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April 01, 2007

Skiing across the pond


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It was with quite a bit of persuasion that Feyzan convinced me Canada was worth the extra 7 hour flight and 3 days leave when we were trying to sort out our winter holiday. After only a couple of days on the slopes and in the hot tub and I was more than ready to admit she got it right!

We've just returned from 10 days with Feyzan's best friend from Uni, Rachel, and her husband Matt, and are pleased to say that despite the many zambuka shots we all made it back home without any broken bones-just!

We stayed in Banff which is situated in Banff National Park and is the highest elevated town in Canada at 1463m. Within 45 minutes drive it has a whole heap of slopes; Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Mount Norquay are where we spent our days skiing. Not only is the scenery of the vast Rockie mountains breathtaking but the slopes are fantastic; wide, empty, full of powdery snow, and excellent instructors that quite frankly put Europe to shame. Topped with the usual North American hospitality, plenty of blueberry pancakes and a good exchange rate, it's going to be hard to turn our back and return to France.

Check out some photos or some video of the action in Banff.

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August 22, 2006

¡no más fotos!

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Flights booked to Malaga had Feyzan panicking that we were staying in Torremolinos for the weekend. Giving in I confessed a few weeks in advance that we were actually staying at a B&B in the old town of Marbella. Swayed by the tremendous ratings on TripAdvisor, we had high hopes for our short break.

As it turned out, Marcos, our Brazilian host, runs a luxury B&B nestled in amongst the narrow twisty streets of Marbella. Our room, one of only eight, had been in use for six weeks and we relished the prospect of spending a relaxing few days there. Feyzan was happy having plenty of time to spend on the beach, meanwhile I had plenty to point my camera towards.

Beaches on the Costa del Sol were pretty disappointing though: dirty yet packed with holidaymakers from across Europe, and surprisingly cold water to plunge yourself into when it all gets too much. The food more than compensated however, sumptous salads and desserts abounded as did the tapas and wood fired sardines at lunch. Much better than any weekend in London.

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July 20, 2006

Desert Island Dives

Click for photos of Olhuveli
Getting away from it all was the name of this game. Spending two weeks on a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean with nothing to do except sunbathe, sail or explore the sea sounded like bliss so we headed to Olhuveli in South Male Atoll in the Maldives.

Walking from one end of the island to the other takes around 5 minutes, across the island only 30 seconds. Reef sharks escort you down the pier on arrival, an indication of the plethora of fish and other sea life that lies beneath. My highlight of the trip was learning to Scuba Dive in such a fantastic tropical location.

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May 27, 2006

Searching for the big 5

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In November I had a week free from work and headed to Kenya to see hunt some big game (with a lens, not a gun) and to get a bit of a rest too. My guide, David, met with me on the first morning in his battle-scarred Land Cruiser. Followers of Top Gear will know that these things are pretty indestructable, and his was no exception. On it's 3rd time around the clock and still going strong - unless you stopped the engine that is. It does start again, eventually, but needs rather a lot of encouragement.

My first two nights were spent at the Flamingo Camp, on the banks of Lake Elmenteita, a shallow soda lake surround by thousands and thousands loveley pink and white Flamingo.

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March 11, 2006

A wintry weekend away

Feyzan & I took a trip to Prague for the weekend. It was pretty chilly, but we managed to stay warm with the help of typical czech good such as pizza - I've never seen as many Italian restaurants outside of New York! I've put a couple of my photos online.

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Skiing in Meribel

Back at New Year Catherine managed to arrange for 28 of us to get from various parts of the UK to the French Alps for a week. We spent the week skiing/boarding/in crutches depending on who you were, and some of my photos are on here. You can also find Tim's photos on flickr.

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