East Midlands Airport

After breakfast, we finished off our packing and checked out of the room by 11am. After trying to kill a little time by playing cards, we decided to go to McDonalds and have a McFlurry by the beach.

After we finished, we caught the 104 bus to Palma, before getting the ¹back to the airport.

We were at the airport 2 hours before check-in opened, so we grabbed some food (€4.90 for a bocadillo con Jamon!!!) and watched Men Behaving Badly on the iPod.

After check-in, we spent the rest of our Euros on presents for family and ourselves and ate one last meal before boarding.

The flight was fairly easy going. We had a spare seat next to us again, so we could spread out a little, and before we knew it, we were back in England...

The Last Day

Today is our last day of the trip. We have to check out of the room by midday. But for now we are just enjoying breakfast by the sea.

Yesterday, we sat on the beach for a couple of hours, occasionally heading into the Mediterranean Sea. It was very calm, but it was bloody freezing!!

Last night we went to the bar over the road to watch a bit of the football and got some food.

We also managed to play a few games of cards in the hotel too.

It seems very strange to think of all the places that we have visited in the last 1¹days. It's a little disappointing that it's all coming to an end, but it will be nice to get back home to a bit of normality and a couple if lie-in's.

However, it will not be nice to get back to the cold weather after a few days here in Spain.

Anyway, we've finished breakfast now, so we have to go and pack our suitcases.

The Beach

After our walk back along the beach back to Palma Nova, we decided to get some food from the snack bar across the road from the hotel. Then we decided to go back to the hotel lobby and play cards whilst listening to the iPod.

At around 7:30, we decided to go and get changed to go out for a few drinks (Magners for Mel, San Miguel for Ryan).

After a quick McDonalds (ordered in Spanish like the everything else here) we headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

After breakfast this morning, we went back to the room to get ready and we are now laying on the beach listening to music. We have the iPhon speakers on loud as there is nobody else around.

Going to go in the sea now, so Hasta Luego.

Fantasia Golf

Yesterday, we left the Hard Rock Cafe after a quick beer and walked along the Harbour towards the Palma Cathedral. After spending the best part of an hour around the Cathedral, we caught the bus back to Palma Nova.

We found a bar/restaurant near to the hotel and we both ate a Sunday Roast before heading back to our room for a siesta.

Around 7ish, we went to the Bora Bora bar across the road for a few drinks whilst watching the Villarreal v Getafe match.

Around 8:45, we went to get some food before heading back to the hotel to watch Top Gear.

After breakfast this morning, we went straight to play Mini-Golf. 54 holes later, we decided to take a walk towards Magaluf, which like Palma Nova, is also pretty dead.

Now we are just sitting by Magaluf beach watching a couple of boats go by.

Ghost Town

We managed to get the bus from Palma to Pama Nova with no problems. The the trip took a little while longer as we travelled along the coast instead of along the motorway.

On our arrival in Palma Nova, we checked in straight away, an unpacked our suitcase for the first time this trip.

Then we decided to take a walk along the beach, which was when we noticed how deserted the resort is in December.

The majority of the hotels are shut, as well a most of the bars and shops. We managed to find a nice little restaurant near to the hotel as we hadn't eaten properly since our last night in Berlin.

After an ice-cream by the beach, we decided to get changed and go out at night.

We managed a walk into Magaluf with only a handful of bars open, and after one quick drink we headed back to Palma Nova.

This morning we have taken the bus into Palma, and are currently having a beer at the Hard Rock Cafe. After this we are walking towards the cathedral to take some photographs.

Palma de Mallorca

After waking early this morning for our trip to Schönefeld Airport (early as in 3am), we managed to make the fairly easy journey on Berlin's public transport. Their trains run 24-hours, which made it very easy for our 5am bus connection. After checking in, and the worst hot chocolate ever, we boarded the flight to Spain.

We landed in Palma at around 10am, and got our bags fairly quickly. We then caught the number ¹bus into Palma, and we are currently waiting for our bus at the Plaça d'Espanya station to take us on to Palma Nova.

Berlin was by far our favourite city of the trip. The only reason we could fault it was the temperature (Which was our fault for going in December).

It's nice to finally be somewhere warm, and we are both rid of our jackets and looking forward to our few days in the sun.

Hey Ho, Let's Go

Our first port of call today was the Ramones Museum. It was amazing to see the large Collection of Ramones memorabilia there, some of which must be worth a fortune. We spent around two hours there before going back to the Brandenburg Gate to take some photos during the day,

From here we took a short walk to the Bundestag, which is the home of the German Parliament.

Next on the list was the Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust. This takes up a massive area, and the design is basically a large number of blocks rising from the ground at different heights.

Our last main sight was the Führerbunker. This was the former site of the Nazi Reich Chancellery, in the bunker of which, Adolf Hitler commited suicide and effectively ended the Second World War. In the late 1940's, the Soviets blew up most jf the bunker. Now the area has been built upon, and is just a car park.

We then took another walk to Potsdamer Platz and ate a Bratwürst before heading back to the hotel for a rest.

Rubber Tubing

We have just been for dinner at Tony Roma's where I had the hottest wings I have ever eaten. After this, we took a stroll through the Christmas Market and shopping centre at Potsdamer Platz.

At Potsdamer Platz, they have a 40-odd foot high snow-slope which you can slide down on rubber rings. I decided to give it a go, but despite my pleading, Mel didn't.

Rubber Tubing

We have just been for dinner at Tony Roma's where I had the hottest wings I have ever eaten. After this, we took a stroll through the Christmas Market and shopping centre at Potsdamer Platz.

At Potsdamer Platz, they have a 40-odd foot high snow-slope which you can slide down on rubber rings. I decided to give it a go, but despite my pleading, Mel didn't.

Brrrrrlin

After breakfast we took a trip to Berlin Zoo where we saw lots of different animals including the famous polar bear, Knut. We spent about 3 hours walking around the zoo, hopping in and out if the different buildings to escape the cold.

From the zoo, we walked to get some lunch. on the way we stopped to buy a few souvenirs. We also needed to find a sewing kit for our suitcase which has broken again (just a little stitching has come loose).

After a trip to the shops at Freidrichstraße, and then Alexanderplatz, we eventually got one quite cheap.

Whilst at Alexanderplatz, we also ja a little wander around the Christmas Market before taking the U-Bahn to Checkpoint Charlie. This was the famous crossing on the Berlin Wall, where Soviet and American tanks sat face to face hours during the Cold War.

Just a short walk from there, we visited a small remaining section of the Wall to take some photos and then headed back to the hotel.

Brandenburg by Night

Our very well deserved sleep finished at around 5pm, and by that time we were getting hungry so we decided to go get food at the Berlin Hard Rock Cafe.

After a great meal and a look around the shop, we decided on a quick stop-off at the Brandenburg Gate. We got a few nice photos, with Dave Bear making another appearance.

Then a short trip on the S-Bahn back to the hotel to catch up on a little more sleep, and to sort out our plan of attack tomorrow.

Berlin

We have arrived in Berlin, and it is by far the coldest place yet. After getting the bus and S-Bahn to our hotel, we have a little time to kill before we can check in to our hotel. As I write this, we are sitting in a small coffee shop at Potsdamer Platz. They have no wi-fi though, so this won't be upoaded until I can find some.

We have had pretty much no sleep due to our early flight. We managed to get a small kip on the flight, which was nice as it was half-empty, and we had a row of seats between us. Although It would have been a little nicer if the flight lasted a bit longer than ¹hour and 20 minutes. We can't complain too much though, as we're now in another wonderful capital city.

First we need a little rest though, so we're going to try to check-in and get a couple of hours' sleep before we begin to explore the city.

Final Day in Paris

Our day of sightseeing started with a quick coffee, before going back to the Eiffel Tower in the daylight. After a couple of photos (this time including Dave Bear), and an attempt to be conned with the gold ring trick, we then headed to Place de Concorde. From here we took a long walk through the shops of the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.

After another round of photos, and another attempt to be conned, we took another metro ride, to Le Louvre. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to look around the museum as we had one last major sight to fit in; Notre Dame.

We are now back at Place d'Italie, where our hotel is. Now it's time for us to rest up and have an early night before catching the Noctilien to Orly.

300 steps...

We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe yesterday afternoon. Afterwards we looked around the shop, and got ourselves a few souvenirs.

By the time we left, it was starting to get dark so we decided upon a metro ride to the banks of the Seine, and the Eiffel Tower. Having never seen it before, we were expecting it to be big, but we were still suprised how big it actually is!

It was all lit up, and as we walked underneath it they were just accepting the last admissions to climb the tower.

Therefore, 300 steps later, we made it to the first level...

After a little look around, and some great photo opportunities, it started to rain quite heavily. Because of this, they closed the steps and we were forced to take the lift down.

A metro trip later and we were back at the shopping centre outside our hotel. We watched the iPod and chilled for the rest of the night.

Today we have to cram a few sights in, before our very late/early trip to Orly Airport at around 2am (1am GMT).

Bonjour Paris

We have arrived safely and trouble-free in the French Capital. The flight was fairly smooth, and Mel had a bit of a sleep.

We are both a little disappointed to have left Hungary, but excited to see what Paris has on offer.

After dreading the RER and Metro journey, it actually turned out to be quite pleasant. In Budapest, the metro tickets were checked manually, but here in Paris they are done electronically. We're still not sure which one we prefer.

Our hotel room is fairly small, but comfortable. We are only here for one full night, so it isn't a problem. Although now, we only have one English TV Channel!!

Now we are going to head for some food and do a bit of sightseeing. I think the Hard Rock Cafe sounds good.

Au revoir for now!

Ferihegy

Our flight to Paris boards in just under half an hour. We have exchanged our remaining Hungarian Forint into Euro and we are now waiting in the departure lounge.

If all goes to plan, our estimated arrival time at Orly is around midday. After this we have a trek across Paris on the RER and Metro. Hopefully, we will be in our hotel for about 1pm.

In other news, the suitcase passed the test and managed to get to the airport on it's own two wheels. Hopefully the two trainers I wedged in the corners will stay strong during the flight and there will be no more trouble to come of it.

We ae going to skidaddle now, and the next update will come from (not so) sunny Paris.

Bye Bye Budapest

It's 7am, and Mel and I have just returned to the room after having a very large breakfast. We just have to seal our suitcases and then get the metro followed by the bus to Ferihegy Airport. If we can get on the metro before 7:45, we've done well.

And on a random note, we were woken up by Mr. T on a home shopping Infommercial because I left the TV on last night.

Maybe not as famous...

Okay, just an update on a post earlier. It wasn't the Olympiacos football team that was in our hotel. Yesterday, Honved Budapest played against Olympiacos Piraeus...

...at Water Polo.

Makes sense really.

Magyar Madness (Part Two)

The Puskas Ferenć Stadion is named after Hungary's most famous son. It is home to the Hungarian National Team and this was where England were beaten 7-¹in the 1950's.

After this we went for some food and decided that we were going to do some shopping.

We headed to the Arena Plaza Shopping Centre, which is the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe, but apart from there being a C&A, we thought it was a bit pants.

We then took the metro back to the centre of the city and did a little souvenir shopping before heading back to the hotel.

Now we are spending our final night watching German football and resting our tired legs before leaving for France early tomorrow.

Magyar Madness (Part One)

Finally we are in our room. We left it at around 9am, and we've been walking around for 10 hours.

We have hopped on and off the metro and visited a fair few places.

We started early on at Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica), which is a massive and beautiful 19th century church and from there took a walk along the Danube River. The river is extremely wide and the breeze across it is absolutely freezing!!! The path along the river brought us to Országház, which is the Hungarian Parliament building. The scale of this building is immense, and it is a fantastic building.

Here we escaped the cold with a metro trip to Hösök Tere (Heroes' Square). It is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and has a central column similar to Trafalgar Square, on top if which stands Gabriel, the Guardian Angel.

Next was a trip for my personal pleasure. The home of modern football, the Puskas Ferenć Stadion.

Random Greek Football Team

We've just been for breakfast, and whilst down there, the whole Olympiacos football team came down to eat. I have no idea why they are in Budapest, but they are.

Day 2

It's a lovely Budapest Sunday morning. A little on the cold side, but lovely nonetheless.
Today we are heading for a little breakfast before catching the metro into the city. A bit of sightseeing, and photo opportunies await.
The good news is that I think the suitcase is fixed. I just had to shove a pair of trainers at the bottom. If it works, it will give us a little extra for shopping.
Last night, we went to the Spar over the road and bought some Cherry Coke, Milka and Cheetos. We then settled in to watch "Burn After Reading" on my iPod.
The room here is a little boring. We have a balcony, but it is too cold to stand out on it for more than 5 minutes. We have a TV, but with only 2 English Channels - BBC World (which gets boring very quickly), and Eurosport (which is intent on showing just adverts and Cross Country Skiing).
Anyway, time is pressing, so we better go get ready.

Budapest

We landed in Budapest at around 11:30 local time, which was pretty much right on time. After collecting our bags, I discovered that my suitcase is broken. When you wheel it, it is wobbling around, and the bumpy streets weren't helping. So after carrying the thing up and down stairs, and across roads, we finally arrived at our hotel. It is a little way out from the city, but it is easy to get to on the Metro. Now, we have just had some food in the centre of Budapest, and we're going to head back towards the hotel for an early night. We've got a big day tomorrow, including the search for a new suitcase.

Luton Airport - The Beginning

And so the journey begins... we've been at Luton for around half an hour now, and we've just ate breakfast (see picture). We'll be checking-in in around half an hour. After we'll head to do a little duty-free.

Packing

Packing has commenced. Only 11 days until we're on our way to Hungary.

In-flight entertainment.

I ordered a book from Amazon.co.uk for me to read on the connecting flights. It's Jeff Stelling's "Jelleyman's Thrown A Wobbler". If you don't know who Jeff Stelling is, he is the Anchor of Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday show.
This is the only football show that runs for six hours, shows absolutely no live football, consists of several ex-professionals watching TV screens and shouting occasionaly. Yet it manages to keep grown men all over the country glued to their seats.

Hopefully this, and my new iPhone will keep me entertained through these no-frills flights.

I also might see if I can download "Inglourious Basterds" to watch (again) on the trip.

T-Minus 27 days.

Everything is booked. Just spending money to save up for, and an iPhone so we can update the blog whilst on the move. I've spent a while looking at the different transport options we've got, to get from the airports to the hotels. The only one posing a problem at the moment is Berlin. They are having a bit or trouble with their S-Bahn trains, which we want to use all the way from Schoenefeld to our hotel at Anhalter Bahnhof. The status of these trains keeps changing though, so everything might work out fine.