Anyway, best I post a few happy snaps. Love to all back home! The Broome mob.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Paris... Je T'aime!
Two weeks in Paris has been just what we needed. We've been staying in a great apartment on boulevard Saint Germain, close to Notre Dame, in the Latin Quarter and just meandering around the city as we felt like it. We've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, visited Montmartre, the Champs élysées, jardin du Luxembourg, and surrounds. Rach and the girls have been to the jardin des plantes and the centre Pompidou (where the girls got a taste of modern art) and we will visit the louvre (and maybe the musee d'orsay) before we hop on the train for London on Tuesday. Have thoroughly tested and tasted the local food and drink - with few complaints - chilled out and watched a few DVDs, and even done some school work and business... I think. It's safe to say that even though we're looking forward to seeing Julia again in London, then continuing our adventures in India, we'll all be sad to say goodbye to Paris.
Anyway, best I post a few happy snaps. Love to all back home! The Broome mob.
)
Anyway, best I post a few happy snaps. Love to all back home! The Broome mob.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Oops
Not sure what happened there... I blame the reasonably priced but rather nice French wine...
:-)
Still, I guess it's better late than ever for my Vegas post!
:-)
Still, I guess it's better late than ever for my Vegas post!
Vegas to Yosemite to San Francisco
Hi all,
I'm writing this from our hotel in New York - we leave for London tomorrow night NY time. As I still haven't updated the rest of our travels, I'll try to keep some kind of chronological order...
I'm writing this from our hotel in New York - we leave for London tomorrow night NY time. As I still haven't updated the rest of our travels, I'll try to keep some kind of chronological order...
We hit the bright lights of Vegas after a long day driving through the desert, and settled in for a few days of fun! Our hotel (the Mandalay Bay) had a giant wave pool and "river run" where you can sit in a tube and float around doing laps with a drink in hand. At night, we braved the strip to check things out. Back in hollywood, we'd seen people dressed as Princesses, Mickey Mouse, Spongebob etc looking for a dollar for a photo with them, but some of these guys were really on the downhill run... in Vegas, we spotted Mickey Mouse drinking out of a Vodka Bottle, sitting in the gutter - nice! After a couple of days, I was glad to see the back of Vegas, and head off back into the desert for Yosemite.
We stopped along the way
Paris
Buonsoir, mon ami!
Wow... I haven't seen enough of it yet, but Paris is the most beautiful city I've come across in our travels. As usual, we didn't quite organise ourselves well enough, and actually arrived at Gare de
Lyon station with no accommodation booked. First mistake! Actually, it wasn't... We have discovered that although train travel through Europe can be cheap, it almost never is if you book it a couple of days before travel. So, about $700 to travel from Budapest to Paris for the 4 of us. Oh well... You live and learn.
I've given up on trying to keep the blog in chronological order, as I've realised I'm too slack to post every day... Notwithstanding the flakey Internet we've had from time to time.
We arrived in Paris with no fixed plans, then proceeded to wander the streets with luggage in tow for about 2 hours, with no Internet access to book somewhere to stay... Thank god we found a friendly receptionist at a hotel who, although she couldn't give us a room, agreed to look one up for us on the internet and book it over the phone. We trudged through the 5th district until we found the place in question, and checked into our 2 bedroom apartment, for the princely sum of €314 (abt $400 a night)
It was ok,and the neighbourhood was cool... Rue Mouffetard was a very funky street with heaps of restaurants and action, but the room wasn't quite right. We talked them down to €250 when we realised we wouldn't be able to find somewhere for the next night, but eventually found a funky apartment on the Boulevarde of Saint Germain, from which I write this post. Thank god! Part of the reason we found ourselves in this dilemma is the antiquated system thatVodafone UK use for recharging PAYG phones... If you don't have a UK credit card,forget it. While you're in the UK, no probs... Go down to a shop and recharge with cash, but otherwise ... Bad luck. Doesn't seem like a very sensible system from a commercial point of view... Let's see, we want money, but we'll make it really difficult for people to give it to us... Someone please sack the finance department of Vodafone UK!
Anyway, in France it's almost as much fun!
I went to SFR (mobile carrier) who told me it would take 5 days to activate mobile data, as I'm a foreigner. Hmmm... Walked next door to Bouygues, who did it in 10 minutes... Ummmm... Yeah, ok. Good luck with that business model too. To be fair,the guy from SFR did suggest I walk down the street and ask another company!
So... Now we are here for at least a week, I plan to update the blog. Watch this space.
Much love from gay Parise...!
Steve
Wow... I haven't seen enough of it yet, but Paris is the most beautiful city I've come across in our travels. As usual, we didn't quite organise ourselves well enough, and actually arrived at Gare de
Lyon station with no accommodation booked. First mistake! Actually, it wasn't... We have discovered that although train travel through Europe can be cheap, it almost never is if you book it a couple of days before travel. So, about $700 to travel from Budapest to Paris for the 4 of us. Oh well... You live and learn.
I've given up on trying to keep the blog in chronological order, as I've realised I'm too slack to post every day... Notwithstanding the flakey Internet we've had from time to time.
We arrived in Paris with no fixed plans, then proceeded to wander the streets with luggage in tow for about 2 hours, with no Internet access to book somewhere to stay... Thank god we found a friendly receptionist at a hotel who, although she couldn't give us a room, agreed to look one up for us on the internet and book it over the phone. We trudged through the 5th district until we found the place in question, and checked into our 2 bedroom apartment, for the princely sum of €314 (abt $400 a night)
It was ok,and the neighbourhood was cool... Rue Mouffetard was a very funky street with heaps of restaurants and action, but the room wasn't quite right. We talked them down to €250 when we realised we wouldn't be able to find somewhere for the next night, but eventually found a funky apartment on the Boulevarde of Saint Germain, from which I write this post. Thank god! Part of the reason we found ourselves in this dilemma is the antiquated system thatVodafone UK use for recharging PAYG phones... If you don't have a UK credit card,forget it. While you're in the UK, no probs... Go down to a shop and recharge with cash, but otherwise ... Bad luck. Doesn't seem like a very sensible system from a commercial point of view... Let's see, we want money, but we'll make it really difficult for people to give it to us... Someone please sack the finance department of Vodafone UK!
Anyway, in France it's almost as much fun!
I went to SFR (mobile carrier) who told me it would take 5 days to activate mobile data, as I'm a foreigner. Hmmm... Walked next door to Bouygues, who did it in 10 minutes... Ummmm... Yeah, ok. Good luck with that business model too. To be fair,the guy from SFR did suggest I walk down the street and ask another company!
So... Now we are here for at least a week, I plan to update the blog. Watch this space.
Much love from gay Parise...!
Steve
Sunday, September 09, 2012
San Diego to Vegas
From San Diego, we weren't sure whether to head up to Yosemite and stay a few days, or take a diversion through Nevada... We decided on Neon over Nature, and hit the road to Vegas!
First stop was Temecula, in wine country just outside San Diego, but we were heading to wine country out of San Francisco in a few days, so no time for tasting just yet.
Along the way, we passed through Corona, California - home of Fender guitars. I couldn't resist the pilgrimage, so we took a short diversion to the birthplace of my Stratocaster to pay my respects and witness the magic!
The factory tour was great, and recommended to any rock and roll nerds out there... The guitar bodies might be precision cut using robotic machines, and the environmental management systems are state of the art (the air coming out of the factory is cleaner than the air going in!) but pretty much every step of the build is hands-on craftsmanship. We even met a lady who has been hand-winding the magnetic pickups since 1956 - she's something of a celebrity there!
Best of all, I got to spend time in the ultimate guitar players toyshop... you can pull down any guitar from the wall in their "playroom" and plug it into any amp... Nice!
The rest of the day's drive was long... not helped by major traffic jams that added a few hours to the trip, but before too long, we were rolling out of the desert and into the insanity of Las Vegas!
First stop was Temecula, in wine country just outside San Diego, but we were heading to wine country out of San Francisco in a few days, so no time for tasting just yet.
Along the way, we passed through Corona, California - home of Fender guitars. I couldn't resist the pilgrimage, so we took a short diversion to the birthplace of my Stratocaster to pay my respects and witness the magic!
The factory tour was great, and recommended to any rock and roll nerds out there... The guitar bodies might be precision cut using robotic machines, and the environmental management systems are state of the art (the air coming out of the factory is cleaner than the air going in!) but pretty much every step of the build is hands-on craftsmanship. We even met a lady who has been hand-winding the magnetic pickups since 1956 - she's something of a celebrity there!
Best of all, I got to spend time in the ultimate guitar players toyshop... you can pull down any guitar from the wall in their "playroom" and plug it into any amp... Nice!
The rest of the day's drive was long... not helped by major traffic jams that added a few hours to the trip, but before too long, we were rolling out of the desert and into the insanity of Las Vegas!
This is a heavily condensed version of events - hopefully once I catch up on the blog we'll start updating as we go again. Next chapter... Vegas and Yosemite!
Steve.
Time for a catchup!
Things have been a bit quiet on the blog front, so I'd better post an update...
Our princess in hollywood, as promised:
After LA, we swapped our little convertible for an enormous Chevy Suburban SUV, and hit the road for San Diego (with one more stop off at Disneyland for good measure!)
Flying by the seat of our pants as usual, we rolled into San Diego with no accommodation pre-booked. We wandered around and found a place called the Handlery Hotel, which ended up being exactly what we needed - our room stepped straight onto the (huge) pool, where Caitlin and Estella made some new friends, and on our second night they even had a live band poolside!
Seaworld San Diego was great fun, but by the end of the day we were all theme-parked out.
Given how close we were to Mexico, we decided to slip over the border for lunch in Tijuana... If you're in that neck of the woods my advice would be "Don't bother!!" Apparently it used to be a happening place, but since the rise of the criminal cartels, there's an eerie air of dread around the almost empty streets on the Mexico side of the border. Still, we pushed on to the main street and stopped in for a bite of lunch. Not sure if it was authentic, but as far as Mexican food goes, we had much better in Hawaii and later in New Orleans...
As we came back across the border after lunch, the US Customs guy was quite amused that we were there... wondering if perhaps we'd got lost and accidentally stumbled across to Mexico!
Next stop... Vegas!
Our princess in hollywood, as promised:
After LA, we swapped our little convertible for an enormous Chevy Suburban SUV, and hit the road for San Diego (with one more stop off at Disneyland for good measure!)
Seaworld San Diego was great fun, but by the end of the day we were all theme-parked out.
Given how close we were to Mexico, we decided to slip over the border for lunch in Tijuana... If you're in that neck of the woods my advice would be "Don't bother!!" Apparently it used to be a happening place, but since the rise of the criminal cartels, there's an eerie air of dread around the almost empty streets on the Mexico side of the border. Still, we pushed on to the main street and stopped in for a bite of lunch. Not sure if it was authentic, but as far as Mexican food goes, we had much better in Hawaii and later in New Orleans...
Next stop... Vegas!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A windy New Orleans
Six or Seven years ago I watched on TV the disaster that Hurricane Katrina bore on Louisiana and Mississippi so I can certainly understand their apprehension. Isaac is not as powerful as Katrina but it is big in size but I have just read that $15 billion dollars has been spent on building, repairing and strengthening the levies and barriers. I hope that they work and I'm sure they will but I understand that New Orleans is below sea level so I guess it is always going to be a struggle to keep the waters out. Anyway I'd love to tell you more about New Orleans but we can't leave the hotel until probably Thursday... hopefully (its Tuesday lunchtime right now). Its OK... the barman makes a sweet 'Zen Garden'... mmmmmm.
p.s We have a great view of the Mississippi from our hotel room on the 14th floor so I'll try to update on whats happening. Oh... and poor mum who was suppose to be here this afternoon will not make it past Dallas as all flights in and out of New Orleans are now cancelled. Hope to see you tomorrow mum!
R.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Adventures in the City of Angels...
Probably about time I updated the blog! What day is it??? :-)
We arrived in LA on Tuesday night local time, and decided to spring for a limo given that the cost wasn't that different to a taxi... Caitlin and Estella were impressed!
Our hotel is in Glendale, on the way to Pasadena in the North East corner of LA. It's a little 2 story place built in 1924... before elevators were widely available by the looks! Oh well... all this climbing up the stairs is probably doing us good. There's a nice little Jazz bar/restaurant underneath the hotel http://www.jaxbarandgrill.com
 |
| Cruisin through the Hollywood hills with the top down! |
We've spent the week braving the insanity that is LA traffic... It's not too far to Universal Studios and Hollywood etc from here, but a bit of a hike to Disneyland, as we found out on Friday. We might go down to Anaheim tomorrow night so we can finish our Disney adventures without worrying about night traffic on the freeway. |
| Yes, that's a chandelier on the street... Glendale (or more specifically The Americana at Glendale) is a bit "Pleasantville"! |
Universal Studios was awesome - we all agreed that the Simpsons ride was even better than the high-tech 3-D Transformers one. Between us we managed to make most of the rides... We couldn't face the lines, but worked out a loophole... we could buy 2 front of line passes, and one of us could stay with Estella at the "Kid Check" area, then swap over... so neither adult had to wait, and Caitlin got 2 rides on most of them! Sweet.
Estella has proven to be the biggest wuss we've ever seen... We even had to leave the Shrek 4-D movie with her screaming in horror... Oh well, Caitlin more than makes up in the daring department!
Disneyland was fun, but hard work... temps in the 30s, with bugger all shade, and awful long lines everywhere. At least they let you pick up a "fastpass" on the busiest rides, so you can come back an hour later without waiting.
I'm quite surprised to find that most of the themepark menu options are reasonably priced and pretty healthy, but even without sugar, Estella managed to pull off a mega-tanty nice and early in the day when I refused to pay double the normal price for a princess dress for her - Oh, and did I mention they don't sell beer at Disneyland! (Well not in the main park)... Screaming kid, hot day, long lines and no relief... it didn't get off to a good start! Still, we had a lot of fun in the end, and are all looking forward to going back for California Adventure Park over the next few days.
 |
| Santa Monica Pier |
Oh my god... We went to the Getty yesterday... Beautiful place, with an amazing restaurant (best food of the trip so far in my book), and they had a Klimt exhibition... We were all enjoying the gallery until Estella went into absolute meltdown mode... Ended up with security chasing her and Rach out after she tried to handle the artwork... Oooops. The tantrum didn't end there of course... Not before we'd carried the screaming beast out of the gallery and down the steps to the tram (which takes you down the hill to the carpark), and one of the nice ladies who work there came over and somehow defused Estella.
Today we took a trip to Downtown LA, and wandered around the fashion district... reminded me of the markets in KL or Singapore a bit... then over to Beverley Hills for a look at the other "fashion district". After lunch on Rodeo Dve, Estella put on her new Princess Rapunzel dress, and hit Hollywood Blvd!
:-) Everyone was very impressed to see a "real" princess out in public!!! Will copy the photos over in a moment and post them tonight.
Will also try to keep up the posting, instead of trying to cram it all in at the end of the week.
Having a great time!
Steve, Rach, Caitlin and Estella
Monday, August 06, 2012
Aloha Amigos...still on the North Shore, Oahu, HI.
Aloha,
Sunday afternoon on the North shore... we are worn out from walking, beaching, swimming and ledge jumping!! No ledge jumping for me... too many teenage boys to weave through to get to the edge... thats my excuse anyway. I'll post pictures of Steve and Caitlin jumping off the ledge. Caitlin shamed all the adults and older kids who were standing up there too scaredy to jump!
Earlier we spent the morning walking and swimming albeit very briefly at the Waimea Falls. The walk through the very well looked after gardens in the valley was worth it but the pretty small pool at the bottom of the falls (the pictures are a little more exciting than it is + $37 for 3 of us to go in). Special mention has to go to the over zealous lifeguard(s), they told me off as Estella was about 3ft away from me... not in the water... not even near the water but sitting down with a life jacket on... it was weird. They wouldn't let Caitlin hop in without a life jacket -13+ you have to be. I could dive in and be across the other side in about 4 seconds. We know America is a litigious society but at this place they are OTT... made it uncomfortable ... no problems, off to the beach again! Worth a look around the beautiful gardens but if you have seen any waterfalls or swimming holes in Australia you would be disappointed. Don't prioritise the falls but if you love nice gardens the mile walk in is worth it.
But the beaches.... I'm not so much a beach person but even I haven't resisted being on the beach everyday since we have been here. I have never seen such great snorkelling off the beach and I've sat on a few beaches! Turtles everywhere... apparently you can go to jail if you hurt a turtle here and as a result they cruise in the shallows and surf the waves... its a beautiful sight. It's difficult to explain the north shore but there is no where too fancy looking, the best mexican I have ever had was out of a van on the beach, chooks weirdly wander everywhere, parking is a nightmare, the weather is pretty much perfect day and night!
I'd like to come back, rent a place directly on the beach with a few mates and just chill out. Snorkel, do nothing, snorkel, drink beer, have a snooze, eat, drink beer, go for a swim... the next day would be much the same - I'm sure you get the picture. You'd have to toss a coin about who gets in the car to go get more beer and food but at $20 for a carton of Corona you can be the big spender!
The most stress, and I wouldn't exactly call it stress is looking for a place to stay at our next location. I read that the key to happiness at disneyland is a good strategy therefore I am going 'Walt' and doing some more planning.
So, any good ideas for the next 5 weeks based on the following places and datelines would be appreciated.
California (we have plans for LA for at least five days.. except a hotel which I will try to finalise by tomorrow) so cruising out of LA from about the 13th August to 26th August around really a 500 kms radius I guess...
Nawlins aka New Orleans 26th August - 3 September
New York (and maybe east Canada) 3 September - 18th September
Then...Europe for 8 weeks... I can't think that far ahead but will take all advice given as I haven't been back there since AD (after darlings... or demons...).
Maholo.
XXOO
Rachel
Sunday afternoon on the North shore... we are worn out from walking, beaching, swimming and ledge jumping!! No ledge jumping for me... too many teenage boys to weave through to get to the edge... thats my excuse anyway. I'll post pictures of Steve and Caitlin jumping off the ledge. Caitlin shamed all the adults and older kids who were standing up there too scaredy to jump!
 |
| Yep, that's Caitlin mid jump! |
But the beaches.... I'm not so much a beach person but even I haven't resisted being on the beach everyday since we have been here. I have never seen such great snorkelling off the beach and I've sat on a few beaches! Turtles everywhere... apparently you can go to jail if you hurt a turtle here and as a result they cruise in the shallows and surf the waves... its a beautiful sight. It's difficult to explain the north shore but there is no where too fancy looking, the best mexican I have ever had was out of a van on the beach, chooks weirdly wander everywhere, parking is a nightmare, the weather is pretty much perfect day and night!
I'd like to come back, rent a place directly on the beach with a few mates and just chill out. Snorkel, do nothing, snorkel, drink beer, have a snooze, eat, drink beer, go for a swim... the next day would be much the same - I'm sure you get the picture. You'd have to toss a coin about who gets in the car to go get more beer and food but at $20 for a carton of Corona you can be the big spender!
The most stress, and I wouldn't exactly call it stress is looking for a place to stay at our next location. I read that the key to happiness at disneyland is a good strategy therefore I am going 'Walt' and doing some more planning.
So, any good ideas for the next 5 weeks based on the following places and datelines would be appreciated.
California (we have plans for LA for at least five days.. except a hotel which I will try to finalise by tomorrow) so cruising out of LA from about the 13th August to 26th August around really a 500 kms radius I guess...
Nawlins aka New Orleans 26th August - 3 September
New York (and maybe east Canada) 3 September - 18th September
Then...Europe for 8 weeks... I can't think that far ahead but will take all advice given as I haven't been back there since AD (after darlings... or demons...).
Maholo.
XXOO
Rachel
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