Finally home

After all our travelling we arrived back in Sydney where we had to spend our last night away. So accustomed to travelling we decided that we didn’t need to set the alarm to get up as the plane didn’t leave until midday. However we almost missed it waking up 5mins before the shuttle to the airport was about to leave Woops!!! We made it just in time to get to the airport and find our flight was delayed for 2hrs due to fog in Albury.

Bangkok

More food!






The Grand palace


Elephant tether for the prince!

Last day in England

On the way back to Heathrow to start the trip home we stoped off to see my great uncle David and Heather. We had a fantastic time and a wonderful dinner at another little pub. We spent our last night in England in Hambleden just near the River Thames which was another quintessential village, just like in all those English TV shows!



Uncle David, Heather and Ben going into ub for dinner


The main street of Hambleden with the Pub we stayed at.

Fountains Abbey

The sun came out for long enough (just) for a quick game of tennis (the English team won 6-5) and then a walk around Fountains Abbey - quite spectacular despite Henry’s attempt to demolish the thing.

Note: the black things on the grass are in fact shadows - quite a rare occurrence during our stay.

And we even managed a quick game of football in the evening. The score was 7-2 to the boys but the oldies actually won the game using the "next goal wins" scenario at the end.

So, it's all coming to an end. One more country to go and we'll be back home. England has been fantastic and being able to stay with Nick, Sarah, Will, James and Tom has just been brilliant (special thanks to James for letting us kick him out of his room for a week).

The Dales and Lakes

We spent 3 days exploring the Yorkshire Dales and Lakes districts. It was a bit wet, but this made all the pubs much more cosy!

The Dales

The Lakes

Aysgarth falls


Bolton Castle, where Mary Queen of Scotts was exiled.


Mary Queen of Scotts loo. Ben was very impressed a royal loo!


Bolton village from the castle

A moor with sheep


Hot pork pie in the car.



One of the many rivers almost in flood.


The Fox and Hound one of the lunch stops



The Crown in Hawes where we stayed the night.

Huddersfield

We spent a half a day in Huddersfield having lunch with Heather and Richard and a look at where my grandparents and family lived before they moved to Australia. We forgot to take the camera so there are not many photos, sorry.


Heather and Richard





The view from Heather and Richards House

Kirkby Overblow (England)

We arrived in England after Morocco and for the first time in 2 months people could actually understand us (mostly) when we went to get directions. It was great! We caught the train from Luton to Kings Cross, and then to York. Nick and William came to get us in York and take us to Kirkby Overblow, a very nice English village in Yorkshire including two very nice pubs. The next day we went around the Black Sheep Brewery which is a medium sized brewery in England specialising in English ales.

The Black Sheep Brewery tour, with the Yorkshire Squares fermenters (yes, we know they're round) in the background.


Sarah holding tolding Toby, the very nice horse.


Ben riding through the Yourkshire countryside.


The view from Nick and Sarah's house

The Shoulder of Mutton, with a good trivia night in which I think we came last as there was only one question that we could answer.

The other pub in the village

Marrakech

We've arrived in Marrakech - by plane having decided that we had done enough overland/oversea travel. Extraordinary city, centered around the square and the souqs. Finding a beer however is a little tricky and involves waiting until 7 pm, walking about 3 kms and paying up to $7 a glass.

Ben with the snake charmer - smiling while at the same time dying of embarressment


Dinner at the main square. Grilled eggplant, mixed salad, olives, chicken tagine, lamb tagine, couscous and drinks (think water rather than beer or wine) for about $6 each.


The medersa, the old theological college. 4 students to a room here, and we think space is limited for PhD students at CSU!!!


The oldest thing in Marrakesh. The descriptions were in French (useless) so we're not quite sure but we think it's the ablutions block for the mosque opposite.

Yes Ben finds another loo (you can just make out the pipes). This time 12th century and with private cubicles!!!

Donkeys, one of the main methods of goods transport, along with the horse and carriages which are used as taxis


The street where our Riad is.



The main square just getting ready for the evening

The city of Marrakech, with the Atlas moutains in the background


Sunset over the city with a minaret.


The Square at night.

France Canal De Midi

We picked up the boat (named Bages) from the lock called Negra (We had originally thought it was a town), just south of Toulouse. Luckily we had bought essential supplies in Toulouse for the first night’s dinner (ie. a packet of spaghetti and a tin of tomatoes also the onions and carrots we had brought with us from Venice), as there were no shops in Negra, just the boat company and the lock. We took the boat, and headed of to our first lock, first of 80 odd in the journey south towards the Mediterranean sea. We ran into a few walls and luckily the first lock keeper spoke English and was very nice and helpful, as we really had no idea what we were doing! The following seven days consisted of 17th century locks, pretty country side, bridges decked out with planter boxes with wonderful flowers, the occasional grumpy lock keeper when we ran our boat into the gates, clichéd French villages with chateaus and castles straight out of Las Vegas (in fact at times it felt like we were on a amusement park ride straight out of something like France World!). We ate baguettes, foi gras, cassoulet, black pig sausage, numerous different cheeses (including the fromage blanc which turns out to be yoghurt!) all washed down with French wine. By the end of the trip we were called Monsieur and madam Bages!

We are now back in Toulouse, and fly out to Marrakesh tomorrow. Possibly no quite as relaxing as our days on the languid cannel.


Typical spot where we spent the nights and our boat Bages


One of the stranger lock keepers houses



The post of Carcassonne at night


The old Cite of Carcassone with the witches castle!


View of central Carcassonne


One of the may locks we went through


The port of a little town called Trebes



The helm and captain!


Typical stretch of the canal


First night celebrating going through our first locks


Ben controlling the boat in the lock


Carcassonne's old cite at night