Prague. Europe.

Well here we are, In Prague the last stop on our amazing years travelling around the world, again we caught the train which took about 5 hours and was a beautiful scenic ride through the German and Czech country side. Well if im honest there wasn't really agreat deal to do in Prague, The Charles Bridge was beautiful as was the castle and plenty of beautiful buildings in the town centre but that was it, so we pretty much joined all the stag parties in the pub, got drunk and watched the football. again it was a very cheap place (away from the tourist areas anyway) which suited us. i think thats all there is to say on this one, sorry. Just look at the pictures, they say it all. The only real memorable moment was when we were in a pub full of stag do's eating a full english breakfast when sonya decided to shake the tomato ketchup bottle, the top shot off and she managed to throw it all over my jeans at which point i looked up ready to start moaning when i noticed she had pretty much emptied the entire bottle all over her face, absolutely brilliant, and to finish the day off, when boarding the bus she managed to miss the step, fall straight over and nearly pull some poor womans trousers down as Sonya grabbed on.
So thats it the trip is all over. We have had the most unbelievable year and have seen some amazing places as well make some brilliant friends and had a really fantastic time and best of all we got engaged. Hope you've enjoyed following our trip, i will probably keep it updated with how our lives try and get back into the swing of routine and work.
To all of you that have made our year so special, THANK YOU.

Take care, all our love

Lee and Sonya xx

Berlin. Europe.

After a 6 hour train journey we arrived in Berlin and booked in to 4 dorm hostel, our first shared room since Oz, so as you can imagine it took a little getting used to. As we didn't arrive till late, we just checked in and then headed out for a bite to eat. having found a lovely restraurant, we couldn't believe how cheap it was, apparently it was the same throughout Berlin due to its struggling econemy, which was good news as our funds were becoming increasingly low, a 3 course meal plus a few alcoholic drinks came to the large sum of £12 - wow. On our first full day we headed off for a free tour of Berlin, which we had heard about in the hostel, its simple the guide takes you on a 3 and a half hour tour of all the major sites while taking in its history and all the guide asks is that if you think he's any good then give him a tip at the end and if you thought he was crap then give him nothing. I have to say the tour was fantastic, we were taken to all the sights starting at the Brandenberg Gate then moving along to the Reichstag (Germany's House of Parliament), Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall, we were also shown where Hitlers Bunker was and was told all about the Cities history. It was a very interesting tour especially for free (we did tip him by the way) The afternoon was spent at the museum underneath the Holocaust Memorial which heartbreaking when reading the full extent of what happened during the reign of the Nazi's. The night was spent at another cheap restruarant and a few beers in a local pub watching a bit of footy. The following day we went on another tour, this time we caught the train to a place called Sachsenhausen which was where the so called "Model Concentration Camp" was located, a place where the others were modelled on and where all the staff were trained, again it was a heartbreaking experience knowing what went on here and how something like that could ever have happened. The night was he same as the previous two. Our final full day was spent going to see the East Side Gallery which is where the murials are painted on part of the Berlin Wall that is still left, we also visited The Olympic Stadium where the 1936 Olympics were held as well as the 2006 World Cup Final. That was that, no sooner had we begun to get comfortable in Berlin it was time to move on. Berlin though is fantastic city with plenty to do and see and cheap!!!!!

Lee

Amsterdam. Europe.

After a few weeks home, we jumped on a plane and headed to Europe for our final 10 days of travelling starting with 3 days in Amsterdam. We'd both been here before so had seen majority of the sights, again Nige and Becky joined us. All we did in The Dam was generally drink and play cards in and around the Red Light District. We did get to see some sights, we spent some time at the Rijksmuseum mainly to look at the works from Rembrandt especially The Nightwatch which was good, we also had a walk around The Red Light District doing a bit of window shopping and then went to watch a full on sex show including some woman puffing on a cigarette with her jack and danny and blowing out smoke, also some bloke that was pulled out of the crowd was made to put a penis on his head and shove it up some womans J & D and then it finshed off with a few couples having sex, Pretty much your average saturday afternoon, it was more funny than a turn on though. On our last night though we did get to meet up with Yildiz and her brother Neils (sorry if i spent it wrong) one our friends who we met On Fraser Island during our trip around Oz. It was fantastic to see her again and catch up and we had a fantastic night especailly teaching them how to play the world famous Shithead (PoofHoft) She told us that Mark who we also met on Fraser and who is still travelling was gutted he couldn't be there. There always be next time Mark or even our wedding, i'm sure you'll look lovely in that bridesmaid dress. After the 3 days Nige and Becky headed home while we jumped on the train and headed to Berlin.

Lee

Back Home In Nottingham. England

We came back Home for two weeks which enabled us to see family and friends and get a few things sorted hence jobs etc. I also started back with football starting with training and then playing a full game which hurt every muscle in my body. Its good to be back with seeing everyone etc but we really do miss our travels especially all the great friends we have met along the way, you helped make our trip what it was and left with so many memories that will stick with us forever. Hopefully we'll get to meet up with some of you again in the future.

Lee

New York. U.S.A.

"Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today, i want to be a part of it NEW YORK NEW YORK" Yes after nearly 12 months of travelling we finally landed in New York, the final destination of our around the world trip (we do have 10 days left in europe to do, but that was a seperate trip booked for after we arrived home) After getting in a famous New York yellow taxi we arrived at our hotel up on Upper West 94th street in Upper Manhattan. New York is absolutely stunning and so easy to get around and there is so much to see here. On the first day we caught the subway into 42nd street and Times Square and had a walk around, to be fair it wasn't as big i'd thought it would be having seen it on the TV. The rest of the day was spent seeing the inside of the Great Central Station (New Yorks Train Station) and the Chrysler Building. We spent the night eating and drinking at the Hard Rock Cafe - when in Rome. The following day we headed down to Battery Park where we caught the ferry over to Statue of Liberty. On the ferry crossing we were treated to some fantastic views of Lower Mahattan. After walking around the Statue Of Liberty we jumped back on the Ferry and headed over to Ellis Island which is where all the immigrants landed before being accessed and then possibly allowed into the country. Then it was back on the ferry and back to Manhattan where we queued up for half an hour to get half price tickets for a broadway show. We got tickets to watch The Colour Purple for the following night. That night we just went out for a quiet meal in the neighbourhood that we were staying in which was nice especially being away from all the tourist stuff. Day 3 we went to Central Park for a lovely walk, we passed the Dakota Building which is where John Lennon lived and was shot outside of, we also went to Strawberry Fields which is located in Central Park and is a tribute to John Lennon. Central Park was lovely and chilled and with the trees overhead you couldn't see any of the buildings making it feel like you were a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We also spent some time in Little Italy, China Town and SoHo. That night we went to the Broadway Theatre on Broadway to watch The Colour Purple and despite having half price tickets we had fantastic seats, the show itself was absolutely outstanding, funny, sad and extremely heart warming, fully recommend it to anyone. Day 4, We getting a little tired by now having been on the go for nearly 3 weeks (I know you're thinking aaahhh must be a tough life, well it does take a lot out of you) So we just spent the day relaxing, we did do a bit of sight seeing, with a walk around Ground Zero and the tribute centre, this did take alot out of us metally as it was absolutely heartbreaking reading the tributes about everything that happened that day and since. One picticular story that touched me about the heroics of the emergency services was a guy who lived in New jersey across the river and because the road tunnel was closed to traffic, he ran about 3 miles in full fire fighter gear to get to the twin towers to help but was caught inside when it collasped and killed him, a true hero. After wiping away the tears we had a walk around the Financial district and Wall Street and then finally jumped on the Subway and went over to the borough of Brooklyn and walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge with fantastic views of the city. That night we met up with Sean (one of my best friends) and his beautiful wife Sarah who were also on holiday In the Big Apple, we spent the night drinking champagne (celebrating our engagement) and numerous drinks, an enjoyable night catching up as we had only seen each other on one afternoon in the last year, a fantastic night. Our last full day was spent just finishing off what we hadn't yet seen which basically consisted on the Empire State Building which we went to the top for some fantastic views. We finished off with a walk up 5th Avenue and around the Rockerfella Centre and then spent the night in Times Square with all the neon lights, very cool. That was the end of our trip around the U.S.A. as the following day we were aboard the plane going HOME!!!!

Lee

Los Angeles. U.S.A.

After 4 relaxing, money spending days, we drove to Los Angeles, another 4 hour drive but after our mammoth 17 hour drive 4 days earlier, this drive was like a walk in the park. Our hotel was right in the middle of downtown L.A. which was a bit of a seedy area, but the hotel was stunning and where many famous stars had stayed, Frank Sinatra being one of them. Well we were only here for 2 nights so had to make the most of it, thankfully with us having a car it was very east to get around with most areas being linked by the freeways, without a car i can easily say it would have been a nightmare. The 3 days were spent on lazing on Venice Beach (where Baywatch was filmed) and swimming in the sea, which wasn't the cleanest due to too much sand being sucked up by the rips, we also drove along Sunset Boulevard and Rodeo Drive through Beverley Hills and Bel Air, some massive pads around these areas making you very jealous. We also went up to Hollywood both in the day and for a night out. We had a lovely meal sat outside a restrurant right in the middle of HOLLYWOOD, it felt quite surreal and the meal was awesome, unfortunately we didn't get to see any famous folk. We did however get to see the stars on the street, of the famous actors, actresses and also the old chinese place with all the hands and footprints in the floor which was good especially Mr sinatras. On our last full day we decided to head 40 mins outside of L.A. to a theme park which housed some of the biggest and scariest roller coasters in the world. Unfortunately in true National Lampoons Holiday Vacation style we got there and the place was SHUT!!!!!! Due to it being out of season they only opened fri, sat and sun and we were there on a tues. Gutted. So instead we headed to Universal Studios and paid a fortune to go in (yes me being tight again) It actually turned out to be a good day, going on all the rides and getting to travel around and see alot of the film sets including the crashed plane scene in War Of The Worlds and the set of Desperate housewives which made Sonya happy. The night consisted of a few beers in the hotel room and a good game of Shithead and Crazy Eight (card games) I think Sonya was the Crazy Fool and Becky (Nigels girlfriend, not me) was crowned SHITHEAD!!!!!!
It was now time to say goodbye to Nige and Becky as they were flying home while we flew on to New York, more jet setting.

Lee

The Longest Drive Ever!!!!! U.S.A.

After we left Yosemite Park we headed West back towards the coast, after 4 hours we arrived at Santa Cruz, Unfortunately most of the town centre seemed closed, so after spending about 5 mins there, we decided to head down the coast, driving through monteray and Big Sur, again it was a bit disapointing as it was way too cloudy to see anything. So at this point we stopped off for a coffee (or as Becky would say "a quoffee") and discussed what to do from here, the choices were either drive 4 hours down to Santa Barbara then get up early in the morning and drive about 7 hours to Las Vegas or venture on the longest drive ever and head 11 hours straight to Vegas crossing 2 states, bearing in mind we had already driven 6 hours by this point and with only 2 drivers, anyway we decided to GO FOR IT!!!! straight to Vegas, this way at least when we awoke in the morning we would already be there and not face another drive and it would also save us a day. So having left Yosemite Park at 7.30am that morning we finally arrived in Vegas at 11.30pm that night, approximately 16 hours of driving - wow!!! I wish i could say there was a lot to see along the way but there wasn't, mainly barren land, we did get to see a big bush fire which was unfortunately in the process of burning some poor soles house to the ground. When we arrived at Vegas we headed for some of the hotels on the strip for a room only to be told the minimum was about $200 a night and was told it was pretty much the same all over as there was a convention on, Shit we thought, until we stumbled across a Travel Lodge right in the middle of the Strip (across from New York New York for those that have been) and had rooms for $60 a night, they weren't the best but whose complaining, at least we had digs. The next 4 days we just chilled, gambled, ate, chilled, gambled and ate again. Along with losing a small fortune (to us anyway) on the Roulette table, we (well myself Becky and Nigel) had a go on the rides at the very top of the Stratosphere Hotel, a good 995 metres high, one of them had you dangling over the edge spinning you around which was very scary. Beck and Nigel also flew to the Grand Canyon which they enjoyed (Sonya and I had been there on a previous trip). The final night we spent at downtown Vegas (the original Vegas) which was a lot seedier than the Strip but seemed a lot more fun with live bands playing outside, lots of flashing neon lights and plenty more money lost. We did manage to find the best all you can eat buffet in Vegas in Downtown Vegas too!!! Vegas Baby.

Lee