Look at Them Wheels!

This article in The Age reports on the world's rapidly expanding love affair with the observation wheel. Melbourne's own version is due to open later this year (with commanding views of the port), and I'm a bit disappointed to discover its size is rather tame in comparison to the behemoths being erected in Beijing and Singapore. But, as with all things Australian, I'm sure it'll be big enough for the city to boast that it's wheel is "the largest in the Southern Hemisphere."

Starbucks

The coffee giant, Starbucks appears to be losing the coffee wars in the Antipodes, with the hot beverage retailer announcing the closure of 61 of its stores in Australia. Outlets in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra will evaporate, leaving only Melbourne and Sydney to hold the line.

SPO

On the return from the UK, I dropped in with mom on the in-laws in St. Peter-Ording, Germany. It's just not summer without a trip to the coast, a bit of unpredictable weather, and some tasty German cuisine. The trip offered the opportunity to see the results of the renovations that were underway in Bad during our visit last year, including the new Gosch (which proved quite tasty). I also got to take the new Dittmer family Smart car for a spin around town and managed to squeeze in a bit of golf (a challenging endeavor in the face of North Sea winds). The sadness associated with having to leave was offset slightly but the upgrade to business class on the return home. Sweet!

Around Nofolk

After mother was safely shepherded out to Norwich, we did spend at least one day out and about in the countryside. We rented a smart looking Peugeot, which was marginally drivable due to the rather small space available for a driver's feet (apparently Frenchmen have wee feet). We took the Peugeot out to Blickling Hall, a Jacobean estate first constructed in 1620 and subsequently occupied and renovated up until 1940 when it was turned over the National Trust. This was followed by a jaunt over to the newer, but still impressive Sandringham Estate of the Windsor Family ("the Norfolk retreat of the Queen"). While the several houses of the room were viewable by the public were chockers with twee stuff, I found the collection of family photographs in the museum out back the most interesting.

London

What better place to spend the Fourth of July than London. . .I spent three nights there over the revolutionary weekend, meeting up with ex-pat friends of various nationalities and picking up mother so that she could enjoy bit of a European vacation. Due to stereotypical London weather, we did some stereotypical tourist stuff, catching all the sites as it were - from Harrods to Westminster to the Tower of London to Greenich.