The rest of our week in Prague

After having breakfast and receiving instructions we made our way to Chodov where we bought ourselves a day ticket before getting on the metro for I.P.Pavlova. Once there we caught the 22 tram to Ujedz and crossed over to the funicular railway. The queue for the railway was sooo long we decided to walk up instead. What a climb! At one time the way up on a short cut was so steep we were almost bent double getting up it. I must say though that the views were more than worth it. At the top we found a beautiful garden through an archway that was so full of flowers in bloom that the air was filled with their scent. It was stunning in there. After wandering around the top of Petrin Hill for a while we descended down the other side to Prague Castle where we had lunch in a little restaurant at the side of the bridge. Diane and I had pasta – she had a veggie one while I had a ham and mushroom with hot chocolates. It was really tasty and great sitting in the sun. Afterwards we wandered around the Castle before making our out through the back past the Royal Gardens and down to the Dripstone wall which was absolutely amazing. By now we were more than ready to get back on the tram to the metro for Chodov where Ros and Steph met us. The rest of the day was spent relaxing.
Friday after a chill morning Diane and I walked down to meet Ros and Steph at Sokolovna for lunch. I ordered a turkey sandwich which was Huge and ‘oh so delicious’. Diane and Steph had soup while Ros had a salad. After getting back home we chilled and read until about half three when we went for a brisk walk with Ros through the park grounds down the road from the house. It was great walking through listening to the birds and breathing the crisp, fresh air. All in all we walked for 6.5kms and I really felt great afterwards. When we got back we showered and chilled until it was time to get the taxi to TGI Friday for our evening out for Steph’s birthday. We ordered mixed starters of filled potato skins, shrimps, chicken legs and mozzarella to share which were really tasty. I was rather disorderly and knocked my glass of wine over but it all added to the fun. Diane ordered a veggie pasta for her main course while I went for the ribs. Another good choice! We finished off with the cup cakes Ros had made and decorated for Steph. The table was also adorned with 18s, a Happy 18th banner and balloons. It really was a fabulous evening and when we were through we walked down to the Old Town Square where we separated with Steph, Diane, Shane and Steph’s two friends going off to enjoy themselves. Ros, Jed and I had a Jagermeister at the George and Dragon before getting a taxi back home arriving at half eleven. I read until Diane and all were back at one.
Saturday – Jed’s birthday we had a real chill day. We sat chatting, reading and enjoying the sun. Late afternoon we had a braai after which I went for a walk down to the creperie where I sat enjoying the sun on a bench before returning to the house. The evening was spent in front of the TV.
Sunday we were up fairly early for breakfast and left just before half nine for Chodov where we caught the metro to Muzeum to go to Wenceslas Square. Jed carried on to his stop for his part of the relay for the Prague Volkswagen Marathon. We wandered through the square down to the market where we did some shopping before going into the Old Town Square for coffee and a snack. It was lovely and sunny sitting there. Once we had finished we went into the chocolate factory where Diane got me my Mother’s Day present – can’t wait to eat it. We then walked to the 42km mark to watch for Jed to come in to take some pics of him. He was pretty hot when he finished so we went off to the George and Dragon for a drink before returning home on the metro. The rest of the afternoon has been spent chilling in the sun and having a boerewors braai. Our week here has been absolutely fabulous and we have had a great time here with Ros and Jed. Tomorrow morning we catch the bus to Dresden where we will book for a couple of days in Paris as well.

Enjoying Prague

Slept really well with Ros waking us at half nine. After breakfast we made our way into the metro where we got on to go to Florenc where the bus terminus is to pay for our tickets to Dresden. We leave Monday morning and come back the following Monday. Once there we will book for our Paris trip. We got back on the metro to meet Steph for lunch at Grosseto – a boat restaurant moored on the River Vltava. It was lovely sitting in the sun watching the boats going up and down the river. Lunch was really tasty with me having a prawn pasta and Ros a prawn salad. Diane had a veggie pasta with Steph having lasagne. We chilled some more over cappuccino before splitting up. Ros went shopping and home. Steph went back to the library to study while Diane and I crossed over the Charles bridge to Mala Strana. The amount of people on the bridge was unbelievable. No sooner had we started to cross when a surge of people from the other side came over. We were forced forward by the people behind and at the same time the people coming the other way tried to push us back. It was a relief to get past and carry on over the bridge. We wandered along through souvenir shops getting more for our collection and reached the St Vitus Cathedral just as they were changing the guard. After taking pics we went into the Cathedral admiring the fantastic stained glass windows. The place is absolutely beautiful. Leaving there we made our way back down the hill to the trams. As we turned the corner the 22 had just stopped and we ran over to get on for our trip back to the metro. When we got off the tram we had to go back up to the metro at I.P.Pavlova and just as we reached the crossing the light for pedestrians changed from green so we quickly ran over. To our horror a policeman was leaning against the wall over and he stopped us and , in not very good English, told us it wasn’t allowed and we could get a fine. He then asked for our passports which we didn’t have as we had left them at Ros. To our relief he then waved us on and we made short work of getting out of there. At the metro we got on until Orpotov where Ros picked us up. After relaxing and having supper we were in bed by 10.
Tuesday morning we were up at 7 to wish Steph a Happy 18th Birthday before she left for her exam. We spent the morning relaxing and checking through all our pics and putting some up on fb as well as the blog. It was a very cold day with a lot of rain. We left around 11 to fetch Steph and go shopping at the Palladium. Before anything we stopped for lunch with Diane and I having fried cheese and french fries which we enjoyed. After eating Diane and I went up to the Old Town Square with the Astronomical clock. We were there for the two o'clock chime followed by a trumpeter with a fanfare. We got some great pics - just a pity it was so cold. It started raining soon after and we stopped at a souvenir shop to get ourselves some Prague beanies. The shop owner was very amusing and had a strong opinion on South Africa. We felt a lot warmer with our beanies on and made our way back to the Palladium where we wandered around the shops until meeting Ros and Steph at half three. When we got back we had short nap before having a great evening together. Ros made a chicken and broccolli pasta bake for Steph which was really tasty. It was 11 before we made our way to bed.
Wednesday morning we were up about 8 and had a relaxing morning getting our washing cleared and some cleaning down. After lunch we went for a walk through the Pruhonica Castle grounds. It was rather chilly when we started but the sun soon came out again and warmed us up. The castle grounds were stunning with the huge trees and the thick,lush growth everywhere. We enjoyed our walk around the place with Diane taking plenty of pics. We walked up to the castle before leaving through the gates at that side stopping to get an ice-cream each before making our way home. By the time we got back we had had a walk of about 5kms which we all thoroughly enjoyed in the bracing air. Ros put the supper on to cook after which we had a quick trip to the supermarket. We are now having a relaxing evening together.

More 2010 Pics

Flight Back

Our last day was hectic with getting sorted out to leave – doing all washing ( I can’t handle packing dirty clothes),stripping beds, washing bedding and remaking them. Was up and out early with Diane for my last walk along the beach and dip in the sea. Sniff ,sniff. Really enjoyed it. We were all packed and ready by late afternoon. All that was left to do was a light supper and farewells to be said.Our flight left at midnight so it was a very long day. Once on board we were given drinks(my trusty red wine) and a meal. I had fish and Hubby had beef. After our coffee it was time to try and sleep. Unfortunately this time the flight was fairly full and we had to stay in our allotted seats to sleep. Hubby and I were in row 63 and Ali and Travis were in row 44. Which was a relief as Ali has been in a permanent bad mood while on holiday and we needed our alone time to try and recover. The time was two in the morning and I set my time to S.A. time – eight o’clock. Early for S.A. to go to bed but not for Oz. We were not able to sleep apart from a nap now and again. Got woken for breakfast at three in the morning. Landed at five managing to go through passport control quickly but waited forever for the luggage to come through. It was really good to be back in S.A. We had a coffee at the airport before heading to the workshop and then home. All was fine and running smoothly at both places.Hubby’s toe had become re-infected while we were away and he went to the Dr. for antibiotics in the afternoon. We were both in bed early as jet lag had caught up but neither of us slept well. Diane is still in Oz and I really miss her. We get on well and are very good friends too. We only have the occasional falling out which is over quickly thank goodness.I apologize for the delay in updating the blog but I battled without Diane but have finally sorted things out and will be on track again. Cheers .Have a good week.

End of our first week in Oz

Well we have come to the end of our first week in Oz. We have seen our first kangaroo – of all places – on the golf course down the road. Of course we didn’t go to close as we would have hated to be in a boxing match with an angry or annoyed kangaroo. We have walked along the beach. The beach sand is different to S.A. It is finer and softer and where the waves wash over it, it becomes like clay. Strange!

We have wandered around the shops, seeing many weird and wonderful sights in fashion and hair styles. Tattoos are very fashionable here with most people having one. Walking is the national sport and footpaths are along every street. Perth is the Windy City – just like Port Elizabeth.

Today (Sunday) we visited a Chocolate Factory. As you walk in the counter has bowls of chocolate chips which are for tasting. There is dark, milk and white to try. My favourite was the dark. The choice of chocolate for sale was unbelievable. From truffles with every filling imaginable to plain bars. It is such a pity the Rand is so low compared to the Dollar. After that visit we went off to the winery (Lancaster) where they had a really good variety of delicious wines. I enjoyed the Shiraz the most. The winery and wines are as good as the Cape just no mountains around for scenery. We ended the day chilling around the pool before having another walk along the beach – we really needed it after all the chocolate and wine.

We are all enjoying our time in Oz and looking forward to the rest of our time here. We will keep you updated with our impressions and experiences here.

Cheers and have a good week.

Hi from Oz

We left on Sunday at six for the airport. Once we arrived we queued to book in after which we went for something to eat at the Mugg & Bean. We ate our meal and said goodbye to Geno who had dropped us off. The time was now after nine so we made our way to the boarding gate which was A14 and right near the end, giving us a good walk. There was a queue there and everyone’s hand luggage was being checked. Hubby and Ali went to the left and we went to the right. Ali and Hubby were waved through as they had Travis but Diane’s and mine was thoroughly checked. I lost my cleanser and toner as they were too big. Diane nearly lost all her toiletries as they were not in plastic but luckily a woman next to us had spare bags and gave us one for the things. We then made our way to the plane where we had been put together in row 63. The staff on board were really friendly and said as soon as everyone had boarded they would see what spares seats there were for Ali and Travis to spread across to sleep. We were pleased when they came back and said we could move across as the plane was quite empty. Diane and Hubby sat either side of us in a two seat space on their own while Ali and I sat at each end of the row. Drinks were offered ( I had my glass of wine) and supper was brought around – a choice of chicken or beef. The meal was good with a salad, a roll, the main course, a brownie and cheese and biscuits. I was only able to eat the main course with some salad. Next was coffee and tea, after which we settled for the night. It was now about twelve. Behind Diane were two empty seats so I moved there to try and sleep. We had given Travis some Stilpain and he had gone to sleep with a bottle before we even levelled out.
Diane watched movies all night while the rest of us tried to sleep but as you all know plane seats are not made for comfort. Also I was still annoyed about losing my things so that kept me awake too. After much tossing and turning the lights were put on at six for breakfast to be dished out. The girls and I chose the continental breakfast which was really good but too much for us to eat all of it. Hubby chose omelette which he said was awful. Travis woke as we finished eating and Ali gave him the vanilla custard the hostess had given for him. He didn’t seem very hungry but we persevered(Dumb thing to do) as he suddenly brought it all up. We cleaned him and the seat as best we could managing to finish in time for the descent. We landed at ten to seven which was good time as we had taken off at about ten thirty.
After going through customs we came out to a great welcome from Sylv and all. It was great to see Sammy and Wayne (unbelievable how much they have grown). It was lunchtime Oz time but none of us could have managed another bite. We drove to Sylv and Bob’s place being shown some places of interest on the way. To us the place seems similar to Cape Town just flatter. After off loading we had something to drink and headed to the shops for some essentials. After getting back Ali saw to Travis and put him to bed. Hubby and Bob went Fish and Chip shopping. The meal was really enjoyable which we had with wine. By now we could hardly keep our eyes open and went off to bed at nine thirty( only three thirty our time). I set my watch to Oz time before going to sleep.
On Tuesday morning we surfaced at six and enjoyed a coffee outside on the patio together before having bacon sarmies. Hubby had forgotten his Injections in the fridge at home so Sylv took us to the Dr for a prescription. We tried three chemists but none had them in stock so we ordered them. Bob was off to work so the rest of us with Wayne ( poor Sammy was at school) went off to Hilary’s for a walk through the centre and a spot of lunch. The meal was delicious. After that we walked along the beachfront walkway until the beach. Travis couldn’t believe all the sand and just wanted to play in it. We took him into the water which he just loved. He played around for nearly an hour before we left the beach. We headed home for supper and to put Travis to bed. He was really tired after his play. After supper Ali, Diane and Wayne went out for a drive around. They returned about eleven after which we all went to sleep.
I couldn’t believe it when I woke this morning(Wednesday) and saw that it was after nine. We got up for our coffee which we had inside as it was very windy and overcast. We had some rain during the morning which apparently is unusual for this time of year. Bob went off to work after showing us on the map several places in the area to go to. Sylv had left before eight to go to work.

After looking at the map we decided to head for Joondalup which seemed to have a nature reserve. With me behind the wheel we set off. Travis fell asleep immediately. It started raining again so anything outside was out of the question. We drove around for a while and then looked for a shopping centre to have lunch at. We found our way to the same centre we had been to on Monday afternoon which luckily had underground parking. After wandering around we stopped at the food court. We must have been obvious tourists as we went through the whole section looking at what was on offer before deciding on what to have. Price played a large role in the decision as typically we converted to Rands with everything. This Oz sure is expensive when you come from South Africa. I must say lunch was good – Turkish Bread toasted sarmies and a wrap for Diane. After lunch we shopped around and found a little souvenir shop where we stocked up on a few things to take back.

It was now nearly four so we made our way back to Sylv. Hubby was navigator and I must admit not a very good one. He blamed the map book of course. We found a way fairly easily though and arrived back as Sylv arrived from work.

We have had supper, chatted and watched some TV. Everyone has gone to bed which is where I will be going to shortly once my blog is finished. I am enjoying Perth which is what Rhodesia was like when it was Rhodesia. The place is much smaller and not nearly as bustling as Joburg. The shopping centres are much smaller but then the population is far less. It was easier driving around though nerve – racking as the traffic laws are strictly enforced and I worried in case of doing something wrong through ignorance.

BUT I have survived my first excursion on our own And we found our way back.

Cheers until the next blog.