Wednesday, Galway, Ireland

Wednesday, Galway, Ireland (27/04/2004)

A big chunk of time has gone by, many more miles travelled and lots of pints. Here is a run down...

Thursday (Bangor -> Dublin)

From Bangor, Wales we checked out the pier and had a coffee in the tea rooms there. Had another quick scenic walk and the headed off for Holyhead. We stopped in Llanfairpwllgwyngllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch on the way (and you thought I was joking about Welsh places names).



We grabbed the ferry and we were at Gary and Louise's by dinner (and we had dinner cooked for us). Still exhausted though but it was good to catch up with Gary and meet Louise.

Friday (Dublin -> Armagh, Northern Ireland)

We got up early and did some sightseeing in Dublin. Saw more traffic than sights, Dublin seems like a city choking in its own success, just one big construction site surrounded by a traffic jam (with a few scenic bits forgotten about at the sides).

Once we got through the traffic we managed to check out the Book of Kells, at Trinity College which was pretty interesting. Their library would put Hogwarts to shame.

After a pint at the Stags Head, we headed off to friends in Armagh. Again in a traffic jam until we got outside of Dublin.

Early evening we got into Armagh and met with warm greetings. It is great to see everyone again and to see them so well. We got ourselves set up in Christian's flat (with the scooters parked up in Patrick's shed) and then hit the pub (Red Ned's whose owner has a black Retrospective GS, very nice).

Saturday (Armagh)

Started the day with a big ulster fry at Cathline and Paddy's, yum!!! Christian then took us around the Navan fort (ancient capital of Ireland) and the two cathedrals. We then proceded to tour the local pubs (with a brief break back at the flat) till closing (followed by more drinking afterwards).

Sunday (Armagh)

Christian has bought us tickets to see Armagh play Mayo in Gaelic football in Dublin. So we head off down there and have a brilliant day watching Armagh get into the finals 19 to 14. It was a beautiful sunny day too (the sun seems to be following us). That evening we meet up with an old friend BA in the pub.

Monday (Portrush)

It was very sad saying goodbye to everyone . It has been 10 years since I had seen them last and I don't want it to be another 10 before we see again!!!

After saying our goodbyes we hit the road and made our way up to Portrush via Larne (and the coast). Everything was beautiful, sunny but cold. Just before getting into Portrush we checked out Giant's Causeway, doing a walk around the cliffs and rock formations.



In Portrush we dined at the Harborside Bistro and crashed the night at Gillian and Ian's place.

Tuesday (Galway, Ireland)

Everyone in Armagh was telling us to check out the Aran Islands, near Galway. So we decided to only lunch in Donegal and drive through to Galway (the journey helped along by a big breakfast laid on by Gillian and Ian - thanks again guys).

The trip was long, windy but only a few spots of heavy rain (a lot better than what was forecast). On the way we checked out Donegal Castle.

Wednesday (Galway, Ireland)

Now we are sitting on the ferry back from spending the day on the Aran Islands. If you have heard the term "between a rock and a hard place", this would be a good way to describe the island... One big rock covered by smaller rocks and people have been living there for thousands of years. As you would image every thing is built from rock, including ancient fortresses perched on sheer cliff faces. Yes it was worth the visit.



When we get back to Galway, I'll hit an internet café and post this... tomorrow we are off to the Ring of Kerry.



I have to say that the trip has been magical so far, everyone has been so nice to us and we are still on the high from the wedding because of it!!!

Safe and well in Armagh, Northern Ireland

Will add more details later...

We have been spending the weekend drinking and catching up with old friends in Armagh. Great to see everyone again and experiencing the craic. Even got to go to a Galeic football game to see Armagh get into the finals!

Here are more details (add later)...

We went from London -> Bath -> Blueth Wells -> Bangor. Here are a few pictures...


Laura at Stone Henge


Bath (a must see if you are in the area)

Bugger - camera playing up (there was text with the above too - so I will add that later).... and here it is....

Wednesday, Bangor, Wales (20/04/05)

Worked out how to mount the GPS (rubber bands) and found it brilliant. We still got lost, however we always were heading in the right direction so it was not an issue (i.e.taking the high road instead of the low road). Would not tour without a GPS now, it is so much more relaxing (if you have ever tried to remember Welsh town names you will know what I mean :).

The deeper into Wales we got the more rustic the scenery. Hedged roads gave way to stone walled roads, old stone mills and farm houses. The trees look like giant bonzi, twisted into eerie artistic shapes by some unknown force. The weather is cold and overcast, however we have missed most of the rain and the lighting seems appropriate for the scenery.

The plan was to have lunch in Bangor and be in Dublin by early evening. However, the going is slow and we are on holiday after all, so we decided to spend the night in Bangor. We have had a steak diner at the Tap and Spile, walked around the bay and up past the Uni on top of the hill, a very nice way to finish off the day.

The riding has been great but we are exhausted. We are looking forward now to drinking a few with our friends in Dublin and Armagh, and replacing our sore butts with sore heads...

Tuesday, Builth Wells, Wales (19/04/05)

Nice and warm in our B & B in Wales. We were hoping to get to Aberystwyth today but we got lost and ended up driving through Welsh hills along hedge lined winding roads. Not a bad alternative but I need to work out how to mount the GPS so I can use it (so far I have worked out it is pretty accurate even roughly pulling points off our standard travel map).

Yesterday we rode from London to Bath. This is the first time that we have taken the scoots on a real ride and they are perfect. We headed down the M3 and up until Stone Henge, it was pretty much like driving in Melbourne country side. We checked out Stone Henge, which was great (nothing like this in Melbourne).

From then on the countryside got more interesting and hitting Bath just blew us away. Laura picked the town because of the Jane Austin stuff she has seen. We soon found out it was much more than just few pretty back drops... Roman baths, churches, waterways, a LAMBRETTA bar (where we had a beer and did not mention our Vespas). If you are ever in the region go and visit.

Week 1 Blog - London, UK

As you have probably guessed from our previous blog, we are filling our days quite a bit.


Wednesday (13/04/05)

Arrived in London at 5:10am, and got the tube to Turnpike Lane. We started off the day with an English breakfast in the greasy diner across from where I used to live in Brampton Park Road.

We then headed around to Niall's and did some catching up with him and checking out the scooters. Niall has a great shop.



We do a bit of work on our scooters (I also dropped the ring while cleaning my hands and it bounced into the loo). Then Niall took us to see Dave (old scooter friend) at his scooter paint shop. From there we went off, ate lunch and then bought our scooter gear (jackets, helmets and trousers) all very cool and high tech (our helmets have a inbuilt sunglasses which flip down).

Niall then dropped us off at Denise, Annella and Ethan's house. There we are presented with the honeymoon suite, with balloons, champagne. Its great to them all again and we share a meal and some drink at the local Italian restaurant (Rimini).



Thursday (14/04/05)

This was the insurance nightmare day. We managed to cut through some red tape, to sort out the scooters paperwork. We are forever indebted to Niall because without him our trip would never have happened. After much effort we are now able to legally ride the scooters in England.

That night we go to the New Originals scooter club meeting. Met Barry (another old friend) and Peter Moore (author of Vroom with a View). Spent the night drinking, eating Pizza and talking scooters.


Friday (15/04/05)

We decided this would be our sightseeing day. Went into central London and walked around Piccadilly, through Hyde Park to Parliament House. The wondered down the Thames to the Tate Modern. At 3:00PM we caught up with Denise in Soho and then went out drinking and to a restaurant (meeting up with Annella, Ethan and Mark on the way).



Other events of the day included - scooter clothing shop hopping down Carnaby Street, drinking at the alternative pub the Intrepid Fox (which was not full of German tourists as I remember) and taking lots of photos (e.g. Shriek being arrested by police). We decided to leave Monday for Ireland instead of Sunday.

Saturday (16/04/05)

Woke to a big fry-up breakfast. Insurance hassles continued, this time with the europe greencard top insurance that we need... No banks allow us to transfer money to Germany (yes, the only places that do green card insurance for non-residents is outside of the UK and none of them take credit card). Will have to sort this out Monday.

Went down to Niall's and bumped into Natalie (a friend from Australia) and she took us out for coffee (and gave us a camp light for a wedding present, along with some good info on touring Europe). We then headed back to Niall's and spent the rest of the day bolting on our scooter luggage system. We then walked back to Denise’s via a canal walk, with many parts making you forget that you were in a big city.

John and Lynn came down from Leister. So Denise and Annella cooked us up an awesome curry (we have resolved to add curry to our diet when we get back) and we headed off for a night on London.

Sunday (17/04/05)

Got up early and did the canal walk again, to put the finishing touches to our scooters. The weather now is great, which is a good omen for tomorrow when we head off. Blue skys and warm enough for a t-shirt.

Out for diner again tonight, the scoots are parked outside and tomorrow we will be off…

Too busy to blog!!!

Sorry haven't done a proper update, will fill in the details soon, just been too busy...

So I don't forget...

- arrived to a fantastic honeymoon suite thanks to Denise, Annella and Ethan (pictures to come).
- After much gnashing of teeth and enormous help from Niall we got the scooters registered and insured.
- Only other glitch was Paul's ring popping off and landing in the loo while cleaning off scooter juice (we retrieved it)
- Meet up with the New Original's Scooter Club and Peter Moore last night (and got some contacts for Rome)

More to come

We are here - London, UK

We have arrived and are nice a toasty at Niall's house, 13 degrees outside. Will be working on the scooters tomorrow - today is shopping day for new motorcycle gear to cope with the weather :)

Will post photos soon.

Melbourne, Australia - Tuesday - Lat 37 50 S Lon 144 59 E

All packed and ready to fly off to London to start on our first leg...



The wedding was fantastic! It was great seeing everyone and we are definitely starting our journey on a very high note.