Posts

South America

Hello Santiago!

It’s been quite a while since we last set foot in Santiago—George’s project here in 2006 feels like a lifetime ago! So much has changed in the city, but one thing remains the same: the incredible warmth of the people who welcome you with open arms. 

Our adventure began with a late-night arrival after an eight-hour flight from Sydney. Jet lag hit us hard, so we took it easy on our first day, enjoying a delicious meal at an outdoor patio in the funky, bohemian Lastarria neighborhood. It was the perfect way to ease back into the city’s rhythm. 

Once we’d recovered, we dove into classic sightseeing. The hop-on hop-off bus gave us a fantastic introduction to Santiago, and the cable car ride to the top of San Cristobal Hill was a highlight. Fun fact: this cable car is said to be the third most popular tourist attraction in Latin America! The descent was just as memorable, thanks to the funicular—a unique sled-like contraption guided by massive pulleys and cables. It’s a must-try for anyone visiting the city. 

Sundays in Santiago are for markets, and we were blown away by the sheer scale—acres of stalls bursting with fresh fruit, fish, meats, and everything in between. After a busy morning exploring, we treated ourselves to brunch and pisco sours at alocal café, savoring the flavors and energy of the city.

Our Spanish was a bit rusty after so many years away from Latin America, but we found the perfect way to brush up: a visit to the local barbershop. Gabriel and Wilmer, the barbers, were not only skilled but also incredibly patient and fun. Our conversation ranged from world politics to the local economy—and, of course, where to find the best empanadas in Santiago. 

Next up: a train journey across the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina. We’ve heard the views are nothing short of spectacular, and we can’t wait to share more about this next chapter of our adventure.

Stay Tuned!

Australia

Reconnecting and Celebrating in Sydney

Our cruise from Hawaii brought us back to one of our favorite places – Sydney. There’s something special about returning to Australia, and this trip was no exception. We enjoyed two house sits in the greater Sydney area: a week on the coast north of the city and ten weeks in the western suburbs, both filled with the fun of caring for dogs and exploring new neighborhoods.

Being in Australia over the holidays was perfect. It gave us the chance to reconnect with old friends and welcome new ones into our circle. Our history with Sydney goes back to 1993, when George worked on the launch of Optus Communications. It’s amazing to see how much the company—and our friendships—have grown since then.

We caught up with longtime friends Sally and Brian, who introduced us to their vibrant group, including Lizzie, Hamish, Laura, and David. Reconnecting with Tom and Yawen from San Diego was another highlight; their home in Potts Point (formerly King’s Cross) became a hub for gatherings, and through them, we met Keiran and Ian, who treated us to an unforgettable dinner.

The holidays were made even more festive when Rachael flew in to join us. Thanksgiving was a true celebration, complete with turkey, all the trimmings, and a table full of desserts. Sharing this American tradition with friends—many for the first time—was a joy, and George even wrote a skit to explain the holiday’s origins (see below).

We also reunited with friends from Optus; we had a great visit with Louisa. We also caught up with Karen and Tony (and thier respective spouses). We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and pub lunch in Neutral Bay, with Rachael along for the ride. The festivities continued between Christmas and New Year’s, when Matthew, Stephanie, and Stephanie’s mom Celia joined us.

Tom and Yawen hosted a spectacular New Year’s Eve, featuring delicious prime rib and a front-row seat to the fireworks.

To cap it all off, we hosted a southern-style BBQ and music jam, surrounded by our Sydney and San Diego friends. Good food, great music, and even better company made it a memorable start to the new year.

We can’t wait to return to Sydney and see everyone again. Next stop: Santiago, Chile

 

George’s First Thanksgiving Play:

Narrator(George): “As many of you here are not from America; we thought it would be helpful to explain the origins of the first Thanksgiving with a dramatic reading.

I will be your narrator, the part of the Native American Indian will be played by Rachael, the Pilgrim will be played by Tom: and finally  Lizzy will be supplying all our sound effects.”

Sound: Dramatic introductory trumpet blast

Narrator: In 1620 a group of separatists, known as the Pilgrims, set sail from England in search of religious freedom.”

Pilgrim: “We are going to America to worship any way we want, surely that will work out!”

Narrator: “There were 132 passengers and 30 crew members. In addition, there were two bull mastiff dogs”

Sound: Dog barking

Narrator: “Since there were rats on board”

Sound: rats squeaking

Narrator: There were also several hard-working cats

Sound: cats meowing

Narrator: The journey was long and the weather was very rough”

Sound: wind howling, thunder etc

Narrator: “Finally, after 10 weeks there was a shout from the ship”

Pilgrim: “I see a Ho!”

All But Pilgrim: “That’s Land Ho!”

Narrator: “It was Plymouth Rock!”

Sound: Goes crazy with air guitar solo with electric sound

All but Sound: “Not that kind of rock”

Narrator: “When they arrived in Massachusetts, they were exhausted from the journey, weak from lack of food, extremely cold (since it was the dead of winter) and completely unprepared to cope with this new environment.”

Pilgrim: “I am tired, I am hungry, I am cold and I think I just broke a nail!”

Narrator: Luckily for the new settlers, there was a tribe of indigenous people known as the Winnebago Indians

Indian: “Wam-pa-no-ag Indians”

Narrator: “OK, the Wampanoag Indians, who took pity on them.”

Indian: “We will teach you how to make shelter, how to hunt for wild game and which plants like corn, pumpkins and sweet potatoes will grow. We will teach you to fish in the ocean and the streams and how to prosper in our native lands.              But you better not screw us over later, ok?”

Pilgrim: “Oh we would never lie, break treaties, cheat you, or steal your lands….”

Indian: “well, OK, then.”

Narrator: “So the Indians taught the settlers how to build shelters and how to be a ho in the corn fields”

All but narrator: “That’s how to hoe the corn fields”.

Narrator: “Oh, with much help from the Indians, the pilgrims made it through the harsh winter, and their first crop of corn and local vegetables was extremely bountiful.”

Pilgrim: “We are going to have a feast to celebrate our amazing harvest and the fact that we made it through the first year here. Hey Indians since you helped us out a little:”

Indian: “A LOT!”

Pilgrim: “Yeah whatever, anyway since you helped us out, we would love it if you would join us for the feast”.

Narrator: “So, the Indians joined the feast brought fish and local game and it was foul”

All but the narrator: “No that’s fish, local game and fowl”

Indian: “Here’s a turkey, you can get stuffed”

Pilgrim: “I think you mean we can stuff the turkey.”

Indian: “I got a bad feeling about the future of our relationship.”

Narrator: and so began a long tradition of hosting annual party to give thanks for another good year. It is an occasion to invite family and friends’ round for a bountiful feast, featuring stuffed turkey, local vegetables and amazing desserts.

All: “Welcome to our thanksgiving celebration!”

Hawaii

Aloha From Kialua

This is not the first time we have been to Honolulu, but it our previous visits have been a quick stop in Waikiki on the way to someplace else.

Don’t get us wrong, we like Waikiki but does feel a bit like a cross between Disney World and Las Vegas, especially at night. I am pretty sure that the lights of Kalakkaua Ave can be seen from space. The beach is amazing, the surf is fantastic, the water and weather are warm. There is a LOT to be said for sitting on the deck at Duke’s on a Sunday afternoon listening to Henry Kapono and his band weave their magical spell of the islands.

Prior to our arrival we arranged a house sit in Kailua. If you are not familiar with our house-sitting operation you can read more here. If you decide you want to sign up for Trusted House Sitters, this link will give you 25% off of your first year.

Kailua is on the eastern side of the island on the other side of the Ko’olau mountain range. It’s a very leisurely 30-minute ride on the Pali highway (route 61) with some truly amazing scenery.

We house sat for a lovely couple and two of the sweetest dogs we have even come across (not mention a couple of chickens that graced us with fresh eggs daily). The pups, Monty and Mak, were pitbulls mixes, which may sound a bit scary to some, but these two thought they were lap dogs. We have heard the term “Velcro dog” in the past but now we really know what it means, these two followed us around everywhere we went and if we sat, Monty needed to be touching one of us.

Over the three weeks we were there we settled into a easy schedule. Up in the morning, yoga, breakfast (fresh eggs) and then a walk with the dogs. It was indeed warm, so after the walk, we would all jump in the pool in the back yard and cool off. The back yard was the kind of oasis that one could only create in Hawaii.

The amazing beaches, Kailua Beach and Lanikai were just a short walk from the house. They were everything you could hope for in a beach and had the bonus of being far away from the tourist crowds of Waikiki.

On the way home from the beach was an excellent shave’ ice stand. (note: shave’ – not shaved). This delicacy, like so many others, that just seems to taste better where it originated (kind of like drinking Guiness in Ireland). Delicately shaved ice; piled high and drenched with locally made sugar syrups of all flavors. Don’t confuse shave’ ice with a sno-cone, there really is no comparison…

The days flew past and soon it was time for us to board a ship to Australia, more about that trip later….

Poland

Beautiful Poland

We had a great time wandering around the USA visiting with family and friends, but now we are back in Europe.

First a note about how we got here this time. We took a repositioning cruise from Florida to Barcelona. If you are not familiar with the idea of repositioning cruises, check out this article. The long and short of it is that we spent 14 days crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship, with a lovely cabin and all the regular things that you would expect on a cruise for a fraction of the price. In addition to a amazing trip, we had the advantage of arriving without the usual jet lag of a transatlantic flight.

After one quick night in Barcelona, we caught a cheap flight on WizzAir to Poland. The first stop on our four-week trip to Poland was Wroclaw (pronounced Rots-lav). This was the meet up point for the first of three back-to-back English immersion programs.

Basically, what happens is that people who are learning English pay to attend a one-week intensive English only retreat. For each student, there is a native English speaker who is volunteering. So we got to see three amazing parts of Poland (really 6 if you count the departure cities). In exchange for volunteering, we got our housing food and excursions paid for. This time we did programs that were based out of Wroclaw, Krakow and Warsaw. We met some amazing people, both volunteers and students, sang some songs drank some wine and just generally had a fantastic time.

This is not the first time we have volunteered for English immersion programs. If you would like to learn more you ca check out our post about the school we attended in Germany and Spain. Or if you like to learn more (or volunteer yourself) check out the links below:

 

Once we had completed our third week of immersion schools, we were ready for a break, so we grabbed a little studio apartment and spent a week exploring Krakow. We ate amazing food, met up with friends we made over the last few weeks and acted like tourists, It was great.

On a more somber note, we did not feel like we could leave Krakow with taking the time to tour two of the biggest concentration camps in the area. This was especially poignant for us given the rise of authoritarianism in the world today. Between 1940 and 1945 1.1 million people died in just these camps, there are others like them. It is impossible to describe the experience, but it is these are places we feel every person should see. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

Coming up: we travel to Palermo to start our search for the best Cannoli in Sicily!

Captain George and first Mate Bonnie!
Uncategorized

Captain’s License

I (George) recently got my boat captain’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard and let me tell you the process was not straight forward! There are a lot of prerequisites. In fact it was so complicated that we decided to make a video to walk others through the process.

The good news is that I got it all done, I am now fully licensed.

So if you need your boat delivered on the East Coast or in the Caribbean, or if you have a charter boat and are looking for a captain and first mate, Bonnie and I are ready!

You can watch the video here…

USA

So Much History!

Despite all our global traveling, we realized that there is so much of our home country that we have yet to explore. To that end, we have set off in a trek across America. Our route will take us up the east coast, across the northern part of the United States, on an Alaskan cruise, down the West Coast and then, once more, across the southern part of the country. (FYI – This will be our second trip from east to west and our third cross country since August 2023 😮).

Our low budget travels are made possible, by:

      1. Thousands of miles driven in a Toyota Rav4 that was generously loaned to us by George’s brother, Frank.
      2. Many family members and friends who have or will host us along the way.
      3. Extensive use of the Trusted House Sitters program.

At present we find ourselves house sitting for Dimitri, an extremely vocal but very lovable, yellow cat. Dimitri and his people live in Franklin Massachusetts, which is about an hour outside of Boston. We know this because earlier this week we traveled into Boston to see our dear friend Fred run the Boston Marathon.

As school children we learned of much of the history of Boston, the “tea party”, “one if by land and two if by sea” and all of that. We had no idea, however, about the amazing history of the small town of Franklin.

The town of Franklin was established in 1860. It was originally planned to be called Exeter, but as was the custom at the time at the last minute they changed the name of honor one of the heroes of the American Revolution. In this case, it was the statesman Benjamin Franklin. This was the first town that had been named after him.

By reading plaques and exhibits around town we learned some of the fascinating details about the town’s history. It seems that a local pastor suggested, that since the town was named after him and all, it might be appropriate for Ben Franklin to contribute a bell for the steeple of the local public meeting house. Meeting houses in those days were often Protestant churches, and or facilities for paying subscribers.

Franklin wrote back and advised that he was honored to be the namesake of the town, but that he did not wish to contribute a bell, which would only mean that the townspeople would have to pay to erect a steeple. Instead, he suggested that he provide an endowment of a specific set of (116) books that he and his family had chosen. His logic here was that: “sense is more important than sound”. While there were those who wished to keep the collection private, the townspeople voted to make it public. Thus, the very first public book lending library was established in the USA.

The library now is nothing short of breathtaking and very actively used by the proud citizens of Franklin. Among the early users of that library was local lad by the name of Horace Mann. Despite very little formal education in his early years, Mann made extensive use of the library. This enabled his acceptance to Brown University at age 20. He got his law degree and later became the Secretary of the newly formed Massachusetts Board of Education. Mann’s work there led him to become widely known as the father of the American public education program.

No doubt we will continue to learn interesting tidbits during our walks around Franklin over the few days.

From here we’re off to see Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, Deadwood city and so much more of America…

 

Mexico

No Better Time Than Now, For Mexico!

It was great seeing so many friends and family members on our drive across America; especially since we had been overseas so long. Our extended stay in the United States was made possible in part because we were finally able to get signed up for insurance via the Affordable Care Act. Now we have coverage both inside the USA and when we are on the road internationally.

We came across an amazing opportunity to house sit in Mexico, and it was just too good to pass up. So after after a house sit in San Diego and some days with wonderful friends, we hopped a flight to Playa Del Carmen. This smaller tourist community in roughly centered between Cancun and Tulum with (Cozumel directly to the east) on the Yucatán Peninsula.

Our first location included three very lovable dogs, Mouse, Coco and Brownie. We had a great time playing with them and exploring the neighborhood during daily walks. From there we moved to a lovely but affordable rental apartment for a few days. Since we were not actually house sitting at this location we were able to invites guests to come visit. In this case, our visitors were Bonnie’s niece Isabella and her friend Erik, from Seattle Washington.

Having visitors come is always a good excuse to go do touristy things, and we did! Our first big outing was to wander the “Zona Touristica” where wandered down the long pedestrian street, drank margaritas and had an amazing dinner.

The next day we took a road trip of about two and a half hours to a complex of Mayan ruins called Chichen Itza. Around about 700AD this area was a bustling city with thousands of inhabitants. The tourist area here contains many many ruins and smaller structures, but the largest and most impressive is the pyramid called El Castillo. Wandering around the ruins is made even more entertaining by a horde of salespeople, each hawking souvenirs ranging from jaguar calls to tee shirts and wooden carvings. Everything is “on sale today” and “so cheap it’s almost free”.

A word of caution if you drive yourself to Chichen Itza: many less than reputable groups with try to flag you down on the small road that leads you to the complex. They will tell you, sometimes very convincingly, that they are the official sales people for tickets into the complex, and if you buy later it will cost much more and you can skip the line. In fact, they will try and charge you double and you have to wait in a longer line if you buy from them. Politely decline their offers and wait to buy your tickets at the gate; the line was not bad at all when we were there.

The next day was our fun-in-the-sun day. We started at one of the local fresh water swimming holes. These swimming areas occur naturally when underground limestone caves collapse and fill with ground water. Many have caves that you can explore. There are thirteen of these Cenotes (pronounced see-NO-tay) around Playa Del Carmen. We chose one called Cristalino which, we were advised, is a bit less packed with tourist. The water was in fact crystal clear and blue and not as cold as I expected. We had a great time swimming around and checking out the caves. I’d you sit and dangle your feet in the water, little fish swim up and nibble at the dead skin on your feet. Assuming you are not too ticklish, it is a natural pedicure for free.

After the Cenote, we drove to a nearby beach, where for a very reasonable price we rented beach chairs under shady umbrellas and enjoyed cocktails by the ocean. The weather was delightful, the ocean clear and cool and the service amazing. It is easy to see why this area is the topic of so many songs about escaping for a beach holiday.

Tomorrow we are headed back for a second sit at the same house we visited when we first arrived. In just a few days we will enjoy an extended celebration. October 30th is Bonnie’s birthday and October 31st kicks off a three day holiday in Mexico called Dia de Los Muertes or Day Of The Dead. A whimsical, yet quite serious holiday, in which the Mexican people remember their loved ones who have passed on. More about that later….

New Caledonia

Going out for French Food

About 750 miles east of Australia lies a group of beautiful islands. This South Pacific Island chain, of a dozen or so Islands, is a French territory called New Caledonia. The largest of these islands is Grande Terre, where there is an international airport near a popular tourist town called Noumea.

We are in Australia on a one year visa but we are restricted to stays not to exceed 90 days. We had already completed three house sits in Meadowie, Morpeth and Sydney. We knew we would have to leave the country to reset our visas before our next sit, 9 weeks in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales started, so we began looking for somewhere close that we could go for a quick turnaround, (unfortunately, a round trip cruise with stops in New Zealand did not meet the legal requirements).

When Tom & Yawen, our great friends from San Diego who now live in Sydney, suggested New Caledonia it sounded like a good idea.  When they told us that they could join us on the trip, it became a no brainer. George and Tom worked together closely at Nextivity, and we have been fast friends ever since.

We wrapped up our house sit in Sydney and headed for the airport. After a 3-hour flight, we arrived at the airport, where we took a shuttle bus for another 45 minutes to Noumea. It was late evening when we finally arrived. Tom and Ya met us with a much-appreciated club sandwich and a cold beer.

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Over the next few days, we explored the town of Noumea, took long walks along the coast and browsed the local tourist shops. Typically, we would have stolen Tom away for some scuba diving, but due to recent bull shark attacks in the local waters there was no ocean swimming allowed.

Our evenings started with sunset cocktails and amazing views, followed by some of the most extraordinary French food (and wine) we have ever had. We enjoyed one unforgettable restaurant after another.

All too soon it was time for our last hotel breakfast buffet and a ride back to the airport. What would otherwise have been a boring ride was made amazing by the limo driver that Tom & Ya organized. This gentleman has been driving for years and regaled us with stories of the “who’s who” of passengers he had driven around the south of France before moving to Noumea. On top of that he was a singer and played us his studio recorded version of “My Way”. It would have made Frank Sinatra jealous!

Driving down the ocean road after yet another amazing adventure, this time in the South Pacific, the words to the song really rang true:

I’ve lived a life that’s full,

I’ve traveled each and every highway.

And more, much more:

I did it my way.

Australia

Hanging out with Arthur in Morpeth

Well, it is quite a change from Vietnam, but we now find ourselves in the little village of Morpeth, New South Wales. Morpeth is located a couple of hours north of Sydney, and at 200 years, is quite an old town by Australian standards. The town has a population of just over 1,500 people, so we are quickly coming to know the locals.

Nadine owns a coffee shop called “Common Grounds” where George played and sang (busking it is called here) for a couple of hours on Sunday. Nathan works at the local butcher where Bonnie bought nice leg of lamb, direct from the family farm this morning. Brook is our favorite bar tender at the local pub.

But the most important individual we have met is Arthur, 12-year-old chocolate lab, who lives with his person, Alison, in a delightful old home here in town. We are looking after the house and hanging out with Arthur for a few weeks while Alison is in Europe on holiday.

Arthur is a big boy, as one local commented this morning he has been “feedin’ in a healthy paddock”. This is just one of many colorful turns of phrases we have heard. One chap outside of the small grocery store commented about the wind, which was “strong enough to blow a dog off his chain”.  Another person commented that she did not remember how many it was, but she was “still on her hands”; which we later learned means that it was less than 10, as she could still count them on her fingers.

We were lucky enough to experience the ANZAC day parade and remembrance in town. ANZAC stands for Australian, New Zealand, Army Corps. It was quite a big event for the little town of Morpeth. Arthur had a great time resting on the sidewalk out in front of the pub, where many folks in colorful attire and a chest full of ribbons stopped to give a head scratch or belly rub.

One more important note about Morpeth; it is home to the original bake house owned by the Arnott family. Arnott’s is now the biggest name in cookies (or biscuits as they call them here) in Australia. Most importantly, they are the makers of “Tim Tams”, George’s favorite cookie in the world!

Vietnam

Cooking School in Vietnam

Since we (Bonnie & George) live on the road full time, we tend to merge our daily routine with the peculiarities of the country we are in. We both love to walk and cover 3 or 4 miles each day.  During our first couple of months in Da Nang, we really got to know the area that we live in and the surrounding neighborhoods quite well; but not much of anything else in the region.

In short what I am saying is that we are terrible tourists. So, when out friends Matt and Stephanie came from the USA to visit us in Vietnam, it was great excuse to check out some of the local “touristy” things to do. Both Matt and Bonnie share a love of cooking (luckily Stephanie and I love to eat); thus, a cooking school seemed like the logical choice.

I searched online and found a school with locations in both De Nang and the neighboring town of Hoi Ann. After reading review of Jolie Cooking Class. We decided to give it a go. We reached out to Jolie and arranged a date and time.

The day started early with a car to pick us up at our apartment in De Nang at 7:30am. The cost of the car for the four of us was included in the cooking class. We elected to take the class in Hoi Ann to see a bit more of the surrounding area. 40 minutes, and some beautiful scenery later, we arrived at one of the local markets. Jolie met us and guided us through the markets, explaining how to pick the various fruits, vegetables, herbs and meats that we would use in out cooking class later. Once loaded up with our raw materials we left the markets and stopped for a coffee before we started cooking. This was great, as it allowed us some time to meet the other folks that were in taking the class. In total there were only 6 of us in the class that day, a perfect sized group.

After a delicious, iced coffee, we took the short walk to Jolie’s compound with a combination of here home, a traveler’s hostel and the cooking school. Were greeted by three young ladies, each more delightful than the last. These three under, Jolie’s careful tutelage served us delicious orange tea and then helped us prepare three amazing local dishes. Despite the fact that Matt & Bonnie are the real cooks in the group, we all were encouraged to get involved in the food prep. Of course, there was a lot of laughter, fun and singing (the girls have beautiful voices) throughout the perpetration.

With the aid of some flash cards, the girls taught how to properly pronounce the names of each one of the dishes. The also taught us how to make very clever garnishes including rosed made from tomato skins and flowers made from red hot chilis.

The food was amazing and we had so much fun, before we knew it, it was afternoon, our bellies were full of amazing food and ours sides ached from laughing so much.

In fact we had such a great time, when our friends Rachael, Derick and Laura came to visit us: we went back again. Because we were in four our second visit, the team in Hoi Ann went out of their way to make sure it was again a unique experience.

What was different:

      • our guide this time was named Rosie
      • the food we prepared were different dishes and so the sections of the market we went to were different to gather different ingredients
      • the games we played and activities we did were all different

What was the same:

      • we went back to the cooking school at Jolie’s compound in Hoi Ann
      • the food was amazing
      • the girls at the school were just as fun and charming as before
      • the value for money (around $40 per person) was great

So, if you find yourself in De Nang or Hoi Ann and are looking for a fun, educational and just thoroughly enjoyable diversion, check out Jolie Cooking Class.