The Budget is a dot on the horizon

(jason) Yes i'm bad and i'm back, bloody foriegn keyboards. After we left Madrid we headed down to Granada to see the Alhambra Palace which we couldn't afford to go in ten years ago when we were here!Its a fantastic place and in great condition. Walking around one night we found an Irish bar which sold Strongbow, Vicki's drink of choice so she was happy for a few hours. When we left Granada we caught a train down to Algecieras and then a ferry over to Tangier-It was a freaky experience coming off the ferry and having to walk through the back streets to our hotel.It feels pretty safe but everyone (Men) stares and i think Vicki felt a bit intimidated(Ok i know).The cafes there are just 30 or 40 men sitting in a line watching women walk by. We only had one night then caught a 10 hour train through the dessert heat(40 deg plus) to Marrakesh. We were both suprised how little there was there in terms of things to see, although Vicki really loved the snake charmers- yes real cobra's. (at this point Vicki is upset that she may come over as a wuss---she is!!!) The backstreets were really cool to walk around and see the various things for sale.
When we left Marrakesh we had to fly to Madrid-heathrow-Zurich-Cairo which took about 24 hours but helped the beer budget no end.

What can i say about Egypt- loved the place the people the sights, its amazing.We started in Cairo visiting the Pyramids and Sphinx which really are a wonder of the world, although the Sphinx is smaller than the pictures. There were less beggars and peddlers than we were led to believe would be there. We caught the overnight train to Aswan to stop in our free upgraded 4 star hotel-ahh comfort.Looking out our room window you saw the pool, the nile, and then a distant temple- you couldn't ask for a better view. After viewing the High dam and Phillae temple (in the middle of a lake) we had a trip on a fellucca boat down the nile.Next it was another overnight train to Luxor to see the Valley of kings-what a place. To say these tombs are 3-5 thousand years old is remarkable the condition is amazing. We also visited the Valley of Queens, Karnak temple and Luxor temple.
THere may have been more but we can't remember the names!! The people were so friendly and if you need to set your hair on end then i suggest a taxi ride around Cairo at 11 pm -that shoould do the trick. On our last night, back in Cairo, we had our customary night in---have you guessed yet????

Yes Hard Rock Cairo- i wonder if there is a frequent user discount?

After we left Egypt we had 4 days back in the Uk before we caught our flight to India-we managed to catch a Robbie Williams concert while we were there so that was cool. The only problem with going back is that we became soft again and used to TV and leather sofa's-shame really.

(Vicki)
By the way, Hard Rock Cairo was less than half the price than in the UK although admittedly it is still over our budget but we are trying to eat places wich wont make us ill as obviously if you are ill you lose a day which is a waste I know I am clutching at straws...... anyway India, what can I say, it was a wonderful country I wish we had stayed longer and result I didnt get bitten by any mozzies mind you the amount of deet I wore made not only me ill but others around me too but India was worth it even having to take Malaria tablets for 1 week before, during the stay and 4 weeks after which was complicated enough never mind the 12 hour time difference we had to cope with while taking them (same time every day).
Delhi is awesome, the Rickshaw rides are a blast, not for the faint hearted, especially at night and we had seen the way they drive in Cairo. Taj Mahal is a must see in your lifetime, on a par with the Grand Canyon, the Valley of the Kings for Jason, it is just jaw droppingly gorgeous, amazing at sunset, it really does change colour as the sunsets. Jason found a few friends who wanted their picture taken with him and then also me, we went in low season so litteraly a handful of western tourists and loads of Indian tourists so we were a bit of a novelty.
Now in Hong Kong which we love, came last year but didnt see the Big Budha (saw today) and the pandas (seeing tomorrow), plus Elizabeth needs a new handbag! (and I may slip a Prada purse in my rucksack as I am trying to convince Jason....it wont take up much room and he has his PSP!). Off to Tokyo next cant wait as there is a Disney park there!!!

One month in

(Vicki)
Forgot to say that we are having a fab time and also to appologise for any bad spelling and grammer as the keyboards are different in each country and we have limited time to type (time costs money!).
Rucksacks are working out really well, better than trying to pull a suitcase around especially as the train stations and metros seem to have lots of stairs and broken escalators, they are actually quite comfortable as the weight is better distributed, I am glad we paid extra to get decent quality ones.
Hip holding up well, only had a few bad days, turns out we were very cautious on Rucksack weight and mine is only 13kg and Jasons is 15kg (I think there may be room for a hairdryer!)
Jason is in charge of navigation (as you will know I couldnt find my way out of a paper bag), it is a beautiful partnership - I tell him where we are going and he gets us there, if I were in charge we would still be in Baden-Baden.
Well worth going back to Rome for the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, had to queue for 1.5 hrs but met a really nice couple from Fiji also on a RTW trip but in 14 weeks, they kept mentioning they were staying with friends everywhere - turns out they were Jehovah Witnesses, seems like a cheap way of doing it!
Back in Florence we went to the Uffizi Museum and saw Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, also there was a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition which Jason really enjoyed.
Caught the train to Venice for 3 more nights, beautiful place, definitely worth a visit, didnt smell like we had heard but not a great deal to do and it was swarming in the main tourist areas. Spent one afternoon away from it all on a deck with a couple of beers, watching the boats and occasional cruise ship go by whilst the sun set.
Went on a Gondola Ride which was really cool but 80 Euros! (thanks Wendy, you saved the budget from going out of control that day!).
Flight to Barcelona for 3 more nights, did the sights - Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia, which was covered in scaffolding as Gaudi didnt finish it so they are to his plans, we thought it was a shame really and they should have left it alone. Saw some more Gaudi and went to the Picasso museum - we are not fans, just dont really get it? We also took a tour of Camp Nou, which was a nice break from all of that educational stuff although Jason would argue that it was a different kind of education! We had an apartment which saved loads of money as we could cook ourselves, recouped some of the overspend in Italy. We both prefered Spain (helps that I can speak the language) but the people are nicer, we found the Italians to be quite frankly up themselves, very image concious and rude (bar about two who were really nice and one was the hotel owner so technically we were paying her).
Next stop Madrid by train (which was more like a plane really with TV and free sweets). Went to the Reina Sofia museum one of three key museums, which also had a major Picasso exhibition, saw La Guernica - still not fans - good job it was free that day!
Went to the Prado museum (also free that day) started to queue up but then I realised that the queue was only if you wanted to see the SPECIAL PICASSO EXHIBITION! which we did not - I knew he was famous but this is getting ridiculous, anyway went into the main museum and saw some Goya, El Greco, Raphael, Rembrant, Rubens etc.
Now for the main event - Managed to get tickets for Real Madrid v Villareal, (courtesy of the tax man) we got seats just below the presidential box in the VIP area, the entrance even had a golden gate, great experience but average match 0-0 but it was the first of the season, really strange thing is that they dont drink beer like in the UK they eat nuts, lots of them and just shell them in their seats and leave the shells on the floor v. bizzare.
The next day we went for a wander around El Retiro (park) and rowed a boat on the pond (well Jason did because I was rubbish). We ended up in Hard Rock Cafe again - the museums were free - and had a juicy steak - seem to be eating out more now than before!!!!
Jason will continue when we can find a UK compatible keyboard as we both agreed it would be too painful to watch him try to type on this one! (we are currently in Marrakesh and the keys are all in different places and some are in Arabic.