We made it to the Spanish Steps quite late on and re-enacted the famous movie scene with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, albeit with a bit of a limp and less glamourous clothes.
My dream of going to Rome had come true thanks to Squidly who had given me a long weekend in the the 'Eternal City' for my birthday. I'd had to wait some months for the trip as she'd actually given me the gift whilst we were in Tasmania but I'd been trawling through the guidebook she'd also gifted me during that time deciding upon the sights I desperately wanted to see from the vast array available.
We were staying near Piazza Navona which is right in the heart of the city and afforded us a perfect point to begin each day. The piazza itself is rather interesting given it's oblong rather than square shape and beautiful fountains at either end; unfortunately the central Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi was being renovated and so was not clearly visible.
From there we ventured off to find the Trevi Fountain and marvelled at the sculptor's prowess, tossing a coin in for good luck.
It was at this point, having got ourselves an ice cream cone, that we began our trek for the Spanish Steps. Never leave me in charge of a map. Or rather don't let me pick what I think is the destination. I had actually navigated our way perfectly to where I thought we were supposed to be going but it was in this venture that I was unsuccessful for I managed to find the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, interesting in it's own right I'm sure but not as beautiful as our intended sight. To make matters worse I had badly sprained my ankle on Rome's cobbled pathways in an effort to get to this false location!
As is often the case with Squidly and I we opted to stop at a small ristorante for a drop of red wine. We hadn't intended to dine, let alone stagger out of this charming little eatery some three and half hours later, but the copious amounts of their house red willingly poured by the head waiter whether we wanted it or not made sure of that. With a renewed vigour, the alcohol had given us heart and killed the pain in my now swollen ankle, we set off again for the 'Scalinata Trinita dei Monti' and this time struck gold in our venture. The steps trully are beautiful and the atmosphere is electric, they act as a huge meeting place for young Romans, giving you a feeling for what the locals do on a Friday evening. It's understanding cultures and local people that appeals to me rather than "the must see" spots around the world but so far Rome had oozed culture through it's most famous sights as they are what seems to attract locals and tourists alike.
Friday, 25 April 2008
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Packing Light
With a long weekend city break ahead of us we planned to pack light. 1 pair of trainers, 1 pair of jeans, 3 t-shirts and 3 dress shirts, 3 days underwear, phone charger (for photos), guidebook, passport and tickets. Everything else should fit in my pockets.
I could get used to this type of travel. Having spent 6 months hauling a suitcase and/or cricket kit around various destinations I found it refreshing to think that I could just step off the plane at the other end, not bothering to collect any luggage.
I could get used to this type of travel. Having spent 6 months hauling a suitcase and/or cricket kit around various destinations I found it refreshing to think that I could just step off the plane at the other end, not bothering to collect any luggage.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Online
Back online with stories to tell I'm going to embark upon an Herculean effort to recount my tales past and current.
Please bear with me whilst I stagger through the potholed, barren landscape that is my mind...
Please bear with me whilst I stagger through the potholed, barren landscape that is my mind...
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Big Wednesday
What a great day ! ! !
Not Wednesday but today, Saturday...
...I had to nip out early in the morning to pick up the first part of Squidly's birthday present, something she already knew about, so the day started off pretty well. As I'm not around for the actual day and she needed them straight away I gave her trainers to her as soon as I got back in. Fortunately she loved them so that was a result :-)
I had brought myself some new trainers and some cricket boots too ready for the trip to Tasmania. A quick trying on session proved that they all fitted OK and we wore them out as we made our way to Reading...
...or Basingstoke as it turned out. Exiting the M4 at Junction 11 was a nightmare so we redirected and found oursleves in Festival Place just 25 minutes later. Shopping has never been a favourite past time of mine and I usually limit it to dashing in to pick up the things I know I need. Today however was a departure from that approach as we wandered round the shopping centre eyeing different shops and picking up those bits we were after. I have been looking for a new pair of jeans recently and I found the perfect pair in French Connection in their sale. I also found another pair of trousers and superb T-shirt so they went in the shopping basket too. More T-shirts added to the load in River Island; the quick "nip-in and get some jeans" had become a long shop but I was enjoying myself so rolled with it.
We had Spanish Tapas for lunch in La Tasca, the food was fantatsic and the Sangria even better! I'm a newcomer to Spanish food but recently I have aquired a taste for it.
Squidly had been looking for something to wear to the annual dinner dance and was getting a little nervous as the date was looming but she found her perfect dress before we left to go home so all in all we had a very successful trip.
We ordered a taxi for 19:15 and then dashed about the flat getting ready to head out. Fortunately the cab didn't appear until 19:30 so we were able to apply the finishing touches, jump in and head over to Lorretta's to pick her up on the way. We were meeting Tutts at the pub before heading in to see the band.
After couple of beers and a brief introduction to the lead guitarist we made our way into the club to catch the end of one of the support acts. They were pretty impressive but were unfortunately followed by a poor band who clearly had a high opinion of themselves. I'm sure that they would have faired a little better if they had got their soundcheck right, as all you could hear was heavy guitar and no vocals.
The headline were called Big Wednesday and absolutely rocked the place. An unsigned Indie band with a perfectly polished live set. I'm no music buff but their sound is awesome and it would surprise me if they don't make it. If they don't then both record labels and music lovers everywhere are missing out! Check out their MySpace page to sample their music and head over to iTunes or IndieStore.com to download their EP "Don't Let Go".
Not Wednesday but today, Saturday...
...I had to nip out early in the morning to pick up the first part of Squidly's birthday present, something she already knew about, so the day started off pretty well. As I'm not around for the actual day and she needed them straight away I gave her trainers to her as soon as I got back in. Fortunately she loved them so that was a result :-)
I had brought myself some new trainers and some cricket boots too ready for the trip to Tasmania. A quick trying on session proved that they all fitted OK and we wore them out as we made our way to Reading...
...or Basingstoke as it turned out. Exiting the M4 at Junction 11 was a nightmare so we redirected and found oursleves in Festival Place just 25 minutes later. Shopping has never been a favourite past time of mine and I usually limit it to dashing in to pick up the things I know I need. Today however was a departure from that approach as we wandered round the shopping centre eyeing different shops and picking up those bits we were after. I have been looking for a new pair of jeans recently and I found the perfect pair in French Connection in their sale. I also found another pair of trousers and superb T-shirt so they went in the shopping basket too. More T-shirts added to the load in River Island; the quick "nip-in and get some jeans" had become a long shop but I was enjoying myself so rolled with it.
We had Spanish Tapas for lunch in La Tasca, the food was fantatsic and the Sangria even better! I'm a newcomer to Spanish food but recently I have aquired a taste for it.
Squidly had been looking for something to wear to the annual dinner dance and was getting a little nervous as the date was looming but she found her perfect dress before we left to go home so all in all we had a very successful trip.
We ordered a taxi for 19:15 and then dashed about the flat getting ready to head out. Fortunately the cab didn't appear until 19:30 so we were able to apply the finishing touches, jump in and head over to Lorretta's to pick her up on the way. We were meeting Tutts at the pub before heading in to see the band.
After couple of beers and a brief introduction to the lead guitarist we made our way into the club to catch the end of one of the support acts. They were pretty impressive but were unfortunately followed by a poor band who clearly had a high opinion of themselves. I'm sure that they would have faired a little better if they had got their soundcheck right, as all you could hear was heavy guitar and no vocals.
The headline were called Big Wednesday and absolutely rocked the place. An unsigned Indie band with a perfectly polished live set. I'm no music buff but their sound is awesome and it would surprise me if they don't make it. If they don't then both record labels and music lovers everywhere are missing out! Check out their MySpace page to sample their music and head over to iTunes or IndieStore.com to download their EP "Don't Let Go".
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Tour Begins
The feeling I get each time I'm at the Club on the morning of tour is incredible. It's like being a little kid again on the morning of your birthday or Christmas, having woken too early, just sitting there waiting for everyone else to get up so that you can open your presents. It's one of those moments where you know that you're going to have some great laughs with your best friends.
Herman jumped in with me, the car stocked up with all our clothes, cricket gear and beers. The journey down took just over 2 hours with Bandai trailing us. He was carrying Dazza who had made a welcome return to England just to come on tour with us (admittedly he had only been in Scotland seeing family and friends). Dazza had come over from Tasmania to play with us back in 1998 along with Minty. They were both great cricketers and top blokes too. In fact I had travelled out to Tassie that Winter and stayed with Minty for about a month.
Our usual meet in Bickleigh at the Fisherman's Cot started with an attempt to fix the faulty passenger window. Pritts lent me a screwdriver and I tried to get it sorted, eventually leaving it wound up never to be opened again. Oh the woes of owning a classic car. As ever the food at the pub was tremendous and the views fantastic, marred only very slightly by a few spits of rain.
Onward to Thorverton for the first game of the tour. I had been pencilled in to play this match but as Bro was coming down just for the one day I sat it out so that he could get at least one game in. Thorverton are a fun side and we have played this game first on tour for as long as I can remember. As ever the game was played in great spirits and when they heard that tomorrow's game against Filleigh had been called off they offered us another match to fill the gap in. We obviously accepted their generous offer and after a few beers with them all we made for the hotel.
A shower and a quick settle in to the rooms and we were ready to hit the town hard. The plan was to converge on the local Aussie theme bar and then stagger onto Rococos, possibly the cheesiest nightclub in Exeter but the scene of some cracking times on previous tours. A few shots later and we dragged ourselves out of the Walkabout bar and made for the nightclub. It wasn't as busy as it usually gets when we first arrived so we sat at the bar and started on some more drinks. Taffy and Herman were practicing their model poses made famous in the comedy Zoolander, the latter using this as his "pull story." The night improved as more and more of the locals arrived and the place was soon pumping to the sounds of dance music and we were all gracing the floor and the blocks with our presence.
As is always the case with Roccocos the best place to pick up is in the Golden Horn kebab house on the corner having just left; Bandai and Robins obliged picking up two of the most horrendous specimens of the female form. I'm not prepared to go into details, not because I'm a prude but simply because I may vomit over the keyboard as I type. I'm feeling a little queasy at the thought so I'll sign off. See you tomorrow.
Herman jumped in with me, the car stocked up with all our clothes, cricket gear and beers. The journey down took just over 2 hours with Bandai trailing us. He was carrying Dazza who had made a welcome return to England just to come on tour with us (admittedly he had only been in Scotland seeing family and friends). Dazza had come over from Tasmania to play with us back in 1998 along with Minty. They were both great cricketers and top blokes too. In fact I had travelled out to Tassie that Winter and stayed with Minty for about a month.
Our usual meet in Bickleigh at the Fisherman's Cot started with an attempt to fix the faulty passenger window. Pritts lent me a screwdriver and I tried to get it sorted, eventually leaving it wound up never to be opened again. Oh the woes of owning a classic car. As ever the food at the pub was tremendous and the views fantastic, marred only very slightly by a few spits of rain.
Onward to Thorverton for the first game of the tour. I had been pencilled in to play this match but as Bro was coming down just for the one day I sat it out so that he could get at least one game in. Thorverton are a fun side and we have played this game first on tour for as long as I can remember. As ever the game was played in great spirits and when they heard that tomorrow's game against Filleigh had been called off they offered us another match to fill the gap in. We obviously accepted their generous offer and after a few beers with them all we made for the hotel.
A shower and a quick settle in to the rooms and we were ready to hit the town hard. The plan was to converge on the local Aussie theme bar and then stagger onto Rococos, possibly the cheesiest nightclub in Exeter but the scene of some cracking times on previous tours. A few shots later and we dragged ourselves out of the Walkabout bar and made for the nightclub. It wasn't as busy as it usually gets when we first arrived so we sat at the bar and started on some more drinks. Taffy and Herman were practicing their model poses made famous in the comedy Zoolander, the latter using this as his "pull story." The night improved as more and more of the locals arrived and the place was soon pumping to the sounds of dance music and we were all gracing the floor and the blocks with our presence.
As is always the case with Roccocos the best place to pick up is in the Golden Horn kebab house on the corner having just left; Bandai and Robins obliged picking up two of the most horrendous specimens of the female form. I'm not prepared to go into details, not because I'm a prude but simply because I may vomit over the keyboard as I type. I'm feeling a little queasy at the thought so I'll sign off. See you tomorrow.
Saturday, 11 August 2007
3rd XI Day
I finally had a day where the things I needed to get done were possible. For sometime now the car had been without a CD Player, only because I didn't have the time or skills to fit the one I had taken out of the previous car :S Pritts kindly offered to help me with it when time permitted so I had arranged to meet with him in the afternoon to try and get it done.
Today was also our club's 3rd XI day. The 1st and 2nd XI's did not have a fixture and so arrangements were made for the 3rd XI to play at the home ground with the support of both the senior sides. It also happened to be the day before our annual cricket tour which made sure that everyone was in party mood!
Finally, one of previous overseas players was making a return to the club so that he could come on tour with us. DL hadn't changed a bit and was soon the life and soul of the day necking lagers with the rest of us and watching the cricket which was a surprisingly interesting match.
Pritts and I had actually missed almost an entire innings whilst we had gone off to work on the car. 9 wickets had fallen in the hour and half that we had spent fitting the CD player and fixing the dodgy passenger window, respectively.
Our lads had bowled the opposition out for 125 and when we got back Teed had made 27 of the 30 runs on the board with the other 3 having been byes! He went on to made a solid half century and saw the team home to victory. Another valuable 20 points for the 3rds and more reason to drink!
The excitement about the pending tour was clear to see on the faces spread around the clubrooms, new players yet to experience it, older lags that had been on numerous trips and those of us that had missed out on what tour was all about for one reason or another. I was brimming, this was the first tour for quite some time where I would be able to enjoy myself properly. I would also get to sample what sharing a place with Herman was going to be like prior to spending 6 months living side-by-side.
For what is likely to be the best week of the summer, read on over the coming posts...
Today was also our club's 3rd XI day. The 1st and 2nd XI's did not have a fixture and so arrangements were made for the 3rd XI to play at the home ground with the support of both the senior sides. It also happened to be the day before our annual cricket tour which made sure that everyone was in party mood!
Finally, one of previous overseas players was making a return to the club so that he could come on tour with us. DL hadn't changed a bit and was soon the life and soul of the day necking lagers with the rest of us and watching the cricket which was a surprisingly interesting match.
Pritts and I had actually missed almost an entire innings whilst we had gone off to work on the car. 9 wickets had fallen in the hour and half that we had spent fitting the CD player and fixing the dodgy passenger window, respectively.
Our lads had bowled the opposition out for 125 and when we got back Teed had made 27 of the 30 runs on the board with the other 3 having been byes! He went on to made a solid half century and saw the team home to victory. Another valuable 20 points for the 3rds and more reason to drink!
The excitement about the pending tour was clear to see on the faces spread around the clubrooms, new players yet to experience it, older lags that had been on numerous trips and those of us that had missed out on what tour was all about for one reason or another. I was brimming, this was the first tour for quite some time where I would be able to enjoy myself properly. I would also get to sample what sharing a place with Herman was going to be like prior to spending 6 months living side-by-side.
For what is likely to be the best week of the summer, read on over the coming posts...
Thursday, 19 July 2007
President's Day
Our club has always held a cricket match where the peers of a former great player combine to play against the current 1st XI for a trophy in memory of his wife. Unfortunately last season saw a decline in the numbers of players still living let alone able to play. So this year it was a nice touch by the President to combine his day with that of the memorial match so that the winner of the President's Day would win the aforementioned trophy.
The day began early as a number of the club members got together for a big fry-up. Bacon, Eggs, Beans, Hash Browns, Mushrooms, Sausages and Black Pudding left us all satisfied.
It has traditionally been a day where we meet some of our antipodean friends that aren't playing at Frimley. Jarv has been down before and returned this year a little more sober than last, smashing 85 along with Scotty who was playing up North with him. Suffice to say that Frimley got a good hiding at the hands of our illustrious President and made for the bar with our tails between our legs (we had been giving El Presidente some stick since winning last seasons contest).
The night went off as usual and beers flowed aplenty. Squidly joined us at the club and we all made for town hearing of a Joe Bananas reunion night. At first we couldn't get in as the bouncers were being less than helpful but Jarv worked some magic on the door and we were finally making our way upstairs...
...only to find that our group had doubled the amount of people in the club! They were prepared to turn us away when there were only 7 people in the place! We decided to stay and make the best of the night which in all honesty turned out to be a bit of a laugh. There was a tragic hen's party consisting of just two girls and a sparsely populated dancefloor but as the night progressed more people showed up and a good night was had by all. Believe me when you go out with Jarv you'll always enjoy yourself!
The day began early as a number of the club members got together for a big fry-up. Bacon, Eggs, Beans, Hash Browns, Mushrooms, Sausages and Black Pudding left us all satisfied.
It has traditionally been a day where we meet some of our antipodean friends that aren't playing at Frimley. Jarv has been down before and returned this year a little more sober than last, smashing 85 along with Scotty who was playing up North with him. Suffice to say that Frimley got a good hiding at the hands of our illustrious President and made for the bar with our tails between our legs (we had been giving El Presidente some stick since winning last seasons contest).
The night went off as usual and beers flowed aplenty. Squidly joined us at the club and we all made for town hearing of a Joe Bananas reunion night. At first we couldn't get in as the bouncers were being less than helpful but Jarv worked some magic on the door and we were finally making our way upstairs...
...only to find that our group had doubled the amount of people in the club! They were prepared to turn us away when there were only 7 people in the place! We decided to stay and make the best of the night which in all honesty turned out to be a bit of a laugh. There was a tragic hen's party consisting of just two girls and a sparsely populated dancefloor but as the night progressed more people showed up and a good night was had by all. Believe me when you go out with Jarv you'll always enjoy yourself!
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