Author: odohertyelaine

I’m flying to Helsinki to meet himself and kick off our Baltics tour. It’s a very early 5:55am flight to Amsterdam and then on to Helsinki. I originally had a direct flight from Dublin but it leaves at 6pm and I’d miss the whole day so I’m delighted to get there early enough to meet Shane as he arrives from Sydney and we get this party started! Alas my bag didn’t make it on the transfer from Amsterdam but while I’m waiting for Shane to arrive I can see the flight that I’ve been told it’s on so fingers crossed it’ll get delivered to the hotel tonight.

We go to Loyly which is a modern seaside sauna with a stylish, glass-walled restaurant & large deck for sweeping views. Luckily they have swimsuits for hire!!

We take a dip into what I’m reliably told is the Gulf of Finland. It’s cold but it’s not freezing and the sauna afterward is crazy hot but ultimately refreshing.

We have dinner booked at 8pm. We have a pineapple lonkero, also called long drink, which is a ready mixed drink made from gin and a flavoured soda. It’s really nice.

There’s reindeer on the menu but I opt for the fish soup paired with a delicious gruner veltliner. The place is busy and the dinner takes quite a while to come out but is very nice.

Next morning after a buffet feast at the hotel (Scandic Helsinki Hub), we take a bus to Porvoo which is about an hour away on the south coast of the country. Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland. The town is famed for its “Old Town”, a dense medieval street pattern with wooden houses.

From the bridge we take a reflective shot in the river… later in the museum there’s a whole exhibit about silhouettes- I think we were ahead of the game here.

Porvoo is also known as Borgå which is the Swedish name for it and all the signs are in both Finnish and Swedish. It’s a warm sunny day and nice to walk along the river and look across to the town.

We climb up castle hill which has a lovely forest but alas no castle. In the peaceful Iso Linnamäki park above the town of Porvoo, it is difficult to imagine that this was the scene of fierce battles during the Great Northern War in the 1700s. Half a millennium before then, a castle dominating the entire Porvoo river valley stood on this site. It was probably built by the Swedes during their conquest of the east. There are steep-walled moats circling the top of the hill.

Coming back down the hill we come to the Porvoo cathedral. It’s an evangelical Lutheran church, built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It’s closed so we can only admire from the outside.

Next door is the 1759 chapter house.

A lot of the restaurants are closed – possibly a combination of the summer season being over and it’s Sunday so we grab a snack in a little cafe. I try an egg and ham in a soft roll with horseradish and some other mystery meat thing – it’s very tasty.

Next we visit the museum in this very nice building.

We see paintings by Albert Edelfelt who is considered the most famous Finnish painter. He spent a lot of time in Porvoo and painted much of the landscape around.

We check out some of the old wooden houses and do a timer shot!

It’s been a lovely day in Porvoo and we take the bus back to Helsinki

We walk to the harbour to jog my memory of when I was here last but honestly it’s not feeling familiar! I am fairly positive I visited this iconic Russian church though.

Dinner tonight is a handy affair at a Gastropub called Stones. We all have burgers – I order reindeer and swap half with Shane’s moose burger. Both are delish but I think the reindeer has the edge. They also have all the flavours of the “original long drink” so we have the original or what is apparently the most popular which is with grapefruit. It’s very nice.

Next morning we leave Finland and take the ferry to Tallinn.

The 9am ferry departs at 8:50am so it’s lucky we were extra early arriving to the terminal this morning!!

The ferry journey is just over two hours and it’s very comfortable. Nice boat with lots of places to sit and enjoy the journey. We have a buffet breakfast from 10am with all the usual suspects for breakfast including an array of herring and other smoked fish!

Approaching Talinn – read more in the next blog – Baltics part II 😊

I’ve been to Norway before so not a new country to tick off my list but I haven’t visited Oslo so I’m very excited as we fly from the Faroe Islands. It’s an hour and a half flight and we leave early in the morning so have more or less a full day to start exploring.

By the time we get into the city, on another very easy train ride, it’s noon and as our Airbnb host is meeting us at 1pm we decide to start with some lunch. It’s time to switch the special birthday celebration from Renee to Jennifer and we have a great chat with our waitress who is a lovely girl called Suzanne. She tells us she’s a singer songwriter and her mother is also turning 50 this week. Her mum is Sophie and she’s a designer who makes gold and silver jewellery (a little out of our price range having found her on Google!).

We are staying at a really spacious apartment on Platous gate (pretty sure gate means street) within walking distance of the train station and the centre. Fed, watered and settled into our accommodation, we head out for a walk.

I happen to mention that if there was a Norwegian donut on offer I’d happily try one and low and behold a donut shop appears in front of us. The tea is brewed from a machine dropping water into tea leaves, kind of like drip coffee – I’ve never seen this before. It’s really good and the lemon curd donut is delicious. Heading over the bridge, we pass the Deloitte office.

We pass the opera house and Munch museum and see lots of interesting looking buildings.

We also admire the saunas along the inlet. Although the Norwegians pride themselves on their beautiful clean water this part of the bay does not look too clean. I’m hoping we may run out of time and avoid the cold dunk that the girls are threatening we’re gonna do!

There’s rain forecast but alas we decided not to bring our rain jackets so when it starts pouring we get soaked… the only saving grace is that it’s not that cold. We head to The National Museum which holds the iconic painting by Edvard Munch “The Scream”.

There’s a good collection of other European masters including a Van Gogh portrait and a number of the impressionists. There’s even a copy of the Mona Lisa!

As we walk back toward our apartment there are gorgeous flowers and the sunflowers catch my eye in particular as they are really bright yellow.

We get home for a short rest before surprising Jennifer for her birthday. Renee has organised a tour of the city on a motherbike and sidecar!! As we badly disguise that we have nothing planned for the birthday girl, we exit the building to a couple of bikers and all becomes clear…

We start by riding through the city centre passing Stortinget (Parliament Building) and the Royal Palace. As we turn onto a main road, we couldn’t be more than 5 minutes on the road and the bike I’m on splutters to a stop… the battery has gone.

We get her going again with a push from driver no.2 and we’re off…

Every so often we stop and my driver jumps off to give us some info on our surroundings. He has to keep the engine going in case the bike won’t start again!!

It is such great fun driving around waving at random passers-by who in fairness to them, mostly waved back. I am in the front car most of the time so I’m setting them up for the girls behind me!

https://videopress.com/v/Rm4LI9NG?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

There is a lot of video footage and photos taken.

We continue up the hill to Ekeberg park and sculpture garden. The views from up here are spectacular.

This park is where Munch was allegedly inspired to paint The Scream and it has some interesting sculptures.

Back toward the city after the park….

What a brilliant evening touring around…. Great fun! I think the birthday girl enjoyed it!

Our drivers drop us off at Lorry restaurant which is described as “Bar/restaurant with antiques & stuffed animals, for Norwegian/European dishes & vast beer selection”. The decor really is eclectic and there is so much to see as you walk around (which they encourage you to do).

We enjoy an evening walk back to the apartment to let our meal go down and get some sleep in ahead of another busy day.

Next morning we take a bus to the National folk museum. Quick sidebar: on the way to the bus stop the General (in case you haven’t figured it out by now, that’s Jennifer) trips going up some steps and performs the most impressive save, a multiple save in fact, catching herself with quite a wobble and managing not to fall. After the initial shock of saving herself we are in stitches laughing… it was quite unique. 🤣

The open-air museum includes 160 buildings from rural and urban Norway  – from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. It’s a really interesting space to walk around.

The Stave Church from Gol is one of the main attractions. It’s from 1200.

Inside there’s a very strange man who we decide to talk to… he has the oddest demeanour for someone who’s supposed to be engaging with tourists!!

Across the way in another old house we meet a very different lady who is dying for a chat (I reckon she’s bored stupid!) and she’s delighted when we ask about the violin she’s got. She’s very happy to play us a tune.

https://videopress.com/v/ritaQz4u?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

Of course we tell her it’s Jennifer’s birthday.

We continue through the museum and the sun shines down on us. Plenty of entertainment with traditional music and even some dancing .

Having enjoyed the sunshine and the walk around this impressive open air museum we take a ferry back to the centre.

It’s lunchtime so we have some fish and chips which is local cod served with the most amazing tartare sauce I’ve ever had.

Next on the list is the Nobel Peace museum. It’s an excellent museum and I learn so much about the Nobel peace laureates and the founder himself – Alfred Nobel. I knew he created dynamite but never knew much about how the awards came about. He had accumulated a huge wealth and a few years before he died, he began to think about what would happen to his fortune after his death. He drafted several wills, and described the idea of creating awards. He had discussed a possible peace prize with his friend and peace activist Bertha von Suttner. After he died of a stroke in 1896, at his home in San Remo, Italy at 63 years old his final wishes were revealed. Fascinating!

The most recent NOBEL PEACE PRIZE for 2023 was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all women. We join a tour and learn all about this woman who is currently in prison in Iran.

We leave filling inspired and also with the notion of rewatching the movie “Not Without my Daughter”!! Although it’s not sunny it’s not raining so it’s time to climb the opera house…

The white tiles give off quite a glare but it’s an easy and enjoyable climb with some nice views from the top.

We have some drinks in the rooftop bar where there are great views. It’s a bit too windy to sit outside though.

We walk through some different streets and see more interesting statues!

We decide to stay out and roll straight into dinner which sadly is our final dinner together. The drinks and chat is flowing and while GJ goes to the loo I think you know what we tell the waitress … yep, we let her know it’s her birthday “today”!!!

The lovely waitress surprises Jennifer with a desert and birthday wishes from the kitchen. Has to be done!

When we get back to the apartment we’re all a bit worn out so after a few minutes connecting to the smart tv we are ready for a movie night. Sally Fields performance in Not Without My Daughter is such a great movie and very apt considering our recently acquired information about Narges.

Next morning we take a walk to a bakery in a close by neighborood to try a cardamom bun which is supposed to be the best in Oslo. It is really good and we taste a few other bits too.

We walk through the botanic gardens which are really nice and again it’s nice and sunny.

We walk through a couple of cute neighbourhoods and and have two other bakeries on our list but although Google tells us they’re open, unfortunately both are closed. It’s time to get back to the apartment to pick up our bags and head to the train station.

We are taking the train to Bergen. It is considered one of the most scenic train journeys in the world. I’m going all the way which is just over seven hours and the girls are departing 6 hours in, at Voss to do some kayaking. The views from the train are spectacular.

There are lots of trees (unlike in the Faroe Islands where there are practically none) so often it means waiting for a gap to see the beautiful fjords.

After a couple of hours we decide to head to the dining car or to be more precise the drinking car. If you buy alcohol on the train you must drink it in the dining car no taking it back to your seat. We happily comply with the regulation and have a couple of rounds which puts in the bulk of the journey. We enjoy the beautiful scenery as we sip on some cider/beer/wine 🍷

The train stops at Finse which is the highest station in Norway and we see the Finse glacier.

It’s an emotional goodbye when the girls depart…. There’s always a few tears but we always make great memories…. Until next time my Texas girls 😘

I carry on to Bergen with a change of seat up to fancy class where I get free tea… hooray!! The landscape continues to impress and I enjoy looking out the window (with my tea) as it passes by!

Bergen is the second-largest port city in Norway and is located right on the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is allegedly the wettest city in the world. I arrive to the train station and it’s only a short walk to my accommodation which is a small basic (very basic!) studio apartment.

It starts to rain but it doesn’t stop me getting out to see the town. I walk to the historic old town Bryggen.

I walk around the Hanseatic Museum, comprising of historical buildings dating back to 1704 and 1879. The city of Bergen is now almost one thousand years old, with half that period dominated by the presence of the Hanseatic merchants. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I don’t do much this evening as I’ve a busy day planned for tomorrow but I do enjoy a cup of tea with this nice view out my window.

Next morning I am doing the local Parkrun – Parkrun Lovistien. It is across the river and halfway up the mountain, a 40 minute walk from where I’m staying. I set off early to make sure I’m not late and arrive in good time. There’s plenty of visitors at this Parkrun and they’re very friendly. I take the obligatory photo with the Parkrun sign drop my bag and jacket and we’re ready to go.

There are some nice views from up here ….

….. but after a few minutes the heavens open and it pours rain. Everybody is soaked. Luckily it’s not too cold so it’s actually quite enjoyable. The route itself is one of the hardest I’ve ever done, with steep hills and very little on the flat.

https://videopress.com/v/kzHORpZA?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

I’m soaked to the skin and ready to get back to the apartment for a shower so when a German couple from parkrun ask around to see if anyone would like a lift down the mountain I happily agree. They drop me at a pedestrian bridge which knocks about 20 minutes off my walk home. Happy days!

After a bit of a rest I head out to tick off some of the museums.

I visit the gallery which has more Munch paintings called “Rasmus Meyer” and the ticket gets me into three other museums.

I check out the “Stenersen” museum which is showing modern art so it’s a very quick walk through for me (not my bag!). The next museum called “Lysverket” which houses the textiles has all of one exhibit of 3 scarves… even the security guard giggles when I ask him if I’ve missed something – not quite worthy of a visit!! The composer Grieg was from here but I don’t have time to visit his home as it’s a bit of a distance outside the city. I suppose there should always be something to return for.

I walk back towards the harbour and reckon there will be a snack option at one of the food stalls.

I take the Fløibanen funicular and go to the top of Mount Floyen.

The views are fantastic, even if the sky is grey.

I enjoy the views for a bit and then take a walk to a lake which is only about ten minutes away. It’s very picturesque to walk around even though it’s raining again. They say in Norway you should always take a raincoat – it may not be raining when you head out but it will at some point!

The walk back down the mountain takes less than an hour with plenty of photo stops. The forest area and traditional houses make for a very enjoyable walk, and of course the views.

The German couple from parkrun recommended having a drink at Frescohallen which was formerly the stock exchange building and has gorgeous frescos all over the walls. So back in town I head here for an hour relaxing.

I have a Bareksten gin and tonic and enjoy the surroundings.

Then I have another and a few truffle chips!!

It’s been very comfy here but I head over to the fish market for some dinner. I have to have the fish soup which is more or less the national dish here and I’m keen to try the whale, which I can have in a burger or on skewers – I go skewers!

This place is great except for the fact that alcoholic is forbidden because we are essentially eating outside!! Glad I had that 2nd g&t!

Next morning I’m homeward bound. I take a final walk across the square to the tram station and make my way to the airport.

It’s only 2.5 hours on the plane back to Seoul and this time we take the train into the city which is really easy. It’s about 45 minutes and takes us straight to the station close by our hotel. Tonight we’re staying in Hongdae at a funky hotel called L7. Hongdae is a university area so there’s lots of action here and lots of young people milling around … sure we fit right it!! There are lots of bars so we have “one” in what was definitely the most apt for himself!!

For dinner we chose a really cool looking restaurant which specialises in pancakes that are being cooked out front and are definitely a selling point to invite us in. We chose a seafood pancake (we’ve had so much meat in Mongolia it seems the right choice!) and sea snails. The pancake is huge and we are not able to finish it. We actually get chatting to some girls from Hong Kong who have opted for the pancake selection. It is served on a huge platter and they haven’t a hope of finishing it – they try to convince us to have some of theirs and we try to convince them to have some of ours!

Our hotel, although we don’t have much time to enjoy it, is really cool and has a nice rooftop pool. Unfortunately it doesn’t open until 10am so I don’t get a chance to use it as we are off this morning to catch the train to Jeonju.

We take a two hour train journey to Jeonju, the largest Hanok Village in Korea, with about 700 Hanok (traditional Korean house) buildings around Pungnam-dong. It is the only Hanok complex in a downtown area in Korea. It holds important cultural heritage including the Gyeonggijeon shrine, Omokdae, and Confucian School. Other cultural facilities are dispersed in every corner showcasing Korean food, Korean paper, Korean songs, Korean costumes, and oriental medicine. We are staying in a beautiful hanok and it is gorgeous…

Jeonju is also known as the slow city because of its relaxed pace. We head out for a walk and are soon by the river which has a number of picturesque bridges – this one is called 5 rainbows.

We walk through the market area and it’s very quiet. A man walking by says hello to Shane and seems very keen for a chat – we reckon he might be the local crazy! He asks Shane where he’s from (in some very broken English) and shouts “handsome” at him. I’m not getting a look in by the way! He points to Shane’s nose and says “oooh handsome”… we are in stitches. He gives us a wave and a big happy “bye bye” as we get to a crossing and off he goes. Hilarious!

We continue to the East gate of the city – Pungnamdong gate which is the only remaining of the original four.

Jeonju is a UNESCO listed city of gastronomy so when we pass a shop that has a bunch of large round donut looking baked goods, I have to try one! All the writing is in Korean so there’s a risk it could be filled with bean paste (not my favourite thing) but I risk it …. OMG an amazing light sugary, airy old school donut – love it!!

Next up is Jeondong Catholic Church, the site where Blessed Martrys Paul Yun Ji-chung & James Kwon Sang-yeon were beheaded on December 8, 1791, during the Shinhae Persecution. They were the first martyrs of the Catholic Church in Korea. In 1801, during the Shinyu Persecution, three brothers were martyred by dismemberment. Then, later, two more people beheaded. Among these martyrs, three were beatified by Pope Francis in 2014.

In 1908 the new church construction began using stones from the Jeonju fortress wall as cornerstones and it is said that some of the stones would bear the marks of some of the martyrs as their decapitated heads hung along the fortress wall. Many faithful from the town, as well as from surrounding areas helped with the construction which was completed by 1914. Jeondong Catholic Church was the first western-style building in the region.

There’s a lot of potential for snacking in this town and a lot of things on our list that we want to try. When we pass a window filled with pastries I insist on trying the bibimpap one… I thought it was the famous bibimbap bread but its actually a croquette – tasty all the same.

The streets are all beautiful, everywhere we look there are hanoks with the beautiful roofs. It’s like going back in time. After building up a fairly decent step count in the heat we stop for a little rest.

Back to the hanok for a wee rest before dinner, I need it as I’m becoming a beer drinker!!! I love the door into our private courtyard:

We head to a restaurant for the traditional Jeonju bibibap [reminder: this is the bowl with rice and various veg served with an egg on top], which is served with pork patties that are cooked at the table. The spread that comes out when we both just ordered one thing from the menu is quite remarkable.

Time to work off some of this food so we take a walk around the streets and happen upon the gate again. It looks very nice lit up by night.

We head toward home and are stopped by a man with his wife and another couple who ask Shane if he speaks English. He says yes and they start talking to us, asking where we are from and if we are enjoying our trip. He is Korean but lives in California and he introduces us to the other man who is none other than the mayor of the county in which Jeonju resides. We shake hands and there’s lots of “beautiful place…. having a wonderful time” type conversation. The mayor is interested to know where we are staying and if we are happy with our accommodation. They tell us there’s a nice viewing platform around the corner and wish us a good holiday. How nice!!

Next morning we have a leisurely cup of tea in this slow city, enjoying our hanok, before setting off to explore more of this beautiful place.

More rambling around the streets and exploring the different buildings.

Just like at the palaces in Seoul, visitors are very keen to play dress up so there are many many shops where you can hire the beautiful traditional outfits.

We visit Gyeonggijeon shrine, the main shrine in town and manage to be visiting on culture day so it’s free in! The shrine is a huge complex of buildings originally built in 1410 and remodelled in the 17th century after damage from the Imjin war.

We climb the narrow stairs in this small ornate building and see a large book which we learn is the only remaining copy of the Annals (that’s a recorded history) of the Joseon Dynasty. In 1592, when the Japanese invaded Korea, they destroyed many historic buildings, works of art, and important documents. Predicting the destruction some local heroes (as the exhibition calls them), managed to save one of the four annals that were kept in different locations around Korea. Had it not been for them, 200 years of Korean history would have been lost forever.

There is lots to explore on this beautiful sunny day.

It’s time for lunch and this is definitely the prettiest looking food we’ve had. It’s described as resembling a jewel and can only be enjoyed in Jeonju. It has egg white, yoke, red cabbage, carrot, burdock, cucumber pepper, green pepper, meat (raw beef!), ham and pickled radish. A total of nine ingredients that allow you to experience the taste of Jeonju.

Following our gimbap starter we try the famous Jeonju bread – one filled with bibimbap and one bulgogi – I love it. A choco pie and some dodgy tasting peanut/bean tasting drink and we’re on the move again.

Well only as far as the option for dessert!!! I’ve seen these frozen fruit skewers all over and been dying to try them. They’re like toffee apples i.e. the grape and strawberry are covered with a thin glassy layer of toffee.

Time to get some steps in and walk off all that delicious lunch. We climb up to a pavilion where we can look out to the town. These platforms are places where locals gather and hang out in the shade – once you take off your shoes of course!

We continue to climb further to a mural village which, while it’s not the most exciting set of murals we’ve ever seen it’s very pleasant to ramble around.

Very bright and colourful…..

We climb further through some woods and there are nice views from up here looking out over the buildings. You gotta love those hanok roofs.

The things that are done for an insta shot. We just don’t go in for that nonsense!! 🤪

Making our way back down we stop at a beautiful tea garden for some traditional Korean tea. I’ve no idea what flavour we got but it’s fruity and lovely and we are glad to be out of the sun and enjoying some shade.

I’ve been hoping to get a Korean massage so when I see this foot massage sign I jump at the chance. It’s very cheap and I realise when I go in that it’s a “no hands” foot massage! Basically I get to relax with my feet in a foot spa and have an electric neck and shoulder massager placed on me. Not quite what I’d hoped for but relaxing all the same for less than €10.

Later in the evening we head to a Makgeolli restaurant for dinner. We’ve heard about these places that serve makgeolli from a teapot but they’re not easy to find around town. We watch a travel blog on YouTube and are able to figure out where one might be nearby but there is no obvious sign from outside the building that it’s a bar or restaurant. It’s hard to even tell if it’s open, but we walk up to the door and are delighted to be ushered into a room where tables are set for the feast they’re about to serve us, the only downside is it’s shoes off and seats on the floor (and I wore a dress!!). What’s served up is amazing!

Makgeolli is a milky, off-white, lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, slightly sweet, tangy, bitter taste!

https://videopress.com/v/QstVSDzs?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

What an amazing experience and we were able to rise from the floor without injury, and fairly gracefully all things considered!! Although I enjoyed it all I wouldn’t be loving the makgeolli so I’m hoping for a “real” drink before the end of the evening. Have no fear, around the corner someone manages to find (guess what!!) a craft beer bar that serves wine – hooray. We sit at the bar surrounded by interesting art work (some of which are portraits of the lady who served us) and get chatting to the local dentist. A great final night in Jeonju.

Next morning it’s time to head back to Seoul which is a pleasant couple of hours watching the scenery go by (and updating this blog) ! This time we’re staying in the Dongdaemun neighbourhood at the Nine Tree hotel which is really nice and I’d recommend. We arrive back at lunchtime so it’s straight to the Gwangjang market. We haven’t had any brekkie and I really want some mandu – that’s dumplings.

Happily fed, we take a walk around this old part of Seoul. Dongdaemun literally means “Great East Gate” and this is the gate in question – it dates back to 1398.

The giant gates were once part of the city walls known as Hanyangdoseong. They were built to safeguard Hanyang (present Seoul), which was the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, and to demark the city’s boundary. They served as the city walls for 514 years (1396-1910), longer than any other city walls in the world.

To the south of Dongdaemun gate there is a huge development project called Dongdaemun design Plaza, which was designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid. It houses exhibition spaces, shopping and relaxation facilities. It’s a very interesting looking building vastly different to its surroundings.

Earlier as we walked through the market, we scoped out a place for dinner. It’s essentially the fish section of the market and Shane is particularly keen to try. We choose a low-key, very local looking establishment and here’s what is put in front of us before our actual order arrives!!

It’s a 6am start next morning as our tour bus to the DMZ leaves at 7am. We arrive on time (even though others don’t!) and we’re off….

First off, we visit the Mt. Gamaksan suspension bridge. Gamaksan Suspension bridge is where the allied forces fought a fierce battle in the Korean War. We take a half hour hike and enjoy the stunning natural beauty at the top of the bridge.

Enjoying life and feeling extremely lucky before we get into some of the sad history that South Korea has endured since it’s civil War.

We arrive to Imjingak which is a park located on the banks of the Imjin river along the tracks of the former train line that went through the city of Paju connecting north and South Korea. It was built in 1972 as a place to console those from both sides who are unable to return to their hometown. The park, called Memorial park, has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War and we walk around in the sunshine viewing as much as we can.

In July 1953, the Korean War ended with a cease-fire. Northern and Southern Limit Lines were created and each side moved their troops back 2km from the Military Demarcation Line. The line known as the 38th parallel was drawn by US military and is 248km in length. The area within 2km on both sides is designated as the DMZ. It is considered the most heavily militarized region in the world.

The CCL (Civilian Access Control Line) was designated within a distance of 5-20km from the Southern Limit Line of the DMZ to limit and control the entrance of civilians into the area to protect and maintain the security of military operations and facilities near the DMZ. It has since become a huge tourist attraction.

The Freedom Bridge, as it is called, is the former railroad bridge which used to repatriate POW/soldiers returning from the north. It now ends here and provides a photo opportunity across the DMZ.

We leave the park and drive to the border control point where an officer boards our bus and checks everyone’s passport. There are two soldiers, both extremely young but taking their job very seriously. It’s serious business out here! Barbed wire trenches are mixed with rice paddies as we continue through the DMZ area.

As we drive further through the DMZ there is an unused toll booth which one day could take you straight into North Korea.

Our next stop is the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel which was discovered in 1978 following an underground explosion, apparently caused by the North Korean tunnellers, who had progressed into the south via this mile long tunnel. This is one of four tunnels that were discovered around the border and the South Korean government believe there are many more.

There are no photos allowed, in fact you’re not allowed to bring anything inside. We put our bags in a locker and don a hard hat for the steep mile long journey toward North Korea. The tunnel is low especially for tall people, so the hard hats are essential. I get through the mile there and back unscathed but taller people I know don’t do so well… there is a lot of crouching and banging of helmets against the roof! At the turnaround point we see where the South Koreans blocked the military demarcation line with concrete barricades. Some North Korean greenery is visible through a small window a few metres away.

The one thing we were allowed to bring with us is our water bottle as there is fresh spring water that you can taste… cold and delicious fresh Korean water 😋. We’re glad of it after the long steep incline which we booted up without a rest along the way.. that’s just how we do things!

Outside the building where you can gain entry to this crazy long tunnel is this brightly coloured DMZ sign so everyone can get their insta shot!

At the back of the tunnel building there is a beautiful peaceful garden which seems a little out of place and yet soothing all at the same time.

The final stop on the tour is the Dora Observatory, which is the northernmost observatory of North Korean territory.

At the Dora observatory we see the flag of North Korea and scenic views across the demilitarised zone through binoculars.

The North Korean town below is close enough to see people cycling and on monitor bikes and some walking in the field. It’s hard to capture a photo through the binoculars.

Finally we get some lunch and then it’s back on the bus for the hour plus drive back to Seoul. The sun is shining so we take another walk around Dongdaemun. As it’s sunnier today, the sky is blue and the gate, walls and design plaza, that we saw yesterday, all look better! I even sit on a bench and enjoy some sunshine while Shane takes some photos.

For dinner tonight we return to the Korean bbq, this time in a more upscale restaurant where someone cooks it for us at our table. It is really good and as usual, we enjoy all the side dishes.

It’s our final day in Seoul but we have lots of time as we both have late flights home tonight. We take advantage of the noon checkout and the hotel has lockers where we can store our stuff so we get organised and head out into the sunshine.

We start the day with some soup and mandu. I really do love these dumplings – an awful lot better than we had in Mongolia.

Then it’s off to explore another UNESCO World Heritage site – Jongmyo Shrine. Jongmyo is the supreme shrine of the state where the tablets of royal ancestors are enshrined and memorial services are performed for deceased kings and queens. King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, started construction of Jongmyo Shrine when he named Hanyang (today’s Seoul) as capital of the newly founded dynasty. It was completed in 1395, and is therefore even older than Gyeongbokgung, (the main palace we visited on day 1 of this trip).

As more and more kings and queens were enshrined, the facilities were necessarily expanded to the huge complex we see today. When a king or a queen died, mourning at the palace would continue for three years after the death. After the three-year mourning period was over, memorial tablets of the deceased were moved here and enshrined.

Korea alone has preserved its royal shrine and continues to conduct royal ancestral rites, every year. This is the main reason that Jongmyo Shrine was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. The grounds are beautiful and I love the walls.

We walk to Changdeokgung palace which is close by and has a beautiful entrance. However, I don’t have the energy for another palace complex visit. I feel a bit bad but I can’t imagine there’ll be anything wildly different to what we’ve already seen. We admire the gate for a while, I take this beautiful picture and we continue on.

For a change of pace we get on the metro and head to the National Museum of Korea. It’s an impressive looking building with many exhibits across three floors. It has some nice views to the rear of the building and is certainly popular among the locals for a weekend excursion.

We see some interesting ancient Buddhist paintings along with colourful Buddhist scrolls.

The undisputed centrepiece of the museum is this gigantic Buddhist pagoda first erected in 1348.

The visit to the museum has taken up most of the afternoon, so it’s time for a final meal before we go to the airport. Of course it’s back to the food market where I want to have one last pancake and hotteok.

The food is absolutely amazing in this country and I am truly going to miss it. I had no tummy issues on this trip which is a huge win for me (I do think being able to drink the tap water was a big factor). The people were lovely, the history is amazing, all our accommodation was excellent. We just loved it. As we head to the airport to say our goodbyes I feel sure that I will come back again some day.

I will leave you with this:

We fly for 3 and a half hours on Asiana Air from Seoul and arrive in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. It’s an easy airport to get through and we are met by our guide as we emerge to the arrivals hall. She mentions it may take over an hour to drive approximately 50kms from the airport into the city – it takes two!!! Starting out is lovely as the airport is in the middle of nowhere!! Lovely fields and open land to enjoy until we hit the outskirts of the city!

The traffic is mental. Loads of cars swapping lanes and it’s also raining which isn’t helping. Mind you the rain is only drizzle so I’m pretty sure it’s a free for all on the roads all the time!

Our guides name is Zaya and she tells us lots of interesting things about Mongolia. It has a population of just 3.2 million which is hard to believe for such a huge country (18th biggest in the world), its population is even less than Ireland! It is made up of 21 provinces and she explains how they lost land to China and Russia. So Inner Mongolia is now part of China.

We cross the trans Siberian railway tracks which is no longer the longest train tracks in the world, although it was for many years. The longest is now in China by the way.

We get dropped to our hotel and have time by ourselves to explore. After finding an ATM and getting some local money called Mongolian tugrik we head to the Genghis Khan museum.

It’s a fairly new building and it’s very impressive. It has 9 floors, 7 of which have exhibits that we need to see… time to get started! Before we head into the first hall we are accosted by a couple who want to have their photo taken with us. They have no English but manage to tell us that they are Inner Mongolians!

Although the museum is the Ghengis Khan museum, it’s not dedicated just to him, it sets the context for the whole Mongol dynasty of which Ghengis was the most famous. His grandson was Kublai Khan who actually did most of the conquering and made the Mongol empire huge.

We get a lot of insight into Ghengis or Chinggis, as the locals call him: Chinggis Khan, the ruler of the Mongol Empire, is credited by researchers and scientists with the following. He was: An intellectual person who founded the Mongol state; A great general who left an indelible mark on the military culture of the world; Triumphant hero of the Mongol people!

Chinggis and his successors reigned over half of the population of the earth at one time as they were able to capture the main centers of major civilizations. The speed of Chinggis Khan then can be compared to the speed of the internet today with the Mongols mastering the most advanced technology of the time and creating and organizing a powerful military

I love seeing the portraits of the queens with their big crazy head gear!! They wore “hair pockets” as it was unseemly for a man other than your husband to see the full locks of your long hair!!

There’s a particular exhibit that is really interesting – the Shoroon Bumbagar burial. Found in 2011 in the Bulgan province, this 7th century burial chamber is reminiscent of a tomb in Egypt as those interred were buried with worldly belongings for use in the afterlife and the walls were decorated with murals. The museum have a number of artefacts taken from the tomb on show.

After the museum visit, we take a walk around but it’s cold and a bit rainy so we find a bar for a wee beverage, sitting outside watching the people of UB (that’s what they call the capital!) go by.

It’s time for dinner and Shane has scoped out a local “hot pot” restaurant which is quite fancy. It’s called The Bull and it’s on the 5th floor of a building just around the corner from our hotel.

We order the set menu with lamb and also add in some horse! Sure you’d have to when it’s on the menu. We chose a soup/broth and it’s placed on an induction hob on the table where we then proceed to cook the food. By the end of the meal the soup is super tasty.

It is all delicious. Shane has a local beer and I take advantage of the fact that there is wine on the menu. A glass of wine is a 100ml measure… now by any standards that’s a small glass but it is only about €2 so I don’t mind having to order more!!! A young girl arrives to the table and uses a shot measure to measure out the wine – 2 of them, hardly reaching the top are poured into a wine glass (after she used the measure to pour a vodka 😱)… well I’m not very impressed. It’s not going to take long to drink this!!

After dinner we take a walk around the main square. Yet again Ghengis is centre stage.

Next morning we are excited to get out and explore with our guide. Promptly at 8:20am we meet Zaya along with a driver and begin our private tour. Our first stop is at the impressive Gandan Monastery,

Zaya lays out the rules of entering the temple – shoes off, be quiet, step over the threshold, walk from left clockwise, don’t turn your back on the Buddha when exiting so essentially do a backward shuffle! There are a lot of rules but we are fairly good at complying. The main temple houses a stunning 26-meter gilded statue of Megjid Janraisag i.e. Buddha!

There are walls of smaller Buddhas around the temple and a decent number of locals who have come to pray and give offerings. Apparently it’s a holiday today, “Buddhas Enlightened day” so it feels like we are among tourists but they’re all Mongolian and we’re pretty much the only Westerners around! [officially the tourist season starts in June and we are here early May so a little early]

Outside the main temple is a large complex of smaller buildings, this one in particular was brought from Tibet.

The Mongolians follow the Tibetan Buddhist teachings and the Dalai Lama is seen regularly through the temples. I hadn’t really thought of Mongolians as Buddhists but indeed that is the state religion of the country, even though the monks were persecuted and some of the temples destroyed during the socialist time (more on that later).

I’m happy to see the prayer wheels as they remind me of my first big trip to Asia back in 2017 when I started this blog. I do a clockwise loop and swing a few.

From here we drive along Peace avenue (which is anything but peaceful with chaotic traffic) to the National Museum of Mongolia. We learn lots of interesting facts about Mongolia from the time of the Khans, through the socialist period to the current democracy. As always, I love a good museum and love to learn the history of the place I’m visiting but it’s hard to take it all in or to remember it all! There are many images of Ghengis regularly shown in the middle with his grandson Kubla Khan on the right and his predecessor on the left.

We see lots of traditional Mongolian clothing which differs as you travel through the provinces.

The second to last hall in the museum tells about the time of socialism. Our guide doesn’t enjoy this part of history so much but we get a very brief lowdown. In essence the first political party founded in Mongolia, called the Mongolian Revolutionary Party, led a national democratic revolution in 1921 to restore independence from Chinese autonomous rule. In 1924, backed by the Soviet army, the Mongolian People’s Republic was founded as a socialist state. This made Mongolian the first Asian and second country in the world (after Russia) to adopt communism. From 1921 to 1990, in the Mongolian People’s Republic, all social sectors including economy, culture and politics were directly dependent on the USSR and the perpetrator of the USSR Communist Party’s guidance.

From the 1980s the power of socialism in Mongolia waned among the population and led to a peaceful democratic revolution of 1990 when the first prime minister of Mongolia was declared deeming Mongolia the first Asian country to successfully transition from communist rule to democracy. The final hall in the museum is a jubilant celebration of democracy with the national anthem playing.

Obvious socialist looking buildings are dotted around the city.

After the museum we are on the road again. Leaving the city we cross the trans Siberian railway tracks again – officially when the train passes through here, it is the trans Mongolian. Trains only run on Wednesday and Friday but I’m still excited to see the tracks of this iconic railroad.

We drive toward Terelj National Park and stop at a new resort for lunch. We can see the domes glistening in the sun from quite a ways away! This new resort which has just recently allowed foreign tourists is very palatial and serves a very nice buffet lunch.

While we’re eating we are treated to some local music which includes a taster of the famous Mongolian throat singing.

On the way to lunch we got our first glimpse of the giant Genghis Khan monument and that’s where we are heading now.

I must admit I’m very excited to see this impressive 46m statue of Genghis on horseback as it’s the largest equestrian statue in the world.

You can climb to the top of the statue and essentially stand on the horse and look back at Genghis!

In the main building we get to try on some traditional clothing. I’m loving the head gear with the hair pockets!

I reckon we’d suit being royal!!

A final selfie with Genghis and our guide.

Now we drive a little further to Terelj national park and to our ger camp. The scenery is beautiful and the sun is shining.

Scattered around the landscape are single Ger camps, some in small groups but generally single gers where families are living. We even have some animals crossing the road, just like Irish country traffic!

A large ger camp for visitors to the National park.

Tonight we are staying in a small ger camp called “Heaven Envoy” which consists of about a dozen gers with a main building housing the restaurant and more importantly bathrooms.

Our surroundings are beautiful and it’s really peaceful and relaxing.

After an hour or so of enjoying this tranquility we are back in the car along some bumpy tracks to visit Ariyabala meditation temple. This temple is on the side of the mountain and almost looks like an elephants trunk!

The walkway is lined with board delivering quotes and sayings to read and meditate upon as you climb.

The temple is no longer used by the monks but a popular place for locals to come to meditate.

There are beautiful views back to the valley.

Some local boys say hello and clearly want to practice their English. One in particular is very chatty and tells me he is 12 and goes to school and says his friends don’t have very good English!

We stop at Turtle rock on the way back and also take a visit into the small supermarket. I may have found some local Khan chips 😀

A beer (and said local crisps) on the steps of our ger ahead of dinner is just what the doctor ordered after a busy day of site seeing.

The temperature has dropped significantly and in case it gets very cold during the night we light the fire… within moments it is roasting!! In fact it’s a little like being in a sauna!! We end up having to leave the door open and don’t even sleep under the blankets!!! Eventually the fire dies down and it’s very comfy!

We head toward Hustai national park in the west of Ulaanbaatar and surprise surprise the traffic is shocking! It takes 4.5 hours just to get to UB which should have taken two, so unfortunately the national park is off the itinerary for today. Instead we stop for a very extravagant lunch and then get back in the car for another 4 hours to another ger camp.

Leaving UB, we see the huge pipes that are bringing central heating to the new apartment blocks being built all over. In winter it can get to -40 degrees – UB is the coldest capital city in the world – I’m glad we’re visiting in Spring!

It is nice to see the countryside as we drive on mostly main roads (which have lots of potholes) with plenty of overtaking from the most popular car in Mongolia – the Prius! We see lots of livestock – cows, pigs, sheep and a goat 😁, some from a very close proximity as they cross the road. These horses gave us a good look.

We see these shamen sites randomly along the road.

We also pass tiny “one horse towns” that honestly look to me like they could be movie sets or at least a pretend village!!

At a particular toilet/coffee break Shane gets a great snap of a farmer herding some cattle onto the bridge….

As we get closer to our destination we take a “turn” from the main road onto what couldn’t even be described as a dirt road – how the driver knows where to turn to get us to the camp is a mystery… it is literally like driving off a road into the fields!

We eventually arrive to Hoyor Zagal lodge, tonight’s ger camp and we are excited that this one is with en-suite bathroom facilities! The camp itself is quite bigger than last nights camp with a large restaurant that can fit large groups.

Here is our fancy ger – the en-suite bathroom is behind the panel on the left – Fantastic!

We take a walk around, take a few snaps and get ready for dinner which is more beef!!! They do love their meat the Mongolians!

We are so remote it’s not possible to walk anywhere so it’s back in the car to visit Khugnu Khan national park.

The park has an old monastery with a number of temples built into the hillside.

A lady manages the area and she opens up the main temple and gives Zaya the keys for the others which we will hike up to.

It’s such a remote place but apparently in the 17th century 500 monks were slaughtered here. We see the remains of the 17th century monastery and enjoy the beautiful views.

Dotted around the valley you see an odd ger…. Nearest neighbour could be a few kilometres away.

After our visit to the monastery we travel a short distance to visit a nomadic family’s home where we spend a few hours chatting (through Zaya as our entrepreneur) and help make lunch. It’s a really lovely, easy going few hours and nice to experience the life of a nomad out here in the vast landscape. [note: toilet situation was what they call “toilet with a view”]

Our lunch started with what we thought was some type of cheese, but was described as the first milking of a cow after giving birth that is steamed until solid (colostrum?). Very tasty.

We were then put to work scrubbing potatoes and half an ‘aged’ carrot, and making dough for bread and noodles.

A leg of mutton was butchered and then cooked with some mystery paste and onions, with a final addition of heated rocks and covered with thinly rolled dough. It was the national dish, khorkhog. A soup was also made with the mutton and dough ‘pasta’.

It was all served on a table to share. Just a knife to hack off pieces of mutton. The local milk tea washed it all down. Overall delicious!

The family breed horses and have a large herd of sheep and goats. They have 4 children, three of which are adults” daughters and have left for the city and one young son. We don’t get to meet the man and son as they are tending to the animals.

We say goodbye to our lovely host and her niece and head for the Bayan Gobi sand dunes (mini-Gobi). It’s time to see some sand and take a camel ride. They call this the mini Gobi although it’s quite a few miles to the Gobi proper. However the sand dunes are beautiful and it is weird to see desert on one side and green countryside on the other.

Camel ride over, we walk around the far side of the dunes and see a vulture. He is absolutely huge and we manage to see him take off in flight – it’s amazing. Back at the Ger camp we have a little downtime to admire the countryside and check out a very nice sunset.

Next morning we get on the road early as it’s a long drive back to Ulaanbaatar and we are going to try to fit in the Hustai National park that we missed on our first day on the long journey to get here. Along the way to the park we see camels on the side of the road and more remote ger homes. It really is vast countryside and so interesting to view. We made it!

We watch a movie which gives a good overview of the park and how it came to be and outside the small exhibit room we see this interesting thing! It’s shuttle debris!! Imagine getting a smack of that out of nowhere!

We take a long bumpy drive (there has been a lot of off road driving on this trip!) through the park and see lots of marmots along the way.

What everyone comes here to see are the Takhi, aka Prewalski horses which are a wild horse native to Mongolia. After socialism the horses had become extinct but luckily a number of years earlier some had been exported to Germany and so Hustai National Park (HNP) was established to reintroduce the Prewalski’s horse. In 1992 15 horses were transported back to Mongolia and they are now at more than 400. We stop and manage to see some with binoculars and also see some red deer.

Buffet lunch at the national park and then we head back to Ulaanbaatar with just enough time to visit the Bogd Khan’s Palace Museum.

The last king of Mongolia and spiritual head of the nation lived in this European style home with his wife (who by the way they never consummated their marriage) and there are some very interesting artefacts to view. He had a large collection of stuffed birds and ones an elephant for many years.

We don’t have time to check into the hotel but we do have some spare time before the concert so we decide it’s cocktail time… well actually we pick up a beverage at the local supermarket and sit outside on a bench!!

Once we’re finished at the palace we are taken to see a traditional folklore concert featuring an amazing ensemble performing dance, Mongolian throat singing, a contortion performance and an amazing orchestra. It’s one of the best cultural shows of all the countries I’ve visited, the venue is beautiful, really professional and I enjoy every bit of the music performed.

Before dropping our bags at the hotel we do a quick stop at the city sign…

And check out a nice close by building showing the hand sign for love, as taught by Zara

It’s time to have our farewell meal which Zaya has organised for us at a lovely Korean beef restaurant. We have a salad to start, then soup, then not only a beautiful piece of beef but with a “side” of marrow bone and as if that’s not enough finished with cake similar to black forest. What a feast!

After dinner we take a walk to try walk off some of the grub and we pass a craft beer bar that Shane had spotted (you’d be surprised what he sees from a car) earlier today. It’s a nice old bar so we have one to say goodbye to the city.

We are flying out at lunchtime and as the traffic can be unreliable we leave at 9am to ensure we’re not late. Zaya drives us and on the way we stop for coffee to meet the lady who we booked the tour with. We are able to tell them how great a time we’ve had on this tour and get to the airport in plenty of time.

One last shot of the countryside and a ger home that is so typical of what we’ve seen in Mongolia.

Back to Seoul for us. Bye bye Mongolia!

I’m traveling to Rome for work. I have three nights with not a whole lot of free time but going to try to take advantage of the limited free time I do have and see some of this beautiful city. I’ve been a few times and it’s one of my favourite places to visit EVER!!

Two hours 50 minutes gets you from Dublin to Da Vinci airport and I taxi to the city as it’s already close to 9pm when I arrive. €50 flat fee to the city. I’m staying at the InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace. It’s very fancy!

I immediately drop my bags and take a walk. It’s only ten minutes to the Trevi fountain.

I throw a coin over my shoulder, which hopefully means I will get to come back.

It’s a bustling area of town, so I walk back to a restaurant. I spotted on the way for a quick bowl of pasta.

The restaurant is called “That’s Amorè” and as I walk in they are playing Dean Martin. There are loads of great photos on the walls and considering it’s so close to a lot of tourist action it’s not too cheesy! I order carbonara and a glass of red wine and it’s delicious. The restaurant doubles as a cooking school during the day with Chef Fabio Bongianni.

There are beautiful buildings and impressive fountains on every corner, and in every square, around Rome. As I pass Piazza Barberini I take a closer look at Tritons fountain which is from the 17th century and sculpted by Bernini… serious art and history is everywhere!! This is why I love Rome.

Next day is busy with meetings but we are served a delicious parmigiana for lunch with a tiramisu for dessert…. So good! After work we are treated to a walking tour which I just love. We start by the colosseum and get some history of Constantine.

The views of the Colosseum at night are fabulous. I think this photo below may have to replace the one on my wall at home.

As we walk around the periphery of the Colosseum, we look towards the Roman forum and other ancient gates.

It’s hard not to photograph from every angle

Onwards we go, crossing the new metro line and continue along the imperial forum. I like the statue of Julius Caesar with the basilica in the background.

As we walk along this main thoroughfare there are buskers playing music and it’s very atmospheric as we see the sites of Rome by night. The views on both sides of the road are impressive and the tour guide gives us lots of history to take in as we stop for photos.

We continue to Piazza Venezia (Venice square) and the very famous Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. This is where the tomb of the unknown soldier is housed and also a very famous landmark where you see traffic being directed in front of it at a large crossroads. We take a group photo and yes it’s cold so we are well wrapped up.

We continue to the Capitoline and see the beautiful square, conceived by Michael Angelo in 1536 and executed over the next few hundred years. The beautiful buildings house art and archeological museums which I’ve visited before and are well worth a visit.

This is essentially the end of our tour, but before we turn up a quiet street for the restaurant we see what looks like the colosseum again but that couldn’t be right… in fact it’s the Teatro di Marcello. This theatre of Marcellus was an ancient open-air theatre where in the days of Julius Caesar locals went to see drama, and song. Amazing!

The restaurant is fantastic and unexpected from the entrance!! Long tables full of bottles and glasses, bread, empty food plates, bright lights and bustling waiters – it’s very Italian!

We start with a glass of Prosecco and have red wine once the first course is finished. We have a lot of food! For the first course we have fried fish and vegetables – my favourite being the zucchini flower. The artichoke in the photo below was also very good (never had artichoke served like this!). Then we have not one but two pasta courses, the first is cacio e pepe with guanciale (so good); followed by amatriciana (always a favourite). Our host wants to make sure we taste both of these specialities of Rome and apparently of this restaurant.

The main course is Veal involtini which is rolled veal stuffed with ham and Mozarella with a mushroom sauce and served with chicory – apparently the Italians eat a lot of this, it’s a strange kind of vegetable. We have sorbet with limoncello and vodka for dessert and all finished off by a small glass of Amaro (a bitter herbal liqueur).

What a meal! We are all stuffed and start to walk back to the hotel but there’s a bit of rain. A couple of us jump in a taxi and have one sneaky drink in the rooftop bar before bed. It’s another early start tomorrow but it’s worth it!

Once the work day is over I take a 6 minute walk from the office to visit Santa Maria della Vittoria church as it houses the incorrupt body of Saint Victoria. I’m not entirely sure (based on my research) that she was actually incorrupt at the time of exhuming her – I’ve read conflicting reports!! Anyway here is her wax-enhanced skeletal remains

The church itself is beautiful and has a number of impressive works of art and a Bernini sculpture.

A short walk from the hotel is the Villa Borghese gardens. I want to check it out ahead of tomorrow as I plan to get a run in and check it out in more detail. The Via Vittorio Veneto runs by my hotel and straight through these arches to the park. Easy peasy.

There are lots of cool statues.

I particularly like this headless one… I’m sure there’s a story behind it but no plaque for me to study.

I walk back to meet a couple of colleagues for dinner and we head toward piazza Navona. We pass the Spanish steps.

From across the street there’s an interesting looking building that we check out. It’s Church Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza and it has study rooms upstairs. Very picturesque lit up at night.

More beautiful churches as we near the restaurant – this one is Sant Eustachio.

The restaurant that has been recommended to us doesn’t open for another half hour, so we choose another place across the street which ends up being fantastic. We order pizza, mine with mushroom and truffle and a Montepulciano red wine to go with it.

Next morning I go for a run around those beautiful Villa Borghese gardens. It’s easy to rack up 5km as I zig zag through the grounds.

Cold but fresh 😀

Lots of interesting monuments….

Great statues everywhere

Back at the hotel I have a quick breakfast and pack my work stuff away. I have a great chat with the taxi driver who says he’d love to see his home city of Rome through the eyes of a tourist! A final goodbye to the Colosseum en route to the airport.

Ciao Roma, hope to be back again soon!

A coastal walk in Maroubra with a swim in the sea pool and brekkie, of course!

Jacarandas in bloom…

Lorikeets in the front garden (I do love these birds)

Shanes’s birthday dinner with the gang ahead of our trip to Vanuatu. Delicious Mexican food at Nu’u by Nativo and a really good spicy margarita.

Watching the main man play baseball.

Poolside drinks in the garden.

Lunch with Hilary and a visit to her new office along with some shameless advertising of her amazing business that is now ten years old. Go Titian Consulting!

An aerial view over New Caledonia on the way home from Vanuatu (see seperate blog post for the week in Vanuatu – it was spectacular).

Arriving back to Sydney and seeing the beautiful coastline …. Manly beach I believe…..

A visit to the New South Wales gallery to see the new wing and some contemporary art.

Some beach time at Brighton Le Sands. The water was so warm and as there are no huge waves I was able to swim between the nets… delighted with myself as I could actually do laps!

Dinner at St Georges Sailing club for sunset and of course a shnitty!

A visit to “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” exhibition at the Australia museum plus a little bit of shopping in town as there was rain.

Got to play tennis a few times with my Greek ladies and it was a blast. The walk home along the coast was stunning.

A week in Queensland where we stayed at Kirra beach and I was able to get into the water everyday. We arrived late Friday night and were up early to tick a new parkrun off the list… Varsity Lakes. A 7am start and it was still roasting!

Post parkrun we jump through some fairly strong waves (well strong for me) at Kirra beach and then walk towards town for some brekkie. In the afternoon we do a little shopping and then have one at Precinct Brewing in Miami (yes Miami!!)

On Sunday we take a trip to Springbrook National Park. This national park makes up a quarter of the UNESCO world heritage listed Gondwana rainforest. We get a great view of Mount Warning and the surrounding hills and countryside, see all sorts of lizards and beautiful birds and there are plenty of wallabies on the road but they scarper when they hear the car coming. We also see two beautiful rosellas bathing in water – beautiful blue and red birds.

We walk the Twin Falls circuit and see two separate waterfall from a number of vantage points including walking behind the falls.

It was a really hot morning but the coolness from the waterfalls was really pleasant and the walk was mostly shaded by trees.

Beautiful viewpoints out over the valley. I was fascinated by the one small red colour among all the green vegetation.

A short drive away (but still part of the heritage site) we visit Natural Bridge where I saw a snake very close up and some bats in a cave. There are glow worms in the cave but you can’t get far enough in away from daylight to see them well.

The drive there and back was really lovely. We drive through some farmland and stop at a farm shop where I buy a fruit that I’ve never heard of before…..

Tonight we have mushroom and truffle pizza from Bread and Butter – one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had… and some nice Aussie cider from Barossa.

During the week I take advantage of being across from the beach and fit in as much as possible…. A game of tennis in Terranora with Greg & Kylie.

After a couples match, us ladies teamed up to beat the lads!!

Cocktail time on Shane’s mums veranda looking out on the valley … always a stunning view.

I made a spinach dip in a cob loaf that I came across in the Cole’s magazine (Cole’s is like Dunnes or SuperValu for my Irish friends) and I have to say, it was delicious. I will definitely be making this at some stage over the upcoming festive season. I also packed from Dublin a bottle of Moet & Chandon which was a gift for my 50th and it was lovely to share it here.

Shane’s mam cooks a beautiful piece of lamb with roast potatoes and we have some very special wine… [side note the “veg” is coleslaw and salad because it’s just too hot]

A run around the very hilly Terranora where I admire the beautiful poinciana trees in bloom.

Runs along the beach….

The final beach walk… Coolangatta to north Kirra.

Back in Sydney – a Friday night vegetarian Indian meal…

Kamay parkrun in Sydney – another hot 7am start.

Hilary’s 50th birthday is today (well officially tomorrow but the party is today) – a beautiful lunch at the Fenwick in East Balmain. We take the ferry which gives us a lovely view of the Opera house.

Fab party with a gang of Hils friends and an absolutely delicious lunch with gorgeous cocktails and wine….

On the day the temperature threatened to hit 40 degrees so it is like a sauna outside but it’s beautifully air conditioned while we eat and drink… happy days!! I had bought a beautiful dress from a boutique near Hils office last week but it had a sleeve and I was afraid I’d be too roasting so there was another Gold Coast purchase made… a much better option.

It’s a 1pm start so I think we all know where this is going!

Beautiful view of the Sydney Harbour bridge so we take advantage of a slight drop in temperature for a shot outside with all the girls.

We always knew this would end up in the pub… great fun all round!

It’s a busy weekend for my final weekend away and next morning we are meeting the gang for a swim in Iceberg’s – the famous sea pool and fancy lunch spot overlooking Bondi beach. We swim first…

Then it’s time for the beautiful banquet lunch

The food was so good, I’m still thinking about the tuna and the beef tartare.

The sky was very overcast this morning after the crazy heatwave yesterday but it brightens up for a photo with blue sky.

From there we take a short walk by the beach, where the Bondi Rescue team are shouting to swimmers to get out of the rip (just as you see on the tv program) and have a few in Curly Lewis.

Monday is my last day. A fitting final visit to the beach with the birthday girl to round off the birthday celebrations. We hit Cronulla which is gorgeous.

Lunch at the RSL and the lovely Foof joins us. Check out that fabulous view … and the food was really good.

Back home it’s the final meal of homemade pizza in the new outdoor pizza oven – amazing!

Goodbye for now Sydney! See you soon!