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.....

The Wimbledon Experience Part One

Got a bit of blog catching-up to do, so bear with me!

Last week, in case of you non-tennis inclined don't know, was the first week of Wimbledon. Last year I had applied via the ballot to obtain tickets to this year's tournament and was lucky enough to receive two Centre Court tickets for the first Thursday.

So, last Thursday I met up with my friend Anja, whom I had given the second ticket to, at Wimbledon Station and we made our way to the All England Club, aka Wimbledon. Although I had known that I had Centre Court tickets, I hadn't realised until a few days before that I had really good tickets- five rows from the front, so was really looking forward to it.

We arrived about 12ish, sat ourselves on Henman Hill (or Murray Mound as it's known these days), enjoyed the sun, then with Pimms in hand headed off to our fantastic seat. Interesting, although it wasn't yet raining (and in fact hardly rained at all that day) the roof on Centre Court remained shut for the entire days play. It truly was a dream come true. Being mere metres away from the players is something I'd never imagined I'd get to do. I spent a good deal of time gawping at it all and thinking repeatedly "I can't believe I'm here!"

I wasn't lucky enough to see Nadal play, but the opening match between Llyeton Hewitt from Australia and Robin Soderling was an absolute cracker. Hewitt took a 2 set to love lead, with Soderling the No.5 in the world looking decidedly out of sorts, before storming back to win in five. The match went for just under four hours and was great from the moment the 'Aussie contingent' sang 'Advance Australia Fair' (to applause from the rest of the audience), to the dives Hewitt took, to the final moment of Soderling's victory.

And the excitement did not stop there. Second up was recent Women's French Open winner Na Li of China against wildcard Sabine Lisicki from Germany. It too went the distance (three sets in women's tennis), with Li having two match points in the second, before loosing in the third. At that point it was the upset of the tournament.

Last on court was Roger Federer. Now, I'm not a Federer hater, it's just that I'm a Nadal supporter and since they are so often on opposite sides of the net it means in general I don't support him. However, its one thing to feel unfavourable towards a player on at TV screen, but quite another when you see him playing live. Even I can't deny that he is an amazing player. His back-hand is a thing of beauty - all grace. He, typically, won in straight sets against France's Adrian Mannarino, who was rather gorgeous truth be told. One of my highlights was the crowd doing a Mexican Wave just before Federer served for the match - and then applauding ourselves on its conclusion!

It truly was an amazing day. I feel so privileged to have gone and see fantastic tennis on arguably one of the best courts in the tennis world.

Below are a few photos from the day :)

Federer waiting to receive serve (sorry, this photo is out of order)

Me at Centre Court!

Soderling, waiting to hit the ball

Hewitt waiting to receive serve

Na Li serving

Sabine Lisicki serving

Adrian Marranio waiting to receive serve

West End Live

So, have been a little slack in the blogging department this past week, which is surprising as I've had a few things to blog about.

First up is last weekend, when I got to attend West End Live. It's essentially a two-day "festival" in Trafalgar Square (normally in Leicester Square, but that's getting done-up at the moment), where over 20 West End shows come and perform, to give the public a taste of what they are all about. And the best thing? It was completely free!

So, Saturday I met up with my friend Kim nice and early (10.30AM) and her friend Stephen, and then also met up with another friend of mine, Jenna. We sat and (at least on my part) very excitedly watched Rachel Tucker aka the West End's Elphaba from Wicked perform 'Defying Gravity'. It was a little odd listening to it without the Glinda part, but Rachel's incredibly voice minimised that feeling. There were various other performances, including (but not limited to) ones from Chicago, Legally Blonde and We Will Rock You, which is based on the music of Queen/Ben Elton. Now, this show was not one I'd been that interested in... until I saw them perform. It was one of the shows that most got the audience involved, singing along to classics such as We Are the Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody. Now, throughout the day there had been showers, and each time a wave of umbrellas went up (Londoners are prepared for such events). However, just as Jersey Boys (who I'd really been looking forward to seeing) started up it absolutely poured down - even hailing for a moment! A large number of people (including Kim, Stephen and I who were huddled under my umbrella) ran for the National Gallery.

Deciding that the rain was too heavy, the three of us joined Jenna and her friend/flatmate Hayley for a pub lunch, where we had a great time laughing and talking. Jenna had time to kill before starting work, so the lot of us went to Trocadero (for Kiwis, it's kinda of like Time Out, but bigger and better) to bowl! Stephen didn't join us as he had to work, but the four of us girls had a great time, egging each other on, screaming and laughing - I swear we had more fun not doing so good than the group next to us who were far better. Then we had a game of pool before walking to Jenna's pub (where Keira Knightley often hangs out!) - Kim and I tried to go to the British Museum, but it was closing so we just headed home.

Sunday I decided to head to West End Live again, with the sole aim of seeing Jersey Boys. Which I did. I'm very keen to see the show now - I just loved the music (for those of you who don't know, it's based on the rise of Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons), and a lot of it reminded me of Dirty Dancing. One of the oddest performances was of Bob the Builder (kid friendly of course). Even odder was the fact that Bob got a group of largely adults to sing along, and partake in the actions. Well, he did spend a fair few weeks at Number One a while back, but still..... Then I went and got myself some new shoes at Westfield in Shepherd's Bush (WAY bigger than the Queensgate one back home and FAR too many people for my liking) and that was my weekend :)

The 'wave' of umbrellas at West End Live

Berlin Photos

Berlin Wall, 'Mini Mural'

Me on bike, Berlin Wall

Example of the modernity of Berlin's buildings

At the Brandenberg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

Checkpoint Charlie Sign

Curried sausage!

Berlin - Where the past is present

So, the weekend just gone I took a trip to Berlin, Germany, with my lovely friend Nicky.

Due to the fact that we had an early flight on Saturday morning (there's a reason the 6.30AM ones are so cheap!), we decided to spend Friday night in one of the airport hotels - Best Western to be precise. We had a little hiccup when waiting for the hotel bus - it didn't turn up for an hour due to it breaking down - but it was well worth it when we were at the airport 45 minutes after waking up.

We arrived in Berlin to hazy blue skies and after making our way from the airport to our hostel (which, by the way as the nicest I've ever stayed in - there was a TV in the room!) we headed off to our first sight - Checkpoint Charlie, the sight where, during the height of the Cold War and the dividing Berlin wall - people from East-West (and vice-versa) tried to cross. Along the way Nicky persuaded me to go into Zara and I left with a new skirt. We then continued on our way to Checkpoint Charlie. Interestingly, it wasn't until we were almost right upon the sight, that Berlin began to feel tourist-y. Up until that point we'd not really seen that many tourists. Next stop was trying some of the local 'cuisine' - curried sausage. It was edible, but not something I'd try again in a hurry.

Then it was on to more sight-seeing. We came across a part of the Berlin Wall (not the famous part, with the murals - there are quite a few sections of the wall still standing, throughout the city) - which stood alongside an open air 'museum', describing the events leading up to WWII as well as to the falling of the Berlin Wall. The site on which this 'museum' stood, was once a house owned by the Gestapo, and where many terrible things occurred. Next up was the Holocaust Memorial, which is a site with different sized 'blocks', formed in a sort of maze. I'm not really sure how many there were, or if the number was indicative of how many victims there were. From there we headed to the Brandenberg Gate - it's really famous, though I'm not entirely sure what for! We did the normal tourist pose in front of it, before getting caught out in the rain. It was raining so hard that I was forced to buy an umbrella - with ampleman on it (ampleman is the name of the green/red men on the pedestrian lights). To take shelter from the rain we decided to head to the Jewish Museum. It was very moving walking around and realising that the Jewish people have been persecuted for centuries, and that the terrible events of WWII were just one of many instances. That evening we walked around a bit more, had some dinner and tried (and failed) to get into the Reichstag and climb up the dome - for all your travellers out there, who have yet to go to Berlin: to get into the Reichstag is free BUT you have to pre-book, online at least two working days in advance.

On day two in Berlin, I conceded to Nicky's wishes and agreed to hire bikes for the day. This was a big deal for me, as I've not been on a bike in about six years. But I have to admit after the faffing around in trying to hire bikes (they are a very popular way to get around see the city, along with walking tours and segway tours!), it was a very efficient way of seeing the city. There were pleanty of bike lanes (though at times we did have to ride alongside the main traffic) and it meant that we got to see more of the city than if we'd gone on foot. Our first ride was to the Berlin Wall (the famous bit this time). It's quite a long stretch that's been kept and converted to murals - and was definitely a highlight for me. We then biked back towards the West side of Berlin to the Tiergarten park, for a well deserved ice-cream and rest our sore limbs. We had a mini-adventure when I got a flat tyre and we had to negotiate our way on the metro - complete with bikes - Nicky and I were rather proud of this accomplishment - getting a bike up and down an escalator is no mean feat! The rest of the day, before we had to make our way to the airport and head home, was spent simply riding around seeing what we could see.

I normally find it hard to describe what I thought of a city, when people ask me. For Berlin, I find it quite easy. It is a very modern city - especially the architecture (though from most of my photographs you'd not be able to tell!) - which harks back to WWII and the bombing of the city. But, it is also a city that, you feel, is very much living in the past. The WWII- Cold War era is something that is tangible throughout the city and you get the impression that the current generations are still living with the sins of past generations.

As with my Paris post I'll have to post my photos of Berlin separately!

Picnic and tennis

This weekend I was looking forward to watching a lot of tennis, due to it being the final stages of Roland Garros.

As my boss was away since Wednesday (and the kids away at their grandparents) I'd had a lot of time to myself, so on Friday I sat down and watched the two amazing semi-finals, firstly between Murray-Nadal, which was very tight, even though Nadal won in three. The second semi between Federer-Djokovic was much better - a four setter, that went to two tie-breaks. I really wish it had done gone to a fifth, as the match (and the fans) deserved it too. But it wasn't to be.

Saturday I got up late and met up with some friends to have a picnic in Ravenscourt Park. I met my friend Kim at the tube station and we met up with Nicky, who was already waiting. Bread, cheese, sausage rolls, strawberries, raspberries, crisps mmm.... it was a delicious meal, with great company - added to by Val and a couple of her other friends. That evening Kim and I met up with Nicky and her friend Theresa, and we had a few drinks together at the Leather Bottle in Earlsfield. There really is nothing better in the summer than sitting with a few friends, having a drink and enjoying the last of the sunshine. Later on, Kim and I met up with some of her guy friends from NZ, which was a different atmosphere - louder and more hectic - lots of people, mostly drinking in the street.

The following day, after Kim had gone home, I sat myself down with some home-made cheese muffins (unfortunately I don't have pictures) to watch the Roland Garros final between Nadal-Federer. Every match these two play is full of anticipation, but this one more so than others given that they hadn't met in a Grand Slam final since the Australian Open 2009 (where Nadal won in a five-set thriller). This match certainly lived up to expectation. After trailing 5-2 in the first, Nadal fought back (as he so often does) to take the set 7-5. The second Nadal won in a uneven tie-break and it looked as though he was going to win in straight sets. Federer, however, had other ideas, and inspite of being down 4-2 at one stage, won the set 7-5. However, it wasn't enough to stop Nadal (aka the 'King of Clay') who swept Federer away in the fourth.

A wonderful match to watch. I cannot wait for Wimbledon, which starts next week.

Sorry this post once again doesn't have any photos. I will make sure the next one does :)

Paris Part Deux - the photos

Here are some of the photos I took while in Paris:

Me in front of Monte's Waterlillies

My favourite of the Waterlillies paintings

In front of the Sacre Coeur

At the top of the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower, lit up

Shakespeare & Company bookstore

Stained-glass window, Notre Dame

The iconic Eiffel Tower

Me on one of the many bridges on the Seine

Paris Part Deux

This long weekend I went away to Paris, for my second visit.

It got off to a bit of a bumpy start, with me forgetting my handbag (containing my wallet, with house keys and money) and having to ring the phone and door bell in order to wake Caroline to let me in so I could get it. Having accomplished that, I arrived at the airport well within time, though to discover I'd forgotten my EU adaptor! After having to buy a twin-pack I am now in possession of four (yes, you've read correctly) EU adaptors, three UK-EU ones and a NZ-EU one. Anyone in the market?

My first piece of good luck came when I got into Gare de Nord station (from the airport), and having no luck finding the ticket machine, a lovely Scottish woman gave me one of hers! As soon as I'd dropped my bag off at the hostel, I headed down to Roland Garros in the hope of securing myself a ticket. Alas, amongst all the hoards of people I was told by a official that it wouldn't be possible. Resigned, I decided to walk back from Roland Garros to Notre Dame Cathedral on the Ile de le Cite - no mean feat. It took me about an hour and a half, two hours, but the weather was beautiful and the walk along the Seine lovely. The stained-glass windows inside Notre Dame were stunning (as they always are), I particularly liked the three at the back, which I thought were especially beautiful - they came out very well in the photos as well. My next stop was to a bookshop that I'd read about in my guidebook. It's famous for publishing James Joyce's Uylesses when nobody else would, as well as providing a place to sleep for up-and-coming authors. The shelves inside were floor-to-ceiling and it was one of the coolest bookshops I've ever been in. I was rather proud that I managed not to buy anything! That evening I made myself a picnic of bread and ham and strawberries, sat under the Eiffel Tower and ate it. This time I made the effort to stand in line (and freeze) in order to take the elevator to the very top - well worth the effort. The view was amazing and now I can say that I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Day two, I got up nice and early determined that I'd be able to procure tickets to Roland Garros. Unfortunately, upon arriving I was informed that this year (for the first time) they weren't allowing people to queue for tickets - they could only be bought online. Needless to say I was bitterly disappointed about this - being that my whole reason for going to Paris was in order to see some tennis. But, I moved on from my funk and went up to the Sacre Coeur, just a five minute walk from my hostel. As always, the view was beautiful. I think Sacre Coeur is my favourite church - there is something incredibly peaceful about it. I think it has something to do with the fact that you aren't allowed to take photos inside. I then made the walk along the Champs Elysses, to see the Arc de Triomphe, where a group of brides (at least eight of them) were having photos taken. I then decided to walk to the Latin Quarter in order to see the catacombs, though unfortunately didnt' get there in time, so that is still one thing in Paris I've not seen. One of my highlights was going to the Musee De L'Orangerie, which is where Monet's famous 'Waterlillies' are housed. I hadn't realised just how big they are and thought they were some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Spent some time sitting in the sun, reading (and getting burnt) in the Jardin de Tulieres. Then capped the evening off with dinner at a French Restaurant and sitting on the steps of the Sacre Coeur listening to an impropmtu 'concert' by a busker playing his guitar. It was really great as the crowd really got into it, singing along and even getting up to dance.

Monday was my last day in Paris, and was yet again a beautiful one. I spent most of it just walking around - including walking along the Promenade Plantee, a walk that is located on top of an old railway station (that is now disused). It was quite pretty, and I enjoyed it. The rest of the day I spent in the Jardin de Tulieres (again), relaxing in the chairs, finishing my book and enjoying the wonderful weather. My last thing in Paris was once again walking up the Champs Elysses, in the hope of having time to go up the Arc de Triomphe, but I didn't (though in retrospect I could have, having arrived at the airport with pleanty of time to spare).

So, although I didn't see any tennis (I shall just have to go next year :P), I had a wonderful time in Paris, and would love to go again. Again :P

I think this post is ridiculously long, so I'll post photos in a seperate one :)

Henley-on-Thames

This weekend I was invited to attend by 5-year-old and 2-year-old cousins' birthday party, and then was invited to spend the entire weekend with my Uncle, his wife and their two little girls in Henley-on-Thames, which is about an hour West of London. So I did.

I headed over there on Friday evening after finishing work, arriving to a lovely meal of steak and chips. At the moment they are in the middle of adding an extention onto their house, so living space is rather limited. Meaning that my bed was the fold-out sofa in the living room. This isn't really problem, though being woken up before 7AM on a weekend isn't exactly my idea of fun!

Saturday was party day, so there was a lot of excitement and build-up from the girls. M, the oldest and I decorated her birthday cake with gel pens. She then had ballet, but my Mum called just before she was due to leave so I ended up chatting to her instead of dropping M off at ballet. Was lovely to chat and see what everyone back is up to. I then went for a walk along the Thames, which is about five minutes from their house. My highlight was seeing the cute ducklings I saw - photos were taken of course :) The party kicked off at 3PM, but we turned up early to get everything set up. All the kids arrived and madness ensued! Luckily there was an entertainer to keep the kiddies occupied. One little girl got rather upset though and spent a good 40minutes sitting on my lap.

And today, my Uncle's wife's sister-in-law, her mother and two girls came to visit. The sister-in-law is French so the girls speak both English and French. Again, the day was a little hectic and my two cousins were rather tired from their big day on Saturday. We had a lovely lunch of pizza, salad, bread and wonderful cheese. Then we went for a play in the park and an ice-cream, then it was time for me to head home.

So, not the most relaxing of weekends, but it was nice to be around family. And this coming weekend I'm heading to Paris for three days, so very much looking forward to that!

There were ducklings, so photos had to be taken!

One of the boats sailing along the Thames - this one was quite smelly!

Ducklings with their mother :)