Last day in the Northern Hemisphere...

Sitting in a Chinese restaurant using free wifi for the last time in London. We're down the West End having ambled via The Thames, Fleet Street and The Strand from the Tower of London.

We've pounded the streets of London a lot over the past few days and have taken in the bustle of the tubes and trains with aplomb.
Yesterday we spent the day at Brighton which was a surprise and a delight. On one side of the hill lies the posh shops of Laura Ashley et al and on the other weave the bohemian type wares of the more hippy district. One of the more crazy things we saw was this:

We asked the woman where they got the name from and of course she replied 'it came from New Zealand.' When we explained that there was in fact no such place she argued spiritedly saying 'oh no...we've had a postcard from there' *sigh* Further up the street there'd been a shop called "Pokeno Pies" - there must have been some New Zild influence here at one stage!

Coveted this wee find but just know it would never fit in the suitcase. Don't know whether there's anywhere in NZ which would sell this, but I'd be in!


Have had a very literary week with a trip to the Globe where I spent not only an entertaining time on the tour, but also in the 'shop' where I bought a couple of things to take back to add to the Eng dept library. I watched the actors rehearse their closing 'jig' for Othello which was amusing given that it has such a sad and hopeless ending.


And now the OC is finely and freely initiated into the world of Dr Who after watching another two episodes of late. She espied this yesterday at Brighton and asked her mother to take this photo:

And what has this got to do with Shakespeare? Well quite a lot actually. Apparently the third series of the new Dr Who has a visit to Elizabethan England and these are the monsters we'll see:




So now we head homeward via Singapore full of new insights and visions, a litle bit of credit card overload and a bucketload of enjoyment. It will be good to get home. We are at the stage where we are looking forward to our own country again and our own bed...and the bedroom floor instead of suitcases ;-)

London Aye

Sitting in a cafe outside St Paul's in London. Decided not to spend the $60 entry fee to see St Paul's not wishing to tempt fate should Jesus pop by and throw another tizz at the money making activities in and about the church. Silly and unnecessary given that Durham was free, this is just a money making venture. And I recommend Durham as the one to see rather than this rort!!! We will instead invest the money on an open bus tour of London today with my brother who has lived here for nearly eight years and is yet to see all the sights himself - as you do!

Managed to see a fair bit of London over the last few days on foot and by underground much to the OC's pleasure. In fact is it the OC who takes us from A to B via the underground - she never looked back from the train spotting in Holland and was totally fluent on Sneltrains, The Stop train, the Intercity and the Sprinter - and is now nearly a licensed train guard.

And remember my snort about the London Marathon!? Well we were in amongst it on Sunday by pure chance. We have a tendency to follow our noses and just go where the spirit moves us, and on Sunday we ended up near the finishing line late in the day. We dipped and dived and wove in and out around crippled runners and walkers on their way to the nearest pub.


Intend on using snippets from Speaker's Corner in my lessons about the language of Oratory. This will be a study of the language and delivery rather than the mindsets of the orators (because frankly I think most were minus a few sheep in the top paddock ). This woman was a case in point:

Yesterday was St George's Day and they're trying here to revive a sense of occasion in celebrating the patron saint of England. It appears everybody celebrate's Ireland's patron saint without any problem. And while we saw some effort made yesterday including a celebration of classic English comedy at Nelson's Column, it appears that there's still some way to go.


And off we go now..Tally ho..as we search for the best deal in Big Red Bus rides.

See you anon

London reprise

In London ensconced at the hotel in the Docklands. Seems we've gone from Coro St to Eastenders! A glorious sunny day here with the promise of 23 degrees tomorrow for the London marathon (all of us have been in training for it of course - that's secretly why I'm here *snort*)

We're at a cyber caf in Beckton having just bought some necessaries and some microwavable dinners as our room has only a microwave - where is Tom when the Cook needs him? ;-)

We plan to do a bit of site seeing in amongst the final 'work' stuff. Hope to get to the British Museum. The OC has developed a real interest in historical artifacts so where better but the repository of some of the best looting an empire can do.


We're having a bit of a rest day today - it's a bit too hot to just walk aimlessly around and London is an expensive place to do things on an urge.

Talking of urges - we managed to spend some money in Rotterdam. We all went shoe shopping and it was a spirited affair. The OC and I were going neck and neck and we've called it a draw. I may have the edge in numbers but the OC has more of the cowhide! The Cook made a commendable attempt but faded on the main straight. I fear his hormones were against him.

What's The Cook whipping up for the last supper?

Our last day of rural living




Fresh air and a range of fresh food to choose from...

And of course we couldn't go past this...

The puzzles

Why are there so many Argentinian Steak houses in Amsterdam? It is baffling - I don't know the connection between this city and loads of beef and cowhide sofas!




The second quandary is this - what's the channel about?


We have 35 channels at T'Eekhhornnest and most of them are in a foreign language - Spanish, French, German, Italian and Dutch. They're entertaining and fascinating but Sterren is just odd. It seems to be a highlight package of all the most crazy music videos to come out of Holland or Europe in the last 35 years. I say 35 because I saw a video of Mississipi in a run of assorted bad hits. It's intriguing and we haven't really met any locals who we feel comfortable enough with to ask them about it. I think it's a talent show but when you watch it you feel that you've been thrown into the past and given a good whack around the head with a pair of pastel lemon shorts and a banana clip. And we watch this so you don't have to!
And then there are the mannequins. I never quite got over mannequins in shop windows after watching Carry on Screaming circa nineteen seventy something.

Found this at a prestige car firm on the Champs Elycee


And then this on the road through Switzerland
And then there are the moments when you really know we live a world away when you look to the sky of a morning and this is the foreign thing you see...

Imagine having all these flight paths to choose from!

Of course there are times when it all gets a bit much and all one wants to do is sleep...and some of us can do it anywhere



Especially after a chocolate fix and some tele with your big blister


We've found Holland very beautiful and very relaxing.



We leave for England again tomorrow night so today is our last day around Soest. We've gone on walkabouts to family haunts although we haven't caught up with any family member directly. It's enough for the OC to know that her father once cycled these streets as a young whippersnapper and that his mother before him paved out her early life here.


We had our last ramble today along to Soest to catch a few last bargains before we pack up and head to Rotterdam tomorrow lunchtime. We say goodbye to the rural life! Rotterdam to Harwich Friday night. To the city of London then, for one final burst before the return to the southern hemisphere!

We are hopeless shoppers...

Found this opposite us at the bus stop at De Birkt. She's obviously an important icon for some families - perhaps they're over run by Van Gogh and want a refreshing change???

We went into Amsterdam on Monday morning expecting it to be quieter - it was but only by smidgeon. It felt hotter than Saturday and the hustle and bustle of the shops wore us out. It was still a fascinating trip, it's just that we wanted to 'go shopping!' and we came away with a snow shaker toy for The OC with a windmill scene and another souvenir of a pink hue (quel surprise!) for around her neck to adorn her Tamagotchi. We'll try the shopping thing one more time when the weather turns, as it appears to be doing this morning.

The Cook perked up his ears at one point in the shopping melee and heard strains of a Dutch Organ percolating through the alleys and so we followed him through to find it. It was unique and added a bit of colour to the experience that was down town Amsterdam. I took a video of it if anyone's at all interested when we return - tis quite a wee... errrr monstrous marvel.

We may yet do a post of some of the busking that we've taken time to record. We bought a Cd in Manchester of a young band who had great voices and mean guitars. It subsequently got a good hearing in the campervan moreso than the freebie the previous occupants had left behind in the cd player. ACDC's greatest hits. Needless to say, The Cook and I laughed for a full 73 kilometres while it thrashed around the van. The OC just looked bemused and not at all alarmed by the music. Found myself thinking of circa 1984 and the parody "Bad News on Tour" with Adrian Edmondson et al.


This was us a week ago. It's nice to be lounging around drinking coffee and having the kids watch CBeebies again as we read the Sunday paper - in English. We're doing the days one about at the moment just that we don't get too burnt out doing the big city thing. So, today we will wander into the little town of Soest for a looksie. This is where The Cook's mother grew up so the OC is to get a wee tour of her Oma's old patch

Sunday, at home.

Saturday: A quick bus ride into Amersfoort where we hopped into the train for Amsterdam little knowing that people had been hopping into things and arriving in Amsterdam for at least a solid 12 hours before we got there at lunchtime.

The place was chocker. It was stinking hot in the very high twenties without a cloud in the sky and no wind. There were gazillions of people who’d come to town for the fine weather and a Saturday out. More obvious were the teams of people identifiable by the fact that they all stuck together and spoke with a Scottish accent and tried to arrange seating for 17 at a restaurant or those wearing naff printed t-shirts advertising that they’re out on a hens night. This lot sounded like they came from England. And then there were the four mad kiwis in amongst it all…suffering from the heat and hunger and just the bustle of the streets. It took us at least an hour of walking around until we finally found a restaurant with a table free.

Pizza, beer and Coke Zero suited each individual and shortly after that we went on a quick scoping mission for our hopefully more leisurely return tomorrow Monday – Imelda must have more shoes.

And now we sit out in the evening heat of Sunday night...the kids are tucked up in bed and we're reviewing our day. We trekked the paths in the neighbourhood of our cottage today and just hung out together. A family ritual has evolved where I now download whatever pictures we've taken for the day and I arrange them as a slide show on the lappy.

We’ve been caught short here today with only a couple of beers in the fridge and absolutely no shops open all day. Fortunately we have some kai for tea but if we had a cat it would have gone hungry. The supermarkets close early on a Saturday night too so you have to be prepared with provisions tucked away.

We had another lovely day and managed to go to bed with quenched thirsts and full tummies due to The Cook’s dash on a borrowed antique bike from the office for chocolate milk and fizz and his spicy chicken (prepared the night before).

A little video from the OC

Took this on Wednesday - The OC may yet follow in Hillary Barry's footsteps. I'm having a few technical problems with it, but bear with me. Again, make a cup of coffee while it plays through the first time (with the sound down) and then come back and watch when it's all in.

Back in Holland for a cup of tea and a wee lie down...

Spot the new accessory?

Had a lovely last morning in Paris catching a quick coffee with a dear friend from days of yore and her new bebe. It seemed completely natural to be sitting chewing the fat over a cup of coffee in the Bois de Bologne camping ground - all was right with the world.
Later in the morning we put on our armour and negotiated our way out of Paris, this time avoiding driving around famous landmarks camouflaged in a metallic whale suit.
We headed for Belgium and a night in whatever turned up - we were aiming to be south of the Dutch border ready to drop off the Whalesuit the next morning. Instead we went off the beaten track as we are wont to do and found ourselves in the Netherlands just out of Breda at a place called Liesbos.

We seem to be on a Mona Lisa kick at the moment with this lovely example complete with clogs suffice to say the OC doubled over with glee and mirth when seeing this:
And it seems that there’s quite a stiff competition going on for window displays – each more extravagant and kitschy than the next:


We were indeed fortunate to be in the countryside opposite a farmer who was ploughing about 40 kilos of ‘compost’ per square metre in to his field. The entire area smelt of the best and worst of country life, which didn’t really matter as it was lovely and mild, and truly just another means of remembering a place you once stayed at.


An uneventful trip to drop the campervan off, the Cook reverting to his bottle washing duties giving the van a good clean inside before we dropped it off. The inspection on return is a little nerve wracking and imagine our surprise when we were told of 130 Euro extra cost for cleaning the interior (which was seriously, a few footprints on the floor from entering and exiting over the last couple of hours). A sharp intake of breath was heard by all while moi….well I just started giggling nervously and the OC joined in although she didn’t know why, while The Cook muttered that he wasn’t bluddy paying that! A quick reference to our copy of the agreement which stated the payment would be for ‘extra interior cleaning’ resolved the matter promptly and everything ended with a smile and a handshake…..which is perhaps just as well.

Then to Rotterdam for half a day in the sun while we worried why the luggage storage at the central railway station wouldn’t accept Aunty Visa. For some hours there we worried that the card had been skimmed somewhere in France perhaps and it wasn’t helped when it appears the system went down when paying for lunch. However dear readers, we have used it since and all seems well. We are now at the Eeekhoornnest which translates as the squirrel’s nest although we have yet to see one. We did see a squirrel and a perky wee beggar he was too but that was in Stratford Upon Avon close by Shakespeare’s grave….uncanny really.

The weather here is warm. It is ten past ten in the evening and I am outside sitting in a t-shirt basking in the warmth. Apparently it is the hottest 13th of April in forty years…and we have three more days of temperatures in the high twenties if the forecast holds true.

Tomorrow we visit Amsterdam

Owwwwww my feet are sore!!!

The OC took on Paris in style this week. Two days of traipsing, plodding, trawling but ultimately delighting in most of what this wonderful city has to offer. We did the big three for her today: in the queue for the Eiffel Tower, which opens at 9.30am, by 9.15am. One pillar was out for maintenance and the three queues to ascend were already a half a kilometre long snaking around the base like a hydra head. If there's one thing I'll say about my own preconceptions of this city, it's that I was so naive...so green...so silly to think the rest of the world wouldn't be as interested in Paris in the springtime as me.


Fortunately for the YC (and us) we were upgraded to immediate entry by virture of the wheelchair. Up in the lift, the YC and I to the 2nd floor and The OC and her Chef du jour up to the highest point.

There were plenty of gasps and oh-my-god's from the OC and I think maybe we did the Right Thing.

Then a wander down the Seine to the Louvre where the OC (being a child) was allowed to slip under the barrier and stand within two metres of the Mona Lisa. Oddly, the rest of the family managed to slip in behind her. The YC took this opportunity to implode at the majesty of it all (on our behalf of course). A sea of people...that's all we can say....a SEA of people!!! But fortunate seems to be the currency of the trip so far.

And the trifecta for the OC was occasioned by our throbbing feet and aching legs having literally walked our shoes off over the last two days so we caught the metro back to L'Arc de Triomphe so that we could wander down a side road where we found "L'Esmeralda" - a wee brasserie with yet another 'gratuit' WiFi zone and lashings of dark rich chocolate ice cream. Don't worry dear readers, the adults weren't neglected, we had a sumptuous steak and a well deserved rest.

I am finding that slipping into the life that is Paris....err...rather easy. And possibly we are only one lotto win shy of doing this on a more regular basis. I am using my schoolgirl French and appropriate hand signals (laced with smiles) and really that's all one needs.

Yesterday, my breath was taken (literally) by this view. I don't know why I was so surprised. Perhaps it's the overuse of the Eiffel Tower as an icon, a symbol and all that it entails that I thought I'd be hardened but in the OC's words.....oh mon dieu!

Vous entrez dans un espace non-fumeurs

Paris j'arrive! Here we are, l'enfant et moi at the Place de la Concorde. And as I write we find ourselves at a Brasserie on Rue Brissere half way between the Champs Elysee and the Eiffel Tower. It's hot, cloudless and everybody is bustling with activity after the first day back from the Easter break. We've just all ordered salads and the ubiquitous diet coke...and a biere for the adults.

We've walked from the Arc de Triomphe right down the Champs Elysee through to the Louvre (which is closed on a Tuesday...quel bugger!) and back and now we're off to see the Eiffel tower as it appears it's the only reason we came to Paris or indeed France according to the OC. Coming to Paris was a breeze thanks to the Michelin guide online. It got us ninety nine percent of the way to the camping ground The guide has served us very well around Europe so far and I'm happy to concede that I might have put a small error in the last part of the address. Suffice to say I had the Cook driving around a roundabout that was fifty metres from one side of the road to the other with at least a dozen roads entering and exiting. It was full of Parisien drivers displaying their joie de vivre...and no road markings. I had to send the Cook around four or five times while I got my bearings before sending him up the road to do the same around the Arc de Triomphe....a couple of times while I got my bearings there. THEN back down to the original roundabout by which time the Cook's pallor had returned somewhat and there was a hint of a glint in his eye as he realised he had the biggest machine on the road. I think the 750 Euro fine for crunching the van had gone out the window by this stage. It's fair to say when sharing a bottle of Macon vin over dinner the Cook did admit that he was grateful for having driven around L'Arc de Triomphe.....several times.

Anyway...eventually we found ourselves firmly ensconced with the 567,000 campervans and 8 caravans from Europe and we're for another 2 nights before heading for Rotterdam again on Thurs morn. Today and tomorrow we do the tourist stuff a la pied and Thursday I hope to do coffee with an old school mate who now lives and works in Paris. You find folk from Oamaru everywhere!

A Quick update...

We've stopped at an Aire for an early lunch because this one has everything from an hotel to a shopping mall to WIFI - wahooo! This is the first access we've had to the blog since Manchester.

Tonight we're going to zoom to Paris so we can spend a couple of days because it looks like the weather will hold out. We are still yet to have any rain. We'll let you know how we get on.

More anon...

Bon jour!

The Cook is opening (and spilling) a bottle of Sancerre ’05. Yesterday in Grasse, ten minutes from the Cote d’Azur we found ourselves in a camping ground a hundred metres from a huge supermarket so we managed to replenish our stocks and have a decent shower. Dinner was a very simple baguette with local ham and cheese preceded by a glorious local terrine which the OC selected after tasting several at the charcuterie. We listened to the radio emanating from Monaco because it was the only English station in the south of France according to its frequent advertising. It was through this that we learnt that Bangladesh had beaten Sth Africa (hah!) – and this is all the news we’ve heard since Stratford Upon Avon.

Stratford was great. We stayed at Sir William (Lawrence’s) pleasure…(and a few of the readies). ;-) I won a bottle of Mumm’s on the last day of the conference from entering a competition and I thought it appropriate to have a tipple before I ventured out to King Lear at the RSC 's Courtyard Theatre.


Ian McKellen was at his best and there were many directorial choices I noted that I can discuss with Year 13 when I return. At the intermission the visual left with us was of The Fool hanged on the stage and the ‘corpse’ stayed for most of the break.
One of Lear’s last lines at the close of the play as he holds his dead Cordelia is ‘my poor fool is hanged’ – a wonderful link and a poignant ending. Another poignant but startling part was when Sir Ian tore off his clothes in his ‘naked wretch’ scene and we got the full frontal. It was pathos and horror all at once but ooooh errrr! The things Tolkein/Peter Jackson never imagined!

Stratford to Hull took three train changes but we’re old hands now and we move as a single unit, even if we do colonise half a carriage with our luggage and ‘us’

Hull. How do you describe Hull? It was lovely, sunny and warm but an enforced three hour wait for the one bus that took us to the ferry had us drinking Starbuck’s coffee(?) which is not the sort of appetiser one has prior to a sea voyage. Onto the ferry – three times the size of a Cook Strait number and much better food…but with the same charging rorts that accompany it . We threw in the towel and went for the full buffet. And while the YC is just content with fries and tom sauce, we feel obliged to make up his difference as and where we can. Consequently the Cook had three roll mops when one really should have done. And moi?...well I just enjoyed the wall to wall salmon and smoked haddock. And then to bed for the most placid crossing of the north sea for a duration of 9 hours.

The cabin was about the same size as your basic Gitmo cell and of note were the blaring instructions on the loud speaker that followed you into the ensuite in Dutch, German, French and English…That it was now 6.30am and time for brekkie. Luckily for The OC she slept through the whole thing after a mission on the trains the day before where she was the porter, the organiser and the tour guide extraordinaire.

Rotterdam.

Hit town nice and early. Seems Europe doesn’t start shopping until around 10am which is about when we arrived in town. The OC/Imelda scored her third pair of shoes – just a little more expensive than 3 Singapore dollars (insert understatement). Gorgeous weather and lovely shopping. Noticed the difference of attitude with regard to deportment in Holland which has carried through up until now. There’s certainly a cultural difference between England and Europe and it began in Holland and it has remained since.

Grabbed a taxi to pick up the campervan. Had a taxi driver who was very confused, even with GPS directions. It took two phone-calls from within the taxi and not some inconsiderable expense to get to the depot. He was polite, confused, apologetic, confused, grandfatherly, confused and was thoroughly conversant in Dutch – the only words we understood were Air port, problem and Mamma Mia ! Maybe if we’d been Italian…..

Into the campervan. First night in a lay by ( or Aires as they are called) in Belgium. Nothing spectacular but HOME. Aires have overnight sleeping for truckies (and campervans) along with a service station, a decent sized café, picnic tables, and are usually a full on business in and of themselves. The plan was to nip down to hit The Med as soon as possible so a long day driving the next day as we thundered through Luxembourg, France, (mugged at the Swiss border for 30 odd Euro road tax – that’s good for a year!!!!!! *snort*) and then Switzerland. Went through some serious tunnels (the Swiss love their tunnels….and so does the YC!!!!) and spat out into Italy where we had a night on the side of the road outside Alessandria.

The road tolls ended up costing as much as the diesel did for the trip-(Memo to self, ensure the NZ Govt never privatises the roading network!!!). Left the lay by at Alessandria to greet the Mediterranean at Genoa. Interesting in that from there on, right through to Monaco there are SO many people and it’s SO built up that manoeuvring anything bigger than a motorcycle is sheer madness. We were fortunate that it’s Easter and the huge majority of folk aren’t going about their usual business. Nevertheless, we had to leave the coast at Monaco because it was just becoming stressful. There is no access to the beaches with height barriers that only let cars through and no parking for Anything….even for cars….even at Easter.

So onto the Motorway and took the next right (which is inland) and on to Grasse.

Grasse, famous for perfumes je pense, “mais all closed” said The Cook….relieved. We went to sleep in the camping ground chorused by frog-song. The loudest frogs in the world…but kinda…actually verrrry cool.

It’s been a solid sunny twenty degrees plus for the last three days. Lovely bright sun but a haze that cuts the visibility down to 10 kms or so. We thought it might be pollution but it’s Easter and this part of the world definitely shuts down over easter. Maybe we are blessed with the clarity of light that is Otago.

We spent the day away from motorways today on our journey from Grasse, pretty much following our noses with the odd reference to the Michelen map. This means that when you overrun an intersection you still have a rough idea where you’re going. But we had no idea where we’d end up. And this is how we got to “Crest” – somewhere in Provence. But it’s a pretty AMAZING somewhere!


And so we sit here drinking the Sancerre under the shadow of a medieval castle where the OC and I lost count of the steps getting to.