Revolution

All of Beth’s hard work over the past few years has finally paid off!  It was early December and we were talking about our winter vacation.   Skiing in the Alps is always a favorite, but after the crappy weather that we’ve had here in Holland in 2010 we decided to do something a little different.  The key criteria were sun, temperatures above 70, and more sun - throw in some cultural adventure and we were onto something.   We talked about several destinations like Croatia, Greece, or Portugal. But after a bit of research and a never ending drive to keep pushing boundaries, we settled on…you guessed it…Egypt!  A couple days in Cairo then a cruise up the Nile to Luxor and Aswan then a camel ride into desert oasis before flying back to Amsterdam.  Sounds great, right?  Airfares were pretty cheap and I even dug up a local guide to help us with our itinerary.  I was literally about to book the trip when I got an email from Beth at work with the good news – she was just awarded an all expense paid, first class trip to Hawaii!  There are only a handful of non-sales employees in the company (>40,000) to get the performance award.  It comes complete with whale-watching excursions, BBQ’s on the volcano at sunset, snorkeling/diving, waterfall hikes, and a helicopter tour of the island.  I’m having to be extra nice for the next couple of weeks so that she keeps me on the list as her guest.  Congratulations Beth…we’ll catch the revolution next time!

Blimey!

As I mentioned in a post earlier this year, Beth and I have been putting off exploring the UK until we're a bit older.  We've always considered it an "easy" destination reserved for later-in-life.  What a mistake that has been!  We just got back from an extended weekend in London...Blimey!  What a pleasant surprise!  This is my kind of city.  Minus the crappy weather, I could easily live here and will put it on our annual travel rotation right up there with the German Christmas markets.   Here are a few pics from the trip.  Happy New Year to all!

The Tower Bridge - the only tourist sight that we took in.  While the weather was a bit dreary and bleak, it stayed dry which kept us on our feet and in streets instead of the museums and castles and churches and palaces.

The city is loaded with open-air markets, many of which were still decorated beautifully for Christmas.

Those sneaky bastards!  We chose our restaurant in Chinatown based upon the amount of Asians who were dining there.  More than 80% of the customers in this restaurant were Asian, so we walked in...only to be led upstairs with the rest of the pasty-whites, out of sight of the street.  It was obviously deceptive...but the food was excellent, so we didn't complain.

 Cozying up in a West End theater for Blood Brothers.  Man, those guys can act AND sing!  Incredible!

 Beth, always a sucker for Hugh Grant, dragged me to Knotting Hill market.  How much mileage can you get out of one lousy movie?

Contemporary art in the very bohemian Brick Lane.

 More Brick Lane surprises...excellent street food!  One of our favorite parts of the city.

Not my "cup-o-tea", but you've gotta love this sign.

 Soho - makes the New York version look like a ghost town.

Scooter seating at Camden Locks...

 ...and of course the famous Camden Markets.

We took the long way back into the city along the Regent's canal....

...and then into Hyde Park where we stumbled across this massive mirror sculpture.  That's us in the reflection.  Very cool!

 London, like New York, has a Starbucks about every thirty yards or so.  But since we are Starbucks deprived in Amsterdam, we had to stop in to warm up after a long day on our feet.