Tag: news

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – BARI to MONOPLI.”

This town was not on my itinerary either but that was part of Robert’s plans/expertise – to know what he wanted to do and drag us to these spots. It was quite exciting guessing his motivations. Monopoli is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. As we strolled through the town towards the port, Robert guided us into a church quite different to the gaudy monuments typically found in Italy. Plain unimposing exterior with a very clean line inside leading to its purpose of prayer in the Christian faith. My first photo is the back of Robert’s head and the train directory identifying our station. Note his yellow jacket. Workplace Health and Safety dictates that he is clearly visible. You will observe this when we visit the church.

Monopoli was to provide quite a few unexpected sights. We crossed the town square and entered the port side where waterside apartments, fishing vessels, cargo ships, and expensive looking waterside houses of various eras hidden down narrow lane ways could be found. The last photo below is part of the square but on the opposite side to the fountain – a very large square for the town.

Once we had entered the port area it was quite obvious that the old and new sat comfortably together. Fishing continues to be an occupation in Monopoli and walking along the edge of the port we came upon a sight I was not expecting – a local fisherman repairing his nets on the port side surrounded by his mates chattering away and him focused on getting the nets ready to go fishing.

We are here out of season, so all the blue tourist boats are in the harbour. Our guide, wearing the brightest yellow jacket (it was cool, but he had to be seen), worked our way through the narrow lane ways filled with shops and apartments. The sign board below is but a few of the shops. The wine shop had its door handle made to represent its products. Check out the photo of the ancient downpipe set into the newly painted brick wall

Every turn he took we seemed to be losing our way but he always seemed to come back to the waterfront, always finding something old and something new side by side along the way. The garrison castle on the waterfront, now abandoned, told us something of the need to fortify against water borne menaces such as pirates and invaders. We could only access one part of the fort.

We could tell this was off season – there was no washing hanging from the lines between the holiday apartments. During off season repairs are performed. Actually there were times when our guide was reference the gps to find our way.

In the photo above you will notice a cathedral, the Basilica Cathedrale of Madonna della Madia in the background. It’s grandeur drew us to it. Our guide, distracted by his phone, missed the house with farmyard doors which appeared entirely out of place. The Basilica of the Madonna della Madia or Santa Maria della Madia was granted the status of a minor basilica in 1921. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of the Madonna della Madia, after an icon kept here. It shows the former wealth of the town with its ornate interior.

It seemed like hours that we had been ducking in and out of little lanes and not one coffee shop was open. Finally as we left the Basilica our eagle scout smelt or spotted an inviting coffee shop and it was time for a cuppa which got Kerry very excited and Robert curious as to why he had not found this place previously. Refreshed we headed back to the station and returned to Terni.

Well we were well and truly knackered particularly knowing we would do it all again tomorrow at Polignano a Mare. Stay tuned for “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – BARI to POLIGNANO A MARE”

THE RETIREES AND FRIENDS VISIT PERTH AND MARGARET RIVER – days 10 & 11 Back to our Itinerary in Margaret River

Star Date 3rd & 4th August 2024

Busselton a city in the South West region of Western Australia approximately 220 km (140 mi) south-west of Perth was home to the Noongar Aboriginal people was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia. John Bussell was granted land in the area in July 1832 and the settlers moved there in April 1834. The present name of Busselton derives from the Bussell family. It was first officially used in June 1835. Busselton soon established itself as a leading port. In 1850, being in close proximity to the tall timber country, timber was being exported and the small town prospered. Jetties for this purpose were built at Wonnerup, Busselton, and Quindalup but of these, only the Busselton Jetty remains. During the 1850s, Busselton began to receive convicts who were beginning to arrive in Western Australia; they particularly helped with the timber industry.

The 1960s saw the beginnings of the professional fishing industry and, in particular, the Margaret River wine region, which greatly increased tourist numbers in and around Busselton. Busselton’s nearest city is Bunbury named after Lieutenant Henry Bunbury who led a contingent of troops stationed at Wonnerup. Bunbury is 52 kilometres (32 mi) north-east of Busselton. Busselton is home to the longest wooden jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere, stretching 1,841 metres (6,040 ft) out to sea. Construction of the jetty began in 1864 and it was continually extended until the 1960s, when it reached its current length. It was closed to shipping in 1972, and maintenance was discontinued for a time. Following major damage caused by Cyclone Alby in 1978 and a fire in 1999, it was restored and improved. Since 2003, the jetty has offered visitors a tourist train ride, an underwater observatory, and an interpretive centre.

Photo #1 from the top left is the Visitors Centre, Gift Shop and train terminus. The train is rubber tyred but the carriages run on the rails. Photo #5 two gulls nesting – this is a remnant of an earlier part of the pier providing nesting spots for the gulls. We rode the train out and then walked back to the new building you can see in photo #2 for lunch and a lot of other people had the same idea. There are reminders of Busselton’s past in muriels on building walls such as the picture below. After Cyclone Alby.

Prior to the visit to the pier we visited a number of different spots in town. It remains a port city as seen in photos #1 to 3, with lighthouses sited amongst the residences. Surprisingly there is a lot of historic street art to admire as well as seen in photo #11.

We made our way home but both arriving we noticed the historic buildings at the northern end of Margaret River Village. It had blown up windy with sprinkles of rain so while it seemed miserable we were not going to miss this opportunity. Once again the pictorial artwork was terrific to see images of the past.

Well tomorrow we board the bus to Perth Airport so time to do some washing. Although there is a laundry in the house/home we decided to use the local laundromat – cannot recall why at the present but here’s the proof – the dryers and the lost and found basket.

The following morning 5th August we drove down to the bus stop in the darkness and sat in the shelter until the bus arrived. Dale and Zdravka protested that they would drive us to the airport but we won out and stayed for the bus. It was both cold and dark but gradually the sun peeped over the horizon, the street lights disappeared and the bus arrived. There would be one change before arriving at our accommodation at the airport. Now if you remember in my first of these blogs we had intended to meet Kerry’s cousin Ken and his wife Yena. Yena’s mother passed away suddenly and as she lived in Bali Ken and Yena had left Perth the morning of our arrival. So on our return journey we arranged to catch up that evening.

Our bus took us on an interesting circuit on the way to the accommodation – in this world of FIFO we went to every small aircraft operator providing FIFO travel taking men and women to work. Interesting!

After showering and pulling on some of those clean clothes we went to the inhouse restaurant to meet Ken and Yena. Reminded me a bit like Star Wars and the bar on Tatoon but fortunately Jaba was not in. Ken and Yena arrived and we caught up on everything from Ken’s father Barry passing away to Yena’s mother passing – a characteristic of getting old. Here is Ken and Yena.

Well after farewelling Ken and Yena we dragged ourselves to bed. We were scheduled to travel with the FIFO workers to the airport and what a shock. The bus transfer was a true shuttle with everyone jostling for space and once we got to the departure terminals all of the shuttles were converging and spewing passengers into the terminal. We were stunned but we had allowed plenty of time fortunately. We were not going to Brisbane but to Hobart to catchup with our youngest son Paul and his family. Whilst we booked a direct flight the plane took us firstly to Sydney then to Hobart where caught an Uber to our hotel. Having found our way to the hotel we arranged to catch up for dinner at a local eatery. The reason for our visit was tomorrow our granddaughter Lola was to perform in a school band.

December 2024