Friday 27 March 2009

TRAVEL TALK: Hello from Croatia

Hello all

I will answer all your lovely comments (and visit blog) when I am back home! Thanks for all of them!

Romy, please tell the RWSA ladies I send love and left my address list at home so can´t send postcards.

sorry for any errors writing this on a Croatian keyboard and not doing a very good job.

having a wonderful adventure. Drove a left hand drive for the first time in my life (scary) drove through a snow storm for the first time ever (more scary) but Croatia is a marvellous country. The character of the people reminds me a lot of South Africans when we just came outr of apartheid, but I will discuss that in more detail on my return. Zadar is quite easily one of the most beautiful spiritual places I´ve been in. Currently in Split which is very busy as there is a national boat show on. Stopped and viewed a deep jade lake and watched an oarsman work his way towards a lovely village on the lake shores, red roofs and white stone walls dotted the slope in amongst purple flowering rosemary bushes. My husband is in photographers heaven.

Time for bed and a good night from me. Next stop Dubrovnik on Monday. Hope the sun has come out by then!
Cheers from me and happy blogging everyone!
Ann

Saturday 21 March 2009

TRAVEL TALK: Checking In

Checking in from Hotel Mandarin in Geneva.

Bern was wonderful - an eccentric city that is a mix of ancient and modern and has a wonderful character. I've taken lots of photos!

Geneva is a self-conscious city, but very pretty with the Rhone flowing through it and Mont Blanc towering over it. Went to the Cathderal de St Pierre in the old city for a performance of Hayden's "Creation" and also managed to attend a morning service in the Russian Orthodox Church which resonates with a spiritual energy that moves one to tears. Beautiful place. Rest of the time has been taken up with business; I'm pleased to say my husband's presentation went down well.

Onto Zurich tomorrow then Monday we fly to Croatia. Hope the weather there is as good as it has been here - clear and sunny.

Hope everyone is keeping well and busy.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

SOCIAL: Update

Just another quick note to try and catch up. I haven't known if I'm Arthur or Martha the past week or so!! It's just been such a shock with my Mom taking ill and not my Dad, who is quite frail. I was thrown completely off balance. Thanks heavens my mom is such a fighter; she says it's all her "voortrekker" (pioneering) stock!!

Anyway the good news is that Mom is home with my husband and I. The biggest challenge is getting her to stay quiet and still! (haha) She's definitely subdued from her normal exuberant self but says she's feeling better than she's felt in months. The heart surgeon is very happy with her progress and wants to see her in 3 weeks. We'll be in Switzerland by then (fly in eleven days) but my sister Iona is here and doing a few odds & ends that give me time to do things like visa applications etc . Mom & Dad will just stay here until we come back from our trip on 6th April. I feel less stressed having my Mom under my eye until we go, and it's just easier for them as well. Hopefully we can now start to have some sort of routine and normality, although this week is packed with visa applications and other what-nots for the trip!!

Just trying to catch up and let everyone know that all prayers and thoughts have been felt and have given us much strength over the past week!!

Hope all well with everyone!! :)