53°21′00″N 06°15′37″W On 12 May 1803, Michael McGlynn and a very pregnant Catherine Collins arrived in Sydney from Ireland on the Rolla. They had been convicted of taking an illegal oath by joining the United Irishman in Dublin in 1801. For the next five generations through the 19th and 20th centuries,Continue Reading
The defensive coast After the various kings and emperors got their collective and individual acts together, Cherbourg and surrounds grew small ports, big harbours and lighthouses to create a strong defensive barrier for the Atlantic coast. Behind that barrier, shipbuilding and a naval base grew. Most of the defences andContinue Reading
49°38′20″N 1°37′30″W Street Names The first thing I noticed when we walked into the old town of Cherbourg-en-Contentin was the surprising street names. Rue Louis XVI roi de France de 1774 á 1792. In a country which is proud of the revolution of 1789 and of releasing itself from theContinue Reading
48° 51′ 24″ N, 2° 21′ 07″ E It is easy to run around from one big site to another in Paris. There are so many of them and so little time. This time, however, we came to the City of Light for a specific purpose – to attend a wedding and surrounding events. We alsoContinue Reading
45 54’58” N. 6 07′ 59″ E Annecy in the Savoie region in France is the gateway to the snow sports resorts in the Mont Blanc area. In summer it is a tourist haven which boasts a lake, ice cream, dogs on holidays and the most photographed monument in France. Continue Reading
47.562°N 13.649°E You have seen Hallstatt before even if you don’t realise it. Throughout the 50s and 60s people gave each other tins of biscuits or boxes of chocolate at Christmas or birthdays and the picture on the front of the tin was Hallstatt. These tins are still lurking aroundContinue Reading
45°52′59″N 6°19′33″E Thones, in the Haute Savoie considers itself the ″capital″ of local cheeses Reblochon, made from cows milk and Chevrotin, made from goats milk. Since it was in easy driving distance from our accommodation, we could not miss the chance to indulge one of Dominique’s favourite passions – anything to doContinue Reading
45°55′23″N 6°52′11″E Today we took a day trip to Chamonix. I wanted to see Mont Blanc and Dominique wanted to be outdoors – and secretly wanted to do some hang gliding. We stuck to the cable car and taking photographs, but did see a hang glider. The arrangements for summer touristsContinue Reading
48°12′30″N 16°22′21″E Music If there is theme to Vienna it must be music. Wherever you find yourself across the city there is a reminder that this is the city of choice for Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahams. The list is much longer. If you read the Hollywood Boulevard type stars around theContinue Reading
48°12′30″N 16°22′21″E Vienna is a lot to take in, so on the first day we chose to walk the RingStrassa from the confluence of the Danube River and the Wein River up to the Austrian Parliament just to get the lay of the land. 21,518 steps later, my phone was tellingContinue Reading