Cambridge 28th and 29th November 2009

After a delicious cooked breakfast of french toast, Michelle and I walked to Nottinghill and caught the 390 bus direct to kings cross rail station, we were the first on the bus and sat front seats on the top floor, great to take in the morning sights. We ran across the road for a quick coffee/strawberry thickshake. Heading back to the rail station we met Emma and Hayden to catch our 10.15am train to Cambridge. Emma had the flu and was feeling pretty crappy. The train trip was 45 minutes and we chatted most of the way. Once we arrived we meet Frenchy and Toby and walked to Toby’s place and dropped off our gear then walked into town with Matt for a look around and Lunch. We found a cafe’ across the way from Kings College and had Lamb Shakes and baked potato, Matt had a meeting so left at 1pm. Michelle and I then looked around the markets, I brought mint areo milkshake and Michelle a scarf and some. Then off to the college sights, we walked though Kings College around the back by the canal, and through the courtyard where we started. The whole time Michelle was FREEZING! We then decided to do another loop stopping at a Fudge shop for some sweetness. We wondered along the road and came across the Punting Boats, we picked up a ride for £10 each. The cruise was really interesting, Charles your punter was very informative telling us about the colleges on the way down and bridges on the way back. I asked many questions. We found out the following:
• Trinity college was home Isaac Newtown, Sir Ernest Rutherford
• Mathematical bridge was never made without bolts
• A bridge stone was left with a gap worth 15
• Window tax – boarded up
• Swan trap, St Johns could only eat on 1 day of the year 12th Jan because Swans are owned by the queen and she says they can eat them.
• Waste holes covered.
• Canals to ride horses in tax free
• Trinity and St Johns the richest, 800m
• Big rivalry between the two, one with a cannon one with eagle.
After that we headed back to Tobys for a fleeting visit. From Toby’s we went to see Genge, then the Empress pub for a drink with Hayden and Toby. Awesome Christmas decorations and a piglet, then to Asda for some booze and back to Tobys to get ready for our parties. Once ready we had a few ‘quiet’ drinking games to get the show on the road. At about 6.45pm Michelle and I wandered down to Chris Genges to help celebrate his 30th birthday and NZ beating France in a fantastic game of rugby. After the rugby and a bit of a natter with Genge we ran (in the pouring rain) back to Toby’s where the party was well under way and we could hardly fit in the door let alone the kitchen (party room) Drying off slowly we continued drinking and chatting and eventually finding a free space on the table to get back into the drinking games. I was accused of cheating by Richie and Hayden (I think it was because I was so good!). As well as these boys a few of Toby’s friends joined in. The party was filled with Spanish people as Toby’s flatmate was Spanish. It was 10am and time to see what damage had been done downstairs. Toby was sleeping on the couch amongst the stench of booze, chips, pizza and sweets, he woke when we came down and the clean up began. After about an hour the kitchen and lounge although still a bit smelly was clean enough for the boys to cook up some Bacon, Eggs and toast for the troop. Then off to the coffee shop for a caffeine fix. Mel wanted to check out town so we heading for a quick walk about the town before returning to Toby’s grabbing our gear and saying goodbye to make out 1.20pm train back to London. Michelle and I focused our journey back on a crossword and almost finished it. Back on the 390 bus and home by 3.30 for an afternoon of jobs and getting organised.

Rugby in Italy, Milano

Mum and Dad have been in Switzerland for just over two months now, so it was time for a visit. With the weather closing in in London, I was lucky to make it out in time. Sat next to chatty couple on the plane, so it felt like a long flight... Touched down in Geneva at 22:15, breezed through customs, although I found it weird when the customs official spoke to me in French. Caught the IR train to Lausanne, arrived 11.15pm. Mum and Dad were standing on the platform and I snuck up from behind and suprised them. Their house was only 5 minutes drive from the train station, they lived very near the Lake front next to the Olympic Museum. Had a tour round their house which was the top story of a four story block. Wooden floors, white walls, it had a modern yet old style (sounds a bit Irish I know). 3 bedrooms, lounge and attic and a balcony with a fantastic view of lake Geneva. Unpacked and made a nasty discovery... My body wash had leaked and gone through my bag, fortunately most of it was contained. Unloaded Mums groceries then sat down for a cup of tea and some apple pie. Chatted till about 1 pm. Woke up about 7.30 am. Special K, Toast and OJ for brekkie. Dad picked up some supplies from the local. We were on the road by 9. It was a cracker of a day, the sun beamed onto vineyards spread along the hill sloping down to lake Geneva. There was a low layer of cloud hanging over the lake but this did not detract from the majestic snow capped mountain ranges behind it in France. The view was absolutely stunning as we drove through the towns/city’s of Vevey (home to the European Nestle headquarters) and Montreux. We reached the end of the lake and Geneva and headed up the valley into the mountains. It was quite surreal driving along the flat motorway with towering mountains the height of Mt Taranaki only a few hundred metres away. After Martinay we began steadily climbing, we drove through tunnels with tour de france signs and winded our way past quaint little alpine villages. The border between Switzerland and Italy was in the middle of a tunnel (St Gemain). Then all of a sudden we were in italy, the only real difference was the switch in language on the signs from French to Italian. Not far into Italy we stopped for a coffee. There in the café was a man with an All Blacks jacket on, we thought wow a fellow Kiwi. But it turned out he was an Italian guy whose company was a sponser for the All Blacks (Ivecco) really nice guy who was excited about the game. The Volvo powered on as we drew near to Milan and the stadium San Siro, we missed our first turn off to the stadium so took the next exit. Then we hit the traffic!!! It was still an hour till kick-off and I thought surely all these people can’t be going to the game. I was wrong! Over 80,000 people packed out the stadium the largest ever rugby crowd in Italy. We used all the spare time we had before the game driving round trying to find a park, which created a bit of stress. Finally we found a possie, which we hoped, was a legitimate park! Then we jogged to the stadium with the crowds. After having troubles finding the right gate we eventually made it to our seats. The stadium was absolutely massive, the stands were very steep and leg-room was negligible. We were sitting on the 10-meter line in really good seats. The noise was deafening throughout the whole game except during the All Blacks Haka when you could have heard a pin drop! The game wasn’t great; again kicking and scrums dominated it. We did not have our number one side on in fairness to the AB’s. 20 – 6 was the final result. After the game we drove two hours to Verona, we had a minor mishap with Nav-man on the way. Turns out Dad had kicked the DVD player; we managed to sort it out just in the nick of time (otherwise we were in a wee bit of trouble! – Lesson learnt, you can’t always rely on Nav-man) We stayed in the Montessor Palace. A nice hotel in Verona, the concierge was an AB’s rugby fanatic and gave us free parking in the basement overnight. It was too early to go to bed so we went for a walk to try and find a wine bar. I was on map reading duties and got us a wee bit lost, but we managed to somehow stumble across a cool little wine bar. It was a nice low-key atmosphere and the wine/beer and chips were good. Back at the hotel we had a game of quiddler; Dad was the Verona champ. Breakfast consisted of stand up coffee and pastry at a café in the centre of town. Spent the rest of the morning wandering around Verona, we took lots of photos. Apparently Verona is one of the oldest settlements in Italy and one of the wealthiest. The highlights were Romeo and Juliets famous balcony, the arena, the food markets (where I saw the some whopping loaves of bread!) and the old roman styled architecture. We left Verona around midday and drove an hour and a quarter down the road to Venice, we jumped off the motorway one exit too early but nav man negotiated us safely across the bridge into Venezia. The next issue was finding a car park, the main carpark is near Piazzale Roma, we found it strange having to leave the car unlocked with the keys in the ignition, we thought we were being tricked but the signs reassured us… :-/ We walked to the ‘boat station’ and jumped on a ferry / water taxi which took us along the main canal. We took photos all the way and even managed to spot a kiwi flag hanging off one of the buildings. Venice is an assortment of ‘floating buildings’ some in a more upright state than others, bridges, glitzy stores (selling mainly murano glass), boatmen and their boats and lots of tourists. We stayed in the Zaguri bed and breakfast, in the San Marco . Our lovely Italian hosts English was not the greatest but they were very welcoming and offered us food and drink on arrival. We only really had half a day in Venice so we hit the streets walking in and out of shops, galleries and food stores. Dad had a wee accident with a leaking drink bottle in his bag. Mum bought some leather gloves and I bought a present for Michelle. I tried on a leather jacket but it was a bit pricey! Highlights of our afternoon/evening were the Ponte di Rialto and San Marco piazza at night. The next day was a massive travel day, we drove from Venice back to Lausanne, we flew along the Italian motorways at 140kph, with me behind the wheel and Dad on work conference calls. Had a run in with customs (or Mum and Dad did anyway) for not having their passports at the border crossing, tut tut! Dad took over the driving duties back in Switzerland, fearing me getting a hefty speeding ticket. With time in hand we checked out some of the hillside villages near Lausanne, very picturesque. Then I saw Mum and Dad’s new house, very spacious! Back at the apartment I had time to pack then have a passport panic attack. Let me tell you it was a stressful situation! Basically I claim it was Dad’s fault because when I handed him my passport after the border control to put back in my bag he put it in the most obscure pocket, unbeknown to me. He claims I did not search my bag properly! It turned out okay in the end I made my train with about two minutes to spare! The train took 45 minutes to Geneva Airport. I had to check in an extra bag into easyjet as I selected 0 bags on my flight, and I bought all the extra groceries for Mum. Arrived in Luton and then bused to central London. I arrived at Michelle’s at 10.30pm a long day travelling, but a great weekend.

Rugby trip to the Kingdom of Wales

This year I definitely wanted to make sure I made an end of year tour All Blacks match. And what better place than Wales, home of the Leak. Our destination was the Millennium stadium in Cardiff. Michelle and I took the 7.45 am train from Paddington, the journey time was a nick under two hours. With plenty of time before the game, we wandered round the city, trying to dodge the heavy showers. Cardiff town centre is very well set-out with lots of malls and public areas. One thing that stuck out for us was the share number of jewellery shops, literally every shop in one mall in particular had jewellery in the front window. As we wandered through one of these malls I randomly bumped into the only welsh person I knew, my boss John. We also popped into a couple of sports stores and bought beanies for the game, Michelle also picked up some running leggings and we both shared steak, leak and potato pasties. Game fever was slowly gripping the city as the day wore on and every second and third person had a red jersey on! We went to the indoor markets and purchased a couple of souvenir items. Whilst munching on Chelsea buns we walked up to the Cardiff castle, but decided not to go in as it looked like ‘just another castle’. We decided to try and find our hotel; and as we were walking along the street I noticed my friend Summer sitting with a bunch of Kiwi’s in the Varsity Pub, we popped in for a drink and a quick catch up. Our hotel was just round the corner so we dropped our gear off. Michelle was suffering from effects of a long week so she had a quick nap in the hotel. However I was raring to go so I went straight back to the pub. Now the pub was really chocca with red jerseys. Everyone was watching the football Cardiff vs Swansea a big local derby, unfortunately for the masses Swansea came out on top. Meanwhile Richie, Mel, James and Emma arrived so met up with them at the haha bar and grill down the road. There Michelle joined us and we had a few more drinks and something to eat. At about 4.30 we started walking with the throngs of Red jerseys to the game. The streets had been closed off to the traffic, which made life easier for everyone. Michelle and I were gate 7, right round the other side of the stadium. We went straight to our seats (Behind the try-line, LHS, 2nd from the top) afraid we were going to miss the Haka, sitting amongst a bunch of Kiwi’s we were bound to see someone we knew (Nathan Hudson). With the roof closed the atmosphere in the stadium was something to behold, especially during the Welsh anthem’s. The fire show before the game was spectacular, even though it left a slight Kerosene taste in the mouth afterwards. It was a game dominated by kicking and pressure, and the fact the ground was very soft did not help the players either. Dan Carter was definitely not a favourite with the locals after head-highing a welsh player. However, NZ still triumphed 19-12. Headed to zero degrees after the game where we had a ‘few’ more drinks. Ate pizza and watched David Hayes beat the giant Russian (Valuev) on points. The night from then on was a bit hazy, but we did catch up with Conrad Smith and had a good old shake on the d-floor. Bed by 1.30 ish.
Awoke at 10 am, the room was so pitch dark it felt like 5 am. Checked out and left our bags behind the front desk. Went down to Sainburys and bought breakfast, fruit juice, apple pastry and sultana scones. Then we decided to go for a wander round the city. Stumbled across a parade for the war veterans over by the town hall. Then we skirted the castle through the botanic gardens, our fingers hovering over the shoot button. We wandered down the river, past the boat shaped millennium stadium and the mosaic artworks for all the countries in the 1999 world cup. Crossed the river to look at the markets, the Vendors were selling cheese, meat, curry’s etc. I bought an Onion Baji and Michelle some goats cheese and sun dried tomato crackers. Bumped into Eddie and his bro and had a quick catch up. Went back to the train station to see if it was possible to get on an earlier train, not possible apparently. So with time to kill we watched an aweful movie at VUE “Men who stare at goats”, I was so bored I fell asleep in the theatre. After the movie we went for a walk down to Cardiff Bay, saw a sign that described the water quality as poor, so it was lucky I didn’t bring my togs! It was 5 o’clock and getting dark by the time we finished our walk. We went to the Prince of Wales pub and watched Chelsea beat Man Utd in a premiership game (funny shot of person cleaning their teeth at the game). Then we picked up our bags from the Pack and Thistle Hotel and picked up Subway on the way to the train station. Great weekend in Cardiff.