My flight times have been changed, and Friday 16th is now:
Depart Toronto 18:30 (6:30pm), arrive LA 20:45 (8:45pm). Depart LA for Australia 22:30 (10:30pm).
This is better than hanging around LA airport for 9 hours, but it's cutting my check-in really fine. The travel agent says it will be OK, but I like to worry about these things.
26 February 2008
19 February 2008
LINKITY LINK
I'm updating the side bar to the right with links. Do you have any particularly good travel-related websites that you use? Let me know!
12 February 2008
FRUSTRATION
I had travel anxiety dreams last night – trying to book accommodation has clearly addled my mind! It was one of those dreams where people’s flights were delayed, and I had to start walking without them, and then the accommodation hadn’t been booked properly and we ended up having to walk half a day, then walk back to the place we’d stayed the night before and it was ALL SO FRUSTRATING.
Partly this is due to the fact that of the three places I emailed last Sunday to enquire about accommodation for the UK walk, only one wrote back (to say they weren’t around that week). I emailed another place last Thursday as an alternative to that one, but haven’t heard back from them, either. I think that 9 days is a bit crap, don’t you? I mean, if people don’t have an email address, that’s something I can work around, but if they do have an email address, they should bloody well use it. If you don’t check it, don’t offer it as a service. Sheesh!
Luckily, Dan’s mum is a legend and has agreed to ring these places and check things with them. It’s great having a lovely UK contact to do that so we’re not spending hundreds of dollars on phone bills.
Partly this is due to the fact that of the three places I emailed last Sunday to enquire about accommodation for the UK walk, only one wrote back (to say they weren’t around that week). I emailed another place last Thursday as an alternative to that one, but haven’t heard back from them, either. I think that 9 days is a bit crap, don’t you? I mean, if people don’t have an email address, that’s something I can work around, but if they do have an email address, they should bloody well use it. If you don’t check it, don’t offer it as a service. Sheesh!
Luckily, Dan’s mum is a legend and has agreed to ring these places and check things with them. It’s great having a lovely UK contact to do that so we’re not spending hundreds of dollars on phone bills.
8 February 2008
FLITINERARY
Last tickets for the Canada trip have been booked.
Depart Melbourne 26th April (12:00)
(via Auckland)
Arrive LA 26th April (12:30)
Air New Zealand
Depart LA 30th April (09:45)
Arrive Vancouver 30th April (12:40)
Air Canada
Depart Vancouver 6th May (16:30)
Arrive Toronto 6th May (23:55)
West Jet
Depart Toronto 16th May (10:45)
Arrive LA 16th May (13:05)
American Airlines
Depart LA 16th May (22:30)
(via Auckland)
Arrive Melbourne 18th May (09:30)
Air New Zealand
We’ve also booked tickets to London.
Depart Melbourne 11th September (15:50)
(via Singapore)
Arrive London 12th September (05:55)
Singapore Airlines
Depart London 9th October (11:55)
(via Singapore)
Arrive Melbourne 10th October (20:15)
Singapore Airlines
I realise this is a boring post for most people, but it’s good to have a record of all this handy! And look! I can post to this blog using my other account, now. Brill.
Depart Melbourne 26th April (12:00)
(via Auckland)
Arrive LA 26th April (12:30)
Air New Zealand
Depart LA 30th April (09:45)
Arrive Vancouver 30th April (12:40)
Air Canada
Depart Vancouver 6th May (16:30)
Arrive Toronto 6th May (23:55)
West Jet
Depart Toronto 16th May (10:45)
Arrive LA 16th May (13:05)
American Airlines
Depart LA 16th May (22:30)
(via Auckland)
Arrive Melbourne 18th May (09:30)
Air New Zealand
We’ve also booked tickets to London.
Depart Melbourne 11th September (15:50)
(via Singapore)
Arrive London 12th September (05:55)
Singapore Airlines
Depart London 9th October (11:55)
(via Singapore)
Arrive Melbourne 10th October (20:15)
Singapore Airlines
I realise this is a boring post for most people, but it’s good to have a record of all this handy! And look! I can post to this blog using my other account, now. Brill.
5 February 2008
WE'RE GOING TO THE UK!
Yay! We have tix to the UK, leaving here Thursday 11th September (ha!) and arriving 5:55am Friday 12th. Leaving the UK on the 9th of October, arriving Melbourne on the 10th at 8:15pm. Dan also has insurance, and I’m going to sign and send my forms tomorrow. Tickets were about $2500 each including taxes. Ouch!
I also have tickets from LA to Vancouver, and Toronto to LA. Now I just have to book Vancouver to Toronto, which my lovely Flight Centre person said I could probably get cheaper on the internet (and suggested an airline).
I am getting to be so broke! But I will be broke and TRAVELLING, which is so much more exciting than being broke at home!
I also have tickets from LA to Vancouver, and Toronto to LA. Now I just have to book Vancouver to Toronto, which my lovely Flight Centre person said I could probably get cheaper on the internet (and suggested an airline).
I am getting to be so broke! But I will be broke and TRAVELLING, which is so much more exciting than being broke at home!
1 February 2008
INSURANCE AND MAPS
Today I got quote for travel insurance. I'm just going to go through my credit union (who use Allianz) for ease and convenience and because they're generally pretty awesome. It turns out that the best insurance for me is a Frequent Traveller one, which covers me for 12 months, worldwide. They're sending a quote out to me - it's a bit under $500 and there's no excess on things. And fabulously, they pay the excess on any rental vehicle insurance (up to $3000, which is . . . more than excess generally is anyway on these things).
Anyway! WE GOT WALKING BOOKS YESTERDAY! A speedy turnaround from amazon.co.uk
. . . and then I procrastinated for over an hour mapping our route on google maps. I LOVE GOOGLE MAPS! So why not take a peek?!
View Larger Map
Anyway! WE GOT WALKING BOOKS YESTERDAY! A speedy turnaround from amazon.co.uk
. . . and then I procrastinated for over an hour mapping our route on google maps. I LOVE GOOGLE MAPS! So why not take a peek?!
View Larger Map
31 January 2008
FLIGHTS TO LA
I have booked a return to LA - leaving at 12 midday from Melbourne on 26th April. Arriving 12:30 in the afternoon in LA . . . ON THE 26TH OF APRIL! Only takes half an hour, apparently! On the way back I leave LA on the 16th and arrive in Melbs on the 18th of May.
There will be a few days in LA before I fly to Vancouver - staying with Rohan, and meeting up with an internet friend. Yay for meeting people! I am going to be so social!
I'll keep people updated as travel plans are made and finalised. I must get my travel insurance sorted. I check with my doc yesterday and he said I didn't need any immunisations. . . though . . . rabies? Can you get shots for that? Do they have rabid bears in Canada? I think that if I would be more worried about the bear than about the rabies in that case.
There will be a few days in LA before I fly to Vancouver - staying with Rohan, and meeting up with an internet friend. Yay for meeting people! I am going to be so social!
I'll keep people updated as travel plans are made and finalised. I must get my travel insurance sorted. I check with my doc yesterday and he said I didn't need any immunisations. . . though . . . rabies? Can you get shots for that? Do they have rabid bears in Canada? I think that if I would be more worried about the bear than about the rabies in that case.
23 January 2008
OMG CANADA FLIGHTS
Why are flights to Canada SO DAMN EXPENSIVE?! The cheapest way I can do this trip is to get a return to LA, then separate flights LA to Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto, Toronto to LA. And even then it's going to be over $3000 including taxes.
If I fly direct, it's going to be $3500+.
Sheesh. Uni better pay for some of this.
If I fly direct, it's going to be $3500+.
Sheesh. Uni better pay for some of this.
20 January 2008
UK08 Preparation Walk 2
Last Wednesday, Sajee, Es, Dan and I headed to the Dandenongs for a walk through national park and the arboretum. There were lots of trees:
We have been doing a walk every month in preparation for our trip to the UK in September, when we are going to walk half of the Ridgeway (some of us with packs). We were pretty exhausted after 10 kms, so we obviously need the training (we’ll be walking 15 kms / 10 miles a day, approximately).
Actually, we were doing pretty well until the last 2 km, which was all uphill. And up a slope like this:
No wonder we had to help each other out:
But the view was worth it:
Pictorial evidence can be found at the other end of the rainbow. See also Essie’s pics.
We have been doing a walk every month in preparation for our trip to the UK in September, when we are going to walk half of the Ridgeway (some of us with packs). We were pretty exhausted after 10 kms, so we obviously need the training (we’ll be walking 15 kms / 10 miles a day, approximately).
Actually, we were doing pretty well until the last 2 km, which was all uphill. And up a slope like this:
No wonder we had to help each other out:
But the view was worth it:
Pictorial evidence can be found at the other end of the rainbow. See also Essie’s pics.
14 January 2008
LOOK AT THAT!
finally! we've got around to changing the name of the blog - only 9 months or so after i officially changed my name to jonathan. but having my old name on it was deterring me from using and updating the blog, so i thought i should fix it up.
anyway, our travel plans for 2008 are as follows:
canada: jonathan has been accepted into transsomatechnics, a conference to be held in vancouver in early may. he is planning to spend 5 days or so in vancouver, then head to toronto for a week or two to meet some friends.
uk: after the loveliness of the thames walk, we decided to do some more! our friends sajee and es are coming with us, and we're planning to walk the ridgeway north of the thames. jonathan and dan will be in the uk for about 4 weeks, and we plan to catch up with stacks of friends, and also do a bit of walking in cheshire/north wales.
walking: in the lead-up to this walk, we'll be doing some shorter walks with sajee and es around melbourne to get into the swing of things (and because we like walking!) we're planning on walking in the dandenongs, wilsons prom, and other locations.
holland: this is sneaking in, though it might not be until january 2009 that we're there, but my grandfather has offered to pay for the family to fly to holland (ameland) for a reunion-type thing! i am thrilled by this, though a little concerned about the COLDNESS!
so, let's hope you hear more from us in 2008 than you did in 2007. please let people know that the address for this blog has changed, too!
anyway, our travel plans for 2008 are as follows:
canada: jonathan has been accepted into transsomatechnics, a conference to be held in vancouver in early may. he is planning to spend 5 days or so in vancouver, then head to toronto for a week or two to meet some friends.
uk: after the loveliness of the thames walk, we decided to do some more! our friends sajee and es are coming with us, and we're planning to walk the ridgeway north of the thames. jonathan and dan will be in the uk for about 4 weeks, and we plan to catch up with stacks of friends, and also do a bit of walking in cheshire/north wales.
walking: in the lead-up to this walk, we'll be doing some shorter walks with sajee and es around melbourne to get into the swing of things (and because we like walking!) we're planning on walking in the dandenongs, wilsons prom, and other locations.
holland: this is sneaking in, though it might not be until january 2009 that we're there, but my grandfather has offered to pay for the family to fly to holland (ameland) for a reunion-type thing! i am thrilled by this, though a little concerned about the COLDNESS!
so, let's hope you hear more from us in 2008 than you did in 2007. please let people know that the address for this blog has changed, too!
10 July 2007
PIXPIXPIX! just uploaded pictures from the last leg of our walk along the thames - bablock hythe to oxford.
for more photos click here.
for more photos click here.
3 May 2007
LONG TIME COMING
more pics from out thames walk are up at flickr. enjoy! hopefully dan will post some more when he gets back from his april-may 07 visit for his dad's 60th.
31 December 2006
CHRISTMAS PICS
caroline and i at the top of mount bishop.
click here for new pics (of christmas at sandy point) up on flickr.
13 December 2006
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
create your own visited country map
this is where we've been - we've apparently visited 9% of the world's countries. how about you?
9 December 2006
PICKCHAS
this one's for you, dad. sorry for not updating more!
CLICK HERE for some pics of us and erin in england. we'll put more up soon. promise!
CLICK HERE for some pics of us and erin in england. we'll put more up soon. promise!
23 November 2006
GIVE ME A VISA, STAT!
THIS POST IS ALL GOING TO BE IN BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS!
WHY?
BECAUSE DAN JUST GOT PERMANENT RESIDENCY!!!
HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!
WHY?
BECAUSE DAN JUST GOT PERMANENT RESIDENCY!!!
HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!
8 November 2006
SINGAPORE
HAHAHAHAHA!
the fake plants are actually real! crazy. here we are at singapore, where the internet is free for a few minutes. our flight has been ok so far... there was listening to led zeppelin and watching 'hustle' (dan), 'solo' and 'the sentinal' (hahah!) (me... of course). and eating of curry for breakfast (me) and the cheddar omlette that looks the same as the scrambled eggs according to the voice on the pa.
seeing erin was lovely - on saturday we went to camden market and ate chocolate coated strawberries, drank various beers, then headed to hampstead for crepes. YUMMO! on saturday night it was dan's party, which was great and busy (and i had a damn cold. crap. now dan has it). more on that another time, perhaps. on sunday we ate pancakes for breakfast and went out to hertfordshire (little berkhampstead) for old times sake... did a lovely rambling walk through fields and woods, and ate chocolate in the company of a pheasant (not a peasant). came home, had pizza, chatted, dan's friends came around to say goodbye. it was so good to see erin again (and all the other chaps, too!).
anyway, timeout on the internet soon, so we'll write more later. looking forward to seeing the melbourne-residing gang again soon!
xxx
the fake plants are actually real! crazy. here we are at singapore, where the internet is free for a few minutes. our flight has been ok so far... there was listening to led zeppelin and watching 'hustle' (dan), 'solo' and 'the sentinal' (hahah!) (me... of course). and eating of curry for breakfast (me) and the cheddar omlette that looks the same as the scrambled eggs according to the voice on the pa.
seeing erin was lovely - on saturday we went to camden market and ate chocolate coated strawberries, drank various beers, then headed to hampstead for crepes. YUMMO! on saturday night it was dan's party, which was great and busy (and i had a damn cold. crap. now dan has it). more on that another time, perhaps. on sunday we ate pancakes for breakfast and went out to hertfordshire (little berkhampstead) for old times sake... did a lovely rambling walk through fields and woods, and ate chocolate in the company of a pheasant (not a peasant). came home, had pizza, chatted, dan's friends came around to say goodbye. it was so good to see erin again (and all the other chaps, too!).
anyway, timeout on the internet soon, so we'll write more later. looking forward to seeing the melbourne-residing gang again soon!
xxx
4 November 2006
I HAVE A COLD
so of course i have to do random internet quizzes.
in other news, ERIN ARRIVES TONIGHT, after what will be an awesome shabbat dinner with adam, orly and tzvi. CHOLLAH! YUMMO!
guy fawkes this weekend. i expect burning and explosions.
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak. | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The Inland North | |
| The Midland | |
| The South | |
| Boston | |
| The West | |
| North Central | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
in other news, ERIN ARRIVES TONIGHT, after what will be an awesome shabbat dinner with adam, orly and tzvi. CHOLLAH! YUMMO!
guy fawkes this weekend. i expect burning and explosions.
2 November 2006
TWO CHEEK KISSING AND FLAT WHITES
coffee maker: yes?
me: hey. do you guys do soy milk?
cm: yes, we do.
me: can i please have a soy flat white?
cm: what, sorry?
me: could i please have a Soy Flat White?
cm: oh, uh, yes... ... a flat white is sorta like a latte, isn't it?
me: uh. yeah, kinda.
cm: [makes me a caffe latte in a cup]
*
i still forget to do the two-cheek kiss. i keep smacking my face into other peoples faces when they go for the second one. greedy bastards.
*
me, dan and michael: [walk into a camden cafe and goggle at the lovely looking cakes]
dan: it's just like melbourne
[we look around and agree that the cafe is very melbourne-like. time passes]
cafe staff member: what can i get you, then?
me: um, can i have a - do you have soy?
csm: yeah, we've got soy
me: can i please have a, um, a soy flat white?
csm: yeah, sure ... ... ah, are you from australia?
me: heh...
csm: [proceeds to make me a delicious flat white]
me: hey. do you guys do soy milk?
cm: yes, we do.
me: can i please have a soy flat white?
cm: what, sorry?
me: could i please have a Soy Flat White?
cm: oh, uh, yes... ... a flat white is sorta like a latte, isn't it?
me: uh. yeah, kinda.
cm: [makes me a caffe latte in a cup]
*
i still forget to do the two-cheek kiss. i keep smacking my face into other peoples faces when they go for the second one. greedy bastards.
*
me, dan and michael: [walk into a camden cafe and goggle at the lovely looking cakes]
dan: it's just like melbourne
[we look around and agree that the cafe is very melbourne-like. time passes]
cafe staff member: what can i get you, then?
me: um, can i have a - do you have soy?
csm: yeah, we've got soy
me: can i please have a, um, a soy flat white?
csm: yeah, sure ... ... ah, are you from australia?
me: heh...
csm: [proceeds to make me a delicious flat white]
29 October 2006
QUEUE
the word QUEUE is spelling correctness gone crazy. why not spell it KYOO and get over it? oh... that's beside the point.
we were in a queue the other day. went to a shopping centre to do some shopping. did some shopping. came out of the carpark, and then spent OVER AN HOUR to go almost 360 around the shopping centre and onto the road due to some street closure or another. OVER AN HOUR. authentic english experience.
of course, because we loved it soooo much, we went to the tate modern yesterday and stood in another queue for tickets to the slides. for an hour and a half. AN HOUR AND A HALF, dudes! why? because we are committed to our art. and also, because if we'd gone into town and seen the queue and the slides and just given up without getting tix and going down at least one of them, i would have regretted it.
we had to queue again at the top of the slide, and thought about what the artwork meant. because by itself i was just like slides, meh, but the whole experience of it... queue for hours in a very slow line to get a ticket so you can queue for another half an hour to go down a slide for 10 seconds and end up pretty much where you start... oh, metaphorical. (but what's it meta for?!)
and that's my cue to go.
HAAAAAAAAAA! sorry.
we were in a queue the other day. went to a shopping centre to do some shopping. did some shopping. came out of the carpark, and then spent OVER AN HOUR to go almost 360 around the shopping centre and onto the road due to some street closure or another. OVER AN HOUR. authentic english experience.
of course, because we loved it soooo much, we went to the tate modern yesterday and stood in another queue for tickets to the slides. for an hour and a half. AN HOUR AND A HALF, dudes! why? because we are committed to our art. and also, because if we'd gone into town and seen the queue and the slides and just given up without getting tix and going down at least one of them, i would have regretted it.
we had to queue again at the top of the slide, and thought about what the artwork meant. because by itself i was just like slides, meh, but the whole experience of it... queue for hours in a very slow line to get a ticket so you can queue for another half an hour to go down a slide for 10 seconds and end up pretty much where you start... oh, metaphorical. (but what's it meta for?!)
and that's my cue to go.
HAAAAAAAAAA! sorry.
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