TravelStream™ news feed for member mcnamaras on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mcnamaras en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:11:01 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1182839040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1182839040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1182839040/tpod.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:11:01 -0500 The McNamara family, minus Ali and Oscar,take on Mediterranean Europe from May 6 to July 8,2007

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Canakkale, Turkey

Sunday 24th June Today was dedicated to travel for the 6 hour drive north from Selcuk up to Canakkale. We travelled by mini-bus with 3 other Aussie couples. This journey was punctuated midway with a stop at the ancient site of Pergamum, now Bergama, a visit that I had been keen to make. The other couples were not interested in this tour so were dropped off in Bergama in the 45 degree heat for two hours and then taken to the Acropolis for our tour followed by a lovely, catered lunch at a local restaurant. I felt rather guilty by this stage as it seemed the whole trip was being organised around our family needs. Anyway, that's how it was. Pergamum was a powerful kingdom back in the 3rd century BC. It was here that 'parchment' was developed, a corruption of the name of the city. This was developed out of necessity when the Egyptians refused to trade any more papyrus. From parchment came the first known books. These were merely bundles of parchment as these types of pages did not roll into scrolls as easily as papyrus. There is not a lot left at this ancient site as most of it was removed by German archeologists who were the initial team to excavate this site. The spectacular 'Altar of Zeus' can be seen today at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, along with many other artifacts from the site. Our visit to this Acropolis was a challenge as the temperature was up in the mid forties so we did not dwell for too long here.  In fact, I was worried Tom was going to melt in the heat given his porr volume to surface area ratio for such conditions so we finished the tour earlier than planned! We eventually arrived into Canakkale at about 6pm and were shown to our hotel. The other couples were shown to their backpacker digs around the corner. We settled in, sorted out air-con issues and went for a stroll along the harbour before going back to the backpacker hostel to watch a new ANZAC documentary and Mel Gibson's 'Gallipoli'. This was to put us in the mood for our tour of Gallipoli the next day. Unfortunately, it upset Tom so much that he and I left early and went back to our hotel. On the walk back he asked me in a very sad voice 'Mum, who invented war? It's really stupid'. From the mouths of babes.  What does one say to that? Monday 25th June Breakfast for all, even those at the hostel, was in the restaurant of our hotel located on the wharf  which looked out over the small but busy harbour. It was there that we heard the tales of woe from those staying at the backpacker hotel. Many of the rooms had no windows, all were stifling hot and, there was no hot water for showers when they woke this morning. More guilt hit at this stage considering our family had endured a chilly night with the air-con and needed blankets and, we had all just emerged from hot showers. Needless to say..... we kept quiet! Anyway, we all eventually set off for our morning tour of Troy. This was great for Annabelle and I as we had just finished reading the book 'Troy'. It was amazing to view walls dating back 5,500 years and to see the main entrance gates to the ancient famed city and to wonder if we were treading the same path that Helen and Paris had once taken! From the Trojan War we moved on to WW1. Our afternoon was spent out on the Gallipoli peninsula, a 15 minute ferry ride across the Dardanelles from Canakkale. The Dardanelles were named in honour of Prince Paris' grandfather, King Dardanos, who initially settled in the Troy area establishing the first community there. Our first Gallipoli stop was at Brighton Beach where the fateful Anzacs were supposed to have landed; a broad beach with gentle dunes providing access that would have enabled them to rise and capture the desired high ground quickly. Unfortunately they landed at the wrong beach, just 1 mile further north, now famously known as Anzac Cove. We stopped here and visited some grave sites just to the south of Anzac Cove. It was a truly disturbing and upsetting experience. Tom shadowed me without uttering a word the whole time. Everyone walked in silence amongst the head stones reading the names of the many people, mostly young, who had lost their lives in such tragic circumstances. We saw the headstone for John Simpson, the brave soldier of folklore with the donkey. From there it was on to observe the landscape of the battle area which was surprisingly small for such an enduring and lengthy battle fought by so many. We walked through the trenches belonging to both sides which were only a few feet apart in some places. It was quite surreal to be taking such a peaceful stroll along paths where such a bloody battle had occurred. You could not help but feel gratitude for the deeds of these men but, also, guilt that we were enjoying a freedom today that they were robbed of. This was marked appropriately with a stop at the Australian memorial of 'Lone Pine' where we saw the memorial to the youngest soldier of the battlefields, James Martin. James was only 14 years old and had lied about his age to help defend his country. This bravery and the fact he was so close in age to Tom was not lost on our boy that day. One of the most powerful moments of the day was at our last stop though, the highest point on the Gallipoli peninsula. This is the place that the Allies were trying to secure but that the Turks managed to hold.  It is now the site of the NZ memorial. We had been joined at many of our stops throughout the day by a bus load of 16yr old school boys from Wellington College, NZ. There were about 50 of them on a French and History study tour, all well behaved and dressed in their black polo school top with black shorts. They just so happened to be at the NZ memorial when we arrived. We got off our bus to see all of the boys assembled in silence in front of the imposing limestone monument preparing to do the Hakka. It was an amazing sight to see these impressive boys assembled so reverently and draped in a glow from a gently setting sun.  It was a spine tingling moment and one that we will never forget. Everyone, Turk and tourist, watched on as the boys gave a most rousing, passionate and powerful performance of this age old ritual. It brought tears to almost all who were watching.  Annabelle and I heard a young American guy comment 'gee, that's pretty scary stuff and they're only 16.  I'd hate to see grown men do that'.  A fitting comment.We left all of the friends that we had made over the last day and a half as they ventured on for a late night transfer to Istanbul. We stayed in Eceabat for the night, the main town on the Gallipoli peninsula, choosing the safety of a day time rather than night time transfer given the state of the driving we have seen so far!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1179537180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1179537180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/europe_2007/1179537180/tpod.html Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:19:08 -0400 The McNamara family, minus Ali and Oscar,take on Mediterranean Europe from May 6 to July 8,2007

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Marrakech, Morocco

Friday 18th May Our first full day in Marrakech was interesting. Mark and I woke to the sunrise call to prayer, a haunting yet comforting sound that filled the Medina. The sun was scorching by breakfast at 8.30 up on the roof-top terrace so we realised we would have to spend at least the middle part of the day at home. It was reassuring to see a number of other Europeans at breakfast though - at least we were not alone, which was our main concern on arrival the night before. We were still anxious about venturing into the maze of derbs though but some English girls put our minds to rest. They told us that we should expect to get lost but at least the locals are helpful and will guide us home, if even for a small fee. So feeling a bit more confident and armed with how to say 'no thank you' in Arabic, a phrase which was put to frequent use, we set out. We soon discovered that our Riad was in an ideal location; just a 10 min stroll north-west of the central square which life in the Medina evolves around, Djemma el-Fna. The Vegetable Markets were on the way to the square and were to be or first destination. This was an overly glamorous term though as it is simply an area where locals squat selling their produce from mats on the ground. Check out the photos. From there we strolled on through the souqs, more lanes of market stalls, towards the Spice Markets. The souqs varied from being humble and simple to the high-end type with international shipping potential. It was seventh heaven for me (Mary not Mark) as, although there was the usual array of junk, there were more shops selling beautifully carved and ornate doors and windows than I could ever possibly have hoped to see in the one area. All the souq owners could speak at least 3 languages- Arabic, French and English - and all knew the current exchange rate for any currency that you wished to offer them; even those souq owners with only a few remaining teeth! The Spice Markets were probably the most interesting of all though. This was an open courtyard surrounded by stalls where every spice and fragrance you could imagine was on sale. We sat down in the only "café" in the square for some excellent mint tea (we asked for the recipe but it seemed to be a closely guarded secret). We left that fragrant area and ventured into Djemma el-Fna. This is a much larger open square that is a constant hive of activity; restaurants, shops, hawkers, taxis, caleches (canopied horse drawn carts), snake-charmers, monkey trainers, street theatre acts and intimidated tourists...like us. We had the obligatory photo with the monkey which Mark paid too much for as they kept on hassling him for more pounds (if you speak English they think you come from England and they know the value of the pound!). We then decided to head home as the heat was amazing and we had had enough sensory over load for one morning. The locals were all very friendly with kind greetings and 'Welcome to Marrakech'. The irony that this was a developing country filled with civil folk, whereas we had just left two developed countries with rude folk, was not lost on me! We headed back to the Riad for a few hours of rest and a dip in the plunge pool. By 5pm it had cooled enough to venture out so we headed for the local Mosque but it was closed for a special service (Friday - der). We decided to just head back to the square for dinner, which we did slowly and with a bit of shopping. We also checked out the Club Med located just off the main square. We found this disappointing, just like any 4 star generic hotel, which made us realise how lucky we were to be experiencing the local charm of our Riad. From there we ventured to the safety of the roof terrace of one of the restaurants overlooking the square. We dined on the local fare of taijines and kebabs as we watched over the mayhem unfolding in the square below. Daytime was bad enough but apparently the place really 'heats up' at night...scary stuff! We wandered home after a bit more shopping (Annabelle) and finished with a glass of wine sitting downstairs in the courtyard. We were all very tired but pleased with having survived our first day unscathed in Marrakech and, with finding our own way home each time we ventured out!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247987447/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247987447/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247987447/tpod.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:15:22 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Our flight home took the best part of a day.  Hoi An to Hanoi, Hanoi to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Sydney.We arrived in at about midday to a clear and sunny day. Glad to be home but had a great trip.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247468987/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247468987/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247468987/tpod.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:13:31 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hue, Vietnam

Monday 13th JulyOur flight to Hue left at 11am and we were not being collected from our hotel until 8.30am so I headed out for one last wander around the Hoan Kiem Lake at 6.30am. The scene at that hour is a fascinating mix of people bustling off to work, motor bike, 'cyclos' and a vast exercise crowd ranging from the middle aged to elderly all doing their weird interpretation of ‘The Macarena’.   Our driver eventually collected us and we set off for the airport with a detour via our travel office to collect the modest refund for our aborted Junk cruise.  We had the same whacky young kid driver who collected us on our first day in Hanoi, with the same whacky music blaring for the hour long trip.  It was kind of a Vietnamese attempt at the Eurovision Song Contest with a repetitive style and a distressing beat.  Add that to the traffic, his poor driving and incessant horn-honking and…we were all glad to see the airport looming across the rice paddies.We arrived in to Hue at about noon and were pleased to see that weather here was sunny, although much more humid.  Our hotel, La Residence, was a beautifully restored boutique hotel having been a Governor’s residence in a previous life.  It is located on the Perfume River running through the main part of Hue and thus has spectacular views from most rooms, the restaurant and the pool area.  Our room was nice and large and well able to accommodate us with our entire luggage.  (Room 307) We ventured down to the restaurant for lunch before heading to the pool to cool off during the afternoon heat.  Later on we walked in to the main small town, about 2km down the road and paid a visit to the hotel that I didn’t end up booking, The Imperial.  We decided our hotel was a much better option although the bar on the 16th floor, where we had a drink, had spectacular views over the town and up and down the Perfume River.  We wandered along the river a bit further and found a place to have dinner before heading back to the hotel for the obligatory Pool challenge between Mark and Tom.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1246760385/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1246760385/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1246760385/tpod.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:12:31 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Saturday 4th JulyWe arrived into Hanoi at about 7pm on Saturday 4th July. We were told by our Tonkin Travel guide to look for a driver holding a card that stated our name.  Sure enough, a Tonkin guide holding a card with 'YOUR NAME' in bold was waiting for us.  He could not quite get that we were the McNamara family destined for the Hanoi Hilton and not the ‘Your Name’ family.  So started our journey!The 40 min trip into the Old Quarter where our hotel was to be found was most interesting.  Mark was convinced we were going in circles so crazy was the route.  There are lane lines painted on the roads and highways but, I’m not sure if anyone ever bothered to tell the Vietnamese what they are for.  The whole trip was a quite modest competition between cars, trucks, bikes and pedestrians.  Note to self:  Make sure one is sober before attempting to cross a road in Vietnam.  You need all of your faculties about you!Many of the main roads were bordered by crude stone and concrete walls of about 6 foot height.  I observed that one pastime for the locals seemed to be mounting these walls and just watching the mayhem unfold on the roads below.   There clearly must be enough incidents to warrant this activity as the walls were quite busy.We eventually arrived to our hotel intact.  Our room was large with a separate sitting room (complete with enormous Plasma) and bedroom and was very comfortable.  We had access to the Executive Suite so went up there before bed for a drink and snack whilst watching Serena vs Venus in the Wimbledon Final.  (Hotel:  Hilton Hanoi Opera  Room 601).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247906478/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247906478/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247906478/tpod.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 04:42:28 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Saturday 18th July: Our last day in Hoi An and last day in Vietnam.Our last day was fairly uneventful. Mark and I went for one last walk along the beach followed by a quick swim before breakfast.  We then headed back to the beach before we had to check out at 12 noon.   Our transport to the airport wasn't booked until 2.30pm so we killed the time with a massage.  Mark is still red and sun burnt so he had to opt for the Swedish massage.  I foolishly endured a Balinese massage, unlike any massage I have ever had in Bali though.  We had the same driver to the airport as on the way down from Hue.  His cold had improved but his driving hadn’t.  He uses his hazard lights any time he drives through an intersection!  We are now waiting in Danang airport waiting for our flight to Hanoi. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247641810/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247641810/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247641810/tpod.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:16:07 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An: Wed 15th JulyI am writing this entry from our bungalow located right on the sand of Cua Dai beach with spectacular views out over the South China Sea. It is about 4pm and less humid and hot here than Hue.  We had a late lunch and now I am back lying on the bed with my laptop and looking out the window towards the gentle surf where Mark and Tom are playing football.  There are some beautiful limestone island on the horizon out past where the boys are swimming.  This is one magic view.  Also, it is quiet and peaceful; something rare for Vietnam compared to the usual assault on ones aural sensory system. The sprawling Victoria Hotel is a lovely place to stay whilst in the Hoi An area.  Tom is in high spirits as he has already found the Pool tables and has been sharpening his game.We arrived here at about 2pm following a 3 hr drive from Hue earlier today.  Our day started though with an early (8am) visit to Dong Ba Market.  That was not a good move for me. I wasn't feeling that well and so another dose of 'wet-markets’, complete with freshly butchered animals souring the heavy and humid air, was probably not a wise choice of activity for me.  Hence we didn’t last there long.  So, it was then back to the hotel to prepare to check out and move on to Hoi An.Our hotel is about 5 km from Hoi An Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  There is a shuttle service between the hotel and the Old Town so we caught the 6pm service in to town to check it out.  We had inflated expectations given its Heritage status though.  What a disappointment this first trip was.   Think to yourself ‘side show hawking at the Easter Show, Vietnamese style, and lots of Shire types wandering the streets’ and…you have Hoi An as we saw it that night.  It was just shop after shop after shop….all boasting bargains in USD.  Mark ended up ordering some pants but was annoyed by the whole experience.  We left the tailor, had a drink at a bar and then caught the shuttle back to the hotel.  I must admit that I preferred the natural simplicity of sitting on the beach at our hotel to exploring the Old Town but, we are going to give it another go tomorrow and try the Lonely Planet walking tour.  Our room at Victoria: 305.  To come back: room 305 and 306
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247811740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247811740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247811740/tpod.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:13:55 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Friday 17th JulyCooking class this morning.  An early start: 8.30 - 1pm.  Was great.  More later.  Check out the photos.The Red Bridge Cooking Class and tour was on our agenda this morning.  This started with a walk through the local wet markets where our guide/chef, Phi, pointed out some of the more interesting food items.  From the markets we walked back along the river and boarded a boat.  We travelled east towards the coast for about 20 minutes, taking in all of the local sights, until we reached the open air cooking school.  Phi showed around their herb garden and then, following a welcome drink, we assembled in the outdoor cooking area.  Another chef, didn't get his name, took us through the cooking demonstrations.  We were given copies of recipes, he demonstrated a few and, after each demo, we would then get up and prepare the same dish.  We would then sample our cooking.  Most of us struggled with the cucumber and tomato decorating though.  Our last dish was a vegetable clay pot dish we took up to their open air restaurant area to sample.  Some other dishes and drinks were also on offer as we sat back and chatted to the other guests on the tour.  It was a wonderful way to spend a morning in Hoi An.We decided against a boat trip back to Hoi An and opted for the taxi option back to our hotel.  It was a hot sunny day and we wanted to get down to the beach.  Later that day we caught the 6pm shuttle in to town so as to collect Mark's pants and to go for dinner.  We went to a great little resturant, Hoa Vang, located at 104 Bach Dang St, right on the river.  The food and view were great and this is one place we would definitely come back to.  If only we had mre time!  We have really come to enjoy our time staying at Hoi An and wish we had a couple of more days relaxing and exploring.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247724009/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247724009/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247724009/tpod.html Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:52:31 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Thursday 16th JulyThe weather on our first full day in Hoi An was clear and warm but a little overcast giving us some thankfull relief from the extreme heat.  Mark and I headed off for a walk along the beach before breakfast.  We planned to head in to the Old Town to do the walking tour by way of the 2pm shuttle so we spent the morning relaxing on the beach.  Mark and Tom played a bit of footy in the water and we all had a laugh trying to navigate what can only be described as a large, coconut-style raft in the shallows and over some waves.We have a far better impression of Hoi An Old Town after this afternoon's visit.  We had a light lunch and then enjoyed strolling the streets and visiting some of the key sites such as the Ceramic Museum, Tan Ky house, a privately owned traditional house located along the riverfront, the Japanese Covered Bridge and more local markets.  Mark had a final fitting for his pants and we did a little shopping as well.  The strangest part of our afternoon was bumping into John Eve’s parents (a friend from our Uni days) whilst strolling through the markets.  They are here as part of a 2 week trip around Vietnam.  Just shows…you are never safe!  We walked a lot today, thanks due in part to Mark’s orienteering skills, but enjoyed the challenge anyway.  Although it did remind me of an episode of Gilligan's Island where they eventually realised they kept passing the same coconut tree.  It was bit the same for us except the coconut tree was replaced by a certain shop that became quite familiar to me.  We survived the stress of 'mapping 101' and went on to have a nice evening meal at Café 96, a small 'hole in the wall' kind of place located along the riverfront.  Lots of character and peeling paint but, great food.  By the way, street numbering, although somewhat of a guide, is fairly redundant in Hoi An Old Town.  Get used to it!  From Café 96 we headed home for an early night as we have a cooking class starting at 8.30am tomorrow morning.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247651196/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247651196/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mcnamaras/4/1247651196/tpod.html Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:50:13 -0400 Mark, Mary and Tom are off to Vietnam

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Hue, Vietnam

Tuesday 14th July: HueWe woke to a quiet, hot, sunny and very humid morning. I went to the gym for a while and then caught up with the boys at the pool.  We basically hung around the hotel swimming and reading all morning.  This was not hard to do; with sunshine and views over the river and of the beautiful old colonial building that was our hotel.  We were preserving ourselves for the guided tour we were taking later in the afternoon.  It's not the heat that is so draining, although that is significant at around 35 C, but more so the humidity.  It is debilitating.Our guide collected us at 2pm. The boys were quite sun-burnt and Tom was not a happy camper.  Any way, it was only until 6pm so, off we set.  Our first stop was a 10min drive to the south west of the city to one of the ancient tombs of the Kings from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945).   Tu Duc was the 4th King and his mausoleum was set out on landscaped acres complete with many monuments, paved areas and beautiful lakes and streams. The poor guy had 104 wives and many concubines but unfortunately no children.  Luckily for him though, he commissioned the building of this tomb during his lifetime and thus was able to enjoy the serene space for many years before his death.From the tomb we went on to visit the ancient Citadel built in 1804, fortified home to the many Nguyen Kings.  The citadel is surrounded by 10km of red brick wall with 4 main gates and comes complete with mote, cannons, watch towers, halls and palaces and an inner Forbidden City style sanctum.  This site remained fairly unscathed by bombing during the American war but was ravaged by fire in some parts.  An extensive restoration program is underway though.Our last stop was to the Thien Mu Pagoda, 4km downstream and across from our hotel.  I now know that a Pagoda is reserved for the worship of Buddha only whereas Temples allow the worship of Buddha, family and just about any cause.  This particular Pagoda was home to about 40 monks ranging from as young as 7yrs old.  We were fortunate enough to see many of them relaxed and going about their normal routine; at worship, hanging around their living area and while they were dining.  Tom was particularly taken by quite a large group of Monks who were all about his age.  The younger Monks sleep without a mattress on a hard wooden base!We caught a river boat back to our hotel from the Pagoda; a trip of about 15 minutes.  The Perfume River is so named as it draws water from the mountains west of Hue and runs through areas previously supporting cinnamon and sandalwood plantations. We discovered that the couple running the boat lives on board with their daughter.  Their 'shower’ is the river and they have a small area set aside as a kitchen.  I asked about a toilet but our guide simply laughed.  I think I know why he no longer swims in the river as he did when he was a child.   This experience was cause for yet another guilty reminder of just how fortunate we all are living in Australia.  Once back at the hotel we headed straight to the pool to cool off whilst the sun was starting to set.  We dined at the hotel restaurant, Le Parfum, which was magnificent before the boys headed off for the obligatory game of pool.  I am pleased to advise the Tom now can beat Mark!
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