Monday, November 5, 2012

Hello everyone

31st Oct

I meant to tell you that the weather has been warm and sunny but hmid and being from AZ that is hard for me toget used to.
Anyway got up this morning and decide to head to Clark Quay which was maybe 10 mins from my hotel. Its an area that has restaurants and bars all along both sides of the river.  There are some beautiful old bridges across the river and a very old hotel, The Fullerton, but expensive hotel at that.
I ate lunch at local restaurant and  had fish soup and rice, it was very very good.
Early evening I headed off to the only nocturnal zoo in the world , where you can tour the zoo either via tram or walk and see the nocturnal animals of the world. Very cool and a great way to see the animals that you might not normally be able see.
Tomorrow is my last day in Singapore, and my flight does not leave until 10pm in the evening so I still have a full day.
Good night!


1 Nov

I decided to visit               today and to get there I was going to use the subway. Wow what a system they have, so clean and easy to understand , so it was really easy to get there.  Once you get to            you then take either the mono rail or cable car across to the island.I decided to go by cable car and the views were amazing .
In the afternoon I headed into China town and grabbed a few bargains and had dinner whilst I was there.
The crazy thing was i sat down at this restaurant  "The Singapore Heritage Restaurant" and opened the menu and here was a preface with details on the restaurant and the chef and of all things he was a local bodybuilder and celebrity chef,  Alvin Koh. He wasn't at the restaurant but I met his mother.
So that was the end of my wonderful trip to Singpare and I look forward to going back there sometime.
Its off to the airport to catch my flight to Australia and the next portion of my trip.
Talk to you all soon
Gayle x

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Singapore



Hey everyone
29th oct 
After my night flight from Bejing I finally land in singapore at around 11pm and really looking forward to getting in a bed to sleep. It's been 2 nights that I haven't slept in a bed and I am so ready fir some good sleep and to wake up refreshed to start the day.
I am checked in , unpacked, showered and ready for bed. Goodnight!


30th Oct
I woke up early 630am went and had breakfast then back to bed for more sleep!
At 2 pm someone was coming to meet me to show me around the city so I was looming forward to that 
Singapore is such a clean city with beautiful architecture with the modern mixed with the old.
The symbol that has become synonymous with Singapore is the hotel with 2 towers and then a boat like structure on top that spans the 2 towers. Quite incredible and at the top is a swimming pool and restaurant.

Singapore is also a shoppers paradise with do many beautiful malls and high end stores.
The city has so much history and most  everyone speaks English and taxis and eating out is very inexpensive .
My friend took me to eat at a "local" food court where he wanted me to try a local dish frogs legs . I was game and they arrived in a pot in a rich gravy and it was pretty spicy. The meat was good but it was hard for me to forget what I was actually eating. Another dish one has to try us the chicken fried rice and fruit called Durion found nowhere else . Another speciality are the restaurants they have there which just make dishes from pork including the intestines and anything else you can imagine. 
I had a great day exploring the city
Chat with you tomorrow
 
 Take care Gayle

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Bejing and Singapore




Hi Everyone 
well its the start of my overseas travel once again and I am returning to Australia and also visiting Bejing, China and Singapore so very excited about that

27 Oct
leaving for LA tonight from Phoenix to catch my flight with China Airlines to Singapore via Bejing.\, so its going to be a very long night. I arrive in LA around 830pm and my flight leaves at 125am 28 Oct for the first leg to Bejing.

28th Oct
i am all settled in, plane is full, and ready for my 13 hour flight. I watched movies and slept on and off and ate. The food that was served in flight was awful most likely the worst airline food I have ever eaten.

29th Oct
Arrived in Bejing on time and I have a 10hr layover so I booked a  private city tour to visit Tianammen Square and The Forbidden City. I wanted to go to the Great Wall but couldn't do all so it was either the city or the Wall.
The thing about going into China is that you need a visitors visa which costs $149 but if you are in transit and its under 24 hours the immigration officials can grant one a visa  for that period of time but its at their disgression. So with fingers crossed I told immigration my plan for a tour and they granted me a visa.
My drive was there waiting for me once I got through customs and took me to the city to meet my tour guide, It could not have gone smoother than planned.
On the drive China was so different to what I expected. Roads were jam packed with crazy drivers and the traffic was worse than LA LOL. I passed all different types of architecture from ultra modern high rises to the more traditional.
I met my guard at the Square which was busy with tourists, more Asians than Caucasions. My last recollection of the Square was when the students protested and the Governement brought the Miilitary in and fired upon the students. There were many Miiitary standing around and there were 2 huge screens showing videos of  tourist attractions throughout China.
Across from the Square is the Forbidden City which is where Emperors used to live , govern the country, marry, have one wife  and
have many lovers 
The history behind the City is fascinating and the culture as everything is about peace and harmony and good luck.. 
After there I was taken to silk factory to see how silk was produced and turned into many things ie clothes sheets and comforters.

The one thing for me that is so hard to get used to, and Iknow its there culture, but no one stands in line they push a lot and for example when getting off a plane they dont wait for each row to get out they come from the back and just rush.
I went to the bathroom in the Forbidden CIty, and i am stadning in line waiting for someone to come out of the toilet but these women from China and other Asian countries are just coming in and stepping right in front of me and almost fighting to get in a toilet. So i figured after standing there politely this was not going to work so I just almost knocked someone over just to get in a bathroom. Crazy!

4 hours later I was taken back to the airport for my 325pm flight to Singpore which was an approx 8 hr flight.
Again the food was awful and I had to put up with a Chinese man next to me with bad breath leaning over me half the time to talk to someone across the aisle , waving his hand in fron of my computer screen as I am watching the movie. At one point i was woken up by him practically being in my lap shouting to the same gentleman lol The joys of traveling.

I landed in Singapore around 930pm, made it through immigration in record time. I was met by a super gentleman at the airport who took my by taxi to my hotel and I will tell you about more of my trip next time..

take care and chat with you soon xox



Monday, May 14, 2012



Hey everybody
Today is Monday 14 May 2012 at 8am and  I am on a train from Venice to Rome. The weather is beautiful and the train is packed, thank god I had an assigned seat. I am sitting next to a moody Italian , who was occupying my seat and not happy about having to move to his OWN seat. Actually every time the train stops its like a game of who is sitting in the wrong seat lol
Here is a quick rundown of my trip. Wednesday I was in Brussels, Belguim. The weather was cool with some rain.
Thursday I took the train to Paris, only 1 hour and 40mins. There the weather was hot and humid.
Friday I flew to Geneva, Switzerland the only place on my Europe trip I have not been before.
The weather was beautiful and the view flying into Geneva was spectacular over the lake with the mountains in the background.
To get to the town of Geneva you can catch the train for free if you pick up a ticket in baggage claim. I don't know of many places where you can get free transport from the airport to anywhere, apart from hotel shuttles in the USA.
Once I checked into my hotel and rested for an hour I walked down to Lake Geneva.  From there you can take ferries to the waterfront or to Old Towne or you can walk across one of three bridges. I decided to walk. Oh yes another thing I received from the hotel was a transportation card with which I could travel free on any bus, tram, ferry or train within Geneva. This place is wonderful for tourists. 
I walked along the lake and into the old part of the city which has great shopping, very high end shops, cafes and restaurants. Many people were sitting outside enjoying the weather.
 
Saturday  I flew to Barcelona, Spain approx a 80 minute flight where again the weather was beautiful. The Spanish Grand Prix was on over the weekend. That's Formula 1 racing.
Sunday it was onto Venice, the most romantic city in europe. If you haven't been you need to go before it is lost to the water. Hopefully that never happens as the venetians are implementing many plans to try to prevent the water from taking over
As I said today I am on my final leg of my trip to Rome on the train, which at every stop more people get on and I have no idea where they are all sitting.
The sun is out and its going to be another beautiful day in Europe.
 Enjoy your day!
Safe travels Gayle.

The pictures are of me sitting by a fountain in the park.
Lake Geneva water front and a building in the old town.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hello from sunny England
here I am on my first European trip of the year, its a bit later than normal, but I won't be back until after my show in August.
I arrived last Tuesday and spend 2 great days in London. Love it there and the whole city is gearing up for the Olympics. I have thought about coming but there are no tickets available for events as they were sold on a lottery system but I would love to see the opening ceremony but it would e impossible to get tickets for that part of the Olympics.
 
Since Friday I have been in Norwich , and I have done absolutely nothing except relax and watch tv, so I feel like a lazy bum and definatley ready to get back home to my "life".
 
Tomorrow, Wed 9th May, I leave on the train from London that goes under the English Channel for Brussels. From there I go tot Paris, Geneva, Barcelona,Venice and Rome then back home on the 15th.
 
I will send some updates on my trip as I travel.
 
Be safe and chat with you soon
 
Cheerio!

Monday, April 9, 2012

"Bull For Boobs"

" I live in the town of Cave Creek AZ, and every Friday we have bull riding at one of the local bars "The Buffalo Chip"
On one of these nights 2 Professional Bull Riders came along
and one was able to get pics taken with them. So , I asked if I could get my pic taken and I showed a bicep and said "No way you will show me up" and he laughed, but Cody " hell yea and put in a headlock too" and with that I said " You know I charge for that?" and preceded to put him a headlock.
The guys were so much fun.

2 weeks later and at the same place there was a fundraiser for breast cancer  "Bulls for Boobs" which explains the pic with the bull in a bra lol


The last week of March 2012 was AZ Bike Week with events all over the valley for motorcycle fans and riders and on a Sunday night Brett Michaels held a concert at a local Scottsdale Harley dealership which used to be called Hacienda Harley and was recently purchased by the owner of 'Go Daddy".
One of the sponsors there was Jack Daniels and they had Promo girls walking around and were getting people to have their pic taken. So I asked if I could pose in front of their banner and the girls stepped aside and said they didn't want me to show them up, and they preceded to put Jack Daniels patches on my biceps. I love the pic! It can also be found on Facebook for Jack Daniels

Thursday, March 8, 2012

March 2012

Good Evening
its March 8th 2012 and just wanted to update everyone on my last month of travel.
I was in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg early Feb and boy was it cold but not nearly as cold as it can be so I was very thankful as since I have been in AZ 7  years so my tolerance for the old has decreased significantly.
Then in the middle of March I did a small midwest tour of St Louis and Des Moines so a relatively slow travel month for me.
I guess you all know I have a passions for horses so Feb 16th was the start of the huge Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale so needless to say I had to go and check it out.
Now coming into March I am training really hard and today 9th March was my leg work out day and for the first time ever I could not make it through the complete work out so headed back to the gym to finish it off tonight.
Just got back on 5th March from Texas where I was in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio and of course Houston where there was the Houston Livestock Rodeo which I was lucky enough to attend. My dear friend of 13 years , Toni, who had just moved from OH to TX came and met me there and we had a suite and watched the Rodeo and after Lady Antebellum. What an awesome night!!
I think that catches you all up to date and hopefully from here on I will give a weekly update of what is going on with my training, and travels.
Stay strong!!
Gayle