This ain't no Tardis

More good coffee around Sydney

2011-10-22T04:10:00.001-07:00

Workshop coffee / Toby’s Estate decaf. Shop RG01A, the Galeries Victoria, 500 George St, Sydney.

Good coffee opposite the QVB building. There is just about always a queue here.

Picture below of Mecca - As soon as I took my first sip, I was hooked. This is great coffee.

Mecca Espresso 646 Harris St, Ultimo 2009. (02 9280 4204 meccaespresso.com). Mon-Fri 7am-4pm; Sat 7am-3pm

Joanne Kee
www.ceressolutio ns.com.au

More Sydney Shopping

2011-10-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

These shops are for nic nacs - cute shopping.

Newish shop - There Zakka

Love the theme for the shop

Zakka (from the Japanese 'zak-ka'（雑貨）or 'many things') is a fashion and design phenomenon that has spread from Japan throughout Asia. The term refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and appearance. It is often based on household items from the West that are regarded as kitsch in their countries of origin, but it can also be Japanese goods, mainly from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. In Japan there are also so-called Asian zakka stores; that usually refers to Southeast Asia. The interest in Nordic design or Scandinavian design, both contemporary and past, is also part of this zakka movement. Zakka can also be contemporary handicraft.

Zakka has also been described as "the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane". The zakka boom could be recognized as merely another in a series of consumer fads, but it also touches issues of self-expression and spirituality. "Cute, corny and kitschy is not enough. To qualify as a zakka, a product must be attractive, sensitive, and laden with subtext."

Haymarket, Sydney, Australia

Shop address: Shop 8, 107-121 Quay Street, Haymarket Sydney 2000

Also there are three Morning Glory shops in the Chinatown vicinity

The Stuffed Olive Co

2011-09-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

65 Queens Street Berry
An alternate to the busier end of town - this is a great little deli.

Sydney jazz

2011-09-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

Some ideas to catch jazz in Sydney of the contemporary variety. In no particular order, they all have their own charms and Idiosyncrasies

Sydney Improvised Music Association
www.sima.org.au
Regular Friday and Saturday night program in the Sound Lounge of the Seymour Centre.
Musicians are now saying they like playing there, good sound and atmosphere, people listen to the music.

Jazzgroove Association
www.jazzgroove.com
Artist led collective that presents double bills at the 505 on Tuesday nights.
A mixture of old and new artists. Jazzgroove also have a summer festival.

505
505 http://venue505.com/
Primarily jazz, but they mix it up with world music and sometimes just great artists that take the fancy of the artist owners.
Springing up from their famous warehouse venue, this is a step up from underground.

Basement
Basement
Established Sydney venue that presents jazz amongst its program. Operates most nights of the week. Best tables come with dinner service.

Notes
Notes
A newer addition to the scene. Varied choice of music, not always jazz, but jazz has a strong influence.

Cockatoo Calling
Cockatoo Calling
Often presenting jazz and improvised artists on the first Saturday of each month on Cockatoo Island. A raw, industrial kind of feel.

Camelot
Camelot
Jazz on some nights, but always an intersting and diverse range of musical performances. Very quirky and has actually arisen from Quirkz. Worth going to, just to check out the decor.

Colbourne Avenue
Colbourne
Mostly jazz on Thursday nights in Glebe. A wonderful lounge room vibe. Its BYO so you can sink into a lounge chair and bliss out.

Hopefully listings will be on the Jazz Australia website over the months to come
Jazz Australia

Darwin

2011-08-26T19:06:00.001-07:00

Mindl Markets
Thursdays and Sundays
Watch the sun go down from the beach, cruise around the markets or just pig out from one of the many stalls. A very Darwin experience, there is whip cracking, busking and more.
Shuttle bus from the city on Thursdays.

Underground tunnels from WWII
Lower Level Kitchener Drive
www.darwintours.com.au

Perfect location for outdoor events and a great time to visit the city. Darwin Festival, images from the Lighthouse, outdoor venue, Tubular Bells for Two performing. Venue is great even for those who have no interest in the arts, food stalls, bar and music wafting from the Lighthouse. A great place to hang out.

Darwin Waterfront
Wavepool, small beach, funky looking bar at the Medina. Worth going for a cool dip on a hot day.

Lyons Cottage
Restored cottage with some local art and a little history. Colonial bungalow.
74 The Esplanade

Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Really nice gallery, worth a visit. A mixture, as it says of art and museum exhibits. Its also possible to walk from here to Mindl Markets.

Stuff

Food
Cheap and cheerful Asian foodcourt at lunchtime in Anderson Mall off Smith Street Mall, things like roast duck, lakhsa

Hanuman
Holiday Inn Esplanade, 93 Mitchell Street
Delicious restaurant serving Nonya and Tandoori dishes. Great wine list.

Hotel Mantra Pandanas - great staff at this hotel, very comfy, good location.

Bus transfers - airport shuttle easy to do or taxis are around $25

Sydney eating and drinking

2011-05-21T05:50:00.001-07:00

New place for Sushi, $3 for just about all the plates. You can also order from the computerised menu. Huge selection and of course they make fresh orders.
High turnover, so fresh and not bad for the price.
Sushi Hotaru
Shop $P1.01
500 George Street
Galeries Victoria
Sydney
www.yesfoodservicecom.au

We didn't eat in the restaurant, but had a nice malt whiskey and glass of wine in the bar section. Food was great, pizza with anchovies and a terrine. Definitely worth a visit for a pre show bite to eat, or a place to drink and snack.

Glass Brasserie, Hilton Hotel
488 George Street,
Sydney 2000
Tel: 61-2-9266-2000
www.glassbrasserie.com.au.

Sadly not open in the winter months, but from November to April, this is such a fun place to have a drink and enjoy Sydney harbour. Cocktail bar on Cockatoo Island.

A fantastic little cubby hole of a coffee shop. Coffee beans, coffee, food in the back streets of Annandale. Yes good coffee.

Little Marionette
18 Trafalgar Street
Annandale 2038
www.lilm.com.au

Joanne
Twitter

Sydney shopping

2011-05-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

So I am thinking why not Sydney for hot tips.

These are great places for shopping.

Childrens toys, gorgeous clothes and furniture
Little Voice
Queen Victoria Building
Shop 34-36
www.littlevoice.com.au

Just across the corridor is

Just White
Shop 45
More children's toys, posh bunnies, dolls house furniture, collectible teddies and more

Lots of gorgeous places for stationery can also be found on this floor

Joanne Kee
www.placesandspaces.com.au

More Melbourne finds

2011-05-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

Catch great wine bar Cabinet in Swanston Street, if you can find the entrance. Must have are the eggplant fries, great big melt in the mouth eggplant with crunchy skin and yummy sauce. Pizza is also good.

Entrance is in the laneway just at the back of Swanston.
11 rainbow alley
melbourne, victoria.
03 9654 0915

Mekong says on the sign, that Bill Clinton ate here. It is busy, you share tables and sauces. It is cheap as chips, well actually good cheap Pho in Sydney is about the same price. This one is on Swanston street as well.
Ground 241 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Mekong

Also a good place to catch for a coffee is Sensory Lab in David Jones. Photo to come, but what struck me is the single coffee tables or booths, is that for loners who want to savour their coffee?

And one of my favourites is Journal in the library. Good coffee and good food in a cosy cafe.
Journal
253 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
9650 4399

Just remember not all coffee is good in Melbourne. I had apalling coffee in Degraves Lane. They didn't even use the machine and just poured me a latte from the dregs. bah, humbug Melbourne coffee.

Gerroa, Shoalhaven and Berry

2011-01-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

Some places we have just been to in the Gerroa, Shoalhaven, Berry, Nowra area.

Discovered a gem of a pub on the river.

the Heads Hotel
Shoalhaven Heads

Pub food, family friendly, uses fresh produce and its true, not packaged frozen veg. Very yummy. Definitely will be a return visit by me. They also hold farmers markets on weekends.

New owners at Seahaven at Gerroa, near the beach
Good coffee
Up market, Sydney type menu
things like roast peaches, mozzarella & prosciutto

Sourdough Bakery
23 Alfred Street, Berry
of course is always good for a coffee, meal and you can take away bread or pastries

The Emporium Food Co
1b 27B Queen Street
Berry
Lots of yummy food here, some made on the premises like the spinach, ricotto, sweet potato pie.
Large rolls, gourmet pies, desserts also looked good

Red Raven
55 Junction Street
Nowra
Up market lunch and dinner. Didn't quite live up to expectations ie confit on pan fried gnocchi, had gnocchi which was a little tough. Salmon special, I am afraid I cook better myself and I do a crunchy skin. However food is OK and service is very friendly and restaurant is nice.

Joanne
www.ceressolutions.com.au

Melbourne

2010-12-19T03:38:00.000-08:00

Hopetoun Tea Rooms
Block Arcade
282 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
03 9650 2777
www.hopetountearooms.com.au

Yummy cakes, for afternoon tea you need to book in advance. Located in the Block Arcade in the centre of Melbourne.

the Fawkner Bistro Bar
52 Toorak road west
South Yarra 3141
03 9867 5853
www.thefawkner.com.au

The steak was fantastic at the Fawkner, would definitely go back again.

Joanne Kee
www.ceressolutions.com.au

More Shanghai tips - language

2010-11-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

Contrary to all that I had read beforehand I found it really easy to get around Shanghai, without having any Mandarin.

I had studiously learnt how to count, but found prices in English and Chinese. Where there could have been confusion at markets, there were calculators.

Metro has fares in English and Chinese.

One thing though, it does help to have addresses written in Chinese if you want to catch a taxi.

Joanne Kee
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Shopping areas in Shanghai

2010-11-06T01:32:00.001-07:00

Definitely have your hotel translate these addresses or locations into Chinese before leaving the hotel, as you can then show it to your taxi driver.

Otherwise, you can manage most places without too much problem by catching the metro system.

Shopping area

Hongqiao International Pearl CityHours 10am to 9pm
Hongmei Road and Yan'an Elevated Road
(Near Longxi Rd S metro) but tricky to find because of multiple exits from metro, you need the address written in chinese.
However it is quite well known
Bags, stationery, Chinese stuff, shoes, videos, games, curio shops
2nd floor has jewellery, especially pearls and jade. I am told that the stuff here is real, not fakes.
There is a really good video/dvd/cd shop close by, but outside the complex.

Xintiandi
Hours 10am to 9 or later
Taxis will take you to taxi rank at the complex
(Near Huangpi Rd S metro)

This is another really well known tourist area where shops have been built in an upmarket laneway system. Places like Shanghai Tang, Tony & Guy for hair etc.

Lots of good restaurants, bars and shopping.

If you keep on walking through you will come to a warren of shopping malls
with western brand shops. The first one has restaurants like Crystal Jade, Dai ting Fung and a cinema complex. The next mall through is a really up market mall that is just opening November 2010, very chi, chi.

Taiking road
Hours 10am to 9 or later
Dapuquao metro - though quite confusing getting out in that Shanghai way, it is not obvious where the Taiking Road complex is. It is a warren of laneways, so just walk into the laneways.

Up market craft, pottery, Chinese curios, t-shirts, clothing, jewellery etc. You can find similiar things at the markets for cheaper prices.

If you are in this area don't miss the shop at the Liuli china Museum
25 Taikang Road.

This is a glass museum, exhibitions, building and layout are really worth catching. The shop has some very hip objects of desire. These include beautiful glass sculptures.

www.liulichinamuseum.com

Yuyuan Gardens and bazaar
Hours 10am to 9 or later
Yuyuan Gardens metro.
There are more markets than you can poke a stick at here. From very basic down at heel looking warrens which sell scarves, jewellery, stickers, stationery, sort of like a paddy markets, through to the shopping laneways near Yuyuan Gardens which have souveneirs, chopsticks, clothing etc. I found beautiful business card holders and keyrings for 20 yuan which sold for 120 in the art galleries in town.

People try to sell you bags all over the place, they will often show you pictures and offer to take you to their place. It is generally quite safe to go with them.

There are also household things for sale in one of the warrens of markets and an area that sells gold.

Nanjing Road and Peoples Park
Hours 10am to 9
Peoples Square metro.
This area has No. 1 Department store on Nanjing Road East and West. There are the things you would expect to find in a shopping strip.

There are also underground shops and mini markets that sell things like wigs, toys, scarves, bags, clothes, etc in the labyrinth of retail opportunities that connects to the subway.

Shiliupu Fabric Market
2 Zhonghua Road
Xiaonanmen metro

This is a treasure trove of fabrics and you can have tailor made clothes. A good tip is to take what you want and have it copied.

I paid in advance and had clothese delivered to my hotel and am happy with all my purchases, shirts, cashmere jackets, dresses etc. Though I have a little split in my cashmere jacket that I will have to fix. However my husband is very happy with his tailored shirts. There are also scarves, belts etc downstairs.

Tailoring takes 3-4 days. Shirts cost from 80 yuan, dresses from 200 upwards, cashmere jackets from 600 upwards.

French Concession East
This area also has loads of shops and the streets are interesting to wander.

Benny Peng
For beautiful stationery, photo albums, this is the warehouse location.

Benny Peng
Rm 509, No. 56, Lane 767
Wan Hang Du road
shang Hai 200042 P.R.C.
www.benypeng.com
There are so many shopping areas, you could spend all your time shopping, but that would be a shame, as there are lots of interesting things to see and do. However, it is nice to browse and wander the streets and absorb the different flavours of the various shopping areas.

Top 10 general tips for airport and currency exchange in Shanghai

2010-10-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

1)Currency exchange - definitely the easiest and quickest way to do it, not to mention best rate, is to exchange at airport in Shanghai or the currency exchange there. They have one at the baggage carousel, so you can do it while you are waiting for your baggage.

2)Once in town, they have made it super easy to exchange money at banks. There is a green and grey symbol at a lot of banks and some shops.

3)You should also check out your hotel currency exchange. The hotel I was staying at offered currency exchange at no cost, using the Bank of China exchange rates. It was so easy and totally different from a lot of the information I had read beforehand about how changing money can be difficult and not easily available.

4)Taxis are very easy. However trip is long, an hour to central Shanghai. Cost at October 2010 is around 150-200 yuan.

5)If you compare cost of taxi versus Maglev, taxi is probably cheaper if there are 3 traveling, if 2, it is a closer call.

6) If time is important catch the Maglev, it takes only 8 minutes to town. Plus if you travel in peak hour, will probably be more efficient, as being stuck in traffic may well add to your time and the cost of the fare.

7) You might also want to catch Maglev if you are a train buff, apparently it travels at over 400 miles an hour.

8) You can use your airline ticket for a discount in price.

9) Always useful to have your destination written in Chinese characters. Many taxi drivers do not speak any English.

10)At the airport, the maps you can pick up for free are detailed and very useful when working out where you want to go while in town.

and one extra general tip for finding your way around

11) Don't use an old guide book, the conventions for street names seemed to have changed over the past 3 years and can prove quite confusing.

Joanne Kee
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Shanghai - 10 more tips

2010-10-31T03:06:00.001-07:00

1) There seem to be public toilets everywhere in the central shopping areas.
2) It is useful to have a small purse pack of tissues as public toilets often run short.
3) There will often be an option of Eastern or Western toilets.
4) Newer more modern places, particularly designer shopping malls tend to have western style loos.
5) They do security checks of your bags at metro stations.
6) They seem to have soldiers at subway stations, they look amazing, I had to do a double take to make sure they were real.
7) Of course, taking a photo of soldiers is a big no, no.
8) Metros stations I went to all seem so big and clean.
9) Trains run quite often.
10) As with undergrounds all around the world, reorienting yourself with where you are once you get out, is often the tricky bit.

Shopping tips Shanghai

2010-10-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

It seems you can't move in Shanghai without stumbling across an opportunity to shop. Be it a market, a mega mall, a tourism complex, or the old style communist shopping opportunity.

If you prefer not to enter the melee of bargaining and you have a taste for luxury there are so many luxury malls around town that it is hard to imagine how they can all operate.

Tips

1.Most market places will show you prices on calculators so there is no problem with the language.
2.The happiest way to bargain is to decide in advance how much you are willing to pay, if you and the vendor are happy it is a good deal.
3.Sometimes in retrospect it seems churlish to have bargained hard over 50c.
4. If you would have happily paid $20 for something in your home town, don't miss out from getting into the moment of feeling as though you have to drive a bargain.
5. If you are of Western build, you might not find it that easy to buy clothes off the rack, the Fabric markets and having clothes tailor made may be the best thing.
6.Department stores have fixed prices, as do luxury stores in malls, it seems there is room to bargain in most other places.
7. I like to shop around before I start buying to get a sense for how much people are charging for things. Even the starting price can vary from stall to stall.
8. You really can get ridiculous instances of reduced prices, my friends bought a kite for 15 yuan that started at 200!
9. Rule of thumb is at the very least go for less than 50%, if you are brave go for a lot less.
10. the vendors will pursue you, if they really want to seel there goods.

I chose to do a guided shopping tour, as it has been a long time since I was in China and I figured I wouldn't mind a bit of guidance. The Shopping Tours Shanghai were highly recommended on Trip Advisor.

So I debated about whether or not to use the cost of the trip towards shopping, but in the end the reviews swayed me. I can recommend www.shoppingtoursshanghai.com. I did the best of everything tour.

We visited the fabric markets, pottery, jewellery, handbags and other stuff, plus DVDs. In between we also managed to have a good lunch at a Shanghai style restaurant.

See my other blog posting for location of various shops.

Joanne Kee
www.ceressolutions.com.au

Parks in Shanghai

2010-10-30T00:18:00.001-07:00

These are like most people's backyards, where everything happens from cards to tai chi or opera singing. Though have to say the people dancing don't seem to crack any smiles, though I imagine they are enjoying themselves?

This is opera singing in People's Park

Next up is dancing in Fuxing Park

and line dancing at the same time, just a different location

Restaurants and shopping Buenos Aires

2010-09-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

El cortijo
Santiago del Estero 20, Cap. Fed

An old fashioned, very good value restaurant. In particular the daily specials are worth checking out.

Vegetable soup of the day for only 5 pesos.
We had a meal with people having steaks, wine, beer etc. For 10 the bill was 415 pesos.

Definitely worth a visit.

Mundana
Beautiful jewellery at this shop. Locations at 5 different places around Buenos Aires
http://www.mundana.accesorios.com.ar/

Bits and pieces from Bueos Aires

2010-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Fantastic city, even though it has been freezing cold and raining.

We have spent time in Palermo. A great place to wander around if you like shopping, the interiors are like works of art themselves

Had lunch at Bar 6, Amenia 1676, Palermo
www.barseis.com

Ultra cool place to hang.

Had dinner at Sattua, vegetarian restaurant
Montevideo 446, BA
www.sattva.com.ar
An atmospheric quirky kind of place, great veggie food, we recommend the tacos, rice was good.

Tonight we had the most amazing buffet and grill at a place called
Brasas Argentinas
Alicia Moreau de Justo 1108
Puerto Madero
Reservas al 4331 4386

They had the usual buffet, plus chefs making fresh pastas, seafood and meat grills, sushi, parrilla and we were just too stuffed to have dessert. We went at peak time ie Friday night and paid $35 each for loads of food, beer and wine and as we said, we were too stuffed to move afterwards.

We love the Argentinian way, if three people order a bottle of wine, the wine gets poured in one go into all three glasses.

Hotel Tribeca
Downtown BA - good location, big rooms, great place to stay

Disfida Restaurant

2010-02-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

In my newfound infatuation with Haberfield we went to Disfida this week.

109 Ramsay Street
Haberfield
02 9798 8299

We had a great meal here. Starters were mussels, caprese salad and venetian sardines.

We then shared a couple of pizzas one with prosciutto and one with fresh tomatoes which were pretty good.

The service was great, attentive, efficient. Total bill was $102 with one glass of wine. By the way really good wine list.

We'll definitely be going back Joanne

Kawa, Surry Hills

2010-01-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

On what is fast becoming the very trendy part of Crown street, full of posh fresh food with Thomas Dux and a specialist butcher.

This is a welcoming, nook in the Crown Street landscape. Tables outside or an air conditioned space inside. Very friendly staff.

The feel is healthy and organic, but not overly so. Fresh juices here and good coffee.

As you can see my meal was huge. I had corned beef salad with hash browns, beetroot and other good things. Sandy had the big breakfast, which he didn't think was huge, but it was a decent size. He had poached eggs, which were on the point of just becoming solid. Personally I prefer my poached eggs runny, but I guess that is personal preference.

Reasonable prices that fit within the food trek budget. There is a surcharge on Sundays and public holidays.

They are open all day and also do some dinners.
346-350 Crown Street
Surry Hills 2010
9331 6811

Joanne
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Useful when travelling in Australia

2009-12-31T20:39:00.001-08:00

National public loo registry, sure there are a lot more, such as department stores, restaurants etc, but possibly handy.

http://bit.ly/6kDqcz

Joanne
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Kammadhenu

2009-12-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

This one had been recommended by Bobby Singh and Ben Walsh. They sometimes perform music upstairs.

The masala dosa was nearly as big as Arran.

The food was really yummy and lots of it.

Great value here in Newtown where we had mango lassi, 3 dosas, a beer and a soft drink for $38.

Kammadhenu
377a King Street
Newtown
9557 2186

Joanne
www.ceressolutions.com.au

Cupcakes and coffee

2009-12-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

For some reason, in Australia we have been overtaken by cupcake fever. Cupcake shops abound and these little morsels can be found everywhere. They are marching along, like Thai shops against the Chinese restaurant in every country city in Australia - it is now cup cakes versus muffins. Early days yet, but I feel a takeover coming on.

The beauty of the cupcakes is that they are light and come in so many variations from regular to lemon merengue to this profiterole concoction.

The Cupcake Bakery have more than one site and they do a special coffee and cupcake offer for $5. The outlet in the Queen Victoria building, Sydney does a decent cup of coffee, which does justice to these tempting morsels.

We also go to Cupcakes on Pitt, at 323 Pitt Street. Although it has had some adverse reviews, the cupcakes we have had there have always been fresh and tasty.

Joanne Kee

http://www.placesandspaces.com.au/

twitter@joannekee

Assiette

2009-12-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous restaurant in Surry Hills.

Lunch at $35 for 3 courses is an absolute bargain.

48 Albion Street
Surry Hills, Sydney
P: +61 2 9212 7979
F: +61 2 9212 3602

Where to eat in Canberra

2009-11-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

We just spent a weekend in Canberra, went to the Canberra Theatre which has a great program. Saw Bangarra's retrospective, Fire, which was great.

After the show we went to Sammys Kitchen, for Chinese and malaysian cuisine. It was a little like a Noodle outdoor market, it was a balmy night. Good food, we had noodles and Beef Rendang.

Sammys Kitchen
Shop FG09, Section 84,
Canberra Centre, City
http://www.sammyskitchen.com.au/
T: 02 62471464.

Other places worth checking out for a meal are Italian & Sons. Thats a place for pizza and rustic Italian meals. We had very tasty potato and rosemary pizza and rib beef.

Italian & Sons
Shop 6, 7 Lonsdale Street
Braddon
T: 02 6162 4888

If you want a good coffee, Manuka is the place.

One suggestions is
Verve
Cnr Franklin street & Flinders Way
Manuka
http://www.vervecafebar.com.au/

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Joanne Kee
http://www.placesandspaces.com.au/

View from Shad Thames canal

2009-10-10T22:34:00.001-07:00

Neal's Yard Dairy and Monmouths

2009-10-04T21:48:00.000-07:00

More on the trek for good coffee and food.

Neils Yard Dairy and Monmouth Coffee Company

MALTBY STREET
Every Saturday between 9am and 2pm (ish), we will be joining Monmouth Coffee Company at their roasting site in Maltby St, Bermondsey, selling cheeses, milk, butter and eggs. Monmouth Coffee will have coffee beans as well as filter and espresso based drinks for sale.

Monmouths - coffee in London

2009-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Monmouths in Borough Markets

There is a two queue system, one to pay and then one to wait for your coffee. Obviously coffee is in demand as people are willing to queue. Or it could just be London/UK mentality of queueing?

The Borough
2 Park Street
London SE1 9AB
Monday-Saturday
7.30am–6pm
closed Bank Holidays

Inside is an oasis of tranquility if you find a seat. You can help yourself to baguettes and jam for an few pounds. A very civilised way to start the day.

Joanne
www.placesandspaces.com.au

London

2009-08-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Had a nice time wandering around London with Arran, stopping at the Lions in trafalgar square, wonder how many people have fallen from there. Passed houses of Parliament, Westminster and spent time at Foyles bookshop.

Found the comic book versions of Shakespere classics, which are fun.

Got picked for a busking show and jumped on lots of buses.

It was fantastic catching up with Robert, though I am sorry I didn't get to see his artwork.

Joanne

Hamleys, London dungeon

2009-08-18T02:05:00.001-07:00

Two top spots for kids in London.

Of course, this is the toy shop which would have to be classified as the most famous in London, if not the UK. It is manic, so leave plenty of time to make your way through the crowds. However, we would recommend it as a must see if you have kids.

As one would expect, it is not the cheapest toy shop in the world, but when you take your child there the first impression is "magical". However, if you are budget conscious, do shop around.

Hamleys
188 - 196 Regent Street
LONDON
W1B 5BT
0871 704 1977

London Dungeon

This was at the request of our 9 year old and all the guide books including Time Out classified it as a great place to go. (someone needs to do a reality check and visit this tired old place again!) Well maybe it is great if you are under 10 and find any of it at all believable. Our daughter did enjoy it, but the three adults found it tedious and boring.

You are on your feet for the better part of 90 minutes, walking around recreated scenes of London, with some acting. I felt really sorry for the people who had queued for hours outside.

Tip is that you can buy tickets on line and go to the priority queue. It is also potentially cheaper to do it this way.

Tip the queues get really long in the holidays and during the morning.

London Dungeon
28-34 Tooley St
London, SE1 2SZ

Joanne

www.placesandspaces.com.au

Fountains in rome

2009-08-16T02:26:00.001-07:00

On the brighter side, cooling down in the fountain.

Andrew at the colosseum.

At the Pantheon.

Plus trevi fountain at night.

Rome travel tips

2009-08-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Watch out for the taxi rip off from the station, we so got ripped off but were expecting it as part of the Italian experience. Make sure the taxi driver actually puts on the metre when you leave the stataion.

At the airport, go to terminal C, much nicer than the terminal you walk into on entry, which is really tacky. Much more pleasant in the C lounge.

the fountains around Rome are fantastic for cooling down on a hot day.

Joanne

Florence

2009-08-13T13:16:00.001-07:00

Tips for Florence

Fab gelato, delicate flavours, ingredients sourced from around the world
GROM
V. d. Campanile Ang. v d Oche
Just moments from the Duomo

recommend Peach, apricot and blueberry

Nice restaurant, tuscan food
Trattoria da guido
via faenza 34r
Firenze
055 289746
Near the Central markets

Our other tip, is that it is worth pre-booking for the accademia to see David, it saves heaps of queuing time, you practically walk straight in. If not sure get your hotel to do it the day before.

tips for venice

2009-08-13T13:13:00.001-07:00

great restaurant, fine dining, meal for 18 euro, good value.
An oasis amongst the tourist madness

Il ridotto
castello 4509 - 30122 Venezia
Campo ss Filippo e giacomo
041 520 8280
Just moments from San Marcos square.

Also tip for some nice jewellery in the same area
Saluti e Baci
Castello, 4362/A - 30122 Venezia
347 0509944

Florence

2009-08-12T00:46:00.001-07:00

Arrived into florence, very steamy.

More later

Joanne
www.placesandspaces.com.au

venice

2009-08-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

what a tourist rip off of a city.

Tips buy your ticket for the ferry into town from the actual pier. I paid a whacking 25 euros per ticket and even after asking the staff we ended up on the cheaper 13 euro ferry.

Easier to buy what you see.

Public transport is also a rip off, 16 euros for a day ticket, the girl was obviously not telling us the truth, I don't believe that individual ferry trips in venice cost the locals 6 euros each!

Gondoler was 120 euros, yes expensive too.

www.placesandspaces.com.au

glasgow edinurgh

2009-08-07T02:26:00.001-07:00

Another Edinburgh fringe queue!

Joanne

Castle Kirk

2009-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

View from the window of our B&B, Castle Kirk in Lochranza. They say that the Castle is the inspiration for Tin Tin and the Black Islands.

Definitely recommend the B&B, fantstic hospitality.

Joanne

Lamlash - swinging

2009-08-05T14:18:00.001-07:00

Park at Lamlash on Arran

Euro Disney - 10 tips

2009-08-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Great buskers on the way to Eurodisney.

Tips,
1)Easy to catch the RER from central Paris, we got a zone 5/6 orange card
2)we went later in the day ie arrived at midday to avoid morning queues
3)Go to the far left hand side to buy tickets away from the queues, there is a series of shared booths there and quicker to access entry.
4)It seemed pricey, but the character meals were good value. An extra 10 Euro per adult on the normal buffet price. No queuing and lots of photo ops.
5) A good place to get your bearings is the Lucky Nugget while having lunch, you can plot your course.
6) The express tix are really good, they do save on queuing time.
7) You can only get one express ticket at a time, so choose wisely
8) There are definitely peak times ie after shows etc, if you do activities while the shows are on the queues are shorter.
9) the shops get really manically busy later in the evening
10) Whilst queues are shorter later in the day some rides start closing around 9.00, ie we couldn't get onto Autopia

Louvre tips

2009-08-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

Best times to visit without queuing is later on the late night openings ie Wednesday and Friday when the Louvre is open to 10pm.

We walked straight to the ticket purchasing desk, after we had our dinner then walked right on in. Of course the Louvre is massive, so you can either just target a few places you want to visit or wander randomly.

Personally I find museums of this size overwhelming and like to reduce my visit to bite sized chunks, especially when travelling with a 9 year old.

Museum Opening Hours
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (rooms begin closing at 5:30) every day except Tuesday and the following holidays: January 1st, May 1st and December 25, 2009. The permanent collection and temporary exhibitions will close at 5 p.m. on December 24 and 31, 2009 (Wednesday).

The museum is open until 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday evenings (rooms begin closing at 9:30 p.m.).

Admission to the Louvre is free on the first Sunday of every month.

The Pyramid and Galerie du Carrousel entrances are open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Tuesday.
The Passage Richelieu is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday.
The Porte des Lions entrance is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except Tuesday and Friday.

Address for the Louvre is a map on the website. So visit official site for more info.

Eurostar

2009-07-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Having not travelled on Eurostar for some time, was v. impressed with St Pancras, but couldn't understand why it was such a free for all when you actually came to entering the station.

All these companies are so obsessed with using online technology, but its all pretty useless if you are forced to use it and told not to approach a human and then your ticket doesn't read. Eurostar this happens, with a shrug of the shoulders.

East Midlands Rail is a worse offender with the journey to actually pick up your ticket taking you downstairs to another queue. You would be well and truly stuffed if you had left even a decent 10 minutes to get through the process.

A most helpful man at the automated ticket booth, contrasted with a really disinterested, verging on rude lady at the downstairs office. Is it my fault that the machine doesn't accept my credit card, or perhaps they should mention that this will happen if you dont have a chip in your card.

Joanne Kee
www.ceressolutions.com.au

Toy shops in Paris

2009-07-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

We decided to check out toy shops and have only made it to two so far.

One being Jouie Club, which is a series of shops in an arcade, with a huge range of toys.
3-5 Blvd des Italiens
Metro Richelieu Droit, right next to the metro stop.

The other was the oh, so pricey, but absolutely charming Au Nain Bleu. Beautiful dolls, hand crafted tableux, costumes (lots of princess action happening in Paris). We drooled at Nain Bleu, but actually found some of the same stuff much cheaper at Jouie.
5 Blvd Malesherbes
Metro Madeline, also on the same circular line as the Metro, so relatively easy to find.

We were surprised to find out that letoyvan.com is actually an English company and that Lion Touch, which we could have sworn was English is actually Scandinavian.

Joanne Kee
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Eiffel Tower

2009-07-29T11:41:00.001-07:00

The queues were phenomenal snaking around the Eiffel Tower. I have to say, why would you bother if you had to stand in a queue for an hour?

We took the up market option and had the most amazing lunch at the Jules Verne Restaurant. Expensive, but we really enjoyed it. Food was fantastic, view sublime and we felt extremely pampered. Not to mention we got our own lift on the way down.

Joanne
www.placesandspaces.com.au

Euro Disney

2009-07-29T11:37:00.001-07:00

Tips for Euro Disney

Expensive in anyone's language.

Yes it probably is worthwhile to pack some food. Around $50 for 3 hotdogs and a couple of bags of chips and only 2 bags of chips. That was the cheapest thing we could find.

Character buffet surprisingly good value, as they only whack on an extra $20 per head, as compared to a main meal and dessert price in other food outlets. Plus the characters actually come to you during lunch and hug, sign autographs and pose for pics.

It beat queuing to meet the characters and have our photo taken.

Definitely worth using the fast ticket system and of course the queues are shorter later in the day. Just a shame you can only have one fast ticket until the next one is used.

Real lack of signage at Euro Disney.

If you don't like cigarette smoke, it will drive you crazy, parents are puffing away, as they hold onto their kids.

Joanne Kee
www.ceressolutions.com.au

Travel bits and pieces while on the road

2009-07-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

Hi this blog is for us to share our travel experiences

Joanne, Sandy & Arran