With the first weekend in May being a long one, we thought it was a good time to go up for a drive and have a look at Scotland. We left on the Thursday and headed up to York in the North of England. Its a nice little place and very popular with the tourists. As is usual Melinda and I pottered around and took off a bit later than we would have liked but we still got in to the hotel and had time for a walk around town. York was really more of a stop over for us so we went in to town the next morning and checked out York minster - a very large and impressive cathedral.
Then we took the coastal route up to Edinburgh where we met up with our friend Gary, who flew up from London. Edinburgh was also a short visit as we wanted to get out in the car and see some of the countryside. It might seem a bit rushed but after the last 3 and a half years of travelling around, we have started to like looking at the countryside just as much as the cities of Europe.
We headed up to Inverness which is right at the end of the famous Loch Ness. We also met up with a mate of mine from work who lives in Inverness on the weekends and went out for dinner with him. Next day we had an excellent drive along the 'quiet' side of Loch Ness (there is a main tourist route on one side and small roads on the other). The scenery was beautiful and we made our way across to the Isle of Skye. We did a bit of a drive around Skye but not before we had to go back and prove to Melinda that we had in fact driven over a bridge and we were on an Island! It seems she was looking in a book and missed the bridge! If you have been to the Isle of Skye via the bridge at the Kyle of Lochalsh, you'll know its hard to miss!
Anyhow we stayed at a tiny little village called Uig where the hotel was owned by South Africans and sure enough, 2 bloody Aussies working there!!! You cant escape Aussies, we seem to be everywhere... But having said that they were very friendly and we had a good night.
Next day we dropped Gary off at Glasgow to fly home (poor bugger had to work the next day) and went down to Keswick in the lake district. We stayed there for 2 nights and the weather was atrocious! They say that Keswick is the outdoor clothing capital of England and they aren't wrong. Everyone seemed to be decked out in Goretex jackets, gaiters, hiking boots and sporting multi strapped backpacks. Walking around in my jeans and thongs (flip flops) I didn't really look the part! We had a great time anyway and I wasn't really that pleased to be home and back to work!
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Oliver's first trip - to Denmark
Well at 3 months old, we figured it was high time that Ollie get his first flight under his belt. So with friends in Copenhagen we had been threatening to visit for quite a while now, we decided that would be the place to go! My mate said it best when he said that Denmark is at the forefront of baby technology...
And he wasnt wrong, it seems that half of Copenhagen has recently had a baby. And their favourite type of pram is the biggest one you can get! Big chrome wheels, suspension and big bed that looks quite comfy seems the standard. Also, I may have my standards of public trust skewed after a few years in London but people there leave their babies outside in the pram while they go in to the shop! We stopped at one bakery and there was a pram with a baby sitting there in the street!! What the?!! Then the mother came out, loaded the shopping and walked off!!!!
If you did that in London, people would either:
- clear the area thinking it is a bomb
- call social services and take away your baby for neglect
- or both of the above
So Ollies first 2 flights were pretty uneventful, I'm certain that his mum and dad were more nervous about it than he was!
And he wasnt wrong, it seems that half of Copenhagen has recently had a baby. And their favourite type of pram is the biggest one you can get! Big chrome wheels, suspension and big bed that looks quite comfy seems the standard. Also, I may have my standards of public trust skewed after a few years in London but people there leave their babies outside in the pram while they go in to the shop! We stopped at one bakery and there was a pram with a baby sitting there in the street!! What the?!! Then the mother came out, loaded the shopping and walked off!!!!
If you did that in London, people would either:
- clear the area thinking it is a bomb
- call social services and take away your baby for neglect
- or both of the above
So Ollies first 2 flights were pretty uneventful, I'm certain that his mum and dad were more nervous about it than he was!
Grandma and Grandpa meet Oliver
Ollie's Grandparents (my parents) came to the UK to visit their firstborn grandchild in mid Jan. They were pretty excited to see him even after 24 hours on a plane! It was a pretty quick visit though as they had to get back to Australia after a couple of weeks for work and other things.
Mum extended her stay by a few days and she was rewarded on the 2nd of Feb with 8 inches of snow when we woke up! It was pretty amazing, the most snow in 18 years they reckon. I woke up for work and the first thing I heard was 'district line closed due to snow'. Thats one of the trains I catch to work so I was pretty excited and called it a snow day!
The day was pretty bizzare, it seems that half of London didnt bother going to work and headed out to have snowball fights and make snowmen!
Mum extended her stay by a few days and she was rewarded on the 2nd of Feb with 8 inches of snow when we woke up! It was pretty amazing, the most snow in 18 years they reckon. I woke up for work and the first thing I heard was 'district line closed due to snow'. Thats one of the trains I catch to work so I was pretty excited and called it a snow day!
The day was pretty bizzare, it seems that half of London didnt bother going to work and headed out to have snowball fights and make snowmen!
Sunday, 28 December 2008
My mate sailing home from England
Just thought if you read this blog you might be interested in my mate who is sailing home from the UK to Australia. He tried out sailing last year, thought it was fun and so he bought a sail boat and took off with his fiance and is now in Antigua (in the Caribbean) after completing a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, arriving just in time for Christmas!
Check it out http://blog.mailasail.com/silksheets
Check it out http://blog.mailasail.com/silksheets
Oliver
Oliver arrived at 18.52 hrs on the 8th of December 2008. He weighed in at 8 pounds 2 Ounces (3.69 kg). He is now nearly 3 weeks old and all is going well with him and his mum!
Monday, 24 November 2008
Some more pics of Colombia...
http://adsandmel.blogspot.com/search/label/Colombia
Click on this link to see some pics I just updated from Colombia!
Click on this link to see some pics I just updated from Colombia!
Sunday, 23 November 2008
A new arrival imminent...
Well I haven't written much lately but that doesn't mean that we haven't been busy. The usual activities have been going on, rugby, going to work, staring at my map of Europe at work thinking of places to go, nights out with friends, Sunday drives in our recently acquired turbo diesel Golf and attending farewell parties.
Despite 2 couples of friends, a couple of Aussies from work and a Kiwi and an American from rugby going home, we are expecting a new person to arrive at any time in the next 4 weeks. We haven't met yet, however I expect that I'll fall instantly in love with them, buy their food, pay their share of the rent, buy them clothes, take an interest in everything they do and drive them around wherever they want to go. For the next couple of years I expect they'll want to be carried or pushed around in a buggy...
At this point in time, I'm not sure what they look like, what their interests are or whether they will be a late night party animal (they already have a shirt that says 'party, my crib, 3am'). In case you are wondering what sort of demanding backpacker we have arriving at our place, we are in fact expecting a baby!
With a due date of 7 December, the baby could arrive any day now. Perhaps the next update will be with 3 people on their 'travels' on this blog?
Despite 2 couples of friends, a couple of Aussies from work and a Kiwi and an American from rugby going home, we are expecting a new person to arrive at any time in the next 4 weeks. We haven't met yet, however I expect that I'll fall instantly in love with them, buy their food, pay their share of the rent, buy them clothes, take an interest in everything they do and drive them around wherever they want to go. For the next couple of years I expect they'll want to be carried or pushed around in a buggy...
At this point in time, I'm not sure what they look like, what their interests are or whether they will be a late night party animal (they already have a shirt that says 'party, my crib, 3am'). In case you are wondering what sort of demanding backpacker we have arriving at our place, we are in fact expecting a baby!
With a due date of 7 December, the baby could arrive any day now. Perhaps the next update will be with 3 people on their 'travels' on this blog?
Monday, 6 October 2008
Oktoberfest, the King of all beer festivals...
I just spent the weekend with Gabe, Liz and Gary in Munich in Germany where we went to the annual Oktoberfest. This is the place where you drink out of 1 litre Steins (massive glasses) and a huge number of locals and some tourists dress in lederhosen (leather shorts) or the traditional dress for women.
Gary and I made an early start when our flight via Zurich in Switzerland was delayed and we missed the connecting flight. With 2 vouchers for 10 Swiss Francs (enough for a pint and a half each) we hit the bar to sample some Swiss beer...for comparison purposes only of course. We made it to Munich where we met Gabe and Liz and headed in to the festival. There we bumped in to some old Uni mates was great fun and we got down to the task of sampling beer.
The next morning, after proving that people who say that German beer doesnt give you a hangover dont know what they are talking about, we saddled up again and went to the festival. The weather was foul and being late (11am) we couldnt get in to any tents. So we made do and drank outside. We met up with a couple of my rugby mates which was also great fun and next thing we knew it was about midnight and we were riding dodgem cars and it was time to go home.
With the hangover theory once again disproved, Gary, Liz and I headed in to town and Gabe had a rest. The main reason for Gabe's non attendance was because he had sustained a swollen head when he fell on it the night before. For reasons I dont think anyone can remember, we all started running after each other along a metal walkway. I felt someting clip my foot as I was running at full pace and I looked over my shoulder to see Gabe landing on his face on the ground! After a few seconds of concern Gary and I proceeded to laugh at Gabe hysterically and we kept on giggling all day!
Anyhow this time we went in to one of the tents called the Hippodrome. We sat with some Dutch guys and eventually some Germans and we sung songs and said cheers about 100 times. Soon the casualties started to fall with Gary sucumbing first, followed by Liz. I stayed on and chatted to my new Dutch and German friends. Eventually I too gave up and headed back to the hotel where I met Gabe and Liz for yet another beer (there is a trend here - my mother will not be impressed...) and a schnitzel. I cant wait for next year!!
Gary and I made an early start when our flight via Zurich in Switzerland was delayed and we missed the connecting flight. With 2 vouchers for 10 Swiss Francs (enough for a pint and a half each) we hit the bar to sample some Swiss beer...for comparison purposes only of course. We made it to Munich where we met Gabe and Liz and headed in to the festival. There we bumped in to some old Uni mates was great fun and we got down to the task of sampling beer.
The next morning, after proving that people who say that German beer doesnt give you a hangover dont know what they are talking about, we saddled up again and went to the festival. The weather was foul and being late (11am) we couldnt get in to any tents. So we made do and drank outside. We met up with a couple of my rugby mates which was also great fun and next thing we knew it was about midnight and we were riding dodgem cars and it was time to go home.
With the hangover theory once again disproved, Gary, Liz and I headed in to town and Gabe had a rest. The main reason for Gabe's non attendance was because he had sustained a swollen head when he fell on it the night before. For reasons I dont think anyone can remember, we all started running after each other along a metal walkway. I felt someting clip my foot as I was running at full pace and I looked over my shoulder to see Gabe landing on his face on the ground! After a few seconds of concern Gary and I proceeded to laugh at Gabe hysterically and we kept on giggling all day!
Anyhow this time we went in to one of the tents called the Hippodrome. We sat with some Dutch guys and eventually some Germans and we sung songs and said cheers about 100 times. Soon the casualties started to fall with Gary sucumbing first, followed by Liz. I stayed on and chatted to my new Dutch and German friends. Eventually I too gave up and headed back to the hotel where I met Gabe and Liz for yet another beer (there is a trend here - my mother will not be impressed...) and a schnitzel. I cant wait for next year!!
It's getting cold again...
Usually around twice a year I notice a distinct change in the weather. Its that time that you first realise that your clothing is going to change. In spring it means that I now think its fine to wear thongs (flip flops for the English) and shorts at all times when I go to the shops.
Well last Wednesday I noticed that its now cold. This coincided with the leaves falling off the trees and Londoners wearing coats, not just the tourists!
Well last Wednesday I noticed that its now cold. This coincided with the leaves falling off the trees and Londoners wearing coats, not just the tourists!
Matla 2008
We got a flight over to Malta from Cyprus with Emirates. This was the first time I've flown with Emirates and I can say that along with Singapore and Thai airlines, Emirates is one of the best. Good food, good seat and good service. Anyhow enough of the airline advertising!
We were met at the airport by our friend Emma who was amazed at the size of Melinda's belly.
To be continued...
We were met at the airport by our friend Emma who was amazed at the size of Melinda's belly.
To be continued...
Monday, 15 September 2008
Cyprus - Lounging around and wreck diving
We had about 5 days on Cyprus and as tempting as it was to sit under the umbrella on the sun bed for the whole time, we actually managed to do a couple of other things! When we arrived we got a hire car and by the time we got to our hotel in Agia Napa, it was time for dinner. We didnt last long as I had had a couple of days in a row of early starts and late finishes...
Anyhow we spent the next day on the beach and beside the pool. It turns out we were in an area very popular with Russians, mostly groups of 2 or 3 girls. It seems that the latest fashion for them is to wear g-string (thong) bikinis with bikini tops optional and mostly discouraged. There were a few Russian blokes about with small skin tight bathers on with some superb mullets. I almost felt a bit silly in my knee length board shorts! (almost...not quite)
The next day I arranged to do a dive on the wreck of the Zenobia, a Swedish ferry that sank off the coast of Larnaca. Check out http://www.buddydivers.com/Sites/Zenobia/Zenobia.html. I had to do a refresher dive as it had been about 3 years since my last dive so I did a shallow shore dive for about an hour where I fed some fish and even played with a little squid! The following day I did 2 dives down to 30m on the wreck and it was very cool. I swum around the propellers and looked in to semi trailers stacked up on their sides.
On our 2nd last day we went for a trip to Nicosia (Lefkosia to the locals) which is the capital of Cyprus. It was quite interesting for the fact that it is a divided city between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. We crossed in to Northern Cyprus which is currently occupied by Turkey (or a seperate country of Turkish North Cyprus if you ask them) via an opening in the buffer zone (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledra_Street). Its a strip of land about 50 - 100m wide through the city (about a block) which has been left empty as a no mans land between the two sides, patrolled by the UN. We only stayed long enough for a coke as I had to get back to Greek Cyprus and put more money in the parking meter!!!
The next day we packed up our gear and flew over to the second island in our holiday-Malta!!
Anyhow we spent the next day on the beach and beside the pool. It turns out we were in an area very popular with Russians, mostly groups of 2 or 3 girls. It seems that the latest fashion for them is to wear g-string (thong) bikinis with bikini tops optional and mostly discouraged. There were a few Russian blokes about with small skin tight bathers on with some superb mullets. I almost felt a bit silly in my knee length board shorts! (almost...not quite)
The next day I arranged to do a dive on the wreck of the Zenobia, a Swedish ferry that sank off the coast of Larnaca. Check out http://www.buddydivers.com/Sites/Zenobia/Zenobia.html. I had to do a refresher dive as it had been about 3 years since my last dive so I did a shallow shore dive for about an hour where I fed some fish and even played with a little squid! The following day I did 2 dives down to 30m on the wreck and it was very cool. I swum around the propellers and looked in to semi trailers stacked up on their sides.
On our 2nd last day we went for a trip to Nicosia (Lefkosia to the locals) which is the capital of Cyprus. It was quite interesting for the fact that it is a divided city between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. We crossed in to Northern Cyprus which is currently occupied by Turkey (or a seperate country of Turkish North Cyprus if you ask them) via an opening in the buffer zone (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledra_Street). Its a strip of land about 50 - 100m wide through the city (about a block) which has been left empty as a no mans land between the two sides, patrolled by the UN. We only stayed long enough for a coke as I had to get back to Greek Cyprus and put more money in the parking meter!!!
The next day we packed up our gear and flew over to the second island in our holiday-Malta!!
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