http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/anna-david/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from anna david en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:37:43 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:37:43 +0000 So now we're home back in Sydney. Well and truly. Back in our apartment settled back at work ... and almost another year has passed. We've enjoyed reliving the memories over the last 89 months and will savour the last few also. However 2009 is almost over and it's time to let go. There are still more photos to be sorted and memories to be had at some stage.However one more blog is needed. A http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-366220.html by anna and davidWhat can we say here One week two sides of the Andes 10 wineries and some great food. Travel wine and food An appropriate way to finish our international tour. It's hard to do things independently in Mendoza as the roads aren't considered very safe they drive like mad people the roads aren't well sign posted and you can't just drop into wineries. For this reason we pai http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/blog-382621.html by anna and davidThe last few weeks have been life as usual in Buenos Aires if characterised by a consciousness that we could count on our fingers and toes how many days we had left here before going home to Sydney. I was back at school for most of the last month and as there was no one else at the school at the same level as me for two of the three weeks I had three hours a day one on one. G http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-377488.html by anna and davidPues Well. We have just spent the last week and a half recovering from a hard core week of touristing with Ed and Trace yes yes more friends from LEK. The dynamic duo joined us in Buenos Aires after a couple of weeks touring Patagonia Iguazu Falls etc and there was little rest for the wicked. We settled into the week with some beers by the pool in our building before http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/West/blog-377084.html by anna and davidWell we finally made it to Buenos Aires. It's about a month after we originally intended but that was always a plan in sand anyway. We have an apartment here in an area known as Palermo Hollywood part of the trendy Palermo Viejo in northern Buenos Aires not too old not too pristine with lots of restaurants and groovy shops. We've got down to the business of living. The ap http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/Buenos-Aires/blog-368511.html by anna and davidWARNING Read at your own risk. Some content may offend the overworkedBeach.Hut on beach. Hammock. Bikini. Surf.Book. Beer. Friendly mexican to serve beer and margaritas while lying in hammock on beach reading book and gazing at surf.There wasn't much more to it really. After our taxing five days in San Agustinillo a tiny place on the west coast of Mexico as you can imagi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/San-Agustinillo/blog-366173.html by anna and davidWalking in a winter wonderland ... well it wasn't Christmas but this is how we spent NYE and the first week or so of January. We had spent a few days in NYC before heading to Peru but were completely knackered and spent all our waking hours shopping for kit warm clothes water bottles boots etc. The only NYC thing we squeezed in was an evening started with a drink with Mike http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/blog-360910.html by anna and davidHaving spent Christmas overseas before and knowing that it kind of sucks we wanted to do something special for the few days at the end of December being in a lodge in the Amazon sounded kind of cool.We spent Christmas Eve in Quito and got a great unexpected dose of Christmasness. We started the evening with a beer while we called home to the family on Christmas morning in Aus http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/blog-359821.html by anna and davidIt was so exciting to head to a whole new continent Having just been through India I expected Peru to be somewhat similar just south american but it was a relief to find fewer people. This allowed the stunning landscape to really shine through. We spent a nondescript night in Lima before heading straight to Cuzco on one of the most spectacular flights I have been on. Flyin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/blog-356912.html by anna and davidWe started our tour of northern India and it's cities with a couple of nights and a day in Mumbai a city we both loved. Whether it was not having a list of sites to tick off or whether it was just the great vibe of the place Mumbai rocks. Having loved it so much made us even sadder when a week later it was attacked. However when we were there it was simply a great place to be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/blog-356910.html by anna and davidIncredible India. I think this is what the ads say. And right they are. What a sensational place. Especially the south. We spent the first five days in India in Chennai formerly Madras with David's brother Craig. We were completely looked after having the services of Craig's driver Selvam and after work Craig who acted as our tour guide to the best restaurants in town. Fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/blog-351913.html by anna and davidCatchups in LondonHaving only spent a fleeting weekend in London for Ascot in June we wanted to spend a bit more time there catching up with some friends. It was great to be able to stay with Yvette and Dom in their new apartment and do just that. While Spain had cooled down a lot before we left the London weather was still a bit of a shock. There was snow on the ground from http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Bahrain/blog-351881.html by anna and davidIt was a grand farewell to Spain. A tour befitting our time there revisiting some of our favourite places and sharing some of them with friends and family. We flew back into Barcelona where we spent a few days catching up on some admin and spending some time around and about the back alleys having drinks with Chris and Carmen and dinner with Pete and Nuria and a couple of thei http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-339969.html by anna and davidYou can never go to Paris too many times especially if you have good friends to see there. Luckily we do. Leon and Caro Dave and Aurelie. This time it was extra special as we were in Paris in time to celebrate Leon's 30th birthday with him and Caro. We caught up with Leon and Bish on the Friday night over a traditional french meal. Thankfully this was not too big a night a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/blog-331394.html by anna and davidI really don't know what to say here. What turned out to be the good part of a week with Sue and Miguel in Switzerland was so sensational I am glad I have photos to prove it wasn't a dream. Our local guides showed us all the major parts of the country demonstrated life in a nation where people speak multiple languages they slipped from speaking French between themselves to Engl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/blog-331392.html by anna and davidIt was great to arrive back in Barcelona. The city screams holiday fun and that's what we were there for. We jumped straight in although there was a twist this time as part of our second day was occupied with helping the ReddyHewston clan get from the airport to their apartment. Travelling with two under two changes the dynamic somewhat we managed to reward ourselves with so http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-324312.html by anna and davidPortugal the slither of land blocked from the rest of Europe by Spain having held out against Spanish dominance many times is a land as diverse as any I have come across amazing for a nation traversable within a weekWe got the fast train to Seville and hired a car there to spend 12 days making our way through Portugal from south to north finishing back in Spain in Galicia.Fi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/blog-324213.html by anna Thankfully we are going back so we didn't have to really say goodbye as it was sad enough packing up our apartment and leaving our life in Madrid as semiresidents. We really loved the few months we spent there and our last few weeks were no exception as I finished classes we had a visit from Dave and Aurelie friends from L.E.K. and said hasta luego to the team at the gym and our loc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/Madrid/blog-324179.html by anna and davidWe've just had a little jaunt north. For the 4th public holiday since we've been in Spain they LOVE them here we used the opportunity to head over to Ireland to visit Kev Mary Ben and George. Kev and Mary were very organised with Mary's mum ready to baby sit and took us out for drinks at the swanky Shelbourne Hotel before heading to a great Thai restaurant soooo good to http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-308259.html by anna and david July 7th24thAfter the excitement of the first two weeks back in Madrid things have calmed down somewhat nevertheless we've kept ourselves busy. I have been back at 'school' for five weeks now David has been enjoying life as free as a bird and we've both been loving life in Madrid la vida espana. The week before last David spent a couple of days in London for work th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/Madrid/blog-303374.html