Lahr1977

My family lived in Lahr back in the late 70s, as my father was posted to the Canadian Forces base there (it was closed in 1995). As a child, it was great – we biked everywhere and there were lots of parks and beautiful woods around. It is located in the Black Forest – a beautiful area.

Went to Vegas recently for the first time. Sort of like Disneyland with gambling – the hotels are all huge in scale with different themes (Venice, Paris, Pirates, etc).

Took a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon – expensive but worth it. The scenery was surreal.

The beaches are the reason to go to Varadero. The sand is very white, the water turquoise & very warm, and the sky is impossibly blue. The beaches are kept very clean. Varadero is a narrow penninsula. The resorts are about 1/2 an hour away from the airport.

The town itself is small, with a mix of well kept and crumbling buildings. Tourism is the main economy, though it is clear that the economy of the country is struggling, with the lack of goods even in the tourist areas.

There isn’t much else to do, other than the typical all-inclusive activities (dancing, learning spanish, beach volleyball) although the tour company we went with had trips to Havana and a jeep safari.

Pics of Che Guevera, and revolutionary slogans are everywhere (outside the resort).

We visited Swaziland en route back to South Africa. It was a very short visit. We stopped along the road to better see the view and had lots of little kids run up to say hi. They were very friendly. The poverty of the people is striking given how rich the King is reported to be (alledgedly owns the rights to make Coca Cola syrup for all of Africa & sells them the sugar as well)

The air around the falls is so misty we literally got soaked! The falls are awe inspiring: huge & noisy. Unlike Niagara Falls, which is incredibly touristy, the paths along the Zimbabwean side of the falls don’t even have railings!

The poverty in Zimbabwe is very sad. The life expectancy is 34 for women and 37 for men. We were overwhelmed by people in the market swarming us asking for clothing, pens, etc and pushing us to buy their handicrafts. We were happy to help once they gave us a little space to breathe.

Beautiful Botswana! Had an amazing time in Chobe and the people were incredibly friendly. Just wish we had more time there.

Had a wonderful time. We stayed at a hotel near the Eiffel Tower, within walking distance of the Arc de Triomphe & the Louvre.

Don’t miss the Pantheon (a warning – there are many, many stairs to get to the top but the view is worth it) or the Museee D’Orsay.

Loved it! The kiosks where you can listen to the “500 Most Influential Songs” are amazing.

One question though – why all the jump suits Rock Stars????

Visited the Juno Beach Centre which is a memorial to the Canadians who fought in WWII and especially to those who landed on the beach on D Day 1944. We also went to the nearby Canadian Military Cemetary at Benys Sur Mer. So many graves and so many young people buried there. An emotional experience.

I was there for a couple of days in May and unfortunately it rained the whole time. As it was also the May 1st holiday most things were shut so couldn’t visit museums etc but I did have a good time wandering downtown (St Stephan’s cathedral is beautiful), eating at a small cafe and even found an internet cafe at the back of a yarn store.