Italian road trip in march 2000 commenced after a few days in Florence & San Gimignano with my beautiful Italian friend Barbara Manelli, I left with 2 American friends Paul & Dan on a road trip south through Naples, the Amalfi coast & all the way to Reggio at the toe of the boot.
Spanish Steps in Rome
That’s Paul in the middle & Dan aka Scooter Boy on the right. Can’t remember the name of the guy on the left.
Here we are in Naples
The locals are playing a game on the beach.
Naples harbour
Dan & I checking out the boats.
More boats in Naples.
Getting the boat ready for some fishing.
Next stop Pompeii
Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Fairly gruesome
I guess they never really stood a chance.
Farewell to the streets of Pompeii
One of the most interesting places I have ever visited.
Sorrento
David, Paul & Dan.
The gorge
The gorge down to Marina Piccola from PiazzaTasso.
Next stop the Isle of Capri
Took a bus trip around the island, had lunch & checked out the Blue Grotto.
Capri
A narrow Capri street.
Capri was very interesting indeed.
Our guide to the Blue Grotto
It was nice without blowing your socks off. 🙂
Positano
The jewel in the crown on the Amalfi coast.
Fruit anyone?
The jewel in the crown on the Amalfi coast. Happy guy with lots of fresh fruit.
Lunch in Positano
A very quaint village clinging onto the side of a mountain, lots of stairs to climb.
Margarita Island Venezuela & Caracas in 2001, digital cameras were very ordinary in those days so my apologies for the poor quality of the photos. 2001 was another frantic year for travel, two trips to Thailand & around the world via Spain, Venezuela & Los Angeles.
Caracas
I wasn’t too impressed with Caracas, after a couple of days there I headed for Margarita Island. Above is the view from my hotel of the city & the surrounding mountains.
One of the best steaks I have ever eaten.
It was Argentinian beef & I went back another night for a repeat. I was travelling with Les Scheffer back when we were good friends, it’s now 2020 & I have been on his blacklist for the last 5 or 6 years. 🙂
I’m sorry to sat Les passed away in March 2020, RIP.
I had arranged to meet a couple of ladies
Through an internet dating site, they were very nice & a lot of fun.
Margarita Island
Margarita Island is part of Venezuela, & lies in the Caribbean Sea 40 kilometers north of the mainland. It’s a very popular holiday destination.
View from our hotel
Porlamar is the favored haunt of holidaying Venezuelans and is full of glitzy shops, huge hotels and beach bars.
We hired a car to check out the island
Most people live, or stay, on the eastern peninsula, home to the cities of Pampatar, Porlamar and La Asuncion.
Coober Pedy Opal Mine, nowhere else in the world have I seen colours similar to outback Australia. Red earth, blackened trees and a beautiful blue sky.
I took three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & travelled from the Gold Coastin Queensland, through Broken Hill NSW to Cooper Pedy on the first leg of our journey on the way to Uluru aka Ayers Rock.
Excitement
The girls started clapping wildly when they saw the kangaroo sign so you can imagine how excited they were when they saw a live one.
Here we are in Coober Pedy
You know when you are near the town when you see all the mounds of dirt & gravel.
OK, what are we waiting for?
Let’s go & check out this underground village.
My trusty Holden Commodore was our transport on our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers which was around 82 hours behind the wheel.
Mini mountains everywhere
Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 km north of Adelaide. The 2011 census showed its population was 1,695 (953 males, 742 females, including 275 indigenous Australians). The town is sometimes referred to as the “opal capital of the world” due to the quantity of precious opals that are mined there.
Men at work
This was our first indication of work happening around the mines.
Coober Pedy Opal Mine
As you can clearly see not all the people live underground.
Opal capital of the World
There are quite a few opal shops, restaurants and a variety of accommodation ranging from four star to backpackers and caravan/camping areas.
The hotel has rooms above ground and in underground caves, this relaxed hotel is a 14-minute walk from the Big Winch Lookout. For an excellent discount just book through THIS LINK.
Big Winch Lookout
The famous historic Big Winch Scenic Lookout with 360 degrees view of the town.
Is this Coober Pedy art?
To be honest with you I have no idea what it is. 🙂
On the other hand….
This may well be the brother of “Tin Man” from The Wizard of Oz. 🙂
On the subject of movies
This monster was apparently part of a movie set that has been abandoned and left here as a talking point.
Road Trip South Australia reminds me of the last frontier and the road trip I took in 2003. Three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & I travelled from the Gold Coastin Queensland, through Broken Hill NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia, a fascinating opal mining town where most of the population live in underground houses, then on to Ayers Rock and back home to the Gold Coast via Hervey Bay where we went whale watching. On our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers which was around 82 hours behind the wheel.
The above photo is at Tenterfield on the New England Highway.
This famous Australian singer son writer was born in Tenterfield. For a discounted room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Listen to Peter sing one of his famous songs about the Tenterfield sadler.
The first stage
Across NSW to South Australia.
Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia
Our first day on the road, we will overnight in Broken Hill.
Trades Hall in Broken Hill.
The Trades Hall is Broken Hill’s most historically important building.
Broken Hill in outback NSW.
Broken Hill over 1,100 km (680 mi) west of Sydney and surrounded by semi-desert.
For a very good discount on a Broken Hill hotel just book through THIS LINK.
Typical outback building
In the 19th and early 20th century Broken Hill was home to a community of Afghans. Afghans worked as camel drivers in parts of outback Australia, and they made a significant contribution to economic growth when transport options were limited. The camel drivers formed the first sizeable Muslim communities in Australia, and in Broken Hill they left their mark in the form of the first mosque in NSW (1891).
Wilmington South Australia
Wilmington is a farming community, known for sheep, wheat and barley, but more recently for the planting of olive groves.
Road Trip South Australia, the general store
Wilmington is 305 kilometres north of the state capital, Adelaide.
This was at Byron Bay near the start of our journey.
Such lovely young girls, Noriko Megumi & Yukako. Thanks for visiting my Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia photo blog. Next stop is Coober Pedy.
Santa Monica Rodeo Drive Los Angeles were regular stop off points for me between 1998 & 2005 on my way to Rio di Janeiro. My inspiration to pull out these old (poor quality early digital) photos came from watching Billy Bob Thornton in the series Goliath, which of course was shot in Santa Monica.
My great friend Denise McKay
Denise was the main reason to stop in L.A., we met when she was living on the Gold Coast & continued our friendship for a number of years after she moved back to the U.S.A.
Venice Beach
Sadly this mural is not there anymore however the photo remains a favourite of mine.
Denise dressed to blend in with the wall. 🙂
She is one of those ladies who always looks terrific,
Lunch at Fisherman’s wharf Marina Del Ray
We had the restaurant to ourselves. 🙂
At least it will wash of in a week or so.
The only tattoos I like are the ones that wash off. 🙂
Rodeo Drive
I can’t remember where I parked my car.
Oh! here is is. 🙂
Yellow matches my Mercedes Sports at home. 🙂
Wiltshire Boulevard
Classy neighborhood & classy lady. 🙂
Back to Santa Monica
Outside the New York Deli which was one of my favourite places to eat, sadly I believe it closed in 2010.
Santa Monica Rodeo Drive Los Angeles featuring the Central Garden at the Getty Center
There were more than 500 varieties of plants used in the landscaping of the Central Garden.
Patrezia from Salerno
We hooked up with this crazy Italian lady from Salerno, she was a lot ot fun. 🙂
Denise & Petrezia
We had a bit to talk about as it was only a year ago when I was in Salerno.
Santa Monica Rodeo Drive
Had a great time with Denise in Santa Monica now it was time to head to Rio di Janeiro for Carnival. Thanks for visiting my Santa Monica Rodeo Drive photo blog.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposite the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
Contemplating life beyond 2000 after just completing a huge around the world trip with Tony Murphy & John Martin aka Pothole. The fabulous trip began in November 1999 in Los Angeles then on to Miami, Mexico City, Bolivia, San Paulo, Rio di Janeiro, Salavador, Paris, Bangkok & finishing in Koh Samui.
Consequently I really expected 2000 to be a bit of a let down, after all how do you recover after a two month trip like that one?
The photo above was in Sydney for Pothole’s 50th birthday on February 1st. That’s our good mate Paul Slaughter with the glasses & the lovely Kathy who was Pothole’s girlfriend at the time. He was punching way above his weight as you can clearly see. 🙂
Sadly I was as well.
Punching above my weight also with an Italian princess I met & fell for in Koh Samui.
What a smile
Her name was Barbara Manelli, however to me she will always be “Gypsy”.
Consequently in March I headed to Florence to see if there was any future pursuing this gorgeous creature. I soon found out that a brief tropical island fling was soon forgotten back in Italy. 🙂
Italy to Australia via Bangkok
I figured there was only one way to fix a broken heart & that was a week in Bangkok on the way home. 🙂
The usual suspects, John Moon, Jim Bell aka “HO HO”, & John “Secrets” Sinclair.
John Sinclair aka Secrets at Main Beach.
Here is John with one of the gorgeous Main Beach waitresses.
The dreaded black list.
Over the years Secrets has always had a black list of people who have been guilty of some indiscretion of which he has not approved of. I have been on & off the list a few times over the years, now in February 2017 I am, with quite a few others, most certainly firmly back on the list. Consequently to commemorate this honour I designed a T shirt & Pothole has arranged to have them printed. 🙂
Owned & run by Paul Allen a larger than life Gold Coast character, passed away far to young in 1013.
Celebrated my birthday at the Boardroom in Southport.
Always a few sexy girls at the Boardroom which was owned & run by Malcolm Pearce.
Always a lot of fun
As you can clearly see I was being totally dominated here. 🙂
Skye from Launceston
What a knockout, here we are having lunch at Melbas.
Let’s go back to Italy
A flashback to March when my pursuit of the beautiful Gypsy crashed & burned. No that’s not really true, after Samui it never really got off the ground. 🙂
San Gimignano
We did all the tourist things then I headed south to Rome to hook up with my friend Paul McNeil & Scooter Boy.
The Spanish Steps in Rome
I hired a car & the 3 of us had a great road trip through Naples, Sorrento, Positano all the way down to Reggio in Southern Italy, the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria.
Artist at work in Positano.
We covered a lot of territory including Isle of Capri, this quickly became my favourite part of Italy until 2010 when I discovered the Cinque Terre. 🙂
Xmas lunch
Tradition dictated we would gather at Melbas each year for a Xmas lunch, here we have Jim “Ho Ho” Bell, John “Secrets” Sinclair, David Herd & Tony Murphy.
Best ever Melbas barmaid
Her name is Aurora & we all fell in love with her. 🙂
Family & friends come to visit
My brother Warren & his wife Kerry with my cute little niece Laura. On the left is Chris Lockwood & his partner in happier times.
My best friend Ziggy
We had lots of fun together, plus he was an excellent guard dog.
At the end of the day 2000 certainly was another good year.
From the top left is Malvina from Paris, Rush from Thailand, & Kerry & Simone from Australia.
Thanks for visiting my Contemplating life beyond 2000 photo blog.
World’s 30 tallest Skyscrapers I borrowed from MMK at Architecture & Design which is an online magazine. I would like to thank him for compiling this wonderful list with such great photos.
Number one above is located in Dubai, UAE Height: 828 m; 2,717 ft
These pictures were taken by German photographer Bjoern Lauen.
Shanghai Tower 02. (under construction)
Located in Shanghai, China Height: 632 m; 2,073 ft
Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel 03.
Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia Height: 601 m; 1,971 ft
One World Trade Center 04. World’s 30 tallest Skyscrapers.
Located in Downtown New York City, USA Height: 541.3 m; 1,776 ft
Taipei 101 05. World’s 30 tallest Skyscrapers.
Located in Taipei,Taiwan Height: 509 m 1,670 ft
Shanghai World Financial Center 06. (left one)
Located in Shanghai, China Height: 492 m 1,614 ft
International Commerce Centre 07.
Located in Hong Kong,Hong Kong Height: 484 m 1,588 ft
Petronas Tower 1 & 2 08.
Located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Height: 452 m 1,483 ft
Zifeng Tower 09.
Located in Nanjing, China Height: 450 m 1,476 ft
Willis Tower 10. (Formerly Sears Tower)
Located in Chicago, USA Height: 442 m 1,450 ft
Kingkey 100 11.
Located in Shenzhen, China Height: 442 m 1,449 ft
Guangzhou International Finance Center 12.
Located in Guangzhou, China Height: 440 m 1,440 ft
Trump International Hotel and Tower 13.
Located in Chicago, USA Height: 423 m 1,389 ft
Jin Mao Tower 14. (in front)
Located in Shanghai, China Height: 421 m 1,380 ft
Princess Tower 15. (the tallest one)
Located in Dubai, UAE Height: 414 m 1,358 ft
Al Hamra Firdous Tower 16.
Located in Kuwait City, Kuwait Height: 413 m 1,354 ft
2 International Finance Centre 17.
Located in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Height: 412 m 1,352 ft
23 Marina 18. (tallest one)
Located in Dubai, UAE Height: 395 m 1,296 ft
CITIC Plaza 19.
Located in Guangzhou, China Height: 391 m 1,283 ft
Shun Hing Square 20.
Located in Shenzhen, China Height: 384 m 1,260 ft
Central Market Project 21. (under construction)
Located in Abu Dhabi, UAE Height: 381 m 1,251 ft
Empire State Building 22.
Located in New York City, USA Height: 381 m 1,250 ft
Elite Residence 23.
Located in Dubai, UAE Height: 380.5 m 1,247 ft
Tuntex Sky Tower 24.
Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan Height: 378 m 1,240 ft
Central Plaza 25.
Located in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Height: 374 m 1,227 ft
Bank of China Tower 26.
Located in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Height: 367 m 1,205 ft
Bank of America Tower (NY) 27.
Located in New York City, USA Height: 366 m 1,200 ft (only 1 meter shorter than Bank of China Tower)
Almas Tower 28.
Located in Dubai, UAE Height: 363 m 1,191 ft
The Pinnacle 29.
Located in Guangzhou, China Height: 360 m 1,181 ft
SEG Plaza 30.
Located in Shenzhen, China Height: 356 m 1,168 ft
Once again I would like to thank and acknowledge MMK at Architecture & Design which is an online magazine. Many thanks for compiling this wonderful list with such great photos and allowing me to borrow them for my World’s 30 tallest Skyscrapers photo blog.
Please check out some of the most popular below, and thank you for visiting.
Travel tips fabulous countries feature some of my favourite places, many people may think I’m a bit of a dinosaur & perhaps I am, however I don’t know any other person who has travelled more than I during the last 30 years. Therefore I hope can provide you with a few ideas on where to go for your next holiday.
I’ll list the 5 countries in alphabetical order rather than by personal preference.
Australia
The home of my birth and a country that offers a huge diversification of incredible travel destinations. Most people find it difficult to grasp the size of this great country, don’t make the mistake of trying to cover too much in 3 or 4 weeks, better to come back another time.
Sydney is the most spectacular city but don’t forget Perth and Adelaide both wonderful cities also. Then of course there is the Gold Coast in Queensland with it’s wonderful weather and beautiful beaches.
For a good budget hotel in Sydney just book through this link. Broadbeach is the best place to stay on the Gold Coast, here is a very good value apartment block in a perfect location.
I drove from Adelaide to Melbourne along the Great Ocean roadAustralia in October 2014, I had driven this road once before in 1988.
Brazil Travel tips one of the five fabulous countries
Bigger and more diverse than Australia I have enjoyed 8 visits to the wonderful country. Rio de Janeiro is fabulous however there is so much more to see. Apart from Rio my favourite places are Praia de Pipa, Paraty, Iguazu Falls& Florianoplis.
Since 2004, the blocos have exploded and now there are now nearly 300 blocos with over 40 new ones appearing for the 2007 Carnaval. The first blocos started only a little over ten years ago. This is the heart of the “Street Carnival” which includes the greater likelihood of locals playing percussion instruments with their friends at their favorite hangout as well as the Bandstands and the many Parades of downtown’s Rio Branco Avenue. These events are inclusive and practice for the musicians begins months before the Carnaval and the parades do not end until Sunday of the following weekend.
Croatia is a must for travellers here are Travel tips fabulous countries
It was March 2005 before I finally made it to this fascinating country, the photo above is the coastal city of Split. I travelled by bus between the major cities to see more of the actual country. I had a terrific 2 bedroom apartment in a great location for only $50 per night, book through this link.
Next door is Bosnia so make sure you also visit the wonderful city of Mostar.
In Zagreb I stayed at the excellent hotel Dubrovnik overlooking the Main Square you see above, it was a perfect location with good wifi. Marc van Bloemen owner of Karmen apartmentsin Dubrovnik was the perfect host, he a friendly Englishman who will point you in the right direction for restaurants, tours & places of interests, he also has a great knowledge of Dubrovniks history.
United Kingdom
So many places to see & so much history. I travel there most years making London my base, then visit cities & towns all over the country either by train or car. Apart from London some of my favourite places are Brighton, Bath,Glasgow & Bradford on Avon.The photo above is Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset.
Travel tips. Great Britain has an excellent rail service, save up to 80% by booking your ticket before you arrive, just click here. London Underground’s Piccadilly Line provides the most cost-effective rail route between Heathrow Airport and the capital, so look for accommodation around Earl’s Court, Gloucester Rd or Knightsbridge. For more information click here.
France
Where do you start Paris or Monte Carlo, the choices are endless in this wonderful country. One of my favourite holidays was based in Breil Sur Roya a small village in the mountains near the Italian border just north ofMenton. From here I was able to explore many medieval French & Italian villages as well as the fabulous French Riviera. The Roya river runs through town and is open to trout anglers from March to September. Part of the trout run is reserved for fly-fishing. Trout anglers share the river with white water rafters, another popular local sport.
Chateau de Versailles Paris is a fabulous destination which made my bucket list as soon as I saw the Woody Allen movie “Midnight in Paris”. When the Château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital.
Italy
My favourite European Country by a long shot. The food, the wine, the crazy drivers who park anywhere, there is so much to see & do it’s hard to know where to start. Rome, Florence, Venice there are so many great cities, however if I had to pick two favourites they would be Sam Gimignano and the Cinque Terre.
Travel tip, take a wonderful one hour walk fromSanta Margherita. The homes are truly magnificent, prepare yourself for a great experience when you arrive at the beautiful waterfront village of Portofino. The buildings, the boats, the restaurants, it’s all there. Just make sure you have your credit card and a wallet full of Euros. For the budget minded like myself it makes more sense to stay at Santa Margherita and visit Portofino on foot or by ferry. The Lido Palace is on the beach if you want to go upmarket, my hotel was one block back and reasonable priced, with free car parking, The Mediterraneo.
Thanks for visiting my Travel tips fabulous countries photo blog.
This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposite the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.
Marble Mountain Vietnam where the statues are hand carved by certified and regulated stone mason artists. These artist begin a lifelong apprenticeship from a very young age and spend their life learning the trade.
Huge statue
Mined from the famous Marble Mountain, in Vietnam, the premium marble offers quality and colours that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Plus the skill of the Vietnamese ensures a wonderful product.
Many beautiful statues
I had to stop myself from sending a whole container home. TripAdvisor rate Marble Mountain 2nd out of 97 things to do in Danang.
Marble Mountain Vietnam
The stone carving village of Dong Hai, located next to the Marble Mountains in Vietnam is famous for traditional stone engraving and stone-cutting craft.
A Vietnamese Venus de Milo
The statues here are rather extraordinary, all shapes and sizes.
Bangkok to Danang
There are about seven low cost flights per week from Bangkok to Danang, it only takes around 90 minutes.
Tiger on the prowl
This guy is a rather mean looking beast. It reminds me of a funny story of my brush with a tiger in Chiang Mai, check out THIS LINK for the full story.
Beautiful China Beach Vietnam is in Da Nang, a port city along the coast of the South China Sea. While there is not a great deal in the city in terms of restaurants and bars at the moment, Da Nang has been targeted for massive investment by both the government and private companies alike, and is tipped to be a major destination for both tourism and commerce.
Beach Vendors
Although I was last there in 2003 I’m sure nothing has changed with the persistent beach vendors. They do not like taking no for an answer and there is really no escape from them.
Everything is for sale
John Martin aka Pothole examining the merchandise.
Two Americans
We met two nice Americans on the beach and had lunch together washed down with some cold beers. Notice my Lee Child novel close by. 🙂
For a great hotel rate just book through THIS LINK.
Shelter from the sun.
In more recent history, Danang is best-known for its role in the American Vietnam War. The Danang Airbase was a major American airbase, used both by the Americans and the South Vietnamese. Nearby China Beach, named after its beautiful china-white sand, was home to the 510th Evacuation Hospital, where wounded American soldiers would come to recover. China Beach itself was an American in-country R&R spot, nicknamed the “Five and Dime”. The Vietcong, meanwhile, had their own hospital surprisingly close by in the caves of the Marble Mountains.
Beautiful Vietnamese face
My travelling partner John Martin aka “Pothole” was a bit of a lunatic, he is an excellent reason for travelling alone. 🙂
I forget what the young girl was selling however I just had to capture that beautiful face.
Marble Mountain
If you find yourself travelling from Da nang to Hoi An make sure you visit Marble Mountain.
China Beach Vietnam
China Beach Vietnam is a great place to relax however I would suggest you stay at Hoi An which is only 45 minutes away by taxi.
Beautiful China Beach Vietnam
Who needs people when you have beautiful white sand & a bright blue ocean. 🙂
David Herd at China beach.
Thanks for visiting my Beautiful China Beach Vietnam travel page, one of my favorite places in Vietnam, however the image that sticks in my mind most of all are the beautiful faces of the people and their children in this amazing country. Have a look at some of my other Vietnam posts.
For a great hotel rate in China Beach just book through THIS LINK.
That’s Paul in the middle & Dan aka Scooter Boy on the right. Can’t remember the name of the guy on the left.
The locals are playing a game on the beach.
Dan & I checking out the boats.
The gorge down to Marina Piccola from PiazzaTasso.
Capri was very interesting indeed.
The jewel in the crown on the Amalfi coast.
A very quaint village clinging onto the side of a mountain, lots of stairs to climb.
My favourite shot from Positano.
Credit to Sara Tononi Verlengieri for this delightful photo.
