Where is Bec and J?

Sunday, July 20, 2008

No Bull

Well it has been almost a week since we returned from our trip to Pamplona and the toe still remains pretty battered along with the rest of my feet. However, it is definitely the most memorable and enjoyable trip we have done so far.

We arrived last Saturday and after travelling from Bilbao to Pamplona for almost three hours we finally arrived at the campsite around 4pm. Stranded about 50 minutes out of Pamplona and with no where to go we met with a close friend Mr Jack Daniels and got down to partying!

The next day was the opening day of the festival. We headed in early (9ish) decked out in the tokenistic red and whites complete with flip flops (which is now what I call them after being caught out more than once for inappropriately referring to my ''thongs"). Once in town we made our way to the town hall square where for the next 3-4 hours the crowd got progressively bigger and rowdier! Memorable highlights include the chant of "T*ts out for the boys", Sangria showers and large inflatable dolls being hit around the crowd. By midday the crowd was surging worst than most mosh pits we'd been in and I can honestly say I had never been so scared. At this point I looked down at my feet which were painted red, and not by Sangria! Freaked out, I panicked and quickly exited, followed closely by J. We ended up performing some simple surgery and and thanks to some friendly locals found some pretty cheapo Crocs. I battled on and had the most amazing day/night!!!!

On Monday we headed into town for the first bull run of the festival. Once there J made his way to the assembly point and I began the anxious wait.... but I believe it is better to hear this day from a runners perspective... so without further adue, here it is.

We had to wait at the town square again, only so many people can run so the first objective is to stay firm and not let the surging crowd push you down the street and out of the square. With this done we had half an hour till the run, people were stretching and warming up. Not me, pure adrenaline would get me down the 800m and into the arena before those bulls.

With five minutes left they opened up the run and people started pumping up and getting nervous. I made my way to dead mens corner, approx half way, and waited for the rockets to go off. The first one means the gates are open for the bulls, the second one means all 12 bulls have left the pen, the third rocket means all bulls have made it into the arena, and the last one means all bulls a locked away. So after hearing the second rocket I ran. Soon realizing that people would be a worse obstacle than the bulls. Half way up the road 10 people fell ahead of me, which I had to jump over. Another fell right next to me and tried to grab me, a quick palm set me free and I kept running. Hearing bull hooves coming and grown mens faces turn pale I moved to the side and ran as 6 bulls stormed passed, making a clear path infront of them. I moved right into the clear path and ran. About 100m out from the areana the second lot of bulls came and went, all except 1, which fell over in front of me. After jumping up the bull wanted to run back down the track the wrong way. I had to turn and run, before his spainish handlers turned him around. This happened about 4-5 times.

Eventually he made it into the arena and I was about a metre behind him. Once inside the crowd abrupted and the third and fourth rocket went off. Then five minutes later, they bring the bulls out 1 at a time for about a 10 minute run around the arena, and if you're in the way, you get mowed down. I survived the run and the arena, what a day!!!!

And thats how it went, on the other side of the arena fence I sat anxiously as I spotted friend upon friend safely make it into the areana, but no J. Sick with worry I made my way back to our meet spot where J was waiting safe and sound, horn marks free! Later on the bus ride back to the campsite he was able to spot himself in one of the photos I had taken. I've included below.... feel free to play where's wally and spot him yourself...

Tuesday we headed back into town for one last spin around the sights, including a walk of the bull run track and a visit to the muscle bar. At about 8 we boarded our bus to Pamplona and began the 3 hour back track to Bilbao airport where we slept overnight. Most enjoyable!

We are currently preparing ourselves for the next trip So it is bye bye Theberton Street and hello 4 weeks backpacking around Portugal and Spain. I wish I could say I was sad... hehe

Anyways, heres some piccies!

Day 1. Hanging out at the campsite with Mr Daniels.

The sangria almost as big as me! Love it!

Jarratt after the Sangria shower.

Jarratt makes a friend! :)

The bulls enter the arena, my heart enters my throat!!!

Shortly after this photo, the guy bounced back up... it was amazing he wasn't badly injured!

A quick game of where's wally anyone?

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Quiet please!

Well its been another bee-zah few weeks for me and the j-mister! We've been out and about exploring the best that London has to offer and here's a few highlights:

Wimbledon:
After months earlier getting our proverbial into a pile by jumping through the various Wimbledon ballot hoops we found ourselves into some amazing centre court seats. So amazing that we were on TV more than the William sisters themselves. Nicely placed behind the service line and in direct sight of the cameras, pictures of us were shot around the globe and numerous messages were received. We were lucky enough to watch both Williams sisters qualify for the final and a pretty lame men's doubles match. Instead of watching the doubles til completion we opted for the goldie oldie stylings of the Woodies on an outside court and lashing our tongues around a dish of the famous strawberries and cream! All and all it was a good day, made even more fantastic but the trip home via Tooting Bec... where despite Jarratt's best efforts Bec was able to get off the train and take some pretty random photos, which you can see a sample of below!

Tate Modern:
Despite not being a major art buff, I was bored at home alone on yet another Saturday morning without Jarratt. So I made my way to the Tate modern. Slightly motivated by the fact that all museums in London are free and moreover that children from my current school had put together an exhibition that was currently being displayed entitled: Looking for change! The Tate was a massive shock and I was amazed how into it I got! Particularly the pop art of Andy Warhol and an exhibition known as 30 pieces of silver. I even managed a few sneaky happy snaps before being abruptly told in some broken English that I was a naughty girl! After my whirlwind visit I made my way to South Kensington to meet young J J for a super surprise!!!

Polo:
The surprise excursion was out to Ham Polo Club (in a black cab!!!) where we picniced and watched the local squad take on the Indian Army. I was surprised by the colourful language used by the 'gentleman' riders and also had my very own pretty woman moment when I was invited to the stomping of the divots. It was great surprise and a very fun afternoon in which I have never felt SOOO British!!!

The Brit Oval:
In another British adventure we followed two friends blindly into the Brit Oval where we saw a Twenty20 match between Middlesex and Lancashire! An interesting afternoon despite the cricket and rude British men behind us! What is it that turns grown men into such ..... um, louts at sporting events? Really, so uncalled for! But beer in the sun with our feet up watching cricket never felt so natural and I had to remind myself I was in fact in ENGLAND.... NOT.... AUSTRALIA!

Hill top:
In order to counteract our recent British adventures we saddled up and visited the Carling Academy to watch the Hill Top Hoods. A wicked, yet short gig, that made us both miss home and saw many an expensive phone call made to let certain people know "It's YOUR round!" :)

Wednesday Night = Theatre Night:
For the last two consecutive weeks I have attended some pretty amazing theatre... cheaply! YAY! Due to the fact that I attend mid-week shows and buy at the lastminute. The first Wednesday saw the crew attend the Lion King. We had an amazing time singing along and relaxing despite our frantic drunken jog from the station (IN HEELS!!). But we made it and didn't miss any of it so, "Hakuna Matta". I also got to attend Chicago this week with a friend from back home, Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes.... was very exciting! I got given that old Razzle Dazzle and boy did I enjoy it!!!

In amongst the fun of ol' london town, we headed to Pamplona for the running of the bulls where J gambled with his life and Bec nearly had multiple heart attacks!!!!! Which I will update you on shortly, in the mean time here are the relevant photos from our aforementioned escapades.

The Holy Grail of Tickets!!!! AHHHHHH!!!

Me at the Wimbledon Garden.

Centre Court!!!

Our view from the seats!!!

J and his strawberries and cream! Yummo!

Tooting Bec... minus the tooting!

Inspired and naughty at the Tate Modern!

Polo ... Ahem, 'Gentleman' riders!

At Ham Polo Club... good times!!!

Pretty in pink!!!!

The Cricket Crew and rowdy rude Brit Lads behind!!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Round, round, get around...

Hey there campers!

So I thought it best to update you on our recent tourist adventures right here in the UK. Since only those OS ones seem to get a mention… AND… since our days here are now numbered (what with all these public declarations of love and unifying of hearts *enter eye roll here*) we have upped the anti on playing happy tourists by creating a list of things to do before we leave London!

So far we’ve done the following:

Avenue Q:
In an effort to be more cultured, we have added to our list to attend more theatre; the first was Jarratts choice: Avenue Q. An amusing comedy played out by sesame street like puppets who sing and dance about modern day woes including smash hits like "It sucks to be me!", "Everyone's a little bit Racist" and "The Internet is for porn". We highly recommend it for a good laugh!!!

Tower of London:
I met J after work one Sunday with the view of climbing to the top of St Peters, however our hopes were quickly dashed as on Sunday climbing up the dome is forbidden but entry is free!!! So we wandered around inside and made the quick decision to stroll down the Thames and visit the Tower of London. Here we um-ed and ahh-ed as to whether we could justify the inflated prices and see it all in our now shortened window of time. In the end we decided we were there and only lived once so off we went. Inside we saw some funny dressed patrons, the bloody tower, the execution site of Anne Boleyn and the crown jewels, where Bec was caught trying to take a happy snap and quickly confronted!

Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast:
Again meeting J after work one Sunday we headed to the Tower Bridge Experience (!) to visit London’s most treasured landmark. Here we were treated to some amazing views, a remarkable interactive display and one quirky old man who took a real shine to Bec, pointing out that this would be a lovely site for a wedding. Afterwards we headed to the HMS Belfast via Tower Bridges engine room (which proved more of a treat for J’s eyes, than Bec’s). At the HMS Belfast we got an insight into how navy officers and the like lived aboard the ship – no help due to the mundane audio guide. Also despite the best efforts of modern day (and elaborate!!!!) signage, Bec still managed to hit her head on the lowered doorways!

Stonehenge and Bath:
To warmly welcome the arrival of Jess and Frawley, the roomies organised a day trip out to Stonehenge and Bath. Despite leaving early, traffic got the better of us and we ended up arriving late at Stonehenge which resulted in shortened time at Bath. However, we had a wonderful time together jumping for joy because (of) Stonehenge rocks and leisurely checking out Baths… Baths. At the end of the day we headed home via yet another cheap burger at the local watering hole, O’Neils!

Shakespeare’s Globe:
Last, but not least, we spent last Sunday attending our first performance of Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre. We aptly choose King Lear and did not in the least regret our choice, despite the 3 hours standing on concrete and slight threat of rain; the 5 pound yard tickets certainly did the treat! Afterwards we strolled along the Thames and somehow ended up at Temple Walkabout for a few cold beverages to wind up the weekend!

And that’s it… We still have a few points left on our list despite efficiently knocking a few off over the last few weeks, but like our travel planning as soon as one is ticked off and done, four more are added…. But, I’m sure there are harder problems to have.

Anyways, how are you all?

Outside the Tower of London.

Tower Bridge from the outside...

... and from the inside. You can just see St Pauls dome (by Bec's sunglasses) and the HMS Belfast (on the Thames) in the background

Inside HMS Belfast... before the head bumping incident!!

At Stonehenge...

Attempt number 3 - this didn't take much talking into either! Its surprising how convincing an early years teacher can be... even to grown men ;)

Inside the Roman baths at Bath with the Abbey in the background!

Inside Shakespeares globe... with front row (standing) um... seats?

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Walk like an Egyptian

Sorry, its a long one....

Day 1 Cairo. We arrived at Cairo airport at 1am on Sunday morning after a poor flight from BA, where there in-flight movie service didn’t work and after booking the flights together, all three of us were split for the flight. We quickly retreated to bed to best preparing ourselves for the busy week ahead.

Day 2 Cairo. After about 4 hours sleep we awoke to start our tour of Cairo, we made our way to Sakkara, the first capital of ancient Egypt, famous for its step pyramid built by King Zoser in 2700 B.C. We were also able to go into one of the pyramids called Titi Pyramid, which was awesome to see inside, and how they decorate the walls. The afternoon was spent visiting the Giza Plateau to explore the world famous pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mycrenos. In the evening we boarded an overnight train to Aswan. We were in first class seats, (Egyptian first class) which smelt of cattle and the facilities were just as good. But after a restless sleep we tiredly awoke.

Day 3 Aswan. Our train was delayed during the night so we headed to the hotel to have lunch and freshen up before visiting the Philae Temple - dedicated to the Goddess Isis. That night we headed to a local nubian village for a traditional dinner, with entertainment and a few cold ones.

Day 4 Aswan, Felucca Cruise. Today saw a very early, miserable start to the morning! At 4am we jumped on our tour bus and meet up with a police convoy for our 2 hour journey towards the Sudanese border to visit Abu Simbel, Ramses II most impressive temple. After that we looked at the High Dam before a drive-by visit to the unfinished Obelisk. After a late lunch we boarded our traditional Felucca to start our voyage on the Nile. With the wind in the sails we headed downstream, sailing north. We remained on the felucca overnight where we were treated to a delicious local meal prepared by the crew.

Day 5 Felucca Cruise. Today we kept sailing on the Nile all day long, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of one of the greatest rivers on Earth. We jumped in and out of the river along the way. That night we set up camp on the shore and had a bomb fire and games before retiring to our felucca.

Day 6 Felucca Cruise, Komombo, Edfu, Luxor. After breakfast we made our way to the Komombo Temple which was built during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The temple is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and god Horus. Afterwards, we continued on to Edfu to visit the largest and best preserved temple in Egypt. The temple is dedicated to the falcon god Horus and was built over a 180-year period from 237 BC to 57 BC.

We then made our way to Luxor. After checking into our hotel, we headed straight to the pool (via KFC) to lap up some Egyptian rays before being escorted by our Egyptian tour guides to a local irish pub (?!) for our group dinner.

Day 7 Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Cairo. An early wake up call, or 3 (!), we stumbled out of bed for our sunrise hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. We had a great view and really enjoyed it. The flight lasted for just under an hour with captivating views of the Nile. After the hot air balloon ride, we started to explore this magnificent site, The Valley of the Kings and Queens. “the city of the Dead”, where majestic tombs are carved into the desert rocks, decorated richly, and filled with treasures for the afterlife of the Pharaohs. We visited a number of tombs including Ramess II, Tuk an Kahm and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

With the mercury rising we had a quick spin around Karnak and Luxor Temple before the sun gave way to heat stroke and we wanted nothing more than a dip in our luscious hotel pool! After a pretty amazing dinner of steak and pepper sauce, we boarded our overnight train to Cairo, which was better than the first although the air con made for a rather (freezing!) cold night.

Day 8 Cairo. Our journey continued with a visit to one of the most important museums in the world, the Egyptian Museum. Which houses more than 100 000 relics of ancient Egypt and 30 percent of the worlds ancient relics. We also explored an Egyptian Mosque, the Hanging Church and the world famous Kahn El Khalili bazaar. Where Bec escorted by two “very luck men” (Michael and Jarratt) was continually asked by the curious salesmen “You have two husbands?” That night Bec and I went to the very Disneyfied sound and light show of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, a great way to cap off our Egypt tour

Day 9 Cairo. We left our hotel for the airport at 5am for our flight back to London. Where we landed at lunch time only to wait half an hour to go through the customs line, than to wait another hour for our bags to arrive! BA and Heathrow, what a team!

Happy snaps time...