FIRST BUS GIVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT A BAD NAME

21st September 2015

We've done a lot of buses, from Nagano to New York via Moscow,Split,Luxembourg,Barcelona, Lyon,Sorento,Berlin,Prague,Los Angeles and the length and breadth of England to name just a few off the top of my head and without doubt the worst bus company we have ever encountered has to be First Bus in Newquay. The timetables are a nonsense, the smartphone app is incorrect, the buses are filthy and the staff, who don't give a toss, cancel buses and close the terminus office to suit themselves.  They have digtal information displays at bus stops which display incorrect information  because the timetable has changed but nobody has bothered to update the system with the new timetables. The drivers can't be bothered to alter the route numbers on their bus, preferring to yell through the door "it's not a 59, it's an 84". A 3 page letter is on its way. We spent a lot of time hanging around for buses that failed to materialise and got fitter walking back from wherever we could get a bus to but wasn't where we actually wanted to be.
Added to that the weather wasn't brilliant and I had a massive tooth failure as something appears to have sheared off and the emergency NHS dentist at newquay hospital was not exactly helpful....giving me the choice of extracting the stump or going back home and having a crown implanted. As he was as reassuring as Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man, I am hoping that his assurance that it won't get any worse in the next couple of weeks is correct and that the nice Claire in Martlesham Heath will be able to sort out the seemingly massive crater I now have where there used to be a large molar. At least he didn't charge me anything which would not have been the case had I managed to get an emergency appointment with any dentist in Newquay who seem to reserve emergency appointments exclusively for existing customers. Fortunately,  one of them apologetically suggested the NHS helpline who did at least get me an appointment at said hospital but with the aforementioned result.......
But that's enough of me.
Rugby World Cup has started well and we HD a wonderful feast of rugby over the weekend
England stuttered with Fiji,  Wales triumphed but at injury cost, All Blacks showed vulnerability and Japan gave us the best game to watch since the 2003 final....who else would have spurned a penalty to draw the game in injury time in favour of opting for another scrum to secure the winning try. I'd love to know how many of the top 8 teams would have taken the draw.
So now we are in St . Ives on a lovely site above the town (walkable if steep) with lovely sea views..
if only the weather was better......but at least we managed to avoid meeting the fellow with his 7 wives and all those cats so here's a picture of the harbour.

COULD HAVE BEEN IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE OR CROATIA

17TH SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWQUAY

Been away 2 weeks having left home on 1st. Sept. took a management decision to stay in the UK for Sept/Oct in order to watch the Rugby World Cup now that satellite reception can be iffy down in the south of France but we had hoped that the weather might be a bit better than it has been so far.
1st-4th September in Southampton for the England/Aus ODI at the Rose Bowl. We parked the van at a weird campsite for 4 nights and had 2 nights at the Dolphin courtesy of Dave,Briony,Geoff & Caroline who entertained us royally for a joint 70th birthday present. Much fun was had by all, only marred by England losing,some good meals and lots of wine.
5th-11th September to Dartmouth. Stayed at Little Cotton campsite courtesy of a CC&C Temp.holiday site. Lovely site with good views and a nice downhill walk to town and regular bus back. Never stopped here before, only passed through crossing the river on ferry about 30 years ago, and greatly surprised to find one of the prettiest towns ever seen. Buzzing with trippers and we roamed around and about on the buses and ferries to our hearts content, and even had a nice walk along the cliffs. Great pubs and we had some lovely meals and snacks......and probably the best fish and chips ever {even if the meal did come to £75}. The weather was quite pleasant for the week so a very nice stop.
12th-17th September to Newquay and weather turned exceptionally nasty with a couple of days of gales. Much tent devastation around us. Again we are on a CC&C Temp holiday site at Hendra Holiday park...{bascically a THS means we are paying £10 a night instead of £21but still get to use all the facilities as the club has pre booked about 100 pitches and will pay for them whatever. This one is very well attended. Site is very large with nice view over the moors but a bit far from town which is not as nice as we remembered it, being full of youth etc. Still, the rugby starts on friday so we shall stock up and hunker down

ALL GOOD THINGS

21-22.08.2015

Last full day. Lovely warm weather, at leisure in morning so mainly packing and then a walk through the park on the river bank which was very pleasant and coffee in a local cafe. After lunch back into city through nightmare traffic for tour of Kremlin ( which means fortress and is quite common in russia, not unique to Moscow ).
Very interesting and not what was expected. Lots of elegant bright buildings and lots of churches which was a surprise. Very nice floral gardens and an oak tree planted by Yuri  Gagarin. Churches were stunning.
Dinner was a very joyful affair, much exchange of emails and we have an invitation to visit ?KanKun (which John may own), slightly muted in some cases by the thought of leaving the boat at 2.30am. Various coaches were destined to leave for the 2 airports  all through the night but we are lucky and are on the last coach out at 11.30. Quick turnaround for the ship as new arrivals begin with our coach picking up new guests. Leave on time after buffet lunch and use the M25 equivalent for Domodedovo airport the largest and furthest away. At 2.30 the journey took 90 mins, we take nearly 3hrs.in traffic that makes M25 look like a pussycat. Airport still under 10 year reconstruction is as bad as we have been warned but Viking reps are really excellent at shepherding their 14 charges through the chaos. ( extra busy weekend being end of school holidays) . Checked in online  last night and when reach BA  bag drop nice Russian lady says "your flight is very full we have decided to send you by bus". I look startled and start to protest . She looks puzzled and says "you don't want?" so I ask her to repeat what she said and it now comes back  as " your flight is very full, we have upgraded you to World Traveller Plus" . Result! !!.
Priority loading, lovely big seats with legroom, constant flow of drinks (although unfortunately  I do have to drive at other end) and an excellent roast lamb dinner.
So we finished in comfort and style. Through immigration  and customs and on the shuttle bus within the hour and picked up the car at the Hilton hotel without hitch.
Staying at Julian's over weekend.

An excellent holiday all round.
Viking were superb both in organisation and service. Staff were constantly cheerful and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Guides were informative,interesting  and were eager to engage and answer questions  about life today and life under the Soviets. Modern politics were discussed openly, including Ukraine,  and Putin was criticised and praised in equal measure. The ship was elegant having been refurbished last year,had an extensive library of books on all aspects of Russia,games, a daily 4 page newspaper digest for UK,USA,CANADA & AUS.,daily crossword & sudoku sheets, reasonable wifi, good food, bottled water every time you left the ship..
I never saw the staff not smiling and whilst some tours were not as good as others they were trying to please everybody.
Our only criticism would be that the average  age meant that we had to make frequent stops for WCs which were not always readily available, and at times the walking pace was funereal which makes my hips ache... we were much more comfortable when given a chance to explore on our own and covered much more ground.
Russia was an experience. We would gladly go back to St.P and will look for a short break. Moscow will be fantastic in 2-3 years when the scaffolding is down and the roads relaid and I would like another look.
Cannot praise Viking highly enough. Great job, stress free.
THE END.

MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW

17.08.2015

To Yaroslavl
The scenery changes, looking more prosperous along the Volga (and we have local guide called Olga). We skip visit to local home but John and Jim return with 3 1.5 lemonade bottles filled with moonshine vodka from some guys garden shed........
pretty churches
18.08.2015
To Uglich
Markets, churches and we wander off and fail to find the house of A.Kalashnikov. Weather still overcast and chilly. Onto the Moscow canal
19.08.2015
Arrive Moscow midday and city tour after lunch. Traffic as bad as St.P if not worse and we spend time in crawling. First impressions favourable although guide wastes time. Travel on metro and hop off to view amazing architecture on stations. Red Square impressive but big event at weekend means much scaffolding and chain link fencing spoils overall view but compensated by hundreds of small shacks like a german Xmas market liven everything up.
Weather now hot again. Evening concert most enjoyable back late.
20.08.2015
Happy birthday to me. Many cards and emails.
At leisure having forsaken museums to do own thing. Viking bus drops us off in Red Square we head to Lenin's mausoleum which is only open 4 days a week 10-1.
Queue 1/2 hour then get to see all the tombstones in the wall, every leader except Kruschev (didn't die in office ). Big bust of Stalin.  Also Yuri  Gagarin. Then into crypt. ...pitch dark, black marble,stairs impossible to see,no stopping, file round embalmed body in open casket in total silence. Absolute amazing experience even GF moved.
Once back out in RSq we head to Kazan  Cathedral  and light candles for Valery on anniversary of death.....she loved a visit to Moscow so it seemed appropriate. ..couldn't get to a working church yesterday so only 12 hours out.
Coffee  on terrace of Bosco Cafe outside GUM store opposite Lenin's tomb costs arm and leg as we imagine him spinning in grave. Deliciously ironic. GUM is a monument to capitalist conspicuous  consumption.  Wonderfully over the top.
To lunch at Dr.Zhivago in the hotel National where Lenin used to stay and Trotsky had rooms. Now chic and elegant top spot. Magnificent  lunch amongst Moscow mafia businessmen and ladies who lunch (felt slightly underdressed but when you're 70 you can do that).
Walk to Bolshoi for GF then tackle the metro system . Got lost then recovered then got lost then found the right line to Maryskaya station which is amazing art deco wonder. Metro back to pier and found lovely local market as we exited  Metro with liquor store. Arranged to dine tonight with John Diane Jim & Kathy  so intended buying champagne on boat ($170 moet & chandon  nv seeming a bit steep I was going to opt for the Russian spkling at $ 25 so a liquor store seemed provident.....long story but ended up with a bottle for 265 rubles which is about $4.50..........
However when we got back to boat there was a very nice bottle of champagne in the room courtesy of Viking with a lovely card from the management.........so we took that down to dinner. ......
And John and Jim produced a 1.5 litre bottle of moonshine with a picture  of John outside on his balcony banging on the door to be let in (see previous post)which they had taken and the reception staff had printed off for them........amazing effort on their part and given a bit more  notice would have had my face superimposed. So after the champagne shot glasses appeared and the first of many toasts, followed by the appearance of staff bearing cake the GF had organised with kitchen and mass singing.........loved it!!!!!!!! Said I didn't want a fuss........
It may have been fortunate that at 9pm we had to assemble for Moscow by night tour or we might all be blind by now.
Moscow at night is unforgettable.
We had 31/2 hours by coach and boat which were wow! Thousands  of buildings  old and new are illuminated  ( subsidised by city council)......and the reconstruction in the last 20 years and most recently make it the most modern city I've seen. It's like London Paris and new York all in one. Back to ship 12.45 and more toasts mooted but vetoed  and so to bed....wonderful day.

MONKS & SCHOOLS & VODKA

16.08.2015

Across the White Lake (confused me terribly by constantly referring  to it as the White Sea) which has to be the worst named lake in Russia, being an extremely nasty brown colour. It is not on the list of largest lakes either but you can't see the shores from the middle.
We dock at Goritzy  and get the buses to the Kirillo Belozersky monastery, the oldest  fortified monastery standing. Magnificent collection of 16th c icons.
We have local guide Natalya who is both interesting and pretty, and takes us to the local school. Although it is  holiday time pupils have been drafted in to explain the education  system to us, sing us a song and try to sell us some things they made in handicraft lessons. Capitalism is in safe hands here. It's not so bad as it sounds as the 15yr.old young lady who addressed our group was very articulate and spoke excellent English and it was very interesting with a lively q&a session.
The evening was much enlivened by an optional Vodka Tasting ($18). The session was led by 2 young ladies from the hotel management,  Anastasia & Marinna, who I awarded honorary membership of the bteam after an astonishing display of their capacity for vodka, including how to drink shots without touching the glass with your hands.
We had all expected a serious lecture on the various types and and how to distinguish between the different types of potato. What we got was 2 laughing young ladies having fun and telling jokes.
The idea was to taste 6 types .....no spitting it out and large double shot glasses filled to the brim. When we'd done that they asked which was your favourite and kept refilling the glasses and proposing toasts so it all got very jolly...fortunately we had a handout with tasting notes so I have some  vague idea about what we were doing. Actually no I don't. And my head hurt this morning but Anastasia and Marinna looked far to chirpy at breakfast.

UP NORTH & ALL AT SEA

14/15.08.2015
From St.P we first head east into lake Ladoga then north to Kizhi.
The lake is the largest in Europe and our night time crossing is rough. Things start flying round the room at 4am and requiring attention and deliberations as to the advisabilty of putting on life jackets (we have had a drill and inspection so know how to). Decide to trust the captain and go back to bed. Ship doesn't sink....It was originally  built to cruise the Black  Sea so is up to the challenge and things calm down when we enter the next  river.
After lunch we stop at Mandrogy which is best avoided. A purpose built 1996 'authentic village' or tourist trap solely concerned with selling Russian dolls and other 'craft' items to passing cruise ships. Disappointing apart from the complimentary champagne and vodka as we sail away.
We are heading north and weather has deteriorated and temperature dropped. We cross another  lake, Onega which is much calmer and only the second largest lake in Europe and arrive on Kizhi island on Saturday  morning. At 8.15 am we assemble on quayside in squally drizzle for walk to v.old wooden churches built without nails. Very impressive with 22 domes, v.old icons and nice singing from the monks. Shame about the weather. Also real preserved houses which we have local guides to explain . Winter lasts about 5 months with temps down to -35 and surrounding lakes freeze to a depth of 2 metres and daylight only a few hours. Tell them they should move south but I don't think they understand concept.
Our dining companions continue  to delight. Ed is a nuclear physicist, was sent to study in Moscow and became an Arms Control Inspector after the SALT talks. Now trains and advises other inspectors. Fund of stories but he'll  probably have to kill us .
We are very friendly  with a quartet of  John Jim Diane and Kathy from Texas who love our accent and are the bteam and have hip flasks.
We are now into lecture mode whilst sailing.....The Russian lessons drag but the History of the Romanovs  sends a large number to sleep with much snoring and digging  in the ribs by spouses....All you need to know is that they all killed their fathers/sons/husbands/brothers /uncles and it's a wonder it took till 1917 to kill them off.
The boat now enters locks as we head south to the Volga'-Baltic canal. Massive locks that take no more than 15 mins to transit.

Continued

The trouble is there is so much going on that I am way behind with this.
The Gf managed to break our cabin safe so badly that an engineer with a toolbox had to be summoned after the the normal electronic resetting gismo proved ineffective.
She followed this by effectively locking us out on the balcony at 10 pm after having been warned that for security the sliding door to the balcony could not be opened from the outside if it was allowed to close with the handle in any postion other than upright. We avoided having to spend a stormy night outside whilst crossing lake Ladoga,the largest in Europe only by the appearance of our neighbours on their balcony and handing them our room card which I always carry.......but I am getting ahead of myself.
Last day in St.P was a Morning  trip to the Peterhof  palace on the shores of the gulf of Finland,the czars summer palace. Very fine palace, but spectacular  fountains, gravity fed by lakes 2miles away. Big switch on ceremony at 11am every  day with music. Lovely gardens with fantastic  fountains at every turn.
Return to ship delayed by 2 ladies getting lost and requiring  search parties from viking support staff who accompany every outing. 35 mins late meant hurried lunch before next trip to see St.P from the waterways ending with visit to Church of the Spilled Blood which was a great memory to finish with.....an amazing multi domed church,the interior of which is covered from floor to ceiling in magnificent  mosaics.
Food is good with good choices.
Breakfast is anything you could want with much cooked to order but we have now opted for the Panorama bar continental breakfasts on our top floor which has great views has only been discovered  by a select few.
In true b team tradition I decided that our fridge and balcony required beer,preferably Russian  and set off one afternoon on a foraging expedition  having learnt from the bar staff that beer was 'peevah '.
Careful observation on our coach outings had pinpointed what might be a general store about a mile away so I thought  it worth a try.
On the boat beer& wine are free with meals in plenty but otherwise a beer is $3.50 and I reckoned it could be bought for less. The store  I had noticed was indeed a grocers and the first thing I saw was a fridge full of beer. Followed by  shelves of beer and then more fridges of beer ....... A very nice man seemed to enquire if he could help so I asked for peevah and being adventurous tried to suggest it should be Russian. ...and was taken round the corner to a huge fridge full of beer of which Balticca seemed to be the top brand. I indicated that 12 cans would be good and he pointed to the labels which were numbered 1-9 and hovered at no.7. Seemed reasonable ,at 60rubles since we are working on 100rubles = £ 1.20.
Turned out that the numbers indicate strength and no.7 is 5.5% so 72p for a 500ml can seems ok.
So my balcony is complete.
At 7pm we set sail at last for Moscow. ..champagne,vodka and canapés as we left the city.