Category: Travel

Stamford Plaza, Adelaide, Australia

by gavin, posted in Hotels, Travel

Do you ever have that sense of foreboding when you turn up at a hotel? Sometimes its just the fear of the unknown and the upcoming adventure then everything turns out fine… Then there’s the other times. This is one of those times!

I guess I’ve just been spoiled by the first class, luxury hotels I’ve stayed at for the past 5 years. So when you end up in a supposedly decent hotel, and you get a room that only has two single beds and looks like it was last refurbed in the 80s, including a cork bulletin board in the room (wtf were these people thinking!) I get a tad disappointed.

Stamford Plaza, Adelaide, Australia

Continue reading “Stamford Plaza, Adelaide, Australia” →

The Bolton Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand

by gavin, posted in Hotels, Travel

This was my second stay at The Bolton Hotel in Wellington. In a previous job I’d stayed here for a couple of night right after the hotel opened back in 2004 (I think it was ’04… it was a boozy trip… so the memories have faded!).

The hotel is just off The Terrace in a really convenient location near the Beehive and just a 15 minutes walk to where I was working.

The Bolton Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand

Continue reading “The Bolton Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand” →

The past year in frequent flyer miles

by gavin, posted in Travel, Work

It’s been another year shuffling between airports, hotels and the occasional week at home.

This year I managed to clock up 67 flights and traveled around 105,000 Kms. That’s around 150 hours sitting in plane, not counting waiting time etc.

Trips were mostly in Australia, but also half a dozen trips to New Zealand, plus a trip to each of Singapore & Thailand.

Some stats

Shortest flight: Sydney <-> Canberra, 238 Kms, ~46 mins
Longest flight: Sydney <-> Bangkok, 7,523 Kms, ~9 hours
Most popular route: Melbourne <-> Sydney, 707 Kms, ~1:20 hours
Most popular airline: Qantas, 64 out of 67 flights

Its now time to put my feet up for three weeks before heading off to Brisbane in the New Year.

Amo Roma, Sydney, Australia

by gavin, posted in Restaurants, Travel

I was in Sydney for an evening so decided to try somewhere new for dinner after a couple of refreshing beers. We were imbibing at Circular Quay and decided to head down to the rocks to find somewhere to eat.

There are many choices in that part of Sydney: steak, Italian, Thai… but we decided to try an Italian restaurant called Amo Roma on George Street.

Amo Roma, Sydney, Australia

Continue reading “Amo Roma, Sydney, Australia” →