Back to Paris and it felt comfortable right from the opening salvo, though there were some apparent changes: - Paris had become even more expensive in the last six months, if that is at all possible. - The trees had leaves. - The skies were greyer. - The tourist masses far more noticeable. September is a lot more popular than March in France. We also managed to hitch up with the MacKay’s, Julie, Greg, Bryce, plus their cousin Chris, a young (compared to us) Seppo from Boston. If all Americans were like him, the good ol USA wouldn’t be in half the trouble it is in today. Paris is the most visited city in the world but the actual stats shocked me. 72 million, 3 and a half times our population, call in every year. With ... read more

670 klms from Berlin to Amsterdam. God bless the autobahn. Approaching the German/Dutch border and it was time to disrobe the leiderhausen and slip on the wooden clogs, working on the theory we try not look like tourists and dress like the locals. Why does everyone still keep staring at us? Amsterdam in 3 days. In fact Holland in 3 days. We ARE in a hurry. Is Amsterdam tolerant or just plain decadent? Let me position myself strategically on the fence and say - DUNNO. Get over here to this "joint" and decide for yourself. You can wander into a "coffee shop" and not smell anything remotely like coffee. Could be the original Dutch oven. In the red light district, window shopping takes on an entirely new dimension. Penny particularly "enjoyed" these streets. The world's oldest ... read more

Poland was one of those countries about which I wasn't overly informed. In fact what did I know about Poland? - for a long period, the whole country was criss-crosed by German and Soviet tank tracks, the Poles having been the general whipping post for its aggressive neighbours. - they like vodka. - there is a very good Polish female butterfly swimmer. How about some famous Poles. The ones I could rattle off included: - Chopin - Lech Walesa - Pope JP11 - Killer Kowolski. One who I didn't know was Polish was Marie Slodowska. Don't know her? Same as me, until she married Pierre Curie. One thing that struck me whilst scouring the map of Poland was the "uniqueness" of many of its cities names. A red light is flashing here (and no Mr Simpson, ... read more

The blogs they're a comin thick and fast. When you are on a mission, you can rack up countries in Bradmanesque fashion. Hitting Austria from Slovakia and we welcome Tomtom back on board. Hugs and kisses, we missed you Tomtom. In Vienna, Pepe received his 20,000klms service (280 euro - Ouch!). So you would think everything was peachy. Well let me tell you - NOT HAPPY JAN!!. You see, my life is, and forever will be, unfulfilled. Before departing on this around the world jaunt, Warwick Humphrey informed me of the worst tour in the cosmos- The Vienna Sound of Music Tour. This had been reinforced by not only Lonely Planet, but by a few other travellers we have met prancing around Europe. Unauthentic, irrelevant, boring, poorly presented, tacky...The negatives were relentless. Anything that deplorable HAD ... read more

Its times like these I wish I was Tasmanian. That way I could give Hungary 4 thumbs up rather than my stock standard 2. (it's a joke Taswegians). From the border crossing onwards, Hungary has been a joy. For starters, better roads with rational drivers to boot. The people - my previous exposure to the Magyars was limited to Aussie Joe Bugner (Hungarian Joe Boojnay in this corner of the world) but he seemed like a pretty decent bloke so confidence was high and they didn't disappoint. The Hungarians from our encounters were generally everything a struggling tourist could hope for. Easy to smile and willing to help even though very little English is spoken. In fact German is the preferred second language outside Budapest. This is understandable given its location and some sketchy historical events ... read more