Claire's Adventures

Extranjero blog

2009-06-03T15:46:00.002+10:00

So I've started up a new blog for the South America trip starting in two weeks. Hopefully this time I'll get round to updating it. Though given I'm going to Patagonia in the middle of winter, there'll be lots of nighttime hours to do so...

Anyhow, I've put a rough itinerary for those of you interested and will try to blog along as I travel through.

The address is http://extranjeroontheestancia.blogspot.com/

Ukrainian boomerangs and one giant sausage

2008-02-21T22:40:00.006+11:00

Bison at Elk Island National Park

After San Francisco, I flew to Edmonton in Canada, home of the McLeod’s – my sister-in-law Andrea’s hometown. It would have been colder than at home in Sydney (where it was getting on for winter) but for someone who is unnaturally attracted to the cold, it was great.
Last time I was here it was summer, with sunlight until 10pm or so. April is a different matter. It’s cold, the snow has only just melted, so everywhere is brown and muddy. But, I loved it all the same. For me it was a novelty that we could go to the national park (Elk Island) and still see snow on the ground and the lake half frozen over. This time too, I got to get that little bit closer to the bison. Probably as close as I’d like to get.

Frozen lake at Elk Island, and as close as I wanted to get to those guys

Alberta is also the province of Canada well known for its ‘big things’. This time, Lash took me to the towns of Mundare and Vegreville to see the Giant Ukrainian Sausage, and the Giant Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) respectively. The area was favoured by many Ukrainian settlers, hence there is a large Ukrainian community still in the area from which Lash is descended. I found the Pysanka very pretty, however the giant sausage was not. Still I did get to taste some – it wasn’t bad.

The giant Ukrainian Sausage, and the Giant Pysanka

I also got to take a ride along with Shirley, Andrea’s sister, who is an officer with the Edmonton Police, while it was somewhat of a quiet night for them, we did speed along the Edmonton streets, arrest an unruly teenager, comfort a little boy after a stranger offered him candy and visit the hospital, all in all a really interesting night

The real joy of the visit was seeing the MacLeods again, including grandchildren Riley and Haley who latched on to ‘Aunty Claire’ and her funny accent. In addition, Riley, drawing on his heritage introduced me to the idea of one of the older Ukrainian artifacts, the Ukrainian boomerang. “But Riley, I thought boomerangs came from Australia!”. “Well not this one. This one is from North America”. I guess I’ve been educated. And of course the biggest kid of all, the gorgeous black Labrador, Koda. She'd certainly grown since my last visit

Wearing flowers in my hair (or - designer jeans in San Francisco)

2008-01-09T20:29:00.003+11:00

So finally I am getting around to posting my world trip for 2007 (this way I can be all prepared for a new trip in 2008!)

Anyhow, on April 20, 2007 at around 12ish, I flew out of Sydney. An hour later, I arrived in San Francisco. The international date line certainly makes for one quick trip. It did feel somewhat longer on the plane though. I blame it on the plane seats.

Arriving in San Francisco, I went straight from the airport to my hostel at Fisherman's Wharf. By straight, obviously I mean that I took the scenic tour of San Francisco and suburbs, but given I was slightly jet-lagged, it didn't bother me too much. In fact it was great, as it gave me my bearings of the city. We drove straight through the centre of San Francisco (and additionally past some shops that I immediately placed on my visit list). After an hour or so, I got to Fisherman's Wharf and settled into my room.

Sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge

After dropping off my bag and showering, I realised that I was famished. Plus I had a number of things that I needed to pick up from the supermarket, so I headed down to the local Safeway. Amongst other items including Oreos and wintergreen tic-tacs, and browsing all the strange and wonderful things that one may find in an American supermarket, I picked up some deodorant. Not just any deodorant, but Chai Latte scented deodorant. Aah I love America. Following that, however, and very un-Californian of me, it was back to the hostel for a nap. I blame the jet-lag. I did wake up, however, for an early evening wander of Fisherman's Wharf.

The San Francisco Center

Day 1 in San Francisco - it was raining. While this meant that I couldn't do much sightseeing, it did give me the opportunity to get some shopping out of my system. I headed into San Francisco city centre, and it didn't take long for a seasoned shopper such as myself to find the places to go. All my old favourites! Bloomingdales, Victoria's Secret, Gap and lots lots more. I bought myself a pair of designer jeans. Quite fitting - San Francisco is the home of jeans, in particular Levis. When I entered the Levi's shop to buy a pair for my brother in law, I had never seen so many pairs of jeans in the same place before!

Left: The Golden Gate Bridge, Right: San Francisco terraces and the view to the city centre

The next morning, after partaking in my usual American breakfast of cream cheese bagels as it was a gorgeous day, it was a perfect opportunity to walk to and over the Golden Gate. This is one of the absolute must do's in San Francisco. From someone who walks over the Sydney Harbour Bridge frequently... this is a long bridge. And when I got to the other side? I just kept on walking. Marin County was pretty, and it wasn't far to Sausalito, a really cute bayside town. I spent a couple of hours here, wandering around before I caught the ferry back to San Francisco. Then I just spent some time wandering around, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill, Nobb Hill!

Left: Coit Tower, Right: Marinas along the path to the Golden Gate

Then it came to my last day in San Fran. I didn't have too much time, so I just wandered into town. A little bit of shopping, and a cable car ride home before I had to head to the airport. No doubt about it, San Francisco is one of the places to go.

Aunty Claire and Lena

2007-06-05T08:23:00.000+10:00

So not too much commentary necessary here - this is me with the lovely Lena Juliet in her pretty pink dress. Lena and I have been having fun bonding! Isn´t she cute!!

Eye candy

2007-06-04T05:26:00.000+10:00

Left: Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Right: Bison at Elk Island National Park in Canada

Left: The Chicago Bean, Right: Central Park in New York

Left: High above Dubrovnik on the city walls, Right: Stari Most (Old bridge) at Mostar in Bosnia

So here is a teaser post for those of you who keep asking me for trip photos... As usual with me, I take photos at a rate at which I could represent Australia in the Olympics, so there will be lots to sort through.

Supetar on the island of Brač in Croatia

So far this has been a fabulous trip, I have been to many wonderful places, and have lots of stories to tell when I get back... Watch this space!

Left: Ivangorod Fortress in Russia (taken from Narva, Estonia), Right: The Hill of Crosses in Lithuania

Alive and well in Sarajevo (except for the cold)

2007-05-27T04:37:00.000+10:00

So... this trip I`ve been somewhat of a slacker in keeping this blog updated. I expect I`ll get around to it when I get back, sorry guys!

This is just a quick post to let you all know that, yes, I am still alive and didn`t get apprehended by the Croatian mafia, and despite the annoying cold I must have picked up in Dubrovnik (only the hottest place I went in Croatia) I am doing well. I don´t have a clue what was in the medication I picked up in Croatia, but it seems to be doing the trick.

So currently I am located in the fascinating city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo is in the Bosnia part). So far it strikes me as a bit of an oddball city, but I`m sure I`ll have fun here!! The Turkish style bazaar looks fun, and don´t get me started on the fantastic coffee here in Bosnia. I´m sure I even saw a roadside scythe stall on the way into town today!

In summary, alive, well and you`ll see some photos eventually!!!

Round the world Mark II

2007-04-30T12:48:00.000+10:00

So most of you probably already know... but for those that don't, I enjoyed my round the world trip last year so much, that I'm taking another! This one is slightly smaller in scale, but over 7 weeks, I'll be taking in San Francisco, Edmonton, Chicago, New York, London, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, and the Western Balkans. I'm exhausted just thinking of it!

Watch this space for photos and stories coming soon from various places around the world!!

Picnicking at Point Cook

2007-03-04T23:51:00.000+11:00

The purple scenery of Point Cook

The 2nd of Jan was Mum and Dad's Ruby Wedding anniversary, so since this was the last day that we were all together, we went for a picnic at Point Cook - a state park in Melbourne's south west on Port Phillip Bay.

Mum and Dad celebrating their Ruby Anniversary

We had a great day - in spite of the heat, and Tom gave us all a crash course in "frisbeeing". We slowly improved over the course of the day...

Left: Justine, Right: Rachelle and Tom

Following that, we took a nice walk along the beach, which due to all the seaweed and sea urchins etc washed up, had turned a pretty shade of purple.

It was a lovely day, and was enjoyed by all, as you can see from the photos.

Retail therapy in Melbourne

2007-03-04T23:29:00.000+11:00

Left: The Block Arcade, Right: Rachelle and I with our day's

purchases (includes some of Justine's too!)

While down in Melbourne at Christmas, one of the things to do is go to the Melbourne sales... Rachelle, Justine and I set out for a "Girls' Day Out hitting the shops of the Melbourne CBD".

Those who know me well will know that I have a slight shoe addiction, so will take any opportunity to buy some new ones. Rachelle and Justine did well too - each of us found two new pairs during the course of the day. We all picked up a number of bargains for the day - nothing at full price!

Now just need to hold out till I get to New York!

Web Albums

2007-01-26T00:09:00.000+11:00

As you all know, I love putting photos on my blog here.... But playing with Picasa tonight, I've become a fan of web albums. It's always so hard to pick the photos that I show to the world, now I get to show a few more. I will of course continue to post photos to the blog here... but if you want to see more... visit my web albums!

Boxing Day at the "G"

2007-01-08T23:58:00.000+11:00

We had already won the Ashes... but we were yet to whitewash... the series was at a tense moment.

Aah... I'd been to the Boxing Day cricket test before, but never on Boxing Day itself, nor to the Ashes... So after pestering Rachelle and Tom for a while, they gave me one of the coveted tickets that would also hopefully see Warnie's 700th wicket.

It happened late in the day.... After we were partially frozen from the football-type temperatures. We watched Warnie get not only his 700th wicket, but he scored a 5 wicket innings, in his second last game before retirement...

Go Warnie!!!

Special mention should also go to "Cousin Glenn" - Glenn McGrath who Mum suggests is likely to be some distant relation of ours, who is also soon to retire from cricket.

Sydney summers on the beach

2007-01-08T22:14:00.000+11:00

Waves crashing at Avalon

Of all the places I've travelled to in the world, the only beaches coming close to Australia's have been Hawaii's, and let's face it... much of the sand lying on Hawaii's beaches is from Australia anyhow! This summer has been an odd one, weather-wise, so my friend Claire and I agreed on a day, and said we'd go to the beach, rain hail or shine.

The beach at Dee Why

We headed north, to Sydney's beautiful Northern Beaches and ran into a bit of foul weather... It rained most of the way to Palm Beach, however we did get a bit of a break when we stopped for lunch at Avalon.

Claire relaxing on the beach

Then we headed back towards the city, and by the time we got to Dee Why (Just before we were about to give up and go to a movie at Warringah Mall) so we stopped off for a relaxing afternoon on the beach. It was great - one of those beautiful (however still cool) afternoons we get here in Sydney, just before summer kicks in.

Claire and I at Dee Why

Barefoot Bowls at Mosman

2007-01-08T21:45:00.000+11:00

Left: Stormclouds rolling in, Right: Here I am with Jodie (Left) and Kate (Centre)

As our 'End of busy season' (implying that there was a quiet season that I've not yet seen) function for work, we had a barefoot bowls day at Mosman (conveniently in walking distance from my place!). It was fairly dicey weather, you can see above the stormclouds rolling in, however we still got a fair bit of play in.

A great day was had by all, and I even learned to bowl a bit!

Dashing through the snow...

2007-01-08T00:18:00.000+11:00

Standing on skis

While I was sitting at work one day in England worrying about some hedge fund, I got sidetracked, and found I'd agreed to a ski trip on my return to Australia.

Tim and Pete before we headed out for the first day's lesson

It took place in September, for what was an already fairly poor ski season... We boarded the bus in Sydney at midnight, and pulled into Perisher resort just as the sun was coming up. We waited around for an hour or so before anything even opened to sort ourselves out with ski gear. We were all tired and grumpy, however it was a beautiful day - we just had to get out there and go.

Views of Perisher - Left: the village, Right: My "toddler" slope

As you all probably know, I'm not the world's most accomplished skier. This was my third time ever on skis, the previous times being once at Falls Creek where the weather was so foul we only gave it half a day, the second time being a day of cross country skiing with Greg at Lenggries in Germany, which I have discussed previously on my blog. This time I actually felt as if I ended the trip being able to ski... at least a little, meaning I could make it down the toddler slope (a bit more challenging than the baby slope) and also - (for me perhaps the greater achievement) ended the weekend having finally mastered chairlifts - i.e. being able to ski off them.

Left: Stacks on on the snow; Right: Grant and Pete during a game of "Thumb King"

We also had some great accomodation. Everyone returned after the day's skiing to have a short nap, before tucking into the great dinner and desert that was served for us. We had a great time, and it also gave me the chance to get to know some of the new faces around the office since getting back from England. One night we even headed into Perisher for a night at the pub. A great time seemed to be had by all!

Dinner at Barakee Lodge

Can't wait for next year's trip!

Flashback to Russia - and some feedback on decisions I have made

2007-01-03T23:01:00.000+11:00

Before I booked my May 2006 trip to Russia I struggled with the dilemma of how I was going to get from Moscow to St Petersburg. Unfortunately I couldn't book an open-jaw flight, and had to fly both in and out of Moscow, so I was of two minds whether to train or fly the 700 odd kilometres between the two cities.

In the end with the help of a good friend in Moscow, Lena, I went for the rail option. After all - travel by rail in Russia is legendary. If it's good enough for Dr Zhivago and Anna Karenina... it's good enough for me. And my reading on the situation prior to travel suggested that Aeroflot was the best of the Russian airlines, call me prejudiced, but based on the airline's past, that wasn't quite enough assurance for me.

So today following some random browsing on wikipedia, one of my favourite websites, I discovered some scary information on the airline's performance... I think I made the right decision.

Incidentally, my cousin Robert who was also travelling in Russia at the same time, and whom I finally met up with in Krakow, Poland after some Fawlty Towers style communication problems, made the brave decision and flew Aeroflot... He suggested that it was an "experience", after he was advised to shrinkwrap his luggage and personally identify at the other end. (And that's before even considering the in-flight safety!) Maybe next time I'll brave it!

NB: Despite the above predicament I was in, Russia was an absolute highlight of my world trip. I'd be there again in an instant... if only the visa wasn't so expensive! And admittedly, when I look at the link, American airlines and United Airlines are almost as bad... Might do some rethinking for trip 2007!

2006 City to Surf

2006-12-27T17:29:00.000+11:00

Left: A winter's day at Bondi, Right: Alison and I at the start line

2006 City to Surf was held on a beautiful winter's day. The City to Surf is held every year in Sydney, and consists of a 14km run or walk from Hyde Park in the City to Bondi Beach. I've taken part on a number of occasions, usually it's the work sponsored marquee at the end that keeps me going. The course goes through some of the prettiest parts of Sydney, and includes a landmark, the aptly named 'Heartbreak Hill'. It's quite a famous race really, and attracts many professional runners, as well as the cartoon characters and gorillas amongst families and corporate groups making up the 'Back of the Pack'.

Left: Gorillas on course for Bondi, and Right: A sea of red at the start line

This year, Alison and Cameron, some friends of mine were also doing the course so we ran (read 'walked') all the way to Bondi together. As usual, the marquee put up a good performance by supplying us with a decent barbecue and a few drinks at the end.

Band playing on the roof of Double Bay's Golden Sheaf Hotel, and Alison and Cam enjoying the barbecue at Bondi

Stunning sunsets

2006-12-27T17:22:00.000+11:00

While we were driving home from our trip to Barwon Heads on the Bellarine Peninsula, we came across this stunning sunset, and just had to stop off and take a photograph.

Lena Juliet Holmes

2006-12-27T12:34:00.000+11:00

Meet my lovely niece Lena Juliet. This is one of many photos of the newest member of the family. For more, see Greg and Andrea's website. Lena was born on 23 December in England.

A day for a Seachange - Barwon Heads

2006-12-27T12:29:00.000+11:00

Views around the point at Barwon Heads

Not long after arriving home from my trip, I spent a weekend in Melbourne with Rachelle and Tom. Over the weekend we took a drive down to Barwon Heads, a little past Geelong on the Bellarine Peninsula. For those not in the know, Barwon Heads is one of the main sites for the filming of one of my favourite television series, Seachange.

Under the bridge that caused so much drama
in the Pearl Bay of Seachange

Barwon Heads is a small village to the south west of Melbourne on the Bass Strait. We enjoyed a great meal of fish and chips in the boat shed, and then took a walk around the point. It was a beautiful winter's day, and a great day out.

The Boat Shed - Diver Dan's place

Greetings from Aunty Claire

2006-12-24T11:57:00.000+11:00

Hot off the press - I am now an aunt. My brother Greg and his wife Andrea gave birth to a baby girl, Lena, yesterday (Dec 23) in the UK. As yet there are currently no photos available, however we are all very excited about the new birth. Check Greg's website for further details, and I'll post some photos as soon as they are available.

There's no place like home...

2006-11-29T13:53:00.000+11:00

Whew! As most of you know, I've been back in Sydney since July. Given it's now November, that means it's taken me about 4 months to get the trip posts all up here...

I'll have lots of Sydney adventures posted soon too - I've still been having heaps of fun since I got back here. There's also parts of my trip which may not have made it to the blog... So those will be coming up too from time to time!

"Aloha" - Surfers Crossing

2006-11-29T12:06:00.000+11:00

Crossing near Sunset Beach

Hawaii. The perfect place to finish an around the world trip. Also conveniently located as the natural last stop on my itinerary therefore it made perfect sense to stopover rather than doing the long flight from Canada direct. We got into Honolulu at about 11pm on the 4th of July, pity we seem to have missed most of the festivities though.

Another thing I loved about Hawaii was all of the beautiful flowers

From the moment the airport bus guy threw our bags onto the bus, we could tell that Hawaii was going to be a bit more laid back than most of the places we'd been. You could see families on their relaxing holiday wandering around Waikiki with matching Hawaiian shirts for father and son, wondering whether they would ever wear them again when they got home... Everything just seemed to happen on "Hawaii time", a far cry from the hustle and bustle of cities like New York, London, Istanbul or Moscow. But perhaps that was just what I needed.

Left: Here I am on Sunset Beach, Right: Surfboards on Waikiki Beach

We had a great couple of days in Hawaii... I was at the stage of the trip where I was happy just to relax, do a bit of sightseeing but nothing too adventurous. Hawaii is a fantastic place for that kind of holiday... Some nice hot weather before hitting the cold winter in Australia, a chance to relax on the beach (after to getting to a place with the best beaches since leaving Australia) with a good book, and having a nice swim, enjoying the sunset and the first time I've been on an island out in the middle of the Pacific.

Left: Sunset Beach, Right: Waikiki Beach

As is often the case with me, someone who doesn't relax well, we did do a little adventuring. One day we caught the bus all the way around the island of Oahu, stopping off for a break at Sunset Beach on the northern side of the island (I will say the hamburger and chips we got there felt more like a takeaway on the beach in Australia than any of the places in Honolulu or Waikiki) . Another day we took a trip to the beautiful Hanauma Bay near Honolulu - a protected bay famous for its snorkelling. I hired a snorkel and had a go myself, and got to see some beautiful coloured fish. That afternoon, we also visited Diamond Head, a volcanic crater overlooking Waikiki. I did the climb to the top, which included climbing stairs through claustrophobic tunnels, and the view at the top rewarded me with views all over the area. It was fantastic.

Inside the crater on Diamond Head (Left) and the view from the top over Waikiki

The other day? Relaxing down at Waikiki with a good book!

Above: Waikiki beach
Below: Hanauma Bay

Vegging in Vancouver

2006-11-22T13:51:00.000+11:00

Our last Canadian port of call was Vancouver, when after 7 months of travelling around, I finally saw the Pacific Ocean again.

Left: A spectacular flight over the Rockies, Right: Vancouver Skyline from Stanley Park

After a spectacular flight from Calgary over the Rockies, we landed in Vancouver, a city of about 2 million people in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Vancouver lies on a short width of land between the mountains and the ocean - it's fairly spectacularly located. I really loved the city, a great mix of outdoors, cosmopolitan shopping and dining, and culture.

Above: Canada Place

Below: Fish market at Lonsdale Quay and some beautiful flowers in Stanley Park

While in Vancouver, we spent some time wandering around the fantastic Stanley Park. There is a bus that during summer travels around the full circuit of the park (it's a fairly large park!) It was a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed the sights, from the raccoons to the flowers to the great skyline views of Vancouver city.

Left: A raccoon out in Stanley Park, Right: The Lion's Head Bridge

I also managed to fit in a spot of shopping on Robson Street, wandered around Canada Place, and got to ride the funky Skytrain. We also wandered down through Gastown, and watched one of the World Cup matches from one of the Gastown breweries. I really enjoyed Vancouver - it had such a great atmosphere, a really great place to be.

A Bavarian Wedding in Canada

2006-11-19T16:23:00.000+11:00

Table decorations, and Right: Greg and Andrea cut the cake

My brother Greg got married last December in Bavaria - complete with Lederhosen, and his wife Andrea in a Dirndl. Because Greg is Australian, Andrea is Canadian, and they were living in Germany, they had three wedding celebrations. Firstly in Munich, secondly in Sydney (unfortunately I was away in London at the time) and then lastly in Canada, in Andrea's hometown of Edmonton. Mum and I stopped into Edmonton for some time and got to meet many of the McLeods.

Left: Greg with Mum, and Right: Andrea's sister Shirley makes a speech for the couple

It was a beautiful sunny day, and was much enjoyed by all. We felt very welcome and it was great to meet so many new people, including all of Andrea's immediate family.

The McLeods also have a beautiful puppy, Koda, a black Labrador. A mischievous and friendly puppy, Koda liked to be part of the action.

Koda

Road trip through the Rockies

2006-10-29T12:25:00.000+11:00

Following our relaxing stay in Edmonton (post to come where I track down where I've saved those photos...)

Following the festivities in Edmonton, we rented a car (a "Malibu") and drove down the highway into Canada's beautiful Rocky Mountains. We had some stunning weather along the way, this is a truly beautiful part of the world.

Our first day consisted of the drive from Edmonton to Jasper. Along the way we visited the Maligne Canyon and did a lovely walk alongside the canyon.

View along the Maligne Canyon, Jasper National Park

We ended the day at the town of Jasper, a small mountain community, and had a bite to eat for dinner... I tried the Bison Burger. The next day was probably the most spectacular of our trip through the Rockies. We started up with a drive to Mt Edith Cavell, just outside Jasper where we did a walk with some great views of the not one, but three glaciers on the mountain. Firstly, the spectular hanging Angel Glacier, then the Cavell Glacier and the Ghost Glacier. We really enjoyed the walk, even getting up close to glacial pond and hunks of ice lying on the edge.

Left: The Angel Glacier, Right: the magnificent Athabasca Falls

After leaving Mt Edith Cavell, we following the Icefields Parkway further until we got to the Athabasca Falls. These are the most powerfull falls in this part of the Rockies, and in summer they were in full glory. On a fine day like we had, you will see rainbows because of the mist rising from them. A truly impressive sight!

Continuing down the Icefields Parkway, we headed through some spectacular mountain scenery until we got to the Columbia Icefield - glaciers everywhere you look. This is one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Artic Circle feeding a number of major glaciers, including the Athabasca and Dome, and also serves as a tricontinental divide - feeding the major river systems - the Athabasca (feeding into the Artic Ocean), Saskatchewan (feeding into Hudson Bay and the Atlantic Ocean) and Columbia (which feeds into the Pacific Ocean). While there, we took the 'Snocoach' onto the glacier surface where we had some brilliant views, up close of this magnificent place. We spent that night, after driving through some more breathtaking scenery along the Saskatchewan River Valley, by staying at Saskatchewan River Crossing.

Left: The AA Glacier, taken whilst standing on the Athabasca Glacier - arms of the Icefield
Right: The Snocoach which we took onto the Glacier.

The next day we travelled further south into the Banff National Park. Banff is probably a bit more touristy, and feels a little less remote than the Jasper National Park. This is where many of the big tourist sites are - Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Peyto Lake, and yet more mountains. The weather was not quite as nice this day, a little overcast, and I remember it as the day I first noticed how many mosquitos there were in the mountains...

Left: Peyto Lake, Right: Johnston Canyon

Peyto Lake is one of those spectacular sites on the way to Banff. The lake is an extraordinary colour blue and set in amongst the trees and mountains makes it one of the most beautiful lakes I've seen. Must be why the mozzies like it too - I felt like I was on the menu while I was up at the lookout. We also got to see some pretty alpine flowers on the way up. The rest of the day was spent at the other big lakes - first Lake Louise and then Moraine Lake, both of which were pretty outstanding despite the less than perfect weather you can see in the photos. I particularly liked Moraine lake, and the famous 'Ten dollar note view' which was printed on the old Canadian $10 notes. We rounded out the afternoon with a visit Johnston Canyon, another impressive canyon with water rushing through at magnificent speed. That night we stayed at Canmore, a little further on the Banff.

Left: Moraine Lake - the "Ten dollar note view", Right: The Three Sisters at Canmore

Canmore was a great place to stay, and we had a really comfortable room there, with great breakfasts!! Canmore is about 20mins from Banff, and outside the national park. Near Sydney in the Blue Mountains National Park, there is a formation called the Three Sisters. Canmore has it's own version which towers over the town, as you can see above. It was also in Canmore that we first got into the Canadian trend that is Tim Hortons - donuts and all kinds of goodies.

Breakfast at the Lady MacDonald Country Inn

The next day was July 1 - a good time to be in Canada, as it was Canada Day! One thing we found out about the Canadians - they are extremely patriotic people, to the extent that even all of the foreigners in Banff were getting into the spirit. I myself was sporting a couple of Canadian Flags. We spent the morning on the Banff Gondola, followed by a dip in the Banff Springs - one of the reasons this place became so famous in the first place! Unfortunately our budget didn't quite stretch to the Fairmont Banff Springs. The afternoon was spent wandering the shops on Main Street and watching the parade of marching bands, flag twirlers, baton twirlers, clowns and other exhibits, including a few dedicated to the upcoming Calgary Stampede. We rounded out the day with a visit to Lake Minnewanka, a large picturesque lake.

Left: Picturesque Lake Minnewanka, Right: Parading down Main Street, Banff on Canada Day

Canadian for the Day: Celebrating Canada Day in Banff

And so we came to the last day of our Rockies Road Trip... We left Canmore, and after a recommendation from our hosts, we visited the Bow Valley Provincial Park in Kananaskis County, enroute to Calgary. We both really enjoyed the park - lots of beautiful flowers, and some beautiful reflections of the foothills to the Rockies. While the livestock was pretty active (a few nice mozzie bites) we got some great photos, and then continued on to Calgary. We had some time to kill before our flight to Vancouver... and from reading the book "What's so funny about Alberta" we knew that there was a giant cowboy in the town of Airdrie, just north of Calgary... So when in the great west of North America... what better to do than pay homage to the Cowboy. After driving round in circles we finally found him... Hiding out in a car sales yard.

Left: View at Bow Valley Provincial Park, Right: the Giant Cowboy of Airdrie

Rendezvous with the Quebecois

2006-10-02T17:07:00.000+10:00

Where else could you mix the class of French cuisine with Walmart. Yes, that's right, in Montreal!

Heading north from New York's La Guardia airport, I went to Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Montreal was an interesting city - heading into town down the wide North American style streets, lined with Walmart, one of the biggest variety of fast food outlets (each with an acre of available parking spaces, you will end up in the centre of town, lined with delightfully coloured terraces, a magnificent cathedral, a couple of impressive bridges, and a truly UFO-like Olympic Tower from when the city hosted the Olympic Games in 1976.

The interior of the Notre Dame Basilica and the Canadian Flag flying

We spent a couple of days wandering around Montreal - shopping, eating, testing out my meagre knowledge of French. We did find, however, that the French spoken in, Quebec is somewhat different to that spoken in France itself. We also visited the Notre Dame Basilica, which is a must see for anyone visiting the city - it is built in the neogothic style, and the interior is quite unique, with the altar highlighted with the blue backlight. We finished the day sitting in the sun, in amongst the action near Place du Jacques Cartier.

The Molson Brewery, and the picturesque streets of the old town

The tower of the Olympic Stadium - Very 70's!

Pork bellies and Dow Jones

2006-09-12T13:40:00.000+10:00

The Brooklyn Bridge

I couldn’t work in Finance and not visit Wall St… I spent a fair bit of time in the area, looking around all of the financial district skyscrapers, the NYSE, as well as walking along the Hudson, and the site of the former World Trade Centre where I looked at the plans for the site and what it will become.

The New York Stock Exchange, and the site of the former World Trade Centre

I also took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry. It’s quite unbelievable that this is a free ferry service. It must cost the Port Authority a lot of money each year to keep it running…
Another day I returned and took the ferry out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. Ellis Island is a really interesting place, with a museum dedicated to the years that it served as the main immigration point into the United States. The photos and stories of the people who passed through the Island were fascinating.

Clockwise from top left: Skyscrapers of the NY financial district,
along the Hudson, and the Statue of Liberty

One of the highlights of my trip to New York was the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s probably the city’s most famous bridge, and is a great way to see both Brooklyn, and the New York City skyline. I did the walk in the late afternoon, so it was great to be able to see the sun setting over the city, and the light slowly coming on.

Sun setting over the New York skyline, from the Brooklyn Bridge

NYC By Night

2006-08-20T17:28:00.000+10:00

Traffic rushing past the Times Square Subway, and the lights of 42nd Street

One thing about New York, I wouldn’t want their electricity bill… The neon lights that make the city so spectacular by night must be expensive to run.

Views down 42nd Street

I ended my first day in New York by going up the famous Empire State Building. The entry to the building is a little deceiving. You need to queue a total of four times to get up to the top (well the 86th floor anyhow) – first to go through the security check, secondly to buy a ticket, thirdly for the lift. And when you think that you’re about to get out at the top, at the 80th floor, you get out of the main lift, and need to queue again for the lift to the observatory. Crazy stuff… The view, however is worth it. Difficult to capture the view with a camera (I was a little scared of dropping it – I had a feeling that my camera wouldn’t survive a fall from the top of NY’s tallest building) but it’s such an awesome sight, the view out over the five boroughs and lights as far as you can see.

The Chrysler Building and Times Square from the Empire State Building

After descending the building, I wandered up through Times Square. From above, the Square glows from thousands of advertisements, cars, theatres and restaurants. It’s not so much as square as a parade of lights, stretching for a few blocks. Times Square on a Saturday night was filled with people, out and about – so many that the crowd stretched from the sidewalk onto the first lane of traffic – which was largely closed off to vehicles by the traffic police. No special event, just an ordinary Saturday night in summer.

Hersheys at Times Square, and bank advertising

Mosaic in the Times Square Subway station

Museum of Modern Art

2006-08-20T17:12:00.000+10:00

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on W 53rd Street

Interesting exhibits in the design gallery

A friend had recommended to me that this was a museum I’d really enjoy. How right he was – it was probably the best museum I’ve ever been to. Full of artworks by the likes of Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Warhol, Picasso, Matisse, Magritte and a great smattering of unusual sculptures, an amazing photography section and a couple of rooms full of design – fabulous chairs and the like. I don’t necessarily know what it all means, but it was certainly an engaging museum. The artworks were really thought provoking, and in many cases, reminded me of works I’d seen in other museums of the world. Not only is the art extraordinary, but the building is remarkable, even including a suspended helicopter. I also had a great minestrone at the museum café – far cry from the food available at most museums.

Interior of the museum, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibit

New York State of Mind

2006-08-12T10:17:00.000+10:00

Here I am in Central Park

For years I have been dreaming of going to New York – there was no question of excluding it from my itinerary this time.

Central Park views - wandering the many paths, and indulging in a spot of squirrel spotting

I arrived to Manhattan on a Friday afternoon. The trip from JFK takes a while on the subway, plus I was under pressure to work out the system right away, as I had to change to the Broadway Local to get where I needed to go on the Upper West Side. But I got there with no problems.

Left: Rockefeller Centre, Right: Strawberry Fields in Central Park, a memorial to John Lennon

New York is by no means a clean city – it’s a bit grimy in places, even more so in others, but it’s a city with such a fabulous atmosphere. I loved it from the second I got there. It’s also such a contrast from Europe – people talk on the subway, store assistants see it as their job (or in some places even their calling) to help you.

Left: The United Nations, Right: Grand Central Station

I didn’t realise how big Manhattan was until I spent a day, working my way from my accommodation on West 103rd St until I ended the day at 4th St, in Greenwich Village. I saw lots on the way, famous shops, MoMA, Fifth Avenue, and of course the famous Central Park, which I absolutely loved. It’s a great way to find some peace and quiet, and greenery in the big, busy city. I used to think Sydney, then London was fast paced, until I hit New York. There’s people on the streets all the time, the subway runs 24 hours a day on some lines.

The view from the Rockefeller Centre

Left: View over Central Park from Rockefeller Centre, Right: Foyer of the Rockefeller Centre

One of the best ways to see NYC is from the top, by going up either the Empire State Building or the Rockefeller Centre. I did the former by night at the start of my stay and the latter by day, the afternoon before I flew out. It’s a great way to see the lay of the land, and I’ve never seen so many buildings and skyscrapers in one view before. It’s a sight never to be forgotten.

Washington Square in Greenwich Village

The journey to JFK

2006-08-09T22:54:00.000+10:00

One of the many passageways within the labyrinthine Frankfurt-Main Airport

After my brief stay in Berlin, I was moving on from Europe. I got to Berlin Tegel airport in the morning, along with lots of Swedes and other football fans flying home. First I had to fly to Frankfurt, an airport I’ve visited a number of times, without ever visiting the city itself, before I got to go through some of the most stringent security checks to board my flight to the US. A lesser person may have felt violated by the thorough padding down everyone got, and I think I must have shown my passport at least 5 times and my air ticket once or twice before I was allowed access to the gate. The Germans do like to do everything by the book.

Left: View of Greenland, Right: Northern Canada

I was looking forward to the flight. When I checked in at Berlin, the Lufthansa guy had given me one of the best seats on the flight – an emergency exit row window seat. It felt great stretching out while all of the people in rows around, cramped in their seats throw murderous glances my way. I could see them thinking – “Why did she get that seat…” Flying during the daytime meant that I got to see Greenland, and all of the north Canadian coastline, before arriving in New York. It was pretty spectacular. Flying into JFK airport, we flew over Long Island before touching down, just in time for me to get fingerprinted at immigration and starting the long trip in to Manhattan on the subway…

World Cup fußball fever in Berlin

2006-08-08T21:50:00.000+10:00

The bear, a symbol of Berlin, lit up in honour of the World Cup

Back when I was booking my air ticket, I hardly even realised I had booked a flight out of Germany while the World Cup would be on. However because I didn’t book my flight into Germany until the last minute, the best of the few options left me with only 2 nights and a day in Berlin… I had to get sightseeing quickly!

Sunset as I flew into Berlin, and the brand new Hauptbahnhof, only just opened!

I arrived in Berlin on the night that Germany had just beaten Poland, so along with a friend of Greg & Andrea, who I was staying with, I went down straight away to see the party. Fußball, it seems is one of the few occasions where the Germans tend to get a bit rowdy – the Kufurstendamm (Ku’damm) was full of beeping horns, small cars hooning along with 8-10 people sitting in, around or on top of, waving German flags, flags of small obscure nations, who were perhaps not even participating in the cup, and even the odd brave Pole. The atmosphere was fantastic, pubs were making a killing selling beers on the street, and everyone was having a great time.

Fans driving down the Ku'damm, celebrating a German victory over Poland, one of Berlin's neighbours

Even football fans need to eat and drink: German fans pack out Burger King in the early hours of the morning after celebrating, and the Swedish occupation of a bar, from morning till the night of their game.

The next day was a real highlight of the trip. I had all of one day to see Berlin, and there was so much that I wanted to see. It was a day when Berlin felt more like the outreaches of Sweden than the capital of Germany, such was the influx of Swedes in anticipation of their match that evening. I started by wandering down the Ku’damm, past entire pubs populated by Swedes, and looked around all the World Cup stalls – I was sad to notice that there was very little Australian merchandise available!

Left: An exhibition of bears, painted by a representative of selected nations. Australia's is painted by Ken Done.
Right: the cupola of the Reichstag.

Left: the Brandenburg Gate - a symbol of division in the days of the wall, now a symbol of reunification.
Right: the Jewish Memorial

I spent most of the day looking around the famous sights of Berlin – the Reichstag with the amazing mirrored dome, the Berliner Dom, Checkpoint Charlie and the kitschy Soviet souvenirs on sale, Potsdamer Platz, the Jewish Memorial, Charlottenburg, and of course the famous Brandenburg Gate – which was the centre of the ‘Fan Mile’ – a pedestrianised zone, with thorough security at either end. Berlin is a fabulous city, from the bombed out church retained as a memorial to the signature traffic light men. I can’t wait to return!

Interior and exterior of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche,

bombed by Allied forces during the war, and left as a memorial

One of the remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall

Checkpoint Charlie, previously a checkpoint for non-Germans between East and West, and

Right: some of the kitschy war souvenirs for sale. You could also buy Army jackets, Matrioshka dolls and more

Churros in the capital

2006-06-20T12:34:00.000+10:00

Amor on the Paseo del Prado

The last stop on the Spanish agenda was Madrid - the capital, and almost bang smack in the centre of the country, on the plains known as the meseta. Madrid is a fairly large city, around 3.5 million or so, and originally was made the capital, as the King at the time feared the power of the church in Toledo, which was the more obvious choice for a capital.

Left: Palacio Real, Madrid. Right: Palacio Real, Aranjuez

Lavender in bloom in Aranjuez

During the time we had in Madrid, we visited the Palacio Real, an ornate Royal Palace, the Palacio Real and gardens of Aranjuez. There is a piece of music, Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo which I have always enjoyed, and I was pleased that visiting the place gave me the same feeling as the music, a place of calm and retreat. We hardly saw another soul while we were there (admittedly during siesta time).

Posing with the suit of Armour at Toledo's railway station, and Puente del Alcántara

We also visited Toledo, which is known as the Imperial City. You see much of the Moorish influence in Toledo, while at the same time, a city recognisable by the Vatican as the seat of the church in Spain. The cathedral in Toledo has a great collection of artworks, particularly by El Greco as well as many other treasures. We also visited the famous El Greco work, El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz (The Burial of the Count of Orgaz) in the Iglesia de Santo Tomé and the Mezquita de Cristo de la Luz, a mosque that was later converted into a church with some nice frescos. We finished our trip to Toledo waiting in one of the most impressive railway stations I've been to (even compared to the Russian metro!!).

Interior of the railway station - tiling and stained glass windows

Back in Madrid, we visited the Monasterio de la Dezcartas, sponsored by a rich Austrian and her friends at the time of the Habsburgs in Spain where I managed to understand much of the Spanish language tour, surprisingly. I also had some time to visit the Museo del Prado, a world class museum of art (which has, as one of the highlights, Velazquez's Las Meninas. While we were in Barcelona, we got to see Picasso's work of the same name).

I think that our already late eating times got later still in Madrid... Nothing like waiting till 10 or 11pm for dinner... and on one night, we even followed with late night churros and chocolate, a Madrid must. Yum!

Late night churros and chocolate at the Chocolatería San Ginés,

and an artist replicating the works of the Museo del Prado

Escape to the Alpujarras and Costa del Sol

2006-06-18T23:41:00.000+10:00

Mum at the entrance to our apartment, and chimneypots of Capileira

From Granada, we hired a car (a little Opel Corsa) and hit the open road. Our destination? A couple of days relaxing in the Alpujarras, part of the Sierra Nevada range. I'd read about the Alpujarras about 2 years ago, when I read 'Driving over Lemons' by Chris Stewart. It was nice to finally see the area, after enjoying reading about it so much. I even managed to pick up an autographed copy of the book for €5.

Alpujarran views - left from our terrace, and right, the view down the valley near Orgiva

Our apartment in Bubión, the middle of three villages in the picturesque Poquiera valley, had a lovely terrace looking into the valley, and an almost constant supply of ripe (and some almost ripe) cherries. I've since found out that Rachelle and Tom stayed in the exact same apartment when they visited Bubión!We spent the time there wandering the little villages, siesta-ing (as one should definitely do when in Spain), reading and just generally relaxing. It was a great bit of time out - particularly since it was also my birthday - I've now reached the ripe old age of 25.

Whitewashed streets of Bubión

A little whitewashed church with a fabulous view of the Alpujarras

Leaving the Alpujarras, we had to drive down some crazy roads where lane markings weren't to be taken at face value, before hitting the Mediterranean coast, and driving along to Málaga. The scenery along the coast was just spectacular - the blue sea, the white towns, and the mountains in behind. After we couldn't get a booking on any trains to Madrid that day, speaking with some Renfe staff who seemed rather reluctant to help us, and finally finding bus tickets, only to find that there were no free lockers to store our luggage, I was all set out to hate Málaga. But once I actually got out and wandered around, I really liked the town.

The Alcazaba of Málaga

Finally, a free attraction - the Alcazaba, not as extensive as those in the other Andalucían cities, but a really pleasant maze to wander around, with views out over the sea, and the Costa del Sol, and a beach on the Mediterranean. We also had a great dinner by the cathedral. Patatas bravas has been one of our Spanish staples. Yum!

Playa de la Malagueta - Málaga's beach on the Costa del Sol

Málaga's gardens, and the Playa de la Malagueta

Overall, our time in Andalucía was fabulous, exceeding any expectations I may have had about what I'd find there. I can't wait to go back some time!

Boating at the port of Málaga, and a little church, San Pedro

Moorish dreaming

2006-06-18T23:24:00.000+10:00

Moorish plasterwork and tiling in the Alhambra

View of the Alhambra from the Generalife, and the Patio de los Arrayanes, in the Nasrid Palaces

Next stop - Granada. Probably 'the' sight I wanted to see in Spain was the famous Alhambra of Granada, made up of the Alcazaba (fortress), the Generalife (the architect's garden) and the real highlight - the Nasrid Palaces. One of the design features of Islamic palaces is that the relatively simple and plain exteriors hide the elaborate decoration inside, and this is very true of the Nasrid Palaces. Once you step inside, you can walk through room after room of elaborate plaster and tilework, but it never really seems overdone at all. It was just spectacular.

Patio de la Acequia of the Generalife, and flags flying from the Alcazaba

The Alhambra is one of Spain's biggest tourist attractions, and tickets each day are limited. We had to queue in order to guarantee entry, but luckily, we got in almost straight away. Granada was the city in which we most noted the influences of nearby countries such as Morocco. We spent an afternoon in Albayzin, wandering through the market stalls, reminiscent of my time in Turkey, and stopped off in the Kasbah, for some tea and cakes.

View of Albayzin from the ornate windows of the Nasrid Palaces

A decorated doorway of the Alhambra, and the streets of Albayzin, the Muslim Quarter of Granada

Summer in Sevilla

2006-06-18T23:00:00.000+10:00

Tiling in the Alcázar of Sevilla

From Córdoba, we headed to Sevilla. A real highlight of the Andalucían trip, Sevilla has everything! We stayed in the old town, full of winding narrow streets. Sevilla is not a city to head out without a decent map, there is no kind of grid system here! The Sevillianos are a fun loving people - there always seemed to be something happening, and it is one of the homes of flamenco, tapas, bullfighting, and captures the spirit of the Andalucían people. During our time here, we visited the Reales Alcázar, the former palace, which is full of beautiful tiling, plasterwork and gardens in the Islamic style, and also the cathedral.

The gardens of the Alcázar

Left: Relaxing in the Alcázar, Right: Elaborate courtyards in the Islamic style of the Alcázar

When building the cathedral, they said "Let's build such a cathedral that for hundreds of years they will be taking us for lunatics!" and it certainly is big. Thankfully, they maintained the beautiful Giralda, formerly the minaret of the mosque which once stood here, the Giralda is now the cathedral's belltower. We climbed up here for the spectacular views over Sevilla. As one must do when in Sevilla, we attended a flamenco performance. This performance was three people, the guitarist, the singer and the dancer. It was a really enjoyable night - fantastic music. We were sorry to leave Sevilla, but ended our visit in style, with an appointment at the Arab Hammam - the Arab baths for some pampering! Fantastic!

Left: the Giralda, and right: the view from the top of the Giralda, toward Plaza del Toros - the Bullfighting Ring

Islamic style courtyard and fountain amongst the maze that is Sevilla, and a flamenco dancer

Andalucían adventures - Valencia and Córdoba

2006-06-17T11:14:00.000+10:00

Valencia - our stopover on the way to Andalusia. Clockwise from left: Our view over Valencia, the Lonja, a World Heritage listed monument, and one of many brides we saw in the old town of Valencia that evening.

The main reason I wanted to go to Spain was to visit the area called Andalucía, the southernmost province of Spain. Andalucía is full of spectacular architecture, which largely represents a fusion between Christian and Islamic traditions, as the area was one of the strongholds of the Islamic empire in Spain. Each of Córdoba, Sevilla and Granada served as the capital, resulting in some amazing sights in each of these cities. In addition, there is always flamenco, great food, and finally some hot summer weather!

Left: The Alcázar of Córdoba, and here I am finding solace in the Patio de los Naranjos

Ceiling decoration in the Mezquita

The Patio de los Naranjos and signature red striped arches of the Mezquita in Córdoba

Typical patio in Córdoba, and view of the Patio de los Naranjos within the Mezquita

Our Andalucian trip started in Córdoba. We took the train from Valencia, taking about six hours to travel through La Mancha (Don Quixote country) and northern Andalucía. We arrived in Córdoba around 6pm. It was a hot day, only a few degrees shy of 40, but once we'd found and settled into our hotel, we set out to see the town. Córdoba was once the capital of the Muslim Caliphate, and is the home of the fabulous Mezquita. The Mezquita was originally built as a mosque, was then extended, and then following the fall of the Islamic empire, a cathedral was plonked in the centre of it. Like many mosques, it also has a beautiful courtyard filled with orange trees (orange tree squares, or Los patios de Naranjos became quite a theme in Andalucía). The other fantastic thing about Córdoba was the old city, full of whitewashed buildings, and small winding streets, that you could just wander and lose yourself in. At this time of year, they are at their best - the front doors are opened to show the beautiful tiled courtyards, and the patios are hanging with pots of flowers. The architecture of the homes in much of Andalucía is very Islamic in origin - the homes were built around a central square, usually with a water feature, as the ambiance of running water is very important. We saw these all throughout the area. While in Córdoba, we also enjoyed a dinner of Paella and Sangría for Mum's birthday - celebrating in style!

Mum's birthday dinner in Córdoba - complete with paella and sangría

Going Gaudi in Barcelona

2006-06-17T11:01:00.000+10:00

La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's as yet unfinished cathedral masterpiece

From what everyone had told me about Barcelona, I half expected my cash, bag and camera to be ripped off me the minute I set foot in the place, but not so it seemed... I managed to complete my stay in the place with all my belongings in tact. Always a good start for a Spanish trip!

Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya, one of the more separatist oriented areas of Spain... and they don't speak Spanish, they speak Catalan. It's a fabulous city - full of unique architecture, history, and great shopping, not to mention the food!

Here I am on the Barcelona waterfront, and Spanish meats for sale at the Mercado

During our time in Barcelona, Mum and I checked out all the main Gaudi sights. Antoni Gaudi is a famous architecture, whose knowledge, insight and understanding of architecture resulted in buildings and structures, that are not only unique in appearance, but also aim to make the best use of light and materials. One of his main focuses was on using the lines out of nature - rarely is there a straight line in a Gaudi structure. Between La Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished, but entirely unlike anything else cathedral, La Pedrera, and Parc Guell, we were constantly inspired by what we saw.

The lizard of Parc Guell, and the terrace of La Pedrera, a Gaudi apartment building.

These are two of the many Gaudi attractions in Barcelona

We also took the furnicular up to both Montjuic - the former political prison that was spruced up for the 1992 Olympics, by creating a massive hillside of parklands, overlooking the Barcelona waterfront on the Mediterranean sea, and the hill of Tibidabo, looking over Barcelona, with a fabulous church at the top. We also ended up with an extra day in Barcelona, which saw us visit the Picasso museum, which show's the artist's development from his first works as a child in Malaga and Barcelona, on to the Blue period, the Pink period and the Cubism phases - a great insight into the development of the great Spanish artist.

And of course, no trip to Barcelona would be complete without a walk down Las Ramblas to the Waterfront, followed by some tapas and sangria. Yum!

Rudolf's last stand

2006-05-30T05:44:00.000+10:00

The Finnish capital is only 80km from Tallinn, so we decided to head over there for the day on Sunday. We were accompanied on the ferry by all the Finns returning home with their trolley loads of duty free grog from Estonia, and got to Helsinki in time for some lunch and a bit of touring in the afternoon.

Sights from the 3B tram... Spring flowers, and the 'White Church'

We took the 3B tram (which is the 3T tram in reverse, an important distinction) which showed us the spectacular sights of Helsinki (the brochure listed amongst other things the Social Insurance building as a notable sight) followed by dinner and drinks with a group of friends where I ordered a dinner named 'Pimp my Reindeer', which consisted of reindeer (sorry Rudolf) and lingonberries. Following that, we made it back to the ferry terminal, just in time for our ferry back to Tallinn.

Rudolf's last stand - my dinner!

4 stamps in the passport for one day, not a bad effort!

It was cold in Helsinki... but that's really no excuse for the dodgy headwear

Leaving Helsinki on the ferry, the sun still high at 9:30pm

Led astray in Tallinn

2006-05-30T05:13:00.000+10:00

Having a beer at the top of the Radisson, with its fabulous view over Tallinn

I've now come to Tallinn, to visit my cousin Mark, who lives here, conveniently at the same time as his brother Robert, also visiting. Tallinn is the capital of the former Soviet country, Estonia. Following the nation finally receiving its independence in 1991, the country has developed as a thoroughly modern and pleasant place, with Tallinn being a fantastic place to visit. The old town of Tallinn is World Heritage listed, and very deservingly. We had a great time wandering the streets of the old town, visiting art shops filled with original and stylish pieces, rather than the standard touristy tack, beautifully maintained buildings, and medieval hilltop towers and walls. Tallinn is certainly a beautiful city.

Contrast between Estonian traditions and the Russian influence, even in religion

View over Tallinn from the top of the hill

But... as usual when meeting up with these particular cousins, I've been led astray... In the first 24 hours of my visit, we managed to complete a Tallinn pub crawl where one of my cousins was propositioned by a drunken Finn (also male), with the evening finishing at the same time as the sun was coming up (admittedly that's fairly early here in Tallinn at the moment), followed by a political protest in the morning where we were wedged between the Estonians and the Russians.

Left: Robert (left) and Mark at the start of the damage, and the Estonian flag flies at a political demonstration

And here I am with my newest cousin, Paddy (Mark's pet rabbit)

St Petersburg

2006-05-30T04:07:00.000+10:00

Storm clouds coming in over Dvortskaya Pl, and The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood, curiously like St Basil's in Moscow

After a couple of days in Moscow, I headed north to St Petersburg, an extremely important city in the history of Russia. St Petersburg is largely known as the town of Peter the Great, one of Russia's most famous Tsars, and from the minute you arrive, almost everything is devoted to this guy - probably one of the more stylish Tsars (Catherine the Great tended more toward the gaudy and tacky).

St Petersburg is 500km north of Moscow, and on the Neva River, flowing out into the Gulf of Finland. It's the most European of the Russian cities, and is probably a little more tourist friendly than Moscow. The biggest tourist attraction here is the Hermitage, one of the world's great art museums, mostly set in the Winter Palace, and therefore is a fantastic place to visit, both for the great art collection (there is a great collection of Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, as well as a ton of Dutch, Italian and French art) and the interiors of the palace. I arrived to St Petersburg as it started raining, and therefore I had no problems whatsoever spending the entire day indoors, taking in the Hermitage.

Interiors of the Hermitage, left, the one of the Roman rooms, and right, the 1812 Hall, dedicated to Russia's war with Napoleon

Other highlights from St Petersburg were the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood (the Spilled Blood refers to the fact that Alexander II was assasinated [blown-up] on this site), the Neva River and surrounding areas, including Vasilevsky Island, the Peter and Paul Fortress and Pedrovorets, Peter the Great's palace about25km from St Petersburg. Despite the less than pleasant weather, I loved my time here, as St Petersburg is one of those cities that truly represents much of the history of this country for a tourist - this is the city of the 1917 revolution, a former capital, city of both Tsars and Bolsheviks, and then also of modern Russian drivers (look before you cross the road or footpath...)

Here I am by the Gulf of Finland at Peterhof, and the famous statue of Peter the Great, immortalised by Pushkin in his writing about 'The Bronze Horseman'

Peter the Great's palace, Peterhof at Petrovorets

And of course, the metro was another highlight! See my post below about the fantastic metro systems in Russia...

Rendevous in Red Square

2006-05-25T00:11:00.000+10:00

Onion domes of the Kremlin, and Lena at Kolomenskoe, by the Moskva river

So, after all the hassle of organising visa, flight, and almost every other administrative matter associated with travelling to Russia, I finally made it to Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.

I was lucky enough to stay with my friend Lena in Moscow, who kindly showed me around, helped me decipher the transport systems (the stations in the Metro are only shown in Cyrillic) and took me around the best sites.

Vladimir, whose family made my Matrioshka doll, at his stall on Arbat

During my time in Moscow, I visited the Kremlin to say hi to Mr Putin, saw the sights of the famous Red Square (surprisingly the name does not originate from Soviet times, the Russian word Krasnae actually meant beautiful, and has also come to mean red in relatively recent times) and St Basil's, the brightly coloured cathedral. We also saw the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, the Tretyakov gallery (both containing some brilliant artworks), Kolomenskoe park, a fabulous green area on the banks of the Moskva River and the Novodevichy Convent, all very worthwhile.

I even managed to learn a bit of Russian! Niet (No) is a word you learn pretty quickly... 'Adin pozhalsta' was my next word - this means 'one please'. The only complication was when I needed to use a different number. Lastly of course, being my ever polite self - 'Spasibo' meaning thankyou.

Moscow is a city of contrast. A city of rich imperial and religious importance (many of the Russian Orthodox Church's most important locations are in Moscow), is constantly contrasted with the Soviet history, which for most Russians is a time they can remember well. Much of the residential accomodation was built in Soviet times, slowly being demolished and replaced with modern apartment buildings, and statues of Lenin, and monuments to the 'Great Patriotic War' stand beside monoments to Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Pushkin and other Russian cultural greats.

Novodevichy Convent

Left, the brightly coloured St Basil's cathedral in Red Square, and contrast of the Soviet and Orthodox Russia - The Soviet 'Russia' Hotel from a time where religion was outlawed, and the domes of a Russian Orthodox church. Contrasts are everywhere in Russia...

Subway in Style - Soviet Style!

2006-05-24T23:37:00.000+10:00

Avtovo and Ploshtad Vosstaniya in St Petersburg

If there's one thing that the Soviets did well, it was building Metro stations!! During the Soviet era (1950's), the Soviet Union built extensive Metro systems in both St Petersburg and Moscow. They say that up to 9 million people use the Moscow metro system daily, more that New York and London put together. (And yes, I do believe that at some point all 9 mill did try to get onto my train, as the good people at Lonely Planet suggested they might.) However not only did they make what is today a really quick and efficient mode of transport (I don't think I ever waited more than 2 minutes for a train, usually around 1 minute) they also decided to 'make it pretty'. Line 1 in St Petersburg (the Red line) and the Central line in Moscow are the best lines to go to check out these beautiful metro station. It became one of my favourite things to do in Russia - to visit stations and photograph them. One evening in St Petersburg, I spent all of 12 rubles (about 60 Australian cents) and an hour travelling along line 1 taking photos...

Move over London Underground!

Kievskaya in Moscow (Central line interchange)

Tea in Istanbul

2006-05-18T01:53:00.000+10:00

The Blue Mosque of Istanbul and Whirling Dervishes

The Aya Sofya, originally a Christian cathedral, converted to a mosque on the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and Ortakoy, on the European side of the Bosphorus

So first stop on my travel extravaganza was Istanbul, Turkey. It's a city where sometimes, you feel like you are in Europe, then step off the main tourist thoroughfare, and you feel as if you could be anywhere! I spent hours wandering the streets and looking at all the markets, from pure 'junk' to silk carpets costing thousands of dollars! You get the impression that anything is possible in Istanbul. I ended up spending about a week there, so got to see many of the major sights, the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque, Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace, the list goes on... But some of the best parts of my time in Istanbul, was sitting up on the terrace of the hotel, looking out over the Bosphorus with a good book.

Tea is the drink of choice in Turkey - a range of herbal teas (including the ever popular apple tea) to regular black tea is on offer, and I partook on many occasions. In most places, on offer is Nescafe, or ordinary filter coffee, but where the proper Turkish coffee was available, it was fantastic! The food was also great in Turkey, especially the baklava, which every day was just too irresistable...

The only issue I had with Turkey was being awoken every morning by the call to prayer. The first morning is was exotic and exciting... After that? Well I could have done without the early morning wake-up call.

I took two short trips from Istanbul, one to do the Australian pilgrimage to Gallipoli, on the Dardanelles. It's certainly great to see it first hand, and also get an appreciation for the Turkish side of it. Predictably, my tour group was filled with Aussies and Kiwis. The second trip, was a couple of days in Cappadocia, a 12 hour night bus ride south east of Istanbul - my first ever time in Asia. I had a great couple of days wandering the 'fairy chimneys' and markets of the area - it's quite a beautiful spot.

Cappadocia scenery, and the view over the Bosphorus from my terrace in Istanbul

Canary Wharf by night

2006-04-12T06:09:00.000+10:00

Canary Wharf from Crossharbour, Glengallbridge (a short walk from my place)

Last night was a particularly still night, so I thought I'd take out the camera and capture the lights of Canary Wharf at night. It's really beautiful and quiet at night. It's not usually this still at night, normally the area gets a fair amount of wind, but last night the waters were almost glassy and I managed to get these fantastic reflections.

A slightly abstract self portrait!

New Forest and Lymington

2006-03-29T22:49:00.000+11:00

The New Forest, and Rachelle directing us ("We're not lost!")

One slightly dreary and wet Saturday, Rachelle, Tom and I headed to the New Forest (near Southhampton) for a day's hiking in the New Forest. The hiking quickly turned to mud shuffling, and almost getting lost on the multitudes of paths through the forest (Though Rachelle will contend that we were never lost!). We gave up at lunch - it was really quite wet, and after a pub lunch, we decided instead to ride the train system for the afternoon. Hopping on a train to Lymington, the starting point for ferries to the Isle of Wight, we were expecting to find a windswept port set by an uninteresting seaside village. We were pleasantly surprised to find a sizable town, set on a pretty marina, and the sun had just decided to come out. We watched the pretty sunset as we left on the train. All in all, it was an enjoyable day!

The Marina of Lymington at sunset

Vienna - Home of Rex

2006-03-29T22:04:00.000+11:00

The Riesenrad at the Prater - a site often featured in Kommissar Rex!

I visited Vienna over a couple of days before Christmas.

This was my second trip to Vienna, one of my favourite cities in Europe. Vienna is such a beautiful, cultural and cosmopolitan city... and also the home of one of my favourite TV shows, Inspector Rex (or Kommissar Rex) - I even have a personalised 'paw print' from one of the Rex dogs, and am responsible for getting my whole family into this show.

Left, Votivskirche and right, Stephansdom

I have many things that I love about Vienna... This time I met up with a friend who took me to one of the oldest restaurants in Vienna, where we had a lovely traditional Austrian meal. I was also lucky enough that my good friend Bindu, was travelling through Vienna with her husband, so I got to spend some time with them as well. I did quite a bit in my couple of days there - I went to the Schoenbrunn Zoo, wandered around the grounds of the Schoenbrunn palace, visited the Prater - one of Moser and Rex's hangouts (unfortunately I didn't run into them that day...). I also visited Stephansdom and Votivkirche, the cemetary with memorials to the likes of Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Brahms, and almost got blown into the Danube.

Bindu at the Danube, and Schoenbrunn Palace

Bindu and I also had fun roaming through the Christmas markets, and I also got to do a spot of shopping...

Bindu and I - rugged up for the snow and rain

Can't wait to go back again - Vienna is such a great place!

The Riesenrad of the Prater, and the Burgtheater

Hotel Sacher - home of the delicious and chocolatey Sacher Torte

On the Munich bier trail...

2006-03-28T21:09:00.000+11:00

Here I am with my Mass (the standard - a litre of beer) at Hofbrauhaus

Along the Munich bier trail - one of the highlights of any trip to one of the world's beer capitals.

It wasn't quite Oktoberfest, but all year round it seems you'll find these beerhalls full of people drinking different types of beers. Greg took me out for a Munich pubcrawl... Admittedly we only made it to two different places - the Hofbrauhaus and Schneider-Weisse. But hey, a litre is a lot of beer.

The main types of beer in Munich are lager - the four main brewers are Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulaner and Augustiner; and Weissbier - which is a 'wheat beer' with a slightly different flavour. Weissbier has become one of my favourite types of beer. Schneider-Weisse is one of the main weissbier brewers.

We had a fun night out, and I managed to get through a Mass, which is the term for the big litre mugs of bier.

Here I am finishing my Mass at the Hofbrauhaus, and Aventinus at Schneider-Weisse (It was good!)

Greg at the Hofbrauhaus, and the interior of the beerhall

Wingardium Leviosa

2006-03-27T00:04:00.000+11:00

As most of you probably know I'm a mild fan of Harry Potter (yes, I'm a little eccentric, but not to the completely obsessed fan stage).

So what better to do in London, but track down some of the HP locations!

So here we have the Reptile House at London Zoo - where Harry spoke to the snake!

And the good old Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station.

At home in London

2006-03-26T23:37:00.000+11:00

While at times it may look as if I'm doing anything but working and living in London... I have been making a lot of effort to see the sights of my temporary hometown.

I'm living in Canary Wharf, which has been quite pleasant (and convenient for getting around). It's well linked by tube or DLR (Docklands Light Rail), and full of high rise, major banks, modern pubs and bars, sometimes I feel like I'm still living in Sydney! To be honest, it took me a long time to work out exactly how to get around Canary Wharf. You can walk around for ages underground, come up to the ground level and have little idea how to get back to where you need to go. Each of the main buildings are linked underground - you could work in this area and spend entire days never going outside! I usually choose the overland route...

Canary Wharf, and Docklands as a whole, is a maze of waterways and residential complexes. It seems to mean that almost everyone can have a waterfront place (except for me that is! I have a nice view of the apartments opposite me). Still it's a very pleasant place to wander around, and the abundance of security officers means you always feel pretty safe, even walking around late at night.

I walk across this footbridge almost every day. Canada Tower, in the centre is where my office is, however I don't often need to go there.

Views of the high rise of Canary Wharf. On the right is the stillest I've ever seen the waters in this part

So on most weekends that I'm not jetting out over Europe, I'll usually venture into town and take a look around. There are so many different places you can go in London, it's hard to get to all of them. Sometime it's nice to just go wandering and see what you can find... On occasion, I've managed to 'find': the Tower of London, the ever impressive Tower Bridge, lots of parklands, endless bridges over the Thames, the British Museum (I looked for the Elgin marbles, expecting to see a pile of round balls... I found the Parthenon!) and lots of great shops... I have been having fun discovering London.

The Tower of London

The spectacular Tower Bridge

Early evening at Trafalgar Square, and silhouette (at Midday!) of the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye

As for the weather... well it has been cold... So far there's been two days where I haven't felt the need to venture out in my winter coat. But despite the cold, it has been fine. I remember a time where 15 degrees would strike fear into my heart... I think I managed to acclimatise very well, and am not that bothered by the cold anymore. Especially on the few occasions where it has snowed.

Frohe Weihnachten!

2006-03-26T02:44:00.000+11:00

I spent Christmas Day with Greg and Andrea in Munich, where we had collected a group of their friends to spend Christmas Day with. A great day/night was had by all.

Preparations: Here we can see Greg modelling our beverage preparation area. By the end of the day, this was fairly empty!

Presents: There were many presents well received by the recipient... Greg loved his copy of the 'Pool Room Edition' of The Castle, a great Australian film.

Culinary delights: The food prepared was one of the big successes of the day. There was so much, and it all tasted so good! Especially the flaming puddings. Yum!

Photography: It couldn't have been a Holmes sponsored event without cameras around. Greg and I did our best to keep up the tradition of the family Christmas photos throughout the evening.

Exercise: Here we are on the post eating and post drinking walk, posing at the Neue Pinakothek. We did a walk around the block and then headed back. It was quite cold outside after being indoors all day!

Frohe Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas!)

A trip cross-country

2006-03-26T01:13:00.000+11:00

The downhill runs at Lenggries.

What better exercise on Christmas Eve when you are in the 'White Christmas' realms of the world is there, than a day's skiing. Greg and I took the BOB bahn from Munich down to Lenggries, not far from the Austrian border. We thought we'd have a go at some cross-country skiing.

I don't think I ended the day as a pro, but was certainly vastly improved. I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it, though it was very hard work... I think I fell asleep around 9pm that night, along with all of the good boys and girls waiting for Santa to come.

Proof that I did spend at least some of my time on skis standing up!

There was a lot of snow at Lenggries - a picnic was a little difficult, however it was very pretty. The world seemed a bit monochrome.

Here I am enjoying the snow, and Greg skiing along.

Greg up to mischief as we got back to town.

Freezing in the Bavarian mountains - Linderhof

2006-03-22T04:05:00.000+11:00

During my Christmas break in Bavaria, on a day that hit -18, Greg and I trekked down to Mad King Ludwig's (Ludwig II) palace in Linderhof. It was a beautiful day, and the castle is set in amongst the mountains in the south of Germany. There was a lot of snow around, so it was very pretty walking around the grounds of the castle, where all you could see was white. Inside the castle, we got an insight into the mad king... After having visited Neuschwanstein on my previous trip to Bavaria, I knew it was likely to be fairly eccentric, and I wasn't disappointed. For a castle, it was very small (only two levels, and about 4 main rooms on each floor), but it didn't lose anything in grandness. Each room is ornately decorated, and each decoration reflecting something of the eccentric personality of Ludwig, from the peacocks to the mirrors.

After visiting the castle itself, we wandered through the grounds, covered entirely with thick layers of snow in December, but a complete winter wonderland. It was cold though...

Everything was covered with bits of snow and ice, from the horses carting tourists around, to the steps and gardens of Linderhof.

The interior and exterior of Linderhof, Mad King Ludwig's castle

Sunset beginning to hit the mountains

Cinque Terre, Italy

2006-03-06T01:22:00.000+11:00

View over the village of Vernazza

Last weekend, my friend Belinda and I took a weekend break to Italy. We flew to Pisa, but our primary interest in going was to visit Cinque Terre, a region in Liguria where five clifftop villages are connected by a walking track - the perfect day trip! The five villages are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. We started the day by catching the train to Monterosso, and walked back to Riomaggiore. Between each town is approximately an hour to an hour and a half's walk. The nature of the terrain means that the walks can be a little challenging, but there was always the promise of pizza and gelato at the next town. Plus the spectacular views of the 'Cinque terre' made the walking really enjoyable. Unfortunately the path between Corniglia and Manarola was impassable, so we had to take the train, but the rest of the walking was fantastic, and we finished off the day at a pizzeria in Riomaggiore. Given that it was the winter, not too many places were open, but it also meant that the hordes of tourists in the summer weren't there as well... Overall a really enjoyable day!

Beats a Hills Hoist doesn't it, for hanging out clothes! Left: Vernazza street scene, Right: Rocks near Monterosso

Brightly coloured fishing nets at Monterosso, and Vernazza streets

Via del'amore: Window scenes

Topping the day off, was watching the beautiful sunset over the Ligurian sea.

A Weekend in Wales

2006-03-06T00:48:00.000+11:00

My aunt and uncle live in South Wales, near a town called Abergavenny. One weekend I ventured there from London to stay with them. Despite having a fair head cold, I had a really enjoyable weekend in one of the prettiest parts of Britain that I've come across thus far.

The first day I was there, my aunt took me into Abergavenny (they live in one of the nearby villages) where we looked at the Abergavenny Castle, and the shops and markets, then in the afternoon we took a drive up the Blorenge, and then lovely drive through the Black Mountains, stopping at Llanthony Priory along the way. We even stopped at the tiny pub underneath the Priory for a quick 'Double Dragon'...

Llanthony Priory (left) and the pond at the top of the Blorenge, half frozen over... It was cold up there!

A couple of friends came over to say hi!

On my second day in Wales, we went for a drive. The day's travel took us through Raglan and Chepstow to see the castles of the same name. Chepstow is one of the Welsh strongholds, built on the banks of the Wye River. Our travels following this took us up the Wye Valley. Unfortunately the low tide of the river, and the misty day prevented me from seeing this beautiful area at it's best, but I did get to see the famous Tintern Abbey by the river. Then after watching Wales beat Scotland in the Six Nations, it was time to head back home to London, along with the celebrating and commiserating fans travelling out from Cardiff.

Raglan Castle (left) flying the Welsh Flag and Chepstow Castle on the banks of the Wye

The hills are alive... in Salzburg!

2005-12-27T20:06:00.000+11:00

On my trip through to Vienna, I dropped into Salzburg for a couple of hours. I have visited Salzburg once before, in the middle of summer, so it was great to see it covered in snow. There is no subtlety to the seasons in this part of the world.

The view over Salzburg old town from the Hohensalzburg fortress

During my time in this pretty little city, I took the walk to the Hohensalzburg fortress, as can be seen on the top of the hill in the photo below, wandered the Christmas markets, visited the Salzburg Dom, and wandered through the frozen Mirabel gardens (of Sound of Music fame...)

The tourism bureau of Salzburg seems to push two angles prominantly - the home of the Sound of Music, and the home of Mozart. The Mozart angle is particularly amusing, as he spent much of his life in Vienna, and was not really made "at home" in Salzburg. Still the city seems to love him now, right down to the shop windows full of Mozart kugeln (Mozart balls - a chocolate made with marzipan) to Mozartplatz, with a statue of the man himself in the centre, and decked out with an ice-rink for the winter. Whatever the reason, Salzburg is a great city, a beautiful setting, and charming gardens and shops.

The Mirabell gardens, at the moment completely frozen over with a heavy layer of snow. Probably not the best time to run around singing "The hills are alive..."

The Salzburger Dom roof, and the view from the pathway up to the fortress

Here I am climbing the hill to the Hohensalzburg fortress, and two others doing the same

The view along the Salzach river

Christkindlmarkt - Christmas Markets in Bavaria and Austria

2005-12-27T20:05:00.000+11:00

I spent the week before Christmas between the three towns München (Munich) in Germany; and Salzburg and Wien (Vienna) in Austria. In this part of the world each town sets up many Christmas markets, or the Christkindlmarkt. I visited many of these during the week as can be seen in the photos below. In short, at these markets, you can buy all sorts of things, including cute Christmas decorations, embroidered linen, toys, hot nuts, other assorted foodstuffs including potato pancakes, lebkuchen (a German gingerbread type biscuit), chocolate covered fruits, winter clothing (I bought a funky beanie in Vienna) and other assorted items.

Most importantly are the hot drinks. There are a variety of different kinds, but the standard is Glühwein, a mulled hot red wine with cloves, cinnamon and other spices. Variants include Engelstrunken (Angel's Drink) and Feuerzanganbowle (for the more adventurous... My sister has done some research into it... See her page for the details!)

A Christmas tree sparkling at the Odeonsplatz markt in München, glittering streetlights for Christmas on am Graben in Wien, and Marienplatz in München lit up with its Christmas tree

The Rathaus markt - Frohe Weihnachten from Wien!

Frohe Weihnachten from Wien! and a glühwein with my brother Greg at the Chinese Tower markt in München, Feuerzangenbowle being made at the Rindermakt in München, and a sample of the wares in Salzburger Christkindl

Flying over Europe

2005-12-27T16:57:00.000+11:00

This was a difficult flight to pack for... I flew out of Sydney on a hot summers day, and landed in both Vienna and München, both barely above zero. The flight did not go smoothly (please excuse the pun here... As we left Sydney about 2 hours late, and did not make up enough time, we landed in Vienna after my connecting flight to München had left, so I had to change my connection once I got to Vienna... Unfortunately my bags did not have the same luxury. The good people at Lufthansa conveniently put my bag full of my warm clothes on the new flight, but must have realised the lack of urgency with all of my work clothes, and sent them on to München the next day for me after I'd waited an hour in the lost baggage office at München Flughafen... The silver lining of this process was that the lady from Lufthansa got to carry my 20kg bag up 4 flights of stairs, rather than Greg or myself...

The real beauty of the late arrival was that I got to see Europe once the sun had come up over the snowy fields. It was great to be able to see sights such as the Danube (Donau) River flowing through Vienna, snow covered mountains, reminding me that there was indeed a reason that I carted my fur coat all the way from Australia...

View over Vienna (left) and the foothills to the Alps (right)

Snowy fields on our descent into München Flughafen

Christmas Party

2005-12-26T02:23:00.000+11:00

Just before I left for Europe, was our work Christmas party. It was a fun affair, held out at Bicentennial Park.

Here I am with Alison (left) and Ei (Right)

With Dan and Prad

And last but not least, Adrian.

London Bound

2005-11-26T13:22:00.000+11:00

So, as most of you probably know, I'm off to London shortly for work. The plan is, that I will spend two weeks with Greg and Andrea for a German Christmas, then spend four months working in London (based in Canary Wharf). After that I'm taking an adventure throughout Europe and US/Canada along the way home. There's still a ton left to organise, but I'm looking forward to catching with lots of people along the way, and seeing some sights.

I'd love to hear from any of you travelling through the same areas, and I'm already looking forward to catching up with many of you in London!

Stay posted to the site, I'll keep you updated on my European adventures (and New York and Canada in June next year!)

Conquering the Cradle

2005-11-09T10:20:00.000+11:00

Cradle Mountain reflected over Dove Lake

So last weekend my friend Lim and I ventured south to visit Tasmania... We flew into Launceston, where we spent the night and following morning, then took a leisurely drive up to Cradle Mountain, via Deloraine and the Mole Creek Caves. We stopped off and took a tour through Marakoopa Cave, and then proceeded to the Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park where we were staying for the rest of the weekend. We had a great cabin, brand new. We were the second to stay there!

On Saturday, we had a mission. We were going to conquer the mountain! It was a long and exhausting day, but after a fair bit of walking (and also much scrambling over the rocks at the top of mountain, which makes up the last hour of the ascent) we made it to the summit of 1,545m. It was a beautiful day, and we could see for miles. Then came the way down and the long walk back to Dove Lake carpark. We almost fell asleep the minute we got back. The next day, it was time to come home... We took the coastal route via Penguin and Devonport, then Deloraine and the Tamar Valley back to Launceston. All in all, a great weekend.

Left to right, Top row: Here I am at the summit of Cradle Mountain, the view from the summit, Lim at a mountain spring we found. Great water! Second row: Twisted lakes, near Hanson's Peak, The scramble to the summit, the boathouse on Dove Lake

Launceston to Mole Creek

2005-11-09T10:15:00.000+11:00

Formations at Marakoopa Cave, Mole Creek and our lovely B&B at Launceston - the Ashton Gate.

The trip back to Launceston

2005-11-09T10:10:00.000+11:00

Above: Here I am at Penguin, and the Mersey Bluffs area at Devonport

Above: The view from the air - sunset over the Tamar River and the top of Tasmania

Annual Ball at the Overseas Passenger Terminal

2005-10-16T13:21:00.000+10:00

Last night was the annual ball for work. This is a great chance to enjoy a night out with collegues, get dressed up, and enjoy a night of dinner and dancing, and even lose some "money" on the casino set up for the night. As can be seen above, a great night was had by all, at the great location of the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay.

Photos - Left to right, top to bottom: Alison, Prad and I; the "dance-off" between Adrian and Steve; Stevie in a thoughtful moment; Sonia and Abhi; Steve Hill; Chris and Kate; Getting the hair ready for the evening; Julie, Jenni and I; Myself with Okan.

Alison and Cameron's Wedding

2005-10-09T11:10:00.001+10:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching two good friend, Alison and Cameron get married. Here are the photos of the night. It was a great occasion and I look forward to seeing Al and Cam continue in their married life together. Congratulations guys!

(Main image: Alison and Cam at the cutting the cake, other images, Clockwise from top left: Alison at the hen's night wearing a different veil; Alison and Cam; and Andrea and myself at the reception)

Perth, Western Australia

2005-09-07T15:22:00.000+10:00

Indian Ocean at Cottesloe Beach, Perth Skyline, Swan Bells, Here I am in the parklands along the Swan, Highrise of St Georges Terrace, and Cottesloe Beach.

Over the weekend, I took a short sojourn to Perth, in the faraway land of Western Australia. Perth has the dubious honour of being one of the most isolated cities in the world, and having flown there from Sydney, almost 5 hours flight away, I would agree... There was very little to see on the flight. Flying over the lights of Canberra would have been the highlight!

However Saturday morning I woke in Perth and found it a thoroughly pleasant city. The main CBD of Perth is on the banks of the Swan River, however a little further afield is the gorgeous beach of Cottesloe on the Indian Ocean. I wandered around town, did some shopping, and took a cruise down the Swan, as well as wandering along the parklands lining the river. I also made the trek out to Cottesloe, at this time of year a rough, and predominantly surf beach.

Home of the Dockers

2005-09-07T14:57:00.000+10:00

A 20 minute train ride (or an hour's ferry ride) down the Swan River from Perth takes you to Fremantle, the main docks of Perth. Fremantle is a really pleasant spot to pass the time away. I spent an afternoon in the glorious sunshine to explore the historic old buildings, the cappuccino strip and the Fremantle markets, followed by sunset at the docks. Fremantle comes alive at the weekends, full of people at cafes, in the shops, and wandering around the markets.

Clockwise - Sunset at Fremantle Docks, Marina on the Indian Ocean, Historic buildings on Mouat Street, having a Latte on the Cappuccino strip, Fremantle Docks and Hotel Fremantle.

Rottnest Island

2005-09-07T13:13:00.000+10:00

As part of my WA trip, I spent a night on Rottnest Island. Rottnest is about 18km from the mainland, and after a rough trip over, I found the island to be very pretty. There is a restriction on motor vehicles on the island, and you can either ride a bike around, catch one of the shuttle buses, or walk. The island is also home to the Quokka, found nowhere else in the world. It looks a bit like a giant rat, but they are quite cute all the same... The island actually got it's name from the Quokka's likenss to a rat. The time I was there, the ocean was pretty rough, and the relative calm in these pictures was not the case. There were strong winds, and changeable weather, but the scenery was still fantastic.

(Left to right) Little Parakeet Bay, The Basin at dusk, Reflections at the Settlement, a friendly Quokka, Parker Point and Salmon Bay)

(Top picture) Sunset at the Basin

Brisbane by night

2005-09-01T19:52:00.000+10:00

After a hard week's auditing, I thought I should spend my last night in Brizzy in style, and went for a stroll along the riverside, followed by dinner at one of the trendy restaurants along the river's edge.

Brisbane is a very pleasant city, and has quite an impressive skyline by night, with the Story Bridge and the city skyline.

Brisbane

2005-08-28T22:41:00.000+10:00

I've been seconded to the Brisbane Office for this week's work, so I spent this afternoon wandering around Queensland's capital. Brisbane is a rather pleasant (albeit very quiet), and I'm staying right by the river with a view to the Story Bridge, and right next to the Botanic Gardens. I also took a stroll over to Southbank, which has been done up full of landscaped parklands, including an artificial beach, with lots of restaurants and cafes... All in all, I've had a great day.

Photos: The Treasury Casino, Brisbane by night, My hotel - the Stamford Plaza, Brisbane bridges (including the famous Story Bridge), and Brisbane highrise.

City to Surf

2005-08-19T19:11:00.000+10:00

Every August sees the City to Surf here in Sydney. For the 3rd time, I participated (to say I ran is probably a bit too much of an exaggeration) in the 14km route from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach, including the famous "Heartbreak Hill". Overall I would have run about a quarter of the way, walking the rest. I finished the race in about 2 hours (only an 80 minutes longer than the winner!!) and overall my position was 35,094 (out of 60,000-70,000 participants). I have to admit, the final push came from the smell of the barbecue in work's marquee, all the way down the hill to Bondi Beach.

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera (it would have slowed my blistering pace) however a great day was had by all. It was a beautiful day, on a beautiful beach, one of those glorious winter days we get here in Sydney. Looking forward to taking part again next year!

South of the Border

2005-08-07T01:00:00.000+10:00

Last week I had to travel to Wangaratta, Victoria for work. This is one of the largish country towns in the North-East of Victoria, and is the home of the church below. Following the week's work, I spent the weekend in Melbourne, doing some sightseeing and wanderings.

Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne

2005-08-06T23:46:00.000+10:00

On Sunday, the Exhibition Buildings at Carlton held an Open Day, so we went inside to take a look. Here are some pictures of the external view, and the internal view of the dome.

Shopping in Melbourne

2005-08-06T22:01:00.000+10:00

Melbourne is the capital of shopping in Australia... and for good reason. There are some great shops & shopping centres like Melbourne Central, recently refurbishing, and featuring the magnificent shot tower and cone. Also, the refurbished GPO shopping centre on Bourke St Mall was one of my destinations (thanks Mark for showing me!) I loved the wine bottles filled with pink flowers floating in the air.

I also visited Block Arcade, one of the historic shopping arcades off Collins St.

As for something to show for it? All I managed this trip was a new jumper. I promise to do better in my shopping next time :)

Cocktails at Cruise

2005-07-11T16:47:00.000+10:00

We went to the Cruise Bar, at the Overseas passenger terminal for some cocktails on my birthday!

Mi Cumpleaños en Capitan Torres

2005-07-11T15:14:00.000+10:00

We celebrated my birthday at Capitan Torres over Sangria and Tapas... Here I am with some Rioja, Dad with a mix of food and Matthew and Justine and some Sangria!

Eastern beaches with Al

2005-07-11T12:03:00.000+10:00

I visited Alison's new pad a couple of weeks back. She and Cam are now living in Randwick, within a convenient walk of Coogee and Clovelly... Al took me on a walk to show me the sights.

Top: Alison under the Bali memorial at Coogee.
Above right: Here I am on the beach at Coogee

Clovelly beach

2005-07-11T11:14:00.000+10:00

Waves crashing in at Clovelly...

Winter wanderings

2005-07-09T14:30:00.000+10:00

It's been a while since my last post, so to update on my wanderings...

It's turned cold lately, and we've had a fair bit of rain lately as well... I'm also heading Wangaratta-ward in a couple of weeks, though I will get to have a shopping weekend in Melbourne afterwards, so it should be good!

I turned a respectable twenty-four on June 10. I had a great birthday (or weekend as it turned out)... With the girls, we had dinner in the Rocks followed by some schnapps at the Löwenbräu, followed by a cocktail at Cruise, one of the trendy bars at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. On Monday, a public holiday here in Australia, the family and I went to Capitan Torres for some Sangria and Tapas. Yum! (Photos to come...)

Other than that, June has been pretty uneventful. I did fit in some ice-skating last weekend (only stacked it once). I've also got some photos from that to post.

Anyhow will update the photos soon, once I remember to hook up my digital camera.

Autumn in Sydney

2005-06-24T14:20:00.000+10:00

The view from my bedroom during Autumn, the prettiest time of year!

Bindu's Birthday

2005-06-04T18:42:00.000+10:00

We all caught up on 21 May for Bindu's birthday as she was back in the country... We had a great time at the chocolate shop in Camden.

2005-06-04T18:40:00.000+10:00

Chocolate Wombat and Penguin at Camden

2005-06-04T18:39:00.000+10:00

Dianne at Bindu's birthday

Cruising around...

2005-05-30T13:40:00.000+10:00

I haven't been up to too much since getting back from New Zealand. My latest obsession is the Lindt Cafe (53 Martin Place) where everything contains some kind of Lindt chocolate (except the sandwiches of course... that would just be a little strange). The good people at Lindt decided to open their first cafe worldwide here in Sydney, and I've become a regular customer. I think I must have been there at least once a week for the last month... The photos are from when I took Bindu there on her last trip back to Sydney... She seemed to enjoy the experience.

My recommendations are the dark hot chocolate and the Lindt brownie. I'm also a massive fan of the Creme Brulee block of chocolate.

Anyhow, other than chocolate, I've spent a couple of days in Wangaratta (country Victoria) for work, which was quite pleasant. It's a pretty little country town. Not sure yet if I'll do the ski trip when I back there in July. It's quite conveniently located an hour or so from the Victorian ski-fields.

New Zealand Trip photos

2005-05-22T16:25:00.000+10:00

Sign warning us of kiwis. We didn't see any!

2005-05-22T14:42:00.000+10:00

View of Christchurch from the Gondola, with the Southern Alps in haze

2005-05-22T14:40:00.000+10:00

As we punted along the Avon...

2005-05-22T14:39:00.000+10:00

Beautiful autumn in Christchurch, near the Avon River

2005-05-22T14:36:00.000+10:00

Here I am at the Waiau River

2005-05-22T14:35:00.000+10:00

Waiau River near Hanmer Springs

2005-05-22T14:32:00.000+10:00

Autumn trees near St Arnaud

2005-05-22T14:30:00.000+10:00

St Arnaud

2005-05-22T14:29:00.000+10:00

Collingwood, Golden Bay

2005-05-22T14:24:00.000+10:00

Trying to fit everything into the boot of our tiny car!

2005-05-22T14:21:00.000+10:00

Takaka Hill

2005-05-22T14:19:00.000+10:00

Marlborough is a beautiful spot in Autumn, with the added attraction of wineries!!

2005-05-22T14:16:00.000+10:00

The view of Marlborough Sounds from near Picton

2005-05-22T14:14:00.000+10:00

Here I am on Marlborough Sounds on NZ's South Island

2005-05-22T14:13:00.000+10:00

My friend Bindu at the top of the Cable Car in Wellington

2005-05-22T14:12:00.000+10:00

Here I am on the cable car in Wellington!