Thames to Rhine

 Ooh dear. It's been a while! 

Well, there's a lot to tell! 

Between the last post in 2017 and today, we've had a number of different holidays and adventures, both in the UK and out of it. Tony and I have managed to tick off a few things including a hot air balloon over Henley.

    

The hot air balloon was the bucket list item, not the Henley part 😄. 

We spent an amazing few days on a canal boat through Warwickshire, along the Ashby Canal with Australian cousins, Kerryn & David.

Omaha Beach D-Day Memorial

Monet's house

Monet's garden and lily pond

May 2017, we went to Normandy in France, saw the D-Day beaches and toured Monet's house & gardens in Giverney where the pond of his famous water lily's is located.

 

We went to Epernay in Champagne region of France for a wonderful long weekend May 2018, and toured the cellars of Madame Pommery, one of the most formidable women of her time and industry. The champagne didn't stop there though. We visited a number of champagne houses, learned a lot more about champagne and even Tony found a new appreciation of my favourite tipple. 

We managed to finally spend a New Years on the Thames. Along with fellow kiwis living in London, Jayne and Ian, we had NYE 2017 living it up on the Southbank Centre. Prior to that, we had Christmas in Bruges with a friend Jemma.

Ticking off a bucket list item, we stayed in a castle on our way up to the Lakes District May 2019, and spent  a few days in Malta in the July. Peckforton Castle was amazing, and the room was the castle experience I'd always wanted. The huge tub, the beautiful old beams and a great bed! Truly a dream come true. 

I have been back to New Zealand a couple of times in the past two years, and the both of us were back in October 2019 for some much needed family time. We have had plenty of visitors to our various UK abodes - between Ealing, moving to Twickenham in 2017, and spending the last two and a half years in Teddington (not far from Twickenham), we have moved a couple of times, but we do love it here. 

2020 hasn't been the best year for travelling. It was meant to have been a really big year of travel, being our 20th wedding anniversary back in May (which we finally celebrated in August).  As part of that trip, Tony finally saw some of north Wales, which we had been trying to do for a couple of years. We also managed to get back to where we got married 20 years earlier. Clearwell Castle hasn't changed much, a few little bits here and there, but overall still has gorgeous as it was when we got married. The weather was perfect as well. 

A few other things on the 'list' were meant to have been ticked off including Dubrovnik, Barcelona and a whisky trail to celebrate a couple of very special people's 50th's. 

We have had to curtail the planned trips, and spent a lot of time and some weekend trips in the UK, once it opened up. 

Our visa's for the UK expire in November. Even with the restrictions around COVID we are still having to pack our things and get out of the country. Due to the nature of the visa's we are currently on, we can't get these extended, or apply for the new visa's which come in to play at the beginning of 2021. 

This leads us to our next adventure. We're moving to Germany! I know! and you are probably as shocked as I am. We had a look at a few different options in Europe, with it getting narrowed down to Germany and The Netherlands. Germany won out, as the process (or so we thought), seemed a little more simpler and straight forward. Haha. We were so wrong. We didn't take into account the paperwork we would need to fill out, the various things we need to do and the completely backwards way, it seems, we need to do everything. 

Dusseldorf is going to be our city of residence. It's close enough to The Netherlands with my work, as I spend a bit of time with clients there, and Tony has an office in Dusseldorf he can go to if needed. There are great plane, car and rail connections to the rest of Europe and we'll be on the Rhine. And in fact, the apartment we have got for the first couple of months, is a block from the Rhine. So from the Thames to the Rhine we go. 

We now have four weeks to pack everything up, sell or give away half or our stuff, as we will get furnished rental initially until we know how long we will be there for. The idea is to stay in Germany for 12-15 months, and then re-asses if we come back to the UK (we have a 12 month stand down before we can apply for another visa in the UK) or head back to Australia/NZ. We may fall in love with Germany and decide to settle. Watch this space. 

I am going to try and be better and keep the blog updated more regularly this time. Famous last words, but with the new adventures, German adventures and beyond, we will try and keep you as up-to-date as we can. 

Four weeks and counting. The land of beer, bratwurst and bread. 

Watch this space for more updates! 

Take care and stay safe

Jodi & Tony xx

Why London ?

It's funny. I often get asked why, as a kiwi, and lived in Australia for years, I want to live in London. 

I will always be grateful being brought up in New Zealand, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. One of the most friendly countries in the world and  a place which encompasses its history in all ways possible. 

NZ is one of the most advanced, both technologically and forward thinking, countries in the world. Where women first got to vote, where our indigenous culture and European settlers have embraced changes and each other's history. Where earth meets land and sea. A country filled with a national pride and an election can be decided on the national rugby team winning or losing a World Cup. This is who I am. 

Unfortunately, it is also remote. Yes, NZ has everything Europe does geographically- the mountains, the beaches, the natural beauty and the friendly towns and villages of Europe. 

What it hasn't got, and which I crave, is the history. It hasn't got the thousands of years of history from the first people to build a house, a wooden fort to a stone castle. It hasn't got the stories from ancient lore which have been passed down through the generations. 

It doesn't have the cobbled streets which millions upon millions of people have walked. It hasn't got the rooms or theatres Shakespeare wrote his plays in, or Michaelangelo painted in, or Da Vinci created his masterpieces in. It doesn't have the seas the Spanish Armada or vikings crossed to try to conquer our ancestors, or the mountains, beaches or fields our forefathers fought for our liberty on.  

To see and understand the world we live in, I believe we must experience it. As a New Zealander, and then to live in Australia freely and without worry, I believe to really experience any kind of form of understanding of the world, to be able to understand where people's ideas and ideals of the world, first we must live in part of this world. NZ, and to some extent, Australia, are isolated nations. Yes they have been victims of horrific crimes over the years. Some of the worst things possible have happened in both countries. And they have learned from these and implemented new laws because of them. 

But for me, living in London is to embrace new cultures, new ways of life and being more open to changes around these. I don't regret a day of moving back to this country. Travelling the world is something I've wanted to do since a young age. Experiencing different cultures and meeting people from such different backgrounds is as important to me to understand our history and ways of life as a cup of coffee is on a Monday morning. There is more to the world than my back yard and the why the price of my coffee has gone up. It's to understand why the price of my coffee has gone up. It's to walk the steps of the people who have walked before me, and to understand the choices they made, the times and conditions they lived through. To be able to appreciate what we have now, and to understand what we need to leave behind for the generations to follow us. 

Christmas in Prague

It’s been such a long time since I posted anything, I feel like I could write a novel. But I won’t. What I will do, is tell you all about our Christmas. Prague, Czech Republic, was the most amazing place to spend our 2016 Christmas. We escaped the cold of London, to the same cold, just in a different country. One we’d never been to before, and a city we have had on our bucket list for what feels like forever.
After being delayed leaving London by nearly five hours, we arrived in Prague quite late at night. Although the flight delay was annoying, being driven into Prague late at night with quiet streets was simply magical. I’m sure our driver took us a longer way so we could get the full impact of the city at night. I wasn’t however prepared for just how beautiful it is. Coming over the bridge one below the Charles Bridge and looking back over at That Bridge, and That Palace on the hill, was the most exquisite sight in the world.
I fell in love immediately, and this was just the introduction. The rest of the four days would be spent oohing and aahing over the city’s many buildings and landmarks as well. But this introduction to Prague (Praha in local speak), well, I don’t think I will ever get anything quite like it again.

The city isn’t vast and is walkable. There are some large hills, which you can climb to get up to the Tower (a smaller replica of the Eiffel tower) and the palace or you can get the funicular up to the top.

Christmas isn’t celebrated the same time as we do it back home. The typical European Christmas tends to be celebrated on Christmas Eve. We were very lucky to have been aware of this before leaving, as we were able to book a couple of restaurants for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And since it was Christmas, we thought we should spoil ourselves too.

The tower

Wandering around the city on Christmas Eve morning wasn’t too bad. Most of the shops were closed, but some didn’t end up closing til 11am, so staff could go home and spend their Christmas with family. This led to not being able to do a lot, but also meant we could wander the city and enjoy it. You'd think being Christmas the city would have been quiet, but it really wasn't. And as we were to find out later, Prague is a popular destination for visitors at this time of the year. We weren't too fussed though. The city with or without people is magical. And doesn't matter what time you're there, there's so much character. And history.

Tony and I stayed at the Charles Bridge Palace Hotel. This was lovely, however we think we may have had the worst room in the hotel. On all accounts the hotel had amazing reviews on Trip Advisor, but after logging on to rate it on Trip Advisor post-trip there were comments on the room we had which didn't bode well. If only I'd seen these prior. We were hardly in our room, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So it does pay to read the reviews before booking.

The hotel is very central and as the name suggests, is not far at all from the Charles Bridge. Being so central to everything we were able to get some serious step counts up. By walking so much we definitely earned our meals. The first of the great places we went to, for dinner on Christmas Eve day was La Finestra. What an introduction to the food on offer in Prague. Although this was Italian fare, the staff and the food were fabulous. So the four of us (we spent Christmas with Jayne and Ian McDonald) tucked into some seriously amazing food and wine. I think part of the trip ended up being about the food. And why not, it was Christmas after all.
This really was a great way to spend our Christmas Eve. We then managed to walk around having a look at the markets and also managed to get to Wenceslas Square, which I had promised my mother I would do.  We also did a classical concert in one of the old halls, which was beautiful. There seriously isn't anything about this city which doesn't blow the senses away.

Old Town markets

Wenceslas Square

Christmas Day was another day with Ian and Jayne wandering the city, doing a little bit of sightseeing. Heading up the hill to the palace via the funicular and went into the tower and also a maze of mirrors. if the palace looks large from a distance, then seeing it up close is ridiculously huge. I get the size of palaces back then needed to be large to accommodate the staff and entourage, but was also a show of wealth and power. This palace is a small town in itself.

 Our Christmas night dinner was spent at an amazing restaurant I had managed to find on the internet. reviews were good, so we thought we'd give it a try, and we certainly weren't disappointed. U Modre Kachnicky II was an experience I would do again and again. Yet again, the Czech people impressed. This place was a more traditional food and we were very impressed with the dishes and the quality of food. Even the restaurant itself was very kitsch, yet welcoming. walking through the curtains which blocked the view from the entrance, you felt like you were in a bar from the 20s.

Dinner topped off with a great Irish Coffee

This city, just kept giving and giving. From the old cars which did the tours of the city to the Jewish quarter and cemetery, to the Kafka memorial and the John Lennon wall, Prague has everything you need and want in a city. We are definitely keen to go back, maybe to see it in the springtime. If you ever get a chance to get there, definitely don't miss out on the Trdelnik.

         

The Czech certainly have a sense of humour

Beaches to beaches... a summary of the last six months (Part 1)

I read the other day to write a good travel story or blog you need a great hook to get people in, and to keep them reading. What kind of hook can I give you which keeps you reading about our adventures and travels around while living and working in the UK. Is it the one which has us in Paris, wandering around Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, looking for Jim Morrison’s grave before the rain closed in? Or the trip back to Australia where we went to Whitehaven beach and experienced the most amazing beach I’ve ever been to, where white sand beaches go on for miles and the water is so crystal clear you can see the bottom?

Whatever the hook may be, I promise to try and keep you entertained and up to date on what we’re doing and where we’re going. 

And I also will try to write more frequently.  Last time I posted the trees were budding and the flowers were starting to form, showing signs of spring. Now the leaves are starting to turn and the flowers are beginning to show signs of winter.  For the first time in 13 years, I’ve had my husband back in the evenings, and we’ve been able to enjoy long walks on the beach (haha, just in the park really) and a drink in the pub.  It’s been nice having time in the evenings together, although that is about to change again at the end of the month, with him going back to hit the books.  The only upside, is I’ll be able to watch the guilty pleasures without him groaning at me. Luckily enough the new series of the Great British Bake-off has started, so he won’t have to listen to ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ anymore. 

Since our last update we’ve been keeping very busy. Our trip back to Australia in April came at the right time, as we were both ready for a break (and some warmth). Our decision to move to the UK in October meant we went from winter to winter, and didn’t really have much sun over the last year. 

It was great to catch up with everyone when we were in Melbourne. Considering it had only been six months since we had seen everyone, it had felt like longer. It felt like there should have been a lot of changes, there really wasn't a lot. The cats were a little dubious when we walked in, but once Tony rattled a cap full of food, Sinbad knew exactly who we were. It was good heading back to familiar haunts, and catching up with a few people over a couple of 'quiet' drinks. 

 April in Melbourne was similar to what London was, but the sunshine and warmth at Airlie Beach, where we spent the rest of our Australian break, was divine. And the wedding was lovely. The bride and groom couldn’t have asked for a better day. And what a location! Andrea and Jack really knew how to pull of the best wedding. The beautiful colours of the green lawn complemented the blue waters so well. Whilst a little muggy, it may have dampened the hair, but definitely not the soul.  It would have to be one of the most spectacular spots we’ve ever been. So thank you, you two, for getting married in an amazing part of the world. We spent the day after the wedding on a boat, cruising out to Whitehaven Beach, which is part of the Whitsundays. Boat, not yacht and cruising was more of a ferry ride to Whitehaven.  The sandy pristine white beach, which I’m glad to hear they are trying to keep this way, is breathtaking.
As beautiful and clear as this is though, there is still a danger of getting stung by some weird Australian jelly fish, so the ferry company provided us with the most attractive of full body wetsuit type outfits, which we could slip into before hitting the water.  But in saying this, there’s a reason this beach is one of top beaches in the world. Words can’t really describe it. You need to go see it for yourselves.

Ferry to Whitehaven

  















We stopped in Hong Kong on our back to London, and spent three days here. Three relatively wet days. Hong Kong is a busy city, but for me, doesn’t feel as bad or as oppressive as Singapore. I don’t know what it is about Hong Kong, but I love it. And there’s so much to do. 
Three days wasn’t enough, especially when we were also there for suits and needed to get fittings done, almost every day. But Sam’s Tailor on Nathan Road were very accommodating of our tight schedule and our suits were made and ready to take by the Thursday night (we arrived on the Tuesday evening and had our first appointment with Roshan first thing Wednesday morning). Tony found Sam's on the internet and we had read great reviews on Trip Advisor. What we did not expect was the large amount of photos on the walls around the tailors of all the famous customers who have frequented the store. It was awe inspiring. Very highly regarded, but very talented too. It was an absolute pleasure being looked after at the Tailor to the stars. 
We did manage to get out and about in Hong Kong and did something we have been doing a lot of, and that was to walk and explore. We managed to not get too lost, but did stumble on the free zoo. It was small, but some very interesting characters in it. One of the things i was really impressed with, was the escalator which runs up through the island. Hong Kong island is very steep and to get people up and down it quickly, it has an escalator. So in peak hours it will run with the crowds. In the morning it runs downhill to get people to work and at the end of the day runs uphill, to get everyone to their homes. It breaks at intervals to allow people to get off, but is completely a brilliant scheme. Wellington could steal the idea. 

Our view from Victoria Peak

The small hooded area is the escalator running through the city

Work kept us both busy through the rest of May and June, but we did head over to Paris for our wedding anniversary, at the end of May. It’s always amazing in Paris. It doesn’t matter how many times we go to Paris, there’s always something new which we’ve never done before. And having Claire W there to be our tour guide or suggest something for us to do, is always exceptionally helpful.   
Our new place this time was Pere Lachaise, the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried, as well as Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and many many more. This cemetery is almost like a small city in itself. There are large precincts for the gravesites and mausoleums, which are numbered for the ease of the visitor to find the graves they are looking for. These can get slightly confusing, and if you don’t have a map or a brochure, take a photo of the map and index of graves. Doing this definitely made finding Jim Morrison’s grave a lot easier, amongst the many thousands of graves.  The gravesite for Morrison has a fence around, so now you can only get within a couple of metres of it, and there are still thousands mementos and tributes to the legend on the grave. Now, the fence and a tree close by have people’s tributes on them.

The cemetery, like all of Paris,  is a beautiful and so very peaceful spot. Even in death the French make something amazing out of it. Similar to what we saw last year as part of the walk through the catacombs.  
 I was somewhat startled though, when I saw a grave for one of the victims of the Bataclan shooting back in November 2015. It hadn’t dawned on me, as it’s such an old cemetery, there would still be people being buried there.  It definitely made me stop and think about the tragedies going on in the world and how lucky I am to be able to stand in some of these places and experience other peoples cultures. 

Every time I leave Paris, I think a small part of me stays behind. This time was no different. We stayed in a lovely little hotel, close to the Eiffel Tower, which was a great part of the city. Far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist crowds, but close enough to be able to see everything and get around easily and still feel like we were surrounded by the Parisians and dining in their restaurants and drinking in their cafes. 

And not only that, the driving and parking (as seen in the pictures here) completely astound us every time. We always get a kick out of how close they park. The introduction of the Smart Car in Europe must have been an absolute gift.




 
 

 June was a pretty quiet month, with us trying to save up for the next wedding. July in Spain. Hot, but stunning. And the wedding venue was completely out of this world. Marques de Riscal winery is a very unique winery in the Basque area of Spain. The small village located outside of Logrono, Elciego played host to us for a couple of days while we attended Stuart and Suzana's wedding. And what a location. The winery hotel was designed by architect, Frank Gehry, who designed the Guggenheim in Bilbao. An eclectic combination of colours and steel with his signature use of steel and somewhat nonclassical designs, the building stands out in the Spanish countryside. 


 
And what a location for a fabulous couple to tie the knot. The backdrop of the mountains behind the town, the view from the hotel was magical. The classic architecture blended with the new of the hotel and the weather being perfect really set the setting for the whole day. Stu and Suzana couldn't have had a more perfect place for them. From the moment Suzana walked down the aisle until the end of the night, the day was truly magical.
It was also great to catch up with old friends from Tokoroa days.

 







From Elciego we went with the wedding group up to San Sebastian for a bit more party and am so glad we had changed our plans to include this. 
At this point I'm also going to point out I drove through Spain. We hired a car and drove down and back to Elciego from San Sebastian. It was my first ever experience of driving on the other side of the road, and apart from getting a little confused to start with, it was simpler than I had expected. You definitely need to have your wits about you and remember where you are, but now I've done it, I don't have any qualms about doing it again. It certainly makes travelling through the country a lot easier and the independence to do what we want and go where we want is liberating.

San Sebastian is definitely on my 'favourite places in the world' list now. We had perfect weather for the two days we were there, and wish we had been able to stay longer. It was warm, sunny and has the most relaxed atmosphere. Oh, and the food!! Wow. The classic Basque cuisine is the Pintxos (a type of tapas which the Basque have down to a fine art). Normally a small piece of bread with all types of food piled high the pintxos is highly recommended. San Sebastian is currently home to two of the top 50 restaurants in the world, so you know the food is going to be good. And in San Sebastian, try finding the pintxos bars where the chefs frequent.You know they'll be good then. 
 
But San Sebastian isn't known just for the pintxos. It's also got a couple of great beaches, and has a couple of hills to climb for the adventurous. For the not so adventurous, you can walk through the parks, walk around the hills, and it even has a little tourist train which takes you through the city with commentary. I can't say enough about San Sebastian. If you haven't been, then you need to take my word for it. If you have, we'll meet you there. I will be going back.




 
And there ends this installment of the past six months. There is another installment to come, to get you up to date. And I will try to post this in the next few days. I hope this finds you well and happy.
Love to all. 
Jodi & Tony