the travels blog

Japan 2012 - Day 2 - Niseko

day 1 of snowboarding. so so SO ready for my first day at the slopes. Niseko’s usual deep powder is around :)

a nutritious breakfast is essential for a day at the slopes. ohaiyo hokkaido whip butter!

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Japan 2012 - Day 1 - Tokyo, Sapporo & Niseko

a day of mainly travelling. got in Tokyo - time to head to Sapporo then a 3 hour bus ride to Niseko to snow snow snow!

Narita airport

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Japan 2012 - Day 0 - Sydney & Tokyo

after 4 days of recuperation and summer in Sydney, Japan and winter - here we come (back)!

QF21 - a nicely reconfigured 747 by Qantas! Naritaaaaaaaaaa

Europe 2011/12 - Recap

recap of the whole trip. an amazing 55 days.

Day 0 - Sydney & Dubai

Day 1 - Frankfurt & Düsseldorf

Day 2 - Düsseldorf, Köln & Bonn

Day 3 - Düsseldorf & Dortmund

Day 4 - Düsseldorf & London

Day 5 - London

..and more..

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Europe 2011/12 - Day 56 - Dubai & on our way home

emirates comfort win!

the beautiful horizon

look what McDonald’s in Dubai has? a Chicken Mega Mac! Its like 4 McChicken with less bread!

home time!

Europe 2011/12 - Day 55 - Frankfurt

last day in Europe :(

walking around Frankfurt, we saw this demolition project going on

Goethestraße - where the shopping is at. ok, probably mostly expensive shopping..

a cool shopping mall! look it at, with a hole!

there was a Lego store - with a 3D viewer of what the models of each box would be like! amazing!

the inside of the cool shopping mall with the hole!

last try of currywurst in Germany. Not as good as Berlin’s :(

goodbye Frankfurt HBF! After 5 years, I have returned in 2011. Hope to return again soon!

Frankfurt airport. Bye Europe! :(

You have been so nice to us!

:)

Europe 2011/12 - Day 54 - Berlin

since JG heard all about our cool Berlin stories, and that Berlin was the place to be from other people, we decided it was wise to make sure she sees a bit of Berlin - day trip from Frankfurt it is!

first stop was Brandenberg Tor, since it is close to Berlin HBF

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Europe 2011/12 - Day 53 - Frankfurt

good bye sunny and warm spain, hello chilly Germany! First stop - Frankfurt!

via Basel, Switzerland

the massive Euro! there was an Occupy movement to the left of this shot. you can sorta see some of it there already

Main river in Frankfurt

Frankfurt skyline

the Deutsches filmmuseum was next on the agenda!

sandman inside the museum!

amazing 3d from paper!

that would be pretty hard to make, surely!

and this, even harder?!

mein fuhrer’s mask

:)

the different faces of Jack Skellington!

hi jack

dont fall off!

picturesque frankfurt

main river at sunset =D

no parking on the river guys

YUM MCRIBS! we have been reunited after 5 years apart!

currywurst in frankfurt, just to make sure that JG has had a go. not as good as the Berlin on but not too far off :)

döner kebab! an awesome turkish cuisine - it seems like we just ate ate and ate here lol

MMMM BAKLAVA!

Europe 2011/12 - Day 52 - Barcelona

last day in Barcelona!

bright and early - with an exquisite view from the terrace of our apartment

first order of the day was to walk down Passeig de Gracia to Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera.

It is another of Gaudi’s work - we skipped it yesterday since we thought it was not worth its steep entrance fee. But after an awesome experience at Casa Batllo - we decided it’ll be stupid to miss out on La Pedrera

the outline of the ground floor of La Pedrera

model of La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila

view from La Pedrera, down Passeig de Gracia

the roof of La Pedrera and its cool chimneys, looking like stormtroopers!

the interior - no corners. very Gaudi

a more detailed model of La Pedrera

cross section of the model

his hanging model to create such amazing works

Gaudi transformed the building on the left to the right - Casa Batllo. From nothing to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. amazing stuff.

Gaudi’s inspiration apparently came from nature - and its easy to see where he got his inspiration for the structures for the hallway :)

view down the inside of La Pedrera

La Pedrera ending up fairly disappointing - it became a showcase of what Gaudi’s other works are, rather than focussing on its own features (which didnt seem a lot). Casa Batllo still a winner - and glad we went there first. Or else, it would have been like - man Casa Batllo wouldnt be worth the visit if it we went La Pedrera first and it was disappointing

then it was onwards towards breakfast! MORE tapas!

tapa tapa!

bikini!

patatas bravas!

mini paella

after food it was some browsing around the shops of Barcelona

EPIC Chivas!

we found Real Madrid chips, alongside the Barça chips. but in Barcelona - thats a bit odd =S

the return leg of the El Clasico match we saw. Prices from 155 euros. thats right. gotta pay up for the best match-ups in the world

Placa de Catalunya

4 cats, or Els Quatre Gats is a cafe which served as the centre of Modernism in Barcelona. Picasso’s hangout and first exhibition location, apparently. Opening in 1897 - that is a while back!

:)

back to the awesome bar with baguettes and stuff for the last time

our train hotel to Bern!

bye barcelona! you have been awesome!

Europe 2011/12 - Day 51 - Barcelona

a long day of Barcelona ahead - but exciting! Camp Nou, flea markets, Casa Batllo and La Pedrera!

yay at the entrance gate for the tour!

our tickets!

Barça!

historic moments at the Camp Nou - see what happened in 1999?

Mes Que Un Club - more than a club

the coloured seats!

the press room - where they hold the interviews

pitch side!

the tunnel towards the pitch!

what it looks like, with a capacity crowd

taking a breather at one of the seats

the press viewing area!

the view of Montjuic from Camp Nou

and its time to enter the museum!

best club in the world? if its not true then its very close

el capita

best club in the world, 2011

16 cups in one year - including all their other sporting arms

HAHAHA YES! if catalonia gets its independence you know who is behind it

:)

Mercat flea markets! they sold basically…. ANYTHING.

textiles, to fabric

to doorbells, to musical instruments, to walking canes

to knives, machetes and guns..

and that is how they store their stall for the day

packed as!

axel with a leg of ham

Gaudì’s La Pedrera! but we didnt go in because it looked expensive - but fear not - we went the next day!

we went for food instead! tapa!

very aesthetically pleasing tapa - it was so yum too!

salmon and little eels!

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo. looks so awesome and epic!

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - the entance. 

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - the layout

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - the living room

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - the courtyard

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - the courtyard

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - overlooking the main street

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - works still being done

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - what a cool ceiling

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - no corners or edges

up the spiral staircase to the roof

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - awesome chimneys

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - looking down. such an amazing concept, and executed to perfection

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - moulded chairs

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - from the outside - he designed the one next door too

Gaudì’s Casa Batllo - lit up at night!

then we tried to go to the Lost bar - Bharma - to no success - it was closed :(

but we went for more tapa!

what an awesome day, sports and Gaudì. amazing.