Kakadu National Park, "Top End" Australia

Lots of legs reveal Dad protecting these chicks, Comb Crested Jacana, aka Lotusbird

 It is easy to forget how big Australia is. Our flight from Sydney to Darwin will take around 5 hours so similiar to crossing the US from the East to the West Coasts.  Once we land, we get our stuff and our rental car and Jeff practices driving on the wrong side of the road for a minute and we are off.  We are ultimately heading for the Kakadu National Park, but want to pick up some provisions first so we are stopping at a shopping mall/center with a grocery store.  We are heading out to a big land of nothingness and it is hot like a southern US summer day so humid too.  The Aussies recommend 3 liters of water per person per day, we won't do that much but we do buy water and some fruit and granola bars for snacks.  Now we are off.  Off down a long straight 2 lane road for 3 hours till we hit the large thriving metropolis of Jabiru.

Sydney Australia

 

We landed in Sydney early in the morning after the airline crew was sure we knew we absolutely could not bring all sorts of food into the country and had us fill out declaration forms.  Once we were off the plane we wandered through parts of the airport until we hit customs and out into the main airport.  We are here for basically a long weekend and unfortunately it is supposed to be a rainy one.  We took a cab into the city, and I saw a sign about road closures due to Vivid Sydney, so I asked the cab driver what it was.  Seems we are here at the start of a big modern arts festival.  There will be lighting up of buildings and special performances and fireworks on select nights.  We are now looking forward to the lights show even though it is now raining hard when we get to our hotel.

World Figure Skating Championship in Boston

As many of you know, Cierra and I often go to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.  A couple of years ago it was announced that the World Figure Skating Championships would be held in Boston in 2025.  We immediately agreed we were going.  We usually go to the championship weekend of the US event but splurged and bought tickets for the whole event which meant I spent most of my time Wednesday through Sunday at the TD Garden Arena in Boston.  Since it was a full week this time, Jeff came along too and shared the 2nd ticket with Cierra while she worked some days.

New England, Finale of our Autumn Cruise

 

Portland, Maine

We heard from family that Portland had a great food scene, so we signed up for a food tour. It seems, Portland’s waterfront was revitalized in the 1990’s which made it a tourist destination.  Now they have multiple James Beard award winning restaurants and bakeries.  We have done several food tours and this one from Maine Foodie Tours was very good because the food was great, and the guide gave us a great overview of the community and its history along with many stories regarding the local food scene. Besides the places below, we stopped at the Harbor Fish Market which is the source for many of the restaurants.  It had an amazing selection.  I had no idea how many different types of oysters there are either.

Maritime Provinces, Part 2 of our Autumn Cruise

 

  

Corner Brook, Newfoundland Island

We are now on the island of Newfoundland which is part of the Newfoundland and Labrador province of Canada.  It is supposed to be warming up some for us, but there is a steady rain outside that is ruining that fact.  On top of that, Jeff and I have an ATV adventure scheduled which warned us to dress warmly and in layers.  They are true ATVs so windshield and roof and holds 6 people but no doors so brr.  Happily, we dressed pretty well except we both had wet, cold hands at the end.  We also had helmets to wear which helped keep your head warm and dry.  Yes, I know that is not the reason for the helmet, but it was for our trip.  We drive around town some (town population 19,500) and see the James Cook monument.  Seems he first learned to navigate and became a cartographer here while mapping the area in much detail.  After a stop at the ATV shop for a comfort break, we are on our way to the trails.  

Quebec Provence, Part 1 of our Autumn Cruise

 Montreal

We got in on a Saturday afternoon after a taxi ride that took for EVER - longest ride in a long time due to traffic. Our hotel is kind of close to the old town and close to a food hall called Time Out Market which is part of an international chain we discovered in Capetown, SA.  We dump our luggage and headed for the food hall.  Turns out it is in a shopping mall called Eaton Center.  After a nice Spanish meal we wanderd the shopping center some and then headed out in the cold (40s and windy) to old town.  After a longer than expected walk we are in the old town area.  Unfortunately, some of the roads are being rebuilt so areas aren't that accessible, but we still find shops to explore.  Starts to look like rain so we head to a bar/restaurant for a drink while the rain passes.  It is now dark outside so time for another selfie!  Back to the hotel where we eat dinner and head to bed.  Next day we have a food tour with Secret Food Tours planned. 

Adriatic Cruise – Croatia and Slovenia

 

We are sailing on a small cruise ship – Windstar’s Wind Spirit with 2 other couples.  The cruise is called the Adriatic Icons and Venetian Treasures.  As we are visiting the different ports I come to understand why the Veneitan Treasures part – most if not all of these towns were under Veneitan rule at one time.  We will visit:  Rovijn, Zadar, Hvar, Dubrovnik and Korcula Croatia and Piran Slovenia with one day at sea too.  We are big fans of Windstar cruises and have sailed on several of their ships before including the Wind Spirit in French Polynesia (Tahiti) in November 2021.