We’re sitting on the Emirates A380 flight back to Sydney from Dubai now so we’ve just about come full circle on our holiday. We finished up where we started - in Dubai - but this time staying for two nights. We arrived in Dubai at about 4 o’clock in the morning and we were lucky enough to be able to check in early to our hotel room and get a few hours sleep before taking a look around. It was about 2pm by the time we surfaced and got on to the Big Bus that takes you around Dubai giving you a running commentary and stopping at the major attractions. We got a 24-hour ticket and split it over two days. A couple of the highlights were the Dubai Museum, which gave a great history of the area from pearl divers and desert nomads to gold traders and oil tycoons; and the Atlantis Hotel, which is the one situated at the end of the islands shaped like a palm tree and is HUGE with an aquarium-sized fish tank inside complete with stingrays and a whale shark. We also took an evening boat cruise along the ‘creek’ on a traditional Arabic boat, which was included in the bus ticket.
The best thing we did in Dubai though was, without a doubt, the evening desert safari. A driver picked us up in a Toyota Landcruiser around 3.30pm and took us out to the desert for some insane “dune bashing”, which basically involved a procession of four-wheel-drives fanging it over the sand dunes sliding all over the place, plunging (sometimes sideways) off the edge of dunes and giving us awesome views of the desert. Our driver was amazing. There were so many moments that we thought he was going to tip the car, but he didn’t. We did end up with a flat tyre and an overheated engine though so we had to get rescued.
After the dune bashing we arrived at a traditional Bedouin camp where there were all sorts of free activities to partake in. We did most of them including a camel ride, sand boarding, getting henna tattoos and dressing up as Arabs. We then got fed a massive buffet BBQ dinner, which was really tasty, and were entertained by a belly dancer who, of course, chose both of us to get up on stage with her (at different times) and do embarrassing things…which we got on video! This was in front of a crowd of about 200 people! It was a fantastic Arabian night and a very fun way to finish off a great six-week adventure.
Now to get some photos on Facebook!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Chilling out in hot and sunny Santorini
In the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece there lies a partially submerged volcano called Santorini. The main town of Thira (or Fira or Thera depending on who you ask) is built on the rim of the volcano’s caldera, which plunges steeply into the sea. The buildings are all painted white in typical Greek Island style and blue church domes add contrast to the cityscape. Almost every café, restaurant and hotel has a sea view taking in either the dramatic caldera edge or the gently sloping eastern side of the island.
Our hotel had a fantastic view of the eastern side of the island with the white and blue buildings giving way to barren earth and scraggly grape vines as the island slopes down into the sea. From our rooftop balcony, even from our room window, we had a prime view of the sunrise over the sea and even saw some volcanic activity on a nearby island.
The weather was very hot and beautifully sunny the whole time we were there. We had a few dips in our hotel pool and also made trips to beaches - Black Sands Beach and Red Sands Beach - both appropriately named. Theresa swam out to a rock at Red Sands Beach and did her best mermaid impersonation.
As usual, we enjoyed a lot of good food including more mousaka, a variety of grilled meats and a couple of excellent Greek Salads. We ran out of money the second day we were there and found out that all the ATMs on the island had done the same. We were advised it was a bank holiday so nobody would be restocking the machines until the next day. Luckily we had enough money to get some supermarket food and we had a couple of nice home-prepared meals on our balcony.
Santorini is home to a lot of semi-stray cats and dogs. The council apparently encourages them by putting food out and, in Athens we were told the council gives all the dogs shots. Santorini had mostly cats, unlike Athens which had packs of wild dogs just hanging around looking intimidating. Theresa took lots of cat photos!
Our hotel had a fantastic view of the eastern side of the island with the white and blue buildings giving way to barren earth and scraggly grape vines as the island slopes down into the sea. From our rooftop balcony, even from our room window, we had a prime view of the sunrise over the sea and even saw some volcanic activity on a nearby island.
The weather was very hot and beautifully sunny the whole time we were there. We had a few dips in our hotel pool and also made trips to beaches - Black Sands Beach and Red Sands Beach - both appropriately named. Theresa swam out to a rock at Red Sands Beach and did her best mermaid impersonation.
As usual, we enjoyed a lot of good food including more mousaka, a variety of grilled meats and a couple of excellent Greek Salads. We ran out of money the second day we were there and found out that all the ATMs on the island had done the same. We were advised it was a bank holiday so nobody would be restocking the machines until the next day. Luckily we had enough money to get some supermarket food and we had a couple of nice home-prepared meals on our balcony.
Santorini is home to a lot of semi-stray cats and dogs. The council apparently encourages them by putting food out and, in Athens we were told the council gives all the dogs shots. Santorini had mostly cats, unlike Athens which had packs of wild dogs just hanging around looking intimidating. Theresa took lots of cat photos!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Athens by night
By the time we arrived at our hotel in Athens it was about 5.30pm and just starting to cool down from the very sweaty 30-plus degrees it had been during the day. We didn’t get the view of the Acropolis that we’d asked for (or the baby cot!) and we only had the one night to see Athens before flying to Santorini the next day. So first on our hit list was to see the Acropolis / Parthenon, but not until after we’d devoured a massive mushroom risotto from room service.
The walk up the hill to the Acropolis followed a series of winding cobble-stoned alleys and stairways. We found our way to the entrance just as it was closing so couldn’t get in, but we did get some good photos from a rocky outcrop just next to it, where we watched the sun slowly setting over Athens. Very pretty.
Before the sun completely disappeared we also managed to pass by some more recent (only about 2000 years old) Roman ruins on our way to the stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games. The stadium was originally built about 400 BC, but has clearly been restored since. We couldn’t get in to do a victory lap around the stadium but it was interesting to see and there was a nice square next to it with kids playing with paper aeroplanes.
We finally got around to having dinner (the risotto was just a “snack”) about 10pm…not too late by European standards. We ate at a really nice restaurant on the side of the hill leading up to the Acropolis. Live music was provided by two guys playing traditional Greek music with a guitar and mandalin. We had Mousaka (layered minced beef, mashed potato, eggplant and cheese…looks like lasagna), Lamb Souvlaki (shish kebab) and a big Ceasar salad. Served up with a basket of fresh bread with olive spread. Very yum! The best dinner in Europe so far.
Could easily have spent more time in Athens.
The walk up the hill to the Acropolis followed a series of winding cobble-stoned alleys and stairways. We found our way to the entrance just as it was closing so couldn’t get in, but we did get some good photos from a rocky outcrop just next to it, where we watched the sun slowly setting over Athens. Very pretty.
Before the sun completely disappeared we also managed to pass by some more recent (only about 2000 years old) Roman ruins on our way to the stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games. The stadium was originally built about 400 BC, but has clearly been restored since. We couldn’t get in to do a victory lap around the stadium but it was interesting to see and there was a nice square next to it with kids playing with paper aeroplanes.
We finally got around to having dinner (the risotto was just a “snack”) about 10pm…not too late by European standards. We ate at a really nice restaurant on the side of the hill leading up to the Acropolis. Live music was provided by two guys playing traditional Greek music with a guitar and mandalin. We had Mousaka (layered minced beef, mashed potato, eggplant and cheese…looks like lasagna), Lamb Souvlaki (shish kebab) and a big Ceasar salad. Served up with a basket of fresh bread with olive spread. Very yum! The best dinner in Europe so far.
Could easily have spent more time in Athens.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Pizza, Pasta and lots of Gelati!
We kicked off our Italy trip in Florence where we met up with our tour group of 18 mostly Aussies and a few Canadians. We saw Michelangelo’s David and had a really yummy dinner with an American couple that we met at the Laundromat. The “entrée” was a big bowl of their house specialty pasta, which Theresa reckons is the best pasta she’s ever had. In Italy they generally have pasta (a full plate) as an “entrée” and then a main and dessert, always accompanied by a basket of bread (very dry with no butter) and sometimes starting with antipesto. They also serve house wine by the litre or half litre and is often cheaper than soft drink. The wine is very light tasting so easy to drink, but just as potent as our wine.
Our next stop was Cinque Terre (five towns perched on sea cliffs) where we walked along the cliffs from town to town taking in the dramatic scenery of ocean, cliffs, vineyards and pastel-colored houses. We also had a very nice lunch by the water - scampi penne and seafood spaghetti.
From their it was a very scenic coach trip to Venice via Lake Garda, which we took a ferry across, and Verona, where Juliette lived. Venice was probably the highlight of the trip, particularly the gondola ride and sitting (illegally) on the steps of St Mark’s Square listening to the rivaling mini orchestras.
Our final stop was in Rome where we were given a walking tour of all the main sights - the Colloseum, the forums, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevy Fountain - all amazing! One great thing about Italy is the number of fresh springs where you can fill up your water bottle with great tasting water at no cost! Even the water in the spectacular Trevy Fountain is drinkable and piped kilometres from fresh springs.
After our tour, we briefly visited the Vatican City…got into the Sistine Chapel just before it closed…at least there was hardly any queue!
Oh yeah, we tried a few flavours of gelato (“gelati”) too...rice, hazelnut, pistachio, tiramisu, panna cotta, strawberry cheesecake, milk, coconut, banana & kiwi, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, melon and pineapple. Our favourite was the massive scoop of rice (“riso”) gelati we got at Verona for 1 Euro. It had actual rice in it and tasted a bit like rice pudding on a cone! Yummm!!!!
Our next stop was Cinque Terre (five towns perched on sea cliffs) where we walked along the cliffs from town to town taking in the dramatic scenery of ocean, cliffs, vineyards and pastel-colored houses. We also had a very nice lunch by the water - scampi penne and seafood spaghetti.
From their it was a very scenic coach trip to Venice via Lake Garda, which we took a ferry across, and Verona, where Juliette lived. Venice was probably the highlight of the trip, particularly the gondola ride and sitting (illegally) on the steps of St Mark’s Square listening to the rivaling mini orchestras.
Our final stop was in Rome where we were given a walking tour of all the main sights - the Colloseum, the forums, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Trevy Fountain - all amazing! One great thing about Italy is the number of fresh springs where you can fill up your water bottle with great tasting water at no cost! Even the water in the spectacular Trevy Fountain is drinkable and piped kilometres from fresh springs.
After our tour, we briefly visited the Vatican City…got into the Sistine Chapel just before it closed…at least there was hardly any queue!
Oh yeah, we tried a few flavours of gelato (“gelati”) too...rice, hazelnut, pistachio, tiramisu, panna cotta, strawberry cheesecake, milk, coconut, banana & kiwi, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, melon and pineapple. Our favourite was the massive scoop of rice (“riso”) gelati we got at Verona for 1 Euro. It had actual rice in it and tasted a bit like rice pudding on a cone! Yummm!!!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
France: Bright lights and pink flamingoes
The hot sunny weather continued for our stay in France, except for one night in Paris when we got rained on as we left a show on the Champs Elysees. The show was at a place called Lido, which is like Moulin Rouge, but supposedly better. For about AUS$200 you get a bottle of champagne and two hours of spectacularly-dressed topless dancers, broken up with some pretty amazing acts including two incredibly strong men who could balance with one hand on the other guy's head. We got half price thanks to a tip from Theresa's mum who popped across from London for the weekend to stay with us in Paris.
Aside from the show we did the obligatory tourist things of going up the Eiffel Tower (2nd floor was enough for us) and the Arc de Tromph, which was amazing. We also saw the Mona Lisa and visited Buddha bar (but decided against buying a $30 drink).
In the south of France we got off to a shakey start driving on the right (but very wrong) side of the road. There was one lucky moment coming down a windy mountain road where Theresa pointed out that we were on the left side of the road and I corrected just before a car came around the bend the other way.
The highlight was probably seeing flamingoes in le Carmargue. We saw hundreds and could get really close to them to take photos. In the same place we also saw beavers and otters. So cute!
We met up with an old friend of Theresa's who lives in Antibes - a mostly English town in the French Riviera - and she and her boyfriend took us out for a nice dinner and drink.
Breakfast on the pebbly beach of Nice was very relaxing, but missing the Europcar carpark and getting lost in peakhour traffic and then running for the train was not so relaxing. Next time no car hire!
Aside from the show we did the obligatory tourist things of going up the Eiffel Tower (2nd floor was enough for us) and the Arc de Tromph, which was amazing. We also saw the Mona Lisa and visited Buddha bar (but decided against buying a $30 drink).
In the south of France we got off to a shakey start driving on the right (but very wrong) side of the road. There was one lucky moment coming down a windy mountain road where Theresa pointed out that we were on the left side of the road and I corrected just before a car came around the bend the other way.
The highlight was probably seeing flamingoes in le Carmargue. We saw hundreds and could get really close to them to take photos. In the same place we also saw beavers and otters. So cute!
We met up with an old friend of Theresa's who lives in Antibes - a mostly English town in the French Riviera - and she and her boyfriend took us out for a nice dinner and drink.
Breakfast on the pebbly beach of Nice was very relaxing, but missing the Europcar carpark and getting lost in peakhour traffic and then running for the train was not so relaxing. Next time no car hire!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Fairytale Fussen
Imagine small clusters of white-walled houses with sloping tiled roofs; their windows framed by dark wood shutters and window boxes filled with bright flowers. Now imagine these houses nestled amongst rolling green hills dotted with brown or black and white cows, interspersed with pockets of ‘Christmas tree’ pine forests; all this set before a backdrop of high grey mountain peaks sprinkled with patches of white snow sparkling in the sunlight. Now throw in a life-sized Disneyland-like castle (in fact the castle that is said to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney’s logo) and you have the stuff that fairytales are made of. This if Fussen.
Well, this is more the surrounds of Fussen. The town centre itself is a small network of cobble-stoned pedestrian streets lined with the pastel coloured walls of shops and restaurants, overlooked by a tall clock tower that chimes on the hour.
Fussen is a small town near the Alps in Bavaria, Germany. On one of our days in Fussen we walked along the river to Austria…only a few kilometres away! Unfortunately there was only a small convenience store there and nobody to stamp our passports. We did see some beautiful scenery along the way though, detouring up a big hill to see views of lakes and mountains. On the way back we found one of the steepest slides we’ve ever seen, just going down a small hill off the side of the road. A daring Theresa slid down so fast she got airborne at the end and landed on her bum in the dirt. No injuries. Further on we found a group of cows wearing cow bells and sounding very musical as they chomped at the grass and scratched themselves against the water tank. Theresa tried to get close to the cows for a photo and discovered the hard way that the fence separating us from the cows was an electric fence. Unfortunately I stopped filming just before she got electrocuted. Still no injuries.
Well, this is more the surrounds of Fussen. The town centre itself is a small network of cobble-stoned pedestrian streets lined with the pastel coloured walls of shops and restaurants, overlooked by a tall clock tower that chimes on the hour.
Fussen is a small town near the Alps in Bavaria, Germany. On one of our days in Fussen we walked along the river to Austria…only a few kilometres away! Unfortunately there was only a small convenience store there and nobody to stamp our passports. We did see some beautiful scenery along the way though, detouring up a big hill to see views of lakes and mountains. On the way back we found one of the steepest slides we’ve ever seen, just going down a small hill off the side of the road. A daring Theresa slid down so fast she got airborne at the end and landed on her bum in the dirt. No injuries. Further on we found a group of cows wearing cow bells and sounding very musical as they chomped at the grass and scratched themselves against the water tank. Theresa tried to get close to the cows for a photo and discovered the hard way that the fence separating us from the cows was an electric fence. Unfortunately I stopped filming just before she got electrocuted. Still no injuries.
Berlin
We got off to an interesting start in Berlin. When we got to the hostel we found out that we had booked beds online for 18th/19th April, not May…oops. Luckily there were beds available and the friendly receptionist - Oscar - lied about our age to avoid us paying the over-26 VAT tax and chucked in a free towel hire, which maybe made up for loosing our deposit on the April booking.
At first glance, Berlin appears to be like any other European city, nothing amazing. But after a four-hour walking tour of the city with our guide Lewis (from Holland) who explained the history behind the different parts of the city, we realized that the amazing thing about Berlin is just how normal it is, despite everything that has happened to it.
The story of the Berlin Wall was quite moving. The wall was put up literally overnight without warning. It was just a barbed wire fence to start with but was gradually upgraded, ultimately to two ten-foot high concrete walls. The wall separated families, friends and loved ones for over twenty years. It only came down because an East German press secretary slipped up at a press conference and announced that travel restrictions would be lifted between east and west Berlin causing a party to break out in the streets that couldn’t be stopped. The border guards had no idea what was going on when ten thousand East Germans turned up wanting to get through the wall. In the end they had to honour the press secretary’s statement and thus began the end of the Berlin Wall!
At first glance, Berlin appears to be like any other European city, nothing amazing. But after a four-hour walking tour of the city with our guide Lewis (from Holland) who explained the history behind the different parts of the city, we realized that the amazing thing about Berlin is just how normal it is, despite everything that has happened to it.
The story of the Berlin Wall was quite moving. The wall was put up literally overnight without warning. It was just a barbed wire fence to start with but was gradually upgraded, ultimately to two ten-foot high concrete walls. The wall separated families, friends and loved ones for over twenty years. It only came down because an East German press secretary slipped up at a press conference and announced that travel restrictions would be lifted between east and west Berlin causing a party to break out in the streets that couldn’t be stopped. The border guards had no idea what was going on when ten thousand East Germans turned up wanting to get through the wall. In the end they had to honour the press secretary’s statement and thus began the end of the Berlin Wall!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Scotland - Highland cows and haggis
We stayed with Kate and Josh (James’ uni friends) in Edinburgh. The day we arrived, it was absolutely freezing! I don’t think I have even been more cold in my life - but I think from hereon it gets warmer thank goodness. On Sunday we had a traditional Scottish breakfast complete with haggis, black pudding and potato cakes. We both weren’t too fond of the haggis but James liked the black pudding and I (Theresa) enjoyed the potato cakes. Kate and Josh took us in to the country after stopping by at the botanical gardens in search of squirrels. We found a squirrel that was only too happy to pose for us in exchange for (probably a few too many) nuts. It was very cute and Theresa was enjoying getting close to the squirrel until it ran out of nuts and started chasing Theresa for more.
Kate drove us up into the start of the Scottish highlands where we saw vast lochs of water surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We also did a tour of Scotland’s smallest distillery. The whiskey is single malt and handmade. Tasted nice, but a little expensive. There was one bottle going for 650 pounds! The highlight though was probably seeing the highland cows (pronounced ‘coos’), which were very cute!
We could spend more time in Scotland, if only it wasn’t sooo cold! But that being said, it’s nought that can’t be fixed with a nice hot toddy, which is easily made with a bit of whisky, hot water, sugar, ginger and nutmeg. Very warming and it doesn’t taste too bad either!
Kate drove us up into the start of the Scottish highlands where we saw vast lochs of water surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We also did a tour of Scotland’s smallest distillery. The whiskey is single malt and handmade. Tasted nice, but a little expensive. There was one bottle going for 650 pounds! The highlight though was probably seeing the highland cows (pronounced ‘coos’), which were very cute!
We could spend more time in Scotland, if only it wasn’t sooo cold! But that being said, it’s nought that can’t be fixed with a nice hot toddy, which is easily made with a bit of whisky, hot water, sugar, ginger and nutmeg. Very warming and it doesn’t taste too bad either!
Driving through the English countryside
Roll-mops, cockles, jellied eels, welks and pork & pickle pies. These are some of the English foods Auntie Deb served us for lunch in Folkestone. I (James) quite liked the roll-mops, which are a kind of cold fish wrapped around some pickle. Theresa preferred the pork pies. We had a good day and night in Folkestone, walking along the seaside and catching up with family. Thanks to Auntie Deb and Rob for taking us in for the night and showing us around.
From Folkestone we picked up a hire car in Dover and drove to Bath via Stonehenge. After a slight delay when we discovered the hire car company we had booked through had since gone bust, and a minor detour where we drove for about half an hour in the wrong direction, we made it safely to Bath where we checked into an old fashioned B & B with ornate paintings on the wall and a bathroom under the staircase.
Bath is a beautiful town full of tall Georgian terrace houses that fan out in neat rows along the hillsides. We took a dip in a rooftop pool fed by the natural hot spring waters and overlooking the rooftops of the old city centre after being pampered with an Indian head massage and herbal tea in the relaxation lounge. Next, we went to the sauna room on the lower floor with four separate chambers infused with frankincense, eucalyptus to clear those sinuses, mint and lavender. In the middle of the room was a large showerhead with cool flowing waters, which was nice to stand under between chambers, and little foot baths that you could use around the surrounding walls. I (Theresa) really enjoyed Bath.
Auntie Judy and Uncle Bob took us to a very pretty Cottswold village. The Cottswolds is a hilly area west of London where the houses are all built from the local yellow-coloured stone. This gives the villages a unique, and very quaint, look. Many of the buildings have purple whisteria covering their walls.
We went for a day trip with Judy and Bob into Wales where we passed through mountainous countryside and visited an old aqueduct, which is a canal bridge allowing boats to travel over the top of a river, We had never seen an aqueduct before so it was bizarre to see water on a bridge going across water! We walked across the aqueduct, which was built on tall arches high above the fast-flowing river below, making for some dramatic views.
We visited my (James’) parent’s friends Madeline and Brian for dinner one night where I was re-united with my old playmate from when I was a toddler, Zoe, as well as her younger sister and their partners. Theresa got to see some old photos of me and we both got to visit a “true local” Black Country pub. No sawdust on the floor, but the beer was pretty rough!
From Folkestone we picked up a hire car in Dover and drove to Bath via Stonehenge. After a slight delay when we discovered the hire car company we had booked through had since gone bust, and a minor detour where we drove for about half an hour in the wrong direction, we made it safely to Bath where we checked into an old fashioned B & B with ornate paintings on the wall and a bathroom under the staircase.
Bath is a beautiful town full of tall Georgian terrace houses that fan out in neat rows along the hillsides. We took a dip in a rooftop pool fed by the natural hot spring waters and overlooking the rooftops of the old city centre after being pampered with an Indian head massage and herbal tea in the relaxation lounge. Next, we went to the sauna room on the lower floor with four separate chambers infused with frankincense, eucalyptus to clear those sinuses, mint and lavender. In the middle of the room was a large showerhead with cool flowing waters, which was nice to stand under between chambers, and little foot baths that you could use around the surrounding walls. I (Theresa) really enjoyed Bath.
Auntie Judy and Uncle Bob took us to a very pretty Cottswold village. The Cottswolds is a hilly area west of London where the houses are all built from the local yellow-coloured stone. This gives the villages a unique, and very quaint, look. Many of the buildings have purple whisteria covering their walls.
We went for a day trip with Judy and Bob into Wales where we passed through mountainous countryside and visited an old aqueduct, which is a canal bridge allowing boats to travel over the top of a river, We had never seen an aqueduct before so it was bizarre to see water on a bridge going across water! We walked across the aqueduct, which was built on tall arches high above the fast-flowing river below, making for some dramatic views.
We visited my (James’) parent’s friends Madeline and Brian for dinner one night where I was re-united with my old playmate from when I was a toddler, Zoe, as well as her younger sister and their partners. Theresa got to see some old photos of me and we both got to visit a “true local” Black Country pub. No sawdust on the floor, but the beer was pretty rough!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
London highlights
Thanks to Theresa's mum for looking after us in London and taking us around to see the sights of London...and squirrels!
When we first got into London we were on the Moby Dick with a sore nanny for a couple of days. It was bleedin’ taters with the occasional spot of pleasure and pain.
And for those who don’t understand cockney rhyming slang, here are some highlights of what we saw:
Buckingham Palace - saw changing of the guards - were surprised when they busted out Dancing Queen and a list of other pop songs
Westminster - sat in on the House of Commons as they debated a finance bill - there were only a handful of ministers in attendance and they looked very relaxed - one had their shoes off and another had his legs stretched out on the seat.
Madame Tussuards - Theresa hung out with Leonardo Dicaprio and took a couple of calls for Barak Obama in the presidential suite while Theresa’s mum enjoyed an intimate dinner with George Cluney. James got a couple of good photos with his two favourite politicians - George Bush and John Howard…you’ll have to see Facebook for those! Theresa wanted to go into the Chamber of Horrors, so James pushed her to the front of the line and she screamed the whole way through. What a meanie!!
Went to the West End and saw the musical Wicked - very entertaining take on the “real story” of the Wizard of Oz
Caught up with Theresa’s aikido friends (James, Sarah & Steve) and James old work colleague Amanda who took us out for the best Viet in London and Italian with waterfront views of the Tower Bridge.
Checked out the crazy fashions at Camden Markets, the highlight being the futuristic designs in Cyberdog. Theresa bought a couple of scarves and some earings...but didn't get any flourescent pink fluffy leg warmers from Cyberdog...this time.
When we first got into London we were on the Moby Dick with a sore nanny for a couple of days. It was bleedin’ taters with the occasional spot of pleasure and pain.
And for those who don’t understand cockney rhyming slang, here are some highlights of what we saw:
Buckingham Palace - saw changing of the guards - were surprised when they busted out Dancing Queen and a list of other pop songs
Westminster - sat in on the House of Commons as they debated a finance bill - there were only a handful of ministers in attendance and they looked very relaxed - one had their shoes off and another had his legs stretched out on the seat.
Madame Tussuards - Theresa hung out with Leonardo Dicaprio and took a couple of calls for Barak Obama in the presidential suite while Theresa’s mum enjoyed an intimate dinner with George Cluney. James got a couple of good photos with his two favourite politicians - George Bush and John Howard…you’ll have to see Facebook for those! Theresa wanted to go into the Chamber of Horrors, so James pushed her to the front of the line and she screamed the whole way through. What a meanie!!
Went to the West End and saw the musical Wicked - very entertaining take on the “real story” of the Wizard of Oz
Caught up with Theresa’s aikido friends (James, Sarah & Steve) and James old work colleague Amanda who took us out for the best Viet in London and Italian with waterfront views of the Tower Bridge.
Checked out the crazy fashions at Camden Markets, the highlight being the futuristic designs in Cyberdog. Theresa bought a couple of scarves and some earings...but didn't get any flourescent pink fluffy leg warmers from Cyberdog...this time.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
London
We are now in Folkestone and about to head to Bath via Stonehenge.
Had a great time in London. Theresa's mum looked after us well and made sure we saw as much as possible. Too much to tell you about right now, so will update blog later.
Had a great time in London. Theresa's mum looked after us well and made sure we saw as much as possible. Too much to tell you about right now, so will update blog later.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sydney to London via Dubai
The double-decker A380 from Sydney to London was very nice! The seats are quite spacious even in cattle class and there was endless list of movies and TV shows to choose from. Even the toilets were classier than usual, not that a bit of timber finish on the toilet seat makes it any less uncomfortable getting caught there during turbulence, but it was a nice touch. We were on the bottom deck. There was a posh-looking staircase leading up to the top deck, but it was cordoned off so we couldn‘t go up there. Apparently there is a beauty spa in first class. It’s a shame Theresa’s line of “I fell off my bike last weekend, can we get upgraded” didn’t work this time. I saw a couple of flight attendants coming down the stairs in their Emirates pyjamas…the bright blue men’s Pjs weren’t a good look, but the women’s were OK.
The service was great too and the ride was very smooth…although we got off to a delayed start after the little towing vehicle at Sydney airport was having difficulties unattaching itself from the plane. The English pilot assured us that this was “unusual”.
The plane is so big that at times it doesn’t feel like you’re on a plane. It wasn’t scary at all!
We had 10 hours in Dubai before our connecting flight so we left the airport and caught a ‘women and families’ cab to the city. The arab-looking woman driver, dressed in pretty pink and white head scarf and gown-type thing (excuse my ignorance, but you know the type of thing the muslim ladies wear), was very friendly and was probably the first taxi driver who we actually felt safe with. This was probably more to do with her being a woman rather than anything to do with Dubai as the next two male taxi drivers we had made me feel very unsafe (one guy clocked 140km/h coming over a seven-lane bridge - luckily Theresa was sleeping at this point - surprise, surprise) and we even saw a crashed taxi holding up traffic near the airport.
So what about Dubai? Well our first taxi dropped us off at the “creek”, which is actually a full-blown river maybe half the size of Sydney harbour. We knew we were close to the spice market and the gold market but our brief wander through the back streets revealed only pavements full of men sitting around not doing much and enjoying the change of scenery that we provided. We saw maybe six women…all Asian strangely enough…the men were mostly, I’m guessing Pakistani, Indian and/or Arab. Theresa felt slightly self-conscious and the heat was pretty overwhelming even at 8o’clock in the morning, so we quickly caught a cab to the Emirates Mall, which is not only air-conditioned but has a ski-field inside it! The ski field looked pretty interesting. It is fully equipped with chair lift, sled course, kids play area and a giant snowman. The mall was like any other expensive glamorous shopping mall, but with an interesting section called the Arabian Souk, which has shops selling the various types of merchandise that Dubai is known for from gold and silver to rugs and stuffed camels. We also checked out a huge Carrefour (the French supermarket giant that was a saviour in China), gawked at a $3,500 burka and took a photo with a life-sized stuffed giraffe on sale for about $1,000.
Now we are 36,000 feet in the air somewhere above Turkey on our way to London, crammed into a much less spacious 777 and desperately hanging out for sleep.
The service was great too and the ride was very smooth…although we got off to a delayed start after the little towing vehicle at Sydney airport was having difficulties unattaching itself from the plane. The English pilot assured us that this was “unusual”.
The plane is so big that at times it doesn’t feel like you’re on a plane. It wasn’t scary at all!
We had 10 hours in Dubai before our connecting flight so we left the airport and caught a ‘women and families’ cab to the city. The arab-looking woman driver, dressed in pretty pink and white head scarf and gown-type thing (excuse my ignorance, but you know the type of thing the muslim ladies wear), was very friendly and was probably the first taxi driver who we actually felt safe with. This was probably more to do with her being a woman rather than anything to do with Dubai as the next two male taxi drivers we had made me feel very unsafe (one guy clocked 140km/h coming over a seven-lane bridge - luckily Theresa was sleeping at this point - surprise, surprise) and we even saw a crashed taxi holding up traffic near the airport.
So what about Dubai? Well our first taxi dropped us off at the “creek”, which is actually a full-blown river maybe half the size of Sydney harbour. We knew we were close to the spice market and the gold market but our brief wander through the back streets revealed only pavements full of men sitting around not doing much and enjoying the change of scenery that we provided. We saw maybe six women…all Asian strangely enough…the men were mostly, I’m guessing Pakistani, Indian and/or Arab. Theresa felt slightly self-conscious and the heat was pretty overwhelming even at 8o’clock in the morning, so we quickly caught a cab to the Emirates Mall, which is not only air-conditioned but has a ski-field inside it! The ski field looked pretty interesting. It is fully equipped with chair lift, sled course, kids play area and a giant snowman. The mall was like any other expensive glamorous shopping mall, but with an interesting section called the Arabian Souk, which has shops selling the various types of merchandise that Dubai is known for from gold and silver to rugs and stuffed camels. We also checked out a huge Carrefour (the French supermarket giant that was a saviour in China), gawked at a $3,500 burka and took a photo with a life-sized stuffed giraffe on sale for about $1,000.
Now we are 36,000 feet in the air somewhere above Turkey on our way to London, crammed into a much less spacious 777 and desperately hanging out for sleep.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Four days until lift off and we're excited!
Despite our involuntary participation in a bit of synchronised pavement diving on Sunday, we are feeling good and looking forward to getting on the new Emirates A380. Hopefully the 1,000 channels of entertainment and increased reclining action on our seats will help us to forget that we are sitting in a flying Titanic and prevent us from spending the entire 14-hour trip to Dubai nervously chewing our way through several packs of gum. Although we are enjoying the experience of flying more and more every trip (and we are repeating this positive affirmation to ourselves three times daily).
We plan to update this blog at least a couple of times a week while we are away and hope that you enjoy sharing our adventures with us as we travel through the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Dubai.
So please check in every now and then and see what we're up to!
We plan to update this blog at least a couple of times a week while we are away and hope that you enjoy sharing our adventures with us as we travel through the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Dubai.
So please check in every now and then and see what we're up to!
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