Henley Royal Regatta , Facebook and the Winklevoss Twins

The Henley Regatta is held in the village of Henley England on the 1st weekend in July.

We stumbled on it, totally unplanned  in July 2010.

The photo below looks very much like a clip from the wonderful new movie about Facebook - Social Network,  in that movie, the Winklevoss twins, Harvard students at the time, compete at Henley. These are the guys who sued Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder and I discovered later that both Cameron Winklevoss and Armie Hammer who played him in the movie were there at Henley this year

Its a lovely town with great restaurants along the main drag

A walk along the river is very calming and beautiful

You can seek out the beautiful English summer flora

Galway, Ireland, Travelling by Rail from Dublin

If you stay in Dublin you could plan a few days trip to Galway on the West Coast of Ireland. The rail journey is painless and though not exciting from a scenic point of view people watching can be fun - journey about 2 hours 30 mins.

I spent a scorching June weekend there summer 2010 with D.

 Eyre Square, Galway's city center was busting , a backdrop of music, drinking, suntanning and chat.

Strolling around will present you with stunning vistas

The beautiful and colourful quai is where you might encounter a Galway Hooker, otherwise known as  pucans in irish, its a traditional wooden sailing boat! 

The open top bus takes you past the beach area

And the Corrib River

Later wander the back streets, this is what you will see.

he Irish Times - Friday, November 5, 2010 Ireland fifth best place to live

Here are a few reasons why that might be.........

You can walk along the east coast, south of Dublin starting at Bray and you might arrive in Greystones an hour later where you will be sure of getting a scrumptious lunch

These are some of the sights so it may take longer if you linger!

However if you are a townie why not try St Stephens Green, the park in the centre of  Dublin , probably one of the most beautiful in the world!

Choose your colour

Bye Bye Singapore , Hello Ireland

This is the begining of a lovely time in Ireland, a day in Howth with M.

Howth is a delightful fishing village reached very easily by Dublin transport - the DART (Dublin Area Rapid transport)

You can spend a wonderful day mooching around the streets watching the boats which have off loaded their catch.

The cafes, shops and restarants are full of delicious treats

 New friends call for your attention- they are extremely curious and the bay has a large seal population

The views are stunning

Then its time to return home to beautiful Dalkey

Lisbon, Portugal

In Autumn 2007 I made a brief visit to Lisbon to attend a conference. Unfortunately that meant only a limited time to explore. I did manage to wander the cobbled streets and hills of this great place.

This was only my second time in Portugal so I felt somewhat deprived that I could not see more of this lovely country

I decided to book another trip for June 2009 and arranged to meet D in Porto, we would take ariver  trip along the Duero, then I would go by train alone to the Algarve, stopping along the way at various interesting points but this did not happen. Following a minor accident and medical set back I had to cancel

Now I am looking forward to Autumn 2010 in the Algarve, perhaps the setback was not so bad after all.

Brisbane, The Glass House Mountains and MT Tamborine

In August last year ( 2009) when G & M invited me on a return visit to stay with them in their home in Brisbane there was no good reason to decline. They had, as they always do allocated me  'the green' room' , which they say they now renamed 'trish's' room - Ty G & M its the only thing I have named after me. This is the lovely 'Trish view'  each morning



I would be happy to sit all day and watch the yachts glide by and listen to the silence, the odd 'shushing' of water and bird song while admiring the neighbourhood

G and M had other ideas, there were other treats in store and they took me to see the Glasshouse mountains

There are lots of lovely towns near the mountains and many great opportunities for lunch

In Mt Tamborine the next day I reacquainted myself with the birds last time I had taken stacks of photos of their antics

And the views

Then we all went home and had a delicious bbq

This was the setting while we sipped our local wine

Girona, Spain

Girona airport is where so many low cost airlines converge. I therefore had no idea what a lovely town it is but last year on my way to Collieure, in France  I landed at Girona airport  and thought I would give it a try. I stayed for 2 nights and was delighted, this is what I saw.

Inside the walled town you will find lovely old streets like this......

and churches

There are many opportunities for al fresco eating and the tasty tapas are a treat.

Everything is within easy reach by foot with a central railway station allowing an easy journey to France or the rest of Spain.

Krakow

A and I went to Krakow in early Spring 2007. There was still some snow on the ground but nevertheless all the cafes in the square had outside seating, where people came and went all day  and in the afternoon the late sun was so warm and soporific

The city has a vety vibrant and energetic feel. There was an almost reborn aspect a feeling of future success and prosperity.














We both knew when we planned the trip that Auswitch concentration camp was near Krakow. Both were not sure if we could go and  decided that it should be an individual decision.
It seemes like we would not go, then without discussing further we both went

Afterwards and even now it seemed like the right decision but I am not sure why.









Life goes on in Krakow

This city has some lovely buildings and great coffee houses.

Symi, Dodecanese, Greece

Symi in the  Dodecanese is an amphitheater in its construction with small houses on different levels .  It really shows its beauty at night when the day trippers leave. As the natural light wanes the Island’s houses are lit up with what seems  like a myriads of white candles at different levels. I visited for the second time last year while staying in Rhodes

In 1998, just after my first visit to Symi,  I heard from P that she and J were off to visit Rhodes so I suggested they might like to take a trip to Symi. They have been there each year since

This second time I did not stay overnight but returned from my day trip to stay in Rhod

Rhodes has many interesting sites and a rich history.  Although I would have liked to visit a ‘new for me’ Greek island I was tempted back to join G and B, my very good London friends

Having researched many hotels i decided to purchase a package. this was the view from my room about 20 mins from walk from my friends hotel

In the day I liked to wander the cobbled streets 

At night, this was my view

Thailand

In between the first few times I went to Thailand I would forget why I loved the place so much. Then as soon as I landed I knew it was about the people.  They have class!

Their food is wonderful too and for many years I visited a Thai grocery shop in Hammersmith, whenever I went to London. I would buy kaffir lime leave, galanga, nam pla and lemon grass. Even i marvelled at my culinary results, all it took was a bit of chicken and some Thai basil






The next thing that hits you when you visit is just how stunning Thailand is.

You can even find a very ordinary beach and chill

This sort of boat trip makes you feel that you want to take a friend along too.

Christchurch NZ

The first time I visited Christchurch in New Zealand circa 1998 I thought it was from a bygone era. In 2010 it felt the same










Is this a phone box????

I love the houses and.......




.....these great art deco buildings














And..... if you cannot afford Venice Italy or Cambridge UK you can be punted