Waterways all the ways... Amsterdam!

My Amsterdam Travel Page

Amsterdam... land of water and land, history and culture, coupled with modern 'liberties' and lifestyles. Our holiday here was a mixture of highs and lows, some things we absolutely loved, and other things made us feel very uncomfortable. I guess this can be said of most cities in the world, as there is good and bad everywhere, but for us, we had never encountered this type of element before.



What appealed to us was the lapping of the waters as our canal boat gently steered down the canal, watching the towering, skinny buildings on either side of us. Watching the young lady sunbathing on the roof of her river-boat; the young man beating his dust-filled carpet with a rod; the young girl curled up on the windowsill overlooking the canal, engrossed in the novel she was reading.

It offers, to the viewer and visitor, an intimate glimpse into the life of Amsterdam and is very special.



With good there is nearly always bad unfortunately, and whereas so much appealed to us in this old and beautiful city, some things went right against the grain for us. The high profiled drug use and sex industry is seen by many as a step forward for freedom and so-called democracy, but we see the darker element, and view this as sinful. There are only SO MANY sex shops one city could have, surely??? In this sense, things are quite monotonous and in-your-face. For people who believe that sex is to be kept within marriage, this is quite a lot to take in.

Having said that, we enjoyed this city, and the almost surreal-like element of the lifestyle on the canal.

Rome.... the ancient of days...

Rome is, without doubt, the most amazing and awe inspiring city we have ever had the privilege to go to.

We were gobsmacked.

It is all we anticipated and more. You learn so much about Rome and the Romans and the gladiators et al during school, you study the architecture and artistry involved in Art class... but until you have actually set foot on the soil, breathed in the air and ambiance, and nearlly twisted your ankle on one of those gorgeous but accident-prone cobble stones, you cannot truly know the feeling, and grasp an inkling of what is would have been like to live in the time of the Ancient Roman.

My Rome Travel Page

The Pantheon has always been one of those mystical architectural splendours to me... I seriously never thought, when I was young, that I would one day be visiting it. Of course, at that time, I had no idea I would be living in England either, affording me the opportunity to travel so!

The Vatican City is something special: an ancient and bustling city within a much larger ancient and bustling city! Queues of people and heat aside, this is somewhere you really do need to visit if you visit Rome.

My Vatican City Travel Page

Thassos Island ~ 'Mythical Land of the Sirens'

Thassos, the 'Green Isle', rises out of the Northern Aegean sea in splendour. A small island by most standards, this is a holiday destination if you are in need of some rest :)

Famous for its lush vegetation, Thassos is an island of enchanting beauty. It has a vast array of olive groves and 50 miles of unblemished beaches with white sand. The sea was like no other we had experienced before.... no waves... like a lake! A large lake :) Then near the end of our stay the waves (and rain) appeared.

Need I say, we LOVED this holiday! Whether you crave sea and sun, or history and culture, it has everything.. except one thing... crowds! Which suited us down to the ground.

Steeped in history and tradition The island is steeped in history and tradition. In the north east, the scenery is more wild, in contrast with the serene landscape of the south west part of the island.

Sun, sea and sleep

Refreshingly uncommercialised, Thassos is the ideal choice for anyone seeking magnificent scenery and superb beaches. The pace of life is totally relaxing – just what the doctor ordered!

We stayed at Scala/Skala Potamia, a resort on the east coast of Thassos Island. It has nearly everything you will need on a holiday (sans a chemist!), and is refreshingly not too commercialised.

My Thassos Island Travel page

The discreet lions

Well, this was quite something. We were 5 minutes too late to see two lionesses make a kill here! On the side of the road you could see what had happened (ugh), and they dragged the buck to the tree in the photo and proceeded to eat lunch! We sat here for a while, HOPING they would venture out, but it was very hot, and after a full meal, they decided to stay in the shade and nap, so we took off again. It's not often one is fortunate to see a hunt and/or kill in the wild... I wish we had been 5 minutes earlier!!! :)

The 'Big Five'

There are all kinds of wildlife in the park. It has what most tourists are keen to see, the 'Big Five' (leopard, lion, white and black rhino, elephant and buffalo), plus much more in the shape and form of smaller animals, like the hyaena, the springbok, giraffe, zebra, cheetah, sable, crocodiles and hippos being some of them. Tons of little insects too.. sadly overlooked often by visitors. We brought our sister-in-law to the park, and she had NEVER seen an elephant beofre (or any of the other animals!), outside of books and postcards. Not even a zoo. It was delightful watching her face as we came across yet another animal. We were fortunate and saw the entire 'big five' that day.

Graceful giraffes

The giraffe makes no apparent noise, and seems quite aloof to all that goes on around him/her. People find this intriguing. This 'non-sound' is called 'infrasound', and this is how they comunicate with one another. They live to about 25 years old, with a tongue that can reach 53 centimetres long! They are 'prehensile'.. which means that they can easily grab and hold onto various objects with this tongue. They are the tallest creature in the wild, standing a proud 1.9metres tall at its birth (and in its socks haha)

Black rhino

Both the black AND white rhino reside in this park. Black rhino have two horns on their nose (like the one in the picture). They weigh 1,750 - 3,000 lbs (800 - 1,350 kg), but , for their weight and 'bulkiness' they are extremely fleet-of-foot, and can outrun a human being easily.

Kinga Freespirit

R.I.P ~ 9 June 2006

I was so moved by her book. Kinga was a brave woman, who feared nothing. She embraced life with all its challenges, and carved a path of her own in her very own special and soft way. Her book follows her and her love's (Chopin) trail around the world, as they hitch hike and grab rides on trucks and boats etc., describing in the most incredible detail and infinite love; the humble and giving people they meet, the cultures they embrace, the raw food they eat, the soil they touch, the sky they fly.

Thank you Kinga for touching my life so. I am so glad to have known you for the brief time I did.

Kinga's site

Kinga's book for sale on Amazon

The gentle stripe?

Many people think that the zebra is a gentle and mild-mannered animal. This is incorrect. It doesnt take much for them to take fright, and get upset, they can be quite unpredictable too. If their ears fold back, the best thing is to get out of the area as quickly as you can (without frightening the animals of course). Each stripe on a zebra is different and this is how zebras recognise one another.

Rare leopard sighting!

The most elusive of the Big Five are the leopards. They are mostly solitary creatures, and live near rocky outcrops. We were driving along and a ranger stopped next to us in his khaki-green landy and told us that there had been a spotting of a leopard around the next bend! So off we went, very excited and full of anticipation I might add!

As we rounded the bend, there it was. A sole leopard, calmly walking alongside the road (!!!!!)

Now I have been to game parks plenty of times, and have NEVER viewed a leopard yet, so we were all so excited. The leopard didn’t seem at all worried about our presence. We turned the air conditioning off so there was less noise, and slowly (very slowly) followed the leopard on its walk. This I think is one of my most poignant moments when game viewing, and I relive the excitement I felt whilst writing this even!

Then, out of the bally blue, we heard a thump thump of music, and then there, careering around the corner (going far too fast for the park!!!!!), was a silly and inconsiderate driver, driving too fast, with music that was far too loud for a game park. Of course, the leopard took fright and within a minute, he was lost in the tall grass. Drat! I could have gladly clouted the fool.

Anyway, we got to spend about 5 minutes silently following the trail of the most elusive animal, and we were delighted! The photo was taken just after he dashed into the grass, and if you look very carefully (as he is quite camouflaged), you can spot him :)