A rather large wall!

One of the reasons (well, the only reason if I'm honest) that I came a day early was to give me chance to do some sightseeing whilst I was here, as I suspect it'll be a long time before I can justify another trip out here. So today I headed out to see The Great Wall!

Luckily the sun was shining and visibility was really good, but that just meant lots of other people had had the same idea. We started out to Badaling, the closest and therefore most popular section, but the traffic was so awful we had a change of plan and went to Mutianyu instead.

I obviously can't compare but Barry (who had come here a day early too as at one point we thought we had meetings today) had only been to Badaling previously said it was much better here both in terms of wall-ness and busy-ness.

Now I know this sounds daft, as I knew it went along in the mountains, but I'd assumed (until reading up on it a bit) that you'd park up right next to it and get walking. Not so. You first have to trail through a market of about 100 souvenir stalls (with some vendors being really very very pushy!) and then take a cable car up to the top of the mountain. Well, you can choose to walk up but seeing how up-y and down-y the wall was I thought it wise to save my energy for when I got there!

Anyway, we set off in the direction that the top photo above was taken, and it wasn't too bad at first - just a little undulating. But then as you can see, about level with my neck at the far right of the picture, it takes a sharp turn to the left and heads straight uphill, and I'm embarrassed to say I was completely knackered by the time I got to the top! And when I say the top you can only get as far as the tower that is about level with the top of my head!!!! It is interesting to see the difference between 'original' wall and the repaired section that you are allowed to walk along. Liu had insisted we take water, and I'm glad we did. I was also very envious of a family that had arrived not long after us and proceeded to set up a rather yummy looking picnic!

That final stretch was only 454 steps, and really doesn't look very far (this was taken only about 20 steps down). But every step is a different height, and some are wide and some are narrow so you can't get into any kind of rhythm as you walk. Or at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. We can't have walked any more than 1km from the start (by the tower at the crest of the hill in the distance) but it was enough. Even super fit Barry was quite tired, although I'm sure he'd have carried on walking had he been allowed. Personally I'm quite glad they provided a natural turning back point.

All in all a good day out. Even if it is only a wall! It certainly makes Hadrian's efforts look a bit feeble! It's a pity I've got to work tomorrow, I'm quite enjoying this being a tourist malarkey!

In China!

So I made it! The journey was fairly uneventful, other than nearly landing in Frankfurt then the plane whoosing back up at a steep incline straight after touch down. Given how much I travel it's a little surprising that this is the first time something like that has happened to me. I never did work out what had happened as the announcement afterwards was primarily in German...

When I arrived in Beijing it was raining - which I've been told is very rare. Apparently the last time they had rain was in October so I think I must have brought it with me! It did clear up enough for me to go for a little walk once I'd have a couple of hours sleep: I usually sleep well on planes but I just couldn't get comfy, despite having much more leg room than on the flight I normally take to and from Philly.

The hotel is very near the Olympic stadium so I wandered down to have a look. It's all a bit of a building site at the moment though. It was also incredibly foggy (which I later found out was smog not fog) so visibility was very poor. Apparently you can get a better view if you walk just another 5 minutes around the corner, so if the visibility gets better I may wander round at some point to take some more photos.

I then wandered the other way a bit to see what was there. And was highly amused to discover that just across from the hotel is McDonalds, a KFC and a Pizza Hut all next door to each other! The Starbucks craze hasn't really caught on though - whilst on my journeys so far I've seen numerous of the above chains but only seen 2 Starbucks! :) For all it amuses me in one way I actually find it quite sad too. Oh well, I suppose you can't stop 'progress'...

Off to China!

I am going to China for work, and unusually for work travel have managed to ensure I get a little free time to be a bit of a tourist too! Well, I had to leave first thing on Saturday to get there in time for my meetings so thought I may as well set off a day early!

I'm heading to Beijing first, so will go and visit the Great Wall. I know it's just a wall but it seems rude to go all that way and not go and have a bit of a wander along it. My hotel in Beijing looks rather smart too.

Sadly work agenda has changed and I now have some meetings on Sunday, but I will have some free time on the last day before I leave so should have time to take in the Forbidden City at the end of the week, and as long as my flights aren't delayed (and flying Lufthansa you'd expect them to be efficient!) I should still be back in time to see Tully before she goes to bed next Friday.

I'm also popping to Shanghai for a night or two somewhere in the middle but not exactly sure when yet... The hotel there doesn't look quite as good but it's very near where I need to work so I can't complain.

As work trips go I am looking forward to it more than most! I'm just a bit worried about the cuisine - I've heard such horror stories from most other people that have ventured there and I'm a bit picky when it comes to eating meat at the best of times too! I'll let you know how it goes...

A bit depressed and very hungry...

I'm back in New Orleans again - staying in the same hotel as before (only my room this time is in the other tower but near the top!). Once again I'm really struggling with jet lag, and also suffering from having to stand on the booth all day - my back and feet are killing!

I was undecided whether to go out or not this evening as I was feeling really tired, but thought that a) staying in was a bit antisocial and b) there was a table booked at what is, apparently, the best steak house in town so thought it was worth a try. Sadly they could only fit us in at 7:45 which is a bit late given the time difference and my jet lag.

The restaurant is in the casino just a couple of blocks down from the hotel and unfortunately I got ID'ed to enter the casino area, and whilst I'm normally really organised about taking ID out with me over here I hadn't done so tonight. So, being a bit miffed in general I decided just to go back to my room and have room service after all...

The only problem is that they have a guaranteed 50 minute delivery time, but as the table was late and it was even later by the time I was back in my room it's meant to be here sometime before 9. I'm starving, and feeling a bit fed up in general. Still, in 48 hours I'll be nearly home, or at least half way back across the Atlantic...

Holiday Dilemma

As ever when I've not got a holiday in the offing I am somewhat preoccupied with trying to plan one! I can't help it: it's hereditary - honest!

So, first off to Kinderhotel or not? And if so the same one as last year or try another? This one is a hot favourite from my current investigations. The pros of going back to the Hagleitner include it's cheaper, we know it and the area, it was fab(!), it's easy to get to... But whilst I say all that it just isn't in my nature to revisit somewhere, no matter how good so my current tendency is to try somewhere else. I'll keep you posted if I make a decision any time soon...

Freezer Traumas

I've been putting off the job of de-icing the freezer for several months now, but the ice had got so bad that the door wouldn't shut without care and giving it an extra shove! Sadly yesterday the extra shove part got omitted and by the time I noticed the ice had grown so big that the door wouldn't shut at all.

We've managed to save the majority of the food by eating rather odd combos of food for lunches and teas, and now the freezer is completely ice free! Yey!

Dr Tully

We bought Tully a doctor's set for her birthday, which she got her first real chance to play with this evening. She puts the stethoscope on and gets Mark to play at being poorly.

"Daddy, breathe in. And out. And again. And again. And again"

She shakes her head looking very sombre.

"It's serious" she says solemnly, "I'm going to have to chop you leg off."!!!! Then proceeds to try and his cut it off with the scissors from the kit. I thought it was hilarious. Not sure Mark was as amused as his leg gets hacked at and then has a plaster applied to it.

Happy birthday Tuls! X

Fun day

Today has been a bit good. First off Tully did really really well in her swimming lesson and earned her 5m swim badge. I think I'm more chuffed than her - she is certainly underwhelmed by the whole thing...

This evening Jonny and Mandy came round. It was lovely to see them as it's been ages since we've had a proper get together, especially as Mark and Mand were so poorly on Christmas Day. And I made some delicious food if I say so myself: roasted peppers and halloumi for starters, and a big cheesy fondue with more different things to accompany it as you could possibly imagine! Then for those that felt they could manage it, jelly (a pig shaped practise run for Tully's party tomorrow) raspberries and ice cream! Yum yum yum.

My birthday!

Blimey - I'm feeling old. 33 today - booooo!

Poor car

The idea at Centerparcs is that you drive to your lodge to unload, but then you leave you car in a big carpark and it's a car free zone until it is time to pack up to leave again.

This is the sight that met us as we got back to the car this morning. No note or anything left either. Mean people. Dread to think how much it'll cost to fix, although Tully seems to think I'll be able to fix it with sellotape!

Snowy Journey

As usual I booked to go away for my birthday weekend. Due to lots of reasons I ended up choosing Centerparcs at Whinfell Forest (near Penrith). The day before we set off the weather forecast was worryingly bad for the M6 in Cumbria. This is what it looked like on the day!

Luckily, after some careful driving, we got there safely.

Bit of a catch up!

We've had a rather hectic couple of weeks. So, Saturday 12th Alicia baby sat and we went out for a rather mediocre meal (we left it way too late to arrange and consequently struggled to get in where we wanted to) and then went to see I am Legend. It was ok, nothing more than that. Personally I prefer 28 Days Later which I suppose would be the UK equivalent... Still, it was nice to have an evening out so whilst the entertainment could have been better it was still a nice evening.

Then, the next day on Sunday morning Tully and I dropped Mark off at the airport at 8 in the morning for him to catch his flight to Seattle, where he was going to attend a week long conference. That afternoon Tully and I went to see The Snowman which was really lovely, and Tully sat remarkably well given it was quite long - well extended over the tv adaptation. It was so lovely to see the look of wonder on her face even before anything happened as it was her first theatre trip and she was (mostly) enthralled throughout. Of course it helped that Holly was sat next to her, and she got ice cream at the interval too!

Now then, Mark's flight home was due in at 8ish on the following Saturday morning and I had to go to New Orleans that same day for a sales meeting, with the flight scheduled at 11:25... As it was rather close, and even on the assumption that Mark would be back on time he'd be so jetlagged he'd not want to look after Tully for an entire weekend, we enlisted the help of Mum and Dad. So they came over on Friday, and then dropped me off at the airport on Saturday before setting off with Tully back to their house for a few days. Tully was a little nervous about it as it was the first time she'd gone away on her own, but she was a complete and utter angel (so I'm told, although I'm not sure Mum would tell me even if she was upset / badly behaved!) and I'm so proud of how she copes with some of the situations we throw her into.

So, onto New Orleans. I was staying in the New Orleans Marriott rirght in the centre on Canal Street and just a block down from Bourbon Street. I somehow got lucky and had a room fairly high up in the corner of the right hand tower, which meant it was a) quite big and b) had windows the full lenghth of 2 sides giving a rather good view!

For some reason I really struggled with jet lag (although maybe I was also recovering after being a single parent the week before!) so the first few evenings I went to the various mandatory evening events and then bailed out to bed pretty early. On the last night though I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss so headed along Bourbon Street for a couple of hours. Its really rather odd - I'm sure I'll get slammed for this but the best way to describe it is Blackpool with jazz! Although: Dad, I did go into a bar that I know you would love, and think possibly even Mum could tolerate! :)

Anyway, I'm glad I've been but not sure it's somewhere I would now choose to revisit... Unfortunately I'm back there again in 5 weeks for Pittcon... :(

Magic Sheep!

Jon and Mand brought us this magic sheep back from their holiday in Scotland. Now I know that was a very long time ago, but because it said not suitable for children under 10 we thought it must include some really nasty chemical. The chances of Tully listening to us and not touching were it slim, so we took it into work where it consequently got hidden under all the random piles of stuff on my incredibly untidy desk...

Anyway, yesterday we found it and thought we'd have a go. Here he is at lunchtime when first assembled...


Here is his progress about 2 hours later...


And here he is the next morning! All wooly...


Lots of fun, and it's kept the majority of the office entertained too! Thank you!

Birthday Break

I had grand plans for my birthday this year: I was finally going to go to Rome! I've been wanting to go for years and year and just somehow never quite got round to it. I'd even chosen which hotel we were going to stay in and was just finalising which dates we were both free to go, as well as which days my parents were free to look after Tully...

The more perceptive of you may have spotted the use of the past tense above! Well, Mark now has to go to Seattle the week before my trip to New Orleans. His flight lands just 3 hours before mine leaves. If all was well and good this ought to just about give us enough time to meet at the airport and hand over parental responsibility.

But it is a little close for comfort, and even assuming that there were no flight delays poor jetlagged Mark would be sole parent from 9am Saturday morning and have to survive the entire weekend looking after the monster haivng come stright off a 17 hour journey and an 8 hour time difference. After much cogitating, Mum and Dad have been enlisted to help. Now, I know they'd be more than happy to look after Tully again just a couple of weeks later, but even I think it would be a bit mean of us to go and leave her again so soon afterwards...

So now, do we take Tully to Rome or plan something else? I've had mixed reviews of Rome with small children - a couple of people say it's really not good for someone her age whilst others have taken their little ones and said it was good. Either way, when it came down to it, neither Mark or I have ever fancied the idea of sharing a hotel room with her and have actively avoided it... Where's the fun in having to go back to the room around her bedtime, and sitting in the dark with the tv on quietly waiting for the morning to come when we can have fun again. Very little if you ask me.

So, a bit of a leap here, but we've booked to go to Centerparcs at Whinfell Forest. Still, despite the change in direction of the choice of weekend break I'm quite looking forward to it...

Thank goodness that's over!

That being 2007!

Not one of my better years by a long shot. Still, onwards and upwards into 2008. And I'm optimistic - mainly as it can't be as bad as last year, and whilst I am not one for making New Year Resolutions I am determined that with a New Year I can do my best to put my depressed state of mind from 2007 behind me!

Films

Over Christmas Mark and I have been making the most of our Sky Movies subscription, something we rarely use. Most of the films were ones we've seen before, but a couple were new ones...

Casino Royale: I really enjoyed this first time around when we saw it at the cinema but I'd forgotten just how good it was. Probably my favourite film from the following seletion.





Mean Girls: This was a new one - Mark had bought it for a couple of pounds in a DVD bargain basket a couple of months back, but even so we were putting off watching it! But it's actually really quite good - much much better than I expected it to be! It's almost as good as 10 Things I Hate About You'!
;)

Gladiator: I love this film and it's another that I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. Joaquin Phoenix makes such a good baddie and I especially like how the score compliments the visuals throughout!




Inside Man: We saw this on our very rainy weekend in Belfast, and I've seen it again since on a plane. Still very enjoyable third time through though.





Enemy of the State: We used to watch this quite frequently on DVD, but not seen it for several years now. I always feel bad for Will Smith's character though, but I suppose without that there'd be no film so I can get over it!



Hot Fuzz: This was the other new one, and one I've been meaning to watch ever since it came out on DVD. I always enjoy Simon Pegg's work - Spaced is one of my fav series and Shaun of the Dead is another DVD we break out too often. And I wasn't disappointed - if anything it was better than I expected. The only thing missing was an appearance by Jessica Hynes (Stevenson)...

The Wedding Singer: This is another on our frequently watched DVD list - it has to be said the sound track is really very good. And I love the ending with Billy Idol - class!

Christmas!

Yey! I love Christmas, and it was wonderful to see Tully getting so into it this year too. It's just a shame Markie was so poorly that he missed out on most of the fun.

Jonny made a really delicious dinner - sorry Mum but I have to say it was the tastiest turkey in the world ever! I was very spoiled as he had made me my own personal dish of bread sauce! He also made the famous mile high pie as the veggie option (well, it's famous if you know Jon and Mand anyway!). I'm not sure he did it justice with his picture on his blog so I've added it in large size below! Yummmmmy!

Thanks to Jon, Mand and Sarah for letting us share their Christmas.

Big piece of pig!

The only thing Mark put in a special request for whilst I was making the shopping list was a giant piece of pig! As I'm not all that keen on pork (yuk!) I got this huge piece of gammon instead. Think it meets requirements?

Merry Christmas and all that!

Every year we go to visit Mark's Nan and Grandad on the last Sunday before Christmas, and the visit now symbolises the commencment of the festive period in my head. So, today being that auspicious day, we headed up to Accrington and I can start celebrating! Woo hoo!

Am I ready for christmas? Pretty much - after getting the fear about how busy supermarkets would be this weekend I ended up making a snap decision and went late on Friday evening. I even made a list (!) and so far haven't thought of anything I've forgotten so I'm quite pleased with myself.

The presents are all bought and wrapped with 1 rather important exception! Honestly, you'd think nursery could have given us more warning of the only thing Tully wants in the world for Christmas... But hey ho - it means Mark has something to do to pass his lunchtime tomorrow instead of staying at work - I just hope one of Asda, B&Q or Homebase come up trumps otherwise we'll have 1 sadly disappointed little girl on Christmas morning!

New Bedroom TV

We finally got round to sorting our broadband out the other week (we were still on a really old BT package that was 8 times slower and £5 more expensive than their current offering!), and as part of that we were entitled to free BTVision which we've put in the bedroom. The problem with this is that the current TV in the bedroom is the one I bought as a teenager and it doesn't have a SCART input... So finally, a good excuse to buy a new one! ;)

After much kerfuffling and investigating we decided on a Samsung one - and I'm really pleased with it. The only problem now is that we need a better aerial. Still, that can wait until the New Year!