Halfway!

From Shell: A day or two ago we celebrated the halfway mark of the holiday - and we've done so much already. Here are some comments/thoughts/reflections on the first half:

- Exit rows rock
- Make a dinner reservation in Toronto if you arrive the night of a U2 concert
- Newark Liberty airport is a living hell-hole
- Butter chicken is a good choice the world over
- People from the US are absolutely delightful in-situ but not so good to travel with
- French people have been really nice
- Look lost enough and a woman walking her dog will come to rescue you (Holland and France)
- Europeans know how to deliver a public transport system that the public want to use
- The Canadian Rockies are up there with Milford Sound (NZ) and both should be on everyone's 'must see' list
- NYC is safer than you think - just don't trust anybody
- Vancouver is a sad example of what happens when you fail to deliver appropriate care to people with mental health issues
- Want to be wowed by a European location? Let Steve pick the location.
- For the amount of cows in the place, it's amazing how much you have to hunt out fresh dairy milk in Western Europe, instead of that UHT crap
- In an American McDonalds, ask for tea and you will get unsweetened iced tea, ask for an egg an.. oh fuck it - just don't eat there
- When travelling on a tour where everyone else is a coffin-dodger (grey nomad), you shouldn't feel embarassed when you are the two people snoozing in the back of the bus because you couldn't hack the pace.
- Banff Canada is run by Australians
- Marja can't sing Chinese opera.

From Marja:
Things I've learned besides the above
- Bordeaux is to France what Canberra is to Australia - trackies are acceptable anywhere
- don't pay more that 5 euros for a bottle of wine
- people will push you when in line. if you push back they back off
- wheelie bags are heavy when going up stairs
- there are a lot of things in europe with diamanties on them. these include baby's bottles with skull and cross bones.
- it doesn't matter where you go in France or Italy, there will be a Garribaldi. A Rue Garribaldi, a Via Garribaldi or a Piazza Garribaldi. If you are lost, just go there and something will help you get your sense of direction back.

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