We're leaving on a jet plane...

WOW is all i have to start with for our trip to Prague. Very beautiful city and next to Barcelona, it could be my next fave city in Europe.

• Prague is known for it's beer (i.e. Pilsner Urquell), gothic architecture (Prague castle), very meaty food (goulash, pork knuckle, horseradish, mustard) and women (its actually one of the most popular destinations for UK stag parties!)

• Stayed just outside the Old Town and it was the best location in my opinion. The Old Town has the Old Square where we sat and ate and drank and people-watched while in the surroundings of the twin tower Tyn Church and the Astronomical Clock (clock that actually doesn't tell time but goes with the changing of the seasons and such..)

• Checked out a few lounges/bars in the area (DL1, M1 and Bugsy's) and all were pretty good; at Bugsy's we had a new shot called Vodka Fig which had a fig in it! Sooo good and so mellow, ya the people that we met and introduced us to the drink bought us a round before we left (70CZK = approx 2GBP!)

• Prague Castle is the largest castle in Europe (i think) and the best part about it was the gothic church, St George. It's also the home of past Czech kings and former Czech presidents. We bought the full day pass with the audio guide and got gipped...the grounds were already open to the public and we only saw less than 50% of the 'extras' you could with the full day pass...ah well, nice day and walk to the castle nonetheless (through Mala Strana, the lesser town and past St Nicholas church)

• Shot a crossbow in an area of the castle!! Didnt hit the bullseye but i fired a crossbow!!

• Checked out the John Lennon peace memorial wall in Mala Strana..um yeah. Cool grafitti that was the site of where anti-gov protesters would 'voice' their opinons...

• Of course, we had to walk along/around the Charles bridge, considered by many to be the most beautiful bridge in the world. It also was important in establishing Prague as a main trade route between east and west. The bridge was very nice with 30+ statues or so by the sides of the bridge...nice views and stuff but too many people and vendors ruining the 'romantic' image for me.

• Also checked out an opera at the Prague State Opera. Funny thing is we went to watch 'Midsummer's Night Dream' but halfway through Michelle realized we were watching 'Swan Lake' hahahaha! We found out AFTER the show that a cast member got 'disease' and they had to perforrm SL instead.

• All in all, I would definitely go to Prague again and check out the surrounding parks and just hang out in the center of the city, Old Town or even in the lesser town, Mala Strana. Just feels like a very cool, laid-back vibe not the buy hustle and bustle of London or NYC.
  

This weekend, well Friday, we got a group together to watch the ghost story play, The Woman in Black, at the Fortune Theatre in London. We were already having a drink in the bar and ready to go into the theatre, when someone came out and said 'Due to technical difficulties, we regret we have to cancel tonight's performance'.

What the heck?! Cancelling a London show? Unheard of. And i asked if it's ever happened before and to our luck, nope. So yea, we ended up going for drinks around the corner in Covent Garden and managed to salvage our night with good times around a couple bottles of wine..lol.

Then, on Saturday after our jaunt to Windsor Castle (well St Georges Chapel only - site of Henry VIII burial), I decided to check what was playing at our local theatre, Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. And guess what I saw:

"The Woman in Black", last show October 4!!!!! Hahahha! What a coincidence! So yeah, i bought us last minute tickets and we went to watch the show..and then..

The show is based on the original novel by Susan Hill and it is played by only 2 actors. Very minimalistic performance but scary and suspenseful with amazing use of lighting and sound. I must admit I jumped once (only)...seriously. The basic premise of the story is that a young solicitor is sent to the house of a recently deceased strange woman to gather her finances. Upon reaching the desolate, 'haunted' house, he has several paranormal encounters and begins to unravel the mystery of the Woman in Black...and that's all I'll say.

Trust me and see it, theatre like I've never seen..perfect date night

• Had a great time at their wedding, at the Westin Prince! Once again, it was good to see different friends and then the same ol friends a bit tipsy by the end of the night!

• Steve- classic! Wearing his bowtie around his head like a headband lol!

• Had quite a bit of gin and tonic and even got Will to drink one! And a girl even took him by the tie later that night..go Will!!
  

Since this is mainly a 'travel' blog, ill just try and keep the visit back to T.O. short...well try to anyway..

• Officially 2008 Golfer of the Year (went undefeated with the boys Toronto... but lost all my games with friends in the UK). Played last Friday at Mill Run Golf club in Uxbridge - very very nice conditions and fast greens. Shot a 94 with everyone else in the 100s...lol.

• Had Christmas in September!! with my family since my brother and his girlfriend flew in from BC at the same time, and Michelle and I were here (and not coming for Xmas)..so we thought 'why not?'. I think my parents were really caught off-guard when we took out the presents after dinner..my Mom was like '..i thought you were kidding the whole time you mentioned it..' lol good one.

• Kids grow up fast in 4 months..whoa. Alyssa and MekMek, you just want to eat them..really. Tried to get them to take a pic together but they were having none of it.

• Congrats to Meemerz and Timbo on their new pad! Very nice town and even though we only managed to visit for 30 mins, it was all good...can't wait for the deck to be ready!

• Happy 20th Bday Irene! Had a good dinner with the Gonzales clan at Moxie's..and still trying to recover your lost pics/work docs..i think we're almost there, im the new data recovery specialist.

• Learned this new board game, Settlers of Cataan that my friends have been playing for months, and guess who won on their first try?

This past weekend, we were invited to Michelle's co-workers place in Trier, Germany. Well, we actually stayed in a wicked hotel, Hotel Villa Hugel, which was only a minute away from their flat.

• Trier is just across the border from Luxembourg (where we flew into using LuxAir (prob my fave airline now.)) about 30-40 minutes away from the airport. It is Germany's oldest city and has huge Roman influence here as it was a former capital of a Roman province.

• Saw and walked a good majority of the town, seeing such famous sights as Porta Nigra (the 'black gate' - amazing Roman city gate), 3 Roman baths (well the ruins of them) and the Roman amphitheatre.

• Visited a huge Roman Catholic Church, Trier Cathedral, which is home to the Holy Tunic ("..a garment with a recorded history back to the 12th century, in Catholic tradition said to be the robe Jesus was wearing when he died. It is only exhibited every few decades, at irregular intervals"). Wtf?? they weren't displaying while we were there but the church itself is huge, and reminiscent of very ornate Roman basillicas.
  

• Had a great time with our friends Norbert and Julia, very very gracious hosts and tour guides. They took us all over and took us to authentic German restaurants (yep ate sauerkraut, pork knuckle, rumpsteak, etc..). Hopefully they can come visit us in Toronto and we can return the favour!

• They also shared some schnapps with us (58% alcohol! yep thats my new record) and at one of the restaurants, got to try some of the local brew and also some of the best-sellling German beer in the world, Bitburger (yuck too bitter).

• Also checked out the museum of the famous resident, Karl Marx, founder of communism. Well, we didn't actually go in but we stood at the doorway..