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3 weeks after getting back from NZ, we decided it was about time for another holiday... roll on Easter in New York! We had heard a lot of good things about New York & it didnt dissapoint. We had 5 nights in the big apple & it was non stop action from day 1. Manhattan apparently has 200,000 people per square mile- the most in the world. We were staying right in the core of the big apple in times square which proved the theory above correct!

Above- the view from the free Staton Island ferry of the statue of liberty.


Above- ground zero, not a lot to look at yet, I think it is due to be finished sometime in 2012

Above- The great Madison Square Garden of which I went on a tour off & took in all the great sporting history that the pkace had to offer, oh & also met one of the NY Knicks cheerleaders. Whilst I was abosbing my sporting Nirvana Nadia was doing her own tour of sorts ... in the womens fasion section of Macy's department store!

Above- Inside 'the garden' unfortunately being Easter basketball had not started & the NY ranngers ice hockey team were away so I had to settle for views from the skybox of the travelling circus.

We didnt see David Letterman kicking round in our travels but I guess there was always that potential.

Nadia doing her best CSI impersonation

Above- Macy's in the foreground with the Empire State Buidling to the right

The Staten island ferry runs every 15minutes and is FREE on your travels you get a magnificent view of the statue of liberty, a must do in New York.

Above- Times square, where we were staying it was heaving with people 24 hours a day. The building in the middle has been empty for a number of years with the revenue for its upkeep coming purely from company advertising on the side of its building.

Above- Central Park

Above- The United Nations building

Above- The view of Central Park from the Rockerfeller Centre

Above- View of the Empire State building from the Rockerfeller centre

Above- Baseball batting cages at Chelsea Piers- I thought I was Babe Ruth when hitting the softballs, but when I switched to baseballs I didnt fair so well.

Above- Monument in Brooklyn

Above- Walking across the Manhattan bridge

Above- The view of the skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge

Above- Wall Street

Above- Nadia's 'Happy Place' the M&M's centre in Times Square

The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn

Click on the video above to see the view of Central park from the Rockerfeller centre

7th March, 2009... Our Wedding Day

Saturday the 7th of March, 2009 was the day of our wedding. We had a fantastic time and will remember the day as one of our happiest for the rest of our lives. The wedding was at the St Mary's bascilica in Invercargill on a surprisingly sunny Saturday. I was not allowed to have any other photos on here due to the deal with Womans Day, sorry.

Central Otago, New Zealand

Shotover river
The Kingston Flyer

The Crown range

Saffron, Arrowtown
1 dozen oysters

Cromwell
Overlooking 'Olde Cromwell'
Old town, Cromwell

Millbrook resort

The view of Queenstown from the skyline restaurant

Posing at the top of the gondala

Clark in Queenstown with Kelvin Heights golf course in the background

The Earnslaw

The ledge bungy moments before I leapt

Bungy jumping
Lake Wanaka

Feliz Navidad from Barcelona

After some reshuffling of our holiday courtesy of Unliver PLC year end we found our sleves in Barcleona a little earlier than we expected i.e. Christmas rather than new year.

We thought this would work well as it would be warmer than England and remind us of warm Xmas summers of home. Barcelona was a barmy 15 degrees when we arrived so the plan was working well... this was just the first day though, the following 3 days it rained like it was the wettest place in the world. Who am I kidding that title clearly goes to Invercargill, so I guess it rained like that, which given it was Christmas time gave us a calming feel and some mild home sickness as memories of many a wet christmas came flooding back.

Above- Nadia sports the brolly in front of the National Museum of Art

Above- Christopher Columbus statue on the water front. You can also climb up here for veiws over the waterfront.

Above- swimmers took to the water for the annual Christmas swim, apparently a tradition... trust me it was a lot colder than it looks!

Above- The Barcelona Arc de Triumf- there seems to be a few of these we have seen kicking around in our travels, this one not quite as impressive as in Paris, but worth a look all the same.

Above- the view from the art museum a very impressive site, unfortunately the wether was mediocre so the picture doesnt do the view justice.

Above- yes its a giant smiling wooden lobster, its not that werid when you think about NZ's Ohakune having a giant carrot, Taihape's gumboot & of course the mighty Wallacetowns big tap.

Above- Christmas lunch Barcelona style- Seafood Paella with Spanish beer.

This was ok but no competition to the new spuds, new carrots, chicken, ham, turkey & new peas swimming in a sea of gravy that I am used to for xmas.

Above- Nadia on the water front- I can imagine during the summer these beaches heaving with people, you will notice a distinct lack of people there during this time of year (except probably the odd englash tourist who will take whatever sunshine they can get).

Above- The Barcelona Olympic Stadium, the home of the 1992 Olympics where that archer famously shot up the flaming arrow to light the Olypic flame- easily the best olympic games moment in my humble opinion.

Above- The Sagrada familia, designed by Gaudi which has been under construction since 1882, its a shame they couldnt have finished it up before we arrived.... actually it is not expected to be completed until atleast 2026!

Apatments in downtown Barcelona Gaudi style- reminded me a lot of Fraggle Rock for those of you who remember that one!