Cornwall - England

Cornwall 23-25 May 09

For the second long weekend of May, we headed off to Cornwall, England's most south-western point. We hired a car and hearing the horror news of traffic jams, we headed off earlier than usual, 4am! We were at Devon by 7am and took a break at Topsham. There is a Georgian teahouse there which has won many awards for its cream tea so we had cream tea for breakkie! Yes the waitress did give us a weird look! It was very good!We continued on our journey and arrived at Tingatel castle, which legend has it, is the birthplace of King Arthur. The coastline, was very pretty, not many people, very peaceful. Next stop was Padstow! The village made famous by Rick Steins.. Cafe, restaurant, patisserie, B&B, fish and chips shop, cooking school, every you turn is Rick Stein. We had the fish and chips, to be honest, I had better in Oz! We also tried the creamy Cornish icecream too!Next stop was newquay, which we didn't like at all, touristy, loud, dirty, a lot of jobs with noisy cars. Get me out of here.. Pretty tired by now, we headed for St Ives... The GPS took us right into the middle of the old town. The streets were steep (like 50 degrees) and narrow, some were one ways, it gave us such a headache, it was a mission just to get back out of the town.

The second day, we drove down to Minack theatre, which has to be the gem of Cornwall, and it took my breathe away. Minack theatre is an open air theatre built by hand by Rowena Cade. Its set up on the cliff, with the sea as the back drop. When we arrived and there was a full rehearsal of Evita. We stayed and watched most of it, and took in the wonderful scenary. Not wanting to leave this gorgeous place, we had lunch at the cafe which overlooked the theatre, beach and sea. Food was really good (Cornish pasty and cream tea) and so well priced. This was the highlight of our trip to Cornwall.Mount Saint Michaels was our next stop. It's Englands version of Mont Saint Michel in France. When the tide comes up, you can only access by boat. Whilst we were there, we started the walk to the castle, half way there, we were wading in knee deep water. Seeing as it was about to close soon, we decided to admire it from afar. Back in the car and we headed back to Devon.The third day we headed back to London but stopped off at Dorchester, and Winchester, small English towns. We did their recommended river walk, a spot of shopping and headed home.. The drive back wasn't bad at all, as we totally missed the holiday traffic.

Belfast & Giant Causeway - Northern Ireland

Belfast & Giant Causeway 16-17 May

I heard about the giant causeway, a natural rock formation caused by volanic eruption some 60 million years ago caught my interest, so Joe and I headed off to Northern Ireland for a weekend road trip in May. Being on the road reminded us of our roadtrips back home, and driving along the coast reminded us of the Great Ocean road drive.Weather wasn't that good (Ireland is definately not known for its weather) so I was happy to view the scenes from the car. Our first stop was Carrick-a-rede rope bridge where normally you can cross over by foot, but there it got so windy, that the bridge was closed for a short period.. some tourists were trapped on the small island for while, so we decided to skip it and go to the Giant Causeway. Luckily for us, the rain stopped and we got to enjoy the natual beauty... Some of the rock formations were perfect Pentagon and Hexagon columns.. Pretty cool.Legend has it, an Irish giant by the name of Finn MacCool once roam here and built the Giant Causeway. The Irish do have an extrodinary imagination, and are always full of stories. We then visited Dunluce castle, considered by many Irish folks to be the most picturesque and romantic of Irish castles. We wrapped up the day with dinner at local irish pub.Sunday was spent exploring Belfast, which is nice, but nothing memorable compared to many other cities we've been to.

Lake Lucerne & Interlaken - Switzerland

Lake Lucerne & Interlaken 2-4 May 09

For the 1st may long weekend, we visited Swizterland after hearing so many good reviews on Interlaken. We flew into Zurich and went straight to Lucernz. I remembered it was a pretty place and thought it was a nice stop to break up the journey. Lucernz was as pretty as I remembered it.
The second day we took the Golden Panorama train to Interlaken. This ended up being the highlight of our trip. We took in glorious scenaries of lakes, rolling hills, swiss alps, waterfalls.. It was breathtaking. Interlaken (and most of Swiss cities) is known for its natural beauty.
We took the funicular up, and took a 2 hour hike down. we also took many walks aroung the town, and alng the river close to our hotel.

The 3rd day, train back to zurich, where we had a quick look. Nothing changed much from the last time we were there (3 years ago). The golden paronama is a must!

Dubrovnik - Croatia

Dubrovnik 25-27 April

Croatia was a destination I wanted to go as I have only heard things. We decided on Dubrovnik, and it didn't disappoint. An old medieval town which the locals have painstakenly restored after the early 90s bombing. 2 out of 3 roofs were hit and was replaced with new terracotta roofs.

The old town is along the coast and is surrounded by the city wall. We had a great accomodation which was a waterfront room with a massive terrace that looked out the port and the old town. The pace was very relaxed... Food was exceptionally good, with the seafood, just grilled tasted so fresh... and the flavours of the sea satisfied your palate.

The city wall tours provided stunning views with the old town set against the adriatic sea. On the ground, we saw many churches, with saint blaise as their patron, also there was a statue of Roland, which we also saw in Bremen. We ventured a day out to lapad which was disappointing, although the coast walk and stop at the waterfront cafe was great. It was like our private oasis.

Croatia is a must do destination and we would highly recommend it.

Skiing in Andorra and Barcelona April 09

This years skiing was at Andorra which is in the pyrenesse, the mountain that separates spain and france. We flew into barcelona and I must admit I was sceptical of finding snow as it was 20 degrees. 3 hours on the bus later, plenty of snow, with an additional 1m of snow falling whilst we were there. We picked andorra for its abundance of blue and red runs. I took private skiing lessons to learn the "proper" way to ski. Well worth it as I was doing parallel turns and J turns. We didn't get the blue skies, but nevertheless, it was still lovely.
After a few days skiing, we headed back to barcelona to spend a couple of days there. We have done most of the touristy things, so this time we relaxed and ate to out hearts content. We stayed close to the beach this time, so we spent the evening listening to the waves (albeit small) crash onto the sand.

This is something we have missed in the last 2 years.. Also pretty amazing, we left the ski slopes in the afternoon, and in the evening we're on a beach.

Whilst in barcelona we visisted La Pedra, one of gaudis apartment, a curvy building.. This architect had a very unique style, and it is instantly recognisable if you come across one.

One of the highlights this time was going into the gothic catheral cloister where the 13 geeses are kept. Each goose represents one year in the life of the martyr Santa Eulalia, a young girl tortured to death in the 4th century by the Romans for her religion. We had the yummiest paella, which has inspired me to learn how to make it. Pity the euro is so strong against the pound, so we didn't go much shoppng.

Venice & Bologna Mar 09

We visited Venice on our honeymoon, but that was 6.5 years ago so we decided to explore it again. This time we went inside St Marks, and took our time strolling through the little streets.. We admired the beautifully handmade masks and delicate glassware.
We decided to fly out of bologna as we wanted to try authentic tagiatelle alla ragu aka as spaghetti bolognaise. We only spent half a day there as it quite small but worth the visit to have the pasta. The meat sauce is not too tomato-ey, slow cooked with the meat infused with lots of herbs, delicious!

Florence with Jen March 09

My good friend Jen and I went away for a girly weekend. Jen hasn't been to Italy before, so we thought Florence would be a great place. I missed out on seeing the Uffizi gallery when I took my parents as I wanted to see the Renassaince paintings.This was my third time there, so I was the navigator. First off was Michaelangelo Piazza to enjoy the view, and we found San Miniato church which I thought the grounds provided better views. Sunset on Santa Croce was very pretty too.

Saturday morning, we climbed both the bell tower and the dome of the Duomo. Then a stroll in the markets off San Lorenzo... we read good reviews on a restaurant... and sure enough an hour and a half wait... the food didn't disappoint! It was absolutely delicious.... the best roast veal I've ever tasted. We researched on all best gelato places, and tracked them all down!
Sunday was spent exploring the Uffizi, and our long weekend was over. Great way to spend a weekend with a great friend..

Porto - Portugal

Porto Feb 09

For valentines weekend we visited Porto in Portugal. What a delightful little town, with efficient public transport system, everything you wanted was within walking distance, and home to Port!
First off, we went searching for our favourite little cake, the Portuguese tarts.. they were still warm, with the lightest and crispy & flakey pastry, and the custard was thick and oozing with flavour… we gobbled a few down and went exploring the city. The Duoro river separates the old town from the port cellar door, Old town is nice, hilly, and a tram network that gets you around. It strangely reminded me of San Francisco, even the houses all lined up. The façade of some of the buildings had blue tiles, on it… very distinct and pretty.
We strolled through the old time at a leisurely pace, and visited many churches, and climbed the tallest bell tower to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Lunch was at one of the riverside restaurants where we can view the Dom Luis Bridge. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s designed by Gustave Eiffel, yes the guy that did the Eiffel tower.

The second day was port tasting day. We strolled along the other side of the river to enjoy the numerous port cellars, and went on the Sandeman Port wine tour, where we learnt about the history of port and how it was made. It finished off with port tasting… I must admit, I much prefer dessert wine!
On the cellar side, there were numerous cafes and restaurants which looks back to the old town. It somehow reminded me of the Australia’s café culture at home… must have been the fantastic weather we had as well.

Porto was a fantastic weekend destination… and perfect for the valentines weekend.

Cairo, Aswan, Crusing the River Nile, Luxor - Egypt

24 Jan - 1 Feb 09

Travelling to Egypt has been a dream of mine since I studied it in high school. We decided to celebrate my b'day there.

We flew in after work on a Friday night (approx 5 hrs from London) there were 8 people on our flight that were on the same tour, 7 of which were aussies. Day 1 we started the tour with a city tour of Cairo, visiting the Citadel of Saladin, the coptic quarter, as well as going to the Egyptian museum where our lessons on ancient Egypt started. Tutankhamen treasures were the highlight which was amazing.

Day 2 was the pyramids tour at Giza plateau. The pyramids were fascinating, such structures without modern technology. We also visited Saqqara, the first pyramid and we went inside the chamber of the 2nd pyramids. Overnight train to Aswan.Day 3 morning was spent lazing by the pool. After lunch we went to see the dam Nasser, of which Lake Nasser was the by product. The Nile caused flooding every year, and the dam is used to regulate this. Philae temple dedicated to the goddess Isis was on an island on the Nile. Evening Aswan markets where we picked up pepper, saffron and some cotton scarves.

Day 4 early morning flight to Abu Simbel, a temple carved out of the mountainous rocks.
The temple was dedicated to King Ramses and one for his favourite wife Nefertiti.
Midday we were back at the hotel to prepare for our felucca trip. Afternoon sailed on the river Nile! Yes on the same river that were depicted in the bible! Evening we docked the felucca in front of a Nubian house.Day 5 all day sailing, with a stop for a quick dip in the Nile. We sailed with the current but against the wind. Early evening, the current was so weak, oars came out, and we all chipped in to help the crew get to our docking point for the night. Bonfire along the sandy shores, and star gazing at the million of stars I've never seen before.

Day 6 overnight on the felucca was cold! But waking up to the glistening water was worth it. After breakkie, bus picked us up to Kom Ombo, where we saw the Egyptian calendar. We then headed to Edfu temple in Luxor. Edfu is the most preserved temple with some parts of the temple where the colours still remains. Checked into our hotel for a much needed shower, then off to see Luxor temple and group dinner where we ordered silver pendants with our names in hieroglyphics.Day 7 busy day with Valley of the Kings where we visited the tombs of King Ramses 1st, 4th and 9th, we also saw the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun. Valley of the queens wasn't as spectacular. The heat was beating down on us, and this was their winter! We also visited the Deir El-Bahri temple built and dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut.

Karnak temple was our last temple with obelisk (one fallen over) and lots of pillars.
Overnight train back to CairoDay 8 morning was checking out Cairo city, not that impressive, and the dust from the desert makes everything looks dirty. Afternoon we had a tour to the perfumery. Flowers are crushed and the liquids are put in ceramic jars, and these jars dug into the sands of the deserts for 3 months which all the liquids are extracted out of the jars and what is left is the flower essence oil. By mixing the various oils, different fragrances are formed. We make out cool waters, J'dore, Chanel 5. I bought the ancient essence of lotus flower, a light sweet essence. We then headed off to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar (a 14th century market)

Day 9 We farewelled our tour group and headed back to London.. One of the best trips we've done!

Matty's Xmas and New Year visit

Dec-Jan 09

Matty enters Year 11 in 2009, so thought it would be great to have him over for Xmas and NY. Also, being a spring chicken he should be able to handle the cold!
We organised a brief trip to give him a taste of Europe, starting off with Milan in Italy. Matty was blown away at the Duomo, just in the sheer size and the history behind it. He also got to try our favorite Osteria in Milan with authentic Italian pastas and pizzas. We spent 3 days in Milan and then flew to Germany to spend Xmas with Joe's family. For us, Xmas is always about family. Whilst we were there, we visited Cologne Catheral, it wasn't as impressive as the last time we saw it, maybe because we've seen so many larger and more grand catherals. Xmas was a great time to catch up with Joe's aunts/uncles and cousins.
After Xmas we headed off to Brussels in Belgium. Matty was impressed with how the architecture, culture and language changes as we move through each country. After visiting all the touristy sites, we ate ourselves silly, trying their waffles, mussels, yummy frites, hot chocolate…

We then caught the Eurostar back to London to spend a few days to do the washing and prepare for our next trip. On New Years day, we hopped onto the Eurostar again and headed for Paris. You cannot visit Europe without stopping via Paris. We did the tour guide thing and showed Matty the Eiffel tower, Arc De Triomph, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Lourve and the list goes on. We introduced Matty to French cuisine which he liked…
The temperature dropped down to -7 degrees one night when we went out to view the Eiffel tower … it was COLD! Bbbrrrr…. To Matty's delight it snowed in the morning, first time Matty saw snow!

It was such a delight to spend quality time with my little baby brother… he's grown up into a thoughtful, intelligent young man… what a proud sister I am!

Bremen Christmas Market - Germany

29-30 Nov 08

We went to Bremen to see and experience a true German Christmas market, and Bremen certainly did not disappoint.
Bremen home to the world famous Town Musicians ( a tale by the famous Brother Grimm) with most of it's attraction based around the Marktplatz (Market square) is dominated by the opulent façade of the city's Town Hall and the Roland statue, which are on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. This was the setting for the Christmas market, boasting over 100 stalls, selling everything from Glühwein (mulled wine), bratwursts, steak sandwiches, Christmas tree ornaments, ginger breads, teas, coffee's and everything else relating to Christmas.
With the majority of the stalls based around the Market Square, we didn't have to go very far to try out all the bratwurst, steak sandwiches and Glühwein our stomach could handle, and that was all we ate the whole weekend. We also visited the district of Schnoor, which is Bremen's oldest district, which is a maze of lanes lined with little 15th and 16th century houses. Most were converted to small shops selling to the tourists, things made locally, or gifts from Bremen.
Bremen was a nice suprise for us, we enjoyed it a lot more than we thought we would, mainly because of the atmosphere. the cold winter Christmas, keeping ourselves warm drinking mulled wine and eat German food.

As expected from German efficiency, getting in and out of the city to the airport was effortless, which rounded off a perfect trip.

Alicante - Spain

7-9 Nov 08

We went on another weekend trip this time to Alicante, located on the east coast of Spain. For the English, Spain is a destination to go soak up some sun and escape the gloomy English weather.
We visited the Castell de Santa Barbara, built in 400 BC, which is a fort located high on the hill which overlooks the bay and the provincial capital.
Iglesia de Santa María (Church of Santa María) is another site we visited, and the city's oldest church which was built around the 14th century.

The rest of the time was spent exploring the maze of small streets and the main Esplanade, which hosts a seaside market selling souvenirs and clothes.
Food in Spain was relatively cheap and grate value, and we enjoyed a lunch at a traditional Spanish restaurant. Between the both of us, we had a Paella, fish soup, fish, and a meat plate, and to wash it all down, some local Spanish wine.

We enjoyed our trip to Alicante after soaking up the sun and warmth, we were ready to return to the freezing windy conditions of London.

Siem Reap - Angkor Wat - Cambodia

In October 2008 we went back to Sydney to visit family and friends. On our return trip to London, we stopped by Siem Reap, Cambodia for 3 days to visit one of the most amazing temples in the world, Angkor Wat. We wanted to see this place sooner rather than later, because due to unregulated tourism, where tourists are able to climb on monuments and temples, we feel in many years to come, some sites may be lost.

Siem Reaps popularity as a tourist destination stemmed from Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat's feature in the movie called Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie. The Cambodians have even gone as far as renaming a popular local bar drink, effectionately calling it the Angelina Jolie drink.
Cambodia is still a relatively cheap country for tourism, and no where can you hire a personal guide, a car with a driver for USD $50 a day to take you around.

During out 3 days in Siem Reap, we visited approximately 13 temples, 2 terraces (Elephant and Leper King), and the most famous sites Angkor Thom, and Angkor Wat. We also visited Tonle Sap lake, which is the largest fresh water lake in South East Asia, and visited the floating village. The floating village is basically a cluster of families, both Cambodian and Vietnamese, living permanently on the water in colourful house boats.
On our tour, we sampled quite a few traditional Cambodian/Khmer cuisines, and although we ate at more expensive restuarants in order not to get sick, the food was simple, yummy and very similar to Vietnamese food. Monk fish curry for example is a local favorite, recommended by our guide.

In Siem Reap, at times it was a little sad to see the extent of poverty, mainly through the country side. People lived in very simple homes, with minimal facilities, only surviving by working on the land. Children as young as 5 out working, trying to sell souveniers and anything they can to tourist to earn money for their family. Drive 15 minutes from the city centre, and there were no paved roads, just mud roads, even the road between Siem Reap city centre to their most famous attraction, Angkor Wat was mud.
Cambodia is in the tropics and so the trip at times was a little uncomfortable due to the heat and humidity, luckily though having and air conditioned car provided a welcome relief from the unforgiving elements.

However we still enjoyed our time there, seeing the sites, feasting on the food, and coming in contact with the local people. Cambodia is definately a must see for the adventurous traveller.