Brussells Belgium- Mussels, Beer, Chocolate & Chips

The title says it all. Brussels is not exactly the jewel in Europes crown, but did serve as an interesting weekend away in early March.

Above- The world famous Manneken pis (yes a statue of a little boy doing wees). This picture actually does this statue too much justice beacuse seeing it in person is even less spectacular. I read an article that said that this was in the top 10 of over rated tourist sites in the world! It is definately a must do though.

Whilst New Zealand was basking in one of its hottest summers of all time, Nadia and I were freezing in Belgium, hence why we took solus in the chocolate in Cholcolopolis.

Above- In the 6+ years that Nadia and I have been together I have rarely seen her happier than the day she discovered Chocopolis a heaven for chocolate lovers.

Above- Much more my style mussells, chips and beer.

Above- If I look cold in this photo, there is a reason- because I am because its freezing outside.

Above- A real Belgium Beer house

Above- The Atomium, originally built for the World fair in 1958.

Above- Nadia poses with a giant cat on a bicycle.

Above-The Grand Palace. Apparently the flag only flies when royalty is in- I guess they knew we were coming.

Long weekend to Portugal

In ealry Feb Nadia and I popped over to Lisbon in Portugal for 4 days. Lisbon is great as there is lots to see, the weather is much mildier than London , transport is a breeze and the time zone is also the same as London.




Above- The Lisbon Experience. Nadia and I took the lift up to the top and had great views of the city.

Nadia posing!

Above- one of the many statues plotted around the city.

Clark posing!

Above- Torre De Belem

Above- a popular spot in downtown Lisbon. Would have been even better if we hadn't been asked whether we wanted to buy 'good smoke' a number of times.

Above- Lisbon

Above just down from the hotel we were staying.

Alfama is in the old part of Lisbon, it houses some narrow streets and some interesting characters.

A fisherman tries his luck with the Jesus statue as backdrop. Jesus was no help to him on this day as he walked away empty handed.

Christmas Cheer in Chaminox

For Christmas this year we headed to Chaminox in France. Chaminox itself is a big ski town and could be described as the Queenstown of France with its numberous tourists, beautiful surrounds and extravagant prices. Chaminox is about a 2 hour drive from Geneva in Switzerland south into France.

We stayed in a chalet with 9 others for 7 days and during this time had some great sunny days, the only issue was that the temperature was a chilly -10 degrees!

Above- Snow as far as the eye could see. We were lucky that we had as much snow as we did as I was told by the locals that it was rare to have so much snow as early before Xmas.

Above- We had 2 days on the slopes. For me that was one day skiing and one day snowboarding for Nadia that meant 2 days of R&R in the warmth of the chalet. The picture above shows me at the top of one of the highest peaks just before we attempted to ski down the rather treterous black trail.

Above- Not a great idea for those with a fear of heights, this Gondola took us up to one of the highest peak that we could possible ski down, with moderate success.

Olly & Toby at the top of the Gondola with some stunning views in behind.

Nadia outside the Catholic Cathedral Church in Chaminox. We went to Christmas Eve Mass. Unfortunately though, my skills in the French language are not so flash so apart from the very little was understood!

Picture above shows the valley that Chaminox sits in glistening in snow.

Nadia's care package from home consistting of an Ice breaker, Possum fur hat and goves and numerous thermals really paid divedends.

One day we hired snow shoes and poles (not as glamerous as the movies). The locals thought it was a great joke as we walked the equivalent of footpaths around Chaminox in search for more challenging terrain.

From left- Julia, Laura, Mel, Toby, Olly, Janine, Clark

One off our days off involved a roadie to Evian which is the town most famous for producing bottled water. This was a bizare little town which I guess is more popular in summer & who could blame people wanting to go there, what with there mocked up wodden villages and giant pot plants!

A nation in mourning- AB's vs France

A late decision saw us along with flatmates Amy and Tim head across to Cardiff for the rugby. It took about 2hours on the train and we stayed with a lovely Welsh family. Amy and Tim had met their daughter while travelling through South America.




Above -Amy and Nadia take a moment to pose outside the stadium before the game. The streets were packed full of Kiwis, a black out!


Tim and I actually went to the game while the girls went out for dinner and soaked up the atmosphere outside the ground. Above - not our actual seats but a good view from halfway for those who paid the extra NZ$500.




The All Blacks intensity in the Haka was impressive, unfortunately games are not won by how hard you slap your legs when performing a Haka.

Tim and I were quite keen to have a look on the pitch, but the 7+ men in high vest orange jackets were not so.

A lovely group shot from left Amy and Tim (back), Maddy, Hayley, Clark, and Nadia (and some random who we picked up off the street).

It was a fantastic weekend one we will always remember...................for the wrong reasons.

Big news.... in Bath

Bath spa is a quant town about 2 hours train ride west from London. The town is most famously known for the Roman baths that are there. The baths are established around a natural hot spring similar to what we have in parts of the New Zealand.

However, Bath is now most famous for where I proposed to Nadia......................and she said yes....

Above- The Abbey that has stood in Bath for a few hundred years.

Yes believe it or not there is a home to the Sally Lunn bun and its in Bath from the year 1482. Who would have thought. Slightly more impressive than the home of the Jimmys mince pie in Roxburugh.

The picture above shows in the bottom foreground the Roman baths and in the background the Abbey.

I'm told that second to Venice and somewhere else I cant recall, Bath is the only place in the world to have a set of shops on a bridge- I wasnt convinced.

It was only after both Nadia and I dipped our hands in the water that we saw the huge bright yellow hazard signs saying 'do not touch the water' woops...................

The Roman Baths were very interesting. So many old things that have been round longer than our home country of NZ, you can't help but be impressed by this gigantic Roman head.

We listened to an audio throughout our tour of the Roman Baths whcih was very informative and a great history lesson!

Below is the B&B where we stayed - Great Ashley Farm. It was approximately 20 minutes out of Bath very quiet which roused memories of Forest Hill.

Above the magical spot where I proposed to Nadia.