Monday, 12 March – Marrakech Despite the fact that we flew business class on Iberia, which was excellent, neither of us slept any better than in economy. Usually we take Restavit to calm the senses when in cattle class, but we didn’t bother this time because we thought that lying flat would give us the sleep we usually don’t get. However, even with earplugs and eye mask, we were too aware of the aircraft noise and movements around us, and I was wishing I’d had the Restavit to dull the senses. Will get that rectified before our next flight in May. Arrived in Madrid for our 3hr layover and had showers in the lounge to freshen up, before boarding another flight to Casablanca. From there we caught a taxi to the train station, waited another hour ... read more

Wednesday – Tuesday, 28 February – 6 March Skied Northstar on Wednesday. It’s a great mountain for beginners and intermediates but unfortunately Dale and I skied like a putz, thanks to the tuning done on our skis overnight. It’s amazing how a simple wax and edge can affect the performance of the skis. The hard-packed powder also didn’t help, compared to the softer stuff we’ve encountered at Heavenly and Kirkwood. As a result, Dale and I didn’t really enjoy the mountain to the fullest. We’ll come back one more time when the skis have had some wear and the conditions are better after the snow storm. On Thursday we went up for 2 hours to Heavenly to get a couple of turns in before the full brunt of snow storm Quinn arrived. Most of the lifts ... read more

Wednesday – Tuesday, 14-20 February Dale arrived on Valentine’s day and we’ve had great skiing all week. On Sabbath we went to church and enjoyed community with the locals over lunch. We explored the lake foreshore and inducted Dale into the Taco Bell tradition. On Sunday, we drove around to Emerald Bay, which is most notable for it’s Scandinavian style castle, Vikingsholm, overlooking a cute little bay. Unfortunately the crowds of Presidents Day long weekend also thought it would be a good idea and it was a nightmare trying to find parking. The drive from South Lake Tahoe around to Emerald Bay is quite stunning. We took a side road and did a quick walk to Fallen Leaf Lake, whilst it was lightly snowing. The wind was absolutely howling as the snow storm bore down on ... read more

Hi everyone! We are only 4 weeks away from heading off on our extended holiday. Plans are mostly finalised so it's a good time to share our itinerary with you. 8 Feb-8 Mar - Lake Tahoe (snow skiing at Heavenly & Kirkwood) 9-11 Mar - Chicago 12-15 Mar - Marrakesh, Morocco 16-17 Mar - High Atlas Mountains 18-19 Mar - Sahara Desert 20-23 Mar - Fes 23-24 Mar - Tangier 25-27 Mar - Granada, Spain 28-29 Mar - Cordoba 30 Mar-1 Apr - Seville (Easter) 2-5 Apr - Lisbon, Portugal 6-9 Apr - Coimbra region 10-12 Apr - Porto 13-17 Apr - Galicia region, Spain 18-19 Apr - San Sebastian 20-24 Apr - Bordeaux, France 25-27 Apr - Villers-Brettoneaux (ANZAC Centenary Dawn service- rendezvous with family) 28 Apr-2 May - ?? 3-7 May - Paris 8-10 ... read more

Wednesday, 12 April A shockingly early start at 5.25am, witnessing a pathetic sunrise thanks to blocking clouds and a 7am departure on the water taxi. This return trip goes without incident – thank God! Fork out yet another 1000 pesos to re-enter Mexico, which was a shock. I thought we’d payed all the departure taxes as part of our airfares but apparently leaving and entering via land incurs different taxes. 1400 pesos pp is what our Belizean sojourn cost. There’s $100 we didn’t budget for. We collected the car, drove 40 minutes north to a town called Bacalar, which is on an amazing lagoon. This is just as beautiful as Caye Caulker in colours, although Mum and Dad say the island is their highlight of the trip so Bacalar is close but no cigar. Personally, I’d ... read more