Item 22: The Netherlands.... Degustation...

Location: Keukenhof, Leiden, Delft, Amsterdam and Rotterdam

Jam packed and all action, we spent three days in the Netherlands. Thanks to the close proximity between the main cities and an efficient transportation system we had a nice taste of Holland's degustation menu.

STARTERS:

Keukenhof (Tulip Garden)

For six weeks of the year this 15 hectare tulip garden is open for all the oldies with green thumbs to flock from around the world to view the pretty flowers. The morning we visited was happiness bundled up in sunshine.

Leiden and Delft

Two quaint old towns, home of Rembrandt and Vermeer respectively. You can tell by walking around the canals the importance of early environmental influence. Had these the artists been brought up in Amsterdam, I'm sure their artworks would've been dramatically different.

Den Haag

Having colonised Indonesia for three and a half centuries, we had a taste of traditional Indonesian cuisine in the centre of Den Haag. Having never ventured to Indonesia, the closest I've been to their cuisine is the dodgy bain-marie of Nelayan in Melbourne. This Rijsttafel (Indonesian banquet) definitely lifted the grade.. (picture below).

MAIN COURSE:

Amsterdam

Synonymous with a weekend in the The Netherlands is the city of Amsterdam. Unlike what we expected, there was no smell of weed in the air as we inhaled our first breath of air at Amsterdam Central Station.

Following up the visits to Lieden and Delft we saw the works of the great artists at the Rijksmuseum. Tip, if you are a complete tourist catch the Canal Company's boats around to the sites so you miss the long queue into the museum.

The next sight was a visit to the Anne Frank house to bring a reality to the sombre happenings in Holland's past. The secret annex, complete with the blacked out curtains, is everything as described in Anne's "Diary of a Young Girl". Seeing the rooms where her family and friends hid for two years would almost be unimaginable had it not been so passionately documented. Even without reading the book, this is well worth a visit.

Then, from past to present, at night, it was a stroll around the streets to Amsterdam's famed Red Light District. Of the 400 windows, 200 were recently bought back by the government in an attempt to bring down the market. But it's still very much alive as you walk through the streets and down alleyways. Crowds wander. Some as tourists, some as customers and plenty with their mates pushing them along. It's a people watching game from every angle. Who's looking in? Who's looking out? Who's got the money? Who's got the body? Oh, who's going into that door now?

DESSERT:

Rotterdam

To finish off a busy weekend we took a pleasant cruise on a ferry to the town of Kinderdijk to visit the famous Dutch windmills. Another world heritage site to add to the list. And peaceful finish to great weekend away.

Item 22: The Netherlands? CHECK!

Item 21: Premiership League - This is FOOTBALL!

Location: Stamford Bridge, London

Chelsea Vs Arsenal - 4:00 PM - 23 March 2008 - Two Vs Three on the English Premiership League Table.

A packed out stadium, passionate members creatively chanting their hearts out, our padded leather seats kept us close to the action on the field. This game could not have compared to anything I'd seen of the A-League back home in Australia.

The 90 minutes raced by and a 2-1 win by Chelsea spoilt the season's hopes for Arsenal.





Item 21: Premiership League? CHECK!

Item 20: St Paddy's Day... The Leprechauns Made Me Do It!

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Our slice of the St Patrick's Day action in Dublin was brought to us by the Fanatic's tour company. They run short trips for Aussies to sporting and festival events around the globe, evidently in true backpacker style.

Instant friends were made as we unlocked the door to our ten-bed mixed dorm room. The craic came rolling in as we changed into our souvenir tour t-shirts which most of the group would wear religiously for the following three days, regardless of the amount of Guinness, cider and other unmentionables that had been spilt on it from the previous night.

Modelling the new fashion on the first evening we headed out to Temple Bar joining in the pre-festival party amongst the tourists and locals.

Squished like sardines, had it been any other bar, in any other country, at any other time, I would've packed up my bat and ball. This was St Paddy's weekend, in Ireland! We checked out out the drinking skills of our young Aussies. An Irish Car bomb (3/4 pint Guinness stout,1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream, 1/2 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey), downed in under ten seconds by one of our group was put to shame as a local opened his gullet and downed a beer in under four!

And so continued the rest of the weekend, drinking and dancing from the early evening to the wee hours of the morning. The routine was only broken with visit to the Guinness Factory (free beer included), a walking tour of the city and a hustle amongst the crowd as we waited for the St Patrick’s Day parade on the Monday, only to give up due to the lack of view and the call of the closet pub.

It was a messy weekend. With the busy crowds, it was unfortunate to find ourselves too freqeuntly in the up-wind position of the many people who were on the "Guinness-Only" diet. We’re old enough to know that it’s not “whoever smelt it, dealt it”, and it would’ve been good if some people had remembered that it’s not a competition, it’s not funny and it bloody stinks!

Item 20: St Paddy's Day? CHECK!

Item 19: Belem... In Search of the Portugese Custard Tart

Location: Pastéis de Belém, Rua de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal

Our mission, upon booking our flights to Lisbon, was to find the perfect Portuguese custard tart.

Catching the bus, (or alternatively tram 15), to the district of Belem to Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, we knew were well on the right track as we past the early morning queue outside Pastéis de Belém.

Disembarking at the spectacular monastery bathed in sunlight, we ventured through the local Sunday market and reflected upon the views of the Torre de Belem, assuring ourselves that our visit wasn’t purely motivated by gluttony.

Once we had completed the tourist circuit, it was time. We lined with the well mannered locals outside of the café. (This gave us enough time to decide how many tarts we dared to consume in one sitting). A little nudging at the counter, we almost lost our spot, had it not been for the lovely Portuguese grannies behind us who let us place our order first.

One box of six beautifully packaged Pasteis de nata, warm from the oven served with sachets of cinnamon and sugar to taste. Their light custard, shelled in filo-like pastry with melt-in-your-mouth texture could not have been more perfect, as we ate them under the Lisbon sun…. mmmmm

Item 19: Belem? CHECK!

Item 18: Sintra... In Search of Sun

Location: Parque da Pena - Estrada da Pena, Portugal

A lovely weekend of 18 degree days greeted us as we stepped out into the foreign sun of Lisbon on Saturday morning, compensating for the 4:30am easyBus ride to London's Luton Airport.

We headed straight for the town of Sintra, a 40 minute train ride from Entre Campos station, which we reached from the airport via bus, effectively saving us from making a pit stop in the capital.

Arriving in the quaint town, a bus ride up the Sintra hills bypassed views of a number of historical palaces and castles. The UNESCO World Heritage Site was validated as we entered the grounds of Palácio da Pena for €8. Tackling the incline of the palace's gardens, (grateful that the '18m' sign post was interpreted correctly as 18 metres, rather than 18 minutes), we viewed hints of fairytale fantasies as we glimpsed the pastel colours of the Neuschwanstein-like castle through the trees.

A kids playground as we explored the palace, there was a surreal romanticism surrounding the former royal retreat, bringing more highlights and amazement at each corner.

To make the most of the weather, we followed the winding footpaths further up the mountain through the historical gardens to the highest place of the Sintra Hills, Cruz Alta - High Cross. Climbing the rock face, we weren't sure if we had actually made it until we saw the crater in the stone, a timely reminder of where the cross should have been. All that effort for the missing redeemer!

Fresh air and sunlight during our visit to the park made for such a refreshing weekend away it was only timely that it would rain the whole day after, when we got back to London.

Item 18: Sintra? CHECK!

Item 17: Soho Theatre - My Brother and I are Porn Stars

Location: Soho Theatre, 21 Dean St, London , W1D 3NE

This was a play I randomly went to see, courtesy of the following review from Timeout Magazine:

Following the success of their sold-out run last Easter, the surreal and taboo-breaking New Zealand comedy group 'My Brother and I are Porn Stars' return with a Christmas show that all the family definitely can't enjoy together as it contains nudity, mania, violence and Christian porn

Remember the good times when you've settled down for a few drinks with your mates after dinner, where else does a typical night's conversation lead? That's the best analogy I can come up with at the moment without giving too much away from the night's performance. The storyline was a jumble of inappropriateness filled with shocks of laughter.

We walked out of the play thinking, hrmm.. What was that? So glad there wasn't an intermission for us to ponder the show any longer than required.

Item 17: Soho Theatre? CHECK!

Item 16: London Transport Museum... "Please mind the gap..."

Location: London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2 E7BB

It's been four months since my arrival in London and the Tube has been my best friend. From the very beginning, as I boarded the Piccadilly line at Heathrow Airport, my deep dependence has fostered our relationship on a daily basis. And so, it was time to get to know each other a little better and meet Tube's family with a visit to the newly refurbished London Transport Museum.

An £8 admission fee and a lift ride that counts down as you travel back in time to the 1800's brings you to the start, where horse and carriage serviced the city. As you venture through the exhibits that progressively bring you to the transport systems of the present day, visitors are provided with a card to collect 13 stamps throughout the complex. Each stamp provides a representation of the transport of the times. Hence, the first stamp is in the shape of a horse and cart. The rest I shall leave as a surprise.

If the stamps fail to capture your interest, as transportation improves through the ages so does the level of interaction with the displays. Put up a fight against the little kids and their parents, and get in quick for a chance to drive your own train in the 21st century. Or give the kids a nudge in the direction of the makeshift rails to see what will happen in the real world.

As for the my beloved Tube, be captivated as you watch the development of the network though the joining yellow, blue, green, red, silver, brown, black and maroon lines on the big screen to form the current map of today.

A fulfilling afternoon at the museum, and happy memories come to mind as I hear the station annoucement, "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform".

Item 16: London Transport Museum? CHECK!