We visited Ephesus on our Mediterranean cruise many years ago. We took my parents who were then in their early eighties. This was one of our ports of call along the way. Docking in Kusadasi, we took a bus tour organised by the travel desk on the cruise ship to Ephesus. Even though it was October and meant to be out of season it was still so crowded with many tour groups visiting at the same time. At one point I had to turn around and put my hand up to a French tour guide and say wait, stop pushing as she tried to shove me aside along with her twenty or so people!
It seemed amazing to me that hoards of people were allowed to walk all over these ancient ruins, seeing as this has been stopped in Athens. Still it made for a very interesting tour. Although trying to keep up with our guide was another story, as he was hopping and jumping like a mountain goat over rocks and stones. This was how we lost my parents during this trip. I didn’t realise how many silver haired men wearing turquoise polo shirts there actually were. Luckily we caught up with them back at the entrance.
A sight to behold! Trying to take photos and soak up the history and also trying to find your tour guide.
The Library of Celsus
I’m not really a cat person but find they make very good models for photos!
Trying in vain to spot my parents!
Amongst the ruins – My Samson!
The dusty dry landscape of Ephesus
It is a trip well worth making if you visit Kusadasi. I’m not sure a tour is any better than going it alone though as you are not able to wander freely and soak up the history here.
Here is a link to much more information and history about this wonderful place. Ephesus.
On our visit to England this time we decided to visit Gothenburg followed by Copenhagen. I have a cousin who lives in Gothenburg so it was a good excuse to visit. We took my mum and dad with us who are in their late eighties but still very active.
Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden and situated on the west coast of the country. It’s a beautiful city to visit and has many Dutch like canals and leafy avenues lined with shops, restaurants and bars. Perfect for a weekend getaway or mid-week break. Tip: Sweden is largely a cashless country as we found out very quickly! Which means that the krona my dad had changed up went mostly unspent.
We flew with Ryanair from Stanstead to Gothenburg. Now everyone knows Ryanair is a budget airline with everything do-it-yourself- apart from fly the plane. So I knew I had to check in on-line before otherwise you get charged more for doing it at the airport. There was no printer to print out boarding passes so I thought no problem, I’ll get them at the little booths at the airport. They don’t have them anymore! I had downloaded them onto my IPad, but this was where the problems started. The IPad was too big for the scanner! Well to cut a long story short and with plenty of hold ups behind us, we were almost the last on the plane. The young girl in front of me suddenly collapsed with a huge knapsack on her back against me, so I dropped everything and tried to get the backpack off her, she must have been carrying every text book she owned. So while she was being taken care of we hurried onto the plane, the last to take our seats, phew!
We were staying at the Scandic Rubinen for three nights, just enough to see some of glorious Gothenburg. We arrived fairly late in the evening so checked in quickly and had dinner at the hotel restaurant. The Rubinen is in a good location, right on Avenyn. There are shops, restaurants and bars lining the street. Within walking distance of many well known sites. There is also a rooftop bar with amazing views.
From the Roof Top Bar of the Scandic Rubinen
The Avenyn at night
Day One
After an amazing breakfast the next day, my cousin Michael came to meet us to show us some of the sights. The weather was quite dreary and grey but we were all well dressed up and not too worried.
First up was the famous statute of Poseidon. The statue was inaugurated in September 1931, by the famous sculptor Carl Milles. Standing there in all his glory, he was not at first popular with the locals. Apparently he was at first made to scale but had to be scaled down, due to certain anatomical features!
Rugged up and ready for the day
Poseidon
Next up was a walk towards the harbour, a fairly long walk for my mum and dad, but they were doing their best to keep up. We headed for the famous fish church – Feskekorka. The building resembles a neo-gothic church. There is a restaurant inside and many fish counters.
Feskekorka
Trying to blend in. I love these statutes of old fisherman
So many kinds of fish
The restaurant inside the “fish church”
Next we headed to the botanical gardens to have a wander around. As it was Autumn the trees were turning golden and looked glorious.
Autumn colours
Ready for action
Botanical gardens
One of the statues in the botanical gardens
Off to the shops
I’m wearing a raincoat that I bought in Perth just before we left. I have to say it’s been the most amazing purchase. Completely waterproof and lightweight, folds up into a small bag and has kept me dry from the most heavy downpours. It also has a massive hood so no need for an umbrella.
Photos from our walk around Gothenburg
German Church
German Church
Statue of a girl covered in fish scales
Historic bunker
Overlooking one of the many canals in Gothenburg
The German church, also called Christinae church, is located in central Gothenburg near the moat. The church was named after Gustav II Adolf’s daughter, Queen Kristina. It was inaugurated in 1748. Source: www.goteborg.com
A fantastic dinner to end our first day
Day Two Stora Amundon
Today we were off exploring one of the islands south of Gothenburg. It takes about an hour on public transport but is a fairly straightforward journey by tram and bus. My mum and dad had already gone ahead with Minna in the car so were waiting for us when we got there. I was very impressed that they had managed to walk so far. Michael had other plans for Anthony and I! A short walk around the island he said, not too hard. I’m not sure I agreed with him by the end. Up and over rocks and boulders, walking along planks and hugging rocks was not my idea of a quick hike. But it’s a beautiful island, probably better in summer though.
Autumn colours on Store Amundon
At the start of our walk
Trying to escape
My mum looking very glamorous in her Russian hat
Zara and I on some of the boulders we had to cross
Mini waterfalls
This is where I walked the plank
Ominous looking clouds
Haga
After the strenuous morning activities it was off to the ice hockey for the men and onto Haga for the girls. Haga is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Gothenburg, known for its cobblestone streets and picturesque houses. There are plenty of cute cafes and restaurants to eat and many quirky little shops. We had a lovely afternoon here and also stopped for lunch.
Cobblestone street of Haga
One of the restaurants in Haga
Beautifully presented smoked salmon salad
Antique shop
Clog shop
Zara on one of the sculptures in Haga
One of the many bakeries found in Gothenburg
Renovated 19th century houses
Residential street in Haga with a view of Skansen Kronen in the background.
We walked passed this memorial and statue on our walk back into Gothenburg. It’s a memorial of Raoul Wallenberg who is remembered for saving tens of thousands of Jewish people during WWll. He disappeared in January 1945. According to Russian news he died in a prison cell from a heart attack in 1947. Although today his death still remains a mystery.
The next day and our short visit had ended already, but not our travels! We were off to Copenhagen on a flix bus. The journey is around five hours and crosses over the famous Oresund Bridge. I’ll be writing about this in my next post!
We were recently invited to a Scottish wedding in Edinburgh so decided to have an extended trip and explore the City and surrounding areas. Edinburgh was a first for both of us so we had lots to explore. Arriving from Perth through Doha straight into Edinburgh was brilliant. Travelling on Qatar airways was fantastic. […]
We were recently invited to a Scottish wedding in Edinburgh so decided to have an extended trip and explore the City and surrounding areas. Edinburgh was a first for both of us so we had lots to explore.
Arriving from Perth through Doha straight into Edinburgh was brilliant. Travelling on Qatar airways was fantastic. Doha airport is out of this world, like another planet, so airy and spacious. We spent a relaxing hour or two here.
Some of the amazing sculptures around Doha Airport
We stayed at Apex Grassmarket Hotel and had a room overlooking the Grassmarket. We had such a nice view of the castle as well. Edinburgh is such a great city for walking around and there’s so much interesting history here. There is a big French influence as we found out from all the restaurants we ate in. This must come from Mary Queen of Scots who grew up in France.
Over the next couple of days we walked our feet off enjoying all the sights of Edinburgh. In between our stay we also hired a car to explore what we could of Scotland. Our first port of call was of course the magnificent Edinburgh Castle.
Edinburgh Castle
The view from our room – the magnificent Edinburgh Castle
The city through the stone lookouts
Inside St. Margaret’s ChapelSt. Margaret’s Chapel
There are so many tours around but we decided to go at our own pace and be free to roam wherever we liked.
Next up was the very pretty Dean Village which is about 20 minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle. This is a heritage listed village and well worth a visit.
Dean Village
One of the 18th century buildings in Dean VillageThe River Leith flowing through Dean VillageWell Court built in the 1880’s and recently refurbishedLooking through the archway into the courtyard of Well Court
The picturesque Hawthorn BuildingsThe clock tower rising above what was once the social hallCobblestone house in Dean Village
Next up we had a bit of lunch in a lovely little French restaurant called Escargot Bleu, it was French right down to the waiters and chef!
To walk off this wonderful lunch we headed to Holyroodhouse Palace and the gallery. This was one of my favourite places, very old and beautiful. Gorgeous garden and also enjoyed walking around the rooms. I didn’t realise that this is the Queen’s official residence in Edinburgh so is very much a working palace. Even that night Princess Anne was flying in for a formal dinner with the University.
Holyroodhouse Palace was founded by David I in 1128 as an Augustinian monastery in 1128. In 1501 James IV built a Palace for himself and his bride, Margaret Tudor – the sister of Henry VIII and the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary spent much of her later turbulent years here and was married twice from here.
The arches of the ruined abbey
From the gardens
One of the walls still standing
This place was definitely a must see for me and if you’re a history buff then you shouldn’t miss it.
One thing I loved about Edinburgh were all the quirky little alleyways and the names above them.
One rainy afternoon we had lunch in the lobby of The Scotsman Hotel. A beautiful baroque building dating back to 1905 and was once the home of The Scotsman Paper.
A few more photos of street scenes below.
The famous pierced lady who claims to be the most pierced human – I don’t think she’s lying!Two “wee” scottish boys dressed for the “Independence for Scotland” marchThe famous Greyfriars’ Bobby – a skye terrier who guarded his master’s grave for 14 years.
The famous West Bow Street
Cobblestone alleyway
We also found time for a quick walk around Greyfriars Kirkyard. Still an active church with a famous burial ground going back to the 16th century. It was very hard to actually read the names on all the plaques.
The details on this grave are very intricate
As I mentioned there are some fabulous restaurants in Edinburgh and below are some of the ones we tried:
One of my very dear friends lives on the island of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Whilst I was in the UK visiting my parents I decided to take a trip out to see her and also celebrate my birthday! I was there for four days, plenty of time to see the island and eat in the great fish restaurants that it’s known for.
Fuerteventura the second largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, sits in the Atlantic Ocean 100km off the north coast of Africa. It’s known mostly as a holiday destination due to its white-sand beaches and year-round warmth cooled by constant winds. It is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years due to a volcanic eruption. It was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in May 2009.
As the first night was my birthday, Lorraine had booked a fabulous restaurant called La Playita overlooking the bay of Corralejo. What a fantastic night with the table decorated with balloons and banners and then the whole restaurant singing happy birthday to me.
Celebrating with a jug of sangriaMy favourite – grilled sardinesTasty tapasMore tapas
Complimentary birthday cake!
Walking through the beautiful town of Corralejo
One of the many statues of fishermen’s wives looking out to sea, waiting for their husbands to come home
The daily sand creation
Waking up the next morning I wandered into the garden to take some photos. Lorraine lives at the end of a residential street overlooking the sand dunes. You can see Tenerife in the distance from the garden. I was hoping the sun would break through as it wasn’t as warm as I had thought!
Sun rise with the sand dunes in the far distance
The next day Lorraine took me into Corralejo again and have lunch. Fuerteventura is a very barren island due to the lack of rain and volcanic landscape. Nothing really grows here and most of the food is imported. There are many aloe vera plants scattered around and this is one plant that does grow well.
Enjoying the beautiful view with a glass of Spanish wineTypical Canarian fish dish cooked in wine, tomatoes and olivesThe car ferry to and from Lanzarote in the backgroundThe Bay of Corralejo
Hanging on so I don’t blow away!Getting ready for Game of Thrones
The next day I booked an excursion to go around the island – I will be writing another post separately about this.
Before we set out for my last day on the island we had to walk Rocky and Poppy her two little dogs. We walked just up the path from where she lives so I could feed the chipmunks, which run wild throughout the island.
Rocky surveying his domain
Rocky and Poppy in their favourite position on the couch
El Cotillo
After our walk Lorraine and I drove to El Cotillo, a small coastal town on the Northern side of the island. It has a lovely harbour and beautiful scenery with plenty of restaurants and bars. El Cotillo is home to El Toston Tower built in the 1700’s to defend the village from pirates. We had lunch in El Mirador overlooking the bay. I loved all the murals and paintings that you see dotted around and also the way they use old rowing boats as decorations.
Lunch at El Mirador
Speciality salad with the local delicacy of fish pate
Exploring the town after lunch
Some of the murals and mosaics found around the town
Where oh where is my husband!
Posing as usual
The wild atlantic seaVolcanic sand and rocks
Resting in the shade
The tiny harbourEl Toston Tower
For our last night we ended up eating in the beautiful El Marquesina and of course because it’s a speciality seafood restaurant I had the fish of the day.
Turbot with garlic and wine and baby Canarian potatoes
Lastly a very short clip from inside El Marquesina
I’ve just got back from a five day trip to Melbourne to see my son and his girlfriend once again! As they live just outside of St. Kilda I had the opportunity to see different places in Melbourne. It was a gastronomic gourmet getaway, eating and drinking our way around many different cuisines.
I had the first day to myself so thought I would walk to St. Kilda. Sounds simple enough but those who know me well also know I have no sense of direction. But armed with my google maps I managed to get there with a stop on the way to St Kilda Botanical Gardens. Of course with a few little detours!
St Kilda Botanical Gardens
The rain man in St. Kilda Botanical Gardens
St. Kilda Botanical Gardens
St. Kilda Botanical Gardens
Cute little duck!
St. Kilda Beach
Some shots of the art deco buildings along the beachfront.
Painted van
Apartment block with art deco features
Palace Theatre
The entrance to Luna Park, spewing out visitors!
From the beach
St Kilda Lighthouse
We also tried to catch the penguins on parade at sunset but not much luck. The fairy penguins are a nightly event and come up on the rocks down by the pier just after sunset. There are hundreds of people trying to get photos and all standing on one tiny wooden walkway, it was a bit worrying that the whole thing would collapse.
View of the city from St. Kilda PierMy solitary Fairy PenguinDinner @ St. Moritz, Acland Street, St. Kilda
Yarra Valley
We drove to the Yarra Valley one day to celebrate Maddy’s forthcoming 21st birthday, with so many wineries to choose from it was difficult to make the right choice. Soumah Winery won the prize! On the way we stopped at Oakridge Winery for a quick tasting. It was a really nice place and they didn’t charge for the tasting! The day we went was a very smokey day due to bushfires very close by, at first not a single cloud or blue sky could be seen, which is why some of then photos look very overcast.
Winetasting at Oakridge
Very generous measures for a tasting
Choosing the wine for lunch
Our Lunch
Fig Rocket and Pancetta Salad
Seafood Pasta
Sweet potato Feta and Basil Bruschetta
A very smoky photo of the Yarra ValleyPosing amongst the grapes!Vineyards of SoumahWalking off into the smoky hillsRustic rusty farm machinery
No matter which vineyard you visit anywhere in Australia there is always the rusty old farm machinery, the rustier the better!
Brighton Beach Bathing Huts
The last day we drove to Brighton Beach to have a look at all the amazingly colourful bathing beach boxes. There are 82 in all and they date back to the late nineteenth century. They are all painted different colours and sit on the beach. I took so many photos and here are some of my favourites.
Brighton Beach
My favourites below:
Life’s a beach!The iconic Blinky BillSurf’s up
Some of the beach
Black swans with a view of the skyline
Paddling in the rock pools
Beautiful clear water
Dazzling colours of the seashells
The Baths for lunch and a glass of wine
Some of the places we had dinner
Tulum Turkish in Carlisle Road, Balaclava. Excellent Turkish tapas and would highly recommend if you are in the area. Vamos Spanish in the city. Great for tapas and live music. We had a fantastic night here eating, drinking and dancing the night away. Soumah in the Yarra Valley. An hour’s drive from Melbourne. St. Moritz, St. Kilda. Delicious steaks and burgers with live music.
A very long drive ahead of us today, 786 km and over 8 hours driving time. I know we wouldn’t have very much time to stop along the way if we were to get to Glenelg in time for dinner. Also we would be losing an hour during the drive. After breakfast at our hotel and a walk along the foreshore we managed to get away by 9 am, although not before Anthony had given the car a quick wash.
As I said before I wasn’t doing any of the driving just being the photographer, but Anthony’s not about the journey only the destination. I did manage to persuade him to stop sometimes but other than that I had to be quick to get photos from a speeding car. Being in a car that long makes you very sleepy and also can get a bit boring, I honestly don’t know how Anthony does it. Lucky I had my iPad for reading and in the trip from Perth to Melbourne managed to get through two books.
Our first stop was Kimba for lunch. We had a great curry at the local service station, very authentic and traditional. They were so busy though that they could only serve us on paper plates, never mind it still tasted good.
Lunch stop at KimbaA lovely painting on the side of this grain barnTrying to overtake a very slow moving hay truck.
After Kimba it was back in the car and straight onto Glen Elg. We arrived just after 7pm at the Glenelg Watermark Hotel
We were staying in Glenelg for two nights so we could have a good rest and actually explore. After checking in we sat and waited for Laurence and Maddy to catch up. We really like Glenelg having stayed here previously. Our hotel was just a few minutes walk from the beach and the marina.
A quick drink before dinner
Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent
It’s a gorgeous place to spend a couple of nights with a beautiful coastline and fantastic restaurants located in the marina. Established in 1836, it is the oldest European settlement on mainland South Australia.
Beautiful sun setSt Peter’s Anglican ChurchGlenelg Town Hall
On our way to dinner
Day 5 – A trip to Hahndorf
It was nice today not to have to rush off early, so after a walk around town we drove to Hahndorf for lunch. Hahndorf is a very quaint village located in the Adelaide Hills and just 30 minutes from Glenelg. It is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement, dating back to 1838. The beautiful tree-lined street offers many shops, galleries and studios, a cheese maker, leathersmith, jeweller, candle makers, a craft brewery, winery cellar doors, gin distillery, chocolatier, sweet shops, restaurants and cafés. It still has a very traditional German feel to it.
With so many restaurants and cafes it was a difficult choice to make for lunch. In the end we opted for the German Arms Restaurant. The meals were enormous, typically German portions!
The German Arms
Slow cooked crispy skin pork belly with apples
Slow roasted pork hock with German bread dumplings
Trio of German Wursts
We could barely move after this gastronomic feast but there were things to see and photos to take.
Anthony already looks like he’s wearing lederhosen
An old blacksmith, now a cafeHahndorf street artTree lined street of HahndorfHahndorf AcademyMy chauffeur looking the partSomeone’s had one too many schooners!Shopping again in the leather shop
Driving back to Glenelg we had a quick photo stop over Mount Lofty lookout.
Mount Lofty Lookout
Our last night in Glenelg we had dinner at Sammy’s Seafood overlooking the beach and watching another specular sunset.
Day 6 – Glenelg to Melbourne
Onwards and Eastwards with an 8 hour drive ahead of us covering 730 km, there would be no long stops today.
Maddy eating a quick breakfast on the balcony
We had a lunch break in Bordertown and then full speed ahead to Melbourne. I managed to get some shots again through a moving car! There wasn’t much to look at just vast wheat fields and silos.
A bush fire along the highway!
Vast dry wheat fields
Silo after silo
We arrived in Melbourne at 7.45 pm again losing an hour along the way.
Hello Melbourne!
I had to pay a $50 late check in fee would you believe and notify the service manager upon our arrival. We were only given one key and fob for the lift which was not that convenient, also we had to park two blocks away. Anyway upon entering the apartment on the 59th floor, the views made up for a lot, which will be featuring in Part Three!
