http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/brendaandshaun/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from brendaandshaun en-us Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:14:48 +0000 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:14:48 +0000 Tuesday 24th June Thursday 26th JuneWe arrived in Gatwick Airport around 1pm and headed to town. We stowed our bags at Waterloo home of the most Nazi bag inspector yet and explored the local area. This meant we got to see South Bank the Millennium eye which has always struck me as been a Ferris Wheel rather then an Eye Westminster and Big Ben. After looking around town we met Jess who gav http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-296784.html Sunday 22nd June Tuesday 24th June After a good sleep we headed off to explore town and see what Nice had to offer. There was an Iron Man competition on so there was lots of activity around the beach. There was also lots of people on the beach and it remains the most crowded beach I have ever seen. It was good to have a swim though.Nice is a very pretty town the Mediterranean coast is stunning http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d--Azur/Nice/blog-295804.html Friday 20th June Saturday 21st JuneWe arrived in Florence about 930am and headed off to the hotel which was close to the Station. From the hotel we got directions to an outlet shopping mall which had fashion brands at a reduced price. It was okay although there range was not so good and the transport arrangements meant we had to spend a couple of hours longer then we needed.When we got back http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-295551.html Thursday 19th JuneWe arrived in Rome about 2pm after taking a morning train from Venice. At this point we proceeded to get lost on the way to the hotel eventually reaching it. It was a nice room and it felt a little disappointing to only stay here for one night.As we only had one day we went out exploring hading first to the Colosseum. On the way we made a number of discoveries1. It was extreme http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-294428.html Tuesday 17th June Wednesday 18th JuneWe arrived around midday after a 2hr train trip from Verona. Our hotel was close only 5 minute walk so that was good. After checking in we went exploring.Venice with the canalrsquos is something different. Its difficult to explain what its like very beautiful and very unique. Full of tourists though so parts of it a very crowded.In terms of sights the o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-293582.html Monday 16th June We arrived in Verona around 11am and found that the hotel was a good 15 minute walk from the Train station. It was also on Veronarsquos busiest and possibly bumpiest street.Verona is a beautiful small city with a population of around two hundred and fifty thousand. Shakespearersquos Romeo and Juliet is based on events from this town and later on we were to find the balcony wh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Verona/blog-292767.html Sat 14th June Sunday 15th JuneWe arrived in Milan about 7pm. It was a nice trip from Geneva with the scenery been particularly spectacular. Despite our hotel Hotel New York been 200m from the Main Train Station it was still pretty hard to find but we found it. Once settled in we had a look around and found that around the area it was a bit scungy we also had our first meal of Pasta and Pizza http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Milan/blog-292762.html Friday 13th JuneWe arrived in Geneva around 2pm and went to our hotel Best Western Strasbourg which was close to the train station. Unfortunately Brendarsquos teeth were quite sore so we needed to find a dentist open on Friday afternoon night.Our first attempt was a little comical the closest emergency dental clinic recommended by the hotel concierge turned out to be a school dental clinic http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Geneva/blog-291106.html Tuesday 10th June Thursday 12th JuneWe arrived in Paris around 3am after a convoluted journey through Belgium it took 4 trains to get from Ypres to Paris. We fond our hotel Le Pavilion close to the Eifel tower and then went exploring. It was a very warm day so walking around it got quite hot. We walked down to the Eiffel tower and had a look around the park.That night Brendarsquos friend T http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-288893.html Sunday 8th June Monday 9th JuneWe arrived in Belgium about 4pm we were about an hour late as there was an accident further ahead which meant we were rerouted to another station. This caused us a few issues in getting to our hotel.Once we were settled in we went into the tourist area and ha a look around. Here we got to see Grand Place Marquis Pis a small statue of a boy urinating one wonder http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-287647.html Sat 7 JuneWe arrived in Amsterdam at 1100 am having taken the night train from Berlin. The train was a sleeper train with two bunks in our cabin. It was a really comfortable sleep I would have been happy if the train had kept going for a couple more hours.We stored our bags in the train station locker and took just a small day pack with our clothes for the night. We then went and hopped on a can http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-287644.html Tuesday 3rd June Friday 6th JuneWe arrived in Frankfurt around midday and headed to our hotel. The plane had been delayed by six hours so it meant we were arriving at a more civilised time as opposed to 6am that we were meant too.After negotiating public transport again tricky when its in German and your tired from the flight we found our hotel. It also had a shared bathroom a pain and our http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Berlin/Berlin/blog-286416.html 29th May 2nd JuneWe arrived at LaGuardia Airport in New York at 8pm and took the Bus to get to the hostel this was okay although it did get quite crowded and travel through some interesting neighbourhoods. A 2 fare made it really good value.The hostel Candy Hostel we were staying at was quite basic with nothing in the room apart from the bed and shared bathroom toilet. Luckily it was quiet http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-284327.html Wednesday 28th May Thursday 29th MayWe took the 905am flight to Washington DC which required an early start and another trip on Chicagorsquos Public Transport system. The flight to Washington was pretty easy with the exception of the two brats who were seated behind us.We took public transport to our motel which was pretty easy. The only issue was how far it was from the Metro Station we wer http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/Arlington/blog-282500.html Sunday 25th May Tuesday 27th MayWe arrived in Chicago about Midnight and took the train into town. It was quite late but were able to find a station near our motel and take our cab. This was good as it only cost 10 to get from the Airport to the motel.We were staying in the Ohio House Motel itrsquos a dated building but is close to town the wireless is crap though. The coffee shop is good v http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-282499.html Thursday 22nd May Sunday 25th MayWe arrived in Vegas at about 2pm via Las Vegas Boulevard which is more popularly known as the Strip. Las Vegas looks amazing massive themed hotels replicas of the Statue of Liberty a Sphinx Roman Colosseum neon lights everywhere.After been in the wilderness for a few days this was quite a contrast. We checked into our hotel the Paris Las Vegas complete wit http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-280900.html Tuesday 22nd May Thursday 24th MayAfter SF it was time to head to the back country of California. We were going to two of the most well known National parks Yosemite and Death Valley.To get to Yosemite we drove east along the I580 to route 120. This got us off the freeway and on to some of the rural roads. It took about 5 hours to get to Yosemite and the views coming down the hill into the vall http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Yosemite-National-Park/blog-279698.html Saturday 17th May to Tuesday 20th MayOnce we arrived parked see previous entry and checked in it was about 9pm so we thought some dinner would be a good idea. We found a 50rsquo style diner and eat there. At this point we had already discovered a couple of things about SF1. There are lots of crazy homeless people2. Itrsquos a lot colder then the rest of California we had seen and there is http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/blog-278847.html Friday 17th May Saturday 18th MayWe left LAX in our rental car. itrsquos a Pontiac G6 Convertible and itrsquos very nice to drive. We headed up Highway 1 past Santa Monica and Venice and then on to the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. At Malibu we cut across to Interstate 101.Driving on the right has been a challenge but Irsquom getting the hang of it no mishaps so thatrsquos good . Th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Luis-Obispo/blog-278095.html We arrived off the plane about 200pm on Tuesday 12th May. Immigration was the usual officious surly experience but there was no lines. After studying the transport options we decided to take a taxi to our motel.We are staying at the Hollywood Downtowner Motel in Hollywood. itrsquos a nice location and the hotel is good value its cheap small but clean. Shayla at the desk gave us the low dow http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/blog-277119.html