What a great idea for a birthday celebration Looks like you had a wonderful, though rather busy, time. Sylvia and I have been on two cruises and I was exhausted at the end of both of them! So much to do. Too much food and (sometimes) too much to drink. Lots of fun though.
40 Birthday Wishes etc .... Hi John & Sylvia,
Yes, it was a great idea but, with the young ones in tow, not really what you would call a relaxing, put your feet up and read your book kind of time but, great fun just the same. I think we got just as much enjoyment watching the kids have fun. I always reckon that with a cruise, you go on as passengers and (could) come off as cargo! :) Ohh! the food! Never any shortage. Very easy to over indulge in both food and beverages. Great to hear from you both and, thanks for dropping in. J xx
Great to see you all Hi Skiset,
What a great blog, with some fantastic pictures, I love the one with Jan and the Children "On Land"
Talk soon.
Kangaroojack
Great to see you all .... Hi KJ's,
Thank you for your accolades. I did kind of get a bit carried away with the photos. I'm always a sucker for photos ... love 'em all. Was too hard to choose so, the list just kept growing.:) Afraid I've been a bit blog-lazy since getting back from OS in November - so much has been going on so, time and energy levels have suffered - but, starting to feel the bug biting once more and wanting to get back into the swing again, so, watch this space over the coming weeks for more on Europe. Hope you had a great weekend in Canberra Caroline and thanks for your email. Erin's Opening Night went extremely well. It's a great production and very professional. Always great to hear from you both and must catch up soon. Luv, J (SkiSet) xxx
Opera House Hi Dave & Merry Jo,
Great to hear from you again. We always love to get your comments. Vienna - what a beautiful city and ..... ah! the strudel! :) If you should get the opportunity again, do go and see the Opera House. As you would have read in our blog, our visit there was a birthday present to myself to see the opera "Carmen" - fantastic. Even if you aren't an opera buff, you can always do a behind-the-scenes tour there. It is a magnificent building. Have to admit, this is one of my favourite photos. Have been a bit slack with blogs of late but, there will be more to follow. Stay tuned :) Cheers, Jan
I have read many blogs about ANZAC Day and Gallipoli... with this having the most history and stories. I have a better appreciation of the sacrifices made...similar to D-Day in American history. You also mentioned the RSL's...we had the privilege of eating a Sunday evening dinner (roast night) as a guest last year on our trip to Australia and New Zealand. Great food and company (with an Australian and New Zealand woman who were also tourists...they introduced us to this secret) at a great price!
Gallipoli Yes, it was a very moving visit for us and, one that we have always looked forward to making if the opportunity presented itself. As for the RSL here, they do a lot of good work within the community as well as looking after the interests of returned servicemen and their families. As for the meals in their clubs - you can usually rely on getting a really good meal for very little cost. Thank you for dropping in. :) Jan
Welcome back home I look forward to reading the future blogs.
I have enjoyed the blogs you posted.
It is a pain in the @#$ to keep the blog going while you are travelling which is why mine are ever only half completed.
Sylvia is always complaining that we never get home in our blogs!
When we do physically get home, I am too distracted by life to finish them off.
John
Welcome back home ... Hi John (& Sylvia), Lovely to hear from you and thank you for your welcome home. Travelling is great but, as they say - there's no place like home and we were ready to come back to Oz. As we both know, blogs do take a lot of time and energy to publish and, it is extremely difficult to do it "on the road" for a variety of reasons. Even keeping up with the daily journal is a task in itself and, many nights, I found myself falling asleep at the helm whilst sitting up in bed typing away on the laptop. However, now we are back home again from an incredible trip, your comments have spurred me on once again to get on with the job and get some more blogs out there. Many thanks for saying "hi". :) Jan
Happy Birthday Ted Thanks heaps for the great update Croatia looks nothing like I expected (but what do you expect?) Happy Birthday Ted Im sure you will have no trouble remembering where you were this Birthday. Exciting news about Erin hope we can all go together to see her. Thanks for postcard too - hope you are not too sleep deprived after the last few "interesting"travel experiences - lots of love from us
Bon and Gug
Happy Birthday Ted Hi Gug & Gab,
Yes, must admit - this birthday year will be hard to top for both of us! We absolutely loved Croatia. Don't know what we expected either but, whatever it was, it was certainly that and more. Would love to go back and spend more time there. Very exciting about Erin .... history repeating itself, as this was Nat's first stage show too, when she was about Erin's age. We shall organise a time to all go together. Lots of love to you both. Jan & Ted xxx
ice cream & capers Please, I'd rather have a souvenir ice cream than a caper :) Guess back packs are better in Croatia than roly bags - you'll both have such muscles when you get home. Luv Mal
Ice Cream and Capers Hi Mal & Ron,
Yeah - I never have liked capers either but interesting to now know where they come from. Much prefer ice cream - any day of the week! Especially Croatian ice cream ...... yum!! Our roll-y bags are also back packs but, don't think I'd be able to get back up on my feet again once I had it on my back. Either that, or I'd end up base over apex, flat on my back with arms and legs flailing like a turtle when turned over on its back. :) xxx
loved the photos of vienna Dear ted and Jan, really love following your blog on the plane trip, Dubai and vienna. now we don't need to travel there. sorry it rained there, Kimberly really loved it too. happy birthday for Monday, ted. you and jan are getting a lot of presents all at once. Hiltons cousin grace from red rock passed away aged 93 so we spent tues and thurs on train. nice funeral on wed, catching up with the rellos. we are all well, usual trips to drs, podiatrist and i'm off to the osteopath today.we went to Sydney sat. for naval ships and fireworks. cruised the harbour, really great too. love to you both, keep on enjoying the travels Hilton and wendy xxxx
Loved the photos of Vienna Hi Wendy & Hilton,
Great to hear from you. We do love to read everyone's comments. Really enjoyed Vienna and only wished that we had had more time there but, fun just the same. Thanks for Ted's birthday wishes - both of us have really been spoilt this birthday year. Don't know how we can top all of this! :) Have been walking our legs off everywhere we have been. Ted says that, next time, he wants to travel with you two, then, he won't have to walk as much. Have to do something to walk off all the food they are feeding us! Sorry to hear about Grace but, 93 is a great innings and, as you say, also good to be able to catch up with the rellies. Also would have loved to have seen the Navy Fleet Entry (saw a couple when Justin was in the Navy - quite impressive) but, did get to see a bit of it here on BBC World News so, didn't miss out altogether. Pleased that you are enjoying the blogs. We (I) just tell it like it is but, also try to make them entertaining. Thank you for following us. Lots of love to all of you. Jan & Ted xxxx
The Joys of Spending a Penny for Free in the Outback! ...or 50cents in your case! Loving your blog guys, That's the great thing about the big Australian outdoors, it doesn't cost anything to pee...... for all the times Andy and I have been to Austria, we never made it to Vienna, so it is still on the list! Loving the blogs, keep it up, we are travelling through your eyes right now. Fortunately smoking was banned in public places in England years ago too, disappointing that the rest of Europe has not adapted.... Lots of love KJ. Xx
The Joys of Spending a Penny ....... Hi guys, We do tend to take things for granted sometimes don't we? and, as Australians, we are used to the wide open spaces, plenty of room as well as our own personal space so, when we find ourselves in more confined environments, we aren't used to that. It's a bit of a case of ..... your space ...... my space, with plenty of room in between. :) Thanks for your comments .... we do love to get comments and look for them everyday. Travelling is fun, it's exciting, educational, tiring but, can also be isolatry. You guys would know all about the isolation and the feeling of being cut off from all things familiar when you are travelling. We get quite excited when we see someone has commented and is talking to us. You would know all about that too :) The next blog is almost there - having trouble keeping up - we are so busy enjoying ourselves that, I can't blog as fast as we can sightsee! Anyway, hope that you enjoy it when it arrives. Lots of love to you both. Love you guys. J & T (SkiSet) xxxxx
Vienna Hi Dave & Merry Jo,
Thank you for commenting on our blog. We do love to receive comments and it's always nice to know there IS someone out there reading them :) Yes, Vienna was great and only wished that we had had more time there. So much history and so much to see - even in the rain ..... :) Good luck with all your future travels too . Jan & Ted (SkiSet)
vienna We found flying into Rome the same, long line but no customs to speak of - did have to catch a bus from the plane to the terminal though!!! Also had to pay 1.5euro for a toilet in Venice - cut down the desire to go :) Suddenly having cold here after a hot week so not complaining, enjoying seeing the Navy fleet and tall ships in Darling Harbour this morning and expect Nat, Justin and Co will be there sometime this weekend. Off for a walk so I feel virtuous but would rather have the lovely buildings to look at like you've been seeing. Love Mal & Ron
Vienna Hi Mal & Ron,
Would love to be there to see the Navy Fleet etc. It should be quite a spectacle. Nat, Justin & Co won't be there (surprise, surprise) as they are supposed to be going camping this weekend but, the twins have both had a gastric bug so, don't know if they will make it or not. Jen's due back Monday but, will have to find her own way home this time as all of her taxi's are/will be away. :) Love J & T xxx
Travelblog: (worldmapmaker=369891)
Addictions come in many forms. For us – it’s always been travel. Whether it be a week here and there holidaying in Oz with family or travelling the world to far-flung and exotic places.
We have been very fortunate to have visited many countries throughout the world as well as also having seen much of Australia by trains, planes and automobiles (and also motorhome) but, still lots more to see. We haven’t even scratched the surface of this vast, magnificent country of ours.
Our children (and now also grand-children) also share our passion ... full info
John and Sylvia
John Wallace & Sylvia Bowman Wallace
What a great idea for a birthday celebration
Looks like you had a wonderful, though rather busy, time. Sylvia and I have been on two cruises and I was exhausted at the end of both of them! So much to do. Too much food and (sometimes) too much to drink. Lots of fun though.