Okay, it is cold, and German keyboards are weird. Just a quick update on what we have been up to. Have not had a lot of time to visit net cafes.
Tour started without much fuss with a nice boat ride over the Chanel, departing from the lovely white cliffs of Dover. Good news is, Vanessa did not throw up on the boat, hooray!
We spent a couple of days in Amsterdam, starting with a very boozy night with some of the others. 1 Euro Jagermeister shots and two for one everything had Steve very happy. We also had a look around the red light district, which was fairly interesting. Ness wanted to hire one of the window girls, but Steve said no. The next day in Amsterdam we checked out Anne Franks house, which was very moving, and the Heineken Brewery, which also rocked. We also did about eight kilometres of walking around beautiful Amsterdam.
Arrived in Berlin yesterday arvo, had a nice walking tour down to the Reichstag and a few of the other sites, and did the same again today. Went past the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie (fake), the Museum district and the other bits and pieces. Checked out the Deutsche history museum, which was pretty cool. Germans also love their big television towers, too. Tonight we are heading to a Beer Hall, then doing yet another walking tour, bringing the total up to three for this city. Could be a large night.
Prague tomorrow for New Years, which may be a big large.
Toodles!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Went to Bath and all I got was this lousy engagement ring
So in case you haven't seen Facebook yet, we're engaged. Yay. Steve popped the question in Bath at a two thousand year old spot... seemed as good a place as any. Thankfully, Ness said yes, though disappointingly there was only the slightest hint of a tear. No doubt some of you already knew (because Steve told you) or guessed it (because you're smart people), but for those of you who didn't - surprise! We're both stoked with the decision, and couldn't be happier.
In non life-altering news, Bath was really cool. We did the Roman Baths and checked out the rest of the town with a walking tour. Ness was immersed in Jane Austen trivia, while Steve took lots of pretty photos and tried to ignore the boring literary references. In all honesty though, if there's anywhere you'd want to live in the country, Bath is it. The train through the London countryside was also very pretty, though we didn't see any cows, which was disappointing.
Christmas Day was a bit uneventful. A sleep in, lunch at a pretty nice West London pub, a nice afternoon stroll and a nap, and that was about it. With all transport out of action, and it being pretty cold, our options were limited, but a rest was nice before the tour starts.
Today we finished up the last of the London sightseeing. And in shocking news, Steve said 'I'm cold' for the first time - it only took a 4 degree day. So beanies and scarves on, we checked out the Horse Guards parade (meh), Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard there, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and took a ride on the Eye. This area of London is amazing, and the place to go if you want gold statues and bobby cops. Saw sun too.
Lots of ooohing and aaaahing later, we've just packed our bags for the tour tomorrow, and with one of the cases under the weight limit by 30 grams (woohoo!) we're about ready to kiss London town goodbye. It's taken six days but we've seen most of what we wanted to see here, and had only a few very light hiccups. The weather went into bat for us too, with double digits most days, not a drop of rain (just like home!) and blue sky and sun today, withering cold aside.
Tour starts tomorrow, so blog frequency may wane, but we'll do our best. For those of you still with us, we'll try to keep up the boring updates, for those who have tuned out, screw you! (but we still love you). Missing everyone heaps, especially at Christmas, but thanks to those people who sent Christmas messages, though sucked in, it'll cost you a few bucks.
Cheers all, peace out.
In non life-altering news, Bath was really cool. We did the Roman Baths and checked out the rest of the town with a walking tour. Ness was immersed in Jane Austen trivia, while Steve took lots of pretty photos and tried to ignore the boring literary references. In all honesty though, if there's anywhere you'd want to live in the country, Bath is it. The train through the London countryside was also very pretty, though we didn't see any cows, which was disappointing.
Christmas Day was a bit uneventful. A sleep in, lunch at a pretty nice West London pub, a nice afternoon stroll and a nap, and that was about it. With all transport out of action, and it being pretty cold, our options were limited, but a rest was nice before the tour starts.
Today we finished up the last of the London sightseeing. And in shocking news, Steve said 'I'm cold' for the first time - it only took a 4 degree day. So beanies and scarves on, we checked out the Horse Guards parade (meh), Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard there, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and took a ride on the Eye. This area of London is amazing, and the place to go if you want gold statues and bobby cops. Saw sun too.
Lots of ooohing and aaaahing later, we've just packed our bags for the tour tomorrow, and with one of the cases under the weight limit by 30 grams (woohoo!) we're about ready to kiss London town goodbye. It's taken six days but we've seen most of what we wanted to see here, and had only a few very light hiccups. The weather went into bat for us too, with double digits most days, not a drop of rain (just like home!) and blue sky and sun today, withering cold aside.
Tour starts tomorrow, so blog frequency may wane, but we'll do our best. For those of you still with us, we'll try to keep up the boring updates, for those who have tuned out, screw you! (but we still love you). Missing everyone heaps, especially at Christmas, but thanks to those people who sent Christmas messages, though sucked in, it'll cost you a few bucks.
Cheers all, peace out.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Cheese toasted?
Let's start with yesterday.
Tourist spots: St Pauls, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast, The Monument, Cleopatra's Needle, Nelson's Column / Trafalgar Square and Oxford / Regent St Shopping (basically the whole Monopoly Board).
That actually looks like more than we thought, all in all it was about 8 kilometres of walking over a twelve hour period, so its no surprise we ended up crashing at 8pm. Good news is we're now jet lag free, and felt a lot better today.
The highlights yesterday were easily St Pauls, though it's kind of disturbing to see so much military gaffe in a place of worship. Ness loved the Globe, and Steve did a good job of nodding appreciatively and not nodding off (no, in all honesty, it was pretty cool). Cleopatra's Needle sucked a bit, and the shopping was the definition of chaos, but we had a nice little detour into Hemley's Toy Shop, which was cool.
The tube is very easy to use, and the Oyster cards (or the Octopus cards as Steve called them) are excellent (thanks Gerard and Megan!). Steve is taking notes for the Myki people.
Today's tourist spots: The Imperial War Museum, The Tower of London, Subway (eat fresh!), and the British Museum.
Today it was Ness' turn to nod in the right spots at the Imperial War Museum as Steve frothed over tanks and planes amongst other Military junk. Ness was a bit impressed by the big guns out the front.
The Tower was pretty cool also, the Yeoman tour was fun and interesting, and Steve considered for a short moment (very short) making a go at the crown jewels. Seeing a 500 carat diamond really makes you feel small and poor (Ness was kind of captivated, on the flip side!). Steve also wondered if anyone had ever spiked the punch in the solid gold punch bowl.
Subway for lunch: No avocado or pineapple! Psycho Indian guy who seemed to only have 'Cheese Toasted?' in his vocab.
By now we were pretty knackered, so did the express tour of the British Museum. Ness was slightly disgusted at how the Brits have stolen stuff from everyone else and brought it here, while Steve rolled his eyes. The Rosetta Stone is suitably awesome, as are the Elgin Marbles. Otherwise, lots of mummies, bowls, coins, spoons... museum stuff.
Tonight we're goin' to Harrods - described to us as overpriced and overhyped - and then out to dinner somewhere in Knightsbridge, near Hyde Park. Tomorrow we're off to Bath.
Some more random observations:
- The Brits love their chain food stores - Cafe Nerd, Pizza Express, Pret a Manger... yet we've only seen the Golden Arches twice and nay a KFC in sight.
- Food and booze in the UK seems relatively cheap, as is the train (hey, what more could a couple of twenty somethings want), yet when out shopping, the clothes were INSANELY expensive, and Steve had to hold Ness back from buying a £100 coat that wasn't so nice.
- They stand to the right on escalators... whats with that?
- Pedestrian crossings seem optional.
- Chocolate tastes different here, as does Coke, as does Stella.
So looking ahead, going to Bath tomorrow, and not quite sure what we're doing on Xmas Day. Everything looks like it'll be closed, so it might be Vegemite on bread (no toaster) in the hotel. Woe is us.
Having a ball, miss y'all.
Steve and Ness.
Tourist spots: St Pauls, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast, The Monument, Cleopatra's Needle, Nelson's Column / Trafalgar Square and Oxford / Regent St Shopping (basically the whole Monopoly Board).
That actually looks like more than we thought, all in all it was about 8 kilometres of walking over a twelve hour period, so its no surprise we ended up crashing at 8pm. Good news is we're now jet lag free, and felt a lot better today.
The highlights yesterday were easily St Pauls, though it's kind of disturbing to see so much military gaffe in a place of worship. Ness loved the Globe, and Steve did a good job of nodding appreciatively and not nodding off (no, in all honesty, it was pretty cool). Cleopatra's Needle sucked a bit, and the shopping was the definition of chaos, but we had a nice little detour into Hemley's Toy Shop, which was cool.
The tube is very easy to use, and the Oyster cards (or the Octopus cards as Steve called them) are excellent (thanks Gerard and Megan!). Steve is taking notes for the Myki people.
Today's tourist spots: The Imperial War Museum, The Tower of London, Subway (eat fresh!), and the British Museum.
Today it was Ness' turn to nod in the right spots at the Imperial War Museum as Steve frothed over tanks and planes amongst other Military junk. Ness was a bit impressed by the big guns out the front.
The Tower was pretty cool also, the Yeoman tour was fun and interesting, and Steve considered for a short moment (very short) making a go at the crown jewels. Seeing a 500 carat diamond really makes you feel small and poor (Ness was kind of captivated, on the flip side!). Steve also wondered if anyone had ever spiked the punch in the solid gold punch bowl.
Subway for lunch: No avocado or pineapple! Psycho Indian guy who seemed to only have 'Cheese Toasted?' in his vocab.
By now we were pretty knackered, so did the express tour of the British Museum. Ness was slightly disgusted at how the Brits have stolen stuff from everyone else and brought it here, while Steve rolled his eyes. The Rosetta Stone is suitably awesome, as are the Elgin Marbles. Otherwise, lots of mummies, bowls, coins, spoons... museum stuff.
Tonight we're goin' to Harrods - described to us as overpriced and overhyped - and then out to dinner somewhere in Knightsbridge, near Hyde Park. Tomorrow we're off to Bath.
Some more random observations:
- The Brits love their chain food stores - Cafe Nerd, Pizza Express, Pret a Manger... yet we've only seen the Golden Arches twice and nay a KFC in sight.
- Food and booze in the UK seems relatively cheap, as is the train (hey, what more could a couple of twenty somethings want), yet when out shopping, the clothes were INSANELY expensive, and Steve had to hold Ness back from buying a £100 coat that wasn't so nice.
- They stand to the right on escalators... whats with that?
- Pedestrian crossings seem optional.
- Chocolate tastes different here, as does Coke, as does Stella.
So looking ahead, going to Bath tomorrow, and not quite sure what we're doing on Xmas Day. Everything looks like it'll be closed, so it might be Vegemite on bread (no toaster) in the hotel. Woe is us.
Having a ball, miss y'all.
Steve and Ness.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Arrive alive...
Ok so we're in London, after a very long and stinky twenty something hour flight. Things we have discovered so far:
1. Our travel agent isn't very good... we nearly couldn't sit together on the plane!
2. The Chinese are very good at everything.
3. Vanessa has a knack for throwing up at the most irritating times... landing in Hong Kong... check.
4. Having it get dark at 3pm really messes with your head. We just went down for dinner at 4pm.
5. London has a South Kensington station as well, except the train actually stops at theirs!
To date, we've been in four queues, and the medals so far go to:
Gold - China... say what you want about communism, they're doin' something right.
Silver - Britain... despite lots of flights arriving, got through immigration in 15 flat.
Broze - Tulla... sorry Melbourne, but you suck. Crying babies, crap staff, go home team!
Just on Britain for a second, we were a bit miffed to find the EU get their own special immigration skipping queue. This means that the loyal subjects of the Empire have to line up with plebs from anywhere (say, Bolivia), while the Germans (yes, those same Germans that BOMBED THE JOINT), get to ride express.
Steve was amused by the train ride, which was going to 'Cockfosters', and despite Vanessa's dirty glare, he was vindicated by the twelve year old, also named Steve, who giggled as well.
So at the moment we are sitting in the Contiki 'Lounge', trying to find the @ button on the keyboard (who would have thought it would be in a different place! Those crazy Brits...), completely knackered but recently showered so no longer stinky.
So pretty boring way to start our travel blog, but give us a break, we've been in the country for four hours, and haven't slept in thirty six.
1. Our travel agent isn't very good... we nearly couldn't sit together on the plane!
2. The Chinese are very good at everything.
3. Vanessa has a knack for throwing up at the most irritating times... landing in Hong Kong... check.
4. Having it get dark at 3pm really messes with your head. We just went down for dinner at 4pm.
5. London has a South Kensington station as well, except the train actually stops at theirs!
To date, we've been in four queues, and the medals so far go to:
Gold - China... say what you want about communism, they're doin' something right.
Silver - Britain... despite lots of flights arriving, got through immigration in 15 flat.
Broze - Tulla... sorry Melbourne, but you suck. Crying babies, crap staff, go home team!
Just on Britain for a second, we were a bit miffed to find the EU get their own special immigration skipping queue. This means that the loyal subjects of the Empire have to line up with plebs from anywhere (say, Bolivia), while the Germans (yes, those same Germans that BOMBED THE JOINT), get to ride express.
Steve was amused by the train ride, which was going to 'Cockfosters', and despite Vanessa's dirty glare, he was vindicated by the twelve year old, also named Steve, who giggled as well.
So at the moment we are sitting in the Contiki 'Lounge', trying to find the @ button on the keyboard (who would have thought it would be in a different place! Those crazy Brits...), completely knackered but recently showered so no longer stinky.
So pretty boring way to start our travel blog, but give us a break, we've been in the country for four hours, and haven't slept in thirty six.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Packing
Packing list:
1. Thermals
2. Coat
3. Jumpers
4. More thermals
NY forecast today: -6 degrees.
3 sleeps until departure!
1. Thermals
2. Coat
3. Jumpers
4. More thermals
NY forecast today: -6 degrees.
3 sleeps until departure!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
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