The Golden Road to Samarkand

JBeen following part of the old Silk Route through Uzbekistan........really friendly people and stunning architecture........Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent (and a desert!)

St Lucia Serenity

After two weeks of the most consistently cold temperatures we can ever remember in Toronto (-20 to -37), it was good to feel some Caribbean sunshine on the skin last week. We were recording an on-location Travel Show in St Lucia where we had the onerous task of experiencing a new luxury resort called Serenity at Coconut Bay. Recording interviews by the pool sure beats the dingy radio station studio in Toronto... Long sunset walks on the beach and our own butler to run our bath and mix our cocktails...maybe we should consider this place for the family gathering??

HOME AND AWAY !!!!

BELATED HAPPY NEW NEW YEAR FROM THE BOUGHTONIANS..........

NOT SURE WHO IS WHERE AT PRESENT  ( ABOUT PAR FOR THE COURSE ) BUT HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS ... OOOPS  DONT KNOW IF THAT WORD IS NOW OFFENSIVE OR NOT !!   WE SPENT OURS WITH JAMIE CLARE AND MAX IN PORTUGAL AND WERE BLESSED WITH BEAUTIFUL WEATHER AND EVEN WARMER HOSPITALITY...A BIT DIFFERENT FROM HOME (THE WEATHER THAT IS ! ) .. JUST GUESSING AT EVERY ONES WHEREABOUTS  THE RAVENTHORPIANS WOULD HAVE BEEN DIGGING THEMSELVES OUT OF 20 FOOT SNOW DRIFTS IN THE ALPS ..SO THE SKIING WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT....THE SPRATTONIAN AND SINGAPORIANS WOULD HAVE BEEN MELTING IN 120 DEGREE AUSTRALIAN SUNSHINE TRYING TO AVOID BEING RUN DOWN BY KANGKAROOS...AND THE CANADIANS AND SWISSARIANS MUST HAVE SPENT ALL THE TIME DEFROSTING EACH OTHER FROM THE ICE STORMS THAT KEPT HITTING THEM  ( GREAT PIC OF YOU ALL IN THE PICKUP TRUCK....WHOS WAS THAT ? )  DID YOU HAVE A DIP IN THE LAKE ?  I WAS SURPRISED THAT YOU COULD REACH THE CABIN IN THOSE CONDITIONS.  THAT NOW ONLY LEAVES US WITH THE FLORIDIANS WHO I KNOW WENT SKIING AND HIKING IN NORTH CAROLINA WITH FRIENDS AND HAD A BALL. GOT INVITED TO A XMAS PARTY AT A CABIN ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE TO LAST A LIFETIME.....WISHED WE WERE WITH YOU FOR THAT ONE !    SO UNLESS I HAVE FORGOTTEN ANYONE...HOPE NOT    THAT SUMS UP CHRISTMAS FOR THE ROBINSON TRIBES........I NEARLY SPENT MINE IN HOSPITAL AS I WAS SHOWING MAX HOW GOOD I WAS AT DOING STOPPIES ON HIS BIKE AND WENT STRAIGHT OVER THE HANDLEBARS ONTO THE TARMAC......LUCKILY I GOT MY HANDS OUT BEFORE MY HEAD HIT THE ROAD..BUT SEVENTY YEAR OLD WRISTS WERE NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT !!!!  WE GOT A SWIM IN ON BOXING DAY AT THE OUTSIDE HOTEL POOL         ( TO KEEP KATES TRADITION GOING )  MUCH TO THE BEMUSEMENT OF THE OTHER GUESTS. .... SO ONWARDS AND UPWARDS TO ANOTHER NEW YEAR AND HOPEFULLY TO OUT BIG GET TOGETHER THIS CHRISTMAS....GOOD LUCK ..HEALTH AND FORTUNE TO YOU ALL...FROM THE OLD INCONTINENTS AT BOUGHTON.  LOADS OF LOVE PETE AND PAUL.  X X X X

Happy New Year from Canada

Happy New Year from Canadian Family Robinson at the Cottage Gathering! Looking forward to seeing everyone this time next year. xxx

Galapagos

Our Galapagos trip was as wonderful as we had hoped it would be...It has been on our Bucket List forever. The wildlife is weird: tropical penguins, flightless cormorants, marine iguanas, vampire finches... And it as all fearless - often you have to step over or around the giant tortoise or Galapagos sea lion. In the sea, it is just as amazing: we snorkeled within inches of sharks, penguins, iguanas, sea lions and giant manta rays. And those blue-footed boobies are the cutest of all...

Poland

Just back from Poland.......thought-provoking, sombre, uplifting, inspiring. We must never forget to count our blessings.    xxxxxx

Euro Family

Tim and Maddy's Excellent European Adventure has continued through Italy, Monaco, France, Spain and Morocco to Portugal where they are enjoying family hospitality with J, C & M in the Algarve. They have coordinated with Tyler to descend on our Portugeezers as you can see from the top pic. Earlier, Pip flew down from Zurich to spend the weekend with them in Seville, as per photo #2. Next on the itinerary is Lisbon and Porto before they fly back to Toronto on Aug 16th. Will get T to post a few pics on his return!

Euro Bro's

Tim and Maddy are having a great time on their three month Grand Tour of Europe... So far they have visited Rome, Sicily and Tuscany. Pip and Anneli joined them for a weekend in Florence, as you can see. Now they are off to Venice, whilst Pip and Anneli are on Mykonos and Santorini in Greece for 10 days. These Europeans have a good life!

Returned from a fascinating two week trip around Ethiopia - a truly different country! No war, no famine...but wonderfully hospitable people from the 7 million in Addis Ababa to the remote Hamer people in the southern Rift Valley. Dara danced with the Dozer people, I made friends with Kalashnokov-toting Tigray scouts and we both did David Attenborough impressions among troops of Gelada baboons. Brilliant!

Old Ruins

Spent a lovely couple of weeks touring old ruins in a twin centre UK and Greece trip: Stonehenge, Pete, Paul & Bev, and Ancient Messene!

Happy Memories

Happy memories of feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square...1962 maybe...Always remembering.

ITS HER BIRTHDAY TOO   ! ! !

SPRING CLEAN FOR MOTHERS DAY..

I WAS GOING TO TITLE IT   '  KATE GETS A BRAZILIAN  ' BUT THOUGHT BETTER OF IT 

Family Wedding in the Dominican Republic

Just back from the spectacular wedding of Dara's nephew Chris to the lovely and bubbly Cheizi! The bride's family have an amazing plantation property up in the mountains of central Dominican Republic above the town of Jarabacoa - and that's where the wedding took place. It was several days of delightfully Dominican chaotic celebrations with family and friends from all over the world. Dara, Tim, Maddy and me travelled there via the beach destination of Samana on the north coast. It was lovely to reconnect with the Beard side of the family: Paul, Chris, Rob, Jenny, Christel and there were friends, partners and relatives from all over the world.

........and we saw the light(s) !

Doggin' in thr Arctic!

Happy New Year to all of you from all of us!  xxx

Merry Christmas from Canada

From all of us in Canada to all of you: Merry Christmas! We love you, we miss you and we will raise a glass (or two) to you today!

We got back this week from our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - a fascinating part of the world and long overdue on our bucket list. Natural wonders such as the limestone pinnacle islands of Vietnam's Halong Bay, caves in Laos filled with Buddha statues and travertine tiered waterfalls in the forest were all wonderful. The cultural experiences were awesome: Angkor Wat justifies its global icon status, the temples of Luang Prabang are havens of tranquility and the the cities of Saigon and Hanoi are crazily buzzing with vitality. But it's the people who are the stars. The Vietnamese excitedly breaking out into the global scene; the Cambodians endless forgiving and able to move on from their killing fields; and above all, the Lao people whose quiet and gentle kindness is the number one reason to experience Southeast Asia. Loved it all!