Mid-trip Epilogue

Hi All

I am unlikely to be able to get any more blogs done before we leave. And we are just as unlikely to get any internet time in Africa. But what we will do is hand write the blogs and we will post them when we get the opportunity, even if that is when we get back to New Zealand. For now, adios, have fun, and we will see those of you in NZ in 4 weeks time.

Laters
Cam and Laurie

Day 121: The End is the Beginning is the End

Date: Sunday 27th July
Song of the day: Its So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday - Boyz to Men

This was the last of them, the final goodye. It was really cool to have everyone come along, but really sad to realise it will be a while before we see them again. We had our drinks at Henry J Beans in Chelsea, which has the largest garden bar in London. And just as well cause the place got rammed. We stayed until about 9pm, saw lots of people we thought would come and quite a few we weren't expecting, which was cool. It was a sad day and we will miss everyone.

Day 120: The 30th

Date: Saturday 26th July
Song of the day: Party Up - DMX

My life seems to be full of goodbyes and drinking events at the moment. No wonder my liver is not happy with me. Oh well, it can recover in Africa.

Today was a 30th birthday BBQ for a friend from my old work. It will be the last time I see this group of people, so although a celebration, it was quite sad for me. The BBQ started well, when I turned up they were still putting it together. I lent a helping hand, and 2.5 hours later it was sorted. Next came the cooking, and I spent most of the evening on the tools. Although, I can't claim the chicken as another Kiwi cooked that (in case anyone got sick, it was Pierre's fault).

After several Cuba Libre's and a good feed, that dance music went on and everyone partied up. Apart from one party-goer cutting her foot and leaving a trail everywhere, it was a great night, one I was sorry to leave to get the tube. Oh well, we can't win them all can we.

Day 119: The Catch Up's

Date: Friday 25th July
Song of the day: Friday Night - Lily Allen

Our time in back in London has been manic. We have gone from pillar to post and back again, trying to see as many people as possible and also trying to see as many things as possible. It was nice to stop for a few days in Marwell, but also took some days out for catching up with people.

So tonight we made a point of seeing some close friends we hadn't seen enough of on our journey. We meet Dan and Jules for drinks and dinner in Kilburn, at a place we had been to when went to watch Crowded House play in December. It's nights like these that make it really hard to leave the UK. We had a great catch up, and can't wait to see them again in Melbourne sooner rather than later. Of course, there are still many people who we haven't been able to see. You just can't get to everyone, no matter how hard you try.

Day 118: The Night Life

Date: Thursday 24th July
Song of the day: Nightlife Baby - The Cars

So, four years in London is almnost up, it is hard to believe that there are things I haven't done. Well, for the most part I have visited every monument and museum and building that I wanted to, and have seen inside a few that very few people get to see. But for someone who likes photography as much as I do, its a poor effort that I haven't been out to get some decent night shots of London before now.

I meet up with my friend Damian at Big Ben at 9pm last night and got cracking on rectifying this problem. The problem with most of London's landmarks is they are some of the most photographed buildings in the world, so it is hard to get a new persective on them. Damian and I spent about 2.5 - 3 hours wandering around both sides of the river finding better or different angles.

After Big Ben and Westminster Palace we headed to Tower Bridge, which is stunning when lit up at night. Not so many angles to be had here, and it was pushing past 1 in the morning by the time we finished. So after a couple of beers on at the only open bar in the area, the Hilton, we headed home, passing back past Westminster Palace, which had its lights out. Lucky we went there first then.

Day 117: Animal

Date: Wednesday 23rd July
Song of the day: Animal - Pearl Jam

You have probably guessed from the fact that we are going to Africa that we absolutely love wildlife. After our first visit to Africa I said I would never go to a zoo again, but I can't keep away. And this zoo was fantastic. We got there for opening 'cause I am like a little child when it comes to these things, and can barely contain myself. The enclosures were enormous, with some of the herbivores sharing the massive spaces.

I spent an age at the Tiger enclosure taking countless photographs, and I even lucked out and saw the leopards being fed. That was quite good actually because I was having a devil of a time trying to see them amonst all the trees. In all I spent about 8 hours there, and only left because everyone else had left the park and there was no-one around. I thought they had locked me in.

I think I took upwards of 600 photos, but have managed to weed those down somewhat as I did get snap happy and most weren't very good. But it was great practice for Africa, where I am hoping to see lots more animals.

Day 116: A Break

Date: Tuesday 22nd July
Song of the day: Welcome to the Monkey House - The Dandy Warhols

So to give the flatties a break from us and having to creep around in the morning, Laurie and I booked a couple of nights away at a hotel in the New Forest. This is a hotel that our friend Mel had recommended as it has a zoo attached to it.

In fact, the Hotels motto is 'A Room with a Zoo', original. We didn't visit the zoo today; by the time we arrived we wouldn't have had that much time, so instead we had a nice chilled out evening watching movies and ordering room service. Tomorrow we will visit the zoo.

Day 115: I got Nothing

Date: Monday 21st July
Song of the day: Silence - Delerium

When we first arrived in the UK so many things blew me away. On the first day we were here there was the manic tube. Arriving in rush hour to thousands of people not happy with a bag wielding Kiwi ruining their trip to work. That was after the queues at Heathrow which were enormous. We spent our first full day looking at the sites, having lunch in St James Park looking at Buckingham Palace, seeing Bug Ben for the first time. Then there were the crowds on Oxford St on a Saturday afternoon. The shear number of people is hard to imagine when you have come from a place as small as New Zealand.

So its hard to imagine packing up our lives again and moving back. But there are obviously things we have issed about NZ too. It will be great to see family and friends again, and there is all the good food that the UK just doesn't know how to do. But the one thing I will be looking forward to most is the silence. No matter where you go in the UK, there are always always people, everywhere. And in London there is always traffic. You can't get away from it, even in the parks. NZ has an overabundane of quiet. I am sure it will bug me after a while having so few people, but for the first little while it will be cool.

Day 114: A Taste of Home

Date: Sunday 20th July
Song of the day: You Don't Know - Eminem

Our lives seem to go through swings and roundabouts. Yesterday was a fantastic highlight, yet today was a chilled as could be. After a nice long sleep-in, I went out to photo some friends in the bupa 10km run in Hyde Park, which I probably should have been running in as I have been a lazy geeza for far to long now. Although I did taje the opportunity to take a couple of other shots as well

The afternoon didn't help the laziness go either. We went round to our friends place to watch the German F1 GP and enjoy the fantastic taste of New Zealand pizza from Hells Pizza UK. So while we watched these ultra fit guys driving these suer fast cars, followed the tour de Frace (now those guys are crazy) we chowed down on stuff that was real bad for us.

You Don't Know how good this can be ;-)

Day 113: Seat of Power

Date: Saturday 19th July
Song of the day: I've Got The Power - Snap

Today we got to do something that not too many people are lucky enough to do. One of my mates who I meet not too long after moving to the UK managed to scam himself a job at Number 10 Downing St (still trying to work that one out. They obviously hadn't been drinking with him before they employed him). So as Gordon Brown was doing his best at ruining his relationship with the Israeli's, and his family were at their weekend country hideaway (if you can call Essex the country), we had the priviledge of a private tour of a super powers head office.

There would be to much to write about, so here are a couple of highlights.
- For those that have seen the movie 'Love Actually', they yellow stair case with the photos of all the prime ministers does exist and is pretty cool.
- The Garden is a really tranquil, which is quite surprising, and has a Wendy housefor Gordon Browns kids to play in as they live in the apartments
- Gordon Brown actually lives in number 11, as the apartments are bigger and he has kids. Tony Blair did the same.
- There are no meeting rooms, so meetings are held in rooms with chairs worth £250,000, where George Bush meet Gordon Brown was one of those. I can't believe they let my mate near them

There was so much interesting stuff that I can't mention it all. A handcarved Ivory sword gifted after the first gulf war by the Kuwaiti royal family. There are 2 and the other is in the oval office. The smoking chair the Churchill used, still warn where his smoking hand brushed so many times. Solid gold salad servers that would pay for m kids education. I won't go on.

It was one of the best experiences we have ever had and will stay with us forever as it is not something you can do off the street. It was awesome

Day 112: Photos

Date: Friday 18th July
Song of the day: My Minds Sedate - Shihad

There was a reason that my mind was sedate today. It involved a couple to many 'Cuba Libre's' and far to much singing far to late in the night. So me and my foggy voice got up late this morning, feeling quite sorry for myself. We spent the day today getting all our boxes ready to be picked up, and getting thorugh the paper work (which was really tedious. NZ has far to many rules).

So after a nice relaxing day, we went to join our friend Nikki and Damo for dinner. Nikki had unwisely asked to see all the photos we took on our journey. This was until we explained that we 'kept' 8326 from the 3.5 months. Probably a few to many to really do them justice in half a day, let alone a couple of hours after dinner. But we had a look at some we liked and had a very enjoyable evening. I am noticing a trend of rather late nights unfortunately, as again we didn't get to bed until well after one. My liver is also gonna be a little unhappy with me if this drinking trend keeps up.

Day 111: The Old Haunts

Date: Thursday 17th July
Song of the day: Feed The World - Band Aid

I have another confession today (2 in 2 days, that is bad), I love to sing. I don't claim to be any good at it, but if they had a Pop Idol of 'Singing behind closed doors where no-one can hear you', I would be your man. So, it comes as a surprise that I have never got up to sing at Karaoke. That changed last night.

I went back to my old work yesterday to catch up with a few people that I hadn't seen in a while, and it turns out that they were having a Karaoke night that evening. So I joined in, knowing that I was the one person there that wouldn't have to get up the following morning. There were also 2 for 1 Cocktails, so it was going to be a good night.

I broke my Karaoke duck, joining in a group rendition of a favourite song 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. This was followed by another group effort that we use to sing when bored at work, 'Feed the World' by Band Aid. After a few Cuba Libre's, my vocal cords were well lubricated, I was well into it, having a blast.

It was also really cool to catch up with some old friends over a few drinks and see some unexpected faces as well. I even managed to get the tube home, which was an unexpected bonus.

Day 110: Ouch

Date: Wednesday 16th July
Song of the day: Don't Cry - Gun's 'N' Roses

Now, it is time for a confession, although it is probably quite obvious for most. I am a big girls blouse; I know, you say not to be so hard on myself, but it is true. And there is only 1 thing that could make want to cry like the 30 year old nappy wearing wuss that I am, 'NEEDLES'

I don't mind admitting that the idea of getting jabs makes me go a big slobbery wet one. They freak me out, I hate them. But the worst part is, I know they don't hurt. Today we went for our Yellow Fever jabs. As our itinerary has changed and we now have to go to Zambia, we had to get yellow fever. We are not even going to a yellow fever area, but apparently we won't be allowed into some countries without it as it is a yellow fever country.

So we wandered up to the travel clinic at the appointed time, and after some pushing and cajoling, Laurie managed to get me in the door and strapped into the chair. As the Nurse wripped the sleeve off my very unhelpful arm, I stared at the wall and dreamed of dancing Tigers in Tutus to distract me. Of course, I didn't feel anything which is always the case, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

To celebrate my survival from this perilous situation, we had some retail therapy, getting some DVD's and a new suit for home, but I am pretty sure my arm will never recover and might even fall off because of this ;-(

Signing off for possibly the last time
The Big Girls Blouse

Day 109: Life of Riley

Date: Tuesday 15th July
Song of the day: I've Got The World On A String - Frank Sinatra

Awesome, we are now, officially, free from all ties with nothing holding us back, what should we do. Well, to celebrate, I did absolutely nothing. It was the best chilled out day, surfing you tube and F1 websites. Apart from having a lunch with Mel and our friend Steve who we baby sat for, I didn't leave the house. Now that is a life I could get use too.

Day 108: Bye-Bye Jarno

Date: Monday 14th July
Song of the day: Bye Bye Bye - Nsync

Our journey really did end today. The guy that was a no show yesterday called and apologised and asked if they could come and see Jarno this morning. As my large quiff had an appointment with a razor, Laurie headed down to meet them. They made an offer that we could definitely refuse, so we thought that was it.

But no. Later in the afternoon, we got another call from them offering us closer to our asking price, and realising we were happy to have Jarno off our hands, we accepted. So, another trip to Putney in the afternoon, and the 2 young Aussie boys meet us to take Jarno. Money exchanged, paper work signed and a tearful goodbye (for Laurie), and Jarno had left us forever.

There is a little epilogue to our tale of sadness. We were waiting or a celebratory dinner with our flatmate Mel (Mexican again), when Laurie got a call from said Aussie boy asking if we ever had a problem with water and steam coming out of the engine. 'No' we said, 'were you in a traffic jam' (at 5.30pm on the south circular, a traffic jam is an understatement). 'No' they said. Laurie asks 'How hot was the engine'. 'Well, 100-110 C'.

Lauries reply was quite cutting. 'Well, I said you needed to turn the additional fan on when the engine heated up to 90. As 100 degrees is the boiling point of water, that will probably explain the steam, and as the water is boiling, that will explain the water coming from the overflow'. Suitably chastised, I don't think we will hear from them again.

Day 107: The No Show

Date: Sunday 13th July
Song of the day: Black Fingernails, Red Wine - Eskimo Joe

We were really happy this morning, last night we had a firm enquiry about the van, and they were coming to view this morning. We headed down to Putney to meet them. We waited for about 45 minutes before determining that they were not going to turn up. We were gutted, especially seeing as we were having drinks in the arvo and were now gonna be late.

We were joined by some close friends at a bar near home that over looks Hyde Park for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon. It was great to catch up with everyone after so long by ourselves, and apart from the latent kleptomania that seems to run through our friends, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Day 106: The Drunken Superhero

Date: Saturday 12th July
Song of the day: Girls on Film - Duran Duran

As an enthusiastic Amateur photographer, I jump at every opportunity to learn a bit more about how to use my camera and how to take good photos. One of the gentlemen that I use to work with is also a professional photographer, and he had voluteered his time to take some of us novices on a course. It was an excellent way to spend the day, taking loads of photographs, and talking photography with those that are also interested.

Our evening was spent catching up with some friends over a mexican dinner and then heading to the movies to see 'Hancock'. It was nice to go, as we never had a chance in Europe with our lack of fluency in European languages.

Day 105: A Change of Pace

Date: Friday 11th July
Song of the day: I See You Baby - Groove Armada

So I will give little updates while we are in London, as we will be doing some exciting things.

Today, was definitely a change of pace. We baby sat for some friends last night who are looking after Jarno for us. This was fine, they have 2 beautiful daughters aged 2.5 and 0.5 years each. Fantastically well behaved for us, we had a great time. In the morning though, things took a turn for the worse as Laurie and I had to come to grips with Nappy changing for the first time ever.

It seems quite something that we could get to 30 and not have changed a nappy, but Laurie was an only child and I was the youngest, so its not that surprising. So we let mum and dad sleep and we decided to tag team the nappy. We had been warned that the litte girl in question wasn't a big fan of nappy changes, but apart from a few grumbles, she was fine. We managed to whip the offending article off and into the smell safe bags (its a cliche, but how does something so small, produce so much, and with such an interesting aroma), and while I held up the legs, Laurie cleaned, creamed and renappied said bottom. No worries. One happy little lady snuggled into my shoulder and started to drool. Awwww, I may make a dad yet.

We headed into London, and back to our old flat where we are staying whilst in London. We meet the new flatties Dave and Claire, and then enjoyed an evening of DVD's and Cuba Libre's. All-in-all a good first day back in London

Day 104: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning

Date: Thursday 10th July
Staying: Steve and Myriams - Putney, London
Distance Travelled: 94 miles
Song of the day: Hold Tight London - Chemical Brothers

Its a symptom I think of life in London, that it took us as long to drive the few miles along the South Circular as it did to drive from Canterbury to the off ramp to the South Circular. It probably didn't help that we didn't want to come back to London, and could quite happily have driven around for another 3 months as there was so much we waned to see that we didn't.

But here we were, back in London, after a mammoth trip, which we can't wait to repeat in a few years time. For the record, here are the stats as I see them:

Days in Europe: 104
Travelling Days: 49
Total Distance: 8611.8 miles (13778.9 km's)
Average per travel day: 175.75 miles (281.2 km's)
Average per day: 82.8 miles (132.49 km's)
Longest Drive: 372.4 miles (595.84 km's) Cesky Krumlov - Berlin
Longest Bridge: 3.980 km's - Spain A3/E901, Madrid to Valencia
Longest Tunnel: 13.900 km's - Austria A4, south of Innsbruck
Most Scenic Route: Chamonix to Martigny

And few other bits and pieces:
Favourite City: Berlin, Germany
Favourite Place: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Favourite Campsite: Camping Fusina, Venice, Italy
Unexpected Highlight: Ostia Antica, Rome, Italy
Least Favourite City: Porto, Portugal - Le Havre, France
Least Favourite Place: Porec, Croatia
Unexpected Lowlight: Sorrento, Italy (I thought it would be nicer)

There will probably be more to come of these, cause Laurie will probably disagree.

Day 103: Canterbury Tales

Date: Wednesday 9th July
Staying: Canterbury Camping And Caravanning Club Site - Canterbury, England
Distance Travelled: 0 miles
Song of the day: Flood - Tool

We have both been to Canterbury before, but ast time it was pouring with Snow. We went durin our Christmas break in 2005, and spent most of the time trying to fall down or skid off the ice covered footpaths. We were hoping, being summer, that this wouldn't be the case this time.

Of course, we hadn't acounted for one thing, we were in England. England hasn't had a summer for 2 years now (last year it was warm and wet instead of cold and wet in Winter), and it didn't look like that was going to change this year either. Plodding along to the bus stop in the rain, we were wondering why the hell we came back. A nice older couple from the camp site took pity on us and gave us a lift into town, which was really col, but only delayed the inevitable drenching.

We were to spend the day buying a few things for the van, and trying to find a dress for Laurie (again). Fortunately we had more luck this time. It is incredible how helpful people are when they understand what you are saying. I think we have lowered our expectations of service so much from living with the appalling London service, that to get someone who even says hi in a shop is a pleasant surprise. Anyway, we managed to find Laurie a dress thanks to some help from a lovely young lady (I sound so old) in Monsoon, which was excellent. We even managed to get the stuff for van. Apart from the incessant rain, it was a profitable day. (Wagamama for lunch probably helped too)

Day 102: Invasion

Date: Tuesday 8th July
Staying: Canterbury Camping And Caravanning Club Site - Canterbury, England
Distance Travelled: 224.3 miles
Song of the day: Some Might Say - Oasis

It was a sad day today, as we crossed back across the channel for the first time in 3.5 months. It was the true signal that the European leg of our journey was coming to an end.

We left Paris early, which has become our regular time, so I should stop really writing that, and headed back out the A1 to Calais. It was an uneventful drive, and apart from the weather getting worse the closer we got to England (lets be fair, that was expected), there was very little to report.

After a brief sojourn to City Europe (For those that don't know, this is why the English like Calais. It is a massive shopping complex, selling heavily discounted goods, that due to the EU import laws, the English come over by the van load to buy), where we picked up supplies for the next few weeks (alcohol) and days (food), we headed to the ferry and the journey back to Dover.

Laurie got quite excited when we arrived in Dover. The Honda formula 1 team was parked in the departure area (heading to the next race) so Laurie geeked out about that for a while after we left. We headed to Canterbury, where we could spend a couple of days getting Jarno in order to sell him. The camp site we stayed in was a sea of rabbits. There were so many of them, it should have been the location for an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Day 101: Officially Over Paris

Date: Monday 7th July
Staying: Camping Maison Lafitte - Paris, France.
Distance Travelled: 0 miles
Song of the day: Du Hast - Rammstein

I have really taken a disliking to Paris. The place just does my head in. Yesterday we couldn't find a shop off the Champs Elysee that was open, and today, they day we had set aside for the Palace of Versailles, the main reason for going back to Paris, and its SHUT!!!!!!! Not happy.

And its not like we were the only ones not to know about this. There were hundreds of people wandering around wondering why they couldn't get in. And then, to cap off a wonderful morning, its starts to pour with rain, which eliminates the only thing we could see (the beautiful gardens) from the agenda. Not happy

We walked out of the place, telling people not to bother as we did, and headed to the tourist office. 'Its always closed on a Monday' they tell us. 'Well you may want to tell the hundreds of people walking round up there that' we say to them. But atleast we weren't as unlucky as one family who had been sold tickets by the train company for access that day. Now she was not happy.

So we went into town, and at least this time there were shops open. Not that Laurie could find anything that fitted. It was all a bit of a nightmare. One amusing thing did happen in Zara. We spent about 3 hours waiting for the changing rooms, and randomly the people in front of us were from Wellington, so we spent a bit of time chatting to them about just how rude Parisians were (we got ignored in a Restaurant, after they asked us if we were having a meal).

So I have decided I don't like Paris at all.

Day 100: A Quiet Little Village Called Paris

Date: Sunday 6th July
Staying: Camping Maison Lafitte - Paris, France.
Distance Travelled: 0 miles
Song of the day: Relax - Mika

There were only 2 targets for today. First involved somewhere to watch the formula 1, and the second was for Laurie to find a dress. This is Paris, both of those should be easy.....

Perhaps not!

We started on the Champs Elysees which, lets be fair, is a little more expensive than other areas of Paris. Thats OK though, cause we didn't actually find anything open anyway. Apparently Paris suffers from the same archaic Sunday trading law the London does. So there are thousands of people wandering around wondering why they can't buy anything.

The formula 1 wasn't exactly easy to organise either. We visited one of the handily placed tourist offices to ask for a sports bar. After the gentleman consulted the internet, he came back with 1 sports bar which was a long metro ride away. 1 sports bar in Paris, I couldn't quite believe that. Luck decided to shine on us though. Renault have their flagship store on the Champs Elysee, with a big screen and a restaurant upstairs, where we spent the afternoon watching the race.

After the race though, we discovered another problem. Apparently Paris doesn't open at all on a Sunday. We went wandering through a maze of streets in several shopping districts, only to find the same closed store fronts in each place. Laurie was devastated. SO being defeated, we headed back to the campsite.

Day 99: The Speed Tourists Guide to Paris

Date: Saturday 5th July
Staying: Camping Maison Lafitte - Paris, France.
Distance Travelled: 0 miles
Song of the day: One More Time - Daft Punk

Paris is big. Mindbogglingly big. How big? Imagine outer space. Now, put a Metro in there, and that's Paris. So, we needed a cunning plan for tackling it. Our plan was to wander about the first day, see a few new things and revisit the old things that we like, day two would be shopping and day three would be Versailles. Good plan, right?

So, day one in Paris. The agenda is as follows:
1. See the Mona Lisa
2. Visit Sainte Chapelle
3. Revisit the Notre Dame
4. Go to Shakespeare and Co.

1. We arrived at the Louvre at 9.05am (it opens at 9), so we beat most of the crowds. Also, it was Saturday, and the first Sunday of each month is free entry to the Louvre so most people were going the following day. The Louvre is roughly horse-shoe shaped, but about 1 mile from end to end, with 4 floors, and multiple sub-floors. After about six false starts we located the museums most famous piece. We got a surprisingly good view (only 3 people deep), and spent about 20 minutes arguing over whether she was smiling or not. We also decided to take a look at the Venus di Milo (well, why not?). Nice to see, but we were a bit underwhelmed to be honest. We're really not museum people.

2. Sainte Chapelle was next, and we actually queued longer here than at the Louvre (though to be fair the Louvre does have about 20 ticket offices). This church has made it to number 5 in Cam's Favourite Churches list, knocking out La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It's amazing, more stained glass than wall space. The photos just don't do it justice.

3. Revisiting the Notre Dame was a worthwhile stop off point, but it just goes to show how impressive Sainte Chapelle is as Notre Dame doesn't even make the top 5 (it's in the top 10 though). I admit it, I actually love the outside best of all.

4. After a spot of lunch, I dragged Cam off to what is probably the most famous (English) bookshop in Paris, Shakespeare and Co. It's not to be confused with the original which played host to luminaries such as Joyce, Hemmingway, et al, but both have developed some notoriety because it contains beds among its many and various bookshelves, where many writers have stayed over the years. In the 60's this included people like Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs. I lounged over the chairs, took photos, and generally imagined being a bohemian writer living amongst the books.

And that is a full day in Paris.

Day 98: Independence Day

Date: Friday 4th July
Staying: Camping Maison Lafitte - Paris, France.
Distance Travelled: 203.0 miles
Song of the day: City Of Blinding Lights - U2

We have been traveling round for quite a while now, and in that time, we have learnt quite a few interesting things. In fact, it would have been great if someone had told us some of these things before we left. Might have saved some heartache:

1. It is possible for a couple to argue about absolutely anything, given a lack of food/sleep/petrol etc... (we didn't argue too much, really)

2. Never, ever, ever, drive into a town of more than 20,000 people without a GOOD map of the place. This can lead to bad things, very bad things

3. Petrol is expensive everywhere except Spain, Andorra and Slovenia, but it is most dear in Northern Europe.

4. There are less toll roads in Northern Europe (correlation with petrol I hear you say. We looked at this, its possible, but needs more study).

5. According to Laurinda, there is never a bad time for Churros.

6. The rain in Spain falls wherever the hell it likes. There is no Rain/Plain correlation.

7. Drivers in Europe are mental. There is nothing to be done about this.

8. Campsites are not easy to find in most places. Always know where you are staying and how to get there. (This alone will save copious arguments.)

9. New Zealand bank cards do not work in small countries. This is bad.

10. (and this is relevant to today) The French outside Paris are nice. Of course we are heading to Paris now......

Day 97: The Venice of the North

Date: Thursday 3rd July
Staying: Camping Memling – Brugge, Belgium
Distance Travelled: 161.5 miles
Song of the day: Sweet like Chocolate - Shanks & Bigfoot

Today we had a driving/sightseeing double bill planned, which is always a full day. Brugge is relatively small, so we decided to drive the 200-odd kilometres, then use the afternoon to have a look around.

After a little detour around Amsterdam (just an extra 30km), we made good time to Brugge, found the campsite and had caught a bus into town by1.30pm. After a well-deserved lunch, we dashed between buildings during downpours to see the city. One of the first places we discovered was the Cathedral of the Precious Blood, a bit of a creepy name for a church, but one of the most beautiful that we have seen. In addition to lovely stained glass windows, the church was painted with patterns over every surface, a little like one of our other favourite churches, St Mary’s in Krakow. The church contains a relic (which people were taking turns at venerating), and was clearly a tourist draw card. Perhaps the most curious of the sights was the arrival of two Hells Angels, who took their turn at venerating with the tourists – a most incongruous sight.

After the church I ran slap bang into a chocolatier, and being in Belgium it would have been a capital offence to walk past, so I spent a few happy minutes selecting the contents of a nice chocolate tin. Once the rain had cleared, we gave into the touristy temptation of a boat ride on the waterways, so we could see for ourselves how Brugge had claimed the moniker “The Venice of the North”. In fact, it seemed a little like a combination of Amsterdam and Venice, with the Flemish-style of buildings right up to the waterways.

Our last stop of the day was the Brugge Cathedral, where we admired the “Madonna and Child” by Michelangelo, one of the few sculptures of his outside Italy. After this it was back to the van, and into the chocolate tin for a bit of sweet Belgian goodness.

Day 96: Amsterdamage

Date: Wednesday 2nd July
Staying: Gaasper Camping Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Distance Travelled: 0 Miles
Song of the day: Amsterdam - Coldplay

We had both been to Amsterdam before, Laurie several times for work, but we really enjoyed the place, so we decided to go again. We had an early problem, in that the train line from the camp site was not working. So our journey into town was quite a bit longer than first expected.

Contrary to popular belief, Amsterdam is not all Drugs and Prostitutes. The large number of English stag parties may beg to differ, but with the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum would suggest otherwise. We spent the morning in looking at the Royal Palace and Amsterdams main square, as well as looking down then main shopping streets.

After lunch at Wagamama (I now, its not very Dutch, but we have been on the road for 3 months and it is our favourite restaurant, and we haven’t seen one for 3 months), and holing up there after lunch to avoid the thunder storm that came through, we headed to the Oudekerk. This is the old church of Amsterdam, and its one of the cities idiosyncrasy’s that it is in the middle of the Red Light District. Rembrandt’s wife is buried here, and it is considered one of the main sites of Amsterdam. We were underwhelmed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing Souvenir shopping, which we have come quite good at after all this time. Yes, we are a boring old married couple I know, and even in Amsterdam e were back at the van before 7pm. Oh well, thats what happens after this long on the road.

Day 95: Winding Roads and Windmills

Date: Tuesday 1st July
Staying: Gaasper Camping Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Distance Travelled: 265.0 Miles
Song of the day: Roxanne – The Police

We were out of the campsite early enough to hit rush hour in Luxembourg, but fortunately it didn’t turn out to be too busy. Unfortunately, I decided that rush hour was perhaps not the best time to get petrol, and that it could wait until we got to Belgium. As it turned out, Belgium was a lot more expensive for petrol. In fact, The Netherlands turned out to be even more expensive at €1.69 per litre (ouch!), the most expensive we’ve encountered anywhere in Europe.

Although we stuck to the highways, we passed through some places of historic interest on the way to Amsterdam including Bastogne (scene of the Battle of the Bulge), and the Ardennes Forest. We also finally saw our first proper Dutch windmill. The roads in the Netherlands were incredibly busy, particularly since every second person here seems to be towing a caravan. We made it to the campsite without trouble though, and had a relaxing afternoon.

By the way, can anyone tell me why there are three names that refer to this country: the country is called “The Netherlands” or “Holland”, but the people speak and are called “Dutch”? We’re both at a loss.

Day 93 - 94: The Grand Duchy

Date: Sunday 29^th – Monday 30^th June
Staying: Camping Kockelscheuer – Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Distance Travelled: 0 Miles
Song of the day: The Passenger – Iggy Pop

I know we’ve had a few days recently when we’ve posted one blog for several days. I promise I’m not trying to pull a fast one, but when it happens it usually means we’ve had a restful day of doing nothing. Such was the case again on Sunday, except it turned out to be enforced rest for me as I caught a 24-hour stomach bug. However, as Monday dawned (and having slept on and off for 36 hours), I felt bright as a button and ready to see Luxembourg.

The capital of Luxembourg is, appropriately enough, Luxembourg. Luxembourg is often called the “Gibraltar of the North” due to its fortifications which kept out invading armies for hundreds of years. It is home to a quarter of the total population of the country, but is a surprisingly busy place considering that would only be about 120,000 people.

Like so many cities in Europe, it has an “old town” sector, complete with cobbled streets and the cafes that abound nowadays. It also has a lovely church in the old town (the “Notre Dame” of Luxembourg), having lovely stained glass windows (always a crowd pleaser for us), and huge internal columns that are carved in decorative reliefs. The Place d’Armes and City palace was also beautiful, showcasing more relief carvings and towering spires. Inside, the monarchy and democracy co-exist as it is the official residence of the monarch as well as the seat of parliament.

We also took the opportunity to take one of those touristy “hop on hop off” buses, which we haven’t done for an age. It gave us a birds eye view of the city, and took us down through the banking district, which sounds boring but wasn’t at all. There is an amazing amount of new buildings going up, and the modern architecture is quite intriguing.

We intended to round of the day with mini-golf, but unfortunately nobody wants to play golf on a Monday and it was closed. I decided to get my kicks instead by doing a load of washing, while Cam updated his travel notes (now 25 days behind).

Day 92: What language do the people of Luxembourg speak?

Date: Saturday 28th June
Staying: Camping Kockelscheuer – Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Distance Travelled: 144.9 Miles
Song of the day: Red Corvette – Prince

Coming from New Zealand you sometimes feel as though you’re from the smallest country in the world, so it’s nice to visit countries that are smaller than your own. Luxembourg definitely fits the bill, having a population of 450,000, and it was our target for today’s drive.

On the way however, we had an important target – the Nurburgring. It was only about 40km from Koblenz, and being motor racing fans we thought we should pay a visit. We didn’t get off to quite the flying start we were anticipating though, since we managed to take the most winding road in Germany to get there instead of going via the motorway. When we did get there, it was so busy that we decided in the end to give it a miss. We did manage to get an eyeful of expensive cars though as we sat in the traffic jam.

Onwards and upwards to Luxembourg then. We had a nice uneventful drive into Luxembourg (only one more traffic jam), but did get a little lost looking for the campsite. Apparently you can only get to the right turn off if you are travelling east. Eventually we realised that we had gone way past the road, managed to turn around, then found it all well signposted going the other way. Alas, the bus services from where we are staying are scant on the weekends, so the Luxembourgers may be enjoying our company for a few days.

PS: They speak Luxembourgish (a mixture of Flemish and French), but French and German are also official languages.