Tag Archives: vacation

#27 Get Upgraded on a Flight… (again! YAY!)

23 Jun

After an extremely busy 10 days in the US (Atlanta for a friends wedding and Miami to visit friends) it was a lovely surprise to be upgraded to premium economy for our red-eye from Atlanta to London.

Premium economy was actually better than I thought it would be. With seats reclining much further than economy and extra leg room it was much easier to get some rest. Sometimes I think that Nick could sleep standing up, but I never do well on planes without about five of those mini bottles of white wine. Only one glass needed with premium economy! British Airways, our jet lag and my liver thank you!

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#23 Go parasailing

26 Aug

Tenerife. Canary Islands. Spain. Nothing Spanish about it really.

But that also means that we get to take advantage of all the touritsy activities that make up this mini Britain away from Britain! So, parasailing. I first did this when I was about 12 and I remember it being the most relaxing and carefree experience. I even did it by myself.

Cut to 2014 and I convince Nick to do it with me tandem. I also forgot that Nick didn’t love heights.

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I didn’t feel as comfortable this time… was it the height? Was it the mature understanding of mortality and being 100m above sea? Or was it Nick asking questions about what would happen if the rope snapped or our harness broke or a big gust of wind came or the parachute collapsed?

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Anyway, we made it back down to a more civilised height and the driver had a surprise for us. Dragging us through the water! When I did this when I was 12 I was gently dipped into the water up to my knees, the water was a little cold, but it was funny and I remember enjoying it. So check out what happened this time…

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Hold onto your pants, people! We survived… but you might not!

#12 Road trip through Italy

26 Aug

SIGH! This feels like two lifetimes ago now. Since we travelled to Italy for a friend’s wedding in July 2013 we have also been to Barcelona, Tenerife, Amsterdam, Athens, and traveled around some Greek Islands and Italy still is a strong contender for our favourite holiday ever (Except for you, Naples! Your pizza may be amazing but that doesn’t make up for the nightmare that you were!).

We found out that Nick was going to have to move back to the UK and he left Australia within weeks meaning that we hadn’t seen each other for five weeks when we were reunited in Rome.

Ah, Roma! 35+ degree days never ending history and amazing architecture.

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We spend three days eating gelato and just generally getting lost. It was the best three days seeing each other after five weeks!

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So a few days in Rome and we were off to Naples! Lets not dwell on the negative… but in a nutshell we left an iPad, a watch, some sunglasses (see watch and sunglasses in above pictures on Nick) and cologne poorer… thanks to the hotel cleaner! Anyway, the usual to say about Naples. It was exactly the same as I remember when I was 15. Dirty, rough, but strangely fascinating. Both times I’ve been there have been concerning situations with cab drivers but both times the pizza was very good. Basically, couldn’t wait to leave.

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We even paid for a taxi outta there! A 100 euro taxi! When we got to the train station there were no working ATMs to get money out for the train tickets, there were little gypsy kids begging for money, putting their hands into your pockets and eying off your luggage. We finally got tickets and got to the train platform to find more gypsy kids walking the platforms and squeezing onto packed trains and standing next to tourists with open pockets who were distracted with all their suitcases… GET US OUTTA HERE! (Obviously we just had a bad experience and are a little bitter about it! I’m sure Naples can be fantastic! Let me know your experiences and where would have made it a great place to visit!)

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Ah! Cruising the Amalfi Coast in our air-conditioned taxi! We were FINALLY on holiday. Positano, ti amo!

Positano is just the most romantic and beautiful place. The food is stunning and the views even more so. It’s quiet enough to relax, but there is enough to do to keep you busy. There are a few (albeit pebbles as hot as my straightening iron) beaches to relax on, lots of restaurants and bars and plenty of shops to max out your credit card in. You can also take day trips to surrounding island like Carpi (this was a particular highlight for us and Capri was just as I remembered it 15 years ago!). Have I already mentioned the food? Well, who cares because I’m mentioning it again. WOW!

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Nick tore me away from Positano kicking and screaming and we were off to our friends wedding in the small but beautiful town of Arpino. This town isn’t a tourist destination and most of the locals don’t speak English.

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Proseccos all round and we are celebrating in the local town square. The poor bar didn’t know what hit them with 100 tourists piling in drinking them dry. We probably made them their rent for the whole year that night! One thing that I have to say about Arpino – the best pasta dish of my life was eaten here. We watched the pasta made fresh in front of our eyes and the ingredients were so simple. Don’t laugh, but I still think of that lunch to this day. As my Dad would say “I would walk over hot coals for that”!

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Post wedding hangovers didn’t help our mini bus journey back to Rome the next afternoon and the idea that our holiday was over in a couple of days made it even worse 😦

#6 Snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef

9 Nov

During our stay on Hamilton Island we had a day to relax on the beach and just generally laze about. We spent a bit of time on Catseye Beach and noticed that you could hire snorkel gear for the day.

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For $15 each Nick and I both hired a snorkel, mask and fins and made our way out to two orange buoys about a hundred metres out. The buoy on the left is where you could apparently see turtles and the one on the right was swarmed with fish around coral.

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It was quite shallow most of the way out and took a while to get all the way out there, but it was definitely worth it. We headed out to the right and eventually came across quite a small patch of coral but was filled with beautiful colourful groper and angel fish.

We then decided to try our luck at finding a turtle. Not far from the first buoy Nick signaled for me to look down and there one was! A huge turtle slowly walking along the white sand on the ocean floor! Sadly we didn’t have an underwater camera (Note to self: MUST buy a GoPro!) but he looked something like the below photo, and he was HUGE!

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We didn’t have much luck once we reached the other orange buoy. We swam around for a while and after finding nothing we decided to head in. After powering into the shore with our fins, Nick popped his head up and pointed down again. Another huge turtle! He was so fast that he was out of sight after only a few seconds and Nick tells me that he almost collided with it underwater.

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Nick then spent the next few hours laughing at my mask marks on my face. Ha!

#1 Ride a jet ski

8 Nov

We have just got back from a fantastic two weeks in Australia. Two weeks of sunshine and warm weather! Living in Australia allows you to have an extremely active and outdoor lifestyle – something that I’m already missing in London. However, Sydney will be the last thing on my mind when Nick and I are spending the weekend in Prague or Venice!

For Nick’s 30th birthday we decided to book a long weekend on Hamilton Island which is just off the Great Barrier Reef and it was perfect. 30 degrees every day, clear aqua water, great restaurants and a beautiful apartment with reef views.

When you stay on Hamilton Island you can be as relaxed or active as you like. There are endless day trips around the Great Barrier Reef, scuba diving tours, snorkeling tours, kayak hire, boat hire and our favourite… jet ski hire!

We hired two jet skis, one driven by Nick and one by Dave (Nick’s Dad). I was on the back of Nick’s which was probably for the best as it turned out to be quite an upper body workout! Also at $220 per jet ski for an hour tour around the island we would have been broke!

After a fairly short briefing of hand safety signals and how to drive the jet ski (apparently full throttle is the best way to drive!) we were off on a game of follow the leader. Nick and I were first in line as we were the only jet ski with two people on on this tour.

We were both pretty surprised about the speed and power of these machines… at first you feel like you are going to fly off but you get used to it and learn to hold on tight. It is quite an exhilarating experience and we reached an average of about 50 – 55kms/h. Doesn’t sound like much but out on the water it feels like double this. Especially when you hit the waves of passing boats. In some areas around the island the water was so choppy that we were getting air every couple of seconds. Made me wish I wasn’t wearing a strapless bikini!

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To be honest, I’m not sure that I would have been able to control the jet ski under those conditions so I was impressed with Nick’s ability to keep it on the right path and not throw us off… until…

Half way through the tour we rotated positions and we were last in the line. Following the path and wash of eight jet skis wasn’t easy! Nick was able to correct an almost out-of-control jet ski a few times. It couldn’t have been easy with me as an extra weight on the back! Unfortunately (but in hindsight it was kinda fun) we had a guy in front who decided to quickly snake his jet ski for the last 10 minutes of the tour causing a huge amount of small waves for us. We did eventually come off as it is impossible to stay straight… however, the water in north Queensland is about 25 degrees so quite pleasant! It is easy to climb back up on them and off we went and shortly back into the marina.

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It was definitely worth the experience. I’m glad I wasn’t driving and I’m not sure the 12 year minimum age for drivers is high enough but maybe kids have less fear than us 30 year olds and don’t mind flying off at high speed!

If you’re ever visiting Hamilton Island we would recommend doing this activity… or anywhere actually! Just remember to hold on tight or prepare to get wet!

#27 Get upgraded on a flight

4 Aug

To be honest, this is one that I never thought would happen, but it is probably one of the ones that I wanted the most. Nick doesn’t really understand what the big deal is, but us Australians are so passionate about our travel and go such long distances to get there that it is like winning the lottery. The travel lottery. You see, a business class return ticket from Sydney to London will cost you about USD 10,000 (Damn Australia’s thriving economy and high salaries).

Nick and I are in the process of moving to London. He has already made the move and I still have a few weeks in Sydney to tie up a few loose ends. Following our recent Italian holiday in July, we had to part at Rome Fiumicino airport. On top of an emotional goodbye, I had a long 26 hours in transit. In economy. The farewell was difficult, but I’m sure a few of those tears were in sympathy for the pain my neck and back would endure in a chair more uncomfortable than a concrete bench.

By the time I walked back to my check-in gate (after saying goodbye) my face must have looked like a thousand bees had stung it. Puffy and red-eyed I was still sniffling a little bit. The lady behind the counter obviously took pity on me because she lent forward and whispered those magic words “Miss Davies, Emirates would be privileged to upgrade you to business class for your journey”.

I’ve flown business class once before, so I knew what a brilliant result this was.

Priority boarding! Glass of Veuve Clicquot upon arrival! A flat bed to sleep in! For 26 hours!

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Emirates offers a full menu with celebrity chef created meals. A fantastic wine and liquor selection and a full cocktail menu. Feel like a mojito 35,000ft in the air? Not a problem. Another glass of Veuve? Don’t mind if I do!

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Who wants to balance their head on a blow-up travel pillow when you get to rest your head, horizontally, on a plush full size cloud!

Even though this wasn’t something that happened together, Nick told me that his flight from London to Rome was up the front of the plane in a larger chair than usual… so I’m counting that as an upgrade to business class also 😉

Moral of the story is, if you aren’t going with the honeymoon story for an upgrade… just shed a few tears, and you never know!