4,5,6th Blogs of the Trip

8/7/2019 4,5,6th Blogs of the Trip

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This is the fourth instalment of the world travel blog

The Trip 2010

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Around The World in 47 Days

By

Frank Riley

DAY 4 SEPTEMBER 14TH

Today was the first day of the colloquium of the IUCN and weattended the gathering before the official opening in the vast anteroom. There we caught up with old friends and acquaintances wehad met in Wuhan, China last year. We also made many new friendsas we wandered around the huge room sipping soft drinks andmunching on finger food.

It is one of the most endearing of qualities, generally speaking, thatthe members are not just highly intelligent, but that they all seem tobe so dedicated to the cause of a better world for all. In all the

conferences Ive attended thus far, I have yet to see anyone who isnot of this ilk and it is a mark of the many men and women who giveso much of their time, effort and expense that they do this willingly.

The opening ceremony was held in the magnificent theatre/lecturehall, which once was peopled by the leading citizens of the citymany centuries earlier. The greeting from the hosts was warm andfriendly and it was an excellent beginning to the IUCN Conference of2010.

When the opening ceremony finally concluded, the executives

moved to various rooms to attend the many meetings that werescheduled for them. As for Sophie, well she was left to her owndevices for the rest of the day. What should we do next?

Now, since my heritage is Irish, but I was born in England, andSophies is Greek Cypriot, but she was born in Australia, it seemednatural, even appropriate, that we should investigate evidence ofour cultural footprints in this historic city. Therefore, with greatfortitude and determination we set out to satisfy our curiosity.

The result was that I discovered two Irish pubs where in both weenjoyed the special hospitality of the various staffs in each


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establishment. Then, in the afternoon Sophie spotted a Greekrestaurant and found that not only was it Greek, but it was alsoCypriot: what a find! That night we enjoyed the unique hospitality ofthe Greek Cypriots, with which I had become familiar in the manysocial occasions with Sophies family. It was wonderful.

In between visiting the two Irish pubs, Sophie and I paid a visit tothe great castle, which, like the castle in Edinburgh, is situated rightin the middle of the city. Its grandeur is the thing that impressesone at first, then, as one walks through each room, or chamber, orhall, the history of this wonderful relic is totally captivating.

I wandered through the torture chamber room where exhibits ofgrim and horrendous instruments of persuasion were displayed forall to see. Sophie hurried through that room and wouldnt evenallow me to describe it to her. She has no stomach for gore.

We marvelled at the vastness of the rooms and ante chambers,even the kitchens and dining halls. We even inspected the outerwalls of the castle, where at strategic intervals small tower-likestructures were in place. On closer inspection we discovered thatthey were mirror-image toilets with seats and holes where one couldsee the ground below. Pity the poor souls who might have walkedunder these contraptions in days of yore. And oh what royal bumshad been exposed to those underneath!

What a day! Are they all going to be like this?

If you would like to read all the blogs to date, visit my website at:

https://sites.google.com/site/writedogz/

Frank Riley

This is the 5th instalment of the world trip blog

The Trip 2010

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By

Frank Riley

https://sites.google.com/site/writedogz/https://sites.google.com/site/writedogz/


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Today is our wedding anniversary and what a lovely city it is inwhich to celebrate it. In our wanderings we headed towards thecanal, near the castle of yesterday, and came upon a massivefifteenth-century cannon painted in bright fire-engine red. Its pet

name was Mad Meg or Dulle Greit. It must be at least twenty feetin length, it weighs sixteen tons and has a bore of about 15 inches.In an orderly pyramid pile beside the cannon were stone cannonballs, each of which must have been enormously heavy: so heavy,indeed, that it beggared belief that they were able to be used todefend the city; how on earth could anyone lift them?

We walked across a nearby square with a massive statue in thecentre and once again, we could see numerous cafes andrestaurants around the perimeter of the square. Sophie wanderedoff and I sat down on a bench to enjoy the view and the passers-by.She came back loaded up with fabrics she had just bought and wasas happy as any woman after having gone shopping.

Later in the day certain commitments on Sophies schedule depictedthat she must give her speech at the conference. This she did withaplomb, and oh such confidence! I talked to her about it later andtold her how she went, especially the bit about her supremeconfidence. She looked shocked: she said she was trembling in herboots well, high heels to be exact and felt sick with worry. My,my, you can never tell, what?

The evening was a special treat for us, since it was our anniversary.The whole of the conference attendees made their various ways tothe crypt of St Peters Abbey (7th century) at St Peters Square forthe official dinner. It was eerie to say the least, but also awesome tobe in a place so old, with so much history. I said to Sophie that itwas very nice of them to arrange this for us on our special day ahem!

The dinner was sumptuous and the wine flowed freely, at least onour table, where I had had the foresight to make friends with a

couple of the waiters as we entered. Thats the trick of theexperienced traveller make a splash, make friends with thewaiters, treat them as special and you get the best of service. Worksevery time.

Speeches were made by the many dignitaries, toasts were drunkand a grateful salute to our Gent hosts was given, by way of,naturally, another toast. Ive always liked toast.

And so to home, or at least to the hotel. It was a fair old distance to

walk, but it was fun chatting with all the other members as westrolled through the night-time streets of Gent.


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Tomorrow would be or last full day in Gent and well have to seewhats in store for us then.

If you would like to read all the blogs to date, visit my web site at:https://sites.google.com/site/writedogz/

This is the sixth instalment of the world trip blogs.

The Trip 2010

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By

Frank Riley


This indeed was to be the last full day in Gent and we decided totake a boat trip around the citys canals. On our way to the ferrystation, we saw that St. Michaels Church was open to the public we had thought earlier in the week that it had been closed forrenovations, but it was fortunate for us that we spotted the opendoor and went in.

Once again, as with St Bavos, it was breath-taking. The roof of themain chamber must have been two-hundred-feet high, whilst theante-chamber was easily three-hundred-feet high. The statuary and

pulpit were exquisite, as were the paintings of various saints andholy figures. The interior of the church is Neo-Gothic, with Rococoand neo-classic statues scattered around the whole. Some of thepaintings are from the eighteenth-century, whilst others areBaroque. Christ Dying on the Cross by Anthony Van Dyck is ondisplay, as are other paintings by De Crayer and Philippe deChampaigne.

The church was first built on the site of a chapel that was razed tothe ground by fire in the twelfth century. Later, in around 1440, thelarger church was begun. It was completed, after a long suspensionof work, in 1530. Then the steeple was started in 1566, but it all


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came to nothing for a while, because of religious conflicts, lootingand even destruction of part of the church by Calvinists in 1579.Work was resumed by the architect, Lieven Cruyl, between 1623and 1659.

The churches and cathedrals and the castle in Gent are trulywonderful places to visit. In time, Sophie and I might come back tothis beautiful city to explore at greater leisure all the delights it hasto offer.

But now, off to the wharf, where our boat was waiting for us. Wemet two of Sophies colleagues from her university in Sydney, whowere also attending the colloquium, and invited them to join us forthe trip.

It was wonderful to be steered around the tranquil canals by ourcaptain, who also gave us a running commentary in French andEnglish of the history of the places we passed. Once again, we hadhad another fantastic experience. Gent is that sort of place: theresa surprise around every corner, whether you walk, sail, or drive. Wewere very impressed with the whole ambiance of the city, its vibrantlife, it beauty and its history.

In the evening, many of the attendees met up in one of the hotels,including Sophie and myself, and we all had an impromptu farewellparty. Some would be taking the canal trip tomorrow, whilst we

were heading off to England in the morning. But for now, liquids ofmany sorts and colours were consumed as we said our goodbyes toeach other, with the promise to meet up again next year in SouthAfrica.

Time for bed and time for England, Olde England of yore well atleast of forty-one years ago. That was how long it had been since Ilast set foot on the country of my birth. I dont count the brief andhectic exchange of planes at Heathrow as being yet on Englishsoil.

If you would like to read all the blogs to date, visit my web site at:

https://sites.google.com/site/writedogz/

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4,5,6th Blogs of the Trip