September 16, 2025

Today splurged to beat the heat and cover some ground in Shanghai!

We hired a luxury car with driver and private guide & started at Yu Gardens; they say you haven't been to Shanghai unless you see! The guide made heat and experience worthwhile. She brought us portable personal fans to carry and that along with our umbrellas it greatly helped. The luxury car with driver picking up and dropping off at entries, in blissful cool was WOW! Guide got us through w good stories and quickly thru crowds and directed best pics.

Next was the water village of Zhujiajiao, one of the best preserved ancient towns. It's a little over an hour outside the city of Shanghai and was established 1700 years ago. There are 36 stone bridges and numerous rivers connecting area. There are tons of shop and restaurants down the narrow streets that line the river, and many house stay accommodations, but no hotels allowed in old town. A monk raised the funds for the first bridge to be built to help out the people who lived in the area.

Then we traded a trip to top of the Shanghai Tower, for a new art installation area we heard about night before on Food Tour. It is called the Oil Drums and it is literally inside old oil tanks - very interesting space, with modern art collection that was very coolly lit.

Our final stop was a visit to The Fake Markets. I wasn't looking for anything particular, just wanted to see what it was all about with a local. There are several around town - this one we went underground, into a parking garage and then was escorted up an elevator, by one of secret vendors. He lead us to closed off room, with all the handbag knock offs. Then negotiations started!

MAGNETIC ISLAND - KOALA'S

By Patricia Patrick • February 15, 2026
We got up at 6:45am to get to National Park Forts Walk trail in the hope of seeing koalas . Prior walkers mark trails with tree branches pointing in the direction of their sighting and we were luck enough to see 3 markers in our first hour of hiking. It is so stinking hot and humid the success we had made it bearable. The koala population on the island started with 20 brought over in 1930, to escape fur hunters. Today, the island boast 800 to 1000, and they are so cute and drowsy. They need 20 hours of sleep a day! The early morning is when they are the most active.

MAGNETIC ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

By Patricia Patrick • February 14, 2026
Just off the coast of Townsville, Australia is a special little island (that used to be part of mainland, hundreds of thousands years ago). The island was formed by molten granite that was pushed to the earth's surface with volcanic force.Over time the volcanic overlay weathered away leaving an extraordinary landscape of rounded domes and boulders, many as big as a house and spectcularly perched. Over Seventy Percent of the center of the Island is a National Park. There is lots of wildlife here too - koalas, rock wallabies, snakes & birds.

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

By Patricia Patrick • February 14, 2026
This is my third time in CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA and I really enjoy how walkable, clean and charming it is. The waterfront esplanade and lagoon area is a nice walk day or night. We had 2 nights here in the waterfront Shangri La Marina Hotel while waiting for the Ship to arrive and then 2 additional days in Port.