A few days around Scotland with Marisa and Ben:
http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/06/brau-bricht-moonlicht-nicht-nicht.html
Monday, 25 August 2008
A quiet few weeks but about to go off again!
Since we went to the polo we haven't been up to much out of the ordinary. Work, pre-season rugby training and just going out with friends in London.
But this week, we are heading somewhere new again - Cyprus! I have map of Europe at my desk at work with the countries coloured in where we have been. So using that I try to figure out new trips to do. We have been to pretty well every country in Western Europe so now to look for new places we have to start heading to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, Russia and North Africa.
I have an idea for a road trip for next year (who knows if it will happen) but it basically involves a trip across Scandinavia, down the Baltic states, through eastern Europe in to the top of the Balkans (old Yugoslavia) - touch the water - and then drive home. Lets see if I can make that happen for about this time next year. not much point going in winter as we might turn in to icicles!
So anyhow, this Friday we are going to Cyprus for 5 days and then jetting over to Malta for 5 days. We are meeting up with our friends again who we went with last year Bryce and Emma. They have a website set up now and I feature on the front page! (I'm the one on the right jumping out of the water). If you want to check it out see: http://www.maltasunfest.com/
Next post hopefully we'll have some tales to tell of Cyprus and Malta!
But this week, we are heading somewhere new again - Cyprus! I have map of Europe at my desk at work with the countries coloured in where we have been. So using that I try to figure out new trips to do. We have been to pretty well every country in Western Europe so now to look for new places we have to start heading to Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, Russia and North Africa.
I have an idea for a road trip for next year (who knows if it will happen) but it basically involves a trip across Scandinavia, down the Baltic states, through eastern Europe in to the top of the Balkans (old Yugoslavia) - touch the water - and then drive home. Lets see if I can make that happen for about this time next year. not much point going in winter as we might turn in to icicles!
So anyhow, this Friday we are going to Cyprus for 5 days and then jetting over to Malta for 5 days. We are meeting up with our friends again who we went with last year Bryce and Emma. They have a website set up now and I feature on the front page! (I'm the one on the right jumping out of the water). If you want to check it out see: http://www.maltasunfest.com/
Next post hopefully we'll have some tales to tell of Cyprus and Malta!
Monday, 28 July 2008
Polo lessons followed by the Cartier International Polo
One has had a most lovely weekend on the weekend just gone. One (Adam) had a polo lesson on Saturday with a few friends down near Brighton followed by a swim at the beach. This was then followed by a spiffing day out at the Cartier International Polo match held at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor Park. Unfortunately 'One' (the Queen) was away in Scotland however Prince Charles was in attendance and we watched 2 polo matches. In the first match the Prince of Wales team played against Hurlingham. In a blow to Charlie, his team lost the match.
The premier event of the day was England Versus Australia consisting of 6 chukkas (6 x 7min period). In what turned out to be a close and very hotly contested affair, England squeezed out Australia 10 - 9. On field entertainment was provided by 3 blokes who decided to streak accross the field near the end of the match. A spokeswoman for the club said "I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen." (check out the BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527930.stm)
The premier event of the day was England Versus Australia consisting of 6 chukkas (6 x 7min period). In what turned out to be a close and very hotly contested affair, England squeezed out Australia 10 - 9. On field entertainment was provided by 3 blokes who decided to streak accross the field near the end of the match. A spokeswoman for the club said "I think it is the hot weather and the Pimms to blame. These things happen." (check out the BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7527930.stm)
A beer festival that ran out of beer!!!!
I went with a few mates on the train to Canterbury complete with tents and sleeping bags ready for an informative and educational experience at the Kent Beer festival. It was all going well until they ran out of beer at 5pm on Saturday!!!
Being adaptable worldly sort of blokes we adjusted our plans and hit Canterbury instead. Having hamburgers from a food caravan in the street at 3am we decided that we had not wasted our trip to the lovely city of Canterbury...
Being adaptable worldly sort of blokes we adjusted our plans and hit Canterbury instead. Having hamburgers from a food caravan in the street at 3am we decided that we had not wasted our trip to the lovely city of Canterbury...
Bordeaux Fete le Vin
That's French for Bordeaux wine festival!
I spent the weekend in Bordeaux visiting a few wineries, drinking copious amounts of wine and eating a little bit of duck too...
I spent the weekend in Bordeaux visiting a few wineries, drinking copious amounts of wine and eating a little bit of duck too...
Twenty20 Cricket at Lords
A sunny Wednesday evening at Lords Cricket Ground to watch Middlesex V Sussex in Twenty20 cricket was just the ticket!
I went with a few friends to watch some county cricket. Since we live in Middlesex I thought it was appropriate that I barrack for them. A few tinnies and a packet of chips (crisps to the English) made for a civilized evening during which Middlesex thoroughly beat Sussex! Jolly good show...
I went with a few friends to watch some county cricket. Since we live in Middlesex I thought it was appropriate that I barrack for them. A few tinnies and a packet of chips (crisps to the English) made for a civilized evening during which Middlesex thoroughly beat Sussex! Jolly good show...
Monday, 16 June 2008
Man Versus Horse marathon
We just spent the weekend in Wales with some friends watching a marathon (well almost - it was 22 miles instead of 26) where people raced against horses!
More to follow...
More to follow...
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Foo Fighters and Spamalot
Last weekend Melinda and I went in to central London to see if we could get some cheap tickets and see a West End show. We ended up getting some front row balcony seats to Spamalot, a musical based on the Monty Python movies - in particular The Holy Grail. Its main character is played by Alan Dale - that bloke that played Jim in Neighbors and also plays the big boss in Ugly Betty (yes that show with Salma Hayek in it). It was pretty funny and prompted me to keep telling Melinda for the rest of the day that 'I fart in your general direction!' (You'll get that if you've seen the movie!)
While were in town, a mate called and said that he'd just split with his girlfriend and as such had a spare ticket to Foo Fighters who were playing at Wembley that night! So I took Melinda home and turned around to head to Wembley. Now I presumed that my mate had seated tickets as it was a sold out concert and he didn't mention otherwise. So I just wore some jeans and a good t-shirt. Had I of known that he had general admission tickets, I would have taken only keys, cash and maybe one debit card, sealed them in a pocket of some shorts and worn an old t-shirt!
Anyhow, we didn't get too close to the front (you should have seen the sweat drenched people coming out of the front rows!) and it was a great concert. I didn't realise just how many Foo Fighters songs I like! Then for an encore, 2 blokes from Led Zeppelin came out and played a couple of songs with Dave Grohl (lead singer) and the drummer! Score!!!!!!!
While were in town, a mate called and said that he'd just split with his girlfriend and as such had a spare ticket to Foo Fighters who were playing at Wembley that night! So I took Melinda home and turned around to head to Wembley. Now I presumed that my mate had seated tickets as it was a sold out concert and he didn't mention otherwise. So I just wore some jeans and a good t-shirt. Had I of known that he had general admission tickets, I would have taken only keys, cash and maybe one debit card, sealed them in a pocket of some shorts and worn an old t-shirt!
Anyhow, we didn't get too close to the front (you should have seen the sweat drenched people coming out of the front rows!) and it was a great concert. I didn't realise just how many Foo Fighters songs I like! Then for an encore, 2 blokes from Led Zeppelin came out and played a couple of songs with Dave Grohl (lead singer) and the drummer! Score!!!!!!!
Monday, 2 June 2008
A Brau bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht!
I joined Marisa and Ben in Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days cruising around. We went from Edinburgh to Inverness, John O'Groats, Tongue, the Isle of Skye, Fort William and a detour to some hill otherwise known as Hadrians wall.
Marisa and Ben left a couple of days before me so I went up on the train to Edinburgh to meet them. On the way up I got a great view of the East of England and I think its a shame I havent been here before as some of the country side is quite beautiful. I met Marisa and Ben and also our Uncle Adrian who was in town for a couple of days.
The next day we headed up to Inverness. We went to Loch Ness and whilst we didnt see Nessy herself, a bus load of backpackers turned up as we did. They provided the entertainment as about 4 blokes and 1 girl went swimming!! The water was very cold and I'm glad it was them and not me!!
We had an interesting night in Inverness where a local woman declared 'I like girls' while grinning at Marisa and patting my head (what the??). We moved pubs and got talking to some local lads and playing pool. Marisa and Ben got an insight in to UK football culture when a brawl of about 5 blokes kicked off seemingly out of nowhere between supporters of Celtic and Rangers. I had gone to the toilet and when I came back out the pub was virtually empty with a few people looking out the window. The brawl was moving up and down the street so we waited until it went the other way and we went out the door to head in the opposite direction! So from there we toned it down a bit with some Itallian food instead!
Next day we headed further North to a town called Tain - where my great grandparents emigrated from to Australia in the late 1800's. We called in at the local Glen Morangie distillery but unfortunately they were booked out! So I bought some whiskey anyhow to conduct my own 'tour' later... From there we went to John O'Groats on the north tip of Scotland (the actuall most northern point is a few miles away - we went there too) before going around to Tongue on the North Coast.
Next day we set off to the Isle of Sky - where ancestors on our mother's side came from many generations ago. I wondered if I would feel like I had arrived home when we got to Skye..........hmmm.........no....nothing. Its a nice place though but I may as well have been on Mars for familiarity!
On the way back we stayed in Fort William and then drove alongside Loch Lamond before making a loooong journey home!
Marisa and Ben left a couple of days before me so I went up on the train to Edinburgh to meet them. On the way up I got a great view of the East of England and I think its a shame I havent been here before as some of the country side is quite beautiful. I met Marisa and Ben and also our Uncle Adrian who was in town for a couple of days.
The next day we headed up to Inverness. We went to Loch Ness and whilst we didnt see Nessy herself, a bus load of backpackers turned up as we did. They provided the entertainment as about 4 blokes and 1 girl went swimming!! The water was very cold and I'm glad it was them and not me!!
We had an interesting night in Inverness where a local woman declared 'I like girls' while grinning at Marisa and patting my head (what the??). We moved pubs and got talking to some local lads and playing pool. Marisa and Ben got an insight in to UK football culture when a brawl of about 5 blokes kicked off seemingly out of nowhere between supporters of Celtic and Rangers. I had gone to the toilet and when I came back out the pub was virtually empty with a few people looking out the window. The brawl was moving up and down the street so we waited until it went the other way and we went out the door to head in the opposite direction! So from there we toned it down a bit with some Itallian food instead!
Next day we headed further North to a town called Tain - where my great grandparents emigrated from to Australia in the late 1800's. We called in at the local Glen Morangie distillery but unfortunately they were booked out! So I bought some whiskey anyhow to conduct my own 'tour' later... From there we went to John O'Groats on the north tip of Scotland (the actuall most northern point is a few miles away - we went there too) before going around to Tongue on the North Coast.
Next day we set off to the Isle of Sky - where ancestors on our mother's side came from many generations ago. I wondered if I would feel like I had arrived home when we got to Skye..........hmmm.........no....nothing. Its a nice place though but I may as well have been on Mars for familiarity!
On the way back we stayed in Fort William and then drove alongside Loch Lamond before making a loooong journey home!
Friday, 16 May 2008
'The Church' sevens, the Redback and 'The Church'
If you've never been in London as a backpacker, you may not have heard of the weekly Sunday session that is 'The Church' (http://www.thechurch.co.uk/). It started many years ago as a group of Aussies and Kiwis who met up for a Sunday session each week and despite several venue changes over the years, it's still going strong.
For the last 2 years The Church has sponsored a rugby sevens tournament as a way of raising funds for a charity. Seven's rugby is basically the same as normal 15 a side rugby Union, except there are only 7 players per team and two 7 minute halves. This makes high scoring games as well as you can play a whole round robin tournament and have a final in one day.
So a few of us that play Rugby together plus a few other blokes made a team called the 'Fulham Phantoms'. We didnt win our division but we did have good fun and we ended up at another infamous 'antipodean' pub called the Redback.
The next day we had free tickets to the church but out of all of us who were there on the Saturday, only 4 of us made it to the Church!!! There were some casualties after a hard day out on the Saturday. So now I've been to the church, I can tick that one off the list. It was fun but I'm not sure that I'll make it a regular thing as it was very tempting to kick on afterwards (it finishes at 3pm) which would make Monday rather painful!
For the last 2 years The Church has sponsored a rugby sevens tournament as a way of raising funds for a charity. Seven's rugby is basically the same as normal 15 a side rugby Union, except there are only 7 players per team and two 7 minute halves. This makes high scoring games as well as you can play a whole round robin tournament and have a final in one day.
So a few of us that play Rugby together plus a few other blokes made a team called the 'Fulham Phantoms'. We didnt win our division but we did have good fun and we ended up at another infamous 'antipodean' pub called the Redback.
The next day we had free tickets to the church but out of all of us who were there on the Saturday, only 4 of us made it to the Church!!! There were some casualties after a hard day out on the Saturday. So now I've been to the church, I can tick that one off the list. It was fun but I'm not sure that I'll make it a regular thing as it was very tempting to kick on afterwards (it finishes at 3pm) which would make Monday rather painful!
Marisa, Ben and the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith!
My sister Marisa and her husband Ben arrived in London on the first weekend of May, to begin their honeymoon. They arrived at 5.25am at Heathrow and unfortunately their plane wasn't late! I met them at the airport and took them back to our flat.
We went for a trip in to central London to keep them occupied (and hopefully awake) for the day. We walked past a heap of sights like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St James's Park etc before calling in for a pub lunch and their first beer - London Pride. They started to get tired so we headed back to the flat. Ben said he was still keen to do something so I suggested we drop Marisa at home and the he and I go to one of the oldest pubs in London (The Dove in Hammersmith). Marisa then piped up and said 'oohhhh, but I wanna go to the oldest pub in London too!!'.
I warned them this place seems to have a magical effect on time, where by you think you are going there for a couple of beers but next thing you know its 5 hours and 6 or 8 beers later! Well it lived up to its reputation and we decided that it should be called the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith - where time disappears!
We went for a trip in to central London to keep them occupied (and hopefully awake) for the day. We walked past a heap of sights like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St James's Park etc before calling in for a pub lunch and their first beer - London Pride. They started to get tired so we headed back to the flat. Ben said he was still keen to do something so I suggested we drop Marisa at home and the he and I go to one of the oldest pubs in London (The Dove in Hammersmith). Marisa then piped up and said 'oohhhh, but I wanna go to the oldest pub in London too!!'.
I warned them this place seems to have a magical effect on time, where by you think you are going there for a couple of beers but next thing you know its 5 hours and 6 or 8 beers later! Well it lived up to its reputation and we decided that it should be called the Bermuda Triangle of Hammersmith - where time disappears!
Anzac day at Villers-Bretonneux, The Somme, France
I went to France for a 4 day weekend with some friends to spend Anzac day at the small village of Villers-Bretonneux in the Somme region of Northern France.
Melinda was due to come with us but unfortunately she was sick and couldn't make it. So I met up with Gabe, Liz, Dom and Nat at St Pancras and zapped over to Lille in France at 300km/h! We hired a car and went to a small town called Arras where we found our hotel. After a feed we went for a drive to the Beaumont-Hamel memorial to Newfoundlanders. There is a big monument there as well as a couple of cemeteries (there are many of them in this part of France). The trenches weren't filled in at the end of the war and you can still see them today, grown over with grass but still there . In the middle of no mans land you can see craters everywhere which I assume was from artillery.
From there we went to Thiepval, a memorial to over 72,000 missing British soldiers 'to whom the fortunes of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death'. From there we made a stop at the New Zealand national memorial which is quite small and isolated.
The next morning we were up at 3am and in the car to drive to Villers-Bretonneux, to the Australian National memorial. We parked about 1km away and walked up the hill and found a spot to watch. There were heaps of media there and most of the crowd looked like they had flown over from Australia as opposed to the Wallabies jersey wearing, flag draped dickheads you see at Gallipoli now as if we were celebrating some annual footy match, not remembering the dead. So from that point of view, it was a pretty good crowd.
The service was good and soon enough we all sauntered over to some little tents where the locals (yes the French!) put on tea, coffee and croissants. I had hoped for some rum to go with the coffee (gunfire breakfast!) but it was still good. We went in to the town to wait around for the march. By 9am we ended up outside a little bar which was doing a roaring trade and a big circle of Australian Army rugby team guys were there playing two up. So as not to be rude, we all got a beer and I resisted two-up! The march went and so we drove back to Arras.
After a snack we decided it was time for another beer. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and it so happened that the Aussie Army rugby team was staying in Arras too! They were a top bunch of blokes and soon enough the night turned in to a blur and next thing I know, I woke up fully dressed, with my shoes still on laying face down on the bed in my hotel room!
The next day we went off to Ypres where we spent the night as well as looking at some battlefields including Tyne Cot cemetery where a large number of Australians are buried. Ypres is a nice little town with big medieval walls. Needless to say, we had a bit of a low key evening!!
Melinda was due to come with us but unfortunately she was sick and couldn't make it. So I met up with Gabe, Liz, Dom and Nat at St Pancras and zapped over to Lille in France at 300km/h! We hired a car and went to a small town called Arras where we found our hotel. After a feed we went for a drive to the Beaumont-Hamel memorial to Newfoundlanders. There is a big monument there as well as a couple of cemeteries (there are many of them in this part of France). The trenches weren't filled in at the end of the war and you can still see them today, grown over with grass but still there . In the middle of no mans land you can see craters everywhere which I assume was from artillery.
From there we went to Thiepval, a memorial to over 72,000 missing British soldiers 'to whom the fortunes of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death'. From there we made a stop at the New Zealand national memorial which is quite small and isolated.
The next morning we were up at 3am and in the car to drive to Villers-Bretonneux, to the Australian National memorial. We parked about 1km away and walked up the hill and found a spot to watch. There were heaps of media there and most of the crowd looked like they had flown over from Australia as opposed to the Wallabies jersey wearing, flag draped dickheads you see at Gallipoli now as if we were celebrating some annual footy match, not remembering the dead. So from that point of view, it was a pretty good crowd.
The service was good and soon enough we all sauntered over to some little tents where the locals (yes the French!) put on tea, coffee and croissants. I had hoped for some rum to go with the coffee (gunfire breakfast!) but it was still good. We went in to the town to wait around for the march. By 9am we ended up outside a little bar which was doing a roaring trade and a big circle of Australian Army rugby team guys were there playing two up. So as not to be rude, we all got a beer and I resisted two-up! The march went and so we drove back to Arras.
After a snack we decided it was time for another beer. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and it so happened that the Aussie Army rugby team was staying in Arras too! They were a top bunch of blokes and soon enough the night turned in to a blur and next thing I know, I woke up fully dressed, with my shoes still on laying face down on the bed in my hotel room!
The next day we went off to Ypres where we spent the night as well as looking at some battlefields including Tyne Cot cemetery where a large number of Australians are buried. Ypres is a nice little town with big medieval walls. Needless to say, we had a bit of a low key evening!!
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Some bastard stole my coffee
I was at Wimbledon station this morning with some time to spare till the next train so I bought a coffee. I was standing there reading the paper with the coffee resting up on a snack machine. I looked over my left shoulder and saw some school girl smirking, I looked back over my right shoulder and the bloody coffee was gone!!! Some dirty piece of shit has stolen my coffee!! I looked around everywhere and I could not see either a cleaner (thinking perhaps they had cleaned it up) or someone with it in their hand. I asked a woman who was standing beside me if she saw someone take my coffee but she didn’t speak English.
So just as I was reading about some English ‘man’ who was a woman but felt she was a gay man inside a woman’s body (and hence had her boobs removed and is getting a penis made from her arm skin), some arsehole steals my coffee.
No – I didn’t just make this up!!
I love England and especially the people...
So just as I was reading about some English ‘man’ who was a woman but felt she was a gay man inside a woman’s body (and hence had her boobs removed and is getting a penis made from her arm skin), some arsehole steals my coffee.
No – I didn’t just make this up!!
I love England and especially the people...
Friday, 18 April 2008
Some more photos below...
I've added some pictures to the entries below from our honeymoon. Just click on the links below to check them out!
Costa Rica: http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/01/honeymoon-luxury-portion.html
Ecuador: http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/02/straddling-centre-of-earth-and-volcano.html
Costa Rica: http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/01/honeymoon-luxury-portion.html
Ecuador: http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/2008/02/straddling-centre-of-earth-and-volcano.html
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Honeymoon story complete!
I've finally written the last 3 entries for our honeymoon (Cartagena, Venezuela and New York) if you would like to have a read. Sorry about the lack of photos but I'll get around to it sooner or later!!
I hope you like reading our blog and if you'd like to say where you want us to go on holiday next, vote on the survey above!!
I hope you like reading our blog and if you'd like to say where you want us to go on holiday next, vote on the survey above!!
Monday, 14 April 2008
Just like reality TV...
Its your turn to vote!!! It wont cost you anything, you won't win a prize and you won't get on TV but you can still (maybe) influence someone else's life! The voting thingo at the top of this column is not some crap advertising thing so I can make 5 cents for every 200,000 hits, its a feature on this blogger website. I can make a poll and ask whatever I like so I thought I'd see where our legion of fans (mum, Rusty and Joker when he remembers that I have a blog) want us to go next.
Don't worry it wont ask for any details or have a popup telling you that you just won a free laptop or ipod!! So just cast your vote and perhaps you'll see us go there!!
Also, if there is somewhere not on the list you'd like us to go (hopefully not to hell!! Ha ha), then just put a comment on this message!
In other news, we are heading over to France next weekend for Anzac day with a few friends. So hopefully there will be some more things to write about then!
Don't worry it wont ask for any details or have a popup telling you that you just won a free laptop or ipod!! So just cast your vote and perhaps you'll see us go there!!
Also, if there is somewhere not on the list you'd like us to go (hopefully not to hell!! Ha ha), then just put a comment on this message!
In other news, we are heading over to France next weekend for Anzac day with a few friends. So hopefully there will be some more things to write about then!
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Some new posts below...
I've just updated a couple of the posts below with some more details of our adventures in South America!!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Another Rugby tour - this time to Hamburg
I (Adam) just spent last weekend (Easter) with 39 other blokes on and end of season Rugby 'Tour' to Hamburg. The tour theme this year was 'Olympics' which might seem like a pretty tame theme. However as usual the blokes at my club used this as an excuse to dress as women or in tight Lycra - or both, when we arrived at the airport.
I used Cathy Freeman and her all in one (including hood) running suit from the 200 Olympics in Sydney as my inspiration. So with bike shorts and rash vest (skin tight Lycra top) and some numbers pinned to me I went off to Heathrow. There were blokes dressed as female Chinese women swimmers (in one piece bathers complete with puff up muscles underneath!), the British swim team were there in Speedos and swim caps and a few other disturbing costumes!
We played a game against the locals which we won, ate a lot of pork (they are pretty keen on it in Germany), had a couple of beers and a few laughs. A fun weekend away.
I used Cathy Freeman and her all in one (including hood) running suit from the 200 Olympics in Sydney as my inspiration. So with bike shorts and rash vest (skin tight Lycra top) and some numbers pinned to me I went off to Heathrow. There were blokes dressed as female Chinese women swimmers (in one piece bathers complete with puff up muscles underneath!), the British swim team were there in Speedos and swim caps and a few other disturbing costumes!
We played a game against the locals which we won, ate a lot of pork (they are pretty keen on it in Germany), had a couple of beers and a few laughs. A fun weekend away.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
On to the U.S. and A. to a small town called New York
Finally we were heading somewhere where the locals would be able to understand me when I spoke...or so I thought.
We arrived at about 12.20am after an uneventful flight to New York via San Jose (Costa Rica). After being stamped in by possibly the most disinterested customs agent I have ever met, we got a taxi and headed to our hotel. The bit I was least looking forward to was tipping but I had read up on the net about the tipping etiquette and was ready. I tipped the taxi driver and he sprung out of the car and helped us with our bags with a big grin so I guess I got it right?
Over the next few days we saw quite a few sights around New York including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the world trade centre site, empire state building and even watched 'Chicago' on Broadway on my birthday. The whole are of Manhattan seems very nice and pretty clean and the subways work well too.
The main language in New York is English. I too also believe that I can speak English. However there seemed to be a large number of people in shops and restaurants who seemed to have quite a lot of difficulty in figuring out what I was saying!! I know that there are varying degrees of the Australian accent and I probably have a reasonably strong accent, however I pride myself on usually being able to speak clearly enough so that people can understand me. Sometimes I felt that I should try speaking in Spanish as I might have been able to be understood better!!
Overall though, we had a great time in New York and would recommend it for a look. Soon enough it was time to head back out to the airport and for an overnight flight back to London and back to the flat. So after 5 and 1/2 weeks, 5 countries, about 37 empanadas, 24 Banana daiquiris, 12 Long Island Ice teas and just a couple of beers, our honeymoon was over.
We arrived at about 12.20am after an uneventful flight to New York via San Jose (Costa Rica). After being stamped in by possibly the most disinterested customs agent I have ever met, we got a taxi and headed to our hotel. The bit I was least looking forward to was tipping but I had read up on the net about the tipping etiquette and was ready. I tipped the taxi driver and he sprung out of the car and helped us with our bags with a big grin so I guess I got it right?
Over the next few days we saw quite a few sights around New York including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the world trade centre site, empire state building and even watched 'Chicago' on Broadway on my birthday. The whole are of Manhattan seems very nice and pretty clean and the subways work well too.
The main language in New York is English. I too also believe that I can speak English. However there seemed to be a large number of people in shops and restaurants who seemed to have quite a lot of difficulty in figuring out what I was saying!! I know that there are varying degrees of the Australian accent and I probably have a reasonably strong accent, however I pride myself on usually being able to speak clearly enough so that people can understand me. Sometimes I felt that I should try speaking in Spanish as I might have been able to be understood better!!
Overall though, we had a great time in New York and would recommend it for a look. Soon enough it was time to head back out to the airport and for an overnight flight back to London and back to the flat. So after 5 and 1/2 weeks, 5 countries, about 37 empanadas, 24 Banana daiquiris, 12 Long Island Ice teas and just a couple of beers, our honeymoon was over.
In to Venezuela and the beach of Adicora
We took a bus from Cartagena (Colombia) to Maracaibo (Venezuela). The bus was another luxury style bus and this time an international bus! It was going all the way to the capital (Caracas) but we wanted to spend a couple of days on the coast before getting to Caracas which we had heard nothing good about!
The border crossing was quite tense due to everyone's bad stories and the fact that some other friends had told us that they nearly got left at this border crossing a year earlier, except for the fact that one of them spoke fluent Spanish! With my Spanish best described as a combination of 2 word sentences and charades, I felt a little nervous. We followed people from our bus to the Colombian border post where we got stamped out. We then walked the 150m or so across 'no man's land' to the Venezuelan border post. As everyone lined up there was 2 girls there filling out everyone's forms for them and then giving them a small tip. So we handed over our passports and they filled out our forms. My occupation was a squiggle and Melinda's something similar! So I guess that was good as we could just make it up?!
We were 25m in Venezuela with no problems and waiting around with our driver and fellow passengers while the bus in front of us had all their luggage searched. The sun was setting and the driver went over to talk to one of the Venezuelan police men. The driver came back and shooed everyone on the bus. It seems we had come to some 'agreement' of 5 Bolivars per passenger (about US$1.25 at the black market rate/ $2.50 at the official rate) and our delays would 'disappear'. So we were off again towards Maracaibo, our destination.
As we came in to Maracaibo, the drivers asked me where I wanted to get off. I told them I wanted to go to the bus terminal. 'No this bus doesn't go to the terminal' they told me. OK, take me to the town centre. No, we don't go there either. Then they suggested 'Plaza de Toros?' What the bloody hell would I want to go there for I wondered as I madly looked at my guidebook map. Next thing, he has stopped the bus and his assistant has got off to get our bags. We jumped off the bus to keep an eye on our bags. He got them off as I kept on asking (in Spanish) 'where is a taxi???' over and over. In this part of the world, not all taxis are yellow with big signs on them and some of them are dodgy people who like to take you for a ride via several ATM's (cash machines) while you empty your account for them. The cheeky bastard looked around and then ran and jumped on the bus as it took off.
Shit.
My first words to Melinda was 'try not to look nervous', followed by 'welcome to Venezuela' and some other choice adjectives about the bus driver, his assistant, their ancestry and my hopes for their near future. In fairness, there was lots of young, professional looking people around who also looked like they were waiting for taxis. I finally managed to see the tiny 'taxi' sticker on an old bashed up car. We got in and I told the guy where we wanted to go. It turns out he knew the hotel and was very friendly and gave us his phone number in case we needed any help (or another taxi ride). We got to the hotel and after a long discussion in Spanish and a few kilometres walking around the area looking for an ATM I finally came to an arrangement of how to pay for the hotel up front. (Everywhere else in South America so far let us pay when we left).
The next day we left Maracaibo ASAP and headed for Coro. As it was Melinda's birthday the next day we splurged on a nicer hotel and hung out in town. On Melinda's birthday, we caught a collectivo/taxi out to a famous windsurfing town on the Caribbean coast called Adicora. So after a day and night on the beach, it was time to start our long journey to Caracas and on to the plane to New York.
I wont bore you with the details but in summary:
- An overnight bus to Caracas
- My belly decided it was time to get sick for the first time on the whole trip at about 3am (on the bus)
- 3 hours waiting for dawn in the bus terminal (bus was 3 hours early!!!!)
- 10 hours waiting in the airport terminal
The border crossing was quite tense due to everyone's bad stories and the fact that some other friends had told us that they nearly got left at this border crossing a year earlier, except for the fact that one of them spoke fluent Spanish! With my Spanish best described as a combination of 2 word sentences and charades, I felt a little nervous. We followed people from our bus to the Colombian border post where we got stamped out. We then walked the 150m or so across 'no man's land' to the Venezuelan border post. As everyone lined up there was 2 girls there filling out everyone's forms for them and then giving them a small tip. So we handed over our passports and they filled out our forms. My occupation was a squiggle and Melinda's something similar! So I guess that was good as we could just make it up?!
We were 25m in Venezuela with no problems and waiting around with our driver and fellow passengers while the bus in front of us had all their luggage searched. The sun was setting and the driver went over to talk to one of the Venezuelan police men. The driver came back and shooed everyone on the bus. It seems we had come to some 'agreement' of 5 Bolivars per passenger (about US$1.25 at the black market rate/ $2.50 at the official rate) and our delays would 'disappear'. So we were off again towards Maracaibo, our destination.
As we came in to Maracaibo, the drivers asked me where I wanted to get off. I told them I wanted to go to the bus terminal. 'No this bus doesn't go to the terminal' they told me. OK, take me to the town centre. No, we don't go there either. Then they suggested 'Plaza de Toros?' What the bloody hell would I want to go there for I wondered as I madly looked at my guidebook map. Next thing, he has stopped the bus and his assistant has got off to get our bags. We jumped off the bus to keep an eye on our bags. He got them off as I kept on asking (in Spanish) 'where is a taxi???' over and over. In this part of the world, not all taxis are yellow with big signs on them and some of them are dodgy people who like to take you for a ride via several ATM's (cash machines) while you empty your account for them. The cheeky bastard looked around and then ran and jumped on the bus as it took off.
Shit.
My first words to Melinda was 'try not to look nervous', followed by 'welcome to Venezuela' and some other choice adjectives about the bus driver, his assistant, their ancestry and my hopes for their near future. In fairness, there was lots of young, professional looking people around who also looked like they were waiting for taxis. I finally managed to see the tiny 'taxi' sticker on an old bashed up car. We got in and I told the guy where we wanted to go. It turns out he knew the hotel and was very friendly and gave us his phone number in case we needed any help (or another taxi ride). We got to the hotel and after a long discussion in Spanish and a few kilometres walking around the area looking for an ATM I finally came to an arrangement of how to pay for the hotel up front. (Everywhere else in South America so far let us pay when we left).
The next day we left Maracaibo ASAP and headed for Coro. As it was Melinda's birthday the next day we splurged on a nicer hotel and hung out in town. On Melinda's birthday, we caught a collectivo/taxi out to a famous windsurfing town on the Caribbean coast called Adicora. So after a day and night on the beach, it was time to start our long journey to Caracas and on to the plane to New York.
I wont bore you with the details but in summary:
- An overnight bus to Caracas
- My belly decided it was time to get sick for the first time on the whole trip at about 3am (on the bus)
- 3 hours waiting for dawn in the bus terminal (bus was 3 hours early!!!!)
- 10 hours waiting in the airport terminal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
