Postscript - "all is forgiven mummy"

There was some concern at leaving our "roam free" cat, Mia ,confined to a cattery and a small indoor /outdoor area...would she become stir crazy....but when we whispered her name her ears pricked up..she finally looked around to meowed her acknowledgement.
And so she was overcome by affection and has now settle back into her roaming ways...a little heavier for the time of inactivity but safe and well.......all was now complete in the Cavanagh household..... back to life as we knew it.

is that you mummy...why did you leave me

all is forgiven mummy

Just one more hurdle...Australian Customs

And so it was we made our way through the LAX check in and security process ( after transfer some of Anita dirty washing into my luggage to balance weight) to wait in a fairly unimpressive terminal 4 till we departed around midnight for the 14 hours flight to Brisbane.
Though the flight was bumpy for the early part the time went past relatively quickly with both of us able to get some broken sleep through the long night...chasing darkness across the pacific...and so it was that the sun rose as we neared home..after 46 days on the road , 4 continents, 5 countries, 14 states of the USA....by plane,train , automobiles...and boats.

And so as we finally reached home, gathered our bags and made our way to Customers there was one last twist at the most stringent border in the world ( we seem to waltz through the rest of the world)..they decided to search my luggage ...so it was with clenched teeth that I smiled through the process and finally made it through to be greeted by Michelle. We are finally home..... after a magical trip seeing our beautiful daughter married, embraced with a great welcome by Alix's family, enjoying sharing time with family also in romantic Paris ....and ticking off many of our bucket list ,creating memories for the rest of our lives.


but it is good to be home

LA...this is Hollywood!

Well our last gasp at being a tourist began in an interesting manner as the tour bus rolled in nearly half an hour late and our tour guide informed us that it was a "German speaking" tour! After finally being convinced that he was telling us the truth and with no alternatives available at short notice...we climbed aboard for a day with 25 German tourist.
LA was all about mirages....both heat and life...and Hollywood is the chief factory which we toured with occasional respites for the likes of the magnificent "Union Station" and its original decor , the "Biltmore" and the scent of Humphrey Bogarts cigars, motel where Marilyn's tryst started with a President...the viper room...the Voodoo lounge which entrenched the careers of the rolling stones and Jimmy Hendricks...but in the light of day they looked very average as we edged our way up "Sunset blvd".

It was "Hollywood Blvd" that was a real highlight...the Stars, the Chinese theartre,the "Dolby" Theatre (formerly Kodak) home of the oscars and of course the "Hollywood Sign", all very exciting but far too rushed. So as we made our way back to our hotel we past through "Rodeo drive", so small and definitely not a "Champs elese".
So as we left our dysfunction tour we came to the end of our unbelievable journey...now we only had to negotiate the security and pat down at LAX before we were truly on our way home.

The Magical Highway 1 - SF to LA

Next on the bucket list as we moved toward to the end of our trip was the classic roadtrip, in a convertible, from San Francisco and Los Angeles down the legendary, coast hugging, Highway 1. It was still cold as we flipped back the hood ,rugged and headed off to Nicks at Rockaway Bay for their world famous crabmeat sandwich. Then it was off on this magical ride...as the sun came out, the temp climbed we headed off to our first overnight stop at the beautiful Monterrey.

From Montery it was the sidetrack of 17 mile drive around pebble beach arriving at the beautiful "Carmel by the sea", home of the ledgendary Clint Eastwood. The patchy fog at this time of the year robbed us of some of the amazing vista's but this testing, scenery grabbing and draw dropping road made up for this...and so we continued, over nighting in Prismo Beach which was packed with holiday makers and a magnificently sunny Santa Barbara with all its beautiful Mexican influenced architecture,food and Mission outposts....would have loved to spend more time here.

This was a drive to remember..one I would love to do on the the Kawasaki Custom 900 with a few mates...ah you can only dream.

It was an all too short 3 days full of amazing memories as we made our way into LAX to drop off the convertible...only another two days before this epic adventure will be over.

4th of July in a cold San Francisco

We pulled into Emmerville, the end of the rail line on the 4th of July,busing our way across the Bay bridge into a typical very cold San Francisco "summers day". We were to understand the phenomena of the "Fog Pump" in the coming day as temperatures plummeted and some fog rolled in.
Well it was the 4th of July so we headed off with our American flag with what seemed the rest of SF to watch the fireworks from Pier 31 suitably rugged up....a night to remember.

soooo cold

..yes we are

Our short stay in San Francisco was punctuated by a crazy tour with "urban Safari's" , some shopping and for Anita, a cable car ride.

Bucket List #5 - the Great train ride across the USA

Well what can you say.... nearly 4 days , 3,500 miles , 12 states from New York to Chicago by train....the "Lakeshore Express" and "California Zepher"...what a trip. The history, the people, the places and the landscape make this a trip we will never forget....though sleeping on a training is an oxymoron!
Leaving from New Yorks "Penn Station" we journey alongside the Hudson river arriving at Chicago some 19 hours later. We met so many interesting people, so welcoming and open , sharing stories of their lives made up a lot of what the trip was about...the American people.

After a few hours walk around Chicago it was then onto the "California Zepher" for the rest of the trip and the experience of a lifetime.

the landscape was amazing,diverse and BIG from sun up to sundown

New York..the Big Apple..wow!

Well we finally made it to this wonderful crazy place ..Manhattan...New York after a mad scramble from a late flight into Dublin....they should know that I am not suppose to run with my new hips! After some drama at the scanning/security station , not my hips but a large bottle of French body lotion that Anita mistakenly left in her carry on which was confiscated ( she was not happy Jan)....but we did make it on the plane and 8 hrs later into JFK and slumped into our bed at "The Beacon" on Broadway.
The next day was a bit of recovery and recon to get our bearings exploring the city using the "underground" ,discovering the Macy's annual sale and being blown away by Times square..you really do look like a tourist with the camera flashing and moth open in wonderment, so many people, so many BIG bright signs and sooo...many T-shirt sellers.
First day and we had already fallen in love with the big Apple.
Here are some snapshots of so many great memory.

..and we met a lovely lady

...and New York by night..AMAZING

..and Central park was a haven from the madness

....but the 9/11 memorial was all about the heroes..the responders ..the victims and the survivors...an emotional journey we had the privelege to hear directly from the mouths of some who were there...and 10 years on it was still real

Paris over all too soon...

I write this post from Charles De Gaulle airport, waiting for our delayed Aer Lingus flight to New York via Dublin.... savouring the memories of a fabulous week in Paris..the joy of sharing a few hectic/fun filled days with our daughters and brand new son-in-law, the sights(so many), the smells (fresh cafe'), the tastes (hmm fresh pastries, macaroons,wine) the language (the app came in handy)

Paris - on the tourist trail

We started our Paris tourist trail in earnest with a full day on the Champs-eylees...some 9 hours walking,shopping,climbing,eating,drinking, drooling (at the shopping options) and taking thousands of photo's of this amazing city.

This tourist gig is really tough but we managed to negotiate the metro and get home safely, stopping to buy some french bread, cheese and wine for a light dinner back at our hotel

The next few day were a whirlwind as our daughter Michelle,our Niece and the "newly married's" all descended on Paris.It was a fantastic family time ,lots of French fun,food and frivolity.....and metro's...oh yes and a few places like "Eiffel Tower","Notre Dame","Louvre","Arc de triump", "Moulin Rouge","Secre-Coeur", Latin quarter....etc etc, what a stylish,historic and amazing city it was.....the lure of free wifi did drag us to Mac as way more than I care to admit.

On our last day I relented to Anita's prompting for a bike ride( this would be a first after my hip replacements) and it was one of the best things we did. We were introduced to the "real" Paris, the back alley's and amazing environments the Parisians enjoy with lots of great commentary thrown in along the was...would highly recommend "bike-a-bout Paris" tours when you are next there.

....and what about the french food, hmmmmm

Welcome to Paris A ..oh la la

Our first day in Paris started rather unromantically , after finding our accommodation it was off to do some domestic duties at the laverit (laundry). We were so puzzled how to make it all work..the soap,the washing the drying but thankfully a young girl took pity on us and explained...then we realised it was posted up on a big sign in English...how colonial of us.

The rest of the first day was finding out where all the essential services were located around the IBIS, the metro, supermarket.....and of course MacDonald's. The day was magically blue so we were determined to get out some summery clothes and enjoy the sun for the first time really since we left Oz. We found a lovely cafe nearby and enjoyed a cool beer and some hot  Parisian summer rays.

And finally we rested our weary body after our first day in Paris with a typical?French meal of bread, red wine and chesses...oh  la la,who is that lady

Our Normandy adventure at an end

The weather played its last trick on us as we sailed into Paris with patches of blue appearing overhead. In reflecting on the past week though we were disappointed in the weather it was compensated by the experience of some well deserved luxury, great French countryside and people, historic towns and magnificent staff....not to mention a few new special friends

New friends Steve,joyce, dennis and patricia...awesome

.....and the new experiences of "frog legs" and "escargot" ...sooo much food we afraid to say we are piling on the pounds.

Finally, as darkness fell (around 11pm) the Eiffel tower put on a spectacular welcome for us in all her sparkling glory, we we in the city of love again...now to look forward to re-introducing ourselves with a city we last saw 35 years go and having a few days with out kids....ah magnifique.

Lest We Forget- reflections on Normandy Beaches

It was an early start as a small group of Britts, Canadians and Aussies seperated from most of the American travellers and headed off ,under the usual overcast sky's, on our day tour of the Normandy D- day beaches with a Commonwealth flavour.
With a comfort stop along the way we again bumped into my namesake "pasterie"..oh its so hard to be famous.

A stop to Bayeux to visit the famous tapestry which depicted the Norman conquest of Enland in 1066... Interesting but only an appetiser.

Then to Normandy beaches of "Gold"  and "Juno" and the excellent Canadian museum at  really took us back to 6th June 1944.

It was the war cementaries at  Courseulles-sur-Mer and Ranville brought home the real impact and sacrifice of war...seen in the row after row of headstones of so many young men whose epitah told the story

God grant the cause for which they died shall not fail through me

What greater gift could a son give? His life for others in freedom to live

the ultimate dream ....and for them , reality........"peace , perfect peace"

The Magnificent Monet Gardens

Our first stop out of Paris was Vernon, some 150 miles away along the snaking Seine....a town established in the 9th century (wow how amazingly old are these places). During the morning we toured Monet's gardens and home in Giverny...a beautifully quaint town which was the home for the famous impressionist for over 40 years. Your would recognise many of his famous paintings done in and around his garden....the lilly pond and weeping willow painting being a major work you would recognise. We left early to miss the hoards of bus tours and visitors but the village quickly became besieged...for a while we did become garden lovers...it will pass. In the afternoon we again stretched our legs with a walk around the town of Vernon....an amazing Church and great coffee...we are loving the french culture if not battling with the language....Anita did remind me that ferme la bushe was "shut your mouth" in french? Whilst the age gap is difficult in breaking into the conversations we have met wonderful (and wealthy) people...and had a couple of conversations about Christianity as they as the inevitable question "what do you do"

Monet's Garden

Another beautiful flower in the garden

Bucket list #4 - Heart of Normandy river cruise

Well after ticking off bucket list 1-3 (Dubai, London and daughters wedding) we caught the Euro star under the channel tunnel to Paris with our son and daughter-in-law where we left them to fly back to Australia as we boarded the Viking Spirit on the Seine River for a sumptuous dinner...a sign of things to come.
The following day we had a whistle stop tour of Paris stopping at Notredame and the Eiffel Tower for some tourist experience. We will have an opportunity in a week to spend a full week in the city of love. In the afternoon we thought we would do a little exploring ourselves.....and though we found a lovely cafe for a coffee managed to get lost and some 7km later staggered back on board.....definitely experiencing Paris one step at a time.

anita balancing the Eiffel tower

anita after Notredame tour

Anita thought she composed a great pic

So after a welcomed hot shower we went off to cocktails and another 5 star meal ( yes..the belt is getting tighter) and gently disembarked for our tour properly..next stop the town of Verona and Gieneve - home of Monet the famous impressionist painter...whose incredible garden we will tour.

How time changes you

Doesn't seem 34 years since we last were here..living on the smell of an oil rag, on the ,the adventure of a life time. So what's changed?....well apart from the hair, the wrinkles and the hips....we are a little more spoilt....more expensive (though AUD is better rate), the hovercraft we hovercraft we went across the Channel in is gone, its now an easy two hours to Paris under the Channel..the weather still the same ,damp & cold but the sunshine decided to come out as we left....the traffic jams seemed longer...the tubes easier to navigate and the buzz from the jubilee(even met the queen..check out pic), the Olympics etc has certainly lifted patriotic spirits. Still in the end 34 years is not a long time for the structures that have stood for many hundreds of years.
We have brought a few older photo's to pose....see if you can pick the difference.

Paul at Horse Guards with 1977 overlay

Anita some 35 yrs after her last red bus experience

It was worth it for just this day

Well the day finally arrived when our princess was going to walk down the aisle with her prince...and though the skies were dull you couldn't take the smile off our faces, our gorgeous daughter was radiant and we didn't scrub up bad either.
The wedding was at 3pm so the morning was filled with the separate breakfasts for the girls and guys and the obligatory long preparation with some champas and strawberries thrown in and many photo's....FoB relaxed with a large mocha and the daily paper up in the historic town of Carlisle.
Then it was into the bridal car for the 20 min run up to Gretna Green , time to give my last fatherly advice and  making sure not to miss our time slot....it is a bit of a production line in this area. Then we were at Anvill Hall,photographer, instructions - "stand here,do this"- the wedding song "at last" being sung by Claires close aussie friend, Rebekah..magically echoing through the cathedral like ceilings, walking down the aisle...then suddenly I  dad to give her away..my baby..given to another man and a pom at that...so PROUD.

It was over in a flash, the banging of the the Anvil and that was it...camera's, flashes..confetti..and back to a family reception at the "County Hotel"... amazing, surreal..so far away from home and yet surround with family made this a day to remember. Just to finish it off it was off to the Aussie pub "the walk about"...and we had to pay to get in..the only real Aussies in Carlisle...a great finish see our daughter and hubby (Mr & Mrs Leckie) dancing to bruno Marrs "I think I want to marry you"...and so we fell into bed exhausted but full of the richness that family brings...thank you God for family.