Clark & Nadia's Blog

Stunning Slovenia- Easter 2011

2011-04-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

For the Easter break we headed away to Slovenia with our friends Tom, Kathryn and Bridget. We flew into Ljubjana (the Capital) and hired a car down to Lake Bled which was only a short 30min drive away. Lake Bled was very 'Queenstown' like... a small town based on a stunning lakeside with great cafes and restaurants. The lake itself is very small but very calm, whilst we were there they had rowing races on it and it is the venue for the world rowing champs to be held in July. After a couple of nights in Lake Bled we drove down to the coast to Piran a seaside town which everyone who had been, claimed it was just like Croatia but without the price tag. Slovenia massively over delivered the scenery is amazing, its cheap and everything is so easy.

Above- A gondola boat in transit to the island in the middle of the lake, to the top of the picture you can see the Castle which overlooks the lake and the wider Lake Bled area.

Nadia and I posing in front of one of the many stunning sunsets we saw whilst we were there.

On the opposite side of the lake to the castle there is a chairlift that takes you up the mountain and you can then luge down! Good views and fast ride down- what more could you ask for.

Snacking lake side whilst we watch the sun go down....

Slovenia was every bit the clean & green countryside that the Easyjet magazine advertised.
A short walk from Lake Bled is Vintgar gorge which has great walkway access through the entire gorge and great sights to boot.

Tom and I relax after the walk through the Vintgar gorge

We have eaten some Calamari in our travels... it tends to be a dish we use as a benchmark for eating in each country. I think we ate Calamari everyday in Slovenia and I am pleased to say it passed with flying colours. The picture above is easily the most impressive display of Calamari certainly I have ever seen. We ended up eating at this restaurant 3 nights in a row as a consequence:-)

Above- The rowing crew prepares for our row across the lake to the church on the island.

I was a terrible rower... not helped by the fact that the oars barely made it passed my knees.

Looking back from the island towards Bled Castle
Tom relieves me from rowing on the way back... which was best for everyone!

A 30 minute drive from Lake Bled takes you to another stunning lake.

I forget the name of the waterfall but it was impressive...
There are skiing resorts all around Slovenia. Not being winter obviously not a great deal of snow around but that didnt stop Tom and I popping up for a quick look. The skiing facility at the top was excellent with plenty of lifts, restuarants and chalet accomodation- definately one to consider for the next planned ski trip.

Yes... thanks for that

On to Piran.......

The drive across Slovenia did not take long at all from Lake Bled near the top of the country to Piran on the coast was only about 2 hours.

Crystal clear water, nice restuarnts, sunshine, good Calamari & cheap beer- now thats my kind of town.

High above the hill in Piran is the original Castle walls that you are able to climb up and get stunning views over the town... see below.

Doc (Katryn), Bridget & Nadia

The view from our hotel window- overlooking the square in the centre of Piran

Stockholm, Sweden- March 2011

2011-04-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Unbeknown to us Stockholm is still freezing in late March (quite literally). Shortly after finding out this information via our friends at Google, Nadia's desire to explore another part of Scandinavia waned. By 3 days Nadia decided that she did not want to go so I would be left to explore without her and would be the 3rd wheel with our Friends James & Peta. Shortly after this decision she promptly downgraded my accommodation sending me to bunk with randoms in a 4 bed hostel! (I would however have the last laugh- more on this later).

Above- One of the many harbours within Stockholm.
Above & below- I didn't think salt water could freeze, how I wrong I was..
Above- Hutchy and Peta, my travel companions for the weekend.

Above- The Vasa. A 300 year old ship that they managed to dredge up from the mud at the bottom of the harbour. The patient Swedes took over 10 years to restore it and now its on show for all to view. The ill fated Vasa didn't do to well even at the peak of its powers sailing for less than a nautical mile before sinking because someone hadn't done the maths properly on the weight balancing.

Above- Hutchy and I lap up some Scandinavian sunshine.

Above- The frozen harbour!

No commentary on this picture, but now feels like an apt time to explain the sleeping arrangements in Stockholm. Having been ditched by Nadia and downgraded to sharing a hostel (I missed the chance to cancel the booking by less than a couple of hours) I faced 1 night with a room with 3 randoms and then I was going to high tail it out of there and stay at Hutchy and Petas hotel. Having picked up my sheets and making my bed earlier I returned to the room later in the day to find the smallest men's shoes in the world on the floor.... then I saw a bra on the other bed! I deduced that I had been put into a room with 3 girls, so I texted Nadia for some advice!... there was then a knock on the door and in strolls 3 Swedish ladies. Expecting screams and 'what are you doing in my room!' I was instead greeted with polite introductions and an offer for some drinks and to a party later. I promptly apologised and explained that my wife had booked the room and there must have been some sort of mix up to which they replied 'no this is what we do in Sweden'! C'est la vie, Karma manifests itself in so many ways.

Above- shots from the boat cruise we went on around the harbour. We didn't stay outside long, it is possibly the coldest I have been in my life.

The palace with its Royal guards.

Madrid Jan 2011

2011-02-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

As another long English winter rolled by, we thought we would take a break from the snow and get some Spanish sun, siestas and Sangria. Of course this simply was not to be as Madrid does not boast the warmest of temperatures in Jan as it is a very central & mountainous terrain. As it happened the weekend we went it was actually warmer in London and we got a maximum of 5 degrees. We meet up with friends Tom & Doc over there and another couple they were friends with.

Above- We were based a stones throw from the Sol metro.

Madrid Cathedral

Retiro Park- Madrid's main park

The local bull fighting centre- Unfortunately there was no bull fighting on the weekend we were there- instead they had the local circus.

A local treat- a shot of fermented fruit out of an edible chocolate shot glass

The crew at xxx restaurant Amber, Clark, Nadia, Tom, Doc, and Paul

The Calamari with squid ink was unbelievable

The Ox tail was also sensational

Plaza Mayor

The Royal Palace

Above- Madrid's official icon the bear eating from the sweet tree. The fruit on the tree ferments and it was not uncommon for the bears to strut around boozed back in the day.

Puerta Del Sol- Madrid's most famous Square

Munich- 27 & 28 December 2010

2010-12-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

The final leg of the Xmas tour was Munich for 2 nights. I am not sure many people go to Munich out of Beerfeast season but it was really enjoyable. There was plenty to see & do and we certainly had a memorable experience there.

Above- Staatskanzlei

Hofbrauhaus the biggest beer hall in Germany

Above- we tuck into a meal that we will never forget. The food was an eye opener, but that was nothing compared to the scenes that unfolded afterwards. We thought the fries were a bargain at 3 euros, but that was the cost per person so you are looking at about 12 euros or $25 NZ dollars worth of chips. The sausages were also interesting...

Like floating turds in a bowl, this was our dinner. As we were finishing up our local fare the table near us was starting to get pretty rowdy. Whilst my German speaking is not great, you didn't need to be an expert to know that they were very unhappy! There were 4 of them at the table a couple in there 30's and what looked to be the couples parents. Before you know it the group at the table were yelling at the manager and so she called the police. We thought the incident was over after they left the restaurant but low and behold we walked outside to see a full scale assault going on.

6 cop cars turned up, all of them with 2 policemen & they seriously took these people down. They were all man handled, arrested and then taken away literally kicking and screaming completing a classic evenings entertainment for us.

I pose in front of 1 of the 6 cop cars in front of the Spockmeier restaurant. If you are ever in Munich then check this bad boy out, its just off Marienplatz.

Above- Marienplatz

As if you needed another reason to visit Munich... yes its a giant stick man

Nadia, Bridget, Laura, Bex and Al enjoy some wiener schnitzel. We meet up with Bex and Al who were travelling around the area at this time. You will be pleased to know the food and the experience we had on this evening was quite normal.

Above- Al and I enjoy the local tipple.

Above- BMW headquarters- Its 4 cylinders (the Germans think of everything!)

Above- The Golden Angel

Above- Odeonsplatz

Above- Frauenkirche

Above- The Jewish Synagogue

Salzburg- Xmas & Boxing Day 2010

2010-12-29T11:49:00.001-08:00

The hills are alive....... with the sound of music!

After having 9 degrees in Vienna we were welcomed to Salzburg for Christmas day with a temperature of -14 degrees, it was quite a wake up call & I think easily the coldest climate I had been to (even ahead of Invercargill). We caught the train from Vienna which took just over 2.5 hours, the train was clean, quiet, on time and not very expensive- all things that came quite foreign to us having got use to the services available in England! Salzburg is very picturesque but we couldn't help thinking it might be more pretty in summer as seeing white absolutely everywhere doesn't make for a great contrast.

Similar to Vienna, Salzburg was also not short on Xmas markets. You can really see the step change in clothing required to keep warm in these temperatures.

Hohensalzburg Castle looms above

Christmas morning ... it wasn't your every day NZ Xmas type lunch!

Just what Laura always wanted... a shower cap! Maybe she will have better luck with Secret Santa next year.

Just what I always wanted.... a voucher for something I haven't received :-)

What will Christmas Day 2010 be remembered for... not the mulled wine, not the Turkey, chicken, roast spuds and peas swimming in a sea of gravy, not even the Xmas markets... yes that's right the 'Sound of Music Tour'! Men reading this, don't do it, just don't.

These girls certainly aren't 16 going on 17 ..... Yes it is the famous band rotunda from the sound of music- I have got to tell you this was easily the highlight of my entire trip (and that says everything).

Its that famous fountain from the Sound of music, not as impressive frozen over.

This is the church where Maria and the Captain got married in the sound of music. What you didn't see in the movie which I was intrigued to find was the good people from the church selling 'holly water' in Jagermeister bottles for 4 euros a pop- obviously the sound of music tour donations are not quite paying all the bills.

Recognise this one you sound of music nerds? Entrance to the Mirabell Gardens

Christmas day dinner- Bridget, Laura, Clark and 2 friends who happened to be in Salzburg at the same time Hayden & Steph (Nadia kindly took the photo).

Above- Mozarts house

The view from below, looking up towards the Castle not sure what the dude on top of the giant gold ball is suppose to signify, but made for a good photo.

The view from above looking down on St Peters Church.

Above- Salzburg Cathedral.

They have no cars in Salzburg, everyone just gets around on a horse in carriage which makes for a lovely setting. Of course I am blatantly lying but there are a lot these things around, you could be forgiven for thinking they were the main mode of transportation.

Above- In the square in front of Salzburg Cathedral. The triangle thing is not the Austrians trying to plagiarise the Louve but is in fact a cover for the statue underneath which in summer is a water feature so not so practical in winter.

The girls / Eskimo's, from left - Bridget, Laura and Nadia

Vienna- December 2010

2010-12-29T11:37:00.001-08:00

Our Xmas holiday actually started in Gatwick... We made our way to a hotel in Gatwick the night before we flew out to ensure we would be able to make it to the airport with no train disruptions from all the snow we had.
Vienna was the first stop on the journey for 2 nights (23rd & 24th of Dec). The Xmas lights in Vienna were amazing and there were more markets than you could possibly imagine! I think I saw more markets in 2 days than some people would see in a lifetime. The weather was unusually mild, on one day we got a barmy 9 degrees, but this was all about to change as there was a cold front on its way and the mercury dropped faster than prices on Xmas decorations post boxing day.

Hotel Austria was a great location, right in the middle of the town so a short walk from everything. They had all the mod cons and should also be commended on their heating system- it was so hot in the room we had to sleep with the window open.

Xmas market central- every sort of Xmas decoration you could imagine!

The Christmas decorations around the city were very impressive, you are also able to pick up Christmas trees in the main centre of town, they are of course not exactly bargain prices e.g. a 1m tall tree was about 60 Euros and then the price went up to 150 euros for a good 2.5m tree.

China town in Vienna

Above- The main sqaure in Vienna is Stephansplatz (with the Church St Stephens).

Above- Upper Bellvedere Palace (this place has nothing to do with the Vodka, apparently that's from Poland!) Huge grounds and pretty impressive structure.

The girls at 'Belvedere'......

Above- The food stalls and markets were everywhere.

Above- not sure what the guy down the bottom of the picture bent over is doing.

Above- Laura samples some of the fried potatoes and chestnuts on offer.

Snowy St Albans- December 2010

2010-12-29T11:18:00.001-08:00

The coldest winter in 50 years hit us in December. The snow fell and caused major chaos- Heathrow and Gatwick airports closed & the trains were not running. You would think the Brits would be better equipt to deal with these sort of things but apparently not. The ony blessing was that a lot of people could not get to work which meant some quiet days in the office. Below is a selection of snaps from our a little town of St Albans.

Above-St Albans Abbey

The local park was a winter wonderland, the lake was completely frozen over.

Above- Ye Old Fighting Cock- Reputedly the oldest 'Inn' in Britain

Above- Our Back yard

Above- The local park (Veralium) with the frozen lake

Above- One of the locals- The Hare and Hound.

Above- The main street with the former town hall, it was fair to say market day was much quieter once the snow came!

The St Albans Clock tower

Our new car which someone kindly named Francisco.... there was no way I was driving that anywhere.

The other side of the St Albans Abbey.

Berlin- August 2010

2010-08-08T02:12:00.001-07:00

For my 30th birthday Nadia organised a trip to Berlin, somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time. Berlin is awesome, its got so much to see and do, it has 2 lots of massive history in Nazism and the East / West split with the Berlin wall. This is also combined with great eateries and bars and the whole place has just got an amazing chic coolness to it and I got to practice my extensive German language speaking skills- Das ist gut!

We left first thing on Saturday morning and came back on Monday having had a brilliant weekend away my birthday weekend. Our home coming was capped off by watching the ABs smash up Australia, doesn't get much better than that!

Above- Banderberg Gate

Above-Reichstag building

Nadia & Laura climbing to the viewing platform

Inside the Reichstag building- where you can look down into the parliamentary chambers

The Jewish memorial

2,711 slabs which are the same width and depth and vary in height. The meaning of this has been left to be interpreted by the viewer. Some theories are that the stones are representative of all the individuals, tall and sort, skinny and tall, other same it is conformity, others see the slabs as being similar to the train carriages that were constantly taking people away in.

The Berlin wall
As mentioned above the great thing about Berlin is the history. We did a free walking tour which tells you about all the major sights. Just when you have got your head around Nazi Germany, as you stand within an empty car park where Hitlers shot himself in the bunker below, you roll around the corner to the Berlin wall. I didn't realise how all the events of the wars were the major causes of the events that followed i.e. Nazi Germany spring out of WW1 defeat, WW2 Defeat caused the country to be split into 4 occupations. The most notably the split with the soviet union and the other western countries.

The Berlin wall doesn't look so big and scary these days but I suppose you need to imagine some extra barbed wire, human sewage thrown on the wall and the guard towers with snipers stationed every few 100 metres. It wasn't called the death strip for giggles I suppose.

Das ist ein grosse bier!

There are some crazy buildings around the place. This one looks like they literally slapped a silver porta cabin on the roof of the brown building.

Above- The former Nazi Headquarters building (seen on the movie Valkyrie) one of the only Nazi buildings to survive the allied bombing. The building was later used by the DDR hence the pictures of the random happy communist workers and where later a mass protest was held during the uprising (mural below). The building is now used as the ministry of finance.

The TV Tower in East Berlin is the tallest structure in Germany and was originally built in the 1960's to show off the strength of the GDR (German Democratic republic). The tower when the sun shines on it has the effect of causing a crucifix reflection a term called 'the popes revenge' which used to annoy the atheist GDR government no end.

Above- At the University which was the sight of the burning of books monument. The monument in the middle of the square is literally a room underground with empty shelves. There are enough shelves within this room to house all the books that were burnt on that day in 1933 by the Nazi's.

Above- The new guard house- Monument to victims of war and tyranny. The sculpture of a mother with her dead son. The monument is quite cool how it is exposed to all the elements, which is intended on symbolising the suffering.

Museum Island- you name it its here- I am surprised there is not a museum celebrating the history of all the museums in the area.

We stayed at the St Michel berger hotel in the Fredrichshain district, which is very close to the east side gallery- a graffittied section of the Berlin wall. The hotel is very cool and trendy, as demonstrated by the this pile of suitcases above and lamp shades made of books below.

Potsdam
On the last day we headed out to Potsdam for a change in pace. Potsdam is to Germany as Windsor is to England. You can reach Potsdam by the train in about 45 minutes from central Berlin. Like Windsor there are more castles than you can shake a stick at and the surrounding gardens and lakes are great to walk around.

Above- The new palace.

Above- Orangery Palace

Above- Sanssouci Palace

The main shopping strip in Potsdam

Laura showcases that classic German family name famous for having the best strawberries in all of Germany- Driscolls.

Above- The Sony centre- my new 'happy place'

The National Gallery- Berlin.

For 'my' birthday Nadia decided it would be great to go and have some big ice creams from Hagan Daas as a treat for 'me', such a thoughtful act - so selfless.

Above- Berliner Dome

The famous East German (Ampelmannchen)- these were originally just on the east German side and was a good way of knowing what side of Berlin you were on, but they are now so popular with the tourists that they are popping up all over west Germany as well. There are variations on these with a girl with pig tails apelfrau and a little guy on a bike as well. There are now tourist shops with little green men paraphernalia available from mugs to undies.

Great City! Great Birthday! Thanks Wifey :-)

The Scottish Highlands- July 2010

2010-07-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

In late July we headed to Scotland for 5 days. We stayed with our family friends, Jill and Colin McColl in Fort Augusta. Fort Augusta sits just at the bottom of Lochness which is about a 45 minute drive from Inverness. We had a great time, so much of the scenery reminded us of the South Island and the weather reminded me even more of Invercargill. We literally had 4 seasons in one day, most days. Over our time there we visited may spots, including heading south to Fort William & Glencoe, East to Avimore and all the way west to the Isle of Skye.

You can never be too old to take advantage of this little gem it seems.

A top the Cairngorms mountain range- a popular skiing location just out of Avimore.

The highest red telephone box in the UK- what better time for Nadia to check in with Donna

The little wooden fences is how they collect all their snow- if they don't have fences the snow tends to just get blown off the mountain.

The Fanicular railway up the mountain.

The Foyers waterfall

Above- Plokton- A little off the beaten path to get to (literally a beaten path for a road!) but well worth it once getting there, you are greeted by a quaint little town with a splendid little bay.

The beach on the Loch just out of Avimore in the Cairngorn National Park - it was a pity for these optimistic beach goers that within 50 minutes of this picture being taken there was horizontal rain practically blowing them off the beach. But hey they were probably prepared, becauseas we learnt, that's a typical Scottish day.

A lovely night out with Jill & Colin at the local pub in Fort Augusta.

The Highland cattle (Kyloe) are not shy. I spent much of my time honking on the horn to try and move these beasts along- it seems the Scots don't really believe in fences so it is not unusual to see the wild life just parked up on the road.

Dalwhinnie Distillery- if I was a whiskey man this would be my drop.

Above- On the east coast of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye Kilt rock and waterfall.

The gravestone of Flora MacDonald right at the top of the isle of Skye just out of Kilmuir- to say the road around the top was dicey would be a huge understatement, it was only one lane for 95% of it and you had to just pull in to little bays to let traffic through or go off road, this included the tourist buses up there!

Above - Portree on the Isle of Skye - generally regarded as the capital of the Totternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye.

In the western highlands lies Eilean Donan Castle which was originally build in the 13th century by the vikings, demolished in the 1700's and then rebuilt in the 1920's.

Just out of Spean Bridge lies the war memorial dedicated to the fallen commandos who died during the second world war. The hills that lie behind is Ben Nevis the tallest mountain in the UK.

The monument at Glenfinnan has an unknown Scottish highlander on its top and is dedicated to the Jacobite rising. Directly behind this lies the Glenfinnan viaduct which is famous for featuring in the Harry Potter films.

So much lush greenery in Scotland!

One of the walks we went on took us into the hills of Glencoe which once up high enough gave great views of the valley.

Above- Walking around Glencoe and overlooking the island cemetery where many of the MacDonald clan are buried.

Our rental car - the Ford Focus was so good at dodging sheep, cows & other cars it has inspired me to looking into buying one.

Above- nestled on the shores of Loch ness lies Urquhart castle.

This was as close as we got to spotting the Loch ness monster- hilarious exhibition centre though.

Above Inverness- This is a great place to fly into as it is accessible to all parts of the Highlands.

Wimbledon- June 2010

2010-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Once again for the third year running we were unsuccessful in the Wimbledon ballot, so we headed down at the crack of dawn to to join many, all queing to get into see the live tennis action at the lawn tennis championship. Being the second week, we were well and truly into the business end of the tournament and our visit was for the womens 1/4 finals. We were stoked to secure court one tickets. When we arrived it absolutely poured down and an hour later it was 30 degrees and we were struggling to deal with the heat!

The draw....

It was not Venus' day as she was out played by Pironkova, much to the crowds delight who were definately backing the under dog. The other womens quarterfinal we watched was against 2 relatively unknowns, neither of whom could stop Serena Williams from winning the Wimbeldon title.

The video shows our ridiculously good seats on court one- 5 rows back right in the centre!

The womens quarters were followed by the mens doubles - above is Tommy Robredo.

Nadia and Amruta eating snacks on Murray mound (Henman Hill)

HSBC were offering free strawberries and cream for those that have an HSBC debit card- brilliantly we have 6, so may have slightly taken advantage there. An awesome day at the tennis, here's hoping were 4th year lucky in the ballot!

Normandy, France, June 2010

2010-06-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

After a successful weekend away in the Champagne region, 2 weeks before, it was back into France for the weekend, for a trip to Normandy. Once again we were with our Australian friends who were trying to cram in as much travel before they went home, so we literally just jumped on the band wagon. We stayed in a town call Honfleur which was a very quaint French seaside town.

The port in Honfleur which is lined with restaurants. A great spot for a croissant whilst soaking up the French sunshine.

Our apartment was a really good size and a great location right in the heart of Honfleur- in fact we had a food market outside the apartment which was well frequented.

Above- ....and that was just the tomato section at the market!

On the Saturday night we treated ourselves to a Michelin star restaurant in the town - the pictures might not show it but the food was amazing !

Chocolate overdose and the end of our 5th course! There were a few buttons loosened that night to get it all that in- but I would not be defeated!

The monument at Utah beach - this is one of the most famous of the beaches (Utah, Omaha, Juno, Sword and Gold) and this is where the allies had the majority of their success.

Museum at Utah beach

Antipodean picnic

What a history lesson you get when you visit these places! I learned more in 2 days than I think you could pick up in 3 years studying history at school- that's of course not trying to take a cheap shot at Southland Boys' scholastic brilliance!

The American cemetery at Omaha beach, it is the biggest cemetery from WWII where close to 10,000 soldiers are remembered on a stretch of over 17 acres. This is the same cemetery that is featured at the end of saving private Ryan, a pretty sombre but amazing place.

Above - the crew

Champagne region France- May'2010

2010-06-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

With the weather starting to come good but not quite, we decided it best to head to France where sunshine would be more assured. We drove over with our Australian friends Am & Suso. It takes about 45minutes to get from St Albans to Dover and then you load your car on the train ferry and go through the channel tunnel and pop out in France, in about 30 minutes.

We stayed in a town called Eppernay which was about 2 1/2 hours drive from Calais. We found Eppernay much nicer than Reims which is where many of the champagne houses are, but it is also very commercial.

Driving through the winding vineyards just south of Hautvillers.

Tasting session at in Eppernay, it was quite reasonably priced to try the different varieties.

MUMM Champagne house in Reims.

All the major houses offer you tours where they tell you about the champagne making process and then you obviously finish with the mandatory tastings! Whilst it is very interesting hearing the process the first time around by the time we had heard this 3 times we felt like we could take the tour ourselves. Unfortunately, not many houses just offer you tastings so the tour is sometimes an addition you can't avoid.

The secret vault- in here they keep bottles of champagne which are over 100 years old. These bottles still have the sediment in them which allows them to last so long, they then need to go through the last stage of champagne making (freezing the neck and release the sediment and capping).

There are literally 100's of rooms full of bottles of champagne such as this going through the aging process. Back in the day they used people called 'riddlers' whose job it was to twist the bottle slightly and change the angle of the bottle slightly more vertical- what a job!

The picturesque Church at Eppernay which was visible from our bedroom window.

The town of Hautvillers.

In a lot of the towns they had these bushes with blue, white and red plastic flower lookalikes tied on to them- quite nice but kind of strange- why not just have flowers? French eh?

Our apartment in Eppernay was lovely - the owners (Eric) came and meet us and talked about the area and then invited us around to theirs for some champers- which we took them up on.

French fine dining- courtesy of Carrefour and the local markets- Champagne, strawberries, prawns, scallops, cheese and cured meats- yum!

The man himself, Don Perignon, the monk famous for making Champagne. This statue sits outside the Moet and Chandon House. The french pronounce Moet like Mo-itt rather than Mo-ah.

Don Perignon's final resting place in the Monestary Abbey.

In one of the houses there was an exhibition on at the same time, which was cool. The trip to the champagne region was wonderful- it was easy to get there, relaxing, interesting and thirst quenching.

The Cotswolds- Apr'2010

2010-05-02T09:57:00.001-07:00

We were supposed to be away with the in-laws but unfortunately due to the volcanic ash disruption they were unable to leave New Zealand. We decided to still head to the Cotswolds anyway as we had never been & as it is only about an 1hr and 40 minute drive from St Albans. The Cotswolds is an area that runs from Stratford to Bath and is quintessentially what the best of what you would think rural England was i.e. rolling hills, yellow stone quaint cottages. We stayed in a cottage at Stow in the wold.

Above- Snowshill

On Saturday we decided to complete one of the many recommended walks. You are able to wonder through farms with no problem and pass many other walkers along the way.

Nadia stands on the Cotswolds Way. We saw a red royal mail delivery man on this road and Nadia made the comment that it looked like Postman Pats van. We were delighted to see that on his dashboard he had a stuffed black and white cat so clearly the similarity was not lost on him!

The walks take you all over the place, especially when you have a slightly out of date guide book and you lose the trail!

Chipping Campden

Broadway Tower, which looks over Snowshill

Above is the cottage we hired for the weekend, and our powerful VW polo (1.nothingL) Diesel hire car.

Pisa, Florence & Rome- Easter 2010

2010-04-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

Bonjourno- For Easter we decided to head to Italy. To say that the place was busy around this time (particularly Rome) would be the understatement of the century. We flew out of Luton to Pisa and trained from here to both Florence and then Rome where we flew out of. Individual highlights of each of these places are below... my favourite was definitely Rome!

Pisa

We had a freaky landing into Pisa.... it was very windy that day and the pilot didn't seem to have a handle on the aircraft. I wouldn't say we landed but more like bounced to the ground. The man next to us said that he had landed in Pisa over 50 times and that the pilot very nearly lost control of the aircraft! After that interesting start we ventured into the town and took the standard leaning tower of Pisa shots! There is not a lot to see and do in Pisa so once we had our 'token' snaps we then caught the train to Florence. Our total stay was no more than 2 hours but it was good to see the tower and the flights were more convenient and cheaper into Pisa than flying direct to Florence so it worked out well.

Almost as impressive as Invercargill's water tower.

We weren't allowed to stand on the grass at this time of year so instead had to scale the little poles to try and get some clear space from the 1000's of tourists that were there.

After a number of attempts we nearly got it right with this one. It is hilarious watching all the tourist poses around the place, some people are very creative... and rude.

Florence

Florence is a lovely city very picturesque with plenty to see and do. One thing that is evident when you get to Florence is that its all about the statue of David. You can see at least 4 replica statues as well as the real one around the place and if you count the post-it notes, aprons, pens, mugs, undies & other random paraphernalia then you are going to be seeing him on every street corner.

Above- the REAL statue of David. When seen up close the detail is unbelievable.

Above- Piazza S,Maria Nuova

The view from the Duomo of the Baptistery of San Giovanni

Above, the famous Florentine steak. I don't know why they bothered with the salad on the side.

Above the view from Piazzale Michelangelo

When did Duff Beer go from being a fictitious beer on the Simpson's, to an actual beer? and 4 euros a bottle, ouch?

This is not actually a statue of David but pretty cool none the less- legend has it that this guy took exception to the other guy saying he had a small weener. Or more boringly its actually Perseus with the head of Medusa.

Above Nadia at the Piazza Della Signoria standing in front of the Fountain of Neptune

The view from the Piazza Michelangelo - The Duomo stands just over Nadia's left shoulder

A typical Italian street - its no wonder their driving is so 'creative' with roads this size.

Rome
What can I say, I thought Rome was awesome. So many things to see and do, it puts most other city break destinations to complete shame. Everything is within walking distance or a short tube ride and the amount of histiry there is mind blowing. The only downside was the ques into everything and the slightly average weather we had. We stayed close to the termini tube at a Giovis B&B who treated us like 'one of the family'.

Above the Great Roman Colosseum- (Arch of Constantine to the right)

The floor of the Colosseum was made of wood (as shown above) with trap doors that would open and close bringing lions etc into the battle against the gladiators, just to make things interesting.

The Colosseum was capable of holding over 50,000 people and that's about how many people it felt like were in the que ahead of us to get in to the place.

Above- Via Curia

Above- An old Roman Stadium

Above- Palatino

Pack some snacks for entry into the Vatican Museum because you will be waiting awhile. Even with us booking a set entry time we were still waiting for over 45 minutes and for the unfortunate souls that did not have a booking they were qued right around 3 sides of the complex which would be close to a 2 km que!

The Sistine Chapel within the Vatican was fairly underwhelming for me. You cant help but be impressed by Michelangelo's work on the roof though.

Nadia makes a new friend

Saint Peters Basilica was pumping the day we were going in, probably mostly because it was the day before the Pope was to address the public for Easter. The que to get in stretched around the entire square was definitely worth the wait.

Above the view down the centre of the Basilica

Sunlight streams into the Basilica causing this cool effect on one the statues

Thankfully no one tries to break into St Peters Basilica because I really don't think these guys would provide much resistance!

The Spanish Steps, we were caught in the rain here but can still appreciate the beauty.

Santa Maria Maggiroe

Above- the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon. It was a miserable day and this was a perfect shelter, until of course I realised there was a huge round hole in the roof.

Monument to Emanuele II - very cool

St Peters Basilica

Above- The Trevi fountainThe Trevi Fountain, Nadia threw 2 coins into the fountain and wished for the rain to stop!

Looking down the main drag (Via del Corso) towards Piazza del Popolo. Make sure you hide the credit cards from your significant other as this street will burn a hole in your pocket!

Never thought I would say it but I was definately all pizza'd out by the end of the trip.

Alagna & Como Italy- March'10

2010-04-11T04:06:00.000-07:00

Late March signalled our last chance to get some skiing in before the scorching summer sun washes over the northern hemisphere (some wishful thinking clearly!). A group of 7 of us (excluding Nadia because she 'doesn't ski' and 'its cold') headed to Italy to for a weekend of skiing. We flew out of Luton and into Milan and hired a people mover to get to Alagna which is a small skiing town approximately 2 hours drive from Milan. The weather over the weekend was not great with visibility low, this combined with a large night drinking on house red wines (8 euro for a litre) meant that our second day of skiing turned into a casual drive to Lake Como.

Above- the chairlift was about 200 metres away from our chalet which then had access to a number of lifts which could take us all over and across the mountain.

The view from the chalet balcony looking down the tiny town of Alagna. Brilliantly just to the left of this photo there is a trail that finishes so you can literally ski your last run, kick your boots off and be at your chalet, which is exactly what we did.

Olly, Leah and Greg contemplate then next run.

Olly and Hutchy in the gondola up the mountain. This one is similar to the skyline gondola in Queenstown but they also have very large cable cars that carry over 50 people at one time.

The video shows some of Olly's skiing prowess!

Hutchy and Peta frolicking on the mountain. More likely that Peta had taken time to stop and pick James up after another fall.

The drive to Como took us over some lovely terrain, some of it seemed completely off the beaten track - we found out were off the beaten track as the sat nav had taken us somewhere completely random.

Lake Como was very pretty, some of the houses on the lakeside had to be seen to be believed. Apparently Como is a bit of a celeb hangout as well, but alas no papping over this weekend.

Egypt unplugged- Feb'10

2010-02-14T03:22:00.000-08:00

As the snow was still falling around England the harsh weather in February was not letting up. Fortunately for us Egypt would provide a short reprieve from the cold. Despite Nadia's protests and attempts at trying to substitute other people to go in her place by some small miracle I had managed to push this trip through. So on the 2nd Feb I dragged her kicking and screaming on our African 10 day tour of Egypt. The tour was organised through a company called 'On the go' and we were undertaking the 'Egypt unplugged tour'. The tour included Cairo (& the Giza Pyramids), Luxor (& the valley of Kings, Queens & temples) and Dahab (Mt Sinai and the Red Sea). By the end Nadia had enjoyed herself even to the point where she would recommend it to others!

Cairo- Lower Egypt

The Pyramids of Giza

One of the only surviving ancient wonders of the world and the oldest tourist attraction in the world! About 2.5million limestone blocks were used to create each pyramid with each block weighing between 1.5 and 15 tonnes. A sight that needs to be seen to be believed.

Above- The view from 'Panorama point' from left to right- the great Pyramid (King Cheops), the 2nd Pyramid (King Chephren) and the 3rd pyramid (King Mycerinus).

Note the pyramid on the left- it was made to steep and then had to be corrected and a replacement made to the right, much to the embarrassment of the king.

The oldest of the pyramids is the Step Pyramid made for King Djoser (Pyramid of Saqqara)- This Pyramid is on the outskirts of Cairo and is from the 3rd dynasty so is over 4,500 years old.

Fortress like entrance to the Soqqara Pyramid.
Above- I sit on the great pyramid. The tourist police whistled and kicked me off shortly after this photo was taken!

Walk like an Egyptian.....

The top of the 2nd pyramid still has some of the original casing, most of the casing was stolen by the locals who used them on their houses.

The Sphinx of Giza with the Great Pyramid in the background, the Sphinx depicts the body of a crouching lion and the head of a human. The Sphinx is supposed to have a beard on it but Napoleon blew it off!

Posing with the Sphinx and the 2nd Pyramid.

Click on the video to see the view of the pyramids and sphinx. If you listen really carefully in this magnificent of places you can hear Nadia announce that she really feels like a bread roll!

Above- Tourist Police- they are everywhere!

Yummy!

Dirty Cairo- the city that never sleeps!

Not too many pictures of Cairo itself I am afraid, purely because it is quite a grubby looking city, there are shacks everywhere topped with Satellite dishes as far as the eye can see. There are close to 25 million people in Cairo which is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and the population is growing 1 million every year currently. The traffic is diabolical with traffic jams pretty much all the time, apparently the best time to drive is between 4-6 am. There are people everywhere and rubbish all over the place which people sort through by hand to try & sell off including disposable cutlery-GROSS!

Above- its impossible to try and capture the chaos of Cairo but above shows a completely overloaded bus just randomly stopping in the middle of the road and people jumping on and off. This is quite common and not just with buses.

Nadia at the perfumery- good sales pitch but a crock if you ask me.
Below- Papayas paper is everywhere in Egypt, it is what the Egyptians of past used to draw on and many of the images are so well preserved you can still see them today. The plant you can see is in the pot to the bottom left of the photo, it is then woven together and pressed in the vice to the right. It is a popular tourist trap in Egypt as the dodgy Egyptians try and sell you banana leaf.

Luxor- Upper Egypt

The journey to Luxor was via a 10 hour sleeper train. We had upgraded so had our own tiny carriage. It was a bumpy ride but we did get some sleep so well worth the upgrade in my view.

Temple of Hatshepsut (hot chicken soup)

This temple has been termed 'Hot chicken soup' by all the ignorant westerners who cant pronounce its real name. I am certainly no better than them so I thought this was a great name, easy to say and best of all easy to remember. Hot Chicken soup was named after and built in honour of the only woman who ruled over both upper and lower Egypt.

Nadia gets some helpful advice from a local of how she should be posing, he later asked for a tip of 20LP (Egyptian pounds) for the privilege.

I cant remember the significance of this image but it was really interesting. which brings me onto an important point about having a guide in Egypt was critical for us, having everything explained really does enrich the experience, even if you forget half of it later!

The River Nile....
In case you are wondering why I have put Luxor as upper Egypt & Cairo as lower despite Luxor being south of Cairo, this is because in the ancient times the Egyptians didn't think North and South but worked more in the direction of flow of the river Nile i.e. Luxor was upstream so upper and Cairo downstream so lower.

The Nile is the longest river in the world (and is pretty wide too) it was very important to the Egyptians as the source of life. Interestingly the river Nile is the only river that flows from south to north in the northern hemisphere and only 22% of the river is in Egypt. These days the Nile in Egypt is used for sailing Felucca's and dumping rubbish!

The river Nile! In the background the hills of the valley of Kings & Queens on the West bank.

Above- 2 Feluccas sailing- we opted out of sailing on these as many people do overnight trips down the Nile, they have no running water on the boats and yes that means no toilets, so its over the side if you need to go! Below- the sun sets on the Nile provides a nice backdrop for these sailors, is that someone over the side....

The Valley of King's & Queen's

We had an early morning start to catch the sunrise over Luxor above the Valley of Kings and Queens but it was well worth it. The Valley of Kings and Queens has some amazing tombs littered throughout it including that of the the infamous Tutankhamen. Because camera flashes fades the ancient drawings on the walls of the tombs they have banned the use of all cameras in these areas so you will have to take my word on the fact that it was very cool (or just google it) . To make up for the lack of photos, check out these pictures from the hot air balloon!

The boys fire up the balloon ready for us to jump in and take off.

We were the first Balloon to take off. The pilots cant send you in a particular direction it all depends on the wind direction and where it decides to take you.

A view from the air of the temple of hot chicken soup

Above- The road up to the Valley of Queens.

The sun rises over Luxor, the imposing Nile cuts through the centre of the photo.

Above- The valley of Kings and Queens in the distance (close to where we took off) with the balloons dotting the landscape.

Watch the video below to see the views we saw from the balloon.

Below- because you cant control where you land they just radio your location in and send in some boys in a van. We ended up in a random sugar cane field so once the boys arrived on mass they unloaded us and packed up the balloon onto the back of the truck. It is hard to believe you trust your life with these guys because at times it does look like a bit of a mickey mouse outfit. Highly reccommended activity all the same.

Karnak complex

The Karnak complex in Luxor is huge! It is so big it is literally an open air museum. The complex has evolved over years as its construction was over 2300 years! These days it is the second most popular attraction behind the Giza Pyramids and there has been many a movie made from with the ancient backdrop including 'the Mummy returns'.

Above- the highlight for me in the Karnak- not really shown in the photo but a room (Hypostyle hall) comprising of 134 massive columns all of them over 10 metres tall, 12 of them are 21 metres tall!

The entrance to the Karnak complex, each wall such as the one above represents the era of the King of the time. This one died early so the wall was never fully completed.

Above- look carefully at the figure on the left, he is the Penis God.

In the foreground is the Scarab beatle thingee, which if you walk around 7 times gives you good luck and many children, needless to say Nadia was keen to do 2 laps.

Below- Some locals catching up on the weekend. Being a Muslim country I am sure they would not have been talking about drinking, they definatley would not have been talking about women and probably not cars so maybe their Camels? Failing this perhaps football, after all the locals were fast to point out that they did win the Afrcian cup.

Luxor temple

Dahab- Sinai Penisiular

And now for the lowlight of the trip... to get to Dahab from Luxor you can fly into the nearby Sharm El Sheikh and it will be about an hour and a half or you can do what we did and BUS. To bus you need to drive right around the coast and this meant that for 18.5 unfortunate hours we were in the bus. As if that was not bad enough, unfortunately the seats on the bus were so close together that both Nadia nor my legs could fit. Needless to say it was the worst comute I have ever experienced! Take my advice if you are ever put in a similar situation- take the plane ride.

Happy Valley Resort

We eventually arrived at the coastal resort for some much needed R&R. The resort had 3 swimming pools a good buffet breakfast and some great private snorkelling spots which went a long way in recovering from the journey there.

Above- Sun bathe, followed by Below- snorkelling

Above- Dining in Dahab at friends restuarant 'where you arrive as a guest and leave as a friend'

Above- the local restauranter shows his catch including in his right hand the Calamari, which 25 minutes later turned into the meal below.

Below- Yes its a midget dancing on the table, dont aks me why but it is apparently the done thing post dinner, pre dessert.

The Blue Hole

The Blue hole is a popular snorkelling destination just out of Dahab. There is plenty of great colourful fish and coral and even some dolphins if you are lucky.

Below- Nadia sits in the cafe overlooking the Blue Hole.

Saint Katherines Monestary

About 2 hours out of Dahab lies St Katherines Monestary one of the oldest Christian monestary's in the world and home to the legendary 'burning bush'.

The Chapel at St Katherines.

Above- the legendary 'burning bush where Moses saw the bush was on fire and yet 'the bush was not being consumed', as this was Gods spirit. Someone with a good sense of humour has placed a fire extinguisher beside the bush, just in case in happens again!

A very cool room full of skulls in the monestary, where all the monks of yester year are buried.

Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai does not acually refer to a specific mountain but rather the whole mountain range. The most famous Mountain of them all is Moses Mountain which is where God gave Moses the 10 commandments.

The sun sets over the Sinai mountain range.

Stairway to heaven....

The church at the top of Mount Sanai, the 2 hour treck up means it is a resonably small congregation.

The sun set at 5.30pm, it was freezing up there so we were happy to start heading back down, unfortunatey though when the sun goes, so does any light so you desend in darkness with a torch.

The Video above shows the view at sunset, click to watch.

I have a new respect for Camels. Unfortunately one woman in our tour group slipped over on the way down near the top and broke her ankle in 2 places. Unfortunately stretchers and Westpac helicopters are non existant in Egypt so the woman had to ride a camel in the dark all the way down- apparently camels can pretty much see in the dark. Whilst most unfortunate, the event certaintly spiced up the afternoon.

Glasgow & Edinburgh Jan'10

2010-02-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

Scotland this time of year is so cold it puts Invercargill to shame. The plan was to go up and see the Hurren's and their new bundle of joy in Edinburgh via Glasgow. We did a whistle stop tour of Glasgow in 5 hours which included some snow and hail and then took the train to Edinburgh.

Seaside just out of Edinburgh- It was a lot colder than this photo indicates trust me!

Above- Climbing Arthur's seat which looks out over Edinburgh.

Atop Arthur's seat with Edinburgh in the background, you can see Edinburgh Castle to the top left of the picture.

The proud new parents out for a stroll- Note the Bugaboo stroller. Casey assures me these are the Rolls Royce of strollers!

Nadia with baby Izzy- she did eventually give her back

Apparently this guy gets a road cone put on his head every weekend courtesy of the local university - those road cones are so versatile.

Glasgow by dusk

The Tardis....

Above- Haggis neeps and tatties- the 'flash' version.

The menu .....

Morocco- Xmas 2009

2010-01-01T11:17:00.001-08:00

Aaahhh Christmas- Mulled wine, snow, Christmas trees & presents... not quite for us in 2009. For Christmas we headed to Morocco a country that do not drink alcohol (let alone mulled wine) and don't celebrate Christmas. Why you ask... well it is one of only a few places in the northern hemisphere handy to London which ticks 2 criteria; its warm and it is not on the Euro currency so it wont cost you a fortune.

We flew out to Marrakesh on Christmas eve with some fellow antipodean Christmas orphans Amruta & Suso & stayed in a flash riad (shared house) for 2 nights.

Above- With the lack of a Ranfurly Shield to hand I find a replacement....

Above- when we arrived in Marrakesh we were lead down some random side streets, including the one above on our way to our Riad. Once you arrive to the big door you don't know what to expect but once we opened up we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.

Above- Inside the Riad, where you can relax beside the pool and sip on Berbers Whiskey (Mint Tea) and contemplate your surrounds.

For Christmas dinner we were treated to 4 courses- Soup to start followed by salads as the entree, main course was 2 types of Tajine (choice of Beef or fish) with cous cous and finally followed by a 3 types of dessert. Needless to say we were completely full!

For Christmas day we headed into the Medina (ancient city walls) for a spot of shopping. There are 1000's of stalls similar to above called souks where you can literally buy anything! Bargaining is like a sport in Morocco so you need to send in your best negotiator as things should cost c.40%-50% of the first price they offer you (depending on how gullible you look, maybe even 20%).

Above- Nadia looks at yet more candle holders! No issues if the power goes off in our house I can tell you as we have enough candles to light our place up like a Christmas tree.

Above- within the Medina there is a large square by day you will find snake charmers, guys with monkeys and all other sorts of people looking to earn your hard earned Dirham (local currency). By night however it takes on a new look. They set up 100's of food stalls- the food there is cheap and delicious! For Nadia it was a hand sanitising disaster zone though!

Above- the winding road over the Atlas mountains

You can expect to be sold things everywhere in Morocco even at this picturesque spot 10,000 ft up in the Atlas Mountain range.

Above- our crew cross the river to get to the Casbah (Moroccan fortress or castle). I took this photo from behind these guys on my manly horse. I think the Moroccan guy taking us over thought I may have been a bit too large for your bog standard donkey.

Above- the view from Casbah

Nadia, Suso & Amruta

Lamb Kofta's- tasty!

Milan, Italy Nov'09

2009-12-05T04:57:00.001-08:00

Twickenham. Tick. Murrayfield. Tick. Millenium. Tick. With the All Blacks tour of the Northern Hemisphere now apon us, it was time to knock over another sporting destination & what better place than Sans Siro stadium in Milan against the ever improving Italians. 16 of us flew out on the Friday night after work and returned on Sunday evening. Our day got off to the perfect start when we woke up to see playing on Italian TV the All Whites beat the well reknown giants in soccer, Bahrain to make it into the World cup. Unfortunately the rugby game was not as exciting as the soccer game & the weekend will probably be more remembered for some dodgy sausages outside the stadium pre game 'sausage factor' which resulted in several crook kiwis over the weekend!

Above- Showing our support for the mighty AB's outside Sans Siro

San Siro is typically home to the local football teams AC & Inter Milan. The game was sold out with an attendance of over 80,000 people which is the most they have ever had for a game of rugby in Italy.

Above- The crew from left to right; Jo, Juliette, Cam, Ed, Becs, Amy, Neena, Richard, Nadia, Tom, Kathryn, Hannah & Todd. Because we had bought our tickets from a company dedicated to getting ex pat kiwis AB's tickets we were sitting with a number of other Kiwis.... including a team of 20 who were there on a 30th Birthday party dressed in full body black lycra suits aptly titled the Spand (dex) Blacks- Im not sure what was more entertaining, them or the rugby!

Unfortunately we played out 'B' side for this outing- some noteable omissions from above were DC (Carter) and Hardcore (McCaw). Above- Duomo di Milano from the square

Above-Galleria Vittorio is over 130 years old it houses all the big names Prada, Vuitton etc so Nadia was allowed no where near it.

This is the building where the controvesial painting by Leonardo Davinci (The last supper) is held. People are shown through in 15 minute blocks as you are lead through no less than 3 tiny rooms which helps ensure the air in the main room is maintained to ensure minimal deteriation.

Northern Ireland October'09

2009-11-20T14:39:00.001-08:00

Belfast City

Everything about the centre of Belfast looks normal, it is the same currency, the same time zone, the same shops and the people all speak the same language as you. It is not until however you go out of the city centre a little way that you start to see that Belfast has some very serious issues.

We did a black cab tour which takes you out of the city centre somewhat and from here you will see the issues come to the fore. Literally on one side of the city you have the Catholics (the Falls) aligned with Ireland and on the other you have the Protestants (the Shankle) who align themselves with England.

It was clearly not enough to have them living on different sides of the city so they have also erected a massive wall (the peace wall) to keep them apart. In each of the respective parts of town they have painted murals reaffirming their respective allegances (as per the image below).

Each side of the city has to be treated the same by the city council so it is costing them a samll fortune because if for example they wanted a new swimming pool they would need to make sure that there was a pool on the Catholic side but also the exact same facility on the protestant side. There has been a lot of violence in Belfast between the 2 groups over the years to the point where the English police only left in 2008.

Above- Nadia signs the 'peace wall'

Above- The gates that seperate the 2 sides are locked on weekends from 7pm on Friday night and dont open again until Monday at 6am.

Below- Back to reality in the centre of Belfast
The Giants Causeway

Our tour for this did not start of too well when the tour company Paddywagon tours forgot to pick us up! Unpreturbed though we got on another tour and headed out to the Giants Causeway which is a cool rock formation which is entrenched in myth and legend.

The shortened version of the legend suggests that the causeway was created by a giant man named Finn MacCool who created the path by throwing some of the mountains in the water to get to has adversary in Scotland. When the Scottish giant came over to Ireland to attack Finn was very tired from creating the causeway so he thought of a genius plan. He dressed himself in babies clothes and sat in a cot. When the Scottish giant arrived Finns wife said that he was out but to wait for him as he wouldnt be long. The scottish giant saw the size of the baby in the cot and thought if this is the size of Finns baby then how big would the father Finn be! He ran off scared all the way back to Scotland tearing up the causeway along the way so that Finn couldnt follow him.

We got very lucky with the weather on the day we visited the Causeway, Nadia was always going to need to wear the 'puff' jacket though.

Giant shadows!

Krakow- Poland, October'09

2009-10-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

I will not try and dress it up... Krakow is a depressing place. We were there just for the weekend & just about everything about the place was gloomy & depressing (even the KFC was not great!). It was in stark comparison to the sunny Greece holiday we had just had, the big difference being, that this was a 'cultural visit' & history and culture is one thing Poland is not short on.

In this respect Krakow (with Auswitz & Birkenau) is a must see destination.

The entrance to Auswitz- The writing says 'work will set you free'

Above- the square in the centre of Krakow

Above- Wawel Castle
We went out for some local fare, with mixed results....
Above- Nadia uninpressed with her Pear compote (you can see why)

Below- I am defeated, there is only so much purple cabbage a man can eat

The Wieliczka Salt mines

This sounds random, but it was actually really good. It is listed as a UNESCO world heriatge site for good reason. Our tour incorporated this with the trip to Auswitz as it is located between Krakow and Auswitz and if you get the chance definately go for a look.

The salt mines lie 180 metres below the ground, there are stairs you have to go all the way down on and then thankfully a lift for on the way back up. The main attraction in the mines are the huge halls that have been dug out by hand and intricate statues made from pure salt crytsals. One interesting thing about the mines was that the salt air is said to be very good for the lungs & they often send people down to the mines who have respirtory issues.

Auswitz and Birkenau

Auswitz & Birkenau are the most famous of the concentration camps. Auswitz is located about 1.5hrs drive from Krakow. Be prepared for a shock when you visit this place, the barbed wire fences everywhere, the gas chamber etc but the thing that made it the most real for me was a huge room all filled with human hair which the Nazis used to make jerseys from (also on display).

Above- The end of the line... lieterally. It is on these tracks that all prisoners arrived to Birkenau. The train first stops approximately 500 metres up the tracks from this photo and the healthy prisoners are taken away for work. The less suitable workers stayed on the train and were disembarked straight from this point, into the gas chambers.

Above- The memorial erected on the grounds of one of the gas chambers. The artist who designed the momument intended that its meaning be interpreted by the observer.

Above- the shooting wall- If you were lucky enough to miss the gas chamber, it is likley that you either died of exhaustion whilst working or were executed by the firing squad above.

Greece Island hopping Sept'09

2009-09-20T09:45:00.001-07:00

Kebabs, stray dogs, naked Germans, beautiful beaches & more Australians than Australia- Greece has it all. In September we headed off on our summer holiday. The brief was simple; beaches, relaxation and most importantly guaranteed sunshine. We were away for 8 days flying into Athens and out of Mykonos, with some island hopping in between.

Athens

Athens is apparently the only place in the world where McDonalds runs at a loss, the reason for this is because their wonderful array of cheap kebabs. Their kebabs have two names. They are called Gyros if you are having them wrapped up for takeaway or Souvlakis when you go for the dining in experience.

We stayed in Athens for 2 nights (1 full day) which was just about the right amount of time. Beyond the Acropolis & museum there is not a lot else to do and it is not the nicest of cities with more stray dogs than all the dogs in NZ's SPCA combined!

The Acropolis is visible from all over Athens

Standing in front of the Parthenon

Above- The Acropolis by night

Above- The Temple of Zeus

Above- The Spectacular sights of the Acropolis were not immune to the stray dogs.

Above- Great outfits and even cooler routine outside the parliament building in Athens.

Santorini

After an 8 hour ferry from Athens we arrived to the beautiful sights of Santorini. We were staying in a place called Pirissa down the bottom end of the island which had some very handy beaches at our doorstep.

The most impressive place on the island is Oia. Situated at the top of the island where most of the pictures from below are taken. You can literally stay in a hotel sitting on the side of the island, but save you euros because these places don't come cheap!

Sunset at Oia

Above- Nadia rips into another Gyro

Donkeys were traditionally used to lug things up & down the hill in the past & it seems Santorini has not quite moved into the 20th century as they still use them!

The views from the town of Fira... you can see the still active volcano to the left

Red Beach

Our powerful motorbike taxied us all around the island, it had a top speed of 40km but unfortunately the 50cc engine only sputtered to 12km's uphill.

Naxos

We stayed on a lovely part of the island called Agga Anna which backs off on to Plaka beach. This island out of all of them definitely had the best beaches.

The temple of Apollo stands proudly at the port of Naxos.

Crystal clear waters are all part and parcel with Greece relaxing.

Agga Anna beach

Dinning beachside at Plaka beach

A classic Gyro- they cram in tomato, excessive amounts of onion, tatziki, an undefinable meat and to cap it off a few chips. It tastes amazing- look out for the gyro juice down your top though.

Mykonos

This island is well known for its nightlife which is said to be the best in Europe, it is also very gay friendly! They have some great beaches including one called 'Paradise' which sounds idyllic until you consider their is another beach called 'Super Paradise' I cant wait for 2012 when they open up 'Super Dooper Paradise'.

Above- Paradise beach... if you look really closely you can see a few nude Germans.... Why is it that its only ever the really old people who get nude?

Above- The loungers at 'Paradise', just metres from here you can see a woman gyrating on a pole to music & you can have a gyro brought to your seat- they have thought of everything those Greeks- remember though it will cost you c$30NZ per lounger to hire though.

The famous Windmills of Greece

Greece was an awesome holiday and highly recommended to anyone considering it.

Praha (Prague) August Bank Holiday 09

2009-09-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

On the August bank holiday we headed to Prague with Nadia's sister Laura and friend Anna. Prague was great, it is a short hop from London, it is cheap, there is lots to see and do & the weather was good the whole time. Prague is well known as a Stag & Hen doo destination but I guess most of the action happens after 10pm so clearly most of this riff raff was lost on us.

We went on a good walking tour here which is the same company we have used in the past in Amsterdam, Berlin & Paris. The company is below.... http://www.newpraguetours.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Above- Prague Castle

Above-Taking in the sights from Lentenske park. Below is the Vltava River and the park in the background is Petrin Park.

Above- The Metronome on the hill at the top end of Lentenske Park represents the time wasted during Joesph Stalin's reign.

Above- Prague Castle by night and in the foreground Charles bridge.

Above- The astronomical clock- Up there with Maniken pee in Brussels and the Mermaid in Copenhagen in terms of overrated sights. This Medieval bad boy manages to conjur up 100's of people on the hour at which time four figures are set in motion. The 4 figures represent four things that were despised at the time of the clock's making; vanity, greed death and infidelity.

Above- On the steps of Wenceslas Square is where a student set him self alight in 1968 in protest of the Russian communist reforms.

Prague Castle is not really a traditional style castle, it is more like a giant church with a host of surrounding buildings. If you go there I wouldnt reccomend getting the castle tour ticket as most of the buildings are accessible without a ticket.

Above- the Jewish Cemetery, where they estimate there are 100,000 burials with over 12,000 gravestones in the space of rugby in goal area!

Anna, Laura & myself

Above- Nadia and Laura pose with the guy with no head and a little man on his shoulders.... based on a Franz Kafka short story.

Above-this huge muscular thing in the middle of the square was very prominant, I am not sure what the brown thing is beside it though.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm Pork

Easily the most interesting statue I have seen so far in our travels, although the one at the bottom of this post is pretty up there.

On Charles Bridge there are many statues, this one in particular though when stroked is supposed to bring good luck....that's if the Purrell didnt sanatise the luck as well as the dreams.

Above- I am told from a relaible source that this building is an example of cubism.

This green dude sits in the centre of the square, which is surrounded by a number of stalls offering traditional Czech food, including the giant pig on a spit shown in the photo above.

Above- Still working on what this is all about

Amsterdam- Aug'09

2009-09-20T02:55:00.001-07:00

On the weekend of the 2nd of August we went to Amsterdam for my birthday. Unbeknown to us however, this also happened to coincide with one of the largest gay and lesbian events in Europe, that and the fact we were in Amsterdam - one of the most open-minded cities in the world meant we were in for some sights!!!

Despite Amsterdam having a bad reputation with the red light district and their open-minded attitude to drugs it is also home to some really cool stuff- Van Gogh Museum & Anne Frank's House which we both really enjoyed.

Above- so many flower markets, distinct lack of tulips this time of year though.

The day we arrived there was a Canal Parade with about 100 amusing and spectacular boats, decorated with participants wearing fancy dress, navigating their way through down the Amstel River. There was about 350,000 people watching the parade so you can imagine the chaos!

Yip things were a little crazy at ground zero of Gaysville.

Intially I thought the 3 'X' symbol was to do with the porn industry and it was in relation to being X-rated, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it is the official flag of Amsterdam. The 3 'X's allegedly represent the 3 threats to the city: water, fire and pestilence (disease).

Above- The Amstel River in quieter times

Above-Bizarre little shops dotted all around the place which has burgers, fries & all other types of hot food in little vending machines. Rumour is that the salmonella special there is excellent.

A typical shop window in Amsterdam, apparently the coffee there is super.

Above- The Van Gogh Museum was really cool, no pictures allowed inside though so you will just have to take my word for it.

Anne Franks House was packed with tourists (definatley recommend booking online if you ever go)- it's really good and a must if you ever go to 'the Dam'

Pilgrimage to Canterbury- July 2009

2009-09-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

We did a few trips around England during the summer, partly because we had not had a good look around in our own backyard yet, and also because Nadia was renewing her visa!

One such trip was Canterbury, which is in Kent to the east of London, it was a nice day trip and very easy to get to by train. We went on a great walking tour around the place and learned a lot about the histroy of Canterbury, all of which I cant really remember....

The most noteable thing we were told was about the Cathedral, which goes back to 597AD. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims.

Above- The famous Cathedral & some 'pilgrims' in the foreground.

Above- many of the houses on the main street jutt out on the second and third stories. This was to ensure that the land owners maximised the space they had, but also made sure that on the ground floor the wagons could get through the street.

I never did work this one out, but the fact that they had a banner made suggests that this 'cat sale' was not the first in Canterbury and probably wont be the last.

Above- Gun powder tower and entrance to the high street- almost as impressive as the big tap when you hit Wallacetown.

Wimbledon- The Lawn Tennis Championships 2009

2009-07-05T02:11:00.000-07:00

Wimbledon 2009 was a spectacular affair that culminated in a 5 set marathon between R.Nadal & R.Federer with my man Roger cementing his place as the greatest tennis player of all time. Fortunately both Nadia and I were privileged enough to go to Wimbledon to see some the early round action. Its such a cool place and we will definately go again next year, fingers crossed I can get a ticket in the ballot!

Strawberries and cream- a must have at the championship

Above- the que card, If queing was a sport - The English would be untouchable in this area, they make queing at art form and really embrace it as one of their favourite extra curricular activities.

Above- the que for the que, this que literally stretches kilometres long, when you get in you get a sticker saying rather sarcastically 'I survived the que at Wimbledon'. it is organised in rows from A to Z which then feeds into a mainstream que- very impressive.

One of the most surprising things for me about Wimbledon was how close all the courts are too each other, this photo shows this.

Fiona, Amruta and Becs & I take in the action in the mixed doubles
Above- it has many names- Henman Hill, Laura's Lump or Murray's Mound- it is actually just a big screen outside the main court for those who were not fortunate enough to get seats. This group of people had to stay until midnight to watch Murray win in 5 sets.

Above Cara Black & Leander Paes in the mixed doubles- they went on to lose in the final.

Above- none other than Maria Shagherover (Sharapova) at the top of the board was playing in the lawn championship, unfortunately I did not have the pleasure of watching her play though.

Hampton Court & Cambridge (May 'Staycation' II)

2009-05-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hampton Court

In a change of pace from the first May Holiday weekend, for the second we went to Hampton Court and Cambridge. Each are less than an hour at of London so quite manageable for a day trip each. Hampton Court is home to the 'Hampton Court Palace' which if I am being perfectly honest was definately a little underwelming.... thankfully though there was a also a food festival on which was much more my style!

Above- Hampton Court Palace.

Below-Sheeps milk ice cream... could be the next big export for Southland

Cambridge

Steeped in history, Cambridge is well worth the visit. The town buzzes with university students and the town is scattered with all the university halls of residence many of the same names you will see pop up in universities & schools in New Zealand.

One of the best ways to see into all the halls & the sights of the town is via punting on the Cam River. We set out to Cambridge on a sunny afternoon and in typical 'Wilson style' hiring a guide was too expensive, so we did it ourselves (NB when I say 'we' this is the royal 'we' I actually mean 'me'). We had some close calls & collisions, but overall everyone managed to stay in the boat, some other punters where not so fortunate!

Above- Showing off my 'punting' skills. FYI the pole is actually really long and its quite difficult- take my advice and just get the guide.

Nadia and Amruta soaking up the sun whilst being shunted around by yours truly

Above-Someone call the grass police there has been an incident- Possibly the naughtiest thing Nadia has done in her life!

Above- one of the halls of residence, I forget which one but they all look this spectatular

Above- inside Kings chapel

Cambridge's version of Manchester's famous street- I think I was looking out for Mike Baldwin at the time

Nadia outside Selwyn College in Cambridge- this hall was named after the really famous one in Dunedin at Otago University, or maybe it was the other way around :-)

Taming the Thames (May holiday 'Staycation' I)

2009-05-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

In England public holidays are called 'Bank' holidays & in May there are 2 of these (the first & second weekend of the month). For our first weekend we decided to hire a boat & crusie the Thames with some friends from work. The weather was awesome & we would highly reccomended this as something to do.

The trip was a round trip from a small town called Benson to Oxford & back- the boat travels a maximum speed of about 5 miles so you dont get too far. The Boat is captained by yourself so after a quick 30 minute test run with the boat hiring people they set you on your way.

Above- Picture perfect, to the right of this picture is a pub / hotel that you can moor up & have a quiet drink & freshen up, you can see some of the boats who have chosen to do this under the arch on the right hand side of the river.

Above- Nadia captains the ship, safely guiding us through one of the many narrow bridges on the Thames. Please also note the bowl of sweets to the bottom right of this picture, it is no surprise that Nadia was so keen to take the reigns.

Above- This is where we camped out for our first night, which had some nice walks around the area for exploring.

Above- My best 'Titantic' impersonation as I try not to fall over the front of the boat. In a surprising twist a light over exposure on the photo creates the impression I have a propellor decending from my bottom which adds to the effect really

Above- And there she is the 'Starlight' cruiser in all her glory! It has all the modern comforts including a lounge up the front with retractable roof, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms & gallery with fridge, oven etc. She was a long narrow boat so quite unresponsive on the steering from time to time we discovered after hitting many a wall.

Above- Check on the serenity
Above- One of the 10 'locks' that we encountered on our journey, a mission to strat with but you soon get the hang of it.

Above- The 'crew' from back- Steve, Fiona, Amruta, Nadia, Suso

Above- one of the towns we got off to have a look, I forget the name of it but knowing England it would have had a strange name probably ending in 'bottom' or 'shire'.

Above- BBQ UK style (disposable) on the bank of the Thames in Oxford

Above-Oxford a very picturesque place to visit dominated by the university

Start speading the news....

2009-04-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

3 weeks after getting back from NZ, we decided it was about time for another holiday... roll on Easter in New York! We had heard a lot of good things about New York & it didnt dissapoint. We had 5 nights in the big apple & it was non stop action from day 1. Manhattan apparently has 200,000 people per square mile- the most in the world. We were staying right in the core of the big apple in times square which proved the theory above correct!

Above- the view from the free Staton Island ferry of the statue of liberty.

Above- ground zero, not a lot to look at yet, I think it is due to be finished sometime in 2012

Above- The great Madison Square Garden of which I went on a tour off & took in all the great sporting history that the pkace had to offer, oh & also met one of the NY Knicks cheerleaders. Whilst I was abosbing my sporting Nirvana Nadia was doing her own tour of sorts ... in the womens fasion section of Macy's department store!

Above- Inside 'the garden' unfortunately being Easter basketball had not started & the NY ranngers ice hockey team were away so I had to settle for views from the skybox of the travelling circus.

We didnt see David Letterman kicking round in our travels but I guess there was always that potential.

Nadia doing her best CSI impersonation

Above- Macy's in the foreground with the Empire State Buidling to the right

The Staten island ferry runs every 15minutes and is FREE on your travels you get a magnificent view of the statue of liberty, a must do in New York.

Above- Times square, where we were staying it was heaving with people 24 hours a day. The building in the middle has been empty for a number of years with the revenue for its upkeep coming purely from company advertising on the side of its building.

Above- Central Park

Above- The United Nations building

Above- The view of Central Park from the Rockerfeller Centre

Above- View of the Empire State building from the Rockerfeller centre

Above- Baseball batting cages at Chelsea Piers- I thought I was Babe Ruth when hitting the softballs, but when I switched to baseballs I didnt fair so well.

Above- Monument in Brooklyn

Above- Walking across the Manhattan bridge

Above- The view of the skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge

Above- Wall Street

Above- Nadia's 'Happy Place' the M&M's centre in Times Square

The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn

Click on the video above to see the view of Central park from the Rockerfeller centre

7th March, 2009... Our Wedding Day

2009-04-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 7th of March, 2009 was the day of our wedding. We had a fantastic time and will remember the day as one of our happiest for the rest of our lives. The wedding was at the St Mary's bascilica in Invercargill on a surprisingly sunny Saturday. I was not allowed to have any other photos on here due to the deal with Womans Day, sorry.

Central Otago, New Zealand

2009-04-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Shotover river
The Kingston Flyer

The Crown range

Saffron, Arrowtown
1 dozen oysters

Cromwell
Overlooking 'Olde Cromwell'
Old town, Cromwell

Millbrook resort

The view of Queenstown from the skyline restaurant

Posing at the top of the gondala

Clark in Queenstown with Kelvin Heights golf course in the background

The Earnslaw

The ledge bungy moments before I leapt

Bungy jumping
Lake Wanaka

Feliz Navidad from Barcelona

2009-03-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

After some reshuffling of our holiday courtesy of Unliver PLC year end we found our sleves in Barcleona a little earlier than we expected i.e. Christmas rather than new year.

We thought this would work well as it would be warmer than England and remind us of warm Xmas summers of home. Barcelona was a barmy 15 degrees when we arrived so the plan was working well... this was just the first day though, the following 3 days it rained like it was the wettest place in the world. Who am I kidding that title clearly goes to Invercargill, so I guess it rained like that, which given it was Christmas time gave us a calming feel and some mild home sickness as memories of many a wet christmas came flooding back.

Above- Nadia sports the brolly in front of the National Museum of Art

Above- Christopher Columbus statue on the water front. You can also climb up here for veiws over the waterfront.

Above- swimmers took to the water for the annual Christmas swim, apparently a tradition... trust me it was a lot colder than it looks!

Above- The Barcelona Arc de Triumf- there seems to be a few of these we have seen kicking around in our travels, this one not quite as impressive as in Paris, but worth a look all the same.

Above- the view from the art museum a very impressive site, unfortunately the wether was mediocre so the picture doesnt do the view justice.

Above- yes its a giant smiling wooden lobster, its not that werid when you think about NZ's Ohakune having a giant carrot, Taihape's gumboot & of course the mighty Wallacetowns big tap.

Above- Christmas lunch Barcelona style- Seafood Paella with Spanish beer.

This was ok but no competition to the new spuds, new carrots, chicken, ham, turkey & new peas swimming in a sea of gravy that I am used to for xmas.

Above- Nadia on the water front- I can imagine during the summer these beaches heaving with people, you will notice a distinct lack of people there during this time of year (except probably the odd englash tourist who will take whatever sunshine they can get).

Above- The Barcelona Olympic Stadium, the home of the 1992 Olympics where that archer famously shot up the flaming arrow to light the Olypic flame- easily the best olympic games moment in my humble opinion.

Above- The Sagrada familia, designed by Gaudi which has been under construction since 1882, its a shame they couldnt have finished it up before we arrived.... actually it is not expected to be completed until atleast 2026!

Apatments in downtown Barcelona Gaudi style- reminded me a lot of Fraggle Rock for those of you who remember that one!

Nadia's Birthday in York

2008-10-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

For Nadia's 28th birthday a group of us headed to York. York is best known for its linkages back to Roman times with many of the original structures still standing today. Surrounding the city is the original fortress wall which is still 70% in tact which you can walk around.

Above- trying our hardest to win 'token tourists' of the year award posing in the York train station, we only narrowly missed out the award to the Japanese tourists photographing York Minster. From left Nadia, Clark, Julia, Casey, Jo & Cam

Nadia exits- 'the wall'
York is home to 'Betty's' which is a famous tea room, even though we were only there for 48 hours, I think we managed to clock up 3 trips to 'Betty's' or some spin off of 'Betty's' - 'Little Betty's' etc. The food was very good but if I never see another Betty's tea rooms again I will be happy.
Whilst in York we did a 'ghost tour' the fact that this picture was the scariest thing to come out of the tour should tell you something.

Above- Check out the guns on that guy!

Above- the city wall following around to York Minster.

Above- York Minster

Above- More Roman stuff

York was cool but I think 'New' York will top this trip- roll on Easter for that one!

Gunners Stadium / Hyde Park / NZ House / The Dogs

2008-10-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Gunners Stadium

A move to the UK wouldn't be complete without a trip to the 'football' (please note it is definitely not called soccer over here!) Emirates Stadium is home to the Arsenal 'Gunners' and is a very impressive stadium. We went to a Carling Cup game which is the equivalent of a NZ 3rd division rugby game and yet a packed house 55,000 people still turned up to watch!
Not being a huge football fan it was fortunate that there were plenty of goals scored, the eventual score was 6-0, we missed the final goal in favour of beating the 55,000 other people at the ground, onto the tube.

Hyde Park

England had the darkest and wettest Augusts on record and the 13th worst summer of all time. We did manage to find some sunshine occasionally though and when that happens us (along with the rest of London) head to the park. The pictures below are of a sunny day in Hyde Park, just so that we remember what that bright thing in the sky actually looks like in this country.

New Zealand House

Nadia recently conducted some further study in order for her to become an Associate Chartered Accountant. As part of this the London office of the NZ Accounting Institute awarded her a certificate at NZ House. NZ House is a stones throw from Piccadilly Circus and has some amazing views of London as shown below.

The Wimbledon Dogs

Listed on the top 101 things to do in London (possibly number 101) is dining at the dogs aka having dinner and watching some greyhound racing. On this occasion we had 20 of us in an executive suite and even got to name a race (the 'Lamb Stakes') & present a trophy to the winner. The dogs is quite a prestigious event so only the best attire is applicable, hence me rolling out the $4 Manukau Salvation Army suit shipped over from NZ.

Edinburgh - haggis, neeps & tatties & a dog named Bobby

2008-10-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

In September we decided it was time to pay homage to the Scottish ancestry visa and visit my roots- Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh is a lovely compact city, & it was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of London and catch up with friends.

Above- 'Old Edinburgh' with Edinburgh Castle on the hill in the background (right).

Above- Nadia stands in the doorway to the 15th century- 'Scaffolding Chapel' sorry I mean Roslyn Chapel, made famous in the movie the Da Vinci Code. Inside is hugely impressive with the walls covered in carvings which tell hundreds of stories. Outside is covered in scaffolding part of the restoration programme that has been on going for the last 10 years- still a sight to behold all the same.

Above- Edinburgh Castle

Above- The entrance to Edinburgh Castle

Above- William Wallace stands aside the entrance to Edinburgh castle (Robert the Bruce stands the other side).

Casey and I exit the 'Walkabout' (NZ / SA & Aussie bar) after watching the AB's complete a successful win over the Wallabies to take out the Trinations... again you little beauty!

St Luca ice cream is infamous in Edinburgh, as demonstrated by the que! If you look closely you can see myself in the que with our tour guides Ju & Casey aka 'the sponge' if you look really really closely you can see Julia cringing at Nadia creating a scene taking this photo!

The 'Royal Mile' is the famous road that leads up to Edinburgh Castle, it has wonderfully old buildings, strange people (see below) and hundreds of Scottish paraphernalia stores. I am now the proud owner of not only a Wilson tartan scarf, but also the Wilson clan dram whiskey with Wilson colours on it!

Above- Now there's something you don't see everyday- forget climate change, Scientology is the new modern day evil. If only Tom Cruise knew the damage he was causing!

Above- Easily the best flower clock I have ever seen... it even tells the correct time.

The dog named 'Bobby'. This little dog is idolised in Edinburgh, named 'grayfriars Bobby' the story goes that when his master died the dog sat on his grave site (despite getting kicked out by the caretaker most days) for 13 years until the dog itself passed away- the dog was given a key to the city and his own statue for his demonstration of loyalty.

We were impressed by the Scottish and there overall unified hatred for the English.
My first time eating haggis and I have to say I was impressed, it even passed Nadia's very high standards of eating. When in Scotland the way to eat haggis I am told is with neeps (parsnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes) and of course lots of gravy... delicious!
We head back to Edinburgh in November to watch the mighty AB's take on the Scots at Murrayfield, I hope there is not a repeat of the last incident in Cardiff in the World Cup!

Windsor & Eton

2008-09-01T12:03:00.001-07:00

After travelling all around the place in recent times we figured it was high time we actually saw some of England. We had heard a lot about Windsor so we thought we should go and mingle with the height of British aristocracy there. The day we headed out was a cracking 27 degrees, which was nice given we had just experienced the wettest and darkest August on record in England.

Unfortunately the Queen was not in that day, if she had the British flag flying above would have been substituted for the Royal one.

Above- where the Queen hangs out, up to 4 days a week over the weekend we were told.
Eaton college- Just down the road from Windsor castle, quite handy for the boys (Harry & Will).

One of the highlights of Windsor castle was hearing about the 'Garter Knights'. There are only ever 24 Garter knights alive at one time and these people are hand picked at the Queens discretion, some of the more famous Garter knights include Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles, Prince William and our very own Sir Edmund Hillary.

Above- How can anyone take these guys seriously with hats like that, I swear he was snoozing.

Copenhagen, Denmark

2008-08-31T09:49:00.001-07:00

For the last August Bank Holiday weekend we headed to Copenhagen or Kobenhavn to the locals. it was a nice break away but since our last holiday was in the states it had a lot to live up to. Copenhagen seemed to be quite a trendy place with the locals all seemed to be well dressed (including designer gumboots on the wet days!) unfortunately though it also quite pricey e.g. 3 orange juices will set you back about $50 NZ thankfully we were on the pound.

Above- Nivckjnkcjn street well its actually Nyhavn street (but I got into this habit of saying anything as all the streets in Denmark are quite a mouthful).

They love their bikes in Copenhagen, someone was telling me that 40% of the population cycle. Can be quite scary walking around though if you dont check if the cycle lane is clear before you cross!

Tivoli gardens and theme park

Tivoli gardens

Tasting some of the local brews on the Carlsberg & Turborg beer factory tour.

The Mermaid- on the top 10 most over rated sights in the world along with Manniken Piss in Belgium. She is despite all that one of the most photographed ladies in the world.

A trip to Copenhagen would not be complete without getting you picture taken with the former 'worlds tallest man' at the Ripleys believe it or not centre- as you can see at over 8 ft he is a big unit.
We meet up with some friends in Copnehagen who were there at the same time.

Check out us in our matching hat's- classy.

Chrsitiana is a random little section of Copenhagen, called the Freetown, it gets its name because it is free of any of the Copenhagen laws. You can legally go and buy and Hash etc with no issues, we went inside for a nosey and as you can imagine didnt stay long enough to find out any of the other laws that they may or may not have there.

LA, Hollywood & Universal studio's

2008-07-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

The last leg on journey in the US was all the glitz and glam of LA. I think no where else in the world can you be greeted by capt jack Sparrow, A guy from the movie 300, a band member from Kiss & Shrek all within 20 metres on the street... and all asking for money.
A trip to LA is also not complete without paying $20US for a map of all the 'stars' homes from the homeless guys and visiting them all- (please note the sarcasm). Despite the cheese factor LA was really cool I enjoyed the sights and Nadia really enjoyed the shopping.

Above- the famous 'Hollywood' sign on the hill in the background. It is not that clear as there was still the odd bit of smoke lingering from the many fires that they have had in California.

Above- One of the many star's that lines Hollywood Blv, everyone from Jimi Hendrix to the Wiggles gets a star- I did not see too many Shortland street stars although Hone Ropata aka Temuera Morrison may have made it.

Above- Who would have thought that Arnie would not only 'come back', but come back as the Governor of California aka the 'Governator'.

Nadia graces the red carpet in front of Universal studios

Above- I try my best to look as touristy as possible in front of the entrance to Universal studios.

Above the Jurassic park ride was fun. We laughed at the Japanese tourists who put jackets on in the 36 degree heat for this ride.... they certainly had the last laugh....

Above- Waterworld was the most expensive movie ever made when it was released, The Waterworld display at Universal is very cool and probably as expensive.

Above- for all the Desperate Houswives fans here is what you have been waiting for, Wysteria lane (I think this is Susan's house- oh who am I kidding of course this is Susan's).

Unfortunately the very slow mechanical 'Jaws' has lost his scare factor over the years, but it is still a must see on the Studios behind the scenes tour

Santa Monica beach

Above- A scene straight out of Baywatch but David Hasselhoff (the hoff) is nowhere to be seen.

LA concluded our tour of the US. We left the sunshine of the States behind us and were welcomed back to London to the English cricket team losing, the All Blacks winning, the weather raining and the transport system running late... aaaaah home sweet home, order had been restored in the world.

Monterey, Pebble Beach & Santa Barbara

2008-07-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

After having a great time in Yosemite we drove back across to the West coast of the country. The plan was to drive to Monterey spend a night, then follow state highway 1 down the coast through Carmel, spend a night in Santa Barbara and then onto LA. Not all plans pan out exactly as you think they might though, and this journey was no exception.

Above- The rugged coastline of Monterey resembles a NZ coastline, oh except for the multi million dollar golf courses.

Above- Monterey is well known for its canneries among other things

Above- A classic American style lunch, burger, garlic fries and of course a Budwiser

Above- Montetery harbour

Above- the coast around Monterey and Carmel (90 mile drive) is a great sight, so good that you have to pay $10 USD for the privilege- I guess someone has to pay the gardners of the muti million dollar villas that Hollywood stars spend 1 week a year in.

Above- Carmel with the long luschious fareways of Pebble beach golf course in the background.

Above- What do Davis Love III, Tiger Woods, Mark Omeara and Phil Mickleson all have in common- All winners at the AT&T open at Pebble Beach.

The West Coast of America is home to one of the best drives in the world down State highway one all the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The picture above shows some of the action that you are in for with beautiful beaches windy roads and spectacular views.

Above- Unfortunately 40 minutes into our drive down state highway 1 we were meet with 5 police cars and the news that due to all the fires we would not be able to continue down the coast. This was dissapointing in itself, but what really ripped our undies is that we could not cut across and meet up with an adjourning highway but instead had to turn around and drive 1 hour back from where we had come from and start again.

After finally arriving in Santa Barbara after a long drive we were greeted to a lovely hotel room- unfortunately though there was no power because of the fires! The picture above shows not clouds, but smoke coming from the hills!

Yosemite National Park

2008-07-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Before leaving San Fran we went to pick up our rental car only to be told that our 4 door, economy vehicle was not available, but they did have a 2 door red Ford Mustang sports car if we would prefer, an easy choice! After travelling 5 hours east across the country in the 'Tang' we arrived at Yosemite National park.
Above- The Ford MustangAbove- We stayed at Camp Curry which is right in the middle of the National park. It has a lot more 'mod cons' that I am traditionally used to from camping in Cadrona including bars, restaurants and most crucially flushing toilets.

Above- The 'tent' that we stayed in was very comfortable. The green steel box at the base of the tent is called the 'bear box'. This is where you must lock up anything with a scent that might attract the bears including snacks and toiletries including toothpaste!

Above- the trail up to the very impressive Vernal Falls.

Above- Nadia takes a break on our walk

Above- The Vernal falls from Clark Point

Above- The Nevada falls

Above- The view from Camp Curry includes 'Half Dome' a large granite structure which is a popular hiking destination for the 1000's of tourists each year.

The views at Yosemite national park rival parts of NZ and we both really enjoyed our time there. The wildlife that you can see is unparalleled including bears, which we saw on one of our walks.

San Francisco

2008-07-13T14:00:00.001-07:00

After having a great time in Las Vegas, we set off for San Francisco. Our only knowledge of San Francisco came in the form of the 90's classic, Full House unfortunately though it wasnt Bob Sagget and the Olsen twins that greeted us to the home of the Golden Gate bridge but instead there were lots of homeless people.
San Fran is well known for the amount of fog that it gets, but after our visit it will also be remembered for its smoke. During the time we were there the state of California was experiencing countless fires which was creating an eiry mist around the city which was not good for taking photos as per below.

Above- A picture of downtown San Francisco taken from the 'Bay' bridge which is almost as big, if not bigger than the Golden gate bridge.

Above Lombard Street- the crookedest street in the world.

Above- The Golden Gate Bridge- as you can tell from Nadia's apparel, the weather was not exactly barmy in San Fran.

Above- Alcatraz Island aka 'the Rock' which was once home to Al Capone. We did the night tour which was hugely entertaining and educational and a must for a visit to San Fran.

Above- One of the cells where the great escape from 'the rock' was hatched. In the bottom left you can see the fake heads made out of soap including hair to convince guards that they were still sleeping. Below the sink you can see the hole that was carved out of the cell wall so they could climb up the pipes to the roof and on toward their escape.

Above- Alcatraz is home to a lot of history including when the 'Indians' took over the island from 1969-1971 as a political protest.

Above- A view of San Fran from the Golden Gate bridge.

Fishermans wharf is a popular destination for tourists when in San Fran. We were dissapointed when we went to a water front restaurant to taste some of the local sea food delights, but the only fish they were offering was Mahi Mahi from Hawaii and unbelievably Hoki from New Zealand! Apparently the waters are too poluted so everything it brought in.

Above- How cool is that, they have a 'Clark' Bar in America.

Above- Nadia looks sultry in front of one of the many great wineries in the Napa and Sanoma wine region.

On one of our days in San Fran we went for a tour to the wine regions of Sanoma and Napa Valley. We were picked up in a bus an visited 5 different wineries before being dropped off to our hotel.
Above- Nadia inspects the grapes at one of the winery's in the Napa Valley.

Viva Las Vegas & the Grand Canyon

2008-07-13T13:20:00.001-07:00

The start of our 2 week tour of America began in Vegas. Las Vegas was stinking hot, between 35-40 degrees, which makes sense given it is in the middle of the Nevada dessert.

Above- Las Vegas Airport welcomes you with all the glitz and glam that you would expect, including 1000's of slot machines in the terminals.

Above- New York New York- Las Vegas style (Note the roller coaster)

Me on the slots, proudly showing off my 'Invervegas' t-shirt, no such luck on the gambling front though.

Nadia and I at the Bellagio

The Monte Carlo where we stayed was located on 'the strip' just opposite the MGM grand, all the mod cons of the MGM and half the price- my kind of hotel!

Above- One of the many wedding chapel's in Vegas. Nadia and I opted out of the Elvis wedding instead going for the option in Invers in March.

Above- The Balligio hotel holds a water and light display every 15 minutes accompanied by classical music belting out from the surrounding speakers.

Whilst in Vegas we went for a helicopter ride into the Grand Canyon. The Helicopter tour was 3 hours and takes off from McCarran airport which is conveniently located 5-1o minutes from the 'strip'. It is definatley the way to do it, riding in style and it beats the 6-7 hour car drive.

Above- Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam

The sun creating shadows on the canyon make it an impressive sight.

After the intial 'clawing' of my arm in the early stages of our flight, Nadia loosens up to give the camera the big thumbs up.

Above- No picture can really do the massive size of the canyon justice, but here is my attempt anyway.

Gay Pareeee

2008-04-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

In Easter Nadia and I headed to Paris. It had been hyped up by a lot of people and I am pleased to report that it lived up to all expectations. There is so much to see and do and the food is AMAZING! I suspect that this trip to Paris wont be our last.

Above- Nadia and I take in the views from atop the Arc de triomphe including the Eiffel tower.

Above- Hotel des Invalides-Originally used to house wounded soldiers during the war it is now home to war memorabila and Napoleon's tomb. Above- Napoleons Tomb.

Above- Moulin Rouge

Above- Sacre-Ceur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart Basilica) built in 1875, is one of the most photgraphed things in Paris, 2nd only to the Eiffel tower.

Above- Notre Dame Cathedral.

Above left- The winged victory of Samothrace.
Above Centre- The famous pyramid which houses the Louvre- the biggest museum in the world- It must have been big as we spent well over half a day there and still did not see all the wings
Above right- The famous Mona Lisa- what the picture does not show you is the other 1000 people packed into a small room trying to get a look at the great painting.

Above left the Effiel tower at night and to the right with Nadia. The tour de Effiel is an impressive sight, the cues to get up however are not so great.

Brussells Belgium- Mussels, Beer, Chocolate & Chips

2008-04-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. Brussels is not exactly the jewel in Europes crown, but did serve as an interesting weekend away in early March.

Above- The world famous Manneken pis (yes a statue of a little boy doing wees). This picture actually does this statue too much justice beacuse seeing it in person is even less spectacular. I read an article that said that this was in the top 10 of over rated tourist sites in the world! It is definately a must do though.

Whilst New Zealand was basking in one of its hottest summers of all time, Nadia and I were freezing in Belgium, hence why we took solus in the chocolate in Cholcolopolis.

Above- In the 6+ years that Nadia and I have been together I have rarely seen her happier than the day she discovered Chocopolis a heaven for chocolate lovers.

Above- Much more my style mussells, chips and beer.

Above- If I look cold in this photo, there is a reason- because I am because its freezing outside.

Above- A real Belgium Beer house

Above- The Atomium, originally built for the World fair in 1958.

Above- Nadia poses with a giant cat on a bicycle.

Above-The Grand Palace. Apparently the flag only flies when royalty is in- I guess they knew we were coming.

Long weekend to Portugal

2008-02-16T04:37:00.001-08:00

In ealry Feb Nadia and I popped over to Lisbon in Portugal for 4 days. Lisbon is great as there is lots to see, the weather is much mildier than London , transport is a breeze and the time zone is also the same as London.

Above- The Lisbon Experience. Nadia and I took the lift up to the top and had great views of the city.

Nadia posing!

Above- one of the many statues plotted around the city.

Clark posing!

Above- Torre De Belem

Above- a popular spot in downtown Lisbon. Would have been even better if we hadn't been asked whether we wanted to buy 'good smoke' a number of times.

Above- Lisbon

Above just down from the hotel we were staying.

Alfama is in the old part of Lisbon, it houses some narrow streets and some interesting characters.

A fisherman tries his luck with the Jesus statue as backdrop. Jesus was no help to him on this day as he walked away empty handed.