Photos

Some cheap thrills for the fellow stuff-gutses out there

Pork hocks and sauerkraut from the food hall in Frankfurt's railway station, dirt cheap and loads of yummy porky goodness.

A Paris fruit and veg market. These have been very common in all the larger French cities we've been in, along with butchers, fish shop, bakers, and delis. You would think you'd never go to a supermarket, but even they have great looking produce. It seems the French just don't compromise on food.

Chooks for sale in a butchers. On the premium chooks they leave the feet and heads on, so that you can tell the age and sex of the chicken! We even saw some of the famous Bresse chickens, regarded as the best in France. At 15 euros a chook they'd want to be good. The butchers also often have a cabinet of chooks on a rotisserie cooking out front, a temptation we have resisted so far. I fear it is but a matter of time before we are found in an alley, squabbling over the remains of a cooked chook!

Cote de Boeuf before and after. Cote de Boeuf is french for bloody big steak! It is most commonly served for two, which makes things sound a bit more reasonable, but the steak above was over a kilo! Someone will tell you that by the time she had put the camera away, my half was gone and hers was looking nervous. Those that know what a dainty eater I am will see this for the cruel fabrication it is. Besides I let her nibble on the bone, and left all the salad for her. In truth there was so much meat that we left most of the bread, chips, and salad.
In the countryside we have seen stacks and stacks of Charolais cattle, which are a heavily muscled white beast, and are where the French beef comes from. Deena thinks they look very pretty with lovely, deep soulfull eyes. I think the look yummy!

A light lunch in a Paris cafe. Snails and garlic butter, and onion soup with a cheesy crouton. All low carb, low fat, and full of vitamins and minerals!

Spices, herbs, and dried tomatoes in the daily market in Nice. There is a very strong North African influence in Nice, with spice shops abounding. There is also a lot of Italian food around, owing I guess to the proximity of Italy! The pizzas are really good, thin crust, minimal toppings, and top notch ingredients. The other thing I like about the pizza is the bottle of chilli oil served with them. I don't know if that is an African, French, or Italian thing, but it is a bloody good thing!
We've also had socca, which is a chickpea flour and oil pancake, cooked on the griddle. It is delicious, cheap, filling, and must surely be healthy. It's vegetarian at least.

Another light lunch, this time in Nice. Ravioli with four cheeses for Deena, and mussels in white wine, garlic, and onions, with chips, for me. At first I thought the bowl with the mussels in had a false bottom, looking at the size of it, but no, those bad boys went all the way to the bottom!
Deena's ravioli was filled with cheese, and the sauce was more cheeses melted, most likely with white wine, fondue style. At least I had the restraint to opt for the healthy seafood option!

Some plonk. Last night we sat on a rooftop terrace eating take-aways, and drank a four euro bottle of wine that was so nice even I enjoyed it! I'm sure the French make some dodgy wines, but Deena hasn't managed to find one yet. Either they've all been good, or she is turning into a wino. Moggy Triffet and Stinky Wilson may have company when we get home. The cheap bottle was actually reccomended by the bloke selling it when we asked for a nice vin ordinare from the region.

Off to pick up our car (Renault Megane Coupe, 1.4l petrol manual) in Avignon tomorrow. From there we have a night booked in the Pyrenees, and then we wander into Spain for a bit. Tough life I know, but please don't feel too sorry for us. We are of course missing friends, family, and dogs, but are having a great time all the same.

Au revior, Dave.

Paris

Have just left Paris after four nights, and it was amazing! We really didn't expect to enjoy ourselves so much while doing touristy things, but it was great! We did the open top double decker bus ride, departing from the Eiffel Tower, and were amazed by just how many well known landmarks are so close to one another, a bit like putting Australia's top twenty all in one place!
The next day we took advantage of the Velib bike hire scheme, and rode around the city to the places we wanted to see close up after the bus tour, starting with a lap on the cobbles of the Place de la Concorde, which is where the Tour de France finishes up. The cobbles were hard on the bum after twenty minutes in the saddle, must be lovely after twenty days!
From there we went to the Louvre via a huge park which had a pond full of big trout! The casting arm was twitching! The Louvre was amazing! If anything I was more impressed by the quality of the interior stonemasonry than the art. The crowds at the Venus de Milo (small boobs, but a nice bum!) and the Mona Lisa weren't as bad as we had heard, but I guess being a pair of six footers helps!
From the Louvre we rode over to Le Jardins de Luxembourg, where we had lunch before heading off to find the highlight of the trip, BEES! There is a working apiary of about fifteen hives in the middle of the gardens, in the middle of the city, seperated from the public by a very low hedge. I guess the French don't have the same public liabilities issues as us! We did actually have a giggle when a passing jogger got stung. We were settling down for a lovely nap on the grass when the lawn police showed up in full uniform, complete with very loud whistles, and told us and everyone else to piss off! Or words to that effect.

The food in Paris was even better than we expected. The baguettes are so good that you can eat them as is, but we always made sure and put some yummy cheese and ham in, just in case! We walked into a Brasserie at ten one night and asked hopefully if the kitchen was still open, and the waiter looked at us as if we were retarded. Within twenty minutes we had a fantastic Cote de Bouf (bloody big steak for two) in front of us, not bad service!
Breakfasts have consisted mainly of croissants for me, with the odd little chocolate eclair, while Deena has developed a thing for yoghurt set in terracotta pots, claiming that it's healthy, ignoring the fact that she is scoffing them by the fistful.
The legendary rude Paris waiter has eluded us, it seems that as long as you have a go with the language they'll at least not spit on you, and most people we encountered, even today outside of Paris and away from the tourist traps, have been genuinely helpful. Although I have seen a few people wince as I mangle their poor language!

We don't pick up our lease vehicle for another week, so today we hired a car for the drive south. This meant that we got another view of the Paris landmarks as I drove us down one way streets the wrong way, on the wrong side of the road, and even on the footpath I think. Highlights were driving on the Champs Elysee, and through the tunnels next to the Seine. Out in the country we discovered another little treasure, the frites stop(exact name to be confirmed, memory a little hazy), which is a little burger van off the side of the road in a lay-by, serving steaks, sausages, rolls, and chips to the truckies and other drivers. The other thing that seems to be popular is red wine by the quarter litre. I think they may have less restrictive drink drive laws.

We are kicking back in our hotel room in Dijon having dined out on Macca's (well it had to be done eventually), watching The Dukes of Hazzard overdubbed in French, and it actually makes it more watchable!

Au revoir, Dave.

Frankfurt to Paris

Have arrived in Paris after travelling forever! We hooked up with The Outlaws in Singapore airport, who were off on their own European holiday, and then boarded our torture device for the 11hr flight. It seems the lady at check in confused a request for seats with extra leg room (emergency exit), with a request for reduced leg room! So we flew to Frankfurt with our knees pressed against the galley bulkhead. Crabby? Not me!

We arrived in Frankfurt to be met by a pair of immigration officials with even less zest for their jobs than I do for mine, and jumped on a train into the city to wait for our first class high speed train into Paris. While there we walked the banks of the Main river, which was very pretty, checked out a few sex shops, they were everywhere, even in the airport, and chilled out in the first class lounge.
We jumped on the train at 1900hrs and whizzed of to Paris at 200km/h, which was so exhilirating I fell asleep and amused the other passengers with my repertoire of snores! Deena said they actually laughed out loud. How rude.

On our arrival in Paris we were picked up by one of the Citroen rally team's drivers who does a bit of taxi work on the side, and were treated to a high speed tour of the city. We drove past so many famous landmarks I got whiplash!
Our hotel is very nice, and in an area full of cafes and restaraunts, bakers, butchers, and cheese shops. So far it has been very easy to eat cheap and well. While wandering around this morning we caught a glimpse of the Eiffel tower over the rooftops. Upon closer inspection we found a very nice park near it's base, and the population of Hobart in line to go up it! Might hold off on that for a while.

Our plan for the next few days is to chill, take in the landmarks and do a few touristy bits and pieces, before heading down south to pick up our car.

We may also have a little meal or two.

Au revoir, Dave.

Penang photos

For all the Seinfeld fans. No we didn't see Kramer. Or Kenny even.

Our first meal in Penang. I am a lot happier than I look! Bloody hot though.

The Hawker market just up from our hotel. They just about give the (fantastic) food away here. Moderation is not an option.

The beds in Asian hotels are tiny! ( I may have just farted)

Deena hooking in at the wet market. We knew the food was fresh because it was being killed and butchered just across the road.

It rained a little bit.

They're everywhere! Just out of shot is a crappy Porsche Cayman.

Me doing my best to leave a positive image as a sophisticated and cultured visitor. Petite little thing aren't I? (She liked me a lot more than it looks)

Off to Frankfurt today after a tour around the island, and hopefully a drive across the longest bridge in Asia. And maybe a little bite to eat.

Dave.

Penang

After four airports, three planes, and twenty four hours we finally arrived in Penang. We are lowering the tone of the Hotel G in Georgetown, which has a club called the G Spot. I was going to go there last night, but I couldn't find the place! Boom, boom.
By the time we got in and showered, we were starving and the 24hr McD's near the hotel was tempting just to fill a hole, but we stayed strong and found a fantastic fried chicken and rice dish, accompanied by a sauce of smashed fresh tomatoes and chillies. YUM. The very plain, but awesome clear vegetable broth served with it could have justified the price all by itself.

That night we went to a collection of Hawker's stalls 100m from our hotel for tea, with the intention of staying there all night, but had to leave seemingly straight away, owing to a severe bout of extreme fullness. I think the condition was brought on by a combination of fantastic food almost being given away, and gluttony! We had an entree of bbq meats (duck logs, pork, chicken feet, and Chicken wrapped in leaves), followed by fried oysters in chopped omelette, deepfried spiced chicken skin and octopus, a fish soup, and finished with onion bahjis, squid, and pappadums with a chilli coleslaw-y pickle thing! I won't be so crass as to list the prices, but will say that it is top two or three value for
money food I have found anywhere!

On the way back to the hotel Deena manged to find space for some green apple ice cream, which is just delicous, and according to our ice cream correspondent, is not available in Tassie. The ice cream has soya in it, as well as little chunks of apple, which by our rationale makes it a calorie-negative, super health food!

Photos to follow later on when we have acces to a real computer.
Dave.