Rather than just go up for the gig on the Sunday, I decided to make a weekend out of it. So after an early 5am wakeup, I grabbed the 7am train to Edinburgh, pulling in to Edinburgh Waverley at about 11:30. First stop was to go check out construction of the stage as I was curious as to where it would be. They couldn’t have picked a better spot, right at the foot of Edinburgh Castle. The day was gorgeous, mid 20s and sunny without a cloud in the sky - everything was looking up.

After checking into my hotel (The George) which surprisingly was the best value for money available at such short notice (and I’d definately recommend it) I caught up with some of the others that were up for the gig and had a few drinks on George St, before heading off for dinner.

Dinner at Blue was really nice. I had a haggis/black pudding starter (neither of which I’d had before) and not knowing what to expect, it was actually really nice… but not a patch on the chicken with wild mushroom stuffing main.

Then things got a little messy as we headed for a few more bars/clubs and long story short I rolled into bed somewhere around 4:30… that was a full day!

The next morning I woke to a nurofen starter at 9:30 before heading for a full Scottish breakfast and then off to the gig. The day was not a patch on Saturday’s weather - the clouds had come across and were looking ominous. I met Chantel nearby who I hadn’t seen since she moved up there and in we went and got a great position.

First up were the Sugababes, accompanied by minor spots of rain which turned into a light mist. As long as it didn’t get any heavier, the weather would be ok. The music was surprisingly entertaining as I’m not particularly a girl-band fan, although I am a big fan of Heidi. Some singing and dancing later and a few quite freaky look-a-likey back up dancers they left to strong applause… but by then, the light rain had become quite heavy, and I was just there in a shirt and jeans.

A fifteen minute break later and the Hoosiers hit the stage complete with a spiderman-suited keyboardist and a brass section of skeletons who also doubled as back up singers. The Hoosiers got my vote for gig of the day - both in terms of the music and their overall entertainment value - even if by this stage I was soaked with rain - despite a friend having brought an umbrella around.

Last on stage was The Feeling who were very energetic, and I like their music, but their constant copy-book powerstances and stage antics just seemed very rehearsed as opposed to the sponteneity that I felt they were trying to achieve. Still, an impressive performance from a band I didn’t know that much about.

With the gig ending, we headed off for a couple of drinks in a oub across town before I had to hop the train back to London - my second 4.5-5 hour train journey in two days… after that though, it was nice to be home (and straight to bed).

Thanks all for a great weekend.

I’ve split the trip into two seperate weeks. Week 1 I travel Slovenia and down the coast of Croatia to Split, where for week two I join an organised sailing tour of the Croatian Islands. It should be a good balance of independant travel whilst still making some new friends along the way.
Interestingly, neither of these two countries were high on my list of places to see before I hit London, but after watching a few shows and getting rave reviews from friends, I’m really excited.

So the countdown is on. Watch this space for when I get back.

Its bizarre what I consider when I choose the next destination. Should I save it for next year? Will anyone else want to go? Will it be good weather? Would it be better going another time? How much is it? It makes it really hard. I have always planned to make Italy and Switzerland my big two - but having dipped into Switzerland already, I think I could probably quite happily to multiple trips to different cities rather than doing a big two week trek through them.

So these are my choices:

• 2 weeks through Slovenia and Croatia
• 2 weeks from Madrid through Barcelona the French Riviera and down through Italy to Rome
• 1 week just in Spain + 1 week (later) just in Italy
• Somewhere entirely different.

Arghhhh!

It was actually terrible weather and we proabably saw no more than 4 hours of play, despite being there for nine.

First up we saw Ashley Harkleroad play terribly against Vinci, which kept Dave’s Italian roots happy and saw googbye to my piece of eye candy - oh well, I won’t be back. Afterwards, Dane and Jacqui joined us from work and we caught up and watched Molik smash Rodionova. Halfway through we spotted Adam Hills from Spicks and Specks in Molik’s corner. Later he joined Todd Woodbridge and in came Liz Smylie and her daughter - who, apparently, Dane taught. So off he went and mingled with ‘the stars’.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day - just ruined by the weater. By 6pm it was bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Just our luck! I had my strawberries and cream, but I know for sure, I don’t care who is playing - I will never want to line up overnight for tickets!

For those that don’t know, Wicked is based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”, which I have to say was an unusual read - but a very entertaining musical.

The story centres around the back story of Oz and ties up all of the loose ends about everything you didn’t know from the Wizard of Oz. How did the Wizard get to Oz? How did the Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion come to be and what exactly did ‘The Wizard of Oz’ not show us?

I’ve got to say I loved it. The story was strong, the music was great (although a little out of balance and hard to hear clearly in parts) and they certainly spared no expense on the set or props.

After a little bit of difficulty getting into the start of it, I think it really grew on Gran and Al and in the end, they thought it was great. I really didn’t know what to expect because it was always going to be a gamble whether or not it was their kind of thing.

All in all a great night out.

On Sunday afternoon, I caught up with them again and we went for a drink and some food at the Shakespeare, near their hotel. Not a bad little pub, but again, part of a chain, so the menu (to me) was very familiar. Still, you can’t go past the Chicken Kiev.

And that was it. Short and sweet. It was really nice to catch up with them and is probably the last time I’ll see them face to face for at least a year. Still, I guess I get to see all of their hijinx on the rest of the tour, when I edit their video.

1. Waitangi Day Pub Crawl. So I’m not a kiwi and nor do I want to be, but I caught up with Kel and her kiwi friends for the circle line pub crawl. In short, the concept is remarkably simple. Get on the tub at Paddington and catch it to Westminster, stopping at each station for a pint. You cannot sit down on the tube and you cannot hang on. I passed with flying colours and managed to watch 8,000 crazy kiwis and a few others stand in Westminster square to do the haka. Then it was off to the Walkabout for a few more.
2. Camden Markets. Hmmm very interesting. Cool place with a heap of weird stuff to buy, but you really need to go there to sit in a pub and just watch people.
3. Chinese New Year. The year of the Pig. WHile watching the parade going down Chinatown its easy to see that the Chinese have been steering their dragons for years and the British are amateurs. For the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of China, I had to question where the Chinese actually were.

• Until now, I took driveways, sunshine, warmth, front yards and television for granted.
• Just when you think you are the coldest you have ever been in your life, you set a new personal best.
• I need to stop assuming that if I approach a stranger, that they will speak to me in English.
• I also have to remember that speaking again in English, but slower, does not work either.
• The tube, though appearing quite complicated from the Tube Map is actually quite simple.
• I am yet to see a warm beer. In fact, a local pub is shutting down for two days to install a ’super-chill’ system. (why not sit the beer outside?)
• Assume that anyone you talk to in a hostel is Australian, and be surprised when they aren’t.
• Wearing a maroons jersey down the street seems to bring Aussies out of the woodwork.
• The British presenter of Big Brother, looks remarkably like Gretel Killeen.
• The meat an McDonalds is crap - I will eat far less!
• KFC (though I am yet to eat there, has baked beans instead of Potato and Gravy - eat all the P&G you can before you come over).
• ‘Freaks’ come in pairs.

More to come.

The trip, I will never do again. By the time I had checked into my hostel, I have been travelling for over 27 hours. Despite that, the trip wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Soon after boarding, we were told that the flight had been delayed by 40 minutes for repairs (that instills a great deal of confidence). The positive however was that it meant rather than three hours transit in Thailand, I only had to wait for two.

Its a big thumbs up to Thai Airways “Entertainment on Demand” service. I managed to program in some of my favourite music, played some Nintendo and watch Open Season and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 before arriving in Thailand.

Thailand was a bit of a blur considering I didn’t leave the airport. I did manage however to find a soapie that was a cross between Days of Our Lives and Home & Away. The ads however were more fun. Very familiar ads, very familiar products, just with Thai faces and Thai writing. A soap ad is a soap ad in every country it seems.

Also, a hot tip: McDonald’s has released in Thailand what they choose to call the McRice burger!

The second leg was very uninteresting. More leg room but no Entertainment on Demand, so being predictably boring I chose to sleep (in 15 minute intervals). Once I got into London I was very tired and it was a delightful 1 degree. It did however snow in my honour.

The hostel is quite nice and the guys I am bunking with are all Aussies (you can count the non-Aussies on one hand: Canadian, Kiwi, South African, Norweigan and Slovenian) After a few beers last night today is not so wonderful, but being Australia Day I have a BBQ and a cricket game to go and get involved in (and £2 crownies).

Stay tuned!