Our very last stop was in Florence and the Tuscany region. No European experience is complete without a stop in Italy. We decided to spend Valentines Day in Florence, but really the charm of the place is diminished by throngs and throngs of Chinese tourists in search of their Guccis and Pradas...hehehe....
Highlights in Florence were the Uffizi Gallery, seeing the tombs of Michaelangelo and Galileo in Basilica Santa Croce, eating the famous Vivoli gelati (twice!) and having dinner at the restaurant recommended by Shazza (twice too!). I can't recall the name now...but it was a fantastic restaurant...if you don't book, you have to turn up really early otherwise the queue is a bit excruciating when you're starving!
Now I remember the name of Shaz's restaurant, if you are in Florence, you should try out Trattoria ZaZa. The truffle pasta was brilliant and reasonably priced too!
Siena is a really pretty city in the Tuscan region. The historic centre of Siena is a World Heritage site. Highlights for me were the Siena Duomo and the Piazzo del Campo, and eating the traditional Siena cake. We also visited San Gimignano, a small medieval walled city in the Tuscan region and climbed one of the old towers to catch an aerial view of Tuscany. On the way back to London from Florence, we saw the Eiffel Tower from the plane. Sadly I said goodbye to Paris!
Friday, August 01, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Lisbon, Portugal
We went to Lisbon with Shaz and Rose back in February. Lisbon is a traditional European city with ornate buildings, cobbled streets and trams. On our first day, we visited the UNESCO World heritage protected Jeronimos Monastery built in 1502, saw the iconic Belem Tower by the water and the Discoveries Monument in Belem, where Christopher Columbus stopped by on his way back to Europe after discovering the New World. The day was ended by joining the local queue for the famous Portugese egg tarts!
Day 2 was spent in Sintra, a UNESCO heritage site. We visited the National Palace with its iconic twin chimneys and the medieval Pena Palace. Shaz took us to a great restaurant called Tacho Real which was a finalist for a 2008 Michelin star (just as well, before it becomes expensive)! Back in Lisbon, Rose and I tried some strong Portugese coffee at a traditional cafe near our hotel.
Our final day in Lisbon was spent riding the Santa Justa elevator, visiting St Georges Cathedral and the Bairro Alto and the Alfama District, whilst Garry spent half the day glued to his mobile with his "mistress" (Guess who?). Again, we decided to stuff ourselves with more egg tarts before boarding the flight back to London! I think all of us were happy not to see another tart for a while!
Day 2 was spent in Sintra, a UNESCO heritage site. We visited the National Palace with its iconic twin chimneys and the medieval Pena Palace. Shaz took us to a great restaurant called Tacho Real which was a finalist for a 2008 Michelin star (just as well, before it becomes expensive)! Back in Lisbon, Rose and I tried some strong Portugese coffee at a traditional cafe near our hotel.
Our final day in Lisbon was spent riding the Santa Justa elevator, visiting St Georges Cathedral and the Bairro Alto and the Alfama District, whilst Garry spent half the day glued to his mobile with his "mistress" (Guess who?). Again, we decided to stuff ourselves with more egg tarts before boarding the flight back to London! I think all of us were happy not to see another tart for a while!
Friday, June 06, 2008
More of California
I can't believe it's June now and I'm still blogging my Jan trips. Oh well, I hate doing things half-way so I'm going to persevere and try and complete my blog up till our last trip!
More time was spent in California, Deb's hometown! Deb took us to San Diego one weekend and on the way, we stopped by at San Juan Capistrano, a Spanish missionery, La Jolla (a beachside resort) and Gastown. We visited Hotel del Coranado in San Diego (an old Victorian hotel) and the world's largest zoo, San Diego Zoo. I had to say hi to my favourite apes and the cute pandas! We also drove to Palm Spring and passed one of the largest windfarms in California.
Pics of LA Disneyland...where dreams are made!
Deb took us to the Getty Villa and Getty Museum in LA to soak in some culture!
Our last weekend in California was spent in Santa Barbara. Deb took us to an old courthouse in Santa Barbara where she did a few court appearances. We also visited Solvang, a Danish town in California. When we first arrived in Santa Barbara, the weather was crazy. It was so windy and rainy that we stayed in on our first night and had pizza for dinner. We almost got blown away getting out of the car, I was so afraid that Deb's car door was going to come apart!
More time was spent in California, Deb's hometown! Deb took us to San Diego one weekend and on the way, we stopped by at San Juan Capistrano, a Spanish missionery, La Jolla (a beachside resort) and Gastown. We visited Hotel del Coranado in San Diego (an old Victorian hotel) and the world's largest zoo, San Diego Zoo. I had to say hi to my favourite apes and the cute pandas! We also drove to Palm Spring and passed one of the largest windfarms in California.
Pics of LA Disneyland...where dreams are made!
Deb took us to the Getty Villa and Getty Museum in LA to soak in some culture!
Our last weekend in California was spent in Santa Barbara. Deb took us to an old courthouse in Santa Barbara where she did a few court appearances. We also visited Solvang, a Danish town in California. When we first arrived in Santa Barbara, the weather was crazy. It was so windy and rainy that we stayed in on our first night and had pizza for dinner. We almost got blown away getting out of the car, I was so afraid that Deb's car door was going to come apart!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Los Angeles - Home of Deb!
12 Jan 08 - After San Fran, we returned to LA for a long stint to catch up with Deb, a very patriotic Los Angelean, always quick to show off the best of the city (I still remember the lengthy debate between Deb and Garry as to whether LA or Perth would be a better place to live, let's just say the debate went on for ages, I dozed off in the car for a while and when I woke up, they were still going on about it and it went on the next day....and the next...of course, I was voting for neither...tried to throw in London as a contender but they just ignored me!!)
My favourite architecture in LA has got to be the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by world renowned architect Frank Gehry (I think he was also the one who designed the Freedom Tower on Ground Zero in NYC). I love how the stainless steel curves of the Concert Hall shine in the sun. After taking pics of the Concert Hall, we drove to the home of Baywatch (the famous Muscle Venice Beach), Rodeo Drive (saw the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed - remember the last scene when Richard Gere kissed Julia Roberts on the staircase outside the hotel?) and the Chinese Kodak Theatre (where we saw the famous hand and foot prints of celebrities). A scary accident happened when we were at the Kodak Theatre. A guy fell down from an escalator and was badly hurt, the whole area was closed off and I saw one of the ambulance officers carrying a see through plastic bag filled with bloodstained clothing...it was quite unsettling being so close to the accident.
Celebrated the end of the night with Pinks' hot dogs (a famous LA icon - fresh hot dogs homemade on the spot and stuffed with chilli). We had to queue up for a whole hour and to make it all worthwhile, we ordered more than we could consume. Hands down to Aldo who ordered a cheeseburger, 3 hotdogs, onion rings and fries, all for one person!
LA had an amazing variety of Asian food. The Asian ranch 99 supermarket was as big as a typical coles/woolies. It was so busy in "Din Tai Fung" (Taiwanese chain restaurant that specialises in dumplings) that they had to hire a whole team of Mexican people to hand make the dumplings. We visited the Huntington Library which did not only have an amazing collection of art but the gardens were just great. I loved the Desert Garden. The Library also had a Japanese garden, an Australian garden and a Chinese one which was also under construction. These grounds were all donated by the generous Mr Huntington. Universal Studios was another highlight for us.
We visited the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels near Deb's office which cost about US$20m to build. It's an unually modern building with a mausoleum in the basement where we saw Gregory Peck's tomb. After the Cathedral, Deb took us to see the Olvera Street Mexican market in downtown LA and the famous Union Station.
My favourite architecture in LA has got to be the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by world renowned architect Frank Gehry (I think he was also the one who designed the Freedom Tower on Ground Zero in NYC). I love how the stainless steel curves of the Concert Hall shine in the sun. After taking pics of the Concert Hall, we drove to the home of Baywatch (the famous Muscle Venice Beach), Rodeo Drive (saw the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed - remember the last scene when Richard Gere kissed Julia Roberts on the staircase outside the hotel?) and the Chinese Kodak Theatre (where we saw the famous hand and foot prints of celebrities). A scary accident happened when we were at the Kodak Theatre. A guy fell down from an escalator and was badly hurt, the whole area was closed off and I saw one of the ambulance officers carrying a see through plastic bag filled with bloodstained clothing...it was quite unsettling being so close to the accident.
Celebrated the end of the night with Pinks' hot dogs (a famous LA icon - fresh hot dogs homemade on the spot and stuffed with chilli). We had to queue up for a whole hour and to make it all worthwhile, we ordered more than we could consume. Hands down to Aldo who ordered a cheeseburger, 3 hotdogs, onion rings and fries, all for one person!
LA had an amazing variety of Asian food. The Asian ranch 99 supermarket was as big as a typical coles/woolies. It was so busy in "Din Tai Fung" (Taiwanese chain restaurant that specialises in dumplings) that they had to hire a whole team of Mexican people to hand make the dumplings. We visited the Huntington Library which did not only have an amazing collection of art but the gardens were just great. I loved the Desert Garden. The Library also had a Japanese garden, an Australian garden and a Chinese one which was also under construction. These grounds were all donated by the generous Mr Huntington. Universal Studios was another highlight for us.
We visited the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels near Deb's office which cost about US$20m to build. It's an unually modern building with a mausoleum in the basement where we saw Gregory Peck's tomb. After the Cathedral, Deb took us to see the Olvera Street Mexican market in downtown LA and the famous Union Station.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
San Francisco
10 January 2008 - We were in San Fran for three days after Las Vegas. San Fran has got to be one of my favourite US cities. It is a very quaint place with old trams, hilly roads, character Georgian houses (remember Full House?) and yummy sourdough clam chowder. We saw the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and visited Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square (where the original Ghiradelli chocolate factory was located).
Sorry, it's really taken me a while to finish this travel blog but I hate doing half-baked jobs so I will persevere...Ok, I've uploaded a few pics of our Alcatraz visit. It was interesting to see where the likes of Al Capone and the Birdman (well-known notorious criminals) were imprisoned. Pretty eerie seeing the "A" Block and the "D" Block where highly dangerous criminals were kept off in maximum security from the other criminals. Just to finish off on a lighter note in San Fran, we went up to the top of Macy's and tried the famous Cheesecake Factory's Godiva cheesecake! Funny enough, we also bumped into Bianca (Garry's friend from med school) and her mum at Bloomingdales in San Fran. Bianca has been training in Toronto and was holidaying in San Fran with her mum for a couple of days. What are the chances of bumping into Perth people on the other side of the world?! Quite high apparently!
Sorry, it's really taken me a while to finish this travel blog but I hate doing half-baked jobs so I will persevere...Ok, I've uploaded a few pics of our Alcatraz visit. It was interesting to see where the likes of Al Capone and the Birdman (well-known notorious criminals) were imprisoned. Pretty eerie seeing the "A" Block and the "D" Block where highly dangerous criminals were kept off in maximum security from the other criminals. Just to finish off on a lighter note in San Fran, we went up to the top of Macy's and tried the famous Cheesecake Factory's Godiva cheesecake! Funny enough, we also bumped into Bianca (Garry's friend from med school) and her mum at Bloomingdales in San Fran. Bianca has been training in Toronto and was holidaying in San Fran with her mum for a couple of days. What are the chances of bumping into Perth people on the other side of the world?! Quite high apparently!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Las Vegas and Grand Canyon
7 Jan 08 - We were in Vegas for three nights and went on a day tour to the Grand Canyons. Thanks heaps to Elisa's cousin (Jane) and Elisa's aunty for putting us up in the Monte Carlo and treating us to a nice dinner at the Venetian (after her jackpot win!). Jane even got us access to one of the special lounges on the 32nd floor in the Monte Carlo but funny enough, a month later, the 32nd floor actually caught on fire.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Canada
26 Dec 07 - We spent the first two days of our Canadian holiday on the Rocky Mountaineer train that took us from Vancouver to Lake Louise through the Rocky Mountains. Unfortunately on the second day, a freight train in front of us broke down and damaged the track which then had to be repaired. We ended up being stuck overnight on the train in the mountains whilst the track was being fixed. We passed the time playing cards, cluedo, hangman, and even "I spy with my little eye...." (we must have been really bored). Luckily Denning was smart enough to bring his laptop & DVDs along.
28 Dec 07 - After a long train journey, we spoilt ourselves by staying at the Fairmont Lake Louise for two nights. We went skiing at the Lake Louise Ski Resort near the Fairmont and also horse-sleighing around the frozen Lake Louise. Really wanted to try dog-sleighing but it was booked out months before. Experienced extreme cold at Lake Louise (went down to -15 degrees), I was so afraid that my toes were going to fall off whilst we were on the sleigh!
3 Jan 08 - We returned to Vancouver after visiting Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary. In Vancouver, we visited Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium, Capillano Suspension Bridge (the world's largest suspension bridge), Gastown and Chinatown. Highlights in Vancouver were seeing the cute otters and beluga whales at the Aquarium and eating lots of cheap fresh salmon sashimi.
28 Dec 07 - After a long train journey, we spoilt ourselves by staying at the Fairmont Lake Louise for two nights. We went skiing at the Lake Louise Ski Resort near the Fairmont and also horse-sleighing around the frozen Lake Louise. Really wanted to try dog-sleighing but it was booked out months before. Experienced extreme cold at Lake Louise (went down to -15 degrees), I was so afraid that my toes were going to fall off whilst we were on the sleigh!
3 Jan 08 - We returned to Vancouver after visiting Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary. In Vancouver, we visited Stanley Park, Vancouver Aquarium, Capillano Suspension Bridge (the world's largest suspension bridge), Gastown and Chinatown. Highlights in Vancouver were seeing the cute otters and beluga whales at the Aquarium and eating lots of cheap fresh salmon sashimi.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
New York City
Hi guys, it's been a while since I last updated our blog. Garry and I are now back in Perth for good. We arrived two days ago and are now slowly unpacking our year's worth of junk. Now that the travel bug has gone, my adrenalin is running low, but for the sake of completeness, I will try and complete this blog (whenever I'm not devising ways of convincing Garry to return to London).
18 to 26 Dec - Christmas was spent in New York. We met up with Nateecha and Nick who were also in New York at the same time. Also met up with Denning, Elisa and Aldo in New York for the start of our one month US/Canada holiday together.
A highlight for me in New York will have to be my brush with fame and getting a photo taken with Anne Hathaway in Barneys. I felt a bit embarrassed cause the security officer said that photos weren't allowed inside the department store. But Anne Hathaway was very kind, she told the security officer that it was just a quick photo and happily took a photo with me. I apologised for bothering her but she was extremely nice, said it was no worries at all but she would have to dash out quickly after the photo before everyone else noticed her...and yes, she is "pretty hot" (quoting Garry) in real life!
18 to 26 Dec - Christmas was spent in New York. We met up with Nateecha and Nick who were also in New York at the same time. Also met up with Denning, Elisa and Aldo in New York for the start of our one month US/Canada holiday together.
A highlight for me in New York will have to be my brush with fame and getting a photo taken with Anne Hathaway in Barneys. I felt a bit embarrassed cause the security officer said that photos weren't allowed inside the department store. But Anne Hathaway was very kind, she told the security officer that it was just a quick photo and happily took a photo with me. I apologised for bothering her but she was extremely nice, said it was no worries at all but she would have to dash out quickly after the photo before everyone else noticed her...and yes, she is "pretty hot" (quoting Garry) in real life!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Munich, Salzburg and Vienna
9 Dec 07 - I love Christmas markets so we decided to spend a week in Munich, Salzburg and Vienna. Highlights in Bavaria were seeing the birthplace and residence of Mozart and the tour to Neuschwanstein Castle, home of King Ludwig II, and inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. On the way to the Castle, we stopped at Oberammergau, a small German village in Bavaria, where Garry's mum travelled 30 years ago to watch the Passion play (performed since 1634 as a tradition by the villagers who vowed that if God were to spare them from the effects of the bubonic plague affecting the region, they would perform a play every ten years depicting the life and death of Jesus).
MUNICH
SALZBURG
SALZBURG SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR - We did the Sound of Music tour ran by Panorama Co. as recommended by Catherine and Deb. Highlights were seeing the Von Trapp Family Home, Monsee Cathedral and Mirabell Gardens, dancing outside the 'sixteen going on seventeen" pavilion, and acting like an idiot skipping along the road that Maria skipped on from the Nonnberg Abbey to the Von Trapp home. Our guide told us some interesting stories about the filming of the Sound of Music movie - that Liesl almost killed herself when she filmed the pavilion scene. She smashed herself against the glass of the pavilion when skipping from bench to bench, the producers forgot to put anti-slip covering on her shoes, and Little Gretel almost drowned herself when they did the boating scene because she did not know how to swim and the lake was deep.
VIENNA is a really pretty city with lots of palatial architecture. We visited Schonbrunn Palace (built around 1700 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), soaked in the Christmas atmosphere and drank lots of Viennese coffee to stay warm (Mark Twain once said that "the best coffee in Europe is Vienna coffee, compared to which all other coffee is fluid poverty").
MUNICH
SALZBURG
SALZBURG SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR - We did the Sound of Music tour ran by Panorama Co. as recommended by Catherine and Deb. Highlights were seeing the Von Trapp Family Home, Monsee Cathedral and Mirabell Gardens, dancing outside the 'sixteen going on seventeen" pavilion, and acting like an idiot skipping along the road that Maria skipped on from the Nonnberg Abbey to the Von Trapp home. Our guide told us some interesting stories about the filming of the Sound of Music movie - that Liesl almost killed herself when she filmed the pavilion scene. She smashed herself against the glass of the pavilion when skipping from bench to bench, the producers forgot to put anti-slip covering on her shoes, and Little Gretel almost drowned herself when they did the boating scene because she did not know how to swim and the lake was deep.
VIENNA is a really pretty city with lots of palatial architecture. We visited Schonbrunn Palace (built around 1700 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), soaked in the Christmas atmosphere and drank lots of Viennese coffee to stay warm (Mark Twain once said that "the best coffee in Europe is Vienna coffee, compared to which all other coffee is fluid poverty").
Friday, February 01, 2008
Egypt and Jordan
24 Nov to Sat 8 Dec 07 - We met up with Max, Ad and Katherine in Cairo for the start of our Egypt and Jordan tour with Traveltalk. Day One was definitely an icon-filled day - we saw the famous ancient wonders (Pyramids of Giza), the first step pyramid built by Imhotep and the Sphinx. Riding a camel across the Sahara Desert was a highlight for me. Our tour guide, Sam, also took us to an Egyptian parfumery where flower essences were used to make perfume oils which were then used by the big name perfume houses (eg. Chanel, Issey Miyake and Kenzo) for their base essences.
ASWAN - We took an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan and checked in at the new Cataract Hotel. The old Cataract Hotel next door was much nicer and was where Agatha Christie wrote "Death on the Nile". At Aswan, we saw the Philae Temple, the High Dam and the unfinished obelisk. Haggling at the Aswan markets was pretty fun to watch (Max and I were too chicken to do it so we watched Ad and Katherine in action). Also had a go at sheesha-ing which didn't do much for me since I only had one puff. Highlight for me was seeing the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We woke up at 3am to follow the bus convoy (for safety reasons) on a 2 hour bus trip to Abu Simbel.
KOM OMBO - In the morning before we set off for Kom Ombo, Sam organised for our Nile cruiser group to experience a traditional felucca ride for an hour. We weren't brave enough to sail for 3 days on a felucca without a toilet and shower hence we chose to sail the Nile on a cruiseboat instead. After the felucca ride, our cruiser sailed north toweards the Kom Ombo Temple. The night view was spectacular. We saw a mummified croc at the Temple. The night was finished off with an Egyptian theme party. We tried to look as Egyptian as we could. Garry and I were asked to participate in a mummifying competition. Those of you who know us well will know that Garry does all the gift wrapping at home, so when I was asked to wrap Garry up in toilet paper, the end result was not a pretty sight!
EDFU - We went on a horse drawn carriage to the Edfu Temple. After the Temple visit, we sailed on the Nile towards Luxor and through the Esna Lock. We arrived in Luxor in the evening and went to see the Luxor Temple built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
VALLEY OF THE KINGS AND KARNAK - We experienced our first hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and watched the sunrise from the balloon. After the ride, we visited the Valley of the Kings to see the tombs of pharoahs including the famous tomb of Tutankhamen then followed by the tombs of Egyptian workers. We also saw the Temple of Hatshepsut (the only queen ever to rule Egypt) and Karnak Temple.
DAHAB AND MOUNT SINAI - 3 days in Dahab was nice and relaxing. Ad told us that the Blue Hole was one of the top diving spots in the world. Max and I experienced our first introductory scuba dive. Thinking back, it was pretty hilarious. We were both taking so long to master the basic skills that in the end, the instructor gave up, told us to keep breathing and started pulling us into the sea. Snorkelling at the Blue Hole was great too, the reef was close to shore and we didn't have to swim out too far to see the amazing fish and coral. Another highlight was climbing Mt Sinai, allegedly climbed by Moses. We started the climb at about midnight and only got to the peak at about 6am. Ad & Garry opted for camels halfway up which was a smart thing to do. Max and I struggled the whole up, it didn't help too when my torch died halfway. But we managed to get to the top in time for sunrise! Of course, we had to make our way down the rocky terrain too. We visited St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai and saw the rose bush which was believed to be Moses' burning bush in the bible.
JORDAN - We cruised from Taba in Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan. First stop in Jordan was the Wadi Rum desert. Our first night was spent in a Bedouin (desert dwelling Arab nomads) tent and we tasted Bedouin style cooking (meat and potatoes cooked in a ground oven made of a steel barrel) at the camp. To minimise contact with the desert dirt, poor Garry slept in his day attire - jeans and jacket all zipped up with his hood fastened tightly over his head. Highlight for me was riding in an old beaten up Toyota Ute across the Wadi Rum desert and our Bedouin driver amusing us with his funny songs.
Second stop in Jordan was the ancient city of Petra, recently listed as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It is an archaeological site famous for its rock cut architecture and where excavations are still currently being conducted to uncover more ancient buildings. According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. For those of you who are Indiana Jones fans will recognise the site featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Third stop in Jordan was Karak Castle (an old fortified town and castle referred to in the Bible as the fortress of Kir Heres 29 centuries ago). After the Castle visit, we were taken to the Dead Sea (the world's second saltiest body of water). We had fun floating in the Dead Sea and covering ourselves with the natural Dead Sea mud.
The last day of our tour was spent in Cairo. We visited the Egyptian Museum where we saw the artefacts from the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the mummified bodies of several pharoahs, including that of the most powerful pharoah in Egypt, Ramses II.
ASWAN - We took an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan and checked in at the new Cataract Hotel. The old Cataract Hotel next door was much nicer and was where Agatha Christie wrote "Death on the Nile". At Aswan, we saw the Philae Temple, the High Dam and the unfinished obelisk. Haggling at the Aswan markets was pretty fun to watch (Max and I were too chicken to do it so we watched Ad and Katherine in action). Also had a go at sheesha-ing which didn't do much for me since I only had one puff. Highlight for me was seeing the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We woke up at 3am to follow the bus convoy (for safety reasons) on a 2 hour bus trip to Abu Simbel.
KOM OMBO - In the morning before we set off for Kom Ombo, Sam organised for our Nile cruiser group to experience a traditional felucca ride for an hour. We weren't brave enough to sail for 3 days on a felucca without a toilet and shower hence we chose to sail the Nile on a cruiseboat instead. After the felucca ride, our cruiser sailed north toweards the Kom Ombo Temple. The night view was spectacular. We saw a mummified croc at the Temple. The night was finished off with an Egyptian theme party. We tried to look as Egyptian as we could. Garry and I were asked to participate in a mummifying competition. Those of you who know us well will know that Garry does all the gift wrapping at home, so when I was asked to wrap Garry up in toilet paper, the end result was not a pretty sight!
EDFU - We went on a horse drawn carriage to the Edfu Temple. After the Temple visit, we sailed on the Nile towards Luxor and through the Esna Lock. We arrived in Luxor in the evening and went to see the Luxor Temple built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
VALLEY OF THE KINGS AND KARNAK - We experienced our first hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and watched the sunrise from the balloon. After the ride, we visited the Valley of the Kings to see the tombs of pharoahs including the famous tomb of Tutankhamen then followed by the tombs of Egyptian workers. We also saw the Temple of Hatshepsut (the only queen ever to rule Egypt) and Karnak Temple.
DAHAB AND MOUNT SINAI - 3 days in Dahab was nice and relaxing. Ad told us that the Blue Hole was one of the top diving spots in the world. Max and I experienced our first introductory scuba dive. Thinking back, it was pretty hilarious. We were both taking so long to master the basic skills that in the end, the instructor gave up, told us to keep breathing and started pulling us into the sea. Snorkelling at the Blue Hole was great too, the reef was close to shore and we didn't have to swim out too far to see the amazing fish and coral. Another highlight was climbing Mt Sinai, allegedly climbed by Moses. We started the climb at about midnight and only got to the peak at about 6am. Ad & Garry opted for camels halfway up which was a smart thing to do. Max and I struggled the whole up, it didn't help too when my torch died halfway. But we managed to get to the top in time for sunrise! Of course, we had to make our way down the rocky terrain too. We visited St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai and saw the rose bush which was believed to be Moses' burning bush in the bible.
JORDAN - We cruised from Taba in Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan. First stop in Jordan was the Wadi Rum desert. Our first night was spent in a Bedouin (desert dwelling Arab nomads) tent and we tasted Bedouin style cooking (meat and potatoes cooked in a ground oven made of a steel barrel) at the camp. To minimise contact with the desert dirt, poor Garry slept in his day attire - jeans and jacket all zipped up with his hood fastened tightly over his head. Highlight for me was riding in an old beaten up Toyota Ute across the Wadi Rum desert and our Bedouin driver amusing us with his funny songs.
Second stop in Jordan was the ancient city of Petra, recently listed as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It is an archaeological site famous for its rock cut architecture and where excavations are still currently being conducted to uncover more ancient buildings. According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. For those of you who are Indiana Jones fans will recognise the site featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Third stop in Jordan was Karak Castle (an old fortified town and castle referred to in the Bible as the fortress of Kir Heres 29 centuries ago). After the Castle visit, we were taken to the Dead Sea (the world's second saltiest body of water). We had fun floating in the Dead Sea and covering ourselves with the natural Dead Sea mud.
The last day of our tour was spent in Cairo. We visited the Egyptian Museum where we saw the artefacts from the Tomb of Tutankhamen and the mummified bodies of several pharoahs, including that of the most powerful pharoah in Egypt, Ramses II.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Berlin Trip
Hi everyone, sorry I know it's been a while since I last updated our blog. My steam is slowly running out. Anyway, Garry and I are now back in London after our long trips to Egypt, Jordan, US and Canada. Before we left for Egypt, Garry took me to Berlin for a short trip to celebrate the end of my work contract and the start of unemployment for 2 months or so!! We are now feeling the pain in our pockets (hehehe).
Day 1 in Berlin (17 Nov 2007) - We walked around Alexander Platz and took Bus no. 100 around berlin. It was a good bus route cause it took us to many sights. Saw the iconic Bradenburg Gate lit up at night and visited the Kaiser-Wilheim Memorial church which was bombed in the war but was still left with a beautiful Byzantine mosaic ceiling.
Day 2 in Berlin (18 Nov 2007) - Highlights on the second day were Checkpoint Charlie (previously the border control point between East and West Berlin) and walking the historical mile where the wall used to stand. We saw remnants of the Berlin Wall, the Potsdamer Platz (previously no man's land when the wall was still up), the Jewish Memorial, the Topography of Terrors (an exhibition of the Holocaust at the location where the Nazis used to operate ), and the East Side Gallery (one of the last remaining stretches of the wall decorated with street art).
Day 3 in Berlin (19 Nov 2007) - We visited the Reichstag (German Parliment) with an amazingly modern glass cupola, which we climbed to get a panoramic view of Berlin. We also visited a museum called "The Story of Berlin" showing the history of Berlin and a real nuclear shelter built after WWII (a completely sealed off underground town) to protect the citizens against another world war.
Day 1 in Berlin (17 Nov 2007) - We walked around Alexander Platz and took Bus no. 100 around berlin. It was a good bus route cause it took us to many sights. Saw the iconic Bradenburg Gate lit up at night and visited the Kaiser-Wilheim Memorial church which was bombed in the war but was still left with a beautiful Byzantine mosaic ceiling.
Day 2 in Berlin (18 Nov 2007) - Highlights on the second day were Checkpoint Charlie (previously the border control point between East and West Berlin) and walking the historical mile where the wall used to stand. We saw remnants of the Berlin Wall, the Potsdamer Platz (previously no man's land when the wall was still up), the Jewish Memorial, the Topography of Terrors (an exhibition of the Holocaust at the location where the Nazis used to operate ), and the East Side Gallery (one of the last remaining stretches of the wall decorated with street art).
Day 3 in Berlin (19 Nov 2007) - We visited the Reichstag (German Parliment) with an amazingly modern glass cupola, which we climbed to get a panoramic view of Berlin. We also visited a museum called "The Story of Berlin" showing the history of Berlin and a real nuclear shelter built after WWII (a completely sealed off underground town) to protect the citizens against another world war.
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