Saturday 30 June 2012
Getting a drink in Halifax
There has to bean easier way to get a drink round here! Generally speaking in England it goes something like this:
1. Walk up to bar.
2. Say "I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale please landlord".
3. Hand over money.
4. Drink.
5. Repeat steps 2. to 4. until in Colin Henry's words "I'm going home.....I can see two Dans."
In Halifax it went something like this:
1. Walk up to bar.
2. Be ignored for a good 5 minutes.
3. Finally attract attention of the bar keep and say " I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale landlord."
4. Receive the following reply "This is table service only. Please check in with the door girl."
5. Check in with the door girl.
6. Get told where to sit.
7. Be ignored for a good 5 minutes.
8. Waitress attends and say "I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale landlord."
9. Get handed a 4 page tap list.
10. Say "I'll have that one."
12. Would you like a mug, personal pitcher, group pitcher or a happy hour bucket."
13. "Erm I'll go with the mug."
14. A mug which is something between a half and a pint arrives. But it's COLD! It's ale and it's COLD!
15. Don't bother repeating any steps.
16. Pay and go home.
I think I need to go to a bar rather than a pub next time :-) or just drink something out of a bottle in a paper bag with the other bums!
1. Walk up to bar.
2. Say "I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale please landlord".
3. Hand over money.
4. Drink.
5. Repeat steps 2. to 4. until in Colin Henry's words "I'm going home.....I can see two Dans."
In Halifax it went something like this:
1. Walk up to bar.
2. Be ignored for a good 5 minutes.
3. Finally attract attention of the bar keep and say " I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale landlord."
4. Receive the following reply "This is table service only. Please check in with the door girl."
5. Check in with the door girl.
6. Get told where to sit.
7. Be ignored for a good 5 minutes.
8. Waitress attends and say "I'll have a pint of your finest frothing ale landlord."
9. Get handed a 4 page tap list.
10. Say "I'll have that one."
12. Would you like a mug, personal pitcher, group pitcher or a happy hour bucket."
13. "Erm I'll go with the mug."
14. A mug which is something between a half and a pint arrives. But it's COLD! It's ale and it's COLD!
15. Don't bother repeating any steps.
16. Pay and go home.
I think I need to go to a bar rather than a pub next time :-) or just drink something out of a bottle in a paper bag with the other bums!
Friday 29 June 2012
A day in Halifax
It's summer here and I unzipped the bottoms of my hiking trousers threw caution to the wind and unleashed my white chicken legs on the unsuspecting folk of Halifax. Poor buggers!
Replacement soft shell jacket was purchased along with new trekking trainers and various bits and bobs. Athletes Foot creme being the most urgent. The joys of hosteling!
I'm staying at the the Dalhousie University halls of residence along with hundreds of performers appearing in the Nova Scotia International Tattoo. It's pretty lively round here!
Obviously tickets aren't selling as I got given free ones. All I had to do was have my photo taken on my phone. I'll do anything for free stuff!
It's not very photogenic here so I've posted a pic of my hall of residence. The water front is a bit like Hastings seafront minus the charm!
The people are very friendly and will talk to anyone. Car drivers are always stopping to give way with a polite wave to the bemused tourist. So are Canadians really super laid back, kind, considerate and friendly or do they have a dark place at home where they go and scream and break things?
I'll let you know if the Tattoo is any good :-)
Replacement soft shell jacket was purchased along with new trekking trainers and various bits and bobs. Athletes Foot creme being the most urgent. The joys of hosteling!
I'm staying at the the Dalhousie University halls of residence along with hundreds of performers appearing in the Nova Scotia International Tattoo. It's pretty lively round here!
Obviously tickets aren't selling as I got given free ones. All I had to do was have my photo taken on my phone. I'll do anything for free stuff!
It's not very photogenic here so I've posted a pic of my hall of residence. The water front is a bit like Hastings seafront minus the charm!
The people are very friendly and will talk to anyone. Car drivers are always stopping to give way with a polite wave to the bemused tourist. So are Canadians really super laid back, kind, considerate and friendly or do they have a dark place at home where they go and scream and break things?
I'll let you know if the Tattoo is any good :-)
Halifax
This is the first time I've crossed the Atlantic since 1995. We landed in a down poor and got out of the airport to a muggy warm night. First time I had seen dark since last Thursday. With that and gaining 3 hours it was a long day. Eventually got to bed at what would have been 3 am Reykjavik time.
I'm doing my washing and recovering from my first all you can eat buffet breakfast! I tried my best but was up against some real pros!
Having forgotten my jacket, I left my spork behind somewhere and yesterday was my third lost item. I had left my Swiss army knife in my hand luggage by mistake. Luckily I got searched at check in. Perfectly ok to take a knife onto Iceland Air flight. I must have looked trustworthy!
Checking the Canadian air transit regs it probably wasn't a good idea to try and get a knife through immigration. I got a right grilling as it was. So my third loss was my Swiss army knife which I ditched at Keflavik just to be on the safe side.
I'm off kit shopping :-)
I'm doing my washing and recovering from my first all you can eat buffet breakfast! I tried my best but was up against some real pros!
Having forgotten my jacket, I left my spork behind somewhere and yesterday was my third lost item. I had left my Swiss army knife in my hand luggage by mistake. Luckily I got searched at check in. Perfectly ok to take a knife onto Iceland Air flight. I must have looked trustworthy!
Checking the Canadian air transit regs it probably wasn't a good idea to try and get a knife through immigration. I got a right grilling as it was. So my third loss was my Swiss army knife which I ditched at Keflavik just to be on the safe side.
I'm off kit shopping :-)
Thursday 28 June 2012
Quiet days
Quiet couple of days. Leisurely drive back to Reykjavik with a bit of car cleaning on the side before returning hire car. A quick pootle round Reykjavik in the evening before a bit of packing and kit rearranging. Airport today and flight to Halifax. Travel can be so glam!
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Birds galore....
The car wasn't insured for gravel roads so I drove as far as I could and had a couple of miles to walk across a lava field. The landscape was either peppered with razor sharp debris from the last explosion that would have rained down killing anything caught in that little shower or is piles of black basalt heaved out of the crust or great folded and torn bits of lava flow. Really amazing! Pictures attached at the bottom.
On the mini hike there were Golden Plovers and Snow Buntings. Mostly males as had striking black and white summer plumage.
I could here the birds on the cliffs first and then I could smell them! The guano was really pungent when it gets heated by the summer sun. Not pleasant! However, no Arctic Tern trouble so the Tern repellant I bought worked at treat.
The cliffs were full of un-identifiable gulls, Fulmars, Kitiwakes, Common and Brunnich's Guillemots, and a few more Puffins. At the bottom of the cliffs was a small flotilla of Harlequin Ducks and scouting the cliff for eggs possibly an Arctic Skua. It certainly caused a commotion on its way past.
Still can get used to the daylight. Night time is 3 hours of dusk!
On the mini hike there were Golden Plovers and Snow Buntings. Mostly males as had striking black and white summer plumage.
I could here the birds on the cliffs first and then I could smell them! The guano was really pungent when it gets heated by the summer sun. Not pleasant! However, no Arctic Tern trouble so the Tern repellant I bought worked at treat.
The cliffs were full of un-identifiable gulls, Fulmars, Kitiwakes, Common and Brunnich's Guillemots, and a few more Puffins. At the bottom of the cliffs was a small flotilla of Harlequin Ducks and scouting the cliff for eggs possibly an Arctic Skua. It certainly caused a commotion on its way past.
Still can get used to the daylight. Night time is 3 hours of dusk!
Monday 25 June 2012
Hot love balls and Puffins.....
The Harbourlights side cafe/ferry ticket office at Stykkisholmur was offering a latte and hot 'love balls'.....I'm in! Turns out they were Icelandic doughnuts but great all the same!
While contemplating the very expensive boat trip to see Puffins I sat on top of the little rocky out crop at the end of the harbour and along came 30 or so Puffins fishing at the foot of the cliffs below me. The water was so clear you could see them flying underwater.
The towns church on top of a little hill must have been designed by someone reading books on Le Corbusier I reckon. Picture below.
It's a pretty much cloudless sky this evening. Sunglasses on until 11.00 pm again! I was assuming that being starved of light for so much of the year, everyone would be outside every evening making the most of the liht. Not a bit of it. The place is deserted save a few kids kicking a ball about!
While contemplating the very expensive boat trip to see Puffins I sat on top of the little rocky out crop at the end of the harbour and along came 30 or so Puffins fishing at the foot of the cliffs below me. The water was so clear you could see them flying underwater.
The towns church on top of a little hill must have been designed by someone reading books on Le Corbusier I reckon. Picture below.
It's a pretty much cloudless sky this evening. Sunglasses on until 11.00 pm again! I was assuming that being starved of light for so much of the year, everyone would be outside every evening making the most of the liht. Not a bit of it. The place is deserted save a few kids kicking a ball about!
Sunday 24 June 2012
Whale bones, bassalt beaches, moody skies and ducking Terns
Went in search of Puffins and Seals today but found neither. Driving round the Snaefellsness Peninsula in the rain I did come across a huge whale bone used to mark the entrance to a well. Out on the far Western tip of the peninsula were black bassalt beaches deserted apart from some hardy little alpines. No idea where they get food and nutrition from.
Not a Puffin or Seal in sight but an Artctic Fox ambled across the road in front of me and hung about while I got the bins out and followed him for about 10 minutes as he skulked about looking for nests to raid. Don't see many of those fellas round here.
I did come across many hundreds of Arctic Terns and got mobbed again. You hear a few warning clicks before getting a smack on the head. Don't look up! They'll have your eye out! It's fun/exciting at first but quickly gets pretty annoying.
Couple of pics below. Very pleased with the fox spot today.
Not a Puffin or Seal in sight but an Artctic Fox ambled across the road in front of me and hung about while I got the bins out and followed him for about 10 minutes as he skulked about looking for nests to raid. Don't see many of those fellas round here.
I did come across many hundreds of Arctic Terns and got mobbed again. You hear a few warning clicks before getting a smack on the head. Don't look up! They'll have your eye out! It's fun/exciting at first but quickly gets pretty annoying.
Couple of pics below. Very pleased with the fox spot today.
Saturday 23 June 2012
Today's bird list.....
Arctic Terns (Hundreds....and got slightly mobbed by them!)
Raven
Common Eider
Redshank
Golden Plover
Fulmar
Oyster Catcher
Lastly a view of Kirkjufell from the hostel porch.
Raven
Common Eider
Redshank
Golden Plover
Fulmar
Oyster Catcher
Lastly a view of Kirkjufell from the hostel porch.
Drive from Reykjavik to Grundarfjordar
It is said that the stretch of the M6 passing Shap Fell is the prettiest in drive in the UK. That it may be but it ain't a patch on today's drive. Vast flat lava fields, towering volcanic cones and snow capped mountains. I really haven't seen anything like this before. The photos won't do it justice but here are a couple anyway.
Map check.....
Late lunch at the hostel in the sleepy fishing village of Grundarfjordar on the Sanaefellness Peninsula. Try saying that with false teeth....
The village is over looked by the spectacular Kirkjufell.
The village is over looked by the spectacular Kirkjufell.
Friday 22 June 2012
Bird spots today....
Not surprisingly there was an Arctic Tern fishing off the foreshore. Being in the right neck of the woods helps! Hopefully there'll be more of those soon. Redshanks were mobbing any passing gulls as they had nested on grassland between the foreshore and Reykjavik ring road.
A bit of Architecture....
Reykjavik's Harpa Centre, which is the opera house, concert hall and convention centre is perched of the foreshore like a black iceberg. It's beautiful, austere and very cool. Inside the walls are mirror finished exposed concrete which is made with pulverised black bassalt. Let's face it they've got plenty of it!
All the staff wear sharp black suits and the punters are quaffing coffee out of plain white cups in the 5 storey attrition cafe. Even the bogs were awesome with black polished concrete floor and white cast resin wash hand basins.
A few pics to whet the appetite.
All the staff wear sharp black suits and the punters are quaffing coffee out of plain white cups in the 5 storey attrition cafe. Even the bogs were awesome with black polished concrete floor and white cast resin wash hand basins.
A few pics to whet the appetite.
Here I am.....
As requested Mr Skipper. A couple of screen shots to show where I am :-) This blog must be riveting!
I'm not sure where everyone is! Reykjavik is deserted. Well it was last night gone midnight. I guess if you live here the novelty of 24 hours of day light wheres a bit thin? Although we've now passed the longest day so nights will be drawing in!
I'm not sure where everyone is! Reykjavik is deserted. Well it was last night gone midnight. I guess if you live here the novelty of 24 hours of day light wheres a bit thin? Although we've now passed the longest day so nights will be drawing in!
What a lovely sun 'not' set....
There was a small huddle of hardy soles gathered on the foreshore of Reykjavik harbour to watch the sun not setting at midnight! Well technically it did but posting this at 12.30 and I can still read a book! 
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Weighed in and random luggage shots!
Packed and weighing in at 14kg. I don't think I'm going to get away with much less than that!
Saturday 16 June 2012
Packing......
I'd better start getting used to packing and un-packing again! I think this pretty much everything so Monday morning is 'pack and weigh'. Monday afternoon is 'un-pack and do I really need this?'.
Friday 15 June 2012
and he's off.......
Less than a week to go and i'm busy getting things together for the big trip. This is where I'll be heading on 21st June.......
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