Southern France 2nd July – 8th July

The trip to France was a last minute decision as A had a week off. We flew in to Toulon with no plans except we needed to be in Carcassone to fly out by Sunday. I practices my very basic French and had a great time – even swimming in the arctic (and I mean make your muscles cramp arctic) water one day.

France - Bandol

Bandol


Arles - this is where Van Gogh painted "Starry Night Over the Rhone"

The Compass in Nimes

Nimes is where denim originates from - serge-de-nimes (serge being a coarse fabric)

This is outside the amphitheater -
From wiki
The elliptical Roman amphitheatre, of the 1st or 2nd century AD, is the best-preserved Roman arena in France. It was filled with medieval housing, when its walls served as ramparts, but they were cleared under Napoleon. It is still used today as a bull fighting and concert arena.

The Maison Carree

From Wiki

The Maison Carrée (Square House), a small Roman temple dedicated to sons of Agrippa was built c. 19 BC. It is one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere.

The Crocodile is part of the crest of Nimes

Jardins de la Fontaine (Gardens of the Fountain)

Narbonne

Lativa, Estonia, Finland 24th June – 28th June

Daz, Kempy and Me
The trip to the pseudo Eastern Block and Helsinki was interesting and we even ended up with an extra traveling companion – Borat (the boys quoted Borat….a lot). In Latvia and Estonia you can feel the presence of the previous occupiers (Russia and Sweden) and that the countries are still perhaps recovering from these occupation and the numerous wars.

In Riga I accidentally let myself into the president's garden – that’s what happens when you don’t lock the gate against tourists – suffice to say the guard came running pretty quickly and I just as quickly exited the garden!

Biguzis - traditional Latvian desert
One of things I like most about traveling is getting to experience local food. It doesn't always work out though and I'm afraid Biguzis, a traditional Latvian desert, will safely stay in Latvia. It consists of stale, dark, rye bread with cream and jam - lots and lots of jam.














Daz and Kempy


The Belgian's are everywhere - Belgium Beer Cafe across the road from our hotel


Hard to see but the Compass in Latvia



Freedom Monument - Riga, Latvia
From Wiki
A memorial in honor of soldiers killed in action during the Latvian War of Independence. It is an important symbol of the freedom, independence and sovereignty of Latvia.














Russian Church


Compass in Tallin, Estonia


Tallin, Estonia


Russian Church - Estonia

Helsinki feels a little like the frontier at the end of the world. I was very tempted to buy some of the furs at the market!

The Compass in Helsinki

The Aussie Bar in Helsinki

We had an absolutely ball killing a couple of hours in this bar which is run by a couple of Kiwi's. Fishermen's Friend vodka shots were very memorable as was drinking Toohey's Extra Dry.


Daz and Kempy at the Aussie Bar

P&T in London 16th – 23rd June

Having P&T in London has been fantastic. We’ve been out on the tourist trail every day and have been to Primrose Hill, have visited the British Museum, gone to see a Cuban ballet, been to the Churchill museum and war rooms, seen Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, seen the London Ballet perform Swan Lake at Royal Albert Hall, been to Bath to see the Roman Bath’s and to visit Arthur Phillip’s grave at the Church of St Nicholas in Bath Hampstead.

I’m having a day off today while P&T are out exploring Kew Gardens.

P&T on the bus

The church at Bath

The stain glass windows - see the states of Australia!

Arthur Philip memorial

P&T at the 20Twenty at the Oval - Surrey vs Middlesex

The ISP Giveth, the ISP taketh away

The promised posting service will resume today.

There was a little issue of our ISP connecting us for 24 hours and then disconnecting us. It's been a happy few days!

Greece 9th – 15th June

My trip to Paros was amazing. Not only was it fantastic to see P&T but Paros was a fantastic place to hang out. Our days consisted of yoga practice every morning and every second afternoon and then either out and about seeing the sights of Paros or lazing around at the beautiful beaches. It was a fantastic week!

The compass in Paros



The beach outside our apartment



T and I at lunch



P&T and I at lunch at the most amazing restaurant.
If you're ever in Paros it's an absolute must - we ended up eating there twice. The first time we walked between villages and stopped here for some afternoon tea. You have never tasted strawberry pie like this and it was almost a spoon fight to see who got the last tastes.

We went back the next night for dinner and it was amazing. Dolmades, stuffed eggplant, gnocchi - all home made and so delicious.

Efi Evripiotou - Paulina Varela
Lefkes Village
Paros
Tel 2284 0 43189
email pvarela@hol.gr

THE Lefkes cafe


There are geraniums everywhere in Paros and these bright red splotches looked so pretty against the rocky hill.

Red Geraniums



The church in Lefkes




T and I at dinner
The man who owned this restaurant had lived in Australia and worked all over the world as an engineer - he prefers to live on Paros and run this restaurant (which only opens for six months of the year!).


One of the spectacular beaches of Paros



T and I DIY spa-ing at the beach.

You can collect the mud at one of the beaches, cover yourself in it and then bake in the sun. When the mud is dry you scrub it off and your skin feels amazing.

Broadcasting will resume as normal!

I finally, finally have the internet set up! I'll be posting my blogs from the last few weeks a day at a time and there's plenty to catch up on.