Fellow Vassar and Cushing House gal pal Darice Murphy was in London this weekend!  She traveled from Madrid where she is studying abroad and it was lovely to be able to spend some quality time with her–she stayed over Saturday and Sunday nights.  Luckily, I was in prime London tour guide shape following madre/ma mère’s visit and showed Darice around the Londontown!  Her visit was also a great occasion to spend time with Annie and Jenna.

Besides seeing the sights documented below, we spent some time at the Tate Modern, danced Saturday night away at Zoo Bar in Leicester Square (to ridiculous 90s pop throwbacks while sipping on delicious cocktails), and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (clearly the best, and clearly tons of London references). All in all, a great weekend!  The downside: my bed will never be as warm as when I was spooning with my girl

China tours have become highly popular since the People’s Republic opened its doors to mass tourism. There are so many options now that it’s easy to get confused. Let’s describe what you can expect, depending on where you go.

The Chinese capital Beijing, the ancient city of Xian and cosmopolitan Shanghai are included in most China tours – unless you opt not to go for the major cities. Guilin and Hong Kong are also popular among tourists.

The North China plain, with Beijing and the Yellow River, has always been one of the most important regions for Chinese civilization, and it’s almost inevitable you will go there. It’s also possible to book a tour that also takes you further down the countryside, for a example for a river cruise on the mighty Yangtze.

Being a country with a great variety of landscapes it’s also worthwhile to go and see beautiful mountains like the majestic Yellow Mountain, China’s most celebrated mountain with three peaks above 1,800 meters. You’ll find the Yellow Mountain in the southern part of Anhui Province. If you think of mountains, you’ll quickly think of Tibet. It has never been so easy to visit this remote land in the south west of China since a new railway to Lhasa was opened. Yes, you can now travel to the roof of the world in a comfortable train carriage!

Train travel is popular in China and a great way to discover the country’s cities and nature. Trains also offer excellent opportunities to get acquainted with the Chinese people.

Neighboring Tibet is the mountainous borderland of Yunnan, known as China’s kingdom of flora and fauna. This is another fascinating part of the country and recommended to all lovers of exceptional natural sceneries. Several China tours include Yunnan’s capital Kunming, because of its pleasant weather also known as the city of eternal spring.

If it’s your first time visiting China I recommend booking a tour that includes the major cities and the Great Wall. For future trips some of the numerous other China tours will definitely satisfy you too.

I woke up refreshed and to find the weather brighter than the day before.  We had a loose agenda for the day:  have breakfast, go to the Wazemmes market, and do some more exploring.

First, breakfast!  The food on offer was a continental breakfast, and what was available was fresh and good.  Coffee came from a machine, which was the only downside for me.  There was a choice of fresh fruit salad, boiled eggs, ham, cheese, cereal, juice, baguettes, assorted mini croissants, yoghurts, assorted jams (in individual glass pots), honey, butter, etc.  I didn’t notice any hot food being available.

After breakfast, we walked down Rue Leon Gambetta (or Gambetta as it is known) toward the Wazemmes market.  The market opens at 7am and closes at 2pm.  The best and most interesting day for the market is on Sunday, where you can buy anything from puppies to panties.  We weren’t staying until Sunday, so we went to the market on Thursday when it is a bit low key, no puppies.  The market is still very busy on Thursdays.  There are a vast array of stalls on many of the little side roads off of Gambetta that flow into the Rue de Sarrazins and around.  You can find people selling clothes (women’s, men’s and children’s), shoes, toys, house hold products, fabric, jewellery, cosmetics, records and books, knick knacks, cooked food, fruits, vegetables, etc.  The restaurants in the area will sell food outside their premises.  There is a covered market where people sell food from all areas of the world, but we didn’t quite manage to go inside.

The flavour of the market is definitely ethnic.  There are Middle Eastern, African, Turkish, Indian, Central European and people of other nationalities selling a vast array of goods.  There are as many different ethnic restaurants in the area.  The Wazemmes or Lille Sud area is a bit down trodden in comparison to other areas of Lille we had experienced the day before and subsequently.  The houses are a bit smaller and shabbier.  Although it seems a bit shabby, I really liked the flavour of the place and it reminds me of certain neighbourhoods in New York.  I like the variety of people and the casualness of the neighbourhood.  Amor and I explored the market and eventually made our way out of the hustle and bustle towards Rue Des Postes down towards Boulevard Montebello.  Architecturally, Boulevard Montebello was not too interesting, but it picked up a little bit and improved when we got to Place Cormontaigne where we stopped into a café for a coffee, pit stop, to get our bearings and work out where we were going to go next.

I thought it would be a good idea to carry on walking toward the canal and along i towards the Citadelle.  It wasn’t a very nice walk as it isn’t possible to walk along the canal until one comes to Jardin Vauban.  We arrived at a beautiful war memorial near the entrance to the Citadelle.  There is a very large park surrounding it that contains a zoo with over 400 animals.  It is not possible to go inside the Citadelle walls without making prior arrangements through The Tourist Office.  Then one must give 24 hr. notice and visits can only be made on certain days.  I think it could be a very interesting tour.  We were very happy to have a look from the outside.  As you can see, the entrance is very impressive.

On our way out, we crossed the car park to Pont du Ramponneau into Vieux-Lille (Old Lille) toward the centre and Place du Géneral De Gaulle or Grande Place.  This is where I went crazy about the Architecture.  The oldest part of Lille is probably the most beautiful.  We found a restaurant in Grande Place to have lunch.  I don’t know the name of the restaurant, but it was opposite the McD’s on the other side of the square and we could see the statue of Déesse from the window.  The decor was pleasant and modern with some amusing and unusual artwork on the walls.  The restaurant served traditional French food.  I had the Carbonnade, which is beef cooked in a sauce flavoured with beer, onions, brown sugar and thickened with gingerbread, sort of like a stew.  It came with chips.  Amor had a special type of sausage of pork and herbs (and chips!).  My meal was excellent.  It wasn’t too sweet, the meat was very tender and flavoursome.  Amor wasn’t too sure about his sausage.  He liked the taste, but wasn’t sure about the texture.  The sausage fell apart when he cut into it.  I guess it depends on what one is used to.  I didn’t try it as I don’t generally eat pork.  We didn’t have coffee or dessert.  It took awhile for our bill to arrive.  I think the restaurant was a bit short-staffed and our waiter was running around all over the place.  I took this opportunity to use the facilities, which were very nice.

We decided to do the second walk in the AA book, Vieux Lille – the Old Town on page 38.  I went a bit mad with the camera.  There was so much to look at.  There were so many interesting details on many amazing buildings.  The shops were amazing.  There were designer shops left right and centre, many I never heard of.  I fell in love with a pair of purple, suede, pull on boots.  Purple is one of this season’s colours.  Unfortunately, they were out of my budget, ouch!  There were also many pátisseries, chocolate shops, trendy bars and restaurants.  The Old Town provides a feast for the eyes and palate.  I may have driven Amor a bit crazy with my camera antics and continually pointing things out to him by saying, “Ooh, look at that!” every few seconds!

We went inside the Cathédrale NotreDame de la Treille, a neo-Gothic cathedral started in 1854 and eventually completed in November 1999. This building took many years to complete as work completely stopped in the 1940’s.  If one looks at the building carefully, you can see the various styles of work done through the ages.

We continued walking around Old Lille making our way back to Grand Place and The Opera.

It was teatime and I fancied a coffee and cake.  None of the pátisseries we came across had anywhere to sit to have cake and coffee.  It was either cake or coffee, except for the famous Pátisserie Méert. The building is beautiful and elegant on the inside as it is on the outside.  The premises have been extended and there are several rooms, including a courtyard, to have your coffee (they also serve tea) and cake.  We were seated in the back with a view of the courtyard.  We were given a menu, in French.  I could understand a bit of it, but when it came to the cakes, we were a bit lost and had to ask the waiter for advice.  This is what we ordered.

We both had café crème.  I had the rhum au baba and Amor had a chocolate cake.  The chocolates are complimentary and come with the coffee.  Everything was divine.   The coffee was excellent, the chocolate cake was to die for, the baba was sublime, and the chocolates were coffee praline (we saved them for later).  We had all of this for €25, which is about £25!  It’s a bit shocking really, but it was soooo worth it.  Would I go back here again?  Definitely, and I would choose different cakes, and take photos of the interior and the loos, which were very pretty.  After our decadent feast, we walked around the Grand Place some more before heading back to our hotel for a snooze before dinner.

It was our last night out in Lille.  We had been out walking all day (apart for the time we were eating) and we wanted to eat at a restaurant near the hotel.  We brought out the guide books for well, guidance.  We decided to go to Le Chat qui fume (The Smoking Cat).  It was practically around the corner from us, was supposed to serve traditional food, and it had a cool name. (We found it in the MapGuide book.)  If we weren’t looking for it, we would have walked right by the restaurant.  It had an unassuming front, though the figure of a smoking cat was a good clue.  We went inside.  The place is quite small, but it had a lovely atmosphere, very cosy.  There was an upright piano that made up part of the bar, and as one would expect, there were pictures and paintings of smoking cats and other cats on the walls.  The place was very quiet and we were the only people in there until a small group arrived about a half an hour later.  Our waiter was friendly and very helpful as the menu was in French.  Amor had a steak with baked potato. I had the potatoes dauphinoise with Maroilles, a soft creamy cheese, and a side salad.  Amor’s steak was cooked perfectly and my potatoes were delicious with a delicate flavour from the cheese.  Amor had a beer with his meal and I had a small carafe of rosé wine.  As with all the places we had been to, there was no hurry for anything and we had a relaxed evening out and enjoyed a lovely meal.

Pátisserie Méert: 27 rue Esquermoise – 59000 Lille – http://www.meert.fr

Le Chat qui fume: 3, Rue Henri Kolb, 59000 Lille

On a shark cage dive at the little village of Gansbaai the trip from Cape Town starts very early – 5.45 am to be exact as this is because the twin hulled boat cannot get out of the harbour on leap low tide. The drive from Cape Town takes two and a half hours, albeit along some of the most beautiful coastline in the world. Finally we enter the sleepy village of Gansbaai, except that it’s a hive of activity with about six shark cage diving companies based there and they all have tourists wanting to see the Great White.

Our base was originally a private residence but has now been turned into a very nice office cum restaurant and yes, we are served breakfast. On our tour there are twenty-seven passengers, some not eating that much breakfast! I think the idea of five hours in a boat on the Atlantic Ocean is getting to them. However the owner of the company Brian Mcfarlane who is also the skipper of the boat really tries to put everyone’s mind at ease.

Waterproof “mae wests” in bright orange are handed out to all, is the weather that bad out at sea today!

It comes, as a relief when we see the size of the boat, equipped with toilets. At the moment the boat is sitting high and dry on the harbour runway. It is huge, the biggest in town Brian tells us. It is amazing to see the craft on a trailer being gently backed into the see by a very obviously skilled tractor driver. Bodies are scurrying about unhitching ropes and doing the many things needed to get a boat in the sea.

Just about everyone has taken a seasick pill offered to them by Brian’s very efficient staff and slowly they embark.

Ropes away, we head out to sea very slowly at first, there can’t be more than a metre of sea below our hull, and rocks around look very menacing. Finally we leave the harbour entrance and Brian opens the throttle allowing the three massive Yamaha outboards to burst into full song. We head out into the bay with the full force of the wind buffeting our bow. Have you ever ridden a rubber duck into the force of the Atlantic? I think Brian should have given us kidney belts as well!

Fifteen minutes of this, we are assured, and right enough just as we approach the area where the skipper thinks there should, called Shark Alley, be sharks we see a shadowy figure beneath the surface, our first Great White Shark. Not so big Brian assures us, we will see bigger! So sure is Brian of his knowledge of the sea and the sharks around here he confidently states that if we don’t see at least seven sharks he will refund all our tickets! Really!

The crew finally drop anchor and one stands on the stern of the boat, mixing what can only be described as a cocktail of dead fish and other gooddies, the smell, well at least the sharks seem to like it. Not to mention the hundreds of small mullet and seagulls that seem intent on getting an early breakfast. The crew unhitch the shark cage and gently lower it over the sides, it can hold seven poor mortals at a time. Word goes around that the first seven must assemble for a briefing, what ever you do not stick your hands and arms out of the cage – yeah right! Some of the less athletic members struggle to get into the wet suits, while the skinny ones are definitely going to feel the cold!  The sea temperature is 12 degrees.

Finally the trusty seven clamber into the shark cage and Brian gets to work tossing a Tunney fish head out on a long rope. Another crew throws out what looks like a beaten up hot water bottle attached to a rope. To a shark it looks like a seal I am told. I am not entirely convinced.  Eventually our first shark arrives, four and a half meters! |”Bite you in half” Brian explains. Keep your arms inside the cage I am reminded. It seem a little quiet and the divers are advised to sit on the edge of the cage so that they do not get too cold. “Down right” yells Brian to the divers as a shark passes beneath the cage. The groups change over a huge shark appears, one of the American ladies screeches out “Oh my God did you see that shark” and climbs gingerly out of the cage giggling from fright!!!

A light lunch is served on board and eventually everyone has had their turn below the surface of the sea. After five hours we raise the anchors and return to the harbour -unfortunately without see any whales.

Back at the base we are offered hot coffee chocolate and biscuits and invited to watch the video made of the trip. Passengers are offered DVDs of the whole event which is available only ten minutes after the first showing.

Without doubt a very slick organisation. I would like to thank Brian and his entire crew and the ladies for making this a memorable adventure. I hope to go again.

For further information see www.sharkcagediving.net

Silversea Spirit

Silversea Silver Spirit Courtesy of Silversea Cruises and By Linda Garrison, About.com Guide to Cruises

BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF SILVER SPIRIT SEA TRIALS from Silversea on Vimeo.

les pieds sur le lit.

Exemple type d’un pantalon moche acheté y’a bien 5 ans à pas cher. Jamais mis parce que hautement importable (bien que très confortable). Par contre je ne me décide pas à le jeter, je l’aime beaucoup. Il a toute sa place dans mon placard et on peut faire des chouettes photos avec…

]]> http://arlenetoth.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/three-days-in-lille-day-1-%e2%80%93-exploring/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:55:49 +0000 Arlene http://arlenetoth.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/three-days-in-lille-day-1-%e2%80%93-exploring/

Lille is a shopper’s and foodie’s paradise.  You can find designer clothes in the Old Town to cheap tat in the markets.  The markets are also a great place to find amazing fruit and vegetables.  I was very excited to see what Lille had to offer in the way of merchandise, but the first quest was for food.  We were hungry!  The rate of exchange with the Euro doesn’t make travelling in Europe a bargain as it used to be.  In fact, the Euro is pretty much on par with Sterling.  In one respect, it does make it easier to guess how much things cost!  Eating out in restaurants is not cheap.  Even the set meal fixed menus (less expensive and half the price of a la carte in the evening) can seem expensive if you are not used to paying £15 per head per person for lunch back in the UK.  I wasn’t going to worry about such things on this trip as it was only for a few days and I wanted to experience everything that was French.

We were staying in the Latin Quarter, near Place de la Republique.  The area is what could be termed, a bit ethnic.  I really liked it.  We went off in search of food in the opposite direction from where we arrived (the station).  It soon became apparent that everything was closed.  Usually, most restaurants will close after 2pm and then re-open again for dinner around 7pm.  As it was still quite early, we realised that most places were closed because it was a bank holiday.  Even the shops were closed.  We worked out that we would be better off heading back toward the station where many restaurants and touristy bistros were open.

The weather was a bit dull and chilly, but dry, so we happily walked towards the Palais Rameau, along the Boulevard Vauban, the Boulevard de la Liberté and found a little restaurant somewhere off of the Rue Nationale.  We saw many splendid buildings on the way.  For once I restrained myself from taking photographs.  Firstly, we were on a mission to find some food.  Secondly, I didn’t want to bore Amor too early on in the trip with my photographic obsession of architecture.  Instead, I settled for pointing out all the wonderful details of each and every building we passed!  ‘Ooh, look at that balcony, and look at that wonderful plasterwork!’  “Look at those wonderful windows and the amazing door on that building!”  I’m not sure if he would have been better off if I had taken pictures instead!

I can’t remember the name of the first restaurant we went to or what street it was on (somewhere near Saint Etienne).  All I remember was that it was a grill restaurant and it was next to a seafood restaurant.  It was getting late and I was too hungry to make note of it.  The speciality was grilled and spit meat.  Amor had a steak and I had chicken.  We opted for the special potatoes which are placed under the spit meat and where the juices drip onto and soak into them.  It was disgustingly delicious.  One couldn’t eat that every day without clogging one’s arteries, but it has to be tried at least once!  We also had salad, and beer.  All the guidebooks tell you that beer is a specialty in Lille.  It is also very expensive.  I am a bit partial to white beers, but I don’t think that it helped my digestion much.  So unless you really like beer, go for the wine as it is less expensive.  Amor’s steak was cooked ‘medium’, but in France that is actually ‘rare’ and the meat was very tender.  My chicken was very tender and moist as one would expect of a spit roast chicken.  We were both very pleased with the meal, the portions which were substantial, and the service.  There was no hurry with our lunch even though it was late.

For the record, Amor and I do not speak French.  We can do the basics.  Fortunately, many of the people we encountered in Lille have some English.  I think that Eurostar going there may have had a hand in that.  We have also found that the service in the majority of establishments we had ventured into was very good and most people were quite friendly.

Not having any room for coffee or dessert, we paid our bill and set off again to do some exploring.  This time we had a little agenda. In the guide books I listed in my previous post, the AA book on Lille has a couple of walks listed.  As we were near Rue Nationale, we started from there and did the walk on page 34, 19^th Century Lille.  Amor was the tour guide and I had the book with the maps from the other book.  As he read out the walk and talked about what we were seeing, I navigated with the map.  What a team!

I couldn’t refrain from taking photos and here are a few I took from that walk.

One of the wonderful things about Lille is the many cafés that abound.  It is reassuring knowing that one can make a pit stop if required, have a coffee or a drink.  People leave you alone and respect your privacy.  Just a word of advice for the ladies:  Please don’t be surprised if you can’t find a door that says dames.  Sometimes there is only one toilet and there will also be a urinal in the room.  Fortunately, I hadn’t experienced the potential embarrassment of coming across a gentleman using one, either while walking in or coming out of the loo.  We had a coffee at a café on the corner of Rue Gosselet opposite the Parc J.B. Lebas.  It was quaint and what I would consider very French, with old pictures on the walls, lots of wood, a few booths, and is where I had my first experience of the pissoir.  We warmed up and got our bearings before carrying on with our walk which took us back towards our hotel.

We had a rest in our hotel before we ventured out for dinner and discovered the joy of a very comfortable bed and pillows.   I am really fussy about pillows and these were perfect.  I almost didn’t want to get out of bed at dinnertime, but needs must and Amor was hungry.  I was still stuffed from my lunch.  It must have been those potatoes!

Between Rue Nationale and Rue du Molinel, and diagonally across the Place de la Republique, there is a pedestrian shopping precinct.  There are shops, cinemas, cafés and restaurants.  This area is towards the train stations and where we had earlier glimpsed the only restaurants open, and without any hesitation, we headed in that direction for our dinner.

Walking along Rue de Béthune, we were surprised to see so many people at the cinema.  When Amor commented on this, I remembered that a French friend of mine had told me that Wednesday is cinema night and the government encourages people to go and see movies and is why there is crap TV on Wednesdays.  That was good a reason as any.  There were restaurants offering cheap meals and cinema tickets!

We walked around the shopping area to see what the restaurants had on offer.  We ended up back in front of Aux Moules. Having had mussels the weekend before travelling, we thought we might be overdoing it on the mussel front, but the restaurant looked inviting, and although busy, it was the least hectic in the area.  So we went in.  Table for two, no problem, but we had to move as it was reserved, no problem.  The decor was very old fashioned with many old photographs all over the walls.  There were lovely old lights with little coat hooks on.  It was very quaint and welcoming.  The waiter, an older gentleman, was amusing and very sweet.  Amor had the Moules Mariniere and I had a goat’s cheese salad as I wasn’t that hungry.  We also ordered beers.  The food was amazing!  I am a new recruit to eating shellfish and these mussels were divine.  They were very tender and gently flavoured by the liquid.  The chips that came with them were excellent – crisp and dry.  My salad was very good.  There is no comparison between the two meals, but as a salad goes, there was not one wilted leaf, my bread was perfectly toasted, the cheese was very creamy and the dressing had just the right amount of bite.  Between bites of salad, Amor would feed me a mussel as there were so many.  We took our time eating.  No-one was in a hurry.  The waiters weren’t either, but they always seemed to turn up when you needed them.  I was happy to have just coffee after our meal, but Amor also wanted dessert.  There was a chocolate mousse on the menu that looked very tempting!  I told Amor that I didn’t want dessert, but I just wanted to have a bite of what he was going to have.  Amor told the waiter, in his best French, that he would like two coffees and one chocolate mousse.  The waiter told him, in French, that he would see if there was any chocolate mousse left, and then he came back with two!  He disappeared before we could say anything.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him about the mistake and did what I had to do.  I had to eat my own chocolate mousse.  The only problem with the dessert was that it was huge!  There was no way I was going to do this wonderful chocolateyness any justice.  I managed to get halfway through it before I had to put the spoon down.  I thought it was a good effort.

After dinner, we walked around the shopping area some more before going back to the hotel. Lille is lovely at night.  Although the Christmas lights were up, it was unfortunate that they weren’t lit up while we were there.  I think that they might be on now as the Christmas market has been taking place since the 18^th of November.  I would expect that the lighting would be spectacular now.  The fountain in Place de la Republique looked lovely.  I didn’t take a photo unfortunately.

All the food and walking tired me out and I was looking forward to getting back into our comfortable bed, but not before Amor made enquiries as to what time breakfast was being served until!

Due to the upcoming holiday break, we will be having limited tours and interviews this week. The tours are based on student availability, so we suggest you call the admission office if you’d like to schedule an appointment.

To celebrate their 15^th Anniversary, Eurostar were doing a promotion with The Times to Paris, Brussels or Lille.  I received an e-mail with two passwords and only needed to purchase a copy of The Times for the third.  I thought the deal was too good to pass up and as Amor’s birthday was imminent, I thought it would be lovely to take him away for a couple of days.  It would also do me the world of good to get away from the madness that was taking place with regard to the sale of my house.

We decided on Lille as neither of us had ever been there.   I purchased a copy of The Times (it came with a free book!  Bonus!), got my third password, and booked our mini-break.  I originally tried to book for a weekend, but all of the Friday trains were completely booked as many people had taken advantage of the great offer to go to Disneyland!  I was advised that there were plenty of seats during the week and decided that was a better option, thus avoiding masses of noisy children and equally noisy parents.  I also booked a hotel through Eurostar as the rate was reasonable.  Breakfast was included, and the hotel was fairly central.   As the booking was fairly short notice, and there had been postal strikes, I opted to collect my tickets and vouchers from the station.

On the 11^th of November (Remembrance Day), we left Eastbourne Station early in the morning to Ashford International, where we were to pick up the Eurostar.  The journey took an hour.  We had plenty of time for coffee, collecting the tickets, and acquiring some Euros before boarding our train at 10:30.  Fortunately, there weren’t many people with children going to Disneyland that morning.  While waiting for the train to arrive, I found a map of Lille.  One of the men working for Eurostar was French and knew the town.  He showed me on the map the best way to get from the station to our hotel.  Luckily enough, it was within walking distance.   I asked him if it was necessary purchase a City Pass, but he didn’t think we would need one as the metro was small and Lille was not a big city.  In any event, we could always get one from the Information Centre if we thought we needed one.

Our train arrived and we found our seats and settled in.  Now that I had an idea of where we were staying, I pulled out the guidebooks to get more information on the area.  I like to be prepared, and I like to know where I am, or at least have a general idea of where I am.  During the journey between Ashford and Lille, we were asked to observe 11 minutes of silence to show respect for the soldiers who had died.  I was a bit peeved that there were a couple of young women talking behind me while the rest of the train carriage was quiet.  I restrained myself from saying anything and eventually dozed off.

Our journey to Lille was only an hour from Ashford International, plus we needed to add an hour for the time difference.  That made it lunchtime!  Our first stop was our hotel, then off to find some lunch.  As Amor assured me that he was a terrible navigator, I was responsible for the map!  Once we pinpointed where we were, we happily worked our way to the hotel.  I had a difficult time keeping my eyes ahead of me as I was looking upward all of the time.  Most of the buildings are quite beautiful, with French windows, balconies, and gorgeous details.  We arrived at our hotel within 15-20 minutes.  Check-in was easy and the staff were friendly.  The room was small, but it was very clean, as was the bathroom.  We freshened up, put away some clothes and went off to explore, and find some food!

Getting There:

Eastbourne to Ashford International: http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Eurostar: http://www.eurostar.com

Lille Tourist Office:  http://www.lilletourism.com

Guide Books

Lille – Everyman MapGuides, by Clemence Jacquinet, Shelley Wanger, £5.99  - “No more struggling against the wind to fold back the extra large city map you picked up at the tourist office. The unique “Everyman MapGuide” series cleverly combines maps and text in an easy-to-use format, listing the best sights, restaurants and shops alongside fold-out maps of exceptional clarity. Each guide divides the city into sections and devotes two double pages to each of them. Sections are colour coded, and a small area map at the bottom of the page tells you where you are within the city, and within the guide. There are also 4 pages of useful information about the city at the front of the book, and a 4-page city-wide hotel section at the back; plus a street index and thematic index. Stylish, clever, practical, a MapGuide is the indispensable pocket companion to your week end or short break away.”

Lille – The AA Essential Guide, by Lawrence Philips, £5.99 – “Make the most of your trip to Lille with “AA Essential Lille”. As well as handy atlas and maps sections the guide is divided into five easy-to-use colour coded sections: the authors introduction to the destination, including the ten ‘must do’s’; the author’s Top Ten places to visit; alphabetical listings of places to visit; detailed listings guiding you where to eat, stay and shop; and quick reference travel information.”

North Carolina based rock band, The Avett Brothers, are gearing up for the Australian release of their highly anticipated American Recordings/Columbia Records  debut, I and Love and You, which hits stores in February 19, 2010.

“I and Love and You” was recorded in Malibu, California and produced by multi-Grammy Award winning producer, Rick Rubin.  The thirteen songs that make up this new record defy pigeonholing and can best be described as an amalgam of rock, folk, pop and country.

The band has spent years touring, recording, performing and perfecting this blend of music styles with their signature lyrics and vocals.

The band’s diverse style and consistent touring, along with numerous independent releases, have helped them build a loyal and rabid fan base.

Paste Magazine recently attributed this following to the band’s “great songs, constant touring and a no-holds-barred live show that wins them hordes of new converts at every stop.” The Avett Brothers have toured most of 2009 testing out new material, as well as their older songs.

This year alone, the band has performed at SxSW Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as well as upcoming stops at Newport Folk Festival, Mulberry Mountain Festival, Outside Lands Festival, Britt Festival, Austin City Limits Festival and more.

The story of The Avett Brothers has been told by word of mouth until now.  In April 2010 it’s Australia’s turn to witness what thousands have been loyally following and speaking about for years…

THE AVETT BROTHERS ON TOUR:

Friday 2 April                      Byron Bay Bluesfest

Saturday 3 April                Byron Bay Bluesfest
Side shows to be announced.

- I AND LOVE AND YOU by THE AVETT BROTHERS is released February 19, 2010 -

Darayonan Lodge

Darayonan is a Cuyonon word that means a place to stay. The lodge is situated in a residential part of Coron town, strategically located along the National Highway. Darayonan Lodge aims to provide its guests with clean and comfortable rooms, good food and quality service. Aside from that, one has options on choosing the rooms to stay at: in the native bamboo, sawali and banig set-up or in the modern concrete and tile two-story building.

Darayonan Lodge is an accredited tourist inn by the Philippine Department of Tourism. It has played host to a number of VIP’s and celebrities, the most notable of whom are Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone.  In fact, Congressman Baham Mitra was amongst the guests of the lodge during our stay from October 21-24, 2009.

What is striking about this place aside from its homey atmosphere is the owner’s love for the arts. It definitely is a reflection of the owner’s strive in achieving perfection in everything. From the lodge’s interior decorations to the food being served for each meal. He personally goes over every little details right before being served or handed over to the guests. We stayed here for 4 days and 3 nights; and it was a part of the overwhelming positive experiences that I have had during my stay in Coron, Palawan.

The place is clean all the time! They see to it that the rooms and private comfort rooms get cleaned everyday during your stay. They also make sure that the entire lodge is spic and span all throughout the day. I have never seen any litter at all in my entire stay.

The facilities in this lodge pass the normal standards of travellers: hot and cold shower, all air-conditioned rooms, centralized water system. It’s like you never left home at all. I’ve had a comfortable stay at this lodge.

It’s also probably the only lodge that includes breakfast for two along with the daily room charge. And what’s more, drinking water and coffee is unlimited, no extra charge. I should say that staying at Darayonan is really a value for your money.

Darayonan Lodge has facilities and amenities as follows:

Cafe which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner

Choice of fan or air-conditioned rooms

Queen-sized beds, single-sized beds plus two extra beds if necessary

21″  colored television sets on all their rooms

Refrigerator/Mini Bar

Closets

Writing desk cum dresser with mirror

Bigger rooms with higher ceiling

Bigger bathroom

Veranda

Darayonan Lodge not only offers bed and breakfast for travelers. In fact, they also  arrange tours/trips for you so you’d have a grand vacation for you or your family or even with your friends.  They have enticing packages which includes everything (accommodations/rooms, land transfers from and to Busuanga, food and tours) and you won’t have to worry a single thing about your vacation. Every single detail of your vacation will be taken cared of  at rates that would suit your budget. Group or barkada packages also await travelers who  wish to visit Coron in groups or together with their families and loved ones. Darayonan Lodge does not have a website at this point in time. So if you like to get price quotes for your stay with them, you may get in touch with the owners through these contact numbers:

Chin Fernandez owner of Darayonan Lodge

Location:  132 National Highway, Barangay Poblacion 1, Coron, Palawan

Cellphone: +639178811151

Landline: +6327443209

Email: dipulao@gmail.com

Chariot World Tours Limited is a public limited company with privately held shares. Chariot’s core business is conducting international escorted tours on predetermined dates. Chariot is headquartered out of Bangalore. Offering package tours to various destinations round the year, the company has grown to be recognised as one of the very few companies offering fixed date departure to destinations through out the year. Chariot has 5 offices currently across Karnataka and has acquired more than 5000 customers in a short span of its operations since its inception in 2007. Popular destinations offered are Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, (every Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday), Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand and s on. Special Honeymoon destinations offered are Maldives, Srilanka, Mauritius and Switzerland. Chariot offers Europe packages in the months of April, May, June, July and August. To know more write back to kv@chariotworldtours.com or call 9900003225 (9:00 AM to 9:00, PM Mon to Sat). You can also walk in to any of Chariot’s outlet at the below mentioned locations.

Regd Office and HO:

223, 2nd Floor, GR Arcaade, 14th Cross, Sampige Road, Above Reliance Fresh, Malleshwaram, Bangalore – 03.

Ph: 40814555 / 9880224869

Branches Offices:

Jayanagar: 121, Near Vinayaka Temple, 7th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore – 11. Ph: 9900003225

Vijayanagar: 3446/40, 1st F Cross, Next to Bunts Sangha, Vijaynagar, Bangalore 40. Ph: 9945775555

Belgaum: 4855/83, Shri lakshmi Complex, 1st Cross, Sadashivanagar, APMC Road, Belgaum – 590001

Ph: 9900002520

Hubli: 10, Upper Ground Floor, Shivsheel Multiplex, Opposite New Bus Stand, Gokul Road, Hubli – 580030

Ph: 9900004225

visit: www.chariotworldtours.com

Planning to spend a wonderful holiday in the beaches of Mexico. If it is so, then you are doing the right thing, because Mexico has some of the top rated and world class beaches. But before going to Mexico, you should do a little of home work and find where these beaches are. When most people think of top rated beach resorts of Mexico, what comes to mind is usually basic information that’s not particularly interesting or beneficial. But there’s a lot more to top rated beach resorts of Mexico than just the basics.

Are you interested in planning your next vacation in Mexico?  If you are, you are not alone.  Each year, a large number of tourists make the decision to travel to Mexico.  Most are interested in vacationing at some of the most well-known beaches in the world.

While Mexico is home to a number of well-known beaches, there are many individuals who are unsure which beach they should visit.  If you are interesting in scheduling a beach vacation, the best way to choose a destination isn’t by beaches, but by beach resorts. Beach resorts typically offer overnight hotel accommodations and private beaches. Below is an overview of five of the most popular beach resorts found in Mexico.

(1)  Le Meridien Cancun Resort and Spa is one of the most popular beach resorts in all of Mexico.  Le Meridien Cancun Resort and Spa is located in Cancun.  The resort differs from other resorts in that it does not have a Mexican theme.  Instead, the theme is French.

If you are interested in vacationing at the Le Meridien Cancun Resort and Spa, you will find a wide range of on and offshore activities. Popular resort activities include swimming, golfing, and beaching.  The onsite spa is ideal for travelers who just want to pamper themselves.

(2)  La Jolla de Mismaloya is located in Puerto Vallarta.  Similar to the above mentioned Cancun resort, La Jolla Mismaloya has a French theme.  La Jolla de Mismaloya is most well-known for being a resort that caters to children of all ages.

The resort is popular for its beachfront activities. These activities may include relaxing by the spa, swimming, or boating.  As with most other beach resorts, La Jolla de Mismaloya has an unlimited number of activities that are geared towards adventure lovers. These activities often included guided tours that require horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, or biking.

(3)  The Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach is located in Cancun.  It is known as one of the most top rated beach resorts in the Cancun area.  The resort’s topnotch service is often hard to find at other area resorts.

Aside from traditional beach activities, the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach is most well-known for its amazing, unique, and exciting adventures.  These adventures often include snorkeling, scuba diving, boat tours, sailing, and jet skiing.

(4)  The Fairmont Acapulco Princess is located in Acapulco. The Acapulco area is most well-known for its wide range of landscape sceneries. Beaches, jungles, and deserts are all located within a sort distance of each other in the Acapulco area.

The Fairmont Acapulco Princess is most known for its unique, but intriguing structural designs. The hotel is stocked with modern accommodations, but the structural designs of the hotel takes you back into time.  Onsite resort facilities include multiple pools, multiple tennis courts, a day spa, fitness center, and shopping center.

(5)  The Westin Regina Beach Resort is located in Puerto Vallarta.  While the resort is most known for its golf accommodations, the beach area is just as spectacular.

Aside from a golf course, onsite facilities include swimming pools, tennis courts, and amazing restaurants.  If you are looking for an adventure on or under the water, the Westin Regina Beach Resort may have just what you are looking for.  Popular water activities include swimming, boating, fishing, snorkeling, and scuba diving.

The above mentioned beach resorts are just a few of the many that can be found in Mexico.  With so many beach resorts to choose from, you may find it difficult or impossible to choose.  You may want to consider obtaining feedback from friends, family members, or coworkers who recently vacationed at a Mexico beach resort.  In addition to asking those that you know, you can easily read online reviews posted by travelers.

While examining and researching multiple resorts may seem like a time consuming process, you may find that it will payoff in the end.  Taking the time to select the perfect beach resort in Mexico is the best way to ensure that you will enjoy your Mexico vacation.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish. Is there really any information about top rated beach resorts of Mexico that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.

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Yay! Booking for the Hayley Beth tour has begun. I met this wonderful lady in some crappy Journalism class a few years ago and we’ve been friends since. She played the Perth launch of Albion in January this year and I’ve been dying to work with her again. Such talent in an incredible lass. I highly recommend you guys check her out when she’s in Melbourne early next year. More details to come! In the meantime, check out her stuff on Myspace.

Yes I know….it’s about time!!! here are some photos from the last Augie March gig for their Watch Me set tour.

Gareth Liddiard

Dan Luscombe

Adam Donovan - looking all gangster like

Glenn Richards

Kiernan Box

Dave Williams

The Arnold Horns during One Crowded Hour

Ken Gardner

Augie March

Adam during Dogsday

Glenn

Edmondo Ammendola putting on the underwear someone threw on stage

Ed - and they are a perfect fit

Kiernan admiring Ed

ok back to being serious now

Many people dream of having amazing adventures like one might see in the movies. Other vacationers decide to vacation at the same unadventurous location. If you are looking for a change from the ordinary and want to bring some real adventure into your life, you might want to consider taking an adventure tour for your next vacation. An adventure tour can be made up of a number of different components, but the end result is that you get to explore the best that the world has to offer in a hands-on way. Keep in mind that adventure tours are not for everyone; read these examples of common adventure tour components to see if one is right for you and your family.

Most adventure tours involve hiking at one point or another, generally in conjunction with camping. Some of the hikes may be relatively short, serving as a down-to-earth method of transportation between larger components of the tour. Other hikes can be quite long, comprising a major part of the tour’s attraction. Many of the longer hikes have basic recommendations for your fitness level or they may ill require that you have a certain amount of hiking experience before you take them simply because the distances would be difficult for an out of shape individual to cover safely and in time with the rest of the group.

White water rafting is a common component of an adventure tour. Tours exist that take you on all grades of rivers, though the higher grades usually require a certain amount of rafting experience, which helps prevent you from being a danger to yourself and others. Some tours may even take you across different grades on different days, letting you build up experience over the course of the tour, allowing you to be ready for larger rapids later. Most rafting tours involve camping and may include hikes in between river sections as well.

Although not as common as rafting, a number of tours include a kayaking component as well. A number of these tours are featured in Alaska, where kayaking has somewhat of a cultural component; Alaskan kayak tours are often done in the open ocean. Kayaking is generally not the largest component of the tour, though dedicated kayaking tours do exist.

Another element that is incorporated into a number of adventure tours is rock climbing or rappelling. There is a larger element of danger involved with rock climbing than with a standard hiking tour, but the sense of accomplishment and adventure is well worth it. Many adventure tours that feature rock climbing or rappelling are centered in mountainous regions where climbing may be the primary focus of the tour. There are some hiking tours, which feature rock climbing as just a single component of the tour.

Other extreme sports may also be featured in adventure tours, though they are not as common as the elements that have already be mentioned. Some adventure tours incorporate bungee jumping, cliff diving, hang gliding, and similar activities in addition to hiking and more common components. Finding these tours may be a bit more difficult than finding a basic hiking tour, but if you are looking for a major thrill, these tours can definitely provide that extra sense of excitement.

It should be noted that not all adventure tours are wilderness based; many adventure tour companies have packages, which allow you to experience the adventures of modern life. Tours can go to cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco are relatively common, and some of them even manage to mix city entertainment components with wilderness adventure in the outlying natural parks as well. Other tours are based out of an RV, which you take from one location to the next for each daily event. Some adventure tours contain components such as paintball or other team competitions as well. These are all exciting activities, which are excellent if you are looking to escape from the traditional trip to the beach. Although these may not be as relaxing as the beach, they sure provide excitement and a new thrill to your life.

Regardless of which type of adventure tour you choose, you can expect to have a great time while on the tour. Many adventure tours consist of hiking and camping, but they may also have secondary components such as kayaking and rock climbing. If these are not what you are looking for, there are adventure tours that include extreme sports such as bungee jumping, cliff diving or hang-gliding. The length of the tours can vary from 2-3 days to up to 2 weeks or more, so you should be able to find a tour that meets your exact requirements. If you are looking for a non-traditional vacation, it is highly recommended to try an adventure vacation because it provides an experience that should last a lifetime.

Some vacations just do not cut it with a certain type of traveler; they seek more from their vacation plans. They want to be able to live on the edge, seeing the sights while breaking away from the same types of vacation tours that everyone else is taking. It is for people such as these that adventure tours were created. They combine the tour packages of the past with the thrill-seeking mentality of the modern generation. There are a number of adventure tour destinations available in North America and they are currently rising in popularity. If you think you may be interested in taking one of these tours, then here are some of the most popular options available.

One destination that has always been popular is the Grand Canyon. Unlike the tours that provide you with a view of the beauty and majesty of the canyon from above, however, an adventure tour of the Grand Canyon takes you through the rapids of the Colorado River along the entire length of the canyon. Though the lengths of these tours may vary, a rafting tour of the entire canyon is generally an 8 to 10 day excursion.

Another popular adventure tour destination is Alaska. From ice fishing in northern Alaska to sea kayaking along the coast, there are a number of different adventure options available. Visitors on an adventure tour can view wild bears, take hikes through the Alaskan wilderness, raft a variety of rivers, and camp in some of the most rugged wilderness locations in North America. The length of Alaskan adventure tours can vary greatly depending on the activities involved, with some tours lasting for as few as 3 days to as many as 12.

Given the adventurous history of the American west, it should come as no surprise that there are a number of western-themed adventure tours to choose. Some of these involve visiting a number of historical Wild West locations while others focus on the western deserts and hiking through some of the amazing national parks in Arizona and Nevada. Other western tours actually manage to incorporate adventure locations in several states, letting you visit some of the most majestic locations in the west to see their beauty firsthand. The length of the western adventure tours depend largely on the area that they cover, with some lasting only 2 or 3 days while others can last for 1 to 2 weeks.

For those who are seeking a more modern adventure, there are adventure tours which can allow you to explore cities Las Vegas, Reno, and other similar hotspots. The focus of these adventure tours is not only on the sights and sounds of the main cities themselves, but also on the history and majesty of the surrounding land. Most adventure tours to Las Vegas and Reno last from 3 to 7 days and generally include trips to the most popular casinos and shows in addition to hiking in the surrounding desert. This allows one to gain a better appreciation for the cities, which appear as jewels upon the desert.

A number of different California adventures are available as well, helping visitors to see exactly how diverse the state really is. Adventures in the major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco allow the opportunity to explore the forests and vineyards in the northern portion of the state. Most visitors are amazed at exactly what California has to offer in the way of adventure opportunities. A number of hiking tours can be found that allow you to visit some of the most majestic California locations on foot, letting you camp under the open sky while on your way to your final destination. California adventure tours can last for as few as 3 days to as many as 14 depending on the area being covered by the tour.

Of course, not all adventure tours involve hiking, rafting, or spending time traversing the natural lands of North America; a number of adventure tour companies also offer RV rental so that you can take a driving tour of some of the classic roadways in America and Canada. This allows you to travel in comfort while taking in some amazing sights and visiting places that you otherwise may not have known existed. RV adventure tours generally last for as long as you want to rent the RV. The average length of an RV tour is typically between 5 to 14 days.

There are many benefits to planning an adventure vacation. If you enjoy the thrill of adventure, this vacation may be right for you. Available activities range from hiking and kayaking to exploring cities such as Las Vegas and California, but this type of trip may require renting an RV. If you are interested in extreme sports, you may enjoy a vacation, which consists of hiking and kayaking. Those adventures provide the opportunity to experience a once in a lifetime moment, that can be remembered for many years.