Izmir Turkey and Ephesus

Our time spent sailing on the seas was generally done during the night. So on our 3rd morning, we were eating breakfast while the ship cruised into the harbour of Izmir. Once we had docked, we joined our tour guide on the quayside. Izmir is the 3rd largest city of Turkey but we drove through the city and headed off for our tour to Ephesus.
This was an amazing place to visit. The history of Ephesus is unbelievable and when one walks through this ancient city, one can imagine the people who once lived there and how huge this city must have been.
I am quoting a little of it’s background off a website I found but suggest that if you want to know more on this amazing archaeological site, one should google the information.
This enclosure for archaeological remains at Ephesus elegantly reconciles historic conservation with accessibility for visitors. The site of a succession of great ancient civilizations, Ephesus, on the south-west coast of modern Turkey, embodied a peculiarly fertile synthesis of architecture and culture. In 356BC the Greeks built the Artemesium (a colossal Ionic temple dedicated to Artemis the fertility goddess) which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. During the 2nd century BC, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the eastern Roman Empire, famous for its Artemesium, the Library of Celsus and its medical school.
Quoted from Catherine Slessor's Housing History.
Ancient Greek city of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Menderes River, in what is today West Turkey, South of Smyrna (now Izmir). One of the greatest of the Ionian cities, it became the leading seaport of the region. Its wealth was proverbial. The Greek city was near an old center of worship of a native nature goddess, who was equated with the Greek Artemis, and c.550 B.C. a large temple was built. To this Croesus, who captured the city, contributed.
From Lydian control Ephesus passed to the Persian Empire. The temple was burned down in the 4th cent. B.C., but rebuilding was begun before Alexander the Great took Ephesus in 334. The city continued to thrive during the wars of his successors, and after it passed (133) to the Romans it kept its hegemony and was the leading city of the province of Asia. The great temple of Artemis, or Artemis, called by the Romans the temple of Diana, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. From c.100 B.C. to c. A.D. 100 Ephesus was the world capital of the slave trade.
The city was sacked by the Goths in A.D. 262, and the temple was destroyed. The seat of a church council in 431, Ephesus was abandoned after the harbor silted up. Excavations (1869-74) of the ruins of the temple brought to light many artifacts. Later excavations uncovered important Roman and Byzantine remains.
Quoted from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
As we finished our tour and were walking along the harbour street (Arcadiana), they had a reality show on. We watched the Roman guards in all their glamour, wealthy Roman people in traditional dress and a sculptor busy sculpting. It made it all feel so real!!!
I have relied on google here for a lot of the above to be able to explain it but can only say that both Gerard and I thought that this was the most interesting excursion of our whole trip.
To walk through this ancient city gave us the most amazing sense of those ancient days and what a city it must have been.
Absolutely mind blowing.

Katakolon

Our next port of call was Katakolon.
Ships call at the sleepy port of Katakolon at the western edge of the Peloponnese because it's close to the archeological site of Olympia, where the ancient Olympic Games were held. Otherwise, Katakolon is pretty much a one-horse town with a big pier. Obviously it is very tourist orientated with loads of little shops selling curio type things.

Our tour today was of Olympia. Was this an eye opener for Hubby and I? To think that we were walking through one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Greece.

There is so much history to this archeological site that I advise you to google it for more information. Hubby and I buy books at all these type of places but I cannot bore you all with this. I have found the following to be quite a good summary (titbit) of what Olympia is.

The archeological site is found at the foot of Kronos hill. The Olympic Games originated here in 776 B.C., although the Sanctuary of Olympia dates to the 10th and 9th century B.C. This is also where the Olympic flame of the modern games is lit (using sunlight and a lens). This was amazing for us to see.

All the buildings at Olympia were built either for the early games or to celebrate Zeus and the other gods. Visitors today see the remains of the temples, changing rooms, gymnasia and other buildings, as well as the outdoor stadium where the competitions were held.

Competitors in the ancient games had to be Greek, born free (not slaves) and without criminal convictions. The oldest contests were foot races, but eventually the challenges grew to include warrior games, a pantathalon, wrestling and chariot races. As with the modern games, revived in 1896, the original games took place every four years. But in the ancient games all competitors were male and competed in the nude. The winner's reward was an olive oil branch and a wreath said to be from a tree planted by Hercules.

Our Floating Hotal

We would wake up every morning to find that the daily programme had been pushed under our door. This contained all the information we needed for the day. There was an overview of the City we would be docking in, some nautical information and lots more.

The food on the ship was pretty good. One could go to your designated dining area for meals or go to the upper deck where there was a buffet meal. We used this one for lunches, as it was open from 1.00pm – 4.00pm and offered a wide varieties of foods.
You could sit and eat all afternoon staring out at the most wonderful views of islands and sea.

We did however have to pay for all our drinks on board the ship. This is where our cards came in handy, as you would hand your card to the waiter and order your drinks. We were also allowed to buy drinks in duty free shops and bring them aboard.
The mini bar in the cabin was ridiculously expensive, but at least we could keep our drinks cool in there.
There was also 24 hour room service offered but with a family of five, this just was not an option.
Our dinner’s and breakfasts we took in our allocated dining room. We had a good waiter who waited on us hand and foot.
We couldn’t believe how many waiters there were. The crew were multi nationality and a lot of them were Asian. They all made a huge fuss over our little Lara.

Our rooms were cleaned up every day, beds made etc. and at night, we would get back from dinner or a show, to find our bed linen turned down and the children’s bed made up.
This was really something I got used to!! No one seems to want to do it for me here at home.

We went to two of the shows in the theatre. They put on a different one every night. The entertainment coordinator would welcome everyone in 4 different languages.
In fact, any announcement that was made on the ship was always done in 4 different languages being: Italian, French, German and English.

We had a firedrill on the 2nd day. We all had various areas in which to assemble and we all had to wear our lifejackets. After the demonstration of how to use the lifejacket, the photographers descended on us. One could go to the photo gallery and choose photos that were being taken on a daily basis. These came at quite a hefty price.

We had a gala cocktail evening where we got to meet the captain. This was a formal evening, and we all got toffed up for the occasion. We stood in a queue for ages to have a photograph taken with the captain, who was such a small unfriendly man. If he had smiled, his face would have cracked!! (A real people’s person he was!!)
We were then treated to cocktails and snacks in the one lounge. This of course took hours and was done in two sessions.

We also had a Captain’s dinner one evening, where everyone donned their fine and fancy once again. Towards the end of dinner, the entertainment co-ordinator came in and introduced us to certain staff members, the chefs and then all the waiters. Lastly, they dimmed all the lights and the waiters came out with Baked Alaska’s with sparklers all over them. We were then given some champagne to finish off our dinner and enjoy our Baked Alaska.

That was just some of the things we were offered on board this wonderful floating hotel.

First Port of Call - Bari in Southern Italy

Our first port of call was Bari which is is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia (or, in Italian, Puglia) region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. After a quick breakfast, we dashed off to meet our Tour leader for our morning tour. There was only a small group of us going and we walked out of the harbour area, to find our bus which arrived about 15 minutes later. We all climbed in and set off for the town of Alberobello. We drove through Bari which is a University city and then got onto a highway which would take us to our destination. We travelled for an hour before reaching Alberobello which is a town full of Trulli houses. Our Italian tour leader was telling us all about these houses but with my limited German, could not really understand it all. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in this quaint village. These gleaming houses (whitewashed each year) are curious, rounded structures with gray, stone, cone-shaped roofs. They are trulli, common in the province of Bari and Taranto, yet unknown in the rest of the world. The town's historical center is on a hilltop, amid the scent of almond and olive trees, and has been declared an International Human Resource by UNESCO. It is made up of a hundred trulli some 5 centuries old. The origin of their oddly-shaped, stone teepee design is unknown. Although some theories date the Trulli back 5000 years, the favorite story of their creation claims that such buildings were first constructed during the Middle Ages. At the time, anyone who built a dwelling on the King's land was heavily taxed. With this in mind, the Pugliesi cleverly devised the drywall stone Trulli solely for purposes of tax evasion. As the story goes, upon word of the taxman's arrival (perhaps by means of a smoke signal), the Trulli were rapidly dismantled and moved out of sight. After the visit was over and that gentleman successfully ducked, the homes were re-erected. Nowadays, Trulli are firmly planted and buttressed with stucco. A cone still comprises a single common area and the interiors, though charming, are spartan. With the exception of bathroom doors, the rooms are separated by colorful curtains in sharp contrast to the stark whiteness of the interior walls Mostly handmade furnishing of olive wood, quite beautiful by any standard, are representative of the work of the traditional peasant artisans of the area. The hearth remains the source of heat to this day. Luckily, Puglia is fairly warm and the cool stone Trulli provide relief from the hot summer sun. In spite of its rustic simplicity, the prices here are a bargain (Puglia as a whole is a bargain compared to most of Italy). Alberobello, the Trulli capital, is a fairy-tale city. Fanciful hex signs adorning each home add magic to the already bewitching setting. A wealth of history, art, food and vistas, rivaling anything in Italy, is found here.

On our way back to the ship, our tour guide decided that we had to see the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. So, we parked on the promenade and took a quick walk to the Basilica. A beautiful building both inside and out. After some quick photo taking etc., we were then dropped off, close to the gangway onto the ship.
We then headed off to have a late lunch.

Leaving Venice

After a great breakfast at the hotel, we packed our overnight bags back into the bus and set off for Venice. The bus driver’s managed to do a half hour detour, because they were so busy chatting to each other on their cell phones that they missed the turnoff.
We arrived in Venice at about 10.00am and unloaded the bus and trailer. We said goodbye to our driver and his wife, who were spending one night in Venice before returning to Germany.
We all then went through passport control and a customs check. It was also at this point where we were all photographed with webcams and issued with a card each. This was our “pass” on and around the ship. We were then called in batches and we had our photo taken before finally stepping onto the MSC Orchestra. Oh boy, what a ship!!.
We went off to find our cabin and acquaint ourselves with the ship. We seemed to walk for miles to our cabin and hubby was rather disappointed with our inside cabin. The kids thought it was great, as they had two bunk beds which pulled down over our double bed.
We then went and checked out the rest of the ship. It was amazing. The kids found their entertainment centre quite quickly and were keen to try it out. We walked up to the tennis court, mini golf course, inside to the disco, through numerous lounges and restaurants before finding ourselves in the reception area. We decided to ask about an upgrade in cabin. Unfortunately, nothing was available that night, but were told that we could try again the next day, as people were getting off the ship in Bari.
One of our suitcases had arrived at our cabin, so I unpacked all our things into our cupboard and bathroom. Our other suitcase just did not arrive. We asked a porter about it’s whereabouts and he suggested that we enquire at reception. This we did and they told us to wait until 5.00pm when the ship sailed. I thought how stupid, when our suitcase might be left ashore somewhere. Anyway, at about 5.45pm it was brought to our cabin.
We were all up on deck when the ship set sail from Venice at precisely 5.00pm. What a wonderful sight to see from the ship. As the ship moved away, it blew it’s horn and then the music started up and the dancing team put on quite a show. Only minutes earlier, had this team of stunning ladies come prancing past hubby and I. His eyes nearly fell out of his head, as they were all in G-strings with white fishnet stockings over them. Gerard has an absolute passion for G-strings!!!!!
The photographic team was out in full force taking photos of all and sundry. There were people on every deck, hanging over the side to take photos of Venice as we slowly made our way out of the harbour area and into the sea.
Just a few facts about the ship.
It was built in 2007 – started sailing in April 2007
Speed limit – 23 knots
Length and Breadth – 293 x 32,5m
Passenger Decks – 13
Cabins – 1 275
Maximum Passengers – 3 013
Crew – 987

The First Leg of our Trip

Our Friday morning started off early. Our alarm went off at 3.20am and Gerard and I were up and going.
We managed to get away at 4.40am. Gerard thankfully had checked the route to Neuhof on the internet the night before we left. We tried putting it into our navigation system as we left home but this is when the trouble started.
Our navigation system decided that it was time to give up the ghost!!!! I was so busy trying to get the thing to work and Gerard was trying to help me, that he overshot the turn off to Neuhof. Now we found ourselves driving “forever” (it felt that way), before we could find a place to turnoff and drive back. Hubby was having serious case of sense of humour failure. At this point, we had warned the kids that any smart comments could result in severe injuries. They realized that something serious was up and were silent in the back of the car.
We got to the parking place in Neuhof with just minutes to spare!!! Nothing like an adrenalin rush and high blood pressure to start our holiday. We loaded our suitcases into the trailer and our little overnight case and toiletries into the bus luggage compartment.
We then set off for Fulda where the rest of our group got on.
Our bus was great, being a double decker Bistro bus. This meant that we all got to sit upstairs and could go downstairs for coffee and snacks. There was also a loo which we had been asked to use only in emergency, which is understandable. The law in Germany for heavy duty driver’s, is that the driver has to stop every two hours for a half an hour break. This enabled us to stretch our legs, use ablutions at the rest stops and buy any other odds and ends we wanted.
The weather on our first day started off with a lot of mist which melted away and we had sunshine and blue skies until we reached our destination – Verona in Italy.
Travelling through the Tirol was absolutely beautiful and I managed to take quite a few pics through the bus window. There were 104 people on our tour and therefore two buses had to be used. We were lucky to have been allocated to the Bistro bus, as the other half of our group, were in a normal tour bus. I think they were quite envious of us.
We overnighted in the Airport Hotel on the outskirts of Verona on our first night due to our group being too big for the planned hotel accommodation at the Garda See. This was a great disappointment to us, as this was one of the reasons why we chose to travel by bus, considering this would take 12 hours sitting and trying to keep kids occupied.
The accommodation at Verona was however, very good. This was a 5 star hotel.
Our group all gathered together for our evening meal which was inclusive except for the drinks. We had our first taste of Italian cuisine. The lasagna was in keeping, but obviously the cook had been tipped off about a German tour group arriving for dinner. We were served Pork as the main meal – how Italian is that??

MSC Orchestra

Slideshow of the ship

First week of Holidays.

Well we could lie in bed late except that Gerard had to go off to work as usual. He was in fact leaving for England today. He was leaving after lunch so still got to see him at lunch time.
Heidi had left for Ireland on the weekend, so did not get to doing any gym at all this week.
On Tuesday, Lara and I went off to Marcelle in Lauterbach. We had a look around her lovely new house and then sat and chatted. A little later on, Roxy came over with baby Joshua. Lara was in her element then. Had lunch with them and only left to come home at about 2.30pm.
I called in at Mega Company and bought another memory card for my camera.
Went to Sagawe in the afternoon and took a pair of jeans back. The stretch jeans did not fit me comfortably. I managed to exchange it for a really nice jacket, so was very pleased with that.
Gerard got back late in the evening.
It was Roger's birthday on Wednesday, so gave him a ring to wish him. Their land line is not working so the cell phone call was quicker than a normal call.
On Wednesday, I took Lara to Kindergarten, as I was going to Marjory today. When I got there, she was outside. She was waiting for some people to come and pick her apples for her. She asked me if I could do some shopping for her. So I duly went off to Herkules and did that. On my way back, I went via Deichman's and bought myself a nice pair of black shoes.
On Thursday, I literally spent my whole day packing. I tried to get the kids involved but they were not that interested. Marjory called to say that she thought she had broken her hand/wrist. I was not sure as to whether she needed my help or not. She then assured me that she had spoken to her neighbour and had called a taxi to take her to the hospital.
Later that afternoon, we had an appointment at the bank. Robert now has his own "card" account, where he can draw money whenever he wants to. This is where is pocket money will be deposited and any other that he receives as presents etc.
We are hoping that this will give him a little more insight into money matters, and a little more responsibility as far as keeping his own filing system with his banking details etc. Let's see!!!!
Finished off our packing and had the suitcases standing downstairs in the hallway ready for our early Friday morning getaway!!

Birthday's

Well we seem to have quite a spate of birthday's at this time of the year. Gerard's on the 23/9, our friend Klaus on the 25/9, Claudia on the 26/9 and Gerard's mom on the 29/9. Liesel had hers on the 1/10, mine was on the 3rd and my brother Roger had his on the 10th.
Heidi and I went to gym on Monday 1st. When I dropped her off at her flat, the little restaurant opposite their place had put up a teepee. He then put a sign on it saying that it was his guests smoking room. As from 1st October, there is a smoking ban on all restaurants in Germany.
My birthday falls on a public holiday here in Germany every year. This is the day of Unity (it was when the wall in Berlin was broken down etc.) between East and West. So I had asked people around for tea, coffee and cake. Joanne, Melanie and Patrick came down from Eisenach and arrived first. Heidi, Roxy, Marcelle and Claudia also came for the afternoon. Edmond and Ursi came along and I felt quite bad that we all spoke so much English and left her out a bit. I think she must now realise how I felt when I first arrived in Germany and she invited me to her birthday parties etc. Charlie came along for some tea and cake and he, Gerard and Edmond sat and watched sport on TV while us woman yacked out heads off.
I had some lovely messages from friends via email and some phonecalls. Dad forgot my birthday as usual!!!
I went to Marjory on Friday morning and did a bit of dusting for her. Also took her some of my birthday cake. She had also bought cake.
School's broke up today. Robert came home with the worst mark he has ever got for Maths - a 4!!!
Steven came home and did not tell me a word about his marks. Only later when Gerard got home did it all come out. Steven has done very badly in all his tests. Don't quite know what solution we have for this.
On Saturday morning, I went of to Sagawe in Eudorf to go and spend my birthday money on some clothes. I was so pleased to find a number of lovely items and spent 120 euros on them. Gerard dropped Lara off at Sagawe, as he was going to meet Edmond at the tennis courts for his cleaning up session.
On Saturday night, just as we were going to settle down and watch the rugby, Larissa called. I invited her and Gary over to join us. They came a few minutes later and we all watched France play against New Zealand. New Zealand lost and went home!!!!
After a lte night, we had a nice long lie in on Sunday morning. Had a late breafast and then I started painting more of Steven's room. Gary called to say that Larissa and He would not join us for the rugby but were going to Marcelle and Heinz to watch there. That allowed me to finish off the painting without rushing. After the SA - Fiji game, Gerard, Robert, Lara and I went into town and took a walk through the market place. There was a Little Red Riding Hood market on and all the shops were open. It was a beautiful day.

Another Week

On Monday Heidi and I went off to gym. I could certainly feel the muscles in my arms had been used after my work out.
I went to German lessons on Tuesday as usual without having done my homework. I felt bad but as I mentioned in my last post, I am disappointed in how much theory we are doing on a conversation course!!!
On Wednesday, my dishwasher was repaired. The repairman put in the new panel, so everything is working well again.
Our Cruise tickets arrived today in the post - how exciting.
And it was Claudia's birthday today. I popped around to Bell to drop off her pressie and wish her.
On Thursday I went to gym with Heidi. It rained all day - a real soaking rainfall.
Dave phoned from Australia, so I quickly called him back on Skype. It was great to hear his news. Very proud of him becoming plantation manager. They have also bought a lovely new house in the same area that they are currently staying in.
On Friday I took some of Gerard's birthday cake to Marjory. So we sat and had tea and cake together which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy.
On the Saturday, we did our usualy grocery shopping. We then went off to Jane and Glen, for Samantha's birthday party.
We had coffee and cake and sat around chatting. The kids had a great time outside with Stefan and Lara got to play with Sam's two guinea pigs.
We stayed on for supper which was really tasty. Manu's parents were also there. We had met them previously at Stefan's confirmation. They have invited us to a juke box evening at their house on the first weekend in November.
I hope Jane will be feeling well by then. She has some bacterial infection in her blood which is causing her a lot of pain in her joints and she is battling to walk.
We left their house at 11.15pm.
We stayed at home on Sunday and I painted a wall in Stevie's room. Charlie Kotze had arrived from S.A. and later that evening we went out for dinner at Gasthaus Roth. Had the most divine steaks.

Busy Weeks

The week starting on the 17th was the start of quite a busy time for us.
On that Monday I went to Heidi and we took a drive out to Leusel to find out more about a Creative Studio that I had seen. Well, all that turned out to be was a woman (seamstress) sewing from home. She doesn't even give lessons or anything. Don't know why she calls herself a studio.
We then wanted to take a look at the Antique shop in Leusel, only to find out, that the opening hours are very strange indeed. It is all set in and around a pub and the opening hours are only at night until 1.00am. I was quite disappointed in that.
We then decided to go and take a look at the little gym we had been told about by one of the guys at Bell. It is situated behind the public pool in Alsfeld. It seemed quite nice and they will allow us to use their gym equipment whenever it suits us at a cost of 2.50 Euros a time. So no contracts etc. which really suits both Heidi and I.
That night both Gerard and I went off to Robert's Eltern Abend (Parents evening). It was the first one and we wanted to meet the teacher and see some of the other parents etc. His class teacher led the meeting with his stand in teacher, being there as well. Robert's teacher was dressed in a black suit and white shirt, looking very formal and serious. He was very quick and to the point with everything he had to say.The Stand in teacher was the total opposite. Dressed in red faded jeans with ragged edges and a green t-shirt, (he looked a bit like Spike in the movie Nottinghill) he was so much more relaxed and vocal.He spoke more about the children's behaviour in the classroom and then went onto what he is proposing to cover in his syllabus. He teaches them German and Art.As we left the classroom, Gerard muttered under his breath "a bit like tweedle dee and tweedle dum".
Went to my class on Tuesday. I must be honest in saying that I had hoped this course to be more Conversational and not so theoretical.I did my grammar course 2 years ago and have forgotten so much. That is probably why I am not enjoying it so much. Reminds me how dof I have become.
I visited Marcelle on Wednesday morning. She was waiting for the guys to come and install her new kitchen into her new house. It was the first time that I had seen the new house, so it was all quite exciting. Spent a nice morning there. Steven's eltern abend was on Wednesday night which Gerard attended on his own.
On the Thursday Heidi and I went off to our little gym and Wendula showed us the ropes (literally)!!! She was a sweet girl who battled with her english but she managed to show us what each piece of torture equipment was used for.
I attended Lara's eltern abend on Thursday evening. I passed Clive with some S.A. people in their car on my way there. He had told Gerard that they were coming to watch the rugby at our house that night. He arrived with all the goodies we had asked him to bring for us and then they went out for dinner.
I went to Marjory the next morning only for 1 hour. I took here off to her chiropodist and then went straight home.
It was so nice to have a really nice function to dress up for and I started that a 2.30pm by going of to the hairdresser. I wanted my hair pinned up. Hoo boy - did I start to panic when my hair was set in rollers and I was stuck under a hair drier thing. At the end, it all turned out well and got home in good time to shower and change. We got to the Castle at 5.45pm and the sun was shining brightly.
We all stood outside where we were served champagne and cocktails. It was nice seeing familiar faces from South Africa and being introduced to some people that I have only heard of and never met. We then moved into the courtyard of the castle where every couple's photo was taken. Then we moved into the restaurant and sat at our appointed tables. We sat with Roxy and Ryan, Ricki and Paul and another couple from England. The food was lovely, some of it being buffet and other servings were served to us.

A photo of the happy couple - Gary and Larissa.

After dinner and some speeches, we were asked to proceed downstairs into the "cellar" where a disco was all set up. It was such a lovely setting and great fun was had by everyone. As the night was progressing, all the S.A. people were saying that they would see us the next day. They were all inviting themselves over to watch the rugby.
We managed to finally get away at 4.45am.
Woke up at about 8.30am and made some breakfast. Everyone duly arrived at 2.00pm to watch the S.A./Tonga game. From the 20 odd people that we thought were coming over, only 12 arrived. Most of them feeling very sorry for themselves being majorly hungover. It was great fun watching and having all the S.A. shouting and commenting. We had told the kids not to venture out of the playroom, as we did not want them being "damaged" by bad language.
Gerard started the braai and we all moved outside to eat etc. It was very interesting talking to Bokkie and Anna's niece and nephew who are living here in Gottingen. He seems to be such a clever young guy and jolly good looking too. After his job finishes here, they are moving onto Sweden.
The next day was Gerard's birthday. So we were up early again, to have things sorted out for when people were going to arrive. Heidi's Heinz was actually doing a proper Weber for us with a Beef roast and then chicken. It turned out very well and everyone just loved the great tasting meat.
Gerard was spoilt and seemed to enjoy his day very much.

Yet another Week in our lives.

I started a German Conversation class on Tuesday the 11 Sept. Sonja (my teacher from two years ago) was taking this course for the first time. Two of my friends from our previous course had said that they would join me, so I decided it would be a good thing. We will be meeting every Tuesday morning at 8.30 until 11.45am. It is not an intensive course but she will revise some grammar and then give us ample chance to speak the language.
The first lesson was introductory and fun but we still came away with homework - uggghhhh!!!
On Wednesday, Gerard took the day off and we headed off for Fulda. Gerard wanted a new suit for the Bell wedding that was coming up. We went to Moller's and found him a very nice grey jacket with pants that sort of match. Also got a new shirt and tie. Then we went off to Media Markt as I wanted to ask them about my camera. We have never been able to set a date on the actual picture that is taken. They informed us that this model camera does not allow us this facility. And here we were battling away all this time!!!!
After that, we went on to the Herkules Centre where Gerard was wanting to buy shoes. He bought a pair when we first arrived in Germany and so enjoyed wearing these shoes, that he was determined to get another pair. I found a pair of shoes in Deichmann's and Gerard bought his, so we left Fulda quite happy.
That evening, Heidi, Marcelle, Karen, Larissa, Seater and myself all met at the Italian restaurant for dinner. It was the first time I had met Seater, so we had quite a bit to talk about. She told us that she is busy doing patchwork quilting - so guess what my next project is??
On Friday I went off to Marjory. She asked me to put some lace curtains up at her one lounge window. Before I hung them I gave the window a good clean and managed to knock a few of her cobwebs down. We spent the rest of the two hours just chatting away. She is an English lady who met her husband in England but he wanted to return to his home country Germany. So she has lived here most of her life. She is now 83 and bent over with osteo phirosis. What a sweet old lady she is.
After spending 2 hours with her, I quickly shot into the shops in town to look at long evening dresses. I had heard via Marcelle that most of the ladies were wearing long dresses to Larissa's wedding. Found something and asked the shop lady if I could bring my husband for a viewing. She said she would hold it until Saturday morning for me.
On Friday evening, Larissa, Peter and Seater Purchase came over to watch the rugby with us. I had felt so exhausted earlier on in the afternoon that I thought I would fall asleep. I didn't !!!!
On Saturday, I dragged Gerard into town to look at the dress. When I stepped out of the fitting room, his face said it all. He insisted that I have the dress and duly bought it for me.
After our shop in town, we went off to do other grocery shopping etc. We landed up buying some gardening equipment in Lidl. Gerard has wanted one of these wood cutter things for a while. You put in fair size branches, twigs etc, and this thing chops it into small wood chips. Very handy to have, when your house is surrounded by forest!!!
We also bought a leaf blower/vacuum which is also much needed in Autumn. Our forest of trees shed all their leaves and oh boy, what a job it is to rake them all up.
On the Sunday, Lara went off to little Denha's 5th birthday party. Denha is my friend Azam's daughter. They are from Iran. It was such a lovely day and the party was held outside and they had a braai.
We also ended our weekend off with a braai at home.

Another week in our lives

On the 3rd September Gerard had to go to Dusseldorf for a meeting. He spent the night there. Heidi's daughter Tina arrived from Ireland to spend a week with her.
When I took Lara off to dancing class on Tuesday, I met Heidi, Tin a and baby Annika at Deco Dormus where Tina was looking at curtaining. Just as well we met up then, as we did not get another chance during the week at all.
My dishwasher gave up the ghost on Tuesday night. Can't believe that washing dishes can take up so much time.
Had an early morning call from Marcelle on Thursday morning (6 Sept 2007) to say that Joshua David Maxwell Castle had been born at about 5.30am. Congratulations Roxy and Ryan!!
Later on that morning, I went and met a woman from the Red Cross and we went to meet the old lady that I am going to be assisting. Her name is Marjorie. We went to her house and got acquainted. There will be another woman who will assist her on Wednesday mornings and I will help her on Friday mornings.
Heard from Heidi at various times during this week but she was suffering from a bad case of flu. Tina flew back on the Friday.
On Saturday, we just went and did our usual grocery shop. Bought a present for Chinadu and Robert went to his party in the afternoon.
That afternoon, Lara and I went along to the kindergarten, where they were having a fleamarket. I managed to get a good few things for the kids. I have also picked up a keyboard, which the boys will be getting for Christmas.
Sunday was a lazy day spent at home.

My Beautiful Children

I have made a slideshow of some of the photos that Marcy has taken of my children. Now you will see how good she is becoming with her new found hobby of photography.
She managed to take the most amazing photos of Lara whilst we were altogether at Roxie’s house one afternoon. It certainly was not planned and while Roxie, Heidi and I were looking at all the forthcoming baby things, Marcy was snapping photos away at Lara. Marcy said that Lara listened to her and did everything she asked her to do. Quite the budding model I have here.

Steven’s photo shoot took place at his soccer club on the field. Robert insisted that he had to go along and help!!! He was feeling rather left out I think and also wanted “action” shots of a budding soccer star. Marcy explained that up to a certain point Steven played along with her and took her instructions. Then his soccer trainer arrived and all was lost. He stopped any concentration that he had formed and all he wanted to do was play soccer, as a match had apparently been scheduled, unbeknown to me!

These are some of Marcy’s photos.

Last week of August

Oh gosh I have lagged behind on this blog and am trying to get it all up to date now. Some of this news will be totally old for some of your but anyway, this is my diary of sorts, so want to record it anyway.
Gerard was in Spain until the 29th August. On the 28th I took Robert off to see the doctor as he had been complaining of stomach ache for a few days. I was starting to think it could be a grumbling appendix or something. It was also Richard's birthday, so I left a birthday greeting for him on Skype.
Marcelle came to visit me on the Wednesday that Gerard flew back from Spain. We caught up with our news and she took Steven off to the football field to go and take some photos and action shots. Robert insisted that he should go with them (he was feeling rather left out) and did not like the idea of not having some action shots of his own. Robert was sounding quite sick by this stage. What had been a stomach ache was now all in his throat and chest.
On Thursday 30th, I went to visit Heidi. We then decided to go and find out a little more on the aqua exercises that they were offering at the town pool. These classes always are at night which don't suit either Heidi or myself. So we then went of City Sun to find out more about their little Gym. Unfortunately, they want us to sign contracts for at least 6 months or so. Neither Heidi or I want to do this.
Took Robert off to the doctor again and was told to keep him home from school.
All us South African's met up on the Friday night at the Schwalbenest for supper. Ryan Bland was here and it was great to see him again.
On the 1st September (Saturday) we went off the the company GO which does some fetching and carrying for Bell. It was a reopening of their company on new premises and Gerard had been invited along with his family. They had really gone to a lot of trouble with jumping castles, face painting and go cart riding for the children. Drinks flowed all afternoon and then they braaied an assortment of meats and foods. All very nice indeed. There was a band playing music inside and people could sit at tables and eat. It was a very nice afternoon/evening out.
We had a nice lazy day on Sunday and I made us a Roast lamb and veges.

The First Week of School

The boys went back to school on Monday 20 August. Had to get myself back into the routine of getting up early and making lunches etc. and then getting them going, so as to leave the house by 7.30am.

They had a Welcome ceremony, for all the children entering into the 5th class. I met Gerard at the town hall at about 8.20am. The ceremony started at 8.30am. This of course meant that we had to stand throughout this entire session. Apart from 3 different groups of children from the school, singing, dancing (dance aerobics) and an instrument band playing, the headmaster stood and spoke on certain issues. Most of this speech I could understand but not all of it. For me to understand German of this level, I literally have to lip read the person and have no interruptions of any sort!!The children entering the 7th class were also at this ceremony, which makes me believe that in two years time, my son will be moving into a different class yet again. (Only an assumption).After an hour of droning speaches etc. we then had to leave the hall and follow our child's teacher, who had a sign with Class 5 d r, on it, held high above his head.Robert is in the Sports class. Now what this means exactly, I have no idea!!! Gerard had some mumbled remarks which he muttered under his breath. Hopefully, he will be chatting to the teacher in the near future, as to what this class entails. We are assuming that the school, which offers 3 types of classes, 1 being normal classes, 2 being sport class and 3 being music class, that Robert will be doing the usual syllabus plus sport. He led us to my Robert's class room at a school building that I never even knew was a school. Here we all stood in the classroom only to be told what he expected from his students and what he would expect from us - the parents. Once he had cleared this up, he asked us old folk to leave. When I fetched Robert from school at 1.00pm that day, he was quite happy with life in his new class etc.

There was a lot of school book buying done this week and then of course, I had lots of books to cover!! I also had to kit Robert out with a new sportsbag and sports gear. That came at quite a little price.

Trying to get into a proper routine with after school activities etc. is taking some time.

I did manage to see Heidi during the week and on the Thursday he and I took a drive through to Treysa, where there is a Kaufland shop. This shop stocks such a variety of things, which we are unable to get in Alsfeld. On our way back we called in at the Rhode Shoe factory shop, just to look and see what they had.

On Saturday, Gerard went to the dentist. The dentist has advised him that he should have another 2 teeth removed. We can't believe these dentists here - all they want to do is remove teeth!!!! Gerard said he would think about it but that is as far as it will go. He then went and played tennis in Eudorf. Him and Natasha played well and beat their opponents.

That afternoon, Dick and Inge popped in to see us, catching me totally unawares. Gerard had forgotten to tell me that they might call in. He had seen Dick earlier that week, in Eisenach. So they had to put up with coffee and biscuits. It was nice to see them again and Inge told me that they were off to S.A. for nearly a month. Lucky buggers.

On Sunday Gerard left for Spain. I took the kids to the pool for the last time this summer.

Last week of Holidays

I am so far behind in my blogging but will try and catch it all up soon.
The last week of the school holidays was relaxing and fun. On the Wednesday, I went off to an appointment with the "Fussflegerin". I have never been a person who has facials, manicures or pedicures but since we have been here, I have had a problem nail on my big toe. I decided that I would try this Fussflegerin out and see what gives.
Well, it was so nice to sit back in a "dentist chair" while she worked away on my feet. At the end of it my toenails looked so healthy and my feet felt very smooth. So this will definitely take place again. It literally cost me a euro per minute, so will not be doing it often but need to get this toenail sorted out. She reckons that by this time next year, my nail will be back to normal.
That afternoon, I had promised to take Robert and Lara to see The Simpsons at the movie house. So we all went off, including Stevie, who had seen it the previous week. The movie was great and easy to follow in German.
Then on the Thursday, I took the kids to Halligalli, as the weather was miserable and I wanted them away from tv and playstation games.
Marcelle joined me for most of the afternoon. It was nice to sit and chat away while the kids were having a ball.
On Saturday, both boys slept out. Steven joined his football club who were having a sleep out in tents etc. at the football club. Robert had been invited to Vanessa's birthday party which was also a sleep over in tents in their garden. He was the only boy there so had quite a good time.
Sunday was spent relaxing and making sure that the boys had all their school bags ready for school the next morning.

More on August

The week starting on the 6th August was Steven's week of ferien spiele. He was so lucky to join a group of kids that he knew. So many of Robert's classmates where there and a lot of other children from Steven's school etc. The Monday was so hot, that I took Robert and Lara off to the pool for the day. We had a really good time and when we left, to pick Steven up and take him to Andreas' birthday party, his group were right there at the pool. So I just took him from there and went straight to the party in Liederbach.
Us S.A. girls decided to do Roxie's babyshower, as we were not sure just how much longer she would be walking. So on Wednesday I picked Heidi up and off we went to Roxie's house. Marcelle was already waiting for us. Roxy was surprised to see us all. I dressed her up in a nappy and bib and she had to drink out of a bottle. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy her shower and liked all the gifts we gave her. While she was showing Heidi and I all the baby goodies she has collected, Marcelle was photographing Lara. She took some lovely photos of my little girl.

I saw Heidi the next morning for a cup of coffee and chat and later that afternoon took Robert and Lara into town to see the Simpson's movie. This is when we realised that the movie house was closed. We then walked into town and I managed to buy Robert's new school bag.
On Saturday, we went off to Deichmann's to buy the very necessary shoes for school. Managed to walk out the shop with 5 pairs of shoes and a packet full of socks. When we got home a bit later, we found Bodo Paris working on the trimming of our trees, on the roadside. He had a huge truck which had a whole bin section which could be removed, along with an excavator which he was using to pick up all the cut branches etc. We were amazed that he had come to do this job on his own as we thought he would have a team of guys to help him. He used a chainsaw which was on an extension pole, which meant he could really reach the tall branches etc.
While he was busy doing all of this, Gerard got stuck into the huge pile of garden refuse that has been collecting within our garden and pitched it over the fence. This Bodo took away for us with all the other cuttings etc.
Gerard could only do this for a short while as we had been invited to Christina's for a braai. Christina is a girl that works with Gerard on a half day basis. She is married to a farmer and lives just outside Alsfeld on a dairy farm.
We went off to the braai and found that their house is directly over the road from a soccer field, much to the delight of the boys. The children were in their element, as Christina's dog Cindy (a border collie) had had 9 puppies 8 weeks earlier. Lara spent her whole afternoon in the puppy enclosure playing with all the pups. She just loved them so.
When the boys took a break from playing soccer, they joined Lara with all the pups. After eating the braai, we took a walk up to the cow sheds where Han Jurgen, Christina's husband, was busy milking the cows. It was quite an eye opener to see what hard work these two have on their hands. We had a wonderful time at Christina's and left quite late that night.

On Sunday, we took the kids off to the pool. It was a lovely hot day and the kids had great fun. After the pool we went to the Eudorf tennis courts. I had promised to take Robert and play with him during the week, but because of ongoing rain, we weren't able to. So we all got to play and have great fun. After tennis, we picked Lara up from Zina's and drove out to Burg Herzberg where Robert had spent one of his Ferien Spiele days. What a beautiful forest you drive through to get to the castle. The castle is also amazing and so worthwhile seeing. We did not realise that we had a castle like this in our area and so close to home. Had we known about this earlier, this would have been a place to show all our visitors that have been to see us. It has taken us 6 years to find it!!!

Our weekend to Koln

After Frankie's death, our whole family was rather down in the dumps as can be imagined.
Robert's last event with his "Ferienspiele" was a trip to Fort Fun which is a fun park with lots of rides etc. He had so been looking forward to this that we couldn't stop him from going.
We were also due to visit our friends, Venetia and Patrick in Koln for the weekend.
We made arrangements to fetch Robert from the fun park which was on the way to Koln, or so we thought.
Gerard set off for Fort Fun but as usual, decided to go against Doris's instructions. Doris being our navigation system. Why we bother having one, I quite often wonder. Gerard always feels that he knows the shorter and quicker way of getting to a place.
So instead of taking the Bundestrasse which Doris had suggested, Gerard set off on the Autobahn. This was a costly mistake as far as time and distance was concerned.
We had the cell phone number of one of the adults in charge and when we called him, we were still many kilometres away, they had already started to gather the children together for their return journey on the bus.
Gerard then said that if they needed to leave, they could leave Robert with the cashier and we would be there shortly.
By the time we got to Fort Fun, my neck was so stiff and I had such a headache.
I was so relieved to see Robert surrounded by a number of the kids he had been with and the guy in charge of them all. They were in a minibus while the majority of the children had been on another bus. Their bus had only left about 7 minutes before we had actually arrived and the guy in charge had insisted on staying until we arrived. I was just so thankful.
Not far, after leaving Fort Fun, travelling on small winding district roads, did Steven pipe up from the back seat, saying that he was not feeling very well. Not even 2 minutes later, with Gerard looking for a place to pull over, Steven got violently car sick. He somehow managed to get half of it inside the car, the other half running down the outside of the car. With the few tissues I had, we tried our best to clean the mess up.
Steven managed to perk up from there on and was in quite good spirits for the rest of the journey. He was quite proud to learn that this was the first time ever, that he had been car sick. He now joined his brother and sister with their claims to fame!!!
Robert seemed to have had a good day but as soon as we all quietened down in the car, his eyes welled up with tears and he was very tearful about Frankie. He cried just about the whole way to Koln.
With this huge time delay, our friends had gone ahead and started dinner without us.
They were also quite taken aback by our arrival with a child who had been sick and needed changing and Robert who was in tears. I had not had a chance to tell them about Frankie, so they had no idea.
Venetia had really spoilt us with dinner that evening. Pancakes filled with mushrooms and ham in a creamy sauce. Very delicious.
After putting the kids to bed and us adults all chatting away, we landed up going to bed quite late that evening.
On Saturday morning, we went off to the English shop where we did some shopping. We also managed to do clothes shopping for Rob and Lara who seem to have gone through a growth spurt recently. Always find shopping at C + A an absolute pleasure. The kids had a wonderful time, as our friends live right next door to a wonderfully set out, children's play park and football field. While they played, we sat out in the garden and relaxed. We really had fantastic weather all weekend. On Sunday, we got up late and had a late breakfast. Our friends wanted to treat the kids to McDonald's for lunch - no complaints from the kids on that one! After our lunch, we took a drive out to the soccer club of Koln. The kids loved seeing this venue. We then drove past the huge soccer stadium, but a game was due to start and there were thousands of supporters swarming to get in, so we did not even try to stop.
After getting back to their house, we packed the car and headed for home.
We had a good weekend.

A tribute to Frankie

On arriving back from Tunisia, we seemed to bring a bit of warm weather with us. But it was rather short lived unfortunately. Gerard had the Thursday off and he went to fetch Frankie from the kennels that morning. Frankie seemed pleased to see us but avoided us for a while. She seemed to be sulking with us for having left her for a week.
Gerard went back to work on the Friday.
The weekend was a quiet one where I caught up with washing etc. and we sat around watching tv most of the time.
On Sunday night I had 5 little boys spend the night on the playroom floor in a makeshift house, made with blankets as the roof which was hung between Steven's football game and the table tennis table. Their carpets that they had got in Tunisia were put on the floor. And Frankie was held hostage and made to sleep with them.
On the Monday, Robert started at his week of Ferienspiele which is Holiday games. I took him off to the car park outside Bell area, to find a whole lot of children waiting in groups and some with their parents looking on. I only recognised one woman, whose younger son knew Steven. Poor Robert didn't know anyone there. At this point, I could have easily just put him in the car and gone home. I might just add at this point, that it was a miserable day and flipping cold. Anyway, they called out the kids name and they were put into groups. They then set off to Angenrod where I would later pick him up.
They had some really fun things for the kids to do in their week. Robert went to Frankfurt the very next day where they went on the skytrain and saw things that we have never done.
We noticed during this week that Frankie was still moping around and not eating very well. She did however, still catch two mice and leave them at our front door as a gift to us.
On Thursday Gerard took Frankie off to the vet as we just felt that she wasn't herself at all. Gerard came back with really bad news. The vet here in Alsfeld had looked at her and found her dehydrated and that her kidneys had failed. Her stomach seemed to be filled with water. From what Gerard said, it seemed that they did not have much hope for our poor kitty.
They suggested that we could take her through to another vet in Marburg for another opinion. The appointment was set for 6.00pm
I spent a lot of my afternoon with her, just stroking her and talking to her. She just purred and purred.
When Gerard came to take her, I told the kids to say goodbye to her. Oh what a sad time this was.
Gerard phoned from the vets with the sad news that Frankie had a cancerous tumour which was inoperable. This tumour was what was causing her not to eat. The vet felt that if he tried treatment, it would only prolong her life by a few days. Poor Gerard had to make the traumatic decision on his "baby's" life.
We were all devastated by Frankie's death.

I found this pets prayers which I think is appropriate.

A Pets Prayer
If it should be, that I grow frail and weak,And pain should keep me from my sleep,Then, you must do what must be done
For this, the last battle, can't be won.Don't let your grief stay your hand, For this day more than the rest,Your love and friendship stand the test.We've had so many years,What is to come can hold no fear.You'd not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, please let me go. Take me where my needs they'll tend,Only, stay with me to the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.I know in time you'll see it is a kindness you do for me
Although my tail its last has waved,From pain and suffering I've been saved. Don't grieve it should be you who this thing decides to do.We've been so close, we two, these years,Don't let your heart hold tears.SMILE, FOR WE WALKED TOGETHER FOR A WHILE.

Photos of the Mediterranean Sea

Tunisia - Part 5

This is my last post …..

On Tunisia. Our trip to Tunisia really was wonderful and the part we really enjoyed the most was being able to relax every afternoon next to water. We felt that doing the excursions in the morning left us some nice time for relaxation in the afternoons. We could choose the beach and lie on relaxing chairs with a sun shade or any of the 4 pools the hotel had to offer.
The hotel pools were very popular as well. There were three outdoor pools and one indoor and we tried them all out.
With the restaurant/bars everywhere, one could lie in the sun and drink your drink of choice, eat pancakes covered in chocolate as a snack or hamburgers, schwarma or hot dogs.
There was always something happening at the “adult” pool as the entertainment crew were young and energetic. They kept everyone going with some game or other.

In the mornings, there were always a few camels to be seen on the beach and the hotel offered horse riding which also took you down onto the beach.

The Mediterranean sea is just amazing. The water is just so clear and clean and there are no waves. It is like walking into a pool, the only difference being the sand under your feet.

There was always a cool breeze which made it bearable to lie in the sun. You could see the people who had been there for a while from their bronze tans. The new arrivals stuck out like sore thumbs – especially the British with their very white skins.
There were so many nationalities there and people of all shapes, sizes and colour. A lot of the women went topless which impressed hubby greatly.

A week of sunshine, fun and exploring went down very well with our family. Hope you enjoyed reading about our holiday.

More Photos

Part 4 continued

At this point I must point out that El Jem is a town in the middle of nowhere and because of no nearby sea, it was as hot as hell!!! We must have been in the middle to high 40 degrees here. Our driver had deigned to switch on the airconditioner at this point but unfortunately only two people benefited from this luxury. Himself and hubby who had been given prime position up front. Hubby did however pay the price for sitting next to “the Schumacher” of Tunisian drivers.
We then continued our drive to the El-Jem Museum.

Specialists recommend a visit to this museum before visiting other vestiges of the ancient city of Thysdrus, now known as El Jem. The museum contains many architectonic elements that belonged to the decoration of the city’s superb villas and public buildings and in particular, the sumptuous mosaic pavements, undoubtedly amongst the finest of Roman antiquity.
The museum was built on the site of a roman villa and reproduces its layout: a central courtyard with a peristyle leading into the rooms where sculptures, mosaics, ceramics etc are displayed. These originate from the excavation campaigns carried out in Thysdrus as well as in the vicinity.
The museum has recently acquired a new wing illustrating in a very eloquent manner the richness and diversity of crafts during the roman period.
The museum leads directly into an “archaeological park” including vestiges of the villa known as that of the peacock and of Sollertiana. It is a splendid patrician dwelling with a number of its mosaic pavements conserved in sit. The same area contains a reconstruction to scale of the “house of Africa”, a sumptuous aristocratic dwelling built around 170 AD and discovered by chance in the 1990s. It takes its name from the two mosaic pictures figuring, within a central medallion, one goddess Africa, the other the province of Africa, the only known representations of the African continent.
After a very interesting look around the museum it was time to hit the road to see the Salt Lake. Our guide omitted to tell us that there would be no shops in the vicinity or that we should consider stocking up on anything drinkable.
We drove for quite some distance, passing through many little villages and seeing just how the locals live. Along the road side, we saw tripod stands which we soon found out were used for hanging slaughtered sheep on. How anyone could buy meat from here, where the temperature must be at least 45 degrees, is beyond me.
We turned off the “main” road and started to drive in very sandy conditions. Our driver seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, waiting for the other landrovers to get ahead and then he would suddenly put foot and drive hell for leather up to the last one, bringing clouds of dust along with us.
We came to a halt where we were all led to the shade of a fairly large tree. Our guide gave us the rundown and we were allowed to walk out onto the Chott and experience it for ourselves.
The Tunisian Sahara starts with the chotts. These salt-flats are frequently quagmires in winter but spectacular curiosities in summer. The salt of the viscous sand-mud mix dries to form a firm crust and shimmers crystalline white for miles and often resolves into a mirage.
When standing out on this surface, one could feel the heat burning you from your feet upward and then with the sun beating down on you, you felt like you were on fire. I could only bear about 5 minutes (enough for a few photos) and then I ran for the shade again. This must have been 50 – 60 degrees.
We got back into the landrover and the first thing I wanted was some water which we had two bottles of. Well, it was as though the water had been boiled.Hubby sat with a bottle up against the air conditioning until it became drinkable. That got us through the 1 hour trip back to the hotel.

Part 4 Photos

Tunisia - Part 4

Another place we wanted to see was the colloseum at El Jehm. We did a landrover trip. We met our driver at 7.30am and took our places in the landrover. We had another couple with us from Belgium. We roared off to another hotel about 8 kms aways and met up with a couple more landrovers. We waited there for the last 2 to arrive. There were 6 of us in total when we headed off to Mahdia.
We drove through many little towns and past many olive groves - this being one of Tunisia’s main crops.
We came to a stop at Cape Africa. Here we were given time to wander around and explore the Big Fortress.
Borj el-Kebir" means Big Fortress, and it truly applies. As seen from further out on the peninsula, the city fortress is quite impressive.It dates back to 1595, while the bastions in the corners are 18th century additions.The extensive cemetary cover large parts of the eastern end of the peninsula, is laid out so that almost every grave can have a seaview, relating to Mahdia's long history of piracy, fishing and sailors.It starts in front of the Borj el-Kebir and continues all the way past the Fatimid port, ending next to the lighthouse.
After purchasing and drinking some cooldrinks in a café overlooking the sea, we were ready for the next leg of our journey.
We were driven up to the colosseum in El Jem and told to meet back with the landrovers in an hours time. Our guide took us into the colosseum and gave us some interesting facts about it.
The colosseum is great, almost as big as the one of Rome, and in better condition. It is 148 metres long by 122 metres wide, with tiers up to 35 metres.There is nothing missing which takes away its grandeur. One area of the walls is gone, and this was done in 1695 when a big hole was shot in the wall of the colosseum, in order to uncover the hiding places of dissidents against the Ottomans.The colosseum was constructed between 230 and 238 CE by the command of the Imperial official Gordian. It's believed to have given room for as much as 30,000 spectators. The games here became famous and drew crowds from much of Roman Africa.The building process is even more impressive considering that the stones were quarried 30 km away at Salakta.
The arena is 65 metres long and 39 metres wide, large enough to host more than one show at a time. The upper part of the tiers were used as a sort of VIP tribune, where roofed rooms allowed hiding from the hot sun. Underneath the arena run two passage ways. This was the place where animals, prisoners and gladiators were kept, just until the moment when they were brought up into the bright daylight to perform what was in most cases the last show of their lives.
It was incredible to walk around this amphitheatre and imagine what went on within this building.
The amphitheatre is now another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Some more holiday photos

Tunisia - Part 3

Our one outing was to a carpet maker and leather shop.

Tapis is the local name for the carpets. Carpet-making is traditional and highly valued craft in the whole of Tunisia. It takes hours and hours of hard work to make a final product which is of exceptional beauty and value.

We were shown into the shop and asked to sit next to the women who were busy making carpets. They then showed us the art of tying knots and we were allowed to give it a bash. Oh my word, what would take her 5 seconds took me 5 minutes!!!
She then tied a piece of wool around our wrists as a good luck symbol.

Whether you prefer natural wool or camel hair alloucha of Kairouan, brightly colored klim , margoums, or elegant silk, award Tunisia's carpets the prize for quality and price. The selections in every category are infinite and rare is the visitor who can resist such marvels at such reasonable rates. Most carpets are classified by the number of knots per square meter with silk at the top of the list with 250,000 and over! Shopowners will unroll one splendor after another until you find YOUR carpet. The Offices of the artisanat in most cities sell only quality stamped and inspected carpets and while there is no bargaining, prices are reasonable and they can package and send your carpet by plane.

We were then taken downstairs and shown an array of carpets. These carpets are all hand made and some take months to make, so one wonders just how many people are employed in this trade.
We were shown stacks of carpets and then asked to tell them which ones we liked best. These they put to one side.
We were then ushered through to another bigger room where they laid these carpets out for us and we could decide which one we wanted. Nothing like being forced into buying!!!
We would ask the price and they would say “don’t worry about the price, just think of what a nice carpet you are getting!!”
After much deliberating, we were “forced” into buying a really lovely carpet. This will be packaged and forwarded to us in a few months time, as it has to go through customs etc.
We were then led upstairs to the leather section. They had beautiful soft leather jackets for sale but when hubby was asked to don a jacket, he just told the guy plainly that we were not interested in purchasing any leather whatsoever. The guy dropped us like a hot potatoe and just turned tail and left us sitting there. Talk about a bad “sport” salesman!!
We made yet another purchase before leaving. Hubby bought me a lovely necklace and earrings to match!!

Before being taken back to the hotel, we were taken to The Habib Bourguiba Mosque. The mausoleum in Monastir is the burial place of the town’s most famous son – Habib Bourguiba. Bourguiba was born in Monastir in 1903 and served as the first President of Tunisia from 1953 until 1987. He was never elected by the people in free elections, but he is generally considered as the father of modern Tunisia. Bourguiba died in 2000 and was buried here. The mausoleum has a very impressive appearance with white towers and gold domes, decorated arches, 86 gleaming columns and tiled floors. It is possible to go into the mausoleum which is equally as ornate as the exterior and entrance is free. After a good look around and lots of photo taking, we joined our guide at the bus and were driven back to the hotel.

Photos of Camel Kissing

Kissing Camels in Tunisia

The one definite outting that we wanted to do, was the camel riding!!!
We booked a trip with one of the many stall holders within the hotel corridors, who assured us that it was a trip worthwhile.
We caught a bus at 7.30am and headed slightly inland. We drove for about an hour before our bus driver drove off the main road onto a dirt road and quite a steep incline. He stopped the bus and told us to walk down the road for about 20 metres. We were wondering just quite what we were walking towards, and thought that we wouldn’t be able to do that in S.A. as it was quite a remote area.

As we got to a fork in the road, we saw some camels being led down the road towards us. The guy told us to continue up the road. We got to a clearing and found about 12 camels all tethered together and lying down. There were some horses, donkeys and a cart being pulled by a donkey.

We were all gathered together and told that our little excursion would take about 2 hours in total, so we could swop animals. We were all heaved up onto our camels – 2 people on each. We set off and one can really feel a bit “seasick” as such, when riding on these huge animals. We came to a stop and were all taken down off the camels. Here our “guide” offered us lovely cold drinks – at quite a price I might add!!!
He then explained how the camels ate cactus plants. One camel has been singled out and he/she showed us just how much they enjoy this food, prickles and all. We were then issued with a small strip of cactus which we clasped between our teeth. We could then walk forward to the camel and it would take it from our mouths – forming a kiss!! At this point, a young man was slicking away with his camera.

The boys and I decided we had had enough camel riding and jumped on the cart along with a few other people for a luxurious ride back. This cart had an awning over it so provided some much needed protection from the scorching sun. I might just add that the temp was 40 odd degrees.
Lara just loved her camel and would not budge, so hubby had to journey back with her on their trusted camel.
Altogether our camel ride was about 2 hours long. We got back to a little shade and of course cold drinks were on sale once more.

Our guide then asked us to partake in a small meal which had been prepared for us. A woman in traditional dress had made a fire in a clay based oven. She had made bread which resembled pizza bases which she then wiped water over the one side, dipped her hand into the “clay oven” and stuck the bread to the side. She did this with all the bread rounds she had made and by the time she finished this task, she started taking the cooked breads out. They cut the bread into 4 pieces and then opened them, spooned a bit of olive oil into it and then added a mixture of tomato, onion, peppers and chilli. A very tasty snack. Along with this, they had sliced up a lovely watermelon.

After our meal, we were told to head back to where our bus had left us. The bus was waiting for us and we got back to the hotel in time for lunch.

Some Photos - Tunisia

Part 1 - Tunisia Holiday

We arrived at the airport in good time, or so we thought, only to find a queue that seemed to go on forever to the Tunisair counter. Eventually, we booked our things through and went to wait in the departure lounge.

We found the flight as comfortable as it could be. The airlines provided us with a meal and drinks but we did find the hostesses to be very surly and generally unhelpful. The flight took almost three hours and when we arrived at 10.20pm in Monastir, it was 29 degrees. The Neckerman ladies were waiting for all the newcomers and we were told to go to bus no. 136. There must have been 50 buses waiting to take people to their various destinations. We were amazed at how many flights were coming and going!!

We arrived at our hotel “Sahara Beach” at about 11.00pm. We had to fill out forms etc. and were then ushered into a little room where we were all photographed. We were each given identity cards which were in fact, our “all inclusive” tickets. We asked about supper and were told that we could possibly find supper in the Pizzeria which was still open. The boys couldn’t believe their luck on hearing the Pizza word. Unfortunately, for them, they were not making pizzas but had some delicious Roast Beef, potatoes and green beans left over from the actual dining room.
After supper we took a look around and found out how our I.D. cards allowed us to order drinks etc. We could go to any bar area, hand in our cards and order whatever we liked. Obviously there was limited hard tack, but beers and cold drinks were readily available.

There were three blocks to our hotel. The one we stayed in was apparently more for German speaking people. Another block was mainly for the British tourists and then the third was a mixture of Italian, Spanish etc. The hotel had a total of 1 046 rooms.
The two blocks were linked with passage ways which were lined with shops, coffee shops, bars etc. The hotel was like a village all on its own and there were people coming and going all the time.
The hotel had an indoor pool, as well as 3 outdoor ones. There was a hairdressing salon, massage parlour and discotheque. There was an entertainment/games room with all the tv games and pool tables available at a price of course. There was also a little animal park or zoo on the premises but there was an entrance fee for this however. The sports centre had tennis courts, soccer fields, archery, basketball courts and minigolf. One could book a game in advance and we were entitled to an hour every day (for free) of whichever game we wanted to play.

They also had an Animation team who supplied all the entertainment. Around the main pool, people were entertained by this young energetic team. There was always some music playing, either water aerobics, waterpolo or some sort of fun happening at the pool. There were also a few table tennis tables out next to the pool. The animation team would also form groups of people and would head off down to the beach. Here they played Boccia, beach soccer and volleyball.
The animation team also put a presentation on every evening. They would involve the kids in the earlier part of the evening and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. There was a stage area and seating for close to 1000 people. We watched part of the Michael Jackson show that they put on, on the Saturday evening. It was very well done.

Scattered around the pool area and on the beach were Café/Restaurant/Bars which we could go and help ourselves to whatever was available. The beach one was great because they had a sprinkler system in the beams of the roof which sprayed off a fine mist of water as you sat and ate your meal. What a clever way of cooling you off!!!

Second Week of Summer Holidays

There were only two more sleeps left before we flew to Tunisia and this was really exciting. On the Monday, I was washing and ironing last minutes things we wanted to take along with us and then I tried to pack as much of our stuff as I could.

On Tuesday morning, Lara and I went into town and met up with Heidi and Marcelle. We went to the ice cream parlour for milkshakes. Just as we sat down outside, it started to rain very lightly. So we moved indoors and all had a milkshake and then later a cappuchino. We went to Heidi's where I picked up snorkels and goggles from her. Wished Heidi well, as she was due to fly to Zimbabwe on Wednesday evening.

Later in the afternoon, Gerard phoned and said that we were taking some Bell guys out for dinner. We went off to the Greek restaurant with Seni, Andre and Peter. It was such a lovely evening that we were able to sit outdoors.

Roxy, Ryan, Marcelle and Heinz were also all there with the Dutton's, who had arrived that morning from S.A. Seems as though all the S.A.'s had the same idea about food that night!!!

Gerard had Wednesday off work which was great. We were able to sort things out leisurely before we left for the airport.

I am attaching a photo of our family which was taken by Cindy on the Saturday morning. Cindy has been with Bell for years and she writes articles for the company magazines and is their photographer.

First Week of School Holidays

The first week of the school holidays has come and gone. The kids did very little due to the miserable weather. Lara still went to kindergarten as the kindergarten only closes from the 16th July to 30th July.
On Tuesday night, we met Larissa and Cindy at the Greek restaurant for dinner. We had a nice evening together.
On Wednesday I met up with the other S.A. ladies for tea at Heidi’s house. We spent the morning chatting away as we usually do.
On Thursday, I took the boys into town with me. Our first stop was the bank, where Steven wanted to collect his birthday present. The banks are very children friendly and with the kids having their own accounts, they get a birthday card every year and a small gift. Then we parked in the town centre and went to the Vodacom shop to meet Gerard. My cell fone contract had to be renewed and I had been offered a new fone. So we sorted that out and I am now the owner of a Blackberry fone. After that, we went off to our little Doner Kebab shop where we had a lovely Doner each for lunch. These are Shwarma’s in S.A. They are very popular here in Germany and being so tasty, are fast becoming the number one fast food.
On Friday evening, Bell had their Somerfest. The weather had been miserable all day, only to start clearing that evening. The food was excellent, the company was good, so all in all it turned out to be a really lovely evening.
We had arranged for Larissa and Cindy to join us for a breakfast on Saturday morning and then we could all watch the rugby together. Well what can I say!!! The breakfast was good, the rugby …… terrible!!!
On Sunday morning Gerard went off to play golf with Heinz. It was a very hot day and Gerard arrived home absolutely exhausted.
He had a shower and a snooze before getting up and getting the braai ready. We had a lovely braai in the afternoon with our friends and ended off our week well.

Photo's of Steven's Birthday

Some of our latest news.

After Gerard’s mom left us, the house just seemed so empty. To top it off, Gerard left the next day (Sunday) for Spain.

I got together with Roxy and Marcelle on Tuesday for tea at Roxy’s house. Roxy treated us to her delicious scones.

On Thursday, I picked Heidi up and the two of us went off to Fulda for the morning. It was so nice to walk through the shops and look for things without kids moaning and groaning as to how boring it was. We had a nice cup of coffee and some German cake before making our way back to Alsfeld.

The schools were breaking up on Friday 6th, so that whole week was spent winding down with very little homework. Robert took a little gift for his teacher on Friday, as he had spent the last 3 years with her. He said that the whole class was very tearful at the final farewell. He was quite tearful at home just telling me about it all. I just can’t believe that my little boy goes into “high school” in September.

It was also report day of course. Robert and Steven had very average reports and are both going onto the next year - thankfully.

Friday being full of excitement for the kids was even more exciting for Stevie as it was his ninth birthday. I had planned for his birthday to be at Halligalli and I was quite pleased, as the weather had not improved at all. He had a total of 12 children at his party including himself. We had bought him the Bayern Munchen soccer outfit amongst other smaller things, and my S.A. friends clubbed together and bought him some Adidas soccer boots, goalie gloves and socks that all matched his new outfit.
Boy, was he chuffed with all of this!! I will post some photos of his party so that you can see his cake etc.
The last two years, Zelda had been here and helped me out with Steven’s party but this year, I had to go it alone. I was at the point of muttering under my breath “never again” when Heidi walked in. How relieved I was to see her.
Ryan and Roxy arrived a bit later and they were pleasantly surprised to see how many activities Halligalli has to offer. Gerard arrived and both he and Ryan played soccer with the boys. Oh what fun they had.

On Saturday, we had a nice lazy start to our day. I was busy with breakfast, when Gerard walked in and said that Clive (Gerard’s boss from S.A.) and Seni (a colleague from S.A.) would be here soon!!! He had omitted to tell me that the rugby game was starting at 12.00. Well was I caught unawares. Anyway, the two of them decided to go and do shopping in Giesen afterall. Gerard and I watched the rugby and were disappointed that S.A. lost. Clive and Seni returned in the afternoon with all their shopping.

On Sunday, the family had been invited to Gary Bell’s birthday lunch and Cindy’s introduction to Germany. It was great to get out, the weather was quite good and a good time was had by all.
We all left at about 3.30pm as Gary was flying back to S.A. a little later that evening. Well, Gerard received an SMS telling us that the party was continuing at their house in Romrod. Gary had postponed his flight until the following night.
It was a great evening where we met Gary and Larissa’s neighbours.