Florida – quiet during the credit crunch

Florida has been a great favourite destination for me.

But this time it was different – shops boarded up, every house in the street for sale.  Theme parks quiet.

Even the lure of Mickey Mouse can’t get people to Disneyland.  Hard times indeed.

St Andrews, Scotland

St Andrews is a nice blustery Scottish town, of course famous for the golf.  But we should look at other things such as the beach.

Favourite place to stay is St Andrews Fairmont – a great hotel which has it’s own golf course and putting green.

Other things to do are mosey around the town and eat an ice cream. 

It’s fair to say that golf, sea air and ice cream are about the height of St Andrews.  But it’s a pleasant place for all the family.

For more action, drive thru to Edinburgh.

Where to go next?

We’re booking out holiday for this year soon…no idea where to go.

1 week – we’re thinking Bellagio/Vegas again.  It’s a good short break but the flying time sucks.

Or maybe somewhere in Europe – but we need to relax and city breaks aren’t relaxing.!

Paris, France

To say Paris is a romantic city is an understatement.  Large wide streets which are fairly clean, beautiful architecture….a lack of ‘chavs’….it makes this place just a great city break.

Climate can be much like the UK, so summer is a great time to go.

The metro is something you should try to understand before you go.  You can aquire Metro programs for your PDA to help you plan as it involves taking 1 line direction then a sub-line direction before boarding a train.

Paris is clean, but congested during traffic season.

As you would expect, food and fine wine are common.  Some of the asian take-outs/restaurants aren’t so good but the French cuisine is of an exceptional standard.

Visit all the usual sites and shops, and embrace what is a truly cosmopolitan city of croissants and coffee.

Yen, Glasgow

Teppanayaki done right.  That amounts to what Yen in Glasgow offers.

Prawns and beef are the best on the menu….the desert is very good too.

Try 5 dishes on their set menu – marinated beef starter, soup, vegetables, fried rice and fish or meat fried on a hot plate to perfection.

Only downside is the manageress is a completely insolent and arrogant idiot.  But don’t let that put you off your food.

London, England

London has an incredible diversity of cultures and places/activities.

Sadly most of it revolves round eating and shopping but there are many exhibitions and things to see and do like London Tower Bridge and so on.

Here are my recommendations :

STAY – Kensington or if you are going to West end shows, stay there.  The reason is that taxis only want to go down a specific route at the weekend and won’t want to go out of their area.  In London the hackney black cabs ask YOU where you want to go and decide wether they want to take you!!!  Do not use a non-registered taxi.

EAT – Covent Gardens is a great place to eat but try any of the London restaurant review web sites.

SHOP – Covent Gardens wins hands down again.  Also Notting Hill on a Sunday.  If you can stand the Harrods sales assistants who think they’re above everyone try there.  I’ll never forget the idiot in the watch shop who was parroting that a gentleman buys Rolexes and brings them back to the USA to help as an investment (to do with the exchange rate).  Sad.

It is worth planning your London trip around exhibitions, shows and concerts.  This is really what London has to offer.

Oxford, United Kingdom

Oxford is the home of scholars.  It’s a beautiful city with clean streets and low crime.  Lots of great eateries too.

Recommend the tour bus round Oxford and the history of Oxford ride which tells the hard life of scholars of the past.

Only an hour from London, it is worth a day trip.  It has it’s own theatre and coffee shops galore, a fantastic market in the centre which sells all sorts of fantastic foods. 

If you’re in the area, Oxford is a must visit.

Singapore

What a wonderful city.

The taxi drivers are friendly cheap and honest….the airport is squeaky clean.  Everyone is mostly nice to you.

Air conditioned malls are the order of the day – most people in Singapore shop and eat.

You will find the best bargains (because of low taxation etc.) in branded watches etc.  Watch shops are everywhere, every watch shop sells different watches too….so if you see something, buy it!  I bought a Casio G-Shock watch for £35 which costs £50 in the UK as example.

Recommend the Pan Pacific hotel in Singapore.  Lovely hotel, amazing service.  Has a nice gym and an excellent spa.  Would not recommend the Indian restaurant (Rang Mahal) or the Italian within the hotel…but the breakfast buffet is one of the best in the world.

In Singapore, the chicken is nothing short of disgusting…I am not sure what sloppy variety of chicken they use but it sucks.

Would recommend the Outback steak house in Singapore.  There is also Subway sandwich.

Things to do…go up in the DHL balloon, pretty scarey heights are reached!  Shop, shop, er, shop!  Take the open top tour bus, very nice way to see Singapore, the nice breeze keeps you cool.

In Singapore apart from shopping/eating, Singapore people go to the cinema a lot, it costs a mere £2 and the cinemas are 24 hour.  The Night Zoo is a must also.

One thing very nice about Singapore is lack of alcohol….as a result, lack of drunks and also a lack of drugs and junkies.  Crime is low but not non-existant and mostly committed by deliquants.  The biggest crime story might be of a hit-and-run driver, and that’s it.

Just a lovely place, Singapore guarantees to show you what a society with low crime, friendly people, clean streets and no alcohol to be found except the 7/11, Singapore is the place.

Sydney Australia

Smoggier than Melbourne, Sydney is the main city everyone thinks of when they think Australia.

Sure it’s got the opera house, which is worth a guided tour.  During the tour you’ll maybe see some ballet performers practicing or somebody tuning  a piano.

Other than that, The Rocks area of Sydney is where all the restaurants and wine bars are. 

If you need to use a gym in Sydney, I recommend Fitness First  – just walk in and pay your $18.  Check out the opening times, they’re funny – as example does not open till 2pm on a Sunday!

Bondi beach is over-rated, but worth a look.  It’s actually a small beach.  Watch out for small jelly fish that wash up on the beach too.

The Star Casino is OK, very big but the restaurant choice is excellent…although watch the opening times, some are closed Sundays and Mondays.  Pyrmont was the best restaurant we ate in Sydney and I would recommend a visit to the casino just to eat.

Another thing to do is take a Catermoran boat out of the harbour and see some of the expensive harbour homes.

Aside from that there is a market in The Rocks which I quite liked too.

Cairns, Australia

 

Cairns is a smallish town in the northern area of Australia.  The main focus of Cairns is a point for people to do boat cruises, diving etc.

Everything is very spick and span, there are public barbeques to use (hot plates actually) and a public swimming pool off the Esplanade.

The best places to eat are the Italian on the Esplanade called Villa Roma if I remember correctly (excellent seafood, OK (bland) pasta and poor pizza), and the Mondo grill at the Hilton hotel (further down the Esplanade at the end)….try mexican fajitas or mixed grill for an outstanding meal).

Mondo Grill at the Hilton

 Hotels-wise, I would recommend the Hilton hotel - we stayed at Rydges Tradewynds and it was a bit below par.  For the few extra dollars, go with the Hilton.

AVOID  the Chinese market, particularly the massage stalls which run a scam.  They will offer you a massage for $15, you will then have your back beaten up during ‘accupressure’, the guy will then stick some patches on your back and then tell you you need to pay $5 a patch (typically $50).  Make sure you avoid the masseurs at the market.