In between rugby watching we did find time to explore the sights. The Castle - which perched on a craggy volcanic outcrop on the edge of the city is a spectacular sight. We also did a tour of one of one of the now underground 'closes'. These were once narrow streets where people lived in squalid conditions which are now buried under new buildings built over them. We explored old houses and streets and disappointingly, although we were in apparently in one of the most haunted places in Scotland..... there wasn't a ghost to be seen anywhere.... Scotland is definitely on the list for a return visit... perhaps a week in the Isles or the Highlands.
We touched down in Munich with our drinking buddies for the weekend, Andy and Sel, and headed straight for the action at Oktoberfest. We arrived late in the day on Saturday to a mass of carnage.... clearly we had some catching up to do if we were going to fit in.
After unsuccessful attempts to get into a couple of the 14 large tents (they hold around 4-6k people each!) we stumbled upon a smaller tent who would take us. And that is when we met Heidi. Heidi was our beer wench - and she set a cracking pace..... if she thought we had been on a Stein (they hold a litre) too long, she would let us know about it.... it was a case of drink up or get out..... Before you knew it we were in the swing of things up on benches/tables with everyone else singing along. The end of the night was marked with a very memorable chicken (one of half a million which would be consumed during the course of the festival... although not all by us). 
We all emerged the next day feelings pretty chipper and set off into battle once again. This time we arrived in time to get a place at a table in the Armbrustschützen (I think) tent. Once again we were fortunate to be surrounded mainly by Germans, with a few Italians and French for good measure. The Germans were all kitted out in their Bavarian outfits - including a table full of girl's next to us (pictured with Andy) much to Michelle and Sel's delight. The locals took us under their wing and without Heidi to contend with we could partake at rate more in line with our abilities.
The tent......
The tent came equipped with a Bavarian brass band and we soon knew all the words to German drinking songs. Fortunately 'Country Roads' was also on the play list and featured numerous times during the course of the day and night - combine this with beer and roasted Pork Hocks, these were very happy times.
A couple of beauties aren't we?
Shrewdly we had taken Monday off - so spent a day exploring Munich. To be fair this really only constituted a 1 hour open top bus tour (on which some ... or was it all..... took the chance for a quick nap).... but then sightseeing wasn't really the reason for being there.
A very funny weekend. Having done Oktoberfest once I think it something which was great to do once but maybe something we won't feel the need to do again... we'll see.
ABs v France - The Choke
Went to Cardiff to see the Quarter Finals.
France 20 / All Blacks 18. In the words of our good friend Mr Gregan - "Four more years boys".
Some AB supporters in happier times
In the Lake District with Bruce, Alan and TomTom
Bruce and Alan were in town and were kind enough to let us tag along on their trip to the Lake District. This was our second trip to the region - but with aid of a rental car and our faithful navigation system (TomTom) we were far more effective tourist this time round.
We were based in Bowness-on-Windermere - a cute little town where the locals cater to hoards of tourists by day and get thoroughly inebriated by night.
An unexpected highlight was visiting Beatrix Potter's house - a cute old cottage filled with original knic knack's and furniture - many of which feature in the illustrations of her books. We also managed a walk around a lake - where the four city kids in their black coats, black scarves and black umbrellas stood out amongst the more serious walkers with bright coloured windproof gear, tramping boots and walking poles.
As tends to happen when Carpenters congregate... there was also a focus on where we might find our next meal. Some adventures took as far into the countryside and over treacherous crossing in search of such local delicacies as 'Devonshire tea' or Gingerbread baked by a distant Nelson relative. Often others had beaten us to it - but Alan managed to satisfy this need as we were on the road out of the area.
We had a great trip and it was nice to spend some time with Bruce and Alan again!
Paris - not a bad spot for the Wake
It was to have been the final leg of the ABs campaign to win the World Cup.... but alas.... they weren't to feature. Having parted with our finals tickets we set off for a 4 day weekend (or the 'Wake' as it had come to be known) in Paris.
We were staying in the Latin Quarter - a great location, nice and close to the main tourist sights. This was fortunate, as the French Metro staff were on strike, meaning many lines were not working and some key attractions were shut due to a lack of staff. That's the French way I guess.
Although there were a few sleep-ins we packed a fair bit in... some highlights were:
- A day trip to Versailles, a large Chateau about 45mins out of Paris. A beautiful grand building - with expansive picturesque grounds. [Above left - a hardcore tourist - below - the grounds]
- The Galleries - we spent a day exploring the Louvre and took in the 8 huge Monet Waterlilly canvases at the Orangerie gallery.
The Eiffel Tower - we were in two minds about whether to go up - but were not disappointed that we did. Definitely the best view in Paris - albeit a bit chilly.- The food and wine - another fantastic meal at the 'Fish La Boissonnerie' restaurant we visited last time in Paris, possibly topped by a meal at 'Le Versance' ... a swanky boutique restaurant where the service was unlike anything we'd experienced before. We also dabbled in some wine... the highlight probably being 'Cafe Rouge' a small local wine bar near the Bastille area where they serve wine straight from the barrel and serve many others by the glass and the locals enjoy oysters fresh from the shell. A breakfast... love those french breakfasts......
- Shopping.... a successful trip to one of Paris' famous department stores.... say no more.
- Rugby - oh yeah... we watched the final at a bar. At least the Saffas one... a victory by the English would have made work intolerable for the foreseeable future.
It was our second time here and we thought that after this trip we might have felt like we had 'done Paris' - but it is an incredible city and there is so much to see and do. We'll be back again... maybe one more trip will do it?
