I'm nearly not here...

**Mikkel** · 13th August 2008, 12:37

Have a nice holiday!

If you can make it to Rothenburg ob der Tauber go see it. It's really spectacular.

Originally Posted by Swoop

Beware!

Yrp is FULL of bloody foreigners who don't speak bloody English!

...Some of the beer isn't too bad. You had better sample it all to get a proper opinion...

Have fun and don't do anything that I wouldn't do...

That sounds like New Zealand to me

**more_fasterer** · 13th August 2008, 13:33

Sounds like the makings of a great holiday, be sure to relax and enjoy it, just don't get shot while in LA please.

**portokiwi** · 13th August 2008, 13:43

Originally Posted by Swoop

Beware!

Yrp is FULL of bloody foreigners who don't speak bloody English!

...Some of the beer isn't too bad. You had better sample it all to get a proper opinion...

Have fun and don't do anything that I wouldn't do...

that sounds like Auckland

Have a great trip mate and yes we all want to see the photos.

**vifferman** · 13th August 2008, 13:50

Originally Posted by more_fasterer

Sounds like the makings of a great holiday, be sure to relax and enjoy it, just don't get shot while in LA please.

It should be a good holi-o-day - the vifferbabe has been planning it for long enough.

We didn't get shot last time we were in LA (Christmas 2006), so I have high hopes of staying clear of tragedy this time too. It wasn't our first choice, but SF (also visited in 2006) was too expensive as a stopover - would've added $1500 each to the trip. As it was, we booked our flights a couple of days before they went up heaps - WAAAAAY back at the end of January.

What a friggin' slow day... doesn't help that I didn't get much sleep last night.

Wish I was flying business class like when we went to Mrka....

**Swoop** · 13th August 2008, 16:45

Originally Posted by Mikkel

That sounds like New Zealand to me

Nope. They can drive properly in Yrp.

**Mikkel** · 13th August 2008, 16:55

Originally Posted by Swoop

Nope. They can drive properly in Yrp.

Well, what Vifferman wrote didn't say anything about that...

Ever been to a large Italian city? Dunno if they drive properly - but it's still very impressive

**yungatart** · 13th August 2008, 16:59

Have a great trip! I'm green with envy.
hXc leaves here next Thursday for Brussels, but still doesn't have a host family. If you see a 17 y/o looking lost and lonely, wearing a Kiwi tshirt, can you look after him please....

**Swoop** · 13th August 2008, 17:00

Originally Posted by Mikkel

Ever been to a large Italian city?

Yes.

I trust mad Italian driving more than kiwi's.
BTW. Turkish driving can be quite entertaining as well...

**MacD** · 13th August 2008, 18:53

Have a great trip! Will keep the lad supplied with DVDs ready for your return.

**Swoop** · 14th August 2008, 12:27

Has he gone yet??

It does seem quieter today...

I wonder how good the airline food is nowadays?

**mstriumph** · 14th August 2008, 12:30

i am sooooooooooooooooooooo jealous

**Swoop** · 14th August 2008, 20:14

Bloody hell!
I can hear a MASSIVE party over on the North Shore! Cops everywhere, police helicopter overhead. Sounds like a real doozy!

**vifferman** · 18th August 2008, 20:23

I hope the house is totalled then - it's well insured and a pain in the ring gear...

So.
Anyway - the vacation is great so far. The stopover in HK was better than expected (everyone was so friendly and helpful).
On the motorcycling front, the Supa Scootah is king, although we saw a few other bikes, mostly small, and a VFR800 cop bike. De rigeur bike gear is None of the Gear, All of the Time, apart from an openfaced helmet.

The first stay in London (2 nights, with four more later on) was very good. We stayed just off Euston Rd, across the road from Kings Cross St Pancras, and caught buses, the tube and whatnot from there. Had an éverything' pass for the day we traveled about, caught the tube to Covent Garden, and went on the new RVI bus loop, had a walk around here and there, visited the Tower of London, saw Liz's bling, had a pub lunch on the banks of the Thames (next to where the Golden Hind is parked up).
Bikes here are proper ones - lots of lanesplitting, noisy pipes, that sort of thing. Made me almost itch for a blat meself...

Caught the Eurostar to Brussels yesterday (what a hole that was -we got lost driving around for an hour, and even the police weren't any help!)
The Eurostar was a kewl way to travel - very fast and quiet - but tunnels were literally a pain. Stuffing 20 carriages into a tunnel at 120 km/h or so pressurises it very nicely - and one's eardrums. And going under the channel was an anticlimax: suddenly you're in the Eurotunnel, and 15 minutes later, you're in la belle France. They should at least have fanfare over the PA or summat.

Finally made it to Brouwhuis in Holland about 90 minutes later than expected. Got a lovely VW Passat diesel wagon as a rental. Shame our plan to buy a Tom Tom beforehand fell through - it would have helped a lot. We're in Browhuis for a week, meeting relatives (it's a huge family) and travelling around Holland from here. Next week, it's 12 days whizzing around Yrp, then back to Londinium for four nights, then LA for three.

I've got lots of pics, all boringish, but some time I'll set up a photobucket account or summat...

**Swoop** · 18th August 2008, 20:30

Hope the jetlag didn't hit too bad. Via Asia seems easier on the body than via USA.

Your idea of the Tom Tom sounds rather good. Urp has a few driving problems to avoid!

Have fun!

Originally Posted by vifferman

De rigeur bike gear is None of the Gear, All of the Time, apart from an openfaced helmet.

NGATT???