BEIJING-NICE-Singapore JUNE-JULY 2019

Adelaide to Beijing 7-12 June

" The best laid-plans of mice and men often go awry". 

No truer words have ever been spoken when being notified by our China travel rail booking agency that our submission for tickets for the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Moscow on June 12 was unsuccessful due to the international ticket allocation being awarded to a travel group taking up all berths. Sounds complicated? Dead right.

Unlike the 'norm', when booking long distant trains in China one does not go on-line, book, pay and print tickets. One submits train and dates, pays then waits a month out from date of travel to be informed if your submission is successful. As stated, we were not successful. No problems with the full refund, but with bookings and visas locked in for 5 weeks, the 5 nights-6 days on the train to Moscow requires an alternative.

We were to travel with close friends to Moscow then onto St Petersburg for this leg of our journey to Nice. After spending our 4 nights in Beijing arriving on June 8, our friends chose to train to Hong Kong and with a successful ticket submission then fly to Moscow picking up the itinerary from June 17 in Moscow.

Having already visited Moscow with not enough time to do lots there is to do, we decided to extend our stay by 5 nights and further explore this unique part of the world. 

Overnight at Adelaide Airport

New International Terminal under construction

Not a good start with our 0600 flight delayed 2hrs due to Sydney fog. Departed Sydney aprox 1300 and arrived on time Beijing time at 2215 after 12+hrs flight.

SYDNEY AIRPORT

Sunset to Beijing

Arrived at Jianguo Hotspring Hotel soon after midnight,Sunday June 9. Good sleep in then commenced 2&1/2 days of exploring and sightseeing.

TIANANMEN

 National Library

 Moa's Mausoleum

 Long March Memorial

Great Hall

MING TOMBS

GREAT WALL

 Cable Car up

Cable Car down

SUMMER PALACE

BEIJING STREET SCENES

After what was a remarkable experience in this fascinating city we were up at 0330 Wednesday June 12 for another early flight departing 0555 for Moscow via Novosibirsk.

Next blog "From Russia with Love".

  

Santiago, A Coruna, Madrid - July 12-17. Home via Barcelona, Paris & London.

Short break before home

After a day recovering from our Camino on July 9 we reverted back to more 'traditional' holiday activities. Our last day in Santiago de Compostela on July 11 was spent on a small group of 12 bus tour to the 'Death Coast' of Fisterra and Muxia named as a result of the treacherous North Atlantic coastline. Pre Columbus's  circumnavigation, Fisterra was regarded as the 'end of the world' as no land could be seen from where it's coastline finished.

 Out of the 12 on the tour, 5 of us had walked the Camino and we had all met up somewhere at least once. Our meeting on the tour was purely random, yet another example of the Camino's synchronicity.

After a reflective final evening in Santiago, spent with the group on the tour, we departed the next day for a short 40min train trip North to A Coruna for some relaxing time in the holiday destination by the sea. A Coruna is famous for it's World Heritage ancient Roman lighthouse The Tower of Hercules, dating back to the 1st Century and the not so famous family home of the Picasso family from 1891-5 prior to their move to Malaga on the Southern coast of Spain when Pablo was aged 14. 

After a pleasant 3 night stay we departed on Sunday July 15 for the 5 1/2 hr train trip to Madrid where we spent a very short 2 nights and a full day. Madrid is on the return bucket list as what we saw in such a short time did not do this beautiful city justice. The highlight was being hosted in a private home for dinner with locals booked through an agency which arranges such events throughout European cities. It was worth every euro and more.

Our departure from Madrid is the beginning of our return home, by train to Paris via Barcelona ( from where this is being put together) and EuroStar to London after a night in Paris for our flight home via Singapore and Melbourne departing Wednesday night July 18. This has been a most memorable time away.

Finisterra Day Trip July 11

 The 'end of the world'

A Coruna July 12-15

Tower of Hercules-1st Century lighthouse

View from the tower

Home of Pablo Picasso aged 9-14

Madrid July 15-17

All good things come to an end until next time