London

Waking up this morning in London is different to yesterday.  Today, I’m sad.  Sad that this amazing city, which opens its doors to the world every day, was brutalised by one misguided, angry man.  Sad that four people wandered into London yesterday never to leave.  Sad that a police officer went off to work and gave his life to ensure the safety of others.  This is a truly wonderful city, perhaps the greatest on Earth.  The recipe of its people, culture, history, architecture and attitude mix together to create the most incredible dish!

When I first came here, I can’t say I expected to fall in love with it.  I’m an Australian country girl at heart and big cities are fun to visit but not to live in right!  But that’s what happened….I fell in love.  London never ceases to entertain and surprise you.  It has the most amazing museums and art galleries, fabulous food scene, incredible music and arts culture, and an eclectic mix of people.  There is always something new to see and visit and each time I step out onto the Thames Path, I revel in the panorama of the city and its beautiful river.

I have always felt welcome here and find most people I meet to be engaging and full of interesting stories.  I love that what makes this ancient city of London what it is today encompasses so much.  It is a treasure and today, I want to recognise that beauty and acknowledge the strength of character of Londoners.  I pray that the events of 22 March do not change the heart and soul of this magnificent place.

White Russian

Firstly, I must apologise for the incredibly long absence.  I see its been 2015 since my last post.  Eek! Well it certainly isn't from lack of travelling.  Life has continued to provide wonderful opportunities for exploring.  I guess I have just gotten carried away with life and stuff to the extent I have neglected my writing responsibilities.  So I shall kick some butt and get back into it.  


First stop, Russia.

I decided to visit in February.  Yes....middle of winter and bitterly cold I know.  But in many ways, that simply made it much more beautiful.  Not only did I not have to deal with swathes of tourists, but everything was white and clean, covered under a blanket of snow.  The colours seemed to be brighter and the locals, much more relaxed.


Russia has always been one of those countries which has intrigued and mystified me.  I have wanted to visit Saint Petersburg for as long as I can remember, but beyond that, I was unsure of what to expect.  For whatever reason I can't really say but I guess fear and a 'cold war upbringing' may well have been part of it.  What a waste of emotion!




Its very difficult to visit Russia as an independent traveller.  So I decided to book onto a small group tour starting in Saint Petersburg, travelling onto Novgorod, and then overnight train to Moscow.  I chose On The Go Tours and the Russian Revolution 9 day trip.  It was fabulous.  

Our group consisted of just four of us; two twenty somethings and then two of us in our forties.  The guide was also only a twenty something.  So it was a perfect group size and a nice mix of ages. 

We visited all the spectacular sites such as Peter and Paul Fortress, Church on Spilled Blood, the Hermitage and Winter Palace, St Catherine's Palace and the Nevsky Prospekt.  We ate some fabulous Russian meals and enjoyed a great evening out at the Vodka Museum.

In Novgorod, the ancient city on the Volkhov River, we visited the kremlin, cathedral and Museum of Wooden Architecture, which was amazing.  

Then in Moscow, we explored the Red Square, did a tour of the Kremlin and Lenin's Mausoleum, visited St Basil's Cathedral and explored a Cold War Bunker.  We also had the once in a lifetime experience of ice skating on the Red Square.

All in all, this was a wonderful distraction from the norms of daily life.  Everything was culturally challenging and different.  Definitely needed to have a Russian guide as very few people spoke English which would have made a visit almost impossible done by myself.  But the local people we met and those I did chat with were very welcoming and eager to speak about their country and their history and the tragedies of the 19th century.  I loved the openness of people to talk about their personal experiences of living in Soviet Russia.  Theirs is such a long, substantial and influential history and it was truly impressive that people of all ages know their history and understand and appreciate it.

Russia is truly a beautiful country with such culturally important history that is ought to be on everyone's hit list.

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Canyon Colours

Utah is, in my view, the State that just keeps on giving.  For thousands of years, it was home to the Ancestral Pueblo and Fremont people who built their homes in the mountains and on top of the multitude of mesa in the area.  Then the Navajo arrived and have pretty much called Utah home since then, along with the Shoshone and Ute people.

Of course the Europeans came along and poked around for a while before the Mormon people wandered on through.  They were looking for land in the Americas that no one else wanted, and they decided that Utah was it.  And to be honest, I can see why the land that makes up Utah was the final stop.

Its actually hard to choose which of Utah's magnificent National Parks is the best to visit in order to get a sense of this remarkable State.  Driving through the landscape is just one 'ahhh' moment after another and as the driver, its difficult to take it all in.  I drove from Monument Valley in the south, to the Mesa Verde, through Arches, to Capital Reef and was in awe of the place the whole way.  

And then you arrive in Bryce Canyon National Park.  Wow.  The colours are just amazing.  The geological features called hoodoos, rise up from the floor of the canyon and point to the sky in all their glory.  Its hard not to be impressed.  

I was lucky to be part of a group that had a visiting geologist present to provide some history and science to what we were seeing and that made a huge difference to my experience.

I only had a day to explore and that now seems like such an injustice to Bryce.  It is worth so much more time and energy.

Majestic

So I know that I have dragged you with me over to Europe with the intention of sharing my journeys there.  However, if you don't mind travelling back with me to the USA just for a little while, I have some fabulous experiences that I think you would enjoy!

I recently made the flight back in order to celebrate a birthday road trip with an Australian friend.  I joined up with her in Los Angeles and from there, we took 6 weeks to drive across the USA to New York following the old Route 66.  We did plenty of detouring along the way, thus the duration, but saw some amazing country that I had not seen while living there.  So if you bear with me, I would like to share just a couple of the stand out highlights with you over the next couple of posts.

So how to describe Monument Valley in southern Utah?  Majestic is probably the closest English world I can find but I have no doubt there are far better words somewhere out there.  In Navajo, Tse' Bii' Ndzisgalii, means valley of the rocks and this amazing place is situated in a valley that lies within the Navajo Nation Reservation.

I think have been blessed to see some incredible landscapes in my life, but Monument Valley would have to be the most spectacular.  From the moment you drive over the rise down into the valley, your breathe truly escapes you.  Its not possible to take a bad photo here.  It is a stunningly beautiful and peaceful place and I can certainly appreciate why filmmakers have practically set up camp here over the years.  More importantly, I understand entirely why the Navajo people are passionate about this place.

We spent a couple of days in the valley, staying at the Monument Valley Tipi Village.  The village promises that you will have "...a Navajo experience that will linger with you a lifetime" and that was certainly true for me.  We bunked down in a tipi and enjoyed an amazing welcome and night under the stars.  A few glasses of wine just topped off the night perfectly!

The village organised a Navajo guided tour for us through the valley and amongst the incredible red rock formations.  Our guide, who's name unfortunately escapes me, explained the history of the valley, the people and the significance of the valley to the Navajo people.

Our tour, which was at sunset, was just perfect.  I couldn't have asked for a better way of enjoying this place.  The Navajo people we met were wonderful and very proud of their land and rightly so.  I could wake up to that sunrise and sip wine to that sunset every day and never tie of the magnificence of the landscape and the massive sky that surrounds you.

In my opinion, The Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park is one of those places that should be on your bucket list and perhaps...just perhaps, you should see this place before the big ditch, the Grand Canyon.

Rambling Away

At some point in history, the UK public succeeded in getting the support of someone in the government for a law of wonderful genius.  Someone had the foresight to think long term and put in place a 'public right of access' and 'right to roam' law.  Its brilliant.  England is such a beautiful country and it just begs you to get out and wander and explore.  This 'right to roam' law essentially grants walkers permission to meander at will using the many walkways that crisscross the landscape over mountains, moors, heaths, downs and commons as well as many private lands.   These pathways are well marked and are easy to follow and there truly is very few places that you can not wander.  In our own little village, you will see the markers leading off downs little lane ways and out into forests and paddocks or along the river ways.  I just love it.

So I took the opportunity while visiting Dorset to walk a stretch of the South West Coast Path from West Bay to Seatown.  A total of 32kms return up and over some of the most spectacular coastal cliffs I've ever seen.  The path skirts along the top of the cliff line through farmland, cow and sheep paddocks, from one pub to the next through the little village of Eype!  Perfect.  We headed off just after a morning tea of Dorset Apple Cake in the historic market town of Bridport, and then lunched at the Anchor Inn in Seatown before building the strength to walk back over the cliffs via Downhouse Farm for cream tea, to West Bay and then finishing with a pint of local beer at the West Bay Hotel.

Despite the distance and the burning thighs, time passed quickly walking through the gorgeous countryside, chatting to other walkers along the way and getting distracted by the sheep, birds, and para gliders!