HIstorical buildings and its Red light district.. XXX ?

For such a charming city its kind of ironice that nestled among the beautiful buildings is a thriving sex industry. No visit is complete without a stroll along the well worn path of cobble stone streets beside these canals. Anyone fancy some fruit salad ? Apparently thats not all thats on the menu at the club pictured above.

Is it just me or does anyone else find it amusing the street bollards in amsterdam that have the letters XXX - Is that really a historical reference to the three disasters that have wiped out the city or simply its content rating for visitors.. hmmmm i think i need a poll on that ...

Riding Bikes in amsterdam- a highlight of my trip

This really is a great city to see on bike. For three days I spent my time here seeing this city by bike. It was amazing - there was a really good mix of old and new in Amsterdam - keeping alive the character if this very charming place.

Bart was a sensational host - showing me the city, its new islands, his old unit, and some fantastic sights along the way.

I was so glad I added a visit to this city. A must see destination.

Socialising in Amsterdam

I got to catch up with the two separate groups of friends while in town - Frank (jos was on the phone) and his friends from South Carolina. And Bart and his boyfriend Craig all came along for a night of Chinese food in Amsterdam. We also spent some time with Frans and Theo (but i forgot my camera that day !!! darn)

Another night Bart and Craig took me to the turchinski theatre(an old art deco theatre) to see Ratatouille .

Amsterdam is an amazing City

I think - one of the best things about travel is spontaneity. And Amsterdam for me represented just that. This was an add on after meeting some fantastic Dutch people in Madrid.

I fell in love with this city very quickly. I arrived at night (grumpy and tired after delayed flights ) and sorry about the blurry pic above) but the canals look majestic of an evening.

I was quickly getting lost in the magic of this city.




(just as my friend Victor form Madrid says - No plans Daniel) . I think I have learnt something while I am away for sure

Adventures on the road

Apart from Torgeir and Kjetil cooking fantastic food for the stay here - we did get out and about.

Pete and I tried the local shops. We all tried somre of the local bars around town. We also went for a drive one day up north of Benidorm into the mountains to an old castle and town. There was a lake a most perfect aqua colour.

Kjetil, torgeir and Peter are pictured trying on silly hats .. Emily is that you ?? (for the little britain fans out there).

Much of the coastline in this part of Spain makes for a spectacular drive.

No trip to Spain is complete without a visit to the Hipermercado - think Bunnings + Coles + Kmart
all in one . I was impressed !!!

Torrivieja - The view from my friend's place

It was fantastic to arrive and see my mate Kjetil from Norway. I met Kjetil when he was studying in Sydney many years ago. His folks have had a holiday place in Torrevieja (south of Alicante) on the coast for about 10 years or so. I've included some pics of/from the villa.

I think I had had too much sun in Sitges so i rested the first two days here.

The coastline here is great. I loved the beach.

But i cant honestly recommend Torrevieja as a tourist destination. The bulk of young people we met were visiting their folks or their holiday homes - yet when you wander through the sea of new villas - many sit idle most of the year. When we went down the street in the main town - I got the feeling like the place used to be more popular in say the 70's and 80's- and is now a bit of a ghost town - mostly due to there being so many holiday villas and many retirees.

More to Sitges than the beach

Well it appears that the answer is yes - Thanks to some French guys I met here in sitges - Chris and Eric - I went one afternoon to where they were saying in a villa styled hotel perched in the hills above sitges - It was an amazing location to sit around the pool and have a few quiet drinks.

This was my first time venturing beyond the beachside locations here. Something to consider for my next holiday here :-)