Friday February 15, 2008

Two photos from Africa

Last year we had a holiday in South Africa. During the first bit of the holiday we did a Safari. Awesome. You go out in the early morning and evenings. Half way through the evening drive you stop for drinks. These I think are called Sundowners or something like that:

The second shot was taken before it got dark on another evening. Our driver and guide spotted some Hyenas. These take on Cheetah's, who although very fast are fragile and any damage will mean they are likely to starve. So after the Hyenas we found this Cheetah. I have no idea what its dinner was before it caught it.

There has been a lot of bad news about South Africa in the news recently which is very sad given the potential of that country. I could spend a year writing up about the holiday what we saw and our impressions of the country. I would recommend you go and make your own mind up. I would do what we failed to do and that is visit one of the squatter camps and see how those people live in extreme poverty. Go with a guide though. Recently I read a book by Antjie Krog who attended as a journalist the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and wrote a book The country of my Skull which I found very moving and depressing especially - in its final conclusion chapters.

Friday November 17, 2006

Hong Kong Holiday Day four -Lamma Island and Aberdeen

Our last day we decided to get away from the city again and took a fast ferry to nearby Lamma island. This was the birthplace of one Hong Kong actor I do know and that is Chow Yun Fatt. We arrived at the village of Yung Shue Wan and after walking through its narrow streets we came to a temple to protect the fishermen. This village is at the Northern end of the island. Opposite the village is a large power station. The path rebuilt recently was to take us over to another village at the other end of Lamma. The path wound up and down and it was hot with hardly any breeze. We went past a nice beach Hung Shing Ye and then higher up.

In the hills were a couple of highly ornate and large monuments or graves perhaps. Every mile or so a pavillion gave you a chance for a break from the heat of the day. The island is extremely lush but suffers from fires at this time of the year.

On our route we past places where vegetables were being grown and just before entering the second vilage Sok Kwu Wan were tunnels in the rock that the Japanese were to use in World War Two. These were named Kamikaze grottos. In the second village another temple was present, modern this time with an enormous Oar fish inside in a large aquarium pickled for posterity. We then took the ferry back to Central. Another bus journey had us in Aberdeen this time on the South Western side of Hong Kong. This place used to have lots of fishing boats hardly any remain now. A large resturant boat sits in the river and is a popular place with tourists. We returned to Central by way of the Aberdeen tunnel. In the evening before dinner we had cocktails in the Sky Lounge of the Sheraton hotel the bar being on the fourteenth floor of the hotel offering lovely views of the neon lights on the island. At eight pm every night there is a light show that lasts fifteen minutes. Prices in Hong Kong are not expensive food and drinks were average prices we thought. You do end up paying a Mandatory services charge of 10% however. One other thing we noticed was the Xmas lights were being fixed to buildings across the island. When I was last here in 2000 it was a very special year and buildings like Plaza had fantastic neon decorations showing a dragon.

The following morning at four thirty am a bus took us back to the airport. As we drove back a few neons were still illuminated and a few stragglers who had been out all night were returning home. A few food stalls were also serving food. The city that never sleeps was waking up for a new day. Good night Hong Kong.

Guide book used Rough guide to Hong Kong and Macau. There are many free maps and leaflets to be had at airports and tourist information sites.

Thursday November 16, 2006

Hong Kong Holiday Day three - The Peak

On our way up to Hong Kong's must do tourist attraction we took a further look at Central. We went past Norman Foster's inside out building for HSBC which has the lions that stood outside its predecessor by its entrance, one still showing shrapnel wounds from World War Two. We had also wanted to go to the market at Central but this was closed. You have to be careful at Chinese markets the food is really fresh and they also act as the places were animals and fish are killed before being cut up for sale... We then took this tram which is more like a railway up to the Peak.

Th Peak as it is known was the place where the rich folks lived to get away from the heat and malaria which was rampant in the hot seasons in Hong Kong. The ride is smooth but you are at forty five degrees to the buildings as you climb that look crooked. At the Peak you are not at the summit and another steep climb - which you have to do on foot takes you up Austin road to the real summit. Here was the site of the original Governer's building torn down by the Japanese in World War Two. There are gardens up there now. We then went down the road back to the visitors centre and then did the circuit of Harlech/Lugard Roads. At the end you get some amazing views of the skyline even more impressive in the evening.

Up here we noticed how green the island really is and the large pretty butterflies that flew around us. We got back to the centre and had lunch outside it which is known by the locals as the flying wok.

We returned down to central and took a bus to Causway Bay hoping to see the Tiger Balm gardens or Aw Boon Haw gardens named after the chap who made his fortune selling this balm. After a long walk uphill we asked a local how far to the gardens. She told us it was a great shame but they had been flattened and a sky scraper stood in their place now.

In the evening we had a great Chinese meal at Spring Deer 42 Mody street right near our hotel. Last part tomorrow.

Wednesday November 15, 2006

Hong Kong Holiday Day two - Lantau Island

There are many things I remember about Hong Kong that have not changed, the bamboo scaffolding used on all building projects, the endless building work going on you are never far from roadworks or a new building going up. Since the relocation of the airport Kowloon is seeing a lot more building going on and with the old airport closed the height restrictions are being lifted for new buildings. The other thing is the trollies used to move things around the streets carrying all sorts of things. Instrad of lorries stopping at every place these delivery men do the final drop off using these trollies. Our next visit was back to the island of Lantau. We took the MTR to Lai King and then on the Tung Chung line to that town on Lantau. Just before our stop we stopped at the interchange for the Disneyresort. I noticed one of the trains going to the resort with Mickey mouse shaped windows. At Tung Chung we went on the newly opened Ngong Ping 360 skyrail - a gondola journey to Ngong Ping where an artificial village has been built for tourists. You got some amazing views on route, first of the new airport then Lantau itself with its green hills. The village itself was not very interesting but it is sited near the Big Buddah who sits high up on a hill overlooking all.

Inside the building that supports the Big Buddah there are old documents and on the wall a series of ceramic tiles each twenty five millimetres wide which looked like memorials of folks who have died some had pictures on them. Admission to visit this site also includes a vegetarian meal at the monastery at the base of the Buddah. We went and saw this next and in one of the buildings a service was going on which was being relayed by speakers to the entire site. No photos were allowed inside the temples where statues looked down onto you; the base of which were offerings of food etc. Large sticks of incense were buring outside and in the temples were conical spirals of incence sticks burning too. A furnace was having coloured sacks thrown into it another offering perhaps.

We had our meal which was quite edible. We then followed a trail to the Wisdom path which went past a place where people were growing plants and flowers for the monastery. The words of wisdon are on tall planks of wood set into the ground.

The backdrop was of the lovely Lantau peak where you can get excellent views at sunset. On the way back we found an underground walkway which comes out near our hotel. Its main job was to link the MTR underground station to a KCR rail system near us. This meant we could avoid the tailors and dodgy watch salesman whom we met when strolling along the pavements. The tailors were smartly dressed so we could spot them - the copy watch folks were usually in jeans. In Central the pedestrian system is one story above the road and is quite extensive - if poorly signed however. More tomorrow.

Tuesday November 14, 2006

Hong Kong Holiday Day one - The Island and Stanley

So a five day trip to Hong Kong beckoned which would be my fourth trip there but the first as a tourist. We flew Qantas and I was pleasantly surprised as my previous two flights with them were less than impressive. We left midday on Sunday and arrived bleary eyed in Hong Kong Monday morning at their fantastic new airport. From above this has the shape of an airplane and is another of Norman Foster's creations in Hong Kong. A bus transfer took us to the Regal hotel on the Kowloon peninsula over the expressway that links the island Chek Lap Kok - which when flattened became the site of the new airport, across to Lantau, Tsing Yi then Kowloon itself. We had a sleep in the morning and got up to explore in the afternoon. We walked along the promenade looking over the harbour to Kong Kong island.

We walked further round along what is called the Avenue of Stars Hong Kong's equavalent of the Hollywood one - with less famous names in the pavement. We saw the old Clock tower the only reminder of the site of the old railway that used to be there. We also saw the windowless Cultural Centre which looks like a ski jump. We then took a ride on one of the most famous ferries journies in the world across to the island on one of the Star Ferries boats with their familiar green and white paintwork.

Arriving in Central we looked around at the impressive sky high buildings in the business area. On our wander around we also saw the only four remaining gas streetlamps on the island. Now feeling tired, we went back to the hotel for a sleep after an early dinner.

One our first full day after getting up later than we expected we took a trip to Stanley. First of all we got ourselves prepayement cards for most of the Hong Kong's transportation system called Octopus cards. We caught an MTR train at Tsim Sha Tsu near our hotel to Central the line goes underneath the harbour to the island. The system is perfect the trains have a map of the entire system and indicate which way you are going, what the next station is and helpfully what side of the train the doors be opening at the next stop. At Central we picked up our number six bus that takes you to Stanley and its famous market. This is on the South Eastern tip of the island. We passed through Wan Chai the old seedy area and then saw the EM>Happy Valley race course. The route took us through Repulse bay before stopping in Stanley village. The market was full of tourists all eager to snap up a bargain.

There is much more to see here though, there is an excellent beach where locals were cooking food in bar-b-q areas and also a lovely temple which was built in 1767 inside which is a skin of a tiger that was shot in 1942. Near here is Murray house moved from Central many years ago. We returned back to Central and took a look at my favourite building on the island called Central Plaza. This became the tallest building beating the Bank of China tower - which is also impressive. Its spire has neon lights so you can tell the time to the nearest fifteen minutes. Before returning back to the hotel we wandered around the convention and Exhibition centre newly enlarged taking more of the sea away from the harbour. It has a great view over the Kowloon. In the evening after dinner we went to Temple street where there are lots of street stalls - which was dissapointing but found a parallel road Woosung which was more interesting with its food stalls and other shops and overheard the large neons advertising shops/resturants etc. The food stalls are known as Dai Pai Dongs. The other two things I remembered about Hong Kong were the intense smells both nice and nasty which get stronger at night. Also the clatter of the pelican crossings - the sound of which changes when it is safe to cross. I apologise for the picture quality I think I have cut the resolution down too much..More tomorrow.

Friday September 15, 2006

A week in Ceredigion ( Part Three )

On getting up on one of the later days on our holiday we found all the houses along the harbour front had sandbags left for them. Clearly winter was on its way. Own penultimate walk had us start from the nearby Welsh University town of Aberystwyth. We went along several roads round towards open countryside, passing a very modern nice looking schoool after passing by a railway track. Up above us on the left cound be seen the National library of Wales and behind it hidden from view - thankfully the University itself. We past the pretty church of St Padarn a contemporary of St David this church having been destroyed by the Vikings was rebuilt in the twelfth century and is one of the largest churches in Wales. After passing through more houses we finally got to open countryside. After passing around a hill we had a lovely view of the sea.

Above us we could see a tall monument to the Duke of Wellington which sits atop an old Iron age fort one of many monuments to him in the UK. Eventually after pasing thorough a tall hedgerow we got the the pretty harbour of the town and then went for a stroll along the pretty front.

Our final walk had us start from the town of Cardigan. The name of the town has nothing to do with the woollen industry which the name might suggest but to the Earl of Cardigan renowed for his gallantry at the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean war. We had lunch in a local pub and headed out under leafy hedgerows and came out at a very Austere Blaenwaun Baptist chapel by a graveyard. We then followed more hedgerows eventually dropping down into a small village where the smell of fish and chips had us pop in for last orders and a nice chat with the local owner of the shop. We then munched our way through the chips while wandering around the ruined St Dogmaels Abbey which was the daughter house of the French Abbey Of Tiron founded in the 12th century.

We then left the Abbey and followed the road back into the town.

Our last night had us having a couple of drinks resting on the harbour wall watching the summer sun go down. Lovely holiday.

Thursday September 14, 2006

A week in Ceredigion ( Part Two )

The other lovely thing about this area is there are lots of local shops. No big supermarkets. People stop as they do their shopping to speak to each other. Lets hope this way of life remains somewhere in the UK always. Our flat was part of a house owned by someone who was actually born in the house. She inherited the house when her mother died and now rents the half she does not live in. Our third walk had us back on the coast starting by a village called Llangranog. We past along a wooded ridge and came out to open land where a centre for Welsh youth has been setup. It provides courses and activity holidays for thousands of visitors annually and was setup in 1932, The place is called the Urdd Centre. We then joined the coast and went uphill for our first view of Ynys-Lochtyn.

This is a pretty piece of land that juts out from the coast. It used to have a Puffin population but these were wiped out by rats that landed from wrecked ships. To encourage the birds back concrete Puffins have been setup on the coastline. Singing on the beach by the promontory is meant to have been the inspiration for Edward Elgar to write Introduction and Allegro for strings. We then took a path down to the village where a beachside cafe supplied us an excellent lunch and a short walk back to the car.

Our next walk had us take an inland walk to Aberarth on a day where a light drizzle could be felt. We carried on following a path on our first walk along the river before taking an alternative path. We were now in open in rolling hills and the rain responded by coming down heavily. In the distance St David's church came into view the only sound breaking the silence was someone cutting the grass with a landmower. It takes more than a drop of rain to stop a Welshman cutting the grass.

Past the church we then dropped into the village where there is no pub or shop to stop for a break so it was onto the beach to follow it back to the town of Aberaeron. This we did getting wetter and wetter but back at the flat we dried off and headed to the local gold mine.

This mine at Dolaucothi is the only known Roman gold mine in the UK, the Victorians also used it and then in modern times. We had an excellent tour into the mine. The gold was found in quartz which was found in seams in the rock. Something like sixty tons of rock yielded one ton of quartz which yielded a sugar cube of gold. The only Welsh gold available now is in reserves and has been used for wedding rings of the Royal family over the years. Years ago children worked the mines sorting in darkness the quartz from the bedrock using their own urine to sanitise their hands when they were cut by the sharp quartz.

Outside an area was set aside so you could do your own Gold Panning all we found was fools gold! Last part tomorrow.

Wednesday September 13, 2006

A week in Ceredigion ( Part One )

We have just returned from a wonderful week in the Ceredigion region of Wales. We stayed at the pretty harbour town of Aberaron said to be one of the prettiest villages in Wales. Most of the houses are painted in pastel colours which brighten up the place even on the wetest days. Half the counties seventy thousand inhabitants speak Welsh which is an excellent thing. Our cottage flat was next door to the excellent Harbour Master hotel/pub.

We used a walk book for the area and our first walk took us direct from the village to a Llanerchaeron which was built for the landed gentry. The good news is that the property has many of it original furniture including a collection of old artifacts like snuff boxes etc - as there are so many these are rotated over time. Back to the walk we followed the Afon Aeron as it ran through pleasant woodland. We passed an old quarry used for some of the buildings in the town below and past one of the many derelict buildings we were to see in this area over the next week. We past St Non's church where many seafaring people are buried and then onto the entrance of Llanerchaeron itself.

Our return path had us follow a straightforward track - which used to be and old railway line. It did survive the cuts in the railway system in the 1960's but eventually part of it collapsed and was never restored.

On our first night at Aberaron we had strong winds and the boats in the harbour that had masts made a lot of noise as their rigging was smashed against the mast by the wind. Being right on the harbour edge we could see the tide as it rose and fell - when it was low tide no water was left in the harbour except a small trickle of freshwater from the river to the open sea. On our first night we could hear the noisy celebrations of the Mackerel Festival where once a year a paper maiche mackerel is paraded through town and then taken out to sea to be burnt in an offering to hope for good catches of the locally caught fish the following year.

Our second walk had us travel out from the town and see the area once under the Cistercian monks control at Strato Florida. This place was founded by Robert Fitzstephen and is said to have become the most influential centre of Welsh culture a Westminster of Wales if you like. The monks here kept a lot of sheep having cleared the land of forests to do so. The abbey below was destroyed by King Edward I in 1284.

We first went through a village Pontrhydfendigaid where both pubs were closed but a local shop had pies which were excellent. The walk then took us across those fields where the monks kept their sheep. We also went through a static Caravan site - something this area seems to have a lot of - static means the caravan is never moved and left there all the time. We passed though the middle of two forests, both quiet and dark - quite spooky in fact. After emerging from the second we were back at our starting point. More tomorrow.

Thursday July 06, 2006

Lake district diary ( Part three )

Our final three days in the Lake district had us staying at the Queens Head at Troutbeck. On our way there we did an excellent circular walk from Rydal to Grasmere and back. These two lakes are joined by a narrow strip of water. At Rydal we crossed a packhorse bridge and followed a track that first met and then climbed away from . Eventually we reached the lake of Grasmere itself.

From the shore as you get closer to Grasmere village you get excellent views of it. After leaving the shore we followed a narrow lane that led into the village itself. Here Wordsworth is buried with many of his family the graves can be seen in the churchyard. We had lunch in the touristy village and then left it passing a house in which he lived. This is called Dove Cottage and is now owned by the Wordsworth Trust who also own a nearby stable block now a museum. Our path then led up uphil and we could see the lake and the surrounding countryside. This path is known as a coffin track as coffins had to be carried along it away from here to be buried where there was concecrated ground. Along the path were huge boulders where the coffin bearers would rest the coffin so to give them a rest.

As we dropped into Rydal we had even better views of its lake.

As we reached the village we saw Wordsworth's second home a much larger property called Rydal Mount. He moved here in 1813 and lived here until he died in 1850 aged 80. The pretty church of Rydal was a little further down the road and beside it a field bought by Wordsworth for his favourite daughter Dora and named after her. In spring it is a riot of daffodills.

Our last pub had a very odd addition to its bar. Over it was the top wooden section of a four poster bed - very odd. As the weather was warming up we had two last lazy days. We drove to Cartmel a village to the south of the main National Park with the coast nearby. The town has an impressive 14th century gatehouse. The church is an old priory and has an unusual tower. When it was extended in the 15th century the new addition was built diagonally to the existing one.

We then drove to the coastline where Grange Over Sands can be found. Here is a large salt marsh on which sheep graze and a long path followed the coastline that made a nice walk. On the way back we went through the town and saw a very odd addition to someones front garden. Several full sized statues of people including the Queen and her mother and Laural and Hardy!

On the outskirts of Troutbeck is an 17th old farm house called Townend. This was home to a single family for four hundred years and twelve generations. The Browne family lived here and when the last one died the house was closed up. Eventually it was given to the National Trust and when it was opened up it was if time has stood still. The last male member of the family retired at forty and took up woodwork. A lot of his work was to be seen in the house. The chimmneys are very odd in that they are round not square.

On the last day we drove over Kirstone pass to do a shortish walk to visit three waterfalls. So this was a great holiday the area is very special in that it has together a lot of features from other parts of the British Isles all together in one place. Well worth a visit.

Wednesday July 05, 2006

Lake District diary ( Part two )

The next two nights we stayed at the The Pheasant On Bassenthwaite Lake . On the way there we did two shorter walks - the first being around Thirlmere lake. As we left the parking place my wife spotted two other people bundling Foxglove plants into their car having dug them up. For many reasons this is a selfish act of vandalism - and if the plants survived I will be amazed. Our outward leg of the journey had us walk beside the lake a reservoir built in 1892 by the Manchester Corporation.

A lot of the time the lake was obscured by trees and soon we took a gentle path uphill then down onto the opposite side of the valley which gave us excellent views. However rain had started to fall and we elected to drop down to the road earlier than the walk suggested to visit a pub for lunch. We then left the pub and it soon started raining again. But we were less than a mile from the car and soon got back to it to dry off. After reaching the Pheasant and changing clothes we did our second walk on nearby Bassenthwaite Lake. Before we got to the lake we had a long uphill section through conifer woods. After reaching the top we then dropped down to a road by a hotel. We then crossed a series of fields until we could see St Bega's church.

Behind us we could see the thickly forested hill we had climbed where the conifer trees grew halfway up the mountain after which they clearly could not grow. The church was the orginal parish church built many miles away from the village. It was built in the 12/13th centuries and restored in Victorian times. St Bega was the daughter of an Irish chief who fled to England at St Bees Head named after her. We then past the unattractive home of the Spedding family Mire House where a lot of literay giants visited the family over the years. We then returned to the car park and the pub for dinner. On Wednesday we took off to Borrowdale said to be the lovliest valley in England. Today with a lot of low cloud we were robbed of excellent views. We started at a small village called Seatoller and climbed very steeply with the peak of Kings How and Castle Crag on either side of the valley. We crossed a series of footbridges over babbling brooks tumbling to the bottom of the valley. These streams or brooks are called Gills here. We then began a long descent towards an idillic spot called Bowder dub the name dub another common descriptive name here. We then followed wooded areas and meadows until we reached the halfway spot - a village called Grange.

The name comes from Granary one having been here years ago part of Furness Abbey which once owned a lot of the land here. We returned along the river again passing Bowder Dub.

The clouds had now lifted revealing blue patches in the sky - a sign of better weather to come in the latter part of the week. We then followed the River Derewent for a while then leaving it to climb up into thick woodland. After rejoining it once more and going past a Youth hostel. Just before here a herd of cows were wandering in the river drinking its cool water and munching the grass on its banks. Our path then had us go into Johnny Wood which is all native Oak trees which once covered this lakeland valley. Soon we were back in Seatoller enjoying a well deserved refreshment after seven miles in this lovely countryside.

Tuesday July 04, 2006

Lake District diary ( Part one )

So our first week in the Lake District for several years. This National Park in the North West of the UK gets busy during school holidays which we were avoiding. Our first stop was at a pub called the Three Shires . It is in Little Langdale near Ambleside. It was built in 1872 and is near the meeting point of some old counties of the UK only one still exists that is Lancashire. The other two Cumberland and Westmoorland have been swallowed up by Cumbria. The area gets lots of rain so the grass is nice and green and the hedgerows lush. Many pretty flowers were out Foxglove, Dog Rose and Honeysuckle. It has some lovely lowland walks around its lakes and more strenuous walks up mountains for those who want to try them out for size.

Our first walk was from the pretty village of Hawkshead which nestles in a valley with only its church easily spotted from a distance.

Wordworth was sent her to school from 1779-1787. We past the pretty church and then entered a field with very long grass and by the time we left the field our trousers were wet past our knees from the damp grass. We went through Hawkshead Hill a pretty hamlet and then toward the lake of Tarn Hows. In the distance was the horizontal profile of the Old man of Consiton part of a mountain. Tarn Hows is a partially man made lake which was created by combining other Hows into this one. The conifer trees around it are not normally seen in this area but make an attractive addition to the landscape. We followed a lakeside path and then were lost. Luckily a finger post showed us an alternative way back to Hawkshead which we took without further incident. A good seven mile walk.

In the afternoon we visited a house called Hill Top owned by Beatrice Potter who wrote the illustrated childrens books. The house was purchased by her after her first book was published. As we walked around I noticed a lot of the guide signs were written in Japanese. A third of all the visitors to the house are from Japan we were told. Her books are very popular over there and they have built a replica Hill Top over there.

The second day we did a walk from Elterwater a small village nearby. This was to be a round six miler. The village name comes from a Norse name Elptar that means swan. Whooper swans from Siberia visit this area. We crossed an old bridge over Great Langdale beck and at a hotel turned off into open country. We past through several farms and into Colwith Woods. Soon the first of two waterfalls presented itself, this one a drop of 40ft, called Colwith Force. We continued and then had a stop at a cafe at Skelwith Bridge. The way back to Elterwater was by way of a fairly level path passing Skelwith Force .

Our walk along the river was very pleasant with a view of Langdale pikes in the distance. More tomorrow..

Thursday May 11, 2006

Holiday in Sicily - Siracusa

A drive down South past Catania had us stay in Siracusa which was once the most important city in the Western world. Our hotel was to be the hotel Villa Politi and by its side was one of the many quarries used to extract the stones for the buildings. Its old centre an island called Ortygia is reached by a short road bridge. On this small piece of land are packed in a very diverse set of buildings and monuments to see. On the first day we wandered around Ortygia looking at them. Sadly the Duomo was covered in scaffolding and there is a lot of much needed renovations going on which in some areas can be oppresive. This is the Piazza with the Duomo not shown.

A lovely Piazza dedicated to Archimedes who did his bit to stop the Roman's taking over the city but when they finaly did he has was hacked to death by them. It has two theatres; one Roman and a largerGreek one. I Preferred the smaller and both are used for performances still.

In the centre of the Roman one is a tank used to collect the blood and gore from the events held in it. Ill and infirm people were said to drink this in the hope it would make them better. An early form of blood transfusion perhaps. We also visited the quarry by both of these theatres where an ear shaped slit in the rock called Orecchio di Dionisio (ear of Dionysuis) iside this large cave were lots of children testing its sound enhancing ability - and deafening everyone else...

Our second day had us drive to Sortino on the way to Pantalica a gorge which has loads of tombs cut into the rock. However in Sortino we amused the locals by getting lost and reversing down narrow streets in our attempts to extracate ourselves from the place. Back to Pantalica our walk took us down to the river at the bottom of the gorge but on the way we saw hundreds if not thousands of the tombs all cut out of the rock.

Again there were lots of flowers on show and birds singing - the only sound (apart from the running water) breaking the silence of this spooky place.

The last day we were to drive to nearby Noto but the hire car failed to start so we elected to have another day in the town. We strolled around a small park that surrounds the ugly santuario della Madonna dell Lassime built to house the statue of the Madonna that is said to have wept for five days in 1953. The nearby catacombes were then open so we took a tour into them. On top of them is this pretty church.

The catacombes are in fact an old Roman water system made unusable by an earthquake. Depending on your wealth your bones were crambed into a small rectangular slit in the rock, a proper body sized hole with a lid or a cave with frescoes and other decorations. Some of these were still visible. Our last morning we visited the Museo del Papiro - a papyrus museum which had both modern and ancient examples of the uses of this plant. There is still in fact a modern papyrus industry in the town.

So in summary a great week away on his island, avoid the heat of summer it gets very crowded and the heat will be opressive. The locals are very friendly out of the tourist areas even more so. Public areas like bars/restuarants have a no smoking policy which is good and the local wines and beers are very quaffable. Treats to take home; the sweet wine Marsalla made on the island, sweets made from marzipan and shaped into fruits and coloured accordingly which are available everywhere but called frutta di martorana in Palermo ( the islands capital) and finally excellent marmalade especially the mandarin one.

Wednesday May 10, 2006

Holiday in Sicily - Etna

From our hotel room Mount Etna was usually visible as a hazy form on the horizon. However on one day it was clearly visible. This was the day to go and see Europe's highest active volcano. From the hotel its Northern face looked like a zebra with alternating snow and black rock. Our first attempt at the summit had us approach from the Northern face as we had heard the cablecar on the Southern side was still not working ( having beeen destroyed in a previous eruption). We drove to Lingualossa and then up onto Piano Provenzana hoping beyong there to pick up one of the jeeps that take you further up. At first the road had conifer trees eitherside but these soon gave way to an alien vista of mostly black covered rock; lava ejected from the volcano over the years. We reached the place where were expected to find the jeeps but they were not running. We did however get a chance to see the mountain closer up and take this photograph.

We returned the way we had come and headed to the Southern side hoping for better luck there. The trees re-appeared but one the other side they were different types to the North side. More lunar landscape appeared and we then reachedRifugio Sapcienza and it was soon clear the cablecar had resumed service. This takes you up to a 2500m level before continuing in large 4X4 vehicles. As we went up we saw a cloud cover was approaching and threatening to engulf the mountain and spoil the view.

We then got into the large vehicles and followed a path sometimes cut into snow as high as our vehicle but mostly on black scree. Our destination with our guide was one of the most recent eruption sites a small crater. We got out and soon realised why the rented coat and boots were needed. It was very windy and cold. Our guide took us to the crater and explained what had happened here during the eruption. The scree was still very hot to the touch and in the centre of the crater steam was rising. He also explained why one side of the crater was higher than the other - due to the prevailing wind. We walked around the craters perimeter and at the highest point we could barely stand up and we got a small idea of what it is like to undertake one of those artic walks to one of the poles.

An amazing day and if you get the chance to go do so - but pick your day carefully. The cloud did not spoil the view to much. If you want to see a real piece of volcano action you should visit a small island off Sicily called Stromboli where you climb a volcano at night and watch the action in the dark until dawn.

Last part tomorrow.

Tuesday May 09, 2006

Holiday in Sicily - Taomina

Last week had an excellent holiday in Sicily on its East coast staying at two places on this island off the coast of Italy. It was interesting that one of the leading Mafia bosses Bernardo Provenzano was arrested before we arrived. But the plain truth is you are not going to come into contact or be affected directly by this organisation on a trip to this lovely island. From the UK it is a short less than three hour flight to Catania on the East coast. We drove from this airport down the A18 autostrada following the coastline in our hire car a Peugeot 307 convertible useless that day as it was raining. The countryside along the road was still green the full heat of the summer sun not having baked the place stone dry and turned it brown. There were lovely terraced hills, lemon/orange groves and cyprus trees to see. We arrived late afternoon in Taomina which is said to be the prettiest on the island and the following day explored the town.

In the town is a Greek theatre; Teatro Greco which was very spectacular with views from the seating down to the sea with Mount Etna just visible in the background mostly covered by clouds. However as we walked around it started to rain and we sheltered until it stopped under one of the arches at the top of the theatre's seating. By our hotel the Belvedere there are some pretty public gardens Giardino Publico endowed by a Florence Trevelyan who went to Taomina in 1899 after an ill advised liason with the then Prince of Wales- the future Edward VII. In the gardens are one of the Italian mini subs used in World War two to devastating effect.

The second day had us climb past the memorial Madonna della Rocca up to a ruined castle Castello Saracervo. In the interior of the castle were loads of wild flowers in full bloom - poppies mainly, confirming summer was here and that plants here were getting a move on producing seeds earlier than at home. This is the view of the castle from the Madonna della Rocca.

From the castle you got a great view of the town, theatre and coastline. Back down to the town we strolled along the Corso Umbieto its main shopping road and then down to a cablecar station that takes you to the coast. We visited the little island Isola Bella reached by a short causeway from the main beach. We then followed the coastline all the way to Mazzaro before returning up to the main town by way of the cablecar again.

As regards driving on the island it is said to be nearly a competive sport but as long as you are clear on what you want to do it is not so bad. One thing they do do over here is insist you stop beyond the stop line at traffic lights. If you do not do so they will squeeze past you and take that place. At this position they can no longer see the traffic light so rely on the cars behind to beep when the light goes green. A cup of coffee arrives in a cup hardly large enough to hold a hen's' egg and it amused most cafe owners that my wife wanted it watered down with aqua and put in a larger cup. More tomorrow.

Wednesday April 05, 2006

Second half of the short Norfolk holiday

Our second half of our brief holiday in Norfolk had us staying at the Saracens Head Wolterton . From here we visited Blickling Hall. This is a very attractive early 17th century building. It is said to be the greatest English Jacobean house. It has a large library ( sadly suffering from damp problems - hopefully now fixed) It also has some fine Mortlake tapestries, intricate plasterwork ceilings and paintings.

In the afternoon we went to the town of Sheringham and saw the sea at last. Along the coastline which is strengthened to protect the shoreline from the seas ravages were just a few of a fine old English tradition the Beach hut. A bit like your average garden shed but full of things you need when visiting the seaside. They are often painted an attractive colour. We then visited the parkland of Sheringham park which was designed by Humphry Repton. We were a bit early for the Azaleas and Rhododenrons but a few early ones were out.

Day two we started with a walk around the pub. It was not spectacular a six mile walk the highlight being the moated Mannington Hall.

In the afternoon we went to the National Trust, Felbrig Hall one of the "Finest 17th century houses in East Anglia".

Much of the furniture in the hall is original 18th century and has one of the largest collections of Grand tour paintings by one artist. It also feature a large shoe shaped bath that you clambered in. At its top was where hot water could poured in to keep the bathwater hot. A pipe led from here to the bottom of the shoe so the hot water reached your toes! In these houses I enjoy their gardens more than the houses and the recently renovated walled garden was no exception. They grew grapes on squat wigwams and in a greenhouse a Passion flower and Jasmine were in flower. The Jasmine was giving off a lovely scent. There were lots of different herbs to see most still dormant.