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