September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

 Cluny and Tournus Burgundy France http://youtu.be/1DhFY8LxujE

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September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

Stage 7 Tour de France 2010 http://youtu.be/hhRIOKu7WfA

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September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

Belgium and Luxemburg http://youtu.be/0PhVjF0dXe8

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September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

Chateau Thermes de Cugnon Belgium http://youtu.be/yS93Sf-mc0I

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September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

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September 2, 2010 by tneuage.

Guatemala June 17 - 30th videos at http://ournews.mobi/album.htm06/24/10

Trying to suspend any previous way of thinking then Guatemala sort of works.Waiting now for our laundry – sent it out four days ago and it was suppose to be back two days ago. Apparently the woman went to the next town and got too drunk to do it the first couple of days. So we being a bit dark about the whole thing have called the person at seven AM and we are waiting for the tuk tuk to bring her to the bottom of the mountain to bring the clothes up. Good golly. And it all smells like woodfire.The other night we wanted to go into town for dinner and we started walking down the dirt road at the bottom of our hill/mountain and it was dark and no tuk tuks or pickups to ride in and after awhile we passed a house with one of those pickup trucks with the racks to stand up and hold on to and we thought that is for us so we went to the door and pointed to the truck and toward town and after much gesturing got them to realize we wanted a ride. Then a driver came out and then some children and a few neighbours and by the time we were headed down the road there were 13 of us in the truck all laughing and saying mucho fiesta or some such nonsense. And one little kid fell asleep on our backpack. This had got to be a highlight of the trip!….all in the pouring rain.Great our clothes are here so we can watch the Holland game in town.Yesterday we went horse riding for three hours in the most incredible place ever up the hills down the valley to the beach. Can’t describe it in words, but for you viewing pleasure we took millions of photos.….and what’s going on in aus with the prime minister ….GOOD GRIEFhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZb8dDFnCdY horse riding fiesta.

Dear familyWowAnd then someOh look according to the spell check every Word is wrong but then again this is in some foreign language and to them we just look foreign, even to the computer.So yesterday we took the boat across Lake Atitlan to San Pedro to stay with my friend Del who I have known since 1974. He is a 70 year old hippie who decided to get out of the States when Reagan became president – OK let´s not talk politics.Del is an artist who for the past decades has slept during the day and paints all night. He bought a block of land – out of town – which means a long ways from anything – on the side of a mountain – meaning an incredible steep long climb up. I thought I would have a heart attack getting up the trail – will include photos tomorrow as we did not bring the cord for our cameras to the Internet cafe here in town. Luckily his 20 year old live in boy carried one large suitcase up the mountain on top of his head then came down and got mine and carried it up.Del´s house – ohmygod - he designed it and starting building it with some plans he had drawn up – no architecture involved for the first years – it is so big – three floors – and the ceiling is at least 20 feet up. I have never been in such a large place. After a few years he consulted with an architect who said the whole thing would fall down so he added some gignatic pillars. Poor fellow is quite lonely and depressed. He use to have a nice mac and ipod and lots of stuff but a previous lover stole it all.Of course living pretty much alone he is unable to clean plus he has physical aliments – slipped disc and such – so it is so dirty and messy . He washes dishes and all with cold water and no soap so today we bought cleaning supplies.

We brought a suitcase of shoes and clothes from Narda´s school and the captain of the boat we came over on will help us give them to help people who lost everything in the recent hurricane.Quite close to Del´s house is where one of the mudslides came through – amazing path of destruction and one 10 year old girl they never found.Travel with Narda. Good golly. If you want to bargain she is the queen. We bought stuff – stuff – what does a male know what stuff is for anyway? And she gets it for a third if not less from what they start. Sometimes I cross the street – just too embarrassing for me. And don´t even think about not giving us a good meal or the right things in our hotel… Of course a ten foot chick standing in front of the local Mayans is intimidating at the worst of times. But she is good fun – we have lots of laughs and we are usually lost.Yesterday Del´s friend or lover or we don´t really want to know – who speaks no English, took us out for the day as Del can barely move – so we took a tuk tuk to the next town up steep hills over way too many bumps – to see some Mayan festival – we have no idea what it was about but they were all dressed up and had stalks of corn then a parade and they shook the stalk´s of corn in each house a long the wsay. Then the three of us went to a cafe and Narda and I had a competition saying sentences out of the Spanish phrase book and the lad would give us points for who said it so he could understand what we were saying.

Narda lead 1 - 0 and then I went up 2 – 1 then we tied but Narda won overall which was not fair as she speaks Dutch and the boy spoke German so they somehow communicated with each other – I am not saying Narda cheated but I thought given I knew no other language (I took first year French three years in a row in high school and never did pass) that I had a disadvantage.This morning we were up at 6 am and we could not bear to go into the kitchen to make any food so we went out to the road and here transportation is either tuk tuk or standing in the back of a pick up truck so we did the standing up in the back of a ute – what fun. We felt like Roman Gladiators or one of those Ben Laden folks in the back of the pick up. Really so much fun. And lots of people in their colourful short way got in so by the time we got to town – down huge hills over bumpy streets through scary two way alleys – we had a full load and there was Narda and I in the front – what a scene.The other thing, which Narda mentioned yesterday – everywhere is the world soccer thing.So I got the geurnsey for writing the blog today – sorry it is so long I type faster than Narda and so there are more words.loveTerrell and Narda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQCUNAC4wI

Hi all

Took a taxi from Guatemala City to Panajachel for $100. We could have taken a bus for $25 each but what the heck. It was also an issue of safety. Actually it turned out really well. Our driver Julio (pronounced Hulio) spoke no English and with our no Spanish there was a lot of guessing and hand gesturing going on. The trip took 4 hours through scenic mountain country. You have to see the Lake Atitlan to believe it. It is incredibly beautiful, three volcanoes on the shores. Pana is a touristy town, lots of markets with handcrafts, and out hotel is right on the main market drag. Very convenient! It also has a nice garden with hot springs in the back; more about that tomorrow maybe. The food in Guatemala is the best. Really fresh, salads, lots of pineapple, mango, not hot like Mexican food, great guacamole.Haven’t tried the local beer yet. I’m told that Germans like it, so that probably makes it too strong for me! I’m sticking with Carona. Pleased to see Holland’s wins in the football.

love

Terrell and Narda

Hi familyWe’re back in our nice hotel after an interesting day in Guate (as the locals called Guatemala City). We decided (after reading about 4 beheaded people being left in a shopping centre for the perusal of tourists a couple of days ago…Terrell didn’t tell me about that until we got here) to take a tour…something we never do……. to see the sites and we had a great time. Our guide was a really educated guy who knew heaps took us to a museum of textiles which was amazing. Lots of stories about the Mayans and stuff. The cloth these women make, weave and embroider is stunning, brightly coloured and really beautiful. So now I had better return to the story I started above. Actually this city is supposed to have 50 murders per week and so they have all sorts of warnings about not going to certain areas of the city etc. Lonely Planet was a little less alarmist; advising folks to use caution as you would in any big city. I bought us a personal alarm…you pull a string and it screeches..not sure if that makes it more dangerous or not. Anyway we have not used it yet. We have however eaten very well, great restaurants nearby….can’t walk anywhere at night but taxis are cheap.There’s also some sink holes (as I’m sure you’ve all seen on the news) and the local volcano blew its top last week with a huge bang, spraying black ash all over town. We haven’t seen any evidence of that either, but people talk about it.This is a big, ugly but interesting city. One day with a tour, and two nights is enough. We also went to the zoo!!!! and some nice craft markets.So tomorrow we take a mini-bus to Panajachel, near a volcanic lake in the high country. The photos look stunning. More about that soon.Let’s hope the Aussies beat Ghana and the Dutchies thrash the Japs!

Mucho love

Narda and Terrell

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June 19, 2009 by tneuage.

A few days from returning to Australia already. June 23rd on the way to Shanghai then Australia - India - Holland - Germany then back to NYC at the end of August.

Since last post we spent

• (June - August 08) Summer trip (Poland/Italy/Singapore/Australia:Adelaide Hills Football, Lochiel Park, Glenelg, Melbourne)
• (November) Thanksgiving (Chattanooga)
• (December) Winter Break - December 20th NYC > Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide > Shanghai China (December 31, 2008 - January 04, 2009) > NYC

with the best being Ferrara Italy for a couple of weeks.

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March 28, 2008 by tneuage.

Sacha asleep in the lounge and so is girl friend Georgia.

What a long trip this has been.

The last time Sacha and I were asleep in the same house in New York was in March of 1992. We were visiting my father and brother in Clifton Park. Mum had died several months earlier and the last time we were together with her was in 1984. It is a long way from Australia so the visits were not frequent. My brother Robert was dying of AIDS. We stayed in his upper east side apartment for a week before going to Clifton Park and staying with my father. He would come to visit us in October of that year, age 87. The boys and I rented a mobile home and with dad in tow we drove around Australia for a few weeks. Those were great times. Leigh was nine years old and talking about pitching for the New York Yankees. Sacha, now asleep in my lounge here on Albermarle Road, Brooklyn, was eleven and as worldly as an eleven year could be. We had already traveled together between Australia and New York a couple of times and we had ‘done’ France, Germany, Hawaii, California and New York along with too many places in Australia.

I just got back last night from Holland. Sacha and Georgia came over from Melbourne to stay at our apartment. I left for Tennessee the day after they got here for new step-son Chris Moreman’s wedding. Then three days later Narda and I were off to Holland for the parent’s 80th birthday celebration. That went for ten-days. If it weren’t for the in-laws there would only be Sacha and I left. Marrying Narda gave me three step-sons and a large family of sisters and parents and lots of relatives in Holland and in Australia. I have my own step-sister and step-brother who I have met once - in Hawaii - but outside of them there is no one left in the States for me.

Since Sacha and I prowled New York back in 1992, my father has died (last year 23 January - three weeks after I started a new teaching job at The Dwight School), Leigh - the tragedy I can not shake - killed himself soon after turning 20 - after achieving his goal to play professional baseball but there was something wrong with him that neither the LA Dodger’s psychiatrist could fix and I did not know about - he went to Sydney then left the world August 16th 2003. Brother Robert died in 1992 soon after our visit.

Now I have three days with Sacha before he and Georgia go to Thailand for a week then back to Melbourne. I get to see Sacha often, we spent a few days together last July and in August in Melbourne and I manage to see him each August since Leigh died but always in Australia. This will probably be our last time together ever in New York or even in the States. Sacha was born in Hawaii and then we moved to Australia soon after. I will see him this coming July-August in Melbourne and again on Christmas Day 2008 as we already have our ticket. It has become easier flying back and forth to the point that I do it about twice a year.

I miss seeing Leigh. I have no idea what the future holds and of course no one really does but as long as I have memory, Sacha’s visit this week to NYC will be one of my favorites. We have gone a long ways since the two boys and I lived together in South Australia (Hackham, Mt. Compass, Victor Harbor, Middleton - we lived in ten houses in ten years). I always thought that by this time I would be watching Leigh playing baseball but that died. I did get my PhD after seven years of too much work and sorrow and Sacha is an happy adult of 27. I have been married for six years and that has been good and has given me a connection to Holland and many other places. But I am still the same person of the 1980s that had great dreams and believed that my two children and I would have an incredible trot on this planet. We were so poor and our life was so rough but there was a good quality and depth to it. I enjoyed living and playing with my children in Australia with the great plan of us all living in the USA one day. Here I am living in NYC and Sacha is visiting. It is as close to my dream of the 1980s that I will ever come to.

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January 2, 2008 by tneuage.

with photos Online at http://ournews.mobi/georgia_blog.html

Monday, December 31, 2007 8:06 PM Videos for these couple of days are at:
➢    http://ournews.mobi/LeighGeorgia.htm ~ Trip to Leigh’s last home and stadium
➢    http://ournews.mobi/crossville.htm ~ our resort hood
➢    http://ournews.mobi/album/Chris-arriving-USA.wmv ~ Chris’ arrival in the US
➢    http://ournews.mobi/album/Georgia/index.html ~ photos of trip
Leigh’s apartment
I had rung Greenleaf Apartments in Phenix City (yes that is how they spell it, this is Arkansas) a month after Leigh died. There were some papers in his belongings that included rent receipts for Apartment 1716. The person I spoke to remembered Leigh as the spokesperson for the South Georgian Waves’ players. I never got to watch Leigh play for the Dodgers. Gradually since 2003 I have been visiting places he played and leaving his baseball card. Outside of Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney the only other place I have gotten to so far has been Blue Jay Stadium in Toronto. Leigh pitched there in 2001 when the Australian Under-18 squad played the Canadian U-18 National team on the way to Edmonton for the U-18 World Series. I left the card this same time of year 2004.

We left Manhattan last Friday noon getting as far as Winchester, Virginia before driving anymore was too much. Winchester seemed like a nice town, it was nine pm, so we found a reasonable motel with a one-toothed heavily tattooed lady at the front desk.

We were on the road by eight Saturday morning, arriving in Crossville, Tennessee, a short eight-hundred fifty mile drive at five PM (about the same as a drive from Adelaide to Sydney). We had found Mariner’s Pointe Resort on the Internet and booked it for two- weeks. The place is OK though a bit dated. We don’t have wireless in our unit, two storey two bedroom with lounge and kitchen, our own levy on to the lake but it has been quite relaxing. We use the gym and spa every day as we get caught up on reading and planning future trips further a field.

Narda’s son Chris arrived from Australia a couple of days ago with fiancé visa in hand and wife-to-be with us to collect him from the Knoxville airport. (We will be back in Tennessee March 13th for their marriage in Chattanooga then on to Utrecht, the Netherlands for Spring Break). After meeting Jessica’s parents in Maryville (near the Knoxville Airport) we drove the eighty miles back to Crossville. After a few days of too much relaxation on a rainy afternoon we decided to drive to Georgia to see where Leigh last played and to Alabama to see where he last lived. Fifteen minutes after first thinking of going for a drive we were online downloading a Yahoo driving map to east-central Georgia. We arrived in Rome, Georgia by dark and the next morning we went to the stadium there.  I had followed one of Leigh’s games there in early 2003 and I still have a link to the news reportage of that game on Leigh’s memorial page.  We took some photos and went on to Columbus, which was home for the South Georgia Waves. As the baseball stadium was closed for winter break we could only walk around the outside and along the river near it.

We were in Atlanta by evening and stayed outside the Stone Mountain Village. The idea was that we would go to the top the next day (Sunday the 30th), however, it was raining so hard we just drove back to Crossville, a five hour drive. By the time we got home in the afternoon we had added another six hundred miles to our trip.

It is New Year’s Eve but it does not look like either of us will make it until midnight. At 10.30 I am ready for bed; no doubt it has something either to do with our age or with being in such a boring town as Crossville.  Wednesday we are off to Chattanooga for a few days to help Chris and Jessie get settled in their new home. I think we will be painting and practical stuff like that along with some tourist stuff like riding the Incline Railway and going to a University of Tennessee basketball game (Jessie is doing her Masters in Geology there) and hopefully to a pub that will have good country and western music. Saturday we will drive as much of the nine-hundred miles home as possible with the thought that we will be back in New York City by noon Sunday and off to work the following Monday.

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August 26, 2007 by tneuage.

Another trip come and gone. This is our sixth round-the-world journey in succession (previous times there were gaps of several years in between); our tickets originate in Sydney and stop in New York for a ten-month working time to pay for the next trip. We have our ticket in hand to return next northern summer to Adelaide. See our videos for 07, 06 and before and photo albums that are slideshows and etc.

We saw so many contrasts; from Cambodia’s incredible poverty where one US dollar is more than a day’s wage for most people to a newly build basement basketball court in a privately owned home that has been dug into a cliff in Manchester-by-the-Sea in Massachusetts which our neighbours say already has cost more than a million dollars. See our video at http://ournews.mobi/basketball.htm.

Now we are back and looking forward to a year of work with a couple of breaks until going home (Australia). We are doing a two-week road-trip through the south at Christmas time and during a two-week break in March we are going to Utrecht, The Netherlands for our parent’s 80th birthday.

We thought we would have a good rest in Australia but for the six weeks we were there we managed to do too much once again. From preparing a two week stay in Holland for us and Narda’s three sisters and her three sons plus the parents and a preparation for Narda’s son, Chris’ wedding in Chattanooga, Tennessee (and watching him go through all we went through to get a Green Card to get married to an American), the weekend before we go off to Holland (her parents are staying with us in NYC for a week before the wedding. Getting everything in place for two 80 year olds to stop in NYC, go to Tennessee, then to Holland, then back to Australia is quite detailed), as well, I am buying a round-the-world ticket for my son Sacha. He and his girl friend will stay at our NYC home for two weeks while we are in Holland (this seems to be a highlight of their trip having our home when we aren’t there for two-weeks, hummmm), then they are seeing Europe for a month. Of course the Holland stay will be good. And as if we didn’t have enough to contend with we bought a house-land package at one of Australia’s first totally green village at Lochiel Park in Adelaide and we took much too much time choosing and changing our minds over all the bits and pieces for our interior. This is much different than our Victorian homes in upstate New York that we spent years renovating then left to live in NYC. The Lochiel Park house should be near finishing when we get back next July-August and we will go back Christmas 2008 in hopes to rent it out until we someday move there. As if that was not enough to do I visited nine international baccalaureate schools in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney as part of my work. So as all holidays go we are resting today (Sunday) the day before going back to work.

One of the things I did not miss was American television. We use to complain that even with a couple of hundred channels there was nothing worthy of watching so we canceled our cable subscription months before we left. It is interesting to note that we rarely saw any news of anywhere/anything for the past couple of months; television, newspapers, magazines or even on the Internet. It did not affect our travels one bit. I think one of the few things I checked on the Internet outside of our mail was the US dollar which rose ten-cents against the US dollar while we traveled and dropped almost ten-cents toward the end – just the opposite of which we wanted. Now it is climbing again which is great for our family coming to visit but not for any investments in Australia. Bottom line – reading books is much more entertaining and informative than television or newspapers. It is amazing how much is in the news that has no value to an individual’s life. We have been home for two days with no thoughts of putting on the television or radio. Of course without cable there is no data so that could be the reason, though we have not looked at a newspaper since being back either. All those silly people on the cover of magazines at the supermarket and all the stupid claims about those ‘celebrities’ are not worth picking up the magazines for. Perhaps I am too old but most of the people appearing in the news I have never heard of. This person getting married, another screwing someone’s partner, someone saying they are gay, and on and on. Does anyone really care? Or are people’s lives so shallow that they have to read about someone else’s?

And that is our journey so far this year.
And now we prepare for 2008.

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