Days 18-21: Miravet and Riu Ebre A large slice of our first day here was consumed with a viewing of the nuptials of the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Helen having undergone her one-day transformation from republican to royalist that takes hold every few years. Our four days thereafter at and around Miravet are described here in a single entry, as time has – if not stood still – at least seemed less linear in its progress. So rather than a chronological order of our activities (and inactivities), this is a more thematic treatment. To continue yesterday’s description of our physical location: Miravet village is located on the outer bank of a right-angle bend in the Ebro river, part of it on the river flat and the rest clinging to various angles of hillside and ... read more

Day 15: Paris – Master, Montmartre, mmm After three days of foot-pounding the pavements, and having seen all the must-sees that we had in mind three days ago, we were able to sleep in and then spend some time updating photos and this diary. We headed out for a substantial brunch, intended as our only meal before a special farewell dinner we had planned for day’s end. In the afternoon, Helen took the option for further rest while I headed out to a couple of final destinations. The San Francisco Book Co. is a small English-language second-hand bookshop a short walk from our hotel (we’d already dropped in to Shakespeare & Co.). There I found and promptly adopted a beautifully produced facsimile edition of Emily Dickinson’s Master letters, the kind of thing you could never do ... read more

Day 9: Stockholm Today was our day trip to central Stockholm, featuring two museums – the National (art) museum, which included an interesting featured collection entitled “Lust and Vice”, and the Historical Museum (much Viking material, which helped connect some of the dots from Adelso). The Viking collection is striking, with such skill and artistry shown in all their artefacts. There were tiny pieces of jewellery and even a toothpick and nail cleaner in silver. The clothing, some original fragments and some reconstructions, was also beautiful work of highly skilled weavers. Vikings were anything but the uncivilised lot their reputation would suggest. These major undertakings occupied much of the morning and afternoon respectively. In between we attempted to shop, (without much success, even though we went to many, many shops) and observed an eccentric collection of ... read more

Day 4: Malmö-Jönköping The Swedish language is a source of continuing fascination. First, there’s no point in trying to pronounce any word you see according to English rules and expecting to be understood. There are many words that can be worked out from Germanic roots, but it sounds unlike any other language we have heard. The Swedes, whom we continually ask for directions, are all able to communicate with us in English, which puts us single-language people to shame. We left Malmö on a foggy morning, driving nervously northwards, on the right in a left-hand drive car for the first time in fourteen years. We were heading for Jönköping (pronounced Yern-sher-ping), situated at one end of a 128 km-long lake, and navigating really well until we were approaching the town and took a wrong turn. That ... read more

One dog remains from the dogs, cat and chooks that usually frequent the place (the others having been distributed temporarily from Koroit to Clifton Hill) and he's going tomorrow to stay with Aunty Judy. He seems to have forgotten, or is choosing to ignore, that Ruby and the cat aren't here. The gate to the verdant bounty of the top paddock has been opened, but Mav and Jai haven't realized it yet. School emails and thesis chapters have been saved and put away. The puzzle of packing is being solved. Money, both real and virtual, has been secreted in various oblong plastic accounts. The fridge has yet to be emptied and the floor vacuumed. But it's all under control, and we will be airborne in a day.... read more