TravelStream™ news feed for member suzandtrent on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/suzandtrent en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:01:48 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1181439660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1181439660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1181439660/tpod.html Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:01:48 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Munich, Germany

What a lovely morning - we got to have a wonderful sleep in before enjoying scrambled eggs and crispy bacon - and our long anticipated Vegemite on toast (great find by Trent!). We headed out into Salzburg to get some fruit and some snacks for the bus ride. At lunchtime the Busabout bus picked us up for our journey to Munich, which was only a short journey. The bus took us through some lovely scenic hills and areas on our way to Bavaria.

Once at Munich, we encountered an issue at Wombat hostel where we had booked to stay the night (also the busabout pickup/drop off point). Our names were down as staying in the hostel that night, however we had not been allocated our private double bed room, or any bed what so ever. We were quite annoyed, as they could only then offer us a bunk bed in a shared dorm, or nothing at all even though we had booked a double room. Luckily being in the right place at the right time - a lady from the hostel/hotel next door, who was just dropping in, overheard the receptionist telling us they had made a big mistake etc, and she said they had a vacant private room in the hotel section. We were so thankful, we said we would take the room, and Wombat hostel paid the extra for us to stay there!!!

After getting settled into the room, we made our way down to wombats to meet some friends to go and explore Munich. We headed towards the more popular part of town, and enjoyed looking at the shops, going to a beer garden for a salad & working out the places we wanted to see. We saw Frauenkirche, Peterskirche, Theatinerkirche (Churches) and the stunning Hofgarten. We also wandered past Marienplatz with its mechanical clock (Glockenspiel), and the Feldherrnhalle monument at Odeonsplatz.

The humidity and sore feet soon had us returning back to the hotel, and then heading down to the hostel bar for some food and a few drinks. We met some interesting people from all over the world and had a great time catching up with everyone before heading off to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184065140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184065140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184065140/tpod.html Tue, 10 Jul 2007 07:01:25 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong

We are now at Hong Kong, and the flight was pretty boring as none of the in flight entertainment worked except for a few games like tetras and solitaire Exciting NOT! Hopefully it works on the rest of the journey to Sydney - well at least we won't have to yell across the aisle way this time to chat lol.

Can't wait to see our family and friends - especially our fur children!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184039820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184039820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184039820/tpod.html Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:58:33 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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London, United Kingdom

Argh, it was scary waking up and knowing it was our last day in the UK (we are regretting not staying longer), and our last day (apart from flying) for our honeymoon. So despite the lack of sleep we were out and about bright and early so we could make the most of it. We were lucky again to have a beautiful sunny morning increase the enjoyment of our activities in London.

After our filling and scrumptious breakfast, we caught the tube across the city to the London Eye for a great panoramic view of the city. It was fantastic, we really enjoyed ourselves and it was definitely worth the money. It was then another tube journey to the London Bridge and London Dungeon. The London Dungeon was good fun, and it had some different things since the last time I went. The funniest was the room of the lost - which consisted of low light and lots of mirrors which was very confusing. It took quite some time to make it the whole way through as it was very busy.

It was back to the hotel quickly to tidy ourselves up and check out of the hotel. We then made our way to Harrods to have a look around at the famous store. There were some wonderful things there - so many we wish we had room to take home with us.

When we left Harrods we entered the tube at Knightsbridge station as we were heading a little way out of London. Once at the platform, three trains went past, well they stopped and then continues without the doors opening. We were a little confused and starting to worry a bit, especially when the security guard told everyone to leave because of a 'power failure'. We tried to leave put the exits were blocked, but soon thankfully someone came and let us all out.

After leaving the station a bit confused we asked for directions to another station, upon arriving at it, we were told by security that it was closed and so were a few surrounding ones due to a security alert. It was rather frightening looking for a taxi near Harrods with police and the fire brigade coming in at a fast pace. We were soon in a taxi and went to a tube station a bit further away.

We went to Camden Town to do some record shopping, and we were really impressed by the area. There were some really funky markets and shops and heaps of record stores. We only had time for one though, but it was great, and after listening to lots of records we bought a small selection and headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags.

As soon as we got onto the street at Marble Arch it started raining, we were not prepared for that due to the sunshine in the morning, so we got soaked on the way to the hotel! Soon we were tidied up and at the airport - lining up for over an hour to check in for our flight. Unfortunately there were no spare seats on the plane so we couldn't upgrade!

After some food it was announced our plane was boarding at gate 40 (previously none of the boards displayed a gate for out flight). After using the bathrooms, it was announced our flight was closing!!! We ran - of course the gate was the furthest away!!! There were a few people running or hurrying in our direction so with my toe ailment I decided to walk the rest of the way (Trent did too!). When we got to the gate, the flight hadn't even started boarding, everyone was sitting in the lounge, and we continued to sit there for at least 10 minutes or more before we could board the plane. We ran for nothing lol!

We then get on the plane to see we aren't sitting next to each other - but across the aisle from each other...so romantic (I'm sitting with kids!). Because the flight is so full they can't move us, and whilst Trent is sitting next to one person who could swap with me, he hasn't offered to move even when we spoke to the flight attendant. We are sitting next to each other on the other half of the trip, otherwise we would be finishing our honeymoon separately!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184064780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184064780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1184064780/tpod.html Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:57:06 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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London, United Kingdom

We had an early start, which was easy enough since we both had a very unsettled sleep and were up before the alarm! We had a fantastic breakfast downstairs in the hotel before heading towards the show ground.

The drive was short, but absolutely stunning! such a great view of Lancashire. We entered the indoor arena and unfortunately my fears of bad lighting came true - it was very difficult to get photos of the horses, and if they did turn out the whole thing looks very yellow. The photos will jog our memory though, although some of the horses will be very difficult to forget.

The first class started at 7:30 am, beginning with the working hunter - which we only saw the flat work part of the class. The next classes began with the Show Hunter classes which I was eagerly awaiting - the first being the Lightweight, then Middleweight then Heavyweight.

The hunter classes were filled with extremely elegant horses which had more bone than a show horse. I was really taken by their quality and the large amount of reach and straightness in their stride. These classes where judged by a ride judge and a conformation judge - the horses all worked around the ring in walk, trot, canter and gallop before being called in. The ride judge then rode all of the line up, and the other judge would assess the horses conformation whilst at a halt, walk and trot all without the saddle and rider. Obviously we have seen a similar type of proceeding at our shows in Australia with English Judges, but it was lovely watching it in their own country.

Next came the hacks - small and large, which were also judged by two judges, although different than the hunter classes. The horses also worked around the ring, but they did a free workout (called a 'show') before being ridden by the judge and stripped of the saddle. The hacks were stunning, and majority of them behaved. If they didn't behave whilst the judge rode them, they were asked to leave the ring. In all the classes, the judges put the most weight on their ride on the horse.

By the time these classes and their respective Champion classes had finished it was nearly 4pm. We decided to make the 5 hour journey back to London as we were worried about road closures with the Tour De France. We missed the Riding Horse and Cob classes which was a shame. On the way to the car we got a few photos of the property the show was on, and met a lovely older gentleman who was helping to park the lorry's (horse trucks) at the show. He was quite informative about the area, although he was confused as to why I was so taken by the countryside since he though I was English (apparently I don't sound very Australian lol).

Trent and I were soon on the road to London - enjoying letting the Sat Nav give up to date traffic reports and mucking around with the different 'bells and whistles' in the car. We were in London in good time, and after dropping the car off we were back at the hotel ready for a nice bath and a good nights sleep.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183953300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183953300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183953300/tpod.html Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:56:37 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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London, United Kingdom

Entry coming soon
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183777080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183777080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183777080/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:14:08 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Mellor, England, United Kingdom

Another cold and rainy day in London, but our spirits were not at all dampened. Breakfast was just amazing, we had a full English Breakfast which was cooked to perfection, fresh orange juice and beautiful settings and classical music.

We soon packed and were ready to make our way up north to Lancashire. Just around the corner was the car rental place, so we walked there with our bags and picked up our lovely Audi A4 TDi! We are both impressed with the car (although only Trent is driving being over 25!), it has great pick-up and all the mod cons including sat nav which is so detailed and clear it makes driving easy.

The drive up north was wonderful, the countryside is beautiful, so much to see! After a few hours we arrived at Mellor, the village we are staying. We pulled into Millstone Hotel and were welcomed into our lovely room. The room is gorgeous, with a four poster bed, and despite being in the country it has all the mod cons (including wireless woohoo)!

After settling into the room, we went downstairs to the pub to have dinner. It was amazing, the wine, the food, the atmosphere, well everything, we couldn't fault it except there was no room for desert and we want to stay here longer to try more on the menu. Go to the Millstone Hotel if your out this way!!!

Tomorrow we are heading around the corner to the North of England Summer Horse Show, which has classes that qualify for Horse of the Year here in the UK. We won't have to brave the wet and cold weather as the show is indoors (good for us...not so good for photos). We will also have a bit of a look around the area before heading back south to London.

Anyway its time for bed!! Night xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183693020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183693020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183693020/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:47:18 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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London, United Kingdom

Our last breakfast in Amsterdam was lovely, after we were finished we completed our packing and walked with our bags to the train station. It unfortunately started raining on our walk so we got a little wet, but it was only a short distance so it wasn't to bad. A short train ride and we arrived at the airport for our flight to London.

We soon were checked in, and were waiting for our flight to board. All was on time, and the flight was comfortable and we both enjoyed a short nap on the plane (oh and I read a new book which I bought at the airport)!!! At Heathrow, the customs was a quick enough process considering the amount of people they had to see, but it was all helped by the lovely manner of the lady who looked at our passports.

We left Heathrow on the Heathrow Express, going to Paddington Station, and from there we got a taxi to our hotel. Our hotel is typical English - just stunning really, our room is huge and has everything we need. We settled in, and were again surprised by another present from Mum & Dad Worsley - a HUGE box of chocolates and a lovely bottle of wine.

Deciding to brave the cold and wet London weather, we walked down the road to Madame Tussauds - where we met so many famous people...well the wax copies of them anyway! We had a fantastic time seeing the wax statues of celebrities, sports stars, politicians and royal family from numerous centuries. We also enjoyed the horror section (where people jump put and scare you!), and went through the Spirit of London sitting in little black taxi's. It was a wonderful afternoon!

After leaving Madame Tussauds we decided we would find somewhere to have a roast dinner. We found a wonderful cavery, where we enjoyed roast lamb, mountains of vegies, yorkshire pudding, and a great bottle of Merlot!!! We were so full, so we waddled back to the hotel and had a bath and went to bed!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183607820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183607820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183607820/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:26:29 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

After a wonderful breakfast, and a workout in the gym, we made our way on foot towards the Waterlooplein Flea Market. We spent hours there, looking through the old records, clothing, books, new clothing, shoes etc.

We had a great time, and soon it was getting to early afternoon and we decided to head to a cafe (what we call a pub) for a beer (for Trent) and some lunch. The cafe we went to was full of older locals, and it served the traditional dutch beer, Amstel (thankfully the water to make the beer doesn't come from the Amstel river anymore...it's dirty and brown). We had a lovely lunch, and when finished we made our way back in the direction of the hotel.

We went past the hotel to check out FOAM a photography exhibition which was very interesting and certainly offered some inspiration. As the afternoon came to an end, after browsing some shops we went to the hotel to freshen up.

In the evening we met up with a friend and went to a great bar 'Arc' and then went to a fantastic Italian restaurant 'Saturnino' where we ate some delicious seafood and amazing wine. We returned to the bar again after dinner before returning to the hotel for the night.

Tonight is our last night in Amsterdam, and we are sad to be saying goodbye. We definitely have much more to see in the Netherlands and we hope it will wait for our return. We fly to London tomorrow for the last leg of our honeymoon (boo hoo...except we are home sick).

Tot ziens
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183521000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183521000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183521000/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:09:42 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Another lovely breakfast this morning - which included lots of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, antipasto, cereals, fruits, yogurts etc! Once full, we made our way to Rijksmuseum, browsing the shops along the way (and getting a little lost).

Rijksmuseum was fantastic, we spent nearly half a day there, and could have spent more if we weren't getting hungry. Offering us both an artistic and historical viewpoint of the Netherlands, there was so many different things to consider. We saw the highlights of the Golden Age, the amazing dolls houses, silverware, delftware, the civic company pieces, icons of Dutch history and a huge number of paintings from the renowned artists: Jan Steen, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt.

With our heads filled with information it became time to fill our stomachs. We decided to have some Poffertjes (little dutch pancakes), it was Trent's first time eating this lovely food. Once again we were lucky to make it inside, as the heavens opened up and soon there was an inch of water on the ground. We enjoyed our food and then went for a walk viewing the area around Museumplein waiting for our late afternoon bike tour.

It only rained lightly, but after a while we got wet despite the umbrellas. Thankfully as the bike tour started the sun came out and there were only small amounts of rain along the way. We rode through the city, stopping to learn about the city and countries history. We then road to the more rural area outside of Amsterdam and went to a farm that makes cheese and clogs! Yummy!

After we finished at the farm we went and visited Benita, one of the more famous windmills (who is featured in some of Rembrandt's paintings). She was lovely, and was in great condition despite her age of over 300 years old. We learnt about the windmills history in the Netherlands and how people receive tax breaks for living in the windmills and keeping them in good condition!

We then rode back towards the city, riding through Vondelpark and back to drop off the bikes. On the way back to the hotel we did some antique window shopping (the shops were closed) and managed to end up way off course! It was a nice walk back though to the hotel, we saw more of amsterdam, and were soon back in the area of the hotel.

Stopping to get some dinner, it again poured down with rain whilst we were inside. We had a wonderful meal and as it was getting late we went back to the hotel and had a nice bath before bed! We are getting a bit sick of all the rain!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183434240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183434240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/suzandtrent/europe-2007/1183434240/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:35:45 -0400 Our honeymoon to Europe and the UK

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

After breakfast and doing our laundry, we made a start in the direction of the Anne Frank house Museum. We had a browse in some of the shops and had lunch in a great little place called Foodism, which offered all fresh and homemade foods, freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. The atmosphere was really funky, great music, and we had a wonderful tasty and filling lunch. We were rather lucky that when we entered the restaurant it poured down. It was great place to hang out until the heavy rain passed.

We then went to the Tulip Museum which had some great information about the history, cultivation, breeding, storage and sale of tulip bulbs and flowers. It was extremely interesting and there were lots of photos and different movies to illustrate the information.

We made our way to Anne Franks house where we were hoping the line may have died down. Unfortunately it hadn't, however we decided to line up anyway. In about 40 or so minutes we were able to go in. We spent some hours going through the museum, reading about the house, its inhabitants, the family business, the war and the persecution of the jewish people around the world.

At the completion of the museum, we watched an interactive presentation about the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It was very interesting and we both learnt a lot about different historical occurrences and the issues about freedom over time.

As the night was getting on we walked around the canals and found a nice place to have some sushi. We then found another place to indulge in a good coffee and some lovely desserts (lucky we have a gym at the hotel)! We then headed back to the hotel for the night.
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