Inspiration: the Pursuit of Happiness

G’Day ETDers!

It’s been a very hectic couple of weeks for Team WinGaz and today we’re taking a well-earned rest to recover our aching bodies from long-distance hiking in the Scottish Highlands, Snowboarding lessons, and the various other activities we’ve been blogging about (this was written while we were in Glasgow). I have decided to take the ETD baton and let Winnie (who is currently sleeping) recuperate in peace.

So today, whilst we are at peace and relaxing, I hope that you can all find some time to take a few minutes to sit back and find peace in your own way. On that note, I would like to share some of my thoughts on another Lululemon derived inspirational quote:

“The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness”

Snowboarding at Sno!Zone

WHAAAAAAAAAA!

That my Eat Travel Diver’s is the sound a scuba diver makes when hurtling down the slopes on a snowboard. You might even hear the “OHHH CRAP… BOOM SHHHHHH! Burrrr…ha ha ha!!!” as the same scuba diver crash lands on his butt, slides down the slope and sprays freezing cold icy snow in his face, for the millionth time. Well imagine two of said scuba divers spending an entire day doing the same…

On our bums...a regular position!

Well, It is a lot like taking a fish out of water and pushing it down a hill. The poor fish slaps about whilst twisting and turning all over the hillside…total carnage. Put two fishes into the mix and it gets messier.

In our infinite wisdom, and in an attempt to get “cooler than we already are”, Winnie and I decided to book up a series of lessons in snowboarding. The first lesson was a 3hr fast track for beginners. The second session was a 3hr fast track taking beginners to intermediate/recreational (and therefore safe) level. Having this signed off means getting slope time in various SNO!Zone locations, and the possibility of having a winter pursuit that we can develop together as we travel, and when we return to Australia…bring on the snow!

Happy Birthday GAFFA!

To my dearest sugar plum,
Happy Twenty Eleven Birthday!
Hope it is all you want it to be and more!
Love from your darling sweet pea.
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Edinburgh, Scotland

Further north we go! Across the English border and into Scotland - first stop, Edinburgh. We were here for 4 days. Edinburgh is a very cool city - I think Gaffa found Edinburgh to be much better than he had accounted for!!!  Edinburgh has heaps of history, and is proud of that.  The Scottish people were really helpful, and very welcoming to us.  Edinburgh is part of the Lowlands region of Scotland, basically there's 4 main areas: Lowlands, Highlands, Speyside and Isla - all based around the Whisky Distilleries!!

On day 1 we walked up what we thought was Arthur's Seat, basically a very large mountain in the city. But later we found out it was actually the cragg infront of Arthur's Seat. It had great views over Edinburgh.

The mountain that we climbed

Hadrian's Wall and Newcastle, England

We arrived fairly late to our accomodation, and thankfully the Greenhead Hotel was still serving up dinner. After a nice hot meal, we rested in our camping barn accommodation.

Leeds and York, England

Markets in Leeds

We spent two nights in Leeds. First day was just Gaffa and I. We walked around the numerous shops and visited the indoor and outdoor markets and Art Gallery. The outdoor markets were quite dodgy. People were selling old junk, like random cords, old computers, phones, old chargers...

The first night Gaffa and I met up with one of Gaffa's long time friends - Ms. Tall, from when they holidayed together in Spain, as teenagers. Her parents and Australian boyfriend (who didn't sound Australian at all!!), took us to an Indian Restaurant called Akbar. I tried another biryani, hoping to have a better experience than in London. This one came out with a little too much rice and a small curry sauce. But was still really tasty. The naan bread was massive, and came out on a big stake - lucky there was 6 of us!

Massive naan!!

Nottingham, England

A pin in Nyngan at the Hostel we stayed at in Nottingham

Just a quick one on Nottingham. We got there after 2 buses and 1 train from Hartington. Following the directions to the hostel we got abit lost, but we finally found it. The bed had a memory foam mattress!!

We met up with Gaffa's good friend, Fag and wandered around the streets of Nottingham. Had Wagamama for lunch. Apprently the Australian Wagamama sells hot chips??

Chiquitos in Nottingham

Peak District, England

Hartington Hall

Next stop was the Peak District. This area is called the Peak District because there are lots of... peaks of course!

After a train from Oxford to Matlock, a bus from Matlock to Buxton and another bus from Buxton to Hartington, we finally arrived at our YHA Hostel - Hartington Hall. We took a leisurely stroll in the Peaks in the afternoon. And saw the amazing English countryside, and lots of sheep!! The sun was out, but the air was still abit "fresh". After our walk we had a beer and crisps in the local pub. This is where I discovered... Scampi Fries!!! Dinner was cooked from tins and frozen stuff from the local grocery store....

Winchester and Oxford, England

Winchester Catherdral

First day of our trip around the UK, we stopped off at Winchester before heading to Oxford.

Winchester is the old capital of England, so there were old cobbled streets and lots of old buildings to see.

We saw Winchester Catherdral, but didn't get to see King Arthur's Round Table as it wasn't open til the arvo, and we were leaving at lunch time.

Winchester is also where Gaffa and I had our first Wetherspoons experience. The food is CHEAP and fairly good. Big Breakfast for the both of us!

How To Pack Your Luggage: Part 3 - Dive Bags

Well Hello Again to our fellow Eat Travel Dive readers!

I have a treat in store for the divers amongst us. This is part 3 of our blog series on how to pack your luggage. As we all know the most important part of any diver's luggage is not their clothes, shoes, make-up or even undies....it's our dive gear - without which we never travel!!

So, how does one fit all of their clothes etc and their dive gear into one bag? Well unless you're flying with "Shithouse Airlines" you'll probably find written in the small print that you can either pay for, or in some amazing cases, have a free baggage allowance for Sports or Scuba Diving Equipment. Now, At this point it is important to tell you that each airline has their own ideas on this, so be prudent and read the T's & C's of your chosen airline. That said, Team WinGaz are flying long haul with Malaysian from Sydney to Heathrow (London), and then later we fly from Gatwick (London) to Sharm el Sheikh (Sinai, Egypt) with Easy Jet (AKA Cheezy Jet!!! lol I'm just joking Easy Jet people....)