Page 6 of Renae and Dwayne Knowles Travel Blog Posts


Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul May 6th 2016

Monday, 2 May – Istanbul When one travels to an area marked “do not travel”, as is the case with Istanbul by the Australian and US Government, one expects it to look and feel more dangerous. Yet it does not. The people are just like us, going about their daily lives, just as we do in a ‘safe’ country. Men wear business suits, uni students listen to their headphones and most women get around in heels. The majority of the population dresses Western. There is no looking over one’s shoulder or scrutinising each individual as a potential terrorist. Even standing in the immigration line upon arrival Dwayne, myself and the kiwi behind us seemed the only ones concerned about an unattended suitcase standing on its own. My first impression of Istanbul is that it is unremarkable ... read more
Council worker's street broom
Photo from Topkapi Palace
Storm over Galata

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul May 6th 2016

Monday, 2 May – Istanbul When one travels to an area marked “do not travel”, as is the case with Istanbul by the Australian and US Government, one expects it to look and feel more dangerous. Yet it does not. The people are just like us, going about their daily lives, just as we do in a ‘safe’ country. Men wear business suits, uni students listen to their headphones and most women get around in heels. The majority of the population dresses Western. There is no looking over one’s shoulder or scrutinising each individual as a potential terrorist. Even standing in the immigration line upon arrival Dwayne, myself and the kiwi behind us seemed the only ones concerned about an unattended suitcase standing on its own. My first impression of Istanbul is that it is unremarkable ... read more
Council worker's street broom
View of Galata from Topkapi Palace

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin March 26th 2015

Arrived at dusk into Dublin and made our way to the apartment. The first surprise of the stay was finding out we’d been upgraded to a 2bd apartment. Given Dale didn’t have to stay on the sofa bed and we had room for our luggage, this was most appreciated. The second surprise was that whilst we’d had 13C in the Alps and shed thermals because they were not needed, it was 9C on the coast and the thermals were getting active use. Oh the irony! The Irish are very accommodating. We went out for dinner to The Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Ireland, established in the mid 1100’s. I asked Dwayne to order me a sparkling apple juice and the waiter brought out a 750ml bottle of apple cider instead. I commented that ... read more

Europe » France » Rhône-Alpes » Meribel March 23rd 2015

Skiing in The Three Valleys Our second week in catered chalets continued at Freeride Lodge, based in Meribel Mottaret. As it turned out, Mottaret was arguably the best location in the whole resort. Meribel is right in the middle valley, with Courcheval and Val Thorens on either side. So we were only 1 gondola ride from all 3 resorts. The other benefit of Motteret is that it’s at the high end of the Meribel valley so is at 1750m. When it snows in Mottaret, it can rain in Meribel, 3km down the road at 1450m. We arrived on Sunday and met Lisette for lunch, as she’s been there for 3 months doing her ski instructors course. I always love rendezvousing with people overseas. It was quite cool that day and we were hopeful for a few ... read more

Europe » France » Rhône-Alpes » Montchavin March 14th 2015

I’ve been quite slack when it comes to blogging, mainly because we’ve been tired at the end of each day so writing seems too big a task. However, I’ll do a summary of the places we’ve visited since arriving so at least you have an update of some sort. Paris We arrived in Paris on a chilly Tuesday morning and made our way to our brilliantly located apartment in the 10th arrondisment (Republique). The owner allowed us to check in early at 10am so we dropped our bags, freshened up with showers and headed back out to sightsee. We decided to explore the local area so we walked up to the Place de Republique, stopping at every boulangerie to check out patisserie items, and criss-crossed through the 10th, up to the Canal St Martin. The temp ... read more

Europe » France » Rhône-Alpes March 2nd 2015

Mon 2-Mar - SYD > SIN on SQ232 @ 1215 - 1720, SIN > AUH on EY 473 @ 1945 - 2335 Tue 3-Mar - AUH > CDG on EY 31 @ 0225 - 0710 Wed 4-Mar - Paris Thu 5-Mar - Paris Fri 6-Mar - Paris > Lyon @ 0955 - 1156 on TGV Sat 7-Mar - Lyon Sun 8 -Mar - Lyon > Montchavin Mon 9-Mar - Paradiski (Le Plagne, Les Arcs) Tue 10-Mar Wed 11-Mar Thu 12-Mar Fri 13-Mar Sat 14-Mar Sun 15-Mar - Meribel Mottaret (Three Valleys) Mon 16-Mar Tue 17-Mar Wed 18-Mar Thu 19-Mar Fri 20-Mar Sat 21-Mar Sun 22-Mar - LYS > DUB on EI 553 @ 1555 - 1710 Mon 23-Mar - Dublin Tue 24-Mar - Dublin Wed 25-Mar - Wicklow NP Thu 26-Mar - DUB > AUH on ... read more

Europe October 7th 2014

Europe October 7th 2014

Photos from our 2014 Eastern Europe trip.... read more
Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn

Asia » Singapore October 7th 2014

Sabbath, 4 Oct - Singapore Arrived safely in Singapore on Sabbath arvo and met up with Mum and Dad at our hotel. We went to Little India to a restaurant recommended by a couple of articles that placed it in the top 10 Indian places to eat. The food was nice, but not comparable to some of the great Indian food we have had elsewhere. The first thing I noticed about Singapore is the overwhelming number of people. It makes Poland look positively empty! Especially when we wandered Little India, my disinterest in visiting India was confirmed. I understand why Aussie families come to Asia for cheap holidays, but Singapore isn’t cheap so I have no idea why so many of them are here. Still, it’s very much a cross between East and West – it’s ... read more




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