TravelStream™ news feed for member stevea on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/stevea en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:44:15 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1214128680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1214128680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1214128680/tpod.html Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:44:15 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Portree, Scotland, United Kingdom

This was a trip Will and I had planned since before I even arrived in Scotland. Originally we said we'd do the West Highland Way, but after some thought decided we should take the opportunity to go and see some of Scotland more spectacular landscape and mountain ranges. Maybe I even knew I'd have time to do the WHW later on! So after quite a bit of planning and deliberating on what to do, what to climb, where to stay, and what not to do, we came up with an itinerary that took in the Isle of Skye, Torridon, and the Assynt area, all in Scotland's rugged and remote northwest. It was difficult to choose as there were literally hundreds of options that presented themselves. Our transport was a rental car - a lovely black Ford Focus, and we decided to stay under the canvas on Skye, and in good ole SYHAs for the remainder. Our first destination was the Isle of Skye, which I had been looking forward to seeing since I first came to Scotland. Save the best till last I guess. We headed off early on the morning of Sunday 22nd June. I had a rough night the night before, getting soaked at the Bon Jovi concert at Hampden park. Our first stop (besides food and drink stops) was Eiliean Donan castle, located near the town of Dornie on Loch Duich in Scotland's northwest. Eiliean Donan is a very picturesque castle which has been featured in several films including The World is Not Enough and Highlander. It is a great castle, fully fitted inside in the old style, and with plenty of history to keep me intreseted. The mock kitchen is well done also. We made it to Skye mid-afternoon, and with all the daylight left we decided to fit a walk in. Unfortunately the weather was miserable, or as they like to say on Skye, not co-operating. We headed for the Trotternish Ridge, more specifically The Quiraing. The Quiraing is a spectacular landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach on the northern end of the Trotternish Ridge. It has some of the most amazing cliffs and rock faces I have seen.to be contuined when I get back to Tas!...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211893800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211893800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211893800/tpod.html Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:05:45 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Bergen, Western Fjords, Norway

Our final destination in Norway was Bergen, Norway's second largest city, situated on the west coast of the country. I was surprised by the seemingly instant transition from beautiful wilderness to city upon entering Bergen by train. We arrived around midday, dumped bags and did what we typical do first thing in a new city, get up high. We headed for Floyen, Bergen's 320m hill overlooking the city. Lucky for us there is a Furnicular railway to take one right to the top. It is Scandinavia's first Furnicular railway, Floibanen. It was a superb day with crystal blue skies, and was even a touch on the warm side, a change from the last few days. The views are great, and I could still see the mountains surrounding Bergen, as well as the many islands out to sea. I couldn't see Scotland however! We wanted to take a look at the Lepresy Museum as it seemed really different and possibly interesting. I was a little bit over the usual museums, and Bergen and few strange ones on offer. Unfortunately the opening times were severly naffed, and we didn't get a look. So we head a good wander around the city taking in all the lovely old wooden buildings, and over on the hill where there are predominantly old wooden houses. I was stranged about by the presence of a 14th century Scottish castle on the waterfront. It seems so out of place! In the later afternoon, the sun was a midday sun and it was a little warm. So we headed to the pub and ended up chatting to a couple of Aussies for a while a few (expensive) pints. It's funny how I can always afford beer when everything else seems far too expensive! They were a good couple of guys, a little on the yobbo side, and we had a good time relaxing.The city is beautiful, however I enjoyed Oslo more. I think there is just a lot more going on there. Bergen seemed a little sleepy to me. Probably a good thing I guess!We headed back to Scotland the next day, and had opted for a flight to Aberdeen. Our plane was a small one with propellers, seating probably no more than 40 people. I was dreading the flight, thinking it would be a rough one. However it turned out suprisingly uneventful and smooth. The engines are very loud however. The weather when we arrived in Aberdeen was abismal. Typically.Norway was a great trip and definitely one of the best places I've been in Europe. The scenery is amazing and I am especially glad we did the train and fjords as the cities were great, but didn't stand out as some of my favourites. The mountains, fjords, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls were amazing and definitely the best part of Norway for me. I'd like to go further north next time I think.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211720940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211720940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211720940/tpod.html Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:27:45 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Aurland, Western Fjords, Norway

A trip to Norway would not be complete without seeing a Fjord. So we decided we'd splash out and get the train to Bergen, making a stopover near the Fjords. We had heard that the train journey from Oslo to Bergen is not only one of the most spectacular in Europe, but in the world. I love traveling by train, and was really looking forward to this one.After a great couple of nights in Oslo, we got the train on the Monday morning from Oslo and managed to find ourselves a seat opposite some friend and not-so annoying Americans. They were a father and son combination, tracing their heritage in Norway. They came from Washington State and we made interesting conversation with them for most of the journey. It was not long after leaving Oslo that the scenery becaming stunning and then into the snow. I was excited about reaching Finse. Finse is the area where the Planet Hoth featured in The Empire Strikes Back was filmed. Hence I was very excited about going there - my first Star Wars film location! Once we approached that area, the snow covered landscape to me was recongnizable from the film. Not dramatic mountains, but more like rolling hills covered in snow. It was a tick of my list anyway! Finse is also the highest train station in Norway at 1222m above sea level.Our stop was at Myrdal, where we chain trains to hop onto the Flam railway. The Flam Railway is one of the steepest non-cable railways in the world and passes some very dramatic scenery. The rail drops 866m over a 20km journey to give an idea. The train was older than I expected, which made all the more fun. The train made a stop halfway down to the Fjord, at a majestic waterfall called Kjosfossen, which was surely one of the best I've seen in the world. It was a pity there were so many damn tunnels blocking the view! The Flam railway was a great wee trip, which took us onto the next leg of our journey to Bergen - a Fjord cruise.We arrived at the tourist stop of Flam, where there is little more than the train station, a small port, and tourist shops. We hopped on a boat an soon began cruising through the Aurlandsfjord. Tourists were in abundance but it didn't detract from the scene. The seagulls were mighty annoying however. The fjord was beautiful. We spent about 2 and a half hours cruising thought Aurlandsfjord, and then Naeroyfjord. Waterfalls were abundant, more than I could count and bigger than I had ever seen. The weather was nice, especially in the back half of the journey. Some of the mountains seemed to rise nearly 1000 meters straight out of the sea water of the Fjord. It was a majestic journey, and one which I am very glad we did. We met a couple of Aussies on the boat to, who were doing a similar thing to us, only they had a car to drive around Norway.We arrived at the spectacular finale to the cruise in Gudvangen, which is a small mountain at the bottom of a very steep sided valley. Our next fun trip then commenced - a bus trip up Stalheimskleiva to Voss, where we stayed the night. The bus journey was crazy, a steep, narrow and very windy old road up and out of Stalheimskleiva. The views were spectacular again, and it seemed to take us an hour to go about 5km. I was now convinced the that Norway is one the most naturally beautiful countries in the world. If only I had enough money to stay longer!We spent the night at Voss, a small town situated by Lake Vangsvatnet. We stayed at the YHA, which was a beautiful building situated right on the lake. We managed to cook ourselves here too which was a bonus. We met a couple of Canadians who were from Montreal and were holidaying in Norway for 3 months. Montreal must be rich. Anyway, it was a pleasant stay with beautiful views. The lake was crystal clear and still, and was a great place to relax for the evening and following morning. In the morning we headed to the train station for the final part of our journey to Bergen.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211634420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211634420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1211634420/tpod.html Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:59:20 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Norway was a trip Stace and I had planned to do for a long time, and at last we had arrived. We took a few days off work and decided to spend 5 days there. We flew into Oslo from Glasgow on Saturday the 24th May, arriving in the afternoon. Our hostel was located in what seem to be a less that pleasant area of Oslo, however it was cheap, and given the cost of things in Norway, that was all we wanted.We had a short look around that afternoon, taking in the city centre and just taking a general look around. It was cold, so opted for a bite to eat before calling it a day. Already we were finding Norway really expensive and knew we had to watch our spending!The next morning we had an earlier rise, grabbed some breaky from a small store and headed to the Edward Munch Museum. This was something Stace and realyl been looking forward to. I didn't know much about Munch, but once I left I was very impressed, and it is definitly one of the best art exhibitions I've seen. Edward Munch's most famous piece is 'The Scream'. This painting was stolen a few years back and only in the months before we visited was returned to display after a long restoration period. So we were extremely lucky to actually see the original! His 'Madonna' is also quite famous and very impressive. We found the security at the museum very tight, I'm guessing as a result of the theft!That afternoon we checked out the Royal Palace, and then the Town Hall, before hopping a boat over to the Viking Ship Museum, to check out the centuries old Viking Ships. The ships were found in the hills around Oslo around 150 years ago, and date back to AD800. I found it fascinating that the Vikings journeyed over the Atlantic in similar boats. The ones in the museum were apparently more for ceremonies than journeying. They are spectacular ships and were well worth the look.After a short spot of rain we decided to head to the Frogner Park, where there are some really wacked out sculptures by the artist Gustav Vigeland. There a bit hard to explain, so just check out the photos! They were very impressive, like nothing I've ever seen. The park itself is amazing too. But the sculptures are the drawcard, and I don't think I'll see anything like it again. This was a good 'free' thing to do in Oslo. We even bummed a free tram ride back to town.Our last activity for the day was  a visit to the Nobel Peace Center, where we learnt all about Nobel Peace winners and Al Gore. This was very interesting. We closed the evening with a trip up to the Akershus Castle, which gave great views over Oslo. The castle itself was great, in good location overlooking the harbour. So we found ourselves having a really good day of sightseeing around Oslo, after originally thinking there wasn't much to do. Oslo was nice, with some great architecture, and beautiful sights. The cost of everything was a bit depressing however! I was expecting it to be like Stockholm. Oslo wasn't like Stockholm. It was rougher. More expensive, but perhaps a little bit more interesting.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210422060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210422060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210422060/tpod.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:48:26 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Bargrennan, United Kingdom

This was my second walk as walk leader with the Glasgow Young Walkers. I had decided to go south of Glasgow again - to walk The Merrick. The Merrick is located in the Galloway Forest park in the south west of Scotland. It is the highest mountain of the southern uplands, and lies aboe the spectacular Glen Trool and Loch Trool.Once again we headed south instead of north or west, this time for awalk up the highest peak in the southern uplands. Some heavy rainbefore getting out of the car didn't deter us, and we ended with clearfantastic views from the summit of the Merrick. A nice lunch with niceviews was had, before heading back down. On the way down the heavens opened up and we got drenched in a spectacular thunderstorm. It was the first time I had been out walking in a thunderstorm and I found it quite exciting (with a small element of danger I guess). I'm glad we were off the summit by that stage.It was a long trudge through some boggy terrain back tothe car park, but was well worth it. There was also a small dose of history before we reached the car park, as we saw Bruce's Stone. Bruc'es Stone commerates a victory of the Scots over the english in these very hills in 1307. The Scots were said to have rolled boulders down the hills at the english, and looking at the terrain, I can see that that's true.Another fantastic walk.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210023480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210023480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1210023480/tpod.html Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:10:00 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Marseille, Provence, France

Geez all the photos. I have so many good photos from Marseille. I've ended up with a measely 44. And that was cut back by about 30! Having said that, Marseille is beautiful! Marseilles is the second biggest city in France, and has always been a port city, having one of the major ports in the Mediterranean since BC times. We arrived from Nice on Sunday afternoon, about 5pm. After dumping our bags at the hostel, which was right near the train station (handy), we headed town the the city centre. The city is quite grand, with great architecture, big buildings, trams, and of course the centerpiece - Vieux Port. Vieux Port translates to 'The Old Port of Marseilles'. There are two forts on either side of the entrance to the port, which look stunning. I hadn't seen anything like it since Malta. And then there's the amazing Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde high up on the hill over looking the city. And finally, there's The Chateau d'If situated on a rock in a group of small islands just outside the harbour. Marseille is definitely an amazing setting.We had a look around the port and up to Fort d'Entrecasteux which has a amazing view of Vieux Port and the city. Following this we made the hike up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, which is located on a hill high above the city. It's an amazing location and gave one of the best city views I have ever seen (doesn't compare the view from Mount Wellington though!). The basilica is impressive itself with a huge golden sculpture of Mary and Jesus glistening in the sun high above the hill. There is also a fair amount of scars from World War II. It was a nice hike up there in the sun too, located at 200m above sea level.After a bit more of a wander we had drinks of the waterfront and then dinner at a small Italian restaurant. Marseille were playing in a big football match that night so the pubs were packed. The waterfront at Vieux Port is an amazing place to drink eat and socialise. And there's plenty to choose from. Our journey wouldn't have been complete without visiting the Bar de la Marine. This is bar is featured in the film 'Love Actually' where Cloin Firth gets his girl at the end of the film. The bar is exactly as it is in the film too! I love going film locations!On Monday we rose early with the aim of getting to the Chateau d'If for a look. Chateau d'If is famous for feauturing the Count of Monte Cristo. Originally a defensie Fort, the Chateau was transformed into a prison and housed some of Frances most infamous characters. With it goes some amazing stories too. We hopped on a boat quite early in the morning, meaning we beat the crowds. Not that Marseille is very touristy anyway. The Chateau was very impressive, with some really creepy cells, and an excellent exbihition on the history. The view form the top of the chateau was fantastic.We only had enough time before our flight to check out the La Panier quater of Marseille, once back from the Chateau. The weather was fantastic again by the way. La Panier is one of the oldest parts of Mareille with narrow cobbled streets and lanes, churches, and some great architecture. We wandered around here for a few hours and had a bite to eat and icecream too. It is a fantastic area of Marseille with some interesting history.That pretty much sums up our long weekend in the French Riviera. It was a fantastic trip, partly because it was unexpected. I liked Marseille a lot more than Nice, mainly due to the history and sites. Also it was cheaper and less touristy. The city certainly had a lot to offer tourist though, and I could even see myself living there. It would be a good locations as it is close to the Alps and quite central to whole host of other great destinations.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1209850620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1209850620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1209850620/tpod.html Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:32:33 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Nice, Provence, France

Our trip to the south of France was a last minute decision, as we originally wanted to go to Berlin or Barcelona, but being a long weekend, found it was too expensive. In the end, with a good ole bit of web browsing perseverance we found some ideal flights to Marseille, and so jumped at the opportunity. Sometimes the unexpected trips are the best. So on the 3rd of May, a Saturday we hopped on a flight from Glasgow to Marseille. We arrived in Marseille and instantly we extremely happy to see blue sky and feel the suns warmth on our faces! But Marseille was not our first destination. We went no further than the train/bus station in Marseille before hopping on a coach to Nice to spend the next day or so. Along the way the bus stop in famous places along the Frence Riviera such as Cannes. All looked very nice. I also looked with envy at all the guys on motorbikes of all classes cruising along the open roads along the Riviera. That is something I may like to do one day! So we arrived in Nice mid afternoon and had enough time for a good look around the city including the pebble beach, Parc du Chateau, and View Nice (the old town). It was a pity the guards kicked us out of the park before he got to the top. Oh well, it was a nice evening sun view anyway! We settled for a few beers in one of the nice squares listening to some live music. The night was nicely capped off with a stroll along the promenade and a sit and relax on the beach under the moonshine. Nice looks quite impressive at night by the way. The next day (Sunday), we enjoyed an unexpectadly nice breakfeast as we stumbled across a large fruit and vegie market. We decided to take to the top of the hill in Parc Du Chateau to enjoy our delicious food with a superb view. The view over Nice from the top of the hill is great. I think I even caught a glimpse of the alps. We stayed up there a while as it was stunningly clear and quiet morning. Church bells was about the only sound. We spent the remainder of the day exlporing various areas of Nice, and enjoying the weather. Scotland takes it out of you!I enjoyed Nice, but only for a short visit. It's a beautiful city with beautiful surrounds, however it bustles with tourists and shoppers, which ain't to my liking to much. I was more excited about Marseille to be honest!
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Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

A lovely day with the weather starting to warm up, Stace and decided to walk from our flat to the other side of Glasgow along the Clyde, taking in some nice river views. These photos show what a like to think as 'futuristic' Glasgow. April was a quiet month, as we were saving up for two trips in May - one to the south of France, and the other to Norway. It was a quiet period for gigs to, after having some belters in the last few months including The Black Keys, Devotchka, Editors. Life in Glasgow was ace.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1208122920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1208122920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1208122920/tpod.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:45:43 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Aberfoyle, Scotland, United Kingdom

On this day, the weather seemed to be itching just out of winter and into some nicer summer weather. I took a short walk with my walking club in the hills and forest surrounding the small town of Aberfoyle. We  reached the top of the Monievreckie Hills, taking in some nice views. There was still a bit of snow about too. We stopped on thesummit for a good lunch break, and then spent the afternoon exploringthe maze of paths around the forest reserve. We finished the day with a nice pint of lager before heading back to Glasgow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1207313580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1207313580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevea/europe-2007/1207313580/tpod.html Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:29:24 -0400 Buddhas, Cathedrals, and Castles

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Pitlochry, Scotland, United Kingdom

It was not since we first arrived in the UK that we had seen our good friends Matt and Clare. In the first weekend in April they decided to visit Stace and I in Glasgow. Clare had only been to Edinburgh before and Matt had never been to Scotland. They arrived on a cold but sunny Friday afternoon, where I met them and we went straight to the Red Lizard for a few pints whilst waiting for Stace to finish work. We had a large dinner together and caught up, and included a few Boags Premium beers all the way from Tassie. Soon afterwards we headed over to the west end for a few more drinks, and were well enjoying ourselves by this stage. We ended up on Glasgow's infamous Sauchiehall Street before calling it a night. Matt and Clare did afterall come up from London for than just the drink! It was a fun  fun night. It was a good intro for them to the Glasgow nightlife too.The next morning, after a slow rise out of bed, we finally decided to jump in the car and head north, destination unknown. Matt and Clare said they were hoping to see some snow. Well, they got it. By the time we reached the top of Loch Lomond, the surrounding hills all had a decent snow cover, and as got into Glen Coe, we found ourselves in near blizzard conditions! I had never seen Glen Coe so grim before. We made the decision whilst there to keep heading north through Fort William, and the loop back to the east and spend the night at Pitlochry, a favourite little Scottish town. So we headed north taking short detour into Glen Nevis to see what we could see. We found the 'Braveheart' carpark, which was created during the filming of Braveheart, shot nearby. Before long we arrived in Pitlochry, and found a B&B to spend the night.After a wee rest we headed out into the dark cold conditions for a 20 minute walk over the hill to the nearby pub, The Moulin Hotel. It started snowing again on the way, and it was a walk that seemed to take forever. Nonetheless we made it to the classic Scottish pub, with a low roof and open fire. I had a good local ale whilst we waited for a table. It was a good cosy pub with good food and a great atmosphere, but later on we were all pretty tired so called it a night, given that we had to find our way back to the B&B.We had a grand breakfast the next (Sunday) morning, in a dining room that was very Scottish. It had tartan carpet and matching placemats as a small example. The food was superb as all Scottish breakfasts are. We were surprised to see just how much it had snowed overnight. After brekky we took a tour around the town, taking in the dam and the fish ladder, and also having a bit of childish fun making a snowman called 'Yarp'. We capped off our short stay in Pitlochry with a great hot chocolate from the famous chocolate shop.After a nice drive on the way back, cutting past Loch Tay for the scenic route, we arrived back in Glasgow mid afternoon. That night we took Matt and Clare to one of the hubs of Glasgow's live music - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut. We were off to see a band from the US named Devotchka, that I had really gotten into in the preceding months. I was stoked I finally got to see them, in a venue which is pure gold. It was a fantastic show and great crowd. Matt and Clare enjoyed it, and it capped off what was a superb weekend of the the usual fun and antics we get up to when we're together. For me and Stace it was work on Monday, as Matt and Clare headed back to London.
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