tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-168886162024-03-14T00:34:39.700+11:00Finger on the Pulseany news/stories worth telling will be found right hereUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-75159804301310612592007-11-27T07:54:00.000+11:002007-11-27T08:07:59.519+11:00so we're all married now....well its been 2 weeks now since our big day. Lots of photos & video footage has been coming through. Some of the best shots are linked below for all to see:<br /><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody><br /><tr><br /><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/BeforeTheCeremony"><img src="http://lh6.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/R0qnURIbH8E/AAAAAAAAA9M/y379CU4YmFc/s160-c/BeforeTheCeremony.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td><br /><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/OurWeddingCeremony"><img src="http://lh5.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/R0qpgBIbIRE/AAAAAAAAA9Q/SPncGa4hjmI/s160-c/OurWeddingCeremony.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/BeforeTheCeremony" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Before the Ceremony</a></td><br /><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/OurWeddingCeremony" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Our Wedding Ceremony</a></td><br /></tr><br /><br /><tr><br /><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/BridalPartyPhotos"><img src="http://lh4.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/R0qrMxIbIlE/AAAAAAAAA9U/d00v-M3c6Cs/s160-c/BridalPartyPhotos.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td><br /><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/OurWeddingReception"><img src="http://lh6.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/R0qsfRIbI-E/AAAAAAAAA9Y/H3t8lt0a1Bs/s160-c/OurWeddingReception.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/BridalPartyPhotos" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Bridal Party Photos</a></td><br /><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/OurWeddingReception" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Our Wedding Reception</a></td><br /></tr><br /></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-2891799687294473032007-06-12T08:06:00.000+10:002007-06-12T08:50:50.730+10:00Wedding Arrrrrrgh to be hadPhotos from Tim & Gib's wedding:<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com.au&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com.au%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmcintyre.al%2Falbumid%2F5074926400906938305%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="192" width="288"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-12440032752297720622007-05-07T14:16:00.000+10:002007-05-07T14:22:13.545+10:00Collins' birthday 07Good work collins on organising dinner out in Turramurra. For a lot of us, it felt like we were in the middle of no where - not used to the lack of bottle shops not being opened :)<br /><br />Great to see Lev, and a few other reg's who havent shown their face(s) in a while. Good to see the doctor is spending his money... still waiting for graham to get going with the luxury car purchasing...<br /><br />a few photos taken anyway from the evening.<br /><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mcintyre.al/CollinsBirthday2007/photo#5061303995162487442"><img src="http://lh4.google.com/image/mcintyre.al/Rj1dKuvs6pI/AAAAAAAAATg/UohmGBwe5Vs/s144/IMGP1250.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mcintyre.al/CollinsBirthday2007">Collins birthday dinner</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-14251829846586370902007-04-11T10:27:00.000+10:002007-04-11T10:30:33.325+10:00riads are funIts been some time since the last post, and even longer since the last video production. So without further ado, click on the video and check it out!<br /><object height="350" width="425"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Hh7WTdxzJI"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Hh7WTdxzJI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-80689235777429195742007-02-27T22:29:00.000+11:002007-02-27T22:35:15.139+11:00Mudgee revisited<div align="center">This time round, we took both Lisa and my parents with us to check out Mudgee; we did some scouting of possible ceremony options, possible photo opportunities, possible accommodation, and finally possible drinking options during the weekend in November.<br /><br />Was a very productive weekend, and we went away with 2 dozen bottles of wine (well thats how many we bought) - a few got drunk over the weekend, so we did end up back at home with a few less.<br /></div><div align="center">Click below for photos<br /></div><div align="center"><div style="FONT-SIZE: 83%; WIDTH: 194px; FONT-FAMILY: arial,sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><div style="BACKGROUND: url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left 50%; HEIGHT: 194px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/MudgeeFeb2007"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN-TOP: 16px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" height="160" src="http://lh6.google.com.au/image/mcintyre.al/ReH8BgsvUhE/AAAAAAAAASA/c6p0G-0dEhc/s160-c/MudgeeFeb2007.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/MudgeeFeb2007"><div style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #4d4d4d; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Mudgee Feb 2007</div></a><div style="COLOR: #808080"></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-25668532332823009892007-01-29T07:48:00.000+11:002008-12-10T14:17:34.074+11:00Imogen is here!It finally happened over the weekend - Georgie gave birth (I believe it was around 9.53am Sat morning) to a beautiful baby girl. We were lucky enough to go and visit them at the hospital on sunday.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/Rb0ML56csrI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xlMVQHRRJGw/s1600-h/IMG_0131.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/Rb0ML56csrI/AAAAAAAAAOo/xlMVQHRRJGw/s400/IMG_0131.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><em>How many regulators can you fit into a hospital room?</em><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/Rb0MMJ6cssI/AAAAAAAAAOw/D2R3OorJkFk/s1600-h/IMG_0132.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/Rb0MMJ6cssI/AAAAAAAAAOw/D2R3OorJkFk/s400/IMG_0132.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em>Happy parents</em><div style='clear:both; text-align:NONE'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-24708025927951740452007-01-20T09:10:00.000+11:002007-01-20T09:31:07.279+11:00trip down southI was lucky enough to get to go down to melbourne for IBM's summer camp. It turned out to be quite a large event, with around 700 people attending from Aus/NZ IBM. The bonus was that the Australian Open was going to be the following week, so Lisa, my parents, Donna and Jeremy also came down on the sunday to watch the tennis.<br /><br />It was a great 10 days down in Melbourne, getting to catch up with Lev/Della, and meeting their new baby boy Jett. Also got to see a 2.5 yr old Kai, although not sure if he fully recognised us from when we last met (which was March last year).<br /><br />Some other people we hadn't seen in some time was Pete, who was our old flat mate from London. Was great catching up with him, and he was an awesome host, driving us around and showing us some of the sights of Melbourne. Sat night, we headed out to dinner with Sarah and Alistair - hadn't seen Sarah in several years, so was great to catch up with them as well; they took us to an awesome thai bar/restaurant cnr of Collins & Swanston. Food was awesome, and they had a massive beer menu - a big plus in my books.<br /><br />The culinary delights didn't end there though - Lisa booked my family into Movida; a Spanish tapas restaurant off Flinders St. Food there was awesome - in particular, the rabbit meat balls.<br /><br />And as a final surprise, Donna had tried to book us into 15 (Jamie Olivers restaurant) back in Oct last year, but they were fully booked 6 months in advance. We get a call on monday morning heading to the tennis - they were on the waiting list, and the waiting was over. They had a table for 6 available for monday night. It was a tasting menu; we had A1 seats (see photo below), and the food was off a very high standard. Although doing the food/price value test, I would say it would be average, as the tasting menu was $90. But as Jeremy pointed out, the money does go to a good cause.<br /><br />Anyway, to the photos -<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14075.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14075.jpg?size=400" border="0" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">At Lev/Della's place in Carlton - the new Jett (with Kai's hat)</span></em></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14086.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14086.jpg?size=400" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Della & Kai out at lunch on Bridge Rd, Melbourne</em></span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14121.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14121.jpg?size=400" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Getting ready for our culinary experience with 15</em></span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14126.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_" alt="" src="http://localhost:4121/a80f8e415f640e0ffc54d9530ad26c97/image14126.jpg?size=400" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>not sure if this is readable, but the menu from 15</em></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-82689922298692977942006-12-31T14:45:00.000+11:002006-12-31T14:46:37.813+11:00Poppy and the Wolverines<p>So with scottie and chico back in the country, we headed off to the opera bar for a few drinks. And then... well... we went to another venue in the city for a bit of fun.. check out the photos - </p><div style="FONT-SIZE: 83%; WIDTH: 194px; FONT-FAMILY: arial,sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><div style="BACKGROUND: url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left 50%; HEIGHT: 194px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/NightOutInSydney"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN-TOP: 16px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" height="160" src="http://lh6.google.com.au/image/mcintyre.al/RZcx9lwdDRE/AAAAAAAAAKE/3bW91mC8IIc/s160-c/NightOutInSydney.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/NightOutInSydney"><div style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #4d4d4d; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Night out in Sydney</div></a><div style="COLOR: #808080"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-45713846910625045832006-12-30T11:21:00.000+11:002006-12-30T11:25:14.006+11:00Where are we for the past 12 monthsI've just uploaded 13 photos onto picasa web. Click the below link to check them all out:<br /><div style="FONT-SIZE: 83%; WIDTH: 194px; FONT-FAMILY: arial,sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><div style="BACKGROUND: url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat left 50%; HEIGHT: 194px"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/WhereAreWe"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN-TOP: 16px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" height="160" src="http://lh3.google.com.au/image/mcintyre.al/RZWxVVwdC-E/AAAAAAAAAG8/GnX5viXQxN8/s160-c/WhereAreWe.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com.au/mcintyre.al/WhereAreWe"><div style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #4d4d4d; TEXT-DECORATION: none">where are We?</div></a><div style="COLOR: #808080"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-62279804388198913532006-12-17T11:28:00.000+11:002008-12-10T14:17:35.801+11:00Arrrrrgh Xmas 2006<div><div>So the 16th Dec was the designated day for the Arrrrrrgh annual christmas dinner. This time, we decided to go for a lunch rather than dinner - location was the Belgium Beer Cafe in the rocks.<br /></div><div>We had a big turnout this year, with (i think) the number hitting 27 attendees. Drinking started shortly after 1pm. A late decision during the week was to take part in the kris kringle - $10 limit, and some rules to do with poaching, which would make the whole affair a bit a more interesting.<br /></div><div>Again, a great day had - And it got better after leaving the belgium beer cafe - we headed to Glenmore rooftop pub in the Rocks... and once we were feeling like eating again, it was off to Sea-Bay - for those who have not been to Sea-Bay, it is an experience. </div><div> </div><div>I've been told that you can't go in there and spend more than $20/person. Its just not possible. We ordered a LOT of dishes, there was food left on the table, and we only managed to rack up $16/person (thats about 6 pounds for our UK readers out there!).</div><div><br />Although the night could have gone on from there (from the original 27 there was about 12 that made it to dinner at sea-bay), we decided on going our separate ways and head home - probably a good decision given the amount of drinking that had occured during the day.Anyway, time for a few photos...</div><div> </div><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzclwdDNI/AAAAAAAAAII/waHGg8kSoMY/s1600-h/IMGP1137.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014111063899966674" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzclwdDNI/AAAAAAAAAII/waHGg8kSoMY/s400/IMGP1137.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Joe "the Butcher" with his sample of beers (and sausages)</em></span> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzi1wdDOI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/DJnjRxw7-xQ/s1600-h/IMGP1176.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014111171274149090" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzi1wdDOI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/DJnjRxw7-xQ/s400/IMGP1176.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Joe was the lucky recipient of the 'pirate' kris-kringle present</em></span> </div><div> </div><div> </div><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWznlwdDPI/AAAAAAAAAIY/l5UqyLV00z8/s1600-h/IMGP1182.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014111252878527730" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWznlwdDPI/AAAAAAAAAIY/l5UqyLV00z8/s400/IMGP1182.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>The Arrrrrrgh boys on the glenmore rooftop</em></span> </div><div> </div><p align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzXVwdDMI/AAAAAAAAAIA/cHrnE6XsrG0/s1600-h/adam_savage.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014110973705653442" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RZWzXVwdDMI/AAAAAAAAAIA/cHrnE6XsrG0/s400/adam_savage.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>With Matt's current beard, the resemblence with Adam Savage (Mythbusters) is uncanny</em></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-48791146709747671992006-12-12T07:35:00.000+11:002008-12-10T14:17:36.220+11:00You should see the other guy<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RX3BfdF0VeI/AAAAAAAAABI/zJ1QQJRUPzc/s1600-h/IMG_0129.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007371106834994658" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RX3BfdF0VeI/AAAAAAAAABI/zJ1QQJRUPzc/s320/IMG_0129.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RX3Bf9F0VfI/AAAAAAAAABQ/HrYKZ8HgkL8/s1600-h/IMG_0130.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007371115424929266" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RX3Bf9F0VfI/AAAAAAAAABQ/HrYKZ8HgkL8/s320/IMG_0130.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(note: ok so it really isn't that bad. It was really from an elbow to the eye during basketball. Still, I've been playing the bad boy card for the last couple of days)</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-7837031085396341252006-12-05T21:56:00.000+11:002008-12-10T14:17:37.402+11:00Regulator Xmas 2006<div align="left">well - a late change in date meant that there was little preparation for this years annual regulator Clifton Gardens Xmas party. It was a big weekend on the regulators social calendar - ziggy and jodie had their house cooling down party on friday night; Damian & Bonnie invited us all around to visit their awesome place under Mooney Mooney bridge up the coast sat night; and of course, the annual xmas party on Sunday.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">So what happened then - </div><div align="center"><ul><li><div align="left">the weather forecast for the weekend wasn't looking so sweet, and it rained most of saturday; it cleared up sunday, but was still quite overcsat and windy</div></li><li><div align="left">Lisa and Graham got rammed up the ass on the F3 heading up to Collins' place. Basically, cars in front of them braked - they braked. The car behind them unfortunately did not brake as quickly. We now know that our Magna has an ass of steel as the car behind was quite totalled on its front, with the Magna just having a few scratches</div></li><li><div align="left">Bonnie & Damian introduced us all to Taboo - did the whole girls vs boys, and of course the boys won convincingly (by 1 point anyway)</div></li><li><div align="left">Sunday's events were moved to Georgie's parents place - gave us a good plan B as we did not know what the weather would do, and it was good to be back in familar terrority again</div></li><li><div align="left">Kris Kringle, with its alternate 'present opening strategy' went off smoothly in the end - however, before that, there had been many numerous/wasted discussions about how it should all work</div></li></ul></div><p align="left">So yeah, it was a pretty fun weekend - Dan took some photos, which are below....</p><p align="center"><em></em> </p><p align="center"><em><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5004997108791212306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RXVSWlNbeRI/AAAAAAAAAAU/GxDgGvSPwjE/s400/DSC02879.JPG" border="0" />Lisa showing her stuff on the pool table</em></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5004997108791212322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RXVSWlNbeSI/AAAAAAAAAAc/a67YdiJe84Q/s400/DSC02900.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Collins telling it like it is</em></span></p><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5004997117381146946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RXVSXFNbeUI/AAAAAAAAAAs/mlvB3AE1c-s/s400/DSC02916.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Santa & Jon</em></span><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5004997113086179634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dy12Q8jSmZM/RXVSW1NbeTI/AAAAAAAAAAk/5qvkm4ztplg/s400/DSC02855.JPG" border="0" /><em>Big Poppa Arrives</em></p><p> </p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-71651363841173632912006-11-27T22:00:00.000+11:002006-11-27T22:09:48.107+11:00were backWe finally moved back into our unit in Artarmon 2 weeks ago. A big thanks to those who helped out (especially my mum who helped out on the Friday). Just a couple of photos from our living room with some of the new purchases we had made while overseas...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/4904/2061/1600/555509/IMG_0128.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/4904/2061/400/478628/IMG_0128.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Moroccan Rug in our Dining Room</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/4904/2061/1600/886032/IMG_0126.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/4904/2061/400/754947/IMG_0126.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Santorini painting on our feature wall</span></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1162709604345727742006-11-05T17:29:00.000+11:002006-11-06T09:16:32.041+11:00party at the Jude's<div align="left">Well, what a great day/night we just had. For our overseas/interstate folk who weren't able to make it to the engagement party, thought we would share a few photos and stories.<br /><br />Firstly, big thanks to the awesome hosts - Lisa's parents, Brendan and Carol. Tahlia and Britt (Lisa's little sisters) also played a big part in helping to set everything up - I think everyone was in agreeance that Britt did a great job with her mum in putting together the engagement (cup) cakes.<br /><br />The caterers (grinners, based in Camden) turned up at about 6pm, and set themselves up in a nice little section out of the way. think we went with the right option with platters of food being served out, and everyone seemed to be happy with the selection.<br /><br />Then came the alcohol - Brendan basically said that he hates to go to a party and the alcohol runs out mid way through the evening. Well, that turned out to not be a problem at all with plenty of excess to last the family well into the future.<br /><br />We had a little photo slideshow going with our makeshift projector/screen setup, along with the ipod playing DJ for us - and although we did fear having 75 people in the house (as well as the rain coming down pretty much all day), we managed to comfortably fit everyone into the backyard - big thanks to Dave and Georgie's massive tarp that gave us that extra room.<br /><br />The speeches made by Lis, Stu and Brendan were all different and all well appreciated by everyone. A few jokes, a few well told stories and a few tears always makes for a good occasion.<br /><br />A big thanks again for all that did make it on sat night - hope you all had as good a time as Lisa and I did.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; width: 194px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 83%;"><div style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mcintyre.al/LisaAlEngagementNov2006"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/mcintyre.al/RU1gQUzjABE/AAAAAAAAAGo/khM-4usQG6c/s160-c/LisaAlEngagementNov2006.jpg" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0px; margin-top: 16px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mcintyre.al/LisaAlEngagementNov2006"><div style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">view photos from the night</div></a><div style="color: rgb(128, 128, 128);"></div></div><br /><p></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1159867678889745092006-10-03T19:23:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.989+11:00Festivus fun<div align="left">well, the swans may not have won, but we still managed to have plenty of fun at Graham and Dan's place over the weekend.<br /><br />Festivus did take its toll on Sergio, who had to retire early at 8pm. The 2nd day of festivus did bring about a successful result for the broncos. Goof way to let Webcke retire.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Image003.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Image003.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Cheah admiring the hosts cooking ability <br /></span></em><br /><br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Image004.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Image004.jpg" border="0" /><p align="center"></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Sergio & Nuggets ensuring festivus goes well</span><br /></em><br /> <br /><br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Image001.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Image001.jpg" border="0" /><p align="center"></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;"> Singing the anthem during the AFL</span></em></p> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1159180049437575302006-09-25T19:32:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.926+11:00Naxos, Greece<div align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/naxos_sept2006-19.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/naxos_sept2006-19.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/naxos_sept2006-39.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/naxos_sept2006-39.jpg" border="0" /></a><em> Lisa enjoying some quality red wine<br /></em><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/naxos_sept2006-42.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/naxos_sept2006-42.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1159176751693665872006-08-31T19:26:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.863+11:00Athens<div align="center">Some photos taken while in Athens....<br /><br /></div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Athens_Aug2006_086.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Athens_Aug2006_086.jpg" border="0" /><p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>Shell, Lisa and Al at a seafood ouzerie<br /><br /></em></span><br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Athens_Aug2006_101.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Athens_Aug2006_101.jpg" border="0" /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>"where are we" - on top of the Acropolis, Athens</em></span><br /><br /></a> <br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/Athens_Aug2006_159.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/Athens_Aug2006_159.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1156527654840985152006-08-26T03:39:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.802+11:00Da Amalfi<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/canon_aug23%20013.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/canon_aug23%20013.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/canon_aug23%20104.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/canon_aug23%20104.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/canon_aug23%20136.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/canon_aug23%20136.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/pentax_aug23%20017.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/pentax_aug23%20017.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1156527233130381782006-08-26T03:32:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.738+11:00Roma Photos<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/aug14_aug18_canon%20208.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/aug14_aug18_canon%20208.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/aug14_aug18_canon%20254.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/aug14_aug18_canon%20254.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/aug14_aug18_canon%20292.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/aug14_aug18_canon%20292.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/1024/aug14_aug18_pentax%20050.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/aug14_aug18_pentax%20050.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1156441070737505862006-08-25T03:36:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.673+11:00By the Sweet Sorrento Moon18th August – Rome to Sorrento<br /><br />An earlish start, check out of our very attentive Rom-antique Hotel and get on a 2 hour train to Naples. Once there, we needed to find our way to Circumvesuvia train line and there we would find our train to Sorrento – easy yes? Well sort of, there is very little signage so we were told to just follow two other tourists who had asked the tourist office the same thing we did, how do we get there. We just hoped they heard the directions correctly or didn’t stop to go to the bathroom or we could look odd waiting for them. Found the train line and the letters above our train info DIR seemed we would get there very soon. However, in Italian I guess DIR means every single stop not direct as one might have thought. So it was 40 stops to Sorrento and we were still smiling as we were on the way to the beach! 20 min into the trip and I feel some very old hands on my arm pulling me to the other side of the train and a very angry old Italian yelling. Seems I was in his path to the door and he suffered from a condition which meant he couldn’t go around me. Al did his best to keep me calm but I still got in a “Ciao asshole” as he left the train.<br /><br />We arrived in Sorrento safely and without being man handled again. When we got out of the train station though we must have suckers written on our forehead cause we were quoted 20 euros for a 10 min taxi ride to our hotel and we took it! Still can’t believe we said yes.<br /><br />We stepped into Mami Camillas and the day was looking up. A little family owned hotel just on the edge of Sorrento. First stop was the beach which was a bit of a walk ... down. Sorrento in perched on cliff tops and to get to a beach (no sand really just water but who’s counting chickens) we had to walk through a cool path they had through the cliff face. After a quick swim I had a date with a cucina (Italian for kitchen). I had signed up for the evenings cooking class. Our teacher (Massimo), two other girls and I were going to cook dinner for the staff and Mami’s guests. On the menu was Arancini balls, homemade pasta with tomato and eggplant, pollo with cream and mushroom sauce and lastly Neopolitan chocolate sponge cake. I didn’t stop smiling the whole time I was in that kitchen, it was the most fun I had had all holiday.<br /><br />That night Al and I ate with the rest of the hotel and enjoyed the meal I had helped cook with some local vino.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1155838382228259992006-08-18T04:04:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.607+11:00RomaLast night in Rome tonight. Then off to the Amalfi. When we first arrived into Rome, it was quite a difference to the other cities we had visited thus far in Italy.<br /><br />The number of people trying to scam you (or at least sell things on the streets) seemed to multiply some what. But, all that aside, it was still great to visit all the famous landmarks that it is known for.<br /><br />A quick rundown of our 3 days here:<br /><strong>Aug 15th</strong> - we left Florence at around 11am, with a fairly easy 2 hour train ride. Got into Rome, to feel the humidity sap all the energy straight out of us. The hotel that Lis had found (RomAntica) turned out to be a nice little place, just a short 5 min walk from the main train station; good work hon. We were only 2 metro stations away from the Colosseum, so thats were we headed.<br />Saw the large lines, then some tour company approached us and asked if we wanted to join. Normally €12 to get in, and they were asking €20 so we thought - deal! After the colosseum, checked out the Forum.<br /><br /><strong>Aug 16th </strong>- Headed into the centre of town to visit a few of the other key sights; Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and numerous piazzas (they love their piazzas over here). Lisa mentioned that its becoming very clear why wogs back home love to put concrete all over their backyards!<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Aug 17th</strong> - From our tour of the Colloseum, we decided to try the same tour company with their tour of the Vatican City. Met at the metro station closest to St Peters at 8.15am. Nice and early start. Downside was the past two days the Vatican had been closed to the public, so every tourist and their proverbial dog were there that morning.<br /><br />We queued up for 2.5 hours! Suprisingly went quite quickly, although fitty people inside made it quite stuffy and claustrophobic.<br /><br />Sistine Chapel, and the St Peters Basicalla were as expected, the highlights. And our guide turned out to be quite informative, which always makes the time go quicker.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, pizza is calling.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1155630759109925112006-08-14T18:11:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.417+11:00Milan to Rome<strong>10th August - Milan<br /></strong>We arrive in Milan MXP airport (50 km out of Milan!) and make our way to our hotel. Al is very frustrated as this is the first city we have come across where maps are not free and he is forced to pay 3 euros for one. After that our hotel is located and we head staight for the Duomo and to do a bit of shopping for Donna's birthday.<br /><br /><strong>11h August</strong> <strong>- Lake Como/Venice</strong><br />Up at 6:30 to get to (insert name of church here) to see The Last Supper and head off to Lake Como. Then get the 4 o'clock train to Venice! Again Al is frustrated that he is asked to pay for a map ("I remember a time when maps used to be free!") so refuses and asks the information girl to direct him to the hotel. She musn't of liked him because her directions couldn't have been more vague. After wandering the streets and finding a very nice local who phoned the hotel on her mobile to get the right directions we off to a great start in Venice. The saying, bad dress rehersal, good show must be right because Venice turned out to be my favourite city in Europe. Each corner we turned we were amazed at how beautiful everything was.<br /><br /><strong>12th August - Venice<br /></strong>Happy Birthday Donna! I am going to need Al's help to remember what we did this morning because it is alraedy a blur! Earlier that day we had passed an Opera Hall and decided to get some tickets for the Venitian Opera. It turned out to be a great night.<br /><br /><strong>13th August</strong><br />Checked out of the hotel at 9:30 and head straight for the train station to book our tickets to Florence, lucky we did because the earliest train we could get was at 1.30pm.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1155399985391184732006-08-13T02:25:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.147+11:00Barca<p>So much to say here, but only 1 min on our internet... will have to edit this later!</p><p><strong>7th August - Barcelona</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>8th August - Barcelona</strong></p><p><strong>9th August - Barcelona</strong></p><p>Birthday celebrations were at hand, and Lisa did a great job at making the day go so well. Started off with a quick stop at the food markets just off Las Ramblas. Dman, they were good! plenty of fresh fruit to be had, and we managed to even get a fry up.It was then off to one of the city beaches. No waves, but plenty of sun, and the water was remarkebly refreshing, so made several hours of the afternoon go very quickly.Back to the hotel for a quick change before heading off to Park Mojito (to be fixed later), were we enjoyed a nice walk around and some great views of Barca as the sun came down.We did make reservations for Los Caracoles (thanks chico for the recommendation), and this is were we found ourselves at around 9pm. The restaurant was buzzing, and had a good atmosphere to it. Definitely was a great way to finish the day off.</p><p>next stop - Milano </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1155400914387537552006-08-12T02:40:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.219+11:00San Sebastian<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/span_more_canon%20017.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Lisa with the beautiful San Sebatian beaches in the background</span></strong></div><br /><br /><strong>2nd August - San Sebastian</strong><br />As soon as we arrived in San Sebastian, we new that we would have a great time. The old town was great with a different Tapas bar at every 2nd store. Lisa and Dan were loving all the clothing labels around - I knew this was a good thing, as it meant beach time for me :)<br /><br />The hostel that we stayed at was Pension Amariur, which was a recommendation from our old flat mate Josie. And it was tops. Apart from being in a porn location, the friendliness of the staff and the cleanliness of the rooms meant our stay was extremely enjoyable.<br /><br />We hit the tapas bars that night - not really knowing what to expect. Think we got ripped off in 1 or 2 places. Mainly because we decided not to pay straight away and trust that the bar man had a good memory. The other times we gave tapas a go, it turned out a whole lot more successfully.<br /><br /><strong>3rd August - San Sebastian </strong><br />No breakfast included in the Pension, so we headed out. We tried to rip off a not very smart waiter. But he was faster then us, and we couldnt get away. Hit the beach... well, I did, while Lisa and Dan hit the shops. They soon worked out that Siesta time was in full effect, so their shopping turned to be more wondering around, but still a worthwhile cause.<br /><br />Not wanting Tapas, we thought Paella was the go. With a recommendation from our hotel staff, we headed out to a place on the other side of the river. Turned out they dont do Paella any more but we still took some awesome sunset photos (see below) and then headed back to the old town for Paella.<br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/span_more_canon%20047.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Al & Lisa on bridge at sunset</span></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><strong>4th August - Biarittz </strong><br />It was time to head out of town and check out some more of Basque country. Decision was made to head towards Biarittz, and all 3 of us were very happy with the decision, with me getting some much needed beach time, Lisa finding a bikini top, and Dan buying a new t-shirt. Not to mention, having a great lunch (although we weren´t too happy with having to fork out €7.50 for a coke each!), and admiring a bit of Southern France at the same time.<br /><br />[photo here]<br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">"where are we" in Biartittz</span></strong> </div><br /><strong>5th August - San Sebastian </strong><br />The KLB would be reunited today, and Dan and me headed to Bilbao airport to go pick the little filo (Chico) up. He was very excited to see us, and plenty of stories to swing both ways happened throughout the weekend.<br /><br />We headed up to some place with a good view (wheres chico when you need him to remember the name!) and had a few KLB reunion shots.<br /><br />It was then back down to check into the hostel - one issue with being in the old town was the lack of parking, so €18/night was the order of play for carparking. We all headed to the beach (even Dan this time), and all enjoyed the sand, water and waves. Oh, and there may have been a few tops missing from some ladies on the beach as well, but I wouldnt know about that.<br /><br />Finally, the day was topped off with a fine dining experience at Arzak, Spains number one restaurant. Lisa will bring her thoughts to the table at a later time - hopefully with pictures...<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/span_more_canon%20044.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Lisa and Dan at a resturant not serving Paella</span></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3998/1125/400/span_more_canon%20038.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><strong>6th August - Barcelona</strong><br />With a big night last night, it was time for a bit of a sleep in, and then a plan was decided that we would drive Dan and Chico to Heneye, which is just across the border in France. Mind you, no border police at all to be found... Heneye really didnt seem to have much going for it, so we settled for a little cafeteria and some cheap food.<br /><br />Really not much to write about, especially with our meal, as I think some of us were still full from last nights meal (think Lisa counted 17 courses in total). We loaded Chico and Dan up (thanks guys once again) with all our Marrakech purchases and said our goodbyes.<br /><br />It was then a bit of a drive back to Bilbao airport. Only sour note was to be hit by the Eurocar folk for a new scratch on the side of the car. Probably was us that did it, as we did touch a few curbs in 1 or 2 car parks... but what can you do.<br /><br />We arrived in a fairly humid Barcelona and the info desk at the airport provided all the info we required to get ourselves to our hotel.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16888616.post-1154795994671585682006-08-06T02:22:00.000+10:002006-11-05T18:19:18.081+11:00on the way to San Seb<strong>31st July - time to depart Morocco</strong><br />Even though it was 1st class on the overnight train from Marrakech to Tangier, it still proved difficult to find a way to sleep comfortably throughout the night. It didn´t help that there was several stops with people getting on/off the train every few hours; we managed to arrive 1 hour past the scheduled arrival into Tangier (arriving at 8.30am). Then it was straight off to the ferry port where we saw a ferry about to leave in 30 min.<br /><br />Cost €40 for the ride, and with 30 min you would have thought no probs to get past passport control. We thought we were cutting it fine, but the ferry was running on Spain time, so it all worked out in the end (Al did manage to get into quite a fuss in the passport queue though).<br /><br />That night, we stayed in Malaga in a really nice hostel (Picassos corner). Malagas vibe was very cool and it was a shame we only spent one night there. Managed to visit the Castello in the middle of town and get some great photos from there. Somehow managed to find a taxi at 5am to take us to the airport.<br /><br /><strong>1st August - Costa Verde</strong><br />The flight from Malaga went smoothly and we found our selves in Santiago De Compestella. Picked up the car and drove into town. Checked out a few sights (big ass church that had plasmas within - a sign of the times perhaps). With having no hotel to stay this evening, once at Santiago, this was one of our first priorities. We managed to pick a hotel near Gijon, which should have been about 4 hours drive away from Santiago.<br /><br />On the open road, some very beautiful scenery, and we did decide to go for a few scenic roads, which meant that our 4 hours, became a bit more like 6. Our main problem was entering into a city, then having no idea how to get out of it! guess it may pay to have (better) maps next time we embark on a driving expedition.<br /><br /><strong>2nd August - Costa Verde</strong><br />We left Alvires and headed on the road towards Basque country. The drive continued along some very beautfiul seas side and green hills - plenty of bridges, hills, valleys, beaches were passed, and all looked like they would provide a great relaxing getaway. We made it to San Sebastian in the afternoon... we learnt very quickly that fitty one way roads can make navigating the streets there a bit hectic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0