Saturday 6 Feb 2015 Before Ruby went to Coffs Harbour, she contacted a potential housemate called Toby on social media. After she arrived, she and Toby met up and decided that they would commit to finding a rental property together. On Saturday morning we went to Urban café where Ruby and Toby filled out applications…
Category: Travel
Coffs Harbour by bicycle
Friday 5 Feb 2015 We decided to spend our first day touring the town by bicycle. We got off to a false start at Ventoux Cycles which falsely advertises bikes for hire on a billboard over the entrance. We were referred on to JR Cycles on Harbour Drive, where we hired three bikes and got…
Hello Coffs Harbour
Thursday 4 Feb 2016 At the beginning of 2016, our daughter Ruby completed her cadetship as a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The ABC posted her to its regional office in Coffs Harbour in February, and put her up there for two weeks in a motel while she looked for long-term accommodation. Susie…
The long flight home
Thursday, 11 June 2015 Thursday began early and descended quickly into a familiar kind of nightmare. We had asked the casa owner to book us a taxi to the international airport at 2:30 a.m. So we rose at 2 a.m., and half an hour later we were still leaning over the rail of the balcony,…
Old Havana day 3
Wednesday, 10 June 2015 This was our last full day in Cuba, so we were keen to search out a decent breakfast. All I really wanted was a half-decent coffee. Susie hit on the idea of trying the café above a popular bakery called Santo Domingo. She tried a pastry or two and I tried…
Old Havana day 2
Tuesday, 9 June 2015 The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes consists of two separate buildings several blocks apart. One contains Cuban art and the other houses everything else. We were interested in the Cuban collection, and it was definitely worth setting aside at least half a day to explore it. The museo is a lovely…
Old Havana
Monday 8 June, 2015 After we enjoyed our final Breakfast in Marte’s spectacular apartment, Susie finished reading a novel that she had selected from a small library that Marte’s previous guests had left behind. When the last page had been turned we ventured onto the grid of Vedado and made our way back to the…
Vedado day 3
Sunday, 7 June 2015 On our last full day in Vedado we had our breakfast on the balcony in the main living area of Marte’s apartment and took in the spectacular views. We then spent the rest of the morning re-arranging our luggage so that we could transport Clare’s belongings home, and meet the weight…
Vedado day 2
Saturday, 6 June 2015 Saturday was one of those days when things just don’t go according to plan. But serendipities compensated… Our first stop was the Hotel Havana Libre, formerly known as the Havana Hilton. After the 1959 revolution, Fidel Castro famously occupied one of the suites for three months. The name of the hotel…
Vedado day 1
Friday, 5 June 2015 We arrived back in Havana during the Biennale, which featured numerous art installations along the Malecón. Susie set aside a morning to take the camera on an art tour, so we made our way down to the harbour and walked back along the seawall almost to Vedado. The artworks were mostly…
Viñales to Havana
Thursday, 4 June 2015 Our host, Midalys, was a single mother who worked hard to keep everything going at the casa. Nevertheless, she often found time to chat to us, and she gracefully tolerated our halting Spanish. Because she was always tending to the needs of her guests, we wanted to give her a treat…
Viñales day 4
Wednesday, 3 June 2015 Hotel Los Jazmines is located on the outskirts of Viñales, about 4 km along the road back to Pinar del Rio. On Wednesday we planned to walk there in order to re-capture some of the views we had glimpsed on the bus into town. The roadside was a bit boggy but…
Wundercliffe 