That was 2011
Well, here it is, the end of 2011 and I have written NOTHING on this site. It would be a shame to let 2011 slip by without mentioning some of the main events – especially as it was quite an eventful year.
At the beginning of the year, we celebrated my sister Relle’s special birthday, with a cruise on the Brisbane River. It just happened to be one of the wettest days ever.
The next day, the river was closed because of flooding. The day after that the whole city was closed. It was the biggest flood since 1974. A lot of people suffered from flood damage. We were OK here. The worst that my place suffered was mildew from the constant rain.
The highlight of my year was the trip that Relle and I took in April and early May. There is so much to tell, and I intend to eventually write a full account of our adventures. Here is just a quick summary.
We spent a week in London, doing all the touristy things like cathedrals and castles.
The parks were full of spring flowers.
Then we hired a car and travelled across the bottom part of England, from Canterbury in Kent -
To Lands End in Cornwall.
We visited some of the places where our ancestors had lived. One of them was Goudhurst.
Some of the country roads were not much wider than one car, but that didn’t stop oncoming cars from trying to pass. We had a few hair raising experiences.
Next, we had a few days in Paris.
Then Amsterdam.
Relle had been determined to get out of England before the Royal Wedding so we would avoid all the fuss. Now we found we had arrived in Amsterdam just in time for the celebrations of Queen Beatrix’s birthday. It was a crazy day. Everyone wore orange and partied in the streets. And Canals.
It was fun – but we were glad to get out before one of those bikes ran us down. No pedestrian is safe!
Next, we went on a wonderful 8 day Rhine River Cruise, sailing from Amsterdam to Basel, with a different place to explore each day.
After the cruise, we spent a couple of days in Lucerne.
We rode the Funicular railway to the top of Mt Pilatus.
And went back down by cable car.
Our last stop was Venice.
We had a ride in a gondola.
Finally, we came home to our pussies, who had been well cared for by house sitters. We had missed them very much.
The rest of my year has followed its usual pattern, except for an addition to our family. My niece Shea had the most adorable baby boy in June. Sorry, no photos of him. His parents don’t want him displayed on the intenet, but I can tell you he is a beautiful baby with dark curly hair and smiles most of the time.
And now it is almost 2012. So I wish you all a Happy New Year!
