Last International Post

Boarding has just started for those needing assistance or business class customers in Singapore. It gives me the chance for one more post. I have had an EXTRAORDINARY trip but I am REALLY looking forward to coming home. I've got 8 hours to work out which was my favourite place - a question I think people will be asking me. Right now I can't think of just one. There are so many different great things in different places, I don't think I will ever be able to cut it back to the one most favourite thing.

I'll do a few more posts when I get home and put up some photos on the blog too.

So for the last time this trip.... I'm leaving on a jet plane :)

Singapore Airport

I'm in Singapore... I had a great flight! Spare seat next to me and a lovely gentleman who was happy to listen to my 'excited traveller' stories at the start of the flight. He has a daughter called Naomi & he lives in Singapore. About the sleep I was going to have... didn't really happen. I watched a few movies... Hurt Locker, Friends with Benefits, the facebook one - it was the middle of the night... & 3 episodes of Sea Patrol. It was great. I think I did sleep for a few hours. I'm not feeling too bad at the moment cause.... I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING HOME! I am sorry to say, up until now I hadn't wanted my dream holiday to end. But now I realise, I am so much looking forward to getting home and seeing the special people in my life!!
A useless information update for you... it's 6.27pm in Singapore & my next flight boards at 8.20pm. It is still light outside which is doing my head in cause for the past few weeks (especially this week) it was totally dark by 4.30pm. Also on my watch it is 10.27 & I don't know if it's am or pm. I think am cause we left at 9.30pm - I'm not changing my watch until I get to Brisbane... I'm going to be in Brisbane soon :) :) :) :) :) :) I have to go and check out the famous sunflower garden - it has extra special meaning now... I saw it in the middle of night on my way over so it'll be great seeing it in daylight. But also, on my first tour our tour director called us her sunflowers :) Man I've got some good memories. Have I mentioned that I've enjoyed this holiday? I am looking forward to looking through my photos on a computer :)
Well my time is almost up - 15 min free - I may log on again before I go. Next update may be from Dad's computer at Forest Lake :)

Its hot in London!!

Im sitting outside terminal 3 at Heathrow - its too hot and stuffy inside. Who would have thought Id be doing that in London at the end of November. My bag is all checked in and I just hav to go thru security. Ive got 3 hrs til I fly but wil go thru soon so Im not rushed. Sadly there was no upgrade to first class or even premium economy but thanx to Judi at QANTAS check in I got 1.2kg extra in my checked bag & I think almost 3 in carry on - for no extra cost. Lucky I sent that 10kg package of stuff home. Flight time 12hrs 55min :( Im planning on sleeping for most of the way - Im very tired!

God speed your love...

Last night I went and saw Ghost the musical. If it comes to Australia - YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!! Just checked... it's coming to Melbourne in 2013. So there is a bit of a wait, but it will be worth it. The special effects are incredible. It was a great show to finish on. So I've seen... The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Wicked, Driving Miss Daisy & Ghost. Not a bad effort :) I did consider trying for another one tonight, but I think it'd be pushing it - I have 2 beds in my hotel room. One to sleep in and one to store my stuff - the whole bed is covered (so I need to dedicate some time to pack).
I had nose bleed seats but the theatre was small it didn't really matter. I sat next to a lady who was the PA to a princess from Bahrain. She was lovely :) I also go photos with... Sam, Molly, Andrew & a dancer - also known as... Richard Fleeshman, Caissie Levey, Andrew Langtree & Emily Hawgood. I'm VERY happy with my photos. Didn't get any at Lion King or Jersey boys but made up for it with main actors from the other 3.
I also started my Monopoly tour (at the end I'm going to put up the tube stations you need to get off at if you want to get the photos I'm getting). Might also add it in the comments when I put the photos up on facebook when I get home. I found out this morning the ipad version has American places. The end of an era. Kids will no longer know about Mayfair, Pall Mall, Park Road, Regent St and Piccadilly :( Anyway, I got quite a few photos taken and continued this morning. Sadly my camera ran out of battery & it has a european plug. This is a problem because I don't have an adaptor for european to uk - just Australian to uk & Australian to european. So I've spent time at an internet cafe typing up my blog & sending messages while my camera is plugged into a usb port charging. Only 2 minutes left so I must go. I'll add more tomorrow from the airport.

I can't believe I'm leaving on a jet plane again - well leaving Europe. It will be great coming home, but I do love it over here!!!

London.... my field if dreams!!!!!

What a day :) I organised a package of stuff to be shipped home (wel flown cause itll b there in 3 working days) so that means no excess baggage at the airport. I hav to thank the very kind man at the fedex branch who let me use his scales twice to check it wasnt ova 10kg - both times I needed to take stuff out. Got it to 9.98kg :) I also need to thank the guys at the internet cafe who assured me that wen I paid for another half hr of internet time I wouldnt disconnected from the lady at Parcel2go.com who I had been live chatting with for 45min wile filling in the order form. Everyone was very helpful. Now just praying it wasnt a scam & my parcel wil get home. The nice fedex man said parcel2go was a real company who he has worked with.

Then my evening... wel I ova shared my joy with random but connected strangers. I went and saw Driving Miss Daisy the play. I didnt realise that the actors were James Earl Jones & Vanessa Redgraves. Vanessa was sick wich didnt realy bother me... I was going to see James Earl Jones!!!!! Not quite Princess Anne excitement - but up there. They did a great job & of course wot do I do afta a show - yep found stage doors. A guy comes out & says James doesnt come down for autographs but he can take things up to b signed. I took a risk & sent my camera in with him. I was nervous but a guy said not to worry, Id just given my camera to Flynn Earl Jones :) yep James' son :)

During high school one of my favourite movies was Field of Dreams. James Earl Jones was in that & one of his big lines was... 'if u build it, he wil come' Wen I tjort James mite b coming down I thort it wood b cool to record him saying that. Wen talking to Flynn I found our he wasnt allowed. But.... He wrote it on the ticketnI sent up to be signed. Apparently he thort it was a little strange cause it wasnt in the play. I didnt care!!! Plus I did get my camera bac - with a foto :) HOW GOOD IS THAT!! So the sharing - wen I got to the train station there were a few ppl who had been at stage doors with me. I shared wot he'd written. The girls were young-ish so probably not born wen the movie came out so didnt share my excitement.

The nite was not ova yet... I had to change trains at Piccadilly Circus station. As soon as I get off the train I hear bagpipes - I love bagpipes :) not only that... He wss playing jingle bells. Yep... Christmas carols on the bagpipe. The noise was coming from down some stairs wich normally wouldnt b cause for concern - except on my way to the theatre I got off at Covent Gardens station & they had a sign saying their were 193 steps to the nxt platform. I thort... I can do stairs :) it was a struggle but I managed to do it without stopping & managed to ovatake one person :)  I thort Id reached the top cause the spiral stairs came to a landing, I turned the corner... more stairs. Not many so I let out a sigh, sucked it up & kept going.
So u can see why I wasnt rushing to go down stairs to find the bagpipes. But he was playing Christmas carols... sucked it up again & went down the steps. Not to many :) got video & a foto of him playing & of course a foto of me & him. I was pumped wen I got bac to the hotel :)

Catching up with facebook

I made a few facebook posts today that I had to share...

Post number 1...
I JUST SAW PRINCESS ANNE DRIVE DOWN SUSSEX GARDENS!!!! She had 4 motobike cops, her car had flashing lites near the headlites & there was a van (like swat-ish) with the same type of flashing lites behind her car. HOW GOOD IS THAT!!!! I SAW PRINCESS ANNE!!! Sadly no foto - it all happened so fast. I SAW PRINCESS ANNE!!!

Post number 2...
So now Im sad... I just asked 2 cops at Paddington Station if it could hav been her. They said yes (so I get very excited & afta telling them Im the biggest Royal Family fan & holding bac the urge to hug them)... the sad part... I missed her actually coming thru Paddington Station!! Im walking where she walked just half an hr ago... not realy too sad... I SAW PRINCESS ANNE!!!

Post number 3...
Im at Victoria Apollo theatre. I hav my ticket (I just had a voucher so just found out my seat is row b). I hav a London t-shirt, bag & program & am waiting for the doors to open... Im about to see Wicked for the last time... I hav also found out where stage doors are so Im hoping there wil b fotos.
My seats r row b of the first balcony.

Post number 4...
If I was to say I had a photo of Rachel Tucker, Louise Dearman, Ben Scott & Tommy Sherlock would that mean anything to anyone? Up until an hr ago they would hav been just names. Now... they r the ppl who played Elphaba, Glinda, Boq & Fiyero in my performance of Wicked. Very happy! And I also got a foto for Mel of the guys who played the clarinet & celo in the orchestra. I told them I had a friend who sometimes watched the orchestra instead of the show. It was a great performance, but I hav to say... We did it beta in Oz. It was interesting hearing the English accent coming thru. Im off to Driving Miss Daisy tomoro. The only otha play Ive seen is Calendar Girls so I sure am getting cultured.

So now aussie-noz.blogspot.com has caught up with facebook

Smashing good time in Stirling! Sadly no sunshine :(

I wrote this on the bus home afta another great day! So many great days in a row!! I managed to get from Ayr to Glasgow then had an hr to wait. Thank u Italy, I can now drink & love espresso coffee. Sadly u hav set the bar rather high for all my otha coffee experiences. The one I had this morning at the Glasgow bus station was not the best Ive tasted... but it gave me the kick start I needed.
It makes such a difference wen the ppl Im asking for help (multiple times) undastand English! This trip has inspired me to learn a language wen I come home. Ppl Ive met hav been fluent in between 5 & 8 languages!! I kno 1 :(
Anyway, I got to Stirling & then to the Wallace monument. Amazing!!! The only fully fine day Ivd had in Scotland was the last time Janette & I came to Stirling & saw the castle but didnt make it to the monument :( Not so lucky today... Todays fotos (like most my fotos from Scotland) r misty with grey skies. Still, I had an adventure... Time was short so I caught the courtesy bus up the hil - lovely driver (not as good as Rocco who all otha drivers wil b compared to). He was very chatty & didnt mind a photo :) I got my ticket to go inside & ran the 73 steps to the first floor & saw the William Wallace sword. Took lots of fotos. Then thort... I hav to go to the top so ran the remaining 170ish sreps, stopping on the otha 2 levels for fotos (60 in total). Then raced bac down just in time for Dave the driver to take me bac down the hil. He told me the quickest way to get bac to town - down anotha hil to a bus stop. It was getting close to wen I had to meet Kirsty (Simon's girlfriend) so I ran down that hill - it felt fantastic to b exercising again. I went into the William Wallace pub - all I wanted was a quick foto of the inside but just so happened to also get one with the bar tender (behind the bar) :) & stil made it to the bus in time to meet Kirsty. We had lunch with Si then hit the £1 shops looking for a bag for my xtra 10kgs of stuff to take home. Didn't find one but found some great stuff to help fil the 10 kg - not that I think that wil b a problem. Ive borrowed a bag from here til I get to London & can get another bag.
So Im in Ayr for my last night with the MacDonalds. :( Its been like coming 'home' afta my tours. Goodbyes to Shona & her family tonite then Kitty & Donald tomoro. I hate goodbyes!! I do love Scotland - even tho its rained for most of my time here. I wil miss the wonderful family Ive been staying with as I head home to my wonderful family (afta some adventures in London).

Snow in Glasgow (sort of)...

I had a great day in Glasgow (thanx tour guides Kitty & Shona, driver Stuart & fellow tourist but ex-Scottish resident Gordon). I went to Kelvin Grove (not where I went to Uni but a museum that has the same name). There was a kangaroo & koala in the museum - got fotos. We had a picnic in the Kelvin Grove park (it was freezing but great & warm company) In Glasgow I saw where Brad Pitt filmed World War Z (movie out nxt yr). I saw amazing Christmas displays inside & outside shops. There were ppl everywhere. Looked like the scenes from movies in downtown New York. Except the buildings were way different. Ive developed a love of old stone buildings. Even if I hav no idea wot they r or why they were built - I just love seeing them - wich is probably a good thing considering the places Ive been. In the mall there were all sort of ppl singing (most of them shouldnt hav been), kids dancing (who shouldnt hav been either). But... I heard bagpipes being played VERY wel!! I walk quickly up to the corner & see 3 not unattractive young men playing the bagpipes, a base drum & kettle drums. They were amazing (Sean, Scott & Michael). I got their card, they play at wedding, parties, Burn's suppers & more. Wonder if they would come to Australia??? I was just going to stand at the side & get a photo with them in it but one of the drummers made me stand in the middle of the 3 of them. Of course I didnt say no :) Its a grand photo :)
So the snow... We r walking down Buchanan St & see this clear inflated ball. As we get closer we see its actually a giant snow globe that you can go inside & hav yor photo taken :) Gordon (Kitty & Donald's son) who had just arrived from Australia said he'd come in with me & Shona did aswel (altho a little reluctant). It was fantastic. Just little pieces of plastic you pushed ova a fan but it flew up like snow (locals say Im not going to see it fall in the time I hav left) :( But I had a snow fight again - no not quite the Swiss Alps experience but still fun!! I am a bit concerned about the plastic I've breathed in. Stil fun.
One more Scottish story... where do Scottish ppl put their fish, vodka cruisers and beer to cool down? If u think the fridge you would b wrong! Out on the back steps!!! I had to laugh - but it works :) Good times in Scotland :)

No worries!

Im about to get on my plane to Glasgow. Made it safely to Heathrow & even had time to get a drink & top up my uk mobile. Some fantastic news... It worked straight away - I can call & get into the internet. I even got £10 free credit. How good is that.
Ive gone from minus 5 in Munich to 14 degrees in Heathrow - thats hot for ova here. Is the minimum in Bris higher than that?

My Eiffel Tower at Night List...

Up until 43 days ago, I'd never left Australia. The first tour I went on is PERFECT for someone like me cause now I have an Eiffel Tower at Night List. It's sort of like the opposite of a Bucket List. Number 1 and 2 on the list are in order but the rest are all up there at number 3, I can't put one over the other. I've included some from the second tour and will have to update it with things from the UK parts but I haven't written about my first tour at all and most of the list is from there. So...

1. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night.
Seeing it during the day was fantastic but at night!!! I may have said 'how good is that' a few times - well lots, but it was spectacular - I felt like I was going to burst in awe. I have to add a MASSIVE thank you to Alison and Rocco (our driver) because it was up to them whether we could go there or had to go straight to the hotel. Words cannot properly express my thanks to you both!!

2. Snow fights in the Swiss Alps.
I'd never seen snow at all. How good is it, that my first snow was snow at the top of the Alps. I remember having tears in my eyes as we drove around the road to our hotel at the bottom of a massive mountain THAT HAD SNOW ON IT!! Then to go up to Mt Titlis and have a snow fight! The lift took us to the 5th floor. The doors open and I couldn't hold myself back, I ran out and touched the snow! I didn't make a snow man or do snow angels, but it was perfect in every other way.

So the rest are in no order except for how I experienced them. They will all be number 3.
Going into the Lourve - although it was a mission to see Mona and de Milo, but once I'd found them I was able to appreciate the amazingness of my surrounds on the way out - I spent 20 min in a place I could have spent 20 hours! Guess I'm going back to Paris...
Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo - getting a photo with them was something I never thought would happen!
Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees and I ate authentice frogs legs and snails.
Phantom of the Opera's Opera house - seeing the chandeliers in the windows was amazing.
Have I mentioned the Eiffel Tower??????
A Gondola ride through the Venetian canals with a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary being serenaded (the guy was on their boat, but we had 5 boats together so we could all hear the singing)
The Rialto Bridge
Florence - need I write more... everything about Florence is on the list - It was my favourite place on my first tour and another place I hope to go back to. There are a few things that I must mention...
DAVID!!!! The detail was incredible!!
The Santa Croce - where Michelango, Donatello (not the ninja turtles) and Galileo are buried.
There were so many more places we rushed passsed on our Mission Impossible but the two above were the highlights.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa - yep I got the 'holding it up' and 'pushing it down' photos
Rome... another place with too many favourites to list but the highlights....
Colosseum, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain (even though the coins didn't work). The Vatican, St Peters, Sistene Chapel - the only reason I stopped looking at the roof was that the tour was leaving - I would have got a neck brace and just stayed in there looking up all day if I could have.
Not bad for one tour - so Cosmos tour 5901 is the one for anyone who wants a glimpse of the world! But you have to have Alison Skulic as your guide otherwise the experience won't be anywhere near as good!
I do need to add the Strauss and Mozart concert in Vienna - another bursting with joy moment - it was a perfect evening - even got a photo with some of the orchestra after the show (just for a change).
Also seeing some of the places from The Sound of Music. Although it was nothing like what I expected, I must say that to have seen something is better than nothing so I am happy to have seen the things I did.
My favourite place on the second tour was Budapest. I hope to go back here too. I loved everything in the city. The hot springs, the markets, the history and there was so much more we didn't even get to see or hear about cause it was such a short visit.
So that's my Europe list. When I get back to London I will add my UK list. I've had the most EXTRAORDINARY trip.
I know it's not over, I'm going back to Scotland in the morning to stay in Ayr but I plan to see Glasgow, The Wallace Monument and catch up with Simon again. Then I finish off in London where I will see Wicked, and plan to do my Monopoly tour - take photos of all the places mentioned on the board and a few other things.
Really extraordinary doesn't even do justice to describe the experience I've had. I think because it's not only the places but I have met so many amazing people that have helped make this journey what it's been. The friends I've made on the two tours were fantastic people to spend time with. Also I'm sure the fact that I was sharing the experiences in the first 5 weeks with Janette made it such a special time too. She was the perfect travel buddy.
I'm all packed and ready for my trek to the Munich airport for one last time.

Madness in Munich...

Our tour finished in Munich but had no official 'last dinner'. A group of us decided to go into the city and go to the Hofbrauhaus - the place I went before the tour started. We opened it up to anyone and 21 out of the 46 people on tour came. It was a fantastic night, but of course not without 'interesting' happenings. We said to meet in the lobby at 6.30 so we could see who wanted to come. With such a group there, the ladies at reception very kindly offered us a free shuttle as we needed to get to the train station at the airport. Only 18 fitted in so myself and 2 others caught a taxi, the last words being said... we will meet you at the station... Not specific enough!!! The station is at the airport so there are many MANY places they could have been. After half an hour of looking, we think they must have gone in so we go to the platform.  All of a sudden one of the group yells out and comes flying down the platform so we are a whole group again. 'Challenging times'... In Munich, they have deals where you can buy a ticket for 5 people to travel together. When we finally get on the train, I give up the tour guide job and tell everyone that they are accountable to the 5 people they are sharing their ticket with. We eventually get into the city we head through the town to the pub. Of course someone had to direct the group and having spent the past 18 days with tour guides, I used them as mentors and took up the job again to lead the group to the pub - via a few wrong turns, but they didn't know it and I had help from others who had been to the pub also. So just over 2 hours after we leave the hotel we have ordered food and drinks - they have 1 litre jugs of beer - a number of people from our group ordered these. Special mention needs to go to Rich who finished 2 litres and was able to function all evening. We had fantastic staff looking after us and the food was also amazing.
Back to Salzburg for a second... I found a music shop that had a little triangle so I bought it to go with the music book I mentioned a few posts ago.
They have a traditional German band playing and one of our group just so happened to have her triangle with her. So she whipped it out and posed for a photo with the band as they were playing. Then one of the band members gets her a chair and invites her up on stage to play. Very funny!
The next morning there were sad goodbyes and the tour was over. There is heaps to tell about all the things I did on the other tour. There were big gaps due to lack of internet access. I've had this massive smile on my face as I've been looking through the photos - that I couldn't load cause it took forever to get two up. They will be great to remind me of stories to share.
Both tours were EXTRAORDINARY!! I can recommend Cosmos as a tour company. It's not just for old people. There was a mixture of ages, singles and couples on both tours. Both tour guides were fantastic. They make a big difference to the experience and I think I had two of the best!! Have I mentioned I love travelling? I can see more tours in the future - look out Cosmos...

Only 2 Photos

I'm at the Ibis in Munich and it's taking forever to load photos so I'll wait and do it at home. Friends are leaving for overseas the day before I get back and he posted his 10 days to go countdown on facebook. Wow 11 days and I'll be home. I can't believe the time has passed so quickly. It was minus 5 this morning. I'm not looking forward to coming home to temps of 37. I'll add the 'madness in Munich' after this post...

Visiting Si & Kirsty in Stirling.

My first attempt at the bagpipes! I'll have Amazing Grace worked out before coming home :)

Sadness in Salzburg to Madness in Munich

We arrive in Salzburg & need training how to get into our rooms - they even hav a life-size cut out door handle to demonstrate. Of course there were many (myself included) who listened but couldnt get in. The lady at reception wasnt exactly impressed having to let most of our tour group in. We hav a quiet Italian dinner & an early nite... Sound of music tour in the morning with the soundtrack & everything. I got excited wen I saw our local guide cause she looked like Mother Superior from the movie. Then things changed... no music & there were a few Sound of Music freaks (myself included) who knew more about the movie than she did. I wil start with the positives... We got to shake the gate the kids did at the Abbey wen they wanted Maria back. I got some great photos... We got to stand outside the rotunda where they sung U r 16 going on 17 & c the ouside of the place they sung before escaping ova the Alps. The movie is based on a true story (wich I didnt kno) & we got to learn heaps about the real Maria - went to where she got married :) So it wasnt all bad but it wasnt great. It was the worst fog we have had on tour so we couldnt see a few of the sites, we didnt go to as many places as I thort we wood & the guide loved the history of Salzburg & added facts about the Sound of Music - not the otha way round. It just wasnt wot I expected. But... we found a souvenir shop that had life size models of the family & lots of interesting stuff. So there were some great things.
The madness in Munich wil b in my nxt entry - bout to run out of wi-fi time.

Laps around the round a bout

Im in Hungary and I cant find any punctuation marks except , and . on this keyboard. So there wont be any others. Also incase anyone is wondering, the z and y are in the opposite places, so it takes me a while to remember that.

We had the most amazing day and night in Hungary. Starting with a city tour with a local guide who was really young but knew so much about the history of the places we were seeing. I didnt realise the extent of what happened during the war and then in 1956. Seeing the bronze shoes on the bank of the river where the Jews were pushed in and the bullet holes in the buildings that were kept there to respect the memory of those who lost their lives fighting for freedom in 1956 was a really moving experience. Especially at the river cause Id just walked up and looked at all the shoes. There was a pair that would have belonged to a little girl. Maybe 4 years old. As I was about to take a photo, a little girl about that age walks past with her Dad. It was hard to hold back tears.

So I have this moving experience at the start of my day. Then we walk to the markets, have lunch and do some shopping. Then I have another thing to add to my "Eiffel tower at night" list. At the end of this tour, Ill write the whole list out, but today I swam in a 38 degree naturally heated pool in the open air. A group of us went to the Gellert Baths. I am ashamed to admit this, but before this tour, I really didnt know much about Hungary. Now I know at least two things... there is a lot of sad history and they have thermal springs.

I thought I was onlz going to cold place while on this trip so didnt bring my swimmers. I did bring my running skins. These are full length arms and full length legs. I thought they dry quickly, theyd be great to "swim" in. What we didnt know until we went into the baths is that there is a special area just for ladies and the guys have one just for them. But in these places, its ok to swim with no clothes on. The group I was with were all wearing clothes and were ok with what I had on. BUT I got more strange looks cause I was wearing clothes, well my skins, than the ladies who were swimming and walking around with nothing on. It was a very interesting experience. The pools were extraordinary. It was 8 degrees when we arrived.

Then tonight was spectacular!!!! A river cruise along the Danube. Amazing food and scenery!!! One of the things I am blown away about is how different these places look in the day and at night. It was beautiful today, but then tonight it was literally glowing. It was the same when I was in Rome and of course Paris!!

We came back to the hotel and a few of us sat around and chatted, not wanting the night to end. There were lots of laughs and Im sure they will continue. We drive 580 km tomorrow so its comfy clothes on the bus. I am getting VERY excited about Salzburg and the Sound of Music tour. There may have to be a bit of singing tomorrow when Im not sleeping.

I was about to sign off when I realised the title of this entry... On the way home from dinner we went across the Chain Bridge which is one of Budapests famous landmarks. Tunde then asks us the name of the bridge we crossed and we tell her. She then asks the name of the castle at the top of the hill. The answer is Buda Castle. I think. I wasnt the only person who wasnt sure so we go around the roundabout again and are asked whats the name of the bridge then the castle. We get it wrong again, but have worked out what she is doing, so on the third time round when she asks what is on top of the mountain we say the Louvre. Her reaction was classic, but our plan didnt work out for us cause the next time round we went off the roundabout and headed home.

Extra bits...

Tonite was fantastic. Realy authentic, great food, wine & entertainment. Got some great fotos.

So some stories... We hav been having some amazing times just walking round the streets.

Last nite at the Mozart & Strauss concert one of our gp (not me) :) got picked from the audience to play the triangle during the concert. Just so u kno... they hav run out of triangles in the down town Vienna area. It was my plan to buy her a triangle to hav something to remember the nite. No triangles but the girl in the music store understood enuf to kno we were looking for a joke gift cause she gave us this kids music book. It was perfect. Of course all written in German wich wil make it a bit hard but she said her Mum speaks a bit of German so she can help.

Today we went round Vienna. I stopped at a clock in the Strauss park at 11 & said the ode & had a minutes silence. It was weird doing it by myself but a lovely lady on tour made me a poppy so I wood hav one to wear.

I hav eaten too much pastry & drunk too much coffee. Vienna sold amazing coffee & the pastry is to die for. Way beta than anything I ate in Paris! I can heaf Alison saying 'I told u so'....

Tonight was an amazing nite. We watched dancing & singing & ate amazing food. I sat with a great bunch of ppl & we spent most of the nite laughing. Considering the welcome drink was 53% proof alcohol u can imagine how the evening went...

And finally a new term that I wil b introducing to Australia wen I return is... Shicky Mickey. It means someone who thinks they r so good cause they wear Prada or Gucci or those types of brand names & walks around as if they own the world. There is a real way the meaning is linked to the words but I cant remember how. Im thinking I mite use use the Schicky Mickey term :)

Tomoro I am off to downtown Budapest...

Country number 12

Singapore, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria & finally Hungary!!!!! Not a bad effort since the Oct 5. Having a great time & realy enjoying my new tour. I dont do change wel &
I had the most perfect tour group, leader &
driver its taken me til yesterday to fully get my heart into this tour - wich I hav now & sil go hard for the final 4 nites....
Today we spent the morning in Vienna - got a fantastic shirt... It has a yellow circle on it with a black kangaroo in the middle of it. It says AUSTRIA at the top above the kangaroo then NO KANGAROOS below the picture. Very funny. I showed some ppl on the bus who said couldnt I hav got one at home :)
A lady got lost in down town Vienna so we waited an hour befor our tour guide found her. Poor lady was quite shaken. All good now most ppl felt for her & those who got grumpy muttered softly to themselves. It was a bit different to my last tour where we wood hav all been very concerned one of the family was missing. Some of this group is becoming like family wich is fantastic. Im off to a Hungarian dinner tonite. Should b lots of fun.

How good is that...

Almost out of wi-fi time...
1. They played Waltzing Matilda at the dinner in Prague & we had amazing food & wine.

2. The city of Prague is so diffdrent to anything Ive seen. It had a rooftop cafe overlooking the city - amazing sites.

3. I went to a Mozart & Strauss concert in Vienna that was so good it got onto my Eiffel tower at nite & snow fite in the Swiss alps list.

4. Had so many interesting fotos with random ppl

Ive started to bond with more ppl in the tour grojp wich is good. Having a different but fantastic experience.

Tour 6050 - day 2. Munich to Prague

Really day 1 of doing stuff.

Got on the bus at 8 - we seem to b having later starts for a few days :) We drove to Nuremberg & did some sight seeing. There was this ring at a fountain that if u turned it 3 times yor wish was answered. See if I hav beta luck than wen I was in Rome... I saw a great view of the city from a castle up a massive hill & some great churches.

Drove again to Prague - slept most of the way. The weather has clouded over so we couldnt see much. I was using a bag as a pillow that has mesh on the outside & woke up with that imprinted on my face :( Its almost gone so Im all good to go out to dinner without a waffle face.

Wen we crossed into the Czech Republic we stopped at a service centre. My chips & mineral water came to 93.00 on the cash register. Korunas not euro or dollars & it was less than 5 euro :) a lady nxt to me had 253.00 come up. It would hav been a great foto.

Im doing my best not to compare tours but I had a mtn top experience on the last one & we were a family at the end... So many big famous sights on the last tour & ppl who were wonderful. My mission... I wil come bac tomoro night with at least 3 things I can say 'how good is that' about :) Im sure this dinner will b one of them.

Missing in Munich

So my sense of direction & map reading skills r restricted to wen in the car with Janette driving round the uk. In Munich I found the vodafone ship (but they couldnt help with the sim) but that was it. Got lost on the way to the Hofbrauhaus - the place where Hitler met with his political advisors & the only place in Munich not hit in the war. I was helped by a little old lady who in broken English shared the history of the buildings we passed. It wood hv been to difficult to explain why I was smiling so I kept it on the inside - she could hav been a tour director :)
Afta lunch I got lost on the way to the 'city wash rooms' to wash my clothes. That or 'just down there' means a different thing in Munich :( A very kind man helped me bac to the station
Ive met my group & they seem nice. Met a girl from Sydney. Off to the bus now. Prague here we come

Internet time outs suck!!

I just wrote all about my day - pressed post & Id ru out of time & wen I went bac it was gone :(. Ill post more soon. I just had to write this cause I could.

I'm back...

Hello again... I've just finished the most amazing tour! I have seen so many extraordinary things over the past 10 days and met a group of 37 fantastic people. EVERYONE in the group got on really well. Our tour director has a photographic memory and so she shared all these facts about the places we were passing - right down to the exact date. I could have listened for hours (some days we did - but I could never hear too much). And another highlight was our Italian driver. It eased the pain of getting up before 7 every morning when he would greet us onto the bus :)
Don't worry I won't go into massive details about everything, but I will put up some details tomorrow. The tour finished in Rome and I've flown to Munich. I left Janette in Rome which was really sad. It was wonderful spending the 5 weeks with her. I can't believe that much time has passed. I have a day off tomorrow (except for finding a supermarket, place to wash my clothes, and a pub that Hitler went to) then my next tour starts tomorrow night. As far as tours go the bar has been set VERY high & I'm not sure it could possibly be as good but I will go in with an open mind and I'm sure have a most wonderful experience.

My London adventure continues...

So much has happened & it all blurs into a ball of great memories...

I've left Janette in the room to pack her bags as we leave for our tour at 6.50am tomorrow. That is VERY early for us. Considering we have had a number of breakfasts at 9.45 (the breakfast seating is from 6am - 10am). Today was such a lazy day, we wrote postcards, stayed inside (it was cold & wet out) so it's been hard to get motivated to pack. I'm almost done, she hadn't started when I left.

Last night we went to Jersey Boys. It was wonderful. We got cheap tickets the day before but had really good seats. It's my plan to see a number of shows that way when I come back to London in November. I already have tickets to Wicked, but will go each day and see what I could see that night. I'm hoping to see the stage show of Driving Miss Daisy. I love that movie & I know the actor who plays Miss Daisy. Very exciting. Janette & I had seen The Lion King the night before. Not bad - 2 shows in 2 nights. I was blown away by the costumes in The Lion King. It was brilliant. Yes, I could see it again. There were so many things to look at. The kid next to me knew all the words to every song & enjoyed singing them. He was German, didn't understand English (cause I tried to speak to him) yet he could sing every word in perfect English. He also had a cold & didn't cover his mouth when he coughed. Both Janette & I think we are coming down with a German cold. :(

Yesterday we did our own thing. I went to Westminster Abbey. It was beautiful. There were a number of times I had to fight tears as I listened to the commentary about who was buried there & the other important occassions that had taken place in the exact spot I was standing. Every hour they stop for prayer & I just so happened to be at the place where Will & Kate kneeled when the priest started to pray. I found out that no one had been buried there since 1920 & the Queen Mother is at the church at Windor castle - looks like I have to go back there!! I spent almost 3 hours just walking around soaking up the history. I could have gone to the room where Will & Harry waited before the wedding. The info lady said she could let me in if I wanted to pray. I was tempted. Of course I would have prayed once in there, but it wasn't the real reason I'd have gone into the room - so I didn't. :(

On Monday we went on a Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath tour. It was another big day - up early & on the coach. We started at Windor Castle. I walked where the Queen and Will & Harry walked. No photos are allowed anywhere inside so I asked the guards before doing this (and got a few weird looks, but mainly smiles), I touched the carpet in a few very important places. Where Harry had his 21st & where the Queen sits when she is hosting royal dinners. It was amazing. Our tour guide was a bit scary & told us we had one an a half hours to be back or the bus would leave without us - considering how long I spent in the Abbey - IT WAS NO WAY LONG ENOUGH! I'll definitely be going back cause we didn't even go into the chapel to find out that the Queen Mother is buried there.

Stonehenge was amazing - the weather got a bit blowy when we were there but the rock formations were incredible. I took lots of photos. They had this wine tasting in the gift shop. It was great. Mulled wine (that's what it sounded like - not sure of spelling or if I've heard right). It was really sweet & I could have stayed for a few more tastes if I wasn't scared of being left in the middle of no where near some massive rocks.

We continued on to Bath. Lots of very old rocks & a pool of green smelly water :) It was amazing to think that there were people walking in that place around the same time that Jesus was alive. The water is supposed to have magical powers for anyone who drinks or touches it. I can tell you it doesn't... well I might have wiped off the magic cause as soon as I took my fingers out of the water (for a photo op), I got out my anticeptic wipes and made sure my hands were clean - I suppose clean hands = magic gone.

I'd best go back up to the room & see if Janette needs any packing encouragement :) We head for Paris in the morning for 2 nights, Switzerland for 2 nights then to Italy for 4 nights. I'm sure most hotels will have some form of internet access so I'll do my best to blog when I can & try to find a place to post some photos. They don't have usb ports at the internet computers here. :( I've filled a 4GB card & am over half way through the 16GB card M & D gave me before I left. Lots of photos :)

I'm loving London!!!

Today was a quiet day, went to Picadilly & just walked around looking at the shops - I did a bit of recon for when I come back at the end of my trip. I'm doing a self-guided monopoly tour. I'm going to try and take a photo of everything mentioned on the board. A day around Picadilly will get a whole lot done.
Anyway about today... Janette has been having dramas with her i-phone. In London, they have this Apple centre where you are met at the door & you tell them your problem, they direct you to someone upstairs who will try to help you or if they can't they tell you to make an appointment to see someone at the Genius Bar & they will fix the problem for sure. We could tell each person we spoke to was getting smarter and smarter :)

Yesterday was massive, we went on a Majestic London tour (I learnt heaps of stuff that I just have to share so this may get a bit long).

We started at 7.30 (very harsh) & they took us on a coach all around London...
The tour was made up mostly of older people. Yes, one young man who was about my age, had an amazing smile that went right up to his green eyes from America who now has my email address incase he ever wanted to come to Australia :)
I went to the gates of Kensington Palace (I wonder if Wil & Harry played in Kensington Gardens...) & wondered what life would have been like for Diana...
Then to Westminster Abbey. I STOOD WHERE KATE GOT OUT OF THE CAR!!!!! I checked with a guard where it actually was that Kate got out. She didn't share my excitement (& told me it was the most asked question since the big day). I didn't care I STOOD WHERE KATE GOT OUT OF THE CAR!!
We saw Big Ben - only the bell at the top - not the whole clock
I thought London Bridge was the same as the Tower of London & was the pretty bridge in all the London Pictures. NOT SO! I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I didn't know the following...
The actual London bridge could be one that crosses the Brisbane River - nothing flash - just a normal bridge. The pretty bridge in the pictures (the one they sing about falling down) is actually the Tower Bridge which is something different to the Tower of London where they keep the Crown Jewels (which I saw). I kept the fact I was just learning these facts to myself (& Janette).
We went to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen but she was in Australia. Changing of the guard was great - we watched Harry's regiment on their horses (he wasn't with them). It was the RAF band/guard who were on parade. If we didn't get the big hat, red shirt guys, cause Dad was in the Air Force, the RAF would be my second choice & they did look very good in their blue uniforms. :)  I got a photo of the gate that Will & Kate drove out of in the Austin Martin (sorry if I got the car wrong, but Im sure you know the one I mean) and we went to St Paul's. Yep, it was closed :( for the 3rd day EVER IN HISTORY & it was the day I'm on tour & supposed to be going inside :( oh well, we are going to see inside St Peter's in Rome so hopefully no one will be protesting there. We did get to see a wedding of someone unknown, but important at St Pauls in a side enterance (but still very impressive).
Janette & I went on the London Eye at night - it was amazing - the view was spectacular! There were lights to the horizon in every direction - no gaps of dark patches - lots and lots of lights. I'm off on another tour tomorrow, so I'm sorry the next blog may be on the long side too.
Hope all is well in Oz.

Yes Dad, I am looking after myself...

I got a wonderful call from home this morning from my Dad letting me know he hadn't seen any blog update since Saturday and just wanted to make sure I'm ok. Yep I'm fine :) Janette and I have been to 6 countries in 15 days and driven 1384 miles. Not a bad effort. We have arrived in London safe and sound (just a bit tired).

Wales was great - stayed in Bangor. As our host served breakfast she said, 'oh, look at that, the first snow of the season'. How cool (ha ha) is that. I've never seen snow in real life. I'm happy to say now I have, but this looked more like a grey mist on the top of the hill not the snowflakes or hills covered in white. A few people think that I will see it properly for sure before I leave :) I'll be getting more thermals considering I'm wearing 2 layers of pants & up to 4 layers of tops & am warm (but it's going to get colder)

Our 2nd last b&b was the best b&b - in York! Lovely hosts, not stuffy room, top sheet on bed, renovated bathroom & a hard bed with soft top cover (my personal favourite). We didn't see any hills or grand old dukes, but did walk around the wall of the city. As we walked along the Ouse River :) we saw the French version of F1-11 fly over (not as good & no dump & burn) & 4 spitfires in formation. Very exciting. And we saw grey squirels :) as we get excited & are taking photos, we are told they are pests, dig up gardens and kill the native red squirels (but they are still cute).

We went to Sherwood Forest (no Kevin Costner) :( but I did get a photo in a Robin Hood hat in the woods :) Sadly I cant connect my usb to upload photos - I'll get some photos up soon. We stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon & saw the Shakesphere monument & a lovely river.

Our last b&b was in Oxford. At a farm stay. Wasn't the best experience, but we got to see an airforce helicopter (that could have been flown by Wil) fly low over the property & drive down a lovely country road.

So... we are safe and sound in the Ibis Earls Court London. We got the train from Oxford to Paddington (where Paddington bear was dropped off & how he got his name - I didn't know that). Anyway, caught a cab from the station to the hotel & have taken it easy for the evening.

Thanks for the call Dad, it was great speaking to you and Mum :) Love you heaps.

Lifeboats are to the right side of the ship

Hello from somewhere between Ireland and Wales. We are on an Irish Ferry out in the ocean. It is a miracle we are here. Our boat got cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Not the best thing to hear as we are settling into our seat in the lounge. BUT... the lady at the guest house we stayed in told us it would take about an hour to get to the terminal. It actually took 15 min but the boat we were leaving on left 45 min earlier than ours was going to. If we hadn't left when we did, we would have missed the boat.

There are white caps on the big waves out the window but the boat has stabilisers that are supposed to be helping. There has only been one shameful moment when I stood up as the boat rocked and I almost fell into Janette. There are still a number of hours left of this journey - most of which I will be sitting down.

The weather has turned bad again. I think if I expect it to be raining then if it isn't it'll be a nice surprise.

Dublin was great - the little we saw of it. A tip for anyone planning a driving holiday around the UK. Plan to spend more than one night in bigger towns. We are loving this experience, but being on the go every day does get a big exhausting. I'm really looking forward to London where I can leave my shampoo in the shower and my pjs under my pillow (it's the simple things...). Still loving this experience :)

Irish showers

Since I last wrote...
Went to a Tesco in Tipperary to buy sticky tape so we could stick
little Australian flags on every window so wen we do badly at
navigating round-a-bouts the locals wil know we are tourists. We got
our washing done in Brewers lane Killarney - nice to hav an option of
clean clothes :)

We went for a ride in a horse & buggy ride IN THE RAIN! The guide had
heaps of info to share & constantly tried to convince us we needed to
do more. At one stage I said, pls take us home. It was great weather
for ducks - not riding.

At Tramore tonite (near Waterford) - a quaint seaside village (I
think). There is that much cloud we cant see much past our street.

Travellers tip... Find out how yor shower works before the B&B hosts
go to bed. It seems there r no two shower systems the same ova here :(
Ive managed to work them out cause its not just turning on taps - Ill
post photos wen I can. Tonite... I hav no idea how to get water out :(

About those Irish Jokes...

We've been in Ireland for 2 days now & although there haven't been too
many I must share some 'Irish' experiences. We are driving on a road
where there is road works. Usually they have arrows pointing where
cars need to merge to the next lane to avoid hitting the work vehicles
etc. Not here... the arrow pointed into the road works - we ignored it
& went around.
Lollies... usually the flavour on the packet tells you what flavour
the lolly will be. Not here... I got some aniseed chews that had zero
flavour - like the inside of a jellybean when you have sucked the
outer layer off.
Hot & cold taps... usually the red indicates the way to turn the tap
to get hot water. Not here... In our shower you turn the tap towards
the blue circle if you want the water warmer. This fact took me a
while to work out - not good when you are already undressed in a cold
country with ice cold water running in the shower. Now I know to get
the shower temp sorted before getting undressed :) I don't think they
have problems with not having enough water.

We got to Galway & found where Claire's shop was (took photos of me
standing in front) We asked in a 2nd hand bookshop where the pharmacy
used to be - it was right next door and the lady remembered Claire.
How good is that!!

We are staying in a town called Bunratty just outside Limerick. When
we were travelling down the M8 from Belfast to Dublin the only way we
knew we had left Northern Ireland was when we saw the sign that said
'end of strip seaches'. There was no big line where I could stand with
one foot in each country :(

For dinner last night we head down to Durty Nelly's the local Bunratty
pub. They let you pour your own Guiness so of course I had to buy 1
(poured it but only drank 1/4 - not a massive fan but had to have the
experience). We also ran into a girl from Adelaide who has been
travelling alone through Europe. We asked her to join us & she was so
happy to have English conversations. Then as I was buying my Durty
Nelly's shirt there was a group of people sitting near the counter.
There was a couple from Runcorn in the group & when his American
friend (who had been drinking for a while) found out I was from
Australia, he let out a very loud... Aussie, Aussie, Aussie :) I
couldn't leave him hanging so I had to oi, oi, oi then the guy from
Runcorn joins in & we do the whole chant. How good is that!!! I got to
to Aussie, Aussie, Aussie in Ireland.

When we got back to the B&B we saw stars for the first time since
leaving Australia. Not enough to realise there would be no Southern
Cross but stars!!! Here's hoping tomoro will be fine like today. It
was very weird having not much rain at all - cloudy but mainly blue
skies all day :)

Tomorrow we are off to Limerick & Tipperary (& its not a long way to go) :)

Northern Ireland

We arrived safely in Belfast. Eurocar wouldn't let us take a sat nav because we were dropping the car back in England and they wouldn't let us take the gps off the island :( It has already lead to some 'interesting' experiences. I'm going to go into Harvey Norman to see if they can help me download UK maps to the gps I brought with me. The main roads are easy to navigate - all numbers. In towns, not so clear!! I'm sure we will survive. Janette is lowering her response time to... 'turn right NOW!'

After picking up the car we went north to the Giant's Causeway. An amazing experience. Stopped for a bite to eat at the Causeway Hotel - not such an amazing experience. Both of us ordered Irish Stew - first meal in Ireland and all. Mine was hot but had a hair in it. Janette's had no hair but was cold. Also the meal was mainly potato - I think I got 5 pieces of carrot and 4 pieces of meat. Still it all adds to the fun of an overseas trip :)

We stayed in the most amazing B&B last night. On a farm in an old school house. Janette got some amazing photos. And the breakfast this morning has wiped the bad Irish stew experience! The lady we are staying with has let me use her computer to try and download maps (no success) and she doesn't mind me checking facebook or writing my blog. I do miss access to the internet from my phone!

We are off to Galway today to see where my friend Claire sold drugs for a year (in a pharmacy). Sadly the shop isn't a chemist anymore but I'll still be able to see the building.

Catch ye Later Scotland

So the boys at the coffe shop at the airport tell me that's the way to say good bye in Scotland. Of course I'll be back in just over a month, but we are sitting down having a good coffee (or I'm just getting used to the bad stuff) at the Glasgow airport. We drove to Inverness yesterday (455 mile round trip) via Loch Lomond & Loch Ness (didn't see the monster but got a post card for my class & will tell them I did). The countryside was beautiful. Not that we saw much on the way up - way home a different story - the mountains came right up to the road & were massive. Janette drove our hire car. In Scotland it over doubles the cost of the car if you want an automatic. Janette was happy to drive & I was happy to navigate (with the help of the AA map and TomTom our GPS). We didn't get lost but there were a few 'challenging' moments at roundabouts - and the lady in our TomTom left us in our hour of need giving no help of when we needed to exit. The Scottish drivers were very kind & didn't beep or crash into us as we stop on a major roundabout outside Glasgow. Very wise to take out the car insurance.
Will write more when I can. Hope all is going well in Oz

Bagpipes

I just had to add.... at one of the cheap shops, I bought a set of toy bagpipes. So when I tried playing them, it sounded a lot like when you blow up a balloon and hold the neck while letting the air out. But I'm staying with a piper from way back who I'm sure will give me tips :) Yes there will be video footage :)

PHOTOS

Not the greatest tasting coffee - but it sure looks great

Me & Captain Ross :)

Noz in the Flight Deck :)

Arriving in Scotland at GATE 19 :)

Out on a warm & sunny day in Scotland

View from the window of where I'm staying

My Bagpipes :)

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

The castle is at the end of the Royal Mile which was great - lots of shops :) The history is amazing - we took those guided tours where you listen to headphones. It's important to remember you have headphones on when trying to speak to other people & keep your voice down cause the whole castle doesn't really want to know where I was going. I have video footage of a very attractive man dressed in a kilt with half of his face painted blue yelling FREEDOM!!!! My trip to the castle was great but.... when I play it back, he even sounds like Mel Gibson. I tried to upload it from my phone but the computer screen went the bad blue colour so am not going to risk it on someone elses computer. I will try for a photo. We used our first B&B voucher. It was an interesting start but as we have nothing to compare it to I can't make a judgement. An observation... our room was up 48 steps (all covered in tartan carpet) and we were greeted by a lovely lady wearing no shoes who shared all about her family, dogs and issues with her husband. The bed was firm but good but they didn't have top sheets - not a fan of sleeping under a doona other people have slept under - she didn't seem to be the type who would strip the doona covers after each guest. Hoping I'm wrong. We went to the pub that Matt Gordon worked at when he was over here & Janette got to talk to a cook who remembered him.  On the train back from Edinburgh we were lucky enough to be sitting near 4 young Scottish men (all who had had too much to drink & were still drinking - they can eat and drink on the trains over here). They called it Oxfam Day - they bought dresses from 'charity shops' drank lots of alcohol, wore the clothes on trains & then donated them back to charity. Not sure how much truth there is in that, but it definitely made an interesting trip.

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!

A wee lassie from Scotland

We've arrived in Scotland and have been having a great time. We survived the cattle yards on the A380 Airbus. Sorry Dad - not a fan - well of economy anyway. It was very cramped. I slept for a few hours and watched Soul Surfer (great movie). We had an hour to get from terminal 1 to terminal 5 at Heathrow. NOT LONG ENOUGH. By the time we got there on the bus & through security we were the last 2 on the plane. The very kind man waited to close the flight. The drive from Glasgow to Ayr was breathtakingly beautiful. I've not see so much green (and sheep). The weather was quite cold & wet but I got a great jacket from a charity shop (wot they call 2nd hand shops). Janette wasn't so lucky - she got a high vis fluro yellow one with reflector stripes. Yes I do have photos as I'm sure most people wouldn't believe what I've written.  We've seen the Robert Burn's Cottage and monument, been to Stirling on a clear and sunny - but still cold day & caught up with my cousin & his girlfriend (arranging to stay with her parents in Devon when we are going to see the Doc Martin set in Cornwell). We've been to the outside of Stirling castle & seen the Wallace monument. I'll go in when I come back to Scotland at the end of my trip. We are off to Edinburgh today & spending the night in a B&B. It has been amazing staying with Kitty & Donald. There house is right on the waterfront with Arran & Holy islands just off the coast. Not that we have seen much of them due to the rain. I love Scotland. I can just feel the history & the countryside is beautiful. Looking forward to many more stories.

Singapore Airport

I have arrived in Singapore. It has been a most amazing trip so far. I met the pilot of our flight as we were going through customs (& got a photo). We are in row 75 which is THE VERY BACK ROW OF THE PLANE! The pilot comes and visits us (too old for me, too young for Janette) & we say how it'd be great to see the flight deck - he said yes. Then a flight attendant comes and gives us a business class care package with socks, face products & eye masks - from the captain. Then just as we are coming into Singapore the same flight attendant comes up and says, seeings we are going to the flight deck, we would need to be closer & we spend the last 20 minutes of the flight in a business class pod!! It was amazing - got some great video of me in the seat. I even got to sit in the pilot seat! HOW GOOD IS THAT. Janette & I are keeping a journal of funny stories & I'm already up to page 5 :) Travel fashions were a big source of amusement! We only have an hour to wait til we get on our flight to London. VERY EXCITING. I'm a bit tired now which is good cause hopefully I'll sleep most of the 12 hours of the next leg.

T minus 11 hrs 50 min to lift off :)

I'm all packed :) Took me long enough. But I'm proud to say I'm about 8 kg under the combined 23 +7 weight limit. Looks like I've got room for shopping. :) I have to thank Amanda for her amazing bag and the little bags that Im using to split up the different clothes & bits & pieces I'm taking. I thought I'd try posting a photo before I left to make sure I know how it's done. It's really happening... I'm leaving on a jet plane...



My grey carry on bag isn't really as big as it looks!
Do you think they'll know what country I'm from?
AUSSIE!!! AUSSIE!!! AUSSIE!!!



Twin Share all the way!

Thanks to our wonderful travel agent, Janette and I have rooms booked in 9 B&Bs throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales - all of which are twin rooms not double. At one stage there was one place that we would be in a double room. Not any more :)

Danielle Small from Flight Centre Stones Corner has been EXTRAORDINARY! She has organised everything for us and pre-booked so much so we won't have to worry when we are overseas.

I went to the shops and got my last minute things today (although I still managed to write more stuff on a list so will have to go back tomorrow & maybe Monday). It's all happening.

And so the story begins...

Today Janette & I thought we were going to quickly book our B&Bs through England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and pick up our tickets. Simple. Not so much. There are a few dramas with the availability of some places. So currently we have booked one out of 5 nights in Ireland. Our wonderful travel agent assures us she will sort it all out.

1.55pm on Tuesday we fly out. 5 sleeps. I can't believe it's happening. I think they have changed the flight path so that planes fly over Kenmore constantly. Every time I hear one, my heart misses a beat and I start singing 'Leaving on a jet plane'. Only in my head but I'm sure people think I'm strange looking up and smiling as I walk.