Anniversary Games, London Olympic stadium

sunshine, trains running reasonably well for a Sunday, good seats, sunshine, my burger almost had flavour and top class athletics, what more could one want?!

David Weir And Hannah Cockcroft.

Richard Whitehead after a storming 200m.

 We had a visitor from Australia to help us enjoy the English summer.

Olveira (Brasil) came bursting through in the last 20m to beat Browne (USA). Both broke world records for their class. Johnny Peacock came 3rd but in a PB.

Ramsgate & Deal

May Bank Holiday weekend in North Kent: windy but sunny, good walking weather. The stained glass window in st George's Church includes the Dunkirk Window, showing scenes of the evacuation and commemorating the 1st great escape of WWII in 1940. Over 300,00 British & French soldiers escaped on warships and small boats. From the the church we took the coast path from our hotel in Ramsgate (picture 1) to Broadstairs and visited Charles Dickens' house, a place full of fascinating objects and artefacts pertaining to the writer's life and works.
Next day it was the historic town of Deal, here's Trish on the pier.

Barcelona, Gaudi & Miro

Barcelona is definitely a place that we shall return to and be happy to visit some of his exquisitely beautiful buildings once again. The photo below was taken on the roof of Casa Batlo, an extraordinary house finished in 1907.

The Sagrada Familia, begun in 1882, has yet to be finished. The latest estimate is 2017. It might look strange without the cranes! Its sheer sheer size is astonishing, its beauty breathtaking. Words cannot do it justice, go there!

From our hotel on Gran Via De Les Corts, we walked down Las Ramblas through the marina to catch the cable car to Montjuic. Great views of the city and Mediterranean and then a relaxing drink before walking up to the 1992 Olympic Stadium.

Joan Miro, another great Catalan, has sculptures aroubnd the city. This one is in the Parc Joan Miro. Behind is former bull ring, now a shopping centre with a multiplex cinema. We had a lovely meal in one of the rooftop restaurants.

 Can it be possible for an apartment to surpass Casa Batlo? The answer is yes once you visit La Pedrera. There's hardly a straight line to be seen, the light and colours are spectacular.

Yala National Park

After a long drive through beautiful central Sri Lanka passing tea and rubber plantations and the highest peak of the country, we arrived at Yala in the south-east to visit the national park. We took two safaris, one in the afternoon (from 2:30-6:30p.m.) and one the next morning, beginning at 5:30. Just the two of use in the vehicle which was comfortable. The driver knew the place well and out on board guide was very good at spotting animals for us. The park is nearly 400 square miles in area and we saw quite a lot of it. There are over 200 species of bird. We saw hornbill, bulbul, spoonbill, stork, bee-eater, pelican, eagle and kingfishers galore, plus many more.

 The mammlas and reptiles we saw included buffalo, spotted deer, dozens of crocodiles, a jackal, a cobra crossing the track in front of us, troops of athletic langur monkeys, elephants and, glory be, a leopard lying in a tree. It was dusk and I could not get a decent photo of it with my low end compact! Alas, we did not see a sloth. The elephant below was just about to cross the track for a drink.

 Our accommodation was great. It was quite a way from the 'hotel' bar and restaurant and at night we had to be escorted two and fro by camp staff. On the 2nd evening there, we were on our way back to our room with our guide when a very large male elephant came walking silently towards us. We quickly hid behind a bungalow! It was surreal seeing such a large wild creature amongst the domesticity of holiday cabins.

 Our cabin seen from the beach.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala elephant orphanage is about halfway between Colombo and Kandy in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It was originally set up to look after elephants found wandering or orphaned and who were either at risk or who were posing a risk to villagers. They are captive but have a lot of space and freedom. There are upwards of 80 elephants at Pinnawala, probably the largest herd anywhere. Groups are taken to the river each day to cool down, wash, drink and mess about. The one above and below is pregnant and just wanted to rest. I tried to listen to the baby inside but either mum's skin was too thick or my hearing is fading because I didn't hear a sound or feel a kick.

 The small group willingly leave the water when asked. The stick is for 'guidance'!

 The group walks in an orderly manner from the river, up through a street of shops and across a main road. Quite a shock for the uninitiated tourist.

 The next group down to the river was very big, we counted 48, with the largest males bringing up the rear. The group has a lot of babies in it and they like to run so the chap front left of the photo has a loud hailer to warn people to get out of the way. I am standing pretty much in front of them.

 Here's one of the big guys bringing a snack with him.

 We had a different kind of snack!

Old Cracow

We went for a walk around Kazimierz, where the Jewish culture thrived before WWII. That culture is coming to the fore once again  as part of a more multicultural area with cafes, bars, shops and a flea market included. Important synagogues such as the Kupa and the Isaak, sit close to some of old Cracow's 150 catholic churches, such as the huge Corpus Christi (below). The wooden pulpit is fishing boat shaped, complete with oars, nets and mermaids

A sadly derelict children's playground, unused except for the cat. Can you spot it?

 More baffling than the two gentlemen outside St Mary's Basilica. How does she do it?

Plenty of good quality street music about, but happily for us, the streets are not crowded.

 Refreshment...

Birkenau

Very few buildings remain on the vast Birkenau site. The Nazis hastily destroyed the gas chambers and crematoria as the end of the war approached.

Extremely hot in summer, well below freezing in winter, with virtually no food, a few seconds a day to go to the 'toilet' (the holes in the centre of the block) if you were lucky, no washing or sanitation facilities and crammed three to a bunk, conditions would have been horrific.

The good news was that after our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, we drove through the beautiful Polish country side to Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II. his former house is now a museum and is next to the church where he was christened. Heading back towards Cracow we drove into the hills to the fabulous monastery at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.

 When the place gets busy they use  outdoor confessionals. Pictured are just a few of them!