Mt Snowdon

I had heard rumours that there were actually mountains South of Scotland. I didn't beleive the rumours myself, so Kris, Dean and I set out to put an end to them. We was wrong.

On the Saturday morning we drove up to Liverpool to check out the nightlife with the intention of hiking up Mt Snowdon the following day. The idea was that Liverpool looked quite close to Mt Snowdon so we would be able to get an early start and make it to the summit in time for elevensies. Our plan came undone early Sunday morning about 3:30am when we stumbled through the door and realised we wouldn't be leaving early after all. Ooops.


Snowdonia national park is at the Northern end of Wales and is absolutely stunning. With the snow capped mountains on either side you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Scotland, New Zealand or Canada. By the time we made it to Mt Snowdon, parked the car in the nearby town and got to the start of the hike we had about 5 hours of sunlight left - not enough for a summit attempt but enough to make a go of it anyway. The hike was brilliant and definately recommended to anyone looking for an easy weekend escape from London.



Some more photos here!
... and....
even more photos here!

Malta

Ok, first of all - Malta is not Cyprus. There. Now that that's been taken care of we can get on with it.


Last bank holiday weekend in 2008 Lou and I finished work early and jumped on the next plane to Malta. It was hard not to immediately like Malta, we arrived into the warm balmy night air - something I'm yet to experience in England. After a cheap yet eventful cab ride into the city we had just enough time to check-in, grab a nearby bite to eat and sample the local brew before finally checking out the promenade and heading to bed.


Opening the blinds in the morning seemed like a good idea until it seared a permanent view of the harbour into my retinas for the next week. It was bright. And hot. 33 degrees hot! This set the standard for the remaining 3 days we were there. Giddy-up! After a shitty breakfast we got the harbour ferry over to Valetta - the old town - for a look around. The city had a lot of character with a moorish influence that seemed to ooze history. We checked out St John's co-cathedral which had the most lavish interior of any cathedral we could recall. After a quick lunch break we jumped on a yellow bus and headed for Dingli in search of Dingli cliffs. It wasn't really until this point that we realised how small the island actually is - we knew it was small but we couldn't put it into perspective until we started driving around.


After a semi-successful cliff finding mission we got a party-bus back into Mdina - a charming town built on top of a hill in the center of Malta where every restaurant and pub seemed to have great views of the entire island. After some beers, cheese and antipasti we headed back into Valetta to take a look at the other side of town from the top of Upper Barrakka Gardens and were rewarded with some spectacular sunset views of the harbour. We did one more lap of the town by night before heading back to the strand to checkout the parade and other festivities that had been going on all weekend (fireworks all day during the day - who does that!?). The grand finale at midnight involved some crowd pleasing fireworks that had been placed up and down the street on frames that spun around threatening to set everything nearby on fire.


On Sunday we spent the entire day aboard the yacht Fernandes which took us sailing up and down the island stopping at various coves and harbours. The highlights of the day were the stop at the Blue Lagoon and taking a speedboat ride to explore some nearby caves. Being fed and watered all day by the staff wasn't bad either. =)


On Monday we started early(ish) to try and fit in a few more sights before our late-afternoon flight. First stop were the ancient temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. The Blue Grotto was within walking distance (and was downhill to boot!) so we headed there next where we got a tour of the many coastal caves. The Blue Grotto was the biggest and had an arch that must have been at least 50 meters high - very impressive. All the sightseeing was hard work so we decided it was time for a swim in the absolutely perfect water. By the time we got back to Sliema we had just enough time for a harbour cruise before heading for the airport.


Malta has it all going for it - friendly people, interesting culture, a tonne of sights, perfect weather and some of the nicest waters I've swum in. On top of that it's pretty easy on the wallet with flights being the only expensive part of the whole trip. Definately one to recommend.


You can find heaps more pictures here!

Back to business

It's been awhile since this site got updated. Inbetween holidays, computer problems and my own slackness I notice I haven't posted anything in almost 6 months!? So I've got a bit of a backlog that's be going to go up over the next month or so. Watch this space.

Japan

We recently spent three weeks in Japan. Two weeks were spent travelling around Honshu and Hokkaido and a week was spent snowboarding in Niesko. Our top five highlights are:

1. Sumo

For the first time in five years two grand champions fight it out on the final day of the Tokyo New Year competition and we were in the audience. What more could we ask for on our second day in Japan? You can watch the bout here!

2. Kyoto

Geisha, numerous temples and kobe beef. So much to offer. It was our favourite city of the whole trip.

3. POW

POWER TO THE POW!!! Japan is famous for its powder and it didn't disappoint us in Niseko. Well the first day was absolutely awesome but after that, pure heaven!!

4. Shinkansen

No better way to travel! Fast, punctual (and we mean to the second on time) and comfortable.

5. Onsen

Traditional Japanese baths. Probably the cleanest, nudest most relaxing way to bathe and wind down after a long day of snowboarding or sightseeing.

Full write up (be warned it's long)!

And of course......... LOTS OF PICTURES

If our pic's aren't enough you could always check out those taken by Pen & Kris or Anna & Adam !

Overall Japan was one of the most amazing places we have ever visited. So much so we are already planning the next trip. Japan now comes with a Rob and Lou’s Highly Recommended Stamp of Approval for Being a Fucking Amazing Place TM!

Sayonara!