Help! Traffic in Cebu

Hi! I am in Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines! The Queen City of the South!



Dutchman and I arrived last Sunday (we flew in to Manila then to Cebu) and we have been busy with family stuff and meeting friends. The weather has been erratic; cloudy and raining but warm and very humid. I hate the sticky feeling.



It's been chaotic here too. The traffic is amazing we captured a video below in Jones Avenue by Cebu Doctors Hospital.








It takes half an hour to cross over to the next block with a car because of the traffic! I also do not know the way anymore as the roads and places have changed; new buildings, new roads, new surroundings. I am a tourist in the city I was born.



I will come back to post more fotos. Lots of Cebuano food and delicacies that I missed, I have fotos of them =). I think I have already gained 1 or 2 kilos. GASP!!!



Tomorrow we are off to Mactan Island with the family for a rest and relaxation in a posh beach resort. Then after we all go again for a real holiday in a small quaint island (still virgin they say) up north.



Till then!

Fineshade-Duddington-Tixover-Wakerley-Fineshade

With Maureen, Barry and Gordon. Very nearly 10 miles, hence the confusing label below this post. Weather grey, a bit of drizzle-mizzle, some mud, but we didn't get anything like wet.





We set off from Top Lodge, followed the Jurassic Way round the wood, then down to Duddington - an interesting village which I never visit unless I'm walking or cycling. It's tucked away between the A47 and the A43.




Notice on the gate of the old school. The gate was open!







The old water mill with the mill race still there
We crossed the bridge over the Welland, into Rutland, and walked through Tixover,leaving the Jurassic Way and meeting the Rutland round. Tixoverchurchis a little out on a limb. Maybe we'll visit some sunny day.

We followed the route I took on this walkon October 18th, when the sun shone on me. This time we stopped for a break just before Welland Spinney, where there was a convenient set of logs and tree stumps - the perfect café.







When we reached the road between Barrowden and Wakerley we turned left and crossed the Welland, then passed the old station house. Further along at the road junction, beside what used to be the Marquis of Exeter pub we took the footpath (Jurassic Way again) which leads behind some houses and the church to the road to Wakerley Woods.

We walked along the main pathway until we met the Jurassic Way sign, pointing to the left. It can be a little tricky to spot.

Then the path turns quickly right, and can be muddy. The signs are there, but are missable. The path continues in a more or less south-easterly direction and comes out of the woods at a gate which leads across a field and a patch of trees, eventually coming to a large metal gate where Laxton Hall is visible some way to the right, and the arch of its gatehouse to the left.

Turn left here towards the A43 - cross it and follow the Jurassic Way across a field to a bridge, then uphill past Fineshade Abbey, over a stile to a path between two fences. This path crosses a field then goes into the woods, still climbing. Once you emerge from the woods, all that's left is a cultivated field which unobligingly goes downhill and then quite steeply up to meet the road to Top Lodge.





This last section from Wakerley is one of my favourites.

Along the canal from Foxton Locks

Wednesday 13 April. With Harry, Esther and Joseph in the buggy. 6.37 miles according to the new toy, at an average speed of 2 miles per hour - strolling,, taking pics etc



Chilly wind day. Large amount of cheese in the ploughman's at Foxton Locks Inn!

Inside the Gift Shops

We prowled through several of the gift shops where you can find lots of Southwestern gifts. This Christmas tree was covered in chili pod lights. there were pots, fetishes, blankets, baskets and religious crosses and other items. I bought a small carved owl for me and one for a friend. Plus a Christmas bell decoration with a hand painting of the Mesilla church on it.

Gloucester VA to Myrtle Beach SC

We are so happy to have a moving day today! Since our time in the OBX was cut short, we purposely looked for a beach area to stop off at on our way to Florida. Neither one of us had ever been to Myrtle Beach. There was a Coast to Coast park there so it was a perfect fit.



We saw this one our way there:



And we saw lots of touristy things like this when we arrived:



It is really hot here. More so than we were expecting. We are curious to see if we will love it here or not.



Living the life in South Carolina!

Viennese Cyclists

I have finally gotten up the nerve to go beyond photographing parked bicycles, and to capture cyclists in actions. Here they are, on the streets of Vienna.

These photos were taken over the course of several days, along my normal walking routes.

Looking at these now, I am struck by how distinctly un-picturesque the surroundings are -- something that is actually quite difficult to achieve when photographing Vienna! But the cyclists sure look nice.

I did not have a chance to be selective and pretty much photographed whomever my camera was quick enough to capture. So this is a good sampling of what commuters here look like.

As you can see, the bicycles are mostly hybrids and comfort bikes, fitted with fenders, racks, baskets, etc. Lights are mandatory, so all bicycles here have them.

It is pretty common to see elderly persons cycling, often faster and more skillfully than younger ones.

Bicycles are allowed into most parks and courtyards including inside the Museum Quartier (a maze of court yards where many of Vienna's museums are located, as well as outdoor cafes and small gardens).

So there it is; my first bout of cyclist stealth photography. Granted, cycling culture in Vienna is not as dramatically stylish as in Amsterdam or Copenhagen, but overall still pretty cool -- at least compared to the US, where hunched over lycra-clad cyclists remain the norm.

Yucca Blossoms

Close up of some yucca blossoms.