Nice and Surrounds

 Our travelers spent a few days in Nice.

They took a trip to Monarco to see Monte Carloand visit Eze overlooking the Mediterranean

From Nice, the next stop was Venice where they arrived after an evening flight.

In Search of the Small

 Lachlan gave Lisa a microscope for Christmas and now he is developing his own microscopy skills.  He was able to produce these photos with a new camera adapter for the microscope.

Lung tissue above and blood vessel below.

The "head" of an intestinal tapeworm that embeds it's hooks into the intestinal wall to hold position in the gut.

And a cross section of the root of a (dicotyledonous) plant.

Eye Tests Resume

We returned from our adventures in Kiama and the first agenda item was to have my eye checked.  It had been about 6 weeks since the last check and apparently the graft was perfect although there is unlikely to be any great improvement in vision.  So the next check will be scheduled 2 months hence.

The good thing about the Eye and Ear Hospital is that it is so easily accessed by public transport and it is in one of the more picturesque parts of the city.

Carcassonne

 Probably the only thing better than Paris in the snow would be a visit to a massive medieval castle such as the one at Carcassonne that was next on the agenda for Adam and Kate and family.

It is mind blowing to think about the amount of work required to build these massive structures with very little in the way of mechanical aid.  Contemplating the planning, foresight and effort required is best undertaken with the assistance of French Pastries.

Paris in the Snow

 Kate, Adam, Pat and Sophie arrived in a snowy Paris from Pompeii.  It looks like they landed in a fairytale.

When in Paris, a visit to The Louvre is mandatory.  Adam could barely contain his excitement at seeing the Mona Lisa.

The visit to Versailles was just as spectacular.

Lake House Near The Fire Zone

 Lisa and Mark had been spending time after Christmas working on the Lake House that now has a fully operational kitchen and painting is now underway.

Mark was still at the block when the horrific fires swept through Ruffy, Longwood and Euroa area closing the Melba and Maroondah Highways.  Luckily the Lake House was not in the danger zone but the smoke was evident across most of Victoria.

Heading For Home

 For our last night in Kiama we dined at the Leagues Club that put on a surprisingly good meal. (The only redeeming feature of poker machines!)

The following day we relaxed in Sydney then back to Melbourne on the XPT train.

Albion Park Air Museum

 Kiama turned out to be only a short train journey from the Albion Park Air Museum.  While this proved to be exciting to the gentlemen travelers, the prospect of a visit was not met with universal joy.So the gentlemen traveled alone.

The Museum operates on a working airfield and is run by hundreds of volunteers of all skill levels.  The emphasis is on the restoration of old planes with every attempt made to bring them back to airworthy condition.  So many of the exhibits such as those above are flown on a regular basis.  The Boeing 747 was flown into the airport as its final flight but is no longer airworthy.

Unlike the 747, this Super Constellation (owned by John Travolta) makes regular flights around the area to keep the radial engines in good condition.

In the 1950s a one way flight from Australia to London in the plane cost the equivalent of 2 years average salary - and you would not be permitted to fly if you were not dressed appropriately (suit and tie etc)

Berry Bound

 Kiama has an abundance of cafes and eateries providing whatever you like.  Our favourite was the "Hungry Monkey" where we had breakfast on a few mornings.  This cafe and the adjoining shops were once a series of miners cottages built in the 1880s repurposed into shops and food outlets.

A leisurely breakfast left plenty of time to wander back to the station for the train to Berry where we spent the day.

Berry is a small but vibrant town some distance in from the coast.  We came without expectations but so did everyone else. The place was heaving (as the English say).

Luckily we had been early to book lunch in one of the many cafes as plenty were being turned away.

Of course, every meal is made complete with ice-cream.