November 2006 Archives
We booked with Lastminute, we travelled on Eurostar, navigated via Mappy and stayed at the Hotel du plat d' etain - I must remember that if you book a "cheap" citybreak you are guaranteed to be given the smallest, shabbiest room available.... our room was OK, but definitely on the compact side (as in I think that the bed was a 3/4 size...) which the angular 80s decor did little to disguise.
Still, we spent a happy Saturday mooching around the foodie street markets around Les Halles, along the Seine and back along the Rue du Bac. On Sunday we walked up to the Sacre Coeur and down to the Tuillerie Gardens, but I'm ashamed to say that stressing out about finding veggie food resulted in grumpiness on Saturday night and Sunday lunchtime/afternoon .... sorry Phil!
Yes, I've booked onto Wild Frontiers' recce tour to Iran in April/May next year.
I decided that:
(1) it isn't going to get any safer to go there any time soon, and the chances are it might get even more difficult to visit - so better to go sooner rather than later/never;
(2) I needed something to look forward to over the winter, and to help out on the "work-to-live" ethos; and
(3) If I didn't book asap the trip might get booked up, or I'd become too stingey to shell out.... either way I'd be missing out on (what I anticipate will be) an excellent trip to a destination that has long been on my travel wishlist.
My Amazon Wishlist has been updated accordingly.... for those of you wondering what to buy me for Christmas (hint).
Outline itinery is:
Day 1: London to Tehran
Day 2: Tehran
Day 3: Tehran to Hamadan/Hamedan
Day 4: Hamadan/Hamedan
Day 5: Hamadan/Hamedan to Kashan
Day 6: Kashan to Yazd
Day 7: Yazd to Bazm
Day 8: Bam to Persepolis
Day 9: Persepolis to Shiraz
Day 10: Shiraz to Yasuj
Day 11: Yasuj to Isfahan / Esfahan
Day 12: Isfahan / Esfahan
Day 13: Isfahan / Esfahan to Tehran
Day 14: Tehran to Bandar-e-Anzali
Day 15: Bandar-e-Anzali to Tehran
Day 16: Tehran to London
Maps of Iran:
Iranian Cultural & Information Center - "Sensitive" map
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - Iran Maps
Taken by Rob and now available on his Rob's Journeys Flickr pages. So we get to enjoy his Skardu adventures (vicariously at least).
I quite often meet friends for a drink near London Bridge, and we always have a conversation along the lines of "where shall we meet?", "mmm, don't really know anywhere round there", "OK, how about [insert randomly selected venue from BeerInTheEvening here]".
So I sought recommendations from friends for pubs near London Bridge/Monument, "ones that serve good beer and aren't always rammed to the gills". Here are the results:
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The Rose
The Royal Oak
Market Porter
The Southwark Tavern
The Wheatsheaf
The Boot and Flogger
The George Inn
The St Christopher Inn