Day 33-36 - Melbourne. Australia

The weather in Perth changed and it started to rain so naturally that meant it was time to leave Perth and make our way to Melbourne.  Our flight was uneventful and we arrived at 4 PM.  Our driver, Dean, was right on time and gave us a nice overview of the history and layout of Melbourne as we made our way to the lovely Park Hyatt hotel.  He suggested that we head to one of the many local English pubs as they are considered finer dining establishments now than just the “getting drunk” establishments of the past.  So we settled in and headed to the Elephant and the Wheelbarrow.  I had a nice “Thanksgiving” style dinner and JR had a roast pork dinner, both of which were delicious.  We also spent 2 hrs trying to learn the rules of Australian rules football and Rugby, which were on every TV!

The next morning we were up early as we had a local tour guide showing us around the city.  Our guide, Vitara, took us on a walking tour of the area near our hotel.  First up, was a street art alley way which not only had an original banksy but also was considered “AC/DC” alley.  It was really cool.

After AC/DC alley, we headed to Federation Square, with its unique buildings and various art galleries.  She also showed us amongst the high rise buildings, the Eureka, the highest building in Melbourne that has an observation tower on the 81st floor.  Not as high as the Burj Khalifa but we went up after our tour and it offered amazing views of all of Melbourne (including the Margaret Court Arena where we would be seeing Billy Strings in a couple days).  Next, we took a quick coffee break at Brunetti’s, one of the best bakeries in Melbourne.  Our tour guide said that if someone gives you something from Brunettis, you know it’s good and we could totally believe it.

After a lovely coffee break. Vitara took us through some original shopping plazas dating back to the early 1900s, which were beautiful and had some quite high end stores.  I hate to think of the rents paid there.  We jumped on a free tram (the entire center of Melbourne is free to travel by tram which is great for tourists) and headed back to Verita’s car to head out of the city to see the colorful beach boxes of Brighton beach.  These boxes are privately owned just to store beach goods for families and cost a small fortune but they are pretty.  It was quite windy and cold at the beach (it is winter here, after all) so we headed back.  We said our goodbyes to Verita as she dropped us off at the Eureka tower.  Afterwards, we headed off to a late lunch along the Yarra river and then back to the hotel. 

The next day was spent just walking around the city.  We had a nice Italian lunch at a popular restaurant area near Brunettis and then checked out the local catholic cathedral next to our hotel.  After a quick break from all the walking we walked through Fitzroy gardens, near our hotel, and saw the original cottage of James Cook (who discovered Australia) which was relocated from England in honor of him as well as a Tudor cottage replica that England gave to Melbourne as thanks for feeding them during WWII.  Quite interesting.

Our last day in Melbourne was mostly spent getting ready for our first Australian Billy Strings show but first we went to the Lightning Ridge Opal mine store.  This was a really cool store which is still family run by the daughter of the guy who holds the deed to Lightning Ridge Opal mine in New South Wales, Australia.  All black opals come from this mine and are really sought after.  The sales girl showed me an Opal boulder (opals come in three types, white, black and boulder) worth nearly AUD 100k.  It was gorgeous.  I bought a pretty set of earrings for considerably less.  They also had some resident lizards and frogs that she let me hold.  We told her why we were in town and she told us that someone from Billy Strings’ band had come in and also bought an opal for his wife.

After our shopping spree (lol), we checked out how to get to the arena, which was right next to Rod Laver arena, where they hold the Australian tennis open each year.  We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed back for the show.  We were in line pretty early so we were able to score some nice merchandise and secure our spots “on the rail “, which is essentially the front row.  As usual, Billy put on a fantastic (nearly 3 hr) show, played 3 of our favorite songs and JR even scored one of the set lists from the stage.  All in all a great time was had in Melbourne.  Now it’s off to Sydney!!

Day 28-32 - Dubai & Perth, AU

Monday, we packed up our belongings in Remko’s place and made our way to Schiphol airport for our 2:20pm flight to Dubai.  Once again we had booked business class tickets and it was a lovely flight.  Not overnight but we were able to get plenty of rest to get over our 2 hour jet lag, 🤣.  We arrived in Dubai at midnight so the heat was not much of an issue.  We found our driver and made our way to the JW Marriott Marquis in Business Bay.  We chose this hotel because it was centrally located to most of the city.  Unfortunately, we didn’t realize just how big Dubai is.  We still ended up taking taxis everywhere although they were very affordable.  First off on Tuesday we went to the Marriott’s amazing breakfast.  This was by far the biggest breakfast bar I had ever scene.  They had six different bars, all with a different kind of breakfast cuisine; eggs, Asian, Indian, yogurts/pastries, waffles/pancakes, coffees/waters/juices/alcohol.  They were all as big as a normal breakfast bar and it was nearly impossible to choose what to eat.  Once we had our fill, we headed to the Burj Khalifa for our 12:00 pm ticket appt.  On the way we noticed how unique the architecture of the buildings is in Dubai.  Every building looked different than the next.  The Burj is the most unique of all though.  As of 2007, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.  It is 2,727 feet tall and the viewing platforms are on the 124/5 floors.  The building was constructed by the current ruler of Dubai’s (Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum) company, Emaar, and you can see that name, Emaar on dozens of buildings throughout the city.  Dubai, and the UAE, are trying to shift their business focus from oil to tourism.  The views from the building were amazing despite the haze from the heat.  Unfortunately, the Dubai fountains, which apparently have impressive shows were currently drained for maintenance so I’m sure the views would have been even better.  

After the Burj Khalifa, we headed to the biggest mall in the world, the Dubai Mall, for a bit of refreshment.  The mall contains most of the stores any American would expect but is ridiculously bigger.  It even has a huge aquarium in the middle!  Once our thirst was quenched, we jumped in a cab to go to old town Dubai, Al Fahidi.  Our Nepalese driver did not speak English very well and ended up dropping us off a bit past our destination but we were easily able to walk back to Al Fahidi.  On the way, we saw an enormous yacht called Dubai and after a little research, discovered it belonged to the current ruler of Dubai.  We also passed through the Dubai Souk, with hawkers selling their wares for “a very good price”.  We were even offered Rolexes and Louis Vuitton bags 🤣!  The Al Fahidi neighborhood was interesting with its old houses and represents how the people of Dubai lived before the days of modern conveniences.  Since it was summer and the off-season, many of the attractions were closed and there was a lot of construction going on.  The heat was not too stifling that day but we decided to head back to the comfort of the mall for a bite to eat in an air conditioned space.  

After a long day of touring the city it was time to prepare for our next flight to Qatar and then onward to Perth.  We didn’t get to see everything in Dubai so maybe we’ll come back someday to see more.

We were up and out of the hotel by 10:30, checked into our flight.   We were seated in 1E and 1F, and these were by far the nicest plane seats we had ever been in.  It was like sitting on a comfortable recliner in your own living room.  And the service on Qatar Airways was also the best we had ever experienced.  I would recommend this airline to anyone.  American airline companies have a lot to learn from their Asian counterparts!!  After the quick 50 minute flight from Dubai to Doha, we made our way to the Qatar Business class lounge to pass the 6 hours until our next flight.  This lounge was huge, with two restaurants, two game areas, a sleeping lounge, showers, and tons of seating.  JR was thrilled when he found it even had a sushi bar!  It was a nice way to fill the hours.  Once boarded on our next flight to Perth, we were pleased to discover that we were on the same type of Qatar Airways plane, Boeing 777, as our last flight.  After enjoying a lovely dinner and movie, our flight attendant gave us pajamas to change into (even the bathrooms were bigger, large enough to allow us to change our clothes) and added a mattress topper to our lay flat seats.  I actually slept 6 hours on an overnight flight.  I don’t think I’ve ever slept more than 1 hr on a plane ever.  We woke up refreshed and had just enough time to change back into our clothes before landing in Perth at Noon. Once through passport control and customs, we met up with our driver who transferred us to the Intercontinental hotel in downtown Perth.  Luckily, our room was ready so we were able to settle in and head out for a late lunch.  There was a nice outdoor rooftop restaurant just a couple blocks from our hotel, the Aviary, where we tucked into a couple of beers, some fish tacos for me, and a nice brisket sandwich for JR.  It was a beautiful 65 sunny degrees in Perth which we’ve learned is quite unusual for winter here but even so the restaurant had nice propane heaters.  We enjoyed watching the sunset but then the temperature dropped so we headed back and made an early night of it to fight off our jet lag.

With only one full day in Perth, we tried to make the most of it.  We lucked out again with sunny skies and warm weather.  We had heard that rain is quite common in winter so this was a pleasant surprise.  After a quick coffee and “brekkie” we walked up to Kings Park and discovered the most amazing park and botanical gardens with stunning views of the city skyline.  We learned all about the flora and fauna of the various areas of Australia.  In fact, Perth was one of the first areas discovered by the explorers and one of the first places settled.  After a quick refreshment back in Perth, we grabbed an Uber to Fremantle to check out the markets.  The markets had all manner of things to buy and the biggest leek and butternut squash I have ever seen.  We walked away with only a magnet for our collection but definitely soaked in all of the sights and smells.  We had an delicious pizza at the Odd Fellow bar, a quite popular place, especially for Friday night happy hour.  Tonight we headed back to the botanical gardens again for their lightscape show which was absolutely spectacular with all sorts of light displays and accompanying music.  And to top it all off there was a full moon over Perth.  It was an amazing day!  Tomorrow, it’s onward to Melbourne!!

 

Z

Days 20-26 - Amsterdam!!

 Monday morning, we made our way to Trondheim airport for our 12:05 flight to Amsterdam.  We had a very nice Ethiopian driver who filled us in on how beautiful his country is and encouraged us to visit it some day.  He said that we would find it much more affordable then Norway!

Our flight to Amsterdam was uneventful and our friend Remko, who is so kindly hosting us in his apartment this week came to the airport to pick us up.  Unfortunately, many of the highways are under construction (it seems half of Amsterdam is under construction as well) so we hit traffic jams at every turn and our 20 minute ride from the airport took nearly 2 hours.  It gave us plenty of time to catch up with Remko though, which is always nice.  Once at his apartment, on the Westerdok, only a 10 minute walk from Central Station, the Jordaan, and most of the center of Amsterdam, we settled in and headed out for dinner with Remko and then a good nights sleep.

We spent day 2 in Amsterdam just visiting our old haunts, our old house on the Keizersgracht, of course, the Doffer (a cafe in our old neighborhood), the Wynand Fockink (a genever bar (dutch gin) by Dam Square), Albert Heijn (our old grocery store) and just generally walking around the city.  It was unseasonably hot (low 90s) so it felt kind of like home in the Keys.  Unfortunately, the Dutch are very unused to the heat and most places here are not air-conditioned but its always nice to find so many people out and about enjoying the many outdoor cafes.  

Wednesday was also spent just walking the town.  It was another scorchingly hot day so we made sure to take a lot of breaks by ducking into neighborhood cafes.  The heat finally broke with a quick thunderstorm that evening just as we headed out to dinner at our favorite thai restaurant, Royal Thai, with our friends Elliott and Sandra Rivera.  Elliott was one of the few Americans that I worked with during our time in the Netherlands, and he and his wife (Sandra is Dutch) decided to retire to the Netherlands.  It's always nice to meet up with them when we are here and catch up.  

Thursday, we met up with our friend, Jules, who used to live right around the corner from us (and shares a birthday with JR!) for a coffee and a snack, and then we were off to meet up with our friends from the U.S., Kate and Glenn, who just also happened to be in Amsterdam at the same time.   J.R. didn't tell me they were here so I was quite surprised when we stopped for another drink at the Wynand Fockink and they walked up.  We spent the afternoon with them, going over to the east side of Amsterdam to visit our friend Johan who works there but unfortunately something came up with his kids and he had to leave work early so we missed him.  We'll see him next time we're in town though, for sure.  We had dinner at a lovely portuguese restaurant with Kate and Glenn, and then said our goodbyes.  They are headed to Antwerp to visit other friends on Friday.

On Friday, July 4, while our family and friends in the US were all having barbeques and watching fireworks, we continued visiting with our friends in Amsterdam.  We had lunch with our friends Mascha, who we have probably known the longest here.  We met up in an area of Amsterdam called Houthaven, which is relatively new and has many colorful apartments being built and close to the water.  This area of the city was just old docks and ports when we lived here so we can see how much Amsterdam has expanded in the last 10 years since we have left.  It is also considerably more crowded with more people speaking English than Dutch.  I thought that I'd be able to brush up on my Dutch skills while here but haven't really gotten much practice.  After lunch with Mascha, we headed towards Leidseplein to meet up with our friend Desiree, who has lived here for 30+ years but actually grew up near J.R.'s hometown.  We ended up being a little late meeting up with her because the trams here have proven less reliable than in the good ole days.   Our tram was cancelled and since we didn't know when the next one was coming along, we decided to walk the two miles.  We are definitely getting our steps in here.  Makes me appreciate how much "free" exercise I used to get, between walking and cycling everywhere.  We had a nice visit with Desiree and then a quick bite at our favorite conveyor belt sushi restaurant, Zushi Sushi, before returning back to Remko's.

Saturday, the weather finally turned on us.  After a week of sunny skies and warm weather, we finally woke up to cloudy, rainy skies, the typical Dutch weather that we are more accustomed to.  We were supposed to head to Haarlem to go out on Remko's boat but with the inclement weather, we decided we would just meet up with Remko and his girlfriend, Niala, in town for a late afternoon bite and dinner.  First, we spent the morning walking through my favorite Saturday market near the Noorderkerk.  Since it's towards the end of our time here in Amsterdam, I reluctantly didn't purchase anything but loved being able to experience all the wonderful smells and sights in the market, with everyone walking around with their purchases of fresh flowers, cheese, bread, and meats.  One of my favorite purchases at this market back in the day was a delicious tomatillo salsa and freshly baked spelt bread full of sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds.  The booth was still there and they were still selling up a storm.  Yum!  As the skies were threatening, we headed to the Bierfabriek, a lovely microbrewery which also happens to sell delicious roasted chicken.  We shared a half chicken and some tasty porters.  Remko and Niala showed up a short time later and we got to know Niala and catch up some more with Remko.  Remko then showed us one of his favorite bars in Amsterdam, the Twenty Seven, which is right off of Dam Square but which we were totally unaware of.  It's definitely an upscale place with very creative cocktails.  J.R. had a Bohemian Rhapsody and I had a Golddigger (very creative names as well).  Not sure what was in them but I think they were both gin based.  By the time we left to head to dinner at a Mexican place called Oaxaca, the skies had truly opened up and J.R. and I were soaked by the time we reach the restaurant less than 10 minutes later.  Luckily, we both had on clothes that were quick to dry (as we naturally expected this type of weather).   None of us had ever been to this restaurant (it was only a 5 minute walk from our old apartment but is newly opened in the time since we lived here), so we didn't know what to expect but the restaurant was a pleasant surprise.  They made guacamole fresh at the table, with homemade tostada chips and chicharones.  I had chicken with an amazing mole sauce and J.R. had a delectable pulled pork.  It was getting late so we headed out into the rain back to Remko's.  Remko has been kindly staying at Niala's house in Utrecht so that we can have our own little place in Amsterdam.  We can't thank him enough for hosting us and truly treasure his friendship.  We look forward to having him come visit us again at our place in the near future (he stayed with us for July 4th exactly 2 years ago!).

Today, we will meet up with our friends, Neil and Sarah, and possibly, our friend Lotte.  Then, we need to pack up once again to prepare for our travels to Dubai tomorrow.  I'll be in touch again soon.

Dinner with our gracious host, Remko!

Bitterballen and Kaastengels, Yum!

JR in his happy place!

De Begijnhof (former convent in Amsterdam)

Wynand Fockink (best genever bar in Amsterdam)

JR and Jules

Dinner with Elliott and Sandra

Cocktails with Kate and Glenn

Lunch with Mascha

Kim in her happy place!

Day 19 - Trondheim

Sadly, disembarkation day on our cruise had finally arrived and the skies reflected how we were feeling as it was absolutely pouring outside.  We packed up our things, said our goodbyes to the many staff that we had become friends with throughout the 12 day journey:  Imam (our cabin steward from Bali), Patricia (bartender from Peru), Kosmos (bartender from the Philippines), Velen (dining room attendant from the Philippines), Greg (the cruise director from the US) and Andres (the excursion manager from Colombia), and headed out into the elements.  We had one day to spend in Trondheim, Norway before we made our way south to Amsterdam.

Although the weather was not very good, Bonnie, Todd, JR and I made the most of our time in Trondheim.  It is a fairly small city in Norway, but at one time was a Viking stronghold and the biggest town that we had seen since we left Edinburgh.  Luckily, it is a very walkable city with most of the sites only minutes apart.  We started with the Kristiansten Fortress which sits on a high hilltop with beautiful views of the city below.  There is a museum which educated us about the battles long ago between Sweden and Norway, and how they used their expertise in skiing to cleverly evade the Swedes and win many of the battles.  Throughout our travels in Norway, we have seen many Norwegians practicing cross-country skiing on long rollerblades.  We now understand why they are so dominant in the Olympics in any cross-country skiing related sport (including the biathlon).

After the fortress, we headed back down the very steep hill to find ourselves in the old town, Bakkeriet.  Here, there are picturesque cobblestone streets and colorful houses.  They even had an interesting contraption to encourage people to cycle even with the very steep hill leading to the fortress.  It was a kind of escalator for a cycler and their bicycle.  You left the two cycle wheels on the pavement and placed your right foot on a platform (left foot on the left pedal) and sat on your bicycle, like normal.  The platform then moved up the hill, pushing your foot (and thus your whole bicycle) up the hill.  We all looked at it and said that it definitely looked like a horrible accident waiting to happen, but the Norwegians seem to know how to use it.

We next headed for the Nidaros Cathedral but, unfortunately, it did not open until 1PM so we decided to catch a bite to eat before it opened, and a good thing we did because the skies really opened up at that point.  We ducked into a nearby cafe in the main square for some quite expensive tapas (we have found most everything in Norway to be rather expensive so if you want to come, save your pennies!).   There was supposed to be a food "fair" in the main square that day and we could see it all set up (very similar to the little booths at a German Christmas market), but the weather just wasn't cooperating.

Nidaros Cathedral is the northernmost cathedral in Norway and one of the more beautiful cathedrals we have come across in Europe.  This cathedral is actually a pilgrimage site for many Scandanavians with many hiking trails, called St. Olav's Ways, leading to it. It was built in honor of King Olav, who was later sainted.  It has been destroyed a number of times and the current cathedral is only about 100 years old and it is still a work in progress.  There is a legend, that once they finish the cathedral it will end up being destroyed again so they have superstitiously left one stone out of the side of the building so it will never truly be finished.  

The cathedral organ has more than 9000 pipes!

It was a long day so we headed back to the hotel to have a cocktail and say our goodbyes to Bonnie and Todd.  They are going to Helsinki for a few days before making their way back to the U.S.  and we had to reorganize our bags for the flight to Amsterdam.  We love travelling with Bonnie and Todd and always find it difficult to say goodbye but we always know that soon enough we'll be planning our next trip together.

Next up - one week in Amsterdam, visiting all of our old haunts, and many friends!  I'll post again at the end of next week with all of those details.