Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Learning 20: The 23 Things
As explained in my first post, I have just returned from 7 weeks of non work related activities and it is taking me just a little time to get my mind around this Learning Program. I much prefer a one on one situation with someone beside me to explain instructions and show me the error of my ways when I make a mistake. I am also finding that 15 minutes is stretching into an hour as I bumble my way through instructions. Maybe my age is starting to show and I am really not that 'tech savvy'. As yet I have seen no "pop-up" appear so obviously I am doing something very wrong or missing out on a step somewhere along the line.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Vacation
Well, I have just returned from seven wonderful weeks travelling through parts of Europe with my partner and I am now having difficulty in getting my mind round the mystic of the '23 Things'.
My brain is still full of places visited, new friends and amazing images. During our time abroad, we visited Croatia with its breathtaking coastline only to be shocked by the reality of war as we travelled through towns like Mostar and Sarejevo in Bosnia with its sobering hillsides of graves. This part of the world is full of contrasts thank God and our spirits were once again lifted during our visit to the Plitvicka National Park with its 14 lakes and numerous waterfalls.
On this part of our trip, we were also reminded that the world is indeed a small place when we discovered that one of our fellow travellers had been a friend and co-worker of Prabitha - one of our own Library Staff back home.
Next stop was Barcelona and one of our favourite cities. We were fortunate enough, even though quite ill, to experience this vibrant place during Festival and our Hotel in the Ciutat district was right in the centre of it all. Streets were closed with stalls, fireworks, music and parades over the four days we spent there and, in spite of our bad health and the fact we were robbed of 150 Euros, we loved it all and have vowed to return.
At Barcelona we boarded the Emerald Princess for a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise - a great way
to recoup one's health - sailing along the coasts of Italy and Greece to Istanbul, Kusadisis, back to Athens and finally disembarking in Venice where we revisited some of our favourite spots and enjoyed more than one delicious Gelati.
Then it was back to Rome for our trip south to Sorrento, Capri and the spectacular Almafi Coast, before crossing on the Ferry to spend 6 days on the Island of Sicily (home of the Godfather). Sicily left both John and I with very mixed feelings. We loved Taormina on the east coast with its beautifully preserved Greek Ampitheatre, the hillside township of Castelmola, and enjoyed our stays in Syracuse and Agrigento but found Palermo very dirty and noisy and were quite happy to leave the Island behind.
Our last stop before returning home was London which gave us time to wind down, visit places we still hadn't managed to see on our previous trip and catch up with family and friends, and had a lovely night over dinner and a few glasses of wine with Jane Alexander and Ron.
It is difficult to retell all of our experiences in a few lines, but we bring back many wonderful memories and experiences. We climbed two Volcanoes - Mt Vesuvius, shouting our names into its huge crater, and Mt Etna with its cold and windy landscape; we visited the ruins of Pompeii and Herculanium, Delphi and Ephesus. In Istanbul we saw the Blue Mosque, St Sophia's and the Harem in the Topkapi Palace.
Unfortunately, it is back to reality and I now have to get my mind around the Wonders of the '23 Things'.
My brain is still full of places visited, new friends and amazing images. During our time abroad, we visited Croatia with its breathtaking coastline only to be shocked by the reality of war as we travelled through towns like Mostar and Sarejevo in Bosnia with its sobering hillsides of graves. This part of the world is full of contrasts thank God and our spirits were once again lifted during our visit to the Plitvicka National Park with its 14 lakes and numerous waterfalls.
On this part of our trip, we were also reminded that the world is indeed a small place when we discovered that one of our fellow travellers had been a friend and co-worker of Prabitha - one of our own Library Staff back home.
Next stop was Barcelona and one of our favourite cities. We were fortunate enough, even though quite ill, to experience this vibrant place during Festival and our Hotel in the Ciutat district was right in the centre of it all. Streets were closed with stalls, fireworks, music and parades over the four days we spent there and, in spite of our bad health and the fact we were robbed of 150 Euros, we loved it all and have vowed to return.
At Barcelona we boarded the Emerald Princess for a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise - a great way
to recoup one's health - sailing along the coasts of Italy and Greece to Istanbul, Kusadisis, back to Athens and finally disembarking in Venice where we revisited some of our favourite spots and enjoyed more than one delicious Gelati.
Then it was back to Rome for our trip south to Sorrento, Capri and the spectacular Almafi Coast, before crossing on the Ferry to spend 6 days on the Island of Sicily (home of the Godfather). Sicily left both John and I with very mixed feelings. We loved Taormina on the east coast with its beautifully preserved Greek Ampitheatre, the hillside township of Castelmola, and enjoyed our stays in Syracuse and Agrigento but found Palermo very dirty and noisy and were quite happy to leave the Island behind.
Our last stop before returning home was London which gave us time to wind down, visit places we still hadn't managed to see on our previous trip and catch up with family and friends, and had a lovely night over dinner and a few glasses of wine with Jane Alexander and Ron.
It is difficult to retell all of our experiences in a few lines, but we bring back many wonderful memories and experiences. We climbed two Volcanoes - Mt Vesuvius, shouting our names into its huge crater, and Mt Etna with its cold and windy landscape; we visited the ruins of Pompeii and Herculanium, Delphi and Ephesus. In Istanbul we saw the Blue Mosque, St Sophia's and the Harem in the Topkapi Palace.
Unfortunately, it is back to reality and I now have to get my mind around the Wonders of the '23 Things'.
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