CAPE TOWN: 2024

For the first since the Covid 'Lockdown', we finally made it back to Cape Town.
Primarily to visit Margaret's mum, brothers and her sister and families. With many friends to see also part of the plan, it was a very sociable visit. 

Briefly we began by staying in the Strand, just along from Gordon's Bay. Visited Mum in Bellville near the airport. Caught up with family in Stellenbosch. Visited friends in Pringle Bay, Hout Bay, Onrus and drove north up to Darling for the day. Discovered new places (Vergelegen Wine Estate, the Spice Route and Elgin Railway Bazaar) and had some great meals out overlooking the many ocean views. Hopefully all the photos capture some of our time in the November sunshine.  

(Map for guidance) - 

Margie, Karen and mum (aka Mrs Fell)

M & B and mum

Double take:
First picture was of all four siblings together for the first time in years.
Lovely picture until you to see Johnny's face.
Second picture is the hilarious result, as the funny side is seen !

A blue day and a day it blew, Strand.

Selfie No.1 - Vergelegen.

Well it was nearly Christmas after all.

Romance in the Rose Garden, Vergelegen.

Tree and Tree. Hat and huge 300 year old camphor tree, also Vergelegen. 

Rugare: Pringle Bay. Major changes since our 'lockdown' days !

Fynbos: all in flower near Pringle

Lunch date with John Sergel and Bev (centre). 

Another lunch in Hout Bay with Nat and Lynn.

An evening out at the Gecko bar, Hermanus with Ally and Kurt.

Birthday celebration: Gordon, Ryan and BB.

Boardwalk near Gordon's Bay: with Lyn and Thandi (an Airedale.)

Views looking towards Simonsberg from the Spice Route, Paarl.

Beach babe posing.

VW posing. Lekker !

Couch people. Elgin Railway Bazaar.

Flower girls: Sian and Aunty M.

Rugby 7s. 'Out of focus' bar crawl around stadium. 

Finally a few good cheers from us -

1) at the Strand's Jackson and Black Grill & Pizzeria, overlooking False Bay. 

2) Prosecco at the same venue. 

YOUR GOOD HEALTH

Now see this link for some 'arty' shots from this trip.

 PUGLIA - Italy

A 'Rail Discoveries' Tour - one week in October.

Taking in the sights and sounds of the region (see below). We were coached and railed from our all inclusive Spa hotel on the coast, 10 minutes from the pretty town of Polignano a Mare. 

It was full-on with little time to take your foot of the pedal. Aside from a very wet excursion to Matera the weather was lovely. The hotel comfortable. The food excellent and we probably indulged more than we should have. But you're on holiday....

There had been a last minute change to our rep, who was rather thrown in the deep end and, while she did her best, it was clear that this was her first trip to this fascinating part of Italy. It was also quite a large group to herd around. Counting 1 - 39 all the time !  

All that said the 'trulli' were amazing and worth it on their own. Certainly our top pick. Would have liked more time in Alberobello, and some evenings out in one of these lovely towns would have been nice. 

Molto bello !! 

PHOTO GALLERY

Martina Franca. White washed hill town. Statues. 

Locorotondo. Ceramica shops.

Martina Franca: music street. And a selfie reflection.

Martina Franca: Piazza Immacolata.

Les Crepes: Savory and Sweet. Rock Bands and Pop Artists.
Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, David Bowie or Bob Marley. Spoilt for choice ! 

Polignano a Mare. Sea cliffs and houses.

Matera. Looking good despite the rain.

Two panoramas of Alberobello and the 'trulli' houses.

Trulli - from outside and inside

Coffee stop and making friends by paying each other's bill. Full story from M. 

Our obligatory selfie. Trulli dodgy !

The hotel pool, that was colder than the sea, hence no one swimming in it...

Arrivederci Puglia 

Almost forgot there was a group photo. Not a very good one and probably captures the difficulty in organising such a large group. All in one place at the same time and paying attention... ??  Didn't quite happen

Outside a church in Lecce. 

FRANCE

Monet's Garden and the Palace of Versailles

Just realised we never posted any photos from this trip back in May. Four days away staying in an Airbnb near Vernon just up the road from Giverny and Monet's house and garden.

It did rain a bit in the morning as we visited the garden, but was lovely the following day for the trip to Versailles. 

Picturesque town of Vernon and our village had a nice friendly bar. 

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NEWS Flash
Having driven from Calais on the quiet French roads we past a toll booth that the following day would see a Prison Van being ambushed and officers shot dead. This was a mere 30 kms away from us !

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Monet's Garden

Palace of Versailles

Hall of Mirrors - Margaret not on her mobile, it's an audio commentary.
All done with mirrors !

CRUISING the Caribbean - 2023 -

Let's start with a short video involving the cruise ship:- 

INSTRUCTIONS: You need to click the arrow and then click again to begin watching. 

Some facts about our ship: 

The 'ARVIA' (had only been in service for one year - so brand new ! )

5,200 guests + 1,800 crew

Rising from deck 3 (medical) up to deck 19 (sky deck)

16 lifts; 4 pools; 30 bars / restaurants; 8 entertainment venues 

We were on deck 4 - inside cabin. starboard side, midships (get the lingo 😄)

Having seen these huge floating hotels sail out of Venice we said we'd never take one of them. But here we were aboard this huge vessel sailing the high seas in the Caribbean. 

Calling at Barbados (Bridgetown); British Virgin Islands; Dominican Republic; St Maarten; Antigua; St Kitts; Martinique; St Lucia; & back to Barbados. 8 countries in 2 weeks. 

"Hello Margie, hello Bill"

THE DAILY MANTRA OF OUR CABIN STEWARD, GANESH

The weather was perfect and while we think the ship wasn't full, it was very busy. Quiet places did exist on board and we found our inside cabin was peaceful and the TV webcam did allow us to see where we were - our porthole to the outside world. 

Here is a [graphic] sheet I created to show our day to day itinerary:-

Many ports and countries were similar and each visit was so brief that more time would have been nice. As a snapshot of the Caribbean it was very good and we did book excursions on four occasions along with a ferry across the bay in Fort de France, Martinique. 

With so many countries only briefly visited it would be crazy to pass judgement. However we did very much enjoy Bridgetown, St Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and definitely [though not expected] Martinique.   

VERDICT: Very efficiently run cruise and ship, great food and entertainment. Aside from the flights there and back, which we won't go on about, you couldn't fault the value for money!

😀How about some music to listen to in the background while you view our photos >>> 

Video LINK HERE [will open a new page] so just click back to your previous tab and view galley below

Music is Dédé Saint-Prix - 'Mi bel kous kanno'  > 

Colourful Caribbean wall paintings (and animals) were everywhere.

St. Maarten beach bum: surf backdrop as changing weather approaches.

Nelson's Dockyard and a complimentary rum punch.


Antigua: View from Shirley Heights to Nelson's dockyard.

St. Kitts: around the island, train trip.

Martinique: Beach bar across the bay from Fort de France. 

My best Brown Pelican shot. Martinique.


Martinique: More colourful buildings and wall paintings. 

St. Lucia: The Pitons famous landmark.

Leaving Tortola, British Virgin Island.

Drinks on the promenade deck as we pull out to sea. 

Always time for a beer...

Silent Disco Nights.
On the Red channel or the Blue, either way a world of your own !

And a suntanned farewell cocktail - cheers, here's to next time...