Ed: Well, after their European adventure, my parents and Sarah returned to London to cook up a Peruvian feast for us (my mother was appalled to find all we kept in our fridge was a half empty bottle of wine and some sour milk!). But despite all the fabulous eating, we managed to drag ourselves out of the flat long enough to show them some of the sights in and around London. However, after travelling through France, Spain, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and Holland, it was going to take something pretty special to impress them. So, having well and truly [View Full Entry]

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Ed: Matt once told me Brighton was the quintessential summer spot for Londoners escaping the city for some surf and sun, but having experienced it only in the middle of winter back in 2001, it was hard to imagine that this quiet seaside town could turn into a hot spot that would rival Rio during Carnival. Our friend Christopher was arriving on Friday, so we decided not to plan anything major for the weekend and let him settle in. However, when Kathryn and Kelly informed us the evening Chris arrived that they were heading to Brighton the following day for Gay [View Full Entry]

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Ed: I’m exhausted! After surviving all the obstacles imposed on us in France, I thought the day was never going to be over. Matt heroically arrived just after 1pm to rescue us from Toulouse in a green eight seat people mover which would be our transport over the next week. As we headed towards the Spanish border, everyone’s personality (and peculiarities) began to emerge: Matt was crowned the cool and collected traveller with his laisser-faire approach (personally I think it was because everyone in the car spoke Spanish around him so they mistook ‘quiet&rsquo [View Full Entry]

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Ed: Now, arranging a trip for eight people is no easy task. Juggling different interests, budgets, physical stamina and moods all requires the co-ordination skills usually reserved for NASA rocket scientists. However, after a year of travelling around Europe, Matt and I felt confident that our experience would mean we would have no problem arranging a surprise trip to Disneyland with my younger sister, Sarah. The plan sounded simple enough. Matt and I would meet my family in Paris on Friday evening and pick up Sarah. The rest of the gang (Mum, Dad, Cris, Adrian and Yngrid) would then [View Full Entry]

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Matt: I guess tucked away in the back of everyone’s head is a list of places that you must visit before you die. Some lists maybe short, others simple; alas mine is neither. Although over the past nine months I have been able to cross a heap of places off my inflated and hugely expensive list, number one - Egypt - still seemed a bit unreachable (I guess the whole Africa thing makes it seem further away than it actually is). And so when Ed suggested that we take a week off for my birthday for a cruise down the Nile, [View Full Entry]

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Matt: Just a quick note to say thank you for all the birthday cards, phone calls, emails, SMS and packs of Tim Tams. It’s good to know that despite being 17,000 kms away and not being able to drop casual hints, it wasn’t forgotten! I ended having an awesome day. It all started the morning before when I was in the shower and heard the doorbell ring. After a few minutes, Ed told me to come out because the first part of my present had been delivered. He added that I should put something on before I came to look. Now [View Full Entry]

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Matt: Belgium didn’t really impress Ed and me the last time we were there, five years ago. Looking back, I remember it more as this hazy void between the beauty of Berlin and the debauchery of Amsterdam (or as nine hours of my life that I’ll never get back). And so when a few of our friends suggested that we take a weekend in Brugge, I was less than enthusiastic! My doubts eased however when I started reading some articles on the place. Brugge seems to be known for four of my favourite things: Chocolate, Canals, Cuteness and Belgian Beer. Picturing [View Full Entry]

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Ed: Now, if you arrive at an airport and a taxi driver meets you at the gates, and tells you he can take you to town, and grabs yours bags and starts walking away, without giving you an opportunity to say a word, surely alarm bells start ringing. But oh no, not to Matthew. He happily followed this strange man and obediently stepped into his 70’s Dacia (Communist era car brand) with no door handles and rather dodgy-looking meter. Despite my objections, I too get into the car and we are taken into town at the cost of nearly ten times [View Full Entry]

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Ed: After trekking for two long days through Gallipoli, all I wanted was some sleep! Unfortunately, with a 6:30am flight to Kayseri, all we managed was to cram in five hours of slumber! Whaaah! We arrived at the domestic terminal at around 5:30am, and were met by these long queues. One thing you can say about the Turkish is that they are big on security (guess experience does count for something). They scan anything and everything you bring, including all luggage that you check-in through x-ray machines. So by the time we passed our third security scan, and with only 20 [View Full Entry]

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Matt: There’s a couple of things that every Australian living in Europe is obliged to do while here. Most of these involve sporting events, alcohol, nudity or a combination of all three. Spending Anzac Day at Gallipoli is one of the few exceptions. Our Anzac adventure, started like most of our previous trips: an urgent dash home after work on a Friday afternoon, a lightening fast shower, a quick change of clothes and a tube ride across town to Heathrow. Unusually for us, we made it to the airport with more than 15 minutes to spare and so sat back for [View Full Entry]

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