Europe 2007

Our last day in Dublin was spent visiting the Guinness Storehouse. The culmination of the self-guided tour involved complementary perfect pints and a fantastic 360 degree view of Dublin from the rooftop bar.

View from the Guiness Storehouse

Two Perfect Pints

Nick and The Perfect Pint

We also visited the Irish Museum of Modern Art, where we viewed a sculpture exhibition of works by Alexander Calder and Joan Miro. http://www.imma.ie/en/page_170509.htm

The evening involved a literary pub crawl, where we were entertained by two very talented Irish actors on the history of Irish literary greats such as Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett whilst trawling the streets of Ireland.

We had a late meal - Nick's first meat meal for awhile perhaps(?) at Eddie Rocket's, a very cheesy American themed burger chain.

One thing we have noticed about Dublin is the weather has been absolutely bloody fantastic since we've been here - not a drop of rain yet!!

We fly off to Amsterdam tomorrow - more from us soon...

We arrived in warm, sunny Dublin on Thursday afternoon. The trip from the airport to our hostel was a simple process compared to the dramas at Heathrow.

Arriving in Dublin was a welcome relief from the pollution and chaos that is London. It feels a lot like Melbourne here, young, colorful, vibrant, but compact and personable.

Our hostel sits a top of a hill on the north side of the River Liffey, and is a 10 minute walk from the action. It's a former Convent School, and as such has an old (at times creepy) vibe, but it's large, airy, clean and comfortable.

Our journeys around Dublin have so far taken us to:
- the excellent Bar Italia for the first decent meal we've had since leaving Australia (to be fair Hong Kong was pretty good, but not what our stomachs are used to),
- the equally impressive Gruel (best Roast Chicken going around, and no poison!),
- the crowded shopping strip of Grafton Street for cheap sneakers and bagels,
- the brilliant inner city refuge of St. Stephen's Green,
- a lovely little pub - Dame Tavern for some live music and pints of Guinness, and
- Temple Bar - the gaudiest, cheesiest Bar District this side of Nevada USA

Today was spent picnicing, reading and snoozing in St Stephen's Green. We stocked up on supplies at the Saturday market at Meeting Place Square which had a variety of gourmet foods - much like a mini Queen Vic Market.

Tonight we'll probably find somewhere for a cheapish pizza, then a little more Guinness, before taking the Guinness storehouse tour tomorrow.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more adventures...

If ever there were a home away from home for Australian travellers, surely London is it. As many Straylan accents and cockney ones, and about as exotic as fish and chips. With this in mind, it has been the perfect place to begin our European sojourn, and an excellent acclimatiser to the joys and perils of international travel.

Day three in London was a GIS/Ancient History nerd's dream. Thankfully, this travelling party has one of those, so a good day was had. In a nutshell, the highlights:

- Morning spent at Greenwich, straddling the meridian, and navigating the endless stream of gift shops to make our escape,

- Afternoon spent in the majesty of the British Museum (and yet more gift shops). The museum was a genuine highlight, with a vast collection of antiquities, and many handsome statues of various Roman fellows,

- To top it off, dinner and a show in West End. We partook in a bit of kooky fun in the form of Little Shop of Horrors, which was excellent, and well worth the four or five hundred australian dollars the tickets probably cost after exchange.

View from the Player Tunnel at Emirates

Some observations of London:
- There is no such thing as a newsagent here. There is the occasional genuine newspaper seller, and more often an off-licence parading as a newspaper seller, but no newsagents as we know them,
- The coffee, and food, are absolutely dreadful here (distinctly mediocre at best). It's not just an urban legend,
- If you haven't heard a siren in the last 5 minutes, you'll probably need to get your hearing checked. They're pretty much a constant part of the soundscape,
- Soho is as cool and trendy as we'd been told. Definitely the most attractive part of London we've visited,
- Brits love two-wheelers. I feel very at home at every red light. Motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, they're out in droves day and night, and it's brilliant,
- The tube system is world class, and the locals STILL whinge about it. I guess the grass is always greener...
- and finally, DON'T EAT THE CHICKEN!

BTW. I'm over the food poisoning, and looking forward to catching up on missed drinking time with a few pints of Guinness over the weekend.

Until next time...

Yesterday we shopped up a storm around London. I bought three pairs of shoes from French Sole and Nick bought several items of clothing from Topshop Men.

It's amazing how many shopping areas there are scattered around London and also how easy it is to navigate the tube.

Among the places we visited were:
- Picadilly Circus
- Oxford Street
- Selfridges
- H&M
- Fortnum and Mason
- Topshop
- Chelsea
- Lilly Whites - where we bought football strips at unbelievable prices

The London Eye was the next attraction on our list - with spectacular 360 degree views of London, reaching heights of 135 metres above the ground, situated on the banks of the river Thames.

The London Eye

View from the London Eye

The London Eye Sunset

We went for dinner at The Big Easy in Chelsea with an expat Aussie mate, Liam and had a few drinks. Alas, after midnight most pubs shut down and we couldn't find anywhere to kick on, so headed home.

Today we visited the Tower of London - magnificent in all its historical splendour and chequered past. We experienced the grand tour given by a Beefeater.

The Tower of London

A Beefeater

Nick's highlight was food poisoning (god forbid) from the chicken burger at The Big Easy, throwing up in a bin at the tower. He's upstairs sleeping it off now, poor boy.

After that it was all downhill, we visited the Tate Modern which was fantastic however Nick was feeling quite ill by that point so we headed home.

The saga continutes tomorrow when hopfully Nick will recover from his food poisoning (fingers crossed)...

(ps. recently added - photos on the map - click on the countries we have visited to check them out!)

We arrived in Hong Kong at 3:00 in the afternoon and greeted at the airport by my Uncle Joseph whom I haven't seen since I was but a wee thing.

Hong Kong is a noisy colourful fusion of the Orient and Ye Olde England. It is both the most orderly, organised, efficient, and chaotic, crazy, bombastic place imaginable.

Highlights:
- A terrifying trip up to the Peak in a taxi driven by a mad man
- The stunning 360 view of all of Hong Kong from the Peak. Mountains to the south, Sprawling High-rises to the north. Truly spectacular.
- An equally terrifying trip, hurtling (vertically) back down the mountain at break-neck speeds in an ancient tram suspended by a pully system
- Shopping at Causeway Bay which had many floors, each with a different theme
- A fantastic feast at a Shanghaiese restaurant where dishes consisted of whole everthing, in turns deep fried, and dipped in soup.
- Our hotel room that had a stunning view of Causeway Bay

The terrifying tram

Lisa at the Peak

The Feast

Hotel vista

That's us for now. Coming soon Chapter 2 - London...