Chesty
John Chesterfield Joined: August 23rd 2009
Logged in: September 24th 2009
Logged in: September 24th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
Venice Seascape
Sunday 20th Did a partial tour of the canal system by water bus - most impressive. Complete the tour tomorrow. Discovered a great little “ristorante” on the square near the hotel - serves a good selection of food, and the top Chianti is very quaffable. Advised (to satisfy our curiosity) that a ristorante is owned by one person, a trattorie is owned by a family, but both serve the same purpose (and food)!! Afternoon snooze to recharge the batteries. Monday 21st Completed the canal tour by water bus and got some good photos/movie clips. Lunch at our now favourite restaurant on the square - the maitre d’ now treating us as honoured guests - although I suspect his hearty greeting on our arrival is deigned to impress other would-be diners as they wander around the square. ... read more
Breakfast prep
Friday 18th Sailing all day up the east coast of Italy, back to Venice. Joan had her hairdo, and in the afternoon had an acupuncture treatment (at my insistence - nothing to lose) for her back pain and a massage. Joan is a sceptic, but she said the acupuncture result was great and the massage by the Chinese lady acupuncturist the best she had ever had!!!! Makes me very happy! As the end of the cruise approaches we are both delighted with it - just about every aspect of it sets a standard which would be difficult to beat. Thanks Pete and Mary. Saturday 19th Just realized a lost a day somewhere in my last report!! Oh well, senior moment! Arrived in Venice at 0640. We had joined a new Late Departure program - we can ... read more
Mai Tai Time
Wednesday 15th Arrived at Santorini, but no chance we will go ashore - no dock, ashore by tender. The island was formed by a volcanic eruption (the world’s largest ever) eons ago - the resultant tidal wave (estimated 200+ feet high) wiped out the Minoan civilization and is believed by some to have caused the disappearance of Atlantis In any event, the main town is situated on the top of the cliffs, accessible from the port only by cable car or by donkey up the zig-zag “road”. The houses are brilliant white-washed structures, some built right on the edge of the cliffs. An earthquake in 1956 caused a lot of damage on the island. Heaps of things to do on board so we weren’t bored by not going ashore. Thursday 16th Today’s port of call is ... read more
Kusadasi
Monday 14th. Cruising the high seas (I suspect in a holding pattern as it’s not that far between ports). Spent some time exploring the rest of the ship then another visit to the shops. Discovered lots of goodies and bought some - including a collapsible bag with wheels which will ease our baggage movement problem. When we returned to our cabin we found that our Cabin Attendant Loong Far had excelled himself - he’d made a cute rabbit out of towels which was sitting on the bed. After lunch watched a movie on the cabin television and Joan discovered a Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel which will be very useful to prevent boredom. Delighted by the return of our laundry - spotless and complete. Because we weren’t going to the formal dinner we missed he opportunity ... read more
Leaving Venice
Saturday 12th - cruise day. I arranged for a porter to take our bags from the Hotel Castello to the pier (about three quarters of a kilometer away, through a rapidly gathering crowd) where we had to catch a public transport boat (water bus) back to Pier Roma (no more water taxis for Joan!!). My dilemma was to keep us and the baggage in one tidy heap. Joan would not be able to keep up with the porter and we didn’t want to lose sight of our bags. The porter was due at 1100 so at 1030 I escorted Joan to the pier then doubled back to accompany the porter. The crowds were now enormous but in true porter fashion we carved our way through. The public transport boat was packed - standing room only. When ... read more
Engleberg
Thursday (10th) - our full day excursion to Engleberg - “Angel Mountain”. The now standard train from Kloten to the main Zurich railway station then a short walk to the bus terminal. The bus was ultra modern with a very accomplished (though young driver - René) and a mature-aged lady guide (Erna) who had a great sense of humour. Whenever we passed a herd of cows she would direct our attention to the fat “cattles” (plural/plural!!). The trip took about one and a half hours, via Lucerne. The road system was well maintained and very smooth. The scenery as we reached the mountain country was absolutely spectacular!! Joan and I de-bussed at Engleberg at 1145 while the rest of the passengers had opted for a multi-cable car trip up to the summit of Mt Titlis at ... read more
Rappeswil square
Monday morning - a train to Rappeswil at the southern end of Lake Zurich. The town boasts a famous monastery and castle and a visit was recommended by Pat Huddlestone. Just outside the rail station is a cobblestone square surrounded by hotels. The lass in the information centre just outside the station suggested a stroll around the waterfront and up some steps to the castle, monastery and famous rose gardens. “Some steps” turned out to be about 1000 which Joan could not negotiate. Back to the information girl who suggested a circuitous route through the old town, streets sloping gently upwards and good photo opportunities. The walk started easily through cobblestone streets past fine old buildings and some expensive looking shops). The slope got steeper towards the end and Joan ran out of puff short of ... read more
Jet Lag
Saturday was a lazy day - lot’s of sleeping to finally get over the jet lag and the late Friday night at the Huddlestone’s. Today (Sunday) we took a train into the main Zurich railway station to prepare ourselves for our departure to Venice next Friday. The train was the smoothest and quietest I’ve ever travelled on!!! The main Zurich station is enormous - but I guess most capital city stations are. The lower level of the station is a gigantic shopping centre which gave us a chance to reduce the weight of my wallet! Surfaced briefly to take some pictures at the beginning of the famous Bahnhofstrasse - a quarter mile boulevard of the most expensive shops., which we did not enter!! Planned to watch a movie in the room on the television but it ... read more
Old Swiss Acf
After a very pleasant breakfast in the Hotel Allegra we were picked up by René Huddlestone the Elite Sales Manager for a visit to the Elite factory at Dubendorf, formerly the main Zurich airfield but now used by a couple of small flying school and Ju-Air, a company operating four of the last 5 JU-52 WWII German transport aircraft still flying. The JU-52 was the Luftwaffe equivalent of the DC3 but now is much rarer. When we got to the airfield all four were preparing to take a large group for a flight over the Swiss alps. Unfortunately it was raining so I hope they got to see the mountains!! The Elite factory was not very busy but they’re building three simulators for Australian customers. They’re also developing new models including a small corporate jet simulator. ... read more
So far everything has gone like clockwork. The limo arrived at home as planned - a very smooth large Chrysler driven by a courteous young guy - the trip to Brisbane airport very enjoyable - no traffic worries. The Emirates staff at Brisbane were great - Joan rode a wheelchair and we were whisked through immigration/customs at the speed of light and on to the Brisbane Emirates lounge which was as you would expect, very plush. Priority boarding - again by wheelchair. Brisbane to Dubai in an Airbus A340-500 - Emirates business class superb. The seats converted to beds, and Joan had a choice of about 1000 movies to lull her to sleep. On board meals (dinner at 1030 QLD time and breakfast at 0330 Dubai time) were as you would expect, but I had made ... read more
