Tuesday, October 17, 2006
historic!
I've just taken part in the 'One Day in History' project tonight - it's been set up by History Matters, a heritage charity, to capture one day in history on a blog. You write up your day and post it on the website, and the details are stored at the British Library. It was quite interesting reflecting on my day and thinking how it would differ from other years. The main difference I guess is the technology - mobiles, wireless broadband, iPods, digital television, instant messaging and the different pieces of kit we use at work as well. All of these are so different from ten years ago and goodness knows what the situation will be in ten years!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
'The Kiss' sand sculpture
Ernst & Young are sponsoring the Rodin exhibition at the Royal Academy at the moment and so there's lots of activity around to promote this. In our More London building there's a huge sand sculpture of 'The Kiss' - yes it's all sand and water! It's very impressive.
Monday, October 09, 2006
relocated!
Well I'm all moved into my new home - I wouldn't quite say I was settled yet as there's a bit of organisation to do yet, but it's fab to be there and have my own space. Had a fantastic tag team of helpers to assist me in the move on Saturday. Many hands really did make light workand it was nowhere near as exhausting as the up and down stairs slog of last weekend. I still haven't quite worked out how the heating works and I have to get the hang of the electricity key! Also, I rang BT to get a phone sorted out and they said they needed to send an engineer out, and the first one isn't available til the end of the month! So, I'll be phoneless and internetless for the new few weeks :(
Will post some photos up on Flickr when I get that organised (and my flat is tidied up!).
Will post some photos up on Flickr when I get that organised (and my flat is tidied up!).
Monday, October 02, 2006
recovering!
Fiona and I were meant to stay at the Sweet Olive B&B in New Orleans last year. Our trip was washed away by Hurricane Katrina and we rearranged to have a very enjoyable trip to New England and New York. The Sweet Olive wasn't too badly damaged by the hurricane and has stayed open pretty much throughout. It looks like a lovely place, and Fiona has kept on their mailing list for any possible future visit. The mailing list has just been transformed into a blog - good to read that life is returning to normal in many ways!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
limbo!
Am now all moved out of Hartham Road and into my temporary accomodation at Li-Ann's flat in Maida Vale - strange to be back in the old stomping ground again, and back on the number 6 bus!!
After the move, I went out for Cristina's birthday with Li-Ann and Andrew - we went to Ping Pong for dim sum first of all. It was absolutely delicious! All the traditional dim sum dishes but jazzed up a little bit. Also had a gorgeous vanilla, peach and rum cocktail. Following that we went along to Milk & Honey for a couple of drinks. We were up in the Games Room and I chose 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' for the plasma screen. It ended up being quite a saucy film and caused much merriment!! I was so exhausted with all the moving that I ended up falling asleep on one of the chairs.
Today, Li-Ann and I went to see 'The Devil Wears Prada'. It was quite enjoyable, if a little predictable and frothy. Made New York look fab!
After the move, I went out for Cristina's birthday with Li-Ann and Andrew - we went to Ping Pong for dim sum first of all. It was absolutely delicious! All the traditional dim sum dishes but jazzed up a little bit. Also had a gorgeous vanilla, peach and rum cocktail. Following that we went along to Milk & Honey for a couple of drinks. We were up in the Games Room and I chose 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls' for the plasma screen. It ended up being quite a saucy film and caused much merriment!! I was so exhausted with all the moving that I ended up falling asleep on one of the chairs.
Today, Li-Ann and I went to see 'The Devil Wears Prada'. It was quite enjoyable, if a little predictable and frothy. Made New York look fab!
Friday, September 29, 2006
interrupted!
So I'm going to be in limbo in many ways over the next couple of weeks. We move out of our flat tomorrow morning - I'll be staying with Li-Ann for a week before I move into my new flat in Stoke Newington. Bit of a stressful time trying to get everything packed up and into storage at Annie's place, then organising another move next weekend. Have had fantastic support from all my friends so it should be easy!
And to top it all off, my MacBook has developed Random Shutdown Syndrome, so I need to take it to a repair center - reports on the web say that Apple know about this and are fixing the computers (I think it's something to do with a heatsink - not sure what that is!). Hopefully it won't take too long, but as I'll be in temporary accomodation for a week, and then there'll probably be a delay in getting my broadband setting up in my new place, it hopefully won't be too bad. Will miss my little white buddy though!
And to top it all off, my MacBook has developed Random Shutdown Syndrome, so I need to take it to a repair center - reports on the web say that Apple know about this and are fixing the computers (I think it's something to do with a heatsink - not sure what that is!). Hopefully it won't take too long, but as I'll be in temporary accomodation for a week, and then there'll probably be a delay in getting my broadband setting up in my new place, it hopefully won't be too bad. Will miss my little white buddy though!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
completed!
Our challenge of sleeping rough for one night in London has been completed - we had a fun night sleeping out under the stars beside the Houses of Parliament in aid of Byte Night. Actually managed to get some sleep and thankfully Hurricane Gordan had swept through earlier in the afternoon!
At the start of the evening we had drinks on the terrace of the House of Lords where this photo of the Eye was taken.
At the start of the evening we had drinks on the terrace of the House of Lords where this photo of the Eye was taken.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sardinia - the rest of the trip
Internet cafes were not very much in evidence in Sardinia - or at least we didn't really go looking for them, hence the lack of an update while we were away!
We had a lovely relaxing holiday. After my last update, we picked up the car (a silver Lancia) and drove from Cagliari up to Baia Sardinia at the very top of the island. The drive was pretty straightforward - the main roads are very good and it was easy to find our way up there with minimal maps! Middle of the island was very hilly with lots of greenery. Motorway went as far as Olbia, the main town in the north east and then the roads were a bit smaller (and windier!) until Baia Sardinia.
Baia Sardinia is a resort that's in the Costa Smeralda area - some towns in the area, especially Porto Cervo, are very posh and are seen as the Monte Carlo of Sardinia. We just visited for a drink one morning, and sadly got around to shopping just when all the boutiques had closed for siesta! Probably just as well...
Highlight of the visit was a trip out to the Maddelena Islands on a boat. We drove to Palau where quite a few of the cruise ships and charter boats are moored, touting for custom. We initially put our names down for one boat, but then realised that there were going to be over 100 people on this boat, and so we ended up on a much smaller boat with four other passengers and Pietro, the skipper. There was a lovely area on top of the boat for us to lounge around and get sunburnt (in my case). The four other passengers were two Italian couples our age. We visited a couple of beaches and had a gorgeous three course lunch with antipasti, pasta, fruit and Mirto, the Sardinian spirit to finish off with! We also visited a beach with pink sand - well it was actually normal white sand but with little pink organisms in it. Very lovely! It was quite a long day - Pietro was a bit of a character and seemed to spend the whole day visiting his mates! But the sea was gorgeous.
We also saw the Maltese Falcon, the world's largest (and newest) privately owned yacht. We'd seen it in the distance a couple of times with all three sails in full expanse, looking a bit like a Chinese junk. But we managed to get up close to it on this trip and had a good look. A Google search later on revealed that the yacht belongs to Tom Perkins, who used to work for Hewlett Packard and was once married to Danielle Steele. It was a truly beautiful vessel - would love to go on it one day (in my dreams...)
After four nights in Baia Sardinia, we drove back down the island to Villasimius, in the wilder south east. We thought that the landscape was much more like Australia and New Zealand - the road down there was very windy and the beaches were much more suited to surfing that lounging. We tried to lounge on the beach a couple of times (didn't even try to swim!) and were nearly blown away! It was fascinating though.
Our last night we stayed in Cagliari again, in a lovely B&B in the heart of the old town. We'd gorged ourselves on seafood most of the week, but for our last night asked our B&B owner to recommend a place which specialised in suckling pig, a Sardinian delicacy. He directed us to a place just down the road (can't remember the name but will add it) which was a gastronomic delight! More food than we could ever eat - about five different courses with great antipasti, pasta and of course the pig. The amaretti for dessert were also delicious - gorgeous!
We had a lovely relaxing holiday. After my last update, we picked up the car (a silver Lancia) and drove from Cagliari up to Baia Sardinia at the very top of the island. The drive was pretty straightforward - the main roads are very good and it was easy to find our way up there with minimal maps! Middle of the island was very hilly with lots of greenery. Motorway went as far as Olbia, the main town in the north east and then the roads were a bit smaller (and windier!) until Baia Sardinia.
Baia Sardinia is a resort that's in the Costa Smeralda area - some towns in the area, especially Porto Cervo, are very posh and are seen as the Monte Carlo of Sardinia. We just visited for a drink one morning, and sadly got around to shopping just when all the boutiques had closed for siesta! Probably just as well...
Highlight of the visit was a trip out to the Maddelena Islands on a boat. We drove to Palau where quite a few of the cruise ships and charter boats are moored, touting for custom. We initially put our names down for one boat, but then realised that there were going to be over 100 people on this boat, and so we ended up on a much smaller boat with four other passengers and Pietro, the skipper. There was a lovely area on top of the boat for us to lounge around and get sunburnt (in my case). The four other passengers were two Italian couples our age. We visited a couple of beaches and had a gorgeous three course lunch with antipasti, pasta, fruit and Mirto, the Sardinian spirit to finish off with! We also visited a beach with pink sand - well it was actually normal white sand but with little pink organisms in it. Very lovely! It was quite a long day - Pietro was a bit of a character and seemed to spend the whole day visiting his mates! But the sea was gorgeous.
We also saw the Maltese Falcon, the world's largest (and newest) privately owned yacht. We'd seen it in the distance a couple of times with all three sails in full expanse, looking a bit like a Chinese junk. But we managed to get up close to it on this trip and had a good look. A Google search later on revealed that the yacht belongs to Tom Perkins, who used to work for Hewlett Packard and was once married to Danielle Steele. It was a truly beautiful vessel - would love to go on it one day (in my dreams...)
After four nights in Baia Sardinia, we drove back down the island to Villasimius, in the wilder south east. We thought that the landscape was much more like Australia and New Zealand - the road down there was very windy and the beaches were much more suited to surfing that lounging. We tried to lounge on the beach a couple of times (didn't even try to swim!) and were nearly blown away! It was fascinating though.
Our last night we stayed in Cagliari again, in a lovely B&B in the heart of the old town. We'd gorged ourselves on seafood most of the week, but for our last night asked our B&B owner to recommend a place which specialised in suckling pig, a Sardinian delicacy. He directed us to a place just down the road (can't remember the name but will add it) which was a gastronomic delight! More food than we could ever eat - about five different courses with great antipasti, pasta and of course the pig. The amaretti for dessert were also delicious - gorgeous!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
partying!
We had a CBK Summer Party a couple of weeks ago (some of you may have heard that I made a rather late arrival at work the next morning). Thankfully the photos are not too dreadful and I thought I'd share a picture of me learning line dancing from my colleague Steve (he's in the plaid shirt).
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sardinia Day One
Li-Ann and I had a pleasant trip out to Cagliari from Luton last night. We made sure that we were out there in plenty of time and so we had an hour to enjoy the new terminal at Luton - lots of new shops and eating establishments, very pleasant!
Flight down to Cagiliari took about 2 and a half hours. On arrival we took a cab to the very new and very flash T Hotel - it's a business hotel so has good weekend rates. Design is lovely and very modern.
Was quite late by the time we got here so we got changed and took a taxi into the old town where we had a quick wander and then went for some pizza and beer. The old town has lots of little lanes and a fortress at the top that I'm sure we'll explore more when we return here on our last night. We were both really exhausted so were eager to get to bed. We weren't sure how to get a taxi back to the hotel so asked who we thought were a couple of police how to call for one. They were actually guarding what must be the town hall here and one of them popped into the building and called one for us - bless!
We're driving up to Baja Sardinia at the top of the island tomorrow.
Flight down to Cagiliari took about 2 and a half hours. On arrival we took a cab to the very new and very flash T Hotel - it's a business hotel so has good weekend rates. Design is lovely and very modern.
Was quite late by the time we got here so we got changed and took a taxi into the old town where we had a quick wander and then went for some pizza and beer. The old town has lots of little lanes and a fortress at the top that I'm sure we'll explore more when we return here on our last night. We were both really exhausted so were eager to get to bed. We weren't sure how to get a taxi back to the hotel so asked who we thought were a couple of police how to call for one. They were actually guarding what must be the town hall here and one of them popped into the building and called one for us - bless!
We're driving up to Baja Sardinia at the top of the island tomorrow.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
bonding!
We visited the Four Lanterns Greek restaurant to farewell Rosemary tonight - she's been here for her summer visit and is now off to Turkey for three weeks en route back to New Zealand for her tenth summer in a row!
From left is Charlotte, Rosemary, Nicki, Annie, me, Alex, Colin and Simon - photo taken on Simon's fancy new Cyber Shot phone!
From left is Charlotte, Rosemary, Nicki, Annie, me, Alex, Colin and Simon - photo taken on Simon's fancy new Cyber Shot phone!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
reflective!
Went on a day trip to Leeds Castle, down in Kent, today. Castle itself wasn't anything special but the setting was lovely - green grounds (they'd been using the water from the moat for irrigation rather than flouting the housepipe ban) and gardens. There was even a falconry display which was fascinating! The Castle also houses an aviary which has lots of exotic birds including toucans and a disgruntled looking kea (no windscreen wipers for it to tear into!).
Thursday, August 24, 2006
groovy!
groovy!/b>
For those of you who haven't seen this, this is a video from a group called OKgo! Great dancing!
For those of you who haven't seen this, this is a video from a group called OKgo! Great dancing!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
familiar!
Went to see 'The Vegemite Tales' on Monday night - it's a play about a group of Australian flatmates living in London. It's been playing for a couple of years in fringe theatre in Hammersmith but has transferred to the West End for a short time. It was all very familiar and well observed, including the set design (including a travel library, photos all over the walls and fairy lights) and the jobs the flatmates were in. There were some bits that were a bit crude and childish but there were also some scenes that were very affecting - I think the whole audience had all had the "I want my Mum!" moment.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
rockin'!
This is a not very good photo of Radiohead last night at the V Festival - hopefully soon I'll be able to post some much better ones from Simon's camera (this one was taken on my phone).
Had a brilliant day yesterday at V in Chelmsford - highlight was definitely Radiohead, but also enjoyed Bloc Party, the Magic Numbers and Beck. Beck had some marionettes of the band on stage with him that were very amusing and well done. He last played at V97 nine years ago which was the last time I went to the festival, with Simon. Radiohead played some new material but also a lot of the old favourites as wel, including, unusually, Creep.
We even went to see Kula Shaker for old time's sake.
Site was kind of muddy, especially the walk up to the entrance from the buses. None of us had gumboots on but loads of people did - very colourful pairs as well.
Travel home was tiring but surprisingly efficient (apart from getting back to Liverpool St when the tube had stopped and no cabs in sight). We had some very drunken Essex teens on the train with us which was particularly delightful.
Had a brilliant day yesterday at V in Chelmsford - highlight was definitely Radiohead, but also enjoyed Bloc Party, the Magic Numbers and Beck. Beck had some marionettes of the band on stage with him that were very amusing and well done. He last played at V97 nine years ago which was the last time I went to the festival, with Simon. Radiohead played some new material but also a lot of the old favourites as wel, including, unusually, Creep.
We even went to see Kula Shaker for old time's sake.
Site was kind of muddy, especially the walk up to the entrance from the buses. None of us had gumboots on but loads of people did - very colourful pairs as well.
Travel home was tiring but surprisingly efficient (apart from getting back to Liverpool St when the tube had stopped and no cabs in sight). We had some very drunken Essex teens on the train with us which was particularly delightful.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
entertained!
Visited two new venues at the weekend - on Friday night visited the Dean Swift near Butler's Wharf for my colleague Owen's farewell drinks. He's off to India for a couple of months to work with our Indian counterparts (India is a big priority for EY at the moment not surprisingly). The Dean Swift was a good pub - it even had Bundaberg rum, probably courtesy of the Australian bar staff! And on Saturday Li-Ann and I went for lunch at Canteen in Spitalfields - a modern British version of Wagamama, real comfort eating food with benches. Had a really nice pie and then some chocolate brownie sundae - yummo! Paid a visit to Montezuma's chcocolate shop afterwards - some lovely chocolate combinations!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
connected!
Wow, Skype is absolutely fantastic! Have downloaded the Skype Video Beta for Macs successfully (its not supported with any instructions at the moment as it's still a trial version) and have just had a wonderful video conference with Mum and Dad. Brilliant quality and a wonderful way to communicate. Got to show Mum and Dad what the skylight in my room looks like!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
picnic in the box
Kt and I went along to the Serpentine Gallery's Open Air Film night tonight - they were showing Performance (which was quite strange, but meditative in tone).
We ordered a Carluccio's hamper to eat with our meal - it arrived in a huge box (Kt had to get a cab to transport it!)
We ordered a Carluccio's hamper to eat with our meal - it arrived in a huge box (Kt had to get a cab to transport it!)
picnic out of the box!
even better! The picnic contained different salads, bread, chicken and jelly, not to mention a bottle of wine. Fantastic value and too much for us to eat!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
champion!
Last night, I was part of a winning quiz team for the second time in a month! We had a CBK Quiz night at a local pub and my team (Quiz Team Aguilera) was the winner by a fabulous ten points. It was a very enjoyable evening. Can't say I had any input into the sports round though. We won a lunch together at a local restaurant.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
stoopid!
Well I've just done one of the silliest things ever by putting my phone in the washing machine! It's really not a happy moby at the moment, and is at the moment dismantled and drying out in the kitchen. I'm hoping that it will dry out and come right... we'll see. I googled 'mobile phone washing maching' and discovered I'm not the only one. Many of these people (including someone with my model) saw a success after a few hours so who knows..
On a brighter technology note, broadband is working, wireless is working, have managed to video conference with Fiona and John and Skype as well. It's all good!
Weather is still gorgeous in London. Went down to a friend's place in Hither Green for lunch yesterday and stayed in the garden, complete with lanterns, until just before the last train. Lovely! Am just about to go for lunch in Islington now.
On a brighter technology note, broadband is working, wireless is working, have managed to video conference with Fiona and John and Skype as well. It's all good!
Weather is still gorgeous in London. Went down to a friend's place in Hither Green for lunch yesterday and stayed in the garden, complete with lanterns, until just before the last train. Lovely! Am just about to go for lunch in Islington now.
Monday, July 24, 2006
very wireless...
So I've had a bit of a saga with the whole broadband thing. The current situation is that I'm online at the moment on my Mac, but, er, I don't think it's my broadband! That's the thing with wireless! Oh well, it will do me for today!
This has given me a nice chance though to get loads of stuff set up on my computer - At the moment I'm querying GraceNotes (the system where you get song names and details) to get information on all my music - and that's a lot of music! So that will be great to find out just what I've been listening to.
Hopefully "my" broadband will be sorted out later this week and I can stop feeling guilty about hijacking someone else's!
This has given me a nice chance though to get loads of stuff set up on my computer - At the moment I'm querying GraceNotes (the system where you get song names and details) to get information on all my music - and that's a lot of music! So that will be great to find out just what I've been listening to.
Hopefully "my" broadband will be sorted out later this week and I can stop feeling guilty about hijacking someone else's!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
cold!
While we swelter here in London (36 degrees yesterday) I thought I'd post a photo Mum sent me last month of the house following the 'snow bomb'. Picturesque!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
rough!
I've just volunteered to take part in Byte Night, fundraising for homeless or at risk people. It involves spending the night sleeping under the stars beside the Houses of Parliament. I really like my bed, so this is not going to be a comfortable night! It promises to be lots of fun though with food, drink and a quiz before we settle down for the night.
Our team (there's five of us) have to raise £5000 to take part, so we'll be doing lots of fund raising over the next couple of months. We've set up a fund raising website, so please donate through this route. Alternatively, we've got quite a few different ideas to raise money, including bake sales and quiz nights so those of you in London may be roped in for these.
Our team (there's five of us) have to raise £5000 to take part, so we'll be doing lots of fund raising over the next couple of months. We've set up a fund raising website, so please donate through this route. Alternatively, we've got quite a few different ideas to raise money, including bake sales and quiz nights so those of you in London may be roped in for these.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
I am Mac-ready!
Got my new Macbook yesterday - just walked into the Apple Store on Regent St and purchased it. It's very exciting - I was up til 1am last night playing with it. Especially love the webcam and 'Photo booth' functionality. This photo isn't actually one of mine - it's a random one from Flickr. But it seems there are a whole lot of people who buy a Macbook, and take photos of every stage of unpacking it!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Spain Day 7 - Malaga
After breakfast, I caught the bus into town and went to a couple of museums. The Museo de Arte y Costumbres has a good collection of folk arts - items made for the home and village celebrations. So there were lots of tools, some clothing and costumes for festivals, furniture etc. Then I wandered across to the biggie, the Museo Picasso Malaga. It´s quite newly opened and is based on donations of works from Picasso´s daughter in law and her son. The collection is housed in a lovely old villa. There was also a temporary exhibition of works from when Picasso was living in Antibes - the paintings and sculptures there are designed around classical motifs - fauns and nymphs etc.
Other than that, had a quiet day. The shops all closed down about 3pm, and so I went back to Pedralojedo and sat in the sun, before having some fish for dinner by the beach.
Other than that, had a quiet day. The shops all closed down about 3pm, and so I went back to Pedralojedo and sat in the sun, before having some fish for dinner by the beach.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Spain Day 6 - Granada and Malaga
Had a wander around the Albaicin area in Granada today - it´s the hill that faces the Alhambra hill, and is full of shops, bars and restaurants, as well as some homes. Lots of shops selling Arabic themed items, most of which are apparently made in Morocco. Walked up to the Mirador San Nicholas which has a fantastic view of the Alhambra - got my photo taken by a very Kiwi woman called Noelene! Had some lunch at Kiki San Nicholas, a restaurant behind the church -had an enormous plate of seafood which I couldn´t finish!
Caught a taxi to the bus station and then the bus to Malaga - the bus cost about €8.50, cheaper than the taxi! Bus journey took two hours.
When I arrived in Malaga, I took another taxi to my hotel, Hotel Acacias, which is about ten minutes out of town in an area called Pedregalejo. It´s very pretty and only about five minutes walk from the beach - the actual beach doesn´t look that nice for swimming though. Went and had some dinner down by the water - there are loads of cafes and restaurants. The popular thing is for fishermen to grill their day´s catch on a barbeque. After my seafood at lunch I wasn´t that keen but I will be returning!
Caught a taxi to the bus station and then the bus to Malaga - the bus cost about €8.50, cheaper than the taxi! Bus journey took two hours.
When I arrived in Malaga, I took another taxi to my hotel, Hotel Acacias, which is about ten minutes out of town in an area called Pedregalejo. It´s very pretty and only about five minutes walk from the beach - the actual beach doesn´t look that nice for swimming though. Went and had some dinner down by the water - there are loads of cafes and restaurants. The popular thing is for fishermen to grill their day´s catch on a barbeque. After my seafood at lunch I wasn´t that keen but I will be returning!
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Spain Day 5 - Granada
Had a lazy morning this morning and wandered around a bit and had breakfast before stocking up on water and catching the Alhambrabus up to the entrance of the Alhambra.
I´d booked my ticket for the Alhambra right when I was booking this trip two months ago. And I was really glad I´d done so! Talked to a couple of people who didn´t book and so couldn´t get in at all. Tickets book up really quickly - they let about 80 or so people into the Nazrid Palaces at half hour slots throughout the day. And the slots must run from 8.30 in the morning until about 6pm, so that´s lots of people. Loads of groups. They´re really strict about when you´re let in too - I overheard one guy at the Tourist info centre saying that they´d been late because his girlfriend was sick, and they weren´t let in at all. And when they´d tried the next day they were out of luck.
There were a couple of things I was glad I did - I arrived up there at noon, even though my slot wasn´t until 1.30, so that gave me plenty of time to wander around the gardens and get my bearings. And I also paid 3 € for the audio guide which was very useful and meant I didn´t have to stop and get my guide book out all the time!
When i actually got into the Nazrid Palaces, I was blown away. It really was lovely and very spectacular. i´d been really impressed by the Alcazar in Seville, but the decoration and design here were on a whole different level. Lots of rooms with intricate carvings and stucco ceilings, as well as reflecting pools, and views out over the city. Spent about two hours in the Palaces, and then had a look around the Alcazar and the Generalife Gardens. Had about six hours up there in all! Took loads of photos, but bought a book on the Alhambra as well.
After catching the bus back down to the centre, i went to the Arab Baths for a soak and a massage. These Baths were quite a bit smaller than the ones in Seville, with only two baths, a hot and a cold. There was also quite a small, unisex changing room with tiny areas curtained off for private changing. Massage was also a bit fierce! But it was nice to have a relaxing soak, and the tiling and atmosphere were lovely.
I´d booked my ticket for the Alhambra right when I was booking this trip two months ago. And I was really glad I´d done so! Talked to a couple of people who didn´t book and so couldn´t get in at all. Tickets book up really quickly - they let about 80 or so people into the Nazrid Palaces at half hour slots throughout the day. And the slots must run from 8.30 in the morning until about 6pm, so that´s lots of people. Loads of groups. They´re really strict about when you´re let in too - I overheard one guy at the Tourist info centre saying that they´d been late because his girlfriend was sick, and they weren´t let in at all. And when they´d tried the next day they were out of luck.
There were a couple of things I was glad I did - I arrived up there at noon, even though my slot wasn´t until 1.30, so that gave me plenty of time to wander around the gardens and get my bearings. And I also paid 3 € for the audio guide which was very useful and meant I didn´t have to stop and get my guide book out all the time!
When i actually got into the Nazrid Palaces, I was blown away. It really was lovely and very spectacular. i´d been really impressed by the Alcazar in Seville, but the decoration and design here were on a whole different level. Lots of rooms with intricate carvings and stucco ceilings, as well as reflecting pools, and views out over the city. Spent about two hours in the Palaces, and then had a look around the Alcazar and the Generalife Gardens. Had about six hours up there in all! Took loads of photos, but bought a book on the Alhambra as well.
After catching the bus back down to the centre, i went to the Arab Baths for a soak and a massage. These Baths were quite a bit smaller than the ones in Seville, with only two baths, a hot and a cold. There was also quite a small, unisex changing room with tiny areas curtained off for private changing. Massage was also a bit fierce! But it was nice to have a relaxing soak, and the tiling and atmosphere were lovely.
Spain Day 4 - Seville, Granada
After breakfast of a Spanish omelette (while in Seville, as Dad said...) I headed off down to the Maestranza, the main bull-fighting ring in the city. While I´m not that keen on the actual bull fights, the whole tradition is quite intriguing, and of course it´s a location in Carmen! There are half hour tours that you can take of the arena, which takes you to the seating areas, the infirmary (pretty well organised for goring injuries!), the museum and the stables. A very slick operation, but still very traditional.
After walking along the river for a bit and listening to the cheesy music of the riverboats, I went and had a look around the cathedral, close to where my hotel was. It was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling and enormous columns. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also there. The largest carved wooden altar in the world is in the cathedral, and in fact, the cathedral is meant to be the largest in the world, larger even than St Peter´s in Rome. I walked up to the top of the Giralda, the cathedral´s tower - there are no steps, and were designed so that one of the kings could ride his horse up to the top. Views were pretty amazing from the top.
Made my way to the station next, where my train left at 15.55 for Granada. Very comfortable journey, modern train. Took just under three hours. Some great mountain views en route, as well as views of wind machines.
Got a taxi to my hotel when I got to Granada, as the train station wasn´t in the centre. I´m staying at the very pretty Hostal La Ninfa, about ten minutes from the centre of town. Went for a walk in the evening and had dinner at a restaurant which looked up at the Alhambra. Lovely old town with windy little streets.
After walking along the river for a bit and listening to the cheesy music of the riverboats, I went and had a look around the cathedral, close to where my hotel was. It was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling and enormous columns. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also there. The largest carved wooden altar in the world is in the cathedral, and in fact, the cathedral is meant to be the largest in the world, larger even than St Peter´s in Rome. I walked up to the top of the Giralda, the cathedral´s tower - there are no steps, and were designed so that one of the kings could ride his horse up to the top. Views were pretty amazing from the top.
Made my way to the station next, where my train left at 15.55 for Granada. Very comfortable journey, modern train. Took just under three hours. Some great mountain views en route, as well as views of wind machines.
Got a taxi to my hotel when I got to Granada, as the train station wasn´t in the centre. I´m staying at the very pretty Hostal La Ninfa, about ten minutes from the centre of town. Went for a walk in the evening and had dinner at a restaurant which looked up at the Alhambra. Lovely old town with windy little streets.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Spain Day 3 - Seville
Much more of a relaxing day today! Wandered up to Santa Justa train station in the morning to get my ticket for Granada on Tuesday. A relatively simple transation!
Then managed to find my way to Casa Pilatos, a mansion that was supposedly built along the dimensions of Pilate´s palace. Lots of mosaics and a lovely peaceful garden. Also lovely to see some of the restoration going on.
My next stop was the lovely Arabian baths - what a treat! It´s all housed in an old residential building, but there are baths of different temperatures, treatment rooms, a jacuzzi and a steam room. All very atmospheric and a great way to spend a couple of hours unwinding. My skin felt so soft afterwards!
Next I walked over to the Parque de Maria Luisa and spent a couple of hours reading in the shade and walking around. The park was built for the 1929 Expo, and has lots of buildings in it that are now used for embassies. There is also the huge Casa de Espana, which has a different tiled area for each of the regions of Spain. There´s also a military museum there.
Had dinner in a much cheaper place tonight - my first two dinners have inadvertently been in expensive places so I need to watch my budget! Some fantastic flamenco music being played in the plaza.
Then managed to find my way to Casa Pilatos, a mansion that was supposedly built along the dimensions of Pilate´s palace. Lots of mosaics and a lovely peaceful garden. Also lovely to see some of the restoration going on.
My next stop was the lovely Arabian baths - what a treat! It´s all housed in an old residential building, but there are baths of different temperatures, treatment rooms, a jacuzzi and a steam room. All very atmospheric and a great way to spend a couple of hours unwinding. My skin felt so soft afterwards!
Next I walked over to the Parque de Maria Luisa and spent a couple of hours reading in the shade and walking around. The park was built for the 1929 Expo, and has lots of buildings in it that are now used for embassies. There is also the huge Casa de Espana, which has a different tiled area for each of the regions of Spain. There´s also a military museum there.
Had dinner in a much cheaper place tonight - my first two dinners have inadvertently been in expensive places so I need to watch my budget! Some fantastic flamenco music being played in the plaza.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Spain days 1 and 2 - Seville
Am I just getting old or is checking in at airports getting worse? My check in and security checks at Stanstead en route to Seville were tortuous! In reality, it probably wasn´t as bad as when I went to NZ last, and of course nothing touches the two hour Air India check-in, but shouldn´t European flights be a bit speedier? Argh! Oh well, made it onto the flight ok, got to Seville in one piece, found the airport bus and (after a bit of aimless, but ultimately directional wandering) found my hotel.
My hotel, YH Giralda, is really close to the centre of town, and is an old abbot´s palace that´s been converted. I´d read a terrible review of it on Trip Advisor, but in reality, it´s fine. Didn´t get to the hotel until about 10pm, so I basically dumped my stuff and went and had some food at a restaurant right by the cathedral. Fantastic views of the Giralda itself, the huge tower of the cathedral.
Spent most of the day today at the Alcazar, the palace at the centre of Seville. It was stunning. There is a huge Moorish palace that´s nearly 1000 years old, with tiled rooms, fountains, reception rooms and secret balconies for spying on visitors. It was just so beautiful. There is also an older section of the palace that was built in the 14th century, and huge gardens, with a 30 foot high jacaranda tree. It was a beautifully warm day, so I took advantage of the many shady spots and cool rooms.
After spending about five hours there, I went and had some lunch and chatted with two Los Angelenos women who are here on vacation. The Santa Cruz area around the Alcazar has lots of little bars and cafes as well as souvenir shops etc.
My hotel, YH Giralda, is really close to the centre of town, and is an old abbot´s palace that´s been converted. I´d read a terrible review of it on Trip Advisor, but in reality, it´s fine. Didn´t get to the hotel until about 10pm, so I basically dumped my stuff and went and had some food at a restaurant right by the cathedral. Fantastic views of the Giralda itself, the huge tower of the cathedral.
Spent most of the day today at the Alcazar, the palace at the centre of Seville. It was stunning. There is a huge Moorish palace that´s nearly 1000 years old, with tiled rooms, fountains, reception rooms and secret balconies for spying on visitors. It was just so beautiful. There is also an older section of the palace that was built in the 14th century, and huge gardens, with a 30 foot high jacaranda tree. It was a beautifully warm day, so I took advantage of the many shady spots and cool rooms.
After spending about five hours there, I went and had some lunch and chatted with two Los Angelenos women who are here on vacation. The Santa Cruz area around the Alcazar has lots of little bars and cafes as well as souvenir shops etc.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
syndicated!
I'm trialling an RSS reader, RSS Bandit, at work at the moment. Unlike NewsGator, which I'd used before and is based on an internet page, Bandit is available in your computer's toolbar, and so will alert you whenever new content comes in. At the moment, I've got about eight different blogs feeding into it, along with a couple of Factiva tracks. The Factiva tracks don't work very well, which is a bit of a pain, but the blogs work a dream!
I've just subscribed to Warhblog, Andy Warhol's diaries from 1977 on, which are being reposted on a daily basis. Today, Andy's met with Mick Jagger to discuss designing the cover of the next Stones album. Warhol's diaries go on for about ten years so the blog should finish about 2016!
I've just subscribed to Warhblog, Andy Warhol's diaries from 1977 on, which are being reposted on a daily basis. Today, Andy's met with Mick Jagger to discuss designing the cover of the next Stones album. Warhol's diaries go on for about ten years so the blog should finish about 2016!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
separated at birth?
The 'My Heritage' website allows you to upload your photo and see which celebrity you most look like. It provides some interesting matches...
Behold! I am Mel C!
Behold! I am Mel C!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
Retrievr
A new mash-up based on Flickr is Retrievr - on the sketch-pad at the left of the page, you draw an image, using the colours in the palette (bold images are best). Retrievr then searches over Flickr for an image that matches your drawing. It's not perfect, but it's a great way to explore the wonderful world of Flickr.
beat the ticket touts
Buying a ticket for a popular gig in London seems to be harder recently. Live music is much more popular than it used to be, there's a lot of hype around new bands, and of course ticket touts know that reselling tickets is a profitable business. I liked this article from the Guardian recently which gave some good advice to someone who desperately wanted to go to a sold-out Kaiser Chiefs concert - I think I've followed all the pieces of advice at one time or another!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Atomium interior staircase
I've uploaded my photos from Brussels and they are now available on Flickr. Click on the photo above to view.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Brussels 3 - 5 March 2006
Have just had a very enjoyable weekend in Belgium, visiting Fabienne. Kt and I took the train from Waterloo to Brussels on Friday morning - it's a nice easy trip (apart from the security scanner queue at either end) which takes under two and a half hours each way. I last took the Eurostar about seven years ago and the British track has been relaid since there, so it's a lot faster on this side of the channel. It's all very smooth and chic!
After arriving in Brussels and checking into our hotel (the five star Le Meridien - a bargain on the Eurostar site), we wandered around the Grand Place etc. before meeting Fabienne. After lunch and waffles, we walked around the main sites of the city, before visiting the Sablon district and Fabienne's favourite chocolatier, Pierre Marcolini. The chocolate shop was beautiful - there was one case of award winning pastries and desserts that looked too good to eat!
After visiting the supermarket and stocking up on chocolate and beer, we went for a drink in one of the great little bars off the Grand Place, and then for dinner at Aux Armes de Bruxelles, one of the traditional Belgian restaurants. We were seated right next to the area where the Crêpes flambées à la liqueur mandarine Napoléon were made and we were amazed that there were not scorch marks on the ceiling from the flames!
The next morning, Fabienne picked us up and we had breakfast in the car while we drove to Antwerp. After an hour's drive we reached the city and the first stop, Diamondland. There were different craftsmen working on diamonds that we could watch - polishing, drilling and setting the diamonds. We also wanted to visit the Mode Museum which showed fashion exhibitions, but it was closed while they installed the next exhibition. We visited Antwerp's Grand Place and the riverfront, and then had lunch at Kookaburra. Fabienne had learnt the kookaburra song when she was a child as well, although the words were slightly different (and in French).
After leaving Antwerp we drove to beautiful Bruges. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it, and there was still a chocolate shop on every corner! It was bitterly cold when we were there, but it was still enjoyable to walk around, stopping off for chocolate every now and then. We had some lovely mussels and frites at the Maria van Bourgandie restaurant before driving back to Brussels.
On Sunday, we had breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien (the daily bread). We then drove out to the Atomium on the outskirts of Brussels. The Atomium had been built for the 1958 International Exhibition, and has just reopened after renovation. It took about an hour to queue to get in (it was the last day of the Carnival holiday in Belgium) but it was worth it - you can take a lift right up to the top to get a view over Brussels. You can also visit the other pods which have been renovated and are lit beautifully. Fantastic!
We also visited the Horta Museum, the home of Belgian architect Victor Horta. Many buildings in Brussels are in an art nouveau style, and Horta is the main exponent. The fittings - door handles and locks etc - were all intricate and so stylish.
After a dejeuner rapide at Fabienne's house, we left Brussels on the train once again, promising to return!
After arriving in Brussels and checking into our hotel (the five star Le Meridien - a bargain on the Eurostar site), we wandered around the Grand Place etc. before meeting Fabienne. After lunch and waffles, we walked around the main sites of the city, before visiting the Sablon district and Fabienne's favourite chocolatier, Pierre Marcolini. The chocolate shop was beautiful - there was one case of award winning pastries and desserts that looked too good to eat!
After visiting the supermarket and stocking up on chocolate and beer, we went for a drink in one of the great little bars off the Grand Place, and then for dinner at Aux Armes de Bruxelles, one of the traditional Belgian restaurants. We were seated right next to the area where the Crêpes flambées à la liqueur mandarine Napoléon were made and we were amazed that there were not scorch marks on the ceiling from the flames!
The next morning, Fabienne picked us up and we had breakfast in the car while we drove to Antwerp. After an hour's drive we reached the city and the first stop, Diamondland. There were different craftsmen working on diamonds that we could watch - polishing, drilling and setting the diamonds. We also wanted to visit the Mode Museum which showed fashion exhibitions, but it was closed while they installed the next exhibition. We visited Antwerp's Grand Place and the riverfront, and then had lunch at Kookaburra. Fabienne had learnt the kookaburra song when she was a child as well, although the words were slightly different (and in French).
After leaving Antwerp we drove to beautiful Bruges. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it, and there was still a chocolate shop on every corner! It was bitterly cold when we were there, but it was still enjoyable to walk around, stopping off for chocolate every now and then. We had some lovely mussels and frites at the Maria van Bourgandie restaurant before driving back to Brussels.
On Sunday, we had breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien (the daily bread). We then drove out to the Atomium on the outskirts of Brussels. The Atomium had been built for the 1958 International Exhibition, and has just reopened after renovation. It took about an hour to queue to get in (it was the last day of the Carnival holiday in Belgium) but it was worth it - you can take a lift right up to the top to get a view over Brussels. You can also visit the other pods which have been renovated and are lit beautifully. Fantastic!
We also visited the Horta Museum, the home of Belgian architect Victor Horta. Many buildings in Brussels are in an art nouveau style, and Horta is the main exponent. The fittings - door handles and locks etc - were all intricate and so stylish.
After a dejeuner rapide at Fabienne's house, we left Brussels on the train once again, promising to return!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Kayaking on Milford Sound
Have loaded onto my Flickr the photos I took while kayaking on Milford Sound on New Year's Eve.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Sydney
Have just had a few days in Sydney, visiting friends. As I've been here before, I didn't feel the need to climb the Harbour Bridge etc., so it was nice to hang out and catch up with people.
Mainly I stayed in Penrith with Petrina, Ian and their little girl, Aaliyah. Penrith is close to the Blue Mountains so we did a drive up there today, to Leura. Very sunny, but lots of flies!
Penrith is about an hour out of Sydney, so on Thursday I took the train into town and meet up with some of my EY colleagues who are now working in the office there. They showed me around their brand new building, and then we went for drinks at the Opera bar, by the Opera House. And then we had gorgeous seafood at an outdoor restaurant by the harbour.
Stayed the night with Sacha in Newtown. Spent a pleasurable morning wandering around Newtown's shops and then we had lunch.
Just about to board my flight back to London now!
Mainly I stayed in Penrith with Petrina, Ian and their little girl, Aaliyah. Penrith is close to the Blue Mountains so we did a drive up there today, to Leura. Very sunny, but lots of flies!
Penrith is about an hour out of Sydney, so on Thursday I took the train into town and meet up with some of my EY colleagues who are now working in the office there. They showed me around their brand new building, and then we went for drinks at the Opera bar, by the Opera House. And then we had gorgeous seafood at an outdoor restaurant by the harbour.
Stayed the night with Sacha in Newtown. Spent a pleasurable morning wandering around Newtown's shops and then we had lunch.
Just about to board my flight back to London now!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
prominent!
Colin was born in Ahmednagar in India, the same birthplace as Spike Milligan. To mark this, I've added Colin's name to the Wikipedia entry for prominent persons born in the town.
shaky!
Well a visit to Wellington wouldn't be complete without an earthquake. A 4.1 earthquake woke me up on Saturday morning - I was staying with Stephen and Aoife near Porirua and the quake was 10km west of that so we were relatively close. Not the big one thank goodness!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Thompson family at Milford
This is our family photo taken as we are about to board the Red Boat Cruise on Milford Sound on New Year's Eve Day. Photo was taken by the lovely Fernando. We're all very excited because we're about to eat at the limitless buffet! Click on the photo to see who's who!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Latest adventures in New Zealand
After a lovely, but uneventful Christmas, it was time for our family trip down to Te Anau and Milford Sound. John and Fiona travelled down together, doing some fishing and spending the night in noisy Omarama camping ground.
I drove down with Mum and Dad a couple of days later, taking the Cave / Tekapo / Fairlie / Omarama / Cromwell route. It was a glorious day, beautifully sunny. We stopped at Mt Difficulty winery in Bannockburn, near Cromwell for lunch. Lovely spot overlooking the valley. We had a bottle of the 2005 Pinot Gris with our lunch - yummy!
In Te Anau we were staying with Angus and his girlfriend Tiana. Angus was working over at Milford Sound taking sea kayaking trips and he organised for me to accompany him on his trip on Saturday. This meant that I was picked up at 6am by the company van for the two hour trip into Milford - argh! It's a lovely road though and always a pleasure! Angus stays at 'Paddle On In', a group of ramshackle caravans by Deep Water Cove, about a kilometer away from where the big boats leaves. There were eight other people on our trip - two English, two Slovenian, two German and two Kiwis. Angus and I were in a double kayak. It was another gloriously sunny day - quite hot when we were in full sun and in shelter, but we were glad of the layers of gear when out in the wind. Gear was polypropelene shirt and long johns, a fleece, a spray skirt, a waterproof jacket and a flotation jacket - no wonder it was so bulky! But once you were in it was fine. We paddled out along the Arthur River first of all, then along the north side of the fjord, then over the south side, where a nesting gull got a bit freaked out and pooped on Angus and I. Then we went under Bowen Falls, across the fjord again, and up the Arthur River to Sandfly Point (where the Milford Track ends). Went up a very narrow river that one of the kayakers said reminded her of the New Orleans swamp tour. After coming out of there, Angus saw a Weta on my shoulder - wasn't too happy about that (they're not poisonous) so he flicked it away.
Mum, Dad and Tiana were waiting for us at the take out point and took some photos of us coming in to land. After getting changed and having something to drink, we travelled round to the cruise ships for a boat trip - thanks to Tiana and Angus's connections, we were able to get a free trip on the boat, and a buffet lunch - brilliant! I've done the trip a couple of times but it really is quite spectactular. Went all the way out to the Tasman. Amazing the number of planes taking off and touring from the airstrip at Milford - apparently if you look at plane movements, it's the busiest airport in New Zealand - up to 200 take offs a day!
That evening, New Year's Eve, we had a barbeque back in Te Anau, then checked out the fireworks on the lake at midnight - we were all pretty tired though, especially me! I was also suffering the effects of not putting enough sun screen on my face during the trip and was somewhat red of face.
New Year's Day was not very sunny and became rainier as the day went on. We went to the Fjordland Cinema to see Ata Whenua, a film about Fjordland, much of which was shot from helicopters. Truly spectacular, and like the cinema guy said, no rain and no sandflies!
After lunch at the Olive Tree Cafe, Fiona, John and I went on a trip to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. The caves are across the other side of Lake Te Anau so there was a 30 minute boat ride. The trip into the caves involved ducking under a couple of very low rocks, getting into a couple of flat bottomed tin boats and walking along a walk way. It was great fun but very noisy due to the water rushing. Actually seeing the glowworms was spectacular - it was amazing how many would appear the more your eyes got accustomed to the dark.
Today, after breakfast at the Sandfly Cafe, we returned to Timaru - route this time was via Gore, Waihola, Dunedin (we didn't stop) and Moeraki.
I drove down with Mum and Dad a couple of days later, taking the Cave / Tekapo / Fairlie / Omarama / Cromwell route. It was a glorious day, beautifully sunny. We stopped at Mt Difficulty winery in Bannockburn, near Cromwell for lunch. Lovely spot overlooking the valley. We had a bottle of the 2005 Pinot Gris with our lunch - yummy!
In Te Anau we were staying with Angus and his girlfriend Tiana. Angus was working over at Milford Sound taking sea kayaking trips and he organised for me to accompany him on his trip on Saturday. This meant that I was picked up at 6am by the company van for the two hour trip into Milford - argh! It's a lovely road though and always a pleasure! Angus stays at 'Paddle On In', a group of ramshackle caravans by Deep Water Cove, about a kilometer away from where the big boats leaves. There were eight other people on our trip - two English, two Slovenian, two German and two Kiwis. Angus and I were in a double kayak. It was another gloriously sunny day - quite hot when we were in full sun and in shelter, but we were glad of the layers of gear when out in the wind. Gear was polypropelene shirt and long johns, a fleece, a spray skirt, a waterproof jacket and a flotation jacket - no wonder it was so bulky! But once you were in it was fine. We paddled out along the Arthur River first of all, then along the north side of the fjord, then over the south side, where a nesting gull got a bit freaked out and pooped on Angus and I. Then we went under Bowen Falls, across the fjord again, and up the Arthur River to Sandfly Point (where the Milford Track ends). Went up a very narrow river that one of the kayakers said reminded her of the New Orleans swamp tour. After coming out of there, Angus saw a Weta on my shoulder - wasn't too happy about that (they're not poisonous) so he flicked it away.
Mum, Dad and Tiana were waiting for us at the take out point and took some photos of us coming in to land. After getting changed and having something to drink, we travelled round to the cruise ships for a boat trip - thanks to Tiana and Angus's connections, we were able to get a free trip on the boat, and a buffet lunch - brilliant! I've done the trip a couple of times but it really is quite spectactular. Went all the way out to the Tasman. Amazing the number of planes taking off and touring from the airstrip at Milford - apparently if you look at plane movements, it's the busiest airport in New Zealand - up to 200 take offs a day!
That evening, New Year's Eve, we had a barbeque back in Te Anau, then checked out the fireworks on the lake at midnight - we were all pretty tired though, especially me! I was also suffering the effects of not putting enough sun screen on my face during the trip and was somewhat red of face.
New Year's Day was not very sunny and became rainier as the day went on. We went to the Fjordland Cinema to see Ata Whenua, a film about Fjordland, much of which was shot from helicopters. Truly spectacular, and like the cinema guy said, no rain and no sandflies!
After lunch at the Olive Tree Cafe, Fiona, John and I went on a trip to the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. The caves are across the other side of Lake Te Anau so there was a 30 minute boat ride. The trip into the caves involved ducking under a couple of very low rocks, getting into a couple of flat bottomed tin boats and walking along a walk way. It was great fun but very noisy due to the water rushing. Actually seeing the glowworms was spectacular - it was amazing how many would appear the more your eyes got accustomed to the dark.
Today, after breakfast at the Sandfly Cafe, we returned to Timaru - route this time was via Gore, Waihola, Dunedin (we didn't stop) and Moeraki.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Travel update
Am now in Christchurch after a couple of long flights and a stopover in Melbourne.
Left London on Saturday night, and flew to Melbourne via Singapore. Flight was good, seemed to pass very quickly even though I didn't seem to get much sleep. Had a window seat which was good for more room, but it did mean that I had to wake my neighbours up when I wanted to get to the toilet!
Arrived in Melbourne early on Monday morning local time and was met by Li-Ann and Karina. As part of the plan to keep me awake all day, we went for some breakfast. We then went back to the apartment Andrew and Li-Ann were renting, and after a catch up and a shower, we went for a walk through the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was fascinating to see all the different types of birds flying around. There are also quite a few walks to do around the gardens. Went and had some lunch at the Blue Train Cafe on the South Bank - lovely situation, overlooking the Yarra River over to Flinders Station.
After lunch, Li-Ann and I wandered around town - Melbourne has lots of beautiful old shopping arcades to look around. We went to visit Li-Ann's mum who works at the Myer department store, and I bought some sunglasses and nail polish. Had a brief trip out to St Kilda on the tram before catching the train back to the apartment and out to dinner at Li-Ann's aunt's house. Managed to survive dinner (by this time I hadn't slept for about 48 hours!) with a quick snooze on the couch before heading home.
On Tuesday, we headed out to the Yarra Valley for lunch - we stopped in at the Sweetwater Cafe at Yering Station for a lovely lunch and then to St Hubert's for a tasting session. Wish we'd had more time - both places were great! We had dinner with Li-Ann's parents that night at a Chinese restaurant - we had some fantastic Peking Duck.
On Wednesday, we went out to St Kilda and after a walk along the beach and a walk along Acland St, the main shopping street in the area, we had lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant right on the beach. Great location - we were glad to be inside though because the flies were terribly annoying outside! After lunch, we drove around the Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because Andrew is such a huge fan! We also visited the Shrine, which is the memorial to the ANZAC soldiers - it was actually quite impressive and gives a great view over the city.
Had to catch my plane to Christchurch that evening - flew with Jetstar, Qantas's budget airline. I'm not that impressed at being downgraded to a budget airline, particularly as I paid over £1250 for my ticket! It was only a three hour flight, but we had to purchase food (and there was no hot food left!), there were no films (you could rent a mini DVD player for $12) and they charged me $35 because my luggage was 6 kg overweight!
Fiona met me at Christchurch airport - there was a huge crowd of people waiting for other travellers, including a bunch of drunken students, one dressed as a lobster. Very amusing.
Today (Thursday), I've been to have a Mole Map done, and been to the hairdresser. Also met some new babies when I had Lisa, Jon and Felix, Sally, Richard, Alexandre and Amelie, Aaron, Andrea, Sam and Ava, and Kelvin around for a barbeque tonight. It was great to see them all, even if they nearly all had to leave by 6pm to prepare for bed etc!
Left London on Saturday night, and flew to Melbourne via Singapore. Flight was good, seemed to pass very quickly even though I didn't seem to get much sleep. Had a window seat which was good for more room, but it did mean that I had to wake my neighbours up when I wanted to get to the toilet!
Arrived in Melbourne early on Monday morning local time and was met by Li-Ann and Karina. As part of the plan to keep me awake all day, we went for some breakfast. We then went back to the apartment Andrew and Li-Ann were renting, and after a catch up and a shower, we went for a walk through the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was fascinating to see all the different types of birds flying around. There are also quite a few walks to do around the gardens. Went and had some lunch at the Blue Train Cafe on the South Bank - lovely situation, overlooking the Yarra River over to Flinders Station.
After lunch, Li-Ann and I wandered around town - Melbourne has lots of beautiful old shopping arcades to look around. We went to visit Li-Ann's mum who works at the Myer department store, and I bought some sunglasses and nail polish. Had a brief trip out to St Kilda on the tram before catching the train back to the apartment and out to dinner at Li-Ann's aunt's house. Managed to survive dinner (by this time I hadn't slept for about 48 hours!) with a quick snooze on the couch before heading home.
On Tuesday, we headed out to the Yarra Valley for lunch - we stopped in at the Sweetwater Cafe at Yering Station for a lovely lunch and then to St Hubert's for a tasting session. Wish we'd had more time - both places were great! We had dinner with Li-Ann's parents that night at a Chinese restaurant - we had some fantastic Peking Duck.
On Wednesday, we went out to St Kilda and after a walk along the beach and a walk along Acland St, the main shopping street in the area, we had lunch at the Stokehouse restaurant right on the beach. Great location - we were glad to be inside though because the flies were terribly annoying outside! After lunch, we drove around the Albert Park Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, which was surprisingly interesting, mainly because Andrew is such a huge fan! We also visited the Shrine, which is the memorial to the ANZAC soldiers - it was actually quite impressive and gives a great view over the city.
Had to catch my plane to Christchurch that evening - flew with Jetstar, Qantas's budget airline. I'm not that impressed at being downgraded to a budget airline, particularly as I paid over £1250 for my ticket! It was only a three hour flight, but we had to purchase food (and there was no hot food left!), there were no films (you could rent a mini DVD player for $12) and they charged me $35 because my luggage was 6 kg overweight!
Fiona met me at Christchurch airport - there was a huge crowd of people waiting for other travellers, including a bunch of drunken students, one dressed as a lobster. Very amusing.
Today (Thursday), I've been to have a Mole Map done, and been to the hairdresser. Also met some new babies when I had Lisa, Jon and Felix, Sally, Richard, Alexandre and Amelie, Aaron, Andrea, Sam and Ava, and Kelvin around for a barbeque tonight. It was great to see them all, even if they nearly all had to leave by 6pm to prepare for bed etc!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Christmassy!
Loved the Campaign for a Real Office Christmas page on the Guardian blog, especially the desk, computer and chair wrapped in Christmas paper!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
pre-Christmas dinner, London 2005
Food, food, food! Have just uploaded photos from Saturday's pre-Christmas feast at Casa Helps, and from other parties and celebrations
Friday, November 18, 2005
Mhairi and the Moose
Because you can't ever have enough photos of yourself with giant stuffed animals, here's a photo of me with a Moose in New Hampshire. I'm the one on the right.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
awesome!
Kt sent me through the brilliant Stuff on my Cat website - strangely similar to different feats of loading we used to carry out with Brussell!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
funky little dude
The new Star Wars DVD that's just been released has an Easter Egg hidden on it. Check it out - it's brilliant! If you can, listen to the music to get the full effect.
Kt, Li-Ann, Mhairi and Melissa
Last month, Li-Ann and Andrew hosted a party at Milk & Honey, Andrew's club in Soho. The occasion was to celebrate Li-Ann's three years in London, and was a very enjoyable evening!
Loaded!
All of my USA Trip photos have now been loaded onto Flickr and are available for viewing. It's taking me a little longer to get the entries written up, but I'm getting there...
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
A whole new world...
I think I've found a new set of friends... Occasionally when I'm travelling I'll pick up a pen from a souvenir shop. On returning from this holiday (with a Boston Baked Beans pen and Gone with the Wind pen) I've done a bit of research and found out that these pens are made in Denmark by a company called Eseken and are called Floaty pens. Lots of people like them! Sadly I don't think my collection comes this woman's, but I'm going to do an audit of the pens and see what they're worth!
Fiona and Mhairi, sitting on 'Carrie's stoop', New York
Here's Fiona and I on our 'Sex and the City' bus tour on Sunday. One of the stops was at the location that they use for Carrie's apartment exterior and here's us sitting on the stoop!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Normal service to resume shortly
If you're reading the blog, you will notice it's looking a little sketchy! I've not been able to track down internet access over the past few days, and where we're staying now in Concord it's limited to 15 minutes, so I've just made some notes now. When I have some time (maybe in New York), I'll spend some time fleshing it out. We're having a great time though - even if the weather is quite different in New England than it was in the deep South!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
USA trip Day Six - Charleston
Had a nice sleep in after a travelling day yesterday. I was staying in a B&B in the historic district of Charleston - the Rutledge Victorian Guesthouse. I was originally meant to have Emilie's room, but I got upgraded to Abigail's room which had a Huge bed! Had breakfast with some fellow guests, including some very religious people who kept on talking about looking for the 'truth' in the media and how the Constitution meant that the country was based on Christian values exclusively and should stay that way. Thankfully they left before I put my 2c in, but I had a chat with a university professor, who was VERY excited to hear that I was from New Zealand and was insanely jealous that Angus had been in the Lord of the Rings films.
Did a walking tour of Charleston in the morning which is the most beautiful place. I loved it. The historic districts have been beautifully restored with many gorgeous houses. The main style of house in Charleston is the 'single house' - a building built at right angles to the road, normally three story with three long porches running along the length of the building. The front door normally opens straight onto the porch or a garden.
Charleston is on a harbour where the Cooper and X rivers meet - there is a new bridge, the Ravenel Bridge, that was opened in July (I saw them blowing up the concrete pylons of the old bridge). I went out on a boat tour to Fort Sumter, where the first shots were fired in the American Civil War (or "the unpleasantness" as it is known in the South). The Fort itself didn't interest me that much but the cruise was interesting and there were loads of dolphins around the fort which was fascinating to watch.
After only eating a hotdog on the train last night, I decided to treat myself to a nice meal and went to Anson which was very nice. I had the local speciality, 'She Crab soup' which was lovely and some fried shrimp. Bizarrely there was a Kiwi working as a waiter (we get everywhere...) but I didn't end up talking to him.
Did a walking tour of Charleston in the morning which is the most beautiful place. I loved it. The historic districts have been beautifully restored with many gorgeous houses. The main style of house in Charleston is the 'single house' - a building built at right angles to the road, normally three story with three long porches running along the length of the building. The front door normally opens straight onto the porch or a garden.
Charleston is on a harbour where the Cooper and X rivers meet - there is a new bridge, the Ravenel Bridge, that was opened in July (I saw them blowing up the concrete pylons of the old bridge). I went out on a boat tour to Fort Sumter, where the first shots were fired in the American Civil War (or "the unpleasantness" as it is known in the South). The Fort itself didn't interest me that much but the cruise was interesting and there were loads of dolphins around the fort which was fascinating to watch.
After only eating a hotdog on the train last night, I decided to treat myself to a nice meal and went to Anson which was very nice. I had the local speciality, 'She Crab soup' which was lovely and some fried shrimp. Bizarrely there was a Kiwi working as a waiter (we get everywhere...) but I didn't end up talking to him.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
USA Trip Day Five - Atlanta - Savannah - Charleston
After checking out of the hotel this morning, I caught the train down to the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site - a fancy title for a museum, church and birthplace. The museum there is quite interesting - a lot of information on the freedom riders and different boycotts and marches that went on during the fight for civil rights. There was a machine in one corner that asked you questions (eg how many jelly beans are there in the jar) to ascertain whether you were eligible to vote. Of course the only important question was "What colour are you?"
I wasn't too fussed on going on the tour of the house where King was born in but I'm really glad I did. Our tour guide, Rev. Williams, a retired preacher, had marched together with . His children were also amongst the first black children to go to an integrated school. As he was a former preacher he had a powerful and emotive delivery when he spoke to us and on a couple of occasions he stopped us and quite sternly reminded us that people, both black and white had been killed fighting for equal rights. What we were learning about was not just history he said, it was real life, and it was painful and dangerous. By the end of the hour-long tour, most of us were in tears. It really was a very powerful experience.
The house itself had four bedrooms, and was very nice. It was owned by King's grandfather, and as the family were middle class, they had a very high standard of living. There were 'shotgun' houses across the road - so-called because if you fired a shotgun through the front door, if no-one were standing in the way, the bullet would leave via the back door. There was a clear line of sight through the house. Many of the houses in the area had been bought by the National Parks Service, restored and rented out. So it's a very nice neighbourhood. The whole area is called 'Sweet Auburn', named after the street.
Travelled out to the airport next to catch my flight to Savannah. Managed to negotiate my way a little more successfully around Atlanta Airport this time! Had a strange experience after checking in. I noticed a large number of soldiers gathering together - they were all in uniform, what looked like desert fatigues. I assumed that they were on their way to Iraq. There were about 200 of them and when they'd formed together, they marched through the concourse to their plane. People went nuts - they were clapping and cheering, going up to the soldiers and saying they were praying for them. I just felt chilled, knowing where they were going and that it was likely some of them weren't coming home.
Caught my flight to Savannah OK. I landed at Savannah at 3.30pm and my train to Charleston wasn't leaving until 6.30. Unfortunately the train station is just as far out of the city as the airport is, and it was closed until 5.30. So I stayed at the airport, reading, and watching a cat in a cat carrier go round and round on the luggage carousel. Then I caught a taxi to the train station where, frustratingly, the train was 2 and a half hours late! It was so frustrating! I had originally wanted to drop my luggage somewhere in Savannah and wander around for a couple of hours but that's not possible. So had a long, hungry wait at Savannah train station. The train, when it finally came, had been travelling from Miami and was on its way to New York. Train was OK, nice big comfy seats.
When I got to Charleston, the train station there is also miles out of town so I caught a cab to my B&B, arriving there about 11!
I wasn't too fussed on going on the tour of the house where King was born in but I'm really glad I did. Our tour guide, Rev. Williams, a retired preacher, had marched together with . His children were also amongst the first black children to go to an integrated school. As he was a former preacher he had a powerful and emotive delivery when he spoke to us and on a couple of occasions he stopped us and quite sternly reminded us that people, both black and white had been killed fighting for equal rights. What we were learning about was not just history he said, it was real life, and it was painful and dangerous. By the end of the hour-long tour, most of us were in tears. It really was a very powerful experience.
The house itself had four bedrooms, and was very nice. It was owned by King's grandfather, and as the family were middle class, they had a very high standard of living. There were 'shotgun' houses across the road - so-called because if you fired a shotgun through the front door, if no-one were standing in the way, the bullet would leave via the back door. There was a clear line of sight through the house. Many of the houses in the area had been bought by the National Parks Service, restored and rented out. So it's a very nice neighbourhood. The whole area is called 'Sweet Auburn', named after the street.
Travelled out to the airport next to catch my flight to Savannah. Managed to negotiate my way a little more successfully around Atlanta Airport this time! Had a strange experience after checking in. I noticed a large number of soldiers gathering together - they were all in uniform, what looked like desert fatigues. I assumed that they were on their way to Iraq. There were about 200 of them and when they'd formed together, they marched through the concourse to their plane. People went nuts - they were clapping and cheering, going up to the soldiers and saying they were praying for them. I just felt chilled, knowing where they were going and that it was likely some of them weren't coming home.
Caught my flight to Savannah OK. I landed at Savannah at 3.30pm and my train to Charleston wasn't leaving until 6.30. Unfortunately the train station is just as far out of the city as the airport is, and it was closed until 5.30. So I stayed at the airport, reading, and watching a cat in a cat carrier go round and round on the luggage carousel. Then I caught a taxi to the train station where, frustratingly, the train was 2 and a half hours late! It was so frustrating! I had originally wanted to drop my luggage somewhere in Savannah and wander around for a couple of hours but that's not possible. So had a long, hungry wait at Savannah train station. The train, when it finally came, had been travelling from Miami and was on its way to New York. Train was OK, nice big comfy seats.
When I got to Charleston, the train station there is also miles out of town so I caught a cab to my B&B, arriving there about 11!
USA trip - Atlanta Day 4
This morning, I went to Atlanta's number one attraction, World of Coca-Cola. Was expecting teeming crowds, but thankfully I arrived before the rush. World of Coca-Cola is basically a big marketing building for Coke - it's full of advertising throughout the ages, and information about how the brand has spread worldwide. There's no information on the secret recipe! It was all very glitzy. At the end are two rooms where you can sample different Coke drinks from around the world - I thought that there would be some variety of different Coke flavours from different locations, but it was actually things like Ginger Beer and Mello Yello. Some of the excitement of unlimited Coke was tempered by the fact that I was on my own, and that it was about 10.30 in the morning! The gift shop downstairs was almost as large as the museum, and I succumbed and bought a Tshirt.
Next, I caught the bus to Athens, Georgia, the home of REM and the B52s. The Greyhound terminal where the bus left from was a little dodgy, but once on the bus, it was fine. Drive down took about an hour and a half, and like a cliche, I listened to REM the whole way! The bus driver gave everyone a strict talking to on the way down, laying out the kind of behaviour he expected. I was fascinated by the Kudzu vines that covered many trees, bushes, power lines and telegraph poles. They looked like they were smothering and taking over the landscape - quite creepy!
Had the afternoon in Athens to have a look around. There isn't actually all that much to do, but it was pleasant to walk around a typical American college town. There was a music heritage walking tour, but many of the buildings marked were old clubs and venues.
Back in Atlanta, it was dog appreciation evening at the hotel! On the front porch, about 30 people were sitting with their (small) dogs, having a drink and buying merchandise.
Walked down to Mary Mac's Tea Room for dinner - this is an Atlanta institution and offers real Southern cooking. They gave me some free collard greens for a starter - can't say I'm a fan! But then I had some delicious southern fried chicken, sweet potato souffle (gorgeous!!) and broccoli. I even had a 'Hurricane' ######## ("reminiscent of New Orleans"). (for some reason, Blogger isn't letting me publish the word '########' - so that you're not kept in suspense, it's a concoction of alcoholic liquor).
Next, I caught the bus to Athens, Georgia, the home of REM and the B52s. The Greyhound terminal where the bus left from was a little dodgy, but once on the bus, it was fine. Drive down took about an hour and a half, and like a cliche, I listened to REM the whole way! The bus driver gave everyone a strict talking to on the way down, laying out the kind of behaviour he expected. I was fascinated by the Kudzu vines that covered many trees, bushes, power lines and telegraph poles. They looked like they were smothering and taking over the landscape - quite creepy!
Had the afternoon in Athens to have a look around. There isn't actually all that much to do, but it was pleasant to walk around a typical American college town. There was a music heritage walking tour, but many of the buildings marked were old clubs and venues.
Back in Atlanta, it was dog appreciation evening at the hotel! On the front porch, about 30 people were sitting with their (small) dogs, having a drink and buying merchandise.
Walked down to Mary Mac's Tea Room for dinner - this is an Atlanta institution and offers real Southern cooking. They gave me some free collard greens for a starter - can't say I'm a fan! But then I had some delicious southern fried chicken, sweet potato souffle (gorgeous!!) and broccoli. I even had a 'Hurricane' ######## ("reminiscent of New Orleans"). (for some reason, Blogger isn't letting me publish the word '########' - so that you're not kept in suspense, it's a concoction of alcoholic liquor).
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
USA Trip - Atlanta Day 3
Luxuriated in my nice hotel room this morning - 78 channels! Not a lot on though, but I did enjoy catching up on ' Live with Regis and Kelly', an early morning chat show that I got addicted to last time I was here.
Went down to the Greyhound station to check out times to Athens for tomorrow - it looks kind of dodgy, but manageable! It only takes an hour or so to get to Athens, so it shouldn't be too bad. Then travelled up to Buckhead, a suburb in the north of Atlanta to visit the Atlanta History Center. Had to catch the train, then catch a bus, then walk about 15 minutes - and this is for the major museum in Atlanta - an example of how reliant Americans are on cars!!
The Atlanta History Center is huge - it's basically a huge park with a museum and two houses to tour. One of the houses, the Tullie Smith house is an example of a plantation house from the mid 19th century. It was very simple, with the kitchen in an adjoining outhouse. They have recreated how the farm would have looked, complete with cornhouse, blacksmith's shop and barns. The land that the farm was on would have been given to the owner following the removal of the Native American inhabitants. There was also another huge house on the grounds from the 1920s. The museum had exhibits on folk craft and the Civil War.
Went and had a wander round one of Atlanta's largest malls, Lenox Square. It's so huge it has a Bloomingdale's, a Macy's and a Nieman Marcus on the premises, as well as a huge array of shops. Decided not to do any shopping, as I'll save that for New York. Had a burger at a restaurant in the mall for dinner - it was a bleu cheese and bacon burger - yummo!
Was going to go and see Liz Phair play that night at a theatre in Buckhead, but in the end I was too worn out from walking round all day. Still haven't adjusted to the new time zone and am waking up at 6am!
Went down to the Greyhound station to check out times to Athens for tomorrow - it looks kind of dodgy, but manageable! It only takes an hour or so to get to Athens, so it shouldn't be too bad. Then travelled up to Buckhead, a suburb in the north of Atlanta to visit the Atlanta History Center. Had to catch the train, then catch a bus, then walk about 15 minutes - and this is for the major museum in Atlanta - an example of how reliant Americans are on cars!!
The Atlanta History Center is huge - it's basically a huge park with a museum and two houses to tour. One of the houses, the Tullie Smith house is an example of a plantation house from the mid 19th century. It was very simple, with the kitchen in an adjoining outhouse. They have recreated how the farm would have looked, complete with cornhouse, blacksmith's shop and barns. The land that the farm was on would have been given to the owner following the removal of the Native American inhabitants. There was also another huge house on the grounds from the 1920s. The museum had exhibits on folk craft and the Civil War.
Went and had a wander round one of Atlanta's largest malls, Lenox Square. It's so huge it has a Bloomingdale's, a Macy's and a Nieman Marcus on the premises, as well as a huge array of shops. Decided not to do any shopping, as I'll save that for New York. Had a burger at a restaurant in the mall for dinner - it was a bleu cheese and bacon burger - yummo!
Was going to go and see Liz Phair play that night at a theatre in Buckhead, but in the end I was too worn out from walking round all day. Still haven't adjusted to the new time zone and am waking up at 6am!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
USA trip - Atlanta day 2
Woke up at about 6.30 this morning which isn't too bad, time changes considering. Realised that even though there are 77 channels on the television in my room, half of them were showing infomercials and half of them were broadcasting church services which was not really that entertaining.
After a breakfast muffin, I set off for the CNN Center and the tour of the studios. It was a very slick operation, much like the station itself. The tour guide did seem to be reeling off the script by memory, but it was very interesting to see how the sequencing of the live feed happened and also to see the main newsroom from above, seeing how the whole operation fitted together. We even got to ride up the world's longest free standing escalator!
Following this, I walked over to the Centennial Olympic Park, which was the park developed to celebrate the 1996 Olympic Games. It's used as a public space now, and has some fantastic circular fountains which despite the cool weather, some children were dancing in.
There was a football game on at the nearby Georgia Dome - Atlanta versus New England. There were loads of people indulging in what I later learnt was called 'tailgating' - this is where people park up in a car park, get out the BBQ and have a few beers before going to watch the game. Virtually everyone I saw had a team shirt on - very colourful!
Caught the train up to the Margaret Mitchell House and took the tour. Mitchell lived and wrote Gone With The Wind in the house, which she referred to as 'The Dump'. She'd been working as a journalist since leaving school, and had taken about nine years to write the book. There was also a small museum with memorabilia from the making of the film.
After this museum and lunch at a cafe, I was picked up by my Atlanta colleague Dave who drove me around a couple of the lovely areas of Atlanta - lots of houses from the 30s designed in lovely open neighbourhoods. I had wondered why, when we flew into Atlanta, why so much of the city was parkland. There are a lot of parks, but also in many areas, people have huge sections with many trees. There doesn't seem to be any kind of building code, and there are a few houses that have been built more recently and really jar. Dave then drove his partner John and I out to his friend Peggy's house - Peggy lives about half an hour out of town and worked as an enamalist most of her life - she still does a little bit today, and gave me a lovely wee plate of a dogwood plant. We had a southern dinner with her and a couple of her neighbours - chicken, sweet potatoes, cornbread, green beans and collared greens. For afters we had pecan pie. It was very enjoyable, and so nice to meet local people and have a chat to them. There were lots of cardinals flying round on the property but sadly we didn't see any of the deer that live on the farm.
After a breakfast muffin, I set off for the CNN Center and the tour of the studios. It was a very slick operation, much like the station itself. The tour guide did seem to be reeling off the script by memory, but it was very interesting to see how the sequencing of the live feed happened and also to see the main newsroom from above, seeing how the whole operation fitted together. We even got to ride up the world's longest free standing escalator!
Following this, I walked over to the Centennial Olympic Park, which was the park developed to celebrate the 1996 Olympic Games. It's used as a public space now, and has some fantastic circular fountains which despite the cool weather, some children were dancing in.
There was a football game on at the nearby Georgia Dome - Atlanta versus New England. There were loads of people indulging in what I later learnt was called 'tailgating' - this is where people park up in a car park, get out the BBQ and have a few beers before going to watch the game. Virtually everyone I saw had a team shirt on - very colourful!
Caught the train up to the Margaret Mitchell House and took the tour. Mitchell lived and wrote Gone With The Wind in the house, which she referred to as 'The Dump'. She'd been working as a journalist since leaving school, and had taken about nine years to write the book. There was also a small museum with memorabilia from the making of the film.
After this museum and lunch at a cafe, I was picked up by my Atlanta colleague Dave who drove me around a couple of the lovely areas of Atlanta - lots of houses from the 30s designed in lovely open neighbourhoods. I had wondered why, when we flew into Atlanta, why so much of the city was parkland. There are a lot of parks, but also in many areas, people have huge sections with many trees. There doesn't seem to be any kind of building code, and there are a few houses that have been built more recently and really jar. Dave then drove his partner John and I out to his friend Peggy's house - Peggy lives about half an hour out of town and worked as an enamalist most of her life - she still does a little bit today, and gave me a lovely wee plate of a dogwood plant. We had a southern dinner with her and a couple of her neighbours - chicken, sweet potatoes, cornbread, green beans and collared greens. For afters we had pecan pie. It was very enjoyable, and so nice to meet local people and have a chat to them. There were lots of cardinals flying round on the property but sadly we didn't see any of the deer that live on the farm.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
lengthy!
Well I'm finally in Atlanta, after a very long day! Flight left Gatwick at 12.20 and it was a direct flight of about nine hours. Very excitingly bought a camera from Duty Free before I left - a Fuji FinePix f10. It's really lovely! Sadly I've had to wait until I got here to play with it as it needed a charge, but tomorrow, I enter the digital world!
Flight was ok - watched War of the World (just ridiculous) and Mother In Law (entertaining enough, was nice to see Jane Fonda on screen again!).
Atlanta Airport is apparently the busiest airport in the world (but don't they all say that?). Anyway, lining up for immigration took forever, we had to get our fingerprints and photos done. There wasn't a major questioning of "what are you doing here?" etc. thank goodness, but I had all my bits of paper printed out if there was. Then after going through customs, and picking up luggage, there was then another security check, our bags were taken off us again, we had to be scanned and take our shoes and belts off to be scanned. After putting shoes and belts back on again, then we had to travel on the transit to the entrance to the airport where we retrieved our luggage again! Rigmarole! I guess the US is on a higher state of alert at the moment though.
Travelled into Atlanta on the metro which is known as the MARTA here. Found the guest house that I had booked, and it was all shut up - I'm really unimpressed! I booked through Opodo, and had confirmed the booking with them. But according to the B&B next door, the guesthouse where I was meant to be staying has turned into an accomodation bookable only by the week. It looks quite dodgy now, and apparently one of the current guests has a pig in his room! The lovely woman at the guesthouse next door recommended the Hotel Indigo nearby, so that's where I am now. It's really lovely! Can't wait to go to sleep in the lovely bed! It's a bit more expensive than I wanted to pay, but when you've been travelling all day, you don't really care!
Needless to say, I've sent Opodo a stroppy message, demanding an immediate refund and an explanation. Not nice being in a strange city, on your own, lugging round a suitcase with nowhere to stay!
Flight was ok - watched War of the World (just ridiculous) and Mother In Law (entertaining enough, was nice to see Jane Fonda on screen again!).
Atlanta Airport is apparently the busiest airport in the world (but don't they all say that?). Anyway, lining up for immigration took forever, we had to get our fingerprints and photos done. There wasn't a major questioning of "what are you doing here?" etc. thank goodness, but I had all my bits of paper printed out if there was. Then after going through customs, and picking up luggage, there was then another security check, our bags were taken off us again, we had to be scanned and take our shoes and belts off to be scanned. After putting shoes and belts back on again, then we had to travel on the transit to the entrance to the airport where we retrieved our luggage again! Rigmarole! I guess the US is on a higher state of alert at the moment though.
Travelled into Atlanta on the metro which is known as the MARTA here. Found the guest house that I had booked, and it was all shut up - I'm really unimpressed! I booked through Opodo, and had confirmed the booking with them. But according to the B&B next door, the guesthouse where I was meant to be staying has turned into an accomodation bookable only by the week. It looks quite dodgy now, and apparently one of the current guests has a pig in his room! The lovely woman at the guesthouse next door recommended the Hotel Indigo nearby, so that's where I am now. It's really lovely! Can't wait to go to sleep in the lovely bed! It's a bit more expensive than I wanted to pay, but when you've been travelling all day, you don't really care!
Needless to say, I've sent Opodo a stroppy message, demanding an immediate refund and an explanation. Not nice being in a strange city, on your own, lugging round a suitcase with nowhere to stay!
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