Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!! So much for the fab comments and well wishes. Have really enjoyed the comments, keep em coming. Now for the next instalment...

Newly Weds – The inside story

Upon returning to London after our quick 4-day Vegas wedding stint, we realised that it was probably time to give Vic, baby Alister and Pete their house back (big thanks again guys).

So check out our new digs…Glamorous isn’t it? Our little love nest. A medium size room (by London standards) on the 4th floor of a semi-detached, share house with communal bathroom and kitchen facilities. We call it the honeymoon suite.
Not exactly 5 star accommodation, maybe not even 3 star, but at least there are no rats or roaches. To be honest, it’s really not that bad. It's cosy, the other occupants are very nice (seems to be lots of Italians around us) and it comes at the right price – about as cheap as you can get!
Fortunately the hood we live in (Turnpike Lane) is a hive of activity, rich in exotic foods and culture. It’s the Turkish/Indian/Greek/African/Latino quarter, so we fit in just nicely.
Its a bit like the Bronx meets Bombay with an english twist...There's loads of fantastic restaurants, cafes, shops and fresh fruit n veg stalls just around the corner - everything within 4 mins walk. Pubs range from the good, almost upmarket variety (Salisbury) to the old man hangout (Toll Gate), again comes at the right price with a pint of beer costing £1.60 and two meals for £5.29, of course totally void of any nutritional value. But who cares when it comes to good old bangers and mash swimming in gravy.

Anyway, there you have it. Home for the next few months.……

Don’t mean to drag this whole wedding thing out but…. here are some more pics. And yep for anyone who queried, all done with the self timer, apart from the chapel shots which are actually not that brilliant. But for $348 bucks for our whole wedding, who's complaining? Dad is still thanking me for saving him mucho dinero. No plans for the honeymoon as of yet, still saving for that, hopefully it will happen sometime this century... Take care!

Hello lovely family & friends

We have an announcement to make…..

On Sunday, 28 May at 2pm in a tiny chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada, Bear and Mary were married.

A priest blessed the holy matrimony, rings were exchanged and Elvis was present to witness the momentous occasion and sing a few love songs to the gushing newly weds.

We wish you were all there and we are sorry that it couldn’t be so. But you were with us in our hearts.

Of course we had a blast! Take a look at our wedding pics, most done with the self timer on the digital…. Just look at that amazing desert backdrop.

We have a little memento to send to everyone. So can you do us a favour and email your full address, postcode included. Cheers (click on photos to enlarge)

New York, New York... Does it get any better.. I'm not sure. Kath and Sean, I owe you guys bigtime. A week in the big apple is enough, at least it was for me. Couldn't of packed more in if I tried. Thanks to Sean for taking me to 'that' chinese restaurant for a hilarious night of karaoke and free, yeah thats right, free Sapporo. A night to remember if only I could. Fortunately I didn't have to get up and go to work the next day, sorry mate.
If that wasn't enough, I was swept along for the ride as Kath, Stephanie, Amber and Nick took me out for a night I'll not soon forget. It all started in Chelseas art galleries, and didn't get any less out there. If any of you ever find yourself in this part of the world, find this diner [somewhere on Lafeyette]. Go in, if you make it past the doorman. Top notch mexican food [try the Carne Asado], in a truly underground, hipsta hangout. I'm not worthy. Thanks to the girls for their outrageous displays, I thought you guys were supposed to mates.
Afterwards, drinks should be had late into the night at 'The Lafeyette'. Suzy will take care of you, and it's a short stumble from the 'Corner Diner'.
My last evening in N.Y.C was mostly spent photographing a yellow cab that had crashed into the building opposite Kath and Seans'. Check out this home-made postcard.
Ofcourse not all my stay was pleasure. A date at the Home Office had me dressed up to the nines, bright eyed and bushy tailed, eyeing off a visa. Granted.
After missing my flight to N.Y.C [thanks Pete], I was at the airport early for my return trip. Note to self: Resist the cheap airfares that Kuwait Air are offering. It really isnt worth it.
Many thanks again to Kath and Sean for sharing their apartment, and local knowledge. See you soon amigos.
Hmmm where to now??

Barcelona... After just 2 weeks in the ol' dart, we took some cheap flights to Barcelona. And after a few hours, I found myself wondering why I'd never been here before. We hitched up in a hostel in the red light district, infact it was probably the noisiest hostel I've ever stayed... and that is saying something. The city itself is magnificant. The buildings, art, museums, fashion, street culture, the food.... It's brilliant venturing to a place to find it better than your expectations.
Tips for travellers... 'Las Gaupas', an authentic Catalan eat and drinkery in the gothic district. Excellent food. Cold Estrella. Cheap. And the owner, a rubenesque middle aged doll, will sing spanish love songs while serving up an incredibly mean sangria.
I will be honest and say that 3 days is so far from being enough time in this town, but I have a sneaking suspicion, that we'll be back.

London... in spring. We arrived unscathed, strangely enough. It's a lovely time of year to be here, although it can play havoc with the respiratory system. The flowers are magnificant. Magnolias, roses, poppies, love in the mist, wildflowers galore. Even the ladybugs are getting frisky.
Ultra mucho thanks must go to Vic [you're a star] and Pete for putting up with us for so long. And to all of you haven't seen their little grubnut.... here he is in all his glory. He's usually alot happier than that. Alister Graham Bell would you believe. Cute isn't he.
Highlights of our stay so far have been late night soirees with the norfside massive, some cracking good curries, Club Azuli, 2nd hand clothes shopping, and a vast array of readily available but sometimes warmish beer.
So far it's been great, although the re-locating process is never easy. We'll be moving to Turnpike Lane on the weekend, into a little room in a share flat on Lausanne Rd. Further details will follow.

Thailand... Sawadee ma krup. Hitting the ground in Bangers is always an assault on the senses. The blow was softened by our very good friends Kate and Enrique, who kindly put us up and took us for drinks. Thank you. Cold Tiger beer, large- 60baht. Certainly is nice to be back.
One of the highlights of our trip came a few days later... The Tiger Temple, near Kanchanburi. Although the beasts seemed doped up to me, it was a fabulous experience, to have a tigers head in your lap and scrunch it's ears, is pretty special. Didn't have to tell Mezzy to cheer up.
Amazingly enough the dogs were playing the tigers that weekend, so I wore my colours and have a great photo for you Col. Hehe. I should add folks that the tigers are rescued orphans, hand reared by a monk who is world famous for his handling techniques. [Abit like Robin Hood at mr.crix's place I reckon]. Theres a few helpers walking around with serious scratch scars on various parts of their bodies and faces, which could be a little disconcerting. But well worth the trip and admission fee. We stayed at 'Little Creek Resort' which was excellent. Say hi to Nam for us if you're ever in the restaurant. They do great Som-tam too.
Hooning around the streets of Thai towns on scooters is alot of fun, and sometimes dangerous. Just ask Mez, she'll tell you.
Chiang Mai was our next destination. The north wests regional capital. Very nice. Well impressed. My favourite meal of this trip was had at a traditional Thai bbq here. Basically a massive shed without walls in a car park. 85baht and you eat as much as you like. Thats not quite 3 bux. Theres a huge variety of stuff to cook on your own little bbq, and to put into the soup that surrounds your bbq. Alot of if was of unknown origins, but that was half the fun. Not for vegos. Theres no touristics, but a young Thai pop group who belt out really bad covers. Excellent. The chilli sauce there IS hot, and the beer ice cold, but the waiters will try and put ice in it. Beware. Finding it on the scooter is a journey in itself. Head towards the zoo and ask for 'Sakonta'. Well worth it.
The panda bears at Chiang Mai Zoo were another highlight. Fascinating creatures. Kept in a huge air-conditioned glass enclosure. The zoo is enormous, and set over pretty serious terrain. Theres a vast amount of enclosures, with pictures of the animals on the handrails, but no actual animals. [Maybe thats what we were eating at the bbq] There were some monkeys, a couple of parrots, a rhino, 2 giraffes, some emus, lots of lizards and quite alot of crocs in sadly overcrowded cells. 'Mainly people come for the Pandas' the fella said.
The scooter ride beyond the zoo, up the mountain to the temple overlooking the city is worth the time. Resist the urge to buy a 'Chiang Mai' sausage from the lady at the scooter parking zone. Head up the dragon staircase and marvel at the beauty of this golden temple. The life size jade buddha would look nice in my living room. Awesome.
From Chiang Mai we headed northwest again towards the Myanmar border, to a little town called Pai. First impressions of this smoky dustbowl, were not great, but it grows on you. 'Rim Pai Cottages' is the place to stay in town. They do an excellent fruit salad with yoghurt for breakfast. While in Pai we took the opportunity to ride an elephant, which I have to admit is damn scary. A huge beast, who at any stage, could knock you off and trample you to death. The man assured us that this doesn't happen very often. Elephants love the water, and swimming around with them is alot of fun, in a terrifying kind of way. Another highlight indeed.
With less than a week left we decided to hit the beach, so we made our way to Koh Pipi, an island that was mostly knocked out by the tsunami. The scars are well evident, and the prices reflect the devastation and desparation. It wasn't cheap, nor was it particularly desirable. 3 nights around the other side of the island in a bungalow on the beach restored our balance. Frosty banana shakes for breakfast are a Thai delight. Check out the view from our bungalow. Hard to say goodbye to that, but the show must go on.

Where are Bear n' Mary?

Greetings and salutations to you all. Firstly, welcome to the world of Mezzy and Bear. Apologies for the delay in getting this site up and running, it's been a hectic few months relocating to the other side of the world. So if you want to know where we are and what we're up to, bookmark this site for easy reference. Also please realise we are only new to this blogging thing so it might take a while to get up to speed. Over the next week we'll be back tracking, to let you in on what has gone on since leaving Oz 3 months ago. By the way, massive thanks to Rusty and Marcouscous for putting on our farewell bash, it was a cracker.
So where does one start???....

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