Last leg…..Canmore, Calgary and Alaska

/ susiecameron / Leave a comment

We LOVED Canmore! What a great little town, only about 25kms from Banff but a world away in charm and authenticity. A town where regular people lived and the sort of town you absolutely love if you like hiking, cycling, water sports and mountains as you are completely immersed within the Rockies and can literally walk from the centre of town in ten different ways and see AMAZING things without having to travel for hours. The weather was perfect with blue skies and sunshine and serendipitously we arrived on Canada Day- July 1st – which meant the town was shut off from traffic, was totally packed with people on every seat and ledge available, on camp chairs, with picnics and beers and everyone was in such good spirits as we waited for the Grand Parade to begin. I certainly didn’t expect it to be anything out of the box, but I was totally wrong! The brass bands alone were fantastic full of banners and twirling batons and wonderful music. I think everyone in town plus the surrounding areas must play a musical instrument as each of the 4 different bands boasted LOADS of people – really impressive. There were also a few floats with First Nations people singing and dancing which we found really stirring – their music is so evocative. The Canadian Mounties proudly rode through town alongside adventure companies, firemen, ski patrols, mountaineering and hiking companies and just about anyone that had a business in the area, and it was such a fun afternoon. We snagged an outside table at one of the pubs and had a birds eye view of the parade whilst enjoying the local fish and a glass of wine – what’s not to love about Canada Day in Canmore!!!!

We had rented a car and a condo in Canmore for three nights and we very quickly felt at home here. It was a 20 minute walk into town or a 2 minute drive and we also had a fabulous Japanese restaurant just around the corner from our place, so it was very relaxing with plenty of places for the MOTH to watch the soccer after a fun morning of walking or rafting. It was so peaceful walking alongside the river, all you could hear was our footsteps and birds and the gentle lapping of the water, all you could see were mountains and trees and it was perfect!

The only reason we weren’t sad about leaving Canmore was because we were heading to Calgary and the home of our Nephew, Adam, and his wife Carla who we hadn’t seen for about 3 years. They had kindly invited us to stay with them for the week of The Stampede and we were looking forward to some family time! Widely known as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the stampede is a BIG DEAL in Calgary. I’ve never seen so many people in cowboy hats and boots! It is essentially an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July and it attracts over a million people per year. Organized by thousands of volunteers and supported by civic leaders, the Calgary Stampede has grown into one of the world’s richest rodeos, one of Canada’s largest festivals, and a significant tourist attraction for the city. The Rodeo and chuckwagon racing events are televised across Canada. Calgary’s national and international identity is tied to the event. It is known as the “Stampede City”, carries the informal nickname of “Cowtown”, and the local Canadian Football League team is called the Stampeders. The city takes on a party atmosphere during Stampede: office buildings and storefronts are painted in cowboy themes, residents don Western gear, and events held across the city include hundreds of pancake breakfasts and barbeques and pop up music events (you guessed it – Country!!)

Adam has worked here for 10 years and his company ATCO has been heavily involved with the Stampede for decades. As a result, we were very lucky to snaffle the equivalent of back stage passes for the rodeo. We were accompanied to the Cowboy side of the action and saw them all getting ready and pumping themselves up ahead of tying themselves onto either a bucking horse or a bull. I was pleased to see they do wear protective neck rolls as after years of working for a chiropractor I was deeply concerned for their spines! There were no horrible incidents for either the riders or the animals while we were there, but they do happen and these young men risk a lot for their moment in the sun. Good money can be made on the rodeo circuit but it can all go wrong in an instant…..In between the rodeos there was chuck wagon racing, bareback racing and a myriad of other horse related activities. It was a really hot day for Calgary and the cold beers were in high demand. Despite the heat I had to try Canada’s national dish – poutine. This is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with hot gravy and is surprisingly delicious despite looking a bit of a soggy mess! Cam in turn was very keen to try the ribs and brisket that you could smell cooking everywhere! After the obligatory sideshow alley and fairground rides we got out of the heat and ventured indoors to the pavilion where we listened to some country singing and drank rose until it was time for the end of day concert and fireworks. We got home tired but happy after experiencing some real cowboy traditions in a city that reveres it.

The owner of Adam’s company is heavily involved in Equestrian sport and we managed to get a peek into this very all consuming sport when Madison took us to her horse lesson and showed us around the stables. The horses were all gorgeous and hers had SO much personality and was very aware that he was the centre of attention! Adam then took us to Spruce Meadows – another ATCO association and home to a 500 acre equestrian show jumping complex. It also houses a 6000 seat stadium which is home to the Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League, The day we were there we watched a very entertaining show jumping Derby and a sheepdog exhibition as well as enjoying delicious oysters at the beautiful Foxtrot restaurant which overlooked the showjumping course – so different and I really loved it. Our last night took the family to Caeser’s restaurant where we had a fabulous farewell meal with the steak chef cooking over a huge cauldron! Such a lovely week catching up with them and reconnecting with the kids. Hope to see them all in Oz at some stage soonish…..

Then we were leaving Canada and were off to Alaska and the last part of our adventure. Things didn’t begin well however. When we were checking in online for our flight we had to provide our address in America where we would be staying so I looked it up online to get the hotel’s address. In big red letters it said “THIS HOTEL IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED” which did not make me feel good. I double checked my booking.com app which still said that my booking was confirmed so Carla and I did a bit of research and found out that it was indeed shut and had been since February! People were turning up with their luggage to find a building site! We tried to phone with no luck so I decided to cancel my booking with booking.com before the money was taken from my credit card. As it was 24 hours before the booking I was told that the entire amount would be taken anyway! I told them the hotel didn’t exist but they merely said they would ask the hotel if they would waive my cancellation fee, I said there is no one there to ask but there was no response! In the meantime we had to find somewhere in Anchorage to stay for 5 nights in peak summer (which only goes for about 6 weeks) when the town is heaving with fishermen and cruise passengers. It ended up being VERY expensive and not downtown where the action was. A nice bland functional suite hotel in mid town was where we landed but I was pleased we had a kitchen at least for my cups of tea (let’s face it you can’t drink coffee in America) and popped next door to Walmart (which was ginormous) to stock up on tea and milk etc. As I returned I asked the girl at reception for a kettle, she looked at me blankly and asked “what is a kettle?” and had to summon her manager. He informed me they had none so I ended up boiling water in a saucepan!!! Crazy at the price they were charging per night! Cammo improved his skillset by learning to make waffles for breakfast so not all was lost!

The one REALLY good thing about where we were staying was the proximity to a fabulous institution – The Moose’s Tooth – a super popular pizza restaurant with its own brewery. It was warm, full of people all chatting and enjoying themselves and when we finally got a seat at the bar we had the BEST pizza I’ve had in a long long time! It was love at first sight for us and they liked our weird accents and friendly nature as we got to know everyone at the bar – commercial pilots, a cruise ship entertainer, a prosthetic salesman and a couple of girls from a town of 60 about a 1.5 hour drive away! If you only had to have ONE restaurant near you this was the one to have! We ended up here 3/5 nights!!!

We landed on a 20 degree day which according to the locals was ‘sweltering’ and we made the most of it by going downtown and catching a trolley tour of Anchorage. Your ticket got you a free drink at the Reindeer Sausage Stand so needless to say my intrepid travel partner had to give it a go! We had a lovely tour of the area in the sunshine which was good because it rained for the next few days! Anchorage is home to the busiest seaplane base – Lake Hood – in the world, handling an average of 190 flights per day! In the winter when the lake freezes over it is still used for ski-equipped planes!

Our main reason for coming to Alaska was to mush the huskies up on the glacier. We had bought our tickets from Australia and booked it for Day 2 in Anchorage to allow time if inclement weather meant postponing it. The day dawned cloudy but fine and we booked a driver to take us the hour to the helicopter base where he would wait while we did our thing and then drop us home. We were all getting into our snowshoes when the staff gathered us around to say unfortunately the wind had come up to a dangerous level and we wouldn’t be able to access the dog camp which was at 5000 feet. The last flight had nearly tipped the helicopter tail rotor in the strong wind and they were closing it for the day. We were gutted as we had been so looking forward to it, but safety has to come first of course. We were offered the choice of a reimbursement, a postponement or an alternative flight over the glacier. As there was no guarantee that the weather would be good on the alternative date and we were already there, we decided to go with the option of The Grand Tour which was made up of three different landings around the glacier and the pilot’s personal favourite as you could pick and choose where to go according to the weather and visibility etc. We were not disappointed! From the minute we took off it was magic, rising up over the landscape below I felt like a bird soaring in the sky. Our pilot Gavin was awesome, he told us a few things but also let us just take it all in. Gentle classical music was piped through our earphones and as we turned the corner and the ice and snow came into view I had to pinch myself. He landed on a flower strewn bank adjacent to free flowing boulders of ice floating in the glacial meltwater. Nature is amazing – the way that land completely encased in ice for 3/4 of the year can give way to a carpet of beautiful flowers given some light and warmth makes me feel that all will be well with the world despite what mankind is managing to screw up.

What looked like a flat surface from above was in reality a very jagged and dangerous terrain. The deep blue crevasses and sharp peaks would be extremely hard to traverse and would take hours to go a very short distance. As the ice travels down the glacier it picks up various minerals and rocks giving it some grey and black tones as well as the blue for which they are famous. Its like a giant abstract painting! Gavin expertly landed on a flattish piece of ice on the glacier as he had spied something from above. It turned out to be a rope bundle that must have dropped from a chopper. After attaching some chains to our shoes, we could get out and walk about without fear of slipping and it was fascinating how diverse the terrain was even within a 50 meter span. Apparently there is a tour where you can kayak here at the right time of year which I think would be totally amazing! We stopped here for about 10 minutes and when we got back in to the chopper and tried to take off the Helicopter landing skids were stuck to the ice! He had to gently wiggle the chopper back and forth until it dislodged and we were off!

He asked if there was anything we would particularly like to see and the MOTH mentioned that we hadn’t seen any moose so far on our trip and Gavin smiled – he had seen a small group that morning and hoped that they were still in the vicinity. We flew over an ice cave which looked like a welcoming shelter until I thought about the weight of the ice shelf on top of it! A few minutes later we dipped over a river bed and there was our very first Moose! Cam was a very happy chappy and I was thrilled to see these animals doing their thing in their natural habitat. Long may it continue….

You feel simultaneously protected and exposed when you are in the front of a helicopter with a glass front. Thanks to Gavins skill as a pilot I felt totally safe but when we landed and watched another helicopter take off, I realised how tiny we were in the scheme ‘of things. This chopper looked like a tiny mosquito within seconds of flying off!!!

Our day had been SO GOOD that in the end we were only mildy sad about not seeing the dogs. We had maximised our options considering the conditions and that was all we could do. The dogs remain on our to do list but most probably in another country now! Back in the car to Anchorage and our day was topped off when we passed a Mummy Moose and her newborn calf right on the side of the road – very special. All in all our day was one of our all time BEST days….

The next day dawned cold and wet and our plans to rent some bikes and cycle the coastal path were cancelled. Luckily Anchorage has a very good Museum which made for a perfect rainy day activity. The most fascinating section was the Arctic Studies Centre which showcased how the first nations people lived and survived on the land here. A mixture of videos where people spoke about how they lived, what they ate and their culture and some exhibitions of the clothes they made and wore and hunting tools etc made for a really good overall look at their life before “civilisation” arrived. Not one part of any animal that they killed went to waste. They ate the meat and the skins/fur were used for clothing along with some particularly creative uses of seal stomach linings and their esophagus!!! The boots seen here were actually made from the throat of a seal and the parka type coat was made from the stomach lining which was weathered outside over winter to go leathery. Then they used grasses to stuff in between the layers they created by stitching panels into the coat – totally ingenious!

There was a substantial modern art exhibition which I enjoyed and they also have The Thomas Planetarium, an immersive space about the wonders of the cosmos which Cam particularly enjoyed. We really are little specs in the scheme of things aren’t we!

All that culture made us hungry and on the recommendation of a local guy we discovered the joys of the Alaskan Burger & Brew. One of the best burgers of the trip despite a few stuffed creatures staring down at us! I must say I love the little baskets of condiments you find in every cafe or restaurant here. Mayo, mustard – at least 2 types – ketchup, chilli sauce, tabasco, salt and pepper. Makes our Aussie offering of a solitary S&P look a bit sad!

Before we knew it our last day arrived and it was time for our mammoth 43 hour journey home. Anchorage – San Francisco – Hong Kong – Sydney with a 5 hour layover in San Fran and 3 hours in HK making up the extra time. In the end it wasn’t too bad, I think we almost ‘out flew’ our time differences as it took so long! In the Anchorage Airport sitting at the bar, eating chowder and watching the last of the World Cup we almost felt like locals as everyone chatted amiably despite our different backgrounds. I must say we met some of the nicest people throughout this trip. It was a pleasant change to be able to speak the same language (almost) and I think both the Canadians and Alaskans have to be some of the friendliest people on the planet! It helps having an obviously different accent as we do not get mistaken for Brits or Yanks and people are always interested to talk to us about Australia. The tipping thing was hard to get used to and we probably underdid it at the beginning as we didn’t really understand what was and wasn’t included but we were fantastic tippers by the end! It was a very different kind of holiday from our usual European sojourn, but we loved every minute of it. Highly recommended.

Back to The Meadow we go……………

2nd leg…..Jasper to Banff.

/ susiecameron / 4 Comments

Our train journey ended in Jasper and from now on we were to be ferried about on coaches. Everything worked seamlessly and the stops and sights chosen by Rocky Mountaineer were spot on. The knowledge from the various driver-guides was extensive and there was no way we would have learned as much if we were self driving. To sit back and relax, just looking at the scenery and concentrating on potential bear sightings was far easier than me having to navigate and the MOTH having to drive.

The drive from Jasper to Lake Louise is one of the most scenic in Canada. The Icefields Parkway is world famous for its beautiful drive through the Rockies. Our trip to the Athabasca glacier on an over snow vehicle was included and despite knowing I would be going onto the snow and ice I somehow wasn’t adequately dressed. Especially as it started raining as we got off our coach. It was more like little frozen needles coming down and we very quickly became wet and cold. Our driver on the over snow vehicle pumped up the heat and we were all soon steaming up the windows as we warmed up and he negotiated his way on to the glacier. There is a maybe a 500sqm area that they groom in the morning to give a little more traction for us to get out and experience the conditions more safely. A Canadian flag flew proudly and I slithered and slid my way around peering at some of the deep blue cracks that you could see under the ice. Our driver told us a story from long ago of a man who fell down one of the crevasses and got sucked into the underground river that runs under the entire glacier. Miraculously he got spat out as the river emerged further downhill and lived to tell the tale! He became a passionate protector of the glacier and felt profoundly connected to it.

Our next stop was far more tranquil even though it involved walking out on a glass platform suspended 280 metres above the wild Sunwapta Valley below! Luckily the one kilometre walk prior to the glass was informative and less scary for this little traveller. We even saw a Mother Mountain goat with her baby clinging perilously to the sheer cliffs. Somehow their hooves adhere to the smallest ledge and provide some shelter from the circling eagles who are partial to newborn kids! Everything about Canada seems to be death defying!

Before we knew it we were back on the bus and heading towards one of my most looked forward to stops – Lake Louise. I have seen so many beautiful photos of it both in the snow and in the summer and I was hoping it wouldn’t disappoint. We had two days and nights to immerse ourselves and I had high hopes. We were staying in The Fairmont, the only hotel that is located directly on the lake and commonly referred to as The Chateau Lake Louise. We were looking forward to some hiking and kayaking during the day and relaxing, eating some good food and of course for our number one Sports Fan the opportunity to watch a couple of the World Cup games in the Sports Bar. Naturally he soon befriended one of the bar managers, a lovely young guy who took a shine to us and ended up gifting us the Lake Louise Gin giftpack and some lovely whisky. Our English friends from the train joined us here and it was lovely to enjoy some drinks and stories whilst watching the soccer! Nothing could outdo the first view I had of the Lake on arrival though. We walked through the gorgeous foyer and were drawn to the turquoise colour that streamed through the huge window in the bar ahead. There she was in all her glory and every bit as gorgeous as I had imagined!

We enjoyed our very comfortable room, complete with a proper coffee machine at last and tried a couple of the restaurants on site. We had no intention of going anywhere else until we checked out!

The next morning we awoke to a beautiful day of blue skies and sunshine and perfect weather for some hiking around the lake, A forested path leads you 2/3 of the way around and all you can see is that amazing coloured water, hear the birds trilling away and the ever cheeky ground squirrels scurrying about. I felt totally relaxed for the first time on the trip and the air was so fresh and clean it made you feel good to be alive!

The time of day completely changes how you feel here. Before the day trippers arrive and after they leave it feels like a magic secret, a natural wonder where someone just happened to drop a luxury hotel. Getting up early and kayaking on the lake in all its stillness was wonderful. Apparently it is very deep – about 70 metres – so I was definitely not keen on falling in, the glacial lakes are soooo cold that you only get a few minutes before your blood focuses on your essential organs leaving your limbs numb and incapable of swimming to safety! Once the day trippers arrive it feels like the Christmas Sales with crowds of people milling about the lakefront and walking around the lakeshore path so it’s a bit of a tale of two cities. We felt lucky that we were staying there and could enjoy the lake avoiding peak busy times.

I was feeling a bit sad about saying goodbye to LL but luckily/unluckily the weather changed and we ended up leaving under heavy grey skies which progressed to heavy rain later in the afternoon so the coach was a good place to be after all! We spotted a few black bears on the side of the road and even sitting on a train line so the rain definitely wasn’t bothering them! We drove out of the weather to a lovely little jewel – Green Lake in Sascatchewan. Again the car park was heaving with cars and people which kind of spoils things a bit but we managed to walk to a more secluded part to take in that amazing colour and the serenity. Tourists rarely seem to walk much further than the gift shop or cafe and after taking a few snaps I think they mentally tick it off their list and move on!

Back on to the bus and back into the rain, we headed to Banff. We had been very lucky to squeeze Green Lake in between the bad weather so we didn’t mind too much as we headed through the township of Banff in the pouring rain, dropping various groups at different hotels before we headed out of town to what the locals refer to as the Castle of the Rockies – the famous Fairmont Banff Springs. It is huge, more like a village and with the characteristic architecture we have come to expect from the Fairmont Hotels. Our room was gorgeous, and with the provided map in hand we explored the vast hotel. A lovely swimming pool and golf course outside and a smaller indoor pool and gym for those who were so inclined! There were about 5 different restaurants and a couple of gorgeous bars.

We had our last catch up with Peter and Elaine before they flew back to London, enjoying some drinks and recollections of our trip. Everything had been positive which was brilliant because you never quite know when you sign up to a planned tour whether it will be good or bad! We had visited a great selection of sights and enjoyed unique experiences and felt we had had value for money with all the special things we had done. We hope that we will catch up with our holiday friends in the UK (or maybe even in Australia) at some stage for some more reminiscing!

In the meantime we explored the township of Banff which was quite big, loads of cafes and restaurants as well as cowboy shops selling boots, hats and belts as well as tourist shops with the obligatory souvenirs. My ever stylish partner bought a great pair of boots (having to make room in his case by abandoning a favourite but old pair he had bought in Bath UK – do you notice a theme here folks?) He is notorious on holidays for buying clothes and leaving me for dead in the shopping stakes! We found Banff rather big and again, very busy, but this is to be expected in the summer I suppose when school holidays are in full throttle. The only reason we were travelling at this time of year was because we planned our whole trip around the Calgary Stampede which was on in early July meaning we knew we would have to put up with some crowds. Nothing like Europe though I must say, still plenty of room to get around and plenty of seats in restaurants unlike in Venice, Barcelona or Santorini midsummer. Back we went to the sanctity of the Castle, quite happy just to enjoy the space and the beautiful facilities before our last day on the Rocky Mountaineer Tour which was to end in Calgary.

A trip up the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain was interesting despite a smoky haze enveloping the town due to the wildfires in BC. Mountains that had been clear the day before now completely invisible – it’s quite uncanny knowing they are there but not being able to see them and I think we ended up being quite lucky as after we left Canada the smoke got a lot worse and our last week would have been a very different kettle of fish! You can usually see 5 mountain ranges (see above) as well as The Bow River and the township itself from up there but not today hence no photo! We walked the boardwalk to the summit to Sanson’s Peak and the Cosmic Ray Station (originally a weather observatory before it acquired a second purpose when it was rebuilt to serve as a laboratory for researching cosmic ray particles in the atmosphere.) before heading down to see a herd of long horned sheep gathered under the gondola who entertained us for a while before moving on delighting us and scaring a few hikers on the mountain!

Then it was farewell to Banff and we were back on the bus and off to Calgary to get our cowboy on – yeeha!!

Hello Canada! 1st leg….Vancouver to Jasper…

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We arrived weary at nearly midnight to our not so palatial accommodation. Situated on a 6 lane highway in midtown it was all we could manage to get in a city packed full of tourists here for the FIFA World Cup. Our tour was starting the next day but there was no room at that particular inn, so we found ourselves unlocking door number 255 at the 2400 Motel instead! My travel partner was unimpressed so we set off early the next morning to look for some breakfast. Another setback when it soon became obvious that the only thing open within cooeee was Maccas! Things soon improved though once we took a cab downtown and checked in to the beautiful Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. A beautiful room and in a great location for exploring the waterfront, Granville Island and Stanley Park. We had two full days to ourselves before the start of our adventure through the Rocky Mountains.

The weather was beautiful, the city was pumping with people from all over the world, united in their love for soccer and giving the place a true party atmosphere. Flags and football colours were everywhere, complete strangers bonded over lunch in their matching shirts and it reminded me of Sydney in 2000 when we hosted The Olympics. There were pop up venues to watch the games, some ticketed, some free, and all the pubs and restaurants were overflowing and of course showing the games…..the MOTH was for once in the right place at the right time to see a major sporting event! Australians are VERY used to having to get up at an obscene hour to see games live so this was a real treat. For him. Not so much for me. We compromised and found a way he could watch 1-2 games a day (or part thereof) without spoiling our time together exploring – probably the reason we have stayed married for over 40 years!

We caught a little ferry across to Granville Island with its huge public indoor market. It was packed with beautiful colourful fruits and veggies, the freshest fish straight from the ocean and a mouthwatering array of bread warm from the oven. There are boutiques and local artisans and artists showing their wares and plenty of places to sit and eat and watch the world go by. They have their own brewery and it is a vibrant and interesting place to spend a morning. We ventured down to the sea wall and checked out all the seaplanes taking off for their joyrides around the harbour. We went to Gastown and saw the old Steam Clock with it’s charming Victorian design and marking the time with a steam whistle every 15 minutes! It was a lovely afternoon for a walk and an ice-cream soaking up the atmosphere.

The next day we rented some bikes and spent a great few hours cycling through Stanley Park which is a fabulous urban park spanning over 400 hectares featuring old-growth forest and a Pacific coast waterfront view. Nestled in the heart of Vancouver’s most iconic park, the Stanley Park totem poles stand tall, narrating tales of Indigenous heritage and artistry. These vibrant wooden sentinels, each carved with intricate designs, offer a window into the rich tapestry of First Nations stories and traditions. Totem poles are the British Columbia Indigenous peoples’ coat of arms. Each carving on these poles represents a given tribe or clan, or commemorates historical events or people.

We continued along The Stanley Park seawall which is 9km long and takes you past several lovely sandy beaches and also a huge outdoor heated pool at Second Beach which was full of families on this glorious day. We stopped for another ice-cream and watched the world go by before heading back into town on our bikes. It had been such a fun few hours and we felt we had really got to know this little corner of Vancouver and liked it very much. Time to pack up and get ready for the early start the next day before heading out for the evening. Free cocktails ahead of a lovely meal at a nearby Italian (where I somehow managed to set the bill on fire while holding it a bit too close to the candle to read it!!) on a balmy evening left me definitely feeling in holiday mode and before we knew it we were boarding the coach to the train station to meet The Rocky Mountaineer.

The coach pulled up into the station amidst a lot of pomp and ceremony and we could see the train gleaming in the morning sunshine. A pianist was playing in the terminal while we helped ourselves to coffee and perused the merchandise on sale. Then a piper arrived in full kit and in the way only bagpipes can – stole the show! He played as we walked outside and found our carriages, the red carpet rolled out for us and a lovely welcome from all the staff lined up on either side. It felt very special.

And we were off……!!! The train grumbled out of the station, laden with 14 carriages – some of which would detach in Kamloops that night and pulling A LOT OF WEIGHT, it gently wound its way out of Vancouver eventually passing through beautiful farmlands in The Fraser Valley before following the winding path of the Fraser River. As you can imagine it was just lovely sitting back in our comfy seats watching the passing scenery through the glass roof. The fabled service of the Rocky Mountaineer began very quickly after leaving the station with our first breakfast. The food is good without being brilliant and we had a choice of meals which is pretty good when you think of what they have to cook in – the tiniest galley – which popped out a large selection of food to keep everyone happy. Needless to say our request for some “proper” coffee was denied – no espresso machine sadly….but we met a lovely English couple – Peter and Elaine – who we got along with like a house on fire. All meals served two sittings and once breakfast was cleared it was 9.30am and time to open the bar!!!! My travelling companion thought this was a splendid state of affairs and proceeded to get acquainted with the Canadian version of a bloody Mary – The Ceaser! As it had tomato and celery in it he viewed it akin to a health drink and the famous addition of clam juice gave it that certain je ne sais quoi! The day proceeded in this fashion, with meals, more drinks (Chardy became the favoured drink) and many snacks along the way. Literally an hour would not pass without being offered something to eat or drink! We were also getting a lovely commentary on the places we were passing and the history of the railroad and of this part of the world.

One of the most surprising pieces of information we received was that the wheels of the train are all changed weekly! I would never have thought this was a viable thing to do but in Kamloops there are huge sunken pits that the train moves over and that is exactly what happens – WEEKLY!!!! I suppose they do drag a lot of weight in a very isolated part of the world so they have to make sure everything is shipshape! We passed Osprey nests, some huge and visible for miles and we spotted some long horned sheep but no bears. Bald eagles soared high in the sky before landing on dead trees overlooking the valley floor. We crossed the Fraser River and began our passage through the narrow valley. The green was replaced by dusty shades of brown and gold, with perilously steep cliffs hugging the river. The Fraser went from wide and mild to narrow and wild, with raging torrents of water slashing past the open rock as our train hugged the side of the canyon. We rolled past wonderfully named landmarks such as Skuzzy Creek and Jackass Mountain and made our way to Lytton, where the Thompson and Fraser Rivers meet. 

The scenery between Lytton and Kamloops is mesmerizing: dry rocky canyons with copper cliffs and slashes of red rock, deep forests of pine and old-time bridges. Our route takes us past Rainbow Canyon, but also Avalanche Alley and the Jaws of Death Gorge. I get the feeling the names in this part of the world were not dreamed up by the local tourist board!! We enter Kamloops at about 7.30pm but it is still light – the sun doesn’t go down until around 10pm – and as we came into the town people all stopped and waved at the train – it was so lovely! People waved from their gardens, in the streets and finally all the railway workers lined up as we came into the station in Kamloops and waved, The train makes us all feel like 5 year olds! Kamloops owes it’s existence to the railway. The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed here in 1886, and the Canadian National arrived in 1912, making Kamloops an important transportation hub. 

Kamloops was hot, sweaty even, and a weird little town after Vancouver but we went for a walk and ended up having a wonderful Indian meal – the most amazing pancake dosa “thing” and utterly delicious! This holiday is certainly becoming one of contrasts! Next we head to Jasper and the end of our train journey but the beginning of the Rockies……..

Jasper was a lovely little town. Home to just 5000 full time residents it’s population swells in the summer months as visitors come from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful Jasper National Park, the largest park in the Canadian Rocky Mountain System. Jasper has a small town feel but with plenty of restaurants and bars to make things fun. In winter of course there is skiing and in summer you can hike and paddle or canoe on some of the beautiful local lakes or for the more adventurous there is white water rafting at Athabasca Falls. We stayed in town which made for easy exploration and eating etc but our new English friends were staying out of town at The Fairmont. This made it harder to pop into town but to make up for it they did experience a pair of black bears sauntering across the golf course right in front of them! There is plenty of wildlife all around but you have to be lucky to be in the right place at the right time to witness it!

We caught the Skytram up to the top of the mountain which gave us an amazing view of the surrounding mountain ranges and despite being mid summer there was still some snow up there. The air was so fresh and clean and I felt at one with nature. This is the highest and longest tram in Canada and takes you up to 7500 feet. We could also see from here the devastation that occurred after the wildfires swept through in 2024. Two different fire fronts merged just outside Jasper and destroyed 358 buildings, one-third of the town’s structures, causing an estimated $1.23 billion in damages. The high cost was partly due to Jasper’s geographical isolation, which made transporting materials into the town and moving debris out more difficult. The Alberta and federal governments supplied $170 million in funding to the town; $30 million went towards construction of temporary and permanent housing, and the rest went to Parks Canada for recovery work in Jasper National Park. By May 2025, insurance companies had finished clearing debris, and Parks Canada had issued 100 permits to start rebuilding houses destroyed in the fire and now the town is in full building mode restoring and improving their buildings just in case it happens again. No more log cabins, metal roofing is the new big thing! Interestingly however the authorities decided to leave the park itself to burn as long as it didn’t threaten the town. This is because the forest NEEDS to burn every 125 years to regenerate, to burn off the dense parts thereby creating new open areas that attracts the sun, new plants and therefore animals back into the park. If there hadn’t been a natural fire they would have had to initiate a controlled burn anyway! It still looks very dead and will do so for some time to come – but the new trees are already starting to grow and the next phase of forest life is well on its way.

Next we head to Lake Louise via the Icefields Parkway…..

Back to Autumn in The Meadow

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We flew home, full of bonhomie after our lovely trip – happy to have caught up with so many family and friends and with our cups full! We had 6 weeks to catch up with life in Oz before we packed up again to visit Canada – somewhere neither of us had been. The weeks filled up quickly with some lovely occasions. Our dear friends Dave and Anne threw a “long lunch” for about 100 of their closest friends at The Royal Sydney Golf Club in Rose Bay. It was a magnificent venue to celebrate their wedding on a fabulously sunny Autumn day with delicious food, fab wines and a great band! It was so wonderful to see them both SO happy at this age and stage of life – ain’t love grand!

We are officially in Bird Season. To be more accurate Cockatoo Season. First it was the Corellas – hundreds and hundreds of them. You could hear them from 2 kms away screeching their little hearts out as they flew together in formation looking for their next target! They decided they liked our lane and they descended on every conceivable fence, tree, telegraph pole or electricity wire in sight. They were full of the joys of Spring….in Winter, with 1 in 5 pairs mating at every given chance, rolling around in the middle of the road like a pack of teenagers completely disregarding their safety from oncoming cars and tractors. The result was the odd white body, left in situ in the hope they would learn their lesson………..Now the Sulphur crested Cockies have arrived – less of them but much bigger and noisier than the Corellas and with as much if not more mess from their ravaging of the trees. Our pecan and macadamia trees have been totally stripped – in eleven years we are yet to get one bowl of nuts before the birds arrive. We popped some nets over our mandarin, grapefruit and orange trees to sabotage any attempts they made on our citrus crop and have actually had quite a lot of fruit – a miracle!

There have been a few changes in our High Street in Berry. Some businesses that have been there for 20 years have shut down – people retiring and moving away and some just coming to the end of their popularity. A new ladies clothes shop is a welcome addition and a new small wine bar has become a very popular venue very quickly proving there was a niche in the market for those that don’t always want to go to a pub with their TVs, pokies and snooker tables! There is a venue for everyone and this has become our go to spot for both a larger group (there is a large indoor communal table) and for a cosy drink with the girls outside watching the world go by with braziers and optional blankets for your lap. Nick also owns the locals favourite coffee shop and has an innate knack for knowing what people like. In this instance, choosing the best wines at a reasonable price and providing not meals but frenchified bar snacks, cheese and charcuterie, olives , almonds and soft pretzels – a popular move, My local girls and I made the best of both the newcomers in one evening when the dress shop had its official launch and we followed up with a bottle of red at Le Bar – perfect!


One of my loveliest Sydney friends had a “special” birthday to celebrate and we made it the perfect excuse to get together down in this neck of the woods. My friend Leigh has finally finished her beautiful new house in Kangaroo Valley and was excited to share it with the Sydney gals for an evening of eating, drinking, chatting and giggling! We attempted the worst board game ever and tried silicon face masks that slithered all over the place making us look like melted academy awards! Leigh managed to anchor hers with her specs at least! It was lovely to wake up the next morning with the mist curling around the house, the kangaroos jumping past and the kookaburras singing their hearts out – so very Australian. We drove to Bowral for a spot of shopping and some lunch before bidding the city girls farewell and heading back down the mountain!

To round off our 6 weeks we finally caught up with our little boys who seem to have shot up and got new teeth since we last saw them! They are growing up so fast and we had a lovely time together. We ventured out to watch The Swans play which was fun as we caught public transport – SO much more fun than driving a car! They are finally old enough to sit and actually watch a game (or most of it – lets face it, an AFL game is super long even for an adult!) and we also had a great time at the bowling alley and Timezone. Cooking with Dad at home is always fun – he makes a mean banana cake and licking the beaters is as much fun in 2026 as it was in 1966! They loved their new question and answer book and we had a lovely snuggly start reading it in bed while their Dad made us all pancakes for brekky – heaven!

So here we are 2 sleeps away from getting back on a plane and I am getting quite excited. Our last trip was to places I knew and loved well but this trip is to somewhere NEW, as my sister says – I am going somewhere my feet have never been! It will be an adventure and we’re going to make the most of it. Speak to you soon from The land of maple syrup, grizzly bears, ice hockey and the beautiful Rocky Mountains!

Switzerland and Paris

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How good is train travel? For the last few trips to Europe the MOTH and I have prioritised train travel over flying as it is so user friendly, especially over relatively short distances. No long expensive taxi rides to airports and hours of checking in, security queues and potential luggage loss and delays! The European trains are very frequent, often fast and in places like Switzerland ON TIME! They are clean, comfortable and offer food and drinks. You can get up and walk around and see the countryside as it passes. What’s not to like? We left our house in L’Isle sur la Sorgue and within 4 hours we were in Switzerland enjoying a sundowner on Sue-Ellen’s terrace! Avignon to Lyon to Geneva on the TGV and then a local train to her village and once we got the hang of the train stations systems with platform announcements etc we were fine…

We always love coming to Sue-ellen and Michel’s house. They are consummate hosts and some of the best food we had on the entire trip was at their place! As a proud Swiss Man, Michel loves cooking some of the Swiss traditional dishes when we visit. Fondue, raclette, roti de porc – each accompanied with delicious wines from his cellar. A simple roast chook is elevated to a divine level somehow with a rub of this and a smear of that all creating heaven in the oven! We also ventured out into the nearby hills to a wonderful traditional restaurant that specialises in the “filet de perche” which is so well loved in the area. Perch is a freshwater fish commonly found in the lakes of Switzerland. It’s much appreciated for its delicate flavor and tender flesh and when paired with a delicious butter sauce made with wine and parsley, it transforms into something heavenly. A visit to a local winemaker, a shopping trip to a famous chocolatier, who just happens to have his shop nearby, and a wonderful walk home through the countryside listening to the blackbirds singing and I was as happy as a kid at Christmas! Everywhere you look in Switzerland there is beauty. At this time of year the wild poppies and cornflowers inhabited every empty field and the wisteria was in full bloom around verandas overlooking the lake.

Our dear friend Duncan met the MOTH 50 years ago when they both lived and worked in Villars, an alpine ski resort in the Swiss mountains above Lausanne. Duncan was a teacher at the elite private school – Aiglon College – and as a typical sociable American he quickly made friends with all the foreign workers in town, a friendship that has survived decades despite living thousands of miles from each other. Duncan is an adventurer. He flies small planes, paraglides, keeps poisonous snakes and has a garden of beehives. He skis, has canoed down the Amazon, helps out with various worldwide charities – in person – at orphanages in Romania and would never dismiss doing ANYTHING without thoroughly thinking of the positives versus the negatives. He will not die wondering about life that is for sure! We managed to sneak in a lunch at an old favourite pub from back in the 70s which is still going to this day and it was lovely to see him and his lovely friend Beri for a quick catchup. The weather was perfect for Spring and later we enjoyed an Aperol down at the lake alongside the marina where Sue and Mich keep their boat. On previous visits we have pottered around the lake and over to France for lunch in it before returning back to St Prex in time for dinner – what a life eh? A trip into Geneva and the old town was a nice day out and before we knew it our time was up and we were saying goodbye and back on the train – this time to Paris!

Before we knew it we were pulling up at the Gare de Lyon and we were back in a part of Paris we are very familiar with as we stayed here a few years ago when we were in town for the Rugby World Cup and found it to be a very easy part of Paris from which to see the sights. The hotel is literally a few minutes walk from the station and was just a hop, skip and a jump from the River Seine which we could walk along to Notre Dame, Musée d’Orsay, St Germain etc – even me , who has a notoriously dreadful sense of direction, can’t get lost following a river! We settled in and went for a neighbourhood walk to check out a dinner spot and it was so lovely to be back amongst all the glorious Haussmann buildings and we were soon just one of the many locals sipping on our aperitif watching the world go by!

The next day was a red letter day for us as we were finally going to eat at Le Train Bleu, the famous restaurant in the Gare de Lyon. Three years ago we were also booked in for lunch here on our last day in Paris and we arrived at the restaurant to be greeted by several policemen. A bag had been left there unattended and was being treated as a potential bomb threat, therefore closing the restaurant. We were so disappointed and as soon as we knew we would be back in Paris on this trip I booked lunch in advance! It was as magnificent as I had imagined and we loved the entire wonderful experience. The grandeur, the service, the food, the history all around us and I could completely imagine what it would have been like back in the day with people in suits and long dresses eating there ahead of their train trip to their holiday destinations. Listening to the hum of chatter, the tinkle of cutlery and watching the delightful staff look after everyone tableside was truly one of my favourite moments ever in a restaurant and was well worth the wait! The food was delicious, the lamb carved at a trolley at our table and my crêpes Suzette flambéed in front of me to great applause from all the surrounding tables!!

One of the things we really wanted to see while we were here was the completed restoration of Notre Dame. It was still under construction on our last visit and we are still in awe that such a huge project has been finished on time and in such a beautiful way. People from all over the world came together to give money, volunteer time and craftmanship creating an enduring and beautiful finished article. The beating heart of Paris is back, bigger and better than ever. The fact that so many people value this building so much is really heartwarming and gives me some comfort that the whole world hasn’t gone totally mad after all. I guess some people would say that the money could have been better spent but some things are WORTH spending a fortune on and this beautiful building will now hopefully live on for many, many generations to come. We continued to walk along the river until we came to the Musée d’Orsay. The MOTH had never been there and I felt that had to be rectified asap. The building itself is magnificent. Originally a train station built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) it became obsolete in 1939 when trains became too long for the platforms and by the 1970s it was largely vacant, prompting talks of repurposing the building. Plans were finalised to convert the station into a museum and in 1986 The Musée d’Orsay was officially opened, becoming one of Europe’s largest art museums and a major cultural institution in Paris. The museum focuses on French art from 1848 to 1914. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world featuring artists such as Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Gaugin and we loved wandering through the huge rooms spending as much time as we wanted examining these famous paintings which truly deserve this wonderful space to showcase them.

The other important and wonderful thing to do in Paris is ……EAT!! As we walked though St Germain, looking at all the amazing food shops and markets we swerved off to Entrecote as it was lunchtime and memories of their special steak frites were foremost in our minds! It’s always a lovely little bit of theatre there and we were soon tucking into our lovely green salad with roasted walnuts followed by the mandatory TWO servings of steak in their special sauce and fries. A bottle of red and a very full tummy later we waddled back outside to wander the streets and bridges, soaking up the very essence of all that Paris offers and grateful we got to visit once again. On our last night a local brasserie offered the asparagus I had been seeing all day at the markets and the duck I can never say no to! I love France and the different feelings I get from Paris, Bordeaux and the South – all great in different ways. Next visit I think we are going to try and visit Brittany and Normandy for yet another “flavour” of France and it is perfect as it’s just a stone’s throw from my beloved England. Close enough to be easy and far enough away to feel foreign! Tres bien indeed…..

Exploring Provence

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Our two week immersion in a Provencal village was finally going to come to fruition after talking about it for a few years. We hoped to use some of our French, feel part of the rhythm of a village and see if all the hype about the French way of life was true. Our first port of call on French soil however was Marseille. We decided to stay there for a night as we had previously driven straight through the city to the stadium in the Rugby World Cup in 2023 and had always regretted not spending some time seeing the Old Port. Arriving from cold London to the sunshine of the South of France was delicious and we soon found ourselves in a bustling square at lunchtime – perfect timing! A warm goats cheese salad and a glass of rosé whilst people watching is my idea of heaven and we soon found ourselves feeling very holidayish! An afternoon walk around the marina before the aperitif and we had forgotten all about London and its wonderful history, more than happy to indulge in sitting around eating and drinking instead! As we were in Marseille we sought out a traditional restaurant famous for its bouillabaisse and ordered it despite a humungous price tag. We were intrigued to find out that it is served in 2 courses, first the broth – really delicious and served with little toasts, rouille and cheese – added into the soup for interest and crunch. The 2nd course was the fish that had been cooked in the soup, served simply with potatoes (and the ever-present baguette) All in all quite a bit of theatre but nothing I would necessarily order again!

We had rented a 3 bedroom house in L’isle sur la Sorgue on the edge of the town, literally 200m from the first restaurants and a stones throw from the railway station and the bus stop – we couldn’t have asked for a more convenient location! It was big enough to invite my Mum and Sister to stay for a few days and it had a quirky personality which we loved immediately. Positioned next to one of the towns canals boasting the clearest water you’ve ever seen and with several of the local antique shops within a 2-5 minute walk we were spoilt for places to explore! There were two outdoor seating areas, one on wicker chairs underneath a verdant wisteria and the other out the front boasting a big dining table which was a perfect spot after visiting the markets and coming home laden with paella or rotisserie chicken and vegetables, ready to eat in our own garden together with some chilled wine – heaven! The kitchen was definitely my favourite room though and we started and finished the day there – with cups of tea in the morning and games of cards at night, around a big old wooden table that has probably hosted hundreds of families over the years.

L’isle sur la Sorgue is most famous for its brocante on a Sunday – the biggest outside of Paris apparently and it makes for a very atmospheric Market Day. The whole town is filled with stalls, vibrant with colour of either beautiful summer fruit and vegetables or of the local napery – beautiful tablecloths, napkins and tea towels in the gorgeous colours of Provence – blue, yellow, red and green and if I’d had a bigger suitcase I would have gone a little bit crazy buying them all as they look beautiful in our Australian light as well as in the famous light of Provence that the impressionist painters loved so much!

It is also a treasure trove for antiques enthusiasts with over 300 fascinating vintage, second-hand shops and markets to browse year-round. The lovely old antiques (or bric-a-brac to us) were all beautifully laid out ready to tempt you into parting with your Euros if you were lucky enough to have room in your suitcase! I particularly loved the old china, the Anduze pots and the eclectic paintings and lighting you could sometimes pick up for a bargain price.

Almost a week into our stay the MOTH celebrated his birthday! From an espresso at his favourite morning café to lunch at the very cute Olive and Raisin to dinner at Monsieur Tu he had a fabulous day! Olive and Raisin focuses on soups, tasting boards, tapenades and regional recipes. It’s part delicatessen, part restaurant with a laid-back atmosphere and appealing artisanal vibe. The shop is lined with jars and bottles of freshly made jam, oils, pasta, wines and confectionery. It was a great spot to sit in the sunshine and eat delicious cheese and pâté and enjoy some local wines. We tried sitting outside on the canal but had visions of one or both of us falling in! That night we dined at Monsieur Tu (or Mr T as we liked to call it!) and had the most delicious rabbit dish – we were very happy chappies!

Then it was time for the girls to join us from the UK. As Heathrow is ginormous Mum was whisked to the gate on an assistance vehicle and then again to the front of the queue in Marseille on arrival (Sandy tagging along for the ride!) so they arrived feeling relatively good despite a 4.30am start! So many major airports now demand you walk kilometres to get from A to B so this was a win win – never be afraid to utilise it folks! It was so good to see them and there was plenty of room for us all in the house so it was perfect. We spent the next few days exploring the town, the markets and sitting around outside chatting – LOTS of chatting! With wines and cheeses from the local shops on hand it was lovely to be able to come home and relax in between outings and the days passed in a blur of loveliness! We didn’t feel too sad when we said goodbye as they are coming out to Australia in October to celebrate mum’s 90th so we have plenty to look forward to….

A trip to L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue isn’t complete without a visit to the stunning Notre-Dame-des-Anges Church (Our Lady of the Angels). The Baroque architecture and huge wooden doors of this historic church hide a rich interior filled with magnificent paintings, statues, over 200 angel sculptures and a 15th-century organ, which has been listed as a historic monument. The church was originally built in the 13th century, then, following a collapse, rebuilt during the 1600s and from the outside I had no inkling of what I was to find inside – quite a surprise to say the least! It was situated in our favourite square just opposite The Cafe de France which became our “go to” cafe!

The town is also renowned for its canals and waterways which give it the nickname “Venice of Provence,” as the Sorgue River flows through the town, creating scenic riverfront streets and charming bridges.  Along the river, you can see the remaining wooden waterwheels that were once used to power the town’s textile factories. By the 19th century, there were over 60 waterwheels in operation and they were used for the town’s flourishing paper, silk, wool and dyeing industries. Today, only 17 remain – some of which still squeak and turn with the natural flow of the river. Other waterwheels are completely abandoned, frozen in time, clustered with green moss – but it’s still possible to imagine their role during the buzzing industrial era. Being surrounded by water was really very relaxing and calming and in Provence where things can get very hot and dry these canals give a sense of coolness and a real point of difference to other nearby towns.

We decided not to hire a car while we were here, preferring to be like the locals and use the buses and the trains to get ourselves around. It worked fine for close towns like Avignon and Carpentras but when we researched how to reach some of the hilltop towns it was another story. Trips that would take 30 minutes by car would take 3 hours on the bus as they wind in and out of all the towns and villages en route, making it untenable. We found a one day tour that went to 7 different locations , covering most of the places we had fancied visiting and decided to go for it! Our first stop was Fontaine de Vaucluse, not too far from us which was the source of the river Sorgue. Its fast flowing waters came from a spring very deep in ground (it has been tested down to 1010 feet but its source is still deeper -a bit of a mystery but it is one of the biggest springs in the world with 52000 gallons a second gushing out in Springtime) and became the power source for a paper mill which still exists in a limited form today. The town was also famous for hiding the French Resistance in the war, using the surrounding hilltop caves to their advantage for both shelter and spotting the enemy from afar. It’s hard now trying to imagine those days as it is a very serene and tranquil village.

Our next stop was one of the famous “perched” villages of Provence – Gordes.The medieval village stands resplendent in stone atop a clifftop with unbeatable views across the Luberon. This enchanting village has a long history spanning the Romans to the Middle Ages, and in recent years has become a retreat for artists and writers. Located dramatically on the edge of the Vaucluse plateau in the heart of Provence, Gordes is a medieval hilltop village that looks almost too beautiful to be real — a cascade of honey-coloured limestone tumbling down a rocky hillside, crowned by a Renaissance château and overlooking the vast, lavender-threaded expanse of the Luberon valley below. Sadly we were just a little early for the lavender although the fields we passed were splashed red with wild poppies which were beautiful.

Our next port of call was Rousillon. Ranked among the most beautiful villages in France, this colorful village owes everything to ochre, this natural pigment that tints every facade, every wall, and every alleyway with a palette of colors ranging from pale yellow to the deepest red. Many artists are drawn to the town for it’s unique colour palette and we enjoyed wandering through the winding cobbled streets up to the castle to see the amazing views of the surrounding countryside. Back into the van and we were off to St Remy de Provence. I had been there 30 years ago with my Mum and had very fond memories of our time there, although nothing looked overly familiar this time around! It is a beautiful town known for its rich history. It was founded over 2500 years ago and has connections to both the Greeks and Romans. The town is famous for its charming winding stone streets, vibrant markets, and as the place where Vincent Van Gogh spent time in an asylum, drawing inspiration from its stunning landscapes to produce some of his most famous paintings. We visited a truffle shop while we were here, sampling delicious morsels drizzled with honey and a jar of truffle salt made its way home with me to be enjoyed with scrambled eggs in The Meadow….yum!

Our last village was Les Baux de Provence which is a picturesque hilltop village renowned for its medieval castle, dramatic limestone cliffs and a rich cultural heritage. The stone streets are narrow and winding, the buildings impossibly cute, and the views in every direction are jaw-dropping. And looming above it all is a sprawling, ruined medieval castle that seems to grow straight out of the rock. Each of the villages we visited today had its own unique charm and each of them were carved out of the stone of the local rock, perched on top of a hill – a LOT of hard work back in the pre industrial days to create a town and testament to the perseverance of the local people.

Our final stop wasn’t a village – it was a bridge! Not any old bridge though, it was the magnificent Pont du Gard. Just a few kilometres from Nîmes and Uzès, the Pont du Gard stands as the most impressive testament to Roman engineering in France. This monumental aqueduct, built in the 1st century AD, holds the record for the highest Roman aqueduct bridge in the world at 49 metres high. It was granted UNESCO status in 1985 because of its exceptional preservation and since then the whole area has been made into a park so that no cars have used it since 2000. People now come to witness this HUGE structure up close and personal and be amazed by the fact it was constructed in the FIRST century! Those Romans were sure good at building stuff! Nowadays families come and bring picnics and people canoe down the river under its arches. A school of kids were kayaking there when we visited and it was just wonderful to hear them laughing and enjoying themselves as they passed through history!

So after a full day of exploring we headed home to our lovely little town. After all the wonderfulness we had witnessed today, we were still super happy that it was Isle sur la Sorgue that we were returning to with its friendly residents and easy to love atmosphere. In summary, our French experiment was deemed a success, we had seen firsthand that the French way of life definitely has something special to recommend it. People here make sure they take time out to spend time with friends and family; they eat together, locally and seasonally and they celebrate many public holidays, feast days and religious and agricultural festivals as they have for hundreds of years. Work, although important, is not the Be-all-and-End-all of life here although I can’t imagine a 2 hour lunch break taking off in Australia anytime soon! Thus, our stay in Provence came to an end and we bid farewell to our lovely house and caught a train to Switzerland….

How can it possibly be the end of May?

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It’s been three months since I last posted and some of you may have wondered where I had gone!! This year has really flown and our 5 week trip to Europe took up a big chunk of it. Prior to leaving we had a lovely week in Hobart with Loz and the girls where we loved walking them to school every day as they skipped and chatted and sang songs! Myla would throw in a cartwheel or two (backpack and all) just to keep us on our toes and 99% of the time we were given little sprays of flowers that they picked en route – so sweet and gloriously old fashioned! Pick up time meant a treat at the bakery as we were regaled with tales of their day, it only seems like a blink of an eye since it was MY kids doing the same thing!

Our week was a pleasant blur of cuddles, reading stories, colouring in and feeding ducks! Loz and I treated the girls to a high tea in Hobart for which they were very excited and Loz had also bought tickets to a festival in The Huon where Mental as Anything were performing and the girls got to enjoy holiday food whilst the adults sipped on gin spritzes! Berry had an overnight fishing trip with a mate and came home bearing a couple of beautiful crayfish which we thoroughly enjoyed!

We had a wonderful day out with our friends Paul and Sharon on their boat which is moored not far from Lauren’s place. We pottered over to north Bruny Island and put down anchor in a delightful bay where the trees and clouds were perfectly mirrored on the glass like water. Sharon whipped up a delicious salad which we enjoyed with bbqd delights courtesy of Paul and we felt like the luckiest of intrepid explorers!! It was great to catch up with them and experience their new life in Tassie.

Once we returned home it was a full on preparation of our house and garden before leaving for Europe. Our wonderful friend Smutzer had graciously agreed to house sit for us which was a huge relief as that meant Bailey and the chooks would be in good hands. Easter weekend meant a last hurrah with Sam and Stacy with some nice food and wine before we were packing and leaving for the airport! We were finally off on our European adventure!

First stop was Hong Kong which we hadn’t visited for 10 years! We decided to have an overnight stopover to break the trip and reacquaint ourselves with the Island. It was as vibrant as ever and as we were staying in Central it was easy to get around. A trip on the Star Ferry was quite nostalgic – it has been a mainstay of life in HK for decades and I love that nothing much has changed. We decided to hop on the HOHO bus which is always good value in a big city. It takes you to places that a) you might never have heard of and b) is way too far to walk to and c) there is a commentary telling you all about the various locations that you would never know otherwise! It’s a great way to get a bit of an overview of a place and of course you can always hop on and off when you want to explore somewhere in more depth. This together with a bit of shopping and some eating filled in our day beautifully and tired us out for our overnight flight to London….

We arrived feeling relatively refreshed and went straight to Tom’s house in Notting Hill. It was SO good to see him, his new house and neighbourhood and we dropped everything to go in search of coffee and a walk in the Spring sunshine to Portobello Road. The blossoms were in full throttle and together with the pastel painted houses it all looked like a movie set! We had a fabulous Japanese lunch before checking into our studio apartment – home for the next 5 nights. After a couple of welcome drinks at the local pub we had a lovely dinner with Tom’s flat mate Conor and tumbled into bed feeling sleepy but happy. It was so nice to have Tommy just around the corner from us and get to experience life as a local for a little while! One thing that wasn’t so good was the COST of everything. London is through the roof price wise, we were paying 5 pounds for a coffee and 11 for a glass of wine, which in Aussie dollars is okay but in pounds it’s DOUBLE. Crazy and on average if we were having a nice meal whether it was lunch or dinner it came in at $400 including wine so on a good day it was $800 without factoring in accommodation! I’m never going to say Australia is expensive ever again!

With Kensington Gardens basically at the end of Tommy’s street it was just a walk to some of London’s attractions. Daunts bookstore in Marylebone had been on my list for a while and it didn’t disappoint, making me feel warm and fuzzy that these kind of places still exist and gave me hope there is still a screen free future if you want one! We visited The Royal Albert Hall (where my Grandad used to play with the LSO) and then popped into The Victoria and Albert Museum for a couple of hours – so much to see in there that you could literally spend hours and hours there (good for a rainy day perhaps?) before walking back through the park watching the squirrels dashing everywhere and back to Notting Hill to meet Toms friends at The Cock and Bottle – a great bunch of people and a fun night.

Our final day of sightseeing and we played tourists big time! We caught a ferry down The Thames getting out at The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and going to Churchills War Rooms, all set up just as it was back in the day and a bit of a glimpse into the hardships they all endured underground with no natural light for days and weeks at a time in a very small space. Then we went back a few hundred years with a visit to The Tower of London which was really very interesting with a palpable sense of its history. The ravens are still very much part of the place and it is rumoured that if they ever leave, London will fall!!

Our last night was spent (in what is becoming a tradition) at Canteen enjoying some delicious Italian food cooked over fire and in a cosy yet vibrant atmosphere. The worst part is there are no bookings and it was FREEZING waiting outside – I’ve never been happier to get inside a place and even the $88 lamb loin chops didn’t put us off (needless to say we didn’t order them) It was a perfect last night with Tommy and I tried not to get sad when we said goodbye but it’s always hard. I fully realise now what it must have been like for my Mum when I moved to Australia 43 years ago when there were no smartphones or WhatsApp – just the old blue aerogram letters keeping us in touch!! Luckily I had the rest of my trip to look forward to which helped me feel better….next stop France!

A galloping start to 2026

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After the craziness of Christmas it was nice to draw breath and relax into some easy summer days spent at the beach, the pool and catching up with friends. Lauren and family left for their planned holiday at Callala Bay for 5 nights and the house became eerily quiet. The dog slept. We read and pottered in the garden. The MOTH golfed. And suddenly it was time for their return. Little India had become ill on their last day of the holiday with a fever and vomiting and had basically slept the previous 36 hours. Now anyone that knows Indi knows that is NOT her normal but as with most 4 year olds we presumed she would improve quickly and be back to her old self imminently. She did seem to pick up a bit and even managed some food but the next day she became worse again and when we noticed blood in her poo it was time to get her to the hospital. Back to our favourite Emergency Room and as per usual we had wonderful care. They are so good with the kids and know all the tricks to try and get them to take medicine or make it easier for them to accept needles etc. Indi needed to go onto an IV drip and they cleverly prepped her with 4 “magic” spots with numbing cream for an hour or so before inserting what she called a “straw” into her vein. They needed 2 of those spots in the end so it was worth doubling up! Indi has a VERY strong stubborn streak and as she had vomited up the panadol meds 2 days earlier she refused to take any more as she was completely convinced it would happen again. Lots of cajoling ensued with promises of apple juice and custard but ultimately I managed to get her to take some fluids with a syringe on the proviso she self administered it! I find that most kids prefer to have a bit of control over it rather than being forced and she was quite chuffed with herself when everyone praised her. HOWEVER it was too little too late and we had to go with the big guns in the end with a 24 hour drip and an overnight stay with Mum in hospital. She took it all in her stride despite looking very small and lost in that big hospital bed. The next day she gradually improved until she was well enough for a visit from her sister and they had great fun playing with some gifts that were leftover from Santa. I think she thought hospital was a pretty cool place after all and the nurses loved having a happy patient. She was released literally 15 hours before we left to take them to the airport and the flight home to Hobart where she continued to improve over the next few days and is now100% back to normal. A bacterial gastroenteritis was the culprit (and is pretty much the ONLY thing that has ever made India quiet and sleepy!!)

While Indi and Mum were stuck in the hospital I followed up on my promise to Myla to take her into the Berry Tea Shop for a special morning tea. She dressed up in her new “lemons” dress and was excited to look around the shop which is full of “beautiful things” according to Myla. A chocolate milk came in a bottle oozing with real chocolate and the scones were big enough to share! When I catch up with the granddaughters it’s lovely to indulge our girly side and to enjoy a trip into town dressed for the occasion, this time with a side trip to the wonderful toyshop where she thought long and hard before falling in love with a 3D printed lizard which she wore casually draped over her shoulder! I love seeing the world through their eyes and was so happy to have our special time together.

No sooner had they all gone back to Tassie when Cooper arrived! It has become an annual tradition for us to have him for a week in his big summer school holidays and I love it! Having the kids one on one is SO different from having them together and at the ripe old age of almost 7 he is easy to have around. He does however love to be kept busy which meant full days for us all. Luckily he loves Lego, games, puzzles, scootering, walking Bailey, the movies, cooking and EATING so he wasn’t hard to entertain and we all fell into bed early every night pleasantly exhausted from our day’s adventures!

The 138th Berry show took place the last weekend in January and it’s famous for either happening in pouring rain or in boiling temperatures – this year we scored the heat! Luckily The Pavilion where we exhibited the produce and the art was air conditioned so everybody was taking a very detailed and considered look at every plant, tomato and painting on display!! My friend Anne won 1st for her perfect eggs and her rainbow cake! Nothing this year for my rainbow rooster painting but I think he made a few people smile….We watched the ever entertaining woodchop whilst sipping on Aperol spritzes and really enjoyed watching the cattle judging where another friend had 5 cows under consideration. Listening to the judge explaining how they award points was really interesting and seeing these (sometimes) huge animals up close and personal was fantastic. A little girl of about 5 or 6 all dressed up in her checked shirt, diamante jeans with huge belt buckle and her cowboy hat lead a huge bull out onto the arena and it made me realise what a wonderful bond the farmers have with their animals and how gentle the cattle are despite their heft!

My sister-in-law Sue-Ellen and her husband Michel who are visiting from Switzerland came and stayed for a few days which was lovely. We took them down to Greenwell Point to Jim Wilds Oysters for some freshly shucked creamy oysters and some delicious prawns all washed down with a couple of bottles of Chablis which made for a very pleasant afternoon (and a wee nap for our jetlagged guests when we got home). It was The Australia Day long weekend and we enjoyed the hospitality of our friends in Tapitallee with some delicious food and wine and a swim on a very hot 39 degree afternoon. The Swiss certainly knew they were in Australia! Sam and the boys came down too so we had a full house, enjoying a fondue with cheese and kirsch that Michel had brought all the way from home and a very Aussie Australia Day brekky BBQ at The Showground complete with gumboot tossing, quoits, horse shoe throwing and other quaint country pursuits for the kids! A wonderful few days and we will see them again in May in Switzerland which we look forward to

One little hiccup we had was a water leak which necessitated digging up our driveway and our lawn to find the culprit. We still have the old metal pipes running throughout the property so it’s just a matter of time before they all start to crack I guess. Our local plumber Mick fixed it all up but sadly not before we got a water bill roughly 600% larger than normal! I’ve filled in a form with the water board but goodness knows if and when I’ll hear back from them! One thing about owning a house from 1896 is that you are constantly maintaining and upgrading things sometimes at considerable cost and the frustrating thing is you can’t even see where the money has been spent, I’d love a new lounge and a rug but instead the budget has gone on underground pipes and replacing rotten weatherboards!

Amazingly we are already half way through February and I just know the time is going to race now. We have a few trips planned for the first half of this year and I am spending hours researching places on the computer and madly booking airfares, train tickets and accommodation but it will all be worth it once we’re on that plane and off to adventure once more and in the meantime, armchair travelling really is quite wonderful…I sometimes go down the rabbit hole for hours!!!

Christmas 2025

/ susiecameron / 4 Comments

What a couple of months we’ve had! It’s been a hugely busy time full of family, friends and fun and lots of comings and goings and making up of beds and it’s been wonderful. We are so grateful that they all still want to come and stay with us and enjoy our Crazy Cameron Christmas!

Tom arrived from London on the evening of 12th December and went straight to Bondi Beach where he had previously lived for many years, to stay with his friend. He woke up to a beautiful sunny weekend and enjoyed breakfast overlooking the beach at North Bondi before having a swim in the ocean (which was the thing he has missed the most living in London) and all seemed well with the world. All that changed 24 hours later on December 14th when a deranged Father and Son opened fire on a family friendly Jewish gathering killing 15 people in the very same spot that he had enjoyed a swim. It all seemed so unreal, so un-Australian and so very sad and was a sharp reminder that anything can happen anywhere in these times of distorted religious doctrines and unstemmed hatred. It all unfolded a mere 10 days before Christmas and suddenly all the gifts and decorations and merriment seemed so very shallow and meaningless. Over the next week we saw a huge outpouring of support for the Jewish community who lost so much and an equal outpouring of love for Bondi Beach, a place where so many come to relax and enjoy our Australian way of life. In the only way we knew how, various communities came to express their sorrow and to refuse to be scared by terrorists. Running clubs came and ran the beach, surfers gathered and paddled out in their hundreds to honour the dead and our surf lifesavers who were so very present and involved during the attack that took place right outside their surf club, linked arms and silently looked out to sea remembering the people that had lost their lives in a 3 minute silent chain that stretched the entire beach. Simple heartfelt gestures of grief and resilience as the community unites after an attack on our way of life. Australia’s most iconic stretch of sand refused to surrender its spirit to tragedy and you can almost hear it saying “you can’t stop us, you can’t beat us”. Life has to continue though and having the children around us would make sure we kept things fun and magical for them…

Loz and the girls arrived from Tassie on the 17th which was lovely as we could enjoy the build up to the big day with them, decorating the tree, wrapping gifts and baking Xmas cookies. The nice weather meant the pool was getting a big workout and the choice of which ice-cream to eat was the biggest decision of the day! Home Alone and Die Hard were compulsory viewing for the adults and The Christmas Postman and The Night Before Christmas compulsory reading for the kids. Tom arrived to be reunited with Bailey and the family (in that order) followed by Berry from Hobart and on Christmas Eve Sam and the boys arrived to fill the last bedroom! Carols and Christmas songs around the tree, carrots on the lawn for the reindeer, a cookie and some milk for Santa followed by the putting out of their stockings and trying to sleep despite the excitement of the man in red’s imminent arrival and finally the adults could enjoy our Big Xmas Dinner in the dining room – decorated and with candles glowing it is always a lovely pre cursor to the BIG DAY which basically belongs to the kids!

Christmas day dawned amid much excitement at the full stockings at the end of their beds and lots of squealing as packages were opened. A champagne breakfast for the adults and then the annual ritual of glazing the ham (thanks Tommy) and prepping the lunch. Berry rounded us all up for our two yearly photo shoot with all the cousins – thank goodness he organises this as we would have NO pics of all of us together otherwise!

The MOTH prepared the cricket pitch, the stumps were in place and the cooler weather was perfect for some rather competitive play, It’s a miracle there were no injuries to be honest as Bailey is by far the best fielder and the others were performing way above their ability with some rather gymnastic attempts at catches and overly showy bowling! Lots of fun though and after lunch the kids set up their disco inside for an impromptu dance off (Loz and Tom couldn’t resist joining in of course!) A relaxing afternoon around the firepit with music and drinks rounded out the day

As part of their Christmas presents I had arranged for them to have a pony ride at a local riding school. None of them had ever even sat on a horse so it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that we set off for what I was hoping would be a positive experience. I couldn’t have been any happier as the riding school was terrific with the kids and encouraged them to try different things as they walked them around the menage. They taught them how to move the horses with their legs and reins and they wove in and out of witches hats, had a go at jogging and the litle girls got to groom the horses at the end. No meltdowns by any of them and hopefully a good memory for them….

Our last night together as a family for another two years was for me The Meadow at it’s best. A simple bbq under the trees around the fire pit with the kids playing on the swing and some good tunes ringing out. Chatting around the fire as the stars came out, family together, a brilliant memory to see us through to the next time…..

Mother Nature – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

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November is the most beautiful month in our garden. In a good Spring we can enjoy the wisteria, followed by the roses, the gardenias, agapanthus and then the hydrangeas – all interspersed with salvias and lavender, gaura and lupins. The grass is green and a perfect backdrop to the flower beds. We always say that all the hard work is worth it in November and if we’re lucky it will all still look great at Christmas. But we live in Australia so of course there is always SOMETHING that is going to come along and spoil it. We had our first bushfire of the season last weekend, a timely reminder that things can and do get out of hand pretty quickly especially if there hasn’t been much rain. Of course, we only got 5 inches of rain a month ago but it was all in one day and then the westerly winds came and dried it all out again! The sprinkler is doing its thing most days now and I have to hand water the flowers about 3 times a week to try and keep them happy. Probably not the best time for me to have planted a new baby hedge but hey ho that’s exactly what I did!

Just as things were all starting to bud and look gorgeous we awoke to a back yard that was a seething mass of caterpillars. Hundreds of thousands of them. The army worms had invaded us. An innocuous moth that only lives for 2 weeks yet somehow manages to lay up to 2000 eggs had inundated the dairy farm surrounding us and when the farmers noticed the first of the worms they immediately sprayed all the back paddocks as the army worm can eat a paddock clean in 24 hours if left to their own devices. A natural phenomena that can bankrupt a farmer, golf course, wedding venue, turf farm or anyone else dependent on their grass for an income. Spraying made the worms advance quick smart onto our property and onto our immediate neighbours and soon there wasn’t a square inch that wasn’t full of squirming caterpillars. Indiana Jones vibes in The Meadow. Soon they invaded the pool area and kamikazied into the pool, oozing bright green as they died, creating more stains to be dealt with. I was like a woman possessed stalking them with my spray bottle of soapy detergent water if they so much as dared veer off the lawn into the garden beds. Overnight they nestled in my soft velvety lambs ears and climbed up blades of grass looking for all the world like the teeny tiny stilt fisherman of Sri Lanka, swaying in the breeze as they efficiently gobbled up every blade of grass in a methodical manner. Army indeed.

Social media revealed that people were experiencing them in all the surrounding towns too but how much easier is it to “treat” them in a small garden. 2 acres all of a sudden seemed huge and unmanageable in view of the numbers invading us but as with all things in the natural world, they come and they go and after a week we were relatively free of them. Our back garden is a dry straw rather than grass but the rest of the property fared better and we still have our plants thank goodness. I had a tiny inkling what it must be like for farmers when they are just ready to harvest and a plague of locusts arrives and decimates the crop, that feeling of having no control and just hoping for the best. Hats off to them – between fires, floods, droughts and vermin it is a miracle that they manage to produce anything!

Mother Nature also delivered beauty in spades this week when the stars were aligned for a magnificent showing of the Southern Aurora. Two nights in a row we were treated to a spectacle of beautiful swirling colours in our night sky. Getting the timing right is hard…people were saying 2 or 3am was the time to expect the best results so on night one when I set my alarm and got up at 2am I was informed that the show had been and gone at around 11pm! Second night I ventured outside before bedtime around 10.30 and got a bit of green and purple – enough to make me feel awed but nothing like these (mostly pinky purple) pictures witnessed locally….the proper camera no doubt helps!

In more earthly pursuits we had a quick trip up to Sydney for Grandparents Day. This has become an annual affair everywhere with Grandparents whizzing all around the country to be there for their little Grandies, not a parent in sight and a very sweet afternoon. They ‘performed’ a few songs, we ate yummy sandwiches and fairy bread, visited their classrooms where Ollie proudly showed us all his favourite things to play with and where he puts his bag etc. It was lovely as we obviously don’t see him there on a day to day basis and now we feel a bit more connected. He had the most grandparents there on the day I think, with all 5 of us turning up for the event! How cute is his little face grinning out of the group like a meerkat….!

We also enjoyed an outdoor concert at the Berry Showground in October when the Red Hot Summer Tour came to town headlining Crowded House who we have loved for years and have never seen live. Luckily it was neither 35 degrees or pouring rain (both of which it has been in the past for these events!) and we enjoyed an eight hour concert with some great bands, culminating in Neil Finn and the boys putting on a terrific finale with all our old favourites plus a couple of new songs. The whole showground was packed out and I think we are very lucky that such well known artists are happy to come to small rural communities like ours to perform and spread the love. Great to not always have to drive to Sydney for everything….

So here we are, roughly a month until Christmas and this year will be special with the whole gang being together (even our London boy is making the trip home) for the festivities in The Meadow. Apart from the gifts and the decorations we have to upgrade our sleeping arrangements this year as all our littlies are growing fast and all need their own beds! The days of plonking a mobile cot in a corner somewhere are over so I’m off this week to buy an extra few mattresses and bedding so they can all be comfy! Christmas this year will be a week of noise and chaos but also of love and family memories made. Bing Crosby or Michael Bublé, Champagne or eggnog, Xmas pudding or pavlova, however you celebrate it I hope you enjoy every moment. Bring. It. On.