Travel
- Flighty Friends - Connect with family and friends once, then you can see each other trips and get alerts — automatically and ongoing. You’ll see them on your map, can choose alerts levels, and can stop sharing anytime.
- Group Trip Ready - Your flights and friend’s flights appear together in the new Today view. Everyone’s live ETA and status make group trips easy.
- Friends Names in Flight Alerts - Now with name, photo, and custom controls per person to avoid notification fatigue.
- Trip Sharing - Send multiple flights at once. Receivers can add them to Flighty, or simply view them in their browser.
- Whose Flight is That? - See who’s on each flight in your flight list, on the map, and including their seat number if you’re sharing a plane.
- Panic Playdate
- photocopies of passports and actual passports
- parfum
- new and identical backup sunglasses because the last place you want to be is in a strange new land without your favourite sunglasses
- octopus straps, you never know when you’ll need to strap something to something (same goes for the tape)
- USB-C dock with an ethernet port, because sometimes you just need to plug the damn thing in to get internet
- my eldest daughter’s camera (Nikon Coolpix childproof potato camera)
- my wife’s camera (Fuji X-S10 with a 27mm)
- my splurge camera purchase in Paris (Leica Z2X which means 2x zoom, film camera)
- my flying camera (DJI Mavic 3)
- my camera (Canon EOS R5)
- Native Union universal cable
- supporters gift from the Wedding Photo Hangover podcast
- DJI Mic kit
- MacBook Pro M2, a new addition to the kit after my former M1 MacBook Pro got drunk on a glass of whisky
- Philips OneBlade shaver, the best travel shaver I could find and the only one that has USB charging
- ThruNite torch that takes AA batteries because you can’t leave emergency eyesight to a lithium USB-charged battery
- 35mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.8, 70-200mm f/2.8
- Anker charger and Britt has one too
- my friend Scotty’s latest book on my Kobo Libra 2 (I’m a recent convert away from Kindle, and love this Kobo!)
- Liechtenstein is one of the smallest countries in the world, both in terms of land area and population. It covers just 160 square kilometres, about the physical size of Geelong, with a population of just over 39,000, about the same population as the town of Orange in New South Wales.
- It is one of only two countries in the world that are “double landlocked”, which means they are landlocked by countries that are also landlocked. The other is Uzbekistan.
- Despite its small size, Liechtenstein is one of the wealthiest countries in the world per capita. The Prince of Lichtenstein, the head bloke, makes $40 mil a month off his own investments and businesses, he doesn’t take a wage or anything like that.
- Liechtenstein is the world’s largest exporter of false teeth, specifically for dentures. This is due to the presence of Ivoclar Vivadent, a company that leads the world in false teeth manufacturing. The country is also home to Hilti the construction tools company.
- Liechtenstein doesn’t have its own airport or railway system. The nearest airport is in Zurich, Switzerland. For rail, it is served by the Swiss railways.
- Liechtenstein is a principality, governed by a constitutional monarch who holds expansive powers, including the ability to veto legislation. It is the last remaining monarchy in the Holy Roman Empire.
- Liechtenstein had the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per person in the world, when adjusted by purchasing power parity.
- The entire country is invited to the castle of the Prince of Liechtenstein for beer and pretzels on National Day (August 15).
- Despite being an independent country, Liechtenstein uses the Swiss Franc as its official currency.
- Liechtenstein has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. It has even been reported that the country’s citizens often don’t lock their doors.
- Liechtenstein disbanded its army in 1868 because it was too costly. In fact, Switzerland has been responsible for its defence since 1923. The CIA World Factbook for many years incorrectly stated it had a defence budget of $12. It’s actually closer to zero.
- The country’s capital, Vaduz, and the region of the Alps, has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its stunning alpine beauty.
- Liechtenstein is known for its excellent wines. The Prince of Liechtenstein Winery, owned by the princely family, is one of the most famous wineries. I drank one of his beers today and it’s equally delicious.
- Despite its location in Central Europe, Liechtenstein managed to remain neutral and was untouched during both World War I and World War II.
- There are more businesses registered in Lichtenstein than residents, so most of the residents work in support of these businesses, or in tourism, dentistry, or working for Hilti making tools.
✈️ Flighty 3 is a private frequent flyers social network!
One of my most-used and favourite apps is Flighty, and they’ve just announced a new version that’s basically a frequent flyer’s private social network. I love it!
Flighty 3.0 is the new way to share your flying with family and friends. Keep track of your loved ones, not flight numbers. Another industry-first from Flighty.
Add me as a friend on Flighty, yo!
P.S.: Flighty is one of the very few iPhone apps I use on the regular which was quick to allow it’s app to be used on Apple silicon Macs, something more developers should consider enabling.
📷🇮🇹 Our last Monday in Puglia
A birds eye view of Martina Franca, in southern Puglia, where we’ve been hanging out this month.
In these photos, happening at the same time, is a funeral procession, a dance contest, and an opera, amongst whatever else the 49,000 residents are getting up to.
There’s also two 360 photos of Martina Franca in this embed, a higher and lower shot, look for the hotspots when you’re scrolling around.
📷🇮🇹🚁 Fifteen of Monopoli’s best from my Mavic in Puglia yesterday
⛪️ I did it, I finally did it. I crucified the sun.
… and other photos from the sunset over Monopoli, Puglia, this afternoon 📷🌇🇮🇹
📷🇮🇹🏖️ Family day at the beach at Cala Maka. The beach is apparently/allegedly called Torre Canne Nord Prima della Casa Grigia, which translated from Italian means, North Canne Tower Before the Gray House, which is the most romantic beach name I’ve ever read.
Good luck ever naming a beach better than that.
🗺️ Where’s Josh’o? An update
Just going on the record for everyone who asks where we are, where we’re living now, and if we’re ever coming home to Australia: we’re in Italy then Paris and Singapore between now and getting home to the Gold Coast late August.
I’m back to work and at your service making weddings and elopements from August 22, 2023.
I’ve got travel around Australia and New Zealand for weddings and elopements through the end of this year and early next year before we head back to Europe in 2024.
I’ve also had some requests for the USA if you’re interested in having me there too.
June, July, and August 2024 for weddings and also elopements with The Elopement Collective and some of our team including Jason Corroto, House of Love Weddings, George Bowden, House Of Lucie, and Pearce Brennan.
Finally, I wanted to address something a few people have lovingly brought to my attention “I thought you only did elopements”.
I might be married to the @elopementcollective’s boss, but I create ceremony for all and sundry. Big weddings, small weddings, elopements, and corporate events as a master of ceremonies. As the band was named, I do weddings, parties, anything.
So very formerly: I do weddings as well. If you know someone getting married somewhere in the world and you reckon we’d be a fit, let them know I exist!
📷🇮🇹 40 degrees celsius today in Martina Franca, but the second you step into the shade the temperature drops about fifteen of those bad boy degrees.
📷🇮🇹 Alberobello, Puglia
📷🇮🇹 Polignano a Mare, Puglia
📷🇮🇹 Sunday frames from Martina Franca, Puglia, Italy
🏖️ Tuesday at Spiaggia Lido Silvana, Puglia, Italy
Temple of Valadier: Refuge for sinners
Over 1000 years old, this sanctuary in Genga’s Frasassi Caves was intended to be a refuge from sinners, but when you see it from a sky, it looks like the church itself is seeking refuge from the world.
The temple you now see was complete in 1827 under the suggestion of Pope Leo XII. For all this time it was called the Temple of Valadier but recent study has revealed that Giuseppe Valadier, its namesake architect, didn’t design it at all.
Either which way, it’s nice to know that Catholic sinners get a cool place to pilgrimage to.
I caught a few moments after the sun set, in between rain clouds, to get the drone up. I’d been driving for 45 minutes and gotten stuck down two dead ends. I was making these photos tonight!
A few other accounts of the sanctuary:
Rate my desk (June 2023 edition)
For the past ten months, my and my family’s non-clothing and non-toiletries life has completely lived inside a Think Tank camera bag and it will do so for another 50 days. I took the opportunity this afternoon to do a quick audit, headcount, and make sure everything I was carrying was necessary, and inspired by the Hemispheric Views podcast segment ‘Rate my desk’ I thought I would submit my ‘desk away from home’ to the internets.
All of our life’s possessions that aren’t our actual home and the furniture in that home required for it to be on Airbnb, lives in our two July ‘Checked Plus’ bags, and two Dagne Dover bags, plus a Phil & Teds travel cot and a Baby Jogger travel pram, and this Think Tank Streetwalker camera bag pictured below.
The reason for the Think Tank Streetwalker bag is that it’s unique in being a carry bag, a backpack, and a roller bag. It’s the Optimus Prime of camera bags.
I’ll guess a few of the questions “What is that?!”:
Our whole charging strategy is based on IEC C7 (Figure 8) leads and getting local leads wherever we go and they plug into the Anker chargers and the 96W Apple charger. There’s a blog post on my reasoning for this. I’m now a cable dad.
So, rate my desk.
It’s normally pretty hard to try and fit an entire nation in one photo. It’s a little bit easier if you’re making a 360 panoramic photo. But still, most nations don’t fit.
So I can proudly say I think I got almost all of Liechtenstein in this photo.
I have a confession to make.
I didn’t know “The Alps” were a thing. I thought people referred to “the alps” when they referred to alpine areas.
This probably explains why I nerded out pretty hard when I got to the Alps and kept on typing the alps and all my computing devices would autocorrect to The Alps.
Anyway, here’s a 360 photo of a part of the Alps from Kufstein in Austria.
And another from Lake Wolfgang
Lichtenstein 3D
One of my childhood happy memories was receiving gifts from my Aunty Tracey who lived in Lichtenstein. She was always sending Liechtenstein paraphernalia and propaganda and I was here for it.
For over 30 years I’ve kept this magical vision in my mind of what the richest country per capita on earth would look like.
How safe could a country with no defence force feel? How do you even get to a country that has no airport? How small can the smallest country to win an Olympic medal be? How beautiful could the only country on earth to be completely in the alps be?
Today I got some answers.
P.S. Scroll to the bottom of the post for an awesome 360 photo!
We’re really lucky to be staying near the summits of the mountains, in Malbun, with friends of my aunt (thank you Martina and Markus!), it feels like we’re on the set of a fantastical movie. It’s unbelievably beautiful here.
The two furthest-away boundaries of the entire nation are 25km apart!
Some of the most interesting Lichtenstein facts I know:
Watched the sun set into Germany across the German/Austrian border tonight.
Withers on film in Hawaii
