London -> Chichester -> London
Highlight
- Another beautiful day. We started by going to the Cathedral but as usual, there was mass on. It was peaceful to walk around the grounds outside.
- Walked around the high street looking at potential food option
- Went on part of a Town Wall walk. The walk itself is pleasant, but in terms of view there wasn't much to see
- We stopped off at the Bishops Palace Gardens near the Cathedral grounds - which was beautiful with its trees and flowers, and laid there and played for a long time
- We ventured to a car boot market while looking for food...and it was not interesting
- Nothing good to eat on the high street, so decided on strawberries on the market, M&S salad and Cook berry cheesecake
- Tried to go to the Chichester District Museum, but found out it was closed and due to move to a different location.... so spent the rest of the afternoon lying on the grass and eating (again) at Priory Park.
- Another train ride home
Food
- M&S salad
- strawberries
- Cook's summer berry cheesecake
- M&S banana smoothie
London -> Arundel -> London
Highlight
- Yeah, finally a nice day and Allie was in a good mood. We arrived at the station super early again and had to wait ages before we got on the train
- It's a quaint little town with loads of little restaurants and tea shops, and looks quite imposing with the castle and cathedral at the top forming a nice backdrop, and the river and rolling hills.
- We did a quick walk around the streets, went to the cathedral (but couldn't go in because of mass), and looked outside the castle (but didn't go in because it costs too much)
- We wanted to catch a boat to go up the Arun river to the pub, but they said they weren't running them. Not sure why as it was peak tourist season and a nice day.
- Instead, we took a very nice walk amongst trees, and then part on the road to reach the pub.
- The setting of the pub is really nice, by the river with view of the castle. There were lots of families and friends enjoying food and drinks in the fun. Alas the food was only about average and not really worth the trip.
- After our lunch we tried to enjoy a walk back along the path - it was not too difficult with a buggy surprisingly. Allie had other ideas though and didn't want to walk, so we had to push her the whole way.
- We spent about an hour at Lake watching "duck duck", eating ice cream and blowing bubbles.
- More time at the playground and Allie had a great time going up and down the stairs.
- A smooth ride home.
Food
- Black Rabbit pub
- Roast Beef (£9.95) - Perfectly roast sirloin of British beef, served with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, glazed parsnips, gravy & seasonal vegetable
-
Sussex Smokey (£9.25) - White & smoked fish, spinach & chopped tomato in a cheese sauce topped with savoury crumble, mixed salad, thick cut chips
- blackcurrant and clotted cream ice cream
London -> Littlehampton -> London
Highlight
- Weather was terrible, raining on and off all day
- It took a long time on the train, and rained straight when we got off.
- Walked to the river side to observe all the swans, then made our way to long beach.
- The beach was nice, with funky decorated benches and lots of cool play area
- Rain stopped, sun came out for a bit, but it was super windy and very cold.
- We tried to play by the beach a bit but Allie was having none of it, so we went for a walk along the seaside instead.
- Walked all the way to Rustington with bits of sun and rain, and Allie moaning in her sleep the whole time.
- Settled to have lunch at the very nice 47 Mussel Row, where the seafood was especially good.
- Had a bit of a look at the swans again, before making our way back to the station since there was another storm coming
Food
- 47 Mussel Row :
- Smoked Salmon (£5.95)Salmon smoked on the premises with Sour Cream
-
Seafood Chowder (£5.25) a classic soup with Tiger Prawns, Cod,Scallop and Smoked Cod
-
Mussels and Chips (£8.75) - fresh Shetland mussels in a wine cream sauce with triple cooked chips and dip
-
Roast lamb (£9.95) - with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and daphinoise potatoes
-
Scampi and Chips (£5.95)
London -> Brighton -> London
Highlight
- Luckily the weather was very nice, so we went straight to the bike hire place
- Allie was super excited to see the bikes, even though she was really tired.
- The bikes were quite comfy, after plowing through all the tourists on the main esplanade, we enjoyed riding along the undercliff path towards Saltdean .
- Allie fell asleep during the ride so we didn't really stop to look at all the sea animals.
- Returned our bikes and took the track to Hove for lunch.
- The Meadow was nice and relaxed, food was good but small portioned, allowing for us to enjoy 3 courses.
- Stopped by the bike to lie in the sun and play. Allie kept looking for her ball which we didn't bring.
- Laid on the beach while Allie played with the pebbles by putting them all in her stroller.
- Enjoyed some gelato and ice-cream before making our way back on the train home.
Food
-
The Meadow:
- Crispy pigs ears with caper and lemon Salad
-
Crispy Poached duck egg, pickled girolle mushrooms, toasted walnuts and bacon Salad
-
Slow Roast pork fillet, apple and lovage stuffing, apple and pea-top salad, fennel and onion gravy
-
Sirloin of Arun valley beef with Yorkshire Pudding, Shallot Gravy and Watercress
-
vegetables - baked cauliflower, goose fat potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cougette
-
English Strawberry Eton mess with Almond praline & honeyed oats
-
Chocolate pot, Honeycomb Chantilly, Raisin Cookie
- red velvet and salted caramel gelato
- gooseberry and raspberry and white chocolate ice cream
Moscow -> London
Highlight
- Weather was slightly better today. Decided to go to the Novodevichiy Covent anyway.
- It was very nice, except that the people were all lazy and all the churches were closed and not all the museums were opened.
- Walked outside by the lake.
- Visited the cemetery where famous people were buried, except we couldn’t read any of the writing as usual.
- Sun came out so we decided to head to Gorky Park. Except Slokky totally underestimated the time and it started raining again, so spent about 10 mins there before heading back, as Slokky was being paranoid again.
- The usual hotel, crowded metro, train ride lifting up and down stairs. Got to the airport in good time.
- As usual, it took forever while we past about 4 different checks at various check points and finally made it to the Transaero lounge.
- It was quite bad, nothing much to eat, no space for relaxing. At least after all those queues we didn’t spend long there.
- Flight was fine. No entertainment available for some reason, but flight wasn’t full so we got to spread out.
- Back to the rudeness of UK people again.
Food
- Café Puskin:
- croissant
- sausage bread
- chocolate twist danish
- Transaero lounge:
- smoked salmon, eggplant ,olives, ham
- chips
- cakes
- BMI flight:
- sour cream pretzel
- beef lasagne
- couscous salad
- strawberry mousse and cream pot
Moscow
Highlight
- Absolutely pouring with rain
- Couldn’t sleep because of the train and traffic noise, so I asked for a room change. Good thing I did because they upgraded us to the large room again.
- Headed to Lenin’s (again). We took turns going in. Slokky took ½ hour and I took 10 minutes. IT was interesting just to see the amount of guards around.
- Back to get tix for the armoury. There were some very good stuff on display, including the cool Feberges, eggs and some amazing silverware, diamond thrones, dresses and carriages.
- There wasn’t that much there though, so we finished the whole thing in 2 hours, but there was nothing else to do in the rain. Decided to go to Pushkin Confectionery. It was actually very good.
- The weather cleared, so decided to walk around old Arbat….as soon as we got there though it poured. We tried to wait it out but it didn’t stop. The walk was not enjoyable, mostly filled with fast food chains. The only things of notes were the Spasopeskovskiy Perewlok and the Church of the Saviour
- Dinner at Turandot, since we didn’t want to risk going to another place and not finding it again. Food was average, especially the Asian offerings. The setting was scrumptious but the service was pretty bad. They gave us the wrong thing then was trying to get us to accept it and not give us the original.
Food
- bean stew pie
- meat fried bread
- mince fried bread
- Café Pushkin:
- medovnik honey cake
- ”tiramisu”
- Turandot:
- borsche with foie gras croissant
- salmon and scallop dumplings
- black cod fillet with Chinese veg and green caviar
- beef stragonooff, bread with picked cabbage
- crab terrine with black caviar
St Petersburg -> Moscow
Highlight
- Woke up early to pack and breakfast, then off to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, the burial ground of famous Russians such as Tchaikovsky.
- The whole thing turned out to be a big rip off – 2oo rubles to enter and another 100 for the monastery for “tourists”, i.e. non Russians.
- We managed to find most of the famous graves by matching the years of birth and deaths, since, naturally, there was no English.
- Back to hotel, picked up luggage and another 4.5 hours train back to Moscow.
- Raining v heavily so no fun. Our room was much smaller and noisier than the last one.
- Tried to go to Uncle Vanya, another recommendation for dinner. Lo and behold, it didn’t exist or we couldn’t find it (turns out they moved). It left us in a lurch in the rain again.
- We decided that instead of hunting around, we would just walk into any restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant we wanted to go to seemed to be the only one that was actually full in the whole of Russia. We got kicked out as there was no room.
- Ended up at Tepemok (fast food chain) due to the lack of other choices. The food ranged from bad (soup) to ok (semolina, sweet pancake), to quite acceptable (savoury pancakes). Too bad it was 1.2 hour travel to get there and there were outlets of this place everywhere, so we didn’t have to make such an effort.
Food
- Nashotel:
- smoked salmon, potato hash, smoked meat and cold cuts cheese
- fried dough fritters
- pirozhki (small bun with meat and cabbage)
- orange juice
- Tepemok:
- mushroom pancake
- goose liver, pickled gherkins and herbs pancake
- red caviar pancake
- juice
- borsche
- pea and smoked bacon soup
- wood berry and almond semolina
- caramel and apple pancake
St Petersburg
Highlight
- A day that went totally not according to plan.
- Started off with nice weather so decided to go to Tsarskoe Selo.
- We managed to find the station and our train platform without too much trouble. Unfortunately there was no train for another 1.5 hrs. For some reason, there was only trains every 2.5 hours.
- Eventually we made it after guessing the train and stop and hopping on the local bus and having locals tell us the stop.
- Met some lady from Toronto at the station who followed us there. She was travelling by herself, but luckily got rid of her once we got to the Palace.
- The palace was nice – not as interesting s Peterhof, except for the amazing Amber Room. They had tours again, not in English of course so we wondered around by ourselves.
- The park and landscape is better than Peterhof though, with the lake resembling an English garden.
- Did half the lake walk, looked at some buildings and sculptures, saw lots of weddings again.
- The way back was much easier. 5 minutes wait for the bus and a train straight away, so we got back by 5:15
- Tired to go to the pancake place recommended in the guidebook for dinner, only to find out it was closed down when we got there, so we wasted a metro ride. At least we checked out Our Lady of Vvaldamir which was nicer on the outside than in.
- Decided to go to a place close to St Isaacs for dinner. After another metro ride and lots of walking, found that Lenin’s Mating Call was now a pizza joint. We should have given up at this stage but we decided to try one more, as this was on the way to our next site.
- Well, Noble Nest was still there, but it wasn’t opened (on a Friday night!) for some reason.
- By now it was closer to 7:15, we spent 2 hours travelling and walking and couldn’t find a single open restaurant. We decided to check out the outside of the Marinskiy Theatre (ballet) and the St Nichola’s Cathedral.
- Finally managed to make it inside St Isaacs. Luckily the inside was interesting and worth the hassle and money. The door and marbles being highlights.
- One last try, as we were going to go past the Stroganov Palace anyway, to see if the eatery was opened. Well…. the Stroganoff Yard has turned into yet another sushi bar, but Russian Empire was still there (although pretty empty again).
- They had piano and violin as live entertainment. The best we’ve had so far. Allie really enjoyed it, and the décor was scrumptious. The food was also good but expensive.
- Made it back to the hotel just before 11pm…
Food
- Nashotel:
- smoked salmon, potato hash, smoked meat and cold cuts cheese
- dough fritters
- Russian “cereal”
- orange juice
- Russian Empire:
- appetiser – green cream, crisp bread, caviar
- Zalivnoye of Sturgeon served with crayfish tails and fresh dill according to the recipe of Princess Ekaterina Petrovna Trubetskaya 1764
- Galatine of pheasant with Foie Gras, infused in armagnac 1888
- Pike perch in Stroganov style poached in apple juices served with tartar of tomatoes and fresh spinach
- Deer Stroganoff – the original recipe of Alexander Segevich Stroganoff served with puree of topinamburg
St Petersburg
Highlight
- Very bad weather so we hung around the hotel for awhile.
- Waited in the rain for a tram. The wait took ages and the tram didn’t stop where we thought. Once we got on, it chugged along very slowly through the traffic, then went totally out of service because of a car crash blocking the track.
- We managed to walk the rest of the way, and toured the Cruiser Aurora (it was free!!).
- Peter the Great’s cabin was not opened as advertised.
- Got to Peter and Paul Fortress. Luckily the rain stopped by this time.
- Only got tickets to the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul, to see the burial place of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. The other interest was the beach, but only for the view as the sand was grey and ugly.
- Walked into town to see the rest of the sites.
- Church on Spilled Blood was very cool, a riot of colour. The outside was actually better, but the inside was worth a look for the mosaic and the stuff about the restoration.
- Onto Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan – worth a look for the line of people kissing the pictures of saint.
- Saw the statue of Peter the Great on the horse, before trying to go into St Isaacs Church. For some reason it was closed between 6-7, so we couldn’t visit.
- Tried to go to see the theatre but it started to rain, so off to dinner we go.
- Went back to the fish restaurant near the Pelmini bar. The food was very good and we got “entertainment” from a much better singer.
Food
- Nashotel:
- smoked salmon, potato hash, smoked meat and cold cuts cheese
- dough fritters
- omelette with tomato, mushroom, ham, cheese
- yoghurt
- orange juice
- Demyanova Ukha:
- solyanka (mushroom) soup
- ukha (fish) soup
- pike-perch crumbed fillets with sautéed potato strips
St Petersburg
Highlight
- The weather was bad and Slokky forgot to set the alarm. Unfortunately, the shut day is Wednesday, so we didn’t have much choice in what there was to do, so we still headed to the Hermitage
- The so-called line we were warned about was pretty much non existent (not surprising considering everyone is on tours anyway), so we got in relatively quickly. Alas, it took us ages to figure out the cloaking system. It turns out they didn’t want us to leave our pram.
- Paid 400 for (foreigners) entrance and another 350 for audio guide. Definitely not cheap, but at least the exhibits were definitely worthy. The audio guide turned out to be good and you were allowed to photograph everything pretty much.
- Managed to see Winter palace interior, French Art 15-18th C, French Art 19-20th C, a bit of European Art 19-20th C, European Arms and Armour, some Italian, some Dutch and Flemish, a bit of British and even managed to see some Egyptian and antiquity.
- Highlights were Matisse, Rubens, Gauguin and Picasso.
- Spent the whole day there, then off to dinner at another Georgian place. The waiter’s English was very good so we managed to get some recommendation and as a result tried some nice food. The “entertainment” though, left something to be desired, and the smoking was not pleasant.
Food
- Nashotel:
- smoked salmon, potato hash, smoked meat and cold cuts cheese
- dough fritters
- danish
- orange juice
- Suliko:
- eggplant with nuts (200)
- Chicken Satsivi (250)
- Khachapuri bread Adzharsky – with cheese and egg
- Yakanyau soup (420)
- Kharcho – beef in walnut sauce (280)
St Petersburg
Highlight
- Woke up early because of snoring and the inadequate curtains.
- Very lazy people at breakfast. They didn’t want to clean up any places. Seems like only French people were staying at the hotel. Food was less variety but it was tastier than Hilton.
- Walked down by the river, with view to St Isaacs and crossed the bridge, since the weather was very good.
- The Hermitage and Winter Palace was not that impressive on the outside.
- Caught the Hydrofoil to Peterhof. It was twice the price for “foreigners”.
- Everything costs money to go in. We entered the lower garden, which had loads of lovely fountains and shrubs shaped up.
- The Grand Palace – had tours only in Russian, and we had to follow the tour grip. There was no explanation for anything in English. The rooms were grand, on par with the stuff you see at all the major palaces around Europe. The thing is, the place was bombed through in WWII and everything was rebuilt anyway.
- Wondered the Upper Garden with the hedges and fountains, then back to the lower gardens for more wonder through the grounds and the lovely weather.
- We didn’t visit any other buildings due to more admission charges, and had to go extra early to the hydrofoil because of Slokky’s paranoia.
- Walked to the Pel’mini Bar since the weather was good. Had all different variety of pelmini and manty and varenki. We definitely got our fill.
- Tried to get the tram back but waited 20 mins and nothing came, so ended up walking to the Metro.
Food
- Nashotel:
- smoked salmon, potato hash, smoked meat and cold cuts cheese
- cream cheese fritters
- orange juice
- Pel’meni Bar:
- beef, cheese, onion and parsley pel’meni
- beef, mushroom, onion pelmeni
- mutton and onion manty
- cottage cheese with raisins varenki
- fried cabbage varenki
Moscow -> St Petersburg
Highlight
- Had a very relaxing day. Woke up late, had a leisurely breakfast, then took our time to pack.
- It was easy to figure out the train and tickets, and English on the train!
- Very comfy, and Allie didn’t misbehave. The 4.5 hrs journey passed quicker than I thought.
- St P was quite different to Moscow surprisingly. Not as many Asians, the Metro is much more user friendly, and signs in English. It was less grand though.
- No police or uniform people, much more graffiti and people hanging around on the streets.
- Checked into hotel – not bad since there is free internet, otherwise not as good as the Hilton of course.
- After our welcome drink, went to dinner at another guidebook restaurant. Only English tourists were eating there.
- Food was not as good as the Uzbak place but still pretty decent.
Food
- Hilton breakfast:
- fried egg
- cream cheese fritter
- tomatoes, grilled vegetables, noodles, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, hash brown
- smoked salmon with dill, smoked white fish, herrings
- cold cuts
- cheese
- ham and onion cake
- lemon poppy seed cake
- pear tart
- fresh fruit
- Café Ketino:
- Shashlik – previously marinated sautéed pieces of pork (550)
- Chakhokhbili – pieces of chicken cooked with walnuts, tomatoes, greens and traditional spices (570)
- Lobio – Georgian style stewed red beans with walnuts and traditional spices (350)
- Lavash – homemade Georgian bread (90)
- Mors cranberry (100)
- Lemonade “Svyatoi Graal” pear (150)
Moscow
Highlight
- Another latish start. It was colder today, but no rain. The sun came in and out.
- Metro to Kolomenskaya then followed the crowd to Kolomenskoe Estate. Turns out there is some Historic Day on, so there were lots of people and activities. Best of all everything was free.
- Walked around, saw Church of Our Lady of Kazan, where everyone was praying and kissing portraits.
- Went through the Front Gate to see a great view of the Church of the Ascension.
- Walked down to the river to hear the Belgian marching band, and watched families go about.
- Finished the rest of the sites including the museums, the water tower, the interesting Peter the Great’s Wooden Cabin.
- No time to do much else, headed to Dorogomilovsky Market. It was actually very interesting and different to the usual markets. All tiny stalls, selling one specialty. Lots of whole carcasses, caviar, smoked fish and cigarettes.
- We got a few fried bread from 4 different stores. Yum!
- Decided to tour the shopping centre and ate at the fast food chain. Interesting buffet style experience. Not that great but agreeable.
- Left us time to enjoy the pool at last at the hotel. There was no one else there so we had lots of fun.
Food
- Hilton breakfast:
- poached egg
- cream cheese fritter
- tomatoes, grilled vegetables, noodles, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, hash brown
- smoked salmon with dill, smoked white fish, herrings
- cold cuts
- cheese
- ham and onion cake
- lemon poppy seed cake
- pear tart
- fresh fruit
- fried bread with dill and pickled onions
- baked bread with mince and onion
- bread filled with jam
- fried bread with minced meat
- Grabli:
- Kholodets - meat and garlic in jelly
- borsche
- courgette, tomato stew and rice
- chicken in egg coating
- blini with ham and cheese
Moscow
Highlight
- Had a very nice sleep. Off to breakfast, which had lots of variety, but the food itself didn’t taste great, especially the Western stuff
- Metro to the Kremlin, and straight away it started to rain.
- Got tix to Cathedral square and visited in turn: Cathedral of the Archangel, Annunciation, Deposition of the Robe, Assumption. All were impressive with their frescoes. There were lots of tourists though (on tours of course, especially the Asians) so it was very crowded all the time.
- The promised Parade did not materialise at 12 as it said on the website
- We finished quite early, so headed off to Red Square. They were rehearsing for the military tattoo so the sights were all blocked.
- Visited the Kazan Cathedral before heading to see the much more impressive St Basils. The inside is made up of a series of small churches.
- Toured around GUM shopping arcade with the designer shops.
- Off to walk the streets around Kitay Gorod with some fine buildings and several churches along Ulitsa varvarka and the old monastery of the Epiphany.
- Walked around theatre square including the famous Bolshoy Theatre with the ballet, several other theatres, the Hotel Metropole, and some shops.
- More metro rides to see the outside of the Puskin Museum of Fine Arts and the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer, which was very large and mass was on at the time, so it was interesting.
- Brief walk around the garden around the Cathedral before off to the Metro again (and a long walk underground) to dinner.
- There was a wedding on, we didn’t know what was going on, and they didn’t give us any menus. The waiters were a bit offish and the chef was smoking at the table, but we had an excellent degustation of deconstructed Russian flavours, featuring lots of cod, caviar, beetroot, sour cream and truffle.
- It was expensive, £400 without any alcohol, but definitely a unique experience.
Food
- Hilton breakfast:
- mushroom pancake
- cream cheese fritter
- tomatoes, grilled vegetables, noodles, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, hash brown
- smoked salmon with dill, smoked white fish, herrings
- cold cuts
- cheese
- banana cake
- yoghurt with apricot
- fresh fruit
- VARVARY by Anatoly Komm Summer 2011 menu:
- “Original Russian Flavour”, Broccoli Cream with Cod Liver, Sea Buckthorn with Cottage Cheese and Herring Mousse with Sorrel
- Baked Oyster – baked oyster, oyster leaf with lemon foam
- Spring lawn - Egg covered with Spinach in Morels Snowdrift (sour cream snow) with White Truffle Sauce
- Borsch with foie gras - Borscht with Foie Gras and veal, sour cream ball, bread puff + vodka
- Ice-cream “Gazpacho” with Lobster Bisque and shiso leaf
- Soup with langoustines and Squid essence, quail egg, cod roe
- Dumplings with Kamchatka Crab and Sour Cream Snow and Herbs
- Silver Cod with Peas and Beans, mussel sauce, mushrooms
- Potato with Dill and Red Caviar, white truffle sauce
- Veal on the Bone with Pepper Sauce and Crispy Roll (cigar) with Wild Mushrooms, carrot paprika sauce
- Strawberry jelly, condensed milk, cake, strawberry foam
- ”cake potato” - chocolate cake with alcohol and cream
- dessert jars – granola and cream, strawberry and cream with green tea
London -> Moscow
Highlight
- No problems getting to the airport. Lounge was nice and we got priority tagged.
- Plane was pretty empty so we got to spread out. Allie slept a bit and I watched Midnight in Paris (very bad movie with good actors)
- We arrived a bit late. Things weren’t as hard as I thought. There was a long time at Customs, but we got through with no problems.
- Waited in line again to get the tickets for the train, but no problems on the ride
- Another long time to get Metro tickets as all the machines broke down just as we got to the front.
- Metro was very crowded due to rush hour, but the stations were very pretty. Most of the trains were old and very noisy, with hardly any poles for you to hold on (and you def need to hold on).
- Finally got to Hilton, more than 2 hours after getting off the plane. It’s one of the 7 “sister” buildings from Stalin’s era apparently.
- It was already past 7pm when we were ready to venture out for dinner. Decided to go to Uzbek cuisine restaurant. Communication was difficult but the food was delicious.
- I was surprised that there were lots of Asian looking people around so we didn’t stand out too much.
Food
- BMI Lounge:
- waffle, Danish, chocolate croissant
- bacon roll
- yoghurt with fruit
- BMI Flight:
- fruit salad
- cranberry flapjack
- potato hash, baked beans, sausage, omelette
- Restaurant Hodja Nasreddin in Khiva:
- Lagman “Uygar Style” with lamb ribs soup (490)
- Pairie quail “in Uighur”, marinated in herbs (640)
- Horse in a pot, languishing in puree of tomatoes and greens (460)
- bread (200)
Budapest -> London
Highlight
- Slept slightly better, but not much.
- Hotter again today.
- Started at St Stephen’s Basilica. There seemed to be a funeral on so we couldn’t see much of it.
- Walked down a bit of the Vaci utca. Buildings were nice but shops not that interesting.
- Great Synagogue – nice but you had to pay to go in, so we didn’t bother.
- Walked down Andrassy ut, admired the embassy and mansions, before reaching Hero’s Square – nice statues, which led to the very nice City Park. As usual, Allie slept through it all and missed out on all the green space and all the cool art on the lake.
- Did the rest of Adrassy Ut, more fine building including the foyer of the State Opera House.
- Walked some of the Jewish quarter. It was actually quite run down. The run down synagogue also costs money . All did have a pre-war atmosphere about it.
- Last stop, the Nagyesarnok (the Great Market). A bit touristy and all the shops were selling the same thing. Got some paprika sausage but that was the extend of it.
- Upstairs at the market they have food stalls. Lots of Hungarian specialties, but the quality was disappointing.
- We shopped at the supermarket instead, where all the Paprika tubes were all much cheaper.
- Back to hotel for the usual pick up, then metro and bus ride to the airport, which was smooth again.
- Can’t believe I am saying that BA is much better.
- Had to put up with crap on return to London - >we had to circle twice at Heathrow, then had to catch a bus, then had to line up at Immigration with no speed up for kids.
- Ended up being 9:30 by the time we got on the tube.
Food
- Hilton breakfast:
- salmon, herring, cheese cold cuts
- bircher muesli, fresh fruit
- scrambled eggs, goulash, mushroom, hash brown, bread, croissant
- bean soup
- langos – jam and poppy seed
- stuffed cabbage
- plum tart
- poppy seed and cream cheese tart
- BA flight:
- prawn, rocket and mayo roll
Budapest
Highlight
- Couldn’t sleep because of snoring. Had a leisurely usual Hilton breakfast.
- Weather was much cooler today. Walked to admire the Hungarian Parliament.
- Took a long time to figure out how to get up Gellert Hill by public transport.
- We managed to walk past the Gellert Hotel with its thermal bath and nice architecture
- Finally go to the top to see the Citadella (ugly but the views were good). The liberty monument (monumental). We walked down instead of trying to catch more transport – couldn’t avoid all the stairs though.
- More public transport to Castle Hill. Lots more tourists milling about. 1st stop, Royal Palace, but only for the beer festival. We couldn’t choose the free beer so didn’t get to try any Hungarian brews.
- There were not that many people there yet, so we got some food and chilled with the music.
- Walked to Mathius Church and Fishermen’s Bastion. Very good view across to Pest.
- Back to the beef festival, now there are lots of people. Returned my mug and ate at 21 Hungarian Kitchen.
- Enjoyed the simple well-cooked food. Allie didn’t really enjoy the paprika goulash.
- Went to enjoy the lighted scene after dinner – even nicer with less people about.
Food
- Hilton breakfast:
- salmon, herring, cheese cold cuts
- bircher muesli, fresh fruit
- scrambled eggs, goulash, mushroom, hash brown, bread, croissant
- Beer festival:
- Heineken
- Z beer
- roll cake
- fresh potato chips
- 21 Hungarian Kitchen:
- Goulash soup
- Hungarian fish soup
- cold potato and cod soup
- roast duck liver with cabbage slaw and fried dough
- duck foie gras with raspberry and brioche
London -> Budapest
Highlight
- Smooth bus and train to the airport.
- Plane was delayed, there was no explanation. The air hostess didn’t say anything at all. Probably one of the worst airlines I’ve flown.
- After a bus and train ride and then a long walk to the hotel in the heat. We had to wait for the room also. By the time we could go about, it was getting to 3:30pm.
- Walked to get some food, but ended up visiting a local market/festival with music and free bread, free water and cake!
- Had a very nice Hungarian Jewish cake.
- Went on a long long walk to Margaret Island. Could’ve caught a bus but Slokky was too stupid.
- After 45 mins of walking we finally reached Palatinus Strand. Took forever to get tickets, then we couldn’t figure out the locker system. Turns out you have to go upstairs, men and women have separate buildings, and you have to ask an attendant to lock your locker for you.
- By the time we were ready to swim, we only had half hour left.
- With Allie it meant we could really only go to 2 of all the pools since only these were the warm ones. It was fun, but we didn’t get to use the wave machine, the water slides or the play equipment. It was getting colder anyway as we had to leave.
- After changing, headed to Onyx for dinner. Very formal and attentive, and nice décor. The food was def on par with the décor and was excellent.
- Walked along the river to observe the night scene.
Food
- Hungarian airlines flight:
- salami sandwich
- cheese sandwich
- Festival:
- Hungarian Jewish cake – apple, poppy
- cream cheese strudel
- cream cheese cake
- paprika and onion bread
- baked bread with sour cream, salami and pickled onions
- Onyx:
- cucumber soup
- fish tartare, brown breadcrumbs
- Goose liver torte with raspberry gelée and caramelized goose liver parfait, brioche
- Lamb soup with loin, tongue; green bean purée and tarragon foam
- Tenderloin and confit shoulder of beef with slices of marinated goose liver served with celeriac purée
- Veal Variations: medium-rare roast tenderloin; tripe with harissa and sugar peas; crispy leg with green pea purée
- 21st century Somló sponge cake
- Cherry, white chocolate, olive
- mojito, cake and cream
- raspberry and apricot , dark chocolate and macha choc crunch
Brussels -> Mechelen –> Brussels -> London
Highlight
- Had a nice breakfast at the hotel before heading to Mechelan on the train. Caught a fast train so we were there within 20 minutes.
- It didn’t help that Slokky got us lost so we walked for ½ hour in the heat in the wrong direction.
- When we finally figured out the way, we managed to make it to the centre.
- We didn’t climb the 500 steps of the Sint-Romboutskathedraal tower because of Allie.
- Managed to see the Grotmarkt again and numerous churches. There was a service on at Sint-Janskerk and Begijnhofkerk was closed.
- There was another Beguine area with a nice church which we toured.
- Not much else to do so we went to the Grotmarkt for their rock concert, Maanrock.
- Got some gelato before heading back to Brussels, and it started to rain.
- Brussels was in full swing with the Brussels Summer Festival. We wondered the various stores and got some fresh waffles and free Duvel beer.
- Went to the park next to the Grand Palais as part of the festival was on there, and let Allie run free on the play equipment for awhile.
- Had dinner at what we thought was the Michelin bib La Brouette. After we had the first few bites of food we figured we must have the wrong one, as the food was mediocre at best.
- Had time for some last minute chocolate shop browsing, including a nice cornet for Allie at Neuhaus before we headed back on Eurostar, where luckily there were 2 spare seats we had a relatively comfortable ride back.
Food
- Carrefour d’Europe breakfast:
- cold cuts, cheese, bread
- pain au chocolate
- cucumber, tomato cream cheese
- scrambled eggs, tomato, bacon, sausage
- fruit salad, banana
- apple
- Mojito gelato
- yoghurt, strawberry gelato
- waffles
- Duvel beer
- La Brouette:
- Grilled endives and ham with cheese sauce
- Fish Plate with potatoes and fish and shrimps
- Neuhaus chocolate: nuts, cream,
London -> Brussels -> Leuven -> Brussels
Highlight
- Lots of people at Eurostar and no free seat
- Checked in our hotel, which has free chocolate tasting at reception
- Waited ages to buy tix at the train station, so it was quite late when we got to Leuven
- Slokky split his pants (again!), so we had to go shopping. He couldn’t fit into anything at the Specials surf shop, so ended up buying some expensive shorts .
- By the time we were done it was time for lunch. Browsed the Muntstraat, and had some nice mussels and chips (is it just always nice in Belgium?)
- Just made it to the Gortmarkt for the Stadhuis tour. Managed to see it for free as we were too late to get tickets. That was good because even though the tour of it had some interesting features, it wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen before and wasn’t worth the money.
- Listened to the band on the main square while we wondered around the roof level of the Stadhuis and toured the cellar.
- Had a wonder around St.Peter's Church – lots of paintings as well as an awe-inspiring interior.
- Stopped off for some excellent gelato before heading to the UNESCO site Beguinage. Very bumpy grounds and some nice big trees and old style buildings.
- Back to Brussels to check in the hotel before a nice seafood dinner.
- Had a brief walk around the Grand Place which was lit up with people and activity.
Food
- Mykene:
- Rabbit with Prunes
- Mussels with dill and Hoegarden
- chips
- t’Galetje:
- melon gelato
- speculoos gelato
- La Belle Maraîchère:
- King crab and skate terrine
- Northern bouibaisse
- eels with green sauce
- Valhona chocolate: peanut, earl grey, salted caramel
Hong Kong -> London
Highlight
- Checked out without any problems….so expensive.
- Bought cakes for the team but lots of people aren’t here, plus I forgot to get the receipt so I can’t claim it back. Good thing it was only $39 HKD.
- Lunch at yum cha with the reporting team. Food was good – I miss yum cha.
- So sleepy and bored in the afternoon. People just keep asking me EMQ questions.
- Uncle insisted on coming to send me off, so I couldn’t go to airport early.
- I managed to get a room for shower and changing back at the hotel (such good service and they carried all my luggage up and down.
Food
- Maxim cake – red bean lamington, pineapple cake
- Ming Garden Restaurant:
- taro duck
- rice paper roll with turnip and fried dough
- rice paper roll with prawns
- har gau
- shiu ma
- runny custard bao
- rice noodles with pork
- wok-fried noodles with fish
- ginger taro soup
- Hot chocolate
- lemon cheesecake
Qantas lounge:
- steamed pork bun
- prawn dumplings
- pork dumplings
- nasi goreng
- egg tart
- potato salad
- mango Haagen daaz
BA dinner:
- Laurent Perrier Brut Millesime 2000 champagne
- roasted hot nuts
- Lemongrass and Basil panna cotta with tropical coulis
- Maison du Chocolat chocolate
- breakfast smoothie
- pastry
- Traditional English breakfast of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, pork sausage and bacon with bubble and squeak
BA Lounge Concorde Room:
- orange juice
- fresh fruit
- eggs benedicts
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Change from bread this morning to congee
- Ran out of things to do so can relax for a bit
- Had lunch with HUB team. The Indian place was actually quite nice, but they were pretty quiet.
- Had long meeting with Reporting team so running late for dinner.
- Went straight there, no one really changed in the short time. Food was good – unusual. Talked about Allie a bit and they insisted on paying.
- Packed the rest of my stuff. Still room left
Food
- Hung Fook Tong:
- abalone and chicken congee ($30)
- soy egg ($8)
- The Great Indian Kebab Factory:
- tandoori chicken
- puri with lentils
- puff with tamarind juice
- daal, chicken curry, fish curry, cauliflower, aloo potato
- garlic naan
- milk vermicelli
- watermelon, pineapple, melon
- Chiu Chow Garden:
- soya goose
- 4 dish appetiser: scallops and taro, cucumber with spicy sauce, prawn ball, roast meat
- stewed vegetable sand beef
- almond soup with pig’s stomach
- oyster egg
- fried rice
- red date pudding
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Another good night sleep and an early start…with bread again
- Lunch with uncle and aunty at Modern. I really enjoyed the food, although we ordered so much and I couldn’t pay again.
- Was going to eat noodles, but decided to just get sushi and drink and go to hotel to pack.
- The wok basically took up all the room so good thing I brought 2 suitcases.
- Managed to get to the gym as well today.
Food
- Yama:
green tea and red bean
- chocolate
- cheese
- seafood
- cranberry
- sesame
- Modern China restaurant:
- wonton chicken
- xiao lun bao
- fried sweet and sour fish
- stir-fried vegetables
- stir-fried meat and eggplant
- dan dan noodles
- taro and tapioca soup
- Taste deluxe sushi set ($88)
- Gong Cha red bean and pudding tea ($17)
- pear
Hong Kong
Highlight
- So nice to have the place back to myself again after a stressful weekend.
- Got invited to lunch by the testing team and met up with Simon and Will Fung.
- Had a long meeting with FTP reporting team.
- Cepage was good but not great. The Amadei was especially great but besides that not so exciting. It was a lot more expensive than Café Grey though.
Food
- Yama :
- green tea and red bean mochi
- cream cheese mochi
- pork floss danish
- curry donut
- pizza
- cream cake
- Cepage:
- vanilla jelly
- olive foccacia, bacon bread, baguette
- Foie Gras layer with eels and toast
- Fried langoustine with caviar
- Black truffle and duck egg on onion tart
- Crispy Amendai on a bed of Oriental Lily Bulb
- Logan and pear sorbet and ice cream
- Petit Fours (eclair, mango lolly, canelle, madelaine, cherry jelly, chocolate raspberry on biscuit)
- mint tea
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Really tired after no sleep this morning. Company was ok I suppose but didn't get to do stuff I like go for a swim.
- Went to Causeway Bay to eat and shop for wok. Couldn’t convince aunties not to buy anything for Allie so we ended up baby shopping.
- Aunties decided to accompany me to grandma's house, and bought lots of stuff along
- I got 10x the fuss that mum usually does out.
- Had to eat all these fruit I didn't want and prawns, and wasn't allowed to eat any skin or fat. Really boring and stressful.
- At least I managed to convince everyone to let me pay since I said HSBC was paying for it.
- Dinner was v early so I got to escape.
Food
-
Tsui Wah:
- Abalone and Ham macaroni
- scrambled eggs with bun
- tea
- Milk egg tart
- watermelon
- Tasteful tseung kwan o Hang Hau:
- cold cuts combination
- roast duck with yam
- steamed prawns
- steamed groper
- vegetables stir-fried with garlic
- papaya syrup soup
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Slept really well. Didn’t wake up until 10am.
- Went to check out the pool and the buffet, but didn’t feel like either (well, felt like both but it was a bit too late), so headed off to Causeway Bay in search for food.
- Ate at one of the mini stalls inside Sogo, then went outside to have a bubble tea.
- Went wok browsing, and other stuff at Sogo, then ventured outside for a bit of browsing, but didn’t venture too far as I really didn’t want to buy anything.
- Made my way to Yuen Long, where I did a whole bunch of chores, change watch batteries, got contacts, got clothes mended, as well as managed to eat at B –grass jelly
- Rest of the night was the usual suspect. People gossiping about who is fat…etc, and ate lots of food. Except in this case I had to eat slowly so wasn’t that full at the end.
- So aunties invited themselves over to my hotel at dinner so we all had to share the bed, and they made lots of comments about fancy 5 star hotels…so I couldn't move all night and couldn't sleep.
- Had to wait for a long time while they walked extremely slowly.
- Had to listen to lots of talk about being fat and having more kids....etc
Food
- Fried octopus balls and ham okonomiake
- Premium pearl bubble tea ($16)
- B jelly with fruit ($68)
- Big Wing Wah:
- baby roast suckling pig
- pig’s intestines
- glass noodles prawns
- steamed groper
- fried groper
- roast goose
- coconut cake
- steamed custard birthday buns
- fruit
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Slept well again, but still catching up, good thing it’s Friday.
- Went to café de Coral due to lack of other choices, it was v crowded again.
- It’s casual day at the office but no one told me.
- Managed to go to lunch with Julia. Had average Ramen set (won’t be going here again).
- Finally managed to change the PIN.
- Didn’t have time to go drop anything off after work, so went straight to dinner with Peter at Jap buffet place. The food was actually pretty good but I didn't know it was buffet so I wasn't that hungry.
- Went to some girl Lily's drinks and met up w JY and Patrick. Loads of expat people from Aust. Drinks were expensive for HK
Food
- Café de Coral:
- Beppu Ekimae
- Combination Ramen Set $68 (corn, chicken wing, fish cake, soft bone kebab ramen), salmon sushi, tiramisu
- Matsuya:
- sashimi (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, abalone, clam)
- sushi (soft shell crab, California)
- grilled sushi (fish, cuttlefish, prawn)
- lamb chops
- grilled prawn
- ribs
- seared tuna
- stir-fried mushrooms
- black sesame ice cream
- orange juice
- watermelon juice
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Finally, got some sleep, but not enough. Will try to go to sleep earlier tonight.
- Tried to find something to eat at Olympic but everything was closed, including Gong Cha, so I ended up getting bread again, this time from Bread Top.
- Tried to register my card at the bank but they were clueless.
- No one wanted to go to lunch with me so ended up eating by myself again, but too bad. But not having a bag is proving a problem.
- Started stocking up on some groceries. Might buy a bit every day and build up the supply.
- Went to Cafe Gray for dinner. Setting was nice but I didn't get the window seat. Food was good but more in the bottom half of the 1 Michelin star places, so don't think we should go back again, or at least just go to the bar next time.
Food
- Bread Top:
- Cranberry Cheesecake bread ($9.5)
- Chocolate cream bread ($8)
- Food Republic Pepper Rice with steak and egg ($42)
- Tomato soup
- Café Gray ($675):
- Bread with dipping sauce
- Sydney Rock Oyster with lime granita
- Tortellini with green basil dressing
- Lobster with summer vegetable soup
- Lemon chocolate soufflé in their shells
- Chocolate pieces, puff pastry, orange segment
- mint tea
Hong Kong
Highlight
- I got my passport, only had to wait about 10 minutes.
- Didn't have time for breakfast so had some bread. People at work asks me lots of questions so keeps me busy, don't have time to relax, but then again I went "late" 2 times already, although some people arrive later than me.
- Went to have Dan Dan noodles for lunch, and discovered I need to register my credit card with the work canteen before I can use it, so can't eat there even though the food is v cheap. $18 for a bowl of noodles.
- Since Andrew bailed I went to Daiso and bought lots of stuff.
- Since I was at Wan Chai I ate there before I went back to the hotel, to some roast meat place recommended by open rice. Not bad but I hardly spent any money on food today. Prob good since I am splurging at Cafe Gray tomorrow.
- Rode back on the tram again, slow but convenient and a nice way to see the sights.
- Managed to go to gym for a bit since I still can't sleep so seeing if after gyming is better.
Food
- Maxim:
- pumpkin and sultana Danish ($6)
- Prawn Salad bun ($8)
- Food Republic Dan Dan Noodles ($28)
Joy Hing Roasted Meat:
- three treasure rice with chau shiu, soy chicken and roast goose
Hong Kong
Highlight
- Went first thing in the morning to the dentist, and managed to get an appointment for 10am, even went to have some breakfast beforehand.
- They took an x-ray and repaired the teeth. I had hairline fracture over the 2 front teeth, but no root canal damage or infection and slight nerve damage.
- Luckily don't need to do any more than the repair atm but can't chew with the teeth for 2 weeks.
- Need to go the dentist when I get home. After that I can't bite anything hard in case the teeth get weakened. I have to monitor for long term damage and may need to replace whole teeth if root canal gets damaged.
- Finally made it to the office and met everybody. Everyone was old, and relatively friendly, but not brash in that HK style.
- Met Ping, Elain, Elizabeth, Mike Mann, all the HUB team people. It was good to put names to faces. Tried to look at some problems but didn’t get much done and the time passed v quickly.
- I left work 6:45 today and nearly everyone was still there, so looks like I normally won't finish work until 7pm. Looks like I prob won't have time to do much after work except have dinner.
- Tried to go for my walk around Central that I didn’t do yesterday, but realised it was a bad idea because of the humidity, the hills and uneven steps, my high heels and my huge bag. Nevertheless, I tried to go to a Bib but they said pretty much dinner for one would be impossible as you can only get dishes, no rice or noodles. I decided that it was too difficult to eat Chinese by myself, so decided to head back to hotel as by now my heels were hurting.
- Tried my luck at Café Gray. No luck, so just went to Golden Leaf at hotel. Still ate Chinese by myself, was difficult to chew and couldn’t finish the dishes, but at least I didn’t have to rush.
- Tried to sort out the rest of my admin stuff. Made some plans for the rest of the week. I discovered the pool is outdoors so can't really use it at night even though it's open... also you have to walk pass the buffet to get to it and also everyone from the buffet can watch you swim. I toured the gym, finished sorting my insurance.
Food
- Can-teen:
- Food republic :
- Preserved egg and pork congee ($32), dough stick and chung fun
- Pacific Coffee Co mocha ($31)
- Golden Leaf
- BBQ meat platter with pig skins, chau shiu and duck
- Seasonal vegetables – crab, ham and twin vegetables (broccoli and bok choi) (total $400)
London -> Hong Kong
Highlight
- Got to Heathrow very early and managed to buy all of Darko’s stuff.
- The Lounge was relatively busy, I tried to get a facial but they were already closed and only doing chair massage. The service was so bad no one even greeted me when I left.
- Ate a bit, but then had to up and go as transiting from B.
- Upper deck was fun. No one was sitting next to me so it was like my own little hub.
- They served me the wrong thing for dinner but it was quickly fixed.
- I didn’t manage to get much sleep because of the turbulence, I kept waking up and falling back to sleep.
- Watched Hanna and most of Kung Fu Panda 2.
- It was so quick to go through the airport, the longest wait was for my bag, which was still quick. The airport express was also very good.
- Had to walk a bit of a way to get to the Hotel, but check in was smooth.
- Room was very nice (no harbour view though), I got tea, fruit and a toy as welcome gift.
- Headed out to try to get a phone card and eat, went to a couple of shops to see if I could get a handbag.
- For some reason, walked into a glass door and smashed my front teeth.
- Couldn’t get it repaired as all the dentists were closed, so also cancelled all my dinner plans.
- After sorting out all the insurance and what to do the next day, went out to dinner. It was not as difficult as I thought to eat, but I stuck with cold stuff. Food was good but I was too stressed to enjoy.
- Couldn’t sleep at all,
Food
- BA lounge: curry chicken, daal, rice, shaved ham, pasta salad, vegetable soup
- BA dinner:
- Chilled Main course salad of Smoked Duck
- BA breakfast:
- orange juice
- fresh fruit
- pastry
- English breakfast of scrambled eggs, grilled bacon, Cumberland sausage, tomato and sautéed potato
- Ye Shanghai
- Chicken with Bean Jelly in Peanut Sauce ($55)
- Cold soy milk ($29)
- Cold eggplant with soy sauce and chilli ($48)
Berlin > London
Highlight
- Leisurely breakfast.
- Tried to look at Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtmiskirche but it was all boarded up.
- The Carnival hadn’t started when we arrived, so we could look at all the stores
- Only managed to catch the end part of the parade. It was very crowded, but the parade was pretty much like the London Mayor’s parade.
- Back to the carnival and it was now in full swing. Lots and lots of people everywhere.
- Allie complained whenever she was put in her stroller.
- Escaped to Schlossgarten Charlottenburg – very peaceful and beautiful garden.
- Flight was good – check in was crap but we all got in the lounge.
- We were delayed one hour at Heathrow thanks to the stairs again and had to catch a taxi home.
Food
- Hotel Pastena breakfast:
- sausage, ham, bacon, egg, pretzel, liverwurst, smoked salmon, tartare
- yoghurt with kiwi fruit
- apple
- bratwurst with bun
- currywrust
- mojito
- handbrok – mushroom, cheese
- Lufthansa Lounge:
- sausage, potato salad, anchovies, herring, pretzel, beer, peanuts
- BMI flight:
- orange panna cotta
- goats cheese and radicchio salad
- tortellini in tomato sauce
- basque chicken with tomato and olives
- potato bread
London -> Berlin
Highlight
- The BMI Lounge was much better than the BA one, we all managed to go in as well.
- The hotel was pretty nice for the price.
- Topographie des Terrors – excellent museum, Allie was naughty though so we didn’t get to stay for long. I managed to read a bit and saw the pictures.
- Walked and read the info boards around Checkpoint Charlie.
- Stasi Information – Und Dokumentationszentrum, very interesting but small display.
- Stopped off for our wrust Groupon, and to wait out the rain.
- Stocked up on gummy bears and other gummies.
- Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer – probably the best Berlin wall viewing we have been to in Berlin – you can clearly see the 2 wall system and the land in between. We didn’t get to read everything as we had to go to dinner.
- Very good food and service. Veal was extra tender, hollandaise sauce superb. The food took a long time to arrive again – is this the standard for Berlin?
Food
- BMI Lounge:
- waffles, chocolate croissant, raisin bun
- yoghurt with berry compote and grapefruit
- BMI flight:
- cheese omelette, tomato sausage, potatoes
- peach yoghurt
- chocolate roll
- currywrust and fries
- Restaurant Neu:
- soba and kimchee
- rhubarb juice
- asparagus, potatoes, hollandaise with veal
- monkfish, melon, apple cornbread
Acquidolce -> Palermo -> London
Highlight
- Woke up early for our drive. The weather was still crap
- Flight was delayed by one hour, otherwise uneventful.
- Caught the train home since we cancelled our car. Slokky complained about the train and the bus again, but it really wasn’t that difficult.
Food
- leftover artichoke, mandarin, bread, cheese, salami
Acquidolce -> Etna Nord -> Taormina -> Acquidolce
Highlight
- Woke up very early to drive to Etna – weather was not great, but got progressively worst as we went along.
- When we got there it was cold, extremely foggy and nothing was running. Very disappointing after such a hard drive as well. Only consolation was we saw some lava soil.
- Had nothing else to do, so went to Taormina again – still loads of rain and fog and still couldn’t see Etna.
- Ended up having pizza at the expensive but nice restaurant, then more cannoli and fig biscuits
- Went home via Acquidolce for the nice gelato
- Ate up some more of our food, but had so much leftover.
Food
- bread, cheese, salami, olives
- Casa Niclodi
- risotto with mussels and asparagus
- pizza with pears and smoked cheese
- Pastisserio Ricciardi – Nebrodi, torrone gelato, brioche with hazelnut, pannacotta
- Antonino Chemi – cannoli, chocolate almond biscuits
- pasta alla Norma
- sausages and potatoes
- artichokes
- eggplant parmigiana
Acquidolce -> Capo d’Orlando -> Acquidolce
Highlight
- Had a very leisurely day – weather was very nice for once. We watched the Royal Wedding on TV – didn’t leave the house until closer to 1pm
- Lunch at a fancy restaurant by the beach – very good pasta based on seafood
- Allie got fussed over by a bunch of kids on excursion
- Played on the rocky beach, Allie got her feet in the sand the touched the cold water, then played with pebbles
- Back for shopping to take home, more gelato and pastries
- Enjoyed some beers and watched Slokky and Allie play in the freezing pool water
- Sat outside while Gabriella prepared our meal. I wasn’t that hungry after all the food, but still managed to try everything.
- The good thing – all the leftovers for dinner tomorrow.
Food
- bread, egg, salami, cheese, pastries
- La Tartaruga:
- swordfish roe bruschetta
- grissini and bread
- sliced tuna and soy sauce
- squid ink spaghetti
- fish mussels, prawns in tomato seafood broth
- Gelateria Bar Sport – cassata gelato
- Pastisserio Ricciardi –Nebrodi gelato (honeycomb, almond, pistachio), pistachio gelato
- Home cooked Think Sicily meal:
- antipasto: smoked ricotta, pecorino, sheep’s milk cheese, salami, ham, mixed marinated olives
- pasta de la Norma - aubergine
- eggplant parmigiana
- sausages and potatoes
- Pastisserio Ricciardi Sicilian pastries – cannoli , rum baba, profiterole
Acquidolce -> Palermo -> Cefalu -> Acquidolce
Highlight
- Weather still not cleared so we decided on a trip to Palermo.
- Traffic at Palermo is horrific. The streets are really chaotic and very smelly and dirty
- On the plus side, the food was excellent
- Had great Sicilian fast food, followed by excellent gelato, even though it took us several tries before finding the places
- Saw: Quatro Canti, Piazza Pretoria, La Martorana, Casa Professa, Ballaro market, Duomo, Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi, Teatro Massimo, Il Gesu, Palazzo Mirto, Piazza Marina, Vucciria market
- Missed out on: Palazzo Normanni, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, San Domenico church (closed)
- Took forever to get out of Palermo, stuck in traffic for ages
- Ended up eating in Cefalu. The pizza was very good, seafood so so, service was very bad.
Food
- bread with gorgonzola and almond spread
- Antica Foccacceria San Grancesco:
- panelle
- aranchini
- pasta with sardines
- cannoli
- Antico Caffe Spinnato:
- gelato brioche – hazelnut, pistachio
- cassatina
- espresso
- Al Gabbiano pizzeria:
- Napoli pizza – tomato, mozzarella, anchovies
- fish with fennel and pinenuts
- Sicilian pastries
Acquidolci -> Castelbuono -> Cefalu -> Capri Leone -> Acquidolci
Highlight
- Another rainy start, canned our plan for Etna and headed to Castel Buono, passing the ceramic town on the way.
- No one at the restaurant Palazzi. We got them to bring a bunch of specialties from the region. Everything was very tasty.
- Visited the Castello – half of it was not open or unfinished. The opened bit was ok, probably not worth the money.
- Spent the rest of the time wondering Cefalu – cars were allowed on the main street, so wasn’t great to walk around. Also, weather not so hot.
- Visited the beach, duomo and main square, which were all nice enough but not that interesting
- Picked up some more pastries (much better than Taoromina ones)
- Dinner at Antica Filanda - very good location. They have iMenu on the iPad. The food was very good also. Traditional Nebrodi mountain stuff. Slokky ate a lot.
- More pastries at home and we called it a day.
Food
- fried egg, bread, gorgonzola, artichoke
- banana
- Palazzaccio:
- antipasti – ricotta mushroom bake, tartare, ricotta with schezuan pepper, mozzarella, fried mushrooms
- spaghetti with mushrooms
- lamb roasted in oven
- Antica Filanda:
- Arancini with couscous
- potato, mushroom, chickpea fritter
- black pig cutlet stuffed with mushroom
- papadelle with black pig ragu
- ravioli with pistachio cream and mushroom
Acquidolce -> Gallodoro -> Mazzaro -> Taormina -> Mazzaro -> Acquidolce Palermo
Highlight
- Finally the water got fixed
- Asked for compensation – we are getting home cook for Friday, so that should be fun.
- Took ages before we got to lunch as we had to do all the stuff we couldn’t without water, so we didn’t leave until 11am, then we took the wrong road and wasted ½ hour.
- The restaurant we wanted to go to for lunch, Noemi, wasn’t opened, so we ate at another random place again. This one was not very good at all and it was expensive.
- It started to rain very heavily, so we couldn’t see the view from the cable car at Mazzaro
- The rain spoilt the view of Etna from Taormina as well, the town was still very pretty.
- We meandered around, looking into the shops, ate various gelato, cannoli, anarchini, looked at churches, views of charming old building
- Paid €8 to see the Roman Theatre, but couldn’t see the view because of rain again, so it wasn’t really worth it.
- Dinner at Acquidolce – very unpretentious restaurant, but the seafood was excellent.
- Home for sweets and tea
Food
- salami, tomato, mozzarella on bread
- Ristorante Pizzeria Anna:
- filled pasta with tomato sauce
- gelato brioche with hazelnut and tiramisu
- aranchini
- cannoli
- brioche with pineapple and blood orange sorbet
- Trattoria Gambera:
- mixed seafood antipasto – prawns in seafood sauce, marinated calamari
- grilled fish (2!) of the day with lemon
- 2 types of grilled prawns
- Sicilian sweets – almond, orange, pistachio, lemon pastries
Acquidolce -> Tindari -> Oliveti -> Acquidolce
Highlight
- Alarm went off in the morning, so got woken up
- Very leisurely breakfast and ready time
- Drove to Acquidolce to have a look. All the shops were opened in the morning. We stocked up on food for tonight. Lots of people out and about
- Tindari – sanctuary of Black Madonna – got a bus to the top, nice views of the sandy bay from above.
- Tried to get to the beach, but we were very hungry.
- We managed to find an open restaurant for lunch and had very nice pasta.
- The gelato we got at the local was terrible though.
- Some girls were playing with us at the restaurant, they kept wanting to hold Allie, it was quite funny.
- We were planning to walk to the beach, but it started raining, so we headed back home
- The water stopped working so we couldn’t do anything – luckily we started cooking already. They couldn’t fix it so we had to use mineral water for everything.
Food
- salami, tomato, mozzarella on bread
- Donna Rosa:
- spizzardi pasta with crab, prawns and tomato
- grilled swordfish
- pineapple
- banana, biscuit gelato
- gnocchi with mushroom ragu
- boiled artichokes
- hazelnut and chocolate biscuits
- hazelnut wafers
London -> Palermo -> Corleone -> Prizzi -> Acquidolce
Highlight
- Going to Gatwick was not smooth. We got charged £4 extra for our hand luggage, then had to go to the slow baby line, then forced to drink all our water and couldn’t sit together on the plane
- Loads of babies on the plane, luckily Allie behaved – the “priority” boarding was stupid with about 10 families going forward.
- The slow Italian way – impractical shuttle bus (only able to take about 10 people at a time and no room for luggage) to the rental car, then took ages to pick up the car.
- A long drive to get to Prizzi, passing the mafia town Corleone
- The scenery was very nice – wild flower, mountain, townhouses
- Got to Prizzi – parade hadn’t started yet, so we ate at a local bar (it was about the only thing that was open on Easter Sunday.
- The Parade turned out to be 6 people dressed up with a band – kinda stupid but interesting to watch the crowd.
- Drove on to the villa. The owner/housekeeper didn’t know English but they showed us around and cooked some welcome pasta for us.
- Had dinner outside enjoying the view
Food
- Gail’s carrot cake
- proschuitto and mozzarella bun
- ring pasta and tomato sauce
- peroni and biscuits
- bacon and mince pasta bake
- olive oil and bread
Seoul
Highlight
- Stocked up on some last minute food and Slokky insisted on having his last bibimbap before boarding the plane.
- Good seats, no drama
- Allie slept well, and plane was on time
- Watched Easy A, Going the Distance, Eat Prey Love
Food
- cake and rice bread
- bibimbap
- kimbap and sushi
- Lufthansa dinner:
- bibimbap
- meat salad
- pork and rice
- fruit
- instant noodles
- Lufthansa dinner:
- rice and noodles
- rice drink
- kim chee
- black forest cake
- cream cheese bun
Seoul
Highlight
- Woke up very late …. First stop, Seokchon-dong Early Baekje Stone Tombs. Interesting to see the structure of it.
- Definitely lunch time when we made it to Noryangin Fisheries Wholesale Market.
- Very similar to the Tokyo one. Upstairs hawkers tout at restaurants. We did a quick loop, where Allie got lots of attention.
- Decided to eat at downstairs restaurant where no one was touting, it had loads of people and was very hectic. We had so much food and it was only 38.000 won
- Off to the financial district, Yeouido, but it was Saturday and dead.
- Visited an old style department store that was even more dead.
- Quickly left to go to Insa-dong, where it was very happening. Rice cake shops, cosmetics, loads of street food, souvenir shops and tea houses
- Took ages to find the ginseng place, luckily Allie was sleeping and it was very delicious and so worth it when we finally found it after half hour of searching.
Food
- gluttonous rice bread: pumpkin, black sesame, normal, walnut
- Fish market:
- sashimi, skate
- skate bone stew
- rice, kimchi
- Korean quince tea
- Mugwart tea
- hotteok
- Tosokchon:
- chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang)
- fried chicken (tongdak)
Seoul
Highlight
- Allie’s first birthday! We took it very easy today.
- Started off at Lotte Mart to do our usual stock up. We couldn’t buy too much though due to the liquid restrictions.
- Shopped Lotte Department as well. Allie was very popular as always
- Spent the rest of the day at the splendid and well designed National Museum of Korea
- Joined the highlight tour and saw all the masterpieces including impressive Buddha and caledon vase
- Managed to see most of Archaeological Gallery and quickly skimmed the Fine Arts Gallery I & II
- Didn’t visit too much in terms of food, just ate at the museum food court.
- Off to the Hyundai Department Store to get Allie’s cake (which comes with candles, knife and matches) and more cheap food sell off
- Very busy – Friday night? It was very cold so we decided not to brave the outside world and ate at the department store’s 10F restaurant instead.
- Celebrated Allie’s b’day with cake in the hotel room
Food
- rice filled with beef, spam, tuna and seaweed
- seafood kimchi soup with pickles, spinach and potatoes
- bean paste soup
- coffee bread
- cream cheese bread
- coffee filled with red bean bread
- Korean beef BBQ with kimchi
- sweet potato mousse cake
Seoul
Highlight
- Changdeokgun Palace – very cold, but pretty place. Nice guide on the tour. Highlight was the special blue tiles on one of the building.
- Lunch – followed the Hyundai workers down some alley to have seafood hot pot. We only got octopus though because we didn’t know how to order.
- Jongmyo Shrine – very different to the palaces, thank goodness. Impressive resting places, but small.
- Took ages to find the Namsangol Hanok Village but it was a bit touristy and fake. You get the idea though.
- Headed back early to try to find the royal cuisine restaurant. It was pretty empty. They had good English. The food was beautifully presented, but not that tasty.
Food
- sweet bread filled with red bean, coconut custard, sesame, sweet potato
- octopus stew
- rice, kim chee, bean sprout, vegetable
- spring onion pancake (pajeon)
- hotteok
- fish shaped pastry with red bean and peanuts (bungeobbang)
- San Table d'Hote:
- Seasonal Porridge and water Kimchi
- Mung Bean Noodles with Cucumber, Beef, Mushroom and Sprinkled Seaweed served with Mixed Salad of Bean sprouts, spinach and slices of Persimmons
- Platter of Nine delicacies
- Seasonal stuffed Dish
- Royal Hot Pot
- Seasonal assorted Pan-Fried Dish
- steamed Pork Fillet with marinated Cabbage and Radish
- Julienne Radishes, Shrimps, Top Shells with Yongsusan Special Sauce
- Deep Fried Prawn and Korean Ginseng
- Grilled Skewered Seafood or meat Dish
- Braised Short Ribs with Assorted Vegetables
- Steamed Rice
- Soup
- Hot Noodles
- Cookies
- Rice Nakes
- Traditional Soft Drink
Seoul
Highlight
- Saw the long and elaborate changing of the guards at Deoksugung Palace. Got loads of photos and even got to wear Korean national costumes.
- Toured around the Palace, sorta interesting.
- Lunch at another sit on the floor restaurant, with steamed pork and lettuce leaves wrap
- Stopped off for weird but nice tasting, although expensive coffee to get away from the cold and to feed Allie
- Walked along Gwanghuamun Plaza to the palace compound, stopped at the museum about Korean alphabet on the way.
- Joined a guided tour, hard to understand the English explanation, but relatively informative. Grounds and setting very nice, but buildings pretty much the same.
- Brief stop at the National Folk Museum before it closed.
- Interesting market around Namdemun, everyone selling tourist fares and speaking to us in Mandarin.
- Lots of cool street food, but it was very cold
- Stopped off at Shinsegae department store with their very cool baby room, including individual cots, cream, nappy area and high chairs
- Picked up cheap department store basement food sell off.
- Walked around the busy and young Myeong-dong for more cool street food and loads of people and cosmetics shop
- Allie got lots of attention again.
Food
- Paris Baguette hot chicken croquette
- steamed pork wrap (bossam)
- hot bean paste soup
- rice and kim chee
- spinach
- Holly’s Coffee sweet potato macchiato
- chicken skewers (dakkochi)
- hot dumpling
- spam fish paste
- crab stick fish paste
- glass noodles
- fried dumpling
- Korean hot dog
Seoul
Highlight
- Got woken up even though I was dead tried from 8 hours of interrupted sleep over 2 days.
- Caught the subway – very large and efficient
- Walked the Cheonggyecheon Stream, some interesting features – wall murals, old photos.
- Cheonygue Plaza had all the Christmas lights and tree and a giant shell
- Wondered around Jongmyo Shrine area in Jongo 3 for food stores. We were disappointed that no stores seemed to be opened yet.
- Wondered down a small alleyway and went to a hand-cut noodle place where they only served one dish and we sat on the floor. Food was really really good.
- Tapgol Park had a shrine enclosed in glass – so we couldn’t actually see it because of the reflection.
- Continued walking the stream to the Wall of Hope. Lots of tiles.
- Finally reached Dongdaemun – East Gate. Looked at the leftover wall and a bit of old houses left.
- Wondered around the area, clothing and textile central. Got very cold, and ate street food on the way
- Visited Daiso and stocked up some more.
- Back to Jongo 3 for the street vendor, finally opened!
- Went back to the stream for the interesting light show.
Food
- kim chee rice triangle
- dried fish triangle
- red bean pastry
- hand cut noodles with fish soup and hot sauce (kalguksu)
- kim chee
- flat black sesame and brown sugar cake (hotteok)
- rice cake with hot sauce (tteokbokki)
- kim chee pancake
- sausage stew (sundae)
London -> Seoul
Highlight
- Flight was fine and on time.
- Allie got a big bassinet and was happy playing. The air hostesses loved her and I watched Despicable Me and Life as We Know It
- Seoul reminded me a lot of Japan.
- We didn’t venture too far once we got there, but wondered around near the hotel – Lotte department store, Lotte World (we didn’t go in because it costs money), the shopping centre
- Had fun taste testing and eating at the department stores
- Lots and lots of people commented on Allie
- Ate at a small bibimbap specialist store. We didn’t know what to do though, so we observed other people eating. You are supposed to pour water onto your stone pot and scrap at the rice. Still, it was yummy.
- Early night back to the hotel.
- Allie had a bad night and stayed awake for 2 hours.
Food
- Lufthansa dinner:
- green leaf salad
- pretzel
- chicken in hot sauce with carrot
- beef, peas and carrots
- kim chee
- fruit salad
- Lufthansa breakfast:
- sausage with sauce
- rice drink
- breakfast egg and spinach
- strawberry yoghurt
- fish paste skewers with soup (odeng)
- bibimbap stone pot (dolsot bibimbap)
- stone pot soup bibimbap
- kimchee
- pineapple cream bun
Lisbon -> London
Highlight
- Decided to head to Belam, and so did all the other tourists, so a mad scramble for the tram
- There was also a line to go to the Jerónimos Monastery
- Was definitely worth the wait, and didn’t hurt that it was free on Sunday morning.
- Wondered around the beautiful cloisters, taking pictures all around.
- Managed to bump into PJ and co there as well.
- Off to the famous birthplace of the pastéis de nata, Antiga Confeitaria de Belém. Service was like all the other teahouses, we were ignored for a long time, but at least the tarts were worth waiting for.
- Walked around enjoying the squares at Balem.
- Visited the Coaching Museum because it was free on Sunday – relatively interesting, but once you’ve seen about 3 coaches, you really didn’t need to see them all.
- Watched all the people enjoying Al Fresco lunch along the Rua Vieira Portuense.
- Walked down to see the Monument to the Discoveries, then enjoyed a lovely stroll on another beautiful day along the seaside, with the Ponte 25 de Abril in the background, to the Tour de Balem. We didn’t bother going in because of Allie, instead decided to head back so we are not rushed.
- Well, so much for that. The ride back to town was not as crowded, but still bad. We managed to have one more custard tart and one more port before heading back to our hotel
- Waited at the bus stop for an airport bus for over 40 minutes. It turned out 2 buses didn’t come so we had to squish onto a bus when it finally came. We were the last people able to get on, everyone else on the stops after us we didn’t stop for.
- This didn’t give us that much time at the lounge. We had to eat really fast and didn’t really get to relax.
- The flight back was very full, but at least it was on time, and Allie got some crayons to play with.
Food
- Eleven almond cake
- ham and cheese roll
- orange juice
- Pastesis de Balem:
- custard tart (€0.90)
- duck pie
- meat pastry
- Ginja berry port (€1.20)
- Air France Lounge:
- ham and cheese sandwich
- fish pie
- seafood croquette
- lemon tart
- almond cake
- BA flight:
- turkey and cranberry roll
- apple juice
London -> Lisbon
Highlight
- Enjoyed the last non business time at the BA Lounge
- Flight was fine, we got Allie a seat, and arrived on time.
- Hotel was very nice.
- Streets are trouble for a pram, all cobblestone, and with lots of potholes
- Wondered to a flea market, before walking down to the main square with the statue.
- Bypass all the touts around the Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, to have lunch at Bonjardim, supposedly the place to go for peri-peri. The chicken was overly salty, but improved immensely with the very good and hot peri-peri sauce. Seafood was nice, but best thing was the chips.
- Weather was a beautiful 20 degrees, it was nice wondering around in the sun without a jacket.
- Wondered to Rossio Square, very nice, with a fountain, and a very prominent McDonalds.
- Found A Ginjinha, a quaint little hole in the wall, where they were doing a roaring trade in Ginja berry Port. This was the first place in Lisbon to sell this, and it was v tasty indeed.
- Had our first (and best of the day) custard tart, before heading up a hill (for no reason, only to walk down again)
- After all the walking up and down, finally arrived at Se cathedral, which was nothing special actually.
- Caught the historic tram 28, which took us to the Feira da Ladra flea market, which was…. a flea market. It was nice wondering around in the sun, with music in the background though
- Another tram ride, through some very narrow passages, took us to the Mirador de Santa Lucia, where there was beautiful views to the sea.
- Another hill climb took us to Castelo de São Jorge, where we were able to skip the line for ticket thanks to Allie. Wondered around the castle ground. There wasn’t that much to see, we wondered around the rampart, admired the views, and had a quick look at the museum.
- Wondered back down, had another custard tart, this time from a normal bakery, which was not nearly as good.
- Had a look at the Santa Justa's Elevator, then did some window shopping along Rua Augusta, had another custard tart, got some clothes for Allie from Zara.
- Wondered to the Parca do Commercio area to admire the statue, before waiting over ½ hour for a bus, after which point we gave up and walked the 4km or so to Restaurante Eleven.
- Allie decided she would scream and climb around and not sit in her chair or eat, but the staff were fine, saying people in Portugal expect children to behave that way. Which was great, because the food at Eleven was really good, especially all the seafood. Not sure why they lost their hat. If only we didn’t have to constantly constrain Allie and hurry our meal to go home and let her sleep.
Food
- BA Lounge:
- croissant
- pain au chocolate
- bacon buttie
- mushroom and tomato buttie
- yoghurt with fresh fruit
- Bonjardim Restaurante:
- roast chicken and chips
- grilled seabream
- Ginja berry port (€1.20)
- Custard tart 1 (€1.05)
- Custard tart 2 (€0.20)
- Custard tart 3 (€1)
- Restaurante Eleven:
- textures of fish – white fish with truffle, pink fish, fish croquette
- octopus tartare
- tomato bread, olive bread, white bread
- Smoked Red mullet
- Portuguese Seafood soup
- 3 variety of fish (John Dory, mullet, groper) with artichoke
- braised oxtail
- Portuguese and French cheese with fruit bread and pumpkin puree
- madeleine
- ??
- tulle biscuit, chocolate, cake
1. Seoul
Summary
Korea
2. Lisbon
Summary
Portugal
3. Paris
Summary
Iceland
4. Red Sea Diving
Summary
England
England
5. Sicily
Summary
Italy
6. Barcelona
Summary
England
7. Berlin
Summary
Germany
8. Brighton
Summary
England
9. Littlehampton
Summary
England
10. Arundel
Summary
England
11. Chichester
Summary
England
12. Hong Kong
Summary
Hong Kong
13. Belgium
Summary
Belgium
14. Budapest
Summary
Hungary
15. Russia
Summary
Russia
16. Paris
Summary
France
17. Round World
Summary
France
