Anywhere but Regina

Aloha Day5&6 - Whales

2012-01-24T10:42:00.006-06:00

Boat at Whaler's Village

My favorite cupcake topping, a Louis Vuitton purse.

Macnut panko crusted Opah at Duke's Beach House

So Sunday in Maui was very laid back. Leodas was good the first time that we went back again for lunch and pies. Since we hadn't checked out the south part of the island we headed that way to check out Kihei and Wailea. Not much to report as we just checked out the stores in that area. For dinner we went to Duke's Beach House. I decided to try out some local fish called Opah. It was crusted with panko and maccadamia nuts. Delicious!!

Last day at Kaanapali Beach.

Those two black specs are whales!!

Whale spurt.

We're on a boat!!

Lahaina Harbour

Monday was our last day in Maui. I took one last walk on the beach before checking out of the hotel. Our flight didn't leave till 11:40pm so we booked a whale watching tour for the morning. Humpback whales are only in Hawaii from December to May to breed and have their calves. They spend the rest of their time in Alaska. The catamaran ride out wasn't too bumpy. It was a sunny hot day so I made sure to put on sunscreen! We had a great day seeing whales as there were tons out there. I can't even count the number I saw. We were out on the boat for about 2 hours before heading back to Lahaina. Once we docked we wandered around the town checking out the tourist souvenirs. Since the airport, Kahalui is 40mins away from Lahaina, we headed there around 4pm and headed to the mall. After some last minute shopping we headed to the airport way to early. The check-in counter opened at 8:40 but at 7pm you could see Canadians milling around the airport. By 8pm a line started to form. I guess everyone was excited to head home. Aloha Maui.

Aloha Day4 - Wanderings

2012-01-22T02:56:00.004-06:00

Banyan tree in Lahaina. That's one huge tree!

Family pic at the base of the tree.

Mahi Mahi sandwich at Milagros in Paia.

Walk button in Paia.

Four of the eight dishes at Star Noodle in Lahaina. The pad thai not pictured.

With no tours booked today, I could finally catch up on my sleep. After sleeping in till 9am and lounging around the hotel, we headed to Lahaina to check out the Indian Banyan tree. It is one of the largest Banyan trees the world. There was also a craft market occurring under the banyan tree with a ton of local artists selling jewelry, art and photos. After checking out the market we headed to the hippie town Paia. I heard good things about the fish at Mama's Fish house so we tried to go there for lunch. Unfortunately the restaurant was booked up so we tried to go to the Paia Fish Market and found another full restaurant. Third choice was Milagros Food Company which turned out to be great. The mahi mahi sandwich with pineapple salsa was delicious. According to the menu, the fish is caught fresh, which is what I was looking for. After lunch we checked out the various stores in Paia and then to Kahului to the Queen Kaahumanu Center, an open air mall. Once I got some shopping done, we headed back to Lahaina for supper at the Star Noodle. I used the GPS to find the restaurant and it lead us to a car wash! So I just followed my nose - we drove around the area until I could smell noodles. The concept of this restaurant is share plates. We ordered 8 dishes but I only loved 4 out of the 8. I guess you can't win them all. As for winners, the Pad Thai, Local green salad, Tempura Shrimp and the mango pudding were the tops.

Things I learned today:
1. Although stuff on Maui is expensive, clothes and hair products are still cheaper here than home.
2. Fresh fish doesn't taste fishy!
3. POG gelato isn't that great.

Aloha Day3 - The Longest Day

2012-01-21T04:09:00.006-06:00

The Longest Day is the title of a season 3 episode of Dawson's Creek. The day I had has no similarities to that ep!

Morning:

Crescent Moon

Sunrise!

10000ft above sea level!

Silversword

We left the hotel this morning at 2:45 am to see the sun rise on top of Haleakala, one of Hawaii's currently dormant volcanoes. We were told to dress warm but my winter gear I brought didn't quite cut it. Sunrise was at 6:58am. A crowd started to gather at the Haleakala crater (not really a crater but an eroded depression) around 6am so I felt compelled to stand out there too. The temp was 44F or around 7C. It would have been ok if there wasn't a wind but there was one and it was cold!! The sunrise is quite spectacular and as it rises, the park ranger comes out and says some sort of Hawaiian chant, prayer (?). After the sunrise we headed to the summit, 10000ft above sea level and we saw some silversword plants. These plants only grow in Hawaii! After the summit our tour guide Ron, who had the most monotone voice, took us to see some real craters. It was a long morning and we arrived back at the hotel around 1030am.

Afternoon:
After a quick 1 hour nap, we ventured out on to the Kaanapali boardwalk to find the Whaler's Village Mall. It was a very long walk and I forgot to put sunscreen on. I now have a nice Emily Thorne burn - shoutout to you Revenge fans. The Whaler's Village is an alright mall. It has 90 stores but only one caught my cash- Sephora!!

Evening:

My original plan for Jan 20, 2012 was to be on the Weezer cruise. Instead I'm on an island in the sun. Things don't always worked out as planned but Elaine found another concert to make up for that. The Airborne Toxic Event (TATE) played in Maui tonight and I had tickets in the 4th row. The opening band was Sing the Body, a duo from Oahu. The were awesome and a perfect warm up band for TATE. TATE came out to us all sitting in our nice cushy seats. The first 3 songs were great but no one was standing up. The lead singer Mikel made some comment about hating assigned seating at a rock concert so he told everyone to come to the front and then he climbed up to a balcony with us cheering him on. Then during the song "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" he climbed into the crowd and ran down the row in front of me. Elaine managed to get a high five - I was jealous. The 5 piece band is awesome. Anna on violin, Steven on guitar, Daren on drums and Noah on bass were amazing. It was a great way to end the longest day!

Things I learned today:
1. Always wear sunscreen, I feel your pain Emily Thorne.
2. The Hawaiian National bird is a modified Canada Goose called the Nene. Yay Canada.
3. The Airborne Toxic Event is #2 on my best concert list. Weezer, you are still #1! Hip hip.

Aloha Day2 - Road to Hana and beyond

2012-01-20T00:20:00.009-06:00

Hoopika Beach

Painted Eucalyptus

Black Sand Beach

Seven Sacred Pools

Today we headed to the town of Hana. Supposedly a trip to Hana is a must when visiting Maui and I would have to agree with that statement. Elaine and I debated about doing the drive ourselves but after talking to people about it, we decided we to forgo the stress and pay for a guided tour. (See below in regards to the stress.)

Our first stop of the day was at Hookipa Beach to watch the surfers. The waves must have been good today because there were a ton of surfers out. After that we hit the very curvy winding road to Hana. There are approximately 617 curves and 46 one lane bridges. I sat at the front of the van and I think I screamed twice in fear of on coming traffic. I was so glad I wasn't driving. It is a beautiful drive into a sub-terrain rainforest and our driver Bruce pointed out all the interesting foliage. We saw the famous painted eucalyptus trees, yellow bamboo and bamboo, ginger plants, red ti plants, green ti plants, poinsettias, African tulip tree, Chinese Banyan tree, Bread fruit tree, Jack Fruit tree and the list goes on and on. We also saw some waterfalls along the way and we stopped at the black sand beach. We stopped in Hana for a quick lunch before heading back to the Hana highway to the Seven Sacred Pools. The hike down to the pools was too hard for me but Elaine said it was beautiful down there. After the pools, we continued around the backside of the mountain to a very dry part of the mountain. The contrast between the two areas was amazing. We went from a tropical lush area to an area that reminded me of the desert. The view along the south side of the island was amazing and the road just as scary as the drive up. The tour ended at Ulupalakua for a wine tasting at Tedeschi Winery. I sampled a tasty white pineapple wine and a white passion fruit wine. Too bad it's so hard to bring wine on the plane.

So new things I learned today:
1. There are no snakes on Hawaii - you can't even have one for a pet.
2. Oprah bought 100 acres of land by Hana to protect it from being developed. She's so nice!!
3. Spam type sandwiches can be bought at McD's and BK for breakfast on the island. I would have to be really hungry to try one!
4. The Hawaiian flag has the union jack on it because of it's historical relations with Great Britian. Brits influence is everywhere!!

Aloha Day1 continued - Pie and a Luau

2012-01-19T01:55:00.003-06:00

Chocolate mac pie & Banana Cream

Our official first day in Maui has been busy. We started the morning walking on Kaanapali beach. We heard there was a seal on the beach north of us but we didn't venture off to find it. However we did see whales from our hotel room!!! Late morning we got a hold of our rental car so that gave us an opportunity to explore beyond the hotel. First stop, Leodas Kitchen and Pie shop in Olowalu for lunch. Homemade bread, fresh pies and great service! I tried the banana cream pie and macadamia chocolate pie. A coconut and apple pie awaits in the fridge. It is a fantastic lunch spot and not hard to find.

Tonight we went to the Old Lahaina Luau since everyone who goes to Hawaii should go to a luau at least once. The luau setting is quite beautiful, an enclosed tree area located right by the beach. And we got to see our dinner cooked, the pig buried in a the sand pit covered with taro leaves. The food was eh. Buffet style and all so foreign! ;) I gave it my best college try and sampled most of the food - pork steamed in a taro leaf, fish, steak, taro salad, fern salad, island fried rice, poi, and sweet potato in coconut milk. The night ended with a very energetic show. The hula dancers have quite the hip movements.

So things I've learned today:
1. Plastic shopping bags have been banned in Maui since 2011. Only paper grocery bags available at the store.
2. My new favorite juice is called POG - Pineapple, Orange and Guava. A light refreshing beverage.
3. The Calgary Stampede is more famous than I knew - our server at the luau knew it was the 100 anniversary this year!

Aloha Day1 - Room with a View.

2012-01-18T11:32:00.005-06:00

After a long day of flying and delays we arrived last night around 11:40pm to a welcome blast of heat and humidity. The flight from Vancouver was only slightly turbulent. I guess the pineapple express was easy on us yesterday. I had booked a shuttle to take us to our hotel, which is 45mins away from the airport, but that shuttle doesn't work past 11pm. They left me a voice mail cancelling my reservation at 11pm. I don't recommend booking Maui Executive Shuttle if you are flying in on a late flight. We were able to catch a cab instead and our cab driver was great!!

The hotel is very nice. We got upgraded to a Premium room with ocean view. It is sweet! Its a 2 bedroom, 2 bath + full kitchen, with Asian themed decor. Our room faces the beach and the ocean waves sound so close that it scared me at first. Posted above are some pics of the suite and view from the room.

London Day 7 - Churches and Markets

2011-05-23T09:34:00.003-06:00

Spitalfield Markets

Covent Gardens

Our last day in London so we thought we should check out Westminster Abbey. We decided to join the guided tour which was 3 pounds well spent. A Westminster verger toured us around and he was very knowledgeable and funny. Westminster is not run by the Church of England but by the Queen and is where the coronations occur. The most recent event to happen there was Wills and Kate's Wedding. The guide showed as around to the many tombs (Unknown Soldier, Elizabeth I, Bloody Mary, St Edward, Issac Newton and the list goes on) and various memorials. The place is steeped in history!

The afternoon we hit a couple of markets. One in Spitalfields market which had cheap clothes/jewelery and a flea/antique market. The market is surrounded by many great places to eat but unfortunately we already ate before we got there. After Spitalfields we headed to Covent Garden Markets. Those markets were a mix of crafted products (jewelery, art, soaps), food, and junky souvenirs. The one section felt like the stalls you see at the exhibition. The atmosphere there was very fun and festive. After seeing what the markets had to offer, we then headed to the largest indoor retail park (aka mall) in Europe - Westfields mall in Shepard's Bush. At first, we found the mall be huge. But once we got our bearings, turns out the mall was about the size of Chinook or Market Mall. Bigger than any mall in Regina but not at all like West Ed! Still we all found stuff to buy before heading back to the hotel to pack up. It was a very busy holiday and although I was glad to get home, I was sad to leave. Time to start saving my pennies again for another holiday!

Thanks for following us on our travels - Eve

London Day 6 - Tour out of London

2011-05-23T09:25:00.003-06:00

Today I left the Ong girls asleep and headed out on a day trip to Kent. First stop Leed's castle. The castle itself is very beautiful, however our guide was not so good with the English language. The castle was built before the 1100's and is in pretty good shape. It was the possession of four main monarchs, including the Tudors. It is used mainly for public and private functions now, including weddings and garden parties. I managed to get some pics of the rare birds on the property, including the black swans.
Back on the bus and onwards to Dover, where we have lunch and our guide tells us about the English channel, and history of conflict between France and England. The beach and English channel are right outside our restaurant, so there is time to take some photos of the imposing cliffs. There is a large castle complex on top of the cliffs, however it is a misty day so although it adds to the ambiance, unfortunately France is not in view. I was told that it is only 22miles from England to France at this point.
It is a short trip to Canterbury, where the main event is the cathedral and the story of Thomas Becket. His shrine is that which all the characters in Chaucer's Canterbury tales where congregating for. The cathedral is another jaw dropper. There was a blessing said while I was looking around, so it was nice to stop and be a part of that.
Last stop is Greenwich. We saw the site were they are reconstructing the Cutty Sark - a tea importing ship that is a special project of Prince Philips. When restored, they are going to have it above ground, so that you can see the underbelly of the large ship from the restaurant or conference centre that will be below. The Millenium dome/O2 centre is right accross the river, and this is what will be the Olympic dome in 2012. The park right below the Observartory will be the site for the Equestrian events. The observatory itself marks the prime meridian from which all time zones are initiated.
The day ends with a river ride on the Thames back to our drop off point. This is a really cool perspective off some off the sites we have previously visited. I saw the traitors gate for the Tower of London from the entry point, and the underside of the London Bridge to name a few.
When I get back to the hotel, it seems that the E&E have gone shopping without me. We head out for dinner and then they are forced to revisit some of the shops in my presence before they close for the evening.

London Day 5 – My baby takes the morning train…to Bath

2011-05-23T09:11:00.003-06:00

Bath

Cream tea - before

Cream tea - after

The day started at Paddington train station with us catching an 8:30am train to Bath in Somerset. Bath is about an hour and half southwest of London by train. It was the first time I had been on a train, which is strange considering Evelyn and I grew up in a CN town.

We arrived in Bath around 10:00 and promptly went for tea. Bath is a small city of around 83,000 people (I wiki-ed this) and its claim to fame is the Romans established the city to be a spa resort way back when. Also, I’m sure everyone remembers the Lady of Bath from the required high school study of the Canterbury Tales.

Our first touristy stop was the Fashion Museum, which showcased an area of frocks from the late 19^th century on. One very cool display went through women’s fashion by decade and linked it to literature written in that time. The display included passages from books describing a character’s dress, which came to life by looking at the dress on display.

After the Fashion Museum, the three of us explored different aspects of Bath. Teresa headed to the Roman baths, which Evelyn and I had visited on a previous trip. Evelyn checked out the Jane Austin museum, and I explored the shopping opportunities that the city centre had to offer. We agreed to meet at the Jane Austin museum for afternoon tea at 2:30. Afternoon tea was delightful, or it seemed delightful as only Teresa and Evelyn ordered the full tea that included a scone with clotted cream and jam, cucumber sandwiches with the crusts removed, an apple tart, some sort of almond cream pastry, and a tasty macaroon dessert filling. Teresa and Evelyn generously let me sample a bit of their tea goodies. It was all tasty except the cucumber sandwiches, which Evelyn handed to me while saying “you’re not going to like this.” The sandwich had thin slices of cucumber, cream cheese, and what I thought was a thick slab of white cheese was actually butter. Evelyn and Teresa liked it, so perhaps my tastes are not refined enough. Fed and hydrated, we hit the cobblestoned streets of Bath for some shopping. At 7:43 the train whisked us away taking us back to the bustling streets of London and to another night of well-deserved slumber.

London Day 4 - Tower and a trap

2011-05-22T16:25:00.005-06:00

Stonehenge

Monday in London started early for Teresa as she left for a morning tour of Stonehenge. Elaine and I decided to use this time to head to the National Gallery to check out the art Teresa looked at a couple days earlier. The National Gallery contains mainly European art and they have a lot of it! Overwhelmed by the amount of art to see we decided to take the free guided tour which highlight various pieces from certain time periods. The tour was great and I would recommend it if you had an hour to spare.

National Gallary

The afternoon was spent at the Tower of London where we meet up with Teresa later that day. The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror as a fortress stronghold. It's famous for the bloody tower where many prisoners were held and for housing the crown jewels. Elaine and I joined the free guided tour at the tower which was lead by a yeoman warder (aka beefeater). The tour was excellent as he told us stories of murder, executions and history of the place. After the tour we went to see the crown jewels which were amazing. I was surprised that they display the real crown jewels and I was expecting to see more guards and cameras. I suspect they were there but undercover.

The Tower

Me and a Yeoman

Baby suit of Arms

Our evening was spent attending a play in the west end. We went to see Mousetrap, the longest running play. It's a murder mystery written by Agatha Christie and it has been running for 59 years. The play was an interesting mix of romance, comedy, drama. Not sure if all those things fix though and the play did seem a bit dated. I do love a good mystery though and this one had me thinking. After the play we headed back to our pub, the Dickens to have some Pims. This time they actually had some in stock. The Pims was slightly different to how I make it, instead of cucumbers it had strawberries. Nevertheless, it was good. We then got kicked out after 11.15pm. I guess the pubs there close at 11pm but they were kind enough to let us stay an extra 15 mins!

Pims o'clock

London Day 3 - Parks and Markets

2011-05-21T11:35:00.006-06:00

Hyde Park - Diana Memorial
Changing of the Guard - Buckingham place
Buckingham Place
Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Today started with a stroll through Hyde Park, which was a nice break from the hectic pace of the city. We walked around the Serpentine lake and spent some time at the Princess Diana monument/fountain. We then continued our walk through Green Park and James Park before hitting Buckingham Palace and Queen Victoria monument. Our timing was surprisingly good and we had almost front row for the changing of the guard.
Our walk continued to Westminster Abbey, but unfortunately it was not open to the public. We took some pictured of the exterior and of parliament /Big Ben. we crossed the river Thames to take a look at the London Eye, and so that Evelyn could get ice cream ( a serious motivating factor). We had a good look at the Millenium bridge from here too.
Back on the tube, we headed to Camden markets. Endless vendors of t-shirts, scarves, jewelry, you name it. I don't think we saw even a quarter of it. I have to admit that I spent most of my time in the shoe stores, but can proudly state that I have yet to indulge in a new pair - there is still time...
We have dinner plans to meet Carrie and Cameron in Soho, so we have to cut it short. Carrie and Cameron are an Australian couple living in London whom Brian and I met on our tour of Scotland/Ireland. It was very nice to catch up to them again. They recommended a Japanese restaurant, and the food was excellent. The restaurant was really trendy, it had interactive tables with a sort of built in laptop mouse. You could display the menu items right on the table and place an order by point and click, which was filled almost immediately. Very dangerous in the case of the Sake Mojito, but oh so efficient. You could play games and even change the 'wallpaper'.
We headed back to our local pub, the Dickens tavern. For us it was 'Pimm's O'clock', but unfortunately the were sold out! I had to settle for a Guinness (sigh), and E & E had their coveted Bulmers cider.

London Day 2 - the Ong's go on tour, Teresa peruses art

2011-05-20T17:33:00.000-06:00

After the bumpy start of Day 1, Day 2 started at 6:30am. We were all supposed to go on a tour of Warwick, Oxford, Stratford, and the Cotswold, but Teresa decided that it would be a good idea to catch up on some sleep to power the rest of the week's activity and opted out of the tour. Teresa spend a leisurely day in London, checking out the National Gallery museum and it's impressive collection of paintings including painting from DaVinci, Monet, and Van Gogh. After having a lovely lunch in the museum's cafe (including banoffee pie), she made her way down to Oxford street to check out the best of London high street fashion.
Earlier in the day, Evelyn and I made our way to the Paddington Hilton where the tour was to pick us up. The bus was 20 minutes late, but got us to the terminal where our tour bus was leaving with minutes to spare. Our tour guide was a 50 something british man with a british accent that would go well with the phrase " hello governor," wearing a vest that almost match the upholstery of the bus seats. He had a jaunty sort of humor with hints of sarcasm and many bouts of slap stick. On the bus trip to and from the sites, he would add tidbits of interesting facts and stories, like where phrases like "upper crust" and "saved by the bell" came from. Unfortunately, I missed most of his comments as moving vehicles lull me into a deep, gaping mouth sleep.
Our first stop was Warwick castle, which is kind of like a medieval Disneyland. There are people dressed in medieval garb walking around, notably a knight who went around high fiving the kids and making them growl with him. Around the courtyard, there are exhibits like "the making of a king," and "the castle dungeon." One exhibit was a short film about a boy who was supposed to go to battle, as part of the War of the Roses. He has a dream the night before the battle, where death (?) or someone who looks like death tells him that they will lose the battle and all will die. I think the boy ends up not going, but I am not sure.
Next, we stopped at Stratford to see Shakespere's birth house and garden. Stratford is a quaint, picturesque town. The tour guide pointed out two pubs, one of those pubs is where Shakesphere had his last drink before dying. We learned a lot of interesting facts and rumors about Shakesphere, including the fact that Shakesphere's grave is 18' deep, opposed to the normal 6' grave to deter grave robbers who at that time dug up graves to sell the bodies to hospitals for medical research. Another robber deterent he used was a sonnet on his tombstome that basically says that anyone who steals his body will be cursed. Pretty effective as his body is still there.
The last stop of the trip was Oxford. It was cold and rainy the whole day. Ninety five percent of the tour participants were women, which meant that we were all cold. The guide took pity on us and let us have 15 minutes in the Oxford university store to buy "jumpers." I am now the proud owner of an Oxford bunnyhug. :) The Oxford convocation was happening while we were there, so the town was bustling with graduates in formal convocation dress and their very proud parents. We toured the Oxford campus and even go to see the building that is Hogwarts Hall in the Harry Potter movies.
At 7:30 we all met up at the hotel, travelled by Tube to Earl's Court, and had a lovely meal at the Indian chain restaurant Masala Zone. I'm sure Evelyn will provide more details about the food later.

Prague day 7/London day 1 - Friday the 13th

2011-05-18T01:37:00.001-06:00

British Museum

Rosetta Stone

We woke up to a beautiful morning in Prague and had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was cooked by a French chef so the croissants were great. However the eggs were too salty but I didn't tell him that because he seemed a bit snarky. An indication of things to come???

We flew a direct flight to London on British airways. The attendants on there very polite. Probably only the good thing about the flight. Here is a rundown of the day of unfortunate events:
1. Only one bathroom was "working" in coach with a plugged sink and wet floor.
2. They didn't offer me a snack although teresa got one (and she was sitting right next to me!)
3. I tried buying some inflight products but they stopped selling stuff the row right before ours. Dammit, the illuminated tweezers looked liked such a good buy!!
4. We couldn't find our shuttle driver and when we did he pretty much ignored us and ran to the van with our luggage. Elaine and t stayed on him though.
5. The shuttle driver lost the parking pass and spent 20 mins looking for it.
6. Hotel in London is a major step down from Miss Sophie's in Prague! MAJOR!!!

However I tried to put that behind me as we headed out to the British museum to see the Rosetta stone, lindlow man (man found in a peat bog), elgin marbles, and a totem pole from bc. Those brits really got around and were good at taking stuff. It was a long day so after the museum we just headed back to the new home for the week.

Ps thanks for all the comments everyone!!! We <3 hearing from you all - EoEoT(h)o

Prague Day 6 - ... And after all, you're my Hunger Wall ...

2011-05-16T16:36:00.005-06:00

Post by Teresa
Photos by Elaine and Teresa
The day starts at Strahov Monastary where we have an excellant breakfast on the grounds. We decide that the best place to start is the miniature exhibit - not to sure why this was at the monastary to be honest. But anyway, it is wild - you enter this room full of microscopes. At each station there are thing like: a carved metal caravan of camels within the eye of a needle; an actual flea that is shodded with gold (or maybe bronze) horseshoes; jungle animals on the antennae of a mosquito.
We then headed to the library, which unfortunately did not allow pictures. This was another example of wood carved mouldings and barouque guilding, frescos on the ceiling, not to mention rows upon rows of really old books. There is also some interesting insect and animal exhibits, where I managed to covertly take this photograph (OK I didn't know the rules at this point - really). Bet you can't guess what it is:

After taking a look at the chapple, we took a stroll along the Hunger Wall. This is a tree lined walk along a wall thats construction was implemented to provide paid work for starving masses. The wall is one of the first lines of defense for Prague castle, it is a fortification and station for archers built around the 1380's.
At the end of the wall there is a public park and grounds which includes a mini eiffel-like tower which was a gift from France to Prague. Elaine and I climbed the tower to get a great 360 degree view of the city. We also went through the mirror maze before leaving.
We took the funnicular down ( a trolley like tram) from the top of the hill and carried on back to old town to do some final panic/power shopping. At this point we are feeling very familiar with Prague, despite my bad sense of direction.
This takes us back to the hotel before where we proactively pack our bags before heading out to our final destination - Beer Fest! At this point I have sampled several of the finest lagers/ales/stout that the Czech Republic has to offer, and I can confirm that yes, they are very good. The festival was at the exhibition grounds, which also seems to be more like a fair grounds. But hey, it is Europe, and I guess beer drinking is more of a family event here. It is opening night, and a Thursday, so the first tent we went to seemed kind of slow. However, we did make at least one new friend:

We tried some Czech cuisine - Ev the garlic soup, El and I the bratwurst, some beer and a Pear spirit:

We moved on to the other tents in much the same manner, sampling beer, food and deserts. Each tent had a different brewery sponser, food provided by one of the locally renowned chefs, and live music. It is interesting to note that the Czechs love the Oasis song 'Wonderwall'. Whenever the band seemed to get tired, they would strum a few opening chords of the song and the crowd would take over. This happened on at least two occassions in the last tent alone. We decided to depart, when I learned an interesting and rather personal fact about the Ong girls. Despite being true Saskatchewanians, it seems that they have never had the experience of take true advantage of the great outdoors. Lets just say the public washrooms at the train stations close early, and Elaine has something new she can cross off her list.

Prague Day 5 - West meets East

2011-05-15T16:16:00.006-06:00

Today's post by Elaine
Photos by Elaine

Hluboka Castle

Day 5 started at 8:30am when Jiri pulled up to our hotel to take us to Hluboka and Cesky
Krumlov. I had never met Jiri before this. I was working on an equipment install back home and I mentioned going to Prague to the vendor engineer I had been working closely with. He sent an email to a bunch of engineers in Prague, including Jiri, telling then of my visit. Jiri responded and offered to take us to Hlboka and Cesky Krumlov.

Hluboka castle is about 1.5 hours south of Prague, following parallel to the Vltava river. The 13th century castle was acquired by the Schwartzenberg family in the 19th century. Mrs. Schwartzenberg had visited Windsor Castle and was inspired to have their castle redone in a romantic neo-gothic style. Everything in the white castle is opulent and of the highest quality, chandeliers made of Morano glass, vases from China, famous tapestries, and intricate wooden carvings. Jiri had arranged a private tour for us, so we were lucky to tour the castle almost all to ourselves.

Cesky Krumlov

We hit the road again, travelled 40 minutes south and arrived at Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO heritage site. It has been describes as a village straight out of a fairytale. Indeed it feels like Cinderella or the seven dwarfs could stroll on by at any moment. Like Prague, Cesky Krumlov has an Old towne square surrounded by a horseshoe bend of the Vltava river. On one side of the river, Cesky Krumlov Castle overlooks the square. Before heading for a castle tour, we stopped at a traditional Czech pub and restaurant for lunch on a deck overlooking the river. After lunch, we headed to the castle for a tour of the castle and its renaissance rooms, masquerade hall, and golden carriage. This castle was also last owned by the Schwartzenberg family. After that, Teresa and I climb the castle tower to get a bird's eye view of Krumlov, only to have realized much too late that it was not included in our tour. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to check out the old towne square or the rest of the city before it was time to make the 2 hour trip back to Prague.

Elaine, Jiri, Evelyn, Teresa at Budweiser town sqaure

During the commute time we had a chance to chat with Jiri about the Czech Republic, its communist times, occupation during WWII, and its present times. It was very educational to get a perspective on living in a communist country and what reminents of that time still remain in the culture today. I think we all have a greater appreciation for living in a free country and feel pretty grateful for that.

Prague day 4 - a day of leisure

2011-05-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

Dancing House
National Gallery

Today we slept in since we had a late night of discussing French politics. Their choices doesn't sound any better than ours. Ever the ambitious tourist, Elaine got up and walked to the dancing building to take some photos of Frank Gehry's design. Then we ventured off to check out the exterior of the National Gallery and Wenceslas Square to do some shopping and to have lunch. Missing home we went to the food court where I decided to get a McDonald's cheeseburger. I was tempted to try the fresh cheeseburger but decided on the original. Shopping for me wasn't too successful but Teresa made up for our lack success. In the evening we headed to the state opera to see Verdi's Rigoletto. The opera was very good except I was a bit tired and I might have napped a bit during the first act. Oops! However I was very alert for the last two! Then we headed for supper at Mlynec, where the chef has earned a michelin star, for a three course dinner. Please see my next post on the foods from the past couple days.

Prague - Food highlights

2011-05-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

Here are some food pics from the past few days:

Mlynec (http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?PlaceID=703) is an international type restaurant located near Charles bridge

Starter - We had some kind of smoked beef to start, like a beef pate that tasted like corn beef and spam.

The appetizer was a shrimp salmon kabob or the deer carpaccio.

The main was a beef filet or duck:
For dessert there was either a Czech Ginger bread pudding or date toffee pudding.

Overall presentation, taste and service was 5 star.
Doggie bags aren't that well known in the Czech food industry. Here is how we got our ginger pudding packed up:

McDonald's cheeseburger, fries, deep fried mozzarella and a coke light:

Bohemia Bagel breakfast - food here was very good! My favorite breakfast so far:
Scrambled eggs with spinach &cream cheese, hashbrowns and mini bagel.

Czech restaurant in Cesky Krumlov:

Sour cabbage soup

Beer and salad with fried cheese:

El mir - lebanese restaurant in the mall
A vegetarian plate of hummus, tabbiloeh, falafel, domathes, + more.

mccafe - chocolate pear pie

Jama - lobkowicz beer

Prague Day 3 - A castle, a garden, a bridge and a wall

2011-05-10T16:44:00.007-06:00

Marrionette store near Charles Bridge St. Vitus Cathedral

View from Prague CastleReplica of Crown Jewel's

St. Vitus Cathedral

Wallenstein Garden

Me on Charles Bridge

Lennon wall

Today's post by Elaine. Photos by Elaine

It's the beginning of day 3 and it already feels like we've been here a long time and have seen tons of stuff. Today's agenda is Prague Castle, Prague's most popular attraction and according to the Guinness book of world records, the largest ancient castle in the world. After a long hike up many cobblestone steps (with a pit stop for Evelyn to buy art and Teresa to almost buy jewelery..cash only :( ), we reached the castle and bought the short tour ticket which included the Old Palace, Lobkowicz Palace, Basilica of St. George, St. Vitus Cathedral and Rosenberg Palace. Most of the architecture of the castle is Gothic or Baroque.

After spending 5 hours at the castle, we took the tram down to the part of Prague downhill from the castle where we attempted to find Wallenstein Garden. With my trusty navigational skills, I lead us around the narrow, hilly streets of Prague, only to have Evelyn point out that we had just walked in a circle and ended up at the same street corner we had started from. With Teresa and Evelyn at helm, we found the gardens with the help of a policeman man, who we communicated with via pointing and an elementary form of sign language. After being kicked out of the garden (they were closing), we headed to the famous Charles Bridge which you will find in the INXS video "Never Tear Us Apart." There we all rubbed one of the 30 statues that had a golden plaque with a picture of a man being hung upside down off a castle wall. it is apparently good luck. After a hearty Czech supper, we headed down to the Lennon Wall, a wall with graffiti in tribute to John Lennon.

We were pretty exhausted from the days activity. We took the tram back to the hotel, but decided that we would stop at "Banditos," a local mexican restaurant and bar. It was smoky and packed with Czechs watching the Czech world hockey game. Evelyn and Teresa partook in some lime margheritas. Around 12:00am some Russian men starting chatting us up. By 12:30 9 shots magically appeared on the table. Someone once said, "never enter a drinking contest with a Russian." think this is true. They wanted to get friendlier, but Teresa introduced them to the Iron Curtain of Canada. Also at Banditos was a French couple who were staying at the hotel and Evelyn and Teresa earlier mistaken for hotel staff and had gotten help with storing our luggage. With their help, we ditch the russian dudes. We headed to the French couples suite where they kept us entertained with wine and political and cultural conversation until 4:30am. And so ends another day of adventure in Prague.

Disclaimer: Evelyn has not proofread this and is snoring beside me. Hopefully this is okay.

Prague Day 2 - Cemeteries and Cathedrals

2011-05-09T14:55:00.005-06:00

Elaine and T at Vysehrad

View from Vysehrad

View of the river.

Kunta Hora ossary

Bone Chandler

Today's post by Teresa and photos by Elaine

After mastering the metro system, we start our day by heading down to a large urban park (the Vysehrad). This is actually an old fortress on the banks of the Vlata |(sp?) river. We had a great view of the river and could watch the marathon below. This is an annual international event which shutdown most of old town and beyond.
The Vyshehrad contains a Gothic cellar housing several old artifacts, a beautiful cathedral and a large ornate cemetery. Famous composer Anton Dvorak has is buried here. The park in all is a very scenic an beautiful spot. A good way to start the day.
From here we head to Republic square and catch a tour to Kutna Hora. This is a city located about an hour and a half outside of Prague, which was established based on silver mining. We start out at the Bone Church (Ossary), which is decorated almost entirely with human bones. It is delightfully creepy, including a bone chandelier, 6 bone pyramids, and a rather detailed coat of arms. It is said to be the bones of over 40000 people.
Next stop was the Cathedral of St. Barbara, who is the patron saint of mining. This cathedral is amazing, with it's foundations starting in 1380's. The design is from the same architect who did Prague castle St. Vitus Cathedral and is the outside is a reminiscent gothic style. The interior is mainly Baroque, with a large confessional that just makes you want to repent. There is a mining theme throughout.
We then went to the Italian courtyard. This building was developed as the Royal Mint, and the courtyard is reminiscent of Italian design as it was them who taught the Czechs to mint coins. The interior is dedicated to the metalsmith process, however there is a surprisingly decorative private chappel dedicated to St. Wencelas (important king), and is still used publicly on his national holiday. There is a trpitic of alters within, and handpainted walls and ceilings..
The trip back from Kutna Hora took us through some lovely countryside. We got back around 6pm, and decided to get in an hour of power shopping. However, we we pleasantly surprised that the stores were all open until 9pm, so we took full advantage.
This excursion was followed by a metro trip to Sherwood restaurant, where we experienced yet another exceptional Czech meal. I had the Wallachovian sour soup, which is essentially pototo soup with sour kraut and sausage. It was unbelievable. Elaine had 1/2 duck, which was 3/4 too much. Evelyn had Tandoori chicken and mouthwatering potato pancakes.
We got back to our room at what we thought was about 10:30 but was really midnight - the witching hour. We are exhausted. This is day 2 being an honorary Ong sister, and happy to say no catfighting to speak of and only minimal hair pulling.

Adventures in Prague - Day1

2011-05-08T15:57:00.004-06:00

Pork, dumplings, cabbage.Wenceslas Square

Old Town road

So since our room wasn't ready, we headed out to a pub where we had a czech lunch and beer. I was too leery to try the meat so I got the vegetarian platter while Elaine and Teresa got some platter with pork and dumplings (definetely not made with bisquick). They said it was good, especially the cabbage. We then headed to Wenceslas square and walked all the way to Republic Square where we found a mall!! So far the shopping looks pretty good around Wenceslas. I can't wait to go back! In the evening we headed to another Czech restaurant/bar where I decided to have the beef in cream sauce and a radler (aka beer and sprite). After dinner we headed to Old Town and got there in time to see the astronomical clock. I must admit, I found the clock a bit underwhelming, just like the gockenspiel in Munich. Prague is a pretty cool city. The people here are friendly but not friendly at the same time.

Czeching out Prague.

2011-05-07T10:28:00.003-06:00

Us in Toronto

After a chaotic transfer in Frankfurt we are finally in Prague. A hour transfer in Frankfurt was too short. We all made it through customs together but Elaine and I got separated from Teresa at the terminal security checkpoint. Departure time from Frankfurt was 8:05am and I think Elaine and I got to the gate at 8am with no Teresa in sight and none of us had boarding passes. however it all worked out in the end. Teresa showed up at the gate about 5mins after we did and luckily the Lufthansa's computer system was down which delayed the flight by 45mins. The Lufthansa flight to Prague was alright. I ended up sitting in a row with some very loud asians! Good thing I had earphones. And Lufthansa even gave us a snack of fruit and mini kuchen. It was a really delightful treat after all that rushing.

We arrived at Prague at 10am but couldn't check in to the hotel till 3pm so we've just checked out Wencelas square. So far a very exhausting day. Heading to Old Town tonight. Will post some more pics tonight.

Blue

2007-05-30T20:22:00.000-06:00

A little friend came along with me to Europe. He saw all the important sites and my tour friends affectionately called him M&M guy. Here are some photos:

Roma

Pisa

Paris

London

Venice

Photos

2007-05-26T00:38:00.000-06:00

So I've gone through and posted a couple of photos under each post. I've also re-read my posts and I see many spelling/gramatical mistakes which I was tempted to go back and fix. However I left them to remind me of the limted time I had on the internet and of European keyboards. The keyboard in Paris and Germany weren't qwerty keyboards so it was difficult to type anything out fast.

London 2.5 + Home

2007-05-25T22:20:00.001-06:00

Princess Diana FountainView of Tower Bridge from the boat

I'm home! Got in last night after a long day of travel. I was going to post about London my last night there but I ran out time that night. So here is a recap of my time in London town.

Monday May 21 - Paris to London
Left a rainy Paris for London. Drove past Vimy Ridge and caught a quick glimpse of it from the coach. It's too bad we couldn't have stopped to see it. The ferry from Calais to Dover was good - not as choppy as last time. Arrived in London late afternoon and said our good-byes to people on the tour. Although it had been a long day we didn't want to waste time in London hanging out at the hotel so a few of the tour-mates and I went out to Trafalgar Square for supper. Then we walked down Regent street to Hyde Park where I checked out the Princess Diana fountain. The fountain was closed because we were there around 9pm so I just looked at it from the fence. If you've seen the fountain before you'll know that seeing it from the fence isn't a great view since it's a flat fountain.

Tuesday May 22 - London
For the past 15 days we were told what time we need to get up, what time to eat breakfast and what the agenda was for the day. Even on our free time we were given suggestions on what we should do. So today it felt weird today that nothing was planned out for us. So after breakfast we ventured out to the tube and headed to Covent Garden market. The market wasn't fully opened yet when we got there so we just walked around the area. After that we headed to Hyde park again where we joined a hop-on hop-off bus. The bus was a double decker so we sat on the top and enjoyed the views of London. Our ticket also included a river cruise on the Thames to Greenwich so we hopped on that - my last boat of the trip. I think I went on 15 boats during the past 17 days. That's about 15 boats too much! Anyway, back to the Thames crusie. It was a nice warm sunny day so the trip was nice. I even got a light tan - eek, I had forgotten to put sunscreen on! After the cruise we walked around the outside of the Tower of London and then met directionally challenged Kennie for supper - Indian food. After getting lost for 20 minutes we finally found the right street and ended up getting Moroccan food. It was pretty good. Then headed to Camden for a drink and I ordered a Pimms, a gin based drink mixed with lemonade, aka sprite, and fruit.

Wednesday May 23 - London
So instead of taking the tube that morning we took a bus to Hyde Park for the hop-on hop-off bus. Our guide that morning was pretty funny and told us interesting facts of London like the word circus is circle in Latin thus explaining why there are no animals at Oxford Circus. After the bus tour we went to Harrods. The food halls there are amazing. I could have spent all day there. My friend British friend Simon raves about the scones with clotted cream and jam so I decided to splurge and have a scone at the cafe in Harrods. It was delicious. I think it was the best scone I ever had! After Harrods we just walked around Oxford Circus checking out the stores. It was low key day since we were tired of siteseeing. Traveling is such hard work! Since it was our last night there we decided to just stick around the area of the hotel for supper. Kennie met us and we went for Italian food. Originally we were going to go to a pub but the pubs were really busy because of the AC Milan/Liverpool football match. The day we left Italy AC Milan was playing against Rome so I guess Milan had won that match. It turns out Milan also beat Liverpool that night to win something. I have no idea but I think it was the final match of something.

May 24 - London
My last morning in London. Although I couldn't wait to get home it was sad leaving such an exciting city. Got to the airport early and then stood in the security line for the gate for over 30 minutes. What a busy airport! Inside the terminal there were tons of stores so I did some last minute shopping. The flight back to Edmonton was good. Sat between some interesting people and I watched 3 movies on the VOD system on the plane. It was a new plane so there was tons of leg room. Arrived in Edmonton mid afternoon and my flight back to Regina wasn't for 6 hours so I ended up taking a nap. Then back on the plane for a quick trip to Regina. Home at last.

City of Lights!

2007-05-20T17:11:00.000-06:00

Hi, I'm still in Paris. I've had a busy two days. To recap:

Day one - early start from Lucerne, we got into Paris late yesterday afternoon. After a quick pitstop at the hotel (which is very nice) we headed out to see the Arc de Triomphe. It had the French flag flying in the middle due to the recent election of Sarkozy so it was extra beautiful. Then took a quick walk down the Champ-Elysées (saw the flagship LV store so i must come back one day) before heading over to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the second level and saw a gorgeous view of the city. After that we were off for a cruise down the river Seine. The cruise ended at the Eiffel Tower where we were lucky enough to see it lit up with flashing blue lights.

Today - Very tired today due to the late night of siteseeing but seeing Paris made everything better. Weather was not great - raining and grey but Paris was still beautiful. So this morning we took a guided tour around the city centre/Latin Quarter and then walked around Notre Dame. A mass was going on at the time so we got to hear some beautiful singing. After a quick walk around the area we were off to the Lourve. We only had 2 hours there so we only got to see a tiny fraction of the museum. Some stuff I did see was of course, the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Supper at Cana & more! It was fantastic. I also got to walk through the Jardin des Tuileries & Place de la Concorde.

Tonight I went to the famous cabaret Moulin Rouge. I was pretty disappointed that Nicole Kidman wasn't there. :) Just kidding. Moulin Rouge is just as old as the Eiffel Tour. It's an interesting show. Michelle, if you are ever in Paris, don't go b/c there is a snake in it. Tonight is the last night of the tour. Tomorrow we head back to London and my little group of friends goes it's separate ways. Sad but on the bright side I now have people to visit in the US and Australia! Once in London, I have 3 more nights and then back home. I can't wait!

ps, I'll have to post pics when I'm back b/c these hotel computers aren't very modern or user friendly. Maybe I can Kennie to help me out when I see him in London again.

Fondue

2007-05-19T16:21:00.000-06:00

I'm in Paris right now but I'm going to write about my past couple days that were spent in Lucerne Switzerland. Lucerne is a very beautiful city surrounded by mountains and a lake. My first night there I attended a swiss folklore show where we had cheese fondue. The show reminded me of the stuff you see at Folkfest/Mosaic. The funniest part of the show is when a cow (actually 2 people dressed up) walks around the room licking people. It's probably funnier to see in person (and after a couple of beers)

The second day I went on a tour of the area. I went on a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne, then took a cog train up to mount Pilatus where i got to see swiss snow! The aussies on the trip were excited to see the snow. Then we took a cable car down to the bottom. The rest of the day was spent walking around the city, shopping for chocolate and paddling a paddle boat around the lake. The day would not have been complete without fondue, this time chocolate. Good stuff indeed.

Tomorrow I'll post about Paris. Only a couple days left of the tour. Time just flies!

Florence redux

2007-05-19T16:15:00.000-06:00

My previous post was written quickly and I didn't give Florence it's due! Besides leather and gold stores I also saw the unfinished works of Michaelangelo along with his most famous sculpture, "David". It was pretty amazing. Florence is Michaelangelo's home city so I also saw the tombs of Michaelangelo and Dante. As for shopping I didn't end up with a leather jacket. I think my big purchase of the day was a present for my sister!

The 16th Chapel - Italy

2007-05-18T05:46:00.000-06:00

Hi. I'm in Switzerland right now. Just spent the past 6 days in Italy. It was great. I'm gonna keep this short because I want to do some shopping. Chocolate!!

Day1/2 - Venice.

St Mark's Square

Burano

Loved Venice. It's many island connected by tons of bridges. Only bad part is the number of stairs I had to climb and the many boat rides I had to take *I hate boats. Got to see St Mark's Square at night and in the day, St Mark's Basillica and the Rialto. Went on a gondola ride and took a trip out to Burano, a fishing village where I ate a fish supper of fish pate, fish lasagna, fish, fish risotto, shrimp and calamari.

Day3/4 - Roma.

St Peter's

Colosseum

Rome was very busy. Tons of people everywhere. I went to the Vatican museum to see the Sistine Chapel and it was amazing. Michaelangelo was an amazing artist. Also got to see the Spanish steps, Tervi Fountain, Panthaton, Collisuem and Peter in Chains church.

Day5/6 - Sienna Florence Pisa.

Florence

Pisa

Other nice cities in the Tuscany region. Sienna was a quick afternoon stop so didn't see alot. Not much to say about Florence. Full of leather shops and gold. Pisa, saw the leaning tower!

I ate gelato everyday! It was great. That's it for now!

The land beside the Rhine

2007-05-10T22:39:00.000-06:00

Hi! I'm in Germany!! Arrived in Germany on Wednesday. Sadly it rained the whole day. That day we went on a Rhine cruise and then stopped in a town called St Goar to see some beer steinds. Then we headed to Heildburg for some Germany food. My food wasn't very Germany (grilled chicken breast whereas everyone else go pork snitzel) but it was good. The room in Heidlburg was very interesting, the bathtub had 8 taps. It was confusing to use.

Thursday we walked around Heildburg and then headed to Munich. The rain finally let up today so it was nice not worrying about getting wet. Munich is an interesting city. The architeture is baroque instead of gothic and it has 400 beer halls. Last night we went to beer hall and I sampled a stein of beer with some americans, canadians, kiwi and aussies. Unfortunately I wasn't able to finish the litre of beer but it was fun to try.

Today we are going to Innsbruck to see the Golden Roof and then it's off to Venice. I'm pretty excited to go to Venice. Gelato here I come!

On a side note, holy comments! Thanks everyone for posting. It's nice to hear from home. I don't know if i'll be able to post much in Italy because the we are staying in small hotels and the internet cafe makes you leave a copy of your passport. I'll try my best!

If it's Tuesday it must be Amsterdam

2007-05-08T14:45:00.000-06:00

Hi. I'm in Amsterdam. Got here last night. Yesterday was a really long day. Up at 3.30am (due to jet lag) and left the hotel at 6am. As we were leaving London it started to rain and by the time we got to Dover is was a down pour. The ferry ride to France was terribly rocky. I could here people in the bathroom throwing up. Once in France we drove through Belguim into the Netherlands. Traffic jams and the weather made things slow going so we didn't get into Amsterdam till 6pm. Last night we went on a canal cruise, supper at an Indonesian restaurant and then a walk through the red light district. It was an interesting walk.

Today we went and saw a cheese/clog demonstration and a windmill. Then we went to a dutch village which was very "dutch" for lunch. After that we were bused back to Amsterdam where I checked out the Vincent Van Gogh Museum and did more exploring around the city. Amsterdam is a pretty cool city. It would have nice if it wasn't so rainy or cold. I guess the weather here (before we got here) was in the mid 20s and it was nice and sunny. Oh well, it's still nice here nevertheless.

Tomorrow we are off to Rhineland. More rain in the forecast. Please excuse any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. I only have 1min 45 left on the internet so I need to post now. Later!

London Calling

2007-05-06T15:12:00.000-06:00

Arrived in London today (May 6th) at 10am to a grey sky. Atleast it wasn't raining which is what the bbc website predicted. I guess British weatherpeople are just as good at predicting the weather as North American ones. The temps are comparable to home right now.

After getting my luggage I headed over to the hotel and meet up with Esther (cousin from NZ) and we explored the area around the hotel and to eat lunch. Ate lunch at BK because I never eat BK at home! Then around mid afternoon we meet up with Kennie (ex-pat from SK who is working in London) who took us around the city. Turns out that although Kennie has been here for over 6 months his knowledge of the tube stations still isn't good. Let's just say we circled a couple stops and got to see several tube routes/stations before getting to our destination. But we finally reached it and I saw St James Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parlament building, the London Eye, and river Thames. It was a jammed packed day and I couldn't believe that I was finally seeing these great buildings and places in person. For supper we went to a pub beside the Thames and I ate fish and chips and mushy peas. My English experience is almost complete. Unfortunately the place was out of sticky toffee pudding and I need to find a scone. I am super tired from the day since I hardly slept on the plane. Even though the day was overcast it was a nice day and the sun did come out for parts of the afternoon.

So tomorrow it's Amsterdam and our wake up call is set up for4:45am. Eek, that's even earlier than I get up for work.

Test for Jeff

2007-05-05T12:43:00.000-06:00

So my bags are packed and I'm ready to go. Just thought I'd post at least once in case Europe turns out to be a computer-free continent. :) My flight leaves in a couple of hours and tomorrow at this time I'll be in London having a pint at the pub. So sayonara and see ya later!

ps. Jeff, hope this post got to you via Google reader.