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      CommentAuthorBregje
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Hello everyone, I hope you are all OK. smile

    I was in Paris in august for the first time in my life. Here's a little quiz question for you. If you guess the right answer I will buy you drinks at the next MainTitles meeting (...I hope Thor doesn't get it then...)

    Which MainTitles member took this photo of me on the Eiffel Tower?
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid … 563b847289
    tongue
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Nice picture Bregje!

    I would guess Martin (Tintin) but I haven't heard from him in ages, or Atham (Randall), since he's travelling Europe these days.
    Kazoo
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    FIRST TIME IN PARIS?!?!? shocked
    Well, beter late than never! love

    That said, I wish I could go for the first time again...what a beautiful city! Humming with history, vibrant with life. I love it!

    The photo...hmmmm... I'm guessing Stefan (SiriusCreations)?
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Bregt wrote
    Cool Thor!

    Kaat and I are also looking for a not too far and cheap reachable location in the second week of november. I thought to use Bologna as a base and then train to its neighbouring cities (Modena, Parma, Firenze, Verona) but perhaps that is not all that interesting?


    Oh yes, I think it sounds very interesting. As far as Italy is concerned, I've only ever been to Rome, but I've always wanted to fly to Rome, rent a car, drive up through Northern Italy, then into Slovenia (and Ljubliana), then back South through Croatia (my current no. 1 wish of Europe) to Split, and then the ferry over to Ancona, and over the mountain to Rome again.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Bregje wrote
    Hello everyone, I hope you are all OK. smile

    I was in Paris in august for the first time in my life. Here's a little quiz question for you. If you guess the right answer I will buy you drinks at the next MainTitles meeting (...I hope Thor doesn't get it then...)

    Which MainTitles member took this photo of me on the Eiffel Tower?
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid … 563b847289
    tongue


    Gorgeous photo of you, Bregje!

    I have no idea who took the picture, though (I assumed your husband, but he's not an MT member, AFAIK), so that means you're home free in terms of filling up this beer-thirsty stomach!
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015 edited
    A selection of my recent holiday pics from Cornwall are up on FB ( more to come ) if anyone would like to see.

    In what has been the most tragic and awful year of my entire life this really has been the best time I've had for a number of years, It has been so long since I felt that good and truly alive. Good friends are priceless.


    Bregt, ( and anyone else interested ) would you believe I finally bought a slide-scanner today so expect to see some of my past adventures finally posted up.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Timmer wrote
    Bregt, ( and anyone else interested ) would you believe I finally bought a slide-scanner today so expect to see some of my past adventures finally posted up.


    shocked
    punk punk punk
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    I hope I didn't give you too much of a shock old bean. wink
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015 edited
    Awesome, Tim. I'm glad you got a ray of sunshine in your life with that Cornwall trip (yes, I've seen some of the pics on facebook that your friends put up). Oh, and scans of your slides is something we've been talking about for YEARS! Looking forward to it, once you get the chance.
    I am extremely serious.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    Thanks Thor.

    The prospect of going through approximately 2000+ slides is very intimidating, it'll have to be done and then it's a case of showing those I feel are worthy.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015 edited
    Tell me about it. I've been nagging my dad about it for years -- basically all my childhood exists in his thousands of slides, and I've never seen a glimpse of it, as they're completely unsorted! Hopefully he gets to it when he retires in a couple of years, but I can see why it's a daunting task.
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015 edited
    Wow very cool Tim! I hope to see a lot of those adventures and hikes! shocked
    And I'm sooo glad you hiked and had such a good time. smile Quite an impressive scenery too!
    Kazoo
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeSep 14th 2015
    The Cornish coastline is some of the best anywhere plus unlike the spectacular coastlines of Wales and Scotland the weather is more guaranteed to be good. In fact those two weeks were baking hot, it only rained three times and only at night.


    I should also mention that one of my companions Robert is quite a bit of a film music fan and we listened to some fine music on a few nights by the likes of Hans Zimmer, Dario Marianelli, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Christopher Young ( The whole score to The Shipping News appropriately ) and others. Considering how much he likes Basil Poledouris, James Horner and John Barry I was disappointed he didn't have any of theirs downloaded.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorBregje
    • CommentTimeSep 18th 2015
    Bregt wrote
    I would guess Martin (Tintin) but I haven't heard from him in ages

    beer

    We hadn't been in touch as much as before either but he was in Paris to do photography so I went there for two days to meet again. He is doing OK and busy with his passion that is photography.
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeSep 18th 2015
    How cool! For sure I thought he dropped entirely off the communications radar!
    Did you have a nice time in Paris, Bregje? What did you get to see?
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeSep 18th 2015 edited
    Wow. I'm glad he's alive and well. I contacted him a few times but I guess I have the wrong information. And cool that you got to see Paris a little! smile cheesy Send him my regards!
    Kazoo
  1. Greetings from the German North Sea coast! I'm on vacation on the isle of Sylt for the next 10 days. I love the sea! wave
    Bach's music is vibrant and inspired.
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeNov 14th 2015
    Currently on the airplane on my way to morocco. Thinking of all the atrocities in Paris. Morocco has a strong French connection, so it will undoubtedly be a hot topic down there. But we'll try to enjoy it as a holiday. See you in a week!
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeNov 16th 2015 edited
    Bregt wrote
    Kaat and I are also looking for a not too far and cheap reachable location in the second week of november. I thought to use Bologna as a base and then train to its neighbouring cities (Modena, Parma, Firenze, Verona) but perhaps that is not all that interesting?

    We went to BOLOGNA last week for 5 days. My first trip with Kaat! In between our busy schedules and activities, we found a spot for a short holiday. We love food and cooking, so Bologna seemed like a good idea. Close to cities Parma (parmesan, ham) and Modena (balsamic vinegar) and other delicious food, and not touristy at all I thought.

    We chose AirBnb, very convenient if you want to cook yourselves, and had a great time trying out some local cuisine and practices (like apperitivo haha). It's not the prettiest of cities I thought in the first encounter, but after a few days it really shows a very vibrant city. It made me think of Gent actually, because of the many students and people on the streets late in the evening. Lots of bars, pubs and restaurants. Bologna also has the oldest university of the world and an enormous amount of porticos (about 40km in the old town alone)! This includes the longest unbroken one (3.7km), to the San Luca church at a mountain outside the center. So you can actually hide for sun or rain from the center of town to the top of that mountain. spin And we were very lucky with the weather.

    We also did a day trip to FERRARA, and another one to VERONA. Ferrare was a little town, nothing special. Verona was pretty, but very touristy and not as lively as Bologna I think. The Arena was spectacular, very cool. Also the views from Castle San Pietro were awesome. The Juliet balcony thing was hilarious. biggrin
    Kazoo
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeNov 16th 2015
    Hey Timmer. Where have you gone hiking recently? I see new pictures appearing on Facebook.
    Kazoo
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 16th 2015
    Bregt wrote
    Hey Timmer. Where have you gone hiking recently? I see new pictures appearing on Facebook.


    Northern Ireland.

    A long overdue trip to see our ( mine and Rob's 'Summer Set' on FB ) friend Jim who lives near Belfast. Hiking in the mountains of Mourne ( parts of Game of Thrones is filmed there but Jim never watched the show and couldn't be specific ) and coastal walking a 12 mile stretch ending at the Giants Causeway. Great scenery, very wild and quite remote.

    Loved Belfast, better than Dublin IMO, you would love the pubs. Went for a sobering tour ( before we went out drinking I should add wink ) around the "Troubles", the Falls Road and the Shankhill estate which still has a huge, ugly dividing wall.


    Next trip for The Groundhogs ( our collective name for the three of us ) is going to be Iceland.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
  2. Nice one Tim, you're making me homesick! Looking forward to getting back there at Xmas.
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 18th 2015
    I can't remember? Are you originally a Belfast boy John?
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 18th 2015
    ...what we missed three days after we were at The Giants Causeway slant
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorMartijn
    • CommentTimeNov 18th 2015
    No! shocked
    cry
    'no passion nor excitement here, despite all the notes and musicians' ~ Falkirkbairn
  3. Despite having lived in Bristol for more than 10 years now I'm not 'originally a' Belfast boy 'I AM' one! ;-)

    Wow, is that the Northern Lights from The Giant's Causeway, crazy?!
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 18th 2015 edited
    Yep! The second time this year. There was also some brilliant pictures taken of the Aurora over Northumbria at the same time.
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
    • CommentAuthorTimmer
    • CommentTimeNov 18th 2015
    John Chambers wrote
    I'm not 'originally a' Belfast boy 'I AM' one! ;-)


    And now an honorary Bristol boy beer
    On Friday I ate a lot of dust and appeared orange near the end of the day ~ Bregt
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      CommentAuthorThor
    • CommentTimeNov 27th 2015 edited
    I never reported back from my Morocco trip (we returned one week ago).

    Anyways, we arrived in Agadir on a Saturday. It wasn't quite as bad as Timmer suggested, IMO. Yes, it's touristy, but some great beaches, plenty of places to get an alcoholic beverage, and I loved the views from the Kasbah on the hilltop. On Sunday, I even got to sing karaoke in a local bar, even if we had to pay almost Norwegian prices for beer.

    We had rented a car for the whole week, so on Tuesday, we drove the mountain pass across the High Atlas to Marrakesh. This was probably the highlight of the trip, even if it took a whole day. No hiking, just driving (and occasionally stopping to take in the views), but still very impressive. I think the peak with roads was at about 3000 meters, but there were 4000-meter peaks in our vicinity. Some places, the roads were in a very poor state, and so narrow, you felt you could fall off at any moment -- especially when meeting other cars. But fortunately, my traveling companion is an experienced driver who has done the Budapest-Bamako rally multiple times!

    The views are one thing; also pretty cool to drive through all the small mountain villages clinging to the hillsides. Unfortunatey, I had gotten a cold at this time (which is still in my body), and with fever and clogged-up systems, I had trouble equalizing the pressure in my ears on our way down on the other side. I was almost deaf!

    Anyways, arriving in Marrakesh was a wild experience, with narrow alleys filled to the brim with motorcyclists, cyclists, cars and people moving around in what seemed like random chaos! We parked the car (very expensive and risky, but we had no choice!), and spent the next couple of days just walking around taking in the sights and energy of the place. The marketplace that extends from the major Jemma El-Fna square and into the back streets is the biggest and wildest I've ever seen. Very "Indiana Jones".

    On Thursday, my birthday (incidentally), we drove the plateau highway to Essaouria. At this point, my companion was getting violently sick, so I had to take over the steering wheel. Fortunately, the roads didn't have a lot of traffic and were just straight ahead through desert landscapes, so I managed.

    Essaouira was wonderful. It has some of Agadir's set-up and some of Marrakesh's (with the narrow streets inside the medina), but far more laidback. Spectacular beaches, and our hotel was basically situated INSIDE the Atlantic ocean, which offered some monumental breakfasts at the rooftop. Stupendous sunsets too, from the 'fortress walls'. Only downside was the difficulty in getting beers and alcohol, but we were both too sick to properly enjoy it anyway.

    On Saturday, we took the scenic coastal route down to Agadir again (not as spectacular as the High Atlas, but still drop-dead gorgeous in many places -- both the hilly, inland, fertile territory and as we met the raging waves at the coast). We managed to catch our plane back home just in the nick of time.

    Overall, I would recommend Morocco, and I would like to come back to explore other parts of it (like the film-centric Querazadze).
    I am extremely serious.
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      CommentAuthorBregt
    • CommentTimeNov 27th 2015 edited
    Wow. From what you wrote, and the fact that it was 'just' one week, it sounds like a great road trip. Very cool!I'm looking forward to your pictures. A constant during your trips is some type of cold though. wink
    Kazoo