Ian McLennan

IanMcL

On the way to South America



Travel Blog Posts


'Last day in 'paradise

Published: December 2nd 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki
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IanMcL
December 2nd 2011

Day 14 Relaxed day today. Circle Island bus trip took all day. Nice Japanese seafood buffet finished off the night nicely. Island was partly interesting as we got across to the windward side (read rainy) where they have more rain and as a result, it is much greener. Fully fledged rainforest jungle over there and it was quite nice. Would have been good to do some hiking but that was not our situation. We are really getting into the swing of things now – and we leave tomorrow morning …….. Oh well. Highlight of the day was Chris helping a lady with directions to find the bus. Nice touch. She even got it right. For the surfers among us, we swung by Sunset Beach, Bonzai Pipeline and Waiamea Bay. Couldn’t stop there as traffic was jammed ... read more



Honolulu and Diamond Head

Published: December 2nd 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki
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IanMcL
December 2nd 2011

Day 13 Holiday is rapidly coming to a close and we are just starting to get into holiday mode. Today saw a hot and sweaty trek up Diamond Head (really a crater formed 300,000 years ago (or so…..) but tough enough for two ageing Aussies (and a few others I suspect judging by expressions). Anyway, well worth the 360 deg views from the top. We got to the trail head by public bus – which was late and overcrowded as it comes to pass that this particular route only has an hourly service. Coming home we decided not to wait and walked the 4-5 kms back to the hotel. Lunch then Chris did a bit of snorkelling (I chickened out as I didn’t want to infect my forehead with Monday’s op coming up). Tonight we booked ... read more



Day 11 Honolulu

Published: November 29th 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki
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IanMcL
November 29th 2011

Touristy day today. Caught the local bus into Honolulu and did the walk around of the historic buildings. Not a bad day out! Old church made out of rocks carved from coral stone was excellent. Included a wedding to boot. Monday must be a good day fro weddings as there was one in the protestant cathedral as well! The Catholics for their part just had their 12 o’clock mass. We stayed a bit but didn’t take photos as that might not have been cool! In all the civic centre of Honolulu is well preserved – with due respect to the various Kings and Queens that are still well thought of. We then ventured on to the Chinatown and wandered thru the markets and the restaurant district (trying to identify another place to eat tonight or later) ... read more



Day 10 - Honolulu

Published: November 29th 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Honolulu
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IanMcL
November 29th 2011

Much better today. Mastered the local bus system and with the help of Lonely Planet, found a nice hike to a waterfall and beyond through (at last) lush jungle foliage. It was great – and clearly surpassed anything that any of the tours to now has offered. Only danger was that after a fair bit of rain yesterday afternoon and evening, it was very slippery. Managed OK however. That said, the waterfall itself was a little bit disappointing – although the journey made it worthwhile. Perfect day weather wise – although the wind has stiffened tonight. The bus system seems to work very well and we forked out $25 each for a 4 day pass. At $2.50 a leg, that seems to represent pretty good value. Incidentally, we were befriended on the bus by a 50 ... read more



Fine and Cold in Brugge

Published: March 26th 2011Europe » Belgium » West Flanders » Brugge
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IanMcL
March 26th 2011

So now for Brugge / Bruges / any other way you want to spell it!! Interesting place this. Old moated city in Belgium with cobbled streets and museums and galleries laid on. The buildings are fascinating and the Dutch influence is obvious to me – and I am looking for Flemish influence – but I wouldn’t know where to start. Plenty of churches and horse drawn vehicles for the tourists but still many cars to be more of a nuisance than anything else. I am amazed that the place can exist with 3 and even 4 languages – as there are many British here at the moment. Interestingly, the population seems to swell during the day with day trippers and they all seem to disappear during the evening. Makes it relatively easy to arrange an evening ... read more



Rural France

Published: March 26th 2011Europe » France » Burgundy » Beaune
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IanMcL
March 26th 2011

Well after a hectic couple of days in the middle of France in the Burgundy wine district, you find you correspondents winging our way back (by train) to Paris then straight through to Bruges in Belgium for the next two nights. Our two days with Debbie and Phil in Pommard and surrounds were fantastic – if a little hectic. They proved excellent hosts and nothing was too much trouble for them as they organised meals and Phil drove us around the district on the first day. The accommodation was first class as they have done a terriffic job in fitting out the apartment. It is most impressive. Yesterday, after we organised the balance of our holiday on the net, Chris and I took off on foot among the vineyards and into and around Beaune and back ... read more



Last day in Paris

Published: March 22nd 2011Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris
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IanMcL
March 22nd 2011

Last day in Paris ….. We check out tomorrow so today we were out to Versailles to inspect the palace(s) and the grounds. But first, last night. We set out for night photos and the results are attached. We were happy with the outcome – and the fact that we totally mastered the underground – Metro and RER. Moving from one line to another is a challenge – particularly as the pedestrian messages between stations / lines are of mixed reliability. Always however, you can find someone relatively keen to help you. We were OK as long as we stayed with the rail – but on the way home - at around 10.30, we thought that we would manage one stage more easily on foot. Became a challenge. OK, we got lost. But we eventually found ... read more



Paris - Blue skies and shorts!

Published: March 21st 2011Europe » France » Paris
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IanMcL
March 21st 2011

Bon jour Hello again Day started off well with a swim. The Novotel is working out fine if you disregard the fact that they turn off the AC and turn on the heating. Its fine with the window open instead! Great day already today – and more to come! Then, across to the Gary Lyon station (a hairy experience – thanks Si) and organised our travel, entrance and audio guides for Versailles tomorrow – at about a third the going price. Gotta love the internet! That is tomorrow taken care of. As for today, arranged a day pass for all public transport today (RER and Metro (and buses but we will leave them alone)), and an entry ticket for the Louvre – saves queuing. Happy with that arrangement so we come back and celebrate with a ... read more



Beautiful Paris

Published: March 20th 2011Europe » France » Paris
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IanMcL
March 20th 2011

Gday All What a difference. Woke up to a full moon in the middle of the night .... aha Must be a clear sky. And in the morning - blue sky!! Yes. More weetbix- mixed with French Meusli now and yummy. I was reminded of the Alan Sherman song re Camp Granada - for the younger - go here http://bussongs.com/songs/camp_grenada.php WE had promised ourselves an easier day. Another 19 kms and we failed again. But, beautiful place this. Too good to pass up with a bit of tiredness / jetlag. Highlights of our clockwise walk to the Eiffel Tower and back thru the latin quarter were: the Boyannical garden (see flower shots) the Parthenon the church of St Sulpice (sp?) - known apparently for its famous organ - so we are advised by BIL John - ... read more



Grey!

Published: March 19th 2011Europe » France » Paris
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IanMcL
March 19th 2011

Hello all Your intrepid travellers are on the march again! The bargain basement trip from Qatar Airways - so far - so good. Flight was good - checkin a breeze, planes excellent, the changeover at Dohar too easy and landed ahead of schedule. The good is the comfort and layout of the planes. The bad - food. Ordinary, and each dish was tepid at best. But as I have often said, the definition of a GOOD flight is one that takes off and lands sucessfully. Everthing else is a nice-to-have. My high risk strtegy of taking a D and F seats for the long haul worked well as the E remained empty and Chris and I had 3 for 2 seats. Great for stretching out. We arrived in our hotel after 36 hours of travel (including ... read more






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