Mykonos & Delos

We are now on the island of Mykonos, our last stop before heading back to Athens, and then to Sicily! We were hoping to get some shelter from the winds that plagued us on Naxos, but were told on our arrival that Mykonos is the "island of the winds". So is Delos, it seems. Re-reading Lonely Planet, I have learned that the Cyclades are "exposed to the northwesterly meltemi winds... a fierce wind". Too true. Wellingtonians will be at home.

We arrived yesterday, and spent the avo poking around the shops in the now-familiar narrow streets of towns in the Cyclades. The opening hours around here are utterly bizarre. Museums close at 3, banks close at 2, the pharmacies open at 5... We've both had a nasty flu (not bird flu, mind you), so we wanted to get some cold medicine. All the pharmacies were closed, but they all had cryptic clues pointing towards another pharmacy that was going to be open at night. We followed all the signs around, asked several local shop owners, killed time having dinner, and finally found the single open pharmacy. Very peculiar.

Anyway, we decided there wasn't much to do on Mykonos so today we caught a small ferry to nearby Delos, the sacred island of ancient Greece. Inhabited since 3,000BC, it became the centre of Apollo worship in 900BC (the God, and his twin sister Artemis, were believed to be born here). Since then the island became a religious centre, and eventually a strong trading power. See Mum's notes for more info!

The whole island is an open-air archaeology site, and you can spend hours wandering the ruins, and chancing across interesting things. The paths are strewn with ancient pottery shards (you walk on them) and there are also the usual wildflowers and colourful skinks/lizards in abundance. Most interesting are the lion statues overlooking the scared lake (drained in the 20s after a malaria outbreak) and the lovely floor mosaics. There are many in the ruins with geometric designs, but the more interesting ones (ie. people and animals) have been harvested for the museums.

The little museum was also interesting, but some rooms were roped off. No apparent reason that we could see, but we're getting used to the random way of doing things that the Greeks have.

NZ WATCH: We went to a small naval museum which, apart from having a globe on which New Zealand was present, had a model of the Endeavour! Very impressive - less so the write up, which referred to "New Jeeland". Oh well.

History lesson from Mum

Got a nice email from me Mum with some interesting history about the islands of the Cyclades that we are visiting. I haven't really waited to get permission to repost this, but I wanted it in chronological order before writing about Mykonos (where we are now). Enjoy!

Santorini
It was the Santorini explosion which put paid to the power of Cretan King Minos by creating such a tidal wave that it wiped the Aegean side of the island off the map and destroyed their powerful navy as well as causing Minos's palace to fall in on itself, undermined as it was by the network of tunnels and storerooms under the palace. The bellowing of the Minotaur was probably nothing more than the sound of the earthquake! Once you see the size of the caldera you can understand something of the magnitude of the tidal wave. Naturally the power vacuum left was quickly filled by the Minoans' understudy, Mycenae. With true modesty they built their fortified citadel as you saw and spawned a couple of bellicose kings and feeble lovers...all of which takes you to the Trojan War. Ho hum.

Mykonos
Destination of young poseurs and dance till dawn Eurotravellers, gays and nude beaches. I wonder what you will see there? [Ed - fortunately too cold for nude Eurotrash.] Actually I loved Mykonos and its winding narrow streets designed to confuse pirates... it has fantastic shops and jewellery. The island of Delos next door has atmosphere. It was the slave saleyards in ancient times, handling as many as 10,000 slaves a day at times. Before that it was so sacred that no one was allowed to die there. [Probably a cynical decree by the Athenians to keep people away from their treasury, housed on the island.]

Thanks Mum!

The mountain roads of Naxos

Hired a car so that we could make the most of our one day on Naxos. It's a bit weird driving on the wrong side of the road, but even stranger to be changing mirrored gears. Fortunately the pedals remain in the same order! It's also quite... exhilirating driving on the island's little roads, as mokies whizz by and other cars come flying at you when there's only room for one at a time.

First we drove inland, getting lost a few times, to an abandoned ancient quarry. This is now covered with orchards, and smells divine - orange and lemon blossoms. At the quarry, there are a couple of half-made kouros (young male figure) statues. These apparently cracked while they were being carved and were abandoned. It's easy to miss them, we almost walked past the first - sheltered as it was in the corner of a small field under a tree. Very interesting actually - all the more so because there are almost no other tourists. You have to climb about on your own at random (the signs are non-existent). Makes you feel like you're the first person to find it!

Similar theme of exploration at the Cave of Zeus, though we never actually found this. We scaled a path up the mountains, following a posse of friendly mountain goats, until the path disappeared under a rockslide - and it didn't reappear on the other side! Weird. The goats were undeterred but we were forced to admit defeat and turn back. (It makes us feel better that a couple of keen German tourists, who ventured further, also had to come back unsatisfied.)

We also set out on foot through a small town in seach of a tiny Byzantine church, hidden down overgrown narrow paths between farmplots. The way was littered with brightly coloured skinks, which at least made the trip worthwhile because the church was closed. Lots of places are closed!

Another big drive and we caught the view atop the island's highest mountain, before going cross-country to the Temple of Demeter. This was also off-season, so the museum was closed, but we could walk around the site unhindered and alone. Wonderful!

Unfortunately we couldn't get into the also-closed Sanctuary of Dionysos. And after we beat a path through the wildnerness to get to it. Sigh...

All in all a big day, which we topped off with a visit to the Venetian museum at the kastro, and a classical guitar concert by an extremely talented player (who looked like Gary).

Naxos

Killed the morning by sunbathing and doing crosswords (Jaimz - you'll be pleased to know that I have now mastered the cryptic! And Sudoku!)

Afterwards just a 2 hour ferry ride to delightful Naxos - much quieter now that all the Greek tourists have gone back home (good work, our timing the island tour with the Greek Easter holidays!). This is the island where Theseus abandoned Ariadne, who had helped him find his way through the labyrinth of King Mynos (on Crete).

Nowadays there is plenty to see. As you arrive in the harbour you are greeted by the spectacular arch of the unfinished Temple of Apollo, and the town rises up a medieval/Venetian walled citadel (the kastro). We hope to hire a car tomorrow to explore the rest of the island, as it is too early in the season for the bus tours.

Naxos is also famous for its cheese (even as far back as Aristophanes), and a liquor called kitron. This is distilled from the fruit and leaves of an eponymous citrus tree, and comes in three colours (denoting flavour and strength) - green, clear and yellow. I have now tried the first two - yummy! Tastes like Cointreau.

Easter in Greece

The Greeks are pseudo-vegetarians, in that they often abstain from meat for religious reasons (basically fasting). The week up to Easter is one such example. Imagine my dismay, then, when Easter Sunday is celebrated with many spit-roasted lambs. Even Anna was put off by the skinned, skewered lamb-skull we saw (in close-up, yick!).

The other way the Greeks like to celebrate Easter is by throwing touch-tet explosives everywhere (ie. touch sensitive bangers). These sound like gunshots, and can happen anywhere, anytime. Usually right behind you while you're strolling along peacefully. Or in the middle of the night. Again and again and again.

They also like to dance and sing (often in an 80s kind of way, yikes!). In fact, we found several television channels that play nothing but... (well, in between repeat screenings of Zeferelli's Jesus of Nazareth). "Hoopah!"

Santorini

A late update, but better than never! We have just spent several days at the idyllic (but tourist-plagued) island group of Santorini, part of the Cyclades (ie. the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea).
The islands have been reshaped several times in last few millenium by sizeable earthquakes and volcanic activity. Originally the site of a flourishing Minoan outpost, ancient Santorina was devestated by one of the largest eruptions in recorded history. This left a giant hole - the caldera - in the island. It is now a ring shaped island, with small islets that have appeared/disappeared severally in the intervening years. It is famous for the staggering views from the cliffs on the edge of the caldera, where foolhardy Greeks have built beautiful stucco houses.

We, unfortunately, were placed on the other side of the island (after an 8 hour ferry ride, no less). However, we did sign up for a full day tour of the island by bus and boat. This was pretty cool, though walking up the volcano was just like wandering around on a slightly pitiful version of Rangitoto. However, the views were splendid, and I got heaps of photos just like the one above.

The next day we befriended an English/Australian gentleman and his Fijian/Australian daughter, and shared a taxi to Fira, the main town. We took a cable-car down the cliff-face to the old port, and I had a donkey ride back! (I hope none of my animal rights friends are reading this...)

NZ WATCH: found a genuine New Zealand flag at no less than two restaurants!

Meteora monastaries

Day 4 of 4!

After a grand old breakfast of Greek yoghurt and honey, we went up into the spindly cliffs of Meteora to visit some Byzantine monastaries. These were used in the Roger Moore James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. We visited the Monastary of the Transfigured Saviour, the largest of the 6 surviving (of 24). More heady cliff top views that I wouldn't recommend to Mum or Lis. Home to Orthodox monks and a posse of pregnant pussycats (really!). There were some musuems, beautifully painted chapels and even an ossuary with the monks' skulls.

The avo was a long drive back to Athens, but we did stop at Thermopylae (pronounced thermo-pee-lay) where the 300 Spartans faced down the Persian army until they were betrayed. Dad has since informed me that the NZ forces faced down a German Panzer division here during WWII in a nearly exact reactment of the famous stand.

The Oracle of Delphi

Day 3 of the 4 day tour, and a pretty cool one at that. We spent the night at the modern town of Delphi, nestled on the side of precipitous cliffs. Quite heady stuff, and enough to leave one feeling very vertiginous.

From here we travelled to ancient Delphi, where the ruins of the famous Temple of Apollo were uncovered under the locals' houses (since removed). There was a crack in the earth here, which leaked vapours from the centre of the world (probably poisonous). The oracle (always a woman) would inhale the vapours before entering into a trance, whereby she would start talking in tongues. Her mutterings were interpreted by a seer (always a man), who spun them into useless epigrams. These statements of the future could be read as either positive or negative, and therefore, Apollo could never be said to have made an incorrect fortune. (Alexander the Great wasn't impressed by his ambiguous fortune, until he threatened violence and then the oracle announced that he was "unbeatable".)

Nowadays it's all completely ruined, and all that remains is the usual building footprints covered in wildflowers (including poppies!), with occasional standing columns. Here there was the aforementioned temple, but also treasuries, a theatre, a stadium and gymnasium, and another temple to Athena.

In the afternoon we visited a workshop where they handmake Byzantine icons - medieval-style paintings on wood, depicting either individuals (Jesus, Saints etc) or biblical scenes. We bought one of St George slaying the dragon (which is about as secular as it gets here).

By the way, Greek television is really weird. We watched some kind of Greek Idol meets Big Brother %P

Olympia

Day 2 of the 4 day tour.

Our early morning wakeup call was courtesy of a small earthquake. Greece has three plates beneath it, and a faultline runs up the Ionian coast - where we're staying! Whee!

Today was mostly spent at the site of the original ancient olympics and in the accompanying museum. At the Olympia site there is the original field that the athletes competed on, and they have been able to identify the start and finish lines. I had a run about on it, but I don't think I'll be winning any apples (the original first prize) or olive/laurel wreaths (the later, replacement prize).

There was also a workshop for a famous ancient artist, who created the 12 metre high statue of Zeus that was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and a sacrifial altar to Hera, where the Olympic torch is now lit for the modern Olympics.

What's blowing our minds is that this stuff is several thousand years old, especially since the degree of artistry is already so developed. There's very little difference, for example, between the Hermes of Praxiteles and later works by Michelangelo (who never saw it, as it was only dug up in 1877).

In the afternoon we skirted through Patra and across the world's largest suspension bridge, and up into Mount Parnassus where we are now. It's like a little Alpine village, and we have a view to die for from our hotel window.

Tomorrow - Delphi, where we will be talking in tongues!

Mammoth mainland tour

Day 1 of a 4 day tour of the Peloponnesus peninsula (you'll have to find your own map - all the ones we tried on google were crap...)

We've been enjoying Greece a lot. Once you're out of the city you soon find that the landscape is very beautiful (if a little thirsty looking) and there is not much in the way of human presence. Building tends to be concentrated into small villages, of which there are many, but long tracts in between with plains and mountains (80% of Greece is mountainous).

The landscape is rocky, and instead of trees there is a tangle of bracken and weeds punctuated by occasional brilliant-purple "Judas trees". We don't whether it's due to pollution or not, but the horizon is always hazy. Makes the flow of mountains look very mysterious and ancient! We've followed the coast quite a bit, and the sea is a deep aquamarine - dotted with islands and fishfarms.

There are also many peculiar sights. There are countless half-finished buildings, mostly concrete construction with reinforcing bars sticking out the tops of columns, awaiting a second floor. Apparently people are allowed to build even when they don't have funds to complete, so all of these are works in progress - even if they take 10 years! (And many look like they've been sitting around.)

So... a quick summary of all the character-building stops we've made:

MEGARA - home of the tragedarian and poet Aeschylus [Note for Mum: pronounced esshyluss - rhymes with puss(ycat)], now a centre for heavy industry and the production of oil, gas and concrete. We passed the island of Salamis, site of the famous naval battle where the ancient Greeks routed the Persians.

CORINTH CANAL - dissects the shortest point on the peninsula, and is 6km long. Begun in the 7th century BC, but only completed in the 1880s. It's also 80m deep. Heady stuff. Apparently Nero also took a stab at it. He broke the first ground with a gold spade, then left 6,000 Jewsih slaves to work at it. Fortunately he was killed a few months later and work went on hold (again, and not for the first time).

SANCTUARY OF AESCLYPIUS and THEATRE OF EPIDAUROS - the sanctuary was built for the god of medicine, and people would come to be healed. During the night they would have visions indicating how they could be healed. Old people and pregnant women were not allowed to stay on the site in case they died, and instead camped outside. The nearby theatre has nearly perfect acoustics (look it up Jaimz), and is still used for annual performances of ancient plays. Maria Callas also performed there twice in the 1950s.

MYCENEAN ACROPOLIS - legend has it that this was built by Perseus with the help of the race of giants, the Cyclopses. It is built with multi-tonne blocks placed on one another, without mortar (this style is known as 'cyclopean'). In reality, it was inhabited since neolithic times, and then subsequently by many other civilisations. Most famously, it was thought to house the burial ground of Agamemnon (from the battle of Troy), and a metric assload of gold was dug up there. It has an monolithic entranceway depicting two lions - the oldest European monumental statue. PS: our pictures of this site are totally sweet.

TOMB OF AGAMEMNON and TREASURY OF ARAEUS - turns out the tomb at the Mycenean Acropolis wasn't Agamemnon, but another Mycenean king. However, there is another burial ground in the area which is probably Agamemnon's real tomb - though it was empty when found.

ARCADIA - vast mountains covered in scrubby bush. Not what you'd expect from the name, but in myth it was home to Pan, god of nature.

Walking Tour of Athens

Wow, what a beautiful climate. After a week of frigid weather in London and Paris, Anna and I are now the proud owners of a brand new sunburn!

Today we did a grand walking tour of Athens - about 6 hours on the punishing (and slippery!) marble streets.

Everywhere you go there are large ruins, with very little in the way of archaeological cnservation. At our first stop, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, huge engraved marble stones are piled up on the grass under olive trees, and roped off. In fact, one of the colums was blown over in a storm in the 1800s. 15 columns left!

Next we watched the changing of the guard at the Parliament Building - these guys dress even weirder than the Beefeaters. Apparently the pom-poms on the shoes conceal a large spike, that was used to fight the Turks when the soldiers otherwise appeared disarmed. Rosa Klebb has been taking notes...

Quick stops at Hadrian's arch (not much left of it), the stadium that was built for the first modern Olympics (sometime in the 1800s - Frank can tell you) and the nearby Olympic village. The streets are lined with beautiful orange trees, but the oranges taste like battery acid (I had to try one, even against advisement).

On the way to the Acropolis, we popped into the Dionysian theatre - where plays by Aristophanes and Aesychlus were first heard over 2,000 years ago. Of all things, we found a tortoise here!

The Acropolis itself is largely a flat summit, with the ruins of several buildings - including the famous Parthenon, a massive temple dedicated to Athena, patron goddess of Athens (no kidding). We also ascended the Areopagus, the "Hill of Ares", which functioned as the chief homicide court in classical times. This also became a place of free speech, except St Paul was driven out of the city when he preached here.

Extraodinary as the Acropolic is, there's not much to report as there's really very little left. However, there are people with whistles who chase after you if you touch anything. A Canadian woman was apparently incarcerated for 2 months for picking up a small statue in the museum. Believe it, or don't!

We eventually descended via the Panathenaic Way (where bulls were lead to the slaughter), and I picked up a small rash from poison ivy. This route leads into the Ancient Agora - once a busy marketplace, now a beautiful series of fields overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. Birdsong and pleasant flwer smells everywhere. Lovely! Socrates peddled his brand of philosophy around here, before the Athenians sentenced him to death.

Finally we visited the Roman Agora, where the Romans preferred to do business. Kind of a smaller, less interesting area than the other. Spent another hour wandering the streets loking for the National Art Gallery (they have an exclusive Vangelis box set that I want) which we didn't find - and then looking for an Amex bureau de change, which we didn't find.

Another big feed tonight, and I tried "ekmek" icecream. It might've been mushed up baklava or some strange fruit. We're not really sure.

(PS: where Rome has cats, Athens has dogs. They're everywhere, but they're lovely. They were rounded up then neutered and collared when Athens hosted their last Olympics...)

Athens

Greece is lovely! We haven't worn jackets since our arrival (it is now 11 at night with a slight breeze too!)

Had a lovely outdoor lunch - lots of traditional Greek foods... Moussaka, vine leaves, Greek beer, that cucumber yoghurt stuff, Greek salad (of course!)

NZ WATCH: The Australian girl on the computer next to me is dating a kiwi.

The Amazing Race

Got up early to pack up and clean the flat. Tony (our landlord) was on time and we were out the door no worries. No hitches getting onto the RER train to Charles de Gaulle airport but... halfway there we ran into an "accident involving a person". Apparently someone had stepped in front of our train. "Merde!" announced the Parisienne in front of us.

This meant a couple of hours sitting around - just what you need when you're rushing off to catch a flight. Discussions ensued about how best to contact our travel insurance - but fortunately the train started moving again. We were in with a chance!

The arrival at the train station was like an episode of The Amazing Race - people with suitcases and backapcks (ie. us) running helter-skelter for the connecting airport buses. We got lucky... others didn't.

A couple of hurdles down; now we just needed to check in. Uh oh, the airline terminal is being hastily abandoned. Jumping the barrier, we sought to make eye contact with the departing staff. None of them wanted to catch our eye - but with enough badgering we finally managed to get our tickets.

Next step - running up several escalators and travellators to our departure gate and... a lengthy security check. Fortunately, no issues there (well, I did get a pat-down from some dude who obviously thought I looked suspiciously sweaty and out of breath). At last - we had made our plane. No rush though - it then didn't leave for another 45 minutes :P

Musée d'Orsay day

Another hard day on the old feetaroonies. Given that the weather didn't look too promising, we decided to save Versailles for tomorrow, and instead caught the Metro over to the Musée d'Orsay - an art gallery built under the canopy of an old train station.

There was a long queue to get in (we ate most of our lunch while waiting) but there seemed to be plenty of room inside. The gallery has a symmetrical lay-out, built over three open-plan levels (with even more mini-levels here and there, such as a lookout over the whole gallery!).

The galleries are laid out according to movements - pre-Impressionist, Impressionist, and post-Impressionist (are we clear as to their speciality yet?) with smaller niche galleries for Symbolism, Orintalism etc.

Name-dropping once more, we saw works by Rodin, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Matisse, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Sisley (alas, not Aran), Degas, Millet, Pissaro, Klimt and Munch (only one picture). There were also design exhibits with pencil drawings by Mucha (art nouveau) and Frank Lloyd Wright (so long).

All this, and I found an original black and white edition of King Ottokar's Sceptre (a Tintin book) - plus the original "Le chat blanc" by Pierre Bonnard!

We didn't spend as long here as in the Louvre, but 4 hours is still pretty heroic.

In the evening, while Anna read Stephen King, I went to the Arts et Metiers (science and technology museum) - where parts of Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum is set. The museum was open late, and was pretty much empty - so it was quite haunting. Funnily enough, this is how it is described in the novel, as one of the protagonists hides overnight at the museum. I took a timer photo of myself by Foucault's pendulum - the movemen of which proves the rotation of the earth.

NB: I seemed to have missed the next day! Basically, we were going to head out to Versailles, but left it too late. Instead we went to the Modern Art Museum, and name-checked a bunch of other important artists that we missed at the Pompidoue. For example, Matisse, Picasso, de Chirico, Picabia, Dealuney, Braque, Breton, Ernst, Masson, Jean Arp, Klee etc...

NZ WATCH: We found an installation artwork with phone books from all around the world. We looked up our families in the 1998 Auckland phone books! In Paris! Weird!

Louvre

Wednesday was a big day for us. After a sizeable sleep-in (during which our guests abandoned Paris for Valencia, Spain) I did some washing at the laundromat next door (finished the Stephen King book too - pretty good, though the denoument seems a little rushed and convenient), and we bought some food at the local patisserie.

Thus fortified against hunger, we caught the Metro to the Louvre Museum (even the stop is lovely and decorative). This turned out to be a very good idea, as we skipped the big queues at the main entrance (by the glass pyramid designed by Chinese born American architect I.M.Pei).

After buying tickets from an automated machine, we set off on a semi-direct route to the Mona Lisa (by way of the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory). I managed to take us the wrong way, as they have since moved the Mona Lisa from her little room at the end of the Renaissance corridor (probably due to all the Dan Brown fans). However, we did pause on the way for me to do my big Renaissance nerd thing (poor Anna) - Botticelli, Giotto, Cimabue, Uccello, Piero della Francesa, Raphael, da Vinci, Fillipo Lippi, Fra Angelico, oh my!

It was Anna's turn next to walk me through the French Neoclassical painters - David, Delacroix, Gericault etc. Also of note were works by Albrecht Durer, Vermeer, Rubens, Michelangelo (sculptures).

We managed to make pretty good time, and over some six and a half hours we covered about 80% of the Louvre (not necessarily in a very linear fashion though). As well as the beautiful artworks on display, we found exhibitions of ancient Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman works, and the objets d'art of Islam and Medieval Europe.

Anna enjoyed the apartments of Napoleon III (extremely opulent!) while I took some time out to sit and eat chocolate.

Our evening was pretty quiet without the company of our friends Jan and Rebecca, and I'm afraid that CNN doesn't make for a relaxing night in front of the TV.

Interim entry 2

Not much time on the clock now! Today we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower (actually went up this time), then Ste. Chappelle (beautiful, but horrendous queue) and lastly - a shopping expedition to Lafayette, where Jan tried on all the worst clothes she could find (overalls and pant-suits). Tee hee.

This picture is of all of us up the Eiffel Tower - poiting the way to New Zealand :)

Quick interim update

Just bashing away for a few minutes at an internet cafe - and have spent most of my credit sorting out an unauthorised use of my ebay account! (Apparently I'm really into pewter chess sets, go figure...)

So anyway, will just be a quickie until I have to elaborate... apologies.

Yesterday, went on a bus tour with the girls to Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower. There's a crappy little elevator at the Sacre Coeur, but it wasn't worth taking. However, the chapel itself was beautiful - and there was a French Catholic service taking place that was quite interesting. I also bought a ticket for the crypt (the girls bailed), but it ended up being a ticket up the tower instead! Lovely views though...

Afterwards, we stopped for a crepe and a loo break (not the same thing), then back on the tour bus. Temparature was even lower than London - apparently 2 degrees? - so we didn't enjoy the ride too much. And when we arrived at the Eiffel Tour, the wind was so awful we had to run back home instead. Poor Rebecca barely got a look at it.

Went to a crowded wee restaurant for dinner, and Anna and I had snails. They were like yummy garlic mushrooms - slurp!

NZ WATCH: Saw a street busker outside the Opera House doing tricks with a football. A guy in a silver fern jacket kicked his ball away. Go kiwi!

Soft drinks

Good news everybody - I found Cherry Coke here too. It's pretty good, but not as strong in the cherry flavouring department as in the UK.

I also tried Coca-Cola Blak, which I'mn sorry to report is more like Coca-Cola Blech.

Other drinks I've tried:

• Coca-Cola Night Fusion - AFAIK this is basically Coke in a nifty bottle (though Anna thinks it is nicer, and not as sweet as normal Coke).
• Orangina - still the greatest. Think Just Juice Bubbles with pulp ("et sa pulpe!")
• Fanta World: Fruites Sanguines - like the red Orangina, but not as nice
• Fanta (New Recipe) - like Orangina, but without the pulp

New Zealand Werewolf in Paris

This morning we had a big breakfast at the hotel. How great is a country where you eat chocolate for breakfast? I also snuck some bits and pieces for lunch...

I took Anna out to La Défense - the big commercial area on the west edge of Paris, and home to the Arch de la Défense. This is a giant office building built as a square arch. It has a beautiful view all the way down to the Arche de Triomphe, and Champs Elysées behind it.

We walked through the vast civic spaces around La Défense, stopping to admire the various modern sculptures that line them, before getting back on the Métro to our hotel. From there we arranged to meet up with Jan and Rebecca, who had arrived with nowhere to stash their gear. Once it was safely inside our room, we all nipped out for a trip around Père Lachaise cemetary.

Armed with a map, we sought out the usual hotspots - Georges Méliès for me, Jim Morrison for the girls, and Proust, Balzac and Max Ernst for me too. We also stopped by Delacroix, Maria Callas, Oscar Wilde and Chopin - and took lots of photos of the decaying tombs with their eerie stained glass windows and sculptures.

Also of note - we met a Canadian scriptwriter (specialising in werewolves) at George Méliès' tomb. After neglecting to take his contact details (it was one of those should-we-shouldn't we moments), Jan offered to run back after him. Just as well - we ended up having a nice dinner together, although our new friend has since fallen off the face of the earth!

Crqwy qss keyboqrds

This French keyboard is killing me. Instead of QWERTY it's QSDFGH, and you have to hold shift to get a fullstop. It actually shares the key with the semicolon, which gets preference! Who on earth uses semicolons more than fullstops? Gallic madness... though I expect the keyboards will get worse around Europe before they get better. In fact, Greece should be a laugh.

Paris in the the Spring

Jumped on the internet at Jan's school, and were able to confirm that BMI were still flying into Paris. Lucky lucky... After farewelling London over some pints with Jan's workmates, we spent the night with one of Jan's friends (thanks Rebecca!) who lives closer to Heathrow. We had an early morning flight, and were up at 4am. Yuck!

After only 45 minutes in the air, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle and negotiated the multiple buses and trains required to get into Paris. Checked into our temporary hotel (due to a doublebooking at our apartment) for some R&R. The above picture is the desktop wallpaper on their computer. :)

We then went out for a nice long walk - south to the Seine river (stopping for Nutella & banana crêpes), around Nôtre Dame and back via the Pompidou Centre. We bought tickets, but although there were lots of temporary exhibits, the main gallery was closed. We saw works by Rauschenburg, Picasso, Francis Picabia, Lichtenstein, Kandinsky, Agam, Josef Albers, etc - but not my favourites by Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp and Paul Klee. (Lisa - I think this museum would drive you up the wall. Even I didn't think too much of the video footage of a guy rubbing black paint all over his scrotum - called "Black Balls".)

Went home early, and Anna fell asleep while I read about half of the new Stephen King, Cell. (It's great so far, but King has a thing for disappointing endings. This could be headed the way of The Stand...)

Traffic controllers on strike in Paris

One day only - tomorrow. When we are due to fly into Paris. Apparently not affecting our flight with BMI - we shall see!

NB: SQUIRREL WATCH is now closed. We saw some on the way home from Netley Primary School.

Netley Primary School

Today was a little bit special... After we spent the morning pounding pavement at Oxford Street (definitely feels like London there) we popped into Jan's school for a visit - just in time for a "School Dinner" with the kids (fish and chips and chocolate cake, plus some vegies - go Jamie Oliver!).

Afterwards we joined in for a P.E. session (a hectic game of netball that involved one skinned knee, a blood nose, and a bite wound), a show and tell (stuffed kiwi with "genuine kiwi sound" - the kids LOVED it), and a storytelling session (I read a Lynley Dodd "Slinki Malinki" picture tale). We finished the school day with easter eggs.

Off to the pub again now!

SQUIRREL WATCH: still none. Where are they hiding? (Mind you, there are no leaves on the trees...)

NZ WATCH: we spent about an hour with the kiwi toy. Choice, aye.

Londinium

We arrived a couple of days ago to beautiful clear skies and cold air - think Dunedin on a sunny day. Fortunately Jan met us at the airport and spirited us away, via the Underground, to her little flat in Clapham; a lovely area with a large park (Clapham Common) and lots of shops. I managed to pick up some Cherry Coke at Sainsbury's, the local supermarket chain, and Jan made us a duck-egg fritata for dinner. Yum!

The food selection is surprisingly good here - lots of fresh produce, a world of beer - and cheap! Contrary to much of what we had been lead to believe.

Jan had to go back to work the next morning, but she left us detailed instructions for getting out and about on an orientation tour. We took the double-decker bus (I was the man on the Clapham Omnibus) into Westminster, and then travelled by foot through St James' park to Buckingham Palace.

Not a whole lot to look at really - looks like a pretty average hotel - but we were in time for the changing of the guard. I actually found the mounted police more interesting than the Beefeaters' brass band, though they do leave quite a mess behind them (the mounts, that is).

After a coffee/hot chocolate and a spot of lunch, we found our way to the London Eye - an overpriced ferris wheel - that has spectacular views from 135 metres. One revolution takes about 20 minutes, which is more than enough time to absorb the London cityscape - which is actually kind of flat and unremarkable.

More interesting, and well worth the overpriced entry fee, was Westminster Abbey. Although the building was only erected in the 1300s, the site was in use by monks from 960AD and consequently there is a powerful sense of age throughout. This is reinforced by the haphazard additions built over the subsequent centuries - very organic. Nooks and crannies, worn steps, damaged reliefs and ancient tiles all added to the experience. Saw the tombs of several notable monarchs (Elizabeth I, Henry V), some not-so-notable monarchs (Henry II), and good old Geoffrey Chaucer.

Clever boy that I am, I managed to find some interesting little window in an abandoned corner - and went and had a peek. I saw a chaplain taking a pee. Now you know.

In the evening we caught up with some of Jan's friends, and some of mine (hello James and Alisha!), and bid the day farewell with some pints at a couple of local pubs.

[Aran - you will be jealous - Kronenburg do a blonde 1664 that is delicious. Imagine if beer and lemonade got together and made sweet, sweet love.]

SQUIRREL WATCH: none whatsoever.

NZ WATCH: saw New Zealand House and a plaque referencing Canterbury (not sure what it was about) from the bus. Also found a NZ flag in Westminster Abbey - where members of the Commonwealth sit during services.

Arrival in London

We are here, safe and sound. Temperature is 4 degress.

Transit lounges & toilets

We thought we were being crafty when we booked our plane seats online - near an exit, near the toilets, aisle seats to avoid people pushing past, etc. Instead we ended up behind the 'baby station'. I guess we'll know what to avoid next time...

After a fitful night's sleep and several highly compressed mpeg films, we arrived at LAX with red eyes and itchy nasal passages. Unfortunately, we were prevented from looking around the airport - instead we sat in dingy transit lounge for an hour. I was able to try a new soft drink (Sierra Mist) but my dreams of finding Cherry Coke were shattered (I think I may have glimpsed it in the fridge in the Business Premium lounge).

The view from the lounge was smokestacks and traffic, covered in rain. I listened to the Blade Runner soundtrack on my ipod and imagined how the city would look in 14 years.

Although scarred by childhood memories of Witness, I also took a bathroom visit - if just to confirm the direction of the flush (counterclockwise). Observations: a man dressed only in his underpants, shaving at the mirror; an inch of water on the floor, reflecting a view of the man in the adjacent cubicle; the toilet bowl already full of water... though fortunately, no knifings.

Anyway, we made it to England in the end, and have availed ourselves of Jan's kind hospitality. Shower, cup of tea, spaghetti on toast (Vogel's) and we are off to explore... Clapham.

Last day in New Zealand

We've been having a good old kiwi blow-out recently: dinner up the sky tower, watching "Breakfast" for the last time, buying New Zealand flags and tiki badges to attach to our luggage, drinking L&P and as many local beers as we can...

Anyway, not long to go now. Last minute packing and we're out of here. While you sleep tonight we'll be suspended over the Pacific Ocean - maybe we shouldn't have spent last night watching "Lost" episodes...