ABC Wednesday, T for Tenerife and Travelling

My sister and I decided to go to Tenerife for 10 days. We booked a holiday which was in fact organized for people who were more or less handicapped, and their companions. Though my sister and I are not really handicapped, we still could join this group. Participants could take their own wheelchair or  rollator. But we could also hire them in our hotel, which was especially set up for all kind of handicapped people. The name of the hotel was  "Mar y Sol",which means "Sea and Sun". 

 

There were two swimmingpools for the guests. One was designed for the handicapped people in a way that even wheelchair people could have a swim.

We left Schiphol at 15:00 and arrived a couple of hours later. There were seven of us and two leaders.

My sister and I had a corner room and a nice and sunny terrace. Every day  somebody came to clean the room. We always greeted the cleaning lady in the only Spanish we knew.

"Hola, ?qué tal?"

-"Bien, ?y usted?"  ( the first question mark must be upside down, but I can't write it)

Buenos dias.

                                    

  My sister on our terrace.

In the evening we went walking with the group along the beach, looking for a café. We passed a place where a sculptor had made a sand sculpture representing the Last Supper

One day we did a bus ride  to see the sights of Tenerife and to learn about its history,  flora and fauna.

Tenerife is the largest island of the Canaries. It is a volcanic island. Large parts of the beach are covered in black lava sand. There are countless banana plantations, the climate of the island is excellent for growing bananas.

I  am always interested in wildlife.  We heard that there are no poisonous animals neither are there dangerous beasts of prey which can cause certain problems like plagues of mice, lizards and rabbits

Of course there are pets.We even saw a number of camels.

 We had a photo stop in a very picturesque place, called "Los Gigantes".

We had a delicious lunch in a former convent. The only problem was that we had to climb a hill. which was difficult for the wheelchair people.

 

 

 

 

Another day we had a great boat trip and the weather was so wonderful.! We all enjoyed this small voyage and the views of the island from another angle of vision.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with T.

ABC Wednesday, H for Home, House

We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. We are beginning to find another round for all the 26 letters of the alphabet. This will be now the letter H.

Last Friday morning I came home again. I felt being home as soon as I stepped into my (humble) abode!

There were flowers  and a "welcome home" card, telephone calls and "welcome home"e-mails.

 In spite of the great time I spent with my daughter and family, it felt good to be back home.

 My home is my castle even if it's a terraced-house in a narrow street. Sometimes I am asked: " do you want to live in Australia?", then my answer is: Perhaps, if I can take my family, my friends and neighbours with me!"

Welcome Home

 An  Australian man sings about his home.

Home among the gum trees

I've been around the world
A couple of times or maybe more
I've seen the sights, I've had delights
On every foreign shore
But when my mates all ask me
The place that I adore
I tell them right away

gumtrees

Give me a home among the gumtrees
With lots of plum trees
A sheep or two, a kangaroo
A clothesline out the back
Verandah out the front 
And an old rocking chair.


You can see me in the kitchen

Cooking up a roast
Or Vegemite on toast
Just you and me, a cup of tea
And later on, we'll settle down
And go out on the porch
And watch the possums play

Give me a home among the gumtrees
With lots of plum trees
A sheep or two, a k-kangaroo
A clothesline out the back
Verandah out the front
And an old rocking chair


There's a Safeways up the corner
And a Woolies down the street
And a brand new place they've opened up
Where they regulate the heat
But I'd trade them all tomorrow
For a little bush retreat
Where the kookaburras call

Kookaburra

ABC Wednesday, T for Transport and Travelling,

If you click on the slide you will see more details.


As we have a lot of water, much freight, consisting of, sand or gravel, is transported by boat. The boats travel as far as Germany or Belgium.

A very popular way of transport for persons is cycling of course. We have special cycle tracks. Almost every Dutch person has a bicycle, with the exception of most elderly people.

When I was young I often went away on my bycycle to cover long distances. My sister and I cycled from our homeplace in the Netherlands to Bristol in England, which took us 6 days. After our holiday of a month we decided to send our bikes to our home address, and we hitch hiked home. That took us two days!

I now use my bicycle for short distances, and I travel by bus, subway or train for longer distances. Public transport is 40 % cheaper for people over 65.

As I have a daughter in Australia I now often travel by plane.

ABC is created by Denise Nesbitt and a team of dedicated bloggers.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with T.

ABC Wednesday, T for Transport and Travelling

As we have a lot of water a great deal of transport is done by boat.

ABC is created by Denise Nesbitt, and her team of dedicated bloggers.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with
T.