Home, sweet, home

Seven weeks ago today I touched down at Wellington Airport - my first trip home in almost two years. I got to spend a wonderful three and a bit weeks with my amazing family and friends, surrounded by the beautiful landscapes of the place I call 'home'.

It has now been three weeks since I took off again, heading back to London. Can't believe that time has gone so fast already.

These are the highlights of my trip home:

1) Getting to see and spend quality time with my family who I had not seen since I left home on November 14 2009.

2) Catching up with friends - lunches, coffees, drinks, sleep-overs, rugby watching, trip to Palmy, seeing babies....

3) Being surrounded by furry, cuddly animals - Walnut, Ruby, Snoop, Tilly & Charlie - the most wonderful (and naughty!) pets in the world

4) Seeing just how much my little sister, Hannah, has grown up - two years is a long time when you are talking about kids!

5) Soaking up the atmosphere of the RWC - from watching the Opening Ceremony & first All Blacks match, to actually getting to attend four matches at the Stadium

6) Walking along the Wellington waterfront/in the Belmont bush, soaking up the sights of bush and water which I've been deprived of whilst in London

7) Going to Wellington Zoo with Hannah - it truly is the 'best little zoo in the world'

8) Unexpectedly bumping into friends at the supermarket and in Westfield - Wellington really is a small place!

9) Getting to eat at some of my favourite restaurants - the Speights Bar in Tinikori and the Malaysian restaurant that Mum and Craig love (and the family dinner we had - was SO good to have us all sit down together)

10) Eating Kiwi treats (pineapple lumps, tim tams, vegemite) without the huge price tag!

I'm sure there are many more things I've forgotten to mention, and if I have, feel free to remind me!

I just want to say it was a wonderful trip home. New Zealand (and Wellington) is truly the best place in the world - can't wait to touch down on its shores once more xoxo

Overlooking Petone/Wellington Harbour from Mum's place

Siblings together again - me with Hannah & Ollie

Wellington Waterfront

Westpac Stadium aka the 'Cake Tin'

Tilly, Snoop & Ruby chilling in the sun

View from the Botanic Gardens

Walnut, my 'baby'

An Italian Summer - Part Three

My third Italian adventure this summer was during my week off from work, where I went to Rome to stay with my second cousin, her partner and their two lovely bi-lingual children. It was really great to spend time with them, just chill out, learning how to play Uno, playing with the kitten they were looking after and spending hours reading on the couch on the deck.

We also had a couple of "trips". The first was to one of Rome's beaches. I don't normally consider myself a 'beach bunny' but I loved lying on a sun lounger, reading my book and swimming in the ocean with the kids. Coming from Wellington, swimming in the ocean is something new for me - I'm used to cold water, so it was lovely to swim in warm water, even if it was extremely salty! People watching was also interesting - the women are so much more body confident than women back home - young and old, they let it all hang out (going topless seemed almost a requirement!) and the men were, almost without exception, wearing speedos. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Kiwi bloke in speedos. 

The other "trip" that my cousin and her kids took me on, was into Rome itself. We took the bus from out car-park and hopped off to have a look at the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, which takes care of the homeless cats in Rome. Being a feline lover I found it quite sad knowing that these animals had no real home of their own. We then walked along the river, going through one of the markets, and onto the Castel Sant'Angelo, which I have visited before. It used to be the strong-hold of the Pope's - recently the pathway between this and St. Peter's Basilica has been opened, but only on certain days, and not when I was there. It just gives me another reason to return to Rome ;)  

View from Castel Sant'Angelo

St. Peter's Basilica in the distance

One of Rome's beaches

Looking up the dome of Santa Maria delgi Angeli e dei Martiri

An Italian Summer - Part Two

Whilst staying at the 'Italy house' I was lucky enough to go to Perugia, twice, once with the family and their guests (admiring old, crumbling buildings and wonderful cathedrals isn't quite the same with three children, all under 6), and once on my own. The day I went with the family I was treated to a wonderful meal of pizza and a mosey around the Cathedral of San Lorenzo - which is fitted with some beautiful stained-glass windows. 

The day I went on my own started off a little grey (weather-wise), but I was happy to start walking in a direction and just see where I ended up. I came across a lovely old church, wondered down tiny, narrow streets (I just loved these) and ended up back in the main square to sit down to lunch. In the rain. Almost as soon as I started to eat (in an under-cover, outdoor area), it started to pour and pour. Consequently I found myself in Perugia's art gallery, almost solely composed of religious paintings. 

I was disappointed to learn, upon leaving the gallery that it was still pouring with rain, and after braving the wet roads, lost even with a map, I decided to give up and head back on the train to Umbertide. 

One of the wonderful old buildings in Perugia

The 'sign' over a shop

Stained-glass window in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo

View from the lookout point

An Italian Summer - Part One

Over the summer I was fortunate enough to go to Italy with the family that I worked for over the past two years. They have a house in a little town called Umbertide, near Perugia. 

It's a lovely house, situated on top of a hill, only accessible by car (so no public transport!) - very quiet, surrounded by nature, in other words, very much the opposite to London, which I have to admit I really love. At least in short bursts. It is also without internet, and very limited TV channels, so for a 21st century gal, it can be a little trying to cope without technology - but it's also good to just switch off. 

One of my favourite things about the 'Italy house' as C & B call it, is that it has a wonderful swimming pool. The kids spent many hours, most days, jumping in and out the pool, diving and splashing and generally just doing things kids do when they are in water. I'm not a huge pool person myself, but the fact that it keeps the kids entertained is a major plus in my books! And, when the weather was getting to the late 30's it was a god-send to be able to jump in the pool and cool off. 

For me, it was quite sad the day we left the 'Italy house' was the knowledge that I wouldn't be able to go and stay there again - given that I have finished working for Caroline and Robert, to embark on post-graduate study at Westminster University. But, I have wonderful memories of the place, and many, many pictures to remind me of the ivy-covered walls, spectacular views and blue skies :)

Overlooking the capana 

View from 'Italy house'

From the pool, looking at the 'Italy house'

The Wimbledon Experience Part Three....

.... ended in heartbreak. Well, at least for me, Nadal, and the rest of his fans on Murray Mound, inside Centre Court and everywhere else in the world.

On the flip-side, it was scenes of ecstasy and euphoria for Novak Djokovic, winning his first Wimbledon title. And although at the time I wasn't quite able to feel happy for him (I tend to be a sore loser when Nadal loses), reading about the reaction his win had in Serbia, and what it meant to him and his country-men (and women!), I can now congratulate him on his win. He was by far the better player on the day (as much as it guts me to say that).

But, I should start at the beginning! Last Sunday, 3rd July, was the men's singles' final at Wimbledon. Eager to simply get into the grounds (no tickets for Centre Court are sold for the last four days of the tournament), I got up ridiculously early (5.30AM), caught at taxi to SW19 and arrived about 1o to six AM. And was 3oo-and-something in the queue. Hmmm..... perhaps needn't have gotten up so early? Anyways, over the next four hours I chatted to the lovely Sri Lankan family next to me in the queue - the parents used to queue back in the 70s, read my book, and tried to catch-up on some sleep.

Upon entering the grounds a little after ten, I fuelled up with some supplies and sat myself down on Murray Mound - and didn't move until the umpire called 'Game, Set, Match'. I was surrounded by a bunch of lovely women - the lady in front of me was, from all places, New Zealand! And she shared her Jubes with me. I think I really didn't need the sugar :P She was supporting Nadal, as was one of the girls to my left (her friends were backing Djokovic).

Although it is something to be on the show courts, and it would have been amazing to have said I had sat on Centre Court for the men's final, there is something about sitting in a crowd of people on Murray Mound. I think it's something to do with the fact that you can really get into it and let your emotions show - yell, scream, chant, at any moment, not just at the end of a point or during a sit-down. I was thoroughly entertained by the people (including myself at times), yelling at others in front to "SIT DOWN", and by the large group of Serbian men yelling 'Nole, Nole' (countered by about four girls yelling 'Rafa, Rafa' - they applauded our efforts!).

However, in the end, Djokovic was too good. Reminding us all why he's only lost one match this year and why he is now, deservedly, the No.1 men's player in the world. He bet Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6 (Nadal's fight-back, in the third, although short-lived in the scheme of the match, was amazing to watch), 6-3.

And so, another year of Wimbledon has come to a close. Who knows, perhaps next year I'll get to cover a bit of it!

The Wimbledon Experience Part Two

So, as I mentioned in my previous blog, because I worked last weekend I was given the day off yesterday (Wednesday) to go to Wimbledon for men's quarter-finals day. Needless to say, I was pretty excited at the prospect of seeing Nadal!

I had wanted to queue overnight, but having no tent and the prospect of rain falling (the day before there had been huge thunderstorms) I chose not to. Instead, I got up nice and early (5.20AM) to catch the bus to the station. Upon getting there I, unlike everyone else, decided to walk to the club instead of taking a taxi. Next time when I queue that early in the morning I'll be taking at taxi! I got to the queue about 6.50AM and was 2,039th in the queue. Because of that I had no expectations of getting onto any of the show courts (I wasn't that fussed about Centre Court due to the fact that Nadal was playing on Court 1). However, to my immense surprise, upon arriving at the ticket booths I was informed that there were (restricted) tickets still avaliable for Court 1! Needless to say I took it - the chance to see Nadal was something I was NEVER going to turn down :P

After getting myself something to eat (over-priced pizza) and drink (over-priced Pimms) and enjoying the sun I headed to my restricted seat on Court No.1. Turns out the restricted seat wasn't that restricted, only not being able to see a fraction of the court - still able to see the players when serving/receiving.

The first match up on court was Djokovic vs Tomic (the 18-year-old from Australia). Before play began people had been saying that they'd expect Tomic to test Djokovic, but in the first set that didn't happen - it was all Djokovic. However, in the 2nd Tomic really stepped up his intensity, and Djokovic lost his - playing a poor game where he served two double-faults. Over the next two sets, the two players were much more evenly matched, but it was Djokovic's experience that pulled him through in the end.

Next up was the match of the day for me: Nadal vs Fish (the No.1 American men's player). Typical opinion was that Nadal would win in straight sets - Fish never having won against Nadal. And it looked to be the case when Nadal broke Fish in his opening game of the first set, as well as in the second, racing to a 2-0 lead (well, 'racing' is a relative term - Nadal rarely plays a quick match). However, in the 3rd Fish started serving much better and the two were evenly matched until Fish broke Nadal to take the 3rd 7-5 and draw the match to a fourth. However, Nadal showed just why he is the current world No.1 and why it is so hard to beat him over five sets, winning in the fourth.

I enjoyed every moment of the day. There were little things that stood out for me - Djokovic applauding Tomic on a superb point (I always like to see players giving their opponents credit), Nadal's uncle and mother applauding Fish on points, having it come up on the big screen that Tsonga bet Federer, seeing Nadal change his shirt three times and listening to the crowd watching the big screen TV on Murray Mound. Can't wait for Sunday where I'll be queuing for a spot on Murray Mound to (hopefully see) Nadal in the final (provided that he beats Murray tomorrow in the semis).

On Court No.1

Tomic serving

Djokovic serving

Nadal warming up

Fish waiting to receive serve

Working Weekend in Devon

Last weekend Caroline and Robert had a big fancy party to attend on Saturday night in Devon, followed by a kiddies/nannies/grannies party on the Sunday. As Caroline and Robert were keen to have Charlie and Bea go to the kiddies party on the Sunday, I went with the four of them to babysit on Saturday and attend the party to help out on the Sunday.

Now, for those of you who don't know, Devon is a good three hours drive from London. Thankfully portable DVD players have been invented! It's the easiest way to keep occupied on long car journeys (aside from endless games of 'eye-spy' that is). Although the kids didn't watch them the whole time (the batteries in those things are not known for their longevity), it kept them occupied for most of it. We got to Devon and the pretty little cottage that we were to stay in. C and B were most excited about the trampoline and 'pirate ship' (aka slide and swing set) out the back, the chickens that clucked around the games room - complete with foosball, pool and table-tennis. Charlie in particular liked "playing" table tennis, due to his recent fascination with Rafael Nadal (for with I took full credit for). By the Sunday afternoon he and I could hit about four or five shots in a row, not too shabby for a five-year-old I thought. The kids and I stayed up late (8PM is late for them), they colouring-in and me watching the Djokovic-Baghdatis match.

After putting the kids to bed and once the tennis was over, I watched a bit of TV. For the first time ever I had to share a room with C and B (there were only two bedrooms in the place). I took a long time to go to sleep - the kids snore and toss and turn a lot - but at least in the morning they didn't get up too early (I had warned them that they weren't to get up til I did).

Sunday was the party for the kiddies - a pool party, complete with bouncy castles and kids bungy (like a giant crane, with trampolines underneath which the kids jump on). The people who had the party are (it probably goes without saying) quite rich. It took a lot for me to not spend the entire time with my mouth open! Although I wasn't overly keen on getting in the pool, I did get in - and get burnt! You forget how much you burn with the sun reflecting off the water.

The trip back home took a lot longer - there was more traffic. However, the kids (thankfully) slept pretty much the whole time. At points I had both Charlie and Bea resting their heads on mine. It was quite comfortable - Bea's head made a good pillow ;)

The only real downside (for me) of the weekend was that I didn't get to go see the tennis on Saturday - which wouldn't have been too big an issue since Nadal wasn't scheduled to play, but due to his rain delay on Friday, he had to finish his match. However, my compensation was that Caroline gave me the following Wednesday off, which brings me to my next blog.....