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

Toulouse & Canal Trip

Finally in Toulouse and about to take off on a 7 day canal trip. I hope we are able to read a map, and work the locks. Probably the bigest challange will be the language! Will post when we can.

Bologna to Toulouse (France)

We have just spent another 24 hrs travelling! We caught a train from Bologna to Milan. Which was running late as a result of a student protest in Bologna about Bush’s visit to Italy. Luckily our connecting train to Ventimiglia was on the same platform and we managed to get off the other train onto the connection as the conductor was blowing the whistle, a long 5hr trip in a very hot cabin! From Ventimigilia it was a short trip to Nice (France) via Monaco, and then an O/N train

Milan Train station. Train on the right was the one from Bologna with people still getting off as the man with the hat blew the wistle on our connecting train to Ventimiglia.

Bologna

We headed to Bologna, as it was an easy train ride and had more reasonable price accommodation. Bologna is the first city we have been to that we thought we could actually live in! It has the second oldest University in Italy and has a vibrant uni culture. (we forgot to take any pictures). We had a couple of nice dinners including the famous ragu (Spaghetti Bolognese which originated from Bologna)

Venice

Arriving by boat was defiantly the was to go. The trip was however a bit rough and we both almost got sea sick. Venice was nice, but very expencive. We luckley had a kitchen where were staying and had to eat in both nights as the price of going out was prohbitive. We visited St Marks Basilica, the Dukes palace and took many vaporetto rides (the ferry). We would have liked to stay another day, but could not get our accommodation extended. Never mind. On the last day Ben got up a 5am and got photos of St Marks Square with no people.v We made it to venice, after an overnight boat ride, then one night in Pula and then another boat to the Wet city of Venice. It is great. photos and further updates later.


Our first view of St Marks Square from the Ferry


Daytime in St MArks Square



Inside one of the rooms at the Dukes Palace where we weren’t meant to be taking photos


The Rialto Bridge with no people!


5am in St Marks Square



One of the many little canals


The Grand canal at 5 am with unusually no traffic



Day time St Marks Square

Split

Split, centered around the ancient palace of Diocletian on the Adriatic coast is full of Autralian tourists. The main part of the town still uses the ancient walls with narrow pathways and no cars in the main part of town, very nice.


The underground basement of the palace.


No ancient toilet, sewage pipes had to do for Ben this time!


The street where our flat was



Fruit and Veg market, mostly from small gardens and hundreds of stalls


Trying to get free internet connection down the main street


First home cooked meal in the little kitchen of the flat in which we were staying, with fruit and veg from the market


Very nice Ben,

Part of Emperor Diocletians Retirment village (AD296) now inhabited, note washing hanging from the windows!

Zagreb 31st may

Had a great day in Zagreb and a very nice Birthday dinner of all things seafood! The best so far. Zagreb was fantastic very clean with lots of flowers. You got out of the train and all you could smell was fantastic flowers!


Something on at the cathedral in Zagreb.


Night view of just some of the old buildings


Day time in the main square out side the train station with all the flowers

View of Croatia from the train window on the way to Split.

A little border control issue

(this is a bit long but is probably worth it)

Plan was to catch train from Athens to Thessaloniki in northern Greece, then catch the evening train to Zagreb. Slight problem with luggage as we arrive in Thessaloniki to learn our bags are in some tiny regional town three hours further south. Something to do with a misunderstanding at the checked baggage counter and our lack of Greek language skills. This, as we were to learn a little later was the least of our worries.

With our luggage arriving 15 minutes before our next train was to leave we headed off to Croatia, via some other, at this stage unknown countries, on an overnight trip.

Now before you read the next bit answer these two questions. What country borders Greece to the north, and if you know that one, do Australians need a visa to pass through even if they are on an overnight train and never actually set foot on land in what is a TIN POT USELESS COUNTRY ANYWAY!!!!

The answer to the first is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the answer to the second is yes, as we found out at the border. After passing through Greek border control with no problems we enter Macedonia. Five minutes before this Jessica muses “I wonder if we need a visa or something”. Ben replies “nah, we’ll be right”. Border control man with extremely large gun demands our passports which we hand over gleefully, only to be confronted with “no visa? Australians need Macedonian visa”. So next thing we know we are being told to remove ourselves and our luggage from train, passports gone, tickets onward somewhere else, no possible way of knowing what is going – making sure we follow man with gun and passports. Strange feeling standing in a country in which you know you are persona non grata – so to speak. So, by now it’s getting dark, stuck in a country that doesn’t want us, in the middle of nowhere and 2 hours from the nearest civilization back in Greece. After man with gun reappears, he tells us we have to return to Thessaloniki to get visa. Clearly this happens a lot ‘cause lo and behold the Zagreb to Thessaloniki train pulls in and we are herded onto it, handed passports and are sent back from whence we came. Back through Greek border control where the most helpful Greeks give us knowing looks and provide the phone number of the Macedonian’s consulate.

Next day we find the consulate of the stupid little country and after waiting an hour are allowed in to get visa. 22 Euros for visa, plus 15 because we are tourists???? and another 15 cause we wanted him to stick the sticker on today not tomorrow. “Ok?” he asks – like he hasn’t got us over a barrel anyway. “I’ll give you a 5 day visa instead of a transit visa. It costs the same and you can stay in our lovely country – you’ll like it very much”. Fat chance of that.

So $200 later we are armed with our visa, get through border control and sleep through most of the country after that, to arrive at the other end of the country to be woken up at 12:15 am on Jessica’s birthday by another Macedonian with a large gun asking “Do you have visa?”. No mate, we snuck in by the back door…… So, after that we were in lovely Serbia (no visa required, beautiful country, lovely people), Belgrade and then into Croatia (where the border is so open to Australians we don’t even get a stamp in the passport much to Jessica’s disappointment), and land in spectacular Zagreb.


Winning backgammon again! on the train on the way to Macedonia.


Leaving Greece for the first time


Yes that says NO YOU CAN NOT ENTER this country! Note the crossed lines across the stamp and the big C (which we think stands for cancelled)!


The brief veiw of Macedonia after we have been extracted from our train and put on one heading back to Greece.


A nice day in Thessaloniki having just got the Macedonian Visa, Meeting 5 other Australians at the Macedonian consulate who had also all been rejected without visas!


Second attempt to get to croatia, Beer before border control in Macedoina!




Finaly leaving Greece on the second attempt


Very casual beer at the customs control leaving Greece for the second time, as all the Greek pasport control people knew who we were!


Finally through the Macedonian border control with a VISA


What we should have had first time around - which cost 52 Euro each!


Dinner after we knew were we staying on the train this time


The Danube - looking more green than blue at Belgrade, Serbia.


Finally in Zagreb