xox
Saturday, February 27, 2010
a few pictures.........
Well guys, Paris was awesome!!! we are at Paris Airport waiting to board our long flight home. thought i would stick a few quick pictures from Ireland up. Ill have to show you them all when we are home!! Anyway see you guys back in NZ!!!!!
xox
xox
Friday, February 26, 2010
Hey guys
well we have done so much!! our time in London has come to an end, we have just come back from Cork, went to see Doneraille Court for you guys who know what I am talking about!! it was amazing, I got shown around all the rooms and Seamus (the guy that showed us round) was very knowledgable ,hopefully i can bring new info. home! Theres quite a bit of restoration underway which is good to see, when its finished it will look awesome! Took lots of photos and video so you guys will have to come round for a viewing session! haha. Went to St Finbarres Cathedral to see where Elizabeth Aldworth is buried, the guy who was working there shook my hand when i told him who i am! they took pictures of me beside the plaque and let me light a candle in her memory which was special! It was really neat seeing where she grew up too (Doneraille)
Came back to London for a day, while Alisha and Danae went to do a bit of family history stuff I caught a train to the station closest to Leeds Castle, got there and the last shuttle had gone for the day at 12.50pm, weird that they dont go later since it is open 'til 5pm!!! there was no other way of getting there apart from an expensive taxi ride, guttered i couldnt see it as it is yet another part of our family history! so i took a picture of the train station sign, just to show how close i got! will have to do it on another trip :p we fly out to Paris tomorrow....the french air traffic control are on strike so hopefully we make it!!
Not long now until we are home, less than a week!!!! We are a bit over arriving in airports with no one to greet us at the arrivals area :( haha, so it'll be nice to finally have someone there after 12 flights!!!!!
Anyways,
Ciao for now
xoxoxo
well we have done so much!! our time in London has come to an end, we have just come back from Cork, went to see Doneraille Court for you guys who know what I am talking about!! it was amazing, I got shown around all the rooms and Seamus (the guy that showed us round) was very knowledgable ,hopefully i can bring new info. home! Theres quite a bit of restoration underway which is good to see, when its finished it will look awesome! Took lots of photos and video so you guys will have to come round for a viewing session! haha. Went to St Finbarres Cathedral to see where Elizabeth Aldworth is buried, the guy who was working there shook my hand when i told him who i am! they took pictures of me beside the plaque and let me light a candle in her memory which was special! It was really neat seeing where she grew up too (Doneraille)
Came back to London for a day, while Alisha and Danae went to do a bit of family history stuff I caught a train to the station closest to Leeds Castle, got there and the last shuttle had gone for the day at 12.50pm, weird that they dont go later since it is open 'til 5pm!!! there was no other way of getting there apart from an expensive taxi ride, guttered i couldnt see it as it is yet another part of our family history! so i took a picture of the train station sign, just to show how close i got! will have to do it on another trip :p we fly out to Paris tomorrow....the french air traffic control are on strike so hopefully we make it!!
Not long now until we are home, less than a week!!!! We are a bit over arriving in airports with no one to greet us at the arrivals area :( haha, so it'll be nice to finally have someone there after 12 flights!!!!!
Anyways,
Ciao for now
xoxoxo
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
London 2.....
Well London has a lot of things to see! we saw the usual attractions like Big Ben,Number 10 Downing street, changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and heaps more! we saw the war memorial for the kiwi soldiers in hyde park corner, seeing it in pictures it looks nice and simple but modern but up close it is awesome! each cross has details cast in like maori patterns and writing and each has a theme behind it, so cool!
Today we went to Westminster Abbey which was so amazing, didnt know there was so much history and so many well known figures in there! it took 2 hours to go through, and for nanny, poppa etc i found Oliver Cromwells first resting place inside with a stone with his name and stuff on, found the statue of him outside too!
Thought i would upload a couple of photos from some of the places we have been since im at a computer where i can!!
A view from the fairytale castle in Germany - for little Alisha
For little Alisha, picture of the fairytale castle!!
statue of Oliver Cromwell........
for the record it was 1 degree and i was getting funny looks!
the swiss alps!!! the highest point in Europe
Swiss Alps
that infamous hike we did in Les Sciernes
Lake Geneva
trendy mining suits at the Salzburg Saltmines
Today we went to Westminster Abbey which was so amazing, didnt know there was so much history and so many well known figures in there! it took 2 hours to go through, and for nanny, poppa etc i found Oliver Cromwells first resting place inside with a stone with his name and stuff on, found the statue of him outside too!
Thought i would upload a couple of photos from some of the places we have been since im at a computer where i can!!
A view from the fairytale castle in Germany - for little Alisha
For little Alisha, picture of the fairytale castle!!
statue of Oliver Cromwell........
for the record it was 1 degree and i was getting funny looks!
the swiss alps!!! the highest point in Europe
Swiss Alps
that infamous hike we did in Les Sciernes
Lake Geneva
trendy mining suits at the Salzburg Saltmines
Monday, February 15, 2010
London!
Hey guys,
sorry its been a while....
well our stay in Montreux was great we walked around a part if Lake Geneva and went into a castle there, we went sledding which was heaps of fun too!! we then went to Zermatt, which is a really beautiful place, a big ski resort which is full of tourists at this time but not too many people which is nice! we went up the Swiss alps to the highest view point in Europe! 12,736 ft looking straight across to the top of the Mattahorn...the most amazing feeling being that high! (even though is a bit hard to breathe because of the altitude!) we were able to see the alps from Switzerland, Italy and France! amazing experience, even saw a poster of Sir Edmund Hillary up there for an add for Rolex! go kiwis!!!!
We had a night in Zurich so we were close to the airport for our flight to London, and here we are!!! first day and we have seen alot! and there is so much to see here! we wont get to see it all in the ten days we are here but we will fit as much as we can.
We will be in Ireland in about a week and i will be getting shown around Doneraille court...(family ancestry stuff for those who are wondering) if you guys want anything specific like questions or whatever, flick me a message and i will try and follow it through! also looking at visiting Leeds castle, Aldworth house and St Finbarrs Cathedral - im going to fit as much as i can in!!
xoxoxox
sorry its been a while....
well our stay in Montreux was great we walked around a part if Lake Geneva and went into a castle there, we went sledding which was heaps of fun too!! we then went to Zermatt, which is a really beautiful place, a big ski resort which is full of tourists at this time but not too many people which is nice! we went up the Swiss alps to the highest view point in Europe! 12,736 ft looking straight across to the top of the Mattahorn...the most amazing feeling being that high! (even though is a bit hard to breathe because of the altitude!) we were able to see the alps from Switzerland, Italy and France! amazing experience, even saw a poster of Sir Edmund Hillary up there for an add for Rolex! go kiwis!!!!
We had a night in Zurich so we were close to the airport for our flight to London, and here we are!!! first day and we have seen alot! and there is so much to see here! we wont get to see it all in the ten days we are here but we will fit as much as we can.
We will be in Ireland in about a week and i will be getting shown around Doneraille court...(family ancestry stuff for those who are wondering) if you guys want anything specific like questions or whatever, flick me a message and i will try and follow it through! also looking at visiting Leeds castle, Aldworth house and St Finbarrs Cathedral - im going to fit as much as i can in!!
xoxoxox
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Switzerland!!
Hey y'all
Well the salt mines were great! We got to go on trains, slides and a boat in the mines (and I must add...in our very fashionable mining suits we had to wear... We looked stunning :p) we trammed to Switzerland yesterday and had a night in luzern which was nice, today we took the panoramic scenic train to montreux. Best scenic train ride yet, it was amazing. We got to go through the snow covered mountains and past small villages. Soon after arriving we found ourselves getting back on a train. We found out the place we were stating in was 12km out of Montreux and a taxi would cost 150francs! Lucky we have our eurail passes,these are very well worth getting if you come to Europe! We were a wee bit worried when the conductor said he would specially stop at the station we needed to be at as no trains ever really stop there much. We travelled for about twenty minutes and all the recent stops had been very tiny stations and nothing but mountains and trees surrounding them. We went into survival mode a bit thinking of what we would do if we had to sleep in the snow hehe just joking...but our stop was very similar to the one I just described....
We were dropped at a vacant trainstation which resembled something close to a shack, we looked around and it kind of looked like a farming area. A couple of houses visible in the distance. Don't know why but we were not worried! We were quite excited at this new experience! We found a map and we were definitly in the right place. So we started walking (I must add that it was pretty hazy and quite a bit of snow was falling) we could just see a building emerging from the haze so we walked towards it, it was a hotel thing but not ours. We needed directions so went up onto the deck and tapped on the window the girl was really nice, told us to come in ( we realized we had come through the back door as she told us to cut through the hotel and go out the front door.
In fits of laughter we said thanks and goodbye and started walking down the driveway, this is when I made my first spectacular slip. Luckily I
had my backpack on and one across my front which broke my fall. Itvwas hard to get up after laughing so hard! The second and final one happened about 5 minutes later with a nice face plant into a pile of snow alisha having to dig my camera out (good old Sony still goes!) Danae was well ahead of us but we had her footprints to follow then Alisha took a nice trip down the road, we had to have a bit of a break to stop laughing !!
Well we finally reached the bed and breakfast as it got dark. It's so cute! It's like a ski challet.we were given a welcome glass of wine which I think was well deserved after our interpid journey!dad you would be proud! Haha Maybe not so much laughter when I wake up with a bruised thigh tomorrow - nothing a bit of arnica won't fix! Being dropped in the middle of nowhere has already turned out to be awesome , the population in this town is only 100 so it's very much a small town situated in big mountains. It looks really beautiful, can't wait to have a look round tomorrow!
Xoxo
P.s - sorry for no recent pictures, haven't been at computer where I can upload them. Might be able to in London though !
Well the salt mines were great! We got to go on trains, slides and a boat in the mines (and I must add...in our very fashionable mining suits we had to wear... We looked stunning :p) we trammed to Switzerland yesterday and had a night in luzern which was nice, today we took the panoramic scenic train to montreux. Best scenic train ride yet, it was amazing. We got to go through the snow covered mountains and past small villages. Soon after arriving we found ourselves getting back on a train. We found out the place we were stating in was 12km out of Montreux and a taxi would cost 150francs! Lucky we have our eurail passes,these are very well worth getting if you come to Europe! We were a wee bit worried when the conductor said he would specially stop at the station we needed to be at as no trains ever really stop there much. We travelled for about twenty minutes and all the recent stops had been very tiny stations and nothing but mountains and trees surrounding them. We went into survival mode a bit thinking of what we would do if we had to sleep in the snow hehe just joking...but our stop was very similar to the one I just described....
We were dropped at a vacant trainstation which resembled something close to a shack, we looked around and it kind of looked like a farming area. A couple of houses visible in the distance. Don't know why but we were not worried! We were quite excited at this new experience! We found a map and we were definitly in the right place. So we started walking (I must add that it was pretty hazy and quite a bit of snow was falling) we could just see a building emerging from the haze so we walked towards it, it was a hotel thing but not ours. We needed directions so went up onto the deck and tapped on the window the girl was really nice, told us to come in ( we realized we had come through the back door as she told us to cut through the hotel and go out the front door.
In fits of laughter we said thanks and goodbye and started walking down the driveway, this is when I made my first spectacular slip. Luckily I
had my backpack on and one across my front which broke my fall. Itvwas hard to get up after laughing so hard! The second and final one happened about 5 minutes later with a nice face plant into a pile of snow alisha having to dig my camera out (good old Sony still goes!) Danae was well ahead of us but we had her footprints to follow then Alisha took a nice trip down the road, we had to have a bit of a break to stop laughing !!
Well we finally reached the bed and breakfast as it got dark. It's so cute! It's like a ski challet.we were given a welcome glass of wine which I think was well deserved after our interpid journey!dad you would be proud! Haha Maybe not so much laughter when I wake up with a bruised thigh tomorrow - nothing a bit of arnica won't fix! Being dropped in the middle of nowhere has already turned out to be awesome , the population in this town is only 100 so it's very much a small town situated in big mountains. It looks really beautiful, can't wait to have a look round tomorrow!
Xoxo
P.s - sorry for no recent pictures, haven't been at computer where I can upload them. Might be able to in London though !
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Austria
Hey guys,
The rest of Athens was great! Saw the acropolis which was amazing, excellent view of Athens. We saw the changing of the guard which involved a parade too and they do it every sunday. We saw the temple of Olympian Zeus and the Olympic stadium. Saw the Athens museum which had so much stuff! Even an Egyptian exhibition with some mummies!
Now in Austria we have just been to Vienna where we saw schoenbrunn palace - home of the Hofburgs (2nd royal family and most recent.) for those who have seen the movie Marie Antoinette, this is where she grew up. Also where Mozart played for the queen for the first time at age 6! We had a look at the spanish dancing horses which look really cool to watch, a hefty fee to see them though! We walked around the city and saw a lot more things and had a really nice dinner (weiner schnitzel) and cocktails with Alisha and Danaes relation Stefan.
Went to a place called Melk for a few hours, a little town just out of Vienna where we went to 'Stift Melk' which was built in 976 a.d. It was and still is a monastry. Really beautiful and one of those secret treasures you never hear about. It had a massive library in one part, 12 rooms! We saw 2 of them and they were BIG! There was a book 1100 years old! There were 16,000 books in just one room!
Afterwards we went back to Vienna to get our packs and caught a 4 hour train to Salzburg.....the land of the sound of music!!! Haven't been able to get that song out if my head since arriving here! Today we did a bit of exploring - saw some sights from the movie, saw where Mozart was born and grew up, walked up to the hohen Salzburg fortress - the oldest fortress in Europe. We cooked up a storm for breakfast lunch and dinner- the first kitchen we have had on the trip!! We were going to see 'eagles nest' (hitlers lookout where he lived for a bit in between other things - Byron this is in band of brothers) unfortunately it is closed for the winter as it is unreachable.
Well another day in Salzburg tomorrow, might make a trip out to the salt mines!
Xoxox
Sarah
The rest of Athens was great! Saw the acropolis which was amazing, excellent view of Athens. We saw the changing of the guard which involved a parade too and they do it every sunday. We saw the temple of Olympian Zeus and the Olympic stadium. Saw the Athens museum which had so much stuff! Even an Egyptian exhibition with some mummies!
Now in Austria we have just been to Vienna where we saw schoenbrunn palace - home of the Hofburgs (2nd royal family and most recent.) for those who have seen the movie Marie Antoinette, this is where she grew up. Also where Mozart played for the queen for the first time at age 6! We had a look at the spanish dancing horses which look really cool to watch, a hefty fee to see them though! We walked around the city and saw a lot more things and had a really nice dinner (weiner schnitzel) and cocktails with Alisha and Danaes relation Stefan.
Went to a place called Melk for a few hours, a little town just out of Vienna where we went to 'Stift Melk' which was built in 976 a.d. It was and still is a monastry. Really beautiful and one of those secret treasures you never hear about. It had a massive library in one part, 12 rooms! We saw 2 of them and they were BIG! There was a book 1100 years old! There were 16,000 books in just one room!
Afterwards we went back to Vienna to get our packs and caught a 4 hour train to Salzburg.....the land of the sound of music!!! Haven't been able to get that song out if my head since arriving here! Today we did a bit of exploring - saw some sights from the movie, saw where Mozart was born and grew up, walked up to the hohen Salzburg fortress - the oldest fortress in Europe. We cooked up a storm for breakfast lunch and dinner- the first kitchen we have had on the trip!! We were going to see 'eagles nest' (hitlers lookout where he lived for a bit in between other things - Byron this is in band of brothers) unfortunately it is closed for the winter as it is unreachable.
Well another day in Salzburg tomorrow, might make a trip out to the salt mines!
Xoxox
Sarah
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