Monday, August 30, 2010

Travel hints

We pack and wear footwear that is well worn in and comfortable.

Yes the looks we got in Paris while wearing hiking sandals with socks was laughable especially to the fashion conscious Parisians! Well we knew it was summer [in June] but the days we were there felt more like winter! Warm feet, comfort, no blisters and no broken backs carting all unwanted luggage around!

We also travel as lightly as we possibly can. Both the bags we took to Europe we use at home as carry-on only. So we don’t take a lot of extras.

A lightweight shower proof jacket that doesn’t take up too much room in your bags is essential. But we did need it for the Paris visit. Keeping the warmth in and the weather out.

There is a lot of theft on the streets in every city, in every country in the world these days. Sad to say so but the weary travellor must also be the wary travellor!

Hints from a good friend who travels a lot gave to me, I pass on.

After leaving the hotel never go out on the streets with much of value that's visible. Leave jewellery at home, don't travel with any, or much!

Buy and wear a cheap watch, not one that's going to attract much attention.

Just leave the hotel with as much money as you need for that day.

Credit cards and other necessary documents, can be carried in a little pouch under a shirt/T shirt preferably under your armpit so as not to be obvious. Again with little actual cash.

Carry hand/shoulder bad on your front. Don't let it swing around behind you as it may not be there for long!

Be careful and sensible as to who you you eyeball on the street. Your attention can easily be diverted by someone wanting directions, or the time etc. Old tricks at play.

Enjoy your travels but do take care.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Paris 2010


My beloved and I have recently been to Europe for a three and a half week glimpse of France, northern Spain and central Italy.

Our first stop was Paris. Now I have heard a lot of positive and negatives about this supposedly magic city and its people. I admit I wasn’t that thrilled about visiting a big city with a reputation for its arrogant and unfriendly citizens, regardless of its other qualities.

Let me say right from the outset that I loved Paris!

That’s right, for a non-city living, non-city loving country boy I thought it was a wonderful city to visit. We had way too little time to explore areas such as Montmartre and the East Bank or any of its galleries. But we did walk a lot, saw a lot and experienced even more. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it, the experience?

Two days, with jetlag, is not time enough to explore many of the places we wanted to visit and the afternoon sleep became imperative. But it did prohibit the evening visit to many places.

Oh well another time with more time is what’s called for.

We got to places early before the tourist coaches arrive, as we did with Notre-Dame Cathedral. Mornings were easy as our internal time clocks were out of kilter! The series of flights from Australia totalling twenty-three hours in all wasn’t fun.

A friend suggested that we use the double-decker tourist buses that seem to abound in European cities and hop on and off as often as we like. As our time was restricted we found that it worked for us. It helped us to get our bearings and at least see all the major tourist spots before we continued our journey south.

Strangling the language and laughing our way out of any really embarrassing situations added to the fun of our time there. Remembering the basics of schoolboy French lessons from only a million years ago was a wee bit hard at times. But we had to make do and we did find that if we attempted to speak some of the language it was accepted and the Parisians generally responded generously. Communication and the willingness to try is always acceptable no matter how pulled apart a language is.

My beloved did over hear one funny interaction between two American women in a department store complaining to each other, “you’d think that they [the French] would speak the language.” Hello we are talking about the French, in their country and they do speak the language! Their own, not the American one!!!!

Finding out that we weren’t English or American and were actually Australian seemed to break the ice and be acceptable to a lot of the French we came across.

Was our acceptance because we are older travellers or because we live on the other side of the world that most of them may never visit in a place called Australia or that they don’t have any old animosities with Aussies that they do have especially with the Brits? I don’t know and really it didn’t matter.

We had such a good time and the people were generally very friendly and helpful.

More next time

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

G'day

G’day,
My name’s Lee Stickels & this is my intro to blogging.
My passion is photography but telling people about the places I’ve been to take these photos is something I enjoy a lot also.
So maybe that’s what my blog will be all about.
But there again I’ve been a natural therapist for 30 years, which makes me an old bugger by any stretch of the imagination.
Maybe a few hints about how to look after yourself may creep into whatever I write about…
That is if anyone reads any of my ramblings…
Who knows, time will tell.
So if anyone reads this I do have a photo website to purchase photos from

www.stickelsimages.com

Check it out
And take good care
Cheers Lee