decorated as they would have been in his day. They aren't real antiques, so you can sit on the thrones and seats. After years of having Medieval Banquet days in Year 7, it was wonderful to walk into a real Medieval banqueting hall and see it set up in the inverted "U" shape! As it was a special event day, there were people walking around in medieval dress and acting out stories. The highlight of this for the hundreds of children in the castle was at 3pm when St George on his horse first fought the wicked Saracen, then defeated the dragon. Sales of pre-school sized knight costumes, helmets and swords went through the roof, as did princess dresses! I oohed and aahed over a gorgeous Tudor princess dress for Livvy but the 25 pound price tag gave me slight heart failure....
  Lex wasn't interested in saints and dragons fighting, so he explored the medieval tunnels beneath the palace while I joined the crowd.



 

St George won !

We also looked at the museum of the Princess of Wales' Regiment and their history, the Saxon church which was restored during the 1860s (amazing place - Richard the Lionheart and his men slept there the night before they set off on one of their crusades, and it must have been a sleepless night, because some of their graffiti is still there near the pulpit) and the Roman lighthouse (or pharos) which is in amazingly good condition nearly 2000 years later. Tradition says it is guarded by the ghost of a Roman Centurion but we didn't see him there...

By this time it was four o'clock and the bad weather had started to roll in again with wind and rain. I decided I'd had enough and needed a cuppa, so I headed home down the hill (only a 5 minute walk from the castle) while Lex walked along some of the battlements. Back at the house after a much-needed caffeine boost, the sun came out again so we walked down to Macca's and free wi-fi to send emails, then back for tea (North Sea cod for Lex, Cumberland sausages for me - love the local foods!). Another exhausting day :) 

26 April 2014

Dover Day 2
Oh, the White Cliffs of Dover.... Oh the cold, wet, windy, muddy, foggy cliffs of Dover !

We arrived early, and walked for a couple of kilometres, but just couldn't stay. Leaning into a strong, cold wind, hauling ouselves up a steep, muddy slope trying to keep the rain out of our things - you get the picture. Home for a cup of tea and a bite to eat please.

　

The port is in front of these cliffs. Huge ferries cross the channel carrying hundreds of cars and dozens of trucks. Impressive.



　

　

Robyn bought a 3/4 length coat in town - down from 80 pounds to 20. This brings her wardrobe tally (coat section) up to about 50 pieces. It was made in China- the world's factory.

Lunch was fish and chips looking out past the beach to the Straits of Dover. Robyn had an all day breakfast, because we could not see any blackboard, or paper menus. The staff later brought other food to other tables - it must be menu-by-negotiation !

Anyway, the food was OK, even if the fish was too heavily battered. The English still seem to exist on a limited range of food when they eat out. Potatoes, bread, fish, pies, and sausages are ubiquitous.

After lunch we drove to Deal, and stopped at Deal Castle. This is one of the Cinque Forts built by order of Henry the eighth. It is actually a fort, not a castle. Accordingly, it is low, and built right at the back of the beach. The walls are metres thick and the windows small. Gun "embrasures" (holes in the wall to fire through, and room for the cannon or musketeers behind) are all around the outer walls.

An audio guide (an Ipod type thing) steered us through the fort, and told us the layout of the place. It was intriguing, even though I'm not a military history buff. What comes through is the international politics of the time - that was complex, and dynamic. Henry seemed to be France's best friend one day, and fighting them the next.



Driving on through the Kentish countryside, we came to Ramsgate. This is a seaside town, and is part of a holiday strip the extends as far as Margate. However, our next stop was Canterbury, which is at least 6 miles inland ! As with all large towns in England, we had difficulty in getting a park for the car. Then we walked for about a kilometre to the famous cathedral. Even though there is light until about 7:30 here, they still close at 5:00. Entrance cost was 10 pounds 50, so we decided to leave it to another day. The cathedral is impressive though...

Robyn took some more pictures of the medieval town.

We drove "home" to Dover. As it was still early, I walked down to a pub - The White Horse, for a pint (Sussex best Real Ale). There I got talking to two blokes with genuine pommie accents. They talked about future of their town and politics. At least we din't get around to the football (Everton nil, Arsenal nil; repeat fifty times, just change the names of the teams !) I had a second pint and talked to two Australian girls who are travelling around England and Ireland in six weeks. It was good to hear the accents, and the Aussie vernacular. It really is distinctive. I took my leave of them, and headed home (otherwise, I might still be there. It was a warm and friendly place).

So ended a busy day.

25 April 2014

London - Dover
We took a free bus to Heathrow Aiport, but not to get a flight - to get a car. Europcar gave us the choice of any car in Zone 2. We chose a Puegot 2008 over a Kia, a Toyota, another Puegot, and a Vauxhall.

I found a "Virgin Media" shop in the Treaty Shopping Centre in Hounslow; eventually. This was the nearest Virgin shop to our hotel. I had to park illegally in a side street because the council carpark would not accept 2 pounds in lieu of the actual fee of 1 pound 50 p. Anyway, we got away with it. A man named Yousin sold me a micro SIM card for my phone. When I got back to the car and activated it, the sweet recorded voice told me that I would be able to use it after a delay of a few hours, or more (more being up to 2 days !). BUT I WANT IT NOW !!! I had been planning to use google to navigate me to the motorway. I had to make do with Robyn and a map !

We made it to the motorway easily enough. I started checking out the car I was driving. I found the controls - indicators were on the wrong side (that's why the windscreen wipers came on every time I changed lanes). It took about half an hour to turn on the lights, and turn the radio down.

As with all new cars, it was nice and clean, and would comfortably hold 70 MPH on the motorway. It would not however, chase down the Maserati, or the Porsche which both passed us at pace (probably 100). Everybody in a van does 70, and the trucks (lorries) do 60. Cars do any speed, but several tiny cars passed us, looking like racing shopping trolleys.

The motorway we used was 4 lanes wide (each way) for most of its length, and the surface was dead flat. The road is as good as anything I've ever seen. The locals travel fast on it because they can.

For lunch we stooped at Maidstone Services. This is a super roadhouse. The fuel station is separate to the little shopping centre. It mainly sells food, but you could also play the pokies there in a "Pokies Shop". The food was OK, but not brilliant.

As we approached Dover, the concentration of lorries increased. They were going to either the tunnel (to Calais), or the vehicular ferry port at Dover itself. Lorries from many countries drive to/from Britain these days. German, Dutch, French, and Polish trucks were the most common. The tunnel really has made Britain part of Europe.

We arrived in Dover amongst the lorries, and looked around a bit. The place is OLD. The streets can be narrow and crowded, and the locals drive like your grandmother. They drive slowly, and stop at the slightest excuse. Going into an Aldi shopping centre carpark, I went around one bloke; he held up his hands as if to say What-are-you-doing ? Then I stopped and waited for someone to get out of a parking space. It took him about two minutes to get the car started, and start reversing. Then another car came along, and he stopped; then the woman in the space next to him stared reversing, then another car came along. I started to think about a beer, but just 2 minutes later, the way cleared for me to zip into the empty parking space. One of the others looking for a spot propped, and gave me a dirty look. They are either really polite, or really timid. I don't care which to be honest.

We bought groceries (surprisingly cheap), and alcohol- beer and wine (surprisingly cheap also). Then Robyn navigated me to our little house. Dover castle is a short walk up the hill behind the house.
Yes, that is fog around the castle. The fog was so thick we could not see the coast (about a kilometre away). Tomorrow must be better.

We got ourselves some exercise by walking through a park just below the castle. When we got back, it was beer time. The Old Speckled Hen was good, even though it has no bubbles. This one is empty - sorry, none for you. I do have another one in the fridge though, which I will drink tomorrow night.


Another memorable day has passed, but now it is bed time. We are still a bit out of rhythm because of jet lag and will probably wake up early again tomorrow.

　

　


　

24 April 2014

Abu Dhabi  - London

 

As usual, we had breakfast (for the last time ever) downstairs at the restaurant in our hotel (is called Taste - hardly original). I didn't eat much - we've been eating too much lately anyway.

 

The time left to us was spent packing our bags. They seem to be heavier now even though we've bought very little. At the hotel desk, Novita the duty manager told us we'd spent 404 Dirhams on food and drink. The hotel had taken a deposit of 500 when we arrived, so we'll get some back. Damn !, I could have had about 4 more beers in the bar last night ! There was a choice of Stella Artois, Carlsberg, 1664, or Guinness. They are all good beers; the only "problem" being that the bar serves them in pints.

Our friend Novita hailed a taxi for us, and the driver took us to the airport for 18 Dirhams. The ride in from the airport was 45 ! (although they do have different rates at night).

The Etihad desk had us booked in within minutes, so we passed through security etc and went upstairs for a cup of tea. Surprisingly, there are only half a dozen food outlets in Terminal three. Still, we found something to eat and drink.

As the departure lounge wasn't open, we made our way to an open seating area (a kind of pre-lounge). There were people from all nations there, waiting. We were with them until 40 minutes before boarding time.  As the lounge was supposed to open an hour before departure, Robyn suggested that we move there and wait for the doors to open.  The doors opened about 10 minutes before we boarded. Then the plane sat on the tarmac for an hour . We finally left at 2:00 PM- 25 minutes late.

 

The flight was the usual round of food and drink and movies to keep us quiet. It lasted about 7 hours. I watched The Social Network (movie about Mark Zuckerberg and the birth of Facebook). I needed to stretch my legs a few times, and so did others. In fact a few men stood at one of the service areas for an hour or more during the flight, just to be out of their cramped seats. The cabin crew don't seem to mind.

 

On our approach to Heathrow, we all had a good look at the Thames, and London Business District. Robyn got a few photos (that's not surprising, I hear you say). The plane taxied for miles, then stopped; and so did we. Security people came on board and "interviewed" somebody in the middle section of the plane (we were at the back). They then escorted him from the plane. After that we could disembark, walk for kilometres it seemed, through the building to line up at immigration. That should be irritation actually. We were in a queue for 45 minutes before we got to the desk. Then it took about 3 minutes to get through - I guess we are just not suspicious enough.

Once through, we collected our bags, which had been taken off the carousel and placed beside it. A taxi was waiting at the rank outside, and the African-looking gentleman took us to the Ibis Heathrow for only 15 pounds.

 

We booked in and dumped our stuff in the room. Downstairs we both had bangers and mash for dinner (you just have to do the tourist thing sometimes). I also had a pint, my first on English soil for many years- but not my last.

 

Then at 9:30 local time - bed.

22 April 2014

Abu Dhabi Day 1

We managed a bit of a sleep-in, but the body clocks eventually roused us to a grumpy morning. Breakfast was included in our hotel package, so both of us headed down to see what was on offer. The offerings were extensive; though it is something of a standard to offer many kinds of breakfast fare. One category was the cooked breakfast - bacon, sausages, omelettes etc. This could be taken with toast, a roll, flat bread or a croissant. There was fruit juice and fruit, cheeses and dates, sliced cold meats, pickled vegetables. There were also dolmades, and hommos and other stuff like that. I tried some "foul madammes" (that's how they spelt it !; it should have been ful medames). These are Fava beans in a stew, and are something of an acquired taste for breakfast.

There was plenty of time to get ready before hopping onto the shuttle bus into Abu Dhabi proper. It's 45 kilometres from our hotel to the Corniche ( a road running along the shore), where the bus dropped us. This is a boulevard running along the water's edge, with hundreds of tall buildings on one side, and the beach on the other. More importantly, there is a pedestrian walk and cycle way between the road and the beach.

Robyn having a paddle in the Persian Gulf

We strolled along it, past the private beaches, the pay-to-use "family beaches" (10 Dirhams to go through the gate), and the free public beaches. All of these were part of one long strip of sand, but there were fences blocking access to various sections. The walk was nice though, because of the gardens and grass along the way, maintained by an army of immigrant workers. Abu Dhabi is very well maintained and clean because of all those workers. They do all the repair work on the paths, clean public facilities such as toilets, showers, fountains and paths. They were also seen installing irrigation systems for the gardens, as well as planting various things.

At times it seemed like Abu Dhabi was not quite finished. There are many buildings under construction in the centre of town, and more nearby.


The day was getting hot, so we decided to seek air conditioning in a shopping centre. I voted for the Khalidiyah Mall. After walking around in the heat for 20 minutes, we saw no sign of it. Back out on the Corniche, we caught a taxi to the most commercial shopping experience you will find here - the Abu Dhabi Mall. the place had more shops than I've had hot dinners. We ate lunch (59 Dirham for 2 from an Indian café) and got out of there.

We went across the road to the Khalifa centre, where most of the shops had shut at 1:30. They have a 3 1/2 hour break and open again at 5:00 PM. Window shopping was fun though. There were dishes and glass perfume bottles I liked, but they would not have survived the rest of the trip. Eventually we left that centre, recrossed the road and waited for the free shuttle bus to bring us back here to the hotel.

For dinner, we went downstairs (alright, downlift) to the hotel restaurant. The food was good, but the Carlsberg beer was better- I had two pints. Robyn had two wines. We slept well !!

Tuesday, 23rd April - Robyn writes:
                               
Wow! What a big day! At 2.30am we were both awake with a touch of jetlag, but fortunately managed to go back to sleep until nearly 6, when we decided it was light enough to legitimately be awake. Had another delicious hotel breakfast - I'm addicted to the chef's personalised omelettes! We were ready to head out by 8am, but then found out that the Grand Mosque, our first visit for the day, didn't open until 9am. There is a "Big Bus" Hop-on, hop-off tour here like we did in Macau when we were there, and we'd been planning to take that...until we discovered that it was 200AED each. That's nearly $200AUD for both of us! We lost quite a bit of enthusiasm for it also when we noted that it didn't start until 9.35 from here and ended at 6pm. And of course, you still have to pay admission at many of the places you visit. So, we decided to do our own thing, and take taxis and use the free hotel shuttle.

As there was no point in leaving too early, we walked around our group of hotels, over the road and past the Grand Prix racetracks to The Yas Viceroy Hotel. It's a huge, very posh hotel which resembles a massive silver durian as much as anything else (at night it's covered with lights that change colour. Very cool!) It was getting quite hot even at that early hour so we wandered in and had a welcome cup of tea each (probably the most expensive cuppas we've ever had - cost us roughly 50AED which is around $20AUD! However, the toilets had little individual hand towels to use instead of the nasty driers- that made it worth the money.

Then the bellboy out in front summoned us a taxi and we headed off to the Sheik Zayed Mosque.

 

That black lump in front is me !

 

 

 

Domes and more domes. The big ones are above the prayer hall.

The mosque is the most amazing building I've ever been in - even the photos don't do it justice and the whiteness is dazzling in the desert sun. No expense was spared by Sheik Zayed and his son who finished it in 2007. Zayed himself is buried there though we never saw his tomb. I knew there were strict dress rules so I'd gone wearing my black, loose 3/4 length pants and had taken a scarf and long sleeved top. However, I was immediately told I needed an abayah as obviously my ankles couldn't be on display! So, I got to really feel how it is to dress in the Islamic fashions - in a word, very hot! We borrowed some ipods from the information desk and headphones with a self-guided tour and it was excellent, as we could wander around at our own pace. When we got to the main prayer hall (huge - it can hold up to 7000 men at one time), we had to take off our shoes. The entire building is so beautifully decorated with Islamic art - all plant and geometric motifs. The courtyard outside the prayer hall can hold 35,000 men (women have a separate prayer hall). It was a wonderful tour and I think the highlight of our stay here.

Around 10.30 I gave my robes back and we got another taxi to the Heritage Centre. This was really interesting but rather in need of some TLC, attention and money like the rest of the city! It had displays of Bedouin life and artisans working on traditional crafts.

I bought a little ceramic wall hook in the shape (the head and neck) of a camel. We had a lovely buffet lunch of mainly traditional Arabic foods in the restaurant there. The highlight of that was the dessert table - little Arabian doughnuts, pastries and custards. Yum!

At about 1 o'clock, we headed towards the Marina Mall, about a kilometre walk away. We got talking to a nice lady from New Jersey who walked with us. Then a taxi driver pulled up (the Indian ones are very proactive in getting fares; the rest don't say a word!) and said he'd take us to the Mall for 10AED (about $4AUD). I said "Done!" and jumped in. It was pushing 35 degrees and the American lady, who was older than us, didn't even have a hat! We've been totally amazed by the Europeans here especially - many of them don't have hats, they never seem to have heard of sun safety, and they will do crazy things in 40 degree heat like choose to sit in the sun when there is a shady seat just near them. Mad! Anyway, I digress...the Marina Mall, sadly, turned out to be just another swanky upmarket mall of very expensive shops (we went into the Ferrari shop and I looked at baby T-shirts, thinking how cute Louie would look in one - until I saw they were over $100 each!) Sorry, Louie, no t-shirt for you  :(

The mall has a viewing tower with a café in it, so we headed up to it and had a lovely break looking out over Abu Dhabi.

At ten past three we caught the hotel's free bus shuttle home from the mall. Altogether we only spent about 90AED on fares, so we were quite pleased with ourselves at saving so much over the bus trip, and we got to see the main things we'd really wanted to see. The shuttle bus trips have actually been quite a highlight as you see so much en route, and often get to chat to the other passengers.

We flopped in a heap when we got back and went down to the hotel's restaurant again and had some drinks (the hotel's "Happy Hour" features 15AED glasses of a Barossa Sav Blanc - about $6.50AUD and Lex has greatly enjoyed the beer selection at similar prices!) and a lovely light meal (not that hungry after the huge Arabian meal!).  All in all, it's been an enjoyable stopover and we've been quite lucky to avoid the horrors of really bad jetlag. Well worth it!

22 April 2014

Sydney - Abu Dhabi

Here we are at 34000 feet, cruising at 950 Km/Hr, somwhere over the Java Sea, north of Indonesia. It's 9:30 Pm, Brisbane time. The plane left at 2:50 PM, so both of us have been sitting in our seats for nearly 7 hours; with the "trip computer" indicating arrival in 8 hours and six minutes. Even though trhe map shows us that the plane is over sea, I have been looking down at lights for about half an hour. There appear to be sizeable towns down there, but of course I can't see any land or water. There is a thunderstorm over to the right, probably above Borneo. Thankfully its nowhere near us.

The plane is an Airbus 340-600, so we have about 300 fellow passengers. The plane is almost full.

We woke up in Sydney, in the Seasons Harbour Plaza Sydney hotel. Then we went for breakfast on Darling Harbour itself. Actually, Darling Harbour is only a small inlet, but it is lined with restaurants, cafes, and bars. The place is entirely man made with hardly so much as a tree in sight. It draws people like a magnet, but I could get sick of it fairly quickly. There are several apartment blocks which have cafes etc below, on the promenade level. I guess the apartments would start at something around 3/4 of a million dollars.

Anyway, breakfast was very nice, in the warm sunshine, watching the seagulls walkers, joggers, cyclists, and fellow diners. After eating, we walked across the Pyrmont bridge, and then up towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This was to see the place, use up some time, and pump some blood through our legs. The stroll was probably about 4 kilometres by the time we arrived bock at the "Seasons". There was time for a cup of tea before packing our bags and checking out down at reception.

Yesterday, Robyn had bought tickets on the shuttle bus to the airport ($14 each, a bargain). The shuttle bus was really a sardine tin with wheels, but it got us there. We walked through the doors and straight into the Etihad checkin line. After about ten minutes Dino (well that's what his name badge said- maybe he stole it off a dog) had our bags and us booked in.

The next step was duty free alcohol!. A big bottle of Bundaberg rum cost me $32.99. I must remember to buy some more when we come back to Australia. They have a funny system though- I couldn't collect it until I'd been through security etc. After getting the bottle, I discovered three more duty free shops inside the departure area all selling the same stuff! Still it's a better airport than Brisbane for food and shopping.

We bought some lunch; expensive (as it usually is, but pretty good). Robyn sent one final Email before we walked to the departure lounge for Gate 51 (it's a big airport). Soon enough we were called to board, and found our seats in row 46 (its a big plane, 7 seats wide).

We've had a drink, dinner, a drink with dinner, and a Weiss Bar! Everybody is quiet, watching movies (I've watched two) or trying to sleep. It is a bit cold in here though; my jacket and blanket are just enough to keep me warm. Outside is worse though -45 degrees ! Only 7 hours 20 minutes to go.

The hosties came around three more times during the night to offer more food, and drinks (water, juice), In between all this activity, we got light, fitful some sleep. I loked out the window a lot. Flying over India was strange - there were little groups of lights (villages) all over the ground, as far as I could see. They only stopped when we crossed the coast.

The plane finally landed after an eternity, and taxied to the terminal for another eternity (several minutes). Through the usual stages we went- customs, immigration, baggage collection; and then found a taxi. The taxi driver took us to our hotel without saying more than 3 words. I think he must charge extra for conversation. I also think his English was no better than our Emirati. The trip cost 45 Dirham (about $20 AUD).

Thankfully, the receptionist at the Centro Yas Island Hotel was wide awake (midnight local time, 6:00 AM Emerald time). She did what had to be done in about 10 minutes.

A nice soft bed at last !

Sunday 20 April 2014

Brisbane - Sydney !!

Caitlin got up and went to work at 7 AM. She said her goodbyes and left us to Mikeal and a cat that has been visiting their flat. It is a curious animal, always wanting to come inside and get into cupboards. I put it out, but it stayed close to the door, looking for a way in.

Here it is

This is "Caitlin's other cat"; Don't tell Missy (her Emerald cat).

Mikeal got us to the airport nice and early and we had an uneventful flight down into Sydney. We took the airport shuttle (11 of us, packed enthusiastically into a small van by our Israeli driver!) to our hotel, the Harbour Plaza Seasons at Darling Harbour. Very nice it is too - we have a one bedroom apartment which cost us only $125 (thank you Wotif!)

We spent the afternoon exploring the Darling Harbour area, especially the Chinese Gardens there which are just lovely. Robyn was quite devastated to find that the monorail is no more - they closed it down last year and are building a huge new convention centre. They've replaced the monorail with what they call trains but we took one look and thought: trams! We walked through the huge Paddy's Markets - so many stalls and so much

Tonight we are venturing out to find something yummy in the Chinatown area and, as our plane doesn't leave until 2.30ish, we've got the morning to go and hopefully explore the Rocks area a bit.

Emerald - Brisbane

Saturday 19 April 2014

We woke up early after not sleeping very well. Just after 6 AM, we got up. At least we got to see our front yard in a good light.

Last minute packing took many minutes. There were many last minute things to put away. Much of our everyday stuff has been packed into one of the bedrooms - a task we only completed this morning.

Weighing our bags proved that we had as much as a plane could carry (we'd both reached our 23 Kg limits). Jim came at 7:30 and took us to the airport (a 5 minute drive). The Hayes family arrived to, just to say goodbye. Nice touch.

The flight was smooth; early morning flights usually are. We arrived at 9:45, collected our bags and met Caitlin and Mikeal at the Brisbane Airport pickup zone. After stopping off at their flat and dropping our big bags, we all went to Warwick. My mum had a fall a few days ago, and bruised her face quite badly. This meant she has spent some days in hospital, but hopes to be out on Tuesday. She looks black, blue and green but is improving quickly (especially for an 88 year-old). She also has a sore knee and some grazing. However, she is otherwise well and in good spirits. We chatted for over an hour before we had to leave.

We picked up some food and then had our lunch at my brother Paul's (and Kathy's) place in Warwick. They are renovating their kitchen, and it looks good so far, especially the polished pine floorboards. They just need to finish it off now. There is still some work to do, but isn't that always the way it goes ?

After that, we chatted for a while. Paul showed us some of his collection of axes and adzes. It is fascinating to see the array of tools that were used to shape timber before power tools were available. I even remember swinging an axe myself, to cut up firewood. Too soon it was time to leave, so we piled back into the car.

The trip back took about 2 1/2 hours, but I was getting sick of sitting in a seat, doing nothing. I was glad to get out. We are staying with Caitlin and Mikeal at their flat

 Tonight I hope to get an early night - tomorrow we fly to Sydney.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

I waited all day for the plumber, and no one turned up. The problem is not urgent now, but I want the plumbing fixed, and the hole in the back yard filled in. Maybe tomorrow....

We have started packing away some things so that our house sitters will have somewhere to put there stuff. My, my, we have a lot of clothes. Robyn did most of that packing; I only got my Cds packed away. They all fitted into 2 boxes....I must buy some more !
I have copied 5 GB worth of music onto my tablet PC. That should be enough for the trip. Now I need a few books to read.

I also bought a HDMI - Micro HDMI adaptor. This allows me to connect my tablet to our TV set. With the Foxtel app, I can watch Pay TV on the TV, via the internet. Why don't I just watch it through the Pay TV box? Because it died a few days ago - dead as a dodo. It is not worth getting another one before we leave; the technician was scheduled to attend next Thursday - just a couple of days before we leave.

 There is more to do tomorrow, so I am going to get some sleep while I can....

Sunday 6 April 2014

Today the sewerage from the house started backing up out of an inspection port. I tried using a plunger to clear it, but could not. Then followed several attempts to move whatever it is, using a garden hose (turned on) from the "Bio" system (mini sewerage system) end, and then a piece of Yellow-tongue )plastic strap) from both ends. Nothing worked, so tomorrow, I will have to call a plumber.

Our house-sitters came over to see the place and check the place out (2nd time). We also introduced them to our neighbours, who will help out if necessary. The house sitters are happy to live here for 5 months, and feed our cat! It is good to know that someone will be looking after the place.

Now it is getting dark, and after digging a short trench by hand, I'm ready for a drink.

Monday 7-April 2014.

Today I continued the task of fixing the sewerage blockage. After ringing a plumber for advice, I dug the sand from around the pipe leading to the "Bio" (mini sewerage") system, at the point of blockage, and upstream from there for about 1/2 metre. I found a large crack in the plastic Y piece which combines two lines into one. At the blockage, I cut the pipe in half and removed a large mass of tree routes. This took a good ten minutes. Such good fun to play with raw sewerage!!

I taped up the crack and the cut to seal them, and called another plumber (the first one contacted was unavailable). The nice young girl took my details; the plumber will attend when he can. The sooner he comes, the better.

Meanwhile a pardalote (small bird) has started making a nest in one wall of the trench I had dug. The poor little bugger will not have a nest when we fill in the trench. Putting plastic chairs over the trench did not stop him.

Robyn and I got our Commbank Travel Money cards yesterday, and transferred a large amount of money onto it. This is split into two currencies; British Pounds and Euros. The trip to the UK is starting to feel real. We leave Emerald on 19 April - not long now. There are still some things to do, but it is under control so far.

Saturday 5th April

As foreshadowed yesterday, I straightened up a garden bed today. It was quite a job actually. Now it is all but finished, with only some steel strapping to go on the corners. This will keep the corners together. I would have finished completely if it had not been for the sewerage crisis.

The inlet pipe to the "Bio" treatment system clogged up for the second time in a fortnight. I managed to clear it with a combination of a plunger and a garden hose, even though their effect was marginal. Sheer persistence, and death threats to the unknown person who installed the system, eventually fixed it.

In further good news, our Pay TV box stopped working sometime today. There is no sign of life, no lights, no sound, no smell. It's just dead. It is not really worth our time to get a replacement, because we were going to cancel the service in about a fortnight anyway. The cancellation will be brought forward to Monday.

That's all for now, except a good night's sleep.

Friday 4th April.

Today was Robyn's last day of school for 6 months. She is happy about that (this has been an understatement).

I started fixing up a garden bed; the sides had been falling off. Four off, 900mm lengths of 40mm box section steel were cut from an eight metre length. These will be driven into the ground to act as supports to keep the sides in the right place, and vertical.

In the evening, Jim, Nikita, Keith and Louie, came over to our house for dinner. Mark and Belinda came a little later. Later still, Belinda went into town and brought Ryan back to our place as well. We all ate Mexican food, drank various things, and had a good time. The boys watched Parramatta beat the Broncos in the Rugby League. The girls talked about something !

The Hayes family are leaving in the morning. Ryan is going as far as Rockhampton, and will go on to Armidale in a few weeks. He hopes to find work there. Mark and Belinda are going to Gladstone to help Perri move into a flat. They are taking a trailer full of furniture to her as well.

The author


Today is Thursday 3rd of April. I have been on long service leave since Monday, and will return to work in October. The major event in the next six months will be a holiday to the British Isles. There will also be a quick visit to Paris.

The itinerary has been laid out, with stays of up to a week in various towns and cities throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (North and South).

We will stay in pubs, apartments, B&Bs, and hotels. There will be much driving and sightseeing. Food and drink will also be sampled and considered. Finding Britain's best beer will be a challenge, but I'm willing to apply myself to see it through.

Now though, we (Robyn and I) are in the preparation stage. This has been slowly ramping up for some weeks. Money matters have been sorted (except for the lack of it). The house sitters have been found. The house had several minor repairs; they never get done until there is some motivation like selling or leaving the place. New cylinders have been put into the locks, so now we have keys that will open all doors ! The shed has been cleared out and rearranged so that the car will fit inside. Garden beds have been renovated. Toilets have been fixed. A new phone has been bought; a new computer too (a tablet). Passports have been checked (yes - still current). Clothing has been bought (Robyn's department). New backpacks were deemed necessary. I still don't have a hat!

Today, I rearranged the shed, mowed some grass, ripped some more CDs so that I have music to take with me, fixed up a garden gate, and welcomed Robyn home from her school camp.

Tomorrow is her last day at school before the holidays. She too will be busy until we leave.
There is more to do, but at least we still have 17 days available before we leave.

So until my next post - Goodnight