The Adventures of Lorie and Brian Groth

Thoughts about traveling Around-The-World: November 2005

In November 2005, Brian and Lorie circled the world heading West from Seattle via Beijing, Tokyo, Taipei, Dubai, Zurich, Milan, Venice, Frankfurt, Berkley, and ending back home in Seattle. These are their thoughts as they circled the world. (24 days total)

Food

Best meal:

Brian: Swiss chocolates for dinner on the train from Zurich to Milan. Second is the hot chocolate (not chocolate-flavored-milk) in Venice. Second might be the Thai dinner in Taipei – partially because it was really good, but also because nobody would ever find it unless you knew about and you spoke Thai.     

Lorie: Grand Hyatt Beijing sweet and sour prawns, room service.

Worst food:

Brian: Some strange bowl for lunch in Beijing with rice burnt to the small pot and unknown and strange-tasting meats mixed in.     

Lorie: Coagulated mushroom omelet on a Lufthansa flight.   

Weirdest food:

Brian: Avocado milkshake in Dubai.     

Lorie: A sip of Brian’s avocado milkshake.  

Locations

Favorite city, and why:

Brian: Zurich, Switzerland – clean air, cool vibe, good transportation, water and mountain activities.

Lorie: Zurich is the most pleasant because of the clean air and all the shops in the little streets, but Venice is a close second because of the little streets, lots of shopping, it’s totally unique, and it’s just darn cool.

Place to visit again:

Brian: Zurich in summer for the water and the hiking and in winter for the skiing. Second is Dubai after 2008, which is when much of the construction plus the light-rail train should be running.

Lorie: Totally dude.

Best hotel:

Brian: Central Plaza Hotel in Zurich – location, location, location.

Lorie: Mansions at Roppongi in Tokyo.  

Experiences

Most interesting or fun activity:

Brian: “Snow-boarding” down the sand dunes in the deserts of Dubai.

Lorie: Summer Palace and Panda Tour in Beijing. Second is riding in the SUV over and around the sand dunes in the deserts of Dubai.  

Something new that was learned:

Brian: Also, white head dresses are from the UAE and red and white checkered head dresses are from Saudi Arabia.   

Lorie: Real peanuts exist outside the USA – some are good, some are bad just like when we were kids. Plus, Oolong Tea is from Taipei.  

Most interesting space:

Brian: The lounge (Trilogy) on the roof of The Palace in Dubai. Second is the lounge at the top of the Burj al Arab Hotel (only 7-star hotel in the world), which has a great view, cool lights, and hangs 54 floors above the ocean.

Lorie: Trilogy lounge at The Palace in Dubai.

Strangest experience:

Brian: Seeing a ski area inside a mall in the middle of the desert (Ski Dubai).

Lorie: Seeing people in Ski Dubai wearing long coats to cover their burkas.  

Global market dominance:

Brian: Kit Kat candy bars can be purchased everywhere.

Lorie: Starbucks.

Biggest mistake:

Brian: Traveling to different climates – it makes packing difficult.   

Lorie: Two cheese fondues for lunch, plus bread, salad, wine, and water.   

Biggest challenge about traveling the world in one trip:

Brian: Learning 5 different (6 including English) languages enough to say “hello”, “thanks”, “yes”, and “no”.     

Lorie: Learning the logistics of air and train routes and time tables.    

Missed most from Seattle:

Brian: Milo and Ripley.     

Lorie: Ripley and Milo.   

Best advice to give:

Brian: Reserve the hotel car from the airport whenever possible and plan to purchase luggage or bring extra luggage to begin with.   

Lorie: Always fly business class (upgrade with miles) when possible, book hotels in advance, and always bring scrunchies (to pull hair up).  

Packing

Most happy about packing:

Brian: The camera, but the United Red Carpet Lounge card is well worth it, especially when you see the automatic beer-pouring machine in the Tokyo lounge.      

Lorie: Tweezers.    

Least happy about packing:

Brian: Clothes.    

Lorie: Laptop computer.    

Wish we had packed:

Brian: Bathing suit for the beaches in Dubai.     

Lorie: Hair conditioner.