We set off for Faro today to meet up with my sister-in-law and nephew. It was an early start and only a brief promised stop at a service station on the way! At least there would be coffee. The drive from Lisbon Airport to Faro Old Town takes approximately 2 hours 40 minutes. It maybe less with a certain driver. The journey is mostly inland so no nice coastal shots.
Crossing over the Vasco da Gama Bridge I was able to take a few photos, when my brother slowed down!
The bridge spans the Tagus River and is 17.2 kilometers long. It was until a few years ago the longest bridge in Europe. That title now belongs to the Crimean Bridge in Russia. It is a spectacular drive over with excellent road surfaces.
Stopping briefly for a much needed coffee at a service station, we huddled together under the smallest umbrella. The rain seemed to be chasing us from Lisbon.
We arrived in Faro around lunchtime in the middle of a storm. With the roads flooding and trees crashing down in the car park, we sat in the car and waited it out.
Sometime later after picking up Colleen and Greg we headed into Faro Old Town for lunch and a wander.
Arch of Rest
The Old Town features beautiful cobble stone alleyways and lanes. Murals adorn many of the walls and other walls are brightly painted.
We found the perfect spot for lunch, when I asked for the wine list the owner said there is none. He had over 2,500 bottles on display and told me just to describe the type of wine I was after. A tricky one, as who knew there were so many varieties of Alborinho.
by Opus
After lunch we headed over to Faro Cathedral. By this time the weather had cleared and the sun was shining brightly.
There is no fee to enter and look around which was a welcome surprise. It made me wonder how this place is kept looking so nice, inside and out.
The ornate ceilings inside the chapel. Decorated with blue and yellow painted tiles. The “ribs” of the ceiling are carved masonry.
Deciding to go up to the roof, we climbed some very uneven steep stairs. Below is a photo looking through the open window to the sea beyond.
Up on top, raincoat back on as the sun has disappeared once again.
Stunning views over the tiled rooftops of Faro
Steady but slow wins the race
The Chapel of Bones and the Bell Tower
The Chapel of Bones is so called because it is lined with skulls and bones of ordinary people. Gruesome indeed, imagining working and handling these.
As my brother is working in Portugal I thought I would take the opportunity to visit him. He booked us into a two bed apartment just down the hill from the infamous funicular. During the day I was left to my own devices, meeting up for dinner at night. I’m quite happy to take tours on my own or follow google maps to explore this beautiful city.
Cozy Cafe perfect for breakfastPoached Eggs with Zuchinni Fritters
I found a cute little cafe just a minute from the apartment to start the day with coffee and breakfast. I worked out a walking plan and started down the hill. At the bottom I spied a hop on bus which I jumped on right away. Looking at the map I intended to alight at the Jeronimos Monastery. When I looked at the queue, I realised there was no way I was going to line up for an hour in the sun. I decided a different plan was called for.
I carried on walking towards the water front and through a beautiful park. The song Perfect was being played by a girl with a flute which could be heard all through the park.
The amazing Monument to the Discoveries came into view, looking dramatic against the blue sky. I took a few photos of the figures on the side and it was only when I looked up I saw people at the top. I decided to join them and bought a ticket, no queues this time. An elevator takes you up six floors and then there are stairs to the top. Well worth the price of the €10 ticket.
Monument to the Discoveries
This monument is located on the banks of the Tagus River. It is shaped like the bow of a caravel, standing at 184 ft tall. The leading figure is Prince Henry the Navigator and followed by 32 other significant figures from that era. (The Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th Centuries).
Views from the top
Belem Tower25 de Abril BridgeSanctuary of Christ the King
Ajuda National Palace and Jeronimos Monastery.
In the basement of this monument is a cultural centre which showcases various exhibits over the centuries. I enjoyed all the murals on display here.
Feeling peckish by now I headed back into the Old Town and looked for a traditional Portuguese cafe for lunch. I found the perfect place.
Ginginha do CamoGrilled Sardines
I didn’t think I could go wrong with a traditional dish of grilled sardines and a glass of Vino Verde.
With still time to go, I caught another bus up to the castle. It was too late to go in. I’ll try again tomorrow.
View from the top of Sao Jorge Castle
Out for dinner
A fabulous first day exploring the sights and streets of Lisbon. With so much to do it’s impossible to see everything in a few days. I am going to do my best.
Walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens is an escape from city life. It’s peaceful and quiet with the trees masking the noise from the roads. It was founded in 1846 and covers 38 hectares. As we only had a few hours to explore we followed the path back towards the city. My gallery below shows just a few of the scenes on offer.
I liked these quotes so typed them out to be able read them clearly.
This plant caught my eye, at first from a distance I thought it was a light of some kind.
The photo above is of Guilfoyle’s Volcano. It is a restored reservoir built in 1876 built to look like a volcano. From here you can see panoramic scenes of the city.
Top left, Anthony in the Tacoma Pavilion ; Top right, “Looking out” Bottom, Shrine of Remembrance.
Looking through the trees towards the City skyline
There is a cafe here for lunches and coffees and also many places to sit and have a picnic. The Yarra River is only a short walk away where there are many cafes and restaurants.
This is one of my favourite places for lunch, especially on a sunny day.
Another interesting place to explore, particularly when it’s raining is The National Gallery of Victoria. It is normally free entrance, if there is a special exhibition an entrance fee might be required. There are four floors to explore with over 76,000 works of art to see.
I have collated a gallery of my own below. I framed my favourites.
Bronze Eel Trap Aunty Kim Wandin“Really Good” David Shrigley“Venus” Jeff Koons“Dancing Pumpkin” Yayoi Kusama
Paintings by Nipa Doshi
Tea and coffee salon, Sabo, 1939 Saeki Shunko
Parrots Live Forever Audrey Flack
The Sun Eater Joan Miro
I took the above to show my 7 year old grandson as I think some of his artwork is better!
Photograph titled Irises Robert Mapplethorpe
This last one appealed to me because of the shadow and light thrown across the flowers. Tea and Coffee Salon is my favourite and think it would look excellent hanging in my living room.
If you’re looking for quirky places to eat in Melbourne off the beaten track, we found an excellent French restaurant. Midnight in Paris is situated in Prahran High Street and is also an art gallery. They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The service and food are excellent.
Herb Crusted FishSeafood Marinara
Our tasty mains
A sample of the artwork on display
Cozy garden at the back
I was tempted to get up and have a little boogie and danced like no-one was watching! But everyone would have been watching it was so small.
The time had come for our visit to Melbourne again. We had planned five days with Laurence and Maddy. They were both still on their Christmas break from work so it meant we could spend every day together.
Our trip didn’t start too well with our late night flight delayed for one hour (at least we were on time!). This meant it would be too late for Laurence to pick us up. When we arrived we found the taxi queue to be too long for us to wait, so decided to book the hotel opposite. Any sensible person would walk across the road and ask for a room, but thinking I was being clever I booked online while on the side of the road. Booking.Com didn’t allow me to book for the day before, so I went ahead and booked for that day, which meant that we couldn’t check in until 3 pm, which I found out when we went to check in! By now it was 2.30 am and we were desperate for a room. Fortunately I managed to get through to Booking.Com and convey my mistake! Hoping that the hotel would waive the cost as we now had to book direct through them. Anyway I didn’t get charged otherwise it would have been a very expensive mistake. Although I had to explain all this to the staff as they kept saying they couldn’t refund me. Lesson: Do not book online at the side of the road.
For the next five days we ate and drank our way around Melbourne’s fine restaurants.
We stayed in a one bedroom apartment just across the road from Laurence and Maddy which was ideal.
It was hot and humid one minute and cold and rainy the next. It’s true what they say about Melbourne – Four seasons in one day.
We had a quick trip to St. Kilda for happy hour followed by dinner at Bistro Thierry – no points for guessing it was French.
MatchingMy Handsome MenEpaule d’Agneau BraiséeBraised RabbitBœuf à la Bourguignonne en croûteTarte Tatin
No trip to Melbourne is complete for Anthony without a shopping day, so it was into town for that.
We had lunch in a very popular Vietnamese restaurant, cocktails on a rooftop bar and dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant.
A moving sculpture
Legacy Anzac Centenary Mural
Rabbit Yin Yang
Her Bar
Bornja Restaurant
The Gang of Four
Thursday it was my day to choose somewhere to go. So we drove to Williamstown around 30 minutes drive from St. Kilda. It was a beautiful sunny day and the beach was packed with umbrellas and cabanas. We had a seafood lunch overlooking the bay and wander around after.
View of Melbourne Skyline
Williamstown was Melbourne’s first port settlement and named after William 1V in 1837. Of course there was an indigenous settlement long before this. The Yalukit-willam clan of the Kulin nation were the first people to call this town home.
Nowadays it is a popular place for family holidays with gorgeous sandy beaches and many restaurants and cafes. It reminded me of an English seaside town, without the weather to go with it though.
We had a dinner at their place one night with Laurence grilling steaks on his Weber.
Too soon and it was our last day and it was pouring! Maddy had mentioned she wanted to see the Triennial exhibition at the National Gallery so we caught a tram to the city for a visit. The exhibition is free and hosts many different exhibitions throughout the year.
Taking photos was allowed so I took a few of the ones that I liked or intrigued me the best!
Larger than life sculptures by Thomas J Price
Walking into the room above, I asked myself what constitutes art? I said to Laurence I could do this, looks easy. To which he answered “aah but that’s the trick to make it look easy but in reality it’s very difficult”. I’m still not sure I would put this on my wall though.
Paintings by Farrokh Mahdavi an Iranian artist. InUntitled,pink is the universal colour of our flesh; it transcends politics, race, nationality, territoriality and gender. Source – NGV
Comedian Maurizio Cattelan – Italian born artist
Well I could definitely do this. My thoughts: ”The Emperor’s New Clothes”. I have cropped this as much as I could but it was in a room with nothing else.
In 1999, Cattelan duct taped his art dealer, Massimo De Carlo, to a wall for the opening of his exhibitionA Perfect Day.
Mound of wollen yarn Real strawberries preserved foreverHanging on for dear lifeA photographer is always trapped behind his lens
I loved the ones above as I found them profound and moving.
Displaced along with members of his immediate family during the Kosovo War (1998–99), Petrit Halilaj’s Very volcanic over this green feather explores his experience as a thirteen-year-old refugee living for more than two years in Kukës II camp in Albania. Art materials were distributed to children at the camp by visiting Italian psychologist Giacomo Poli. Poli encouraged the children to externalise and process their experiences through drawing. Spotting his talent, Poli would much later arrange for Halilaj to attend art school in Italy. Source – NGV
I enjoy looking at old paintings of Royalty and Noblemen and Women and one floor was showing these, although not part of the Triennel exhibition.
Anthony’s family has a family tree dating back to Louis XIV by one of his mistresses and above is Louis XIII. Is there a likeness? He would have to shave his beard to be sure! On that note I will close this lengthy post.
Thanks for joining me on our recent trip to Melbourne!
At the end of every year around December, we usually go to Bali for a family holiday. This year was no exception and we chose Seminyak this time. I booked a beautiful resort around 10 minutes to the beach. The beach in Seminyak is more for looking at than swimming, unless you are a pretty good surfer. The resort was called Montigo Resort Hotel, although there was renovation work going on at the time, our rooms and the pool were unaffected by this.
Seminyak is approximately 20 minutes from the airport, or should be! With the traffic problem that Bali has it’s easily double this time. It is full of resorts, cafes, restaurants and bars. It was hard to know where to start when going out to eat.
The Resort
We spent most of the day around the pool, going out for lunch and dinner and resting in the afternoon in our rooms away from the heat. All except Anthony that is, he just loves a walk in the heat and still managed to walk two hours everyday.
I enjoyed time with the children splashing about in the pool and having manicures, pedicures and foot massages at the beautiful spa at the hotel
Out and About
Chair made from recycled water bottlesThe walls are made from recycled window frames and shuttersAbandoned flip flop structure
This installation is made up of 5000+ flip-flops installed at the famous Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak, Bali. Washed ashore on beaches along Bali’s West coast, the discarded soles have been collected by employees of Potato Head. The flip-flops are not coloured or changed in any way; they are merely sorted by colour and re-arranged into a new visual reality.
“I want to show people a different perspective of what we consider rubbish. Everything we throw away comes back to us: via the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil we grow crops and raise animals on.” – Liina Klauss
There is a famous beach bar/restaurant in Seminyak called Potato Club and it was fairly close to our hotel. It overlooks the beach and has a massive bar area and upmarket restaurant. To access these areas and the beach you first have to walk through a tunnel of bamboo and on one side there are small glassed in studios depicting recycling techniques.
We didn’t stay here, just walked on down to the beach to watch the sunset and found a restaurant overlooking the sea.
The food in Bali is delicious and there are many fusion type restaurants. Unfortunately we all succumbed at one point to “Bali Belly”. Luckily it didn’t put too much of a dent into the holiday.
Dining
The famous Bebek Duck
This place was extremely upmarket! It was so nice though but not entirely suitable for the children, but have to say we enjoyed every morsel.
A very laid back warung with outdoor dining. Plenty to look at and explore for Lachie and Rosie. Plus more mouth watering dishes for us to share.
The Beach
Local Women having a well earned restI Saw A Ship Go Sailing By
🎂Celebrations🎂
On the morning of our departure it was Anthony’s birthday. The staff very kindly sang Happy Birthday to him much to his consternation!
Going to Bali with the family is always such a treat and despite upset stomachs we all had a wonderful time. It was then onto Hong Kong for us and back to Perth for them.
Over the next couple of days we had many outings planned, wineries, breweries, new and old restaurants, shopping and of course cards would be on the agenda.
Our first stop was a new brewery in town called Southcamp. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with wine and ciders.
They couldn’t resist the temptation to pick up the bats.
Then it was back to the house and straight down to the beach with bathers on. I was definitely going to get in today. Viv and I had a long walk past the sand bank and along the water. Actually quite strenuous pushing through the water. As it’s so shallow I dragged myself back in on my stomach just using my arms, commando style, quite hilarious to watch and very ungraceful.
Mermaid pose
It took at least twenty shots before I managed the last position.
Before going out for dinner we had time for a few games of cards, glass of wine and snacks on the verandah.
Dinner was in town at a restaurant called Blue Manna Bistro. It was a place I’ve been trying to go for the longest time. We nearly didn’t get in though as the booking hadn’t gone through, but the manager kindly set up a table on the deck outside. Although only a Wednesday night, this place was buzzing.
The Fab Four! Mouth watering cocktails Seared Shark Bay Scallops with scallop and crab pot stickers, fresh coconut herb salad and Thai peanut satayCrispy Fried Prawn Stuffed Soft Shell Crab with and mango chilli chutneyBanoffee Pavlova chocolate meringue, miso caramel and five spiced banana
I’m very happy we managed to get a table as this meal was truly scrumptious.
We were up again early the next day and we took a long walk along the beach footpath.
I had fun with the last photo here, although there were complaints about how uncomfortable it was.
Pole Dancers!
Some more sculptures to play around with, my turn this time!
The gap in the sculpture makes a perfect frame.
Then onto our favourite restaurant, Meelup Farm, which I’ve posted about before.
Atlantic salmon, green harissa spice, preserved lemon + honey yoghurt Aromatic duck curry, black rice, green beans, limeMore Cocktails
Wise Winery was our next stop, apparently the only winery in Australia with a sea view. We had coffee here and stocked up on wine.
All too soon it was time to pack up and head back to Perth, but not before stopping for breakfast on the way home.
A very full boot! Yallingup Beach
The four of us all agreed we had an excellent few days. Hopefully we will be able to do the same next year.
History of Dunsborough
Prior to European colonisation, the land was populated by Indigenous people, the tribe along the coast was called Wardandi (sea people). These Indigenous peoples referred to Dunsborough by the name of Quedjinup, which means “Place of Women” The modern town is named after the nearby Dunn Bay, which was named after Captain Richard Dalling Dunn under whom Governor James Stirling had served in the Hibernia and the Armide in 1810–11. A general store was opened in 1925 and the town’s first bakery was established in 1930. It seems there wasn’t a school until 1963. During the 1960’s surfing became very popular and the ideal conditions brought many tourists to the region. Source: Wikipedia
Thanks for coming along with the fab four on our journey to Dunsborough
During our stay in England we found time to escape for a couple of day trips up to London. For Anthony is was all about retail and restaurants for me bars and buildings. Fortunately we each found what we were looking for.
I love walking around the streets of the City and up to Brick Lane it brings back so many memories from when I used to work in London. I remember working in quite a few of these older buildigs. I used to be a legal secretarial temp so had many jobs over 16 years. Although the old buildings are still standing there are many skyscrapers and new streets that I can’t always get my bearings. Not just buildings either but all of the old pubs are still there and I have definitely been in a few of those for after work drinks on a Friday.
Views from a Rooftop Bar
Walking to Brick Lane we saw that another fantastic building had materialised since our last trip, we discovered it was a new Hilton. I could see there was a rooftop bar with a balcony so we decided to head up and take a look. The bar is called Floratica and is decorated with stunning lights and plants. We sipped on cocktails looking out at the panaramic views of London rooftops.
Zoom in and there is St. Paul’s in the distanceFrom one roof top to another The Gherkin on the right
After finishing our drinks we set out for Brick Lane, for me to see any new murals and Anthony to head to his favourite shop.
Murals and Sculptures
The first CR emblem I’ve seen Mural on large garage door in Fashion Street You Are Enough by Neequaye Dreph Dsane Summer Moon” by Ugo Rondinone Commemorating Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of independence – 2021 Mohammed Ali Aerosol Bob Marley
Fabulous mural by Benzi Brofman – an in demand Israeli graffiti artist – who paints murals world wide.
Doors and Knockers
Like many people I’ve always had a thing for doors and as we walked down Princelet Street, I wasn’t disappointed. On closer inspection I saw the intricate designs of the door knockers, they were so intriguing.
Princelet Street, Spitalfields is a quiet unassuming street and I didn’t think too much about it until I googled No. 4, The Red House. The street itself dates back to the 1700’s and the houses were occupied mainly by poorer Londoners and migrants fleeing religious persecution and other atrocities. In the early 18th century the street saw many occupants who worked for the famous Truman Brewery. Nowadays No. 4 is rented out for events and films. I found much of this information on a blog called Memoirs of a Metrogirl. It’s a most interesting read.
No. 4 Princelet Street It doesn’t seem like it’s been painted since the 1700s, staying as authentic as it can.
All these houses are Grade II listed heritage houses and if you’re in the market for a move to London they sell for approximately £2,800,000. No. 18 looks like it could do with a new door.
By now it was almost time for dinner and Anthony had set his heart/stomach on a French restaurant he had found on Google. It was called Chez Elles. As per usual he ordered Deep fried Veal Sweetbread with gazpacho sauce and then the Steak tartare and for me it was French Onion Soup followed by Confit Duck. It was a great choice of restaurant, very quaint and decorated like an authentic French Bistro.
As we won’t be back to London for quite a while (I hope!) we had a grand day out, finding something for both of us. You can’t go wrong with a day out in London can you?
“The World is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper” – W.B. Yeats
First Night
During my stay in the UK I took the chance to hop across the Channel to see my neighbour and friend from Perth. She was also on a visit back to her home country.
I flew Ryan Air from Stansted Airport, being the most convenient for me. I meticulously measured my case and bag and weighed each but wasn’t challenged on either. An hour or two on these flights is enough as they are not made for comfort.
Starting the trip right at Weatherspoons
First views of Dublin
We were staying in the infamous Temple Bar area at the Temple Bar Hotel. I had a room overlooking the street on the fourth floor. It could have been in the bar itself for all noise at night!
Our first night’s dinner was at the Fire Steakhouse and Bar, the most impressive restaurant I’ve ever been in. With incredible vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, it feels as if you are an art museum. It is built next to the Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor. He is often known to have dinner in the Supper Room.
Roast whole flat Irish sea fish of the day, Sun-blush tomato & thyme brown butter, spinach
Outside the Lord Mayor’s Residence
Of course we couldn’t end the night there, so Brigid suggested a bar for a cocktail, and never one to turn down a cocktail off we went.
We walked to the iconic Cafe En Seine, a fantastically art nouveau style bar housed in an historic building. Complete with doric columns and glass panelled ceilings, there were booths to sit in or small cosy corners in front of fireplaces.
Wood and glass panelled bar Pull up a seatCosy CornersTwo elegant ladies
Dublin is enveloped in history and tomorrow I plan to explore the sights this wonderful town has to offer. (For Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes)
One of the things I wanted to do whilst in Penang was to look at all the street art that Penang is famous for. Although I had downloaded a map of all the places, my sim card was not activated properly! So we went back to the 7-11 where we had bought them and the very kind assistant sorted this out for me. I do exasperate Anthony with my constant stopping and starting and looking at my phone as to where to go! He tends to just walk randomly.
The streets were busy today as it Sunday and it seemed like everyone had the same idea.
We did find lots of murals and metal artwork along the way. The weather was cloudy and a nice breeze blowing, not at all what we expected.
Trombone Player by Gabriel Pitcher. An English born artist who has painted murals around the World.
Above are various street scenes from our walk
Humorous 3D artwork found on street walls depicting the life of long ago.
The Football Legend PeleEarly means of transportationRacial Harmony MuralOld World Bread Seller
It was almost impossible to walk on any sidewalk or the covered archways that lined the road. Walking on the road was the easier option, but with cars driving very close by you had better watch out for your hands and feet!
If I hadn’t glanced sideways I would have missed these cute kittens peeking out from these windows.
Two Owls painted on a pillar Moi underneath a cat piloting a butterfly
Enough street art for one day, I have a few more and I know I’ve missed many. It was getting on for lunchtime and time to go shopping!
We took a “Grab Cab” to Gurney Plaza where there is a huge shopping mall. Grab is the equivalent of Uber in Malaysia and seems to be the only taxi service in Penang. Once you have the App it’s pretty straightforward and the good thing about it is that you can use cash to pay and no need for credit card details.
Lunch was just a quick snack in a European Beer cafe, pretty lousy to be honest! Then off to the shops to look for walking shoes for me as mine had now given me a blister and shorts and a backpack for Anthony to climb Penang Hill. Well we were successful in everything and mine were called “the most comfortable shoes in the world” and I have to say this is 100% true, I felt like I was walking on pillows.
Back to the hotel for a quick swim and rest before heading out for dinner.
Dinner at Kebaya Restaurant
I had seen a place nearby called Kebaya Fusion Restaurant. The chefs were Swiss trained so we were expecting some gastronomic extravaganza. The restaurant is in a heritage listed building called Seven Terraces and owned by Christopher Ong. The building has been lovingly restored with the most beautiful decorations and furniture. The tiles on the floors were imported from Vietnam. I didn’t realise it was also a hotel until I asked if I could look around.
The entrance to Seven TerracesInside the dining room Enjoying a pre-dinner glass of wine
The waiter explained it was a set two or three course menu and it would be good to choose different dishes so we could share. Everything was mouth wateringly delicious.
CRISPY JO0 HOO CHAR ROLL and OTAK-OTAKKERABU WING BEANS, HONG BAK LAMB and ACHARGULAI CHICKENPANDAN CREME BRULEE
Inside the hotel
The photos below show what an opium lord’s house would look like back in the day. Complete with opium pipes and snuff boxes.
After dinner Anthony suggested a nightcap in the bar, as we sat down I recognised the owner Christopher in the corner with a lady friend. When we left I went up to him and complimented him on his beautiful hotel. We stood and had a chat with him for a while about the renovations he had made.
Off to bed for a good night’s sleep after a very busy day.
Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Malaysian Airlines took just one hour. Our flight was at 2 pm and we arrived in plenty of time for a change! We printed our own boarding passes and luggage tags and while I attached the tags I asked Anthony to hold the boarding passes along with the peeled off labels. When all was done I asked him for the passes back but he had just promptly walked over to the security desk and handed everything over to be thrown away. Back he went to retrieve them. Just one job was all I said.
Almost there
For the next four days we were going to be exploring Penang and staying at The Prestige Hotel. Close to all the heritage buildings and many restaurants to indulge in delicious food.
Jigsaw puzzle toiletries
A luxuriously large room with great amenities with robes and slippers! No view to speak of though, oh well can’t have everything. I love the way the toiletries are displayed.
The Swimming Pool on the 4th floor rooftop – luckily not segregated!
Malayan Railway Building from the pool
After checking in and leaving our bags we had a quick wander around the neighbourhood. As I mentioned before it was a long holiday weekend here and this was in evidence as many places were closed and the streets were empty.
Penang is rich in history and culture and is such a wonderful place to wander around. It is a Unesco Heritage Listed Site. On 11 August 1786, Captain Francis Light of the British East India Company landed in Penang and renamed it Prince of Wales Island in honour of heir to the British throne. Source:Wikipedia. Francis Light is now credited as the founder of Penang. Many of the buildings are beyond repair now but there are a few that are still resplendent and have been restored and maintained. It seems on looking around that there are buildings under renovation now, even a few with steel girders propping them up.
The buildings below are ones we passed on our walk to dinner.
George Town Dispensary
Where is everyone?
Beautifully restored French colonial building
We decided on a French restaurant that night, I’m not one for spicy foods but I knew tomorrow that it would be Anthony’s turn. The restaurant we chose was called Two Frenchies. Their website states – “Two very good friends who happened to be French . . . and knew nothing about running a restaurant , decided one lazy afternoon that they were going to bring their culture of food to Penang”.
It was all delicious and the service was excellent. The wife of one of the chef’s kept popping by to see if we were enjoying everything.
French Onion SoupConfit de Canard Duck leg cooked in its own fat, mashed potatoes and a side salad.Cassoulet – Pork, duck and sausage stewed and baked on a bed of white beans.
