TravelStream™ news feed for member meganwadey on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/meganwadey en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:39:05 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1214070300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1214070300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1214070300/tpod.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:39:05 -0400 Canada & Europe: 2008

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Vienna, Austria

Salsberg & Vienna
Monday 4/8/08 - Wednesday 6/8/08

4/8: Through the forested landscape of southern Bavaria to the Austrian border and on to Salzburg. A pleasant stroll with your Local Guide takes you through the historic centre of Mozart's hometown. Admire exquisite MIRABELL GARDENS, the Great Festival Hall, ST. PETER'S CHURCHYARD, and the monumental Domplatz. Then browse in the shops of the charming Getreidegasse or visit the birthplace of the musical genius, if you wish. Afternoon drive along the Danube Valley to Vienna.
5/8: Morning sightseeing with a Local Guide features vistas of Prater Park with its Ferris wheel and the United Nations City on the Danube. Pass the State Opera House, the Jewish quarter, and stop at the Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Austrian Imperial family. Marvel at the impressive courtyards and famous Heldenplatz, and visit awesome ST. STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL. An optional excursion to Schonbrunn Palace is available. Tonight you may want to visit Grinzing for a taste of Heurigen and the merry wine village atmosphere.
6/8: Scenic Semmering Pass, stately Styrian crossroad towns, Carinthian lakes and resorts provide the ever-changing Alpine backdrop to today's journey through the loveliest parts of Austria "

Salzberg is beauiful this time of year, with a Music Festival and beautiful gardens. And if that's not enough, touring the city is like Walk-a-Long-a-Sound-Of-Music!

We had a lovely guide named Monica wearing the traditional dress known as diendal (spelling?) show us around her home town. Salzberg actually refers to the salt mines that made the city rich centuries ago, and buildings here tend to cluster in age groups some from the 17th century, some from the 12th, and still others from as long ago as the 7th century! The city of approximately 150 000 people is home to 123 churches including the baroque style 'Dom' and is the birthplace of Mozart and Christian Doppler (1803).

There is a pharmacy that has been operating for 350 years (it is so quaint inside but they ask no photos be taken) and also the oldest functioning monastery and oldest restaurant (since AD 803) in Europe! We walked through the Mirabell Gardens, the squares or plazas, saw the outside of the Festival Hall (which is where Edelweiss is performed in the Sound of Music), wandered through St Peter's Churchyard where Mozart's sister is buried and where the von Trapps hide from the Nazis, and learned about St Peter's two keys in statues of him. Afterwards we had a lovely wander through the streets where I looked in a bookshop, a toyshop, the pharmacy, and bought a couple of Mozart's balls (no, really) which are marzipan and chocolate and don't have the same connotations in German, apparently!

We headed to Vienna in time for a drive to Grinzing (Vienna Woods) with beautiful panoramic views over Vienna, and then on to dinner in a 'Heuringer' restaurant - one licenced to serve its own wine from the most recent season (traditionally when they ran out they had to close until next season's wine was ready). We ate some cold meats and cheese, then schnitzels, pork and sausages, followed by the most beautiful apple strudel and coffee, all washed down with the wine from the restaurant's vineyards, and accompanied by some musicians on violin and harpsicord playing traditional and guest music (including Waltzing Matilda when they heard Australians were on the tour).

Next morning I went chasing a photo shop again to transfer one of my four memory cards to DVD - no one can in Europe, so I just have to keep buying cards! Very inefficient, but it's better than the alternatives.

I wandered down to the station to work out the Vienna subway/underground. As with all subways in foreign languages, it's easy when you know how! Luckily there was a gentleman who spoke English and could help me out.

I suspect we're currently staying in a bit of a dodgy area of town, lots of Mitchell-type shops close by, and rumours of suitcases in hotel rooms being searched through during the day when their owners are away. However, luckily I've followed some good Mum-advice throughout the trip and never leave my suitcase unlocked when I'm away from the room. I haven't yet had problems (touch wood) and we check out tomorrow... fingers crossed that continues to hold!

However, we headed into town for a guided tour. From the bus window, we saw beautiful art nouveau metro stations, the Nashen (spelling?) market which in German means 'snacking between meals', Stadtpark, the Austrian Mint, and the Museum of Applied Art from the bus windows. We traversed the bridge over the Danube (and I honestly couldn't tell you if it was blue or green - my best answer is that it's both, which is confusing), and saw the UN building.

Vienna have a new metro/streetcar called the ULF (Ultra Low Floor) which means there's no steps from the platform. While it was built by Siemens, it was designed by Porsche, which makes it kind of a cousin to my car, right?

Then we went for a tour of the beautiful St Stephen's Church which has parts dating from different times due to disasters that befell the church and cash availability. We then took a quick walk along the side of the Hofburg Palace towards the Staatsoper (or Vienna Opera House).

Unfortunately the famed Spanish Riding School near there is currently on their summer holidays until September, but might just have to be something I return to see. :)

When we were left to our own devices, I took a seat at the famed "Sacher Hotel" - home of Sacher Torte, the delicious chocolate cake concoction. Of course I had to sample the fare!

Then I joined a tour of the Opera House, where I saw the Emperor's Tea Rooms, beautiful Intermission Halls (apparently a conductor became frustrated that attending the Opera was too much 'see and be seen' and not enough about the music, so invented the Intermission!), the massive backstage area (1800m2) as well as the theatre itself. Just amazing, with incredible acoustics.

I couldn't leave Vienna without having Vienna coffee, but the poor waitress looked blankly at me - they don't call it that here. So I ordered the equivalent and spent a lovely half-hour people watching and keeping cool in a coffee house called "The Central".

To conclude our stay in Vienna, our Tour Group went to a lovely restaurant with the most incredible wine cellar I have ever seen, before heading to Hofburg to see a Mozart and Strauss performance by an orchestra and opera singers. It was simply wonderful.

Tomorrow we head to Venice - can't wait! More soon...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1215090000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1215090000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meganwadey/3/1215090000/tpod.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:30:33 -0400 Canada & Europe: 2008

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Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Liechtenstein & Munich
Sunday 3/8/08

Tour: "Morning stop in Vaduz, capital of the pocket-sized Principality of Liechtenstein. Next is a panoramic drive through the Bavarian Alps, with picture stops at Mad King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle and the Passion Play town of Oberammergau. On arrival in Munich an orientation tour of major landmarks: Olympic Stadium, 305 metres (1,000-foot-high) Television Tower, and 17th-century Nymphenburg Palace. How about a stein of beer at the Hofbrauhaus tonight?"

Back in the coach today for a full-on day of driving - poor Pino! Luckily my high-school Italian is coming in handy and Pino and I joke like old friends. He's an incredible driver, he's been within centimetres of obstacles and completely sure he would make it (he was right), hairpin bends, cobblestone roads, etc., all this in a massive bus!

Despite Nik's (tour guide) assurances that Liechtenstein was just a toilet stop, I was actually really interested in seeing this principality. After my European Business unit at uni, I'm aware that Liechtenstein has more companies registered than citizens, and that post office boxes is a major industry! I ran as far as I could get within the allotted time towards the post office for a photo. Unfortunately I couldn't get that far, so instead I bought a post card from a small shop and raced back towards the coach. If you're only two minutes early you're already too late with this tour!

I was disappointed at the (lack of) time alloted to see 'Mad' King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle. It's a major Bavarian landmark and an incredible sight, and we only had an hour! The information desk at the base thought that an hour and 20 minutes would have got us up there and down again, without going inside, so we asked for an extra 20 minutes, but it could not be squeezed in. Apparently, the idea of this particular stop was that we were supposed to eat at the cafe furthest away from the castle, then browse the gift shop before getting back on the bus? Which is not my idea of visiting somewhere.

Kim and I decided we would give it our best shot. We bought bus tickets to the top but had to pull out because as the minutes ticked by, the chance of getting back in time turned from slim to none. So there was nothing for it but to run as far as we could up the mountain ourselves! (My calves are killing me now, but it was worth the try!) We got to the last checkpoint, and could see some of the outside, but didn't make it. We completely skipped lunch, but did make it back to the bus in time.

Next stop was at Geschenke, the site of the nine-yearly Passion Play (the next I think is 2011) performed ritually as thanks for sparing the town from the Black Plague.

Arriving in Munich that afternoon, we did a bus tour of the Nymphenberg Palace, built by a king for his queen upon presenting him with a male heir, and dedicated to Flora and her nymphs (I'm not really up-to-speed on my mythology, I'll have to learn more). Munich was also the site of the 1972 Olympics and associated murders, and also the BMW headquarters and museum. I would have loved more time to go in there and look around - it was a very futuristic looking building!

We paused at the Central Square to watch the Glokenspiel and mechanical dancers and jousting knights at 5pm. Then we paid 19 Euros for an 'optional excursion' that consisted of our Tour Guide to point us in the direction of a beer hall in Munich - probably not a good investment as beer halls in Munich are like grains of sand on a beach... there are plenty of them! We had 45 minutes to down a massive stein at Hofbräuhaus before being herded back on the coach.

Six of us - Mel, Matt, Gordon, Jarred and Kate - decided to skip the included dinner at the hotel and head back into town. We asked the hotel staff how to get there and it was actually surprisingly easy to get there given all the signage was in German!

We had more steins of beer, the saltiest and largest pretzels you have ever seen and a band playing music - fantastic! It was very hot in there too - must be great for business but hard on the poor waitresses who were carrying 8 or more of these steins at once (at over two kilos each!).

The tricky part came in returning back to the hotel. Key learnings - the subway is more complicated when:
a) there are more options for the lines the trains run on; and
b) you've had two steins.

I almost rolled an ankle too on a gutter I didn't see while trying to understand the German signage, but luckily saved that particular injury by falling. A grazed knee is far less inconvenient!

Eventually we made it back to the hotel for some short zzz before the next morning's early wake up call.

More soon...
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Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne
Friday 1/8/08 - Saturday 2/8/08

Tour: "1/8: On the Swiss border take your pictures of the thundering RHINE FALLS, then continue to picture-book Lucerne.
2/8: Admire Thorwaldsen's LION MONUMENT and the ornate patrician houses lining the cobbled streets of the Old Town, then cross the famous covered CHAPEL BRIDGE to the Jesuit Church. Afterwards, shop for Swiss watches and choose from our optional activities: climb a mountain by cable car, take a cruise on the fjord-like lake, or sign up for a folklore party with yodelling and alphorn blowing for a first-hand impression of Alpine merrymaking."

We arrived in Switzerland on Swiss Independence Day (dating from 1291 and associated with Wilhelm Tell) and were greeted with lots of families and fireworks around Lake Lucerne.

We saw the Sleeping Lion Monument, carved from the rockface to commemorate the Swiss soldiers who were ordered to lay down their arms and were then all killed by an angry mob.

Just before nightfall, we took an 'optional' excursion up Mount Pilatus (7000 feet) and were completely bowled over by the incredible mountains and views. We were very lucky as it was raining as we went up in an aerial tramway and gondola (very crowded), but the clouds obligingly cleared just before we were due to catch the cogwheel railway back down to Lucerne (descending by up to a 48 degree angle!).

Next morning, Alexis and I paired up to have a look at Lucerne. We walked along Lake Lucerne, looked obligingly in the gift shops, and saw the wooden Chapel Bridge with beautiful colourful Summer flowers along the outside and paintings underneath the eaves.

We met back up with the group for a Swiss Folklore Party, accompanied by real Swiss cheese fondue (!), sausages and a strawberry and apple icecream with merangue. The performers played some great music, and really got the crowd involved - I even played an alphorn! Then there was yodelling, flag throwing, bell playing and all round good fun.

Left to our own devices again in the afternoon, we looked more around the Old Town, I had an argument with a photo developing shop (I lost both the argument and therefore 40 francs = roughly the same in $A!), we walked to the lovely Jesuit Church and up the Old Town walls and turrets.

I also downed a delicious creamy chocolate milkshake, before heading to the Transport Museum. It was closed, but I did get a look at the post-it-noted Beetle outside as well as an incredible array of car wheels along one side of the building.

That evening, I walked back along the lake side towards the piers for a sunset cruise. The lady at the counter, who (lucky for me) spoke English as my German is limited to about three words! She offered me something called a Sunshine Express Cruise, and said it had music. I accepted, thinking that there would be more of the alphorn type music I'd heard at lunch... but I could not have been more wrong! It blared Top 40 music and the Nutbush! Having parted with 15 francs, I still went along and got my 'lemon' (she meant melon) welcome drink and sat out the front of the cruise boat. When we went along, I could barely even hear the music, and the scenery was just magical - perfect.

More soon...
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Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Cologne & Heidelberg
Thursday 31/7/08 - Friday 1/8/08

Tour: "31/7: At Cologne, you will visit the awesome twin-spired gothic CATHEDRAL. Then the afternoon's highlight: a romantic RHINE CRUISE past castle-crested cliffs, terraced vineyards, and trim, half-timbered towns. Next stop is Heidelberg, famous for its red-walled castle.
1/8: A scenic day! Morning stop in the lush valleys and pine-clad hills of the BLACK FOREST, renowned for its cuckoo clocks."

Ah, Germany. Two minutes into the country and I see an original Volkswagen Beetle, coloured orange - and for all you non-believers: on the Autobahn!

We stopped briefly in Cologne, home of the famed Cologne Cathedral (or Dome) and the Eau de Cologne named 4711. The Dome is awe inspiring in its sheer size and intricacy and richness of its ornamentation. Unfortunately, the outside is blackened by pollution, and even constant cleaning cannot alleviate the problem because by the time a round has been done, the beginning is as bad as when cleaning started! However, the crypts and beautiful interior are just incredible.

Germany is largely powered by nuclear power, which apparently causes quite a 'not in my backyard' response from all people where proposed plants are to go. I have to admit, the countryside is beautiful and can be quite spoiled when dominated by plant towers. There is an issue too with the waste generated, but when you have such a massive population, it is truly a conundrum.

We caught a cruise from St Goarshausen, and embarked on a stunning cruise of a beautiful part of the Rhine river. The statue of Lorelay associated with sailors' good luck and many castles and vineyards adorn the banks as we cruised on past. We even saw our tour bus cross the Rhine by ferry to meet us at the end of the cruise!

We passed on through the city of Ludwigschtafen (spelling? I used to know it) which won't mean much to anyone but me, because in my European Business unit at uni I did a project on a German company called BASF which started out in making dyes and has grown to a huge and (at last check) successful multidivisional company.

We also stopped all too briefly in the beautiful university city of Heidelberg. The streets and buildings are just picture-book perfect, and I hot-footed it up the very steep incline to the castle overlooking the city and river bridges. Just gorgeous.

We stayed in a town called Karlsruhe, and got to see their rollerbladers meet in the town centre for a blade around town.

We continued our (by now) epic bus ride next morning to pause briefly in the Black Forest to look at a cuckoo clock strike 10am. Not much opportunity for rambling in the forest, so we hopped back on the coach to cross the German-Swiss border.

Switzerland is not part of the EU and as such still has border controls. We were all happily taking photos until a guard informed us in no uncertain terms that it was a militarised zone and no photos were allowed! I was glad I wasn't using my flash.

We stopped close to the border for lunch and a look at the Rhine Falls. I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and rushed up for a better view only to find that the pretty trees were too tall for me to get a good photo. Ah well, win some, lose some.

Finally we arrived in Lucerne. More soon...
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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam
Wednesday 30/7/08 - Thursday 31/7/08

Tour: "30/7: Past Antwerp and into the Netherlands. In Amsterdam visit a major DIAMOND CENTRE to appreciate how a rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel. Next, enjoy a CANAL CRUISE, the best way to see the 700-year-old capital. Afternoon at leisure or join an optional excursion to Volendam.
31/7: A passing glance at the Dutch region best known as the locale of A Bridge Too Far."

Holland is known for many things - flowers, windmills, clogs, Amsterdam... we only had a quick taste of these but all were so interesting.

First of all, our bus driver Pino got pulled over by an angry policewoman for running a red light. He and our tour guide managed to talk their way out of it, but it added a little drama to the bus trip! Amusing, really - a red light ticket in Amsterdam could me interpreted a number of ways.

Firstly we visited 'Henri Willig's' cheese farm - I hadn't heard of it either but the did give us some delicious samples. None of the produce would be allowed back into Australia, so I had to restrain myself.

Next we took a trip to the pretty but touristy seaside town of Volendam. I tried the local specialities, smoked eel and Heineken (not together). You can buy Heineken here out of the soft drink fridge, no ID required!

We saw a working windmill, used to pump water for Holland is close to sea-level. I climbed to the very top and added my autograph to the wooden cog that turns the top of the structure. The blades (?) of the windmill can travel at 80mph, so they always have two doors in case one is blocked by the moving blades.

We also saw a demonstration by a real wooden clog maker - it's incredible the way they are made. And traditionally in Holland, a gentleman asks his chosen lady to marry him by buying a pair of plain clogs and spending weeks intricately carving them. One night he will leave it on her family's doorstep, and if the next day she is wearing them then that indicates her acceptance to his proposal! You'd want to have great carving skills if that's the case.

We took a canal cruise along Amsterdam's canal system. It was very hot in the sun but well worth it as we cruised past many amazing sights, including the largest number of bicycles I have ever seen in one place - four floors of them placed on bike racks! Amsterdamers love to cycle. Also once along the cruise I saw a man with a glass bowl of ufoliage, openly smoking it... it's legal but so unusual and even a bit confronting for me.

Not as confronting though as our walk through the district that had what our tour guide called 'social workers' - otherwise known as the red light area. I honestly thought in one window was a mannequin, so when she moved I nearly jumped out of my skin! There were a lot of people about for mid afternoon, and people outside some of the larger venues encouraging people to come in. It was quite safe, but still very disconcerting, even for someone who comes from Canberra!

We also went to a diamond centre, where they cut, polish and grade diamonds from around the world. A really interesting demonstration, and actually holding some of the jewellery worth many many thousands of Euros was a buzz!

First black mark next to my name, I'm afraid, because I'm not quite the sheep our tour guide was hoping he'd get! We walked past the Anne Frank haus, and myself and two New Zealanders were really keen to go inside - I mean, how often do you go to Amsterdam? So despite the guide's dire warnings of long queues and early closing times, we took the chance and said we'd catch a taxi back to the hotel (which, disappointingly common on this tour, is a distance away from the downtown area). Which is exactly what we did! And as it turns out we had plenty of time in Anne Frank's house due to extended Summer opening hours. And finding a taxi was a fun experience, and the driver was lovely. Walking through the rooms was sobering, because you realise just how difficult it would have been to house 8 people silently for two years in the middle of Amsterdam. And then the dreadful fates of all the occupants once discovered by the Nazis is just horrifying.

I'm glad I visited Holland and Amsterdam, but on the whole I've got a lot more places I want to visit before considering returning.

More soon...
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Brussels, Belgium

Brussels
Tuesday 29/7/08 - Wednesday 30/7/08

Tour: "Board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to Brussels, headquarters of the European Union. Your orientation tour focuses on GRAND'PLACE with its baroque guild houses and famous Manneken Pis. Tonight enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel."

Our tour guide Nik is Dutch! Married to a Swiss girl, speaking at least Dutch, French, German, English and Italian (and we´re only a few days into the trip)!

First stop was the Eurostar station in London, to go under the Channel and arrive in Brussels.

Brussels held the World Exhibition in 1958, and to celebrate erected a huge "Atomium" with nine aluminium atoms representing the nine provinces of Belgium.

Belgium has a monarchy - King Albert and Queen Paola - and they preside over a country divided between North and South (and you thought Canberra was bad!) - between the Flemish and the French Belgians. Their palaces and other buildings are beautiful though.

We wandered through beautiful arcades, saw beautiful chocolate, and stumbled over cobblestone streets into the Grand Place - which truly is grand. While paying attention to my wallet at all times, I had a great time looking through a lace shop and a beer museum before rejoining the group to view Manneken Pis - Google or Wikipedia it if you have not seen it as I haven´t been able to upload photos for a few entries now.

Although Tin Tin and the Smurfs are natives of Belgium, I couldn´t find much in the way of local merchandise in the City Centre. Unfortunately the tour didn´t really allow for wandering far from the group so I didn´t get a closer look - but maybe next time.

After that quick taste of Belgium, it was an early start next mornong to head to Holland...
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London, England, United Kingdom

London
Saturday 26/7/08 - Tuesday 29/7/08

I arrived late Saturday night and found my way to the Ramada Hyde Park Hotel. In the dark, I didn't realise how central I was - only a five minute walk to Kensington Gardens and the Queensway tube station (part of the central line).

Kel, my fellow graduate from Telstra, is currently working in London and so we met up Sunday morning for a tour of London Town!

Tanya`s recommendation of the Hop-on-Hop-off tour was fantastic, we got a good overview of the city as we drove along. We saw the Marble Arch and Trafalgar Square before getting off at Buckingham Palace for a tour of the Royal Mews - aka the carriages (including the Bentleys) of the Royal family. The gold carriage was simply breathtaking. We had missed the changing of the guard, so resolving to come back tomorrow we moved on to view the Parliament Buildings (Big Ben aka St Steven`s Clock) and Westminster Abbey.

The US Embassy in London is the only one in the world where the US doesn`t own the land - they rent it from a family that owns a lot of land there from a royal grand dating back hundreds of years, the Grovner (spelling?) family.

I didn´t get a chance in two days to see the insides of most of these places, I just think I´ll have to come back later and see them properly!

Next, Kel and I took a hot and relaxing boat tour of the Thames, down to the Tower of London before posing for photos in front of Tower Bridge. We saw `Cleopatra`s Needle` which is reputed to be older than London itself!

Kel took me to the delightful "Dickens Inn" where it is said Charles Dickens was inspired by or even wrote some of his books. Now it`s a pub that serves Sunday roasts, so despite the scorching weather, we sat down to a roast with Yorkshire pudding and some ice cold cider - delicious!

Then we strolled across Tower Bridge, laughing at the story of the gentleman from the USA who bought London Bridge and transported it piece by piece to his home state before discovering it wasn`t Tower Bridge - which he had thought it was at purchase!

Now, Londeners have no idea how to deal with heat. Their tube is ventilated by opening a window at the front of the carriage, and if you don`t happen to be in the first few carriages, you don`t really benefit at all! Kel and I went to buy an iced chocolate - and the cafe had run out of ice!

After discovering for sure that there are no theatre shows in London that play on a Sunday night, Kel and I parted after having a long day.

Next morning, I returned to see the them Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace (I didn`t see either Christopher Robin or Alice). The walking tour started with Changing of the Horse Guard at the parade ground, then proceeded to St James` Palace and Wellington Barracks to see the procession as it moved towards Buckingham Palace. As the crowds were much smaller, we saw the changeover ceremony at a closeby palace and I got my photo taken with the guard - they were a different regiment to those that wear the bear skins.

I did a round of the London Eye - great views and worth doing but the queues were too long to consider doing it again! It`s also the middle of the Summer school holidays, so that probably wouldn`t have helped.

Next, I saw the Tower of London. I´ve always been fascinated by Tudor history, and this was steeped in it! The first Tower (White Tower) has existed since 1066 and more towers and defences have been added by successive monarchs. One of the Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters) showed us around - he is the raven keeper in accordance with an old superstition that if the ravens go from the Tower of London, then the monarchy will collapse.

He showed us the Royal Entrance (they didn`t want to mix with the commoners too muc), the Traitors Gate, the Bloody Tower infamous for the murder of the two boy princes, the Tower Green and the Chapel under which Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and her husband, and many others were buried after being beheaded as traitors.

I also saw the Crown Jewels housed in the Tower of London. The Kah-i-noor (spelling again?) is the famous large one, and the whole collection is simply stunning.

Poor Kel had an ear infection and so wasn´t able to make it to our theatre evening on Monday night, but she so kindly arranged a wonderful seat for me to see "We Will Rock You" - the Queen musical. It was utterly fantastic! Futuristic, but faithful to all the Queen music (Brian May and Ben Elton wrote it). There was a fabulous array of photographs of Queen and especially taken of and by Freddie Mercury. I was also amused that their white wine was an Australian one from SA!

I headed back home on the Tube (less hot this time as it wasn`t peak hour and crowded) and resolved just before heading off to sleep to come back to London to see some of the things I didn´t get a chance to this time round.

More soon... (and photos when a computer recognises my USB drive!)
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Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Cavendish
Tuesday 15/7/08 - Saturday 19/7/08

Prince Edward Island is simply beautiful.

There are so many shades of green - all the different crops turn the landscape into a patchwork of greens! The beaches and unsealed roads are a light red colour, and against the backdrop of a Summer sky in Cavendish, the effect is simply breathtaking. The birds are vocal and the occasional scent drifting across of freshly mowed grass or the woods are delicious memories I'll have of PEI.

The people here are so friendly, polite and lovely - a lady named Eva on the plane gave me her phone number in case I needed it, and a local motorcyclist pulled over to help me find my way with a map (the Chrysler PT Cruiser with Nova Scotia plates I've hired just screams 'tourist') - but it's lovely that they went out of their way to make sure I was alright.

I headed to St Ann's (a church fundraiser for 40 years!) for a traditional Island Lobster Supper. It was accompanied by clam chowder, salad, clams with butter, and even a rhubarb crunch dessert. The spread was absolutely fresh and delicious - I walked away nearly bursting!

I visited "Avonlea" - a themed period park around the 'Anne of Green Gables' books penned by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. Highlights were actors performing scenes from the book, a schoolhouse and spelling bee, raspberry cordial from the General Store, a horse-drawn wagon ride, and high tea in the 'manse' parlour.

I then came back to Cavendish for fish and chips on the beach, where the setting sun cast the most beautiful glow over the whole area. My pictures don't even begin do justice to it!

However, the nearby pond ensured that mosquitoes were never far away. Now, PEI mosquitoes are far from subtle - they're noisy, you can feel them when they land, and they hurt! I can completely understand now why Anne could be kept 'awaker than a bad conscience' with one around!

Visiting the Green Gables house was delightful. It's a big tourist attraction, but despite (or perhaps because of) that it has been well furnished and kept and is a wonderful visual of the rooms so familiar in the novels. I even had ice cream! Perhaps the most lovely thing about Green Gables though are the nearby walks through the "Haunted Wood" and "Lovers' Lane" - these are the real places that inspired Maud to include them in her novel.

Next was a visit to the site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish home where she spent half her life. Unfortunately only the foundations remain but the grounds are lovely (and Anne and Diana were there!), and the short walk to the Green Gables Post Office and LMM's grave was hot but pleasant.

On the way to Summerside, I saw the Lower Bedeque Schoolhouse which is set up with all the school objects LMM herself would have used when she taught in the 1890s.

In Summerside I saw "Anne and Gilbert: the Musical" - absolutely fantastic! Coincidentally I sat next to some people from Ontario I had seen at Avonlea the day previously - seems we're all walking the same track. The music was great, the story well put together from a couple of the novels, and I even got to meet some of the members of the cast afterwards.

Next day I took in more of the scenery as I drove to New London (previously Clifton) to visit the house where LMM was born. Interestingly, after her mother died of Tuberculosis when LMM was two and she stayed with her grandparents in Cavendish, LMM's father sold up at the Clifton General Store (which wasn't doing very well) and moved West and started a new family and a new life. Funnily enough, it was his daughter that now ensures there is lots of passing traffic in that same street!

The birthplace had a replica of LMM's wedding dress or 'trousseu' (the real one is too delicate to be in public) and her actual shoes are there. There was no left or right shoe, you could wear either on either foot in 1911! The house also had some of LMM's original journals, full of story ideas, mementos and clippings of her own published work.

Next was the Anne of Green Gables Museum in Park Corner, where I had a delightful wagon ride and saw Silver Bush which inspired some of LMM's other books. In that house, LMM was married to her minister fiance and there were lots of memorabilia that had inspired LMM's other short stories, poetry and novels.

Afterwards, I went for a delightful ramble at the place that Mrs Campbell (a distant cousin/descendant of LMM who helps run the Museum) believed inspired "Four Winds" and the Glen in some later Anne books. There was a beautiful lighthouse and red rocks on the shore.

I thought I'd make a quick (!) dash further West along the North Shore to a place called Bideford. The Bideford Parsonage Museum's claim to fame is that Mrs Estley there once made a cake accidentally flavoured with anodyne liniment - apparently not very delicious - and the visiting minister thought it was how it was supposed to be and ate every crumb.

On the way back I stopped off at Summerside again and took a look around Spinnakers Landing - there for the tourists but nice nonetheless.

Today I'm heading to Montreal to begin my tour of French Canada and Niagara Falls - I'll write when I can, but no guarantees as I won't be completely and delightfully on my own time any more!

Unfortunately there's no USB drive available in this computer (although the internet access is free at the airport, where I am now - so I'm definitely not complaining!!) so I'll upload some photos from PEI when I next get a chance.

More soon...
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Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Charlottetown
Sunday 13/7/08 - Tuesday 15/7/08

An interesting journey from Calgary-Toronto-Charlottetown - we had right engine fuel troubles over Ontario, and so the pilot had to make an unscheduled landing in Winnipeg! The engineers on the ground couldn't find the problem within the first half-hour, so AirCanada took us into the terminal and tried to fit us on their existing flights. When they discovered they had 37 people with connections, they got a little Dash aeroplane to take us the rest of the way. However, the break and the much slower speed of this aircraft meant that I missed my connection!

They got me onto a later flight and so I finally arrived in Charlottetown about 11pm local time. My luggage didn't (heaven knows which of the four airports it went to), but luckily arrived next morning!

This was the part of the trip I had been dreading; and hoping to 'wing' at the same time. I had - rather stupidly - considered but decided against taking my drivers licence because I thought I'd lose it. However, I'd forgotten that you need a drivers licence to rent a car - which I was doing in PEI! My brother Andrew was a total star and sent it express from Australia, which was meant to arrive 2-4 days after he posted it (Thursday afternoon Canada-time). Unfortunately, Canadian Customs took a liking to my little parcel and kept it there for a few more days. Which meant I didn't physically have a licence on me on Sunday night!

But my luck suddenly changed (it must have clocked midnight), as the rental car company accepted plan B that Mum and Andrew concocted: a copy of my licence. So now I am proud to have driven a left-hand-drive car - and on the RIGHT HAND SIDE of the road!! It's a Chrysler PT Cruiser, auto, grey, nice little thing (and only 6000-odd miles on the odometer).

Prince Edward Island is lovely... today didn't really show it off to best advantage as it was overcast and the little bit of rain made it a bit humid. However, the people are warm (the lady next to me on the plane gave me her phone number just in case - isn't that lovely?) and the fulfillment of my dream to visit here is just delicious.

Speaking of delicious, Island strawberries are in season here, so for breakfast I had a massive punnet of them (I couldn't eat them all) - for $2.99 (Canadian dollars, which are close to parity with Australian dollars)

Charlottetown is also the 'birthplace of Canadian Confederation', with its shipbuilding industry from 1820s to 1870s making it a province with much more clout than it has now. Even having said that, the contributions that this particular meeting of founding fathers made to Confederation was
a) it was the first meeting; and
b) they agreed to meet a month later in Ottawa.
Oh, and they had a ball. Everyone had a great time, apparently - it was like the "courtship" stage of the provinces considering national unity.

I went to see "Anne of Green Gables - the Musical" at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. Absolutely fantastic, sympathetic to the original storyline but perhaps a little overacted (which I guess comes with the 'Musical' part). Afterwards I went to have dinner (a PEI-beef cheeseburger) afterwards in Victoria Row, where the waitress correctly picked my accent and gave me some recommendations on good beaches to go!

Tomorrow I'll go to the museum where some of Lucy Maud Montgomery's manuscripts are displayed, then I will meander North to Cavendish (aka Avonlea, for the Anne of Green Gables fans playing along at home).

More soon...

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Calgary
Wednesday 9/7/08 - Sunday 13/7/08

We arrived from Seattle to Calgary on Wednesday. I had my luggage searched by TSA - despite being to the USA a few times before, this had never happened to me. My padlock indicator had turned red, and they left a small note inside. Unfortunately, Tanya had warned us that padlocks, once opened this way, can have a very short lifespan, so I'm hoping that my locks hold out through Europe...

Calgary sans snow is still a little chilly! We visited Aunty Marj and Uncle Bob, who fed us some lovely home-cooked food (after US fare it was delightful!) and we talked until after dark - which here can be as late as 10:30pm.

We had a two day 'package' for the Calgary Stampede. We turned up at 9am on Thursday, only to discover that the late-night nature of the Stampede means little is open until 10am or 11am. Luckily, a coffee vendor (we're addicted after Seattle) served piping hot coffee and the mini-donut-with-plenty-of-cinnamon-sugar stand was open and we were all set. Plus, we chatted to a few Canadian army troops who let us climb into a Leopard C2 tank.

Thursday afternoon was the rodeo - incredibly exciting! I didn't think I'd be the type to really get into it (I was content just to watch), but it's such a great event I put on my cowgirl hat and cheered along! It's looks amazingly dangerous, but contrarily there's a real family atmosphere, with wives and children of the contestants introduced and coming up to the podium with the winners too.

Just as we exited the rodeo, the heavens opened and it started to hail! We took refuge in the nearest tent until the rain subsided somewhat. We had a relaxed soup and tea in a very busy indoor cafe (it was completely dead until the rain came) - the staff were so lovely!

On Friday morning, we joined the crowds downtown for free flapjacks with Canadian bacon, and watched the kids races with our breakfast. Then we headed off to the Stampede again, looking at the crafts and seeing a great group of musicians called the Calgary Fiddlers.

I had to return to the city to sort out some issues with a parcel not arriving from Australia, but later that night we caught the C-Train back to the Stampede Grounds.

The evening Chuckwagon races were thrilling, and the show afterwards was nothing short of spectacular!! A gorgeous Skyride back (and some choice placement of Australian flags) completed the evening.

We went to catch some morning views of Calgary at Calgary Tower. It was a clear day, we could see right out to the mountains. There's some beautiful country in Alberta, which we've not seen all of in this trip. We might just have to come back. :)

This afternoon we're seeing Aunty Marj and Uncle Bob again, and hopefully I'll get to meet their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren too!

I'm off very early tomorrow morning East to Prince Edward Island, so more soon!
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