Dodgy Brothers

Well we were in Barcelona for 4 nights and had an awesome time. The beaches and the water of the Mediterranean were beautiful. There were some cool street performers and heaps of artists doing some sketches. The funniest ones though were the dodgy "find the ball under one of the three boxes" guys. One guy would do the box movement and then his three buddies would circle around him and pretend to win easy then they would drag some tourist in and make him bet!! SO DODGY!

Liverpool was in town to play Barcelona in the soccer. There were hundreds of Liverpool supporters who made the trip over for the game and they all gathered in Placa de Reail for a friendly pint or twenty during which all their favourite club songs came out. It was awesome watching these passionate supporters off their heads - especially when some Barcelonians walked past. hahaha. That night we went to an Aussie pub and watched the game - Liverpool won!!

After seeing the sights of Barcelona (and eating a bunch of Paella) we jumped a train to Nice. Nice is ..... Nice. Hahaha It has beautiful beaches too (albeit rocky ones). We took a hike to a park on top of the cliffs overlooking the beaches - amazing views. After lunch (jambon, fromage en tomate baguettes) we went to a flower parade - Bromley just adored the Azalias!! That night there was another parade along the beach which was way cool and heaps elaborate. I have never seen so much confetti in my life and all the kids shoot everything ..... EVERYTHING with silly string.

Today we went for a day trip to Monaco - shitty weather but beautiful city! Saw the palace of the Royal family and the Princes 100 cars - impressive collection. Also saw the Grand Prix circuit!!

Anyway this French keyboard is shitting me to tears so we are going now. We love you all. Daisy hugs!!

Byyeeee

Hola!

Hey there guys its Kimbo here.

Just thought I would write a quick blog coz we havent written one in ages! We tried in France but the keyboard big time SUCKED and the internet was slow. We are in Barcelona now for 4 nights and have free internet! I think our blogs are gonna be far less fancy now, coz its too hard downloading pics on the computer etc so its just gonna be me talking (or Broms!). This spanish keyboard is a tad tricky so excuse my bad punctuation.

Well, after the West coast of the US we headed to Victoria in Canada to stay with Liza (my oldest sis) and her boyfriend Jeff. We had lots of fun there, but spent the majority of our time either resting from our first bit of the trip or planning for our next bit! We did manage to see a bit of Victoria and cant wait to get back in the summer, it is beautiful, everywhere you look there is either ocean or bay! Oh, and, Pamela Anderson is from there! And we had dinner in a restaurant where Kirstie Alley ate only days before us! Apparently she didnt order any DIET menu items! Oh, and on the ferry ride back to the mainland from Victoria (its on Vancouver Island) we saw wild Orcas frolicking in the harbour! So cool!

London was a really cool place. But it was sooo expensive once you converted things. We were drinking $5 diet cokes and $8 egg sandwiches! Brommles also managed to get a nice bout of food poisoning from a dodgy $12 hamburger as well, that lasted a good 3 days. Alas, it is an amazing city with so many cool old buildings and little suburbs like Notting Hill.

The first two nights we actually stayed in Notting Hill, in a dorm (we no longer stay in dorms, tried it, didnt like it!). However, a funny thing happened on our second night there, there was a drunk guy that fell out of his top bunk onto the floor in the middle of the night! haha he hardly noticed just went back to sleep, the guy on the bottom bunk had to carry him back up!). We spent the first two days just walking around taking in all the sights like the big ben and westminster abbey etc.

The third day we met up with Jo and went to her cousins fancy restaurant and spoiled ourselves with a fancy lunch. Like, so fancy that posh spice has been there! It has a Michelin star which is pretty quality I hear. It was awesome and lasted 4 hours! We then went to a few old London pubs with Jo and her cousin AJ, who is a chef at the restaurant. AJ was nice enough to let us stay at his place that night too, what a legend! The next two nights we stayed at an awesome hostel in West Kensington and took it pretty easy. The 4th day we explored museums and shopping with Jo, the 5th and 6th days we spent doing bus tours (which I have a habit of falling asleep on now! - no joke!).

Next up was Paris. Bad start unfortunately, we managed to get conned at the airport. We thought a guy was trying to help us out with train tickets but he was really selling us fake ones. What a loser capital L! Anyways, we stayed in montmarte which is what the Parisians call village Paris. Its full of cobblestone streets lined with restaurants, and our hotel room had a view of the sacre coeur, a beautiful church at the top of the hill of Montmarte. We were in Paris for 5 days, and saw all the sights including Eiffel Tower with its fancy light displays and Chateau Versailles. It was Broms bday on Sunday and we had a nice dinner in a french restaurant near the sacre coeur.

The best thing about Paris was the food, I reckon! Sooo many patisseries with beautiful baked sweets, and so much cheap fancy cheese and fresh bread! We just hung out at the supermarket most of the time! Unfortunately, we did have some bad experiences with the French which meets their reputation. Many people at the tourist attractions try to con you into giving them money, and the metro is full of sly people trying to pickpocket you! We did meet some lovely french people though, so they are OK!

Well, we are in Barcelona now, like I said at the beginning, and are off to a great start. All our accomodations have been great since the dorm and this one is looking good. First up we had tapas, paella and sangria for dinner then walked the les rambles strip (dunno how to spell it). People seem very nice and we have been so surprised but happy with how many people in Paris and Spain speak French! Anyways, will keep you posted people! Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

Hola!

Hey there guys its Kimbo here.

Just thought I would write a quick blog coz we havent written one in ages! We tried in France but the keyboard big time SUCKED and the internet was slow. We are in Barcelona now for 4 nights and have free internet! I think our blogs are gonna be far less fancy now, coz its too hard downloading pics on the computer etc so its just gonna be me talking (or Broms!). This spanish keyboard is a tad tricky so excuse my bad punctuation.

Well, after the West coast of the US we headed to Victoria in Canada to stay with Liza (my oldest sis). We had lots of fun there, but spent the majority of our time either resting from our first bit of the trip or planning for our next bit! We did manage to see a bit of Victoria and cant wait to get back in the summer, it is beautiful, everywhere you look there is either ocean or bay! Oh, and, Pamela Anderson is from there! And we had dinner in a restaurant where Kirstie Alley ate only days before us! Apparently she didnt order any DIET menu items! Oh, and on the ferry ride back to the mainland from Victoria (its on Vancouver Island) we saw wild Orcas frolicking in the harbour! So cool!

London was a really cool place. But it was sooo expensive once you converted things. We were drinking $5 diet cokes and $8 egg sandwiches! Brommles also managed to get a nice bout of food poisoning from a dodgy $12 hamburger as well, that lasted a good 3 days. Alas, it is an amazing city with so many cool old buildings and little suburbs like Notting Hill.

The first two nights we actually stayed in Notting Hill, in a dorm (we no longer stay in dorms, tried it, didnt like it!). However, a funny thing happened on our second night there, there was a drunk guy that fell out of his top bunk onto the floor in the middle of the night! haha he hardly noticed just went back to sleep, the guy on the bottom bunk had to carry him back up!). We spent the first two days just walking around taking in all the sights like the big ben and westminster abbey etc.

The third day we met up with Jo and went to her cousins fancy restaurant and spoiled ourselves with a fancy lunch. Like, so fancy that posh spice has been there! It has a Michelin star which is pretty quality I hear. It was awesome and lasted 4 hours! We then went to a few old London pubs with Jo and her cousin AJ, who is a chef at the restaurant. AJ was nice enough to let us stay at his place that night too, what a legend! The next two nights we stayed at an awesome hostel in West Kensington and took it pretty easy. The 4th day we explored museums and shopping with Jo, the 5th and 6th days we spent doing bus tours (which I have a habit of falling asleep on now! - no joke!).

Next up was Paris. Bad start unfortunately, we managed to get conned at the airport. We thought a guy was trying to help us out with train tickets but he was really selling us fake ones. What a loser capital L! Anyways, we stayed in montmarte which is what the Parisians call village Paris. Its full of cobblestone streets lined with restaurants, and our hotel room had a view of the sacre coeur, a beautiful church at the top of the hill of Montmarte. We were in Paris for 5 days, and saw all the sights including Eiffel Tower with its fancy light displays and Chateau Versailles. It was Broms bday on Sunday and we had a nice dinner in a french restaurant near the sacre coeur.

The best thing about Paris was the food, I reckon! Sooo many patisseries with beautiful baked sweets, and so much cheap fancy cheese and fresh bread! We just hung out at the supermarket most of the time! Unfortunately, we did have some bad experiences with the French which meets their reputation. Many people at the tourist attractions try to con you into giving them money, and the metro is full of sly people trying to pickpocket you! We did meet some lovely french people though, so they are OK!

Well, we are in Barcelona now, like I said at the beginning, and are off to a great start. All our accomodations have been great since the dorm and this one is looking good. First up we had tapa, paella and sangria for dinner then walked the les rambles strip (dunno how to spell it). People seem very nice and we have been so surprised but happy with how many people in Paris and Spain speak French! Anyways, will keep you posted people! Hope everyone is happy and healthy!

LA lives up to it's reputation!

Well, LA was our last night in America, and wasn't it a special one! We arrived in the famous city bout midday Saturday, picked up Kristy and Ryan (couple that just arrived holidaying before Ryan takes over Bromley's role at GE in Erie) and drove around for ever trying to find a map with famous people's houses on it (a Kimbo request!). Finally found a map, paid a whopping $10 for it, and realised it was very inaccurate AND all rich people have big ivy fences to disguise their homes! Did manage to see Playboy mansion driveway however, and Paris Hilton's house (looks like she's having renovations!).

Took a walk on Santa Monica pier, which was nicer than expected, but very touristy. Had dinner in Hollywood and walked Hollywood Boulevard, which had just as many interesting characters as we had been told there were! We also managed to see Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive which were beautiful and glamourous! No famous people though!!

The best and most exciting event we witnessed in LA came next after we dropped Ryan and Kristy at their hotel Saturday night.... Our LAX hotel was definitely not in a tip-top area, need we say the least. After contemplating whether to change hotels or not we heard a loud banging, then a:

'LAPD.... YOU, WHITE SHIRT, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK'

Upon looking out the hotel window we found 5 LAPD officers arresting what looked like 10 people in the hotel room opposite us. Well, that definitely made up our minds to find a new hotel room! And Bromley tells Kimbo her regular suspicions are just paranoia.... haha that sorted that out!

We have just spent the last three days in Vancouver Island with Liza and Jeff, but have been so buggered we haven't seen much of the place, just chilled out! Been great though.... Flight to London tomorrow!!

Big Ass Hole in the Ground

Thats right guys - the Grand Canyon!! We left Vegas at about lunch time and drove through Hoover Dam. Arrived at the canyon just after sunset. As soon as the sun is below the horizon, it feels like 100 degrees below. It was absolutely freezing!! We woke up early and ventured to the National Park for sunrise. It was just magical.

It was that cold!! My nose is almost frozen.

As Kimbo would say - "Ohhhh how romantic"

Down in the Canyon, the temperatures are a little warmer. But up at the road it is blistering cold (hence the snow). There are a bunch of cool viewing platforms along the road to stop and look at the spectacular view.

That arvo we headed back to Vegas. Bye G.C. That night we went to a magic show - not just a magic show - "The Worlds Greatest Magic Show"!! The Venue ... Greek Isles casino. This dinghy looking pub off the strip where the waitresses wear not much (though you wish they would) and the old folks do karaoke to Ol' Blue Eyes. In summary, our expectations were not high for the "Worlds Greatest Magic Show". Much to our amazment, the show was really good and we had a great night.

The Luxor - Big Ass Pyramid Casino

Kimbo at the Big Ass M&M Wall at M&M World

Vegas Baby Yeah!!!

Left San Diego after a long day at the Zoo. Arrived at Bally's casino at about 9pm. We got out and had a look round all the cool casinos - Paris, The Venetian, MGM Grand, The Bellagio. The atmosphere in vegas is awesome ... 24/7. It seems like nobody ever goes to sleep ... Bromley and Kimbo on the other hand hit the sack at about midnight after a big day!!

The Eiffel Tower out the front of Paris!! Way cool.

Cool Japanesee dude in The Bellagio.

This was cool!! At all the night clubs in the casinos, they try to publicise their hip scene by having pretty girls dance around in skimpy outfits - in big neon letters, on bars, etc. They were very entertaining!!

Very elaborate landscapes - yeah!!

DISNEYLAND!!

Well, the place of a million dreams was lots of fun. Whilst it definitely is aimed at the littles ones (there's no scary rides) there is so much attention to detail in the rides, and they put so much effort into the themes, so it was lots of fun to see! The best thing was the parade at the end, lots of singing and dancing and baton twirling, Bromley loved it!! We had a beautiful day too (we actually got sunburnt - we hadn't seen the sun for so long we forgot about sunscreen!) and it wasn't to busy, the longest we had to wait for a ride was like halfa, which is pretty good for Disneyland I hear! So I reckon it's definitely somewhere you should take your kids, but also something worth seeing. It's interesting that a park with no scary rides has lasted 50 years in the USA.

Everything was so green and well manicured, and the buildings all looked like you would imagine them to....

This is Asimo, it is a robot! It can like recognise your voice and follow your instructions like a human can!

We didn't buy them, but we HAD to try them on for size!!

This is one of the floats from the parade at the end of the day. This parade lasts about an hour and goes the length of the park, and I didn't see one performer not smiling. It's unbelievable! And they do it every night!

San Diego

It was raining/overcast/foggy for our day in San Diego, so we couldn't appreciate it's rumoured beauty to it's full potential. We went for a drive to the ritzy beach town of La Jolla and saw a different kind of sea lion resting on the sand. We also had some yummy food in the gaslamp district, and went to the world famous San Diego Zoo. By the way, the mexican food in the west coast of California is FANTASTIC (I wonder why?!).

That'd be right.... the weather turned good as we were leaving the city!

Some cool birds at the zoo. I want to say flamingos but I can't be sure that's what they are.

Don't you just want to sit on a panda's lap and give it a big cuddle!

Playing with the camera settings in La Jolla.

Cute little spotty seals on the beach.

For all you OC fans

This ones for my fellow Newport Beach and Laguna Beach enthusiasts.... We didn't get to spend much time at the OC but I loved every second of it! P.S. I have never seen so many gated communities on ocean cliffs in my life.

One of the beaches at Laguna Beach. I think I recognise this from many relationship ending 'chats' on the show.... What do you think Josh and Kirstyn?

Marissa.... come out come out wherever you are!!

R.I.P. The OC....

Highway 1

Highway 1 California is the scenic highway that follows most of the coast of California. We drove down highway 1 from San Fran to LA, a total of 11 hours. It was a gorgeous drive, very dangerous at times (especially with Daniel Bromley behind the wheel) but very picturesque. We came across beaches full of elephant seals and beautiful coastal towns. We had a perfect day for an ocean drive as well.

This was one of the many twists and turns that made Kimbo's stomach churn. Those rocks at the turn are all that is between the car and a VERY high cliff face.

These are the elephant seals I mentioned earlier. It is their breeding season, so there were lots of babies and lots of tired mothers, all making ALOT of weird noises! They are extremely wobbly and don't like to move AT ALL. Oh, and they are one of the uglist creatures I have ever encountered. Ugly cute though, of course.

The road to the right is what we were driving on.

Bromley trying to be Andy Warhol with his camera settings. Looks pretty far out gnarly!!

Pretty stuff!!

San Francisco

San Francisco was a really cool city, even though we only got to spend a day there!

We started off by walking up and down all those hilly streets that the city's famous for (you definitely couldn't wear heels in this city!). We then walked down to pier 39 to see the famous sea lions, upon where we found a bike rental place. So... Broms convinced Kimbo to ride a bike for what felt like FOR EVER (3 and a half bloody long hours) and there were SOOO many hills along the golden gate bridge trail (the bridge is a hill in itself!). It was an amazing ride, so many pretty views, and we ended on the otherside of the bay at Sausilito, where there were sea lions frolicking in the bay and beautiful views of the city!

We caught the ferry back and went on a night tour of Alcatraz, which was heaps interesting but not as scary as we thought it would be! The view of the city is amazing from Alcatraz, and they say that the prinsoners could often hear people's laughter coming from the city, being swept by the wind. Wouldn't that drive you mad! A cable car ride, view of the 'Full House' House and a drive down Lombard St (most crooked st in the world) completed our San Fran adventure!!

Can you believe some criminal scraped out this hole with a spoon! What a craftsman.

Yep, that's right folks. There are no hidden poles through these rock formations, some dude has managed to balance them so they don't fall over! True story, we watched him do it.

*Insert full house theme song here* (it's the blue one)

Ohhh.... I don't need to tell you that's the golden gate bridge in the background here.

'Bromley.... I really can't ride ANY FURTHER!' (this is halfway across the bridge - I had to have a breather!).

Ciao Erie

Hey guys,

Just a quick post letting you all know we're off and away on our 2 month homeward bound journey. We're at San Diego at the moment, already been to San Francisco, Disneyland and the OC! We'll do more posting in the next few days. Keep posted!

Kimbo and Broms. xoxo.

Sleepless in Seattle (Part 1)

Hey guys! Well, Seattle was a great pick for our last weekend trip. It was so great spending more than our usual two days in the city, because we got to actually relax and stuff! Sireesha and her fiance Ashish were absolutely fantastic tour guides! Saturday they took us to the Boeing plant where Ashish works and the museum of flight, and also to an AWESOME thai restaurant to get our fix.

Sunday was the best, we caught a car ferry to Bainbridge Island, and from there we drove 2 hours to the top of the Olympic mountain ranges. It was so beautiful, a heap of snow had just fallen the day before, the sky was blue and clear and everything was white! SOOO NICE! Then to top off that trip, they cooked us great Indian food! Couldn't ask for better tour guides!!

Tired today though, overnight flight back from the other side of the country.... Poor Broms is at work and I'm just about to take a nap! Haha. I'm gonna break the photos up into 2 sections coz there's heaps of good ones - Seattle in general and the Olympic mountain ranges. Enjoy!!

The handsome Daniel bromley with his homie beanie with the beautiful Seattle skyline in the background. Look closely on the horizon and you will see Mt Ranier - it is MASSIVE!! Can you believe it rains like 90% of the time in Seattle yet we had beautiful sunny skies 3 out of 4 days!! Absolutely freezing though!!

Those world famous house boats. I put this in for you Lizzie. Like most things, they are not nearly as impressive as in the movie. Apparently they sell for minimum $800000.
Can you believe an elephant painted this painting! And they want $85 for it!! That's gonna be one rich elephant.
The Space Needle. We didn't go up it to Kimbo's height-loving dismay (NOT!).
The one and only original starbucks. Where it all started. Oh! A fun fact! - Bill Gates lives in Seattle in a $185million house, with a 16 car underground garage!!

Sleepless in Seattle (Part 2)

Our tour guides.... Sireesha and Ashish. Those crazy Indians! Thanks guys!!
How pretty is this!
Only Daniel Bromley would say 'hey get a photo of me eatting snow, that will be awesome!'
Our feet were extremely cold. P.S. Liza, these are the mountains I think you see out your window?!
On the ferry, downtown Seattle is in the background.