North Wales

Arrived in Chester to start our weekend driving trip into Snowdonia. The weather was sunny and it didn't rain which was a bonus! We managed to snare ourselves a nice lil Mercedes for the drive (auto of course!).

Our first stop was Conwy (about an hour and half drive from Chester) and near Llandudno. We visited Britain's Smallest House. Only 1.8 metres and the former home of a Fisherman on the Quay who was 6'3! Literally it can fit 3 or 4 people and its overcrowded. The toilet is basically a bowl underneath the bed upstairs. Conwy castle is also just around from this house and has a steel bridge built for King Edward I in the 1280s.

So after taking an outside look at the Conwy Castle, we had lunch of Fish & Chips and then drove to Caernarfon Castle. Mighty Caernarfon is considered Wales military stronghold but also as a seat of government and royalty. Standing on the mouth of the Seiont river, the fortress dominates the walled town founded by King Edward I. The first English Prince of Wales was born here and gained worldwide fame as the setting for the investiture of the current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles in the 1980s. Still incomplete, it was never used for any permanent residence by the King.

Late afternoon we arrived in Llanberis where we spent the night. Before going back to Caernarfon for dinner, we made a stopover in the village with the longest name in Britain if not the world. The town isn't much except for a small train station and a woolshop. The full name of the place was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgegerychwyrndrobwlllllantysiliogogogoch......which translates to 'St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio of the Red Cave'.

Wales is famous for seafood and steak. The welsh black fillet steak we tried near Caernarfon Castle was really really nice. Much better than anything you'd find in London at the price we paid.

Sunday morning was sunny again! We were based about 5-10 minutes walk to the Snowdon Mountain Railway which takes you to the summit and peak of Snowdon. A key thing to point out is there is the Lake Railway nearby as well which I think everyone was confusing with the Snowdon Railway Station. We only found out because we happened to drive in the wrong direction and saw the right place to catch the Snowdon Railway.

Before we got onto the Railway, we drove to a nearby town Betws-y-Coed where the Fairy Glen falls was located. We ended up passing the ugly house on the way there.

The Fairy Glen is a secluded gorge on the river Conwy. Located a short distance from Beaver Bridge on the outskirts of Betws-y-Coed, a combination of rapids and cascades that a channelled into a narrow ravine. Definitely an amazing experience to be there after walking through the field and scrubs to get to the river. It was a good change of scenery from usual trips we take.

Next on our itinerary was back to Llanberis to get the Snowdon Mountain Railway. The trip took 2 1/2 hours - an hour each way and 30 minutes to spend on the summit (which is 1,035m above sea level). It was freezing at the peak and there were alot of people who dared the journey and climbed to the top (which takes about 3.5 hours to climb). Couldn't really see much as you can see in the photo below.

So after packing in heaps over a weekend, we all had a great time and returned to have some nice Thai food back in Chester before catching the train back into town.

Thanks for the great trip K & J!.

Until our next trip (Egypt!).

Kat & Will.

Stockholm

We visited Stockholm for the weekend. Its a fascinating city with alot to do. There are three airports into Stockholm and the closest one is Arlanda. Its better to spend the money to get to Arlanda and then the Arlanda Express takes 20 mins to get you into the city centre.

Stockholm has alot to do even in Winter but alot of the sightseeing boat tours and buses start to shut down around September as they wind down from the summer season. The city has alot of museums which are all free if you get the Stockholm Card (which includes transport as well). The museums are some of the best we've been to. The Vasa Museum was probably the best one although the Skansen Open-Air Museum was good too but we didn't have much time there.

The Vasa Museum contains the only preserved 17th century ship in the world and more than 95% of it is its original decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures. It took them 9 years just to formulate the drying process to get the ship ready for exhibition. Definitely go and see this one!

The Skansen Open-Air Museum is the oldest of its kind in the world and contains Stockholm Zoo and the Royal Djurgarden.

 

Another place worth seeing is the City Hall. It might not sound interesting but there is a particular room in there which you have to see for yourself. The whole room is a mosaic.

Apart of these museums we also visited the Nordic Museum, the Royal Palace and Junibacken. Junibacken is based on the story books written by Astrid Lindgren of which Pippy Longstockings is probably her most famous work.

Stockholm is not famous for any particular speciality of food given most Northern European places have a very large American influence including alot of franchises which are also in America. We were based near Gamla Stan (the old town) which is where the Royal Palace and Parliament is located. There are alot of cafes, restaurants to choose from here. They appear to be very keen on shrimp which is on everything from pasta, sandwiches and salads.

We didn't manage to visit Ostermalm Food Hall but we hear it dates back to the 1880s.

So until our next trip (Wales),

Kat & Will

French Riviera (Cote d'Azur)

Just came back from visiting a few cities on the Cote d'Azur including Nice, Grasse, Monaco and Cannes. Weather was pretty crappy on the day we arrived into Nice and travelled to Cannes for our first night. As the hotel reception said it was very unusual for it to be raining. We were both so tired we ended up taking a nap before heading out to walk around Cannes and visit the Cannes Film Festival Hall (Palais des Festivals) and Boulevard de la Croisette.

Cannes very pristine with its small sandy beach and streets lined with luxury hotels and stores. Plenty of casinos are dotted around town in case you are interested. Its a nice place to visit to get away from the busy french cities like Paris and Nice.

The next stop for us for Grasse, home to the perfume industry that is built on the side of hill inland on the coast of the French Riviera. There are a number of perfumeries that you can visit but its more difficult towards the end of the summer season as we found alot of shops were closed or operating limited hours. We did manage to take a tour in Fragonard which has shops outside of Grasse selling its own range of perfumes. Tour was good since we learnt about 'the nose' who is basically in charge of developing new perfumes which takes a minimum 10 years training before they are able to recognise over a few thousand scents. Ordinary people recognise about 50-60. Not an easy job to get either since there's only so many of them - all in France (Grasse and Venice).

The best way to travel around the coast is by train and make sure you have your card handy as its easier to use the ticket machines then to line up and wait for a ticket operator. You need to validate your ticket in a yellow ticket box before heading onto the station.

After Grasse we headed to Nice where we were for that evening. We arrived in Nice Central Station and it was very very busy. The atmosphere was completely different to Grasse and Cannes - alot more people but also alot more shops, restaurants, bars and cafes.

Waking down the main high street towards Promenade des Anglais, there was a great view of the waterfront and the Colline du Chateau above the hill. Not much is left of this ruined castle besides some of its original walls. Its a steep climb up to the Castle but its worth it for the views of the waterfront. The beach itself was all pebbles.

The old town (Vieux Nice) beneath the hill is a maze of streets and alleys with picturesque houses, boutiques and home to a huge street of restaurants. We chose to eat Italian!

Monte Carlo (Monaco) was our last stop on this trip. The Monte Carlo casino made famous in the old James Bond movies wasn't open when we arrived in the early afternoon. I was thinking it'll be open 24/7 but obviously not. Doesn't take too long to explore this part of town - a couple of hours. The casino was nice but other than that its a pretty hard trek up and down hills and roads to get to places. Better off getting the tourist train that takes you around the main sites including the Palace.

We've decided to come back to the French Riviera again when we get the chance but hopefully in the summer season next time.

Until our next trip (Stockholm!) 

Kat & Will.

Istanbul

Istanbul is one of those cities which you have to visit to really experience the rich culture, vibrant old town feel, astonishing architecture, cuisine, history and fascinating metropolis. The city is located on two continents with one side reaching out to Asia and the other to Europe. The Bosphorus runs in between and you should take the 1 1/2 hour Bosphorus Cruise from Eminonu to visit the old castle and an old fishing village (Anadolukavagi).

We stayed in the Old City which was a good place to be as the shops don't close everyday until at least 11pm...plenty of markets, doner kebab shops, souvenir shops, restaurants and sites to explore around the old city. We visited popular tourist sites in the old city including the Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque) which was the former heart of the Ottoman Empire. Opposite the Blue Mosque is an earthy red colour musuem called Hagia Sophia Musuem which was a former mosque. We also visited the Topkapi Palace which had many displays of the Ottoman period including valuable pieces of gold artifacts and tapestries. All these places are walking distance from each other but bear in mind you will pass by numerous kebab shops, ice cream sellers, turkish restaurants, dessert houses... which will take up time ;) (if not fill your stomach up).

If you want to buy souvenirs including turkish lamps, plates, bowls or spices, then there are two must go to places - Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar which are not too far from on another. Grand Bazaar is huge and contains everything you can imagine including turkish tapestries, ornaments, souvenirs, jewellery, wedding outfits, bags, shoes, clothes, etc... you can buy plenty of cheap 'fakes' such as Lascoste, Polo Ralph from market stalls outside the Bazaar...I was amazed at the quality of some of these fakes but didn't get any knowing I see enough of them in China anyways.

 

The Spice Bazaar isn't very big but they sell spices (of course), as well as Baklava, Turkish Nougat, teas, etc. The Bazaar is right near the port on Golden Horn (Halic) where you can catch day tour cruises out to the Bosphorus.


One evening we visited the Basilica Cistern which is an amazing underground palace that opens until 11pm. This is near the Topaki Palace (well at the bottom entrance of it) and it is definitely worth visiting.

Taking a couple hours one afternoon/evening, we went on the IDO Full Bosphorus Cruise cruising past a number of landmarks including the Galata Tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Ortakoy Mosque, The Bosphorus Bridge, Beylerbeyi Palace, Goksu Pavilion, Rumelikavagi and Anadolukavagi. This is where Kat tried her Sardine Sandwich.


We did find time to visit the Asian side of Istanbul around Beyoglu which is basically the only place away from the old city that you can find western food and not just kebabs, meat, turkish desserts. You can take the tram all the way from the old city to Beyoglu and then you need to catch a Funicular up to the top of the main high street called Istiklal Caddessi. You buy a token for the tram from one of the shops nearby each tram stop. It is the same cost no matter how far you are travelling. Of course my review wouldn't be a review if I didn't comment on the tram system...its efficient and clean but and I mean BUT it is very crowded and there are alot of really bad smells from people on the tram (get a seat if you can... if won't take the smell away but at you are seated and not swaying towards someone's armpit!).


Beyoglu is close to the Galata Tower and the high street has a very old tram that runs occasionally up the high street which is closed to cars (except for the odd Police cars that plough through the crowds). This is the place to come to if you want to do some brand shopping (not fakes) and have some western food.


Istanbul is a fantastic place to visit and you need to spend a couple of days at least to enjoy what it has to offer. There's so much food but its not just doner kebabs... we did eat alot including gozleme (hand make pancakes with mince meat & mushrooms), baked peppers and eggplants, Baklava, Chocolate Nougat, plenty of Rice Pudding (Firin Sutlac), Krem Karamel, Tavul Gogsulu Kazandibi and lotsa fresh orange juice. A common drink was Ayran which is basically water & yoghurt. All the restaurants vary in terms of price and surcharges... some charge you for the bread & water that is provided, some didn't... we particularly liked one outside the Grand Bazaar called SAR Restaurant (near the Beyazit Mosque).


We didn't get to see everything but we did manage to spend enough time to soak in the atmosphere and cultures. There are many locals who try to persuade you to buy things but its part of the experience and we definitely recommend it.

Until our next trip (French Riviera!)


Kat & Will.

Charting our trips after our cruise

We've arrived back from our 2 week Adriatic, Greece & Turkey, Greek Isles cruise on the fantastic Norwegian Gem. The places we visited in the two weeks were stunning examples of nature, architecture, engineering and modern wonders at their best. The weather was sunny the whole time so it made visiting the landmarks even more interesting. We visited Venice (I can see why the city has been voted the most beautiful city in the world), Corfu, Iraklion (Crete), Mykonos, Santorini, Napflion, Athens, Izmir, Ephesus, Dubrovnik & Split.

So many experiences to talk about that it'll take a while before I get to putting this together. I can imagine it'll be a couple of weeks before I get onto writing it. Meanwhile, I thought it might be good to chart on a map places we've visited so far since we started exploring the endless wonders of the world.

Paris & Roland Garros

Our third trip to Paris in two years. We visited to attend the French Open (Roland Garros 2010). This is the third Grand Slam we have been to and we now have to go to Flushing Meadows in New York to cap off the last Tennis Grand Slam that we haven't visited. 

We travelled straight from the airport to our hotel and then straight to Roland Garros the day we arrived in Paris. We were both very very tired having caught our flight at 6am which meant having to wake up before 3am. I think it was about mid-way during the final match for the day that we got so tired we headed back to the Hotel. We saw a couple of matches on Court One and some of the outdoor courts. Our tickets were for Court One and we saw a couple of matches including the match between Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Robby Ginepri. Robby Ginepri won in straight sets.

Having visited Paris previously we still visited the main attractions but also went to a few parks/gardens including the Jardin de Tuileries where we walked from the entrance facing the Lourve all the way to the exit at Concorde at Champs de Elysee. We also visited the Jardin de Lumberbourg. Other places we ventured to included the Napoleon's Tomb,  Army Musuem and the location of the Statue of Liberty.

                          

On one of the evenings we saw the famous Moulin Rouge and it was an experience. The show was good but the seating arrangements were pretty stupid considering 50% of the seats have the back to the stage due to the configuration for people dining as well. You get some free champagne with certain tickets. 

We visited a number of restaurants around Grand Boulevard for dinner and the busiest one was called Chartier. There was a queue onto the footpath and so we decided to return the next night just after 6pm when there was no crowd to try the restaurant. Its an old established and recommended restaurant in Paris which opened in 1896. Scores and scores of reviews about how good it is. Its a typical old french bistro serving mainly french fries and steak (or chicken). I order a pork chop with spaghetti and Kat had steak and frites. I can tell you the unfortunate review of this place was a thumbs down. The meat had no taste nor did the spaghetti. It was like chewing boiled meat. I honestly didn't see what all the fuss was about...but hey each to their own.

Still we tried a few other restaurants which were good.. can't remember the names but they served nice hearty meals. We went back to St. Michels as well to have greek giros....mmmmm that was nice... real tasty meat with chilli sauce.. YUM!

I think thats all and so until our next trip... its a big one as we take a 2 week cruise from Venice to Greece, Turkey & Croatia!

Kat & Will.