Welcome to our travel blog. We are Tabitha and Nic. In 2011 we 'retired' in our early 40s and set off to travel the world. We spent our first year in South America and have been lucky enough to make two trips to Antarctica.

Our blog is a record of our travels, thoughts and experiences. It is not a guide book, but we do include some tips and information, so we hope that you may find it useful if you are planning to visit somewhere we have been. Or you may just find it interesting as a bit of armchair travel.



Thursday, June 30, 2016

Montreal - chilling out with food, drink, music and art (Throwback post)

Montreal
Our last stop in Canada was Montreal. We had been here once before, on a regular holiday back in 2009, when we had a five days each here and Toronto, and included a visit to Niagara Falls. So coming back here wasn't so much about sightseeing, as about winding down from travel in preparation for being back in the UK. We knew from last time that Montreal was a great city for chilling out, so that was our plan for our short stay here.
Montreal

Having found an excellent Airbnb, right in the heart of Plateau Mont-Royal, which we liked so much last time, we had the perfect base for our time here. This area is beautiful to walk around, has lots of lovely and individual shops, and is filled with excellent places to eat, drink, and see live music.

We took full advantage of that, and saw quite a few bands, including a couple that we thought were very good - check out Spirit Animal and Foreign Diplomats if you get the chance sometime.

Montreal
On a Sunday morning stroll around the nearby Mont Royal park, we discovered the Tam tams event. Musicians come along, and there is a great communal drumming session, which anyone can join in with, and makes for a fun time.

We took a wander around the old town area along the waterfront, with the old port and the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall). This area is interesting to have a look around, but is of course very touristy, so we tended not to bother with it too much.
Montreal

Unusually, for us, we even succumbed to seeing a bit of art. In fairness, the main exhibition we went to was the Chihuly glass one at the Museum of Fine Arts, our second of the year, having seen it in St Petersburg in Florida too. There was another exhibition as well, which had some interesting pieces, like a huge globe that reflected the issue of climate change.

Montreal
There are quite a few interesting sculptures nearby too, and when we were there, an installation called TOM II by Claude Cormier, which was a series of bits of red, green and white plastic, which were intended to represent a field of poppies.

Unfortunately, I have somehow lost most of my photos from Montreal; if I manage to retrieve them, I will add them later, but for now, we'll have to do without.







Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Lismore - well if it's good enough for The Queen ....

Lismore
Whilst in Byron Bay, we decided to take a day trip out to Lismore. It's only about 30 miles away, and was a pleasant bus journey through countryside that probably included some of local agriculture like coffee and macadamia nuts.

On arrival, we had a good lunch at an excellent café next to the bus station, before braving the heat to go and look for koalas. We had read that a good place to find them is up at the Robinson's Lookout, so we walked up to that area to check it out.

Koala, Lismore
We felt a little strange walking along a street of houses, peering into the trees. We caught the attention of a dog in one of the gardens, but thankfully it wasn't too concerned. One of the residents stopped to speak to us as she went past, and said that she often sees a mother and her youngish cub in the trees along the road.

And sure enough, we soon spotted one, nestling up in the branches. it was the only one we found, but we were quite pleased to have seen one up here.

Gollan Hotel, Lismore
There isn't a great deal in Byron Bay. We had a look around the market and shops, and walked along past the Gollan Hotel, which still has a display in its window from when The Queen and Prince Phillip spent a night here, as part of their tour, back in 1954.

It seems they were lucky they left when they did, as heavy rains started as they departed, resulting in huge floods in the town.




Kookaburra, Lismore
Our bus didn't leave until the evening, so we had planned to have something to eat first, in that gap between the shops closing and the bus going. Which was a fine plan, until we discovered that nowhere opened during that time. We tried various places, to find they were just closing, and asked for suggestions of somewhere that might be open. We eventually got directed to an Italian place that they said usually opened earlier than most, and it was just opening as we arrived.

I can't say that Lismore is a place I would be rushing back to - though Nic will forever have happy memories of his lunch at Palate at the Gallery.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Manito Ahbee - Aboriginal Day Competition Pow Wow (Throwback post)

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
One thing that happened to be going on while we were in Winnipeg was the Manito Ahbee. We hadn't been aware of it before, but on hearing about it, decided it would be an excellent thing to go along to. And one of our housesit neighbours kindly offered to look after Jess for the day, so that we were free to go.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee is an Aboriginal event that happens over a number of days; the day we were interested in was the Competition Pow Wow. Some pow wows are private events, but this one allows public entry with an inexpensive ticket. When we arrived, we were surprised how few visitors were there.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
A pow wow is a social gathering, that will normally involve drumming, singing and dancing. This competition pow wow has Aboriginal groups from across North America, coming to compete. Not that the prizes are big - they only receive prizes of between $50-400 per category.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
They start off with the Grand Entry, led by the Eagle Staff, and this is a pretty impressive parade all by itself. They also have a Miss Manito Ahbee, who is a kind of thinking person's pageant queen; she does a lot of the same things that your typical Miss 'X' might do, suvh as openings etc, but she is also expected to undertake more meaningful tasks that represent the Aboriginal culture and history.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
There are different dance categories for men and women. The women do tradition, jingle (named for the bits on their skirts that jingle when they move), and fancy shawl dances. The men do the traditional, grass and prairie chicken or fancy bustle dances.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
All of the dances have their own regalia - they aren't called costumes - which fit the style and meaning of the dance. There isn't much in the way of information available, so it is helpful to have looked up a bit about it before you go, but even if you know nothing about it at all, it is fascinating to watch.

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
The really nice thing about this event, is that it is run by teh Aboriginal people, for the Aboriginal people. None of this is a show put on for anyone else, they just allow us to watch. It is generally quite low key, and it seemed to me that it can be a bit chaotic and haphazard at times, but that just added to the authenticity of the event.



Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg



Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg

Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg
Manito Ahbee, Winnipeg


Sunday, June 26, 2016

Byron Bay

Byron Bay
From Brisbane, we carried on down the coast, to Byron Bay. We had met a couple of people from here on our South America trip, but unfortunately bad timing saw them being in the UK while we were here.

Byron Bay is generally thought of as a hippy town in a beautiful setting. The location certainly is pretty, but there's nothing very alternative about it now. There are a few indicators about its past, such as quite a few craft business that likely started out as hobbies, and a bit more vegetarian food than normal - including an excellent falafel place called Orgasmic, though I'm not sure they're quite that good!

Byron Bay

Byron Bay
We had the impression that people did come here as part of a new lifestyle, and quite possibly some of them never left. Certainly we saw a few groups of homeless people around, at least one of whom only had a hole where his nose used to be.

Some of Byron Bay may feel a little like it is resting back on its reputation in some areas, but in others it is a vibrant and interesting place.

Kookaburra, Byron Bay
As in much of the East Coast of Australia, the beach and surfing here is a major draw, but that wasn't of interest to us. We did however take a walk along the Cape Byron Conservation Park to the lighthouse, and the most easterly point in Australia.

Byron Bay
The walk was nice, although a little too much of it was set back from the coastline, so didn't have much in the way of views. We did spot a kookaburra in the woods, and as we got near to the lighthouse, we saw a wallaby.


Byron Bay
We also spotted something out in the water - it was a bit too far out for us to identify it, but as there only seemed to be the one there, it was presumably a whale, not a dolphin. There was a group of kayakers not too far away, but I don't know whether they managed to intercept it.







Wallaby, Byron Bay
Byron Bay



Byron Bay
Byron Bay