tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73331821613069415882024-03-13T08:03:08.306-07:00Paul and Joss' TravelsPaul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-8788950006044795442013-08-27T15:30:00.000-07:002013-10-15T01:12:13.148-07:00Our favourite things in Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr">
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Things we liked</h3>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Mojitos 2.50 - 3.00 CUC</li>
<li>Daiquiris 2.50 - 3.00 CUC</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YDmqdeVjupU/UlQI4uoO_NI/AAAAAAAAnGA/4r8URCX1OtA/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YDmqdeVjupU/UlQI4uoO_NI/AAAAAAAAnGA/4r8URCX1OtA/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Ice creams (best was in Cienfuegos, condensed milk, and vanilla with choc chip) 5 MN per cone</li>
<li>Black bean soup free with casa meals</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BOQfaVj5xg/UlQIxVAzszI/AAAAAAAAnF4/-UJH5feVkSM/s1600/P1050079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BOQfaVj5xg/UlQIxVAzszI/AAAAAAAAnF4/-UJH5feVkSM/s1600/P1050079.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Town dogs - around the smaller towns like trinidad and vinales there are lots of friendly dogs that just hang around the street. They all seem to be similar types of medium sized dogs and are very well behaved. They love getting a bit of attention from tourists.</li>
<li>Lobster 10 CUC (15 for fancy pants, sometimes less than 10 in popular areas)</li>
<li>Tukola(and other nacional refrescos) 1.00 CUC at bar</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nXST-h5283I/UlQGkfzZgCI/AAAAAAAAnFY/pol1sccvpMI/s1600/P1040910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nXST-h5283I/UlQGkfzZgCI/AAAAAAAAnFY/pol1sccvpMI/s1600/P1040910.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Cristal beer 1-1.50 CUC</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNVyAAukVmw/UlQF3qF-IPI/AAAAAAAAnFQ/zYg3lVr6PJU/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNVyAAukVmw/UlQF3qF-IPI/AAAAAAAAnFQ/zYg3lVr6PJU/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Old american cars</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2u4xIUadGc/UlQG0dC6-NI/AAAAAAAAnFg/On63Hl0MfUM/s1600/P1040851_trimmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2u4xIUadGc/UlQG0dC6-NI/AAAAAAAAnFg/On63Hl0MfUM/s1600/P1040851_trimmed.jpg" height="151" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Pizza bread 10mn at local joints if u can, 2 CUC for tourist places</li>
<li>Rum - from 3.80 CUC a bottle. 6.00 CUC for an aged one!</li>
<li>Casa owners</li>
<li>Music - live groups are playing somewhere everyday, mostly on the bars and restaurants.</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INLU-1ziPAI/UlQH5pRH2pI/AAAAAAAAnFw/X-Us1Xh0KS0/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INLU-1ziPAI/UlQH5pRH2pI/AAAAAAAAnFw/X-Us1Xh0KS0/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Trinidad- or favourite place in Cuba (we assumed it would be Havana)</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
</ul>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
Things we didn't</h3>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<li>Old car exhaust</li>
<li>Fruit overdose</li>
<li>Government service</li>
<li>Getting hassled, a lot of people are friendly nut some want stuff and you can trek those that do because they remedially mention that their wife had recently had a baby, either there is an incredible amount of babies being born, out they realise that it is the best way to tug at the heart strings. Before asking you for money they offer you some crap gift' then hit you for some pesos for some crap.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<b>Conversion rate at time of travel:</b></h3>
<ul style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<li>1 CUC = $1.16</li>
<li>1 MN = $0.05</li>
</ul>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com5José Martí International Airport, Havana, Cuba22.9891669 -82.40916700000002522.9891669 -82.409167000000025 22.9891669 -82.409167000000025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-27809441360437424162013-08-26T23:43:00.000-07:002013-10-15T01:01:07.437-07:00Havana (Part 2), Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
After waking with the roosters of Vinales we successfully dodged breakfast (due to the early departure) and hoped on our last Viazul bus ride to Havana for a few more days of hanging out before heading onto Mexico to celebrate Joss' 30th. We arrived at Eddies, and stayed in the 3rd different room. We had now sampled them all and the best was saved for last; we had our own little terrace getaway. After a return visit to Waoo Snack Bar for lunch we walked first to an exciting sounding live music street/area for a bit of Cuban Afro music. We however found it to be a bit of a tourist trap. As soon as we got there we were pounced on by quite a few locals talking to us in English but ultimately wanting us to give them money or buy them a drunk. We sought refuge in a bar right beside the hectic area and got chatting with a married couple Julio (who lived in Barcelona) and Diego (who lived in Mexico city). Gay travellers are very open in Cuba it seems! Although the music and atmosphere wasn't what we were after it was nice to meet some more interesting traveler sorts. Afterwards we headed to the Jazz Cafe in search of music and atmosphere more to our tempo. We thought that surely on a Sunday they would have a bit of music going on during the early afternoon but we were wrong, the live act started at 11pm (it was 5:30)! Concerned we didn't have the pesos on us to survive that long (or the stamina) we headed back to our Casa for a quick break, shower and headed back ready for action. After numerous mojitos and pina coladas a jazz pianist Roberta Fonseca and his 5 piece group played an hour set (for a 'jazz cafe' they are pretty limited with the amount of live jazz they play 1 hr per day). Although short it was pretty spectacular, and would have been better off not for the idiot tourists who chatted the whole way through. At 1 point the band was giving some death stares, luckily they weren't Aussie (just quietly one group was German, the other we think Spanish)</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Flt6X1fh2M/UlQCAPgwXVI/AAAAAAAAnEc/N13i72_aC0U/s1600/P1050080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Flt6X1fh2M/UlQCAPgwXVI/AAAAAAAAnEc/N13i72_aC0U/s1600/P1050080.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roberta Fonseca and his band... and yes that is a ukulele</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Our last day in Cuba we decided to try check out the Havana Belle's Artes in central Havana only to find it was closed on Mondays... Cuba. Instead we had a wander around some of the restored areas around Havana which are simple stunning but somehow lack the feel of the rest of Havana. Perhaps because they are so touristy... another thing we noticed, well we saw before but have become more frustrated with. A of people who approach us in the street and start talking to us. The ones offering cabs and restaurants are OK because if you say no to them they accept it. The ones who become annoying come up and want to talk in English and even after you say no, they continue, often interrupting our conversation. We generally assume want something in return (based on our personal experience it has been true) with makes them eloquent beggars. It has made us think back to the guy we meet earlier on Havana and how nice he was, but 2 weeks later we would have found him a nuisance and we cannot help but think we perpetuated this behaviour. Overall it is negative as ultimately tourists feel hassled and will then start to not want to visit. It isn't unique to Havana, but it is certainly the worst here - how we would do things differently now. Anyway after wandering around and having a few drinks we went for dinner at yet another of the article suggestions: Chef Ivan Gustow. Apart from the closed venues it hasn't led us astray, and again we weren't disappointed. Joss fed on what can only be described as a family of lobster, after which she said something she never thought she would 'I have had enjoy lobster please take it away'! Paul feasted on a tasty Lamb shank which came from an obviously very young lamb for which he felt extremely guilty. Although the meal was good it wasn't as good as the other nice restaurants we have been to. The dishes didn't quite come together as well (considering the price we paid). After dinner it was back to the Casa for a bit of a wind down with rum and cigars... the only way to finish off the Cuba leg of our trip.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ysh3rqbqx8/UlQDDWg4p5I/AAAAAAAAnEs/aljOsXQKcxg/s1600/P1050085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ysh3rqbqx8/UlQDDWg4p5I/AAAAAAAAnEs/aljOsXQKcxg/s1600/P1050085.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Havana streets/alleys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e6ORZLofJmQ/UlQDKsQWO0I/AAAAAAAAnE0/EpBftgdvXDk/s1600/P1050088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e6ORZLofJmQ/UlQDKsQWO0I/AAAAAAAAnE0/EpBftgdvXDk/s1600/P1050088.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza Vieja one of the squares that has had the most renovations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwoKJNpYSsU/UlQDl0mVNsI/AAAAAAAAnE8/Xp2Xh3TpWU8/s1600/P1050098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwoKJNpYSsU/UlQDl0mVNsI/AAAAAAAAnE8/Xp2Xh3TpWU8/s1600/P1050098.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a beer overlooking the river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
UPDATE: after a night of dual evacuations for Paul, we have downgraded the restaurant from 'recommended' to 'with caution'. Cuba has been great and very interesting, and the next post will list some of the good and bad parts of our Cuba journey.</div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-62545621843589519952013-08-25T07:07:00.000-07:002013-10-08T05:55:14.022-07:00Valle de Viñales, Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
An early morning bus meant we could skip the 4 course breakfast (thank god), and got us to Valle de Viñales around lunch. We were met at the bus station by Carlos our Casa host who took back to settle in to what ended up being a little impractical as it felt like we were intruding in their house. We decided to acquaint ourselves with the town before committing to any of the more active options so we had a bit of a wander around before settling in for some lunch and a few beers. Unfortunately there weren't a lot of options in the small town, with a mix of bad service or a lack of atmosphere. It seems that, like a lot of places in Cuba the real action happens after 10pm when the live music starts. So although a little disappointed we headed back to the Casa for a lobster dinner and a few more drinks.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
After dinner we wandered into town to confirm that the previously sleepy bars came alive... and they did. The government run cultural centre - which we had visited earlier and was dead - was just getting ready for a live act to start: a 9 piece Cuban band with an extremely tall lead singer. Armed with mojitos (probably the least exciting one we have had in Cuba, but still drinkable), we sat back and enjoyed the music with another storm as a backdrop. After a few songs these seemingly random guys got up to do a bit of solo dancing in the rain (no one else was dancing). They were both wearing shorts and thongs, and one was wearing sunnies. This look led us to assume they were some tourists getting up to practice their salsa moves they had learnt, the moves they were doing supported this. However as the song went on they started to throw a few more moves in, which were going suspiciously well with the song, perhaps they weren't so random after all... Then 2 girls came out and they started to salsa with them, and pretty well! It was very entertaining, and we still can't figure out if it was completely staged or whether they were both dancers who had maybe come to cuba for a bit of a dance holiday (a lot of people do, either to learn or just dance with all the locals). Either way in was enjoyable. Unfortunately though the band took a break and just didn't come back on. We weren't sure why, perhaps the rain was causing difficulties with their equipment, whatever it was it seems that the best thing to do is shrug your shoulders and say, well that is the Cuban way and head back to the Casa.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kfKGzv6C1lc/UjmOM5MT0LI/AAAAAAAAnBs/FaC5aj0GaEg/s1600/P1050042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kfKGzv6C1lc/UjmOM5MT0LI/AAAAAAAAnBs/FaC5aj0GaEg/s1600/P1050042.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tobacco huts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJ2SxjxmCig/UjmO51ebBGI/AAAAAAAAnCc/bIsn2_780wA/s1600/P1050072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJ2SxjxmCig/UjmO51ebBGI/AAAAAAAAnCc/bIsn2_780wA/s1600/P1050072.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie on the rooftop 'terrace' at our Casa<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Day 2 we awoke with slightly fuzzy heads from the mojitos the night before (good mojitos don't seem to have caused it before so it must have been the quality not the quantity ;) but we powered on through another fruity breakie to build up our energy for a day of biking around the picturesque Valle Viñales area. After a leisurely start we got on our way and and meandered west from town until we got to a 'prehistoric mural' wall painting, the catch being the subject was prehistory, not the painting. Never the less it was pretty impressive seeing a mural that covered an entire cliff, even if it was a complete eyesore (different strokes for different folks and all that). We then headed back to town and south up a hill to get what to the best viewing spot in the Valle Viñales area. We took in the view with a nice long break and some Taranja refrescos, which area locally made equivalents of Coke and Fanta. It was then back downhill through the town and then up north to see what the scenery provided. Again it was more pretty spectacular scenery but this time we didn't really have a destination in mind but were enjoying riding through such amazing scenery. After going as far as we felt were could and still be able to make the return journey we turned back and headed back to town for some lunch (lucky we had such a massive breakie) and then to our Casa for a long rest before dinner. We decided to have a quiet night in prep for the early morning bus back to Havana.</div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SP0igySQOR8/UjmOO0_caaI/AAAAAAAAnB4/K7ffEsUHizo/s1600/P1050045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SP0igySQOR8/UjmOO0_caaI/AAAAAAAAnB4/K7ffEsUHizo/s1600/P1050045.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad view for the ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P6yik6V4Xgk/UjmOOn0FfvI/AAAAAAAAnB0/50-qtwmMhGo/s1600/P1050051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P6yik6V4Xgk/UjmOOn0FfvI/AAAAAAAAnB0/50-qtwmMhGo/s1600/P1050051.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mural de la Prehistorica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmEk880w5Ks/UjmOz5rgL_I/AAAAAAAAnCM/VtcfU9x3cOo/s1600/P1050053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PmEk880w5Ks/UjmOz5rgL_I/AAAAAAAAnCM/VtcfU9x3cOo/s1600/P1050053.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A well earned Naranja break</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AzVgLXXTsZ0/UjmOgaSMcZI/AAAAAAAAnCE/FPPWvAaGcuw/s1600/P1050058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AzVgLXXTsZ0/UjmOgaSMcZI/AAAAAAAAnCE/FPPWvAaGcuw/s1600/P1050058.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the view we were enjoying it with</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--T9bDbDJHU4/UjmO2-cETCI/AAAAAAAAnCU/2u4WFlOls0M/s1600/P1050065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--T9bDbDJHU4/UjmO2-cETCI/AAAAAAAAnCU/2u4WFlOls0M/s1600/P1050065.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And one more</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com1Casa Carlos Valido,Vinales, Cuba22.61185101783909 -83.71079074705198822.61093501783909 -83.712051247051988 22.61276701783909 -83.709530247051987tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-18062216909719256072013-08-23T21:31:00.000-07:002013-10-08T06:14:10.699-07:00Havana Transit Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Today was spent mostly on the viazul bus from Cienfuegos to Havana before our trip tomorrow to Valle de Viñales. When we arrived we had to do a few errands, get money (which really is harder than it should be) and change the date of our flight to Cancun. We decided to return to Mexico earlier so we could have a more relaxing celebration on Joss' birthday in Playa Del Carmen. Relaxing because there is no respite in Havana from car exhaust even if you are staying in a nice hotel... which is also unlikely to have the friendliest staff.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Anyway, as we already mentioned we tried to change the return ticket at the Cubana airlines office last Thursday at 3pm (the office should be open till 4pm), but were met with a sign saying the office was closed because of the air con, and wouldn't you know it, Thursday one week later they had exactly the same problem! Lucky for them they kept the same sign, at least they don't waste paper! What are the odds of them having to close again at 2 - we rocked up at 2:12 at least we weren't the only ones exasperated by this - frustrated by more government ineptitude we decided to instead cut our losses and book with Aero Mexicana.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1GAlExX8K4Y/UlQDnVGV_NI/AAAAAAAAnFI/xTdvWbNiBsI/s1600/P1050103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1GAlExX8K4Y/UlQDnVGV_NI/AAAAAAAAnFI/xTdvWbNiBsI/s1600/P1050103.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The offending sign</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Afterwards we returned to our Casa, cleaned ourselves up ready for another dinner out. While we were getting ready a thunder storm was brewing and pretty much just as we were ready to leave it hit. The only way to describe it was angry. There was some crazy close lightening and the rain was bearing down in full support. During what was possibly the calm eye of this storm we headed out to find another of the article recommendations, only to find it was closed for what we assume was renos. Disappointed we headed back in the direction of our Casa as the storm was still letty imposing: the lightening was lighting up the whole sky in massive horizontal looking bolts and looked like they were travelling from cloud to cloud if that is even possible.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br />
With some luck we found what we think was a family run bar that served some food with a friendly hostess who spoke great English but was nervous to be serving foreigners. It was close to our Casa in case we had to make a run for it and we had a great view of the storm from the the 1st floor terrace. Not the night we had hoped for but turned out pretty fun.</div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0Casa Eddie, Havana, Cuba23.1367709 -82.38940760000002723.1358584 -82.390668100000028 23.137683399999997 -82.388147100000026tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-717921811820096322013-08-22T11:03:00.000-07:002013-09-25T06:01:44.335-07:00Cienfuegos, Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Our bus from Trinidad to Cienfuegos left at 10:30 leaving us enough time to fit in breakfast at our Casa before we left... now to most that would seem a blessing but we have started to find the breakfasts to be hard to get through, not the quality of food but sheer quantity. They are all pretty similar: a plate of tropical fruit, now we are taking a big plate with 3 or 4 different fruits including mango, guava, pineapple, banana, papaya, watermelon and more accompanied with fresh mango, guava or pineapple juice. After what is already to much fruit (we are getting our 5 serves right there) it is into eggs (optional, but a good way to help you through the fruit with some savoury), then coffee with bread, meats, cheese, maybe a crepe, and at one some very tasty biscuits. It is literally 30 min of non stop eating, which was great for the first few days but it is getting hard after so many. And you cannot say no, the Casas are very proud of providing a good start to the day!</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
So after battling our way through breakfast and an uneventful bus ride we arrived at Casa de Las Golondrinas with hosts Victor & Sosa. We dumped or bags and headed out for a bit of exploring. with only one night we didn't have a lot of time, and unfortunately as the bus arrived at midday we were doing our wandering in heat enough to make cacti wilt. Never the less we powered on and ended up wandering around the main city streets and then onto the malecon around the bay. We were getting pretty hot so took a break for some surprisingly good service and lunch at the Club Cienfuegos where some very fancy private yachts moor (we assume visitors to Cuba not locals) it was surprising because it is government run.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Afterwards we continued down in search of a bar to seek respite from the sun and have a few cervesa. We instead found a park at the end of the point the road was following with many locals enjoying a swim in the cooling water and generally relaxing. We decided to join them (for the hanging on the swimming) and were happy to find a gazebo bar where we enjoyed cervesa and some expertly made mojitos and daiquiris made by some very friendly fellas. Just as we were enjoying them a refreshing thunder storm arrived. Perfecto. After the rain petered out, we started our walk back to town only to be talked into a bike taxi ride back instead. On the way the driver/rider told us in very good English some of the plights of Cuban people. He himself used to be a history teacher, but only being paid 12 CUC, found it was not enough to support a family, so he quit and is a bike taxi instead, which can net him 40 CUC a month after paying the government some fee or tax and a kind of forced super. In comparison doctors get 25 CUC from the government (but we think are given gifts payments from patients), lawyers 22, and beating them all: the military get 80-100 CUC! Viva la revolucion. He also somewhat explained how housing worked, he and his sister were lucky enough to have inherited their grandmother's house (no idea how she got it), but they don't seem to own it but instead inherited the lease, so they can rent it from the government for 5 CUC a month. If you want do indeed want to buy a house you have to have the entire amount up front, you can imagine how far out of reach this is when people earn 18 CUC a month and have to save for months to buy shoes or clothes. Puts it into perspective why Roberto in Santa Clara was keen for t-shirts.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Despite all of this he says Cuban people are happy - and apart from the government workers certainly seems is true. He was also quite open in saying that Raul has been a positive influence, implementing changes that mean people like him can earn more money than before by working as taxi drivers or Casa owners. His opinion was that after Fidel dies things will change. The people will want change, perhaps because the end of Fidel represents the end of the first revolution, and the next generations can then make their mark on Cuban history. His only concern was that the US would use force or threat of force to overtake Cuba... a fear we think not accurate, however we can imagine the US using its (capitalist) power to exert influence on the next Cuban government to encourage outcomes that are in the best interests to the USA, but not the downtrodden Cubans. After our interesting ride we kicked back at our Casa on the rooftop terrace enjoying more mojitos with dinner then had a quiet night before or bus ride back to Havana.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OCOb4D2EU-E/UjlzIPXXljI/AAAAAAAAnA8/H4-bUhPYNoU/s1600/DSC_0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OCOb4D2EU-E/UjlzIPXXljI/AAAAAAAAnA8/H4-bUhPYNoU/s1600/DSC_0135.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cienfuegos Malecon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-28T2BUQTU/UjlzBVxg1mI/AAAAAAAAnA0/h-DZs9ZiJLQ/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-28T2BUQTU/UjlzBVxg1mI/AAAAAAAAnA0/h-DZs9ZiJLQ/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t-tny28C_xQ/UjlzYhEV7ZI/AAAAAAAAnBE/6c9d-rZ8fXs/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t-tny28C_xQ/UjlzYhEV7ZI/AAAAAAAAnBE/6c9d-rZ8fXs/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_SqGP452-8/UjlzgmtGmTI/AAAAAAAAnBM/fI4ofbAUTT0/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_SqGP452-8/UjlzgmtGmTI/AAAAAAAAnBM/fI4ofbAUTT0/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scruffy Paul with a Mojito and nuts in a cone</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mnXqF4CdMBU/Ujlzp9d-XWI/AAAAAAAAnBU/DzNcs6XKZDA/s1600/DSC_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mnXqF4CdMBU/Ujlzp9d-XWI/AAAAAAAAnBU/DzNcs6XKZDA/s1600/DSC_0148.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the stunning French Colonial architecture, everywhere else is Spanish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vW3UIpSgxn0/Ujlzy-MNedI/AAAAAAAAnBc/er6fLUB-Ras/s1600/DSC_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vW3UIpSgxn0/Ujlzy-MNedI/AAAAAAAAnBc/er6fLUB-Ras/s1600/DSC_0154.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our dinner spread on the Casa terrace - <span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">black beans, chicken with pineapple, fritters and trimmings</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com1Reparto la Juanita, Cienfuegos, Cuba22.147180852587645 -80.4468062662231222.146261852587646 -80.448066766223121 22.148099852587645 -80.44554576622312tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-11711850940437830112013-08-21T21:09:00.000-07:002013-09-19T04:09:49.178-07:00Trinidad, Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
The 3rd of our Cuba destinations is Trinidad, a town south of Santa Clara where most of the Centro Historico (central district) is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site. During it's heyday it was an important sugar growing hub during the years of the Spanish colony. Unsurprisingly it is a pretty stunning city and conveniently our Casa (Casa Amigos del Mundo) is situated pretty much in the Centro Historico, which where all the action and sites are.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
After arriving around 3pm at our Casa we dropped our bags and had a bit of a (very hot) walk to get our bearings. We climbed up a tower that is part of the Museo Municipal and were surprised by how small the city seems. After such a hectic day we decided we had earnt a break and returned to the Casa rooftop terrace for some drinks and a special pineapple chicken dinner (if anyone didn't know, joss loves pineapple in savoury meals). After dinner we headed out to the town square where there was live music, dudes breathing fire and a lot of locals and tourists doing a bit of salsa. We have found out that pretty much everything starts at 10pm in Cuba so there was the post dinner timing was perfect, it was a lot of fun and there were loads of people out and about. Because there are so many tourists around it seems like it might be a nightly event here... we will find out tomorrow!<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gkyCpyQK-Ko/Uiwg4Nm3cKI/AAAAAAAAm-E/6LcqWRadR9o/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gkyCpyQK-Ko/Uiwg4Nm3cKI/AAAAAAAAm-E/6LcqWRadR9o/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Streets around the UNESCO heritage zone of Trinidad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVYaHwKWlAU/Uiwg27naQnI/AAAAAAAAm98/buIQb66gnJk/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TVYaHwKWlAU/Uiwg27naQnI/AAAAAAAAm98/buIQb66gnJk/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking over Trinidad and the stunning surrounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUDEKC7Hu08/Uiwh4A3ZcEI/AAAAAAAAm-c/Y_g1LkAHnqw/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oUDEKC7Hu08/Uiwh4A3ZcEI/AAAAAAAAm-c/Y_g1LkAHnqw/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The terrace - best we have had so far</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Day two was pretty relaxing, we climbed another tower in a different museo and took in the surrounds with the sound of a Cuban band playing in the park opposite on ground level. With such a nice atmosphere and with the sun scorching we then decided to hang in the shade of the park for about an hour taking in the sound of the 5 Buena Vista Social Clubesque musician buskers. After that we decided to take a stroll to check out a pottery factory to check out the local pottery being crafted on wheels. On the way we passed the ruins of Santa Ana church. We bought a couple of small pottery pieces then made the long and hot walk back to the center of town, and it was hot. So hot birds were flying under other birds to get shade and lizards were scared to leave the shade. Hot! Once we made it back we decided to have lunch, and lay low to conserve our energy for the night, when the town comes alive - the same square that is packed at night with music and people is virtually empty all day (it seems only idiot tourists are out in the heat of the day).</div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Around 6 pm we decided we were well rested enough to head our for some drinks and dinner, although it must be said that 6 is still bloody hot. Anyway we stalked out a bar from the lonely planet that sounded great, the daiquiri bar (correct pronunciation is die-ka-rie ) however we were very disappointed to find that it was closed, not least because we walked what felt the equivalent of many furlongs in the heat. Anyway we returned again to the town centre where nearly everything seems to happen, and settled in for a couple of beers on the main steps before heading to dinner. We picked a nearby restaurant 'Los Conspiradores' with first floor balcony seats which had a good view of the people below and the brewing thunderstorm in the distance but still close enough to hear the music in the square. Over another fantastic dinner (lobster pasta and shrimp in devil sauce) the storm grew providing us with a great show over the centuries old cathedral in the square and tantalising us with the promise of cooling rains. With the refreshing rain frustratingly keeping its distance we decided to keep watching the storm and taking in the live music on the steps with a delicious and cheap 1 CUC pina colada from one of the street vendors. Just as we had finished our coladas the rain came, so we made a quick dash for our Casa and enjoyed a rum and cigar in the courtyard watching the downpour. A pretty great day in a historic town in the Caribbean.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw4U08pqT1o/Uiwg0Bf-keI/AAAAAAAAm90/bdcypZlkiwg/s1600/DSC_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw4U08pqT1o/Uiwg0Bf-keI/AAAAAAAAm90/bdcypZlkiwg/s1600/DSC_0119.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuban band playing in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R701wqW29cg/UiwhvmPZ1tI/AAAAAAAAm-U/Eu3vJEkxxs0/s1600/P1040978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R701wqW29cg/UiwhvmPZ1tI/AAAAAAAAm-U/Eu3vJEkxxs0/s1600/P1040978.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocktails and dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D-VCteW3tck/UiwhrZLCgnI/AAAAAAAAm-M/GI8eazbqPeI/s1600/P1040997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D-VCteW3tck/UiwhrZLCgnI/AAAAAAAAm-M/GI8eazbqPeI/s1600/P1040997.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lightening storm over the square</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtGNaSHeBSY/Uiwh-jlwmgI/AAAAAAAAm-s/te7JE8gQEsw/s1600/P1050009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MtGNaSHeBSY/Uiwh-jlwmgI/AAAAAAAAm-s/te7JE8gQEsw/s1600/P1050009.JPG" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another, the storm was spectacular</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwSbH1hwxGE/Uiwh8joYvbI/AAAAAAAAm-k/x2y-wX4TmOw/s1600/P1050013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bwSbH1hwxGE/Uiwh8joYvbI/AAAAAAAAm-k/x2y-wX4TmOw/s1600/P1050013.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigars and rum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
For our final day in Trinidad we thought we would make the most of the conveniently located beach 'Playa Ancon' (playa meaning beach in Spanish). The beach was pretty stunning with little palm gazebos up and down the sand providing shade with perfect beach going weather, perfect because we had the shade of a little gazebo. There were folk walking up and down the beach selling fruit, small pizza breads, popcorn and other delights the we didn't really know what they were. All of this was well and good but we felt there was a market missing in that of beverage sales. Many Cubans were walking up the beach or swimming with a bottle of rum, taking a swig and then passing it around, but the source of such treats remained a mystery. We decided to ask one of the traveling pizza salesman, who told us we had to walk up the beach somewhere (this was in Spanish so we weren't too sure). However it seems that on his travels that he was passed one of the kiosks and told them that some foreigners were asking about drinks. An entrepreneurial guy from the kiosk approached us with the offer to bring us drinks! Now we did discover that it was a short enough walk, but far enough to question whether we could be bothered, so the promise of delivered beers was hard to resist so we accepted his offer and of course tipped him generously.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Naturally we didn't just watch the water but also swam in the Caribbean, during oneof the swims we were interrupted by a school of small fish that came straight at us, bumping into us and jumping out of the water and hitting us on the backs and shoulders! It seems this isn't a regular occurrence as the school moved straight past us into a group of locals who were equally surprised. Another irregularity we witnessed was just before our last swim we saw a guy in the water, presumingly local, proceed to vomit multiple times, and not involuntarily - he was sticking his hand down his throat! Perhaps he had partaken in too much rum earlier in the day, and mixed with seawater it left him a bit unpleasant, whatever the reason we decided it was a safe bet to swim up tide of him. After that we shared a cab back to town with some German ladies, and relaxed at our Casa with some cocktails and another great meal on the terrace. Afterward we attempted to go out, but were pretty tired after our day in the sun (made worse because we didn't read the sunscreen reapply instructions closely enough), so ended up sitting on the main stairs in the square watching 2 local dogs chase away the occasional car or bike rider who venture into the square, but not walkers, rather entertaining. We had seen the dogs sleeping/hanging on the steps every night, it seems it was their spot to guard.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-94fVn0lUly4/Uiwi699kq8I/AAAAAAAAm-4/BniTv7D5h7I/s1600/P1050022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-94fVn0lUly4/Uiwi699kq8I/AAAAAAAAm-4/BniTv7D5h7I/s1600/P1050022.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playa Ancon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InoFh0-2cG4/Uiw46pjSFDI/AAAAAAAAm_Q/9s9qyQEWWBU/s1600/P1050026_Trimmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InoFh0-2cG4/Uiw46pjSFDI/AAAAAAAAm_Q/9s9qyQEWWBU/s1600/P1050026_Trimmed.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And what would a trip to the beach be without cerveza</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com2Casa Amigos del Mundo21.807911 -79.98477100000002321.8069895 -79.986031500000024 21.8088325 -79.983510500000023tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-11166628634937006912013-08-18T23:59:00.000-07:002013-09-19T02:10:32.481-07:00Santa Clara, Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
An early morning start for the bus to santa Clara, a small town 3.5 hours from Havana. Although we have been critical of other bureaucratic processes the buses are pretty spot on (once you know how to book tickets). Along the route we noticed a lot of people on the side of the road with their luggage holding out money. It is hard to tell for certain, but we were pretty sure these people could not afford the official fare so were trying to either fill the buses with their best offer or get a spot in a car making the journey. Probably a good time to also explain that in Cuba there are 2 kinds of currency, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), which tourists generally use which is close to parity with the US dollar, and the Nacional Pesos which are 1/24 the value. The dual currency has created a divide in Cuba; those who can earn and get tips in CUCs (taxi drivers, Casa Particular owners, wait staff and grumpy hotel workers), and those who cannot. The people on the side of the road were holding up nacional pesos, for them 18 CUC a ticket of convertible money (432 Peso) is just unattainable. To give you an idea a sandwich costs 0.20c CUC (5 pesos). <br />
<br />
Anyway we arrived on time in Santa Clara around 12:45, where we were met at the station and taken to our Casa with the lovely hosts Mary (Ma-ri) and Raikol. After settling in we set about exploring the streets and found Santa Clara to be a pretty beautiful town with a very picturesque main street and central park. We wandered to the cigar factory where they hand roll Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo and Cohiba cigars. Unfortunately there was no tour running but we could peek in the windows to see maybe a hundred Cubans busy away rolling cigars with wooden presses, we imagine the process hasn't changed much if at all since cigars were first made. The smell of tobacco leaves was amazing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
We decided to buy a few sample of cigars at the attached store and will try to send them home (we can't transit through the US with them), time will tell if we got a good deal but either way it is a pretty impressive place to have your cigars sourced from! After a bit of lunch (and the obligatory bad service that goes with state owned places) we headed to what is suggested as the top place for live music in the edgy Santa Clara. Although a bit early for the main event that started at 10 pm, we saw some freestyle Cuban hip hop and enjoyed a few cervesas. With dinner approaching we headed to the casa particular again where some 10 CUC home cooked lobster awaited, with just enough time to enjoy another cervesa on the impressive roof to terrace (to put it in perspective this pace is 25 CUC a night)</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9uyZLTlncQ8/Uivcwjqom0I/AAAAAAAAm8k/_LAwgXKgOWA/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9uyZLTlncQ8/Uivcwjqom0I/AAAAAAAAm8k/_LAwgXKgOWA/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around Santa Clara</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8bfCsZanjo/UivctcNsS1I/AAAAAAAAm8c/B9XZblDEH5U/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8bfCsZanjo/UivctcNsS1I/AAAAAAAAm8c/B9XZblDEH5U/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rooftop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-buMTIWuXStE/UivcjxqZNRI/AAAAAAAAm8U/cHwGaQTcmhY/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-buMTIWuXStE/UivcjxqZNRI/AAAAAAAAm8U/cHwGaQTcmhY/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cristal - our Cuban beer of choice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Rd0m70byE/Uivc39VLANI/AAAAAAAAm8s/Yl8JKW_sbfE/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Rd0m70byE/Uivc39VLANI/AAAAAAAAm8s/Yl8JKW_sbfE/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rooftop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4XRgQbPZW0/UivdNb-trRI/AAAAAAAAm88/KcZ3yRiRe_M/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4XRgQbPZW0/UivdNb-trRI/AAAAAAAAm88/KcZ3yRiRe_M/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cigars! About as large as Paul was prepared to purchase</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/---NfYdDjGg8/UivdVpt_06I/AAAAAAAAm9E/lF8lttzjl7w/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/---NfYdDjGg8/UivdVpt_06I/AAAAAAAAm9E/lF8lttzjl7w/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The park and main square of Santa Clara</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Day 2 in Santa Clara and after our enormous breakfast of fruit, juice, rolls, cheese, meat, coffee and biscuits, we decided to wander along to the Che mausoleum and on the way check out some anti imperialism parody murals, I.e. anti USA. Typical of state run establishments, they required us to check our shoulder bags before going in to see the displays, and with very large signs saying 'do not leave valuables in bags' we decided we had probably seen enough Che stuff already (how different could it be?) After briefly admiring the statue we headed back to town. Oh and people here love che, he is like a bit of a god.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Back in town we decided to hang out at the lovely central park and where the local kids were being pulled around by a goat and a mini carriage. As we were sitting a Cuban guy, Alberto, started chatting to us in Spanish. We fumbled away chatting with him and found out he was an electrician with a 2 year old son who had lived in Santa Clara his whole life, and we told him a bit about Australia, and where else we were going after Santa Clara. Generally when locals approach we are on pretty high alert for a scam or them generally wanting money. Alberto did want something, but it wasn't a scam, he was simply after any t-shirts we might have from Australia (hopefully one with 'Australia' on the front) that we could pass onto him, they don't get many clothes in Cuba and it seems like he had had some luck in the past getting travelers t-shirts, not new but hand me downs that the travellers didn't have much need of. We told him we had no t-shirts, as we were traveling light but did give him some pesos in exchange for a photo, which seemed like an OK deal. After chatting for 15 minutes 3 police approached and asked for his ID. It seems that locals like him chatting to foreigners is not a regular occurrence, or at least one which requires investigation, we had mixed feelings; on one hand the police are trying to make sure everything is legit, and that is a nice safety thing. On the other hand Alberto was clearly uncomfortable with 3 police questioning him and then taking down his details - of course who wouldn't! He told us they need to check that people aren't smuggling contraband both in or out of Cuba, we suppose because everything is government controlled, including the export of Cigars.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br />
After our friendly chat we got out hands some of the local currency which we hasn't until this point so we could get some ice cream and cheap food from hole in the wall places which are generally all family run (in Havana these places took CUCs) We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the terrace and Paul lit up his first cigar, a Romeo y Julieta purito from the factory that cost about $1.60 each.Dinner was another great home cooked meal, this time shrimp! Over dinner we got chatting to an Italian couple also staying at the Casa who were up to day 17 of their trip, doing a similar one to ours but in reverse and concentrating a lot on the beaches of Cuba.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br />
Post dinner we headed out to see the night life of Santa Clarato check out the nightlife and found a fiesta going on around the main square and hence most of the town. We found in one of the streets a stage where a great live 8 piece Cuban band were playing with a mojito bar at the side. Perfect. We decided it was a good place to hang and enjoy the goings on. Whilst enjoying the entertainment and out of compulsion to please the local folk Paul agreed to dance with, who in hindsight can only be described as a crazy alcoholic smoking possibly pregnant lady. Which was all fun and games for a while, she even got joss up to dance and tried to teach us a few moves... Then shit got weird. She kept yabbering at us in Spanish, even though we kept repeatedly telling her 'no entiendo', she wouldn't get out of our face. Seeing as the band had just stopped for a break we decided to escape into the night. RANDOM, possibly not what we expected for our first live music gig. We will be on guard next time, we know her sort now.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mnPyBQFw2A/UjlxnkOwJBI/AAAAAAAAnAo/cYs0d1Nv3BM/s1600/P1040920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mnPyBQFw2A/UjlxnkOwJBI/AAAAAAAAnAo/cYs0d1Nv3BM/s1600/P1040920.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smart missile cartoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0myhMDD578/Uiv4sTNNaOI/AAAAAAAAm9c/I28RsEhBM-U/s1600/P1040937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X0myhMDD578/Uiv4sTNNaOI/AAAAAAAAm9c/I28RsEhBM-U/s1600/P1040937.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gdylKTAsOk/Uivc9txQ-rI/AAAAAAAAm80/YmAd_ZD2L8E/s1600/DSC_0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5gdylKTAsOk/Uivc9txQ-rI/AAAAAAAAm80/YmAd_ZD2L8E/s1600/DSC_0088.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joss and Roberto</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zARAFl9s40Q/Uiv4snbTl9I/AAAAAAAAm9g/rjXX6MPXMkM/s1600/P1040941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zARAFl9s40Q/Uiv4snbTl9I/AAAAAAAAm9g/rjXX6MPXMkM/s1600/P1040941.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some clever marketing by a local. We still couldn't figure out what they actually sold though. It seemed it wasn't burgers and fries.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B9V7A5YyHmw/Uiv4nMnqrbI/AAAAAAAAm9U/XmlDoEUS2GI/s1600/P1040952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B9V7A5YyHmw/Uiv4nMnqrbI/AAAAAAAAm9U/XmlDoEUS2GI/s1600/P1040952.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fiesta, and Paul's head.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0Casa Mary & Raicort, Santa Clara, Cuba22.408905942989708 -79.9645686149596622.407988442989708 -79.965829114959661 22.409823442989708 -79.963308114959659tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-74582766693876193972013-08-16T22:58:00.000-07:002013-09-19T02:10:49.554-07:00Havana - Cuba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Day 1 of our Cuba adventure also marked out 7th anniversary! We unfortunately did not get a chance to do much celebrating due to most of the day spent traveling from Playa del Carmen nursing a slight hungover from our night before activities. After touching down in havana we got taken for a literal and figurative ride by a friendly but obviously scheming cab driver to our stunning hotel the Nacional. Built in the 1920's the hotel has had it's share of interesting guests, including the us mafia in the 50's. While the hotel was stunning the staff were less so, with our dinner waitress treating us with what can only be described as contempt. A bit Basil Fawlty. After we had finished our pretty average dinner and got up to return to our room, the tone of her voice sounded more like she was to say 'fuck you very much' instead of 'thank you very much'. Perhaps it was because we paid on our room, which the staff seem pissed at, perhaps because they can't accidentally forget to bring your change - which we saw happen. Alas that is what you get when you stay in hotels that are state run (pretty much all are). Public service hospitality, not a good mix.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7F7zBROKyAk/UisroyMYRVI/AAAAAAAAm7U/ZVVSWWd-_H8/s1600/DSC_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7F7zBROKyAk/UisroyMYRVI/AAAAAAAAm7U/ZVVSWWd-_H8/s1600/DSC_0040.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palacio Nacional courtyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br />
Day 2, happy to check out of our hotel we went in search for some more appropriate accommodation (we only intended on staying at the Nacional one night so we had a confirmed destination on arrival) and checked out a few of the 'Casa Particulars' close by and checked into one hosted by the very friendly Eddie. Casa Particulars are essentially private accommodation, like bed and breakfasts where you stay in people's homes who have spare rooms and most include a private bathroom. After 'check-in' we tucked into a bit of lunch at waoo snack bar - a bar/restaurant we had read about in an age/smh article about the cuban food revolution. We were not disappointed, especially compared to the night before's mediocre offering. We then decided to try out luck with another hop on hop off bus, however this time it was a lonely planet mention so we felt reasonably confident it would make up for our poor experience in Mexico! The bus turned out to be a good decision and we got a good view of the areas of Havana whilst sharing the roads with the many 50s model American cars (imported before the trade embargo) as well as a lot of ladas, dating back to when there was Soviet support. An interesting mix, and a lot of smokey exhausts. The smog is so strong that you wake up open the window in the morning and immediately smell exhaust fumes, similar to the smell if you opened the door to a garage with a car running and we are staying a fair way from a main road.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
After the bus we had a bit of a rest and clothes wash at our casa (for the studious ones you may notice we each only packed 5 shirts in the photos) we headed out for some dinner. After the success of Waoo we tried but failed to find another of the restaurants featured in the age/smh article. Undeterred we instead happened across a rooftop bar 'CJ encuentro', well the name wass something like that. Anyway we enjoyed some great tapas, cervezas, mojitos and daiquiris and ordered with the help of a very friendly waitress who surprisingly spoke English. After it started raining (remember rooftop) we made a hasty exit. The waitress apologizing 'for my weather' fantastic and a stark contrast to the 'fuck you very much' from the night before. How quickly things can change! Note, we made a hasty exit when it <u>started</u> to rain. It continued for the entire walk home and more, but what it a bit of rain in the Caribbean heat, ignoring all of the Cubans looking at us like we were idiots.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NdH4tF2VyQ0/Uisr1R7WiJI/AAAAAAAAm7c/wmvu0UxTx8M/s1600/P1040812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NdH4tF2VyQ0/Uisr1R7WiJI/AAAAAAAAm7c/wmvu0UxTx8M/s1600/P1040812.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drag race 50's style</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZzw9mvZDwE/Uisr9tbNutI/AAAAAAAAm7k/R86QGUg_oLo/s1600/P1040818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TZzw9mvZDwE/Uisr9tbNutI/AAAAAAAAm7k/R86QGUg_oLo/s1600/P1040818.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around Havana</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWHqIPnMms8/Uisq9Ie7G3I/AAAAAAAAm7E/LomRzwj7hHA/s1600/DSC_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWHqIPnMms8/Uisq9Ie7G3I/AAAAAAAAm7E/LomRzwj7hHA/s1600/DSC_0033.JPG" height="265" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Centro Historico cathedral courtyard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-evS-zkHqwSo/UissYYVai2I/AAAAAAAAm7s/LMQXbOa9sb4/s1600/P1040859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-evS-zkHqwSo/UissYYVai2I/AAAAAAAAm7s/LMQXbOa9sb4/s1600/P1040859.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Che, he is everywhere, but this is probably the biggest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Day 3 in Havana called for a visit to the Museo de la Revelocion to read about how Fidel, Che and Camilo delivered Cuba to freedom from the tyrant Bastila. The Museo is housed in the previous presidential palace where many generations ruled, up to Bastila and then Fidel! Even with the expected anti imperialism and viva la revelocion slant it was still interesting. However being government run, we were met yet again with the public sector customer service, which is in such stark contrast to how people treat us generally on the street and in privately run business. At trip to Cuba really is not an accurate reflection of the purple if you do not go to private accommodation and restaurants ( which sounds easier than it is, all hotels and most restaurants are state owned)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
After the museo we wandered around looking at some of the eclectic and magnificent architecture of downtown Havana. Typically the highlights were the people more than the architecture. One guy from a hole in the wall eatery which sold sandwiches (battered fish or hamburger) for 50c, he was friendly and had great English. We have been surprised how many people speak English, after reports that it was a hard country to travel in! </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
During our wandering we also happened across a work yard where they were restoring stream engines (looks like a bit of money is going into them), we wondered in and took a few photos for some particular family members. Satisfied with our wandering for the day we walk back to our casa via the rather long 'Malecon' to look at all the colonial magnificent buildings in various states of decay and restoration. The government, with help from UNESCO is spending a lot to restore these old buildings which would make the promenade quite a feature... well if they also did something about the exhaust fumes! Just as we were near the casa we stumbled across a band playing live music with quite a lot of people gathered around. From what a few very friendly locals have told us, today is some kind of special salsa day.</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
That night we again went in search and the (privately run) restaurant La Chansonnier mentioned in the age/smh article. We found it well hidden on the second floor of an amazing colonial building/house nestled in a residential area. A lot of restaurants/bars and shops in Vedado are located in colonial residential buildings. At first it seems like a quiet area with houses until you start to realise there are places dotted around everywhere. We only found the place because we knew the number and when we were out the front a guy asked if we were looking for a restaurant! he then led us in, and it felt like we were in on some kind of secret getaway. Inside it was fantastically restored with unattainably high ceilings and fantastic marble sills. The food was absolutely fantastic, Joss had prawns and an amazing $15 lobster tail, grilled and served with butter. Paul had Spicy Crab and Rabbit with fine herbs as a main, and afterwards we shared a special Cuban dessert called Flan, kind of like a pancotta, but made as large as a cake and served in slices. Delicious! Over the course of the evening we got chatting to our friendly waiter Humberto and to the only other 2 people eating; Richard (A cuban living in Florida who was part of the Peter Pan exit) and his partner Antonio (from Venice). Once we had finished Humberto offered us some complimentary aged 'Santiago de Cuba' rum served in a brandy balloon from his home town. After dinner the restaurant transformed into a bar, and Thursday nights was gay night, Humberto encouraged us to stay as his 'international friends', so we hung out and had some more drinks before heading back to the casa satisfied after a great night out.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byBL12t0U6k/UistK4_6fPI/AAAAAAAAm8E/hA8Y7yE11oc/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-byBL12t0U6k/UistK4_6fPI/AAAAAAAAm8E/hA8Y7yE11oc/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 'hyper realistic' wax sculpture of Che and ... in guerrilla gear</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5bwZLEGYCJE/UisrGBnhUiI/AAAAAAAAm7M/DgUZ5EiaLYU/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5bwZLEGYCJE/UisrGBnhUiI/AAAAAAAAm7M/DgUZ5EiaLYU/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The steam train yard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf51qBjdeM4/UissslmtArI/AAAAAAAAm70/UXAq_CchDas/s1600/P1040887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf51qBjdeM4/UissslmtArI/AAAAAAAAm70/UXAq_CchDas/s1600/P1040887.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A car broken down on the Malecon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H1F-_F8r4iY/Uissze4wiuI/AAAAAAAAm78/xgANp0rSYnI/s1600/P1040894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H1F-_F8r4iY/Uissze4wiuI/AAAAAAAAm78/xgANp0rSYnI/s1600/P1040894.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le Chansonnier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Final day of Havana part one was a bit unsuccessful, after planning to go to the Jazz Cafe for some live music we ended up spending a lot of time stuck in a spiral of yet again poor public customer service trying to; book bus tickets to our next destination, get money out, and change some flights - more on the details later but the head sales office closed at 2pm because the air con wasn't working... c'mon people it's the fucking Caribbean, surely your used to working hot weather! Certainly the rest of the country is!<br />
<br />
Anyway after abandoning the Jazz Cafe due to time constraints we looked for places closer to our Casa, which was also unsuccessful as when we arrived to what was described as a great live music venue, it was shut (perhaps the aircon was broken)! A little disappointed we decided to have a bit of dinner accompanied with mojitos and daquiries at Gringo Viejo ( or old gringo, after a movie with Gregory Peck, whom the owner had an uncanny resemblance) and hit the hay ready for our early morning trip to Santa Clara. It is worth noting that our host Eddie has ended up hooking us up with accommodation for the rest of our stay with his friends who have casa particulars in the various cities we wanted to visit in Cuba, very useful!</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com3Casa Eddie, Havana, Cuba23.136881362640477 -82.38959705119020823.135056362640476 -82.392118551190208 23.138706362640477 -82.387075551190208tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-42915977593667066062013-08-12T21:26:00.000-07:002013-09-11T05:50:44.032-07:00Playa Del Carmen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr">
So instead of staying at the very popular Cancun (where we flew in and will fly out of) we decided to stay at the slightly less popular, but nicer Playa Del Carmen an hour away. We conveniently arrived just in time for beer o'clock, so after dumping our bags we wandered along the main drag, 5th Avenue which is full of bars, restaurants and shops that sell all sorts of touristy wares. After some cooling Cerveza we enjoyed dinner at one of the many establishments which also had a travelling mariachi band drop in.<br />
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Next morning we jumped on a bus to Tulum to check out some Mayan ruins in a picturesque setting by a stunning Caribbean beach. The pictures better illustrate what it was like, however they still fall short of how beautiful it was. Our only complaint was, why do civilisations always build buildings that will become well surviving ruins in such hot places? They really aren't thinking of the tourists visiting 500+ years in the future.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
After returning we decided it was again time for beer o'clock, which comes around often on holidays. We ended up settling into a bar/pizza restaurant where we enjoyed a few cocktails again based on mezcal. They even made us a special cocktail the mezrioska (a caprioska made with mezcal). Over the course of the evening we got talking to a couple of the very friendly staff: Jaime(pronounced hay-me) from Oaxaca but had lived in Canada for 8 years and Victor (from Acupulco). They told us that Playa del Carmen really comes alive during Christmas and New Year and is the perfect time for (another) visit. All in all a pretty great day and night, 2 days just wasn't enough.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmLw4BPbyHQ/UipsRXWwBdI/AAAAAAAAm6U/C84_uIEaWUo/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmLw4BPbyHQ/UipsRXWwBdI/AAAAAAAAm6U/C84_uIEaWUo/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins at Tulum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8873TbTWqho/UipsZETIMqI/AAAAAAAAm6c/yPQqM0bVMzM/s1600/DSC_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8873TbTWqho/UipsZETIMqI/AAAAAAAAm6c/yPQqM0bVMzM/s1600/DSC_0087.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joss, not really showing how hot it was</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1NA43ZU5_GA/UiptMgBSftI/AAAAAAAAm6k/SzGi4PlRpaw/s1600/P1040779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1NA43ZU5_GA/UiptMgBSftI/AAAAAAAAm6k/SzGi4PlRpaw/s1600/P1040779.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul before melting later in the day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HsgCwy_TQNg/UiptmyejidI/AAAAAAAAm6w/T-KT0Vh9SOc/s1600/P1040786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HsgCwy_TQNg/UiptmyejidI/AAAAAAAAm6w/T-KT0Vh9SOc/s1600/P1040786.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The both of us... Paul is starting to melt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-No9beyrqfWE/UiptmvVFdQI/AAAAAAAAm6s/sTuy6kfAVCo/s1600/P1040798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-No9beyrqfWE/UiptmvVFdQI/AAAAAAAAm6s/sTuy6kfAVCo/s1600/P1040798.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the other side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com4Playa del Karma, Playa del Carmen20.629156964248544 -87.07269419919737220.628227964248545 -87.073954699197373 20.630085964248543 -87.071433699197371tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-39334044723946876542013-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:002013-09-10T05:20:44.859-07:00Mexico City Mexico<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After just getting over our jetlag we both had a very restless sleep worrying about waking up in time for our flight, and by the time we arrived in Mexico we were both buggered again! After an eventful ride to our hotel (Hotel Catedral) we had a sleep in order to be best prepared for our first outing in Mexico. On first impressions Mexico (and we mean Mexico city) felt a lot like a south east Asian city - traffic, chaos, street stalls, heat and lots of people. A little overwhelming on the first outing but you know you will love it! Our first evening was pretty much wandering around trying to get our bearings and looking at some of the old buildings around our hotel, one of which we discovered was the Palacio Nacional (although we could not find the entrance). We were then led into a restaurant where we had an acceptable meal with friendly service and local beers - Tecate (no Caronas in sight).</span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yT2CPKrTbL4/UipjKeqnu2I/AAAAAAAAm5Q/jhzPXskVzvQ/s1600/DSC_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yT2CPKrTbL4/UipjKeqnu2I/AAAAAAAAm5Q/jhzPXskVzvQ/s1600/DSC_0032.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Catedral, behind which our hotel was located</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Day 2 started a bit slowly and after struggling to find the and the entrance to the Palacio Nacional or the location of the metro station (Mexico is nearly add hard to get around as LA) we returned to the hotel to gather ourselves. On our way down in the elevator our spirits were lifted when an El Ni<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ñ</span>o started talking to us in Spanish. Unfortunately we couldn't understand him but when we got out a Porter told us he wanted to know where we were from, we told him, then we asked back and he told us he was on holidays from Acapulco. We then shook hands and went on our way. Re-invigorated by our little encounter we decided to wander to the close by Diego Rivera museum via a fantastic park in the middle of the city. After such a busy morning we decided we had earnt a sit down with a couple of beers and a snack - the special tacos, which we later read described as '¿super picante'. Delicious.<br />
<br />
After a revitalising break we visited the Belles Artes to see more Diego murals before making our way back to base via a $0.50c taco shop, what a great city! After a few beers on the rooftop terrace overlooking the city we headed to dinner at the nearby Cafe Tecuba, a popular Mexican eatery with the sounds of a 7 piece mariachi band. We had a great meal and enjoyed some cocktails, Paul tried a house specialty made with mezcal and pineapple... Delicious (again).</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WmVIZW0QcvA/Uipim88RwTI/AAAAAAAAm4w/-RcTbNMG20Y/s1600/DSC_0019_Trimmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WmVIZW0QcvA/Uipim88RwTI/AAAAAAAAm4w/-RcTbNMG20Y/s1600/DSC_0019_Trimmed.jpg" height="180" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diego's mural of influential people in Mexico</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HMieT47xrSE/UipjAH97knI/AAAAAAAAm5I/BPRDnuQ1gVU/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HMieT47xrSE/UipjAH97knI/AAAAAAAAm5I/BPRDnuQ1gVU/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Belles Artes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml3GbOEGRHY/UipkxE7GbyI/AAAAAAAAm58/pBp2MT9XAFs/s1600/P1040759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ml3GbOEGRHY/UipkxE7GbyI/AAAAAAAAm58/pBp2MT9XAFs/s1600/P1040759.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul just before tucking in to some 50c tacos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rLeRb6TZjyg/Uipi3nD2QrI/AAAAAAAAm44/ZYBELzcBBVU/s1600/P1040762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rLeRb6TZjyg/Uipi3nD2QrI/AAAAAAAAm44/ZYBELzcBBVU/s1600/P1040762.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rooftop terrace looking over Mexico City</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VDsE8qS6fb8/Uipi9GgnVkI/AAAAAAAAm5A/wRxPMR0BRIA/s1600/P1040766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VDsE8qS6fb8/Uipi9GgnVkI/AAAAAAAAm5A/wRxPMR0BRIA/s1600/P1040766.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a Mezcal cocktail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Day 3 and we decided to use the hop on hop off bus services to see a few of the sites around Mexico city: The Museo de Anthropologie to see the original Aztec calendar and a stop by the Chapultepec Castle, then onto Frida Kahlo's museum house where she grew up. Unfortunately due to our relaxed start we ended up getting to Frida Kahlo's museum too late and instead saw a lot of Mexican traffic! We have vowed off ground transport during peak hours! All was not lost however as after our arduous journey (in a very comfortable bus) we found a great little pizza bar in the Condesa district with cool music and our second variety of mezcal cocktail, this time with mint lime and lemonade with a salt and Mexican spiced rim, an even better way to enjoy mezcal than the night before!</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl2AzTcRrCU/UipkM1PtbdI/AAAAAAAAm5c/HU1XXpwGXKg/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl2AzTcRrCU/UipkM1PtbdI/AAAAAAAAm5c/HU1XXpwGXKg/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Museo de Anthropologie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kTwhjv6DBLc/UipkXmszfEI/AAAAAAAAm5s/d5j7iFxx9ug/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kTwhjv6DBLc/UipkXmszfEI/AAAAAAAAm5s/d5j7iFxx9ug/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aztec sun calendar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Day 4 and our final day in Mexico City, we decided to return to the Frida Kahlo museum and make it a proper visit, using the most reliable method... the metro. Once we found the elusive station located nearest our hotel we were set. The museum was fantastic, many of the rooms Diego kept preserved exactly as Frida had left them when she died. After the museum we headed back to the hotel for a rest (Paul was getting a touch of Mexican Man Flu) and to book the next part of our trip. Then we were off again to Condesa for another fantastic meal and mezcal cocktails at a pretty fancy place with an indoor garden. Our cab drive home was one of those little things that just capture why traveling is so good, the driver was a friendly older Mexican guy who didn't try to rip us off, but instead immediately turned the meter on. On the way home we/he listened to some great music with him tapping away on his steering wheel and teaching us a few key words of Spanish, all while we are driving through the happening and gritty parts of Mexico city. When he dropped us off we gave him a modest tip and he gave us one of those great big and genuine thankful smiles. It is the little moments like these that really can define how you feel about a city or place.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CY8eN1Ds5w/UipkW3sQ3pI/AAAAAAAAm5k/JjXubYbk4fs/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CY8eN1Ds5w/UipkW3sQ3pI/AAAAAAAAm5k/JjXubYbk4fs/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blue House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2J6Pytpl-AQ/UipkxP7ZBdI/AAAAAAAAm6A/ktuXjyp23Pg/s1600/DSC_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2J6Pytpl-AQ/UipkxP7ZBdI/AAAAAAAAm6A/ktuXjyp23Pg/s1600/DSC_0046.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frida's studio, as she left it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmYaFU_c-Pc/UipkjDNVR0I/AAAAAAAAm50/Dv59JNKgnPI/s1600/DSC_0051_Trimmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bmYaFU_c-Pc/UipkjDNVR0I/AAAAAAAAm50/Dv59JNKgnPI/s1600/DSC_0051_Trimmed.jpg" height="216" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the gardens of the Blue House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Morning of day 5 we had a bit of spare time before our flight to Cancun, the jumping off point for Cuba. We decided to try again to check out the Palacio Nacional to see some more of the large murals done by Diego Rivera. We found the entrance but it was guarded by 3 military guys with machine guns and we thought 'well that is a bit odd' (although not that odd there is a lot of security around everywhere). After asking one of the very friendly guards found out it was closed and had been for 3 months due to protests by the teachers union! Oh well next time.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
What we have realised: 4 days is not enough to see Mexico city! We feel like we have barely scratched the surface, so many more places to visit and food and drinks to enjoy. We missed out on going to a proper la mezcaleria... but these are all things for next time. The metro is definitely the way to travel, at only 3 pesos (30c) a trip and with trains every 3 minutes it is far easier than the bus or cab... if a little more crowded. Something that we enjoyed but I am sure locals would hate is the hawkers who jump on and of the trains blaring music out of backpacks in order to sell CDs, it certainly adds atmosphere to the journey.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0Hotel Catedral Mexico City19.43584722638256 -99.13302324495236919.435379226382558 -99.133653744952369 19.436315226382561 -99.132392744952369tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-11936849224613425292013-08-06T21:30:00.000-07:002013-09-10T05:19:00.507-07:00Los Angeles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr">
So after a long flight we touched down in sunny LA, the first stop on our Mexico-Cuba adventure. We wandered to the Farmers Market near our hotel the Beverley Laurel in Mid Town (don't let the fancy name fool you, it is simply a combination of the cross streets it is on). We could tell you more about the Farmers Markets if we bothered to read anything but we were stuffed and just needed some shut eye, which we succumbed to late afternoon. After a rest we walked to sample some delicious American IPAs with lobster and clam rolls at Connie and Ted's. Although enjoyable we decided walking was not the right way to go in getting around LA.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Next day we decided to venture further afield to downtown LA, which is going through somewhat of a revival. Although our first choice of transport was the bus we instead settled for a cab and had an eventful ride with a jerk driver who firstly did not know where a pretty main attraction was, but then proceeded to tell us that downtown was crap and we should go somewhere else if we're wanted to see LA. Although committed in his argument we decided to trust our instinct and that of the author of a great travel article on LA Paul read while waiting to see the doctor in South Yarra. Needless to say the guy was wrong, dickhead. We enjoyed a few of the sites in downtown including the Grand Central Market for some very tasty Mexican lunch and then onto the fashion district where were felt we were already in Mexico! Once we had our downtown fill we decided to get the bus to Beverley Hills, which although successful was a long trip with some pretty random characters, it seems if you can afford to buy a car in LA you do.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLy9HL08Bs8/UiV1Dvzt6JI/AAAAAAAAm38/0aONHHqgvqs/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLy9HL08Bs8/UiV1Dvzt6JI/AAAAAAAAm38/0aONHHqgvqs/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E00UGvCb9pQ/UiV1qLICGFI/AAAAAAAAm4E/zLZMwgKUWb4/s1600/P1040746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E00UGvCb9pQ/UiV1qLICGFI/AAAAAAAAm4E/zLZMwgKUWb4/s1600/P1040746.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stumbled upon Angel Park which appeared in a recent movie, 500 Days of Summer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">After the eventful bus we had a stroll around Beverley Hills and settled for a few half price cocktails at a great little bar in West Hollywood before wandering home (on foot). We then enjoyed a late night meal at the diner attached to our hotel before heading to bed ready for an early morning dash to the airport.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RYtq8E6i9M/UiV1trcVbPI/AAAAAAAAm4M/BriM4r0YSP8/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RYtq8E6i9M/UiV1trcVbPI/AAAAAAAAm4M/BriM4r0YSP8/s1600/DSC_0013.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2S50WadhSk/UiV1-dIrt4I/AAAAAAAAm4U/zUjHmIHG2m8/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2S50WadhSk/UiV1-dIrt4I/AAAAAAAAm4U/zUjHmIHG2m8/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying cocktails at West Hollywood</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com4Beveley Laurel Los Angeles34.075830112475678 -118.3644354343414334.075008112475679 -118.36569593434143 34.076652112475678 -118.36317493434143tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-45652964738830692472010-10-20T17:04:00.000-07:002013-07-27T01:16:02.972-07:00Santa Barbara<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Monday (18th) early AM we hopped on the #11 'Coast Starlight' train from Oakland headed for Santa Barbara. Although the train name promised coastal views it was not until the afternoon that we hit the really scenic parts. Again we booked roomette accommodation and happily spent the time playing Monopoly Deal and Skip Bo. In the afternoon however we took a break to do some wine and cheese tasting in the special first class parlour car where we tasted cheese and wine from Washington and California!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div>
Tuesday (19th) although we had a bit of an on off sunny rainy day we headed out to check out Santa Barbara. In the morning we took a stroll down and around the wharf and picked out our favourites from the many yachts and cruisers parked there. Afterward we took a stroll down state st, the main drag of Santa Barbara and down to the Court House, an impressive Spanish influenced building that is both a working courthouse and tourist attraction. After a bit of culture we then headed back down State st where we stumbled upon a local farmers market with loads of fresh fruit and vegetables, and seeing as we have been lacking in both decided to grab some fruit. This was however undone in our next destination - wine tasting in the Santa Barbara tasting room/bar for the local Kalyra vineyards. As soon as we walked in we noticed a few very Australian inspired sculptures sculptures and after asking found out that the owners were Aussies! (they live 35 min away at the vineyards). Not a bad way to spend our last full day of our adventure.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tomorrow we make our way back to reality via the #11 again down to Los Angeles. Till next time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6OkVsCYoI/AAAAAAAARmk/wOsTkm6fwGU/s1600/DSC_0285.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6OkVsCYoI/AAAAAAAARmk/wOsTkm6fwGU/s400/DSC_0285.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530014147405832834" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Okjz4_4I/AAAAAAAARms/4cQ8Zd7D2TM/s1600/DSC_0287.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Okjz4_4I/AAAAAAAARms/4cQ8Zd7D2TM/s400/DSC_0287.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530014151196868482" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGeg-boI/AAAAAAAARnc/HAq3Src8Y-o/s1600/P1040613.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGeg-boI/AAAAAAAARnc/HAq3Src8Y-o/s400/P1040613.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530016932914163330" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 225px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Down at the wharf</span></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Px-C2dcI/AAAAAAAARm4/qtCvMqxlgug/s1600/DSC_0298.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Px-C2dcI/AAAAAAAARm4/qtCvMqxlgug/s400/DSC_0298.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530015481088865730" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The courthouse tower</span></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Pyr6W9NI/AAAAAAAARnA/7b9o7324_6E/s1600/DSC_0302.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Pyr6W9NI/AAAAAAAARnA/7b9o7324_6E/s400/DSC_0302.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530015493401277650" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Inside the courthouse</span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGhlJUGI/AAAAAAAARnk/9MJ9-F5w8k0/s1600/P1040627.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGhlJUGI/AAAAAAAARnk/9MJ9-F5w8k0/s400/P1040627.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530016933736960098" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 225px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Farmers market!</span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6PyxSK2ZI/AAAAAAAARnI/T2wZ2sHnhRc/s1600/DSC_0312.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6PyxSK2ZI/AAAAAAAARnI/T2wZ2sHnhRc/s400/DSC_0312.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530015494843324818" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGzrysKI/AAAAAAAARns/bZBxzLMD5Eg/s1600/P1040629.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6RGzrysKI/AAAAAAAARns/bZBxzLMD5Eg/s400/P1040629.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530016938596675746" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 225px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tasting in the Kalyra bar/tasting room</span> </div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-28616554615923392092010-10-18T12:51:00.000-07:002010-10-19T23:12:52.783-07:00San Francisco<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Wednesday (13th) after arriving at our fantastic </span><a href="http://www.usahostels.com/sanfrancisco/index.html?lang=10"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Hostel</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" >, we got ourselves refreshed and headed out to see k-os (a hip-hop artist) Slim (a club) - good timing! One of the support acts was a rapper called 'Astronautilus' or Andy (it has to be noted that he was a white rapper, unlike the majority in his profession). Anyway he had great banter on stage and some very cool songs. After his set he came down to sign CDs etc and Joss had a bit of a chat with him. It started out with which was his best CD to get and went on to him telling her about his travel adventures and our trip on the trans-siberian and trans-continental...which at that point he told her his father worked on Amtrak!</span></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3xMZuvvoI/AAAAAAAARkY/efxc84Pk1h8/s1600/P1040514.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3xMZuvvoI/AAAAAAAARkY/efxc84Pk1h8/s400/P1040514.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529841112848514690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A crazy diner decorated for Halloween</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; ">Thursday (14th), we had a pretty leasurely day checking out some of the local sights. We walked to the Ferry building where we sampled one of the top sandwiches in San Francisco - that we found from the grubstreet San Francisco sandwich register online! Afterwards we wandered along the water and piers to Fisherman's wharf, which is actually a bit of a tourist trap. It feels like a theme park, but without the fun of rides! Instead it has lots of shops selling overpriced and mostly useless souvenirs and crap to tourists - mostly domestic we think. Even the surrounding streets had more of the same. American consumerism at it's very best. However, the wharf did provide some good view of Alcatraz and a little further away, the Golden Gate Bridge!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3y3gT8EzI/AAAAAAAARks/gc23gi4rhOg/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3y3gT8EzI/AAAAAAAARks/gc23gi4rhOg/s400/DSC_0217.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529842952861127474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Indulging at the Ferry Building</span><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3y3HfdgaI/AAAAAAAARkk/6FenE8gq8Po/s1600/DSC_0222.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL3y3HfdgaI/AAAAAAAARkk/6FenE8gq8Po/s400/DSC_0222.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529842946198569378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That is Alcatraz in the distance</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Friday (15th) we were off early for a wine tour of the Sonoma Valley. After collecting all of our participants we travelled North to cross the Golden Gate bridge. On board we had our great driver Mitch who knew Australia pretty well, a couple from Mississippi (Liz & David) who must have been Republican (no judgement), 2 young English guys (Muz & Joe), a young couple from Texas (Caitlin & Austin) and another young couple from New York (Heather & Trevor). Before going across we stopped to take in the view. Unfortunately for us, all that we could see was a wall of white fog, which was surprising considering how nice the day was. It seemed like localised fog covering just the bridge - we could not even see the top of the bridge poking out! It was so foggy that even when we crossed over you could barely see the bridge structure and it was only a few metres away! It seems that the fog is quite typical of San Francisco. Needless to say we were a bit disappointed as we were expecting it to be a great photo op, however we had more exciting things to look forward to. After crossing through the fog bridge we made a brief stop at Muir woods, a preserved red wood forest typical of what was abundant around the bay area before humans decided to cut it all down and build houses and the like. The trees were up to about 800 years old, and well they were pretty big, but we felt a little underwhelmed as it was pretty crowded and we kept comparing it to Yakushima in Japan.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31jtK-m6I/AAAAAAAARlI/uHmsTcPyH88/s1600/DSC_0230.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31jtK-m6I/AAAAAAAARlI/uHmsTcPyH88/s400/DSC_0230.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529845911250705314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31jAqMUQI/AAAAAAAARlA/lhFiKg7l46o/s1600/DSC_0233.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31jAqMUQI/AAAAAAAARlA/lhFiKg7l46o/s400/DSC_0233.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529845899302031618" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Muir woods</span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31ijwctsI/AAAAAAAARk4/bLJFUtWcl_c/s1600/DSC_0235.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL31ijwctsI/AAAAAAAARk4/bLJFUtWcl_c/s400/DSC_0235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529845891543643842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cafe in Sonoma where Paul had a fantastic smoked duck sandwich - awesome</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >After Muir woods and some lunch in Sonoma, we got down to the business end of things, the wine tasting. Unlike nearby Napa, Sonoma is closer to the coast and a little cooler so has a more diverse selection of wines. It is known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, as well as the big Cabernets like Napa. We visited three wineries, the first Larson estate, a family owned estate with a freindly boutique feel and some terrific wine. The second was Robledo family estate, owned by a Mexican migrant who started out working in the vineyards in Napa and moved up to own his own winery! This place was a bit bigger, and although it had nice wine did not have the same feel as Larson. Last but not least was Clarbec winery. We arrived at the vineyards to find Beckie (the wine maker) set up for tasting with a table in a clear area between the vines. She showed us the vines and the difference between the grapes that were ready for harvest and those not quite there. Of course we also got to taste her wines (in very generous quantities), and afterwards we drove to her nearby farmhouse so we could purchase some! It was by far the best wine tasting of the day, and perhaps one of the best we have done! After this winery we started to notice some of the first round wine tasters were getting quite tipsy (probably due to the generous helpings at the final winery), and afterwards Mitch told us that we were able to drink on the bus it made for a very enjoyable trip back to San Fran. After returning we all decided to carry on our own and head out to some dinner! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5__hcUhsI/AAAAAAAARlk/ioubCS4ETxE/s1600/DSC_0237.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5__hcUhsI/AAAAAAAARlk/ioubCS4ETxE/s400/DSC_0237.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529998121743189698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5__fDMFjI/AAAAAAAARlc/qVNElGCpJq0/s1600/DSC_0243.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5__fDMFjI/AAAAAAAARlc/qVNElGCpJq0/s400/DSC_0243.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529998121100908082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Outside and inside Robledo family estate</span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5_-6gXc0I/AAAAAAAARlU/8EJxTiO4tck/s1600/DSC_0247.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL5_-6gXc0I/AAAAAAAARlU/8EJxTiO4tck/s400/DSC_0247.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529998111291175746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6BJvEAA-I/AAAAAAAARl4/2vhiAmkq8XQ/s1600/DSC_0256.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6BJvEAA-I/AAAAAAAARl4/2vhiAmkq8XQ/s400/DSC_0256.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529999396709598178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6BJeh0c2I/AAAAAAAARlw/Y1zIc1x66Mg/s400/P1040534.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529999392271266658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tasting the Clarbec wines among the vines</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Saturday (16th), again another bit of lucky timing found us in San Fran at the same time that the Treasure Island music festival was on! We went along to see one of Paul's favourite groups Kruder & Dorfmeister, but the other highlight was Mike Snow. The festival itself was quite good, however it would have been much better had it not been so cold! Treasure island is a man made island in the middle of the bay, so it is low and flat and gets the breeze coming off the water all the time! Luckily though we had packed warm clothes so were pretty comfortable. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6ByIvf4HI/AAAAAAAARmI/cLwfCb2DF4U/s1600/P1040555.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6ByIvf4HI/AAAAAAAARmI/cLwfCb2DF4U/s400/P1040555.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530000090797695090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Bxx68KSI/AAAAAAAARmA/kpj-UbV1rqI/s1600/P1040558.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6Bxx68KSI/AAAAAAAARmA/kpj-UbV1rqI/s400/P1040558.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530000084671670562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paul and K&D on stage</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; ">Sunday (17th) we did some shopping and had a generally leisurely day wandering around some of the San Fran suburbs, including the historical Alamo area. We had fun in San Fran but could not help but notice the very large number of homeless people begging in the streets, not just the main drag but everywhere. Perhaps it is the effects of the recession but we were quite surprised to see so many of them around, and considering the U.S is the richest country per capita, you can't help but judge them on how they treat their poor in a city like this.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6CSe7VAxI/AAAAAAAARmY/Y49IM2yX8nY/s1600/DSC_0268.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6CSe7VAxI/AAAAAAAARmY/Y49IM2yX8nY/s400/DSC_0268.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530000646508708626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6CSN2VdII/AAAAAAAARmQ/Jt6w3No6aMs/s1600/P1040585.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TL6CSN2VdII/AAAAAAAARmQ/Jt6w3No6aMs/s400/P1040585.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530000641924363394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Alamo park and the famous painted ladies</span></span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-80756021318524873242010-10-13T18:49:00.000-07:002010-10-19T22:19:47.450-07:00The #5 'California Zephyr'<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><div style="text-align: left;">Monday (11th) after leaving Chicago we made our way to Union station for the longest train leg of our U.S.A trans-continental trip to Emeryville California (the stop for San Francisco). For this trip we had booked a room which was upstairs in the massive double decker Amtrak 'superliner' trains. The room was about double the size of the roomette we had on the previous trip and even had a shower and toilet, easily the most luxurious train accommodation we had our whole trip! Once aboard and on our way we were greeted by many announcements letting us know about our trip, however our favourite was from the conductor who told us 'we will be passing through the bread basket of America, the greatest country on earth!' It was absolutely golden! During the afternoon we made our way from Illinois state and a lot of corn fields, to Iowa state with even more cornfields! We crossed over the Mississippi river which was also the border on a rotating bridge built in 1892!</div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvKCGEfptI/AAAAAAAARi4/q5UuAodKbL8/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvKCGEfptI/AAAAAAAARi4/q5UuAodKbL8/s400/DSC_0138.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529235104865429202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvKCmGsxWI/AAAAAAAARjA/S5wBXQ05Dto/s1600/DSC_0140.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvKCmGsxWI/AAAAAAAARjA/S5wBXQ05Dto/s400/DSC_0140.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529235113464612194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJjt881uI/AAAAAAAARiw/UOt74hWErCQ/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJjt881uI/AAAAAAAARiw/UOt74hWErCQ/s400/DSC_0117.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529234582995261154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Our room, day and night configuration</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJi7dWfQI/AAAAAAAARig/KDsAkd1pbsE/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJi7dWfQI/AAAAAAAARig/KDsAkd1pbsE/s400/DSC_0102.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529234569440951554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >A draw bridge being built next to current older rotating one over the Mississippi.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJjXogiFI/AAAAAAAARio/IAV77sWxE0s/s1600/DSC_0111.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvJjXogiFI/AAAAAAAARio/IAV77sWxE0s/s400/DSC_0111.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529234577003939922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The sun sets over the Iowa cornfields</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Tuesday (12th) morning, we rose to find the train meandering through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado... we had crossed another border overnight! At first we saw small amounts of snow on the branches of the pine trees. Before long however this became quite a thick blanket on the ground and tracks, and it was falling! We also passed through the longest tunnel on the route; the 9.3 miile Moffat tunnel which takes about 11 minutes! Once through Moffat we made a stop at Fraser Colorado where we were able to get out and see the snow. It is worth a mention that we had only packed shorts and t-shirts for the train as we had not expected to be getting off anywhere!</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvK_71iKoI/AAAAAAAARjI/jLgn5hlc6fI/s1600/DSC_0128.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvK_71iKoI/AAAAAAAARjI/jLgn5hlc6fI/s400/DSC_0128.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529236167270214274" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Rockies!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvLAIaQRbI/AAAAAAAARjQ/Q-lvMPdnaYQ/s1600/DSC_0135.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvLAIaQRbI/AAAAAAAARjQ/Q-lvMPdnaYQ/s400/DSC_0135.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529236170645456306" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Fraser Colorado</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >After leaving Fraser the snow started to thin, and into the afternoon we continued to watch the scenery change before us, from the Rockies of Colorado to the canyons and desert of Utah! An amazing contrast in only a few hours. One we enjoyed all from the comfort of our room and dining car whilst enjoying some coffee, lunch, snacks and a game of cards or 20 (Monopoly Deal and Skip-Bo of course).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvNN1zWdpI/AAAAAAAARkE/H-v8NYMmrTs/s1600/P1040493.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvNN1zWdpI/AAAAAAAARkE/H-v8NYMmrTs/s400/P1040493.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529238605191870098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >After crossing the peak of the Rockies</span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMYC12I3I/AAAAAAAARjc/1_Jpn0a4kHM/s1600/DSC_0152.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMYC12I3I/AAAAAAAARjc/1_Jpn0a4kHM/s400/DSC_0152.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529237680979059570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Over the Rockies</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMYgapAPI/AAAAAAAARjk/sWHZF6GkbUI/s1600/DSC_0163.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMYgapAPI/AAAAAAAARjk/sWHZF6GkbUI/s400/DSC_0163.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529237688918016242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >And into Utah</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Wednesday (13th) morning we wake earlier (so we could get in line for breakfast in the dining car) to the sun rising over Nevada. It was not as stunning as Utah, but still a pretty impressive view. After breakfast we stopped in Reno where a volunteer from the California Railway Museum Sacremento got on and provided some commentary on the original Central Pacific railroad (the Western part of the trans-continental railroad) and the route it now takes. We travelled along the Truckee river into California and higher into the Sierra Nevada mountains where the most difficult and expensive section of the original railroad was built. With the advancement of tunneling the original route is no longer followed, although sections can be seen from the train as it makes its way through the mountains.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMY819Q1I/AAAAAAAARjs/hZIeIbKN1Cs/s1600/DSC_0166.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMY819Q1I/AAAAAAAARjs/hZIeIbKN1Cs/s400/DSC_0166.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529237696548782930" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The viewing car</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvNAl-nP_I/AAAAAAAARj8/ANvbSqYO_1s/s1600/DSC_0204.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvNAl-nP_I/AAAAAAAARj8/ANvbSqYO_1s/s400/DSC_0204.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529238377605840882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Donner Lake in the Sierra Nevada</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >A big part of all of our train travel was the meals (of course), and on the Amtrak trains these were surprisingly good. But the other interesting part of meal time is the conversations you have in the dining car with the people you share the table with. There are only 4 person booths in the dining car, so couples share with other couples to make the service run quicker for all. Because of this we had some very memorable conversations with fellow travellers! In particular there were a couple of sisters who had been catching the train home to Omaha from Chicago, where they had been to a TV show convention (Supernatural), a couple from Kansas who were also heading home from a holiday in Canadia, and Beth and Max, who were from Chicago going over to San Fran for a short break. Of course, we also had some more awkward meals but they were more than made up for by the good ones. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >We both think that it is safe to say that the California Zephyr was easily the most scenic of the trains we have caught so far. Crossing the U.S.A by train certainly gives you a pretty impressive glimpse into 'the greatest country on earth', which can be appreciated so much on the train. Combining this with the food, drink, and people we met, it is safe to say that overall our trip across the States was a very memorable one.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMr66nlrI/AAAAAAAARj0/tJlzjQWCP0s/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLvMr66nlrI/AAAAAAAARj0/tJlzjQWCP0s/s400/DSC_0192.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529238022448977586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >In the dining car</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">* Please note Joss did not wear the same shirt for 3 days in a row as the photos indicate! Rather the photos are all from the same day but they made sense in this order for the blog.</span></span></span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-41035168306886881042010-10-11T12:21:00.000-07:002010-10-17T20:53:08.468-07:00Chicago & The #49 'Lakeshore Limited'<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; ">Friday (8th) after saying our goodbyes to NY we boarded the #49 train from Penn Station to Chicago. For our first trip on Amtrak we had a roomette, which is bascically a small room that has 2 seats facing each other by day, at night a bed folds down from the wall and the 2 seats go together to form another. We immediately set ourselves up with music via our ipods and portable speakers, and newly purchased card games, Monopoly Deal and Skip-Bo (introduced to us by Emma) ready for our trip along the Hudson and New York state through to Chicago, a relatively short one at 19 hours.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZEIbDAvI/AAAAAAAARfg/b61CB3IDtwI/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZEIbDAvI/AAAAAAAARfg/b61CB3IDtwI/s400/DSC_0020.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527984995135849202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZEx7fr_I/AAAAAAAARfo/PuuHvwIxK94/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZEx7fr_I/AAAAAAAARfo/PuuHvwIxK94/s400/DSC_0022.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527985006277799922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our roomette and t</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ravelling past the Hudson up New York State</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Saturday (9th) after a very enjoyable trip we checked into our centrally located hotel and wandered around Chicago. We stumbled upon a great Cafe nearby where we went for lunch, Grand Cafe Lux. Judging by the lines it seemed to be a bit of a Chicago institution. After some more wandering we went out to dinner to the also close by House of Blues, a blues restaurant, bar and venue started by Blues Brothers star Dan Akroyd. It was fantastic, we feasted on southern delights of Gumbo, Jambalaya and Red Beans and rice, to the great sound of a blues duo on stage.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZ_rQ1vZI/AAAAAAAARf0/lxR2M1Q5NPs/s1600/DSC_0029.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdZ_rQ1vZI/AAAAAAAARf0/lxR2M1Q5NPs/s400/DSC_0029.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527986018100559250" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Grand Cafe Lux</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdaAnsWTpI/AAAAAAAARf8/jRMPR4d4waw/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdaAnsWTpI/AAAAAAAARf8/jRMPR4d4waw/s400/DSC_0035.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527986034322067090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Outside the House of Blues - no photos allowed inside unfortunately</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sunday (10th), keeping with our previous marine tradition, we headed out to the Shedd Aquarium, considered one of the best in the world (and yes for those interested Sydney Aquarium is also considered on that list). Afterwards we walked along the lake and through Chicago before heading out to dinner for some of the deep pan pizza at Pizza Uno for which Chicago is famous for. Pizza Uno also seemed to be a bit of an institution judging by the lines. The pizza was nice, but not really to our tastes, and very filling! Unfortunately that wrapped up our time in Chicago, a place we were immediately impressed with and wished we had more time to spend there. However we were also very excited to be getting ready for the next part of our journey, the train all the way from Chicago to Emeryville, running a similar line to the first trans continental railroad in the world.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb3YTst0I/AAAAAAAARgI/9ghYjKhSbfU/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb3YTst0I/AAAAAAAARgI/9ghYjKhSbfU/s400/DSC_0037.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527988074596579138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Chicago skyline</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb4NJjx7I/AAAAAAAARgQ/a6mM08UmFn0/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb4NJjx7I/AAAAAAAARgQ/a6mM08UmFn0/s400/DSC_0048.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527988088781129650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The impressive show inside the aquarium - in true American style (in a good way)!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb4q1_DWI/AAAAAAAARgY/AYUirgwLjYk/s1600/DSC_0073.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdb4q1_DWI/AAAAAAAARgY/AYUirgwLjYk/s400/DSC_0073.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527988096752094562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdtOu9OwcI/AAAAAAAARh4/uddSirw0ZC0/s1600/P1040465.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdtOu9OwcI/AAAAAAAARh4/uddSirw0ZC0/s400/P1040465.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528007167511019970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Downtown Chicago</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdd_mvxsdI/AAAAAAAARgk/36kkwVwlCNQ/s1600/DSC_0083.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdd_mvxsdI/AAAAAAAARgk/36kkwVwlCNQ/s400/DSC_0083.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527990414934651346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdeASPELiI/AAAAAAAARgs/ZDyq_3vIvbY/s1600/DSC_0088.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdeASPELiI/AAAAAAAARgs/ZDyq_3vIvbY/s400/DSC_0088.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527990426608610850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Deep pan pizza</span></span></div><div><br /></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-7734610335644330432010-10-07T12:17:00.000-07:002010-10-14T22:42:08.855-07:00New York<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqaNJMnFI/AAAAAAAARg4/UtQQQjb9Hjk/s1600/P1040372.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqaNJMnFI/AAAAAAAARg4/UtQQQjb9Hjk/s400/P1040372.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528004066057952338" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday (29th) after taking our first flight of the trip (and reminded why we are only taking 2) we touched down in NY and made our way to Tri's place in Williamsburg, a suburb of Brooklyn about 10 minutes from Manhattan on the subway. After meeting up we had a quick dinner close by with Tri and Andrea, who was also staying. Now, unfortunately Tri had recently broken his leg and so was on crutches, which meant he was not able to join us on some of our planned outings. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thursday (30th) we headed to Manhattan for our first taste of NYC and wandered around Soho and Chinatown, where we found the shopping a little irresistible...surprising considering neither of us could be described as shopaholics! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Friday (1st) another day exploring Manhattan, this time around the very touristy mid town, including Times Square, Broadway, Rockefeller and the Waldorf. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Lunch was also worth a mention - we had a fantastic sandwich from Num Pang. Joss had a veal meatball and Paul a pork belly and they were, in a word, impressive! The pork belly was listed in the </span><a href="http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/05/the_101_best_sandwiches_in_new.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">grubstreet top 101 sandwiches in NY</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Now we have to clarify here, a sandwich in NY is not the same as a sandwich in Australia. The ones we tried were served on sub-style rolls with fantastic warm toppings like pork belly, beef brisket, meatballs, marinated prawns, crab.. the list goes on. On Friday night we had more gastronomical delights in store. Tri had booked us into a great restaurant called </span><a href="http://www.bluehillfarm.com/food/blue-hill-new-york"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Blue Hill</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> for an early birthday celebration for Paul. The meal was great, with a lot of the ingredients coming from their own farm and others close by.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZrcmZ8I/AAAAAAAARcs/aJ0JfPyZtig/s1600/DSC_0882.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZrcmZ8I/AAAAAAAARcs/aJ0JfPyZtig/s400/DSC_0882.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526670349408036802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rockefeller</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZB_ad8I/AAAAAAAARck/yp_k_Ee9gk8/s1600/DSC_0874.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZB_ad8I/AAAAAAAARck/yp_k_Ee9gk8/s400/DSC_0874.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526670338279765954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Flatiron</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKy05jACjI/AAAAAAAARek/bdKHRV5Qlo0/s1600/P1040351.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKy05jACjI/AAAAAAAARek/bdKHRV5Qlo0/s400/P1040351.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526676314607585842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The wall of m&ms in the m&ms 'world'</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZyivk-I/AAAAAAAARc0/99BbbJKig4I/s1600/DSC_0883.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKtZyivk-I/AAAAAAAARc0/99BbbJKig4I/s400/DSC_0883.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526670351312851938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tri and Joss in Blue Hill</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Saturday (2nd) morning, all 4 of us went to the growers market in Union Square in Manhattan. As well as an abundance of fresh food they also had some art and general wares stores. After that we headed up through more market stalls which occupied closed off streets (in Manhattan!) up to the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, a very popular place for burgers and shakes. (Incidentally the shakes were $5, although that doesn't seem as big a deal these days as it was to John Travolta a while back in Pulp Fiction!) We waited in line for about 45 minutes for our burgers and shakes, which really were quite impressive. In the afternoon we headed back to Brooklyn, where Joss, Paul and Andrea headed out to the Brooklyn Brewery (Tri does not drink beer, and his injury made it difficult to have a whole day of walking). However we quickly abandoned the overcrowded and not terribly nice brewery for a quieter bar, where we had a few drinks then moved on to meet Tri for some more drinks and dinner.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKuoISjEeI/AAAAAAAARdA/GdurPLg-KAI/s1600/DSC_0903.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKuoISjEeI/AAAAAAAARdA/GdurPLg-KAI/s400/DSC_0903.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526671697180299746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKuogElsEI/AAAAAAAARdI/EMKXQfsaruI/s1600/DSC_0904.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKuogElsEI/AAAAAAAARdI/EMKXQfsaruI/s400/DSC_0904.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526671703564202050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKupMCRKiI/AAAAAAAARdQ/VDOSbY6O7qo/s1600/DSC_0946.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKupMCRKiI/AAAAAAAARdQ/VDOSbY6O7qo/s400/DSC_0946.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526671715365628450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Hanging in Brooklyn</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sunday (3rd) we were greeted with a nice sunny day so decided to walk across Brookyn Bridge and then up to China town for lunch and another sandwich/sub! After getting a taste for them we had to try another from the the top 101 list, this time from Banh Mi, a Vietnamese spicy chicken sandwich, and a worthy nominee! After lunch we made a quicker than intended visit to the Highline, a park that has been built on what was an old, raised railway track. Unfortunately we were running on a tight schedule so had to leave before we had enough time to explore it all. We then headed to Broadway to meet Andrea to see a show; Avenue Q, which is a musical with actors using muppets, a little confusing at first but quite funny. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxIRtEsiI/AAAAAAAARdc/3hP2qRkjCFU/s1600/DSC_1008.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxIRtEsiI/AAAAAAAARdc/3hP2qRkjCFU/s400/DSC_1008.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526674448486543906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Brooklyn Bridge</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKzBBWJSaI/AAAAAAAARes/iZhUMfiRozA/s1600/P1040367.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKzBBWJSaI/AAAAAAAARes/iZhUMfiRozA/s400/P1040367.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526676522859579810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Great Jazzy buskers at the Highline</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Monday (4th) Paul's Birthday! Although an overcast and drizzly day, we decided to go ahead with our plans anyway and go up to the viewing deck of the Empire State building. Although visibility was low, the lines were short, and still seeing the city under cloud cover was very impressive! For a late lunch we headed over to Chelsea (where we had been the previous day for the Highline) to a 1 Michelin star bar/restaurant called The Spotted Pig. We had nice leisurely late lunch. By the time we finished it was already getting late so we headed back to Brooklyn, but not before grabbing a couple of cup cakes from the nearby Magnolia's bakery (PM: Sarah we felt we had to make a trip on your behalf to give them a taste). Back in Brooklyn we headed out to Brooklyn Bowl with Tri and Andrea for some dinner, drinks and a game of Ten Pin! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKyiwKGlAI/AAAAAAAAReU/ou1cyGE1yC8/s1600/DSC_1099.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKyiwKGlAI/AAAAAAAAReU/ou1cyGE1yC8/s400/DSC_1099.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526676002849592322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Empire State building - this shot was taken on a different day to when we went to the top</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxIvrh28I/AAAAAAAARdk/udJni66I9sk/s1600/DSC_1025.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxIvrh28I/AAAAAAAARdk/udJni66I9sk/s400/DSC_1025.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526674456533130178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">From the top</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxJR8CN5I/AAAAAAAARds/kbaBJqZHWdY/s1600/DSC_1033.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKxJR8CN5I/AAAAAAAARds/kbaBJqZHWdY/s400/DSC_1033.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526674465729165202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Spotted Pig</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKx5YK7fQI/AAAAAAAARd0/W9SDGWXrDCI/s1600/DSC_1043.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKx5YK7fQI/AAAAAAAARd0/W9SDGWXrDCI/s400/DSC_1043.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526675292035972354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Proof we went to Magnolia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKx507xLOI/AAAAAAAARd8/WSYDHiq859c/s1600/DSC_1049.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKx507xLOI/AAAAAAAARd8/WSYDHiq859c/s400/DSC_1049.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526675299757010146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKupMCRKiI/AAAAAAAARdQ/VDOSbY6O7qo/s1600/DSC_0946.JPG"></a><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Happy Birthday to me!</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday (5th) on a similar line to the sandwiches we headed to Soho to have a proper street cart burrito New York style from Calexico, which is regarded as the best street vendor in NY. They have even expanded and opened a restaurant! With very satisfied and full bellies (and a taste for more burritos) we headed south to take the Staten Island Ferry for a view of the famous Statue. Although to be honest, it wasn't as impressive as we thought, perhaps because the waters surrounding NY are busy with docks and freight ships. Afterwards we took another trip to Midtown to hang around, and much to our surprise a little more shopping (we are worried and seeking medical attention fo the sudden onset of this condition). For dinner we got Pizza from Fornino in Brooklyn which had previously been voted best pizza in NY, and it was pretty good. Not like the horror stories of USA pizzza we had heard!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqa2dubXI/AAAAAAAARhA/_HzS21oq5iA/s1600/P1040386.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqa2dubXI/AAAAAAAARhA/_HzS21oq5iA/s400/P1040386.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528004077149908338" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqbz-pLEI/AAAAAAAARhI/DqEfRaspC9w/s1600/P1040397.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdqbz-pLEI/AAAAAAAARhI/DqEfRaspC9w/s400/P1040397.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528004093662538818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The statue and on the ferry</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKyiMUVsFI/AAAAAAAAReE/L7yFAzltUys/s1600/DSC_1094.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKyiMUVsFI/AAAAAAAAReE/L7yFAzltUys/s400/DSC_1094.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526675993228849234" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Around Times Square</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday (6th) morning Joss went to the Guggenheim museum whilst Paul hung about in Brooklyn in the morning. We met in midtown and had a diner lunch, which felt very authentic. During the evening all four of us went out to see a band called !!! (pron. chk chk chk) at a venue nearby in Brooklyn. Afterwards we both discovered that the local deli also made great sandwiches (although sadly none made the top 101)!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thursday (7th) our last full day, and a fantastically sunny one, Paul was unfortunately sick, so had to stay home! Joss and Andrea took advantage of the great weather and went to Central Park, 5th Avenue and the Strand, a massive second hand bookshop. For out last night we all headed out (Paul had recovered) for dinner at a local tapas place for once again some great food.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdrzfHwDFI/AAAAAAAARhU/0g104AxCdNI/s1600/P1040406.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdrzfHwDFI/AAAAAAAARhU/0g104AxCdNI/s400/P1040406.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528005599892081746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Guggenheim museum</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdr0kGUvMI/AAAAAAAARhc/b4qAC92U1qw/s1600/P1040408.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdr0kGUvMI/AAAAAAAARhc/b4qAC92U1qw/s400/P1040408.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528005618408144066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdr1ko8B5I/AAAAAAAARhk/dIyweqbzx0g/s1600/P1040428.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLdr1ko8B5I/AAAAAAAARhk/dIyweqbzx0g/s400/P1040428.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528005635733194642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small; ">Central Park</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKy0p5O7tI/AAAAAAAARec/3j8e5V3LIVY/s1600/DSC_1100.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKy0p5O7tI/AAAAAAAARec/3j8e5V3LIVY/s400/DSC_1100.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526676310405869266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Andrea and Joss at Tapas</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Friday (8th) morning before saying goodbye to NY we went to a local cafe called Egg for breakfast, where Paul was able to try another of the sandwiches from the top 101 list (PM: however I had reservations about his one, it was a biscuit with ham and fig jam and a side of grits.... and was disappoiting, perhaps an aquired taste)</span></div><div><br /></div></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLKupMCRKiI/AAAAAAAARdQ/VDOSbY6O7qo/s1600/DSC_0946.JPG"><br /></a></div></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-58934673554810552552010-09-29T21:07:00.000-07:002010-10-14T11:21:18.861-07:00U.K With a Paris Sample<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Thursday (23rd) morning after a rather uneventful overnight train ride from Trento to Paris (the only exception when a couple of older Phillipino women tried to do a runner without paying in the dining car!) we arrived in Paris a little later than expected partly due to a rail strike in Paris. With only a short amount of time we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower and then wander along the river to the Louvre. We then headed back for our Eurostar to London, quite excited to be heading to an English speaking country after about a year. For our first few nights we stayed with Ruben, Emma's partner, who lives quite close to St Paul's in the centre of London. As we were both pretty well aquainted with London, we weren't really planning much sight seeing but rather catching up with friends and relaxing. After a pretty long day of travel and wandering in Paris we spent the first night in with some of the English national food which we had missed whilst being away - curry! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKteLD2x-0I/AAAAAAAARbQ/bswOvw3H-uE/s1600/DSC_0797.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKteLD2x-0I/AAAAAAAARbQ/bswOvw3H-uE/s400/DSC_0797.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524612912006691650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This one is pretty obvious</span></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3gumqadI/AAAAAAAARb4/-Lu1vrOxdkk/s1600/P1040325.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3gumqadI/AAAAAAAARb4/-Lu1vrOxdkk/s400/P1040325.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526259253165844946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Some Americans said that this was in some Da Vinci movie, so we took a photo out the front</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3g2BeWPI/AAAAAAAARcA/DQRqPtSuSyc/s1600/P1040331.JPG"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Friday ( 24th) Joss went to meet a work friend from her London days Becky, and Paul went to meet a work mate Sharon who moved from Sydney to London. We reconvened and headed out with Ruben for dinner at St John's bread and wine restaurant, with the theme being nose to tail eating. It was fantastic! . </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Saturday ( 25th) Ruben took us for a drive in his Jag out to Oxford where we wandered around the town and felt very academic, although not as much as the Oxford students who were actually graduating that day. That night we went out to a bit of dinner at an old favourite of Joss' in Covent Garden called Thai Pot, which was just as good as Joss' memory of it was. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3g2BeWPI/AAAAAAAARcA/DQRqPtSuSyc/s1600/P1040331.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3g2BeWPI/AAAAAAAARcA/DQRqPtSuSyc/s400/P1040331.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526259255157348594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Having a Guinness in Covent Garden</span></div></span></span></span></div></span></span></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLEJ0K_ahtI/AAAAAAAARbc/U2QZ2zJPt6Q/s1600/DSC_0812.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLEJ0K_ahtI/AAAAAAAARbc/U2QZ2zJPt6Q/s400/DSC_0812.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526209009668490962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLEKJxe4fVI/AAAAAAAARbk/6vXUBAYpGdE/s1600/DSC_0816.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLEKJxe4fVI/AAAAAAAARbk/6vXUBAYpGdE/s400/DSC_0816.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526209380778278226" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In St John's</span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3hMws2QI/AAAAAAAARcI/NdQXuYKn664/s1600/P1040338.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLE3hMws2QI/AAAAAAAARcI/NdQXuYKn664/s400/P1040338.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526259261261011202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oxford</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><div style="text-align: left; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Sunday (26th) we met up with a few of Joss' mates from her time in London (and who still live there): Gemma, Peta, and her husband Quin for a late roast, catch up and a few ales. Afterwards we headed out to Mick and Liv's place in Wokingham, West of London, where they moved to about 6 months ago from Springwood.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Monday (27th) Joss headed to Kensington for a bit of a catch-up over lunch with her old workmates from the Mail on Sunday newspaper. Back in Wokingham Paul and Liv went to the local pub to keep the seats warm for when Mick finished work. Tuesday (28th) Mick took the day off work and we all went to another local pub with the dogs and spent the afternoon in the sun.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Wednesday (29th) we said goodbye to London and Europe for our first flight of the trip to New York!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div></div></span></span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLELSPtPLQI/AAAAAAAARbs/V8s6uYpGIic/s1600/DSC_0835.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TLELSPtPLQI/AAAAAAAARbs/V8s6uYpGIic/s400/DSC_0835.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526210625842130178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Mick and Liv at the local</span></span></div><div><br /></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-79185107286582598372010-09-23T16:14:00.000-07:002010-10-10T16:59:53.013-07:00Italy Roundup<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is a bit of a fill the gaps blog of the things we did whilst we were staying in Trento between our trips away to Rome, Tuscany and Cinque Terre/Lake Como. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mostly we were happy to just hang around and relax from our travels and eat, drink and soak up the very favourable Italian lifestyle. One of our favourite restaurants and which is also Emma's favourite, was Tre Garofani and we went on our first night in Trento and also our last! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We also took a day trip to Bologna which was where Emma used to live and Joss had spent a fair bit of time. We had a great feast for lunch and wandered around the markets and shops getting supplies for some cooking at home. Actually </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Paul did a fair bit of cooking whilst we had a base and kitchen! (PM: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">cooking with fresh local ingredients </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">was fantastic, I even made pasta 3 times, although only one could be considered a success)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Luckily for us, the timing of our weekend stays coincided with both a medieval festival and a food festival (well the first weekend anyway - the food festival ran for 4!) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The medieval festival included people dressed up in historic garb, archery, flag twirling, and lots of drums. As the majority of it took place in the main square, we enjoyed it from the comfort of the balcony.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">food festival was a bunch of semi permanent tents set up in a piazza about 5 min walk from the apartment. In the main tent a different local restaurant would cook lunch and dinner. It was a good way to try different foods and restaurants from around the region! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNfjn7SEI/AAAAAAAARa0/4kIUCvPZw4E/s1600/P1040132.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNfjn7SEI/AAAAAAAARa0/4kIUCvPZw4E/s400/P1040132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524594572434032706" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJX-E9k1I/AAAAAAAARZ0/UOM80gYw1bM/s1600/DSC_0580.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJX-E9k1I/AAAAAAAARZ0/UOM80gYw1bM/s400/DSC_0580.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524590044049675090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trento, by the river and from the top of the cable car</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKVX50QhpmI/AAAAAAAARYo/wxlIR6ZsBzM/s1600/DSC_0329.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKVX50QhpmI/AAAAAAAARYo/wxlIR6ZsBzM/s400/DSC_0329.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522917168831899234" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bologna, looking through a window in the wall </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNgAF2dFI/AAAAAAAARa8/ldZM6E4AfoE/s1600/P1040221.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNgAF2dFI/AAAAAAAARa8/ldZM6E4AfoE/s400/P1040221.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524594580075738194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Shopping for supplies</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJYkbbKFI/AAAAAAAARaE/zSSRv2zZHMY/s1600/DSC_0604.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJYkbbKFI/AAAAAAAARaE/zSSRv2zZHMY/s400/DSC_0604.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524590054344435794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Making fresh pasta... well just made</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKVX6ZThqbI/AAAAAAAARY4/r1qlQbT-rE4/s1600/DSC_0341.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKVX6ZThqbI/AAAAAAAARY4/r1qlQbT-rE4/s400/DSC_0341.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522917178776594866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Looking out into the square with the festivities</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJYK_eVKI/AAAAAAAARZ8/yRKdlypIKl0/s1600/DSC_0583.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtJYK_eVKI/AAAAAAAARZ8/yRKdlypIKl0/s400/DSC_0583.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524590047516316834" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The food festival tent</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLOWWby_I/AAAAAAAARaQ/Yn15XdBZViQ/s1600/DSC_0654.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLOWWby_I/AAAAAAAARaQ/Yn15XdBZViQ/s400/DSC_0654.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524592077789973490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trento castle</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtN0xmjJzI/AAAAAAAARbE/jcn1yqO758g/s1600/P1040275.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtN0xmjJzI/AAAAAAAARbE/jcn1yqO758g/s400/P1040275.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524594936963606322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Joss and Emma taking a drive</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLPKnbbwI/AAAAAAAARaY/MXHvRSy9NkY/s1600/DSC_0686.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLPKnbbwI/AAAAAAAARaY/MXHvRSy9NkY/s400/DSC_0686.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524592091819896578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNfLBF3qI/AAAAAAAARas/VzZgQ3AoW6k/s1600/DSC_0718.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtNfLBF3qI/AAAAAAAARas/VzZgQ3AoW6k/s400/DSC_0718.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524594565828697762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLsE5IUlI/AAAAAAAARag/gojlgPEJS9I/s1600/DSC_0692.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKtLsE5IUlI/AAAAAAAARag/gojlgPEJS9I/s400/DSC_0692.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524592588499735122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Final dinner at Tre Garofani</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Overall we both loved Italy, which was no real surprise to either of us (particularly Joss as it was her 4th trip!) There is no doubt we will return again!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Our Top Italian ...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>PM<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>JH</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Coffee </b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Espresso @ </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sant' </span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Macchiato @ </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Sant' </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Eustachio<span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Eustachio</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Gelato</b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ricotta & Pistacio @<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Caffe & Ricotta @ </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.ciuri-ciuri.it/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ciuri Ciuri</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in Rome<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><a href="http://www.ciuri-ciuri.it/">Ciuri Ciuri</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">in Rome</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Pizza</b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> For both: Local wood fired in Trento </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (we didn't have a lot of pizza)</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Pasta</b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Spagetti carbonara @<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Seafood & Tomato @ </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.ristorantemaccheroni.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Maccheroni</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Rome<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Cinque </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Terre</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Meal</b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Tre Garafoni in </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; white-space: pre; ">Undecided - </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Trento<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> - </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; white-space: pre; ">last night. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; white-space: pre; ">too many to choose</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Wine</b></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> For both: Sommarovina</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nebiollo @ the wine bar</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "> in</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; ">Lake Como</span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-61910484528875140432010-09-17T19:34:00.000-07:002010-09-30T20:09:50.929-07:00Rome<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Monday (13th) we decided to take the early and direct train from Trento to Rome, and were lucky enough to be greeted with fantastic 28 degree and sunny weather! After checking into our hostel, we still had better part of a fantastic Autumn day at our disposal, so decided to take a look at one of the quintessential sites of Rome; the Colosseum. Needless to say it is a very impressive site, and of course very crowded - however we resisted the temptation to take a tour being offered out the front which would guarantee skipping the supposedly 40min lines which in reality only took 20ish. After a good look at where Russell Maximus fought it out those many years ago, we wandered around the main centre of Rome and saw the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Needing a bit of a rest we took a walk up the hill to the park surrounding Villa Borghese and we sat around on the grass reading & taking in the view of Rome. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCQeosTjUI/AAAAAAAARUw/ALjSHCQvDv8/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCQeosTjUI/AAAAAAAARUw/ALjSHCQvDv8/s400/DSC_0368.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521571999149952322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCQewdlj-I/AAAAAAAARU4/vTLtNmL_TbU/s1600/DSC_0378.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCQewdlj-I/AAAAAAAARU4/vTLtNmL_TbU/s400/DSC_0378.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521572001235701730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Colosseum</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCSGdRg4kI/AAAAAAAARVE/MxLlGxOYhew/s1600/DSC_0395.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCSGdRg4kI/AAAAAAAARVE/MxLlGxOYhew/s400/DSC_0395.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521573782791184962" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJNEh1-rgI/AAAAAAAARWw/qbWaRHFherI/s1600/DSC_0482.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJNEh1-rgI/AAAAAAAARWw/qbWaRHFherI/s400/DSC_0482.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522060833309240834" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Piazza del Popolo</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCSGuGHDPI/AAAAAAAARVM/ipOB2WC9WMg/s1600/DSC_0406.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCSGuGHDPI/AAAAAAAARVM/ipOB2WC9WMg/s400/DSC_0406.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521573787306757362" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCTe9R38bI/AAAAAAAARVY/1YAUdL1gUIY/s1600/P1040248.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCTe9R38bI/AAAAAAAARVY/1YAUdL1gUIY/s400/P1040248.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521575303211119026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trevi Fountain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday (14th) with our Colosseum tickets still valid and enabling entry to the other historic sites, it seemed rude not to go to the Roman ruins of Palatine Hill & the Roman Forum a bit of a look also. Although we are not well versed in the specifics of Roman history, we found the ruins to be a great way to spend the morning. We found them more impressive perhaps than the Colosseum itself - maybe it was because there were less people and more of an opportunity to imagine wandering around in the same spot 2000 years earlier?</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After our busy morning we wandered around some more before our first visit to what is regarded by many as the best coffee in Rome (if not the world if you ask an Italian!), cafe Sant' Eustachio. We just had a quick espresso at the bar, but must have seen 30 coffees go out in the 5 minutes we were there! The place is busy all the time, and for good reason!</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPoNCmU_I/AAAAAAAARVw/fGACSGOVgEM/s1600/DSC_0424.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPoNCmU_I/AAAAAAAARVw/fGACSGOVgEM/s400/DSC_0424.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521711801502684146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPozLtt2I/AAAAAAAARWA/7JBXmSfodJM/s1600/DSC_0435.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPozLtt2I/AAAAAAAARWA/7JBXmSfodJM/s400/DSC_0435.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521711811741464418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPotRn6EI/AAAAAAAARV4/Tc3vqxrGJ4s/s1600/DSC_0433.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKEPotRn6EI/AAAAAAAARV4/Tc3vqxrGJ4s/s400/DSC_0433.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521711810155636802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">The ruins</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERykUGvYI/AAAAAAAARWM/vAhm0MlHc-4/s1600/DSC_0448.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERykUGvYI/AAAAAAAARWM/vAhm0MlHc-4/s400/DSC_0448.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521714178572074370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Palazzo Doria Pamphilj</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERzGf0utI/AAAAAAAARWU/gXQ1KH1iGMw/s1600/DSC_0459.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERzGf0utI/AAAAAAAARWU/gXQ1KH1iGMw/s400/DSC_0459.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521714187748031186" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cafe Sant' Eustachio</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERzf2B6nI/AAAAAAAARWc/8t9diZkZdeE/s1600/DSC_0474.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKERzf2B6nI/AAAAAAAARWc/8t9diZkZdeE/s400/DSC_0474.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521714194552056434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Piazza Navona</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJNETJBiCI/AAAAAAAARWo/7hBXybQ9Yao/s1600/DSC_0477.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJNETJBiCI/AAAAAAAARWo/7hBXybQ9Yao/s400/DSC_0477.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522060829362587682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The cliched Vespa shot</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday (15th) the Vatican! Of course a visit to Rome isn't complete without taking a trip to see the city state that is the Vatican, which of course also means taking a gander at what the Vatican Museum has to offer, including the Sistine chapel. Needless to say it was all very impressive. That Michalangelo was pretty handy with a brush, it is hard to imagine painting it all when even looking up at the ceiling for 10 - 15 minutes started to strain our necks! After the museum we headed to St Peter's, which proudly displays the spoils of the richest organisation in the world. Very impressive! We also decided that a climb to the cupola (dome) was in order, and got a fantastic view across Rome.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After a few rather low key dinners, we headed out to Maccheroni on Emma's recommendation. It was fantastic and, unsurprisingly, we got carried away and ordered far too much food. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJP5F2ra_I/AAAAAAAARXM/5qVE7Dc1a_s/s1600/DSC_0514.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJP5F2ra_I/AAAAAAAARXM/5qVE7Dc1a_s/s400/DSC_0514.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522063935352302578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJP4ABpcLI/AAAAAAAARW8/Ywd3gF9ltis/s1600/DSC_0509.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJP4ABpcLI/AAAAAAAARW8/Ywd3gF9ltis/s400/DSC_0509.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522063916607828146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The map room, we thought the best room of the Vatican museum</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><br /></u></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUrQ7nNdI/AAAAAAAARXg/nc5fb1feAkc/s1600/DSC_0536.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUrQ7nNdI/AAAAAAAARXg/nc5fb1feAkc/s400/DSC_0536.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522069195365758418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The view from the top of St Peter's</span><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUq_0pr-I/AAAAAAAARXY/7Tn7I9yklJs/s1600/DSC_0524.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUq_0pr-I/AAAAAAAARXY/7Tn7I9yklJs/s400/DSC_0524.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522069190773157858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Inside St Peter's</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUr5MJ49I/AAAAAAAARXo/cmHADKJ0Ss0/s1600/DSC_0563.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKJUr5MJ49I/AAAAAAAARXo/cmHADKJ0Ss0/s400/DSC_0563.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522069206172558290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paul with proper Roman style spaghetti carbonara - the only ingredients are eggs, bacon and cheese.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thursday (16th). After a few days of sightseeing we decided to take have an easy day of shopping, wandering, and hanging about followed by some aperitifs and a nice pasta dinner at Tritore, another recommendation. </span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-4705697256560470552010-09-10T22:38:00.000-07:002010-09-30T19:25:31.507-07:00Agriturismo - Tuscany<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u></u></span></div><span><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday ( 7th) to Friday (10th) we spent at an agriturismo in Tuscany, a very generous present from Joss' sister for her birthday, graduation, Christmas and possibly every future event until the end of at least this century. 'Agriturismo' stands for agricultural tourism and is basically a visit to a farm/vineyard. The kinds of places you can stay vary, but many include food, which is cooked using local produce. We were especially looking forward to tasting the local wine!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After a slightly nervous drive from Florence in our hired Fiat Punto (PM: the first time I had driven on the right hand side of the road), we got to relax for 3 nights and days doing a whole lot of relaxing, eating and drinking wine. Some of the things that were included in the package was wine spa bath (with music by Beethoven to set the mood), a tour of the vineyards and winery where they made fantastic chianti, and a cooking course with the resident chef. Needless to say, we had a fantastic time. The highlight was easily the cooking course, which was unfortunately on the Friday, which meant that Paul could not indulge in the ample wine on offer during the cooking and at lunch because he had to drive back to Florence. We cooked panzanela (a bread salad) , fresh pasta with a sausage meat and tomato sauce, roasted pork with a pepper and cream sauce and tiramisu for dessert. Fantastic!</span></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKu_OtzJI/AAAAAAAARTQ/fJNyLtjskok/s1600/DSC_0257.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKu_OtzJI/AAAAAAAARTQ/fJNyLtjskok/s400/DSC_0257.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521565683007999122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></u></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, serif; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5_svR1I/AAAAAAAART8/LnGRYhEAvpU/s1600/DSC_0313.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5_svR1I/AAAAAAAART8/LnGRYhEAvpU/s400/DSC_0313.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521568071135741778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></u></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span><span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></u></span></span></span></span></div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Casa del Vento</span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span><span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></u></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKvWcJQAI/AAAAAAAARTg/tUX2WT9fH1Q/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKvB8YXSI/AAAAAAAARTY/Zk88q6ovo7U/s1600/DSC_0270.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKvB8YXSI/AAAAAAAARTY/Zk88q6ovo7U/s400/DSC_0270.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521565683736403234" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></u></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-size: 16px; "><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKvWcJQAI/AAAAAAAARTg/tUX2WT9fH1Q/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCKvWcJQAI/AAAAAAAARTg/tUX2WT9fH1Q/s400/DSC_0276.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521565689238339586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></u></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The sangiovese vines</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5flL3HI/AAAAAAAARTs/9X8zM_Wx-a4/s1600/DSC_0293.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5flL3HI/AAAAAAAARTs/9X8zM_Wx-a4/s400/DSC_0293.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521568062514125938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></u></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The view from our room</span><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5tJ4c6I/AAAAAAAART0/1XZXh6quWeY/s1600/DSC_0295.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCM5tJ4c6I/AAAAAAAART0/1XZXh6quWeY/s400/DSC_0295.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521568066157704098" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The restaurant, an old wine cellar</span><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></u></span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOLahXCDI/AAAAAAAARUI/1IfZlyXubTk/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOLahXCDI/AAAAAAAARUI/1IfZlyXubTk/s400/DSC_0316.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521569469905176626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Very friendly owner's dog</span><br /></span></span><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOLuPzr3I/AAAAAAAARUQ/_Z5RnXr1Usg/s1600/P1040201.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOLuPzr3I/AAAAAAAARUQ/_Z5RnXr1Usg/s400/P1040201.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521569475200266098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tiramisu</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOL-19tII/AAAAAAAARUY/KxGfW1YdsNs/s1600/P1040206.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCOL-19tII/AAAAAAAARUY/KxGfW1YdsNs/s400/P1040206.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521569479655273602" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></u></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Our hand made pasta</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCPQSRBcxI/AAAAAAAARUk/5I71EBPsVZQ/s1600/P1040212.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCPQSRBcxI/AAAAAAAARUk/5I71EBPsVZQ/s400/P1040212.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521570653100143378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The students<br /></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TKCPQSRBcxI/AAAAAAAARUk/5I71EBPsVZQ/s1600/P1040212.JPG"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-86757940145734114642010-09-05T22:30:00.000-07:002010-09-22T07:08:21.138-07:00Cinque Terre - Milan - Lake Como<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday (31st) we took the train (well 4 actually) to Vernazza in Cinque Terre, which is a group of 5 towns (the translation is literally 5 towns) on the North west coast of Italy and is a popular destination for Italians and foreigners alike. There is a walking track between the towns, and as they are built on hills overlooking the sea, some of it can be a little tough going. For the first day we were happy to wander around Vernazza before a few pre-dinner drinks in the main square and some dinner. Wednesday (1st) we walked between the 5 towns, first from Vernazza to Montorosso (the most northern town), then we caught the train to Riomaggiore (the southern most town) and from there we walked back to Vernazza via Monterola and Corniglia, which all up took around 5 - 6 hours. We definitely deserved a few beers at the end once we made it back to Vernazza!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTulKb_bI/AAAAAAAARQg/xxHuLa_xjHY/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTulKb_bI/AAAAAAAARQg/xxHuLa_xjHY/s400/DSC_0065.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519394140545875378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVUGbsDVI/AAAAAAAARQ8/X3cBGu4-CAs/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVUGbsDVI/AAAAAAAARQ8/X3cBGu4-CAs/s400/DSC_0089.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519395884643388754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The view from our accommodation, day and night</span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTvMZcZGI/AAAAAAAARQo/oHvjnuPuJ_0/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTvMZcZGI/AAAAAAAARQo/oHvjnuPuJ_0/s400/DSC_0071.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519394151077799010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Vernazza</span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX0501DFI/AAAAAAAARRg/QKvaWUWYc-Y/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX0501DFI/AAAAAAAARRg/QKvaWUWYc-Y/s400/DSC_0136.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519398647218113618" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Vernazza from the south side</span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX1EFc-hI/AAAAAAAARRo/55JUsFvUFxI/s1600/DSC_0147.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX1EFc-hI/AAAAAAAARRo/55JUsFvUFxI/s400/DSC_0147.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519398649972193810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX0501DFI/AAAAAAAARRg/QKvaWUWYc-Y/s1600/DSC_0136.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTvghVb6I/AAAAAAAARQw/VUBpjEZEr3c/s1600/DSC_0080.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjTvghVb6I/AAAAAAAARQw/VUBpjEZEr3c/s400/DSC_0080.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519394156479606690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJoJKXapIWI/AAAAAAAARSs/7NonLId85bo/s1600/P1040162.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJoJKXapIWI/AAAAAAAARSs/7NonLId85bo/s400/P1040162.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519734366985068898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Aperitifs and dinner</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVVEiyPCI/AAAAAAAARRM/gc4Hk1iNM0Y/s1600/DSC_0132.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVVEiyPCI/AAAAAAAARRM/gc4Hk1iNM0Y/s400/DSC_0132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519395901316152354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVU5Aa0eI/AAAAAAAARRE/l11ziZQqHpg/s1600/DSC_0115.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjVU5Aa0eI/AAAAAAAARRE/l11ziZQqHpg/s400/DSC_0115.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519395898219221474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX0QrFnNI/AAAAAAAARRY/Hpsc0uKJ6Bw/s1600/DSC_0133.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjX0QrFnNI/AAAAAAAARRY/Hpsc0uKJ6Bw/s400/DSC_0133.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519398636171402450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The walk between the 5 towns (PM: the middle one was at the end of the longest and hardest walk, hence the exhausted look)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday (2nd) we reluctantly left Vernazza for a brief one night transit in Milan before heading to Lake Como. We were a bit short for time so took a walk to the main piazza and saw the Duomo, grabbed some dinner, and on our walk home were pretty sure we saw the victim of a stabbing. He was lying on the side of the road in a pool of blood and looking a bit worse for wear. There was a bit of a crowd and an ambulance had just arrived, we decided at this point that the comfort and safety of our hotel was quite inviting!</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday (3rd) brought us to lake Como, a bit of a playground for the rich and famous - George Clooney probably being the most publicised. We got to our hotel in Cadenabbia around lunch time, and after a small hotel stuff up settled in to relax by the lake, which is pretty much what occupied our time for the next couple of days! We also took a ferry ride across to Belagio to have a look around.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb_z3yIpI/AAAAAAAARSY/ROt8Jy4AR34/s1600/DSC_0175.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb_z3yIpI/AAAAAAAARSY/ROt8Jy4AR34/s400/DSC_0175.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519403232644965010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our favourite little bar, Victoria's owned by an English lass</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb-8LD7oI/AAAAAAAARSI/0e4F8WXDDLA/s1600/DSC_0186.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb-8LD7oI/AAAAAAAARSI/0e4F8WXDDLA/s400/DSC_0186.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519403217693437570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb_bxCRrI/AAAAAAAARSQ/Z-RTmIkrcxw/s1600/DSC_0197.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjb_bxCRrI/AAAAAAAARSQ/Z-RTmIkrcxw/s400/DSC_0197.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519403226174211762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Looking out across the lake to Belagio, day and night</span></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjagK_b85I/AAAAAAAARR0/WE64XyQgRRI/s1600/DSC_0218.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjagK_b85I/AAAAAAAARR0/WE64XyQgRRI/s400/DSC_0218.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519401589583639442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjagugzBvI/AAAAAAAARR8/PeqYR0UDeVE/s1600/DSC_0224.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjagugzBvI/AAAAAAAARR8/PeqYR0UDeVE/s400/DSC_0224.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519401599118804722" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">At a fantastic wine bar in Belagio, where we spent the better part of an evening</span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-87284357734724918142010-08-30T20:00:00.000-07:002010-09-22T06:34:06.520-07:00Trento Italy First Weekend<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Saturday morning (28th) we embarked safely and without seat loss after an interesting last leg of the train journey from Munich to Trento. On which if you have the only 2 unreserved seats on a 1st class carriage on a 10hr ride, your seats are considered fair game if one of you goes to get some coffee or lunch from the dining car! We were met at the station by Joss' older sister Emma, whom we would be staying with in Trento, and after the better part of a month of travel without a friendly face, it was a very welcome change. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We had timed the arrival well as Sunday the 29th was Joss' birthday, so most of the weekend was spent familiarising ourselves with the beautiful town of Trento and celebrating the turn from 26 to 27 for Joss. In between we were able to find a replacement camera for Paul after looking all around Berlin and St Petersburg with no luck!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNn44hipI/AAAAAAAARPg/tTmccgt7JZU/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNn44hipI/AAAAAAAARPg/tTmccgt7JZU/s400/DSC_0003.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519387428510599826" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjP4HTEf8I/AAAAAAAARQE/qRaIY64iyTM/s1600/P1040138.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjP4HTEf8I/AAAAAAAARQE/qRaIY64iyTM/s400/P1040138.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519389906281201602" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The view from the balcony overlooking the piazza from the inside and outside</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjQWczgvlI/AAAAAAAARQM/q7SkNTZ4yBI/s1600/DSC_0011.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjQWczgvlI/AAAAAAAARQM/q7SkNTZ4yBI/s400/DSC_0011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519390427450490450" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Emma</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNoTnY50I/AAAAAAAARPo/L2XvFZs7pkk/s1600/DSC_0026.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNoTnY50I/AAAAAAAARPo/L2XvFZs7pkk/s400/DSC_0026.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519387435686487874" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNojEBRGI/AAAAAAAARPw/3M8US3FpahE/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjNojEBRGI/AAAAAAAARPw/3M8US3FpahE/s400/DSC_0022.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519387439833105506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Delicious pre-birthday dinner celebration at Tre Garofani, a bit of a Trento favourite.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjQ9k7vDXI/AAAAAAAARQU/H5i9X9v50VQ/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjQ9k7vDXI/AAAAAAAARQU/H5i9X9v50VQ/s400/DSC_0052.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519391099647364466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjP3hle0CI/AAAAAAAARP8/tHD10jE9fJk/s1600/DSC_0049.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJjP3hle0CI/AAAAAAAARP8/tHD10jE9fJk/s400/DSC_0049.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519389896157876258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Happy Birthday Joss, lunch and the cake!</span></span></span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-8914385037284514032010-08-28T17:00:00.000-07:002010-09-20T15:48:15.163-07:00St Petersburg to Trento, With a Taste of Berlin<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;">Wednesday night (25th) at 11:59pm (bit of an odd time to schedule a train we thought!) we boarded our next leg from St Petersburg to Berlin, with the ultimate destination of Trento, Italy. There was only 2 carriages going all the way to Berlin and these were visibly different on the outside to the usual Russian carriages - a bit sleeker and more modern looking. Lucky for us the differences were not just cosmetic - our cabin only had 3 beds and we were the only ones in it. We had a sink and a even a refrigerated compartment that was under one of the seats! The trip took us through Belarus and Poland before taking us into Germany, all in 36 hours. At the Belarus/Poland border we were in for another bogey change - for this one we all stayed in the carriages, and local women jumped on board selling beer, fresh berries, ice-cream, chicken and other food. Unfortunately we had used up all of our Rubles so could only afford beer, but with the refrigerated compartment we were happy with our choice!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeAQmj92wI/AAAAAAAARPA/b_KwqOWmQ14/s1600/P1040036.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeAQmj92wI/AAAAAAAARPA/b_KwqOWmQ14/s400/P1040036.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519020891083496194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The retro dining car</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeARAYQvaI/AAAAAAAARPI/XHT70laqcP0/s1600/P1040040.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeARAYQvaI/AAAAAAAARPI/XHT70laqcP0/s400/P1040040.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519020898013724066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The fridge chair </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeAQcybjzI/AAAAAAAARO4/GRTHpcijiL4/s1600/P1040049.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJeAQcybjzI/AAAAAAAARO4/GRTHpcijiL4/s400/P1040049.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519020888459808562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The train carriages on jacks having bogies changed.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Thursday (27th), on time arrival at Berlin, and with about 10 hours until our next connection we decided to explore the city a little. The morning was spent scouting a few camera stores for a replacement, but with no luck. Afterwards we took a hop on/off bus tour of the city to get as much in as we could, jumped off and had a bit of a walk around. As we were wandering back to the station via one of the sites of Berlin, we bumped into Paul's high school friend Jessica! It was a complete surprise. She is over in Berlin for 3 months and we both happened to be passing the same spot at the same time. The world truly is a small place!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">After some tasty dinner, we got ourselves ready to jump on the 3 different (!) trains to Trento. On the final leg we had to guard our seats as we were not able to book, and people were ready to pounce at any time you looked like you were leaving.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-q7n75TI/AAAAAAAAROs/DgHW8AihUHE/s1600/P1040094.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-q7n75TI/AAAAAAAAROs/DgHW8AihUHE/s400/P1040094.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519019144390632754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Brandenburg<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> Gate</span></span><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-qCeH0OI/AAAAAAAAROk/_a8kdQ8FO_E/s1600/P1040104.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-qCeH0OI/AAAAAAAAROk/_a8kdQ8FO_E/s400/P1040104.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519019129048649954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A sort of street festival we stumbled on</span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-p8EaZhI/AAAAAAAAROc/-v4lPNdgDus/s1600/P1040110.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TJd-p8EaZhI/AAAAAAAAROc/-v4lPNdgDus/s400/P1040110.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519019127330203154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Some live music in the station to help pass the time waiting for the next train</span></span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-86996725855120156332010-08-25T18:00:00.000-07:002010-09-12T11:44:38.861-07:00St Petersberg<div style="text-align: left;">Monday (23rd), after an early morning arrival, we decided to explore the area around our hotel near the popular Nevsky Prospekt which is close to the Hermitage and the Church of the Saviour on Blood and a climb up the tower of St Isaac's. After a bit of wandering we decided to have a relaxing dinner in the sun (it is light until 9:30 - 10:00pm) for some, well, maybe not entirely but tasty, Russian cuisine. After only a day in St Petersburg, we were certain that we had made the right decision to spend more time there than in Moscow. It is more of a European city, which is no real surprise as they hired architects from all over Europe (mostly Italy and France) to design much of the impressive centre of the city.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S2iYJG-I/AAAAAAAARNA/Mc4vwbIgX9I/s1600/P1030913.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S2iYJG-I/AAAAAAAARNA/Mc4vwbIgX9I/s400/P1030913.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516085846749027298" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Near Nevsky Prospect ... pre breakfast!</span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S3JS8x4I/AAAAAAAARNI/LU5miHrF1LM/s1600/P1030924.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S3JS8x4I/AAAAAAAARNI/LU5miHrF1LM/s400/P1030924.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516085857196230530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The top of the tower of St Isaac's</span></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S3nBsLaI/AAAAAAAARNQ/wsCEu23gVew/s1600/P1030934.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0S3nBsLaI/AAAAAAAARNQ/wsCEu23gVew/s400/P1030934.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516085865176903074" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Church of the Saviour on Blood, modelled on St Basil's in Moscow</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday (24th) we took a walk across the river to Peter and Paul's fortress. As luck would have it we happened to be there at 12pm, the time a canon is fired across the river. Although it was not one of the old school ball canons that were hanging around it was still bloody loud and impressive, especially from our vantage point on the roof - which was about 100m from where it went off! From the fortress we wandered back to the hotel via the Church of the Saviour on Blood and the obviously named souvenir markets, for yep you guesssed it a little souvenir shopping.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0UNJlmvrI/AAAAAAAARNc/CVJppdNXuaY/s1600/P1030953.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0UNJlmvrI/AAAAAAAARNc/CVJppdNXuaY/s400/P1030953.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516087334743228082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">The Peter and Paul's Fortress</span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0UNl5yxBI/AAAAAAAARNk/mDk7vj8u-QU/s1600/P1030954.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0UNl5yxBI/AAAAAAAARNk/mDk7vj8u-QU/s400/P1030954.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516087342344094738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And another shot of the Church of Saviour on Blood</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Wednesday (25th), our last day, we decided was a perfect one to spend wandering around the Hermitage. Due to a quick internet search we purchased tickets online, which enabled us to avoid the hour long queue to get in! Whilst wandering around the rooms of the Hermitage which were impressive enough as is, we also took in works by greats such as Rembrandt, Picasso, Monet, Mattise, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Cezanne, and were lucky enough to also see a special Picasso exhibition that was on! Not a bad way to spend the better part of a day. After the museum we hit some rain and thought the best way to get out of the weather was to take a canal cruise around St Petersburg in a covered canal boat. Actually we had already decided to do the cruise, getting out of the rain was a plus! Following that we got ourselves organised for our next train journey to Berlin, via Belarus and Poland, a relatively short one at only 36 hrs!</div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WYd7rbzI/AAAAAAAARNw/b6tjTHZiygQ/s1600/P1030968.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WYd7rbzI/AAAAAAAARNw/b6tjTHZiygQ/s400/P1030968.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516089728206335794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Hermitage</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WZHHAU0I/AAAAAAAARN4/77yKBFBB5vE/s1600/P1030975.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WZHHAU0I/AAAAAAAARN4/77yKBFBB5vE/s400/P1030975.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516089739259695938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Using the audio guide, which looks suspiciously like a mobile phone</span></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WZVar-WI/AAAAAAAAROA/H-LeapQ9IhE/s1600/P1030999.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TI0WZVar-WI/AAAAAAAAROA/H-LeapQ9IhE/s400/P1030999.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516089743100344674" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Some may recognize this famous painting by Monet</span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333182161306941588.post-81472515253924180442010-08-22T19:00:00.000-07:002010-09-06T15:11:00.541-07:00Moscow<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;">Saturday (21st) very early morning (04:40!) we arrived at Moscow station and were met by a driver who took us to our hostel. This was a huge relief as we were a bit drowsy after being woken at such an early hour to disembark. However once we got to our hostel, we found out that our booking was cancelled the night before and someone else was put in our room! Tired already, this made us quite irritable, as the booking had already been paid for! We were finally put into seperate dorm rooms for a few hours rest... needless to say we were not happy and have already sent a terse email to our organiser.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">But anyway, not to let a mix up get us down we were up early for our 10am walking tour of Moscow. We met up with Archie our guide out the front of the hostel, which is conveniently located right near ... a short walk to most of the major Moscow sites. It was perfect weather and we had a great intro to Moscow with a bit of local input. We saw many famous Moscow sights including Red Square, the Kremlin, St Basil's, Gum shopping centre (a converted military training building right near Red Square), the Bolshoi theatre and heaps more. Along the way we asked Archie what the most popular foriegn cuisine was in Russia, and was surprised to hear that it is sushi! Once made aware we couldn't help but notice that it seemed every restaurant had a sushi menu...even restaurants that were Italian or Russian! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQplWh1n4I/AAAAAAAARLQ/lfL9C7Y-jeQ/s1600/P1030794.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQplWh1n4I/AAAAAAAARLQ/lfL9C7Y-jeQ/s400/P1030794.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513577565487734658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A rebuilt cathedral that we were not allowed in on our tour because we were wearing shorts.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpl4kGXMI/AAAAAAAARLY/AhB39kgEyNc/s1600/P1030805.JPG"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpl4kGXMI/AAAAAAAARLY/AhB39kgEyNc/s400/P1030805.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513577574624025794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">St Basil's</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">After the tour we were able to return to our hostel to properly check in, have a bit of a rest and head out to do some exploring by ourselves. We wandered around locally and had a beer before venturing to Red Square in the evening. We grabbed some dinner at another popular Russian cafe inside the GUM store (at most Russian cafe/restaurants, you line up with a tray and pick the food you want as you walk along, kinda RSL/Cafeteria style, needless to say the food is OK, but not about to win any stars or hats). We then went outside to take in the night time atmosphere around Red Square, which was buzzing as there was an open concert going on right next to St Basils with techno music from Tiesto (UK DJ) blazing into the night! Quite a contrast.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpmaWa_aI/AAAAAAAARLg/Dj1WSvmal2E/s1600/P1030808.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpmaWa_aI/AAAAAAAARLg/Dj1WSvmal2E/s400/P1030808.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513577583693462946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpm0TdGHI/AAAAAAAARLo/N-CygHMOv7I/s1600/P1030815.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQpm0TdGHI/AAAAAAAARLo/N-CygHMOv7I/s400/P1030815.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513577590660339826" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 400px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Night time at St Basil's, down to the bottom right is the stage on the top photo</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;">Sunday morning (22nd) we got up and went to Starbucks for a bit of breakfast. (Now, before anyone derides us for our choice of venue, the number one reason we went there was for the free wireless) So we were sitting around minding our own business with our iced coffees, when all of a sudden a guy near us next to the window starts fitting...He had previously been shaking but was now having full blown convulsions! We of course know no Russian other than the niceties so called over the staff, who then called another over, and then they finally called and ambulance. But in the mean time no one seemed to be doing anything for the poor guy! The guy was at this stage going rigid in his chair and still seizing, frothing mouth and all. We of course were in a bit of a panic but didn't really know what to do! However rather than stand around helpless (which is what everyone else was doing) we went over and as he was sliding down out of the chair, moved it and all other furniture away from him, so that he was lying on the floor free from obstabcles. At this stage we had no idea what else to do, the ambulance was on it's way but the poor guy was not doing well - he was semi-conscious and sort of spitting to keep breathing. At this stage some Scandinavian guys also started to try to help and suggested rolling him on his side, but the staff told us the ambulance people said not to touch him! Anyway it all ended OK, the guy slowly started to get back consciousness, but looked completely shell shocked. He looked like he had had no idea what had happened.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">It surely made our morning cofee a bit more interesting but also made us feel quite helpless, we did what we could but realised we had no real idea what to do in that situation. (PM: Mum, maybe you could comment on what the correct course of action would be, we have speculated a bit but do not really know)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">After our eventful morning we headed over to the pier to take a river cruise. Although the weather was not as good as the Saturday, it was still a very nice way to sit back and relax with a few beers and take in the sites of Moscow. The river goes past a lot of the major sites that we had already seen on our tour and from wandering around, so it was good to just sit back and watch it all go by. After the tour we made our way to Red Square on foot before having some food, beer, and dinner, and then got ready to head off on our next leg. A short train one this time, 8 hours overnight to St Petersburg. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;">It is safe to say 2 days was not enough time in Moscow, but figure that this trip was more of a taster anyway.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQxdCEPMeI/AAAAAAAARL0/s4mUmYfkUOw/s1600/P1030852.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQxdCEPMeI/AAAAAAAARL0/s4mUmYfkUOw/s400/P1030852.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513586218648941026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On the boat with the no shorts cathedral in the background</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQxdoP01WI/AAAAAAAARL8/z0pOcY20n1Q/s1600/P1030859.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQxdoP01WI/AAAAAAAARL8/z0pOcY20n1Q/s400/P1030859.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513586228898092386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The view of the Kremlin from the river</span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQzXqwAiZI/AAAAAAAARMQ/xAEVHAUztUA/s1600/P1030897.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQzXqwAiZI/AAAAAAAARMQ/xAEVHAUztUA/s400/P1030897.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513588325513988498" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Next to a statue of Dostoyevsky, the author of Crime and Punishment which is the book that Joss is reading at the moment... and has been for a while.</span></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQzYPWzofI/AAAAAAAARMY/_9H4Wx6PZek/s1600/P1030905.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wVSbFw1H0Gc/TIQzYPWzofI/AAAAAAAARMY/_9H4Wx6PZek/s400/P1030905.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513588335340397042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Borsch!</span></div>Paul and Josshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13147996707234389508noreply@blogger.com5