Cityscapes

Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, NSW

















Martin Place, Sydney, NSW

















Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney, NSW

It is Official: Two Weeks (and One Day) to Go

With only two weeks and one day to go, I feel that it is appropriate to begin making my list of all of the important tasks I must perform prior to my departure. I truly believe that the difference between a good holiday and a bad holiday is dependant on one variable - planning. Accordingly, It is imperative that I do as follows:

1. Task One - Shoes
Determine how to fit the following shoes in my backpack - sneakers (for mandatory exercise), hiking shoes (for hiking), point-toed stiletto heeled boots (for going out), rounded toe knee high boots (for going out), thongs (or "flip flops", one pair for showering, one pair for casual wear) and/or sandals.

2. Task Two - Movies
Having logged onto www.emirates.com and thoroughly reviewed their "Inflight Entertainment Guide - August - September", I must now have to prioritise which movies should be watched, and in what order - Dot the I, Fully Loaded, Herbie: Fully Loaded; Hostage, Madagascar, Mr. & Mrs Smith, Off the Map, The Deal, The Interpreter, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and/or Warm Springs. Unfortunately, the idea of watching Lindsay Lohan starve herself while sitting in a VW Beetle (as well as Nicole Kidman playing an intelligent woman, and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie using guns for foreplay) does not excite me greatly. See Task 3 for other optional plane activity.

3. Task Three - Stimulants and Depressants
Given that I already have problems with getting to sleep in my own $2000 Sealy Posturepaedic Queen Sized Bed, I'm expecting to find some difficulty closing my eyes during the twenty four (24) hour flight. This will be the only time that you will see me promote the use of alcohol and/or prescription drugs to achieve success. Accordingly, I must sit down and schedule at what best time I shall swallow my concoction of Dozile and Bacardi. I must take into account that upon arrival, I will be signing a rental agreement for a car, and driving off into the dirty, London sunset.

4. Eating and Dietary Requirements
I find that I only decide whether I am vegetarian or have special dietary requirements once I have reviewed the In Flight Menu. Thankfully, Emirates posts a copy of the same on their website so there is plenty of time to make up a special dietary need based on either medical or religious grounds. See attached for Economy Class Menu - http://www.emirates.com/au/TravellerInformation/Inflight/InflightDining/EconomyClassMenu.asp
I am sure that, while all meals are cooked and frozen in advance in Economy Class, vegetables served inFirst Class are obtained from the cockpit's own vegetable garden, and all animals are slaughtered on board.

Watch this space for more planning tasks and other senseless chatter.

Kate.

A Smile to Warm the Heart

While not the best candidate to procreate, I still enjoy capturing the innocence and honesty of children at play. This is Jack, my friend Sharon's eighteen month old baby, who I have found incredibly photogenic.

Pretty Floral Arrangements

I swore than I would never become one of those amateur photographers that spent their time taking photos of floral arrangements. But when its a rainy weekend, the car battery is flat and no NRMA assistance, there's just nothing else to photograph.

http://www.eeyartee.com/theglobaltrip/photos/wouldyouslideshow.html

Early Morning Balmoral

Sydney On A Sunday Morning

Testing the Camera - My Not-So-Cooperative Cat

Tigger is approximately fifteen years old and is more or less over being on this earth. Tigger has a constant "I am not amused" look on his face, which meant that he wasnt the most co-operative model. It was only going to be a matter of time before Tigger became annoyed at the camera in his face.

Check Out These Websites

Just to keep everyone in the holiday mood, check out these websites which show some pretty amazing photos taken of Europe and around the rest of the world.

www.phototravels.net

www.billhocker.com

k

My Itinerary - Should I Be Going to Europe?

As I scanned the newspapers today, I have read about the death toll which is rising as a result of the floods which are occuring in Europe at the moment. In particular - the places which I intend to spend a lot of my time, such as Interlaken and Lucerne, Switzerland and some parts of Austria. Accordingly, I may have to revisit my itinerary if things havent settled down by the time I get there. I am also making sure I do not forget a rain proof jacket and an umbrella.

Here is the latest timetable, which all of you may refer to as you wonder where on earth I am:

15/9 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
16/9 - Arrive in London, England - hire car and drive up to Telford, England (maybe via seeing Adam in London)
17/9 - Telford, England
18/9 - Telford, England
19/9 - Telford, England
20/9 - Liverpool, England (fly out to Italy)
21/9 - Venice, Italy
22/9 - Venice, Italy
23/9 - Venice, Italy - Florence, Italy
24/9 - Florence, Italy
25/9 - Florence, Italy - Cinque Terre, Italy
26/9 - Cinque Terre, Italy
27/9 - Cinque Terre - Milano, Italy - Brig, Switzerland
28/9 - Brig, Switzerland - Interlaken, Switzerland
29/9 - Interlaken, Switzerland - Lucerne, Switzerland
30/9 - Lucerne, Switzerland
1/10 - Lucerne, Switzerland - Salzburg, Austria [or maybe Oktoberfest, Munich]
2/10 - Salzburg, Austria
3/10 - Salzburg, Austria - Paris, France (O/N)
4/10 - Paris, France5/10 - Paris, France
6/10 - Paris, France - Loire Valley, France
7/10 - Loire Valley, France - London, England
8/10 - London, England
9/10 - London, England
10/10 - London, England
11/10 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
12/10 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Sydney, Australia

I am sure the itinerary will change in the next couple of weeks, but that should give you some kind of an idea of the plans.

K

Welcome to Kate On The Go

Welcome to my first post of "Kate On The Go", which is a "sub-blog" of my general "Random Ramblings". This is where I will be posting my entries for Europe and beyond. Please feel free to drop a line or two to say hello!

Does Time Stop When You Want Something to Arrive?

It feels as though the world knows I am going away soon and it is deliberately out to get me.

It seems as though time has stopped and the days are frozen.

Its like the calender pages wont turn and every one else is walking and I am standing.

I am suffering from the greatest amount of frustration imaginable. I know that this is only a tiny slice of what it will be like once I am back in Sydney and waiting for March 2006 to roll along, when it is time for me to REALLY go away. However, right now i am focused on waiting out the days until I go away to Europe, atleast for one month's holiday for the time being.Whilst time is standing still, my plans are continuing to build. I didnt realise just how little time I will be spending over there until I started to work out where I wanted to go. I soon worked out that I wont be able to see half of what i really want to in only such a short amount of time. I am just going to have to see where my heart takes me, and then go to everywhere else next time I am there.

I found an amazing quote on www.travelblog.org today:

"People travel for different reasons. I think I travel to feel complete. I found bits and pieces of myself in these different countries, in different cultures, in being lost and not understanding any words, in trying to figure out how the simplest things work, like buying a cheesepie, it's like being born again"I couldnt have put it in better words myself."

Kate