After OZ, There Was France, Italy and Slovenia...

Well, one thing with living over here, is the close proximity to everywhere in Europe.

Had a trip to France planned a few months ago and it finally happened last week.

We went by bus in a group of 50 people to Province, one of the states of France.

Leaving at 5am on Tuesday, we arrived in Jesslo, in Italy on Tuesday evening at 10pm...in the rain!

We went for miles and miles past lake Balaton in Western Hungary and into beautiful Slovenia.

Gosh that place is gracefully beautiful. The shapes of the trees, the tidy villages, the huge amount of building going on over there in Slovenia is amazing.

You could see snow capped mountains in the Julian Alps and it was just breathtaking.
Very much like Switzerland, but not as far to go!

We stayed the night in a nice hotel in Jesslo, in Italy, on the beach(yellow sand) and left early next morning for our 5 night destination in France in a valley cabin park, by a mountain stream, just outside of Nice and 20 klm from Monaco!

Picturesque to say the least.

A sad story to tell re my pics.

I can't get them from my phone to here, so I had to spend forever, searching images online to find the similar pics to mine, so you'll notice they are a bit higgledy piggledy.

I was surprised at how good the pics appear on the phone, so am busting to see them on here ASAP.
I need a technical person to make the download transfer work. It all comes up ready, but keeps telling me there are no pics to import...

There are 1840 images on my phone and I want them off it!!!
Not a happy camper... :(

Had to find a pic that would grab your attention! My dearest sister Judy and I in OZ in Feb this year. I was frazzled already from the heat and humidity and it was only the 5th day in OZ!!!

Jesslo beach from the copious rocky ledges everywhere here ...a found pic...

Love how all the beaches here are so formal! Real sand here, but yellow! Not as sandy as we know, but stickier. We stayed in a hotel just behind the front one here...

This is so typical of everywhere along this coastal strip of the few hundred miles that we did...

Amazing buildings just everywhere...

Monaco, Nice and into Italy

We were all gasping with wonderment on the first day at these scenes, but after a day, we got used to it... Day after day, it was the same. Amazing!

Little villages everywhere, in the hills, on slopes that make you giddy to look at...Beautiful indeed.

The whitey grey rocks/stones were everywhere and most houses were made from them in one way or another.

Vineyards were a lot more personal than I'd imagined. It seemed every farmer had a few acres of vines, a house, then the next farmer had his plot...Miles and miles of villages like this. Most with smaller farm houses.

After a while you get used to everything looking the same!

So many rocky cliffs!

This was Italy...terraced land in the distance...They did not waste an inch!

So many old castles and huge big old buildings.

Hills and more hills...

Every corner had another village in the cleft!

I counted 149 tunnels from France into Italy and up to Slovenian border, when there were only a few after that!

Tunnel after tunnel!

Bridge after bridge, across gorges, ravines, rivers...nothing stopped these guys. Amazing engineering prowess!

So many of these massive constructs.

Slovenia...in the wrong spot, but I forgot to post them ...

Typical Slovenian village...

The stream at the back of our cabin in Vallon Rouge in Province, France.

Almost a replica of our 6 berth cabin.Sep bath room, sep loo, 3 bed rooms, kit/dining and TV. Very well laid out with lots of verandah space.

More of the lovely swiftly flowing 3200 klm stream.

The pool at the park...being prepped for summer. We were the first people in the park this season!

OK...that's all I can do today...

My eyes are popping!

Hope you enjoyed it thus far...
Bye for now,
Cheers,
M
xxx

Back From a Very Hot Trip To OZ....

Well, at long last I have found my typing finger!

I did not realize it has been so long since posting a blog.

A few friends came to OZ, for 3 weeks, with me back at start of Feb, as that was the only time they had to travel from here.

My original plans were to go to OZ for Easter instead of in the heat of summer...but that sort of went by the wayside!

We left at 6am, early Feb, from Budapest airport, amid a snowstorm and went to almost 40C, within a day, via Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi!!!

A good trip to OZ, but ever so long.

One of my sons had a spare empty house for us to use, right in town, which was very kind of him  and another son had the first weekend off, plus an RDO, so he took us everywhere from beaches, to bush, to mountains and back again to the beaches...totally exhausting us all in the process.

Here are some great pics...of the first weekend in OZ...

A tradition...a beach barbie! Sand and sausages! Well, it wasn't really like that as it was quite a nice day. Paulie had to buy a special licence for driving on the beach for the day...one of very few places in the world you can still do this. $60 for the day! To get to the beach you have to drive over 20 klms of 30 cm deep sand tracks and boy, was that something else! Heads hitting the ceiling in the vehicle and rough and tumble bumps all the 20 klm. Too dusty to take pics worse luck.

On the way to Woorim side of Bribie Island, where there are miles and miles of empty beaches...except for heaps of 4 x4WD vehicles coming in a steady stream. This is one of 4 little lagoons formed when tides are high.

A bush turkey decides to strut his stuff and become a tourist attraction! Just empty miles and miles of sand...

Looking along the track ahead...driving miles along the sand is an interesting way to spend a day at the beach.

Another lagoon...they have interesting names...The first one was called First Lagoon...guess what this one was called???

Off we go again...

Old WW2 fort on Bribie Island. Look up Wikipedia and find out their interesting history...

They must have had people clamoring to defend the shores back then! Look at the views!!!

Time to go find a place for lunch...

But first Tibi is having a turn at driving on the other side of a vehicle...

Off we go again, this time a bit slower! He did really well...a lot better than I'm doing, mastering this wrong side of the car and of the road thing!

Found a nice spot. Time to unpack the barbie, pitch the tent and cook some tucker.

Perfect views for the afternoon...

Looking better by the minute...

All OK to head off for a swim now...

While the chef cooks the lunch...

That is Caloundra in the distance on the horizon, plus this is a shipping channel here too.

After a big afternoon swimming, eating and chatting, we headed home, via the obligatory car wash to wash off the salt from under and on the car.

Talk about scary monsters with big tentacles!

Home safely, time for a nice bubbly spa...and a drink.

Still wishing for the beaches I think???

Next day, bright and early, we went to the Glasshouse Mountain Ranges. Another perfect...but very hot and muggy day.

Gabby hiding in the shade!

No matter how early, it was still mighty hot

1

Paul with the tiny periscope camera he had... It takes amazing pics and videos too.

Up comes Andrea...

The view was amazing.

We headed home after along bush walk...which I'll post next time. Lovely pics...

One of my two adorable grand daughters!

Time for a pizza snack as everyone looks so tired and ready for bed! Oh dear...my booster seat is showing!!!

Will do the next days of the first week as soon as I can.

It is 1st April and it's as cold as can be today...after a few days of 12C outside. the snow has all finally melted and the grass had had another try at going green and growing.

The storks all flew in the other day...my little guy was first in the village by 2 days, then his mate came, with the rest of the village storks. It is lovely to see them again.

Am off now, as I'm freezing...have to go light the fire and have a cuppa.

See you soon,

Take care and remember the reason for this Easter Season.
In some places, I think it was Cadbury and another chockie company have taken the word EASTER off their Easter eggs this year!
While I know they are not the real symbol of Easter, but all the kids had now was that tiny reminder...

Bit by bit they said they'd remove all signs of Christianity from Western countries...
Globalist trash they are. Boycott them.

OK, my opinions presented, now I'm done,
Bye,
Cheers,
M
xxxxx

The Roses Are Shooting Buds....

Is that correct for roses to start shooting in mid winter?

Plus other shrubs are bursting into bloom also, so maybe, Spring is really around the corner at last.

It has been a nice mild winter with lovely snow drops just at the right time, for long enough, without ever becoming slushy.

So as winter looks like it is on the move into Spring I see there are still a few days here and there in Feb, that are predicted to drop some snow for a day or two at a time, so we are not out of the woods yet.

Pedro, the dog goes to Germany tonight...yahoo! Now I can leave the place without him going off his head, crying, barking his head off and all that carry on, early in the morning...a bit much for the neighbours at jogging time.

Anyways, he was a good little fellow, once I tied him to the rope.  I bring him in to the house after it gets dark and he just lays on his rug and does not move, as he knows he'll be put outside, so he just sits and sprawls on his blankie.

He seems to like being tied up, it must it give him security. I think he had an abandonment issue! OMG...did I just say that???
Time he went...just in time too, it seems! Hahaha...

Nothing much happening this week...Imre only worked one day as his wife is having her cancer operation, so obviously he could only work one day this week.

Dirk came and managed to get some windows completed and the attic door painted, some windows readied for new glass and Imre  got the cellar light re-routed and working at long last.

I have to go find some suitable wall lamps/lights for the cellar walls then it's time to make the cellar doors which become the floor in the end room when the cellar is shut!

Too much fun doing all of this...then a dear friend in America, Cheryl, who I met when we went to USA to see the Phantom movie with Gerry Butler, in 2012, contacted me...

She sent me a link to a fabulous offer in Sardinia...of buying a house on land for one dollar! You must spend $25,000 on it in 3 years to renovate it, there are 200 of them, but they are stone, so to me it looks a breeze!

Will investigate more this coming week...sounds like a fun project to do after this one is completed.

Heading down the stairs to the cellar...too exciting for words! The jars you can see are very old preserves...from 1956 etc, so am just keeping them as historical artifacts...even though the process and jars are exactly the same today...I have a hard time tossing out people's energy from their handiwork's...it goes right against my grain.

Pulling out the ugly pipework for the power, we tried to put in...

Down the far end of the cellar, looking back. It doesn't seem too big, but in reality it is quite a good size for parties!

Wondering where to put the light...then what type of fitting so people don't hit it on the way down etc...

It looked like a huge critter on the wall at first! hahaha...

Power switches in and cables all run up here...now to sort it out downstairs...

Pedro, sitting on his chair...taken through the 2 sets of new windows we just cleaned and painted.

He loves his chicken carcasses! He has been playing outside in the yard and is sopping wet from the rainy afternoon.

Am waiting for Sabina to come collect Pedro now, so will scoot and get on with things...

A quick update on what's really happening overseas...

Just a heads up, so when it all hits the fan in the coming weeks, you are not so shocked...

If I enlarge this it distorts everything, so grab a magnifying glass!

If I enlarge it, the entire blog goes skew-wif...

All done from me for this week,
Cheers and stay safe,
Lots of love,
Mary.