Chris's blog

Day 32 - Dubai to Singapore
We arrived in Dubai a little after midnight half expecting all the shops to be closed but the airport was going off!! Dubai airport is such an interesting place with so many different types of people, walking, talking, eating, sleeping, shopping all in the one place. We did a bit more shopping, CHris had a coffee and then boarded our next plan for our stopover in Singapore. Again we had a mystry stopover in Colombo. It was another uncomfortable flight, particulary for Chris who didn't really get any sleep and was busting to go but didn't want to disturb the lady in the aisle seat (who was hiding under a blanket sleeping). After the plane half emptied in Columbo we managed to move into some vacant seats (just the 2 of us in a set of 3). A lot more comfortable, even managed to get some sleep. We got into Singapore about 5pm, got a taxi to the Motel, checked-in (After waiting for a large obnoxious Asain man to stop yelling at a partender and security staff and leave the lobby). Chris' sinuses were quite bad by then and we were both suffering from jet-Lag. We made sure we got out and went for a walk. We found our way to Orchid Rd - Beautiful Christmas lights and thousands of christmas shoppers!! Lovely. After waling around a bit we had thai for tea and then off to bed.

Day 33 - Singapore
Well today is our last day overseas. We set the alarm for 9am (to make sure we actually got up and going, trying to beat the jet lag). The alarm went off and we both snoozed for 10 mins. Chris was suffering from prety bad sinus so Matt got going first. We went down to Orchard Rd again, found a Coffee Club for brekkie. After brekkie we went down and tried to book into our flight at an internet cafe but couldn't print. We went back to the motel, checked out and then went shopping. Bought a few T-Shirts for Matt. Looked at elictric drum kits, clothes, Christmas decorations etc. Had a lovely lucnh around 2, did some more shopping then headed back to the Motel to freshen up and head for the airport. The taxi Driver was very nice, a great ambassador for Singapore, encouraging us to come back again soon. After doing a bit more window shopping we had tea and headed for our gate for the flight to take us home.

Day 27 - Malta
After a fairly late night we had a good sleep in until around 9am when the housemaid knocked on the door (didn't find the do not disturb sign until later) and we had a call to arrange our welcome wine voucher. After getting showered and dressed we went down to pickup or wine voucher and breakfast. On the way down we realised the motel was RIGHT on the Coast (and we mean on the coast) - it was awesome. The breakfast was a fantastic buffet. After breakfast we went for a walk around the Raddison. Chris booked in for a haircut in the resort's beauty salon and then went for a walk around St Julian's bay. We stopped for a drink which turned into lunch. After a late lunch we went for a bit more of a walk and then headed back to the resort for an afternoon nap. We saw some beautiful scenery and booked a vruise for tomorro. Chris called Benny but Jane (Benny's wife) was not home so we arrainged to call back tomorrow. After our nap We got dressed for tea in the fine dining section of the restaurant (where we had brekkie). Lovely meal, green curry soup, Matt ahd the rabbit and Chris had the pork fillet and a small bit of cheese cake. With our stomachs way to full we moved to the bridge Bar for a nightcap Jim Beam (finally) and Pepsi (boo) for Matt and Sambucca on ice for Chris and then off to bed.

Day 28 - Malta
Up for brekkie, omlettes today then off to our cruise. The weather was beautiful (quite hot actually). We cruised around Malta up passed Valletta on to Comino. Here the boat stopped for speed-boat cruises, lunch and the chance to explore the un-inhabited island. After the stopover wey continued the cruise around past Gozo all the way back to St Julian's bay. Lovely. We went out to the Casino for tea. Matt was a little disappointed with the size and action of the Casino but we had a lovely meal non-the-less, chatted with a fellow at the table beside us and then headed back to the resort.

Day 29 - Malta
Benny came to meet us as we waited for our hire car to show up. Once our hire car had arrived we headed off for the Gozo ferry. The trip over was lovely. Once over we headed over to the opposite side of the island to a lovely little bay for lunch. Lunch wasn't all that spectacular. After lunch we set off for a drive around Gozo and to make our way over to the archway. From there we went to ... then back to the ferry. Once back on Malta the way back to St Julian's bay was blocked off so we had to do a detour which got us a little lost but we eventually made it back. We were a bit disappointed becuase we had filled up the car with petrol and paid for a full days hire but only had the car for half a day (as it showed up later than expected) and we used hardly any fuel. Matt complained to the concerge but there really wasn't much that could be done right then and there. We had dinner in

Day 30 - Malta
Chris got up and called Benny at 8am as arranged. After brekkie Benny arrived to take us for a drive into Mosta to see where Chris' Nunu grew up, Meet his wife Jane and have lunch then on to see where Nuna grew up. Benny took us to meet some of Chris' distant relatives. Slightly awkward meeting so many new people but a lovely day non-the-less. After Benny dropped us back to the Motel we went for a little rest. While Matt rested and jumped on the itnernet Chris went down and booked a half day fishing trip for tomorrow morning for Mat. Then we headed out to find somewhere to eat. We had dinner at a restaurant just on the outskirts of the main business area of St Julian's and then had a night cap in a Jazz bar just down a bit on the way home.

Day 31 - Malta to Dubai
Up early to go to brekkie before Matt went fishing. Unfortunately the seas wehere too rough so it was cancelled. Instead we spent the morning in Valletta. We went to the National War Mesuem and headed back to the Motel to pack up and get a taxi to the airport. We checked-in crap seats, did some shopping (bought socks for Maddi, Hayley and Lauchie), had some lunch and before we knew it we were boarding. The seats turned out to be really crappy, just before the toilets (meant you couldn't recline fully) in a group of 4 (thankfully we had an aisle seat). The plan was very active, people going up and down the aisles chatting (even when the seat-belt sign was on), going to the toilet etc. on the way to Dubai we had a stop-over (on the plane) in Lancom. Matt made friends with one of the male flight attendants who kept him well stocked with JD, cola and ice. After the stop-over (in the same crappy seats) we headed for Dubai. Matt was quite uncomfortable and Chris' snoze was playing up big time, blocked,runny, blocked runny. Out of all our flights this was the most uncomfortable. From Lancom to Dubai we watch some comedy TV and a quite interesting movie called "Never Was" this helped to keep our mind off things (a bit).

Ingredients
6-8 lamb shanks, trimmed
3 cups beef stock
1 cup of red wine
6 bay leaves
4 cloves of garlic peeled
8 baby onions peeled
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of marjoram
1 tblspn peppercorns

Procedure
Place a fry pan over high heat. Add lamb shanks to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until they are well browned.
Place lamb in a baking dish with the remaining ingredients. Cover and back at 160 degrees C for 2 hours or until lamb is very tender.
Serve in deep bowls with soft polenta or mash.
Serves 4 to 6.

(Reference: marie claire cooking by Donna Hay, 1997)

Ingredients
12lb chokoes
3lb onions

Procedure
Peel, slice and cover with water - add 2 cups salt and allow to stand overnight.
Drain and rinse,- cover with fresh water and boil until tender (approx 20 min.).
Drain - add 2 ltrs brown vinegar, 3 lbs brown sugar and boil for 5 mins.
Then mix 3 cups plain flour, 4 tablesps mustard, 2tblesps turmeric and 2 tblesps curry powder, to a paste with half a litre of brown vinegar - add to chokoes etc.and boil until it thickens. Bottle and seal while hot.

Day 14 - Roma
Today started off well, we stuck to a strict timetable. Te bus to the airport took a little longer (2 extra stops than anticipated). But when we got to the departure lounge, Quantas was nowhere to be found. Even after looking at the itinerary and finding we were flying with AirOne we wasted prescious minutes looking for the check-in counter. Once there we would the flight was actually for 8:25 am (about to close) and we weren't even on the list!!! After checking in our 2 bags (count them 1, 2) we had to wait in a queue for the security check before boarding, surprisingly we were not the last customers to board! In turin we were supposed to pick up our 2 bags and check them in for the flight onto Rome but only 1 made it to Turin (the other was still in Paris and not due in now until 9pm). We lodged our claim with lost baggage (will drop it over to our motel in Rome) and went on and actally were put on a delayed but earlier flight. The Security check in Turin was mad. Big lines, only 2 points working and a lot of irritated Italians. Very uncomfortable and nerve racking. We finally made it through (in the wrong queue, we were told) and on to Roma. In Roma, no worries, 1 false start then transfer via car to the motel (it was an uncomfortable drive, the silence was defening). We checked in but after a beer and an expresso we were escorted by Fabio (very friendly gentleman at the front desk) to the Motel next door (repairs at the first motel, Principe Di Piemonte, meant there was not a room available for us). After settling in we went for a walk around the neighbourhood (scary part, had some pizza then good part, had some pizza). Back for a rest (Matt slept, Chris wrote), shower, tea (local restaurant - very good) telly and then sleep.

Day 15 - Roma
We got up around 8:30am. Showered, dressed and moved back to the first Motel - Principe Di Piemonte. We bought tickets for a local Hop-on-hop-off bus and headed off to the train station to join it. It was a little hard to find so we missed the 10am bus we were aiming for and had to wait for the 11am. We were trying to see some sites and make it over to the vatican museum before it closed at 12:20. By the time we made it thee the Vatican city was so busy the queue for the museum was a block long. We decided to come back early Monday. So we weht for a wander around had some pizza for lunch while soaking up some sun. We joined the queue to see the Cystine chapel but again it was very long so we joined the queue to vist the tombs of the popes instead. It was very eerie, we paid our respects, saw John Paul II's tomb and went to catch the bus. We bought some postcards (20 for 2 Euro - very good). We caught the bus to finish off our tour and get back to the Motel in time to watch Australia beat Italy in the Rugby. After a bit more telly, a bottle of wine we showered and headed off for tea in a local ristorante "Il Padellaccio 2". A slow start (we were fairly early - 7:10pm) but after a pizza each, another half a bottle of wine and a few more patrons arriving it was a good atmosphere and good food. With a seafood risotto and an expresso for chris we were done. The owner bid us well and that we would come back tomorrow as we headed back to the motel for a Whisky (Matt) some telly and then sleep.

Day 16 - Roma
Raining today so we had a good sleep in. After getting up Matt went down to see if our other suitcase had arrived, yay it had! We got dressed and headed to the train station for some brunch. We wantered around the shops there for a bit and then back to pick up the iPod and train pass before going back to the train station again to sort out our trip to Florence tomorrow. It took us a while to figure out so we are glad we checked it all out today. After that we went to the internet point for an hour to book some accomodation, check World Cup Challenge, lookup some addresses and postcodes, update our blog etc. Chris wrote some post cards while there then went next door to a bar (La Divina Pub) for a couple of expressos for chris, a few pints for Matt and watched some italian soccer, quite good. Chris wrote a few more post cards and then back to the motel to freshen up before tea in the restaurant of the pub at 7:30pm. Had a lovely meal, at way too much then back to the room to pack and a good nights sleep.

Day 17 - Firenze
Up early for Breakfast, checkout and then back to Vatican City to try and see the Cystine Chapel. We caught the tram but went the wrong way! Almost an hour later we had made it but the queue by then was twice as long as it was on Saturday!!! Very disappointing. We joined the queue to see inside the church at least. We didn't have time to get back and then over to see the coluseum so we headed back to the motel, collected our bags and then off to the train station to catch our train to Firenze (Florence). Matt did suduko puzzles while Chris read and occassionally looked up to take in the Tuscan landscape. Once we had arrived in Firenze we headed for the Motel to check in and freshen up. Once we had settled in (One of our bags had blown out a wheel) we set off for a stroll around the local area and square. Both Matt and I agreed that Firenze was the nicest Italian, if not THE nicest city we had visited so far. A little smaller, cleaner, lovely shops and wonderful atmosphere. We went to the restaurant recommended by the Motel Reception (Matt and I nicknamed it the Two Brothers as it was run by two brothers). We had a lovely meal, a lovely bottle of wine and a lovely chat with an Australian family next to us - all good.

Day 18 - Firenze
Today we were on the ball, we got up at a good time (around 7am) got our act together and headed down for some brekkie and then off to the Academia of Art to see Michealangelo's David. Magnificant (although Matt was surprised by David's small package). On the way in we had a lovely chat to an American couple from Maddison County. After we had our fill of Italian Art we decided to take a trip to Pisa to see the leaning tower of Pisa. Once there we stopped at a seedy little cafe for lunch then over to the tower and associated church, intreging. We did a little souvenir shopping and then back to Firenze for an afternoon nap. On the way back to the motel we bought another (huge) suitecase to replace the one with the busted wheel. After our nap we freshened up, had some wine and then off to the square (didn't want to stray too far, bit tippsy). The meal was the most disappointing but the ice-cream cone afterwards more than made u for it. Back to the motel for a good nigh's sleep.

Day 19 - Venezia
We got up, had some brekkie, checked out and headed down to do the washing. After our washing was done we jumpled on the train and headed for Venice (Eurostar (quicker than regionale) this time). The trip was good, listened to the iPods, read, suduko, slept. Once in Venice we lugged our heavy, clumsy bags up and over the bridge to the other side of the grand canal. After checking in we went for a wander around to find a place for tea and an internet cafe (Chris also found somewhere for buying Christmas decorations and postcards). We grabbed a bottle of wine and headed back to the room for a freshen up and a drink before tea. We headed in the opposite direction to the most expensive internet cafe yet (we think it was the only one in Venice) and then off to Tea, Gnocchi and Lasgne, then back to the motel to bed. We had a room over the canal, great views but quite noisy.

Day 20 - Venezia
We got up, dressed and went down for brekkie. We caught the ferry down to the Rialto Bridge (first bridge built over the Grand Canal) and wandered around the markets nearby. Fresh fish (some still moving!), fruit & veg, souvenirs' wonderful. We then caught the ferry over to Saint Marco's square. The square was huge, we wandered around, Matt bought some birdseed and was mauled by the pigeons (flying rats - mad!!). We wandered up along the peir a fair way then came back (buying souvenirs on the way) for some lunch and the ferry back to the Motel. We went back to the room, ducked out quickly to buy some post cards and Christmas decorations and noticed that it was starting to spit, ruining our plan to go for a Gondola ride tonight. Back to the room to finish off our wine. We then decided to go down stairs for some pre-dinner drinks and ended up staying for tea in the Casonova Restaurant. Delicious! A wonderful meal! Breschetta, followed by Tagelette with back and veggies for Chris, Steak with red wine sauce and veggies for Matt. For dessert fruit tart and crème caramel! The best meal yet. After that we had a few more drinks and then off to bed.

Day 21 - Roma
Chris didn't have a very good nigh sleep, too awake, too noisy. We got up early, had brekkie and headed for the Rialto in search of a Gondole ride. The ones near the Motel didn't start until 10am (but the train back to Roma was leaving at 10:25am). The Gondoliers at the Rialto started at 9am and we were one of the first cabs of the rank - wonderful. The Gondolier gave us a brief history of Venice (112 islands, ~147 churches - 1 Greek Orthodox, 3 Synagogs and the rest Catholic). We went past Marco Polo's and Cassonova's Palaces, the tax office, jail and royal post. A wonderful 30 mins going under the oldest (Rialto) and lowest bridges in Venice in canals ranging in depth from 1-3m (side alleys), 5-7 (in the Grand Canal, where we were yesterday at St Marco square is the deepest, 23-25m). After our ride we caught the ferry back to the Motel, checked out, lugged our enormous bags over the Grand Canal to the Train Station and jumped on the Eurostar train to Roma.
The Train trip was very interesting, chatting (mostly Matt) with people arould us (Luigi, sitting next to Matt and Mario sitting nect to Chris and a few others across the aisle) about our travels, food, fishing, soccer, Pope Benedict - anything and everything really. Once in Roma we did the long haul back to our Motel, the new bag buckled under the pressure. After we finally made it, we checked in, had a beer and decided to leave the colosseum uintil tomorrow.
After our beers we freshened up and went out to do some recon on where EXACTLY we should catch the tram in the right direction tomorrow morning. We were glad we did, it took us a while. We then went to the Crazy Sheep again for tea (good but not as good as last time), then back for sleep, early day tomorrow.

Day 22 - Roma
We got up early (6:30am) to catch the tram to the Vatican Museum. The tabacoo shop to buy the tickets from was still closed and we didn't have the right change for the on board ticket so God forgive us, we travelled without a ticket. We were in the queue for the Vatican Museum by 7:30am for the 9am opening (No way we were going to miss seeing the sistine chapel again!).While waiting, we had brekkie (Ham, cheese baggetts and a cofee for Chris). Chris wrote in our travel diary while Matt read our Italian phrase book and abused a couple of french guys that were trying to push in. Once inside (the french guys managed to push in a few couples behind us and after coping some more abuse from the English couple behind us) we headed straight for our No. 1 priority (rushing past 2 other wings of art work and religious objects), the Sistine Chapel. Beautiful!. We went a little slower through the following exhibitions (not allowed to double back and start at the beginning, wish we knew that first) and then went around again to see the things we had rushed past at the beginning. The number of people going through at that point was 10 fold! Wall to wall with tour groups, tourists and security guards! After that we caught a bus over the the Colosseum and associated ruins - amazing!! Not quite as may people thank goodness. From there we caught a Taxi bac to the Motel, picked up our bags and then off to the station for lunch and the train to Naples. On arrival in Naples we headed of the station and around the square (a local(?) having a coffee in a cafe we walked past helped by pointed us in the right direction) to our Motel. The wheels of the new bag finally gave out, Matt had to drag it Wheeless half the way there. The fresh decor of the motel and spacious room was a welcomed sight. After freshening up we headed up to the Restaurant/Bar for a drink on the roof - wonderful views. After booking our tour to Pompeii and Vesuvious for tomorrow we had tea. Delicious, the best yet!! Seafood rissotto, pasta, lamb shops and swordfish.

Day 23 - Napoli
Up early again (6:30am). Dressed and off to brekkie by 7am - good. Quick walk around the local area and then waited for your tour to start. After picking up a few more people, listening to 4 yanks having to get up early, catching a taxi to the bus and then being taken around to all the motels (including theirs!) we headed for Pompeii. Awesome!! Hard to believe. We then had lunch (Pasta marina, calamari, prawns & salad and ice cream - nice). We then went on to Mt Vesuvius. Walking 300m to the peak (very hard work, tiring). A guide gave us some info - last eruption was in 1944, the mountain was 1800m higher at that stage, the magma chamber was 9km below the point where we were standing, the current Mt along with it's neighbour made up only half of the mountain that destroyed Pompeii, currently 800 000 people lie in the Red zone and most likely the next eruption will be as violent as Pompeii (build up of dedbris and gas from the last explosion) which hopefully will not be for a long time to come. After our trek (as the clouds rolled in, it was quite cool on the peak after the initial climb), we heded back to the motel. We were amazed by the huge piles of rubbish in the streets on the way back - it was unbelievable. Once back at the motel we had a bath, freshened up and then went in search of a meal. This was quite difficult since it was a Sunday and we didn't know the area very well (plus you really didn't want to be walking around with so much rubbish in the streets and so many strange people wandering around). In the end we went to a restaurant (right next door to the one the receptionist suggested - didn't see it) in the same square as the motel, got a couple of pizzas and hurried back to the room for some tea, telly and sleep.

Day 24 - Napoli
Went down for Brekkie and then for a walk looking for a trolley to mount the broken suitecase on. After pricing them and discussing for a bit (while it pored down) we decided not to bother. We did however by an umbrella. Went back to the room and waited for the rail to stop (very frustrating). Once the rain had stopped we ha trouble deciding what to do so we ended up going for a walk to the Marina and Port. On the way back (with quite a few hours left in the day) we decided we might as well go the the Amalfi Coast. We discovered however that you could only get there by train and it would be a 3hr round trip for probably only an hour or so looking around (probably in the dark). So we headed back to the motel bored and frustrated. We ended up playing cards until tea time. We had a fantastic meal again. After eating way too much (again) we headed back to pack and get some sleep.

Day 25 - Catania
Up early for our flight to Catania. As of today we are back on itinerary. The flight was fairly non-eventful. When we arrived in Catania it was a lot cooler. We caught a taxi to the Motel and then headed off to explore. Chris was feeling a little jet lagged (for some reason - probably lack of sleep). We walked from the Motel down the main drag, through the Berlini gardens to get some brekkie at Macca's (wasn't quite open when we got there so Chris had a coffee while we waited). After brekkie we headed on to the the town's main square. We walked around for a bit, taking photos and then caught one of those motorised tourist trains that took us for a tour around the city. We then looked into going up to Mt Etna tomorrow but there was only one bus up and one bus back which wouldn't get back in time for our flight. We tried to get onto a tour also but had no luck at such short notice. We went to the Motel's Restaurant. It was very much aimed at Businessman and the first waiter that tried to serve us brushed us because he couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak Italian. We tried but he just didn't understand our questions. The meal was lovely enough, just a touch uncomfortable after our run in with the waiter and being the only couple in the room.

Day 26 - Catania
Today was a pretty miserable day. We were woken up a number of times during the night and early morning from the heat and mossies (the size of Elephants). The weather was not that great either. We went for a walk back down the main drag did a bit of window shopping. Matt really didn't want to do anything since it was raining and Chris really didn't want to waste the day. So we grabbed our umbrella and raincoat and headed towards the coast for a walk. We stopped and had an ice cream while the rain stared again and then headed back to the Motel.

Day 11
Up for brekkie around 7 and then off to catch the bus to the airport. We got to the airport with plenty of time so (after the laptop battery died) we sat in a Cafe writing postcards and doing Suduko puzzles. The flight to Paris was fairly short. Once we had landed, collected our bags and cleared passport checks we found the Air France Bus which dropped us off at the Arc De Triomphe (after an interesting trip around the round-about). With tourist map in hand and Matt insisting on pulling both of the big suitecases we headed off to find our appartment. Once settled into our upgraded appartment we ducked down to the local laundromat to wash and dry a load of clothes. After struggling with the lanuage barrier we finally finished our washing and went to the restaurant across the road (XVI e Restaurant) for tea. It was a fantastic meal. Matt had garlic snails, Rump steak with pepper sauce and potatoes followed by a piece of fruit tart. Chris had Roast chicken with mash followed by Creme Brulee. After an accident with a glass of wine we struck up a conversation with the couple just across from us. They were from Wales on holidays before making a huge commitment of taking on a Pub together. We talked about everything and anything (enjoying the fact that we could all clearly understand each other) for an hour or so before arranging to meet again tomorrow for a drink. All-in-all not a bad start to the next leg of our journey.

Day 12
Chris got up first, Ironed some clothes for tonight, fiddled around on the computer etc. When Matt got up he went to organise Moulin Rouge for tonight, got some more cash out and got brekkie (Bacon & Egg Muffins from Macca's - can you believe it!) At around 10:30/11 we got our act together and headed for the Wilson St Market (as our friend Anna had suggested). It was fantastic! Fresh flowers, cheeses, fruit & veg, seafood, jewellery, clothing… wonderful.
We walked around the nearby streets for a bit and then stopped for café and bagettes (ham and cheese) very simple but nice. We we wanted to be back to meet Dawn and Mervin at 5pm so we decided to get a bit of fresh produce (cheeses, a baggette, olives, pate (for Matt), grapes and dried apricots with a bottle of red wine!) from the market for afternoon tea and head back to the appartment. We had our wonderful gourmet tea followed by a nap.
After or afternoon sleep we got up, dressed and headed down to meet Dawn and Mervin. Unfortunately they didn't show before 5:30pm so we headed off to our Moulin Rouge dinner and show. We took the metro over and joined the ever-growing queue. We were the first to be seated at our table of eight. An American (as we were eating our entree) french and another Aussie (Sydney) couples joined us. We chatted on and off with the frech couple (lovely), throughout the meal during which an orchestra entertained, performing various songs in various languages including japanese. After the meal (delicious) the real show started, dancers (most topless), jugglers, acrobats, mimes, snakes, music!!! A fantastic show and a wonderful night!!!

Day 13
Today we had planned a very busy day. We had a false start after leaving the camera in Matt's jacket from last night. We had a crossiant for Brekkie (nice) then checked out the Arc De Triomphe (climbed all the stairs to the top- magnificant views of Paris). We then went for a stroll down Dhape Eyless, had a coffee, window shopped while trying to call our friends Anna and Richard to meet for lunch. Eventually Anna called us and we met for lunch (Pizza, quite good).
We then walked down to the Louvre. It was wonderful. We saw the Mona Lisa and many other wonderful Italian and French artwork, along with some Egyptian and Roman artifacts before closing at 6pm. We had a lovely day with Anna and Richard. After saying goodbye we went back to the appartment to do a little admin, Matt uploaded some photos while Chris did some washing. We had more bread, wine, cheese, olives etc and then went for a walk around the Eiffle Tower and Trocedero, enjoying the stroll and the night lights. We got some more cash out for tomorrow and then went back to pack and bed.

Day 7
The English Breakfast down the road was too good to pass up so we went and had that again. We came back up to do a little admin, pack, write in our travel diary, download photos etc. We then headed off to Buckingham Palace to try and catch the changing of the guard before rushing back for our transfer to the Airport. The Changing of the Guard was late for some reason. We just caught the beginning of their march down to the palace as we rushed back to the Motel. Perfect timing, we had just checked out as the bus showed up. The transfer took us to Victoria station for the train to Gatwick.

Once at Gatwick we had to re-arrange our hand luggage so that we didn't have any creams or liquids on us and we were only allowed one bag each (including Chris' handbag which we shoved into the back pack) very fluster-mer-ating! After checking in and clearing security we relaxed for a bite to eat and a pint or two. The flight to ireland was short and sweet. We caught a local bus transfer into the city and checked in to Cassidys - a sight for sore eyes, pure luxury compared to London! After a freshen up we decided to go down to the restaurant (Restaurant Six) for tea. Devine! Matt had steak (sirloin) with three peppercorn sauce and Chris had the Sea Trout with dill sauce washed down with a Cab Sav from South Africa (name to come, Zonnee something). followed by Bourbon Biscuit tart with banana and caramel and Strudel with ice cream. A fantastic meal, brilliant atmosphere, wonderful company.

Day 8
The Motel provided a full "Irish" (buffet) breakfast - wonderful. The standard and hospitality of Dublin has left London for dead. After breakfast we went for a short stroll down O'Connell St (the main drag of Dublin). We then caught the City Bus tour (Hop-on-hop-off bus) around the city and then to the Guiness Brewery. We spent about 3 hrs working our way through the storehouse. Matt had our complimentary pints of Guiness in the bar ontop of the brewery which provided a spectacular 360 degree view of the city. We bought a few souvenirs and then join the bus tour back into the city centre.
We found a pub (Madigan's) for a late lunch and a few more pints. Matt went back to the room for a poppy nap while Chris went back around again to stop at Trinity College for a quick stroll and the Dublin Castle. After that we both freshened up to go to the Groomes Bar for tea followed by a quick walk, a bit of telly and then off to sleep.

Day 9
We went for a brisk walk before breakfast, we knew what was coming . After brekkie we ducked back to the room for Chris to call home and to rug up for the Coastal tour we were doing today. We joined the South Coast tour which took us through South Dublin, through Black Rock (saw some crazy people going for a swim at the "beach") and onto Powell Court Gardens. Here we grabbed some lunch and then strolled around the wonderful gardens for an hour or so, a beautiful day. Once back in Dublin we got off to have a closer look at the statue of Molly Malone and the Temple Bar area. We ducked into a pub near there for a quick pint and then ended up watching the 2nd half of the International Rules (Gaelic Football) game between Australia and Ireland. Australia won!! While in the pub we met another Australian family from Perth, Allan, Rose, their daughter and 2 sons. Lovely family that were just finishing up their 3 month European holiday. After finishing our pints we walked across the HaPenny bridge in search of a Bottlo (off license) with little luck. We ducked into a internet cafe for a bit and then back to the Motel for a few quick drinks and then ducked back out again to pick-up some Chinese takeaway for tea. After tea Matt went off to the bar while Chris re-packed to make sure our clothes were fairly evenly distributed between the two suite cases and tidy up a bit. Matt ducked out with a few other Aussies he met in the bar for a few more drinks.

Day 10
Matt got in around 3:30am, smelling like a brewery and promptly fell asleep. After a few more hours sleep we both got up for brekkie and then Matt went back to bed while Chris went off for the North Coast tour to Malhaide Castle (last owned by Rose Talbot, Sheep station owner in Tassie), very interesting. Chris got back around 2pm, met up with Matt for lunch (pretty ordinary Burger King) followed by a stroll around Clearys Department store. After some coffee and cake we went back for a Nap. Once we woke and freshened up a little we bundled up our laundry and went off to try and do some washing. Unfortunately the laundromat was closing so we took it back to the room and ducked back out again for our last stroll trough the Dublin streets and a bite to eat. After tea we went back, picked up the iPod and headed back to the internet cafe to upload some photos. After fiddling around there for a bit we retired for our last night in Dublin.

Days 1 & 2
Our holiday started off with a wonderful weekend catching up with family and friends.
Day 3
On Monday, we took off from Sydney after relaxing in the airport for 4 hours (No way were we going to miss this flight). The 14hr+ flight to Dubai seemed quite short really. Flying during the night makes all the difference. We watched "The Da Vinci Code", "Cars" and part of "The Breakup" in between naps and meals.

Day 4
Dubai's departure lounge was facinating. At 6am in the morning it was busy as, filled with a wide variety of people, both asleep and awake. Smoking rooms, Duty Free shopping, Cafes, eateries abound. We sat and watched all this go by while Chris sipped a coffee. After what seemed a slightly longer 8hr+ trip (flying through the day) to London, clearing customs and the transfer to our motel we were both quite tired. We had a few quick beers, a quick bite to eat and then hit the hay.

Day 5
Today we spent a lovely day wandering around the city. We started off with a Hop-on-hop-off bus tour followed by a brisk stroll and a river cruise. After wandering around for a bit we had a pint or two of Carlsberg at the "Hung, Drawn and Quartered" (a pub named after the method of execution for traitors such as William Wallace). We then wandered on to the first Irish pub to be built in London, "The Tiperrary". Here we had a lovely british lunch of Bangers & Mash and a beef pie with chips washed down with a iced cold Carlsberg - lovely jubbly. After another brisk walk (and a number of toilet stops on the way) back to the motel for a nanna nap (turned into a 4hr sleep). We went for a stroll, grabbed a bite to eat, a few more Carlsbergs and then off to bed. A pretty great day all in all.

Day 6
Today we decided to give our complimentary breakfast (bread and cereal) the flick for a much tastier English Breakfast as a local cafe down the road. From there we walked to Trafalgar Square, had a quick chat with some fellow Australians from Adelaide andd then went on to Buckingham Palace. A number of dignitaries were going into the the palace for what we later discovered was the MBE and OBE awards. We then caught the Big Bus to go and check out Harrods (a prestigous shopping deparment store in Knightsbridge). We walked around mostly with our jaws hanging. Our favourite parts being the LG Homnet demonstration (given by Basil) and the fabulous food court (filled with smallgoods, cheeses, precooked meals, coffees, fine chocolates, fruit and vege, EVERYTHING!).

After a coffee each and a reasonably long wait for the next bus we went through a number of well know streets and areas such as Piccidilly, Regent Street, Mayfair, Oxford Stree etc. We got off near Trafalgar Square and went to a nearby Sports Bar - Cafe for a few cold pints, a Pina colada for Chris and some hot Fries, just what the Dr ordered. After that we went on the "Ghosts by Gas Light" walking tour of London which took us through a number of back alleys and tucked away pubs of London. We heard stories of hauntings, Graveyards, murders and sewers. Quite facinating. After the long walk back to the Motel we grabbed a quick bite to eat (best hamburger in ages) in the pub downstairs and then off to bed exhausted but content.

Ingredients
4 thick slices eggplant
4 chicken breasts trimmed of fat
1x 400g whole peeled tomatoes quartered
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed
¼ cup Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup whole basil leaves (optional)
cracked black pepper

Procedure
Pre heat oven to 200C (400F)
Place eggplant in baking dish greased with oil
Top each slice of eggplant with chicken breast
Top chicken with slices of tomato
Spoon capers over chicken breasts
Combine sugar & vinegar & spoon over
Season with cracked pepper
Bake 20-25 minutes or until cooked
Sprinkle with basil leaves if desired

Well my first trip to the UK! It was quite scary getting here and the trip was exceedingly long – I managed to watch three complete movies (“Walk the Line”, “Yours, Mine and Ours” and “King Kong”) and walked around Bangkok airport for about an hour! Thank goodness we were flown Business Class - at least we were able to lie relatively flat and get some sleep.

Heathrow was very, very hectic! The queues to get through customs were horrendous! It took us at least 45mins to get through and we were in the "Fast Track" line because we flew Business, the other queues were 10 times longer! From there the trip Jersey was a short one but was delayed for 30-45mins.

The first day was a shocker, miserably cold weather (rain, overcast, wind), meetings and jet-lag, yuck! By 5:30pm here (2:30 am in Oz) I was well and truly ready for bed but I managed to stay awake until 9pm here – an absolute miracle. Since arriving in Jersey we have been flat out at work! The project we are working is complex on so many levels it is not even funny. We are in meeting from 9-5 each day and then have heaps more work to do before and after they are over.

We have been eating out every night. The food over here is very tasty but heaps of oil. I’m sure I’ve put on at least 5 kgs! I’m definitely going to have to do some serious exercise when I get back. We have also been drinking way too much wine! My gout has flaired up again.

We managed to have most of the weekend off which happened to be a long weekend here. On Saturday I spent my time exploring the city (St Helier) and doing heaps of shopping! Pretty scary actually the conversion rate will mean I have spent way, way, way too much money. Oh well! Sunday we spent exploring more of the island (via hope on and hope off bus) and went to the Jersey War tunnels, the Zoo and walked around Mount Orgile Castle (on the other side of the Island). Quite a pleasent day out. On Monday, being the Bank Holiday here we caught the ferry over to St Malo (France) – very exciting. I wasn’t feeling too well for the first part of the morning, had a pounding headache, so bad that I felt nauseas everytime I moved my head. Once the Paracetemol kicked in I started to picked up and managed to enjoy the rest of the day. We spent our time walking around the old fortified city of St Malo, walking along the top of the wall, a little of time on the beach of of course through the cobble-stone streets. Lovely.

The last week of my trip was even more hectic than the first but we managed to catch up with Donna (used to work at CPASS with us) which was lovely and then I began the long trip home, solo this time. On the way home I also managed to watch three movies (The Last Holiday, Casanova and ?). I also did a little more work before the battery on the notebook ran out but by the end I just wanted to get off the plane and back home to my Matty, girls, a nice hot shower and bed.

All in all the trip was pretty good and certainly gave me a taste of what to expect when Matt and I go over later in the year for our REAL European Holiday. Can’t wait!

Ingredients
125 g butter, softened
½ tspn vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup plain flour
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
250g chopped chocolate

Procedure
Place butter, vanilla and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy. Beat egg into mixture and then stir through flours, coconut and chocolate. Roll 2 tablespoons of mixture into balls, place balls on lined baking trays and flatten slightly. Bake in a preheated 190° (375°F) oven for 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Take care not to over cook. Cool on trays.

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