A couple of observations about Paris. There seems to be a lot of homeless people and people pan-handling for cash; Paris is the only city where I have seen a “beggar” with his Ipod and earphones waiting for change. And there are lots of Gypsies, I think this is a by-product of an open Europe. They are everywhere there's a tourist, from the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triumph to the entrances and exits of churches. There's something wrong with this picture... While there is still dog excrement on the streets, it is less than previous trips, on the other hand, the smell of urine on a hot day is noticeable. The Metro trains take a bit of a hammering from the graffiti hoodlums, the suburbs get hammered, but in the inner city, the graffiti is mostly ... read more

Wednesday, 30th June, 2010 Our friend, Wheels has already spent 2 hours sitting around Heathrow on June 29, waiting for the “no shows” and now he is at the airport 24 hours later to pick us up. Yes, we're sheepish about not making the correct flight, but I explain that I am old and confused and because I'm an “old” friend I seem to be forgiven.... We are at his house 20 minutes after pickup and quickly shower, have breakfast and take off for the Woking train station to buy train tickets to London. We are only in London for 3 days, so we have to make the best of it, we can't spend a ½ day recuperating and sitting around, it has to be go,go,go if we are going to make a dent in what ... read more

Andrea tells me that Jean-Michel Cousteau has been in town and he had met him at the Cousteau Resort. Why I don't get to hear until after he has gone? I religiously watched the Jacques Cousteau's TV programs in the seventies and would enjoy getting the opportunity to actually talk to a man that had been on all of these adventures. In their silver dive suits and encased cylinders the members of the Cousteau dive team were the fashion leaders of the dive world. Factoids: Savusavu has a picturesque setting and is the main port for Fiji's second island, Vanua Levu. It is a haven for cruising yachts and is said to be a hurricane hole. Several yachts stay and wait out the hurricane season rather than making the long trip to New Zealand. Factoid: There ... read more

I'm into my second week at our Vatuseta property in Fiji. The weather has been sunny and dry for the past few days and the trade winds continue to blow. I've just finished left-overs of Chicken stew and my stereo is blasting out Creedence Clearwater's Greatest hits. Does life get much better than this? It's only week two and I am already in the middle of my fourth book, Nelson DeMille's "The Lions Game" and then I will have to start perusing the cottage library. As a note to my good friend Ed, his business partner, Polly, has taken a job at a cook in an Australian Gold Mine. Sell your shares now!! Monday, November 9 - Andrea stops by on his way to work for my neighbor, Mike. Andrea works for me 3 days a ... read more

Sept 11 - 23, 2010 I had forgotten how close everything is in the UK, unlike the States and even NZ. You don't have to drive too far to get to some point of interest. A couple of trips of note are Kilburn and Whitby. Kilburn is another pretty, stone housed, village. A white horse, etched into the chalk cliffs above, overlooks the village. A school teacher and his class did this as a project in the 1870's. Whitby is a old Yorkshire fishing port and famous for being the place that Captain Cook served his apprenticeship. It is also dominated by the ruins of an old abbey that bring back memories of the Dracula novel. I think, it is the most picturesque town on the Yorkshire coast. Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, was an ... read more