Cowes Phillip Island Gem

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Next stop on our Go West Melbourne tour was to soak up the relaxed seaside vibe in Cowes, Phillip Island's commercial hub. Here we had just under an hour to hang out at the beach, shop for souvenirs, or grab something to eat or drink.

How would you spend your time in Cowes?

Perhaps set up  down at the north-facing beach, a perfect spot for picnics, beach adventures, water sports and playtime with the kids. Or cool off with a swim and then peddle on over to San Remo along the dedicated path. Simply sit on one of the benches and watch the surf roll in. 

Dine out in seaside eateries and renowned restaurants, check out contemporary and Indigenous artworks at Mingara Gallery, or do a bit of shopping for souvenirs and artisan wares. Learn about early life on the island, at  the Phillip Island Historical Society Museum, where you'll find exhibitions on geology, maritime history, aboriginal culture and the life of the early settlers.  So many choices.

Our Choice:

After enjoying the beach view for a while, we headed into the main part of town. The first shop that caught our eye was Isola Gelateria, and that my friends was as far as we needed to go. They had two counters full of gelato flavors. It was too hard to pick just one, so we each picked two. It reminded us of our trip to Rome, Italy where we really got hooked on gelato.

Cowes is a hidden gem of Phillip Island's area attractions.  There is much to do and it has a very relaxing vibe.

For more images from our photo stop, see our Cowes photo album.

We'll talk more about our first day in Melbourne in another post.  For more images, see our Shutterfly Photo Page. Hopefully, you've followed us live on our social media channels as well.  Don't worry if you didn't, as our anchor post will tie everything together for you.  Just click the image (left) to our diary post.

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Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist in you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

Where is Chris - Pretzel Day

Today is National Pretzel Day. Now that's a day that I could enjoy.  We've had some pretzels in several foreign ports.  Can you guess where we are?

How many different species of penguins can you name?  #KeepTheKidsEngaged.

We hope you are enjoying this series of  "Where is Chris" posts.  We'd love your feedback on our social media.

Where is Chris?

Where is Chris (scroll over image)    Learn More (our visit)

Here is today's post: See if you can guess where I am. 

As promised, we've updated yesterday's post, Where is Chris - Giant Trees, with the answer to the puzzle.  Revisit that post and just scroll over the image to reveal the answer.  You can also click on the link below the picture to read more.    

Make sure to follow us on our social media, so you don't miss any destinations. 

If you can't wait for tomorrow for the answer, you can take my quiz in my Instagram story.

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Where is Chris - Shopping

This collage pictures several store fronts in a very popular shopping district within a popular cruise destination.  These store fronts almost come to life with the colorful buildings and figures that adorn the windows and balconies.  Can you guess where I am?

#KeepTheKidsEngaged by researching these destinations online.  Hint:  you don't need to wait for us to reveal the location.  You can search for similar images on Google.   The sky's the limit on where you go once you determine the destination.   For those that like to draw, have them draw a building and use their favorite colors and characters.

We hope you are enjoying this series of  "Where is Chris" posts.  We'd love your feedback on our social media.

Where is Chris?

Where is Chris - Come Back Tomorrow

Here is today's post: See if you can guess where I am. 

As promised, we've updated yesterday's post, Where is Chris - Fossil Fools Day, with the answer to the puzzle.  Revisit that post and just scroll over the image to reveal the answer.  You can also click on the link below the picture to read more.    

Make sure to follow us on our social media, so you don't miss any destinations. 


If you can't wait for tomorrow for the answer, you can take my quiz in my Instagram story.

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Northernmost City in Norway

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Honningsvåg at 70° 58' N, in Nordkapp municipality, claims to be the northernmost city in Norway and even in the world. It is situated at a bay on the southern side of Magerøya island, while the famous North Cape and its visitors center is on the northern side, 45 minutes away.

The images to the right were from our previous visit to Honningsvåg, where we explored North Cape.  We decided to explore the town instead this time.   Our last visit had an interesting story associated with it.   Read about it in this blog post: Funny Thing Happened on Way to Nordkapp

Colorful Buildings & Trolls 

We arrived around lunchtime and had about 3 hours in port before sailing.  It was a cold but gorgeous day, with blue skies and bright sunlight lighting our path as we walked along the snow-packed streets of town.

We did some window shopping and checked out the local market.  We captured several images around town before purchasing some Norwegian souvenirs and returning to our ship.




Local inhabitants get around town using a
kicksled. The kicksled or spark is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners which extend backward to about twice the chair's length. The sled is propelled by kicking ("sparke" or "sparka" in the Scandinavian languages) the ground by foot. There is a handlebar attached to the top of the chair back.

Additional photos can be found on our Norway Shutterfly page

Journey to North Cape
Honningsvåg

Century - Honningsvåg
North Cape

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

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