Remembering my adventures
NOVEMBER 5, 2025 Everyone said we MUST go to the PORT ARTHUR HISTORICAL SITE. Port Arthur makes Alcatraz look like Club Med. Between 1830-1877 an estimated 12,000-14,000 convicts were sent here. In England the age of responsibility was 7 years old. The youngest convict sent here was 9 years old. The boys were separated onto... Continue Reading →
OCTOBER 9, 2025 We needed to buy some groceries and we came upon a Woolworths at a shopping mall. We bought what little supplies we needed but also spent some time just wandering up and down the aisles. I like to see what subtle differences there are between countries; grocery stores are always a pleasant... Continue Reading →
MAY 3, 2025 All the towns and cities in Albania are built on very steep hills / mountains with roads and streets a maze of crazy switchbacks. When you put an address into Google Maps, it says “You have arrived” but in reality you are on a parallel street either above or below the street... Continue Reading →
MAY 1, 2025 Trebinje was another short pit stop. It is a smaller city on the banks of the Trebišnjica river. We stopped at a small park where we saw many people enjoying a small meal or simply a coffee in the shade of the lovely chestnut trees. I love this country! In the middle... Continue Reading →
APRIL 21, 2025 Prizren was just an overnight stop. When we got into town we were met with row after row of Soviet looking apartment buildings. Our guesthouse in the older part of town and was amazing, as all guesthouses in the Balkans were. Always spacious, well equipped and this one had a view of... Continue Reading →
APRIL 16-17, 2025 Gjirokaster was first mentioned in historic records dating back to the 12th century, when it was part of the Byzantine Empire. It has been fought over by the Greeks, the Albanians and the Ottomans. Today it is a mish-mash of cultures, religions and languages. We got into town and quickly found our... Continue Reading →
APRIL 13-14, 2025 The city of a thousand windows. The first thing we noticed when we pulled into Berat was the houses stuck like barnacles to the side of a cliff, with an old castle on top. The second thing we noticed was that our Airbnb was one of those houses. We went up a... Continue Reading →
DECEMBER 4 - 8, 2024 The Battle of Gallipoli was a military campaign in WWI where Britain, France and Russia wanted to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Strait; because the Ottoman Empire was in cahoots with the German Empire. Taking control of the two straits would allow a... Continue Reading →
NOVEMBER 7, 2024 One of the days on the Nicosia military tour was an excursion day. We had chosen to go to Paphos on the southwest coast of Cyprus. Paphos has a lot of sites relating to the goddess Aphrodite (the goddess of Love). The myth is that Aphrodite emerged naked from the sea from... Continue Reading →
NOVEMBER 5 - 12, 2024 Pierre had a military reunion for the members who served as United Nations Peace Keepers from 1964-2024. He had served in 1974, fifty years ago. He was there when the Turks "invaded" the island on 20 July, 1974. I give a bit of the history of Cyprus at the end... Continue Reading →
An Old Lady with a Backpack 