spending your inheritance

Road trip to Seattle

2010-11-30T14:25:00.007+10:30

This is one journey no one wants to do over 2 nights. It is over 850 miles from San Jose to Seattle and is go go go. The scenery along the Pacific coast was breathtakingly beautiful and rivalled our Great Ocean Road. We could have stopped every few miles to see something but having such a short time to get there... another time. We saw huge elk on the side of the road which we were told was out of the ordinary. I would not like to bump into one of those with the car. The road at times passed through dense pine and fir tree forests. So nice. There is nothing better stopping alongside a lake or in a forest having a picnic lunch with your family. The closer we got to Seattle the colder it got. Getting to minus temperatures. Then we hit the snow. Lucky for us it had snowed heavily earlier and was only snowing lightly while driving so it was not slippery driving. The upside was the trees were covered in snow. It was truely a winter wonderland. The kids were in raptures while we found a radio station that played non stop Christmas Carols. I won't forget those moments. Just enough snow. Arriving into Renton about 18 miles out of the City of Seattle was a treat. We had never been in a neighbourhood with snow before so as we drove up to our next host's front door it was the most beautiful scene...right out of a christmas card. Beth and her sister Susan live across the road from each other so we were billetted out with plenty of room for all of us. Thank you Susan, Andy, Nicky and Amanda for making us feel at home right away. It was the night before Thanksgiving so we all went out for dinner all 15 of us..enjoying the food and the beer. Not a good idea when you have to go out grocery shopping to contribute to Thanksgiving. Our contribution to the lunch was a traditional Pavlova...without a recipe, and potato salad. Rachel, Tomi and the kids stayed at Beth's..... tomorrow Thanksgiving.

The City of calm and peace

2010-11-30T13:41:00.016+10:30

San Francisco...from the moment we arrived in this beautiful city I knew it was special. We rented an apartment right in the city for 5 nights. After weeks of sleeping with each other in motel rooms and in close proximity in the RV the adults had their own room.Yahoo!! The apartment had its own garden and loads of room to spread out. Bliss. After watching many movies and documentaries over the years about San Francisco it was everything and more. From the architecture of the beautiful wooden homes to the peacefulness of the city...which might have been due to the wafting haze of marijuana as I discovered on my venture into a park. It is indeed a hilly city. The steepness of the city streets has to be seen to be believed. Where ever you look it seems to be surrounded by the sea. The bay is immense and there are several islands dotted around...the most famous being Alcatraz. On the day we decided to visit this place it was so cold and drizzly...actually the only day we had weather like it. ...It suited where we were visiting. I really enjoyed the tour of Alcatraz and was surprised it was only used for 20 odd years as a prison. We certainly visited all the landmarks of San Francisco and felt the vibe.

Big trees,big dams and glitz

2010-11-30T08:36:00.009+10:30

We had 7 days to pack in a whole lot of miles... We had to pass over the Hoover Dam and that was a sight to behold. Sometime ago we watched a documentary on the building of this incredible structure so were keen to see it in person. Like most things you see, it exceeded our expectations. It was Veterans Day so was hugely busy so we could not tour the dam as the queues were so long. The glitz was Las Vegas...interesting place day and night. One day and night was plenty when you have kids. Our RV park was right off the main drag so we were able to come and go. Night time was the best. We went into the main casinos primarily to see the incredible things money can buy...like fake ceilings painted to look like cloudy skies so it seems like daylight anytime of the day. Mind boggling and mind numbing. No gambling at all for us just looking and looking. Nick and I had a 12.00 pm curfew so we couldn't stay out all night...kids they spoil all your fun. The best part of this stage of our RV week would have to be the Death Valley and the Sequoia Trees. We drove through Death Valley on a beautiful sunny day. Rachel was driving and had some hairy times in the mountains either side of the valley. The scenery was stunning. Give me nature any day. It was memorable to say the least. The best part about camping in out of the way parks is the next morning. When you drive in at night you don't really know where you are and what is surrounding you. Getting up in the morning before sunrise is my favourite time...me time. I arose to the soft hues of the mountains surrounding the camp site...how wonderful. Watching the sun rise slowly across the mountains then touch the prairie...bliss. Better than the glitz of Las Vegas. Onto the Sequioas. Driving into the National Park where these trees were was not easy. To start with our RV was toooo big to go up the mountains so we had to camp half way up and could not see the General Sherman tree. We shared our campsite with bears so all food inside and outside had to be placed in special bear bins if you were not near your tent or van. Yes they open doors and windows. Even deodorants, shampoos etc, were delicious to the bears. The next morning after an exhilarating hike up the mountain we set off to another entrance to the park that would take our van right to the Giant Sequioas. They are huge!!!! The General Grant tree was there and very few people so it was a very peaceful site to visit. Magnificent, amazing, awesome...... we had a fantastic time there and there also was snow again.. We had to return our van the next day. It was like leaving our second home. ...but San Francisco beckoned.

The big hole in the ground

2010-11-19T14:34:00.015+10:30

Apparently driving the RV was like driving a bus...it was a huge responsibility for the drivers as they were driving a 31ft ...and 8 tonne when fully loaded and of course 8 precious people. It was so much fun everyday once a routine was formed. The kids were able to sit around the table while we were driving...I know that is not the safest but that was the way it was. There weren't even enough seatbelts so I volunteered to be without. We got to play games, mostly educational somedays for 6-8 hours while we were on the road. We got to tell them about our childhood and our travels. We all found out a lot about each other. Tolerance was a key word. For 7 days we slept, ate and drove in our home away from home. The kids were fantastic as it was certainly out of everyones' comfort zone. I for one will never forget that week. .The first night we free camped under the stars in the desert of Joshua tree National park. In the morning watching the sunrise over the granite boulders while organising breakfast is imprinted in my memory forever. The Joshua tree is like something from prehistoric days..I half expected dinosaurs to be roaming around.
Now to the big hole in the ground.....The Grand Canyon. You know when you are growing up and reading about faraway places and you see travel shows or hear about those places that set your imagination going and when you get there it is not as it seems...well this place was the most incredible natural wonder I have laid eyes on. The first glimpse of that huge hole in the ground absolutely blew me away. The colours of the rock formations were so rich and deep. It is so enormous...we walked for quite a long way around the rim of the canyon and when we saw how little of the ground we covered it certainly made us realise the enormity of it all. It also snowed the day before so it was icy cold and to top of a wonderful day it started snowing again...the kids had never seen snow fall. On the way to our next camping spot we came across a park with the name of Bearizona ....drive through bear viewing. Adorable was the catchword. My wish was that we had more time at the canyon...one day we will return to hike down to the bottom of the canyon.

Towards the Grand Canyon

2010-11-18T12:25:00.005+10:30

After a week in Los Angeles visiting Disneyland, Santa Monica and Hollywood, it was time to move on. We picked up the RV, a 32 foot home for the next week. Luckily it was ready early so we were able to pick it up to continue the trip.
It was to be a 2 day drive to the Grand canyon so we decided that a stop at Joshua Tree National Park would be a welcome rest. Out through San Bernardino valley we were amazed at the extent of the use of wind power. There were hundreds of them. California consists of many North to South mountain ranges, so travelling West to East consists of a valley then mountain then valley. Most of the freeways travel North South.
It took longer than we thought, but finally we spent our first night on the road.

Disneyland

2010-11-17T01:22:00.008+10:30

It was 5 days of fun, fun, fun. I always thought we would visit this place one day but never thought it would be with four of our grandchildren. How lucky are we. It is indeed a place for young and old...it helps to be young though.It is a huge theme park ..actually two theme parks across from one another. Neither is better than the other. They each had the best of everything. Disneyland is full of beautiful gardens so is a pleasure to walk around. The weather was extremely hot...they broke a 110 year old record of a November day. The crowds were down because of the heat for the first two days so the kids had a ball going on all rides as many times as they wanted. At one stage they complained they had to queue for 15 mins. That was hilarious as in peak season some of the rides have waiting times of up to 2 hours. It was not as in your face and cheesy as I thought it would be. Quite the opposite. We never had television growing up so it was not part of my childhood...actually the park opened a year after I was born in 1955. It was a part of our children's life as every sunday night after dinner ar their grandparents they would settle in to watch Walt Disney and all his magic.

A new hat

2010-11-16T13:52:00.009+10:30

Here A lovely couple at Disneyland

Well after 3 days at Disneyland and California Dreaming. A change of space and a change of pace was in order for all of us. 3 days of stimulation of all the senses for some is all that is needed. Off to L.A. and Hollywood for the day.
Dear Bethany has motion sickness …not on rides that spin you around or high speed roller coasters but sitting in a car. We had a good hour drive by 8 seater taxi from our acommodation not far into our trip both Bethany and Sophie felt nauseous. The only thing we had on hand to catch what came up was my hat…its funny now when I think about it. You had to be there. So I now have a new hat even though Tomi offered my old one back. The rest of the day went well. Found some great coffee while kids went to the Ripley’s Believe it or not.Ready for the 3D experience

Nick and I relived past memories of our time in Hollywood several years ago with Niamh and Hin. The only star on the walk that Ryan wanted to see was Michael Jackson but that was covered up by a red carpet out side the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held every year. He was great about it though.
Madame Tussauds beckoned the two eldest and Nick while we went shopping for a new hat. Of course baseball caps are the go in the USA so no hat for me…even though Tomi tried to tell me that I looked good in many I tried on. Time to get some much needed sea air. Did I mention how hot it is here and humid?
Off to Santa Monica Beach and Pier by bus was next .The kids were very relaxed and it was nice to spend some one on one time with them as it had been very hectic over the last few days. They are great kids. I love Santa Monica …it is so peaceful on a sunny afternoon walking up the board walk listening to the “buskers” fully decked out with sound systems and the like. Not in your face just in the background. The kids loved it too. Especially the different little booths doing sculpture and sketching memoirs of people…of course they chose the caricatures to take home. I had a chance for some time to reflect on my lucky life. Having the opportunity to get to know our eldest daughter again and her partner Tomi who is going to make a fantastic dad and the children. Sitting on the steps in the sunshine listening to live music performed so well, was my highlight for the day for me …and I found a hat. This one is more absorbent for our next car ride haha

On line again

2010-11-16T13:39:00.001+10:30

We had a week of problems trying to access and start the blog, but Yippee we are on our way.

The place of happy people

2010-11-05T01:24:00.005+10:30

More surprises everyday.....I love this country America. After the 14 hour flight to L.A. we arrived at our hotel 24 hours after leaving Adelaide. The kids handled jet lag really well considering. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Disneyland was on the agenda the next day. It is hot and humid here and yesterday reached an all time high of 36 deg...highest since 110 years ago. It makes us take our time but its better than raining.

What a surprise

2010-10-27T20:24:00.003+10:30

It's been an amazing year. Six months ago I retired from paid work. Nick has also done the same...I think we are too young so I think we will be back working soon. I digress. Actually it has been great, making life more flexible. Rachel has met a lovely man last November his name is Tomislav (Tomi). He has bowled Rachel off her feet and been a breath of fresh air for the family. Rachel joined him in his country of birth, Bosnia , mid September which allowed us to have Rachel's 4 children for 3 weeks and take them on their own holiday to Kangaroo Island. We loved having the opportunity and Rachel and Tomi cemented their relationship. Win Win all around. We have been blessed living in the town where our grandchildren live because that allows more opportunity to be involved with their lives and in turn help out our daughters. Love it. Perfection would be Adam and Eva moving to Gawler as well but I can't see that happening soon. Anyway we have 3 great kids and they have all have fantastic partners in life. Life is sweet. Back to the surprise. Rachel flew back home with Tomi and a couple of days later called saying she had booked us 4 weeks in USA. We were going to do this next year but the flights were so cheap we have decided to take the plunge. So on Monday we fly out to USA for 33 days. Rachel ,Tomi, and her 4 children. 8 of us, nearly a small group journey. We have a huge amount to pack into those 4 weeks so here we go.....

Expect the Unexpected

2010-02-05T04:59:00.007+10:30

Assilah was recommended by Lee, our niece, from her trip there last year and also the accom she stayed in. We knew it would be sleepy in winter but did not realise it would actually be almost closed down. The little hotel we stayed in was only $10 a night and so cosy which was great as it was freezing at night. We could see why she loved it but it was not enough reason to stay more than one night so we hitched a ride in a sardine taxi to the next town where we had to wait at the taxi stand for an hour for our next ride. That was fun just watching Moroccan life around the taxi stand that fluctuated in numbers around thirty or so as they ferried people from town to town so as a passenger you had to leap frog to the next destination. They would not leave until the taxi was full .. 6 or 7 passengers in a 5 passenger car. All the big taxis or Grand taxis as they are known are Mercedes. One of the drivers said that the motor is strong. It would be interesting to see just how many kms that some of these vehicles had travelled. Less fuel, less buses, happier people and it was very cheap. We were offered fresh fish along with everything else to take with us on our journey …so we popped it in our back pack hoping we could find somewhere to cook it. Joking. Watching the men wash the cars with frugal buckets of water hard at work doing their best to keep the aging Mercedes fleet clean and on the road. Never mind that you could see through the bottom of the floor or you could not open the doors because the handles had come off. Mohommad picked us up to take us to our next destination down the coast. Moulay Bousellham was again a sleepy village but was perched up high over the Atlantic Ocean and also along the tidal lagoon that fed into the sea. When we arrived at our accom we were gob smacked because what we had booked was a retreat away from Moroccan life…it took us by surprise. It is owned by an English woman who visits in summer for 6 months. Meanwhile she has the staff to look after it and in between it is rented out as they treat it as a B&B. It has 5 bedrooms and we had the place to ourselves. Downstairs the staff had their area and we had all of the upstairs which consisted of a huge sitting room. Both that room and our bedroom face the pounding sea. It was a divine way to end our time in Morocco. We were fed breakfasts and dinners in their dining room/sitting room by a huge roaring fire. Of course we were by the sea so we had fresh mussels and fresh fish. I still can’t believe we are here. The cost for these two days of luxury including breakfast and dinner was $100 a night and they did our laundry. A B&B like this in Adelaide would be $250 a night easily except you would not see the Atlantic Ocean. Walks on the beach are beautiful….only our footprints in the sand. It was a wild and woolly night. I would not like to go through a hurricane it is scary hearing the wind, rain and the pounding sea. Next morning calm seas and the rain had stopped so we decided to venture out onto the lagoon with the local bird expert in his small boat. We were told we might see flamingoes but as most had gone away not to have great expectations. It was fantastic on the water. It was very shallow in parts as the tide was turning but we managed to see about 20 different species of bird life, some tiny, some large. Hassan was excited that we could see an albino bird as they are rare. We did see a flamingo up very close as it was feeding and 5 others in the distance. Hassan is a self taught expert on the bird life in the lagoon and he does the bird count every time he takes someone out. He lamented the extinction of some birds since he has been there but the saving of others. The fact that the farmers are taking over more of the birds habitat is a world wide problem as well. He really loves what he does. I don’t think I have ever written the blog in a more serene place than this. I just wish the kids and grandkids are here to share it. They would love wandering on the reef at low tide as we did. Watching the local kids harvesting the mussels off the rocks. The things kids do here in Morocco would make the young ones eyes pop out. We will have fun telling them when we return next week. I was just thinking about the fact in some places where there is nothing to do it is boring in others it is restful. Why is it so? The sun sets on a fantastic 4 weeks in one of the most amazing countries that we have visited. We managed to do it all on our own..it was easy. Never did we feel out of our depth. It exceeded our expectations as well. We certainly emersed ourselves in everyday life thanks to our new couchsurfer friends. A huge thank you to all of you for answering all of our questions it helped us understand Islam and the Koran a little. We ate the Moroccan way. We hope we respected the people and their customs. We will certainly miss the laid back way of life and the tagines and the couscous, the beaches and the Medinas... lost count of those we visited but most of all we will miss that early morning call to prayer from high up in the Minarets of all the villages, towns and cities we visited. m'assalama (goodbye with peace)

Tanger ( as the French call it)

2010-02-05T04:28:00.004+10:30

Well what a surprise Tangier is. Very cosmopolitan in the weird Moroccan way. Very open boulevards, beautiful beach and views and 2 Maccas. Not that is a good thing. On our usual after dinner walk to see the city in a different light we discovered the whole ¾ million people out walking as well. We thought it was because it was a Sunday but no it was the same the next night. The other ¼ million were out driving all night outside our hotel window. It is a chaotic but non threatening place. There are so many police walking around just keeping an eye out and blowing their whistle at the drivers and the people illegally standing or dropping off their passengers. Such a noisy place this is from our hotel window at 9:30 pm.Pedestrians don’t stand a chance in most of Morocco but in Tangier the drivers a more courteous. We actually saw an ad on TV here promoting that pedestrians have right of way on the crossings ..so a lot of people obey. Not taxis though. Lunch was interesting. In the medina we went into a small family run food place.The kind where grandma is out the back cooking and husband is serving and the kids helping out. I ordered Harira, my favourite soup to discover pieces of meat skulking in my bowl. I am not vegetarian totally but prefer not to eat LIVER. It reminded me of Japan when we ordered teriyaki and it was skewers of liver, brains etc. I thought this Harira soup was vegetarian. Any way later as I did not eat lunch we went into a Patisserie /pizza place and was going to order these delicious looking pastries like the greek filo fetta and spinach triangles and things that looked a little like calzone. To be on the safe side I asked what was in them…guess what liver again. Very funny you might think but we had earlier walked through the Grand Socco (Market) and saw the stands of meat and the specialty ones of all the offal so was feeling a little queasy. Seriously the food has been fantastic and we love the Tagines. Tomorrow we are off to Assilah, a beachside village, for the last three days before we fly out from Tangier to Madrid. Maybe we will see the King on his tour.

Some random Morocco memories

2010-02-04T02:41:00.014+10:30

An old olive oil press

Todra gorge. What a steep climb.

Ah A Kasbah!!

The salesman said I really needed one of these, but I felt its use was fairly limited

A Kasbah

local markets are in every town

Who knows what is in these bottles?

Still at the markets. Genuine Moroccan carpet

The snow in the High Atlas mountains

Marrakech
Storks nest in all high places

An orange grove in the ruins of a temple
The big square in marrakech, snake charmers, musicians, monkeys and everything else

Some Moroccan sweets
Cannot escape this anywhere

An impressive gate
Then we moved over the Atlas mountains to the desert

Morocco and its Mountains

2010-02-03T04:51:00.014+10:30

As we crossed through the last of the Mountain ranges in Morocco for us, we contemplated how great it would be to visit this country as a geologist or a trekker. This range is named the Rif Mountains and the same as the three Atlas mountain ranges. They are spectacular and change constantly. The photos we will put up are from the three hour drive to Chefchaouen. The light was just right and they are taken from the other side of the bus while sitting and zooming past the other passenger’s heads. This camera we have is the new Panasonic Lumix. On the sports setting it negates the movement. It takes extremely good night shots and does not need a tripod. The village has only 45,000 inhabitants, so back to the country again. As we rounded the last bend we saw the houses clinging to the side of the mountain. The houses particularly in the old town are painted a pale blue to mauve colour. The colour is like it has had the blue watercolour of a painter’s palette washed over it. We will let the photos do the talking. All I can say is that we had to self talk. “NO MORE PHOTOS OF BLUE HOMES”. The tops of the walls were still white, so it was dazzling. Everything looked like it had a new coat of paint and it had. The King is touring Morocco in a few days, so there was a big clean up going on. New roads, paving being repaired, new flag poles going in everywhere. It was frenetic…besides all the building going on with a supermarket and new hotels springing up. Big changes to this sleepy village I think. As we climbed up the seriously steep roads and up the untold number of stairs we came across their waterfall which was gushing down in cascades through the village. There were a series of gutters and little inlets to let water into people’s homes…very ingenious. I can only imagine how much water was flowing last week. They had several days of torrential rain before we arrived as evident from our bus ride. There were bridges and roads washed out and many crops destroyed. It must have been heartbreaking as the small farmer hand ploughs his lot with the donkey and hand seeds the plants. The amount of mudslides were incredible as well. We found a beautifully restored kasbah in the medina which wasn't blue, so we just had to take another building picture.
It was breathtaking to look everywhere, the waterfall, the huge mountains and the steep green valley with the mountains on the other side. It was cold as was evident from the snow at the top of the mountain but the air was so fresh and it was very clear while we were there. There was something in the air it was so relaxing. Must have been the Rif (hashish) that is grown and used around these parts. Nick was offered some several times but declined. Nobody asked me. Apparently over 40% of the world’s hashish is grown in Morocco. We looked and looked but could not find a hint of it growing anywhere, only olive trees by the thousands and thousands. We walked the 2km up to the disused mosque and minaret that we saw from the village up the donkey and goat tracks to find they are being restored. What a view from there of the village. The sun was just in the right place and was beaming off the blue and white homes below and across the valley. We were chatting to a couple of Canadians guys from Sydney, Nova Scotia when one of them asked us if we wanted to share his joint. We politely declined. We would have our kicks the natural way…wowsers that we are. Then to top this day off the call to prayer came from the literally tens of mosques (they all have loud speakers) from around the valley and from the village. It echoed around and around each with their own words from the Koran. This happened to us on top of the highest point in Cairo and had the same effect on us. If you are ever lucky enough to travel to Morocco don’t miss this place. Off to Tangier tomorrow, the gateway to Morocco from Europe particularly Spain by ferry. I am a bit apprehensive about this city as the stories and imagination run riot about the port and the surrounding areas. We will see.

Pigeon poo and Cow urine

2010-02-02T04:23:00.010+10:30

That is the prevalent smell of the Medina in Fes. I will explain later in this blog. Guess what? We awoke to another sunny day in downtown Fes. We organised our guide Mustava to pick us up at the hotel and we set off in a small taxi. We decided to have him guide us for 4 hours and for what we thought was 150 Dirhams each ….just over $20 each, but later we were pleasantly surprised that that was for the 2 of us. We are so glad we had a guide for this particular medina. It covers 350 HA and has 250,000 living within the walls and something like 4,900 roads or lanes. We have to believe Mustava on these facts as we weren’t going to count. Though I think we walked up and down a lot of them. Particularly once he left us and we were lost for an hour or so…but I digress. This city is renowned particularly for its artisans. Actually a lot were employed for 5 years on the huge Mosque in Casablanca. It was fantastic wandering around but this time we were able to concentrate on what we were seeing instead of wondering what street we were on. The silver smiths , shoe makers, stonemasons, woodworkers all in front of us just getting on with it. We entered many little dingy passages to find some great treasures and sights. The Merdesas we visited were the best example of the crafts that are still prevalent today. A Merdesa is a college for theological teaching and they are centuries old. Actually one of them was 870 AD. The stonework is still in good condition in places but in others have been restored. The stonework was a mixture of marble, clay and egg whites which made it easier to work the incredible carvings we see now. ...wonder what they did with all the yolks. Wood supports made from cedar were also intricately carved. The ceramics and mosiacs were also something to see. We saw many things that day up and down stairs. Actually very narrow winding steep staircases which opened up onto rooftops with some incredible views. We have never seen so many sky dishes. A river runs through the medina but is now contained in a cement drain. The further in we walked the stronger the smell until we came across men and donkeys carrying huge amounts of animal skins going to the Tannery. We were excited to be here finally as it is something we had seen on TV and in photos. Up another staircase and into the leather shop this time. This is the only way we are able to look down on what they were doing to dye the skins. The skins were from camel, goat and sheep.The smell was not very nice and can only imagine on a hot humid day what it would be like. The tanning pits are like huge vats not sure what they were made from. We had the process explained to us. The first pits has Pigeon poo and cow urine mixed in with the water to clean and disinfect the hides …that was the atrocious smell. He said it was the ammonia in those ingredients. The incredible thing is that the young men were knee deep in these vats. The water was also very cold. They suffer from various health problems as you can imagine. Not great working conditions but they are born into that job. The next vats were varying shades of colour. All the dyes were from plants, vegetables and totally organic. The hides are then dried and brushed depending on the requirements for the shoemakers and other tradesmen. The yellow dye is from saffron which is a lot cheaper here as it is grown down south . The red from poppies, the green from thyme and the blue from indigo. It was a great thing to see. We also saw the biggest Mosque as far as numbers inside the prayer hall, it held 20,00 and we also visited the oldest university. Children start school from the age of 3 where they learn to recite the Koran totally by heart and they learn the Arabic letters also. Then they start primary school from the age of 6. We had a traditional Moroccan Tagine and Harira for lunch where Mustava left us. We thought we could find our way back but got hopelessly lost and what did not help was the kids having fun with us and sending us down dead end streets. It is funny when you look back on it but the gang of kids increased all wanting their share of the dirhams to guide us out We eventually, after 1 and half hours of getting back to the same spot and much to the amusement of the shop keepers, found our way out to the main entrance. I wanted to hug it. Fes definitely had the most interesting old town of all we had seen. It was a good move having a guide or we would have not seen deep into the Moroccan way of life in Fes.

Couch Surfing

2010-02-02T03:52:00.009+10:30

The best thing about Couch Surfing is the inside information that you can glean about the country you are visiting and hopefully they learn a little about yours as well. We have been very fortunate in that we have had 3 different perspectives from three wonderful hosts. This time we had Hassan who we were going to stay with then travel to his home town with but as Nick was sick and reluctant to travel too far we only had the chance to get to be with him for one day. Hassan is 22 and is a very old for his young years. He is typical of most Moroccans we have met in that he really wants to travel overseas but doesn’t see in the near future that that is going to happen. His family own an olive farm and also grow grapes so it would have been great to visit his family. We travelled with him to Moulay Idriss which was a hillside town a 30 min taxi ride away….once again we were sardines with barely breathing space with 7 in a taxi for 5. The walk up to the top of the village was wonderful. The views very scenic. Down again for a 45 min walk through the olive trees. It was glorious walking in the sunshine chatting to Hussan about all sorts of things. We walked to Volubilis which is the site of the only Roman ruins in Morocco. It was weird to see them there perched on top of the rolling hills. Morocco grows the majority of its own fruit and veg so has a lot of fertile land which is evident as we overlooked the expanse of hills in front of us. We decided to walk back after viewing quite a few mosiacs and a lot of ruins. They are not preserving what they have excavated. I guess the money is not there for that…other priorities. We met up with Patrick, a French Cser, staying with Hussan so the four of us walked the 4.5 kms back. I was wiped after that plus all the stairs we encountered that day. We had a sad farewell again as we could not stay longer with Hussan….maybe another day. We both thank him a lot and were so sorry we could not meet some of his family. We arrived by train to Fes railway station at night. The station is new and was beautifully fitted out with the most incredible entrance. It was a great start to a fantastic time in Fes.

First Train in Morocco

2010-02-02T03:03:00.006+10:30

We decided to travel 2nd class to Meknes .It was a great journey with our own enclosed cabin so it was blissfully quiet for the 3.5 hours. We left the train wondering how much more comfortable could 1st. Class possibly be. Meknes was a more peaceful city than what we had experienced so far. The medina ..the old town was also quiet so we were able to walk around very easily…no getting lost. The Bab El Mansour is the huge entrance to the Medina. It is the one you see on the postcards of Morocco. To see it in person was fantastic and it was also opposite the big square that would have been the hive of activity except it was cold and threatening to rain. Well, thinking about it we actually did get a little lost in the Souq and wandered around looking at things we might not have found. Like the very artistic displays of food in the food market. This is a display of olives.Again there you could buy your chickens (hens) fresh and have them dressed in a very short time…intriguing stuff. A little rain dampened things down but we had finished for the day .We have been very fortunate with the weather as it had been raining a lot in the north and they have had serious flooding damaging houses and bridges. Maybe we won’t get to see that part of Morocco if it doesn’t stop. Nick has been off a little so we decided to stay a day or so extra as we still had to meet Hassan who was going to host us. Nick decided to sleep the next day so as it was Australia day I had breakfast by myself…..took photos with the Australian flag then went shopping to the market. I did not get lost and found a café for yummy cake and coffee Moroccan style. Nick and I celebrated Australia Day in the courtyard of the hotel with the produce I had procured earlier along with the flag and all the staff thought it was funny as we were all set up there by ourselves. They were all caring about Nick right down to the cleaner who thought it was because the room was not clean enough. We really enjoyed that hotel. That afternoon Hassan turned up and we had to talk to him in the salon as he could not go upstairs to the room. The hotel was built and opened in 1930’s and is the best example of art deco in Meknes. It really was very quaint and so were the staff.

A Trip to the country

2010-01-31T05:54:00.003+10:30

On the local bus for two hours watching the scenery fly past on a cold wet wintry day was lovely. The journey to Khouribga went so fast but it got colder and colder as we neared the Middle Atlas Mountains. This was Fouzia’s home town or city … it was a huge place. Her parents live in a two story home with a terrace. From the moment we walked in the door we felt the warmth of family. Fouzia has two brothers and one sister. She is the eldest like me. Her mum and dad are very modern parents and don’t seem to have a lot of restrictions on their children. There is no pressure for them to marry or stay home. The furnishings in a typical Moroccan home are comfy long sofas all the way around the room except the door way and the TV. Lots of cushions as well. A throw back to Berber days I think but more up market. Off course ceramic tiles everywhere which makes for a colorful home. The main living area had the usual hexagonal wooden table at above knee height. This table is also the dining table so is covered with a cloth usually plastic. Just like at home it is where all the talking, laughing etc occurs. There was plenty of that especially as Fouzias sister Awatif is a bit of joker. She has a great sense of humour…they all did, but she was the funny one. The kids all speak and understand varying degrees of English which made it easy for us. Arabic was the language spoke in the home. The parents don’t speak French either. Their son Yosef is studying and was also practicing his English. With a lot of sign language and body language and facial expressions her mum and I were on the same wave length about all things to do with mothering. We really clicked and had a lot in common in fact she told Fouzia that night if we could speak the same language we would talk all night. She was right. We both want the same things for our kids and share the joys and sorrows equally. There is a lot of love and respect for each other in that home just like ours. We were treated to an afternoon tea that was like a high tea. All the women are great cooks so we had little patisserie type biscuits and sweets and the most delicious bread she had just made along with the delicious cake. I later discovered the bread is cooked in a huge communal oven that we had the good fortune to go and see the next morning. That was the start of two days of doing nothing but eating and drinking the mint tea. It was a hard two days but someone had to do it. For dinner we had brochettes …diced beef marinated in onion and spices and threaded on skewers which I helped to do then grilled. I hate sitting around while someone else is working. I think it was hard for her mum to let me do it but by lunch time the next day she realized I wanted to learn the way she cooks and prepares her food. We stayed the night and slept like babies…fresh country air I think. It rained all night so in the morning the huge souq that occurs right outside their door every Sunday was slow to get started. It is the largest weekly souq around for fresh food…I mean fresh. Sorry vegetarians reading this…stop now. Live hens were bought, taken to a different area and for a few dirham they were beheaded, plucked, and cleaned and then dressed whole or however you wanted .Pork, beef and lamb all find their way onto Moroccan plates as fresh as… The fruit and vegetable barrows are laden with excellent quality as well. The ground was sodden and fun was had picking our way around the mud in the big Souq. As I mentioned before we visited the town bakery...well the oven., the communal oven. It was narrow and very deep and needed long paddles to reach in to place the large loaves of bread. The woman of that area make the dough, let it rise then flatten then place on a wooden tray with their tea towel on top then one of the family run it to the oven. We were able to watch him put a load in which consisted of 2 per tray and about 10 trays all with their own cloth so he would know whose bread was whose. Great system. Their own kitchens are not large so no room for personal ovens. It is environmentally friendly as it has one heat source that is maintained at a low cost to the environment and one fuel source making the charcoal. The guy stacking the oven gets paid by the tray or loaf. Very interesting morning.
Next on the agenda was the couscous. I asked for lots of vegetables and boy be careful what you ask for. I helped a little to prepare the vegetables and her mum was surprised we had all the same vegetables as they do. Meanwhile as is normal in a Moroccan house the men were sitting in the living area while the woman were cooking .Nick and I decided to teach them how to play 2 handed patience. That created loads of laughs as they were learning then came the next bit of wanting to do a little cheating in a good humoured way. I watched how couscous was made from scratch and believe me it did not involve adding hot water to instant couscous in a packet and then hoping it would be light and fluffy. The work and time involved was well worth the effort as we sat down to the largest quantity of couscous we have seen. My mouth is salivating as I am writing this. The meat and veg was cooked to perfection as well…I think she has done that many times. Traditionally the men eat with a spoon and the women with their right hand. All the time we have been in Morocco when eating tagine etc with our hands I have been eating with my left as I am a leftie. It meant it was a sign of the devil. From now on right handed it is. We left after lunch to tears from the mums hoping to see each other again but both knowing for a moment our lives and cultures touched and that was enough. Fouzia’s dad drove us the two hours back to Casablanca which was great as Awatif came and we were able to find out more about her and wish her well for the future. It was weird coming back to Fouzias home as it felt like ours as well. They gave their beds up for us for the nights we slept there and we really appreciate that girls. It is not the first time. The Moroccans are so thoughtful and accommodating. Thank you girls for your hospitality and the information you gave us about your beliefs and for answering all of our question and we hope you learnt a little about our culture as well. Our greatest wish is that you could visit us in our country.

Traditional Moroccan Cooking

2010-01-27T07:49:00.001+10:30

After finding a taxi driver that sort of understood the address we were going to and after being yelled at as to why we did not know where we were going. We finally met up with Fouzia and were welcomed warmly into the fold. She lives with her Aunt Soed ..I think that is how it is spelt, she is the same age as Fouzia. My first cooking lesson occurred after Fouzia finished work. She is studying as well as working and speaks excellent English so I was able to find out a lot of information about life in Morocco from a woman’s point of view. She made Harira the Moroccan soup made from lentils and chickpeas. It took ages with a lot of chopping and cooking but the end result was wonderful. I can’t wait to go home and cook it for the family. The next day we headed off to the huge Souq that sold everything you could imagine and we had another lesson about marriage and weddings and birth and celebrations. The trappings of our weddings are miniscule compared to theirs. It is a three day event to start with, with 9 changes of clothes .The clothing is elaborately decorated. It is really a sight to behold in this section of the Souq where all of this is sold. It would be great to see it all in action at a real wedding. Maybe if Fouzia finds her rich, travelling man. It was an entertaining few hours.

Searching for Mr. Bogart and the hill of beans

2010-01-27T07:44:00.002+10:30

El Jadida was a short stop over on the way to Casablanca. Many people told us to skip Casablanca but we are glad we did not miss it. We would have not met some wonderful people who crossed our path. We decided to have the day to discover the medina and the old city before contacting our couch surfing host. It is one of the smallest Medinas in Morocco ... at least in a large city. The walk in the Medina was very peaceful as we watched everyday Moroccan life unfold before our eyes…including the beautiful voices of children singing in the class room. Casablanca is the centre of commerce so as such it had a lot of high rise buildings housing the big corporations. The hotels in the city centre were very ordinary to say the least but it was clean enough and a cheap roof over our heads. It had a lot of French colonial architecture and was sorely in need of a good lick of paint but that is the beauty of the place. It certainly did not have the feel of what one would imagine. We discovered the Mosque to beat all mosques…well actually it was the third largest mosque but was the tallest building in Morocco. It was awesome to see it. It was started in 1980 by King Hussan the current Kings father and cost half a billion to build. All the money was ‘donated’ at the cost of 10 dirhams per head..just over $1.00 per person. It is indeed a spectacle even from the outside. It has carved stone, marble and mosaic tiles around the minaret. It has a laser beam that beams to Mecca. Inside it can take 25,000 to pray and 80,000 in the courtyards. It is built over reclaimed land and so the prayer room has central heated floors and glass floors to look down upon the Atlantic. It also had a retractable roof. Inside the prayer hall you could fit Rome’s St.Peters or the Paris Notre Dame. The plaza and surrounding colonnades and buildings all had different ceramics over the wall. It is starting to disintegrate a bit due to the proximity to the sea. Restoration work was going on around and inside the Mosque. We sat waiting for the call to prayer which we have enjoyed listening to 5 times a day. It was inspiring to listen to the reciting of the Koran even if we did not understand it. Men and women came from all over the city most with their prayer mats. They pray separately.
Next, off to Ricks Café the remade scene of the setting for the movie Casablanca. I thought we would walk into some tacky remake and a very touristy place but not so. It was remarkably serene and so we decided to have lunch there sitting next to “the Piano” It was a classy joint run by Americans. It was the most beautiful interior to dine in and was silver service all the way. If we ate like that in Australia it would have cost a fortune. The staff were gracious and funny so it was a great experience. Upstairs the setting of the bar and everything that went with it. They even have the movie running continously with sub titles. Humphrey, Ingrid ,Sam were nowhere in sight. Back out to reality. It was weird to go back out to the noise and traffic after that. The next morning we were to meet Fouzia at her home.

Atlantic Coast

2010-01-26T06:48:00.001+10:30

Upon arrival in Oualidia we were shown a home that had rooms to rent for quite a cheap price because it was not by the sea. Why do we always choose somewhere 3 stories high? My knee is getting a work out again. This village of 4,000 at this time of the year is developing at a sharp rate and at the moment is unspoilt. It has a crescent shaped lagoon and has the Atlantic Ocean trying to break through. It is so idyllic and worthy of a destination in itself. The dunes and the beach are very reminiscent of Waitpinga and Venus Bay back home. Clean, pristine yellow sand. Plenty of surf fisherman and off the rocks as well. We were sitting on a ridge of sand just happily watching the waves crashing over the rocks when a fisherman come over to us with his catch and asked us if we wanted some for lunch. There was a portable charcoal cooker there on the beach along with tables and chairs. We chose a large whole fish from a myriad of sea life. He cleaned it, split it open then grilled it. He then made us a salad of tomatoes and onion..someone else ran and bought the local flat bread which he grilled as well. Then with a ‘ bon appetit’ we were presented with a meal that was so fresh, so cheap and in such a great location. Love this travelling. Cannot imagine that being allowed to happen on a beach in Australia..too many rules to protect us.

Sardine Safi

2010-01-26T06:43:00.003+10:30

Two reasons we called this blog this name. This rather large city catches and processes 30,000 tonnes of sardines a year. So the fishing industry is huge here as well. The large vessels are worth over one million and are owned by Europeans who hire Moroccans to do the work. We met a local when we were wandering around Safi who is an “unofficial “guide. He is a fisherman off one of these boats but is disenchanted with the way things are run. He wants to buy a smaller vessel for $8,000 to work for himself. Meanwhile he scouts around for the odd tourist to show them around and has taught himself English. Most of the sights were closed due to off season but he took us through the old medina. The alleys looked a little daunting to us earlier when we saw them. But entering everyone was so friendly especially the kids. We heard some children singing in the class room for after school singing lessons and being curious our new friend showed us in and introduced us to the children and they sang a song to us in French. What a lovely moment. The room was so tiny, dark, no decoration just old wooden desks. The kids were about 6 years old I think. Onwards we went, this medina was on a hill so the alleys went up at a fast rate. No pretty decorations or tiles here in this part as in other towns. Not the place tourists went in to very often so it was a la natural. Dogs, cats, food scraps and very damp. We climbed up steeper and steeper until we reached the Sultans Palace at the top of the city. The views were fantastic. The palace is a museum now but closed for renovations…after parting with a little tip we were let in by the security person. All the artifacts had been removed but the decorations, frescoes and artwork on the ceilings were quite beautiful and the stonework etched like lace. We saw the rooms that people were imprisoned in. Outside we saw two trees from Mexico over 350 years old. Interesting to have someone find this for us and then know all about it. He then took us up on to someone’s walls on to a precarious terrace to see all over Safi. Marvellous. The city is also famous for its pottery but we chose not to get involved in the processes as we were tired of the bartering etc that goes on in the very competitive world of the Souqs. When we arrived in the city we found a dodgy small hotel. It was 90 Dirhams a night the cheapest accom yet, that’s $13 a double. The room was very Spartan but very clean and it was at the edge of the medina. The only toilet was on our floor and was a squat. It was an insight into a true Moroccan city without the trappings of tourism. OK now part two of the sardines. There are two types of taxis in Morocco the ‘petit’ that takes you around the internal part of the city and out to the fringes to the ‘grand’ taxi stand. Then you take them to the next town or village or you can take the local bus which is always unreliable. Upon arriving at the grand taxi stand which is a dusty paddock we were assigned one of the Mercedes going to Oualidia to us. The mercs are about 30 years old or more. Door handles are rope, there is no such thing as a speedometer or any dials that are working. We loaded our packs in the back and we knew we would have to wait until the taxi filled up. It was the standard 5 seater sedan that should hold 5. We got in the back and two more squeezed in. Then two sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. Don’t ask me how he changed the gears because I could not see squashed in with 3 others in the back. We start to drive the 70 kms then pulled into the service station and fill up with oil not fuel. It was all very funny. No -one uttered a sound or spoke to us or each other. Next thing he stops and picks up another customer on the side of the road. He shared the driver’s seat, how he even turned the wheel I don’t know..so that was the sardine bit. Next thing the guy next to Nick starts talking to us in English…he is a French teacher. He thought it was all a little crazy too. People got in and out then a friend of the teacher gets in and said hello not just from him but welcome from all Moroccans to his country. Great drive and nearly rivalled our Chicken buses in Central America.

Essaouira (Essa weera)

2010-01-22T04:11:00.005+10:30

Our second Riad for a couple of nights seems to be in order as we have not been able to contact our couch surfer in this town as the internet always seems to be down. First impressions. White-washed buildings with blue window shutters and blue doors. Sunny blue skies and crashing waves sounds idyllic doesn’t it? Well it is. This place has fantastic surfing beaches and with it a community of surfers as anywhere in the world. It is amusing to sit in a café drinking that wonderful mint tea watching Bob Marley look- a -likes from all different nationalities. It was a hang out for Jimi Hendrix in the good old days. From the age of the hippies that live there I don’t think they left when he left. Bit of a drug culture happening there..could have bought a bit of hashish there. Nick was offered it several times not me. Must be the grey beard, long grey hair plaited, balding on top carrying a raffia bag. The mix of people promenading was interesting from devout muslim women to men wearing jellibabs, to tourists in skimpy clothing, to torn jeans on dropouts and all nationalities. The intrigue of it all. We climbed the parapets of the walls surrounding the old medina for a bird’seye glimpse of the happenings in the port as we imagine have happened for centuries. We saw another magnificent sunset shared with the many gulls. The best fun we had for the two days here, have been at the port. The activity there was incredible. From 3.00 pm until 5.00pm the flotilla of fishing boats returns with its catch for the day. The boats are all blue, wooden and very old. The same ritual occurs every day. On return there is a flurry of activity as they unload the fish which consists of huge eels , scampi, seabass , prawns ,sea urchins, calamari and all sorts of sea life. The whole boat is cleared of the motor, all gear and stored in a locker for tomorrow. The fish is auctioned at the market first to the restaurants and the remainder on the pier to the locals. Men clean and fillet the fish. The seagulls have a great time of it all. We had never seen anything like it. The gulls are huge and plentiful. The cats also hover for the leftovers. The place smells like fish guts to some but to us it is wonderful. We could have watched that scene forever actually we came back the next night to do it all again. As we wandered around we saw they fished with the long line which consisted of hundreds of salted pilchards baited onto large hooks onto a long line. This was being done with incredible speed for the next day’s fishing. It made us realise how much tourism plays a part in the economy. If another terrorism attack occurs in Morocco as did in 2003 and 2007 and tourists and travelers stop coming. These and related industries come to a halt. No wonder countries struggle in bad times. The economic crisis is already affecting the numbers coming to Morocco. It was relaxing in this town and one can understand people coming here year after year as they do.

Here's to all that is Argan

2010-01-21T04:01:00.001+10:30

We had heard about the Argan tree and its attributes from Hakim on our journey back to Ouarzazate. He showed us a solitary tree high up on a mountain that was the only Argan tree that side of the mountain so was revered and worshipped by the local people as it was so rare to see it there 100s of kms away from the only region that it grows in the world. We had never heard of this oil before but had tried it mixed with ground almonds and honey. The oil is of similar taste to hazelnut so the mixture tasted like nutella…nice on crepes for breakfast at Joy and Hakims. The interesting thing about this oil is how it is harvested. The tree itself is very woody and is also prized for its firewood. The tree produces berries about the size of large olives. Traditionally the goat herders bring their flock to the tree then let them climb the tree to eat the berries. What a sight that was. We were lucky to see this several times on the bus trip to Essaouria. There are 1000s of those trees in this area only. Nowadays women also harvest them to cut out the middle man or actually goat. The seed is harvested from the dung of the goat and the husk is removed easily because the digestive juices from the goat have broken down the hard shell. The kernel is then crushed, pulped then the oil is extracted. 30 kgs of the nuts yields 1litre of oil for 15 hours of manual labour . They have made special grinding stones from larger stones for this process. It is quite incredible. The oil is made into soap, face cream for anti wrinkles.. vitamin E and is great for fighting high cholesterol. It is used in cooking and for dressings for salads. It is delicious .The Moroccans buy it in empty water bottles etc so cuts down packaging. We can buy it but it is expensive. I bought the shampoo and will buy some soap. It is environmentally safe and completely organic. It was fun spotting the goats. The terrain was quite hilly and we crossed over some very steep river valleys with huge banana plantations…very fertile area. The farmers were ploughing the paddocks with donkeys and camels. Never seen that before but yes two camels attached to the yoke pulling the wooden plough. Lots of walls made from the stone to divide the fields. Another great journey to another wonderful destination.

A change of pace

2010-01-21T03:59:00.002+10:30

Agidir, our first city in a while was a little shock to the system. We could not believe the traffic coming into the city. It was one huge traffic jam with not a donkey in sight. With the huge volume in traffic came the air pollution. It was a huge change from the desert. It made us miss Joy and Hakim even more. Agidir now has a population of 700,000 but on February 29 1960 it was totally destroyed by an earthquake. 17,000 people lost their lives .There was a museum dedicated to pre 1960 and earthquake destroyed buildings and then post 1960.The only remains from that day were the walls of the Kasbah way up on the hill. We decided to take a little stroll in the morning up the hill to see them. It was very humid and was quite a hike up and down, it actually took us an hour, uphill all the way. Great view and was a good achievement for me. The city is being developed at an extraordinary rate… lots of concrete. Europeans love coming here to holiday and invest. It has great surfing beaches as it is on the Atlantic Ocean. Nice place with some parks and hidden cafes in secluded spots and the most awesome patisserie. Actually glad to leave the city even though our Hotel was nice. It was a 60s type building and had the furnishings of the same era. Sweet. Nice people too. We took a bus out to Essaouria. Looking forward to a slower pace.

Erg Chebbi

2010-01-21T03:53:00.000+10:30

Day2 found us early at the carpet seller’s place. Hakim had asked if we would like to see a carpet being made in a village cooperative and as I wanted to buy a carpet some time in Morocco now was a good as time as ever to see. After being shown how long a carpet takes to weave we had a greater appreciation of the value of just one rug. The different women from the area work on their rugs for a few hours a day taking months to finish one. The rugs are then sold through the cooperative with the money going back to the village. This seemed to be the way to go so after some bartering we have a carpet that is now travelling with us for the next 4 weeks as it would cost $100 to send it home. Again we set off for an interesting drive until lunch time in a very busy town. We sat in a “pizza” restaurant that sold “berber pizzas” and had tagine omelets and salad. It is amazing what they can rustle up at a minute’s notice. As we sat out the front with the locals and watched the scenes unfold I imagined that was what life was like in Marrakesh before tourism took hold. It was commerce at its best and seemed to be the meeting place for all sorts of deals and donkeys passing through the lot. It was dusty and so exciting. We won’t forget that lunch in a hurry. As we neared the desert we could see the pink sand dunes in the distance, they were very large and could be seen from a long way away. Off road again on our own road across grey stones when all of a sudden in front of us near the dunes was a building that looked like a kasbah. We stopped right at the dunes. I was gob smacked to say the least that this was where we staying for the night. The Auberge du Sud. It is not a hotel as hotels are not allowed to be built at the dunes only “hostels” mmm. It was first class accommodation with hardly anyone staying there. We had decided not to ride the camels as we had in Egypt as we still remembered clearly the chafing Camel bum gives you. As we were playing a game of Ludo, Moroccan style with our berber coach Hussan and Hakim and Joy we changed our mind and decided to go out to the dunes to see the sunset. As I was getting on the camel I remembered why I did not want to repeat the experience again. This time it was better as Hussan was a great camel leader and we both felt at ease. No running camels.. thank god for that. We climbed to the top of the dunes by camel then by foot. There was no one else out there with us so to see the sun set on what had been an extraordinary few days in peace and at one with all that is natural was wonderful. I even got to sit on the berber rug and slid down the dune being pulled by Hussan. Another great night of food, and entertainment by the lads who worked there. They were all fantastic drummers so we had a performance by the fire. In the morning I got up to see the sunrise it was perfect and was funny to see 27 Japanese tourists come from the city in 4wds get on the camels see the sunrise get back in the cars and go back to the city. That was the desert and the end of a perfect 2 nights with two new friends Joy and Hakim..love this couch surfing. On the drive back to their place we were told it is 10 days walking the camel to get there and one of the waiters was from Timbuktu in Mali ..it takes him 62 days walking the camel when he goes home. Thank goodness we had a car. The scenery was even more spectacular driving back than the drive up. The mountains were made from green stone, then black marble, pink marble, browns all sorts of colours and rock structures. We passed the fossil villages. The whole of Morocco used to be under water so the fossils were plentiful particularly in the black marble, but did not stop as we had purchased some from Hussan on the sand dunes before breakfast. We really want to thank Joy and Hakim for their giving spirit. They shared themselves and information with us for 5 nights . We had lots of laughs and lots of Tagines. Love to the both of you. It was with regret we left Ouarzazate but armed with so much knowledge of the first hand experience of living with them in their home. Thank you, thank you xx

3 days in the desert

2010-01-21T03:49:00.001+10:30

After another night with Hakim’s parents we set off on the next part of our odyssey. We took the slow way to our destination with many stops to see interesting architecture, animals, people and best of all, the scenery. Our first stop was off road through a small village to a Kasbah that was deserted but if you knew the owner as Hakim did then you could have a look through. It was like a museum. It was as if time stood still and the people had moved out. They even had a solar hot water system. I hope the pictures do it justice. We learnt so much that day about all things Moroccan from Hakim. Day one we travelled to the Dades Gorge and the Todra Gorge. Both were immense in their structure but were both very different. Dades gorge was made from red or more like burgundy stones with huge finger -like rocks standing like sentinels along the gorge walls. They looked like monkey’s fingers or King Kong’s hand. It is quite incredible to see what erosion does and the upheaval of the mountains. We have never seen structures like it. I don’t know how many photos we took but we flattened the battery on the camera. The scenes you see along the way like camels running free, herds of sheep that look like goats with the lone herder in the middle of no -where, donkeys ridden on or laden with all sorts of fodder or bags of stuff. People walking long distances, men and children cycling….women don’t seem to cycle they just walk. Schools are also in the middle of no-where so it seems but they are usually between villages so kids have access. I can never sleep in the car..might miss something. The mountains and the landscape change so rapidly. The roads on this part of the journey are great but a little narrow for my liking. Hakim is a great driver. Very careful. We decided to have an Aussie style picnic along the way. I had bought a few provisions and just needed bread. We stopped in a very small village to enquire if the local hole in the wall “bakery” had some bread for us. He produced 3 of the most delicious warm flat breads we have ever eaten. Hakim found a little bridge leading into a village and there we sat eating our sandwiches we had made from that bread. Great meal to be had watched by some of the local kids. Onto our accommodation in the next gorge. We stayed in a small guest house with only a few rooms. Ours was facing the gorge wall with a little creek running along in front as well. It was so restful except for that noisy creek .Only joking. We drank copious amounts of their delicious mint tea up on the terrace until it was too cold then more tea in the sitting room. All the furnishings were berber style and berber fabrics. It was so cosy. A walk into the Todra gorge before dinner was so special as the light was fading and made the steep cliffs even more steep. Again we stood and marvelled at mother nature. It made us hungry and we were fed Moroccan food with a tagine and accompaniments. Along with the bottle of wine we had purchased along the way from the back door of a “supermarket”. It was a great night. We found out a lot about Joy and Hakim and they about us. It was so dark and so quiet as we were in a small village. Sleep came easily at 9.00pm and awake at 7.00am for an early morning walk through the palms and the very old vegetable gardens with well worn paths into the gorge again for more photos with the different light before breakfast of crepes and Moroccan style breakfast

Ouarzazate

2010-01-12T07:51:00.001+10:30

It is a city of around 80,000 inhabitants and a very laid back town it is after the craziness of Marrakech. They have a lot of very wide boulevards so walking around was easy and as it was Sunday I think it was fairly quiet. There are a huge amount of cafes and infrastructure for travellers but as this is the off season we had the place to ourselves. Lucky us. We were invited to Hakims parents home to share lunch with them and was it good. Starting with lentil soup made by his Mother with absolutely delicious bread that was made and baked in a oven in the back area of their home shared by the neighbours. The oven was made with traditional mud and straw and charcoal and looked a little like the backyard pizza ovens that are becoming popular in our country. The soup was followed by a tagine and we were shown to eat the Moroccan way eating one handed with the bread and picking up the vegetables and meat a little at a time…maybe by the time we leave here we will master it. The orange juice we had with the meal was freshly squeezed from the tree growing inside the courtyard in the house. It was one of those meals that make travelling the joy that it is. After lunch we walked. The weather since the first day has been cool but not as cold as England. The city is renowned worldwide for the movies that have been filmed here like Rules of Engagement and Black Hawk Down. Hakim had some stories to tell of the helicopters and sand scenes that occurred in front of the Casbah. Very interesting. We walked around the city with Hakim and Joy who is a young American girl who arrived in Morocco 6 months ago and fell in love with her tour guide Hakim and decided to stay. They are now engaged to be married soon and the rest is history so they say. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome but they seem to be overcoming them. They are a very giving couple and have only recently started hosting people but I feel it will be great for Joy as she does not have friends yet in Morocco. We did not see any stars in the cafes and restaurants only in the sky. Hakim is a guide and is going to take us in to the desert and gorges for three days. We will hire a 4wd and he will drive us where we want to go and Joy is coming along for the ride. Morocco has a lot of things in place to protect its tourists and one of those is to make sure there are no unscrupulous local people taking advantage of us. We saw this first hand as we were walking around the city with them Hakim was stopped by the police to find out if he was authorized to show us around. He was not in the capacity then as a guide but as a friend showing us around. The tourist policeman did not believe they were engaged and that we were friends so the police came and took him to the station but they knew him and he was released. It was funny but not funny and caused few anxious moments for Joy.

What a ride

2010-01-12T07:24:00.003+10:30

After leaving to traverse the High Atlas Mountains by local bus one hour late little did we know what the next 7 hours would bring us. The bus to Ourzazate from Marrakech normally would take 5 hours. The journey through orange groves and olive trees and palm trees was wonderful especially with brief views of the snow caps of the mountains.

The contrast between the desert we were travelling through the palm trees and the traditional berber housing against the mountain back drop was very unusual. As we neared the we realized why the buildings in Morocco are rendered in pink mud and straw as that is the colour of the foothills we passed through. The bus was nearly full of travellers and locals with a few small children and was interesting listening to conversations in many languages. The scenery and the grandeur of the mountains were incredible. We have never travelled through such high mountain passes before at around 3000m high. The roads had a little snow to start with on the side and there was a lot of excited people including some young Moroccan nationals who had never seen the snow before. Of course the higher we went the thicker and deeper the snow but the roads seemed fine. We stopped along the way at a tiny village for a “wee” stop and some delicious mint tea then onwards and upwards to more and more stunning scenery.

peaks were craggy and the ravines were very steep to say the least. Some parts of the road started to be a little icy when all of a sudden we came to a stop because in front of us was the longest trail of cars and trucks we have ever seen bumper to bumper with no-one moving and there we stayed for 2 hours. I forgot to mention on the way up a little earlier we had seen a petrol tanker hanging off the edge of the ravine as it had jack knifed and was stopped from falling down by the safety rail. It was entertaining to start with as we watched trucks trying to negotiate the bend in front of us as there was only room really for one as the snow was piled up on the sides and was very slippery. As time went on we did not move and thought we would never get out of there and did not know what the problem was as we first thought maybe there was another accident. The tension started to build as we realized we were going to negotiate the same bend and how tricky it was for the driver of the bus. Anyway after trying to concentrate on the awesome beauty of this magnificent mountain range we were relieved when we started to descend from the top. It was amazing and we would not have missed that bus ride for anything but could have been spared the drama. We think it was an avalanche of snow that caused the problem and they had closed the mountain pass and stopped all traffic from both sides which eventually helped the situation. We arrived at our destination tired and with a contact number of a couch surfer host who had contacted us only that morning to say they could host us or find us a home. We were met and taken back to the apartment of Joy and Hakim to find they already had 3 more CSers .Two from Italy and one from Germany. The Italian couple made all of us dinner of pasta and tortilla and very much appreciated by us and after some great conversation over a couple of good reds from Morocco. We were taken to Hakims parents home where we had our own room. How fantastic that was of them to put us up in their home at very short notice and again for tonight as I write this and we awoke to breakfast as well. Hakims’ mother and father live in a very traditional Moroccan home and have wonderful furniture. His father could also speak quite good English so we found out a little more about the Moroccan way of life.

Amazing start to Morocco

2010-01-09T07:16:00.003+10:30

We left England spot on time ..unlike my sister who was supposed to be home in Australia by now and is still snowed in in Edinburgh. Actually I would rather be here than in Australia as our hometown is recording a lot of days over 40deg. Anyway back to Morocco. We landed in Marrakesh to pouring rain but had prebooked a riad (accomodation in a home or small hotel with only a few rooms) so the owners came and met us at the airport with a sign that said PAPA NICK. That was hilarious as those that know us well know the significance of that. We were dropped about a 10 min run away from our home in the pouring rain. Consequently our bags and our clothes were very wet. The square or plaza Djemaa el-Fna is very near to our riad so made for easy access in the labryinth that the medina is. Up for a lazy breakfast of crepes and moroccan bread, delicious freshly squeezed juice and cafe au lait, to blue skies. I have been studying up on my arabic to find out that Marocs speak french predominately. It is amazing how much french I know from I don't know where. The owners are french so I could practice my manners over breakfast. As we stepped out into the alley from our huge wooden door wondering what we would find in daylight we found we were in a very narrow walkway to motorbikes and donkeys and carts all vying for right of way. It was mostly local people walking down the alley where we could see for ages. The walls either side were that ochre colur that you would imagine and just like you see in the movies etc. It was breathtaking those first few mins. Then we hit the plaza. Oh my god the noise, the cacophony of sound was incredible. People going about their daily jobs, shops were opening but only a few tourists around.That was about to change though. Cobras dancing to the tunes played by the musicians, monkeys doing tricks, story tellers, all sorts of buskers it was an eyeful to say the least (I did not like the monkeys). We had our trusty guidebook with us but never got it out. We managed to meander all over the place and later after looking up what we had missed in the good book we had missed nothing but instead enjoyed meandering and taking in the scenes. At one stage we had gone outside the walls that surrounded the city and found the real life of the Marocs. They are hard working and as all countries when you get away from the tourist areas they are doing what they have to do to eke out a living. Noone bothered us and we only had a few curious stares. The walls themselves are huge. They are high, thick and impregnable and "pink"..that is the colour of Marrakesh. It was a fantastic introduction to the next few weeks and we are wondering if 4 weeks will be too long and what will top this day. We finished the day with a crazy night in the plaza eating dinner with hundreds of strangers from all over the world. The food is plentiful ,cheap and fresh. It is the weekend so people fly in from all over Europe for a few days... tourists everywhere. Imagine living within a few hours of so many different cultures. Those kids we saw travelling with their parents are so fortunate to see the things they were seeing today. I wish we could give our grandkids the same chance. You are born where you are born. Off to sleep and dream of those wonderful scenes we experienced today..actually Nick is asleep... wait for me

Manchester

2010-01-06T04:40:00.006+10:30

Someone told us there was nothing to do in Manchester. I beg to differ. We arrived with the thought in mind to go straight to Liverpool to see the Beatle country but discovered there was a lot to see and is a very easy city to walk around. Just as well for that. More about that later as well. We first took a local bus to the Science and Industry Museum as the weather was freezing and seemed to be the thing to do. It certainly kept us entertained for hours and was a great insight into the history of all facets of Manchester from their achievements in Invention and in industry. A lot was hands on and recommended for kids as well so of course we had to pretend we were kids. From the depths of the sewers that we were able to walk through ..including the odd rats to the textile industry it was really interesing. Off to the John Handley Library which took us by surprise as it was very similar to the Long room in Dublin but this time we could get up and personal and look at the titles of some of the 1000s of books dating back for centuries.
The architecture of the library was awesome as well. We spent a lot of time there. As I said it was an easy place to walk around. We left a couple of things to do for the next day and headed back to our hostel just as it started snowing at 5.00pm. It snowed all night and we awoke early to find there was at least 6 inches of snow over everything. It was beautiful but of course that meant no buses or trains. The roads were mush and made walking interesting. Not icy yet so not as scary as it was in Dublin. We were supposed to travel an hour by train to Clitheroe to spend a couple of days with Julie and Neil, friends we travelled with in China, for his birthday. No luck and they could not travel to see us as the roads were closed or too icy. That was a sad moment when we realised we were not going to see them this time. We were glad to have not gone to Liverpool as we would not have got back due to the snow.
We slipped and slid around the streets in absolute wonderment at the scenery and how beautiful snow looks on buildings. It was fantastic as a tourist and we made the best of it as we probably won't have the opportunity to see it like that again. It snowed all day with the levels reaching over 12 inches in places. I am not sure how many tens of photos we took. Thank goodness for good fleeces and good solid shoes. We are hoping to get to Nottingham tomorrow by train to be there to fly out to Marrakesh on Thursday but have been told if it freezes tonight the rails might crack. Our hotel was pleased to see us again and were happy to have us stay another night. The staff had to stay here last night as they could not get home and looks like the same again. We are near to Granada Studios(Coronation Street) so they have a few people staying here unexpectedly as well. Wish us luck tomorrow if there is more snow we will be well and truly snowed in and won't be able to get to Nottingham to see Robin Hood and his Merry men. It has certainly been a fun time. The news has just said that this has been the longest cold snap for over 30 years and has been the coldest December for 14 years. Fear not though 2009 has been the 4th hottest year in the UK.

Family reunions overseas

2010-01-06T04:25:00.005+10:30

I can thoroughly recommend meeting loved ones overseas. It has been nearly 2 years since seeing Paul and Lee (our nephew and niece) in Adelaide.
We have spent 3 wonderful days with them slowly walking the streets of Dublin. I say slow because it had snowed and was very icy to walk. Once Julie my sister bought her "Wellies" as they call them she felt more confident to walk around and had dry feet. We saw the Book Of Kells this time and the famous Long Room of Trinity College. It was an incredible thing to see and just confirms how young our country is and of course our history. We met Rory who has been seeing Lee our niece for sometime. He fits right in and was giving as much as he received from all of us. The nights were the best with loads of laughter from all. They are back in Edinburgh now and my sister Julie is leaving to go home to Australia tomorrow. More tears I suspect. They will be home in April .. it will go quickly. We all left Dublin to go our separate ways. We were off to Manchester and they flew to Edinburgh. See you home soon guys it was so good to see you again.

New year's day

2010-01-04T04:12:00.007+10:30

Back in Dublin on New Year's Day and it is very quiet. Flights cancelled, no taxis and buses cancelled because of the snow and ice. We went to the botanic gardens. We were going to go to Glendalough but the buses were cancelled due to the weather. The city was very quiet with very little open.

New Year 2010

2010-01-03T20:00:00.005+10:30

A few small drifts of snow looks so wonderful. There were water restrictions happening. How could that be? It appears that everyone leaves thair taps running so that the pipes do not freeze up and it has caused the authorities to close off the water in certain areas to conserve the reservoirs and yet there is water everywhere, very strange. We headed out for new years eve, just a short walk into the city from where we were staying. It took longer than we thought it would, because of the snow and ice on the footpaths. Crowds of happy people were everywhere. We headed to Temple Bar as that would have to be the gathering point for celebrations.
Interestingly no fireworks were planned for Dublin at midnight. We had a few Guinness and listened to the music. After midnight we went outside and the snow was falling. we wandered about a bit and soon found that there were no taxis around as they had been called fron the streets as it was too icy and dangerous.
Next day we did some sightseeing but it was cold and snow was everywhere and it was very icy. The temperature was down to -9C.

Ireland

2010-01-02T07:07:00.010+10:30

Second Coming…Well here we are in Dublin sitting in the airport waiting for Julie, Lee, Paul and Rory to join us from Edinburgh. We are celebrating NYE together…hopefully. They are on the tarmac snow bound in Edinburgh and it is also snowing here in Dublin so I will catch you all up on what we have been doing in the last couple of days. We are spending 5 days in Ireland the main reason we are here is to attend the wedding of our friend Niamh and Robert. We met Niamh several years ago travelling in central America for 6 weeks and we caught up later in L.A. and then travelled with her in Dublin a couple of years ago. She never thought she would marry but when we received an email from her with the news she was to be married in Dec and would we like to come. Of course we said yes. So here we are. We have not been to Europe in winter and were prepared we thought for cold weather but they have had some of the worst weather the last few weeks with flooding and now heavy snow and record low temps. Over the next few days it will get as low as -13. It is hard to keep the cold out of the bones so we dash from the car to inside very quickly. Nick left his drivers licence at home in Adelaide so I had to drive while we were in Ireland. We found out the roads were still iced over from the snow storm a week ago and I have never experienced that before but with careful driving and lots of advice we managed to avoid any skids or accidents but others were not so lucky. We arrived Tuesday morning in Dublin after 4 flights totaling some crazy hours in the plane but we both had some sleep so felt pretty good and excited. Driving through Ireland is a treat except for the ice. The scenery was very different this time. Different season. The snow on the ground made for lots of oohs and ahs.

Niamh booked us into a B&B near the castle where the reception was to be held in the County of Leitrim near the town of Mohill. We arrived before 2.00 pm so our room was not quite ready so we were invited into her kitchen to sit by the warm range with copious cups of tea, toast and Xmas cake. Friends kept dropping by, her 3 kids came home from fishing with their dad and we sat back tired with a grin on our face at the life in an Irish home.

When shown to our room we were so tempted to have a nap but instead went to have a walk around the property. There was still ice and snow on the ground and it was sooo cold. They have a dark forest or wood and a lake at the bottom of the garden. We drove back down to the town after having an emotional reunion with Niamh who was shaken after skidding off the road coming up to see us. After dinner in a little country pub with a pint of guinness it was home and off to bed. We slept for 12 hours and woke to a huge breakfast and some great company from the groom’s brother.

Today was the day we both felt like we were having Cinderella moments all day. We awoke to a very windy dreary day and drizzly rain and by 1.00pm the time of the wedding it was no better but at least there was no snow overnight and the rain helps to melt the ice. Niamh is catholic as all or most good Irish people are so the wedding was in a church in Mohill. It was such a lovely service and had a lot of involvement from members of the family and friends. No photos outside so they were done in the church which was different but a great way to keep everyone together. We ventured into town to have soup and coffee to warm up but missed the mulled wine and mince tarts back at the castle. When we arrived at the castle for the reception it was on dusk about 4.00 pm. Yes, the sun rises around 8.30 am and sets around 4.00 pm. The castle was bathed in a soft light and in the front window a huge Christmas tree was blazing with lights and decorations.

What a delight that was. It is great to have a wedding this time of the year as carols were sung after the service in the church and at the wedding reception. The streets had fresh trees as well. Not a plastic tree in sight anywhere. It has prolonged Christmas for us. Now to the reception. The speeches were very informal before and held in the front room of the castle as would have been done for centuries. Niamh and Robert are in their 30s and both were never expecting to ever be married so it was a very emotional night for family and friends. Everyone really was dressed up and their coats were something else. We were ushered into the dining hall and fed royally with so much food being serenaded by a band with a fantastic violinist which of course meant Irish jigs and dancing from the guests. It would have to be the most fun and it was great to sit and watch it unfold. We felt like we were Cinderella at the ball and did not want it to end. We caught up with Kate who we also travelled with and she had the chance to stay with us when she travelled to Australia so it was a joy to be there with her too. After the violinist left the dance floor was unfolded and another act was bought in just as we thought it was time to go home. For the next couple of hours dancing and singing ensued from all then out came the “afters”. Traditionally at a wedding in a hometown a certain number of guests would be invited to a wedding around 200 to 300 then the other friends would come in for the “afters” sandwiches, pies, sausages and the wedding cake. There was a lot of food served at the reception but the next lot of food was devoured in a flash. We decided at 12 ish it was time to leave when they said next was going to be a disco then on to the bar in other words 3 or 4 in the morning until the last leave with bride and groom still there. When we arrived back at the B&B we were sad it was over but felt we had found the golden slipper .Thanks for the invite guys it was fantastic.

You know you are in ireland when it is .

Tokyo here we are

2009-11-09T18:59:00.004+10:30

Tokyo tower from our hotel room window

We have 2 hours between flights on the way home from Japan. Now in Seoul Airport. I thought I had better update the blog before we arrive back in Australia tomorrow.
90 mins it took to drive by bus from the Airport into Tokyo City. We realised what a huge place it was. The road network looked so complex even though they were driving on the left hand side of the road. The expressway is about 8-10 stories high sometimes it was 4 or so levels of intertwining roads. Glad he was driving not us. Our first impression was of nothing that showed we were in Japan. It was all buildings and more skyscrapers than we had ever seen. We passed over many canals and over a lot of bridges. It strikes us that it is so pristine and clean. Can't see any people though..where are they all? We find out later where they all are. Our plug to convert the power was the incorrect one so just on dark we set out to find one. What we didn't know was they were sending us to Electric City..the one you see in the books and on TV. We actually managed to find our way around the VERY complicated metro system. As we got on the train we found out where all the people are. Thousands and thousands of business men and women ..mostly men with their laptops, mobile phones and suits live in the underground. A lot of them live 90 mins by train and commute 6-7 days a week. They work long hours as each time we caught the train even quite late at night the stations are still packed..extraordinary. To get on the train you basically backed in and stood cheek to cheek or back to back with total strangers. I don't think they would have a chance to stop H1N1 from spreading even though a lot of people were wearing face masks. It was exhilarating to say the least to get to our station and home again without getting lost once. In the subway it is like watching ants moving around an ant nest, everyone going in all directions with occasional people stopping to talk, all this without bumping into each other and all going about their own business. More about the subways later. Don't attempt it unless one or both of you can think laterally. The minute we stepped on to the platform we realised what a crazy place Tokyo is. It is definitely alive and kicking. So exciting. Electric City is floors and floors of electrical and electronic equipment of all the brands you could imagine in dozens of buidlings all out yelling each other with their specials lights flashing neon blinking everwhere. It was gob smackingly awesome . We actually found the plug as well.
Our accomodation was right next to Tokyo Tower so upon returning we went up to see the enormity of Tokyo and were not disappointed. Our Japanese is nearly non existent so ordering food is fun. Twice we have ordered from the pictures on the English menu and twice we got what we think was liver and tripe. Never mind the experience of eating at little hole in the wall places is fantastic. Their local beer is great also. Moving from our accom next day was very easy thanks to Kosei as he gave us great directions. It was great idea to move because Tokyo is so huge that each area is very different.

Final Goodbyes to South Korea and to friends

2009-11-08T19:23:00.003+10:30

We really loved our stay in Andong but decided to leave a day early to catch up with the newly weds Yonghee and Kosei. The autumn colurs even more vivid now from the train window.Yonghee called us and offered her families home for the night.They live in a beautiful apartment fairly new and in an area very close to the city centre. We enjoyed our first Korean BBQ with them in a tent on the street. As you enter the tent inside are lots of tables . Each has a charcoal heated centre with a sparkling clean grill on top. The tables are full of business men in suits , very noisy and bustly. Fantastic atmosphere. The meat is cut into small portions and placed on the round grillplate to cook very quickly. We are supplied with a variety of sauces , vegetables and salad items such as lettuce and of course seaweed wrappers. As the food is cooked you wrap the meat in the lettuce along with the other items and eat . So yum. We also tried our first Korean spirits we liked that as well. It is an experience one would not want to miss if visiting Korea.Just remember to look inside those red tents.Every meal we have we are learning to eat new foods and of course how to eat them. Thanks to friends like Yonghee and kosei.It was so cold that night it was minus 1 so to warm us up we decided to brave the night and visit the Seoul Tower at 10 pm.It was freezing but so worth it as it was very clear. The walk down the mountain all the way to their home was fantastic especially after all that food.
The next day was a treat also experiencing shopping in Lotte dept store, eating great food in the basement my last Bibimbap and last meal with our hosts and experiencing the Fountain Bridge which has the Guiness Book Of Record for the longest fountain from a bridge.With regrets we leave them though knowing we will see them again in July next year when they come back To Adelaide to study.We also wish them well in their new venture importing , selling and promoting 'soap nuts' for bettering the environment.
At night we had our final meal in Korea with Hwang, Joanne , John and Dana..Shon's cousins at a very different Korean BBQ where we had our first meal on floor mats traditioally..my knee held up thank goodness. We were hosted in their home also. They live in an apartment on the 14th floor so it was fantastic to see how they live as a family.We experienced the Korean Wii as well so it was a fun night with the kids.What a wonderful family they are . Thankyou to them for looking after us so well in Korea and giving up their time and taking vacation time.We really appreciate it.Thankyou to Hwang for taking us to the airport vey early as well.
Anyone comtemplating travelling to an Asian destination may I suggest you look in to Korea. It is easy to travel, is inexpensive, safe and is a very peaceful country.We loved it and the food was such a surprise.

Andong and its culture

2009-11-07T10:22:00.005+10:30

A short 2 hour hop by train to Andong was divine . The autumn colours were well and truly turned now with some of the most photographic scenery. We hopped on the local bus as soon as we arrived to go out to Hahoe Village. Once a week they have the masked dance and comedic opera at 3 pm.We hoped we would make it but found out on arrival that it started at 2pm. Never mind that we travelled half way around the world to see it..only joking.To our surprise it was still going so we saw a snippet of the show.Very colourful and very funny if the laughter emitting from the crowd was anything to go by. Of course it was in Korean but the actions speak louder than words. It was a dreamy warm Autumn day wandering around a living and working folk village.Their homes are situated around a very old tree in the centre of their village. Some of the buildings were thatched immaculately and were from mud brick construction.The others were roofed with the traditional pottery type roofing one would expect to see with curved edges.The flowers around the place were lovely as were the veggie gardens. We were able to peek into a few homes and how they lived as they had set aside a few for the tourists to see. It is a very popular place for Koreann tourists but they are very respectful. It was very quiet and serene. Very impressive place with an insight into what Korea was like in times long gone. No hooha either. Got to love this country. The 24km trip cost a total of $10.60 including admission. Korea is very inexpensive to travel , to eat, to sleep and to visit their important sites. Love it

Sadness and Tears

2009-11-07T10:10:00.003+10:30

We left Pohang with so many emotions and our ' picnic' packed by Shon's mum. A picnic lunch is used for the times that we would pack sandwiches etc.Traditionally Koreans would pack gimbap for train journeys etc. Kim in JeJu island did the same for our car ride. Gimbap is similar to sushi but made with a nicer seaweed wrap. It has a thinner and tastier outer covering. It then has a layer of rice then a variety of pickled radishes meat or salmon or tuna and other vegetables. We also had some at the train station for breakfast. Shons mum had also packed chopsticks, 10 boiled eggs with a dish of salt and drinks and juice. We were set for a week if we were trapped and couldn't get off the train. It was a wonderful parting gesture and one we will remember always. We were all sad to wave goodbye. Instructions again to look after Shon in Adelaide. We loved meeting them all and thank them for all their love imparted to us.

Shon's family

2009-11-06T23:47:00.003+10:30

A big black saloon with tinted windows pulled up out the front of our weird hostel and out stepped Shon's mother a vision of fashion, Shon's sister and her friend Seong-Hee. It was so exciting to meet his family at last. Shon's sister looks just like him.. much to her dismay and has the same happy disposition. His mother is very genteel and a snazzy dresser. Seong-Hee is a very down to earth woman who enjoys teaching and speaking English. They drove us up into the mountains to see a very famous Buddhist Temple and to see the changing autumn colours . It was the best day we had had as we learnt a lot about the culture ,the food and the habits of past and present Koreans. Poor Nick he was the only guy and the car was very noisy with 4 woman chatting and laughing at anything and everything. Shon's mum took us to many important sites that we would not have been able to access in one day. What a generous person she is. She paid for everything that day from entrance fees to lunch , dinner and even our accomodation in a very posh hotel. Of course Shon's name was bought up many times and was the butt of many jokes from his sister and us. His mum misses him terribly and constantly asked us about his well-being and his new life in Australia. She was happy to meet us as we were the first Aussies she has met so I am sure it was a huge culture shock to her. I really want to thank Seong-Hee for her invaluable English as we learnt a lot more about Korea from her. It was a fantastic experience today and Shon now has an Australian mother and father and a Korean mother. Watch out Shon!! We have been told to look out for you and make sure you are behaving.

Gyeon-gu ...place of surprises

2009-11-06T23:22:00.004+10:30

We had a very quick 2 hour train journey to Gyeon-gu with the autumn colurs starting to make their mark. We were so surprised to find this place so westernised. Not a small country town at all. It has a mixture of Korean , Japanese and Western restaurants and clothing. We found a fantastic little coffee shop that the owner opened after travelling to Australia. He served us coffee and proceeded to sit and sing folk songs that I think he thought we would like. He sang Rainbow Connection.That song was made famous by Kermit the Frog from the Muppets. Except he kept singing Lainbow Collection as he found it impossible to pronounce the R. Sorry you had to be there. We sat having our coffee opposite an historical burial site. The huge mound of grassed dirt once held the remains of a Silla King from the Three Kings era 262-284. Kings and queens were both buried this way along with all the goods and chattels that one would need in the after- life. The largest mound is 23 metres in height, 123m long and 80 ms wide.They have only excavated a few when the Japanese occupied Korea. The others can't easily be excavated as it would be noticeable due to the fact they are huge mounds of dirt and someone would notice if you dug a hole or removed the dirt. The town itself is in fact a huge cemetery... very easy to stroll around but remember where you are staying if you go out at night..say no more. It is so colourful here at night as it in all the towns and cities. Neon is the word. That night was the best display yet. Tomorrow we are going to meet Shon's mother and sister and her friend who is fluent in English.

Busan ferry

2009-11-06T22:59:00.005+10:30

Again the ferry experience was totally unexpected from what has gone before in other Asian countries.This time we were on a large ferry with very smooth seas and set for 11 hours. The food served was fresh tasty and hot..no slops. We settled into our room , which slept 10 in bunks, quite early as there was absolutely nothing to do ..no show girls. The only downside was the snoring but that was nearly negated by the hum of the ship. Up at 5.00am for a 6.00am departure. Now anyone travelling, knows rocking up to strange cities without a booking is always interesting. Well at 6.00am even more so. We wandered around the first district but it looked a bit seedy so hopped on to the subway with the throngs of office workers.We certainly looked odd with our back packs, dishevelled and hungry. We decided to go to a place called Hyundae beach..by then it was around 7.30am and of course too early to find accomodation so we camped out on a wall and ate some cereal we had managed to buy the day before. What a sight this time for the joggers, walkers and again the men in suits. One great thing about travelling at the end of a season is that the hotel rooms are about the same price as a hostel so we decided to treat ourselves to a "posh" hotel for $30 a double. Which considering we could see the beach in the most expensive area of Busan was a bargain. Next we decided to find Kevin Rudd our prime minister. he was in Busan for the APEC conference. We looked high and low for him...no luck.The Fish market was spectacular to say the least but no Therese(his wife) doing the shopping for dinner. I think we have never seen so many fish in markets as we have seen in Korea. They can't possibly eat it all. They eat anything from the sea so we saw interesting creatures for sale all alive and kicking in huge aquariums. Nick must have have taken 50 photos of fish etc in tanks. It is a nice place but we were keen to get out to the country areas and meet Shon's (cser) family. So next day to Gyeon-gu.

Trains..the way to go

2009-11-06T22:43:00.004+10:30

We travelled around Korea by train and found them so clean and civilized..by that I mean compared to the craziness of Vietnam and China. There aren't any hawkers on the train or on the station all yelling at once selling the same things trying to make a living.There are not the chickens etc that get transported regularly as well.No grafitti on the train or anywhere actually..like in Adelaide and even in our small home town. The country towns of Korea have a lot of 5 to 15 story apartment blocks which actually is not a bad thing .They have so many people that if they built homes on blocks like ours they would not have any farming land left. The scenery passes by while we relax in the comfort as people come and go about their daily lives. It is also the best way to see what they grow and how they farm.Of course their staple crop is rice and it is harvest time and the paddies are golden much like our wheat crops. No bullocks here.. a machinery is used for harvesting.The staff on the trains and at the stations are so considerate to travellers not speaking Korean. When the train conductors walk through the carriages at intervals they always turn around and bow as they leave the carriage...ps the toilets were immaculate.

JeJu Island

2009-10-31T20:35:00.008+10:30

Early start today. We have a 10 day rail pass which we activated today. The system they use here for their transport is simple so we found our way to Mokpo at the southern tip of South Korea to catch a ferry over to the jewel of Korean travel. The train trip was free of hawkers, graffiti, animals of any description, as usually occurs in other Asian countries no yelling people. That was the most placid train journey we have taken. The country towns are still building huge apartment complexes 25 stories and more, rows and rows. While it is not the best solution it means that they leave valuable farming land alone to feed the millions. They are at the similar stage as far as sustainability I think. Today we went to our first supermarket..no bags for us to carry our goods. That’s great. Next, the ferry. Once we found the terminal we found that due to the typhoon the previous day there would be no ferry but to try the smaller fast ferry. .. aptly named the Pink Dolphin. It was all go, slightly more expensive but we were to cross in three hours to JeJu Island. The ferry was very small about third the size of KI ferry. It sure was a rock and rolling affair. We were amongst a handful of people not to throw up. I must admit it was good to see the island coming in to view after 4 hours.We saw our first English speaking tourists from Canada. Tourism mostly consists of Japanese and Chinese who come to South Korea to fish and golf and also to see the girls…or so it says in the guide books. The hotels are geared up for it though with condom vending machines..hotels named Love and Romance hire for one hour etc etc. It is a huge honeymoon spot so it is geared for that as well. It is great travelling off peak. The good hotels are the same price as hostels and have everything supplied and they are only W30,000 =$30. Seafood restaurants galore obviously because we were on an Island. It is very cheap. Raw fish dishes along with main meal and all the extras were W12,000=$12 for both of us. We are finding it about half of what we budgeted for… so kids a bit more of your inheritance is spared. We were shown around the island by friends of friends of Shon. How great are these people it certainly has made life easier here. Kim and Joe and their 4 year old dropped everything to take us around half the island to Seogwipo stopping at various special landmarks. It was one of those great days that you have unexpectedly. Seat belts are not a priority here. The lad would not sit in the back so she put him on her lap in the front.. no seatbelt hmm. They don’t have to use them in the back at all. Kim and Joe offered to take our luggage back to Je Ju city so we took the bare essentials to free us up to do some hiking. We caught a local bus to Mt Halla-san to see the autumn colours and sat people watching and enjoying the serenity. We had some food with us and had a picnic at the base of the mountain Korean style. No seagulls to join us only crows and pigeons. The crows were huge with huge beaks. No flies either just big beetles like lady bugs but bigger. They were flying around there and at The DMZ site. Never seen anything like it. The drive through to Je Ju city was wonderful the driver being very careful with his cargo of people..no CHICKEN BUSES here. Off to catch the ferry over night to Busan. Kim and Joe dropped off the backpacks before we went. We were grateful for that. It certainly freed us up. The ferry trip is 11 hours hopefully it is not as bumpy as we are sleeping in a room with 8 strangers. We will see. A huge thankyou to Kim and Joe for their generosity of time and their great English.

DMZ

2009-10-31T20:35:00.007+10:30

At the very last minute Kwan and his son John (English equivalent) met us and decided to take us to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. It is a relatively new tourist complex and is proving quite popular with the locals. It was a high security train trip to the station and no photos were allowed, but because Nick could not read Korean it was only the approach of several army personnel that convinced him to lower the camera. We visited Tunnel 3 which was the 3rd tunnel discovered under the No Man’s Land. It was only discovered in the 1990s and is one of 5 tunnels so far discovered through which the South fears that the North will attack Seoul as there is no real agreed peace between the two countries. The tunnel was about 2 metres high and 2 metres wide and about 130 metres below the ground. We were only allowed to travel along it for about 300 metres. The north had painted the inside black and left bits of coal around saying that in reality it was an abandoned coal mine. The walk down was quite strenuous but certainly not as claustrophobic as The cu chi tunnels in Vietnam or under the pyramids. At least I am overcoming my phobia. It was interesting but felt they skimmed over the history and it was all a bit vague. Back in Seoul we managed to find coffee places, street food franchises by that I mean take offs of Mc Donalds Starbucks etc. We always make a promise to ourselves that we will eat local food as much as we can. Dolsot Bibimbap is my favourite Korean food it’s in a hot pot spicy and tasty.

South Korea and Japan Our Next Adventure

2009-10-28T12:21:00.004+10:30

Firstly the reason for travelling to this part of the world. We belong to an organization called Couch Surfers…it caters for travellers around the world to experience home life and the culture and food of the people in that country. It is a fantastic way to make new friends. In May this year we hosted a couple Yonghee from South Korea and Kosei from Japan. They certainly made an impact on us and our family. They stayed for a week searching out places for study next year then they travelled to Melbourne to stay with other CSers. Earlier this year we received an invite to attend their wedding in Seoul and then in Japan . Now we are here in Seoul. Our first impressions are of a very helpful and friendly people. We had our first bibimbap on the plane as we flew Korean Air. It arrived with a dish of rice and a bowl of finely sliced vegetables placed neatly around the edge of a bowl. There was a tube of red curry paste and a sachet of sesame oil as well…and a bowl of seaweed soup. The attendant gave us a leaflet to explain how to eat this very traditional dish. Basically you mix everything in the bowl together a bit like fried rice and drink the soup. It was a different experience. Every meal we have had has been very different even though the concept is the same. You never know what extras you will get like fried fish and fried calamari and you never pay for it. The Koreans eat a lot of vegetables mixed with a lot of chilli. They are a healthy race mostly…though western food is creeping in to their diets especially the younger ones. They are eating a lot more beef and pork as well which is not good for their metabolism or for the environment. Our first couple of nights were booked in a hostel near to Insadong and to train stations so we were all org with the next two nights to stay with cousins of Shon another CSer who stayed with us this year as well. Our accom was with Holiday In Korea and was a stark contrast to the night before at the holiday Inn at the Melbourne Airport where they had a pillow menu to choose from. The Korean Hostel had what sounded like lolly wrappers in Nick’s pillow ….we have since found out it is rice husks. It made for interesting nights every time he moved. They have nearly all their heating in Korea under the floor. The first night we stayed there we could not believe how hot it was when we touched the floor. Certainly the way to go. They have been doing that from centuries ago as we found out when we visited one of the palaces of the king. With open fires to do the cooking and the heat being funnelled through under the floor. Waste not, want not.

Sightseeing with friends
Our first few days in Seoul have been taken up with being shown around and being fed by Yonghee and Kosei and then the next couple of days by Hwang. our most memorable meal was in a very traditional eating house and had the best hot pot. It certainly helps to have someone to show you how to use the subway which is easy when you have been shown. It is a huge city of 10 million people so the public transport needs to be able to get people around efficiently and it certainly does that. This place would be a great intro in to Asian culture for most and particularly for kids. It is a very peaceful city considering people are courteous, don’t stare and help you always. The food itself is fantastic and of course that is always the best reason for travelling. We have been in a traditional village and the main palace been up to the Seoul tower where we were lucky to experience a show of military and combat while we were there. There are thousands and thousands of locks and padlocks with messages of love attached that have been placed at the bottom of the tower..never seen anything like it. I bought a belt made in Korea and the man cut it to the right size to fit. I will treasure that belt. The next two nights were going to be spent elsewhere when we found out their children had contracted H1N1. We tried for hours on line and over the phone to find accom in Seoul in vain and went to bed not knowing where we were going to sleep. Next morning I asked again at our hostel if they had a room and would you believe our luck they had a cancellation at the last minute and we could stay in our room as well..talk about karma.
The season is autumn and is a delight to behold. The weather is awesome. We are usually lucky to have great weather when we travel. T-shirts and jeans even at night. Tonight is the wedding… the reason we came.

The Wedding
With great anticipation we left the Hostel with only 45 mins to travel the subway all dressed up in my uncomfortable shoes ..up and down stairs. We made it just in time for the ceremony. We were greeted at the door of the wedding room on the 22nd. Floor of the Seoul Plaza by Yonghee and soon to be husband Kosei. Nick and I felt overwhelmed to see them so happy. A few tears were shed. She looked divine in traditional dress and he in a suit. There was a bit of conjecture as to what he should wear. He wanted to wear traditional Korean but as he is Japanese his father did not approve of him doing so .They had photos taken earlier in the day with him in typically Korean dress for a wedding. The ceremony was very short and sweet at the reception in front of us while we sat at our tables. Both fathers gave a speech in their own language and they were both interpreted in each other’s language. They exchanged rings ..no attendants just them. So uncomplicated and sweet. The tables were wonderfully decorated with silver service and great wine. The people on our table all spoke English in varying degrees. They were cousins of the bride. The other couple to our surprise were the CSers from Melbourne that they stayed with as well…that was a huge surprise as neither of us knew the others flew over for the wedding. They were fantastic company over with coffee. The wedding was over in 2 hours. We wished it was longer. We felt very surreal being there as did the others. We also feel blessed to be asked to share in their special day. They will be married in Japan in December. We met both sides of the family and have been invited to stay with them when we go to Japan next time. We are also going to see one of Yonghee’s cousins in Pohang in a few days. The families of both were wonderful to us..very friendly curious and grateful to us for looking after them in Australia. Particularly as they are coming back to Adelaide next July to study. It was an experience we will never forget.

Peter Yacoumis

2009-05-18T15:00:00.000+09:30

I was fortunate 36 years ago to meet Nick Yacoumis and fall in love with him. Then I met his family and again I fell in love with them. When Nick's dad died last week I had the privilege to write and deliver his eulogy at his funerel. The day itself was a balmy sunny Autumn day . I was not sure whether I would make it through without breaking down so I had a couple of contingency plans ..one of them being Bethany our 8 year old grand daughter ,Peters great grand daughter who volunteered to read it. I somehow don't think she would have been able to do it as she was the most distressed of all the kids . As I stood up to walk to the lecturn I realised the enormity of what I was doing. There was a large attendance. As I looked up to start speaking, from some where I received a feeling of calm and peace and was able to talk and chat about Peters life on this earth. I was so proud of all the grandchildren as they were very respectful of the occasion. We are all going to miss him for a lot of different reasons but there is a little bit of him in his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and his great,great grand daughter. Mostly, the man I married is the epitomy of his dad. What a legacy he has left to this world. The Funeral Director Mike commented to us on the day we organised his service and after the funeral what a great feeling he had helping us organise the celebration. Dad did not particularly like flowers so we brought Olive branches from his trees, some tomatoes from his garden and almonds from his trees that he had cracked. These were all placed on his coffin. We also had Chocolate frogs for all. He was named Grandpa Frog by Ella so she could decide which grandpa we were talking about. He was named that because he would give the grand children a chocolate frog when they came to visit. I have also posted a copy of the eulogy if you want to peruse.We are so happy Dad was home and independant until the end. Still driving, playing bingo and cards the week before he went into hospital. No wonder he had a smile on his face.
29/01/29 – 11/05/09

Dads Eulogy

2009-05-18T14:56:00.000+09:30

Peter Yacoumis, let’s celebrate his life.
My name is Gabrielle and I have been married to Nick, Peter’s eldest son for 35 years. Dad was 80 in January and we celebrated with a surprise family gathering. There are a lot of people here that were at that celebration and were happy to share that time with him. 80 years is an incredible amount of years to live.
Dad started his life in Chios in 1929; he immigrated with his family in 1939 at the start of World War II. Not long ago we were talking with Dad of the sea voyage out to Australia from Athens. He said all the children had the run of the ship; they would help set the dining room tables and could have all the broken biscuits that were there, he said they became experts at breaking biscuits. During the voyage a German warship circled them and decided to let them pass, the next ship that left from Athens to Australia didn’t make it. It must have been an incredible time, as their mother travelled with her mother and his three brothers, Michael, John and Nick. His dad came out to Australia months earlier, they settled in Waymouth St Adelaide.
The family owned the Golden Sun bakery and delivered bread by horse and cart. Later when dad grew up, he met mum and courted her by riding his pushbike from Adelaide to Inman Valley (near Victor Harbour) to see her, that is a round trip of 170 kms. No gears on the bike in those days to get him up Willunga hill. They married in 1950 and had 4 children within 8 years - Marilyn, Nick, Dianne and David. They moved to Maylands later and that was about the time that Nick recalls their life. They then moved to Parafield living in a shed and working glasshouses, they put down foundations for their home and were told not to put up power lines because of low flying aircraft, and now of course it’s totally built up all through there.
So they moved to Rosewater and owned a mixed deli, Nick remembers early mornings going to the markets for produce. They then moved to Angle Vale in 1960, it was a long trip in those days in their 1929 Chevrolet with Uncle Mick and his Chevrolet truck – no sealed roads then. Again they had a market garden and glasshouses. They all moved in to the old farmhouse which is still standing today. Just. 4 adults and 7 children living together in the divided house. The funny thing is that we did the same thing with Nick’s brother David who married my sister, Julie, and their 2 children Paul and Lee, and our three children, Rachel, Nicole and Adam.
Dad was a hard worker and always seemed to have two jobs at once, always the glasshouses and travelling all the way to Chryslers at Tonsley Park, Jon fruits, Simpson Pope and Horwood Bagshaw for the afternoon shift. He developed a love of fishing with mum; they would pack tomatoes on weekend mornings, deliver to Virginia, visit mum’s parents and dad’s parents and then head off to the jetties. That is where Nick and David developed their love of fishing. We all used to go often, with the kids sleeping overnight on the jetties. How many fish did we all catch!? No wonder the oceans are fished out!
My first memory of dad was on a jetty, that was where I was introduced to them. I loved them immediately and always thought of them as mum and dad. After finishing his working life in his early 50s, they fished as often as possible, and would always be off to St Kilda or Pt Giles for a feed of mullet. Mum and dad loved their Bingo and would go several times a week. Marilyn said the funny thing is dad said they went too often, it cost too much money yet after mum died in 2003 he actually went more often. We never had a birthday celebration that would clash with bingo. He kept going to bingo, no matter what. The times he couldn’t go due to ill health, we would be sure to receive a phone call from concerned people that sat with him at bingo. The crowd from Bingo signed a get well card to dad when he was in hospital; one of the messages was from a 14 year old girl that adored him, as they all did. He was like that. That girl’s mother, Sue came to the hospital to drop off the card.
The girls at my work, where he came to visit, often bringing produce from his garden, all loved him too. It seems to me, after chatting to family and friends over the last few days, that he was loved and liked by all. He was a strict, but fair father and grandfather. Vanessa remembers ‘no eating or drinking in the lounge or while watching TV’ We all got together every Sunday for a BBQ or roast, we expanded to two big tables – grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins – always lots of food, followed by huge bowlfuls of ice-cream and stewed fruit from their trees. We will miss his produce, he managed still at the end to grow the best tomatoes (one of the last things he said was ‘don’t forget to water the tomato plants, and you can pick some too’) fantastic olives for that delicious olive oil and let’s not forget the almonds.
Several of the grandchildren have fond memories of sitting next to dad on the seat cracking almonds. When we picked fruit we were only allowed to take what we needed, we needed to leave some for ‘others’ even if the tree was overloaded. Nick said, and I quote ‘Dad was a beautiful person with never an angry word, except when they set fire to the thatched roof shed that housed the tractor etc’ after that they had to weed around the house for a long time. Nick said he never heard him swear, he didn’t complain about his health until the last few weeks. His arthritis worsened and interfered with his fishing, yet he went out fishing to St Kilda the week before he went in to hospital. In the last few months, as his doctor and hospital visits increased, everyone that treated him commented on what a lovely person he was.
We will remember the Greek picnics at Victor Harbour, Greek weddings, our holidays together, Guy Fawkes and bonfires. Nicole said ‘I can’t imagine how many candles on birthday cakes he witnessed being blown out’. We also will remember card nights, Canasta, Joker, Rummekin. He was still playing cards with John, Nick and Sally until he went to hospital. I am sure they will treasure those nights forever. I remember playing Canasta and joking around with Mum and Julie and being told off by dad for not concentrating or playing sensibly. We will remember picking olives, particularly last season, when we had a weekend with our family, their kids and Marilyn’s friends, and we will do that again this year for the last time. We will remember cracking almonds, crabbing at St Kilda. We will remember him in the corner reading a book, a newspaper, a magazine, anything and everywhere – even our kids Dolly magazines.
We will remember him sitting at the kitchen table, making cups of tea, serving us sultana cake and Arnotts cream biscuits. Someone sent me a text message saying he was an honourable man ... that he was. He achieved such a long life, with a fantastic no nonsense attitude to life, hard working ethics, healthy eating and lots of exercise. He was patient with his grandchildren, all 12 of them and then his 17 great-grandchildren, and also his great-great granddaughter, what an achievement. He was named Grandpa Frog by our grandchildren, because when they came to visit, he would give them a chocolate frog.
He managed to stay at home, right to the end, independent as always, thanks to David for watching over him. The great thing about living a long time is the sameness about that person and his life. That is what we will miss.
29/01/29 – 11/05/09

Japan ...here we come

2009-03-09T09:41:00.002+10:30

Last week Nick booked a 4week adventure for the two of us to Japan. This will be to celebrate 35 years together on 23rd of March. We are leaving Australia on 19 th. May and returning on 17th. June. We havent travelled overseas for 2 years and boy do we have itchy feet. We managed to get a great special flying Jet Star from Gold Coast to Osaka and return for the both of us for only $880 including taxes... too good to pass up. We will be couch surfing and global free loading and hopefully staying with friends of people we know. So with 10 weeks to go we are so excited and are starting to plan ...that is sometimes the best part of travelling. Yahoo!!!! Bring on Tokyo, Kyoto for the Geishas, mountains, streams , gardens, crazy people , high tech gizmos, onsens, hiking,cycling, Mt. Fuji, cherry blossoms if we are lucky and are prepared to go to the northernmost tip of Japan., There is so much to see and experience with such a differing culture and food it is soooo exciting. Can't wait

Home coming Two weeks

2008-09-09T11:11:00.002+09:30

The countdown is on. Two weeks to go . Thats 14 sleeps. It is so exciting for us back home. To think two years have gone in the blink of an eye. We are all going to want to see them as much as possible. For them it will be very overwhelming I am sure. To be faced with life again in the real world will be amazing. All I know is we can't wait and I am sure I am speaking for Evas parents and brother also. Roll on those two weeks for us...how selfish is that.

photos

2008-08-24T07:39:00.035+09:30

Ryan at the Book Week parade... impressed the principal she took his photo. It was a dare carried out with aplomb

Our new playground

Papas lovely pair of broccoli

Rachel and her "echidna" icecream cake

our new status symbol.. thanks guys for all your help with cementing and your strength

Ella is 6

Lucy is already one...how did that happen

Thanks guys for our Christmas present .We had a fantastic weekend in the hills

A trip to the circus...how lucky are we to be able to take the kids to the circus.

Christmas in July at the Yacht Club ...Sue [Evas mum] looks like she had too much mulled wine. She didn't. It was great to spend time with Chris as well

The whole family went to the Rec Centre for the Roller skating.

Home coming

2008-08-24T07:16:00.003+09:30

Eva and Adam are coming home in 3 weeks. Yahoo! Yahoo! Yahoo! Poor old Rufus, he is need of a good brushing. Only Eva can do that, and it has been 2 years. They finally will get to meet their youngest niece Lucy who will be 15 months old then. Nicole can finally celebrate her 30th. She is about to turn 32 along with Adam who is also 30 now. So much has happened in the two years since they left to travel and work overseas. Because of blogger we have all managed to stay in touch and they have been able to see first hand their family changing and growing. The children have also seen many photos of them as well so they remember what they look like. Eva's parents will be hanging out to see them as will Chris her brother. Adam's sisters are so excited that they will get to see their brother and their sister in law again. It will be so weird for us to have them back in the fold. It will be even weirder for them to come home to this country after so long away. To come home to a normal life..I wonder if they will be off again soon. I know we would be if we had the chance. Either way if they are here for the long or the short term we welcome them back with so much joy. Can't wait for those hugs. They will miss Scotland and The George and they will be missed there as well I am sure, as they have worked and lived in the same place for nearly 2 years. But it is our turn. Come on those 3 weeks.

Our perfect grandchildren

2008-06-19T22:16:00.002+09:30

Nick and I have just had the best evening out. We were invited to a school play..you might think ho hum.. it was fantastic. The Gawler East Primary are blessed to have a wonderful and talented Arts and Drama teacher. Somehow he pulled together a performance of some 240 kids for a very memorable play called A MidWinters dream. The music was haunting , the costumes extraordinary and the dance disciplines were so inspiring. These children were between 7 and I think 11 and 12. It was very emotional to see the the kids having a ball. Talk about teamwork . Bethany was a harlequin and was in one of the dance scenes. We were seated on the other side to where Bethany was performing so we couldn't see her personally. It was beautiful to watch and very colourful. Ryan was a principal drummer..yes drummer. Until the auditions he had never played before but was selected. he was seriously brilliant. Now I know we might be biased but I had many people come up to me at work today and after tonights event raving about his performance. They had three performances all up. It was fantastic to see his dedication. He really is a great and natural musician. He plays piano as well.Well done kids. It is late now . I will post some photos and video later.

Sophie is 3

2008-06-18T14:01:00.012+09:30

Sophie is three going on 10. A very clever little person.She is very confident in some ways such as her language skills and her place in her family as the youngest of four. She is very frightened of animals particulary our dog Rufus ....who is very aged he is waiting for Adam and Eva to come home before he goes to dog heaven... and Nicoles' cat Harry. The other day she said she only likes Lump... their cat that died a couple of years ago. She is so cute as all the grandkids are. She had a prolonged birthday which was great for her. It is fantastic going out for dinner with everyone as we did for her birthday. The chidren are so well behaved. The older ones helping with the younger ones. They all adore Lucy...nearly one and about to walk .

My baby

2008-05-18T21:00:00.002+09:30

Well, the time has come. Nick and I no longer have any children in their twenties. On 19 th. May Adam is going to turn thirty. How did that happen? I remember so clearly his birth. I remember only the good bits.. The best good bit is the day he met Eva. Even though you are off on your travels, I hope our love is coming through to you loud and clear. Have a 'wee' dram on us on your birthday. We will celebrate when you return. Nicole still hasn't turned 30 yet. She is still waiting for you to come home. Happy Birthday to you. xxxx from Mum and Dad. See you soon.

Jekyll and Hyde

2008-04-14T19:34:00.005+09:30

I found this gem from Bethany [7] written for Hannah[5] her sister. I don't think she gave it to her. Sometimes you shake your head in amazement at what comes out of kids heads not long after world war three was happening with the very same person. Love the blessing!Bethany is going through a very interesting time with me . She is testing me out constantly. Seeing how far she can push the boundaries. Very interesting times to say the least. It makes me think how it must be for grandparents taking on the parenting role full time. Maybe I need to go back to parenting school. Somehow I don't think much has changed since her Mum was her age. Never a dull moment. Love them all to bits. P.S. In case you can't read it . dear Hannah you are a good sister I bless you a fantastic life when you grow up. if you have any children I hope they are as helpful as you are. Love Bibby

Had to share this with you.

2008-03-31T19:54:00.007+10:30

please don't dribble on me

Not sure what pearls of wisdom Ryan is passing on to Lucy

Today I had a flat out day with grandkids and catering. I picked up Ryan, Bethany, Ella and Hannah from school and commenced to fly through the catering I had to deliver to Riverton. I was running an hour behind most of the day. I managed to cut up a pile of fruit for the kids and took it outside to the girls to see what they were up to. They had been coming in to ask some very odd questions . One of those questions was "What can we pick up a dead bird with?" and "We need some cardboard"They had been digging a hole with a garden trowel after they found a dead galah in the garden. They came in asking where they could find some flowers. I was intrigued but didn't have time to go see. Rachel came home to pick up the kids and went to see what was up in the back yard. She beckoned me to come and look. This is what we found. The bird was buried in a very shallow grave. The cardboard was used for the headstone . The flowers surrounded the grave and a "lemon"?Ella was walking around pretending to cry. It was so funny. The weird things kids do to amuse themselves. But you know that it is great to have them here and making their own fun. i love them dearly. Meanwhile Ryan kept asking if we had any Harry potter movies or games. He has read the entire series in literally days. It was a priceless day. Charlotte is recovering nicely from her tonsilectomy and her adenoids removal. Lucy is very happy to be looked after by us now which is great. We treasure every moment. Thanks for the loan of your kids.

HAPPY 5TH. BIRTHDAY HANNAH.

2008-03-31T19:42:00.002+10:30

The time has come at last for Hannah. She turned 5 0n last friday. She has been at school since the start of the year, soI felt she was already 5. She is still a young 5 but is doing so well at school. She is reading and writing and is certainly keeping up with even the year one kids. She is a reception student. Last week the school had an open night we were able to go and visit the kids classes. We have 4 grandchildren at the same school so we had to get our skates on. We were able to meet the teachers properly and look at their school books. It blew me away how well they are all doing. They are all respected by their teachers. It is the same as when our kids were at school. The flash backs we were having were incredible. They were all proud to show off their work even Ryan our nearly 10 year old. It is a fantastic school. They are lucky to be able to be there. We are proud of our kids and their children they are a credit to the school community. it was a buzz.

End of the heat wave

2008-03-21T21:10:00.003+10:30

It was Bethanys choice to have her 7th. birthday at our home. It was a glorious day. Sunny skies and only 22 degrees C today after suffering through 15 days of above 35. Thirteen days were above the old 100 degrees F. Rachel spent last weekend in Melbourne so we had the children for a few days, their Dad a couple and Nicole for odd nights and looking after Sophie for me. We had some unexpected visits to the hospital for my Dad to have some tests done.They are trying to find out what is wrong with his throat ,gullet etc. Long story . Hopefully it will have a good ending. It is unbelievable to think it is already Easter weekend. Eighteen months have flown by so fast since Adam and Eva have left to travel the world. We can't wait for them to return. it is hard to believe they havent met Lucy yet and she is already 9 months old. they will have the rest of thier life to get to know her.Lee and Paul have been gone a feww weeks already and are in Vietnam at the moment but soon to go to Japan.I can't imagine what julie is going through with both her kids gone for so long. We still manage every now and then to talk to Adam and/ or Eva every now and then. Thanks to Skype for the free calls. Happy Easter to all. Happy birthday to Bethany who is 7 but says she is 10.

Update of family photos

2008-03-21T19:57:00.017+10:30

Lee and Pauls Farewell

Happy Families

Megs and Paul showing the dental work they had done.

You would not have any idea how long it took to get everyone together in this photo

Three Little Pigs

Oh my god! They are leaving for how long?

Hot! Hot !Hot!

2008-03-11T08:59:00.003+10:30

Our longest heatwave in history or at least recorded history has happened today. Since Monday last week, that is 3rd. of March we have had 8 consecutive days over 35degrees. We will not see it dip below that for at least another week, except for overnight.It is amazing how you get used to it To conserve energy and maintain hydration is the go. We have had 12mm of rain in our city for the year. We are in a drought and our main River Murray is not flowing below Blanchetown.. You may wonder why I am blogging about the weather. I saw Adam and Eva are constantly having 5 and 6 degree days in Scotland and raining. It seems to go down to 2 or 3 every night. For those of you living in the northern hemisphere where you are having fierce storms believe me I would rather have what we are having. Ah well we are living through history making times as far as climate change seems to be occurring. I wonder if in years to come if our kids in their 30s now will look back on this time and laugh at the fact that the world is changing and out of control or is only a hiccup like the ice age we were supposedly going through in the 70s. We need to heed all the warnings of the scientists of the world and change our own habits and help others to be aware of what they can do to help. Look for the links on the side for Rachel and Nicoles blog and see what they have to say. They are better informed than I am.

Ah! Grandkids

2008-02-18T20:53:00.003+10:30

Mondays are my favourite day. It is the day I take Rachels 4 children to and from School, childcare etc. .Sometimes I also get to pick up Ella as well. Today was one of those days. Hannah and Ella are as thick as thieves at the moment. Coming home on way home from School the girls were having a conversation in the back seat it went like this and I quote " how did you learn to talk?" Answer" I learned to talk from the show the teletubbies" the answer to that was "so did I" Well I burst out laughing and so did Ryan. Anyone who has ever heard and seen that show would know that would not be how you learnt to talk. Nicole... Ella knows that you have been eating chocolate she looks in the bin to see what you have been eating. You know how I know. She told the woman in the book shop. Nothing is sacred. Just a tip from me put it in the green bin outside she is not tall enough to see in there. out of the mouth of babes. I love Mondays

Weddings

2008-02-16T20:22:00.002+10:30

We have had our fair share of catering over the last few months. February has been particularly busy. we have catered for 3 very different weddings . All have been in the country which is lovely. I felt I had to blog about todays though. We catered for 37 on a houseboat. He supplied the hot finger food ...he has a mate that works for Bidvest. They supply pre -made food. You know the kind... very salty very fatty and leaves a yuck taste in the mouth. We are food snobs I decided today. We are used to making our own food so we basically were the hired help to heat and serve this food. Well, people were asking us what things were and what was in it. Didn't really enjoy that part of it. We have standards we are proud of. We supplied and served a few platters of our own prepared cold finger food. The house boat wedding was great. They married on the banks of the river. It was very pretty though very hot it reached at least 36 in Gawler. As we started to prepare the food for the platters all of a sudden I started to feel very sick. We were moored at the edge of the river and every time a jetski or speed boat flew fast the boat rocked.. not violently very gently that was the problem. . I held it together just but everytime I put my head down to do something that feeling overcame me. It really was very casual and they only celebrated with their best friends and family the way it should be.The photo I have supplied is the gift they gave to their guests and to us. Say no more.

Christmas Videos

2008-01-13T21:20:00.000+10:30

Christmas at Rosalies

Boxing Day