Italy

21 September

Finally, after our first European trip to Sicily, we were heading back to Italy for eight days of eating pizza (and maybe some sight seeing). So, starting in Naples, we got straight to it and after dropping off our bags we headed straight to the first pizzeria we could find. From here we walked around to try and find a castle and visited our first church which had amazing ceilings. The area of Naples we were in was pretty dirty, similar to its mob connected Palermo. We kept walking until we found the Naples archaeological museum, we were going to see the preserved art removed from the dwellings in Pompeii, but also got to see the other controversial art that has been subject to censorship over the years. It was entertaining to see people twice our age giggling at phallic house decorations.

After a siesta we headed out for more pizza and figured out train tickets for the next morning. Our plan for the week was to get to Venice by the following Sunday using only trains (and a gondola or two). Crashing from our early flight we returned to our accomms and the best tv find of the week - an awesome Beatles doco on MTV with Italian subtitles, Naples ain't too bad after all...

Onto Monday and that realisation that you’re on holiday while everyone back in London starts their weary work week, bliss. But, we did start reasonably early to get a full day in at Herculaneum and Pompeii on a round train trip. Herculaneum is the lesser visited of the two Roman town ruins from the destruction/preservation of Mt. Vesuvius in 70AD; it's smaller but better preserved than Pompeii due to better excavation techniques. The sky was pretty grey when we got there, though we were glad of showers when the alternative could be another eruption. After a long walk around the town we headed back to the train station to carry onto Pompeii. While there we got stuck in a massive but short storm which filled the roads with muddy water.

We took a ton of pictures here if you're interested; as Kev says 'no roman ruin is worth visiting in the UK now', after the experience of these two ruin towns (can I get that in writing?).

At the end of the day we got our next train from Naples to Rome, and despite the delays, we eventually got there. Our plan for Tuesday was a Colosseum and Forum tour around Palatine Hill. We were real tourists and took the first tour that came up to us. It saved us lining up all morning and the guide was really interesting. The Forum is very similar to Pompeii in that you can see how the old city would have looked, with lots of building and sculpture ruins. It's amazing they have kept the space in a big city like Rome for all these ruins. From here we carried on to Trajans Market and column and then head over to the free Pantheon. Before we got there, we had the best pizza of our trip. Man alive, we'll be recounting this pizza for years to come. The Pantheon itself was amazing on the inside. I found it very hard not to recount bad Dan Brown movies both here and when we got to the Vatican City. Damn you Tom Hanks. From the Pantheon we walked non stop between highlights on our city map, going over the Tiber river to see Castel Sant'Angelo and back to walk past Augustus mausoleum, Piazza del Popo and past super expensive shops to find the Spanish steps covered in tourists. As dusk settled we found the Trevi fountain and threw coins in like the rest of the tourists. Italy was full of places where if you left money around a statue or fountain, you would have the luck to return again in your life.

Wednesday I had prebooked tickets to see the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel, which made it enjoyable to walk past the massive line forming outside.The museum itself is a bit of a religious art hoard (am I allowed to say that?)but the room interiors were amazing,with lots of frescoeson ceilings which got us ready for the Sistine chapel.It was full of people all looking up in amazement and it was amazing to see in person, hardly worth the risk of the reprimanding security guard saying 'no photo'. This is one of those things you have to see in person. After the museum we walked around to St Peters Square to see a massive line to get into the Basilica, we'd chosen the chapel over it so were glad to not have to wait in the sun. It was quiet odd to see a few couples in the line in Bridal clothing; we're yet to figure out what that was about. From here we went back to the Castel Sant'Angelo to go inside and have a look around and then onto more city landmarks around to Domus Aurea which turned out to be closed. On top of this when we got back to the hostel to get our luggage I couldn't find our passports. Major panic ensued while Kev calmly watched me unpack 70L backpack entirely to find them in with the similarly red Pompeii guide books. Pizza again for dinner before getting our train to Florence to arrive in the dark.

For our day in Florence I picked through the luggage to find something that fit the required 'covered shoulders and knees' church rule. Why have such rules in such a hot country? We started at Santa Maria Novella which has Gothic and Renaissance frescoes. On the way to the Basilica of San Lorenzo we stopped at the Centrale market to buy some very early Christmas presents and found later in the day, we'd been lucky enough to find the cheap markets first.Onto the free part of the Duomo with it's amazing ceiling fresco in the dome and downstairs to see the crypt, one of the many parts of the cathedral you have to pay to see. There was a little pizzeria near here that had downstairs seating, with all wall space crammed with graffiti. If you visit, see if you can spot my little 'made in NZ' kiwi tag. From here we walked to Piazza Della Signoria David, deciding that the replica David statue would do as we were paying a packet later on to visit the Uffizi as it was. On the way to the two famous bridges - Ponte Vecchio & Ponte Santa Trinita - we saw some street vendors and after showing a flicker of interest in a poster I had a vendor chase me down the street to buy a poster. He said it was twenty and to make an offer, to get rid of him I said five and walked off. I didn't even really want the poster that much but after being chased down the street I kinda felt I had to. After a rain shower we went to a Da Vinci museum which was similar to an exhibit that had been through Sydney when we'd been there. It had lots of replica machines and vehicles concepts from sketches of the artist. After the art overload of the Uffizi which included the highlight of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and La Primavera, we followed the guide book to a cinema that use to do English films. Next best alternative, drinking cheap wine at the B&B instead.

On Friday we were getting closer to our Northern end point, but before Venice we stopped in Verona for a day. Unfortunately we were starving when we got there and timed our lunch stop badly. When we made it to our first stop to see Verona's own arena, it had been closed for ten minutes. Turns out roman amphitheatre is still used for modern concerts and was closed early for a concert. Stink. One. Instead we crossed the river to another roman amphitheatre, walked along the river to the Castelvecchio Museum in a medieval castle which was full of art (quite possibly the best of both worlds). After this we walked the 386 steps up the tower Torre dei Lamberti to see the view of the small town. Next we went to the supposed Casa di Giulietta to see Juilet's balcony. Turns out old Shakespeare based his story on an old local story about two young lovers in Verona. The balcony is actually a sarcophagus chucked on the side of a house. Leaving the beautiful Verona, our next train was our last one, onto Venice where it's bus and water bus city.

In Venice we were staying on the main land to save cash, and had to get two buses to get on the island of Venice. We had a bad start, with the bus timetable given to us by the camp site being wrong, by ten minutes, leaving us nearly an hour to wait. This might have been so tourists would grow impatient and spend €12 on the return ferry service they offered instead. Eventually we got to Venice on a jammed full bus, over the bridge into a vehicle free island. From here we got the number 2 water bus around the island to San Marco square. Here we visited the Navale museo, and found a good and mostly untouristy spot for lunch by the Arsenale. Back to San Marco square where it had started flooding. This is apparently normal and gets worse as 'flooding' season approaches. They had lots of duck boards set up, which allowed tourists to line up above the water level to get into the basilica, where the entrance was also flooded. After the basilica we visited the Doge's Palace and crossed the Bridge of Sighs. After this we headed straight to the famous Rialto Bridge and then visited three churches before things started closing. We even managed to find a supermarket accidentally, they don't have any advertising on the outside, presumably to keep tourists out. As it got close to drinking time we found piazza on the way back to the bus depot that was also untouristy and stopped to try and apterif, the locals were all drinking orange and red drinks, presumably campari based. I was keen to try it, until I tasted it. The day ended as it begun, with bus dramas but eventually we made it back to the camp site.

Sunday, and it was only a week since I was mocking those working for the week. Making the most of it we got the number 1 boat through the Grand Canal, after our two bus commute in to Venice. The number 1 boat is the cheapest way to take in the main sights along the canal and took us to an boat interchange where we got another boat to Morano to see a free glass demonstration and then be led into a show room full of those glass ornaments you wonder who buys. Careful not to break anything we left to explore the rest of the island and find cheaper glass stores to buy earrings and a lil glass angel for our Christmas tree. After the boat back to Venice we followed signs to toilets for about ten minutes, and eventually found a sign for €1.50 entry. Let’s just say Kev decided on principle against this and jumped the barrier. After this we split a gondola ride with an English couple, which halved the €80 fee and meant we had someone in the boat to take our picture. Pizza again before searching the shops and stalls for a painting and then back to the station to collect our luggage and arrive very early for our bus. Turns out we would have been better off late. While we waited for our bus, a collection of desperate EasyJet passengers collected and 5 buses came and went for the other local airport. The bus eventually turned up for the last timeslot available, perhaps they only run buses for flights that are coming in. Would have been nice to know that two hours ago though. While we were stressing at the bus stop we meet an English couple at the end of their honeymoon, they'd had a really stressful week so we swapped stories to distract us from potentially missing our flights. In the end they won, realising on the bus they had left all their wedding gifted cash hidden in the caravan they'd stayed in. We'll just forget this part of the trip and remember the pizza I think.

Moving to East London

31 August

Neah, this was made about two years ago, during work hours. I had a job where I had to account for every 15 minutes of work, to be charged out. Wonder which department paid for this.

In reality, the move didn't really go like this. A more accurate picture would be an animated figure of Kev running up and down our narrow Victorian staircase, with every object we've accumulated in the last twelve months. We finally moved out of one of the worse parts of London (top ten for crime and skip attacks). Looking back, I can't believe we lasted a whole year. I also can't believe I didn't find out earlier, that the break clause at six months meant we could leave any time after that - ah duh.

After we got the keys on Thursday night, I went into the city to get almost pissed with work people for the bosses pre-nup drinks and Kev did two car loads. Then on Friday he moved the remainder of the flat, with me walking home from work on Friday night to a flat full of boxes and suitcases and the old flat to clean back up north. Luckily we had until 12pm the next day for the key hand over & cleaning. Once we got the inventory signed off we headed around the city to Tim and Louisa's for a long weekend of camping. Yes, you read that right, camping + me (+ wine).

The Sentimental Type

23 August

Now, I have forgotten something, hmmm what was it.
Oh yeah, a four year anniversary is all. Not one that requires a card, but it has at least been recognised in previous years, by visiting a famous landmark, booking the next adventure or setting a practical task to an unrealistic frequency.
So, what did I do this year? Well I plain forgot is all. I forgot that on June 16th in 2005 I boarded a lil plane in Waikato, with the specific goal of changing my life, by changing my environment. Sure, Sydney was hardly a culture shock but my super strong kiwi accent was. Then I got that thing traveling people get, I got itchy feet, Kev and I both were ready to try the next obvious thing - London.
Now I've been over here for around 18 months and I'm not getting itchy feet again, because we travel plenty for full time employed travellers. But I'm getting something else, something I haven't had before. At first I just missed Sydney. Realised that I never appreciated how lucky I was living in the Eastern suburbs, walking distance from a beautiful and mostly quiet beach.

But hang on, leaving NZ was suppose to make me appreciate the amazing country I was lucky enough to be bought up in?
Yeah, about that.
I'm not homesick for NZ, well not in the settle down and have a real mail box kinda way. I just miss the people that mean the world to me, and I know this is the cost of travelling. But it isn't really because what I miss is a time that will never exist again. And that's not a bad thing, because all those people I miss, they're somewhere else missing it nostagically too.

Saying that, it didn't make the black hole of homesickness I fell into the 23rd any easy to climb out of, and it certainly wasn't something an English cuppa would fix.

Nice

13 July

Early Thursday morning we headed to the airport car park, this time we managed cheap parking close to the airport. The extra hour sleep really makes a difference. Getting to our gate I was allowed to start asking questions, more importantly I was getting answers. As we moved our Italy trip out to September we decided to have a summer holiday break during peak season. At my suggestion, four days booked and planned by Kev and a vague guide for me to pack. It wasn't a city famous for ice cream cones; or legalising marijuana. It wasn't land locked and they spoke French. Having memorised the Easyjet destination map a little and knowing Tim & Louisa's destination for the week - I guessed Nice. Our second trip that serendipitously overlapped with Tim and Louisa’s holiday plans. Plus like most people available for Kev to tell, they knew our destination before me.

Nice is on the Azure Coast, its sparkling waters are perfectly clear and amazing shades of blue. Nice is ideally placed between many cities/towns and beaches all accessible cheaply by train. Our first day we walked around the new part of the city, starting our baguette count at two, we walked along the beach. After checking into our hotel we headed back out to see the old town of narrow streets, and gelato shops and cathedrals. From here we headed up the hill for the view from the Château de parc, earning gelato back in the old town after. Well earning two flavours but some greedy person had to try bounty, strawberry yoghurt & pineapple. A legacy from our Spanish trip we headed home for a siesta and got ready to go out. My instructions when packing were for a dressy outfit for a nice night out, when in Nice I presumed this would be for a day trip to Monaco, knowing the casino dress code. But Kev came out of the shower clean shaven (the first time this year) & the good clothes came out as this was certainly worth celebrating. We walked back towards the old city, now buzzing with busy restaurants. After drinks and a late dinner, walking back Kev surprised me by getting down on one knee and proposing near Nice's fountains. After saying yes he told me about the recent months of covering up his purchase investment, asking my old man for permission (& my mum) & then telling most of the people we know in London.

Not knowing we'd be having a late night, I made breakfast plans the next morning to meet Tim and Louisa. After a bit of excited retelling, we enjoyed non touristy cafe food and got some advice for our day trip as they had already visited the places we wanted to see.

Rail travel is very reasonable, cheaper than the London Underground anyway, and a forty minute ride down the coast took us to Cannes where we saw the famous red carpet and celebrity hand imprints (though mostly from 88-89 so unknown to us). The local produce markets had amazing fruit so we put a picnic together and walked up to a look out point to see the bay. Cannes, like Nice, is mostly modern so after a walk around we headed back up the coast on the train to Antibes. Twenty minutes later we had a new town map and tourist center recommendations to follow and walked to the old town and visited the musee Picasso, held in a Château that Picasso lived in for 6 months. Much of the work on display was donated and apart from a few sculptures was disappointing compared to the Barcelona museum. Nearby was a sheltered bay where we got to swim in the cool Mediterranean Sea, though the shore was a bit stony.

Back to Nice we meet up with Tim and Louisa again, as they headed to Marseilles the next day. We meet them by the fountain Kev had proposed by and they surprised us with a celebratory Champaign and nibbles at one of the benches. After our left over vinegary wine from the night before we searched for a late night liquor store and headed to the pebbly beach to drink with every young person in Nice. It was a cheap night out and captured the real feeling of being in France - good company, wine & food.

Saturday morning we got a packed train to Monaco, twenty minutes up the coast. Like Cannes it was full of expensive shops & cars, we walked past the million dollar marina & through the Grand Prix track tunnel. The parks and pretty much everything in Monaco are spotless, well manicured and apart from the tourists, wealth is everywhere. After walking up to a lookout to see the view, we caught a bus back around the bay to the public beach that looked sandy but was actually small flat stones. Not as comfortable as sand to lie on but much easier to brush off. The water here was beautiful and warmer than in Antibes. For dinner back in Nice we shared pizza and a carafe of Rosé, having recently been converted by Tim and Louisa. Shame we can't get it this cheap back home (UK or NZ).

Sunday morning we checked out and walked up to the Archaeology Museum and Roman Ruins. We timed it for lunch time closing so waited in the shade until the free museum opened. The ruins were more complete than most bath houses we've seen. Given recent trends of running for trains and terminals, we were well prepared and early for our delayed flight home. As with most of our trips we managed to pack a lot in, but this time enjoyed some R&R too, well, as much as we can before we feel like we're missing out on places we'll never see again.

So, back to work on Monday to announce my engagement, to the only people that didn't know already that I can tell in person. The squeals down the phone from around the world were elating though, I just ask that they all re-enact it with full commitment to the role when we share the same space again.

Bloody hell, I'm engaged.

That means I can watch as many of those tacky wedding reality shows as I like!

Roll on June

29 June

At the start of June I got free tickets to see filming of the returning of Shooting Stars.  It was hilarious, and really interesting to see how filming works. Not sure when it screens but it's as good as it was ten years ago.

In the second week of June we had a tube strike, so I got a bit stir crazy working from home. It's not really the right economic time to be striking but tell that to the good people that run this city - tube and post office workers both striking frequently. Luckily the tubes opened up again on Friday, in time for another cousins get together in Notting Hill.  My cousin Will is living in an amazing penthouse apartment there, after stopping at the Windsor Castle we headed to his blue door to meet up and then head down to Portobello Road for dinner. After dinner we stopped at a shisha bar to try smoking a hookah pipe. We tried strawberry and cherry, it was strange but at £12 a go, something we'll probably only try the once. The rest of the weekend was barbeque weather, with a barbie in Maida Vale on Saturday, and another down in Wallington on Sunday.

Later in June we drove up to North Wales, for a long weekend that was cut short for my work commitments. On the way up and back we stopped at a string of castles, built by Edward the First during some campaign to conquer Wales. We started at Flint Castle, then Rhuddlan Castle and Conwy Castle. At Conwy we stopped for a walk around the city walls as well and visited Plas Mawr, an Elizabethan town house with restored decorative plasterwork. Finally we stopped at Beaumaris Castle before getting to our destination - Abersoch. My dads sister, Hilary, has visited the same beach house in Abersoch for years, and apparently it's a place I've previously visited way back at age 1 and a half with my grandma and mum. This time I'd more likely remember, and when we arrived on Saturday night, we started with a few drinks before heading out for dinner to celebrate my aunt's birthday.

The weekend weather wasn't great, but on Sunday we had plans to try some English walking (what we'd probably call tramping), whatever the weather. Hilary and her partner Brian are keen walkers, so it was great having them show us what it's all about. We walked around the coast of Porthdinllaen, unfortunately we had just missed the last call at the pub in the bay but kept walking around to spot some seals on the rocks. The weather held out mostly and we had a dry enough night to have a charcoal barbeque outside. On Monday morning we visited the Abersoch beach, now that the sun was coming out we where headed home via Criccieth Castle, Harlech Castle and Caernarfon Castle.

Towards the end of June we had a wedding to attend. In my last job I contracted with a few other antipodeans, Chris and Steve both from Perth. Finally I find out where all the nice people in Australia come from and I'm not there anymore. Chris and his girlfriend Charly were having a wedding in London, with the intention of having a family one when they move back home. Visa's being what they are, it turned out to be easier to get married to have Charly stay in the country. So we went to our first registry wedding and it was really lovely - a room full of new friends all there to support and celebrate with them. The reception wasn't until much later on, so we took some lighter clothes with us and spent a few hours on Portobello Road in between. Back to the reception in Kentish Town we got hit by a crazy storm and waited through the hail in the tube station before taking refuge in a pub nearby. The city dried pretty quickly and we hoped that the wedding party photos wouldn't have been affected by the weather. The reception was great fun, I didn't manage to catch the flowers, I think the roof got the best of them anyways. And Kev didn't make much of an attempt at getting the garter, as didn't most of the guys there. It was such a great day, and it was an honour to be a part of it.

Throughout May

30 May

Since we flew back on Saturday, we had a whole extra weekend day to recover and unpack.  As it was her last day passing through town, I meet my old school friend Kirsty at Breakfast Club.  She is on her way to Uganda for three months of volunteering at an orphanage boarding school.  I have a few friends who have put themselves in debt to do things like that, they come back with amazing experiences.  Not something I think I'm equipped for, hell, I can't even camp.  But then I guess those experiences are about testing yourself and all that.  I wished her well; travelling during the swine flu scare isn't a fun time to be jumping on planes. 

Next day my dad arrived from up north, after a week of walking through the Lake District in showers and mist.  He was drinking, I mean, staying with my sister for a few nights, and unbeknownst to him, when he got to our flat he'd be our control.  We had just figured out the bites were bed bugs and were worried that we'd infested our house.  I've heard enough horror stories to be tempted to burn everything we took on our travels, except it had already all be washed and mixed in with everything else.  So my Dad was a human sacrifice of sorts, to test the clean sheets and see if red bumps appeared.  Imagine him exporting them back to New Zealand, if he got them past customs, my mother would have had quarantine-style tent set up for him to live in.  Luckily we haven't had any reoccurrence of the blighters, but even writing this makes me phantom itch (you too I bet).  During his time here he got to see a few of Debra's favourite haunts, the suit-city I work in and a few of my favourite pubs (Blackfriars and the Cheshire Cheese). On the weekend we had a family bbq in South London.  These people know how to bbq too, with three charcoal bbqs going when we arrived. And before he flew out we drove to Duxford to see an air show, I get major points for that right?  The air show was going to cost over £50 to get us in, so we parked down the road with about 20 other anoraks before spending our entry money at the pub.

Towards the end of the month we drove up to Skipton for a long weekend of quality time with Sally and Chris and their gorgeous daughters.  We saw a few castles too, and drove through the Lake District, which was beautiful but busy with traffic.  The month rounded off with the Super 14 final, on a day I was fortunately working from home so could watch it. It was a great game to watch, shame about the result.