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Marseille

From Aix we set out to Marseille and promptly wished that we had chosen to stay here instead of messing about at Aix for so long.  The old port its defensive fortifications and the spectacular gallery/ museum were wonderful and the old town, the Cathedral and modern port were interesting as well. 

 

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Marseille

 

We spent the best part of the day here and enjoyed a pleasant lunch into the bargain. 

Reluctantly we then departed for Nice using the motorway network instead of the local roads and cruise-control set to 150 km/h, as time was now of the essence.  No diverting to Cannes or Monaco other such resorts along the way.

Unfortunately, although I slowed for the 110 km/h zones (most of it is 130) it was obviously not slow enough on the day.  A fine notice for 45 Euro for doing 130 in a 110 zone appeared in the letterbox a few days after we arrived home.   

 
The fine is for exceeding the limit by less than 50 km/h. 
So it would have been the same fine had I been doing 160.  Damn! 
The good thing is that it was easy to pay on-line.

 

I might say at no time was ours the fastest car on the road.  We were constantly overtaken by others coming up quickly behind, doing well over 160 (the old 100 mph).  I guess they know where the cameras are or don't care about being fined.

 

 

 

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Travel

Ireland

 

 

 

 

In October 2018 we travelled to Ireland. Later we would go on to England (the south coast and London) before travelling overland (and underwater) by rail to Belgium and then on to Berlin to visit our grandchildren there. 

The island of Ireland is not very big, about a quarter as large again as Tasmania, with a population not much bigger than Sydney (4.75 million in the Republic of Ireland with another 1.85 million in Northern Ireland).  So it's mainly rural and not very densely populated. 

It was unusually warm for October in Europe, including Germany, and Ireland is a very pleasant part of the world, not unlike Tasmania, and in many ways familiar, due to a shared language and culture.

Read more: Ireland

Fiction, Recollections & News

The U-2 Incident

 

 

 

In 1960 the Russians shot down an American U-2 spy plane that was overflying and photographing their military bases.  The U-2 Incident was big news when I was in High School and I remember it quite clearly. 

The Incident forms the background to Bridge of Spies a 2015 movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance from a screenplay written by Matt Charman together with Ethan and Joel Coen that centres on these true events. 

Spielberg and the Cohen Brothers.  Who could miss it?

 

 

Read more: The U-2 Incident

Opinions and Philosophy

Adolf Hitler and me

 

 

 

Today, with good cause, Adolf Hitler is the personification of evil. 

Yet without him my parents may never have married and I certainly would not have been conceived in a hospital where my father was recovering from war injuries. 

Read more: Adolf Hitler and me

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