Day 3 6/5/07 - Australia

Newcastle -> Sydney

Highlight

• Wow, the first holiday I haven't enjoyed for a long time. I'd forgotten why I don't go on holidays with my family...I swear when I have a family, I am not going to annoy them!
• After another restless night, with the front door alarm going off constantly and drunk uni students patrolling the halls, we set off for the Honeysuckle Markets, Newcastle's premier market. Well, put it this way, there were about 10 stalls that's about it, so we were able to buy some bread and veg and go home to have brekkie.
• On the way back, drove past some of the "sights" of Newcastle, the Red-Light District, and the Newcastle Steelworks.
• After our "lunch", it was time for the long drive home, watching a game of soccer, before finally arriving home.

Food

• Fosterton Farm Linseed sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm corn sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm farmhouse sourdough ($4.80)
• Fosterton Farm pumpkin, fetta and rice parcel ($3)
• Mayan Coffee cappuccino ($3.20)
• Bionnarie Dairy labna, duetto
• Hunter Valley Cheese Company gold washed rind cheese
• omelette with mushrooms

Day 2 5/5/07 - Australia

Newcastle -> Pokolbin -> Newcastle

Highlight

• Woke up really early because of the bird calls outside the dorm room, so we ended up having breakfast really early and leaving the house by 8:30am. As a result we got to the Hunter Valley around 9:30 am, so of course nothing was open yet.
• First stop was the Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop, which wasn't opened yet, so we had a wonder around the Pokolbin Chocolate & Jam Company General Store at the Pokobin Village Resort.
• Too impatient to wait, we went to the Hunter Valley Gardens Village (HVGV), where there is a beautiful church with stained glass windows overlooking the gardens (incidentally there was a wedding there too).
• There are plenty of shops around HVGV to poke around in, my favourites were The Waiters Friend, selling all manners of kitchen stuff, and of course The Hunter Valley Chocolate Company, where they craft some delicious chcolate, my favourite being the chilli chocolate. They didn't have the dark coffee beans we wanted, so the girl was kind enough to call their other shop and store some aside for us.
• We hadn't actually tasted any wine at this stage, so we thought it was time to give it a go.
• We started off at the Bluetongue Brewery, but since we had to pay to taste the beer, so we just had a look before moving on. You can go on brewery tours, but seeing we've been on tours before, we gave it a miss.
• Across the road was the Binnorie Dairy, it was very crowded, but the setting as beautiful, overlooking a lake and vineywards, so we didn't mind waiting around. When we finally did, we got to taste test the whole range of their cheese, duetto, marinated fetta, labna, mascapone. Their cheese offering was excellent, we were really pleased so bought up big.
• On the way there, we passed a really nice looking winery, set in the valley and they had a huge balcony, so we decided to use that as our first wine tasting stop. I am so glad we did. The Keith Tullochwine Winery was excellent, a small brewery that only makes a small collection of wines, on sale at the cellar store or at the Small Winemakers Centre, and restaurants only. The best thing about this place is the way you do tasting. You pick your spot on the spacious balcony or inside, and they bring you glasses and the wines one by one. They only produce 2 whites, three rds and a dessert wine only. The wines were of pretty good quality, and the service was excellent. Each wine was explained to you and you can relax with your tasting, reclining on the comfy couches. There are also newspaper and mags to read. We spent over an hour there and ended up joining their wine club as well as buying a dozen.
• We went back to the Smelly Cheese Shop but it was so crowded that we didn't stay there long. They have a whole range of their own cheeses as well as cheese from all around the world. If you're here on a quiet day it's well worth a wander, especially in their cheese room.
• The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory is located at McGuigan Cellars. We walked through the range of their cheese, including the marinated fetta, fresh herbed cheese, the smelly Gold Washed Rind, 2 goats cheese: the Branxton White Mould and Grape Vien Ashed Brie, a strong blue and a cheddar from Queensland. The marinated products were not as good as Binnorie Dairy, but we really enjoyed the washed rind. We also managed to pick up some excellent olive oil.
• Across the road for some lunch at the Australian Regional Food Store, but alas, the lunch menu was boring and unimaginative, not to mention expensive, so we made to with 2 mediocare coffees, before heading next door to the Small Winemakers Centre for more taste testing. Not only was the person rude and slow to us, but the wine was pretty ordinary. We left there in a hurry, plenty more cellar doors where they are more welcoming.
• Finally we made our way to the reason we went to the Hunter in the first place, the Meander on Marrowbone Road event as part of the Harvest Festival. Unfortunately it was a bit late in the day, and also because we'd drunk our weights worth in wine, we only managed to make it to 2 out of 5 wineries. Draytons Family Wines where they were offering a winery tour. But before that, we got to taste a few of their offerings, and picked up a dozen reds for the price of $4 each! The wineary tour was pretty informative, and covers the whole process - I've been to a few winery tours in my lifetime, and I actually never remember much of it...
• Our 2nd stop on Marrowbone Rd was to the McWilliams Mount Pleasant Estate, one of the oldest winery in the Hunter. They had a photo exhibition, showing wine making there in teh 50s, taken by famous photographer Max Dupain.
• Our last stop was to get our chocolates from the . I never realised why this was the last stop, as the girl mentioned the shop was just down the road. As it turned out, Slokky had "misinterpreted" and thought we had to go to the factory at Lovedale instead. So 20 minutes later, we found ourselves at the factory shop, where we watched two workers making chocolates. A few taste of fudge later, we came away with bags of chocolate treats.
• We wanted to go to Restaurant II, but it was booked out. So Slokky suggested Honeysuckle Wharf, the supposed Newcastle equivalent to King Street Wharf. Well, in terms of architecture, that's correct, but in terms of shops and people, there were like 1/4 of the people. Since we were with mum and dad, we didn't really get ot eat at where we wanted, so ended up at Twist Cafe Bar, which is not a highlight. Read about it in my review here.
• Got forced to go to Coles to buy soap, even though there were still heaps left, then got forced to eat "yam dessert", even though there is no sugar in it at all.
• As usual, Elaine refuses to sleep early and also refuses to keep the noise down when other people are sleeping, so had to stay awake even though I was really really tired.

Food

• baked beans, scrambled eggs and cheese on toast
• porriage with fruit and nuts
• Bliss Coffee Roaster cappuccino ($3.50)
• taste testing olive oils, jams, chutneys
• taste testing wines
• Australian Regional Food Store latte ($3.80)
• taste testing chocolate and fudge at Hunter Valley Chocolate Company
• mandarin
• Twist Cafe Bar dinner:
  • seared blue eye cod fillet in South Indian aubergine and potato curry topped with seared scallops and riata ($26)
  • pan fried yellow fin tuna served on sauteed kiper potato, asparagus and sundried tomatoes with wild roquette, basil oil and essence of balsamic ($26)
  • roased whole spatchcock with french lentils, currents, speck and merlot glaze ($24)
  • chargrilled bangalow pork cutlet with roasted parsnip and thyme mash, sauteed dbaby spinach and caramelised apple jus ($26)
  • seared atlantics salmon with beurre blanc, asparagus spear and potato rosti ($26)
• yam potatoes "dessert"
• peanut butter fudge

Day 1 4/5/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Newcastle

Highlight

• We started with dinner at Flemington's Saigon Pho, before taking the 2+ hour drive to Newcastle. The road was more crowded than I expected, but the road is nice enough.
• Elaine's campus dorm is very nice. The building is very new, the room is ver yspacious and there are some very beautiful BBQ area as well as a common room with a huge TV and Foxtel! Slokky might be spending more weeks here afterall

Food

• Saigon Pho dinner:
  • beef noodle soup ($7)
  • seafood combination in fried noodles ($9)
  • special fish with rice hot pot ($8.70)

Hunter Valley 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Newcastle - Hunter - Newcastle - Sydney

Date:
4/5/07 - 6/5/07

Flying:
or not

Cost:
$$

100 Great Things To Do In Australia

001 Explore Kakadu’s little brother Litchfield
002 Be cast for eternity onto salty Lake Ballard
003 Swim with wild seals at Baird Bay
004 Go on holiday save 100 lives at Mapoon
005 Reach the oasis of Ormiston Gorge
006 Visit the other remarkable pebble Mount Augustus
007 Open a half-million-year-old treasure chest Naracoorte Caves
008 Visit one of the world’s oldest art galleries Carnarvon Gorge
009 Go swimming with tuna at Port Lincoln
010 Hear a great set of pipes at the Undara Lava Tubes
011 Walk to Art in Melbourne
012 Stay the night in a light on Montague Island
013 Lose yourself in the bluest lagoon at Fitzroy Reef
014 Call the birds in on towering Mount Gower
015 Take a vow of silence in New Norcia
016 Be among the first to paint the hills in outback SA
017 Celebrate Australian biodiversity at Australian Garden
018 Adrift on a Dead Sea at the Pool of Siloam
019 Rent your own island in the Mackerel Islands
020 Get dragged around with Sydney by Diva
021 Look! Up in the sky! It’s your round! Flying Pub Crawl
022 Bathe in convict history at the Bogey Hole
023 Live the life of a keeper on Gabo Island
024 See Sydney from a VERY different angle
025 Paddle under a convict prison in Fremantle
026 Play catch with sharks on the Undersea Explorer
027 Lose your blues at Greens Pool
028 Be a postman for a day on the Outback Mail Run
029 Take the longest sheer plunge down Wallaman Falls
030 Stay at Kangaroo’s lighthouse trinity
031 Dive into the world’s purest cleanest water Mount Gambier
032 See the world at 300m per second in a Mig Jet
033 Gain some extremely remote access at Garig Ganuk Barlu
034 Find food for your soul at Flames of the Forest
035 Stride among the city of Gnomes
036 Watch over Australia’s moodiest lake Blue Lake
037 The Sound of Music at Mount Scoria
038 See blind shrimps and a million stars at Cutta Cutta Caves
039 Fly to the ancient source of Australian art
040 Visit our most haunted house Monte Cristo Homestead
041 See the other side of the rainbow Rainbow Serpent Tour
042 Twitter with the Twitchers at Coffs Coast
043 Stroll along the seabed with Seawalker
044 Find a home among the Banksias
045 Bathe in a boiling outback lake at Dalhousie Springs
046 Spot some of Australia’s oldest graffiti on Chambers Pillar
047 Get on your soapbox Australian Billy Cart Champs
048 Travel in a clattering time machine the Afghan Express
049 Take tea with the Morning Tea Ladies on Tiwi Island
050 Go French for a hidden tourism gem French Island
051 Go to sea in a tinnie at the Beer Can Regatta
052 Hold your breath for the dive of the century Fish Rock Cave
053 Fly in raft out on the North Johnstone River
054 Run with white lions in Mogo Zoo
055 Win your wife’s weight in beer Wife Carrying Champs
056 Don’t fence me in at Cameron’s Corner
057 Watch spawning cuttlefish off Whyalla
058 Proclaim yourself King for the night Kings Plains Castle
059 Walk through untouched lands Kakadu Hawk Dreaming
060 Visit an outback slice of the ’50s at Bells Milk Bar
061 Imagine the land before maps on the Great North Road
062 Catch your own seafood platter at Black Point
063 Prepare to circle the wagons in Bendigo
064 Hop on Tasmania’s newest ride Piners and Miners Tour
065 Play polo in Banjo country at the Geebung Polo Match
066 Make your own wine at Penfolds
067 Tinker with Tilba Tilba’s trinkets
068 Walk among the dolomites in the Hastings Caves
069 Make like Moses at Burning Mountain
070 Go deep underground with Douggie’s Mine Tours
071 Boogie-woogie on rails in the Blues Train
072 Rent your own cave in the Upper Blue Mountains
073 Visit Australia’s unknown Grand Canyon Capertee Valley
074 Share your secrets with the Whispering Wall
075 Find your way among the roses at Ashcombe
076 Bomb the Perry Sandhills on the banks of the Murray
077 Have the perfect family day at Parsley Bay
078 Stumble across Beautiful Betsy
079 Crawl through a goldmine at Arltunga
080 See the giant water babies at Point Ann
081 Crawl through a convict tunnel in Clarence
082 Visit a country within a country Principality of Hutt River
083 Back your favourite cane toad on Magnetic Island
084 Twirl a brolly from a previous century Old Umbrella Shop
085 Delve into your immigrant past at the National Archives
086 Visit Hans Heysen’s home among the gumtrees
087 Spot Australia’s rarest mammal at Two Peoples Bay
088 Dive into surfing heartland’s Blue Pool
089 See the walls come alive at Kurri Kurri
090 See the world’s largest acrylic painting at Broken Hill
091 Sail the postman’s run up the Hawkesbury
092 Join the outback pest war against the Yellow Crazy Ants
093 Roll with the pumpkins at Goomeri
094 Wander through the scarecrows in the vineyard
095 Step through the looking glass National Art Glass Gallery
096 Get the best coffee in the galaxy at Tidbinbilla
097 Ride fly eat and learn on the Flying Camel Tour
098 Pay your respects to Tom Roberts’ Big Picture
099 Drink the world’s most expensive coffee
100 Set your spider senses tingling at Australia’s Venom Zoo

Day 1 24/4/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hobart -> Sydney

Highlight

• Another close brush to the airport, I was stuck on the M5 for over 30 minutes, meaning my trip took 40 minutes longer than usual. Luckily the rain delayed all flights so I made it with about 5 minutes to spare.
• The flight was full of old people and young families, all on holidays to Tassie or going back to see family. This all adds to the atmosphere of a holiday. So even though this was a business trip, it’s Tassie, so it can’t help but feel like a holiday.
• Got a taxi without having to line up, and 10 minutes later we arrived in the city centre.
• A swift meeting with the GM and other heads of, and then we were off to lunch.
• Walked down to Salamanca Place, which looked very different without the market stalls and the crowd. It was very pleasant, with the beautiful sandstone buildings, antique and arts shop, and glorious restaurants all housed in the restored buildings.
• A pleasant walk to my favourite bakery in the whole world, Jackman & McRoss, and watched the world (or the Tassies) pass by. A beautiful way to appreciate Tassie.
• Stocked up on supplies and walked back down the whimsical Kelly’s Step back to the office.
• The workshops went well. Tasmanians are so much more relaxed.
• After finally securing a cab in the heart of the CBD, made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We enjoyed a glass of wine and enjoyed our Jackman & McRoss takeaway, before boarding the flight back.
• Ahh, Sydney, rain, wait for taxis, traffic…it’s good to be home.

Food

• Jackman & McRoss braised rabbit pie ($8.50)
• Jackman & McRoss quince tart ($6.50)

Tasmania 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Hobart - Sydney

Date:
24/4/07

Flying:
Virgin

Cost:
$

Virgin Flight DJ 623

Time

This time we took off on time, but because of the rain in Sydney, we were delayed for 10 minutes on return, which was nothing, considering the Qantas flight to Melbourne was delayed 2 hours, and the long wait for a taxi afterwards and the traffic…

Rating - 4

Comfort

We were forced to stand on the tarmac for ages, it was freezing cold because people were very slow getting on the plane. This time the plane was full and I was sitting next in the middle next to my colleague and this tall man who drank lots of alcohol during the flight, so it wasn’t exactly comfortable. One of the reading lights didn’t work either so that didn’t help.

Rating - 2

Service

It must be mid-day fatigue, because the crew was pretty boring. They had their work cut out for them handling the request from alcoholic next door, and they handled it well, so well done to them.

Rating - 1

Allowance/Gifts

Yup, they had live to air TV again, but there was a problem so every couple of minutes the screen would blank out. Alcoholic actually bought the service for $6 (he should’ve checked that it actually worked first!), and then was complaining about it.

Rating - 2.5

Value

This was bought on a Fully Flexible Fare, for $349. Again, not paid for by me.

Rating - 4

Jumbo Points - 13.5

Info

Hobart - > Sydney
24 Apr 07, 17:00 - 18:50
Website

Virgin Flight DJ 618

Time

Because of the rain we actually took off half hour late, which was again fine by me because I was stuck in traffic and had to do another mad dash to the gate. Luckily Virgin has now implemented web check-in so I was able to walk straight to security, saving a lot of time. We didn’t arrive that much later though, only 15 mins, so we were still able to make our appointment.

Rating - 2.5

Comfort

I don’t think I really need to comment on this one any longer, having flown so many Virgin flights. This time we had a spare seat between us so it was much more comfy.

Rating - 4

Service

The crew were surprisingly low key. Usually they have some funny stories to tell, but I think because we took off late and they were in a rush, so they wanted to hurry and get everything done to meet their on time demand.

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

This flight has the new “live TV” implemented, i.e. there is a screen on each seat where you get a choice of 30 channels. We were given free headphones and there is a review of the channels before take-off. I tried out a few channels, namely the news and the Lifestyle channels, and found it quite good. However, once we took off, you had to pay $6 for the service, which is ok of course. However, it meant that all the radio channels are disabled so you can’t actually listen to anything.

Rating - 3.5

Food

The usual stuff available, which I didn’t try.

Rating - 2.5

Value

This was bought on a Blue Saver, for $159. I didn’t have to pay for it anyway.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 20.5

Info

Sydney -> Hobart
24 Apr 07, 8:55 - 10:45
Website

Rialto Hotel on Collins

Room

Our package was for a deluxe king room. The room was certainly bigger than normal. Situated on the 7th floor, which is the highest on that side of the hotel, and with a balcony overlooking the cafe area below, it is very impressive. It might be a bit freaky not to have natural light, but I was fine with that. I went out on that balcony often to observe people around.

We had a king bed that had the pillow thing going on. The bed as very comfy, the pillow a little soft but at least not floppy. The decor in the rest of the room I will describe as yellow. You couldn't really turn the lights up to brighten up the room. Gold glitz and dark wood paneling is the order of the day. There is a chair with a foot rest and a writing desk. The bathroom was quite spacious, with a marble-topped basin.

Rating - 4

Facilities

The mini-bar was kinda impressive. We had Foxtel (not that I cared) and a Playstation (ditto). All the usual suspects: huge rooftop pool, spa, sauna, gym, bar, business centre... The bathroom amenities were generous, and they had bathrobes (which we didn't use again) but no fluffy slippers.

The staff were very professional, both at reception, valet parking and at check-in. The check-in chick was a bit ditzy, thinking our breakfast wasn't included in the price. The bell-boy was nowhere to be seen when we needed him though. We didn't try out the famed concierge as we didn't even have enough time to do anything!

Rating - 4

Location

Right in the centre of town, actually, the ritzy part of town. It's close to transport and all the major attractions in the city. Too bad we didn't really make use of it.

Rating - 5

Food

We started with some good quality champagne, very sweet choc-dipped strawberries, and dark chocolate mint, so they were already in my good books. Anyone who provides a selection of fresh bread (go olive!) at breakfast gets my vote.

The food was above average for a hotel breakfast buffet, but of course doesn't beat a cafe. They have an egg station, offering up half set poached eggs, as well as your standard hot food fare. The bacon was very lean. The pancake still a bit rubbery.

My favourite, besides the bread, were the mix your own muesli and fruit compote. I also forced down a hot-cross bun because it was Easter.

Rating - 4.5

Value

Our one night package was $169 for a king sized room, champagne and strawberries on arrival and buffet breakfast for me. It as great value for a Easter holiday weekend right in the heart of the city. Valet parking was an extra $25.

Rating - 4

Snooze Points - 21.5

Info

495 Collins St
Melbourne
VIC 3000
Phone (03) 9620 9111
Website

Frog Gully Cottages

Room

There's a small kitchen, a large dining and living room, spacious outdoor deck, and 2 bedrooms, each with its own ensuite. Everything is tastefully decorated, more in the country style than that Mod look. I really like that there is a uniqueness in their decorations. Everything is frog themed, from the door mat to the toilet paper!The cottages are obviously quite new, some things even still have their tags on!

The double bed has electric blankets and fluffy doonas, but the mattress wasn't that comfortable and the pillow was floppy! This really let the cottage down in terms of rating.

Rating - 3

Facilities

This is supposed to be 4 star rated, and there is almost everything you need. The kitchen is not a full kitchen but all the basics are there, with everything being almost new. The gas BBQ on the deck is great too! They actually provide gloves for the kitchen and encourage recycling and composting.

There are heaters, electric blankets and fans, as well as DVDs, CD player, books, mags (all outdated unfortunately) and games. The bathrooms had some amenities and hair dryers. There is also a laundry should you be that way inclined.

Rating - 4

Location

Located on some beautiful wetlands, away from any life really, but close enough to a major town. Really the best of both worlds.

Rating - 4

Food

The breakfast provisions included: 4 strips of bacon, 4 eggs, 4 slices of bread, a selection of cereals and jams. Not as generous as other places we've been to, and not of the highest quality. In fact, the quantity is just right instead of being too generous. The milk they supplied had already passed its use by date though. Boring supply of tea and coffee, with 3 packets of Jarrah hot chocolate. They also gave us some chocolate frogs.

Rating - 3.5

Value

The cottages are priced at $160 for 2 at any time of year. At other times I would think they are a tad expensive, but at Easter, it's not bad.

Rating - 3

Snooze Points - 17.5

Info

Lot 2419
Rosedale Rd
Longford
VIC 3851
Phone (03) 5149 7242 or 0439 369 057
Website

Things you see everywhere in Australia

Melbourne

• toll roads
• trams
• live screens showing sport
• sport supporters
• rude drivers
• coffee shops
• beautiful sculptures on the street
• weird architecture

Gippsland

• SES coffee and tea service
• tourists, especially campers and caravans
• cows
• dairies
• wetlands
• forests

Things you see everywhere in Australia

Tasmania

• J Boggs
• Cascades
• pubs
• old couples or groups touring
• tourists
• farms
• cows
• sea
• road kill

Audi A3

Trip Summary

Melbourne -> Gippsland -> Melbourne

Drive

Quote "good handling, tendency to slightly under steer when pushed to the limits. The 6-speed gearbox is a dream. Steering a little twitchy for my preference"

Rating - 4

Comfort

It's a bit more squishy than the Focus, but it's roomy enough. There's not that much space in the backseat. I couldn't figure out how to adjust the headrest for a long time so was very uncomfortable. Otherwise, there is separate temperature control. Only complaint, slightly below average road noise reduction.

The cigarette lighter didn't work, or at least we couldn't figure out how it worked, so we couldn't charge our GPS.

Rating - 4

Service

Slow, we had to line up twice, once to register at the airport and another time to get the keys at the office. There was a scratch on the car so I went to report it at the office, at which they said not to worry about it. We then noticed the tank was only 3/4 full, so we had to go and report that again.

Rating - 1

Value

$330 for our 4 day sojourn. Not bad for Easter considering hiring a Hyundai would be only about $10 cheaper.

Rating - 3.5

Clean

Spotless... except for the scratches

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 17

Info

Website

Qantas Flight QF 492

Time

Very good. Check-in is all electronic boarding pass, which you have to print out before you check your bags in, making the process much quicker. But it also means that you can't try to get switched to an earlier flight!

We left on time and arrived on time. The luggage did take awhile to come out even though the airport wasn't that busy.

Rating - 4

Comfort

Well, out of all the Australian airlines, Qantas has the oldest planes, the narrowest seats and the least leg room. This was another Boeing 737. The fabric on the seats were unattractive and worn, but at least they have the flaps on the side you can move to give you side support. There are a lot more TVs situated at a lot of points though so you can actually watch TV easily, even from the window seat.

Rating - 3

Service

The air hostesses are all old (so that's where the oldies go). They are very boring, never smile, but are very professional, in their announcement, in their delivery of food, in the showing you in and out of the aircraft. The counter service guy was ok too, and was helpful to a man who didn't know how to use the e-ticket machines.

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

Instead of the 20kg bag allowance, we were actually allowed 32kg each, but each bag couldn't be heavier than 32kg, so we had to rejiggle our luggage to fit the requirements.

Rating - 3.5

Food

There was really not enough time for any food. We were given a packet of nuts and fruit and a drink. I decided to forgo the alcohol as I had had quite a share that day (hey, it WAS a wedding!). I asked for an apple juice, but to my surprise they actually gave me a mixed fruit juice, in the style of the nudie drinks. It was very nice actually. There are also some apples available, but really, all the food probably only costs about $2 all up.

Rating - 4

Value

Considering it was Easter and a flight on Virgin would cost $199, paying $214.39 for this was not too bad. Compared to the way we formally travel though, it's a rip off!

Rating - 3.5

Jumbo Points - 21.5

Info

Melbourne -> Sydney
9 Aug 06, 20:30 - 21:50
Website

Virgin Flight DJ 802

Time

The plane, to our relief, took off at 6:30 instead of 6:15 and arrived very close to the stated 1 hour and 7 minutes later, at 7:35, so was 10 minutes earlier than expected.

Rating - 5

Comfort

We flew in a Boeing 737, which is much squishshier than the Jetstar Airbus. Because of our check-in fun, I wasn't sitting next to Slokky (yeah!), but I ended up being squished between 2 old men (boo!). One was coughing and then snoring the whole time, at least the other one was ok. The seats are much narrower than Jetstar, but there's still enough legroom.

Rating - 3

Service

"Marky Mark" and his crew were a happy lot, especially for such an early hour. They got along very well and kept cracking those corny jokes about how good looking the crew were. The service was good and the announcements timely. Certainly better than Jetstar.

The check-in crew didn't really make us feel relaxed or calm when we checked-in, joining in the frenzy with us. At least they tried their best to get us on the plane I suppose?

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

No freebies, not even headphones. I did take the in flight mag, which always has an interesting entrepreneurial article.

Rating - 2

Food

The usual options for purchase. We were too rush and too squished to enjoy our own food.

Rating - 1.5

Value

14,000 points plus $39 taxes

Rating - 1

Jumbo Points - 16

Info

Sydney -> Melbourne
6 Apr 07, 6:15 - 7:45
Website

Day 4 9/4/07 - Australia

Melbourne City -> North Balwyn -> South Yarra -> Melbourne City -> Sydney

Highlight

• Woke up nice and early for the buffet breakfast. We were so stuffed afterwards we took a walk around the city, to take advantage of the great location of the Rialto Hotel. We walked to Federation Square as this was not built the last time I was in Melbourne (2002). Whether it's ugly or not? I am leaning towards the not, because it's a great space in the city for the crowds to gather for community based event (i.e. watching sports).
• Traveled to St Bede's Church, North Balwyn, for a simple but touching wedding ceremony. Pink was chosen as the colour. It was a glorious sunny day in Melbourne, so they were very lucky.
• Had a brief wonder around the streets of South Yarra in our suit and heels. There wasn't much to look at as all the shops were closed, except for food stores.
• 9 Darling St was the setting for the reception. It was the best function centre I've been to. It doesn't have views, but it has a nice garden setting, a huge bar and waiting area, plush cushions decor, a decent sized dance floor. The best thing was the exceptional food. I was expecting the usual wedding hoo-ha, but the food was cooked nicely. We were served steak that was actually cooked medium! The dessert platter was to die for. The ceremony was simple - no dancing and no games, but the speeches were very touching.
• We had some time to kill before the flight back so took in the other new development around, Docklands. This reminds me of all the wharf area around Sydney, except better designed. Indeed, there are sculptures all around, the architecture impressed me, and the sense of space was great. Now if only Sydney had an area like that!
• We killed some more time by riding around the CBD on the city circle tram. The ride was spent talking to the conductor, who knew Sydney very well, than actually taking in the sites.
• The airport wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. Hadn't flown Qantas for awhile, but they are kind of boring, at least they have TV for you to watch, so the flight was over before you knew it, and another holiday comes to an end.

Food

• Rialto Hotel on Collins buffet breakfast:
  • selection of fruit
  • fruit bread
  • olive bread
  • hot cross bun
  • custard donut
  • fruit danish
  • cheese and cold cuts
  • coffee and tea
  • bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, tomato, hash brown, mushrooms
  • pancakes and poached eggs
  • make your own muesli station with poached fruit
• Wedding lunch at 9 Darling St:
  • oysters and prawns on fountain
  • appetizers - salmon skewers, risotto balls, filo parcels
  • Tasting plate: miniature crab claw with orange and ginger dressing, lime cured salmon and scallop in a half shell with wasabi and green pea puree
  • Char grilled eye fillet on white truffle oil mash served with cognac and peppercorn sauce
  • Baked trevally fillet with a Thai crust and a lime and coconut jam
  • Lemon tart, berries in a chocolate basket and cappuccino ice cream
• Qantas fresh juice - pineapple, orange, mango, passionfruit

Day 3 8/4/07 - Australia

Longford -> Tarra Bulga National Park -> Mirboo North ->Trafalgar -> Yarragon -> Trafalgar -> Warragul -> South Yarra -> Melbourne City

Highlight

• Having breakfast on the balcony while watching the sky change colour.
• watching birds and cows in the mist.
• Miners Lookout to observe the powerplant that generates over 90% of VIC's energy. The lookout was sponsored by the powerplant so it was immaculately update with beautiful decorations. You can see the coal mine and powerplant on one side and green farmland on the other.
• Tarra Bulga National Park, part of the Grand Ridge Road nature drive, was quite hard to reach. It involved driving through narrow, winding roads, sometimes unsealed. The park itself contained rainforests, a change from the temperate forests and wetlands we've been seeing. The air was cool, the floor covered with ferns.
• The highlight of the park was the Corrigan Suspension Bridge, part of the Wills Tracks. It wasn't as fun as the Bridge in Victoria Canada though.
• This was where our bunch of bad luck started. We decided to check out Blackwarry Tower, only to find out when we were nearly there that the road was for 4 wheel drive only. so we had to drive all the way back.
• Our next stop was the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk. This was a pleasant walk through a rainforest gully and across trickling mountain streams. The highlight was supposed to be Cyathea Falls, but, because we were in teh middle of a drought, there was no water.
• The park was starting to fill with tourist at around this time (10:30), but when we tried to get out, we found our exit blocked by a fallen tree. No way to move forward, we had to take a detour (and because Slokky is crap we took a longer than necessary detour) on very narrow uncomfortable roads, adding an hour to our trip.
• Needless to say, after that drive, I wasn't interested in the dense forest and farmland scenery of Grand Ridge Road anymore.
• I was very glad when we reach Mirboo North, the home of the Grand Ridge Brewery. I really wanted one of their award-winning beer, but because we were delayed an hour and lunch was beckoning, I made do with a six-pack of takeaway beer ($25) instead.
• Had lunch at the Erinae Lavender garden's beautiful garden.
• Drove to Sunny Creek Organic Berries, only to find out that they weren't opened, even though people had called earlier and they had said they were opened. To compensate, we sample some of the apples and kiwi hanging from their trees instead.
• Yarragon Village is more one of the villages you expect on the tourist route. Filled with antique shops, and old fashioned lolly shop, lots of clothing and trinket store, not to mention enough cafes so you can have coffee at a different place each day for a week. Finally I picked up some fresh and rustic bread at the Yarragon Country Style bakery Bakery.
• Finally, at Yarragon's visitor centre, which also doubled as a gourmet food place, we were able to pick up a Gateway to Gippsland, Food & Wine Network brochure, which led us to Marshall Green Deer & Venison Farm
• The place was certainly hard to find, as someone had stolen their sign, so they had to put a red ribbon up. Once we were there, we were given a personal tour. First we were given some mitzu apples straight off the tree. While we were munching, we sharing the apples with the deers. Deers are quite shy animals, only 2 or 3 animals would eat out of your hand. We were told about the current mating season, as well as what the effects of the drought had been to farming.
• About 45 minutes later, we finally left, armed with some venison steaks (only $28/kg!), a quince jelly ($2), a handmade wool beanie ($6!), and a bag full of apples and quinces! She gave us recipe sheets, told us about her market sales and her other customers and her arts and crafts. We felt like we know just about everything! This has been another of those highlights that makes a trip so special.
• Well, after that, it was a bit too late to keep exploring. We stopped off at Warragul, but all the shops were closed, and the town itself wasn't that interesting, so we joined the traffic crawl back to Melbourne.
• Dinner at France Soir, classic French in style, but somehow so Melbourne.
• Relaxing in the roof top spa and plunging into the freezing cold swimming pool, just to say that we used the facilities at Rialto Hotel on Collins.
• Forcing down some complimentary choc-dipped strawberries as we were really full from dinner.
• Plucking out all of Slokky's chin hair (152!) because he forgot his shaver.

Food

• Mi Goreng BBQ chicken noodle
• Vaalia vanilla blueberry and mango passionfruit yoghurt
• sweet seed mustard tuna with linseed bread
• Goulburn Valley diced peaches
• Cadbury Eden
• potato bread ($2.70)
• mitzu apple
• France Soir dinner:
• Chocolate dipped strawberries.
• Mint chocolate.

Day 2 7/4/07 - Australia

Longford -> Sale -> Golden Beach -> Loch Sport -> The Lakes National Park -> Loch Sport -> Sale ->Rosedale -> Sale -> Longford

Highlight

• Enjoying breakfast on the deck with expansive views of the Latrobe River wetlands.
• Drove through "wetlands" to reach Golden Beach, part of the Ninety Mile Beach stretch. This is virtually miles and miles of dead straight beach. The weather wasn't the best so people weren't out in force.
• There was a "market" at Golden Beach, consisting about 3 stalls of people selling their junk, and by junk I mean junk.
• Loch Sport is very popular with the boating, sailing and fishing set, we drove through the town on the way to The Lakes National Park.
• The Lakes NP is basically one huge dirt track, we went for a walk on the Lake Reeves Nature Trail, where we observed several habitats and dead trees. It was a path less taken as the trail was totally overgrown. The lookout had extensive vies of Lake Reeve and the Gippsland Lakes system.
• Drove to the Jetty at Point Wilson, passing a few swamps on the way. We watched swamps of jellyfish floating around in the water. What surprised me were there were heaps of people actually swimming there...
• I wanted to eat at the jetty, but Slokky was against the idea, so we went and checked out the Loch Sport local bakery, decided what was left of the day wasn't worth eating. Slokky wanted to eat at Sale, so we drove especially to the Centre Bakery, because they had advertised all over the tourist brochures, and was extremely disappointed. All the choices we wanted weren't available, and because I was extremely hungry (it was after 2pm) at this point, and we drove there especially, we had to order. I should have not listened to Slokky and had the tuna sandwiches at an earlier time instead.
• Rosedale is a lovely little town with some pretty colonial buildings. We came though, for food (what else). The Tarra Valley Food store sells pickles, jams, chutney, sauces and relishes. The owner, George Sharp, makes everything on the premises and grow some of the fruit and veg as well. They have won a stack of awards, and everything we tasted was very yummy. More importantly, everything was cheap as chips. Even buying the raw ingredients must cost more than that. The sauces were $3 for a small and $5 for large. These prices are even cheaper than buying it at the supermarket. What's more, we actually had a 25% discount voucher as well!
• Tried to buy some local lamb and beef at the butcher but, forgetting that this was a country town, all the shops were closed by 1pm! So we had to contend with the local IGA, for some lamb cutlets and flatheads.
• Visited the fame Port of Sale, but couldn't see what was so special about it, just some grass and water.
• Another highlight was supposed to be the Sale Powder Magazine, a building built in 1865-65 to store gunpowder supplies. I think we've seen way too many heritage buildings to appreciate this little hut.
• More to our taste was the Sale Common State Game Reserve, where we went for a walk to the Long Waterhole and lookout. This is supposed to be a habitat for birds, but all we could see were a few ducks.
• Last stop was the Historic Swing Bridge. Built in 1883 and one of the first swing bridges built.
• Fired up the barbie and ate our Gippsland fare while watching the sun set.
• Played 2 player 500 (not as interesting as 4 player but better than snap any day) while indulging in chocolates and cheese.
• Giggled at all the newly weds who signed the Frog Gully guest books. Thanks for telling us about your honeymoon night!

Food

• bacon, fried egg, tomato with homemade bread
• banana
• vegetable pastie ($2.90)
• Mexican pie ($3.20)
• iced coffee ($3.90)
• taste testing pickles, jams, chutney, sauces and relishes at Tarra valley Foods
• BBQ flatheads with lemon and pepper ($7)
• BBQ lamb cutlets with pepper and hot sweet chilli dip
• baby mesclun blend salad ($1.79) with Maffra mature cheddar and lemon juice
• lemon tea with honey
• jarrah hot chocolate
• Cadbury Eden
• Maffra matured cheddar

Day 1 6/4/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Melbourne -> Wilsons Promontory -> Agnes Falls -> Port Albert -> Longford

Highlight

• Slokky got the time wrong for our flight, he thought it was 6:45am instead of 6:15am, so we had to run for it and nearly didn't make check in. Luckily they were just finishing boarding, and we did a 10 minutes from arrival to boarding the aircraft. We were also one of the first to get our luggage on the other side, so not too bad.
• Slokky doing the being anxious before holidays thing again
• Slokky kept getting the indicators wrong even though the Audi was exactly the same as the Focus.
• Slokky was really lazy and woke up really late, and then didn't pack stuff so was rushing around doing things, like jamming everything in the front of the suitcase and nearly breaking the zip.
• Slokky didn't work out beforehand where we had to go so wasted heaps of time.
• Drivers in Melbournians are quite rude, nobody at all gave way to us, especially one time when we were changing lanes and nearly got run off the highway.
• Our first stop ever at a stop revive survive station, got some free bickies, tea and a backseat driver revival bag, filled with kids games, biscuits and even a trivial CD!
• Got stuck behind a caravan and crawled along most of the highway, but when we finally made it to Wilsons Promonary, or "The Prom" 4 hours later, it was all worth it.
• First stop, Squeaky Beach, with beautiful white sand which squeak when you rub them together, mid sized waves and amazing rock formations
• Caught the shuttle bus to start our climb (more like a gentle slope) to Mount Oberon Summit, at ...m, with the most amazing view over the beaches and islands, as well as the Tidal River. We stayed to enjoy some nashi pears with lots of other walkers.
• Norman Beach - a flat sheltered beach with gentle waves, with Mount Oberon in the background
• Stopped by Norman Viewpoint for views of more ocean and island. After visiting almost all of Australia, I can say that that this is one of the most beautiful spots in Australia, if not the world (although I don't think I can be the judge of that one just yet)
• Last stop on the Wilsons Promontory National Park was the spectacular Whisky Bay, a small sandy beach with rock formations on both sides, a tranquil walk lead you to that area.
• Drove through some green rolling hills with dairy cows, the heart of dairyland. It's a bit like Tasmania, but with much more flat lands.
• Passed a wind farm on the way to Agnes Fall. The scenery is again spectacular, ocean on one side, rolling hills on the other. The fall itself didn't have much water, but the surrounding was so peaceful, especially at dusk when we visited.
• Slokky missed out on pics of some very good view of the sunset against the wind farm.
• Port Albert is a small charming fishing town. The local fish & chips, Port Albert Seafoods, was packed with holiday makers. They cook up their specialties of flatheads and duckfish (not available). We joined the crowd to enjoy some fried stuff by the wharf, with only the moonlight to guide us. If it wasn't so cold we could've stayed forever.
• Drove along some very very straight highway from Yarram to Longford, talk about efficiency!
• Frog Gully was suitably frog themed. We settled in front of the (electric) fire and relaxed while planning the next day.

Food

• Homemade bread with baby spinach dip.
• nashi pear
• Bushells tea.
• Arnotts Milk Coffee and Nice
• Arnotts dark chocolate wheatens
• chilli tuna tempsters on homemade bread.
flathead ($5.50) and chips ($2).
• Jarrah hot chocolate.

Victoria 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Melbourne - Wilsons Promontory - Sale - Loch Sport - Melbourne - Sydney

Date:
6/4/07 - 9/4/07

Flying:
Virgin

Cost:
$$$

Holden VS Commodore

Trip Summary

Launceston -> Hobart

Drive

I didn't actually drive this, so you'll have to take Slokky's word for it. There is a tendency to slightly oversteer. It is well balanced but a little jittery when braking. There is good power and good torte. Being a Commodore, it was fitted with the standard ABS, cruise control, electric mirrors and doors...etc

Rating - 3

Comfort

Surprisingly for such a huge car, the ride was pretty bumpy. Either the roads in Tassie are worst than NSW or this car's suspension is worst. I'm inclined to think it's the latter. It certainly wasn't as comfortable as the Ford Focus.

In terms of creature comfort. The seats are wide, designed for the "average" Australian no doubt. The cushioning and support are pretty good, and of course there's plenty of leg room. The noise insulation for terrible. We could hear wind noises and you can't use fresh air with the air conditioning!

Rating - 3

Service

The people at Avis were excellent. We got our car sorted out at the airport ages before our luggage was even ready to be picked up. It was the same when we dropped the car off. As soon as we pulled in the Avis car park, an attendent has checked our car over and printed our receipt, before we'd even got out of the car!

Rating - 4.5

Value

We asked for a manual Corolla and get upgraded to an auto Commodore. However, this baby sucks fuel up like there's no tommorow! Hehe, they don't even bother displaying fuel consumption on the trip computer because it's just too depressing to know otherwise!

Rating - 3.5

Clean

Cleaned very well. There were a few minor scratches on the car, but that's even better for us, we didn't have to be that careful.

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 18.5

Info

Website

North Lodge Apartment

Room

One word, HUGE. We were in the "penthouse", and the room consisted of one very very long room, with a bedroom with a queen sized bed and bay window and dresser on one end, to two single beds and the tiniest, and I mean the tiniest, bathroom I've seen (about the size of Japan's). In between all this there's a dining room and a pretty big kitchen. It all sounds really good doesn't it, but it's not as it seems. The penthouse was opened in 1982 and obviously hasn't been renovated since then. The furnishing were worn. The cupboard doors and tiles were falling off the kitchen and all the cutlery and appliances were also from the 80s. The bathroom was so impractical we brushed our teeth in the kitchen.

The good points though, there was plenty of room, the bed was nice and comfy, with very nice pillows. We had a pretty big TV and the largest wrap-around balcony with great views over the Launceston hills.

If they renovate this place they can probably charge an outrageous amount for it. I wonder what the rate is normally? I'd hate to imagine what the "studio" we originally booked would be like...

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

There's a full kitchen, laundry, lots of beds. But all this is matched by cheap coffee (International House), a small bottle of milk, shampoo and conditioner. The kitchen holds lots of bits and pieces, but they are all falling apart, plus, stuff were so dirty I didn't really want to touch them.

The guy who ran the place forgot about me, and questioned me heaps about whether I really had a booking. upon producing my email confirmation though, he turned nice and accomodating, and had to give us the only room left, the "penthouse", out of the whole place. He was very helpful actually, if only the first impression he gave didn't turn me off.

Rating - 3

Location

Great, very close to the city centre, right next to Kings Park. From our balcony you can get a view of the park and the surrounding hills. We didn't really make good use of it though.

Rating - 4

Value

Only because we got the penthouse was this place worth $90 a night. Granted it's quite close to the city centre, but this IS Launceston we're talking about, it's not like the city centre is the centre of everything. Despite all our times in Tasmania, we haven't spent very much time in Launceston at all! I don't appreciate misleading advertising on their website though, they made everything sound much better than they really are.

Rating - 2.5

Snooze Points - 13

Info

7 Brisbane Street
Launceston
TAS 7250
Phone (03) 6331 9966
Website

Jetstar Flight JQ 127

Time

The plane left 1/2 an hour late. It took ages to board the plane, ages to get our luggage, in the rain! About the only thing that was quick was check in. But I was surprised they didn't even ASK if we had anything flammable in our bags.

Rating - 1

Comfort

Like all the other jetstar planes. It was 3 across and no middle asile. The leathers seats are pretty wide, with a fair amount of leg room. The plane was nearly full, but there were 3 or 4 spare seats scattered around. Slokky and I had to sit separately, but it meant we were more comfortable.

Rating - 4

Service

Was ok. The check-in was cold as usual. The air hostesses kept giggling and gossiping amoung themselves. The servie was ok. I was surprised there was actually an announcement to tell us to clean up our own seats, and to throw our rubbish away!

Rating - 3

Allowance/Gifts

We only had the one bag but I think they are pretty strict.

Rating - 3

Food

They serve the usual stuff on board and charge an ok price for being up in the air.

Rating - 3

Value

$44.50 one way. We only travel on discounts!

Rating - 5

Jumbo Points - 19

Info

Sydney -> Launceston
8 Feb 07, 19:40 - 21:00
Website

Day 1 8/2/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Launceston

Highlight

• Our holiday got off to its usual start, with Slokky being late in meeting me as we were going to the airport.
• There were tons of people at the airport. You couldn't even find a place to sit in the food court.
• The plane was late. There were heaps of rude people on board, who all decide to stand in the aisle and not let anyone else through.
• We travelled with lots of old people and babies (which will become the constant recurrence on this trip, but we didn't know it yet).
• After we landed late, we had to get off the plane in the pouring rain at Launceston Airport. Yes it was primitive and they don't actually have connection corridor.
• We had to wait ages for our luggage. They don't have luggage belts and all the luggage gets driven in on a cart. It's the same at Hobart Airport too.
• Luckily the rain eased when we drove into Launceston. Our hotel, the North Lodge Apartments actually forgot me, so we ended up staying in the "penthouse". For more on this story read my review.

Tasmania 2007

Simple Plan:
Oz

Expaneded Plan:
Sydney - Launceston - Burnie - Stanley - Hobart - Sydney

Date:
8/2/07 - 12/2/07

Flying:
JetStar

Cost:
$$$

Easyjet Flight 5292

Time

Because we ended up arriving at the airport late (thanks to Italian public transport), there was no line at check in, but it also meant we boarded the aircraft almost last and there was no choice of good seats left. The plane was delayed for about 20 minutes.

Rating - 2.5

Comfort

ok for a budget airline, but not very comfy.

Rating - 2.5

Service

All the staff were cool but had no sense of humour and definitely have an attitude problem, or where they just being English? They could certainly be friendlier or warmer.

Rating - 2

Allowance/Gifts

They were extremely strict on the limit, which I thought they might be for a budget airline, so we tried to make our luggage as light as possible. They were being a bit anal though as they won't even let on 41kg.

Rating - 2

Food

Of course food is not included in the price, but you can buy on board. Their selection included loads of chain store food, and I'm certainly not sad I missed trying it.

Rating - 1

Value

69.48 Euros for 2. They had a special on not long after I got my tix, so it could've been even cheaper. Oh well, you get what you pay for I suppose.

Rating - 3.5

Jumbo Points - 13.5

Info

Milan -> London
Website

Air Canada Flight AC 33

Time

Wow, what a difference a country makes. We got to the airport very early but it still took ages to check in. The airport staff didn't inform us that once we checked in, there was no customs, so we couldn't claim our tax back. They operate on Canada time, which is a bit slower than Australia time but faster than Italy time.

Rating - 3

Comfort

Unfortunately this was the least comfortable of all the airlines we flew this trip and this was our longest flight yet. Everything was old and needed a rehaul or at least some refurbishment. The headrests didn't fold to the side, and personal screens? ha. The best thing was that the flight was not very full so we could move around to seats we wanted. If it was a full flight it would be VERY uncomfortable as the leg room and seating were crap.

Rating - 3

Service

Hey, at least they don't discriminate. The Air Canada air hostess were the oldest and ugliest I have seen, they were also extremely slow but they were very very friendly and willing to serve, it was just that their ability to serve was not great. Hmmm, which one is better, efficiency or friendliness?

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

Well, because we were flying through the US, it meant that we could have lots more luggage as long as each bag is not more than 20kg. So we managed to haul all our chocolate home! As for gifts, we were happy to get a meal, as some people actually missed out.

Rating - 3

Food

Before I describe the food, just remember that this is America, and they don't serve Asian food. The food was the worst of all the airlines on this world trip. The pasta was damp and tasteless. They actually ran out of choices of food so I only got to try one meal. The best thing they served was probably the ice-cream. All the desserts were too sweet for my taste. Their redeeming grace though, were the Clamato drink, yup, you guessed it, a combination of clam and tomato juice, which I thought would taste very strange, but in actual fact, is quite addictive.

Rating - 2.5

Value

This was our last leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 19.5

Info

Vancouver -> Sydney
Website

Lufthansa Flight LH 492

Time

The lines were really slow and long, so I was pretty frustrated.

Rating - 2.5

Comfort

We were originally in the 2 middle seats out of the 4, but fortunately we were able to swap for the 1 side aisle seat instead. We got to sit next to some interesting Canadians, a mum and her son, traveling back home. The mum used to be a flight attendant and spoke fluent German. I watched them try to get upgrades but it didn't work. They laughed really loud at Rumours Has It, so I don't know about their taste...Speaking of movies, their entertainment program was pretty bad. I've seen both the movies and Harry Potter before, and it was really difficult to see the screen from my seat. One thing I have to commend them for is the set up of the toilet area (very important!), it was in one big space downstairs where you wait. It was pretty quick and there are refreshments available while you wait (the setup is better than it sounds!)

In terms of seating and gifts, by this time we knew what to expect from Lufthansa flights.

Rating - 3

Service

The staff were friendlier at the airport and more lenient, except for the cold no word dude at passport control. One particular air steward by the name of Alex M deserved special mention for his good looks, charming and friendly manner and efficiency. I didn't see any rings on his finger and two ladies were openly flirting with him and he played along...

I'd come to expect this from Lufthansa, they were able to handle the request for new headphones while they were also serving lunch...if I'd asked Qantas...well...

Rating - 4.5

Allowance/Gifts

We had no problems with the 43kg and the extra hand carry.

Rating - 3.5

Food

The usual excellent standard from Lufthansa (See list). The bread roll was dry but they had that morish chocolate cake again...I didn't drink the beer this time though...

Rating - 4.5

Value

This was our 5th leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 21.5

Info

Frankfurt -> Vancouver
Website

Lufthansa Flight LH 4751

Time

We left on a busy time from Heathrow so I was expecting chaos, but no such drama. The plane took off and landed around 10 minutes from scheduled time.

Rating - 4

Comfort

Yup, the same seat as the other flight except this time of course the middle is filled. I think they are not bad for short haul. And there was no entertainment or anything to report on, not to mention any gifts.

Rating - 3.5

Service

Being our 3rd Lufthansa flight, I was starting to expect some pretty nice and decent service. The attendants were ok at Heathrow and ok on the flight, but my expectations had been raised.

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

They let through 48kg, and the process was pretty fast, nothing like the horror stories I've heard about Heathrow. We didn't get any upgrades though. Again no gifts not it was to be another short
flight.

Rating - 3.5

Food

ok for a 1.5 hour flight. We got a bread roll with some pretty tasty cheese and lettuce. It was not bad but it was nothing compared to business class. I'll actually like to know what they get in business class normally, you would almost eat non-stop!

Rating - 3.5

Value

This was our 4th leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 22.5

Info

London -> Munich
Website

Lufthansa Flight LH 4088

Time

Because this was a "domestic" flight, everything was quick - no customs or passport checks needed. We flew out just about on time.

Rating - 4

Comfort

We were upgraded to business (yeah!) but the seats were all the same. There was plenty of leg room and the seats were covered in comfy leather. The only difference was that instead of sitting 3 across, we had a seat between us free so it was more roomy. Unfortunately this was the shortest leg of our flight, being only about 1 hour, so we really didn't get to get comfortable.

I thought we might get some gifts or our own TV in business, but no such luck. We were kept pretty busy just trying to eat all the stuff they brought out for us anyway.

Rating - 4

Service

They were extra nice to us, delivering everything with a smile, and they were very attentive, but was that because we were flying business?

Rating - 4.5

Allowance/Gifts

We had 49kg this time, but was told we could only be allowed max 44kg, so we had to remove some stuff from check-in luggage into hand-luggage. Fortunately our hand carry was light, but it wasn't pleasant carrying around a few kilos while waiting to board the plane. At least we didn't have to pay extra.

No gifts but I wasn't expecting anything for such a short flight.

Rating - 4

Food

As usual, the standard was good, and we did get a feast compared to what they were given in economy (see the list). My only gripe was the fruit tart's pastry was a bit too soft. The staff's timing on food delivery was impeccable.

Rating - 4.5

Value

This was our 3rd leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 25.5

Info

Frankfurt -> Venice
Website

Lufthansa Flight LH 211

Time

We arrived right in the middle of peak time, and waited in queues for everything - check-in, security check, passport, check, immigration, boarding AND getting INTO the departure gate. The plane took off a half hour later than the scheduled time and also landed EXACTLY half hour later. At least the Germans are exact on everything, even how late they are going to be...

Rating - 2.5

Comfort

The seats are slightly narrower and shorter than Qantas but not by much, again it had the adjustable headrest, but alas, no personal TV. You really notice the difference especially when they are playing crap movies.

Rating - 3

Service

Very friendly and more importantly, very efficient, just the way I like it!

Rating - 4

Allowance/Gifts

We were 10kg over the limit at 51kg but they let us through. Maybe they didn't have time to argue with us? There were no gift bags though.

Rating - 4

Food

I won't recall everything we had again (click here if you want to know) but I was very impressed. The beer tasted great with the pretzel.

Lunch was very impressive. The sushi actually tasted fresh and I loved the vermicelli salad. They also bring out water, drinks and tasty snacks at the right moments.

The standout from the again excellent dinner was the chocolate cake.

Rating - 4

Value

This was our 2nd leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 22

Info

Tokyo -> Frankfurt
Website

Qantas Flight QF 21

Time

We waited for about 10 minutes in each queue and another 10 minutes to pick up our luggage, so it was all good but we were travelling in the dead time. The plane actually got to Tokyo early and we had to circle around because we couldn't land before the curfew of 6am.

Rating - 4

Comfort

The seats had a pretty decent amount of leg room. You can adjust the headrest and fold up the sides to sleep on now. The best thing though, was having our own TV screen to choose our own programs to watch. I think the facilities are pretty first rate for economy - although I didn't really watch any good movies (see my comments).

Rating - 3

Service

You know how everyone is always complaining about Qantas staff. I didn't find any problems with them. They were a bit strict but they worked much more efficiently than I thought. Maybe they were more polite on this trip since we were flying to Japan?

Rating - 3

Allowance/Gifts

We were just over at 41kg for 2 so they let it go. However, I saw heaps of people pulling stuff out of their bags so it seems they are quite strict.

We all got little amenities kit that contained a toothbrush, mask and socks, all in a stylish zip-bag.

Rating - 4.5

Food

Hit and miss. The bread roll served with dinner was dry and the wine list unimaginative, but they was nothing I couldn't eat. My favourite was probably the chocolate coated macadamia.

Rating - 3

Value

This was our 1st leg of our Round the World Fare with Lufthansa, which costs a total of $1779 + $665 in taxes, not bad for the amount of travel you get. We could've got it cheaper but Flight Centre ripped us off.

Rating - 4.5

Jumbo Points - 22

Info

Sydney -> Tokyo
Website

Mercedes E200 Kompressor

Trip Summary

Munich -> Frankfurt am Main

Drive

Well, we got "upgraded" to an auto, so that was very good for my peace of mind. As you know, there ain't no speed limit in Germany so we made sure we tested the baby out. At one stage we reached 220km/h and I have to say, this baby handled it no probs. Slokky said it was very good to drive so I'll take his word for it.

Rating - 5

Comfort

So this is what's it's like to have a luxury car. Electric seat, adjustable for height and tilt, loads of storage room, individual reading light, individual temperature control, everything is adjustable from the steering wheel to the radio. There's plenty of leg room and the interior is of course leather. The best thing though, the sun roof. I LOVE sun roofs, I think I will get one in my next car...

Rating - 4.5

Service

I didn't see the staff at Munich but they were really strict on the time of pick-up and drop off, but like the rest of Germany, were extremely efficient. At drop off, they were also efficient, but they were more lenient on the time (we got stuck in a traffic jam so was late) and they were helpful, as well as being pretty good looking... (they were females)

Rating - 4

Value

It was $410 for the 2 days so I guess this is what you get. I guess if you can afford it then go for it.

Rating - 3

Clean

Back to the standard I expect. It was very clean inside, but there was a bit of dirt on the outside.

Rating - 4

Zoom Points - 20.5

Info

Mercedes E200 Kompressor

Website

Volkswagen Bora (a.k.a Jetta)

Trip Summary

Bath -> Salisbury

Drive

I'd been a Volkswagen fan since the family Passat from years back. They are reliable and sturdy, and this one wa no different. The Bora came with a powerful diesel engine and really went. We got to test it out on a few highways.

Rating - 4

Comfort

Soft head rest which is easily adjustable. The interior was soft and has much more mod-con to play with. However, there is not much legroom at the back - a reason why we didn't buy a Golf when were were buying our car.

Rating - 3.5

Service

I didn't deal directly with them but they were undersing when stupid Slokky forgot to bring BOTH his license and his voucher when we went to the hiring office. They kept the office open for him to go back and get his stuff, so understanding staff always score with me!

Rating - 4.5

Value

Well, everything in England is expensive, so you need to measure this on relatvie value. It is much much cheaper than catching a train definitely. Plus, we got upgraded from a Holden Astra.

Rating - 4

Clean

Very clean, but then so is just about everything in England. I think they have an obsession with hygiene, maybe their past has something to do with this?

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 20.5

Info

Website

Fiat Panda Unleaded

Trip Summary

Florence -> La Spezia

Drive

The unleaded Panda has less power than the diesel, but apart from that, everything else was the same.

Rating - 3

Comfort

We got a brand new car this time, but you still get the same headrest problems.

Rating - 2

Service

Well, after the Venice experience, these people were like angels. They still did their Italian thing (i.e., slow as anything), but at least they knew what they were doing.

Rating - 2.5

Value

Because of our villa stay, this worked out to be about $29 a day ($1291 for villa + car). However, unleaded costs A LOT more money than diesel, getting up to 1.39 Euros per litre.

Rating - 3.5

Clean

So it wasn't Italians that don't have clean cars, it was just that particular Avis. Yup, the car was very clean.

Rating - 4.5

Zoom Points - 15.5

Info

Fiat Pana

Website

Fiat Panda Diesel

Trip Summary

Venice -> Rome

Drive

It handles worst than the Jazz, and that's not a good thing. Apparently the turning circle is not crash hot and the engine is on the smaller side. But it is pretty zippy so great for getting around the narrow city streets.

Rating - 3.5

Comfort

There's ok room for a small car, however, the headrests are rock hard and non height adjustable. I had to attach my own cushion on the heat so I don't get a sore head every time we go over some bumps. The seats themselves could be a bit more comfy, and all the gadgets are of the lower-hand variety.

Rating - 1

Service

I think this is where I got the true taste of Italy, but at this stage I wasn't used to the way things work yet. The Avis people were 20 minutes late for our 4pm booking which I totally don't understand, what's the point of BOOKING if they decide to staff the office at whatever time they feel like? Anyway, I found out that the Avis people just decided to go for a coffee so closed the shop. We were left waiting on the sidewalk with our huge suitcases and nowhere to go. What's worst, they worked so slowly once they decided to serve us, and they didn't know what they were doing! Hmmm, actually learning your job instead of taking breaks might help. We didn't get out of there until about 4:40 pm.

Rating - 0

Value

$39 a day is ok for the car you get. It's pretty fuel efficient, using 2.2 L of diesel per 100 km, however the service can't be excused.

Rating - 3

Clean

I was already fuming when I got in the car, but imagine my disbelief when I got in. The car hadn't been cleaned since the last hire, and it was filthy! The outside had mud and dirt all over it, the windows were dirty. I can put up with that, but the inside! There was dirt, food crumbs, bits of biscuits everywhere. And it wasn't just a few things, it was ALL OVER THE CAR! I couldn't stand it and went back to the office to complain, and what do they do? Come out with a hand-held vacuum to get rid of some of the crap. When it comes to cleaning, they sure worked quickly though, less than 1 minute later they returned the car to me. All the obvious dirt was gone, but there was still heaps of food crumbs between the brakes and the gear stick and the harder to reach places. Since I had already been so inconvenienced and was way behind schedule, I decided to not bother complaining further.

Rating - 0

Zoom Points - 7.5

Info

Fiat Panda

Website

Things you see everywhere in Canada

Vancouver/Richmond

• Asians
• Asian shopping malls
• Asian food stores
• cars - especially huge four-wheel drives
• flowers and gardens
• totems
• wooden houses
• Starbucks
• fast food stores

Victoria/Vancouver Island

• seaside
• gardens
• chain stores
• fast food outlets
• fat people
• boats
• fish & chips

Travelodge Victoria

Room

All hotels just reflect cultural differences...well from my review of Hotel Waterview, what does that say about Australia? Anyway, I digress. This is somehow so typical of hotels in the little town. It's a 2 level rectangular brick building with a veranda running along one side. You park your car next to the building and enter. There are 2 huge beds (I think they are doubles, but they may be singles...) in the room, with a huge TV, a huge cupboard and wardrobe. The furnishings are quite new, and the theme is green. Because of the veranda and only 1 window, there's not much privacy so you have to keep the blinds closed. The bathroom actually has a bath tub! The beds were also very comfy and there were many pillows, so I didn't have to worry about any flat pillows.

Rating - 4

Facilities

I found the strangest things in the drawers. Besides the bedside bible, the bathroom toiletries also include make-up remover... What's more, there's a digital bathroom scale! Hehe, maybe they are trying to make a point? Of course now that we're out of Europe, there are the usual coffee & tea making facilities, including a huge percolator in every room!

We made good use of their big indoor swimming pool and had a go at their not bad gym equipment too.

The staff were Canadian friendly and were able to cater to a dog.

Rating - 4

Location

Ummm, there's a Travelodge in every town? You wouldn't stay there unless you have a car anyway.

Rating - 3

Value

Well we didn't pay but according to the Internet, it costs from $65 CDN plus taxes for a double, so great!

Rating - 4

Snooze Points - 15

Info

229 Gorge Road East
Victoria, B.C, Canada
V9A 1L1
Phone (250) 388-6611 or 1-800-565-3777
Website

Krönlein im Weinberg

Room

Finally, we found a hotel in Germany that's actually different to all the others. This place is situated in a suburban area. It's basically a very big house, in the style of the big attics. And that's where we got to stay. The room looked very cool, with a huge slope ceiling and a window that you open sideways. Unfortunately that meant the room was quite small, but still bigger than Japan and Centro Turistico Citte di Bologna. It also meant we had to carry our luggage up 2 flights of stairs. The bed was big, but the blankets and pillwos the same as all the other German hotels. Still, they made some effort with the room, with some better asthetically looking furniture.

Rating - 1.5

Facilities

They have unique touches, like a shoe shine machine, a sewing kit, bottled water, but no fridge. The lollies on the pillow were from the famous German brand Haribo.

The staff really reflect the philosophy of the hotel, they were the friendliest and warmest in Germany. They were able to accomodate our reqeust for an earlier breakfast because we had a flight to catch, and they made us feel very welcomed.

Rating - 4.5

Location

As mentioned, this is away from the touristy area, but there were parking and it was nice to look out to see farms and trees. The location was especially lovely when you could have breakfast out on the balcony, with a great view over all of this.

Rating - 4

Food

The breakfast was defintely worth the wait. A few types of very yummy bread and 5 different liver/sausage spread along, not to mention jams, honey, nutella, cold cuts, cheeses, as well s the German breads, muesli, a really yummy chocolate cereal, yoghurt and fresh and dried fruit. The boiled eggs were cooked just right and they made freshly brewed coffee (unfortunately Italian coffee beats it any day) and I'm happy to report, not a croissant or pastry in site!

Rating - 4.5

Value

We paid 58 Euros, not bad considering the excellent breakfast. And the hosts had charm, which is more than you can say for a lot of these places!

Rating - 4

Snooze Points - 14.5

Info

Gerbrunner Strasse / Krönlein 5, D-97236 Würzburg-Randersacker
Phone +43-1-40 40 20
Website

Achat in Augsburg

Room

I'm beginning to think that German hotels all look the same! I didn't know that Achat is actually a chain until I arrived. The building was huge but ugly, the room was again, quite big, with nice blankets, big beds, but flat pillows.

Rating - 3

Facilities

Not too bad, they had all the usuals, plus a nice bowl of lollies at the front. Finally finding somewhere where they supply the shower caps was good too. Again, no fridge or Internet.

The staff were nice and friendly. They did make a mistake with our bill, charging us for breakfast when we didn't have any. This was all fixed quickly when I told them the mistake though.

Rating - 3

Location

It's outside the city centre, but we had a car and there were plenty of parking. There's good public transport, with trams not that far away, so it's all good.

Rating - 3.5

Value

We paid 51 Euro, which was ok for that area and size. The breakfast that we were slugged was actually 12 Euros - good thing you can choose not to have it, as I think you can definitely eat A LOT with 12 Euros.

Rating - 3.5

Snooze Points - 13

Info

Servicezentrale,
Untere Hauptstrasse 11,
68766 Hockenheim
Phone +49-(0) 62 05-20 49 0
Website

Hotel Royal

Room

Like the other German Hotel, Hotel Garni Diplomat, the room was quite big and spacious, with a very long and large bed and comfy blankets. The pillows were a bit flat though, but the heating system was quite good. The room and the hotel, was, in the German way, quite plain but very functional.

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

They had a lift, albeit a small and clumsy one where you have to shut lots of doors manually before it works. Our room was quite high up so we couldn't really take the stairs up, or with our luggage. They have Internet, as well as all the usual hairdryer..etc, but yup, no kettle or fridge.

The staff were friendly and helpful, with very good English skills.

Rating - 3.5

Location

Excellent, close to trains, tram and the city centre, and also right in the heart of the red light district by the looks of things. There's an Aldi nearly as well as lots of cheap eating places.

Rating - 4

Value

When they advertised, they said that breakfast was included, at 69 Euros per night, it was quite expensive. I guess you are paying for the location?

Rating - 2

Snooze Points - 13

Info

Schillerstraße 11a
D-80336
München
Phone +49-(0)89-59 10 21
Website

Hotel La Residenza

Room

The bed was big enough with some extra pillows, but the room itself wasn't that big, so after putting all our luggage in there, we had to stay on the bed all the time. The decor and furnishings were a bit warm, and not like the design-conscious efforts we've seen so far. We couldn't adjust the air-con so we were quite cold. This was also the first hotel out of the whole of Europe we stayed in that had no bidets!

Rating - 3.5

Facilities

This was a 3.5-star hotel, but the facilities were nowhere as good or everything as nice as Hotel Admiral. They did have 10 minutes of free Internet though, which, while good, you can't really do much with. Having a lift also helps.

The reception staff were so-so, polite, but not friendly. Who I had a problem with though were the breakfast ladies. They spoke no English but did manage to be rude! They were really slow in getting the food replaced, so people were constantly waiting, they told me off for using the coffee machine which was supposedly broken but there was no sign up telling you not to use it. Of course we had to ask for cappuccino, and they reply with a rude, "room number", that's it. They advertised that breakfast was supposed to start at 7.30 but of course when we got there they weren't ready, in the Italian way.

Rating - 2

Location

This was extremely hard to get to, we needed to catch a few connecting buses as well as walk a long way from the bus station to get there. Luckily Milan's public transport system works relatively well most of the time. I think this is best if you have a car.

Rating - 1

Food

Despite my discontent at the breakfast ladies, at least there was a bit of variety (when you can get it, you basically have to pounce on the food when it comes out) besides the usual fares. There were some coddled egg dish and other pastries we hadn't try before. Those cappuccinos that was so hard to get tasted quite good though.

Rating - 3.5

Value

65 Euro for an out of the way place with a smaller room and nowhere near the quality of Admiral. Still, out of all the hotels we've stayed at, this one is reasonable for the price.

Rating - 3.5

Snooze Points - 13.5

Info

Via Scialoia 3,
20161 Milan
Phone +39 02 6461646
Website

Admiral Hotel

Room

The room was very nice and comfy, decked out in period furniture. The bed was very comfy, with good pillow and blanket. The room was big with a huge balcony. Too bad when you get out there it's really noisy!

Something you probably didn't know, and probably doesn't affect you in any way, but they are the home of the James Bond Fan Club. The lobby is decked out with all sorts of 007 memorabilia.

Rating - 4.5

Facilities

This was a 4-star hotel, so facilities were excellent, or would've been if wireless internet wasn't broken. They had a mini bar - which meant a fridge! The toiletries were also quite nice, with all the extras besides the soap included.

The staff were quite funny because they didn't speak much English. Otherwise they were quite helpful. At breakfast though, we didn't get asked for cappuccino by the ladies again, but we really couldn't be bothered because there was a huge group at breakfast and we didn't want to wait.

Rating - 4

Location

Not that close to the city centre, but very close to public transport. There's a tram right outside, the train station is about a 7 minute walk away. I guess that's why it's cheaper.

Rating - 3

Food

The standard fare was present, i.e. tarts, pastries, cakes...etc, but the quality was better. They had some good muesli and fruit. I'll be quite glad not to have to eat Italian breakfasts anymore.

Rating - 4

Value

Excellent! For only 60 Euros a night. Too bad we didn't get to stay long enough to really enjoy it. We actually wanted to book 2 nights but they were fully booked out.

Rating - 5

Snooze Points - 20.5

Info

via Domodossola 16,
20145 Milano
Phone +39 023492151
Website

Albergo Il Sole

Room

A pretty big room with a big bed and firm pillow, plus extra blankets. Decor wise, things could be better. There was no carpet but this worn green lino thing on the floor that had little pot holes. The furnishing were all very worn.

Rating - 3

Facilities

This was only a 2 star hotel, so everything was very basic. The worst thing was that we weren't allowed to use the lift so had to lug our suitcases all these giant staircases. Our room was basic, by that I mean no TV, phone, iron...etc, but all we really needed was a bed, chairs and table really. At least they cleaned the room and we had towels everyday! I was there was a fridge or Internet though.

This was a family run place so they were very friendly and helpful. Over our 3 nights stay we met most members of the family. Slokky had a big football and F1 conversation with them too.

Rating - 2

Location

Right in the heart of the city centre, it was also about 10 minutes walk from La Spezia station. There's a lovely park across the street and the ocean is not too far away either.

Rating - 3.5

Value

You pay for the location I guess. This place served its purpose, but could be cheaper. I think because of the Easter holidays we were charge peak season rate.

Rating - 2.5

Snooze Points - 11

Info

Via Felice Cavallotti, 31
19121 La Spezia,
Italia
Phone +39 0187 735164
Website