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Watching Masterchef and they had an ep featuring the pie makers of Country Cobb bakery. They made two pies, one a scallop curry pie another was BBQ beef with quail eggs. They both looked delicious😋. Here's the video if any one is curious the pie section starts at 12:45 Masterclass 2

I can't say the Sagrada Familia was appealing to me either, though oddly I did find the crypt quite nice.

I guess I must be lucky too😂. Mind you I have only booked three experiences with Viator. It is not my go to aggregate site though so far no bad experiences on any sites🤞. While I do like to try and book direct sometimes I do find aggregation sites more convenient in certain circumstances like road tripping where I find it easier having all the accommodations on one website and in Japan we had a unique experience where places didn't have English language websites and I found the aggregation site translations much better than Google Translate so I preferred to book via them. There is one particular tour guide site where you find guides you would not be able to access otherwise. They don't have their own websites or direct booking facilities. I once asked one of these guides why they don't have their own websites and she said the costs associated with having a website along with payment platform fees, advertising and search engine fees were more expensive than the cut the aggregate site took.

Hope you get well soon. Rest is good apparently helps to minimise long Covid. Similar thing happened to me. First my dad started to get a scratchy throat, did a RAT test and it was covid positive. Then my throat started getting scratchy also did a test Covid positive and then my mum who we thought had a stomach bug also came Covid positive. Been soothing myself with a warmed up mix of apple cider vinegar and honey. Interesting to see how different our symptoms are, my dad just got a sore throat, I got the sore throat with congestion and while my mum got an upset stomach she avoided the sore throat and any congestion issues.

I recently watched a doco about the painting of the Mona Lisa where a professional artist tried to replicate the painting the way Da Vinci would have painted it. I never realised before how technically difficult the painting was. I have new found appreciation for the painting but would I hang it on my wall? Nope😂. I remember an art dealer once saying you should buy paintings that speak to you otherwise it is just a pretty picture that you'll never appreciate. I think that is a good way to look at art and personally contemporary art speaks to me a lot more than the so called great masters and I usually find art by women a lot more relatable. Also I love crafts like embroidery, metal work or weaving. A lot of people don't consider those things real art but to me there is just as much skill and artistry as any grand painting while telling more intimate stories about people, families and culture. As for the value of art watching the show Fake or Fortune makes me think the whole valuation of art is very whimsical and flimsy😂.

I haven't had a bucket list destination disappoint me, but my bucket list is pretty selective 😜. Since I didn't travel pre crowds I don't have that nostalgia. Cowds at tourists sites are the only normal I know😂. In saying that I have had three famous places disappoint me. One was Bled in Slovenia, overly touristified as if locals didn't even live there on top of that prices were 10x higher than in the rest of Slovenia and it didn't feel like 10x the value. The other was Poas crater in Costa Rica. It was one of those moments where you find yourself thinking, is this it? The other destination was New York City. I had friends who talked it up so I probably went in with too high an expectation and it just wasn't for me in the end. Most destinations I'm probably more "meh". I'm not disappointed but I'm not blown away. I go in with a lot of curiosity so for me seeing sights in real life is part of the joy travelling even if those sights aren't particularly amazing or maybe disappointing I'm still happy to have that experience.

You can add Morocco and Nigeria to that list😂. Maybe we should get some Australian princes who need help recovering their inheritance😜.

You might want to add Daily Service Charge (DSC) to the list. Had someone on CC correct me telling me officially on cruise ships it is not a gratuity or a tip but a DSC😂.

Did a FNQ trip last year, Cairns has certainly developed alot but we enjoyed the town. Crystal Cascades was lovely and if you get the chance the road up to Copperlode Dam has some excellent views. We got a really good deal on Port Douglas accommodation probably because of the covid situation so we stayed two nights. The resorts geared to international tourists were pretty much empty. The town was nice but it did feel like one big resort. Every house we saw had a holiday to let sign. It made you wonder if anyone actually lived in PD 😂.