We have come to the end of our trip...

Ah, Starbucks, saviour of many a day... (in this case, Portland)

This post may take time to get to you, as we are having a few issues with the website at the moment. Anyway, today is our last day of the trip, tonight the kids and I are getting on a plane back to NZ. And we are looking forward to it - especially these last few days in this hostel! But unfortunately, when you are booking budget accomodation, and leave it to the last minute to do so, you can't be too fussy about what you end up with. There are not enough bathroom facilities here, and when I say that you could wait 3-4 hours just to use the toilet, that is NO exaggeration! The shower rooms are alive with mould, the kitchen is dirty, and our beds had dirty linen on them when we checked in. We won't be recommending this place to anybody!

So the last few days.... well, we left Crescent City and drove through the redwood forest, along the 'Avenue of the Giants', and that was spectacular! The trees were just huge, and we even fitted our car through the drive'thru tree. It would have been lovely to have an entire day to drive that road. We could have easily stopped more frequently to get out and explore.

So now we are in San Francisco, we arrived on Friday night to cooler temperatures and a strong icy cold wind. Yesterday (Saturday) we took the streetcar down to the waterfront and looked at Pier 39 which is a great big shopping place full of craft shops, gift shops, various entertainment and cafes/restaurants. Very busy but a great atmosphere. In fact all of this city is very busy. Sometimes you just have to wait on the side of the footpath and give way to all the pedestrians!

Today once we check out of this dump, we are planning to go to Golden Gate park (which is bigger than central park in New York), and have a look round there before heading to the airport. The kids have seen a different side of life here too - lots of homeless people, some begging in the street, some sleeping at any time of day, in any place out of the way of the hustle and bustle. They have also seen a dodgy looking guy sitting on the side of the road with needles, injuecting himself full of drugs! And yesterday down at the wharf there were 2 homeless guys arguing and threatening to kill each other! Not to mention all the black people who seem friendly enough and don't seem to bother anybody, but many of them really do look quite intimidating.

Anyway, it has been an amazing 10 weeks with many highs and a few lows, but quite an adventure.Looking forward to seeing you all very soon....

Just a bit breezy near Golden Gate Bridge

Feeding the birdies at Oregon Zoo

Into California...

The amazing Crater Lake

Well according to the road signs we have passed in Oregon, and the tiny bit of California we have seen so far, they are more worried about your litter than your life! Yes, depending on which county you are in, you could be fined anything from $92 - $147 for not wearing your seatbelt, but $500 - $6250 for tossing your lolly wrapper out the window!!! Really???

Anyway, we are nearing the end of our trip now, with 4 days to go for myself and the kids, and we can finally say that taking out insurance will pay off! This morning both Stefan and I had to visit the doctor, at a cost of around $400 NZ! And what a process! When we arrived I had to fill in 2 forms, which were then entered into their computer, my ID photocopied, then they printed out some forms which I had to read and sign, (I think I signed 8 pieces of paper for them!) then we were seen by a nurse who took complete medical history, checked all our vitals etc, and then we were seen by the doctor who went through much of this history again and was incredibly friendly and helpful. Then I had to sign 3 separate forms at the pharmacy before they would hand over the prescription, and got detailed instructions of all the do's and don'ts for the prescriptions from the pharmacist. During this process though, everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful, and very interested in where we come from, and our travels.

And the reason for the visit, well at one of our scenic stops on our journey the day before, I was eaten alive by bugs and had an allergic reaction to a bite on my right hand - yes, it looks like I've had some sort of implant under my skin. Can't see my knuckles anymore, and the kids are totally freaked out by it. Every time I hold my hand up in front of them they get all squirmish! And I thought that while I needed a doctor, I better get Stefan's foot checked again as the infection is not clearing, and he is still in lots of pain. Poor kid picked up this infection in Valencia, got some cream in Italy, antibiotics in England, and yet it still is a big problem. So, I have antibiotics which I'm not that thrilled about, and Stefan has been given a different cream which is supposed to be much better than what he had been using. The doctor seemed quite surprised that he had been given the tube he had been using. And she said it would still take another 3 weeks to clear! Fingers crossed!

So anyway, back to our travelling, we left Eugene yesterday and drove further inland, first stopping in one of the many national parks, at a place called Salt Creek Falls (where I was attacked by bugs). But it was a beautiful peaceful place. We had a picnic lunch there and then walked down the trail to look at the spectacular waterfall which is the second largest in Oregon.

Di at the Salt Creek Falls

And Nicolette and Stefan

We then carried on down the road, straight into a storm (despite picnicking in 28 degrees 15 minutes earlier) and the car got pelted with some huge wild hail stones. The noise was awful and visibility was dreadful, so we crawled down the road for a while. The road and countryside around us was completely white with hailstones! Thankfully it didn't last long, and we got to Crater Lake which was amazing. Right at the top there were still several patches of snow dotted round the mountain, and Lucas and Xanthe jumped straight into it. The views of the crater were fantastic and we stopped at a few different points around the mountain to take in the views. Parts of the road around the mountain were a bit hair-raising, but spectacular scenery. We got into Klamath Falls at teatime, and the kids jumped into the pool at our motel the minute we got there.

Snow!

The kids near the Crater Rim village

This morning we were hoping to have a look round the town centre, but instead admired the inside of a doctors office, and by the time we got through that, collected our prescriptions, we grabbed some lunch then got back on the road to Crescent City, which is on the coast at the north end of California. We drove through some of the redwood forest on the way, and it was beautiful. Even the kids were overwhelmed with these giant trees. And we haven't even seen the REALLY big ones yet!

Anyway, looking forward to getting home now, and some home cooking again. All of our accommodations in the last week, and for the next few nights have been motel-like units which are comfortable, and have included a fridge and microwave! So at the moment, we are getting creative with microwave meals, but yes, really looking forward to home cooking!!! Not to mention my own bed with a few cats by my side!

Weird and Wonderful Americans

I am quite liking the American people, yes there have been some slightly dodgy ones that we have seen, but they seem to be in their own world and not really bothering anybody - like the half dressed ones in Pioneer Square in Portland who were dancing and making strange sorts of moves, but totally in their own world - possibly another planet(!), lots of homeless people holding up cardboard sheets with their sob story, and then there are the black people who seem to keep to themselves, but really fit the stereotype we see on TV. But overall, I have found that they are very friendly and polite people, very chatty, and interested in where we come from and where we have travelled to. And shock horror - I am even liking the American accent. Strangely, I find myself enjoying listening to it! I never thought I would ever say that!

Anyway, tonight we are in Eugene, and enjoying another hot evening. The coast was quite chilly, around 15 degrees, but strong cold winds blowing through. Our car has a thermometer on it, and it was funny watching the temperature rise as we headed inland again from the coast. We have gone from a cool 16 degrees to 31 degrees in less than an hour.

We had 2 nights in our log cabin in Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon Coast, and yesterday enjoyed a lazy sleep-in, and slowly sorted ourselves out. The playground was right outside our cabin, all built into a giant sandpit, and Lucas enjoyed digging his way through to the other side of the world - well maybe just a hole deep enough that he could stand in with only his head poking up! We then headed across to the beach and climbed the giant sand dune which was really steep and hard work to climb, and we hired a board ($10 for 4 hours), and the kids enjoyed surfing down the dunes for the afternoon.

So now we are on the road each day, making our way south to arrive in San Francisco on Friday night, where we have 2 nights before the kids and I fly home. We are having some interesting stops on the way though.

Anyway, now that internet is working ok again, here are some photos:

Outside our hostel in Portland

Xanthe feeding a lorikeet at Oregon Zoo

Xanthe still feeding a lorikeet

Kids outside Portland market

Our log cabin at Cape Kiwanda

Stefan (in distance) surfing down the sand dune at Cape Kiwanda

Di at top of sand dune

Glen at top of sand dune looking down at beach below

We got to Portland!

You should see the rental car we got! It looks like a station wagon, but its huge inside, and so modern that its from the future. Yes, we have the 2011 model of Toyota Sienna! We don't even have to open the doors - we just press a button on the remote, and it will open and shut the doors for us! But anyway, you don't really want to hear about the car do you!

So we left Seattle and stopped for an early lunch in Tacoma, then continued south and detoured off the track a bit, to the Mt St Helen's visitor centre. It was a beautiful area, and the kids are now experts on the 1980 Mt St Helen's eruption! They seemed really amazed at how the eruption changed the landscape (and even the shape of the mountain) so dramatically.

We arrived in Portland late in the afternoon, and it was really hot here. Quite a contrast to Seattle which was quite a bit cooler. The temperature here is expected to get well into the 30's over the weekend!

Anyway, we are staying in a hostel close to town which is beautiful. There are 3 big old 2 and 3 storey houses which have each been turned into private rooms, and they are very comfortable and very spacious rooms, considering its just a hostel. There have been some hostel rooms we've stayed in which have been smaller than the average bathroom! So we are immediately liking this place, which also seems very homely, and is surrounded by big trees and a beautiful private courtyard, home also to a number of squirrels!

Bye for now ...

Seattle + Victoria

Since arriving in America, I've been feeling the effects of the flu and jetlag, so haven't been too excited about being here - but on the mend now. It has been a bit cooler here which has been quite refreshing, especially the mornings which have been cold and overcast every day, clearing in the afternoon.

On our first day here in Seattle we went downtown to the markets, which were very crowded, but offered so much. So much activity and choice. We also walked along the waterfront for a while, along to the Olympic Sculpture park which has easels set up on the terrace, free to use. So the kids all made themselves comfortable and started sketching the view in front of them - all except Lucas who drew an alien-monster-dinosaur-car/plane????????? And passers by all commented on their artistic talents!

Outside the Pike Place Markets




Drawing at Olympic Sculpture Park

The following day we were up really early to catch the first ferry across to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. The first half of the ride was OK, but the second part was a bit rocky, and very foggy. The boat had to continually sound its fog horn. Thankfully the kids and I had all taken travel pills and got through it ok. Victoria was beautiful, but an icy cold wind blew through the city all afternoon. We had a look round the city, and checked into the Queen Victoria hotel (we had bought a packaged deal months ago which included a return trip on the ferry, and a night's accomodation), which was really really nice and luxurious. The kids took advantage of the indoor heated swimming pool, while I caught up on some rest. We then walked down to one of Glen's friends/colleagues houses for dinner. He cooked us a lovely big bbq and was a great host. He has a big old dog which has arthritis in its hips, however was really keen to play fetch with the kids and kept them amused all night. He also has a big friendly black and white long haired cat which reminded me of my one who we lost in February, only this one was a girl. She was gorgeous!

On the ferry to Victoria

The following morning we all enjoyed a big breakfast of pancakes (first time since we left Chch), with fresh fruit and maple syrup, which was so yummy, and then went for a walk through Beacon Hill park which was right behind the hotel. We walked up to the lookout, visited the children's petting zoo, where the kids were able to get right in with the goats and play with them, and then spent some time in the playground. We also had another look around the harbour as it is beautiful and wasn't as busy as it was when we first arrived. Our boat trip back to Seattle was much smoother and the sky clearer, so much more enjoyable for all. And a wealthy looking middle-aged couple sitting alongside us on the boat commented on how lovely and well behaved the kids were! That was lovely to hear, but really, if only they had been around this morning when a grumpy old man was banging on our door cause the kids were being noisy and he was trying to sleep! For goodness sake, it was 10am! And I was grumpy too so he didn't get alot of sympathy from me! Ooops, I'm turning into a horrible person!

This baby goat really liked Lucas's trousers!

Looking over Victoria Harbour

Anyway, today back in Seattle, Glen gave me some time off from the kids (the first time in over 8 weeks that I have had more than 5 minutes away from them - and much needed!) We all walked into town, and Glen took them on the monorail out to the Seattle centre, to visit the sci-fi museum, music centre and space needle, while I stayed in town and wandered around the shops in peace! However my joy soon turned to horror, when Jeremy (haha) dropped his load on my shoulder as I walked across the road! Only a little bit of it got me thankfully. Maybe this was karma for wanting to spend some time without my children! However when I turned my head - there was Macy's, and so I just HAD to go there to buy myself a new top! A few hours and a fresh latte later, I jumped on the monorail and joined them for the rest of the afternoon, and we continued to look around the Seattle centre, which is a big outdoor area with park like grounds, the space needle, various other attractions, museums, fairground activities, foodcourt, gift shops etc, and we had some dinner before heading back to the hostel for the night.

Kids at the top of the Space Needle

Kids at bottom of Space Needle

Tomorrow morning we pickup our rental car and drive to Portland, where we have 3 nights.

Thought for the day: Cats are like potato chips - you can't stop at one!

Yes, we're in America!

Wow, we left Lisbon yesterday morning, but that seems like so long ago now. And I am now in my 41st hour without sleep, so I'm totally wiped out at the moment too!

We got out to Lisbon airport, and it was a real mission checking in. Thankfully they were able to check our luggage, and print all our boarding passes right through to Seattle, which was great, but the lady at the check in counter had no idea what she was doing, and we stood at the check in counter for more than half an hour while she roped in extra help to get it all sorted for us! Never mind!

We got to Frankfurt airport and stayed there all night, had some supper, watched the planes coming and going and looked through a few shops. Stefan, Xanthe and Lucas all dozed for a few hours early this morning on the seats in the airport before we had breakfast, but the goal was that we would all be tired and sleep for our journey across the Atlantic, and feel alive enough to enjoy the afternoon here in Seattle, as we arrived before lunchtime - we left Frankfurt at 10am and arrived here just after 11am. (we are 9 hours behind Europe). Poor Lucas was asleep before the plane even backed away from the terminal! Everyone else (except me) managed to get at least a little bit of sleep on the plane. I put my seat back, grabbed a pillow and blanket and shut my eyes for a few hours, but was not able to fall asleep - despite the fact I felt that I was struggling to keep my eyes open, my brain wouldn't shut off!

 Things to do at Frankfurt Airport - sleeping and plane watching...

Arriving in America and going through their border patrol was no where near as bad as what I expected it to be. It was quick and painless, and the customs officer had a great sense of humour! But to our total horror, when we collected our luggage, one of the suitcases has been damaged somewhere between Lisbon and Seattle, beyond use and any hope of repair. The frame at the front is completely bent and buckled, and and the top of the case has been completely cut open and the zips wrecked. Thankfully nothing appears to be missing from the case, but we are totally horrified at the state of it. At least we have a spare pack we can use, as I picked up mum's large case from Jolanda, which has my original pack, AND all my stuff in there.

So anyway, now we are just hanging out in the hostel, will find an early dinner, march through the showers and all benefit from an early night. Its quite comfortable here, with a huge kitchen/living area, with a computer room, library, tv room, laundry and games room, all modern and spacious.

Tomorrow we will have a look around Seattle, perhaps at the markets and a few things downtown, and on Sunday we are taking the ferry out to Victoria (Vancouver Island) for a night. Glen knows people who live out there, who have invited us for dinner, which will be lovely. Then we have a couple more nights back here in Seattle before starting our trip south towards San Francisco.

Looking back at what I've just written, I'm quite amazed as my brain isn't functioning very well from lack of sleep, so I'm going to go now. Its only 4pm here now, but I think I'll say goodnight!

Probably our last post in Europe - next stop - America!

The last few days have gone really quick. Hard to believe that we leave Lisbon today, fly to Frankfurt this afternoon, when we get there, we are checking in our stuff straight away for our flight to America early tomorrow morning. And once we have gone through security etc, we will get some supper, and relax for a few hours before heading for our departure gate. Our aim is to sleep on the plane, as we arrive in Seattle at lunchtime(!) their time, and we want to last until bedtime!

Anyway, while Glen has been attending the conference here, the kids and I have moved at a more relaxed pace, generally spending the mornings sleeping-in and slowly getting ourselves sorted, and then heading out to explore Lisbon for the afternoon. Poor Glen is a bit tired though!

We walked up the hill behind us, looked at the cathedral on the way, then up to Castelo do Sao Jorge, (St George Castle), which was amazing. The courtyard areas were really lovely, and thankfully very shaded with big trees, as it was a hot day. We had a late lunch at the cafe up there, joined by numerous pigeons (including Jeremy), and lots of peacocks, and a few cats! The kids loved it. The kids had fun climbing in and out of the castle itself and thankfully most of it was accessible. We spent about 3 hours in there!

From the courtyard of Castelo Do Sao Jorge


Lunching at the Castle


Walking/Resting on the castle walls

We also successfully navigated our way through the subway system (2 different trains), and without Glen's help, to get out to the aquarium. However once we stepped outside of the subway at our destination, we had no sense of direction and no idea which way we were supposed to go from there. After half an hour of walking round in circles and getting frustrated with eachother, Stefan proved that he is just like Glen with his ability to navigate through a foreign city and convinced us all that he knew what he was talking about, and sure enough, he was right! So we got there (we were actually never that far away from it), and it was an amazing aquarium. Quite big, and a huge range of sealife to look at. We all liked the sea otter, which was very playful and about 4 times the size of the otters that we see at the zoos in New Zealand.

The playful Sea Otter



Looking at the main tank

We also found a shopping mall to look around, and spent a few hours looking round the old streets of Lisbon, and at one stage managing to end up miles from where we thought we were! I'll stop short of saying we got lost, because we easily backtracked to where we wanted to be! So anyway, Lisbon is quite an exciting and vibrant city, and I've probably seen more tiles in the last few days than I've seen in my life to date, and the weather has been rather hot too! Average of around 30 degrees! (sorry to rub that in)

Refreshment stop on the streets of Lisbon

The hostel we have been staying in here is really interesting. It is an old building, but updated inside, and the service has been excellent. The staff have been really helpful and friendly, and nothing has been a problem. However it is also one of the noisiest places we have stayed too. Despite the fact that our bedroom is on the other side of the building to the bathrooms, we can hear the showers running as if they were in the same room as us. The noise from the street is constant, and all the floors creak too. Lots of the floors don't seem very "level", and some parts sag a bit. And the guests are amusing too. When we first arrived, there were a couple of young ladies here who liked to spend lots of time parading around the bathroom naked! There was also a very strange looking old lady hanging round for a couple of days, who was really weird, but liked to clean up after people, there are a few young couples here who are really lovely, and a youth group from France, most of them being teenage girls, and they seem to "take-over" the place when they are here.

Anyway, we must sign-off for now, as Glen is due back soon, and we will then be making our way to the airport.

Next time - AMERICA!

We made it to Lisbon!

Well hello again, we are now in hot sunny Lisbon in a hostel with fantastic and friendly service, but rather "interesting" facilities and guests!

Anyway, our last few days in England went quickly, and we didn't get up to too much. Glen had a day working in and around Bristol, and the kids and I had a quiet day at the motel, catching up on some rest. The following day we drove to Reading, which is just outside London, but went via Bath - which was beautiful, then Swindon to see the magic round-a-bout, which is 5 roundabouts all in one (yes, very odd, but fascinating to Glen), then up to Oxford where we spent an hour walking round the old colleges, and finally to our lovely Hotel in Reading. It felt like a night of pure luxury, however it was the same price as our very basic old hostel in central London.

At the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol

Walking around Oxford

In the morning we got sorted quickly and dropped our rental car off at Heathrow with plenty of time to check-in, however it was very efficient there and we had heaps of time at the airport to have a bite to eat and spend our last few pounds. When we arrived there though, the first check-in desk we saw as we entered the building, was the Air New Zealand desk, and my instinct was to head straight for that! Hmmm, 3 more weeks! For this flight, we were flying with TAP Portugal, and were very impressed with the service. Stefan hasn't coped well with any of the flights since we left Christchurch, and I'm dreading the last 2 flights that I have to do without Glen's help with him, however the entire flight crew bent over backwards to try and help. They were all concerned for his wellbeing, and spent ages chatting to him, offering him yummy food, drinks, toys, and even offered him the opportunity to sit in the cockpit with the pilots. Sadly he declined! But really impressed with their service anyway.

One last UK pic: Chasing a squirrel up a tree in St James Park, London

We arrived in Lisbon to 30 degree heat (sorry to all those at home) and once settled into our rooms, had a look round the waterfront, and then sat outside at a cafe in one of the pedestrian streets with some light refreshments and watching the football, with the slowest service on the planet! Yes, 45 minutes later Xanthe and Lucas got their milkshakes! And they even had the nerve to try and charge me for the orange juice which I ordered but never received - and yes, I asked! And right behind us in the street were a couple of drug dealers doing business too!

Praça Do Comércio in Lisbon

Today we took the tram along the waterfront to where some of the more famous monuments are, such as the Belem Tower and the monasteries. In the next few days while Glen is attending his conference, the kids and I hope to head out to the aquarium which is one of the biggest in the world, plus there is a famous old castle and church on the hill right behind where we are staying, and have a look round the city.

Anyway, my life lesson in the last week - never ever enter into an argument with an middle-aged English-man over Kiwi vs English accents!

Imagine living in.....

• Leek
• Redcar
• Cockermouth
• Loggerheads
• Wyre Piddle
• Chipping Sodbury
• Puddletown
• Baggy Point
• Start Bay
• Berry Head
• Ash
• Eye
• Seahouses
• Golden Pot
• Black Head
• Lizard
• Rugby
• The Needles
• Warboys
• Sandwich
• Isle of Grain
• Foulness Point
• Duck End
• Braintree
• Dorking
• Swineshead
• Leatherhead
• Hook
• St Bees

Yes, these are some of the odd/funny place names we have seen while travelling through, or searching the map, in England. Personally, I don't know if I'd boast about my address if I had to put some of those place names on the envelope!

Anyway, yesterday we took a day trip to York, which is another city surrounded by a wall. It has quite a colourful history, and at a tiny little gift shop inside the wall, the owner was very helpful telling us all about the history of the area and wall. We walked along the wall for a while, had a look through the city streets, found a castle to admire, and we even found a mince pie for Lucas! He has been missing his mince pies! We didn't have time to detour to the Yorkshire Dales, but were quite impressed with York.

Walking along the wall in York, England

Taking a break in York

This morning we got sorted and headed south again to Bristol. We stopped at Manchester so Stefan could look at the Manchester United Football Museum at Old Trafford. And yes, we finally have some photos of Stefan smiling! He was in there for a good couple of hours!

We then carried on south, stopping at a roadside service centre for some dinner, and didn't get into Bristol till nearly 8pm. So we weren't even close to having time to detour through Stratford Upon Avon. Glen was supposed to meet some people in town around 8pm, but because of the long day travelling, and a slow process getting into our motel room, (which is about 10km south of Bristol), he has called it a day!

Tomorrow Glen has meetings in town, so the kids and I might just rest all day. We are all starting to feel the effects of constant travelling and lack of sleep, and some of us have been feeling off-colour in the last few days. As much as we are enjoying all the things we are seeing and doing over here, we are also looking forward to being in our own home again and living a normal life again.

However time is flying now, we head to Lisbon this weekend for 5 days, then America for just over 2 weeks, which will go quickly, and then home.

Moving on up through England:

Enjoying the streets of Cambridge

We only had a brief stay in London, but liked what we saw. The bus tour was fantastic, but left us wishing we had more time to stop and look more closely at a few things. We picked up a rental car from Heathrow, which was a mission as there are 5 terminals there, and we didn't know which one we were supposed to go to. Turns out that all the rental car companies have courtesy shuttles which pick you up from the terminals and take you to their site. So that was fine, only when they were putting our car through the carwash before handing it over, one of their technicians jammed the key into the ignition and broke it, and after quite a long time of unexplained waiting, they finally told us they were desperately organising another car for us. So after leaving our B & B around 11am, travelling to Heathrow & lots of waiting around, we were finally on the road around 3pm!

We arrived at Colleen & David's house (Glen's aunty & uncle)in the small village of Loddington, and it was lovely. We sat outside with a drink, and to the kids delight, they have a small fluffy dog called Ziggy, who is very playful, and that was all the entertainment the kids needed. They absolutely loved her, and by the end of the evening, had completely worn her out! In the morning, we were up early and all went for a drive into Cambridge. It's a lovely city, although the "race for life" fun-run was being held which made carparking quite a mission! After Colleen did some brilliant work negotiating a good price between 2 different punters, we went punting down the river which was lovely, and got a good history lesson along the way while looking at the different colleges. We then looked through the inner city and the markets, the kids found an old fashioned sweets shop which was so cute, and eventually made our way back home. While David cooked us a lovely roast dinner, we went with Colleen to the Foxton Locks, and watched a couple of boats heading up and down the canals through the locks, and it was quite fascinating. And such a scenic area too. Once again, it was lovely to stay in a home, and Colleen and David were great hosts.

Lucas and Ziggy (don't get jealous, Zoe)

Punting on the Cam in Cambridge

The canal boats at Foxton Locks

We woke up this morning and unfortunately Stefan wasn't too well. He had a fever and bad headache, and no appetite, and wasn't looking forward to travelling, but we dosed him up on Panadol and he slowly came right. We had to be in Leeds by 1.00pm as Glen was dong a presentation at the university. Thankfully the university is very close to the city centre, and Stefan was feeling alot better so the kids and I walked around the shops, and then right into a medical centre. I had been meaning to find a doctor for him as he had picked up something nasty on his foot in one of the campgrounds, and despite a pharmacist in Italy selling us some potent lotion, nearly 4 weeks later it is no better. So I had him thoroughly checked out, and he now has antibiotics for the rest of the week. Turns out the rash on his foot has turned into a bacterial infection, which would have been making him feel a bit yucky, and as for the fever, well, the doctor thought it was a combination of heat & humidity, lack of sleep, poor immunity, etc etc, but nothing too serious, and thankfully he is feeling much better this evening. I'm also very grateful for the fact that taking him to the doctor here, and picking up the prescription is completely free for all children under 16 years! And if his foot doesn't improve before the weekend, I can take him back to any NHS centre in England free of charge.

So the afternoon went quite quickly, as we looked round the inner city and through a few shops, and sorted out medical issues. We then met up with Glen when he was finished, and checked into our hotel which is beside the river. We had a walk round the river early in the evening and stopped at a lovely Italian place for dinner.

Tomorrow we are planning to drive out to York, and then through the Yorkshire Dales, and back to Leeds. The following day we head down to Bristol, via the Manchester United Football Museum, and perhaps detouring through Stratford Upon Avon if time allows. Time is flying now!

One more shot of Cambridge (this is Stefan's version of a smile)

Holland to London

Our time in Holland went quick! And it was lovely to stay in a home for a few days, and Jolanda was a great host, and really looked after us. I'm sure she will sleep well tonight though, however she insists she is going to miss the noise....... Really?

We spent a day in Utrecht which is the town where my mother was born, and where my grandparents owned their bakery before making New Zealand their home. We went to the house where they lived and the current owners who run a dry cleaning business there (and whose family knew my grandparents), kindly invited us in and spent some time chatting away to us, while their big dog licked my feet. And they even gave the kids some souvenirs. We looked around the markets, the Dom Tower & cathedral, the canals, the railway museum, and the kids were entertained by a delightful waiter during lunch. Utrecht was a beautiful city, and it would have been nice to see some more of it. And the people were so friendly there too.

The house where Di's Mum was born, in Utrecht (and the current owners)

We also spent a day in the Hague, looking at a few shops, the art gallery where the original "Girl with the Pearl Earring" is, and looked through their parliament buildings, the working palace of Holland's queen, etc. We also saw some sand sculptures in the middle of the city, which were pretty cool too. Last night we walked down the road to a small Italian restaurant, which is owned by a lovely lady from Turkey, and she was just amazing, and she really made the kids feel quite special.

This morning we got up early (thankfully) and got to the airport with plenty of time to check in for our flight to London. However there was only one check-in counter open for British Airways and 3 flights all needing to check in at the same time! Not impressed. We finally got through and then had to race through customs and security and charge through to the other end of the airport to catch our flight. Thankfully our flight was running half an hour late otherwise we would have missed it!

Anyway, we got to London and grabbed a bite to eat before leaving the airport, then took the train ride into town, and walked a few minutes down the road to our B & B. Once we were settled in there, we thought the best way to see London's attractions with only a limited time here would be on a sightseeing bus. It was fantastic! The tour guide on the bus was hilarious and was joking around with the kids. We saw the palace, Hyde Park, the Tower of London, London Bridge, the London Eye, Parliament buildings, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, St Pauls Cathedral, where the rich and famous live, and many other buildings and places of interest along the ride which was close to 3 hours long (we got caught in a traffic jam during the trip due to a protest at Parliament Square), but it was great. The tour guide also gave us a good history lesson, as well as pointing out the sights. We got off finally near Buckingham Palace to have a closer look at it, as no buses are allowed to pass directly in front of it, then walked through St James park where the kids found squirrels! A young couple at the park saw the kids interest in the squirrels, so gave them some peanuts to hand feed them, and they were so excited. Yes, they had squirrels eating out of their hands!

On the London tour bus with Westminster and the London Eye behind

Do you think this face might put off the Palace guards?

Anyway, tomorrow morning we have a couple of hours to look around town again, then we are picking up a rental car and driving north to Colleen's house for a couple of nights. But for now, it has been a long day, (I got up more than 18 hours ago) and I seem to be the only one with eyes still open! Goodnight!

The photo version

Day 2 at legoland was also fantastic, and we all tried out some of the fun rides, and of course, we just had to buy ourselves a lego set, and the kids chose a limited edition castle set which you can't buy in New Zealand. We thought that would be the way to go.

Here are some more pictures of Legoland:

Meeting funny people at Legoland

Glen and girls on a fun ride


Mount Rushmore - Lego Style


Disney Castle - Lego Style


Hans Christian Andersen - Lego Style

After we left Legoland, we drove back to Copenhagen via Odense, stayed at a hostel for the night, which was quite a "squashed" affair, but comfortable enough, and had a lazy morning before catching our flight to Holland. We arrived in Amsterdam late afternoon, and met by mum's cousin Jolanda who has been taking very good care of us since we arrived. It is lovely to be in a home again, with home cooked food, our own room, and being able to drink water without having to pay for it! Today we looked at some of the attractions around The Hague, including an "overview" of Holland, in miniature: a place called Madurodam...

Girls looking over "little" Holland

Lucas admiring the view


Stefan supporting the Dom Tower

At the beach in The Hague at the end of the day

Well that's about it for today - time for bed!