Japan 2006 - Madonna Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka Photos
Japan 2006 - Madonna Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka
24th September 2006
Hi all,
Well I did it in 2004 and now again in 2006! Arranging a holiday all around Madonna! This time in Tokyo. What a mad 5 days we have had in Japan!
Seeing Madonna on September 20 & 21 has been AMAZING! Her show absoluetly rocked! The visuals were amazing as well as the dance moves. What a blast being in the middle of 50,000 crazy Japanese folk going off to Madge! We did the whole experience in Tokyo with the "Official After Party" at a club called "Flower". Very funny night. They started out by playing hip-hop and we thought we had been duped....that was until we inisted on some Madonna and then we turned the club into a Japense version of "Palms" and basically we took over! The photos tell the story on that one....we even met one of Madonna's dancers there!
On Friday we headed to Osaka on the bullet train and spent the weekend between Osaka and Kyoto checking out the crazy Japanese folk in Osaka with their mad hair as well as the many temples and sights of Kyoto. That was a great contrast to the madness in Tokyo but certainly made the holiday worthwhile.
Have to say that overall Japan was a great 5 days and a great introduction to Asian travels for me. Haven't done much travelling in Asia so will have to explore it some more.
Thanks to Jen, Kerry-Anne, Kath, Jake, Campbell, David & Grant for making it loads of fun. And special thanks to our new best friends Rennie, Chris & Dan from Qld and Chris from the UK who we met over there and had a ball with as well.
Till next time everyone, say-o-nara!
Enjoy the photos!
Dave
24th September 2006
Hi all,
Well I did it in 2004 and now again in 2006! Arranging a holiday all around Madonna! This time in Tokyo. What a mad 5 days we have had in Japan!
Seeing Madonna on September 20 & 21 has been AMAZING! Her show absoluetly rocked! The visuals were amazing as well as the dance moves. What a blast being in the middle of 50,000 crazy Japanese folk going off to Madge! We did the whole experience in Tokyo with the "Official After Party" at a club called "Flower". Very funny night. They started out by playing hip-hop and we thought we had been duped....that was until we inisted on some Madonna and then we turned the club into a Japense version of "Palms" and basically we took over! The photos tell the story on that one....we even met one of Madonna's dancers there!
On Friday we headed to Osaka on the bullet train and spent the weekend between Osaka and Kyoto checking out the crazy Japanese folk in Osaka with their mad hair as well as the many temples and sights of Kyoto. That was a great contrast to the madness in Tokyo but certainly made the holiday worthwhile.
Have to say that overall Japan was a great 5 days and a great introduction to Asian travels for me. Haven't done much travelling in Asia so will have to explore it some more.
Thanks to Jen, Kerry-Anne, Kath, Jake, Campbell, David & Grant for making it loads of fun. And special thanks to our new best friends Rennie, Chris & Dan from Qld and Chris from the UK who we met over there and had a ball with as well.
Till next time everyone, say-o-nara!
Enjoy the photos!
Dave
Los Angeles 2006
19th September 2006
Well hi again all!
Well this holiday to LA has come out of the blue. My sister Sue had her 3rd baby in April this year and even though that was all well known when she visted last December I wasn't intending on visiting until 2007
It has come about as my mum and dad were here as well and when I decided in June I was going to go to Tokyo to see Madonna I thought why not have a pit stop in LA to spend it with the family!
I have had a great time in LA mainly doing family things although Sue did manage to sort out a round of golf for me with her boss at the famous Riviera Country Club so as a golfing geek that was VERY VERY cool!
My new baby nephew Andrew is totally adorable as are my other nephew and niece Thomas and Sydney. I pretty much spent a lot of time just hanging out with everyone although I did manage to head to Skye Bar one night to have drinks with a familiar face from Sydney Fiona King and her possies! That was fun and we got very plastered with an actor from Home and Away so that was very fun...we even managed to find ourselves on the set of a very cool program in the USA called Enterouge....that was cool...
Catching up with John & Rich and Sean & Carey has also been fun. John & Rich took me sightseeing whilst I was there and the highlight was definately going to the Six Feet Under House...and a couple nights hitting the clubs as well....
Anyway, thanks to you all for the fun catching up. I look forward to 2007 when I get back!
Dave
x
19th September 2006
Well hi again all!
Well this holiday to LA has come out of the blue. My sister Sue had her 3rd baby in April this year and even though that was all well known when she visted last December I wasn't intending on visiting until 2007
It has come about as my mum and dad were here as well and when I decided in June I was going to go to Tokyo to see Madonna I thought why not have a pit stop in LA to spend it with the family!
I have had a great time in LA mainly doing family things although Sue did manage to sort out a round of golf for me with her boss at the famous Riviera Country Club so as a golfing geek that was VERY VERY cool!
My new baby nephew Andrew is totally adorable as are my other nephew and niece Thomas and Sydney. I pretty much spent a lot of time just hanging out with everyone although I did manage to head to Skye Bar one night to have drinks with a familiar face from Sydney Fiona King and her possies! That was fun and we got very plastered with an actor from Home and Away so that was very fun...we even managed to find ourselves on the set of a very cool program in the USA called Enterouge....that was cool...
Catching up with John & Rich and Sean & Carey has also been fun. John & Rich took me sightseeing whilst I was there and the highlight was definately going to the Six Feet Under House...and a couple nights hitting the clubs as well....
Anyway, thanks to you all for the fun catching up. I look forward to 2007 when I get back!
Dave
x
Italy 2005 - U2 Rome + London farewell
27th July 2004
Well hello again all,
This is it. My final instalment of my 2005 holiday adventures. It's sad that this is it but of course I have to get back to Oz and earn some money so that I can continue this lifestyle in the future some time....all ready working out the plan for the next holiday. Who wants to come to Brazil for Carnivale in February 2007???
So, the final update. What have I been doing? Well, last time I wrote I was still in Rome and I caught up with my friend from Sydney, Marta. We went to St Peter's, climbed to the top of the dome and took loads of pictures from the highest point in Rome. It is such a fabulous view from the top of the dome that the climb of over 400 stairs is worth it - even though we both felt like we were going to have a heart attack going up. It is so stuffy and hot that it is some sort of endurance test I am sure. Anyway, that was ace and of course we had to have a gelato after our visit to top off the day in true Italian style.
Friday was my last day at school and even though I got through the week of Italian school fine it left me realising that when I go back to Italian school in Sydney I need to pay more attention to the grammar of the Italian language. That is what I found most difficult and even though mostly I could communicate with the Italians I know that my grammar sucks. Need to work on that and pay more attention to it. School was cool though. Nice to do and get to meet some new people. Most of them professional students though. One girl is learning her 5th language so she can fulfil her dream and work at the United Nations one day. Pretty impressive I thought.
But that was school all over and done with. I wandered Rome Friday afternoon knowing that the only point of me being in Rome now was so see U2 at Rome's Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Of course I couldn't wait for that to come around. I even made sure I had an early night on Friday night so that I could be full of boundless energy for the concert Saturday.
So, Saturday came around and what a day it was. The morning was pretty much spent packing and relocating from the accommodation I had been in through the school to a hotel in the city. That was no problem and then pretty much I decided I wouldn't wait and I would head to the concert. I figured that gates opened at 3pm and I should get there as early as possible so that I could find myself a good position on the pitch, as close to the stage as possible. That was my rationale for leaving the hotel at 3pm and arriving at the stadium at 3:30pm. I though I would get in early. Of course all the Italians had the same idea too. It was hilarious as I got off the tram and made my way to the stadium. There were bagarrini everywhere (ticket touts). Not just one or two saying "I'll buy any spares" but around 200 or so, all trying to get potential business by selling tickets at a better price than the competition. That was funny enough but on top of that there were at least 100 sellers of non-official merchandise outside the stadium. They were all decked out with their trolleys of shirts and memorabilia that they could wheel around with ease. Everyone was out to make a buck. Then the guys who walked around with esky's of cold drinks selling them. No one was missing any chance. It was great to experience all that. As it was the gates didn't open until 5:30pm or so which meant that there was lots of time spent milling around the stadium outside checking out all the bits and pieces of Italian culture going on. It was great.
Once in the stadium the day just got a whole lot better. I wandered around, took lots of photos of the stadium filling up and then pretty much waited around for the support acts of Feeder and Ash to come on. They were great value and everyone got into it but of course everyone was there to see U2. I found myself a position about 30metres from the stage and then just before the U2 started I was talking to some locals around me and suddenly I had found my new best friends for the night. Italians that spoke perfect English as they had spent 3 months in Australia last year learning English. Was great and they insisted I hang out with them for the night. Sure thing I thought!
So when U2 came on it just went wild. Again, just like when I saw them in London they started with Vertigo, finished with another version of Vertigo and did hit after hit in between. The highlight was definitely when they did Miss Sarajevo which is the song they originally did a duet with Pavarotti on. Bono sung the whole Pavarotti bit of the song in Italian and the entire 80,000 crowd of crazy Romans all went wild. Yep, you guessed it. It was AMAZING!!! It didn't actually matter though that most of the concert was in English. It was absolutely wonderful to hear all 80,000 people sing along almost every word to every song in English. Was like being in the middle of
some large choir and when U2 did "With or without you" it was just fantastic.
The concert lasted for 2 1/2 hours and was superb all round. The support acts were great and U2 just rocked. I was a little worried about how I would be getting back to Rome after the concert as it was always going to be questionable how well the public transport would run with 80,000 people all leaving at once but as it turned out I didn't need to worry about that. My new best friends had actually driven to the concert so they offered to give me a ride back into town. It just kept getting better and better so we went back to town, hit a pizza bar after the concert and shared a few drinks together. Was a great ending to my Roman adventures. A brilliant night all round shared with locals. AMAZING!!!
Sunday of course was travel day. Get organised, get to the airport and get back to London. That was all done without any dramas although I have to admit I did feel a bit weird catching the tube Sunday night given all the dramas going on over here but after the initial nervousness I realised that just like everyone in London, you just have to get on with it. When I got back to Colin's house, he and Frix were there and we talked for hours about what I had been up to. It was just a hysterical night. Very very funny....in fact, there have been loads of laughs with the two of them on this holiday which has been brilliant.
So, this week has been pretty much catching up with everyone and saying my goodbyes. Had lunch with Colin on Monday and then yesterday I had lunch with Pete and his mum to say goodbye. Was nice as another school mate Mitchell is in London at the moment as well so came along. Last night I had farewell drinks with the Glastonbury crew and that was just full of great laughs and topped off the holiday in a fantastic way. Even though it was a school night everyone got into it nicely.
And that's it. Pack now and leave. That is what's left for me to do. I am mostly packed all ready but just need to sort it out and then tonight I head off on the gruelling journey home. I just want to get there now. I don't want to go through the flight in between. Anyway, a small price to pay for the brilliant time I have had away.
So, all that's left to say I guess is a VERY BIG THANKYOU to everyone who has been a part of this holiday and helped to make it truly memorable. Thanks to Colin and Frix and Colin's flatmates for being so welcoming whilst I have been staying here. It has been great. A bonus on this holiday has been meeting some new friends as well which has been brilliant. It is just ashame I live so far away from this part of the world. Oh well, gives me an excuse for a holiday I guess...
To those of you in Australia, I can't wait to see you all and to everyone else around the globe, stay safe, let me know what you are up to and I look forward to seeing you all sooner rather than later I hope.
Bye for now,
Dave
27th July 2004
Well hello again all,
This is it. My final instalment of my 2005 holiday adventures. It's sad that this is it but of course I have to get back to Oz and earn some money so that I can continue this lifestyle in the future some time....all ready working out the plan for the next holiday. Who wants to come to Brazil for Carnivale in February 2007???
So, the final update. What have I been doing? Well, last time I wrote I was still in Rome and I caught up with my friend from Sydney, Marta. We went to St Peter's, climbed to the top of the dome and took loads of pictures from the highest point in Rome. It is such a fabulous view from the top of the dome that the climb of over 400 stairs is worth it - even though we both felt like we were going to have a heart attack going up. It is so stuffy and hot that it is some sort of endurance test I am sure. Anyway, that was ace and of course we had to have a gelato after our visit to top off the day in true Italian style.
Friday was my last day at school and even though I got through the week of Italian school fine it left me realising that when I go back to Italian school in Sydney I need to pay more attention to the grammar of the Italian language. That is what I found most difficult and even though mostly I could communicate with the Italians I know that my grammar sucks. Need to work on that and pay more attention to it. School was cool though. Nice to do and get to meet some new people. Most of them professional students though. One girl is learning her 5th language so she can fulfil her dream and work at the United Nations one day. Pretty impressive I thought.
But that was school all over and done with. I wandered Rome Friday afternoon knowing that the only point of me being in Rome now was so see U2 at Rome's Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Of course I couldn't wait for that to come around. I even made sure I had an early night on Friday night so that I could be full of boundless energy for the concert Saturday.
So, Saturday came around and what a day it was. The morning was pretty much spent packing and relocating from the accommodation I had been in through the school to a hotel in the city. That was no problem and then pretty much I decided I wouldn't wait and I would head to the concert. I figured that gates opened at 3pm and I should get there as early as possible so that I could find myself a good position on the pitch, as close to the stage as possible. That was my rationale for leaving the hotel at 3pm and arriving at the stadium at 3:30pm. I though I would get in early. Of course all the Italians had the same idea too. It was hilarious as I got off the tram and made my way to the stadium. There were bagarrini everywhere (ticket touts). Not just one or two saying "I'll buy any spares" but around 200 or so, all trying to get potential business by selling tickets at a better price than the competition. That was funny enough but on top of that there were at least 100 sellers of non-official merchandise outside the stadium. They were all decked out with their trolleys of shirts and memorabilia that they could wheel around with ease. Everyone was out to make a buck. Then the guys who walked around with esky's of cold drinks selling them. No one was missing any chance. It was great to experience all that. As it was the gates didn't open until 5:30pm or so which meant that there was lots of time spent milling around the stadium outside checking out all the bits and pieces of Italian culture going on. It was great.
Once in the stadium the day just got a whole lot better. I wandered around, took lots of photos of the stadium filling up and then pretty much waited around for the support acts of Feeder and Ash to come on. They were great value and everyone got into it but of course everyone was there to see U2. I found myself a position about 30metres from the stage and then just before the U2 started I was talking to some locals around me and suddenly I had found my new best friends for the night. Italians that spoke perfect English as they had spent 3 months in Australia last year learning English. Was great and they insisted I hang out with them for the night. Sure thing I thought!
So when U2 came on it just went wild. Again, just like when I saw them in London they started with Vertigo, finished with another version of Vertigo and did hit after hit in between. The highlight was definitely when they did Miss Sarajevo which is the song they originally did a duet with Pavarotti on. Bono sung the whole Pavarotti bit of the song in Italian and the entire 80,000 crowd of crazy Romans all went wild. Yep, you guessed it. It was AMAZING!!! It didn't actually matter though that most of the concert was in English. It was absolutely wonderful to hear all 80,000 people sing along almost every word to every song in English. Was like being in the middle of
some large choir and when U2 did "With or without you" it was just fantastic.
The concert lasted for 2 1/2 hours and was superb all round. The support acts were great and U2 just rocked. I was a little worried about how I would be getting back to Rome after the concert as it was always going to be questionable how well the public transport would run with 80,000 people all leaving at once but as it turned out I didn't need to worry about that. My new best friends had actually driven to the concert so they offered to give me a ride back into town. It just kept getting better and better so we went back to town, hit a pizza bar after the concert and shared a few drinks together. Was a great ending to my Roman adventures. A brilliant night all round shared with locals. AMAZING!!!
Sunday of course was travel day. Get organised, get to the airport and get back to London. That was all done without any dramas although I have to admit I did feel a bit weird catching the tube Sunday night given all the dramas going on over here but after the initial nervousness I realised that just like everyone in London, you just have to get on with it. When I got back to Colin's house, he and Frix were there and we talked for hours about what I had been up to. It was just a hysterical night. Very very funny....in fact, there have been loads of laughs with the two of them on this holiday which has been brilliant.
So, this week has been pretty much catching up with everyone and saying my goodbyes. Had lunch with Colin on Monday and then yesterday I had lunch with Pete and his mum to say goodbye. Was nice as another school mate Mitchell is in London at the moment as well so came along. Last night I had farewell drinks with the Glastonbury crew and that was just full of great laughs and topped off the holiday in a fantastic way. Even though it was a school night everyone got into it nicely.
And that's it. Pack now and leave. That is what's left for me to do. I am mostly packed all ready but just need to sort it out and then tonight I head off on the gruelling journey home. I just want to get there now. I don't want to go through the flight in between. Anyway, a small price to pay for the brilliant time I have had away.
So, all that's left to say I guess is a VERY BIG THANKYOU to everyone who has been a part of this holiday and helped to make it truly memorable. Thanks to Colin and Frix and Colin's flatmates for being so welcoming whilst I have been staying here. It has been great. A bonus on this holiday has been meeting some new friends as well which has been brilliant. It is just ashame I live so far away from this part of the world. Oh well, gives me an excuse for a holiday I guess...
To those of you in Australia, I can't wait to see you all and to everyone else around the globe, stay safe, let me know what you are up to and I look forward to seeing you all sooner rather than later I hope.
Bye for now,
Dave
Italy 2005 - Rome
21st July 2004
Hello again all,
All right. Well I am nearing the end of my holiday so this will probably be my second last email for this trip. Thank God I hear some of you say. Truth be told I could happily travel the world all year and write these emails as I have been having such a lovely time. Who couldn't...
Having said that I am looking forward to going back to Australia and seeing everyone again but I am not so sure I am mentally ready for work just yet. I have completely switched my brain off from anything work related which of course is the point of a holiday anyway but it may take a while to start up again....
So, what have I been up to? Well, last time I wrote I was in Florence madly seeing as many sights as possible in the 2 days I was there. I was very successful at seeing all the important sights again although I decided to skip the Uffizi as I know I have to leave something for me to do when I go back....
Having left Florence I made my way to Rome and actually decided when I arrived here that I would treat myself to a bit of luxury and stay in a 4 star hotel for a couple nights. I couldn't resist the temptation of having some air conditioning and some pampering in this very hot city. Pretty much since arriving I have done loads of sightseeing as usual, eaten lots food, I have had ridiculous amounts of gelato and I've been studying Italian this week at school here in Rome.
Most of the weekend was spent wandering the city, seeing sights like St Peters Basilica, John Paul II's tomb, the Colosseum, Fontana Di Trevi, The Panthenon, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps and all the piazzas and side streets in between. Even though I saw a lot of them last year there is something wonderful about this city that makes it satisfying to see these sites again. Saturday night I went to Piazza Di Campiodoglio for a free open air opera which of course was wonderful. The passion that the Italian's put into their music is something special and the crowd really got into it. It truly is what Italy is all about.
Sunday I had to relocate accommodation from the 4 star luxury to the accommodation the school had arranged as part of my course. I am staying with an Italian woman who is lovely and she rents out her 2nd and 3rd bedrooms to students through the school. It's nothing special but it does the job. Quite comfortable and only 10 minutes on the tram from the central train station so actually pretty central to everything which is nice. No real dramas there although yesterday I did manage to catch the wrong tram in the morning (think I was still half asleep) and ended up going in the complete opposite direction to which I wanted to go. Never mind, I worked it out when I switched my brain on and made school just in time!
On Monday I started Italian school and then after school finished at 1pm I went on the search for U2 tickets for this Saturday at the Rome Stadio Olympico. As I was determined I asked around a lot and eventually I found a scalper who had tickets for the standing area on the pitch and bought a ticket for double the face value. That was EURO120 which is about AUD$200 which is actually the same as what I paid to see them in London from a legitimate ticket seller. To be honest I was expecting to have to pay more but I am so excited I don't care....Saturday night is my last night here in Rome and it is going to be a great way to finish! Obsessed I know but they are great!
Italian school this week has been a bit of a challenge. I was always expecting it to be a challenge as I knew they only spoke Italian to the classes but I think I am in between levels at the moment so I am finding tough in parts. I'm finding my ability to understand Italian conversations is increasing and usually I can understand 70-80% of any conversation Italians have with me, either in class or out and about around the city. The challenge of course is being able to talk. Usually I can converse around 50% of a conversation in Italian but my vocabulary is pretty limited so it is tough at times....oh, and my Italian grammar is useless....I have lots to learn there. Lots to focus on when I start school again in Australia.
The other students are great fun though (albeit on average around 23-24 years old) but I have had no problem getting on with them at all. In fact yesterday around 10 of us from the school went to the beach in the afternoon and it was great. The sea was lovely and refreshing as Rome is stifling. We played beach volleyball and soccer and all went for a bite to eat after the beach last night. Was a fun afternoon actually and we all bonded well....gelato in Italy tends to be a very bonding experience!
This afternoon I have free and am going to meet Marta, a friend from Sydney after I finish here at the internet cafe. We will probably wander around Rome, check out the sites and then have a bite to eat tonight. Will be nice to see a familiar face. I also have to book a hotel for Saturday night as I want to stay somewhere near the central train station so that after the U2 concert I don't have to bother with night buses etc. I am so excited about seeing U2.....leaving nothing to chance...
Then Sunday I fly back to London for a few more days with Colin and the London crew before heading home to reality next week. No doubt when I email you all before I leave I will be gushing about U2 so be prepared although I will try and contain myself.
So that's about it for the moment I guess. Love to you all. Hope you are well wherever you are. To those of you in Cambodia, have a great holiday and see you when you get back to Sydney. To pretty much everyone else in London and Sydney, look forward to seeing you soon and those in far off places around the world, look forward to seeing you when you next visit Sydney - I believe it is your turn!
Dave
x
21st July 2004
Hello again all,
All right. Well I am nearing the end of my holiday so this will probably be my second last email for this trip. Thank God I hear some of you say. Truth be told I could happily travel the world all year and write these emails as I have been having such a lovely time. Who couldn't...
Having said that I am looking forward to going back to Australia and seeing everyone again but I am not so sure I am mentally ready for work just yet. I have completely switched my brain off from anything work related which of course is the point of a holiday anyway but it may take a while to start up again....
So, what have I been up to? Well, last time I wrote I was in Florence madly seeing as many sights as possible in the 2 days I was there. I was very successful at seeing all the important sights again although I decided to skip the Uffizi as I know I have to leave something for me to do when I go back....
Having left Florence I made my way to Rome and actually decided when I arrived here that I would treat myself to a bit of luxury and stay in a 4 star hotel for a couple nights. I couldn't resist the temptation of having some air conditioning and some pampering in this very hot city. Pretty much since arriving I have done loads of sightseeing as usual, eaten lots food, I have had ridiculous amounts of gelato and I've been studying Italian this week at school here in Rome.
Most of the weekend was spent wandering the city, seeing sights like St Peters Basilica, John Paul II's tomb, the Colosseum, Fontana Di Trevi, The Panthenon, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps and all the piazzas and side streets in between. Even though I saw a lot of them last year there is something wonderful about this city that makes it satisfying to see these sites again. Saturday night I went to Piazza Di Campiodoglio for a free open air opera which of course was wonderful. The passion that the Italian's put into their music is something special and the crowd really got into it. It truly is what Italy is all about.
Sunday I had to relocate accommodation from the 4 star luxury to the accommodation the school had arranged as part of my course. I am staying with an Italian woman who is lovely and she rents out her 2nd and 3rd bedrooms to students through the school. It's nothing special but it does the job. Quite comfortable and only 10 minutes on the tram from the central train station so actually pretty central to everything which is nice. No real dramas there although yesterday I did manage to catch the wrong tram in the morning (think I was still half asleep) and ended up going in the complete opposite direction to which I wanted to go. Never mind, I worked it out when I switched my brain on and made school just in time!
On Monday I started Italian school and then after school finished at 1pm I went on the search for U2 tickets for this Saturday at the Rome Stadio Olympico. As I was determined I asked around a lot and eventually I found a scalper who had tickets for the standing area on the pitch and bought a ticket for double the face value. That was EURO120 which is about AUD$200 which is actually the same as what I paid to see them in London from a legitimate ticket seller. To be honest I was expecting to have to pay more but I am so excited I don't care....Saturday night is my last night here in Rome and it is going to be a great way to finish! Obsessed I know but they are great!
Italian school this week has been a bit of a challenge. I was always expecting it to be a challenge as I knew they only spoke Italian to the classes but I think I am in between levels at the moment so I am finding tough in parts. I'm finding my ability to understand Italian conversations is increasing and usually I can understand 70-80% of any conversation Italians have with me, either in class or out and about around the city. The challenge of course is being able to talk. Usually I can converse around 50% of a conversation in Italian but my vocabulary is pretty limited so it is tough at times....oh, and my Italian grammar is useless....I have lots to learn there. Lots to focus on when I start school again in Australia.
The other students are great fun though (albeit on average around 23-24 years old) but I have had no problem getting on with them at all. In fact yesterday around 10 of us from the school went to the beach in the afternoon and it was great. The sea was lovely and refreshing as Rome is stifling. We played beach volleyball and soccer and all went for a bite to eat after the beach last night. Was a fun afternoon actually and we all bonded well....gelato in Italy tends to be a very bonding experience!
This afternoon I have free and am going to meet Marta, a friend from Sydney after I finish here at the internet cafe. We will probably wander around Rome, check out the sites and then have a bite to eat tonight. Will be nice to see a familiar face. I also have to book a hotel for Saturday night as I want to stay somewhere near the central train station so that after the U2 concert I don't have to bother with night buses etc. I am so excited about seeing U2.....leaving nothing to chance...
Then Sunday I fly back to London for a few more days with Colin and the London crew before heading home to reality next week. No doubt when I email you all before I leave I will be gushing about U2 so be prepared although I will try and contain myself.
So that's about it for the moment I guess. Love to you all. Hope you are well wherever you are. To those of you in Cambodia, have a great holiday and see you when you get back to Sydney. To pretty much everyone else in London and Sydney, look forward to seeing you soon and those in far off places around the world, look forward to seeing you when you next visit Sydney - I believe it is your turn!
Dave
x
Italy 2005 - Chiasso/Switzerland/Tuscany
15th July 2004
Hello again all,
Well this time I write to you all from the lovely Florence. Arrived today after spending the last week hopping between Milan, Chiaso (in Switzerland), Zurich and a place called Forte Di Marmi in the north of Tuscany...quite a busy week actually in terms of where I have been but actually quite relaxing in terms of what I have done.
Last time I left you all I was just about to head to Switzerland to meet my cousins who I had pretty much never met before. Was great fun. I headed to Chiasso last Thursday which is just over the Italian border in Switzerland and was picked up by my cousin Fiore at the station. That was cool although a bit of a test for my Italian as of course he didnt speak any English. We headed to his house for a bite to eat and then we did a bit of sight seeing in his home town of Bellinzona. Visited the Forte there (which is about the only touristy thing to do there) and then explored the town admiring the beauty it has trapped in between the large mountains of southern Switzerland. Was quite stunning actually and nice to visit.
Of course seeing my cousins for the first time was the point of the visit and that was great. Fiore was very hospitable and I met his son Andrea (my second cousin) in the afternoon and he is just an angel. They were all very sweet people. The visit Thursday was of course interrupted by many sms messages from people wanting to make sure all our mates in London were safe after the bombings and thankfully they all are but what a disaster that was on the eve of the G8 which was meant to help eradicate poverty in Africa. Anyway, enough said about all that! I just hope the whole situation can improve.
Thursday night we went to my cousin Rosas house for dinner. She is Fiores sister and a lovely, lovely lady. She cried when I walked in as it was the first time she met me - her Australian cousin from Sydney and that was actually quite sweet. She and her family were just fantastic and made me feel very at home with them. We had a lovely meal Thursday night and lovely conversations despite all being in Italian and a challenge for me. It was actually a bit sad on the Friday saying goodbye to them all when I had to head to Zurich to meet my mate Daniel but that is what you get when you travel I guess!
And Friday night I got to Zurich and was picked up at the station by my Australian mate Daniel and his friend Nadine. Again I had to battle with language difficulties with Nadine only speaking Swiss German but we all communicated just fine as Daniel spoke English of course. We had a few drinks and headed back to her house to change before heading for a night out in Zurich also with Nadines boyfriend Phillip. That was quite fun Friday night and I managed to have a boogie for a few hours before we packed it in around 3am.
The rest of the weekend in Switzerland was spent at Daniels parents house about an hour out of Zurich. I have no idea where it was although not far from Sengalen. Whatever. It was fun as Daniel had a party at his parents house (as they were away) with all his Swiss mates and it was a blast. Lovely food, lots of wine and great people made for an awesome night....pretty much Sunday was recovery and then on Monday we headed for Tuscany.
Had a pretty cool ride from Switzerland to Tuscany in Daniels mums Audi convertible. Very rock star indeed and when we got to Tuscany we arrived at his parents holiday house which was high upon a hill in Pietrasanta overlooking the seaside town of Forte Di Marmi. A hard life. The house itself was a 3 bedroom Tuscany villa set high in the hills. Quite spectacular views actually and Daniels parents were awesome, very welcoming and hospitable. I truly cannot complain about that part of my holiday at all. I actually didn’t do all that much for the 3 days I was there. Pretty much chilled, caught up on my Italian studies in preparation for next weeks Italian school in Rome, ate loads, drank loads of wine and soaked up the atmosphere. Very nice indeed. Today I left their house to head down here to Florence. After a 2 hour pit stop in Pisa to have a look around and take some pictures of that leaning tower I caught the train down here to Florence and have been on the go ever since.
Once here I found myself a cheap hotel and pretty much have spent the afternoon running around Florence checking out the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Michaelangelos tomb in the Basilica Di Santa Croce and Michaelangelo Piazza enjoying the stunning views of Florence. It is such a beautiful city and even though I was here almost exactly a year ago I am enjoying every moment of this visit. Had to treat myself to a massive Italian dinner tonight. Couldn’t resist.
Tomorrow I am going to catch as many sites as possible before heading to Rome tomorrow night to begin my 10 days there. Have to make the most of tonight though here in Florence so may hit the clubs for a drink and look around.
Anyway, next time I write I will be in Rome and hopefully have some more stories to tell. This time in 2 weeks I will be arriving back in Sydney and have to face the reality of work...in the meantime I am going to make the most of this holiday and keep up the adventures...
Hope you are all well wherever you are. Let me know what you are up to if you have the time.
Ciao for now!
Dave
15th July 2004
Hello again all,
Well this time I write to you all from the lovely Florence. Arrived today after spending the last week hopping between Milan, Chiaso (in Switzerland), Zurich and a place called Forte Di Marmi in the north of Tuscany...quite a busy week actually in terms of where I have been but actually quite relaxing in terms of what I have done.
Last time I left you all I was just about to head to Switzerland to meet my cousins who I had pretty much never met before. Was great fun. I headed to Chiasso last Thursday which is just over the Italian border in Switzerland and was picked up by my cousin Fiore at the station. That was cool although a bit of a test for my Italian as of course he didnt speak any English. We headed to his house for a bite to eat and then we did a bit of sight seeing in his home town of Bellinzona. Visited the Forte there (which is about the only touristy thing to do there) and then explored the town admiring the beauty it has trapped in between the large mountains of southern Switzerland. Was quite stunning actually and nice to visit.
Of course seeing my cousins for the first time was the point of the visit and that was great. Fiore was very hospitable and I met his son Andrea (my second cousin) in the afternoon and he is just an angel. They were all very sweet people. The visit Thursday was of course interrupted by many sms messages from people wanting to make sure all our mates in London were safe after the bombings and thankfully they all are but what a disaster that was on the eve of the G8 which was meant to help eradicate poverty in Africa. Anyway, enough said about all that! I just hope the whole situation can improve.
Thursday night we went to my cousin Rosas house for dinner. She is Fiores sister and a lovely, lovely lady. She cried when I walked in as it was the first time she met me - her Australian cousin from Sydney and that was actually quite sweet. She and her family were just fantastic and made me feel very at home with them. We had a lovely meal Thursday night and lovely conversations despite all being in Italian and a challenge for me. It was actually a bit sad on the Friday saying goodbye to them all when I had to head to Zurich to meet my mate Daniel but that is what you get when you travel I guess!
And Friday night I got to Zurich and was picked up at the station by my Australian mate Daniel and his friend Nadine. Again I had to battle with language difficulties with Nadine only speaking Swiss German but we all communicated just fine as Daniel spoke English of course. We had a few drinks and headed back to her house to change before heading for a night out in Zurich also with Nadines boyfriend Phillip. That was quite fun Friday night and I managed to have a boogie for a few hours before we packed it in around 3am.
The rest of the weekend in Switzerland was spent at Daniels parents house about an hour out of Zurich. I have no idea where it was although not far from Sengalen. Whatever. It was fun as Daniel had a party at his parents house (as they were away) with all his Swiss mates and it was a blast. Lovely food, lots of wine and great people made for an awesome night....pretty much Sunday was recovery and then on Monday we headed for Tuscany.
Had a pretty cool ride from Switzerland to Tuscany in Daniels mums Audi convertible. Very rock star indeed and when we got to Tuscany we arrived at his parents holiday house which was high upon a hill in Pietrasanta overlooking the seaside town of Forte Di Marmi. A hard life. The house itself was a 3 bedroom Tuscany villa set high in the hills. Quite spectacular views actually and Daniels parents were awesome, very welcoming and hospitable. I truly cannot complain about that part of my holiday at all. I actually didn’t do all that much for the 3 days I was there. Pretty much chilled, caught up on my Italian studies in preparation for next weeks Italian school in Rome, ate loads, drank loads of wine and soaked up the atmosphere. Very nice indeed. Today I left their house to head down here to Florence. After a 2 hour pit stop in Pisa to have a look around and take some pictures of that leaning tower I caught the train down here to Florence and have been on the go ever since.
Once here I found myself a cheap hotel and pretty much have spent the afternoon running around Florence checking out the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Michaelangelos tomb in the Basilica Di Santa Croce and Michaelangelo Piazza enjoying the stunning views of Florence. It is such a beautiful city and even though I was here almost exactly a year ago I am enjoying every moment of this visit. Had to treat myself to a massive Italian dinner tonight. Couldn’t resist.
Tomorrow I am going to catch as many sites as possible before heading to Rome tomorrow night to begin my 10 days there. Have to make the most of tonight though here in Florence so may hit the clubs for a drink and look around.
Anyway, next time I write I will be in Rome and hopefully have some more stories to tell. This time in 2 weeks I will be arriving back in Sydney and have to face the reality of work...in the meantime I am going to make the most of this holiday and keep up the adventures...
Hope you are all well wherever you are. Let me know what you are up to if you have the time.
Ciao for now!
Dave
London 2005 - Site Seeing/Live 8 + Milan 2005
6th July 2004
Hello again all,
Not sure how to begin this email really. There is one word that I have been using over and over again on this trip and it truly does sum up my experiences so far - AMAZING! Those of you in London will probably say that I have been over using that word but honestly I think it is apt given the time I had there. I didn't think it could get any better after my 3 month adventure last year but so far this holiday is going close....
Last time I left you I had been to Wimbledon and been catching up with friends. Thursday last week was great as I got to catch up with Denyse and then at night I saw my schoolmate Pete and his wife Sandra, Pete's mum and nephew and another school mate Sean. Was a great night. We went to dinner at a French restaurant in Angel and had some good laughs. Was ace to see everyone and hopefully I will get to see them all again back in London in a few weeks.
Friday was pretty much spent hanging out with Colin in London as it was his last day off work and pretty much my last free day before heading to Italy. We had a great day. We checked out Camden Markets, went to Primrose Hill (which has great views overlooking London) and then we went for a wander around the Hyde Park area in the afternoon. Basically we went for a sticky beak in Hyde Park to see them setting up for Live8 on the Saturday. It was around 4pm Friday afternoon and people had their tents up and were setting up camp for the night in the hope of getting a good position on the Saturday. We pretty much got to see them setting up the stage and we got to hear Mariah Carey rehearse - whoo hoo! Anyway, that was fun to wander around and get in the spirit the day before the big event but really it just got me more excited as we were going to Hyde Park on the Saturday for the event
anyway so I was getting very excited about the whole thing.
Friday night we went to watch Tom Cruise's new film War of the Worlds. Bit of a dud to be honest. Good special effects but crap story line....think the whole disaster film thing has been done better....wait for the DVD people!
Anyway, Saturday was Live8 day and what a day that was....I couldn't believe we got tickets. I should explain. On the Wednesday there was an announcement that there were 55,000 extra tickets being released on a first come first served basis. It wasn't for the main area of the concert itself but another area in Hyde Park next door to the concert site where they were putting up big screens for crowds to gather and watch....they had to control the flow of people to the Hyde Park area that day so decided to make it all a ticketed event....no ticket no entry....the upshot....Colin and I lined up 3 times and got 12 tickets for us and friends....and this made us part of the official crowd of 205,000 on the day.....yay!
What a day it was though. Pretty much half of us going had been to Glastonbury the week before so that made it great to carry on the musical tradition. We got sorted early in the morning and made our way to Hyde Park for when the gates opened at midday and got ourselves a good position right in front of the screen. The crowd built steadily and before we knew it we were surrounded by 55,000 people really pumped for a great day. I cannot begin to explain what it was like to be a part of that. It was AMAZING!!! I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in the 150,000 strong crowd that actually got into the main site. What an awesome day....the
music, the crowd, the atmosphere, the cause...it was all perfect....I truly hope it has the desired impact...guess we will see tomorrow when the G8 meet in Scotland...
The music and day itself was fantastic. Not sure who got to see the concert in Australia as I hear it was only on Fox and the Channel 9 highlights coverage was apparently dismal but get the DVD when it comes out as it was truly spectacular. What better start than Paul McCartney and U2 doing Sargeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club and then U2 doing their thing before Coldplay came on....what a start....in fact the day was just one non stop uplifting moment. I cannot believe who we got to see.... Bob Geldof, R.E.M, Keane, the Killers, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Annie Lennox and Robbie Williams to name but a few but everyone who played was great. For me Madonna was definitely the highlight. I remember talking to Frix afterwards and we basically agreed that it was a privilege to witness her performance....truly awesome...
Not sure what else I can say about Live8. Usually I would go on and on but to be honest I am still overwhelmed that we all got to be a part of it. I doubt that something like that will ever happen again in my lifetime so to be a part of it certainly makes it extra special. That day will stay with me forever...
So what else. I am in Milan at the moment. Flew here on Sunday and have spent the last 2 days here at Coke in Milan meeting my equivalents here and comparing notes about the way we do things compared to them. In some ways we certainly seem more advanced in Australia given our systems so that is good for me in terms of career possibilities here as it means I have loads to offer if an opportunity were available. I met with their HR department today so who knows....fingers crossed for the future.
Apart from my time with Coke I have been enjoying the sales on offer at the many designer stores here in Milan....I certainly have come here at the right time for sales. Tomorrow I have another day at Coke and then Thursday I head to Switzerland to meet my cousins (who I have never met before) before heading to Zurich hopefully Friday to meet my mate Daniel from Australia. We are going to hang out for a few days which should be nice to see a familiar face from Oz. Should be fun.
So that's about it I guess. Not much else to report. I'm still riding the Live8 high from Saturday and am just loving being on holiday....wish it could last forever but I know that coming back to Oz will be great as I can then bore you all with my adventures....and I can earn the money to pay for this holiday!!!
Anyway, hope you are all well wherever you are. Drop me a line if you get a chance and let me know what is the goss with you!
Love to you all,
Ciao!
Dave
x
6th July 2004
Hello again all,
Not sure how to begin this email really. There is one word that I have been using over and over again on this trip and it truly does sum up my experiences so far - AMAZING! Those of you in London will probably say that I have been over using that word but honestly I think it is apt given the time I had there. I didn't think it could get any better after my 3 month adventure last year but so far this holiday is going close....
Last time I left you I had been to Wimbledon and been catching up with friends. Thursday last week was great as I got to catch up with Denyse and then at night I saw my schoolmate Pete and his wife Sandra, Pete's mum and nephew and another school mate Sean. Was a great night. We went to dinner at a French restaurant in Angel and had some good laughs. Was ace to see everyone and hopefully I will get to see them all again back in London in a few weeks.
Friday was pretty much spent hanging out with Colin in London as it was his last day off work and pretty much my last free day before heading to Italy. We had a great day. We checked out Camden Markets, went to Primrose Hill (which has great views overlooking London) and then we went for a wander around the Hyde Park area in the afternoon. Basically we went for a sticky beak in Hyde Park to see them setting up for Live8 on the Saturday. It was around 4pm Friday afternoon and people had their tents up and were setting up camp for the night in the hope of getting a good position on the Saturday. We pretty much got to see them setting up the stage and we got to hear Mariah Carey rehearse - whoo hoo! Anyway, that was fun to wander around and get in the spirit the day before the big event but really it just got me more excited as we were going to Hyde Park on the Saturday for the event
anyway so I was getting very excited about the whole thing.
Friday night we went to watch Tom Cruise's new film War of the Worlds. Bit of a dud to be honest. Good special effects but crap story line....think the whole disaster film thing has been done better....wait for the DVD people!
Anyway, Saturday was Live8 day and what a day that was....I couldn't believe we got tickets. I should explain. On the Wednesday there was an announcement that there were 55,000 extra tickets being released on a first come first served basis. It wasn't for the main area of the concert itself but another area in Hyde Park next door to the concert site where they were putting up big screens for crowds to gather and watch....they had to control the flow of people to the Hyde Park area that day so decided to make it all a ticketed event....no ticket no entry....the upshot....Colin and I lined up 3 times and got 12 tickets for us and friends....and this made us part of the official crowd of 205,000 on the day.....yay!
What a day it was though. Pretty much half of us going had been to Glastonbury the week before so that made it great to carry on the musical tradition. We got sorted early in the morning and made our way to Hyde Park for when the gates opened at midday and got ourselves a good position right in front of the screen. The crowd built steadily and before we knew it we were surrounded by 55,000 people really pumped for a great day. I cannot begin to explain what it was like to be a part of that. It was AMAZING!!! I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in the 150,000 strong crowd that actually got into the main site. What an awesome day....the
music, the crowd, the atmosphere, the cause...it was all perfect....I truly hope it has the desired impact...guess we will see tomorrow when the G8 meet in Scotland...
The music and day itself was fantastic. Not sure who got to see the concert in Australia as I hear it was only on Fox and the Channel 9 highlights coverage was apparently dismal but get the DVD when it comes out as it was truly spectacular. What better start than Paul McCartney and U2 doing Sargeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club and then U2 doing their thing before Coldplay came on....what a start....in fact the day was just one non stop uplifting moment. I cannot believe who we got to see.... Bob Geldof, R.E.M, Keane, the Killers, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Annie Lennox and Robbie Williams to name but a few but everyone who played was great. For me Madonna was definitely the highlight. I remember talking to Frix afterwards and we basically agreed that it was a privilege to witness her performance....truly awesome...
Not sure what else I can say about Live8. Usually I would go on and on but to be honest I am still overwhelmed that we all got to be a part of it. I doubt that something like that will ever happen again in my lifetime so to be a part of it certainly makes it extra special. That day will stay with me forever...
So what else. I am in Milan at the moment. Flew here on Sunday and have spent the last 2 days here at Coke in Milan meeting my equivalents here and comparing notes about the way we do things compared to them. In some ways we certainly seem more advanced in Australia given our systems so that is good for me in terms of career possibilities here as it means I have loads to offer if an opportunity were available. I met with their HR department today so who knows....fingers crossed for the future.
Apart from my time with Coke I have been enjoying the sales on offer at the many designer stores here in Milan....I certainly have come here at the right time for sales. Tomorrow I have another day at Coke and then Thursday I head to Switzerland to meet my cousins (who I have never met before) before heading to Zurich hopefully Friday to meet my mate Daniel from Australia. We are going to hang out for a few days which should be nice to see a familiar face from Oz. Should be fun.
So that's about it I guess. Not much else to report. I'm still riding the Live8 high from Saturday and am just loving being on holiday....wish it could last forever but I know that coming back to Oz will be great as I can then bore you all with my adventures....and I can earn the money to pay for this holiday!!!
Anyway, hope you are all well wherever you are. Drop me a line if you get a chance and let me know what is the goss with you!
Love to you all,
Ciao!
Dave
x
Glastonbury 2005
30th June 2005
Well hello again all,
Last time I wrote I think I was gushing about how much fun I had been having in London with a great weekend of U2 and then Brighton beach.
Well, I'm still gushing as I've had a great time since then and with a few more days left in London hopefully that will continue.
Last week was all about Glastonbury Music Festival. Monday and Tuesday we got prepared. We packed our bags, bought our comfort supplies and listened to some CD's of the bands that were going to play at Glastonbury....it was all part of the preparation and served us well. Then Wednesday we were ready to head off on the coach to Glastonbury with 5 days of music and fun ahead of us.
It was quite funny the Wednesday morning actually. We got ready to catch The mini-cab to Victoria Coach station here in London and it was only when we had to leave the house it hit home how much we were bringing. We had an 8 man tent, a gazebo, tables and chairs, pillows, blankets, sleeping bags....and the list went on and on......felt like we were leaving for weeks with the amount we were bringing. It was all worth it though.
Got to Victoria coach station and met Miles and his mate Drew and then it was coach time. 4 hours on the coach ahead but it was quite good actually as everyone was quite chatty in the excitement of a good few days.
Bit of a treat on the way though as we passed right by Stonehenge so that was kind of cool. The summer solstice was on the Tuesday night so there were loads of people all gathered around it and it was quite weird actually just seeing this random bunch of stones literally in the middle of nowhere. I was very happy we got to see Stonehenge actually as originally the plan was for us to hire a car and actually go to Stonehenge for the summer Solstice on the way to Glastonbury but we all decided sleep was a better option that Tuesday night. Got it all in the end so it worked out well...
And then we were there. Glastonbury. The sight amazed me as much this year as it did last year. It is just ridiculously big....
Because we left London quite early we arrived around 1pm or so and this meant we were literally within the first 5000 people that were arriving and that pretty much meant we could get whatever camping spot we wanted. So we did. We got a great position right in front of the main stage that would be the envy of everyone else. They say there are 3 rules in property - location, location, location and this is testament to that.
It was quite funny setting up the tent though. The gazebo went up fine but when it came to our 8 person tent and setting that up the instructions were useless....and so were we....as we couldn't work out how to put it up. Eventually, Drew our trusty engineer worked it out and before we knew it, the 8 man tent was up and we were unpacking our bags and organising the interior.....it was like the Taj Mahal by the time we had it set up. It was great.
All this was done on a 30 Degrees celsius day so it was pretty hot and tiring setting up. We didn't mind though and once we were done we headed off on an exploration of the site. That's pretty much what we did Wednesday and Thursday. We explored. There is so much to see. Sacred spiritual areas of the site, the Greenfields where everything is green friendly, the circus and carnival areas, the theatres, the 50's diner, the wedding chapel, the grand ballroom, the casino.....it just goes on.. We had 2 fantastic days of sunny skies and a great atmosphere on Wed/Thurs....and this was all before the music was due to start Friday.
Thursday night we went to bed around 3am after watching some night time Fire twirling.....but then the storm hit.....it sounds like some of you have heard about the massive storm we had Friday morning. It was like a cyclone passing right over Glastonbury and it lasted 3-4 hours non-stop. Thunder, lightning and lots of rain. Our tent, the Taj Mahal, withstood the storm without any issues....but some others were not so lucky....basically, we woke up Friday morning to a site that was flooded in the low areas and turning into a mudbath in others. Around 200 tents were under water Friday morning. I can only imagine what it would have been like waking up at 4am to find water flooding into your tent....scary.
Anyway, the show went on. The festival spirit did not wane. It was great fun. We all got in our wet weather gear, waited for the power issues on the stages to get resolved and then we braved the mud all in the name of seeing great bands. And that we did. Friday was brilliant as were Saturday and Sunday. The musical acts I saw included seeing the John Butler Trio, the Doves, the Killers, the White Stripes, the Levellers, Kaiser Chiefs, Ash, New Order, James Blunt, Brian Wilson from the Beach boys, Primal Scream and 2 Many DJ's. They are just the main ones...there we loads of off beat musical acts playing as well...
The highlight though was definitely Coldplay who I had never seen before. They played hit after hit from all their albums and in the encore they Payed tribute to Kylie Minogue who was originally scheduled to appear at Glastonbury by doing a cover version of Can't get you out of my head.....it was AMAZING and the crowd went wild.....wow.....have to admit I went a bit digital camera crazy but I know that wont actually surprise any of you....
I've actually got loads of photos that will hopefully do justice to how much of an experience Glastonbury is both in terms of the environment and the music. It is certainly something else and I would recommend everyone who likes music gets there at least once in their life.
And that was it. Before we knew it 5 days of walking around in mud watching bands and experiencing the wacky and crazy were over. Thankfully the mud was only due to the one major storm we had. The weather was actually quite good Saturday and Sunday which helped as we left as the paths had started to dry which certainly made it easier when packing and leaving on Monday morning.
Got back to London Monday afternoon. We pretty much all collapsed in exhaustion, cleaned our clothes and ourselves (after not having a shower for 5 days) and it has been a smooth return to normal life in London ever since.
Had a great few days since being back. I caught up with Chris's sister Kelly on Tuesday and then Tuesday night I went to Putney to catch up with my sister’s in-laws Pat and Napier and my brother-in-law's brother Simon. Was a great night to see them. Had some dinner, went to the pub for a couple beers and had a good time recounting my London experiences so far.
Had another busy day Wednesday as Colin and I went to do the London eye today (pretty much my only touristy thing whilst I am in London), and then we lined up to get some tickets to the Big Screen in Hyde Park this Saturday to watch the Live 8 gig. Very excited about that.
Was a busy afternoon though as I ended up heading to Wimbledon Wednesday night for the £9 special. Caught up with my school mate Pete who was there with his nephew William and we ended up in Court 1 watching Martina Navratilova in mixed doubles. Great day. As we were wandering we saw Hana Mandlikova (for those of you that don't follow tennis, she was top 3 in the era when Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert were at their prime) so I
asked her if I could have a photo with her. She said yes and I did....was fun.
And that's it. That's what I have been up to. Have a couple more days in London left that will pretty much be spent catching up with friends and then Saturday heading to Hyde Park for Live 8. I head to Italy Sunday so am very excited about that and having a different part to this holiday. Less music and more relaxing I hope.
Very excited about the Italy trip as after Milan and I am going to Switzerland to meet my cousins who I have never met before and then my mate Daniel from Australia who I will hang out with for a bit. Lots of food and R&R. Should be fun. And then eventually getting to Rome and doing my language course is going to be ace....Oh, and trying to get to see U2 in Rome on my last weekend before coming back to Australia should just top off a great time away before heading back!
Expect more updates. I will try and be more succinct in the future. I've just had such a great time so far I seem compelled that I have to share it all!!!
Lots of love to you all and see you soon,
Dave
x
30th June 2005
Well hello again all,
Last time I wrote I think I was gushing about how much fun I had been having in London with a great weekend of U2 and then Brighton beach.
Well, I'm still gushing as I've had a great time since then and with a few more days left in London hopefully that will continue.
Last week was all about Glastonbury Music Festival. Monday and Tuesday we got prepared. We packed our bags, bought our comfort supplies and listened to some CD's of the bands that were going to play at Glastonbury....it was all part of the preparation and served us well. Then Wednesday we were ready to head off on the coach to Glastonbury with 5 days of music and fun ahead of us.
It was quite funny the Wednesday morning actually. We got ready to catch The mini-cab to Victoria Coach station here in London and it was only when we had to leave the house it hit home how much we were bringing. We had an 8 man tent, a gazebo, tables and chairs, pillows, blankets, sleeping bags....and the list went on and on......felt like we were leaving for weeks with the amount we were bringing. It was all worth it though.
Got to Victoria coach station and met Miles and his mate Drew and then it was coach time. 4 hours on the coach ahead but it was quite good actually as everyone was quite chatty in the excitement of a good few days.
Bit of a treat on the way though as we passed right by Stonehenge so that was kind of cool. The summer solstice was on the Tuesday night so there were loads of people all gathered around it and it was quite weird actually just seeing this random bunch of stones literally in the middle of nowhere. I was very happy we got to see Stonehenge actually as originally the plan was for us to hire a car and actually go to Stonehenge for the summer Solstice on the way to Glastonbury but we all decided sleep was a better option that Tuesday night. Got it all in the end so it worked out well...
And then we were there. Glastonbury. The sight amazed me as much this year as it did last year. It is just ridiculously big....
Because we left London quite early we arrived around 1pm or so and this meant we were literally within the first 5000 people that were arriving and that pretty much meant we could get whatever camping spot we wanted. So we did. We got a great position right in front of the main stage that would be the envy of everyone else. They say there are 3 rules in property - location, location, location and this is testament to that.
It was quite funny setting up the tent though. The gazebo went up fine but when it came to our 8 person tent and setting that up the instructions were useless....and so were we....as we couldn't work out how to put it up. Eventually, Drew our trusty engineer worked it out and before we knew it, the 8 man tent was up and we were unpacking our bags and organising the interior.....it was like the Taj Mahal by the time we had it set up. It was great.
All this was done on a 30 Degrees celsius day so it was pretty hot and tiring setting up. We didn't mind though and once we were done we headed off on an exploration of the site. That's pretty much what we did Wednesday and Thursday. We explored. There is so much to see. Sacred spiritual areas of the site, the Greenfields where everything is green friendly, the circus and carnival areas, the theatres, the 50's diner, the wedding chapel, the grand ballroom, the casino.....it just goes on.. We had 2 fantastic days of sunny skies and a great atmosphere on Wed/Thurs....and this was all before the music was due to start Friday.
Thursday night we went to bed around 3am after watching some night time Fire twirling.....but then the storm hit.....it sounds like some of you have heard about the massive storm we had Friday morning. It was like a cyclone passing right over Glastonbury and it lasted 3-4 hours non-stop. Thunder, lightning and lots of rain. Our tent, the Taj Mahal, withstood the storm without any issues....but some others were not so lucky....basically, we woke up Friday morning to a site that was flooded in the low areas and turning into a mudbath in others. Around 200 tents were under water Friday morning. I can only imagine what it would have been like waking up at 4am to find water flooding into your tent....scary.
Anyway, the show went on. The festival spirit did not wane. It was great fun. We all got in our wet weather gear, waited for the power issues on the stages to get resolved and then we braved the mud all in the name of seeing great bands. And that we did. Friday was brilliant as were Saturday and Sunday. The musical acts I saw included seeing the John Butler Trio, the Doves, the Killers, the White Stripes, the Levellers, Kaiser Chiefs, Ash, New Order, James Blunt, Brian Wilson from the Beach boys, Primal Scream and 2 Many DJ's. They are just the main ones...there we loads of off beat musical acts playing as well...
The highlight though was definitely Coldplay who I had never seen before. They played hit after hit from all their albums and in the encore they Payed tribute to Kylie Minogue who was originally scheduled to appear at Glastonbury by doing a cover version of Can't get you out of my head.....it was AMAZING and the crowd went wild.....wow.....have to admit I went a bit digital camera crazy but I know that wont actually surprise any of you....
I've actually got loads of photos that will hopefully do justice to how much of an experience Glastonbury is both in terms of the environment and the music. It is certainly something else and I would recommend everyone who likes music gets there at least once in their life.
And that was it. Before we knew it 5 days of walking around in mud watching bands and experiencing the wacky and crazy were over. Thankfully the mud was only due to the one major storm we had. The weather was actually quite good Saturday and Sunday which helped as we left as the paths had started to dry which certainly made it easier when packing and leaving on Monday morning.
Got back to London Monday afternoon. We pretty much all collapsed in exhaustion, cleaned our clothes and ourselves (after not having a shower for 5 days) and it has been a smooth return to normal life in London ever since.
Had a great few days since being back. I caught up with Chris's sister Kelly on Tuesday and then Tuesday night I went to Putney to catch up with my sister’s in-laws Pat and Napier and my brother-in-law's brother Simon. Was a great night to see them. Had some dinner, went to the pub for a couple beers and had a good time recounting my London experiences so far.
Had another busy day Wednesday as Colin and I went to do the London eye today (pretty much my only touristy thing whilst I am in London), and then we lined up to get some tickets to the Big Screen in Hyde Park this Saturday to watch the Live 8 gig. Very excited about that.
Was a busy afternoon though as I ended up heading to Wimbledon Wednesday night for the £9 special. Caught up with my school mate Pete who was there with his nephew William and we ended up in Court 1 watching Martina Navratilova in mixed doubles. Great day. As we were wandering we saw Hana Mandlikova (for those of you that don't follow tennis, she was top 3 in the era when Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert were at their prime) so I
asked her if I could have a photo with her. She said yes and I did....was fun.
And that's it. That's what I have been up to. Have a couple more days in London left that will pretty much be spent catching up with friends and then Saturday heading to Hyde Park for Live 8. I head to Italy Sunday so am very excited about that and having a different part to this holiday. Less music and more relaxing I hope.
Very excited about the Italy trip as after Milan and I am going to Switzerland to meet my cousins who I have never met before and then my mate Daniel from Australia who I will hang out with for a bit. Lots of food and R&R. Should be fun. And then eventually getting to Rome and doing my language course is going to be ace....Oh, and trying to get to see U2 in Rome on my last weekend before coming back to Australia should just top off a great time away before heading back!
Expect more updates. I will try and be more succinct in the future. I've just had such a great time so far I seem compelled that I have to share it all!!!
Lots of love to you all and see you soon,
Dave
x
London 2005 - Site Seeing/U2 Twickenham/Brighton Beach
20th June 2005
Well hello all,
Here I go again on the merry go round of holiday adventure stories for 2005....I'm in London at the moment and so far so good with the weather, music and adventures.....and so much more to come...
Arrived last Wednesday after a gruelling 24 hour flight which wasn't too bad despite the fact there was a guy next to me on the plane who got absolutely plastered on alcohol for the flight between Sydney - Bangkok. He was quite rowdy and did a good job at keeping everyone awake...was kind of annoying but it was very satisfying watching the air hostess confiscate his duty free alcohol he had been digging into...she put him in his place well and it provided some light entertainment on an otherwise dull leg of the journey...anyway, got here ok Wednesday and things have been A.O.K ever since.
Wednesday to Friday were pretty much spent shopping and catching up with Colin, Frix and Colin's flatmates, James, Pete, Jo & Sarah, Kate and Miles and his mates Drew & Ross....has been great seeing everyone so far and will get to spend a lot more time with everyone at Glastonbury this week....looking forward to that and I know it is going to be awesome!
Saturday was highlight number 1 on the trip though as Colin, Frix, Miles and I went to watch U2 at Twickenham Stadium and as all of you know I am a pathetically obsessed U2 fan so I thought I was in some sort of U2 heaven as it was a perfect summers day here at 32 degrees, we had awesome seats and had a whole bunch of obsessed fans around us as well so at various points it felt like I was in the "U2 Church Choir at Twickenham" as we all sang along to various songs and it was just AMAZING!
Of course I took loads of photos and some video footage which I will no doubt bore you all with when I get back to Oz but it was so worth it....they started with Vertigo, finished with another rendition of Vertigo and in between played hit after hit from their many albums....the 70000 strong crowd were up for it big time and it was just a brilliant night....in fact, it was so good I am now considering going to see them in Zurich or Rome as they are playing when I am there....would be silly to miss out on the chance I think....I'm not here everyday.....
Yesterday we took advantage of another day of fantastic weather and headed down to Brighton Beach for a BBQ. In fact it seems that the whole of London was there as well as it was packed....the first weekend of sunshine and the English folk make way for the seaside....is quite interesting watching this part of their culture at work as they all make a pilgrimage to the beach and then fry themselves in the sun until they are red as lobsters....don't think the slip, slop, slap message has quite made it here yet....
The BBQ was great as Frix had a bunch of his mates there as it was the London - Brighton bike ride yesterday so a bunch of them had done the ride and then met us for the BBQ....was a lovely day and capped off an awesome weekend really....
And here I am back in London on a Monday that is a bit grey but dry so hopefully the dry weather will continue and Glastonbury will be dry this year....have a few last minute supplies to get for Glastonbury so it is a comfortable stay and then Wednesday we head down there for 5 days of musical festivities which should be another highlight....there are so many great bands playing this year that I know it will be great....as long as it isn't a mudbath like last year....
So that's about it for update number 1 I suppose....a great start to my holiday and with many more things to look forward to including Glastonbury, Wimbledon and then Live 8 in the park my time in London is going to continue to be great.....not sure I'd cope with so much London has to offer if I lived here.....I'd be exhausted!!!
Love to you all and hope you are well...
Dave
20th June 2005
Well hello all,
Here I go again on the merry go round of holiday adventure stories for 2005....I'm in London at the moment and so far so good with the weather, music and adventures.....and so much more to come...
Arrived last Wednesday after a gruelling 24 hour flight which wasn't too bad despite the fact there was a guy next to me on the plane who got absolutely plastered on alcohol for the flight between Sydney - Bangkok. He was quite rowdy and did a good job at keeping everyone awake...was kind of annoying but it was very satisfying watching the air hostess confiscate his duty free alcohol he had been digging into...she put him in his place well and it provided some light entertainment on an otherwise dull leg of the journey...anyway, got here ok Wednesday and things have been A.O.K ever since.
Wednesday to Friday were pretty much spent shopping and catching up with Colin, Frix and Colin's flatmates, James, Pete, Jo & Sarah, Kate and Miles and his mates Drew & Ross....has been great seeing everyone so far and will get to spend a lot more time with everyone at Glastonbury this week....looking forward to that and I know it is going to be awesome!
Saturday was highlight number 1 on the trip though as Colin, Frix, Miles and I went to watch U2 at Twickenham Stadium and as all of you know I am a pathetically obsessed U2 fan so I thought I was in some sort of U2 heaven as it was a perfect summers day here at 32 degrees, we had awesome seats and had a whole bunch of obsessed fans around us as well so at various points it felt like I was in the "U2 Church Choir at Twickenham" as we all sang along to various songs and it was just AMAZING!
Of course I took loads of photos and some video footage which I will no doubt bore you all with when I get back to Oz but it was so worth it....they started with Vertigo, finished with another rendition of Vertigo and in between played hit after hit from their many albums....the 70000 strong crowd were up for it big time and it was just a brilliant night....in fact, it was so good I am now considering going to see them in Zurich or Rome as they are playing when I am there....would be silly to miss out on the chance I think....I'm not here everyday.....
Yesterday we took advantage of another day of fantastic weather and headed down to Brighton Beach for a BBQ. In fact it seems that the whole of London was there as well as it was packed....the first weekend of sunshine and the English folk make way for the seaside....is quite interesting watching this part of their culture at work as they all make a pilgrimage to the beach and then fry themselves in the sun until they are red as lobsters....don't think the slip, slop, slap message has quite made it here yet....
The BBQ was great as Frix had a bunch of his mates there as it was the London - Brighton bike ride yesterday so a bunch of them had done the ride and then met us for the BBQ....was a lovely day and capped off an awesome weekend really....
And here I am back in London on a Monday that is a bit grey but dry so hopefully the dry weather will continue and Glastonbury will be dry this year....have a few last minute supplies to get for Glastonbury so it is a comfortable stay and then Wednesday we head down there for 5 days of musical festivities which should be another highlight....there are so many great bands playing this year that I know it will be great....as long as it isn't a mudbath like last year....
So that's about it for update number 1 I suppose....a great start to my holiday and with many more things to look forward to including Glastonbury, Wimbledon and then Live 8 in the park my time in London is going to continue to be great.....not sure I'd cope with so much London has to offer if I lived here.....I'd be exhausted!!!
Love to you all and hope you are well...
Dave
Australia 2005
 |
| 050605 Italian Cultural Festival Sydney |
 |
| 050527 Jen & Dave's Birthday Dinner |
 |
| 050526 CDD @ Ruby Rabbit |
 |
| 050507 Surrey Hills Festival |
 |
| 050507 Mothers Day 2005 |
 |
| 050501 Sarah's leaving drinks |
 |
| 050430 Rel & Goose's Birthday |
 |
| 050311 Leaving Do's - Jo/Sarah & James |
 |
| 050305 Sydney Mardi Gras |
 |
| 050227 Harbour Party |
 |
| 050226 Jen's BBQ with Parents |
 |
| 050219 Good Vibrations 2005 |
 |
| 050129 Waveaid Concert |
 |
| 050127 Polyphonic Spree |
 |
| 050124 Melbourne - Australian Open 2005 |
 |
| 050101 Field Day 2005 |
Montreal - Los Angeles 2004
13th August 2004
Hello again all.
Well, this is it. My last email from my holiday adventures and next time I email you all I'll be back at work and back in reality.
Last time I wrote I was leaving NYC and heading to Montreal to meet Jen for her brother Bill's wedding...well, that was a complete success and lots of fun.
met Jen last Thursday in Montreal and we decided a night out in Montreal was on order before we were to head across to Cornwall for the wedding. We had a very entertaining time as a good friend of Jen's had recommended a restaurant called Bonne Notte for dinner and that was quite a good recommendation as it turned out. The food was great, the waitresses and waiters were all model material, the hostess with the mostest looked like Naomi Campbell but did nothing and Jen and I spent a good few hours enjoying dinner and marvelling at the patrons who were singing Frank Sinatra very badly and basically it was all very surreal.
We decided a night on the town was a good idea as well and of course we found the bar with the most people and the most fun. Needless to say we had to play the game of lining up in the "nobody" line whilst all the friends of the doormen got in ahead of us. For every 20 "friends of the doorman" that got in, one person from the "nobody" line would get in so it took about an hour to get in....good to see that some ridiculous traditions are constant worldwide....it would have been too easy to just walk right in. We drank and danced to trashy 80's songs and had a great time. The crowd was good value and we packed it in relatively early considering.
And that was Montreal and off to Cornwall it was for the wedding. It was about an hour away from Montreal and we had a great laugh when we arrived. We went to meet Bill and Sara and it was the first time I had met Sara and all I can say is that they both seemed completely smitten with each other which was great to see. The families were completely welcoming and I had a laugh with all of them Friday. The pre-wedding family dinner was a great success and as Jen's "date" I got to go to that which was a lot of fun. So much fun that the post dinner party in Jen's parents room got shut down!!! Always the sign of a good party!!!
And the wedding Saturday was fantastic. It rained for around 20 minutes before the wedding but cleared up really well, the service was great, the bride and groom were happy and everyone really enjoyed it. The reception was in a large tent in Sara's parents backyard and everyone had a great time. Jen and I have been commended for being such party catalysts but it wasn't really that hard at all...
On Sunday I made my way back to Montreal as I had a plane to catch Monday so I headed out for dinner and a few drinks....no major excitement but fun nonetheless.
And Monday was my nightmare day! Up at 4am to get to the airport by 5am for a flight to Dallas. I got there at 10am, went into town and headed to the JFK memorial in Dealy Plaza, the site of his assassination. Was great to wander around there considering its historical significance, I had my picture taken on the spot where JFK was shot (as every other tourist did) and it was time to head back to the airport for my flight to LA before I knew it!
Got to LA around 6pm and my sister Sue picked me up from the airport and we had dinner with her and the family at their house. Was great to see them and hang out for the evening but I packed it in relatively early.
As Sue & Harry had taken Tuesday and Wednesday off work to hang out with me, we decided to head to "Big Bear Mountain" with the kids for a couple days get away. Big Bear Mountain is around 3 hours away from LA and is an Alpine Ski report in Winter and a getaway in the summer where waters ports on the lake are a key attraction. It was great fun. We hired a boat and spent some time on the water (about time my boat license came in handy), we went to the slip and slide water park and went tobogganing at the fun park as well. My niece and nephew loved it and it was a great time had by all. It was probably the best thing we could have done to enjoy some time together considering the short time I have here in LA!!!
And that's it. Sue & Harry are at work today so I am babysitting my niece and nephew. We are about to head down to the local park for a bit of pitch and putt golf and then we're just going to hang out for the rest of the day until Sue & Harry return. Tonight I'm going to go see "Donnie Darko: The Directors Cut" and then I head back to Oz tomorrow. Had a dream I missed my flight and I had to stay here which unfortunately wont come true but I can keep wishing.
So that's it for my holiday adventures folks! I hope they have provided some entertainment for you all. For those of you in Oz, I can't wait to see you all in the flesh and catch up. For those of you overseas, thanks for being part of my holiday and making it so memorable. It was great fun!!!
Cya soon
Dave
xxx
13th August 2004
Hello again all.
Well, this is it. My last email from my holiday adventures and next time I email you all I'll be back at work and back in reality.
Last time I wrote I was leaving NYC and heading to Montreal to meet Jen for her brother Bill's wedding...well, that was a complete success and lots of fun.
met Jen last Thursday in Montreal and we decided a night out in Montreal was on order before we were to head across to Cornwall for the wedding. We had a very entertaining time as a good friend of Jen's had recommended a restaurant called Bonne Notte for dinner and that was quite a good recommendation as it turned out. The food was great, the waitresses and waiters were all model material, the hostess with the mostest looked like Naomi Campbell but did nothing and Jen and I spent a good few hours enjoying dinner and marvelling at the patrons who were singing Frank Sinatra very badly and basically it was all very surreal.
We decided a night on the town was a good idea as well and of course we found the bar with the most people and the most fun. Needless to say we had to play the game of lining up in the "nobody" line whilst all the friends of the doormen got in ahead of us. For every 20 "friends of the doorman" that got in, one person from the "nobody" line would get in so it took about an hour to get in....good to see that some ridiculous traditions are constant worldwide....it would have been too easy to just walk right in. We drank and danced to trashy 80's songs and had a great time. The crowd was good value and we packed it in relatively early considering.
And that was Montreal and off to Cornwall it was for the wedding. It was about an hour away from Montreal and we had a great laugh when we arrived. We went to meet Bill and Sara and it was the first time I had met Sara and all I can say is that they both seemed completely smitten with each other which was great to see. The families were completely welcoming and I had a laugh with all of them Friday. The pre-wedding family dinner was a great success and as Jen's "date" I got to go to that which was a lot of fun. So much fun that the post dinner party in Jen's parents room got shut down!!! Always the sign of a good party!!!
And the wedding Saturday was fantastic. It rained for around 20 minutes before the wedding but cleared up really well, the service was great, the bride and groom were happy and everyone really enjoyed it. The reception was in a large tent in Sara's parents backyard and everyone had a great time. Jen and I have been commended for being such party catalysts but it wasn't really that hard at all...
On Sunday I made my way back to Montreal as I had a plane to catch Monday so I headed out for dinner and a few drinks....no major excitement but fun nonetheless.
And Monday was my nightmare day! Up at 4am to get to the airport by 5am for a flight to Dallas. I got there at 10am, went into town and headed to the JFK memorial in Dealy Plaza, the site of his assassination. Was great to wander around there considering its historical significance, I had my picture taken on the spot where JFK was shot (as every other tourist did) and it was time to head back to the airport for my flight to LA before I knew it!
Got to LA around 6pm and my sister Sue picked me up from the airport and we had dinner with her and the family at their house. Was great to see them and hang out for the evening but I packed it in relatively early.
As Sue & Harry had taken Tuesday and Wednesday off work to hang out with me, we decided to head to "Big Bear Mountain" with the kids for a couple days get away. Big Bear Mountain is around 3 hours away from LA and is an Alpine Ski report in Winter and a getaway in the summer where waters ports on the lake are a key attraction. It was great fun. We hired a boat and spent some time on the water (about time my boat license came in handy), we went to the slip and slide water park and went tobogganing at the fun park as well. My niece and nephew loved it and it was a great time had by all. It was probably the best thing we could have done to enjoy some time together considering the short time I have here in LA!!!
And that's it. Sue & Harry are at work today so I am babysitting my niece and nephew. We are about to head down to the local park for a bit of pitch and putt golf and then we're just going to hang out for the rest of the day until Sue & Harry return. Tonight I'm going to go see "Donnie Darko: The Directors Cut" and then I head back to Oz tomorrow. Had a dream I missed my flight and I had to stay here which unfortunately wont come true but I can keep wishing.
So that's it for my holiday adventures folks! I hope they have provided some entertainment for you all. For those of you in Oz, I can't wait to see you all in the flesh and catch up. For those of you overseas, thanks for being part of my holiday and making it so memorable. It was great fun!!!
Cya soon
Dave
xxx
New York - Madonna in Miami 2004
5th August 2004
Hello all!
Well last time I wrote it was the end of my UK adventures and off to NYC.
I failed to mention in my last email though that on the Tuesday before I left London, Cath Slade, a friend of Colin's was able to give me a personally guided tour of Westminster Parliament building which was great! I got to see the House of Commons and the House of Lords first hand and even got to stand right where Tony Blair stands when he addresses parliament. Geeky I know!!!
A big thanks to Cath for arranging that and showing me around...it was great!!
Ok, so that was the end of my London adventures all wrapped up and complete...so here we go to NYC!!!
I arrived Thursday into NYC and have been setting a never ending pace of adventure since I arrived. When I got here I got to Simons house on the upper East Side, dropped my stuff off and off we went to dinner! Had a great dinner at this cute Italian restaurant near his house and then headed out for some drinks in Midtown Manhattan and then off to Chelsea for more drinks and a bit of a dance...all pretty good for a Thursday night and eventually we called it quits around 11pm..I thought I had done very well to last that long as it was 4am London time and my body clock didn't feel a thing...maybe it was the Jack Daniels and Coke blurring my senses...needless to say I was the one who called it a night...Simon was still keen to stay out and he had to work the next day!!! He felt the effects and I was vindicated in my decision to leave!!!
Friday was a day for sightseeing and getting in as much of NYC as possible. I went down to the World Trade Centre early in the morning to have a look around and I was quite shocked as to how big the hole in the ground is. I remember in 1996 when I was here I went to the top of the WTC and now to see a big gaping hole and to think of the way it all happened was a bit too much...also a bit too much was the people selling books on the "Tragedy of 9/11" around the place...showing all the photos of the day it happened...thought it was a bit unnecessary that they were profiteering from it actually...
The WTC wasn't the only sight I went to on Friday though. I was quite active and took in the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Wall Street, Times Square and Central Park as well...all places I have been before but I had to go again!!! I'm not in NYC every day...on my way back from sightseeing I stopped off at a Pizza bar for a bite to eat and the Coke rep from Coca-Cola NYC happened to be in the store at the time...once I realised who she was I introduced myself, got chatting to her and within minutes she had invited me to go to the NYC Yankees Game on Sunday in the Corporate Box at Yankee Stadium...unfortunately I had to explain to her that I couldn't go as I was going to Miami but we did exchange business cards and it was very funny to have met her...
My night activity was catching up with a good friend Vicky here in NYC...we met up at her office which overlooks Times Square, took some pictures from the office and headed out for drinks and dinner...we had a great night out. Went to loads of different bars…drank too much, got home too late and felt very rough for Saturday's early morning flight to Miami...And Miami here I come!!!! What a great idea it was to go to Miami to see Madonna...for those of you who have seen the Birdcage, you will understand that it is a beautiful place filled with too many beautiful people...we hung out during the day, went to the beaches and generally took it easy during the day and went out until all hours at night...that's what people do in Miami and that was pretty much the order of the day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There was a fleeting idea to hire a car and drive down to Key West but to be honest, I think that is best left for another return trip to Miami...need 2 weeks there to do it properly I think as spending time on the beaches has to be done, but so do trips to the Bahamas and Key West etc...have to plan better for that next time..
But of course the highlight of the Miami trip was going the Madonna concert on Monday night...it was great fun and I was on my feet for the entire 2 hours of the show!!! From Vogue to Holiday, Madonna did all her hits, looked great, had great visuals and performers and the whole show was AMAZING!!! I only hope some of my photos turn out...it was quite scary during Like a Prayer however as a guy from 5 rows behind us tripped and fell forward landing on the girl behind me and hitting me a bit...was a bit frightened but as soon as I knew he was OK I kept on dancing!!!! Too much fun!!! Went out afterwards and considering it was a Monday night, the club we went to knew that the only people that would be going would have been to the Madonna concert so they were playing Madonna songs all night...it was hilarious...
And that's it. Had a funny experience on the plane from Miami to NYC exchanging Madonna stories with the person sat next to me on the plane...very funny and I'm sure the rest of the plane were wishing I would just shut up!!! Never mind. It was fun! When we got back to NYC I headed down to Times Square to take some pictures and buy some DVD's. It's amazing what DVD's are available in NYC…things that have only just come out at the movies...crazy stuff!!!A
nd that's it…packing/cleaning today to get ready for Montreal tomorrow...and edging that little bit closer to my return to reality in Sydney...
Until next time, hope you are all well and I can't wait to tell more stories in the flesh!!!
Dave
xxx
5th August 2004
Hello all!
Well last time I wrote it was the end of my UK adventures and off to NYC.
I failed to mention in my last email though that on the Tuesday before I left London, Cath Slade, a friend of Colin's was able to give me a personally guided tour of Westminster Parliament building which was great! I got to see the House of Commons and the House of Lords first hand and even got to stand right where Tony Blair stands when he addresses parliament. Geeky I know!!!
A big thanks to Cath for arranging that and showing me around...it was great!!
Ok, so that was the end of my London adventures all wrapped up and complete...so here we go to NYC!!!
I arrived Thursday into NYC and have been setting a never ending pace of adventure since I arrived. When I got here I got to Simons house on the upper East Side, dropped my stuff off and off we went to dinner! Had a great dinner at this cute Italian restaurant near his house and then headed out for some drinks in Midtown Manhattan and then off to Chelsea for more drinks and a bit of a dance...all pretty good for a Thursday night and eventually we called it quits around 11pm..I thought I had done very well to last that long as it was 4am London time and my body clock didn't feel a thing...maybe it was the Jack Daniels and Coke blurring my senses...needless to say I was the one who called it a night...Simon was still keen to stay out and he had to work the next day!!! He felt the effects and I was vindicated in my decision to leave!!!
Friday was a day for sightseeing and getting in as much of NYC as possible. I went down to the World Trade Centre early in the morning to have a look around and I was quite shocked as to how big the hole in the ground is. I remember in 1996 when I was here I went to the top of the WTC and now to see a big gaping hole and to think of the way it all happened was a bit too much...also a bit too much was the people selling books on the "Tragedy of 9/11" around the place...showing all the photos of the day it happened...thought it was a bit unnecessary that they were profiteering from it actually...
The WTC wasn't the only sight I went to on Friday though. I was quite active and took in the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Wall Street, Times Square and Central Park as well...all places I have been before but I had to go again!!! I'm not in NYC every day...on my way back from sightseeing I stopped off at a Pizza bar for a bite to eat and the Coke rep from Coca-Cola NYC happened to be in the store at the time...once I realised who she was I introduced myself, got chatting to her and within minutes she had invited me to go to the NYC Yankees Game on Sunday in the Corporate Box at Yankee Stadium...unfortunately I had to explain to her that I couldn't go as I was going to Miami but we did exchange business cards and it was very funny to have met her...
My night activity was catching up with a good friend Vicky here in NYC...we met up at her office which overlooks Times Square, took some pictures from the office and headed out for drinks and dinner...we had a great night out. Went to loads of different bars…drank too much, got home too late and felt very rough for Saturday's early morning flight to Miami...And Miami here I come!!!! What a great idea it was to go to Miami to see Madonna...for those of you who have seen the Birdcage, you will understand that it is a beautiful place filled with too many beautiful people...we hung out during the day, went to the beaches and generally took it easy during the day and went out until all hours at night...that's what people do in Miami and that was pretty much the order of the day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There was a fleeting idea to hire a car and drive down to Key West but to be honest, I think that is best left for another return trip to Miami...need 2 weeks there to do it properly I think as spending time on the beaches has to be done, but so do trips to the Bahamas and Key West etc...have to plan better for that next time..
But of course the highlight of the Miami trip was going the Madonna concert on Monday night...it was great fun and I was on my feet for the entire 2 hours of the show!!! From Vogue to Holiday, Madonna did all her hits, looked great, had great visuals and performers and the whole show was AMAZING!!! I only hope some of my photos turn out...it was quite scary during Like a Prayer however as a guy from 5 rows behind us tripped and fell forward landing on the girl behind me and hitting me a bit...was a bit frightened but as soon as I knew he was OK I kept on dancing!!!! Too much fun!!! Went out afterwards and considering it was a Monday night, the club we went to knew that the only people that would be going would have been to the Madonna concert so they were playing Madonna songs all night...it was hilarious...
And that's it. Had a funny experience on the plane from Miami to NYC exchanging Madonna stories with the person sat next to me on the plane...very funny and I'm sure the rest of the plane were wishing I would just shut up!!! Never mind. It was fun! When we got back to NYC I headed down to Times Square to take some pictures and buy some DVD's. It's amazing what DVD's are available in NYC…things that have only just come out at the movies...crazy stuff!!!A
nd that's it…packing/cleaning today to get ready for Montreal tomorrow...and edging that little bit closer to my return to reality in Sydney...
Until next time, hope you are all well and I can't wait to tell more stories in the flesh!!!
Dave
xxx
Dublin - London 2004
29th July 2004
Hello again all!!!
Well, my time in the UK/Europe is almost over and a I am writing to you on the eve of my departure for NYC - the city that never sleeps!!!
Last time I wrote I was in Belfast, enjoying the experiences of meeting people from Coca-Cola there and generally trying to get a feel of the way things work over here compared to Australia.
That was highly successful and interesting and after that, it was Dublin here I come...with a minor detour for a game of golf courtesy of Coca-Cola Ireland....
Well, last Friday I left Belfast and drove down to Dublin.....on the way though I saw a sign for "Slane", which for those of you fortunate, or unfortunate as it may be to have been subjected to my favourite and most recent U2 concert DVD will know that Slane Castle is where it was filmed in 2001....I couldn't resist myself so I had to go take a look...
Peering through the breaks in the fencing from outside I was able to see the castle and the grounds where the concerts are held each year. Incidentally, Madonna is playing there Aug 29 which would be great but never mind....when a tour group in "Paddy's Wagon" turned up, I saw them jump the fence and enter the grounds so I had to do the same....was real cool to wander around the site and take a walk up to the castle imagining what it would be like with 80000 fans watching U2....GREAT!!!
After that U2 moment I made my way down to Carton House golf course just outside of Dublin and had a great round of golf there courtesy of Coca-Cola Ireland....thanks to Selina for sorting that one out for me!!! Was great fun....
And then to Dublin.....wasn't quite sure what the interesting parts of Dublin were going to be but Colin flew in Friday night which was cool so we could have a weekend in Dublin and hang out there....we went to all the bars we could, drank loads and drank some more....that's what people do in Dublin so we did it too!
Hangover day Saturday and where better to go than the Guinness factory!!! That's about the only real sightseeing thing we did in Dublin but it was cool....have some million dollar photos from the Guinness factory to share with you all!!!
More wandering on Sunday and back to London it was Sunday night.....the last couple days have been spent pretty much catching up on last minute thingsbefore I go.
I managed to see my brother-in-laws parents and brother for lunch on Monday which was cool and last night it was "Jerry Springer - the Opera" which was silly but funny.....not sure it lived up to the hype of its reviews but it was entertaining nonetheless....
And here I am. Last email from UK/Europe before I head off to NYC tomorrow....that promises to be fun and Miami for the weekend to see Madonna, so that promises to be even "funner"!!!
Hope you are all well, wherever you are and drop me a note if you feel up to it!!!
Lots of love
Dave
xxx
29th July 2004
Hello again all!!!
Well, my time in the UK/Europe is almost over and a I am writing to you on the eve of my departure for NYC - the city that never sleeps!!!
Last time I wrote I was in Belfast, enjoying the experiences of meeting people from Coca-Cola there and generally trying to get a feel of the way things work over here compared to Australia.
That was highly successful and interesting and after that, it was Dublin here I come...with a minor detour for a game of golf courtesy of Coca-Cola Ireland....
Well, last Friday I left Belfast and drove down to Dublin.....on the way though I saw a sign for "Slane", which for those of you fortunate, or unfortunate as it may be to have been subjected to my favourite and most recent U2 concert DVD will know that Slane Castle is where it was filmed in 2001....I couldn't resist myself so I had to go take a look...
Peering through the breaks in the fencing from outside I was able to see the castle and the grounds where the concerts are held each year. Incidentally, Madonna is playing there Aug 29 which would be great but never mind....when a tour group in "Paddy's Wagon" turned up, I saw them jump the fence and enter the grounds so I had to do the same....was real cool to wander around the site and take a walk up to the castle imagining what it would be like with 80000 fans watching U2....GREAT!!!
After that U2 moment I made my way down to Carton House golf course just outside of Dublin and had a great round of golf there courtesy of Coca-Cola Ireland....thanks to Selina for sorting that one out for me!!! Was great fun....
And then to Dublin.....wasn't quite sure what the interesting parts of Dublin were going to be but Colin flew in Friday night which was cool so we could have a weekend in Dublin and hang out there....we went to all the bars we could, drank loads and drank some more....that's what people do in Dublin so we did it too!
Hangover day Saturday and where better to go than the Guinness factory!!! That's about the only real sightseeing thing we did in Dublin but it was cool....have some million dollar photos from the Guinness factory to share with you all!!!
More wandering on Sunday and back to London it was Sunday night.....the last couple days have been spent pretty much catching up on last minute thingsbefore I go.
I managed to see my brother-in-laws parents and brother for lunch on Monday which was cool and last night it was "Jerry Springer - the Opera" which was silly but funny.....not sure it lived up to the hype of its reviews but it was entertaining nonetheless....
And here I am. Last email from UK/Europe before I head off to NYC tomorrow....that promises to be fun and Miami for the weekend to see Madonna, so that promises to be even "funner"!!!
Hope you are all well, wherever you are and drop me a note if you feel up to it!!!
Lots of love
Dave
xxx
Scotland - Belfast 2004
22nd July 2004
Hello again all!!!
Well, I am writing to you from the lovely city of Belfast!!!
I have been here for the past 2 days visiting Coke here in Belfast to learn a bit from them about how they do business here compared to Australia and to see if there are any tips that I could bring back to Australia. It's been a great couple of days meeting some of the people here and going out to see what the marketplace is like here in Belfast. Very good experience and I have some photos to show some people from work when I get back there.
For the past week I've been in Scotland and Ireland pretty much either watching the British Open golf or playing golf. It's been a great week!
I went to Scotland last Wednesday with my school mate Pete and when we arrived in Edinburgh we headed straight for St Andrews, the home of golf. It was great to walk around the Old Course there where so many British Opens have been played. The last one there was in 2000 when Tiger Woods won so that was a bit of a thrill to get to walk the course. On Thursday we managed to play golf on the course which was an even bigger thrill! Thankfully I didn't play too bad to my score was quite reasonable for playing there and it was a great day! I couldn't believe though that it didn't get dark until 11pm at night and the sun rose at 4am!!! Crazy stuff!!!
On Friday Pete and I went to the British Open golf which was on the west coast of Scotland at Royal Troon. Was a great experience and we got to follow Greg Norman and Tiger Woods for most of the day. They were playing together and it was great to follow them and see them up close. They are both such good players and when watching live it is pretty easy to tell the difference between a professional golfer and a good amateur!!! I'm neither one of those by the way!!! :-)
On Saturday Pete and I played golf at Turnburry golf course which was about 40 minutes down the road from where the British Open was being played. It was the course where Greg Norman won his first British Open so that was a big thrill. Now I've played both courses where Greg Norman has won his British Open's so that has been kind of cool.
Off to Ireland Saturday night and more golf on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Doonbeg, Lahinch and Ballybunnion golf courses which are all golf courses inthe best 50 in the world! Great fun and very challenging golf but an awesome week! I didn't necessarily play good golf anywhere but the courses were great and I had a blast playing them!
The people in Scotland and Ireland have all been very welcoming and friendly and I've really enjoyed meeting them. People are right when they say thatthe Irish are the friendliest people around and the Scottish aren't too bad either! There is certainly no attitude in this part of the world.
So here I am in Belfast. Been here the past 2 days pretty much meeting people from Coke here and having a look around. Good experience and they have been very accommodating and friendly.
Heading to Dublin for the weekend tomorrow. Coke Ireland have got me playing a great golf course in Dublin tomorrow which should be fun and then tomorrow night Colin is flying in to hang out with me in Dublin for the weekend. Should be lots of fun! Have to visit the Guinness factory!
Next week is my last week here in the UK before heading to the USA and Canada. Going to the theatre on Tuesday night with Colin, Pete and his wife to watch "Jerry Springer - The Musical" which is getting great reviews over here and promises to be a huge laugh....can't wait!!
OK, well that's where I am up to on my adventures. Holiday is starting to go way too quickly now and before I know it, I'll be back at work!!!
Anyway, take care all and send me some news if you have any.
Dave
:-)
22nd July 2004
Hello again all!!!
Well, I am writing to you from the lovely city of Belfast!!!
I have been here for the past 2 days visiting Coke here in Belfast to learn a bit from them about how they do business here compared to Australia and to see if there are any tips that I could bring back to Australia. It's been a great couple of days meeting some of the people here and going out to see what the marketplace is like here in Belfast. Very good experience and I have some photos to show some people from work when I get back there.
For the past week I've been in Scotland and Ireland pretty much either watching the British Open golf or playing golf. It's been a great week!
I went to Scotland last Wednesday with my school mate Pete and when we arrived in Edinburgh we headed straight for St Andrews, the home of golf. It was great to walk around the Old Course there where so many British Opens have been played. The last one there was in 2000 when Tiger Woods won so that was a bit of a thrill to get to walk the course. On Thursday we managed to play golf on the course which was an even bigger thrill! Thankfully I didn't play too bad to my score was quite reasonable for playing there and it was a great day! I couldn't believe though that it didn't get dark until 11pm at night and the sun rose at 4am!!! Crazy stuff!!!
On Friday Pete and I went to the British Open golf which was on the west coast of Scotland at Royal Troon. Was a great experience and we got to follow Greg Norman and Tiger Woods for most of the day. They were playing together and it was great to follow them and see them up close. They are both such good players and when watching live it is pretty easy to tell the difference between a professional golfer and a good amateur!!! I'm neither one of those by the way!!! :-)
On Saturday Pete and I played golf at Turnburry golf course which was about 40 minutes down the road from where the British Open was being played. It was the course where Greg Norman won his first British Open so that was a big thrill. Now I've played both courses where Greg Norman has won his British Open's so that has been kind of cool.
Off to Ireland Saturday night and more golf on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Doonbeg, Lahinch and Ballybunnion golf courses which are all golf courses inthe best 50 in the world! Great fun and very challenging golf but an awesome week! I didn't necessarily play good golf anywhere but the courses were great and I had a blast playing them!
The people in Scotland and Ireland have all been very welcoming and friendly and I've really enjoyed meeting them. People are right when they say thatthe Irish are the friendliest people around and the Scottish aren't too bad either! There is certainly no attitude in this part of the world.
So here I am in Belfast. Been here the past 2 days pretty much meeting people from Coke here and having a look around. Good experience and they have been very accommodating and friendly.
Heading to Dublin for the weekend tomorrow. Coke Ireland have got me playing a great golf course in Dublin tomorrow which should be fun and then tomorrow night Colin is flying in to hang out with me in Dublin for the weekend. Should be lots of fun! Have to visit the Guinness factory!
Next week is my last week here in the UK before heading to the USA and Canada. Going to the theatre on Tuesday night with Colin, Pete and his wife to watch "Jerry Springer - The Musical" which is getting great reviews over here and promises to be a huge laugh....can't wait!!
OK, well that's where I am up to on my adventures. Holiday is starting to go way too quickly now and before I know it, I'll be back at work!!!
Anyway, take care all and send me some news if you have any.
Dave
:-)
Italy 2004
13th July 2004
Hello again everyone!!!
Last time I wrote I was about to head off to Rome. Well, I can now say that I have been there and done that but I am sure I will not be able to adequately put into words what an amazing week I had in Italy although I will try....I say Italy because I took the train to Florence as well for a day on Saturday and that was amazing as well!!!
I got to Rome last Tuesday and went to the hotel, dumped my stuff and immediately went for a wander around town. I could have taken the train but I wanted to explore! One thing though...crossing roads...The Roman's don't stop at Zebra crossings...you just have to walk across the road anywhere, look confident and they will stop or swerve around you...the rules of the road we are all used to don't apply in Rome...they have their own rules!!!
Got to the Roman Forum and Colosseum around 5pm and was blown away. Went photo mad and was basically in awe of the place. Bought some souvenirs around the Colosseum (as you do) and continued on my walk of the place. Saw loads that night but to understand the true significance and historicalrelevance I had to wait until I did the walking tours.
On Wednesday I made my way down to the Vatican to do a tour that was recommended to me by a Canadian couple I was in Africa with. I rocked up tothe Vatican around 11.30 as the tour was starting at 12.30 and took a wander around. I couldn't quite believe how big it all was. The walking tour wasgreat. The tour guide was an enthusiastic American who knew his stuff really well. It was great to have a native English speaking tour guide as that certainly made it easier.
We went through the Vatican Museums and all the works of art that are in the Museums are just amazing! I am not an art or history buff at all but to behonest, you can't help but be impressed by the artworks in the Museum as well as the architecture of the place itself. To think that a lot of this stuff had been done around 500 years ago is just amazing and it really blew me away! We ended the Vatican Museum tour in the Sistine Chapel and I don't think it can be really appreciated until you see it for yourself…to think that a work of art like that was done by one man, so high up is just incredible! The colours were so vibrant and the art itself truly amazing!
We continued on to the Vatican itself and it's size is just mammoth! It can fit 90,000 people and when you consider that St Peter's Square can only fit70,000 it gives you some idea of the scale of the place. Truly spectacular. I climbed to the top of St Peter's Dome and the views of Rome were superb...all this on my first full day and I still had another 4 days left!!!
On Thursday I had a morning of sleeping in, taking it easy and wandering around the shopping district as the walking tour of the Colosseum, PalantineHill and Roman Forum wasn't going to begin until 4pm..after most of the crowds during the peak of the day had dissipated. Again, the tour guide was great. A tiny New Zealand girl who again knew the history like the back of her hand. Inside the Colosseum was impressive as was the Palantine hill and Roman Forum. The Roman Forum particularly impressed me as although it is nothing but a bunch of ruins now, when the photos were shown of what it would have looked like 2000 years ago, you can't help but admire it. Remarkable...
I went to the prison cell where St Peter and St Paul were held before their executions and I couldn't believe where I was or what I was seeing. So much history in one place..
Friday was spent exploring a bunch of sights that were mentioned in the book Angels & Demons which I read whilst in Africa and I went to a lot ofobscure churches and sights in search of the monuments mentioned in the book. I found most of them and continued in the afternoon back to the Vatican forsome more looking around and some more shopping...yes folks, I spent up big in Rome and after I finish writing this email I have to go to the post office to send more stuff home!!! I've been going nuts...I left Australia with one suitcase, I will be returning with two suitcases and by then I will all ready have sent 2 or 3 packages home!!! Crazy stuff but all worthwhile!
Friday night I did another walking tour of the Piazzas and Fountains at night. The tours were definitely the way to go as although it is possible to see a lot of things in Rome without doing tours, unless you do the research for yourself the history of a lot of the places will be lost. The tour was great and at one stage we were entering another Piazza and there was an orchestra playing an opera score...it was all for free, out in the open and the passion that they played with just was overwhelming...the music was great and everyone on the tour could not quite believe where we were...this was Italy at its best!!!
Saturday I took the train to Florence for a day trip which was only 1.5 hours away from Rome on the very fast train.
I spent the day there doing 4 hours worth of walking tours of the major sights in Florence as well as the statue of David which again was another piece of art that has to be seen to be believed. The amazing thing about all the art etc was just that how precise it all was and how talented artists like Michaelangelo must have been!
I did some more shopping in Florence as there were sales on everywhere...you know how it is!!!
So, back to Rome I went Saturday night, spent the day on Sunday pretty much wandering around town just checking out some more off beat places, found aflea market and just enjoyed the Rome way of life...I'm glad I could speak enough Italian to get by on this trip as it helped a lot. Most places had some English but being able to speak some broken Italian of my own certainly helped!
And that's it. Yesterday I came back to London and here I am writing you all an email. Could easily have stayed in Italy longer but again, I'll just haveto go back some other time!!!
Off to Scotland tomorrow for golf at St Andrews and to watch the British Open. Should be great and then next week I head off to Ireland for moregolf and then a visit to Coke in Belfast. Should be great!
Until then, stay well and hope all is well wherever you are. I can't wait to show you all the photos!!!
Dave
:-)
13th July 2004
Hello again everyone!!!
Last time I wrote I was about to head off to Rome. Well, I can now say that I have been there and done that but I am sure I will not be able to adequately put into words what an amazing week I had in Italy although I will try....I say Italy because I took the train to Florence as well for a day on Saturday and that was amazing as well!!!
I got to Rome last Tuesday and went to the hotel, dumped my stuff and immediately went for a wander around town. I could have taken the train but I wanted to explore! One thing though...crossing roads...The Roman's don't stop at Zebra crossings...you just have to walk across the road anywhere, look confident and they will stop or swerve around you...the rules of the road we are all used to don't apply in Rome...they have their own rules!!!
Got to the Roman Forum and Colosseum around 5pm and was blown away. Went photo mad and was basically in awe of the place. Bought some souvenirs around the Colosseum (as you do) and continued on my walk of the place. Saw loads that night but to understand the true significance and historicalrelevance I had to wait until I did the walking tours.
On Wednesday I made my way down to the Vatican to do a tour that was recommended to me by a Canadian couple I was in Africa with. I rocked up tothe Vatican around 11.30 as the tour was starting at 12.30 and took a wander around. I couldn't quite believe how big it all was. The walking tour wasgreat. The tour guide was an enthusiastic American who knew his stuff really well. It was great to have a native English speaking tour guide as that certainly made it easier.
We went through the Vatican Museums and all the works of art that are in the Museums are just amazing! I am not an art or history buff at all but to behonest, you can't help but be impressed by the artworks in the Museum as well as the architecture of the place itself. To think that a lot of this stuff had been done around 500 years ago is just amazing and it really blew me away! We ended the Vatican Museum tour in the Sistine Chapel and I don't think it can be really appreciated until you see it for yourself…to think that a work of art like that was done by one man, so high up is just incredible! The colours were so vibrant and the art itself truly amazing!
We continued on to the Vatican itself and it's size is just mammoth! It can fit 90,000 people and when you consider that St Peter's Square can only fit70,000 it gives you some idea of the scale of the place. Truly spectacular. I climbed to the top of St Peter's Dome and the views of Rome were superb...all this on my first full day and I still had another 4 days left!!!
On Thursday I had a morning of sleeping in, taking it easy and wandering around the shopping district as the walking tour of the Colosseum, PalantineHill and Roman Forum wasn't going to begin until 4pm..after most of the crowds during the peak of the day had dissipated. Again, the tour guide was great. A tiny New Zealand girl who again knew the history like the back of her hand. Inside the Colosseum was impressive as was the Palantine hill and Roman Forum. The Roman Forum particularly impressed me as although it is nothing but a bunch of ruins now, when the photos were shown of what it would have looked like 2000 years ago, you can't help but admire it. Remarkable...
I went to the prison cell where St Peter and St Paul were held before their executions and I couldn't believe where I was or what I was seeing. So much history in one place..
Friday was spent exploring a bunch of sights that were mentioned in the book Angels & Demons which I read whilst in Africa and I went to a lot ofobscure churches and sights in search of the monuments mentioned in the book. I found most of them and continued in the afternoon back to the Vatican forsome more looking around and some more shopping...yes folks, I spent up big in Rome and after I finish writing this email I have to go to the post office to send more stuff home!!! I've been going nuts...I left Australia with one suitcase, I will be returning with two suitcases and by then I will all ready have sent 2 or 3 packages home!!! Crazy stuff but all worthwhile!
Friday night I did another walking tour of the Piazzas and Fountains at night. The tours were definitely the way to go as although it is possible to see a lot of things in Rome without doing tours, unless you do the research for yourself the history of a lot of the places will be lost. The tour was great and at one stage we were entering another Piazza and there was an orchestra playing an opera score...it was all for free, out in the open and the passion that they played with just was overwhelming...the music was great and everyone on the tour could not quite believe where we were...this was Italy at its best!!!
Saturday I took the train to Florence for a day trip which was only 1.5 hours away from Rome on the very fast train.
I spent the day there doing 4 hours worth of walking tours of the major sights in Florence as well as the statue of David which again was another piece of art that has to be seen to be believed. The amazing thing about all the art etc was just that how precise it all was and how talented artists like Michaelangelo must have been!
I did some more shopping in Florence as there were sales on everywhere...you know how it is!!!
So, back to Rome I went Saturday night, spent the day on Sunday pretty much wandering around town just checking out some more off beat places, found aflea market and just enjoyed the Rome way of life...I'm glad I could speak enough Italian to get by on this trip as it helped a lot. Most places had some English but being able to speak some broken Italian of my own certainly helped!
And that's it. Yesterday I came back to London and here I am writing you all an email. Could easily have stayed in Italy longer but again, I'll just haveto go back some other time!!!
Off to Scotland tomorrow for golf at St Andrews and to watch the British Open. Should be great and then next week I head off to Ireland for moregolf and then a visit to Coke in Belfast. Should be great!
Until then, stay well and hope all is well wherever you are. I can't wait to show you all the photos!!!
Dave
:-)
Glastonbury - London 2004
5th July 2004
Hello again all!
Hope you are all well. Last time I wrote I was at J'Burg airport waiting for a plane to London. Africa holiday over, European holiday about to begin!!!
Well it's here and so far it's been a blast! Arrived Thu 24/6 at 6am and eventually got to Colin's around 9am. No rest though. Off we went straightaway to Glastonbury on the bus which took around 4 hours. When we got to Glastonbury I couldn't quite believe what I was in for the next 3 days! Whatan amazing place. It was so big! A music festival that I will never see in Australia. 120,000 people camping on a farm to watch 3 days of music.Unreal! We watched the England v Portugal Euro 2004 match on the big screen with over 80,000 screaming English fans watching the game and that was anexperience in itself! Soccer mad English fans going mad! Great fun!
I can't wait to show people the photos of Glastonbury although I don't think they will serve it justice. It was a city in the middle of a farm! I can'tquite get over that as the infrastructure to support the festival was amazing! The musical acts were amazing! The people I was with were amazing!Basically, the whole thing just blew me away! I may have been on the road for the past month and probably in need of a rest but it was so cool itdidn't matter! It rained on the Saturday which just caused a mud bath and everyone was sliding around in sludge all day trying to avoid falling overbut it didn't matter. The acts were so great we just kept watching and dancing!
We saw a lot of bands perform including Groove Armarda, Franz Ferdinand, Chemical Brothers, Oasis, Sister Sledge, Scissor Sisters, Black Eyed Peas,Paul McCartney, James Brown, Morrisey, Muse and many others that I can't even think of. To see so many great acts in 3 days was just great. There arerumours that U2 are going to play at next year's festival and if that is the case I am just going to have to come back!!! Was too much fun!
The camping was fine considering I had just spent the last month camping but on the Monday when we left I was happy to finally know I would be sleepingin a bed some time soon....
I met Pete (my school mate over here for those who do not know) on Monday night and had dinner with Pete and his wife Sandra which was cool. Sean(another school mate) joined us for a drink and it was great to catch up. I stayed at Pete's as we had golf planned for Tuesday.
What a great day Tuesday was. Pete and I went down to Royal St. Georges Golf club which is in Sandwich. Probably about 2 hours out of London. For thoseof you that do not know, Greg Norman won his second British Open at Royal St. Georges in 1993 and to get to play that course was a big thrill....Iknow, geeky....but I'm on holiday's so who cares!!!
It just got better on Wednesday as Colin and I went to Wimbledon and got to get onto centre court! Was a fluke really. We got a ground pass for 13pounds. Straight in, no worries and we went to the Big Screen on the hill thinking we would watch the tennis from there and just wander around theback courts. We watched Henman v Ancic and all the English fans were out in force again. Hoping their English Henman would win and give them somethingto cheer about after the Euro 2004 defeat to Portugal! They were sadly disappointed when Tim lost but it was great to be there anyway.
A workmate of Colin's was also at Wimbledon on Wednesday and we met up with her after the Henman match. She had centre court tickets which was great asshe said Colin and I could borrow them to go onto centre court to watch the Hewitt match for a little while to experience it and take pictures etc. Thatwas cool so when we did go onto Centre court, we took our pictures etc. In the meantime Trisa (Colin's friend) had asked the usher if we could stay inand he said yes if we could find some spare seats. We did and that's how we got onto centre court! We watched the whole of the Hewitt v Federer matchand I couldn't have been a happier camper! How cool to get onto centre court.
The rest of the week has been spent pretty much shopping and sightseeing. Colin came sightseeing with me and we had a great day out. We walked so much but I'll share the sightseeing stuff when I see you all because some of itis just down right geeky!!! Visting Freddie Mercury's house? That pretty much sums it up!!!
The weekend has been pretty relaxed. Saturday we went to a festival in a park in North London and Sunday we spent at the pub catching up with the people that all went to Glastonbury last week. Pretty nice actually. So there you have it. My travel diary/update to you all! I am heading to Rome tomorrow and just can't wait so I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell sometime soon!
Lots of love to you all, hope you are well and send me some stories of your own if there's anything interesting to share!
Dave
:-)
5th July 2004
Hello again all!
Hope you are all well. Last time I wrote I was at J'Burg airport waiting for a plane to London. Africa holiday over, European holiday about to begin!!!
Well it's here and so far it's been a blast! Arrived Thu 24/6 at 6am and eventually got to Colin's around 9am. No rest though. Off we went straightaway to Glastonbury on the bus which took around 4 hours. When we got to Glastonbury I couldn't quite believe what I was in for the next 3 days! Whatan amazing place. It was so big! A music festival that I will never see in Australia. 120,000 people camping on a farm to watch 3 days of music.Unreal! We watched the England v Portugal Euro 2004 match on the big screen with over 80,000 screaming English fans watching the game and that was anexperience in itself! Soccer mad English fans going mad! Great fun!
I can't wait to show people the photos of Glastonbury although I don't think they will serve it justice. It was a city in the middle of a farm! I can'tquite get over that as the infrastructure to support the festival was amazing! The musical acts were amazing! The people I was with were amazing!Basically, the whole thing just blew me away! I may have been on the road for the past month and probably in need of a rest but it was so cool itdidn't matter! It rained on the Saturday which just caused a mud bath and everyone was sliding around in sludge all day trying to avoid falling overbut it didn't matter. The acts were so great we just kept watching and dancing!
We saw a lot of bands perform including Groove Armarda, Franz Ferdinand, Chemical Brothers, Oasis, Sister Sledge, Scissor Sisters, Black Eyed Peas,Paul McCartney, James Brown, Morrisey, Muse and many others that I can't even think of. To see so many great acts in 3 days was just great. There arerumours that U2 are going to play at next year's festival and if that is the case I am just going to have to come back!!! Was too much fun!
The camping was fine considering I had just spent the last month camping but on the Monday when we left I was happy to finally know I would be sleepingin a bed some time soon....
I met Pete (my school mate over here for those who do not know) on Monday night and had dinner with Pete and his wife Sandra which was cool. Sean(another school mate) joined us for a drink and it was great to catch up. I stayed at Pete's as we had golf planned for Tuesday.
What a great day Tuesday was. Pete and I went down to Royal St. Georges Golf club which is in Sandwich. Probably about 2 hours out of London. For thoseof you that do not know, Greg Norman won his second British Open at Royal St. Georges in 1993 and to get to play that course was a big thrill....Iknow, geeky....but I'm on holiday's so who cares!!!
It just got better on Wednesday as Colin and I went to Wimbledon and got to get onto centre court! Was a fluke really. We got a ground pass for 13pounds. Straight in, no worries and we went to the Big Screen on the hill thinking we would watch the tennis from there and just wander around theback courts. We watched Henman v Ancic and all the English fans were out in force again. Hoping their English Henman would win and give them somethingto cheer about after the Euro 2004 defeat to Portugal! They were sadly disappointed when Tim lost but it was great to be there anyway.
A workmate of Colin's was also at Wimbledon on Wednesday and we met up with her after the Henman match. She had centre court tickets which was great asshe said Colin and I could borrow them to go onto centre court to watch the Hewitt match for a little while to experience it and take pictures etc. Thatwas cool so when we did go onto Centre court, we took our pictures etc. In the meantime Trisa (Colin's friend) had asked the usher if we could stay inand he said yes if we could find some spare seats. We did and that's how we got onto centre court! We watched the whole of the Hewitt v Federer matchand I couldn't have been a happier camper! How cool to get onto centre court.
The rest of the week has been spent pretty much shopping and sightseeing. Colin came sightseeing with me and we had a great day out. We walked so much but I'll share the sightseeing stuff when I see you all because some of itis just down right geeky!!! Visting Freddie Mercury's house? That pretty much sums it up!!!
The weekend has been pretty relaxed. Saturday we went to a festival in a park in North London and Sunday we spent at the pub catching up with the people that all went to Glastonbury last week. Pretty nice actually. So there you have it. My travel diary/update to you all! I am heading to Rome tomorrow and just can't wait so I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell sometime soon!
Lots of love to you all, hope you are well and send me some stories of your own if there's anything interesting to share!
Dave
:-)
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