The day London turned white!

So its been a while since our last post (Scotland, Seville and Grenada and Prague still to come......) but today London was white with snow! In true London fashion, everything shut down and so we were treated to a day at home. Although some of the day was spent working - we did find time to get outside before hunkering down in a pub to shelter with the locals.....

Here are some pics from around the neighbourhood.....

View from the kitchen window at 6:15 a.m.
A good day to stay in bed?

View of the neighbour's backyard.... BBQ anyone?

That's ice!!

Finborough Rd - once they'd cleared it

Bromptom Cemetery - Angels

Bromptom Cemetery - Angels


Mich and her little friend -
to be fair she only had a minute to make him......



Mich with someone else's friend.....
bigger - but not as fasionable.

Berlin by foot

After a late night arrival we woke on a cool clear morning in Berlin with two days ahead to explore this historic city. There are so many ways to explore Berlin by bike, by hot air balloon, in convoy in little cold war era cars - or by foot. We kept it simple and spent most of the day on a walking tour.

The tour was lead by a German born history student and was a great way to see the city's main sites, get a historical perspective as well as hear some of the more comical trivia associated with the city. Highlights of the tour were:

• The site of Hitler's Bunker - notable by the absence of anything significant marking it due to a desire to ensure it does not become a place of piligrimage for Neo-Nazis.




• The Nazi Air Ministry - a huge building built by the Nazis despite the agreement for Germany not to rebuild its airforce after WW1 and the site of an uprising by the workers in the cold war era.


• Unter der Linden - the tree lined boulevard and home to many historic buildings.


• The Brandenburg Gate - the iconic symbol of Berlin.


• The Memorial to the Jews murdered in the Holocast.




• Other memorials, including an empty underground library in Bebelplatz with enough shelves to hold 30,000 books - symbolic of the Nazi book burning that occurred here.


• Checkpoint Charlie - sight of many ambitious escapes during the cold war era.


• Into the tube system, closed off to East Berliners during the cold war era but which still ran under East Berlin enabling West Berliners to travel to/from work on lines that crossed into East Berlin.

After the tour we returned to the Topography of Terror - an open air museum on the site of the SS and Gestapo headquarters which features many photos and descriptions of some of the atrocities of the war. The photo that sticks in our mind is of 3 Jews on their knees infront of a shallow grave they had dug. Nazis stand behind them with pistols to the Jews heads and others watch in the background - one of the Nazi executioners is clearly laughing at what is about to happen. Incredible to think that such things could happen in such recent history.

After a long day on our feet we enjoyed a beautiful meal at Lutter & Wegner Gendarmenmarkt - an old restaurant featuring Austrian cuisine and the place where German sparkling wine (sekt) is said to have been invented. Great food, an extensive wine list and a great ambience made for a very enjoyable evening.

Day 2 was a little less action packed. More walking - this time exploring some antique markets, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche - the tower ruins which are now a memorial to the war and finally the Jewish Museum - which explores the persicution of Jews throughout history.

Packing the sites of a city like Berlin into 2 days was a challenge, but we enjoyed our time here and felt like we left with a better understanding of Germany's history, the wars and life under Soviet rule in the cold war era.

The Gooners Day Out

One of the plans for 2008 (and in keeping with our new found Britishness), we have decided to get into the football scene a bit more.



Thanks to some gentle encouragement from Crumpy and with the added attraction of their young star Cesc Fabregas we have become Arsenal fans - or 'Gooners'. So what better way to kick off our football watching season with a trip to Emirates Stadium to see the Gunners play Everton.



Aided by a detailed plan of attack (thanks Crumpy) we hit the day in true Gooner style. Here is a brief summary:

Step 1: Arrive, locate Arsenal merchandise store, be marvelled by wide array of Arsenal branded stuff (chocolate, wallpaper, toasters, undies, baby clothes ... you get the picture), acquire matching his and hers Arsenal scarves and leave with wallet a little lighter.

Step 2: Now looking like Gooners (scarves doned), head straight for the Arsenal Tavern to enjoy pre-match drink with your fellow Gooners. Note: warning to woman a) not many Gooneresses seem to frequent the Arsenal Tavern and b) the white house wine tastes like 'cat pee' (so bad Michelle didn't finish her glass - so that tells you something).

Step 3: Arrive Emirates Stadium, stand infront of large stadium sign with scarve over head looking ridiculous while you get the obligatory photo above:



Step 4: Find seats, watch game and soak up the clever Gooner chants, some of our favourites listed below (click links if you too want to hear the magic and wit that is the Gooners in full song):

• 'Stand up if you hate Tottenham' (http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/arsenal-chants/stand-up-if-you-hate-7/)
• 'We've got Cesc Fabregas' (http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/arsenal-chants/weve-got-cesc-fabregas/)
• 'Oooh to be a Gooner' (http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/arsenal-chants/oooh-to-be-a-gooner/)
• 'Are you Tottenham in disguise' (http://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/arsenal-chants/are-you-tottenham-disguise/)

Step 5: Relish the 3-1 victory over Everton and celebrate with a very greasy bag of hot chips liberally doused in salt and vingar cos a Gooner wouldn't have it any other way.

Sardinia -

Michelle in a new job and me having been flat out at work - a week in Sardinia could not have come at a better time. London days getting shorter and nights getting colder - a bit of time relaxing in the sun is just what the doctor ordered!

Cala Ganone

We flew into Cagliari (in the South of the island), picked up a car and headed north to Cala Gonone which sits on the east coast about halfway up the island. In the 1930s this fishing village was popular with Italian society people and slowly has developed into a tourist spot, but retains a 'village' feel. We had arrived at the start of the low-season - so it had a fairly sleepy feel to it - a perfect spot to recharge our batteries.

The focus of the first two days was on diving. It was great to be back in the water - especially the crystal clear waters of the Orosei Gulf. The real highlight of the diving was the KT12 wreck. This WWII German transport ship was sunk by a British sub and sits upright in the sand in 30m of water. With visibility of over 20ms the wreck looms out of the blue as you descend down to it. To its side are trucks (it cargo) sitting on their side half buried in sand. We swum around the wreck - and into some of the more open parts of the boat. The boat is in great condition and it was a real experience to dive on this little piece of history. Words don't do justice to describing this experience. Here is a link to someone's video of diving the same wreck for those who want to see more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB4aGvVu0i0

Cala Mariolu

Along the coast north and south of Cala Gonone are limestone cliffs which are dotted with caves, beautiful coves and white sandy beaches. So, for the next couple of days we spent a bit of time exploring these - in search of a nice spot in the sun to read a book.

View from room

Villasimius

The second half of the week we drove back south and out to the coast to Villasimius - a slightly more 'resorty' area of Sardinia.

We were again lucky with the weather, so it was time for more of the same here (less the diving). The nearest beach to us was nice, but full of guys trying to sell stuff. Fortunately, unlike Cala Ganone where the beaches could typically only be reached by boat, the beaches around Villasimius were accessible by car. So a short drive up the coast was rewarded with a nicer beach and freedom from the hawkers.

Through the holiday we were treated to incredible food. There was an emphasis on seafood - with mussel and clam pastas and scampi and red cabbage pasta being two of our favourites! The pastas were simple but tasty.

Hummingbird

Sardinia is also famous for its suckling pig. This must be ordered ahead of time - so on our last night we asked our hotel to help us with this (English is not widely spoken in Sardinia). We were in for a fairly authentic experience.... the restaurant they sent us to was out of town near an industrial estate. We asked for a taxi to take us there - and when it arrived it was driven by a young Italian girl and in the passenger seat was another woman and a baby. When we arrived at the restaurant we were relieved to see another car in the carpark - but slightly confused when the 'taxi' would not accept any money. Fair enough we thought - perhaps we pay on the way home? Inside it was just us and two other tables. After some incredible antipasti the main dish was served - beautiful crisp, lean spit roasted suckling pig. It was melt in the mouth - Yum! After dinner - bloated with pork, we asked for a taxi to take us home. The chef nodded - pointed to himself and we were soon being driven home by him. Turned out our 'taxi' out there had been his daughter picking us up?! Again payment was politely refused - seemingly all part of the service as this small family run restaurant?!

You are what you eat - a couple of piggies

The wine in Sardinia was very nice too. The whites were Vermintino (a nice crisp white to be enjoyed in the sun at lunch!) and the reds mainly either Cannonau or Carigano - the latter being our preference. It is generally very cheap to buy - but the most famous Sardinian wines can get very expensive - up to 300 euro for a bottle of its most famous called Turriga.

We had a fantastic trip and came back thoroughly rested and relaxed. We really love travel in Italy and it has cemented itself as our favourite holiday destination.

Best of Britain

Well, its coming up to our 2 year anniversary in London, so we decided it was about time we unleashed the 'Britishness' that has slowly been developing within us. What better place to come out than 'Proms in the Park' - a true British traditional experience of singing and flag waving in Hyde Park.

In an unusual turn of events (befitting the unusual nature of the evening), London delivered a cracking evening, a rare event this summer - so the scene was set for a great night in the park. An added bonus and another fortunate twist of fate was that Uncle Bruce, a finely tuned singing machine, was in town... so conditions were therefore perfect as we lined up with 39,997 others in orderly fashion - being British, we would have it no other way.

Before we knew it, we were in - and as we popped our bubbles and poured ourselves a glass each, we were informed by friends that we had met up with, that unbeknownst to us, this was in fact a 'no glass event'. Despite much security, cueing and bag checking at the gate - our various glass objects had made it through..... very British... lots of fuss, but, fortunately for us, no real substance.

Its fair to say we all went into this night knowing very little about what we should expect. The real Proms were going on in the Royal Albert Hall nearby - the orchestra and singers performing for the well to do for the final time this year. And then there was us, and our 39,997 friends, spread out in Hyde Park soaking up the sultry tones of Bjorn Again - the world famous Abba revival band. Bruce showed initial promise here, and for a moment I thought we might have dance moves displayed, but in the end we settled for simple, but effective, flag waving - the Union Jack of course.

That is something not yet covered - you are no one at Proms in the Park unless you have a flag. Fortunately we had twigged to this and shrewdly purchased 2 Union Jacks on our way in. We therefore fitted in perfectly -however it did result in us being disowned by the kiwi friends we had met up with...... a small price to pay in the wider context of our display of British nationalism.

The night was characterised by good nibbles, nice wine (albeit contraband), great company and a significant amount of flag waving. The highlight for us all was the last half hour, where the traditional side of the Proms comes through. Flags waving and the crowd standing, we joined in and sung British classics such as Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, Auld Lang Syne and of course the National Anthem. Happy, happy times - and a defining moment in our British adventure.

In all seriousness, we had a great night - and it was great to be part of this tradition, which I gather has been going on for over 110 years now.........

Lake Como - Clooney country

With the non-existent summer drawing to an end in London - it was time for a dose of vitamin E before heading into Autumn. We arrived into Milan late on Friday night and with a slight sense of trepidation set off in our little rental, armed with TomTom, to the small village of Lezzeno on the shores of Lake Como in the north of Italy.

Apart from the obvious (the lake) Lake Como is probably best known for being host to George Clooney who has a house there. Ever since his arrival it has been a popular destination for woman to spend weekends Clooney spotting. Usually this activity is a woman only sport - but Michelle and Sel were kind enough to let Andrew and I tag along.

After a number of 'turn lefts', which were actually requests for me to 'turn right', we arrived at our destination. Despite the narrow winding roads which twist around the lakeside and through villages with old Italian houses forming the curb on either side of the road, a quick check revealed that we had managed to retain both wing mirrors - success!

Day 1 - on the set of Star Wars.............

We woke the next day - opened the curtains and stepped onto our small balcony. It looked across the lake which is surrounded by step mountains. It was a beautiful day, without a cloud in the sky, and we knew we were in for a great couple of days.

The view

As you know, we are of course huge sci-fi fanatics, so the other big draw card at Lake Como was Villa del Balbianello - which of course provided the backdrop of scenes in Star Wars Episode II. After a nice hard boiled egg (thanks Andrew), we ran to catch a boat across to Lenno, home to the villa. The vlla was built in 1787 by a Cardinal from Milan - he sounds like a bit of a dodgy guy, as he built a hidden passage from his dressing room and into the guest room.... hmm. Anyway - the villa changed hands a number of times - before its final owner, a famous Italian explorer purchased it. Following his death it was bequeathed to the State and it is now open to the public to explore its garden and tour the rooms of the villa, which are filled with furniture and collectibles he purchased at auction and on his travels. Although the prospect of looking around a garden didn't really light our fires before we arrived here, it was an interesting spot and garden and villa were pretty incredible.

Villa del Balbianello

After a short spell spent rehydrating with a cold beer in the sun, we again jumped on a boat - this time to Bellagio - the main tourist town on Lake Como. Bellagio is filled with cafes and restaurants, art and craft shops and the other sorts of things you would expect in such a place. It was fairly pretty and an easy place to kill a few hours wandering round.

Dinner on the balcony

Dinner was to be had at a restaurant near Bellagio. After a 20 minute walk we stumbled upon it - sitting on the water's edge in a quiet village it looked like the perfect spot for dinner. Unfortunately, while you could not fault the vista from the restaurant - the staff were probably the rudest we had ever encountered. We didn't let this get us down though and before long we had given up trying to befriend them and decided to enjoy and be bewildered by their complete lack of interest in making our time there enjoyable. The food was pretty good though - and we embraced our outdoor lakeside location by trying fish from the lake in all shapes and forms - big ones, small ones, salted, dried, fried, grilled... you name it.

Day two - The paddle-steamer

We awoke again to another beautiful day and set off across the lake again - this time on a genuine paddle-steamer. Andrew and I were clearly showing too much interest the the inner workings of the ship and before long we had been invited down a small ladder into the bowels of the ship and into the heart of the engine. It was scorching down there, with four jets of fire providing the heat to keep the boat steaming along. The crew can't see what is going on above, but the captain provides instructions via a brass listening funnel. After a few photos and time spent with our new friend, we rejoined the rest of the passengers and relayed our experience over a freshly brewed coffee. I guess this was the historic equivalent of being invited to sit with the captain on a 747 nowadays.

After a brief stop in another of the lakeside villages we headed to Varenna - in search of a picnic lunch. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as it turned out), we couldn't pull together a picnic - so ended up at a lakeside restaurant (Milug Bar?). We had a fantastic meal here, washed down with a glass of local white wine - Yum! Varenna was a really pretty little village - probably our favourite of the villages we visited.

Varenna

The afternoon was spent lazing on our sun deck down by the lake. The locals were wake boarding and skiing and it was very reminiscent of summer afternoons up at the lakes in the old days in NZ. While we didn't try our hand at skiing, we did manage a couple of swims in between sunbathing, and the water, although crisp on entry was beautiful once you were in. After a few drinks we enjoyed dinner at our hotel restaurant (again overlooking the lake).

The sun deck, with restaurant and hotel in background

Day 3 - a lakeside picnic

Our last day, so we set off for Milan but with a stop in Como - the main town of the lake. Unfortunately most of the shops were shut, but we did some window shopping and managed to find a supermarket to get some stuff for a lakeside picnic. We found a nice spot on a ledge by the lake and with the company of the nearby local drunks, enjoyed our snacks in the sun. We had a slight incident when the lake decided to join us (due to the wake of a passing boat), but fortunately the sun dried us out in no time!

We managed to get back to Milan without incident and this trip reinforced Italy's status as a favourite travel destination for us.

Tour de Bourgogne

Inspired by the Tour de France, we decided it was time that we also got a bit revolutionary and did some peddle pushing ourselves. So as the Tour de France was finishing in Paris, we were setting off on a short cycling circuit through the vineyards of Burgundy. I appreciate we are perhaps in a different league to the real Tour de France - but you have to start somewhere right?

The destination for our latest holiday was Beaune a small town in the heart of Burgundy's wine country about 20 mins south of Dijon. So after a nice journey from London by train we were all set for what would prove to be 4 very relaxed days filled with shopping, wine, food and relaxation.

It didn't take us long to work out that in Beaune they are big on wine. Shortly after arriving we were sitting down to a 5 course dinner matched to wines. The restaurant had over 70 wines available by the glass (http://www.bernard-loiseau.com/). For us the food was the highlight here though - two standouts being the truffle and asparagus and an incredible dessert - complete with local sparkling wine poured over it at the table. Yum!

Saturday morning in Beaune is market day - so it was a great chance for us to explore the village properly. The food market was very good - lots of colour - fresh fruits, vegies, cheeses, meat and sweets. Something we hadn't seen as much of elsewhere were stalls with giant spit roasters loaded with whole chickens, small pigs and even rabbit. It all looked soooo good! You would think you were in heaven if you managed to stumble on one of these on your way home from a big night out!?

We also managed to do a bit of shopping picking up a bargain vintage coffee grinder (yes - another one) and a very cool vintage Champagne ice bucket (perhaps a belated travel momento from our trip to Champagne).

Continuing the theme from the night before, the afternoon was spent in a nearby Chateau - Domaine Senard (http://www.domainesenard.com/english/premiere.html) with a three course lunch matched with 8 wines... that's our kinda approach to wine and food matching!? With a fierce thunderstorm raging outside we were treated to a great introduction to the local wines - the whites Chardonnays and reds Pinot Noirs. The evening was spent sitting outside enjoying a balmy Beaune evening.

Sunday - time to get on our bikes. We used a local hire company who were great and lined up a couple of routes for us to cycle round (http://www.detours-in-france.com/). We chose one which went out to the north of Beaune and took us to 5 small villages nearby - including Savigny le Beanue (most famous for its reds) and Aloxe Corton (where we had been the day before). We had a great day cycling along small lanes surrounded by green vines between the villages. The fields of vines were occasionally broken up by spectacular fields of sunflowers in full flower - an amazing sight. Of course the Tour de Bourgogne would not be complete without a spot of wine tasting and so that took us to Chateau l'Ange Gardien (http://chateau-langegardien.com/).

We had a great time here - with Pierre the owner taking us through his whole range - 4 whites, 5 reds, 2 sparkling wines and his cassis. The champagne cocktail - Kir Royale originated in Burgundy, so Pierre also insisted we try one of his here before we left - very nice. He was a great salesman - with claims that each of the wines had some spurious magical qualities which ranged from them being slimming to another which was said to be an aphrodisiac. His wines are made for aging (40 years for the reds) and his whites included an 'Aligote' which is a white variety almost wiped out by phylloxera. Having finished this - we took a break and sat in the sun and enjoyed a picnic in the grounds of the Chateau.

Our time here wasn't all about wine though - so while in Beaune we also checked out the other main tourist attraction of the town - the Hotel-Dieu des Hospices de Beaune. This grand Gothic building was originally built to provide care and shelter to the sick and impoverished. Given its purpose it seems ironic so much was spent building this ornate place, but the building and its colourful tiled roof (common throughout Burgundy) is quite a sight.

After 4 days it was time to pack up our shopping, wine and things and hop back on the train to the hustle and bustle of London. Beaune was very pretty place and we could easily spent a few more days cycling around the region if we had the time. Perhaps we will make it back here some day - fingers crossed.

Random wedding - French bride in hot pink wedding dress - different