So We Are Back

So we returned from our trip one month ago now and just about back into the swing of things here in Sydney, the weather is awesome.

See below for photos and descriptions of our trip which took us from Sydney to Beirut and the mountains of Northern Lebanon. Then London, on to Manchester, then on to Wexford & Dublin for a family wedding. From here we went to Rome for a few days before finally returning to glorious Sydney.

Obviously seeing the family back home was the highlight of the trip but Lebanon was fantastic and Beirut especially blew my mind.

Bear this in mind; you think Beirut is a hole right? What could there possibly be in Beirut worth seeing or doing? This is exactly what people asked me when I told them I was going and this was my reply;

"Whatever you think of Beirut and Lebanon in general forget it all, you have no idea. Unless you go yourself you will never know what it is like. On this trip I travelled to London, Dublin, Manchester and Rome as well as Beirut and the place I enjoyed the most was Beirut. If you have money in your pocket in Beirut you can get whatever you want at anytime of the day and this is not true of any of those other places. People have no hang-ups and the restaurants, bars, nightclubs I went to are better than anything I have seen the world over.
The Roman ruins in Baalbeck make those in Rome look like Lego-Land and the scenary throughout Lebanon would be hard to beat anywhere on the planet. Trust me and go, but be careful you may loose your mind, I very nearly did"

Enjoy the pics and text and please submit posts whenever and wherever you wish.

Duncan & Rebecca Brett November 2005

Spanish Steps (The Last)

Above is B and myself on the Spanish Steps in Rome. This is the last photo on the last day at the last destination of our World Trip.

The Colosseum

Here I am at the Colosseum with my parents (Kath & Sean). Yes it's still raining and it rained the whole time we were in Rome but it didn't stop us seeing what we went there to see. I have to admit I expected the Colosseum to be larger than it was but it was still pretty impressive and Sean couldn't resist getting his picture taken with the dodgy Italian guys outside dressed as Romans. He was a bit surprised when they asked for money and I think he gave them five Euro.
This is B inside the Colosseim. Behind her is the Arch of Constantine.

The Vatican

This was taken from St. Peter's Square facing the Basilica before we went in and although the weather was awful the picture came out really well.

Above is my parents (Sean & Kath) inside St. Peter's Basilica. Have to say that place is mind blowing. The History, the art, the sheer size of the place and the wealth inside is hard to understand. We had a great Canadian fella guide us around here and the Vatican Museums and despite the crowds and the weather it was awesome, all of it.

Rome (Trevi Fountain)

Here we are at the Trevi fountain in Rome. We arrived in the evening so this is just after we have dumped our bags and headed out for a feed. Piaza di Trevi was packed as always but was pretty impressive. Everyone threw coins apart from me as I was too busy chasing away those idiots trying to sell me roses.

Here is B with my parents (Sean & Kath) at the Trevi fountain. My Mum has wanted to go to Rome for as lond as I can rememebr and when she heard B and myself were going she took the opportunity to see it herself and booked flights for her and Sean to come along too.

We flew Business Class with BA which was a great laugh. My Dad and I did our best to get thrown out as we'd never flown Business before so we got rather excited and started throwing things around.

We had the Vatican planned for the next day so this was a pretty early night and I was still trying shake off the affects of heavy drinking sessions in both Dublin and Manchester over the last five days.

Old Trafford

On our last night in Manchester before leaving for Rome I took B to Old Trafford (Theatre of Dreams) to watch United play Lille in a Champion League Group match. Here she is with Kev & Cheryl drinking cans on Sir Matt Busby Way before the game.

Here we are just beofre kick-off. We had great seats and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was a pity about the game. I'd spent the last six years telling my wife how good this football team were and that one day I would take her to see a game at Old Trafford and that she would love it. Have to say United played the worst I'd seen them play in many years. The game was 0-0 and pretty boring. Wasn't that big a deal for me as 0-0 is better than loosing 0-1 but to an Aussie thats' the worst result possible as they are used to watching NRL and AFL and seeing lots of points on the scoreboard. Anyway the atmosphere was awesome and the stadium itself, well the best in Europe what more can I say.


Here we are after the game at the entrance to the stadium. Despite the result I still manged to get a smile out of B and I was just happy to be there after so long.

Back In Manchester

In the above photo is Roan waiting for his pint. I love this photo as it looks like he's in the pub on his own waiting for a drink.
Roan & JT never left D alone and this was a particularly sticky moment as D has a shocking hangover from one of the nights in Manchester. Of course kids don't understand what hangover is so they just keep on jumping on you and smashing something on your head.
Here is Roan on top of JT in the shirts I brought them from Australia. Incidentally JT is two years older than Roan but Roan beats JT up and makes him cry. He will be a problem child for sure but he is such a laugh.

Last Dance & Drinks Please

Above is D with the bride Maire. Actually got to dance with her for a while which was great.
Above is (left - right) Mum, Cheryl, Maire, Dad, Conal & B. I'm pretty sure this was near the end of the night and actually finished quite early for an Irish wedding. This was a good thing of course as their was another full Irish breakfast to negotiate first thing in the morning and then a swim in the pool.

Twisting (Nice Dress)

I've dedicated this entry to B and her wonderful dancing the night of the wedding. I think it was some kind of 1920's move but it was pretty impressive and kind of summed up both the age and style of music that the band were playing. B is twisting with my Dad in the above photo and I think by the way Kev is looking at B in the photo below he is wondering what on earth she is doing.

The Happy Couple

Here are the Happy Couple, Maire & Barry just after tying the knot.

Salmon not PInk

We had a couple of pre-wedding drinks before we went through for the meal, about 5 or 6 pints I think of the black stuff. Here, left - right is D, Conal & Charlie.
Can't figure out whether my Dad is smirking here because he has seen Charlie's shoes or because of something he said. These shoes actually started out as a joke for Conal and myself. Remember when we were back in Manchester and the girls went shopping whilst the boys went drinking. Well the boys actually went shopping as well and we bought a pair of shoes, these shoes. Charlie was actually looking for a pair of black shoes and the first shop we went in had these lovely things in the window. I picked them up for a joke and implied it would be great if he wore those to the wedding.

Conal took things a step further and told his Dad that he would buy the shoes on condition that Charlie wore them to the wedding and then gave them back to his son so he could wear them out and about in Perth. It was agreed and we walked out of the shop with the shoes and never told anyone until Charlie turned up to the church in Ireland with the said shoes on.

It actually back fired a little on Conal and myself. We were expecting him to look an idiot and get lots of laughs but he actually wore a rather nice pink tie which complemented the shoes excellently. Conal and myself were most upset as he was supposed to look foolish. Our dissapointment was comfounded by the barmaid who told him his shoes were fantastic and asked where he got them. I think that made his night.

Oh, and just for the record, they are not pink, they are Salmon.

Ireland (Naas)

Staying at Gillespie's B&B in Kilteel as per last trip. The breakfast in this place is awesome, full Irish with extras if your interested. Bacon, eggs, black-pudding, beans, sausages, toast & a full pot of tea. None of this wincey European croissant rubbish here. The photo above taken outside the B&B post fry-up before we left for the church. left - right is D, Dad, Roan, JT, Mum, Cheryl, B & Kev.
Time for a quick photo outside the church before we go in. The weather was actually pretty good on the day itself. It wasn't that warm but at least it wasn't raining.

Ireland (Kilmore Quay)

We have moved onto Ireland now (just Mum, B & myself) and after arriving at Dublin airport we hire a car and drive straight down to Co. Wexford to see my Mum's family. In this picture above are (left - right) James, Phil, Mum, Joan, Bess & D.

We were in Kilmore Quay for 2 days and it rained non-stop. I wasn't too concerned but I took this picture of B standing in the rain on the pier and although she looks pretty happy I think she was fed up after two days of this.

From here we drove North to Co. Kildare for my cousin's wedding and the weather cleared up thank God.

192

OK, OK it doesn't look much like a holiday shot or that anyone in the picture is enjoying themselves but this photo is pretty special and deserves a special mention all on its own.

Sat on the back seat (left - right) are Kev, Cheryl, B & Neil and we are all on our way home from Manchester at 3am. Little bit of history for you as this is no ordinary bus, this is the 192. This has been voted the worst bus journey in the UK and it travels all the way from Manchester city centre through its worst Southern suburbs and onto Stockport transporting all sorts of lovely characters back to the caves in which they live (that doesn't include us by the way). Having been a veteran of this journey over the years I warned B as we got on to sit there quietly, not look anyone in the eye and under no circumstances talk to anyone.

B is doing really well but 30 minutes into the journey she can't help herself and says to the girl sat opposite her "You remind me of my friend Vicky". Those of you who have seen Little Britain will understand Vicky was a reference to Vicky Pollard, the "Yeah but, No but" scally that resembles pretty much the whole contents of this bus we are on.

Thankfully the gag went right over Vicky's head, she replied some nonsense and I breathed a sigh of relief. A memorable journey but one I won't be taking B on again in a hurry.

Manchester (Northern Quarter)

Saturday night in Manchester and after watching Ireland get knocked out of the World Cup we leave Chorlton and head for the city. An area that is now getting a lot of attention is the Northern Quarter around Oldham Street. We eventually end up in a club and have a cracking time. In the photo above (left - right) are Kev, Cheryl, D & B.
Not sure what Higgins is up to here but whatever it was i'm sure it worked in turning B on. He is one sexy dancer.
Now Eddie really thinks he is sexy dancer and we let him think that as it's very funny. Canal street was closed tonight so Eddie came to meet us in the club. We were glad to see him of course but took more pleasure in trying to pull that tie out of his shirt that he'd tucked in. Apparently it's all the rage in 'The Blue Oyster'. Nice one Eddie.

Family

Highlight of the trip was seeing the family of course and here are some pics of them.
This picture above (B, Mum & Dad) was taken at Cheryl's house during a family meal.

This photo above (Roan, Dad, JT & Mum) was taken at my parents house after dinner one night. These boys are really attached to their Grand parents so good job they live on the same road.

Out in Didsbury

In this photo is (left - right) Bruce, Eddie & B

Friday night in Didsbury. Was saving a large night till Saturday so we neaded to the local for a few quiet ones.

In this photo is (left - right) Bruce, Cheryl, Ruth, Dave, Yatz, Vicky, B, Eddie, Dave, Cahrlie & D.

I

Alton Towers

On Thursday we went to Alton Towers and had a top day despite the rain.

The first photo was taken underneath 'Rita' the brand new ride which I have to say is awesome. Over pretty quick but initial take off is amazing. In the picture are (left - right) Conal, Cheryl, Charlie, Dave & D.

The bottom picture was taken on some Pirate Ship thing, a weak ride really that I couldn't be bothered going on. This was next to 'Oblivion', by far the best ride in the park. B refused to go on so it was just Dave, Conal and myself who actually went on it twice as there was no queue, fantastic heart stopper. In this picture is (left - right) B, Cheryl, Dave & Conal.

All in all we had a great day. The queue's were pretty small as it was a week day and I introduced B to the Scally Scouser phenomenon that has swept the North of England. The place was bloody full of them, shell suits and all, great laugh.

Manchester

Made it up North and we are now in Manchester with the family.

The first photo is Charlie, B & Conal in The Station in Stockport. This is a cracking little boozer that's ok a little rough but they have over 12 guest beers on tap from around the North West and an old billiard table with the pegs. B was horrified to find we were drinking in this place but I made her smile for this photo.

The second photo is the next day in Manchester (outside Sinclair's Oyster Bar) and it's a barmy wednesday afternoon in September, don't get sun like this very often in Manchester at this time of year. I wanted to show B how good the shopping in Manchester was and she was pretty impressed. Thank God Cheryl & Mum were there to show her around as the boys were more interested in sitting in the sun and having a beer. In this photo are (left - right) Cheryl, B, Mum & Kev.

London

Made it to London in one piece late last night and this is the morning after. B is here with my friend Beth in a London Boozer getting on it on a Sunday afternoon.

We stayed two nights with Beth and her husband Ed and only really had the one whole day there which we spent in and out of various pubs. Well it was a really nice day so what else were we gonna do?




The photo below is a Japanese restaurant in Soho that was lovely. For some strange reason the waiter told me I couldn't take photos which I thought was crazy so here is left - right Ed, Beth, B, Claire, Conal & D enjoying Japanese.



This photo above is rather special. Both Beth & Ed have been Vegetarians for years and sometime early in the night Ed happened to mention he has been thinking about eating meat recently. I kept at him all night about this of course and eventually got him to try one of the smoked pork ribs that Conal & myself had been tucking into all night. Here he is enjoying his second one. Beth was horrified but Conal and I thought it was hilarious.

My very first vegetarian convert (he was very happy).

Goodbye Lebanon

Underneath Le Meridien Commodore was a bar (Casbah) that was probably the most authentic Lebanese bar I experienced. B didn't like it because it was a little seedy and just full of blokes drinking and watching the belly dancers. I however, thought it was excellent and would retire there every night for last drinks and to see what was going on. There was always something going on.

This was my last drink (vdoka & redbull) in Beirut and I was due at the airport in four hours to catch a flight to London. There are no photos of that morning as I was incapable of doing anything but getting on the plane. This is my the last photo of the last drink in Lebanon. Until next time.

Sky Bar

Sky Bar, on the roof of the Palm Beach hotel is perhaps Beirut's most impressive Bar. Over three levels, with a swimming pool and amazing views North & South over the Ocean it is an ideal place to drink and have some fun.

In the photo are (left - right) Joe, Nasam (thanks for the cigars), Knuckles and D. This was a big night.

Out & About in Beirut

Taking a walk around downtown Beirut is an eye-opener for sure and pretty exciting as well. The first photo is of the Palm Beach Hotel. This place has an awesome bar (Sky Bar) on the roof over three levels and is directly over the road from where Rafik Hariri (previous Prime Minister) was killed by a bomb back in Feb-05.













It's hard to see in this photo but behind D is a huge Mosque built by Hariri that is an amazing structure.















The photo below was taken on our last night in Beirut and we are back in Asia Bar this time for a meal as well as drinks. This was the best place we went to overall for food and drinks, the Sashimi was awesome as was the beef that I had with a bottle of fantastic French red wine.

I was determined to have a big one on my last night in Beirut and this was just the start of it.

The Commodore

Having already read a couple of books about the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) I was determined to stay at least one night at The Commodore hotel in West Beirut. This hotel became famous during the civi war as the place all foreign journalists and correspondents stayed and sent their telexes from to their news desks at home. It has a real history to it throughout this period and was pretty much the only hotel left standing in this area.

A friend of ours from Sydney (George) who was working in Beirut at the time had booked us into his hotel for convenience and it turned out to be The Commodore, now owned by the Le Meridien group but still trading under the same name (Le Meridien Commodore).

The photo above was taken in the lobby as we prepared (with G & T's) for a night out. The hotel was brilliant and definately a reccomendation for Beirut. In the heart of the Hamra in West Beirut it is well located for shopping and only ten minutes from Solidere in a cab where most of the restaurants & nightlife is.


This photo was taken in Asia Bar. Behind us is the bar and behind that is a view over the city and beyond.

Awesome bar and awesome view.

In this photo is (left - right) Natasha, Susie & D.

Harissa

On the way to Beirut we stop and get the Telefreque (Cable Car) up to Harissa which is up in the Beirut Mountains. What we find is more amazing views and beautiful churches, one old (seen in the photo below under Our Lady of Harissa) and one new which was enourmous right next door. The photo above is looking North from the top of Harissa and out to the Meditteranean.
From up here you can see the whole of Beirut below and the Ocean looks amazing from up here. There is a wonderful gift shop here to pick up presents for family and we find a lovely Rosary for my parents and a candle for B's Nan in Sydney.

Have to admit the Telefreque was a little un-nerving but awesome nontheless. See the views.