On my first trip, I stayed up in Midtown at the Hilton on 6th, and, I enjoyed it, but even then, over the 3 odd weeks I stayed here, I found myself down in SoHo most days.

This trip, we had daily meetings scheduled down on Broadway in SoHo, so picked a great hotel just up in NoHo called The Bowery (cnr Bowery and 3rd St). The Hotel is unbelievable, and only a 15 minute walk to our meetings, and just a 5 minute walk to Spring St.

SoHo has everything the top half of NY has, except at a slower more relaxed pace. You don’t get bowled over for taking your time wandering down a street, there are cheap eats everywhere - some of the best cafe food I have had - 2 notable contenders being Ruby’s cafe on cnr of Spring and Mulberry, and cafe Gitane on cnr of Prince and Mott.

It doesn’t stop at the cafes and the slow pace - at night, the restaurant selection are plentiful - we had a great meal at Balthazar on Spring St, and one of the best Chinese meals I have had at Chinatown Brasserie on cnr Great Jones and Lafayette. Then you have the shopping. All the shops you find up on 5th avenue, you have down in SoHo - my travelling partner, Marina Go, can speak volumes on this topic - she is by far the best shopper I have ever witnessed - truly a skill!

Got to convince the old man now that he needs to be down this way in December!

Cafe Gitane

maps.google.com

242 Mott St # 2
New York, NY 10012-3434
(212) 965-0918
Get directions

Ruby’s Cafe & Bar

www.rubyscafe.us

219 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10012-5735
(212) 925-5755
Get directions

Chinatown Brasserie

chinatownbrasserie.com

380 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 533-7000
Get directions

Balthazar Restaurant

balthazarny.com

80 Spring St
New York, NY 10012
(612) 466-2529
Get directions

The restaurant, like Nobu is fairly unassuming from the outside, but inside, it is just fantastic. High exposed ceilings, artwork hung all over the walls - and packed with people.

Again, we are so lucky we are here in restaurant week because we had the option of a 3 course, $35 USD meal - how could we say no. I had the Fennell soup, followed by a massive pork chop - was so soft it melted in your mouth, and then finished up with a strawberry cheese cake.

All I can say, it is yet another fantastic New York meal - we haven’t had a bad one yet, my hat is off to my mate Robert - who can make a film and a pork chop. Good work I say.

Tribeca Grill

www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com

375 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 941-3900
Get directions

We thought we would take a punt and not book (dangerous considering it is restaurant week here in NY), and head down for some Japanese at Nobu.

We begged for a table, and after a few minutes, we were successful. We ordered a mix of things - everything from some Salmon Sashimi to Tempura Prawns, and some Beef Skewers in between. The Salmon was some of the best I have ever tasted - it melted in your mouth, and the beef was so so soft.

It was restaurant week, and Nobu actually have a $35 menu, but we opted for some alternate dishes, and still managed to get out under $60 USD for the 2 of us… not bad hey - fine dining on a budget!

From the outside, you wouldn’t know what was in store for you once you walked in the door - but let me tell you - it is fantastic… Make sure you go down there if you are in town.

Nobu Next Door

www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com

105 Hudson St
New York, NY 10013-2331
(212) 334-4445
Get directions

Last night, I dined at Balthazar on Spring St in New York. I think this is my favourite New York restaurant, although it would be a close call with Nobu.

The atmosphere in Balthazar is just unbelievable - you walk in and it hits you, people laughing and talking, the noise bouncing off the high ceilings - it is just fantastic.

I had the Steak Frites, with maître d’ butter or béarnaise sauce, and it was delicious and then followed it with a Crème Brûlée for dessert.

Last time I was in New York it took me 3 weeks to get a reservation there, this time, I manageed to get one in my second attempt - so very grateful for that.

Balthazar Restaurant
balthazarny.com
80 Spring St, New York,

New York

Well, here I am, back in New York - what a city this is. I flew in for business a few nights ago, and I have to say, I had forgotten how good this place is, even though it is damn hot currently.

We had a great ‘Welcome to New York’ meal at Anthony Bourdaine’s ‘Les Halles’ on Park Ave South on our first night here, and it was just as good as I remembered. It was packed, so lucky we got a table. French food at it’s best, and a great way to welcome ourselves!

We are staying down in NoHo at the Bowery Hotel - a great boutique hotel that I would recommend to anyone. It is in a great location, and the staff are excellent.

We had our first series of meetings today, so won’t have that much free time to do many things, but managed to do some shopping on Sunday - my colleague I am with can shop like no one I have ever met - a true proffessional!

We are going to have a small and cheap dinner tonight at Nobu Next Door - we have to keep it light so we don’t blow our budget - but really, who could say no to Nobu?

I am back here at the end of the year, when it will be nice and cold, so not too upset that I don’t have much time out of an office. I think I could definitely live in this city, at least for the 6 months of the year it is cold.

When you stop in each port, you generally arrive early in the morning, and you have the whole day in that city to spend the day doing what you like. Out of the three we visited, all were nice in their own way, but I have to say Cabo San Lucas was the highlight.

After having walked around for a little while, we headed back to the Marina and got a small glass bottom boat out to the beaches and looking at all the fish around the reef. Here is a photo I took going through the amazing rocks;

Cabo San Lucas

We then stopped at Lovers Beach, which was just stunning, here is a photo;

Lovers Beach, Cabo San Lucas

I should also show you the view we woke up to when we had docked in Cabo, we sat on our balcony of the boat eating breakfast while looking out over this - it was unbelievable;

Sun rise in Cabo

While Cabo was probably our favourite place, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta were still great, here are some shots I took while there;

Mazatlan

We took a walk along the beach in Mazatlan;

The beach in Mazatlan

And this one was taken at some markets in Puerto Vallarta;

Markets in Puerto Vallarta

After we walked around the markets, we headed up the mountains to a scenic restaurant that over looks all the waterfalls - it was great Mexican food in a great location;

Waterfalls in Puerto Vallarta

All in all, it was a great cruise, and we were able to see 3 great parts of Mexico, places we probably would never had seen without being on the cruise. This years cruise is through South America and the Panama Canal, so should be great.

I had never been on a cruise, but always wanted to - I like the idea of visiting multiple destinations without packing bags and changing hotels every few days.

We were cruising on a Princess cruise, on board the Sapphire Princess. We arrived at San Pedro pier, and made our way to the ship. We boarded very smoothly, much easier than navigating international airports, and quickly found our room - which was just extraordinary. We had a sitting area, a bar, big bathroom and bedroom with a study, not to mention a huge balcony.

Every few rooms share a ‘butler’ of sorts, someone who will take care of any need you may have - ours was Rex, and he was the best. First stop on the cruise was Puerto Vallarta after two days of cruising, followed by Mazatlan, then Cabo San Lucas. You generally dock early morning, and then have from 8am till 5pm to do what you like in each destination, before getting back on the boat. Personally, the destinations where fantastic, but I couldn’t get over how good life on the ship was. You get breakfast served in your room on the balcony, with nothing but ocean to look at, you then go for a swim or a walk around, perhaps a coffee or a movie before lunch, then you relax all afternoon before picking one of 6 restaurants to dine at for dinner. You are so relaxed by the end of the cruise, you don’t want to return to reality.

Here are some pictures of our room;

Sapphire Princess Suite

Sapphire Princess Suite

It truly was sad to have to get off, but, all good things must come to an end - I am just happy we have another cruise booked for early 2010 through South America and the Panama Canal!

They had all been to Whislter the year before, I hadn’t - so I didn’t really know what to expect. On the drive from Vancouver to Whistler (about 2 hours), it started snowing quite heavily - so that was promising!

We arrived and settled into our apartment we had rented - very nice I might add… It was getting dark by the time we arrived, but the snow was bucketing down. We went for a walk around, and organised ski hire. The next day we started skiing - great fun. We skied 11 out of 12 days - it is always the case, on the last day you are just getting the hang of it and then you have to leave!

Words can’t express what this place is like - you sit at one of the restaurants at the top of the mountain, and you just look out over the top of the clouds. Here are some pictures I took from Christine’s, at the top of Blackcomb.

View from Christine's (Blackcomb)

Another shot from Christine's

Here is another shot on the walking path that connects the Upper Village to Whistler;

Creek on the way from the Upper Village to Whistler

If you are ever in Whistler, we had the most amazing meal at Rim Rock Café - it was extraordinary. Great wine list, and the most amazing steaks. I would reccommend you stop by for a meal if you are close by. Details are;

Rim Rock Cafe

We landed in LA from Sydney at about 9am in the morning. I knew we would be exhausted so I had booked a room at the airport Hilton so we could get 3 or 4 hours sleep before doing the drive (for $50 USD I thought this would be a good option). When we woke, we were refreshed and ready to do the drive. We got a nice car - a Cadillac DTS. Impressive vehicle for a hire car…

The drive was nice, but not great, I think our expectations had been too great. I don’t regret doing it, but don’t think I would do it again when the plane ride is only 40mins. Driving into Vegas was good though - coming from the vast desert into a sky filled with bright lights was quite a sight! Driving down the strip we found our Hotel of choice - the Wynn.

What a great hotel. We went to check in and they offered us an upgrade to a penthouse suite. It was on the top level and overlooked an amazing 18 hole golf course - it even had a ‘his’ and ‘her’ bathroom… Thats right - 2 bathrooms in a hotel room. WOW.

I think what is most amazing about Vegas is the size of everything. These hotels are massive - it takes you 30 mins to walk around the perimeter. Everything you could want is located within the bounds of the hotel - Casino, 10 restaurants, shops, cafe’s, convenience stores - EVERYTHING! The other hotels were also amazing, but I must say, the Wynn took the cake.

Surprisingly, we didn’t gamble that much, maybe one or two hours each day… We did go an check out the Bellagio’s water feature out the front - that is pretty amazing.

Bellagio, Las Vegas

We also saw some great shows - we visited the Monte Carlo to see Lance Burton’s magic act, and we saw Le Reve at the Wynn (amazing). The shows are world class - honestly fantastic - spend the money and see as many as you can, we definitely will next time. Also, as a side note - visit the Playboy club, it is very cool.

We only had three days in Vegas - we could have done with another couple - but I suppose we can use that as an excuse to visit again very very soon!

We were flying out on a Friday afternoon from Sydney. We chose to fly Virgin Atlantic in to London - the fare was cheap and the offering looked excellent. We boarded on time and took off on schedule. The first leg was Sydney - Hong Kong. An easy leg to start off with. Virgin Atlantic was excellent - would definately fly them to London again any time. We arrive in Hong Kong about 10pm, and by the time we got back to the hotel, it was almost midnight. We went for a walk around Hong Kong, found a little noodle place and had a nice dinner and a beer. Back to the hotel and in bed by 2am. Woke up the next morning, went and had an Orange Juice at the Penninsula Hotel - which was nice, and then straight to the airport for our Hong Kong - London leg. Plane left Saturday afternoon Hong Kong time, and due to some heavy head winds, got us in later (14.5 hr flight time) than expected to London. In the end, we arrived in London about 8:30pm Saturday night.

I had a dinner planned with some friends in London, so went back to the hotel (a little hung over from the on board bar in plane) and had a shower, then went and met my friends at Wild Honey in London - a great restaurant that I would pass on to anyone… Details are;

12 St George Street, London, W1S 2FB - View on a map
Telephone: 08717032787

Dinner was great, was good to catch up with some friends, but I was jet lagged, it was 1 am, and I needed to sleep before tomorrows commute. 6 hours later, I woke up and raced to catch the Eurostar to Paris - a 9am train that got us into paris around Midday. Train was excellent - beats a plane any day of the week. We arrived more or less on time and grabbed a cab to our hotel.

Dinner with Amber and Katie

The hotel we were staying at, while reasonably priced, was rated #2 on tripadvisor. We arrived and the staff were excellent - free wifi, big rooms, great location - very pleased indeed - details are below.

Hotel Elysees Regencia
41, avenue Marceau
75016 Paris, France
+33 1 47 20 42 65

We had the afternoon to ourselves before we started work the next day - so we went for a walk around Paris. This proved to be the only time we would have to oursleves!

Me in Paris

The next day, we started work near Gard du Nord station - long day but productive. Our schedule over the next 5 days was the same;

Mon-Fri, 8am bus to office, work till 8pm, bus back to hotel. Quick dinner near hotel, then Sydney work over email until early hours of morning. Sleep. Do it all over again.

Friday night came, we went and had a nice dinner (I will write about the restaurant later), and went to sleep. Saturday morning, we woke up to catch the Eurostar back to London, then a train to Heathrow. We made our flight with 40 mins to spare, straight on to Hong Kong. We then had 6 hours in Hong Kong airport, which actually went faster than expected, then a 9 hour flight back to Sydney, landing 7am Sydney time - and I was headed straight to the office.

Wow - it was exhausting just writing about it! As you would imagine, I am now trying to kick the flu - planes always make me feel sick - all those germs circulating in the air con can’t be good!

Anyway, a successful trip and a reminder of how good Paris is in winter and how I will definately be spending several weeks there next time rather than just 1!