Geo: 59.939, 30.3158Up early and off the ship. 10 of us in minibus with Russian guide. First stop the Catherines Summer Palace. Sumptuous building bombed in the war and carefully restored. Next stop a lvely old church on the way back to town. A funeral with open casket was going on but tourists still allowed in-very bizarre, but lovely music at the funeral. We stopped at the usual souvenir shop of the company to buy the usual assortment of russian dolls, shot glasses and laquered bowls etc before being taken to a local restaurant for a pretty awful meal. No Russians to be seen in the place.The afternoon was spent hurtling round the sights followed by a trip inside St.Isaacs cathedral which is well worth seeing. The city is beautiful. No high rise buildings and plenty ... read more

Geo: 59.3327, 18.0645Boarded the Silverseas ship seamlessly with a couple of glasses of Champagne to welcome us. Very nice cabins with balcony and another bottle of champagne waiting. The ship holds 290 people but there are only 120 of us. Food on board is brilliant so waistlines are expanding. The ship set sail at 11pm but we were in the piano bar and hardly knew we had left. It doesnt get dark till midnight and then only for 3 hours.... read more

Geo: -31.4343, 152.908We were very fortunate to have been invited to stay at friends of my daughters for 2 nights at a lovely location on the outskirts of Port Maquarie. They own a beautiful house with large wooden verandahs looking down to the river,ideal for sitting out on a hot summer's evening. The case of wine from Raleigh came in very handy!They also own some chickens called Silkies, which look like miniature poodles with fluffy feathers even on their feet. A few chicks were also hatching out in the chicken coop loudly announced by the rooster in the morning!The height of this visit was a trip on the river in Chook's power boat for the purpose of wake boarding. Stefan and I sat back with a bottle of beer on the lovely leather seats and watched ... read more

Geo: -28.6434, 153.612Before we left Brisbane we had breakfast at Yi's on Edward. The Mediterranean and the Classic breakfasts were big enough for 2 to share, but we struggled through! Nice place with quirky stuff for sale and comfy chairs and obviously a favourite with the local business community. After picking up our hire car we headed out of the city across the Story Bridge and headed south. We stopped off at Daisy Hill in the hopes of seeing the bears in the Koala Sanctuary but it was closed for refurbishment. If only they had thought to put that info on signs leading from the Highway, we would not have had an unnecessary detour. Instead I decided we would come off the Pacific Highway and go down the Gold Coast Highway thinking it would be prettier. ... read more

Geo: -12.4613, 130.842Darwin is a very friendly relaxed sort of place. It is small & the majority of people seem to be on holiday. In terms of dress they dont do smart. Our hotel was right on the Esplanade which is a nice water front walk. The Lizard bar was a good place to stop for a quick beer before getting a taxi to the Art Gallery on Fannie Bay. It is small eclectic and recommended. The small indigenous collection is good. Opposite there is the Ski Bar -outside tables on the water front overlooking the bay- very casual..The hotel backs on to Mitchell st which contains plenty shops, cafes etc. The best bar we found was the Monsoon Bar which has comfy tables and chairs outside and is lively .For dinner we went to Stokes ... read more