Brett and Ailsa Nickinson
This be a blog of the trials and tribulations of Brett and Ailsa as they launch their career as international travellers.Nickinsons
Regrettably we have Champagne Tastes and Dishwater Budget so there's going to be a lot of boring work stuff that we probably won't tell you about.
However we will try to get out and take interesting photos. We're likely to be based in London or at least a major centre in England for most of the first 6 months and we'll do our best to explore to the limit of our budget.
Travel Blog Posts
Edinburgh Castle
Published: January 10th 2007Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh
Holyrood Palace
Published: January 10th 2007Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh
December 27th 2006
Dear reader, We got a bit restive with the idea of staying home between Christmas and the New Year (while Brett nor I were working, for a change), and so decided to arrange a last-minute trip to Edinburgh, just because. We went up by train (about the same price, and similar time, and much easier than flying), following what the train proudly declared to be 'The Route of the Flying Scotsman'. Being the second day after Christmas, the train was packed and most of the seats were reserved, the only seats we could grab were in the canteen car. The couple opposite us were of the type documented by Bill Bryson as as 'away-from-home-Tupperware' couple. They entertained themselves for about three hours by periodically breaking out and then packing up new installations of food from their ... read more
December 25th 2006
We celebrated Christmas at home together this year. We had the house to ourselves and we gorged ourselves on food and wine, particularly enjoying the Tobin Shiraz (of Ballendean, QLD) sent by our friends Lou and Rob. Thank you everyone for your kind gifts and thoughts this Christmas Ailsa and Brett.... read more
October 10th 2006
The next morning we set out at 7 just managing to catch the 7:40 bus to St Remy. A crowded school run in turned out but a pleasant enough journey. We breakfasted simply at a bakery on the way to the tourist office where we read about Starry Starry Night (Van Gogh - he was in a sanatorium here when he was less well in that special way only Van Gogh managed) while we waited for said tourist office to open. Finally furnished with directions and a map, we set off for Les Beaux de Provence. 7 kms each way, we thought. The journey was cool if a little mosquito infested along vaguely marked goat tracks (yellow paint at eyelevel on the occasional tree). Thyme and rosemary grows wild along the paths clinging to the craggiest ... read more
October 9th 2006
Arrived in Avignon; staying in our most basic, but comfortable & quiet accommodation on the far side of the Rhone. A short stretch across the bridge takes us inside the walls, with excellent views of the Old Bridge (now spanning just half the river) and the Pope’s Palace. You have to se the pictures to believe it. We wandered through the streets and into the Cathedral poking our noses into art galleries and examining the water wheels in the old Dyer’s District before joining the group for an exotic meal at the Bazou I recommend the Bazou salad and stuffed peppers. ... read more
October 8th 2006
The next day in Nice I spent recovering, but I did take some time to wander along the beach, spotting shoals of fairly large fish swimming very close to shore, maybe half a ton of fish / shoal. Amazing moving against the azure background and sometimes leaping above it. Then a quick graze through the flower markets and on up to the Citadel o he Hill where we wandered through the largest most densely packed cemetary I’ve ever seen. More marble than Lord Elgin ever looted, more statues than a Florentine square and a better view than the dead could ever ask for. Then we climbed further still above an artificial water fall where families were playing football and petanque; children were playing in the swings with fenced-off ruins with views of the ancient greek port ... read more
October 7th 2006
Today we leave Italy and move on to France. We had another early start, in surprising crispness, and our first overcast day so far. As I write this, we are on our 3rd train and into our 7th hour and we’ve paused on the French border. Miraculously, the cloud and drizzle cleared as we headed out of Genoa and now we are travelling with sun-burned, parched steep hills to the north and glossy blue Mediterranean to our south. And gritty black sand and a depressing array of holiday flats as far as the eye can see as the flatter land permits. It hasn’t all been so though, there were snatches of spectacular Cinqueterra cliffs plunging into the sea, bridges soaring across deep ravines, tiny hill towns perched right atop the Tuscan hills. The terrain has dried ... read more
October 6th 2006
Today was a free day in Lucca. WE lazed in, had a leisurely breakfast (very good in the B&B - Pablo makes great espresso although still doesn’t understand real tea) and sorted our laundry. Being down to my very last pair of underwear and the flimsier of my evening tops, this was well and truly due. EU$4 to wash all our clothes, another EU$4 to dry them all and we were done and had spent some time catching up on email and discovering the cavernous fortifications under one section of the wall. We weren’t ready to tourist until almost 12 o’clock. So we joined up with Leslie and Casey and set out to assemble a picnic. We initially intended to browse from shop to shop, but the first Ailimentarie we stepped into had it all - ... read more
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