Wednesday, December 23

Last days in Geneva

Our time living in Geneva has come to an end. We are going to Suva, Fiji, where I have a new job with the ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre. I will be writing about life in Suva at our new blog: www.spacifics.blogspot.com.

Our last days in Geneva were extremely hectic, with our things being shipped off, farewells to attend, last minute work to get through, the car to sell and the apartment to clean. Phew! Now it's all over and we are making our way towards the next adventure.


Reflecting on our time in Geneva, there are many happy memories. It has been a real journey of discovery. I have learned so much about the world, about statistics and about the mechanics of the UN. I leave Geneva with a sense of achievement and with excitement about the new adventures that life in the Pacific will bring.

I also feel a sense of sadness as we said goodbye to a number of close friends and colleagues who have made our time in Geneva really special. We will miss them, but thankfully the internet makes communication so easy, even despite the almost 12 hour time difference between Suva and Europe.

As we undertake our 36 hour journey to Adelaide, I am looking forward to spending a couple of weeks with family and friends before heading off to Fiji.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.



Sunday, September 13

Holidaying in Croatia

A four day long weekend provided the perfect excuse to take some time off and spend a week in Croatia, chasing the summer sun. My Dad is visiting at the moment, so the three of us headed off together last Saturday. It was the first time that any of us had ever visited Croatia. The Dalmatian coastline is spectacular. We rented a terrific house in the hills above Makarska, a popular tourist town about an hour from Split and two hours from Dubrovnik.

MakarskaWe spent the week taking day trips (Dubrovnik and the nearby islands), heading down the hill for a swim at the beach, lounging about on the terrace, reading, playing cards and watching the sunset.

One of the highlights for me was our short drive to the nearby Biokovo National Park. I was expecting us to just park the car and go for a short hike in the pine forest, but when we arrived, we found the park consists of the highest mountain road in Croatia: 23kms of terrifyingly narrow, steep road that took us up to the 1,762m mountain peak. It was an incredible drive and I was grateful to complete it without scratching the hire car. In some places, the two-way road was barely wide enough for one car! Well, that may be exaggerating, but it was a challenging and exciting drive. This video of cyclists making the downhill run gives an impression.

Overall, I really enjoyed the holiday in Croatia, but for a region that relies upon tourism, they could a better job of some things. The food was disappointing and the tourist information was either non-existent or overwhelming. We wanted to buy a nice momento, but struggled to find anything beyond rows and rows of tourist trash markets. However, the people were lovely and the weather was gorgeous. If you like watersports and don't mind pebbly beaches, it is a very affordable and worthwhile holiday destination.


Sunday, August 30

Trip around South Africa

This year's International Statistical Institute (ISI) conference was held in Durban, South Africa, which gave us the perfect excuse to visit this interesting country.

After the conference finished on Saturday, we headed off on a tour of South Africa on the Sunday morning. We were only 5 people in our tour group: our good friend and colleague, Petteri; a young newlywed couple from Malta; and us. Our guide was Thabo, a terrific and talkative South African man from Soweto, just outside of Johannesburg. Together we had an excellent time and saw something new and interesting every day.


Our tour group (L-R): Jess, Petteri, Krista, Kris and Peter


Day 1: Durban to Santa Lucia via Shakaland, a Zulu cultural village


Shakaland

Sunset in Santa Lucia



Day 2: Santa Lucia cruise and drive to Swaziland



Crossing the border into Swaziland



Day 3: Drive through Swaziland and into Kruger National Park




At the southern gate of the Kruger National Park

Day 4: Safari in Kruger and BBQ in our rest camp


Our huts at Pretoriaskop rest camp



The safari started out a little chilly at 6:30am

Then the animals started to appear....




Day 5: Visiting natural wonders and staying in the quaint mining town of Pilgrim's Rest

Jess at Blyde River Canyon

The Three Rondweles


Our hotel at Pilgrim's Rest


Buying a beer at the bar


Day 6: Drive through Johannesburg and visit to Soweto

We took a detour on our planned itinerary to visit the hometown of our guide, Thabo. He grew up in Soweto (name derived from South West Township), the township that was built for segregated groups during apartheid. It is home to around 65% of Johannesburg's residents, probably about 7 million people.
This, our last day in South Africa, was one of the highlights of the tour. We visited Nelson Mandela's house (8115 Orlando East), the 1976 uprising musuem and the house of Thabo's mother and family.

Sunday, July 19

Warsaw, Poland

My work has given me the opportunity to visit many countries over the last few years and 2009 has been no exception. So far this year I've been to Ghana, Portugal, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Poland and Kyrgyzstan. Likely destinations in the next six months are Tajikistan, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Macedonia.

After a busy three day meeting, I had a weekend to explore Warsaw with Peter and a friend from work. Quite a nice city with an amazing new "old town".


The flower markets just down the road from our hotel were a daily treat of colour and perfume.


Warsaw was completely destroyed during WWII. The old town (see the buildings behind this group of musicians who were just wandering the streets) was rebuilt to look the same, based on photos and whatever records could be found.


An apt location for an art exhibition about tolerance.


Sunday, June 7

Lisbon in March

I had to travel to Lisbon for a meeting in March, accompanied by my favourite bag carrier, Peter. While I was working hard, Peter was touring the Portuguese countryside. He went to some picturesque towns north of Lisbon and even enjoyed a stroll on the beach. In the evenings we dined out together, including a lovely dinner with my colleagues and a few Fado singers.


View across the countryside




Peter and the Atlantic Ocean


Jess and her boss at the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics
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Weekend visit to Tunis

We visited Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, back in February of this year. It was our first trip to North Africa. We stayed in the centre and spent Saturday afternoon exploring the Medina. Not much shopping, but Peter got a nice haircut for about AUD$5. On the Sunday we took the train out to Carthage and explored the ancient ruins.


Peter drinking the very sweet mint tea of Tunis


The Champs Elysees of Tunis


Jess exploring the ruins at Carthage
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Saturday, January 31

Work trip to Ghana

Views from the car windowThe first days in my new job in social statistics were spent at a conference on gender statistics, being held in Accra, Ghana. It was a fantastic opportunity to visit the African continent for the first time and to spend four days discussing, learning and meeting people.

There was no time to see much of the city and surrounding countryside, but it was wonderful to get an idea of the culture by talking to locals at the meeting and taking in the sights on the drive between the hotel and conference centre each day.

Jess at the marketI managed to get to the national art centre a few times, which comprises lots of stalls selling goods to tourists. Luckily it opened at 7am each day, so I could get an hour's shopping in before starting work. Bought some lovely fabric, leather cushions, a basket, masks and other wooden ornaments.

The weather was hot and humid, also dusty, with the annual Hammatan winds blowing clouds of sand down from the Sahara.

Art Market in Accra
These are the guys who helped me spend my money at the art market. The people in Accra were very friendly and kind.

More photos on Flickr

Saturday, January 24

Saturday morning...Geneva 24/01/2009

In contrast to the summer of the Australia day weekend...at least we are able to watch some great tennis at the Australian Open

Sunday, January 18

Weekend in Lisbon

We escaped the interminable Geneva fog last weekend and spent two nights down in sunny Lisbon. Were joined by Fiona and her boyfriend, Simon. We had a lovely couple of days, exploring the city and visiting museums.

Views over Lisbon
Views over Lisbon from the castle

Fiona at the Belém Tower
Fiona at the Belém Tower

Peter and Jess in Lisbon
Peter and Jess in a Lisbon restaurant

See more photos on Flickr