Well I was awake at 1am for the second night in a row (after watching England scrape a win over Ecuador) to watch Australia take on Italy in the World Cup for a place in the quarter finals.I've watched all but one of Australia's games and I think they have proved themselves to be way above their 42nd place world ranking and easily matched Italy for 93 minutes of the game. Being an England fan, I know all about going out of the World Cup due to penalties but to go out in the last second of a very even and well played game to a penalty that was no where near a penalty is the cruelest part of this sport.The Aussies can take real pride in their performances, they have played with far more cohesiveness and stability than England have but they suffered without Harry Kewell to add some bite to their attack against Italy.So England are to take on Portugal for a semi-final spot but even with half of the Portugese team on yellow cards and some of their players either injured or suspended it will take much more of an effort by England to get through this one. As has been much debated in the press and probably every household in England, the team are getting results but just not performing anywhere near their potential. Sven's formation and tactics are also questionable and I don't think playing Rooney alone up front is the right way to ignite their attack.It seems he needs to try something new, like Lennon and A Cole as wingbacks with three quality central defenders in Carragher, Terry and Ferdinand there should be no need for a defensive midfielder. Beckham would be better playing in a more central position to allow Lampard and Gerrard to play further forward. Take a risk and put either Walcott or Crouch up front with Rooney. Anyway, that's my 2p worth.
Or is it? I've really enjoyed contributing to this blog during our trip overseas and I hope you've enjoyed following us around Europe for 5 weeks and checking out what we've been up to.I've enjoyed it so much that I think I will continue with my public musings for a while longer, although I might have to change the domain name from ljeuropetrip to something more appropriate now.I'll let you know what I'll change it to in due course.
I have retrospectively added pictures from our time in Italy to the relevant posts...
We decided that we didn't have enough time to go to the Vactican (we would've had about 45 minutes there) so we just wandered around Rome before getting the train to the airport. This marked the beginning of our 40 hour trip home.
It went something like this...
Get to Rome airport at about 1pm , wait around until our flight at 5pm. Fly for 2.5 hours back to Amsterdam. Stop over in Amsterdam for about 1.5 hours before flying 12 hours to Kuala Lumpur. Wait in KL for 6 of the most boring hours until we board for our final 8 hours of our journey.
I managed maybe 1 hour sleep on the entire trip, Jo managed maybe 3 at the most. We arrived in Sydney and we both got through passport control quite quickly (even with my two passports, grr). About 4 flights had all arrived at the same though so we waited for about 30 minutes to get our bags and then Jo and I separated into the two channels for Quanantine. I went through "Something to declare" and I had some keyrings made of wood and Jo went through "Nothing to declare". This probably took another 30-40 minutes. Australia is super strict with these things. While waiting for our baggage my back-pack was checked by a Beagle and sniffer dogs patrol the baggage conveyer belts.
Bo and Claire were waiting for us on the other side (even with a balloon!) to take us home. It was great to have some friendly faces waiting for us and we went home via getting some milk for a cuppa as soon as we walked in the door.
We exchanged birthday presents as today is my birthday, Jo's was the 19th and Claire's the 14th. All June babies. Claire was delighted with her Diesel bag we got for her in Venice and a leather journal for both Claire and Bo for their trips at the end of this week where we return the dropping off at the airport favour. They got us some great Bonds pj bottoms and a fantastic Kylie Kwong cookbook. Mmmmmm, Mrs Jangs homestyle eggs.
We were up early again for our day trip to the towns of Siena and San Gimignano. We found the coach spot and claimed our seats before the guide started her speech. I can't remember her name but she was a nutter. All her sentences started with "And I tell you somethings....", "And I tell you why..." and "Please even on the right hand side you can admire...".
We got to Siena after about an hour on the coach by which time everyone was wishing the guide would just shut up. As we got off the coach we heard mutterings of people taking the piss by quietly saying "Please even on the right hand side you can admire the beautiful toilets". Ok ok, I did a few impressions too and Jo thought they were funny for the first 2 minutes.
We had a guided tour of Siena before some free time to wander around. We are used to the heat but it was a really hot day and Jo and I spent most of it trying to keep in the shade! The town is beautiful and the guide was telling us about the Palio horse race that they have in the square (below) twice a year.
We hopped back on the coach and we thankful for the air conditioning as we drove to San Gimignano. The guide went on and on and on about "the beautiful bell towers" and how the town is a "germ of the middle ages". When we arrived I'm sure it was even hotter than before and I rolled up my jeans to my knees and we headed straight to get something cold to drink. San Gimignano is like a fortress built on a hill with a fantastic view of the Tuscan countryside. We walked down the narrow roads and through small piazza's and took a walk along the outer wall where the view was spectacular.
We hopped back on the coach and thank god the guide was quiet until we reached Florence again when she went on and on about "the most important..." everything. The most important road, the most important church etc etc. Whatever.
We headed straight for the hotel and the sanctuary of our air condidtioned room (what princesses we must sound!) and had a shower before going out to find something to eat before the England v Sweden game. We found a great little restaurant where we shared a buffalo mozzarella, proscuitto and eggplant salad before a pasta platter for two.
We were so tired we watch the football in bed! I thought the goal by Joe Cole was superb and I couldn't understand the commentators to know (and still don't) how badly Michael Owen injured his knee. Gerrard also did well as sub but it was typical England to throw it away with our dodgy defence of corners and set pieces full stop practically in injury time I think. Dammit.
Jo's 31st birthday started with a great surprise with birthday cards (and money!) from Dad & Mia, my Nan and a card from Mum & Barry! That, along with the beautiful necklace Mum & Barry, Jo has been a very lucky girl :)We woke up feeling much happier in our new hotel and we went downstairs to a nice buffet breakfast to set us up for the day. We had intented to do a bit of shopping mixed with some more sightseeing and maybe lunch in a nice garden/park in the afternoon but once us girls get shopping there seems to be no stopping us. I think we went around the markets about 10 times looking for ourselves and some gifts before Jo found Miss Sixty and went wild. Well, not really wild but got a few things. I can't talk really as I hit Diesel in the afternoon and got an entire outfit :)
Our lunch was great, we stumbled upon this great bakery that made fresh foccacia and I had one with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil. Jo had one with peas (odd I know, but it was yummy). After that we thought stuff it and had a slice of cake each (the justification being it would be the same as birthday cake). I had a wonderful Chocolate Torte that Claire would die for and Jo had a vanilla custard and almond pastry type slice. Both were delicious!We weren't sure if we could stay at this great hotel we had found for the 3rd night as there is a Fashion show starting and all the hotels are booked up. We spent some of the morning looking for a back-up in case they couldn't fit us in (we found one and later cancelled it as luck would have it we can stay where we are). We also booked a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano tomorrow at a travel agency (see previous post for whinge about unhelpful Tourist Information offices). It seemed a blessing in disguise though as we were also able to book our train tickets to Rome in the comfort of the air conditioned travel agency instead of the sweat box that was the 30 minute queue at the train station. Hehehehe.We also thought stuff it for dinner as we were wandering around the usual "Trattoria" type places, none seemed quite right and it felt like fate meant we should happen upon this great restaurant slightly out of the way of the main square. We ordered a nice bottle of Chianti (of course), shared a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad to start (our absolute favourite and it was great). Jo had pumpkin ravioli for main and I had a saffron and summer vegetable risotto. We capped off dinner with a great espresso as cake twice in one day had me fearing I wouldn't fit into my new Diesel pants :)After dinner we went for our usual after dinner wander into some of the piazza's to soak up the atmosphere.
After our busy day yesterday in the Chianti region we woke up to our meagre breakfast at the pseudo "B&B". Our breakfast consisted of orange juice, tea (with lemon juice, we had to ask for milk and it was of the UHT variety), day old croissant (probably the one they couldn't serve to us yesterday) and these mini toast thingys. Mmmmm. Not.We moved to a much better 3 star hotel in the morning as we said farewell to the "B&B". The new hotel was FANTASTIC in comparison. It actuall felt like a proper hotel that grown ups use on holiday :) Once in the room we ordered 2 cups of tea (Jo was dying for a cuppa) and when it arrived it was Earl Grey (Jo hates it!). Thank god I had taken 1 bag of English Breakfast from Venice and saved the day. That was a real revitiliser for the day. That and the gelato we had in the afternoon :)After that we went shopping and we both got a new pair of sunglasses. We went into a few places but the last place the girl in the shop really knew what we were after and what suited us both, so much so that I bought the first pair she picked for me (Armani) and Jo got the coolest pair of brand new Dior. After that success we walked around the markets (Florence is great for leather goods) and had a sticky at some things. We were back at the hotel for a shower and change before watching the Australia vs Brazil game on TV. Personally I thought Australia played extremely well against a Brazil that probably weren't firing on all cylinders but are a quality team nonetheless. It was a real shame to see them lose 2-0 but I thought they were far more impressive than England have been so far!After the game we went out for dinner and then walked around Florence at night, window shopping in all the expensive shops like Gucci, Valentino, Armani, Pucci etc etc. Florence is a beautiful city and we've really enjoyed the time here so far.
We were up and out by 8.30 this morning to join our day trip to the Chianti region. This meant that we missed our breakfast as this was conveniently served between 9am and 9.30am - how ridiculous.We met our tour guide Guiseppe and our other tour mates (4 Americans and 2 Aussies from Petersham!! Small world!). Our first stop was at Impruneta where we had a look around a small Terracotta (cooked earth) factory. Nearly all of the buildings are made with terracotta roofs and we were shown how they make pots etc. Everyone was surprised to discover that the clay is actually a bluey gray and not the red colour you would expect.Our next stop was at a 11th century castle up in the hills. The buildings were beautiful and we walked the cobbled narrow streets and the place was full of flowers. Our guide knew his history as he talked about the region and its architecture.Our next stop was at Greve, a small market town on market day. We had some free time here to walk around and Jo and I took the opportunity to eat our first meal of the day (which was delicious!). The square in this town was actually a triangle and was full of stalls selling clothes, food and the usual bags, belts etc.We headed out from here to our first winery and Guiseppe gave us a great tour of the cellar and took us through the entire wine making process. We stumbled upon barrels of wine as old as 1971. We tasted 3 reds here, including the Chianti Classico made from the local San Geovasse grape. The wines were nice, but very dry but in the hot sun we made sure there was none left!The next winery (Casa Emma) was much nicer and we had the chance to all sit round a table of bread with local olive oil while the lady gave us an explanation of their wines. We sampled 4 reds here (white wine is produced more northern Italy) and they were all excellent. Jo and I both loved the last two, a Chianti Reserve 2000 and a 100% Merlot 2003. We debated about whether we should buy some but we decided against it on budget/luggage limitations.
We took a drive back on the expressway as we were running late and we arrived back about 6pm. We said we might catch up with the Aussies and 2 Americans to watch the Italy vs USA game on later that night but after dinner (I had ravioli and Jo had risotto) we were so tired we went back to the "B&B" to watch it there. Can you believe that the channel that was showing the football was the only one without a decent reception so we tried to concentrate on the ball but after half time we were both fast asleep!
We had booked our train ticket to Florence a few days before and our 3 day transport ticket just lasted to get us and our bags (which are getting heavier by the day) to the train station. We found our place on the train and it was a very pleasant 3 hours to Florence.Once we arrived we followed a combination of internet instructions and the map to find our way to the "B&B". We have discovered that B&B in Italy is not the same as you would expect. This isn't a cosy room in someone's house, it's just a room in a building that someone visits each day to co-ordinate breakfast. The one in Florence was the same and we lugged all our bags up 3 flights of stairs to our room. The room was bigger than in Venice and clean and tidy but had zero appeal to it. We decided to head out to the Tourist Information office to get some info on day tours etc. Now, it could be just me but I thought at Tourist Information was to actually help tourists during their stay. Not in Italy it seems. You go in and there are NO brochures out. You have to go and ask someone for them. Why? You think they people would get bored of people going in and saying "Can I have some information please?". Even when you get the brochures, they can't book anything for you. Oh no, you have to go to a travel agency (even when we went they only book for certain companies) or call direct. They also don't do hotel reservations. Great.On our way to a certain Tourist Information place we spotted at the station before, Jo was reading a brochure and a man carrying rusty old metal poles on his shoulder slammed into Jo's arm taking a nice chunk out of it. I rushed her to the Chemist on the corner and the nice man there cleaned it up and put some plasters on it. He said she might need a tetnus injection as the poles were rusty. We went into another chemist and saw a sign for an English doctor just around the corner. Now, I have to say I was very disappointed as it was 5.04 and he closed at 5pm and he just did not want to help us - "I'm just on my way out" so we had to go wait for 3hours in the ER of the hospital!! The doctor there was really nice and made sure Jo's arm was ok before giving her an injection and a script for anti-biotics. When we got back to the "B&B" we had our first piece of luck which was to get the last two spots on a day trip to the Chianti region for the next day. Thank god for that.
The B&B in Venice was nice, each morning we had breakfast (mainly cereal or bread rolls with tea/coffee and juice) out on the little terrace which was a nice warm sunny spot in the mornings. After going full on since we set off we decided to take things easier in Italy and haven't been up quite so early and not cramming too much into each day.Jo had made friends with the local cat who she has called Gari - this is because he is ginger and looks cranky like Garfield and Gari must have been her way of giving his name an Italian feel :)
On our wandering around we checked to see how much a trip on a Gondola would cost. It was about 80-100euro for 1 hour and we thought about it but budget said no. To be honest, Venice is definitely a place we would like to come back to so we will save that for another time.We didn't do any walking tours or guided trips either as we just enjoyed walking around and exploring at our own pace much more. We mixed sightseeing with eating gelato and shopping so us girls were as happy as pigs in mud.
We arrived at Venice airport after a good flight and we called the man from the B&B we booked on Jo's mobile. Unfortunately he spoke too quickly and Jo could barely make out what he was saying! She managed to understand that it was cheaper to get a 3 day transport pass so we did this, but I was a bit staggered to see it would cost us 25euro each!! We hopped on the bus to take us to the Piazzale Roma and from here we managed to follow the internet instructions to get on the Waterbus No.1 to take us to the B&B. I wasn't so upset at the price of the 3 day ticket now as I found out it was 5euro per 1 hour trip. We arrived at our B&B after Jo managed to find the right street and settled in. The room was small but cosy and clean and we were happy to be there.
Our first afternoon was spent mainly wandering around trying to orientate ourselves. The first thing you notice about Venice is how wonderful it is to not see any cars. It gives the place a much nicer atmosphere and you can walk around without fear of being knocked over by some Italian on a scooter! The weather was great and later in the afternoon we found a nice bar in a small piazza and we enjoyed 2 glasses (each!) of some fantastic Pinot Nero. Mmmmm. For dinner we went around the corner to a Pizza place and we had a great pizza (I had a calzone). Although the waitress was rude, the pizza was worth it.The next day we deciced to make the most of our 3 day transport pass and we got the Waterbus to Lido, an island about 45 mintues away. Jo took some excellent pictures as we went down the Gran Canal before hitting more open water to the island. It was a gloriously hot day (about 31c) and lots of tourists and Italians alike were at the Lido beach. We had some lunch (we packed rolls) on the beach and then took a walk along the sand and had a paddle to cool off our feet as the sand was boiling! There were lots of huts along the beach for rent and they looked very relaxing as you could go for a swim and then go back to your hut to cool off in the shade.
We wandered around the island and there are some beautiful hotels and houses. It would be a great place to stay for a few days if we had the time (and money!). We got the Waterbus back to Giardini and took a stroll through the desserted streets, over bridges and canals back towards San Marco square. It was so beautiful in these side streets away from the touristy crowds. We took some good pictures of washing on the line high above the street. We got back into the hustle and bustle and looked in a few shops at the great clothes, sunglasses and bags that are on offer everywhere. There are African men everywhere selling fake bags, belts and sunglasses too and they fold up all their merchandise into a sheet everytime they see the Police, wait until they leave then open their sheet again! Bizarre!We found another square to sample some red wine (also very good) and found another place for dinner. This time I sampled the pasta, Jo had pizza and we shared. Yummo.We managed to watch the England vs Trindad and Tobago game in a very Italian bar called the Fiddlers Elbow (ok, ok it was Irish). We sat next to an English guy and an American couple and we all shared equal frustration at the England team that couldn't seem to get anything on target until the 82nd minute. Then Gerrard finished it off in superb style, wish he could've done it earlier.
It was hardly worth going to sleep as we were up at 3.30am to get to Gatwick in time for our flight at 6.50am. In British summer time though we were only just up before the sun which starts to rise about 4am. Maria and Dad were both chirpy as they brought Jo and I our wake up cuppa.The weather in the UK had been unbeliveably fantastic for our entire trip but on the way to Gatwick the rain came down and the clouds had set in. Hehehe. We brought the sun with us from Australia and took it to Italy with us!Maria bought us both a BLT, an orange juice and some bananas for our trip, which were greatly appreciated when we got to finally sit down at Gatwick while waiting for our flight.We took in some last minute shopping to use up some spare pound coins and the Easyjet flight was a nice one over to Venice. We passed over the Swiss Alps (we even got some good pictures from the plane window) and arrived in Venice on a warm and sunny day.
Swiss Alps from Easyjet window
Well the day is nearly over and we're off to Venice tomorrow. We had a busy last day, up early to see family friend Doris in Buntingford before venturing into Cambridge again for one last shopping spree. Mum, Jo and I did the Park & Ride as we didn't have Barry to ferry us girls right into the centre :)We did quite well as I got a few gifts for Dad and Barry for Father's Day, a gift for both my Nan's and a thank you pressie for Dad and Mia for having us. Mum bought me a gorgeous skirt from Next for my birthday which will come in handy in Italy as the weather there is supposed to be nice and warm and sunny. Apparently today has been the hottest 12th June in the UK for over 100 years, which goes to show how lucky we have been with the weather here so far. I also got an England shirt (hehehe) which I will be wearing (much to Jo's dismay) next Thursday as England take on Trinidad & Tobago. We got home from Cambridge in time to see Australia put 3 past Japan in the last 10 minutes (before which they were looking fairly ordinary but Tim Cahill changed all that) so Jo and I will most definitely be searching for a Piazza to watch Australia take on Brazil on Sunday - bring it on!I popped into see my Nan before heading down to Dad's and Mum and Barry stayed for some dinner before saying goodbye which was as hard as you would expect :( We've had such a great time in the UK that leaving Mum and Barry was awful and I can't wait to see them both again.Dad will drop us to Gatwick early tomorrow and we will be in Venice around 10am on Tuesday 13th local time. This may be the last post for a bit, but will try to update soon.
Yesterday was my Mum's 60th birthday so Barry organised for us all to go to the Sheene Mill at Melbourn for lunch. My brother and Kim picked up my Nan and we met them at the Restaurant. The man who owns the Hotel/Restaurant is Steven Saunders of "Ready Steady Cook" fame, although he wasn't there yesterday as he has opened a new restaurant in Newmarket that needs his attention.
We sat out in the garden by the river enjoying a drink before our meal, and the food was delicious. My Mum has to have gluten free and when she asked the waiter for the chef to let her know which meals she could have she was pleasantly surprised to see nearly everything come back with a tick.
I had a 'Summer Panzanella Salad' to start and Jo had a 'Tian of crab salad' which we all joked was a mis-print and was actually a 'Tin of crab'. Heheheh. As it was a Sunday, the menu consisted of mainly Sunday roast type food and I had the roast pork loin with bramley apple sauce (mmmm) but Jo had the Seabass which was really good.
For dessert I had the Strawberry Shortcake and Jo had an Almond and Pear Tart with vanilla ice cream. All in all a very nice lunch (and wine). The main thing was that my Mum had a great time, and she loved the watch that Justin, Kim, Jo and I got her. Jo and I also got her a pair of earrings as little something extra and to also say thank you for having us.
Today we are off for a short trip into Cambridge for some last minute buys, probably including Marks and Sparks! Then hopefully back in time to watch the Australia vs Japan game at 2pm.
I'm not sure that the match lived up to the hype but 60 million people breathed a collective sigh of relief when England sealed 3 points against Paraguay, which seemed a minor miracle considering the combination of the idiotic greasy mexican ref and Sven's tactical blunder of subbing Michael Owen in favour of Steve McClaren's golden boy Downing.
If the picture to the left of Barry's best mate George (sporting the St George's Flag in his hair) doesn't adequately display the football fever that is taking place in England then nothing will!
The first half was a fairly solid performance by England and Beckham's free kick caused an own goal by Paraguay whose defence always seemed shaky in the first 45 mintues. After the break though, a predictable England meltdown caused by god knows what; it could've been the heat, the tactics or Paraguay pulling their socks up. We all felt like we needed a drink after the game (well, we were drinking anyway but you know what I mean) and Sven seemed far more optimistic about the game than either myself or all the BBC pundits.
After the game we had a BBQ to celebrate my Mum's 60th tomorrow and my return to Blighty. I caught up with Mum's friend Dawn who I haven't seen in donkey's years, Anne and Keith who I last saw in Sydney a few years ago and George and Mave (and little Jade the springer) - it was fantastic to see everyone again. Justin and Kim came over after the football and Jo returned from her trip to London to catch up Kevin and Hilary and she managed to get on the London Eye in record time for a sunny Saturday in London, mainly due to the football being on!
Ever since we arrived in England over a week ago you can't help noticing that the World Cup is due to start. Even at Stanstead airport we saw cars with England flags sticking up from the windows, people have England flags flying from house windows and it seems the entire population has been issued with the replica strip (in their choice of either red or white) - there is a real buzz in the country at the moment. As I write this, the game is due to start in 40 minutes time and the headline of the Daily Mail is "England Expects" - and that really is the best way of putting it. There is definitely a sense of expection in the country that this team is the one to do it, to get past that blasted quarter final round and bring it home.
Coming back from town this morning in the car, groups of young lads were making their way down to the pub in their kit, covered in the St George flag with huge smiles on their faces.
I'm off to get a cold beer and watch the game in the comfort of home. Good luck to the lads and COME ON ENGLAND!
Just in case you're interested, I have gone back and added some pictures of our trip so far in the relevant posts...
We woke up to another beautiful day in England yesterday. I went down to Royston High Street so I could close a few bank accounts and Mum and Jo could go shopping (again). Barry had managed to get half a day off work so he suggested that we go punting in Cambridge. I have never been punting and it was definitely the day for it as it was sunny and warm and a Friday so there should be less crowds than on a weekend. Mum suggested we pack some lunch so we made sandwiches and got some fruit and headed for Cambridge.Poor Barry seems to know the routine, he drops us girls off close to the punting bridge and then he goes and finds somewhere to put the car before walking to meet us. We found a nice quiet spot to eat our lunch before we hopped on our 'chauffeured' punt. We opted for a private punt (so we didn't have to share with other people) and to have it guided so we got a nice young lad to take us up and down the river, chipping in with the history of the buildings we went past on the way. It was a great way to spend the day and I can't believe I've never been before! The river was full with students who had just finished their exams and were really letting their hair down, lots of tourists trying to punt and not fall in the river and several guys obviously trying to impress their girlfriends unsuccessfully. We only had one head on crash the entire trip :)
After that we sat and had a drink by the river before setting off home. Last night was the night I had arranged to catch up with people in Royston for a few drinks. Cath drove all the way from Reading in traffic, Andy came from Norwich and Marv came from Bury St Edmunds and it was great to see everyone again. I also managed to catch up with Amie, Lucy and Jo and later on George, Amy and Martin (!) also came along. We sat out in the beer garden until about midnight before heading home.
Another trip on the tube for us yesterday. Even though the tube has been running with startling efficiency, I'm still a bit over it now on the third day in a row and fourth time all up. God knows how people do this commute everyday.We headed in for a bit of shopping on what will probably be out last trip to the capital on this trip. We got off at Knightsbridge as I had never been to Harrods before and I wanted to have a quick wander around it for the first time. It is a huge store and all the food looks delicious, everyone in there looked like a tourist shopping for the famous green Harrods bag. From there we hopped back on the tube and went to Piccadily Circus and took a walk up Regent Street, Carnaby Street and Oxford Street. I have to say, our shopping day wasn't all that successful with only bras from Marks & Spencer the real purchases of the day!
It was a beautiful day in London, the sun was shining and Jo had her fix of Pret for the day. We took a walk around Leicester Square and headed into Covent Garden at about 5:15 as we were due to meet Jo's friend Patrick at 5:45. We met Patrick and headed on to find the Pizza Express we had arranged to meet people at. We strolled in, booked a table for 8pm and headed straight into Henry's across the street. Steven was the next to arrive, followed by Piers, Neil, Mark and Mike. We all had a few drinks and a good chat before Neil and Mark had to head and those remaining went for pizza.Jo has been listening to me talk about Pizza Express 'Dough balls' now for a while and it seemed my enthusiasm caught on as nearly everyone ordered them for entree. I'm not sure why I get so excited over baked pizza dough with a bit of garlic butter but they are delicious! 'Sloppy Guiseppe' was also the most popular pizza (and it was good too!). It was sad to say goodbye to Patrick, Piers and Steven as none of know when we might see each other again, but hopefully it won't be too long and we can all keep in touch in the mean time. We went for 1 more drink with Mike before heading back to West Ruislip.On the tube back I called for a cab to pick us up at the tube station as it was too late to ask my Dad to play cabbie once again. I ordered one for 12:30 but due to aforementioned tube efficiency we got to West Ruislip at 12:15 so I called the taxi company as asked them if there was a cab available earlier then could they send one. The lady on the phone said she would sort something out for us. I was expecting to either wait until 12:30 or have a cab turn up a bit earlier, what I wasn't expecting was for the lady on the phone to come and pick us up herself as she had finished her shift and had no other cars available!! Our thanks to Fiona for the ride home, and even though she didn't even want to charge us we gave her a few bob to say thanks.
Another day packed full in London. We were up fairly early (after our standard two cups of tea) and headed out to Windsor. Jo had never been before and we were greeted by a beautiful sunny day and Eton boys in their tails walking around this picture postcard village. We walked over the bridge to Windsor and past the castle. It was then that I noticed that that changing of the guards would be happening in about 15 minutes so we headed up to the castle to have a sneaky peak. It wasn't too busy for a Tuesday morning (now the kids have gone back to school) so we took a seat right at the top of the hill (after Jo ascertively asked this Chinese lady to kindly take her huge bag off the seat and practically let another 10 people sit down!). Heheheh. Before we heard the guard band coming we were saw a symptom of life in England now around any of these types of sites - police, undercover 'MI5' type men with ear pieces and men with sniffer dogs eagerly running around looking in bins and under manhole covers. The guards came marching around the bend and Jo got some great pictures (which I wish I could share with you now but I can't). I had my two minutes of 'oh it's great to be English' before reality set in again :)
After walking around Windsor we headed to a pub for lunch and sat in the sunshine eating possibly the worlds largest sandwich!! After that we drove home via where I grew up, namely Tylers Green, Penn and Beaconsfield. It was literally a trip down memory lane and I took a few snaps of my old schools and houses etc.It was a quick turn around as we got home, changed and were out again this time headed for Tower Hill in London. Maria had got us tickets for the Tower Bridge exhibition where you can go up the tower and see how the bridge opens for ships passing down the Thames. The weather was great as we could see for miles and the bridge is stunning. In a similar stroke of good luck that we had with the guards at Windsor earlier in the day as we were leaving the engine room a guide said "Did you know that the bridge is due to raise in 5 mintues?". Now this doesn't happen every day so we headed outside and got a few pictures of the bridge opening and it all felt meant to be.
We hopped back on the tube for Piccadily Circus as we had tickets to watch Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales theatre. We had an absolute ball watching this show where your feet do not stop tapping and you feel like bursting into song with the actors!After this jam packed day we all nearly fell asleep on the tube on the way home but once in bed I couldn't believe that Windsor was this morning, it felt like last week. Another excellent day in London for us with Dad and Mia.
No, we haven't just got back from some bizarre sounding pub - we spent the day in London with Dad and Maria starting with the Dali exhibition at the Old Town Hall on the Southbank.We all hopped on the tube heading for Embankment at 9:30 this morning, all expecting London to hit the dizzy heights of 23 degrees. We arrived at London's Southbank and headed for the exhibition. Now I have to admit I didn't know that much about Dali (except the melting clocks and elephants with long legs fetish he seemed to have) but the exhibition certainly changed all that. It was packed full of sculptures, drawings, paintings and videos of the man himself, and what a complete nutter he was. His work was fasinating, a man who takes the meaning of 'eccentricity' to the absolute extreme. As an added bonus, there was a smaller Picasso exhibition downstairs too. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and from there headed towards Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We took the opportunity of having some grass and sun at the same time to have some lunch as we were a bit early for out next adventure, the London Duck (see picture). Now, when Maria told me what she had planned and it included this 'duck' thing, I had no idea what was going on! The 'Duck' is actually an amphibious vehicle used in World War II to take the troops over to France during D-Day and now take tourists around the streets of London before taking a dip into the Thames. It was great fun and the tour guide on board made me laugh with his 'jokes' about Big Ben being named after Benjamin Hall and thank god his name wasn't Richard :)
After the Duck we headed to Covent Garden for a coffee and a hint of shopping before Jo's withdrawl symptoms got any worse :) We popped into a few places and Bo - there are a great range of jeans in Diesel and Miss Sixty! Unfortunatley we have already bought jeans on this trip and there wasn't much else that really took my fancy but we will head back into the city for another more in-depth trip later in the week.
Jo and I got a lift to the wonderful West Ruislip Underground station at 4pm in no mood at all for this grand night out we planned about 5 months ago. While sitting on the train waiting for it to whisk us to Central London we both could've fallen asleep there and then. We eventually made it to Kings Cross on what was probably the hottest day in England so far this year. Kings Cross is much the same as it's always been, a bit grotty and full of nutters. We walked the 10 minutes to the Holiday Inn and checked in to a surprisingly nice room before hitting the shower to get ready for the evening.We arrived all glammed up at the pub in Soho at about 7pm on the dot as planned and we didn't have to wait long for company. First to arrive (as could've been predicted quite easily) was my good friend Steven, followed quickly by Sharon pint in hand - this would've been also a cert to predict :)After the first drink Jo and I were feeling a bit more relaxed and our night had begun. The pub we picked on the internet turned out to be a good choice as we managed to have a entire corner to ourselves before the pub began to fill up later on. As the night went on we were joined by friends of both Jo and myself, most of whom we hadn't seen for over 3 years. A DJ set up table a bit later and we all had a great night. I tried to 'work the room' and catch up with everyone but it was hard to do and I wished the night could go on for longer. Steven and my friend Nav will hopefully join us again for dinner on Wednesday night when we can have a bit more time to chat. I will also hopefully catch up with George and Amy again on Friday which will be a bit more time with one of my best mates. Jo had a ball, catching up with Patrick, George, Kevin and Hilary who were obviously all over the moon at seeing Jo again. Once again it was hard to meet everyone as Jo wanted to meet some of my friends and vice-versa so we're hoping to catch up again on Wednesday or next Saturday for a bit more quality time.After the pub closed, a few said goodbye and a few of us went on to find a pub without a cover charge. We eventually found one, but it was a pricky place with slow bar staff, over-priced (even for London) drinks and the ubiquitous copulating couple next to us at the table. Digusting but like a car crash we all had to look.Finally it was up to the girls to keep the night going as Jo, George, Amy and I made it to the disasterous Candy bar in Soho. You can't not meet Aussies in London as Jo and I got talking to this girl who used to live in Newtown. Such a small world. We decided to call it quits at 3am which is well past my bedtime and we got on a red London Bus to take us back to Kings Cross. Great night out.
We've been so busy we were ready to drop yesterday, but it's all good. Friday morning was super busy even after the trip to the monsterous Tesco's. I popped in to see my Nan and she's doing well but is deaf as a post now bless her. I also took some flowers to my Grandad's grave which was quite emotional. My Grandad passed away in 2004 and being in Australia I couldn't make the funeral, so this was the first time I had been able to say goodbye.Jo, Mum and I headed in to Cambridge in the afternoon for a whirlwind shopping trip. My Mum had a few things to take back to M&S and I showed Jo the delights of the Grafton Centre (terrible place!) before walking over the other side to old Cambridge. Unfortunately we were pressed for time and I hope we can have the time to go back for a better look around but we managed to have a look at the stunning Kings College.
On the way home we went through Barrington, which has great pub called the Royal Oak. We stopped and had a nice beer outside in the garden and took a walk around the beautiful village.
That night we had BBQ steak to make Jo feel at home :) and my brother and his partner Kim came round. Mum put on a fantastic meal (and Barry did really well with the steaks too) and it made me miss Mum's home cooked food. We tucked in to prawns for entree, steaks with pepper sauce with vegetables and strawberries and cream for dessert - you can't beat English strawberries in June. It wasn't long before the cheese board came out and my brother and Barry (and maybe me a little bit) polished off and entire bottle of brandy! It was 1am before Jo and I went to bed and I think we both passed out with exhaustion. It was fantastic to catch up with my brother and Kim, I forget how funny he is when he's had a few drinks :)
We finally made it to the UK yesterday, even if our Easyjet flight was delayed (you get what you pay for I guess). It's great to be back but it does feel a bit strange to be back in Royston. But it's nice to be using a keyboard where the Z and Y are in the proper places!! The flight from Prague was fine but the notion of only flying for 1 hour and 20 minutes and being in another country was a bit alien, that normally only gets us to Melbourne! We landed at Stanstead, the only "London" airport I hadn't yet been to. Whoever designed the place is an absolute idiot. First you need to get a train to the terminal, then you need to catch a bus to the long stay carpark - this carpark must be at least 10 miles away. I live closer to the airport in Sydney than that! The buses were few and far between and we were hearded on like the proverbial cattle and the bus driver thought he was a squadron leader, asking if anyone needed to be dropped off at "K for Kilo" or "L for Lima". Twat.The drive home was short, we dumped our bags and headed straight to the pub for some dinner. The pub is only a short drive away and Barry bought be my first beer (not lager) and it was suitably warm :) It only seemed natural to wash it down with a curry too :) Jo continued to persist with the wine and was rewarded with a decent Shiraz (well, it was Australian). We were in hysterics when we overheard the bar staff talking about a this lady who wanted "a prawn cocktail, but without the prawns". The waiter also asked another lady if she enjoyed her meal and she said "it was lovely, except there were some bones in the fish, and I actually had to pick one out of my tongue. But other than that, it was nice." Typical English attitude. Today I headed out to Tesco with Mum to get a few bits to re-stock the cupboard. The Tesco in Royston must be the largest supermarket in the world! It was probably the most painless food shopping experience for a long time and the store was under construction as they expand it even further. There was no queue for the checkout, nothing was out of stock and there are 400 of everything. I went to choose a moisturiser and I didn't know where to start. In Australia, there are six to choose from and the shelf screams at you, 'just choose one and move on'. Here, the shelf practically gives you the life history of every brand, how much it costs in other supermarkets (!) and 5 reasons why you should buy that type.I'm off to go see my Nan before doing a quick tour of Royston with Jo and then heading into Cambridge for a bit of touristy wandering before some shopping.
Picture above is of home with my Mum showing off her successful trip to Marks and Spencer!
The train ride from Berlin went very smoothly. The Hauptbahnhof station in Berlin is absolutely huge and it took us a while to find out where we had to be. The trip took in some magnificent scenery as we headed through south Germany to the Czech Republic. We also arrived bang on time. A man was waiting for us on the platform to take us to the apartment and we had also arranged for Mum and Barry to be picked up at the airport too. God knows if it was a rip-off or not, but it was nice to not have to worry about finding the apartment and reading Czech.
The apartment was wonderful, huge amount of space and spotless so we were very happy. The kitchen was well equipped with a washing machine - thank god, even a dishwasher. There we two massive bedrooms and two bathrooms including a spa bath.The first night we tried to orientate ourselves with the area which was very convenient being next to a shopping centre with a supermarket and a metro station. The wander around the supermarket was quite amusing and we spent ages choosing wine that turned out to be terrible, but the beer was nice and cheap.The next day we ventured into the Old Town and decided to do a 2 hour walking tour to get a bit of history of the city and to understand what we were looking at. It was a good tour and the guide really did know her stuff so we were well informed afterwards. Prague really is a beautiful city, all the buildings are amazing and every corner looks like a postcard. The picture below is of the Astronomical Clock , part of the Old Town Hall.
The next day was a miserable day, pouring with rain and hard to know what to do to keep dry when all of the activities involve walking around. We hid in Marks and Spencer for a while and had a great cuppa to pass the time. Fortunately the rain passed and we were able to walk to Prague Castle across the Charles Bridge. The Castle cathedral and grounds are truely amazing and it's strange to think everything is so old!
Right now we are killing time in a cyber cafe in the local shopping centre while we wait for our transport to take us to the airport. We have all had a great time here in Prague, but walking around the Jewish Quarter yesterday we all were struck by how expensive things are and how every tourist attraction is never free. This is in complete contrast from Berlin where most things are free to visitors. I had heard that Prague was a great place to go and is a cheap destination, but no longer it seems. Most things here including clothes, groceries and transport seem to be on par with Australia.More updates soon when we reach the UK, our fourth country out of five. The trip is going too quickly!!
Well I was awake at 1am for the second night in a row (after watching England scrape a win over Ecuador) to watch Australia take on Italy in the World Cup for a place in the quarter finals.
