Round The World Trip
On Sat 27th Oct Irena and I flew to Dubai for our 2nd honeymoon. We took a desert tour where we blazed over dunes and then dined under the stars while watching belly dancing and nearly having our fingers chewed off by a falcon. The highlight was sitting at the Mango Tree Thai restaurant looking out at the Dubai Fountains and up at the Burj Dubai. Later we took a tour up the Burj.
Then Irena left back to Malta, and I flew on to Sydney on Friday 2nd Nov, to speak at iDate Australia. The highlight was seeing 'School For Wives' at the Opera House, and hiking over the top of the Harbor Bridge. Tanya (CEO, Dating Factory) and I won our bet on the Melbourne Cup.
On Mon 12th Nov I flew to Vancouver to fly my mother back to the UK. My highlight was flying next to the pilot of a seaplane from Vancouver to Victoria.
On Wed 21st Nov mum and I flew back to the UK. I met up with Irena and we attended my nephews wedding at Hemswell Court. It was picture perfect.
Then on Tue 27th Nov Irena and I flew to Moscow to study AnastasiaDate. An amazing company. Our highlight was going to the Bolshoi theater and touring the Kremlin Armory where we managed to snap this shot of a 700 year old crown. ...I finally landed back in Malta on Sat 8th December.
Malta Hike, With Czech Hiking Club
Yup! There's a Czech hiking club in Malta. I took a trek out with them to the NW of the island and we had a BBQ on the beach.
Red Square
After seeing richard and tammy get married, and settling mum back into England, Irena and I took off for Moscow for a couple of weeks.
Sydney Opera House
Prior to iDate Sydney I paid the Opera House a visit to see School For Wives. Originally the play was a French poem by Moliere from the 1660's. Excellent, and a unique experience!
Dubai Honeymoon
"Thumb or finger, thumb or finger?" This falcon was seriously contemplating removing a digit!
Apparently, I was conceived in Dubai. My dad lived in Abu Dhabi for 25 years. If I'd been born there and stayed in UAE perhaps Irena and I would look like this?
Prior to our wedding we went on a 'pre-honeymoon' to Venice, but didn't take an official honeymoon after our wedding. We finally took a week off to honeymoon in Dubai, prior to me flying off for iDate Sydney.
A Bit Of Sausage And Books
Waterstones Picadilly is my favorite book shop. The sausage and mash is first rate, at 5th View. Waterstones has 6 floors of books and 8 miles of shelving and was the inspiration for 'Are You Being Served.'
Malta's Romance Bridge
Inscribe your love onto a lock and put it on the romance bridge at Tigne Point overlooking the Valletta bastions in Malta.
MedAsia Playa Saturdays
This summer we discovered MedAsia Playa on the waterfront. Two pools, seafront, good prosecco and even better sushi. A great place for our kids and us to hang out on Saturday afternoons and chill.
Stormy Weather
6am, a storm brewing, and coffee in hand. Waterside in Malta.
Canyon Hiking in Crete
Imbros Canyon with Justin.
Delphi
Touring Delphi in Greece was a real treat. It was the heart of Greek politics and culture 2500 years ago. The inspiration for the Olympic games was born in these hills. The Pythian Games. And the most important Oracle was based here in the remains of this temple in our pic below. It was a gloriously spectacular site back then with statues, temples, a theater and stadium.
Desserts at La Pergola
Wafer thin mints?
St Peters Cathedral
Valentines visit to St Peters and The Vatican.
Malta Skyline
After an afternoon coffee at Cioconat, this bridge at Tigne Point has great views.
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a must-see in Rome. Perfect for a bottle of champagne just before lunch. (we didn't do that this time, but will, next time).
Wake Up! We're Going To Rome
At 7:10am Irena woke me up. "Get your clothes on, the taxi is here,
we're going...but I'm not telling you where." I jumped in the taxi 10
minutes later. It wasn't until we got to the airport that I realized
we were going off-island. To Rome. A little birthday trip.
The first stop was the amazing Colosseum. Did you know, 700k people
died there in 450 years. No wonder 2/3 of the outer walls were
removed to build St Peters. This was hardly a place to be
particularly celebrated by the Catholic church in the 1500's. Far
better to hack some of it away for a better cause. Still, its an
amazing site.
Paris iDate, View from Concorde Hotel
It was a dream to go to Paris with Irena, and see Notre Dame, and the
Eiffel Tower and take a tour of The Louvre. We went to the top of the
Concorde Hotel, the venue for iDate Paris, and the IDEA mixer, and met
with some friends after the conference. The view is the best in
Paris.
Stockholm Boat For Sale
In early August I paid OculusAI a visit in Stockholm. I took a rainy walk around Stockholm, and discovered a lineup of old classic boats, many of which were 80-100 years old. Some were for sale. The little sign on this poor little boat indicated it was for sale. I think we could afford this one. What do you think Irena?
Kon-Tiki Museum
I remember reading and being inspired by the Kon-Tiki story, as a kid. So it was a real thrill to visit the Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo in early August. In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and his international crew set off from Peru, and landed in the Polynesian Islands 101 days and 4300 miles later. Thor wanted to prove that Polynesia was settled by South Americans using simple balsa-log boats.
Mark & Irena
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