Our travelling from New Zealand to London Adventure

Perhaps the most interesting sights when flying from New Zealand to Australia are the cloud formations. Today’s display was ‘out of the box.’ For the past few days in Auckland the days had been grey with much low cloud cover, so to rise above this blanket into the dusky blue brightness of the early evening sky was quite ‘uplifting.’  (you may laugh….)  We did not have to wait long for the first display. In the distance a line of black puffs of cloud rose above the border of the now dark grey blanket below and morphed into a long spinal skeleton of bones against a white sky.  Then they moved on to become the Southern Alps of our South Island  - a fitting way to leave New Zealand, we agreed.  But Australia, not to be outdone - after the sun set, rearranged the clouds into two charcoal vertical bands – separated by a band of brilliant orange!     Welcome to Australia!!!

We are now on our final leg of our flight to London, without any incident so far – apart from the fact that Christ spent ages in the shower at the Dubai airport and I had to send in an attendant to get him to hurry along – and we are enjoying the scenery outside, that is if you like rows and rows of rocky mountains sticking out of beige desert sands. Not as colourful as Australia’s outback.  Soon we ascended high over more rocky mountain ranges and plateaus which, to my surprise, were all snow covered.

 Just before our last trip this way there had been a dramatic sand storm and we had to divert to Bahrain to refuel, then return to Dubai so we saw nothing of the terrain.   From the air Dubai looks a bit like what Auckland might become   - many suburbs of apartments and occasional blocks of leafy suburbs and a city center of tall buildings.  Otherwise lots of sandy sand spits and bars, a few ships – no concentrated port that I could see - but no doubt there is one!!  So here we are on the plane – 7 hours to go  - after 17 hours of flying the seats are getting very hard – great to be offered thin mattresses and chardonnay to make the going easier……..

Thank you to the assistant at the Melbourne’s duty free shops who was able to help us with daughter’s duty free order.  ‘She has had 8 months to come up with her order and she text’s me when we are travelling!!! ‘ grumbles father.  Five minutes after tapping this lovely lady on the shoulder   HELP! – only in more colourful language – all was sorted.  BTW Christian Dior fragrance prices have risen significantly over the last vey weeks. I had to pay about NZ $40 more than expected – I should have bought when I first enquired (note to self).

Time for a doze – or shall I watch a movie??  All these choices when flying…

A flying visit and adventure to London and York, England

Hello everyone,

This was a very quick visit to London - the purpose of which was to attend a surprise stag do for Son in law to be, a girls night out for the gals, and to meet incoming family members.

it is always exciting landing in London - and especially so this time as we landed at daybreak - with the sky lightening up in the distance and the many planes landing and leaving the dark Heathrow with all lights flashing - it made us feel as if we were in a star wars movie!

A very busy week it was. We were pleased we that we booked a day trip York, by train which was very pleasant day. The 2 hour trip through green rural land under grey skies passed quickly and we arrived to a cool sometimes rainy day. Our research suggested we visit the York Minster (cathedral) which is the largest Gothic cathedral of its type in England. However you did have to pay to go to various areas which turned out to be rather expensive, so we opted to pay to negotiate the 275 narrow winding stairs to the top of the tower, which gave us an expansive view of York and its surrounds. The old city with its "Shambles" streets was pretty, quaint, and small. The area featured lots of shops, eating places and a market. Great to wander around, Unfortunately we missed the cat shop but we did not miss the Mulberry Lane Porcelain and Crystal shop. Some amazing displays by world renowned companies and artists were here. An ideal place to have a wedding registry if one was well heeled. Probably the most interesting place was the National Railway Museum which nobody told us about. it is so much more than rows of trains! One of the most interesting features was the 'working warehouse' - shelves and shelves of paraphanalia to do with trains (and boats) walls of signs, all either, being, or about to be restored. Furniture, signals, chamber pots, fabrics, photos and paintings, signal boards, significant pieces of timber and metal, model trains and boats, many items to oooh and ah about.

The other 'must visit' when visiting York, England is the JORVIK Viking Centre. As well as featuring an authentic recreated (including the smells) which one travels though gondola, the centre explores the migrations around England from the geneological point of view. This technology is still very new and confirms or refutes original beliefs about the travels and habits of the vikings and other races.

Mid September was an ideal time to visit London, I felt - the days were balmy to cold (if you are from New Zealand or that part of the world), there were not too many tourists around, so not many queues, and the leaves on the trees had not yet turned, so it was like a cool summer's week.

I did discover some 'do nots' while in London;
- don't eat baked beans with a British Big Breakfast
- don't get on the wrong bus
- dont dont dont mix jet lag with cold tablets and alcohol..................

it was awesome catching up with family members, as well as new and old friends! And to have a quick glimpse at the Victoria and Albert Musuem (must check out and book for any special exhibitions before we go, next time) and to duck into the most interesting shop at the Science Museum. Well - that 'quick' visit lasted over 2 hours.... We did enjoy seeing the steam engine in operation! The National Geographic Shop in Regent Street had some interesting displays on too. Pity they have gone into selling heaps of clothes. But the hot chocolate and coffees in their shop next door is well worth the visit.

So now we are back home and looking forward to our next adventure to Australia and to my son's wedding in a couple of weeks......

Monaco - boating paradise in the sun

We travelled by rail from Nice to Monaco. We emerged from the railway station, which is modern, marble paved and set in the middle of the mountain into sunshine, warmth, to a scene crowded with wall to wall boats on the blue waters and wall to wall hotels and apartments piled up against the mountains. After strolling along the waterfront admiring all the yachts we moved on to inspect the Monaco Yacht Club's Racing Mark Laying boat. Instead of using anchors to secure the marks on the ocean floor, we noted that concrete blocks on the end of twine are used. Presumably the twine is cut and the blocks remain on the ocean floor! I wonder what the archeologists in the year 5000 will make of these when researching it for clues of human activities in the year 2009! After retiring to the very modern, classy Monaco Yacht Club for refreshments, we walked to the top of the old town and visited the Aquarium. Built by Prince Albert of Monaco, a passionate ocean and wildlife exporer in the late 1800's, the building hosts many acquariums of unusual and endangered fish and sealife. While inspecting the exhbition, and finding out about the research techniques carried out by Prince Albert and his team, one wonders if these practices would be acceptable today. However the sealife exhibits talk a lot about conservation, preservation and of the aquarium's most successful breeding programme for overseas aquariums. If you ever venture to this neck of the woods, the Aquarium is well worth a visit.

Out into the sunshine again we strolled, and relaxed at one of the cafes near the palace, where royalty still live, to enjoy Monaco's award winning beer. Then, somewhat reluctantly, we wended our way to the beautiful Monaco railway station back to Nice.

Oh, that's right - it is Saturday! Time to watch the New Zealand All Blacks play the French!! And to enjoy the conviviality of the Hotel bar where there is a wide screen TV!

And then, tomorrow, to sunny, exciting Cannes....... uh oh - don't like the look of the clouds - surely that cannot be correct????

Our Venice Adventure and how to follow directions

Everytime we travel to Venice we enjoy a different adventure and this was no different. This was to be q short stay an overnight one before we boarded the Costa Serena for our cruise ship adventure.

By chqnce we heard that the last day of the Famous Biennalle Exhibition was on. Artists from eighty coutries including two from New Zealand were exhibiting so we went along to have a quick look. As everyone knows we all have different ideas about what modern art is and all I can say is that there was so,ething for everyone there. Take a look at my pics and you will see what I mean. Having enjoyed the exhibits at the main venue we set off to find the New Zealand Artists located at other venues in Venice. However we had forgotten than Venicians cannot or do not give precise directions. The best you might get from them is an area or locality. A main street might be a narrow alleyway; and left at the bridge might mean three bridges down the next canal. Needless to say after battling hundreds of locals and tourists Sunday walking we ran out of time to find them. Oh and did I mention it took an hour to find the locql Jazz Club which was five minutes away..... And speaking of getting lost more about that in the cruise ship item

Our week as Shore Crew at Newport Rhode Island

Two weeks after travelling to the Invitational Cup Regatta at Newport Rhode Island and now fully recovered from jetlag I now have time to reflect on why we were a little bit tired from that most exciting week.

On each of the 7 days we would do the shopping for 14 people. Fortunately we only had to cook dinner for 4 nights owing to the social activities put on by the New York Yacht Club. Most days we visited the boat shops for parts. Then each morning we would arise around 6.30 to prepare lunches 18 scrumptious rolls, snacks, sliced fruit, gateraded beverages etc etc and breakfast for everyone. We quickly became most skilled at negoting bulk food prices st the supermarket and finding real, rather than water infused meat for lunches. We became so adept at making bread rolls - that by the time we finished the 130th we reckoned we could take on Subway and win! The surprise tidbits were well received by our hardworking sailors. After transporting them to the jetty to pick up their boat we would to a quick tidy up and rush off to our next job - that of being New Zealand's number one fans! We were most fortunate to be offered spectator positions on some of the New York Yacht Club members' most luxurious vessels to watch the racing. These ranged in size from 70 to over 120 feet in length. A couple which could be better described as little ships had the capacity go to sea for up to 3 months without refueling. The owners were most hospitable and we met some very friendly fellow boating visitors. After the racing we would dash off and go shopping for more supplies then join in the after race activities. These included a magnificent seafood buffet on opening night and on the prize giving night a meal almost to die for, followed by dancing to blues music. However the most memorabale evening was the lobster meal. We all sat down to consume One Whole Lobster each! These are the same size as our New Zealand crayfish so this was an absolute luxury. To ensure our enjoyment we were all issued with a plastic bib, pliers, and instructions on how to eat them. Delicious!

At last the last day dawned and at a very early hour for a Sunday we dragged ourselves out of bed to farewell our sailors, some straight home while others via exotic places like Lea Vegas. After a final tidyup of our lovely
home for the week we strolled through Newport mainstreet before boarding the bus to next adventure. And how did our team go? They got 10th overall - and beat the french! See the Invitational Cup we site for more information.

Would we go back again ? Yes! For more racing and maybe some sightseeing this time........

About Newport Rhode Island

Having travelled by bus to Newport Rhode Island, we arrived on a hot Sunday afternoon, into a end-of-summer resort! Lots of shops, and tanned people strolling around. After lunching we walked, lugging our cases - on wheels, of course, down streets of 2 - 3 storied wooden houses with steeply pitched roofs and window boxes, to our home for the next 7 days. Many of the houses had plaques on them stating their age which was around 200 - 250 years old and the people who lived there - pewterers, silversmiths, etc. Ours was built in around 1750 and was occupied by a famous cabinet maker, John Goddard and his son Thomas. The house was moved to its current site from one nearer the water, because someone wanted the land, but not the building. The current owners refurbished the 3 storied house - 3 bedrooms, a huge attic room - ideal for grandchildren and for a crew of yachties, and numerous bathrooms. They often let the house out to visitors and would holiday on their boat. It was ideal for boating people like us - much better than a hotel!

Newport, as the name suggests was a port town situated at the beginning of Rhode Island Sound. It ends well inland at Providence, the area's current port. The sound is not as we New Zealanders are used to - high mountains, deep water, but instead, low bush and tree covered hills and about 30 islands amnd peninsulas. Apparently the land, like that in Sweden, Finland and around the Baltic Sea, is very slowly rising as it no longer bears the weight of glaciers.

At the beginning of the sound is Fort Adams - one of two ports built to keep the British out. However the British laid seige and stayed out to sea, so there was no battle and subsquently not a shot has been fired from the fort. This area is steeped in history, much of which had a profound effect on the direction of the United States which, of course, can be found out in great detail, on Google!!

So here is a very very brief outline about Newport Rhode Island in no particular order;
- People came to this area to escape religious persecution
- The rich came here to spend their summers - resulting in the erection of many huge beautiful and opulent palace like mansions - many of which can be visited today.
- There was a huge Sanitorium here - started by somebody who used electricity to cure everthing then discovered that there was more money and less responsibility in making the place into a 'health retreat' to which people came and did not want to leave
- The houses are very quaint and disctinctive
- The Navy's main base was here for many years - as it has moved its base elsehwere most of its many buildings are now Naval Colleges
- The area is quaint and beautiful and very cultural - art, crafts, music
- the (only) Main Street has heaps of pubs, cafes and touristy resort shops
- Around the waters edge are hundreds of holiday apartment blocks built around 20 - 30 for the huge summer population - part or a revival plan for the area after the Navy and America's Cup trophy relocated
- There are hundreds and hundreds of boats here - all of which have to be taken out of the water for the winter
- The loss of the America's Cup had a huge impact on the ecomony as well as the New York Yacht Club which owns a mansion donated to it by a former Commodore.

All in all Newport Rhode Island is a beautiful area - very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Apparently when the water froze over around 150 years ago, a large home was built on a very small rocky island as the materials could be brought out over the snow and ice by sled. Then one winter there was a severe blizzard lasting for several days. After it abated, the lady of the house departed to the mainland and swore never to go back again... Today the house has that rather neglected air about it.

Now I will sign off this item and write something about the sailing.....

Travelling in winter from London to Milan

We flew from London to travel to Milan Italy (and left the last of my cold behind, thank goodness!!!) and had spectacular view over London city before flying into clouds.

Then we flew over the Swiss Alps. What a spectacular view!! There were narrow blue lakes following the contour of the land, snow covered mountain ranges which looked as if they had been combed, sharp snow covered peaks, some of which seemed to have large footprints on them, and snow covered towns nestled in white valleys. As we descended into the Po Valley we flew closer to the alps, as close as we sometimes fly to the Remarkables Mountain Range, in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Then we flew lower into the Po Valley, over many snow covered villages and fields - uh oh -
what is that up ahead? A very large and low bank of thick cloud was smearing its way towards us. We knew the clouds were low because there were several tall chimneys belching out snow through the top of the clouds.

We few into the clouds, and according to the captain, had 20 minutes before landing! It seemed to take a very long time to fly, around and around, just above the clouds. Round and Round. Was the pilot looking for Milan? How would he know when and where to land? After a very long time we slowly descended into this mass of grey cotton wool. It took 20 seconds, because I counted, to go through the clouds, which were as it turned out, at ground level.
Welcome to Milano Italy! And to our next adventure....