Mon 14/09: Nice & Monaco

Today was a nice bludge day in Nice. Similar to Luzern, we were given a few suggestions as to things we should try out. Instead of trying to do lotsa stuff, I relaxed for a change.

Wandered down the main shopping strip, bought a pair of thongs for the beach.

Ran into a couple from the tour group and had lunch with them - fantastic food!!! I had an eggplant pannini (is that how you spell it???).

After lunch, I then sunbaked out on the beach, resting on a deck chair with a bottle of sparkling water... lazed on the beach enjoying the sun and sights (3 very liberated, topless women!). Mindful of getting sun-burnt, I slowly made my way back to the Hotel; along the way - bumping into out tour group friends. I made the effort to do something nice for the planned night at Monaco by buying a leather jacket (110 euros). This complemented well with my slacks and coffee-coloured shirt.

I ate at a cafe a very large tortellini pasta dish, no dessert!

We left as a group at 5pm from the hotel for Monaco. Our first stop was on the cliff-top for a group photo overlooking the amazing Mediterannean sights. The next stop was at Monaco itself the Rock district with the over-water aquarium/museum and the Royal Palace. They really have excess canon balls!!!

On the way to the casino areas (Monte Carlo, American and another one... Royal??) we saw the famous hair-pin bend of the GP circuit - our appointed meeting place. With a hour or so of free time I immediately ventured into the famous Monte Carlo Casino (passport & 10 euro entrance fee,). In stark contrast to the large-scale of Melbourne's Crown Casino, this casino was a series of 4 rooms, each imbued with the class and elegance - limited playing areas for craps, roulette and even the poker machines. After "studying" the 6 roulette tables, I joined one. From my limited experience, I knew to split the odds and placed a series of 10 euro bets on neighbouring numbers. This paid out 3/4 times, each time I siphoned away the nice green chips (yellow chips being the lowest denominator). Tipping 10 euros at the end, I walked away with 5 green chips - which ended up being 250 euro!!! (Basically I had made 200 euro from my initial 50 euro outlay)

Feeling generous, and a little bad that I seemed to be the main winner, I decided that I would share my winnings with the group who had spent most of their free time in a bar outside the casinos... after all, I had actually set aside some money (100 euros) with the intention of gambling it away - so I was actually 300 euros up for the day/budget...

I think that night, particularly my shouting a round of drinks at the bar definitely ensured that the TopDeck group would remember me, and our host did say that I was by the far the biggest winner ever that any of her tour groups had had...

Sunday 13/09: Mt Rigi > Nice

Another day of travel...

We again were warned of the early start - we all had to catch the first train service down Mt Rigit to the coach.

(1) arose at 6:45am for breakfast at 7am. We left the Hostellerie at 8:10am and caught the 8:20am train down the slopes.
(2) This train is one of the steepest trains around... the angle was ~45 degrees, and we took turns taking photos of people seeing how far they could lean towards the train cabin floor.
(3) back on the coach, we passed thru Italy to get to the French Rivieria, with one service stop within Italy.
(4) reaching the French Rivieria mid arvo was eagerly anticipated - we all crowded the seaboard side of the bus (left) snapping away at the picturesque scenery. This was my very first sighting of the Mediterranean!!!
(5) part of the tour was a stop at a Perfumery factory. For us guys, there was a Ferrari experience exhibit outside... I didn't have my camera on me, but a friend took a photo of me with this Ferrari... must remember to get a copy of this!!! Honestly, inside while the mandatory tour was provided, I struggled to differentiate the scents, although I did like the one which was supposedly more sensual and appealing to the guys...
(6) We briefly passed and saw Monacco; but Nice itself was like a beachside version of Paris. Kinda reminded me of Melbourne with the main tram line... We had free time between 4pm and 7:30pm when we were to meet for a group dinner at a local restaurant, so I ditched my bags in the hotel and went for a wander on my own. This paid off because the weather was perfect and warm - I got a lot of photos of the main downtown street - whereas the following day was more overcast. Nice on a sunday arvo is fairly quiet, but there were a few street entertainers.
(7) dinner was not very good - altho honestly, the waiter was quite uptight. At our table we did mistakenly use the salad dressing as a dip for breads, which may have rubbed the waiter up the wrong way, and we did ask for balsamic and oil for the breads... 2 of us on the table shared a whole bottle of red - drinking had started early!
(8) we walked across town to the bar - Chez Francis (Francis Bar) where I had my first ever tequila shot (and a 2nd!). Interestingly, I didn't really feel the punch or the effects of the alcohol... O_o. I had a beer as well... I did come to the realisation here that with the same amount of alcohol the others (anglo Aussies) were getting very stupid and started dancing on the tables to the live band - for me this amoutn of alcohol just wasn't going to get me that loose and stupid (not sure of the right way to describe this...)
(9) While at the bar, I happened to see on a tv screen the US Open final between Federer and del Potro. Returning to the hotel, I watched the entire 2nd set and the start of the 3rd. At this point, I decided to sleep. I later woke up at 4am-ish to see Federer on the way to losing the final 5th set...

[Addition to Sat 12/09 post: I had seen a bit of the US Open semi between Federer and Djokovic]

Sat 12/09: Mt Rigi / Luzern

(1) "sleeping in" to 7:30am we all left as a group for the gondola to go down to Weggis (pronounced ve-gis). From Weggis, we caught the ferry service across Luzern Lake to Luzern ~30min.
(2) a lot of us were told to stay on the main floor so we all went to the very back of the ferry and were taking photos there for ~10min until a guy came and kicked us out of the "1st class" area! whoops!
(3) in Luzern we were all taken on a walking tour thru the bridges right up to the obscure Lion's Gate memorial. This is known as the saddest memorial in the world. We had learnt back in Paris that the Swiss Guard were massacared at the start of the French Revolution, allegedly ordered to lay down their arms by King Louis XVI... (read Wikipedia on the Swiss Guard to learn more!) This Lion's Memorial was built by one of the Swiss Guard who had been absent on the day of the massacre and he had the memorial built, a lot of symbolism included within. Again, wikipedia has a link...
(4) From the Harry's shop of watches/swiss knifes I left the group and explored the old town, quickly locating the MacDonalds were my aunt works! She kindly got me a complimentary coffee and when I returned after exploring the old walls and a Red Cross area, I waited on one of the tables. While waiting for my aunt to finish her work shift, a local girl joined me! As it turned out she spoke 5 languages (the norm being 2-3: English, Swiss-German, Swiss-French) and worked as a primary school teacher.
(5) lunch was at a local cafe with my aunt - a pork schnitzel on tagliatelli (yes I still remember these details - even today 12 days after!). After lunch she drove me to her apartment in Emmen. We didn't have a lot of time as I needed to reconnect with the TopDeck group at the ferry terminal at 4pm. Fortunately we met up with my cousin at the ferry terminal so I finally got to meet both aunt and cousin for the first time in my life!!!
(6) there were 7 of us returning to Mt Rigi - we all had skipped the earlier ferry to visit the Mt Rigi summit - my excuse was obviously to meet family, but the weather was overcast and apparently too foggy for a view from the summit.
(7) we caught the gondola back up (apparently the train took an hour) with the intention of starting drinks early!
(8) I had been given Toblerone chocolate - 2 big and 2 small - by my aunt & cousin; I used one small one to "tip" the female waitress who got me a nice glass of red wine during dinner! She had also gone to the effort to dress up in the traditional swiss costume! She was later seen with her boyfriend who bought a large large bottle of whisky...
(9) dinner was unremarkable - thus I don't remember the details! however I remember the bar afterwards for the dart board games and the way the girls kept hitting on this cute 19yo local waiter. Apparently he was going to Perth later that week, so one of the girls offered him her bedroom. Part of the joke was that this waiter was very shy of girls, so these interactions kept him blushing all night... in one of the funny twists, he did pick up the half eaten large Toblerone I had put under my chair, AND his girlfriend apparently spoke 5 languages... sound familiar??? Although it probably wasn't true, we connected the dots anyway and had more fun that night...
(10) i didn't sleep until after 12am, whereas my room-mate had turned in earlier... so out of decency, I took the room nextdoor so that he wouldn't suffer from my snoring (apparently I snore, but not that loud...)

Friday 11/09: Paris > Mt Rigi

We had been warned prior to this day that we would be leaving super early in order to get to Mt Rigi on time for dinner.

Basically the day was spent on the coach, from like 7:30am thru to ~4:30pm, including the 3 service stops - 1 of which was a 30min lunch stop. The last one was within Switzerland.

To get to Mt Rigi, one can either take:
(1) the train, OR
(2) the gondola

We were taking the gondola up on Friday. This was a 20min journey, somewhat like a cable car ride. We all squeezed in to the cabin with all our bags, plus a handful of locals who were journeying up the mountain.

We were staying at the Mt Rigi Hostellerie, which was the best accommodation of the entire tour. Not the biggest room (Rome) but the most comfortable! The room adjoining ours was actually un-used so my room-mate took that on the first night and then I slept there the following night (since he had gone to bed first in our assigned room on the 2nd night).

Dinner at the Mt Rigi Hostellerie was 3- courses:
(1) cheese fondue, with unlimited bread: on my table of Asians we kept eating and eating the bread dipped in cheese. The waiter had joked that he wouldn't remove our cheese fondue pots until he could see the bottom...
(2) the main course (!!!) was turkey (although the style of cooking made me think it was chicken) and mash pototatos. Lotsa mash, so I didn't finish it.
(3) finally, we had dessert which was ice-cream cake with strawberry topping.

Afterwards there was a bar session, but not a huge one and with only one bar-tender the drinks were a little slow... went to bed at a respectable midnight...

Thurs 10/09: Paris Day 2

(1) brekky was at 7:30am (woke up 7am and was one of the first to arrive)

(2) coach ride was fairly slow (Paris morning traffic) considering the proximity of our drop-off point for the day - roundabout next to Seine/Louvre gardens.

(3) I dashed off to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa/Denon Wing (there are 3 wings - i only saw one) Weather-wise it was spitting rain, but not heavily... I exited the Louvre via the Lion Gate *Note: anyone going to the Louvre - avoid the queues and enter via the Lion Gate!!!

(4) walked along the garden/river side and finally got to the river cruise landing - about halfway beween the Louvre and Eiffel Tower... the cruise was great and fortunately the weather had cleared up - so I made up in terms of the no of pics taken...

(5) Lunch was at a place called Eiffel Tower Restaurant/Cafe - around the corner from the landmark. I walked in and the waiter immediately addressed me in English - "What table would I like?" - NOT happy with this as I wanted to practice my French... I ate a beef tartare - in a similar arrogant fashion the waiter said: "Are you sure? It's raw beef!" [I know waht beef tartare is... sigh]

(6) in between the cafe and the Eiffel Tower I saw this interesting building wall completely covered in vine/grass except for the windows...

(7) I mucked around at the base of the Eiffel Tower (ET for short from now on) before I decided that with under an hour, I would dash up the ET instead of waiting in queues for the elevator... (no queues for walking up the stairs!)

(8) on the first stage I ran into a work colleague who has been holidaying in the US as well as now in Europe! Small World!!!

(9) with time running out (bike tour meets at 3pm South Tower base) I had to take to the elevator to the second stage. views of Paris were awesome and totally worth the climb! Didn't have enough time to go to the final/third stage, so caught the elevator down...

(10) met 7 other TopDeck guys who with other tourists embarked on the bike tour. We waited for quite a while, and fitting out took another 15min due to the large size of the group - about 30 of us in total doing the bike tour. we would ride and stop, with the second last stop being a 30min cafe break in the Louvre gardens... saw more of the Armoury/Military Academy and Napoleon's tomb - similiar to the bus tour the night before... but this time in detail.

(11) TopDeck organised picnic dinner at 7pm. We all tried the escargot - one NZer really liked them! (but he also likes cows - part of his profession...)

(12) Cabaret at Paradis Latin. Basically - I picked ALL options that topDeck offered for Paris. was the only single guy here... plenty of single gals tho! on our table it was like a bottle of wine to 2 ppl... lotsa drinking!!! the performers were all very talented; the topless girls were very slim and muscular, some a little bony even... O_o the male performers were ok, not very buff, but ok... my favourite bit was this carousel of motorcycles ridden by hot hot girls in leather boots, the jacket and helmet. they first removed the helmets and did that hair wave thing... then they removed their jackets!?!

(13) after the Cabaret a group of us returned to the hotel via the Paris Metro - my main memory of this experience was that our TopDeck tour host kept yelling out "TopDeck" @ time we had to get off the train... (this would also be repeated for marshalling us all together thru-out the whole tour around Europe!!!

(14) got to the hotel ~12:30am so a really really long day. Apparently I slept almost immediately.

Wed 09/09: Paris Day 1

Early start this morning - woke at 5:45am!
We all met up at the reception area of the Umi Hotel.
Didn't really sleep well - kept waking periodically - is it time to leave yet???

We took a transfer coach to Dover where we caught the ferry over to Calais. While on the bus I slowly woke up (wan't the only one...) and got to know my fellow travellers - at least those I was sitting around - 2 couples, a couple of single girls and guy. In total there were ~35 of us, 6 more joining in Paris, 12 of us leaving in Rome but being "replaced" with 12 newbies in Rome...

the bus journey was ~3 hours to Dover. Dover cliffs are impressive (and famous for the movies they have featured in...) The Ferry was fun, kinda like a cruise ship in size and feel. Unfortunately we couldn't get access to the really fun areas with the best views... Sighting the European coastline was a great moment - we all turned to look out the window, a few of us attempting to capture the moment in photos...

From Calais, we were introduced to our coach driver who took us thru the rules... ~ boring ~
Travelling on coach essentially is in 2~2:30 hour legs, with a short 15min service stop each time. 15min service stops for a group of ~40 is actually quite a challenge... but as a whole we worked within the apportioned time...

We entered Paris in the mid to late arvo, the weather quite hazy - not sure if it's 'cos of the pollution... Arrived and checked into the hotel and then set-off on our TopDeck guided tours of Paris: walking and bus. The walking tour was a block of 1hr for us to explore and get dinner. A few of us had dinner together in a typical Parisian restaurant - sampling the crepes and red rose wine.

The bus tour was really crazy - we were driven round in the coach past all the key sights - Lourve, Arc de Triumphe, gardens, palaces, shops, and of course the Eiffel Tower. My camera ran out of juice from all the photos I kept taking - left, right and centre... at one point it was like - every angle had a great shot. I managed to get a single night shot of the Eiffel Tower - a pretty good shot of it with the night lights with my iPhone - and this is my new wallpaper!

A long day that set the pace of our tour...

Europe Uncovered (TopDeck tour)

This post focuses on the general tour and overall thoughts...

The tour is a discovery tour, TopDeck take care of the accommodation (2-3 star hotels) and the travelling via coach. The entire tour is split into two legs:
1: London to Rome (Western Europe)
2: Rome to Amsterdam (Eastern Europe)

I was 1 of 13 ppl who only did the first leg. Another 12-13 ppl were participating in the second leg only. The remaining 20+ ppl were going all the way from London to Amsterdam...

Quite a few (6) ppl joined us in Paris, not in London...

We covered the following main cities with day-trip visits:
a: Paris - 2 nights (passing thru Dover, Calais from London)
b: Mt Rigi, Switzerland - 2 nights (day trip to Luzern)
c: Nice - 2 nights (evening in Monacco)
d: Florence - 1 night (stopover in Pisa)
e: Rome - 2 nights

The age range was roughly between 21 - 30 with the majority of ppl being couples. A smattering of Aussie Asians, 2 Kiwis, 1 Canadian, 1 English girl. Quite a few ppl from Perth and NSW outside of Sydney...

Hotel rooms were small (altho maybe the 2 star rating was why). Some were quite cramp..

back to london (Tuesday 08/09)

this is a transition day - between Sutton-in-Ashfield and London.

i will quick mention the fact that for the past 2 nights in a row, i've had baths... proper baths, with the bubbles. (and playing with the rubber ducky...) hehe... a completely random, off-topic note!

(1) dropped by the sutton post office to send two parcels home - didn't want to bog myself down with stuff i wouldn't need (tour guides and one jacket) - not too pricey - just £30...
(2) caught coach back to London - 1 to 5pm.
(3) tubed to Bayswater / Umi Hotel - where i am now...
(4) shopped a bit - bought a new ultra-light weight water-proof jacket (Nike) & a new top - Jag.
(5) had dinner at a place called Bodean's BBQ - they're claim to fame is to be London's original original bbq smoke house... really great rump steak (main), sampled the ribs, and topped off with a most excellent ice-crean - love the flavour Dulce de Leche... something like toffee and coffee..

10pm currently - gonna sleep early tonight since i have a wake up call at 6am tmw - for start of tour.

Met the tour host - she's an Aussie from Cairns. some early insights - 35 of us will travel down to Rome, some of us depart but a total of 43 continue on to Amsterdam (complete europe tour). she helped me top understand how best to handle my tour departure next Thursday when i travel Rome to Rotterdam...

a quick stock take - plenty of £s left... 900+ photos taken (2.6gb) after culling ~100 of poor quality.
the tourist guidebooks weighed about 2kg - so mailed them home - don't need them bogging my suitcase down. everyone is really impressed at how little/light my suitcase/luggage is. however - i'm managing - and if i can make it this far successfully - i can make it to the end!

don't miss Chinese food in the slightest - closest i've had is some mee-hoon cooked today by my cousin, indian on monday night and some asian also home cooked by my cousin...

so looking forward to tmw and the tour - long day ahead - so night all!!!!

Suton/Mansfield Day #5

another retro post (from the Umi Hotel - evening of Wed 08/09)

Monday 06/09

day trip was to some obscure walking track areas - kinda in the region near Bakewell...
started off with lunch at a place called The Peacock. this restaurant had really nice food (lasagne) and was ?strategically? positioned near a giant roundabout - nothing else for miles...

the feature of today was lots n' lots of driving (thanks to my cousin-in-law)

as has been the trend, we had been starting later and later - today we left the house at 11:40am...

after driving around for a bit (some wrong turns and exploring) we ended up at the intended walking location - some rocks and a lookout known as Surprise View! great views, fantastic weather - great combo all round!

after the walk, we drove along the Snake Bend past two reservoirs heading up towards Manchester. This scenic tour featured... of all things... sheep and more sheep... kinda New Zealand-ish! by the time we got back to Sutton it was close to 8pm.

We had indian for dinner - at a great little place on the main road. we ended up being the only customers (others probably had dined earlier). my poor nephew was again confused and grumpy from the out of sync day...

Sutton/Mansfield Day #4

a retro post for Sunday 06/09/09
[note: on a linux PC and keyboard is dodgy... expect lowercase alot...]

today's day trip was to Chatsworth House. i won't explain it but look it up on wikipedia... =)

arrived ~12:30 and started off in the gardens... on the way back reading the guide book - we realised that we only covered about 1/3 of the grounds... soo much to see. @ 2:30ish we had lunch in the restaurant - food was fairly ordinary... the lateness started to affect my 1yo nephew and his eating times...

we ventured into the House ~4pm and stayed right to the end (5:30)

Briefly, the house is the residence of the Duke of Devonshire, even tho there is no locality of Devonshire and Devon is in another part of the country. past Dukes have been quite influential - one was the Lord Chamberlain to the King - and as a bonus - got to keep the King's bed chamber!!!

on the way back we picked up fish n' chips from the local t/w... that was totally worth it - giant piece of cod and chips. only £3.95 for the fish!!!

Sutton/Mansfield Day #3

Saturday 05/09 - day trip around Bakewell.

Today we covered a few places:

(1) Over Haddon

This peaceful village is set high up on the hill tops of central England. Arriving @ 12pm, we first had a sumptous lunch before going off on a 2 hour walk down hill towards the River Lathkill. The steep journey down to the river was across several pastures where sheep were grazing.

(2) Bakewell; A brief pause in Bakewell where we picked up some Bakewell Pudding which is what Bakewell is known for.

(3) From Bakewell we drove down through the grounds of Chatsworth House - a mansion which is home to the Duke of Devonshire. We only drove through and plan to visit properly on Monday.

(4) We headed for Crown Carveries, Nottingham. This place featured meat carvery with unlimited vegetables, all for 5 pounds!

Sutton/Mansfield Day #2

Friday 04/09 - daytrip to Lincoln (Lincolnshire)

Today we headed out mid-morning to Lincoln. The two main attractions here were:

(1) the Lincoln Cathedral [http://www.lincolncathedral.com/]

(2) the Lincoln Castle

This castle is one of the oldest in England - built in the 1000s.

Although we joined a tour group of the castle, we had to follow more slowly from the back as we had to lift the baby pram up the numerous flights of stairs. The entire tour was really informative and educational - we learnt about the West Gate entry, the Castle Walls, the hangings that took place on the top of Cobb Tower.

Lincoln Castle has a number of unique features:

(1) The entire structure was reduced by one storey/level to prevent the castle fortifications growing too strong for rebellion.

(2) This castle originally had prisioners hanged internally, and then from the top of the Cobb Tower for public viewing. The original method for hanging was later replaced with the more efficient trap-door method - first used at Lincoln Castle. The original method (long rope) normally meant that death by strangulation took 20-30 min whereas the trap-door method meant instant death.

(3) The prison separated male and female prisoners; and had a chapel - the only structure still in place today - where individual prisoners were locked into individual cells within the Chapel.

Dinner was again at home - delicious dishes prepared by my cousin.

London Day #4/Sutton Day #1

Today is the first transition day... from London to Mansfield/Sutton.

Took the Tube from Borough to Victoria and from there walked along Buckingham Palace Road to the Victoria Coach Station.

I planned my morning such that I had 40min for a Full English Breakfast, which I finally ate at a local cafe next door to the Victoria Coach Station.

The coach (450) to Mansfield was a straightforward 4 hour journey with 2-3 stops along the way (10:30am to 2:30pm). My cousin and her husband were at Mansfield awaiting my arrival along with their 1yo son.

That afternoon we had lunch - pizza from Domino's followed by a short drive around Sutton/Mansfield. Dinner that night was a simple home-cooked meal.

My little nephew was very cute and entertaining... he loves to babble and bounce. Doesn't really cry, but he makes this funny noise in between a laughter and cry when he wants attention.

London Day #3

(1) headed out later today... 9:30am instead of before 9am like Monday/Tuesday. Joined younger brother of my host on bus ride to Convent Gardens. My first ride on a red double decker bus!
(2) explored Convent Garden & Leicester Square, but not for long since it was raining lightly... Dropped by one of the Westend cheap theatre ticket stalls. Here I got a stall seat/ticket for the matinee show of Wicked (2:30pm)
(3) I then caught the Tube from Picadily Circus to Marylebone, where my friend met up with me and brought me back to her place.
(4) lunch was a relaxed affair; a most delicious home-cooked meal!
(5) after a few hours with my friend it was time to head to the Apollo Victoria theatre (Victoria tube station)
(6) Wicked took up 3 hrs from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. A most enjoyable show, talented actors and scripted storyline. Brilliant music although it's not the kind that's easily stuck in your head...
(7) tubed it back to Borough, had enough time to freshen up before we my host drove us out to Hemel Hamstead (my godmother's brother's home) for a home-cooked meal.

Thoughts for the day:
(1) the expected rain has finally hit! Not heavy but enough to restrict exploration efforts around Leicester Square...
(2) the bus ride is definitely better than the Tube, but you need to know the routes and connections...
(3) home cooked meals were a great change from all the eating out...
(4) took quite a bit of effort getting prepaid SIM up and running - finally got credit added...
(5) So glad I saw Wicked - I was disappointed before that I had missed out in Melbourne but this experience more than makes up!
(6) ended the day with speculation on whether my hosts' dad may have known my mum back in KL...

-- Post From My iPhone

London Day #2

Today's weather was not as hot as yesterday; it rained briefly in the afternoon.

Not quite as crazy as yesterday:
(1) walked down Great Dover St to the London Bridge Experience.
(2) London Bridge Experience took 1hr, met two Malaysian girls on the experience... Originally from Sabah, the older sister studies at the Uni of Nottingham while her younger sister was visiting the UK from Malaysia.
(3) together, the 3 of us walked to the Tower of London where we parted ways.
(4) Tower of London - from 12pm to about 2:30pm. Did an audio tour and saw the crown jewels.
(5) briefly saw the Tower Bridge and had lunch at The Brasserie - fish n chips!!!
(6) walked around Tower of London to Towerhill Tube, headed to Camden Town.
(7) met up with my cousin who took me around the markets - very impressive!!! Loved one shop and product that I bought it - a very cool shirt with LED patch that reacts to noise!!! Spent good 3 hours with cousin before leaving for 7pm appointment
(8) met up with a good church friend at 7pm at Canary Wharf. Went for dinner and then he drove me around the area to get photos of Canary Wharf skyline and the O2 stadium.
He also kindly dropped me off back at Borough, getting home at 11:30pm...
(9) met my host's younger brother who had also returned from outside of London. He has a really interesting part-time job... A blog-reviewer for an org that promotes theatre viewing by young ppl... Gets tickets to shows and reviews them!!!

Thoughts:
(1) Tower of London, particularly the Crown Jewels exhibit is way too crowded / popular... Kinda spoils the experience...
(2) I have visited most of the main attractions that the London Bus Tour includes... Should've bought the package thru them and would've saved ~£20...
(3) experienced light showers in the arvo while at Camden Town but nothing major...
(4) another day of lots of walking... Need to be less ambitious in things to see...
(5) started window shopping; prices are borderline reasonable for clothes....
(6) Camden Town is worth a second visit! A highly recommended destination for visitors to London!!!


-- Post From My iPhone

London Day #1

London today:

(1) Took the Tube from Borough to London Bridge - 1 stop on the Northern line.
(2) had a look around and walked over London Bridge.
(3) by chance I encountered the Monument - this is a tower monument erected to commemorate the great fires of London. £3 to go up all 311 steps and receive a certificate.
(4) from the views I decided to walk to the Bank and from their to St Paul's Cathedral (inspired by Mary Poppins somewhat)
(5) Did an audio tour of St Paul's which included upstairs in the dome (a recurring event was climbing circular stairwells throughout the day...)
(6) walked down the block to the Millenium Bridge and across the Thames to the Tate Museum of Modern Art
(7) honestly I didn't really get the modern art... Didn't spend much time here...
(8) walked along Southbank/ Thames River Walk all the way to the Big Ben.
(9) continued around to St Margaret's/Westminster.
Similar to St Paul's- tourists can't take photos but you had audio tours offered (£4 @ tSt Paul's, free @ Westminster)
(10) walked down along St James Park to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately by this time it was 4pm so the Changing of the Guard was over for the day.
(11) walked down The Mall to Trafalgar Square. From there caught the Tube to Baker St.
(12) Final activity for the day was Madam Tussaud's - started at 5:45pm...
(13) Tubed back to Borough and am currently blogging while eating a chicken burger with a Guinness beer.. (fish n chips not avail as it's a Public Hol)

A couple of thoughts:
(1) the Tube isn't too bad, but in contrast Singapore's MRT is the best experience so far... And Melb is not even worth comparing...
(2) London is really tourist-friendly: Tesco has this package deal of sandwich of pasta meal + snack + drink = £2!!!!!
(3) Melb inner suburbs are clearly based on the architectural styles of London... I find Borough like a Richmond back in Melb... Roads are narrower here and the layout is reminescent of the sheer age of the city.
(3) really love the history and centuries worth of layers built up and up... The monuments, particularly Westminster
(4) beer (Guinness) isn't that bad but I still prefer a glass of red anytime!!!

Photos taken: 227 (includes handful from before today)

-- Post From My iPhone

On Transit in Singapore

Arrived in Singapore last night, Terminal 3. Very short taxi-ing from touchdown to terminal gate... Quickly checked into the Transit Hotel @ Terminal 2 (where my booking was held)

Woke up this morning at 7am (I guess body thought it was 9am) after sleeping at 10:30pm (12:30am Melb time).

This morning I returned to Terminal 3. Just had breakfast - yum cha and Kaya toast from Toast Box. Seriously considering a massage as part of killing time this morning.

Rung relatives in Singapore to say hi.

Changi Airport is so good. Just hooked up to their free wireless access, so on international data roaming charges!!!

Also now using an 8gb memory card on my camera - good 'ol Sony T200...

The last notable thing here is my interaction with the Transfer counter... The lady there had access to the complete seating arrangement on my flight. She even shared age profile details on the two people who will sit next to me... I had considered changing from a window seat to an aisle seat... mianly because I sat next to a father and son, the teenage son using a leg brace which made getting in and out a little more challenging.

So I've learnt that there will be a group of Brisbanites a few rows behind me... ;)

Going for a massage now... Aahhh!


-- Post From My iPhone

Sydney Airport

I have 2 hours + to waste here at Sydney Airport...

I don't have to check-in my suitcase again so everything is running smoothly. The weather here in Sydney is nice and sunny. Have packed my jacket inside the suitcase and draped my jumper around me instead of wearing it- this should work well should the A380 air conditioning prove effective and make the cabin really cold.

Qantas provided a brunch-type meal so I figure that I don't need lunch. On that note there's an Asian noodle place near the gate which is charging $15-16 a meal (normally would expect $8-9)!!! Now that's a rip-off!

But catch a nap and listen to music. Can easily snack...

There's a Sony/DFS electonics shop and I bought my backup memory card for the camera... I also saw 80gb PS3s going for $459... Just maybe I could get one on the return flight in??? (somehow don't think so but I'm allowed to dream on...)

According to the constant (slightly annoying) PA calls one United Airlines is being delayed a couple who are yet to turn up...

Fortunately my iPhone apps can keep me preoccupied for the next few hours!

Looking forward to the stopover Singapore tonight.


-- Post From My iPhone

Melb Airport

Didn't sleep much last night... Slept at 11:30pm but woke at 2:30pm and didn't sleep again 'til 4am.

Took the car to the carwash this morning...

Drove myself to the airport while Dad will drive car home; quite uneventful.

Now relaxing at the Qantas Club at Melb Airport... One announcement concerned me a little... One inbound aircraft was diverted to Sydney which will delay another domestic flight... Fortunately not my flight... But hoping my flight remains unaffected...

Will post again from Sydney!

-- Post From My iPhone

The day before flying out...

It's nice to have a whole day before flying out of Melbourne...

Slept in... 'til 9am. Note to self: will need to leave the house tomorrow around 9am...

Went to Chaddy for lunch and shopping. Bought from Kmart international power adaptors - pity UK and Europe use different standards...

Found out that Switzerland (Luzern) use Swiss Francs and NOT euros!!! O_o

Chaddy has just opened part of the new West mall... had a quick tour through there - will have to spend more time there when I return! Macca's also now opened their McCafe near JB/AMF, and the school kids are already hanging out there... on a Friday arvo at 1:30pm... hmmm... don't they have school???

Just created my travel pack checklist on iPhone - certain items I will buy in the UK (shoes which I hear are cheap over there...) and maybe a jacket... bought a very nice thank you present... need to research a bit more and print out additional info to go with the gift.

So far my suitcase weighs...

7kg!!!

So I'm going to pack more stuff in... =)

I've constantly checked the websites for online check-in... each time trying to work out when I should do the check-in... apparently for SIA, 48 hours before the flight is when it becomes available... finally worked out that the earliest is 5pm this evening - 48 hours before Singapore leg to London is also available (want to do both in the one session).
Qantas domestic online check-in is only 1 hour before hand, so I might just do it tomorrow from the airport...

Need to also take a look at the Singapore airport website - work out what I want to do on Sunday morning...

14 days to go!!!

Only 14 days to go.

Just a couple of things to do locally now... The biggest one being the need to actually pack!

Other than that arranging spending money... A whole range of advice on the different means. Thank you all.

One interesting item that I've been advised to bring is those tubes of antiseptic hand cream -handy for cleaning hands without water and avoiding public toilets...


-- Post From My iPhone

Travel Plans v0.6 - London specifics

I've been informed by friends working in London that Monday 31/08 is a bank holiday... which means a few of them will be out of town... =(

However, I do have a cousin who is still studying - so there's a possibility to spend the day with him...

Both Tues 01/09 amd Wed 02/09 have now been booked for dinner, with the final Wed 23/09 likely to be booked now...

Countdown: 22 days/15 working days left!

Travel Plans v0.5

In keeping with the latest developments for my upcoming trip, I've added on the coach travel between London (Victoria Coach Station) and Mansfield/Nottinghamshire where my cousin has agreed to pick me up from.

It also turns out that my Godmother's family in London are quite eager to show me a good time which is totally awesome as well...

Google Maps is a fascinating tool - I can check out the StreetView photos and get a virtual tour of all the travel routes I'll be taking... however, I'm resisting doing this too much as it will spoil the fun. Google Maps has taught me this evening that Hyde Park is pretty much in between the Victoria Coach Station and Bayswater where the Umi Hotel is for checking in on Tuesday 08/09.

One of the last unknowns in this whole trip still remains my first few days in London... Part of the challenge is where and who to stay with... meeting up with friends and getting in the sights - I will only have three whole days...

Sights I hope to see/visit in London include:

1. London Eye

2. Hyde Park

3. Buckingham Palace

4. Madam Tussaud's

5. a matinee show at Westend

6. London Tower

Somehow I don't think I can cover all of that in three whole days - although I will have one day from the afternoon of 23/09 thru evening of 24/09...

Travel Plans v0.4

Arranged to meet up with cousin in Amsterdam after work on the Friday.

My Amsterdam tour plans [17-18/09]
17/09 arvo = Visit the Van Gogh museum [www.vangoghmuseum.nl]
17/09 evening = Visit the Vodka Musuem [http://www.vodkamuseum.com/en]
18/09 morning = Visit the House of Anne Frank (8 euro for tickets - http://www.annefrank.org
18/09 afternoon = Visit the Royal Palace [www.paleisamsterdam.nl]

Overnight stay will be at Park Plaza Victoria, in the heart of the city.
Will also be catching a train from Rotterdam to Amsterdam since tickets are ~$30 AUD.

Travel Plans v0.3

Ok, now we're blogging live/real-time...

This third update focuses on the transition points between tour dates and my free time:

(1) London 08~09/09
Booked a room at Umi Hotel, Bayswater, London overnight for that Tuesday. This will ensure that I don't have to get up super early to make the 6am start from Umi Hotel. Check in will be anytime on 08/09 from 2pm onwards.

I've now downloaded a map fo the London Tube as a handy guide.

(2) Rome > Hertogenbosh 17~18/09
This transition is a little trickier... Hertogenbosh is ~1 hour from Rotterdam or Amsterdam by car (source: Google Maps directions). I've decided upon Transavia direct (via TravelEurope.com) which is 90 euro from Rome to Rotterdam. This flight seems the best, just need to find out more about the airline reliability! The alternatives are via:
- major airlines: at least 800 euro... yikes
- stop-overs (London/Paris): ~ 200+ euro plus flight durations blow out to 4hrs+

The flight I've picked leaves 10am and arrives 12:15 in Rotterdam - which will give me plenty of time in the arvo to explore and make my way to Hertogenbosh.

(3) Amsterdam > London 23/09
While doing the online flight bookings I have also proceeded to book the final flight/link between the Netherlands and UK. Cheap British Airways flight BA-435 will return me to London on the last Wed/full day of my hol. Afternoon flight ensures that I have plenty of time on either side to play... I'm thinking that the morning of 23/09 should allow me to visit the House of Anne Frank...
This particular flight will land me Heathrow and not Gatwick or the other airports.

All the jigsaw pieces are now starting to fall into place!

I've also performed a comparison on travel insurance but my ANZ Platinium Credit Card benefits seem to cover me without additional costs so... all good!

Travel Plans v0.2

Another retrospective blog/post.

Over the Queens Birthday long weekend I sat down to plan my trip further.

The "critical success factors" for me have been:
- focus on western Europe (main cities: London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam)
- see my cousin's family, in particular my nephew (UK)
- visit family over in the Netherlands (Hertogenbosh)

So, digging through several websites I explored travel costs, mainly through the train network of Europe. Apparently just to get a train travel pass for the 4-5 countries was going to cost $1500+ and this didn't even include accommodation or food costs.

A quick comparison for tour packages led to one particular pacakge: TopDeck - Roman Road, 11 days (the first leg of a much bigger 30-day Europe tour package). Thus my plans have now got a fixed middle:

TopDeck Roman Road Wed 09/09 to Thursday 17/09:
Wed 09/09 - London > Paris
Thurs 10/09 - Paris
Fri 11/09 - Paris > Mt Rigi
Sat 12/09 - Mt Rigi (Lucerne)
Sun 13/09 - Mt Rigi > French Riviera
Mon 14/09 - French Riviera (Monaco)
Tues 15/09 - French Riviera> Florence
Wed 16/09 - Florence > Rome
Thursday 17/09 Rome

Includes accommodation, 8 breakfasts & 4 dinners. I should mention also that this is a discovery tour meaning that we have free time to explore and not every little detail has been worked out.

All for $1950 AUD...

Travel Plans v0.1

~ Retrospective post ~
Back in April I booked my book-end flights:

Europe-bound
Saturday 29/08/2009: Qantas QF418 Melb > Sydney
Saturday 29/08/2009: Singapore Airlines SQ222 Sydney > Singapore
Sunday 30/08/2009: Singapore Airlines 318 Singapore > London

Home-bound
Thursday 24/09/2009: Singapore Airlines SQ321 London > Singapore
Friday 25/09/2009: Singapore Airlines SQ221 Singapore > Sydney
Saturday 26/09/2009: Qantas QF417 Sydney > Melb

Further Explanations
1. Singapore Airlines flys the A380 on the Kangaroo route... it's only recently they've announced that the A380 will fly the Melbourne > Singapore route, but even still that only starts from 30 Sept!
2. From experience, Qantas frequent-flyer points are best used for interstate flights only; thus this covers the Melbourne - Sydney flights.
3. The main choice for travel in Sept was from my cousin-in-law in the UK who suggested after the busy Summer months and that Autumn wouldn't be too cold; further his son would be 1yo by that time... definitely more interactive as babies go...