TravelStream™ news feed for member leone_and_mike on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/leone_and_mike en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:01:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/3/1249690589/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/3/1249690589/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/3/1249690589/tpod.html Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:01:26 -0400 Gerard's Visit

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Bundeena, New South Wales, Australia

Staying at Marg & Bob's beach house
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Labrador, Queensland, Australia

Staying at our unit
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Singapore Airlines Flight #SQ236
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Singapore Airlines Flight #SQ245 19:35pm
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237243860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237243860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237243860/tpod.html Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:37:38 -0400 Dubai, Egypt & Morocco

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Casablanca, Morocco

Slept in till after 7:30 (although the 5am prayer call woke me), took our time showering then went down for breakfast.  The weather was really foggy and it was hard to see past a few streets away. Went for a quick walk to the bank to change money, found a craft co-op and had a quick look around. We then just sat in our room watching TV and relaxing. Packed our bags and checked out and left our luggage at the hotel and headed out for a walk again. Went a different way and found local markets with mostly fruit and veges, then went back to the co-op again. Everything there was quite expensive so we decided to look through the markets again. After the great markets of Fes, Essaouira and Marrakech, these ones were quite disappointing but we both decided we'd like to buy a silver teapot (to make mint tea at home!) We saw one at a shop near the entrance but kept walking looking at others. Decided that we needed to eat and rest so we walked up to the same cafe again and had a wonderful lunch - shared a salad and the same seafood pasta that Mike had last night, then a fruit salad and crème caramel for dessert, all for the ridiculously cheap price of 84dhs. We sat there for about 1.5-2 hours, then walked back and used the Internet, before heading over to the markets to buy the teapot and a mirror. We picked up our luggage from the hotel and walked the short distance to the train station. Bought our tickets, found our train and climbed on, then had to wait nearly 30 mins for it to leave. We only had to go 1 stop and then change trains to get on the airport train. Only a few stops (about 40 mins) and we arrived at the airport. Finally found the corerect terminal (after going up and down escalators a few times), had a coffee, then sat and waited until we were able to check in. We watched as our flight moved up the board, then suddenly went to Open, then Closed in a matter of minutes. We raced over to the counters to be told the flight had been cancelled and to see the EgyptAir rep at his counter. So off we went, waited there with a few more irate passengers and were told we would be put on a flight the following day and would be staying at the airport hotel overnight. Mike made a call to Helene to let her know about the change of flight. Just a minor inconvenience for us - luckily we have time to spare before our flight back home to Australia. We were talking to an Egyptian businessman who was trying to get to Algeria for meetings, and a family with 3 small children, and a group of Moroccans travelling to Mecca. By the time we were picked up in the hotel's buses and got to the hotel it was 10:30, they organised a quick dinner for us and we were in bed about 12.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237157400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237157400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237157400/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:04:39 -0400 Dubai, Egypt & Morocco

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Casablanca, Morocco

Our tour officially ended. we had breakfast and said goodbye to Sandra and Mike who were flying back to England that morning. Packed our bags (surprised to find that we can still fit everything in), checked out and walked the short distance to the train station. We got there in plenty of time to buy our tickets and then get on the train. It left right on time at 11am. We shared our compartment with 5 other ladies that we chatted to throughout the journey. Arrived at Casa Voyageurs station Casablanca around 2:20 so only 10 mins late. Saif goodbye to Aussie Mike then tried to get a taxi to our hotel. Took a few attempts as no one seemed to know where it was, finally just told them to take us to Casa Port station and got there easily. And it was only a few muinutes walk from our hotel. Checked in, then dropped our bags in the room and headed out again to get something to eat. Stopped at KFC, then did a quick walk around the markets and headed back to the hotel for a shower, rest and to watch TV. Went out later for dinner (ate again at the same cafe as last time) then back again to hotel and bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237070940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237070940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237070940/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:52:29 -0400 Dubai, Egypt & Morocco

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Marrakech, Morocco

Slept till 8, then went downstairs for breakfast with some of the others. We decided to head out by ourselves to explore so we left about 8:30-9. Walked first through the Cyber Park which was a lovely park with lots of trees (lots of olives) and internet kiosks which are free but you stand at them to use them and we couldn't get the keyboard programs to change to English so it was almost impossible for us to use. Went to the Internet centre and paid to use the internet there for a while.  Then we went across the road to a craft co-op and browsed around the little shops for a while. There were a lot of things there that we liked but we decided to just head to the markets (used those shops as a guideline for prices).  We stopped for another fresh orange juice, then headed into the maze of lanes, alleyways and streets that make up the market area. We loved wandering around, looking in all the little shops, chatting to the locals (Mike did, I just stood and tried to understand!) We saw some amazing sights - goats heads, iguanas, falcons, turtles. And all the time we were walking around, we always had to be careful because of the bikes and scooters (and occasionally mules and even a couple of cars) that would go whizzing past. Followed a woman selling carpets to the shops and were going to buy one (1000dhs) but a shopkeeper kept butting in and wouldn't let her talk to us.  We found the square again (not an easy task), had another OJ, took pics with the monkey guys and the snake charmer, then went to an upstairs cafe for lunch. We sat for ages, the meal was possibly the best I'd had in Morocco (pizza for Mike, Caesar salad for me) and it was nice to just sit and watch all the activity going on in the square below.  After that we felt energised again and decided to wander through the markets again instead of just going back to the hotel. We found a few different areas this time, including the women's market, animals both dead and alive, as well as going back again through some of the same streets. Bought some more things - including lanterns and jewellery.  Finally emerged and walked back to the hotel, arriving there at 4:30. Time for a shower, then a rest while we watched TV. Met the others in the lobby and walked all the way back to the mosque area, where we had our last group dinner together. Said our goodbyes to AJ who was catching an overnight train to Tangiers, then Mike and I went with Aussie Mike for an OJ and a quick walk through the markets before heading back to the hotel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1236984480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1236984480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1236984480/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:37:26 -0400 Dubai, Egypt & Morocco

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Marrakech, Morocco

So sick of getting woken up by the birds! And the call to prayer from the mosque next door. After breakfast we walked again with Aussie Mike around the markets (he bought a small carpet hanging) then stopped at the bank to change my remaining dirhams from Dubai to Moroccan dirhams.  Went back and checked out, then the 3 of us and AJ headed off to hire bikes for a ride. Even though we had organised it the day before, the bikes weren't ready and we stood at the shop, then at the medina gate, then at the garage waiting for them to get some bikes ready for us. Finally gave up about 10:45 as the bikes they'd brought us were in really bad condition (flat tyres, no brakes etc).  Mike and I walked through the markets again and I found some cushion covers I liked, then we walked along the length of the beach - right up to the end where they do camel rides met AJ up there as well). When we came back, we collected my diary and went and ate lunch (at our favourite cafe with Aussie Mike), then to the cafe that Abdul had told us about to try their hot chocolate which was so thick it was just like drinking (or eating) melted chocolate. Very decadent but very nice. We sat there for ages (I had a cappuccino and wrote in my journal). We were eventually joined by Abdul, English Mike and AJ, and headed back to the hotel about 2:30.  Collected our bags (this time loaded them onto a cart so we didn't have to carry them) and walked to the bus station outside the medina. Our bus was already there and left right on time at 3:30. We stopped once at a cafe for snacks and toilet stops, and apart from the drivers continual overtaking (not always safely) it was a good trip and we arrived in Marrakech in about 3 hours. Loaded our backpacks etc and walked a couple of blocks to our hotel.  Very surprised to see that it was really nice - they saved the best accommodation for last! Checked in, had a quick shower, then we all walked about 40 mins to the Djemaa el-Fna, the main square of Marrakech. The noise and activity happening her was amazing - people everywhere, entertainers with crowds around them, and then we came to the food stalls. These are set up every night and the food is cooked and served to you right there. We had a selection of food brought out to us - bread, olives, dips, fish, kebabs, couscous. It was just an overwhelming experience to be sitting there. After eating, we headed over and bought fresh orange juice each (3dhs) then walked back to the hotel again. First night in ages that we had plenty of space to spread out, and were even able to watch TV.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237330320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237330320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leone_and_mike/2/1237330320/tpod.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:20:35 -0400 Dubai, Egypt & Morocco

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Cairo, Egypt

Woken by some annoying banging (could have been in the kitchen below us). Went down to breakfast, then checked out and waited for the transit buses to take us to the airport (we ended up on the 4th one as the Mecca group pushed their way on before everyone else. But we helped the young family Ahmed and Mouna with their little girls). Check in, through passport control, then waited at our gate for our flight. Flight was 5 hours but at least this time there was a movie (Eagle Eye) to watch. Landed in Cairo (again spotted the Pyramids) and helped Ahmed and Mouna get their girls and luggage off the plane. Waited for Joe to pick us up, then back to their place, dinner and an early night.
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

We were pretty much on the plane the whole time that's what! Arrived in Dubai after midnight - the airport was it's usual chaotic state. Had to put my watch forward 2 hours. Mike and I looked in the duty free shops and it wasn't too long before we were back on the plane for the next leg.Watched movies and ate! Plane was full so no chance of stretching out which meant no sleep for me. Arrived in Singapore about 1pm their time (again had to put the clocks forward a few hours I think). Only a quick stop of about 40 mins before we were bundled back on again.Plane was empty though on last leg so Mike got a row of 4 seats and I had 3. Had dinner then stretched out and slept for a few hours.
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