THERE AND BACK AGAIN : A HOBBITS TALE
Hmmm think that's already been done......
I'm looking for the right way to start this epic blog, this blog is going to be so long it could match Homers "The Odyssey" or Tolstoy's "War & Peace" without the class, intellect and sophistication and more like a child's picture book with a dribble stream of consciousness from this messy brain of mine.
OK, lets start from where all good books start....someone waking up and scratching their bum, come on, i bet almost all of you do it, you wake up, stand up, stretch and then scratch your bum before stumbling to the toilet for your shower, you know you do.
We're all packed and ready to go. It's Sunday morning 18th June. We kiss our little girl Squidly goodbye and make our way by taxi to get or coach. RSPCA - Squidly is fine, she has the full run of every room in the house, lots of water bowls, lots of food and lots of hay & grass, she definitely doesn't go without, she's got a cooling bed, a quilted bed and our big double bed to sleep on, so trust me she is more than comfortable. 🐰
Decided to get coach today due to maintenance on railway lines so that journey was Bus + Train and took 20 mins longer to get to Heathrow. It was a very comfortable easy journey as coach wasn't that busy. Just how we like it. We get to Heathrow then get the local bus to our hotel using our Oyster cards. Do you know what...so much easier using local London bus than using the airport shuttle bus, the buses run more often, 24 hours a day and much more room on them. Why didn't we do this before? On to the Ibis Styles hotel and up to our room. Check in, throw bags in, off to pub we go.
Our room is at the very top of the building, had a great view of the runway at Heathrow.
The view was great to plane spot as they change it every 3 hours from landing to take off.
Nice and spacey, in fact too much space as you walk in, feels like a sofa should be there.
Yes, that is a Giraffe in the bathroom, must be having a poop in the toilet on the next floor below ours.
And our Heathrow local The Three Magpies, great little place, never to busy.
Couple of beers later we head back for one more at the hotel bar and order some food before we settle down ready for the big off. We never settle down as always too excited but we try. Nigh Nigh now!
Nice time flight 11am so no need to be up and out stupidly early. Flight to Munich is with Lufthansa and i have to say what a great airline and the a bit more legroom than your easyjet's and ryanair's. Now there was a part during the emergency display by the stewardess that did make me want to burst out laughing because of my warped mind. As the ...shall we say...rather butch female stewardess stood with the emergency card in her hand the announcement was "You will find the emergency card in the back of the seat in front of you" but as she held it up she held it up aloft with arm out straight at a 45 deg angle with the hand above head height. Now then, we're on a German flight, going to Germany with a German air stewardess, what do you think that motion looked like? Lets just say all she needed to do was click her heals together.
Flight was on time, it was a nice smooth flight and then "HELLO MUNICH!"
So, i've been trying to find the picture of my beer at Munich Airport when i flew back from Zakynthos via Munich one year but i've written so much waffle since then that i can't find it but never mind here's a better picture of our beers in the bar same i drank at all those years ago.
From here i had tickets booked for the train to Munich which was again hassle free. We arrived in Munich city centre around 12.30pm and made our way to Buddy Hotel. Well.....not straight away due to google map pointing us in the opposite direction and it was 32 deg so i was close to throwing my phone in a vat of sauerkraut, Sian was a very calming influence where as i don't really like modern technology at the best of times so at this point i was close to breaking.
This trip we went with hotels as not staying to long in just one place.
We find our hotel and due to my earlier frustration i wasn't overly happy with the room as requested higher floor and were on 3rd floor and room seemed quite small, so as usual, bags in, get out, beer time!
We couldn't have picked a better located hotel, everything on our doorstep, it was perfect. The buildings were amazing, there is so much detail that has gone in to the older ones all you can do is stand and admire the work that has gone in to them.
This is a great outdoor market in the town centre, there are so many eateries in here and the smells as you walk through there are so awesome, you could eat in here everyday for month and every day eat at a different business mmmmmmm.
Now then....it's become a ritual now that if we visit a city with a Hard Rock Cafe it's going to get messy. Good music, great drinks and amazing rock memorabilia. Guess what Munich has.......? And as if by the hand of Freddie Mercury and Taylor Hawkins.....IT'S HAPPY HOUR! Yes, happy hour here is just that 1 happy hour 2 for 1. It's going to get super messy 😂
Hard Rock used to be a place of amazing memorabilia but i think as more opened they started spending less as they could be anyone's guitar or anyone's drumsticks and we've seen the same item in different Hard Rocks. Here's an example, a guitar and underneath just "Foo Fighters" , now that's quite vague. Before there would be an explanation with the item of who, where and when.
And this is just plain shit 💩
In Rome Hard Rock they had Gene Simmons Death Axe Guitar and guess what, Munich also had Gene Simmons Death Axe Guitar. That was a let down to see that. Never mind, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS!
Happy hour over, 4 cocktails and 2 shots later i think it was and our custom Hard Rock t-shirts bought we wobble back to a little bar near our hotel called 35mm bar for a beer and to pick up some Pizza Hut pizzas. BEWARE - do not order Pizza Hut pizzas before knowing the price, £37 for 2 pizzas and 2 tiny dips and even then they forgot our dips so i had to go back to get them. When we got back to our room i was allot more happy and found our room to be amazing.
We had a seating area with fold down table, a coffee machine, a shower with rainforest shower and hand shower, ice cold air con, a 9" tablet connected to the wifi and an electric bed to raise the back up to sit up in bed, never had either of the last 2 before in even the most expensive rooms we've stayed in. We love our room.
A great nights sleep and up and out for our usual marathon walk around a city but time for a coffee first which is handy as there is a Starbucks with outdoor personal seating balcony's right across the road from us.
Our view from Starbucks watching the world go by and a city centre nutter sunbathing in the fountain and then leaving his trainers there which a homeless man came past and picked them up.
I'll leave you with some pics just for the moment as we walked so far and saw so much that the pictures will tell it better than my blabbering crap.
And after nearly 6 hours walking out and about the place it's beer time at 35mm bar, we need this, CHEERS!
And time to bed for us sleepy kids as it's Freddie Day tomorrow.
Up and at them. It's Freddie Day and off to the gay quarter see where he used to hang out, but first, early morning prayer. Please all bow your heads in silent prayer. It's sort of like making a wish as those never come true either, the amount of times i've prayed for lightning to strike someone talking on facetime and it's never happened baffles me and i'm a reverend so you lot got no chance.
Freddie during his years of living in Munich had 2 major places that were a big part of his life. Firstly he would go every morning to the same cafe for his morning coffee and that cafe is called NIL. We went here for Currywurst but they didn't open the kitchen until later so we had a few beers instead but it is a lovely cafe on a quiet side street as Freddie was a quiet private person when out of the public eye.
And one of the most famous of Freddie's places is the club where he held his outrageous birthday party with drugs, sex and dwarf throwing also at that same birthday party in the club he shot his video for "Living on my own". The club only opens Thurs-Sat and this was a Wednesday so we were out of luck to go in and have a drink, the decor has all changed years ago but still would have been nice to go in.
Currywurst, where to get some currywurst, i know, there's a currywurst shop 3 doors down from Hard Rock and after eating it will be happy hour time again, YAY!
The currywurst was so good and we were so stuffed but happy hour is calling but i think it will be just the one tonight and then one for the road at 35mm bar as we're on the train to Paris at 6.40am. As we left Hard Rock we heard the sound of a Oom-pah band and wouldn't you know it, on our last night we find a Bierkeller opposite the Hard Rock, BUGGER, we wanted to go to a bierkeller and god dammit we're to full now. Ah well another visit it will have to be. I think it could be a dual Milan to Munich trip on the cards as we want to go back to both. I'll get on the case. We settle down for our last sleep in Munich, 3 days have flown by as we've seen and done so much as always but we'll be back.
3.30am and i'm wide awake as excited for Paris , The Great Canadian and Depeche mode. We get ourselves sorted and head to the train station for a quick coffee and on to our first of 2 trains as we have a connection in Stuttgart 2 hours first train and 2 1/2 hours second train with a 15 minute wait in between also 1 class all the way , oh yeah, we like our comfort.
Nice first class comfy reclining seats and foldable table
And in our own little compartment, it's like Harry Potters Train to Hogwarts.
Off at Stuttgart then on to our second train to Paris.
It was a train with upper and lower decks, we were on the lower deck, booooooooo!
This is a speedy train 195mph, i feel like Roger Moore as James Bond in the G force machine in Moonraker.
How can Sian sleep at such a speed, my eyes are like wide saucers, it's crazy. Mind you, these seats were even more comfy than the last.
Our next hotel is only 2 metro stops from Notre Dame, again what a great location. We were in the business district of Ivry Sur Seine staying at a chain hotel called B & B. I've stayed in one of these before at Munich airport, great room but air con wasn't cold enough.
Our room but just a generic pic to show you, this room also had a coffee machine and lots of space with real good black out curtains.
Bags in, get out, beer time!
And just a short 5 min walk away we find this little beauty in a prime location with street seating and good strong beer Affligem.
It's been a long hot day so lets just stay here and have a few beers, no need to rush about as we've done all the main Paris bits on our last visit, lets just chill in Paris. Cheers.
We get back to the room and turn the TV on only to find out that there had been an explosion in central Paris that afternoon just behind our local The Great Canadian to be precise only 750 metres away, lets home our local and everyone in Central is ok.
All refreshed and ready to go, IT'S DRINKS DAY! Can you guess boys and girls where we're going? YAY, HARD ROCK! So we shall start there and work our way back i think.
The Hard Rock is in the Paris version of London's west end, theatre land and such like.
Now the memorabilia in here was almost as good as the original Hard Rock in London.
And this Hard Rock has a VIP room
And guess who were allowed to drink in here, you may have guessed from the last pic........
This could get messy..........
And on we go, t-shirts bought and bagged, that's now Milan, Rome, Munich, Paris, Cardiff and........oh, hang on, we haven't got a London t-shirt and that's the one we've visited the most, ah well that will be in October on our next visit to London to see Holly Johnson (Frankie goes to Hollywood) in concert.
To the Great Canadian, YAAAAAAAAAAAY!
You know all about The Great Canadian from our visit last year but it's such a good pub and one of the best beers we've had Eidleweiss, it's so good.
Lets head back to The Indiana for our night caps and a Kalamari snack, another long day in a sweltering 37deg, lots of fun, lots of laughs and lots of drinks and shots. Tomorrow is a big day at the Stade de France.......
Bit of a lay in this morning as it's gonna be a very long day and we better eat early as won't be eating until at least after 1am when back from concert so back to The Indiana we go for a Mozzarella Bowl and a Salmon Bowl nice and healthy and light.
Back to the room for a little chill out and then off we go to the Stade de France, excitement building....
Not many people looking like concert goers on the metro but as soon as we step off the metro........
This feels mad, we're in France to see Depeche Mode, it's like when we were in Milan to see Imagine Dragons, it all seems weird but a good weird and like we weren't there but we were, can't explain it properly but i know what i mean.
Our usual mickey take selfie. I still don't get why people think pouting posing selfies make them look fabulous, YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS!
Beers for the masses (Depeche reference)
And the masses gather.......
And gather..........
Where have all the people gone.......
Oh, here they are.......
40 years on from when they started Depeche Mode are selling out huge international stadiums worldwide. The whole point of Munich and Paris was to see Depeche Mode in both cities but i could not find anywhere a ticket for Munich, they are gods in Germany. How many of these plastic artists we see today will be filling stadiums playing to sell out crowds worldwide in 40 years time........NONE that's how many as todays music is heard today forgotten tomorrow.
Sian taking a breather from all our jumping about and dancing.
RIP Andy "Fletch" Fletcher
Uuuuuggghhh and now for a big laugh, Sian filmed me dancing and lets put this in to context, 4 pints in 2 hours and i'm thinking i'm Dave Gahan and trying to do my best impression of him. If i was a fan stood near me i would be thinking "What a cock, F**k off somewhere else asshole", it's my Brent moment but Sian thinks it's great, so just for Sian and to show i never take myself seriously, here you go, enjoy....
And after you've all pulled yourselves together it's time for us to head back to Indiana for a night cap and order 2 pizzas from reception and they were very nice indeed. Tomorrow is our final day but it's going to be a goody as it's Poutine day, sweet dreams........
Up a little later today as didn't get to bed until gone 2am and off to our metro station which is an amazing looking place unlike the London tube stations which are grubby and smelly.
It has been so hot all this week we try to find some sort of breeze so we take a walk along the river seine just to get a draft off the boats passing us.
The work going on at Notre Dame Cathedral is amazing but there are years and years to go before back to anything like it's former glory.
Another break from the sun so we go underground underneath Notre Dame.
We're feeling the heat today as there is just no breeze and in a big city like Paris it feels even more intense. I think our walking is done and time for food and beer, TO THE GREAT CANADIAN!
Now we've had Poutine from 5 different business and this one is the second best only to Bookers BBQ in Calgary, it tastes amazing, i could eat poutine every day without a problem.
"THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE" Highlander pub and that's in Paris unfortunately it's open hours never seem to ever be on time but today they were open, HOORAH!
It's a quirky little place, in need of a bit of a scrub but played the best music of any bar we'd been in during this trip. a proper rock bar.
Sadly it's now time to head back for our last drinks at Indiana and prepare for our homeward journey, BOOOOOOOO!
Our last morning so it's off to Starbucks for our last coffee in Paris. This Starbucks was in a cinema complex next door to our hotel and we just couldn't resist one last pic............
The day we land back home Paris turns into a riot zone so we had 2 close shaves, explosion on arrival and riots upon leaving.
So folks that's 7 days away in 2 cities and it was a blast, one of our best holidays i think even though every day was sunny, hot and a sweltering 32-37 deg. I have to give a big shout out to my beautiful Sian, she has had a problem with her heal and it has made walking very painful and not once did Sian moan or complain or not want to walk around, we walked over 8 miles every day and i said every day "if you want to stop, just stay close to hotel or just stay in you just say and we will" but Sian never did she kept on going which is so good of her, your amazing.
So what did we learn from this trip, well, seeing a concert abroad is much better than seeing it in the UK and cheaper, UK is still the worst country we know, beer can be good for you, 32-37 deg in a city feels so much hotter, you don't need social media if you have a partner you love being around and travel does broaden the mind.
So another vacation over and looking forward to the next. Nothing now for a whole 2 months, what will we do, maybe a few weekends away until September where we have Athens, that's if the price of flights become more reasonable, they are stupid prices and i'm a tight ass, then London in October and November along with a feeding Red Panda experience in November (so excited for that) and New Year it's all up in the air, Prague looking good at the moment as St. Malo is looking tricky to get to since they stopped flights to Dinard and also Barcelona in the mix, we have apartments booked in all 3 but now it's finding the right travel for us.
I hope this update was of some interest to you and a good laugh once again at my expense but that's fine, i'm glad it gave you a giggle.
P.S. WE HAVE FRONT ROW SEATS, YES SEATS FOR FOO FIGHTERS IN CARDIFF 2024, YEEEEEHAAAAA!
So until our next update......
Serve All, Love All, Peace All, Kevlar Out!
