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In May I passed through the Earls Court tube station and it was undergoing a major renovation. I went through Earls Court again today and there is still scaffolding everywhere. They have unveiled the new destination boxes, but they still have the old ones up as well.

Labels: earls-court, england, london, train-station, tube

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The stencil graffiti of Banksy is well known in the UK. The pseudo-anonymous artist is said to be from Bristol. This piece is on a prominent building in Park Street, Bristol.

Labels: banksy, bristol, england, street-art

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I'm always interested to see what Stelios is going to do next with the easy.com brand. So when the easyHotel started in 2005 I knew I would have to try it out one day.

The easyHotel is touted as being the cheapest hotel in London. Rooms start at £25. It is important to note that this is a no frills hotel, just as easyjet is a no frills airlines. If you understand that the hotel is a cheap and comfortable place to sleep for the night then you will be fine.

The rooms are small. Very small! The bed takes up the length of the room and then there is a small pace to the door with the bathroom next to that. If you have large bags you will find yourself dancing around the bags on the limited floor space.

I stayed at the easyHotel located in Victoria where all the cheap (for London) bed and breakfasts are clustered. It is certainly the cleanest budget place I've ever stayed at in this area. The matresses at easyHotel are great too.

Labels: easyhotel, england, hotels, london

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Gordon Brown became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom today.

Labels: england, gordon brown, london

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Who needs to view London from the British Airways London Eye when you can see it all from a British Airways flight to Heathrow. The east to west flight path to Heathrow must be one of the most scenic flightpaths in the world. I always like to get a window seat on the right hand side of the plane when flying into London.

Flying along the Thames you get to see Canary Wharf and the building formerly known as the Millenium Dome. Then it is a flyby past the heart of Westminster with the Houses of Parliament and past Hyde Park.

Labels: england, heathrow, london

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Labels: budapest, hungary

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Labels: budapest, hungary, number plate

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The Timewheel, near the City Park of Budapest, is the world's largest hourglass. Technically it's not really a hourglass as it does not measure time, nor does it run by the hour.



The Timewheel was commissioned to commemorate the enlargement of the European Union on 1 May 2004, when Hungary joined the Union.



The Timewheel is turned once a year midnight on New Year's Eve.

Labels: budapest, hungary, timewheel

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The Children's Railway in Budapest is an interesting curio left over from Hungary's Communist past.

Formerly known as the Pioneers' Railway, everyone working on the railway is a child, except for the engineer (the train driver). The kids are aged between 10 to 14 and run the operation to the same standards of the State Railways of Hungary (MÁV Rt). They even have the same uniforms as the adult railway workers.



the railway is set in the forest of the hills of Buda and runs on a narrow gauge line for eleven kilometres. There are different stops on the way so you can get off in the forest along the way.

Labels: budapest, childrens railway, hungary

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The Frappé is the national iced coffee drink of Greece. Frappé's are made instant coffee, usually a no no for this coffee snob, but on a hot Greek day it seemed like a more sensible option than a traditional gritty Greek coffee.

A Frappé is made with instant coffee, sugar, and cold water. This mixture is shaken and then poured over ice in a tall glass. Milk of water is added, and cream on top if you're going to a fancy place.

The thing with Frappé's is they have about 4 times as much caffeine as a regular espesso, so I was bucking like Kaldi's goat for the rest of the afternoon.

Labels: coffee, frappe, greece, iced coffee

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When in Old Town Rhodes, visit the man in the gelati van - probably the best gelati in Rhodes.

Labels: food, greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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When I think of a trip to Europe, I think of the culture, old buildings and having coffee in a cafe on a cobblestone street. I don't think of going to the beach. Coming from Australia, we've got beaches in spades, but not much in the way of culture and old buildings.

That goes for Rhodes as well. Rhodes Old Town has so much history packed into it and it is a fascinating place. The beaches though are pretty rocky for my taste. In fact the beaches near the old town supply the cobbles that still make up much of the old town pavement.

If you are looking for sandy beaches in Rhodes, head to the east coast.

Labels: beach, europe, rhodes, rhodes old town

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I once knew a plumber who went to Greece. I asked him how his trip was and he explained to me in great detail the mess that is the Greek toilet system. In Greece you are not allowed to put the toilet paper in the bowl. Instead you must put it in a waste basket that is usually next to the toilet.



According my my plumber mate, the toilets in Australia and other western countries have 4 inch sewerage pipes. In Greece the pipes are only 3 inches, so there is more chance of a blockage if the paper goes as well.

If I didn't hear this tale, I may have had a hard time guessing what some of these picture signs meant.

This system is now the custom in Greece, even if a toilet can withstand paper and poo.

Labels: greece, public-toilet

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Now here's a crafty little trick that is being employed by currency exchanges in Marmaris. Notice the rate for GBP (British Pound) and SCP (Scottish Pound) are different, even though they are one and the same.

A Scottish pound is the same as a British Pound except that it is issued by Scottish banks. Most British pounds are issued by the Bank of England. Northern Ireland also issue their own Pounds as well. All these notes are of the same value, though you will often get a funny look if you try and spend a Scottish Pound in England.

Labels: exchange rates, marmaris, pound, turkey

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High voltage, in any language.

Labels: marmaris, sign, turkey

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One of the many day trips on offer in Rhodes is to Marmaris in Turkey. It is only a 90 minute ferry ride away so it makes for an easy day trip. I had no intention of going to Turkey on this trip, but the lure of another international border proved too hard to resist. If I had of known what the ferry ticket included I probably wouldn't have gone.

The ferry ticket is reasonably priced, but it doesn't include the €19 port tax at Rhodes or the €15 tax for non EU citizens arriving in Turkey. The Port of Marmaris is not well located like the Rhodes port so as a part of the ferry ticket you get bussed into town, but not before you are taken to some shops!

First port of call was a gold shop. Gold jewellery is much cheaper in Turkey than in Europe, and the good value of purchasing gold here is spruiked to the captive audience.



The next port of call was a Turkish Delight factory. Here we were shown how the tasty little treat is made, and the all you can eat samples went a long way in soothing my annoyance at being taken on a shopping tour without my permission.



The next stop was to a carpet shop in the main part of town. This was to be where we were to meet to get the bus back to the ferry at the end of the day. A presentation on Turkish carpets was given to us before we were finally let loose on the streets of Marmaris.



Marmaris has a beautiful harbour and a castle in its old town. I'm told it is the least "Turkish" place in Turkey, with its beaches packed with scantily clad bathers.

The beaches of Marmaris has made the city very popular for package tourism and many Northern Europeans buy holiday homes here. Lots of British, Dutch and Scandinavian flags flying here among the Turkish flags.



One thing I noticed was the amount of establishments serving English Breakfasts. In fact I think there would be more places selling English Breakfasts here per square mile than in any square mile in the UK. For this reason I wandered around Marmaris thinking of it as The Marmite Coast.

Labels: marmaris, turkey

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Go to any bookshop in the world and you are likely to see a "Cats of Greece" photo book or calendar. I thought I would start my own calender, with old dogs of Greece.

Rhodes must be the place where old dogs come to retire as there are plenty of them, laying about, doing nothing much.

Labels: animals, dogs, greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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The old town of Rhodes.

Labels: animals, cat, greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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Rhodes makes for a great base to explore other Islands of the Dodecanese. A good day trip is to Symi Island. You can stay there but it's only a small place and it doesn't have many hotels.



Here at Symi is what I imagined Greece to be like. Beautiful blue water, boats everywhere and lovely little villages.



The harbour of Symi town is an active little town, sustained by the day trippers from the Rhodes ferry. Wander away from the town centre and go up the hill and you soon find many grand old houses that have been abandoned and in ruins.

Labels: greece, symi

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Everywhere in Europe you see kids playing football in the most unusual locations due to the lack of urban space. Here the space between two fortified walls has been put to good use as a football ground.

Labels: football, greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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Rhodes is one of the most visited places in the Mediterranean. During the holiday season there is a different cruiseship in the harbour every day, and a steady stream of charter flights.

The Old Town is a big attraction for visitors, but most come to relax in the 300 plus days of sunshine on one of the many beaches. The Island is big enough to handle the crowds as well.

Labels: greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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The emblem of Rhodes, paved into the street.

Labels: greece, rhodes, rhodes old town

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The Island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese Islands of Greece if one of the most popular places to visit in all of Greece, and for good reason. The Old Town of Rhodes is one of the best preserved medieval town in Europe. The entire city wall still intact and much of the Old Town is still paved with cobbled stones. The town with its maze like streets are filled with buildings representing all of the historical periods of the Island.

Rhodes is best known for the Colossus of Rhodes, even though there are no remnants to view and its original location is disputed.

Many of the buildings from the Knights' period are still intact, and the Ippoton (Avenue of the Knights) remains relatively unchanged. What makes the Ippoton even more remarkable is that for such a popular tourist spot, there are no trinket shops cluttering the view.

Labels: greece, rhodes, rhodes-old-town

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