Well, after a long overnight bus trip from Porto to Madrid (and a half day in Madrid best left unmentioned apart from a visit to the Prado Museum) and then a bus to Granada, I finally made it to the south of Spain. Let me just say that my experience with ´turismos´ (tourist offices) over the last week has left a lot to be desired. I really enjoyed Granada. I visited Jeronimos monastery, the cathedral and royal musuem, and, of course, the Alhambra. Apart from that, I walked the streets, enjoyed some great food, and caught up on some email etc. Once again, the photos from the Alhambra cannot do it justice, especially the interior shots. Hand held at such slow speeds, I cannot do well. After 3 nights in Grenada, I headed to Cordoba where ... read more

Well, I loved Sintra . It is a great little town about 28 km from Lisbon. After arriving in Lisbon in the early morning of May 13, I immediately took a train to Sintra and, thanks to the train conductor, I found some great accommodation adjacent to the train station . In the end, I stayed four nights so will happily act as Australia’s ambassador for Sintra having seen all of it! I walked through the hills up to the Moorish Castle and then to a bizarre eclectic castle known as Pena Palace. So many different styles and mostly should just be described as over the top. Also climbed the highest peak in Sintra, Alta Cruz, at 529m. Not really a warm up for Mt Kilimanjaro! I took a bus trip to Cabo de Roca, the ... read more

Well, after listening to the above song flying into NY, I managed to add many more to the repertoire including ´Manhattan´, ´New York, New York´ etc. Whilst I was getting some accompaniment on the above, I was on my own singing Darren Hanlon´s (Aussie singer/songwriter) Brooklyn Bridge. . I arrived at Newark and was greeted by my personal tour guide for my stay, Joe Sinisi Sr. With a commentary filled with more names of architects and engineers than I could possible remember, not to mention dates, we spent my first afternoon in NY driving around Manhattan, taking in all the sights and giving me a good grounding with regard to geography for future days. Had lunch at Katz´s - deli famous for the ´When Harry met Sally´”I´ll have what she´s having scene”. Not as much horn ... read more

The short LA leg of this trip is more than halfway over but I already have many tales to tell. Since Mary and John picked me up from LAX early on Sunday afternoon, it has been non-stop fun and sensational people-watching experiences. We went to Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon and cycled to Venice Beach and the Venice canals. Amanda, you will be pleased to know that the bike path there is very similar to that around St Kilda beach - too many pedestrians and lots of sand! Thankfully, I was on a mountain bike and not my road bike this time For those who have visited this area before, you will not be surprised that I took several photos, discreetly of course, of the strange sights. There was plenty of strange hair, strange outfits (the ... read more

In less than 1 hour, my parents are taking me to the airport for my flight over to Fiji. Yippee! Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes I received in person, via email, phone and text today. I really appreciate your kind thoughts and well wishes. Today has been one of sorrow and excitement. It is certainly exciting to realise that the day of departure on this epic journey has finally arrived. I have been quite anxious all day. It is also sorrowful to have had to say goodbye to many of you for at least 6 months. For others, our paths will not cross for an even longer period of time. Stay tuned for the Fiji update. ... read more