the last post

So now, I write for the last time ...

Thanks for joining us over the years. It's been a fun packed four years. From starting a new life in a new country millions of miles from home, renovating our boat, intrepid travels, and adjusting to parenthood .... we feel like you've all been there on the journey with us!

So here we go! Follow us as we undertake what may be one of the most challenging things we've ever done and what could well be the most rewarding.

We wont be far ... we'll be here, at www.lookoutlibya.blogspot.com

So to the Land of hope and glory, Mother of the free, with a tear in our eye we bid you farewell ... until next time.

the final countdown

Two more days. Just two more days in London and our life will change as it never has before.

Today we're saying goodbye to more friends, making phone calls, re-packing our bags, doing some last minute washing and all the things necessary when you pack up your life and move it somewhere else. There's a sadness but also an incredible excitement of the unknown.

I have made contact with a friend of a friend who is living in Libya, with her husband and two year old son. She has been tremendously supportive through emails and phone calls in the lead up to our move, despite the fact we've never met, and has offered to have us over to her house on the first weekend after we arrive. I'm not sure if she will ever know how grateful we are.

Oh yeah, and according to the BBC, the weather on Wednesday in Tripoli will be 30 degrees! Not sure I can wait!

on the homestretch

After months of talking about it, we finally have a date. We are actually going to Libya. In fact, as of Wednesday afternoon we'll be calling it home.

We fly out on Wednesday morning 9ish, and arrive at 1pm in the afternoon (2pm with the time change). Hard to believe that a place which right now feels like the ends of the earth is such a short flight away. We can only imagine what we'll see, hear and smell when we get to 'the other side'. This is adventure like we've never known it.

We have four days left to spend in London, with all the usual last minute stuff but this time it all feels a little more organised which is refreshing to say the least.

everything is as it should be

So, I've caved and spent US $20 on some extra storage space from Picassa, which means that I can now upload to Look out London again. Not so crucial for this blog as our time in London draws to an end, but quitting on this site would mean not being able to upload to Nate's site, and it was all getting a bit messy so I've upgraded and now have to wait 24 hours to get my 10 gig extra space. So, be patient, the photos and travel stories will follow, all in due time.

Today's adventures were at the Libyan Embassy where we went to simply pick up our visas which as you know, had already been approved. When we got there however we had to fill out three lengthy visa application forms (because we were applying for a visa which had already been approved - perfectly logical), submit more passport photos and of course, pay. So, our visas which have been approved are not ready today, but tomorrow, at 3pm where we will line up once again. Something we're going to have to get used to if we're going to and may be the difference between us sinking or swimming in Libya.

the louvre

city of love

something new

A new installation in Paris framing some stunning iconic scenes.

no place like it

paris ...

... has to be my favourite European city. No matter how many visits it's beauty is never lost on me.

We had a lovely last day of holidays in the capital, soaking in the sun and enjoying every minute. We stayed until sunset, then driving on to Calais ready for our ferry the following morning. Our last port of call was the Eiffel tower which has been adorned with the gold stars from the European Union flag since we last visited. As the sun set we waited for the lights to be turned on but they seemed to take forever. Long after the sun had set we headed back for the car, only to see as we were driving out that the Eiffel tower had been lit up a spectacularly deep blue colour, to reflect the flag. A symbol of unity hard to miss and would have made for an incredible photo. Perhaps next time.

the way to st tropez

last stop paris

We've made our way up the coast and are in France now, making our way slowly home. A hard job but someone's gotta do it. It's still wonderfully hot here and we're making the most of it with swimming at every stop.

Yesterday was a great day, swimming and markets in Nice before heading to Cannes where Woz and I had dinner out in the warm night air while Nate slept in his buggy. We love Cannes and will definitely return sometime to spend more time here.

Our last port of call on the French riviera was St Tropez where we've spent the morning looking at all the yachts we might like to buy when we're rich and famous. Tonight we head inland towards Paris for one last day of holidays.

doctor benny saves the day

We are a family of bloggers, but definitely the most blog-savvy is my brother Ben who has come to my rescue and set up a new blog for me to post all the photos from our travels. So, from now on read on at www.pinchyourselfdaily.blogspot.com.

Phew! Life can resume as normal! Have a bit to catch up on but with 40 minutes until the internet cafe closes I'll do my best ... oh and we got our visas, but you'll read that later.

Aurevoir!

the race circut

playground of the rich, the famous and the coal man

Monacco, a place Woz has long since wanted to visit, particularly with the Grand Prix in mind, but as we were in the area, we decided to stop in on our way along the French Riviera. It was a hot and sticky day and so after a walk around the main part of town we headed towards a swimming pool which Woz has had his eye on for years. if you watch the Grand Prix you will see that the cars whizz past a swimming pool which is on the coast. We found the swimming pool and it looked very nice, and like everything else in Monacco, very exclusive. Ever determined, Woz enquired as to whether we would be able to swim there and if we would need to take out a mortgage for the privilege. It turned out that the cost of a swim was cheaper than that of our local swimming pool in London! So, with Nate on his best behaviour we headed into the pool to cool off. Not long after we had started swimming another family came along. We immediately pointed the children out to Nate, excited at the prospect of him having someone to play with. Upon doing this we noticed the father who looked incredibly like the coal man from when we owned our boat. A man who would take his two boats along the canals and every few weeks would drop into the basin to supply us with coal (amongst other things). I waited to hear him talk to his son, listening earnestly for an English accent and then, summoned the courage to approach him. 'Excuse me, are you Barney?' Flabbergasted he removed his sunglasses and we both sat there in stunned silence at the coincidence! We spent hours swimming with him and his family and it was all very surreal.

'Where are you staying tonight?' he asked us.
'We don't know. We're sort of living day by day at the moment. We don't know what we're doing after our swim let alone what we're doing tonight.'
'Well you're welcome to come and stay with us for the night, we've got plenty of room and we've got some pasta ...'

The prospect of a home cooked meal was too much excitement for me to bear and we accepted his invitation before he had time to finish his sentence. To quote Jerry McGuire, "you had me at pasta".

So, after a swim, Woz and I took a walk up to the palace and then later joined Barney and his family at his brother's holiday home where they were staying. The home was amazing, and with a view of the harbour to die for. Nate, who has been deprived of toys for over a month now, had a ball playing with the two children and the toys they had.

It was a lovely, spontaneous and very unexpected surprise to spend some time with familiar faces in a foreign land.

very cool light in the bathroom - self portrait

hotel room in bordighero

rock pools in bordighero

bordighero

The Italian Riviera. We spent our time left in Italy beach hopping, enjoying the hot weather while we could as we were hearing reports from friends in London that the weather was getting increasingly autumnal. This day in Bordighero was very overcast but also incredibly hot. Many hours were spent in this spot and others like it.

beyond the cinque terre, roadside italy

more of the cinque terre coastline

the cinque terre

I'm afraid this entry will be sparse when it comes to photos as the Cinque Terre did not lend itself to pause for photography, at least not in a car. For those who have not yet travelled this far, the Cinque Terre is a small section of the Italian Riviera in the province of La Spezia, comprising of the coastline, five villages, and the surrounding hillsides. It is beautiful territory, but would best be discovered on foot, as the roads are perilously narrow, winding around the coast line and the mountains lining it.

As we travelled along the road, leading the way were small three-wheeled Piaggio's, navigating the sharp turns with ease. possessing the ability to stop at any point along the road without it being too dangerous. We got the feeling that these roads were designed with the Piaggio in mind, and not for large family size Land rovers. What was most astounding about the Cinque Terre was that the Italians had obviously been unperturbed when discovering this landscape and decided to make every inch of it habitable or to use it as their workplace. Houses were perched high up on the mountains, wedged into the rock face, and every inch of space left was planted out with vines, making for a particularly difficult journey to work.

a long day

We had our first really bad day today, due to a combination of the Italian's poor road signage and my short temper.

After disembarking the boat in Ancana at 7am, Woz and I were really keen to make the most of our early start and get some good driving under out belt before a long lunch break. Once we reached the motorway we were flying along, loving being in Italy and loving being on the road. Not long after this however we had to take an exit to transfer to another motorway. In what we have discovered is the norm, at 130km per hour we were given 500 metres notice to turn. I think by about 400 metres I had worked out in my mind what I had read on the sign, by 450 had worked out which direction we had to turn and by 500 said to Woz, 'We have to turn right soon' and zoom, past the exit we flew.

'Never mind, we'll take the next one and go back' we said happily. We were on holidays, we didn't care about exits, but adventure!

Twenty minutes later, we finally reached the next exit on the motorway and so having gone so far along we decided we'd take the smaller roads back to the main motorway. Until now I had been able to navigate us smoothly to any given destination and with a fresh boost of confidence I was up for the challenge. What followed was at least an hour of driving around in circles in rural Italy. We would approach an intersection, be given two choices, take one, then reach another intersection and be given two entirely different choices, neither of them heading in the direction we wanted, so we would choose one, then get to the next intersection and be faced with an entirely new direction once again .... this continued for HOURS and by the end of it I was cursing Italy and it's town planners. 'Now I remember why we hated Rome!' I screamed at the cows we passed.

By afternoon we reached La Spezia and the start of the Cinque Terre but it took us so long to find the actual road that leads to the Cinque Terre that we spent yet again another hour just driving around in circles, cursing the Italian town planners. By late afternoon we finally found ourselves on the right road and drove along the Cinque Terre from start to finish, reaching the last town at sunset.

Oh and yes, it was worth it.

roadside bosnia

off road croatia

rocks rocks and more rocks

farewell croatia

bosnian village

this one was written out at sea

Given our last choice of home it might strike you as a little odd to learn that I have a genuine fear of being on water at night. For this reason I will never go on a cruise regardless of the on deck swimming pools and open buffet. I did however, in a moment of weakness, agree to take the ferry across the Adriatic Sea from Split in Croatia to Ancona, Italy. An overnight trip, leaving Split at 9pm and getting in the following morning at 7am.

So, now I write to you, with the coast of Croatia long since vanished in the night, as I sit in our 2 berth cabin, deep in the belly of the ship. I am trying to think of everything but this fact so as not to let my imagination get the better of me but I'm afraid I have watched 'Titanic' too many times and I am fighting a losing battle.

at long last!

Finally we have good news. The visas have been approved - all three of them!

We received an email this afternoon. It has certainly put our minds at rest as we had been continually running through possible scenarios in our thoughts and conversations, should we return to London and find ourselves without a visa for Nate. We feel as though we can finally look forward to the future and can't wait to set up home again after being in a temporary frame of mind for so long. We're now sorting out what is required to get us there (visas stamped in passports etc.) and estimate we'll be 'deployed' as they say, by the end of the month!

somewhere we never thought we'd see

On our last day in Croatia, having already spent a few hours at the beach, Woz and I decided to take the short drive across the border into Bosnia & Herzegovina, to a lake which on the map looked fantastic, and possibly a venue for our afternoon swim. The drive there was amazing, our first diversion from the coast of Croatia and it seemed to get hotter, rockier and much, much, higher as we drove up into the mountains.

On arriving at the border we were denied entry as we weren't able to produce a green piece of paper which had something to do with motor insurance. We were told that we could buy this at another border control a few kilometres along the border so we headed that way. At the second border crossing our passports were checked three times but we were not asked to show our little green piece of paper. On the third check we were waved through and we were in! A little nerve-racking!

Driving to Bosnia was a spur of the moment decision and so we drove there without having researched whether as an Australian I would need a visa but on the border decided not to draw their attention to the matter. It seemed like the kind of country where if you asked if you were to pay a visa they would say yes and take a hansome sum for the privilege. So, no questions were asked and we were through. We spent only a few hours there, driving around, only getting out to take photographs. The lake was man-made, in a valley, surrounded by mountains, with a few villages scattered around it. Despite the heat, we saw not one person bathing, or even spending any time near the water. It was eerily quiet in the villages around the lake, with us only seeing other drivers and the occasional cyclist. After a few hours we headed back to Croatia to spend a few more hours at the beach before we headed towards Italy.

you can take a girl to croatia ....

Told you I wouldn't look Clairzy.

croatian coastline

getting to know you

Driving through Croatia the first thing that slaps you in the face is the stunning coastline and rugged mountains towering overhead. Having come from Germany however where every rural village is pristine, we were shocked at the state of the houses running along the coast. We couldn't tell if the obvious decay was due to past unrest, negligence or purely a different perception of what is aesthetically pleasing. Most were concrete boxes, a few rendered or painted a bright colour but the majority seemed to be dull and uninspiring. Hard to imagine when the view out the window of almost all of those houses would have been second to none. We had to take off our western-tinted-glasses to appreciate anything other than natural beauty. It was spectacularly hot in Croatia, 37 degrees on one day we were there. Perfect for swimming - and we did, every day.

border control

Entering Croatia we had our passports checked for the first time. We'd already passed through six countries without anyone so much as glancing at them. This of course held up our entry as each car slowed and one by one had their documents checked. This gave me more time to dwell on the decision we'd made to visit Croatia, despite my promise not to without Claire. We passed through without a hitch but my sense of betrayal was overwhelming.

the end is nigh

Aaaagghhh! My world has come to an end! Blogger have told me that in order to continue uploading photos to my blog I have to buy image space though Picassa. Not sure how much this costs but Croatia wont even let me upload the program to check! I knew we shouldn't have come to Croatia!

So, until I can sort out the program we'll have to just upload text and then photos when we get home. Sigh ...

Trust us. It's spectacular here.

i still haven't found what i'm looking for

Piran. Technically Slovenia but crammed so tightly on the coastline in between Italy and Croatia that it's hard to know which country you're in.

We arrived in the evening and found a town buzzing with excitement. It was a beautifully warm night and as we approached the main square on foot we heard a lone guitarist, deep in song with a crowd stopping number, 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' by U2. He had everyone in the surrounding restaurants and square watching him earnestly, with most singing on. Back in the day Karen and I used to sing that song together and I noticed that the guitarist, although clearly talented, was distinctly lacking in some solid harmonies. If only you were there Kaz and we could have backed him up with some killers.

Woz and I got some takeaway calzone and sat out the square while Nate ran madly around the square with the other children around. A beautiful night we wont forget.

promise not to look

Claire and I have been fortunate enough to travel together on a number of occasions; to Sardinia, Venice, Paris and of course hanging out in London on more than one occasion. Good times.

A little while ago whilst chatting with Claire I made a flippant remark that we would have to continue travelling together until we were old and grey. From that suggestion a plan was hatched and we made a pact to visit Croatia together - a destination we'd both long since dreamt of visiting.

I picture Claire now, reading this entry from her work computer, with plans of a student life for the years ahead and the poverty that so often comes with it. As each day passes I imagine her reading each new post on our blog with growing dismay, the travel bug in her niggling away without hope of being fed, for the moment anyway.

To add salt to the wound, we have made plans for our return to London ... via Croatia. Looking at the map it seems the logical way to travel rather than back track along highways already traversed.

So a new destination for Claire and I must be found, one suitably exotic to speed up the forgiveness process that Claire will undoubtedly be undertaking. Suggestions anyone?

pinch yourself

It's hard to believe we've only been gone a week and a half. It seems as though a lifetime has been packed into that time. We've crossed eight countries in as many days and still no call from Libya. Amazing to think that we may never have even made it as far as Dover!

When we meet people and they ask us where we're from, our answer, in short, is "Australia". Of course we are. Our accent alone is testament to the fact. But when their eyes widen and they marvel at how far we've come the story changes. "Actually we've only travelled from London. We live there .... well, we used to".

After just over a week away with our life packed up in London and a new destination in mind we feel more like world citizens than anything else. Life is just too transient at the moment to feel a kinship to anywhere but where we are right here, right now.

And right now we are in Italy. For a few hours. We've come from Slovenia this morning, to Italy for lunch and then we'll head back to Slovenia tonight. So, in Italy, here I sit. A few precious hours to myself while Woz and Nate entertain themselves. I am sitting in a bar on a gorgeous street where I have wireless internet, good coffee and a contented soul.

Yep, it's moments like these you pinch yourself to check if what you are experiencing is real - and it is. It all feels so very undeserved. We spend each day so thankful for each moment and for another incredible experience underfoot, wondering what tomorrow will hold.

morning views

the landy, and our campsite, just up the hill

the lake down the hill from our tent

this one was written fireside

Okay so I'm not a huge fan of camping. I grew up going on camping holidays for the most part, so for me the novelty has sort of worn off. No, I long for swanky hotel suites with hot water, soft downy pillows and cable TV. Camping is not for me. Woz however, loves it.

Our first night away we camped, in Belgium. It was a lovely campsite, I'll give it that. In the city without too much of a city feel. But it was wet, cold, and we set up our tent in the dark, drew every breath to blow up our air mattress with our own lungs and by the time we finally went to bed we were so exhausted we barely noticed the buoyant like feel of an air-mattress shared by three people. It wasn't a great night, and in the morning I made Woz promise to alternate between B & B's and camping.

Now, a week and a half later, we are camping again and it couldn't be further from our first night.

We're in a National forest in Slovenia (don't have my map with me but will tell you which one at a later stage!). Our tent is in the middle of a gorgeous and secluded forest. Just a little down the hill is the lake where there are more campers. Nate is fast asleep in the tent, having willingly laid down on his own little mattress, tucked in and curled up with a bottle, and Woz and I are about to tuck in to the buttered sweetcorn which has been roasting in the coals of our campfire. I could start to like camping after all.

Post script: Shortly after I finished writing this we discovered our corn had been scorched within an inch of it's life. On top of that, over night there was torrential rain, deafening thunder and a light show to match. The first rain we've had in over a week. Not quite so idyllic after all. Still, it was nice to be in Slovenia, in the woods.

roadside slovenia

view from the castle in bled

weinidylle dreisiebner

On Andi's recommendation we visited a wine region in Austria close to the Slovenian border. We'd already sampled some of the wine at the Farmers Market in Ottensheim and so when we were looking for a place to stay the choice was obvious - Weinidylle Dreisiebner. Spectacular in every way and the perfect touch of luxury to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.

countryside perfection

a working day for most