Doug & Jodie

Last weekend Doug and I caught a train out to Peterborough (eventually, we missed the first one). We were off to visit Katie Wilkinson, a good family friend of Glory’s who had spent many years in Australia and a long time at Yagaburne and often goes back to visit. Katie now had 4 boys and runs a riding school at her house, ‘Glapthorn Manor’ in Glapthorn village. Katie and her friend Stephen picked us up and we drove straight to the races at Newmarket (the July track, as opposed to the neighbouring Rowley Mile). Newmarket is the home of British horse racing and driving around the village we noticed the grand houses and horse studs with elaborate gates and signs out the front – it was all very beautiful! At the races the rain poured on us but after a lovely lunch and drink in the member’s tent the sun suddenly appeared and the day turned out to be beautiful! We spent our time between the pre- show arena, the showing arena and the track front. We had only 1 bet and lost, for the horse we were confident about we didn’t make it to the bookie in time. But it was a lovely day in the sun and Katie and Stephen seemed to know a lot of people, the track itself was so green with the old English trees surrounding the pre-show arena and the white painted stands at the track it was just really quaint and pretty, like you would imagine the races in England to be. From the races we went for a drive around the countryside to see the ‘Gallops’, the open fields where riders have free space to take their horses galloping, apparently at 5 in the morning it is a sight to be seen with all the studs riding there.

Later we ended up in Cambridge and were overwhelmed by the beautiful colleges along the river Cam. So much history and beautiful architecture, makes you want to go back to Uni! There was a wedding being held on the grounds of King’s College, we stuck our heads inside the courtyards of Trinity College, took a punt along the river after a drink and went past all the colleges including St. John’s. We learnt a lot about the history of the colleges from our ‘punter’. By this time it was about 8pm and the light was so beautiful along the river, it was so nice to sit back and take it in. Then we headed out for dinner at Browns and finally back to Glapthorn and Katie’s gorgeous 500 year old manor house!

Katie’s house had a gorgeous old kitchen with terracotta tiles and old oak beams in the ceiling, the spare bathroom had a huge wooden door and the rest of the house was full of history. At 5am we were woken by Katie’s son (Michael) coming home from the pub with his mates, they were singing old footy songs and one of them decided to drive home and backed into an old stone wall and split it. It was hilarious listening to Katie trying to whisper loudly at him from the second floor telling him to shut up. That day Doug and I set off for a walk through Glapthorn village then on to Oundle village, we passed lots of thatched cottages and lovely stone churches. Then we returned to the house for a lovely roast lunch with the family, Stephen and Katie’s mother-in-law. After lunch we caught the train back to London. A lovely weekend in the country with lovely people.

A couple of weeks ago now my cousin Rose came and stayed with Doug and I. Rose had been on a summer holiday throughout Europe with her school friends and had spent the last week with her Grandparents in Berkshire. She was visiting us to do some ‘shopping’ and ‘drinking’! It was lovely to have her stay, the first night we took her for drinks along the river and then came home to make Gyoza wraps and drink champagne. The second night I realised what my Mum went through with us when Rose didn’t get home until late and I couldn’t sleep worrying about her. The same happened when Fi visited last year. It was lovely to see Rose though and I am always amazed at how she has grown up since the days when I used to hold her as a baby!! She is definitely a related to me – boy she can shop!

This last week had been the warmest I have ever experienced in London and it has been fabulous!! It is amazing how everyone comes out of the woodwork when it is like this. During the week Doug and I made the most of the weather and ate out on the south Bank near Festival Hall, Friday night I had cocktails with Yumi and Laura at B@1 while Doug was out with his workmates – everyone is frantic to enjoy it because it is inevitable that the weather is going to shift!

Saturday Doug and I caught the train out to West London and Kew Gardens, the village surrounding was so quaint and the houses of the rich and famous just gorgeous. Kew Gardens themselves were very pretty, lots of hot houses and old manor houses and manicured lawns and tiny lakes with swans – such a lovely day in yet another of London’s fantastic Royal Parks, undoubtedly London’s best feature.

Sunday we headed up to North London to Highgate on a mission to visit Highgate Cemetery. 150 years ago London commissioned 6 cemeteries to be privately built as the churchyards couldn’t keep up with the death rate. Highgate Cemetery became the most fashionable cemetery to be buried in. One German Jew (Julieus Beer) who was very wealthy and successful was never accepted into London social circles because his wealth was a result of his commercial business and not by birth – so his tomb is at the highest point of the cemetery ‘looking down’ on London and the roof is lined with gold, at the time he paid £5000 for it – equivalent to 3 million today! The whole place was so eerie but beautiful, it is overrun with wildflowers, vines and trees not manicured at all just mysterious and romantic in a way. It was definitely a place worth visiting!

Given today was the hottest day yet, we headed up Highgate Hill to a pub for lunch in the beer garden – a feast of steak and Pimms and beer later we headed home to our little flat on the Thames to prepare for another week of life in London – this week: Rose my cousin will be visiting, I am going out to dinner with the girls from work on Thursday then Saturday we’re heading up to Cambridgeshire to stay with Glory’s friend Katie who is taking us to a ‘posh’ race day!

Last week was a hectic one for me (Jodie). After getting up at 4am on Wednesday for a 7am flight to Warsaw for a client meeting, enjoying a bottle of wine and some traditional Polish food in the old town square post- 4 hr meeting, I arrived home at 11pm that night! Then rose again at 6am the next day for our flight to Pisa and our long weekend away in Italy – my all time favourite country!!

Arriving at Pisa airport we were greeted with sunshine and warm breezes – neither common on a British summer day… we boarded the train at Pisa airport and literally went around a bend 150m long and arrived at Pisa Centrale station where we had to change trains – we could have walked faster! After a scenic trip through the country and some helpful advice from a local we changed trains at La Spezia for our last train to Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre is translated as ‘Five Lands’. Along the Italian Riveria which lies between Genoa and La Spezia lies 5 tiny villages which fit snugly into the cliff side and are framed by terraces of crops, mostly vineyards, and front onto the gorgeous Mediterranean ocean. If you arrive from the south like we did, the villages in order are Riomaggiore, Manorola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. We stayed at Vernazza which we had been told was the most picturesque. The little train took us through endless tunnels cut through the mountains then directly alongside the coastline. We arrived in Vernazza and found a pizzeria on the harbour where we soaked up the sun and London became a distant memory. Then we donned our backpack and headed up the steep winding steps then through the terraces and along part of the coastal walk between villages before we found our B&B high up on the cliff top!!! Over the 4 days we certainly walked a lot of stairs but the benefit was being completely away from all the tourists and when lying in our old Italian stone house all you could hear was the ocean below and the crickets chirping. The place was run by a crazy cat lady who loved to chat to us over breakfast about her love of the resident cats and Australian movie stars!

After a kip the first afternoon we headed to the village and found a great restaurant way up near the turret overlooking the ocean and the village – here we enjoyed some great wine and booked ourselves in for dinner the following night. Later we strolled/hiked home full of wine and Galati! After another great sleep we set off the next day along the coast walk which links all 5 villages, in total this is supposed to take 5.5 hours to walk from the first to last village but given Doug’s recent surgery we opted just to walk from Vernazza to Monterosso – little did we know this was the most challenging part of the walk. The views were absolutely spectacular and the weather perfect! In Monterosso we had a fantastic seafood lunch and more gelati before catching the train home. After another nap we headed back down the mountain to our dinner reservation and some more fabulous food and wine overlooking the Med and the colourful village. The most striking thing about these coastal villages are the colours, all the buildings are painted different bright colours and the contrast in so pretty.

The next day we set out by train to the second village Manorola then walked to Corniglia which was relatively flat until we arrived at the base of the cliffs and had to climb 300 or so steps. Here we enjoyed some more great food in the tiny main square then caught the train home for yet another well earned nap. Back in Vernazza we found a lovely flat rock (in the absence of sand) and enjoyed the sun then a quick dip in the ocean. That night we headed into town and stood in the harbour listening to live music being played on a small stage then found a little restaurant tucked in a back alley before gelati dessert sitting on the water’s edge.

The next morning we caught the train back to Pisa and walked through town, across the river and to the Leaning Tower of Pisa!! We took the traditional tacky photo of us holding up the tower and then quickly ducked out of the square to escape the ridiculous crowds. We really are now on the hunt for the least touristy destinations but they are few and far between these days, perhaps our next trip to the Sth of France and a visit with family friends in a remote village will be relatively tourist free. After our last fill of Italian food and plans for a detox when we returned to London we headed back home.

We took Friday off in the hope of enjoying Prague before the weekend (and hopefully the tourists). This was not to be. The Czech capital is an absolutely lovely place to visit, but this may have been better 20 years ago. The number of tour groups and general tourists was staggering. Jodie has wanted to go to Prague for ages, we’ve been talking about going since we got here, so the expectation for Prague to deliver was high.

We spent Friday walking around the main part of town, visiting the churches, cathedrals and clock towers. We took a stroll over Charles bridge, before heading up the hill to Prague Castle. We took a brief tour of the castle and headed toward the gardens. Jodie spotted some birds of prey, so we walked over to see what it was all about. It was basically a falconry display. We took some photos and heard about each of the birds. That night we went to Kolkovna, a restaurant chain owned and supplied by Pilsner Urquell. The meal was really hearty, served in a big flat bowl. It made me feel like I was in a 14th century inn, I was just missing some bears skins and a broadsword.

We spent Saturday in Karlsteijn, which is about an hour outside of Prague, by train. The main attraction was Karlsteijn Castle. The town seems to flow down from the castle like a river. The town is quite cute but I’m sure it would have been a lot cuter before tourism hit it. We went for a short tour through the castle, which is quite limiting as the proper tour needs to be pre-booked, to see the replica crown jewels and the top tower of the castle.

It was nice to get out of town… we’ve decided to do more of that in future travels. Sometimes the big cities and tourist areas are just too crowded and over done!

We tried to head into town for a local meal, but the small restaurant we wanted to eat in was full. We walked around, trying to find somewhere to eat, that wasn’t too crowded, or filled with tourists. We passed a pizza place, not too far from the main square. This was probably the worst pizza place in… umm… the world ? The music was playing a radio station, which played nothing but gangster rap. They failed to bring us drinks, and the bottle of wine we ordered took forever to come out. I had almost finished eating before it eventually came. Euro 2008 has been on for the last 2 weeks and Hyundai was sponsoring a big screen and some other promotions in the main square. We spent the rest of the evening watching the game, sampling some of the beer and eating ice cream.

We left on Sunday and headed home for London. I really enjoyed Prague, but that was probably due to being on a holiday with my wife. I’m sure it would have been a better place to visit some time ago. Unfortunately, like all European cities that offer so much history and charm, they are a draw to all tourists. We’ve slowly come to the conclusion that the smaller places, far from the crowds are where we are happiest when travelling.

Last weekend Doug and I set off with Gareth and Kris to Belgium. We met after work at the new Eurostar station at St. Pancreas and enjoyed a relaxed, airport-free, no waiting in transit for hours journey by train, to Brussels. On the train Kris and I drank a bottle of champagne and played Uno (as you do) while Doug and Gareth checked out the bar carriage… In Brussels we transferred to a local train and arrived in the beautiful Bruges at midnight. Our hotel was situated right in the centre of town; out of our sloped/attic room window you could see all 3 of the cathedrals – one right next door. These cathedrals kept us entertained with their constant bell ringing – the Carillion actually played Frank Sinatra’s ‘I did it my way’ on bells.
The next day we ventured through Bruges, this city is so small and easy to get around. We found hidden alleyways and gorgeous bridges over the canals, amazing wrought iron crosses in the church yards… We eventually found the two main squares, Markt and Brugs Squares. The Town Hall is in Brugs square and there were queues of cars with gorgeous Belgian brides waiting to be married – everywhere there were brides and photographers – the Flemish have great style. Finally we found somewhere off the Markt Square for a croissant and coffee. After breakfast I did some shopping, they have stunning jewellery in Belgium. Then we took a canal ride throughout the village, sitting in the sunshine – it was lovely. Afterwards we stumbled across a great chocolate shop – in a side street which was much cheaper than the major ones. We grabbed a few truffles then headed to the Half Moon Brewery for lunch in the beer garden – stews and Flemish cheeses plus of course, beer. After, Kris and I left Doug and Gareth to do the brewery tour and we walked through town, did a spot more shopping and then headed home for naps. A few hours later the boys arrived back feeling jolly. We headed for ‘t Brugs Beertje, Bruges’ most famous pub, tucked away down an alley and with over 250 beers on offer. Here I managed to spill a half glass of Strawberry Beer down my whole front – white top and all! Kris and I headed back to the hotel for me to change and returned for an Apple Beer instead. Then we walked to the North side of town and truly away from the tourists to Tom’s Diner, recommended by the trusty Lonely Planet as a local favourite. We had to come back in an hour, so enjoyed a local band playing in a pub nearby and drank Geneva shots. Tom’s Diner had the most amazing food and the desserts were heaven!!! Such a great place, the ceiling was miles high and the walls and stairs were a rustic timber; it had a huge fireplace and a great atmosphere – highly recommended.
The next day we found a cafe for waffles then climbed the Belfry Tower of the cathedral in Markt square (366 steps and not much room to move) at the top were more than 25 huge bells and a stunning view of Bruges. Then we went back to our chocolate shop and stocked up, headed to the train and left Gareth and Kris in Brussels for the afternoon (they couldn’t get an earlier train) and we took a lovely, relaxed journey back to London. Bruges is definitely one of my favourite places in Europe now – simple, sweet and fun (beer, chocolate, shopping, frittes and aioli!! You can’t go wrong!).

For my birthday last year, Jodie bought me a Drivers Dream Day voucher, to drive an Aston Martin DB9 and a Bentley Continental GT. So, after a bad nights sleep in a small B&B near the race track, we drove our hire car to Bruntingthorpe rack track and proving ground. After registration and some additional insurance, I was ready to go.

Firstly, I had to jump in a Subaru for a familiarisation lap around the track. The track splits into 2 on the back straight. A section with a chicane and a long straight, to be used if the instructor has confidence in your driving.

I had a to wait for my turn in the Aston, but the time flew by, and I was ready to go. Jodie was worried that I didn’t look too excited leading up to the day, but once I was there I was like a 5 year old. I stood for a few photos before jumping into the Aston. The instructor gave me a quick run down on the car before we set off.

Aston Martin DB9 Facts :

All alloy quad overhead cam 48 valve 6 Litre V12
Rear mid-mounted ‘Touchtronic 2’, six-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wire control
19’’ alloy wheels, Front: 235/40 ZR19, Rear: 275/35 ZR19
Max speed: 186mph (300km/h)
Max power: 335kW (450bhp) @ 6000 rpm
Acceleration : 0-60mph 4.7 seconds
Max torque : 570 Nm (420 lb.ft) @ 5000 rpm

On to the laps… the car was like nothing I have ever driven before. It was really easy to drive and precisely finished in every way. I went round the track, pushing the car as much as I could (or felt safe to do). After one lap the instructor was happy to let me open up down the back straight, and in the blink of an eye I was at 150 mph (240 kmh). Another lap around and I took it down the straight again, trying really hard to push it as fast as it could go, but I simply ran out of race track, and had to brake to turn into the closing bends. Seconds later I was back in the pit and beaming with a huge grin.

Next, I had the Bentley. This car is much bigger than the Aston, and at 2385 kg, it’s not a light car. Thanks to the amount of power it produces, the weight issue is quickly overcome.

Bentley Continental GT Facts :

6.0L, twin-turbocharged W12 engine.
6-speed automatic transmission
Max Speed : 195 mph (314 km/h)
Max Power : 552 hp (412 kW)
Acceleration : 0 - 60mph 4.6 seconds
Max torque : 650Nm, 479 lb-ft @ 1600rpm

It was a great drive, but it was a lot more work to try and make it perform like the Aston. Because the car is so heavy, it has ceramic brakes, which means the brakes don’t get too hot and lose performance. When accelerating down the back straight the car felt like it was pushing the whole seat forward, and never let up. I ran out of road before I ran out of power.

During the day, an anouncement was made for pay-and-drive customers to sign up for a 3 laps for the price of 2 special… Jodie said I should have a go at driving something else. I chose to drive a Ferrari F430 Spider.

Ferrari F430 Spider Facts :

4.3L, V8 Petrol Engine
6-speed automatic transmission
Max Speed : 197mph (315 km/h)
Max Power : 360.4 kW (483 hp) at 8500 rpm
Acceleration : 0 - 60mph 3.6 seconds
Max torque : 465 N·m (343 ft·lbf) at 5250 rpm

The Ferrari handles like a go-cart. It had paddle shift, which was fun to drive. I overtook a few cars driving this car. I had better handling around the slower corners and managed to overtake a Lamborghini Murciélago and out ran a Lotus Elise on the back straight. While the Aston is still a dream car for me, the Ferrari was so much fun, as it bounced around corners with amazing grip. It’s really weird to be in a V8 that revs up to 8500 rpm… and who can dismiss the sounds it makes as it screams for a gear change heading out of the chicanes.

I had a fantastic day, all thanks to my wife and some high octane action !

Here is a gallery of photos which have been taken by our friends. As we receive more photos this gallery will be updated.

Our honeymoon was in the Maldives, at Coco Palm (Dhuni Kolhu - Part of the Baa Atoll). We arrived in the evening, and caught a bus to the nearest hotel (about 200m away), as the sea plane only flies during daylight hours.

We woke up and had breakfast at some un-Godly hour before being shipped back to the airport, for our flight to the island. This flight was on a little 12 seater sea-plane. We landed near a small floating sea-dock, before being taken by Dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat) back to the island. The singing trio which visited each of the restaurants during dinners, was there to greet us with their signature “Welcome, to Coco Palm” song. (Jodie hasn’t stopped singing it yet).

The resort was lovely, and very walkway was sandy and soft under our feet. We would soon realise that we wore our shoes the day we arrived, and then not again until we left. All the restaurants and bars had sandy floors, so no shoes we needed.

Out room consisted of a large four poster bed, the usual couches and chairs, but he bathroom was outdoors. A wall ensures it was private, but it had to showers, one was a normal everyday house shower, the other was an open air shower set in an outdoor bath. In front of the room / villa there was a fresh water plunge pool to cool down in. About 10m of sandy path separated us from the permanent umbrella and beach chairs where we spent most of our time. All through the surrounding foliage, especially around dusk and dawn, we could hear and see the hermit crabs moving about. The foliage also housed lizards and in the evenings fruit bats.

The water, which was crystal clear, was a few metres away. The start of the coral was 5m in front of us, which meant we could take a cool dip and see the amazing sea life right in front of us. Each day we tried to keep active and take walks around the island, all the while watching the rays and small sharks that swam in the knee deep water (nothing to worry about folks, all harmless).

Our other activities included a sunset cruise, which was complimentary as part of our honeymoon package. Also, as part of the package, was a dinner at the Cornus (thai) restaurant. We also decided to take a private dinner on a remote island, where Jodie ate lobster for the first time ! I had a couple of dive on the reefs near the island. The maldives was formed from volcanic activity, so a lot of the reefs fall away into the deep, blackness once you leave the reef surface.

We spent most of our days lazing around and visiting the cocktail bar on the beach in the evening. We ate in our room for 2 of the nights, but spent most nights in the Cornus restaurant. The other restarant called the Cowry, was a little more mainstream, and we found most of the other guests dined there. We ate there once, and decided not ot eat there again, except for the fantastic buffet breakfasts.

We had a fantastic time, in fact it was brilliant ! We didn’t want to leave, but eventually we had to, and the day came where we had to make our long journey back to London.

After the wedding we had a day in Singapore in between flight. Darren kindly offered to put us up in his place. Jodie has flow through Sing a few times, but never really visited the place. I took her to see just a few of the sights. We caught the MRT to the famous Orchard road and strolled around… however, unless you have some business in Singapore, there’s really only one thing to do… SHOP ! We perused a few of the malls, before taking her to Lucky Plaza for a some electronics shopping fix.

After we picked up a new phone for Jodie, and some supplies for the camera, we headed to Clarke Quay for lunch. We ended up having Japanese on the river… the Singapore river.

It was typically Singapore, around 30 degrees and humid. We headed back to Darrens before leaving for the airport… and Male !