Australians on holiday

A Garden Walk

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

I opted out of the trek this morning. My poor knee wasn’t feeling great.

So the team left very early and I went for a more sedate walk through the hotel gardens and the Victoria Park gardens nearby.

Follow my trail.

Past the fountain to the children’s playground

Good morning to hotel staff and past the sculptured hedges.

Reading each of the little signs along the way.

To the one under our top floor corner room.

I followed the track down out of the hotel to the Victoria Park gardens which at 7.30 only had workers in there. It was a quiet oasis.

The children’s garden

Then out and around the town before heading back to the hotel, spotting Mike and John other non trekkers.

Breakfast was wonderful. I shared it with Mark, who also didn’t walk due to an ankle injury.

I’m now waiting for the walkers to return. I know I’ll be sorry when they tell me about their adventures.

On the road to Kandy

/ brisbanefrannie / 2 Comments

Yoga at 6.30 is always a good idea in a foreign place. It wakes you up and gives you the chance to have a good stretch.

Yesterday afternoon I swam about a kilometre in the beautiful pool which got rid of some soreness from the climb up Sigiriya yesterday.

The grounds of the hotel were lovely and quiet as I walked to the padi museum for yoga. Staff we’re sweeping and raking to make the grounds look even more pristine than they are already.

Turns out the teacher was my lovely massage therapist from yesterday.

Pam, Kathy, Jill and myself lined up on our pink mats and bent and stretched ourselves into a sweat. It felt good.

Then off to pack up before breakfast. I’ll miss this lovely hotel as we leave this morning for Kandy. On the map it doesn’t look far but will take some time. The roads are narrow and slow and we have two stops planned.

I love looking at the jungle so close to the road and the houses perched in amongst the trees.

The first stop is at the Regent 6 Herb and Spice Farm. An absolutely hysterical guy took us around the garden telling us about the plants and what they could do for us. Apparently they can cure everything. We were given a bit of a massage and it was fun to see everyone getting into the spirit of it. I did buy some massage oil for my sore swollen knee and some sandlewood oil for my face. Let’s hope it works!

Funny experience but if you go you shouldn’t feel pressured to buy. It is overpriced!

We moved onto the Matale Heritage Centre just outside of Matale. It’s a craft centre that draws on the traditions of the area and produces beautiful batik and embroidery.

We had to leave the bus on the roadside and get tuk tuks up to the centre. It’s in a jungle with trees full of monkeys!

We arrived for lunch which local woman had prepared for us. Really lovely local Sri Lankan dishes – mostly vegetable.

There were beautiful batik table clothes and napkins and the walls of the house were painted in rich colours and patterns.

The ladies who prepared the beautiful lunch explained each dish – all very traditional.

After lunch we went to watch the ladies painting the batik.

The work involved de-starching the cloth to setting out the design, waxing, dying, and removal of the wax for a second colour by boiling off the wax, repeating this process several times over…..’

We saw the house of the batik artist who is quite famous here. She had worked with Geoffrey Bawa. Her name is Ena de Silva and she died in 2015 though her designs are still being recreated. The ladies were working on a commission for a big hotel in Galle. The designs are beautiful.

Read about Ena here. She is like the Sri Lankan version of Australia’s Margaret Olley.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110724/Plus/plus_01.html

It’s wonderful to know the traditional crafts of this country are still being created.

This lady took us to the little shop and we bought a few things including a beautiful hand stitched elephants for my grandchildren.

We moved on to Kandy about 40 km distance away but it was slow going. We arrived at our hotel Radh at around 5pm. It’s new and about a block back from the lake and the Temple of the Tooth.

We had our own Melbourne Cup sweep so watched the race on the hotel’s large screen. It was rather fitting that our driver and our security guard won second and third place. They won a nice amount of money and were thrilled.

We walked to the lovely old Queens Hotel and sat by the pool for a drink, paid for by our first place cup winner John.

We finished the night with a lovely light dinner – after our feast at lunch it was all that was needed.

On the road to Sigiriya

/ brisbanefrannie / 2 Comments

An early morning swim set me up for the day. It was quiet by the pool as the waves crashed against the the rocks below.

Breakfast on the terrace was relaxed and fun with our group coming together to plan the day ahead. Eating egg hopper with curry and dahl certainly lines the stomach.

We even had breakfast entertainment provided. A man in uniform had a slingshot and was shooting stones at the local crows. Quite a sight !

The bus with our guide Hema arrived on time at 9.45 and we headed off. Today we head to Sigiriya Rock. The ancient rock is probably the most visited site in Sri Lanka and tomorrow some of us are climbing. It has something like 12,000 to climb to reach the top where there are the remains of the palace.

The bus trip was slow, the roads fairly narrow with the usual style of driving. Cars overtaking & lots of beeping feature. We passed paddi fields, business selling all manner of things, tuk tuks not yo mention trucks! We had a short stop to buy bags of local cashews. So tasty.

We reached Karunegala and Pinnawala Elephant refuge just before the daily wash began. We had time to see the elephants where they roam, before heading down to the river to watch the elephants enjoy a little freedom.

It is a refuge for elephants injured or orphaned. It started in 1982. There are varying reports that say it’s not humane to keep the elephants like this and that they are never released back into the wild. Yes, we did see some chained. They are apparently the males who can be hard to control. But the elephants we saw in the river seemed to be really enjoying their time playing and lying in the shallows.

We had lunch on a terrace overlooking the river while the elephants were relaxed and playing. It was beautiful to watch.

It will be interesting to compare with seeing elephants in their own environment in the national park in Yala when we get there.

We continued on after lunch for the final drive past Dambula to the hotel Aliya. The bus bar opened and rum & coke and G& Ts were served. There was a little singing and the boys down the back were relaxed and having fun. We arrived at Aliya. A truely beautiful place. Our welcome was warm and our welcome drink cold and yummy. The hotel has rooms set along pebbles paths, surrounded by trees which in time should grow and disguise the resort from above.

Our room is big and comfortable with lovely leaf designs on the bed. ‘Welcome’ it said and we did feel very welcome.

Dinner was a buffet. Full of tasty curries it was hard to know where to start. But we all finished with curds and treacle a local favourite.

Tomorrow we climb Sigiriya. I hope my knee holds up. Only about 1,000 stairs.

Cave Temple and Bawa

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

Breakfast hoppers are becoming a favourite with the whole group. If only the lady who makes them lived in Brisbane. She makes about 200 a day! And they are delicious.

After breakfast I wandered around the hotel taking photos. It’s a beautiful design with so many attractive features. Not a Geoffrey Bawa design but so lovely and in tune with the environment.

Into the bus and away we drove through lush countryside almost jungle like right to the road.

Arriving at the gates to the temple we were told the temples in the caves were once overgrown with jungle.

We climbed the hill to the entrance removed our shoes and tackled the hot cobble stones into the temple. Time for a group photo. The boys had to cover their legs with sarongs and the ladies their legs if wear shorts above the knee and shoulders if not wearing sleeves. We made a great looking group.

There was a series of caves, each with a reclining Buddha and a series of other Buddhas.

After visiting southern India early this year I was taken back to the temples we visited. This was different. Small caves where the Buddhas were carved from rock in the caves. The ceilings were painted and the Buddha reclining on a pillow of stone that looked like a fabric tapestry. Only it was painted stone. It was extraordinary.

We headed into Dambulla to visit the fruit and vegetable market. It is a wholesale market and distribution centre with every kind of vegetable you could imagine. Most grown locally.

There was the same kind of wheeling and dealing you would expect from any wholesale market place.

From the market we headed out to the Geoffrey Bawa designed Kandalama Hotel. It has won the ‘green’ award for design for many years. It blends into the jungle environment seamlessly.

There are huge areas with minimalist designed furniture and the hotel backs into the cliff behind looking out to the reservoir in front.

Lunch on the verandah was more western style and the beef was cold.

A traditionally dressed man took us on a tour it’s beautiful but expensive. I don’t think occupancy is very high so it must be struggling to run at a profit.

The pool areas were beautiful. One has the natural rock in the pool and tiles designed to compliment it. Stunning.

Following lunch we had 45 min drive back to our hotel and some swam in the pool while some had naps before we came together for drinks on the terrace near the pool.

Our third night in the dining area had some opting for the a la carte menu over the buffet.

Kathie and I had collected everyone’s list of favourite songs. I typed them up and has them printed.

We leave here in the morning and somewhere along the way we’ll have a competition to nominate who chose which songs ? Could be tricky.

I got to type the 17 lists of 5 songs and there are a few repeat.

Yoga at 6.30 tomorrow so off to sleep in the beautiful flower decorated bed.

Climbing Sigiriya

/ brisbanefrannie / 2 Comments

Today we are going to conquer Sigiriya, the ancient rock we can see from our hotel.

We left at 6.30 to avoid the heat and the crowds and breakfast was provided in a beautiful white bag with the hotel’s signature elephant on the front.

Hema did his best with a sound system that sounds like an echo chamber. Between his lovely Sri Lankan accent, the echo microphone and his waving it around, we really couldn’t understand every word. Mike was heard saying I need a translator or I’ll be hiding his microphone.

Our guide, Hema led us into the park. It costs $US30 to climb. We walked in and saw the gardens and the water gardens.

Then the climb began. We were told 1200 steps but Hema said more like 800.

The history of the rock and it’s cave shelters date back nearly 5,500 years ago. There is evidence of human settlements from 9-10th centuries and use by Buddhist monks. Then there was the construction of the palace by King Kasyapa

After a long introduction we started the climb. Fortunately we stopped regularly which made it easier.

At one point we climbed a spiral staircase to view the mirror wall of art and script / ancient graffiti.

Reaching the top was wonderful. The view, the remains of the palace, the water system, the throne – and it was hard to imagine getting everything to the top of this strange beautiful place.

Coming down was almost harder than going up. Fortunately, Kathy kindly offered her shoulder as a crutch to help as I stepped down the steep stairs. We all made it and felt so pleased with ourselves.

Back to the hotel for refreshing swims and a wonderful relaxing massage.

Massage is different in every place you go. This wa nothing like the Hamam in Turkey. No bubbles! No cold shower at the end.

It wasn’t like India with the oil dripping off. This was gentle but quite good for my poor knee.

Drinks on the terrace had started by the time I’d finished my massage so I joined them in my dressing gown!

Mike is the bar tender and he has everything organised – the gin flowed.

This set us up for dinner. Once again a lovely buffet.

Colombo

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

Our late night after a long day of travel didn’t slow us down.

After a good sleep at the Galle Face Hotel we met for breakfast in time to enjoy the beautiful offerings before our walking tour commenced.

Breakfast in India, and now here in Sri Lanka, is a treat. Very different to an American, British, European or Australian Breakfast. I love the fact different countries offer their own twist on breakfast.

Here we had egg hoppers – a rice pancake with an egg in the middle. You can add dahl curry and coconut sambal. Delicious. Then there are curries, fruit, curd, breads, freshly prepared omelette. And delicious fruit drinks.

Following breakfast we left with guide Jude on our walking tour. The architecture here is lovely. Much of the Colonial style has deteriorated but buildings are gradually being restored.

It’s so sad to think of the bombings earlier this year. This city is a lovely place. It’s clean and trying hard to to win tourists back.

We covered some distance around the port (being rebuilt by the Chinese – they have their fingers all over this place).

The markets were another eye-opener. In an abandoned building almost entirely run by men selling the most amazing looking varieties of vegetables. Apparently tropical aubergines are good for smokers. They use many plants for health purposes. Ayurvedic medicines are as popular here as in India.

I’m hoping for a good Ayurveda massage.

Tired and thirsty after 3.5 hours’ walking, some of the group headed to the Ministry of Crab. A very stylish restaurant in the restored Old Dutch Hospital shopping precinct.

We had crab – some pepper, chilli, crab salad, a prawn curry and a cold, cold beer. Delicious.

Back to the hotel in a tuk-tuk for a refreshing swim and a visit to the hotel’s museum which houses a car owned by Prince Phillip!

We finished the afternoon with a visit to Geoffrey Bawa’s house at 11, 33rd lane. It’s a quiet spot and demonstrates the famous Sri Lankan architects style. It’s minimalist, invites the outside in and the inside out. It’s natural and is all in black and white. It was a haven.

The man Laki, who I had corresponded with was a little upset that we arrived late! Our tuk-tuks were late so we arrived after the start time of the movie. https://geoffreybawa.com/number-11

It’s a beautiful place and won us over with it simple approach to design.

Leaving the house we walked for about 10 minutes to the Gallery Cafe – another Bawa design. It’s a beautiful space to enjoy a drink or dinner in a courtyard setting. Again it is inside / outside with black and white dominating.

Tonight dinner is at the hotel. A seafood buffet included in our room rate. I thought it might be a bit ordinary but it was wonderful. So much beautiful seafood cooked on a grill to order.

The hotel is right by the water and it was lovely sitting on the wide verandahs with the fans above gently turning enjoying the company of our fellow travellers.

Henry Moore Sculpture Garden.

/ brisbanefrannie / 1 Comment

Belonging to ADFAS Brisbane is a great way to discover new ideas, artists, sculptures – things of a Fine Arts and Decorative Arts nature.

https://www.adfas.org.au/societies/queensland/brisbane/

At a lecture a few years ago I found out about two sculptors I had heard of, but hadn’t seen their work – apart from in books.

Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

Being near the Moore house and garden was an opportunity not to be missed. I’m so glad we went.

http://www.henry-moore.org/visit/henry-moore-studios-gardens

It’s about an hour from Cambridge and and hour and half from London in a little village called Much Hadham.

We wound around country lanes, past churches and houses like out of a tv series. In fact it is close to Grandchester – which is a tv series.

We pulled up at the gallery and garden with the house ‘Hoglands’ next door.

We spent the next few hours wandering around the large garden and sheep fields with its massive sculptures.

They are scattered around the green fields – the furthest about a 15 minute walk.

There are also several studios and a barn which houses some massive tapestries done by local master weavers to Henry Moore’s sketches and colour design. They are beautiful and something I hadn’t seen before.

In an adjacent studio there was an exhibition of his drawings over a long period of his life. Again wonderful. In the years during the second war he was commissioned to do some drawings reflecting the life of people in London. He chose to do a series in the bomb shelters.

The tour of the house, in its original state, as left by his daughter after Henry died and three years later his wife Irina died.

This is where we found out about the man. He seems to be not only talented but also very warm and kind.

The studio with the marquettes is fascinating. It’s full of models of the sculptures. Henry would prepare them and with the help of other sculptors they would be built to scale.

If you get the chance to visit this wonderful part of the world don’t miss Henry Moore House and garden.

Cambridge and College life

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

Leaving the island was difficult. It’s so beautiful and we had such a ‘jolly time’ as the Famous Five would say!

Cambridge and the punts beckoned, so after lunch at the pub we packed up and headed off.

Arriving in the afternoon around 4 it was still very warm, so after checking into our accommodation – Newnham College –  we headed off.

Accomodation in Cambridge is quite expensive and we had a car to park so this College, just over the river from the town, was perfect.

Steve did some study here a while ago and remembered the layout. So we started walking and opted to jump on a punt for a close-up view of the Colleges that line the river.

They are beautiful. Our guide and pole master, Charity, was very good at storytelling and brought alive some of the history behind the establishment of these famous Colleges.

Kings College, Trinity and St Johns are big, imposing and rivals!

We glided along – sometimes ducking the poles of the punters who thought they could ‘do it themselves’ and obviously couldn’t!

After river excitement it was beer and Pimms time. Very traditional to have a Pimms before, after or during punting.

Dinner in a pub on the river then a walk back to our College. It would be great to be a student here for awhile.

The next morning we bought tickets to view the Kings College Chapel – a must. It’s huge. Hardly a Chapel and has an interesting history to go with it.

Read about it here.

http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/kings-college-chapel

From here we went up the Wren Library in Trinity College. It’s a must for Library lovers. It opened in 1695 and is still a working library.

https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/library/wren-library/

They have a wonderful collection including a hand written copy of Winnie the Pooh! But no photos allowed.

I loved the little brass motifs all along the footpaths.

Then it was off to the countryside to visit the Henry Moore Sculpture Garden.

I’ll have to blog about that separately. It’s that wonderful.

Camping on an island in the River Thames!

/ brisbanefrannie / 4 Comments

We’ve met some wonderful people on our swim trek holidays and Bill has become a firm friend.

He visited us in Caloundra after Christmas last year and now we have visited him at his summer get away.

He’s very fortunate to have the lease on a camp site on an island in the River Thames at Shiplake – not far from Henley.

We arrived in a little laneway with a ridiculously cute name and were met by Bill.

He led the way and we walked over the bridge to the island carrying a small bag for our overnight stay.

We passed the lock keeper’s cottage

And walked past the other 13 tents to the second last one.

It’s really quite civilised! A little more glamping than camping. There are beds and rugs on the floor, even a little kitchen. Just no bathroom. There is a toilet block nearby.

We settled in and had a swim before lunch. The river is cold and beautiful.

I didn’t actually swim! I watched and took photos. It was a little too cold for me after the warm Turkish waters.

After lunch we …

We set off in the row boat. I got to steer the rudder and Bill and Steve rowed. It was so lovely gliding down the river.

Quite an adventure!

We stopped for an afternoon G & T at the Bull a charming pub at Sonning not far from the river bank. We had to go through the church yard to get there.

Then it was back into the boat for an adventure. We went via The Patrick – an overgrown small river. I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie.

It was great fun. Bill sure knows how to entertain us!

Dinner, cooked by Bill was a bbq. Perfect sitting on the deck beside the river.

Sleeping in the comfortable bed was delicious. The noise of water splashing over the weir lulled us into a long peaceful sleep. It was cool but so cosy under the covers.

The next morning was overcast but that didn’t stop the boys from swimming – though even Steve said it was cold. Brrr.

Breakfast followed by a swing or perhaps table tennis. Or even some gardening!

Then it was back in the row boat heading up the river to another pub. This time for lunch. But not before we went under a low bridge or two! And past some very posh houses.

After lunch we meandered back to the island and reluctantly packed up.

We headed for Cambridge. Arriving at around 4 it was warm and the river looked inviting so we went punting. Such fun.

The Colleges along the River are magnificent.

We were entertained by those who thought they could punt on their own. Some were dangerously close to falling in. Others hitting people in other punts with their pole or simply not going anywhere!

We enjoyed a Pimms at the riverside pub as we watching the punting. Some good some not.

Tomorrow a bit more exploring – hopefully a visit the Wren Library.

Come along with me!

Sunday in London

/ brisbanefrannie / 6 Comments

We finally had a sleep in! We’ve been so busy – up and swimming and running around.

Today we had a slower start. We heard the Church bells from St Mary Abbots, a very old church at the back of our place. They got us going. We wanted to investigate.

Coffee at the same cafe as yesterday. When you find a good place I think you should stay with it. This place is great.

Then a wander down the street to look at the Church. We went in and chatted to a lady there about the history of the place. Steve’s sister nursed at the nearby hospital of the same name when she lived in London in the 70’s. It’s gone now – turned into luxury apartments!

Our good friend from our first swim trek, Chris invited us to lunch today. It’s nearby in Kensington. We really looked forward to going there and meeting his French wife, Cecile. She doesn’t do the swim treks, so hadn’t come to the various swims since we met Chris back in 2013.

We bought some gorgeous flowers and headed to their house. It’s a lovely 4 level house with a garden and sun terrace. Very special in this part of London. I didn’t like to whip out my camera so have very few photos.

The sun was out so we sat on the terrace and their daughter Susan was home from Paris where she works for a fashion company. She’s very sweet.

Then their eldest son Tim arrived. He’s been living in NY but is transferring back to London with his Australian girlfriend.

They are a lovely family. Cecile was a teacher Librarian like me! But works now as a careers advisor at the French Lycee.

Later in the day Steve went to the Science Museum and I went walking and window shopping in the area. It’s so nice around this part of London.

The blue spot is where we are staying. Quite close to Kensington Palace.

Later in the evening we walked to The Ivy Kensington Brasserie just down the street. We just had one simple course – but it was very nice. I had a fish curry and Steve had Shepherds Pie. Both little serves and quite delicious.

Now we are packing to leave this little Airbnb. Tomorrow we head towards Henley. Our friend Bill – yet another friend from our Galapagos swim trek – has a ‘camping’ spot on an island in the Thames! Yes. We are camping tomorrow night so that will be a change of pace. And the temperature is dropping.

Apparently we’ll be swimming in the Thames, perhaps a little rowing and hopefully a Gin & Tonic!