The Life and Times of Jayne, Greg and Jordan

New Beginnings

2011-11-15T05:19:00.001-08:00

Jordan's baptism was a few days after the official day for swimming was over. Although it had been quite warm on the last official day, the very next day it was freezing. As you can see from Jordan and Ira's body language. it really wasn't warm.

We were pleased to see so many people come out for this special occasion. Welcome to the kingdom Jordan sweetheart.

Baby girl has spread her wings

2011-06-07T03:18:00.000-07:00

Despite all the grief, hair-pulling and the turning gray of the hair, when your child finally grows old enough to move out, even nonmaternal me was unable to let my baby girl leave without a few tears.

My mother sent me a mother's day card with a photo of Jordan when she was a baby. I remember taking that photo as if it was just yesterday. The first night I watched my child run off to spend her first night in her very own apartment, I watched her till I could see her no more.

She never turned for a last wave good-bye. She was too excited. I was excited for her too, but I missed her already. And inevitably, I think back to when I moved out of home. I don't remember if I turned back, but I think not.

This now is one of these times when we really think of our mums, and wonder, "Have I told her often enough that I love her?",appreciate her? like her as a person not just because she's my mum?

"Aww mum, I'm only 10 minutes away."

She is looking forward to a new future full of new beginnings, and adventures. Whereas I am looking back, and recounting every step that lead to this and I thank God for this blessing.
Love you always baby girl.

Cirque du Soleil, Wa-hey!

2011-02-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

So, G. often talks about opportunity and especially making the most of the opportunities we have while we are in Europe. For him one of those things is skiing, for me, it's the Cirque du Soleil. Yes, the tickets are expensive, but this may well be our last year here, and I thought it would be well worth it.

Well, I was doing the hard sell, and G. kept resisting. So, when he came back from the post office with a present for me I was completely surprised to open it and find 2 tickets to the Cirque du Soleil. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.

Jordan very sweetly declined this opportunity so that we could spend the extra money on getting good seats. 4th row from the front, bang in the middle, and on her birthday too. Awww.

The tent was quite a bit smaller than what we had in NZ, so I think any one of those seats would have been good ones. No pics allowed of course, but we were all so engrossed, I'm glad. It would have detracted from the atmosphere.

By the time we got there, I was almost worn out with excitement. G. was worried during some of the acts that I would pass out from all my gasping, and maybe even distract the performers cause I was so loud. I don't remember gasping, but I do remember being very tense during some of the heart stopping moves, when I wasn't being delighted and wanting to do that cos it looks a lot of fun.

Unfortunately there weren't any bungees, or chandeliers on a wire, for sale. I'm eyeing our disco ball but somehow, I don't think those 3 eensy weensy wires are going to hold my weight. Sigh.

In the words of Tinky Winky, "Again, again."

Sunday and what the?

2010-03-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

People surprise me. Tickets were 125 euros. Many like us would have had to fork out another 100 or more euros to fly to Germany, or drive, or train etc...For the sole express purpose of spending 3 days listening to, dancing to, some of the top heavy rock/metal bands in the world and you know what people started lining up for from early in the day? The soccer.

A couple of hours were set aside to air the soccer. Unbelievable.

What smell is missing?

2010-03-11T12:40:00.001-08:00

For anyone who has attended several concerts in NZ, and it doesn't seem to matter which music genre, you too would've wondered why the concert and campgrounds smelt .....unexpected. It took us a little while to realise that a smell was missing. Which is a sad comment on NZ I think. Yes, the odiferous Mary Jane was missing.

We witnessed the "drug" police in action and were very impressed. A group of very ordinary "participants" descended on a young gent and started going through his belongings-bag, shoes, empty out pockets, sniff all the cigarettes in the ciggie packet etc...A fine was written up, and then the group just melted back into the crowd. Smooth.

I want to know how much the young man was fined.

Rock am Ring-the music.

2010-03-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

Again I have forgotten who all performed. I was surprised which bands were a great and enjoyable performance and which ones sucked. Sadly, whoever did the sound for the main stage did a poor job. I couldn't sing along with Tank Serjian cos I couldn't hear him. The Nightwish group ended up leaving the stage for a short time until the sound could be fixed....or rather patched up.

Simple Plan were on the main stage for the first time and they were so pleased about this, it was embarrassing. They also lost quite a few brownie points for making the moshpit do the stupid "Rings of Fire". The numbers are kept so low, that 2 of these rings were able to be done. Of course, we ended up with our own ring of fire in front of us, beside us, behind us.....sigh.

Kid Rock gave a stellar performance and finished it with a ballad. lol.Offspring, Jimmy Eat World, Disturbed, Aler Bridge, Seether, all performed well and professionally.

Metallica were their usual. We didn't even stay for the whole set. We impressed that despite the sound difficulties, the unbelievable number of people present, and how much alcohol was being consumed, that everyone was still very well-behaved.

Rock am Ring- the food

2010-03-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

We didn't take much food with us. The food at Rock-am-Ring was the only thing that was better than that at the Frequency. Plus, they sold crepes, so that's pretty much what we lived on for the next 4 or 5 days.

They were also food stalls on the road home. I have no idea when or if they got any sleep. The same people were serving no matter what time of the day or night we went past, 4am, 8am, 2pm, 11pm etc...

Quarter of a chicken and fries was going for 4/5 euros. It was a while ago so I forget. Jordan and Sarah pretty much did their own thing which made it cheaper for us, but hungrier for them.

Rock am Ring - Day 1

2010-02-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

First act was at 4pm, so we had a nice lie in, enjoyed the sun, had a few beers(not me, bleugh) and familiarised ourselves with the campgrounds.

You can imagine our excitement and pride to find that the opening act was not only a kiwi band, but also one of our favourites-Steriogram! Score!

There weren't many of us around, but I think that was more to do with the "early" hour. Not that we cared. There was a young man there waving a NZ flag. He was so in love with NZ, and he had only been there for 2 weeks! We met another kiwi there too(spot the Sounds t-shirt) who was as rapt as us, with Steriogram.

Steriogram asked the standard, "Is there anyone out there from New Zealand?" but they weren't actually expecting to hear a yes. So when we were all jumping up and down, and screaming yes, Tyson Kennedy didn't believe us til he spotted my Taranki t-shirt.

Jordan and Sara talked to them after the show, and apparently the band were stoked to see some kiwis in the audience. Some may think that I am a biased, but I still think that Steriogram gave the best performance out of all the bands we saw that weekend.

Good on yer mates.

Rock am Ring- The Journey Begins

2010-02-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

After the Frequency Festival and how noisy it was, I had no desire to experience another 3 day rock concert event. However, after weeks of listening to Jordan and Greg talking about Rock am Ring, and Jordan's friend was going too, I started to feel like if I stayed behind, I would be missing out on a lot of fun. So, I changed my mind.

Rock am Ring was a lot further away than Frequency, so we had to catch a plane, then a train, and then finally a bus. Frequency was so well organised that we were very surprised when we arrived at the train station to see no signs whatsoever about the concert. There was a stream of people heading in the same direction so we figured they were a good bet, and trailed after them.

After talking to several people, we were happy to discover that yes we were in the right place but we still had a lot of head scratching ahead of us. There were still no signs about Rock-am-Ring, and the bus schedule said that the last bus was at 9pm. Eh? It was now 9.30pm. Hmmm.

There were lots of us there, and there were 2 buses in the lot which we were hoping like hell were for us. Finally, one of the buses rumbled over about 10pm. No-one was allowed to stand on the bus, which made me wonder why, considering the large number of people still left on the footpath, people's bags were allowed a seat, but we humans weren't.

As you can imagine, we were starting to get rather annoyed. Especially when that bus left, and the next bus didn't roll up until more than an hour later. There was no sign of another bus in the offing so we were a tad worried that after all this mucking around, we'd still be out in the cold, after midnight, in a strange city.

Well, the powers that be, decided they didn't want to have to run another bus so they crammed the rest of us on the bus. So much for the regulations. We were lucky to get a seat. We didn't realise how lucky until we got on the road, and were held up in traffic, and the trip took 2 to 3 hours!?! Who's running this monkey outfit?

Our final thrill was trying to squeeze ourselves into what little space remained on the tiny campgrounds available. Our tent ended up a little lopsided, but at 3am in the morning we didn't have enough energy left to care. The girls ended up with a nice place.

Lucky everyone was so well-behaved and understanding. We thought we had encroached on our neighbours space and you couldn't possibly fit a fly in the area left, so it was funny to unzip our tent, and see another tent 2 inches from ours.

What on earth were the organisers thinking?headscratch, headscratch.

The Belgian Cafe

2009-10-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

We felt a little naughty for not eating the local cuisine, but I had a hankering for some Waterzooi, and I even thought a Hoegaarden would go down nicely too.

As you can see, the rellies didn't mind at all. All in all, it was a nice way to wind up a long day. But just to make it extra specially nice, we stopped at the chocolate shop on the way home. Heh heh heh.

The Blue Church

2009-10-05T12:15:00.001-07:00

After our first visit to Bratislava, we haven't really felt any need to visit or find new sights. Seeing if their were any new flavours to try at our favourite chocolate shop, has pretty much fulfilled all the sights we've been interested in.

So, it was nice to see something new on this trip. Although small, the blue church is nevertheless lovely. It also had this rather interesting...sculpture?monument? thingy out front. It would have been nice to have a bit of info about it.
There are 3 small pictures on the front of it. On the end is a picture of a family. And on the other end is an anatomical diagram of a heart. Eeurgh.

Bratislava-UFO

2009-10-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

We stopped for a drink on the way down, and we all tried to squeeze ourselves into the one tiny spot of shade there. It was very pretty with the miniature roses draped along the back of the wall.

What I like about the view from the UFO, is that you get a really good view of the old city, and the newer city. It makes a nice contrast.

At the top of the UFO is also a restaurant. Every time we go, we keep hoping that the prices there will be a little more reasonable, but no luck yet.

But from the top, we spotted a nice looking restaurant just a stone's throw away.

Bratislava - The Castle

2009-10-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

Once you get to the city,your eye is naturally drawn to the castle which is of course built at the highest point, which isn't actually that high but anyway. It was a stinking hot day, so it made the walk up feel a little steeper than it was.
So we were unimpressed when we reached the castle, to find that it was closed for renovations for 5 years. Doh. We consoled ourselves by perusing the only thing that was open, the tourist shop.

There is also a very nice view. Next on the list, the U.F.O. If you are on a bit of a budget, then you can safely skip the UFO as the view from there is just as good as the view from the castle.

No. 1, Top of the List of Things to do in Bratislava

2009-05-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

The town centre is about 10 minutes walking distance from the station. There are a few nice little things to see on the way. One of which are these little musical chimes that you see the whanau investigating. Regardless of age, it never fails to delight.

The other advantage to walking is that, if these things matter to you, its a good way to fool yourself into thinking that it will offset the delights of the chocolate shop. Chrissy, Josie and Kev were in agreement that travelling to Bratislava from Vienna just for a hot chocolate when the chocolate is this good, makes sense.

Also, since you've come all the way from Vienna, you might as well have another hot chocolate, just to make doubly sure that the journey was not wasted.

A Good First Impression

2009-05-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

When you are travelling with a group of meatavores, and the first thing you see when you step off the train in a foreign country, is this lovely display of cooked meat for sale(there were several vendors there), then they are already pretty most sold on that country.

I am constantly bemused by the slabs of meat sold as fast food in Europe. I guess fast food here means, you only get the cooked meat, no condiments, no bun, no nothing.

DO RE MI - VOLKSOPER VERSION

2009-05-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

In the Volksoper version, the ‘Do Re Me’ song is renamed ‘C-D-E’ and the lyrics go...

C, wie Cellophanpapier,
D, bei D-Zug denkt man dran,
E, ein Elefantentier,
F, wie flatterhafte Fahn',
G, Gesangsverein vom Land,
A, vom Alphabet bekannt,
H, wie Hagebuttentee,
das führt uns zurück zu C.

C, like cellophane
D - an express train (I don't know the rest)
E, an elephant
F, like a fluttering flag
G, like a choir of the country
A, from the well known alphabet
H, like rosehip tea
which begins us back to C.

Petanque in the Augarten

2009-05-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

For a little down time, we introduced the whanau to a nice little french game called Petanque. We broke up into teams of 3, and then the fun began.

Although I love Petanque, in Vienna, half the fun of playing in the Augarten was trying to throw the balls without knocking anyone out. Maybe we should have gotten extra points depending on the challenge of hitting our mark in proximity to the closest sun basker.

Schloss Schönbrunn and the Gloriette

2009-05-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

Schönbrunn is on my list of must do's in Vienna, not for the palace(just looks like big house), not for the grounds, but for the view. Most of Vienna is flat so this is the best place to come, and if you don't want to pay the 2 euros to climb up to the Gloriette, you'll still get a nice enough view.

Plus, if you are lucky, you might have a cute little fellow like this one, stop and pose for you.

Encounters on the Train

2009-04-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

On our way back from Italy, we got to talking with some of the other passengers, as you do. Although one of our fellow travellers was Russian and didn't speak German or English, it didn't stop her from engaging us in conversation. With the use of a lot of hand gestures, miming, scribbling on paper and emphatic statements which didn't aid understanding at all, we were able to make out that she was travelling from somewhere and was travelling to Vienna. (Actually, we knew the last bit since the train's destination was Vienna and we had passed the last stop.)

Jordan quickly befriended the young lady pictured, as she does, and we got talking to her mother who turned out to be a singer who was currently playing Maria in the Sound of Music at the Volksoper. Which we found a funny coincidence since Greg's cousin was at the same time, in rehearsals as Maria in the Sound of Music in Christchurch. (That's a very cool story too. Ask me about it.)

"Maria" offered to obtain cheap tickets for us which we were all very eager to accept. Well, except for Greg who made it very clear that although the offer was appreciated there was no way in hell he could be prevailed upon to attend.

We felt very posh when it turned out that we were seated in one of the side boxes. The show was in German, and we found some of the translations very amusing. Plus Do Re Mi was changed to C, D, E which we didn't think really worked but at least it was entertaining.

I'd forgotten how much I love these kinds of shows. Jordan and I were trilling the goatherder song and die schöneste Lied ist das Lied der Berge, interspersed with "Arrrgh please no," and "arrgh! Stop, STOP!"Which were Greg's contributions.

Musee D'Orsay

2009-04-06T11:00:00.001-07:00

The Musee D'Orsay contains more of what I would expect in an art gallery. But that is probably because I am not so cultured. I was a little disappointed by some of the previous galleries because there was so little that I actually recognised.

So for those of you who are like me, then the Musee D'Orsay is a must see. I would even put it ahead of the Louvre. It is full of Degas, Monets, van Goghs, Cezannes, Gauguins, etc....

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to linger as we only had an hour and we raced around the museum with a small stop for coffee and cake which was also worth doing.

Cruising Down the Seine

2009-02-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

We consider cruising down the Seine as a "must-do" in Paris. Not only is it a lovely way to see some of the famous buildings, but after a day of sightseeing, it's a real relief for the feet.

Notre Dame 2008

2008-12-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

The last time we were at the Notre Dame, we arrived just before closing. So, it was nice to have a good wander around this time.

There were an inordinate amount of beggars out the front. One of them approached us with her sign and asked if we spoke English, to which Greg forcefully replied, "No, we don't speak any English."
Usually, the beggars are not cowed when politely rebuffed many times but this one probably didn't quite know what to make of Greg's statement and decided it might be easier to try someone else.

We were doubly in luck when we enquired about climbing the tower, to find that we would be the next group. I'd just about had my fill of climbing towers but this is after all the Notre Dame. It was worth the effort.

Afterwards, I provided the entertainment by unsuspectingly holding the hand of a gargoyle when I thought that I had been holding Greg's hand. For whatever reason, this fellow was getting his jollies frightening unsuspecting tourists. He definitely put on a good show. Greg thinks I would make a good screamer.

Our corner restaurant, at the back of the Notre Dame, once again lived up to our expectations by providing us with a reasonably priced and delicious meal.

Post Disney

2008-12-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

We were totally wasted by the end of the day, so despite our misgivings that the "tourist city centre" restaurants by Euro Disney would have show stopping prices for meals, we ventured forth and were pleasantly surprised.

This restaurant has a medieval theme but we didn't get into any quaffing.Doesn't my baby beer look cute next to Greg's?

The Tower of Terror

2008-12-22T04:59:00.000-08:00

We were standing outside this ride for a little bit. You could see the lift when the doors opened, just before it dropped.

There was no way in hell I was going to go on this ride. I didn't even care if Greg called me chicken for a week, nothing was going to to induce me to go on this ride.

Jordan was very eager. She raced off with Greg and was all giggles and smiles. So I was rather surprised after the ride that Jordan was a bit upset with Both Greg and I because apparently we hadn't forewarned her about the ride.

"Why didn't you tell me!" She kept moaning. Apparently even once they were on the ride, Jordan didn't quite twig what was going to happen. Hmmm. You're in an elevator, on an amusement ride in a theme park and it's going up. What could possibly happen?

Greg found Jordan to be great value. It almost made me wish I had gone with them. But only almost.

Walt Disney's Studio Park

2008-12-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Studio is smaller than the other park with only 3 adult rides. There really wasn't much to see there. What they did have a lot of, was a "High School Musical" performance at least twice an hour.
Plus, despite Jordan's protestations about not wanting another "little brother", Greg bought me a nice little friend to come home with.

We tried to come up with a few good names for him but decided to be boring and stick to Stitch.

Eurodisney-the rides

2008-11-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed the rides so much is that they weren't too scary. They were big enough to give me a thrill but not so big that I was puking my guts out or crying. But that's another story.

The Haunted Manor looked like it could be interesting but it was closed. Hah!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril was so good we went on it again. There were some people who got to queue jump a little since they had paid a little extra for that privilege but seeing as they were only slightly ahead of us and still had to queue a bit, we were rather pleased we hadn't forked out for that.

Mad Hatter's Teacups - Josie, Kev and Chrissy had had such fun on the teacups in Disneyland that we felt it was an absolute must to do here. Of course it was smaller, and you really feel how small when you climb in the teacups and you wonder whether the ride is only meant to be for the under 10's but we managed to squish ourselves in.

Greg was turning the wheel so fast it set off Jordan's potty-mouth-o-meter. She reckons she was just following Josie's example and trying to really "relive" the experience. Hmmm.

Then there was the Space Mountain:Mission 2. It's an indoor roller coaster which is kinda freaky. Jordy and Greg did it several times but I found it too uncomfortable. It WAS a cool ride but I got shaken around too much and banged my head a few times which kinda detracted from the whole experience.

We meet Mike Wazowski.

2008-11-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

If you look at the scream machines, you can see that the one in the middle is red. I think it's the only one that's working.

Aww why do we always get the broken one?

2008-11-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

The blurb says, "Take an action-packed voyage through a pirate attack." But actually the scariest thing about this ride was the dark. There were so many screaming howling children in the underground.

It probably wouldn't have been so bad but there were some technical difficulties, which made the queue quite long. We derived some entertainment from watching the staff leaping round whilst trying to pretend that they had everything under control.

After about half an hour we were told sorry, the ride was closed and they didn't know if they'd reopen later. Bummer.

But they were. So we made another go of it from which you can't see this lovely picture of Jordan and I on the ride which turned out to be a very slow log/boat ride around an underground tunnel. It was quite lovely.

Alice's Curious Labyrinth

2008-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

A pleasant little maze to walk around, with nice little appearances like the Queen of Hearts who pops up out over this fence.

And also what we thought was the politically incorrect smoking caterpillar who looked liked he was getting high. Herein might lie the real reason for the author's creativity eh?

Euro Disney in general

2008-11-21T03:50:00.001-08:00

As luck would have it, our hotel was relatively close to Euro Disney. Jordan was almost breaking out of her skin with excitement and eagerness at the thought of going to Euro Disney. Even though it wasn't on our agenda at all.

In the end, what the whanau had planned wasn't really of interest to us 3, plus Jordan had done relatively well in her maths exam, so we decided Euro Disney would be a nice reward for her.

The tickets were a little cheaper than we expected, and it was unbelievably quiet as well. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of people there but we hardly had to queue for anything and it wasn't jampacked like Rock-am-Ring.

Initially when we saw the age of most of the visitors there(under 10), we had reservations about how good it would be. Plus, there didn't seem to be so many "big people's" rides and Euro Disney just didn't look that big. As it turned out though, we barely had enough time to do everything(the big rides),and we only managed to snatch a 5 min break for a little something to eat.

Although, we were surprised how late it opened, 10am and how early it closed, 7pm. All in all, I felt it was worth the effort and I enjoyed the day.

Have to do the Eiffel Tower

2008-11-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

Of course we had to take the Whanau to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't get so lucky with the queues this time. So we spent a long time queuing every step of the way up the Eiffel Tower and coming down as well. Greg and Jordan were going to walk up but for whatever reason, the stairs were closed.

Despite the crowd and queues, it was still nice. Especially since we were there long enough to see it during the day and then as night fell upon Paris. It was really something.

Then we had the very Parisian hotdogs and chips after for dinner. Haha.

Getting to see more of the Louvre.

2008-11-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

This painting always sends Jordan off into gales of laughter and when we were in the Louvre she was having such a laughing hissy that Greg thought we might get kicked out.

We have dubbed this photo - Peekaboo.

One for Dad (Jordan's dad, not mine)

2008-11-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

We deliberately try to travel light. Especially if we're traveling by plane. So our normal is one schoolbag sized bag per person. If you've ever had to carry your luggage around whilst sightseeing, you'll know why.

Despite that, Jordan packed this very special t-shirt for her dad as she had promised him to take a photo with it on in front of the Louvre. Luckily this was our second journey to Paris as Jordan had forgotten to pack it the first time. At that time we said what we always say in these sort of situations. We'll do it next time.

There's still some things in Vienna that are on that list after 3 years. Luckily we have another 2 years to accomplish some of these deeds. So it feels good to be able to cross one off.

L'Arc de Triomphe/ Paris

2008-10-11T07:31:00.001-07:00

Although, the Arc is one of those tourist must do's, it's never really been of much interest to me.It didn't look so big, and we'd already seen a few Arc's in other countries. So it was a bit of a surprise when we come out in the wrong part of the underground directly by the Arc, to find that actually it's not that small.

Of course, since we were there, we had to have a closer look and it even looked interesting enough to climb. There's stairs and lifts and the stairs were, for some unexplainable reason closed which was a disappointment to Greg. As for myself, I'd almost had enough of climbing things. (Whenever stairs and stuff are closed, due to Greg's last experience with the Eiffel Tower, we pat explanation is always , "someone must have had a heart attack on the stairs.")

But after a small wait, the stairs were suddenly made available. It actually wasn't too bad. And there are things of interest at different levels, including a very nice and clean toilet.

So, the Arc goes on the recommended to do list.

The Best Sights on the Cruise

2008-10-08T05:42:00.001-07:00

The area between Melk and Krems is well-known for it's wines. So of course, we felt honor bound to sample the local vintages.

We started off on the top deck but the fierce sun soon drove us downstairs in search of shade. I don't know if it was the sun, the wine(we actually only consumed a couple of glasses), our relatively empty stomaches or all three combined, but we were certainly feeling very jolly by the end of the trip.

I can definitely say, that this was well worth doing.

Dürnstein Ruins-further sights along the Danube

2008-10-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Although castles are cool, castle ruins are even cooler. We could see people walking around up amongst the ruins and it looked that would be a neat thing to be doing.

There were many castle ruins to be seen on the cruise but I thought this one denoted a mention not only cos I liked the way it looked but also because in 1192, Richard the Lionhearted was captured and held prisoner here.

Castle Aggstein-one of the sights of the cruise

2008-10-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Seemingly precariously perched atop this mountain, Castle Aggstein has a perfect view of the Danube.
Originally built to to protect merchants travelling through the Danube Valley, it was eventually taken over by a robber Baron who delighted in forcing his "guests" to leap off to plunge into the depths below.

Apparently it's quite a nice walk up and it's even been a little restored. Something else to put on the to-do list.

Cruising between Melk and Krems

2008-09-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

I'll have to add the photos after.

Josie, Kevin and Chris were off on a cruise and they kindly invited me along. After spending a couple of days sick and shivering in bed, I was looking forward to some time in the sun.

We had to catch a 1 hour train out to Melk and then a bus from there to the boat. The brochure didn't give us enough information so we ended up in a few wrong places and missed a couple of trains before we were finally on our way.

Going against the tide, the cruise took 3 hours. 3 hours of sun, beautiful scenery, snapping off the occasional photo whilst sampling the local wines. It was a struggle for me to keep my eyes open, such were the soporific effects of the sun.

We only got to have about 15-20 mins in Krems before we had to catch the next boat back. The castle there looked like it would be worth a return trip to investigate.

The Real David

2008-09-03T01:38:00.001-07:00

No visit to Florence is complete without a visit to see the real David. Even though the fake David is just good, probably because the real David is indoors, and well displayed with lighting etc... it is somehow more impressive.

What we felt quite perplexing was how easy it was to miss the entrance to the David museum. Here Greg is waiting in line at the entrance. The wall on which he is leaning is covered in graffiti by previous bored queuers. As you can see, it just looks like any other apartment building and there are no nice big signs either to announce that here resides the real David.

More impressive than the David though, were Michaelangelo's unfinished sculptures. Definitely worth the journey.

Food, Food, Food

2008-08-11T02:49:00.001-07:00

Of all our experiences as tourists, you often never really feel the differences until you try the food. We had certainly had a few surprises already. You think you know Italian food. I mean who hasn't had spaghetti, pizza or lasagne?

But just as everybody is different, everyone has a different way of preparing food. Italian pizza has way less toppings than kiwi pizza etc... We feel that it is our duty as tourists to partake of as many culinary experiences as possible.

Even the musicians are different. We thought these musicians were hired by the restaurant. Nope. They just wander in off the street and try their luck. Which is okay if you like their music I guess, but the good thing about this is, if you don't like their music, the buskers don't tend to hang around for long. They milk the crowd and then move on to another restaurant.

Looking for the more romantic side of Florence.

2008-08-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

I had been so looking forward to being in Florence, that it was hard for me to admit that actually I was finding it to be a rather grubby city. In the hopes of finding something a little more along the lines of...dare I say it?-"Room with a View", but lacking enough time to really get outside of the city, we headed off to what looked like a higher point.

Apart from the roads, and the traffic, walking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo where the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte can be found nearby, was certainly scenic and more like what I had envisioned Florence to be like.

There was a really lovely restaurant and trellises and roses etc... overlooking the city which we would have been eager keen to bring the rest of the family back to for dinner but sadly it turned out to be an American bar!

Inside the Basilica, it was incredibly dark. It was near impossible to see the beautiful interior and paintings. Everything they say about Italian churches is certainly true. Outside there was a lovely cemetery. Well worth a visit.

Need we say more?

2008-08-07T07:09:00.001-07:00

Ponte Vecchio

2008-08-06T06:12:00.001-07:00

As you can see, Il Ponte Vecchio, can be quite lovely and romantic. Well, romantic apart from the masses of tourists all jostling for a place to take a photo. Probably you could get just as lovely a view from one of the other bridges but along this bridge are a lot of little shops.

Apparently, in the 15th century these shops were greengrocers, butchers, and fishmongers. But in 1565, Ferdinando I replaced them with goldsmiths. The jewellery stores were nice to look at but the prices were rather Ouch! We contented ourselves with gelato, waffles and whatnot.
Later in the evening, the street vendors come out- lots of paintings. I was very tempted to buy one, but with so many vendors all selling the same thing, it's a bit offputting.

More entertaining is watching the vendors scrabbling to gather their gear and skedaddle as soon as the cops make an appearance.

The Bronze Boar

2008-07-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yes it is ugly and I almost didn't photograph it but I'm a tourist so....

As with many of the statues in Florence, this one is actually a replica. Made to replace the original, which is made out of marble, when it started to show signs of damage. People rub it's nose for good luck.

Unlike the original this one has water coming out of it's mouth. The custom is to put a coin in his mouth, rub his snout and make a wish. Supposedly if the coin then falls into the water drain under it's mouth, your wish will be granted.

Famous last words

2008-07-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

Jordan- I thought it was a sheep.

Jordan - Who is this Madonna person anyway.

Me-Just don't look between the ears.
(I've been doing this for 20 years.)

Everyone-Does it have a toilet seat?

Florence-Santa Maria del Fiore

2008-07-13T01:56:00.000-07:00

The exterior of the Santa Maria del Fiore is astounding. It is completely decorated with marble-mostly green and white with a little red. Photos don't capture it's ornateness. We could not help but marvel every time we passed the Duomo.

So of course it was on our to-do list. We were pleased that there was no entrance fee but we soon found out why. Someone forgot to do the inside. Or, so much money was spent on the exterior there was nothing left for the interior.

It did have a very nicely painted Dome which you could climb up to. But you did have to pay and it involved more queuing. I think we were all a little bemused when we got a closer look, by the content of the paintings.

The climb wound around and because of the shape of the dome(8 sided instead of round), it was a little more interesting than some of the other towers we've been up. Having reached the top, and seen that we were indeed on the highest building there, we were not swayed by Greg's idea that when you see a tall building, mountain etc... you just have to climb it. We were all quite content to have a gelato or hot chocolate and wait for Greg whilst he scaled the bell tower however. (You can just see the top of it behind Greg and I.)

A funny girl.

2008-07-10T00:16:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me and love me, would say that I am mischievous. Anyone who knows me but doesn't love me would probably just call me a pain in the butt. Okay truth be told, those who love me call me that too.

In fact, my mother's nickname for me is Jayne the Pain. Whether that's simply because my name conveniently rhymes with pain, or whether she considers that to be true, is a question I prefer to leave unanswered.

My father often used to say I was a "funny girl". But judging from his expression when he would say this, I don't think he meant funny ha-ha.

When you take all of this into consideration, it's funny that,I as a teenager used to roil in embarrassment at my father's antics.

I remember one prank gone wrong. Dad was pretending to cut off my cousin's plait only.... he got a bit carried away and did actually end up cutting her hair.

Fast forward to when I was in my 20's. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps for no good reason that I can recall. However what I do remember is mournfully wondering how come I seemed to have such an overdeveloped sense of mischief.

Like a gift from heaven, I came a cross a photo of my father. He was in the sea, pulling a funny face for the camera. I was flooded with joy. This was the reason I'm the way I am. I got it from my father.

Now that my father has passed on, I think fondly of him shaking his head and pronouncing the words which used to make me feel so mad, but not anymore. Because now I realise it's true. I am a funny girl.

The Ewings, Drinkies and Pilisi hit Florence.

2008-06-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

There was a bit of anxiety about turning up in Florence with accomodation booked. So it was seen as somewhat of a blessing that when we arrived at the train station and went to make enquiries, there was a guy standing outside the info office who offered us cheap accomodation, with a shower in our room, breakfast and transport to our hotel.

The shower wasn't exactly what we expected as that was exactly all it was. A shower in our room. If you're not shy about that kind of thing then no worries but for us more modest people we called upon the others to leave the room so we could shower in peace.

The good thing about being a tourist is that when these kinds of things happen, it's easier to shrug it off by putting it under the 'it's all part of the experience' category.

Happily, our place was only about 10 minutes walk to the city centre. The Uffizi was top of the list as it wasn't open Mondays. We had to queue for over an hour and had a bit of a grumble to ourselves about some queue jumpers who sneaked in front of us.

However we felt that our honesty and patience was richly rewarded when it came time to enter. One of the rules of queuing was that the whole group had to queue together. No-one was allowed to just hold the place.

Well our 'friends' didn't do that and ended up almost getting cut off as it took time for them to come up to the head of the queue from where they were. When the guard asked how many were in the group, they hadn't all arrived yet. So naturally he wanted to know if they'd all been there the whole time or if they had jumped the queue.

We were quick to pipe up that yes they had been queue jumpers which did not impress the guard. He waved us politer queuers through was set the queue jumpers off. They were a bit rude to the guard which then gave us a good display of Italian hand waving as the guard then decided they could blimin' well go to the back of the queue.

Later on we came across our 'friends', but we all just pretended to not see each other.

Back in Pisa-The Baptistry and the Camposanto

2008-06-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Whilst our family was at Mass we took the opportunity to see the Baptistry and the Camposanto. They were very reasonably priced about 3 Euros each.

We were standing up on the second level when we heard beautiful singing. There was a woman standing down just by the baptistry, which was the best place acoustically. Apart from the baptistry, the stained glass windows and some funky stuff on the floor, there's not a lot inside. Still worth a visit though.

The Camposanto was the burial place of the Pisan upper class for centuries. It contains many frescoes and statues as well as sarcophagi.

Many of the frescoes are in ruins. Apparently,on the 27th of July 1944 incendiary bombs dropped by Allied aircraft set the roof on fire and covered them in molten lead, all but destroying them.

Monterossa-The last town

2008-06-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Whilst Josie, Chris and I were enjoying the delights of Monterosso and being surprised and slightly petrified by our orders of fish, Jordan, Greg and Kev were having quite an adventure.

We knew that this last leg of the walk was meant to be the hardest so 2 hours was set for it to be completed by. Unfortunately, no-one had mentioned that there were two trails and so instead of a 2.5km walk, K, J and G ended up walking for 6.5km.Almost all of which was uphill.
This is the first downhill bit, the last 20mins. Apparently it was quite a pretty walk but they had little time to appreciate.

since it wasn't my adventure, you'll have to get further details from Jordan or Greg.

Vernazza- town 4

2008-05-30T08:44:00.001-07:00

The next leg of the journey was going to be a little harder so we stopped for a lovely cup of coffee to fortify ourselves before we set off.

2.5km of mostly uneven terrain high above the coastline, it was still very lovely and thankfully a little more shaded. I was really feeling my unfit start and then we came across a station where you could call for help from. I thought that was nice but what if you were a lot further back or forward? My mobile certainly wasn't getting any reception.

There was never so welcome a sight as that of Vernazza. Especially as I knew for me that this would be the end of the tramp for me. I was going to train the last leg of the journey.

Vernazza was another lovely city. Josie, Chris and I were left to explore it at our leisure while Greg, Kev and Jordan went off to do the last bit.

Corniglia-Town 3

2008-05-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Just behind me you can see whére we are headed to-Corniglia 2.8km away. It is surrounded on three sides by vineyards and terraces and on the fourth side, it descends steeply to the sea.

To reach Corniglia, you have to climb the Lardarina, a long brick flight of steps made up of 33 flights with 377 steps. You can see the flight of steps from aways back and the closer you get the more daunting they looked but in the end it wasn't so bad. Whatever my huffing, wheezing and red face might look like contradicting.

Jordan just billy goated up. But she encouraged me to do it as fast as I was able to, in the steadfast belief that it makes it easier. I'm still in two minds about that. I don't know whether it's better to take it easier and get there less winded(prolonging the pain is how others see it), or go hard and be completely fagged when you get there.

Manarola

2008-05-30T02:53:00.000-07:00

Via Dell'Amore

2008-05-26T05:49:00.000-07:00

Via Dell'Amore translated means lovers lane. I thought there would be some tragically romantic or sweetly romantic reason but there isn't apart from the fact that because of the views/scenery it's considered quite romantic.

The lane come about as a result of modernising the railway. A tunnel between Manarola and Riomaggiore was needed so two paths overlooking the sea were carved - one from Manarola and one from Riomaggiore, with the aim to reach a safe and not easily reachable space to place the powder-magazine where the mines for the works were prepared. After the end of the works the powder-magazine was destroyed but not the paths.
The locals could see the benefits in making the paths more accessible and despite the difficulties in doing so, they succeeded. How's that for romantic?

Rio Maggiore - The first part of the walk.

2008-05-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

As you can see, it's a very pretty walk. This part is very easy as well as it is only 1km.

We saw a few pretty things that we would have really liked but we contented ourselves with just gelato.

La Spezia-Heading off to the Cinque Terre

2008-05-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

La Spezia is where you buy your Cinque Terre card. The card entitles you access to the Cinque Terre trail, and to ride any of the trains between the towns. The card was introduced as a way to maintain and upkeep the trail.

We had a little excitement when I realised I couldn't find my card. The train was due to leave shortly. I had an idea of where I could have left them, so I raced back and sure enough there was my card lying on the bench besides the postcards.

Needless to say Greg was not impressed.

Always got room for chocolate.

2008-05-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

Of course no family holiday is complete without some chocolate. We scoured the streets looking for an internet cafe but to no avail. Everyone was good at sending us places but the places turned out to be bogus.

But the roam was not fruitless. It brought us in close contact with hot chocolate. No journey seems properly complete until we have discovered the Holy Grail of hot chocolate.

We couldn't really read Italian, but we could read fondue. There seemed to be several different options for fondue so we just picked one and hoped for the best. What we got was a fondue with a small selection of cakes. I think fruit works better but it all tastes good as the chocolatey smiles verified.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

2008-05-23T05:07:00.000-07:00

Before we are allowed up the tower we have to stow our bags in the provided safe lockers. Good for us as we still had our luggage on us. Okay it was only a backpack but nevertheless it was still nice to take a load off.

We'd barely set one foot inside the tower and already we were off kilter and stumbling. No we hadn't been drinking. It's amazing how much of a difference the slight slant makes to a climb.

We had to wait for about 5-10mins near the top, until the group on top left. It was a lovely view. We weren't allowed very long up top and the tour lady started to get grumpy with us near the end.

I was happy to leave. Although I have climbed higher towers, this was the one that got me the closest to freaking. I had an almost overpowering need to lie flat with my arms spread out wide and clinging. But I got over that. Having my family laughing at me helped me to focus on something else.

A big hinge...correction apparently it's a bolt so in the fashion of Pratchett it shall be called the big metal thing that slides and stops things fro

2008-05-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

You have to book in to climb the tower of Pisa and I think each group only takes up to 40 people. And the tours are every 20 minutes. We had a bit of time so we walked around the square a bit.

We came across this really big slidey metal mechanism that stops things from entering or exiting, which was on a huge gate. Behind the huge gate was a ...cemetery. Which begs the question is the gate to keep people out? or whatever's in the cemetery in?(cue lightening, thunder and scary music).

To be honest, I just thought 'That's a really big slidey metal mechanism. Cool.Take a photo.'

Il Duomo di Pisa

2008-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Taking photos was such hard work that we decided to stop for pizza and vino. Also we needed to build up a bit of stamina to climb up the Leaning Tower. It would have been a really nice break too, if the darn hawkers would've just let us alone.

At least they provided us with a little bit of entertainment when they all bolted at the sight of the cops. One would think that their endeavours weren't strictly legal!?!

Although we didn't buy anything, we were gifted with a couple of very red, wooden elephants. Then it was on to the Duomo di Pisa.

Only 2 Euros entry fee which I felt was well worth the price. Photos can never really capture the grandeur of such places. I was surprised that even the postcards were unable to do it justice either.

I guess you'll just have to see it for yourself....with a stopover to visit us of course.

Santa Maria della Spina

2008-05-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

It took us a little while to wend our way towards the Leaning Tower as there was so much to see and enjoy on the way. We even spotted a few residences that we thought would do very nicely as our home away from home. They've been put on Greg's to-do list for when we become rich from his various projects.

One of those interesting sights was this darling little church, Santa Maria della Spina. So named, apparently after it became the shrine of a thorn which according to legend, came from the crown of thorns worn by Jesus.

There was a 2 Euro entrance fee and not
really a lot to see inside as most of the statues etc... were donated to the museum for safekeeping. The church had needed a bit of maintenance as it was suffering from the same malaise as the Leaning Tower.

Even coffee is more exciting in a different country.

2008-05-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

Whilst whiling away the time until we met up with our whanau, we smelt the enticing aromas of coffee beckoning us to truly experience the joys of Italian coffee. Greg had barely formed the words, 'Shall we...?',before he found himself in the cafe with the words doppio espresso leaving his mouth.

Jordan ordered a cafe latte , which turned out to be a cup of hot milk with the coffee in a separate jug. As you can see from the picture, we felt that to be the height of sophistication.

We're on our way from Austria to Italy

2008-05-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

It was with great excitement that we set off on our journey to meet up with Greg's family in Pisa travelling via Florence.
'We'll rendez-vous by the Leaning Tower', were words that sent a thrill through me. I could hardly believe that I was going to be a part of the 'rendez-vous'.

We decided to take the overnight night train to Florence. A mere 12 hours. Compulsory reservations meant that we found ourselves in less than desirable seats-in a whole carriage where the lights never got turned off, with some very 'happy' Russians(Vodka happy)who were intent on sharing their music with the whole carriage.

Actually the music was fine, it was the singing that needed a little tuning.

6.30am we were chugging our way to Pisa. Typically we got a fine. Apparently we forgot to validate our ticket, which incurs a 5 euro fine or a 40 euro fine if you don't seek out the conductor ASAP.

Nothing could dim the joy of being in Florence.

Getting ready for the family.

2008-05-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the arrival of Greg's family, we had a few things to sort out. One of them was a bed. We looked at a few different options, like pull out sofas and such. But those options were rejected as they were too haevy for me too carry on my own and even with a few other hands helping, we didn't think they fit on the bus.

So we were very pleased to see that our local supermarkets were selling inflatable queen sized beds they came up to your knee when inflated. They looked very comfy. Unfortunately our local wasn't selling them and when I tried to pick one up elsewhere, I discovered that I really am as weak as I keep telling Greg I am.

We finally got it home and all set up. Jordan was very eager to try it out. But as you can see from the pic, the bed didn't really work out. poor Jordy woke up in the middle of the night to discover that the reason the bed felt a little hard was cos it had deflated and she was now sleeping on the floor.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Sweet 16

2008-03-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

So Jordan's sweet 16 now.

What is it about turning 16 that seems so special? Is it that a whole new legal world opens up for you, i.e.getting married, age of consent, in some countries the drinking of beer and wine;being allowed to buy cigarettes, and rent certain movies.

Or is it more that because of being suddenly legal for a whole slew of things, you feel like an adult? I just asked my current expert, Jordan and the only answer she could give me, 'because it's sweet 16'. So maybe it's just the hype that makes it seem so special. I know Jordan was a bit disappointed that when she turned that 'magical' age, she didn't feel any different.

When I look back, I remember turning 16 with a kind of misty-eyed fondness. But what made it so special was my friends. I seem to recall receiving some very adult undergarments but it's the sharing of this moment with my friends that sticks in my mind the most.

Victory Dance of Rejoicing.

2008-03-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finally won! I won!
I won!
I won!

Despite the fact that I consistently get my butt kicked in computer games, I continue to play and enjoy it. My pet theory behind the reason that I love to play games is due to my being the youngest in my family and consistently being told that I couldn't play cos I was too young.

Of course, knowing me. This could be a completely fake memory. I have many memories I can see as clearly as a movie in my head which turn out to be completely fictitious to my great chagrin. But I digress.

I won!
Iwon!
Iwon!

Greg and I have been married for 8 years and I can still only count on one hand how often I have beaten him. So,you can well understand why I might be feeling so smug.

I think I will have to treat myself to the cone of victory at our local ice-cream parlour. All offers of congratulations will be duly accepted with the glee that it may or may not deserve...because....I won!
I won! I won!yay.

Capuchin Monastery and Vault(Klaster kapucinu)

2008-03-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

I thought I had finished writing about Brno but I left out mentioning the crypt. You're not allowed to take photos but they do sell postcards. Although truthfully who would want to receive a postcard of mummified bodies?

Anyway, we were told that this is one of those must see places. I would agree. If you don't have much time I would make this my top pick for Brno. When you buy your tickets you will be given a few pages with a little of the history. You can pick from German, English, Czech or a Slovak translation.

We thought Jordan knew what we were going to see because we kept saying crypt. We were in the first room looking at a mummified body still in it's casket. I was reading about who were looking at when Jordan suddenly screeched, gave me a horrified look and asked, 'Is this a 'real' body? At my affirmative answer, Jordan raced out of the room.

There's some good history on display here and the mummies are from all walks of life.

The dragon of Brno

2008-01-25T08:03:00.001-08:00

So if you walk through the Old Town hall Gate to the courtyard, you find this lovely touristy "dragon". As you can plainly see, it's not really a dragon. The rumour is that, the loclas had never seen a crocodile before. But this thing looked scary and probably the scariest scaliest thing they could think of was dragon. close enough I guess.

So here's the abridged version of one of the legends of the dragon of Brno. There was a village nearby. Something was eating the livestock. Help was sent for. Help came but before it arrive it got scared and went back home to get someone else to do it.

A butcher said he would do it if he was given a bull's skin and some lime
(the mineral not the fruit).
He sewed the lime into the skin, set the bull's skin up for the dragon to eat. The dragon ate it, went to the river for a drink, the lime inside it swelled and killed the dragon. Said dragon was then stuffed and is now hanging behind the old town hall gate.

Old Town Hall Gate

2008-01-25T04:54:00.000-08:00

JOrdan is standing under the Old Town Hall Gate of Brno. The decoration was made by Anton Pilgram in 1511. The story goes that he was unhappy with the amount paid for his work so, out of spite he bent the middle spire. If it was me I would have bent all of them. Anyway, I like it.

In the background is the "dragon of Brno". It"s head is obscured by the light. You're not missing anything because it's actually really not that interesting to look it. Some of that is because it"s hung up close to the ceiling, you can't see much. The other part is, it's not visually exciting.

Stupid Hotel

2008-01-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous time in Brno, marred only by the bad service of our hotel.

It was in a prime spot. Just 5 mins from the city centre and there was a Christkindlmarkt on the corner. We had to stop and get a trnewsknewski-(actually I don't know what it's called but that looks close.)for lunch before we checked in.

Dr Gregory Bruce Ewing in Brno

2008-01-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

Greg and Ingo had a teaching gig in Brno, Czech Republic. It is just under 2 hours away and costs..I don't know, something cheap. Just before Christmas it was going to become part of the E.U. so we were very eager to try and get stamps for our passport. Which we did which made Jordy and I very happy.

We were seated by a nice lady from Denmark who was bemoaning the fact that because she has a European passport she never gets any stamps.

Anyway, Jordy and I joined Greg for the weekend. We went in to give him a bit of support while he was lecturing. Especially since he reassured us that it would only be for 50 mins. 1 and a half hours later my brain was starting to leak and I didn't know how much more it could take.

Hangman came to the rescue. To be fair, all our words were based on the lesson, so Greg can't say we weren't listening or taking notes.

The Cave Church

2008-01-15T02:19:00.000-08:00

Although it's quite small inside it is very sweet. I found it quite lovely.

It is cared for by the Hungarian Paulite order of monks. During the communist years, the Hungarian secret police broke in, arrested everyone, condemned the superior Ferenc Vezér to death, and then the chapel was blocked up with a 2.25m-thick concrete wall.

It was only recently opened in 1989.

Gellert Hill

2008-01-15T01:37:00.001-08:00

Recommended for one of the best views of Budapest. It was especially lovely to walk up the hill surrounded by the autumn colours.

At the top is a restaurant and a wax museum. Not a wax museum like Madame Trussauds. One that depicts the war, with relevant historical blurbs and other paraphernalia. I really appreciated it even though it wasn't so big. I felt it offered something a lot of other cities didn't.

On our way down we came across a hot wine seller. Perfect. He gave us a huge cup and it only cost us something like 1 or 2 Euros.

Statue Park

2008-01-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Although it takes a little bit of getting to, I deem the park well worth the effort. But Greg wasn't so sure. And Jordan? I don't think she cared one way or the other.

For me, it was an opportunity and insight into the past that we are unlikely to see anywhere else. It's a collection of Communist monuments and statues. Understandably, after the fall of the communist regime in Hungary the statues were immediately removed. Equally understandable is the controversy generated by such a park.

Buy the guidebook for the park before you go in as the signs are only in Hungarian. I didn't see the guidebooks until after we had finished our tour. %(

Lost in Budapest

2008-01-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Day trip to Budapest. You gotta love Europe. It's a while since my last blog as we now have internet at home, so we haven't been into work for almost a month;and all my photos are at work.

Yes I could blog without posting pics but sadly, my memory meeds the photos to remind me what we did. It was autumn when we visited Budapest and I was constantly taken aback by the beauty of Budapest in autumn.

We decided to start our sight seeing tour with the Statue Park. It didn't look so far away on the map. But then, the clue should have been that it wasn't marked/included on the free city map. That's the inadequate map in my hand that I'm frowning over.

Eventually, we realized that we had been led astray by the construction/road works. no-one had made any adjustments for them, so the signs still pointed through the construction site. unfortunately for us, it was right next to a pathway that seemed to led to another bus depot. But it didn't.

Harrods

2007-12-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

The English service industry are renowned for being surly,rude and unhelpful. However, my experiences so far had been anything but. Then there was Harrods.

Harrods is certainly a lovely building. They had some very cool interior decorating and it all looks very posh. Plus there was some interesting history to do with them having the first escalators etc....

The security was a bit overkill. Worse even than the airport. If I hadn't been inclined to blow the place up, the stupid security measures might have pushed me to it. For whatever preposterous reason, one was not allowed to carry one's backpack on ones back. Anything larger than a handbag had to be carried by the straps. You weren't even allowed to hold it in front of you. If I was a thief, I would think great. Easier access to my bag. But anyway.

We were there to have an English afternoon tea i.e. scones, jam and lashings of cream. We got the scones and the jam but for some reason our clotted cream never arrived. We made enquiries and our waitress made all the right noises about getting us some cream. So we waited. No cream.

We made further enquiries about the cream, but this time we made sure we directed our enquiries to the manager only to be informed that we were given butter instead of cream.!!! I was unimpressed and made it as clear as I was able to about my state of being unimpressed. Whereby we were assured that an attempt to find some cream would ensue. Some time later, we were informed that happily, some cream and been sent for and would be coming very soon.

Well, you can imagine how we felt to see our much awaited cream, sail right past us and be delivered to another table. Finally finally after yet further "enquiries" were made, the cream arrived and sad to say, it wasn't really that nice.

To add further insult to injury, I think it made me sick. Luckily I didn't need to use the "bag", cos I couldn't find it. But I did need to use the facilities. So, tourists beware.

The London Eye

2007-12-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

We didn't manage to get to the London Eye as early as we wanted so there was an almighty queue when we arrived. Someone must've been smilin' down on us tho', because they were organising the throng and we ended up being at the head of the queue.

Vivian had already done the London Eye so she headed off to the aquarium. We were just about on the Eye when Cecilia suddenly remembered that she's afraid of heights. So once we were in, she sat for most of the journey on the seats in the middle of the Eye away from the windows.

She did manage to steel herself for long enough to take a quick photo. The organisers take a very nice photo of you in the Eye with a remote camera but as expected, it costs an arm and a leg.

When we came out, we thought that the queue had disappeared and then we saw that actually no, it had moved to the other side of the footpath and it looked to be at least a 1 hour wait if not more.

Les Miserables

2007-12-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

Taking in a play, was an absolute must. You can get cheap tickets at a few different outlets. We knew there was a good possibility that we wouldn't get our first pick so we lined up with a list of possibilities to try which was lucky cos our last pick was the only one at a reasonable price with a not bad view.

We almost weren't going to take it, because of the impeded view but the seller said it wasn't too bad and we were pleased to see that he hadn't lied.

I always forget just how fabulous stage shows are. Thanks to Vivian for being so generous and shouting us to the play.

Tate Modern and the National Gallery

2007-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, it looks like a brain sucker... you know the joke of the brain sucker you used to play on your friends when you were in primary school? Anyway, it was by far the coolest bit of art at this gallery.

I was pleasantly surprised by this modern art gallery. After our other experiences, I have been unwilling to repeat the experience but since Greg recommended it, I thought I'd give it a try. Plus...it's free. That's always worth a few brownie points.

What's with the crack in the floor? I don't know. I didn't find it interesting enough to find out. Madara and Max got a lot of attention. And one time Madara almost got lost but some kind stranger pointed him out to me.

There's seats outside, so we had a break and ate our packed lunch in the sun. It was very nice. We had wanted a drink but there was a big queue leading into the cafeteria. What's with that?

The national gallery is another site that I would recommend.

The journey home

2007-11-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Our tour buddies, had been imbibing on the second day of our tour as well. So the catch phrase for the day, was "Please facilitate yourselves" at each stop we came to.

The journey home was made interesting by one of the tour group wanting to get off the bus. Allegedly because she felt like throwing up, but she was let off the bus and she didn't throw up. The bus driver couldn't really park or stop but "___" was so insistent, he did, with the warning that anyone who got off got left behind.

What a surprise, someone got off and... got left behind. This made some of her friends very angry, who then tried to demand that the bus not only stop and let them all off, but to unload all their luggage as well.

Hmmmm $2000 fine + 3 demerit points off his licence or listening to a bunch of whining ingrates. Our driver, Guy, chose to continue driving and to ignore the whining.

Some of the older members of our group were very amused that despite their age, they seemed to have fared the journey a lot better than these young fellows. Us teachers were amused that these "adults" were worse behaved than our primary students.

Osbourne Huse

2007-11-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Queen Victoria’s palace by the sea. Doesn't it look just like Auckland? Boy did I feel homesick. I'm not really into looking at furniture and stuff and there was such a good outline with photo boards and everything in the foyer, that I didn't really feel the need to investigate Osbourne House. So Viv and I just stuck to the gardens. Plus, it was closing earlier than expected.

In the garden we discovered the goddess Nike. Apparently she is the Greek goddess of triumph/victory. we figured that since we'd never heard of her, she can't have been a very successful goddess.

I would have been very interested to happen upon the goddess Anoia, the goddess of "Things That Stick in Drawers") but I don't think she would've fitted in with the rest
(of the decor/history of the place.

Vivian makes a very pretty goddess don't you think? Due to Osbourne House closing early, we got to go home early too.

Isle of Wight Miniature Park

2007-11-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

What you can't see, is the real church behind the miniature church. We really enjoyed walking around the park. apparently there something really interesting to see in the church but Viv and I didn't see it, and we only know because we met our tour guide after we'd left and couldn't be bothered going back to find this thing of great interest. It was too nice a day to be indoors.

Of course there were signs everyone not to walk on the grass especially where the models were, so we were very unimpressed to see not only the kids ignoring the signs but their parents too.

The miniature of the Shanklin Shine was fab as you can plainly see.

Shanklin Chine

2007-11-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

We had just enough time after breakfast for a quick frolic in the surf, before starting our tour which started with the Shanklin Chine, which is in Shanklin, and the chine which means "a deep narrow ravine, formed by water cutting through soft sandstone leading to the sea." The word is apparently of Saxon origin.

It was really picturesque and the flora reminded me very much of NZ. Vivian got a guide pamphlet and we had great fun trying to spot all the different flora listed. We were really, really hoping to see some red squirrels but we didn't.

On a historically interesting note, was the P.L.U.T.O-pipeline under the sea from WW2. It wasn't terribly exciting to look at, as it was just a thin pipe. I thought I should take a photo but it was just too visually boring.

Walking on the beach.

2007-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

Vivian and I got all gussied up for dinner and we looked very nice, even if I do say so myself. Afterwards we went for a lovely walk on the beach. It was so beautiful with the city lights and the waves. It really made me miss NZ.

Our companion, Lorraine decided to head in after our walk. Since it was still a little early, Viv and I headed to the Family Entertainment Centre. We played air hockey where Vivian totally wasted me. Then we entertained the locals with our cool dance moves on that dancing game. Where again Vivian totally wasted me.

Isle of Wight

2007-11-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

Isle of Wight is really beautiful and caused me to feel homesick. Our first stop was Cowes. Lovely waterfront place with lots of shops and eateries. We got an all day breakfast, which I haven't had for over a year, so it was very nice.Even the baked beans. As you can see, it was the Beatles cafe. I didn't know the Beatles recorded a few songs in German.

The Needles. I don't have a pic, it was too far away for my cam. But we did get to see an excellent glassblowing demonstration. After that, the items on sale in the shop, suddenly seemed more interesting. fortunately, we ran out of time to do any shopping.

Embarking on the Isle of Wight tour.

2007-11-23T05:15:00.000-08:00

Vivian had booked us into a 2 day tour of the Isle of Wight. We had another tour in mind but it left at 7am on Saturday which I thought was too early. As it was, our 8am tour was almost too early and we nearly missed it. As in they had the doors closed and the engine revving. Nothing like a bit of early morning panic to get the juices flowing.

Unbeknowst to us, the majority of our travelling companions were typical English sportfans, (I have to say sport cos I can't remember which game had them all excited. It was some kind of final, maybe rugby.) loud, inconsiderate, unable to hold their liquor....Consequently, we made a pitstop which they never do, which then led to us cooling our heels on the dock for an hour or so because we missed our ferry.

Hence, Jayne and Vivian entertaining themselves with babel cheese wax.

The 1 pound meal

2007-11-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

After our cruise down the Thames, which ended by the Tower of London, we were feeling a little frozen. So we decided to look for something hot to eat. Fish and chips were for sale, and I would have been keen since that seems to be the English specialty, but we couldn't turn down the 1 pound meal.
On reflection, instead of taking a photo of the meal, I should have taken a picture of the sign. Since I knew that no-one would be believe that we could get such a cheap and tasty meal for 1 pound in England. Apart from Madara, I also have sight verification from Cecelia.

Jewel Tower

2007-11-19T05:09:00.000-08:00

Located just behind West Minster Abbey is the Jewel Tower whose name misleads people into thinking that the crown jewels are kept there. It was small but quaint and it was nice to get in out of the cold.

I love these little places. It had a fig tree which was sadly fruit free which made me want to rebuke it. A moat which was disappointingly water free. I understand why they do it, but come on! Where's the ambience in a dirt filled moat?

Tripping around London

2007-11-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

Our sugarmama aka Vivian, got us tickets to tour the city on one of those "hop off, hop on", double decker buses. It was for 48 hours, included a couple of free walking tours, a cruise and a tour commentary provided via earphones which we didn't know about, so missed out on.

But it was another nice sunny day which we enjoyed immensely atop the double decker. I was disappointed we didn't get any of the undead boarding our bus.

We saw Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Hyde park, went down Baker street and took us a while to remember why it was so famous.
I was surprised by Big Ben. It was a lot prettier than I remember any pics being. Then I was freaked out by the guns the guards at the Parliament buildings were carrying. They didn't look so friendly. The guns I mean.

Whilst waiting for West Minster Abbey to open, we popped into St Margarets which was a small church next to where I'm standing. Although small, it was abounding in history and appeal.

West Minster Abbey got struck off my list of "Might-sees" and put onto the list of "not interesting enough for me to shell out that kind of money for".

But, as for a lot of these historical buildings, the outside alone is worth viewing.

London here I come.

2007-11-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

For Vivian's big 3-0, she very kindly shouted me a trip to London and a tour of the Isle of Wight.

Vienna had been having lovely sunny weather until the day I departed. Then it was very "English weather. I must have taken the sun with me, cos when I arrived in London it was sunny and relatively warm.

I'm such a "good" friend that I didn't even know that "today" was Vivian's birthday. We went straight home to Aunty Mai's. Of course we got stopped and asked for our tickets 3 times on the way home. But apparently unusually, it wasn't crowded and we had no delays travelling home.

We celebrated Viv's birthday with Chinese takeaways(yum), and 3 different types of cheesecake and ice-cream and lashings of cream.

The Rathaus/ Town Hall

2007-11-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's not the best photo but it shows how pretty the Rathaus is. I thought Greg said not to use the flash but he said not to use the flash....when I'm taking photos of the building. Oops.

This was a dinner put on by the WWTF. Note the cool t-shirts worn by Greg and his fellow colleagues. Cool eh?

Initially i wasn't that keen to go so Greg asked Jordy if she wanted to go instead. I was rather taken aback by how excited Jordan was at attending a potentially boring dinner. Just goes to show she's smarter than me. Jordan was eager to see inside the Rathaus and understood that the likelihood of this opportunity happening again was slim.

In the end we all got to go. yay.

Karaoke Greg

2007-11-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Greg's work have a "Happy hour" twice a month. This is a Happy hour as in, a group supplies all the grub and drinks with some sort of theme. I like them because it's one night I don't have to cook dinner. Please there might be an opportunity for dancing. unfortunately, usually the music is so bad, no one wants to dance. But hope springs eternal.

Not that long ago a group did karaoke for their party with a 50 euro prize for the best singer. Jordy and I had our hopes up and we did sing better than the rest even if I do say so myself. but it was singstar so if you knew the system you knew how to beat it.

A different group provided karaoke and apparently Jordy really wowed the audience with Aretha Franklin's "Respect". I was attending a German language course, so I missed out. But when I did turn up, for some reason, there was no sign of my usual nerves and Jordy and I sang, and danced and had a great time. Perhaps it was the vodka.

Finally, Greg spotted a song that he thought worthwhile to sing, something by Offspring. He sounded good and I can definitely say, that's not the vodka speaking.

I finally took a German language class.

2007-10-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

My friend asked me why was I taking a language course now that I've, already been in Vienna for a year and a half. My version and Greg's version differs a little but since my memory is so faulty, Greg's probably the more accurate. Anyhow the upshot of it all is that we couldn't both attend a language course due to finances and since Greg had been unable to do a course for the last 4 months, we decided it was my turn.

The people on my course were all very nice. Since I was pretty much the only person not working or studying, I had the most time to study. Plus of course, having learnt German already helps.

One of the guys on my course is a ballet dancer, hence the first photo. The other guys were just helping him out with his class presentation. Marat brought vodka for our farewell class. I was surprised how nice it tasted. Maybe because it was genuine Russian, or because I had already had a glass of milk to go with my cookie, or maybe even because I justed didn't have much. Whatever, I liked it.

The course did provide me with a new lot of new vocab and context which you just don't get from a dictionary. Plus, it's given me a little more confidence to speak German but not when everyone is so excited to hear me speak German they all stop and look at me.

Having seen how much homework I had, has put Greg off attending the next course.

Scenery on the way home.

2007-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yes I know, the pics don't miss the title, but the train was moving too fast for us to take any good pics. On the way to Venice we didn't get to see much because it was night time. But the view was so picturesque, lovely and simply amazing. The only route through to Italy is through the mountains. So we still often only got tantalising glimpses of magnificence before would be travelling through a tunnel.

We finally got our pic, in the last stop in Italy. The conductor very kindly blew his whistle to let us know the train was about to leave. It gave us a bit of a fright actually. Haha.

As always the food, and the beer on the Dinner Wagon was very nice. Plus we had the bonus of a funny waiter, waiting on us. When he found out that we could speak German, he was very annoyed with us for making him speak English.

Last day in Venice

2007-10-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

First on the agenda was to find the train station on the island. Then the fun began. None of the arrivals/departure boards were in operation, nor were any of the monitors on the platforms. Then I remembered that we were warned to check if the trains were striking before we left. Hmmmm. But the strike theory didn't quite gel with how many people were pouring out of the train station.

End the end we decided to trust to providence and come back later when our train was due. And it was. Yay.
On surveying the crowds... no hoardes of people before us, we quickly decided to nip down a side alley. Blessed emptiness. Only 3 streets from the train station. It was almost weird. Then it was funny that everyone would just stick to one little area because that's where everyone else was going.

It was very hot and we found a nice little restaurant on the canal where only the locals ate. How anyone manages to stay skinny there is a mystery to us. So we can safely say that a lovely time was had by all.

2007-10-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

We were so pleased to find a chocolate shop like our one in Bratislava. We ended up sitting next to a kiwi from Blenheim. So it was nice to chat to her for a bit and catch up on what's happening in NZ. Then we had fun trying to explain to the waitress that the extra money was for a tip.

As we continued our meander, we were very pleased to come across a Traghetto. Jordy wanted to take a photo as we were crossing, especially since we all decided to do it as the Italians do, and cross standing up. But we thought that we wouldn't borrow trouble and play it it safe, so don't expect to see us in this photo. Jordy still wanted one though because this was "our" Traghetto.

Greg gets a bit fed up with us always wanting to take photos when we should be eating, but we so wanted one that he let us. I really wanted one of us together. So here we are pre pizza. It was very fancy, and we didn't know what was going on. they brought a table just to set the wine on whilst they uncorked it, then did the whole wine tasting thing and presented the cork to us on a little silver tray.

Twice Jordy tried to make the trip a little more exciting but you'll have to ask her for the details. I've decided that at the end of the day, Greg should give up asking me what I want to do next as the last few times my suggestions have almost caused us to miss our train or bus(the last one for the day/night).

Our day in Venice

2007-09-29T04:09:00.000-07:00

Hotel Venice Villa Dori
It was a really nice place as you can see plus it's about 1200 years old. The people were nice and the service was good and it was relatively easy to get to from Venice. Plus super cheap at 33 euros each, considering we booked only the night before.

So we dropped off our stuff and headed into Venice. We were very fortunate to have arrived on a day which was pretty quiet tourist wise. we decided that Venice was not a place to be indoors, visiting museums and such.

We had such a fun time moseying down random streets, enjoying the funky bits and bobs of fascinating Venetian architecture; enjoying as many culinary delights as our stomaches would allow us; soaking up the last of the summer rays as we sailed around Venice via public transport; and studiously avoiding the tourist bustle.

An absolute must see is the Basilica, which has many of it's own little tourist attractions, all of which you pay separately for, but only a minor fee. Make sure you deposit your bags to the "bag deposit place"(sorry, can't remember the correct word for it) before you try to enter, to save yourself having to queue first. Plus, don't get put off by the queue. It may look long but it moves very quickly. Both times we queued, heh heh, we were at the front within about 5 mins.

Typically, Venice is the first place we bought maps for, and we didn't use them.

A welcome home trip-Venice

2007-09-18T06:30:00.001-07:00

Greg's been working pretty hard this year and especially during the summer holidays trying to get his paper out. Which meant no trips anywhere for the family:( So when Jordy returned from NZ we wanted to do something together before school really started going.

On Thursday we decided to travel to Italy. Monza was the 1st choice and we were pretty surprised that Jordan was so eager keen to go to the Formula 1 but she was just excited about going to Italy.

That plan got scrapped for a cheaper option -Venice. Only $200NZ each return by train. The train went via Salzburg,(about 300km from Vienna), to Venice(another 280km). Just to get from Christchurch to Wellington(300km)one way, by train, as a special, it's $99NZ.

This train ride went up to Salzburg first where we stayed in the railway yard for a couple of hours and then went on to a few other places where we stayed in the yard again. So all up the trip took 12 hours. We could have gotten an earlier train but then we would have arrived at 3.30am which is not really that convenient.

The people sharing our apartment were pretty funny as they would not let go of their bags the whole trip. We thought it was us they were being paranoid about but later we found out that apparently the italian trips are meant to be "dangerous" and rife with pickpockets and people piping sleeping gas into our compartment so that you'll fall asleep and they can rob you.

They could have just robbed us when we went for a walk and left everything lying all over the place like we do. Typical kiwis.

Jordans home

2007-09-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

Jordy's home! yay. Jordy's home! yay! Whilst Jordy was away, I decided to renovate her room just a little. My womanly talents in that area seem to be somewhat lacking, so after I had moved the bed to the other end of the room, I had used up the full extent of my ideas.

A few days before Jordan was due, I suddenly was inspired. I help my friend decorate her boxes and furniture using the serviette technique so I decided to use it on Jordan's cupboard. The pattern I had chosen to use was a little more painstaking than I had bargained for(ivy). Greg was worried that Jordan wouldn't like it and all this effort would have been wasted but I was pretty confident I knew my girl. I gave Greg a minor heart attack when I was toying with paint, heh heh, but that's another story.

I gave Greg a minor heart attack when I was toying with paint, heh heh, but that's another story.

I also added a few boxes to store exercise books in, some organisational boxes for clothing, a rubbish bin which is sadly still sitting in Greg's office, a mirror which is waiting to be put up and is sitting on Jordan's chair, and some nice photos of Jordan and her friends that I found.

The other picture may look random but it's meant to be one of Greg looking really excited as we wait for Jordan at the airport, but he ducked at the last minute.

Electrifying Shower

2007-08-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

We came home from our Salzburg trip to find a nice little note of warning from our flatmate that he had received a mild shock off the shower head whilst showering. Greg was alarmed to hear this and was not pleased when I mentioned that that had been happening to me since we moved in over a year ago but that it was so mild, by the time I had finished showering, I'd forgotten about it.

Since then, Greg has been performing little experiments every morning before his shower, to try and figure out where the buzz was coming from. I guess that's one way to really wake yourself up in the morning. It has been very entertaining listening to Greg ye-owing every morning. Unfortunately he figured out what had been happening and has fixed it, so no more entertainment for me :(

(side note to Greg-This is does not under any circumstances denote a tickling offense.)