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The travels of PK, CK, & Chanel. Tow Vehicle - LC200 “Merlot”; Caravan - Zone RV Base Offroad 20.6 “Jovelita”. Read more Sunshine Coast, Australia
  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 32

    The Trip ends with a Birthday Boy!

    September 1, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Is 5 hours sleep in the hotel in Dubai enough to feel rested? No, but it was all we got because Peter had to retrieve his work suitcase from the JW Marriott Hotel to bring back home. We had not been able to take it on the holiday because we wanted to travel light.
    So after 5 hours sleep we were showering and getting back to the airport for the final leg home to Brisbane. As the A380 got airborne it was hard to avoid the thought that our deep connection with this aircraft was a fitting way to travel to finish our trip.
    However one last event remained. As the clock passed midnight the date turned into 1 September, and that is Peter’s birthday!! To celebrate Carolina had arranged in the upstairs bar area for the crew to bring out a birthday cake and to sing Happy Birthday to him!! What a lovely surprise!
    As we arrived back in Noosa to be welcomed enthusiastically by the bouncing Chanel, our holiday ended. Over the last 32 days we have travelled some 27,000km visiting 6 countries, seeing lots of sights, and spending time with some great friends to whom we are very grateful for their kind hospitality and time. The plans have flowed smoothly and we have certainly enjoyed ourselves a lot. The next holiday awaits….!!!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 30

    Homeward Bound!

    August 30, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Today is the start of our journey back to Noosa. We flew to Lyon this morning with HOP!, the low cost carrier of Air France. Later today we fly Emirates to Dubai and then Emirates to Brisbane. It’s a long trip but we hope to sleep well on at least the Emirates flights.
    Over the last 2 days we have walked a lot around Toulouse. It’s a very nice clean city which gives the impression of affluence. The buildings are typical European in style and are well kept with many painted colours and shutters, and there are a number of lovely botanical gardens and parks.
    The Rugby World Cup is being held here next month which of course is a huge event and the city is preparing for the large number of visitors that will descend onto the city. The gardens had special statues and flowers dedicated to the countries participating in the World Cup.
    Our first day there was a Monday and of course the French don’t like working on Mondays, so many of the shops and restaurants remain closed. It is always hard to understand why the French like reducing their income and business potentials by closing on a weekday!!
    Carolina was in her element on both days with lots of nice shops and she spent many hours with Lou wandering around the shops. She even found a poodle in a wheelie case that looked very much like our Chanel!
    Peter and Pete were less interested in shopping and instead spent a bit more time working on the boat generator which needed some maintenance.
    Our last dinner with Pete and Lou was at a local French restaurant that served lovely tapas while sitting out on the pavement watching the world go by. We had a lovely time with them and we want to thank Pete and Lou very much for their kind hospitality on their lovely boat. It was a wonderful experience for everyone!
    So now we are looking forward to getting back to Noosa and seeing Chanel and our family and friends. Our holiday plans all worked out well and generally smoothly. Yes there was a bit of travel involved in cars, trains, planes, busses, and boats, but we had good relaxing breaks in between and did not get tired. The long journey home now is probably going to be the most tiring part of our holiday!
    Au revoir La France et l’Europe!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 27

    Our Last Day of Cruising

    August 27, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today’s destination is our final destination for our canal cruising trip. Toulouse is the Airbus capital and is where Peter undertook his first Airbus course in 1991. However we will not be going to Airbus on this trip and instead will stay 2 days looking around Toulouse city.
    Today is the last day of our lovely canal cruise and will be 33km of cruising including 8 locks along the way. The weather was showery with a few patches of rain but clearing up a bit as the day progressed with a few patches of blue sky as we approached Toulouse.
    Some of the locks were again very scenic with flowers and high green trees. Along the way the canal was often covered with an umbrella of trees making the trip very nice. The first part of the trip was uphill with climbing locks, but then for the final run into Toulouse it was all downhill making the locks a bit easier.
    As we pulled up into the Port Saint-Saveur marina late in the afternoon, this marked the end of our cruising trip and is also the end of this season’s cruising for Pete & Lou. Leander will remain here for the winter while they go back to the UK, and they will be back here next summer to resume their canal travels. As usual canal boat moorings are usually right in the middle of towns and cities, which makes it easy to walk into the city centres.
    Sunday evening in Toulouse is quiet with a lot of places closed but we managed to find one of the public squares with lots of people, bars, and restaurants. So we celebrated over dinner what has been a lovely 6 days of canal boat cruising with our friends - thanks so much Pete & Lou!!
    We don’t fly out of Toulouse for 2 more days, so these will be spent relaxing and looking around Toulouse, and for Carolina will be chance perhaps to do some shopping :-)    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 26

    Life is not a Drag!

    August 26, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Who would have thought! A Drag Queen evening in the small French town of Castelnaudary. What a fun evening last night! Performed by local people whose normal job is serving the tourists coming though the town mainly in boats, they put a on a really fun show. Some of the guys dressed up very well and were quite good dancers, and there was one girl who was obviously a professional singer who came on several times and sang very well
    It was a dinner show and the main course was cassoulet, a typical French meal made with beans and different meats. Interestingly this dish was invented in this town, so of course it was the main meal.
    The small town was lit up along the river for this Drag Queen event and the whole night was very enjoyable.
    Today the temperature was a lot cooler and around 22 degrees with showers all day. How the weather has changed over the last 3 days! The cruising today was through some really nice French countryside with large green trees overhanging the canals. It was a cruisy day, not too many locks, and not many other boats. Very relaxing.
    Towards the end of the day we reached our destination of Gardouch and moored up via ground spikes on the banks of the canal just out of town in a nice quiet spot.
    Why was Gardouch chosen to stay tonight? Because of a restaurant called L’Estanquet. Not the world’s best known place but Pete & Lou had been here before and found the food to be terrific. So as the sunset we walked the 800m from our mooring down the restaurant. Again, who would have thought! A small restaurant in the middle of nowhere ended up giving us one of the best meals of our trip! Oysters, prawns, ribs, salmon, pork, and for desert a beautifully made crème brûlée and banaoffee! A lively meal!
    Then it was time to walk back to the boat but in the rain. And as we climbed back in the boat with wet shoes Peter’s shoes slipped on the steps and he fell down last portion of the stairs into his back. Everyone rushed to his aid but aside from a bruised ego he was thankfully fine. Peter stressed that the fall was not due to the nice rosé consumed during the meal!!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 24

    The Day of Locks

    August 24, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    At last the weather is cooling off a bit. Today was still warm, even hot at times, but there was a very welcome breeze blowing to keep us a bit cooler.
    Today was a climbing day. How do you climb on water you may ask? The answer is the canal lock system whereby you use locks to increase the water level in increments and then cruise along the new higher level to the next lock at which you increase the water level again.
    So today we passed through 12 climbing locks which were a mixture of single, double, triple, and one quad lock.
    The quad lock was our last before we reached our destination of Castelnaudary and this one was the most spectacular with giant waterfalls gushing out in front of the boat as each stage of the 4-tier lock was reached. Then it was a short cruise across the small lake to our mooring spot near the city centre.
    A lot of locks today and each one had it own challenges and beauty. There was a lock keeper, or éclusier, for each lock; some were super friendly, some were super grumpy including one that insisted on seeing all the ships papers and cruising permits. This took our friend Pete some time to download from his computer and in the meantime all the other boats were held up by the inconsiderate éclusie.
    Each of us has roles to do on board as we pass through these locks. Our Captain Pete is the expert helmsman and stern rope handler; Peter is the bow rope handler and general dogsbody; Lou is the lock operator running up to the lock control panel and pushing the buttons at the lock to activate the process; and Carolina had the all-important role of supplying us all with a steady stream of drinks, water, and cooling towels, and being camera operator. These locks are hot work and it is quite physical, and is not made any easier by the hot weather.
    By the time we reached our destination for the day we were all in need of a cool shower, a change of clothes, and a relaxing G&T.
    In the evening we had a few rosés and tapas at a wine bar overlooking the river, followed by dinner in a restaurant barge on the river. On the walk home our boat, the Leander, looked very nice in the glow of the evening stars, lights, and an almost full moon.
    Tomorrow is going to be a rest day with no cruising. Pete has some work to do on his boat. Peter will help and also has some admin computer work to do. Carolina and Lou will peruse the shops and do some yoga. It will be quiet day but with an unusual evening activity because tomorrow night there is a Drag Queen show taking place on the banks of the canal just down from where we are moored which should be a good laugh and a fun night out!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 23

    A Hot Day on the Canals

    August 23, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    It was 41 degrees today - enough said! The hottest day of our trip and a world away from the cold weather we experienced in the Lake District just a few weeks ago where it was also supposed to be summer.
    We left Carcassonne as early as possible trying to avoid travelling too much during the hot part of the day. But of course this is France where no really wants to work so the canal locks do not open until 9am and close again at 12 noon, before reopening again at 1pm. So really the earliest we could leave was 9am as we were close to the first lock.
    Most of the morning was a pleasant temperature and not too hot as we cruised west along the Canal du Midi. Very nice scenery and and very relaxing cruising along at 8kph.
    By noon the temperature was definitely rising so while the lock keepers had their lunch break we stopped and enjoyed a good break in the air conditioning inside the boat.
    The afternoon was a bit of different story. It was hot, and as we passed through a number of locks and had to spend time outside we felt the heat. Carolina provided a steady stream of drinks to everyone which was very appreciated.
    We had planned to stop mid-afternoon and cocoon ourselves inside the air conditioned boat, but it did not work out that way because we could not find a suitable mooring along the canal. Lots of undergrowth and trees prevented any access to the banks of the canal so we could not tie up anywhere. This went on for about 2 hours before we finally found a really nice spot with shade from the hot sun and some breeze from the surrounding paddocks. Peter had to jump off onto the bank and fight his way through some of the undergrowth to tie up to some trees, but aside from this inconvenience it was a nice spot.
    After a siesta in the air conditioning to cool down we had a really nice BBQ and salad dinner and some vino on the upper outside deck area as the sun set. A very nice evening chatting and enjoying the peaceful surroundings.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 22

    Croisière en Bateau Fluvial

    August 22, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    It’s 7am and as the sun slowly peeks above the horizon the scenery flashes by at 160kph. We are on the Intercité train IC 4655 en route for the 3 hour trip to Carcassonne via Toulouse. It’s going to be a very hot day with temps forecast to be 40 degrees!! The southern part of Europe has been sweltering for much of the summer, and while we have avoided most of this so far on our trip it looks like the weather has finally caught up with us. Fortunately the train is air conditioned and journey is comfortable.
    Last night we stayed in a hotel directly opposite the train station and in amongst lots of small restaurants, so it was a very convenient location. It took us all of 2 mins this morning to get to the Gare St Jean station to catch our train.
    Our friends Pete & Lou met us at the Carcassonne station and showed us the way for the short 300m walk to Le Bateau Leander, their lovely canal boat. They are from the UK but live on their boat for about 5 months if every year cruising along the many canals of France and sometimes the canals of some of the surrounding countries. Their boat is a 26m long by 8m wide Dutch barge built in the UK and fitted out like a luxurious 2-bedroom condominium. This is cruising the canals in style!! It was very nice to meet up with them again as we have not seen since before COVID.
    Canal boat cruising is one of the nicest ways to see the countryside of France. It is relaxing as you leisurely cruise along at a usual speed of less than 10kph with the water and scenery slowly passing by. The main excitement is when you pass through one of the many locks needed to change water levels, and these come up about every hour, sometimes more often. The canals in France pass through the very centre of the towns and cities and you can stop anywhere you want at any time. Very convenient. Today Pete had moored the boat very close to the Carcassonne station to ease our coming in board.
    Pete is the chief trip planner and after we had boarded and settled in he suggested delaying the start of our canal boat cruise until tomorrow, and instead suggested we spend today looking around the medieval town and castle of Carcassonne. Built as a fortress by the Romans 2,500 years ago and rebuilt and extended several times since, this castle is an impressive structure that houses a small town which has become a major tourist attraction. We have been here before but it was nice to see it again. The four of us looked around the Citadel and had lunch at one of the many restaurants until the heat of the day caused us to head back to the cool air conditioning of the boat.
    Tomorrow we will leave early on the canal boat cruising section of our trip.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 21

    Onwards to France!

    August 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Yesterday was our last day with our friends at Lake Como and we had a relaxing day in Gravedona. They took us to the Sailing Club on the lake where we lay in the sun and later had lunch. Back at their home we did some admin work on the computer before packing our bags for the next day.
    Last night was a memorable evening. Kris cooked a typical and delicious Italian eggplant pasta served with cold meats and cheese antipasto. The evening sunset views over the lake were beautiful as we chatted while listening to a range of Andre Bocelli music. A great way to round off our lovely stay here in Italy.
    Today we picked up our E-Vai car-sharing electric car and drove to Milan Malpensa airport. A hot day but thankfully in the air conditioned car, and the route we took was along the western shores of Lake Como. Lovely scenery!
    Then it was off to Terminal 2 for our easyJet flight to Bordeaux in France.
    Our plans to meet up with our friends Peter & Lou on their lovely canal boat experienced a bit of a hiccup earlier in the week. Plan A was to meet them in Bordeaux and spend the next 9 days slowly cruising eastwards on the Garonne River, the Lot River, and the Canal Lateral à La Garonne finishing up in Toulouse. However last week a large commercial barge smashed into the doors of one of the large locks on the Garonne River severely damaging the lock and putting it out of action. Since then no boats have been able to travel on the Garonne River until this lock is fixed. So Pete & Lou have not been able to get to Bordeaux and our cruise plans have had to change.
    Plan B now is for us to meet Pete & Lou on their boat at Carcassonne. This means us flying to Bordeaux as scheduled but staying overnight tonight because the flight gets into Bordeaux too late to catch the train to Carcassonne. Early tomorrow morning we will catch the train and meet up with our friends in Carcassonne around 10am. The cruise route we take after that is up to our friends to work out but we hope that in 9 days we will still be back in Toulouse to start the journey back home to Brisbane.
    Today the flight was uneventful and we arrived OK in Bordeaux on time and finally reached our hotel at 9:00pm.
    Another early start tomorrow with the alarm is set for 5am. It’s going to be another hot day so we hope the train journey goes well. We are looking forward to seeing our friends and relaxing as we cruise the canals of France.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 19

    A Change to Mountain Trails

    August 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    A change of scenery today. We have seen a lot of Lake Como and the small towns that populate along the lakeside areas. So today we decided to do something different and head into parts of the local mountains. The mountains are very spectacular with tall sharp peaks indicating they were formed relatively recently. We don’t see these types of peaks in Australia as everything is so much older and worn down. From a distance we can see the mountains that reach over 3000m in height which are located on the border with Switzerland and the ski resort of St Moritz is only about 60km away.
    Today Kris drive us up into the local mountains up to the town of Livo and from there we did a 7km hike along a mountain trail up to a small set of rock pools and a small cafe bar. This was a very nice walk over rolling scenery and even with several goats peacefully resting along side the trail. One thing we have noticed is that despite being summer, everything is very green and lush. Kris said this is very unusual for this time of year and is caused by the large amount of unseasonal rain they had here earlier this year.
    Today was humid and around 29 degrees which was a bit unpleasant at times, but a lot of the walk was shady. We were not able to go down the pools area because the descent was quite difficult and slippery which was a shame because the water is reputedly to be nice and cold. We did however have some beverages from the bar to rehydrate and admire the scenery before heading back. The walk was very pleasant and made for a good change to what we have been seeing and doing over the last few days.
    This evening we again headed back into the mountains but this time to a well known restaurant called St Anna in the hills that serves very good food. A nice family run restaurant that serves lovely homemade Italian food. Sara had made the booking more than a week ago as it is always fully booked. I’m n the way home we stopped to look at the lights of Gravedona and Lake Como.    Read more

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