travel bug

House-warming and Birthday Party!

2008-11-05T21:24:00.000Z

Way, way back in March, we moved house - about 80 metres around the corner, into a larger apartment, with a spare room for visitors (hint, hint) and a private garden.

By the time we got around to having a house-warming party, it was also my birthday, so we celebrated the only way we know how - with a BBQ!

You can see photos from the evening here.

Bratislava

2008-11-04T22:08:00.000Z

For Easter we went to Bratislava in Slovakia for something a little bit different. The city itself feels very small and is dominated by an imposing castle which overlooks it.

We had fun wandering the old town, popping into pubs and cafes along the way. The best discovery though was Kofola a kind of brewed cola drink (which out-sells coca-cola in Slovakia). The pub near our accommodation had it's own style that they brewed themselves which was great. The local sweet pancakes were also a huge hit.

A highlight was a day trip to visit another castle outside of Bratislava. It had snowed out in the countryside that day which provided us with some amazing scenery.

Bratislava is only 60klms from Vienna so we paid a visit to Austria and sampled some of the delights of the market (with so much falafel and Turkish delight!) as well as some general sightseeing.

There was heaps to see over the long Easter weekend and we definitely want to go back to Austria at some stage to explore some more.

You can see the photos here.

Tokyo

2008-10-29T23:28:00.000Z

From Cairns we headed to Tokyo again for a few days before going back to work. Once again we were enthralled by this amazing city. Our only regret is that we still haven't been able to get out and see more of Japan.

Click here to see a few photos from our time in Tokyo

Home Sweet Home

2008-10-21T23:55:00.001+01:00

Once again, we headed back to Australia for Christmas. It was great to leave the London winter, even if it was only for a few weeks.
One of the main reasons for heading home at Christmas was so that we could be godparents for Ryan, Melanie and Roger's gorgeous first born. You can see a few photos from the Christening here.

In the new year we headed up to Cairns to visit Alun's parents. You can see some photos here of some of the birds that Alun's Mum was looking after as part of Wildlife Rescue. Jase and Bec joined us in Cairns to take part in a learn to dive course on the Great Barrier Reef. This was an amazing experience and we hope to do some more diving in the future, perhaps in the Red Sea.

London Night Shoot

2008-09-30T23:48:00.000+01:00

After enjoying Nigel Wilson's Weekend Photography course so much, Jodie and I decided to embark on his Night Shoot.

We did the course in the middle of December and it was freezing along the River Thames when we set out on the shoot! We weren't disheartened though, and managed to get some great shots and learnt a thing or two along the way.

Click here to see photos from our London night shoot

Bremen Christmas Markets

2008-09-27T12:02:00.008+01:00

It wouldn't be Christmas in Europe without a visit to the German Christmas Markets! After a great time last year in Düsseldorf and Cologne, Bremen had quite an act to follow. A weekend of sausage, glühwein, and carnival rides put everyone in the mood for Christmas though.

Can't wait till Chrsitmas 2009.

Photos from our weekend in Bremen are here

Paris, Champagne and Burgundy

2008-09-14T17:20:00.005+01:00

After more than two years in the UK we finally made our way to Paris. Although we stayed for a few nights we could never hope to see everything that we wanted to on our first trip so we stuck to the big sights. A great walking tour gave us a nice introduction before we headed to the myriad of museums, monuments and arrondissements.

We hired a car and drove out to Reims in Champagne where we visited some of the amazing chalk cellars that tunnels under the town. The Champagne houses use these tunnels to store the wines as they maintain a very even temperature all year round - perfect for the maturation of Champagne. And of course there are tastings at the end of the tours!

From Reims we headed south to Beaune, near Dijon in the heart of Burgundy to try some very different wine. Here we tried to get our head around the terroir classification system used for Burgundy wines. Beaune is beautiful town and we enjoyed our stay there, indulging in some amazing food and unsurprisingly, wine.

Finally, we went to Grenoble where we met up with Dana and Tim, who had recently moved there. We toured around the region including a visit to Annecy and Voiron (home of a very special liqueur).

You can find some photos from our trip here

Anyone for some port?

2008-08-31T20:01:00.006+01:00

Last October, with winter fast approaching, we took a short weekend away to Porto (Portugal) for a last dose of summer sun.

Porto is best known as the home of port and is built on hills that overlook the Duoro River. On one side of the river is Porto, and on the other is the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, where most of the port houses are located.

We spent a weekend enjoying some great food (so much chorizo) and learning about port production at the various port houses (which all offer some kind of tour and tasting). We discovered that the port that we know (tawny) is not really consumed in Portugal as locals prefer ruby port which is lighter and sweeter as it has not been aged in oak barrels. Many of the producers are now marketing a white port as a summer drink (mixed with sparkling water) which was quite nice. The local wine, Vinho Verde, was also great.

Click here to see our photos from Porto

Punting in Cambridge

2008-08-18T22:07:00.003+01:00

Taking advantage of some group-saver train fares, we took a day-trip to Cambridge with Clare & Chris.

We headed straight to the River Cam, hired a punt and set off for a leisurely cruise (well, at least for Clare and I) along The Backs (the area where several colleges from the University of Cambridge back onto the River Cam).

We then did a walking tour of the University, exploring several of the colleges including the famous King's College and it's Chapel.

You can see the photos here

Denmark

2008-08-14T22:07:00.002+01:00

From Greenland we flew to the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. And then the sun set. It seemed rather strange after the never ending daylight of the past month.

Although Bornholm is a part of Denmark it is far closer to Sweden, Poland and Germany and has in the past been strategically very important. We enjoyed a few days exploring the island including Hammershus, the oldest fortress in Northern Europe.

It was then on to Copenhagen where we had a great time seeing the local museums and also Tivoli, the oldest operating amusement park in the world. This was great fun and everyone who visits should check it out. For some reason we got free entry when we told the ticket seller that we had come from Greenland!

While staying in Copenhagen we even managed lunch in the Swedish town of Malmö via the spectacular 13km Oresund Bridge/Tunnel. It is amazing to think that you can do something like that, or even commute to work in another country.

Of course we also managed to visit the Carlsberg Brewery and sample some quite nice beers (much better than the standard stuff you get in a pub).

After more than 5 weeks it was time to return to London and end our Scandinavian summer holiday.We had an amazing time and can't wait to see more of northern Europe, in particular the frozen dessert centre of Iceland.

Click here to see the final photos from our summer holiday

Greenland Part 2

2008-08-11T19:16:00.003+01:00

Ilulissat was our final stop on our Greenland trip, and the real reason that we were here. The town of 4500 is something of a tourist destination given it's close proximity to the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. The glacier is moving forward at a rate of 30 metres a day, which means that large chunks of ice (up to 1km high) are continually breaking off (calving) and moving out in to the bay. The first night we stayed in an aluminium igloo at Hotel Arctic before heading in to the town for the rest of our stay. The weather was great while we were there (200km inside the Arctic Circle) and we were able to do a hike to the glacier (minding the icebergs) as well as take a few trips to nearby villages and to another glacier at Ice Camp Eqi. The highlight though was the midnight boat right across the front of the glacier. Seeing the massive expanses of ice (and the different shapes and colours) under the midnight sun was an amazing experience.

We went back to Hotel Arctic for a dinner on our last night in Ilulisat. The bbq included musk ox, seal, whale and reindeer. We rounded out the dinner with a Greenlandic Coffee. You can check out the recipe here.

You can see the second installment of our Greenland photos here.

Greenland Part 1

2008-07-21T22:52:00.005+01:00

We left Jodie at Reykjavik and caught our flight to Kulusuk on the east coast of Greenland. Our flight in took us low over giant icebergs and the rocky coastline.

Greenland is the least densely populated country on earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density). Australia is 100 times more densely peopled. Kulusuk is a tiny settlement (population 310) on the remote, even less densely populated eastern coast of Greenland (only 5% of Greenlanders). Not many people stay here for more than a few hours. Ever. It is home to Eastern Greenland's only international airport though. A gravel strip that is open for a small part of the year in summer for daily flights to Iceland and twice weekly flights to Kangerlussuaq.

Kulusuk is still a very traditional town where most people make a living from hunting, though tourism is on the increase. While there we were able to take a trip to a nearby glacier, explore the island and also visit Tasiilaq, the capital of the eastern municpailty of Ammassalik. Since it was the middle of summer the ice had thawed somewhat and we were able to undertake the trip by boat, rather than sled dog.

In Kulusuk we had a unique chance to spend some time in a very different community which was a great experience. After a few days we flew across the frozen centre of Greenland to the strange town of Kangerlussuaq. Inuits never lived in Kangerlussuaq but the American Air Force maintained a base there for over 50 years. As such it has the best air facilities of anywhere in Greenland, including the ability to land 767s. The whole town seems to exist just for the air field, with not much else going on. The strangest story surrounds Volkswagon. Cars were flown in and a road built to an inland ice track for extreme weather testing. We visited the ice and explored the surrounding area where we spotted some Musk Ox.

You can see the photos here.

Roadtrip Part 4, Iceland

2008-07-19T12:32:00.007+01:00

Puffins!!!! Thousands of them at Látrabjarg, the most westerly part of Europe. The puffins all come to breed along the cliff face and have become very tame. Lots of people come to take pictures of them and the birds allow you to come within a metre or two of them.

Catching a ferry, we stayed the night halfway across the Breiðafjörður bay on the island of Flatey, a tiny peaceful village of old wooden houses where noone seemed in much of a hurry to do anything - which was fine by us as we had been going pretty flat out for a while by now.

Hákarl. Read that link first. Everything it says is true. The smell is eye watering, nauseating and leaves you light headed. There is a reason that you usually down a shot of Brennivin afterwards. The whole curing process itself is less than pleasant (as the many photos on the wall at Bjarnarhöfn farm prove). Thank goodness the wind was blowing away from us when we visited the curing sheds. Having said all that the taste and texture isn't too bad at all (so long as you don't breath through your nose while it's on your tongue). I swear I could still smell the stuff 3 days later.

On our way back to Reykjavik we saw a huge thermal spring (that supplies hot water and power for much of western Iceland) and passed between two glaciers in a black desert before we emerged back in the city. The town of 100,000 felt like a sprawling metropolis after two weeks driving around Iceland.

We had an amazing time and it was a great opportunity to not just go to Reykjavik but also see a lot of the rest of the country. Perhaps we will go back soon and explore the barren centre!

Click here to see the final installment of road trip photos.

Roadtrip Part 3, Iceland

2008-06-23T21:31:00.003+01:00

We start off along a very bumpy dirt road from our hostel/farmhouse at Husey in the remote North East. We head to Mývatn (which tranlsates as midge lake), a very popular domestic holiday destination. The lakes are home to huge variety of birdlife and also feature some spectacular volcanic formations. Nearby we try out the local thermal baths. Not as touristy as The Blue Lagoon, they still have a certain charm, and formed a perfect end to the day (or at least they would if the days actually ended). We left the baths to drive to our night's accommodation with a side trip to Dettifoss, Europe's biggest waterfall. We managed to get some great photos of the huge falls even though it was after 1am.

The next day we went to Husavik, which is famous for it's whale watching tours. We went out on an old converted whaling vessel and saw a Minke and a few dolphins. The captain also broke out the rum as we were coming back into the harbour. Not sure how that goes towards the end of the day after he has done a few tours.

Next up was our first rafting experience. And on a glacial river in dry suits! The water was quite cool, yes but we got to stop along the way next to a thermal spring to make hot coffee which somewhat made up for it! Our only regret (Alun and Jodie's at least) was that we didn't do the grade 5 tour.

Click here to see the third installment of road trip photos.

Roadtrip Part 2, Iceland

2008-06-04T21:13:00.004+01:00

So we left Reykjavik and it's surrounds behind and began our eastward journey. The second night we stayed near the beautiful waterfall of Skogafoss. The waterfall is amazing because you can walk almost right up to it. Almost, because the wind and spray physically pushes you back when you get too close.

We also visited the black beach of Vik and it's basalt columns before travelling to the awesome Vatnajökull glacier. We strapped on some crampons and headed onto the ice. After only about 30 mins walking/scrambling across the silent ice we were surrounded by a vast frozen sea. Next up was the beautifully serene Jökulsárlón iceberg lake. At the base of a glacier, it holds all the chunks of ice that breaks off before they make their way out to sea. To round out our ice adventure we took a snow mobiling trip. After a hair raising journey up into the glacier we got suited up and sped off through the ice fields. I think that Jodie and I may have enjoyed this bit a lot more than Nec did!

Click here to see the second installment of our road trip photos.

Roadtrip Part 1, Iceland

2008-05-25T22:09:00.008+01:00

We picked up the hire car and left Reykjavik behind as we began our anti clockwise circumnavigation of Iceland. One of our first stops was Þingvellir national park. In the year 930 it was the site of the first parliament in Iceland and the whole world. The region has special geological significance as you can see the tectonic plates pulling apart in many places. We also visited the Geysir and Gulfoss, the first of a great many waterfalls and the third stop on the 'Golden Circle' tourist route.

We also visited the very untouristy town of Hveragerði where we checked out the tourist centre:

When digging the foundation hole for the shopping centre a large, ancient fissure was revealed. One can see the fissure lit up through a transparent section of the floor in the library and at the tourist information centre.

and the geothermal field where you can see a whole bunch of bubbling mud pits (complete with information about how many locals have fallen in over the years) and boil your own eggs in a little basket over the steaming vents.

Click here to see the first installment of our road trip photos.

Reykjavik, Iceland

2008-05-18T11:34:00.006+01:00

We arrived in Reykjavik late on a Friday night so of course the first thing to do was to head out on the town. It was strange to say the least seeing everyone coming and going from the pubs and clubs under the muted rays of the midnight sun. We decided to follow all the hungry locals and visited "Bæjarins beztu pylsur" for Iceland's (and perhaps the world's) best hot dogs. American style food has replaced the traditional Icelandic foods such as seared sheep's head and rotten shark and you can now grab truck stop burgers and hot dogs just about everywhere.

A trip to Reykjavik is not complete without visiting the touristy but still breathtaking Blue Lagoon. This health spa is essentially the run off from the nearby nuclear power station. Blue/green algae colours the thermal waters and the silica mud is supposedly therapeutic. It's all good fun though and rightly one of the most visited places in the country (situated as it is halfway between the airport and the city).

We also managed to do some Icelandic horse riding and spotted a few Minke wales (most of them in the water and not on the table).

Click here to see our Reykjavik photos.

Tennis, tennis, tennis!

2008-04-17T00:45:00.003+01:00

Last summer, it seemed like all I did for a couple of weeks was watch tennis! Jodie and I went for our now traditional day at Wimbledon and before that, we made a couple of visits to the Queen's Club tournament (the lead up to Wimbledon).

Jodie and I managed to win semi-finals tickets in the ballot for the Queen's Club tournament and had a fantastic day - even though play was delayed for a couple of hours due to rain. We even caught a glimpse of the RAF flypast for the Queen's Birthday.

Next was Wimbledon! Jodie and I joined the queue for ground passes early, and managed to get good seats on Court 6 - where Aussies Samantha Stosur and Wayne Arthurs played. The Arthurs match turned into a 5-set marathon, with Arthurs winning after initially being 2 sets down.

In related tennis news (and in an effort to make people insanely jealous), Alun, Jodie and I have managed to get tickets to finals day of the Queen's Club tournament for 2008! I can't wait!

You can see all of the tennis photos here -

Day tripping

2008-04-14T16:01:00.005+01:00

In May/June we took a couple of day trips out of London.

First up was a day of bike riding in New Forest with Jodie and Dale. New Forest is an old-growth forest in the south of England, and it has quite a few cycling tracks to choose from.

We chose a circuit that was about 18km long and conveniently had a pub at the halfway mark! But after a delicious and filling lunch it took some convincing to get me back onto the bike! (Even more than it took to get me on in the first place!)

Next up we borrowed Jodie's car and headed to Brighton with Nick, Vic and their friend Ian.

While in Brighton we stopped in at ShakeAway for a refreshing milkshake - I had an After Eight milkshake (for the Aussies, After Eight = After Dinner Mint) which was delicious!

Photos, as always, are on Flickr!

The Cinque Terre

2008-04-14T12:07:00.009+01:00

The first long weekend in May, we headed back to Italy with Esther and Morgan for a few days in the Cinque Terre (in English, the Five Lands). These five towns are built along and against a cliff face in western central Italy.

As well as exploring the towns of the Cinque Terre, we also took a day trip to the town of Portovenere (with it's impressive fortress) and spent an afternoon in Pisa (always fun) before our flight back to London.

The towns of the Cinque Terre are all built on hills and cliffs overlooking the sea. There are walking/hiking paths between all of the towns, and ferry services which allow for breathtaking views from the water.

We had a great weekend with some much needed sun and as always in Italy, great food. A culinary highlight was the batti-batti - a small, bug-like crustacean.

Photos are here.

This time last year...

2008-04-10T22:55:00.004+01:00

What were you doing this time last year?

Well, Alun and I were lucky enough to spend 10 days in Croatia last Easter and we've now uploaded the photos to prove it!

We started with a whirlwind 24 hours in Zagreb, before catching a bus to the amazing Plitvice Lakes National Park (http://www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/). The national park is absolutely gorgeous - picture perfect, with the most beautiful turquoise coloured lakes. If anyone is heading to Croatia, we can't recommend this place enough!

After Plitvice, it was on to Zadar and Split before heading to the islands of Hvar and Korcula. The islands were so beautiful, and after a long winter provided us with some desperately needed sun!

Finally, we headed to Dubrovnik. Signs leading into the Old City show which buildings were destroyed or damaged by bombs during the Croatian War of Independence - a sobering sight.

We were able to see a huge amount in the short time we were in Croatia, and the experience far exceeded our expectations. We hope that we can return someday soon.

You can see the photos from our Croatian adventure here.

More photos...

2007-11-11T21:45:00.000Z

We arrived back in London today after a fantastic 10 days in France, and that means back to the task of getting our photos online! Based on our current work rate, don't expect to see any photos from our France trip until well into the New Year :)

In March, we headed north to Bradford to visit family for the weekend. We had a great weekend, venturing to see Skipton Castle and the pretty sea-side town of Whitby.

March also saw us head to Manchester and Nec's first ever visit to Old Trafford for a Manchester United match. The atmosphere at the game was amazing!

You can see the photos here:

Tallinn, Estonia

2007-10-29T22:23:00.000Z

Esther and Morgan may have missed snow in London by just 12 hours, but we all got another chance to play in the white stuff when we took a weekend trip to Tallinn, Estonia.

Weather reports promised a very chilly weekend, but thankfully the temperatures never got as low as the -12 degrees that had been predicted!

We spent almost all of our time wandering around the beautiful Old Town, exploring the city walls and sliding around on the frozen lake!

We had a great dinner at "Old Hansa", a medieval restaurant in Tallinn's Old Town, where the wait staff recreate the meals and atmosphere of times past. The entire restaurant is lit only by candlelight, and the menu is also a recreation of medieval fare, including the intriguing "Meats of the Forest".

Go here to see the photos.

Snow!

2007-10-10T22:59:00.000+01:00

As we approach another London winter (not that it felt like we got a summer this year!), it is somewhat appropriate for some snow photos.

We were lucky enough to see snow in London twice last winter - the first occasion only two days before Australia Day, and then again a couple of weeks later. The second time it snowed, Alun and I headed to nearby Holland Park to play on our way to work.

February also saw the arrival of Esther and Morgan in London - they missed the snow by about 12 hours! To make up for it, we ventured to the Borough Markets and Tower Bridge with them.

You can see all of the photos on Flickr -

Shanghai

2007-10-01T22:04:00.000+01:00

After Christmas at home, we stopped off in Shanghai for a few days on our way back to London.

Shanghai was quite a contrast with Beijing (which we visited a few years earlier). The whole city (well, the parts we saw) had a far more western feel.

We saw a few sites and, most importantly, had some great food (love the £ overseas!).

Amazingly, we also survived travelling at 431 km/hour on the Maglev, which connects Shanghai with the international airport.

Click here to see our Shanghai photos