Fergal's Trips!

2007 International Gordon Bennett Vintage Car Rally

2007-06-11T16:54:00.000+01:00

Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club Mercedes-Benz International Gordon Bennett Rally 8th, 9th & 10th June 2007

Preparations under way for the Gordon Bennett April/May 2007

My Brother's Darragh '1920's Bean' (one of only 27 cars ever made and the only one in Ireland) engine needed to be rebuilt, Tommy a fantastic mechanic and friend of the family spent 200 hours rebuilding it, so it was now time to put the engine in!

Tommy (a vintage Car Boffin), Leonard my Dad (a vintage Car Boffin), Pat & Myself lifted and installed the engine early one Saturday morning

Victory...

next it was time to get my "1914 Ford Model T Speedster" ready. Incidentally Model T Ford (which originated from Cork in Ireland) was voted Car of the last Century so it was great to be part of automotive history and brilliant to get my 93 year old car (which my dad built & restored) running again!

Successfully changed the oil, put new tyres on it, greased down all the bearings, tightened up the Steering, fixed the fuel line, got the 3 litre engine running on 4 cylinders (faulty/dirty spark plug) and I polished up all the brass Radiators, Lamps, wheel hubs, Badges etc

Next my dad Leonard fixed the brakes on the 1920's Bean

My Bro Darragh testing out the Bean

My Folks were going to go in a 1912 Model T Saloon but Heartbreaking @ 23:45 7th June the eve of the Gordon Bennett the Starting Motor cracked

Bringing the Model T for a test drive ...

A little bit of Motoring History ...

The famous Gordon Bennett Cup Motor Race was held in Ireland in 1903 - an international contest that was the precursor of the present day Formula 1 Grand Prix.

In 1903, the motorcar had a future that few would have dreamt of in those days when the speed limit in Britain and Ireland was 12 miles per hour. A special Act of Parliament was passed to allow the circuit to be closed in for the Gordon Bennett Cup and this enabled the winning Belgian driver to average 49.2 miles per hour in a time of 6 hours and 39 minutes

When the race was run on July 2nd 1903, Ireland was for a short time at the epicentre of the motoring world and the significance of the Irish race lived on long after the race itself was run. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that international motor sport and in particular, the modern Grand Prix series, came directly from the events which took place in counties Kildare, Carlow and Laois on that day.

The original route is now a focused tourist attraction in its own right, taking in quiet and scenic country roads, towns and villages, with many heritage attractions

JAMES GORDON BENNETT (1841 – 1918) The Man, The Myth The Legend ...
The son of a New York media baron, James Gordon Bennett was a flamboyant character whose love of sport and all-round derring-do was reflected in the six annual, white-knuckle car races that bore his name. Born into the upper echelons of New York society, Bennett loved nothing more than a crazy wager or a madcap dash to settle a score. At 26, he took control of his father’s news empire, boosting sales at the New York Herald with a number of lavish publicity stunts.

Unfortunately for New York, Bennett’s rapacious playboy nature and extravagant spending habits led to him scandalizing many in “high society”. This notoriety forced him to relocate to Europe and it was in Paris that James Gordon Bennett developed an all-consuming passion for the newly emerging technology of the motorcar.
In 1900 he sponsored the first-ever international motoring competition, the spectacular Gordon Bennett Cup Race which was held in Ireland on July 2nd 1903.

The 1903 Irish Gordon Bennett Cup Race By Bob Montgomery

The 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup Race came to Ireland because of the remarkable victory by Selwyn F. Edge in the 1902 race. The rules required the winning country to stage the following year’s race and so unexpected was the British victory and so strong the establishment opposition to motoring in that country that there was little hope of the race being staged there. A number of enthusiastic motorists seized upon the opportunity to unite all shades of Irish political and public opinion by securing the race for Ireland.

The race, it was decided, would form the central element in a fortnight of motoring contests held throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. What followed next can best be described by the modern phrase, “media frenzy”, as preparations got under way for the biggest sporting event ever to take place in Ireland up to that time. Many thousands of visitors came by boat to view the race while some 1,500 brought their cars with the intention of touring the countryside while here. As the total number of cars in Ireland was only around 300 at the time, this was a huge influx and provided many Irish people with their first opportunity to see a motor car.

Four countries entered teams of three cars each for the contest: France, the United States, Germany and Britain. The cars were to be painted in national colours - France in blue; the United States in red; Germany in white and Britain, in deference to Ireland’s role in organising the race, chose emerald green. The chosen route was a figure eight course centred on Athy. The cars would complete three laps of the eastern circuit and four of the longer western circuit giving a total distance of 524km (327.5 miles). Unlike the great city-to-city races, which had taken place across France prior to the Irish race, this was a race over a “closed” circuit. As a result some 2,300 policemen were drafted in to marshal the course, with great success

Well... why do we do it eh - I hear some of you asking? Well for some of us its the Competitive angle: The following perpetual trophies are awarded:
The Gordon Bennett Trophy, the Phoenix Trophy, the Dublin Grand Prix Trophy, the Napier Trophy, the Cassidy Cup, and the Valerie Millington Cup.

Class prizes will be awarded for the road section.

The rally route will be approximately 135 kilometres / 80 miles long. Drivers of Class A cars can opt for the full route or for a shorter route of approximately 65 kilometres/ 40 miles. The routes will consist of a mixture of free driving and timed regularity sections. These regularity sections will be the basis of the competition.

Class Categories:

Class A: Antique cars built up to 31/12/1904
Class B: Veteran cars built between 1/1/1905 and 31/12/1918 My 1914 Ford Model T
Class C1: Vintage cars built between 1/1/1919 and 31/12/1926 Darraghs 1920 Bean
Class C2: Vintage cars built between 1/1/1927 and 31/12/1930

Detailed Gordon Bennett Route Map

.....For me its just the sheer Craic of tearing around in a Vintage Car and soaking up the electric atmosphere ;-)

Friday 8th June - Gordon Bennett Day 1
There was always going to be little doubt that my Co-Pilot for this weekend of automotive madness was going to be the mischievous yet lovable rouge Ross!

Picked up Ross in Heuston Station in central Dublin and we made our way to the garage where my Model T is kept. Ross the Legend that he is provides me with a Cow-boy Hat for the weekend!

11.45 we Set off.......

We have to negotiate our way through the notorious RedCow Roundabout - probably Ireland worst junction, albeit with no Brakes on my Model T!!!!!

We arrive in Naas 30 miles from Dublin and join the rest of the Gordon Bennett Competitors in Sheehy.s, Mercedes-Benz and Motor Distributors Ltd. We are treated to a tasty lunch and we register for the rally

We depart Naas and start the afternoon drive of approx 65 kilometres / 40 miles to Rally Headquarters at The Mount Wolseley Hilton Hotel where there will be a welcoming reception hosted by the Gordon Bennett Rally.

The Weather is absolutely gorgeous however worryingly the car seems to be lacking in power and is occasionally back-firing and spluttering a little bit - just like the next day after eating a spicy curry then washing it down with bucket loads of beer!!

We decided to take detour and stop off at Kilkee Castle, were we unexpectedly arrived upon a wedding so a bag piper thought we were the wedding car and started playing his bagpipes on the red carpet at the entrance!

We battle onwards towards Tullow, when the car started to over heat so we had an emergency stop to let the car cool down and refill it will some much needed water

Ross beyond the call duty all weekend takes his Co-Pilot/Navigator Role seriously and in a blink of an eye is under the Model T any time its required!

We arrive into Tullow in Co Carlow and after a failed attempt of driving the Model T up a rather steep hill towards my B & B (there is no fuel pump on the car and the fuel rushes to the back and not into the engine!) turn her back around and speed off towards The Mount Wolseley Hilton Hotel which this weekend will be Gordon Bennett HQ

My Brother Darragh, sister Sasha and parents are coming down later on so myself and Ross Decide to have a few ice cold drinks to refresh us, and wander around the car park admiring the diverse range of rare vintage cars such as Rolls Royce, Benley's, Lagonda's etc

The oldest Car there was the very impressive 1898 Benz-Velo which is owned by Mercedes Benz and it still drives!!

Sinking an ice-cold Bulmers chilling out waiting for the rest of the posse to arrive

My Brother Darragh and my sister Sasha arrive down latish in the 1920's Bean

Amusingly enough we passed by a van and noticed that they transported their little Austin in the back of it!

My parents arrive up, and we are joined by another Ross and his mate Paul, we get some tasty snacks and sink a few more cold drinks before retiring for the night

Sasha ross & my Mum - shooting the breeze

Saturday 9th June Gordon Bennett Day 2
We awake @ 07:00 in Ballyderrin B & B and eat a big healthy breakfast to fortify ourselves for the day ahead, the sun is splitting the trees, the vibes are good I know this day is going to be another cracker!

Ross swings by our B & B and picks us up and brings myself and darragh to the Hilton Hotel where the cars are safely & securely Stored during the evening. We go about our usual routine, checking that the car has enough oil & water, connecting the battery and flooding the engine to start up the Model T

Ross & Sasha soaking up the Atmosphere

Myself and Ross ( Team T ) get photographed along with my Model T by a professional photographer for an Irish Car magazine..... fame waits for us just around the corner ;-)!

'Team T'

Myself, Ross & Sasha with my Trusty Mechanical Steed!

Darragh gets the Bean Started, Ross Thompson joins him as Co-Pilot & Navigator and Sash predictably takes the leisurely back seat!

With a final check we depart @ 09:20, myself and Darragh decided to drive in Convoy which meant the minute we exited darragh went right we followed him but as we were meant to go left we got disqualified from winning any prizes! We were only there for the craic and decided it would be better fun flying around the country roads in convoy!

at the very first junction we spotted a petrol station pulled in re-fuelled and off course had to stop for an ice-cream!

Yee-haar myself and Ross burning down the country roads!

Darragh hears a Knocking sound coming from the engine and correctly decides to stop and wait for my Dad & Tommy to arrive to investigate further

The Calvary arrive... Leonard, Mum and Tommy

Leonard and Tommy check the Bean for problems

Tommy and Leonard agree The Bean is safe to drive and we carry on again burning around the country roads in the Glorious Sunshine!

Tommy's car is the next to stop as his back wheel suddenly explodes!

we get under way again and have great fun driving around with Ross & myself in the 1914 Model T (which has NO Brakes - you break on the engine by putting the car into Low gear!!) Darragh, Ross Thompson & Sash in the 1920's Bean, and Tommy and my Folks in Tommy's 1930 Austin.

We pass some gorgeous stretches of land with rolling hills and scenic settings and make our way towards the lunch stop where we happily stuff our faces again. After checking the oil and filling up the thirsty Radiator on the Model T we set off again via Carlow & Athy.

A few miles down the road Mother Fortune stops smiling down on us and the Model T starts acting up, back firing & the power drops off drastically. We nursed the car a few miles further and found a spot to pull in safely

We set off again and battled on but before the next major hill we were forced to pull over again with a serious lack of power in the car. Darragh, Sash & Ross Thompson were with us in the Bean

Low and behold a few mins later as we were tinkering with the coils thinking they were the troublesome villains, Tommy Leonard & Mum turn up! We agreed the coils weren't the issue and that it was more than likely a fuel problem, Ross Heroically decided to launch himself under the car and reckons he could open the fuel line and blow back 7/8 gallons of petrol - an impressive feat nonetheless!

Before Ross got his first taste of petrol ;-), Tommy with the eyes of a Hawk pursuing a fleeing rodent noticed that the Brass Petrol Cap which should be ventilated was blocked by brasso and thus no vacuum existed to help force the petrol into the engine!

...a few sec's later, we were back on the road with the Model T running at full power - horray and phew what a relief!

Ross Thompson family was waiting for us for a few hours at "The Moat of Ardscull" which is a 13th century Norman earthworks is one of the biggest of its kind in Ireland. It is also the site of a memorial to the Gordon Bennett Cup Race. Not to disappoint we sped over at full speed to meet our waiting party. However there was a little bit of mutiny on board as Ross Thompson decided to jump in the Model T enroute much to the displeasure of Ross!

The Moat of Ardscull

after a pleasant introduction to Ross Thompson's extended Family (even the granny was there!) - we sped off back to Tullow to successfully complete the Gordon Bennett 2007

The Victorious Gordon Bennett 2007 Gang - looking a little bit sun burnt but exhilarated!

Leonard spots the reason why the Bean lost power and fixes the problem

Sasha's boyfriend Sean arrives down to Tullow at 22:00, myself Darragh Sean & Sasha head off to Carlow Town to meet up the 2 Ross's.

Needless to say, we drink enough Red Bulls & Vodka's to kill a small elephant, after breezing through a few bars we then hit the local night club The Foundary and partied into the early hours like it was going out of fashion. We somehow manage to hail a taxi and find our way back to Tullow and collapse back into bed, but not before I managed to lock myself into the B & B Toilet and had to squeeze through a tiny window to escape to victory!

Sunday 10th June Gordon Bennett Day 3

We awake drunkenly @ 08:00, another glorious sunny morning, we shower, eat some breakfast to absorb the alcohol from last night then check out.

Ross meets ups with us in the Hilton, brings some tubing to fix the leaking fuel line on the Model T and presents Darragh & Myself with some lovely Racing shirts - what a trouper eh?!

@ 12 noon, we are treated to fantastic buffet lunch which we choose to eat out on the grass and to top it all off a Dixie-Land jazz band entertains us! With good tunes, tasty food and fabulous weather we chill out soak up the atmosphere and enjoy ourselves immensely

Myself and Ross spot two more Ford Model T's as we drove around the car park so we thought it was only fitting to line mine up with the others and take a quick snap!

With Sean as Darragh's Co-Pilot we drive onwards to Carlow Town

We arrange to meet my folks, Sasha, Ross Thompson & Paul back in Kilkee Castle, where we chilled out for an hour

Myself, Sasha, Darragh, Sean, Leonard & Mum leave the rest of guys and make our way back driving to Dublin to the the friendly beeps of passing cars and cheers from onlookers.... life is pretty damn good ;-)

Magnifica Roma & La Dolce Vita

2007-02-13T17:09:00.000Z

Rome, Italy 8th Feb => 12th Feb 2007

Due to an unexpected illness in my family, the surprise Christmas present for an all expense trip to Rome myself and my brother Darragh arranged for my parents was going to go to waste, so yours truly did the only decent thing and decided to head away for a long weekend in beautiful historic Roma, Italy ;-)

My trusty side kick for this unexpected weekend away was none other than my mischievous mate the lovable rouge Ross!

I picked up Ross from Heuston Station- Dublin main train station, brought him back to my house and cooked up a tasty feed to fortify us for our flight later today. As we departed Dublin a minor snow storm was sweeping in around us.....

"According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC. Archaeological evidence supports claims that Rome was inhabited since the 8th century BC and earlier. The city was the cradle of Roman civilization that produced the largest and longest-lasting empire of classical antiquity that reached its greatest extent in 117. The city was pivotal and responsible for the spread of Greco-Roman culture that endures to this day. Rome is also identified with the Roman Catholic Church and has been the episcopal seat of the popes since the 1st century. An enclave of Rome is The State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See and smallest nation in the world

Rome, Caput mundi ("capital of the world"), la Città Eterna ("the Eternal City"), Limen Apostolorum ("threshold of the Apostles"), la città dei sette colli ("the city of the seven hills") or simply l'Urbe ("the City"), is thoroughly modern and cosmopolitan. As one of the few major European cities that escaped World War II relatively unscathed, central Rome remains essentially Renaissance and Baroque in character. The Historic Centre of Rome is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site

Rome grew momentously after the war, as one of the driving forces behind the "Italian economic miracle" of post-war reconstruction and modernisation. It became a fashionable city in the 1950s and early 1960s, the years of "'la Dolce Vita'" ("the sweet life"), and a new rising trend in population continued till the mid-1980s, when the comune had more than 2,800,000 residents; after that, population started to slowly decline as more residents moved to nearby comuni; this has been attributed to their perceiving a decrease in the quality of life, especially because of the continuously jammed traffic and the worsening pollution it brings about"

We arrived into Leonardo Da Vinci Airport just outside Roma @ 19:00, as arranged we were met by our Hotel chauffeur who transported us into our centrally located Fellini Inn Hotel.

We checked in and because the hotel was booked for my parents in mind, we were faced with sharing a Queens Size bed for the weekend - huuummmm Cosy!!

We set off exploring and snaked our way around the cobbled stoned street of Rome and decided to have some dinner in a nearby restaurant that took some inspiration from locally decorated church ceilings - the famous of them all the Sistine Chapel only a short metro ride away

Spectacular Trevi Fountain in all its glory

The Trevi Fountain (1732 Nicola Salvi) is the largest — standing 25.9 meters high and 19.8 meters wide — and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome. It is located in the rione of Trevi.

The gorgeous Anita Ekberg (Miss Sweden 1951) bathed in it in "La Dolce Vita" directed by Federico Fellini
A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin backwards over their shoulder into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome (healthier than the original tradition of drinking the water for luck!) Thanks to the world of cinema this beautiful fountain is one of the most familiar sights of Rome

it has been reported that approximately 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day and are collected at night!

Myself and Ross

We then set off jacket-less for some mad reason as the temperature was dropping and continued on with a vague idea where we were heading. We visited a few random bars, Canadian bar with a picture which showed that Brian O' Driscoll (Ireland Rugby Captain)had been caught red handed sinking a cold one here!

Shooting the breeze with a few yanks..... we decided best to battle onwards...

We ended up where else but in an Irish bar (the only lively place) near the famous and stunning Plaza Navona, the Irish bar was called The Abbey Theatre

There are a tremendous number of American Students studying in Rome, its must be the number one city in the world to study architecture.

We settled in and got yapping to a few fellow drunken revellers amongst were plenty of Yanks on their "spring break" and even bought me a shot to participate in their drunken mayhem before they thankfully left

another bunch of American's burst in the door and we ended up shooting the breeze with them for the next few hours. We got chatting to some of the The Abbey Theatre staff the lovable Caroline and Manchester Sam ( local chef who had his finger on the pulse of Rome and was able to astound us with his local invaluable knowledge and more importantly make sure we make it to the right bars!!)

we left the The Abbey Theatre Irish bar and attempted to locate a Disco to continue the madness but ended up walking till we couldn't walk a step further and somehow managed to hail a taxi and pass out back in the Fellini Inn around 4ish!

Day 2 in Roma Friday 9th Feb 2007

...Next morning imagine how lucky I was to wake up dying with an awful hangover to rub my bleary eyes gather in my surroundings and find this Hunk of testosterone beside me ;-)!

we just about made the 9:30 cut off for breakie, stocked up on the tasty continental supplies on offer and headed back down to the room to sober up. An hour later we left Fellini and had to unpleasant discovery that we were in for a rainy pissy day. We caught the metro and headed west across the Tiber river bound for Vatican City.

As we left the metro station heading towards the Vatican - the sky opened up and the rain came thundering down. I quickly haggled with a street merchant for 2 umbrellas - only after buying them I realised to my horror how "gay & festive" they looked - Ha oh well ;-)

We stocked up on some local cuisine from one off the many local fast food restaurants, with our belly's full and the weather going to custard we found ourselves caught up in the many troves of fellow tourists entering the independent state of Vatican City which most rank as one of the wealthiest in the world

Vatican City
"The city of Rome surrounds the Vatican City, the enclave of the Holy See, which is a separate sovereign state.
The Vatican is the world smallest nation, covering just 120 acres, and is a theocracy of just over 550 citizens, headed by the Pope, but its sightseeing complex is beyond compare.

It hosts Saint Peter's Square with the Saint Peter's Basilica. The open space before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt, designed "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace".

In Vatican City there are also the prestigious Vatican Library, Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and other important works of Michaelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Bottice"

Never one to miss an opportunity to act the maggot and clown around ;-) Myself and Ross make the most of a miserable day posing outside St Peters Basilica...

We passed through the various X-Ray Machines, somehow even Ross ( a hardened protestant)went undetected & was allowed enter the centre of Catholicism - a lucky escape for Rosco!!!

The interior was spell-bindingly beautiful, with its majestic height and stunningly ornate & decorated with some of the finest masterpieces the world has to offer. Michelangelo designed the dome to span St Peters massive transept, he made it 42m in diameter in deference to the Pantheon's 43.3M dome

Saying a little prayer... this gives you some sense of how enormous this Basilica truly is

Annoyingly and very disappointingly the Sistine Chapel was closed, so we had to make do with some "special" exhibition that had some nice Carravagio paintings inside but not much more.

we left Vatican and as usual for this weekend took the first of many wrong turns and battled our way through the pouring rain, we eventually found a bridge to cross the Tiber eastwards towards the historic centre of Rome.

Noticed a number of boat people living along the banks of the Tiber river

with a few more wrongs turn and starting to get disheartened from the miserable weather and persistent hangover we stumbled across another famous Roman square Piazza del Popolo

The Piazza del Popolo is one of the most famous places, especially for foreigners, in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "piazza of the people", but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.

The Piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the road to Ariminum (modern Rimini) and the most important route to the north. At the same time, before the age of railroads, it was the traveller's first view of Rome upon arrival. For centuries, the Piazza del Popolo was a place for public executions, the last of which took place in 1826.

The layout of the piazza today was designed in neoclassical style between 1811 and 1822 by the architect Giuseppe Valadier, who demolished some insignificant buildings and haphazard high screening walls, to form two semicircles, reminiscent of Bernini's plan for St. Peter's Square, replacing the original cramped trapezoidal square centred on the Via Flaminia.

as usual fooling around...

our energy levels and spirits were starting to rapidly drain, so we decided to head back towards Piazza Navona and try and locate the Abbey Theatre Irish bar and escape the horrible weather

Piazza Navona is a square in Rome. The piazza follows the plan of an ancient Roman circus, the 1st century Stadium of Domitian, where the Romans came to watch the agones ("games"): today's name stems from the corruption of the latter in in agone, then nagone and navona, which actually means "big ship" in Italian.

Defined as a square in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred here from the Campidoglio, Piazza Navona is now the pride of Baroque Rome. It has sculptural and architectural creations: by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers, 1651) in the center; by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi, the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone; and by Pietro da Cortona, who painted the gallery in the Pamphilj palace.

somehow we found our way back to the magnetic and charming draw of the Irish bar Abbey Theatre, as luck would have it Sam the Chef who we met the night before was finishing up his shift. We got some quality snacks into us and slowly dried out - Bliss!

Sam happily agreed to show us around some of Rome and provided some very insightful & eye-opening info of the local people, culture & politics and also what to see and do!

we moved onwards to Campo de' Fiori, which on drier sunnier days, all the young and beautiful people of Rome descend upon it and soak up the atmosphere and enjoy themselves.
Today with the nasty weather there wasn't much commotion just a lot of people running in different direction like headless chickens to escape the rain!

"The traditional Roman market was moved in 1869 to Campo de' Fiori, but the square has also a traditional role in housing theatrical and costume shows, horse races, buffalo jousts. Since 1652, on every August's Sunday and Saturday, the square was turned into a lake to celebrate the Pamphilj family itself: youngsters and noble cabs played running through the square while a band played music. This feast was suppressed in 1866."

We then crossed the train tracks and found ourselves escaping from the rain in yet another Irish bar! after quenching a minor thirst we suddenly had we then backtracked and unexpectedly passed the legendary Pantheon with a magnificent Dome high as it is wide (43.3 metres) with an oculus acting as an Eye-to-the sky! Among those buried in the Pantheon are the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci and also the architect Baldassare Peruzzi

"The Pantheon (from Greek Πάνθεον Pantheon, meaning "Temple of all the Gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built 27 BC-25 BC as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century. It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central permanent opening (Oculus 8.3M diamater), the Great Eye, open to the sky and rainfall

Its worth mentioned that the dome is precisely as high as it is wide 43.3m. its airy coffered space, cleverly shot through with a shaft of sunlight from the Oculus is what lends the Pantheon an ethereal air."

we continued on walking on Sams alternative tour of Rome and headed northwards to the Hard Rock Cafe we stopped off for a refreshing drink, we then headed to the nearby spainish steps

"The Spanish Steps is a set of stairs in Rome, ramping a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, with the church under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, Trinità dei Monti, above.

The square in an 18th century etching by Giuseppe Vasi, seen from south. The street on the left is Via del Babuino, leading to Piazza del Popolo.
The square in an 18th century etching by Giuseppe Vasi, seen from south. The street on the left is Via del Babuino, leading to Piazza del Popolo."

The monumental stairway, of 138 steps, was built with French diplomat Stefano Gueffier’s funds (20,000 scudi) in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish embassy to the Holy See, today still located in the piazza below, with the Trinità dei Monti church above.

It is also Rome's most stylishly self conscious district, famous for its boutiques hawking frighteningly expensive high fashions
We descended down the Spanish steps taking in the nice view, to truly appreciate these steps a return trip to summer time Rome is a must when the steps are covered in azaleas flowers

We found ourselves "people watching" and sinking for the umpteenth time a nice cold refreshing local Peroni Nastro Azzuro beer - which proved to be the beer of choice for this weekend - yummy!

The night weather conditions deteriorated and after a few failed attempts of flagging a taxi or getting a bus to a lively part of Rome, we ended up in Campo del Fiori which ordinarily "Sloppy Sams" bar would be off-the-wall kangaroo hopping mad - but it turned out to be a quiet night, we finally found ourselves in a very cheesy dingy bar, we called it quits around 03:30 and spent 45min trying to get a taxi home

Day 3 in Roma Saturday 10th Feb 2007

We missed breakfast and surfaced late, stuck my head out the hotel window to check the weather which instantly declared itself to be another wet damp day - groan ...

we decided we were not going to be too touristy today so we just had a wander aimlessly around the cobbled stoned streets checking out a few shops and Bits & Bobs

Mixture of "Crass & Class" Ross pictured with a sign for hideous golden arches of McDonald's and the historic Pantheon

Even on a miserably wet day - its hard not to be overwhelmed by One of the best-known symbol's of Roman neoclassicism the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland", where the grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I, is located

near the Fountain of the Four Rivers

I have been a big fan of the masterful artist Caravaggio (who Within his lifetime, Caravaggio was considered enigmatic, fascinating, a rebel, and dangerous. He burst upon the Rome art scene in 1600, and thereafter never lacked for commissions or patrons, yet handled his success atrociously.)

We bee-lined to the nearby San Luigi dei Francesi church to view some of his masterpieces on displayed

"The calling of St Matthew"

gives us a sense of the grandeur of this church ( incidentally all churches are free in Rome with is surprising with all these stunning master pieces on display)

Predictably we found ourselves back in the Abbey Theatre bar, we had a few pints watched some of the six nation rugby and arranged to meet up with Sam, Caroline @ 20:00 to let loose and trip the light fantastic!

we moved on to Campo del Fiori, and for some reason myself and Ross ended up buying some roses off a random pushy gypsy!

ohh dear.. I think the beer is starting to take affect!

we went to the opening night of "stardust" which was way too boring by our standard so we topped up again in the Abbey Theatre. Unbeknownst to us especially in our drunken state, all discos are in Rome are located outside the centre of Rome, so we basically spent a good hour randomly trying to seek a disco. We hailed a taxi and asked us to bring us to some lively place, we thought it too good to be true when we noticed that a few girls were dancing around in less than nothing we drunkenly thought that Italians are quite a very liberal race ;-) 2 beers cost us €40 so we soon wised-up called it quits and stumbled back to our Hotel to pass out!

Day 4 in Roma Sunday 11th Feb 2007

sleeping into midday, I wearily shook off my hangover opened the curtains & peered out the window and thankfully I was greeted to a burst of sun shine finally after the awful few days the weather was picking up!

A couple of sticks of heavy duty high explosive TNT wouldn't have moved Ross this morning the state he was in so I reluctantly left Ross in the Hotel threw some quality snacks down the hatch and sped off in search of one of the most recognisable and Iconic Symbols of Rome the imperial Colosseum!!

"The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally capable of seating 45,000-50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It was built on a site just east of the Roman Forum, with construction starting between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign.

The Colosseum remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century — well after the traditional date of the fall of Rome in 476. As well as the traditional bloody gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

The building eventually ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such varied purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.

Although it is now in a severely ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is one of the finest surviving examples of Roman architecture. It is one of modern Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, whose Pope leads a torch lit "Way of the Cross" procession to the amphitheatre each Good Friday."

The Arch of Constantine

I then travelled onwards to the nearby Roman Forum where Julius Caesar was assassinated and nearby Palatine Hill

The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum, although the Romans called it more often the Forum Magnum or just the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, prostitution, cult, and the administration of justice took place. The communal hearth was also located here.

Sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the surrounding hills was already raising the level of the forum in early Republican times. Originally it had been marshy ground, which was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima. Its final travertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign of Augustus.

Amongst the historic ruins for the history boffin's out there... you can find the remains of The Temples of Caesar & Romulus, Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine & some notable Arches of Septimius Severus, Titus, Tiberius, & Augustus

I make my way around to the Piazza del Campidoglio, everything in Rome is on a Grandiose level

The existing design of the Piazza del Campidoglio (as Romans called it by the 16th century) and the surrounding palazzos was created by famed Renaissance artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 - 1546.

I move onwards towards Piazza Venezia to get a worms eye view of Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) or "Il Vittoriano" is a monument located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument was designed and built by Giuseppe Sacconi between 1895 and 1911 to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of unified Italy.

The monument is built of pure white marble and features majestic stairways, tall Corinthian columns, fountains, a huge equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of Italy after World War I. The base of the structure also houses the museum of Italian Reunification.

The monument was controversial since its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill with a Mediaeval neighbourhood for its sake. The monument itself is often regarded as pompous and too large. It is clearly visible to most of the city of Rome despite being boxy in general shape and lacking a dome or a tower. The monument is also glaringly white, making it highly conspicuous amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it, and its stacked, crowded nature has lended it several derogatory nicknames. Romans call it "the wedding cake" and "the false teeth" while Americans liberating Rome in 1944 labeled it "the typewriter", a nickname also adopted by the locals. Despite all this, the monument still attracts a hefty amount of visitors.

I arrange to meet Ross where else but the Abbey Theatre to watch Ireland Rugby team play France in the six nations, as I meander my way down from I pop into a random church to have a quick gawk and pass the centrally located Pantheon, where I see a disfigured gypsy (Rome has a large number of gypsy a lot of which are disfigured due to their "pimps" punishing them for not generating enough revenue from begging)travelling around pitifully on a skate board.

I meet up with Ross and the rest of the staff from Abbey Theatre and just when Ireland looked like beating France they conceded a try in the very last minute ( their first loss in about 10 games)

We decide to visit the nearby pizzeria da Baffetto reputedly to have the best pizza in the whole of Rome, the place is full of pictures of famous people eating there. The thin crust wood oven baked pizza didnt disappoint and was first class, a large beer and desert all for the reasonable price of €15 - a bargain!

We decide to have another look around the town as its our last night and pass yet again by the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II. If there is one thing the Romans are excellent at doing is showing off - their spectacular buildings especially with night time illumination

En route back to our Hotel we pass by Trevi Fountain for the very last time, no matter how many time you pass you can't but be astounded and amazed by its enchanting sheer beauty and elegance

we do a spot of shopping and turn in early for the night

Next day we take a €40 taxi back to the airport and make our way back to Dublin tired and exhilarated from our first trip to Rome, we only managed to touch on a small number of treasures that is readily on offer, confident that Rome's lure is too strong for us not to find our way back there in the near future guaranteed by our coin throwing into the wonderful Trevi Fountain!!

Festive Snowboarding Madness in St Anton Austria

2007-01-02T16:31:00.000Z

Snowboarding... St Anton, Austria 23rd Dec till 30th Dec 2006

Saturday 23rd Dec
The poor & unfavourable Snow reports leading up to our departures didn't dampen our high festive spirits ( basically there is probably more Ice/Snow in my Fridge Freezer than is sprinkled over the Alps at the mo!).

The rest of the lads, Jussie, Niall, James, Shane my Bro Darragh, Nats, Elainne & Vicks set off on the early bound (05:00) Ryanair flight destined to Friedrichshafen, Germany before making there way onwards across the Alps arriving into St Anton in Austria just in time for lunch.

I followed later Saturday afternoon on Austrian Airlines and arrived into Innsbruck @ 21:30, after been well feed and pampered by the lovely Austrian Airlines flight female attendants!

Upon arrival there was a noticeable chill in the air and even more noticeable lack of snow in nearby Innsbruck!!

Luckily enough as the last train had departed, I hitched a lift with a transfer bus for skidirect customers and arrived into St Anton @ midnight. Thankfully St Anton @ 1000M had snow and all the towering alpine peaks where white - phew!!

I met the rest of the Irish Possie who were on the sauce for the last few hours in the Kandahar bar, I dumped all my bags - rucksack, travel guitar etc in a corner and fired back the bruskies

Niall Jussies Darragh and mine apartment was situated 10 mins from the main st, downside of it, it was up a pretty steep hill so with burning lungs we trekked up to our apartment and settled in. The apartment is a nice 1 (4 blokes??!!) bedroom apartment with siting room with pull out bed, needless to say sleeping arrangements were particularly cosy!!

Sunday 24th Dec - Christmas Eve
We arose earlyish @ 09:00 feeling slightly minging from our session the night before. Niall & Jussie sped off and took to the slopes. Myself & Darragh proceeded to head into St Anton and rent our snowboarding boards, boots and organise our Ski passes for the week ahead.

Map of the greater St Anton Ski area

Just as myself and darragh were shaking off our hangovers and tucking into our breakfast, we received the shocking news that Niall had broken his collar bone on the slopes.... we met up with the rest of the lads and waited for Niall (Harder than a bag of hammers, Niall snowboarded the rest of the way down with his his freshly broken collar bone!!) at the base of the Gondola

Needless to say as I'd never done snowboarding before and Niall was reasonably experienced this was a shocking revelation to deal with Day 1!

Anyway Niall headed off to the busy Medical centre which I noticed over the few days has a constant stream of snowboarders & Skiers in various degrees of pain & Discomfort going to and fro... the joys of adventures sports!

...anyway James Jussie & Co convinced myself and darragh to take the Gondola up to the the summit of the nearest peak, needless to say without any prior experience or notion of how to control a snowboard and not a steering wheel in sight I reluctantly agreed!!!

With a bit of encouragement from the lads I took off - but I found out quickly enough that I was only able to steer the snowboard in one direction - aggghhh!!!

I took the mandatory knocks & tumbles and managed to negotiate my way down a couple hundred metres of the Red Run Piste - wahayyy!!!

Amusingly enough from my perspective Darragh took off down a dreaded Black Run in error, Darragh surfaced a few hours later looking tired and a bit worse for wear!!

I trekked the lung bursting journey to our apartment peeled of my snowboarding gear and cranked up the powerful shower up to its Max and started to get ready to hit the town!

Nasty dose of the Flu was going around, Darragh was the first casualty and so was forced to take an early night.

The Rest of us made our way down to BoBo's Restaurant, we hungrily devoured the tasty snacks and skulled back a heap of grog to wash it all down with!

as the night wore on .... things started to get a little messy as you can well imagine!

Monday 25th Dec - Christmas Day

Wahayy its Christmas!!! Ah Rats... forgot to tell the Big Man in Red I was in Austria this year, no pressies for me when I wake up ;-(

We awake bleary-eyed dying of a hangover to a nice crisp fresh alpine christmasy morning! This time last year I was on Bondi Beach Sydney with Temp +40 degrees today a year later its a crispy -2/3 degrees!

Sticking to the plan we donned our "Santa Suits" which we brought with us and set off around the town before taking to the slopes in our Festive civvies!

Nats, Myself & Vicks - working the camera!

we made our way back down as the sun was dying....

We meet up with the rest of the lads @ 8ish, due to late booking we ended up having our Christmas dinner in a local Pizza Restaurant!

Nats had the foresight to arrange a "chris kindle" where everybody is secretly chosen to buy another person a Christmas pressie! So before the food arrived we had great fun & entertainment watching everyone open their secret pressie!!

Darragh got Edible undies!!

Justin got a "Choke The Chicken" from Vicks - which stole the show! In true laddish form Shane got me a beer hat which I quickly put to good use!

All the Irish Possie on Christmas day!!

we moved onwards and for more drunken times to the Kandahar, but alas it was early days and we were the only sinners in the place

We headed onto Bar Cuba which heaving with fellow drunken revellers, and I get chatting to a few girls who invited us on their pub crawl. Last men standing tonight were me & Jussie, we found ourselves in Piccadilly Bar & Night club. The Aussie Guitar player took a shine to us and we had him playing a medley of Irish Tunes!!

Thirsty for more madness myself and jussie hit the nightclub to stupid-o-clock in the morning, dancing to the kick-ass beats!!

Tuesday 26th Dec - St Stephens Day
We awake dying with a hangover to another fine crispy fresh alpine morning

The proof is in the pudding ... Darragh a picture of Health!!

with little or nothing to do in St Anton if your injured, Niall is cutting his loses and sadly flys back to Dublin via Salzburg at lunch time...

We take the 15 minute ski lift to Randhl today enjoying the spellbinding & mesmerising views along the way....

James, Darragh, Me & Jussie before we set off...

I somehow make it down to the bottom of the slope, as I gather my breath I realise to get back up, you need to use a dodgy ski lift .... ah sure no probs I thought to myself.... however I had some awful difficulty getting to grips with it!!

Its elasticated and as the lift started up I went flying on my snot! I slipped my foot out of the bindings to go have another go, but my damn snow board when shooting over the slope edge and thankfully came to a rest 1/2 way down the mountain.... rats!!

Jussie makes the Herculean trip down the mountain to retrieve my snow board - fair play to you jussie!

Wrecked & exhausted we all take a night off Stay in, Cook up a feed, Watch a flick on the TV and hit the sack early ZZzzzzzzzz .....

Wednesday 27th Dec

I planned to take some snow boarding lesson's but I miss the start of class by 20 mins - Rats! so I head off to nearby slope and practice a few manoeuvres which sees me landing on my ass for the most part!

After beating myself up and taking a few falls on the icy hard slopes I rang around to find out what the jazz is with the other lads. I find out Nats is in the nearby Medical centre. I head on over to find Vicks comforting Nats, and learn that Nats was air lifted off the mountain and has broken her Coccyx bone - Oucch!!!

Naar...the curse of St Anton Strikes again - another one of us is struck down!!

We head over to our usual spot for lunch the St Anton Cafe

Nats gives us a blow by blow account of her injury ...

Nats left us to find a pharmacy to knock back a few pain killers, myself and Vicks took the 15 min ski lift to Randhl and joined the remaining healthy few!

Darragh & Myself Chillaxing...

Vicks looking every inch the suave snow boarder!

We head back to our respective Ranches and prepare for another night on the town!!

Nats and Vicks stay in ... the rest of us head to bar Cuba and kick off the night in style with some drinking games with some potent shots!

Shane, Elainne, Darragh, James, Jussie & myself

We move onto to Piccadilly ....

We influence the Guitar singer and he launches into a medley of Irish tunes
most notably the The Wild Rover ...

Hitting the dance floor downstairs in the night club...

This will give u a sense of the madness on offer ..

Thursday 28th Dec
We awake bleary-eyed as usual and after getting some tasty breakie in local cafe we go have a nosy around the town...

Darragh & Jussie looking a little lost ...

I stop off in the local Spar shop on the way home, and to my great surprise & delight they are actually selling Fireworks... big bad ass fireworks Rockets, Bangers you name it- wahayy!!

Friday 29th Dec
We arise early and I book myself & Darragh into snowboarding school for the day - about time eh?!!

With the help of the lessons, In no time at all, I'm able to Heal Edge & Toe Edge down the slope - finally snowboarding properly on my last day!! Turning is still a bit tricky but I'm pretty stoked and high on life that I'm getting the hang of things now ;-)

Our Last Night ...
Myself & Jussie drinking the last of our Edelweiss Quality Austrian beer, getting ready for the night of drunken madness ahead!

....I should have listened to the rest of the lads telling me it was a bad idea to give my fireworks to James "pyro-maniac" Jackson!!!

Fireworks safety by James Jackson...

Things not to do:
1: Allow Fergal to do the Food shopping ;-)
2: Give 8 drunken monkey paddy's on tour, 15 huge cluster bomb rockets they are utterly unaccustomed to, thanks to Mac Dowel.
3: Allow them to launch in a populated area (beside bus station were 5 mins prior 20 people had been standing at ground zero)
4: Allow to launch in a valley with strong wind prevailing towards the bus station.

Things to do:
1: Give to responsible adults.
2: Send drunken monkeys to bed.

Result:
1: Bus stop got cluster-bombed!!!

Spot the chicken .... hint... he's yellow and dances funny!

..our evil resident mischievous "Choke the Chicken" had a hand to play in our Devilment... he made us set Fireworks off - I swear!!

We thought it would be a fitting end to our Hols to have our last dinner in the aptly named "Funky Chicken", so jussie, vicks, shane, elainne, darragh, Nats, James and myself started to skull back the grog and get into the swings of things!

This is a lively restaurant and bar with tasty snacks on offer which we all eagerly sampled!

we move onto Picadailly, where we started skulling Jaegar-bombs!!

and finally end up in Kandahar night club yet again to bust some moves on the dance floor into the early hours!

Kandahar Night Club St Anton ...

Saturday 30th Dec

I hit the sack about 05:30, the rest of the lads leave @ 06:00 to make there way to Friedrichshafen to catch their Ryanair flight back to Dublin

I awake @ 09:00 in a state of sheer misery cursing all the jaegar bombs a few hours before, settle up the bill with the landlady and make my towards the train station @ 10:00. I found out the my train is leaving @ 12:13 which will bring me to Innsbruck about 13:30 in plenty of time for my 15:00 departure flight... or so I thought!

I head back to St Anton and sober up eating some breakie in a typical Austrian Cafe. I return back to the train station, and find out my train is 30 mins delayed... no problem I thought to myself... then it was announced it was delayed by 45 mins... started to get a bit worried and finally it was delayed 90 mins......... agghhhh disaster... what to do... what to do!!!

I legged it back to St Anton tourist info centre and told them my urgent issue, they said only way was to fork out €170 to get a taxi to Innsbruck airport on time - Aggggghhhh!

with little or no choice I took the taxi and when I arrived before I had even checked in my flight was being called..... agghhhhhhhhhh so I had to skip ahead of about 20 people check my bags in, and speed through the security checks and just about made it onto my flight - Phew!!!

I arrive home with my eyes hanging out've my head exhausted into dublin...

Sunday 31tst Dec New Years Eve - back in Dublin

A few of us head to Lansdowne road and watch the very last rugby game (Leinster V's Ulster) ever to be played here before they knock-down the oldest rugby stadium in the world.

.......@ 16:30 were back in the pub doing what we do best putting our liver through its paces, having the craic, shooting the breeze, Roll on the 12 dongs off 2007!!!!

Oslo, Norway!

2006-11-16T16:02:00.000Z

Oslo, Norway 9th => 13th November 2006

Wahayy ... just I find myself settling back into the doom & gloom and routine that is Corporate IT Life, I find myself flying North - Viking North that is to Oslo , Norway where I will be reunited with my good travel pal scottie from Manchester and Ryan (who we both met in Byron Bay in April 2006) who now lives in Oslo with his lovely girlfriend.

I arrive into Oslo Airport late loaded down with potent bottles of Vodka & Gin as I have been well informed that price of drinks are astronomical, with a glass of beer costing €9+!

Trying to be practical I left my rucksack at home & purchased a travel suitcase with wheels (which turned out to be annoyingly squeaky!) with the most gawdest-purpley-pukey colour to set me apart from all the usual black & blues cases so I could spot it a mile away on the baggage re-claim!!

However that was all good and well saving some extra time claiming my bags however I forgot to think that between the annoying racket and awful colour that this would grab the attention of customs people and sure enough I was pulled aside and barked at in Norwegian, when customs official finally realised I hadn't a clue what she was talking about she switched to English and started the usual biz of asking me my business - cool as a cucumber I handled the question then she reached for some rubber gloves and Im sure a visible bead of sweat broke out thinking of what could be coming!!! thankfully she just searched through my luggage and told me to have a nice day - Ha what a let off!

anyway with that ordeal over, I took the high speed train into Oslo S (Central Train station)which lasted about 20 mins and cost 160 NKr (€20), them amount of blonde chics everywhere was pleasantly apparent - maybe everybody is right - there is something special in the water in Scandinavia!

I arrive in at 23:00 and it is a chilly -1 degrees C , I make my way down Karl Johans Gate which is the main central street of Oslo which leads all the way to the King of Norway's Palace!

I drag my bag down the cobble-stoned street where apart from a few Prostitutes eye-balling me on each corner not a sinner is visible, I locate my accommodation - Perminalen Hotel which is hostel/budget hotel.

I check in and realise the downside again of budget accommodation when I find somebody else has taken my bed and I have to make do with a crappy bed, luckily I can drown out the machine gun like snoring off an Italian with my MP3 player as I drift off zzzzz

10th Nov 2006

I awake early stock up on the decent breakfast laid on by the hotel and check into my new private dorm sharing with Scott. Scott arrives this afternoon so I head out into the bitter cold and like a militant Japanese tourist I start snaping away at what Oslo has to offer!

The hotel is in a great location close to Harbour and all the main shopping streets, which I casually cruise around waiting for Scotts imminent afternoon arrival!

OSLO - The Norwegian Capital
Around 1000, Oslo was founded at the very head of Viken, as Oslo Fjord was known at that time. One thousand years later, Oslo’s great anniversary coincided with the millennium festival that was celebrated around the world

Oslo is the capital of Norway and is the natural hub of Norway’s national and international travel. The city is beautifully situated at the head of Oslo Fjord surrounded by forested ridges, and this very location gives Oslo unexpected qualities for a national capital

The Vikings were strong-willed, fearless warriors who craved new conquests. They were potential threats to anyone who was not their ally. Fortunately that was almost one thousand years ago, however. Today, the Nordic Vikings are just a memory from a dramatic era marked by violent disputes and a boundless urge to explore

Kings palace

Nobel Peace Center

Redeveloped Aker brygge area of Oslo

I met Scott at Oslo S hanging around freezing my nuts off - we catch up and shoot the breeze on the way back to our hotel room. Sticking to the plan scott arrives with 2 litres of hard liquor and easily convinces me that we should have a few shots of vodka to warm up I look at my watch 16:00 and can't argue with Scott's logic!!

Anyway with our private room my MP3 travel speakers blaring out the Tunes we start skulling back the vodka like it was going out of fashion!!

Ryan finishes up work and we set off to meet him in the local bar, guzzling back the the local Norwegian grog. A little worse for wear myself and Scott are left to our own devices to salvage some snacks so we TGI - Fridays was suggested there were no objections. We end up drinking more than we ate and a few girls out for a "quiet" night out at the table beside us are recruited to show us the local bars! Ryan rejoins us and after a 30 min Trek through sketchy parks we end up going to Horgans bar, where we keep on guzzling the booze!! Ryans girlfriend Maria arrives with a few mates which caught the eye of the ever watchful scott!

Anway we can't access the disco section as a private party have taken it over, and as myself and scott are drunken crutch for each other we decide its best to cut out losses and I had the "pleasure" or carrying/dragging Scott home - only Kaite or Michelle could understand this nocturnal challenge!!!

Saturday 11th November

We awake early bleary-eyed and as expected in a state of sheer misery, scott looking marginally Ropier than me makes me feel slightly better about myself!

Just when our spirits needing lifting we check the weather and the doom & gloom was lifted and the Sun was burning brightly.

We eat breakfast in Juice & Bagel ( basic bagel cost about €9 - yikes!! ) energised and searching for away of spending the afternoon we set off for Holmenkollen Ski Jump set slightly out of town...

Holmenkollen Ski Jump Museum & Tower
The legendary Holmenkollen Ski Jump is only a trolley ride away from the city centre. The ski jump is the core of extensive sports facilities adapted for ski jumping competition, cross country competition and biathlon events. Ever since the early 1900s, the best athletes in the world have competed for gold and glory in and around the ski jump, which has also been the site of the Winter Olympics and the World Ski Championships.

Scott at the base of the ski jump with Oslo center behind him

Me & Scott enjoying the view

we trek forwards towards the Olympic Ski Jump

Posing with a lovable Troll at the base of the ski jump which gives u a sense of lunacy involved in attempting to ski down it!!!

We enter the Ski Museum and marvel at the achievement of the guys & girls risking life & limb to conquer the slopes and ski to the north pole!

Spectacular panoramic view of Oslo and its surrounding majestic fjords from top of the ski jump!

We watched a fantastic sunset ...

Ski Museum has an assortment of everything Norwegian Big fearsome bears and off course likeable Trolls!

not to be upstaged by Scott ....

Spot the Troll!

"A Norwegian troll
The legend of trolls was born in Norway's dark forests and mountainsides. The creatures are said to emerge from their hiding places only after sunset, have the ability to transform themselves at will and, when provoked, are notoriously quick to anger."

We take the train towards the city and Ryan jumps on, we find a nice pub called Harry's with the footie on and Chillax skulling back a few cold ones.

Norwegian Cathrine who I met in Valencia earlier this years swings by with her friend for a quick drink.

Ryan's girlfriend Maria kindly invited us over to her apartment later that evening and Ryan cooked up some tasty snacks! Drinking games then commence ....

as predicted and armed with hard liquor pulsating through our veins we muster up the energy for another night on the Razmatazz!!!

I don't quite know how but we jumped in a taxi and found ourselves in some Gay bar think Maria was arranging to meet up with some friends, anyway when myself Scott & Ryan realised what was going on we got the hell out of dodge quick enough!!!

We find ourselves in the Swanky Stavinsky Night Club and mingle with some locals. We stupidly end up paying €12 for a glass and not even a pint of beer!!!

Oh ooh... maybe one to many drinks! God knows whats going though my mind!

Not sure how but somehow like a homing pigeon Scotts knows the way home tonight, we stock up some freshly make jacket potatoes and call it quits!

Sunday 12th November

Wake up dying - cant see for the first 30 seconds my wretched eyes feels like somebody has pissed into them!

Myself & Scott much to our horror swing by Bagel & Juice and find it close and so head down to the harbour and bask in the glorious morning ...

Due to an overwhelming hunger and not able to find somewhere to eat cheaply we gravitate towards the golden arches of the easy to spot McDonald's!!

We attempt to set off for Vigeland Park, but due to difficulties with finding which bus bringing us there, the weather getting gloomy and cold and feeling like crap we head back defeated to our Hostel where we meet up with Canadian Chris on the final stage of his trip

Recharged by a quick power nap Chris Tags along and we find ourselves in TGI Fridays again ...

We order a delicious Salmon Steak dinner, and wash it down with some beers! Ryan Joins us. just as we were thinking this will be a quiet night 2 girls grabs us as we were leaving TGI's and convinces us to meet her smoking hot Sister inside!!

anyway between the jigs and the reels we are skulling back the beers, "unfortunately" Scott had to catch a 07:00 flight and himself & Ryan left (around 10ish) me an Chris with the Norwegian girls and there constantly arriving friends - Bingo! The Girls were very friendly and welcoming showing us around a few pubs and introducing us to their friends along the way

We start off on a pub crawl and find ourselves in some Rockers bar, speaking to old Oslo Tv Presenter, then head on down to Aker Brygge and meet up with a load of other locals which make Sunday night their party night!!

we head off to Cosmos night club and listen to some kick-ass beats thumping out.
we all end up busting a few moves on the dance floor. I have to good sense to get my ass home around 4ish

Monday 13th November

Scottie wakes me up @ 06:00 to say good bye.

I met up with Chris and we head off to get the Train to the airport from Oslo S

just as were leaving a Snow storm strikes Oslo - Winter officially arrives as we take the high speed train to the airport - talk about good timing! A picture perfect blanket of snow covers the country side!

Oslo Airport - Due to the new airport restrictions of only carrying on 100ml of liquid - myself & Canadian Chris needed to decide what to do with my bottle of Bacardi!

Anyway I do the honourable thing and present it to 2 random backpackers arriving into Oslo, who happily accept my offering!

never one to pass up an opportunity to act the maggot!

snow storm delays my flight back to Dublin by 2 hours.

hungover and wrecked and with my wallet well bruised! I arrive back into Dublin.

It wasn't a great time of the year to visit Oslo weather wise but we made the most of it and enjoyed ourselves.
Looking back we got a great sense of what Norway can offer and next time we will probably spend a longer time heading off the beaten track boating up the fjords keeping an ever eye out for those pesky Trolls that litter the countryside!!