1. Madrid
Summary
England
2. Ski La Plagne
Summary
France
3. Paris
Summary
Iceland
4. Newcastle & Canterbury
Summary
England
England
5. Cambridge 2
Summary
England
6. The Cotswolds
Summary
England
7. Buffalo & Niagara
Summary
USA
8. Australia
Summary
England
9. Milan
Summary
England
10. Nice
Summary
Sweden
11. Buffalo & New York City
Summary
USA
12. Kaula Lumpa
Summary
England
13. Hong Kong
Summary
Denmark
14. England Day Trips
Summary
Wales
15. Malaga
Summary
France
16. Buffalo, Niagara & Toronto
Summary
USA
17. England Day Trips 2
Summary
England - Exeter
England - Winchester
England - Petersfield
England - Bournemouth
18. Ghent and Ypres
Summary
Belgium
19. Stavanger
Summary
England
20. Rhodes
Summary
France
21. Gothenburg
Summary
Sweden
22. Turin and Alba
Summary
Norway
23. Ibiza
Summary
Wales
24. Berlin
Summary
Germany
Lyon -> London
Highlight
- We were so surprised that the sun was actually up, so we hurried our breakfast so we could have a walk around Tete d’Or
- Breakfast was the usual affair, but after indulging last night, we took it easy…and didn’t even ask for the made to order pancakes or eggs
- It seems like everyone was out in force at the park again. Everyone was either running or riding a bike or pushing a stroller around. So I guess that’s how all the French people stay skinny.
- Found out Nicola was pregnant while we were walking through the park, so that was great news.
- Off to Vieux Lyon, which goes from Saint George’s right up to Saint Paul, which was really cool. The old houses with their traboules (silk workers passageways) were still in use, and we kept going inside houses to discover magnificent interior courtyards, wells and spiraling staircases
- Up to Fourviere Hill again since the sun was up, and admired the much more beautiful city views.
- The Croix Rousse market was already finished when we got there, and it seemed the sun has also decided to call it a day. Still, we enjoyed some more views from the hills area, saw more courtyards and walked through more traboules, but these weren’t as magnificent as the ones around Vieux Lyon, and because we were getting quite cold, decided to held for some food.
- Most of the restaurants had completed their services, and there were only about 2 restaurants still opened, so we went to Le Bouchon Des Carnivores. As the name suggests they specialise in meat, but we decided to get more bouchon classics. As expected, the food was very good, and we got very filled up.
- The wind was really blowing at this stage, but we still went on the Light Tour of the city. The Notre Dame cathedral was the most lit up, and looked spectacular, but otherwise the buildings we looked at were a bit dull.
- It started snowing, so we thought it was time to call it a day… so off to the airport we went.
Food
- Hilton hotel breakfast:
- orange juice
- grapefruit juice
- pineapple juice
- muesli with strawberry pot set yoghurt and dried fruits
- grapefruit
- smoked salmon
- smoked halibut
- cold cuts
- cheese selection
- sausage, bacon, mushroom, beans, grilled tomato, scrambed eggs
- croissant
- pain au chocolat
- apple turnover
- raisin twist
- Le Bouchon Des Carnivores dinner:
- baguette
- Lyonaise salad – lettuce, bacon, coutons, egg, mustard dressing
- hot sausages in cast iron pan
- andouillette (liver sausage)
- crumbed pig trotter
- chips
- nougat with almond
- almond tart
London -> Lyon
Highlight
- The plane was very empty. We actually arrived ½ hour early, but then had to stand in the freezing cold while waiting to go through immigration.
- Took us awhile to figure out the public transport situation, but finally got to our nice new hotel with a nice balcony.
- Off to Bernachon, the patisserie, which was doing a very brisk trade…so we joined the queue and got some really delicious food.
- Picked up our tourist map, then walked around the Place Bellacour with its huge horse statue, but it was very cold.
- Window-shopped our way to the Rue de Merciere, which is filled with bouchons, for lunch.
- Picked a little place in an alleyway, but there were so many people and it was very cold since the heater went off. Luckily the food was good and we tried a few Lyonese specialties.
- After that very full lunch, it was time for some actual sightseeing, so we took the funicular up to the top of the Fourvière hill, where we visited the spectacular Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière church, with its beautiful interior, as well as exterior.
- The view from the top was not too bad, but the grey clouds meant any photos would be terrible.
- The Fourvière Roman Theatres was very large and very impressive as well. There are good signs to tell you what is going on.
- Hit the shops since we knew everything would be closed tomorrow, so caught the metro back to Part Dieu for the shopping centre there.
- Bad idea, the whole world seemed to be there too. It was so packed you can’t actually get to the shops since there will be crowds of people walking past.
- It didn’t seem like the French seem to be suffering from any recession at all. The shops were packed and people were buying up big. There seemed to be a few shops having about 20% discount, but the majority were not.
- I found some stuff I like but as usual, they didn’t have my size.
- I gave up on shopping pretty quickly and decided to head back to the hotel to relax first.
- As usual, we were the first people to be at dinner, for a long time actually. We didn’t mind as the service was very good at the beginning, and as the restaurant filled up and they got busy, things slowed down a fair deal.
- And the food…average one star stuff. I did think some of their sauce was too salty and heavy, otherwise it was a wonderful experience, and I got to practise some French.
Food
- Bernachon:
- sausage brioche (€2.60)
- coffee eclair (€2.70)
- Le Merciere lunch:
- bread with mustard potato, terrine, puy lentils and haricot beans
- head of veal with potato and garlic mayo
- crumbed stomach with penne mushroom bake
- quenelle in crayfish sauce
- cervelle de canut (chives cheese)
- gateau Lyonnais
- Christian Têtedoie dinner:
- sesame stick
- seafood foam
- vegetable tartlet
- grain bread
- coteaux languedoc rouge (€9)
- veal crumbed ball with raspberry cream with crumble mix
- Smoked Monkfish with Langoustin with Avocado dressing
- Snails in Vegetable Foam
- Rabbit Rilette
- French duck
- Grand Marnier souffle
- Chocolate tart with chocolate ice cream and cream
- fruit tartlet
- almond tuile
- chocolate biscuit
Limerick -> Shannon -> London
Highlight
- The usual hoo-ha of arriving “early”.
- Had to run for the train since Slokky lost his boarding pass.
Food
Limerick -> Adare -> Askeaton -> Tarbert -> Killimer -> Kilkee -> Kilcolgan -> Galway -> Ennis -> Limerick
Highlight
- Got up nice and early to try to fit everything in before the sun (or should that be light) fades. So drove to Adare and watched the sunrise there.
- Trinitarian monastery with its dovecot was very cool.
- Walked along the main road to the Augustinian Priory, with very nice cloisters.
- Slokky was so scared and didn’t want to cross the bridge to go to The Desmond Castle, so we went on the Riverside walk back to town.
- Missed out on the The Franciscan Friary because Slokky thought we were inappropriately dressed to go on the golf course, even though we weren’t even playing
- Had a brief wonder around the park with its orange leaves, looked around the thatched houses.
- The Franciscan Friary at Askeaton, with its fantastic cloisters.
- Caught the very expensive car ferry (€17 one way) across to Killimer. It was so windy I just tried to dodge the wind the whole way. We shared the ferry with yet more Americans doing the grand tour.
- Had a brief stop at Kilkee, another Victorian resort town, but it was quite ugly, and the terrible weather didn’t help either.
- It was very windy and foggy on the other side of the river, so there was pretty much no point trying to see the Cliffs of Mohir, as we couldn’t even see much in front of us.
- We decided to skip the scenic drive we planned to do and head to Galway instead.
- We stopped off at the Burren Smokehouse where we watched a very old video on their smoked salmon production, but more importantly, got to taste test and then buy the product.
- Off for some food. We wanted to go to Paddy Burke’s Oyster Inn but they were filled to brimming – plus they actually didn’t have oysters on the menu, so off to Moran’s Oyster Cottage instead.
- Moran’s was doing a roaring trade as well, but as now it was quite late and the cottage was huge, they fit us in. They managed to get our order mixed up, so we got to try some vegetable soup for free. The seafood was excellent, and while the oyster was tasty, I’ve had better.
- Finally made it to Galway, but the weather didn’t improve, although the whole town seemed to be filled with people shopping or eating or drinking…and they all seemed to have some sort of (non-Irish accent).
- Had a brief look around the church, with a semi-interesting Sunday craft market going on.
- The Galway Cathedral was boring.
- Nora barnacle House, wife of James Joyce also uninspiring.
- The Lynch’s Castle is now a bank, the Spanish arch had drunks around, so we took another riverside walk back to the car.
- Passing tour of Eyre Square with the curious window frame.
- Drove to Ennis through traffic jam, but it was raining very hard, so we just did the car tour of the abbey and the cathedral.
- Took awhile to decide on dinner, as the 1st 2 place we went to didn’t deliver. Finally took some pictures of Limerick (King John) castle though.
- Moll Darby turned out to be quite excellent. The duck was very good and the desserts tempting.
Food
- scone
- Burren Smokehouse smoked salmon
- Moran’s Oyster Cottage:
- brown bread
- vegetable soup
- seafood chowder
- Seafood Cocktail - crab, prawn, smoked salmon served with Marie Rose sauce.
- 1/2 dozen Clarenbridge oysters
- Moll Darby’s:
- bread basket – sun-dired tomato, toast, brown bread
- Pan Fried Breast of Irish Duck (€28) – Pan fried Breast of Irish duck set on a Crisp Pastry of Duck Confit Legg, Sweet Onion
- Braised Rump of Lamb (€26) – Slow Braised Rump of Lamb, Sautéed York cabbage, Smoked bacon, Whipped Potato and Onion Jus
- Caramelised Banana Tart - Individual Banana Tartlet served Warm with Vanilla Rum Ice-Cream, Butterscotch Sauce and a Banana Tuille (€8.50)
- Poached Pear and Chocolate Pudding - Moist Poached Pear and Chocolate Pudding served warm with Roasted Chestnut ice-cream and Vanilla Anglaise
London - > Shannon -> Limerick -> Cashel -> Cahir -> Lough Gur -> Limerick -> Garrykennedy -> Limerick
Highlight
- Usual Ryanair hoo-ha about arriving early, but nothing to it really.
- Picked up car, and because the weather was bad again, decided we would take it easy.
- Drove into Limerick to see the morning market held at the aptly named Milk Market. It was quite small and kinda dull, but we were able to see the locals at work, buying up big for the weekend. We got a few tarts to keep us going while we make our way to Cashel
- Luckily we got in early enough for lunch at Café Hans. It was extremely popular – with the locals again as they didn’t seem to be much tourists out and about at all. The food was very good café fare…not too much choice, but things were fresh and nicely prepared
- To The Rock of Cashel – which is actually the remains of an old gothic abbey and an even older chapel, which had retained some frescos. The surrounding area was very beautiful also – when it wasn’t bucketing down with rain.
- Went for a stroll around the Hore Abbey, amongst the cow poo, but you get a wonderful view of the Rock of Cashel.
- The whole place hardly had any tourists, except for a few stray Americans.
- Cahir to see the outside of the castle and a nice riverside walk.
- It was already getting dark by this stage, so we hurried along to see the Pre-historic stone circle near Lough Gur. We were met there by Tim, the local owner, who showed us pictures of his kids and told us lots of story. Unfortunately it was so dark we couldn’t actually see anything, but at least we met some Irish folks.
- Decided to drop by the Travelodge before dinner. All Travelodges look exactly the same .
- Took a long drive through some bumpy roads and in the rain to Larkins, situated in a very small town. The pub itself was very nice, small and comfy, very homely, but unfortunately the food didn’t really measure up.My steak was way past medium and the chips were really really bad. Maybe we ordered wrong but it definitely wasn’t worth the 2 hour return car journey.
Food
- berry almond tart
- pear and almond tart
- Café Hans lunch:
- warm salad…..
- open prawn sandwich on Irish soda bread with seafood dressing
- Larkins dinner:
- brown bread
- cheese tart with salad
- Prime Irish Hereford Sirloin Steak, served with Sauteed onions, mushrooms and French fries. Pepper sauce
- Larkins Steak Burger - Larkins home-made Prime Irish beef burger served with side salad and french fries.
Llandundo -> Beaumaris -> Conwy -> Denbigh -> Rhuddlan London ->
Highlight
- The weather didn’t get any better at all, but we managed to go for a drive around the Great Orme drive…and because the weather was crap/it was early, there was no one manning the toll booth, so we got to drive it for free.
- The view would’ve been excellent on a nice day, but that huge storm cloud that kept getting into our pictures, and the really strong wind, not to mention the call of breakfast, meant we didn’t stay long.
- The brief stop at the top, with the really strong and cold wind was fun though.
- The breakfast was slow, and quite disappointing. From the way it was described you expected it to be really good, but the food was pretty tasteless and there was not much variety.
- Off for the first drive, back to Beaumaris Castle. The weather was absolutely horrid, with really strong winds, that my umbrella did nothing, but it was eerie wondering around the castle in darkness though, especially through the many corridors of this castle.
- Then back to Conwy, which was a cute little town, but we didn’t stop to browse the shops, as we were in a hurry. A brief look at the outside of Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House, then onto Conwy Castle, which was my favourite of all. Still retaining its crumbling charms, but with lots of towers to climb, for views towards the sea. There is a nice display about chapels in castles, but most of all, because it has retained its grand structure, it was the best.
- It was already getting dark by this time, so we went to Denbigh Castle, which was a very different sort of castle. It was not built by Edward II and was not concentric, instead, everything was on a grand scale. Unfortunately the castle is now in quite a bad state, but the view of the surrounding town and farmland was beautiful, with the autumn leaves.
- Off to Rhuddlan Castle, which was closed, but we got a good picture from the outside.
- Hit a series of small monuments, which we shouldn’t have bothered, as the weather got progressively worst (from the already terrible to start with), and it was getting too dark to see anything.
- Started our journey home, but was pretty much stuck in traffic only after about 20 minutes in. We took a detour, which cost us 30 minutes, so we arrived at dinner at the Kinfe and Cleaver at 8:30pm.
- The place was not a pub at all, but a small hotel with a bar/restaurant attached. Apart from another couple, who were obviously staying the night there, we were the only ones there. The food was cheap and very nice, and very generous, and the service was homely too. Read the reviews here.
- We were a bit afraid as the weather was absolutely mad while we were eating, we could hear the wind making a lot of noise. Luckily, the weather improved as we drove towards London, and the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought, so we made it back before the last tube closed, although we did get soak walking to the tube.
Food
- The Lindens breakfast:
- pineapple juice
- tea
- coffee
- yoghurt with dates and grapefruit
- full breakfast with poached egg, sausage, black pudding, bacon, tomato, mushroom, fried bread, hash brown
- toast
- digestive biscuit
- Knife and Cleaver dinner:
- Prawn ball, relish on toast
- seed bread and foccacia
- Smoked Haddock Chowder (£5.25) With parmesan cheese straws
- Deep Fried Whitebait, Gremolata (chopped parsley, lemon, garlic olive oil) (£6.00)
- Gourmet Steak Burger (£9.75) Home made bun, crispy pancetta, chunky cut chips with tomato relish
- South Coast Dab baked whole with an Anchovy and Shrimp Butter (£12.25)
- ratotouille, potato gratin, buttered leek
- coffee cafetiere
Oswestry -> Llangollen -> Harlech -> Criccieth -> Caenarfon -> Bangor -> Colwyn Bay -> Llandundo
Highlight
- Very bad weather yet again, rain and wind.
- Llangollen was a small cute town, pity not much was opened. We picked up some welsh cake from the bakery.
- To Plas Newydd – nice garden with shrubbery by the river.
- Valle Crucis Abbey – was very much like Tintern, but abandoned and very muddy due to the rain.
- To Llangar Church, which was a long walk and probably not worth it since the weather was crap.
- To Harlech Castle, but it was raining really hard, and there were a lot of places to climb, which were muddy and slippery, so not a good idea.
- Criccieth Castle – was mostly in ruins but the view was very nice, when it’s not overcast.
- To Caernarfon, but unfortunately the castle was under renovation, so we couldn’t get a good picture.
- People actually speak Welsh here! What a difference to Cardiff and the south.
- Stopped off for too long a lunch at Black Boy Inn. Read the reviews here.
- Finally made it to the castle around 2:30. We climbed several towers while the rain held out, then headed down to see the various exhibits: Princes of Wales and The Royal Welch Fusiliers, but we didn’t finish the displays as we got kicked out early. It wasn’t that interesting anyway so no loss there.
- Tried to go to the Segontium Roman Fort, but it was getting dark, so we couldn’t see very much.
- A brief stop at Bangor, but the weather was so bad and it was so dark, we couldn’t see the Menai Suspension Bridge or Victoria Pier.
- Our hotel was very nice. Cosy and a bit old, and very hard to open the front door. Our room was beside the road though and the road noises were quite bad.
- We didn’t know this, but Pen-y-Bryn is run by the same company who ran The Armoury. So the décor and menu were pretty similar. We didn’t mind though, and ate more great food. Read the reviews here.
Food
- Welsh cake
- Black Boy Inn:
- traditional Caernarfon lob scouse (£8.95) – chunks of steak cooked with onions, root vegetables and potatoes in a great stokc, served with chunky bread
- Sardines with Salad
- Snowdonia Ale from Purple Moose Brewery
- Pen-y-Bryn:
- Braised half shoulder of Welsh lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, vegetables and rosemary sauce (£13.95)
- Slow roast belly pork with roasted apple, sage & onion mashed potato and vegetables (£11.45)
- Eton Mess (merigne with fresh raspberries, strawberries and cream) (£4.95)
London -> Shrewbery -> Oswestry
Highlight
- hertz mucked up, there was no meet and greet service at st Pancreas. So we had to catch a taxi to the Russell Square branch after arguing for a long time with the employees there.
- The problem eventually got resolved (or so we thought), and we wasted the 45 minutes advantage we had over the weekend traffic.
- As a result, we were truly stuck in traffic, so took over 1 hour to get out of London. It was very quick after we got out, and all the speeding helped of course.
- Shrewberry was a charming, rich town, with cute timber houses and a nice riverside vibe.
- The Armoury was very good and also very busy. The desserts were a bit of a disappointment. Click here for reviews.
- Finally arrived at our cut-price Travelodge, which was not bad at all for the price.
Food
- The Armoury dinner:
- Pigeon Breast, bacon and black pudding salad (£6.25)
- Spicy Moroccan lamb shoulder with olive and almond cous cous (£14.95)
- Belgian waffle with honeycomb ice cream and chocolate sauce (£5.25)
- Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream (£5.25)
Belfast -> Hillsborough -> London
Highlight
- The weather was absolutely horrid – grey rain and lots of strong wind, so it was no good for walking.
- We drove up to Belfast castle on Cave Hill, but didn’t walk up the hill because of the weather.
- had the whole castle to ourselves. It was kinda scary as we could wander everywhere. The visitor centre was tacky.
- To St Anne’s Cathedral and that Quarter. Dongall St had some fine architectural buildings, but looked a lot like England.
- Down to Maggie May where all the students seem to be eating. Read the reviews here.
- Spent awhile at Queen’s university. It was a very nice building, and did the “tour”, which was not that interesting.
- The botanic garden had a nice glasshouse.
- Back to the city to see the Albert memorial Clock and City Hall.
- Actually did some shopping. It is pleasant here, nice shops, wide space, plenty of things on sale and not too many people. We managed to pick up some Levi’s for Slokky for more than 50% off. Unfortunately there was nothing for me.
- went to see the viewing tower/platform at Victoria Square…the view was kinda obstructed but it seemed to be a popular passtime.
- Toe ht doem of Waterfront Hall to see the Big Fish.
- Resisted visiting the Titanic Docks.
- To Shankill Road and Falls Road to look at the Loyalist and Republican murals. It is still very bleak area and the huge high fence to separate the two region is still in place, reminding you of the ominous past.
- Hillsborough – seems to be a small posh town. We visited the lovely tree-lined church and graveyard, but the castle and fort were already closed.
- A lovely dinner at The Plough Inn – great service and very busy, read the reviews here.
- Forgot we couldn’t carry the jam we got at St Georges Market on the plane as we only had hand luggage, so had to give it up at security.
- It was a very rocky plane ride with lots of shaking.
Food
- cherry tomato foccacia
- Maggie May’s breakfast:
- fried Irish soda bread with sausage and fried egg (£2.99)
- Traditional Fry Up – bacon, sausage, tomato, mushroom, soda bread, potato bread, pancake, fried egg (£3.99)
- cappuccino
- Plough’s Inn dinner:
- Dundrum Bay Mussels, served with a garlic and white wine cream (£6.25)
- Deep-Fried Whitebait with Asian Salad and lemon and parsley mayo
- Grilled Langoustines, with avocado and rocket salad (£15.95)
- Succulent Roast Sirloin of beef with creamy champ, chasseur sauce and Yorkshire Pudding
- Roast potato, creamed cauliflower, carrot, squash, peppers, beans
- Trio of Asian Brulee, passionfruit, pear and coconut (£4.95)
London -> Belfast -> Ballymoney -> Bushmill -> Dunlace -> Whitepark Bay -> Carrick-a-Rede-> Cushenden -> Carnlough -> Belfast
Highlight
- Smooth airport ride. Even got our free KK, and we arrived 10 minutes early.
- Slokky forgot his paper license, but luckily we were still able to rent our car.
- Got given a card by the girl at the Budget rental, very cute.
- St George Market was excellent- just like Borough but with much less people. There were lots of tastings and Northern Ireland produce. Excellent cakes.
- Decided to go to the Giant Causeway today because the weather was going ot be worst tomorrow.
- Stopped off at Balymoney on the way, with nice rolling hills, sheep and cows. We drove through the cool Dark Hedges, a series of trees forming these tunnels.
- The Giant cuaseweay was very cool, hexagonal rock phenomenon. There were lots of visitors.
- Luckily we got a bit of sunshine when we started climbing on it, like steps…but unfortunately the weather turned while we were around, and got caught in the huge downpour with nowhere to shelter, and got absolutely soaked.
- We wanted to stay longer ot enjoy the scenery and the nice walks, but gave up because of the weather.
- It cleared up again for some nice coastal shots.
- Bushmill Distillery, where I managed to score a free tasting…I think whiskey is still an acquired taste.
- Dunluce castle was crumbling but in a beautiful location right by the sea.
- A quick stop at Whitepark Bay
- Carrick-a-Rede Roe Bridge was kinda scary but the scenery wasn’t worth it as big sections of it were closed off.
- Started the drive on the Causeway Coastly Route, with some spectacular scenery, stopping at Cushenden, Carnlough on the way. All very nice, but it was too dark to really fully enjoy.
- Day’s Hotel was very busy. They must’ve had some big party there as all the rooms were full and we had to wait ages for service.
- Walked to Deanes via the pretty Crown’s Inn pub with its too cool tiles and closed booths.
- Deane’s was nicely decorated, the food was great but the service was shocking. Read the full review here.
Food
- krispy kreme chocolate glazed ring
- hog roast with apricot stuffing (£4.50)
- taste test at St George market: cheese, cake, yoghurt, sausage
- Greek yoghurt with granola and berries
- taste test Old bushmill original whiskey
- cherry tomato foccacia
- Deane’s dinner:
- sun-dried tomato bread
- black olive bread with oil oil/ tapenade and balsamic oil
- Celeriac Veloute with truffled ricotta dumplings
- Slow Poached Breast of Pheasant with pickled carrot and watercress salad, aniseed emulsion, nibbed cocoa
- Pan-Fried John Dory in Crisped Couscous with Baked Piedmontes red pepper, olive Polenta & Basil Tapenade Crisps
- Breast of Irish Duck with Warm Config Leg Terrine, Savoy Cabbage, Vanilla, Pear & Chestnut
- Ardi-Gasma with Fig Chutney and Crozier blue ice-cream
- Homemade Vanilla Yoghurt with Poached Blackberries and Ginger Biscuits
- Milk Chocolate and Orange Custard Cake with Milk Chocolate & Tea Ice-Cream, Citrus Reduction
London -> Cheltenham -> London
Highlight
- Terrible weather, but at least the bus ride was smooth, and the seats were much more comfortable than the ride to Cardiff, there was so much leg room I couldn’t reach the foot rest.
- Got forced to walk around in the rain for hours with my non-waterproof shoes that I wore especially for the restaurant.
- Walked to the unremarkable Pittville Park, with a lake that is foreshadowed by some 70s high rise. The Pittville Pump Room was not that impressive. Plus, I’ve seen it all before anyway, and it was such a long tack to get there.
- Walked a long time to the restaurant again, and not only my shoes, but the bottom of my pants were soaked by the time we sat down.
- While the restaurant was good, it was not that great. The waiters were attentive, but except for the exceptional desserts, everything else was very ordinary. They don’t even have a degustation menu! Read my full review here.
- Very quick walk around Montpellier Walk and Montpellier Street, with some very quirky shops. However, Slokky didn’t think it was a smart idea to stop and look, so I missed out on seeing any of them.
- Brief walk through the Imperial Gardens, where the flowers didn’t really live up to expectations.
- It was so boring that the highlight was probably buying some Columbia pants at Blacks.
- I was extremely glad when it was time to get the bus home.
Food
- chocolate croissant
- orange juice
- taste test cinnamon bagel
- Le Champignon Sauvage lunch:
- cheese puff
- potato and leek soup with elderflower
- bacon brioche
- Dived Shetland Scallops - with Jerusalem artichoke puree, globe artichoke with liquorice root
- Bibury Brown Trout - risotto of wild garlic, roasted garlic cream
- Cinderford Lamb - smoked roasted onion, cep mushroom puree
- Gloucester Old Spot Pork Belly
- Salted Chicory Root Iced Mousse - vanilla rice pudding, rich chocolate sorbet
- Bitter Chocolate and Olive Tart - fennel ice cream
Cardiff -> London
Highlight
- The breakfast was very boring. There was not much choice and the food was not particularly nice. The waffles were the best. Still, it didn’t stop us from eating a lot so we could save money.
- Visited the Riverside market, which had just about the same stores as the Roath market yesterday. There were a few extras but we were too full from breakfast to really have a good look.
- There were some good views of the Millennium Stadium, and if the weather was better, a lovely spot by the river though.
- Did the Cardiff City to Bay walk via some newly regenerated areas with scattered artworks.
- Explored some Torchwood locations and looked at the wave design of the Wales Millennium Centre
- It started raining so we postponed our walk to see the Doctor Who exhibition. Slokky was really excited but I still didn’t understand anything about the show. Luckily the exhibition was short so we got out of there really fast.
- Rain has stopped, but it was still cold and windy, especially when we wondered towards the Bay. There was some water skiing championship on as well, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to them.
- There had been some major development going on the waterfront, with the results being some cool buildings, including the National Assembly and the Tourist Information Centre.
- Visited the Norwegian church where Roald Dahl (born in Cardiff!) was baptised. Nothing special there, especially since we saw quite a few Norwegian churches last week.
- Had a look at the display in the Tourist Information Centre about the Cardiff Bay development, before taking the taff trail back to city.
- Visited the National Museum for an impressive collection of French impressionists, for Cardiff, they had quite a few Monet and Renoir, as well as a scattering of other notables. The information was presented quite nicely, and I could have happily spent a few more hours there, but alas, we wanted to go and get our faggots and peas.
- Alas, Victoria markets were closed, so no faggots and peas.
- Instead we went to Howells/House of Fraser to see that old church they incorporated into the architecture. It was ok…and the department store was ok too…but I didn’t really need to go out of my way to see it.
- Plan B was the Bali Restaurant. I wasn’t hoping for much, after all the dismal Asians I’ve had in London, but I was really surprised. The two tables of other Asians enjoying a feast was encouraging, so we decided to order the special lunch menu. We were in a rush so didn’t have time to enjoy the laksa and soups they had on offer, but the food was surprisingly tasty, and pretty good for the price we paid.
- Off to the coach, where we were stuck in traffic, so it took nearly 4 hours to get back.
Food
- Mariott hotel breakfast:
- bran flakes with dried fruit, stewed fruits, fresh fruit and yoghurt
- chocolate muffin
- blueberry muffin
- sausage
- baked beans
- scrambled eggs
- tomatoes
- mushrooms
- bacon
- pancake with maple syrup
- waffle with maple syrup
- orange juice
- dinner at Bali Restaurant
- chicken satay
- potato cake
- chicken curry
- nasi goreng
London -> Cardiff
Highlight
- Had to sit separately on the bus, but the ride was comfortable.
- The weather was very overcast, but luckily it cleared up to be very nice later in the day.
- Checked in the hotel which was being refurbished, but at least we got a room already, with a kettle!
- I didn’t realise the hotel had a spa and pool, so decided to go to Primark for some £1 bikini and £1 bottoms.
- Walked to the Roath farmers Market, which was a genuine Welsh market. We got there quite late so a lot of things were sold out, but we managed to pick up a lovely Avril's Country Kitchen garlic aubergine chutney, smoked Caephilly cheese and Welsh cakes.
- Took a long walk through the suburbs and the lovely architecture all around to Roath Park with the lake and swams and paddle boats and flowers, and of course the families all out in force, all very British indeed.
- Caught the bus back and did the Centenary walk, which lets you see almost all of Cardiff. Highlights were the Bute Park and Cardiff University area, with its fantastic architecture. The fantastic covered arcades are great too, although we have seen a few of those now.
- Slokky got his haircut at a "young people" place for £15, but they charged £30 for ladies It wasn’t as good as Rennes of course, but it was not too bad.
- managed to wonder a few shops too but not too much to buy.
- Had an early dinner, which was fine, but nothing spectacular. Read the reviews here.
- Spent 45 minutes in the nice if old pool, spa and sauna area, so my £2 swimmers went to good use.
- Complained about the noise of the disco downstairs (why is it that we always get disco at our hotels?), so got “upgraded”, or more likely, just upped, to a family room on the 10th floor. There was no more disco noise, but the noise from the boilder kept me up for most of the night anyway.
Food
- Lindor raspberry
- pina colada tea
- taste test jams and cheese
- welsh cake with jam (£1.50)
- blueberry muffin
- Spice Quarter dinner:
- poppadoms
- Gilafi Seekh Kebab (£4.70
- Chicken Malai Tikka (£4.70
- Shahi Chicken Korma (£8.75
- ) Lamb Pasanda (£9.45)
- Peshawari Naan (£2.65)
- Lasooni Naan (£2.65)
- mango lassi
- sweet lassi
Bergen -> Oslo -> London
Highlight
- The weather started to turn bad, it was cloudy windy and raining. We didn’t even get some brief periods of sunshine.
- Brygen lived up to its reputation. Lots of lovely coloured crooked houses.
- Explored the few surviving winding streets and visited the quirky but touristy shops.
- Then walked along the foreshore to <> Tower, hall and castle.
- Tried to visit <> church but it ws closed, so back toe the fish market, which was now in full swing. I was still too full from breakfast, and as it wasn’t time to stock up yet, we decided to split up, so Danny and Cathy could go up to Funicular.
- Started to browse a few shops. Pretty soon though, we decided that we couldn’t afford anything, so only did some brief window shopping before stopping.
- Went to Baker Brun and Gord Brod to try the skillingbolle (cinnamon ball). The Gord Brod one was better in my opinion, although both had their good points.
- Ran out of things to do, so just wandered the streets, looked in <> church, went to the Botanical Gardens.
- Finally went to stock up at the supermarket and the fish market. Got to try everything at the fish market before we bought. The whale meat didn’t taste too bad, but definitely didn’t taste nice enough to be killing all those whales for, so I didn’t buy any.
- Got on the very crowded bus to the airport, then some excitement happened.
- It turned out that SAS had overbooked their flight, and offered us to be bumped off for a €300 travel voucher each. We decided that our time wasn’t worth that much so we took it, and spent time in Oslo and landed at Heathrow.
- Everything actually went smoothly. The planes were not crowded and we were given pretty good seats. We were about 2 hours delayed for our trouble, but of course as soon as we got to Heathrow, everything went wrong. We had to taxi for abges before we could land, they couldn’t connect to our plane so we had to wait about 15 minutes for some stairs, there were lots of people at customs (which we would’ve avoided if we were early as they were all from the last plane from some Arab country, so everything there got questioned for extra long. Those customs officers are definitely prejudiced), there were 6 people working only, we got shoved in the wrong line.
- For a flight that was suppose to arrive at 9:20, we got out of there at 11pm, so once again, UK inefficiencies ruins another holiday.
Food
- Incity breakfast:
- bread with 7 cold cuts, cheese, herring, salad, pate, tuna, smoked salmon and sardine
- muesli and rice puffs with grapes
- apple juice
- skillingbolle (cinnamon bun) x2
- skillingbolle with custard
- skollenbolle (coconut and custard)
- taste test: smoked fish, gravalaz, wild and farmed salmon, whale meat, clavier, smoked moose, smoked reindeer
- apple juice
Bergen -> Myrdal -> Flam -> Gudvangen -> Voss -. Bergen
Highlight
- A very long day ahead of travelling, and as our tour started very early and breakfast started late on a Sunday, we had to quickly wolf down our breakfast, like everyone else.
- Amazingly, we chose the right side of the Myrdal train to sit on (which was incidentally, the right side), so we were able to enjoy the spectacular scenery.
- Unfortunately, we didn’t do the same with the Flam railway (which was the left side this time), and as it was extremely crowded with tourists, we couldn’t actually run to a spare window to take any pictures. What annoyed me though, were all the tourists who reserved the right seats, but were too busy talking to even look out the window!!
- Watched a cheesy performance on our 5 minute stop to view a waterfall, where some woman comes out and dances to some eerie music. The performance lasted 3 minutes, after which time we all piled back onto the train again.
- Flam was very beautiful. We hired a bike from the very trusty tourist info, where they don’t even lock up their bikes. For 50NOK for an hour, it was well worth it, as we covered a lot more ground, although if you just took the bikes, they wouldn’t know anyway. But we were honest.
- We managed to ride to the Marina, a waterfall and a stave church, which was coolly painted on the inside.
- It was thrilling to ride through the mountain and water, and the weather was perfect.
- Had a look at the not very interesting Flam Museum, before fighting it out with everyone to get on the boat.
- Passed through some very nice scenery but it was too crowded to really enjoy it. We found relieve on the bottom deck, where there were no chairs and no speakers to hear the commentary, but you could see the scenery and there were no people.
- Another day of beautiful warm weather, but slightly cloudy at times. For Bergen and surrounds, this is excellent, considering they have like 260 days of rainfall a year.
- We actually bumped into Franklin and Danny on the cruise, what a small world. Because of the crowd though, we couldn’t really hang around together.
- We hung around Gudvangen instead of trying to rush for the bus when the cruise docked…bad mistake. They had miscalculated the number of people that were on the cruise and as a result, they weren’t enough buses, so we had to fight with everyone else to get on, and we didn’t end up getting a window seat on the bus.
- That was good and bad in a way, good because we got to take pictures from both sides of the bus, but bad because we weren’t in the best position.
- And the scenery were spectacular too. Went through Naeroydalen and up Stalheimskleiva (Stalhein Road), which climbs up the mountain between the Stalheim (126m) and Sivle (146m) waterfalls, with 13 hairpin bends and 20o slope.
- Even more amazing, we saw all these people running UP this road, apparently there was a race on the next weekend and everyone was training for it.
- The views once you reached the top of this mountain was absolutely spectacular, overlooking the Naeroy Valley.
- Had a brief stop at Voss, the “Adventure Town”, before we had to get back on the train, but of course we didn’t’ have the time to do any adventure activities.
- We did manage to see the lake, Olav’s Cross dating from 1023, the Bergslien monument, the Mosafinn Memorial and Vangskyrkja (Voss church).
- Then back on the last connection, an extremely crowded train, back to Bergen.
- Had dinner at what looked like a uni hangout, serving café fare with a focus on soup. The reindeer soup was very gamey but you couldn’t really taste reindeer as much as the mushrooms.
Food
- Incity breakfast:
- bread with 7 cold cuts, cheese, herring, salad, pate, tuna and sardine
- muesli and rice puffs with melon yoghurt
- apple juice
- Zuperia dinner:
- seafood soup with baguette
- reindeer mushroom soup with baguette
- raspberry yoghurt soup
- cappuccino cake
Bergen
Highlight
- Asked to swap room, room next door also did the same thing. Went from 303 to 608.
- Everything opened later than stated, but everyone came very early to breakfast. They must all want to rush off somewhere.
- Breakfast had the usual offerings. I didn’t eat as much as usual because I didn’t feel so well from not sleeping at all the night before.
- Supermarket and tourist info, before a stop at the fish market. Although it was past 8am, the stalls were still just opening. There were lots of live crab, salmon, trout and caviar, as well as whale meat.
- Walked past Korskirken Cathedral and some bread shops on the way to the Funicular.
- We were the last to get on so didn’t get the front views. You could see the same views at the top viewing point anyway.
- The weather was glorious and we spent quite some time taking snaps.
- Started on our walk. There was not much people to start with, but got busier as the day wore on.
- The walk itself was very nice. We started by the coast, moved up and down mountain ridges. Pine forests and mountains were the main views, as well as the water when we were near the coast of course.
- There was a nice breeze but the sun shone for most of the day.
- There were a few difficult sections with mud and steep climbs, but the worst had to be my shoes, which started rubbing on and bruising my toes. After about 5 hours, I couldn’t walk downhill without hurting, so the 600m descent we had to do over some very steep hills and loose rocks absolutely killed me and took about 3 times as long as normal. I was really glad to get down.
- Spent 10 am to 6pm walking, although we did have a lot of stops along the way for food and photos.
- Finally got down, found the bus and had a brief walk around the harbour. Now there were lots of people out and about, enjoying themselves, and eating ice-cream.
- Decided to have dinner at a place close to our hotel as I really couldn’t bear the walk. It was actually very good (but expensive as usual). Modern Norwegian using traditional ingredients. The only hiccup was the rice that came with the scallops, which was very hard and was too salty.
- Slokky made me mad by substituting his asparagus, which I REALLY wanted to try, for trout, even though he could’ve swapped his scallops since I was getting the same though. He claimed he didn’t hear me even though I stated various facts I wanted the scallop swapped: trying more of the menu, scallop and trout being the same price…etc etc. The fact that he thought I would even consider swapping asparagus really annoyed me, so another perfectly pleasant meal was ruined.
Food
- In City breakfast:
- bread with 7 cold cuts, cheese, herring, salad, pate, tuna and sardine
- muesli and rice puffs with apple
- apple juice
- cherry milk drink
- fish cakes
- Smayet mat og Vinhus dinner:
- bread with garlic butter oil and vinegar, aioli
- Aquavit cured mountain trout with crab and pistachio aoili
- monkfish with sundried tomato
- pan fried red fish with apple and basil puree, fish veloute
- rack of lamb with creamed artichokes, Norwegian carrots and shallot confit demi-glaze
- rhubarb parfait with hazelnut and strawberry
- pan fried scallops with pumpkin risotto and balsamic vinegar
- Entrecote with brie de meaux, mango sauce, sauteed cep mushroom and summer cabbage
- Valhrona chocolate cake with cherry sorbet
- rose granita
London -> Bergen
Highlight
- Plane took off ½ hour late. The airport was very busy as usual with long weekend travellers.
- Still, we managed to land only a few minutes late but had to wait ages fot the Flybus to leave anyway. At least we got to pick the best spot to sit.
- The city though, was in full swing when we arrived. People dressed in their naughtiest and sexiest outfits were wondering the streets, falling in and out of nightclubs.
- We finally got to bed at 1:30am, but couldn’t sleep the whole night because of the really really loud music in the nightclub anyway.
San Francisco -> Minnesoda -> London
Highlight
- Early morning start, walked to bus depot as the BART wasn’t running yet.
- Took awhile to find the right bus, but after that it was easy, and got there with just the right time again.
- Got "selected" for screening, so at least I got to bypass the queue. Even though the tests were longer, at least they were more interesting. Did an air test where I had to walk through this device thing, then got all my stuff checked and my shoes tested, at least it passed the time.
- Flight was very full, but at least on time. I couldn’t choose a nice seat though as everyone else could check in on-line. I was squashed in the middle seat and at the back of the plane.
- Lunch at Minnesoda/St Paul, walked the whole airport and wrote my blog to pass time. At least I didn’t have to pick up my bag.
- No queues at the airport, so I got home nice and early.
Food
- caramel slice
- oat and berry bran muffin
- cheese scone
- oyster biscuits
- NW airline dinner:
- lettuce salad
- chicken, mash and vegetables
- cheese and biscuits
- apple pieces
- apple juice
- egg and cheese roll
San Francisco
Highlight
- Tried to pack in a very full day. The 1st day of touring with Slokky and also a very nice day.
- 1st stop, the Ferry Building’s farmers market. It was a lot of fun with a great array of produce. Lots of taste testing allowed. Unfortunately, the produce, especially the dairy, was not really up to the standard I’ve had in Oz and in the UK.
- Tried the SF oysters – very different to the Australian ones but great tasting.
- Great Mexican stand where they press fresh tortillas. Got some chicken mole with a to die for chocolate chilli sauce.
- Got some baked goodies for the flight.
- Walked down The Embarcardoro to see Cupid and the Bay Bridge.
- Got the N-tram to AT&T Park. Slokky used the GO card to get in. I rushed back to the ferry building, but the Ferry Lien Cruise was cancelled for the rest of the year, so I rushed to Fishermans Wharf and just made the Red & White Cruise.
- Glorious weather, so got some great pictures of the SF skyline and the GG Bridge.
- Learned more about SF than you need to know with the American way of having commentary on everything.
- On the Boudin Bakery tour, where there’s even more info on SF. Great smell and you get to watch the factory at work. The best thing though had to be the tasting room at the end. I tried 4 different types of breads and there was no one there, so I got my $3 worth in eating. There were 3 dips there too, but they were more of an afterthought.
- Slokky had to try his burger joint, so went to In N Out for a “double double”, which is better than McDonalds, but that’s about it. The milkshake was good old fashioned stuff though, the chips were crap.
- Finally to Go Car, a three wheel glorified motorbike. You get GPS guided tour of SF. Our 1st car didn’t’ work so we had to go back for another. At least we got used to the car with the first one.
- It was a really cool way to do SF, if it’s a glorious day and you don’t mind everyone staring at you.
- Got to do all the stuff I couldn’t do my bys. Highlight was driving along the beach. At Fork Point, in the Presidio with the cliff face side, along the cool streets of Cow Hollow and Chestnut Street, and of course, driving down Lombard street.
- After 1.5 hours, we were happy but cold from the wind, so stopped of for that last bowl of chowder (no bread this time as this wasn’t lunch). This time at nick’s Lighthouse. Ok, it was better than bebella and La Torre, but that’s about it. Next time I come to SF, I definitely want to try a bowl at a better restaurant. The tourist spots never deliver, but you have to do it at least once, and I’ve now done it twice!
- Finally made it to Pier 39, that’s where all the tourists were. Consisting mainly of touristy food joints (think ice cream, donuts, hot dogs and pretzels) and heaps of lolly shops, gift shops. It didn’t hold much interest. Step to the back though, and we got glorious view of the bay at dusk.
- Aquarium on the Bay was closing early for a function,, so it only left us with ½ hour to see everything. Turned out that’s all the time you really need. It was a very small space, mainly for viewing for children, with 2 big tanks being their main attraction. Sydney Aquarium trumps them anyday.
- Another long bus trip to Yabbies for our 1st seafood dinner. Got a seafood platter – excellent sauce and the sweetest Dungess crab and the SF signature soup, the cippano. So much better than the room service one. The desserts were comfy and sweet.
- Back to the hotel to pack and SF is over.
- Still didn’t see:
- Cloat Tower
- Twin peaks
- West of Golden Gate Park
- Lincoln Park
- mission district
- Grace cathedral
- cable Car Museum
- Full House and after Victorian Houses
- steak house
- diner
- ice cream
- French Laundry!!
- shopping
Food
- lemon scone
- 10 oysters ($20)
- chicken mole ($9.50)
- boudin bread: sourdough, multi grain, asiago cheese, chocolate raisin
- In and Out double double burger, chips and strawberry shake
- Nick’s Lighthouse clam chowder with oyster biscuits
- Yabbies Coastal Kitchen dinner:
- baguette
- cippano with dunguese crab
- seafood platter: oyster, prawn, clam, mussel, dunguese crab, shrimp salad, avocado and tortilla
San Francisco -> Napa -> San Francisco
Highlight
- Breakfast at a “scone” (the American scone as opposed to the English “jam and scone” scone) place. The American muffin was moist and soft, but the scone were really disappointing.
- Tried the morning coffee at the hotel (not great), before heading to wait for my tour.
- Gray Line didn’t have a chip machine, so I couldn’t test out the theory of whether my Go pass was for 1 day or 5.
- There was quite a large group of more than 30 going for the tour. Our driver/tour guide had been doing this for over 45 years! He gave us a running commentary and lame jokes the whole way.
- Glorious blue skies, beautiful green running hills with orange vines.
- Stop 1: Napa Valley Visitor centre for tastings. Of note was an Orange Muscat.
- Stop 2: Drop people off at the wine train.
- Along the Silverado trail, to St Helena and Sutter Home estates. We couldn’t stop at a lot of places as they don’t take coaches…hehe, don’t want a big bunch of free loaders stopping off, I don’t blame them.
- Stop 3: Sutter Home – really cheap but really bad wine. I tasted 3 and then gave up.
- Stop 4: Yontville – home of yuppy and gourmet dining, including The French Laundry. I went back later to take pictures.
- Had lunch at the Bouchon bakery as I didn’t want to get too full for the party tonight. The restaurants sounded very appealing though.
- The pastries were wonderful, I enjoyed them in the garden of Bouchon with a Belgium couple who were doing some sort of religious study in Orlando. They were just complaining about the size of American meals the whole time.
- Walked around the shops, looking for shoes to got with my dress. There were lots of nice stuff on sale but they didn’t go with my dress.
- Stop 5: pick people up from the Wine Train.
- stop 6: Madonna Estate. Got a talk and cellar tour. The best thing was being taught how to taste wine (yeah I know I was told this before, but I can never remember…), so here it is: swirl, sniff, roll around, gulp air, taste, spit (if desired).
- The wine here were, finally, quite nice, but I didn’t buy anything as I didn’t really want to lug it.
- We got taught how to check the cork as well….but I can’t remember that already :p. Screw top is the future anyway.
- They had some cool wine opening gadgets on sale, but as we had already just invested in a bottle opener, and more because of the fact that we almost never drink any wine, I didn’t buy it.
- A long bus back, the traffic was not too bad.
- I did a mad dash around the Embacadero Centre to get stuff for the party.
- I needed metallic shoes, which were quite hard to find. If it had been black shoes I needed, I would’ve been done already. I found some I liked at Banana Republic but they couldn’t find the other shoe!
- Managed to pick up a pashmina and beaded bag at Georgino at 25% off only. I don’t think I’ve shopped that just in my life!
- More transport to City Hall. It was a bit strange to be all dressed up to go on public transport, but it was Christmas season, so people are probably used to it.
- The venue was excellent, it had been lit up by lots of different colour lights (haha, sure beats the drinks in a bar for HSBC). There were different rooms with different food and music. The best was the Mexican. The desserts selection was small and too sweet for my taste.
- Lined up to get photos taken. They put them against a background of snow and the Golden gate. We chatted to some interesting people while waiting in the line.
- I don’t know about the rest of the USA, but San Franciscans are definitely stylish and skinny! I thought it would be a pretty relaxing kind of party, but people were dressed really formally.
- Met Slokky’s workmates and his boss, and generally had a great time. It was freezing by the end of the night though, so my pashmina was money well spent.
Food
- Specialties breakfast:
- cranberry and yoghurt muffin
- mocha scone
- blueberry and lemon scone
- choc chip and yoghurt croissant
- Bouchon bakery lunch:
- cream cheese danish with ginger
- pistachio brioche
- BGI Christmas Party dinner:
- cold cuts
- olives, eggplant dip
- bruschetta
- pasta – ravioli, tagitelli
- corn chips with salsa
- mole with corn
- pumpkin mash
- country style stew
- vegetable and salad
- cranberry juice
- chocolate, caramel and vanilla cupcakes
- caramel slice
- apple turnover
- marinated mahi-mahi
- candy bar
San Francisco
Highlight
- Another rainy day, at least there’s no fog (yet)
- Slokky made me walk a long way to Noah’s Bagel, even though there was one closer, and didn’t take the blame for it.
- Another long bus ride out and changes to Golden Gate Park to view the Golden Gate Bridge. The bus stopped in the middle of the park. I snapped loads of pictures, but I couldn’t see that well, since the fog has started again.
- I didn’t have time to walk across and had to fight with the Chinese tourists to take photos.
- Caught another bus to the Palace of Fine Arts – very pretty, probably more so in the rain, giving it a mysterious quality. Fought with another truck load of Chinese, one who actually told me to move away so she could take a photo!
- Heaps and heaps of kids at the Exploratorium. It was definitely heaps of fun, but a lot of exhibits I’ve already done at the Science Centre at Valencia. Still, it’s always fun to play with. I did about half of the museum before I had to leave.
- Another bus back to Fisherman’s Wharf to pick up my Go San Francisco Pass. They seemed to have given me a 5 day pass instead of the 1 day, so that meant I had a huge change of plans.
- Lunch at the stand up bars at Fishermans wharf. No tourists today as the rain was very ejavy. Nick’s Lighthouse, the stand with heaps of people, ignored me, so I went next door instead. The meal was not that nice, there was no seafood
- I had only 2.5 hours left in the day to use my card, and I wanted to do the bakery tour at Boudin, but it wasn’t running today for some reason, so went to the Wax Museum instead.
- It was very scary, not for the right reasons though, more for the fact that I was the only one there and the figures looked really ugly and nothing like the real people they were representing.
- Tried to go to the Asian Art Museum, but got very stuck in traffic, and didn’t get across town until 4:30, so didn’t get to go.
- Missed Zeum as well, so spent about 40 minutes at Y and the Dalai lama exhibit.
- Slokky was 10 minutes late to meet up, so I could’ve spent the time finishing the exhibit afterall.
- SFMMA – finished Matisse and did the Olafur Eliasson with the BMW, the freezer and the light effects, very cool.
- Then joined a really crappy supposed “highlight” tour. Instead I got told how to use the stairs and read signs, and wasted 45 minutes of my time.
- Only got to finish the “box artish” Joseph before the museum closed.
- I was still full from my late lunch, so cancelled our Waterfront booking to go to Chinatown instead. Big disappointment. It was very boring, everything was closed, and there was no people in any of the restaurants.
- Back to Union Square, Macy for fast food.
- Managed to get my dress for the Christmas party in record time.
- It was raining very hard, and we couldn’t get a bus, so got soaked walking back to the hotel.
Food
- Noah’s bagel breakfast:
- sun dried tomato, peppers and pesto with onion and chive "shmear"
- sourdough with garlic herb shmear
- Sabella and LaTorre’s clam chowder in a sourdough bread roll
- Jamba Juice peanut butter moo’d smoothie – all natural peanut butter, bananas, choc moo’d bake, non fat frozen yoghurt, soy milk
- macaroni and cheese
- shoe string chips with ketchup.
San Francisco
Highlight
- Breakfasted at a cool bakery, then a long bus ride to try to get into Golden Gate Park. No bus actually stop there, so I had to get off at the edge of the park and walk.
- Lots of Chinese doing their morning tai chi and others walking their dog.
- Did the whole East side, took 1.5 hours.
- The highlight of the park was definitely the Conservatory of Flowers and Stow Lake.
- Saw lots of squirrel up a tree.
- de Young Museum has great design and architecture. The highlight was the free docent tours every ½ hour. I went on Arts of the Americas as a private tour as I was the only one who wanted to go! Then did Leverson (cool) and African and Oceanic. Explanations posted were excellent and there were heaps of different stuff to see.
- Went to level 9 observation tower for 360 degree views around the park, including the new Academy of Sciences.
- Left reluctantly after only seeing about 1/4 of the museum, as by now I was extremely hungry and need to go to the Legion of Honour.
- The weather has taken a turn for the worst. I was greeted by cold and a very heavy fog. Caught bus #3 to the west end of the park. Saw a hazy dutch windmill and then tried to find the other windmill, but I couldn’t see anything in the fog and masses of trees.
- Gave up my hunt for the windmill and went to Ocean beach instead, but there was some oil spill so the water was covered with oil and I couldn’t go on the beach at all.
- Legion of Honour in Lincoln Park, which is virtually a golf course, not that I could see very much of the park because of the fog.
- This museum was less interesting for me as most of the stuff I’ve seen before, and much more of it around Europe. As usual, the explanations here were much better than anywhere in Europe, with the exception of perhaps Amsterdam.
- The highlight were definitely their Rodin (of The Thinker and The Kiss fame. They had quite a collection, which I hadn’t seen before. Also, their collection of surrealism books added to my SFMMA experience.
- Nearly finished the whole thing (including reading everything) when it closed. In hindsight, I should’ve spent more time at De Young.
- Did the multiple bus change and more than 1 hour of gridlock with multiple stops before finally making it mack to the hotel.
- Took the BART to Berkerly. Looked pretty much the same as SF. Went to University of Berkerly but it was so dark we couldn’t really see anything.
- We had to wait until 8:15 for the 2nd seating for dinner at Chez Panisse. Luckily, a supermarket opposite the restaurant meant we could waste some time. Got some Lindt on special and Ghirardelli for pressies, otherwise nothing of much interest.
- Chez Panisse was supposed to be in the Top 100 restaurants in the world, but I was underwhelmed. The food was good, especially dessert and the service pleasant, but there was nothing to give me that "Wow" factor. I thought it was about the same as Range.
- Another long ride back, with back pain, cold, stomach ache and extremely sleepy, not a great end to a great day.
Food
- French toast – buttered brioche bread with maple syrup ($4.25)
- Poppy seed muffin ($1.95)
- sour cream coffee pineapple cake ($2.95)
- Chez Panisse dinner:
San Francisco
Highlight
- Had an early breakfast at the San Francisco Soup Company.
- Nothing was opened – I went to the Ferry Building for the supposed farmers market, but it wasn’t opening until 2pm. However, there were some cool shops in there (shut) and nice architecture.
- Back to Pier 33 to inquire about the missing cruise ticket, but it turns out that the cruise they advertised was substituted with the Alcaltraz one.
- Booked my Napa Valley tour.
- Got my keys cut for $2 but they didn’t have the particular key that I wanted so couldn’t get it all cut.
- Got a haircut at a convenient place. They got it completely wrong. It was way shorter than what I asked for and it was uneven. It was the worst paid haircut I’ve ever got. To add insult, it was expensive at $18 and it was done by Asians!!
- Went to the California Academy of Sciences – completely misleading name. Really an aquarium and insect place, not science. It was under renovation so there wasn’t much to see. I shared it with heaps of kids.
- Walked around Westfield – Bloomingdales, Nostrun and the food shop. It was very cool but I didn’t buy anything so I don’t have to carry anything around.
- Finally got the historic cable car. It was still crowded so I couldn’t sit on the outside.
- Got off (in the middle of the street, cool!) and looked at some Victorian Houses.
- Walked up Lambart St (known as the crookest street). Very cool and had good views too, but it was a bit foggy today.
- Down to Fishermans Wharf shops for photos because the sun came up. Browsed some shops (EB was the same price as everywhere else).
- Yerba Buena Garden – pretty, with a Martin Luther King Memorial fountain.
- SFMOMA – beautiful architecture. Joined a very detailed tour that explained a few paintings. I like Picasso and Maltese. I still don’t know how to appreciate the art that are just lines and blank canvas though.
- It was interesting to walk around the museum as there was actually information explaining the interpretation. It was free on the 1st Tuesday of the month, and since I didn’t finish it, I can come back again.
- Went to See’s Candies for free samples and some chocolates. It’s quite cheap for what you get.
- Got some replacement nail clipper and water at the pharmacy.
- Dinner in the Mission area. Range has one Michelin star. The food was very similar to Mod Oz or Mod Brit, but it was with "American" ingredients. The cocktails were excellent.
- Had a hot chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. It was nice but WAY too sweet.
- Caught the cable car back. Great views, got to hang on the outside finally.
- There was some police hold and that blocked the streets for some reason, so we had a long walk back to the hotel.
Food
- Kara's Cupcake Buttery Buttermilk Vanilla ($3) – vanilla cupcake with a Madagascar bourbon vanilla buttercream
- San Francisco Soup Company new England Clam Chowder ($5.99) – with clams, potatoes and bacon with a sourdough bread
- sourdough bread with mayo and sweet relish
- orange juice
- See’s candies dark chocolate truffle
- Range dinner:
- Hawaiian ono
- steak with horseradish
- date tart
- persimmon and lime cocktail
- Ghirardelli decadent hot chocolate with biscotti ($4.95)
San Francisco
Highlight
- Breakfasted at bagel place – so many choices of bagels. We of course completed the deal with a giant coffee, the only size they sell in the US it seems.
- Walked along The Embacedero to Pier 33. Saw some fat seagulls, a guy fishing for crabs and caught them in a net with raw chicken.
- Got the City Pass and went for a cruise to Alcatraz. There weren’t too many people yet but the weather was pretty good.
- All the places in Alcatraz was just like the Tony Hawk game. It was surreal as it seemed like I had already been there. I made sure I walked the whole island and read every sign.
- Standout of course was the cellhouse and the exercise yard for the great view.
- The audio tour which covered the cellhouse was pretty good.
- Joined a walking tour that talked about the famous escapes on the island.
- The weather was starting to turn by the time I made it back to the mainland.
- Went to Hyde St Pier and the museum to look at some maritime boats, then wanted to get cable car up to Lombard St, but there were too many people waiting, so I walked along the foreshore to Ghirardelli Square to look at the factory and sample lots of chocolate instead.
- Bought a very cute cupcake – it tasted deletable too!
- Took a very long bus ride on the famous American grid system of roads down Polk St, with the cool shops.
- Spent ages going from station to station to try to get a MUNI passport for Slokky, the first one closed early (lazy soot), the second one didn’t sell them and the third one had a huge line of everyone all wanting a MUNI!!
- Dinner at the very American Cheesecake Factory, on the top floor of Macys. There were HEAPS of people there, but at least they give you a buzzer which goes off as you wait for a table, so you can have a shop around while you wait.
- There were lots of stuff I wanted to buy – including a carpet! But we decided we didn’t have enough time to make an informed choice.
- Finally got buzzed and we weren’t disappointed with the American experience. Everything was crumbed and deep fried and the servings were HUGE! Good thing we could order an appetiser and entrée and be very full, so GUI could foot the bill without us having to pay for anything.
- We had to try the desserts though, it is called the Cheesecake Factory afterall. The peanut butter cheesecake was so rich I couldn’t move afterwards. I must’ve eaten a week’s calorie in a meal.
- Had another walk around Macys. The clothes were great. I bet NY would be fab for shopping, but there were so many things not my size. I didn’t get to spend too long there though ‘cos Slokky was complaining, so we took more transport rides back.
Food
- asagao cheese and spinach bagel
- choc chip bagel with peanut butter and jelly
- coffee
- cranbbery juice
- sourdough bread
- Ghirardelli chocolate peppermint bark
- dinner at The Cheesecake Factory:
- buffalo Blasts – chicken breast , cheese and spicy buffalo sauce all stuffed in a spiced wrapper and fried until crisp, served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing ($8.95)
- white and brown bread
- chicken Madeira – sautéed chicken breast topped with fresh asparagus and fresh mushroom and melted mozzarella cheese, covered with fresh mushroom, Meideira sauce and served with mashed potatoes and shrimps with cloves of garlic, fresh basil and tomato ($19.95)
- chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake – chocolate cheesecake loaded with peanut butter cookie dough and topped with chocolate
London -> Minnosoda - > San Francisco
Highlight
- Slokky called be at 7:20 am to tell me he lost his ring in Vancouver! He looked for 3 hours and still couldn’t find it.
- Left as planned, but there were trackworks at Farringdon, luckily the trackwork were finishing and I was able to catch the first train out and everything went smoothly.
- Relatively short queue at Gatwick.
- Just missed the rain again, but poor Iggy.
- The flight was not too bad, we taxied for a long time though…as expected nowadays.
- Talked to Abdul, who lives in Minnosoda, and he told me all about the city.
- The airport was pleasant, but Slokky plane was delayed, so I caught the BART 1st, which was quite efficient.
- It turned out that Slokky changed to an earlier flight and didn’t bother telling me, so he got a taxi himself and got there before me. That was inconsiderate as I had to walk deserted streets with my big backpack.
- We ordered room service for the first and probably the last time. It was very extravagant but wasn’t very good tasting.
Food
- NW snack:
- NW dinner:
- potato and cooked vegetables
- chicken, rice and broccoli
- chocolate cheesecake
- cheese and cracker
- tea
- white wine from Chile
- NW snack:
- orange juice
- ham and tomato roll
- chocolate ice cream
- Le meridian San Francisco Bay Chowder Cioppino style with sourdough croutons ($9)
London -> Portsmouth -> Ryde -> Winford -> Alum Bay -> Ryde -> Portsmouth -> London
Highlight
- Slokky didn’t know the way so we went on a big walk around Portsmouth Harbour looking for the ferry, which was actually right at the station.
- At least we got to check out the discount outlets and Gunwharf Pier. Will need to “do” Portsmouth one day.
- The ferry ride was very quick. We managed to get w for 1 ticket, so wasn’t too expensive.
- The sun was out, but disappeared very soon after we arrived in Ryde.
- Had a quick walk around Ryde, lovely small town, visited the farmers market for really yummy unpasteurised milk blue cheese.
- Caught the Open Top touring bus to the Garlic Festival. It was very windy and bumpy and cold, we couldn’t really hear the commentary, but it was fun nevertheless.
- I didn’t expect the Garlic Festival to be so popular…it was really a country fair afterall, but it seemed like all the locals were out enjoying the day.
- We watched a dog show, some bad fire eaters, a boring cooking demo and some mediocre bands.
- The highlight had to be the food. All the garlic-themed food was fun, if not always successful, the ice-cream was definitely the standout.
- We managed to spend 2 hours looking at everything, then caught a bus to Newport for another bus ride to The Needle. The bus took a long time, but The Needle was definitely worth it. Fringed by chalk cliffs and spectacular views. If only the grey clouds didn’t decided to come over at that minute, and if only it wasn’t so cold.
- Because of that, we pretty much headed off after having a quick look at an old rocket launch site and a rocket exhibition.
- We walked to Needles Park, had a look at the carnival and stalls set up there, before another bus back to Newport, listened to a very dumb lady read out loud.
- Had very disappointing fish and chips (we didn’t have time to have a sit down meal) before jumping on the ferry for the crossing back.
- We actually got home quite early. Because the bus rides were so long, we didn’t really have enough time to do the whole island. We will come back again, probably when another festival is on.
Food
- Garlic festival:
- garlic bread (£2)
- garlic beer(£2)
- garlic caramel fudge (£1)
- garlic ice cream (£2)
- Minghella chocolate chilli and garlic ice cream (£2)
- garlic soup (£1.50)
- bbq corn with garlic butter (£2)
- bbq corn with garlic butter (£1.80)
- taste test garlic relishes, cake, smoked goods, tomatoes, cheese
- cod and chips (£4.30)
Hull -> Humbler -> Lincoln -> Ely -> Mistley -> London
Highlight
- Just when I could sleep, I got woken up very early with the constant announcements over the loudspeakers.
- Had to endure a long wait and the usual grilling at immigration.
- Had a quick look around Hull. There were a few stately buildings, a nice enough harbour, but nothing was opened so we left.
- At least the weather was sunny (to start with anyway), but it was so cold it snowed.
- Crossed the Humbler bridge and went to the observation area, which was fun.
- Lincoln – a very picturesque town with charming building. I really liked Steep St, (it was steep!), filled with lots of charming tea shops.
- Lincoln Cathedral was spectacular, looking a lot like York Minster actually.
- Lincoln Castle, joined a few tours. There were some nice views from the wall. They have a prison, execution and one of only 4 copies of the Magna Carta, so I guess it was worth the money.
- Got some chocolate from a shop but it was not good.
- Was going to Spalding to look at flower fields, but because of the cold, they had not bloomed yet.
- Decided to visit Ely purely for the name, but the cathedral was magnificent.
- It started snowing again, so it was decided it was time to move on, so we drove to Mistley for an early dinner.
- The swans and the sunset by the river occupied our times for a little while, before we had a lovely dinner, and was very stuffed before heading back to the traffic jam of London.
Food
- cardamom cake
- Brunch at Cafe Zoot:
- lattes (£2.30 large)
- Mushroom Omelette (£3.95)
- Toasted Teacake (£1.50)
- chilli truffle
- dark chocolate truffle
- Mistley Torn dinner:
- Grilled whole sardines in garlic butter (£6.95)
- Saffron and Glove Artichoke Risotto with Parmesan Cheese (£6.95)
- Colchester Native Oysters served raw with ginger shallot mignonette (£1.75 each)
- Mersea Island Rock Oysters served raw with ginger shallot mignonette
- Roast Rack of Lamb in a Herb Crust with Wholegrain Mustard Mash, Mint Vinaigrette & Seasonal Vegetables
- Grilled Skate with Caramelised garlic, Smoked Paprika, A Mano Olive Oil, Local New Potatoes & Alison's Organic salad Leaves (£13.95)
- Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream
Rotterdam
Highlight
- The boat arrived late, and I couldn’t sleep because of the noise as we were really close to the stairs and the lifts, and every time the lifts arrive, it makes a big “ding” sound.
- The coach for Rotterdam only left at 9:40, most of the people went to Amsterdam, it only took 30 minutes to get to the city centre.
- Rotterdam surprised me. It was very pretty, with nice architecture. The sun was not but it was very cold, and certainly not many people out and about on Easter Sunday.
- The tourist info was very good, we picked up a few guides.
- Dropped by ALL the Maccas, there seems to be one on every block, just to get warm.
- Looked at an old church, but it wasn’t opened.
- The highlight was the funky cube house, which reflected the forward thinking nature of their architecture.
- Took a walk along the harbour, really nice and peaceful.
- Couldn’t find any place open for lunch.
- Cheered on riders of some bike race with big foam hands.
- We wanted to go to this restaurant for apple pie and afternoon tea, but it was booked out, so we got chips instead.
- We thought we would find stuff open in Chinatown, but I was disappointed. Only a few places were opened, and they were all doing a roaring trade. Who knew there was such a huge Asian community in Rotterdam? It seemed like every single Asian has come out for yum cha, as we couldn’t get a table at all.
- As it was already 1:40, and I was anxious to get to the museums, we left Shan & Aileen, and headed to the Architecture Institute (NAI).
- It was nearly 2pm when we got there, and Slokky had already made me mad.
- The display though was very interestingly presented. The highlight was definite the Schov house, a 1930s house that was way ahead of its time.
- Back to Chinatown for takeaway noodles before boarding the boat.
- More cards and chocolate before dinner, which tasted very bad and not because we were prejudiced either.
- More cards, cocktails and a good piano player at the lounge before bed.
Food
- cardamom cake
- tomato baguette (£.49)
- chocolate and cream waffle (€2.50)
- McDonalds bitenballen
- chips with tomato and mayo
- Japanese udon fried with seafood (€12.50)
- Fried beef noodles (€10)
- P&O dinner:
- bread roll
- Field mushrooms with bacon & Lancashire cheese
- Char-grilled rib-eye steak, Bearnaise sauce
- Sea Breeze cocktail: vodka, cranberry, grapefruit
- Fruit Paradise cocktail: Malibu, pineapple, orange, Chambord
London -> Cambridge -> Hull
Highlight
- Weather was very bad, it was actually hailing.
- The car hire people were so dumb, it took us ages to get our car.
- Arrived at Cambridge when the sun was out, so took advantage of it to try to see some sites.
- Very similar to Oxford in terms of architecture and the people, I guess university towns are always similar.
- St Mary the Great. All students have to attend here when they first come to study.
- Market Square, a very boring market.
- Toured a free college... could be Corpus Christi College.
- Looked at Senate Hall and the gate.
- The tourist information was bad, you have to pay for a map of the town, which we did as we had no choice as Slokky couldn’t find his way around on the GPS.
- We were going to go in Kings College, but it was too cold and we didn’t have enough time to make it before lunch, and seeing the weather was just not fit for walking around, we decided that we needed to come back to Cambridge another day anyway.
- Walked to The Backs briefly, but the rain and wind meant that everything was gray and so we didn’t bother.
- We ran through the hailstorm to Midsummer House, where we were welcomed with warm tea and tranquility.
- Everything was beautifully and painstakingly executed. The food itself was not as nice as Le Gavouche, but very innovative and interesting in its own way. Read the reviews here.
- Stayed there for 3 hours, watching the alternate sun and rain play out before us through the huge bay windows.
- We were very glad to be able to jump in the car and go after that. We will have to do Cambridge another time.
- A very long drive to Hull. The check in was pretty easy, then went to check out the ship.
- The ship was much better than I expected.
- Spent the evening just snacking and played cards.
- Lots of people dressed up and was making a big occasion out of it too.
- The resident band was very bad.
Food
- Midsummer House lunch:
- cheese stick
- balsamic vinegar foam and crisps
- green olives
- foccacia
- brown bread
- Grapefruit and Champagne foam
- Tiger Prawn, Cucumber and Cauliflower
- Langoustine and King Crab
- Piquillo Pepper Cannelloni
- Sauteed Scallop, Bay Leaf, Pigs Trotter
- Risotto of Parsley, Garlic Snail, Yeast Foam
- Roast Zander, Red Wine and Nettles
- Pousse Café
- Bourbon Smoked Pigeon, Iceberg Lettuce, Sweet Potato
- Camomile, Lemon and Ginger
- Pear, Black Olive and Fennel
- Coffee, Chocolate and Passion Fruit
- Baignet with crème anglais and plum sauce
- chocolate – mandarin, pineapple, green pepper, dark
