Hong Kong visit

On our first trip to Venice we had driven overland from Germany and decided to leave the car at a long stay park before taking a gondola up the Grand Canal and into Venice city. What a memorable and breathtaking experience that was. A beutiful red sun was just going down casting it's magic upon the water as we were slowly escorted along our short journey. Soon spectacular palaces, magnificent churches and a sea of incredible architecture met our eyes on either side. The friendly goldolier told us that we were his last customers for the day and this quite understandably led him into a bout of singing which delighted us, especially on hearing the clear tones of his wonderful tenor voice. We could not help but wonder how this man became a gondolier and that surely he had a place in music. We remarked as much to him and he informed us that singing was indeed his great passion, but that ill health prevented him from taking part in his beloved opera. He explained that since giving up his operatic career in America some years before, he decided that he would spend his retirmement in the open air along the wonderful canals of his beautiful home town. He loved the company of the tourists and his excellent command of the English language served him well.

To be continued.

Having lived for six years in Cyprus I have a multitude of facts and tips which I can impart to any reader who would like them or would find them in any way helpful before their first trip to this beautiful island.

My first glimpse of Cyprus as we prepared for landing was one of an uninspiring, pretty barren brown earthed landscape with it's only saving grace in the clear crystal Mediterranean waters below. How wrong I was and how one can be so decieved by ariel views of any particular landscape.

Our first home was in the beautiful Troodos mountains some 6,400 ft above sea level. As we proceeded up the mountain road to Troodos ( now an excellent road) but back then somewhat frightening in the sense that there were drops of some 200ft with only the odd tree to block your fall should you be unlucky enough to veer too close to the edge. There were few if any barriers then, but now this is not a problem.

To be continued, so all island lovers watch this space, especially those who may be tempted by the idea of swimming in the Med in the morning and skiing on fresh snow in the afternoon.!!

We left a rainy and blustery Ireland in May to arrive in the Nice sunshine, with the majestic Alps providing a dramatic background. Towering palm trees greeted us just outside the terminal and it was here that our daughter met us on our first ever trip to the Cote d'Azur. The excitement was palpable as she rushed us without need for explanation towards what we understood to be a shuttle minibus to Monaco where she then lived. However, after a few minutes we found ourselves and our luggage being helped onto a Monac Air helicopter for the short trip to Montecarlo. The view along this lovely stretch of coast were truly amazing and soon we were hovering over Monaco, it's beautiful hilltop villages, it's winding roads, beautiful harbour with it's spectacular yachts and then the sight of the Casino, Cafe de Paris and the stunning gardens hovered into view.

We had the most wonderful time exploring this incredible place of which I shall give more detail next blog. The one fact that really stood out and served to make the whole experience of this Principality all the more enjoyable was the absence of crime, the security cameras and discreet police presence enforcing this. We could walk along the streets at any time of night and see ladies out alone walking their dogs, returning from a beach party or whatever.

This was a wonderful and unforgetable entrance to our very first Cote d'Azur holiday destination, an area we soon learned to love with a passion following many more visits where we discovered so much beauty and which I shall tell you about in my next article. Watch this space.

After a great two day stop-over in Dubai, our first glimpse of Hong Kong was quite spectacular to say the least. As we dropped altitude to prepare for landing, my travel companion nudged me from my slumber and told me to take a look through the window. At first I thought I must be still asleep and having a weird dream, for there almost beside my window were people's living rooms and kitchens with the occupants going about seemingly unaware that a Jumbo Jet was in such close proximity to them. I felt like some weird voyer, but mostly I trembled at the thought of what devastation would ensue should we crash and pay them an unexpected visit. I thought we would never touch down and even that seemed to me to be nothing short of a miracle on the pilot's part, as he neatly landed inches from the water. This was in the days when the new Hong Kong Airport was still in the planning stages.

The sights, sounds and smells of this place were truly unforgetable, especially The Peak which you can access by vernacular railway to discover a fresh and lush environment which is a million miles removed from what lies below. The view over Hong Kong from the Peak is truly spectacular. Our visit to the Island of Lantau took us back in time to a place where time seemed to stand still, a place of majestic serenity and peace where you just want to linger, absorb and then more.

More to follow soon, so keep watch on this space!