13. March 2005 07:33 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Mum and Dad in Sydney 2005 13. March 2005 07:33 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmum and dad in sydneyShareAt the end of 2005 my Mum and Dad escaped the winter in Denmark by travelling to Sydney for a couple of weeks. They stayed here over Christmas and New Years Eve. While they were here we went for a drive up to Graemes house at Taylors Lake near Port Macquarie where we Christmas Eve cooking traditional danish Roast Duck, and Ris-a-la-mande. New years even we celebrated at Graemes place at McMahons Point here in Sydney. New Years day was the hottest on record...48 degrees. Click here to see more photos from: Christmas and New Years Eve 2005/Slideshow
14. November 2004 12:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Afternoon Sailing in a Felucca 14. November 2004 12:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetafternoon sailing in a feluccaShare
14. November 2004 12:58 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Grandchildren's Meal for Bedstemor 14. November 2004 12:58 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetgrandchildren s meal for bedstemorShare Normally Bedstemor's fest is for paid by her children, but this year, all of Bestemor's grandchildren decided to also treat the family in return. They chose the Italian restaurant in the hotel. It was a 3-course set menu at US$8 per person. For starters, it was thin minestrone with salad vegetables and grated cheese. For entrée, it was 3 pieces of ravioli with mushrooms and white sauce (ravioli suprisingly had cinnamon in it...) For mains, we had a choice of either chicken or veal scallope with fettucine... But all our meals were served with the same sauce and somehow we all ended up getting french fries... When we asked the waiters about the fettucine listed on the menu, no-one had any idea... And our surprise dessert was a scoop of ice-cream swimming in fruit salad and syrup. These breadsticks were really very nice, although surprisingly these contained cumin, instead of Italian herbs or cheese. With Bedstemor in the middle, the oldies at one end, we sat at the other end with Kim, Rasmus and their respective girlfriends. Rasmus and his g-friend told us about their trip around Asia, toVienChan and Laos. Kim and Birit had spent 6 months backpacking around India, Nepal and Thailand. In the meanwhile, there was an Egyptian engagement party that started in the hotel lobby. The musicians stood around the couple, playing oboe-like instruments, tambourines and drums, whilst the guests clapped and danced to the music. It was deafening, the sound echoing throughout the hotel. They eventually made their way up to one of the function rooms to party all night long. =
14. November 2004 12:54 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments The Citadel & Mohammed Ali Mosque 14. November 2004 12:54 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetthe citadel mohammed ali mosqueShare Our first sightseeing trip after arriving in Egypt was the Citadel and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The Citadel was once the home of the royal family until 1870, then the military took over this joint until the 1970s. It is still used occasionally by the military but mostly opened to visitors although certain sections are closed off to them. Neither did our guide tell us much about the Citadel, nor give us the opportunity to explore. So most of the photos here are of the Mohammed Ali Mosque sitting on the Citadel. The mosque is famous for its alabaster corridors, columns and floors. Alabaster is a cheaper form of marble that seems to be slightly more porous and does not have the smoothness or coolness of normal marble. Adam, our guide sat everyone down in one corner of the mosque like school kids, and gave everyone some sort of history lesson about Islam and marriage. The interior of the mosque was magnificent, with globes of light hanging in multiple rings from the ceiling. In the far right corner, there is a gilded green and gold staircase that leads to some sort of pulpit. Local women were allowed into this mosque, but clad from head to foot. Female tourists were provided with a green abaayas if they were sleeveless or wearing shorts. During Adam's chat about Islam and its history, René asked for more information about the Citadel, and was rudely scolded for not listening. Adam did not give any more information about the Citadel for the rest of the trip... Left: In another corner of the mosque was an enclosure containing the marble sarcophagi and burial place of the mosque's namesake - Mohammed Ali.Right: The ceiling was also quite beautiful, but I could not use the camera flash and it was a little dark. In each "corner" of the dome were large arabic inscriptions in gold Cairo has a brown haze over the city. The buildings are made of mud bricks. Dirty-white and grey are the only other colours one can see. Apparently there is a number 7 written above one of the doors of the Citadel. History says Napoleon and his troops numbered each of the entrances around the Citadel as he could not understand the local language.
14. November 2004 12:53 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Khefren's Pyramid - Limestone Tips 14. November 2004 12:53 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetkhefren s pyramid limestone tipsShare Khefren, Khafre's son, did not seem to have the same desire to outbuild his father. His pyramid is not as tall as Khafre's pyramid, but looks so because it stands on higher ground. Each of these blocks of granite came to about shoulder height on the average man - they were about one cubic metre each in size. The few people who tried to climb up the pyramid were called down by security guards patrolling the area. We noticed the granite blocks further up the pyramid seemed smaller. The quality of the workmanship worsened as the pyramids neared completion and smaller blocks were used. Just imagine - these pyramids would have once glinted in the sunlight like diamonds in the desert. Kefren's pyramid was once covered with a smooth and shiny layer of limestone. Unfortunately, most of the limestone has been stripped off, used in mosques and palaces. Only a small portion remains at the tip of Khefren's pyramid.
14. November 2004 12:45 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments More Photos of Cairo 14. November 2004 12:45 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmore photos of cairoShare We did not have a lot of opportunities to explore the city of Cairo. Our hotel was located on the other side of the Nile from downtown Cairo, so there was not a lot happening. In Cairo, we noticed a lot of large carcasses hanging along the streets outside the butcher shops. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed due to Ramadan, but Sunday heralded the last day of Ramadan, so many were preparing for the final feast. We tried in vain to find a restaurant for the family to eat dinner, but no such luck. However, we did try to stop for some beers at a small café along the Nile - no beers because it was still Ramadan till that night, so we settled for some softdrink and hot potato chips. The city of Cairo looks hazy and grey, with all the buildings a muddy colour. It was nice to sit by the Nile. The view from our Hotel Pyramisa at sundown.
14. November 2004 11:13 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Lunch on the Nile 14. November 2004 11:13 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetlunch on the nileShare
14. November 2004 11:06 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Pyramid of Cheops 14. November 2004 11:06 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetpyramid of cheopsShareThe largest pyramids were built by Khafre (Cheops) and his son Kefren (Chephren).Khafre's pyramid stood 147 metres tall. Each side was 230 metres (with only 0.2% margin error - can you believe that?)René's mum stands at the foot of Kefren's pyramid.It is almost a one-kilometre walk around the whole pyramid.It is taller than Kefren's pyramid but does not look so as it sits on lower ground. It is estimated that something like 2.3 million blocks were used to build the pyramid.Right: There once lay a solar-boat. Khafre's mummy was placed into this boat as the ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh sailed to the after-life. The boat is now housed in a building next to the pyramid. Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005
14. November 2004 11:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Cairo's Hotel Pyramisa Coffee-shop 14. November 2004 11:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetcairo s hotel pyramisa coffee shopShareWhilst we were waiting to check-in, the family decided to get something to eat as we had not eaten anything since breakfast on the plane. Created: Dec 2004Last Updated: 24-Jan-2005
14. November 2004 11:04 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Bedstemor's 85 års fødselsdag ( 13 - 20 Nov 2004 )b 14. November 2004 11:04 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetbedstemor s 85 rs f dselsdag 13 20 nov 2004 bShareBedstemor's 85 års fødselsdag ( 13 - 20 Nov 2004 )Oversættelse Freddy Pallesen © 2004Det gamle Ægyptens historier og legender har længe markeret sig gennem film som "Kleopatra", "Mumien" og begejstret os kvinder med Omar Sharifs optræden i "Lawrence of Arabia" og "Doctor Zhivago og senere i tegnefilm som "The Prince of Egypt". Der er en vis mystik omkring mellemøsten skildret for os i en meget ung alder, når vi hørte godnathistorier som "Ali Baba og de 40 røvere" eller "Sinbad Søfareren" - de fleste af os har en drøm om at se pyramiderne.Jeg var meget heldig at få muligheden for 20 år siden sammen med mine forældre at komme til Ægypten, men som 10 årig er der ikke så meget et barn kan huske. Men dette år samles Familien Pallesen igen engang for "Matriarkens" 85 års fødselsdag. Det er tradition for familien at samles og rejse til et eksotisk land - tidligere har det været Tunesien, Marokko, Tyrkiet og Gambia - og nu for Bedstemors ønske om at se Ægyptens pyramider, som hendes mand så for 50 år siden.Bedstemors tre børn, seks børnebørn (Nikolai kunne ikke komme med), fire oldebørn og respektive ægtefæller, alle tog sammen til det magiske Ægypten. Det er efterår med varme dage og kølige nætter - en kontrast til den kommende vinter i Danmark.Lørdag 13. November 2004 Afrejse til ÆgyptenVores familie måtte af sted kl. 3.30 for at nå flyet kl. 6.55; 4½ time senere ankom vi til Cairo lufthavn. Jeg har en svag hukommelse om en meget varm lufthavn med komplet kaos, med mennesker, der skubber for at få deres kufferter igennem, råbende gennem en masse larm. Nu fandt vi en næsten ren og ikke tætpakket lufthavn.Vi mødte AP-Travels repræsentant, som tog os til Hotel Pyramissa, hvor vi tilsyneladende blev glemt i Pianobaren, til en af os fik den lyse ide, at bede om vores værelsesnøgler.Vores familie deltes om en toværelses suite med et stort fællesrum. Vores første eftermiddag blev brugt til en spadseretur rundt i kvarteret for evt. at finde et sted for familien at spise. Vores hotel lå på den anden side af floden i forhold til centrum, så der var ikke meget at se på sammen med, at mange butikker var lukket p.g.a. Ramadanen, den Islamiske fasteperiode fra daggry til solnedgang. Søndag var sidste dag i Ramadanen, så mange var i gang med at forberede den sidste faste. Sluttelig spiste familien til aften i hotellets "Orientel" restaurant i Ægyptisk stil. Vi regnede med at få ordentlig Ægyptisk mad, men blev skuffede over at få lunkent mad. Risen var meget tør, lammekødet var meget småt og maden var en blandet fornøjelse. Til vores overraskelse, efter vores kommentarer, fik vi serveret ekstra tallerkner med lokal Ægyptisk frugt så som friske dadler og duava. Til vores morskab smagte alle Ægyptiske vine ens, uanset mærke. Der var masser af Ægyptisk øl og selvfølgelig levede danskerne op til deres drikkeevner og Bedstemor gav maden til alle.Søndag 14. november 2004Første nat sov vi ikke så godt - at sove i en fremmed seng kombineret med koranbøn fra en nærliggende moske gav os ikke ligefrem en fredfyldt søvn. Imidlertid var vi alle tidlig oppe for at mødes i Bedstemors værelse for at overraske hende med danske fødselsdagssange til flimmer med danske flag og små gaver. Denne familie overrasker fødselaren og alle synger unisont denne meget søde fødselsdagssang.Citadellet Muhammad Ali MoskeenVores første besøg gjaldt Citadellet. Det er byens fort og husede engang den kongelige familie og skønt det meste af komplekset er åben for besøgende, besidder militæret stadig en del, som er lukket område. Det tager en halv dag at komme gennem hele Citadellet, hvilket vi ikke havde mulighed for. I stedet tilbragte vi vores tid i Muhammed Ali moskeen.<== Der er en fantastisk panorama over byen fra den Vestlige terrasse - fantastisk at Cairo ikke et bygget af ens mudderfarvede stenbygninger. Det mest bemærkelsesværdige ved Cairo er imidlertid mangelen på farver og farverne stemmer overens med ørkenens farver.Vores guide Adam/Mohammed gav os en ringe indsigt i funktionen eller historien af Citadellet, og i stedet pladserede gruppen i hjørnet i hjørnet af Muhammed Ali moskeen som en gruppe skolebørn, og gav en lektion om Islamisk lov og sædvane.Da René vovede sig til at spørge om mere om Citadellet, blev han skældt ud for at afbryde og fik besked på at lytte. Vi fik aldrig muligheden for at finde 7-tallet Napoleons tropper hade malet over port for at undgå de uvante arabiske navne, eller det halvrunde tårn, da vores guide simpelthen ikke vidste, hvor de var.I den tid havde jeg muligheden for at spadsere lidt for mig selv og gå i moskeens skønne alabaster arkader. Den himmelhvælvede centrale bederum var et glimmer af hundrede af lys, der hang i koncentriske cirkler. På loftet var der arabiske inskriptioner i guld. Kvinder skulle være anstændig klædt og kunne ikke bære ærmeløse trøjer eller korte shorts eller skørter. I et hjørne af rummet lå sarkofaget med Muhhamed Ali - grundlægger af moskeen og Albanisk handelsmand, grundlægger af dynastiet, som herskede til revolutionen i 1952.Cairo Ægyptisk MuseetJeg huske turen rundt i dette museum, hvor jeg kiggede ind i smudsige glas montre og stirrede på de rynkede ansigter af nogle engang kendte faroer som Ramses II og undrede mig over, om disse gamle Ægyptere var giganter i deres store kister. 20 år senere var det næsten umuligt at skubbe sig gennem mængderne af turister - kun nyttigt fordi deres guider gav flere informationer end vores. Med kun to timer var det umulig at se hele museet og slet ikke de kongelige mumier. Museet fejrede sit hundred år med en speciel udstilling omkring TutAnkhAmun - det mest berømte fund. Med rejseguiden i hånden "aaaede" og "åååede" vi over guldskattene fundet i hans grav - en guldtrone med den berømte scene med TutAnkhAmons dronning, der tilbeder ham, kister af ibenholt og elfenben, jagtskjolde beklædt med gepardskin, buer og pile, alabaster krukker med kong Tuts mummificerede organer, guld sarkofager - da Howard Carter havde fundet sådanne skatte for en lille kendt drenge-konge, forestil jer, hvad Ramses II´s grav har indeholdt. Kong Tuts inderste kiste af rent guld og og den berømte maske af guld, som alle gerne vil se, er trykt i mange Ægyptiske billedmaterialer. Museet er blevet en ny pengemaskine for Ægypterne med yderligere en entre for at se de kongelige mumier. Vi måtte være tilfreds med at se dyremumierne - katte, hunde, fugle, geder, Nile Perch (ja, også fisk!) og mest fantastisk var en 7 meter krokodillemumie. Udstillingerne var på øverste etage opsat efter emne og på underste etage i kronologisk orden uret rundt fra det Gamle Kongerige, til det midterste og sluttende med de Nye og Sidste Kongedømmer. Der var værelser fyldt med kæmpe sarkofager (kister), som hver ville veje en tons, et værelse fyldt med miniaturer, der viste daglig liv i Ægypten, et værelse fuld af falmede gamle papyrusskrifter og værelser fulde af brokker og stykker fra ruiner, statuer, palads gulve - et sted, man kan tilbringe dage med en ordentlig rejse guide.Khan Al-KhaliliEfter et stop på en Ægyptisk parfumefabrik og en frokostpause, kom vi til Khan Al-Khalili, det ældste basar i Ægypten, som går tilbage til 1300-tallet. Gamle tiders købere besøgte Khanen for at kigge på varerne bragt dertil af handelskaravanerne. Vi finder ikke længere slaver, silke, juveler eller diamanter, men træ guitarer, skønne klude tæpper, klæder, t-shirts, papyrustryk, vandpiber, bunker af tøj, aromaen af krydderier breder sig og boder med stakke af rødt, guld og blå pulver og sække med frø og bønner. Kobbersmede udhamrer fade, terriner, kaffekander og enorme halvmåneformede toppe til minareter. Det er et ritual i basarer at tinge om priserne, lokale såvel som gæster - almindeligvis til en tiendedel af den budte pris - har du betalt en tredjedel, har du betalt for meget. Vi havde kun en time til vores rådighed, men mange af boderne var lukkede for siesta og for ramadanen. Ulla og jeg pegede på nogle sække af mangefarvede krydderier. Han ville have 50£ (50 kr.), men efter jeg sagde "da ketir awi" (det koster for meget) og gik, fulgte sælgeren efter os en kilometer mens han reducerede prisen fra 40£ til 30£, 25£, 20£, og efter vi i spøg råbte 10£, tilbød han 15£, 10£ og endelig 5£ før han opgav os. Efter megen tingen lykkedes det os få to udsmykkede parfumeglas flasker for 20£ (20 kr.).Bedstemor's fødselsdagfestIrene og Ole havde sørget for et privat værelse til Bedstemors fødselsdagsfest. Et enkelt langt bord i et værelse i Ægyptisk stil. Sølv fade i to rækker midt på bordet med ild under holdt maden varm.Vi fik kommen-panneret stegt fisk, kyllinge filleter på Ægyptisk stil, kanel-krydret ravioli, ris, kartoffelmos og steg i pebbersauce, "sang" og brød med Ægyptisk vin og øl til Bedstemor.Mens børnene legede i et hjørne, var der meget snak bordet rundt, og aftenen sluttede med chokolade og frugt kage pyntet med "Happy Pirthday" (det er ikke en fejl) og vi morede os over os over overfloden af Ægyptiske kager - bagværk, semulje tærte, rosenvands krydrede tærter og tærter, der smagte af flydende honning… Ulla ville gerne have resten af desserten med sig (undtagen den rosenvands krydrede - det var morsomt at se hendes udtryk - rosenvand dufter næsten som parfume). Tjenerne var hele tiden meget opmærksomme, passerede hver andet minut for at opvarte os.Det bedste var, at Bedstemor blev som to årig, da hun skulle puste lysene på kagerne ud. Som danskerne ville sige, "det var meget hyggeligt!"Mandag 15. november 2004 (start 7:30)Fra de grå bygninger og gader I Cairo kørte vi 24 km mod sydøst til Saqqara, skiftende fra ensartet brun til frodige grøne marker med grøntsager og hundrede af dadelpalmer. Det var som en oase, hvor et fint slør gav en uvirkelig følelse af de frodige områder i det gamle Ægypten. Kvinder i hellange sorte "abeeyas" fordelt i markerne, den gamle mand, der vandrede omkring - en stor kontrast til mylderet i Cairos centrum.Saqqara's Trin PyramideGrundlagt som et nekropolis (begravelses by) for det gamle Kongedømme og et af de rigeste arkæologiske områder i Ægypten.Trin pyramiden er mindre end halv så høj, som den største pyramide ved Giza, men dette monument var en forløber for de glatte pyramider. Tidligere var gravene bygget af soltørrede muddersten, rektangulære byggesten, der dækkede gravstedet. Men arkitekten Imhotep havde den lyse ide at bygge med sten og bygge den trinagtige struktur fen gange ovenpå hinanden, og skabte den første pyramide.Vi kom ind gennem den store sydlige gård - på størelse med en fodboldbane - gennem en koridor af 40 søjler inspireret af bundter af bundne rør. Mens Adam holdt endnu en af sine taler, blev jeg antastet af en klæde og turbanklædt Ægypter, som førte mig op til toppen, hvor jeg fik et godt skud af de fantastiske søjlers top, før jeg blev skældt ud af Adam og tigget for "baksheesh". Jeg var taknemmelig for at blive reddet fra Ægypteren, som ikke ville lade mig gå uden baksheesh, af et par Italienere. Da jeg kom ud fra koridoren blev jeg imidlertid blændet af det hvide sand og den enorme pyramide alene omgivet af sten fra andre ruiner og en meget mindre trekantet høj af sten i baggrunden. Selv om morgenen var køkig, så varmede solen os, mens vi vandrede nord omkring pyramiden.MemphisEngang hovedstaden i det gamle Ægypten, uudgravet på grund af landsbyen, bygget over den gamle by, og det hævede grundvandsspejl på grund at Asuan-dæmningen. Der er en lille park med nogle få fund, brokker og stykker, men den mest spændende ting at se er en kolos af Ramses II, der ligger på ryggen og mangler den nederste del af benene. Kolossen ville have været 5 etager høj, hvis den havde været hel. Midt i parken ligger den største alabaststatue, der er fundet - en sphinx på 80 tons - tænk hvilke skatte, der kunne have været fundet, hvis Memphis kunne udgraves, især da denne gamle by lå på halvvejen mellem Øvre og Nedre Ægypten.Vores sidste stop før frokost var ved en papyrus butik - endnu et sted med kommission til Adam. Bedstemor købte en papyrus med det Ægyptiske alfabet i heroglypher. Nogle af papyrusbillederne kostede 3500£ (3500 kr). Til frokost fik vi et udmærket Ægyptisk måltid ude midt i ingenting. Vi fik glimrende mezza (ægyptiske tapas) af baba ghanoush (ristet aubergine dip), tzatziki (agurke dip), hummus (kikærte dip), fuul (bønner) serveret med friskbagte pitabrød, varme vinblade ruller, lamme kofta og ny grillet kylling med timian. Det var et måltid for konger og det bedste Ægyptiske måltid, vi fik på hele turen.Pyramider af GizaFra luften ligger ørkenen og pyramiderne lige op til byen, 16 km fra Cairo.Jeg husker svagt at blive puklet op ad en overraskende varm skakt, oplyst af en enkelt lyspære, og komme ind i et meget køligt, mørk rum, hvor der stod en enkel stensarkofag; rummet var tomt, men med tilfældige firkantede huller i væggen til mad til livet hinsides.Jeg var inde i Dronningerummet i den største pyramide og nu 20 år senere kan kun de første 300 gæster daglig komme ind i disse pyramider - for en anseelig entre. Den største af de tre, Kheops pyramide, er 146 meter høj, 920 meter i omkreds og består af 2,3 millioner stenblokke! Hver blok var mindst en meter høj, så man kan forestille sig hvor massive disse pyramider var. Den næststørste Khefrens (Kheops søn) pyramide har stadig noget af de glatte skinnende kalkstens dækning, som engang dækkede alle pyramiderne.==>Den massive solbåd, som engang bragte faraos krop fra Memphis til Giza og de tre mindre Dronninge pyramider står ved foden af den massive Kheops pyramide. Vi havde ikke mulighed for at komme ind i gravkammeret denne gang, men jeg føler mig privilegeret over at jeg var derinde, og stadig har nogle minder fra begivenheden.SphinxenPyramiderne rejser sig i baggrunden, mens den sider stille på det varme sand under den bagende sol i 4000 år. Napoleons tropper brugte den som målskive, så næsen og faraos skæg er for længst faldet af og findes i British museum. Grækerne kaldte den "Sphinx", som var basseret på en mærkelig skikkelse med hovedet af et menneske og kroppen af en løve, som ville stoppe enhver rejsende langs vejen med en gåde - hvis gåden ikke blev gættet, blev man måltid for Sphinxen. Trængslen af skarerne omringede Sphinxen og vi kunne kun bevæge os i gåsegang. Gennem tiden ser det ud til, at turisterne må se Sphinxen på længere og længere afstand. For 50 år siden kunne Bedstefar røre ved Sphinxen og også klatre op på toppen af pyramiden; for 20 år siden var Sphinxen hegnet inde med et lille trådhegn, men jeg kunne stå tæt ved den; nu ligger den i et stort hul, hvor besøgende kun kan se den tæt på gennem zoomen på deres kameraer. 4 tusind år senere bjergtager den stadig os alle.Tirsdag 16. november 2004 (start 2:30)Ja, du læste rigtig - vi ventede alle I receptionen kl. 2.30. I aftes diskede Bedstemors børnebørn op med Spansk-Ægyptisk-Italiensk middag til hele familien. Dette fulgtes op af en Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal Blog Portfolio Packages Contact About Home 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley 2010 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley 2010Share This long Anzac weekend we drove up to Hunter Valley with a couple of friends. Meeting up there we planned what wineries we were going to. Sasha had a couple in mind which was perfect as they were some Kim and I had never been been to before. The first place we stopped was Petersons...Joanne wanted to pick up some pink bubbly stuff (pink champagne). They have some wines there without preservatives which are really nice. On the way from one of the other places we drove past a new place called Noonji...sounded japanese and it was a new one, so we had to have a look at what they were doing. They had just opened up for tasting recently and as soon as we walked through the door we could tell that this husband and wife were doing things differently. We were welcomed and were told that this was table tasting, so we all sat down at the table. This was really good since it enabled us to taste five different vintages simultaneously (In other places you taste one vintage at a time). The prices were reasonable and they had a pretty good discount if you bought a case, so Kim and I ended up buying two cases of wine from here. After this we did some more sightseeing and tasting before we drove back to sydney. On the way back we stopped at a petrol station and someone has this cool car parked there. 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wingello 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetwingelloShare On Anzac day I went climbing with Andy and Dan at a new place called Wingello that we'd never been to before. Wingello is about two hours south of sydney towards Canberra. It is mostly sports climbing on ring bolts. This means that instead of placing protection you can clip pre-placed bolts. My finger is still injured so I am in reality unable to climb (pst...I did clean a climb on top rope but dont tell anyone). This meant that I spent most of the day belaying the others and taking some photos. On one of the easier scrambles I got to the top so that I could take some photos from the top. It is the first time I have tried to really try and take photos from the top and it was difficult. A lot of the photos were slightly blurred because it was hard to keep the lens steady in the available light when zooming in). Here are some of the photos from this climb that did turn out alright. Also being up high means that I could provide Dan with some instructions cleaning the anchor system. For his first try it wasn't pretty and he got the ropes in a big tangle. Eventually we got it sorted so that he could get down safely....but more practice is needed. After this we went further along the wall to so some easy/moderate climbs (16/17s). One one of the climbs Andy stuck his hand into a hole with a snake skin in it...this is his second snake incident. After this he refused to even get close to the hole (fair enough). He is now on the leader board 2:1...my incident was a brown snake crawling across my feet while belaying him years ago. Dan managed to also lead this climb which he was absolutely stoked about. We finished the climb just before the sun set and we managed to get out before just in time. The climb out was interesting at the easiest route is through this narrow and steep gully with fixed ropes and ladders (The fact that Dan was carrying his makeup bag and a 5 litre bottle of water didn't make it easier). 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My nephews Porche Carrera GT 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy nephews porche carrera gtShare Today I borrowed a couple of Toy cars from my nephew Ethan. I had to promise that I'd bring them back tomorrow. I wanted to have a play with using a single bare flash right above the car as a softbox. Because the flash is hanging right above the car just outside view) it has been dialed all the way back to 1/128th power (shooting at f/32, iso 200 @ 1/250) or I'd use detail. On the side just outside view I put a piece of white paper to reflect a little light onto the side of the car. The reflective surface is a glass chopping board from the kitchen. After a while I started also using a flash on the background using different gels. I found that orange and blue gels were the nicest. The Blue as a good contrast to the yello car. With the orange gel I could create a sunset type light by letting the light fall off quickly on the wall. The background if a white wall (except for the textured background which is a black backdrop). None of the photos below have had any photoshopping done to them (otherwise I would have removed those scratches on the windshield). 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Flash balancing fun 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetflash balancing exerciseShareKim was kind enough to let me take some photos of her. I have been studying some flash photography videos and articles and wanted to have a play with multiple flashes around dusk. The trick is to balance the ambient light with the light filled from the flash...especially tricky as the light constantly changes during the last 30 minutes of the day.So far I only have two wireless flash triggers to was was somewhat limited (ideally I would like to have three triggers).It was really good to be able to do some experimenting. For these photos I used one flash 45 degrees to the back and another 45 degrees in front. On the back I am using a CTO gel. In the beginning I was using one on the front one as well, but when I got home to look at the photos I could see that it was too warm (Lesson learnt that I should use the warm gels on the back). On the photos here there is no gel on the front flash only on the back.I would have liked to stay just a bit longer to play, but kim was getting a bit cold. With a more time I would have been able to enhance some of the zoom effects as seen in this photo:Definitely a trick I'll be using in the future...makes for some cool effects. At lot of the photos are actually quite nice, but the two above are my preferred ones. 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 31, not long to go 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 31 not long to goShareIt is now week 31, so only 9-10 weeks until baby is due to arrive.Kim is getting a fair bit bigger and the baby is now very active. So far things looks good although Kim is worried that the boy will be a shortie like mummy. 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water fun 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater funShare I read this article about how to take water photos in an easy way. The photos is taken using a bare flash firing onto a white background at 1/8th power. The blue colour is because I (on purpose) changed the white balance of the camera to Tungsten. I only had a shallow painting tray at my disposal. This paint residue in the bottom of the tray creates the pattern in the photo. I also couldn't get a nice formed drop pattern forming due to the drops hitting the bottom of the shallow tray unevenly. Lessons for next time: Use a deeper tray. Make it black so that no other colours penetrate and make dure the water can reach the edge of the tray. Next time I try I will use one of the large scanpans we have...I think it will be better suited. 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tasmania - Easter 2010 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettasmania easter 2010ShareDuring the Easter Break Kim and I made a trip to Tasmania. This was to be our last holiday together before the baby arrives. Tasmania is an island south of Australia about 1.5 times larger than Denmark. The east coast is lightly populated and the west coast is mainly national parks and forests. We had rented a car to make it easier for us to get around and the first place we headed to was Cradle Mountains national park. This is probably one of the most iconic places in Tasmania and every Australian has seen the pictures of the mountain itself. The drive there was full of contrast. There has always been of criticism of the lumber industries in Tasmania and when you see the methods they use to cut down trees then it is easy to see why. They don't do selective cutting, they instead pretty much bulldoze whole areas which then take many decades to recover. One of the days there we did a number of walks within the park and around the lakes. Kim is 7 months pregnant and did really well although walking a bit slower than normal. We also did some walks to some of the lookouts and waterfalls in the park. I did have some time to experiment with some photos along the way. I really wanted to see some of the wildlife in the park, but unfortunately most of the animals are nocturnal (only out at night). The park had a bus going through the park at night time costing $50 for the two of us. We spoke to the driver and he said that we would not be able to leave the bus at any time. I really wanted to be able to get off the bus at take some wildlife photos so we instead decided to drive our rental car through the park late at night. We wouldn't have the luxury of the nighttime lights and the local knowledge of where to spot certain animals but we thought that the bus would be staying on the same road as we did anyhow. It turned out to be a really good idea. We managed to spot lots of Possums, Wallaby's (a small Kangaroo) and Wombats. We even spotted Quolls and a Tasmanian Devil. May has later told me that the frog in the photo is a 'Southern Brown Tree Frog' and that she keeps one of them as a pet. Below is photos of the animals we spotted: (The closeup photos of the Tasmanian devil and the Quoll I've borrowed, but the rest are my own photos.) After this we drove to Freycinet national park on the east coast. Along the way we stopped at a few scenic spots and wineries. One of the places we stopped was a place called Devils Gullet. It would have been really spectacular had it not been for the dense fog. It was a fairly long drive getting there and I was pretty buggered by the time we arrived to the B&B after driving most of the day with just a few stops on the way to rest and take photos. The sun started to set and I rushed Kim down to the beach in from of the place we were staying to take some portraits using some creative lighting. She wasn't too keen as the wind was a bit cold and we missed the actual sunset by just a couple of minutes. I did however manage to take a couple of photos of her. In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant called 'The edge' very close to the B&B. This turned out to the be highlight in terms of meals during the trip. It was very nice. On the way to the restaurant we spotted a Tasmanian owl and afterwards we did a drive through the national park spotting more Quolls, Possums and Wallabies. The next day we decided to do a number of other walks. The first one of the day included climbing up to the top of this saddle between two mountain tops to get a magnificent view of Wineglass Bay. The climb itself was spectacular in itself as the mountains are formed by this pink coloured granite (I was looking for climbing routes, but most of the granite looked completely barren of any holds...some lunatic would probably come and prove otherwise). Along the trail we we spotted a baby Black snake, a couple of Lizards and birds. We also made a drive up to 'Friendly Beach' where we took a lot of photos. This beach was mostly deserted apart from a couple of walkers and surfers. At sunset we drove to Honeymoon bay to get some scenic shots using the colour of the setting sun against the pink granite as well as some normal sunset photos. In the evening we had a clear sky with lots of stars. Because of the light population of Tasmania there is not a lot of city lights to disturb the stars gazing. It has been years ago since I was able to lie down and just look at the stars to see if I could spot any satellites moving across the sky (this evening I spotted 2). I used the opportunity to after dinner drive back to Honeymoon bay to do some star trail photography. I left Kim in the car as she didn't want to make the walk down to the beach in the dark without a torch. I did take two photos down there using a 30 minute exposure (the maximum my camera allows & @f4.0). They turned out reasonable okay considering what camera they are taken with (Nikon D50). Next day it was back to Sydney. We left Freycinet at 8.30am in the morning and I was stressing that we wouldn't make it back to the airport in time...but we did! 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 25 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 25ShareIt is now week 25 and almost the third trimester. Kim is certainly getting a lot bigger these days but is still very active with swimming, yoga and walking (According to Kim baby is very active too). Both baby and mum are so far doing fine.They say that most of the growth is in the third trimester...she could be huge! We have finished painting the baby room and we have bought the most essential furniture such as a cot, a chest of drawers, car seats etc. It is now up to Kim to decorate the room so that it looks nice. 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Taste of Sydney 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettaste of sydneyShareToday Kim and I met up with Sasha and his wife to go to 'Taste of Sydney'. This is an annual event where the premier restaurants of sydney and food and wine producers showcase their food and wine.This year it was held in Centennial park which is the largest park in sydney which is pretty convenient for us.At the event they had what the call 'Chef's table'. This is where you can sit down with the chefs of some of the premier restaurants and they will tell you about their restaurants, their food and you can ask them questions. In the mean time they were serving us seafood, wine and cheese (I discovered a new cheese that I in particular really liked).They also had showcases where some of the chefs from some of sydney best restaurants show you how to cook different dishes. We went to one session where we saw Matt Moran from Aria prepare a lovely cured trout. This was cured like Gravad laks using salt, sugar, coreander and fennel and then cured a secod time using dijon mustard and dill. The different restaurants were also having some of their food for sale. Some of it was quite nice (I had a nice yellowfin tuna), but I don't think it was a proper representation of their food. It is difficult to prepare and cook in large quantities without access to proper kitchen facilities, so most of the food was more fancy fast food. 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments King Lear 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetking learShareLast weekend Kim and I went to see King Lear at the Sydney Opera House. Kim had managed to get cheap preview tickets on the third row from the stage which is pretty unheard of.The play wasn't anything fancy in terms of stage production, costumes or anything (Actually some of the actors were wearing fairly modern denim jeans).On the side of the stage they had positioned a drumkit and a girl was banging away all throughout the first half of the performance. I found this very distracting and annoying since I was already trying hard to concentrate on understanding the old Shakespearean English.During the second half they moved the drumkit off the stage, so I must say that I actually started to enjoy the play a lot more.Given that we got pretty cheap tickets I found the evening pretty good value, but I don't think I'd pay full price for this one. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...646566676869707172...9394Older posts SearchInclude comments in search Newsletter Get notified when a new post is published. Enter your e-mail Please enter an e-mail address Please enter a valid e-mail Thank you
27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Hunter Valley 2010 27. April 2010 07:32 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweethunter valley 2010Share This long Anzac weekend we drove up to Hunter Valley with a couple of friends. Meeting up there we planned what wineries we were going to. Sasha had a couple in mind which was perfect as they were some Kim and I had never been been to before. The first place we stopped was Petersons...Joanne wanted to pick up some pink bubbly stuff (pink champagne). They have some wines there without preservatives which are really nice. On the way from one of the other places we drove past a new place called Noonji...sounded japanese and it was a new one, so we had to have a look at what they were doing. They had just opened up for tasting recently and as soon as we walked through the door we could tell that this husband and wife were doing things differently. We were welcomed and were told that this was table tasting, so we all sat down at the table. This was really good since it enabled us to taste five different vintages simultaneously (In other places you taste one vintage at a time). The prices were reasonable and they had a pretty good discount if you bought a case, so Kim and I ended up buying two cases of wine from here. After this we did some more sightseeing and tasting before we drove back to sydney. On the way back we stopped at a petrol station and someone has this cool car parked there.
26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Wingello 26. April 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments TweetwingelloShare On Anzac day I went climbing with Andy and Dan at a new place called Wingello that we'd never been to before. Wingello is about two hours south of sydney towards Canberra. It is mostly sports climbing on ring bolts. This means that instead of placing protection you can clip pre-placed bolts. My finger is still injured so I am in reality unable to climb (pst...I did clean a climb on top rope but dont tell anyone). This meant that I spent most of the day belaying the others and taking some photos. On one of the easier scrambles I got to the top so that I could take some photos from the top. It is the first time I have tried to really try and take photos from the top and it was difficult. A lot of the photos were slightly blurred because it was hard to keep the lens steady in the available light when zooming in). Here are some of the photos from this climb that did turn out alright. Also being up high means that I could provide Dan with some instructions cleaning the anchor system. For his first try it wasn't pretty and he got the ropes in a big tangle. Eventually we got it sorted so that he could get down safely....but more practice is needed. After this we went further along the wall to so some easy/moderate climbs (16/17s). One one of the climbs Andy stuck his hand into a hole with a snake skin in it...this is his second snake incident. After this he refused to even get close to the hole (fair enough). He is now on the leader board 2:1...my incident was a brown snake crawling across my feet while belaying him years ago. Dan managed to also lead this climb which he was absolutely stoked about. We finished the climb just before the sun set and we managed to get out before just in time. The climb out was interesting at the easiest route is through this narrow and steep gully with fixed ropes and ladders (The fact that Dan was carrying his makeup bag and a 5 litre bottle of water didn't make it easier).
21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments My nephews Porche Carrera GT 21. April 2010 08:59 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetmy nephews porche carrera gtShare Today I borrowed a couple of Toy cars from my nephew Ethan. I had to promise that I'd bring them back tomorrow. I wanted to have a play with using a single bare flash right above the car as a softbox. Because the flash is hanging right above the car just outside view) it has been dialed all the way back to 1/128th power (shooting at f/32, iso 200 @ 1/250) or I'd use detail. On the side just outside view I put a piece of white paper to reflect a little light onto the side of the car. The reflective surface is a glass chopping board from the kitchen. After a while I started also using a flash on the background using different gels. I found that orange and blue gels were the nicest. The Blue as a good contrast to the yello car. With the orange gel I could create a sunset type light by letting the light fall off quickly on the wall. The background if a white wall (except for the textured background which is a black backdrop). None of the photos below have had any photoshopping done to them (otherwise I would have removed those scratches on the windshield).
17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Flash balancing fun 17. April 2010 10:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetflash balancing exerciseShareKim was kind enough to let me take some photos of her. I have been studying some flash photography videos and articles and wanted to have a play with multiple flashes around dusk. The trick is to balance the ambient light with the light filled from the flash...especially tricky as the light constantly changes during the last 30 minutes of the day.So far I only have two wireless flash triggers to was was somewhat limited (ideally I would like to have three triggers).It was really good to be able to do some experimenting. For these photos I used one flash 45 degrees to the back and another 45 degrees in front. On the back I am using a CTO gel. In the beginning I was using one on the front one as well, but when I got home to look at the photos I could see that it was too warm (Lesson learnt that I should use the warm gels on the back). On the photos here there is no gel on the front flash only on the back.I would have liked to stay just a bit longer to play, but kim was getting a bit cold. With a more time I would have been able to enhance some of the zoom effects as seen in this photo:Definitely a trick I'll be using in the future...makes for some cool effects. At lot of the photos are actually quite nice, but the two above are my preferred ones.
17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 31, not long to go 17. April 2010 10:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 31 not long to goShareIt is now week 31, so only 9-10 weeks until baby is due to arrive.Kim is getting a fair bit bigger and the baby is now very active. So far things looks good although Kim is worried that the boy will be a shortie like mummy.
11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Water fun 11. April 2010 09:44 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetwater funShare I read this article about how to take water photos in an easy way. The photos is taken using a bare flash firing onto a white background at 1/8th power. The blue colour is because I (on purpose) changed the white balance of the camera to Tungsten. I only had a shallow painting tray at my disposal. This paint residue in the bottom of the tray creates the pattern in the photo. I also couldn't get a nice formed drop pattern forming due to the drops hitting the bottom of the shallow tray unevenly. Lessons for next time: Use a deeper tray. Make it black so that no other colours penetrate and make dure the water can reach the edge of the tray. Next time I try I will use one of the large scanpans we have...I think it will be better suited.
6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Tasmania - Easter 2010 6. April 2010 12:19 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettasmania easter 2010ShareDuring the Easter Break Kim and I made a trip to Tasmania. This was to be our last holiday together before the baby arrives. Tasmania is an island south of Australia about 1.5 times larger than Denmark. The east coast is lightly populated and the west coast is mainly national parks and forests. We had rented a car to make it easier for us to get around and the first place we headed to was Cradle Mountains national park. This is probably one of the most iconic places in Tasmania and every Australian has seen the pictures of the mountain itself. The drive there was full of contrast. There has always been of criticism of the lumber industries in Tasmania and when you see the methods they use to cut down trees then it is easy to see why. They don't do selective cutting, they instead pretty much bulldoze whole areas which then take many decades to recover. One of the days there we did a number of walks within the park and around the lakes. Kim is 7 months pregnant and did really well although walking a bit slower than normal. We also did some walks to some of the lookouts and waterfalls in the park. I did have some time to experiment with some photos along the way. I really wanted to see some of the wildlife in the park, but unfortunately most of the animals are nocturnal (only out at night). The park had a bus going through the park at night time costing $50 for the two of us. We spoke to the driver and he said that we would not be able to leave the bus at any time. I really wanted to be able to get off the bus at take some wildlife photos so we instead decided to drive our rental car through the park late at night. We wouldn't have the luxury of the nighttime lights and the local knowledge of where to spot certain animals but we thought that the bus would be staying on the same road as we did anyhow. It turned out to be a really good idea. We managed to spot lots of Possums, Wallaby's (a small Kangaroo) and Wombats. We even spotted Quolls and a Tasmanian Devil. May has later told me that the frog in the photo is a 'Southern Brown Tree Frog' and that she keeps one of them as a pet. Below is photos of the animals we spotted: (The closeup photos of the Tasmanian devil and the Quoll I've borrowed, but the rest are my own photos.) After this we drove to Freycinet national park on the east coast. Along the way we stopped at a few scenic spots and wineries. One of the places we stopped was a place called Devils Gullet. It would have been really spectacular had it not been for the dense fog. It was a fairly long drive getting there and I was pretty buggered by the time we arrived to the B&B after driving most of the day with just a few stops on the way to rest and take photos. The sun started to set and I rushed Kim down to the beach in from of the place we were staying to take some portraits using some creative lighting. She wasn't too keen as the wind was a bit cold and we missed the actual sunset by just a couple of minutes. I did however manage to take a couple of photos of her. In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant called 'The edge' very close to the B&B. This turned out to the be highlight in terms of meals during the trip. It was very nice. On the way to the restaurant we spotted a Tasmanian owl and afterwards we did a drive through the national park spotting more Quolls, Possums and Wallabies. The next day we decided to do a number of other walks. The first one of the day included climbing up to the top of this saddle between two mountain tops to get a magnificent view of Wineglass Bay. The climb itself was spectacular in itself as the mountains are formed by this pink coloured granite (I was looking for climbing routes, but most of the granite looked completely barren of any holds...some lunatic would probably come and prove otherwise). Along the trail we we spotted a baby Black snake, a couple of Lizards and birds. We also made a drive up to 'Friendly Beach' where we took a lot of photos. This beach was mostly deserted apart from a couple of walkers and surfers. At sunset we drove to Honeymoon bay to get some scenic shots using the colour of the setting sun against the pink granite as well as some normal sunset photos. In the evening we had a clear sky with lots of stars. Because of the light population of Tasmania there is not a lot of city lights to disturb the stars gazing. It has been years ago since I was able to lie down and just look at the stars to see if I could spot any satellites moving across the sky (this evening I spotted 2). I used the opportunity to after dinner drive back to Honeymoon bay to do some star trail photography. I left Kim in the car as she didn't want to make the walk down to the beach in the dark without a torch. I did take two photos down there using a 30 minute exposure (the maximum my camera allows & @f4.0). They turned out reasonable okay considering what camera they are taken with (Nikon D50). Next day it was back to Sydney. We left Freycinet at 8.30am in the morning and I was stressing that we wouldn't make it back to the airport in time...but we did!
14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Week 25 14. March 2010 08:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetweek 25ShareIt is now week 25 and almost the third trimester. Kim is certainly getting a lot bigger these days but is still very active with swimming, yoga and walking (According to Kim baby is very active too). Both baby and mum are so far doing fine.They say that most of the growth is in the third trimester...she could be huge! We have finished painting the baby room and we have bought the most essential furniture such as a cot, a chest of drawers, car seats etc. It is now up to Kim to decorate the room so that it looks nice.
13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments Taste of Sydney 13. March 2010 09:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweettaste of sydneyShareToday Kim and I met up with Sasha and his wife to go to 'Taste of Sydney'. This is an annual event where the premier restaurants of sydney and food and wine producers showcase their food and wine.This year it was held in Centennial park which is the largest park in sydney which is pretty convenient for us.At the event they had what the call 'Chef's table'. This is where you can sit down with the chefs of some of the premier restaurants and they will tell you about their restaurants, their food and you can ask them questions. In the mean time they were serving us seafood, wine and cheese (I discovered a new cheese that I in particular really liked).They also had showcases where some of the chefs from some of sydney best restaurants show you how to cook different dishes. We went to one session where we saw Matt Moran from Aria prepare a lovely cured trout. This was cured like Gravad laks using salt, sugar, coreander and fennel and then cured a secod time using dijon mustard and dill. The different restaurants were also having some of their food for sale. Some of it was quite nice (I had a nice yellowfin tuna), but I don't think it was a proper representation of their food. It is difficult to prepare and cook in large quantities without access to proper kitchen facilities, so most of the food was more fancy fast food.
10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen 0 Comments King Lear 10. March 2010 10:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments Tweetking learShareLast weekend Kim and I went to see King Lear at the Sydney Opera House. Kim had managed to get cheap preview tickets on the third row from the stage which is pretty unheard of.The play wasn't anything fancy in terms of stage production, costumes or anything (Actually some of the actors were wearing fairly modern denim jeans).On the side of the stage they had positioned a drumkit and a girl was banging away all throughout the first half of the performance. I found this very distracting and annoying since I was already trying hard to concentrate on understanding the old Shakespearean English.During the second half they moved the drumkit off the stage, so I must say that I actually started to enjoy the play a lot more.Given that we got pretty cheap tickets I found the evening pretty good value, but I don't think I'd pay full price for this one.