Greetings From Queenstown (Where Else?)

Hi Folks,
Arrived safely into Christchurch, NZ, avoided the kerfuffle of the previous days hi-jacking attempt by a crazy Somali woman. After a two night stay at the fabulous ‘Dorothys’ guest house we picked up the hire car and drove 450kms up the east coast to Nelson via Blenheim. Beautiful rugged coastline, as the road weaved inland and out over the ‘flat bit’. Not really, it felt like driving through the French Alps, one hairpin bend after another. Took a lot of concentration and much longer than we expected.

Nelson is a nice town, with the ugliest Cathedral in NZ, it has to be seen to be believed. Its saving grace is some very nice stained glass. All was going well until disaster struck not once but twice!

No.1 My flaming iPod died and it looks like it is terminal. What made it worse is that I didn’t bring a back-up of CD’s. Fortunately I managed to find some choice 1970’s compilations (not original artists) and a splendid Doris Day CD at a roadhouse..well they were $10 each..whaddya want!

No.2 We got bitten by mozzies (or so we thought) on our first sleep in Nelson to discover the culprits the following night not long after tucking in…BED BUGS. I must have 30-40 bites that are slowly swelling up and itching like hell, all over my body, Jim didn’t fair so badly although he hardly slept the second night. We didn’t have anywhere else to go so we had to suffer with them the second night too. Ewwwwwwwwww



Anyhoo, enough of that. Yesterday (Wed) we drove down to Hokitika on the West Coast to stay overnight with our friends CJ & Drew. They moved there last May to run one of the cafes in the little seaside town. It was fantastic to catch up with them again. Thanks boys for the hospitality.



Today, 14th February is a special day, Jim’s birthday and to celebrate we are now in Queenstown and will be going out to a nice posh place for dinner. First impressions of Queenstown are that it’s a very nice place…we will be using here as a base over the next 5 days and I will fill you in when we have had a proper look around.

Until then..Happy Valentines Day to all you hopeless romantics!

Look out New Zealand...

Phew no sooner has one around the world trip finished when its time to get going on another. This time the lucky people of New Zealand's South Island get the pleasure of our company for 3 whole weeks. Follow the blog for just where we are. Then its on to Sydney for Mardi Gra's 30th aniversary..Parade & Party.whoo hoooooo

Sister or Wedding Cake?

Hi folks, we have hardly had time to pee never mind update the blog. So where were we?..oh yes in Paris. Spent the last couple of days inside museums and shops as the weather turned very wet, constant rain for 36 hours. The highlight would have to be a trip to the Musee d’Orsay to see the collection of paintings, sculpture and furnishings of the early 20th century. The building itself is an architectural masterpiece, previously a railway station built for the same Paris Expo that the Eiffel Tower was built for. Now it has been refitted into a stunning museum….see the pics!

Our last morning we spent climbing to the top of the Arc d Triomphe and a spot of shopping on the Champs Elysees before jumping onto the EuroStar back to London. It was all in all a very nice trip to gay Paris.

Back in London for three days shopping and dinners with friends (thank you Ray, Reggie, Nassem & Grant for the fantastic food!) before getting onboard yet another train. This time a journey up the east coast of England to Scotland where my sister Debbie was to be married in Edinburgh.

A lot of the Montgomery/Roden clan came across for the wedding too which gave us an opportunity to catch up with some of the relations we hadn’t seen, and I am glad to see that they are all looking great and haven’t lost any of the lunacy they are famed for! Who rocked the dance floor till the wee small hours???

The wedding and the reception were both held in the Queen Anne Rooms at Edinburgh Castle. A magnificent place for the two young things to tie the knot. For those who don’t know, my sister Debbie married Simon Tasker and they both looked absolutely gorgeous! Her in her big meringue wedding dress and Simon in his Royal Marines uniform (how did he get those boots so shiny, Debs, did you polish then for him?…lol).

80% of the guests were of Northern Irish/Scots decent so you can imagine the carnage once the formalities were through with and rugs got rolled back. Special mention goes out to all the ladies for flying the flag!

Today it was up for a relaxed breakfast, onto the train for the return trip to London and packing for the flight back to Perth on Monday evening..phew!

Flowers and Foie Gras

Hi Folks,
Sorry for the delay in getting this post up...we have been so busy doing stuff around London and gay Paris.

Let me see where did we leave off, oh yes we finally caught up with Maxine & Dorothy who arrived into london on 20 May after a 5 week cruise from Fremantle, and by all accounts they had a splendid time. Jim and I met up with them at the Bluebird restaurant on the Kings Road for a delicious lunch prepared by
top British chef Mark Broadbent. Fantastic food, delicious wines (and champers)and beautiful decor. Recommended. After hopping into a black cab we toddled on down to the Chelsea Flower Show, and boy was that a spectacle. The displays in the main pavilion were out of this world and the show gardens were pretty special too. However due to the huge crowds it was difficult to view the gardens properly. Still it was a splendid day out in all.

Wednesday saw us up at the crack of dawn for breakfast at Pret a Manger then a quick troll up the Mall and down to Westminster Abbey for a personal tour by the very lovely Chris Birch. The Abbey is an amazing place with more old queens than Connections on a Saturday night.


After our tour Chris treated Jim & I to Lunch at Balans in Soho. Thank you Chris! We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around Soho, popping in to Black Market Records, the spiritual home of Drum & Bass. The evening was spent with Grant, Naseen and the kids who took us out to dinner at Wagamamas in Camden, a big thank you to them both. Star spotted Guy Berryman the bass player from Coldplay.


Early rise on Thursday morning to catch the EuroStar to Paris. The ride was as smooth as floating on a big cloud, nair a bump could be felt. After 2.5 hours we arrived into Paris feeling fresh and very excited. A quick 15min stroll found us at our hotel 'Le Petie Moulin' and very luxurious room overlooking Rue Pitou.
Since we have been here (for 3 days now) we have sampled some real French Food (no english on the menus so it takes a bit of work to order...hence the foie Gras, lightly seared goose livers with grapes...DELICIOUS). We have visited the Louvre, The Eiffel Tower (OMG the qeues were horrendous), a cruise on the Seine, walked The Golden Triangle (Ultra top shelf shopping)strolled hand n hand down the Champs-Elysees and thoroughly made the most of the very nice weather here. Off out soon for a bite to eat and a stroll somewhere window shopping. Another day and a half before we board the EuroStar back to London...over and out.

London

Hi folks, well here we are in Londons fair city and mighty fine it looks too. After a slight delay in the flight from Belfast we landed at Heathrow and took the express train into London Paddington, Fifteen pounds and 15 mins, and was a fabulous way to get into central London, recommended.

We are staying at 41b Brecknock Road, Kentish town which is one stop on the Northern Line from the hustle and bustle of Camden Town, famous for its huge alternative clothing markets. Our accommodation is five star (thank you Naseem & Grant).

(our) London Transport!

We have the use of this rather dinky electric car the 'G-Wizz' to nip about town. In certain local council areas we are exempt from parking costs and the dreaded congestion tax too. The City of Westminster have even provided a re-charging station slap bang in the heart of Covent Garden (the car only has a range of approx 30 miles). That turns a few heads when we arrive, pull out the extension cord and plug it in to a socket!

I took Jim out for a drive on Friday evening down to where I used to live in Kennington to visit my dear friend Linda Burns. Not haven driven in London for quite a few years our trip took us through, Euston, Marylebone, Oxford Circus, Picadilly Circus, Trafalger Sq, Whitehall, Parliament Sq, over Lambeth Bridge, Vauxall and on to Kennington. It was such a hoot, although Jim was a bit traumatised buy the BIG red buses what seemed to be only cms away. I loved it though and soon found that other drivers here are very courtious and the chaos just seems to work. The drive back in the dark was even more fun!. (Just how many Aston Martin V8 Vantages did we see..OMG it is my favourite car..ever).

Woof! A halarious street performer on the South Bank

Saturday we went into the West End for brunch at Pret a Manger, delicious granola porridge, breakfast in a bun and delicious coffee. This was followed by a walk across the new Hungerford footbridge, a stroll alond the revamped South Bank and along to the London Eye, however, THOUSANDS of others has the same idea. The que for tickets was massive as was the que to get on the Eye. So needless to say we are putting the London Eye back on the 'to do' list (maybe next week). In the afternoon we met up with a our gorgeous friend Eddie Stirling for a bit of shopping in the West End plus a trip to Vivienne Westwood's at Conduit St...OMG my poor old visa card will get a hammering there when I get down to the serious shopping business on return from Paris!

Last night we caught up with Eddie & Ollie, Christine, Jane and a few of their friends at Box Bar before jumping into a black cab and off to Arena nightclub at Vauxhall. We had a good nights dancing and carrying on before heading home at 5am..slept into 12.45 this glorious Sunday afternoon. Today we jumped into "beep beep chugga chugga little purple car" and drove up to Hampstead village where we had a roast dinner at the King William IV, Lovely food and a big glass of Aussie Red (nobody does red wines like us in Oz let me tell you!). Now back at base camp planning the next few days in London before we leave for Paris on Thursday....

Cherrio Ireland Hello London

Hi Folks, Now where have we been since our last post...let me see.

Ah men in leathers and the smell of racing fuel, no not the Cloherne but the North West 200 motorcycle race (practice session) in Portrush. Early dinner at the fabulous Ramore Wine Bar, which certainly lived up to its fantastic reputation followed by a hours or so of very noisy motorcycles flying around corners at impossible speeds. We unfortunately wouldn't be around for race day to see a Kiwi win all 3 major races!


Friday 11 May saw us on a bus from Derry City to Dublin for the weekend, staying at the salubrious 'Inn On The Liffy'. Most of the weekend was spent wandering the streets, drinking the best coffee since leaving Perth (business opportunity for a visiting barista to show them how to make a real coffee in NI)and eating..of course!. Dublin is looking good these days with lots of money being spent restoring the many magnificent buildings, some dating back to medieval times.
Anyone planning on a visit to Dublin should bring a very big bag of Euros as it is very very expensive.


Since we have returned to Derry on Sunday we have been catching up on some last minute sightseeing, Malin Head (which was stunning) and today Thurs we are en route to the Carrick-a-ree rope bridge, near the Giants Causway. Unfortunately the weather has resumed its Irish gown...ie grey, damp and gloomy. The countryside looks good for all the rain though. Tomorrow we leave for London.........


Ah! the Mighty, Mighty Undertones!

Peace in Our Time

Today, Tuesday 8th May 2007 marks an end to the ‘Troubles’ and a fresh start for all the people of Northern Ireland. Long may it last.

Well what a week its been for Jim & Monty travelling from Perth to Northern Ireland. All flights went to schedule, departed Perth Tues at 3.30pm and arrived into Belfast on Wed at 8am…20 hours flying time. Only one small hick-up, due to the very high level of security at UK airports (you have almost to strip down to your undies) our bags didn’t make it to Belfast for us to pick them up. (They were delivered via courier later that day).



Happy to report that all family and friends are well and only too happy to spoil us rotten. Keep it up thank you.
The weather was really lovely for the first few days, blue skies and lots of sunshine. However we are now getting a wee bit of the soft Irish rain this country is famous for with the countryside is so lush and green it almost hurts your eyes.



Ours days so far have been spent driving all over the country, visiting ancient relics, eating, sightseeing at castles, eating, catching up with friends, eating, and yes some more eating. Thank goodness there is lots of walking involved too otherwise we would need a whole new wardrobe. (I will certainly be adding to mine in Paris and London).

Places of interest visited so far include, Donegal, Derry City, The Giants Causway, The Belleek Pottery Factory and Glenveagh Castle which was stunning.



On Thursday we will spend the day in Portrush and then watch a practice session for the North West 200. This is a motorcycle race which takes place on the roads and streets around Coleraine/Portrush and Portstewart and is the fastest road circuit in the world. So we are expecting plenty of excitement there.


Friday morning sees us off to Dublin………………..to be continued!