Wardy’s Travel Blog

Bye bye to my friends

It is always sad when someone says good-bye… Especially when they are good friends and they are heading back to the other side of the world.

My great friends Drew and Liz are about to leave these wet and dreary shores for the sunshine and warmth of Melbourne.

During my 26 months here they have been two of the most supportive and thoughtful friends anyone could ever wish for. I shall miss them dearly but I know that one day (soon-ish) our paths will cross again.

Well for Drew and I it will be next weekend as we head off to Lyon (France) to watch the Wallabies play Japan in the Rugby World Cup… Then the weekend after when we head to Cardiff in Wales to watch them play the Welsh…

i suspect that this time will be fuelled by many beverages and laughter… As always!!!

Some more from me…

it looks like winter has finally left the Northern Hemisphere - this part of it anyway! The trees are in full bloom, the days are long and the sky is blue… If it was 15 degrees warmer and about 70% drier it could be Oz!

I have added to my array of sites and have added myself to the world of Myspace and Facebook. The links to these are in the links section on the righthand side of the page!

Anyway… last week I went to Kew Gardens and relaxed with Drew, Liz, Lou, Gabby and Meg. had a bbq and played badminton at a friends place, played tennis and about to embark on a Jack the Ripper tour of London!

Speaking of which… if i don’t get out of bed now then I will not make it….

CIAO!!!

Love to all
Ian xx

Cmon summer

The end of the great northern winter is nigh for 2007. Let´s party and celebrate!!!! After a couple of false starts (we regressed to snow a couple times) Spring has sprung. Let’s get really optimistic and put our clocks forward an hour… England and Europe are now officially in Summer time: time wise anyhow.

The most amazing thing about the clocks going forard forward is the smiles that suddenly appear on the faces of the English. And rightfully so… England in summar is lovely. Everything is green (ish) and bright and lush… just like the days growing up when Australia used to get rain. Remember those days???? The daffodils are in bloom. The trees are blossoming and the leaves are shooting back into life…

But the start of summer means more than that… much more!

It means that:
- Rugby league is getting ready for the best exposition on the great game: State Of Origin! C’mon you mighty maroons!!!
- I am gettting closer to anther holiday - Poland next week!
- Le Mans in only 10 weeks away - taking a week off for this one!
- Cricket is coming back this way… OK… after the Aussies and Saffa’s belt each other out of the park in the final of the World Cup.

hmmm…. Summer = Sport

How Aussie is that… no matter where you are in the world… to an Aussie summer always means sport….

Enough ramblings for now… CIAO!!!!

A Peachie Parrot Xmas

I know it is a bit late but…

My first xmas in the old dart was spent with a mate from work (Gary Pcach) and his wonderful and adorable kids (Jemma and Ashley Parrott). We spent the day relaxing, eating too much chocolate, opening presents and playing games on the PS2. A great day was had by everyone and I felt honoured to be included into this very family affair.

What I do think is very funny is that we had a nice pleasant day with blue skies and the south of Oz got snowfall!!!!

To top it all off I got to speak to Mum, Dad and some friends as well. Did make me miss home very much!

Oh yeah, for boxing day, we had a wonderful roast goose and veggies… Very nice!

And before I forget… It was Gary’s birthday on the 25th: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY!!!!!!

Ooops… forgot to transfer that money…Damn banks

I am not generally the most diligent person when it comes to checking bank statements etc… But when I was bored today I thought I would do an audit of my HSBC accounts. To my absolute horror I noticed my credit card account was somewhat higher than I had expected. About 700 pounds higher actually.

The money that was removed from my HSBC Savings account 2 weeks ago has apparently not yet been given to HSBC Credit Cards. Oh yeah… believe me here… It takes 3 days to transfer money between HSBC savings and credit departments…

So I got an apology and a promise that within the next 10 days I should receive a phone call explaining to me why they didn’t transfer my money through.

I shall pay a bit more attention to this in the future….

Frankenfurter!!!

I am off to my current second home, Frankfurt, for another week of work. Frankfurt is the German finance capital and quite a lovely city. There is a bit of the old town still around (after it was pretty much flattened during the war) but the new buildings look great.

After that I go spend the weekend with the Paddys in Dublin… To watch the Wallabies!!! Let’s hope that the buggers win!

Oh… yeah… they are predicting snow in Frankfurt on Tuesday! Keep those fingers crossed!!

Cheddar, toasties and childhood memories

As a young-un I grew up having toasted cheddar cheese sangas (called toasties over here) and still fondly think of them on a cold winters day. They bring back so many wonderful memories.

So needless to say I leapt at the opportunity to try the original cheddar cheese from the village of … you guessed it… Cheddar. Tastes much nicer than what i remembered but all those wonderful memories came flooding back with one small morsel. Only could have a small bit because it costs $60 a kilo.

But what a wonderful taste!!!!

No sex please… they’re British

Anyone between the age of 20-38 and planning to come to England to sow their oats better think again. If you are single that is!!! According to a report from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) there is almost a 40% chance that you will not succeed.

Click here for more details: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20648266-13762,00.html

Funny reading…

Happy Birthday Chris!

My other brother, Christian in sweden celebrates his 31st birthday today! Have a great one buddy!!!

Check the links section and you can find some photos and more info on the wonderful lad, his beautiful fiance Anneli and their gorgeous daughter, Stella.

The nerve!!!

Over the last few years the US has come up with some unusual laws and rulings, but their current stance on Vegemite takes the cake! Because of a technicality in the FDA rulebook, some Aussies are being checked for “illegaly” importing the taste of Oz: Vegemite!

The recipe of our favourite spread includes folic acid which in the US is only allowable in Breads! Click here for more info:http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20623973-2,00.html

Such a sad day… is there something we can let them win to placate them into changing the rules? Maybe if Thorpie and Hackett tie their legs together when they swim and let the Americans win more golds…. mmmm