Apr 16, 2013 - Third week in Canada

This week we have been quite busy again even with the weather staying cold Our trip to Niagara was great the city isn't much but the Falls are spectacular We stayed one night in Niagara and headed back to Toronto (Orangeville)for the night and then headed for Quebec on Tuesday morning.The weather was great and we got as far as Valleyfield and booked into a dodgy motel then went for a walk into town the lake is still frozen but it has started to thaw out.After the walk we called into a pub called Willy's and had dinner Pizza and a few beers...

Apr 4, 2013 - second week in canada

We have settled into live in Canada but we had to buy some warm clothes so we could get out and about. The locals are telling us its not to bad but we think -10c is a bit on the cool side anyhow It hasn't stopped us doing what we want to do and thats walk and see as much of this area as we can. Our trip into Toronto went well we drove into one of the closer suburbs and then got the tube. The first place we visited was the Lawrence Markets and they were amazing every fresh food you can think of. We left there and found the CN Tower.Deb...

Mar 27, 2013 - Our Trip Starts

We left brisbane really excited at the start of our trip and as we sat in the departure lounge we looked at each other both finding it hard to believe that our adventure had started. We both enjoyed the flight with Qantas who really looked after us with great meals and drinks.They looked after the bloke next to us even better he had 20 cans of beer and didnt even have a snooze. The change over in LA went well and the flight to New York was good. Our Hotel The New Yorker was good and after a short walk and a healthy dinner Nachos for Gerry...

Feb 24, 2013 - Brisbane

We leave a sunny Perth to land in a rainy, humid Brisbane. We had been following the weather reports and had agreed that as the beaches of the Gold Coast to the south of Brisbane had been washed away by the storms that we would head south. The plan was to pick up a hire car and head north to the Sunshine Coast but the news was not good for the next few days so we thought, a couple of days in the rain would be easier spent in the city so cancelled the car meantime and booked into a city hotel. Two days of exploring Brisbane in the rain had...

Feb 20, 2013 - Brisbane

Woke up today and the sun was shining! So we headed down to a place called SouthBanks. It's a nice little area in the middle of the city. You can hop on a ferry, ride the Ferris wheel gondola, or lay on a man-made beach along a pool over looking the river. We opted for just a stroll through the area. Since parking was an issue here and ours had run out, we decided to head across the bridge into the downtown shopping sector. The hostel guy said it was a nice area to walk around and browse. And wouldn't you know it, we came across a market!...

Feb 14, 2013 - Visit to the Koala Sanctuary

Today we woke up expecting rain, but no, to our surprise Sunshine, hooray. I had pre-booked a river trip including a visit to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. We arrived at the jetty nice and early, with Roger moaning there was no need to be there that early, and little does he know about getting good seats, pah. Well we were quite surprised when we realised we were two of the youngest on the trip. It was like a Derby & Joan outing and believe me those golden oldies know how to get a leg on when they want to grab a good seat, whether they are...

Feb 13, 2013 - Goodbye for now Sydney, Hello Brisbane.

We woke up this morning with every part of our legs aching, but for the fantastic day we had yesterday it was worth it. Today we left for Brisbane and hopefully some warmer weather. after an abortive take off and a bumpy landing into rain soaked Brisbane we collected our hire car and set off for the City. Well now we are left to our own resources there is no stopping us. Before we had left the vicinity of the airport, we had taken the wrong road, a toll road and had to pay $10 for the pleasure. Fortunately our appartment more than lifted...

Jan 30, 2013 - Horray .. we made it to Brisbane!!

After a 7am get up and a 3 hour journey we were in Brisbane, It was a bit cloudy but the journey there was very smooth, no trees or floods in the way – strange. When we arrived we checked into our hostel, Base. The room was very tiny but just managed to fit 4 bunk beds into it. It was only mid-day but we were exhausted from going out and the early get ups in Noosa. We thought an ice-cream and a stroll around the botanical gardens would be nice so we walked for around 40 minutes to find when we got there they were shut due to the storms and...

Jan 16, 2013 - Boarding the Crystal Symphony

Th 1-17 DAY 1 -- Time to bid Brisbane adieu &pack up. We leave for the docks @ 12:30pm! Got on board. 1st thing was laundry. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. 2 women almost came to fisticuffs over laundry misidentification. There are a lot of Asians on this cruise. It seemed as though most were in the laundry room day one. I should have waited until day 2! Met our table mates. Interesting. One of the ladies we are dining with was a party to the laundry brouhaha. It has been hard to keep up with the trip blog because we cannot...

Jan 15, 2013 - Day #2 Brisbane

Our 2nd full day in Brisbane, we feel almost like natives -- except that we can't understand a word the real natives say. They DO speak English in Australia, do they not? For example, at a store if you use a credit card, they ask you, "PIN" or "SIGN?" It took us a while to figure out what that meant. We got up bright & early, fooled around with our electronic equipment. Unfortunately, Sheldon got a call about work. The man is on vacation, darn it!!! Breakfast upstairs where we met a Chinese American couple from Texas who are also going on...

Jan 14, 2013 - Brisbane

Thai Airlines & airport not as nice as Singapore (with which I am in love! No guns, no drugs, hardly any crime, friendly, happy people, booming business, multicultural kumbaya. All right, they cane people for vandalism & impose harsh fines for littering, but these methods work. The place is great.) Left Singapore. Brief flight to Bangkok then long flight to Brisbane. Very laid back. Streets close up early. Nice hotel. Staff helped w / Internet snafu. Lovely dinner at Eagle Pier Cha Cha Char - a carnivore's delight but good fish &...

Jan 1, 2013 - Yes!!! Brisbane AUSTRALIE (Day 1)

Aangekomen op het vliegveld in Brisbane, op wonderbaarlijke wijze zal een van de weinige zonder bagage check door mogen lopen het warme weer in. Toch maar even omkleden, korte broek en t-shirt. In de brandende zon naar de trein, 20 minuutjes naar het centrum en het Rendevouz hotel. Wow wat een hotel, inchecken en slapen. Nee, verkeerde Rendevouz hotel, 3 straten verder minder dan de vorige maar nog steeds super. Dan even kort slapen (was niet gelukt in het vliegtuig) en dan Brisbane in. (zie foto’s) Rondkijken en eten dan weer...