Some of you expressed some interest in my recent holiday, so I thought I would post a report.

My DH won an award which allowed him to travel in regard to his work, so we combined it with a holiday. He left first and went to San Diego in the US, then to a conference in San Antonio, then to Purdue University in Indiana.

About then I left Adelaide and travelled to Dublin, where I met some people I had previously only met online (!) who looked after me like I was royalty. My DH then arrived from the US and we spent three days in Dublin before picking up a car and driving off into the Irish countryside. I thought Dublin was a pretty place, but the countryside was truly beautiful (and very clean, no litter at all). We drove to the south coast, then up the west coast, touring around the Ring of Kerry, a popular tourist route, and the Dingle Peninsula, and also seeing the Cliffs of Moher and going to the Connemara, finally cutting back across the centre of Ireland to Dublin. The Irish people were really friendly, the drivers very polite and considerate, the sights just beautiful and we enjoyed this part very much.

We then flew to Jerusalem, where my DH was very busy with work, but we have friends from a previous trip there and I did some sightseeing with the woman of the couple and also on my own. I love the smell of Jerusalem - so spicy! Also the weather was sunny and warm, and we were staying in a rather posh hotel in a very Middle Eastern style, so I managed to enjoy myself while reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (does that justify this thread? *g*)

From there we went to Budapest. We thought it a nice place which is trying hard to make more of itself. Lots of the buildings were pretty from a distance but up close needed painting and/or plastering. The shopping was quite good, with food in the market very cheap, but the people on the whole weren't a happy-looking lot. The Danube of course is wonderful, especially for an Australian who rarely sees water in such volume. We also went to a concert in the cathedral there which was very good.

Prague, on the other hand, has worked it out. The whole place is compact and very beautiful, set up for tourists without being too 'touristy'. Exception - Wenceslas Square, which is really a long wide road with a big median strip, so rectangular, and very tacky. The hotel we stayed in was in a superb location, and also very nice.

Lastly we went to Vienna, which also makes the grade, but knows it. The Viennese don't have to try, and so they don't. I think it makes a difference that the main part of town for tourists is also the main shopping area and part of the CBD, so there are many locals mixing in. The sights however, are well worth looking at, and we enjoyed it too.

So there you have it.......... my trip in a nutshell. I went back to work today, and there are so many new books!! *VBG*