Toad in the hole

We spent some time in Sichuan province...this is the place where food is HOT! We have a version of this in the UK but it is nowhere near as hot as the real thing...

The first problem is the menu...indecipherable...unfortunately this does lead to my colleagues ordering some strange things, in this case, toad. To be honest it simply tasted like chicken...

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China

Had to travel to Beijing with work again. I went for a week this time, however i made sure I had an extra day in order that I could get to the Great Wall. I booked a trip with the hotel, which took us to the Ming tombs as well as to the Great Wall. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great but it was still an amazing sight...will have to try again when I next go!



Of course there was the obligatory selling job...this time a jade factory...actually quite interesting and a factory that used to make armaments in communist time, but now makes water filters! Very odd...

 

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Birds of prey

A while back I booked a Groupon Bird of Prey experience. We've used Groupon a few times and have always felt it good value. This one in particular was in Biggleswade and was pretty cheap. If I'm honest we weren't expecting much...

How wrong were we? Turned out to be a really great day. You were able to get really close to the birds, including handling them...

They are incredibly majestic creatures, surprisingly heavy and I also did not realise just how long they live...many live for several decades, often reaching 40 or 50...quite amazing...

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Skiing...for the first time in a long time...!

We decided early on in the year that we would definitely get a skiing holiday in this year. I learned to ski when I was young and used to ski a lot but I'd let this lapse over recent years. SJ is a boarder but also hadn't been for a few years so we decided this year was the year for a restart...

Well, it was...on the day we booked the holiday, SJ decided to do a little run with the dogs...100 yards later and a completely popped calf muscle, that was the end of the holiday on that particular date...hurriedly rushed flight back from Aberdeen and a 7 hour wait in A & E and the outcome was crutches and rest. Nt good with a skiing holiday booked in 4 weeks...

We decided to delay the holiday for as long as possible and rebooked for a further 4 weeks in advance. Amazingly, SJ managed to get to a point whe she could board and ski...I must admit, I did not think this would be possible from where we were on the night of the popped muscle...

We went to Tignes, a high altitude resort in France and I can confirm skiing is like riding a bike...you never forget. From the moment I stepped off the chairlift, it was like I had never been away...absolutely amazing...

I skied pretty much all of L'Espace Killy ski area, going across to Val D'Isere and the other peaks on more than one occasion. Desire my antiquated 195 cm skis and my very old boots, it was an amazing holiday and I vow we will not miss another year going forward.

One last word on the new shorter skis...they are very easy to use and make skiing so much easier! Having learnt on long, stiff skis, these new models are a revelation. Have to say though that I did take a secret pride in my old skis...they've served me well and I doubt a lot of the new generation would find it so easy to ski on them...

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Dubai

Spent a week in Dubai...not been before although been to Abu Dhabi many times. Dubai is a really interesting place...I really liked it...the money they have spent here is unbelievable...

I spent some time at the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building and by god is it tall! It is almost impossible to describe the height of this building..it looks surreal when compared to everything around it. Also, the vortices created at the bottom of the building are very strong, there's a real rush of wind around the base.

They have a fountain display, a la Bellagio in Vegas, every 15 minutes or so. Impressive but not as impressive as Vegas...



Also went to the emirates mall where they have the worlds largest singles sheet of Perspex. This is holding back a huge aquarium with some amazing creatures inside. They just also happen to have a fully functioning indoor snow ski-slope...with chairlift...only in Dubai...

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Holland..again

Back to the Netherlands again....see to be spending a lot of time here. Went to a place called Vondelpark. Interestingly it has become far and away my most read review on Tripadvisor...

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Brighton

For our first wedding anniversary, we took the day off work and headed down to Brighton on the train. Neither of us had been before but it's just at the end of our train line. It was a great day weather wise although it was a little on the chilly side...

They had some amazing artwork in The Lanes...

Afterwards, we headed into London for a Groupon Cheese and Wine evening, preceeded by a quick drink in the bar across from St Paul's...

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Monte Carlo or bust

Another trip, this time to Monaco...what a beautiful place that is...in and out in the day but would like to go back. Even managed a trip round some of the f1 course...it's surprising how hilly it is...

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Kristiansand

Had a couple of days in Norway, in a place called Kristiansand. Very nice but very, very cold. Had to get a flight to Oslo and then connect to Kristiansand. Landing on an ice covered runway is interesting...

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Netherlands...

Planes, trains and automobiles...fly to Amsterdam, drive to Rotterdam, train to Belgium, Eurostar to London...

Hotel was nice though...a converted water mill in a very nice part of Belgium.

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