Thursday, January 30, 2025

Perth: Australia's Gold Coast City

Australia, I can't believe it!  We finally made it to the country of our many dreams.  We left New York on 3 January on the Queen Mary 2 and arrived in Perth on 17 February.  It has been a great voyage full of adventure, with stops in many exotic places, including islands in the Indian Ocean, South Africa, and an African safari.  Perth is a dream of a place; it's everything we imagined.  

We booked Perth on Your Own Tour. That was just a bus ride into downtown Perth.  The bus took us to Barracks Street Jetty, located on Swan River Bay, which is a good centralized location from which to see the city.  

After having $70 haircuts on the cruise ship about a month ago, we desperately needed a trim.  We walked to an indoor mall and found a barber shop/hairdresser.  We were in luck because the barber there had some canceled appointments.  The Barber from Chile had an interesting story about settling in Australia.  It was a story of perseverance and survival.  He is now making Australia great one haircut at a time.    After our haircuts, it was time for lunch.  We hadn't had fast food in over 2 months, so we walked into a Hungry Jacks that looked strangely familiar.

Well, we now know what Burger King is called in Australia.  I had the Aussie Whopper.  It was alright if you like pickled beets, a fried egg, and ham on your whopper.  I removed the egg, and the beets were good.  However, I would not order it again.  They also had a tropical Whopper with pineapple on it.  I should have had that.  Terri wasn't adventurous; she had a plain Whopper with cheese.  What a chicken!!!  It was about 40 Australian Dollars or $19 US.

After lunch, we walked around the city a little.  We walked through an outdoor mall on a pedestrian street.  During our walk, we found a city information booth.  A friendly retired lady gave us directions for the public transportation that would take us to Kings Park.  

Kings Park, the largest park in Perth, is a beautiful park that overlooks the City and the Swan River Bay.  We saw the Western Australian Veterans Memorial and the Botanical Gardens with rock formations 2.5 billion years old.  What a great stop.  It was neat to see Perth Families enjoying a picnic on the green overlooking the city.  The Botanical Gardens was incredible; with an elevated walkway, we had a magnificent view of the Park and the City.  After seeing the park, we took the city bus back to the city's center.  We then walk down to the Barracks Street Jetty for our ride back to the ship. 
  

We are now 46 days into the trip; we returned to the ship to our new cabin with a balcony.  Our stuff was magically moved from our interior cabin while visiting Perth.  The trip is winding down.  8 days left before we get to Sydney.  Before we get there, we see Adelaide and  Melbourne.  This evening, we left Perth to sail around that southwest cape of Australia.  We are traveling through the Great Austrailian Bight on the way to Adelaide.



Florance: David and the Ponte Vecchio

Watching CBS Sunday Morning and their story about the Ponte Vecchio got me thinking of our family trip to Florence, Italy. We live in Germany and were stationed there in the early 1990s while in the Army. We went on a camping trip to the Army Base near Pisa. We stayed there for a week and visited the sites in Northern Italy. 

We camped at the Army Base Camp Darby near Pisa, a logistics hub for the US Military in Italy.  We had a fantastic week touring Pisa, Northern Italy, and Florance.   It was an amazing time in our lives stationed in Europe with young kids experiencing the world and all it had to offer. 

I remember this trip with great fondness. We took the train from Pisa to Florence. While there, we walked across the 15th-century Ponte Vecchio Bridge, stood in line, and saw Michoanglos David. Although the kids were little then, they appreciated the chance to grow up in Europe.

On the trip, we also visited the medieval town of Lucca, near Pisa. This city, with its defining city wall and fortress, changed little in 2000. It still has its original Roman street plan.

Of course, everyone knows the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the area's main tourist attraction, but there is so much more there.

Thinking about this trip and living in Europe made me realize what a great life we have had.  It's not over yet.  We will continue to hit the road and the airports to see as much of this world as possible until our dying day. 




Monday, December 30, 2024

Reunion and Mauritius: A Contrast of Cultures in the Indian Ocean

Hello, La Reunion Island.  It is a French Island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.  Terri felt under the weather, so I left the ship and hopped on the Shuttle.  I walked down to the marina, hoping to book a snorkeling trip, but they only had dive companies.  Although certified, I didn't feel I was in good enough shape to Dive, so I found a little swim beach to splash around in for a bit.


I love this place, and they drive on the right side of the road.  It's completely French to include the menus.  The Island is part of France, considered a province, and part of the European Union.  The official currency is the Euro.  It had that Europen feel, for sure. 

After swimming, I found a nice seaside cafe,  Leon, with a view of the ocean and harbor.  I had a great lunch of fried sardines and squid fritters.  It was unusual, great, and French.  

Reunion Island is basically a volcano sticking out of the Indian Ocean.  The largest mountain rises 10k feet, and an active volcano is on the Island's eastern side.  The Island is small, 60 miles long and 40 miles wide.  I would have loved to spend a few more days here to explore the beautifully green interior, but it's not on the cards.

After an overnight cruise, we reached the next Island of Mauritius.

Some notes on Mauritius: It is a very diverse island. It had a completely different feel than Reunion, which was more indigenous and original. French is spoken here but not part of France like Reunion. It is a separate country in the same island chain. Seventy percent of the population is Hindi, brought over from India to work the Sugar cane Plantations.

On our tour today, we took a small boat to an Island part of the national park. Then, we toured the old French Colonial town of Maheboug, which has a marvelous museum in a Colonial-era building.


A major naval engagement occurred between the French and the British in 1810. An extension of our War of 1812 with the British. Of course, the British won, and some French ships were sunk.

The boat ride to the island park and the tour of the Island were incredible opportunities to see the Island's wildlife. The island park was interesting, especially the grand fruit bat with a wing span of three feet. Tortoises were also running around the Island. One tortoise we saw was 120 years old.

Our last stop on Maurtanis was for an elegant lunch and a break from the cruise ship food. It was then back to the ship and on to Australia. I will miss hearing the French on those Islands. It was such a surprise and unexpected feeling that I will not soon forget.