Seasonal Paradise

The Blues Sisters

In Corfu on holiday after a long afternoons swimming and playing in a beachside pool.

Snoring

 

Goofing Around With Vicki

 

Where's The Spider?

 

Cheeky Gregory's Coffee in New York

Gregorys Coffee in New York are very cheeky.  When they saw my Starbucks mug they pointed it out to me, and then after I left, I noticed the cheeky buggers had put a Gregory's sticker on my mug.  Outrageous.  Love it!  Good for them.  How can your company breed that kind of brand-pride amongst its employees?




They're the yin to Starbucks yang.  They've effectively looked at the flaws in Starbucks business and out-Starbucked them.  Here's the main things I've noticed.

Walk-in Experience
Starbucks: Long line.  Wait, kick heels, feel slightly neglected.
Gregory's: Long line, but crazy fast service.  Within 5 seconds of walking in the door someone has taken my order.  Definitely not feeling at all neglected here, and the people are a little more perky and happy, and enjoying the busy-ness.

Coffee
Starbucks: Consistently good.
Gregorys: Consistently great!

Look n Feel
Starbucks:  Green and brown.  Armchairs, wood chairs.  
Gregorys:  Gray, dark purple, black, bright lights. Benches and steel chairs.  Not necessarily better, just a contrast to Starbucks.

Baristas
Starbucks:  Sometimes a little tired. 
Gregorys:  They seem a bit more involved, fun and irreverant.

Food
Starbucks:  Caged, refrigerated and packaged.  
Gregorys:  Fresh baked, not packaged or refrigerated.  The one on 46th Avenue and 5th even has a bakery in the back...



Here's an example of how Gregory's one-ups employee morale.  Over Valentines they ran a promotion.  Bring in a Valentines card or gift for the baristas, and get a free coffee.  Showing the love.  Nice!  

Gregorys tagline is we 'see coffee differently.'  I think they do.  

 

Mopeds

We like to take the VFR800 out for our date nights, and park it in Paceville.  This was a particularly nice line up of bikes.  Our bike has 96hp which I put to good use on occasion.  The gold Hyabusa has twice that. Nutters!  Especially nuts in Malta!

Vicki Wild Cat

 

Irena & Her 4 Identical Twins

Moscow's Lego Man

At Moscow airport you can find this lego man with a hole in his sock.

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.  

Dune Diving In Dubai

Witness the birth of a new sport.  Dune diving.

 

Not All Camels Spit

I love the smell of Irena's hair as well.

Skegness Beach Skit

I stumbled upon this old video from our trip to Skegness Beach in April, 2006. It was the year after I met Irena and our first trip together to the UK. I showed her my home-town, and the best beach in England.  It didn't go so well.  Blustery and bleedin' miserable weather.  But she held up. 

  

Walking On Water

Vicki tried out walking on water in this waterball at Bay Street in Paceville, Malta.

 

Plane Crash Proposal

We love this.

 

Refer Back To Video In 40 Years

 

Flash Busking On The London Underground

These Irish buskers brought our train to life when they jumped into our car and started playing.

 

Its A (Catalina) Dog's Life

After iDate Beverly Hills I took a trip with Marc and family to Catalina.  We took a tour of Catalina, and I encountered this dog along the way.

 

4 Freaky Things I Learned At The American Museum Of Natural History

I spent a half day at AMNH on Saturday and learned:

- Gorillas don't drink. They get all the water they need from vegatation.

- Some snakes can go as long as 2 and a half years without eating, after a feed.

- After mating, some female snakes can store male sperm for several years.

- The lizard central in the photo below can spit blood out of its eyes when annoyed.

Surprise 40th Birthday Party, Risque Tshirt

In Crete With Justin

Justin (fastlife.com) and I, taking in beers and great food on the Rethymno's waterfront.

Vicki and the Soccer Ball

 

Artiste 101

 

Carnival Day

On this day and weekend in Malta all the kids dress up. Victoria is delectable in this Dumbo outfit.

Prague Coffee

Heavenly have the best coffee in Prague. The latte froth is so thick the sugar doesn't sink and the stirrer stands on its own.

Mark & Irenas Dad For NYE

Light Travellers

 

Bossy Boots

Sasha, abusing dad. She's age 2 years 3 months, and already bossing me around.

 

Barcelona (lively) Seafood

The seafood in Barcelona is great but I'm seriously considering going
vegetarian again after this little guy proved his fighting spirit and
gave me a right hook onto the nostrils. Luckily Andreas was able to
pry him away.

Out Of Control In Barcelona

After a night out on the town in Barcelona, we bumped into Ed Kunkel
and his cohort in Barcelona. Justin struck up a friendly accord with
a pirate, but then tried to rename him. After an altercation and a
sword fight (the pirate had a sword, really!) they came to an amicable
agreement, and the bar settled down again, for about 10 minutes.

Paris Tour Guide @ The Louvre

This characterful tour guide was just a hoot.  What a great character.

 

Play-Doh

We left Sasha alone for half an hour, and were impressed with her handywork.

Kung Fu Training

Stretching before we start our kung fu training lessons. Sasha is 2. Its never too early to kick some ass.  

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?

Queen Victoria Elizabeth Brooks