tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37420539008176238032024-02-22T07:17:04.088+00:00moviesandmaldivesOne of my favourite things is travelling and going on holidays and as my friends have started to call me Judith Chalmers I thought I'd start blogging about my trips. But then I also thought one of my other favourite pastimes is watching movies and as my friends and I always like to give our own little reviews after the film I thought why not blog about that too? So here I am blogging about my trips and what movies I've watched!AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-31812608158423563332014-06-13T12:35:00.000+01:002014-06-13T12:36:00.928+01:00Bank Holiday Escape - To Vilamoura<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided to skip the uncertainty of UK bank holiday
weather and head off for some (hopefully) more guaranteed sunshine in the
Algarve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Centering around the so called 'millionaire's marina', Vilamoura
is my resort of choice. It's my fifth trip to Portugal and my third visit to
Vilamoura specifically, which I think says something about my feelings for the
area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While I am still a little way off becoming a millionaire
(ok maybe a lot) it's a great place to sit back and admire the stunning super
yachts in the marina and get yourself lost in thoughts of what it might be like
to own one!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4JPblCBqBv0MulJIdUx2M5esW1u4n_pFsEkdluXYdeut7NrSgKEe7-Fvn8ey1gFUMBbe7eqZE2ofsYYHlfzlNOT7yn_Js3FinyKunJqffc5FsWSIcW2AZTRA5ov2Iw5ISMjB1D145had/s1600/image+6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4JPblCBqBv0MulJIdUx2M5esW1u4n_pFsEkdluXYdeut7NrSgKEe7-Fvn8ey1gFUMBbe7eqZE2ofsYYHlfzlNOT7yn_Js3FinyKunJqffc5FsWSIcW2AZTRA5ov2Iw5ISMjB1D145had/s1600/image+6.jpeg" height="320" title="Vilamoura Marina" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That one's mine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'm here with my mum for a long weekend and we find it's
the perfect place to spend the days basking in the sunshine and wandering
leisurely along the vast stretches of golden sandy beach; and the evenings
relaxing with a cocktail at sunset and watching the world go by over a usually
delicious meal around the marina.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCw5tINEBzIYhzzFTSYfUc8pGygype7yRB43VNjXpBuBBInTUArkFHQewZ1HINyZI6Ch-QhHTFtAN5tGBeo6GPAvSP7Sx5U_z5PAGyGEAh0H_0m63braIRLLUE-6f48PglYse6DpwEXUp/s1600/image+8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijCw5tINEBzIYhzzFTSYfUc8pGygype7yRB43VNjXpBuBBInTUArkFHQewZ1HINyZI6Ch-QhHTFtAN5tGBeo6GPAvSP7Sx5U_z5PAGyGEAh0H_0m63braIRLLUE-6f48PglYse6DpwEXUp/s1600/image+8.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cocktails at sunset in the Tivoli</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiGhLsH9T_kXV0AHX3CyyS1WlD9Olwqr-nIsXsBH5c9H1O5ddjl8N0DK28YS2U7nwrkboBc2BheQ7CossJRIJH8boLOut7IDvuq6HERTMZ4BF_LrHm0_Pf5shDaS3NXMgDoZR2l3j8tqb/s1600/image+7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiGhLsH9T_kXV0AHX3CyyS1WlD9Olwqr-nIsXsBH5c9H1O5ddjl8N0DK28YS2U7nwrkboBc2BheQ7CossJRIJH8boLOut7IDvuq6HERTMZ4BF_LrHm0_Pf5shDaS3NXMgDoZR2l3j8tqb/s1600/image+7.jpeg" height="240" title="Vilamoura beach" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vilamoura beach....now, where to sit? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We stayed at the <a href="http://www.dompedro.com/DomPedro/OurHotels/DomPedroGolfResort.aspx" target="_blank">Dom Pedro Golf</a> Hotel, which is just a
few minutes’ walk from the marina. It's a good hotel with simple but clean and
perfectly adequate rooms, a spacious lobby and bar area, restaurant and spa
facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the large gardens there
are plenty of sunbeds, volleyball and tennis courts, a play area and a good
size (of not still a bit chilly in May) main pool as well as a kid’s pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rooms have either a garden view or, like
ours, a sea view - you can't beat waking up to a sea view each morning!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9xskclbQi0VSBFAM_LXHH75ezXaktEDMr51y98S84vzOUdT5FYi60fr7vh7lVn0OPZ57PKbYn3cnbH-klhsdvO4QtX1_wcF50Sp5fdL3j5cZmB8cXS2cerYmEvPwwGZnUHF5NfSwRGEC/s1600/image+5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9xskclbQi0VSBFAM_LXHH75ezXaktEDMr51y98S84vzOUdT5FYi60fr7vh7lVn0OPZ57PKbYn3cnbH-klhsdvO4QtX1_wcF50Sp5fdL3j5cZmB8cXS2cerYmEvPwwGZnUHF5NfSwRGEC/s1600/image+5.jpeg" height="320" title="Dom Pedro Golf Hotel" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dom Pedro Golf Hotel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is an abundance of eating and watering holes around
the town in a variety of world cuisines, however we chose to mainly eat around
the marina because... well why not really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are some suggestions of places we visited and liked
- these are all (bar one) located around the marina:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Lamparo's <o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Located in the bottom right corner of the marina (based
on the marina entrance being the too) the Italian food at Lamparo's is
delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since our last visit the
marina has added a jetty around the edge giving the bars and restaurants extra
capacity and diners the opportunity to right by the water’s edge. They bring
you a cover of bread, olives, mini pizzas, crostini (puff pastry sticks) and
(still unidentified) battered rings of some sort so unless you're super hungry
you can get away with not ordering a starter (there is a small charge of €2.50
pp for the covers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had four cheese risotto and chicken alla siciliana
both of which were especially tasty, followed by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dame Blanche and Coupe Saison ice creams -
beware they are fairly sizeable ice creams and while I couldn't quite finish it
all I did of course give it a good go! This restaurant scored highly on both
taste and presentation!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two courses plus
wine costs around €35 a head for 2 courses plus wine.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHD23VT8DcAxDy08aBZ6l9xE1d0uyKXNEY_jiv9NY0OR0HWG4_Y1eJKgQkxiUGJkLHNHAdxkxS3s6kLSQXJTuBffWumGALU7QwgSyDuFLNjVqxqDbySrtOjZtCaLVKBM4Xk6LCajhT-Ocx/s1600/image+7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiPvXXXw115OdHN9jDaiK0PnJ-lwid4hATgX7w_bb1T9WcEojwjnOLXBg_Tle0w3UYrZ9ZdZZeQnVC-hVSFM17OrMoRZGmIKFiyNJpyAPYTNK_MwOVys149nEo8aCjtaN6wRTrFjSEUas/s1600/image+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiPvXXXw115OdHN9jDaiK0PnJ-lwid4hATgX7w_bb1T9WcEojwjnOLXBg_Tle0w3UYrZ9ZdZZeQnVC-hVSFM17OrMoRZGmIKFiyNJpyAPYTNK_MwOVys149nEo8aCjtaN6wRTrFjSEUas/s1600/image+2.jpeg" height="240" title="Ice Cream" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my five a day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Nosolo Italia<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An Italian and gelateria - we made the mistake of
ordering two meals here when we could probably have shared just one as the
portions were all pretty sizeable! Melon and Parma ham and a garlic bread to
start, followed by a pizza each then a pannacotta and another huge ice cream - although
the ice cream did have fruit in it so obviously it was good for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three courses and half a bottle of wine set
us back around €30 a head. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Buzios Beach Club<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This cute little beach bar is on the beach (as you would
imagine) just near the Vila Gale hotel. All decked out in blue and white this
is the ideal location for a leisurely lunch while taking in the amazing view of
the golden sands and clear blue skies. We ordered Pimms a couple of sandwiches
and some fries which cost around €15 each. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>News Bar and Restaurant<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had brunch here on the terrace overlooking the marina
and also an evening meal inside the restaurant, which cost around €30 for two
salads a desert and wine.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ86vnMwPKpPanLMyPV1fsjE-YeFa4JI76WpJ24xR_GML1wT_Ayeyz_NQdXjfBzpOxJ-YDq00r8qz6OKopHCkxoIH_XAVpIaJBNNDunlHyYanB6OI8kf78HiyMCgW6yGJ_n5z271L4jJ6f/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ86vnMwPKpPanLMyPV1fsjE-YeFa4JI76WpJ24xR_GML1wT_Ayeyz_NQdXjfBzpOxJ-YDq00r8qz6OKopHCkxoIH_XAVpIaJBNNDunlHyYanB6OI8kf78HiyMCgW6yGJ_n5z271L4jJ6f/s1600/image.jpeg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad way to spend a Friday lunchtime</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Tai Tai<o:p></o:p></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This Chinese restaurant does a great set menu - only €48
for two people, includes four courses and a drink.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sandbanksvdl" target="_blank">Sandbanks</a> - Vale do Lobo</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another reason I like Portugal is because my friend lives there, so whenever I go I always try to meet up with her. This time we met for lunch and she took us over to nearby Vale do Lobo, which is a very nice area and also happened to be where the England football team were on their pre World Cup training camp! We went to a restaurant called Sandbanks and enjoyed lunch, a glass of wine and a well deserved catch up overlooking the glistening sea. Unfortunately no footballers spotted! </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ21sON-Bj9rDFKgto6srqywlyqIVsqP_xBbbV-SQii25rSq6-kVejJFe9vcL03VkkgK-OG7HtnNpzcXR39TAILW16pd18Qsn8ciAkRfealtaYPQkZC2wwm6v9iahSf2fMaqCOAxo3aWeX/s1600/image+9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ21sON-Bj9rDFKgto6srqywlyqIVsqP_xBbbV-SQii25rSq6-kVejJFe9vcL03VkkgK-OG7HtnNpzcXR39TAILW16pd18Qsn8ciAkRfealtaYPQkZC2wwm6v9iahSf2fMaqCOAxo3aWeX/s1600/image+9.jpeg" height="320" title="Sandbanks Restaurant" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did someone say footballers?<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another thing to mention is the touristic train. We
picked it up from outside the Vila Gale hotel and it takes you around
Vilamoura, to the old town, which didn't look so old but had some very fancy
villas and hotels such as the Four Seasons. It cost €2 for a one way ticket,
€3.50 for a round trip and €5 for an all-day ticket. We got off at the Lakeside
Resort and strolled along the beach and then back around the marina.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally, we took a Dolphin Safari (€35 each). After boarding the small rib speedboat boat we headed off with the wind in our hair (literally) along the coast towards Albuferia and the Sea Caves. After pootling around the Sea Caves, along with a number of other boats full of holidaymakers, we turned back and sped off out to sea in search of dolphins. After many 'is that one? oh no its just a wave' moments we eventually found a whole pod who happily swam alongside, underneath and in front of us popping in and out of the water as they went. It's quite a sight to see dolphins out in the wild and I actually managed to get a picture or two (well as good as I'm ever going to get I think!).</span><br />
</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlPTu655sgk__qI-1RGFwEtar7Th84si2Dae2mQXrF-9x_3C4JT62C0QWCC0vTM33W28OWCcya24Fq6lW39i4YTPnNHIrQVn0lq705pzCF4W2VvUX927y5Do-7G67s12h7xBGebEYBkKO/s1600/image+4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlPTu655sgk__qI-1RGFwEtar7Th84si2Dae2mQXrF-9x_3C4JT62C0QWCC0vTM33W28OWCcya24Fq6lW39i4YTPnNHIrQVn0lq705pzCF4W2VvUX927y5Do-7G67s12h7xBGebEYBkKO/s1600/image+4.jpeg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">..that's the best I'm going to get!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-35143745326364645732011-09-23T10:30:00.001+01:002011-09-23T10:42:54.555+01:00Cyprus Adventure - Part 2<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Nicosia</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After a few more days of soaking up the sun in our fabulous villa we decided to venture out and take a day trip on Saturday to Nicosia.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We got up early in an attempt to beat the peak mid day sun.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Turns out its just hot all the time (not complaining though!).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We headed east across the island and up to the centre to the walled city of Nicosia. Nicosia is the capital of the island and the only divided capital in the world.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Divided by a ‘green line’ it separates the southern Greek Cypriot side from the northern Turkish Cypriot side.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW1fK4gSCEHm3nnubuKcwFjkLMSG_XUZTpg-c1G-MWmFt-VCLioBkdrJ9zsNNTivBdVPfiQPgy92ghoF9FI66Wsxm057CIkd7E6trp1pVzmPxL-zocSZyajz2vT2PYF1H95gY35-bLg_n/s1600/IMAG0522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW1fK4gSCEHm3nnubuKcwFjkLMSG_XUZTpg-c1G-MWmFt-VCLioBkdrJ9zsNNTivBdVPfiQPgy92ghoF9FI66Wsxm057CIkd7E6trp1pVzmPxL-zocSZyajz2vT2PYF1H95gY35-bLg_n/s320/IMAG0522.jpg" width="191" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The wall</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We parked up just outside the city walls and headed towards the old town.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> We entered through the walls near to the Roman Catholic Church, which was as far as we could go without crossing the border.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We wandered around the mixture of old and new streets and found a pleasant little cafe for some well needed brunch.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After brunch we went in search of the Harley Davidson shop (apparently the only one in Cyprus is in Nicosia) but to no avail. We actually found it as we were driving out but it looked like it had shut down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Aphrodite’s Birthplace</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We drove back along the coast to Pissouri where we pulled off the motorway and headed to Aphrodite's birthplace.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Legend has it that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, was born from the sea foam at this spot and the popular conception is that if you swim around the rock three times you'll get eternal youth and beauty.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> I’ve just looked this up and it seems that you actually need to swim around the rocks naked and in the night on a full moon, which may explain why none of us look any younger!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before we went down to the beach we stopped at the local restaurant for an ice cream.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The restaurant, and ice cream were slightly questionable, but it did have fantastic panoramic views of the coast and Aphrodite's rock.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sFVOPjXGZhcX3vndDg6YPwVokx_sCn88F2nEOsfF1brldryDmDCAyjvCRqsjN9sTxbE7TvNLdeIe-sHFVCwidS21EttTxNPIOPrQXK9_sl2nuXYf_lJ-i_HgINc679rLktvFeLM_RQ80/s1600/IMAG0524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sFVOPjXGZhcX3vndDg6YPwVokx_sCn88F2nEOsfF1brldryDmDCAyjvCRqsjN9sTxbE7TvNLdeIe-sHFVCwidS21EttTxNPIOPrQXK9_sl2nuXYf_lJ-i_HgINc679rLktvFeLM_RQ80/s320/IMAG0524.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ooh look at the view</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not content with this spectacular view we decided to head further up the hill/mountain to see what was up there.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> As our car, while fine on a straight flat road, struggled with some of the short steep hills around Paphos it was touch and go if we were going to make it.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> We eventually got up the hill until the road appeared to come to an end, to a scene reminiscent of the film 'The Hills Have Eyes'. There's no doubting that it was an equally spectacular view however we had a slightly hairy moment trying to turn our people mover around on a cliff edge with large pieces of the dirt track road missing. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> Alas, we made it and headed back down to the beach. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I'm sure the restaurant owner was thinking 'see tourists, I could have told you there was nothing up there!'</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beach, a pebblely one, at Aphrodite's birthplace was strewn with hearts made out of pebbles. And although it was a bit painful underfoot to get into the sea it was refreshing and perfectly clear.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> There were a number of visitors who managed to clamber up the rock for a photo opportunity before jumping off into the sea.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5tAAiyBVjD6Cq1ggiWcCOIKbfIeCqeqH3p7d4OjkMWpoB8dK3sRw1iGNKBDPvd_biTjjiIK9znU24KJ88c6byrM9AHSkvSaWd1PzerL77CHfEM7w-sUc3GEGCZpAFolLIHhJQQLqbDb1/s1600/IMAG0525+-+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5tAAiyBVjD6Cq1ggiWcCOIKbfIeCqeqH3p7d4OjkMWpoB8dK3sRw1iGNKBDPvd_biTjjiIK9znU24KJ88c6byrM9AHSkvSaWd1PzerL77CHfEM7w-sUc3GEGCZpAFolLIHhJQQLqbDb1/s320/IMAG0525+-+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hmm how am I going to get down from here now??</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We dried off and headed back to Villa Bella, stopping off to say hi to mum and check out all the weddings going on at her hotel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Another restaurant recommendation:</b> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.fatmamasonline.com/main.htm">Fat Mamas</a> on Tomb of the Kings Road, Paphos.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Advertised as huge portions we weren't disappointed. With two different menus to choose from – the Italian American Fat Mamas menu or her cousin Cowboy Willy’s Rib Ranch menu - the food and cocktails were extremely tasty. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> I recommend the Hunky Pizza Boy.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> That is a cocktail by the way. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Monday we drove down to Paphos to hire some jet skis from the Paphos Watersports centre. They seemed to be cheaper here than some of the other rental places nearer to the harbour and in Coral Bay. A bit of haggling and the nice lady on the desk gave us a good deal on 4 jet skis.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The boys had one each while Katie and I got on together (I was the designated driver) and after a quick safety and instruction lesson we jetted out to sea.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With both of us holding on for dear life we whizzed, bounced and splashed our way up and down the bay. The screams and giggles were a sign of how much fun we had!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After docking up the jet skis we teetered back over the gang plank and sat down in a nearby restaurant for a cold drink to wash away the sea water taste. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> A quick discussion about how much we'd enjoyed the jet skis and we were back at the desk getting ourselves a good deal on a speedboat.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Off we went again, this time altogether and in the words of <a href="http://youtu.be/R7yfISlGLNU">LonelyIsland</a>, 'on a boat' and hit the big blue watery road for another 20 minutes of thrills and spills.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Another restaurant recommendation:</b> The Gourmet Taverna in Paphos.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Serving local Cypriot dishes as well as international cuisine the food was absolutely delicious.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> The meze cheese starter was extremely tasty and the local Cypriot wines were delightful.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> It’s an excellent restaurant and although looked like a more expensive restaurant it was actually fairly reasonably priced.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Final restaurant recommendation:</b> <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g190384-d1576669-Reviews-Tea_For_Two-Paphos.html">Tea for Two</a> in Paphos.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> There are two of these in Paphos, one of Tomb of the Kings Road and one in the town near the sea front.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> A great place for breakfast (they do lunch and main meals too) especially the one near the sea front which we visited a couple of times. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end and it was time for us to get back to business and go home.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But we’d had a ‘stonking’ holiday – great respite from the stresses of work and life in general!</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Villa Bella was an excellent choice and the owners, Marilyn and Dermot, were very helpful.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> I would defiantly recommend this villa for anyone looking for somewhere quiet but not too far away from the local amenities and action.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Stevies Taxis were excellent – especially being one of the few taxi companies who knew where Villa Bella was.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Not very expensive to get into Paphos or Coral Bay of an evening and the drivers had some good tips and recommendations for us. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Home time........</span></td></tr>
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</span></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-7320350957381735722011-09-15T08:34:00.003+01:002011-09-22T14:26:29.509+01:00Cyprus Adventure<div>After a few taxi debacles at 3.15am (taxi's breaking down, not arriving, getting petrol, imobiliser issues) we finally made it to the airport. A quick bit of shopping and some dodgy Eggs Benedict then we were on the plane, albeit a rather warm plane (broken air con). <br />
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We touched down in Cyprus to be met with glorious sunshine and a very nice man called Napoleon (of U2 car rentals) who whisked us off to the villa we're calling home for the next 11 days. Turns out Napoleon, an avid olive oil maker, used to live round the corner from us.<br />
<br />
We're staying in Villa Bella (<a href="http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/cyprus/CY1788.htm">ownersdirect.co.uk ref cy1788</a>) which is inbetween Paphos and Coral Bay. It is absolutely lovely! Its on the end of a small row of villas so is fairly private. With its landscaped gardens, pool and jacuzzi outside and high spec kitchen and lounge area inside its got everything we need.<br />
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Days around the villa are never dull. With swim club (run by ourselves) in the morning, we then keep ourselves amused with table tennis, swingball, lounging in the hammock, bobbing around the pool on the numerous lilo's and sitting in the jacuzzi until the afternoon water volleyball tournament starts around 4pm.<br />
The outside bar also comes in handy both throughout the day and of an evening when we're firing up the bbq.<br />
And luckily the full sky package has allowed us not to miss the first double bill of X-factor!<br />
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Although it could be very easy to just hideaway here and not leave the villa we do have to go out to stock up the fridge and bar occasionally.<br />
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We have also ventured out into Paphos to have a look around the market and Coral Bay to check out the beach. While in Paphos, the Starbucks was spotted so that has now become part of the morning routine too.<br />
On Tuesday we even had visitors round for dinner! It was my mum and her friend Gill who are also on holiday here staying at the <a href="http://www.riu.com/en/Paises/cyprus/paphos/hotel-riu-cypria-resort/index.jsp">Rui Cypria Bay</a> hotel in Paphos.<br />
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Last night was our first evening away from the bbq and we'd got a friendly glaswegian taxi driver called John to take us into Coral Bay. After a cocktail in Blazin Saddles cocktail bar we crossed the road and went into <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g190384-d1482931-Reviews-Samisen-Paphos.html">Samisen</a>, a Japanese tepenyaki restaurant. We all sat round the hot plate while our chef tossed and chopped our food around the hotplate amid cries of 'woopaaa' 'woopaa'. We all had a go at throwing eggs, catching food in our mouths and trying not to drop the bowls of rice being thrown at us. The food (I had goyoza's and sirloin stripsteak teriyaki) was absolutly delicious and cooked perfectly (the meats were all just how we'd each requested them). It was all in all a fun and entertaining experience.<br />
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Another quick drink in <a href="http://www.kleosbar.com/home.htm">Kleo's</a> cocktail bar while waiting for John to pick us up, before being dropped off back at the villa for a few late night rounds of cards (mostly cheat/bulls**t).<br />
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I've woken up to another glorious day. The boys are on a Starbucks and supermarket run (I can't believe we've let them go unsupervised!). With the mercury around 30 degrees C already and its only 10am (it topped around 46 yesterday) its now its just a question of deciding what to do first, pool or sunbed??......<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt814FnvFiL36uTTwWpuZ-At0kmCYxRUSOINYTkvEr7R153tOEQ780E4jKiZvdUHcA9GnfhnW0r2Bk8wDM0k286s-p3fWbOyPeKC-M57toNByVXRgal-2tPX7XEH2BgADEXxyqQ6709NGe/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Villa Bella - pre volleyball tournament</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-89866598878453303142011-07-24T16:38:00.001+01:002011-07-24T16:38:02.963+01:00What happens in Lloret.....<div><p>......goes on the blog.</p>
<p>Day one:<br>
So the annual girls weekend away has begun. After a few disputes with my friends trying to find the Travel (space) Lodge with the sat nav and me not being at the right pick up point from the Stansted Express we all finally convened at the Travel (space) Lodge and settled down in the bar.</p>
<p>I don't mind flying Ryanair but I do find it really unecessary and slightly irritating when they make you put literally everything into your case. I mean by making me stuff my jumper, purse, drink etc into my case at boarding not only holds things up there but also once I actually get on the plane the queue is starting to form behind me as I scrabble around in my case trying to get my jumper, purse, drink etc back out of my case!</p>
<p>On this occasion we had an incredibly rude and annoying man at the gate. After finally managing to wedge one of our bags into the case measurer he finally agreed we could take it on (it was just a slightly different shape to the measurer but still a small bag). We just had to get the bag out of the measurer first!   </p>
<p>Landed in a nice warm Lloret. We found a taxi and were just discussing how nice the taxi was and how much safer the taxi driver was than in some other places we'd been when the taxi driver proceeded to smash through the toll booth barrier. Yes, literally smash through. As the alarms started ringing we turned to see the barrier laying in the middle of the road. Luckily the second toll booth barrier went up quickly and we managed to get through it without it even touching the car.</p>
<p>We're staying in the Gran Casino Royal. Not quite a Bond set and no casino in sight but more of a German 18-30 venue. </p>
<p>Some of the staff are fairly friendly the others are not so. Our room wasn't going to be ready until 1pm so we trekked up the stairs (there seems to be a lot of stairs here and I don't even know where to start on the lifts) to the terrace and soaked up a bit of sunshine while we waited for the all inclusive to start.</p>
<p>The afternoon was spent mostly on in this same position on the terrace (apart from a short break to check into our rooms) before we decided to take a stroll to the beach. </p>
<p>At the beach we found a tropical looking cocktail bar.  Settling into the large wicker chairs we ordered our cocktails and shortly after two extremely large and lavishly decorated cocktail glasses appeared. It's a good job we only ordered two between the five of us as they fairly potent. I think this was the point when we finally felt relaxed and were ready to start enjoying our holiday.</p>
<p>With all the excitement of it being the first day we made our way back to our rooms to get our gladrags on and head out early.</p>
<p>Hitting the old haunts we started off in the Queen Vic before heading round to Rockafella's. Most of the evening was spent in one of these two places, with a short trip to Collosus and the golden arches inbetween. There was drinking, dancing and laughs galore and after being awake for 24 hours (what did we expect when vodka redbull is sold in litres) the bed, albeit a fairly firm one, was a welcome relief.</p>
<p>Day two:<br>
Waking up to beaming sunshine everyone is a bit more subdued than yesterday. In a scene reminiscent of The Hangover, we look through the pictures of last night with amusement, surprise and shouts of 'delete'. </p>
<p>A day by the pool is called for today. We slap on the sun cream and park ourselves up on five particularly uncomfortable sunbeds. The pool is freezing but is quite refreshing when ones feeling a little dehydrated.  </p>
<p>In the afternoon we rolled off our sunbeds and headed to the beach with the intention of hiring a pedelo.</p>
<p>The beach was heaving. It's also a pebblely beach so not that comfortable to walk on.  We bypassed the cocktail bar today.</p>
<p>Deciding against a pedelo (we weren't sure they'd let all five of us on one boat and it looked a bit choppy!) we found a spot to sit and began taking in the sights of the beach. We had a dip in the sea, it was quite wavy and got deep almost as soon as you stepped in. Getting out was not a graceful affair - the trick seemed to be to wait for a wave to wash you in!  </p>
<p>We decided to go out a bit later today so after a quick nap we got ourselves ready and ventured to the hotel bar around 10pm. We made the most of the all inclusive for an hour before walking down to The Queen Vic.  The bar staff in the Queen Vic are all English and we also found our Welsh friends, that we befriended the night before, in here.Again the night was spent laughing, dancing and being merry in either The Queen Vic, Rockafella's or BK.   </p>
<p>Day three:<br>
It's a bit cloudy today. After a slightly earlier to bed night last night most of us made it to breakfast. For me it was the first time I'd sampled the hotel food. A reasonable selection so I opted for egg on toast which was actually quite nice.</p>
<p>I think the last couple of days have begun to catch up with us so we've had a very lazy day involving a lot of napping, a quick trip to the beach, cocktail of the day (I have no idea what it was but it tasted like traditional lemonade!) and another round of flicking through the various photos to see what we got up to last night. It seems we did actually meet Stu from The Hangover!</p>
<p>I'm writing this from our seventh floor balcony, which has reconfirmed that I do have a small fear of heights, especially as the balcony appears to be on a slight slope downwards.</p>
<p>I'm off to wake up the girls so we can go and sample the delights of dinner!  </p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj643ZsLV-gMv_4GTT3387sqIQEMP2LGcWO4dyQJ8b3eethyphenhyphenTCmbvM4iYv8M8J1yu7w1yWGTEhuTJMN71Xy8cgkltk4vw657aYK7L8g68EZccfKGoxBpzebhRKeXeRfH909Kx0o2GiaErEu/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGxtIc780akF6sFc5jb6annaJMLwXcvPR9I-2ra-0pbTTpw2JkQnAnCicJ1Mdrmb07yHN4pMv0-FNOXVjvvrWTkJXcQC42CIYiSxISm-77IaZiaomcej-uUIwzMFW9JLSIXu7JnaSC9sM/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wwrClinj0vkXh1MFjjqVdd19Gz9pbwEYfbrET6oAm4gxJpn0JK7L3uWHZzg5LFgL87ia2-FpT_fr6KA98f3WMkfzHeeehSo39pd8SxI9RnhEeilZ0oMn2Iuvezllx320HzCUnOrmkrlr/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-55069269778211503332011-07-14T15:23:00.000+01:002011-07-14T15:23:06.063+01:00Fab 5's - WIN stuff!<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apologies for the lack of posts of late, time has run away with me!</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I thought I'd start a series of quick posts entitled <b>Fab 5's</b>. It'll have a different theme each time and I'll give you five of my favourite films in that category or genre and you can tell me if you agree, think they are rubbish or have any better recommendations!</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And to get things started I'm going to giveaway a little prize!! 'Oooh' I hear you say! </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So as it is wedding season (although I only have one wedding to go to this year) I thought we'd kick off with.....</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fab 5.... Wedding Movies</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. <i>Wedding Crashers</i> - First rule of wedding crashing, never leave a fellow crasher behind</span></div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000BNT9G2/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B000BNT9G2"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B000BNT9G2&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=moviesandmald-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B000BNT9G2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>My Best Friend's Wedding</i> - I was visiting Dionne War Wick</span></div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00005U0HJ/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00005U0HJ"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B00005U0HJ&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=moviesandmald-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B00005U0HJ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Muriel's Wedding</i> - 'You're terrible Muriel'</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00004CXPV/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00004CXPV"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B00004CXPV&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=moviesandmald-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B00004CXPV" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. <i>Bridesmaids</i> - 'I'm not even confident which end that came from'</span></div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004Q9T3JU/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B004Q9T3JU"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B004Q9T3JU&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=moviesandmald-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B004Q9T3JU" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Four Weddings and a Funeral</i> - Hugh Grant in all his floppy haired glory</span></div><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00004R72I/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00004R72I"><img border="0" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B00004R72I&MarketPlace=GB&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=moviesandmald-21&ServiceVersion=20070822" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B00004R72I" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now I'm thinking of them there is confetti flying everywhere in the film world - The Wedding Date, 27 Dresses (I'm almost catching her up with my bridesmaids dresses!), The Wedding Planner, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mama Mia to name but a few!</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">So what's the prize and how do you win it?? </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The prize is (drumroll) a copy of <b>Muriel's Wedding</b> on DVD (region 2)!</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To win it all you need to do is leave your comment and name in the box below (you can say what you like but preferably something to do with this post would be nice!) and then I'll put all the names into a hat a draw a winner at the end of the month (31st July). </span></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-70176064139013769032011-06-30T15:36:00.000+01:002011-06-30T15:36:05.003+01:00Travel News Roundup<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s that time again for the quirky, interesting, useful (or not so) travel news!</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Disney Deal</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If you fancy heading off to Orlando for a trip to Disney World you can now stay twice as long for free!! FloridaTix has extended its 14 days for the price of 7 ticket offer until the end of September 2011. It’s was a long long time ago that I visited but I’d definitely go back and this is a great money saving deal. More info on <a href="http://www.floridatix.co.uk/14for7-ultimate-ticket.aspx">http://www.floridatix.co.uk/14for7-ultimate-ticket.aspx</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0fuvluegB2m0a0s_3poYdpHxAxc18HnnQdoG4i5gR7US6laHIoK7tpOhQ5FpeMO67nQUj8WKbfKwl-_2mVxr4Jy5HI6-GGj3P6r6QuE8TYVY3wxx0RDvwQ4iOyz3JJ0Hb_dwo00Hs-if/s1600/walt-disney-world9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0fuvluegB2m0a0s_3poYdpHxAxc18HnnQdoG4i5gR7US6laHIoK7tpOhQ5FpeMO67nQUj8WKbfKwl-_2mVxr4Jy5HI6-GGj3P6r6QuE8TYVY3wxx0RDvwQ4iOyz3JJ0Hb_dwo00Hs-if/s320/walt-disney-world9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.floridatix.co.uk/14for7-ultimate-ticket.aspx">www.floridatix.co.uk</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Ultimate Relaxing Holiday</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The 5* Aldemar Royal Mare hotel group, on the Greek isle of Crete, is offering visitors complimentary Yoga classes during their stay at any of their four hotels on the island. More info on <a href="http://www.aldemarhotels.com/">www.aldemarhotels.com</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje0PrcLvhkhJR1vfzp9aNM_JNpm2ChFh6J2sTAcq3GHw3x8vdnoAHkIwqO2qX7OL-JirKybGTjLD8npH3eJX58O-DoOCvWOemkRR87SrMrZKmEG8ViQEKhId4xIVnr8bKiBtjKSShNkDm0/s1600/Crete+hotel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje0PrcLvhkhJR1vfzp9aNM_JNpm2ChFh6J2sTAcq3GHw3x8vdnoAHkIwqO2qX7OL-JirKybGTjLD8npH3eJX58O-DoOCvWOemkRR87SrMrZKmEG8ViQEKhId4xIVnr8bKiBtjKSShNkDm0/s320/Crete+hotel.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><a href="http://www.aldemarhotels.com/">www.aldemarhotels.com</a></td></tr>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Stag Alert</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Apparently Europe is still the top spot for stag party destinations. According to <a href="http://stagweekendsblog.blogspot.com/">stagweekendblog</a>, popular with the rowdy crowd are Krakow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Ibiza and Dublin. Research by UK based Tour Company <a href="http://www.chillisauce.co.uk/">Chillisauce</a> also claims that Amsterdam has one of the highest Fit Blond Per Capita (FBPC) indexes in the known world. Hmmm </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57fmDR8-9cwH6b-iBycSdq4X0csS3YcQ_PWriUtWM6-Y9wPdU96A43P_pJvI-jXa1NLCLJ2VXZbYR154wVwBqA6YcTpiXLAP-9SDlxHIPI2qGf96U8wuAYUuDihr06haFY9PXsCxmD1dq/s1600/stag_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57fmDR8-9cwH6b-iBycSdq4X0csS3YcQ_PWriUtWM6-Y9wPdU96A43P_pJvI-jXa1NLCLJ2VXZbYR154wVwBqA6YcTpiXLAP-9SDlxHIPI2qGf96U8wuAYUuDihr06haFY9PXsCxmD1dq/s320/stag_portrait.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Google.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Summer Stinkers</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">According to washing detergent, Boost Stain Remover, in a survey of UK adults, 14% admitted to wearing their pants up to three times before washing them! (who are these people?!). It seems people are sacrificing their personal hygiene in order to fit everything in their 55x40x20 cabin luggage! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://stagweekendsblog.blogspot.com/"> </a></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">French Cookery</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">Former Masterchef finalist, Jim Fisher, has set up his own cookery school in the beautiful Dordogne. Having worked with the likes of Rick Stein, Tony Tobin and Alistair Little, Jim has developed a new series of cookery courses based around famous ‘Last Suppers’. You can tackle the 10-courses of the ‘Titanics Final Banquet’, Elvis Presley’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich or Will and Kate’s Royal Wedding Canapes. Sounds delicious and all set in the idyillic Dordogne. More info here </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.cookinfrance.com/">www.cookinfrance.com</a></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSiID6pNRfQ04tvQGyV-OrmqOVgvkeAEOz7RGTtGbPb9UzlecifRv3JnjXF7-QmKPDvmH-TJsUaXTIjZ6wLEioXk26JhdL-dUrwkV12vveQ-Pdu8vw6dDn5iarscCd7AsYE0vOClWjnYn/s1600/mike%252520tossing%2525202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSiID6pNRfQ04tvQGyV-OrmqOVgvkeAEOz7RGTtGbPb9UzlecifRv3JnjXF7-QmKPDvmH-TJsUaXTIjZ6wLEioXk26JhdL-dUrwkV12vveQ-Pdu8vw6dDn5iarscCd7AsYE0vOClWjnYn/s320/mike%252520tossing%2525202.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><a href="http://www.cookinfrance.com/">www.cookinfrance.com</a></td></tr>
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</div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-7546549586315620812011-06-29T13:46:00.000+01:002011-06-29T13:46:47.146+01:00Hotel Review – Ramada Jarvis, Manchester Piccadilly Gardens<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On my recent trip to Manchester for Bon Jovi, my friends and I stayed in the <a href="http://www.ramadajarvis.co.uk/hotels/manchester.aspx?mckv=mkwid%7Cs244OjJkP%7Cpcrid%7C5672617523%7Cplid%7C%7Ckword%7C&gclid=CK2L5OrC1qkCFUEa4Qodw2LfFQ">Ramada Jarvis</a> in Piccadilly Gardens. The hotel had an onsite car park that is only £12 for 24 hours. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaM6RIDutELDpPD0fmWjGFTaygCWhpKzSILtcOB6bWfLU2e-hwUu1p0JmGdIzkswX9yrOh22ObkNauFQA8A9hcjt5H1JOKY-T1Xk6IviZnyVeiueXK18NUV4Ln3JEztYgqVP7TxVWekktj/s1600/IMAG0321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaM6RIDutELDpPD0fmWjGFTaygCWhpKzSILtcOB6bWfLU2e-hwUu1p0JmGdIzkswX9yrOh22ObkNauFQA8A9hcjt5H1JOKY-T1Xk6IviZnyVeiueXK18NUV4Ln3JEztYgqVP7TxVWekktj/s320/IMAG0321.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We were about an hour early as check wasn't until 2pm, but we thought we see if our rooms were ready anyway. The lady on reception was friendly and helpful and was able to check us in to one of our rooms so we headed up to the room to drop our bags off. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The room was not as I would expect of a Ramada, given both the price we paid and the photos on the website. It was small, muggy (health & safety prevents the windows being openable) and had a distinct musty and damp smell. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We headed back down to reception to try and change the room. The man on reception was superbly helpful. He went what I feel was above and beyond what most hotel staff/reception staff would do. He looked at all the options available, showed us a number of different rooms all with a chirpy tone in his voice and a smile on his face. It's a shame the duty manager was not of the same ilk. It seems the only decent rooms in this hotel are on the 5th floor as this is the only floor has been refurbished recently. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So after the duty manager had vehemently denied any of the rooms had mould or damp (although upon further investigation in the room we had found this to be the source of the smell) the only option left available to us was to have one standard room on the 5th floor and pay for an upgrade to an executive room also on the 5th floor. This fee was unable to be waived because the hotel was so busy and they could have easily sold the room at full price. So this is clearly a hotel of quantity rather than quality.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The hotel was conveniently located at Piccadilly Gardens, right next to the tram and bus stop with lots of shops, bars and restaurants nearby.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Apart from being rudely awaken by housekeeping walking into the room at 9am or the very loud voiced neighbours, we had a fairly decent nights sleep (the tiredness and beers probably helped with this too). Breakfast was thankfully really good. There was a good selection of the much needed cooked items as well as fruit, cereal and pastries and juice. </span>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-61544235589472541982011-06-28T12:56:00.001+01:002011-06-28T12:57:33.847+01:00Bon Jovi Live in Manchester<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">What a fantastic weekend I've had. It was the weekend of our trip to Manchester to see <a href="http://www.bonjovi.com/tour/2011_Tour">Bon Jovi at Old Trafford Cricket Ground</a>.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Three of us (Katie, Nigel & I) took the train up to Manchester on Friday morning from Euston. It's an efficient service, only 2 hours, and fairly cheap if you book your tickets in advance. At the other end our friend Dave picked us up from Manchester Piccadilly station and we drove round to our hotel.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We were staying at the <a href="http://www.ramadajarvis.co.uk/hotels/manchester.aspx?mckv=mkwid%7Cs244OjJkP%7Cpcrid%7C5672617523%7Cplid%7C%7Ckword%7C&gclid=CK2L5OrC1qkCFUEa4Qodw2LfFQ">Ramada Javis</a> and after a bit of a cafuffle (see hotel review!) we checked into our rooms and headed off out for some lunch.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">With only a couple of hours before we had to head off to Old Trafford we found a nice looking restaurant opposite the hotel called the <a href="http://www.blueparrotmanchester.co.uk/">BlueParrot Bar and Grille</a>. A bright and breezy, Liz introduced herself as our server and showed us to our table. We ordered some drinks and sat back to peruse the menu. The food was fresh and delicious. Although I wasn't quite sure why my 'build your salad' came with dressing on it when I was asked to choose a dressing (caesar) which also came in a pot in the side?? Anyway it was very enjoyable and Liz was chatty and helpful throughout.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We then packed up our pac a mac's and headed off to the tram stop, handily right next to our hotel.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We arrived at <a href="http://www.lccc.co.uk/otsite.php">Old Trafford Cricket Ground</a> 15 minutes later with a hefty throng if other people. The huge stage was set up towards the far end of the ground, so we made out way in that direction, via the bar and the portaloos. I was quite impressed with the toilets, they were fairly decent for portaloos, although I'm not sure they stayed in this decent state for the rest if the evening. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbce8pwwxIzTjobCJHhRdipU8-_k8wjZFKYjAZJkIA5BFdM80WAB9F4xpu7zFChHICHUAtQPi5k9tMdQaKsRVRHV5osAb8_XTxnsnenBg-TtEGm8lwCI4D1FbZZOTy-GM4aa9pv2NQyXM4/s1600/IMAG0322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbce8pwwxIzTjobCJHhRdipU8-_k8wjZFKYjAZJkIA5BFdM80WAB9F4xpu7zFChHICHUAtQPi5k9tMdQaKsRVRHV5osAb8_XTxnsnenBg-TtEGm8lwCI4D1FbZZOTy-GM4aa9pv2NQyXM4/s320/IMAG0322.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">At the bar we stocked up on drinks so we didn't have to queue up again so quickly but at £4 a bottle it was clear we were going to need to put more money in the kitty.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYJ9JQ11RxSo-V-b5tBeeoFZex0Zd9T0PCxh4PwcKuONdrFuCRr9vzu2c04QAncWkn8qYCyUMYoAD529Ie3bDNrD3LWsaa79Hp4_Mi8W0DsE-0MABWhUIGMBQFg2dmGNwToNJuWKng8Mo/s1600/DSC00499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYJ9JQ11RxSo-V-b5tBeeoFZex0Zd9T0PCxh4PwcKuONdrFuCRr9vzu2c04QAncWkn8qYCyUMYoAD529Ie3bDNrD3LWsaa79Hp4_Mi8W0DsE-0MABWhUIGMBQFg2dmGNwToNJuWKng8Mo/s320/DSC00499.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Apparently Bon Jovi had done a search of their fans to find a support act. So the first act on were the winners of this - <a href="http://www.myspace.com/xanderandthepeacepirates">Xander and the Peace Pirates</a>. They are the resident band at the world famous Cavern Club and they were really good. After a short break the official support act, <a href="http://www.vintagetrouble.com/">Vintage Trouble</a>, came on. Although I'd never heard of them they sounded good with catchy numbers and they went down well with the crowd.</span> <br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The pac a mac's had come out at this point as the rain began to drizzle.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Shortly after the support act and at least half an hour early, out they came to Blood on Blood and You Give Love a Bad Name as the 46,000 strong crowd came alive.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheXRq640im5s7RMOW1_BnxBD1i13ObLYdcsxQYsaZo93-QORaeQZTiY2aOSRkmvV28YMHokYyU-m1f-M_zrszle7cCtLFQKCa1nJte_dfOHLcQHueX-nGjW0SqhA4JQ8CryDCuVHRU2j3/s1600/DSC00516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgheXRq640im5s7RMOW1_BnxBD1i13ObLYdcsxQYsaZo93-QORaeQZTiY2aOSRkmvV28YMHokYyU-m1f-M_zrszle7cCtLFQKCa1nJte_dfOHLcQHueX-nGjW0SqhA4JQ8CryDCuVHRU2j3/s320/DSC00516.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I'm not a die hard Bon Jovi fan, as in I couldn't tell you the name his first pet or favourite colour, but I do like his tunes especially the oldies. I'm not very up to date on much if his new stuff so was pleased that he played a mix of old and newer ones so there were plenty for me to sing along to. The ones we didn't know so well made a good opportunity to dash to the bar/toilet.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">With most of the band under a protective cover, Jon and Richie Sambora braved the rain with the crowd and jammed around the stage rocking out all the hits; It's My Life, Raise Your Hands, In These Arms, Bed of Roses, Keep the Faith and even a Bad Medicine/Shout (Lulu) medley. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWQulOwn0sHzRrtf5pOD-2t_FYq5MMO7lHQKPctKGUQAEi0yqjJEiK8lr7IVwe2dGZv5bhkbnOcuhonCwYHoXpY4WLkvddLq1EPK-Bc94LdzULCiNMGPhvNsQ5k22laxbTpPtKVqBJ8ro/s1600/IMAG0324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWQulOwn0sHzRrtf5pOD-2t_FYq5MMO7lHQKPctKGUQAEi0yqjJEiK8lr7IVwe2dGZv5bhkbnOcuhonCwYHoXpY4WLkvddLq1EPK-Bc94LdzULCiNMGPhvNsQ5k22laxbTpPtKVqBJ8ro/s320/IMAG0324.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A quick break, change of t-shirt and hat and they were back for the encore of Dry County, Wanted Dead or Alive and predictable, yet understandably they closed with a quality performance of Living on a Prayer, supported by 46,000 fans singing along with them. Brilliant. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJ7JxDrlzyKgTn-VHnDRfGquv_ynxpf7B7z6-x8ubyWtuXYTs3Mtx-px0NTYacAbD-FPb9wQZZRjbpr0Z8opppP9bi_gXBpFXuVfGAk9CWeZCD1Pd9W_SSicVnIb6C0ZL_4YC8O77U0Qi/s1600/DSC00505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJ7JxDrlzyKgTn-VHnDRfGquv_ynxpf7B7z6-x8ubyWtuXYTs3Mtx-px0NTYacAbD-FPb9wQZZRjbpr0Z8opppP9bi_gXBpFXuVfGAk9CWeZCD1Pd9W_SSicVnIb6C0ZL_4YC8O77U0Qi/s320/DSC00505.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Buzzing, we herded out of the ground with the rest of the audience on a high. Renditions of the Bon Jovi classics could be heard all around the crowd.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">To round of the night we headed back to Piccadilly Gardens, changed into something drier and strolled round to China town for a well needed dinner in The New Emporer.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004640L8W&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-89314120434416254812011-06-22T15:24:00.002+01:002011-06-22T15:30:23.609+01:00Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My work colleagues and I decided to have a little school trip out the other week to the cinema. It was after work by the way, just in case my employers are reading.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We packed up and headed off the Vue in Shepherds Bush to see the latest installment of the Pirates if the Caribbean franchise - <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/">Pirates of the Caribbean 4 – On Stranger Tides</a></b>. We picked up our 3D glasses and popcorn and settled into our seats.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The 4th film sees a few new faces as well as some of the old ones, but a few of the original main characters don't appear in this one, namely Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly. Keira Knightly I didn't miss at all (its safe to say I'm not here greatest fan) and Penelope Cruz as Angelica Malon, a love interest from Jack’s past, was a welcome addition. It was nice to see Keith Richards making another brief appearance too.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The film is about a search for the legendary Fountain of Youth and revenge. Jack is lured aboard Blackbeard’s (Ian McShane) ship; the Queen Anne’s Revenge, by Angelica (Blackbeard’s daughter) and forced to help them navigate to the Fountain of Youth. Jack’s rival, Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), has team up with King George II under the pretence of beating the Spanish to the Fountain of Youth, but really only wants to get revenge on Blackbeard for stealing the Black Pearl and forcing him to amputate his own leg in order to escape. Jack and Barbossa work together to deceive Blackbeard. Blackbeard wants use the Fountains properties to evade his fated death by a one legged man (hmm who do we know with one leg?) and the Spanish want to destroy the Fountain as they believe it is evil in the eyes of God.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t5AqJww06bw" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Pirates franchise are all watchable swashbuckling fun, not too taxing on the brain but filled with a bit of action, a bit of adventure and of course a lot of Captain Jack Sparrow (I never really thought pirates were my type but it seems Johnny Depp makes a very attractive one!).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I think Captain Jack is my favourite Johnny Depp character. He plays it with just the right amount of humour and kookiness, without being too weird like his Willy Wonka and Mad Hatter roles or too odd like his Edward Scissorhands character. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The film is in 3D. I like to think I'm quite up to date on my technology but I still understand why you need to buy a 3D tv if you still have to wear the glasses?? Answers on a postcard/in the comments box. Anyway back to the point, the film is in 3D which makes the visual effects even better. It helps the imagination transport you into those turquoise Caribbean waters or rolling around the ship deck amidst a tropical storm. There wasn't as much jumping out of the screen action as I'd thought (maybe I'm just remembering the roller coaster and balloons from the Alton Towers 3D cinemas?!?) but I imagine if it was happening all the time, in every scene, it may become too much?</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">All in all this is an entertaining and easy to watch installment to accompany the previous 3 films. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I'm going to give this film 4 pieces of gold out of 5.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">P.s there is an extra bit after the credits, right at the very end! </span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004TGTE5I&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-82415614312525700772011-06-15T13:09:00.000+01:002011-06-15T13:09:43.607+01:00Travel News Roundup<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I thought I'd start this little segment to bring you all the weird, wonderful, useful and not always so useful news from the travel and leisure world. So here's my first news roundup edition:</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Free drink, or Not Free Drink</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Budget airlines offer some great deals but increasingly all the little things that we were once used to being included are being knocked off the main price and charged as extras. So does it actually really work out as a great deal in the end? Food and drink are one of the things that we've come to expect to be charged for on short haul flights but what about mid or long haul flights? Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) have created a useful table so you can check before you go, or even book, what food and drink is available on which airlines. The table can be found at <a href="http://www.aph.com/airlinemeals">www.aph.com/airlinemeals</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6aDlMknND5l3aw2TUkYKuUSJLffWCE_97htB1qHe-EYruStxzJ_2pJrMULKd0hv0rHYWJo2zd-B9Ng5Q6HZGnfAzOjcC3OMLGQzB7IRDiJLI1P2dOGTf4TC9co-8oNZnfUBmUhaT8Jn0/s1600/foodanddrink+aph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6aDlMknND5l3aw2TUkYKuUSJLffWCE_97htB1qHe-EYruStxzJ_2pJrMULKd0hv0rHYWJo2zd-B9Ng5Q6HZGnfAzOjcC3OMLGQzB7IRDiJLI1P2dOGTf4TC9co-8oNZnfUBmUhaT8Jn0/s1600/foodanddrink+aph.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aph.com/airlinemeals">Mmmm airplane food</a></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">“Hell is other people’s children on holiday”</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This is the consensus of one in three UK adults who were surveyed by <a href="http://www.thomson.co.uk/">Thomson</a> Holidays. Over-tired youngsters, noisy and unruly kids in the restaurant or room next door or being splashed by excited kids in the pool all seem to be major gripes for adults on holiday, but it seems it’s not just other peoples kids that mar our annual breaks. The survey found that 40% of parents admitted their own kids affected their holiday enjoyment while 4% said their holidays were ruined by their own kids! Thomson did the research to launch <a href="http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/couples/thomson-couples.html">‘Couples’</a> their new child-free holiday experiences. My advice – don’t buy your child a ‘joker soaker’ (water gun) for the pool - you and everyone around you will get wet! </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotos-g562819-d500130-Hotel_Orquidea-Playa_del_Ingles_Gran_Canaria_Canary_Islands.html"><img alt="Photos of Hotel Orquidea, Playa del Ingles" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/8e/1f/43/kids-pool.jpg" /></a><br />
This photo of <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g562819-d500130-Reviews-Hotel_Orquidea-Playa_del_Ingles_Gran_Canaria_Canary_Islands.html">Hotel Orquidea</a> is courtesy of TripAdvisor<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Celeb Spotting or Best Tee Off</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.hotelclub.co.uk/">HotelClub</a> have announced the winners of their 5<sup>th</sup> Hotel awards. With awards for hotels in London, Greater England, Scotland and Ireland here are my favourites from each area:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Best Place for Celeb Spotting – The Langham, London</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Best Place for London Dry Gin – Egerton House Hotel, London</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Best for “Weekend with the Girls/Guys” Getaway – The Light Boutique ApartHotel, Manchester</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Best Tee Off and 19<sup>th</sup> Hotel – Celtic Manor, Newport</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Best Place to Enjoy a Guinness – Arlington Hotel O’Connell Bridge, Dublin</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotos-g187069-d1367597-The_Light_Boutique_ApartHotel-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html"><img alt="Images of The Light Boutique ApartHotel, Manchester" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/c9/97/62/the-light-boutique-aparthotel.jpg" /></a><br />
This photo of <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187069-d1367597-Reviews-The_Light_Boutique_ApartHotel-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html">The Light Boutique ApartHotel</a> is courtesy of TripAdvisor<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Deals, Deals, Deals</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Fancy a Nile Cruise visiting the Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Luxor along the way? (I'm nodding my head) With the some of the most amazing ancient archeological monuments and sites from over 6,000 years ago, Egypt really is the world’s largest open air museum. Discover Egypt is offering 50% off its Nile Cruise between 4<sup>th</sup> July and October 2012 - there is more info on <a href="http://www.discoveregypt.co.uk/">www.discoveregypt.co.uk</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BCRq5_wwV_PwA_vgglOKNRMyW-6G_rbPFmbg5poxyD_wiBTUShGgX0G4Y1Cox096FkgxVRPHq8LhkdAiqCHR5Bu8ep0QRc_PdCmpQZk0uBsiuVD9D6dYkWpDxG_G5W4cbUiiS7ClV6g2/s1600/Luxor-Temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BCRq5_wwV_PwA_vgglOKNRMyW-6G_rbPFmbg5poxyD_wiBTUShGgX0G4Y1Cox096FkgxVRPHq8LhkdAiqCHR5Bu8ep0QRc_PdCmpQZk0uBsiuVD9D6dYkWpDxG_G5W4cbUiiS7ClV6g2/s320/Luxor-Temple.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://famouswonders.com/luxor-temple/">http://famouswonders.com/luxor-temple/</a></span></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Travel Gadgets</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Micro Luggage – a neat carry-on sized Samsonite suitcase that converts into a scooter – genius! The nippy lean-and-steer scooter can be used to get to and from work or the train station and when you’re done you can fold it all up in the 26 litre capacity sturdy suitcase and still have room for all your work or travel essentials.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbAMi0hSvkiS_9DldJ0SpPB7qjU95jrbZOawBflwCf2NQ5n4Sp6c1JUG4W0f9_52JTEbwhY_jC66NrMS3VRQ_xzzv5TLSGK0Ktmg-sc8qCO7LM9zT8jp_sUIcxLtTT19RPr403K_Yh7tq/s1600/Samonite+scooter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbAMi0hSvkiS_9DldJ0SpPB7qjU95jrbZOawBflwCf2NQ5n4Sp6c1JUG4W0f9_52JTEbwhY_jC66NrMS3VRQ_xzzv5TLSGK0Ktmg-sc8qCO7LM9zT8jp_sUIcxLtTT19RPr403K_Yh7tq/s320/Samonite+scooter.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.micro-scooters.co.uk/product/micro-samsonite-scooter/">The Samonite Scooter</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-33092337768484108492011-06-09T14:26:00.000+01:002011-06-09T14:26:08.396+01:00The Hangover 2<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This weekend saw the much awaited trip to see <b>The Hangover 2</b>! So after a couple a drinks in the beer garden, we headed off down to the <a href="http://new.myvue.com/home/cinema/islington">Vue</a> cinema to settle into our VIP seats and watch the ‘more shocking’ and ‘even funnier’ film (as it was billed).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After taking out a small mortgage to pay for the food (we only had a hotdog and a drink!) we were finally in.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As many of you will know The Hangover is one of my most favourite films, so when I heard they were making a second one I was initially very excited. I soon quashed the excitement and set myself low expectations for the film. That way the film will at least meet my expectations and best case scenario it will surpass them. Slightly pessimistic view I know but my theory has worked in the past.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Based on this I did enjoy the film. It is basically the same format as the first except it is set in Bangkok at Stu's wedding. Doug is safely stationed at the wedding hotel complex (rather than the roof) while Stu, Phil and Alan, who are joined once again by Mr Chow, have this time managed to lose Stu's fiancees' 16 year old brother, Teddy. Oops.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The film starts with the same 'We f****d up' call from Phil to Tracy and proceeds to rewind to show the guys waking up in a grim Bangkok hotel room. I do love the way they make them all look so rough - they have either all been out and actually got horribly drunk the night before filming or the make-up folks have done a great job!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Phil, again, seems to be the one that ends up in a hospital for some reason or another and Stu's, seemingly, secret liking for strippers goes that one step further!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Alan feels a bit put out by Teddy joining the group - I mean he isn't one of the wolfpack is he! So his plan to drug Teddy so he has to go to bed backfires somewhat.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In this film the baby has been replaced by a drug dealing monkey in a jacket, Mr Chow gets set up and arrested by the feds, they steal a monk instead of a tiger and Mike Tyson returns as a wedding gift from Alan to Stu.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RYL_T7f59o8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As far as sequels go I did enjoy this one (whether its because my expectations were low I'm not sure) but although not as standout and funny as the first, the format was consistent, they still got up to some 'crazy sh*t' and there were some funny one liners and little touches. Some of my favs:</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(In Alan's impromptu post wedding speech) "Nobody knows Stu like me ....this is not his first wedding, he married a whore in Vegas..." </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">(Who's having the worst day??)</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Mr Chow to Phil: "Oh, you are having a bad day. Did you die?”</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Stu: You see, I have a demon in me! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Alan: Stu, you mean semen. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Stu: No, I meant demon. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Alan: But you also had semen, remember.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This film will still make you wince, cringe and laugh out loud so I'm going to give it a 3 1/2 drug laced marshmallows out of 5.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The wolfpack is back.....almost</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004NBYRXS&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-47659339894855885402011-06-08T13:21:00.000+01:002011-06-08T13:21:00.320+01:00Short Film Competition – Kirin First Cut<div style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve been sent some info that might be of interest to all you budding film makers. It’s organised by Japanese beer brand – Kirin Ichiban. Here’s the blurb……</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">Organisers are looking for budding short film makers from students, aspiring amateurs through to professionals, to submit their finest work, whether created on 35mm film or on a mobile phone edited using the latest app. The only criteria is that short films entered should be based around the concept of ‘First Press’. Short film entries must be original work and can be anything from 1 minute to 10 minutes in length and use one of the following production techniques: live action, animation, narrative/experimental or documentary. </div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">The four shortlisted films will also be screened at the Kirin Ichiban Pop Up restaurant in East London in August 2011.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">The overall winner will then be chosen from a shortlist by public vote and receive £3000 cash and the career boosting prize of having their film shown at the London Short Film Festival.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">2nd place will receive £1000 cash, 3rd place will receive £500 cash and the final runner up will win a year’s supply of Kirin Ichiban beer. </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/kirinfirstcut">Kirin First Cut on Twitter</a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirin-First-Cut/180071508679654?sk=wall&filter=12">Kirin First Cut on Facebook</a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qd4y5nUkSdi04BGP-XF9kVjmPpFoghSqXgJMaoFw6JmjFQzTHkTGoTMEA6LikIblDm-dkofKxVtMXkh8r98c72eJZuZaIpcCtw-DT6jwVAsZSclVommIriY4QPL2bSqIj3e7RKOQBeHt/s1600/KIRIN_First_Cut_Logo_RGB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qd4y5nUkSdi04BGP-XF9kVjmPpFoghSqXgJMaoFw6JmjFQzTHkTGoTMEA6LikIblDm-dkofKxVtMXkh8r98c72eJZuZaIpcCtw-DT6jwVAsZSclVommIriY4QPL2bSqIj3e7RKOQBeHt/s320/KIRIN_First_Cut_Logo_RGB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;">To find out more about Kirin’s history and to get your creative juices flowing, visit <a href="http://www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk/">www.kirinfirstcut.co.uk</a> for more details of how to submit your film and the full terms and conditions. Deadline for entries 30th June 2011.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">The spokesperson for Kirin, Paul Brazier, says: </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">“Japan’s Prime Brew, Kirin Ichiban is not your average beer; it’s made by the unique "Ichiban Shibori Process" which literally translated means ‘First Press’, producing the purest beer. First Press can be interpreted in many different ways, be it literal or metaphorical, from a nervous first kiss of lips pressing together or the first press of a button that changes everything, to the most outlandish interpretation your creativity can conceive. The only limit is imagination, so we’re really looking forward to seeing some of the entries”.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">And some more news hot off the press….</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">The four short-listed films will then be screened at Rushes Soho Shorts Festival, held 20-29 July and screened at the Curzon Mezzanine lounge. These film makers will also be invited to mingle with industry experts at the closing night party at Studio Valbonne on the 28th July.</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">Kirin and the 55th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express celebrate new sponsorship deal with “First Cut” initiative</div><div style="color: purple; font-family: inherit;">This year the competition will be an integral part of a new sponsorship with the BFI London Film Festival in which Kirin become the official beer for the duration of the festival - October 12-27 2011</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds exciting so get your directors chair out and start filming!</div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-23517518468063585762011-06-01T16:52:00.002+01:002011-06-01T17:26:36.186+01:00Algarve Adventure<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Sorry for the absence in posts. I’m back from latest trip to the beautiful Portuguese Algarve though. And I’ve just about got over my holidays blues – it doesn’t matter where I’ve been or for how long I always come back dreaming of what my life would be like in sunnier climes and with a relaxed holiday attitude. I eventually come round to the fact that unless I win the lottery it’s most likely that I will still need to work whether I’m at home or abroad which means that I wouldn’t be living the holiday dream everyday anyway.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So back to Blightly - at least the weather has picked up again now which all goes into lifting the spirits of the nation!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Having been to the Algarve a few times now I can confirm that I really like it. Previously I’d visited <a href="http://www.vilamourauncovered.com/"><b>Villamoura</b></a>, dubbed the millionaires marina, which is a beautiful place. It has golden beaches (donned with bronzed lifeguards), delicious restaurants and super shiny yachts filling the marina. If only I could get on one (mentally plotting). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNSCwW8QyRF04exs0hZGr8P5nwfKq5K8K69JC1AoEgJqMMYlsnDUt01_bwlPf5uwOAAmyl8E_G1wb7IXMFM8qKc6jh0wowtWWZHZaiRlCnUjJpVfAAdCUMxpU4UNUVxPX73i1mhRPFf4d/s1600/DSC00380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNSCwW8QyRF04exs0hZGr8P5nwfKq5K8K69JC1AoEgJqMMYlsnDUt01_bwlPf5uwOAAmyl8E_G1wb7IXMFM8qKc6jh0wowtWWZHZaiRlCnUjJpVfAAdCUMxpU4UNUVxPX73i1mhRPFf4d/s320/DSC00380.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This isn't quite what I had in mind when I said find me a nice boat</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This time my friend Alice, her two young boys and I went to <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Olhos_de_Agua-284033/TravelGuide-Olhos_de_Agua.html"><b>Olhos D’Agua</b></a>, which is just outside <a href="http://albufeira.com/"><b>Albufeira</b></a>. We stayed in the <a href="http://www.clubehumbria.net/index.asp?idioma=eng"><b>Clube Humbria</b></a> hotel on an all inclusive basis. We’d got a fairly cheap deal on it so we were happy to still go out for a few meals in the evening even though we were all inclusive.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As I mentioned in my previous post we arrived in the glorious sunshine after an early start. We had a hotel transfer. I’m not a fan of these. I always seem to be at the last hotel dropped off and the first one picked up again which means being stuck on the coach for an eternity. True to form we were the last hotel to be dropped off.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmyZEkppLOEsBOMjT4wQPd8yaZ5ChbflpzI0QaX2T2OIweW1pstvg-zRdMNiURsLFxSwilXRebZBqkE5kz-KBoSAecuOu5hATPm-F_LfMplrqhDuhHQGY4S4_2MDAAFDUz1luT4KiS-ue/s1600/DSC00420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmyZEkppLOEsBOMjT4wQPd8yaZ5ChbflpzI0QaX2T2OIweW1pstvg-zRdMNiURsLFxSwilXRebZBqkE5kz-KBoSAecuOu5hATPm-F_LfMplrqhDuhHQGY4S4_2MDAAFDUz1luT4KiS-ue/s320/DSC00420.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the transfer coach!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The verdict on the kids club was that it was ‘really exciting’ and ‘fun’. So we can assume they enjoyed it, so much so that each day the boys proceeded to ask from about 11.30am onwards ‘is it time for kids club yet?’ or ‘how long til kids club?’ </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNZVFpyeUTSp6JLRflKQAv6TcAWOyCa9FWkEwAaKCBVeotyhoy8LBkmATBiIkGmm4QIbEoF9s0-KvaLq0kScPY-hh3AIXW4aAGQMpleYQYF-B8H4vLIcyPuKq61FaunTdkYtSA2uqqdAZ/s1600/DSC00388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNNZVFpyeUTSp6JLRflKQAv6TcAWOyCa9FWkEwAaKCBVeotyhoy8LBkmATBiIkGmm4QIbEoF9s0-KvaLq0kScPY-hh3AIXW4aAGQMpleYQYF-B8H4vLIcyPuKq61FaunTdkYtSA2uqqdAZ/s320/DSC00388.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ping Pong anyone?</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This gave Alice and I a good hour and half each day to make the most of the sunshine and all inclusive beers.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On Sunday we met up with our friend Claire (who lives in Portugal) who picked us up and took us off to Zoo Marine. We were heading for<a href="http://www.aquashowpark.com/EN/"> Aqua Show</a> but soon discovered that it wasn’t open for the season yet.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.zoomarine.pt/index.php"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Zoo Marine</span></b></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> is a sort of animal theme park. There are a couple of pools to swim in, a big water slide, lots of kids rides like the mini Buffalo, big wheel (its high up there), and carousel etc. There are a number of animal enclosures/habitats – birds, sealions, turtles and crocodiles as well as various shows.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfNuE5ihsKq5UyZbOKMj5dnoH2tIHk-sNxYH91MTHh73X-6GZujkW6Oqx0XBskK46JfNWgc9X8cvjDZ_NdBqjLSyUY4nVc_PbnaKMD_LsDMNoqWtTRxbp0IJ-a1hoMZ-fLa0qqg4hkc9g/s1600/DSC00378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfNuE5ihsKq5UyZbOKMj5dnoH2tIHk-sNxYH91MTHh73X-6GZujkW6Oqx0XBskK46JfNWgc9X8cvjDZ_NdBqjLSyUY4nVc_PbnaKMD_LsDMNoqWtTRxbp0IJ-a1hoMZ-fLa0qqg4hkc9g/s320/DSC00378.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hold on tight</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We saw the dolphin show, which was a combination of dolphins and synchronized swimmers. The synchronized swimmers were good if not a little random in some of their out of the water dance moves. While I’m not sure I totally agree with keeping dolphins in captivity and training them they are very clever and impressive animals. Hard to take photos of though.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8guQtkIPWgtx_Ev4M0Itp9s1ZVNEWJYe-680EoH_0ck1PgObgjeUXrmvnoseH7GhojDa6upFeCETIbRmQhkGvWuOo5PPguDjwfddO_-GQihUOffuDV4wneW_6ZrSn4yVu9KSRbrbJkm18/s1600/DSC00359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8guQtkIPWgtx_Ev4M0Itp9s1ZVNEWJYe-680EoH_0ck1PgObgjeUXrmvnoseH7GhojDa6upFeCETIbRmQhkGvWuOo5PPguDjwfddO_-GQihUOffuDV4wneW_6ZrSn4yVu9KSRbrbJkm18/s320/DSC00359.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hands up if you felt silly shaking your booty on the side of a dolphin pool?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildxwoGfAszi_wPgko2hKuAX2VCoZ5H9Fqr1fSVUaKyZbWuPi7OkPes2GsvZGl27f2pGe6HnWKoA6RRlWmc8EcqZV2utMY_vqey11-9WMpw0TibCDF3O2ta7ZCh7YzUY-RQwbJ7zqRiSWW/s1600/DSC00357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildxwoGfAszi_wPgko2hKuAX2VCoZ5H9Fqr1fSVUaKyZbWuPi7OkPes2GsvZGl27f2pGe6HnWKoA6RRlWmc8EcqZV2utMY_vqey11-9WMpw0TibCDF3O2ta7ZCh7YzUY-RQwbJ7zqRiSWW/s320/DSC00357.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It only took 15 pictures to get one with an actual dophin in </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We visited the aquarium show but after being rushed in and rushing round because we thought we were going to miss the show it seems there was no actual ‘show’. Or maybe the ‘show’ was the exhibits we rushed passed? Who knows? We saw Nemo in there anyway.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The other show we saw was the 4D show. An educational film about global warming and not destroying rainforests etc with all the 4D aspects thrown in i.e. filmed in 3D, water splashed at us and wind blown at us.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The rest of the holiday was fairly relaxing and consisted of a fair bit of laying by the pool, a visit to the beach and a trip to Albufeira to ride the little train between the old town and the strip.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05xWx_uSWhcIXPYsuRxSzQ-3qfH0W52jHFJaPqCHYa5UsVoIxO_aFdR992aDjRACtIAonO0G8NvyR4GoiQO9ocSRW2d-CHhgHkoQD3anW2QVd7Ays9s672ADnf6FZWbNZnAM_VYhB7Wd3/s1600/DSC00415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05xWx_uSWhcIXPYsuRxSzQ-3qfH0W52jHFJaPqCHYa5UsVoIxO_aFdR992aDjRACtIAonO0G8NvyR4GoiQO9ocSRW2d-CHhgHkoQD3anW2QVd7Ays9s672ADnf6FZWbNZnAM_VYhB7Wd3/s320/DSC00415.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close but not quite right as the second 'e' is missing - as noted by the 6 year old</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The hotel was fairly decent. Not sure about the evening entertainment and the main issue I had was how uncomfortable the sunbeds were and how hard the beds in the room were! The food was as you would expect. Breakfast was nice, the pool snack bar had some good snacks however there was fairly limited choice for lunch and dinner in the main dining room. We found a couple of really nice restaurants just near the hotel though. One was a delicious pizza place with very friendly waiters and the other was a grill restaurant - which did a tasty steak. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We also had a really nice meal in Villamoura overlooking the marina. Note for future reference – don’t let children wearing slip on flip flops sit anywhere near water. They are perfectly safe, their flip flops are not so! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJf-kKym-L9lF_IaNp5QWnIrxH7CiBao7eCDZCTVrtWZYt_FTCHZ97QCZvIdUf8LwdYvTj2qkZwrCmzsi_36jpyObRbr1Pj1Tke8AlFk7U_3huHog6qZubJvaXPk8x1DznZORG0pOSn9P/s1600/DSC00419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJf-kKym-L9lF_IaNp5QWnIrxH7CiBao7eCDZCTVrtWZYt_FTCHZ97QCZvIdUf8LwdYvTj2qkZwrCmzsi_36jpyObRbr1Pj1Tke8AlFk7U_3huHog6qZubJvaXPk8x1DznZORG0pOSn9P/s320/DSC00419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang - minus one flip flop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKiTgMCvE532QPWNyLYMH9RpIu6a1K5lisn5O6fsQxX_2y7bp3Tz1oXUYPj4gnJtdkbr5MGP0bddqnGzPjoumP3Vxb2i98BJ94-y-HrA-6Takw_HBSWislRft6nY64ySW5jj8CaCmZ9OA/s1600/DSC00416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIKiTgMCvE532QPWNyLYMH9RpIu6a1K5lisn5O6fsQxX_2y7bp3Tz1oXUYPj4gnJtdkbr5MGP0bddqnGzPjoumP3Vxb2i98BJ94-y-HrA-6Takw_HBSWislRft6nY64ySW5jj8CaCmZ9OA/s320/DSC00416.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now that's the sort of boat I was after!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">50 sleeps until the next trip (approx)!</span>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-75294009498537115542011-05-21T16:14:00.001+01:002011-05-21T16:14:20.414+01:00Sun, sea and Portuguese Rose<div><p>We've arrived in a very sunny Portugal and after a super early start (so early I think it was technically still classed as the middle of the night) we're now settled by the pool.</p>
<p>So far our hotel, Clube Humbria, seems very nice. It's got a huge pool and a kids club. So while the boys are off enjoying themselves for a couple of hours, Alice and I are enjoying some adult time, which mostly consists of laying by the pool with the odd trip to the all inclusive bar for a refreshing cold beer. Nice.</p>
<p>I'll report the boys verdict of the kids club when they get back!</p>
<p>Hoping to meet up with our friend Claire, who lives out here, tomorrow for some splashing and sliding fun at one of the waterparks.</p>
<p>Anyway back to the arduous task of basking in the Portuguese sun! Perfick!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt1mExgy9JTlfr4vhyYNjIntOFALMeAXifF-inmgieEHuaJ9NGrlv8Q2tKVFev8SYCRAa5Vae-iIRTIWG4PNnaIqFxNSI8-iefMMCAnSfarPwlgH5sl_JuD2aTlrfDRQfdvsp6pedkylJ/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-16530669577649217352011-05-17T16:21:00.000+01:002011-05-17T16:21:48.320+01:00Monsters on Sky Box Office<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I think <b><a href="http://movies.sky.com/sky-movies-box-office">Sky Box Office</a></b> should offer a money back guarantee on their films (this is a suggestion rather than a complaint – in case any Sky employees are reading – I am a fan of Sky Box Office!).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We bought <b>Monsters</b> the other night and settled down ready for some sci-fi action. The action never came. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The story (albeit a brief story) is about a photo journalist who had to escort his boss' daughter back to America from Mexico. Mexico has been battling for years with some squid-like aliens who landed on the planet, leaving a large part of Northern Mexico as an 'infected zone'. With the last ferry back to America gone, the pair are left with no choice but the cross the 'infected zone' by land.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We thought that once they got into the 'infected zone' it might get a bit more exciting. But no, not really.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">They finally reach 'the wall' (a very big wall the US had built along the border to keep the aliens/monsters out) but it seems the big squid monsters hadn't just come to Earth for Mexico's burritos.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There were some really nice location shots but apart from that this film didn't really ever get going. It was very slow and even the occasional 'tense' moment didn't really keep me gripped.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I believe this was a low budget film (around $500,000) but low budget doesn’t have to mean low quality – look at The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, even Mad Max had less budget than this film and they were much more exciting.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">On the bright side, at least I didn’t pay to go to the cinema to watch it! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I’m going to give Monsters a 1.5 alien squid legs out of 5</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">P.s I've put the link to the DVD below in case you do actually want to order it - you could always wedge it under the leg of that wobbly patio table or use it as a door stop </span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B004HO59T2&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-57261051202930737432011-05-13T18:08:00.000+01:002011-05-13T18:08:02.690+01:00Fright Fest Favourites<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></b><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Yesterday Lauren, my friend at work, and I were talking about scary movies, which got me to thinking about what some of my favourite fright fest films are. And as it is Friday 13<sup>th</sup> it seems an appropriate day to write a post about some of the scariest and most sweaty palm making horror films I’ve seen.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Horror is one of my favourite film genres (there is obviously some psychological reason why we get pleasure from scaring ourselves witless) and I’m usually quite good at watching them through without breaking out in a nervous sweat. However, there are a few films that I find myself reaching for a cushion to hide behind - because obviously if something were to be ‘coming to get me’ a cushion would be my best protection!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I do enjoy (and I use the term ‘enjoy’ lightly) the gruesome and sadistic films like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saw</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hostel</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Hills Have Eyes</b> and the old classics are great too - think <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nightmare on Elm Street</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Halloween</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Exorcist</b>. I am partial to a bit of Japanese horror (I went through of phase or ordering lots of the Japanese originals on Amazon) – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Ring</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dark Water</b>. They are usually quite psychological and have a tendency to feature freaky Japanese children who do weird things (freaky children are generally just scary).</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Probably most of my scare sessions involve either teen American slasher flicks – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Scream</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I Know What You Did Last Summer</b>, thriller horrors (the sort that you believe have the potential to actually happen in real life), such as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Paranormal Activity</b>, or based on ‘true events’ type frighteners like <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wolf Creek</b> and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Adrift. </b> </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Five Fright Fest Films: </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FLast-House-Left-DVD%2Fdp%2FB002GJI744%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1305305519%26sr%3D8-2&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Last House on the Left</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> – sort of a remake of the 60/70’s version, although not half as violent and sadistic as the originals, it still has a few scenes that are quite disturbing but the storyline is great and it is full of ‘will she won’t she’ type tension and suspense </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FStrangers-DVD-Liv-Tyler%2Fdp%2FB001DDR6QE%3Fs%3Ddvd%26ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1305306029%26sr%3D1-1&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">The Strangers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">– this has a lot of the things that scare me the most – strange noises from outside, looking out of windows at night, house in the middle of nowhere, creaks and jumps and provokes the ‘it could actually happen’ thought </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FThe-Grudge-Ju-on-DVD%2Fdp%2FB0002VF4QC%3Fs%3Ddvd%26ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1305306082%26sr%3D1-2&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">The Grudge</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">- the original Japanese version is much more freaky than the US remake with Sarah Michelle Geller but both are good cover-your-eyes watches </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FThe-Blair-Witch-Project-DVD%2Fdp%2FB0037Z969Q%3Fs%3Ddvd%26ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1305306153%26sr%3D1-1&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">The Blair Witch Project</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> – genius when it first came out (even if the shakey handcam style made me feel slightly motion sick), mostly due to the great PR and marketing campaign surrounding it</span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FParanormal-Activity-2-DVD%2Fdp%2FB004EMS02U%3Fs%3Ddvd%26ie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1305306209%26sr%3D1-1&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Paranormal Activity 2</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> – better than the 1<sup>st</sup> I think with lots of sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for ‘something’ pop out and make you jump moments</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">These are just a selection of my favourites and even though we probably spend most of the time being too scared to leave the lounge, shouting ‘you fool’ or ‘why did you do that?’ at the characters who have either opted to grab the worst weapon ever or have decided to leave the safety of the group and wander off into the dark woods on their own to ‘explore’ I am sure that jumpy, gruesome horror films will stay a regular feature in our house. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I’m looking forward to seeing the new Scream 4 and also Insidious soon too!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Anyone got any good recommendations of horror films I could scare myself senseless with??? Post them below so I can add them to my LOVEFiLM list! </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?_encoding=UTF8&site-redirect=&node=162441011&tag=moviesandmald-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">Horror DVD</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=moviesandmald-21&l=ur2&o=2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<iframe border="0" frameborder="0" height="60" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=13&l=bn1&mode=dvd-uk&browse=162441011&fc1=000000&lt1=_blank&lc1=3366FF&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="border: none;" width="468"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-48124883390716406742011-05-09T15:51:00.001+01:002011-05-09T15:53:12.978+01:00Marrakech Top Tips<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">So now I am back from my Marrakech trip I thought I’d sum up some of my top tips for this fantastic city.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b>Top places to eat:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.albaraka-marrakech.com/"><b>Al Baraka</b></a> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Amazing Moroccan food with friendly waiters and traditional entertainment. Just of Jemaa El Fna square. Reasonably priced, approx £36 per head with wine</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnmBeGryfhRQVbrzIW7CgOLT0iTaRPXlbYeUhh3HxgfOby_LfUGppJzIyqO6IsDtaotcsETjl24oLbvwgbnrGfDMXecGUf6B-yO0Bd9rfur7p7O092lfoYe2sz_rncmJLY3P7Buv4IZa_/s1600/Baraka+Tagine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnmBeGryfhRQVbrzIW7CgOLT0iTaRPXlbYeUhh3HxgfOby_LfUGppJzIyqO6IsDtaotcsETjl24oLbvwgbnrGfDMXecGUf6B-yO0Bd9rfur7p7O092lfoYe2sz_rncmJLY3P7Buv4IZa_/s320/Baraka+Tagine.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm tagine.... </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.theredhouse-marrakech.com/uk/redhouse.php"><b>The Red House</b></a> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Again amazing food with a Moroccan or international a la carte menus to choose from. Beautiful décor, similar to that of the palaces! Traditional entertainment and excellent service. Located in Hivernage. A bit pricier but worth treating yourself, approx £51 per head including wine </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrZENK5ZQCd1wRPKgkp2vo9QJLAWv50SH87dMEz81GfefaAB5Yj6N4daUhG1hJzIK0_SwkjZvje57Bpp5hKOzTfuxBREdYzbR32nHqHmOk3hydh1Dy7ordykeSJPMSvDPARuW1D979KmR/s1600/Red+House.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrZENK5ZQCd1wRPKgkp2vo9QJLAWv50SH87dMEz81GfefaAB5Yj6N4daUhG1hJzIK0_SwkjZvje57Bpp5hKOzTfuxBREdYzbR32nHqHmOk3hydh1Dy7ordykeSJPMSvDPARuW1D979KmR/s320/Red+House.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hold on I think I know this tune</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeIPD27bb4Y7WIf9NB9NWN7Jhb73Bkx-pDYqy-JwiSUEcbw5y1wzVn5yX3nQ5GpGgWk_ixeZAZgwEPisbhzcE4XiGdFM5V0vf3GdU2WOmvnwu6ifY0bsHjhVTpxZe3uFF1L26jt-Q-fiG/s1600/Red+House+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeIPD27bb4Y7WIf9NB9NWN7Jhb73Bkx-pDYqy-JwiSUEcbw5y1wzVn5yX3nQ5GpGgWk_ixeZAZgwEPisbhzcE4XiGdFM5V0vf3GdU2WOmvnwu6ifY0bsHjhVTpxZe3uFF1L26jt-Q-fiG/s320/Red+House+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://letanjia-marrakech.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b>Le Tanjia</b></span></a> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">In the southern part of the Medina, this restaurant is tucked away near Place des Ferblantiers. A perfect lunch stop while sightseeing. Serves Moroccan and international dishes on a beautifully decorated four floors. Fairly reasonably priced, approx £11 per head for pizza and a beer (Moroccan style of course!)</span><br />
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<a href="http://bagatellemarrakech.over-blog.com/"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b>La Bagatelle</b></span></a> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">French cuisine – delicious. Located in the new city area in rue de Yougoslavie. Indoor and outdoor dining and reasonably priced, approx £22 per head for 3 courses with wine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b>Top things to do:</b></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: x-small;">· </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Visit Jemaa El Fna square in the day and for the Night Market – watch out for the snakes though!</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: x-small;">· </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Wander around the souks</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: x-small;">· </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Take a trip to Jardin Majorelle – beautifully in both rain and sunshine</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: x-small;">· </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Have a massage at your hotel hammam (spa) or <a href="http://www.lesbainsdemarrakech.com/">Les Bains de Marrakech</a> is supposed to be good too</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: x-small;">· </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Touristy places to visit (these are not very expensive to get in, around 10MAD and some you can buy a bulk ticket for)</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: x-small;">o </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Musee de Marrakech</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: x-small;">o </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Medersa Ben Youseff</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: x-small;">o </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Palais El Badii (ruins)</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: x-small;">o </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Palais de la Bahia (partly still in use)</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: x-small;">o </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Tombaeux Saadiens</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-y2yMIuS5-t6As-TfmUDuYCQIYMRM_of855t59ZFkGhNXNui0kL_86iPvjbojKORlbeG4FcRXGraVk32RGF4eByMOWjO7Nz2Lv84DMyj6-SL2HI-KaYC9zYc-ofpv6KciLRZONmDDn6R/s1600/Night+Market.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1-y2yMIuS5-t6As-TfmUDuYCQIYMRM_of855t59ZFkGhNXNui0kL_86iPvjbojKORlbeG4FcRXGraVk32RGF4eByMOWjO7Nz2Lv84DMyj6-SL2HI-KaYC9zYc-ofpv6KciLRZONmDDn6R/s320/Night+Market.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jemaa El Fna square gearing up for the Night Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0xn5TCIOYCigFbnAeKWUJVkkeCZEzb4sbej3R2w42YbBhTz_yjgYGVDHHSAouA9BFjoVFDyX7hkT9KqZIWj4bfS7iE5SdlvM7H5bB_tVHEYgPVUkO7bMGjzfOe9Ue2UV59zGfoPW80e1/s1600/Souk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0xn5TCIOYCigFbnAeKWUJVkkeCZEzb4sbej3R2w42YbBhTz_yjgYGVDHHSAouA9BFjoVFDyX7hkT9KqZIWj4bfS7iE5SdlvM7H5bB_tVHEYgPVUkO7bMGjzfOe9Ue2UV59zGfoPW80e1/s320/Souk.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Negotiating the souks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDoRVW62WV-1NJmpGQhMgsTmidWlQSFG2md7Mw5eiilDcWFgIs4sSs-eLbjiwVUueFLdavfHMrWl7z8fakFQFfj3ahE_3Zxtt_Xqcvh7q87mpsy3HSYDwQtfM43qJJeDyHKFmwBf2Pr7u/s1600/Jardin+Majorelle+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDoRVW62WV-1NJmpGQhMgsTmidWlQSFG2md7Mw5eiilDcWFgIs4sSs-eLbjiwVUueFLdavfHMrWl7z8fakFQFfj3ahE_3Zxtt_Xqcvh7q87mpsy3HSYDwQtfM43qJJeDyHKFmwBf2Pr7u/s320/Jardin+Majorelle+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jardin Majorelle (in the rain)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b7jG0IVGavCzb6XZaCFSSMrEXR8P701qN9HE05P19H3ym7wVUQsGukc8ua12_T4V8lK5igTU110wfHy4li3YjmhAL35nu0nx__NrBM37LkdfkCt54lO_XNdhogqlJFwf2sEs99BR1-ar/s1600/Musee+Marrakech.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1b7jG0IVGavCzb6XZaCFSSMrEXR8P701qN9HE05P19H3ym7wVUQsGukc8ua12_T4V8lK5igTU110wfHy4li3YjmhAL35nu0nx__NrBM37LkdfkCt54lO_XNdhogqlJFwf2sEs99BR1-ar/s320/Musee+Marrakech.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Musee de Marrakech</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKTulhVqTrLNVrEuARMWc3u6lkSTgczrzw4lqk7MaikNiD6ZQ5gX9VxvhMa8-D_QxDoQ93LaPn-y7lJv_JSX4JnXczUD-wUxlSOs2ojaDwWPf9chTS5l-qYMqIn07cc8JVPaduJJU5i6l/s1600/Ben+Youseff.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKTulhVqTrLNVrEuARMWc3u6lkSTgczrzw4lqk7MaikNiD6ZQ5gX9VxvhMa8-D_QxDoQ93LaPn-y7lJv_JSX4JnXczUD-wUxlSOs2ojaDwWPf9chTS5l-qYMqIn07cc8JVPaduJJU5i6l/s320/Ben+Youseff.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medersa Ben Youseff (and the sun is coming out!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGA3iU-GSK8ggFIdP21rFJRBj7dtm__m2NRbNAS4xD_1y5CQWwnBL-QjIThaxd2E1b2orLR8bYtHhifpt29TxszYpLRG1p3rW2-cWHkAL1wkcvuVPe7xU3RxnDG2lzG2zKlPQxLty9g2P/s1600/Palais+Baadii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGA3iU-GSK8ggFIdP21rFJRBj7dtm__m2NRbNAS4xD_1y5CQWwnBL-QjIThaxd2E1b2orLR8bYtHhifpt29TxszYpLRG1p3rW2-cWHkAL1wkcvuVPe7xU3RxnDG2lzG2zKlPQxLty9g2P/s320/Palais+Baadii.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Palais El Badii - not too shabby for ruins</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uKzayDtAhyphenhyphen6MRnlCqXLueci15TKkE7qs-OTpXHBssBTeYRJEuQH6G49JVxOlAMRBJi3gCTnPcH1YXRIwi25WTreW3x6x0ws-9Tqrslisw6tImFeuUOzl42Tq9tY_gD7_enwFTZ4EpQ4e/s1600/Palais+Bahia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uKzayDtAhyphenhyphen6MRnlCqXLueci15TKkE7qs-OTpXHBssBTeYRJEuQH6G49JVxOlAMRBJi3gCTnPcH1YXRIwi25WTreW3x6x0ws-9Tqrslisw6tImFeuUOzl42Tq9tY_gD7_enwFTZ4EpQ4e/s320/Palais+Bahia.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Palais de la Bahia - didn't see P Diddy</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHN9kz-2TF5vrxdNa6F-8trMqc6rdNS6P4DotldMHPfTbyesIfL99ZjqV99Vb_isn12fFOIwZT-bqGhSN0a3NL_rQC6Bu8UUseAVbf3_vu_dsQRp62mYIulJIJj23y7K_hKikZkYW-6Ym/s1600/Tombeaux+Saadiens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHN9kz-2TF5vrxdNa6F-8trMqc6rdNS6P4DotldMHPfTbyesIfL99ZjqV99Vb_isn12fFOIwZT-bqGhSN0a3NL_rQC6Bu8UUseAVbf3_vu_dsQRp62mYIulJIJj23y7K_hKikZkYW-6Ym/s320/Tombeaux+Saadiens.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Tombaeux Saadiens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"><b>Top tips for getting around</b></span> <br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Petit taxis are an easy way to get around. These are the smaller cars, such as Peugeot 205, Renault 5 and Fiats etc, and although they look a little beat up they will get you from A to B cheaply. Agree the price with the driver before you set off though and hold on tight!</span> </li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">The Bus Touristique is a useful way to get around either to hop off and see an attraction or just ride it for the both the Historique and Oasis tours. 48 hour tickets are only around £15 </span> </li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">Before you go email your hotel and ask them to send a taxi/driver to collect you. They will give you the price and its apparently a cheaper way than getting a taxi at the airport</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;">I'd definitly recommend a trip to Marrakech it is a very interesting city, the people are friendly, the food is great and I'm told the weather is really nice too! </span><br />
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<ul></ul>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-45821760882249908102011-05-06T16:40:00.001+01:002011-05-09T15:56:22.361+01:00The Book of Eli on DVD (Blu-ray)<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: x-small;">One of my LOVEFiLM installments this week was <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/"><b>The Book of Eli</b></a> with Denzel Washington.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Set in post-apocalyptic America it follows one man's path to protect a sacred book which will save mankind.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We learn that a voice had told Eli to head westward with the sacred book, which he had been doing for thirty years, and hijackers and cannibals who try to stand in his way are taken out with precision.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The fight scenes are really good and done with a certain Denzel ‘coolness’.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">He arrives in a town where the leader, Carnegie (played by Gary Oldman), is searching for a copy of the Bible as he believes this will give him further power. After discovering that Eli is in possession of a King James Bible he sets about taking it from Eli. After a shoot out, a pursuit, a standoff and another shoot out, Carnegie eventually get the book only to discover it is written in Braille.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A wounded Eli still makes his way westward, with the help of his new companion Solara (played by Mila Kunis), and they finally arrive at Alcatraz. In Alcatraz, Lombardi (played by Malcolm McDowell) and is collecting things from the pre-war civilation – books, music, art etc – so that they are one day able to try and rebuild society.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Eli announces that he has a copy of the bible (which they don’t have and we know that Carnegie has taken from Eli) and asks Lombardi to get a pen and paper. Eli then begins to recite the Bible word for word from memory (unfortunately poor Lombardi has to write the whole thing out).</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There are religious and political messages behind the film and showing how religion can be used for power in both good and bad ways. However, when Eli is at Alcatraz they focus in on his eyes and I wasn’t sure whether we were supposed to believe that Eli was (warning potential plot spoiler) blind? There were a few comments throughout the film that looking back seemed to make more sense if he was but also some parts that would make it not very believable???</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But anyway I liked this film and thought it looked great on blu-ray. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I'm going to give The Book of Eli 3.5 hijackers out of 5.</span><br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003A8FET6&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-20968089224931665292011-05-05T12:12:00.001+01:002011-05-05T12:12:40.291+01:00Derren Brown: Svengali<div><p>A group of us went to see Derren Brown's Svengali show at Sheffield City Hall last night.</p>
<p>It was brilliant, funny and very clever! I'd love to tell you all about it but, in the style of Jack Bauer, I can't.  Well its not really that I'm too busy saving the world its more that the audience were sworn to secrecy.</p>
<p>But as I say a great show and I'd definitly recommend seeing it if you can.</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-xGTVczuHmiBrxpuMpxxRgKHSvxaMysjoDl-zAgZkuP39SFLSoMlxk0huZ7ZznLvtM9C2PRhFuWhevK7xW7ZE2y42qrDDDpyc-C-el4ciZ3ITyKCsPVrbD-rpMv0qSWCBvHOEwr0sQL4b/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-38567062746742770692011-05-02T22:15:00.001+01:002011-05-02T22:15:45.352+01:00Marrakech Day 4<div><p>Day 4 - Monday</p>
<p>Raining again today. I think we've managed to come during the 2 days of annual rainfall that Marrakech gets.  Least the umbrella sellers are raking it in.</p>
<p>Jellabahs are common outfits in Marrakech. They are hooded floor length kaftans and with the pointy hoods up you could be forgiven for thinking you were on the set of a Harry Potter movie. Usually in linen or wool, the rain has brought out the cagool Jellabah - very practical for a day like this.</p>
<p>We've had quite a busy day exploring today.</p>
<p>We got a taxi to the Musee de Marrakech.  Taxis can only go so far so after a few wrong turns on foot we finally found it. A spectacular building, the Musee holds numerous traditional Berber embroidery, jewellery and ceramics. But the building itself is the main attraction.</p>
<p>On to Medersa Ben Youssef. This is a 14th century Koranic school.  Again beautiful architecture with two of the hundred tiny student rooms made up as they would have been back then. Most of the student rooms (that were not reserved for the privileged students) were in fact quite pokey little cells. But in lovely surroundings.  Our ticket also allowed us entry to something else but we were not quite sure what it was. We took a picture of it though.</p>
<p>Next we wandered off into the direction of the souks. A maze of tiny streets and Aladdin's cave style shops.  We navigated the souks quite well (we didn't even need to use the phones compass!) and made our way back to Jemaa El Fna square, which even in the rain was still bustling. </p>
<p>Next stop was the Palais de la Bahia. Built by Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed, the palace was to house his four wives and two-dozen concubines. The rooms that you are able to see are unfurnished but the building itself is decorated beautifully with brightly coloured tiling and intricatly carved panels. The palace is still used as a royal residence so most of the 150 rooms are sealed off, unless of course you are P Diddy and you throw a $1 million party and invite a load of supermodels and celebs!</p>
<p>The next palace probably was just as grand and possibly even bigger than Bahia back in the day, however now the Palais El Badii is unfortunately just ruins. Impressive ruins though.</p>
<p>Making our way back to Place Des Ferblantiers we stopped off for Morroccon style pizza and beer in a fantastic cafe/restaurant called Le Tanjia.  Another little hidden gem.</p>
<p>The sky cleared and the sun started beating down so we whipped out the Ray Bans and got some snaps with blue skies in the background.</p>
<p>Final visit was to the Tombeaux Saadiens. These are the tombs of the golden king, Ahmed El Mansour. Apparently these were lost for a few hundred years behind high walls only to be found again in 1917.  It seems that we arrived at the same time as the three coach loads of French tourists.  Let's just say the Tombeaux are not that big.  At least mum managed to get rid of last nights chicken kebab (that she had hidden in her bag at dinner to make it look like she'd eaten it all) by discreetly chucking it over the tombs to the three hungry kittens. There is always one beady eyed kid around though isn't there.  Quickly exiting the tombs we headed back to the hotel.  </p>
<p>Final recommendation for the day.....dinner at The Red House. The decor was very much like the palaces we have been in today and it offers delicious Morrocan food with entertainment provided by the house musicians and belly dancer. Tres bon!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetGszqqtcUeYYVbPlnhBVziEKFlBqd0LGRHXof5t5f_qif3kB09jkTSLz_g9OrhpwpzHEXzDDToNNjsmHWWCRDeLUDoodUlQpL94cJf07729FErKqUuLcD-WF8JfZ1R5SjaP3hykuftNV/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2rY4RLfRZfRbTeIbpO3d9wR15DdyqR_PZQk98ZFBo5Ydlx4MTTE2vdNCsA5sh-omh9AumwGEYAR7ZYfuKqjK5ixEIGty05_OH4BsvkjfKPWbFKc1oiwde8uyQhcAZBmnknr0L8NdkE7V/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qLBTXRhl_VbBLyyq7KtCbPpCMid9Ytua1RYg0gS75EphrZ16-v1rPsrIFT7qlNr7UQotBz666CrJaje2OtxeXbNvjUDbE3O3lrJEiwvZLbdOQJ04ClsvFEZWIWjrHHLAnnTbA5lgCGj8/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OyKACHFJutPk-GULLi15ub7voTnhS0BALrv4MixloZlZM_vhh3LBdu9cdAYSvBTVNPh0MHc3xEs4auoK3JrSb4fv8V08dWckh_o0S9LpIKAG7P_bwnwxqBaRrZf6JNQuGlwTX9AAwQin/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwaANNf-vTNwrgZyOeuzObri1SZ0CjE14kQGtrZEFTU0WU32xzFj_INV1WMTH9ftpBgDflPj4O6UF91hDmrk5aPdrXGci-DpOeKiTSLv4VbsyA8BFybfKjXKv52lI6OzGxzmTBIhqEMht/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG3QDizqgpTaKP-QohOembsEuTqUkXzsAsmfWPz1wUACR3mEo5WTpxNCc1m9lTOATVo81iMDZzwhg37HIb8SDx4DTwQEwujv8514DNEZjAxLBt29nocuAJTvrd4IQagSl7dmwv1VxFaUf/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1DVQ_fDI1qP1Vm3IDul9eGz6bEW4LjD9847od9az_3ygSuwYnxx6ZJsdr3inHL-8pHyrK2w695HsTfHFC8Vt3JaYqFYjYVFBfBK-Kak2cayqnENPkaGl4tDyD0HV51OZ1IfqPKE0vwYd/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-45844159802405006352011-05-01T21:52:00.001+01:002011-05-01T21:52:11.002+01:00Marrakech Day 2 cont. and Day 3<div><p>Day 2 - Saturday cont...</p>
<p>I'll start with last night because we went to an amazing restaurant just off Jemaa El Fna square for dinner.</p>
<p>Before dinner we had a wander around the night market in the square.  It was just as busy, if not busier, come dusk as it was during the day.  In the evening all the food stalls are out in the centre of the square selling soups, spicy sausages, kebabs and tagines.  It smelt delicious.  Although we try our best not to look too much like typical English tourists we clearly do as everyone seemed to offer 'Asda price' food and wanted to 'see us later alligator'.  One food seller even claimed that Jamie Oliver was his 'brother from another mother'!</p>
<p>We weaved our way through the stalls and dodged  our way through the musicians, monkeys and array of snakes (my heart had already stopped once when a youngster thrust a wooden snake at me earlier!).</p>
<p>The restaurant, recommend by our hotel, was called Al Baraka, and was just off the square next to the police station.  It didn't look anything too exciting from the outside but as soon as we stepped through the door it was like a small oasis of calm and we immediately forgot the hustle and bustle of the square outside.</p>
<p>We were seated in the cosy Caid room on plush banquettes around a candle lit table. </p>
<p>We had a selection of Morroccon salads with bread, followed by rice and minced meat pastry parcels served with local cocaine (aka sugar).  Then we were served chicken and olive, lemon chicken and lamb tagines with cous cous. And just as we thought we couldn't fit any more in the waiter brought out cinnamon dusted Orange slices, pancakes and a variety of sweet biscuits. Those of you who know me will also be surprised to hear I even drank the local whisky, which was disguised as mint tea. Fortunately it was so minty you couldn't taste the tea and it was a very small glass. I thought it would be rude not to drink it.</p>
<p>I got so carried away with the food I almost forgot to mention the musicians who kept us entertained during our meal and also the belly dancer!</p>
<p>There were a few people in the restaurant but clearly not nearly as many as they usually get. The waiters told us that they had been very quiet since Thursdays attack so were grateful we'd still come and thanked us. </p>
<p>We got a taxi home, it was a bit like being at Alton Towers and you'd be surprised the gaps a clapped out old Peugeot 205 can fit through, but we made it. I think mum had her eyes closed for most of it!</p>
<p>Day 3 - Sunday</p>
<p>Bit rainy today. Had to buy an umbrella from an opportunistic street seller who was hovering at the bus stop.</p>
<p>We persevered anyway and made our way to rue Yves Saint Laurent to the Jardin Marjorelle. These beautiful gardens were originally bought and created by French painter, Jacques Marjorelle, until he passed away in 1962. The gardens have since been acquired and restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge.  Cacti, bamboo and bright blue, yellow and orange colours adorn this unique garden.</p>
<p>We had lunch in the cafe which was decked out like an Arabian berber tent. Didn't imagine I'd be enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate in Marrakech but I have to say it went down a treat.</p>
<p>The sun came out just in time for our appointment at the hotel hammam (spa). Skipping the traditional scrub we opted for just the massage. Am now feeling very relaxed.</p>
<p>Had dinner at Bagatelle on rue de Yougoslavie. It was a very nice French restaurant, which seems to be the second most popular cuisine here. Lovely!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSpj5Jg50GulwqYu40eoRYrxyZi7_wPUjTX65WKsJQ2gN3hP3TTOBcbjT0VJpZd8IjbDMvAuT78OUe5ocj_Sg4CtDL0fF9AWqqWOJ_hrPxYXWqPey9lMUVUlGzh2BG3_z_T3-I3ZzgEPR/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVYGSBTZcJKlk0vKASvwo4XXTWCTjY6ELncpreP8uyEWsPMAhX9GXnXA5mHU3izZGoDg0exUYnUJaw9hR5oIOZh4UJ2jrpNdZz9ibhsE0W2_VnP4ezxw2OXdZM_Jlv9lcRcHz8TtxSoBf/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8EAMFMaCqVhR7piwHwi3uLGb8sb1Nn5r9xcV6Kwj-mYB8vE9ynBQjeqzWA65v0Lgn3OMspz3lW-IJyGzbNNCUAQmi_c50wgMPR4FhfR3jDqnWMzf9I7Sr0YIReJxyqM3lCummzd78fa_j/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1xFE-2uX-5wMtGeXqv-KdoLjOQLVov9ml9nSeHoW-2FPnd69RENOluIj6oaElIGnIAHPn_ULnsqX6TOqwPnw5h_-P_SbRYO1sKKIVOHjE5OUjPsHNYYR9k6n4ZATdyTa6iEPH1XOXIYQw/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-56985792122315007242011-04-30T22:51:00.001+01:002011-04-30T22:51:19.304+01:00Marrakech Day 1 and 2<div><p>Day 1 - Friday</p>
<p>After an early start (due to the early flight) we arrived in Marrakech and checked into our hotel just in time to see Kate making her way to the abbey.  We watched Wills and Kate get married, while admiring her beautiful dress and keeping our eyes peeled for Posh and Becks in the congregation. We saw them.</p>
<p>Feeling a bit tired and unsure where to start we spotted the the tourist bus going by as we had lunch in the hotel cafe. After lunch we hopped on the bus and got a 48 hr ticket for about £15. Bargain.</p>
<p>The bus does 2 tours - the historique tour and the oasis tour- we did both.</p>
<p>The historique tour took us along Mohammed vi avenue (which is the longest avenue at about 5km) to the Jardin la Menara.  At the side of the road there are groups of camels awaiting eager tourists.</p>
<p>After swinging by the Marrakech casino the tour reached the pink city walls and headed down towards the Koutoubia Mosque.  We briefly passed the Jemaa El Fna square which still looked very busy despite the recent attack.</p>
<p>We passed the Royal Palace where I had to remember not to take a picture as it is strictly forbidden!</p>
<p>We swapped buses for the oasis tour which took us up towards the Jardin Marjorelle and the Palmarie.  Much more deserty up this way and lots more camels. Apparently this is also the Beverley Hills of Marrakech so there were some very fancy cribs!</p>
<p>Having got our bearings a bit we felt like we had more of a plan for the rest of the trip.</p>
<p>Back to the hotel, The Mogador Opera, for a delicious tagine before falling into bed.</p>
<p>Day 2 - Saturday</p>
<p>Woke up really early feeling slightly confused about what the actual time was. What with Easyjet telling us to put our watches back and the joker on reception messing with our heads and changing the clocks, just for laughs, we ended up having breakfast at what we thought was 9am but was actually 10am. Which explains why there wasn't a lot left (breakfast finished at 10.30am).</p>
<p>After getting ourselves sorted with the right time we headed off to the Koutoubia Mosque (on our little bus). <br>
A brief wander around the outside of the mosque, as non Muslims are not allowed in, confirmed that there wasn't a lot more to see there.  We did the death run across the road and made our way towards the Jemaa El Fna square.</p>
<p>Part of the square was condoned off and we were told it was because the King was coming (and we don't mean Elvis) to see the damage.  </p>
<p>Venturing into the main square I turned around to find mum being accosted by a monkey. It's a good job the monkey understood French as a forceful 'non merci' from mum sent him back to his owner.  Can't leave her alone for a minute!</p>
<p>After the monkey incident we managed to avoid the snakes and bravely carried on towards the souks.</p>
<p>You have to keep on your toes to avoid being mown down by all the mopeds, bicycles and donkey carts who speed through the narrow alleyways.</p>
<p>The souks sell a mixture of traditional wares, such as silver, lanterns, leather, shoes, scarves, spices and olives. By contrast we also came across many stalls selling the usual market trader goods you'd get back home, such as t-shirts, handbags and Calvin Klein underwear.  </p>
<p>The men and women of the mountains, in traditional costume, had also come down to sell their goods and entertain the crowds with their music.</p>
<p>Both the square and the souks are full of hustle and bustle so we stopped for a drink and a rest at the Koutoubia cafe where we could sit back and watch the world go by.  </p>
<p>This is where you can really take in just how chaotic the roads are in Marrakech. There are all sorts of vehicles from brand new audi's, mopeds and 3 wheeled trucks to donkey carts, horse and carriages and even mobility scooters. Among all this there are policemen blowing their whistles while directing the traffic as well as hundreds of people dodging in and out trying to cross the road.</p>
<p>Back on the bus we hopped off again at Place du 16 Novembre and found a nice little cafe for lunch.  This seemed to be an upmarket area with high street shops and fancy looking apartments.  It felt a little bit calmer here....until the traffic policeman started frantically blowing his whistle.  We stood up for a better view and waited for the road to be cleared.  Shortly after a number of black cars sped by followed by a few motorcycle outriders, then a few more cars, then the official car with flag on the front and King inside, flanked by 3-4 further cars also sped by. And they were literally speeding along. There was a round of applause from onlookers and quite a few more entourage cars before the traffic started moving again. We'd seen the King of Morocco....we'll his cars dust trail anyway! </p>
<p>Over the road we spotted a mini souk so off we wandered only to emerge 15 minutes later clutching some pashminas. It was a good shop Dale.</p>
<p>After all the excitement we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest before dinner. </p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hgjUH_0Bjdk81jtjl5AyRFlQN8QkdR_6wMgCaPLIU2-WJJuSzMstczRjBWeAs2AvpRS5honKEi4qgw0BNJ9tq6mFC8dv5Sbg8K7Z2TQJbqj3JgZ61JveD_4_5XQgeI5hwLYZzk6Sb8NY/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwpfPSHeyR3daV2Q7xHQfNmUw58gpuyUkrKioUqvudLtNzV2USNaZh8ISutnU7OeUF28L-qz78_QP1FG-K5X3Y1TA8hPJeHv2Z-y5MKZR-pPFox8gM-S0dXqGgAlJDiTuiBCVFuV85VJc/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-axQ3wiz6oHXTfjQWVsc6Y5cN5xQqakCAadwi_cFQbiB8HqIhORIdd81YtAwyn_2ggPznd78C4ly9cgvsC3KCH84m5o8jw0PQ0SQuLFZD4b7sMOmsQAFZU55kFRA0S9Wm17P1Hwv-HbUK/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp60gnL0HrI0fJ_BAjzVKlFautJjpKGh_ZJsTBeNfnbQMXs53UDWtrxFyqDsdKw6BoWV8bLKbHMjBDD0bYtZu7chvDbSqGNcCXTGySUzG7RlWcEVsNHHBJptC2rGTkZLVAmUS_1_iHi3zk/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaO6tBLwl5p8I-NebHfTgNcYuMB4iEMZJC-A-kXK9UwiHl8upUeu-DmVu6g8eKe0fYs3JKnma2pDTqv_LWvW4yCpZmue8jC7clwJBzCmkIPzGeqQK6ZJL8QKUtBvRiaMje5yAU3arlkq6c/' /><br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zxUVuwdifAPuFcjBxD5-6MQo3JpQ3BaqqvT2oRNN_cDccVg8KCkEnU5LIhKe4cc42kO_YwuVXK2Z0RXjfF0kUvPsDLovOQippsQJ7GArbaXAI5YmGBmjWw2Ys56Uml_ubakTudPamcAN/' /></div>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-52556492376631616202011-04-28T13:39:00.001+01:002011-04-28T13:51:31.358+01:00The Family Stone on DVD<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The latest film from <a href="http://www.lovefilm.com/welcome/home.html">LOVEFiLM</a> was <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356680/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Family Stone</b></a>. I’d probably class this as a romcom with a bit of drama. It’s about a guy that brings his uptight city girlfriend home to his slightly unconventional and whacky family for their annual Christmas celebration.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I feel like I may have missed something at the beginning (but I was watching it from the start) because the family all seemed to really dislike Meredith (the city girlfriend) before she even arrived. The film then goes through some really awkward moments mixed in with some quite funny bits and also a few sad parts – so really one to get all the emotions going!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Meredith (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) tries to fit in with the family, not to much avail, as they set her up and generally give her a hard time before she gets her sister, Julie, down for support. This in itself opens up more complications as the family seem to love her instantly and even the affections of Meredith’s boyfriend, Everett (played by Dermont Mulroney) start to sway towards Julie (played by Clare Danes).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Meredith ends up spending the evening in a bar with Everett’s brother Ben (played by Luke Wilson) and then thinks she’s slept with him, which along with the fact that she can tell Everett’s affections are moving to her sister (Julie gets the engagement ring stuck on her finger as Everett was asking her to ‘try it on’) makes her think about her relationship.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The film finishes with the family the following year where Meredith is with Ben (the brother), Everett is with Julie and the mother, Sybil (played by Diane Keaton), has passed away. At least it looks like everyone is friends at the end!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There were lots of well known names in this film – SJP, Dermot Mulroney, Clare Danes, Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson, Amy McAdams and Craig T Neslon - who played a random array of characters but all it a good share of comedy and drama, not sure there was that much romance though?!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It was nice easy film to watch that kept us entertained while leaving us feeling like we weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I’m going to give this a 3.5 brothers and sisters out of 5</span><br />
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If you like my blogAmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-67235759976799856622011-04-27T11:19:00.000+01:002011-04-27T11:19:44.040+01:00Hooters World TourIn recent years, mostly since I started holidaying with the Daves (my friends Dave T and Dave A), I seem to have developed a liking for Hooters chicken. My first <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.hooters.com/home.aspx">Hooters</a> experience was in Las Vegas – well if I’m going to start I may as well start in style!<br />
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I had a perception of Hooters in my mind. And this was not really changed once I arrived. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The girls were all really friendly and made sure I got in the picture with them and the boys (although I felt slightly overdressed!). With a slightly TGI feel to it the walls are adorned with sporting memorabilia, photos of famous faces with the Hooters girls and the big screens are all tuned into the sports channels. I was guided by the Daves as to what was good, although I went for the medium sauce as opposed the extra extra hot! The food is actually really nice and in true American style there is always so much of it. Hooters bills itself as ‘delightfully tacky yet unrefined’ and that it is… but in a typical OTT American good and fun way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkhUke4eFeS45u2U4SHMfx-9bV2QVVY3a8wIjZLLuY6KAnaEsAuVm95ehH0q2wqgA0MtiAToJJHHZHmpkHO8Jk5Vxs729XLcI5xB9l4nHPf0yq_HH25npBWFjaGkwgcU9A2ho9FTxS8u0/s1600/Hooters+Vegas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkhUke4eFeS45u2U4SHMfx-9bV2QVVY3a8wIjZLLuY6KAnaEsAuVm95ehH0q2wqgA0MtiAToJJHHZHmpkHO8Jk5Vxs729XLcI5xB9l4nHPf0yq_HH25npBWFjaGkwgcU9A2ho9FTxS8u0/s320/Hooters+Vegas.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooters Las Vegas </td></tr>
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So from this first experience in the <b>Hooters hotel in Las Vegas</b> the <b>Hooters World Tour</b> began.<br />
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Next stop on the tour was <b>Hooters Honalulu, Hawaii</b>. An equally fun Hooters, albeit a hot one especially with all that hot sauce going around!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZezyiIloZ0GMTPmqQ6ELdhbJDkOlUZWzq4zVSh8wR4APGn0pEE7fOcuo_FFYWdcTHmBbAy1bPZTYgTqeTxqxK8RbFgNo9FyWv75pwJxTFB1yJt-dDTAC49nXDFLj2P5wyyE4Q0-QOF7e/s1600/Hooters+Hawaii+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZezyiIloZ0GMTPmqQ6ELdhbJDkOlUZWzq4zVSh8wR4APGn0pEE7fOcuo_FFYWdcTHmBbAy1bPZTYgTqeTxqxK8RbFgNo9FyWv75pwJxTFB1yJt-dDTAC49nXDFLj2P5wyyE4Q0-QOF7e/s320/Hooters+Hawaii+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooters Honalulu</td></tr>
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<b>Hooters Tenerife</b> came next. This was a bit of a random one. We were the only people in there so it lacked the atmosphere that the previous Hooters had provided. The food was tasty but not quite as good as the norm. But we did get really good service and our waitress was very chatty and efficient (nothing to do with us being her only customers I’m sure).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zB3PdYzBTnY0jUsUi-dDr3aacgezLmLoQ1P6AB-qwpze5eC3uDGSty310UvPpoWT9ab9xA8ps6AChl_ZRp4TQ8njQBvSR1lBLn8DBxhom-nXMSLPJ30de1z7Br1VybaarVYDeSpOz0L5/s1600/Hooters+Tenerife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zB3PdYzBTnY0jUsUi-dDr3aacgezLmLoQ1P6AB-qwpze5eC3uDGSty310UvPpoWT9ab9xA8ps6AChl_ZRp4TQ8njQBvSR1lBLn8DBxhom-nXMSLPJ30de1z7Br1VybaarVYDeSpOz0L5/s320/Hooters+Tenerife.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooters Tenerife</td></tr>
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Last year we sampled the UK’s only Hooters – <a href="http://www.hooters.to/nottingham/international.php"><b>Hooters Nottingham</b></a>. We were reminded of the usual good atmosphere, service and food here. Being a female I was definitely in the minority in this Hooters as the majority of diners were men on birthday, stag and general boys night out type do’s. There was a lot of audience participation as the girls did their happy birthday routines to poor unsuspecting men. While the birthday boys were downing shots and squeezing into women’s sized cropped t-shirts the rest of the restaurant were encouraged to chant and clap along. Knowing that our group was not quite as loud and leery as some of the other groups we opted for a more subdued version of the birthday pack for Dave T (who birthday night out it was). A shot of JD (they had paid attention to what he was drinking), a quick rendition of happy birthday Hooters style, a photo with the girls and goody bag went down a treat!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccYkEnVPNCLXllZCxkpy_5IjjOohFS2EEwAg8LnZZtlbV3lslB0kesszjo-JX24RggMztZtU_FNhZpcS-7vjf12J9GlFAWhl-YJ3fvEfxAWSizaDCmpAveFvpN37GNBIee_A1ff0IHOB3/s1600/Hooters+Hawaii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccYkEnVPNCLXllZCxkpy_5IjjOohFS2EEwAg8LnZZtlbV3lslB0kesszjo-JX24RggMztZtU_FNhZpcS-7vjf12J9GlFAWhl-YJ3fvEfxAWSizaDCmpAveFvpN37GNBIee_A1ff0IHOB3/s320/Hooters+Hawaii.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooters Beer!</td></tr>
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So if you haven’t been yet I’d recommend getting yourself along to Hooters – now which one shall I go to next??<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRBDbUHfywvGCgFkNG97Ig34oTHVX7IXx_W5zzSXQEzwW_mE6L1Q7SKVl4pgG2mXiqnwYEHP1FTmxEAhPq07haxX2-j9BptsqemVXAE_3C2-u-E7q9cTrofpysVdxWNENqp9J-V0WprUb/s1600/Hooters+Passport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRBDbUHfywvGCgFkNG97Ig34oTHVX7IXx_W5zzSXQEzwW_mE6L1Q7SKVl4pgG2mXiqnwYEHP1FTmxEAhPq07haxX2-j9BptsqemVXAE_3C2-u-E7q9cTrofpysVdxWNENqp9J-V0WprUb/s320/Hooters+Passport.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hooters World Tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>AmyPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12911436487694969389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742053900817623803.post-80019455336385598652011-04-26T12:48:00.002+01:002011-04-26T14:50:57.452+01:00Summer Shape Up<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Summer is here! Well ok maybe not quite yet but we have had enough sunny weather of late for that ‘I need to get fit for summer’ panic to set in. My plan, as always, is to get started at the beginning of the year however, as always, this didn’t happen. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So as part of my get fit campaign I started off by buying <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Fitness-Coach-Dance-Workout/dp/B003P9W2XG/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_h__img_b"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Fitness Coach Dance Workout</b></a> for the <a href="http://www.nintendo.com/wii">Wii</a>. The theory being that this would be more fun and therefore less like actual exercise. And it is actually quite fun! I’m not sure salsa dancing is my forte (I think I need to learn the moves a bit more) but there are a number of boxercise routines as well which is much more my thing – I’m practically Jean Claude.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">As well as the dancing and boxercise routines there are various mini games that you can play. My flatmate (Katie) and I are now very adept at bullfighting and karate chopping china vases and melons but could do with a little more work on our Rodeo and kangaroo fighting.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=moviesandmald-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003P9W2XG&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My other get fit product is the <a href="http://www.slendertone.com/landing/core/uk/index-cro.html?gclid=CNyjx8eKuqgCFQoZ4Qodk0WBBQ"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Slendertone</b></a>. Katie and I went along to a recent Slendertone media event at the <a href="http://www.sanctumsoho.com/">Sanctum Soho Hotel</a>. It was really interesting finding out about all the products for zapping different parts of the body. Slendertone is probably most well known for its tummy toning device but they also have ones for the arms and face. And although Katie and I were both envisaging the ‘<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-410343/Forget-cosmetic-surgery--try-face-bra.html">Face Bra</a>’ when beauty expert, Nichola Joss, was telling us how she and her celebrity clients used it on long flights, it is actually very discreet looking and thankfully nothing at all like the ‘Face Bra’.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I was quite impressed with the all the scientific research behind the products (they have many years of medical experience and strong clinical trials) so it makes me think that it will actually work as opposed to some of the cheaper version you can buy.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The latest product they are launching is the <b>Slendertone Bottom</b> – does exactly what it says on the tin and trims that tush!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OzaNPAnzbCQx0q4uUFk5qQ4LsVyaVZEDlPVHtHCsjiwNptdxnVMhlzswmn0DEqx7oIRQAzJKpmZ5ynuJrVlywZ1rIqi2znKI7g0fCFiEpkaAKtR_gfFZk6BgaagG-emAKgC98vUFpqJs/s1600/IMAG0063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OzaNPAnzbCQx0q4uUFk5qQ4LsVyaVZEDlPVHtHCsjiwNptdxnVMhlzswmn0DEqx7oIRQAzJKpmZ5ynuJrVlywZ1rIqi2znKI7g0fCFiEpkaAKtR_gfFZk6BgaagG-emAKgC98vUFpqJs/s320/IMAG0063.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3orBC1bRs5MqPHdESgS1r5ZhyphenhyphenOVqFywnSYZGb-LB0z_5dV1VTYg4JQkHLv6kvT4Kq_BYf-q2ul2Gnhq8wC8B4hmN1guG5uJxfzLtw-HaHA_9brRflP7iJ7JLCbbURcJX0ud9W2cbHsVhr/s1600/IMAG0060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3orBC1bRs5MqPHdESgS1r5ZhyphenhyphenOVqFywnSYZGb-LB0z_5dV1VTYg4JQkHLv6kvT4Kq_BYf-q2ul2Gnhq8wC8B4hmN1guG5uJxfzLtw-HaHA_9brRflP7iJ7JLCbbURcJX0ud9W2cbHsVhr/s320/IMAG0060.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Katie and I were very kindly given the <b>Slendertone Abs Belt</b> and <b>Slendertone Arms</b> so we’ve got a couple of those problem areas covered between us. Once we got them home we thought we get straight on with it and strapped ourselves in (it was actually really easy to put them on). We nervously started off quite slow; I think we thought we were going to get some kind of electric shock or something. It is in fact electro muscle stimulation technology that mimics the body’s natural muscle action by stimulating the nerves supplying the muscle groups – nothing at all like an electric shock. It didn’t feel too bad at all, so we started building up the intensity – I possibly got a little carried away had to come back down a level or two as my arm seemed to develop a life of its own.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We were told we’d start to see the effects within about 4 weeks, however as we have not quite been that strict with ourselves and may have a missed a few of our daily 20 min sessions it may take us a little longer. The good thing about the Slendertone is that you can wear it and carry on about your daily business so you don’t actually have to stop what you are doing to fit your exercise in (note to self: must think of another excuse now).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">So I’m feeling motivated and have my first trip coming up in a couple of days so will defiantly have a few last minute sessions with both the Slendertone and on the Wii (and I will look like the women on the front of the box)! </span><br />
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