Well here we are in barcelona again.... but i´m geting ahead of myself....
If you hadn´t guessed we haven´t had time to keep uptodate with this thing, so we thought we´d just put up a quick post about where we are at now.
Contiki finished about 2 weeks ago, we´ve had our extra week in Germany, and our extra week in Spain is about to end. Tomorrow we start our flights to Egypt. First we go barcalona to london, then its out to Cario, can´t wait.
Contiki finished, it was a shame to see the of contiki in some ways, but it was also good to get out on our own again. Had some great times and meet some awesome people. Some of the highlights where the swiss alps, with there amazing natural beauty, Vienna, the city as beautiful as (i think more than) Paris, and absoluty spotless as well (even the horse´s pulling tourist carrages have little poo catchers) and full of really nice people, Munich and the Octoberfest, great beers, great food, and then an awesome Roller coaster ride ;), Debrovnic, Prage, and Corfu where all awesome as well, Troy, the legend that tuned out to be more than a legand, and they still don´t know exactly what went on there, and Galipoli was an amazing place to see with your own eyes, its easy to see why it went so wrong and when you look at the surronding area you have to think ¨Why didn´t they just land 1Km further down where the flat land is¨
Then it was out on our own again. We got our flight out to Salzburg, got a train up to Berchtesgaden, and jump on a tour upto Hitlers Eagles nest or Kehlsteinhaus as the locals call it. Unfortionatly the weather wasn´t the best so we had no view of the mountains from up there, but its an amazing place, not just the Kehlsteinhaus but the entire area, theirs bunkers to be seen as well as a cool museum full of stuff about the area during the Nazi era. We also had a local Austrain/German meal while we where there, Porknuckle with dumblings and sour kraut, washed down with a stein (1 Litre of course) of beer (Megan had a Raddler which is like a shandy), all for bout 35 Euro for both of us.
After Salzburg it was onto a train to Berlin. One thing about the trains is they are really easy to get on and off, and they always drop you off at a major underground termainl, and the under grounds are easy as to use too....
Berlin was amazing, had abit of a problem, the hostel we origanlly booked ¨had a gas leek¨ so we coldn´t stay there (i think the gay owner was just afraid of having a Hetro married couple staying there) so we ended up booking into a place called ¨3 little pigs¨at the last moment and with out doing alot of research, The place turned out to be awesome, realy helpful staff, clean, tidy, in the middle of town and had German contantal breakfasts (breads, cheese, salami, ham, cerial, salami, coffee... did i mention the SALAMI´S?) for 4.50. he hostel was about 500m as the crow flys to ¨check-point charly¨. While in Berlin we did a walking tour of ¨Red Berlin¨which covered what went on in berlin post WWII, and tended to concertrate more on East than west, and we went on a tour of sachsenhausen concertration camp. Both where very interseting. The red berlin tour was very informative, and the tour guide was great. At the end of the tour he summed up by pointing out that as bad as its made out that red berlin was, since the wall came down, unemplyoment and crime have risen, and the only people that can say for sure which was better was the people that lived through it and are living in the fall out today.
After Germany it was onto Spain, and our Easyjet experience. Not only did we have to wait at every single point from checkin to boarding for between 30min to 2 hours, but the plane landed about an hour late and you where stuffed in so tight it made a herc look like luxury. For what it would have cost extra to fly british airways or one of the other local operators it´s well worth it for the sake of comfort, but we got there in the end.
In madrid it was a new underground to learn, and a new hostel to find, again it was in the middle of town which was great, it was clean and tidy, the staff where helpful when we where able to get past the laungage thing, and we had our own bathroom, but the place had no sound proofing at all, which is a problem when your on one of the main streets of Madrid. But we got over it. Madrid isn´t as nice as Berlin, and after the organised effiency of Germany, Spain time and spain things took abit of getting used to.
We took a tour out to Toledo, and the valley of the fallen, which was awesome, and toured the city of madrid on foot as well, and after Berlin, it was very disappointing. There was a Military parade while we where there, which was cool to watch. Then it was off to the train station for another ride, this time to Granada. At the train station we decided to ring ahead and let the Hotel know we where going to be late getting in, only to find out that the travel agent had booked us in for the wrong day, and the hotel was full... the manager said to give him a call once we got there and he would see what he could sort out for us. Luck was on our side and he had a late no show, so we where able to get a room. Which was lucky cause when we arrived so did an electrical storm and it was pissing down by the time we got to the hotel.
Didn´t get much sleep that night, seems to be the way it is at the moment, got up relatively early and got onto the hop on hop off bus, toured around the city, past the Ahlumbra Palace, Megan wanted to sort out the train tickets and we thought we would come back to the Palace. We got to the train station and very easily got upgraded to first class, so I don´t know why the NZ company couldn´t do that for us. We got lunch and then got back on the bus and went up to the Palace. Unfortunately for us when we got there, the tickets into the Palace were sold out. This was a bit disappointing as it was the whole reason for going to Granada. But we walked around the gardens, into one of the empty palaces, a bath house and looked at the palace from the outside. These things happen. I´ll just have to ask John to so me the pictures he took.
That night it was onto the overnight train and up to Barcelona. Thank goodness we did have a sleeper cos it was a long trip. And we ended up being an hour late. We did have a very nice dinner, it felt very posh eating dinner in the dining carriage, while cattle class were all sitting in their seats.
Barcelona became a time to relax and wind down a bit. We´ve been here before and our hostel is location in an area we have previously been too, so there was some comfort in this. The hostel let us check in early, which was great. We later headed out to Sangrada Familia, the unfinished Spanish church that had Gaudi as the architect, I believe a kiwi is currently the architect. It still unfinished, and I think its somewhere around 2040. Row and I had differing opinions on the church, he didn´t like it and I did. I believed I was standing in the middle of history being built, which I´m sure he did as well, but it was definitely different inside. I hope they finish it in my lifetime as I would like to come back and see it finished. Second day in Barcelona we went out to Montserrat on another tour. This one wasn´t so good, it was just basically an expensive bus ride out to the Church and Monastery. The guide was crap, but at least the views were pretty awesome. Still good to get out of the city. We mucked about for the rest of the afternoon.
Tomorrow we get on a plane back to London and then onto Egypt, this is the part I´m really looking forward too. Hope everyone is well, sorry the updates haven´t really been as often as they could be... wait till you see the photos and here the stories... you´ll laugh...
Hugs & kisses and lots of love Rowan and Megan xxxx
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Swiss alps
Woke up today in the swiss alps... clouded over and raining :(
The plan was to take a train up to the mopuntain, but last night renna told us that the ski place was closed as its the end of the session, so that along with the weather made us decide to can heading up, and to check out th local area instead. Ian went and talked to reception and found out about a cable car and nature walk you can do, and a cool water fall that has cut its way into the rock, so we got tickets and headed off.
we headed through town and stopped at a phone booth, megan rung Barb and talked to her and Rob for a while, then jumped onto the cable car and headed up the hill for a walk. The veiws from the cable car where amazing, we where in a glacial vally, the vertical sides, maybe 1.5Km wide.... and all snow topped. We didn't go upto the snow line at all, but there was abit of snow in the lee of trees and stuff that hadn't defrosted since the last snow....
we walked for about an hour, just going slowly taking in the sights and taking pictures along the way, stopped at a little hill side town for lunch, there was a statue there for the guy that invented Slalom racing... and hotel after hotel after hotel. By this time the weather had cleared up so we decided to take a cog train up abit higher to see the veiw... this thing is basically a train, but instead of driving wheels it get pulled up by a cable... and it goes almost vertically. we climbed about 4000m in this thing, jumped out, had a look at the veiw and got more pictures then headed back down, caught up with Ian and Simon who had come with us, then started the treck back down. There where two different cable cars going up so we where able to take a different route down. the second cable car was like the other, but instead of following the hillside down, it went stright over a shear cliff, probably 900m high, quite breath taking when you head over the edge and the ground disappears below you.
once down the bottom, we caught a bus to the water-fall that has cut its way into the rock. the swiss have dug tunnels into the rock along side it so you can get a good view, which is great, because in places the water fall is about 10 meters inside the rock face. saying water fall is abit missleading, its actually about 10 of them, draingin the water from 3 different glacers.... its an amazing sight even at this time of year, it must be out of this wold during the spring thaw...
after more awsome views and photos, we headed down, jumped on a bus and headed back to camp. There where two birthdays on tour today, so we had a party, and the theme was "garbage bags". You could wear what ever you wanted, so long as it was made from garbage bags... Megan did an awsome job of putting together our outfits, i went Fred Flintstone, and Megan went as Whilma, The our outfits rocked :) there where some preaty cool others there too.
and that was about it for the day
hope all is well
R&M
The plan was to take a train up to the mopuntain, but last night renna told us that the ski place was closed as its the end of the session, so that along with the weather made us decide to can heading up, and to check out th local area instead. Ian went and talked to reception and found out about a cable car and nature walk you can do, and a cool water fall that has cut its way into the rock, so we got tickets and headed off.
we headed through town and stopped at a phone booth, megan rung Barb and talked to her and Rob for a while, then jumped onto the cable car and headed up the hill for a walk. The veiws from the cable car where amazing, we where in a glacial vally, the vertical sides, maybe 1.5Km wide.... and all snow topped. We didn't go upto the snow line at all, but there was abit of snow in the lee of trees and stuff that hadn't defrosted since the last snow....
we walked for about an hour, just going slowly taking in the sights and taking pictures along the way, stopped at a little hill side town for lunch, there was a statue there for the guy that invented Slalom racing... and hotel after hotel after hotel. By this time the weather had cleared up so we decided to take a cog train up abit higher to see the veiw... this thing is basically a train, but instead of driving wheels it get pulled up by a cable... and it goes almost vertically. we climbed about 4000m in this thing, jumped out, had a look at the veiw and got more pictures then headed back down, caught up with Ian and Simon who had come with us, then started the treck back down. There where two different cable cars going up so we where able to take a different route down. the second cable car was like the other, but instead of following the hillside down, it went stright over a shear cliff, probably 900m high, quite breath taking when you head over the edge and the ground disappears below you.
once down the bottom, we caught a bus to the water-fall that has cut its way into the rock. the swiss have dug tunnels into the rock along side it so you can get a good view, which is great, because in places the water fall is about 10 meters inside the rock face. saying water fall is abit missleading, its actually about 10 of them, draingin the water from 3 different glacers.... its an amazing sight even at this time of year, it must be out of this wold during the spring thaw...
after more awsome views and photos, we headed down, jumped on a bus and headed back to camp. There where two birthdays on tour today, so we had a party, and the theme was "garbage bags". You could wear what ever you wanted, so long as it was made from garbage bags... Megan did an awsome job of putting together our outfits, i went Fred Flintstone, and Megan went as Whilma, The our outfits rocked :) there where some preaty cool others there too.
and that was about it for the day
hope all is well
R&M
Monday, October 1, 2007
Day 10´- Venice Italy
Today we were taking the boat into Venice. It was a private charter, and then public transport back to the camp site.
The boat ride was great, the water smells pretty bad, but the view. I did expect the city to be built with taller buildings, although in a way it was a nice change. First stop was San Marco Square, which has a bell tower, palace and basilica. Apparently the basilica has very uneven floors, would have been interesting to see. After taking some photos and looking at the bridge of sighs (the saying goes that prisoners would walk along the bridge after being sentenced and sigh after looking at Venice for the last time), we walked around to the square with all the pigeons, there were hundreds of them. We brought some food and fed them, we have photos on them on my arms.
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Not enough time to finish this so I´ll finish it next time
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The boat ride was great, the water smells pretty bad, but the view. I did expect the city to be built with taller buildings, although in a way it was a nice change. First stop was San Marco Square, which has a bell tower, palace and basilica. Apparently the basilica has very uneven floors, would have been interesting to see. After taking some photos and looking at the bridge of sighs (the saying goes that prisoners would walk along the bridge after being sentenced and sigh after looking at Venice for the last time), we walked around to the square with all the pigeons, there were hundreds of them. We brought some food and fed them, we have photos on them on my arms.
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Not enough time to finish this so I´ll finish it next time
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Day 9 - Venice Italy
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Oh my gosh its been so long since I´ve posted anything, finally getting the chance to catch up a bit in Heidelburg Germany. Hope everyone is doing well. Luv Row and Megs
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Another travel daz, we´re starting to get use to these. This time we´re leaving France and going to Italy. Venice here we come via Verona (home of Romeo and Juliet) Packing up was slow we were trying to get away early, but it wasn´t working. Chris our driver was leaving us for a couple of days off. So he wanted to get there early, as it was we only just got away on time.
On the road again.... first stop after the Italian border for pizza, and it was good. The only problem with this leg of the journey NO BOOK!!! I had finished it and now I had nothing to read. All the book stores had things in their own language not English, well to be honest I didnät look verz hard for an english book, so I slept instead.
After the services stop, I got the diary out and started catching up. The last time it was written in only finished the 2nd day in Paris. I had a lot to catch up on, and it was one of those things I didn´t want to start cos there was so much to catch up on.
The next stop was in Veron, the home of Romeo and Juliet, this meant I had three hours of writingand I made the most of it. 4 dazs written up, but the 4th not quite complete. Well that was bz the end of the daz. In Verona we walked past the old Arena, which use to be four stories, but now it is onlz two. Thez still have plays in there which is quite cool. Then it was a short walk to Juliet´s balcony and her statue. Row had a photo with his hand on her left boob, it´s suppose to be good luck... seems there are a lot of things like that around the world. Funny thing is that her boob is worn down so she hardly has any left.
Then we had a walk around the markets (on our own), got some nice fruit, a post card and wondered back to where we met everyone. Interesting point about the balcony, it was actually built in the 19th century, so it can´t be her original one. Although it would be interesting to know whether the story is true or not.
Back on the bus agian, bound for Venice. Got there wuite early, unpacked and set up camp and then went for the bar, well after dinner. Jellz our cook wasn´t feeling very well, she finally got the bug that was going around.
The bar went off that night, everyone was drinking attitude adjustors (crap loads of alcohol in them) I didn´t have one, as I didn´t want to get smashed, but I did have a few beers so I was still tipsy by the end of the night. Off to bed about midnight, tomorrow we´ll be in Venice.
Oh my gosh its been so long since I´ve posted anything, finally getting the chance to catch up a bit in Heidelburg Germany. Hope everyone is doing well. Luv Row and Megs
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Another travel daz, we´re starting to get use to these. This time we´re leaving France and going to Italy. Venice here we come via Verona (home of Romeo and Juliet) Packing up was slow we were trying to get away early, but it wasn´t working. Chris our driver was leaving us for a couple of days off. So he wanted to get there early, as it was we only just got away on time.
On the road again.... first stop after the Italian border for pizza, and it was good. The only problem with this leg of the journey NO BOOK!!! I had finished it and now I had nothing to read. All the book stores had things in their own language not English, well to be honest I didnät look verz hard for an english book, so I slept instead.
After the services stop, I got the diary out and started catching up. The last time it was written in only finished the 2nd day in Paris. I had a lot to catch up on, and it was one of those things I didn´t want to start cos there was so much to catch up on.
The next stop was in Veron, the home of Romeo and Juliet, this meant I had three hours of writingand I made the most of it. 4 dazs written up, but the 4th not quite complete. Well that was bz the end of the daz. In Verona we walked past the old Arena, which use to be four stories, but now it is onlz two. Thez still have plays in there which is quite cool. Then it was a short walk to Juliet´s balcony and her statue. Row had a photo with his hand on her left boob, it´s suppose to be good luck... seems there are a lot of things like that around the world. Funny thing is that her boob is worn down so she hardly has any left.
Then we had a walk around the markets (on our own), got some nice fruit, a post card and wondered back to where we met everyone. Interesting point about the balcony, it was actually built in the 19th century, so it can´t be her original one. Although it would be interesting to know whether the story is true or not.
Back on the bus agian, bound for Venice. Got there wuite early, unpacked and set up camp and then went for the bar, well after dinner. Jellz our cook wasn´t feeling very well, she finally got the bug that was going around.
The bar went off that night, everyone was drinking attitude adjustors (crap loads of alcohol in them) I didn´t have one, as I didn´t want to get smashed, but I did have a few beers so I was still tipsy by the end of the night. Off to bed about midnight, tomorrow we´ll be in Venice.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Day 8 - Antibes French Riveria - France
Today was bliss, the campsite was clean, showers nice, toilets with toilet seats. Bliss I can tell you, not only that we got a sleep in, we didn't have to be at the bus till 9am. This mean't no alarm. Everyone got up relatively early and had breakfast, poor Jelly thought she was running late, but we were just early. Got breakfast, Row was a dishy so he had to do the dishes, they started late, therefore we were running late. Not really a problem, we are on holiday after all.
1st stop the french perfumery. We were told how perfum was made, something like 2 tons of flowers to make 1 litre of essense. No wonder it is so expensive. Row let me buy 5 bottles for E175 and then he brought a face cream and some smelles for him, very cheap. After walking through we walked back to the bus with an awesome view down to the water.
Back onto the bus and into Nice, about 10 mins away. We got dropped off and had a free afternoon. Its right next to the water, so it was nice to think we could just relax close to the water.
Row and I decided to get some lunch, so we walked off the beaten track a bit and had fun trying to order lunch. We got it to takeaway, and walked back to a waterfall with a walkway that had some nice shade and sat down to eat lunch.
Today is our last day in France, tomorrow we leave for Italy. After we finished lunch we walked up the main street, which has a tram-train, but the tracks were under repair so we didn't see it running. We decided to find an internet cafe and catch up on emails etc and write on the blog for an hour. The cafe was a bit doggy, the keys on the keyboard hardly worked, but we got there.
After this, we walked down to the beach and got an ice cream. We didn't give them enough money, it was funny trying to understand what they were asking. I looked at the price and suddenly realised what she was saying and gave her extra money.
It was so hot that we headed for the beach, we were just going to walk along the beach, but when we got down the stairs and saw some of the guys on our tour so we sat and chatted with them. I put my togs on and went for a swim. It was really cold when you first got in, then it was beautiful. The only problem was that there was alot of rubbish in the water. When some thing came towards us, (lots of dirty water) I decided to get out, I'm really pleased I didn't put my head under. Incredible to think that they don't care about their environment as much as we do. It will hit them sooner or later.
After the swim we thought we would go and see the old town markets. The old town was very similar to the gothic area in Barcelona. In that everything was very close together. The look of the buildings weren't the same, but the market was in a square and all the little tiny avenues leasing off were similar.
The market wasn't really a market it was fully of antiques. If you had wanted to find silverware and other antiques, it would have been the perfect place, but for campers not a good market.
Tonight its off to Monaco - I'll write more on this soon.
1st stop the french perfumery. We were told how perfum was made, something like 2 tons of flowers to make 1 litre of essense. No wonder it is so expensive. Row let me buy 5 bottles for E175 and then he brought a face cream and some smelles for him, very cheap. After walking through we walked back to the bus with an awesome view down to the water.
Back onto the bus and into Nice, about 10 mins away. We got dropped off and had a free afternoon. Its right next to the water, so it was nice to think we could just relax close to the water.
Row and I decided to get some lunch, so we walked off the beaten track a bit and had fun trying to order lunch. We got it to takeaway, and walked back to a waterfall with a walkway that had some nice shade and sat down to eat lunch.
Today is our last day in France, tomorrow we leave for Italy. After we finished lunch we walked up the main street, which has a tram-train, but the tracks were under repair so we didn't see it running. We decided to find an internet cafe and catch up on emails etc and write on the blog for an hour. The cafe was a bit doggy, the keys on the keyboard hardly worked, but we got there.
After this, we walked down to the beach and got an ice cream. We didn't give them enough money, it was funny trying to understand what they were asking. I looked at the price and suddenly realised what she was saying and gave her extra money.
It was so hot that we headed for the beach, we were just going to walk along the beach, but when we got down the stairs and saw some of the guys on our tour so we sat and chatted with them. I put my togs on and went for a swim. It was really cold when you first got in, then it was beautiful. The only problem was that there was alot of rubbish in the water. When some thing came towards us, (lots of dirty water) I decided to get out, I'm really pleased I didn't put my head under. Incredible to think that they don't care about their environment as much as we do. It will hit them sooner or later.
After the swim we thought we would go and see the old town markets. The old town was very similar to the gothic area in Barcelona. In that everything was very close together. The look of the buildings weren't the same, but the market was in a square and all the little tiny avenues leasing off were similar.
The market wasn't really a market it was fully of antiques. If you had wanted to find silverware and other antiques, it would have been the perfect place, but for campers not a good market.
Tonight its off to Monaco - I'll write more on this soon.
Day 7 - Antibes French Riveria - France
Today started at sparrows... about 6am (not that early really, but we're on holiday). Breakfast, tents down, bus packed.....and......then we waited. The bus driver had gone over on his hours the day before, so we had to wait till he'd had enough time off before we could hit the road, but when we finally did, it was get comfortable and wait some more... it was going to be a long day in the bus.
During the start of the trip we did introductions. Everyone got up and jumped on the bus microphone and told everybody who they were, where they came from, and tell an emparrising story. It was quite good to put names to faces, or though i still can't name everybody on the tour, but i'm getting there. Megan told the story of how we got together, which went down a treat. but once that was over, most of us had alittle sleep.
After a couple of hours we had our first "Service stop". Services are areas off the side of the main drag where you can park up, get gas, coffee use toilets and things like that. Most are well setup and you see the every 30min or so along the roads. Anyway, when we got to this one it was stinking hot... which was nice cos thats why we came at this time of year... so we had a coffee and did the usual stuff and jumped back on the bus, and went to sleep before the next stop.
The next stop was a little gypsy town called Aigues Mortes. This was a cool little town that is completely walled in. The whole town is within the walls and at the moment they are celebrating the Festival of Louis IX. Everyone was dressed up in gypsy clothing, there were horses rides, shows (that we didn't see), all the shop attendants were dressed up. (How they could handle being dressed up in the heat I've got no idea), we had fun ordering lunch, well i did, Row didn't feel very well. We were a bit worried that he was going to get sick, but turned out in the end to just be a bit of dehydration.
We walked around the town and had to pay for the toilets (bit of a foreign concept, although the superloos are starting to pop up everywhere at home). We got some photos and then just as we were leaving we brought a bottle of local wine.
Both Row and I were sad to leave Aigues Morte, we could have spent a day or two looking around. Its definitely a place Ian and June should visit when they come over to France again.
Back on the bus, my gosh we truely are going to live in this thing. Bound for the French Riveria, not sure if we had to stop again, but if we did, it would have only been a services stop. It was late in the day when we made camp about 7pm, it was everyone hands in to get things done.
Once we had dinner it was free time. I was going to go to the theme park, but ended up going to the bar for a quiet beer. Then off to bed, its been a long day. I was looking forward to tomorrow, as we're going to Nice and a french perfumery. For now its a good night sleep.
R&M
During the start of the trip we did introductions. Everyone got up and jumped on the bus microphone and told everybody who they were, where they came from, and tell an emparrising story. It was quite good to put names to faces, or though i still can't name everybody on the tour, but i'm getting there. Megan told the story of how we got together, which went down a treat. but once that was over, most of us had alittle sleep.
After a couple of hours we had our first "Service stop". Services are areas off the side of the main drag where you can park up, get gas, coffee use toilets and things like that. Most are well setup and you see the every 30min or so along the roads. Anyway, when we got to this one it was stinking hot... which was nice cos thats why we came at this time of year... so we had a coffee and did the usual stuff and jumped back on the bus, and went to sleep before the next stop.
The next stop was a little gypsy town called Aigues Mortes. This was a cool little town that is completely walled in. The whole town is within the walls and at the moment they are celebrating the Festival of Louis IX. Everyone was dressed up in gypsy clothing, there were horses rides, shows (that we didn't see), all the shop attendants were dressed up. (How they could handle being dressed up in the heat I've got no idea), we had fun ordering lunch, well i did, Row didn't feel very well. We were a bit worried that he was going to get sick, but turned out in the end to just be a bit of dehydration.
We walked around the town and had to pay for the toilets (bit of a foreign concept, although the superloos are starting to pop up everywhere at home). We got some photos and then just as we were leaving we brought a bottle of local wine.
Both Row and I were sad to leave Aigues Morte, we could have spent a day or two looking around. Its definitely a place Ian and June should visit when they come over to France again.
Back on the bus, my gosh we truely are going to live in this thing. Bound for the French Riveria, not sure if we had to stop again, but if we did, it would have only been a services stop. It was late in the day when we made camp about 7pm, it was everyone hands in to get things done.
Once we had dinner it was free time. I was going to go to the theme park, but ended up going to the bar for a quiet beer. Then off to bed, its been a long day. I was looking forward to tomorrow, as we're going to Nice and a french perfumery. For now its a good night sleep.
R&M
Day 6 - Barcelona Spain
Well today we woke up in Bacelona, and it wasn't raining :D
It was a normal morning, up and about fair early, and onto the bus for a trip into town. We did driving tour of the city and learnt abit about Spain's history. Seems it was a big place back in the day, but in more recent time its been abit of a nothing country, they weren't involved in either of the two world wars, but did have a rather bloody civil war between the two world wars...
The city itself is quite modern to look at, a big change from London and Paris. It was the sight of the 92 olympic games, and that can been seen through the city in the form of sporting arenas everywhere. There was one big church that we had a good look at, but I can't remember (he can't but i can Sangra Familia - Gaudi was one of the architects) the name of it... its still under construction, even though they started building it back before 1910... things go a little slower on spanish time. They are meant to finish in the year 2040, but aparently the date changes everytime Contiki go there... so who knows when it will be finally finished.
After the driving tour, we did abit of a walking tour through the old gothic part of the city. it was like stepping back in time. Old stone walls, and cobble pathways, narrow streets, wood and wrought iron doors and gateways. We went through to the old town square where Columbus was meet back, and then down some more narrow allys to an area that was used as an execution area for anybody that didn't agree with the king during the 1930 spainish civil war. From there our tour manager lead us out of the gothic town (which is almost a maze) and into the new town, where we had the day to ourselves. Because Megan and I are heading back to Barcelona by ourselves at the end of the Contiki trip, we decided to just take it easy and have a look around. We walked up and down the main street, got some lunch at a little local place (which cost heaps about 50 Euro, we normal spend about 15 Euro), and just generally took in the sights of the area.
At around 5pm, we meet back up with the bus and headed out to watch a Flaminco Dancing show. It was realy good to watch, and at the end we did some "latin dancing" as a group for abit of fun, it was a real laugh and well worth it. Its not something easy to describe, but it was very interesting to watch. They served us sangrea which is a red wine with something added to it, its quite sweet with a hint of spice to it. i didn't think it was to bad, but Megan wasn't impressed with it.
After the the show we headed down to Port Olympic for dinner. This seems to be the pary area of Barcelona and there where people everywhere. We had dinner in quite a large restaurant with most of the others off our tour, then headed home on the bus. On the way back we went past some water fountains that had been built for the 1929 world expo.... it was AMAZING. and awsome sight, was lights and sound, it was well worth missing the night out on the town to see it.
And that was barccelona :D
R&M
Day 5 - Barcelona Spain
Well today was a quite day.... two reasons for that, the first was that it was a travel day which ment we spent most of the day sitting on our bums in the coach, the other was that about 15 people on the bus where throwing up and had the runs because of a stomach bug that is going around Paris (or at least the camp site we stayed at).
It all started at 6am... well for Megan and I any way, as we didn´t get the bug, but for those that did, first call was 4am. Those that got the bug weren´t alot of use as you can imagine, but we have a really good group of people on the tour so every one that was fine pulled together to pull the camp down and pack the bus. Packing the bus was interesting as the bus driver was on the dunny as he got sick to... but we got under way on time. We had to stop evey hour or so for the driver and others to us the bathroom, after the second stop, our tour manager organised another driver for us, which sped up the trip....
Not much to say about the trip really, just driving across the country side. we did stop at an old Roman Aquaduct... still standing and still in pretty good condition given that its been standing for about 1950 years give or take... really amazing to see what they could accomplish way back then, and makes me wonder where we would be if there had been no darkage...
Finally made it into Barcelona, it was fine when we pulled up, but as we where putting up the tents it started to rain, seems to be the way things work on our trip... but it cleared up pretty soon after, so it wasn´t to bad...
That was about it for the day... mostly just travelling really....
R&M
It all started at 6am... well for Megan and I any way, as we didn´t get the bug, but for those that did, first call was 4am. Those that got the bug weren´t alot of use as you can imagine, but we have a really good group of people on the tour so every one that was fine pulled together to pull the camp down and pack the bus. Packing the bus was interesting as the bus driver was on the dunny as he got sick to... but we got under way on time. We had to stop evey hour or so for the driver and others to us the bathroom, after the second stop, our tour manager organised another driver for us, which sped up the trip....
Not much to say about the trip really, just driving across the country side. we did stop at an old Roman Aquaduct... still standing and still in pretty good condition given that its been standing for about 1950 years give or take... really amazing to see what they could accomplish way back then, and makes me wonder where we would be if there had been no darkage...
Finally made it into Barcelona, it was fine when we pulled up, but as we where putting up the tents it started to rain, seems to be the way things work on our trip... but it cleared up pretty soon after, so it wasn´t to bad...
That was about it for the day... mostly just travelling really....
R&M
Day 4 - Lyon France
Today is a travel day. One of the many to come were we spend the entire day on the coach. I didn't want to pack up, I had got use to Paris and could definitely have spent more time here. This is definitely somewhere I would like to come back too.
The countryside goes past, sometimes I look out and sometimes I read, lots of people sleep. It becomes a long day, although I expect we'll all get use to it, if not well, I don't know.
We shop about every three hours for toliets, drinks and food which I imagine could be quite expensive, so we're trying to only have a coffee at none lunch stops. We also stopped at a supermarket, so we brought some wine, very cheap (E0.97) (Don't know how good it will be). Also brought some cheese.
We stopped at a Chateau that Contiki owns, and was taken through the wine process. Its still very manual here, even the picking is done by hand. The grape vines are very low to the ground. And there are paddocks and paddocks of them. It makes the countryside look so beautiful.
The wine was very interesting, not really one would drink, but the bottle is etched, so we brought one. It will be nice to have that with dinner, it might be nicer with a meal.
It was nice to walk along a french country road, and look around. We didn't have very much time here, but the vinter's family have lived here in the same house for close to 400 years, that quite a legacy.
We then moved onto the campsite near Lyon unpacked and set up camp. We're only here for one night, this is really a pain, but that's life.
The cooks cooked dinner (Rowan was a cook) and then basically Row and I went to bed. I was tired after the long trip and we had to get up early this morning. Its time for sleep tomorrow we move onto Barcelona Spain.
R&M
The countryside goes past, sometimes I look out and sometimes I read, lots of people sleep. It becomes a long day, although I expect we'll all get use to it, if not well, I don't know.
We shop about every three hours for toliets, drinks and food which I imagine could be quite expensive, so we're trying to only have a coffee at none lunch stops. We also stopped at a supermarket, so we brought some wine, very cheap (E0.97) (Don't know how good it will be). Also brought some cheese.
We stopped at a Chateau that Contiki owns, and was taken through the wine process. Its still very manual here, even the picking is done by hand. The grape vines are very low to the ground. And there are paddocks and paddocks of them. It makes the countryside look so beautiful.
The wine was very interesting, not really one would drink, but the bottle is etched, so we brought one. It will be nice to have that with dinner, it might be nicer with a meal.
It was nice to walk along a french country road, and look around. We didn't have very much time here, but the vinter's family have lived here in the same house for close to 400 years, that quite a legacy.
We then moved onto the campsite near Lyon unpacked and set up camp. We're only here for one night, this is really a pain, but that's life.
The cooks cooked dinner (Rowan was a cook) and then basically Row and I went to bed. I was tired after the long trip and we had to get up early this morning. Its time for sleep tomorrow we move onto Barcelona Spain.
R&M
Monday, August 27, 2007
Contiki Day 3 - Paris
Still catching up on all the days we've been out ... currently in Nice and its a gorgeous day. Anyway talking about Paris.
Today we have a free day in Paris. We also had to try out public transport as our bus driver was given the day off. Contiki gave us train tickets into Paris and back out again so this was all good.
We jumped on the bus at about 8am in the morning bound for Paris, the bus ride was short and soon enough we were at the train station trying to figure out which train to take. Luckily there were only two ways to go, either away from Paris or towards Paris so it wasn't that hard to pick the right train.
Once in Paris we headed for Notre Dame. It had taken about an hour to get into town and then about 3/4 hr to walk to Notre Dame, so by now it was 9.30. We walked into Notre Dame as it was free to look around. It was amazing to look around and view inside a famous building. It was truely amazing... I know I'm saying that alot, but things truely are.
We spent around about 3/4 hr looking around the cathedral, then the decided to go up to the top. This cost us about 14 Euro. But the views of the city were great. Row remembers that there were about 422 stairs or around about that. They were very small and wound around a column, it was also raining and the stairs were made of stone so they were slippery.
After taking lots of photos, we climbed down and got lunch. Instead of taking public transport we decided to walk to where Napolean is buried. This took a bit of navigation, which I had worked out. Except after walking part of the way there, Row told me that the place I was going to was not where Napolean was buried, so then I got us very lost and a lovely French couple who spoke english stopped and helped us. So finally on our way in the right direction, then it absolutely poured with rain. Now I mean bucketed down, we got drenched. But we decided we could either stop and wait for it to stop, or continue as we were already wet. So we did just that.
Finally we got there, and luckily were wearing clothes that dried out pretty quickly, well except my shoes, Row was wearing jandels so he was alright. The good thing about the weather was that there were no queues. Went and had a look at the tomb. Aparently Napolean II was very full of himself and to look at his tomb you either look down from the second storey or look up from the ground floor.
Rowan wanted to go and have a look in the Museum for world war I and II. I didn't really care much for this part, so i watched a few videos and had a look around. Row says it wasn't worth going in. The NZ ones are far better (Waiuru).
By this time we had dried out, which was good except that it had started raining again. We brought an umbrella, which was a blessing. We wondered down the Champs-Elysees, which is the place to shop. We stopped in at a supermarket and got some food for lunch the next day. We also got a bottle of gin and wine.
We were then going to walk back to the Place de la Concorde to take photos, but it was too wet. So we decided to find the nearest train station and train back to the camp site. By now it was 5.30pm. We were going to go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, but decided that when we come back, we'll spend a day wondering around, and give it the time it deserves.
The closest train station was next to the Arc de Triomphe so we took some photos and then jumped on the next train. It was easy to find our way back, except our tickets didn't work on the bus, so we ignored the fact (as they were suppose to work) and got on the bus.
Back at camp it was still raining... but we did get back in time for dinner which was good. After dinner it was down to the bar (taking our own drinks) for a brew and then back to the tent to pack our packs and get ready for the drive tomorrow.
It was definitely fun walking around Paris, finding our own way around, but the night tour the other day definitely gave us a good idea of where things were and made it easier.
All in all, we could definitely have spent a week here in Paris.
Hope everyone is doing well, and working hard. We're both thinking of you. Lots of love
R&M
Today we have a free day in Paris. We also had to try out public transport as our bus driver was given the day off. Contiki gave us train tickets into Paris and back out again so this was all good.
We jumped on the bus at about 8am in the morning bound for Paris, the bus ride was short and soon enough we were at the train station trying to figure out which train to take. Luckily there were only two ways to go, either away from Paris or towards Paris so it wasn't that hard to pick the right train.
Once in Paris we headed for Notre Dame. It had taken about an hour to get into town and then about 3/4 hr to walk to Notre Dame, so by now it was 9.30. We walked into Notre Dame as it was free to look around. It was amazing to look around and view inside a famous building. It was truely amazing... I know I'm saying that alot, but things truely are.
We spent around about 3/4 hr looking around the cathedral, then the decided to go up to the top. This cost us about 14 Euro. But the views of the city were great. Row remembers that there were about 422 stairs or around about that. They were very small and wound around a column, it was also raining and the stairs were made of stone so they were slippery.
After taking lots of photos, we climbed down and got lunch. Instead of taking public transport we decided to walk to where Napolean is buried. This took a bit of navigation, which I had worked out. Except after walking part of the way there, Row told me that the place I was going to was not where Napolean was buried, so then I got us very lost and a lovely French couple who spoke english stopped and helped us. So finally on our way in the right direction, then it absolutely poured with rain. Now I mean bucketed down, we got drenched. But we decided we could either stop and wait for it to stop, or continue as we were already wet. So we did just that.
Finally we got there, and luckily were wearing clothes that dried out pretty quickly, well except my shoes, Row was wearing jandels so he was alright. The good thing about the weather was that there were no queues. Went and had a look at the tomb. Aparently Napolean II was very full of himself and to look at his tomb you either look down from the second storey or look up from the ground floor.
Rowan wanted to go and have a look in the Museum for world war I and II. I didn't really care much for this part, so i watched a few videos and had a look around. Row says it wasn't worth going in. The NZ ones are far better (Waiuru).
By this time we had dried out, which was good except that it had started raining again. We brought an umbrella, which was a blessing. We wondered down the Champs-Elysees, which is the place to shop. We stopped in at a supermarket and got some food for lunch the next day. We also got a bottle of gin and wine.
We were then going to walk back to the Place de la Concorde to take photos, but it was too wet. So we decided to find the nearest train station and train back to the camp site. By now it was 5.30pm. We were going to go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, but decided that when we come back, we'll spend a day wondering around, and give it the time it deserves.
The closest train station was next to the Arc de Triomphe so we took some photos and then jumped on the next train. It was easy to find our way back, except our tickets didn't work on the bus, so we ignored the fact (as they were suppose to work) and got on the bus.
Back at camp it was still raining... but we did get back in time for dinner which was good. After dinner it was down to the bar (taking our own drinks) for a brew and then back to the tent to pack our packs and get ready for the drive tomorrow.
It was definitely fun walking around Paris, finding our own way around, but the night tour the other day definitely gave us a good idea of where things were and made it easier.
All in all, we could definitely have spent a week here in Paris.
Hope everyone is doing well, and working hard. We're both thinking of you. Lots of love
R&M
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Contiki Day 2 - Paris
Funny thing happened this morning... I woke up and we were in Paris!! Wow how cool is that. Niether Row or I were on breakfast duty, so it was off for a shower and dressed for brekkie. Damn good brekkie too. Everyone cleaned up and we got on the bus bound for the Cheateau de Versailles...
The funny thing was before we actually left camp a French tour group´s bus had got a flat battery so we tried to help them out... silly french were watching movies in the bus all night...
Anyway off to Versailles, it took about an hour from Paris, wow it was large and so was the queue to get in. Row and I waited in the queue for 1.5 hours, others decided to go in the exit and got in within minutes... I kinda wish I had too, but that´s life. We didn´t really get enough time inside the palace, but we got around all the rooms, it was only the last couple of rooms that we had to rush through to ensure we got back to the bus in time. The ceiling paintings were amazing, although the wall paintings weren´t as good as we´ve seen in England in my opinion, but that could be because I can follow the English Royalty, but not the French... I´m still really glad I went in.
Back on the bus at 3.30pm, heading back into Paris to the Effil Tower. Didn´t have to wait long, but we went up the stairs, not the lift. You could only walk up to the 2nd level viewing platform (about 600+ stairs)... Amazing views. We then paid to go up to the very top. It was a long way up, but the views were so amazing. I´m so pleased we went right to the top, you´ll be able to see pictures when we post them, we can´t do that from this cafe unfortunately. We took lots of photos and then came back down the lift to the 2nd viewing platform and then took the stairs down to the bottom which didn´t take half as long as going up. We brought an ice cream (Mr Whippy) at the bottom and then got on the bus to go to dinner.
We got changed in the Louvre carpark and walked up to dinner. Dinner was really nice, had some wine, Row had the duck and I had beef for dinner. After dinner we were picked up for a caberet show. Interesting, some of the girls did some of the dances topless, not that they had much to look at, but the tapeeze artist was amazing. Overall really glad we went.
Got back to camp about 1am, it was a great day in Paris, right now we´re both really glad we did this tour. Paris is amazing, well except for the queues.
The funny thing was before we actually left camp a French tour group´s bus had got a flat battery so we tried to help them out... silly french were watching movies in the bus all night...
Anyway off to Versailles, it took about an hour from Paris, wow it was large and so was the queue to get in. Row and I waited in the queue for 1.5 hours, others decided to go in the exit and got in within minutes... I kinda wish I had too, but that´s life. We didn´t really get enough time inside the palace, but we got around all the rooms, it was only the last couple of rooms that we had to rush through to ensure we got back to the bus in time. The ceiling paintings were amazing, although the wall paintings weren´t as good as we´ve seen in England in my opinion, but that could be because I can follow the English Royalty, but not the French... I´m still really glad I went in.
Back on the bus at 3.30pm, heading back into Paris to the Effil Tower. Didn´t have to wait long, but we went up the stairs, not the lift. You could only walk up to the 2nd level viewing platform (about 600+ stairs)... Amazing views. We then paid to go up to the very top. It was a long way up, but the views were so amazing. I´m so pleased we went right to the top, you´ll be able to see pictures when we post them, we can´t do that from this cafe unfortunately. We took lots of photos and then came back down the lift to the 2nd viewing platform and then took the stairs down to the bottom which didn´t take half as long as going up. We brought an ice cream (Mr Whippy) at the bottom and then got on the bus to go to dinner.
We got changed in the Louvre carpark and walked up to dinner. Dinner was really nice, had some wine, Row had the duck and I had beef for dinner. After dinner we were picked up for a caberet show. Interesting, some of the girls did some of the dances topless, not that they had much to look at, but the tapeeze artist was amazing. Overall really glad we went.
Got back to camp about 1am, it was a great day in Paris, right now we´re both really glad we did this tour. Paris is amazing, well except for the queues.
Contiki Day 1 - London to Paris
Finally after 6 days on the road I get to update the blog... read on
5am start this morning had to meet the rest of the tour at 6am for a 6.45am leaving time. It was hard getting up so early, but didn´t really sleep that much anyway.
We packed up and went down stairs checked out of the backpackers (cos it certainly wasn´t a hotel) and checked into Contiki. We actually didn´t get away till late, and we had a ferry to catch and rush hour traffic to get through. We have three contiki people on our bus, Renee (the tour manager), Chris (the driver) and Jelly (the cook).
The start of the trip was on a motorway to Dover. Where we would catch the ferry to Calis France. Row and I weren´t sitting together because we ended up being the last couple of people on the bus. But that was ok, we got to meet a couple of other people on the tour.
A couple of hours later we got to Dover and after going trough Customs, we boarded the ferry. We had lunch which included Beer, Vodka, Sandwich and a pastry. We did get some photos of the white cliffs of Dover. There are more of the white cliffs than I thought.
Row bought a bottle of Bowmore´s Whiskey, which is distilled on the same Island as Laphoaig (his favourite whiskey). Next stop FRANCE!!!
Got off the boat and started our journey to Paris. After a couple of hours on the bus we stopped at a service station to pee and get some food. We just brought a coke as we had already eaten. It was interesting trying to understand them. When buying the coke, we just looked at the amount and gave them the money, cos we couldn´t understand a word of what they were saying. The bathroom was another interesting aspect of France. No toliet seat. I figure I´ll get strong legs.
After the stop, we continued onto Paris. The countryside is very flat and at the moment the fields are either full of veges or have just been cut for what I imagine is hay or something similar. Although you notice your not in Kiwiland cos the street signs are not in english and the houses are different.
We made it to camp early afternoon, we were actually shown how to put up a tent. Honestly wouldn´t take a brain surgeon, but then after looking at some of the tents afterwards, you´d think so.
Before dinner we were introduced to snails. Yes they brought snails for each of us to try and also red bubbly wine. The wine was sweet and very nice, the snails well I managed to eat one. They taste like mussells, which i don´t like, but at least I can say I´ve had one.
After dinner we cleaned up and those on duty did the dishes and then we went into Paris for a night tour of the sights. Wasn´t really night as it was still light, but hey its all part of it.
The tour gave us a general idea of where things are, Effil Tower, Notre Dame, Napolean´s tomb, Museums, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe etc. The Arc de Triomphe is where 12 avenues join and there are NO rules on the round-a-bout. Well I think you have to give way to those getting onto the round about, but its madness really.
By the time we finished the tour it was 10pm, some people went to the Bar, but i was too tired. There is a whole nother day in Paris tomorrow...
5am start this morning had to meet the rest of the tour at 6am for a 6.45am leaving time. It was hard getting up so early, but didn´t really sleep that much anyway.
We packed up and went down stairs checked out of the backpackers (cos it certainly wasn´t a hotel) and checked into Contiki. We actually didn´t get away till late, and we had a ferry to catch and rush hour traffic to get through. We have three contiki people on our bus, Renee (the tour manager), Chris (the driver) and Jelly (the cook).
The start of the trip was on a motorway to Dover. Where we would catch the ferry to Calis France. Row and I weren´t sitting together because we ended up being the last couple of people on the bus. But that was ok, we got to meet a couple of other people on the tour.
A couple of hours later we got to Dover and after going trough Customs, we boarded the ferry. We had lunch which included Beer, Vodka, Sandwich and a pastry. We did get some photos of the white cliffs of Dover. There are more of the white cliffs than I thought.
Row bought a bottle of Bowmore´s Whiskey, which is distilled on the same Island as Laphoaig (his favourite whiskey). Next stop FRANCE!!!
Got off the boat and started our journey to Paris. After a couple of hours on the bus we stopped at a service station to pee and get some food. We just brought a coke as we had already eaten. It was interesting trying to understand them. When buying the coke, we just looked at the amount and gave them the money, cos we couldn´t understand a word of what they were saying. The bathroom was another interesting aspect of France. No toliet seat. I figure I´ll get strong legs.
After the stop, we continued onto Paris. The countryside is very flat and at the moment the fields are either full of veges or have just been cut for what I imagine is hay or something similar. Although you notice your not in Kiwiland cos the street signs are not in english and the houses are different.
We made it to camp early afternoon, we were actually shown how to put up a tent. Honestly wouldn´t take a brain surgeon, but then after looking at some of the tents afterwards, you´d think so.
Before dinner we were introduced to snails. Yes they brought snails for each of us to try and also red bubbly wine. The wine was sweet and very nice, the snails well I managed to eat one. They taste like mussells, which i don´t like, but at least I can say I´ve had one.
After dinner we cleaned up and those on duty did the dishes and then we went into Paris for a night tour of the sights. Wasn´t really night as it was still light, but hey its all part of it.
The tour gave us a general idea of where things are, Effil Tower, Notre Dame, Napolean´s tomb, Museums, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe etc. The Arc de Triomphe is where 12 avenues join and there are NO rules on the round-a-bout. Well I think you have to give way to those getting onto the round about, but its madness really.
By the time we finished the tour it was 10pm, some people went to the Bar, but i was too tired. There is a whole nother day in Paris tomorrow...
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Last Day in London
Well our time in London is coming to an end. We're staying at the royal national hotel, hotel ha laugh at that, its just a backpackers really. Still it will be our last night in a bed, the next 46 days will be spent in a tent... camping here we come...
We're not sure what the internet status is while we are on the road, so updates maybe day between new entries... but hey its worth the wait.
Madeleine dropped us into London after going out to brekkie this morning. We then went looking for the Royal Air Force Churcg which we finally found. We even found some of the crests of the RNZAF. Then onto Trafalgar Sq took some photos and came back to check in....
Now just waiting for the pre tour meeting before heading off to bed... got a long day starting early in the morning... but we are both looking forward to it.
Hope everyone is well, thinking of you all, having to go to work.
Lots of love R&M
We're not sure what the internet status is while we are on the road, so updates maybe day between new entries... but hey its worth the wait.
Madeleine dropped us into London after going out to brekkie this morning. We then went looking for the Royal Air Force Churcg which we finally found. We even found some of the crests of the RNZAF. Then onto Trafalgar Sq took some photos and came back to check in....
Now just waiting for the pre tour meeting before heading off to bed... got a long day starting early in the morning... but we are both looking forward to it.
Hope everyone is well, thinking of you all, having to go to work.
Lots of love R&M
Saturday, August 18, 2007
St Albans
We slept in today, didn't bother getting up till 9 as we didn't have far to travel today....
We headed out to St Albans, the sight of an ancient Roman City... the third largest in England. Not alot of it remains today, just the ruins of a theatre, and a few houses. The whole area has been dug over by Archiologists, and they've found quite abit of stuff, which is mostly housed in a museum near by. there was some quite interesting stuff, and it was interesting to see how they figure out what people did by the way their bones wore out. The other big thing was the floor of a large house, which was complete with Roman central heating.... basically a room with a fire in it, slightly lower level than the rooms to be heated, with tunnels going under the floor, and into vents going up the room pillers ( in the corner of the room) that then vented into the loft area of the roof.... the idea being that the hot air would heat the stone of the floors, then into the loft so as to reduce the amount of heat wasted... quite clever these romans....
From here it was onto St Albans Catherdral.... another massive stone building dating from ages ago (1st century).... but in this one you can easily see where alterations and repairs have been made.... one minute its mostly builders fill (broken up stone) with only the corners and occasionally a level line of bricks, to sections that are made of stone delibitely made for the job. On the inside this was again noticable in the archs, some where smooth arches in the Norman style, and some meet in a point in the old english style...
In St Albans itself is the "ye olde fighting cock" the "oldest" pub in england. Back in the day it was a meeting point for cock fighting, (hence the name) and even had a round arena room. We went in for a look, and its now setup as a dinner and beer type pub, but the interior is very cool... but not somewhere for taller people, the beams where only about 6ft high.... so even i had to duck to get under them....
From here we headed into the town of St Albans. It was market day which was quite cool, lots of stalls set up in the middle of the street, so we picked up some olives for me and some rasberrys for megan to snack on.... :D
And that was about the day... now where getting the boring things like washing sorted before we hit the road with contiki....
take it easy
R&M
We headed out to St Albans, the sight of an ancient Roman City... the third largest in England. Not alot of it remains today, just the ruins of a theatre, and a few houses. The whole area has been dug over by Archiologists, and they've found quite abit of stuff, which is mostly housed in a museum near by. there was some quite interesting stuff, and it was interesting to see how they figure out what people did by the way their bones wore out. The other big thing was the floor of a large house, which was complete with Roman central heating.... basically a room with a fire in it, slightly lower level than the rooms to be heated, with tunnels going under the floor, and into vents going up the room pillers ( in the corner of the room) that then vented into the loft area of the roof.... the idea being that the hot air would heat the stone of the floors, then into the loft so as to reduce the amount of heat wasted... quite clever these romans....
From here it was onto St Albans Catherdral.... another massive stone building dating from ages ago (1st century).... but in this one you can easily see where alterations and repairs have been made.... one minute its mostly builders fill (broken up stone) with only the corners and occasionally a level line of bricks, to sections that are made of stone delibitely made for the job. On the inside this was again noticable in the archs, some where smooth arches in the Norman style, and some meet in a point in the old english style...
In St Albans itself is the "ye olde fighting cock" the "oldest" pub in england. Back in the day it was a meeting point for cock fighting, (hence the name) and even had a round arena room. We went in for a look, and its now setup as a dinner and beer type pub, but the interior is very cool... but not somewhere for taller people, the beams where only about 6ft high.... so even i had to duck to get under them....
From here we headed into the town of St Albans. It was market day which was quite cool, lots of stalls set up in the middle of the street, so we picked up some olives for me and some rasberrys for megan to snack on.... :D
And that was about the day... now where getting the boring things like washing sorted before we hit the road with contiki....
take it easy
R&M
Friday, August 17, 2007
Leeds Castle - Kent England
Well Day what ever we're up too on our holiday started out with an early rise (7.45am ha) to ensure we got on the road at a decent time (just after the main rush hour about 9.30ish). Row and I rang Ian & June and Barb and got answer phones on both accounts it was quite funny.
What was funnier sort of, was we were literally just walking out the door when the phone rang and it was Ian and June. So Row got to speak to his parents for a while... But get this, Ian put the phone to Orion's (the dog) ear and Orion hung up on him, it was so funny. Probably not for Rowan as now I keep telling him that the dog has disowned him. Hopefully that isn't the case when we get home :)
Madeleine and Michael joined us today and we drove out to Leeds Castle in Kent. It actually took longer to drive to Stonehenge which is closer in distance. So we had a coffee before walking around the Castle grounds. They were so lovely. I want a garden that big, I know I said that in my last blog, but now I want a garden like Leeds Castle, with rivers and moats they are so cool.
The walk around the garden and through the duckery (Rowan was chomping at the bit to get his hands on a shotgun, but alas there were none in sight) and then around the waterways. It was very pleasant and relaxing. We got some awesome photos of the Castle from a distance. (have a look at http://picasaweb.google.com/JamoAndMegs ) We then wondered through an old Mill, which was very run down, in fact it had no roof, and no waterwheel, but again nice views out over the moat to the lawn gardens below.
Over the bridge across the moat, which I think I heard someone say that it use to be a draw bridge which would make sense, and into the Castle. This was anther splendid example of a Castle that truely looks like a Castle, and this one even had a moat. We wondered through the rooms of the Castle and were allowed to take pictures, I took some, but I'm getting use to not being allowed too. We brought the Guide book so I knew I had all the major art works etc explained. One spiral staircase was made from a single tree trunk, it must have been a huge tree.
Throughout the walk through the Castle there were many spectacular views out the windows over the moat and to the gardens below. Also the Castle, which had for several hundred years been owned by private families and not Royality, had been rennovated several times. One of the most recent was between 1920 and 1936. Included in this rennovation was central heating, which has been very cleverly hidden by iron grates in the floor, you wouldn't know it wasn't suppose to be there.
The last owner Lady Olive Baillie gifted the Castle into the Leeds Castle Foundation and it has since been restored to some of its former glory and opened to the public. By restored to former glory, I mean the foundation returned some of the rooms to what they might have been like in the 17th Century, which gives the Castle a more authenic air.
The grounds also have a maze, a falconry, Aviary, Vineyard (which is located on the site it was said to have been at in 1066) which produces wine for the cafe and to sell, and extensive gardens. Not to mention the cafes and Leeds Castle shops for nic nacs.
One Museum, a dog collar museum wasn't at all what I thought. There were a few old collars, some I would never ever have put on Orion, but then they say they were like that to save the dog from the pigs. Even so I still wouldn't have put it on him. Some of them must have been extremely heavy.
The only disappointing part of the day, was that the shop didn't have a shot or spirit glass for us to buy. Now our collection is missing one, but oh well, you get that.
We drove back, hopeing to avoid rush hour traffic, which we only caught the first part of and had fish and chips for dinner. Tonight will likely be an early night. Quite tired after all this sightseeing.
R&M
What was funnier sort of, was we were literally just walking out the door when the phone rang and it was Ian and June. So Row got to speak to his parents for a while... But get this, Ian put the phone to Orion's (the dog) ear and Orion hung up on him, it was so funny. Probably not for Rowan as now I keep telling him that the dog has disowned him. Hopefully that isn't the case when we get home :)
Madeleine and Michael joined us today and we drove out to Leeds Castle in Kent. It actually took longer to drive to Stonehenge which is closer in distance. So we had a coffee before walking around the Castle grounds. They were so lovely. I want a garden that big, I know I said that in my last blog, but now I want a garden like Leeds Castle, with rivers and moats they are so cool.
The walk around the garden and through the duckery (Rowan was chomping at the bit to get his hands on a shotgun, but alas there were none in sight) and then around the waterways. It was very pleasant and relaxing. We got some awesome photos of the Castle from a distance. (have a look at http://picasaweb.google.com/JamoAndMegs ) We then wondered through an old Mill, which was very run down, in fact it had no roof, and no waterwheel, but again nice views out over the moat to the lawn gardens below.
Over the bridge across the moat, which I think I heard someone say that it use to be a draw bridge which would make sense, and into the Castle. This was anther splendid example of a Castle that truely looks like a Castle, and this one even had a moat. We wondered through the rooms of the Castle and were allowed to take pictures, I took some, but I'm getting use to not being allowed too. We brought the Guide book so I knew I had all the major art works etc explained. One spiral staircase was made from a single tree trunk, it must have been a huge tree.
Throughout the walk through the Castle there were many spectacular views out the windows over the moat and to the gardens below. Also the Castle, which had for several hundred years been owned by private families and not Royality, had been rennovated several times. One of the most recent was between 1920 and 1936. Included in this rennovation was central heating, which has been very cleverly hidden by iron grates in the floor, you wouldn't know it wasn't suppose to be there.
The last owner Lady Olive Baillie gifted the Castle into the Leeds Castle Foundation and it has since been restored to some of its former glory and opened to the public. By restored to former glory, I mean the foundation returned some of the rooms to what they might have been like in the 17th Century, which gives the Castle a more authenic air.
The grounds also have a maze, a falconry, Aviary, Vineyard (which is located on the site it was said to have been at in 1066) which produces wine for the cafe and to sell, and extensive gardens. Not to mention the cafes and Leeds Castle shops for nic nacs.
One Museum, a dog collar museum wasn't at all what I thought. There were a few old collars, some I would never ever have put on Orion, but then they say they were like that to save the dog from the pigs. Even so I still wouldn't have put it on him. Some of them must have been extremely heavy.
The only disappointing part of the day, was that the shop didn't have a shot or spirit glass for us to buy. Now our collection is missing one, but oh well, you get that.
We drove back, hopeing to avoid rush hour traffic, which we only caught the first part of and had fish and chips for dinner. Tonight will likely be an early night. Quite tired after all this sightseeing.
R&M
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral
Today it was down to stonehenge, then over to Salisbury to check out the old village and Salisbury Cathedral.
Getting out to Stonehenge was abit of a drive, thankfully Madeleine took us out, so navigating and driving wasn't a problem for us, took around and 1.5-2 hours to get out there. When we left, it was a beautiful still day, but by the time we got to stonehenge the wind had gotten up, and the stones are quite exposed....
It was amazing to look over the stones, which they think have been there since about 3500BC.... or though a "Henge" (something hanging from something else) has been there much longer, the first ones where made from wood.... You can't walk amoung the stones now, which is a shame as that was something I wanted to do (Rowan here today) but years of other other people taking samples of the rock with hammers and what not has resulted in the building of a roped off path, around 20M from the stones to keep people away from them.... a shame that the actions of others have ruined it for the rest of us..... but a stuning sight all the same, something that makes you realise how little time each of us is here for....
After the stones, it was down to the town of Salisbury for lunch and to look over the Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury itself (well the part we saw) is an old town, with a cannel going through the middle of the town, with nice old brick buildings either side. We had lunch at a local hot bread shop, managed to get seats inside, which was lucky as it rained during lunch.
After that it was down to Salisbury Cathedral, notable for having the highest Spire in England. Another thing that was noticable about this Cathedral was that it was mostly unchanged in design since when it was first built. In all the other cathedrals and buildings we've seen so far, various kings and queens have added bits if there own, normally in the modern (for the time) style, but Salisbruy Cathedral was one style, pretty much, all the way through. The catherdral itself is massive... and seems even more so, i think, because the are no other large buildings near by. Lots of Church cannons are buried in here, some going back to the 1100's.
the other major thing here is the "Magna Carta" thats kept here, one of 4 original calf hide copys, and the best surviving copy written in 1215 (apparantly it was lost in a filing stuff up, so no one had it out in the light for quite some time). The "carta" itself represents the foundation of democracy (or though the king (King John) that signed it went back on his signature a couple of years after signing it... caused a spot of civil war....)
After all this it was time for a quick coffee then back on the road, hoping to beat rush hour traffic, which we managed pretty well.... and back to Madeleine and Micheals place (a really cool little Brick Bungalo)....
and thats it.... wow
R&M
Getting out to Stonehenge was abit of a drive, thankfully Madeleine took us out, so navigating and driving wasn't a problem for us, took around and 1.5-2 hours to get out there. When we left, it was a beautiful still day, but by the time we got to stonehenge the wind had gotten up, and the stones are quite exposed....
It was amazing to look over the stones, which they think have been there since about 3500BC.... or though a "Henge" (something hanging from something else) has been there much longer, the first ones where made from wood.... You can't walk amoung the stones now, which is a shame as that was something I wanted to do (Rowan here today) but years of other other people taking samples of the rock with hammers and what not has resulted in the building of a roped off path, around 20M from the stones to keep people away from them.... a shame that the actions of others have ruined it for the rest of us..... but a stuning sight all the same, something that makes you realise how little time each of us is here for....
After the stones, it was down to the town of Salisbury for lunch and to look over the Salisbury Cathedral. Salisbury itself (well the part we saw) is an old town, with a cannel going through the middle of the town, with nice old brick buildings either side. We had lunch at a local hot bread shop, managed to get seats inside, which was lucky as it rained during lunch.
After that it was down to Salisbury Cathedral, notable for having the highest Spire in England. Another thing that was noticable about this Cathedral was that it was mostly unchanged in design since when it was first built. In all the other cathedrals and buildings we've seen so far, various kings and queens have added bits if there own, normally in the modern (for the time) style, but Salisbruy Cathedral was one style, pretty much, all the way through. The catherdral itself is massive... and seems even more so, i think, because the are no other large buildings near by. Lots of Church cannons are buried in here, some going back to the 1100's.
the other major thing here is the "Magna Carta" thats kept here, one of 4 original calf hide copys, and the best surviving copy written in 1215 (apparantly it was lost in a filing stuff up, so no one had it out in the light for quite some time). The "carta" itself represents the foundation of democracy (or though the king (King John) that signed it went back on his signature a couple of years after signing it... caused a spot of civil war....)
After all this it was time for a quick coffee then back on the road, hoping to beat rush hour traffic, which we managed pretty well.... and back to Madeleine and Micheals place (a really cool little Brick Bungalo)....
and thats it.... wow
R&M
Winsor
Today after getting up rather late, Madeleine took us to Winsor Castle.
We wondered around the town of Winsor for a while before heading up to the Castle. Winsor is pretty much as I expected, a small town based around the tourist trade, but also has kept alot of its heritage. Well from what I could make out anyway.
We walked across the Thames River onto the Eaton side and took some pictures of the Castle and stopped in and had a coffee at a shop on the river. It was very serene, sitting there next to the River, looking up at the Castle. Ian will know exactly what I'm talking about as I remember him trying to describe the way he felt when he and June finally made it to a place in France that they had been wanting to go too for a long time. I imagine the feeling was the same, finally here I was in front of what I thought was a real Castle (finally one that looked like a Castle :) ) all the way from New Zealand, I was in a place I had been only dreaming of and now was reality. It was a very emotional moment.
Anyway once past that ... we headed off up the road, back over the Thames and off to the Castle. It was amazing walking around, its been on this site for about 800 years. They have replaced the moat with gardens, which are simple, but very nice all the same. We went into the State rooms, which weren't as flamboyant as the rooms in Buckingham Palace, but still very stunning. One part had been destroyed in a fire in 1992, but now has been restored to what it might have been like when Charles I ruled. All round the Castle you could see the Royal initials of past Kings and Queens. Although Buckingham was the main residence, I could see more of the Royals in this Castle than in the Palace.
We then moved onto St George's Chapel, which pretty much holds the Royals that aren't in Westminester Abbey, and the more recent ones. Henry VIII, George VI and the Queen Mother just to name a few (plus I can't remember the others and can't be bothered getting up to get the guide book). While the Chapel doesn't have the grandeur of St Paul's Cathedral or Westminester Abbey, it is still an impressive sight.
One thing that caught me was this little alcove of finely carved wood placed in the wall to the left of the high alter where Catherine of Aragorn (Henry VIII 1st wife) would sit to hear mass away from the commoners. As I stood there I felt humbled again, by the people who have walked where I was walking. It was rather emotional (maybe I was just tired again). Also Rowan noticed in the Knights/Order of the Garter which have seats just in front to the right and left of the high alter the Kiwi and ice pick helmet (helm) of Sir Edmond Hiliary (all the current living knights have their helms displayed here). He is the only Kiwi in the order, and now that the NZ honour system has moved away will be the last Kiwi in this order. Mind you he is probably the first as well.
After moving through the chapel, we went outside and I got a picture with the guard. He never smiled, which I suppose is to be expected. We brought a couple of things from the town (one piece of silver from the silversmith that worked for the Queen Mother), and then had lunch. Madeleine picked us up after that and we went home.
We took Michael and Madeleine out to dinner that night, we even risked another English pub, although this one was very nice. A very pleasant evening to finish off a very pleasant day.
R&M
We wondered around the town of Winsor for a while before heading up to the Castle. Winsor is pretty much as I expected, a small town based around the tourist trade, but also has kept alot of its heritage. Well from what I could make out anyway.
We walked across the Thames River onto the Eaton side and took some pictures of the Castle and stopped in and had a coffee at a shop on the river. It was very serene, sitting there next to the River, looking up at the Castle. Ian will know exactly what I'm talking about as I remember him trying to describe the way he felt when he and June finally made it to a place in France that they had been wanting to go too for a long time. I imagine the feeling was the same, finally here I was in front of what I thought was a real Castle (finally one that looked like a Castle :) ) all the way from New Zealand, I was in a place I had been only dreaming of and now was reality. It was a very emotional moment.
Anyway once past that ... we headed off up the road, back over the Thames and off to the Castle. It was amazing walking around, its been on this site for about 800 years. They have replaced the moat with gardens, which are simple, but very nice all the same. We went into the State rooms, which weren't as flamboyant as the rooms in Buckingham Palace, but still very stunning. One part had been destroyed in a fire in 1992, but now has been restored to what it might have been like when Charles I ruled. All round the Castle you could see the Royal initials of past Kings and Queens. Although Buckingham was the main residence, I could see more of the Royals in this Castle than in the Palace.
We then moved onto St George's Chapel, which pretty much holds the Royals that aren't in Westminester Abbey, and the more recent ones. Henry VIII, George VI and the Queen Mother just to name a few (plus I can't remember the others and can't be bothered getting up to get the guide book). While the Chapel doesn't have the grandeur of St Paul's Cathedral or Westminester Abbey, it is still an impressive sight.
One thing that caught me was this little alcove of finely carved wood placed in the wall to the left of the high alter where Catherine of Aragorn (Henry VIII 1st wife) would sit to hear mass away from the commoners. As I stood there I felt humbled again, by the people who have walked where I was walking. It was rather emotional (maybe I was just tired again). Also Rowan noticed in the Knights/Order of the Garter which have seats just in front to the right and left of the high alter the Kiwi and ice pick helmet (helm) of Sir Edmond Hiliary (all the current living knights have their helms displayed here). He is the only Kiwi in the order, and now that the NZ honour system has moved away will be the last Kiwi in this order. Mind you he is probably the first as well.
After moving through the chapel, we went outside and I got a picture with the guard. He never smiled, which I suppose is to be expected. We brought a couple of things from the town (one piece of silver from the silversmith that worked for the Queen Mother), and then had lunch. Madeleine picked us up after that and we went home.
We took Michael and Madeleine out to dinner that night, we even risked another English pub, although this one was very nice. A very pleasant evening to finish off a very pleasant day.
R&M
London Day 3
Day three in London sees the last day in London. We packed up all our things very messily just to that they would fit and put them in the baggage room and went out to explore. Today was the missed Westminester Abbey and Buckingham Palace and we thought we would try the subway.
Wondered down to the Bayswater underground staton, we had already worked out which station we needed to get off at, got a day pass (was only £6 each) and trained off to the Abbey. Didn't take very long and it wasn't rush hour so the train wasn't very packed, but still there were lots of people on it.
Made it to the Abbey with no hassle. Wondered around the Abbey for a couple of hours. This was quite amazing here lay tombs of Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses and all kinds of people that influenced Britain King Henry VII, Elizabeth I, Mary, Charles and many others (except of course Henry VIII who rebelled against the Church and is buried at St George's Chapel at Winsor. (Can you tell I'm learning lots about the royals). What was funny at the Abbey was we ran into the Ozzie couple that were on the Hong Kong Tour with us. Small world even over here.
After walking around the Abbey for a while we then walked up to Buckingham Palace to try and catch the changing of the guards. We you know what happens when you rush, something goes wrong... it sort of it, they decided not to change the guards that day, so we waited around for 30 mins for nothing. But oh well, that happens. Then we had to wait in line for about 30 mins to get tickets to go into Buckingham Palace, and we decided to go to the Mews (Stables) as well.
The carriages are quite spectacular, not exactly what I thought, but still it would be cool to ride in them. Got to look at a couple of horses wow, but hey now I can say I've seen Royal Horses. The stabes were amazing, each horse is named by the Queen and had two name tags, one that hangs in his/her stable and the other goes with it where ever it goes. Useless bit of knowledge for you.
We finally got into Buckingham Palace, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The rooms were amazing, drawing rooms for africa and each a different colour, lots of armour. Each King or Queen had remodelled something to put their stamp on it (sometimes because of fires or damage to a particular area). Its incredible to think how many Kings and Queens have walked the same halls I walked. Not that the royals intefere with our lives but it is still humbling. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but once we got out into the gardens we could. And the gardens seem to go for miles around. If only my garden could be that big (hmm maybe Rowan wouldn't like that, he'd have to mow the lawn, and he'd probably make me)
We looked at the time after Buckingham Palace and knew we wanted to get to the train station rather early for Madeleine to pick us up so that we weren't in rush hour traffic. so we caught the train back to the hotel picked up our gear and trained to Ruslip Gardens, where we'd meet Madeleine (whom Row had not seen since he was a young teenager). As it was it was easy to recognise her, she was waiting just outside the train station for us. It was nice to see a warm and friendly face.
We got back to their place, had a couple of much needed drinks and a nice home cooked meal. Went to bed reasonably early, we were still trying to reset our body clocks to London time.
The next day awaited, but it was after a nice long sleep.
R&M
Wondered down to the Bayswater underground staton, we had already worked out which station we needed to get off at, got a day pass (was only £6 each) and trained off to the Abbey. Didn't take very long and it wasn't rush hour so the train wasn't very packed, but still there were lots of people on it.
Made it to the Abbey with no hassle. Wondered around the Abbey for a couple of hours. This was quite amazing here lay tombs of Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses and all kinds of people that influenced Britain King Henry VII, Elizabeth I, Mary, Charles and many others (except of course Henry VIII who rebelled against the Church and is buried at St George's Chapel at Winsor. (Can you tell I'm learning lots about the royals). What was funny at the Abbey was we ran into the Ozzie couple that were on the Hong Kong Tour with us. Small world even over here.
After walking around the Abbey for a while we then walked up to Buckingham Palace to try and catch the changing of the guards. We you know what happens when you rush, something goes wrong... it sort of it, they decided not to change the guards that day, so we waited around for 30 mins for nothing. But oh well, that happens. Then we had to wait in line for about 30 mins to get tickets to go into Buckingham Palace, and we decided to go to the Mews (Stables) as well.
The carriages are quite spectacular, not exactly what I thought, but still it would be cool to ride in them. Got to look at a couple of horses wow, but hey now I can say I've seen Royal Horses. The stabes were amazing, each horse is named by the Queen and had two name tags, one that hangs in his/her stable and the other goes with it where ever it goes. Useless bit of knowledge for you.
We finally got into Buckingham Palace, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The rooms were amazing, drawing rooms for africa and each a different colour, lots of armour. Each King or Queen had remodelled something to put their stamp on it (sometimes because of fires or damage to a particular area). Its incredible to think how many Kings and Queens have walked the same halls I walked. Not that the royals intefere with our lives but it is still humbling. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but once we got out into the gardens we could. And the gardens seem to go for miles around. If only my garden could be that big (hmm maybe Rowan wouldn't like that, he'd have to mow the lawn, and he'd probably make me)
We looked at the time after Buckingham Palace and knew we wanted to get to the train station rather early for Madeleine to pick us up so that we weren't in rush hour traffic. so we caught the train back to the hotel picked up our gear and trained to Ruslip Gardens, where we'd meet Madeleine (whom Row had not seen since he was a young teenager). As it was it was easy to recognise her, she was waiting just outside the train station for us. It was nice to see a warm and friendly face.
We got back to their place, had a couple of much needed drinks and a nice home cooked meal. Went to bed reasonably early, we were still trying to reset our body clocks to London time.
The next day awaited, but it was after a nice long sleep.
R&M
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
London Day 2
Day two: got up relatively early, about 7am, did the usuals and went down to breakfast, surprisingly there was a really nice breakfast on offer for free. Lots of cereals, toast, fruit and bread rolls, and no kiwi butter :( oh well. Had a hearty breakfast and set off on a 20 min walk to find the hop on hop off bus tour place.
Actually went in the right direction today, must have been jet lag yesterday. Walked in Hyde Park, which was a nice change to the city life, heaps of people out jogging or walking, a few dogs around too. Caught the bus and listened to the commentator talk about London. Got our first glimpses of London from the bus. Wow the streets weren't too narrow, but all the buildings were three storey old brick place... Most of them also had stone work as well, it was quite a sight compared to what we were use too back home.
Went past Trafalgar Sq, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye (not that great) over the Thames a couple of times, even on the famous London Bridge. Don't really know why its famous its just a bridge and the bridge next to it is far more famous, the tower bridge. We got off at St Pauls Cathedral. Its amazing, to think that a cathedral has been on this site for over 500 years is just unbelievable, well not really, but you know what I mean. The stone work on the outside was incredible. We weren't allowed to take photos on the inside so we brought a guide book to remember. But we did go up to the whispering galleries to take photos and then up again (in total 434 steps) and got the most amazing view of London. It was very breath taking. We even found a memerial for those British Soldiers that fought and died in New Zealand during the Maori wars. It was interesting to see as we don't have anything like this at home. No one cares about the Brits that died.
After spending a couple of hours walking around the Cathedral, up to the top and down into the crypt we got back on the bus and went down to the Tower of London. This was actually a big medievil fortress, much bigger than we realised. It houses the Crown Jewels which we saw, an old amoury with lots of old guns, pikes and amour and also a room for spanish weapons captured during the Spanish Armada.
We stopped and had lunch here, but it was about 2pm by this time... We walked around the grounds for a while and then headed down to the prier to catch a boat down to Westminster to see the Abbey and Big Ben.
The cruise up the Thames was uneventful, but we did get a good view of the Tower bridge and the London bridge. We had to stop at the London Eye because the boat we caught didn't go as far as the Abbey. So we got out and walked. We walked around Big Ben, realising that we couldn't go in, so we had a look at the Houses of Parliament which are quite detailed, but decided we didn't want to go in there (had enough of politians at home). So we walked across the road to Westminster Abbey, but unfortantely it was 3.45 and the last admission had already gone in. So we thought we would walk to Buckingham Palace. Finally found our way there, didn't take very long, took some photos and then thought we'll walk home...
hmmm... now that wasn't the brightest move in the book. Took us until 6pm to get back to the hotel, we walked the length and breath of Hyde Park, which is probably about 2.5 km long and about 1 km in breath, but you have to take into account we went in the wrong direction a few times and detoured to check out places of interest.
In the end a long day well worth the time and blisters. Only bad thing, decided to go out for a English Pub meal... it was crap... crap beer, crap food, bit of a shame really, but we at least learnt where not to go to eat.
In bed asleep at 9.30pm tired, but really still couldn't believe we're finally here...
R & M
Actually went in the right direction today, must have been jet lag yesterday. Walked in Hyde Park, which was a nice change to the city life, heaps of people out jogging or walking, a few dogs around too. Caught the bus and listened to the commentator talk about London. Got our first glimpses of London from the bus. Wow the streets weren't too narrow, but all the buildings were three storey old brick place... Most of them also had stone work as well, it was quite a sight compared to what we were use too back home.
Went past Trafalgar Sq, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye (not that great) over the Thames a couple of times, even on the famous London Bridge. Don't really know why its famous its just a bridge and the bridge next to it is far more famous, the tower bridge. We got off at St Pauls Cathedral. Its amazing, to think that a cathedral has been on this site for over 500 years is just unbelievable, well not really, but you know what I mean. The stone work on the outside was incredible. We weren't allowed to take photos on the inside so we brought a guide book to remember. But we did go up to the whispering galleries to take photos and then up again (in total 434 steps) and got the most amazing view of London. It was very breath taking. We even found a memerial for those British Soldiers that fought and died in New Zealand during the Maori wars. It was interesting to see as we don't have anything like this at home. No one cares about the Brits that died.
After spending a couple of hours walking around the Cathedral, up to the top and down into the crypt we got back on the bus and went down to the Tower of London. This was actually a big medievil fortress, much bigger than we realised. It houses the Crown Jewels which we saw, an old amoury with lots of old guns, pikes and amour and also a room for spanish weapons captured during the Spanish Armada.
We stopped and had lunch here, but it was about 2pm by this time... We walked around the grounds for a while and then headed down to the prier to catch a boat down to Westminster to see the Abbey and Big Ben.
The cruise up the Thames was uneventful, but we did get a good view of the Tower bridge and the London bridge. We had to stop at the London Eye because the boat we caught didn't go as far as the Abbey. So we got out and walked. We walked around Big Ben, realising that we couldn't go in, so we had a look at the Houses of Parliament which are quite detailed, but decided we didn't want to go in there (had enough of politians at home). So we walked across the road to Westminster Abbey, but unfortantely it was 3.45 and the last admission had already gone in. So we thought we would walk to Buckingham Palace. Finally found our way there, didn't take very long, took some photos and then thought we'll walk home...
hmmm... now that wasn't the brightest move in the book. Took us until 6pm to get back to the hotel, we walked the length and breath of Hyde Park, which is probably about 2.5 km long and about 1 km in breath, but you have to take into account we went in the wrong direction a few times and detoured to check out places of interest.
In the end a long day well worth the time and blisters. Only bad thing, decided to go out for a English Pub meal... it was crap... crap beer, crap food, bit of a shame really, but we at least learnt where not to go to eat.
In bed asleep at 9.30pm tired, but really still couldn't believe we're finally here...
R & M
London Day 1
Flying again... hmmm flying through the day ... another hmmm... not the most fun we've ever had as some of you can imagine. It was damn hard work. Although in saying that it could have been worse.
Ended up finally at our hotel (basically a backpackers) about 3 hours later. That was ok, but what wasn't was walking into our room and smelling the amount of smoke... it was awlful, went back and got another room and it was tiny, but we much prefered that to the smoke... I've decided that there is a common theme here... Ended up going out for a small walk in completely the wrong direction thanks to me, but we did go to a burger place that is very similar to Burger Fuel, and about the same price, but the burgers were much better. So that was all good. 8.30pm in bed asleep, it was a long day.
Ended up finally at our hotel (basically a backpackers) about 3 hours later. That was ok, but what wasn't was walking into our room and smelling the amount of smoke... it was awlful, went back and got another room and it was tiny, but we much prefered that to the smoke... I've decided that there is a common theme here... Ended up going out for a small walk in completely the wrong direction thanks to me, but we did go to a burger place that is very similar to Burger Fuel, and about the same price, but the burgers were much better. So that was all good. 8.30pm in bed asleep, it was a long day.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Hong Kong
Well its 7am Hong Kong time, so about 11am NZT and Row and I are sitting in the United airport lounge sipping rum and gin.. what a life... although we did have to get up at 4.30am to do this.
Day 1: Arrived in Hong Kong at 6.45am (Hong Kong is 4 hours behind NZ but the same day). Felt really tired, there was a bit of turbulence which kept waking me up, and not only that the excitment of finally going on our trip. The flight only took 10 1/2 hours, even though we thought it would be 13 hours... so that was all good. Managed to get ourselves lost looking for the bus that was transfering us to the hotel, thought we were going on the tour that morning. Thank goodness we weren't, I needed a sleep. Finally got to the Hotel, had to wait for the room, this gave us time to have a decent breakfast. (You can never get away from NZ... they had NZ butter at breakfast, although it was nice to know) The first room we got was two single beds, smelt like a smoker had just left, so we asked for another room, which was nicer.
First impressions of the city: Lots and lots and lots (to infinity) of tall apartment buildings. I thought there would be more cultural buildings. Obviously the number of people in the city has an impact on this, but still I could never have imagined this. The entire city is high rise buildings. 6000+ people per sq km, and $40,000 per sq foot for an apartment. Compare this to Australia which has 3 people per sq km. She didn't know NZ.
Slept for a couple of hours and then made our way to the tour pick up point. We toured around Hong Kong Island. We were very lucky we didn't fly in on the 9th, there was a typhon.... So we are in the tail end of the horrible weather. Not that nice, but its still really hot... was 27 C at 7.30am. The tour was great... We didn't go to the top of Victoria Peak (the highest point in HK) because we wouldn't have been able to see anything, so we stopped at a look out point, which still had a good view over the city. We also visited a fishing village which quite literally lived on the water. Mum and Dad, it was interesting looking at the boats from the point of view of bus, they weren't that big, but when you know what you can fit into a bus you have more appreciation for how big a space really is. Also saw this really big floating restaurant, and nothing in NZ compares, it was huge, basically the size of a small mall back home.
After the fishing village it was off to a Jewellry Manufacturer. Oh my GOSH!!!! if only I had lots of money to spend. I found an absolutely gorgeous ruby and diamond ring. It was only over $10,000 HKD (the exchange rate is about 6 HKD to 1 NZD). I had to leave it there, very depressing :) but then I had to think about our trip ahead no point in having a beautiful ring if I can't do anything else on our honeymoon. We ended up buying a very beautiful dancing couple which is hard to describe, you'll see it when we get back...
Then it was off to Stanley Market... Well apart from the rain which was bucketing down, the market wasn't much. We brought a table runner which will remind us of HK without taking up too much space, but apart from that, things weren't that cheap. Pretty much just stalls of bits and pieces and although there were many stalls, every 3rd shop sold the same thing.
Then back to Kowloon, under the Aberdeen and No Excuse Tunnels. A woman at the airport had suggested watching the laser show on every saturday night, and because its the 10 yr anniverisary of China taking back HK they had fireworks as well. We joined another Kiwi couple (from Blenheim) and a Aussie couple (from Port MacQuarie (Shaz and Stu will appreciate the irony of that place) for dinner at a chinese restaurant and watched the show. It was really nice having dinner with other people and hearing about their travels. Wow they had been to so many places (they weren't travelling together), it was interesting listening to their stories and in some cases we could comment but in most we couldn't. But they were wonderful people.
The laser show was a bit of a let down, basically because of the weather we couldn't see anything. But the fireworks, WOW double WOW, they were amazing. I've been in the US for two 4th of July's and they didn't come close (sorry Mary & Bryon). the finale was incredible. The whole show was a dance of a fireworks, it was truly amazing to watch, everything was co-ordinated, even the colours. By this time my eye lids were about ready to close (it was about 1am NZT), so we walked back to the hotel, about a km. Somehow we lost the Ozzie couple, don't know what happened there. We got everything packed and ready to go, because the wake up call was for 4.30am and went to bed.
Even though the weather was crap it was still a nice day. Although both Row and I agree, it was nice to stop over here, we wouldn't want to spend more than another day here. Definitely glad it wasn't a week.
Now we are just waiting for the boarding call for London, another thing I've extremely glad we didn't do, and that's fly straight through to London, I definitely had enough of the plane trip over here, to get back on it for another 12 hours... argh!!! I might have gone crazy... hold on Row says I already am. ahahaha.
Anyway the gin glass is almost empty so I'll leave it here. Love to you all. Row and Megs xxxx
Day 1: Arrived in Hong Kong at 6.45am (Hong Kong is 4 hours behind NZ but the same day). Felt really tired, there was a bit of turbulence which kept waking me up, and not only that the excitment of finally going on our trip. The flight only took 10 1/2 hours, even though we thought it would be 13 hours... so that was all good. Managed to get ourselves lost looking for the bus that was transfering us to the hotel, thought we were going on the tour that morning. Thank goodness we weren't, I needed a sleep. Finally got to the Hotel, had to wait for the room, this gave us time to have a decent breakfast. (You can never get away from NZ... they had NZ butter at breakfast, although it was nice to know) The first room we got was two single beds, smelt like a smoker had just left, so we asked for another room, which was nicer.
First impressions of the city: Lots and lots and lots (to infinity) of tall apartment buildings. I thought there would be more cultural buildings. Obviously the number of people in the city has an impact on this, but still I could never have imagined this. The entire city is high rise buildings. 6000+ people per sq km, and $40,000 per sq foot for an apartment. Compare this to Australia which has 3 people per sq km. She didn't know NZ.
Slept for a couple of hours and then made our way to the tour pick up point. We toured around Hong Kong Island. We were very lucky we didn't fly in on the 9th, there was a typhon.... So we are in the tail end of the horrible weather. Not that nice, but its still really hot... was 27 C at 7.30am. The tour was great... We didn't go to the top of Victoria Peak (the highest point in HK) because we wouldn't have been able to see anything, so we stopped at a look out point, which still had a good view over the city. We also visited a fishing village which quite literally lived on the water. Mum and Dad, it was interesting looking at the boats from the point of view of bus, they weren't that big, but when you know what you can fit into a bus you have more appreciation for how big a space really is. Also saw this really big floating restaurant, and nothing in NZ compares, it was huge, basically the size of a small mall back home.
After the fishing village it was off to a Jewellry Manufacturer. Oh my GOSH!!!! if only I had lots of money to spend. I found an absolutely gorgeous ruby and diamond ring. It was only over $10,000 HKD (the exchange rate is about 6 HKD to 1 NZD). I had to leave it there, very depressing :) but then I had to think about our trip ahead no point in having a beautiful ring if I can't do anything else on our honeymoon. We ended up buying a very beautiful dancing couple which is hard to describe, you'll see it when we get back...
Then it was off to Stanley Market... Well apart from the rain which was bucketing down, the market wasn't much. We brought a table runner which will remind us of HK without taking up too much space, but apart from that, things weren't that cheap. Pretty much just stalls of bits and pieces and although there were many stalls, every 3rd shop sold the same thing.
Then back to Kowloon, under the Aberdeen and No Excuse Tunnels. A woman at the airport had suggested watching the laser show on every saturday night, and because its the 10 yr anniverisary of China taking back HK they had fireworks as well. We joined another Kiwi couple (from Blenheim) and a Aussie couple (from Port MacQuarie (Shaz and Stu will appreciate the irony of that place) for dinner at a chinese restaurant and watched the show. It was really nice having dinner with other people and hearing about their travels. Wow they had been to so many places (they weren't travelling together), it was interesting listening to their stories and in some cases we could comment but in most we couldn't. But they were wonderful people.
The laser show was a bit of a let down, basically because of the weather we couldn't see anything. But the fireworks, WOW double WOW, they were amazing. I've been in the US for two 4th of July's and they didn't come close (sorry Mary & Bryon). the finale was incredible. The whole show was a dance of a fireworks, it was truly amazing to watch, everything was co-ordinated, even the colours. By this time my eye lids were about ready to close (it was about 1am NZT), so we walked back to the hotel, about a km. Somehow we lost the Ozzie couple, don't know what happened there. We got everything packed and ready to go, because the wake up call was for 4.30am and went to bed.
Even though the weather was crap it was still a nice day. Although both Row and I agree, it was nice to stop over here, we wouldn't want to spend more than another day here. Definitely glad it wasn't a week.
Now we are just waiting for the boarding call for London, another thing I've extremely glad we didn't do, and that's fly straight through to London, I definitely had enough of the plane trip over here, to get back on it for another 12 hours... argh!!! I might have gone crazy... hold on Row says I already am. ahahaha.
Anyway the gin glass is almost empty so I'll leave it here. Love to you all. Row and Megs xxxx
Monday, August 6, 2007
5 Days to go
Auckland NZ still, Rowan has 3 days of work left and I have 4. The countdown has really begun now...
We drove down to New Plymouth on the weekend to drop Orion off at Grannie & Grandad's. It was very sad leaving him behind. We picked up the tickets etc, its finally starting to feel real... but it will be more so when we get on that Plane.
Trying not to stress at work, but that never not happens... I'll be glad when Thursday comes and Friday is a day for finishing to pack and cleaning the house... Then Hong Kong here we come..
MJ
We drove down to New Plymouth on the weekend to drop Orion off at Grannie & Grandad's. It was very sad leaving him behind. We picked up the tickets etc, its finally starting to feel real... but it will be more so when we get on that Plane.
Trying not to stress at work, but that never not happens... I'll be glad when Thursday comes and Friday is a day for finishing to pack and cleaning the house... Then Hong Kong here we come..
MJ
Sunday, July 29, 2007
The First Blog Entry
Well, here goes... another blog... another trip... another set of photos... this time its both of us on an adventure around the world, well practically..
12 days to go! And counting ... We get our tickets etc this weekend, and drop Orion off to Ian & June... He's on holiday at Grandma & Granddad's while we're away..
Then its packing and tidying the house for Gaz, and then on a plane... no more work for 3.5 months :) No more pay for 3.5 months :(
Next update shortly ...
12 days to go! And counting ... We get our tickets etc this weekend, and drop Orion off to Ian & June... He's on holiday at Grandma & Granddad's while we're away..
Then its packing and tidying the house for Gaz, and then on a plane... no more work for 3.5 months :) No more pay for 3.5 months :(
Next update shortly ...
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