What a wonderful world blog done and dusted.

Thanks for following us, sorry it's been erratic with the posts, even when I paid precious internet minutes to post they went to BFN... ?. Or is that moi?? 

It has been just an indescribable time, we have had a lifetime of dreams all fulfilled (well, I have,Wazza would like warm next time!)  we met some great people, saw some scenery that defies description, travelled to places most only ever dream about. Spent money I know nothing about... visited 13 countries, used toilets that defy description, paid to pee, queued to pee, queued to see yet another church, museum, souvenir shop... Spoke kindly to a Russian customs person to get a sweet smile back, and a close up look at where the Queen and her family stand and wave! Yes that was unreal! That great city of Berlin.. The horrors of war,  the memorial  service in NYC for Anzac Day, every step every day yet another memory .

I pay tribute to my mum for her encouragement ,for her wish for us to see what she saw, for her love of reading our blog, and telling everyone in ear shot what we were doing.... Well not always!  I will continue to take mums memory with us. 

Hey mum, if you are reading over my shoulder this time, business class looks nice, this is a jumbo jumbo A380-800 A6-EEV (for you Frank and Norm) and we are in a FULL as a GOOG plane in steerage, so lotto would be nice... Just sayin'.

Another smooth transfer this morning, and we had plenty of time to spare so we had brekky at Jacks Bar and Grill, and sat for a while.

Emirates do it well, the service has been very good.

The middle seat of 3 sucks big time... Life's problems hey? 

It's time to go home, see our kids and grandkids, cuddle my puppy for a week, celebrate our 40th anniversary, celebrate Daniels birthday and then ..... Plan the next adventure.

YES the Pub Crawl...... Maryborough look out.

Bali has been on the bucket list for a while, but we will see what happens. 

My thanks to my hubby, who has helped me down, up, in, out, around, through, and all before brekky most days. His arm is always there to support me.

No wonder I love him so much. My bestie forever.

Post script...

Sitting watching the planes webcam, Brisbane is 458 miles away. 

That looks good to me.

I still call Australia HOME.

Dubai UAE 

Brekky was included, so we had a light start to our busy schedule in the very nice dining room, and as per our trip, our guide was waiting early for us in the foyer.

His name escapes me, as does the drivers, although the car was fabulous, the driver too.. Our guide just jumped out of the washing/ laundry basket, and had eaten 38 garlic encrusted camel toes according to Wazza. Yes he was not fresh! 

The tour started with the usual, a visit to the museum... "(Can you hear Warren groaning"? ) it was hot and smelly people everywhere. 

Then we got dropped onto a wooden boat with a dodgy brother driving said wooden boat and got taken across the "river" to the Souk markets. Now this is where Wazza really got into his stride... 56 degrees in a water bag and every one in Dubai wanting to sell him copy watch copy watch copywatch... Or GOLD GOLD GOLD or SPICE SPICE SPICE..I was afraid he would smack one of the touts out. Full marks mate. They were very intensive.

The gold was HORRID, in our opinion, he was sure it was fake too!

As we showed little interest in the market we got a longer ground tour of Dubai, and saw all the amazing landmarks, and a very beautiful beach. 

There are good and bad in every port, and we didn't have enough time to see the city in its glory, so we will not pass judgement. 

We wandered around the old town in the afternoon .. But siesta time was approaching, so we went back home to have a drink before getting ready for our Dhow Dinner cruise.. Deluxe mind you. It was part of the package.

The driver of our shuttle should have been labelled a terrorist on wheels, he was a mad crazy bugger. 

The dinner cruise was just ok, but we were a bit cheesed off that as things ran so overtime we could not go and visit the other sights we had planned. Should have skipped the "cruise" and done our own stuff. Never mind live and learn.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was too late to venture out so we just had a farewell drink at the English Pub. The staff are super friendly ... Even if the hotel is so so. 

Packing for the last leg home.

Early morning call booked for our 6 am pick up.

Copenhagen take 3.... On to Dubai

I organised a private transfer and we were lucky enough to have Jan and Doug and Lyn and Ian (new Pommie friends )join us ... After we shared a last glass of cheer in o'Sheehans we left our lovely home /ship. I am going to miss our fabulous cabin steward Bernard, possibly the best we have had, although we are good clean living guests, making his job a bit easier. Bernard made us such awesome towel animals, and left them on the  sofa for the entire month... When we went out he would tell us he would go and feed the pets. Ironically We almost had to leave the cabin to fit all the new pets in!

As has happened every step of the way, we have been met in a very timely and professional manner, today's was no exception.

Our driver Vivianne was lovely and had a great limo/car.

Check in didn't take too long,and before we knew it, we were on our way to the last stop, Dubai.

Warren and I had a couple of bevvies, to while away the hours with Louise, Peter and Ross, and how happy we were to see our crew family also at the airport, more hugs and kisses. 

A good flight with some leg room for my leg that does not travel well, and a half full plane for those who wanted to sleep the flight away..

Arrival into Dubai Airport was mind blowing.. What they do, they do bigger and better, it was so well choreographed.. Even customs was easy. 

Transfer via a lovely Lexus to the Arabian Courtyard for our 2 night stay, where we were given an upgrade. The 2 room apartment was spacious, however very dated, lovely back in the 50's..LOL.. But the linen was fresh and we had a bed.

And a pub.. An English Pub where we went for a drink, and met some really fun people. Yes it's no problem getting alcohol in Dubai, so I discovered as I watched the bar maid pour Jagermeister  via a funnel down the necks of some young Pommies out for some fun!  

Now to sleep.... Well that was the plan. I slept for about half an hour.

The sound of the call to prayer was outside our hotel at 4.15. That is dedication...to the MAX. 

Bergen - Norway our last Port of call on this Wonderful World Adventure

We had a late start, as we were both feeling the effects of this long journey, oh and the social life the night before also! Off we went at about 10 am, it was a very overcast day, and drizzly rain again. But we are tough campers and sloshed through the puddles as we do our bevvies at night.

It wasn't a very long walk to the heart of Bergen, and once again, mum got this spectacularly right, it was gorgeous, although still World Heritage Listed UNESCO, not as serene and pristine as our previous ports in Norway, much more a big city feel, with lots of souvenir shops and eateries. 

Oh it was lovely though, as we ambled though the back blocks the buildings dating back to before I was born. We walked for ages and ages.

Alas.... Another cute little train snapped us up and way up to the top of the Mountain we went. I have never ever seen so many beautiful rhododendron .....even as beautiful and prolific as they are in Sassafras Nola Stokes, the windy road, and incredible vantage spots ensured we had another fabulous experience. At the top of the peak I had a yummy hot chocolate to thaw my hands out and we meandered down again, passing many of the early Leprosy hospitals. Oh and a few more awesome churches!

So far, no pubs... Impressed???? 

Ok time for a walk up to the Funicular Tram to take us up to the top of the world! It was something we thought would have been fun in the sun.. But it was OK... A long queue in the cold and rain, a squish into the tram, it  peed down at the top, so visibility was poor... And a squish down the side of the mountain. 

Tick off the funicular for now. 

By now we were both cold and hungry and a local pub with a cheap meal beckoned, and had free and excellent wifi. Oh and a nice Sav Blanc! Still no VB :( 

It was called Felix Pub. Quick stop in at O'Briens Irish pub, for our SIL. One side O'Brien the other was Mad Murphys.... 

Time to wander back to our ship, we did it slowly, passing some lovely old shops with wooden doors, lots of open air eateries, loosing lots of money, as there are two big ships in Bergen today, and all the tables are empty.

Our trek back was through the carnival, where loads of happy wet as shag kids squealed with joy.

My squeal was slightly different.... I was wet cold dripping and busting for a pee.  It just poured rain all the way back to the ship.

Yes, as we arrived and dried off...out came the sun.

Sail out of Bergen was beautiful. Our cabin looked like a Chinese Laundry, but we were happy and content with what we had achieved, seen, and experienced this cruise, that is coming to an end very quickly.

Next stop COPENHAGEN for the last time. Seems like yesterday we arrived and had a catch up with Penny and her dad here.

A million wonderful memories ago.

Geirangerfjord - Norway

You have to be here to believe it, so the brochure says. The brochure is so very correct.

What a day, what a place. 

Geiranger was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 14, 2005. The status on the list was justified by the countryside, the fjord landscape and the nature-friendliness of the area.

The Fjord is 16 kilometres long, and the average depth is 260 meters. The water is as clear as we have seen. But nit a good spot for a swim.

There is a population of 210, and annually they receive over 600,000 visitors. Plenty of work for the locals! 

While we waited for our tour to begin we walked through town to the base of the falls, happily the weather was much kinder than yesterday. There was a delightful caravan park right at the edge of the water, and was quite busy.

Our Limo driver arrived promptly and off we set for our trip to MtDalsnibba, due to a heavy fall of snow we had a change of plans. We were in a lovely Lincoln car, very comfy, and enjoyed some extraordinary scenery. 

The roads were full of hairpin bends, all added to the excitement of the morning! 

We stopped at many photo opportunities, and luckily either before or after the large tourist busses arrived. One stop was to view a drystone bridge built in 1882. What a remarkable feat! Geiranger Canyon way up in the sky allowed us to take some super shots of our ship ... Snow everywhere. Such beauty all around us.

We then travelled the Eagle Road and stopped at Lake Eidsvatnet. That was kind of like Lake Louise, so pretty.

On we went to have a stop at a store built in 1865, the shopkeeper was a friendly woman, and made us all feel very welcome. We met the grandson of the original builder of the store,  the grandson was a sprightly 93 year old! 

Some more photo stops before arriving back into town.

OK let's find a pub for a meal we said....... The girl at the tourist information centre gave us directions.  She failed to mention it was almost vertical! When we got there, no time for a lunch stop, so a pit stop then we took the "short" cut back to town.

Tippin' my legs will be squealing for months! There must have been 27 thousand stairs, at least! 

Onto our next adventure for the day, a boat trip along the Fjords on the MS Geirangerfjord. It lasted one and a half hours and was truly wonderful.... Except for the times old nan and pop dozed off, we were like a tag team!...  I still managed to take another zillion photos of waterfalls and cliffs!

A MAGIC DAY.

Back home for the spectacular sail out on our way to Flam tomorrow.

Alesund - Norway

I woke early, around 4 am, jumped up and went to look at the fabulous scenery, my feet stuck to the balcony, and as I was just in a summer nightie, important bits came close to snapping off!

Oh now how to start.. This is unbelievable ..... But we are a bit sad to see the gloomy skies and rain.

It's so much colder than we ever experienced in our lives, poor Warren, I am sure he came close to calling quits to our 40 year marriage.....wtf are we doing here??? Oh gawd it was freezing beyond belief. The hairs on my legs just snapped clean off..

The wharf area was a snarl of cranky people, all pushing and shoving, so we booked our tickets for the "train" ride with a lovely young girl from Melbourne who has married a Norwegian, and now lives here... Really??? Gosh you must be in love cos this is summer and it's close as you wanna get to snow! 

We wandered around the town for about an hour, chipping frozen snot from our faces, and thinking ... Wow this is fun! The town is really lovely, very steep streets, and all the shops were just waking up. 

Our tour lasted over an hour, we travelled up to the top of 

 to visit at the tourist centre/lookout. The summit was called Fjellstua, and afforded  the most magnificent views, the problem was to hold the camera still long enough to get a good photo! This was 192 meters above sea level, one could take the option of returning to town via the stairs... 418 steps. I passed this up... Wonder why?? 

The population is approx. 45000, and is made of up 7 islands.

In 1904 98% of the city burnt down. It was rebuilt over a 6 year period in Art Nouveau style. Thanks Wazza xxx

We got back to the wharf and went  to check out town, now it had woken up a bit, we found a warm shopping complex,  had a wander and headed back to just miss the ferry we wanted to catch, so back home for a change of wet clothing, a bowl of warm soup, some new Scottish friends, and off again.

Call us crazy.... I will NEVER argue.

We caught an express boat to Langevag, home to some shopping outlets, I was in search of pure wool, fur lined underwear, with a full sheep to wear around my head, and some lead lined gloves and socks. 

Full live sheep were difficult to find. Thermal underware increased 500% today, especially if you looked like a cruise ship guest!

We have travelled all over Alesund today and not even ventured into the door of a pub...

Chalk that one up. 

Tonight as we set sail for Geiranger (my Anniversary surprise for Warren) we are once again totally and utterly blown away,  the scenery is beyond any we have seen for a very long time.... A little tug with water hoses saw us out of the harbour with a fabulous display, just like they did for us in Newcastle Jaymie-Lee and Lachlan, except a bit colder!! 

Our cabin steward, Bernard just came in and gave us tomorrow's paper, the expected top temp is 2 degrees.. Rain and snow showers. 

There is certainly a benefit to having a balcony cabin.. Jump out take a photo and jump back in. 

This is a most amazing trip... And yes,it surely is a WONDERFUL WORLD.

love to all our friends, thanks to those who are following our journey, and cheers from Norway...

Glad I wasn't born a Troll!! 

Sea day beginning our cruise #19, and our Anniversary Celebration at sea

 This morning we attended our Cruise Critics meet and Greet, honestly, the BEST EVER!! The lady who organised this (Julianne) from Texas, was just a classic!

Beautiful  hand made invitations, lanyards.. And such a wonderful friendly group, when chatted for ages.

Then came Julianne.... And the slot pull, what a riot! We lost more than $3 bucks each, but had such fun, Warren was the highest winner....you guessed it, another bottle of wine!..... And a cash bonus.

Lunch was in a glass...  As it was the Latitudes function. 

Catch up with new friends... Lyn and 6 great laughs.

And so the story goes on.

Tomorrow begins the voyage to honour my beautiful mum. It was her wish for us to come here, and here we are. My mum shared so much with me, her love of travel just a small part. 

It's going to be very emotional.

This weeks marks the first Anniversary of her leaving us.  On Sunday the 24th we will scatter some of her ashes in Flam.