Armin van Buuren - The Sound Of Goodbye .

Munster Haka vs All Blacks Haka

Dublin - Ireland

Well we made it to Dublin and checked into the hostel with no problems. We had dried out from the rain in London (pouring down) and were keen to hit out and see the city. Shane and Aaron were staying at Aaron's cousins house while Carly, Mathew and myself booked into a hostel. Patten finished work and meet just around the corner. From there it was straight out to Temple Bar area which is full of pubs. The first place had traditional Irish music playing and our first chance to try Guinness in Ireland......yes everything they say about Guinness in Ireland is true...it does taste better!!!!! A few lazy pints later with some good pub grub and we were off to the next bar.

Now one thing that you hear about Ireland and hope are not true are the farts! Well the next pub called Temple Bar (Same as the area) brought this crashing down to reality!!! The moment we walk in it smelt like someone had turned themselves inside out. It all has to do with the no smoking in Bars. Now that is illegal bodily functions do not slip under the radar....and this is a fact!!!!! A few more pints and sore nostrils later and we left Patten who was off home and found our way to one last bar where we felt like school teachers. Everyone in this pub looked about the same age....well lets just say I must be getting older :-(

The next day up bright and early to get in our free bacon and eggs. Not a bad breakfast but hostel staff have yet to learn what hospitality is! The three of us headed off to the main road in pursuit of a bus tour. I was all keen for the Viking tour that has a bus done up to look like a Viking Vessel and all the staff are wielding swords looking like they have had to much Guinness......well that was not to be. Instead we found a tour group that Dee (Carly's Irish Workmate from Sydney) recommended. For 13 Euro each it toured a loop telling us about the city and we could jump off and on as many times as well liked in a 24 hour period.

First Stop Off...the Guinness Brewery. This place is just like a museum, we started off reading a lot of the information then in the end just wanted to get of free pint at the top. Matt and I had lost Carly so felt the best place to meet would be the bar, she would know to look for us there. Much to our surprise as we walk in the door there is little miss Carly already with beer in hand and a cheeky smile on the face enjoying the fact that she beat us to the bar.......nice work :-) After that it was back on the bus but this time with a nice little glow on.

Next stop off was Jamison’s Whiskey distillery. Well we never got in there as our stomachs were screaming out for food. So we went to the next best thing....the oldest pub in Dublin. We managed to get the last 2 meals of Turkey before closing the food service. It was a neat little pub that had money all over the walls. It seems if you visit you write your name on some of your local currency (smallest denomination) hand it onto the bar staff and they will stick it to the wall. We had no NZ or Aussie money and there was no way we were going to put five quid on the wall!!!!!

Later that day we meet up with Shane and Aaron at the first pub we went to the night before. We all moved upstairs where the music was to start in an hour (8.30pm) that way we could get some good seats at the front. Needless to say we all had a great night drinking lots singing and clapping to the music. The singer stayed on all the way through and must have noticed us as most groups in there changed with people coming and going. As closing time approached (2am) we felt rather than get another drink being they closed in 10mins we would call it a night. Much to our surprise the lead singer called out to us 'Are you off already?', 'Yes' we all chorused back. 'Bloody light weights' he fired back with devious smile on his face.

The next few days were very much the same as the last where we spent a lot of time in pubs. Carly scored chocolate Birthday cake when we all snuck into this girls 21st (which is to say Carly helped herself to the BDay girls huge piece). Patten and I lined up in the traditional 21 kisses and got one each (Much to her surprise and ours that we got away with it). We also went out to a costal town call Brae which is just outside Dublin. Carly and I went to the Aquarium and had fun looking at the fish.

All in all Dublin is a very cool place. It is expensive but worth it. I think we need go back but then not spend as much time inside the four walls of pubs.

Amsterdam

Hello everyone well we have had another trip away, this time to Amsterdam.

We arrived at about 6.30pm on the Friday night (Again plane 1 hour delayed). 20 mins on the train and we are in Amsterdam. First thing we notice is there are bikes everywhere, 50,000 are in the bike parking building next to the station.

We find our hotel check in then head out for dinner and a quick look around town before Glen should land (Mate from back in NZ). Everywhere you go we seem to notice a certain smell in the air.............and everywhere you go it seems there are adult shops............maybe it's just the tourist areas????????

We had steak for dinner took a quick look around the redlight district.......all the stories you hear are true!!! By this stage it was getting onto 1am....Glens flight delayed as well....we head back to hotel watch a bit of TV. End up going out for a beer once Glen gets in but only 2 as all the pubs were shutting at 3am.

Next day up and off. Full English breakfast to get the day kicked started. We go the Sex museum and a photographic art display. Lunch then off to the Hemp Museum. By this stage the Rugby (NZ vs SA) was about to start, Carly said she wanted an afternoon nap so Glen and I watched it at the pub.

We later meet up with Glens Dutch mate that he meet when traveling through Central America...............................the night went well. Again we had the best steak I have ever tasted (We all agreed on this) and proceeded to be tourists and hit the bars. Needless to say that we all got quite drunk and come 2.30am Carly and I left Glen (who was asleep) and Yoble at a Red Light Show (12 hours of drinking catches you up).

The next morning over breakfast Carly and I filled in all the gaps for Glen (and there were a few). Had another look around the city then had to have a nap. About 5pm we meet up and went to the Anne Frank House. The line was quite a bit smaller than the last time we saw it so went in. Very cool place to visit. Being one that has not read her diaries I think I will now.......maybe. Outside Carly ran into someone from the Hutt so organized to meet up with them later that night over....you guessed it.....drinks.

The whole weekend we were there they had this festival on. They Had 6 stages set up around the city with free entry and bands playing all day and well into the night. We meet Sam (From the Hutt) and his girlfriend outside Banana Bar then went around to sit and listen to the music. We ended up out until closing time again but being a Sunday it was not as bad and only 1am.

The next morning we spent looking through shops. Could not really do heaps as it was raining quite hard. Went to the airport and tried to get ourselves ready for work on Tuesday.

C U L8R

Prague

Well we have settled down for now after finding the flat. Seen a bit of London and yes spent many a night out on the booze.

This is our first trip into Europe since landing in the UK and it certainly won't be the last.

We flew out on the Friday from Gatwick airport using EasyJet. The plane was only delayed by 20 mins so was not to bad. We landed in Prague at about 9.30pm local time and were quick smart to get out of the airport and find out hotel.

We stayed at the Avalon Moulin in the Old City and were about a 15 min walk to the Old Town Square. Room was nice and clean so could not ask for much more. Headed out straight away to find something to eat (about 10.30 pm) but to our disappointment all the restaurants were shutting as 11pm to them is late. Luckily we found a pizza place that was open and spent about £4 on a large pizza and a drink then headed back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.

In the morning we headed for Charles bridge and the Old Town Square. All the building are amazing with sooo much detail!!!!!!! Loads of tourists everywhere but suited us as it's good to flow the crowds.

Ate brunch in the Old Town Square having my first Chec beer...Pilsnerr wahoooooo :-)

We snapped a few shoots taking in the building then headed back to the hotel for a sleep after all England was playing that night in the quarter finial and wanted to find a British pub to down a few.

No luck on the British pub but we found an Irish one. Got talking to a couple of the lads that were in there and after the game (Never seen theEnglishh that quiet) all four of us headed out for some dinner.

Yes by this stage we were very merry and a feed was defiantly on the books. We all headed for this traditional pub for a traditional meal. I had the pigs leg (which was a whole bloody pig's leg) served by itself in it's own roasting dish while Carly had a mixed meat plate. The meal with 2 beers came to a whopping £10. By this stage Carly and I were pulling the plug on the night as the beer was getting the better of us :-)

The next couple of days was a lot of drinking wiht pleasant walks through Prague Castle and around Prague. 3 nights was heaps of time to see the city but next time I think we will put more time aside for doing the tourist stuff.

Sorry there are more pictures but our camera batts just died and could only get these ones across.

Our Flat in London

Well Carly thought it would be good for you to see our flat in London.

So here are some photos of it :-)

The Rest of the trip

Again it has been a while.

We have now been in London for the good part of 3 weeks. We have moved into a 4 bedroom flat in King's Cross, Isllington with 3 of my mates from back in NZ (Shane, Matt and Aaron a.ka. Pork Chop, Hommes and Scooby).

To get here from Roma we went to; Venice, Florence, Pizza, Pompeii, Naples, Verona, Milan, Zurich (where we stayed with our Swiss friends Grego and Karin), Paris.

Rather than write up everything we did I thought I would load up with photos so you can see for yourself :-)

Sorry I got slack on the writing but when you have been traveling for nearly 4 months it's hard to keep up the photo editing etc......

Well I hope everyone is well and you are all safe and sound.

Lots of Love
Blair & Carly

Italy-Roma

Well it's getting to be a bit of a habit where I have not updated much and end up writing what we have done over a 2-3 weeks period in one go.....sorry.

Well we landed in Roma (Rome) and went straight out to the main train station as this is where all the cheap accommodation is (according to the lonely Planet Guide). By the time we get there it is about 9pm at night and trying to find anywhere to stay is looking less and less likely :-( We finally find this dorm place that some Indians are running 25Euro each per night....grrrrrr. No the best looking place that's for sure. Well a bed is a bed.

Later that night we meet an Aussie (Steve) that had moved to Italy for to be married (earlier that night the poor bugger had found out his soon to be wife wanted to break up), he was out having a couple with some Italian friends . After a few beers we soon had them inviting us out tomorrow night for dinner at a true Italian restaurant. We could not say no :-)

The next day we got up and went to the Vatican City. It was very very amazing. Being that it was so close to Easter there were ton's of people. The queue to get into the Vatican was taking somewhere in the area of 2-3 hours so we took some photos and made our way to the Sistine chapel. We stood line for about an hour and paid our 12 Euros... we were in. Now I thought that queue could just have a quick walk down to the place with the painting on the roof and make our way out.....Wrong oh so wrong. This place is massive as well. We walked for about 45 mins just looking at statues, painting more statues more painting and we were still miles away.

We made the democratic decision to skip the next hour’s worth of art and head straight to the painted ceiling. It still took us another 20mins to get in there.............. (I can see Gracie rolling her eyes at us). It was worth the wait. To have the whole chapel packed with people all steering up at this brilliant piece of artwork was very cool. I could have stood there all day checking out all the little bits of detail but.................I didn't :-) Back to the room for a sleep......Art stuff can wear you out.

Later that night we meet up with Steve, Stefano, Simona and Zabria at the Irish pub. We all piled into their cars and were shooting off across town. I don't think they knew where they were going us much as we did because there was a lot of back tracking and going around in circles. We did make it in the end and found ourselves the restaurant. They did all the ordering as we could not read the menu but the food that came out was excellent.

Later we walked around the streets of Roma stopping into the occasional bar for a shot and then off to bed.

Greece

Well we left Israel with no dramas other than taking about 2 hours to get through all the check points before even getting to the check in counter. On landing in Athens we were meet by Jo at the airport. Carly and Jo were all smiles on seeing each other and I was quick to discover my new pecking order :-) We arrived at Hotel Olympia and checked in. The room was nice and we had a TV that seemed to just have XRated shows and opera.....crazy mix. Just the one night in Athens and the next day we were on a ferry for Mykonos Island (Acropolis will wait until we get back). The island was everything we wanted and more. All the houses were painted white with blue trims around the window shutters and doors. The first night on the island we had and nice dinner over looking the habour with a couple of quiets afterwards. The next we wake up and the weather had taken a turn for the worse (great day for my birthday). While it was not raining the wind had picked up and reminded me of Wellington. We were not to be put off so took the opportunity to hire a car and tour the island. It was the first time I have driven a right handed car but soon had the grasp. First stop was Paradise beach. Imperssion would have been good had the waves not been crashing so close up on the beach and the weather had of been hot. Next stop the other town at the top of the island (forget the name). We found a nice little cafe and spent an hour over coffee, bread and dips. After driving to the other end of the Mykonos and watching the weather pack in we headed back to the hotel. Later that night we all went out for a meal. I had put in a request for seafood and a good bottle of wine. Well that was the start of a big night. To cut a long story short we meet up with some locals that showed us the bars of Mykonos........come 4am we were staggering back into the hotel with Jo falling down the steps (she is OK). We have nicknamed her Angle after that night as she showed us her dancing skills at the last bar we went to.....very graceful :-) After 3 nights on the island we headed back for the mainland. We had an overnight ferry this time round thinking we could save on accommodation.......wrong!!!! People were spread out all over the boat so could not find anywhere good to sleep. I had an old dude next to me that was doing his best to sink the ship with his snoring. Yes not a wink of sleep to be had!!!! Getting back to Athens (5.30am) we made an executive decision to hire a room for half a day for some much needed sleep. We found a really nice old couple that ran a hotel right under the Acropolis so caught 5 hours before getting up to tour the famous site. The Acropolis was great! You could see all over Athens up the top and while there was some scaffolding it did not take away from the magic of it all......got the photo so we were off. We have a plane to catch for Rome, Italy!!!! We don't have any accommodation booked so are going to wing it!!!! Will fill you in on how that went later.