So its official....i suck at keeping a blog up to date, however i must say its not that i forgot about it, it has definately been one of those things that nags at me just as i am falling into bed, and i promise that i will write on tomorrow.
Anyway...where to start.
Thank goodness that the long cold winter has sort of come to an end. Although its not warm yet, we do have glimpses of gorgeous spring weather, and then it will suddenly switch from being 20, back down to 7. But the nights are getting nice and long. It is light here till 9, which is AWESOME. It really makes you feel like you are getting the most out of your after work hours when there is still light...loving it.
Over Easter we did an awesome roadtrip with Ben and Megan around Ireland. The pics are on my facebook page. We flew into Belfast and then travelled across Nth Ireland to Galway (in the republic) and then to Dublin. We hired a car and it was so nice to be our own bosses, doing what we wanted, when we wanted, and we even had a sat nav to help us navigate.
We loved Galway, its super cute and in Dublin we went to an hilarioius comedy night.....there were like 4 comedians, all of whom were very funny. Definately a great night out. Ben and Megan left us in Dublin and proceeded back to Belfast to return to London.
Caleb and i carried on for another 4 days. We went all around Ireland - Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Killarney, Kilkenny, Cashel, Cahir, Cork etc. We had a lovely time....some very beautiful scenery.
We were really stoked to meet up with a guy that caleb used to work with in Fletchers in NZ, who has returned to Ireland. He showed us around his part of Ireland and probably a highlight was this wee pub that he took us to. It is in literally a town in the middle of nowhere, and from the outside there is nothing that looks overly inviting. However this pub has been owned by the same family for 400 years, and once you enter it you also see that at the far end of the pub is another local business, also owned by the same family......the undertakers!
What is also so awesome about this pub is that apparently just close by is one of the top horse racing stables in Ireland, and it is here that many celebrities have shares in various horses. When they visit the stables, it is this pub that they come to. On the walls of the pub are many pictures of celebrities hanging out in the pub. These include, George Foreman, the Presley family, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many English sporting stars. It is a very rustic, unpretentious place, with an amazing history!
Other than Ireland we have not done any further travelling....however we are looking forward to returning home in June for a visit. Currently we are meant to be comin home via Thailand, but with all the riots there, we are not sure if that is wise....so we will see what happens.
I think another highlight for us was the ANZAC day sports challenge that was held out here in west london. Ben and i play tag rugby (ripper rugby?) in a social grade over here. Anyway Ben was asked to represent NZ at the ANZAC day tournament which he agreed to (as he's ridiculously good!). Then about a week out from the tournament Ben got an email asking if Caleb and i could play too....ummmmm Caleb has played one game and i am not good....talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Anyway, we agreed and so found ourselves representing for NZ in front of a large NZ/Aussie crowd....no pressure! The mens team played first and they got schooled by the Aussies, but our mixed game was very close.....and in the end we came away the winners! I was sooooo excited, i absoloutely love beating Australians....im not sure if there is a much better feeling! So yeah, i am officially a NZ rep...woop woop.
The day was really good all round though. NZ beat Australia at pretty much every sport.....which was amazing.
Ben and Megan have been planning all their travels over the past few weeks....its making me incrediblly jealous, but i have to keep reminding myself that i will get my own chance! And then it also gives me motivation to save more!
I have 2 new friends arrive over here, 2 of my colleagues from social work in NZ...its cool having them here, they are still looking for jobs, i think i was extremely lucky at how quickly i got mine.
I think that is about all.. cant wait to see everyone!
Luv to all
xoxoxox
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
been a while.....
Im pretty sure that im just gettin way slacker at writing the longer we are here, partly cos im lazy and partly cos i feel like i haven't done anything incredibly exciting...but when i think about it, we have done some cool stuff, and even the really boring stuff you might be interested in. So....
Fun Stuff
Caleb had his first Ireland experience....we managed to time it for the end of the big snows, which was really lucky, cos whole airports were being shut down etc, but we flew out fine and were just arriving in Belfast when the pilot told us we were being diverted to Derry. Thats ok, we thought, especially cos we were told that it would just be a refuel, whilst they cleared the runway after a snow flurry in Belfast. However after about 30min of sitting on the runway in Derry they informed us that we were going to be bussed from Derry to Belfast, about 1hr 30min. Again not too bad, kinda like a free tour of Ireland courtesty of Ryan Air....and it was so pretty and snowy. However the promised coaches took another hour and a half to turn up...apparently they were being de-iced....puhlease!!!! But the trip to Belfast was a much needed time to have a nap, as it had been a 3am start that morning.
We met Julie and Erin and they took us straight downtown to meet their other halves. We went to the oldest pub in Nth Ireland, which is very quaint, and Caleb had his first Guiness....a pretty cool place to have his first taste! He also had a traditional fry up....never one to do things by halves!
It was FREEZING in Ireland, but we had amazing hospitality and we even managed to see the dry dock where the Titanic was built...which is amazing! And tried to walk along a beach, but only lasted about 5 min before actually being frozen.
Got to see and show Caleb some really cute bits of Nthrn Ireland, whetting his appetite for our roadtrip which we have planned with Ben and Megan for the Easter Break. We are going to start in Belfast, drive to Galway, then to Dublin and back up to Belfast....really looking forward to it!
Megan and I had the most amazing night on Monday....we went to see Grease!!!! It was truly amazing. We booked online, and somehow scored seats in the second row right in the middle...we enjoyed commenting on how we could see the spit from the actors! Totally incredible, pumping, enthusiastic, fun packed night....i truly didn't want it to end....and i soooo wanted to be Sandy!
I would be quite happy to go again, but now my appetite is whet again for more amazing west end musicals!
We are enjoying having our home, and space, and have had Jess and Carl stay over a wee bit which is fun. We are expecting to have more lovely lodgers over the next few months.....Urs and Mel!!! Can't wait to show you our lil bit of London.
The weather is quite freezing....getting down to -4 overnight and highs of 2 during the day, but its all bearable if there is no wind, which seems pretty common. There are also some beautiful clear winter days, which are really nice. It doesnt seem to rain much too, so im loving that.
Work
GRRRRR.....probably not the best time for me to be writing about work when i have had such a crappy two days....but......yeah! Pretty busy, annoying clients, annoying everything really.....not so much fun at the moment...but handing over some cases soon which i am looking forward to! Anyway, enough from me Miss Grumpy!
Caleb is probably not the best person to talk to about work to either......he had to leave Build Burro as they were running out of work, and he landed another job, but is working the most insane hours....he is out of the house at 5am, not returning till 8pm at the earliest, but normally between 9-12am. I am a work widow! However, gotta do what you gotta do. His job is in Surrey, south of London and his company is contracted to build and expand Sainsbury's (a grocery chain). But he is hanging in there, and as long as he can stomach the hours, which include working sat and some sundays, including his birthday this sunday, he will stay.
So anyway, that is a little catchup for you....just uploaded some photos of our home and the canal by us...its pretty gorgeous! Hope you can see them!
Luv lots
xoxoxxo
Fun Stuff
Caleb had his first Ireland experience....we managed to time it for the end of the big snows, which was really lucky, cos whole airports were being shut down etc, but we flew out fine and were just arriving in Belfast when the pilot told us we were being diverted to Derry. Thats ok, we thought, especially cos we were told that it would just be a refuel, whilst they cleared the runway after a snow flurry in Belfast. However after about 30min of sitting on the runway in Derry they informed us that we were going to be bussed from Derry to Belfast, about 1hr 30min. Again not too bad, kinda like a free tour of Ireland courtesty of Ryan Air....and it was so pretty and snowy. However the promised coaches took another hour and a half to turn up...apparently they were being de-iced....puhlease!!!! But the trip to Belfast was a much needed time to have a nap, as it had been a 3am start that morning.
We met Julie and Erin and they took us straight downtown to meet their other halves. We went to the oldest pub in Nth Ireland, which is very quaint, and Caleb had his first Guiness....a pretty cool place to have his first taste! He also had a traditional fry up....never one to do things by halves!
It was FREEZING in Ireland, but we had amazing hospitality and we even managed to see the dry dock where the Titanic was built...which is amazing! And tried to walk along a beach, but only lasted about 5 min before actually being frozen.
Got to see and show Caleb some really cute bits of Nthrn Ireland, whetting his appetite for our roadtrip which we have planned with Ben and Megan for the Easter Break. We are going to start in Belfast, drive to Galway, then to Dublin and back up to Belfast....really looking forward to it!
Megan and I had the most amazing night on Monday....we went to see Grease!!!! It was truly amazing. We booked online, and somehow scored seats in the second row right in the middle...we enjoyed commenting on how we could see the spit from the actors! Totally incredible, pumping, enthusiastic, fun packed night....i truly didn't want it to end....and i soooo wanted to be Sandy!
I would be quite happy to go again, but now my appetite is whet again for more amazing west end musicals!
We are enjoying having our home, and space, and have had Jess and Carl stay over a wee bit which is fun. We are expecting to have more lovely lodgers over the next few months.....Urs and Mel!!! Can't wait to show you our lil bit of London.
The weather is quite freezing....getting down to -4 overnight and highs of 2 during the day, but its all bearable if there is no wind, which seems pretty common. There are also some beautiful clear winter days, which are really nice. It doesnt seem to rain much too, so im loving that.
Work
GRRRRR.....probably not the best time for me to be writing about work when i have had such a crappy two days....but......yeah! Pretty busy, annoying clients, annoying everything really.....not so much fun at the moment...but handing over some cases soon which i am looking forward to! Anyway, enough from me Miss Grumpy!
Caleb is probably not the best person to talk to about work to either......he had to leave Build Burro as they were running out of work, and he landed another job, but is working the most insane hours....he is out of the house at 5am, not returning till 8pm at the earliest, but normally between 9-12am. I am a work widow! However, gotta do what you gotta do. His job is in Surrey, south of London and his company is contracted to build and expand Sainsbury's (a grocery chain). But he is hanging in there, and as long as he can stomach the hours, which include working sat and some sundays, including his birthday this sunday, he will stay.
So anyway, that is a little catchup for you....just uploaded some photos of our home and the canal by us...its pretty gorgeous! Hope you can see them!
Luv lots
xoxoxxo
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Les vacations!
Helllooo peeps...well what have we been up to.
Cant believe Christmas and new years have been and gone! It was one of the more bizarre christmas's i have had, but yet sooo fun.
On the 24th we braved a huge queue of about 2000 people and waited for ever in a line to ensure that we got on our Eurostar train to Paris. Leading up to the 24th had been cancellations and major delays, meaning that thousands and thousands of people were stranded either in London or Paris unable to get anywhere. Needless to say, we were very worried that we would not make it to Paris, thus destroying our dreams of Chrismas at Eurodisney...however....our cunning plan when we heard that services were resuming and were trying to clear the backlog was to arrive early at St Pancras, to ensure that we made it onto our train. Our train was due to leave at 9am, and we figured that 6.30am would give us plenty of time to beat others there.
Our first site was of a long queue, but not as bad as we expected, until we turned the corner and surveyed a gigantic snaking queue that we couldnt see the end of. We trudged past this giant snake and were slightly horrified to see than not only did it keep going, but it now went outside, unable to be held in the building itself. As we walked outside into the freezing morning, we were more horrified to see that the line continued all the way down the side of the building...a good 4oo meters. It was here that we joined the queue! Needless to say at this point we weren't feeling very optimistic about making our train on time. But it moved incredibly quickly, we all had bets on when we would make it to the front....Megan won! Then somehow we managed to get placed on our original train.....STOKED! So was a great adventurous start to a very cool break in Paris.
Paris itself was so much cooler than i had actually expected. I have always thought that the Eiffel tower was so overrated, but boy does it look so much better in real life. We saw all the main sights, managed to walk forever down the Champs Elysee....sore feet, was wowed by the Arc de Triomphe, impressed by the Louvre and how its modern shape somehow makes the super old palace around it more beautiful, not less, in awe of the Eiffel Tower (especially after we returned at night and walked up the 670 steps...yes i counted, to get to the second floor), speechless at the architecture of the Sacre Coeur and just totally enjoying the gorgeous streets and markets of Paris in winter.
The boys in particular spent a good amount of their time browsing the delights of the local patisseries. Where we were staying was off the tourist track and really lovely. We were immersed in local Frenchness, and Ben got to try out his you tube learnt French. I enjoyed feeding him phrases and words that i was way to shamed to try out for myself. Seeing him speak phrases and obviously be understood was awesome, and then super funny when they would reply to him, only for him to be completely lost. Needless to say "i speak a little french" was one of our most common phrases.
We also managed to catch up with a friend that Caleb and Ben and i know from back in the day, what are the chances of her being in Paris at the same time as us....was nice catching up in some very warm restaurant on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day...we arose nice and early with the anticipation of the best present ever.....a day at Eurodisney! The morning there was amazing, lines of 5-15min...so awesome. However we were probably too spoilt as by the afternoon we were way too cool to wait in lines of 40 min...so spent a bit of time wandering round, sussing out food options.....as you do. It was lots of fun, introduced Ben and Megan to the wonders of its a small world! Good times!
Our New Years excitement was specially amazing because we moved into our new place! We have moved in with Ben and Megan which is awesome too. Its wicked to be able to share experiences with people who you know are gonna be round on our return. Our new flat is mint.....lotsa room, and really close for me to work. Our lounge is huge and we are open for business....we want to have an open home to newbies in London, so please make use of our lounge! We will be very excited to have visitors.
Life is ticking along, we have booked tickets home for a brief visit in june. We spend like 5 days in Thailand, where we plan to just chill out on the beaches, and then 7 days in Auckland, so hopefully will be able to catch up with everyone then.
We are heading to Nth Ireland this weekend, just for a visit. It will be caleb's first time in Nth Ireland, so fingers crossed that we can get there, cos there is snow forecast for tonight and the rest of the week, which means lots of cancelled flights....i can't believe how London comes to a halt when it snows, its unbelievable!
Our next trip we are hoping to do is maybe Finland or Norway or something over Easter....wanna see the northern lights! So gotta do some planning.....so cool to be so close to things like this.
Anyway....think that is all...miss ya's
xoxoxoxo
Cant believe Christmas and new years have been and gone! It was one of the more bizarre christmas's i have had, but yet sooo fun.
On the 24th we braved a huge queue of about 2000 people and waited for ever in a line to ensure that we got on our Eurostar train to Paris. Leading up to the 24th had been cancellations and major delays, meaning that thousands and thousands of people were stranded either in London or Paris unable to get anywhere. Needless to say, we were very worried that we would not make it to Paris, thus destroying our dreams of Chrismas at Eurodisney...however....our cunning plan when we heard that services were resuming and were trying to clear the backlog was to arrive early at St Pancras, to ensure that we made it onto our train. Our train was due to leave at 9am, and we figured that 6.30am would give us plenty of time to beat others there.
Our first site was of a long queue, but not as bad as we expected, until we turned the corner and surveyed a gigantic snaking queue that we couldnt see the end of. We trudged past this giant snake and were slightly horrified to see than not only did it keep going, but it now went outside, unable to be held in the building itself. As we walked outside into the freezing morning, we were more horrified to see that the line continued all the way down the side of the building...a good 4oo meters. It was here that we joined the queue! Needless to say at this point we weren't feeling very optimistic about making our train on time. But it moved incredibly quickly, we all had bets on when we would make it to the front....Megan won! Then somehow we managed to get placed on our original train.....STOKED! So was a great adventurous start to a very cool break in Paris.
Paris itself was so much cooler than i had actually expected. I have always thought that the Eiffel tower was so overrated, but boy does it look so much better in real life. We saw all the main sights, managed to walk forever down the Champs Elysee....sore feet, was wowed by the Arc de Triomphe, impressed by the Louvre and how its modern shape somehow makes the super old palace around it more beautiful, not less, in awe of the Eiffel Tower (especially after we returned at night and walked up the 670 steps...yes i counted, to get to the second floor), speechless at the architecture of the Sacre Coeur and just totally enjoying the gorgeous streets and markets of Paris in winter.
The boys in particular spent a good amount of their time browsing the delights of the local patisseries. Where we were staying was off the tourist track and really lovely. We were immersed in local Frenchness, and Ben got to try out his you tube learnt French. I enjoyed feeding him phrases and words that i was way to shamed to try out for myself. Seeing him speak phrases and obviously be understood was awesome, and then super funny when they would reply to him, only for him to be completely lost. Needless to say "i speak a little french" was one of our most common phrases.
We also managed to catch up with a friend that Caleb and Ben and i know from back in the day, what are the chances of her being in Paris at the same time as us....was nice catching up in some very warm restaurant on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day...we arose nice and early with the anticipation of the best present ever.....a day at Eurodisney! The morning there was amazing, lines of 5-15min...so awesome. However we were probably too spoilt as by the afternoon we were way too cool to wait in lines of 40 min...so spent a bit of time wandering round, sussing out food options.....as you do. It was lots of fun, introduced Ben and Megan to the wonders of its a small world! Good times!
Our New Years excitement was specially amazing because we moved into our new place! We have moved in with Ben and Megan which is awesome too. Its wicked to be able to share experiences with people who you know are gonna be round on our return. Our new flat is mint.....lotsa room, and really close for me to work. Our lounge is huge and we are open for business....we want to have an open home to newbies in London, so please make use of our lounge! We will be very excited to have visitors.
Life is ticking along, we have booked tickets home for a brief visit in june. We spend like 5 days in Thailand, where we plan to just chill out on the beaches, and then 7 days in Auckland, so hopefully will be able to catch up with everyone then.
We are heading to Nth Ireland this weekend, just for a visit. It will be caleb's first time in Nth Ireland, so fingers crossed that we can get there, cos there is snow forecast for tonight and the rest of the week, which means lots of cancelled flights....i can't believe how London comes to a halt when it snows, its unbelievable!
Our next trip we are hoping to do is maybe Finland or Norway or something over Easter....wanna see the northern lights! So gotta do some planning.....so cool to be so close to things like this.
Anyway....think that is all...miss ya's
xoxoxoxo
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
OOOOHHHHH i can hear christmas bells a ringing!!! i LOVE christmas, my favourite time of year, especially Christmas eve, i love the christmas eve service and then a short sleep before waking up to presents and tons of food! It really doesnt get much better, so this year should be an interesting time for me then. We figured that because we weren't having to do the whole family thing this year, we should make the most of it, so we booked tickets for a short escape to Paris, with the brilliant plan of spending christmas day at Eurodisney. The only small flaw in the plan is that the temp is likely to be a big fat 0 degrees or less.....eeek. Plenty of people have taken great delight in informing me that they have never been as cold in their lives as they were in Paris! Brilliant! However on the up side im hoping it will be far to cold for many people to be as stupid as us to venture onto rollercoasters and the like and therefore we will get on as many rides in as short a time as possible.
Now that Caleb and i will have done Disneyland and Eurodisney on Christmas days, i feel as though we should fit in Tokyo Disney and Disneyworld, just to round it all off....what a chore!
In other delightful christmas news we went shopping for our christmas tree on the weekend. Brought one from the wee church down the road and its now sitting in our lounge/dining room twinkling away with its little lights. Awwww i love christmas! Our church has carol services over the next two weeks so im gonna get my rightful share of carol loving....actually much to everyone else's dismay i have discovered the christmas song channel on the t.v, hours of fun for me,not so much for everyone else. oooh yeah, when we went to get the christmas tree we also got to see REINDEER, like real ones, and baby ones too! They were in the local mall, just hanging out, on show for everyone to have a gawk at, totally awesome.
It s getting rather chilly here, like days are between 4-7 degrees, and the nights a wee big colder. So we have to wear jackets etc when we go out. Caleb has even had to begin to wear trousers, which if you know him at all is insane! Sometimes i forget, especially at work that its freezing outside, run outside to do somethin and very quickly return for jacket etc. Im still holding off on the scarf and gloves, but i dont know how much longer i can do that for...also gonna have to look for some ear warmers (ive seen some really cute ones round).
We had our first experience of Brick Lane last weekend. Jess W and her boyf Carl took us there for Londons most popular dish! For those of you, like me up until a couple of months ago who had no idea what Brick Lane is....its a street in the middle of London full of Indian restaurants. As soon as you approach you are accosted by men who try to lure you into their curry house with all sorts of deals and promises. Our deal was pretty sweet, 2 free rounds of drinks, free poppadoms and 30% off! Pretty sweet deal really. And it was soooo yummy. Will definately be back. After Brick Lane we went to this bar/club and spent the next few hours in hysterics as we watched this guy dance.....can't explain the hilarity of his dancing, but lets just say that he thought he was THE MAN, and so did the 3 or 4 other quality guys that thought they were watching God's gift to women about to pull all the chicks with his dancing skills....too funny.
Anyway.....so close to Christmas, even closer till Ben and Megan arrive...whoopwhoop, and then it will be 2010 which is insane!
Hope this is a little catch up of our lives.
Luv yas!!!
Now that Caleb and i will have done Disneyland and Eurodisney on Christmas days, i feel as though we should fit in Tokyo Disney and Disneyworld, just to round it all off....what a chore!
In other delightful christmas news we went shopping for our christmas tree on the weekend. Brought one from the wee church down the road and its now sitting in our lounge/dining room twinkling away with its little lights. Awwww i love christmas! Our church has carol services over the next two weeks so im gonna get my rightful share of carol loving....actually much to everyone else's dismay i have discovered the christmas song channel on the t.v, hours of fun for me,not so much for everyone else. oooh yeah, when we went to get the christmas tree we also got to see REINDEER, like real ones, and baby ones too! They were in the local mall, just hanging out, on show for everyone to have a gawk at, totally awesome.
It s getting rather chilly here, like days are between 4-7 degrees, and the nights a wee big colder. So we have to wear jackets etc when we go out. Caleb has even had to begin to wear trousers, which if you know him at all is insane! Sometimes i forget, especially at work that its freezing outside, run outside to do somethin and very quickly return for jacket etc. Im still holding off on the scarf and gloves, but i dont know how much longer i can do that for...also gonna have to look for some ear warmers (ive seen some really cute ones round).
We had our first experience of Brick Lane last weekend. Jess W and her boyf Carl took us there for Londons most popular dish! For those of you, like me up until a couple of months ago who had no idea what Brick Lane is....its a street in the middle of London full of Indian restaurants. As soon as you approach you are accosted by men who try to lure you into their curry house with all sorts of deals and promises. Our deal was pretty sweet, 2 free rounds of drinks, free poppadoms and 30% off! Pretty sweet deal really. And it was soooo yummy. Will definately be back. After Brick Lane we went to this bar/club and spent the next few hours in hysterics as we watched this guy dance.....can't explain the hilarity of his dancing, but lets just say that he thought he was THE MAN, and so did the 3 or 4 other quality guys that thought they were watching God's gift to women about to pull all the chicks with his dancing skills....too funny.
Anyway.....so close to Christmas, even closer till Ben and Megan arrive...whoopwhoop, and then it will be 2010 which is insane!
Hope this is a little catch up of our lives.
Luv yas!!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
I can always count on my dad to tell me that i am slack at my blog...i had been feeling pretty slack, just hadn't managed to turn that into motivaton as such...anywhoo....
What has been happening over the last month! Lots!
Caleb
He started at his real job. He is working on a 30 million pound house in Chelsea, which is getting a refit. Theres nothing wrong with it, but the person who has the lease for the next 10 years has decided to spend a whole lot of money on it. So he is working there, mostly with Kiwis's and Ozzies and a couple of poms and polish thrown in for good measure. He is working very very hard as he really wants this job and there is a lot of competition out there for jobs.
But he is learning lots, working pretty normal hours and it means we can start saving....although that has yet to begin, so many places to see and things to do!
Maree
My work is still as crazy as ever, some of you may have heard my exciting? story about being trapped down on the gypsy site because some of the men started a fight while we were there, and it blocked the one entrance/exit to the site. I had to call the police, and we havent been allowed down there since because they are doing a risk assessment to see if we should be allowed back there yet. Im happy to return, the fight was in no way directed at me, but my managers etc have to be sure that we aren't at risk going back there, especially because i called the cops, which makes me not very popular in such a closed society.
I spent the most awesome night in Nth Ireland with Julz and Erin. I literally flew into the airport, and got picked up...and we started talking. We talked from like 9am to 11pm, then i got up in the mornign and attended Erin's church. We also hung out with Erin's parents and then flew home. We talked so much, and laughed so much, but had the best time. We had 6 years to catch up on.
Then on Friday night Caleb finally got to meet Julie. I have known her for 8 years, and Caleb had not met these Irish girls who i always talk about. She was in London with her husband, so we met up for dinner, which was brilliant. Although i was sure they would get on, its always a bit scary to introduce two people you care about and hope they get on....but no worries, and i also got to meet her husband who is lovely too. We are hoping to plan a trip to England's best theme park soon, which would be amazing...i love roller coasters!
Together
We had a BRILLIANT time last weekend in Cardiff. We went with a bus load of other Kiwis to watch the Wales vs AB's game. Its only like a 3-4hr drive from London and Cardiff had the most amazing atmosphere. There were red jersey's everywhere, they closed the main street to traffic and it was just a massive party. Millenium stadium is literally one street over from the main street, which provides the perfect setting for before and after celebrations.
The stadium itself is incredible, and because they shut the roof, its awesome to see rugby unaffected by the elements. Hearing the welsh crowd sing bread of heaven etc was amazing too. After the fight we went to watch the boxing match which was touted here as David vs Goliath, with David Hayes and that massive Russian dude. We met some really lovely Welsh people in the pub, who were so welcoming etc.
The next morning we got up early and went for a walk around post rugby Cardiff. The morning was remembrance Sunday and the area was so quiet and serene compared to the night before. We wandered through the grounds of a park that used to belong to Cardiff Castle and the autumn colours were in full flight. It was a lovely morning. We were walking past the Hilton on the way back which were where the All Blacks were staying, Caleb saw Steven Donald and they had a chat. The All Blacks were flying to Milan that morning. We had also managed to see John Afoa the day before, because as we were walking through Cardiff, suddenly there were the All blacks reserves right in front of us, so that was fun to see them.
Anyway we loved that weekend was amazing.
Yesterday we hired a car and drove to Bath to see Simon and Lisa, who are out here for just over a week. We met their wee baby Joseph too which was great. However the day was absoloutely miserable, completely wet and windy and consequently we were confined to sitting indoors as much as possible. However we really enjoyed catching up with them, and Caleb and I still managed to go and see the Roman Baths and had a wee drive around Bath so got to see how cute it all is. Then we drove to Bristol to the house they are staying at and hung out in the warm house, round the gorgeous fire before driving back to London.
It was sooo good to see them, a little taste of home.
I don't think we are planning to do too much more travelling before our time away in Paris over Christmas, maybe we will, but its not in the pipelines at the moment. As much as we love it, we end up being very very tired the next week for work, and we both need to be on top of our games at work.
We have found a church...its downtown, cos all the local ones are rather dead. My second cousin goes there, and its full of young adults our age. There are about 500 people that go there and its held in the Picadilly Theatre which is showing the grease musical at the moment, funny huh. But we feel really welcome there, so we are keen to keep going.
Anyway i hope that fills you in a bit....oh yeah we also got ourselves a bed..yeah!, but we are having issues because its sooo squeaky, everytime you move even a tiny bit it gets its squeak on, so much so that it wakes us up in the night time. Anyway it is Calebs challenge to fix it for me.
Getting kinda chilly, although still manageable. Not looking forward to winter!
Sorry we are slack at writing, will try and be a bit better.
What has been happening over the last month! Lots!
Caleb
He started at his real job. He is working on a 30 million pound house in Chelsea, which is getting a refit. Theres nothing wrong with it, but the person who has the lease for the next 10 years has decided to spend a whole lot of money on it. So he is working there, mostly with Kiwis's and Ozzies and a couple of poms and polish thrown in for good measure. He is working very very hard as he really wants this job and there is a lot of competition out there for jobs.
But he is learning lots, working pretty normal hours and it means we can start saving....although that has yet to begin, so many places to see and things to do!
Maree
My work is still as crazy as ever, some of you may have heard my exciting? story about being trapped down on the gypsy site because some of the men started a fight while we were there, and it blocked the one entrance/exit to the site. I had to call the police, and we havent been allowed down there since because they are doing a risk assessment to see if we should be allowed back there yet. Im happy to return, the fight was in no way directed at me, but my managers etc have to be sure that we aren't at risk going back there, especially because i called the cops, which makes me not very popular in such a closed society.
I spent the most awesome night in Nth Ireland with Julz and Erin. I literally flew into the airport, and got picked up...and we started talking. We talked from like 9am to 11pm, then i got up in the mornign and attended Erin's church. We also hung out with Erin's parents and then flew home. We talked so much, and laughed so much, but had the best time. We had 6 years to catch up on.
Then on Friday night Caleb finally got to meet Julie. I have known her for 8 years, and Caleb had not met these Irish girls who i always talk about. She was in London with her husband, so we met up for dinner, which was brilliant. Although i was sure they would get on, its always a bit scary to introduce two people you care about and hope they get on....but no worries, and i also got to meet her husband who is lovely too. We are hoping to plan a trip to England's best theme park soon, which would be amazing...i love roller coasters!
Together
We had a BRILLIANT time last weekend in Cardiff. We went with a bus load of other Kiwis to watch the Wales vs AB's game. Its only like a 3-4hr drive from London and Cardiff had the most amazing atmosphere. There were red jersey's everywhere, they closed the main street to traffic and it was just a massive party. Millenium stadium is literally one street over from the main street, which provides the perfect setting for before and after celebrations.
The stadium itself is incredible, and because they shut the roof, its awesome to see rugby unaffected by the elements. Hearing the welsh crowd sing bread of heaven etc was amazing too. After the fight we went to watch the boxing match which was touted here as David vs Goliath, with David Hayes and that massive Russian dude. We met some really lovely Welsh people in the pub, who were so welcoming etc.
The next morning we got up early and went for a walk around post rugby Cardiff. The morning was remembrance Sunday and the area was so quiet and serene compared to the night before. We wandered through the grounds of a park that used to belong to Cardiff Castle and the autumn colours were in full flight. It was a lovely morning. We were walking past the Hilton on the way back which were where the All Blacks were staying, Caleb saw Steven Donald and they had a chat. The All Blacks were flying to Milan that morning. We had also managed to see John Afoa the day before, because as we were walking through Cardiff, suddenly there were the All blacks reserves right in front of us, so that was fun to see them.
Anyway we loved that weekend was amazing.
Yesterday we hired a car and drove to Bath to see Simon and Lisa, who are out here for just over a week. We met their wee baby Joseph too which was great. However the day was absoloutely miserable, completely wet and windy and consequently we were confined to sitting indoors as much as possible. However we really enjoyed catching up with them, and Caleb and I still managed to go and see the Roman Baths and had a wee drive around Bath so got to see how cute it all is. Then we drove to Bristol to the house they are staying at and hung out in the warm house, round the gorgeous fire before driving back to London.
It was sooo good to see them, a little taste of home.
I don't think we are planning to do too much more travelling before our time away in Paris over Christmas, maybe we will, but its not in the pipelines at the moment. As much as we love it, we end up being very very tired the next week for work, and we both need to be on top of our games at work.
We have found a church...its downtown, cos all the local ones are rather dead. My second cousin goes there, and its full of young adults our age. There are about 500 people that go there and its held in the Picadilly Theatre which is showing the grease musical at the moment, funny huh. But we feel really welcome there, so we are keen to keep going.
Anyway i hope that fills you in a bit....oh yeah we also got ourselves a bed..yeah!, but we are having issues because its sooo squeaky, everytime you move even a tiny bit it gets its squeak on, so much so that it wakes us up in the night time. Anyway it is Calebs challenge to fix it for me.
Getting kinda chilly, although still manageable. Not looking forward to winter!
Sorry we are slack at writing, will try and be a bit better.
Love lots
Maree and Caleb
Friday, October 16, 2009
Update
So i had some complaints....DAD! that my blog needed updating...i dont think i am doing bad, i only did one like 6 days ago! But basically in those 6 days...
Caleb has got himself a job...again we dont know details of when he is starting etc, it seems to be a pattern here, but hoping he will start next week. I think he's actually going mad sitting around at home, like actually. The job is a carpentry job based with a company in Chelsea.
Although he has found his new fix of watching Survivor Samoa on you tube and has created his own facebook account, so he has been mildly productive.
We booked tickets to the All Blacks vs Wales game in November....so excited! just the one night away in Cardiff, but till i actually spend long enough at work to feel not too bad about having the occasional long weekend, thats sort of the extent of our time away.
We also booked tickets to Paris for Christmas!! We are going with Ben and Megan on the 24th of December, spending Christmas Day at Eurodisney (can i get a whoop whoop!) and then having a wee gawk at gay paris!!! Gonna be freezing, but im so excited! Got mean deals too.
We went and watched Jess Wood in a Shakespeare play the other night. It was the abridged version of As you like it. Proud of myself that i understood most of it, even got some of Shakespeares insane jokes....Caleb was not such a fan, im impressed that he sat through all 80 min of it...but im sure we must be at least a wee bit more cultured from it!
Tomorrow morning we have a ridiculously early start...im going to Nth Ireland for a one night stand, and Caleb has to take me to the train! My flight is really early and im making him get up wiht me at like 4.30am to accompany me so that i dont get mugged in London.....nah just dont wanna go alone! He's actually not coming with me this time, he is staying behind in London town!
My job is amazingly busy....i just can't believe that im busy ALL the time, ive never experienced anything like it, except when i worked my one shift at the Nestle factory, which if you have heard me recount was my day from hell, i actually cried and begged Caleb not to send me back. But my job is insane! The day just rushes past....im actually surprised when i look up and see its home time.....what the!
Its getting chilly here, we dont really go out now without a jumper, and even caleb wears one. All the leaves are turning brown and its actually quite pretty, and im enjoying the chill, its not awful but im not sure im gonna love when winter hits!
Anyway, that is us. Dont think we have much more news.
Luv ya's
Caleb has got himself a job...again we dont know details of when he is starting etc, it seems to be a pattern here, but hoping he will start next week. I think he's actually going mad sitting around at home, like actually. The job is a carpentry job based with a company in Chelsea.
Although he has found his new fix of watching Survivor Samoa on you tube and has created his own facebook account, so he has been mildly productive.
We booked tickets to the All Blacks vs Wales game in November....so excited! just the one night away in Cardiff, but till i actually spend long enough at work to feel not too bad about having the occasional long weekend, thats sort of the extent of our time away.
We also booked tickets to Paris for Christmas!! We are going with Ben and Megan on the 24th of December, spending Christmas Day at Eurodisney (can i get a whoop whoop!) and then having a wee gawk at gay paris!!! Gonna be freezing, but im so excited! Got mean deals too.
We went and watched Jess Wood in a Shakespeare play the other night. It was the abridged version of As you like it. Proud of myself that i understood most of it, even got some of Shakespeares insane jokes....Caleb was not such a fan, im impressed that he sat through all 80 min of it...but im sure we must be at least a wee bit more cultured from it!
Tomorrow morning we have a ridiculously early start...im going to Nth Ireland for a one night stand, and Caleb has to take me to the train! My flight is really early and im making him get up wiht me at like 4.30am to accompany me so that i dont get mugged in London.....nah just dont wanna go alone! He's actually not coming with me this time, he is staying behind in London town!
My job is amazingly busy....i just can't believe that im busy ALL the time, ive never experienced anything like it, except when i worked my one shift at the Nestle factory, which if you have heard me recount was my day from hell, i actually cried and begged Caleb not to send me back. But my job is insane! The day just rushes past....im actually surprised when i look up and see its home time.....what the!
Its getting chilly here, we dont really go out now without a jumper, and even caleb wears one. All the leaves are turning brown and its actually quite pretty, and im enjoying the chill, its not awful but im not sure im gonna love when winter hits!
Anyway, that is us. Dont think we have much more news.
Luv ya's
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Small world!
Ok, so i havent written for ages..i totally thought i had written another one, but i was wrong!
Sooo updates.
Caleb
Well he is still looking for a job. Had a few interviews, but for one reason or another he hasn't got the job. One job he totally had, but the cost to insure him for the work van was 4000pounds and his boss wasnt willing so that sux!
He is getting a bit bored so your prayers would be much appreciated that he finds work soon.
Although he hasnt got a job, he has managed to do some fun like.....meet that russian hit man! or at least thats what i like to call him. Caleb had his address memorised from the Hungarian Bath house, but when we looked it up on google maps it didn't look like it existed. So one day he decided that he would go and physically look for it. So he wandered up and down Chelsea Embankment, which is a flash road that overlooks the river, looking at the names on all the apartments till he found the name of the Russian! I saw him when i got home from work, and he was just leaving to go and see this guy, he wanted to catch him at home....too funny. About 10pm when he wasnt home still i had all sorts of scenarios running through my head, my favourite was that caleb had to undertake an initiation for the russian mafia and was at that time carrying out a hit on some Polish underworld figure! Unfortunately once again my imagination proved slightly on the crazy side.....but Caleb did manage to meet with Mr Toffee nose, who works for one of the guys who pretty much owns Chelsea, there are 2. Roman Abranovich and another guy, and he works for him. He regaled Caleb with stories of how he 'fixed' his problems that came up. my personal favourite anecdote of the night was Mr Russians offer to give Caleb all of his old suits, because he is getting new ones!!! What!!!! Does Caleb look a little scruffy???? Too funny. He also got both of our cell phone numbers, saying that he may invite us to a dinner party when he next throws one....ummmmm scary....i think i may have to bone up on my manners and all that. He casually would name drop to caleb about Sting and Madonna throughout the conversation too....so amusing. So yeah thats our fixer friend....oh and we even have his business card and it totally just says 'fixer'. Totally the best.
Maree
We spent a weekend in Stratford on Avon. Too cute! Had a really fun time wandering aroudn the village and along the Avon river. Wasn't too fussed about all the Shakespeare stuff, but not bad to have a wee look at. Was mint weather, and there was a food festival on too. I had a really nice time. The second day we went to Warwick Castle and spent 5 hrs wandering round. Madame Tussauds has taken over the management of the castle and it has different wax figures dotted round the castle showing the different members of the royalty that inhabited the castle. My favourite thing there was watching the falconry show. So cool to see the hawks etc hunting. The castle is the most intact one that we have seen, cos it was inhabited constantly for 1000 years.
Did you see us on Breakfast. Our newest claim to fame (thanks to Lisa Carter cos she told us tamati was here), was to join Tamati at Buckingham palace and get on T.V smiling and waving inanely at the camera. Its all part of my cunning plan to become a childrens t.v presenter and then to get onto dancing with the stars.....what a fantastic plan. But my mum saw us, so at least it was worth the trip down there.
Sports
You know us.....a wee bit sports mad. Well being over here hasn't changed that, maybe even its made us a wee bit madder, you know the whole absence makes the heart grow stronger. Caleb was a real trooper for the David Tua match, while i stayed snuggled up in bed, he made his lonesome way down to a pub that was screening the early morning match. He fondly describes the fight as 'the best time', and the 'biggest sausage sizzle that hes been too, with barely a girl in the room'. Cant say im the hugest fan of boxing, but stoked that Tua won, but feel sorry for Cameron. Caleb also ran into a bunch of guys that he went to school with at St Kents.
We have also brought tickets for NZ vs Australia league game in a couple of weeks. CAnt wait to see it live. They are playing at twickenham. We booked a shuttle to the game, and then realised that we had booked on an Aussie fans website...so i think that if we lose it will be a very long ride back!
The longer we are here the crazier it seems that London is such a small place. I attended some training yesterday... there were 5 of us in the training. 2 other kiwis adn i knew them both! How insane is that. In a city of 7million, it shouldnt be that easy to run into people.
This is officially the worst blog ever, i have given up trying to write cohesively. I just vomit words onto the blog page!
Miss you guys
luv lots.
Sooo updates.
Caleb
Well he is still looking for a job. Had a few interviews, but for one reason or another he hasn't got the job. One job he totally had, but the cost to insure him for the work van was 4000pounds and his boss wasnt willing so that sux!
He is getting a bit bored so your prayers would be much appreciated that he finds work soon.
Although he hasnt got a job, he has managed to do some fun like.....meet that russian hit man! or at least thats what i like to call him. Caleb had his address memorised from the Hungarian Bath house, but when we looked it up on google maps it didn't look like it existed. So one day he decided that he would go and physically look for it. So he wandered up and down Chelsea Embankment, which is a flash road that overlooks the river, looking at the names on all the apartments till he found the name of the Russian! I saw him when i got home from work, and he was just leaving to go and see this guy, he wanted to catch him at home....too funny. About 10pm when he wasnt home still i had all sorts of scenarios running through my head, my favourite was that caleb had to undertake an initiation for the russian mafia and was at that time carrying out a hit on some Polish underworld figure! Unfortunately once again my imagination proved slightly on the crazy side.....but Caleb did manage to meet with Mr Toffee nose, who works for one of the guys who pretty much owns Chelsea, there are 2. Roman Abranovich and another guy, and he works for him. He regaled Caleb with stories of how he 'fixed' his problems that came up. my personal favourite anecdote of the night was Mr Russians offer to give Caleb all of his old suits, because he is getting new ones!!! What!!!! Does Caleb look a little scruffy???? Too funny. He also got both of our cell phone numbers, saying that he may invite us to a dinner party when he next throws one....ummmmm scary....i think i may have to bone up on my manners and all that. He casually would name drop to caleb about Sting and Madonna throughout the conversation too....so amusing. So yeah thats our fixer friend....oh and we even have his business card and it totally just says 'fixer'. Totally the best.
Maree
We spent a weekend in Stratford on Avon. Too cute! Had a really fun time wandering aroudn the village and along the Avon river. Wasn't too fussed about all the Shakespeare stuff, but not bad to have a wee look at. Was mint weather, and there was a food festival on too. I had a really nice time. The second day we went to Warwick Castle and spent 5 hrs wandering round. Madame Tussauds has taken over the management of the castle and it has different wax figures dotted round the castle showing the different members of the royalty that inhabited the castle. My favourite thing there was watching the falconry show. So cool to see the hawks etc hunting. The castle is the most intact one that we have seen, cos it was inhabited constantly for 1000 years.
Did you see us on Breakfast. Our newest claim to fame (thanks to Lisa Carter cos she told us tamati was here), was to join Tamati at Buckingham palace and get on T.V smiling and waving inanely at the camera. Its all part of my cunning plan to become a childrens t.v presenter and then to get onto dancing with the stars.....what a fantastic plan. But my mum saw us, so at least it was worth the trip down there.
Sports
You know us.....a wee bit sports mad. Well being over here hasn't changed that, maybe even its made us a wee bit madder, you know the whole absence makes the heart grow stronger. Caleb was a real trooper for the David Tua match, while i stayed snuggled up in bed, he made his lonesome way down to a pub that was screening the early morning match. He fondly describes the fight as 'the best time', and the 'biggest sausage sizzle that hes been too, with barely a girl in the room'. Cant say im the hugest fan of boxing, but stoked that Tua won, but feel sorry for Cameron. Caleb also ran into a bunch of guys that he went to school with at St Kents.
We have also brought tickets for NZ vs Australia league game in a couple of weeks. CAnt wait to see it live. They are playing at twickenham. We booked a shuttle to the game, and then realised that we had booked on an Aussie fans website...so i think that if we lose it will be a very long ride back!
The longer we are here the crazier it seems that London is such a small place. I attended some training yesterday... there were 5 of us in the training. 2 other kiwis adn i knew them both! How insane is that. In a city of 7million, it shouldnt be that easy to run into people.
This is officially the worst blog ever, i have given up trying to write cohesively. I just vomit words onto the blog page!
Miss you guys
luv lots.
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