tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99858602024-03-08T01:58:02.396+01:00Go GenevePeter and Jess from Adelaide, Australia have moved to live in Geneva, Switzerland. This blog is to keep family and friends up to date with their experiences in Europe.Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-16284479139983823062009-12-23T14:25:00.000+01:002009-12-23T14:25:44.025+01:00Last days in GenevaOur time living in Geneva has come to an end. We are going to Suva, Fiji, where I have a new job with the <a href="http://www.unescap.org/EPOC/">ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre</a>. I will be writing about life in Suva at our new blog: <a href="http://www.spacifics.blogspot.com/">www.spacifics.blogspot.com</a>.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp8NfgYbuRKWivqaAST6bDwqrjHFY6AXxNAh5AfoQB73Wd4JPwgS6zBm_UpBwhhW2iQvihSbO5MaKpI0WIlIjfjNpc8p8Gal8xQIifUZ9jWJ9HyQr3R5P4kWcxJVG0P4VDgsh/s1600-h/DSC00226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqp8NfgYbuRKWivqaAST6bDwqrjHFY6AXxNAh5AfoQB73Wd4JPwgS6zBm_UpBwhhW2iQvihSbO5MaKpI0WIlIjfjNpc8p8Gal8xQIifUZ9jWJ9HyQr3R5P4kWcxJVG0P4VDgsh/s320/DSC00226.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bMj1pz0oppNQtgjht-v45mwvjfjm3uZawBNdC_iFd_LAErj3BHRxb9_FF6RQWozhuDloZY4LbhBzz0D_31hQvVRLb15km875MGBRgoyXqAVrFn1OKYYq24jYhaQ9B8Sr0T9u/s1600-h/DSC00342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bMj1pz0oppNQtgjht-v45mwvjfjm3uZawBNdC_iFd_LAErj3BHRxb9_FF6RQWozhuDloZY4LbhBzz0D_31hQvVRLb15km875MGBRgoyXqAVrFn1OKYYq24jYhaQ9B8Sr0T9u/s320/DSC00342.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvQjdxmX6l2gxFXLWlki-dTq9btAXc3wLk8D9DiUjlqz90TUC8rcoIDk7rAlzQC_kk8v-Sjft5WH9YV1uJuduhh8SDbEqH7whmyFAt8zh4GJgMFaPTOxfajp_3nXLpnVeFJcy/s1600-h/DSC00238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvQjdxmX6l2gxFXLWlki-dTq9btAXc3wLk8D9DiUjlqz90TUC8rcoIDk7rAlzQC_kk8v-Sjft5WH9YV1uJuduhh8SDbEqH7whmyFAt8zh4GJgMFaPTOxfajp_3nXLpnVeFJcy/s320/DSC00238.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bdHLTKyakEGXl0-hF1BuF2mBNYmyuKtnYSdZrYt0RDqw9iqBbG0lZaZHm7LCM5PAKQOiT6veAvSyeoQtRzv7UyeGZ3NQJp0MdRLTEMPkSx3pIoL7gjEe_wJlY-A3QutNSpfG/s1600-h/DSC00212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bdHLTKyakEGXl0-hF1BuF2mBNYmyuKtnYSdZrYt0RDqw9iqBbG0lZaZHm7LCM5PAKQOiT6veAvSyeoQtRzv7UyeGZ3NQJp0MdRLTEMPkSx3pIoL7gjEe_wJlY-A3QutNSpfG/s320/DSC00212.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1261572988915"></span><span id="goog_1261572988916"></span>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-90426082146174295652009-09-13T19:26:00.004+02:002009-09-13T21:36:02.462+02:00Holidaying in Croatia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9vLxqXavOuauN4yvBhGzfrpOgjQuStLfzDzMPh1NebAhn61g-P6nSYjCIBWIut2X7VG45CChMJVmCNelK0lBMnYLhP_4KMGzvEP3Mt_MqQDZf-9jXjHecIMfuESRJ7BROI3h/s1600-h/Peter,+Jess+and+Rob+at+lunch+in+Trogir.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381037133672365282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9vLxqXavOuauN4yvBhGzfrpOgjQuStLfzDzMPh1NebAhn61g-P6nSYjCIBWIut2X7VG45CChMJVmCNelK0lBMnYLhP_4KMGzvEP3Mt_MqQDZf-9jXjHecIMfuESRJ7BROI3h/s320/Peter,+Jess+and+Rob+at+lunch+in+Trogir.JPG" /></a> 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.<br /><br /><a title="Makarska by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3915034951/"><img alt="Makarska" align="left" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/3915034951_7e52564339_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" /></a>We 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.<br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2NLEhKw2P0">video of cyclists making the downhill run </a>gives an impression.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fpjgardner%2Fsets%2F72157622230991885%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fpjgardner%2Fsets%2F72157622230991885%2F&set_id=72157622230991885&jump_to="><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><br /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fpjgardner%2Fsets%2F72157622230991885%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fpjgardner%2Fsets%2F72157622230991885%2F&set_id=72157622230991885&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-70078585159428521002009-08-30T13:52:00.013+02:002009-08-30T17:30:15.995+02:00Trip around South Africa<div align="left">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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /></div><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXgBkrTUh_YoRgibjFwztZ04xMQHaeiKKMyQBIaqODidO7Xqh5HNB80nrFIiKqwQ7TONKxSAIroF3ORYZsXZz6FkBXMV4ZNxlG52FwEFRDGNL19E3wWthihCefqr7fnoQz_pj/s1600-h/P1110746.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375735132039975346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXgBkrTUh_YoRgibjFwztZ04xMQHaeiKKMyQBIaqODidO7Xqh5HNB80nrFIiKqwQ7TONKxSAIroF3ORYZsXZz6FkBXMV4ZNxlG52FwEFRDGNL19E3wWthihCefqr7fnoQz_pj/s320/P1110746.JPG" /></a></p><div align="center">Our tour group (L-R): Jess, Petteri, Krista, Kris and Peter<br /></div><div align="left"><br /><br /><strong>Day 1: Durban to Santa Lucia via Shakaland, a Zulu cultural village</strong> </div><br /><div align="center"> </div><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6RXKkGHclmz_AQWH2WjerxL3ri8k2y0yp30pPvkCV588VxcxzgftgSK7-ooy0kJl73i38tsl9eWITig5RkPMwCuBfQAhOOCyWxJIEcS6V3kJP7ngPru1fnVq_TLSo0AfCmK8/s1600-h/P1110215.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375726679237984962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6RXKkGHclmz_AQWH2WjerxL3ri8k2y0yp30pPvkCV588VxcxzgftgSK7-ooy0kJl73i38tsl9eWITig5RkPMwCuBfQAhOOCyWxJIEcS6V3kJP7ngPru1fnVq_TLSo0AfCmK8/s320/P1110215.JPG" /></a>Shakaland<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOUq5pNAUOid-KIXhgMNMMW8P6CNlg4owZcen9HehEnoD9JAHX_EejGmx1RF8ufwKsz3SHlxbbJgamS8xQritofdxHju22TXqZRbftCzavP78315Fri_NVPjIWWKxww_NqF_6/s1600-h/P1110246.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375727387278310146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOUq5pNAUOid-KIXhgMNMMW8P6CNlg4owZcen9HehEnoD9JAHX_EejGmx1RF8ufwKsz3SHlxbbJgamS8xQritofdxHju22TXqZRbftCzavP78315Fri_NVPjIWWKxww_NqF_6/s320/P1110246.JPG" /></a> Sunset in Santa Lucia<br /></p><br /><div align="left"><br /><strong>Day 2: Santa Lucia cruise and drive to Swaziland</strong><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375728365315061458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9WB-huE5jCG6q5QUp5jGIQ7xmhA7dj1iKf9nmkpyFms2C2qEpDBJlQP286k84G6pfKtxa87AqFyYVFjFloBWtaUNYO_YLy-KGqKPHBZXmlG5BUtdq-K8ay2CnBPObQZ0bGE1/s320/P1110251.JPG" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPKN_gUKPmF0GwjL3qmECpED8MJc-CqL0NTFjUsuf8QZv_mTFLvQjQ0Sqm9d3PksH_5_XxsoeI4i9z3iVziBMpFy0DKbqGitwvbSXC0ejmYLhJMU2qXw50Q-ItQnWwITkDq0p/s1600-h/P1110277.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375777324390232994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPKN_gUKPmF0GwjL3qmECpED8MJc-CqL0NTFjUsuf8QZv_mTFLvQjQ0Sqm9d3PksH_5_XxsoeI4i9z3iVziBMpFy0DKbqGitwvbSXC0ejmYLhJMU2qXw50Q-ItQnWwITkDq0p/s320/P1110277.JPG" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375728367903009490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAx3oM9hq4m7GRIWbRxAq9xvyyI3FYWAEI_oQCCPzjQJveBEdm9bmlLjj9HrQlwjDf91EgWiDij39FdefZKSCjQAPJoufS0dJ3y1XpJpBdUvcygelTMRa81zDIBok5qIm-iQw/s320/P1110356.JPG" /> <p align="center">Crossing the border into Swaziland </p><br /><br /><p align="left"><strong>Day 3: Drive through Swaziland and into Kruger National Park </strong></p><p align="left"> </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOOoPATVAhuiJSU5XWyRx7MTVZ6lriQDOT0DHlcszya0N6miDmb72JyKfWnjlPwMiMyfBBXAbzJvk8JJClJ9KsNWEYY0yhp6cQssXk02rVD92IWJqylxg1OTrH3H9jzC696L5/s1600-h/P1110407.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 222px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375777341859330354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOOoPATVAhuiJSU5XWyRx7MTVZ6lriQDOT0DHlcszya0N6miDmb72JyKfWnjlPwMiMyfBBXAbzJvk8JJClJ9KsNWEYY0yhp6cQssXk02rVD92IWJqylxg1OTrH3H9jzC696L5/s320/P1110407.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07khNnEg4Ce65XciwyWOpLmPDOYtGnanZF3VkTzaL7A7lDW-OCa9SvyCeLeCJ-GAUwNWy7jiatAtXy1-jK8SjH9L7CTWqd1jWCD3XlfU_hFIAnM86PilWCtsoOXvyCBcs6NWw/s1600-h/P1110402.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 222px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375777333759829330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07khNnEg4Ce65XciwyWOpLmPDOYtGnanZF3VkTzaL7A7lDW-OCa9SvyCeLeCJ-GAUwNWy7jiatAtXy1-jK8SjH9L7CTWqd1jWCD3XlfU_hFIAnM86PilWCtsoOXvyCBcs6NWw/s320/P1110402.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="left"></p><strong><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375730357376812914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23fD2Rbi9avw7hkCIyxUK26N5jNffekAYIY3lm8iiBnEfUFTJxNIvpCkQCpFIt7Kh3ywAWoHq5FCXQU2Ben0FHOqZQ0AqTwiYAXHLKkQWlOKbUe2R49K_yuLuHHKnrh2RUnQ7/s320/P1110417.JPG" /></strong><br /><p align="center">At the southern gate of the Kruger National Park<br /><br /></p><p align="left"><strong>Day 4: Safari in Kruger and BBQ in our rest camp </strong><strong><br /><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375732263864356002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1H2YvJzHgIlioRmVAc2XqLgVbL6CTSYwfR5xc-0TWglaKp6wBc_7ORUmlJem59yRKdY-wXcW50YEHxrkiK66XfN9udkvXCOGaHMr8vxAh7oDTCnD9hYFmuM72wLsl3roqA-1/s320/P1110461.JPG" /></strong></p><p align="center">Our huts at Pretoriaskop rest camp </p><br /><p align="center"></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375732273861747282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4l0z2xKQrH1sOLaR_DEmAMsvnrHu74dDX1bacpMYuKN47wGLwwQGB6dcY96hIDrOA6z6JbbKnJ8vPpV2FjHn6bi_ONDnhv-oZrryYxM-Zgp2kK34tgNL-RKqYtgZddzcxzQ2e/s320/P1110470.JPG" /><br /><p align="center">The safari started out a little chilly at 6:30am<br /><br /></p><p align="left">Then the animals started to appear....</p><br /><p align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375732299816511218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIkh9bIeJrP7bGDHIN2snMYlMVq8rH3XdXvYCptZrQmfxIfSoD03cMbp1WPdewy_T-mmlAxu_c7UHkgmjHCcZIdQ_HrGhfWGMkYWJr5oT8nvQ3ziCREM4vvUcLEqOR_uojhnU/s320/P1110529.JPG" /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHkFp98roLS5Xt8Yqk_Fxo-mgkirBRT2Rx9a3NFA2JHj6gdXe4BXykvTTJlkDf3k0IObTGoc52eDuQHUpGiVrr2zPUyBgyxZdaoFuWgwXQv2abf0-pEsdocq_bvbVU-yCMlI5/s1600-h/P1110661.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375748119049160178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHkFp98roLS5Xt8Yqk_Fxo-mgkirBRT2Rx9a3NFA2JHj6gdXe4BXykvTTJlkDf3k0IObTGoc52eDuQHUpGiVrr2zPUyBgyxZdaoFuWgwXQv2abf0-pEsdocq_bvbVU-yCMlI5/s320/P1110661.JPG" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375735113607854690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGlQeTzMP_lMTz-EmswXP8ax_sunHQ2fBwTfeLsaxGs7g0t2p3pFhNv3rSE7mGD0QISuL1si85GBKCTN_GRBEvJFnFvI7pYatePwJj0vtSOXXYwBjXFHsUWnkrMIpeC8JZsnu/s320/P1110597.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375732289327946626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXNDTxRIkEwP4isWsaaq8WFP9kE4gZO67P0mgYu5N-c8qSI7k8mmXNJcJPt7zi6nKgGY22-p34aHMJpcFmJFW_s041hVtW6Zp5SlGH5IHd_6js1JThVhRu9rfCEnN97dgACms/s320/P1110510.JPG" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi58nfaJ1ScbOe-RsKEAsNZ1lfDpl-iLQF_sLoBL54aI4I6xSgl7n2vOXGuvDBPpjINkQAadpRm1z_CeBL3Ka1H5-fWY14Z7j1IcAyT3_HmuRAkFf48bkIXr9fy-dQcjyictu/s1600-h/P1110491.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375732276723609026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJi58nfaJ1ScbOe-RsKEAsNZ1lfDpl-iLQF_sLoBL54aI4I6xSgl7n2vOXGuvDBPpjINkQAadpRm1z_CeBL3Ka1H5-fWY14Z7j1IcAyT3_HmuRAkFf48bkIXr9fy-dQcjyictu/s320/P1110491.JPG" /></a><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375735109247829170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwllPT17yA7az5ptqhe3VGWMsX8RNzs9neRjbBfD52ODm1XJSeXol3n62Ykt56CmlBVVoWKLc5S2gNS9t3F0uLvPGcYdNAmRCmoCv-4IsrBSuzW_hNuQDAYSguDXWDc3nneza/s320/P1110603.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375735101125337058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHnw9R3OGroPfd3KDpZpPdqcMeYzKJRJ82jA7kAI0AicPsKliUW274L8BybIu0JIuMtCcuWSdwvn3-ioAKC3TkQFLyLQD-l35mVVESsFQUa5DJnDCWQDQaWKVOxUSO0zcgGCMb/s320/P1110549.JPG" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4lZQGJYJJCXnXe6hxNChoKLs57EtBwe8Ntt8XHkIncr5dWu0ZSg85mseYGl6WABpTPCB38WSWXdisNQ_DDQt7tYaJSLyLo-gRDYq_6107gc57htpzxMshGeak3nkZrZyyHo6/s1600-h/P1110719.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375735122785342594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4lZQGJYJJCXnXe6hxNChoKLs57EtBwe8Ntt8XHkIncr5dWu0ZSg85mseYGl6WABpTPCB38WSWXdisNQ_DDQt7tYaJSLyLo-gRDYq_6107gc57htpzxMshGeak3nkZrZyyHo6/s320/P1110719.JPG" /></a><br /><strong>Day 5: Visiting natural wonders and staying in the quaint mining town of Pilgrim's Rest</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong></strong><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375741631871737890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HaBKS19MEPmwI2QcoFxZF0j76t0PufBgpMNHIXwcUpLY1fYkiTjtp38DJ0Yz6CvOeIIaYCMOzHjLRHRUh62BkJsnNqAI7c9djRFZ9nkmRls_tNNgui5ZpjQAFGTldzQ4sX7H/s320/P1110780.JPG" /><br /><p align="center">Jess at Blyde River Canyon<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfuWcRWDUCSjxGlVuUvjjxJa5x0cdKr5YljrP9isUL2bFu8OYlhWScyghZJPoRKI-mFBYdo6Ve61Ofe5j8_UHHtvz-Lw_2xDrkVfNolKTn5OlZDEmk-SAE9GsR3fwTicUcOYa/s1600-h/P1110811.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375741625595015746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfuWcRWDUCSjxGlVuUvjjxJa5x0cdKr5YljrP9isUL2bFu8OYlhWScyghZJPoRKI-mFBYdo6Ve61Ofe5j8_UHHtvz-Lw_2xDrkVfNolKTn5OlZDEmk-SAE9GsR3fwTicUcOYa/s320/P1110811.JPG" /></a> The Three Rondweles<br /></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkXzeeXB4kU6RV_UMGz0SeVz5obsT5GaM3GEEe7nh7r00nUFXO1ikxI40VPIvn5rzANadGEjTUk2F2ovTEJ5DwXGvA06D2d3VrIet3Om-Q9SlPSO3oq4ogF0xBbfhV3G41xi3/s1600-h/P1110822.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375741621639239794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkXzeeXB4kU6RV_UMGz0SeVz5obsT5GaM3GEEe7nh7r00nUFXO1ikxI40VPIvn5rzANadGEjTUk2F2ovTEJ5DwXGvA06D2d3VrIet3Om-Q9SlPSO3oq4ogF0xBbfhV3G41xi3/s320/P1110822.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs3doX9paUXCjXmNjRbtQnkImpohBySwP0gQp8YAPjgh-DTrBw49f5JEjwmtatujBrlBsd_EvKqNFHzbG2EWEXrlC7WSHkluHURSScET8c3ysPkoe2R59J4yvLN6kpOVOoGbx/s1600-h/P1110825.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375741611206670418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs3doX9paUXCjXmNjRbtQnkImpohBySwP0gQp8YAPjgh-DTrBw49f5JEjwmtatujBrlBsd_EvKqNFHzbG2EWEXrlC7WSHkluHURSScET8c3ysPkoe2R59J4yvLN6kpOVOoGbx/s320/P1110825.JPG" /></a> Our hotel at Pilgrim's Rest<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ__ISKNQ0bMROxbN2yD1nlf5xRWr88m8lWOXU37cH-blrI2qQ5k9bj7IV6f3A54bfeE_RDHwH_pfzPEG6n6cfGCsWqWaBwQJ5_0fr_9b-ZlS09JTfLYkkkC6PZxi9rxWr9iPv/s1600-h/P1110827.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375741608701802018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ__ISKNQ0bMROxbN2yD1nlf5xRWr88m8lWOXU37cH-blrI2qQ5k9bj7IV6f3A54bfeE_RDHwH_pfzPEG6n6cfGCsWqWaBwQJ5_0fr_9b-ZlS09JTfLYkkkC6PZxi9rxWr9iPv/s320/P1110827.JPG" /></a> Buying a beer at the bar<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong>Day 6: Drive through Johannesburg and visit to Soweto</strong></div><br /><div align="left">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. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">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.<br /></div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGC3MpPUzB0CuRuQUroWX0NdNUAO18TXa79F_6YUL6BggF9TIs_nJ7z9FJpYEua2YmWX-06YpUbXSlLzwdMudgynKBJwu4NZMqjQRb8dxrR7-X79Y9FvYy3oVqBYV_L-Ct2SRT/s1600-h/P1110868.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375745502934409522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGC3MpPUzB0CuRuQUroWX0NdNUAO18TXa79F_6YUL6BggF9TIs_nJ7z9FJpYEua2YmWX-06YpUbXSlLzwdMudgynKBJwu4NZMqjQRb8dxrR7-X79Y9FvYy3oVqBYV_L-Ct2SRT/s320/P1110868.JPG" /></a> </div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-12090701291158442822009-07-19T18:16:00.007+02:002009-07-19T18:52:05.642+02:00Warsaw, PolandMy 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.<br /><br />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".<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GOHbBrfakUs5mLOYIzylMA6BpZ7kET6iWo1wRIy-SzDLD8MuAalea1qm86p5ymYOI8-LaFfroJ0kpQvZGmUDw0-S9hqE_pH36iWI_a-Wi1_gYKWAwg7s3WRy85zpSRY8jOTu/s1600-h/P1100340.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360206412133366898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4GOHbBrfakUs5mLOYIzylMA6BpZ7kET6iWo1wRIy-SzDLD8MuAalea1qm86p5ymYOI8-LaFfroJ0kpQvZGmUDw0-S9hqE_pH36iWI_a-Wi1_gYKWAwg7s3WRy85zpSRY8jOTu/s320/P1100340.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The flower markets just down the road from our hotel were a daily treat of colour and perfume.<br /><br /><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1t0WWGNGpVwi56y2TKbRUzvOBCMMDDewfpi2WWYnKdBir9DXYhk_DZilE0S6Pq885pLr5cTK8lE8LDaqXOchMEU2cGCO86Fd7CaR0rbvMz6xh6TbA2gih_j8VzX-NKJub9GRi/s1600-h/P1100358.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360206811233009266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1t0WWGNGpVwi56y2TKbRUzvOBCMMDDewfpi2WWYnKdBir9DXYhk_DZilE0S6Pq885pLr5cTK8lE8LDaqXOchMEU2cGCO86Fd7CaR0rbvMz6xh6TbA2gih_j8VzX-NKJub9GRi/s320/P1100358.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />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.<br /><br /><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Pb-wnUzteVmPL6aKwYvI-kMjrVRBlxb91Tr90dQ4q2KEqbpKMeXYPIQ3q9cb4WojCSV3yMaLUE7iKrYqU1XbrQ5triXDMO557OI1xF16xBNkdzL64TqIupXugvq00s26N0q4/s1600-h/P1100368.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360207054743532274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Pb-wnUzteVmPL6aKwYvI-kMjrVRBlxb91Tr90dQ4q2KEqbpKMeXYPIQ3q9cb4WojCSV3yMaLUE7iKrYqU1XbrQ5triXDMO557OI1xF16xBNkdzL64TqIupXugvq00s26N0q4/s320/P1100368.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />An apt location for an art exhibition about tolerance.<br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-52357253188828451622009-06-07T18:18:00.000+02:002009-06-07T18:19:04.673+02:00Lisbon in MarchI 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.<br /><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiITFN99GL1t0TvuIBzAwUtnKAcYXygHFmD_LlbH8FEmdU7wVYRcBHzrzyDT-EMoq3bkYSvMt3VmRjL4uiLn8okfuTK8q4uydJPBdYfJfCKiamsgCTVIupK5ORxTgTMu4h-77/s1600-h/P1100098.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNiITFN99GL1t0TvuIBzAwUtnKAcYXygHFmD_LlbH8FEmdU7wVYRcBHzrzyDT-EMoq3bkYSvMt3VmRjL4uiLn8okfuTK8q4uydJPBdYfJfCKiamsgCTVIupK5ORxTgTMu4h-77/s320/P1100098.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />View across the countryside</div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8slxCUzHN9M8o3kOA8Ry7LXSgyIQ7-NuSTjWwaiPR6UNk1zlwtATkGF5r5IZ0fJTgEg8KLKK8LwBD9tUd3T9RXDQqeqa6FbQTLg0SnXr-9D7sOIIQvsdIvCZQBmnDOsDth_V/s1600-h/P1100103.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8slxCUzHN9M8o3kOA8Ry7LXSgyIQ7-NuSTjWwaiPR6UNk1zlwtATkGF5r5IZ0fJTgEg8KLKK8LwBD9tUd3T9RXDQqeqa6FbQTLg0SnXr-9D7sOIIQvsdIvCZQBmnDOsDth_V/s320/P1100103.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4U3ZzBs0awGYgC0MAW_OzXqx1O2_XTwud_Hbp98i8MhW_uHUMIGSnutZ-8grdja49k_j597VPLt-I8A-VQ5BC8qLC66zxv0-fySb2z2uAXE3wepMpsfdziXDuqotDdkr4j1cy/s1600-h/P1100135.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4U3ZzBs0awGYgC0MAW_OzXqx1O2_XTwud_Hbp98i8MhW_uHUMIGSnutZ-8grdja49k_j597VPLt-I8A-VQ5BC8qLC66zxv0-fySb2z2uAXE3wepMpsfdziXDuqotDdkr4j1cy/s320/P1100135.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Peter and the Atlantic Ocean<br /></div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk1TMgF1Nv1fkKXdvwtwCIl92PObMBv5atR7Wl8I1Gvjm6fzTkUt0Qfqr9hjddDUHWNhX91O9NchEuBAqvEBEUhQxVBLjS_1rBEO8XGqm8S_1-LZsyhB_qBCPyXONEBZBME2-/s1600-h/P1100173.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuk1TMgF1Nv1fkKXdvwtwCIl92PObMBv5atR7Wl8I1Gvjm6fzTkUt0Qfqr9hjddDUHWNhX91O9NchEuBAqvEBEUhQxVBLjS_1rBEO8XGqm8S_1-LZsyhB_qBCPyXONEBZBME2-/s320/P1100173.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Jess and her boss at the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-76373151684320125812009-06-07T17:56:00.000+02:002009-06-07T17:57:15.988+02:00Weekend visit to TunisWe 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.<br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3uyL20MXGjg-sNnejIlaQYkBSstvnc0fFsuajCg5_sNbY9pSSVwvXsIiG7S1z0ucHC3IQ-lDjqEXuD_Jui97blaEzLyG7dlgNIQ-oZPN15K6bF4rc5Gjdl0SPXXAqddnhxp1/s1600-h/P1090877.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3uyL20MXGjg-sNnejIlaQYkBSstvnc0fFsuajCg5_sNbY9pSSVwvXsIiG7S1z0ucHC3IQ-lDjqEXuD_Jui97blaEzLyG7dlgNIQ-oZPN15K6bF4rc5Gjdl0SPXXAqddnhxp1/s320/P1090877.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Peter drinking the very sweet mint tea of Tunis</div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3m04Xl-0lrPNULsYju3oQRCvCZaH47BwAde42CnrJzQnKJtteAcPHGCKK1o0NXh2W5J0AM6XHzemk82jo88aqKMDhHdoc90L4v4acqUSrsctbgZE1-mfQmv-syjHzQn1VUSx/s1600-h/P1090903.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3m04Xl-0lrPNULsYju3oQRCvCZaH47BwAde42CnrJzQnKJtteAcPHGCKK1o0NXh2W5J0AM6XHzemk82jo88aqKMDhHdoc90L4v4acqUSrsctbgZE1-mfQmv-syjHzQn1VUSx/s320/P1090903.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The Champs Elysees of Tunis</div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiliCJzFctW1DudoAZGGfPIK_jRLPD2egA4YfYBvQ_ssdXXFOD9m3Helf-9EL6yp2Y5cc18n9TAc1VpByfpfiWEZZ33XnjrLQKdOMDpsiS27vPY3bvHsS9VXaB50RCkS_gx_y/s1600-h/P1090934.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiliCJzFctW1DudoAZGGfPIK_jRLPD2egA4YfYBvQ_ssdXXFOD9m3Helf-9EL6yp2Y5cc18n9TAc1VpByfpfiWEZZ33XnjrLQKdOMDpsiS27vPY3bvHsS9VXaB50RCkS_gx_y/s320/P1090934.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Jess exploring the ruins at Carthage </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-7136561241730928482009-01-31T16:41:00.003+01:002009-01-31T17:07:54.992+01:00Work trip to Ghana<a title="Views from the car window by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3240403021/"><img height="180" alt="Views from the car window" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3487/3240403021_1a6179eb4f_m.jpg" width="240" align="right" /></a>The 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><a title="Jess at the market by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3240401527/"><img height="234" alt="Jess at the market" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/3240401527_63e7600081_m.jpg" width="240" align="left" /></a>I 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.<br /><br />The weather was hot and humid, also dusty, with the annual Hammatan winds blowing clouds of sand down from the Sahara.<br /><br /><a title="Art Market in Accra by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3241238030/"><img height="180" alt="Art Market in Accra" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/3241238030_cd83328f09_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />These are the guys who helped me spend my money at the art market. The people in Accra were very friendly and kind.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157613186156936/">More photos on Flickr</a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-80405333923032262032009-01-24T11:07:00.002+01:002009-01-24T14:44:39.676+01:00Saturday morning...Geneva 24/01/2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhRlVDbt2cTLDe8S49vNlUDnwjx3xiqTv5gne2lon2L1Y2Rb-96ld5Ms_hDYeUesQCUkmlMim78Aea-uZyRhTqo-te3CL9aCliA5MLzfNfCw1r-tbBmq8yincuwtdVVTfTqhR/s1600-h/P1090766.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294800735863405074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhRlVDbt2cTLDe8S49vNlUDnwjx3xiqTv5gne2lon2L1Y2Rb-96ld5Ms_hDYeUesQCUkmlMim78Aea-uZyRhTqo-te3CL9aCliA5MLzfNfCw1r-tbBmq8yincuwtdVVTfTqhR/s320/P1090766.JPG" border="0" /></a>In contrast to the summer of the Australia day weekend...at least we are able to watch some great tennis at the Australian OpenJess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-55423859216698813932009-01-18T18:32:00.003+01:002009-01-18T18:42:28.904+01:00Weekend in LisbonWe 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.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3203867760/" title="Views over Lisbon by Jess & Peter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3425/3203867760_85a16a59c4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Views over Lisbon" /></a><br />Views over Lisbon from the castle<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3203015419/" title="Fiona at the Belém Tower by Jess & Peter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3203015419_6f99c962f7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Fiona at the Belém Tower" /></a><br />Fiona at the Belém Tower<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3203869330/" title="Peter and Jess in Lisbon by Jess & Peter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/3203869330_cd001055d6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Peter and Jess in Lisbon" /></a><br />Peter and Jess in a Lisbon restaurant<br /><br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157612675230058/">See more photos on Flickr</a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-43435781290366625632008-12-21T11:27:00.002+01:002008-12-21T11:28:27.037+01:00Stockholm<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3124916612/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/3124916612_ea586964e7_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/3124916612/">View of Stockholm from Djurgardsbron bridge</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pjgardner/">Jess & Peter</a></span><br clear="all" /><p>Waaaay back in May, Peter and I went to Stockholm. I went for a work meeting, but we had the weekend before to look around the beautiful city. <br /><br />The highlight for me was visiting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_%28ship%29">the Vasa</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skansen">Skansen open air museum</a>.<br /><br />This shot is taken on our walk through the city. See the other photos <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157611402126487/">on Flickr </a></p>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-88504083980333124662008-09-14T21:12:00.002+02:002008-09-14T21:26:51.518+02:00Road trip to FromellesThis four-day road trip took us through Champagne to Fromelles, a small French village on the northern border with Belgium. This is somewhere we've been meaning to visit for a long time as it's the place where Peter's grandfather fought in WWI (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fromelles">Battle of Fromelles</a>). Peter doesn't know how many weeks his grandfather was actually in Fromelles - he contracted tuberculosis and was evacuated to England before the battle. After months of recovery, he returned safely to Australia and lived into his eighties.<br /><br />After Fromelles, we drove through Belgium and France, staying in a lovely town called Givet in the northern most part of France. <br /><br />This short video shows some of the pics we took over the weekend.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JWio5b5nMeU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JWio5b5nMeU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-77325389814327582992008-07-20T16:33:00.002+02:002008-07-20T17:04:09.883+02:00Istanbul in May<a title="Blue Mosque, Istanbul by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2684788449/"><img height="180" alt="Blue Mosque, Istanbul" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/2684788449_f14de8897a_m.jpg" width="240" align="left" /></a>With Mark here to visit, we decided to take him on a short trip to Istanbul, Turkey. We were joined by his lovely friend Megan, who is currently living in London.<br /><br />It was a great time had by all. We stayed in an apartment in the old part of town, a short walk to the Blue Mosque and the hundreds of touts who do their best to part you and your money. We spent time walking around town, visiting the mosques, palace and Grand Bazaar. <a title="Buying Turkish carpets by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2685605424/"><img height="180" alt="Buying Turkish carpets" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2685605424_763e8a29ac_m.jpg" width="240" align="right" /></a>After being in town for about 5 mintues, we found ourselves in a carpet shop and are now proud owners of three Turkish rugs - expensive, but beautiful souvenirs!<br /><br />A highlight was a 2 hour ferry ride up the Bosphorous river to the mouth of the Black Sea. A walk up the hill to the castle was worth it for the great views over the water and glimpses of Istanbul on the horizon.<br /><br /><a title="Seafood lunch at Anadolu Kavagi by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2685608204/"><img height="180" alt="Seafood lunch at Anadolu Kavagi " src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2685608204_aea1f061bb_m.jpg" width="240" align="left" /></a>Back in Istanbul, I can highly recommend a wander over to the new side of town to visit the great shops, bars and restaurants. The food is terrific and a few shots of raki put everyone in an excellent mood.<br /><br />After a few days, Mark and Megan left Istanbul to meet Fiona in Berlin and Peter and I did a weekend tour down to Gallipoli, which was a great experience. More on that soon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157606271598606/">See all the Istanbul photos</a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-26206038106183120202008-04-20T18:43:00.006+02:002008-06-22T10:27:06.657+02:00Happy Birthday Peter!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDyxZHwcWgRoNpF-3L6ZW-2QJMfIRZMnXRsGRlqlqWHjlrRClp0fzvpOEu3gMikEwGTwVsp3rJ2KPoTyJBC7_GGc2wqXL-I-dTI_phmBk1QWKfGVrlK1_RfsSzwqZSqzmUVAb/s1600-h/P1070537.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191375517789432626" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDyxZHwcWgRoNpF-3L6ZW-2QJMfIRZMnXRsGRlqlqWHjlrRClp0fzvpOEu3gMikEwGTwVsp3rJ2KPoTyJBC7_GGc2wqXL-I-dTI_phmBk1QWKfGVrlK1_RfsSzwqZSqzmUVAb/s200/P1070537.JPG" border="0" /></a>Mark arrived in Geneva this morning, on his first big overseas trip. We haven't seen Mark for over twelve months, so Peter, Fiona and I were all very excited and looking forward to his arrival. Just in case he couldn't spot us through the crowded Geneva airport, Peter prepared a welcoming sign.<br /><br />Mark is here for one month, in which time he will see a bit of Switzerland, as well as Istanbul, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. Not a bad little holiday! After a quick walking tour of Chambésy, we settled into a lovely Sunday afternoon out on the terrasse, sipping Swiss wine and eating raclettes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHLIeB2dXLWxlf66-YWVYAPHLnI2sBVeOPFwswhrC2MIaW7r-22PwGNPSd3-ZtaLX-75TDKQFJSgIsr3WsvUocZDx9CUww0wANbVmB_Kj6GFVt4zuYigo0AxSBI2MR8aKEfFa/s1600-h/P1070552.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191377261546154818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHLIeB2dXLWxlf66-YWVYAPHLnI2sBVeOPFwswhrC2MIaW7r-22PwGNPSd3-ZtaLX-75TDKQFJSgIsr3WsvUocZDx9CUww0wANbVmB_Kj6GFVt4zuYigo0AxSBI2MR8aKEfFa/s200/P1070552.JPG" border="0" /></a>Tomorrow will be a different than usual birthday celebration for Peter as he will have two of his four children here. Next year we will have to aim for 100% child attendance, especially as it will be a major birthday!!Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-78757288706095696702008-03-24T12:08:00.005+01:002008-03-24T12:51:46.848+01:00A walk around the lake<a title="No matter what the weather by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2357745576/"><img height="180" alt="No matter what the weather" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2342/2357745576_0b637e2476_m.jpg" width="240" align="left" /></a>Despite windy conditions, snow and all that goes with it, we have walked for about 45 kilometres this weekend - that's about 9 hours worth! Walking has become our latest hobby and it's great. Up until now, cycling has been our "sport"of choice, but walking is rapidly overtaking it. Fresh air, spectacular views and the chance to re-discover nearby surroundings at a different pace.<br /><br /><a title="View of Lake Geneva by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2357743172/"><img height="135" alt="View of Lake Geneva" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/2357743172_454c65c498_m.jpg" width="240" align="right" /></a>The current plan is to follow Route 4 around the lake (Leman) from our place to Montreux. To date we are up to Morges, just outside of Lausanne, so we have another 40ish kilometres to go.<br /><br /><br /><a title="Chemin de St Jacques by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2357745504/"><img height="176" alt="Chemin de St Jacques" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2357745504_e07110b985_m.jpg" width="240" align="left" /></a>Route 4 is also the Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James">Way of Saint James</a>), the Christian pilgrimage that starts at various points across Europe and leads to Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. However, we are following it in the opposite direction.<br /><br /><br /><a title="Village where we had lunch by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2357745294/"><img height="191" alt="Village where we had lunch" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/2357745294_a018ab555a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />Just to prove that the weather wasn't all bad, here's a picture of the cute village where we ate lunch, while bathed in sunshine.Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-13613299778693997362008-03-21T09:57:00.000+01:002008-03-21T09:57:14.249+01:00Now it's Spring, but it's snowing<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1XohlmIUmKQ-ruZhqmwfVY6UZzty8ZdbjCrh8xu1Z0LHD93BIDVBpSrp7B6vPIV_475JGdNurLsdEzVZ4WYkOXwo5gPjFVChBh9bUscXayd4f7a4kQ0QqQnkf74-qY5afOqJ/s1600-h/P1070289.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1XohlmIUmKQ-ruZhqmwfVY6UZzty8ZdbjCrh8xu1Z0LHD93BIDVBpSrp7B6vPIV_475JGdNurLsdEzVZ4WYkOXwo5gPjFVChBh9bUscXayd4f7a4kQ0QqQnkf74-qY5afOqJ/s320/P1070289.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><br />It is officially the second day of Spring, not to mention the first of the Easter weekend, and NOW it snows!! There hasn't been any snow to speak of in Geneva all winter. The forecast is for snow over the next four days. How will all those lovely little flowers and new leaves cope?<br /><br />Oh well, there go the plans for a long weekend of walking around the lake. Happy Easter everyone!<div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-16698469880548247422008-01-27T10:26:00.000+01:002008-01-27T10:26:57.713+01:00Chateau d'Oex Balloon Festival<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoh8aG-mmYhq2rd5YatN92FXkvlgSrR1HZV3YWYTTK1Fpu_Rc0NH_9FIiVJiBXsQEFbQs_LCHRCfMvjx3Ey0xHKSB6rkfDG0yvndvcFDPZyLTMmvOSUIYQale-ut8WqiF_3a3/s1600-h/P1070209.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoh8aG-mmYhq2rd5YatN92FXkvlgSrR1HZV3YWYTTK1Fpu_Rc0NH_9FIiVJiBXsQEFbQs_LCHRCfMvjx3Ey0xHKSB6rkfDG0yvndvcFDPZyLTMmvOSUIYQale-ut8WqiF_3a3/s320/P1070209.JPG" border="0" /></a> Hot air balloons at Chateau d'Oex, 10 minutes down the road from Fiona's place.<div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-68391717754986134712008-01-22T21:08:00.001+01:002008-01-22T21:13:38.224+01:00Weekend in Brussels<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2212070061/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2283/2212070061_3bc30dae1f_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2212070061/">Grand Place</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pjgardner/">Jess & Peter</a></span> <p>We just spent a weekend in Brussels, our first visit to Belgium. Arriving on a blustery, wet, cold morning to deserted streets, was not the best introduction. We were left wondering if we had actually arrived at the 'Central Station' or some remote suburb. It seems the locals don't get going until about 10am, so we had an hour to kill, which was spent warming up in the only coffee shop we could find open for business.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/2212860634/" title="Eating mussels in Brussels by Jess & Peter, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2016/2212860634_1cfab4b8dc_m.jpg" alt="Eating mussels in Brussels" align="right" height="240" width="180" /></a>The weekend may have started out a little disappointing, but it got better. The BELvue! museum gave us an interesting insight into Belgium, a country we knew very little about. After the beautiful but overwhelming Museum of Musical Instruments, we enjoyed a lunch of moules et frites (steamed mussels and chips), the national dish, then spent a sunny afternoon looking around town.<br /><br />Sunday was spent doing a lot of walking and visiting the Belgian War Museum and Autoworld - the most interesting museums we could find that were open and good refuge from the cold. We also sampled the scrummy hot Belgian waffles that are sold on just about every street corner. Perfect on a winter day!</p>See our other pictures on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157603775380808/">flickr.com.</a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-75651043197561348812008-01-22T20:31:00.000+01:002008-01-22T20:31:29.750+01:00Sunrise over the Alps<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsPIQPnaXgK2si-raui7xzhRRZrCofZI9cr1OS8Kx7pIvbxUuF5hVfg9dmQKGQsOYq7TjvmFAxOAiOOGf0-ngeD15V22TknWh2ZfBRffSdm8-ggkJ3MdydmFKipD5jyy6bY28/s1600-h/P1070169.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsPIQPnaXgK2si-raui7xzhRRZrCofZI9cr1OS8Kx7pIvbxUuF5hVfg9dmQKGQsOYq7TjvmFAxOAiOOGf0-ngeD15V22TknWh2ZfBRffSdm8-ggkJ3MdydmFKipD5jyy6bY28/s320/P1070169.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Photo of a beautiful winter sunrise, taken from our backyard.</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-293478867021032162008-01-06T17:36:00.000+01:002008-01-06T17:36:46.937+01:00Skiing in Schonried<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">This is where we go cross country skiing near Fiona's place. We took her up there today for a look around. Too slushy for skiing. There's been no snow for a while now, just rain, and the same forecast for the next week. What's the good of winter without the snow!?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKx22hhMVieqOnMTlwqzYL__9cnZmNvL5QI6iwAFUY3DDgxRe-Dmwz3GdS9gQIpb0OSqIhqyo0oVdMaWHP66keQaVxFMpJPyp4mvjhYtCZFNLmakxGEWnl7wK2GhUXYiW2cnk/s1600-h/P1070074.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKx22hhMVieqOnMTlwqzYL__9cnZmNvL5QI6iwAFUY3DDgxRe-Dmwz3GdS9gQIpb0OSqIhqyo0oVdMaWHP66keQaVxFMpJPyp4mvjhYtCZFNLmakxGEWnl7wK2GhUXYiW2cnk/s320/P1070074.JPG" align="center" border="0" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-12934199107282903042007-12-31T19:00:00.001+01:002008-01-01T14:18:35.313+01:00Another year gone....It is hard to believe that we have been away from Australia for nearly three years! We still enjoy life in Geneva - the work is interesting, great opportunities for travel and the European lifestyle is rather pleasant. It's especially nice to now have family living here. After finishing her degree, Fiona moved here in December and immediately started work as a Pilates Instructor in the amazing Swiss town of Gstaad. Her workplace, <a href="http://www.palace.ch/en/spa-healthclub/">The Palace Hotel</a>, is something that must be seen to be believed!<br /><br />Going back to uni part-time at the start of last year meant I had the perfect excuse to be neglectful of this web site. Hopefully some people are still visiting it from time to time!? To make your life easier, you can subscribe to receive the very occassional updates via email. Just enter your email address <a href="http://pjgardner.blogspot.com/">on the right there </a>and click subscribe.<br /><br />As has been tradition, here is a list of the cities we've stayed at least one night in during 2007. You will note it is shorter than in <a href="http://pjgardner.blogspot.com/2007/01/year-2006-in-cities.html">2006 </a>and <a href="http://pjgardner.blogspot.com/2005/12/year-2005-in-cities.html">2005 </a>(another bi-product of being a student). Still... we have managed to do quite a bit. Switzerland is really a terrific base for exploring Europe!<br /><br />Rome, Italy<br />Budapest, Hungary<br />Vilnius, Lithuania<br />Kaunas, Lithuania<br />Šiauliai, Lithuania<br />Nida, Lithuania<br />Prague, Czech Republic<br />London, England<br />Vienna, Austria<br />Grenoble, France<br />Vaduz, Liechtenstein<br />Lindau, Germany<br />Schaffhausen and Rheinfelden, Switzerland<br />Zermatt and Interlaken, Switzerland<br />Halstead, England<br />Blarney, Ireland<br />Singapore, Singapore<br />Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia<br />Bangkok, Thailand<br />Champéry, Switzerland<br /><br />New countries on that list are Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Thailand. We had six lots of visitors stay with us during 2007. Always a good way to boost the local tourism activities! Our year included a trip home to Australia in October/November to attend some family events: Claire & Dave's engagement party and Fiona's graduation performance. Being a quick visit meant there wasn't time to catch up with everyone, but hopefully that can be remedied when we are in Adelaide in November 2008 for Claire & Dave's wedding.<br /><br />Wishing everyone a very happy new year!!<br /><br /><a title="Cruising under the Charles Bridge, Prague by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157601235559775/"><img height="180" alt="Cruising under the Charles Bridge, Prague" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1296/1018181882_94f53b9e48_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a title="Hungarian Parliament by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157600030969722/"><img height="180" alt="Hungarian Parliament" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/436736857_a6166b197f_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><a title="Belvedere Palace, Vienna by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157601232707656/"><img height="180" alt="Belvedere Palace, Vienna" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/1018150301_fafe2545b5_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a title="Trakai Island Castle, Lithuania by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157600234115538/"><img height="180" alt="Trakai Island Castle, Lithuania" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/503013609_b7e5cbf4dc_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><a title="Elephant ride in Thailand by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157603430919484/"><img height="175" alt="Elephant ride in Thailand" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2187/2103504173_453ca8fd98_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a title="X-country skiing in Champery by Jess & Peter, on Flickr" href="http://flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/sets/72157603582614904/"><img height="180" alt="X-country skiing in Champery" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2184/2150065872_d2c5620d5e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-31811677676071454212007-12-23T15:24:00.000+01:002007-12-23T15:25:05.349+01:00Merry Christmas!<A HREF='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecBCZQzH4FOZibJZ9GGvWC4NW9nvSEUpdqOqG2cONH7Rt63CF-gQewqLq35_TuoahnGoZBY0BhWtF0gRDxljOBsDTq1s1aIc2RAJqJ1yM1-R28TpAKn2JAWBWXK8tho6ntKoh/s1600-h/P1060902.JPG'><IMG SRC='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecBCZQzH4FOZibJZ9GGvWC4NW9nvSEUpdqOqG2cONH7Rt63CF-gQewqLq35_TuoahnGoZBY0BhWtF0gRDxljOBsDTq1s1aIc2RAJqJ1yM1-R28TpAKn2JAWBWXK8tho6ntKoh/s320/P1060902.JPG' border=0 alt='' id='BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_' style='clear:both;float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;'></A> <br />We (Peter, Jess, Fiona and her friend Ianthe) are currently in Champéry, a small village in the Swiss Alps. It will be a white Christmas for us! It hasn't snowed since we arrived last Thursday, but there is still plenty of snow around. The weather has been quite mild, with temperatures around 4 degrees during the 3 hours of sunshine that bathe this valley. <br /><br />The girls have tried their luck at skiing and snowboarding, along with the hoardes of other winter residents here. I have been cross-country skiing twice, but Peter is yet to venture into the world of winter sports. Perhaps some toboganning tomorrow.<br /><br />Christmas Day is likely to be spent lazing around the chalet, which is very nice, with a beautiful view of the mountains. We have bought a turkey and all the usual trimmings, including some French champagne.<br /><br />Merry Christmas everybody!!<div style='clear:both; text-align:RIGHT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-85701596786232290472007-10-13T21:58:00.000+02:002007-10-13T23:06:33.307+02:00Kieren & Nikki visit GenevaOur long awaited visit from Kieren and Nikki finally occurred this August. With more leave up his sleeve than Nikki, Kieren arrived early to take advantage of Peter's new tour guiding skills and see as much of Switzerland as he could. They had fantastic weather for sightseeing in the mountains and much to our "delight", Kieren managed to squeeze in some canyoning near Interlaken, which he enjoyed. He took some terrific photos of the Jungfrau mountains on he and Peter's train journey to the highest railway station in Europe.<br /><a title="Photo Sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1361989258/"><img height="180" alt="Hiking in the Jungfrau" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1421/1361989258_376178003b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><a title="Photo Sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1361096087/"><img height="180" alt="Ice penguins" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1369/1361096087_8e514538e5_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><br />Nikki had a tiny two weeks in Europe, and with Barcelona and Paris to visit too, could only afford a few days in Geneva. She also got great summer weather and we had a lovely day trip to Annecy that weekend. On Mon/Tues, we couldn't let her escape without the obligatory chocolate tour and visit to the UN, so she got the highlights.<br /><a title="Photo Sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1562578814/"><img height="180" alt="Nikki & Kieren at Annecy" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/1562578814_846c4d5b98_m.jpg" width=240></a><br /><a title="Photo Sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1562583230/"><img height="180" alt="Gardens at Gruyere" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2084/1562583230_95af47d167_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-28627964601174737222007-10-01T22:36:00.001+02:002007-10-13T22:52:51.233+02:00On this day last year<a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/272490654/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/109/272490654_3a5eba8593_m.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/272490654/">The not so picturesque Genoa</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pjgardner/">Jess & Peter</a></span><br /><p>Ah, memories. The not so beautiful streets of Genoa. We were on route from Spain to Greece with Judy. What a fantastic holiday that was, in spite of the Genoan blip. On this day we had the stunning Greek sunsets ahead of us.</p>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-59672555229187042692007-10-01T22:30:00.001+02:002007-10-01T22:30:02.671+02:00Grande Dixence<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1408351445/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1098/1408351445_753d02aae7_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1408351445/">Grande Dixence</a> <br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pjgardner/">Jess & Peter</a></span><br clear="all" /><p>The water behind the wall.</p>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9985860.post-7273011276509908672007-10-01T22:28:00.001+02:002007-10-01T22:36:59.303+02:00Grande Dixence dam<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1408346151/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1150/1408346151_5123870ee5_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjgardner/1408346151/">Grande Dixence dam</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pjgardner/">Jess & Peter</a></span> <p>Peter is at the foot of the Grande Dixence dam, the highest gravity fed damn in the world. Behind that wall is a whole lot of water.<br /><br />We visited here on a weekend tour of the Valais organized by the Geneva Welcome Centre. The tour even included a walk through the tunnels inside the dam wall.</p>Jess and Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501308462014144672noreply@blogger.com0