Travel - The World is Quite Big

Uganda

This was a trip we had booked in 2019, to run in the 2020 Uganda Marathon. We were supposed to fly out in May, but in March, were obviously told it was postponed due to Covid.

Two years later than planned, here we go! We had quite a few hoops to jump through before leaving. Yellow Fever vaccine for all, rabies, typhoid, anything that can kill you really! We had to get PCR done for the kids. Vaccinated travellers were fine, but our flight was going via Kigali, Rwanda, and they wanted us to have a Lat Flow! Me and Char had one done. Also had to get anti malarials. They’re quite expensive, but better than getting the malaria!

Flew with Brussels Airline. Meh. Only good thing (for us) was that the plane broke about two hours from Rwanda, and they said we had to go straight to Entebbe, Uganda! Result!

Entebbe

We had booked a place called Gorilla Africa Guesthouse, as recommended by the company we are doing the marathon with. Very basic room, but friendly and accommodating staff. Kids loved it there, especially Stan, who made friends with everyone, guests, and workers, and left them with a smile on their faces.

Over the three days here, we did a couple of days out. First one was to Nakiwogo Ferry crossing port. Not to see that really, more to see Lake Victoria, but also to see the sights on the way. It was awesome. Totally different way of life. Chickens and goats roaming around, motorbikes carrying three people at a time, shops selling shoes and bananas, or chickens and bread. Everyone waved and said hello, no one was harassing us to buy from them, it was a lovely experience.

And then it rained. And rained. It is coming to the end of the rainy season, where it heavily rains for a bit, and then gets sunny again. But not today. We found an empty shop to hide in, under the corrugated roof. Half hour later, the guy in the shop next door saw us and invited us in. His shop sold drinks and potatoes. We bought a drink.

After this, we continued, as the rain had slowed. Finding somewhere to eat was difficult as it wasn’t always obvious if they sold food or were just having their packed lunch! We looked at a couple but didn’t know what they sold. It was like rows and rows of dilapidated beach huts, where they had things out the front, and inside was a table or two.

We ended up joining a family for lunch and ordered some rice and beef stew. Me and Stan had the beef and rice, Char and Amelia stuck with plain rice. Stan loved it! Ripping meat off a bone. Then the lady picked his meat out of the bowl, and pulled off some fatty bit, and then gave him back the beef. Imagine that in Pizza Express or summat!

Entebbe Zoo

The next day, we went to the Zoo. Or the Ugandan Wildlife and Education Centre. We wanted to do a ‘behind the scenes’ experience, but when we got there, the Visa machine was broken, and didn’t have enough schillings to pay. So, I asked the bloke if someone could take me to the ATM, and a dude turned up on a motorbike to take me. No helmets or anything, and off we went.

The zoo was ace. We had a guide called Geofrey, who took us round all the animals, into the animal enclosures, feeding them and that. The lions were ace. I felt his breath on my arm through the fence. Fed a rhino, giraffe, chimps, monkeys, and the highlight for ne was to stroke a shoebill stork! Man, they are ace!!

Then popped to the beach there, on Lake Victoria. We have seagulls who are shits and steal chips and that, but they have Maribou Storks! They are massive and well ugly. Funny though.

Masaka

Next day, we took a three-hour minibus ride to Masaka. The ‘marathon experience’ was now beginning. All organised and planned by them, so it was nice to be told where to be and when, even if it was on Ugandan time, meaning 12ish, instead of 12 on the dot.

Stopped at the equator for a bit, had some nice pics, and did some haggling in the shops. Dude wanted 30,000 schillings for a football top, we said 25,000, he said no, we said ok bye, he said ok 25,000. Weird that we were arguing over £1.20 or whatever!

Arrived at the hotel, which was luxury compared the lodge we had been staying in! Met a load of other people on the same adventure as us. Norwegian, German, USA, Spain, Hungarian, and a load of Brits. Everyone seemed nice, apart from a few who were a bit grumpy and not in the same spirit as everyone else! Weird.

Stan loved being around all these new people. He would just run off and chat to whoever, and they all loved him! Amelia was a bit shyer, but still enjoyed getting involved in things. All our meals were there, like a hot plate situation and you would go up and get what you need. Every day, there was always matoke. Matoke for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Matoke is banana, but a cooking type. Imagine a cooking apple, that you’d never eat off the tree – it was like that but didn’t taste of apple. Or banana really. It was more like a mash potato that was just a bit blander. They absolutely love it out there though! A staple food, national dish type stuff.

Over the next few days, we went out on various trips in smaller groups. We had picked who we wanted to assist and went to different places around Entebbe. The first we went to was a school/orphanage. It was a lovely day for us, but it seemed like a massive day for them! We were greeted by about fifty kids, and they put on a show, and did some singing, and spent time eating with them, and so so much playing. We then obviously waited for the hottest part of the day to start digging holes and moving earth, to get a slide and a roundabout put into holes, and then made-up cement to set it in. Lots of breaks to play throughout though. Stan and Amelia played along, and Amelia got to hold the babies that were there. Really lovely day.

Another visit was to one of the main sites that the charity has assisted – plastic recycling warehouse. This was a newish site, where they were still building parts of it. We did a round robin to help do different things, but my favourite bit was digging out a garden, and making a sustainable place to grow crops. It was bloody knackering, breaking rocks in the hot sun. I found a goat, which I picked up and had a pic with. He was cool.

The next day, we did an amazing parade through Masaka. It was part promotion for the marathon, and part litter pick through the roads. There was a vehicle with music and a microphone, which Stan kept jumping in and chatting to people on! It was a lovely atmosphere, with plenty of smiles. We did a few early morning runs around the area too, so was nice to be able to slow down and see things, rather than just panting through.

We visited the main recycling centre for plastics – Ecobrix. This place was amazing. It employed people, it took plastic off the street and from Lake Victoria, processed them, and made things using little pellets which were then moulded into things. Everything from plant pots, to earrings, to paving stones and even park benches! We helped make a path using the bricks, and also made some benches, which were like level 10 Ikea flat pack stuff! Amazing though, seeing ‘single-use plastic’ being turned into something that can be used again and again.

The marathon itself was horrendous! So hot, so tiring. The worst bit was it was two loops of 13.1 miles. The first half marathon I did a decent time, of 2 hours, which wasn’t bad! The second half took me 4 hours though, which is fairly long! The hills were horrid, with one being called ‘the beast’. The pictures do not do it justice. There were loads of locals doing it too, including a Prince of some sort. I think he beat me by a fair bit. There were people running in jeans, flip flops, and one guy in football boots! The ground was solid, so God knows how he got around. A lot of them did the 10km, which was wise. Charlotte and the kids did the 10km, which is bloody ace.

It was such a great day, and such a good end to 10 days of loveliness. The people we met along the way, the volunteers, the people who took care of everything, were all such great people. The kids saw a part of the world that not many kids would see, saw cultures and ways of life that would not be seen, and immersed themselves in it. They tried foods that you can’t get from KFC or McDonalds, played with kids from a deaf school, danced with people shaking their booties, and ran away from cows walking down the road.

My daughter Amelia holding a smaller child

It’s a lovely country, but one that has a different mindset to the LGBTQ+ community, that does not align with my views. A year after coming back, they passed a law that made it illegal, and persecuted many who can not now be themselves. I am grateful for the time I spent there with my family, but we will not be returning anytime soon. The work the charity does is amazing, and they have helped so many people in poverty, who have very little, and have improved the local area, and I’m happy that we left a tiny mark on that little part of a lovely country.

Red brick building, with a hole, and a child peering through, smiling.

New York

This has always been on my ‘to visit’ list. It’s just a magical place where dreams are made etc. As always, Charlotte was the driver behind this one. ‘I’ve found cheap flights’ and ‘can I book this’ are her two favourite phrases. I’m glad she booked this one though.

A lot of this trip was in the planning. New York is massive, with so many things to see and do. We had a ‘must see’ list, and then I found a load of things which I knew we’d all want to see. About 80% of people who I told about this trip asked if we were taking the kids with us. Yes, is the answer. Of course, it would have been a completely different itinerary if we didn’t, but we can always come back another time!

Flights

We had booked flights with British Airways, and I was excited. I put BA up there with maybe one of the best airlines in the world-prestige, quality, great service. Oh no, not this time though because we actually flew with airline giants, Evelop! Yeah, I hadn’t heard of them either. BA had given this flight to them until January while they serviced their planes or something. What a swizz.

It was like flying with EasyJet for 8 hours. Had one cup of coffee. Food was weird. Amelia’s TV broke, so they turned mine off, and the woman’s behind me, who wasn’t happy about it. Film selection was weak. Just general rubbish flight!! I would say ‘never again’ but we have to fly back with them.

Landed at JFK, and the queue for immigration was MASSIVE!! Took a bloody age. We then got a taxi to our hotel in Brooklyn and we were tired. Landed at 2000 US time, which is 5 hours behind UK. We would have got a train to keep costs down, but as it was late, and we didn’t fancy trying to find which way to go, we got a taxi.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn was the choice for a couple of reasons. Main one was cost. Manhattan over New Year’s Eve wasn’t cheap. Initially, we booked an AirBnB, which was lovely, but we then changed to a hotel as we got a free breakfast with it! Another reason was it was only 20 mins to Manhattan on the subway, plus we got to see a bit more of New York that we wouldn’t normally see. It fitted in with our other travels of not staying in the dead centre, and seeing how locals live. Times Square definitively isn’t normal living!!

First morning, early wake up. Time difference probably made this easier as getting up at 0700 was 1200 in UK. Nice. Lovely breakfast at hotel, waffles and syrup and eggs and sausage and coffee.

For the trip planning, we had picked what we wanted to see, and then I clumped the nearby activities together. Today was DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and South Manhattan. We took a subway to just near Manhattan Bridge to get the iconic picture. Stan was also wearing the t-shirt with the pic on, so that was cool.

Brooklyn Bridge

Had a walk around and then headed to Brooklyn Bridge to walk into Manhattan. This was ace. The views were amazing, you could see the whole skyline. The people were busy. It’s weird being a tourist in a city, and all you can hear is other tourists. It’s the same for every ‘tourist’ part though.

Some parts of the bridge are narrower than others. There is a left and right side, but people don’t follow rules like we do. Cycle lane is used every now and then by cyclists who either took a wrong turn, or didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for. Ding ding ding on the bell as they tried to weave past people in the cycle lane.

There are also cops on the bridge in glorified golf buggies! They were pretty ace.

The cop inside didn’t mind having his pic taken!

Over the other side, we found a street show. Some break dancers doing some spinning on the floor. Then demanding people give them money to watch. It was a pretty slick routine, but a massive anti-climax.

Headed down towards Wall Street. Stopped at a McDonald’s and had some food. It’s not as cheap as our stuff, which was a shame, but if I worked on Wall St, I probs wouldn’t worry about the price of a happy meal ($4.99).

Fearless Girl

Continued down the road to see the Fearless Girl statue. I knew where she was, but Google maps hadn’t moved her from her original place. She used to live by the Charging Bull, which is pretty much like the one in Brum I think. I say I think, it was that crowded I couldn’t see it! Literally a queue to take a picture of it!

Asked a hot dog seller where the Stock Exchange was, and that’s where the Fearless Girl now lives. No where near as busy as the bull, but more impressive. She’s a boss.

Statue of Liberty

Walked down Broad Street, which is a bit different to the one in Brum. This one was the first to be paved in New York. Went to Battery Park to recharge (haha sorry) and found the queue for the Statue of Liberty. Initially we were just going to get the free Staten Island ferry across to go past her, but the kids wanted to visit, so we did. Fairly long queue to get the ticket, then you have to queue to go through an airport style security check. Then wait for the boat in a queue.

Battery park is just to the left. Loads of these quite cool blocks for security reasons.

Ride across isn’t too bad. Ferry needs more chairs if anything. As we got off I heard a dude say ‘yeah 240’, which I guessed meant passenger numbers. I asked what the most is and he said 800, which would be horrible going across with!!

Had a walk around the statue. Loads of people seeing her, taking pics and that. Nice little Liberty Island. Whilst here, we went to the museum but didn’t learn much. Went back across on the ferry. You can go up to the crown, but you need to book a couple of months in advance. We didn’t do that.

You pay extra to go on the plinth behind, and more for the crown.

Ground Zero

We had a walk to Ground Zero to see the 9/11 memorial. It’s a really nice, lovely park that they have made. The two sites are immaculate and well kept, and is a fitting tribute to what happened. Some folk were taking selfies there and smiling, and I thought that was a bit crass.

They put a flower next to the persons name on their birthday.

Went back to the hotel after this, having done a shed load of steps and had a really good day.

The Ride

Day two started in Times Square. The plan changed slightly as I decided to book The Ride. This is an entertainment bus, where there are three rows of seats facing out to the left hand side of the bus, which has glass front , or side. There are two people who are the comperes and they give you a tour of a bit of New York. As you’re driving around, they make jokes and laugh at people for wearing ponchos, or carrying dogs and that, but then there are people on the streets who are part of the show. Another was, restaurants in Times Square are legally allowed to add 30% to food bills as tax, because of the high rental prices.

A cleaner will start tap dancing, or a bloke in a top hat raps at you, or a couple do ballet. It’s a bit of fun, but not worth $69 each! We bought an Explorer Pass, so it wasn’t that much for us. There are a few types of passes-City Pass being the main one. If you are doing a few big activities, it does save you time and money. Don’t spend $69 on the ride though. I did learn some cool stuff though, like one of the buildings was moved down the road on rollers, as it was a listed building and they wanted space for another building. Literally picked it up and rolled it down the street and plumbed it all back in!

New York Public Library

Next in the list was New York Public Library. Two reasons to see this. 1, lovely architecture and that. 2, it is home of the original Winnie the Pooh and friends!! Lovely story. A.A.Milne would travel to London, and bring his son, Christopher Robin a teddy back. Him and his mate decided to write a story about the ‘adventures’ they got up to, and it ended up in a newspaper and then everything else. Original Winnie looked a bit sad though, so they drew him a bit more fun. He had Tigger and Eyeore and Kanga (Roo was lost in the 1930s) and piglet, really nice to see.

Winnie has defo had a make over in the films!

Whispering Arches

Little walk down the road to see Grand Central station. Another iconic building with amazing architecture. Including, the whispering arches. You can stand across the hallway, and talking into an alcove, and the person on the other side can hear because the sound travels up and around the domed ceiling! Amazing. Bit of a queue to do this too. Queuing is quite a big thing in NY.

Today was the only day it rained, but by gosh did it rain. Just a constant drizzle of really wet annoying rain. We ploughed through with just our coats, it’s only a bit of rain innit. My coat was not quite a coat, and more like a flannel so I was soaked through. Was nice getting to places to take them off and put in the cloak room, or coat check as Americans call it!

MoMa

We did this in the Museum of Modern Art. This was a busy museum. Main draws in here are Van Gogh’s ‘Stary Night’ and Monet’s ‘Waterlillies’. There are some Picasso’s and Magritte’s and that too. There was a queue for Stary Night. Never seen anything like it! Char waited in line while Amelia and I walked around for a bit. After we had done a loop, we had somehow ended up in the Stary Night room and Char was like ‘are you serious’!? It was much easier to go in the back way and just not queue! Weird.

We somehow missed some of the paintings I wanted to see, like Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell Soup’, and Rousseau’s ‘The Dream’. I had asked someone where Monet was, and she told me the wrong room, like she didn’t even care. This will be a common theme throughout New York.

We had a quick walk round Times Square after this. Today was 30th Dec so they were getting ready for the little party the next day. It was so busy and not great. Went home.

I had to say ‘big fat butt head’ or something to make them smile for the camera.

I loved seeing the steam from underground!

Who Ya Gonna Call?

New Years Eve started off great! We went to Tribeca, so called from the words ‘Triangle Below Canal street’. Clever. Here though is Hook and Ladder 8, a fire station which is instantly recognizable as the one from Ghostbusters! Their HQ was this building, which has painted the logo outside for extra photo ops. We looked in the letterbox, but couldn’t see much, but then the bloody fire engine came back from a call! It had the logo on the front, and the firefighter’s uniform had the Ghostbusters stuff on. Amazing. They kept the big doors open when they were in, and they had a little shop selling FDNY T-shirt they wore! So we got Stan one. He went in and had a good look around. A defo must for anyone who likes Ghostbusters!

Color Factory

After this, we walked to the Color Factory. I’m not quite sure how to describe this place. It’s like, a colour experience? There are loads of different rooms with different things to do in each. Like a sensory overload thing, but with macrons and sweets and ice cream included! The best bit is defo the massive ball pit. Amazing. Staff were lovely. It’s an Instagramers dream! There’s a couple of these in America, but they move round every now and then. I think New York is moving soon.

Oh we nearly had trouble getting in here. You can only get tickets online, so pre-book is the only way of getting in. We had the Explorer Pass to use for here. When we arrived it said ‘sold out’. They wouldn’t let us in first of all as ‘third party purchases’ were not allowed today. I said a one sentence argument, and they let us in.

After an hour and half in there, we walked outside to a building which loads of people know. The Friends Apartment block! Char was not impressed! Not sure what she was expecting mind. From here we were walking to the Sex and the City apartment. Well, Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment. The houses were bloody lovely along here. Even the doors and stairs to them were awesome.

Bit of Sick

Before we got there, fancied a quick bite to eat, so went to a Dunkin Donuts. It was hard work as the cashier couldn’t really understand us and she was more concerned about the wrong change she had given to the bloke before us. Partly my fault. She had change for a $5, but then she asked if it was a $20 he had given her. I said twenty, thinking she wouldn’t believe me, but did! I didn’t see what he gave her so he may be up!

Half way through the bargain priced croissants which Stan wouldn’t eat, he decided to go sick. First of all a little bit, which Char caught in a paper bag. Then a bit more. Then the bag ripped from having a load of sick in. And then more sick. It was blue from the ice cream in the colour factory! Quite fitting. Took a while to get someone’s attention to start a clean up. I used about a hundred napkins. Then they gave me a bit of blue tissue. Weren’t bothered at all! People were stepping over it. One couple sat next to us left. After I cleaned it up, I asked to use a sink to wash my hands, and he just invited me behind the counter, with all the food. Nice.

This was just next to Dunkin Donuts. Thought it was cool!

Saw Carrie Bradshaw’s house, and instantly jumped into a waiting taxi to go to the next place. I had booked free tickets to go up the Vessel. This is a weird art installation step statue building thing. Look at the picture to understand. In the taxi I realised we were a bit early, so got out at the start of the High Line.

The High Line

This is an old railway track that’s been lovingly converted into an urban garden walkway. Really nicely done. It’s up on a bridge type thing so you walk over part of the city, looking down, whilst seeing bits of art work and birds. Quite busy place, but also very relaxing and rewarding.

The Vessel

At the end of the high line is where the vessel is. Char saw it and said ‘nopes’! Her and Stan went into the shopping centre for a Shake Shack, and me and Meelie went up. Really cool thing. Loads of steps, nice views. Saw a rooftop spa on a nearby building. Came down, found Char and Stan, and sat in the shopping centre for a bit while the kids played with a sequinned filled wall.

Walked back towards Times Square and found Macy’s. Amelia has wanted to go in here, so we did. It’s quite big. Like a big Debenhams. It was New Years Eve, so everywhere seemed well busy outside. Street sellers popped up selling light up glasses with ‘2020’ on them. Kids got a pair to wear for our party in our hotel room tonight.

New Years Eve

We didn’t really want to stay outside till midnight. Times Square is a definite no-no. You have to get penned in at 1200, with no toilets or anything whilst in. Another place which is supposed to be good is Prospect Park in Brooklyn. We ordered pizza and were asleep by 2100! First time i hadn’t stayed up to see the bongs! We did call Char’s mum and dad at their midnight though, so it’s like the same.

Central Park

New Year’s Day is here. A new year in New York. It was a bucket list thing for Char. Tick. We went out to Central Park. Got subway up to Columbus whatever and walked through the south west corner. Went for a little walk and saw that it was such a stark contrast to the rest of the city. Lovely serene feeling.

Walked through Strawberry Fields and saw the ‘Imagine’ mural on the floor. Quite a few folk here taking pictures of it. There was a guy playing one Beatle’s song, despite a sign which says ‘no playing music’.

He wanted to so a Spiderman pose. She didn’t know what to do.

Day at the Museum

Carried on up to get to our 2nd destination, which was the American Museum of Natural History. This is made famous by Night at the Museum, which is a great film! There are a couple of ways of getting in. One is to have a city pass like we did. Two is queuing up and paying the $18 or whatever the entrance fee is. Three is, queue up and pay whatever you want! The $18 is a ‘suggested’ fee, so you can pay 25 cents if you want, and they will let you in. Boom. Above all, the City Pass queue is a lot shorter.

Spent ages in here. 4 floors, with different parts of the world and animals and space in different rooms. From the film, T-Rex is the big prize. The main dinosaur is now in a special exhibition where you have to pay more. We didn’t, as we saw one in another room. Another cool thing is the Easter Island head. ‘Hey dum dum’. That one.

It’s a really nice museum. Certainly on par with the British one, but probs bigger. One place I would swerve is the cafe there. Bit of a rip off! There was a butterfly exhibition too, but we had to get a special ticket to see it, which we didn’t know about. Was a bit expensive for a tiny walk through thing.

Dead Pet Tree

We left the museum and headed over the road back to Central Park. I had seen a tweet the day before from Jane Fallon, talented wife of Ricky Gervais. She said that there is a tree in Central Park where people hang pictures of their dead pets. I was in! Mission was to find it. She said it was in The Ramble, near the Bird Feed area. I saw both of these on the map, and it happened to be en-route to my next stop, so perfect.

Finally found it, after asking a couple of walkers who didn’t know what it was, but too look over there’, which is just where it was. Bit weird to be honest. One of the pictures looked like a dinosaur. Headed on from here. We had passed a lake which was nice, and then the Boathouse, and carried on to the Alice in Wonderland statue. It’s one of my favourite books, and the statue is quite nice! Quite big, with all the characters there. Nice.

Walked back south towards the city after this, got a hotdog on the way. Passed The Plaza hotel, famous for Home Alone 2. Saw the worlds biggest menorah too! Passed Trump Tower, and ended up in American Girl shop. It’s like Barbie, but bigger. The shop is pretty cool to be fair. Had a go at basket ball, and Amelia spent some Xmas money on an outfit for her doll back home.

Plan was to go to Ellen’s Stardust Diner. First of all, we had about 5 recommendations from people to go there, more than anything else! Secondly though, we saw the queue, asked people at front how long they had queued, and it was like an hour wait. Char was getting hangry, kids were tired. Went here and there to get food, and finally ended up waiting 25 mins for a table in Juniors. Times Square is busy for food!

They went for carrot cake. Well expensive for a pudding!

Was an ok dinner. Spent a fair bit in there, service was decent from the manager, and had some lovely cheese cake too. Went to bed quite tired, and this was to be our last night at the hotel. Packed our bag, and slept well.

Last Day

Final breakfast, filled up. Dropped our bags at reception and headed out for an almost full day. We had booked to go Top of the Rock observation deck at 1245, which gave us enough time to go ice skating at Bryant Park, or so we thought. Used our city pass to get tickets, but after 5 mins on the ice, we had to get off so they could clean the ice!

Kept getting told off for having phone out on ice. Asked an old lady sat around the outside to take a pic, and begged her not to run away with my phone as I didn’t fancy chasing her on my skates.

It had taken us about half out to get our skates on, and find a padlock to lock our stuff away in the locker. Was a weird system. You had to keep your shoes and put them in a locker, but locks weren’t provided!? They would sell you a combination lock for $12! No ta. Char managed to find one with the number on, so we used that.

Anyway, we were kicked off the ice, which would have taken 20 mins to clean. We had a bit of an argument with a worker and she finally gave us return tickets for later as our tickets for Top of the Rock were due soon.

Top of the Rock

Went to the Rockerfeller Centre, and got in line. We were shouted at a bit more about getting in this line and that line, then shouted at through security, then shouted at to get into another line, then shouted at to get our picture taken, then shouted at to get in an elevator. Char was dreading this bit. Not a fan of lifts, and also high buildings, but she did really well!

Quite nice views from up there. It’s quite busy, but not too bad. You can go a bit higher, and a bit more higher when on the deck, which we did. Getting down to ground level is a bit of a queue, but it went down fairly fast. We were shouted at to get as close to the people in front of us for some reason. It didn’t make the queue go any faster as only a certain amount of people can go in the lift. ‘Stand shoulder to shoulder’, they didn’t appreciate us taking the piss when we crouched down to get shoulder to shoulder with the kids.

After the Rock, we went to the Lego shop. Had to queue to get in, obviously. Bought some lego, then went back to the ice skating. Enjoyed in here, and it was getting dark by this time, so the tree was lit up and nice. There was a big winter market around the ice rink. It’s only here for the Xmas period-it’s normally a green park when not ice rinked up!

Meelie told her off for ‘being too tense’.

Finally got tired of ice skating, in which Stan had mastered by the end. Meelie was still rail holding, but enjoyed none the less. Subway back to hotel. Picked up bags. Ordered an Uber. We could have public transported it to the airport, which took a bit longer, and a few changes, but for ease, we therefore took a taxi.

Same plane on way back. Kids slept most the way. I slept a lot. We all slept. Landed back in UK at 0900, and drove home.

In Conclusion…

We absolutely loved this trip. Was another ‘big trip’, like the Dubai one. So much to do, and so much to do for kids. I would defo go back there, but not at Xmas/New Year time. It’s so busy! It would be nice to see in the summer, and experience a different weather extreme.

One tip I’d give is plan plan plan ahead. Ask people who have been before and get as many tips as you can. We did, and they defo came in useful. Things like using the subway, or getting tickets for places. It’s defo not somewhere you can turn up and wander round. It’s bloody huge!

We would defo stay in a different suburb next time. Queens, or The Bronx. Would loved to have seen more of Brooklyn, but Manhattan is the big draw.

Lovely holiday. There’s a load of pictures below! I took nearly a thousand whilst there! Enjoy!

Rome (and The Vatican City)

Rome

We had been to Italy before, but there is so much of it to explore! Had to come to Rome, loads to see and do. The history is everywhere, and it wasn’t built in a day etc.

Flights were cheap, probably. AirBnB, certainly. I chose somewhere that was cheapish, not too far away from centre, and near a metro. Think it was Metro there, underground, subway whatever. I just checked – it was.

Took a train from the airport, but then took ages to find theAirBnB. We did what we’ve had to do a few times – go back to the listing and have a look at what the picture of the place looks like, and try and play I Spy for it on the street! Gave the guy a call in the end and found it.

Headed straight out to have a look around. Went to the Metro which I knew was a couple of minute’s walk to find there was a strike on that day, and the Metro was not Metroing anyone anywhere. Had to get a bus instead. We didn’t pay for it. It’s one of the most confusing things to work out – paying for buses or trams. Trains aren’t too bad. There’s normally a ticket machine, or a booth. Bus stops don’t. The driver sometimes won’t take money as most have little Oyster type card things. Might work them all out one day. Ultimately, play the ‘Risk of a Fine’ game.

Pyramid

Adjacent to the metro was a Pyramid, obviously. Called Pyramid of Cestius. It’s a tomb for some bloke called Cestius and was built over 2,000 years ago! You can go in every 2^nd and 4^th Saturday, if you’ve pre-booked. If that’s your thing.

Not sure what the dribble is on Amelia’s top!

Colosseum

Ended up at the Colosseum. For me, this is the Big Ben, Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building of Rome. Albeit a lot older. We hadn’t planned on going inside, but ended up just popping in. Glad we did mind. Even though I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like back in the day (apart from watching Gladiator), the architecture was amazing, along with the sense of awesomeness. Yes, spellcheck didn’t tell me that wasn’t a word!

Wonder if they had ticket touts back in the day?

Big fan of stranger’s finger in our family pic.

Found a cat rescue place. Loads of strays in the walled gardens ruins things, and then an underground bunker full of Italian cats. Had a walk to Piazza Venezzia and saw a cool building called Altare della Patria, or Vittoriano. Apparently, a lot of Romans aren’t too keen on it, but I liked it.

Trevi Fountain

Went to the Trevi Fountain. Standard Rome tourist site. It’s ok. 4/10 I suppose. It’s just weird how something can get so crowded at all times of the day! This was the first time I felt like a ‘tourist’ in Rome. Had a McDonalds after that, and went home.

The Vatican

Next day, we went to another country. The Vatican City. Double-tick. Place is nice, I like what they’ve done to it. Decided to go into St Peter’s Basilica. Queue was massive like. There’s loads of touts trying to get you to buy their tickets. I didn’t. After a while of queuing, in the sunshine, we got in. It’s pretty cool inside. Loads of money spent on it I reckon! Ceiling and dome is impressive. Load of incense burning here and there, candles, oldstatues, gold leaf. Had a good wander round, then I decided to climb up to the top of the dome.

I stood in the queue while the family played snakes and ladders on the floor.

Hello, I’d like to make a confession please.

It was allowed like. Had to pay a bit of cash, and then take the 550 stairs to the top of the dome! That’s a lot of stairs. My house has 13 stairs. I just did some mathematics and that equals 42 flights of house stairs. The other bit to note is, some of these stairs are proper slanted as the dome is curved over your head, and some are the size of a big wedge of cheese. Views are worth it at the end though. You can get a lift up the first bit, but still have to do a fair few stairs to get to the very top. Char and the kids went out for a drink. I asked the kids if they wanted to come, but they didn’t.

Roughly translates to ‘Peter and Super Hands from Peep Show’

Stairs on the way down. I’m a size 7, these are tiny stairs.

Some of these dudes had bits of wood propping their arms up and that.

The Big Rip Off

One massive learning point, which we already knew about, but didn’t put into action for some reason, was checking reviews for restaurants and that. We were starving by this point, and stupidly chose the closest pizza place to eat. We are normally more savvy, and will go off the main road etc, but, prices seemed ok, so went in.

First warning was the price of coke. It wasn’t written down on the menu we had, so luckily asked first. €6 for a can. No ta. Pizza wasn’t toooo bad, but when we asked for the bill and there was a 17.5% tip that was non negotiable on it, I couldn’t believe it!! The guy brought us pizza, that’s all he did. I will happily tip for good service etc, but we were forced to pay for a poor restaurant.

He even tried keeping the €2.20 change!! What a swizz. He was so annoyed when I asked for it! Tutted, gave me €2 and waved me away. Nope, you will give me the 20 cents, you douche. Went out, tripadvisored it, and nearly fell over with how bad it was!! Have a look. Nova Caffe. I’ll add a link.

Pantheon and Pizza

Had a big old walk through Rome. Found the Pantheon. Didn’t go inside. Later that night I got a proper pizza from one of the recommended pizza places in my pizza bible. Was good. Queue was massive outside! It was a restaurant and a takeaway, and was manic. I was well chuffed that my Italian I had been learning, maybe passed for someone who was half Italian, or had an Italian cousin. The woman didn’t look at me too weird and that. My least favourite bit I when you’ve been practicing what to say, being quite concise, and telling them everything they need to know, but then they come back with a question! Sometimes it’s guesswork and just say ‘si per fovore’ and hope you haven’t agreed to but everyone in there a bottle of Prosecco or summat. All worked out fine.

Queue! Funny word. A Q, and then 4 silent letters, all waiting their turn.

St Paul’s Basilica

Next day we went slightly out of town to St Paul’s Basilica. Beento Peter’s, so thought we’d do Paul’s as well. This was a lovely building. Smaller, quieter, but just as impressive. Gold everywhere. Worth the trip out on a bus (in a bus?) and a nice leisurely morning. Back into the centre and ended up at Trevi again!? Did the Spanish Steps, had a sit for a while. The street leading up to it was well busy. Not a fan of that. All posh shops and that. The building at the top is pretty cool too, the Obelisco Sallustiano.

Loads of space to think about God and that.

Went home later that day after a bit more wandering round. Itreally is a remarkable city, with old stuff everywhere It’s up there with thevery best cities in terms of things to see and look at, which I think mean thesame thing really. History round every corner, amazing architecture and iconicbuildings a-plenty. Will happily go back and see all the stuff we missed, orthe not so touristy things. Also want more pizza. All the pizza. Grazie.

Amsterdam

We went to Amsterdam for our first of the ‘5 New Countries’ tour! It was really nice too. Good bit was – going to Amsterdam. Bad bit was – having to go to Hull first. Let me explain. Continue reading “Amsterdam”

Hello

I didn’t know how to start a travel blog, but thought ‘hello’ would do. It’s quite polite. Informal maybe, but polite.

I’ve always wanted to start a travel journal of some kind. We’ve done a fair bit of travelling over the last couple of years, and thought a blog would be a great reminder of where we have been, what we have done, and hopefully give others some great ideas for their own travel. You always see loads of travel blogs on the internet, with stuff like ‘ooh look how great this beach is’ or ‘wow look at this monk’ or whatever. This isn’t going to be one of those. Continue reading “Hello”