Day 80 + 13 - Flying / Sydney / Melbourne (Australia) - Home sweet home

...AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER! Well, what a ride! Today saw the official end of one of the longest honeymoons ever! We used our origami skills to unfold ourselves from the economy class plane seats, and after sweet talking away through customs with 5 instead of 4.5 litres of alcohol (if you have more than 4.5 litres between you, you get charged duty on the whole amount, not just the amount that's over your limit), we were greeted by our fantastic friends Amie and James - who even provided a bag of groceries to help us settle back in (fantastic idea). Back home at last we went to open the door, ready to collapse... only to find the key didn't work! Tried a different key, no luck either! A quick buzz to Joe (our upstairs neighbour who was collecting our mail etc) and all was explained... apparently he lost the keys within the first week, so now we have nice new locks! (something we should have done ourselves when we first moved in!). And so we went inside, kissed the carpet and adjusted back to a place which looked like it belonged to someone else... and adjusted to the cold and rain (13 degrees)... a stark contrast to the low 30's in San Francisco! A BIG thank you to all and sundry that we met/mooched off during our trip - it's been a fantastic experience and a perfect way to start married life! I'll keep adding old entries to this blog for those that are curious - at this point I'm about 40 days behind, somewhere in Paris! Yen has summarised the trip a lot better than me with her 4 updates, check them out and have a chuckle. Also I'll put together a proper collection of photos as well (stay tuned... it might take a few minutes to sort out 5441 photos... also if you have photos from our wedding or from time we spent with you, please email them to us.. gmail is good, or put them on a CD and post them). Peace, love and mungbeans.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Enjoy life!

Day 85 - Napa Valley (USA) - Mud, mud, glorious mud!

I'M SOOOO DIRRRTYYYY. Napa Valley is a famous wine region in California... and let me say now, it is beautiful, the wine tastes, well, like wine and the wineries all have something to keep you busy even if you're not wine tasting... but the home run for Yen and I is the fact that there are hot mineral springs everywhere (well perhaps not everywhere, but if you check into most of the hotels there they will have hot mineral spring spas/showers). Add a bit of mud into the mix and some relaxing music and you have the makings of a great way to unwind after a 3 month honeymoon! (it's tough work being on holiday!).
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Mud + Jacuzzi + Blanket Wrap + Massage = Verrrrrrrrryyy Relllaaaxxxxed

Day 82 - Santa Cruz (USA) - Fourth of July Baby!!

THINGS THAT GO BOOOOOOOOM!!! What can I say except the photos can't do it justice. Santa Cruz in California is just one of those places that has to be on your travel list for the 4th of July. The entire stock of illegal Mexican fireworks must get purchased and brought here each year, the result - beautiful mayhem (there are no official fireworks, it is only members of the public going nuts)! I set off my family pack of legal fireworks (i.e. none that actually launch) and then just sat back and watched the spectacle. We were on the beach, just down a bit from the famous Santa Cruz pier (the one in Lost Boys!!!)... and the place was crowded with people. You can tell those who are regulars to this awesome spectacle because they turn up in the morning to reserve their favourite piece of beach, set up tents, tables, BBQs and drop off firewood. After drinking and eating all day, they pack everything up and drag it in little carts back to their cars then come back, set up bonfires (with lots of squirts of BBQ fuel) and then settle in. As the sun was setting, a guy passed us and said "Now things will get exciting", and he continued on his way with what looked like a tent bag... now we know it was a tent bag full of fireworks and other mayhem. He was soon to my favourite pyro and often had me in fits of laughter. He must have been ex-army because he would light his rockets with a butane torch... and I do mean he would light the rocket because he would just skip the fuse (it was a waste of time)... and to be "safe" he would turn to the side to avoid the mass of sparks as it shot up. The end result (since you multiply this by several hundred thousand people along the beaches) was a skyworks that put any professional arrangement to shame! Best of all you get to be amongst the chaos and bangs and get to just shake your head as you wonder how the rocket which explodes 10 metres after take off instead of 100 doesn't hurt anyone! There are also boats going past in a channel which soon become targets, as well as kids playing jokes on other kids with cherry bombs thrown nearby. The beautiful spectacle continues to about 10pm at which point (apparently, since we left at 9.45pm to avoid the traffic jams) firemen and police wander the beaches putting out fires and stopping any more launches... from sundown to 10pm it's basically 3 hours of sanctioned chaos by the authorities... and I loved it! If we're ever in town again for 4th of July, we are going to rent a hotel room down there so we can watch it all to it's triumphant conclusion (and perhaps take a side trip to Mexico beforehand to get some "sparklers").
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Research where to buy "the good stuff" or else just sit back and watch everyone else risk their lives to bring a little happiness into your life.

Day 78 - LA / San Fransisco (USA) - The I Love United Airlines Fan Club

SARCASM DOESN'T BECOME ME. Today's update is from an overpriced internet terminal at the boarding gate in LA. The start of today was great fun... we strolled down Hollywood Boulevard, checking out all the stars in the pavement (in New York people can tell that you are a tourist because you are always looking up - because of all the impressive skyscrapers - in LA people can tell you are a tourist because you are always looking at the pavement!). Then found a spot to check out the Hollywood sign (looks small when you are about 10 miles from it). The Chinese movie theatre (Mans I think it is called) was pretty cool - we might have seen a movie there but we had already seen Superman the night before. Apparently one of the people working in the hostel that we stayed at was the sister of the actor who played Superman - just goes to show how everyone in Hollywood is involved with Hollywood!). Finished the tourist trifecta with a 2 hour tour through Beverly Hills, Hollywood, LA etc. seeing where all the stars live and shop! Only saw one "star" though... Dr Phil's wife (worth a couple of points though). Finally we started our applications for the "I love United Airlines" fan club. We thought that getting to the airport 1.5 hours before our flight left would be sufficient, but the clock ticked down and with 15 minutes before the backage checkin closed (it closes 45 minutes prior to a flight leaving) I went in search of a United Airlines attendant to answer my question of "what the heck do we do given the damn line isn't moving anywhere". Alas, attendants are overrated apparently and hence couldn't be found. I ended up asking at the checkin counter (with the glare of everyone else in line thinking that I was pushing in). The answer "too bad, just line up". At this point the application for the fan club was pretty well completed, but I just needed a few more kicks in the teeth. Finally half an hour before our flight left we made it to the counter - "sorry, can't get you on the flight, how early did you arrive?" ... "1.5 hours ago..grrr" ... "ok, I've got you booked on the next flight an hour later, and you should be able to make your connection to Sydney"... "Ahhh... that connection is in 2 weeks"... "Oh." ... "Alrighty, your flights are all sorted, bye." ... "Thanks, but what about our baggage... the 2 bags you already asked us about?"... "Oh, let me just have those tickets back... there you go, done"... head on over to security where they will kick you some more. Security did ... they made us line up for another half hour. I don't know how anyone gets off the ground with United! Anyway, our new flight is delayed an hour and my internet time is up... i'm off to post that fan club application and have a bourbon. Thanks for choosing to fly with my blog.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Australian service is actually pretty good!

Day 72 - New York (USA) - New York, New York!

BRIGHT LIGHTS! Yes, we finally made it into the big time... our beautiful mugs up on the big screen in Times Square New York for all to see!

Day 69 - London (England) / New York (USA) - Now that's a real apple

START SPREADING THE NEWS... apologies for the lack of posts... I've added a few photos and will try to add some more... stay tuned, there will be more coming as soon as we have a rainy day (at the moment the weather has just been too good - terrible isn't it?!). Off to New York today!! (better get some sleep)
LESSON FOR THE DAY: There are never enough hours in the day, even when on holiday!

Day 63 - London (England) - Eye Spy with my London Eye!

ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN (AND THROUGH THE AIR). Camden markets for some cheap jeans for Yen started the day (at this stage I have resisted buying the t-shirt which has Princess Leia holding Chewbacca's child). That sorted it was off to jump on the London Eye / Millenium Wheel / Big Ferris Wheel / Instant Tourist Attraction. You can pre-purchase tickets on the web and probably save money and time queuing but after having been to Disneyland a 15 minute wait for tickets and 20 minute wait to get on the wheel is nothing. Impressive view and well worth the 13 quid. Finished with a holy mission to visit a few churches... only to find Westminster Abbey shut and St Paul's Cathedral closing down. St Paul's Cathedral was similar to a lot of the impressive churches in Italy though so no big loss... and it meant we got back in time to watch England vs Trinidad and Tabago in the World Cup back at Al and Anita's place (England managed to pull a few goals out of the hat just before the end to save the day and prevent England being mopey tomorrow!). Now it's time to pack for Ireland (thank goodness, back to Euro instead of Pounds!).
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Pre-book attractions on the internet to save time and money (but don't leave it till the last minute as most have to be booked a day in advance).

Day 62 - London (England) - Wax and Blood

I'VE COME TO SUCK YOUR MONEY. Today we really did do the tourist things in London... Big Ben? No Trafalgar Square? No. Westminister? No. Madame Tussauds? Yes! As per my comments tomorrow (wow, I can predict what I'm going to say), your best bet is to pre-book tickets on the internet to save money and skip queues. That being said we had a confusing conversation with the FastPass ticket box office at Madame Tussauds and before we knew it were in, posing next to Kylie, Beckham, Angelina Jolie and Hitler. Don't hold back with grabbing and poking the wax models because no one else does and none of the staff seem to care... so grab hold and snap away with the camera! Celebratary posing done, it was off to the Sherlock Holmes pub for lunch (overrated - they don't even have a murder mystery to solve on your placemat!). Mystery solving done with, it was off to... The London Dungeon! A pre-warning... out of everyone we know, probably James will be the only one to enjoy this place... it's basically a live action tour through the plague, fire of london, jack the ripper and numerous other 'scarey' moments of London... good if you're 12 years old, otherwise you're better off sitting at the Themes for a few hours and chilling with a good book. Finished the day with a move of house from Justine and Dylan's (thanks guys!!) to Anita and Farnsy's (thanks guys!!).
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Real history is cool... but so are made up tourist attractions!

Day 60 - Brighton / London (England) - I come from the land downunder!

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE! Actually despite being at the Walkabout pub in London, there was no "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" chant during the first World Cup match for Australia (Australia v Japan). That being said there was a lot of Cold Chisel and Hunters and Collectors! We returned from a lovely weekend in Brighton to London and after posting back to Australia a lovely wedding present (a map of the world from 1876) we grabbed some cheapish tickets to "The Woman In Black" (I'll let you know what it's like tomorrow) and then headed to the Walkabout pub to watch the soccer...sorry, football. Being the small world it is, we bumped into Tony (Karune's old flatmate)... freakin small world! So we all headed off to the Walkabout Pub in Covent Garden and sank lots of yummy pints of ... Fosters.... Michelle (one of Yen's Adelaidian mates) also joined us... and we had a grand old time! FYI, Australia came back to win 3 - 1.... AWESOME!!! We celebrated, and celebrated some more.... and watched America lose to the Cheque Republic 3 - 0! So now it's time to sober up before getting some culture into us (other than yeast in beer)... "The Woman in Black" here we come!
LESSON FOR THE DAY: It's not over until the fat footy supporter sings!

Day 59 - Brighton (England) - I do love to sit beside the seaside!

BEER, BEACH, BEER. Ahhh.... blue skies, blue water and rocky beaches... we meanered our way down along the Brighton beach foreshore... stopping for pints of beer way too often. We finally ended up at the Brighton Pier - it's chock full of amusement machines, people, candy and rides. After having enough sugar to put a diabetic into permanent shock, we had a go on the "Dolphin Racing" machine... it was neck and neck... balls were flying everywhere... and finally dolphin number 6 hit the finish!!! One cheapo, dodgo stuffed fish for Rob... wahoo!!! We left the pier (passing the firefighters that were worringly dealing with the remnants of a fire on it!!)... and wondered back to Dave and Lucy's place (via a few more pubs). Ahhh... Brighton, not a bad place at all.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: To win the dolphin racing game throw the balls so that they bounce off the back end (and when you win, if you give your toy to a 5 year old girl, she will appreciate it a lot more than you will!).

Day 56 - Hexham (England) - I don't have the foggiest!

CASTLE, WHAT CASTLE? Our marvellous tour guide Susan jumped into the drivers seat and bravely battled the traffic to take us to the North-East coast of England. If you look at a map you'll see how many castles are dotted around... we settled for three. The first was Warkworth Castle (nice, but just had a look from the outside). The second was right on the coast.. Dunstanburgh Castle. As soon as we got near the coast, the weather went from low 30's to low teens and fog everywhere!

Day 55 - Hexham (England) - Hey! Hadrian's wall!

QUESTION. WHAT IS 120 KM LONG AND SPANS THE NORTH OF ENGLAND? Give up, Hadrian's wall! An ancient Roman fortification... and a lot of it is still standing. It has a walking path along the length of it (some of it on the actual wall) and given it is 2000 years old is an engineering marvel! We visited a section called Homestead Fort where you can see the footings of a large fort that was once part of the wall. Then Susan and Ian drove down further to allow Yen and myself to walk for a couple of hours along the wall. I've said it before but I'll say it again "simply stunning!". The hills are rolling (which isn't so good after you've climbed your fourth one) and the sheep and cattle are roaming in the fields beside you. Every couple of hundred metres I found myself tapping the wall to prove that it was real (it transports you back to the days of the Roman's). And as an added bonus, we came across the section of wall and tree as seen in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"! Definitely something we'd like to come back and walk all the way along if we ever get a few weeks.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: They don't build them like they used to!

Day 54 - Hexham (England) - In train-ing again

CHUG, CHUG, CHUG. The trains in England are pretty good and there are several competiting web sites so check each to find the best deal (I found GNER to be well priced). Before we knew it we were chugging our way towards Newcastle in the north of England... and then chugging a little bit further to Hexham... home of the esteemed Susan and Ian (and two kwazy guinea pigs). The trains are comfortable and a great way to see some countryside (it's amazing how quick the city is left behind). Susan went to the same church as me before returning to England and settling down with her new husband Ian. She was also the main influence for Yen and I getting into cycling and doing the Great Victorian Bike Ride!
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Catching up with friends makes a trip even more enjoyable (and cheaper)!

Day 53 - London (England) - I've got a beef with you

DON'T BELIEVE THEM! There is more than one tower in the Tower of London and the Beef Eaters don't always eat beef! (and the Beefeaters aren't the ones with the tall bearskin hats, they are the yeoman guards at the Tower of London which these days are tour guides). Now we've got that out of the way, if you've had a good nights sleep you could get a London Pass which gives you access to a bunch of places for one set amount... but if you sleep in like us, you'll only have time to see one or two places and it won't be worth it. Tower of London was interesting - definitely do the Yeoman tour (goes for just under an hour) and check out the Crown Jewels (the Queen's, not yours). If bird flu hasn't killed the ravens check them out (if the ravens leave London is doomed or something). The rest I could take or leave. To get back to Dylan and Justine's in time for a major cultural event (X-Men 3 at the movies) we rushed over the Tower Bridge (often confused with London Bridge which is actually quite unremarkable). Tower Bridge opens up to let tall ships through - apparently great to watch. Nice view from the bridge but you'll see just as much from the London Eye.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: London Pass is good if you want to cram a lot into your day.

Day 52 - Cotswolds (England) - Oxenaforda

YOU'RE A TOURIST HARRY! (AND ROB, YEN, DYLAN...) Yes, we spent most of our Sunday in Oxford... yes, the university (which is actually more a collection of campasses) and location of none other than the dining hall from Harry Potter! (well I tell a small fib, the one in Harry Potter is actually computer generated or a set designed based upon the hall at Oxford). A walking tour is a great way to see a bit of the place and get into the colleges which are normally off limits. Tie your jumper around your neck, get your crochet mallet and bicycle and you'll fit right in! It has a wonderful, student, relaxed, English vibe (maybe that's the beer talking). We didn't leave Oxford with any degrees but did leave with full bellies! Our quest then began for jam and scones (have to tick it off the English stereotype list)... we stopped in yet another quaint town and sat down, only to be presented with jam and scones... with sultanas in them! I spent the rest of the England trip looking for ones without sultanas with no success! (someone needs to teach these Poms about their history!). The day finished with a drive-by of the Slaughters... it was worth it for the name alone! Just imagine though small roads with archways of tree branches, stone bridges, babbling brooks... and Yen snoring in the backseat. And so ended our first English road trip.
LESSON FOR THE DAY: Do a walking tour if you want to get into the colleges at Oxford (drink beer if you want to get lucky with an Oxford student).