pick one : jenny/jenga/jentle/jengi/itchy/jk

boxes

if you have any sturdy boxes lying around or feel like finding some for us, we would be most appreciative of anything you could pass our way.

it's time to begin the packing process. and i'm already overwhelmed. i've never moved house before, besides the gradual move from my parents place to this one. so the idea of packing a whole house and moving it (to location unknown) is a little huge.

mittwoch

there's a few uncertainties in life at the moment. for instance, where we will be living from june 30th. what howie's job might be. that might be it, but they are kind of biggies.

goodly enough i'm not finding myself too stressed or worried. i know God knows that we need somewhere to live. i know He knows that we need money to be able to pay for different needs. i know that we have family and friends who care about us and will look out for us. so the things that i know make me feel ok.

we'll see how i'm going in a few weeks time shall we.

wild!

when we were in dubai and went to wild wadi, we bought a waterproof camera. today we got the photos developed. not bad for a disposable camera.

howie in between slides

me passing under a waterfall

howie about to be shot uphill on a slide

me heading uphill

awww

off i go!

still lagging behind

another unsuccessful night of sleeping. got about 3 hours, then awake for about three hours, then asleep-ish for three hours. yuck.

cmon body! get with the program!

jet lag

sure am not asleep right now.

i was a bit silly and had some extended naps yesterday, because i just couldn't last til 8pm. that means i am awake now, and have been on and off since 10:47pm. whoops.

a few pics to finish it off

ski dubai in mall of the emirates

what will be the world's tallest building (until the next one is built)

the skyline from near our apartment

wild wadi fun!

burj al arab from wild wadi

(and since i'm back on my laptop, all the images are dodgy because of image tricks. boo.)

complete

we are home.

homeward bound

found some free wifi at dubai airport. feeling a little meh about the 14 or so hour flight home. we didn't have a good night's sleep, and so feel pretty seedy already. not a good start!!

but getting home will be good. can't wait to sleep in my own bed!

wild wadi

today we went to wild wadi and i had a great time! we went on lots of waterslides lots of times (in fact all of them except the big scary one), had lots of fun, took lots of photos and enjoyed not feeling hot. the water park is right next to the big burj - that 7 star hotel. so i took some photos of that too. because we can't get wireless to work, photos will have to wait. shame.

dubai is such a crazy place.

howie is off at a shopping centre at deira at the moment. i'm chilling at the hotel. not sure if we're going anywhere tonight. we have a 5am wake up tomorrow to catch a 6am bus to the airport. yay for complimentary shuttle services. and if all else fails, yay for gillions of taxis.

dubai

we've been in dubai for about 17 hours now. a good chunk of that was taken up by sleep, once we finally got to our hotel - a bit of confusion with our airport transfer but all good.

the awful thing is that we can't seem to connect to the free wifi! so here we are in the business centre.

this morning we went to mall of the emirates for a bit of a look around and some grocery shopping. our apartment is kitted out with a kitchen and most appliances, crockery etc. no microwave though.

we're about to head off on a little wander, probably to another shopping centre.

tomorrow the plan is to go to wild wadi, and not sure what else. there are a few tours we could do, but we haven't decided.

it's a kind of nice way to wind down the holiday, just bumming around, catching up on sleep and the like. but also doing stuff in a new place too.

Eigg and beyond

We spent a couple of days on the Isle of Eigg. Back to nature. We did a bit of walking, a bit of climbing, a bit of sitting, a bit of beach cricket, a bit of frisbee... no TV, no internet.

This is on the ferry from Mallaig to Eigg.

The view from our accommodation, which is brand new, and in which we were the first guests.

David, Howie and I went for a walk to the 'Singing Sands' and then decided to walk around the headlands on the rocks back to the beach near our house, as it was low tide. It was good fun, if not a bit slippery at times. It took us over an hour to make it back around.

Then before dinner we decided it would be an awesome idea to climb the mountain behind our place. This is it from the back door.

It was quite a hike, but we did it in good time and injury free. Once at the top of what we could see from the base we discovered it continued, so I kept going further, and Howie followed me for a bit and then waited - can you spot him?

We could see the water on the otherside of the island, and the mainland. I kept going further to see if it got to the otherside soon, but it plateau kept going. I did spot the wharf though

Then we began the careful descent. That's our house above Howie's head.

And surprisingly, no sore muscles the next morning! Although we were all very tired for our day's adventures.

Then yesterday it was back to the mainland. We spent some time on the other side of the island, and then got the ferry. Arriving at Mallaig we found that our connecting train wasn't coming, but a bus instead. It was pretty tight!! We made it to Fort William minutes before our connecting train left for it's four hour trip towards Glasgow. But then that one managed to run 30 minutes late along the way and we missed our second connection anyway. Luckily, Howie's cousin Lynn was able to pick us up from Westerton station at about 12:30am, and we stayed the night at her place in Glasgow.

Now we're at Glasgow airport awaiting our flight to Dubai. A seven or so hour trip that gets us to Dubai at 12:30am. And then two days of who knows what fun awaits us!

Not too long left of our holiday :( But it has been very very good!

loch

we farewelled howie relatives today. we drove to loch ness - didn't find the monster, but took a few photos

we then went to urquhart castle, a ruined castle on the shore of the loch.

here is howie at the latrine

in a spiral staircase

we later experienced our first real rain for this whole trip! fortunately it didn't last too long, and we didn't need to be outside during it.

once we arrived at fort william, we found our b&b for the night (yay for a real bed after four nights on a sofa bed or a sofa bed mattress on the floor) but didn't stay long.

david, howie and i decided to go on the nevis range mountain gondolas - cable cars. i was so brave, and howie only got hit once for rocking it.

the top was quite high! but not too cold. there was a bit of snow further up from us.

tomorrow we are driving to maillig, and then catching a ferry to the isle of eigg, where we will spend two nights. apparently the island only got mains electricity two years ago, so internet is probably a no go! so perhaps we will write again when in glasgow in a few days time, before we fly out. how sad!

toot toot

today was train day!

we drove to aviemore, about an hour away, to go on the strathspey steam railway. when we got there we discovered that it was a diesel, not steam. bummer. but we treated ourselves to first class anyway. here we are in our cabin

it was a nice little 20 mile return trip. there was plenty of nice scottish countryside

and being first class, we got free tea/coffee and shortbread

on our way to aviemore we even drove past the walker's factory and headquarters

after our non-steam train trip, we visited a few shops, then headed into cainrgorm national park. our next train adventure was on the cairngorm mountain railway - a funicular railway that lasts 8 minutes each way. there was snow on the mountain, but it wasn't too cold

here we are passing the other car

and once at the top we went through an exhibition room - the scottish really do say wee all the time

and another shop, and a viewing platform. it was a pretty cool view. a bit more nippy in the wind up there too.

then back down the mountain we went

train day complete.

now we're back in elgin for the night, before heading off to loch ness tomorrow.

we have bought 12 magnets so far - hopefully we'll continue to add to our collection. good thing we're getting a new fridge when we move out. our current one is way too small for our magnetic needs.

relos

yesterday howie and i went for a walk about town. ended up at lady hill, which has a very tall statue on it of some guy who i'm sure is important to someone

we also decided to go for a drive, and ended up at a town called buckie. there wasn't much there but there was a fun park to play in

then today we all drove to hopeman harbour to scatter grandma's ashes in the water. it wasn't too formal an occasion. took advantage of the family being together for a large part, and some photos

cherry and mary

the harbour

the four siblings - douglas, alan, anne and david

up on the breakwall

then everyone kind of divvied up. howie, mary and i stayed in hopeman village for a while - playing in the park and shopping in the post office/general store

go mary!

tomorrow we bid elgin farewell and go on a steam train ride. who knows when next there will be internet.

elgin

yesterday i drove from aberdeen to elgin, where one of david's brothers lives, and where the available howies are congregating this week. it was quite a pleasant drive through the countryside.

we got to elgin, and after some lunch, arrived at douglas and cherry's place. they are lovely people - fantastic house! they will be housing 11 extra people over the next few nights. good on them!

after some time catching up, douglas took david, howie and i to lossiemouth to walk along the beach. it was cold and windy.

douglas and david

some variety of creature had left lots of these on the sand

the beach we were at is just near an airforce base, and we had fighter jets flying over us at regular intervals

we continued further along the coast to walk around some cliffs, and across a golf course. if it's 'real' danger, it must be serious

back at the house we sat around some more chatting, as david's sister anne and her husband richard had arrived. anne and richard were at our wedding, so i've already met them! we had a lovely dinner, and played a game for most of the evening.

today howie and i have wandered a bit around town, and are now at maccas for our internet fix. later today/tonight david's brother alan and his partner joyce arrive, as well as howie's cousin laura and her man robin.

so it will be a big dinner tonight, and some scattering of grandma's ashes tomorrow.

that's the plan anyway.

before the internet runs out

we had a nice dinner tonight at casa gabriele - a lovely italian place just around the corner from our hotel. although we're both very full now.

tonight's plan is to go to the 24 hour walmart a few miles down the road. rocking!

and we say bye bye to the internet shortly - hopefully we'll get some in elgin over the next few days. tomorrow we head off to catch up with more of the family. and meet them in my case.

sun, sea and sand, without the sun

this morning our day began with a trip to balmide beach. as we arrived there was a fun park that we played in for a little while

we then continued along the boardwalks up to the top of the dunes to overlook the beach and the north sea

we didn't touch the water, because it would have been freezing, but continued back along the wheelchair boardwalk so we didn't have to climb back up the dunes - lazy!

from there, we drove back to the hotel via avis at the airport to confirm that three of us are drivers with the car, and dropped off mary.

david, howie and i continued on to duthie park, where we walked around and then through the winter gardens, which are indoors. i had an icecream, howie attempted to

we continued out into the country side along the river dee. it was very pretty. we got some lunch in banchory and then decided to visit dunnottar castle near stonehaven. i drove the big car for the first time which was fun.

dunnottar castle - "one of scotland's most impressive ruined castles"

it was very misty, windy and cold. but that added to the atmosphere!

we had a great time wandering around the grounds. there were plenty of rooms to walk in and around, stairs to climb, windows to look through, dark hidey holes... it was a tops find

can you even spot howie in here?

this was funny

after we'd exhausted all the castle had to offer, we hiked back to the car and continued back to aberdeen. i drove us into the city and back to the hotel. we parked and then walked to M&S to meet Mary and an old lady called Charlotte who was a friend of the Howies when they lived in Aberdeen when Howie was little. She was a cool old lady.

Howie and i then meandered up union street, the main street, and back to the hotel. we're now making sure we make full use of our 10 pound internet before it runs out later tonight!

oh, and this is a sign on the back of our hotel room door

happy mothers day!

i hope all the mothers out there have a wonderful mothers day full of expressions of appreciation and love!

lots of love to my Mum, my two Grandmas, and my mother-in-law aka MuMary.

to husband's birthplace

This morning we decided to stop in at the Perth visitor centre to get us a magnet. It wasn't open on weekends. No visitors allowed. As fortune might have it, we headed back to the hotel to retrieve forgotten items, and were told of Scone Palace, which has a gift shop.

So we headed a couple of miles north, and lo and behold came upon this palace in lovely grounds. We decided to have a look around.

There were these amazing peacocks near the front entrance - at least four of them. They occasionally gave beautiful shows

Inside the Palace we walked around looking at old stuff and photographs. It's still lived in, so it was a bit strange to be looking at family photos from the something hundreds, as well as last year.

we spent up big in the gift shop - much more than magnets.

then it was through the grounds, past the chapel...

and the carpark to the maze. it was good fun! everyone found their way out except me. i had a little help from above (robert on an overbridge directing me!).

can you spot howie?

we continued on to aberdeen, and got here around 1:30pm. after checking into our hotel (which disappointingly charges 10 quid a night for internet - ba baow), we went for a walk around town. we grabbed some lunch, and ate it in a cemetery

we walked on through the first real shopping malls we've seen so far in the UK, through to the streets where the Howie's used to live.

this is a cute road sign

tomorrow we'll be taking in more of aberdeen. the town that produced the man i'm married to.

you can see a few more pics here.

tick another one off

we've made it to scotland. i think that makes country #19 for me.

we're staying in perth tonight before heading to aberdeen tomorrow.

so the last few days...

for joshy, in blockley in the cotswolds - happy birthday buddy!

walking the walls in york

at the national railway museum in york

howie's beloved flying scotsman in a gillion pieces

for tom, in kendal

we stayed last night near ulverston, at howie's cousin's families house. it was the first time for me meeting christopher and lynne, and their kids abigail and alistair. although they are on our fridge, and we are on theirs! after a bit of catching up and dinner, we played rounders outside til at least 9pm!

today we drove through the lakes district and went for a walk at tarn hows

after a few hours of driving on motion-sickness-inducing roads, we continued on into scotland!

hoorah!

tonight we're thinking dinner will be room service - we're all pretty pooped.

urban...rural

we headed off to tower hill for a light rail ride. we discovered it's driverless and good fun.

the little stations were cool, and the trains really frequent.

we tubed it back to our hotel to start our journey out of the city

we drove to oxford, and did some car swapping at oxford. we have two cars for a few days, and then plan to go back to one again. this is 'our' one... still to get a name

we also got some lunch in oxford - at nandos. moreposher than nandos at home! but you get to wash your hands in front of everyone, and have a bottomless soft drink cup! but i found the mildest possible chicken still burnt my mouth off.

after driving through the oxfordshire and gloucestershire country side, we arrived in brockley, where we are staying the night.

we went for a little stroll through the village

oooh, it looks like england!

good old country villages!

tomorrow we're heading to york, and are going to stay two nights. well, that's the present plan anyway!

you can see more pics here

next steps

goodbye 24/7 complimentary internet. hopefully maccas will meet our internet needs throughout this trip.

i think this morning's plan is to do the light rail before heading off out of london via oxford way.

tonight we're staying at an inn in blockley by moreton-in-marsh. mmm boggy.

london

our day began catching the tube to oxford circus and then a bus to westminster.the first of many trips on both forms of transport today. we made good use of our travelcards.

we walked past big ben on the way to pick up our london eye tickets

we were able to pick up our madame tussauds tickets too, and decided to head there first. it wasn't as good as when i was last there. and there were a thousand people. mostly europeans who were very pushy.

but we still had some fun... howie expresses his feelings for nicholas cage

... i wonder if michael owen is really this short

... howie was surprisingly polite to johnny

from madame's we headed off to st pauls. i love st pauls.

we climbed up the 400-odd stairs to the top of the dome. we're pretty unfit.

after grabbing some lunch from M&S simply food (i had such a yujmmy fruit salad!) we bussed it back to westminster to walk back across to the london eye.

it's pretty cool

we had a great day for it - the forecast had been a bit iffy, but it was sunny and warm

from the eye we bussed to tower bridge which we went up and down

no comment

it was a good day. we're both pretty tired now. just chilling in our hotel room. might head out for dinner at an italian place on queensway later tonight.

not sure of the plan tomorrow. may have the morning in london again - howie's keen to go on the light rail and get an old school bus.

may the sightseeing begin!

i lasted til about 7pm, i think.

i'm sure it didn't help that i was lying down to watch tv, but howie had to keep shoving me to wake me back up from about 6:30pm as my eyese grew heavier and heavier. in the end, he went out at about 7:30pm and i gave up trying to stay awake. he came back and woke me at 8pm, but by then we were both resigned to the fact we weren't going to make it much further.

so sleep, glorious sleep, we did.

woke at 3:30am for a little while, as you do. and ended up getting up at about 6am.

so hopefully that was enough rest and refreshment to power us for today's adventures.

stay away rain. especially at 3pm for our london eye "flight".

finally

after three flights and not much sleep we are finally here in london. hoorah! emirates was pretty good. good entertainment systems. but poor service between bangkok and dubai. what a poo flight.

but hey, you get that.

so we're here, trying to stay awake for another five or so hours. soon we shall start wandering the streets.

it's not too cold. in fact it's warmer than sydney was.

tomorrow is going to be a bit touristy day. woo.

free for all

good old international airport. time to take advantage of free internet. we still have about 30 mins til we have to board.

mum and dad were good parentals and drove us to the airport. after checking in (which i am annoyed that the last leg of our flight howie and i are sitting across the aisle from each other) we went to get some food.

i got a small norm burger, and was not impressed to find a hair on the chicken half way through eating (thankfully not near where i was eating already). so i took it back and got another one. just gotta go oporto.

coming through baggage check i had to empty my bag. i think because i had food (including nuts) and a bottle of tablets. but all good. mr not-very-responsive man let me repack my bag and continue on.

and so the adventure has begun.

today's the day

we're all packed and ready to go. although it's another 2.5 hrs til we leave the house. but 6 hours we'll be on the plane, and i'll be in my window seat. hoorah for online check-in!

if you couldn't tell, we are very excited about this trip. i hope it lives up to all our expectations.

i am very impressed with my packing. i'm taking the smaller of our two suitcases, and haven't even had to use the expander. i'm also only 15 kg! even with all my hundreds of different clothes for different climates. i'm not a very good packer, but i think i've done ok this time. time will tell if i've forgotten anything of importance.

my carry on is probably near or over the 7kg but hey. i've got a bunch of books and food and random stuff to keep me entertained on the flights.

our plan is to stay awake for the first leg to bangkok (about 9 hours i think). then sleep from bangkok to dubai (about 7 hours) and then stay awake again for dubai to london (another 7 hours) - maybe have a couple of naps in there too. coz naps are cool any time of the day, regardless of jet lag.

so there you have it. i'm sure we'll blog while we're over there. we're taking lappy, but not toffee. and our london hotel has 24/7 free broadband. sweet. so i'm sure there will be a few pics to look at too!

sweet deal!

we took the buddies to the vet this morning just to check everything is going well before we choof off overseas.

and vet man was very happy with them. they are both healing nicely. and he was so happy with them that he did the consultation for free! winner!!

so debbie, you have no need to fear! they should be good little nephews for you.