Adam's European Trip

The Inevitability of finality

2006-07-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

So this is it, we have arrived back in London in preparation for our departure back to that total turd of a country Australia. Lauren disagrees but still....... ok so its not a total turd country, your just rubbish at cricket. Whilst we have a few days left in london, i'm not going to be able to get to the internet for the next few days. Thus this will be the final actual on trip post of this blog. When i get home I'll tie up the Blog, do some trip summaries and actually maybe even start a new Adams Daily Life Blog. Blogs are fun. The trip has been awesome, everything i expected it to be and more. England is awesome, and i really do want to move over here to live. its something im going to look at doing over the next few days.......... Don't panic Mum i meant years! Anyways from Us in London, its Au Revior, Ciao, Auf Wiedersehen & Goodbye.

The Final Days in scotland

2006-07-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

Out of all the places we have been aside from London which just felt like home, and Manchester which was just special to me, Edinburgh has been the best place we have been, including Venice. Lauren is making some annoying sound in my ear, called Bitching because she couldn't get any twisties. The importer of twisties decided to eat them all himself so nobody else can get any. Back to reality though, Edinburgh just has a feel about it, that takes you back to what life would have been in simpler times, its Chillaxed. The Landscape of scotland is as raw & powerful as you will see anywhere, you know that had you been here 1000 years ago it would have looked exactly the same. Its just a shame about the scottish people really........ Lol not true, but they have had a few digs at the english so i needed to get one back. We even got to check out the Royal Infirmary. Which is of course the Hospital! better yet we got to check it out at 2am in the morning! Lauren being clever as usual decided to test the effect of burning ones finger on a super hot light globe, the effects were as expected painful to the extent that we made a trip to the hospital to check it out. They said that they couldn't really do anything for the pain which was excessive , even 2 hours after the incident. We got the taxi home and brought some ice cream to Cool her finger! All fun and games. I've contracted the Flu as well which has dampened the occasion, But scotland still rocks! Back to London tommorow before heading home!

Edinburgh Castle

2006-07-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

Right in the middle of town is this Castle!

Scotland

2006-07-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Edinburg. Its Awesome i must say, alot better than what i expected, its like being in a medievil town. if you took the Cars away it really would be like an ancient kingdom from the lands of King Arthur Just had the best meal i've had since i left Australia. Pepper steak with mashed potato & vegies, twas awesome. A few tours to do in scotland before heading down, not going to be able to do nessie unfortunately though.

Manchester

2006-07-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well we have left London for now, and have arrived in Manchester, the Journey took 2 hours on what was a surprisingly impressive train, better than anything in Europe except for the ICE trains in germany. Credit Virgin Trains. On the way into Piccadiliy Station ( Manchester Central) We pasted Stockport and Edgeley park, home of Stockport County. We might try and head there tommorow and get some shots Before We head to scotland. Once we arrived at the Hostel we headed towards Old Trafford, To say i was as giddy as a school girl would be an understatement. We took the metrolink to Old Trafford Station, walked past the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Walked past the Trafford Pub and onto Sir Matt Busby Lane. Where the Magnificent Old Trafford Stadium Presented itself, Home to Manchester United The Greatest Football Club in the world. Took lots of photos and went on an excellent Tour of the Stadium & Museum. Then went to the Megastore and spent a million quid. All in all a great day! I can honestly say that the Theatre of Dreams was everything i hoped it to be, and i look forward to my return for an actual match! Lots of photos uploaded so enjoy! Scotland Tommorow.

European Cup

2006-07-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

The big one, The European Cup, the biggest prize in Club Football. United have won it twice. Once under Sir Matt in 1968, the Other under Fergie in 1999 , a game which i watched at 5 in the morning as a young lad.

Trophies!

2006-07-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

The trophy Room, it was Large! Here you can see the FA Cup, 2nd from the left. The Premiership Trophy (Middle) , Uefa Super cups & Cup winners Cup. ( Lower Right). Lots of other Silverware as well.

Leading the Lads out

2006-07-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here i am leading the lads out. The tour actually included some speakers simulating the noise of Old trafford. It was pretty impressive.

The Tunnel

2006-07-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Think of all the greats who have walked down this tunnel to do battle under the colours of United.

Standing in the Presence of Greatness

2006-07-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

So many greats down the years have been in the Old Trafford Home Dressing Room. Edwards, Best, Charlton, Robson, Cantona to name but a few. Undoubtably todays squad, this young lad here is the Greatest player, Rooney ain't bad Either.

The Dressing Room

2006-07-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

Where Fergie delivers his famous Hair Dryer treatment out to the players.... Only when they deserve it im sure.....

International Honours Board.

2006-07-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

A List of all internationals to have play for United.

The Home Dugout

2006-07-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Standing in the great mans place. Sir Alex often stands in this Spot during the match.

The Old Press Conference Room & Our Tour Guide

2006-07-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Our Tour Guide, Ian a smashing chap. Full of good Humour. This was the old Press room, too small these days

I Look Happy

2006-07-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Looking Happy, Standing infront of the North stand.

My First View

2006-07-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

My first view of the actual pitch!

The Kit Room

2006-07-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Inside the Bowels of Old Trafford, The Kit Room, you can see a few of the Kits I've got at home in there

Sir Matt Busby

2006-07-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Immortalized forever to watch over Old Trafford.

Heaven

2006-07-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Heaven

We are getting closer

2006-07-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sir Matt Busby, Along with Sir Alex the Two Greatest Managers the World has ever Seen. This is the Road leading to Old Trafford.

The Lancashire Rose

2006-07-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Lancashire Rose, Meaning one thing. We have arrived in Manchester!

THE BOMB

2006-07-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dropped on Hiroshima, this little baby is a 100% Nuclear Bomb. It Blows things up. Lauren wanted one, but they wouldn't let her have it.

The Spitfire

2006-07-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

The most famous British Fighter Plane ever, the Supermarine Spitfire!

Mustang!

2006-07-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

The best American Fighter of the WWII, imagine this coming towards you!

The National War Museum

2006-07-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

We spent a good 5 hours in here after the London eye, it was Brilliant.

Downing St

2006-07-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

Home of the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, but for how much longer??

Buckingham Palace

2006-07-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Royal Palace from the Eye

The New Wembley Stadium

2006-07-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Brand Spanking New & Late Wembley stadium as seen from the London Eye.

Big Ben Shot

2006-07-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Finally i can actually get the shot on the Post, took awhile!

At the top of the world!

2006-07-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well at least london! Next up the views!

The Capsule!

2006-07-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Our new age transportation vehicle to the stars!

The London Eye

2006-07-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Towering above the city, is the fantastic london eye!

Lords

2006-07-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

You can see the Lords stadium here a vastly different cricket ground to the MCG. The MCG is mahoosive, where as Lords is alot smaller, more refined, more gentleman like.

Lords New Age Media Center

2006-07-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Lords High Tech Media Center from the back

Good to see 1 Arsenal Logo

2006-07-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

With so many Emirates logos on the stadium its good to see they didn't completetly sell themselves out.

Emirates Stadium

2006-07-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

This is Arsenals new stadium. 60'000 Capacity, 20'000 thousand more than Highbury, but still 16'000 less than Old Trafford, an Ultra Modern ground in a similar design to that of Sydneys Olympic Stadium.

The Highbury Facade

2006-07-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Stadium backs onto a street, no wider than Jedda St, seriously it would be like placing a massive stadium next door to home. Over time i guess the areas have built up around the grounds, but Match Days would be hectic.

Highbury, the Former home of the Gunners

2006-07-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Arsenals Former ground Highbury, I had no idea how old it actually would look up close, you can see why they moved to a new Stadium, which is about a 3 min walk from this one.

Stamford Bridge

2006-07-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Stamford Bridge, Home of Chelski Football Club, the Ground is just lodged right into the middle of the suburb, houses all around it. they actually have housing developments built off the actual stadium. Chelsea Village some crap like that.

London Day 6

2006-07-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

A day of markets, first we headed to Portobello Rd, which despite its reputation was pretty poor, a more antique sort of market, well its more a street with shops either sides, than a traditional market. Found a few decent shops though. We then headed out to Camden Town , which had a great market, lots of good stuff, Funny t-shirts, cheap bags, paintings etc, some Good stuff to be had. Would have been great to have more money, so that we could buy more stuff, but you get that. Tommorow we do the London Eye, and a few museums and the like. No pictures today as the normal internet shop is shut.

London Day..... 5 maybe

2006-07-15T03:20:00.000-07:00

Totally lost track of how long We've been here. Last night we went to see the Lion King, which was amazing, not as good as phantom although Lauren thought it was better. The Sets & Costumes were fantastic. Today We are going to try and head to Arsenal & Chelsea land to see what there scum grounds look like, We shall also pop into Lords where England are dominating Pakistan, i don't think we shall catch any of the game though. Tonight we are going to head to the Jongeleurs comedy venue. Tommorow Portobello Rd Markets!

Superstar!

2006-07-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

Its Ok Wayne, we all still Love You.

ROONEY!!!!!!!

Adam & Johnny

2006-07-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

Look at the Miracle Man Johnny!

My Royal Visit

2006-07-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Look its the Queen, i did get to meet her, Didn't say much though.....

Lauren right at home

2006-07-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here is lauren, she fits right in, infact i think the other two are scared of her...... Look at the fear in Saddams eyes.

The Hulk has LOz

2006-07-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Hulk got her, he got her good.

Bollywood Style

2006-07-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Knowing how a few of the family like Bollywood, i got upclose with Aishwarya Rai

Lauren with Will Turner

2006-07-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

They had a Pirates exhibit, this is Loz with Will, Captain Jack Sparrow was too crowded to get close too.

Pulp Fiction Style

2006-07-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

I will strike down upon thy with great venegence and furious anger those who attempt to Poison and destroy my brothers......

Madame Tussaud's!

2006-07-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Sherlock Holmes & Myself

2006-07-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

The statue of Sherlock is just outside of Baker St Underground Station.

The Famous Baker St

2006-07-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Street on which Sherlock Holmes Lived!

Jack the Ripper St

2006-07-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

This was one of the streets in which Jack the Ripper victims lived. These houses are from the 1700's, They are priced at around 1.5 million pound each. The Ripper tour was very good, the Tour guide was an expert on the subject and we learnt alot.

London Day Three

2006-07-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

Our third day in London! strolled around whitehall, headed up to Trafalagar Square, then through St.James Park accross to Buckingham Palace, entertained the Queen with a spot of tea & scones! We then headed to Piccadiliy Circus ( No Mum not a real Circus!) before heading back accross the Thames to get some good shots of Big Ben striking four! Tonight we have a Jack the Ripper Walking tour which should be alot of Fun, whilst tommorow we see Madame Tussauds & the Sherlock Holmes Museum, with maybe Lion King the Musical at night. London is switched on! Its Smashing baby!

Big Ben at 4pm

2006-07-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

And the clock struck Four!

House of Parliment & Big Ben

2006-07-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here you have it, The melting Pot of English Government. And of course Big Ben. We sat and waited for the clock to strike 4pm And heard the famous Big Ben Chime!

Changing of the Guard

2006-07-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

We missed it! Twas at 11.30am we arrived around 2pm. Shattered!

Scenic Shot

2006-07-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Showing off my photographic prowess, which i believe rivals that of Laurens. A Great shot of the Eye through St.James Park! Bravo Adam you are great.

Buckingham Palace

2006-07-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

The home of Her Majesty the Queen of England. And the seat of the Royal family. Lauren however had a complaint "The Old Bag didn't invite us in for tea". I think the complaint is a bit unrealistic , what about you?

Downing St

2006-07-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here you have it , the home of the british prime minister. Tony Blair at the present stage. You can't get on the street at all, Big gates and the Bill guarding it.

The London Eye

2006-07-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

This impressive ferris wheel dominates the skyline, we will be riding it on Monday morning. Melbourne is soon to have one as well. Oh look Lauren is in there as well, much to our surprise.

Tower of London!

2006-07-13T03:57:00.000-07:00

Tower Bridge

2006-07-13T03:53:00.000-07:00

OLD SKOOL..... wait i didn't just say that, shoot me. This was totally awesome to actually be on the Tower bridge. London Rocks

Tower Bridge Raised!

2006-07-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

And it only took 15 minutes for a boat to pass through! Huzzah!

Tower Bridge

2006-07-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

The World Famous Tower Bridge. Would we have to wait 3 hours to see it Raised?

The London Bridge

2006-07-13T03:41:00.000-07:00

London Bridge is falling down, falling down.......

Games Workshop

2006-07-13T03:36:00.000-07:00

Among the other reasons why i now want to live in London is this shop! in the Covent Garden Markets!

A London Bus

2006-07-13T03:33:00.000-07:00

Its a Bus. Its Red. Its a Double Decker. Its LONDON!

The Eiffel Tower Glowing!

2006-07-13T03:22:00.000-07:00

Every 10 minutes of Every hour, the Eiffel Tower glows! here is a shot at 10 past midnight.

Paris Night sky

2006-07-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower at midnight

Computer problems

2006-07-12T03:51:00.000-07:00

Had some problems getting more photos up, so thats all for now, had a few good night shots of the Eiffel tower, as well as some train photos. But i'll try and get them up at a later point. For now its off to enjoy london, we arrived yesterday and already the vibe about the place is great. Im loving it. Had such a buzz getting off the Eurostar ( which wasn't as good as the german ICE trains). Its awesome.

Awesome shot

2006-07-12T03:44:00.000-07:00

Looking up to the top of the Eiffel tower from the 2nd level at night.

The Eiffel Tower

2006-07-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

Here you see the Eiffel tower in all its glory, it would be another 8 hours until we climbed it finally reaching the top at midnight. We went home after these photos because the top was closed, had to come back later.

The size of Paris!

2006-07-12T03:28:00.000-07:00

Paris just stretches on for miles and miles

Sacre Coure

2006-07-12T03:24:00.000-07:00

Sacre Coure or Sacred Heart as the french translation goes, the 2nd highest point in Paris after the Eiffel Tower. We visited this on our first day. A tiring walk to the top of that dome laid ahead. The americans called it Soccer Court for some stupid reason.

The Moulin Rogue

2006-07-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

The famous Moulin Rouge, provided us with a very entertaining night.

Italy World Cup Champions 2006

2006-07-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

Well it probably symbolises the overall type of World Cup it was, but the Italians are still Champions for a fourth time, bringing Brazil back to the pack when it comes to times won. They have 5 btw. The Match started off at an excellent standard, both sides attacking, but Italy dominating. the french were lucky to go in at half time 1 all. After that the italians switched to typical italian style and the French couldn't break them down. Zidane went insane with the greatest headbutt you'll ever see in sports and the Italians then held there nerve during penalties. So there you have it a European team wins the World cup again. Just the boost italian football needed as its expected during the course of the next week that there top 4 clubs are set to be relegated to lower divisions for match fixing. ( MASS SALE OF PLAYERS)

World Cup Final day

2006-07-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

So today we have the World Cup final. Italy vs France, in what really has been a dissapointing world cup, Aside from Germany no team actually put together any consistent positive attacking play. A shame the germans couldn't knock the italians off then. This world cup goals per game average is the 2nd lowest in history , Italia 90 was the lowest. Another dissapointment was the pathetic swedish like England team, who under their uninspired and dare i say it Swedish Sabature Coach Sven "The Prat" Eriksson proceeded to shatter English hopes and dreams around the world including mine. Wanker! Tonight i would like to predict a 3-2 Italian win, but i think it will probably be 1-0 italy, if not then probably a penalty shoot out. Pray to god im wrong, i want a good game. Decided against heading the Champs Elleyses for the match as there are no actual screens there, just mad french people, so instead will watch from a pub around the hotel. Tommorow in the aftermath of the result we shall head to the Eiffel tower, and then spend our Last night in Paris before heading to London! Hurray English Speaking Country!

Pompidou Center

2006-07-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is the strange inside out building that houses the modern art gallery of Paris. Everything like the water pipes etc are on the outside. The building is more famous than the artwork however so we didn't go inside.

Notre Dame

2006-07-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

The famous Notre Dame Church. The area was packed!

Terrific Leadlights

2006-07-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

The entire interior is just Leadlights, making the room something to behold.

The Royal Palace Church

2006-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

This church was the private church of the Palace. The inside is amazing.

Parisian Art Neveau Style Stations

2006-07-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

You can see the Art Neveau style Metro stops in this photo, the Metro consists of 9 different lines, with about 200 stops i reckon. But its pretty easy to navigate.

Lauren in the park

2006-07-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of Lauren at a random location within the park, curiously the Disney princess sign is next to her................

See she is exicted!

2006-07-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Having a ball in the Cup.

The Mad Hatters Tea Cups

2006-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here you can see the Tea cup ride, Lauren was most excited by the Tea cups.

Lauren with the Chesire Cat

2006-07-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

Loz with a massive Chesire Cat behind her.

Alice's Maze

2006-07-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

Which way to go?

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

2006-07-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

This castle is actually designed on a castle just outside of Munich in germany, Whilst Ben & I were in munich we were considering going to it, but didn't have enough time. The disney version will have to do lol

The pirates cave

2006-07-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

The two of us infront of the Pirates cave, it was a bit of maze inside.

Disneyland Entrance

2006-07-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

The entrance to Disneyland Paris

stuck in Paris

2006-07-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well the eurostar was booked up until the 11th. Ben managed to get on the 10th trip to London. Loz & myself will have to wait until the 11th. Which means ive had to revamp the travel plans for the remainder of the trip but that is all done now. Today has been a nothing day , the train lines where too long so we couldnt get to the Tower. Lauren & myself have Moulin Rouge tonight which should be fun, and disneyland tommorow, Loz is really looking forward to that. Hope you enjoy the photos, more to come.

The three of us

2006-07-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

You can see the three of us, all shanked at this stage from the amount of walking we had done!

One of the greatest views you will ever see

2006-07-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Shot towards the business district of Paris, placed away to the West of the main sights, to preserve the charm of Paris itself. This is perhaps the best shot ive taken on the entire trip.

Infront of the Tower

2006-07-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

You can see the eiffel tower in the background, We will climb that in the next few days!

The Champs-Elleyse from the Arc

2006-07-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

One of the worlds greatest views. You can see that it was rather dark when we up on the Arc, we got down at 10pm, There was a massive storm which didnt help matters.

The unknown soldier

2006-07-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

A memorial for Soldiers lost in World war 1, beneath the Arc, it burns forever long.

The Arc De Triomphe

2006-07-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the great Arc, with Lauren & myself standing beneath the arch.

its Johnny Depp

2006-07-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

The crowd was for the appearance of Johnny Depp, as it was a Pirates 2 premiere. Ben has got some excellent footage & photos of it all.

A crowd

2006-07-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

There was a massive crowd, half way up the avenue, we had no idea what it was for.