Dutch Courage. Dutch Oven.

On our second day in Amsterdam we decided to avoid the tourist traps of Amsterdam and experience some of the real Holland!

Hopping in Conners car we headed out to Utrecth for a wander around the historic town! Like a mini Amsterdam (without the tourists), Utrecht is a maze of canals and tiny cobbled streets filled with bicycles and colourful tulip vendors.

After a canal side lunch we decided the next stop of our tour would be the seaside town of Zandervoort - home of Hollands only beach!

Heading down the road a large old windmill caught my eye and we had to stop for a photo (one cliche photo op off my list) - now to find a field of tulips an my list would be complete (i would later find our Tulip season had just finished - sigh)!

Arriving seaside we were met with a chilling wind, brown sea and a deserted beach! A little disappointing my Gold Coast standards! That said people were about and the seaside vendors were out in force selling the local favourite herring rolls!

Back to Amsterdam that afternoon we decided to venture out into the city for our last dinner and to bravely wander around the red light district after dark! What an eye opener that place is! Window after window scantily clad women (and sometimes men) flaunted their wares - trying to coax the men (and their wallets) off the streets and into their booths! But like us it seemed that most tourists (the bucks parties aside) were only out for an after dinner sticky beak!

Location:Utrecht & Amsterdam

Free Fanta Friday

Hello from Amsterdam!

Well our first day in Amsterdam is just winding down and we're having a quiet one at Steven & Imogen's Apartment waiting for our Thai take-away to arrive. It's the perfect evening to a day on the go.

This morning we headed out, map in hand, and wandered the quiet residential streets heading towards tourist town - Nieumarkt. To get to Nieumarkt we strolled through the leafy Vondel Park which is surrounded by canals, bridges and beautiful canal frontage homes. Unlike our previous strolls though Hyde Park last week, a walk through Vondel Park requires you to be alert (but not alarmed) as a million bikes come screaming past you at all angles. The bikes here are crazy - there are your regular bikes, then ones with baskets, then ones with benches for kids, then 3 person bikes and even a huge 10 person tour bike! What the? I have never seen so many bikes in my life! It also seems as is the older the bike, the cooler you are. Plus you don't need to wear a helmet! Not even on the scooters! It's crazy! Plus I heard tonight that you need a licence to golf! There is a theory and a practical exam!

Anywho arriving at the end of Vondel Park we found ourselves right in the center and after a quick breakfast we hopped on a 75min canal boat cruise around Nieumarkt. For anyone coming to Amsterdam this is a must to familiarise yourself with the city and what a beautiful city it is. The buildings are all crooked, the house boats modern and the bridges low and covered in bikes. We basically spent the day walking all over the city - down tiny little streets, across canals and up to the top of the science museum (NEMO). Saw lots of weird things; massive clog, penis shaped diamond (who would buy that?) and a pub called "The Cock Ring". We also past many coffeeshops which given the smell and smoke wafting out of them wasn't so much about coffee!

During the day we sampled some of the Netherland's finest cuisine - hot chips with mayo and ketchup, poftjes (mini pancakes), bitterballen and kaasstegls (cheese sticks). We also got a free Fanta on our travels as it was "Free Fanta Friday" - okay!? Oh and Stu is now sampling famous local beers - Grolsch and Heinneken! Thank god were doing so much walking is all I can say!

Didn't see any windmills or fields of tulips today (other than in the souvenier shops).... maybe tomorrow!

For photos visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=432017&id=664955104&l=08596d1ba7

Four Corners

Hello from the rather posh Raddison Edwardian Hampshire smack bang in the middle of Leicester Square (DAS NICE). We decided to move somewhere a bit more central for our last night in London as we're off to see Grease (take 2) tonight. Looking outside our window I can see people busily setting up for the premier of 'Sex and the City 2' at the Odeon Cinema next door. How I wish we were still in London tomorrow night to see the stars strut the red carpet - but alas tonight is our last night in London as tomorrow we're off to Amsterdam!

Since our last blog post we've had another fantastic two days in London - kicking off with a full English breakfast yesterday morning! Yum! Once the bacon, sausage, eggs, beans and toast had digested we headed off on another mammoth walk around the city. Our first stop was the Bevis Marks Synagogue to research a bit of Stu's family history. Apparently his great, great, great, great, great grandfather David Nieto founded this synagogue in 1701- the first in Britain! Walking into the synagogue, Stu was horrified to find out we had to each pay 4 pounds to enter (he's definitely a Jew at heart). He was then asked to cover his head with a skull cap. Me being the silly blonde that I am thought that this also applied to me and reaching for a skull cap I was quickly shut down by the Jewish doorman - "This is not for women"! Oops! Anyway we went inside for a quick looksee - feeling that little bit more cultured than we we arrived!

From the Synagogue we headed south to Tower Bridge where the true nerd in me came out in full force - what a fantastic structure! A million photographs later, we finally reaching the other side of the bridge and decided that a soft serve ice-cream was in order (with flake i might add). Ice cream in hand we meandered along the river towards London Bridge, where we crossed the river and headed to Covent Garden for lunch with Bianca - hand model and stylist to the stars!

Later that night we boarded the central line for a claustrophobic ride to Snaresbrook to visit Jon & Katie for dinner at their place. Usually the tube is quite a pleasant ride, however we made the mistake of travelling during peak hour and now understand how sardines must feel. Each stop was the same - one person off, three or four on! Nightmare! I did actually catch a bad case of the giggles watching Stu's patience wain with each passing stop! ha ha! Anyway we finally arrived at Snaresbrook and thanked god for the fresh (chilly) air while we waiting to Jon! This traumatic experience aside we had a fantastic night with Jon and Katie (amazing dinner - thanks guys!). I should also note that their cat Theodor had an uncanny likeness to Meetu - could they be related?

In comparison to yesterday, today was quite a lazy day really. We wondered around exploring our new digs (Leicester Sq, Piccadilly and Regent St). Stu also finally won the 'suitable footwear' argument which we've been having since we left Australia and we both invested in a pair of sensible, less than fashionable walking shoes for Europe {Stu: I told you so.......}. We then caught up for a seafood lunch with Siobhan, Cathi and Tim - mussels in white wine and garlic! Yum!

We're now off to see Grease (take 2)...... bye for now xxx

For photos visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=429550&id=664955104&l=96331900b0

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

Today in London the mercury soared to 30 degrees! Who would have thought it would ever get that hot here? So being the cautious, sun safe person that I am, I decided that the safest possible refuge for Stu and I to escape the blistering heat would be a trip to Harrods, Selfridges, Zara (my new favourite shop - like Witchery) and any other shop along Oxford, Regent and Bond Street...

After a few hours pounding the pavements in our new Havaianas*, we wearily headed back to the hotel via the Natural History Museum. What a cool place that is - we could have spent hours in there just wandering round, looking at never ending exhibits -unfortunately our sore, blistered feet had other plans.. so we detoured to the main attractions - the huge skeletons of various dinosaurs and marine mammals.

*For those of you wondering why we bought Havaianas in London, the shoes we set off in had given us such blisters by 10am that we could take no more - only a pair of comfy thongs (flip flops) could save us now! I also had discover yesterday that Havaianas had brought out a moccasin which I desperately wanted to try on! They're the best things every - like wearing slippers in public! Funny thing about this shopping adventure was that I kept having to stop Stu asking for thongs as this is alway met with a horrified gaze! Ha ha...

As the day drew to a close Danny decided it was time to hit up Brick Lane for a Indian dinner! After playing two neighbouring restaurant touters off against each other (is that what you call them - restaurant touters?) we settled on a restaurant called Cinnamon! The deal clincher - 25% discount, free drinks and free poppadums! The food was amazing - definitely chose a winner there Dan - it was almost as good as Punjabi Palace.... ALMOST!

Lazy Afternoon in Camden Town

Hello everyone!

Just a quick blog tonight as i'm really tired (been a huge day)! It's almost 10pm and we have just returned from a lovely long day out in Camden Town.

The day started quite lazily which is always nice on a Sunday. After a few Skype chats to family back home, we headed out into the sun bound from Camden Town (via the local french bakery for breakfast of course - yum).

While we were not due to meet Danny and Annie until 12pm, we figured we'd head over early and check out all of the wares before the huge Sunday crowds hit. For those of you who have not been to Camden Markets you must go! Now there are a few markets dotted down the length of the road but I would suggest you bypass them all for Camden Lock Markets - they're FANTASTIC! Here you will find antiques, handmade jewellery and clothes, music, vintage clothes, furniture and Stu's favourite 'world food'!

As you can imagine it didn't take me long to find (and purchase) numerous items as well strolled around! One item I didn't purchase (but really, really wanted to) was a 1950's Louis Vuitton soft suitcase that I found amongst the vintage luggage in the Camden Stables section of the markets! It was fantastic and in immaculate condition! I was in LOVE! Anyway Stu was able to drag me away and it was soon time to meet Danny and Annie for lunch in the 'world food' section of the market. All settling on the aromatic sizzling chicken fajitas, we relocated to a neighbouring canal so that we could soak up the sun and watch the long boats cruise by.

Soon enough the sun became too hot for us all (surprising I know) so we quickly moved on to our next destination, Edinboro Castle, where we were due to catch up with a few old friends and cool off with our favourite summer poison; Pimms (me), cider (Danny), G&T (Annie) or beer (Stu)...

.... 8 hours later, the sun was starting to set so we decided that it was best we all head home for the night (this was 8:30pm)! What a fantastic afternoon..... what a trip down memory lane....

A "Trip" to the ER!

Ok before you start panicking - no Stu and I have not injured ourselves *touch wood*

I am referring to the events that unfolded last night at the Piccadilly Theatre, 15 minutes before Siobhan was just to hit the stage as "Sandra Dee" in Grease .......and hit the stage she did :(

After grabbing a quick (garlicy) chinese over in Chinatown, we all hurried back to the theatre to get our seats when disaster struck - Liam received a text that Siobhan had collected her ankle running off the stage after the matinée and was being rushed to the ER! Oh no!

Heading around to the stage door we see poor Siobhan hobbling out of her dressing room, wincing with pain at every step. Stu and Liam, being the gentlemen that they are (sometimes), decided it was best to carry Siobhan to the waiting black cab.

After waving Siobhan goodbye we decided to cash in our tickets and hit the pub to drown our sorrows. Being summer time it was still light at 830pm so we decided on some alfresco drinks at a pub near Carnaby Street - PIMMS time! Now alfresco drinking in Australia means you sit within a licensed area, close to the pub door and usually marked out with black and yellow hazard tape - not here - to Stu's amazement pub patrons were sprawled out all over the cobbled street surrounding the pub, drinks in hand, lapping up the warm English night. As Liam would say "BRILLIANT"!

Moving on we headed to "Sketch", the trendiest and weirdest restaurant/bar I have seen. This place looked like it should have been in Tate Modern not a restaurant/bar off of Regent Street! Heading through the ultra trendy restaurant, complete with its streaming video installations, we walked through a tiny door into the egg-shaped cocktail bar. It was like walking into a scene from Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton's editing) - from the tiny arched doorway the room exploded into a huge space complete with sunken bar.

"We'll have a spiced pear daiquiri, a lollipop cocktail and 2 champagne beers thanks".... and at 13 pounds a cocktail (that's like $25) we slowly sipped our cocktails and soaked up the atmosphere - we were only going to drink one. Suffice to say the cocktails were fantastic and we have a great first night in London!

UPDATE: Siobhan is out of ER and thank god nothing is broken. She just has to rest up and will be back on her feet in no time.

UPDATE 2: BA strikes are back on.... luckily our flight to Amsterdam was one of the chosen few not cancelled! Phew...

Yodelayeeee

Good morning... er afternoon... er evening!? My brain is so confused! After over 24 hours without sleep, stu and I have just had a well earned rest and have awoken to the purple haze of our premium Yotel pod! Amazing how much better you feel after a shower and some good shut eye!


Off to check into our proper hotel now then on explore sunny London! Yeah that's right it's sunny - amazing! Not a volcano cloud in sight! He he!

Seeing the lovely Miss Siobhan Dillon tonight in Grease - can't wait!! Oh and Stu wants to speak to Liam as to what "golfing" options are avaliable in the UK!

2 down, 1 to go

Well it's been about 18 hours since our last post from Gate 78 at Brisbane Airport and were now many miles away in Abu Dhabi!

While the flights have both been long the overall journey hasn't been too bad! We did have a screaming baby sitting in front of us the whole way which is every travellers worst nightmare but alas the annoyance soon turned to amusement when the baby did a threesy (explosive poo) all over its mum! I still chuckle at the thought!

Well two more hours to kill here and then another flight to go before we arrive in Old Blighty! Hopefully will catch a few zzz's on this flight! If not bring on 4hrs at Yotel Heathrow!

Location:Abu Dhabi Airport

Going, going, gone!

At the airport and all checked in (no upgrade - boo!) we board in 30 minutes! Goodbye Australia! Let the adventure begin....




PS) Good news - the BA strike was called off and the volcano is blowing away from Heathrow! Looks like we'll make it after all!

Location:Gate 78 - Brisbane Airport

Sad Goodbyes & Trains

Well it's finally the 20th of May and after months of planning were finally off to Europe! Can't believe it!

After some very sad goodbyes this morning (better not talk too much about it or ill start blubbing again) we are now standing at Coomera Train Station (much to the dislike of Stu) waiting on the air train! This will be the first train on many over the next few months so Stu will have to get used to it! He also needs to learn to drive his matching luggage! Ha ha!

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Gold Coast

BA Cabin Crew "Strike" Again (Excuse the Pun)

Have just woken up to hear the news that Unite (the trade union for British Airways) has announced further cabin crew strikes grounding many BA flights from 18th May 2010- 5th June 2010! While we're not flying into London on a BA codeshare (phew!) we are flying BA to Amsterdam on the 27th May smack-bang in the middle of the strike! Argh! The question now is... do we wait to see what happens or do we take the chance and rebook ourselves on another airline?

Early Morning Arrival? YOTEL!

UPDATE: We have just booked a premium pod at Heathrow's Yotel. What's a Yotel you ask? Well check it out for yourself at www.yotel.com! As we're arriving in the wee hours of Friday morning we have decided to spend a few hours in a Yotel Pod to freshen up and catch some Zzzs before heading into the big smoke! This will also give us the chance to avoid rush hour on the tube! Smart thinking Batman!!!