Thank You
 

In about 36 hours SydneySue and I depart on a two month journey through North and South America, on to Europe and the UK, then home via Hong Kong.

We are celebrating our 25th anniversary and the completion (hopefully) of our children's education.

While I have traveled frequently as an investment banker over the years, SydneySue has not, and so at a cost of a 600,000 frequent flyer mile redemption, we will hopefully travel in style and thereafter commence to travel more frequently (in lesser style!).

The greater proportion of our 60 day itinerary has been influenced, if not determined by my visits here. I would like to thank you all and register my commitment to give something back in the future for what we have received. With best wishes
SydneySteve

Hi Sydney Steve and Sue
Congratulations !!
Hope you have a safe and wonderful trip.
enjoy

Muck

Sounds like a spectacular anniversary gift to each other!

Travel safely!

Enjoy it, and who knows my dear, we might even bump into each other over a champagne cocktail at Claridge's.

Have a great time! And you know the way to repay the Fodorites - a trip report when you return! :)

Karen

Well please drop by the other hotel on Piccadilly on either 26 or 27 September during the cocktail hour 5-6 pm there - you will find SydneySue and I sharing champagne with guests and friends in the reception area. For the following two days we will be at The Petersham Hotel on the banks of the Thames in Richmond. We will of course be happy to sign a confidentiality undertaking so as not to be able to reveal your true identity. Otherwise email me and I will send you my Blackberry email address. Keep up the good work.

What a fantastic dream come true! have a wonderful trip.

Have you a firm itinerary or are you going to wander aimlessly for some of the time? Which countries and regions are you visiting?

Looking forward to your report when you return or, better still, check in en-route.

Regards Ger

We leave on August 7 and return on October 4. Every day has been planned -all hotels, flights, seat reservations on trains including 2 Grande Classe overnights between Lisbon and Madrid and Barcelona and Milan. We have not planned a trip in such detail before. It is interesting how comments here have influenced the choice of accomodation and day activities.

What a wonderful opportunity the two of you have. If you have a chance during your 2 month adventure, check in with us and let us know that all is well. Have a safe and wonderful journey. Peace.

Robyn

We will be checking in. Thanks Robyn. There are many Fodorite destinations like the Belvedere in Belaggio, Rheindls in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Bourgondische Cruyce in Bruges. Interestingly our trip starts at the other Belaggio in Vegas for two nights before 5 days in the Grand Canyon area. Thanks again.

Have an absolutely stupendous time. Travel safely and report in occasionally. When is the actual date of the anniversary?

Bon Voyage! Have a wonderful and safe anniversary trip!

Good for you Steve. We did 8 weeks in 1999 celebrating our 40th but did not have to travel as far. I will be curious to see your trip report.

How wonderful! Happy anniversary. May you do something equally stupendous for your 50th. Have a grand and adventurous time. You have earned it!

Congratulations and Bon Voyage~
I wish you a very happy 25 more years together and a wonderful 60 days of adventuring!
I will look forward to those updates and the Trip report..you will inspire us all.
Stay safe~
Scarlett

Congratulations and have a great trip, SydneySteve! All the best to you and your wife. What a fabulous way to celebrate a milestone. I hope to do the same someday.

Have a wonderful & safe trip, Steve. What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary!

WOW - what a trip! Wishing you and your wife a safe and happy journey!

I've been reading your postings and enjoying them, I hope the trip is all you want it to be an more.
Do report back.

Steve and Sue: Have a blast! Enjoy and be good to each other. Wishing you good health and good weather.

What a great way to celebrate your 25th anniversary! I wish you and your wife a fantastic trip and, you know, it's a small world ... maybe we meet somewhere in Belgium or even in Deiva Marina in September!

SydneySteve,

From one IB to another (though in my case a mere novice at 10 yrs), well done and good on you ! Your interesting postings are always a great read.

I too will be in London in September but only between the 17th and 22nd. MKingdom will have to sip-up for me :)

Congratulations and safe and happy travels.

M.

Hope you have a great trip- and I wish you that any irregularity will be minor enough to pass by as an adventure!

Cheers
hsv

Thank you all - there will be challenges and adventures that will as always be converted to the greatest asset of all - memories. Today is a busy day organising 20 and 22 year old children of different sexes and characters to look after the house for two months. More logistics required than for travel ! 10am flight saturday from Sydney to LAX and on to Vegas, no gambling just the fantasy, a stay at Bellagio for a few days and a visit to Cirque de Soleil "O". Then we drive to Grand Canyon South Rim on to North Rim, then Bryce Canyon (serious hiking), one last night in Vegas at the Venetian and off to NYC for 4 days. Myriam, we will be in Deiva in 11 out 14 September - hope you are there so we can talk about the place of my ancestors.

Be sure to do the Navajo Loop trail at Bryce. Starting down Wall Street.

SydneySteve and Sue, Wishing you a wonderful anniversary and the many more beautiful ones to com. Bon voyage ((F))
Virtual flowers to you.

Vayan con Dios, mis Amigos!!
Mike

Myriam - I just saw your post on "Cinque Terre" that you will leave on 10 September. Sorry we will miss you - we arrive at 1240 on the 11th by train from Milan.

Steve, so sorry we will miss eachother by just one day! We'll check out on the 10th and will most probably be back home already on the 11th (to celebrate our 28th anniversary with our 21 yr son).

Hi Myriam - I'm sorry if I have forgotten - is home Brussels ? We have a 20 year old Adam and a 22 year old Astrid. Sorry we will miss you but we have completed lots of planning for our Belgian experience. This is our first trip to Belgium. Say Hi to Anna and Franco at Clelia for us - I understand they have traveled down here to Australia before. Tell them we are foodies and that we expect great seafood like they say they had when they were here. Have a great trip.

Steve, 'home' is north of Antwerp. If there's something I can do for you while you're in Belgium, just let me know. Have a great trip!
P.S. I promise we won't drink all the wine at the Clelia!

SydneySteve-Hey! Just returned from a short business trip-and I see you're off on your grand adventure-I tell you, no one, but no one travels like the people from Oz-you folks are truly the world's great travelers-when you go, you go for MONTHS. Amazing.

And SydneySteve, you and Sydney Sue are absolutely going to LUV "O" at the Bellagio. Spygirl is not one to be easily impressed with "productions" -wouldn't be caught dead at a musical-but quite simply, I've never seen anything in my life like "O"- I was totally entranced! (Spygirl even had a guy come up to her as she was waiting in the same-day ticket line and give her a free $90 ticket-how cool is that?) They built a million-dollar water tank just for that production-and after you see "O" (or before) reserve and have dinner at Osteria del Circo- get one of the prime tables by the windows so you can watch the lovely dancing fountains as you dine (the dancing fountains of Bellagio sound tacky but they're not-they're lovely!) The food at Circo's is wonderful-(I had a ravioli stuffed with fresh artichokes to die for!)

P.S. Spygirl's current favorite casino in Vegas is the Venetian-lovely hotel-good shopping venue-AND is not too shabby on the pay-offs as well!

So keep us posted,SydneySteve-it goes without saying that you and Sue will have a marvelous adventure-I can think of few itineraries that sound as fab as yours!

Thanks Spygirl - only an hour or two to go. The problem with Australia's tyranny of distance is of course that everything is a 14 to 24 hour flight away. We look forward to "O" and also "Avenue Q" in NYC. Dinner tonight will be at Jasmine at Bellagio (lighter food after plane flight and before "O")- seating position with similar view achieveable at Circo and music co-ordinated with fountains. I perceive Vegas as adults Disneyland - flown over it many times but never visited before. I am not sure what my view of Vegas will be - I am not usually attracted to glitz and gambling but I will keep an open mind. I will see if I can get the Blackberry browser to log on to Fodors forums and go live when we get there! Probably wont work because of the two screen format. Soon there will no doubt be a portal to the forum to allow input from Blackberrys and PDAs. Tonight Bellagio hotel given feedback on the USA Forum and later in the trip the Belvedere at Bellagio given the feedback from here including a request for a favourite room number. Thanks again everyone. Bye

Another fantastic (and somewhat risque) Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas is " Zoomanity". It's an adults-only circus.

Speaking of CdS, theirs is a fascinating corporate story, born of buskers in Montreal. I have tickets to see 'Allegria' which is coming to Toronto next month.

Have fun,

M. (still dazed)

SydneySteve - Did I miss your trip report?

the end of their two month trip is just coinciding with this week.

oops, I can't count, not at all true

I will try to put a general paper together having recently been pulled over by the Fodorite Police-LOL.

Thanks!

From one Sydneysider to another, bon voyage and congratulations. Sounds like a super trip. We are off as well in June on long service leave for seven weeks in Europe. Our remaining kids (using the term loosely) at home are 18 and 22, and intend staying home and dependent as long as possible, God love them! Looking forward to your trip report when you are ready.