And it was.

Happily, though, I started my new job - quite fittingly - a year to the day since I left my last one - on Wednesday, 18 June. A full twelve months out of the corporate world. A freedom that was all-but-forgotten within weeks of setting foot back in it. Of course, I had hopes that I'd come back a more balanced individual, but who was I kidding? I do genuinely enjoy working and given the choice of working or not, well, I'll pick gainful employment any day of the week. But working vs. travelling........? My bag is already packed in case Lloyd ever asks that fateful question again....

Anyway, as we approach the one year anniversary of our departure, we find ourselves pondering where we were one year ago today..... it gave us the idea of blogging something of a retrospective. We're telling ourselves that it's a good excuse to look back, post some more pictures and videos (which we've realized were quite light in the early days of our blog!), but in reality - I think - you should consider it a form of self-counselling. Bear with us over the next six months and you'll be contributing to our healing.

So! The first retrospective will be something that wasn't on the blog at all a year ago! Just before Lloyd and I set out from London, I spent a wonderful week cruising the Mediterannean with my Mum! For me, it was a great way to start the 'wind down' from working to travelling, but - most importantly - my Mum and I enjoyed some time together that we hadn't really ever had before.

Before we boarded "Splendour of the Seas", we overnighted in Venice - a wonderful time!

Our ports of call included Dubrovnik in Croatia, Santorini and Corfu in Greece, and Ephesus in Turkey. We were blessed with perfect weather everywhere, but I think my favourite place was Santorini overall. Mum and I scrambled through the windy, picturesque alleys and enjoyed wine spritzers and ice cream sundaes overlooking the cruiseships in the bay beneath us. Just a perfect, perfect day.

My favourite port of call, Santorini, with its famously white buildings with blue roofs....just gorgeous!

More piccies: our ship in port in Ephesus, Turkey. On the right: Mum and I on an excursion in Corfu.

Just as we settled into cruise life, we found ourselves celebrating our last night on board with a ridiculously lavish midnight buffet. Looking back, I'm not sure I was great company! I was rather tired from the pre-departure hustle and bustle and - if I have one regret - it's that my Mum and I didn't take the opportunity (final night midnight buffet aside) to check out the late-night-life on board! I'm sure we would have had some fun.

Midnight Buffet: the Most Food I've Ever Seen No One Eating.... And, on the right: keeping in touch on board - Lloyd video-conferencing from the US!

Regardless, we had a great time enjoying most of what Splendour-of-the-Seas had to offer. After a great week, and with a heavy heart, we sailed back into Venice, bathed in the light of a stunning sunrise. Cruising suited us both better than we expected, and I'd just love to do it all again one day!

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Rog wasn’t feeling too good, so – after two consecutive 5am starts - Lloyd and I were tempted to skip our planned evening visit to the Sound and Light show at Philae Temple. To get there, we’d need a taxi AND a boat, and I think we were both discouraged by the prospect of the required negotiations. But we dragged ourselves out nonetheless. It's a very short boat ride to reach Philae - so short in fact that you could probably swim it - but we found ourselves in the midst of a throng of hard neogiations despite the fact that there were less than ten passengers and more than thirty boats.

And then a strange thing happened. The ten of us customers slowly came together as one group in an unplanned action that immediately strengthened our negotiating hand. The price per person fell dramatically and we all headed over to the show feeling that - finally - we'd got value for money in Egypt.

The show itself did not disappoint and actually was one of the better Sound and Lights I've been to. Of course the commentary was hokey, with loud booming voices echoing around the ancient structures. But the story was told well and - as part of the show - we were walked around and inside some of the key Philae structures. It was - completely - different at night, with shadows from the spotlights highlighting the very deep and intricate carvings all around. Actually one of my favourite Egypt experiences overall and highly recommended!

The next morning, we hired a driver for half a day and headed past the old 'low' Aswan Dam to the new 'high' Aswan Dam. The old dam was completed in 1902 by the British who wanted to improve irrigation controls for cash crops, but had to be raised twice - from its original 54 metres - before it was decided that a new dam was needed to keep the Nile from flooding. So, the new High Dam was added about four miles upstream, opening in 1970 at a height of 111 metres.

At the west end of the new Aswan Dam is a very large monument called the Lotus Flower celebrating the joint achievement of the Russians and Egyptians who cooperated on the Dam.

With Lloyd speaking Russian, and Roger speaking Arabic, I thought this was a particularly appropriate picture!

More fun, however, was had by Lloyd who teased the 'guard' on duty by pretending to press the elevator button. The ride to the top is closed to the public and - no joking aside - we tried really hard to bribe this guy to let us go up....

After visiting the Aswan Dam and a driver-directed detour to Kalabsha Temple which simply magnified our templed-out state, we headed back to Philae to admire it in the daylight. It's impressive at any time of day, but I have to say that the daylight viewing paled in comparison to our experience the night before.

We also managed to squeeze in a quick stop at the 1000 ton unfinished obelisk which was abandoned when it cracked during extraction. Pity, as this would have been one of the largest obelisks ever constructed if it had been completed. Still, the quarry revealed a tiny glimpse into the construction of many of the wonders we had seen.

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10 - Qingzang Railway (Beijing to Lhasa)

No doubt, the novelty factor (with parts of the track having been opened for less than a year at our time of travel) is part of the reason that a 48 hour train journey makes the list! Compared to the Trans Siberian, the journey to Lhasa was extraordinarily comfortable - with brand new carriages, well designed common areas and edible food! So we were able to experience the world's highest railway track (up to 5300 metres!) in considerable comfort. The scenery, though, was the most memorable element of the journey. Read more here.

On the left, staff being checked for adverse effects of altitude in the restaurant car - at least two passengers have died while travelling on the train; and on the right, stations may have been unmanned, but they certainly weren't unobserved: we counted at least four cameras on this mast seemingly in the middle of nowhere!

9 - Leaping off a Bridge in New Zealand

Proof - if it were ever needed - that travel liberates the mind. This is something I said I'd never do, and - looking back - I still can't quite believe I did it. If you're physically up to it (and be cautious of the sales folk who will try and sell you on it even if you roll in on a wheelchair), I'd recommend it. Stupid though it may sound, I feel bolder as a result. Read more here.

Waiting on Karawau Bridge for the big moment. The second photo shows my focus on getting the job done (either that, or sheer terror judging by the hand grip!).

8 - Cambodia

I was utterly fascinated by Cambodia and it would feature very highly on my list of places to return to. Angkor Wat is, of course, impressive to visit, but far more appealing is the opportunity to see a country still relatively undeveloped. Cambodia's people are easily the most welcoming we came across, and with a simply fascinating - if appalling - recent history, I could have spent as many weeks here as we did days. Read about our visit to one of Cambodia's famous Killing Fields here.

This young lady is condensing palm milk to make palm candy, which is a lot like scottish tablet (a very sugary treat).

7 - Motorbiking around Hanoi

Where else in the world would you get on the back of some random motorbike - without a helmet - and allow yourself to be thrust through crazy streets simply thronging with thousands of pedestrians and other bike riders seemingly each with a death wish? Of course, it's totally the right thing that as of December 2007 (i.e. after our visit), motorcyclists are now required by law to wear helmets, but I have to confess that the whole experience might be somewhat less exhilerating as a result.... Read more about our motorbike tour around Hanoi here.

6 - Mongolian horses

It wasn't planned this way, although perhaps it was inevitable, but the common theme in Mongolia definitely turned out to be horses! I loved our overnight homestay in a ger despite our comical 'guides' and the ride through Teralj National Park is something I'll never forget. A few days earlier we chanced upon a spectacular display of horsemanship at a recreation of a Gengis Khan battle involving 500 horses! Read more about our ger stay here, and more about the Gengis Khan re-enactment here.

During our horse trek, we left our guide (in the left hand picutre) for an hour while we climbed up to a local monastery. When we returned, we couldn't stir him from this pose... I guess taking us out for an afternoon trek was a welcome break from the more arduous tasks waiting for him back at camp! On the right, the most incredible spectacle I've ever seen involving hundreds of horses!

5 - Varanasi pilgrimage

Older than even Delhi, Varanasi is nothing less than an assault on all the senses and is an absolute must-see on any Indian itinerary in my view. We were blessed to be taken in by an Indian family that had travelled from southern India for days to undertake their pilgrimage to the great Ganga, turning our experience into something that was far more spiritual and touching than either of us was expecting. Read more here.

OK, so you've seen this picture before, but we felt intrusive taking pictures of what was a very personal experience for these ladies, so we didn't take too many!

4 - Cycling Yanghsuo China

The spectacular karst scenery of Guilin, perfectly framed by the Li River, was a destination that did not disappoint. In contrast to our urban Chinese experiences, we found the farming communities to be far more interesting and friendly, and we loved cycling through tiny villages on our way to the famous Moon Hill. Read more here.

Another reason easily makes the Fav list.... my good buddy Martin came along too!

3 - On Safari in Kenya's Masai Mara

We did this way back in July and it easily turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences ever. While the timing was great (we were there right at the start of the Great Migration), we kind of wished we'd saved it for the end as it was a long time into the trip before anything came close to impacting us the same way. Read more about our safari - including our close encounter with mating lions! here.

2 - Bathing the Elephants at Chiang Rai in Thailand

Easily the most expensive thing we did on the trip, we'd nonetheless recommend the Four Seasons Tented Camp as a once-in-a-lifetime decadence. The organized elephant interactions were less contrived than we were expecting, but it was the early morning bathing sessions that offered a far more intimate experience that we will never forget. Read more here.

We were as glad of the shower as the elephants after bathing in poo-infested waters!

1 - Heli-Hike on Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand

Perhaps one of the more normal things we did on our trip, so I'm surprising myself a little putting it right up top. This was my first experience anywhere near a glacier, nevermind on one, and I was absolutely stunned by the scale, power and beauty of this ancient beast. Read more about how we almost didn't make it onto the glacier at all here.

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You need to be in India for about three minutes to reach the decision NOT to drive here. If there is order to the chaos, we have yet to find it. The only guideline is that the bigger you are, the more aggressively you can ‘go for it’. Honking, of course, helps and is so frequently deployed that it must offer indemnity from responsibility; ‘yes, I did hit the cow/sheep/bicycle/tourist, but I honked to let them know the impact was imminent’. Our driver put it far more eloquently, explaining that driving in India isn’t lane-based, but space-based. Even on the rather attractive, new six-lane highway that links Jaipur and Jodhpur, much of the traffic ignores the clearly partitioned lanes. Government signs urge that ‘lane-driving is safe-driving’ but no-one’s listening.

About 300 people die each day on India's roads. Experts say that enforcing seatbelts isn't the answer because only around 5% of road users are in cars: the rest are on bikes, animal, or foot!

We covered 1400 kilometres in four days on the road (in a country where 300 kilometres is a very, very full day's drive). The bulk of our route was windy, two lane roads shared with animals, bicycles, tuk-tuks, pedestrians and the infamous brightly coloured TATA trucks with their ridiculous horns. Back home in California I spend a lot of time driving – maybe two-and-a-half hours a day to and from work, and I’ll call Lloyd maybe two times a year, trying to catch my breath as I share with him how I just about died because some idiot pulled into the fast lane without looking at his blind spot, or how some road-raged maniac just about forced me off the road.

There are more than four million TATA vehicles in India - they tend to be brightly decorated, both with paint as well as flowers and other offerings intended to protect the driver from harm.

But on Indian roads, near-death occur multiple times an hour. Overtaking on blind bends is absolutely the norm. Dozens of time, we'd pull out to overtake in clear sight of an oncoming TATA truck heavily laden with uncut marble. In the US, I’d never attempt the maneouvre. Hell, Lloyd wouldn’t even attempt these maneouvres in the beemer. In fifth gear at 30mph, the driver presses the accelerator but doesn’t seem to know that a lower gear would help. The TATA driver flashes his lights, making sure we know he’s there. It’s about this time that our driver decides to pass another vehicle. The TATA driver sets off his horn that will likely only be mid-ridiciulous-sequence by the time we get hit, head-on.

And then – somehow – it happens. When it becomes clear that we don’t have the space to pass the second vehicle, a space miraculously opens up for us, and we swerve to safety. Lloyd and I look at each other, eyebrows raised, but honestly our hearts don’t even skip a beat anymore. In California, you’d be considered a buffoon for even attempting the manrouve and the drivers would punish you by trapping you, fully exposed to oncoming traffic. In India, however, the traffic just somehow deals with it and everyone is – well – nice to everyone else. What goes around comes around, and Indians just want the good stuff!

Just the good stuff! Which reminds us of our driver’s adage for successful driving in India: good horn, good eyes, good brakes and good luck. Fortunately for us, our driver Suri seems to have the latter in spades.

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Our change of address card highlighted just a few of the many places we'd been...

Back in California, our first month has just flown by, with the whole of January feeling like about three days on the "trip" clock. And, of course, it can't be a surprise that it's felt a whole lot less fulfilling than any of our last six months when we averaged 10,000 miles and four countries a month, each with innumerable unforgettable experiences. Half of me is left thinking that six months wasn't long enough. But the other half warns that the adjustment would be correspondingly more difficult if we had stayed out longer.

Who's this guy? Lloyd tells me that shoes are kind of hard to get used to again...

It might be marginally easier for Lloyd who has thrown himself back into work 110%. For me (and Lloyd kindly labels me an 'uber'-type-A), I'm doing my best to feel fulfilled by a combination of home-building, job search and CFA study, but world travel is a pretty compelling option when it's up against the best job in the world, never mind unemployment. I'm chomping at the bit to get back into the corporate world, and the 'adjustment' phase will likely endure until I'm settled in my new role. Watch this space....

Talking of home-building, we spend the first few weeks back looking at furnished homes for short-term let in the Bay Area. Ironically, we came closest to renting from a couple heading out for their own six month adventure (!), but our final walk through exposed the couple as massively uptight, with an almost obsessive compulsive disorder with regards to their home, despite the pet bird that was allowed to fly freely around the place. I guess there are cat people, and bird people. We don't understand the latter.

New apartment: moving in.

Since the bird people put us off renting furnished entirely, we quickly found an unfurnished apartment to rent in San Jose. Bearing in mind that we sold every stick of furniture with our house last May, we moved into a very sparse apartment on the 19th of January, and headed to the nearest IKEA to furnish the place. And so it is that we find ourselves living in what could easily pass as an IKEA showroom. I guess we could blame my new sister-in-law for the Swedish influence!

Anyway, look for some Trip Statistics, and Top Ten Lists in the coming days. It's a great excuse for us to relive our very happy memories.

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We were convinced, however, that forces were conspiring to keep us in London. First, our taxi didn't show up to take us to Heathrow, resulting in a frantic dash across - or should I say under - London. On the bright side, we were too stressed to be sad about the end of our trip, but arriving at Heathrow with forty minutes ahead of an international flight isn't to be recommended. Suffice to say I almost concluded the trip by getting arrested for being a little too enthusiastic with my 'encouragement' for progress in the security line. But the real tragedy was that I didn't have any time for a final English Breakfast or to stock up on the British chocolates and biccies that will prove all too elusive back in the US.

Having made it to the gate in time (just), the conspiracy to keep us on the road just seemed to deepen when our 747 was grounded for almost two hours pending technical faults. Frankly, this plane seemed to have so many faults, we thought twice about staying on it - but in the event our 11 hour flight passed without incident.

Final Destination: San Francisco

I couldn't help but smile when we stepped back onto American soil. Excited about what lay ahead? Of course. Pleased that we'd soon find ourselves in the same bed for more than two nights? Definitely. Content about having to worry less about tap water, ice and ice cream? Yup. Delirious about the prospect of being reunited with my cat? Absolutely!

Lloyd's good friend, Dave, who has supported us in innumerable ways during our exodus was generous with his time - once again - and met us at the airport. If you have to return to the real world after an adventure like ours, then it's definitely better if you have a friendly face to console you in the arrival lounge.

For too many kindnesses to mention: thanks, Dave!

The weather wasn't quite as friendly and it quickly became clear that we were lucky to have landed in San Francisco at all - indeed, later flights were diverted as a ferocious storm moved through the entire Bay Area. Not quite the California sunshine we had been looking forward to! Smarter souls would stay indoors on a day like today, but Dave braved the storm to drive us the hour or so down to our until-last-June-home-town of Los Gatos.

Before I could be reunited with my cat, Lloyd had to be reunited with his baby. Would she reject him after being abandoned for six months? Would she hold it against him that he hadn't so much as let her stretch her legs during all that time? Nope! She purred right into action, with only one low tyre to show for six months in solitary confinement.

Lloyd reunited with his baby, on the left. On the right, checking to see if our worldly belongings survived...

And reunited with my baby.

So - what's next for us? Well, Lloyd goes immediately back to work, and I start looking for my next opportunity. In the meantime, we need to find somewhere to live and - most importantly - settle back into real life. It'll be interesting to see how smooth - or otherwise - this adjustment is. We'll keep posting from time to time to let you know! And now the work begins of reviewing all the photos and videos of the trip, so you can expect some lists of favourite and least favourite things too.

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1) Buy an Oyster card as soon as you arrive. It's basically a smartcard that you use to pay-as-you-go for the underground, DLR, buses etc. You can buy them at most main stations and you'll need to add some credit to it as soon as you get it. It's super convenient, but the best thing is that it can offer savings of up to 50% on single fares. Additionally, having an Oyster card entitles you to discounts at a range of museums. Offers change from time to time, but we were able to get into the Museum at Docklands for half price, as an example. Visit www.tfl.gov.uk for more information.

2) Research what museums etc you want to visit before you arrive. Although we had seen the complete Tutankamen collection in Egypt and the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, we wanted to compare notes by seeing both the related exhibitions (at the O2 and the British Museum respectively) while we were in London. Unfortunately, tickets were sold out for both.

Not something we saw in London... but you could if you plan ahead! The British Museum has a number of them, until April 2008.

3) Unless you want to see the latest and greatest musical or play in the West End, don't even think about paying full price. Try www.londontheatredirect.com for tickets where we paid significantly less for great seats.

4) Don't miss a cruise up the Thames! I lived in London for five years, and have visited dozens of times since I left, but had never done this. It offered a completely different perspective of the City and simply shouldn't be missed. If you're short of cash and don't care so much about the commentary, take a commuter boat rather than a tourist boat. You'll also save if you mention your Oyster card.

5) We still love the London Eye (the big ferris wheel at Westminster) which offers great views over the City. Try it at twilight for a different view!

The London Eye. Still impressive after all these years....

6) We're BIG fans of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth which has an impressive collection of military hardware in addition to very high quality rotating exhibitions and a fabulous collection of war themed art. Even if you don't think you're interested in the military, it's a guaranteed thought-provoking and entertaining experience. We wouldn't miss it and used to pay good money to visit it several times a year. It's now - happily - free to enter!

7) For the third time during this trip, we walked along the Thames from Westminster to London Bridge. It's a fabulous walk that takes in many key sights: from Big Ben and the Eye, past the Tate Modern, the Globe, with great views of St Paul's and Tower Bridge. There are plenty of restaurants and bars along the way, in addition to free entertainment including skateboarders and buskers. If you're interested, this itinerary could easily include a flight on the Eye and visits to the horribly overpriced London Dungeon. And it's an easy walk over the pedestrian Millennium Bridge to St Paul's and the City.

8) Don't miss the Docklands. It's an easy trip on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway), and there's SO much happening out there. The recent opening of the massive entertainement complex, the O2, has made it even more hip. We loved the Museum at Docklands which gave us the historical context of an area that struggled to find tenants back in the 80s an early 90s! Now, the area is booming and still growing. Get a ticket to a concert and give yourself an excuse to get out there. And while at the O2, check out Tapa Tapa where we enjoyed a fabulous pre-show dinner and after-show drink.

9) In terms of budget accommodation, check out chains like the Travel Inn and IBIS which offer basic but immaculately clean rooms. Public transport is SO incredibly good in London that you don't need to pay too much for a tiny, dirty room in the centre.

10) Finally, take out a second mortgage before you go. With the exchange rate hovering around US$2 for every british pound, you will find the city very expensive. The good news is that so much of London is free: it's fabulous parks (don't miss Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park every Sunday!), markets, the walk along the Thames, Greenwich, just about all the Museums and so on.

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New Year arrived too soon for so many reasons.

First, we'd scarcely had time to recover from D'ell and Emma's wedding just two days prior, and it required some effort to get into the party mode again. I know, it's a hard life, right?

Second, of course, the passing of such a significant milestone could only highlight the impending conclusion of our journey. We're excited, undoubtedly, to return home and get back to work, but it's been such an adventure that there's inevitably some nostalgia as we wrap things up.

Champagne helped on both counts, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Tapa Tapa in the new O2 arena in London's Docklands. After a feast that we couldn't possibly finish, we headed into a New Year concert headlined by British pop group Take That. If you know anything about Take That it's probably that it's the band Robbie Williams used to belong to. While the other four members have reunited for this tour, Robbie has so far declined to participate, so we spent much of the evening hoping that he would decide to make a surprise appearance for what was a much hyped - and televised - New Year performance.

Even if Robbie failed to materialize, we had a super night. D'ell and I bopped away to all the sugery pop-songs we remembered while an exhausted Emma and intrigued Lloyd (who didn't know any of the songs at all!) could do little more than look on, stupified at our antics.

At midnight, Lloyd and I counted down from ten and then spontaneously screamed at each other, the full realization that our adventure is approaching its end. What can we say? We have been exceptionally fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel for six months, and even more lucky to have enjoyed the wholehearted support of friends and family. So, a special Happy New Year to our parents, to Roger and D'ell, and to Dave, Martin and Sarah. We wish you all the best for 2008.

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Just can't get enough. Massive construction projects continue in the Canary Wharf Area.

A third unforgettable embarrasment in the Dockland's history was the Millennium Dome - an ill fated project modelled on the 1951 Festival of Britain which accelerated development of infrastructure - including an extension of the Jubilee Line underground network - into the North Greenwich peninsula. While the building of the Dome and the surrounding infrastructure was a success, the contents of the Dome were generally found wanting, resulting in the labelling of the Millennium project as a failure. Since then, the Dome has been taken over and transformed into an Entertainment Mecca. Visit the O2 today - as we did - and you can't fail but realize the importance of the Millennium Dome project as a basis for today's business success.

The Millennium Dome now called 'The O2' after the communications company.

With Lloyd and I camping out at the new Mr and Mrs Ross's Docklands' apartment in their honeymoon absence, we decided it would be fitting to learn more about the area with a visit to Museum in Docklands. We were really pleased we did! This museum presents - chronologically - the story of London, including the mysterious abandonment of the town by its creators - the Romans - in around 400AD.

On the left, an example of the Museum's multi-media approach. On the right, a picture we loved since it flawlessly combines the area's history with its future.

But the Museum's real strength is in its use of multiple media to communicate the story of the Docklands. We were impressed with touch screen monitors and sophisticated audio-visual presentations in addition to the static exhibits. We'd loved to have stayed longer, but had to leave after two hours to allow time for our Greenwich visit!

View of the Old Naval College (in the foreground) and Canary Wharf (in the background). A snapshot of Old and New.

And we didn't have too far to go, with Greenwich Just across the Thames from Canary Wharf. Since 1675, Greenwich has been home to the former Royal Observatory, Greenwich (not to be confused with the Royal Greenwich Observatory - don't ask). Just as we were running out of time on our World Trip, we thought homage to a site that once played such an important role in the management of time would be appropriate. Arriving on the simply fantastic DLR, we sought out the famous brass (actually now stainless steel) strip that marks the old astronomical prime meridian that is also the basis for longitude.

At the old Observatory, tourists queued to have their picture taken astride the line. What could we do but join in the fun?

It would have been rude not to....

Actually, it's perhaps not so surprising to learn that modern calculations actually result in the prime meridian being some 100 metres to the east, so all those people being photographed in the belief that they were half in the east and half in the west are sadly mistaken. They're actually firmly in the west.

After our quick wander around the Observatory (long since abandoned to escape light pollution in London's night skies), we headed down towards the Thames, via the Old Naval College which is a World Heritage Site. If the domes look familiar, it's because the College was designed by the same architect as St Paul's Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren.

The buildings have been used for a myriad of purposes since being built around 1700. Until 1869, it was used as a hospital after which it was used by the Royal Navy for training until 1998 (hence the name). Since then, parts of the glorious campus have been used by the University of Greenwich, while others have simply been opened to the public. Over the festive season, the Old Naval College is one of several historic sites around London that offer ice skating!

We'd probably have walked around longer, but the weather had taken a turn for the worst and we found ourselves in literally freezing winds which left us all with some frozen body part or other. Fortunately, we were able to catch a boat from Greenwich Pier, heading towards Westminster, where the parents were able to thaw out while Lloyd and I braved the weather (for which we were woefully ill-prepared in terms of clothing!) to enjoy the view top-side.

Entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which links Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs. The Tunnel was opened in 1902.

I'm embarassed to admit that this was the first time I'd ever been on the Thames! The ride would take about 35 minutes and - even if it was bitterly cold - we were treated to a stunning sunset, a fitting end - we thought - to the final daylight of our adventure.

But our day wasn't over yet! As twilight approached at 4pm, we arrived at Westminster just in time to hear Big Ben sing. I used to work seconds away from here, but I will never tire of the beauty of the Palace of Westminster. The addition of the London Eye, just across the Thames, has undoubtedly rejuvenated the South Bank and the County Hall which, until 1990, housed government functions, notably the Greater London Council which was abolished in 1986.

Today, County Hall houses a variety of residential and entertainment concessions, including the London Aquarium. We're also guessing that current exhibitions include something to do with Star Wars and Dali (no, not together although I can definitely see that working....) although we didn't look into it.

And there were two more storm troopers that day, with my parents braving the freezing weather and my overly optimistic distance estimates to keep Lloyd and I company. Thankfully, a hearty prize awaited and - after an hour long walk along the river bank in sub-zero temperatures - we stumbled into a pub in between the reconstructed Golden Hinde and the Globe. With a river view, we enjoyed traditional british fare (pie and chips, fish and chips... you get the idea!) and a few drinks to wash it down and warm us up. I guess I'll start my New Year's Resolutions in February this year...

A large area has been given over to skateboarders and grafitti artists in the basement of the Festival Hall. Fantastic! On the right, a view of St Paul's Cathedral.

Thanks to my parents for a truly fantastic day which perfectly wrapped up our visit to England, and - indeed - our World Trip. After our very full day, we fell into a fitful sleep, no doubt disturbed by dreams of challenges ahead.

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A few restless hours later, our alarm went off and D’ell, who does not need much sleep and is always full of energy, got up to go and get his hair cut. I managed to snooze for a bit but then also decided to get out of bed, get some breakfast and head down to the beauty salon. A few hours short on the beauty sleep, I needed all the help I could get in the hair and make up department!!!

A touch of champagne to help me forgive the best man; and Jacquie doing her best impression of Cousin It.

In the salon, I was greeted by my two wonderful bridesmaids and our hairdressers and make up artist. We chatted, shared some stories about the night before and the transformation started. A few coffees later, lots of foundation, highlighter, eye make up, mascara and lipstick and I started to feel like the bride to be. Malin, my hairdresser, spent a lot of time doing my hair and I must admit that it turned out beautifully! Jacquie and Jill also went through the transformation and we did all have some interesting hairstyles before the final versions! A good few hours later the three of us headed back to the hotel to get changed, looking and feeling like movie stars!

Transformation complete. Thank goodness for make up!

As we walked into the hotel, we narrowly avoided walking right into the boys as they headed down to the pub for a pre-ceremony drink. We were so short of time that I hardly had any time to get nervous at all. People in the wedding party went in and out of our room and I did feel a bit guilty when I shouted to my mum and my future mum in-law to get out of the room since I quickly needed to get changed! My bridesmaids joined me a few minutes later to help me with the final touches, and we enjoyed a quick glass of champagne and some snacks (chips and mayo less than an hour before the ceremony!) so we'd have energy for the rest of the day.

Where's a crochet hook when you need it?

Having successfully avoided smearing mayo all over the perfect make-up, the photographer arrived at 2.30pm and took some candid pictures. It was raining, so we had to quickly arrange a taxi for the mothers. Before we knew it, my Dad was knocking on the suite door to take me by the arm down to our stretch white limo. The Town Hall is only 300 metres from the hotel, but the weather in Sweden at this time is very unpredictable and we did not want to risk it by having to walk in gusts and rain ruining our hair and make up. Not to mention our shoes and dresses! In fact, Jacquie's heels were so high, I'm not sure she'd have made it if she'd had to walk!

Meanwhile, the boys were making their way on foot.

We effectively crawled from the hotel, as we had to give the photographer time to hoof it to the Town Hall in order to meet us! As we waited in the limo, I wondered how D'ell was feeling....

Photographer at the ready, it was finally time to climb out of the limo. With the groom and best man waiting inside, we had the honour of being met by Lloyd, Steve (friend of bride and groom) and John (Jacquie and D'ell's father) all dressed in their beautiful kilts. Trust me, they did get a lot of looks from the locals who don't see men in skirts that often!

My dad escorted me into the building and I was followed by my bridesmaids who made sure my dress did not touch the ground. Since we arrived a few minutes late (I thought I was supposed to do that!), we were welcomed by some glum faces in the waiting area. Turns out we were the first (late!) of 22 couples getting married that day. But when we walked into the room we were surrounded by smiles all around, with our friends and family standing in a semi-circle around the room. Up front, we faced a tiny officiant who looked like Frodo from Lord of the Rings, prompting a few cheeky glances among the group up front: my stunning bridesmaids on my left, my husband to be on my right, and next to him, the best man and my dad.

Married by Frodo. Lord of the Wedding Rings.

We wanted a brief ceremony, and - in the event - it was less than five minutes long. It sounds short but believe me if D'ell had had his way it would have been even shorter! My Dad did a fantastic job translating the ceremony from Swedish, but D'ell apparently just couldn't wait to marry me and kept on answering the questions in Swedish before the English translation, which raised chuckles around the room. A little after 3.05pm, we were pronounced husband and wife.

After hugs all round, we headed back to the limo, this time squeezing in the entire wedding party (both sets of parents, two bridesmaids, best man and Steve in addition to the new Mr and Mrs John D'ell Ross!). Simon - who may have enjoyed a little too much champagne already that morning - cracked open another bottle which we shared between everyone in the car.

Back at the hotel we were greeted by our family and friends. We had champagne and some lovely canapés. The photographers had prepared the photo shoot in the staircase at the hotel and we were all ready to have our pictures taken. This was superbly managed by my bridesmaid Jacquie. She had a list of all different groups and people were going up and down the stairs and I am sure that the photographer got a lot of exercise running up and down to change and make sure that people’s clothes were in order. I think that he arranged my dress a hundred times. He was very much into details. I must admit that I loved every minute of the photo shoot but perhaps my guests were a little bit bored. It did take a bit longer than planned. However they were getting plenty of champagne and after a few hours we all headed down to the dining room for the party to continue!

We felt bad for our guests that the photos took so long, but at least they were being plied with champagne and canapes in lush surroundings!

And what a night…the food was superb, the wine was amazing and the speeches were fabulous. My parents had prepared a wonderful presentation of photos of my life, to which they added witty anecdotes which got everyone laughing.

My parents during their presentation. They picked all the most embarassing pictures to embarass me!

One of the biggest surprises was when my husband started to say his speech in perfect Swedish. Later he admitted that he has been going to a private tutor for four months learning Swedish - just a perfect wedding present and a wonderful surprise. Suffice to say that he is truly an amazing man.

My brother, Fredrick, and Markus entertained us with a Swedish drinking song, although I'm not sure anyone needed encouragement with the seven course dinner, each course paired with a perfectly matching alcoholic beverage!

The Swedes were intent on showing the Scots they could drink more, faster, longer....

Steve contemplating the Schnapps...

This was beyond any doubt one of the best days in my life and something that I will never ever forget. Thank you to all our guests for coming to our big day and thank you to Jacquie and Jill for keeping me sane, plying me with just the perfect amount of champagne and reminding me to breath and to eat. Also for looking after my jewellery, mobile phone, my jacket and my flowers. Also a big thank you to Steve, Lloyd and Simon who made sure that the evening ran smoothly. And a big thank you to my dad and family, my new in-laws and all my friends for making this a truly memorable day that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Finally thank you to my incredible husband D’ell for making me a very happy woman and wife!!!

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The view at twilight from our chalet out onto the town of Are. It was like looking down on a tiny model village!

I truly believe that skiing is something that needs to be first attempted before the age of ten. After that, life experience of pain and injury seriously complicates things and the first time I tried skiing last December, I was so bad that I was taken out of my group beginners’ class and given the instructors’ instructor for a private lesson! So, I’m not sure if I’d have signed up for another opportunity to humiliate myself if Christmas in Sweden hadn’t also been billed as the pre-wedding party for D’ell and Emma.

Soon-to-be-wed: my brother D'ell and fiancee Emma, pictured during dinner on the 23rd.

Lloyd skis very well, and so spent several happy days with some combination of D’ell, Emma, Steve, Jill and/or Simon on the slopes. Of course, a remedial skier like me can only dream of going as high as the ski lifts go, but it looks like there is some pretty stunning scenery up there…

Lloyd was accompanied by a friendly fox that came trotting out right onto the slopes!

Me? Well, I suffered another session with a painfully bad instructor who reported at the end of my lesson, “well, maybe skiing isn’t for you”. A little rude, maybe and – if I hadn’t been so shocked – I might have had the good wits to retort “Judging by the quality of your tuition, I’d say maybe skiing isn’t for you either!”. But his insult was enough to keep me on the nursery slopes with dozens of two-feet high munchkins whizzing by me for hours and, thanks to Lloyd, making good progress on my turns. I have a long way to go before I could even attempt to ski with the rest of the group, but Lloyd and I will try and squeeze in a few trips to Tahoe when we’re back in California so I can try and at least catch up with the ten year olds….

Me with my ski class. Enough to cut anyone's ego down to size....

Not good enough to ski with the big kids. But good enough to carry the skis...

Accompanying the skiing were the associated traditional activities involving plenty of food and more champagne than is feasible for our party of seven. Lloyd and I haven’t seen anything like it for the last six months, so good quality red wine and excessive quantities of edible food (although the smoked reindeer heart probably doesn't qualify here) was a bit of a shock to the system but you’ll be glad to know we quickly got into the swing of things.

The bride-to-be prepared a tremendous Swedish feast on Christmas Eve, which meant that Lloyd and I truly had our work cut out for us come Christmas Day. But between us we managed to conjure up 10 kilos of Roast Turkey (I know, what were we thinking?) with all the trimmings, served to an appreciative audience. We almost had a disaster, though, with the realization that we had drunk all the wine intended for the meal the previous evening. Sweden has some pretty tough regulation concerning alcohol sales which are limited to government-run “Systembolaget” shops. Despite the fact that the supermarket was open on Christmas Day, the “Systembolaget” had been closed since the 22nd. Faced with a critical wine deficit, D’ell, Steve and Jill engaged in a wine smuggling operation. No doubt the waitress in a local bar was a little confused when the three of them ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir. Each. And the sight of the three of them hoofing it down the street with three open bottles of wine carried in inside pockets must also have been interesting.

Steve and D'ell - Caught in the Act...

With no christmas tree in the chalet, we had Lloyd fulfil the function. Useful, no?

We enjoyed a wonderful White Christmas with friends and family in Sweden ahead of what promises to be a wonderful wedding weekend in Gothenburg. In the meantime, thanks to D'ell and Emma for hosting us in Are over christmas, and hello to Jill and Steve and Simon who also made it such a memorable time.

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We’ve had a crazy second half of 2007, travelling more than 100,000 kilometres. It was a long journey, and one which always included our friends and family: if not in person then firmly in our hearts and thoughts. We wish you all a very enjoyable holiday season, and look forward to catching up in the New Year!

In the meantime, you can see we’ve been busy with our Christmas hats ….

Happy Christmas from Lloyd and Jacquie!!

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2) If your itinerary allows, visit the Cairo Museum AFTER visiting Aswan and Luxor. It’s an inaccessible museum that – as presented - lacks context, and having been to the sites we were better able to appreciate content relevant to the places we had visited.

3) Don’t be concerned, as we were, that the travelling Tutankhamen Exhibition (currently at London’s O2) has borrowed too many of the key artifacts to leave the Cairo Museum lacking. We were able to see far more than we expected, including the gold (Funerary) face mask (etc)…

4) Be prepared for the expense of visiting the sites you will want to see: we spent somewhere around US$120 each on entry tickets, and that didn’t include more expensive options including Tutankhamen’s tomb in Valley of the Kings and the Royal Mummies’ exhibition at the Cairo Museum.

5) Be sure to take a balloon ride over Valley of the Kings (Luxor). The price has come down dramatically in the last twelve years. The going rate seemed to be around US$80 per person for a balloon that will hold sixteen or so passengers, but we were offered the same flight for US$50 so be prepared to haggle.

6) Don’t use Viator.com! Note that I pre-booked online and grossly overpaid at Viator.com which seems to think that 200% profit margins are reasonable. Don’t be fooled by their money-back guarantee (claims to guarantee a refund if you find the same service offered at a lower price locally), enforcement of which has turned into one of the most frustrating elements of the entire trip.

7) More on balloons. We couldn’t decide whether to go for a sunset balloon ride, or a shortly-after-sunrise balloon ride. In the end, and for no other reason than we thought we like to sleep late and get up at 5am rather than 4am (!), we went for the latter. There were a gazillion balloons out for the sunrise which meant that we were greeted with a beautiful sky filled with hot air balloons which – for me – was a wonderful sight to experience. I’m sure it was pretty awesome from the air too. Perhaps a benefit of the later ride was that – when we finally took off at about 7am – we were one of only three or four balloons.

8) Don’t miss Philae Light and Sound. It’s expensive at E£75 per person (about US$15), but it was awesome. To be fair, I haven’t been to the Karnak version which is also supposed to be quite good, but the opportunity to walk through Philae at night was unexpected and simply brilliant.

9) To get to Philae, you need to take a boat for a four minute ride. You should expect to pay about E£35 per couple, but we grouped up with three other groups to negotiate with a boat caption and ended up paying E£15 for the two of us!

10) Unless you follow my strategy and stop eating for the duration of your visit, the odds of a little Cairo Quickstep are not in your favour. Get ahead of the curve and buy ‘Antinol’ from any pharmacy as soon as you arrive. It’s an antiseptic solution (also available in tablets) that can be your fast track ticket to recovery. It worked for Lloyd!

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Abu Simbel on approach. The monument is such a tourist draw that it earned its own air strip. The alternative is a four to five hour drive from Aswan.

Abu Simbel is a massive temple that was built during Ramses II’s reign over 3300 years ago. Ramses intended the monument to intimidate neighbouring countries with its four statues each towering to twenty metres. Of interest, the monument was moved in 1960 after an international appeal to save a number of Egyptian treasures that would otherwise have been lost to Lake Nasser with the opening of the Aswan High Dam. It cost more than US$40 million to chop Abu Simbel up into hundreds of pieces and then re-erect it about 65 metres higher and 200 metres back, a debt that is allegedly still being repaid.

Ramses II up close. You can see how the faces were cut off during the relocation.

Our flight to Abu Simbel was full of tour groups who we proceeded to race to the monument. Since there’s only one reason to fly to Abu Simbel, Egypt Air puts on a complimentary bus for the five minute drive which saved us the agonizing negotiation with a cab driver. On arrival, a helpful young man showed us a short cut that ensured we’d arrive at the ticket office ahead of the tour groups (he even declined ‘baksheesh’ for his services!), and with the first tickets of the session in hand we soon found ourselves through security and facing the back of the artificial hill created to house the monuments.

Lloyd spontaneously erupted into a brisk jog, which looked quite amusing as he was wheeling our overnight case (we have proper luggage again now!) through sand and stone in his haste. I understood immediately that he wanted to get there before the gaggle of groups and quickly caught up with him, leaving Roger some distance behind us and no doubt wondering what on earth we were doing exerting so much energy in the heat of the day.

The effort was worth it! We practically had Abu Simbel to ourselves for a precious few minutes.

Though I had seen Abu Simbel previously in 1995, it’s the kind of place that remains shockingly impressive even on second viewing.

On the right: Lloyd looking as if he’s planning on moving into Little Abu Simbel which is next door to the main attraction, and was also moved in 1960.

But new to me was the opportunity to experience the rooms behind the statues which were closed on my previous visit. While getting to Abu Simbel involved some additional expense and - even more precious - time, it was easily worth it. We'd recommend missing Abu Simbel at your peril!

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We started at Karnak, a short caleshe (horse-driven carriage) ride out of town. You can quickly get lost wandering around Karnak’s multitude of carved columns, admiring the hieroglyphics and images, some of which still display scraps of the original blues and yellows and reds. With its bold, primary colours, the temple must have looked quite garish in its youth, but I prefer it now with the limestone exposed and faded colours, leaving more to the imagination.

The temple as it now stands is easily one of the most impressive sites in Egypt. Large sections of the temple, however, have not been reconstructed, leaving instead heaps and heaps of limestone blocks strewn around the site. It's simply a massive jigsaw waiting for the next set of overseas-funded archeologists to arrive and progress. That said, many blocks have been looted over the years and used in local buildings, so some jigsaws will never be complete!

For Monday morning, we had arranged a hot air balloon ride to take in Luxor from the sky. We had an early start at 5am to get there, but after crossing the Nile and taking a short bus ride, we were rewarded with a skyline full of hot air balloons beautifully illuminated by the early morning sun.

The Colossi of Memnon - two 60 feet high statues of Amenhotep III. Hot air balloons are a fairly recent addition to their 3400 year old vista....

“Is it your first time in a hot air balloon?” asked our flight captain, eliciting nods from most of the passengers on board. But rather than offering the reassurance we were all looking for, he gave the international standard ‘humourous’ response: “Great. It’s my first time too!”.

Somehow, given the fact we knew almost nothing about the safety record of our Egyptian operator, we weren’t laughing. But the captain seemed to know what he was doing as he changed two 50 gallon propane bottles and tested the four burners, and before we could get too nervous about the combination of gas and fire we found ourselves gliding across the sugarcane field that served as our launch-site.

And, of course, the view from the balloon was spectacular. To the west (in the direction of the tombs), the sky was clear, while to the east (over Luxor) was still a little hazy. Contrary to the sales pitch, the balloons do not fly over the Valley of the Kings, but you still enjoy a very nice view over Luxor, the Nile, and the temple of Hatshepsut.

After our second breakfast, we headed out of town to the Valley of the Kings with a guide and driver in tow. There are actually 63 tombs in Valley of the Kings, of which 11 are currently open to visitors. Our entrance tickets entitled us to view three tombs, and we relied solely on our guide to recommend the most worthwhile. Generally, you should aim for the Pharaohs with the longest reigns because work on the tomb lasted the duration of the reign. As a result, the tombs associated with the Pharaohs with the longest reigns are the most elaborate. Unfortunately, the tomb of Ramses II (who reigned for 66 years) has been closed for some time, but at our guide’s recommendation, we stopped by Ramses I, Ramses III and Ramses IV.

Photography is not allowed within the tombs, so Lloyd adopted this surreptitious approach.

Unlike the temples whose colours have mostly faded through millennia of sun exposure, the tombs have – in many cases – maintained much of their original veneers. In some cases, it seems as though the painting was freshened up only yesterday, and it is Christian, Roman or Greek graffiti that litters many of the monuments.

We couldn’t snap within the tombs, but here is an example of some graffiti at Luxor and Philae Temples.

Finally, we enjojed getting a little closer to the the temple of Hapshetsut. We’d seen it that morning from the hot air balloon and it is a very enjoyable site to visit given its very complete (reconstructed) exterior. This was also the site of the 1997 massacre of tourists which resulted in the massive deployment of tourist police, watch towers and metal detectors at every attraction we visited.

We rounded out an extremely busy and long day with dinner at 'Genesis', a self-proclaimed British Pub that turned out to be the most surreal dining experience of the trip. While we loved the quirky, seasonal decor, complete with giant inflated Santa, two cages crammed full of live birds some of which have the run of the place, the food was absolutely diabolical. We actually witnessed Rog's dinner being delivered as a take out by another vendor which resulted in his meal probably being the best of the bunch. Mine was untouchable. Simply avoid at all costs!

We wished we'd made a faster 'Exodus' from 'Genesis'....

Overall, we had a great time in Luxor. Understand, though, that tourism IS the economy here which means you’re never far from the next Egyptian seeking to extract the maximum amount you're willing to pay. There’s no such thing as the ‘going rate’ for a taxi or tour or postcard. Rather, prices are set according to where you come from, how well dressed you are and – perhaps most importantly – what hotel you’re staying at. Occasional bartering can be fun, but – as independent travelers – its omni-presence was wearing to say the least. With no way to know the fair price, we knew only that the offered price was inevitably grossly inflated.

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The stepped pyramid on the left – the first egyptian pyramid - was built more than 4700 years ago for Pharoah Djoser, whereas the famous Pyramid of Khufu on the right was built about 200 years later.

The pyramids are, of course, among the most recognizable images on the planet, with only David Beckham and Princess Di ranking higher according to my highly scientific survey. So it’s only when you get up really close to these massive monuments (and I’m talking about the pyramids now) that you come across anything unexpected. For some, it’s simply the scale, as the true size of the pyramids can only really be appreciated when standing at the base looking up. For others, and I’d put myself in this category, it’s the massive sandstone blocks. Some of these boulders are taller than me!

From a distance, the pyramids look quite smooth but up close they are quite clumsy looking because the original, smooth limestone veneer that once covered the boulders has eroded over time. Exposed, the engineering accomplishment is almost unthinkable, and you can’t help but wonder at the monumental arrogance displayed by Egypt’s long, long-ago narcissistic leaders.

The contrast with Cairo today is also unavoidable. It would take a good deal more time in country to uncover just how this nation capitalized on the intellectual advantage it clearly enjoyed all those years ago. For Cairo is a dirty, chaotic city where thousands of public servants idle the hours away presumably with purpose but with little visible achievement. Monuments for which we paid hefty entrance fees were frequently strewn with litter while employees allowed themselves to be disturbed to check tickets only on their own schedule. Tourist police seemingly erected false barriers which would mysteriously be removed with the help of a little baksheesh. To the tourist, Egypt appears a corrupt country with little pride, even less discipline and – perhaps worst of all – a complete lack of care. It seems impossible to me that today’s Egypt would be capable of the pyramids. Further, I don’t believe the notion that Egypt has yet to regain the greatness it enjoyed several millennia ago is lost on its population.

We had a fabulous day, nonetheless, thanks in large part to the extremely knowledgeable guide that Roger had arranged.

To celebrate Lloyd’s birthday, we splashed out tonight and took Roger and girlfriend Ellen to the Hyatt’s 42nd floor restaurant. We thought the revolving restaurant, with impressive 360° views over nighttime Cairo, would be a treat. In fact, we suspect that the almost imperceptible motion of the rotation left us all a little nauseated, but couldn’t isolate the effect of the motion from the menu prices which probably also had the same effect. Unfortunately, the food itself did little to redeem the restaurant (with steaks cooked incorrectly, lukewarm vegetables etc), and it was a good thing we had chocolate cake back at Rog’s apartment to console ourselves.

On the left, Lloyd with one of his two chocolate birthday cakes. This one was generously donated to the Lloyd Thyen Chocoholic Fund by my Mum. The other was a ‘hiking cake’ baked by Rog’s following his Mum’s recipe. Lloyd was in chocolate heaven! On the right, Roger had to lend his brother a jacket to get into the restaurant.... chic, no?

On Friday, we intended to get out and explore Cairo, but our plans were stilted when Lloyd got more than he bargained for at the Four Seasons Brunch Buffet. Within a few hours, he was curled up in bed experiencing excruciating stomach cramps and chills that left him shivering violently from top to toe. In between emergency – and I mean emergency - visits to the bathroom, we piled on as many layers as we could find to try and stop the chills while Roger rushed out to the local pharmacy and returned to administer local ‘miracle cure’ Antinol.

Of course, we should have expected it. Most people who come to Egypt experience ‘Mummy Tummy’ (aka Cairo Quickstep or Pharoah’s Revenge), and it can knock you out for three or four days. I had it so bad back in 1995 that my strategy this time was simply not to eat (woohoo! I might be able to fit into my bridesmaid dress after all!). The Antinol seemed to do the trick, however, and the worst of Lloyd’s sickness passed within 24 hours. While we lost two days intended for Cairo exploration, at least we’d be able to pick up the trail on Sunday morning, with our flights down to Luxor.

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The Red Sea delivered on its promise of clear visibility, vibrant sea-life and interesting coral and rock structures! The water was exactly as normal – 73-74 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course I failed to do any research on this fact and was greeted to a chill diving in with a meager 3MM shorty, but my enthusiasm warmed me enough to get me through at least the first 60+ minute dive in the fabled Ras Mohammed aquatic park off the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula.

Sunrise from our room at the Crowne Plaza Sharm

An amazing collage of fish lit by the afternoon sun

Booking two boat dives with the dive operator at the hotel earlier in the day, I took for granted that in this dive mecca we would be on a dedicated dive boat. The delay of over an hour in the parking lot of the marina, waiting first on the majority of remaining passengers as well as the local authorities permission introduced me to two things in Egypt: 1) the Russian tourist hordes; and 2) Egyptian efficiency. Neither of which seemed too bothered with timeliness, politeness, nor appearance. Picture if you will a boat of six scuba divers trapped with more than a dozen babushkas, half in thong bikinis, most smoking, all loud, and none less than 200 pounds of Slavic flesh. No, I did not take any pictures. You should thank me for this. I still have flashbacks. Or are they "fleshbacks" . . . . ugh!

Menu from the Crowne Plaza restaurant. Avoid the Fattouche ("Arabic Herpes") . . . I think the cook/translator was Russian!

Luckily the undersea world did not disappoint! Typically an escape from reality, jumping off this boat took on more meaning given its inhabitants, but if we had been alone in a zodiac, the topography, visibility and abundant life would still have impressed. Roger and I settled in as good dive-buddies, and for possibly the first time in our lives, I think we have a common hobby that we both enjoy, do well and can enjoy together. Probably has a lot to do with the fact I can't talk so much underwater . . . In any case, we had a very good time diving off the boat and enjoying the Red Sea. I would have to count my first blue-spotted stingray and a couple of pockets of glass-fish as highlights of the dives, along with the wonderful visibility and great buddy.

We saw a few schools of glass fish - these were in a cave

Back at our hotel later in the day, we decide to opt for a night dive, as well as booking an early morning dive (0630AM) to catch one more dive prior to departing the Crowne Plaza, Sharm el Sheikh (where by the way, if you claim my brother as a friend, you can get 50% off the dive. This WILL come in handy . . .). I figure – hey I'm in Egypt and don't know when I might return, so let's dive, dive, dive! The night and morning dives are shore dives, but since all dives in the Ras Mohammed preserve must be accompanied by a local diveguide, they cost about $100 each. Ouch! We even have our own kit, so there is no rental fee in that number! Steep is a nice way of putting it, but in Egypt, it seems there are all kinds of systems in place to get your money out of you and into local hands. In any event, use the "Roger Discount" and some of the pain can be alleviated. Despite the costs, we enjoyed the night and morning dives, and I was very surprised to find that the house reef was, well, beautiful! Again, the visibility was excellent, there were wonderful coral and rock formations, nice sandy patches and a healthy diversity of fish life. Aside from floating Russians, we saw some great fish including some cute (as always) anemone fish and a very large Napolean Wrasse.

Clowning around with some anemone fish. No Nemo here!

My first sighting of a blue-spotted stingray

After more than 5 months travelling with Jacquie, this had been our first time apart for more than a few minutes. After 3 days, I was eagerly anticipating her arrival and excited to start sharing Egypt with her. I missed sharing her so much in fact, I emailed from the hotel in the morning after our dive before hitting the road. When Roger's cell phone rang, just before we prepared to enter a cell dead-zone in the Sinai desert, and Jacquie was on the line, I must admit there was a moment of worry: was something wrong in Bridlington? Was she sick? Are her parents fine? Instead of having any concerning news, she simply asked (rhetorically),"You do realize I don't fly in to Cairo until TOMORROW!?"

OOOPS! We're run our entire trip to a precise and wonderfully executed itinerary, and somehow we all missed the fact that the portion for Egypt had Jacquie coming in one day earlier than was the case. After my initial disappointment, we did realize that, hey – one more day of diving!!

I've never seen so many clams everywhere. Some beautiful blue

Here's Rog over a coral head

Quickly detouring, we head north up the coast of the Red Sea to a small town called Dahab. It is well known for diving, mostly for a site called the "Blue Hole" (gee, never heard that one before . . .) at which numerous divers have died over the years attempting to dive to her 70 meter (~230 foot) deep arch. Roger calls in a favor to his dive instructor Hussein, and before we arrive at our lovely little hotel in Dahab called "Daniela", we are set to pick up tanks and head out to do some shore diving on our own. Since I'm a qualified divemaster, and Hussein is training Roger as a DM, we are able to avoid the heavy additional fees of a dive-guide with Hussein's help! Our cost per dive plummets quickly, to about $10 each per dive – the cost of air fills here. Dahab is a quaint little resort, mostly a dive location, so the amenities and services are less than in Sharm. If you're looking for good but crowded diving and a nightlife to go with it, try Sharm. If you want a quieter scene, with fantastic shore dives, less crowdeed diving, and the prospect of "camel diving" (getting a camel to bring your dive kit to certain hard to reach shore spots for you), then Dahab is the place.

Here's Nemo! Sleeping snug in his anemone.

A nice yellowhead moray eel peeked out of the rocks for us at night

Rog and I spent a quality 16 hours in Dahab and fit in 3 fantastic dives at 2 dive sites enjoying a bit of afternoon and early morning solitude at "the Canyon" and some great structures diving "the Islands". After enjoying our extra dives (at about 10% the overall cost of Sharm and 110% the quality), we headed off for our return trip across the Sinai via a mountain pass close by Saint Catherine's monastery, the fabled place of Moses' climb of Mount Sinai, at the base of which he saw the burning bush, before taking a hike up the hill and finding "fifteen, no ten . . . ten commandments" (please reference Mel Brooks' comedy, "History of the World: Part I"). The drive was fantastic, with gorgeous mountain scenery and endless wind swept terrain and desert scenes that reminded me very much of the desert southwest.

Roger and I preparing for an early morning dive in Dahab. We're the only ones here!

A lionfish and a grouper hunting in the dim morning light

A busy day to be sure, but one of the most diverse, starting with dives in the Red Sea, and finishing with picking up Jacquie in Cairo shortly before midnight, just in time to start celebrating my 37th birthday! A guy couldn't ask for a better birthday gift.

Roger and I practicing buoyancy - great diving, great fun! Thanks, Bro!

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Desert above, paradise below remains copyright of the author lloydthyen, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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But back in Bridlington, signs of the familial conspiracy continue to manifest themselves, and I’m surprised my folks could open the front door to the house, as filled as it was with all my favourite temptations installed - en masse - specifically for my visit: maltesers, party rings (british cookie), marshmallows, chocolate raisins, jaffa cakes, quality street (british chocolate assortment designed to remove all crowns/fillings etc in one sitting), crunchy nut cornflakes, fondant fancies, and the most decadent chocolate cake you can imagine. Bear in mind that my visit was for about 60 hours and you’ll understand my predicament. Between them, my Mum and Dad had amassed enough sweet stuff for 60 years. I resign myself to getting to work and doing the best I can, not wanting to offend anyone (hey, it’s a hard job, but I’m up to the challenge…).

The good news is that I found myself wide awake at 2am on Monday, so that gave me an unexpected additional five hours or so to work on the stash of goodies and STILL leave me with an appetite for brekkie. Monday is a designated rest day but after a perfect breakfast of crunchy nut cornflakes and an Aberdeen rowie, the three of us headed off to Scarborough for some Christmas shopping.

An Aberdeen roll (aka buttery, rowie) features large amounts of butter and lard, to which you add - when toasted - more butter! Sounds disgusting. Tastes yummy, but only to former Aberdonians.

My Dad, fearful of a “I went to Brid and it was boring” type blog, insists on taking me out for the day and showing me the sights on Tuesday. With the 'wrong' kind of weather, this could have been the worst day of my life, but the weather surprises us both by offering up a cloudless blue sky, and a quick tour around town reveals a Bridlington I hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy before: an historic downtown area complete with a 17th century high street that so perfectly matches the stereotype that it could – and I believe has – been used in many a period drama. But Bridlington is a fishing port and a seaside resort, so we have little time to waste today away from the water.

Parking a few miles out of town, we walk a mile or two further down the beach. The tide is out – far out - revealing one of the widest and cleanest beaches I’ve ever seen. The combination of clear blue sky and icy air seems to prolong the golden yellow veneer normally enjoyed only by the early risers. But today we enjoy it for hours, and almost all to ourselves, save a few dog walkers, one kite-flyer and a handful of men with buckets and spades patrolling the sand closest to the sea. The sky may be blue but the icy air is vicious, and we have to walk briskly from time to time to keep warm.

Dad walking along the beach.

Within the last few days, millions of mussels have been dumped at the high-tide mark, leaving a two-metre thick band of dark blue along the top of the beach. We missed what must have been a ferocious but joyous feast among the seagulls as all that remains is countless empty shiny shells that crunch underfoot.

At the opposite end of the beach, closest to the breaking waves, there are a handful of welly-clad men with pitch forks and buckets. Dad suspects they’re looking for lug-worms and we wander over for a closer inspection. Sure enough, these guys are collecting worms to be used as fishing bate. One young fisherman explains that he uses many of the worms himself, but that he could earn 70 to 80 british pounds (that’s about a million US dollars) a day selling a catch of 150 or so worms. That’s real money! But to be fair, it’s physically demanding work. First, you need to find the tell-tail sign of worm-life: a round squiggle in the wet sand about an inch in diameter. Next, you dig down a couple of feet – hard work in the tightly packed, wet sand - looking for the tunnel that houses the worm. Many times, you’ll fail to find the tunnel and move on. But, if you’re lucky, the tunnel will lead you to the prize: fat, giant worms about six or seven inches long. Our chatty young fisherman happily retrieved one from his bucket to show us. When he told us that they’d spit their own guts up if you don’t handle them correctly I took more than one step back…

Collecting worms. You can see the mounds of sand he's left behind him and, in the distance, Bridlington.

Further down the beach, we head back to the high-tide line to take a closer look at dozens of large concrete blocks placed here during the second world war. Dad explained that this beach was considered an attractive – even likely - landing target for invading German forces during WWII. The invasion never materialized, of course, but I can report that Bridlington was - and remains - ready!

We wandered back into town for - well, it just had to be - fish and chips! In addition to being a popular seaside resort, Bridlington is one of the largest fishing ports in the north east, so the cod was so fresh it was practically still twitching as it was battered and thrown into the hot oil.

Nothing like fish and chips by the British seaside!

Not quite as large as the London Eye, Bridlington's Eye on the Bay is currently closed amidst funding issues.

It being December, Bridlington's seafront attractions were mostly closed, but we walked along the front to the fishing pier where a number of young boys were monitoring multiple fishing reels strung over the edge. The tide was on its way back in, but dozens of boats in the harbour were still sitting in mud. Ducks nestled in the mud, enjoying the warm glow of the sun while small birds explored this morning's lobster traps and fish nets, hoping to find an abandoned scrap of ocean bounty.

After a quick refreshment at Dad's local, we headed home where Mum was working on my next compulsory feeding (looking semi-decent as a bridesmaid is increasingly unlikely but you can see it isn't my fault...). So, as the aroma of garlic and rosemary infused roasted lamb wafted from the kitchen, I worked on updating software on my parents' computers.

Caught in the act: food-for-IT-support scandal.

My Bridlington visit culminated with a delicious roast dinner with, you guessed it, more roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding and gravy. Thanks, Mum!

After an awesome visit to Brid where I was re-acquainted with the comforts of home, I'm heading off to Cairo tomorrow to catch up with Lloyd and his brother.

"Oh, I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Happily, the FREEZING early morning wind did the trick and our warm and fuzzies evaporated with the steam of our Starbucks as we waited for my frankly heroic brother who had generously (stupidly?) insisted on picking us up. All three of us enjoyed a pretty spectacular sunrise over London as we drove right across town to Docklands.

Can you hear the wedding bells? I’m happy to report that – later this month - the blog will feature the impending nuptials of my brother, and Lloyd and I spent half the day with the bride ensuring we’d be properly turned out for the big day. Not, of course, before she had cooked the most welcome hot English brekkie with real bacon! What with all the food Emma had generously produced – and the chocolate by my bedside – I have to suspect that she’s working to fatten me up so that I’ll look even more obese next to her on the big day ;o)

And from here, Lloyd and I go our separate ways for a few days. Late on Saturday, Lloyd will arrive in Cairo to spend a few days with his brother, Roger. I think more diving is on the agenda – this time hopefully with better conditions. And as for me, I’m heading up to Bridlington in the north of England to spend a few days with my folks. As they normally come and visit us in California, we don’t get up there often enough, and I was horrified to realize that they’ve moved THREE times since my last visit!!! So, I’ll be picking up a train on Sunday morning and heading north hoping to arrive in time for a traditional Sunday lunch.

(By the way, this post was written AND posted on the train between Doncaster and London...... how cool is that?)

Coming Full Circle in London remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I wish we’d been more organized and made time to see a concert in the Opera House (tickets are not as expensive as you think, and there's a variety of genres, from ballet and opera to rap and fringe drama), but we had to make-do with the ‘Essential Tour’ which offered a walk through some of the key venues in addition to a well done audio-visual presentation that charted the history of the Opera House. We learned that Jorn Utson’s winning design was initially discarded for flouting competition rules, but was retrieved by chance only to cause engineering firm Ove Arup so much difficulty that they finally quit the commission.

Utson's original designs were "simple to the point of being diagrammatic" which perhaps inevitably caused tension between architect, engineers and the government. What was intended as a three year project ended up taking seventeen years, and designer Utson quit in 1966, seemingly unwilling to compromise in the face of challenges from the engineers and contractors.

Close up of the panels that cover the roof of the Opera House

Happily, Utson reconciled with the project just before the Millennium and has been advising on refurbishments since.

During our Opera House tour, the low cloud cleared allowing us to see Sydney Harbour in sunny splendor for the first time. Learning from our Milford Sound experience, we immediately seized the opportunity and enjoyed a quick harbour cruise which took us out almost as far as Manly. We were surprised by the size of Sydney, which seems to extend on and on as far as the eye can see, encompassing every one of the bays that we sailed past. Heading back to Bennelong Precinct, we were able of course to enjoy a magnificent view of the Opera House and sailing under the Harbour Bridge gave us an interesting perspective as we contemplated walking over the span later the same day.

Annoyingly, we had to take a chunk out of our day to check in online for our flight back to London. Online check in opens exactly 24 hours prior to scheduled departure time, and - for the longest flight of our lives - we wanted to have a decent selection of seats. We simply detest British Airways for not permitting seat selection at the time of booking unless you're prepared to pay $$$ more for the privilege. Our British Airways tickets alone for this trip are easily in excess of $10,000 but you'll be pleased to know that we still haven't managed to qualify for British Airways' loyalty scheme. But of course they don't tell you that your flights won't qualify for membership in their elite club until AFTER you've paid for them.

Bitter, moi?

But I digress. Having secured the best seats we could hope for in cattle class, we strolled around the Rocks area for a few hours and before delivering ourselves to the Sydney Harbour Bridge offices at about 6pm on Thursday. More of a walk than a ‘climb’, this attraction has been open since 1998 after many years of persistence by its visionary creator who had to convince the authorities that it was possible to take complete novices over the span of the bridge without harm to participants, bridge users or indeed the bridge itself. The result is an impressively well thought out system that ensures ‘climbers’ are securely attached to the bridge at all times.

You can see some 'climbers' on the top of the span, on the left hand side

The preparation for the bridge ‘climb’ takes close to an hour. First, you predictably sign responsibility for your life away while simultaneously being breathalized to ensure sobriety. Once dressed in the official jumpsuit uniform, every participant is searched (with a metal detector) to ensure that no unauthorized items are taken onto the bridge. Then, every conceivable item you could possibly need during the ‘climb’ is issued and physically attached to your uniform jumpsuit. For example, attached to my devilishly stylish grey and blue jumpsuit was: hair bungy, baseball cap, fleece cap, glasses cable, hanky, and head lamp. We felt like we were preparing for a week-long mountaineering expedition!

Finally, we had brief training on use of the ball and chain that would ensure we were attached to the bridge at all times. It’s based on a system designed for a blind solo yachtsman and consists of a four inch diameter ball that slides onto a waist-height cable allowing movement in any direction (where there is a cable walkway). For the bridge ‘climb’, cables have been installed over the full length of the bridge route, so once you slide onto the cable at the very start, you are attached for every moment. I suspect the systems greatest advantage is the psychological security it gives to participants. And it does make you feel very comfortable. But I couldn’t help wondering (especially as we trekked over the walkway at the very top of the bridge that connects the two spans) if the system would indeed support the weight of ten adults if in some freak accident we were knocked out of the walkways.

Finally, it was time to get going! Compared to bungy jumping and paragliding, we were expecting the Bridge ‘Climb’ to be a fairly relaxing experience, and for the most part this was true. Once you are actually on top of the span, you feel very safe: the walkway is right in the middle of the span roof which is about ten feet wide, so you can’t look over the edge with any ease. You do, however, have stunning views of the Opera House and Harbour, and indeed the city of Sydney in all directions. Having booked the twilight ‘climb’, we were soaked in the sun’s last golden rays on one side of the bridge, and slowly embraced in darkness as we came down the other side. Simply awesome!

Obviously, it wasn't THAT bad! The Harbour Bridge Climb staff thought our picture would be a strong candidate for their 'Best Picture of the Year' competition...

The only moments of suspense were getting up on top of the bridge span, and then getting off it. That required walking on two-plank wide, narrow walkways where you had a very clear and immediate view of the distance between you and the ground below you. Even worse, we had to climb multiple sets of steep and narrow stairs originally designed only for maintenance crew to get up onto the span. So – interestingly – the time spent on top of the bridge was actually the most relaxing. The rest of the time I could move only by looking straight ahead and feeling out my next step with my toes. Lloyd, as always, did a great job of supporting me through my tall, mechanical object phobia, but was himself startled when – during the later stages of our ‘climb’ – a train passed beneath us, shaking the bridge enough to stop us both in our tracks.

Anyway, if you’re planning a visit to Sydney, you should plan on ‘climbing’ the bridge. It was a great experience, with fantastic views and just enough adrenaline-fueled moments to keep it lively. Don’t miss it.

Up Close and Personal with Sydney's Icons remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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With so little time to spare, we headed out as soon as we arrived late on Tuesday afternoon to take in the iconic sights of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From our hotel in Potts Point (nice, but - with hindsight we'd have spent the money to stay in The Rocks!), it’s about a twenty minute walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens to the home of the Opera House on Bennelong Point, and I think we were in love with Sydney before we even got there.

The sign says: "Please walk on the grass. We also invite you to smell the roses, hug the trees, talk to the birds and picnic on the lawns." Our kind of town!

The Botanic Gardens are right next to the central business district and offer a haven in the midst of the city. No one works through their lunch hour here, apparently, if the number of joggers in the park is anything to go by. Coming from a corporate culture where you need to get up at 5am to fit exercise in your day, I completely approve! I am a reluctant runner at best, but if you're going to do it, I'm not sure I can think of many more inspiring places than here, offering the beauty of the Gardens with a stunning Harbour vista.

Waking to a fairly grey day on Wednesday, we strolled through Sydney’s clean streets towards Darling Harbour, home of a number of Sydney’s museums and tourist attractions. Full of tourist attractions and therefore tourists, yes, but touristy? No. At least not when compared to the likes of Fishermen’s Wharf in San Francisco, for example. For this area also houses conference venues and tons of bars and restaurants which means that tourists are diluted with local officer workers and visiting conference attendees. We just loved it!

Our first stop was the Aquarium. Understand that we’re local to the Monterey area in California and big fans of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which on Tuesday night we’d have told you proudly was the best in the world. We might need to revisit that assessment. While the Monterey Aquarium will no doubt be a regular haunt once we return, the Sydney Aquarium was simply beyond words.

Among even the first few exhibits, I simply adored the above-water-below-water displays, and spent a good half hour looking at the sea horses alone. And then we found ourselves following downward ramps into the ‘Oceanarium’ where a massive tank revealed itself. Two large windows at either end offered a superb view of the tank’s inhabitants, including a couple of sea turtles, one massive ray with a wing span of almost two metres, and numerous sharks. But best of all, walkway tunnels ran the full length of the tank on both sides, which allowed us to observe the sealife on three sides.

We spent much longer at the Aquarium than we had planned, but late afternoon we couldn't resist popping next door to Sydney Wildlife World. Since we - stupidly - didn't allow ANY time to explore Australia, this was clearly, and sadly, as close as we would get to 'wild' life.

After the Aquarium, we weren't surprised to discover that Wildlife World was another world class attraction. From butterflies and birds, to locusts and spiders, you can't help but be drawn in and - well - find stuff that has never been that interesting absolutely fascinating. And all that is before you even get to the koala bears!

On the left: spot the wally. On the right: not quite Panda-cute, but pretty cute nonetheless.

Let me out. Please?

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On Sunday, we killed the hours by catching up on blog entries, and then hiking for an hour or so from Franz Josef to the face of the glacier. It’s a busy trail that ultimately takes you down a kilometre long valley carved by the glacier in previous phases (as recently as 1867, the glacier filled much of the valley!). But the reason that Franz Josef and nearby Fox Glacier are special – in addition to their relative accessibility – is that they are two of only three glaciers in the world that descend into rainforest. Yup, I said rainforest.

Franz Josef and nearby Fox Glaciers descent into dense, Indiana-Jones type rainforests!

The flat valley floor in front of the advancing glacier tricks the eye in terms of scale, and it’s not until you get to the other end of the valley that the height of the ice-mass becomes apparent. With ice and rock falls a real risk, visitors are discouraged from getting too close, with enter-at-your-own-peril type signs and rope barriers positioned several hundred metres from the front of the glacier. But – fearing the weather wouldn’t allow us an up-close-and-personal, we couldn’t resist venturing in as groups of guided hikers made their way down the melting ice-face using stairs custom-hacked by tanned, shorts-clad young men.

Those coloured ants in the middle of the first picture are people!

Even from the floor of the valley, the glacier is an impressive beast. Rocks in the base of the glacier act as deadly teeth and, strengthened by the immense pressure of ice above, carve valleys, leaving striations in rocks and ripping trees from their roots. It’s a living, breathing machine that demands respect and I felt tiny in its massive presence. Getting onto the ice was a nice-to-do until we saw it up close. At that point, it became an essential experience, and we knew that we’d both be devastated if we didn’t get lucky on our final morning in town.

The suspense was so great that I actually had trouble sleeping on Sunday night. Only Lloyd can tell you how grumpy I was when daylight revealed another dark day, with low cloud once again graying out the valleys. We were becoming expert as reading the conditions appropriate for a helicopter landing on the ice, and our fears were confirmed when we learned that the first helicopter trips of the day had been cancelled.

We reported for the noon flight nonetheless. And were thrilled when staff started to ready us for the hike. It looked like we’d get up on the glacier after all! Booted up, we awaited our final briefing just a few metres from the helipad, with the choppers’ blades screaming. The sky was still white with dense cloud, but – wait – was that a sliver of blue I just saw? I put it down to wishful thinking. Strapped into the helicopter, cars and trees shrunk until they looked like mere toys as we were whisked the few miles towards the glacier.

And then it happened.

Before our eyes, the sky was clearing. Not just slivers of blue, but vast, lush, delicious waves of the richest blue imaginable. My eyes could scarcely comprehend the beauty around me. You could have offered me a million dollars to stop smiling and I wouldn’t have been able to stop. I even forgot to get motion-sick on the helicopter!

Below us, the glacier paraded its white-blue ruffles; a giant waterfall of cracked ice. We would not land on the very top where the ice is moving the most quickly at up to 6 metres per day. As the ice reaches the ridge and starts its journey down into the valley, it is clearly at its most unstable and that is strictly the domain of experienced ice climbers. And so our helicopter followed the glacier’s journey down towards the valley, and prepared to land. Below us, a seemingly fly-sized helicopter paused on the ice to drop the other half of our group, allowing a humbling scale perspective of the monster looming beneath.

Spot the landing helicopter....

The clear day was transformed into a mild snow storm as the helicopter left us on the ice. Above us, clear blue sky. Behind us, thick grey clouds disguised the valley below. Though relatively low in terms of elevation, it felt like we were on top of the world! Once fitted with crampons, the ice was remarkably easy to walk on and – under the watchful eye of our guide – we were allowed to clamber about, posing with our ice picks and pretending we were real ice mountaineers.

Lloyd and I simply couldn’t believe our luck. Not only had we managed to get on the ice, but for the first time in days the sky had cleared as if on cue for our arrival. For just over an hour, we explored our tiny piece of Franz Josef, from small ice caves and crevasses to crystal clear glacial ponds and streams formed by the melting beast. Towards the floor of the valley, it’s actually pretty warm – certainly well above freezing – so the advancing ice needs to outpace the inevitable melting at the front end. It’s a battle the glacier is winning right now, and Franz Josef has been advancing for the last decade or so.

Click above for our Glacier Video Diary!

As we climbed up the glacier, it was clear that the break in the weather was going to be little more than temporary. Thick cloud was closing in around us, and – after about an hour and a half - our hike was abruptly cancelled for safety reasons: if the cloud closed in the helicopter landing area then we could very well be stranded on the ice. Our guide skillfully rushed us back to the makeshift helipad formed by a stone circle on the ice, and we returned without incident to Franz Josef Village.

"Did anyone see where our blue sky went?"

We both longed to stay on the glacier, but we couldn’t be disappointed with the experience at all. For me at least, it was one of the most poignant moments of the entire trip, overwhelmed as I was by the glacier’s beauty, power and longevity. Landscapes are shaped by so many different forces, but here was one that I could touch and really feel. I was truly humbled.

Now, it was my first glacier and I am sure there are many at least as impressive as Franz Josef out there (and you can bet Alaska will make a strong appearance in my next ‘Places to Visit’ list), but if you have the opportunity to experience Franz Josef the way we did – by helicopter and a walk on the ice (aka ‘Heli-Hike) – then just do it. It’s pricey, so be prepared for that. But don’t even contemplate missing it.

We left Franz Josef just elated from our Heli-Hike which was probably a good thing as we (well, technically, Lloyd) had another long drive ahead of us. We were about six hours from Christchurch, and we wanted to get at least halfway there before finding a place to overnight.

The Ice-ing on our New Zealand Cake remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I guess I lied.

I didn’t have any intention of doing it. But as Lloyd and I watched, I started to feel tempted. We’re in New Zealand, the home of bungy. The more I thought about it, it became clear that I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t do it. I’d never forgive such an overt demonstration of lack of courage. Though my belly was doing triple backflips just thinking about it, I concluded that there was – in fact - no choice. It simply had to be done.

Happily, the jump crews were taking a break for the twenty minutes or so before my jump, so I didn’t have to torture myself with experiencing the agony of jumps while I waited. But before I knew it, Lloyd and I were walking towards the jump platform in the middle of the bridge. Interestingly, I no longer felt nervous. I was 100% focused on the task in hand: I wanted to get off the platform as quickly as possible and reduce the opportunity for dithering or backing out. And I wanted – needed – to do it without once looking down.

Waiting on the bridge to have my legs bound...

Ankle binding.

Lloyd, prohibited by his back from jumping, left to get to the viewing area while I was taken onto the back of the jump platform. With a thick, blue towel for padding, my ankles were strapped firmly together while the crew member made some unwelcome small talk about the weather. There were questions I wanted to ask about the science behind the jump, but I was so totally focused on getting off that platform that I mostly sat there with a steel look of determination. When the crew attached the bungy cord to my feet ‘restraints’, I knew my time had come. Still, mysteriously, no nerves.

Just seconds to go.... Focus. Focus. Focus.

I was helped to my feet and – as well as you can with your feet bound together – hobbled to the edge of the platform. I manage a pretty convincing smile for the camera and a wave over to Lloyd. The crew dude counts down from five. Five. “Just keep looking straight ahead.” Four. “This will be over in less than two minutes”. Three. “I just have to jump… the rest will take care of itself”. Two. “If I hesitate, it will just make it worse”. One. “Just do it.”

Just did it!

I’m flying, and everything goes deathly silent. No rock music, no screams from the crowd, no water, no birds. Nothing. The last thing I remember seeing is the stunning vista ahead of me: beautiful blue sky and a river ravine. I realize I’m still looking forward. And then – the sensation of falling. While I feel every inch of the drop, I don’t see any of it. My eyes are wide open, but it’s as if my brain chooses to block out the terrifying sight as I plunge towards the water. As the bungy gets to work, and I bounce back almost as high as the bridge, my sight is restored, and I can experience three or four ‘bounces’ with all of my senses.

Immediately, the ‘retrieval’ crew is coming after me, and – still hanging upside down from the bungy – I’m dragged into the dinghy. The relief is overwhelming. The achievement of having jumped feels massive. And as soon as everything stops shaking I’ll be able to confirm that I’m physically unhurt.

And of course, I’m fine. A few hours post-bungy, I still had a massive headache in the back of my eyes, but was fine after a good night's sleep. It's hard to know what's left to beat it in our last two days in New Zealand.

Witnessing the Ultimate New Zealand Experience remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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These photos don't even begin to do it justice....

For 25 minutes, our jet boat skimmed across the water, swerving around canyons at high speed and frequently avoiding massive boulders by only a matter of inches (check out the video… there is NO zoom used at all). The 360 degree turns throw us around the boat like rag dolls, but left us smiling every time.

Exhilarated, we dried off and headed to the outskirts of Queenstown where we planned a late breakfast overlooking the town in Deer Park.

Hey, it's not called Deer Park for nothing....

The fact that several Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed here did not escape us, and we did spend an hour or so admiring the dramatic backdrop of the Remarkables.

The animals here are quite used to visitors – in fact you are encouraged to feed them by hand, so we spent a few minutes with some baby goats which were actually too young to be interested in the supplied animal feed. Far more assertive were the deer, who would have knocked the can out of my hand given the opportunity!

It was a perfectly appropriate way to wrap up our time in Queenstown, and it was with some reluctance that we headed out of town, although - as it turned out - we wouldn't make it too far before our next stop ....

Fast River Canyons and Remarkable Peaks- But No Hobbits remains copyright of the author jacquiedro, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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