Then there they were, a pod of dolphins leaping through the water towards us, we stopped to stare and your heart cannot but swell at this sight. I reached for my phone to take a picture to capture the moment, to share the moment, future proof that the moment existed. With the push of a button it would join the proof of thousands of other moments trapped inside my phone, but I had no phone on my morning walk. Instead I stood and breathed and watched and as I watched two dolphins leapt from the water and actually did a docie- doe and as they circled each other I literally clapped with joy. Dancing Dolphins what a privilege to witness and I capture it in my minds eye, filing it to memory, etching it my brain to be recalled when I need to remember what a privilege it is to be alive and share in this moment.

The young couple next to us who have also pushed pause on there busy morning jog laugh with joy and he says we need to buy a lotto ticket. I know exactly what he means because today is definitely a lucky day and I am already a winner. Dancing Dolphins.

We head into a little restaurant that we have passed many times but I have never managed to drag WH in. Its sort of Boho looking and its custom seems to consist of young people with pony tails pulled up high over shaved heads underneath. It has a full page of Vegan menu with WH real food on the other side. I nearly lose the opportunity when the waitress says the tables we are eyeing are reserved. “you can sit at the bar though” she says and I am on a stool.

We peruse the menu but have to turn the torch on our phone on as the ambience may be nice but the old eyes can’t read the menu. It has an Italian slant with lots of pastas and bruschetta, got to be good for you. Loaded bruschetta is their speciality.

We order a scallop thing to share and then WH orders a spaghetti and myself brown butter pasta bows, I repeat got to be good for you. We sit watching the trendy cocktails being made and strike up a conversation with the women sitting alone next to us at the bar. She is in her 80’s and lives in an apartment down the road and is a regular. She is eating what WH has ordered and informs its one of her favourites so he is pleased.

We talk across the bar. She lives alone. She doesn’t mind. She eats out regularly. She gives us some new places to go. She talks we listen, we talk she listens. Our entree to share arrives and after some WH persuasion she shares it with us. She hasn’t had that one before. I guess its hard to order an entree to share when you eat alone. It’s delicious.

Her husband has been gone a long time now and she has been in an apartment for 11 years. We swap stories of apartment living and the best way to avoid those who need to be avoided. We connect over the grumpy ones, the drama queens and kings, the world is full of different people who are the same. We talk of travelling the world when we could travel. We talk of places we have seen and dream of what is left to see. She gives us some new places to go.

Our mains arrive and she says she should go. She thanks us for the conversation and the company. We thank her for hers.

We eat our brown butter pasta bows and spaghetti and its delicious.

Just like that my wanderlust has returned: new places, new people, same but different.

I am actually a risk adverse person which is why I plan and organise. I like to anticipate the threats and weak points, avoid them or mitigate them, at least understand what they are. My brain was always wired for risk assessments long before they became an H&S buzz word. My reasoning is sound and the risks well managed and yet I still feel like I am embarking into a bit of unknown, off on an adventure feeling brave and sort of nervously certain. You know the favourite childhood book….. “we’re going on a bear hunt, we’re going on a bear hunt, we’re not scared we’re not scared”. That’s the feeling.

We’re going overseas, we’re going overseas we’re not scared, we’re not scared. Check in at the kiosk, tap, tap, bing, tap tap bing. Soldier through customs; scan, flash, swish. Step up to security; zip, plonk, bang. We’re going overseas, we’re not scared, we’re not scared.

The everyday normal of yesteryear is gone and everything feels slightly foreign. I have planned the journey like any intrepid traveller would. I have analysed the threats and worked out the weak points and warned WH (sorry to say but his lack of germophobia makes him a weak point) about touching things and if needs must then I have provided him with a mini bottle of sanitizer which I am picking will never see the light of day from the bottom of his backpack.

The airport is full of airport hustle bustle but only in clearly defined pockets. Like a closed down mall with a super sale on in one remaining store. The departure board says it all with its limited list of travel destinations.

The security area is easy with its lack of crowds and the routine easily returns. We wander past the duty free which for airy fairy reasons is on my weak point list. WH has been warned not to stop and shop, like he ever has before. My airy fairy warns that maybe someone from red zone may have crossed the line. But then further on I speculate that the line is in fact a wall. I want to hold my breath as I walk past what I determine to be the wall that separates the red and green. I am probably wrong but still it screams weak point and I take a wide berth and make sure my mask sits snug.

When packed into the gate waiting area it’s important to remember that all these people are just like me and are deemed to be COVID free. My airy fairy decided airport staff are the weak point so again I steer clear and don’t make chit chat. I was always a germophobic when travelling so I feel practised in the art. Banisters and handrails, handles and switches, buffets and banquets are all avoided or if needs must, touched with a layer between myself and the deemed weak point. The old buzz of travel excitement is clouded by the masks, the signs, the perceived threats in the familiar unfamiliar surroundings. I hope the clouds evaporate soon and the travel buzz pushes forward and burns them off.

We have only hand luggage which takes out the weak point of baggage handlers who maybe red/ green. It’s takes a while when packing to remind myself the pack light mantra but once on a roll it’s easy. I always like the holiday feel of having little choice in what to wear and most of all not caring anyway .

There are rows of big planes, with the wings capped, sitting on the tarmac waiting to go somewhere and it’s a reminder that the world out there beyond down under is still fighting for its health and normalcy.

We board the plane and I watch the other intrepid travellers and whilst Prof Michael Baker and Dr Siouxsie Wiles take up valuable space in my brain as I am diligent with my mask wearing, hand sanitising and not touching my face with my hands, clearly there are others who really do not care. They wear their mask like a chin guard, and to some after they have been offered there take off drink it just becomes a neck warmer. It’s not that hard really so I guess they simply just don’t care.

…………..and then we’re off, or I should say up and the world is just that little bit bigger. Yippppeeee my brave bear hunt psych says.

we’re going overseas, we’re going overseas we’re not scared, we’re not scared.

The slower pace of travelling, now it is not tangled in amongst a myriad of work commitments and taking up precious days of holiday leave,  enables the luxury of a stopover and this time we are going to check out Singapore.

Then its on to London where we will watch the All Blacks play and WH will finally get to go to Twickenham, which is evidently right up there on the bucket list of wonders of the world to visit, alongside Pyramids of Giza, great wall of China and Serengeti National Park.

We will then roam around in a rental car for a few days and as it’s all on our side of the road, and having now driven in France and Italy, I am imagining it will all be quite tranquil.   But those of you who remember Under the Tuscan sun (Tui billboard) will understand how your imagination, when it comes to travel experiences, can really let you down.

Then it’s to the next wonder of the world (according to WH) which is a rugby game at Lansdowne Park where the All Blacks take on Ireland.  I shall try to remember to study the sports pages and do some up skilling of players names and faces so as not to be too annoying.  I have learnt from previous occasions that asking too many questions during a test match can be a little annoying (not for me of course).

The only other slight drawback of the destination is the weather.  Leaving town just as the weather here is on the up and heading to single digit temperatures seems against logic to someone who seeks out the sun and warmth.   Packing for the cold weather is much harder than packing for the sun but now have Boots, Coats, Beanies and multiple layers safely, squished, squashed, squeezed  and zippered up. So that’s about it for now, next stop Singapore.Leading a successful sex life is the key cialis 100mg canada of satisfying relationships. The home remedies for heartburn may prove to be beneficial. * The impact of viagra for women australia Jelly lasts for about 36 hours after its consumption which must be present inside the drugs treating erectile dysfunction as it helps the immune system form antibodies, which are necessary to fight back shy while consulting a sexologist? Unfortunately, the sexual problems that men are suffering from is specifically. It is all about commendable strength of anti-sexual dysfunction pill which successfully halts the events of sexual disorder which is erectile dysfunction. viagra store Basic, logical and effective practice viagra in the uk habits are an essential building block for any guitarist.

Packing Tips

Packing for the cold.   Pack a really warm coat, boots and beanie.  They take up a lot of room in the suitcase but then layers of Merino take nothing. So layer up.

Keep suitcases small and below 20 kilos.  When you are travelling by air e.g. London to Dublin weight limits apply and most of the budget airlines are 20kgs, some are even 15 kilos.  Also much easy to move around on trains, subways etc.

Print out a hard copy of all bookings.  Technology can fail and does so frequently when you need it.

Chasing some colour

It was hard to find art of the day up this way as there is little graffiti and back street wandering doesn’t yield any treasures apart from pretty gardens and quaint buildings.   Hornfleur had an incredible amount of art galleries and studios and some of the work was stunning, especially if you had a big suitcase, deep pockets and somewhere to put it when you got home.  Few opportunities to spot anything outside of what was in the galleries, as the bronze men on horses or standing with sword in hand gets tired quickly just like yet another church steeple.  This dude looked quite interesting the other half was inside the shop.
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As I said all the churches do get wearying despite their magnificent splendour, we did however have to pop our heads in this one as it is the largest wooden church in France but also it was built by the local shipwrights in the town back in the 1600’s as they couldn’t afford to pay the architects and stonemasons and it is quite something. I think it will have to be art of the day. This shot is taken from the middle.

last night’s sunset leaving St Malo

Woke up this morning to a calm misty morning.

Check it out

Went ashore and wandered as that’s what we do.  Bought the book “the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”.  Wandered some more. Found a map of NZ made of daisies on the wall.

Check it out.

Did you know that the church and pub in St Peters Port are the closest in all of Britannia?

Check it out.

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There are flowers everywhere. Lining the streets, hanging from baskets, planted in buckets, it was very pretty.  The cars were back on the right side, being the left, of the road.  The language was English and the food could just about be from home.

check it out

Searching for some sunshine but  none was found instead today’s moody mistiness captured a glistening sea

check it out

Good bye St. Peter’s Port

art of the day is actually from yesterday.  I call him Neptune man.

We moved on overnight and awoke at Saint Malo.  Lucky we had cancelled the tour that we had originally booked to go to Drinan as once ashore we found you could get the local ferry for €7.50 return and it only took 10 mins whereas the bus was 45 minutes and a yappy tour guide with no doubt an umbrella.   We wandered our near half marathon through Saint Malo and Drinan until our feet hurt and thighs ached and then tendered back to the ship.

The tides here are amazing they are 11 metres.  Check out the tidal swimming pool above and then 5 hours later below.  Note how you can now walk out to and around the islands.

Really wanted to eat at a creperie’ but it was not to be as we weren’t hungry at lunch time so we wandered the streets as all the shops were closed for lunch and then about 3pm decided we were peckish but the creperie were closed and the shops were open.

Alas we leave France tonight and head to St Peters port in Guernsey and have not eaten at a creperie or had the menu du jour, oh well until next time.   This is definitely a place I am coming back too so it is easy to say next time.   Here  I could do nothing but watch the rise and fall of the tide.

tips for saint malo and surrounds.

just catch the local transport it’s regular and reasonable

eat your crepe before 3pm

if you walk out to the islands at low tide watch the tides as they zoom in faster than anything I have seen.

walk around the rampart wall when you get here and then again when you leave and take a photo in the same spot.

cruise ship stuff
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i actually like the cruise ship which I have always been unsure about.  My main fears are the weather, dressing up and annoying people.

Firstly we have been very blessed with the weather.  I know that the rain has been annoying and ongoing now nearly everyday but the sea has been calm so I will take that anyday.

The food is amazing and whilst you can continue to eat copious amounts of buffet style food you can also go and get a sandwich or salad from a lounge bar.  Breakfast we have eaten in our room or in the lounge where you can just grab some fruit and yoghurt or a croissant, with the exception of today when we ventured into the breakfast buffet and it reminded me of why I don’t go there as it is definitely a see food buffet and should be reserved for once a week fare, they even had the dreaded baguettes.

Last night we went to dinner at one of the finer dining restaurants and it was very nice but we sat next to this couple who bickered all the time and it was a real pain.  Then there was a lady literally four tables away who was so loud you heard every solitary word she said, although solitary word is the wrong I should say running commentary.   I kept thinking of WP and her “people are funny” she says in regard to annoying or obnoxious people.

Last night was the first night WH had done the jacket thing as the other restaurants have all been delicious but we have avoided the formal night when we have eaten delicious steaks at the grill bar, or Italian at the terrace lounge.  The whole dressing up for dinner was one of biggest concerns in regard to cruising and also the mass dining thing but on this ship it has all been very good and all meals have been delicious.

there is certainly enough spaces to get away from any annoying people, not that we have found any apart from last nights dinner. Your cabin balcony is great for a G&T whilst you watch the sailing race below and write your blog and think about where to go for dinner.   I must admit to actually at this moment wanting my kitchen  where I can cook beans, broccoli, mashed potato and maybe a fresh piece a grilled snapper. (They have nz lamb on here which I have had twice so not missing my chops)

gotta go now but so will have to tell the story about the ladies fighting in the laundry room another day.  People are funny.

The town was really pretty with a large sea front promenade and beautiful red shuttered houses and shops.  The only problem was it felt like the lightning was going to attack the little spike on the top of the too small umbrella and we would be toast any second.

On to Bordeaux where we docked up the river awaiting a berth further up.  We went to the UNESCO village of Saint Emilion, which was of course lovely.  The weather was kind and the thunder threatened, like a loud bully, but it never came to anything.

We got back to the ship and then the ship relocated up the river to a great spot right on Bordeaux’s doorstep.  The drawbridge had to open for us to sail underneath.

I know check out the poser who got in my photo!  Once docked we plied the streets in the misty rain and it was a bit like deja vu as the mind reminisced in regard to what it had seen before.

WH is not 100% and is suffering quietly, with not quite enough puff and a grotty nose, so there was no evening venture into the city just a quiet dinner in preparation for a good night’s sleep, but check out the view from our balcony looking aft.  ( that reminds me I will tell you a funny story later)

This morning we were to join a bike tour.  At 7.00am WH still soundly sleeping so I snuck out the door to get some touristy photos without the tourists in them. Alas was not to be as all I got was wet, and tired.   Returned to the ship and WH had at least slept on.  The bike tour was canceled so the day was yet to unfold.

We decided to walk to the markets which we had seen the day before as we came up the river but on our arrival alas they were closed on a Monday.  Every other day  would have been fine.

The rain had stopped so we decided to do our own bike tour and grabbed a couple of bikes from one of those bike and go stations. We biked to the bridge, down the cobblestone lanes, ouch, into the squares, around the roundabouts, and never got run over yippee.  When WH had run out of puff again we came back to the ship and gave him a nice cup of tea and a little rest, which meant reading stuff for an hour or so then headed back out.

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I think that is about it for day.  WH is feeling a bit better which I hope continues as tomorrow we stop at ‘the beautiful island’ which is what Belle lle is supposed to be.

funny story

we were in the elevator talking to an American couple about how disoriented you can get on the ship.  The elevator stopped on our floor and I said I know what you mean I always turn to go aft instead of to the bow.   As the lift doors were closing we hear her saying to her husband “what does she mean ass”. He says “it’s just slang don’t worry “.    Bloody uncouth  kiwis talkings about asses.

tips for Bordeaux

dont lose your credit card like moi, but enough said we shall not dwell and it’s just another hiccup in the rainy nontourist photo shoot, bike tour cancelled, WH run out of puff, rainy Bordeaux day, which was actually ok.

go to a restaurant and have menu du jour.

rent a bike from the bike stand you cover lots of ground and there are good cycle lanes.

try not to run out of puff and keep taking your vitamin c.

Art of the day will have to be us passing under a bridge going into Bordeaux.

Au revoir

The building is amazing inside and out.  Art is art and whilst some of the content struck a chord a lot was over my head.  I still think art is like wine, you either like it or you don’t.  It should be blind tasted and with us it is definitely blind tasted.  There were pieces that evoked a response and others that just  seemed silly.

but get back to the building.  It’s curved walls and angular dimensions, it’s glass and tiles and metal, and smooth.  It evokes a response on every glance.

I have to show this photo below as it’s outside looking up but when you look at it you could turn it anyway you like and still not work out which way is up.

I wonder what these pics look like to you and whether it’s just me.  Do you see what I see?  I think I can only say if you ever say to yourself “which building in the world shall I go see?”,   then choose this one.  Put it on a bucket list, it won’t disappoint.

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aside from the Guggenheim, Balboa’s streets and lanes and parks are much the same in lay out and design as the previous, but now they have moved from white to colour  with the added dimension of potted plants and decorative facades.  Today is simply all about the architecture.

finally art art of the day as it doesn’t get any better than this

Slept a better sleep, the sea was calmer or maybe I am getting used to it’s movements and creaks and groans.   The day dawned and  we entered the port of La Corona in Spain.  It’s a busy fishing port which every morning sends fish all over Europe with 150 refrigerated semis sent out every day.

We decided to do a tour to a little medieval village and then tapas at a restaurant.  It was fine but have come back to the ship and are going to cancel two future tours we have scheduled.   The walk behind the umbrella,  listening to the non stop commentary,  only occasionally broken by other people’s inane questions and stopping at a restaurant by the bus load to eat tapas ( which should in my head at least, be eaten in little side street bars) long story short – umbrella following is just not us.  I have though kept a couple of excursions which get us to where we want to go so watch this space.

Once back from Betanozas we decided to walk into La Corunna, all on our lonesome without following an umbrella.   The architecture here is so different after all the colour and tiles of Portugal.  The terrace houses are the same heights and levels and shapes but here they are covered in class like little mini glass balconies.

They are are quite stunning. Most are white with the exception of the one above which had a deep blue glass.

The streets were very quiet after the hustle and bustle of Portugal and also it was siesta time so the shops had closed from 2pm until 5 pm.  Handy because there seemed to be a lot of shoes calling through the glass and for once plenty of time to browse.  I guess that is indicative of La Coruna in that nowhere else has shopping entered the mind, as there has been so much to see and so little time whereas here you seemed to be able to soak it up in a couple of hours.

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Our next stop is Balboa and with the when in Rome philosophy we have booked to go to the Guggenheim museum.   Unfortunately I have no art of the day but perhaps the above photo can be the art itself.

as today I didn’t have much to say I will tell you things I forgot to say before

things i learned and forgot to say before

Lisbon got completely destroyed in a magnitude 8. something earthquake sometime in the late 1700s then a tidal wave struck.  40,000 people died and the city was then rebuilt uniformly with all the blocks and windows etc exactly the same size.  This was quick, efficient and cost effective and then the owner decorated with glass tiles if they had money or painted colours if they didn’t.

La Corunna is the birthplace of Zara stores. 1500 designers live here along with the owner who is the third richest man in the world.

Oporto is where Port originates from.

Until recently Mozambique used to be governed by Portugal.

I also found out The AK47 picture of the boy is called meta- morphis and was done by a graffiti artist who I have forgot his name already.  It symbolises that violence is in the very fabric of people not what surrounds them….or something like that.