This is a station in Wales
Still loving France - just having trouble getting pics up online
So far we have seen Angouleme, St Emilion, Bordeaux, Bergerac, Perigeuex and now Limoges
29.4.08
Visiting: the village
Fans of The Prisoner might recognise this place - it is a tripped out private village on the coast of Wales called Portmeirion. Strange and beautiful place.
Meanwhile we are a week into the France leg of the trip and it is still awesome - countryside, architecture, food - I may not come back
Meanwhile we are a week into the France leg of the trip and it is still awesome - countryside, architecture, food - I may not come back
27.4.08
Fighting: French keyboards
The trip is fantastiqué but this french keyboard layout is driving me nuts
The trip is fqntqstiaue but this french keyboqrd lqyout is driving ,e nuts
The auick brozn fox ju,ps over the lqwy dog
Nu,bers qre qll in Cqpitqls; the comma is now a ;
gaaaaaaah :)
The trip is fqntqstiaue but this french keyboqrd lqyout is driving ,e nuts
The auick brozn fox ju,ps over the lqwy dog
Nu,bers qre qll in Cqpitqls; the comma is now a ;
gaaaaaaah :)
Visiting: Sunny Llandudno beach
It's a cliché to take the piss out of English (and Welsh) beaches but it's hard not to sometimes.
18.4.08
Climbing: the Scott memorial
This is just a part of the hugely gothic inspired (Sir Walter) Scott Memorial in Edinburgh - a massive structure in the middle of the city and apparently the largest memorial to a writer anywhere.
Stumbling: upon the grave of William Blake
Most of my knowledge of William Blake comes from the Jim Jarmusch film Dead Man (and reading up on him afterwards) but it was great to find this gravesite in a cemetery just up the road from our hotel in London.
We also passed his birthsite at some point, which I kind of liked as well.
The one poem of his that I recall (or at least a fragment thereof) is:
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to endless night.
We also passed his birthsite at some point, which I kind of liked as well.
The one poem of his that I recall (or at least a fragment thereof) is:
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to endless night.
16.4.08
Eating: Haggis
Of all the foods that I'm aware of, there is nothing that quite provokes the response of "ewwwwwwww" as much as Haggis. Not because people have tried it, just because they've heard what it consists of -
There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.
Hmm, having just read this, I've realised that I may not have had the full haggis experience - though it's a little vague as to whether you are served the stomach as part of the meal or it's just used for cooking. It's also traditionally served with mashed potatos and turnips (or "neeps and taties")
Now I realise that this isn't the best picture - I'm much better with Photoshop than Gimp when it comes to fixing colours - but hopefully it gives the gist.
Haggis to me tastes a bit like a nicely warmed pate - that rich, warm and full flavour with a little extra spiciness to give it a little kick. The texture is like lumpy mashed potatoes, with some of the lumps (which you can't see as much as sense) being something that you know is bits of offal but not disturbingly so. It was served with a range of sauces - French mustard, Brown sauce and something else - but these weren't needed as the mashed potatos and turnips worked fine with it and I really can't see why you'd need any extra flavour.
I liked it and I'd eat it again - good hearty comfort food.
The people I've mentioned eating it to so far have still had that awful/offal reaction, but really, if you think about the things that we have no problem eating (like sausages) - what's the difference? If you're going to eat one part why not eat another. (Though I will draw the line at tripe on the grounds that it tastes horrendous)
13.4.08
Checking: in
(Look kids - Big Ben)
(I looked up from eating my kebab last night and this is what I saw in Edinburgh)
Great few days - lots of cycling - pretty much on the bike everywhere we have been, which lends itself to observations about national stereotypes that I'll leave to another time when the net cafe guy isnt staring at me. (But in brief - the English are super polite and riding around a massive city like London is surprisingly cruisey - the Scots are also nice but a little more horn-inclined)
Weather has been pretty good - only light droplet showers at the most and Edinburgh (got here yesterday) has been warmer than London. (Not to say it's warm, just less bracing)
Trying to avoid the boring touristy pics but sometimes it's hard - it's like it's proof that you've been there or something.
More later
10.4.08
Collapsing: into a London bed
Well after 43 hours on the road (sky whatever) we are here in Londinium.
Good flight from Syd to BKK, boring as batshit one from BKK to LON - amazing the difference one of those touchscreen video on demand dealies does.
Great ride along the Grand Union Canal which covered everything from The Bill yoof gang menaces (ok, a couple of kids wearing bandannas on their faces) to decrepit industrial England to the la-ta-de-dah side of the city.
Had an amazing Indian meal in the City (the financial hub) at a price which probably matched but too tired to care and it was worth the dosh. Still a little hazy on conversions which is a good thing at the moment.
Pics to come - loving the bike and riding about this mad city - such polite drivers, it truly is a cyclists joy.
Good flight from Syd to BKK, boring as batshit one from BKK to LON - amazing the difference one of those touchscreen video on demand dealies does.
Great ride along the Grand Union Canal which covered everything from The Bill yoof gang menaces (ok, a couple of kids wearing bandannas on their faces) to decrepit industrial England to the la-ta-de-dah side of the city.
Had an amazing Indian meal in the City (the financial hub) at a price which probably matched but too tired to care and it was worth the dosh. Still a little hazy on conversions which is a good thing at the moment.
Pics to come - loving the bike and riding about this mad city - such polite drivers, it truly is a cyclists joy.
8.4.08
Finding: an awesome looking book
Giant spiders attacking parliament house. Maybe you can judge a book by its cover after all.
7.4.08
Cancelling: my GTA IV pre-order
After reading that the version of GTA IV that we'll be getting here in Australia is to be a cut-down version designed to meet the MA15 rating, I've cancelled my order.
Jerks. Why is Australia the only developed country in the world that doesn't have an R18 rating for video games. New Zealand does, the U.K does. (Huh, funnily enough, I'm just about to go to the U.K...)
Going: abroad
Funny word that - abroad.
Very 1950s English - probably rather appropriate then that this is where the PC and I are headed. (Well obviously not 1950s England, the time machine isn't back from the shop yet)
Tomorrow we:
Bus to Sydney airport - 0900
Fly to Bangkok - 1550
Hang around Bangkok airport - 3hrs
Fly to London - 0110
Arrive London - 0730
and then the insane plan begins,
we assemble our bikes at the airport and ride into London
Part of me thinks "Yay, cool, big adventure" and the other part thinks "insanity, madness, don't you know that you'll be knackered and the weather forecast is for blizzards and a top temperature of -18 degrees. (Ok, 10 degrees and light showers - but still...)
Anyway, in spite of this, I kind of like the idea. I don't know why, I just do.
Evidently we can ride most of the way along the Grand Union Canal Towpath, which is shown in this rather pretty walking tours map.
The PC and I have discussed some strategies for dealing with fights/arguments during out travel, my favourite (my idea of course) being that if we have a disagreement about something and it becomes clearly apparent that one of us was wrong, that person has to do a silly dance.
Benefits: injecting some humour into the moment and making us less likely to blindly argue about something we're not entirely sure of. (I'm sure it's not a foolproof plan but what is)
I also got a stash of lolly snakes to offer some support in the event of low-blood sugar inspired crankiness (on both sides).
It's funny the kinds of things you prepare for - probably says more about me but a lot of the arguments I've had have been while travelling.
Anyway, must press on, still got to finish boxing up the bikes and make sure they will fit in the car to get to the bus station.
Posting might get a little sporadic from here but as you can see in the last few posts, I've been experimenting with different options for quick and easy content so we'll see.
The longer term plan:
Train to Edinburgh on Saturday 12/4 (PC going to Wales this day to prepare for a cousin's wedding)
Train to Wales on Tuesday 15/4
James Bond themed wedding weekend of 19/4
Train to Paris on Tuesday 22/4
Train to (near) Bordeaux on Wed 23/4
Cycling to Paris via Perigord/Dordogne, Limoges (Nantiat), Loire Valley (this bit is a little sketchy)
Train to London Tuesday 13/5
Fly to Bangkok 17/5 1230
Arrive Bangkok 18/5 0615
Fly Sydney 18/5 0830
Arrive Sydney 18/5 2000
Bus Canberra 19/5 0915
Collapse in heap
Check 1452345 unread emails at work 20/5
Very 1950s English - probably rather appropriate then that this is where the PC and I are headed. (Well obviously not 1950s England, the time machine isn't back from the shop yet)
Tomorrow we:
Bus to Sydney airport - 0900
Fly to Bangkok - 1550
Hang around Bangkok airport - 3hrs
Fly to London - 0110
Arrive London - 0730
and then the insane plan begins,
we assemble our bikes at the airport and ride into London
Part of me thinks "Yay, cool, big adventure" and the other part thinks "insanity, madness, don't you know that you'll be knackered and the weather forecast is for blizzards and a top temperature of -18 degrees. (Ok, 10 degrees and light showers - but still...)
Anyway, in spite of this, I kind of like the idea. I don't know why, I just do.
Evidently we can ride most of the way along the Grand Union Canal Towpath, which is shown in this rather pretty walking tours map.
The PC and I have discussed some strategies for dealing with fights/arguments during out travel, my favourite (my idea of course) being that if we have a disagreement about something and it becomes clearly apparent that one of us was wrong, that person has to do a silly dance.
Benefits: injecting some humour into the moment and making us less likely to blindly argue about something we're not entirely sure of. (I'm sure it's not a foolproof plan but what is)
I also got a stash of lolly snakes to offer some support in the event of low-blood sugar inspired crankiness (on both sides).
It's funny the kinds of things you prepare for - probably says more about me but a lot of the arguments I've had have been while travelling.
Anyway, must press on, still got to finish boxing up the bikes and make sure they will fit in the car to get to the bus station.
Posting might get a little sporadic from here but as you can see in the last few posts, I've been experimenting with different options for quick and easy content so we'll see.
The longer term plan:
Train to Edinburgh on Saturday 12/4 (PC going to Wales this day to prepare for a cousin's wedding)
Train to Wales on Tuesday 15/4
James Bond themed wedding weekend of 19/4
Train to Paris on Tuesday 22/4
Train to (near) Bordeaux on Wed 23/4
Cycling to Paris via Perigord/Dordogne, Limoges (Nantiat), Loire Valley (this bit is a little sketchy)
Train to London Tuesday 13/5
Fly to Bangkok 17/5 1230
Arrive Bangkok 18/5 0615
Fly Sydney 18/5 0830
Arrive Sydney 18/5 2000
Bus Canberra 19/5 0915
Collapse in heap
Check 1452345 unread emails at work 20/5
6.4.08
Normal setting (Video 04060002.3gp)
So you can upload video to YouTube with your mobile phone but it won't automatically create a blog post of it as well like Flickr does. Flickr for teh win.
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