Jetlag... finally

I've been in three timezones in the past fortnight and jetlag has finally caught up with me, just when I need it not to.

Our trip from the UK to the Pacific Northwest was met with zero jetlag, similarly our trip from the Pacific Northwest to Toronto was sleep deprivation free. Only when we fly back to Blighty do I succumb to the dreaded sleepless night... just when I have to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for work the next day.

As it is, I feel rough as houses - a bit queasy and quite tired - and not at all well-rested as you should be when back from holidays. Still, I'm glad I didn't waste a second day of the hols on jetlag recuperation.

End of the holiday

I really hate holidays sometimes. About four days before they end, you know they're coming to an end, and it's long flights, jetlag and back to work awaiting for you. This really kinda marrs the end of the holiday for me.

I really enjoy the run up, as you're counting down the days and doing less and less at work, as you hand over your workload to colleagues. You also get the "going anywhere nice?" questions, followed by the inevitable "oh, nice!"

I guess my holidays are generally sullied some, as we're visiting friends and family and it's harder to leave them than it is to leave some faceless hotel you've called home for a few days.

It still doesn't make it any easier to leave Canada or Australia and return to a pokey two-bed flat and to work.

Seattle trip comes to an end

As I write this, we are readying for our return to Vancouver, to await our flight to Toronto tomorrow.

Having never been to Seattle before, I have nothing but fond memories and Sue's friends Peter and Caroline were lovely hosts, ensuring we saw all the sights there are to see. We tried local beer, and seafood, saw various tourist sights, hooked up with an ex-colleague of mine and just had a nice relaxed time.

I'm looking forward to getting to Toronto and having the wedding portion of our holiday, but Seattle was a very nice surprise indeed.

Sleepy in Seattle

Image by apete via Flickr

Had a really lovely first full day in Seattle.

Started off with breakfast in North Bend, at the diner that was used in Twin Peaks. Being a Peakie fan for years, this was a real kick. I had a couple of cups of "damn fine coffee" and took a bunch of photos to commemorate.

Later today we went to the space needle. Originally built for the 1962 World's Fair, it's like a shorter version of the CN Tower. The observation deck was about 520 feet up, which made it bearable for a non-lover of heights like myself.

While in the gift shop, I spyed a Seattle Sounders MLS jersey. It's their inaugral season and their shirt is sponsored by Xbox Live. $70 is a bit steep for a shirt with Xbox Live on it, but it would be a neat shirt to have nonetheless.

The other fun hunt we partook today was trying to find a Hertz to add a driver to our rental. We had a few wild goose chases, before eventually finding a branch downtown. That and the lack of being able to turn left almost anywhere in Seattle will be my lasting memories of the place.

Crimbo in Oakville

Well we made it to Oakville and magically had a white Christmas. It was a bit touch and go as Christmas eve was warming up and we weren't sure if the snow would stick around. As it was we had nothing to worry about.

We opened some pressies, had some brekkie and went for a Crimbo walk. We meant to walk down the ravine behind mum and dad's house, but as the sled we had Emily on wasn't all that stable we amended our course to mimimise crying.

Dan and Tiff - who were absent for brekkie and walk - eventually got back and we finished opening the rest of the pressies. Now there's even more people - Emily, Sue, Jay and Tiff - the present opening takes even longer, which is cool as that's the main crux of the day.

It's been really nice being back in Oakville. Everything here seems to be so much easier - life in general. I think as we've had a tough time of it recently at home - no space now Emily's here, me losing my job - being reminded of a better way is sort of bittersweet for me. It's something I could easily return to and it would give Emily a better life. However, getting Sue to agree to move to Canada would happen the same time pigs started flying... when did life get so complicated???

Expensive France

I'm so used to having it drummed into my head that the UK is so uber expensive, only a dolt would live there that I actually thought our trip to France would be a pretty cheap affair.

Where do I get my info? This place is stupid expensive. As the Euro is currently hovering around £1 = €.90 (when you actually get money converted, not the crazy quoted official conversion rate that NO ONE ever gets), you start to see how expensive things are.... like beer at €6 a pint (x .9 = £5.40), or Fallout 3 at Game is €70 (x .9 = £63!!!). I paid £29.99 and I thought that was too much.

Petrol's even pricier here at around €1.16 per litre (x .9 = £1.04) when it's hover in the low 90p in the UK. There's other things are are expensive, but not in a direct comparison. Suffice it to say, blowing €50 a night on dinner for Sue and I is a one way ticket to the poor house. I'm having fun, but for my wallet's sake, I'm glad we're only here a week.

The Heat is on!

Made it to Melbourne to see my old flat mate Lambros.

We took in the sites and sounds and bottled water shops of the city centre and surrounding subdivisions and areas, which they call suburbs here.

The nasty thing about the day was the weather. It got up to around 35C during the day with no real wind or anything. Even in the evening, coming out of shops and restaurants, it was so warm it felt like someone slapping you in the face with a warm towel. I'm used to the UK summers where it cools down enough in the evening it gets nice. Here it goes from 35C to 28C in the evening. Not good.

I think I can personally put my hand up and claim responsibility for the drought, what with all the water I drank yesterday. It's a dodgy situation, this heat, a drought and humans needing to stay lubricated.

Today apparently isn't going to be much better, as it's scheduled to get up to 36C. I guess I've got another day of squinting and headaches ahead of me. Who, in their right mind, ever claimed this was the favourable type of weather? They must be mad!!

Flight East

Arrived this evening in Melbourne, after a 59 minute Virgin Blue flight from Adelaide.

Having done the recent epic flights, 59 minutes was nothing! Didn't even take my shoes off or need the night nurse.

Virgin Blue now has satelite TV on their flights. Oddly, you can watch it free for about 15 minutes then you have to pay $5 for the rest of the flight. Good if you're flying more than 59 minutes!

During the free preview, I managed to catch a classic Arsenal match between the Gunners and Southampton. Of course, true to form, Soton lost 4-1 with LeTissier pulling out the solo Saints goal. Tickled me that I could be so far away and still feel so close to home.

Lambros met me at the airport in his much talked about over the years white Mazda 323.

There were loads of people mingling at the gate waiting for loved ones (a real oddity for me as I usually ... well always travel international and that would be a no-no!) and I was a bit concerned that I might have sailed past the guy. Not to fear, he was waiting for me near the front door.

We've got plenty of fun in store for the next few days, having consumed a couple of beers (Coopers, naturally) and a souvlaki already tonight!

Hoping to catch a Melbourne Victory football match but I have my suspicions this trip doesn't coincide with a home game.

In Oz (incorporating my frying adventure)

We made it to Oz last Wednesday and have a nice relaxing time since we've arrived.

We went down and stayed at this little fishing town called Kingston which is making it self over as a tourist attraction. It's a stone's throw from another town called Robe.

We went for lunch in Robe at this "Seafood restaurant" which got the old taste buds tingling before we even got out of the car. I love fish and seafood and all that. To my dismay, the Aussie use of the word seafood restaurant apparently means chippie to us Brits. You could have seafood cooked one way - deep fried.

Choking back the tears, I ordered a spicy chicken wrap, expecting succulent bits of nice chicken. I got deep fried KFC style chunks of chicken. Not my day.

Later we went out for a pub meal. About the only non-fried thing on the menu was a Caesar salad which I duly ordered, only to be told it was a lunch only thing (apparently no one wants a non-fried meal for dinner). I then ordered the salt and pepper prawns, and in my ignorance was delivered a plate of breaded deep fried crustaceans.

Is it so hard to grill or BBQ a nice piece of fish? What is the fascination with the deep fryer?

The other meal we had was steak. Fair enough. It came on a bed of chips with a baked potato. The veggie table then had a 3rd type of potato if you weren't carbed up enough already.

I don't actually ever remember anyone waxing poetically about Aussie cuisine, and the only remembrance is the old "shrimp on the barbie". Maybe I can amend that to "shrimp in the fryer".

Coffee in Oz

We're currently in Oz, visiting Sue's friends and family for Chrimbo.

It's an oddly warm time of the year, and every now and then a carol or a Christmas light will remind you what time of the year it is.

We just got back today from visiting friends down south in the fishing towns of Kingston and Robe.

Whilst there, I stumbled across this place called Mahalia Coffee. It's like Monmouth in London, in that they do their own roasting. According to their pamphlet, they send the roasted product across most of the country, either for retail sale or by the cup. I bought a bag of Australian Bundja Double Pass at around $18 for 250g (spot the guy on holiday!!!) Figured if you've come this way, why buy what you can get anywhere else.

In an ice cream shop in Robe, they were selling Robe Rock as confection. That just tickled me pink as I imagined oriental people describing it to a police officer.

Back in the great white north

so it's been just over 24 hours since we're arrived in the Great White North and I've already drunk more beer and bought more DVDs than the last month combined.

Off to Sarnia tomorrow to visit old haunts and old mates and eat and drink more the ensure that NONE of my clothes fit anymore. Never fun!

I get pings when I come back of what I gave up when I moved back to the UK, but there's just something underlining existence here that just rings wrong, like everyone's living in a Theme Park or something. There's something that's just too fake. Maybe it's the ludicrous size of the houses or the wide roads or the Canadian accent that I do find grating sometimes.

I dunno.

I love this country and the start it gave me in life, but I do wonder if I could ever move back. Sure there's space and things are cheap, but some of the stuff I'd be giving up is actually quite entwined in my person now.

Too heavy for this time of night. I need to sleep to shake off this jetlag.

Almost time for holidays!

I've been at the new job now for almost three weeks, so naturally it's time for a holiday!

Fly out on Saturday with Sue and cousin Ben and friend Tina for our two-week (one fortnight) Canadian adventure.

Looking forward to it. It can be quite stressful starting a new job and the propect of taking some time off just as I start has been the light at the end of the stress tunnel.

Fun times ahead as we relax, sleep in, drink beers and frolic in a completely different time zone.