3 things I miss

A great final week in England before we return to 26c Napier on Monday.

Went to a pub last Saturday to watch the big derby and everyone was wearing dark sun glasses inside! I thought it might have been because they were all Arsenal fans and they were protecting themselves from Gareth Bale's dazzling skills. However soon discovered that this was to be my first experience of 3D footy on tele! Of course Spurs coming from 2 goals down to win 3-2 just made the picture look even more awesome.

Then to cap the week off last night Felicity and I went to White Hart Lane to see the boys thump some Germans and qualify for the next round of the Champions League.

I've always said I miss 3 things about not living in England.

1 The Pubs
2 Going to see Spurs at White Hart Lane
3 My mates (but I wish they all live in New Zealand!)

So I've ticked all the boxes and looking forward to getting home...yes home because Napier is by far the best place in the world to call home.

COYS

Turkish Delight

Just a quick photo update as we come to the end of our trip away. Turkey has been one of the most relaxing parts of our time in Europe. We missed all the tourists in Istanbul, Anatalya and Kas by arriving in November even though the average temps were in the mid/high 20's. In fact at the later two places we had the hotel/pensions completely to ourselves. We cleaned up our act in a Hamman in Istanbul. Catching up with our surrogate son Lindsay Falls at a climbing camp in the mountains near Antalya, took our holiday to new heights. While a fishing trip off the coast of Kas broke our hoodoo for being the world's least successful fishermen!
We are now completely mulled out and ready to come home on November 28th.
It's been a long trip away but hugely enjoyable. Our favourite place in the world so far? Napier.

Mr Blobby

Made our way down to Kaş at bottom of Med coast and ıt ıs stunnıng. Have decided to stay here for 10 days and just relax.Not goıng to Eygpt anymore because the weather here ıs perfect and sıttıng doıng nothıng has a certaın appeal after months of trekıng around. Tryıng to get used to Turkısh computers that dont have an ı ın the rıght place!
Thats enough work for one day!
speak soon.

Hot stuff in turkey

Bit tricky doing blog on iPhone but just a quick update to say we made it through the suicide bombers in Istanbul and have headed south to Antalya where the weather is stunning the sea is med blue and my head hurts from too much Turkish beer.

What I like about Holland

Cheese, dutch beer, dykes, the Hendriks, very large barges on the Rhine, bikes, walks in the forest, Pepernoten and Van der Vaart.

oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Taking a few days off traveling around and have settled nicely into the country life of rural Kent with our friends Chris and Laura. Took a short trip to the picturesque channel coastal town of Rye and onto the wind swept expanse of Camber Sands...England's equivalent of Waimarama!
There's something very inspiring about being beside the sea even on a brisk autumn afternoon when even the gulls have retired to the pub.
We even had time for an album cover shot!!!!

Murder in Kent!

Shocking news...we arrived at our friends Chris and Laura in Kent, only to get caught up in a horrible and mysterious murder at their house that weekend!
Police are on the look out for two prime suspects Jimmy Open and Mandy Seever.

Midgets, fairy tales and elephants

It's all actually for real...who ever said Belgium was boring? Don't worry there's just one place left in the country that's worth a visit- Bruges. Ralph Fiennes was right 'It's a 'F****** Fairytale Place!'

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lXQP1plDIU&feature=related

New Zealanders retake Flers

Today has been a reflective highlight of our trip away. We have spent 2 nights staying in the village of Flers in the heart of the infamous Somme. Approx 94 years ago the village was liberated by the New Zealand forces as they slowly ground out victory over the Germans yard by yard, crater hole by crater hole. Nothing can prepare you for the immense sense of sadness yet respect, inspired by the hundreds of thousands of graves of the brave men who gave their lives for our freedom.
To see opposing trenches merely 80 meters apart makes you realise the intensity of the warfare at that time.
It is a sight I will never forget. I hope future generations will feel the same way.

Judi- a star is born

Leaving the French language school today so yesterday celebrated our new ability to fluently ask where the toilets are, by visiting one of the Loire Valley's most impressive Chateaux and gardens at Villandry. Arriving late in the afternoon we were almost the only ones there apart for a small group of Americans including an older lady with a big nose and a stupid white dog. The dog gave her away or was it the nose? I think Barbra Streisand recognised us too!

A passionate weekend with Doris

It's taken me 50 years to do it but I can now say I am a true kiwi traveler! I've always wondered what it would be like to just park up by the side of the river/sea in your little kombi van, open up a bottle of wine and be completely self sufficient. Well over the last weekend I fulfilled this joint dream with a fellow 50 celebrant and long time ami anglais Phil.I wont bore you with all the details of perfect camping spots, victorious backgammon championships and international 'baby-foot'(table football) tournaments (the local joint french/irish team punished us in the final, must have been the 4 guinness beforehand that cramped our style). All need to say is you really must do it before you say 'ah I'm too old for all that!'. We shared 3 great nights with Lilly (aka Doris) a rather sexy French conversion, who purred along at 80km without even a hint of trouble. Thanks for this great weekend go to Phil and Heather at Sunflower Campers www.sunflowercampers.com who bent over backwards to help fulfill our dream. I think the photos speak louder than words.

beer o'clock

The one thing about traveling is that it is always beer o'clock. 9 in the morning in France is 7pm in New Zealand ...so it's beer o'clock eh?

It has taken us 2 weeks of intense Language School to establish our position in the main square and call it our own. As true students we are making sure our beer intake more than matches our knowledge intake.

parking, canoeing and people watching!

Basically the French cannot park! Where we live in Tours we watch from our balcony with amusement as every evening the French hustle and bustle and try and fit their 'petite' cars into spaces designed for trucks! The record stands at 8 movements to turn into a simple angle park. Why can't the french park? Because the french enjoy doing everything the hard way and then when it's really too hard because they have slotted their car in way over to the drivers side and realised they can't actually get out of the car, they simply shrug their little french shoulders, sigh a little 'merde' back out and drive away!

Two of our fav things so far? Sitting in Le Place Plumereau drinking a couple of 'cold' beers with a name that sounds like 'phlegm' and watching the monde go round! And; taking a canoe down Le Cher, paddling under a chateau and catching the train back home just in time to sit in Le Place Plumereau to drink phlegm and watch etc etc....

Je suis tres fatigue mais...

I'm sure French wasn't this hard at school...oh that's right I was always asleep in class!
There are only 3 students in our class, one is Japanese, says nothing and one is Judi so I have to stay alert all the time!
I discovered a new tense today that I didn't even know existed...Conditionnel! It's for when you want to be nice to someone, so that's where I've been going wrong.
Oh well I could always have another small French meringue!

Looking out the window

My lasting words as I walked out the gates of Esher College in England for the last time some 33 years ago were...'well that's it, I will never do another exam ever again in my life'. Never say never. Tomorrow I embark upon a new educational foray and this time specialising in a subject that I was quite frankly, hopeless in at school...French.

We arrived at the language school in Tours on Friday after dropping off the trusty Peugeot that has been our traveling companion for the last month or so. There's a real sense of freedom now not being bound by the restraints of french car parking regulations, GPS commands (or lack of them at vital times) and relationship straining trips around the Arc de Triomphe (twice in one go).

I've attached the view from our apartment window which I hope will be as inspirational as the following story.

There was an employee who was always gazing out the window. When the boss was questioned by the other disgruntled workers why this guy got paid the same wage as them but didn't do anything, he replied; "One day that guy came up with an idea when he was looking out that window that made this company millions of dollars. What's your idea then?"

Creative people are invariably critised by the paper shufflers and report writers for being lazy and unproductive when in fact they need the time to think and the environment to be inspired. This place is pretty inspiring and hopefully will make up for my lack of skill at my chosen subject or I could simply carry on looking out the window.

Mr Bean

So here we are after 4 weeks in France and I am finally adding my experiences! So the first restaurant we went to – in Vichy I think – having trudged all over town looking for the perfect place to eat by a river, we finally found it and starving from all the trudging I was delighted to see steak on the menu! Having proudly ordered using my ‘broken french’ I settled back content in the knowledge I’d be eating well tonight. Ok so if you have seen Mr Bean www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qcs0tnx9ik – it totally gives you a picture of what happened next!!!

Out came my much-desired steak and to my horror I was presented with a plate of pasty, cold and absolutely raw mince with a raw egg on top to boot!!! My face was a reflection of Mr Bean’s when he realised what he had ordered and he stuffed his into every container on the table and even in someone’s handbag – but that option wasn’t open to me. I just had to grimace, suck it in and stuff it in my mouth. I am not one to enjoy a steak that runs around the plate on it’s own oozing red fluids so eating raw cow was going to be a real deal effort! However with much snapping of the camera from Rick I managed that first mouthful and to my surprise it was actually not bad!! Tepid, not cold, no oozing of fluids and the raw runny egg yolk gave it a bearable flavour. My welcome to France!

Freddy, Clouseau and Mr Henley

We made it to Paris with the girls and our redezvous with Fat Freddies at the Rock en Seine Festival. With our flags waving and impromptu versions of the NZ national anthem from the kiwis in the crowd (ah that felt good), the Wellington boys did us proud and were the hit of the show. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCJg63SziL4

Not such a hit was to arrive back at our hotel to find our car had been broken into and various unimportant items taken. Where is Inspector Clouseau when you need him. It's not so much the loss that is a pain, it's the inconvenience of spending the next day dealing with the French police (brilliant), local windscreen guys (awesome), hotel staff to help with enquiries (absolute rubbish) and good old Southern Cross Insurance 24 hour staff who emailed me back confirming my insurance claim as 'Dear Mr Henley'!

Oh well all is now well...and we are moving into an apartment in Montmartre today and out of our shoe box rooms at the Premier Class (yeah right!) hotel.

Corsaint

We are now staying in Burgundy in a tiny village called Corsaint. Our petite maison est pres une eglise! No internet so we have taken over a bar with iphones, macbooks etc at the ready! This is an awesome part of France with rolling green hills and pretty villages that look the same as they did 400 years ago! Off to a Baroque concert tonight at the church right next door to our house! Only in France eh?

Vivre la Résistance!

Just visited the Centre for the History of the Resistance and Deportation here in Lyon. Powerful stuff about the role of the Resistance Movement in France during the war and also the tragic story of the Jews, Gypsies, Homo Sexuals and other misfits who were deported to their certain death. Only 3% of the Jews who were sent to the camps survived! When in Lyon you must go here it will move you to realise that you are not that bad off! www.chrd.lyon.fr

Young Boys bear all!

Yep the blog turns x rated here.

We all went to Switzerland yesterday to experience a bit of Swiss efficiency both on and off the football field. Had a great day in Berne 3 hours drive from our base here in Lyon on the other side of the Alps. What a stunning drive, arrived at Swiss border and told to pay 40 euro. Why? Because you are entering the most expensive country in the world that's why!

Spent afternoon in lovely city of Bern complete with city's mascot bears in a big park. No admission fee to see these great animals. That was the only cheap moment of the day.

Then off to pub to meet up with the Spurs Swiss Supporters Club (40 members) and then Fraser Callaghan who had scored our tickets for the match against Young Boys Berne that evening. And score is precisely what the Swiss decide to do 3-0 down before Spurs realised that the synthetic grass pitch we were playing on was not a practice pitch. This was the real thing. A respectable come back to 3-2 saw us go back to France reasonably happy (2 away goals for the second leg at Spurs next week). Arrived home in Lyon at 3.30am after Swiss had decided to be efficient and close motorway for maintenance all night. Who does road works at night I ask you! I have been subsequently told by Fraser that 'The Swiss have too much money so are always repairing the roads just to keep cash moving around.'

All in all a great day, met up with an old friend and made some new ones who were probably too drunk to remember us in the morning!

Special Day

Yesterday we discovered it was a 'Special Day' in Lyon. Which translated in French means everything was closed. In typical French style 'Special Day' is not mentioned in any of the guide books as a holiday or publicised anywhere around town. It just is.
C'est la vie.

Kia ora Abbi, hi Felicity, Hail Mary!

Two proud moments for us here in Lyon already. Firstly we met up with Abbi (flew in from NZ) and Felicity (trained in from Amsterdam), it was soooo good to see them both and apart from trying to find Felicity amongst the thousands of passengers (I walked straight past her, I was looking for my little girl) at Gare Part Dieu, the meet ups went relatively without a hitch.

Secondly visiting the famous Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere www.fourviere.org/english.php we were delighted to find various translations of the Hail Mary prayer and there it was in Maori!!!! Now here's a question for you Catholics out there. Exactly why is Mary so important to Catholicism as opposed to Anglicans who just see her as Jesus' mum? I just don't get it, do you?

foux du fafa

We have arrived in France for much celebration with a joint 80th and 21 st celebration on the first night. John (Judge) Main and his grand daughter Jessie! Staying in a massive 200 year old 'party house' and chilling in the french countryside with our good friends Chris and Laura and their extended family both ways. Already getting into the swing of le supermarche et le pomplemousse! Thanks Jemaine and Brett! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzZ3EYzjzuE

The worst football team in Europe?

So what did I know about Andorra before we decided to turn right from Barcelona and hit this insignificant ink spot between Spain and France. Well they are rubbish at football and that's it! What else do you need to know? However as an omen of worse things to come they played England in 2008, the first qualifying game of this years World Cup and here's what one commentator had to say during the game...

25 min: This is a thundering non-event, another extremely flat performance by England. Who, for all their possession, haven't created much of note against the team ranked 183rd in the world. Very poor, though their hapless display has been the genesis of this fantastic pun from Gareth Carpenter: "I think England are afraid that all the evils of the world will be unleashed if they actually manage to get into Andorra's box."..... ha I love that (England scraped home 2-0).

Anyway back to Andorra, which is precisely where we are now. Well it's absolutely brilliant (not like their footy team). All Pyreneesie like with picturesque mountains, blue lakes, expansive ski fields and wait for it...cheap beer!

So we went for a walkies today and the photos say it all. So if you are looking for picture postcard principality with one of the worst back lines in the history of football, this is definitely the place to visit.

Gotta pick a pocket or two

Within two days of being here we've had two attempts by dodgy looking friends from the African continent to strip us of our cameras.
First go was the old 'can you help me I'm lost' trick with a map, the second a straight forward fumbling actually in a camera shop, queuing at the counter.
When in Barcelona don't trust ANYONE!
Best not to take big bulky cameras out onto the street, if they see you coming YOU WILL BE TARGETED!
Here's how they do it www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HazQlWgdzg

On the Buses

Want to discover a new city for the first time... take Reg Varney's advice and get on the buses! Yep the Tourist Buses. I know it sounds a bit naff but after taking such a bus on a return to London one year I discovered a whole new world previously not encountered in the 5 years I worked there.
So parting with 29 Euros @ for 2 days unlimited travel we climbed aboard and came face to face with a city that has simply got it right! Barcelona is a feast of architectural diversity with a quirky touch of Gaudi on most corners. Looking from the top of an open top bus gives you an unparalleled view of the cityscape which is clean, uncluttered and superbly blends modern with late 19thC design in buildings, open spaces and long, magnificent boulevards.
In short Barcelona is probably one the most stunning cities in the world. No wonder so many people told us to go there, including my easily unimpressed son Ben!
Thanks everyone for the advice oh and thanks Reg for the memory- www.onthebusesfanclub.com/id11.html

Barcelona here we come

It's been a great two weeks here in Lanzarote but it's time to move on for the sake of my head (hangovers) and body (too much food!). So it's off to Barcelona tonight for a bit of cultural entertainment. We are staying here...www.barcelonabb.com so should be good. Ok here's the pic that sums up our time here in the Canaries!

Volcanic nipples

Ok so I know it sounds ridiculous but this place knows how to show off it's unique features in style!!! Something Napier should perhaps adopt?

Hot Stuff

It's already really hot here and now they say there's a heat wave on it's way from Africa! Geez better get the duty free beers in!

Cheap wine and molten magma!

There's something special about discovering a new place, different culture, interesting people and Lanzarote certainly has all of these in abundance.

Admittedly my expectattions from a barren, volcanic island weren't up to much but within minutes of the taxi ride from airport to Playa Blanca I became fascinated by the pure natural, black beauty of this the most northern of the Canary Islands. Even the Bruce Road to Ruapehu doesn't exude the same isolation that the 100 odd volcanoes of the island command.

150kms off the coast of West Africa, Lanzarote is hot, dry and tax-free. Basically that means wine and beer are ridiculously cheap for the next two weeks! hic

Rain and Charles Saatchi

Mmmmm summer in England don't you just love it. Heatwave the day before we arrive, rain and winds the week we are here. Oh well nothing new there.
Went to Saatchi Gallery in Sloane Square yesterday, Charles was in but the Gallery was closed. So we made do with our first ever flat white in England at the Gallery Cafe and in walks Charles all nonchalant like he owns the place...typical eh!
Fun day doing the sites with Mandy, Lex and Caroline. Went to Serpentine Gallery and saw an exhibition which reconfirmed my belief that in Art you can 'fool most of the people all the time'...it was rubbish.
Oh well made up for the disappointments of the day with a thoroughly well deserved bottle of wine in London's oldest wine bar Gordon's at the Embankment. www.gordonswinebar.com

Score for a Hole in the Ground*

We arrived in England (Sunday) just in time to see the Spanish getting kicked around the park by a bunch of Dutch thugs who had forgotten to take off their go faster clogs. Met up with the 'the old team' Chris/Laura, Phil/Jane at Rick and Caroline's where we stayed our first night. Thumped Phil at tennis 1 -1 the next day after discovering after the first humiliating 0-6 set, that he had smuggled in some pre-war (Crimea) tennis balls that lacked anything resembling a regular bounce.
Drove that afternoon down to Chris' wonderful 16th century converted barn near Canterbury in Kent. The countryside around here is stunning and cries out to be discovered by foot and Chris took us on a nearby walk past 13thC church, 16thC pub and *21stC forest sculptures! (www.stourvalleyarts.org.uk)

Of all these we will return to the pub.