Author archive
23 July 2024
Above: You could say these four men are having a good time in bed. Samarkand to border Today, I start my 2400 km overland adventure from Samarkand in Uzbekistan to Hotan in Xinjiang, China. Today’s portion is a relatively solo border crossing from Samarkand to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. After a good breakfast at 0900, I took […]
22 July 2024
Bibi Khanym The Jahogir put on an amazing breakfast this morning of hot items, lots of fruit and cakes/sweets. I don’t understand how the fruit here tastes so good compared to New Zealand. The nectarines and cantaloupe were dripping and super sweet. I walked to the Bibi Khanym mosque taking shade whenever it was possible […]
21 July 2024
Flying to Samarkand I was seated immediately after the exit rows on the A321 (version with only two window exits and four doors, no extra doors). I had received an email notifying that my original assigned seat was no longer available due to operational reasons (perhaps an aircraft configuration change). It turned out to be […]
20 July 2024
Despite the 1h time difference from Paris, I woke up earlyish around 0730 but lay in bed for an extra hour. Today is a big online catch-up day after about a week of not turning my laptop on. I caught up on lots of tasks online and paid for a hotel breakfast at reception only […]
19 July 2024
Train to Paris Today, it’s a long day travelling from Cherbourg to Istanbul. It started with an alarm at 0450 for the 0549 train from Cherbourg station which got me to Paris St Lazare around 0900. I thought the best way to Charles de Gaulle airport would be on the Roissybus and E had concurred, […]
18 July 2024
Above: A pretty spot in the residential area of Valognes. As sightseeing in the region had been gotten out of the way, yesterday was spent mostly on DIY at Valognes apart from a fancy lunch at Brasserie Marcel along the way, including foie gras including foie gras served in three ways: The first was perhaps […]
16 July 2024
Above: Eight missile hatches on each side visible. Chores and DIY It was a morning of chores, starting with the laundry before calling into a great hardware superstore called Leroy Merlin on the way to Valognes for more DIY. Today I started masking the attic windows for painting. It was all good until I realised […]
15 July 2024
Chateau Balleroy E had some errands to do in the morning and we did them en route to my first stop, which was Chateau Balleroy. I got dropped off in the wet weather on the road while E went to work briefly, and walked to the ticket office located in one of the two stables. […]
14 July 2024
Above: Part of Cherbourg’s breakwater barely visible from the shore. Latin Mass Staying with E on the military base, we had a hearty breakfast on site. When I talked about “café au lait” from the machine, he commented that I spoke French with no accent. But I don’t speak French! We headed to the naval […]
13 July 2024
Above: On the train to Normandy. Luxembourg to Normandy by trains Today, I’m travelling to Normandy in France, which requires a suburban bus to the station, then a train-replacement bus to Metz Ville to connect with the high speed train to Paris Gare l’Est, getting to St Lazare station for the final normal rail service […]