Lil Dave’s Adventures with Ivan and Jennifer
I got this idea from Andy’s My REAL Wall except I used souvenirs instead of postcards. I took some of my souvenirs that I bought or saved during our trip around the world.. and placed them on my whiteboard/corkboard. Click the photo or here to view the Flickr page with notes for each souvenir.
Ivan, Jennifer and I woke up very early on November, 2009. Jennifer couldn’t sleep last night. She kept hearing the songs from Priscilla Queen of the Desert in her head. I guess she was also thinking about flying back home. I know she’s sad to be going back to Las Vegas. Ivan and I will remain in England. In a few days time, we’ll be headed to Africa for a 54 day organized tour of Africa. Read about our Africa trip on Ivan’s blog.
Jennifer boarded her plane to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It tooks 10 hours to arrive. Jennifer had to move her luggage for the next flight. Good thing it was all in the same room! She had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. Most of that time was going through customs. She got on a plane headed to Vegas which took 3 1/2 hours.
So, that’s the end of our trip. Thanks for reading about our adventures!
Ivan, Jennifer and I met up with Neal at La Tasca on November 1, 2009. It was a great meal as usual.
We got a train into the city. We went to watch the show Change. It features an Italian man named Arturo Brachetti. He quick changes into different outfits. It’s really amazing to see! He’s pretty fast at it! The stage had a big box and it turned and opened into a different rooms. It’s a fun show.
We stopped by The Comedy Store to pick up tickets and reserve our seats for the show. We walked to Busabi Thai for dinner. There was a short line. I had the banana curry. Ivan got the Geng Gari Gari while Jennifer got the green chicken curry. The food comes out fast and is always amazing!
We walked back to see The Comedy Store Players at The Comedy Store. Ivan loves contributing to the show providing things like when the players ask for a job or a type of theatre show. The show is always really fun and keeps you cracking up.
Ivan, Jennifer and I chilled in the room on October 2, 2009. Ivan wanted to take us to Loughton where he grew up. But, we didn’t get a chance to. I’m sure we will see it next time!
We walked to the Gourmet Pizza Company.
Jennifer got a chicken and vegetable one and I got a banana one. I can’t recall what Ivan had. The pizza was very tasty here.
We walked back to the hotel and relaxed more.
We took a train into London. We went to St. Mortiz for dinner.
Ivan ordered us fondue with bananas, potatoes and bread. We dipped the food into the tasty cheese. It was really yummy! Ivan and Jen were so stuffed afterwards.
Next, we went to see the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert. This musical has lots of great songs like I’ve Never Been to Me, Pop Musik, Always on My Mind and I Love the Nightlife. Jason Donovan plays Tick/Mitzi. His performance isn’t anything special though. Jennifer really thought Oliver Thornton was fantastic in his role as Adam/Felicia. The costumes are so bright and colorful. Wow, this is a fun musical! I recommend it if you want to have a fun time watching a good story and hearing some great tunes.
I said goodbye to my dad on October 30, 2009. Ivan and Jen said goodbye to Ivan’s parents. We got on a train in the afternoon to London.
We checked in to the Marriot West India Quay. It’s a great hotel in the Docklands. We got a nice room overlooking the docks.
We took a train into the city. We met up with Ivan’s brother Neal for drinks.
We walked to Satsuma for dinner. I had some banana sushi rolls and yaki soba with bananas. Ivan and Jen shared some spicy tuna rolls and marinated tofu steak. Ivan got the yaki soba with chicken.
Jennifer got the yaki soba with Japanese fish cakes and prawns.
Afterwards, we walked to the Avenue Q theatre. We saw Avenue Q. It’s a really funny show with puppets!
Ivan and Jennifer went to see Saw VI on October 31, 2009. They thought it was good movie I stayed in the room to work on the blog, jump on the bed and watch monkeys on the tv.
We took the train into the city. We were going on the Blood and Tears Tour. It was a special one for Halloween. A lot of people in the group were dressed up. We walked through the streets of London. Our guide told us about murders and spooky things that have happened in London. We did hear about Jack the Ripper as well. Our guide is writing a book about who he thinks was the real Jack the Ripper. It seems everybody has a theory! It was a good tour. The guide walks really fast though.
We got a taxi to Kenza. It’s a restaurant serving Lebanese and Moroccan cuisine.
Ivan and Jen shared the hummus, a pastry with chicken, falafel with prawns, a salmon dish and a chicken kebab. I had a good chicken and banana kebab. The food was pretty good!
Ivan, Jennifer and I took a bus headed to London on October 28, 2009. We took a ferry for an hour and a half. It was 6:30 pm when we arrived in London.
We went to dinner at Chowki. Dave had a banana curry. Ivan had a fish curry while Jennifer got a chicken madras curry.
Ivan thought it tasted better the last time we came.
We went to see the movie Couples Retreat. The movie was only okay. Ivan and Jen thought it would have been a lot funnier.
It was time to head to Southend. We hopped on a train to Ivan’s parents house. It was great to see my dad again! We were all so tired and we went to bed shortly after.
I worked on the blog on October 29, 2009. Ivan and Jennifer chilled and used the internet.
We went to dinner with my dad and Ivan’s parents. It was good, but not as tasty as last time.
Ivan, Jennifer and I went to Notre Dame on October 26, 2009.
It’s very impressive inside.
The stained glass windows are very pretty.
We took a walk on Ille St. Louis Island. There are lots of quaint shops on the island. We stopped by a place that has famous ice cream. I had a nice banana while Ivan and Jen each had chocolate. It was a small portion on a cone. Ivan and Jen thought the chocolate was really intense and thick. We went back for more. I got banana again. Ivan and Jennifer each tried the strawberry sorbet. They loved the strawberry as well.
It was time to walk around the city more. We went over bridges and down by the Seine River. We stopped off for a crepe with some cider.
We went to the Eiffel Tower but the lines were way too long. So, we decided we’d come back the next day.
We took a boat tour down the Seine River. It was cool to see all the buildings lit up at night.
Ivan and Jen had some wine during the boat ride. They got a bit tipsy.
Ivan took some pictures, but most of the pictures didn’t turn out so good.
After the tour, we walked along a street filled with restaurants. Ivan and Jen chose a Greek and French restaurant called Acropolis. Ivan and Jen decided to get the set menu. They started off with onion soup and a salad with goats cheese on bread. They shared the two main courses of chicken and salmon.
I got a nice mousaka with bananas. The food was definitely better than last night. Ivan and Jen shared the creme brulee and a chocolate tart for dessert. The restaurant was really fun because the waiter was really talkative and excited.
We headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Ivan, Jennifer and I went out to get lunch at Sensing Guy Martin on October 27, 2009. It’s a very posh restaurant that Ivan booked on Toptable for a 50% discount. It’s pretty fancy inside. Jennifer felt a little underdressed. I told her that now she knows how it feels to go around all the time totally naked like I do.
Ivan and Jen started off with a crab dish that looked like it took ages to prepare.
It was an actual crab shell but it had crab meat inside and foam. It was completely bland.
Ivan and Jen shared the two main courses of cod and a sea bass dish.
The cod was even worse than the crab dish. It just had no flavor at all. The presentation was nice with a jellied octopus on top. The sea bass was slightly tastier but not anything special – especially with the prices the restaurant was charging. I had a really plain banana risotto.
Ivan and Jen shared a chocolate tartin. It was absolutely divine! They wished that they ordered two.
After lunch, we walked through the park.
We saw some old men play bowls. A drunk French guy refused to leave the bowling area. The other guys were mad that he was eating on the playing area. The drunk guy threw his false teeth on the ground. The police were called and they escorted him out of the park. How funny!
We walked out of the park and went to Pierre Patiserie.
It’s a really posh bakery place. They’re known for their tasty macaroons. Ivan bought 6 macaroons for a snack. Ivan and Jennifer liked the passion fruit and chocolate ones. I was sad that they didn’t have banana macaroons.
We walked around the city more. It was nice walking down along the Seine River. We chilled by the river.
It was time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
We got in the wrong line. The other line was longer, so it was alright. But, Ivan and Jen had to walk up to the second level. It was a long walk! Jennifer didn’t like it. I’m so lucky I can ride on Ivan or Jen’s backs while they do all the hard work! We got an elevator to the top.
The views were amazing! It was cold at the top with the wind blowing hard. Jennifer almost lost her beret since it was so windy.
We went to the restaurant Dans Le Jardin. We were very late for our reservation. The waiter wasn’t very happy, but he dealt with it. We didn’t think the Eiffel Tower would take so long! Ivan and Jen got the set menu.
For a starter, Ivan and Jen got the gazpacho which tasted average. The next dish was a tasty goats cheese everrine with figs and salmon. I had a great banana encrusted chicken dish.
Ivan and Jen shared the crusty salmon pie with tarragon and wheat risotto and trout medallions with tomato. They really liked their main courses! We were so glad to finally have an awesome French meal in Paris. Dessert was a selection of cheeses which were scrumptious. Jennifer didn’t like one of the smelly ones though. I had a banana cake and it was tasty. Ivan and Jen also shared the white chocolate and red fruit charlotte. What a tasty meal!
We headed back to the hotel satisfied.
Ivan, Jennifer and I checked out of Park Plaza Vondelpark on October 24, 2009. We took a tram to the train station.
We got a train into Paris. It was evening when we arrived in Paris. We hopped on the metro to the hotel. It’s nice that the Metro is across the street from our hotel.
We checked in to Citadines Place D’Italie. The room was average, but it was handy having a kitchen. We were all tired. Ivan bought food at the local Carrefour. He got Cambert cheese but it was smelly and tasted bad – so he threw it away.
Ivan cooked some ravioli. The ravioli wasn’t very good though. We watched tv on the laptop and then went to sleep.
Ivan, Jennifer and I had breakfast in the room on October 25, 2009. We got the metro to the meeting place for the bike tour. We were going on a tour with Bike About Tours.
We took off on our bikes.
We stopped at many places like Jim Morrisson’s house, The Bastille, The Louvre and Notre Dame. The tour took us to the backstreets of Paris and not all the main sites.
Since it was Sunday, it was really quiet on the streets. We stopped in the Latin Quarter for a break. There’s a street that has lots of cafes and shops. We stopped by a bakery. Ivan and Jennifer shared a chocolate croissant and a delicious creme brulee.
I had a croissant and put bananas inside it.
It was time to move on. We stopped at other sites like Museé D’orsay, The Pompideau Centre and Tuileries Gardens.
We did see the Eiffel Tower in the distance as well. The tour was good. It’s always great to see the city when you’re on a bike or a vehicle.
Our guide gave us a sheet with tons of recommendations of places to go. He also recommended a restaurant for us. We walked to the restaurant. The waitress pretended she didn’t speak any English. I think she was just being snobby.
We ended up grabbing some crepes to eat. Ivan and I shared a nice banana and nutella crepe. Jennifer had a great cheese crepe.
Next, we walked to the Pompadeau Centre. We saw street entertainment. Ivan and Jen really wanted to see a mime – but there weren’t any in the area.
Our next stop was The Louvre. There’s lots of artwork but also relics and sculptures.
We saw the Mona Lisa. It’s behind glass.
We also saw the Venus de Milo.
We walked around to check out the art. We had to leave since it was closing time.
We took a nice walk along the Seine River. It was time for dinner. We walked to a restaurant Ivan wanted to visit. It was closed though. We were really starving at this point. So, we chose a nearby cafe. I don’t recall the name. Sorry about not putting the names of places. Jennifer writes it down in a little notebook. Unfortunately, she lost her notebook in Amsterdam. The meal turned out horrible. Ivan had an onion soup which tasted like a store bought packet. I had a banana pasta which had no flavor. Ivan and Jen had a salad which was alright.
The main dish was a boring salmon with pasta.
After dinner, we walked around and checked out the souvenirs.
Ivan, Jennifer and I went to The Amstelkring Museum on October 22, 2009. In 1663, this place was a secret church. At that time, Catholics weren’t allowed to practice their religion in public. A lady from the tour last night told us about this church.
The church is located in the attic.
We didn’t think it would be so big.
It has an organ, lots of artwork and religious things inside.
Next, we went to the Anne Frank House. Luckily, there was only a short line – so we didn’t have to wait very long to get in. Ivan and Jennifer read the book a long time ago. I’ve never read it, so I didn’t really understand what the house represented. The house was set up like the place they lived in. There were also interviews playing with friends and Anne’s father Otto. It’s really sad to imagine what they had to live through.
We walked around the city some more.
For dinner, we went to Semhar Ethiopian Restaurant. Ivan had an Ethiopian banana beer that was served in a coconut shell.
Ivan let me smell it, but not taste it. It smelled really good! Jennifer had a tea. I had a banana juice. Ivan and Jennifer shared a traditional dish which was served on a huge plate that was covered by a sombrero.
It was a big pancake with fish and vegetables to eat. I had a big pancake with bananas and vegetables. The food was really tasty. It filled us up.
We headed back to the hotel to get rest.
Jennifer and I were in a funky mood on October 23, 2009. We weren’t sure why.
We went to find a tandem bike to rent. We went to a few different places and either they didn’t have one or their tandem bike was broken. We were about to give up. But, then we went to another bike shop and got one.
Ivan and Jen drove the tandem bike around the city. It was quite fun.
We rode around the park.
We stopped to a see a breakdancing show.
The guys were entertaining.
We returned the bike at the shop. We got a tram back to the hotel. It was time to chill out for awhile.
We went out to eat at Le Garden Restaurant. We all had a salad from the buffet. Ivan had a terrible sweet potato curry. I had a banana rice dish.
Jennifer ordered a tasty vegetable lasagna.
We went to Escape Nightclub. It was great dancing to Paul Van Dyk. He’s great at mixing awesome beats.
Ivan, Jennifer and I arrived in Amsterdam on October 20, 2009. We got a tram to our hotel. We checked in to Park Plaza Vondelpark.
We had lunch at Mech. Ivan and Jennifer each had a chicken and avocado baguette. I had a banana and chicken one. It was very tasty!
We walked around Amsterdam. Ivan and Jennifer had some yummy fries.
We stopped by the Old Sailor bar. Ivan and Jen had raspberry beer while I had a banana juice.
For dinner, we went to Maoz. Ivan and Jennifer each had a falafel with hummus. I had a falafel with bananas.
We watched Robbie Williams Live from Camden at the movie theatre. It was good. Some of the new songs aren’t the best. Robbie says the songs on the albums are growers. No the songs don’t grow bananas, but they do grow on you the more you play them.
Ivan, Jenifer and I slept in late on October 21, 2009. Jennifer used the internet and relaxed. Ivan and I went out to buy tickets for the show tonight featuring BT and Ferry Corsten. Ivan grabbed some baguettes from Mech on the way back to the hotel.
We went into town by tram. We stopped at a sex museum.
There was art and statues that related to sex.
We went into town and went to the Victoria Hotel. Here we met up a group of people. We were heading on Randy Roy’s Redlight Tour. Randy Roy turned out to be an American woman named Kimberly. She took us around the Red Light District. She showed us where Eminem supposedly hangs out. It was very interesting to learn the history of the area. We saw the famous windows with the ladies in them. There’s an area with women in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The city shut down about 50 of the Red Light windows to put art displays. You can’t buy the art, but it usually just shows a product and then a website. I guess they’re trying to clean up the place but the art displays aren’t really working. It’s impossible for anybody to open a new coffee shop. We saw the place where Quentin Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction. We finished the tour in a gay pub that overlooked a canal. The tour was very informative. We talked to the other people in the tour for awhile.
Everybody was hungry. Ivan, Jennifer and I walked to Bird, a Thai restaurant nearby. Ivan and Jen started off with fish cakes, but they didn’t taste very good. I had a great banana noodle dish. Ivan and Jen shared the tasty chicken. Although it had too much peanut sauce.
They also shared a great tom yum soup and a green chicken curry.
Our next stop was the Paradiso nightclub. We headed inside. We came to see BT and Ferry Corsten. There were two guys dressed like the Mario Brothers with their red suspenders. The people who were with them had a cut out face of one of the guys. Jennifer decided to take a picture with them.
We all had a good time dancing the night away.
Ivan, Jennifer and I checked out of the Alcatraz Hostel on October 19, 2009. We stored our luggage in the storage area. We took the train to Alexandraplatz. We met up with the Fat Tire Bike Tours. Our guide was an Australian guy named Randall who was hilarious.
One of our stops was Checkpoint Charlie. We also saw where Hitler’s bunker is located. It’s actually a parking lot right now. But, the bunker is still below.
There was the last watch tower in Berlin. Of course, we saw the Berlin Wall.
They have a fence around it, so people don’t steal parts of the wall for a souvenir. You can buy small chunks of the Berlin Wall in the souvenir shops on a postcard or alone. Our guide was really informative and kept us laughing throughout the tour.
Berlin is very flat so it was easy biking around it. Luckily, we had nice weather.
We stopped at a Beer Garden named Schleusenkrug. I had a banana and chicken salad. Ivan and Jennifer shared the tomato soup, roasted pumpkin salad and oyster mushrooms with tagliatelle.
The food was awesome! Ivan and Jen each got a warm glass of red wine.
The tour went to many other places like the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
The memorial contains 1217 blocks of different heights. You could definitely get lost in there. It would be a perfect place to play hide n’ seek.
Other places we saw were the Reichstag and the Victoria Column.
Our tour was supposed to only last 4 1/2 hours, but it actually ended up being 7 hours long! We loved it though. The hours just flew by. This is our second tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours – our first one was London.
Randall was a great guide! We had a fun time riding around Berlin and learning about its history.
We grabbed some bagels for dinner. We got a train back to the hostel. We retrieved our luggage. We hung out there for a few hours. We all used the internet. It’s great that the hostel offers free internet for it’s guests.
We got a train to the train station. We waited a couple minutes since the trains were running behind. We got on a sleeper train headed for Amsterdam. Our beds were at the top with three beds on each side.
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