Where are we now?

Friday 20 July 2007

Back home!

At 7am we finally arrived in Adelaide from Singapore, its great to be home again. Living out of a suitcase for 2 months was getting pretty annoying toward the end of the trip.

It will be great to see everyone again and tell a few stories over some pics.

I will upload all the photos today on Flikr so you can check them out.

Friday 13 July 2007

Back in Athens after 4 day cruise of Greek Islands

This morning we just got back from a 4 day cruise of the Greek Islands. Santorini was definitely the highlight of them all with its picturesque blue domed churches and blue and white houses that sit atop the sea-filled ancient caldera that is at the heart of Santorini.

The cruise was good but the cruise liner was old but that did not matter as the sights were worth the trip.

This morning we did a 2 hour tour of Athens city center and saw the Acropolis.

We have 2 more days here then we depart for London on Monday morning, which starts our 3 day trek back to Australia via Singapore.

We will all be home soon to discuss our trip with you all.

We really cant wait to get home now, most fellow travellers are astounded we have been on holidays for over 5 weeks now, its really been a marathon holiday but we have seen so much.

Its been well worth the experience!

Sunday 8 July 2007

Wendy at The Giant's Causeway


Wendy at the Giant's Causeway
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
This was taken a few days ago as we did a coastal drive of Northern Ireland, it was a really great drive, excellent coastal scenery.

Me at the Guinness Factory


Me at the Guinness Factory
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
We stopped by to tour the Guinness Factory a few days ago but the weather was bad outside to take a photo, so I had one taken today as the weather has been excellent.

Chris, the Guinness does taste a little different over here, still nice but different, we definitely need to go to Shenanigans to have a few pints when we get back!
Today we drove in early to Dublin and visited Trinity College to see The Book of Kells. We also dropped by the Dublin shopping mall which was huge, we picked up a few Celtic T-Shirts and did some walking around town. There are thousands all out and shopping here.

I also stopped back at the Guinness Factory where I wanted my photo taken in front of it - Chris I know you would hassle me if I did not do it!

Tonight we are having a restful night ready for a very early departure tomorrow morning where we fly off to Greece via London stop over for 2 hours.

We will be home very soon and we are missing our home and great family and friends - we all will see you soon.

Friday 6 July 2007

In Galway Ireland

Hello, we are now in Galway Ireland, sorry for the lack of posts but the last week of our 27 day tour was pretty hectic and finding time to find a net cafe was getting harder each day.

Dont worry as we have heaps of photos that I will take back and show you all!

We are off to Dublin tomorrow to stay there one night before we leave for our 6 day Greek Cruise. Then on to Singapore

I will see if I can upload some more photos maybe on the Cruise liner if it has Internet Access.

See you in just over 2 weeks!

Wednesday 20 June 2007

Saint Peters Basilica Rome Italy

After Paris we went to Nice France, then we drove over to Monte Carlo. We checked out the formula one track and spent some time there for lunch.

After that we headed on for Rome via Tuscanny.

We are in Rome now, sorry for the lack of posts but the pace has been hectic but really enjoyable, also finding time to update the blog is harder with our short stops in hotels.

We saw the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica then the Colleseum and finally the Pantheon which was awesome. The temperature here has been pretty high ( in the 30's) and with all the buildings it gets hotter.

We went to Pompeii yesterday and that was amazing, then on to Sorrento and the Island of Capri via Napoli. We took a boat trip around the island of Capri too.

There is a big difference between the north and the south of Italy. All the money and rich people live in the north, the poorer in the south.

We have our last day in Rome today and make our way back up the east side of Italy as we begin heading north.

Friday 15 June 2007

My new car in Monte Carlo


My new car in Monte Carlo
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
We are in Nice and everything is going well we are having a great time. Here is my new Pagani Zonda right in front of the Paris Hotel Monte Carlo!

Thursday 7 June 2007

Arc de Triomphe


Arc de Triomphe
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
A view from the bus going down toward the Arc de Triomphe
I have more photos on my flickr site if you want to see more. I need to go now as the Internet access is expensive.. I will post more soon.

Me and Wendy in Paris at Eiffel Tower

A view of Paris from the Eiffel tower, an American guy offered to take our photo so we could take one of him using his camera - cool. The line up to the tower was not long - only 10 mins.

Paris is awesome, last night we had a night tour and Paris at night is amazing. Especially the Eiffel Tower at 10pm you need to see it then when the whole thing is covered with thousands of strobe lights that run for 10 minutes - this is something they added for the Millenium celebrations but never removed as the public and visitors loved it so much.

This is now my number one city, the architecture and sheer beauty of the place is breathtaking. The history too is just as old as England. And the way that the French have banned skyscrapers from the city centre has made the city feel alot more open - especially at night time where it comes alive. Every road here is cobblestoned - no ugly bitume here - amazing - I love it how they do that.

We ate at a French restaurant last night, but I did not have Frogs legs or snails as I had them in Adelaide and was not too happy. But the food and wine served was still excellent here.

We are off to a Caberet show tonight but this one is much more Parisian than the Moulin Rouge that has been Americanized and lost the Parisian character of old.

Our visit to the Louvre was breif as I expected but we saw the Mona Lisa - boy are they hard on people taking photos which is banned in some areas. The photo flashes ruin the varnish on the paintings making them crack. I saw a woman who got caught taking photos and she was asked to delete them all off the camera - they watch you as you delete them - man they are strict - but good on them I say, as the art work needs to be protected!

Wednesday 6 June 2007

View from our Paris hotel Window

This is just part of the view from our 15th floor window in Paris. We are staying in the Paris Marriot Hotel. I turned on my GPS and we are smack in the centre of Paris - cool. Cant see the Eiffel tower from here - maybe its behind us.. We will see the Eiffel tower tomorrow

I look forward to seeing Paris at night - it will be an awesome sight.

Goodbye England, on the ferry to France

We just started our 27 day tour of Europe, and arrived in France after taking the ferry to Calais France.

We are out tonight to go to a Paris restaurant and see a Paris show, not the Moulin Rouge as that has now become very Americanized, this is another one that the tour guide says is much better.

It looks like alot of things that most people would normally line up for are pre-booked so we can skip the queues and save time - awesome! We get a personal guided Louvre tour tomorrow morning, I am looking forward to it.

The National Gallery in London was good but it wont hold a candle to the Louvre, obviously 1 1/2 hours is a short tour of it, but we will see the highlights - I will definitely be back someday to do a proper look at it.

The ferry ride to France was good, its amazing how many people they ferry over in one ferry, trucks, buses and carss.

We saw a few TGV fast trains next to the main freeway, they reminded me of the Shinkansen from Japan, they can go similar speeds - even when the bus was doing 100Kph, they still streak past us at crazy speeds.

Tuesday 5 June 2007

We are back in London

After a very long 2000+ miles drive all over England, we are now back in London.
The final 1/2 hour drive into London was the most harrowing experience ever, even at 3.30 pm the traffic in London was a nightmare and my GPS was working overdrive. There are so many connecting streets and quick left and right turns you really have to be on the ball planning each move. I will say that I will never drive in London again, the next time I hire a car, I will pick it up outside London near a train station. We will get up at 4.00 am to get ready for a 5am departure tomorrow where our 27 day bus tour of Europe begins. Sorry I could not load up pictures as this Nazi hotel net access terminal has no USB access. Finding Net Cafes has been extremely frustrating and I think there is a business opportunity to make a decent net cafe registry that is easy to use. See you soon when I can upload some cool pics..

Saturday 2 June 2007

Wendy in front of The Cavern night club, Liverpool


IMG_0397
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
We did a quick stop to Liverpool and we had to drop past the Cavern Night club, the original location where the Beatles first played.

Liverpool was crazy, construction everywhere, the place we wanted to eat near the docks was being demolished and a brand new development was going up. There was so much contruction work in Liverpool that their main mall was a nightmare to get around. But at least we found the Beatles Cavern Night club!

Brighton England


Brighton England
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
We had to visit Brighton, the same name place as our home town! Parking was a nightmare so we did a drive through.

Stonehenge England


Stonehenge England
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
We had to drop by here, you cant touch the stones as its roped off, but it was good as the weather was great. Lots of people there, and it was not cheap £10 to see it. But once your there you just pay it!

Driving in England with GPS assist

Its been awhile since the last post as we have been racking up the miles in our hire car as we tour England. Finding net cafes has been hard as cities here dont have any phone books in public phones and you have to rely on local people to assist you to find them.

We have already driven 1500 miles, starting with Stonehenge on the day we left London, then onto Brighton, Hove for our first day.

The Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS has been wonderful, its harder to use in the city centers where turns are happening every 100 feet or more, but it still works fine.

There are a million speed cameras here and they dont post any speed limits on the roads! You have to rely on general rules 30 miles an hour for towns, 50 miles an hour for single carriage ways and 70 miles and hour for dual carriageways - sometimes this is not always the case!

No one does the speed limit on the big motorways - many do 20-30 miles an hour more than the limit. I have seen millions of BMWs here and Audis. I reckon I was passed by a guy doing well over 110 miles an hour once in a 70mph zone!

The weather has been on and off - we have had some sunny days. Right now we are in Leeds on our way back down south heading to London.

I could have planned the driving better - as its taken longer to get to places than expected - but thats ok, we have seen alot of countryside and stopped at a number of Bed and Breakfasts that have been right in the heart of the countryside.

Craig, we went to TVR mecca (Blackpool) and I never saw on trevor, but I have seen 3 so far since I have been here. We drove past the TVR factory (Wendy thinks I am nuts).

I will post a few more photos from our drive in the next few posts.

Monday 28 May 2007

Wendy at Picadilly Circus


Picadilly Circus
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
Sandy, you asked for pictures with us in it, well I will post more like that, this is one of Wendy taken from Wendy's camera at Picadilly Circus, the one thats quite often shown in Movies - with a massive animated display above the TDK sign, looks awesome.

The weather turned foul over the past day and its been raining cats and dogs here, its great that we planned our gallery tours for today.

We toured the national gallery and it was fantastic, we saw alot of famous works that I studied for Matric art. The gallery is huge, unfortunately the entire Impressionist section was closed so we could not see those works, but it was a treat to see all the other works.

The gallery has a sophisticated computer art guide that allows you to find your favourite works before you move through the gallery. They also have a massive A0 colour printer to print out high quality posters on demand - awesome idea!

We ate lunch at a Balti Indian restaurant and visited the Queens Art Gallery next to Buckingham Palace.

We are planning our next stage of our trip when we get our rental car on Tuesday and begin our next phase of our England tour.

Sunday 27 May 2007

Big Ben


Big Ben
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
I love this new camera, it takes awesome shots. Loved this one of Big Ben.

Everything here is crazy expensive. A big mac is around £ 4 (12 aussie dollars) and a hungry jacks burger is £ 5 ( around 15 aussie dollars).

We had a lunch the other day that was £ 25 ( over 70 aussie dollars ). The food here is crazy expensive!

At the hotel they charge £5 for 1/2 hour internet access, and their PCs are so locked down you can do practically nothing.

The weather has been great so far, (no rain in 2 days) and sunny.
We have seen most of the main sights and rode the London Eye - only a 15 minute wait - the wait on the weekend must be an hour long as I checked it out today (Saturday) and the line was huge.

Saturday 26 May 2007

Trafalgar Square goes Green!


Trafalgar Square goes Green!
Originally uploaded by Richard_F
For 2 days real roll on grass was laid around Trafalgar square, it was really cool. Heaps of people turned out to experience it. The weather was great (over 25 degrees and sunny).

London is massive and you really need the Londo Tube to get around, an amazingly efficient form of travel. At 5pm its insanely busy.

I finally found a decent net cafe near Oxford Circus, with PCs you can plug devices in, heaps of net cafes have Nazified PCs with no way of uploading your photos.

My feet are sore from 3 hours of walking around as Wendy gets in a day of shopping, I decided to do my own thing and check out other parts of London. We will meet up for dinner later tonight.

Its the weekend here and the increase in tourists over the weekdays is noticable.

Me and a lion at Trafalgar Square

We arrived in London the other day and the weather has been excellent, seen heaps of stuff, sorry I will have to keep this brief as the internet access in this hotel is expensive.. will post more soon!

Tuesday 22 May 2007

Japanese Netcafe PCs are annoying!

These Japanese mode NetCafe pcs are annoying. Either they are locked down so tight in nazi mode that you cant browse your photos on your USB card reader or you hit a wierd key combination and they go into Hirigana mode! Cant wait to used English Windows XP net cafe PCs in England.

Sweat in a bottle - What The?


Sweat in a bottle
Originally uploaded by Richard_F.
A few people here on Flickr have photographed this strange drink, Iwill have to submit this for a what the? for Rove.

This vending machine was at the Mounbt Fuji Fifth Step also.]

Mount Fuji Day Trip


Mount fuji air in a bottle
Originally uploaded by Richard_F.
Today we had a full day tour to Mount Fuji, a cable car tour to a high mountain peak., a river boat cruise and a trip back home via the Shinkansen ( bullet train).

The photo here was taken at one of the tourist shops at the Mount Fuji "Fifth Step" which is the highest point you can drive to on the mountain. It was very cold and melted snow was still on the ground in places.

This was a classic that I had to photograph, you can actually purchase Mount Fuji clean air in a bottle!..

After the day trip we took a 278 kilometre per hour ride on the Shinkansen and man do these things fly. The ride is super smooth. I wish I could of captured on camera the speed of a bullet train passing the station at 270 Km/h unbeleivable.

There is a new maglev Bullet Train in the works which will go 570 Km/h - we saw the track of it during the day trip.

This is one crazy place!!

Yes these are $2.50 apples EACH


Yes these are $2.50 apples EACH
Originally uploaded by Richard_F.
I finally found the famous expensive hand grown and tendered apples. These are over $2.50 australian each and are huge. This was at a small market not far from the Ginza metro station where we took our first metro train back to Shinegawa Station opposite our hotel. Just buying the correct train ticket was not easy as the ticket machines although supporting English displays, were extremely hard to understand.

You really need to know japanese to get around this place, strange considering how many westerners visit Tokyo.

Long Exposure shot, Tokyo metro train at crossing

This is my favourite long exposure shot using a tripod, heaps of zoom, shot from the hotel window 29 floors up at the Shinegawa Prince Hotel, Tokyo Japan.

I wanted to do another shot like this at night with people at Ginza but most shops close here after 8pm during the week nights so I missed out doing one with all the cool lights.

Monday 21 May 2007

View of tokyo from Tokyo Tower


View of tokyo from Tokyo Tower
Originally uploaded by Richard_F.
Our first full day in Tokyo started with a bus tour of Tokyo which went past the tallest tower in Tokyo, similar in construction to the Eiffel Tower in Paris France. This tower will be superceded with a new tower to be built before 2010 when Japan transfers to HDTV from analog transmission, the new tower is vying to be the tallest structure on earth - over 700 metres high!

After the tour finished at lunch time we had lunch in a japanese restaurant - where we ate sushi and sashimi - the best I have had ever.

Thats all for now.

Tokyo Narita Airport


Tokyo Narita Airport
Originally uploaded by Richard_F.
After 9 hours 21 minutes from Sydney airport we arrived in Tokyo Narita airport, our first glimpse of Japan. The plane spent 12 minutes taxiing to our final gate - gate 84, of at least 215 gates - this place is huge!

The bus from the airport was a 60 Km drive to Tokyo centre where our hotel is. The density of living here is hard to describe. 8 million people live in the Tokyo city centre.

Sandy please please tell mum that we are safe and well and that we had a great first day here in Tokyo Japan!

Saturday 19 May 2007

Twitter log now active from our mobile phone

I can now update my twitter log ( a micro blog ) via SMS messages from Wendy's mobile. You can see the latest twitter logs to the right of this blog site in the light blue box under the blog archives or via my Twitter home page here http://twitter.com/rfrost

Friday 18 May 2007

One day to go before we leave..

With nearly one day left, its been pretty hectic getting everything organised before we leave.

Tokyo's weather looks good, around 24-25 degrees. We will land in Tokyo around 7pm which is after sunset so we will fly in above Tokyo's city lights - cool.

I hope to take some videos using my camera and upload them to youtube, I will see if I can test doing the conversion for Tokyo and later on in the trip.

With a 4.30 am trek to the airport, I am not looking forward to a red-eye flight to Sydney. Thanks to Ana for offering to drive us to the airport - thanks Ana!