The photos are up for the Paris weeked trip on my Imagestation site. Same drill, You will have to register with Imagestation if you want to view them. Click on the photo for the pics.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Photos - Paris
The photos are up for the Paris weeked trip on my Imagestation site. Same drill, You will have to register with Imagestation if you want to view them. Click on the photo for the pics.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Travel: Paris
Spent the weekend in Paris, leisurely taking in the sites and feasting on the famous French cuisine, Pho noodles and Japanese Yakitori. :-) We did have plenty of baguettes though.
We stayed in the Latin Quarter,which is rather conviently located near Lourve, Notre Dame. The Lourve is very impressive, large and rather hot in parts, so don't try and do the whole thing without a break. Mind you, it is not as impressive as the Vatican musuem in Italy but very nice nevertheless. A warning for the thirsty, DO NOT go to the cafe next to the Lourve, its by the river. The photo below will explain why.
Warning, rant below:
Rant Start: It really gets me that despite the clearly marked signs, NO PHOTOGRAPHY in areas that hold the very important artwork (i.e. the Mona Lisa), idiots with their stuipid little digital camera's try and take photo's WITH the flash. For crying out loud, turn the flash OFF if you want to sneak a shot! It's because of these people that camera's are banned in those enclosures, so learn to use your camera before you take it on holiday.
Rant Over:
Shopping in Paris is one of those things that must be done. Having the summer sales on did help, with up to 70% off in some stores. We went up the Champ delesye for our shopping fix and came across a massive Louis Vitton store (the 2nd one) and were waiting for the Chinese toutists to ask us to help them buy a bag. Sadly, this Loius store had security guards to stop the spruking. Anyway, hope was not lost as we passed the Hugo store up the road, a chinese lady asked us to help buy bags for her..our experience was now complete. Anyway, we didn't do it.
That was it, quite a busy weekend. The next trip Paris will be to the Moulin Rouge and the surrounds.
We stayed in the Latin Quarter,which is rather conviently located near Lourve, Notre Dame. The Lourve is very impressive, large and rather hot in parts, so don't try and do the whole thing without a break. Mind you, it is not as impressive as the Vatican musuem in Italy but very nice nevertheless. A warning for the thirsty, DO NOT go to the cafe next to the Lourve, its by the river. The photo below will explain why.
Warning, rant below:
Rant Start: It really gets me that despite the clearly marked signs, NO PHOTOGRAPHY in areas that hold the very important artwork (i.e. the Mona Lisa), idiots with their stuipid little digital camera's try and take photo's WITH the flash. For crying out loud, turn the flash OFF if you want to sneak a shot! It's because of these people that camera's are banned in those enclosures, so learn to use your camera before you take it on holiday.
Rant Over:
Shopping in Paris is one of those things that must be done. Having the summer sales on did help, with up to 70% off in some stores. We went up the Champ delesye for our shopping fix and came across a massive Louis Vitton store (the 2nd one) and were waiting for the Chinese toutists to ask us to help them buy a bag. Sadly, this Loius store had security guards to stop the spruking. Anyway, hope was not lost as we passed the Hugo store up the road, a chinese lady asked us to help buy bags for her..our experience was now complete. Anyway, we didn't do it.
That was it, quite a busy weekend. The next trip Paris will be to the Moulin Rouge and the surrounds.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Food: Lunch Pied à Terre
Welcome to Gary's guide to culinary delights in London and Europe. I have decided to rate and photograph most of the restaurants that I visit. I'll be using a scale is out of 5, with 5 being the best. The score will be based on the food that I order and will be adjusted according to price. I am not particularly influenced by the decor of a restraunt, nor the snobbiness of the waiters and as such, these facets will not be considered unless they truly stand out (i.e. super hot waitress or rat infested kitchens etc.).
Gary's Overall Rating Scale:
5 - the food is outstanding, one for special occassions
4 - the food was good and it is recommended.
3 - food is nice but you can do better
2 - the food is not very good but it is still edible
1 - don't bother
First restraunt off the rank is Pied à Terre. Given 2 stars by the Michelin guide, Pied à Terre had a lot to live up too. We chose the Lunch special, £25 for two courses, desert was an extra £10 or £5 depending on what you choose.
Pre Starter:
As with most of the starred restaurants, not only do you get a starter, you get a pre starter, which arrived on a oblong metal plate. The three pre starters where Foie Gras Crisps (this is really good), smoked trout (a bit sour and not that special) and pumpkin bun things (pretty ordinary).
Starter:
Terrine of Ham hock and Foie Gras with some other things that are French sounding.
I should really write down the menu to avoid such rambling in future. A good dish, however one critism was that the Foie Gras was not as nice as the one inside the Foie Gras Crisps as it (the starter) seemed more buttery, but it was still a very nice way to start the meal.
Main:
Duck breast with pork underneath and some beetroot.
Calling this dish a main is like saying that Australia has a chance at the World Cup...way too optimistic. Anyway, size aside, it was a delicious dish with the flavours of the duck and beetroot going together quite well.
Pre Desert:
Yep,you get pre desert too. It was some rhubarb and panacotta thing which was rather nice.
Desert:
Rasberry sable with something lemon on the side (sorry, I will remember to write the menu down in future).
Rather nice but with a hard biscuit base between the layers, it was very difficult to eat.
Overall, it gets a 4/5.
Gary's Overall Rating Scale:
5 - the food is outstanding, one for special occassions
4 - the food was good and it is recommended.
3 - food is nice but you can do better
2 - the food is not very good but it is still edible
1 - don't bother
First restraunt off the rank is Pied à Terre. Given 2 stars by the Michelin guide, Pied à Terre had a lot to live up too. We chose the Lunch special, £25 for two courses, desert was an extra £10 or £5 depending on what you choose.
Pre Starter:
As with most of the starred restaurants, not only do you get a starter, you get a pre starter, which arrived on a oblong metal plate. The three pre starters where Foie Gras Crisps (this is really good), smoked trout (a bit sour and not that special) and pumpkin bun things (pretty ordinary).
Starter:
Terrine of Ham hock and Foie Gras with some other things that are French sounding.
I should really write down the menu to avoid such rambling in future. A good dish, however one critism was that the Foie Gras was not as nice as the one inside the Foie Gras Crisps as it (the starter) seemed more buttery, but it was still a very nice way to start the meal.Main:
Duck breast with pork underneath and some beetroot.
Calling this dish a main is like saying that Australia has a chance at the World Cup...way too optimistic. Anyway, size aside, it was a delicious dish with the flavours of the duck and beetroot going together quite well.Pre Desert:
Yep,you get pre desert too. It was some rhubarb and panacotta thing which was rather nice.
Desert:
Rasberry sable with something lemon on the side (sorry, I will remember to write the menu down in future).
Rather nice but with a hard biscuit base between the layers, it was very difficult to eat.Overall, it gets a 4/5.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Update
People have been emailing me and telling me off for not updating my blog and for that I am truly sorry. If you want to know when I put stuff up, put your email address in the subscribe box on the right and you will join my google group. That way I can let you all know when I have put something intersting up. Easy!
Oh and thanks to Davin, I have discovered a way of putting maps up. So here is where I am currently sitting (the white dot).
You can Zoom around the map to see the neighbourhood.
Oh and thanks to Davin, I have discovered a way of putting maps up. So here is where I am currently sitting (the white dot).
You can Zoom around the map to see the neighbourhood.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Gadgets: Xbox 360 and Cable TV/Broadband
After numerous delays and many a guilty hour pinching stray wifi signals, I have finally got myself re-connected to cyberspace. I have jacked in to the net with Homechoice over here in the UK. I chose a TV/Broadband bundle which is basically as it is, 60 TV channels plus 4MB ADSL broadband, all for a princely sum of £32.99 per month. I signed up during their half price 2 month offer so its fairly reasonable. Its a weird concept this Homechoice, the TV and internet come through the phone cable and is directed by this little box. Anyway, it sort of works. The picture quality is a little compressed and the internet slows down when the TV is on, but at 4MB, the speed drop is not noticable. Anyway, enough of that.
In the next few weeks I will be reporting on my little side trips that I went on during the past 4 weeks (the posts will be dated according to the day I came back from the trip so check them out below), if I can tear myself away from the latest gadget, my XBOX 360. I have only had it for 1 day but I have found out that the battery on the wireless controller only lasts for 1 day. Bugger. :-) Anyway, I have put my gamertag on the right if you want to add me.
Below is a picture of my rig. The TV is a little on the small side, but that should be rectified in the near future.
In the next few weeks I will be reporting on my little side trips that I went on during the past 4 weeks (the posts will be dated according to the day I came back from the trip so check them out below), if I can tear myself away from the latest gadget, my XBOX 360. I have only had it for 1 day but I have found out that the battery on the wireless controller only lasts for 1 day. Bugger. :-) Anyway, I have put my gamertag on the right if you want to add me.
Below is a picture of my rig. The TV is a little on the small side, but that should be rectified in the near future.
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