Well we are home in NZ. The flight back from LA was a good one. Although Helen and I weren't seated together, we each had a spare seat next to us which made things a little more comfortable.
Upon arrival in Auckland, the airport crew couldn't get the finger to move to the plane door, so after waiting for 20 minutes they decided to use stairs instead. I've never walked down onto the ground from a 747 before, so it was a novelty. The plane certainly looks big from down there!
That delay meant we didn't have any time to spare catching our domestic flight to Wellington. By the time we got to the gate, the flight was already boarding. So we didn't have to wait at all.
We are glad to be home in NZ again. Although we miss Edinburgh, it's all very familiar here. And we were surprised that some friends came to meet us at the airport. Very nice of them.
So we'll get about "rebooting" our lives again. Getting moved back into our house, catching up with friends etc.
So until the next time we take a holiday somewhere, this blog will be very quiet. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Los Angeles
Not much to report today except that we're still alive.
We had a bus ride to Paddington Station, followed by the train to Heathrow, and finally a plane to Los Angeles. All went fine.
Tomorrow we shop!
We had a bus ride to Paddington Station, followed by the train to Heathrow, and finally a plane to Los Angeles. All went fine.
Tomorrow we shop!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
London Again
Last night we caught the sleeper train to London. We arrived early, about 6:15 am, with such a hard jolt I nearly fell out of bed. I thought the train had hit the barrier at the front of the platform! Breakfast was delivered to us some time later, a warm bottle of orange juice and a shortbread biscuit each. We passed on both.
We made our way out of Euston station, and decided to walk our bags down to the hotel near Kings Cross. Only 300m according to the street map. We bumped into some Kiwis on their way to a hotel. They must recognise our accents and say "Are you staying in the same hotel as us?". As if because we're from New Zealand we're staying at the same place. Cute!
We check our bags in, change our shoes, and head off. First we get the underground to Paddington Station. Here we investigate the train to Heathrow. We then find some breakfast down the road.
We decide to go to the London Eye. Rather than use underground, we try buses. Unfortunately we get a bus going nowhere near the London Eye, but we get a good ride and eventually pass by Aldwych Theatre where Dirty Dancing is on. They advertise a matinee so we jump off the bus, and minutes later have bought tickets to the 3pm showing. We have box seats as they're cheaper. Always wanted to try a box anyway so why not?
Next we try to find another bus to Waterloo which is near London Eye. We get a bus that says Waterloo, but it's already been to Waterloo and we end up again nowhere near there. So we bus hop at Euston, and decide to go to Royal Albert Hall which I've always wanted to see.
The ride there is very interesting, taking us past many places I'd never seen before. We also see a jewelery shop down Oxford Street cordoned off by police. The windows are smashed in and three sledge hammers are lying on the ground. A broad daylight robbery! Not uncommon in London these days.
Once at Royal Albert hall, it's only 40 minutes until the next tour at midday. We book tickets plus also there are tickets to the BBC Proms at 7pm so we decide to impulse buy those too. We then grab a bite to eat while we wait.
We think we've bitten off more than we can chew (and I'm not referring to lunch!). We will have 2 hours to get to the hotel, and get our room key and move our bags into our room, and get to Dirty Dancing at 3pm. Then after that we may have 1-2 hours to get back to Royal Albert hall. All of a sudden our day is very busy.
The tour of Royal Albert Hall takes an hour, and is very interesting, teaching us a bit of history and learn all about the Queen's box. We get to sit in each different part of the hall. We get to see different staircases and halls. Well worth the visit.
After that, we make a beeline to our hotel, get our room key, then set about finding a bus to Aldwych. This is made easy by the internet, but hard to find the right bus stop. Anyway once we're on the bus all is well.
Dirty Dancing is a laugh. Not a genuine comedy, just so cheesy we had to laugh. The audience is predominantly female, and there are a bunch of ladies below who are very noisy and cheer anything that looks like male flesh. Now that was funny. The box seats provide a good view of the stage and audience. Not bad considering they were the cheapest seats we could get. We enjoy the show and take away good memories. But it's not an award winner by any stretch of the imagination.
Once out of there, we make a dash to our next bus. We end up on an old style double-decker to Royal Albert Hall. Up the spiral staircase at the back, and to the front we go! These old buses are rare now and many people are seen taking photos of our bus as we drive by. It's a rough ride, not as cushy as new buses. It's another good route through many famous streets of London.
Time is tight so it's a yucky hot dog from outside Royal Albert Hall. A classy way to begin The Proms. The hall is half empty until the orchestra arrive then suddenly fills up. It's been a long day, we're tired, and the seating is pretty cramped where we are. We're catching a 12 hour flight tomorrow, why put up with squeezed seating now? So we don't last the distance, opting instead to get some fresh air. We catch a bus back to our hotel and catch an early night.
Tomorrow we sleep in, and fly to Los Angeles.
(I will post photos when we get home).
We made our way out of Euston station, and decided to walk our bags down to the hotel near Kings Cross. Only 300m according to the street map. We bumped into some Kiwis on their way to a hotel. They must recognise our accents and say "Are you staying in the same hotel as us?". As if because we're from New Zealand we're staying at the same place. Cute!
We check our bags in, change our shoes, and head off. First we get the underground to Paddington Station. Here we investigate the train to Heathrow. We then find some breakfast down the road.
We decide to go to the London Eye. Rather than use underground, we try buses. Unfortunately we get a bus going nowhere near the London Eye, but we get a good ride and eventually pass by Aldwych Theatre where Dirty Dancing is on. They advertise a matinee so we jump off the bus, and minutes later have bought tickets to the 3pm showing. We have box seats as they're cheaper. Always wanted to try a box anyway so why not?
Next we try to find another bus to Waterloo which is near London Eye. We get a bus that says Waterloo, but it's already been to Waterloo and we end up again nowhere near there. So we bus hop at Euston, and decide to go to Royal Albert Hall which I've always wanted to see.
The ride there is very interesting, taking us past many places I'd never seen before. We also see a jewelery shop down Oxford Street cordoned off by police. The windows are smashed in and three sledge hammers are lying on the ground. A broad daylight robbery! Not uncommon in London these days.
Once at Royal Albert hall, it's only 40 minutes until the next tour at midday. We book tickets plus also there are tickets to the BBC Proms at 7pm so we decide to impulse buy those too. We then grab a bite to eat while we wait.
We think we've bitten off more than we can chew (and I'm not referring to lunch!). We will have 2 hours to get to the hotel, and get our room key and move our bags into our room, and get to Dirty Dancing at 3pm. Then after that we may have 1-2 hours to get back to Royal Albert hall. All of a sudden our day is very busy.
The tour of Royal Albert Hall takes an hour, and is very interesting, teaching us a bit of history and learn all about the Queen's box. We get to sit in each different part of the hall. We get to see different staircases and halls. Well worth the visit.
After that, we make a beeline to our hotel, get our room key, then set about finding a bus to Aldwych. This is made easy by the internet, but hard to find the right bus stop. Anyway once we're on the bus all is well.Dirty Dancing is a laugh. Not a genuine comedy, just so cheesy we had to laugh. The audience is predominantly female, and there are a bunch of ladies below who are very noisy and cheer anything that looks like male flesh. Now that was funny. The box seats provide a good view of the stage and audience. Not bad considering they were the cheapest seats we could get. We enjoy the show and take away good memories. But it's not an award winner by any stretch of the imagination.
Once out of there, we make a dash to our next bus. We end up on an old style double-decker to Royal Albert Hall. Up the spiral staircase at the back, and to the front we go! These old buses are rare now and many people are seen taking photos of our bus as we drive by. It's a rough ride, not as cushy as new buses. It's another good route through many famous streets of London.
Time is tight so it's a yucky hot dog from outside Royal Albert Hall. A classy way to begin The Proms. The hall is half empty until the orchestra arrive then suddenly fills up. It's been a long day, we're tired, and the seating is pretty cramped where we are. We're catching a 12 hour flight tomorrow, why put up with squeezed seating now? So we don't last the distance, opting instead to get some fresh air. We catch a bus back to our hotel and catch an early night.
Tomorrow we sleep in, and fly to Los Angeles.
(I will post photos when we get home).
Friday, September 4, 2009
Leaving Edinburgh today
Today is the day.....
We have packed our belongings. Our flat is cleaned.
We are sitting here, waiting for the moving people to come and pick up our boxes. And our flat is being inspected at 4pm. After the inspection, we hand over the keys, and walk out the door with only our suitcases being towed behind us.
Thankfully, we still have phone and internet although that is being disconnected sometime today. The later in the day the better!
We're booked in for dinner at Number One for one last treat in Edinburgh. Then we're taking the Caledonian Sleeper train to London later this evening.
It will be sad to leave this place, but mixed with that we will be glad to be home again.
To those of you in Edinburgh, goodbye for now, and you're welcome to come visit us in New Zealand any time. For those of you in New Zealand, see you soon.
We have packed our belongings. Our flat is cleaned.
We are sitting here, waiting for the moving people to come and pick up our boxes. And our flat is being inspected at 4pm. After the inspection, we hand over the keys, and walk out the door with only our suitcases being towed behind us.
Thankfully, we still have phone and internet although that is being disconnected sometime today. The later in the day the better!
We're booked in for dinner at Number One for one last treat in Edinburgh. Then we're taking the Caledonian Sleeper train to London later this evening.
It will be sad to leave this place, but mixed with that we will be glad to be home again.
To those of you in Edinburgh, goodbye for now, and you're welcome to come visit us in New Zealand any time. For those of you in New Zealand, see you soon.
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