A birthday weekend in Morocco!

Out of work at midday, off to Heathrow and on to our plane to Marrakech in Morocco. Interesting events started when we got on the plane and there was a group of young English blokes on a boys week to Morocco. They had had a few bevvies prior to getting on the plane (as you do on a blokes trip) and they were quite chatty on the plane. I should point out that they look like they maybe of Moroccan decent. Anyhow, an American chap sitting opposite me was getting a bit agro about the noise and turned around and told them to shut up (a few times). In what I would describe as a typical response from young blokes, they told him to shut up and turn around. The American kept staring at them (turned around) and started complaining to the flight attendants that they were 'up to no good' and that he was going to have them arrested when we landed etc, and was telling me that if they started to take over the plane, we have to do something about it!!

To cut a long story short, he calmed down and started talking to me (I was trying not to make eye contact). I told him that they were just typical British guys. 'You think they are British??' he says?
'Yeah, they are and they are just being typical British guys' I tell him.
He says 'But do you really think they are British? They don't look British?'
'Mate they are British, I know they are because I saw their passports at check in! They are just behaving like young British guys - if you try and threaten them, they are definitely not going to cop that without telling you what they think'.
'So you think maybe they are more like hooligans or something?' (he starts to relax a bit)
'Yeah mate, something like that! You would probably get a better response by going and having a beer with them!!'
'Oh wow, I never really thought about it like that...'

So off the plane and in to our taxi and in to the old part of Marrakech. To get to our 'Riad' we had to duck and weave through some tiny little laneways. The room is beautiful and has a nice big bath that looks like its carved out of marble or something.

Melinda's birthday was the next day with shopping, getting lost, horse and cart ride around the town followed up with a luxury dinner complete with rose petals scattered on the table, a couple of bottles of wine and some soft live music by the pool!!

The next couple of days we spent cruising around town until all too soon it was time to go home. Fortunately the plane ride home was uneventful!!

Finally added some pics...

Finally added a couple of pics to my Nice and Monaco entry!! Click on the link below to check it out.

http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2006/11/french-riviera-nice-and-monaco.html

Snow in London!!

Woke up this morning, looked outside and there was about 2cm of snow covering everything!!!!

I have been slack with updating the blog but there hasn't been too much to report so far this year since New Years Eve. Just work and playing rugby on the weekends. Any how, we are about to depart the British Isles again for a few days in Morocco!!

Since its Melinda's birthday on Australia day - 26th Jan, and my (Adam's) birthday on 1st of Feb, we decided to go on a trip as our birthday presents. We are off to Marrakesh staying in the old part of town where apparently you need a guide to find your hotel as the streets are small and unnamed.

So stay tuned and there should be another entry and some pics next week!!

Happy New Year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Who knows where this years travels will take us? The only things planned are a trip home in April for a mate's wedding and talk of a boys mission to Austria for snowboarding - possibly in February.

I have a few other ideas for trips to Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Italy, Greece and the Balkans, Egypt, Morocco, Central Asia and Scandinavia. And thats just the begining!

I hope you have a fantastic 2007 wherever you are and whatever you are doing and that all your travels are good whether they are to the shop for a litre of milk, or the the ends of the earth.

Adam

White Christmas in the French Alps

We departed the flat at 4.30am with a heap of packs, presents, food, 4 sleepy people and a snowboard. With the fog creating chaos at Heathrow I was very pleased that we had decided long ago to go in the Wagen to France. We cruised through the early morning London fog and got to Dover with loads of time to spare.

Gabe, Melinda and Adam at Les Arcs

A ferry trip and about 10 hours driving time later we arrived at Sainte Foy, a small ski resort in the same area as more famous resorts such as Val D'Isere, Tignes and Les Arcs. We stayed in nice 4BR Chalet about 5 mins walk to the bottom of the lift. We also did a day at Val D'Isere and Tigne, about 30 mins drive away and another day we went for a drive up to the Italian border. Unfortunately the road to Italy was closed because the ski run goes on to the road!!

Gabe, Adam, Gary and Tim

It was a nice white Christmas and all too soon the week was over and it was time to go home. We stayed a night in Reims (the Champagne town) on the way back (Melinda and I stayed there earlier in the year with other friends on our WW1 battlefield tour trip)

The last day threw up some problems at us when as I was pulling in to a petrol station, a component in the accelerator linkages broke!!! So after managing to whip out some old schoolboy French, I got it towed to a local garage and fixed. However, this meant we had missed our ferry. Not to worry, the next ferry had spots available! However due to very rough weather, Dover (UK side) was temporarily closed and the ferry departed 3 hours late!!

We ended up getting home at 2am, when we should have been home by 7.30pm!! Despite the breakdown and missed ferry, it was still a great trip and a fun Christmas!!

Intense dealings in Monopoly in the Chalet