Here and There Blog

Castel Nuovo - the new castle to replace the old one. I didn't make it to the old castle but I'm outside with the catapult rocks. Built in 1282, it's old. Fun to wander around for a bit. Herculaneum - empty streets from a city that was destroyed by Vesuvius. These ruins are fun to walk since you can go in all the houses and streets. It's smaller than Pompei and worth a couple of hours. Below is part of Pompei. There's about 4 hours of wandering if you want to do it all. I recommend two hours for most people as you start to get sensory overload and much of the ruins are blocked off.  

Took the bus on a short drive along the Bay of Naples. On a clear sunny day this had to be picture perfect. The rich people live over here and the view out to Vesuvius and Capri is the payoff. Daily life goes on even while living under the daily volcano activity watch.

In Napoli to see Vesuvius and Pompei. Will upload pictures when I'm home. It's been cold and rainy but that didn't stop us from hiking up the volcano trail to peer inside the crater of the still active Vesuvius. No hotels are allowed to operate anymore due to the high danger of eruptions. Constant monitoring goes on to check for unusual activity. Today we were safe.

Off to Italy! Changing planes in Munich where a strange sight is in view. Fluffy, wet, and cold!

Bangkok update. 2 days of work and it was all traffic, malls, high rise buildings. Only the tourists made this look different from other Asia cities. Still a tip centric country. Bring small change for service here. At the airport now and homeward bound.

It's been well over 20 years since I was here last. The airport is no longer a chaotic mess, the buildings are taller, and yet there's still that element of hustling tourists that hasn't gone away. I look at all the sightseeing suggestions and realize that I did all of those in a short weekend. (JM, I am staying out of Tuk Tuks). These are first impressions only. I'm looking forward to these two days of work to see more of today's Bangkok.

5 days in Jakarta and not a picture. Work started early and ended late each day. Hotel, taxi, buildings, smog. Nothing to see, move along. Now at the airport waiting to depart for the final country before heading home

Flying over South Island, New Zealand on the way to Indonesia. The sky stayed clear long enough to see this:

After 4 days in Auckland, this is it for pictures. View of the harbor from the hotel. Wonderful place and all too sad to only work. My consolation is I'll return next year.

If you want to get out and exercise in Sydney go to the Royal Botanic Gardens. It's free, pretty large, and plenty to look at. Bring a hat though because even with all these trees there is little shade. I walked for 1 hour and probably only got through 40% of the trail. There's a walk along the water that provides a good breeze You can also get your Sydney Opera House and Bridge picture out of the way here.  For being so close to the harbor and the docks the water is fairly clear and blue.  Looking across to the city.  Next time I have a few hours free in Sydney I'm going back to see the other half of the park. Check the weather.  I was here from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. At 5:00 pm a thunderstorm broke out and everything went from blue and dry to gray and drenched.