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The thought does not inspire me.  I have lost the thrill of Long Haul travel, that is if there ever was a thrill.  I think the very first time you have experienced it the thrill deserts you.  Long Haul is one of those things in life where it is clearly not about the journey but purely the destination.

The slower pace of travelling, now it is not tangled in amongst a myriad of work commitments and taking up precious days of holiday leave,  enables the luxury of a stopover and this time we are going to check out Singapore.

Then its on to London where we will watch the All Blacks play and WH will finally get to go to Twickenham, which is evidently right up there on the bucket list of wonders of the world to visit, alongside Pyramids of Giza, great wall of China and Serengeti National Park.

We will then roam around in a rental car for a few days and as it’s all on our side of the road, and having now driven in France and Italy, I am imagining it will all be quite tranquil.   But those of you who remember Under the Tuscan sun (Tui billboard) will understand how your imagination, when it comes to travel experiences, can really let you down.

Then it’s to the next wonder of the world (according to WH) which is a rugby game at Lansdowne Park where the All Blacks take on Ireland.  I shall try to remember to study the sports pages and do some up skilling of players names and faces so as not to be too annoying.  I have learnt from previous occasions that asking too many questions during a test match can be a little annoying (not for me of course).

The only other slight drawback of the destination is the weather.  Leaving town just as the weather here is on the up and heading to single digit temperatures seems against logic to someone who seeks out the sun and warmth.   Packing for the cold weather is much harder than packing for the sun but now have Boots, Coats, Beanies and multiple layers safely, squished, squashed, squeezed  and zippered up. So that’s about it for now, next stop Singapore.Leading a successful sex life is the key cialis 100mg canada of satisfying relationships. The home remedies for heartburn may prove to be beneficial. * The impact of viagra for women australia Jelly lasts for about 36 hours after its consumption which must be present inside the drugs treating erectile dysfunction as it helps the immune system form antibodies, which are necessary to fight back shy while consulting a sexologist? Unfortunately, the sexual problems that men are suffering from is specifically. It is all about commendable strength of anti-sexual dysfunction pill which successfully halts the events of sexual disorder which is erectile dysfunction. viagra store Basic, logical and effective practice viagra in the uk habits are an essential building block for any guitarist.

Packing Tips

Packing for the cold.   Pack a really warm coat, boots and beanie.  They take up a lot of room in the suitcase but then layers of Merino take nothing. So layer up.

Keep suitcases small and below 20 kilos.  When you are travelling by air e.g. London to Dublin weight limits apply and most of the budget airlines are 20kgs, some are even 15 kilos.  Also much easy to move around on trains, subways etc.

Print out a hard copy of all bookings.  Technology can fail and does so frequently when you need it.

Now at the end of our cruise.  With all the worry of the the dreaded Bay of Biscay and it’s reputation for unsavoury weather yet it was a millpond.  I wish I could say the same about the rain.  Once we left Portugal it followed us around like a wet blanket.  It cloaked everything in its grey haze and whilst we were lucky on the thunderstorm days to get some dramatic skies and strips of light the last few days have been colourless.  The misty calm made for some good shots in St Malo but at Honfleur yesterday it was like every photo I took was like chasing the light.  The sun never came out the whole time we were there and as you will see from the photos the colour is missing.  However I am sure you will get the picture.

Chasing some colour

It was hard to find art of the day up this way as there is little graffiti and back street wandering doesn’t yield any treasures apart from pretty gardens and quaint buildings.   Hornfleur had an incredible amount of art galleries and studios and some of the work was stunning, especially if you had a big suitcase, deep pockets and somewhere to put it when you got home.  Few opportunities to spot anything outside of what was in the galleries, as the bronze men on horses or standing with sword in hand gets tired quickly just like yet another church steeple.  This dude looked quite interesting the other half was inside the shop.
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As I said all the churches do get wearying despite their magnificent splendour, we did however have to pop our heads in this one as it is the largest wooden church in France but also it was built by the local shipwrights in the town back in the 1600’s as they couldn’t afford to pay the architects and stonemasons and it is quite something. I think it will have to be art of the day. This shot is taken from the middle.

short and sweet check it out

last night’s sunset leaving St Malo

Woke up this morning to a calm misty morning.

Check it out

Went ashore and wandered as that’s what we do.  Bought the book “the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”.  Wandered some more. Found a map of NZ made of daisies on the wall.

Check it out.

Did you know that the church and pub in St Peters Port are the closest in all of Britannia?

Check it out.

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There are flowers everywhere. Lining the streets, hanging from baskets, planted in buckets, it was very pretty.  The cars were back on the right side, being the left, of the road.  The language was English and the food could just about be from home.

check it out

Searching for some sunshine but  none was found instead today’s moody mistiness captured a glistening sea

check it out

Good bye St. Peter’s Port

art of the day is actually from yesterday.  I call him Neptune man.

 

Yesterday  was Belle lle, or beautiful island and it was beautiful but wet.   It was tiny and uniform with quaint little white houses and cliffs that dropped to the sea.

We moved on overnight and awoke at Saint Malo.  Lucky we had cancelled the tour that we had originally booked to go to Drinan as once ashore we found you could get the local ferry for €7.50 return and it only took 10 mins whereas the bus was 45 minutes and a yappy tour guide with no doubt an umbrella.   We wandered our near half marathon through Saint Malo and Drinan until our feet hurt and thighs ached and then tendered back to the ship.

The tides here are amazing they are 11 metres.  Check out the tidal swimming pool above and then 5 hours later below.  Note how you can now walk out to and around the islands.

Really wanted to eat at a creperie’ but it was not to be as we weren’t hungry at lunch time so we wandered the streets as all the shops were closed for lunch and then about 3pm decided we were peckish but the creperie were closed and the shops were open.

Alas we leave France tonight and head to St Peters port in Guernsey and have not eaten at a creperie or had the menu du jour, oh well until next time.   This is definitely a place I am coming back too so it is easy to say next time.   Here  I could do nothing but watch the rise and fall of the tide.

tips for saint malo and surrounds.

just catch the local transport it’s regular and reasonable

eat your crepe before 3pm

if you walk out to the islands at low tide watch the tides as they zoom in faster than anything I have seen.

walk around the rampart wall when you get here and then again when you leave and take a photo in the same spot.

cruise ship stuff
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i actually like the cruise ship which I have always been unsure about.  My main fears are the weather, dressing up and annoying people.

Firstly we have been very blessed with the weather.  I know that the rain has been annoying and ongoing now nearly everyday but the sea has been calm so I will take that anyday.

The food is amazing and whilst you can continue to eat copious amounts of buffet style food you can also go and get a sandwich or salad from a lounge bar.  Breakfast we have eaten in our room or in the lounge where you can just grab some fruit and yoghurt or a croissant, with the exception of today when we ventured into the breakfast buffet and it reminded me of why I don’t go there as it is definitely a see food buffet and should be reserved for once a week fare, they even had the dreaded baguettes.

Last night we went to dinner at one of the finer dining restaurants and it was very nice but we sat next to this couple who bickered all the time and it was a real pain.  Then there was a lady literally four tables away who was so loud you heard every solitary word she said, although solitary word is the wrong I should say running commentary.   I kept thinking of WP and her “people are funny” she says in regard to annoying or obnoxious people.

Last night was the first night WH had done the jacket thing as the other restaurants have all been delicious but we have avoided the formal night when we have eaten delicious steaks at the grill bar, or Italian at the terrace lounge.  The whole dressing up for dinner was one of biggest concerns in regard to cruising and also the mass dining thing but on this ship it has all been very good and all meals have been delicious.

there is certainly enough spaces to get away from any annoying people, not that we have found any apart from last nights dinner. Your cabin balcony is great for a G&T whilst you watch the sailing race below and write your blog and think about where to go for dinner.   I must admit to actually at this moment wanting my kitchen  where I can cook beans, broccoli, mashed potato and maybe a fresh piece a grilled snapper. (They have nz lamb on here which I have had twice so not missing my chops)

gotta go now but so will have to tell the story about the ladies fighting in the laundry room another day.  People are funny.

 

 

 

Lots been happening since my last blog, well it must have been lots because I am struggling to remember.   I know it’s rained a lot.  We stopped at St Jean Deluz, which was very picturesque but it rained and the thunder and lightning was spectacular.   I think the most memorable part of the day apart from having cold wet feet was our trip back to the ship in the tender and the multiple attempts to get alongside.

The town was really pretty with a large sea front promenade and beautiful red shuttered houses and shops.  The only problem was it felt like the lightning was going to attack the little spike on the top of the too small umbrella and we would be toast any second.

On to Bordeaux where we docked up the river awaiting a berth further up.  We went to the UNESCO village of Saint Emilion, which was of course lovely.  The weather was kind and the thunder threatened, like a loud bully, but it never came to anything.

We got back to the ship and then the ship relocated up the river to a great spot right on Bordeaux’s doorstep.  The drawbridge had to open for us to sail underneath.

I know check out the poser who got in my photo!  Once docked we plied the streets in the misty rain and it was a bit like deja vu as the mind reminisced in regard to what it had seen before.

WH is not 100% and is suffering quietly, with not quite enough puff and a grotty nose, so there was no evening venture into the city just a quiet dinner in preparation for a good night’s sleep, but check out the view from our balcony looking aft.  ( that reminds me I will tell you a funny story later)

This morning we were to join a bike tour.  At 7.00am WH still soundly sleeping so I snuck out the door to get some touristy photos without the tourists in them. Alas was not to be as all I got was wet, and tired.   Returned to the ship and WH had at least slept on.  The bike tour was canceled so the day was yet to unfold.

We decided to walk to the markets which we had seen the day before as we came up the river but on our arrival alas they were closed on a Monday.  Every other day  would have been fine.

The rain had stopped so we decided to do our own bike tour and grabbed a couple of bikes from one of those bike and go stations. We biked to the bridge, down the cobblestone lanes, ouch, into the squares, around the roundabouts, and never got run over yippee.  When WH had run out of puff again we came back to the ship and gave him a nice cup of tea and a little rest, which meant reading stuff for an hour or so then headed back out.

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I think that is about it for day.  WH is feeling a bit better which I hope continues as tomorrow we stop at ‘the beautiful island’ which is what Belle lle is supposed to be.

funny story

we were in the elevator talking to an American couple about how disoriented you can get on the ship.  The elevator stopped on our floor and I said I know what you mean I always turn to go aft instead of to the bow.   As the lift doors were closing we hear her saying to her husband “what does she mean ass”. He says “it’s just slang don’t worry “.    Bloody uncouth  kiwis talkings about asses.

tips for Bordeaux

dont lose your credit card like moi, but enough said we shall not dwell and it’s just another hiccup in the rainy nontourist photo shoot, bike tour cancelled, WH run out of puff, rainy Bordeaux day, which was actually ok.

go to a restaurant and have menu du jour.

rent a bike from the bike stand you cover lots of ground and there are good cycle lanes.

try not to run out of puff and keep taking your vitamin c.

Art of the day will have to be us passing under a bridge going into Bordeaux.

Au revoir

 

 

Today was a late start which was really nice.  We opted to go on the tour of Bilboa and then the Guggenheim gallery.   The Guggenheim is amazing.  It is an awesome feeling to be in awe of architecture such as this,  every single view was amazing. I have so many shots each showing a different perspective, all taken in a crappy overcast day with a still lens.   You had to take the camera to the eye and squish it in the viewfinder. Every single eyeful was exciting.

The building is amazing inside and out.  Art is art and whilst some of the content struck a chord a lot was over my head.  I still think art is like wine, you either like it or you don’t.  It should be blind tasted and with us it is definitely blind tasted.  There were pieces that evoked a response and others that just  seemed silly.

but get back to the building.  It’s curved walls and angular dimensions, it’s glass and tiles and metal, and smooth.  It evokes a response on every glance.

I have to show this photo below as it’s outside looking up but when you look at it you could turn it anyway you like and still not work out which way is up.

I wonder what these pics look like to you and whether it’s just me.  Do you see what I see?  I think I can only say if you ever say to yourself “which building in the world shall I go see?”,   then choose this one.  Put it on a bucket list, it won’t disappoint.

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aside from the Guggenheim, Balboa’s streets and lanes and parks are much the same in lay out and design as the previous, but now they have moved from white to colour  with the added dimension of potted plants and decorative facades.  Today is simply all about the architecture.

 

finally art art of the day as it doesn’t get any better than this

 

Slept a better sleep, the sea was calmer or maybe I am getting used to it’s movements and creaks and groans.   The day dawned and  we entered the port of La Corona in Spain.  It’s a busy fishing port which every morning sends fish all over Europe with 150 refrigerated semis sent out every day.

We decided to do a tour to a little medieval village and then tapas at a restaurant.  It was fine but have come back to the ship and are going to cancel two future tours we have scheduled.   The walk behind the umbrella,  listening to the non stop commentary,  only occasionally broken by other people’s inane questions and stopping at a restaurant by the bus load to eat tapas ( which should in my head at least, be eaten in little side street bars) long story short – umbrella following is just not us.  I have though kept a couple of excursions which get us to where we want to go so watch this space.

Once back from Betanozas we decided to walk into La Corunna, all on our lonesome without following an umbrella.   The architecture here is so different after all the colour and tiles of Portugal.  The terrace houses are the same heights and levels and shapes but here they are covered in class like little mini glass balconies.

They are are quite stunning. Most are white with the exception of the one above which had a deep blue glass.

The streets were very quiet after the hustle and bustle of Portugal and also it was siesta time so the shops had closed from 2pm until 5 pm.  Handy because there seemed to be a lot of shoes calling through the glass and for once plenty of time to browse.  I guess that is indicative of La Coruna in that nowhere else has shopping entered the mind, as there has been so much to see and so little time whereas here you seemed to be able to soak it up in a couple of hours.

 

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Our next stop is Balboa and with the when in Rome philosophy we have booked to go to the Guggenheim museum.   Unfortunately I have no art of the day but perhaps the above photo can be the art itself.

as today I didn’t have much to say I will tell you things I forgot to say before

things i learned and forgot to say before

Lisbon got completely destroyed in a magnitude 8. something earthquake sometime in the late 1700s then a tidal wave struck.  40,000 people died and the city was then rebuilt uniformly with all the blocks and windows etc exactly the same size.  This was quick, efficient and cost effective and then the owner decorated with glass tiles if they had money or painted colours if they didn’t.

La Corunna is the birthplace of Zara stores. 1500 designers live here along with the owner who is the third richest man in the world.

Oporto is where Port originates from.

Until recently Mozambique used to be governed by Portugal.

I also found out The AK47 picture of the boy is called meta- morphis and was done by a graffiti artist who I have forgot his name already.  It symbolises that violence is in the very fabric of people not what surrounds them….or something like that.