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I'm back from fortnight away, combining a week's walking holiday along the Croatian coast (with Hazel and Cat) with a visit to Phil's friends Michael and Katja in Berlin, topped off with a few days in Paris on the way back to London. Two very different weeks.

Croatia was fantastic: excellent day hikes, stunning scenery, fab food, a fun group and a great guide - Edo - courtesy of Exodus' Croatia: Islands & Mountains trip. Berlin started off rather damp, but got better once the weather did, and Michael - our Man In Berlin - provided two fascinating guided tours, of Berlin and Potsdam. Paris was, well, Paris! Expensive with the Euro:Pound exchange rate though, and checking in at the Gare du Nord on Sunday for the Eurostar to London was hellish. I'd be tempted to fly next time - seriously.

Here's the super summary:

• Sunday 26 June - Sunday 03 July 2011: Croatia - Exodus' Croatia: Islands & Mountains trip
• Sunday 03 July 2011: Split to Berlin: Germanwings (Split-Köln-Bonn)
• Sunday 03 - Wednesday 06 July 2011: Berlin - DIY, staying with Michael and Katja
• Wednesday 06 - Thursday 07 July 2011: Berlin - Paris on Deutsche Bahn's City Night Line sleeper train (the Man in Seat 61 comes up trumps yet again)
• Thursday 07 - Sunday 10 July 2011: Paris - DIY, staying at L'Hôtel des Grandes Ecoles
• Sunday 10 July 2011: Paris - London via Eurostar.

... and here are the photos* and memories ...

Sunday 26 June 2011: Fly Croatian Airlines from London to Zagreb and transfer to island of Krk (photos)

We spent the first 3 days of our fabulous Croatia: Islands & Mountains trip based at the eponymous Hotel Krk on the island of Krk, a short stroll along the seafront from Krk old town.

Day 1 was the getting-there day. Cat and I rendezvoused with Hazel at LHR T3 and took Croatian Airlines flight OU 491 to Zagreb. At small scale Zagreb airport we were met by our Croatian walking guide and all round expert, Edo-The-Man-Vričić, and said hello to fellow walkers Lina, Paul and Helen. The minibus to Krk town took two and half-ish hours, but en route we passed through forests and mountains before hitting the coast and crossing the amazing Krk bridge onto the island itself. All stunning.

After a drink and info session with a beer on the shady terrace of the Vila Lovorka, our part of the Hotel Krk complex, we walked along the waterfront into the old town to get our bearings and for dinner al fresco and another beer or two....

Monday 27 June 2011: Obzova Peak ridge walk, Krk (photos)

Day 2 - and our first walk: a short climb to Veli vrh peak (541m) then along the windy, rocky ridge to Obzova peak, the highest point on Krk at 569m. We dropped down to Zminja peak (537m) and then down and back up to Veli Hlam (482m) before our final descent back down to sea level and the resort town of Baška.

Our day started with a minibus drive along the coast via Krk's out of town Konsum supermarket (I love mooching around other countries' supermarkets...) for lunch supplies, then on around sheltered Puntarska Draga bay - home to a marina and suspended wire water skiing centre, plus the circular island of Košljun, which hides a Franciscan monastery founded centuries ago.

We parted company with the minibus up in the hills above Punat, which meant the minibus had done a chunk of the day's climb for us. As we slapped on the sunscreen we caught sight of a team of farmers shearing sheep in the shade of the trees; Edo told us that usually they just throw away the fleeces because there's no market for them - the shearing is simply to keep the sheep cool - but that this year someone's provided a skip to collect them.

As we walked we got fantastic views back towards Krk town and its neighbouring island of Cres (closing in on Krk for the title of Croatia's largest island, as sea levels rise), of to the moon plateau (tomorrow's destination) on our left, and more islands on our right. Ahead of us we could see the Velebit mountain range over on the mainland and Goli Otok (Nude / Naked island - there's not a tree to be seen), where political prisoners were incarcerated in a hard labour quarry camp until as recently as 1988.

Beautiful flora and fauna too - wild flowers, metallic green flying beetles and grasshoppers galore.... and the strange white stone circles proved to be sheep pens.

A little after Veli Hlam a steep zig zag descent brought us back into welcome pine tree cover and we lunched in the shade before strolling along a quiet island road and into bustling Baška.

After a cold drink at a seafront bar, a paddle in the clear blue waters of Baška bay (proving that we Brits aren't very good with pebbly beaches) it was back in the minibus to Hotel Krk to dump our stuff and head out for a swim in the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic. Beautiful. And for Mary, Hazel, Cat and Lina, an aperitif of beer and crisps in our hotel suite...

Dinner in Krk town at a lovely waterfront restaurant over by the Bishops Palace and the harbour, then back through the old town - armed with magnificent ice creams.

A fab first day for the simple-photo-laughter-grasshopper group!

Tuesday 28 June 2011: Hike up to the Moon Plateau and down back to Baška, afternoon/evening in Krk Town and celebrating Lina's birthday! (photos)

After another of the Hotel Krk's spoilt-for-choice buffet breakfasts, and a better-prepared stop at Konsum for picnic lunch supplies, we headed off back along the Baška road to the hamlet of Jurandvor. After a bit of background and history at Crkva svete Lucije (St Lucy's church), which is famous for being the original home of the Baška Tablet, we followed Edo through the village outskirts, fields and orchards and up an old track and the start of the walk up to the Planina Mjeseca - aka the Moon Plateau - and the high point of Hlam (461m). Much more of a slog up than yesterday (no minibus assisted ascent today!), but we were walking in pine forest shade for large parts of the way up and down.

Up on the limestone plateau it was a very stark lunar landscape, with more stone enclosures and walls and plenty of flowers, grasshoppers and beetles to keep me happy. We loitered over a lovely picnic lunch in the shade of the pine trees soaking up the beautiful views out over the bay and over towards where we'd been yesterday, before a surprisingly speedy descent into Baška by way of its old yellow church and winding up at the old town harbour and promenade - the perfect location for a drink followed by a sea level stroll.

Back in Krk we succumbed to a dip in the blue waters of the Adriatic, and then went for a stroll around the old town to take photos of the Frankopan castle, the Bishops' Residence, Krk Cathedral and Kamplin square. After a wash and brush up, we all gathered at the Titanic boat bar to start the evening's celebration of Lina's birthday with a bottle or two of Ožujsko beer, followed by homemade pasta (šurlice - Krk's speciality) at a very civilised rooftop restaurant - complete with a fantastic surprise birthday cake organised by Edo.

Having cleared the chill out bar on the rocks at the foot of Frankopan castle, Hazel and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel to pack, leaving Lina and Cat to their Ivan and Luka encounter.....

Wednesday 29 June 2011: Drive to Senj and up into Northern Velebit National Park. Walk to Zavižan mountain hut, on to the Velebit Botanical Garden and up Veliki Zavižan (1676m). Sunset over the islands (photos)

Day 4, and time to say farewell to lovely Krk. Hazel and I took an early morning stroll back to the Titanic Bar spit for some photos from the water front. Total tranquility. Breakfast and then off in the minibus back to Krčki most (Krk bridge) and the mainland. The drive down the Jadranska magistrala coast road was fabulous, and after stocking up with supplies in Senj, we turned inland and zig zagged up into the Velebit mountains.

At the entrance to Northern Velebit National Park we said farewell to the minibus (which took our bags on up to Zavižan), donned boots and day packs and headed off into the Park's forests and high mountain meadows. A lovely walk - lots of flowers - brought us to Zavižan (1597m). From the mountain hut there are fabulous views out over the mountains and forests of Velebit and back out over the coast to the islands and the Adriatic.

After lunch, and a taste of the warden's rakia, Edo led The Ladies down to the Botanical Gardens - a bowl-shaped depression (technically a sink hole or - given the karst terrain - a doline) where examples of Velebit flora have been gathered together, with many also labelled. I had a field day. Part way round the Gardens, we turned left and climbed through the woods and on up through the scrub pines to the peak of Veliki Zavižan (Great Zavižan) at 1676m. A steep climb, and worth it for the views. Edo got his "this is why I love my job" photo; and in honour of *that* Mamma Mia evening, Hazel, Cat and I did our interpretation of Abba's Waterloo.

Back at the mountain hut, we sampled a bottle of two of the Velebit range of beers before mucking in to make salad, chop cheese and generally prepare for dinner. In between starters (Tomato-cucumber-pepper salad, bread, Krk goats cheese) and mains (bean stew and sausage), we took ourselves up the small hill opposite and watched the sunset over the islands - beautiful. Back for beans, then bed.

Thursday 30 June 2011: Premuziceva Trail from Zavižan to Alan mountain hut; transfer to Karlobag (photos)

We woke to low cloud and rain! What a shock to the system. Not a mountain peak or distant island to be seen.

A tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs (so yellow!!) perked us up and donning waterproofs we bid farewell to Zavižan and headed off downhill to the start of the Premuziceva Trail (Premužićeva staza). Built in 1933, the trail takes you through the heart of the Northern Velebit National Park, remote and protected, with beautiful wild flowers every step of the way, and weird and wonderful water carved limestone rocks interspersed with spruce and beech forests. The Croatian National Tourist Board's Premuziceva Trail pages provide an excellent account of the route as well as the history of the trail.

We lunched in Rossi's hut, which looked like it was undergoing a spot of renovation, but at least it provided shelter from the rain. The afternoon leg of the trail included some steep descents and stretches through forests and long grass alpine meadows, eventually bringing us to the Alan mountain hut.

After changing out of wet boots (this was the day I decided my new Merrell Outbounds were Definitely Going Back), we met our new minibus and driver who ferried us down the switchback road leaving the Velebit mountains behind us and continuing south along the Jadranska magistrala coast road to Karlobag.

After checking in at the Hotel Zagreb, and luxuriating in the power showers of our newly refurbished block, Lina, Hazel, Cat and I headed off to explore Karlobag and - most importantly - to find coffee and cake, which we did with great success. We returned to the old town/village for dinner, in a lovely restaurant tucked away on a first floor terrace overlooking a courtyard. Everyone ate well, and we could hardly refuse the buy-one-get-one-free offer on the litre carafes of local white wine...

Friday 01 July 2011: A circular walk via the three valleys of Crni Dabar, Ravni Dabar and Dosen Dabar; then on to Starigrad-Paklenica for the night (photos)

Today's walk started with in another stretch of the Premuziceva Trail (Premužićeva staza), through woods and meadows before rejoining the tarmac, where we turned off left towards the sea views, and more exposed and water carved karst. Climbing up through woods, we emerged into a clearing with the remains of a house where we stopped for a break and butterfly photos before climbing up to Visibaba peak (1160m) for superb 360^o views - out to the sea and the islands on one side and of the famous kuks (hips) of the Velebit mountains.

Retracing our steps to the abandoned house, we continued on through forest and across meadows with paths of leaves and paths of karst, and after a thankfully-not-too-close wild boar encounter we arrived at the Ravni dabar mountain hut, and the end of the (almost) circular walk through the three valleys of Crni Dabar, Ravni Dabar and Dosen Dabar (I'm afraid I couldn't tell one from the other...).

Today's lunch came courtesy of the warden, who had prepared two huge cauldrons of local speciality stew for us, plus bread and beers on the side (Velebit beer, of course....).

Replete, we drove back out to the coast and on to Starigrad-Paklenica which stretches along the Jadranska magistrala for a few miles.

We were staying the Hotel Rajna, a small family hotel with views out over the Velebit channel to the island of Pag, and of olive groves and the ruined Venetian watch tower/fortress on this side of the water.

In the still hot late afternoon sun, Hazel, Cat, Lina and I walked out to the pebbly beach but our attempts to swim in the calm waters of the Velebit channel were foiled by shallow water and sensitive feet.... Leaving the others to head back to base, I pottered on round to the ruin and read for a while. Lovely.

Back at the hotel, we gathered for a home-cooked dinner on the terrace. Another lovely evening.

Saturday 02 July 2011: Gorgeous gorge walks in Velika Paklenica N.P., the off to Trogir for our final evening together (photos)

The final real day of the trip :( But at least the sun was shining for our walk in Velika Paklenica N.P., at the southern end of the Velebit mountains.

The Hotel Rajna's owner gave us a lift in his Land Rover to the start of today's trek - the end of the tarmac road at the edge of Starigrad-Paklenica.

Even with that helping hand, today's walk was hardest of the trip (of course!), a long slog climbing up through the trees to the site of the atmospheric Mirila graves, then upwards again to the col and our last views of the sea.

An undulating path brought us to the abandoned houses of Tomici Village - some of which are being restored with a view to eco tourism/"getting away from it all". Surrounded by Velebit's limestone karst and low trees and shrubs we undulated onwards to Vidokov kuk, and thence to Ramići village where we zigzagged steeply down to the river in Velika (Big) Paklenica gorge, which we followed north to the cafe at Lugarnica - a great place for our final picnic lunch.

The paved path through Velika Paklenica made for an easy stroll back to our walk's end - allowing ample opportunity to admire the rock climbers making their way up what looked like sheer rock faces.

Back in the minibus for our penultimate transfer - speeding along the motorway to Trogir. The whole of the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it provided a very different place to spend our final evening: staying in an old hotel inside the town walls, eating in its courtyard restaurant, and treating ourselves to One Last Ice cream as we toured the town sights for a final time: the Cathedral church of St. Lawrence, the Kamerlengo Castle. A place to come back to.

Sunday 03 July 2011: Goodbye simple-photo-laughter-grasshopper group. Gutenabend Berlin (no photos!)

The final day of the trip started with a very early morning transfer to Split airport to catch the 06:45 Croatian Airlines flight to Zagreb Airport and on to LHR. We'd said our farewells to Paul and Helen last night, so at the airport it was time to say goodbye to Edo, and for me to wish Lina, Cat and Hazel bon voyage back to Blighty, and then to wait until my Germanwings flight to Köln/ Bonn and an early afternoon onwards flight to Berlin Schönefeld.

A long day of airports. It was grey and cold in Köln/ Bonn; rainy and colder in Berlin. I'd left Split bathed in hot summer sun.

After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing on the S9 and S3/S75 train lines, I arrived at the Hauptbahnhof with half an hour to spare before Phil's train from Munich was due to arrive. It was all a bit weird to see Phil, plus Michael and Katja appear .... and to actually be in Berlin.

Monday 04 July 2011: Berlin in the rain (photos)

A wet and overcast first full day in Berlin dampened our first impressions of the city somewhat....

We spent the day out and about, exploring on foot, walking from Michael and Katja's to the river and Museum Island, on to Alexanderplatz, following the skyline to find our way to key sights.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_Island
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelm%C3%A4nnchen
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexanderplatz
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernsehturm_Berlin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_clock
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Synagogue_%28Berlin%29

Tuesday 05 July 2011: Berlin in the sun (photos)

A sunnier day all round!

Michael - Our Man in Berlin - spent his morning showing us the sights, on a personal guided tour - fascinating.

After lunch with Matt Biddulph close to Checkpoint Charlie, we meandered through the Tiergarten and back along the other side of the Spree, soaking up the sun and reading for a spell before walking back for dinner with Michale, Katja and Soeren.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundestag
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_building
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unter_den_Linden
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_War_Memorial_%28Tiergarten%29
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pariser_Platz
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Eu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler%27s_bunker
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_Charlie
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten

Wednesday 06 July 2011: Potsdam tour with Michael, catch a final beer and the sleeper train to Paris (photos)

A scorcher of a day out of Berlin, taking another great walking tour courtesy of Michael - this time out and about in Potsdam. My favourite bit? The Glienicke Bridge - top Cold War spy swop spot.

Back to Berlin Hauptbahnhof to rendezvous with Katja for farewell beer, and then the DB City Night Line sleeper train to Paris.

Thursday 07 - Sunday 10 July 2011: Paris (photos)

Staying at the delightful L'Hôtel des Grandes Ecoles near the Sorbonne, a final few days pottering around Paris.

Highlight: Albert-Kahn musée et jardins.

Lowlight: Checking in at the Gare du Nord for the Eurostar back to London. Chaos, and no one cared.

* For the full set of photos on Flickr, visit Croatia - Berlin - Paris, June/July 2011.

My first foray into putting my photos online was using fotopic - enough of an early adopter to get mary.fotopic.net, and between 2002 and 2005 I created many a collection on sparklytrainers.fotopic.net, before being lured away to Flickr.

Periodically I've put "migrate fotopic to flickr" onto my to do list... and with Friday's having become a non working day I felt inspired to invest the time and effort into recreating my fotopic collections as Flickr sets.

So today I sat down to start the task.... only to find that fotopic appears to have disappeared, without warning and (initially) without trace:

Phil pointed me in the direction of a Google Group, but having joined it seems to be more of a shouting shop than anything more constructive.

So I've resorted to a Loosemore bodge, using the wondrous Wayback Machine from The Internet Archive, to track down their copy of mary.fotopic.net:

I've then copied/pasted the data into a simple text file:

which I then use to profile freshly uploaded photo files on Flickr:

Luckily, I've always kept the file name as part of the photo profile, and the files are organised into event folders, dated and grouped by year on my computer, so recreating the collection hasn't proved to difficult, just time consuming.

Today, I've reincarnated Intrepid Cambodia - December 2002 (formerly http://mary.fotopic.net/) on Flickr. Next week I'll see what echoes remain on the Wayback Machine of my much larger collection that was at sparklytrainers.fotopic.net

Phil and I made the most of a Saturday evening birthday gathering to spend a weekend by the seaside (Brighton!), staying in the lovely Brighton House hotel (free help yourself cake in the hallway for guests - does it get much better?!).

We pottered around town (shopping and sightseeing) on Saturday, took a leisurely late lunch at the fabulous Bill's, celebrated Anno's birthday at Cafe Koba into the wee small hours....

Beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine made for a glorious Sunday stroll along the seafront.

Brighton House hotel, Brighton

I'm back from a lovely long weekend in Walton-on-the-Naze after a short first week back at work - from Kashgar to Walton in less than 7 days.

Frinton called on sunny Saturday morning, after a huge fry up breakfast at Walton's High Street cafe which fuelled our stroll along the sea front. One of my favourite beach huts has had a face lift (and an extension):

Then (August 2005)

Now (August 2010)

After eyeing up houses the estate agents' windows, Frinton's charity bookshops provided a goodly haul, mainly unread novels in Ian Rankin's Rebus series. Still too full of fry up to indulge in an ice cream from the 'new' ice cream parlour, we returned to Walton along the side streets and the sea front - aka 'Frinton Park' - which have some lovely 1930's homes, and this overly large scale new apartment block.

Back to the caravan via the Co op and the Wright Family Bakers for a lazy afternoon's reading before venturing out for an early evening pint of Abbot ale and packet of crisps at The Victory followed by a curry at the Ocean Indian Restaurant.

Sunday was a wild, windy and wet day, too blustery for us to venture outside for most of the time. Thank heavens for the new novels and the bakery/co op goodies. Late afternoon we took the footpath down to Hipkins Beach to check on the beach hut, returning via Curiosity Garden.

Monday started windy and cloudy but cleared and calmed down as the morning went on, luring us back out to the Naze and tea and cake at the Naze Tower cafe.

Catching the 4.30pm from Walton we were home for 7pm, even with a (super efficient - yes!) rail replacement service from Ingatestone. Just time for another pint and packet of crisps, this time at The Fox and Anchor.

So, finally, my Morocco via Madrid - April/May 2010 set is "done" on Flickr, with mini diary entries composed en route.

Phew. A long job, particularly getting them (approximately) mapped.... It's been lovely having Phil uploading his photos too at the same time.

Part 1: DIY London to Casablanca via Madrid

* Day 1: London to Madrid
* Day 2: Madrid
* Day 3: Madrid to Casablanca

Part 2: Intrepid's Colours of Morocco tour

* Day 1 (DIY day 3): Casablanca (arrival day)
* Day 2: Casablanca / Rabat / Meknès
* Day 3: Meknès / Volubilis / Fès
* Day 4: Fès
* Day 5: Fès / Midelt
* Day 6: Midelt / Merzouga / Sahara Camp / Erg Chebbi
* Day 7: Sahara Camp / Merzouga / Todra Gorge
* Day 8: Todra Gorge
* Day 9: Todra Gorge / Ouarzazate / Aït Benhaddou
* Day 10: Aït Benhaddou / Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m) / Imlil / Aroumd
* Day 11: Aroumd / Essaouira
* Day 12: Essaouira
* Day 13: Essaouira / Marrakech
* Day 14: Marrakech
* Day 15: Marrakech (departure day)

You may spot that some of the evening photos have snuck into the next day's archives..... I forgot to adjust my camera clock at the start of the trip and I can't be bothered to update all the EXIF data. Sorry!

Clearing the digital decks before my next trip....

After much research and picking of Stuart's brains, I suggested that dad and Tom and their respective families buy me the GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Lite DPL700 for my birthday. I've griped before about how hard it is for my to geolocate the photos from some of my trips to more off the beaten track destinations (Hello Annapurna Circuit! Hello Bhutan! Hello Central Asia!), and a easily portable gadget which promises to do all that for me seems the perfect traveller's treat.

Even though the GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Lite is now Mac-compatible, the packaging doesn't yet say so and my heart dropped for a time until I unpacked the box to find the A4 print out of their Quick Start Guide for Mac enclosed.

First challenge, how to open the unit to get the battery in. I think I've mastered that now, but only after the same kind of struggle I have with getting the back off my various mobile phones over the years. I'm sure there's a knack - but usually it eludes me. Nails are of no avail.

Next up - downloading the software (always a doddle with the mac - phew) and syncing the time on my camera. "Syncing" suggests something rather more technical than looking at the server time or an online display of local time (aka Google-ing "local time") and manually adjusting your camera's clock setting to match - but that's all it is.

So now I'm all set to take the PhotoTrackr out for a stroll - Hazel and I are shopping in central London tomorrow and I'm planning to map the route.....

The software download page (case sensitive URL I discovered) comes complete with a link to the GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mac User's Guide, which I'll be reading in more depth tomorrow.

Dad and Jean have been down for the weekend.

Friday evening saw us dining in (almost) splendid isolation at The Modern Pantry, and imbibing one carafe of Marlborough red wine too many....

On Saturday morning we visited the excellent Henry VIII exhibition at the British Library, and split forces in the afternoon with Jean going to see War Horse - which Phil and I saw a few weeks ago; the animal puppets (they're lifesize, so puppets doesn't seem quite the right word) were amazing - and dad and I heading on to the BP Portrait competition exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and taking a quick look at the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square after a reviving cup of tea in the National Gallery cafe.

Dinner was takeaway from the Barbican Tandoori, the Chawol being temporarily out of action due to a fire! An amazing sunset rounded off a lovely day.

Sunday was more gentle affair, starting off with the Garden Museum over near Lambeth Palace (a tranquil spot, with lots of history) followed by a late Sunday lunch at the Wood Street bar and restaurant - delicious.

A lovely relaxing weekend in Walton on the Naze, and a surprisingly sunny one - against all the weather forecast predictions of wind, rain and cloud. It was breezy, but that's the coast for you.

We indulged in local bakery cakes, curry at the Ocean Indian restaurant and a traditional cafe fry up......

....and read a lot. It was blissfully quiet at the Naze Marine Caravan Park - all the kids/families must have headed elsewhere in search of school holiday sun.

12.30pm at Islington Register Office....

... followed by a fantastic lunch at Vinoteca, Farringdon....

with cake by Jean

But still Mary Loosemore.

Photos

• My photos: Mary and Phil get married
• Phil's photos: Our wedding
• Hazel's photos Mary & Phil get married
• Tom's photos from 24 January 2009
• Flickr pool: Mary and Phil's Wedding

I do seem to have spent an awful lot of time getting the photos from my last trip (Central Asia Overland, with Explore) onto Flickr... but they're all up there now, in my imaginatively titled Central Asia Overland set.

All (all!) that's left for me to do is:

1. Geotag/map the photos I took in Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The Yahoo! mapping is so frustratingly woeful^[1] that I can only cope with geotagging one place at a time... Transliteration and the original-versus-Soviet/Beijing place name variations don't help.


2. Improve the tagging. I'm sure I've got lots of spelling variations myself... next time I'll be more rigorous at logging the tags I chose, and checking past conventions, before I start.


3. Delete some. I'm hopeless at picking which is the best out of any particular bunch. For example, Registan square in Samarkand, the Kalon mosque in Bukhara, not to mention Khiva.....


4. Defrost. With London's daytime temperatures hovering around zero our spare room-cum-office is freezing. I've been sitting at my computer clad in 2 pairs of socks plus ancient roof terrace gardening slippers, four top layers including fleece and vast woolly jumper, scarf and hat.... and occasionally resorting to wrapping up in the spare duvet too.

[1] This is the most zoomed in map for Samarkand (which you won't find if you search for "Samarkand") - see what I mean...

(and remember the Flickr/Yahoo! mapping for Bhutan?)

Hazel and have just been to the British Museum to see the Babylon exhibition. Interesting, but a bit thin once you're past the first room which has the scale models, maps and the bas relief lions and dragon from the Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate.

Actually, thinking about it there is an excellent short video of stills from the present day Babylon site, with the US army base in situ. It feels like a bit of an after thought, but maybe that's intentional.... it certainly leads you to sympathise with the quote from one of the BM experts that siting the army base there is akin to putting it next to Stonehenge or the great pyramid at Giza.

... all 779 of them taken on Wild Frontiers' Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon - Spring Festival Tour in March 2008.

All photos are in my Bhutan - Land of the Thunder Dragon set on Flickr.

Photos day by day
Saturday 15 March 2008: UK - Delhi
Sunday 16 March 2008: Delhi - Bagdogra - Jaigaon (Hotel Anand)
Monday 17 March 2008: Jaigaon/Phuentsholing - Paro (Hotel Paro)
Tuesday 18 March 2008: Paro Festival (Hotel Paro)
Wednesday 19 March 2008: Taktshang (Tiger's Nest) trek - Thimphu (Pedling Hotel)
Thursday 20 March 2008: Thimphu: Folk Heritage Museum - National Institute for Zorig Chusum - National Textile Museum - 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival rehearsal - Motithang Takin Preserve - Post Office and Bank of Bhutan - shopping (Pedling Hotel)
Friday 21 March 2008: Thimphu - Huntsho Community Primary School - Dochu La Pass (3116m) - Lobesa - Wangdue Phodrang dzong and town (Dragon's Nest Resort)
Saturday 22 March 2008: Wangdue Phodrang - Khuruthang Goemba - Khamsum Yuly/Yuelley Namgyal Chorten and Mo Chhu river valley walk - Punakha dzong - Lobesa farmhouse and family - Wangdue Phodrang (Dragon's Nest Resort)
Sunday 23 March 2008: Wangdue Phodrang bazaar - Pele La pass (3420m) - Chendebji chorten - Trongsa dzong - Zungney village textile shops - Bumthang valley - Jakar (Lodge Rinchenling)
Monday 24 March 2008: Jakar - Chokhor valley walk (Jampey Lhakhang - Kurjey Lhakhang - Polling station - Tamshing Goemba) - Wangdichholing dzong - Yoser Lham shop (aka the Swiss farm shop) - Jakar town - Hot stone bath - Jakar (Lodge Rinchenling)
Tuesday 25 March 2008: Jakar - Shertang La pass (3590m) - Ura village - Thrumshing La pass (3750m) - Langur monkeys - Mongar (Wangchuk hotel)
Wednesday 26 March 2008: Mongar - Kori La pass (2400m) - Yadi - lemongrass distillation "plant" - Trashigang town and dzong - Rangjung town and Monpa or Brokpa ladies, local weaving - Bonfire and Quiz - Rangjung (Rangjung monastery guesthouse)
Thursday 27 March 2008: Rangjung - Thakcho Kunzang Choeden Anim nunnery - Radi valley walk (Khardung - fern-headed man - Khuru contest - weaving - farmhouse lunch) - Rangjung (Rangjung monastery guesthouse)
Friday 28 March 2008: Rangjung - Trashigang - National Handloom Development Project, Khaling - Samdrup Jongkhar - Guwahati (Dynasty Hotel)
Saturday 29 March 2008: Guwahati - Kolkata: Victoria Memorial / St Paul's Cathedral / market - Kolkata (Tollygunge Club)
Sunday 30 March: Kolkata - UK

Other photos from the trip
David's photos on Webshots
Maggie's photos on Flickr
Hazel's photos on Flickr

Next on the photo list: dad's 70th birthday dinner in Broadway (only four months after the event...)

Hirsel Cottage, St Andrews. Some of the photos look very familiar!

(Thanks Ruth!)

I've finally finished sorting through my photos from Iran, shrinking and uploading them to Flickr.

Mehran, Stan and Reza really were a winning team, and I would recommend a visit to Iran to anyone - it doesn't really matter where or when, and different people will be interested in different things. Once you've been and seen what an an amazing and beautiful country it is, and that the people you meet in the bazaars and at the sights are so welcoming and hospitable, rightly proud of their history and culture, I am sure you will want to return - I know that I do.

I've so many favourite memories - wandering the backstreets of Yazd, marvelling at everything in Esfahan, exploring the bazaars and mosques of Shiraz, hearing Persian poetry by moonlight at the mausoleum of Hafez, being presented by a beautiful flower by a young woman as we walked back to the hotel one evening, getting dressed up in traditional nomad wedding dress, carrying out conversations by way of the Lonely Planet Persian phrase book, being interviewed for local telly near Bazm and for an advertorial in the Abbasi Hotel, tucking into melon (various varieties), cheese and fresh bread with a breathtaking view of Mount Dena and minutes later chancing upon Qashqai nomads and their flocks on the annual migration to summer pastures - the young and the weak getting a ride tucked up snugly in carpets pockets on the back of a donkey, unexpected hail and film crews in ancient Hamadan, the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence (even when disrupted by the 21st century noise of young blokes on motorbikes), the kitsch souvenir shops, signage and stalagmites and stalactites at Ali Sadr Caves, staying in amazing converted/restored caravanserai in Yazd and Esfahan, relaxing in the Eram gardens, taking tea with the nomads near Bahvanat and trying my hand at churning butter in a goatskin, the smell of freshly baked bread and the production line four man bakeries in Kashan, Shiraz and Hamadan, the amazing switchback road climbing up and through the Alborz Mountains, through the green of the orchards and wheatfields, the grandeur of Persepolis and the peace and tranquility of the gardens of Fin, the stunning colours decorating the mosques and traditional houses, palaces and citadels - and flowers everywhere.

How: Wild Frontiers' Land of the Peacock Throne tour
When: April/May 2007
Weather: Tehran
Advice / Info: FCO, CIA Iran Country Profile, BBC Country profile: Iran Wikipedia: Iran, Lonely Planet: Iran, Pars Times: Iran

Compare:

In pictures: Life in Stanley (BBC News, March 2007)

A typical Stanley house, and a-typcial transport (My photos, December 2005)

Although at least that flat tyre seems to have been fixed and the morris minor's mobility restored.....

Taken by Rob and now available on his Rob's Journeys Flickr pages. So we get to enjoy his Skardu adventures (vicariously at least).

... and available in my imaginatively named "Hindu Kush Adventure" set on Flickr.

Day 1 (28 September 2006): Depart London on overnight BA flight to Islamabad
Day 2 (29 September 2006): Arrive Islamabad, drive to Peshawar
Day 3 (30 September 2006): Peshawar
Day 4 (01 October 2006): Khyber Steam Train up the Khyber Pass
Day 5 (02 October 2006): Drive over the Malakand Pass to Dir
Day 6 (03 October 2006): Drive over the Lowari Pass to Ayun
Day 7 (04 October 2006): Ayun town tour and into to the Rumbur Valley, staying with the Kalash at Balanguru
Day 8 (05 October 2006): Balanguru and hike to the Nuristani village of Shakanande
Day 9 (06 October 2006): Balanguru and hike to Pelaga, the Wild Frontiers hideaway
Day 10 (07 October 2006): Balanguru to Chitral town - sightseeing and shopping!
Day 11 (08 October 2006): Chitral town to Hindu Kush Heights hotel
Day 12 (09 October 2006): To Mastuj, via Buni Zom, for dinner with Colonel Khushwalalt Ul Mulk
Day 13 (10 October 2006): Over the Shandur Pass to Phander
Day 14 (11 October 2006): Phander to Gilgit, then on to Karimabad along the Karakoram Highway
Day 15 (12 October 2006): Karimabad (shopping!) and the Eagle's Nest Hotel
Day 16 (13 October 2006): Karimabad to Chilas, back along the Karakoram Highway
Day 17 (14 October 2006): Chilas to Islamabad
Day 18 (15 October 2006): Early morning flight to UK

Note: those links will take you to the photos for each day - but they display in reverse order. If you go to my "Hindu Kush Adventure set, you'll see my photos in the correct order.

Exactly 3 months after we got back to Blighty, I've finally finished sorting through my photos and uploading them to Flickr. All 359 of them now available for viewing in my Falklands Islands Trip set.

(and I also uploaded my four photos from dad's Birthday Weekend.)

It was a great holiday - here's a day-by-day synopsis, with links to photos of the day:

I'm gradually uploading photos from our Falkland Islands trip onto Flickr. Phil bought me a Pro subscription as part of my Christmas present, so I'm effectively free of the monthly limit (unless I manage to hit the 2GB monthly limit for Pro users....). It's reminding me just how fantastic the weather was, and how beautiful Port Stanley and Cape Pembroke are:

• Photos from Sunday 26 December 2005 - Our trip out to Cape Pembroke lighthouse (the day everyone got sunburn)
• Photos from Monday 27 December 2005 - Being touristy in Stanley, and walking back to Stanley via the Moody Valley, and Fran's party in the evening

Having lived a stone's throw from Battersea Power Station for almost a decade, it's fascinating to see the building's insides, courtesy of the BBC.

From our London Transport Museum visit, my money is on Phil loving image 5.

I've read their reasons why*, and I'm currently considering whether I commit to paying the annual cost of fotopic's premium service - currently

Phil and I were in Avignon for my birthday, spending a long week there courtesy of Eurostar and the TGV, and staying in a nice family run hotel just inside the old town walls. Hotel d'Angleterre's free wifi proved a hit as Phil had his laptop so we could check mail (and deal with comment spam - grrr) while on holiday.

We had a very lazy time, lots (lots!) of reading and soaking up the spring sun, with the occasional dollop of culture and sight seeing, mooching around the old streets, and heading out on a day trip into the Provencal countryside with Cars Lieutaud and taking the train up to Orange - to see the Roman theatre, sandwiched between lunch in a lovely brasserie terrace and wicked coffee/chocolate and cake in a salon du thé! - and down to Montpellier - lots of sitting in cafes and watching the world go by.... and trying to recall places and geography from when Tom was there.

The holiday all seems a long time ago now, and we only got back yesterday. Mind you, it was a relief to get back to eateries that serve at least one veggie food option as standard. We had take away from the recently opened Spice Corner to celebrate, and very tasty it was too.

On the home front, our lounge chairs arrived today, so the sofa has some companions, and the lounge area looks more like a lounge and less like a sofa + bookselves + TV/Video/DVD/Amp!

I've had a satisfying evening downloading my February and March photos from my Canon Ixus V, sorting them out into folders and uploading selected collections to fotopic:

• Tower42, blue skies and backlit clouds
• Valentine's Day Pasties, by Phil
• Sunny views - Farringdon, Smithfield, Barbican
• Barbican in the snow
• Snowing in Camomile Street
• Good bye Copper Grill, Sayonara Salon Yamamoto
• Spitalfields, old and new - including the noted house for paper bags, and Dino's cafe
• Dad's birthday weekend at Forty Acres - The new tree house, and walking to the Neville
• White wrapped office block, demolition in progress, Ropemaker Street / Chiswell Street / Moor Lane / Finsbury Street
• Easter weekend at Walton on the Naze (brrrr)

Spent the morning sorting through my digital photos, and uploading them to my fotopic album, which carries the title Intrepid Cambodia.

My favourite digital photos:

A Reflective Angkor Wat
Family Sparkler Duel
_That_ bill!
The Bike Ladies
The moonrise at Pre Rup
Me at Ta Prohm (or is it Preah Khan?)
Busty Ladies at the Terrace of the Leper King
Angkor Thom causeway guardian
Strangle tree at Sambor Prey Kok

Phil, Sarah, Sally, Kathy, Stefan, Francis, David, Eddie and Steve, if any of you are reading this, can I just say that I had a great Christmas with you all, and in fact a fab 15 days on the trip.

Hazel has already made sure our combined collection of 16 rolls of film has been developed (I shudder at the snappysnaps cost....) and provided I can fudge another few days not working at work the other side of New Year, I'll scan in the best ones and add them to the album. If you want to set up one of your own, just go to fotopic.net, register, and follow the instructions!

It's freezing here in London - looks like Hazel and I lucked out landing to 12C yesterday morning. It's max 4C here today, cf 33C in Phnom Penh. Not that we're at all jealous of those of you still enjoying yourselves in Thailand, Laos, KL and elsewhere! I'm looking forward to being wined and dined by myPhil :)

"Me and Mary with palm trees and an exploding volcano"
An early piece by Barney Cuba Angell Loosemore, 2002
Part of a private collection, currently on display at Simmons & Simmons, CityPoint, London.

TC at his BBQ, June 2002

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