Advertising Time

Just need to throw in afew advrts about some wonderful people in this world.
There are some hotels and some companies out there that work hard to make sure that their service is the best and that they really do operate ethically.
Hanoi - Hotel Elegance 2.... in Ma Mai Street. Excellent people, excellent service and great breakfasts
Tourist Info at Schipol Airport.... so helpful and the only problem was me and my navigational skills
Taxis in Edinburgh ---- honest and never felt I was being ripped off. They love a chat but are really good and care for their passengers
Merket Ghost Tours in edinburgh - the guy was very very entertaining and had us enthralled..... it was historically fascinating and quite creepy...............
Plaza Hotel - in Iceland... nothing is too hard........... they have organised my life and made me feel as if I had done it!.... very very reasonable in price

Geothermal Pleasure..... YUMMMMMM

I would love to be feeling excited at the moment but I have a crowd of loud Germans seated next to me.... HAHAHAHAH....HOHOHOHO............ I am not amused!
Today was divine.....all my wishes  fulfilled...........
From the moment I saw the heated clouds issuing from the plains......... I thought at first it was smoke. You can see it in the picture.
Of course, with my luck, I was walking towards the pools , from the bus, and suddenly was surrounded by hooting, singing crowds of school girls, filled with great joie de vivre, as all kids are.................. farewell peace!

Australians are a strange race.... it is rare to have whole groups of females in open showers...................... naked................ justvthought I would throw that one in so  that those who wear their modesty proudly will need to pack it off elsewhere , if you travel to Blue Lagoon in  Iceland.

I also paid for a massage.... in the pool......... I can hear you all groaning!!!!!!!

It was heaven.... Entering the pool was such a contrast from the cold air.... at this stage everyone is wearing bathers( phew, thought i ought to tell you, otherwise the images would be rather unpleasant!!!!!)
For an hour I floated around that pool, placing my feet amongst the soft whoite silica mud and squelched it between my toes................ I picked it up in my hands but it floated away to colour the water......... the closer you got to the vents, where the boiling water came out, the higher the temperature became. It was impossible to stand in some parts.The sides of the rocks were white, coloured by the silca over millenium. Hydrogen Sulphide smells issued forth... I had wondered what the smell assocaited with the water was..... all water on the island smells of sulfur( for obvious reasons)..........
There are huge buckets of this white mud so that you can exfoliate your imperfect self and become invigorated  by having new and better skin.............. So in I went. Painted the face, covered the top part of my body... lovey sight. When I went to rinse it off, of course I heaved  heap of the mud into my eye............ and silica is silica be it in mud or whatever............. sore sore eyes.
The the massage............. this is for the girls!!!! Goodbye boys!

Strekken( probably spelt Schztreckkern) was my masseur.... in the pool.. I lay on a floating mat and was covered by a wet material that kept me warm throughout the process. Strekken, girls, was 6'4'', dark hair, enigmatic Icelandic smile, and deep voice... strong hands...............
If you can imagine floating in a substance more dense than ordinary water, fuelled by the mineralisation from the springs, encompassed by warm warm water and being massaged.................. I nearly fell asleep but am aware that this look is not one of my best so I fought sleep and just relaxed and relaxed and relaxed...........then time was up..............

It was a deeply pleasurable experience.......

That damned volcano... but I am in Iceland!

I saw it! It was blowing cinders into the sky, grey puffs of cinders, designed specifically to interfere with travellers from Tasmania!  I saw it from the plane as we flew right above the clouds and before we came down to Keflavik Airport. And if that was the quiet volcano, it must have been spectacular when the eruption occurred. I have photos and video of the cinders but cannot seem to load much at the moment.
The landscape here is fascinating... you know how it looks up at the Great Lakes in Tasmania? Those plains covered with rocks....... here , around the airport, the plain is flat flat flat. Gradually , as you move towards Reykavik, the rocky ground looks as if a wave has passed underneath, lifting slabs of rock so that there are splits in the rocks... Imagine a slab of something a bit soft covering the land, and as a wave passes it lifts the slab and causing a wave of undulation...... fascinating to see. I haven't seen that before.
The background to Reykavik is snow covered mountains, cone volcanoes and carved rocky uplifts. and we are right on the sea.

I am meant to be staying at House of Spirits.... has been organised for yonks. I finally found it after lugging case etc along the street and back. Just as well I am only 25 still. It is within what one could say was th seedy end of town... I failed to see any indication of the luxury apartment!!!! Talk about sucked in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However, as per the agreement, I knocked, rang bells and waited.... patient person that I am......... but the only answer I got was silence......... the rain began............. I value my comfort. I departed , trailing my case, and carrying the backpack.............. and I found the Hotel PLaza... surrounded by loads of food places and heaps cheaper!!!!!!! Not exactly The Radisson but it is a bed and it has WiFi so I can use my very cute hot pink netbook!
I am so tired still............... too much activity in Edinburgh. I loved that city ...... Barry and Louise were so good to take me in especially with all the crap from the airlines etc................

So, in a moment , I am going to do some serious studying on the value of the Icelandic Kronor to the Euro........ I just don't get it!
Will try and get some pics uploaded tomorrow

Edinburgh Castle and the Secrets

Today was awesome... totally awesome! I don't actually like using that word as it is often used in a  trite and meaningless way.But I got to walk where Mary, Queen of Scots, walked. I stood in the chamber where she gave birth to her son , James.
Upon the great height and power of Edinburgh castle, I stood. This volcanic monument, made greater by the human settlement that has been part of its history, has a prominent part in Scotland's history. Within the castle, kings and queens have been made and brought down. Scotland's Saint Margaret was buried. Braveheart,,, William Wallace, a true and brave patriot is featured.... David 1 of Scotland reigned.
Edinburgh Castle is a phenomenon... one that every person of Scottish descent needs to see.
Fom there I walked the Royal Mile, stopping at St Giles Cathedral. Here I learnt that the imposing monument, originally had a dirt floor and was actually the gathering place of various guilds/ who held meetings in the small alcoves of the Cathedral. Not only that, the floor was actually a burial ground, so as you walk, you are moving across the buried bodies of many.
I discovered the information about Mary King Close. Have you ever seen a close, a narrow, dark lane off a main road? Off the Royal Mile ther are so many closes. Mary King Close was walled up after a terrible time with the Black Death. the stench of dying bodies was so bad that the butchers finally had to go in and dismember the bodies, to get them out, as the close was walled off and the buildings were 14 stories high so it was impossible to move the bodies.................. CAN YOU IMAGINE THIS? Now the vaults below are the only remnant of this dark and sad Close.
We went underground into the vaults and rooms in the depths of Edinburgh today. Right underground , is a whole world of Edinburgh and it is here that the black secrets still lie hidden. Here walk the ghosts of murdered and tortured souls, still wailing for justice and peace... here stalks The Watcher, an unknown prescence who coldly makes itself knwn as its frozen breath moves across bare skin. Barry felt it today as we stood deep underground .... and the stench fo who knows what permeated the very air we breathed....
it as a Ghost Walk... and I know we were not alone.........

The Grand Finale was Hendricks Gin and Tonic, plus cucumber at Missoni.. a very schmic bar..... very very nice.................
My feet are sore but I have my beautiful leather coat...........
I have loved this but I didn't have enought time............ the upset at Singapore made my previous organisation too difficult...... but I know I will be back... I have more I need to know........

A New Pair Of Edinburgh Leather Boots...

and that's not all! My boots are divine... bought in Princes Street, Edinburgh and they are rather excellent. I said I was getting some new boots.
Oh, yes and  this place is wonderful! Not just for boots! I think today, I fell in love with a city! All those years on a steady diet of Scottish history, porridge for breakfast and beliving I had a Scottish accent and  hey ! This place is so familiar... I have seen it in the movies, I have read the stories, I know the history. I know where Mary Queen of Scots was and who she was..... I know about Holyrood Palace. I just know it and it was wonderful.

I have read the story of Greyfriars Bobby and cried with all my heart. I stood next to the statue of that wonderful little doggie who was so loyal to his master that he stayed by his grave until he died.
I walked through Lady Close.... and  imagined how it would have been when crowded by more tenement houses, the middens, the filth, the disease and the gardy Loo being emptied from above.
The Meadows.. a huge field in the Centre of Edinburgh where people can walk their dogs and kids, they can have picnics and run and walk.... a whole lifestyle.

I went to the Urban Angel for lunch, with Barry and Louise and I ate haggis.
I am very tired.
Look at my photos and try to see what I have seen........

Tulips from Amsterdam

We made it.... yay!!! We didn't get hijacked at the last minute..... funny how we got a seat at the last minute. I saw the person who scored the seat I had booked... funnily enough neither of those seats was taken on the Wednesday when i was confirmed..... mmmmnnn....

Barry and Louise went on to Edinburgh this morning and JO went on to Exeter so I have had all day to explore Amsterdam... I fly out at 9 tonight..... get into Edinburgh really late. Have had a great day.
Firstly , one needs to get from Schipol Airport to the city... so I promptly caught the wrong train and was saved by a hero in a suit,..... could have been superman but had no obvuious red jocks!

So I got out, looked pathetic and sought help from any sympathetic passerby.....

I got to the Central Station. So easy, such a quiet city, so calm.... and like so many of the sea trading ports in Europe..... Took a ride through the canals so got a great overview of the old parts..... Anne FRank's house where she was betrayed, the oldest house in Amsterdam, ... so many things, and what a way to see them!

Was also overwhelmed with the amount of illegal stuff I could have bought... but not taken home............ loved the few people who sat in the windows, looking somewhat dazed as the world passed them by!,,, mushrooms????? all the gear.......

Had lunch in a rather loud , over the top bar full of gaudy lights etc.... will put up pics tomorrow when I empty the camera........

Am tired..... so very tired but will be fine.... am going to curl up somewhere quiet and ignore the rest of the world.......................yawn yawn.... am 9 hours behind you Tassie or in front or soomething............................

Airlines Sell off Passengers; seats at higher prices

Arrived at Singapore Airport and guess what???? KLM had sold our seats off to someone who would pay more! Yes that's right! So I find that I am on a waiting list for the flight tonight, one of the others actually was booked on one tomorrow and I have lost my connecting flight to Edinburgh . Hopefully I can get on one when I get to Amsterdam early but if not will have to wait until tomorrow night.....

How about a few suggestions as to what can be done when an airline double sells seats....... I would suppose that there could be a few ethical and legal issues there.

After much noise and agitation, we finally got seats on tonights flight. BUT airlines are selling seats on to other passengers at this moment even if you think you have been booked onto a given flight...... MOst people accept what they are told but some of us refuse to accept such disgusting immoral behaviours.

Anyway, I have a day in Amsterdam so don't know what I will do yet..........