by Terry Thorpe | Oct 29, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We arrived in Rome on the 28th and checked into our reasonably priced hotel next to the train station before turning in for the night. The next day after a nice breakfast in a nearby cafe was a whirlwind tour of Rome, hop on, hop off style. We did all the big hits,... by Terry Thorpe | Oct 28, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We arrived on the 24th at the Sivertsen resort, our luxury suite awaiting us. We unpacked and took advantage of the (much needed) free laundry service, checked in on the cats, house and family and stressed about what to bring and not to bring on the cruise of a... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 22, 2023 | Blog, Terry
The pain of leaving was soothed somewhat by the business class seats awaiting us on our flight to Norway… Probably the only time I’ve been more excited by the flight than the destination. The time had finally come to say farewell to the USA. It was a... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 21, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We checked out of our speakeasy and made for our lovely, complimentary accommodation back with some old friends of mine. We got settled, then headed to a first for me: a dine-in movie experience! complete with dinner, cocktails with Leonardo de Caprio. Nice. Very... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 20, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Early, early, early. Leaving paradise for L.A. seemed hard. Probably because it was. Not enough sleep and the earliest possible flight meant a long tiring day to burn before checking into our hotel… Sometimes saving a few bucks is a folly… Anyway, we made... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 19, 2023 | Blog, Terry
And, so the fateful day had come where we were forced to say Aloha to the big island and Hawaii… but not before another morning of snorkelling and a canoe ride at our resort. Next up was cocktails at the tiki bar, followed by a dip in the jacuzzi and another wee... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 18, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We spent the entire day in The Fairmont, living the resort life… Cocktails, music, swimming in the secluded bay, turtle spotting, a short walk to the Pekua petroglyphs and sunset by the beach. Rounding off the evening with a wonderful meal and enjoying the live... by Terry Thorpe | Oct 17, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We started the day with an amazing breakfast at Lava Java, then did a bit of shopping, Katrine went to Petco for cat related items, while I made for the nearest music shop to pick up a Ukulele! Our last two days on the island were going to be on a fancy pants resort,... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 16, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We headed to the North part of the Island and were greeted by drastically different scenery, lush vegetation replacing the barren landscape and volcanoes of the previous day. We visited Akaka falls, swam in a (much smaller) waterfall and hiked to a secluded beach... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 15, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We got up early, ate a quick breakfast of porridge, made a pack lunch to stave off any hunter pangs and hit the road. With our Shaka audio app primed and essentials bagged we slit across the bonnet of our fast and furious ride and embarked on our epic road trip. Our... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 14, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We packed and ubered to the airport excited to finally be heading to the big island. Arriving in Hawaii, we picked up our hire car, where we were lucky enough to get a free upgrade. We, of course, selected a sensible, conservative ride. Drifting sideways out of... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 13, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After a 90 minute bus ride and a 30 minute walk we checked into Hanauma national park. After a short wait we received a lecture and watched a short film on the history and preservation of the park then we’re finally allowed entry. The gorgeous bay proved to be... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 12, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Pearl Harbour and Luau We ate a hearty breakfast at home then caught a bus to Pearl Harbour. The centre was well done and had a sombre and respectful air about it. It was fascinating to see up close artifacts and tools of war as well as learn more about the... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 11, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After a whirlwind of activity we decided to dial things back a little by taking a vacation from our vacation… It can be tough travelling (I can hear the violins of sympathy) and it’s hard sometimes to overcome the whole FOMO feeling, but we took the day... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 10, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We arose early, picked up our zip car and made our way north, getting out of the more touristy area of Honolulu. We had decided to invest in a self drive audio tour, which turned out to be so good we would use it on the big island too. stopping at a coffee plantation... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 9, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We started the day with a simple breakfast at home then made for downtown Honolulu and our walking tour where we heard about the early days of Honolulu including the origins of surfing and the ‘Duke’ a local surfing legend and ambassador of Hawaii. We also... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 8, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We got up early and high-tailed it to the airport, excited to finally be headed for Hawaii. The 5 hour flight passed quickly and soon we were in paradise. To pass time before our hotel check-in we camped out at a nearby Red Lobster, savouring king crab, prawn and... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 7, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We got up mega early, grabbed some pancakes and hi tailed it to the train station to catch our (scenic) train to San Francisco airport to catch our flight to Honolulu in Hawaii. Very exciting. The train trip was great. I got some writing done and was entertained by... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 6, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We made it to wine country aboard another scenic train ride. We were a little early to check into our youth hostel so made our way to a nearby park and chilled for a spell. We checked into our hostel and immediately missed our lovely hotel in Santa Barbara, however we... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 5, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We ate a breakfast of champions (literally) at the diner across the road, where our very friendly waitress told us about her flash mob dance group who would be performing that night and we said we’d check them out. We decided that we would. We explored Santa... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 4, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We took advantage of the free bicycles thar were included with our hotel room and made for Santa Barbara Zoo. A pilgrimage for Katrine as she has fond memories from her childhood of feeding the goats. We saw all manner of animals imprisoned for our finger pointing... by Terry Thorpe | Oct 3, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After another scenic train trip, we arrived at our next destination, Santa Barbara. We checked into our lovely hotel room and relaxed for a bit before heading out to a local eatery. We enjoyed mezcal cocktails and some yummy Mexican food before strolling back to our... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 2, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We left L.A. behind us, safe in the knowledge that we would venture back soon enough. We had a wonderful train trip, travelling up the West Coast on the Pacific Surfliner, with great views, I compliments of the window facing lounge chairs. Gorgeous. The experience was... 
by Terry Thorpe | Oct 1, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After a lovely breakfast with our gracious hosts, we ventured out into the wild and wacky world if L.A. Our first stop was Venice beach, where wild and wacky didn’t quite cut it. All manner of windswept and interesting individuals adorned the boulevards, some... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 30, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After a cruise down the strip and a quick look at the impressive looking ‘Sphere’, we hit the road and headed for L.A. We made a couple of stops along the way, most interesting/bizarre of which was the Alien Jerky experience, a balls-to-the-walks, trippy... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 29, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We started the day chillin by the pool and soaking up the atmosphere of the hotel before getting dressed up and heading out for an early dinner. We dined at Koi, a wonderful sushi joint with excellent food and surroundings, great service (with the notable exception of... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 28, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We left Mickey Mouse and his cronies counting our hard earned cash and put pedal to metal, hitting route 66 and making for Sin City. En route we passed the weird snd the wonderful, including the world’s first McDonald’s, the largest thermometer in the... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 27, 2023 | Blog, Terry
Disney day 2 would be spent at the Californian adventure park. We made the “sane” decision to start the day a little later and have a slightly less hectic park day. It didn’t deter from the fun, only staying 12 hours this time, we did all the best rides, The Guardians... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 26, 2023 | Blog, Terry
After a hearty breakfast and armed with snacks and plenty of water we headed for day one of our Disney adventure. Arriving just after opening time. Our first ride was an incredible Indiana Jones adventure that blended special effects and a wild rollercoaster ride... 
by Terry Thorpe | Sep 25, 2023 | Blog, Terry
We arrived in L.A. and bussed out to Union Station to collect our hire car. We had time to burn so decided to make for Hollywood Boulevard, exploring the walk of fame, Chineses theatre and the weird and wonderful characters walking the streets, of which there were...