ASK is a chain of Italian restaurants but unlike many chains this one actually offers very good food. It is not typically Italian, so if that is what you are looking for you are better off elsewhere. The staff are from all over the world and the food has definitely been adapted to suit British tastes better but I would recommend it nonetheless, especially the starters. Service is friendly and efficient and the only real drawback of this place is the acoustics in the restaurant - it can get so noisy it is difficult to have a conversation. Apart from that though ASK offers good food and good service at average prices and is worth a visit if you don't mind adapted Italian cuisine.

The flight was pretty normal but the approach to Heathrow was probably the most amazing I have ever seen. There was some cloud but it was just the right thickness so that you could see it being illuminated by the city below, glowing orange in the dark in some places, completely black in others where the cloud was thicker. It is very difficult to describe, but it was one of the most beautiful light effects I have seen. Shame my camera was in the overhead locker... I'm not expecting to see anything like that again too soon.

Hi Everybody!

This doesn't really have anything to do with my obviously world-famous travel exploits (ahem), so I'll make this hi-jacking of the platform brief.

For anybody who doesn't know, I'm currently training to be a playwright, and so it's with pride that I can announce my FIRST RADIO BROADCASTING of one of my plays!

It's called "The Visitors", and it's about 2 twins - Jack and Jill - in the womb.

We left the UK from Heathrow and flew to Frankfurt am Main, which is the start and end point for this road trip. When we arrived at the airport there was a tiny problem with the car we had rented (the navigation CD was missing but we weren't going to use it a lot anyway) and so we got upgraded two classes and ended up with a convertible - what an awesome deal just because of such a minor thing! We were all excited because now we had a chance of maybe even getting a bit of colour by driving through the mountains with the roof down. And also, we'd have a really amazing view and drive!

I left Staines to go to Royal Holloway first to meet up with the group and for us to be picked up to go to Gatwick airport. The bus was quite nice and it was a strange feeling being the one in charge for the first time. Our main instructor had been away from the club for a while due to committments in another part of the UK, and so I wasthe lucky one he trusted enough to lead the club until he was back. And that included taking and leading trips such as this one. Even though they were obviously all university students just like me, it felt like I was trying to control a group of little school kids. Constantly there was someone who wanted something or who coudn't be found when the gate was about to close. can't believe you never notice all this chaos when you're part of it... :)

Matt and I decided to go to New York more or less on impulse, in the middle of our academic years, and it was great not waiting for a break to come up. And somehow we managed to plan it so we wouldn't even have to miss any lectures. Great thing, being a postgrad student.

We had a very early flight because we wanted to arrive at JFK in the morning so we would have a full day there after landing. It was strange seeing Heathrow practically deserted, it just didn't feel right without the massive lines and the chaos. The flight itself was ok but boring, despite the fact that we watched two movies. I'm just not used to long-haul flights. After the guy at passport control made a (very friendly) comment about me not having any luggage apart from huge hand luggage we were off on the bus into Manhattan. And I think one of the greatest parts of our trips was getting off the bus: we hadn't really paid too much attention to where we were (we were tired) and stepping off the first thing we saw was Grand Central station and then a bit to the right the Chrysler building. And from that moment I knew I would love New York.

We went with some friends to Thorpe Park (http://www.thorpepark.co.uk/) in search of some thrills, to get scared sh**less and try not to loss our lunch while doing the loop-de-loop.  We tried out a number of the rides on offer (if you go there, get the fast track pass - waiting in line is not fun) but the Colossus, which was the first real roller coaster we went on, was voted the best of the day.  The ride lasted quite a while and with all the loops and corkscrews provided alot of entertainment and a fair bit of screaming from the passengers.  The 2nd favourite was the new Stealth ride which goes from 0-80mph in 2.3 seconds.  I think we lined up for over an hour and the ride lasted about a minute from sitting down to getting up.  That was sure a thrill ride, I managed to keep my hands up the whole way but the force on the body as you go from horizontal track to vertical made it difficult.

Stay away from No Way Out - general consensus was "crap".  It was short, it went backwards and you're in the dark.  The other main rollercoaster was the Nemisis Inferno where the track is above and you dangle below it.  It was quite a wierd experience and good fun.  For a bit of a laugh we also went on the Rumba Rapids.  We not only were near this ride at the time but needed something less stomach churning.  Was a fun little ride with next to no wait but with splashing water all over the place it may not have been the best idea as it was very cold.

Another little treat of going to the park was that we visited Staines.  Didn't see any of  Da West Staines Massiv... perhaps next time.

Not sure whether this trip really qualifies as proper travelling, but we did get to see a lot of things, just in a smaler area and a shorter space of time.

First if was off to Luton airport to catch a dogdy RyanAir flight or whatever it was, including overpriced meals and drinks that turn your stomach. The airport we're flying to is Nimes, and no big airlines go there. The reason became quite clear when we arrived there first, because it's probably the tiniest airport I have ever been to (possibly with the exception of Pisa, I think).

Although I am not a huge fan of football (soccer) I am very interested in the internationals and for me the World Cup is always a must. I usually just watch it on TV rather than get fed up in a crowd, but when Germany was hosting it was a different matter. Unfortunately I was in the UK for most of the World Cup because I had committments to see clients in my counselling placement. But I was determined to see at least a little bit of it just to experience what it feels like to be the host country and the host city for a few matches, so I managed to get there for 5 days - better than nothing. And even though it turned out to be far too short and to early on int the tournament it was probably one of my nicest trips back home.

Momo is a small Japanese place where you can either eat in or have a takeaway. There are not many seats and it is often busy, but turnover is relatively quick. From your seats you can have a look into the kitchen area and observe them making your dishes. They mainly specialise in Sushi and several types of wraps. It's all geared towards a quick lunch, which is also reflected in the opening times: they close at 9pm or so - too early for an evening restaurant. Staff are very nice and always friendly.