Scotia

We've loved our time here in Scotia (Scotland). We've seen some brilliant architecture, met some brilliant people and admired this great land. Our hosts here have been more than generous and fantastic tour guides. Thanks so much!

Here's a little movie of us riding around Glasgow listening to a radio show in Gaelic.

Edinburgh






Stunning-Stunning-Stunning. I can't believe I lived 4.5 hours drive away for 26 years and never came here. Edinburgh - sometimes called Vienna of the North ... is AMAZING. M and I was blown away.

More later, just ducked out of a party briefly to update our blog.

Stirling




This morning we headed over to Stirling. En route we stopped at the famous battle-site Bannockburn where the Scottish army lead by Robert the Bruce defeated the English army by issuing a major troncing. Robert the Bruce came up with the Expression 'if at first, you don't succeed, try-try-again'.

Afterwards we strolled the city walls. We passed a magnificent church sporting bullet marks in the walls thanks to Oliver Cronwell's attack in the 1500's. We checked out the grave yard and admired the Celtic gravestones.

Passing a bunch of teenagers gustling 20/20 at 11:30am we climbed upto the Castle walls munching on delicious Highland toffee. The viewS from the castle were territorial no less - well it's important to see approaching armys :). We observed magnificents hills, the highland mountains and the memorial of William Wallace (you know the Braveheart dude!).

ScotchLand



So here we are in bonnie Scotland. Me, M, and my brother Rumple and his mate the IrishRover all headed North to Glasgow.

Heading North we passed thru my fave part of England, and stopped in the border city of Carlisle to check out a museum which has a exhibition on my ancestors - the Reivers. I learnt that I've descended from a bunch of thieves and murderers. Fighting familes- nice!. Yes, we dwelled in the lawless (at the time) border region on the English-Scottish border and caused mayhem. Constantly fighting with other families we painted an interesting time. Yes, I read all about it today - there was even a short movie on it. The word - BEREVED means be-rievered which means - to be murdered or kidnapped by a Reiver. Nice! Shaking that off history we jumped back in the car and headed for the border of bonnie Scotland. What a bonnie place this is. The lands are raw and beautiful..

We're staying with my brothers mate here in Glasgow and he has given us the most generous hospitality and a fab tour of the town this evening. We started the eve with an authentic Scottish experience .. we ate a lovely stew as we listening to the bagpipes, followed by Shortcake and Dundee cake. yum! Afterwards we had tour of this magnificent city. Theres some fab places here, and I'll admit I'm surprised and blown away. M got to drink some Iron Bru as we walked in the pouring rain.

Tommorow we're off to Stirling to check out the Castle, then onto the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots and finishing in Edinburgh for the afternoon then back to Glasgow for a night on the town.

The Streets Of Manchester




After the glorious 80 degree weather it's back to the rain. Sporting our suntans and raincoats we headed out for some fun in Manchester. We headed to some of fave places, did some clothe shopping and then I took M to one my old stomping grounds and from the Indie days - Corbierres. Throwing coins in the jukebox we weathered the rain listening to Manchester classics -- The Smiths, Stone Roses, Joy Division and The Fall. We met some friendly folk and had a good old time.

It's great to be back, running into old faces, old places and generally being all English. lol!

Adios Amigo

Our vacation in Spain has come to it's end. We've had a really fab time here and really enjoyed our relaxation and adventures. We truly love Spain - with it's triumphantly proud flamenco gestures, friendly folk, great lands, fab food (well the veggie stuff!) and magnificent culture. So, until next time .. adios amigo.

Ronda




M and I took a fabulous day trip to Ronda. Catching a regional bus we headed over the Sierra Nieves. A ride not for the faint hearted, as we headed high into the mountains on a narrow road with incredible drops. The views we're fantastic - dense vibrant green pine trees forests hugging onto rich earthen slopes, the Med. Sea and the rock of Gibralter. Higher and higher the bus went until we plateaued on a plain above the tree line.

Just shy of 2 hours we arrived in Ronda. We felt quite dizzy from the altitude and cold mountain air. A pitstop into a patisserie and some delicious chococolate cakes solved the problem ... and we marched onwards for adventure.

We checked out the old town, and the most amazing bridge which connects 2 parts of the town. The bridge spans a deep gorge and the river. From here the most amazing views can be seen ... out across the plains to a nearby mountain range.

We wandered the old walls taking many pictures, before heading back over the bridge into the towns squares. We warmed ourselves in the warn sun, enjoying tapas and refreshments. Time for more cakes and a wander before heading back for sunset ride to our hotel.

Ronda was just amazing. Located on high cliff walls, featuring architecture as far back as it's Arab roots - it was a stunning place.
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OLE

Not the Microsoft technology, but the expression of Spanish passion and life. We´ve been really enjoying our time here in Andalucia, Spain. We love Spain, the people, the culture, the food, the amazing zest for life here.

So what´s been going on the last couple of days? Well all sorts of things ...

We spent a great lazy afternoon on the beach sunbathing, listening to the waves lap against the shore, eyeballing the snows on the distant Sierra Nevada mountains behind Granada.

We´ve been having some great ´´Pheonix Nights¨ caberet nights in the hotels. Last night we watched a wonderful Flamenco Ballet, which was just amazing. The dancers looked and danced amazingly. The previous night we watched an Irish boy band (LOL) which isn´t my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it non the less. There was a chubby guy on the end who looked just like Max out of Max & Paddy! which we all all had a good laugh at. There was also a lady in the audience who had some ´troubles´and kept jumping up on the stage only to be asked politely to return to her seat.

It´s raining today, so we jumped on a local bus and headed out to mall somewhere on the outskirts of town. I picked up a new pair of kool shoes for around $20 CDN, and we had some tasty tapas lunch.

Tommorow the sun returns, and the plan is to visit Ronda either tommorow or the day after.

Saville

M and I had a perfect trip to Saville. Everything fell into place .. it was like the 1st five iteratations of the Fabernacci sequence, divine preportions, were used as co-efficients in our GoodTimes() function.

After a 3 hour train ride we arrived in Saville. Took a cab to the old town maze also known as the Santa Cruz district and got hilariously lost. Eventually we checked into our hotel, and oldSkool place once frequented by the writer who came up with the character Don Juan.

A quick freshen up and off we went exploring. We sauntered the beautiful maze of the Santa Cruz district, marvelling at the fantastic architecture, people and gardens. We headed over to a grand gardens and a palace, taking picture after picture. We checked out an amazing Flemenco player. Saville is the birth place of Flamenco.

As evening arrived we found a great tapas bar filled with locals. Music played, and the after work crowd settled into a good night. We had a laugh with a few people, enjoyed a few Cruz Campo cervezas and headed off to change for dinner.

M had already figured out a great place to eat, a place called San Marco´s, a great restaurant in a formally arab baths. Great food and ambience. Good times. Afterwards we enjoyed locals bars chatting with locals, and a nice couple from Majorca. All the while the locations and the Spanish experiences made us smile. (here´s our fave below - Santa Cruz Bodega)

Following day we headed to the Alcazar, and old Arab construction filled with classic arab architecture and infinate detail. Later, it was used the HQ for Spanish expeditions. We checked out a bunch of Magellens artifacts. We took a bazillion photographs, which I'll post ASAP.

The afternoon we enjoyed great Tapa´s in our fave place .. patata´s brabas, patata´s ali-oli, calamari (for M!) and paella. All super yummy and less than 1.20 each. The place was called Santa Cruz Bodega and was super vibrant, packed with locals who all smiled and was super friendly as I ordered in my broken Spanish. LOL! We tooks some movies of various characters in the place.

Later we headed off to a Market, checking our more Saville. Around 5pm we headed off to the train station and headed back. The train headed through many canyons, endless olive groves.

A great trip that M put together to celebrate our 12th year anniversery. It´s wild that it´s 80 degrees in Novemeber!

PS. The snow in Whistler and the local moutains of Vancouver is looking nice! I think we´re set for another great year of boarding.

Hey Rumpole!

Email me! I don´t have your email with me. thx.

Marbella


The Kormacurry family all headed to Marbella today. We´ve always wanted to go her after hearing rumours of beauty and the stories of the European glitterati hanging out here. 2.51 Euros each was the price of a ticket followed by a 25Km ride along the coast.

The sun shon hard as we jumped off the bus and walked along the manicured palm tree lined promenade. Marbella is very beautful, and like Vancouver it´s exceptionally manicured. We found a park filled with Salvador Dali sculptures, which was - nice.

In the afternoon we headed into the old town. Magnificent! Narrow streets, filled with blooming flowers and trees (is it November?), bouganvilla everywhere, squares filled with with orange groves, palms, fountains and the most charming cafe´s. 10 out of 10! We´ll be going back there soon.

Lazily sauntering around the old town we checked out a castle, a 300 year old building with a Virgin Mary statue in the balcany, a grand church with old guys relaxing in the shade. Lots of pictures which I´ll share as soon as I can download them.

Now, I can´t see why Marbella is labelled as the play ground of the rich and famous. It´s a perfectly chaming place filled with, erm, regular folk.

Todays Tapas: Aged goats cheese, bread, oil. Refreshment: San Michel

Tommorow we´re heading to Saville for a couple of days to celebrate our anniversery.

Mijas Pueblo

We awoke to cloudy skies, followed by rain. The Kormacurry family sat in the hotel twiddling our thumbs enjoying refreshment. M suggested we head into the old town for some Tapas. So off we went, stopping off a for a 2 Euro umbrella and some tasty tapas. The rain fell, we ate, we drank and stared at the puddles forming amongst the cobbles. Soon after the rain subsided, and M came up with great idea number#2 .. ¨let´s jump on a bus and head off to Mijas Pueblo¨, it looks great¨. Off to the bus station we went, bought a tick for 1.10 euros and jumped on the bus. Leaving town we headed up the mountain towards the town.

30 mins we where in the mountains, checking out the most magnificent view of the coast. It must have been about 3000 feet up. A bunch of photos later it was time to mooch around this jewel of a mountain village. We checked out the tiny winding streets with mosaiced floors, bountiful orange trees, villas covered in bouganvilla and the misty clouds rolling past the pined covered hills.



We spent a great afternoon here, then headed back down the mountain on the bus ... zapped with great fresh air, rosy cheeks and some great photos.

Viva Espania

We headed out of Manchester yesterday evening amid a spectacular sunset. We took lots of pictures. After a short 2.5 hour flight we arrived in Southern Spain. We then grabbed a coach to the hotel. Freshening up we explored the hotel and took a walk along the lovely beach. Jetlag still being around, we closed the night around 2.30 AM last night.

Manchester, Na-Na-Na

Friday we hopped the metrolink into town and met up with our pals. A lovely afternoon walking around, checking out our fave sites. We enjoyed much refreshment in some of our fave establishments before settling in a pub alongside the Canal. Ahhh, European life.

Later on we headed down to Rusholme, Manchesters Indian Village which features over a mile of curry houses. We all enjoyed a delicious meal in our fave place - Punjab. The waiter was actually serving an apprenticeship and learning the ways from Toronto. He´s heading back and opening a place there with his dad. He gave us his card and location of the restaurant for a FREE slap-up dinner should we ever make it to Toronto. Nice dude.

After much festivities and catching up, it was time to jump back on the metrolink (light rail) and head back to the folks.

The Flight To London

It´s starts of just like a joke ... There´s an Englishman, an Irishman and a German. All on a place to England. There Germans say´s, ¨let´s all drink some beer¨. The Irishman said ¨aye, for sure¨ and the Englishman gladly excepted. After a while the Irishman lay on the floor and used his seat as a pillow. Englishman and German carrys on. After a while, M tells us it´s 2 hours to England, everyones asleep, so it´s probably a good time to stop giggling and get some rest. Can´t argue with that logic... so heads down for some sleep.

I always enjoy the people we meet travelling, best friends for 12 hours. The German actually lives in our neighbourhood and is professer in Computing at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. He was on his way to do a lecture at the London School Of Economics. The Irishman, actually lived in our fave place in Oregon. A small town of around 200 people! He invited us to come stay with him when we´re down there ... for sure!

Brother picked us up in Manchester. Thankfully he remembered where the car was this year ... so no tired walks around the parking lot. Great to see the rest of the family, and Mum made us a fantastic meal ... which we heartily enjoyed after the plane food. We then watched some great Telly before falling asleep and heading of to bed for the best nights sleep ever. Well we´d been up for 36 or so hours...

Off To Blighty


Tonight we fly to England (Blighty). It's gonna be night of eating, sleeping, drinking, reading, stretching, various attempts to chat to grumpy passengers, listening to our iPod & playing PSP. Yeahhhh!