Showing posts with label vacation.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation.. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Paris
Arrived in Paris to beautiful skies, around 1 o clock. First stop Notre Dame! Mom was so moved, she couldn't speak. They were having mass, so we paused for a few minutes. We had about an hour there. She lit candles at every station, and said a prayer. This was the culmination of all our efforts. The point of the trip. Mom sitting in Notre Dame on Mothers Day! Parfait. We moved onto a tour of the city, which I enjoyed pointing out the different places I had been, And onto the Eiffel tower. The 2ND place Mom wanted to go. She was very impressed. In the evening, we went to Sacre Couer, Mom was very disappointed, not by the basilica itself, which is very beautiful, but by the riffraff surrounding it. and the filth. We had a wonderful dinner, which included a sing along. I thought I was at Monday night show tunes. I think I was the only one who knew the words to DO RE MI, from Sound of Music. lol. I had 5 glasses of Champagne, WOW, my head was spinning... tomorrow back in London and then off for home. We had a wonderful trip,,, B
Thursday, May 7, 2009
3 posts for price of one Euro
Let me first apologize for late posts. Wifi when I pay for it, works beautifully, but when its free, no good.
Germany was nice, but intimidating, its reputation had me a little uneasy, weird I know. The people were ok, not overly friendly, but polite. The weather was very cool, almost cold.
Austria was absolutely beautiful, gives my New Zealand a run for its money as far as beautiful mountains, and scenery. We were in the Alps. And it was warm, unbelievable. The hotel was gorgeous, and we got the biggest room so far. Our view was breathtaking, and Im not exaggeratting. We stayed overnight in Innsbruck.
We travel and sightsee all day, from early morning, up at 6 on the bus by 7 or 730 and then in the hotel for the night at around 8. We see lots but even im tired at night. Mom is a trooper, somehow she is getting around and seeing everything,,, she has made plenty of friends, everyone seems to love her as much we do. There is a couple from New Zealand, I'm their stalker, poor things. The trip so far is lovely.I'm having a nice time and taking plenty of pics,, posted a few, I dont like to post too many unedited, I do have a reputation to uphold. I will flood flickr with them and with better explanations of what you are looking at, when i have time, probably when I get home,, but flickr does have a taste...... Brian
p.s I'm being followed.
It started late one night in London. I felt the need to walk around and get my bearings. Mom was tired so I left her in the room. It wasnt too late around 10, and the moon was full,, air cool, but dry and there was a fine misty fog blowing in. Perfect London weather. Just what you see in the movies. We stayed in Kensington, which I was told is a very expensive area. Diana had a place there. So I felt safe to walk at night. I got mixed up to where I was and must've made a wrong turn. I happened past an old church, very Gothic, very old looking. Appeared to be abandoned. There was a very well dressed man standing at the bottom of the stairs. He had long blonde hair. Wore a beautiful long black coat, almost a cape, which is why I started to stare. My first thought was, wow I love that coat! I decided to cross the street away from him, my 911 instincts telling me to be careful, esp in stange lands. Before I got to the curb, he was at my side, startling me. In beautiful French accented English, he asked if I knew the time. 1/2 past 11. I said. A noise in the alley behind me, made me jump, straight up, I almost flew, right there. Merci Beacoup, he said. As his very icy blue eyes, scanned the place where the noise came from. He then walked in that direction. me. I hurried across the street, running more like it. Freaked out. All the while wondering if my hair was now a pale white.. I heard him chuckle. Chills went up and down my spine. I broke the Olympic 100 meter dash back to my hotel. Mom thought I was crazy, asking if I had stopped in a pub and had some English beer. Laughing, I went to bed, thinking I had read to many horror stories, and seen Too many movies. The next day, we arrived in Hamburg, Germany. No a/c so we left the window open. Beautiful breeze, made sleeping very peaceful. Innsbruck was another story. The weather was so warm, no breeze thru the windows and I kept hearing voices. The windows in our room, were these huge Gothic windows, that opened over the street. Both windows opened. While changing, Mom whispered to me, that someone was trying to get into our room. I crept over and heard someone trying first the door handle and then the lock. My hair stood straight up. Who is there I yelled in the deepest voice I could muster. Whover took off running. The wind suddenly blew the curtains in our room so hard,I ran to the window, thinking a storm had hit. As I approached the window, I thought I heard someone whisper my name. Looking down onto the street below I saw a young boy perhaps a teen arguing with his girlfriend, she was running from him and he kept calling out to her. Bela was her name I think. He gave me a very odd look. But across the street. under the only lamp light in the whole town, was the Frenchman!!!!Im sure of it. I saw long blonde hair. He had a hat on, I could not see his face, but thought he was smiling! Mom was yelling to close the windows, she was cold, as I grabbed the handle, he looked directly in my face. I peed my pants and farted. No kidding. This is too weird. Am I dreaming! Mom suggested I see the Hotel Doctor. Maybe he could give me something, She thinks the high altitude of the Alps is affecting me. I told her, I have my own sleeping pills, and I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone. But I slept like a log, best sleep I've had in years. As a matter of fact,Mom had to wake me in the morning. I was soo tired. In the bus I couldnt keep my eyes open, first tie for that, usually Im soo busy looking out the windows snapping pictures, I dont notice how long we are sitting on the bus. But today, I couldnt keep my eyes open. Normally I dont pay any attention to the chatter on the bus, butI thought I heard someone mention Vampires. My ears pricked up. Evidently the hotel staff were talking about Vampyri, and old mountain myths come to life.. Probably to scare us... Today we are off to Venice, I'm going to ask around, and keep my eyes and ears open,,,,,,,, B
Germany was nice, but intimidating, its reputation had me a little uneasy, weird I know. The people were ok, not overly friendly, but polite. The weather was very cool, almost cold.
Austria was absolutely beautiful, gives my New Zealand a run for its money as far as beautiful mountains, and scenery. We were in the Alps. And it was warm, unbelievable. The hotel was gorgeous, and we got the biggest room so far. Our view was breathtaking, and Im not exaggeratting. We stayed overnight in Innsbruck.
We travel and sightsee all day, from early morning, up at 6 on the bus by 7 or 730 and then in the hotel for the night at around 8. We see lots but even im tired at night. Mom is a trooper, somehow she is getting around and seeing everything,,, she has made plenty of friends, everyone seems to love her as much we do. There is a couple from New Zealand, I'm their stalker, poor things. The trip so far is lovely.I'm having a nice time and taking plenty of pics,, posted a few, I dont like to post too many unedited, I do have a reputation to uphold. I will flood flickr with them and with better explanations of what you are looking at, when i have time, probably when I get home,, but flickr does have a taste...... Brian
p.s I'm being followed.
It started late one night in London. I felt the need to walk around and get my bearings. Mom was tired so I left her in the room. It wasnt too late around 10, and the moon was full,, air cool, but dry and there was a fine misty fog blowing in. Perfect London weather. Just what you see in the movies. We stayed in Kensington, which I was told is a very expensive area. Diana had a place there. So I felt safe to walk at night. I got mixed up to where I was and must've made a wrong turn. I happened past an old church, very Gothic, very old looking. Appeared to be abandoned. There was a very well dressed man standing at the bottom of the stairs. He had long blonde hair. Wore a beautiful long black coat, almost a cape, which is why I started to stare. My first thought was, wow I love that coat! I decided to cross the street away from him, my 911 instincts telling me to be careful, esp in stange lands. Before I got to the curb, he was at my side, startling me. In beautiful French accented English, he asked if I knew the time. 1/2 past 11. I said. A noise in the alley behind me, made me jump, straight up, I almost flew, right there. Merci Beacoup, he said. As his very icy blue eyes, scanned the place where the noise came from. He then walked in that direction. me. I hurried across the street, running more like it. Freaked out. All the while wondering if my hair was now a pale white.. I heard him chuckle. Chills went up and down my spine. I broke the Olympic 100 meter dash back to my hotel. Mom thought I was crazy, asking if I had stopped in a pub and had some English beer. Laughing, I went to bed, thinking I had read to many horror stories, and seen Too many movies. The next day, we arrived in Hamburg, Germany. No a/c so we left the window open. Beautiful breeze, made sleeping very peaceful. Innsbruck was another story. The weather was so warm, no breeze thru the windows and I kept hearing voices. The windows in our room, were these huge Gothic windows, that opened over the street. Both windows opened. While changing, Mom whispered to me, that someone was trying to get into our room. I crept over and heard someone trying first the door handle and then the lock. My hair stood straight up. Who is there I yelled in the deepest voice I could muster. Whover took off running. The wind suddenly blew the curtains in our room so hard,I ran to the window, thinking a storm had hit. As I approached the window, I thought I heard someone whisper my name. Looking down onto the street below I saw a young boy perhaps a teen arguing with his girlfriend, she was running from him and he kept calling out to her. Bela was her name I think. He gave me a very odd look. But across the street. under the only lamp light in the whole town, was the Frenchman!!!!Im sure of it. I saw long blonde hair. He had a hat on, I could not see his face, but thought he was smiling! Mom was yelling to close the windows, she was cold, as I grabbed the handle, he looked directly in my face. I peed my pants and farted. No kidding. This is too weird. Am I dreaming! Mom suggested I see the Hotel Doctor. Maybe he could give me something, She thinks the high altitude of the Alps is affecting me. I told her, I have my own sleeping pills, and I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone. But I slept like a log, best sleep I've had in years. As a matter of fact,Mom had to wake me in the morning. I was soo tired. In the bus I couldnt keep my eyes open, first tie for that, usually Im soo busy looking out the windows snapping pictures, I dont notice how long we are sitting on the bus. But today, I couldnt keep my eyes open. Normally I dont pay any attention to the chatter on the bus, butI thought I heard someone mention Vampires. My ears pricked up. Evidently the hotel staff were talking about Vampyri, and old mountain myths come to life.. Probably to scare us... Today we are off to Venice, I'm going to ask around, and keep my eyes and ears open,,,,,,,, B
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Hello European Continent
Hello There,
Sorry for the long delay, but we traveled far and wide yesterday and it was a late night. We left England via ferry out of Dover, saw the white cliffs, and travelled over the English Channel to Calais, France. Back to driving on the right side (correct side ) but into foreign language territory. French, German and Dutch. German is very hard to understand, much more so than French. It sounds like someone clearing their throat, very gutteral.
Drove thru France on our bus to Brussels. Just before the German border we stopped for a much needed bathroom and leg break. Mom has met an Australian couple whom she enjoys and who, along with her have become the rebels of the group. They have already been scolded by our tour guide. They chat so much together that Mom has decided that she needs to learn about Australia, ratther than listening to our tour guide about the countries we are currently in. Case in point. Bathrooms cost money, they are not free. Dont tell her that, she thinks she can just wink her eye at the attendant and not pay, becuase she didnt have money on her. The man spoke to her in German, she didnt understand him, and had to go, so she winked and proceeded into the loo. I had to take care of him, on my turn to the urinal! They laughed about this incident for at least an hour, causing everyone else on the bus to stare or possibly glare, I dunno , I was too busy trying to ignore them and snap photos out of the windows.
Brussels has a beautiful square, where there are 2 palaces and a beautiful church, exquisite architecture, but thats it. I wasnt impressed. It felt like a big city and nothing more.
Rhine River cruise. This I enjoyed. Cold weather on the water, especially up top, but I was prepared. I had a warm sweater, and a coat, along with my winter cap. Many, many castles dot along the top, looking down on the Rhine, some occupied, some not. All interesting. I wish we were able to go inside. We were on the river for about 2 hrs. Then off Hamburg, were we are at now. Early morning tomorrow, we have to be up at 06:00 and onto the bus by 07:30, and off to Lucerne,, more later
ps the Euro is killing us! ITs about 1 to 1:50, so for every hundred i spend its costing me $150.00, yikes,,, we are running out of money fast. We need donations to get home, western union us soon . lol
P.s.s. unedited pictures are up on Flickr, no criticisms, they are unedited! That means you Bill and Sue!
Sorry for the long delay, but we traveled far and wide yesterday and it was a late night. We left England via ferry out of Dover, saw the white cliffs, and travelled over the English Channel to Calais, France. Back to driving on the right side (correct side ) but into foreign language territory. French, German and Dutch. German is very hard to understand, much more so than French. It sounds like someone clearing their throat, very gutteral.
Drove thru France on our bus to Brussels. Just before the German border we stopped for a much needed bathroom and leg break. Mom has met an Australian couple whom she enjoys and who, along with her have become the rebels of the group. They have already been scolded by our tour guide. They chat so much together that Mom has decided that she needs to learn about Australia, ratther than listening to our tour guide about the countries we are currently in. Case in point. Bathrooms cost money, they are not free. Dont tell her that, she thinks she can just wink her eye at the attendant and not pay, becuase she didnt have money on her. The man spoke to her in German, she didnt understand him, and had to go, so she winked and proceeded into the loo. I had to take care of him, on my turn to the urinal! They laughed about this incident for at least an hour, causing everyone else on the bus to stare or possibly glare, I dunno , I was too busy trying to ignore them and snap photos out of the windows.
Brussels has a beautiful square, where there are 2 palaces and a beautiful church, exquisite architecture, but thats it. I wasnt impressed. It felt like a big city and nothing more.
Rhine River cruise. This I enjoyed. Cold weather on the water, especially up top, but I was prepared. I had a warm sweater, and a coat, along with my winter cap. Many, many castles dot along the top, looking down on the Rhine, some occupied, some not. All interesting. I wish we were able to go inside. We were on the river for about 2 hrs. Then off Hamburg, were we are at now. Early morning tomorrow, we have to be up at 06:00 and onto the bus by 07:30, and off to Lucerne,, more later
ps the Euro is killing us! ITs about 1 to 1:50, so for every hundred i spend its costing me $150.00, yikes,,, we are running out of money fast. We need donations to get home, western union us soon . lol
P.s.s. unedited pictures are up on Flickr, no criticisms, they are unedited! That means you Bill and Sue!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Goodbye London
Hello All,,
Yesterday we toured the Queens Castle, Windsor. Very nice. Very medieval. Very Lord of the Rings. It was a little much for Mom to walk, but she perservered. What a trooper. English breakfasts, yuck. I remember not liking them in New Zealand too. Today we are off to the continent. Belgium and the capitol city of Brussels. We take a ferry over, hopefully it wont be too cold. London was a beautiful city, and very friendly people. I definitely want to return for a longer visit.. Pictures are turning out great, I will try and post them in our next hotel.... Brian
Yesterday we toured the Queens Castle, Windsor. Very nice. Very medieval. Very Lord of the Rings. It was a little much for Mom to walk, but she perservered. What a trooper. English breakfasts, yuck. I remember not liking them in New Zealand too. Today we are off to the continent. Belgium and the capitol city of Brussels. We take a ferry over, hopefully it wont be too cold. London was a beautiful city, and very friendly people. I definitely want to return for a longer visit.. Pictures are turning out great, I will try and post them in our next hotel.... Brian
London
Sorry for the late post, but yesterday we were exhausted. Plane ride was fine, but tiring. We had good seats, right up against the bulkhead, so plenty of leg room. But I cant sleep on a plane, and evidently neither can Mom. We werent allowed in our rooms until 2. I had to sweet talk a pretty Italian girl named Imma to get into them early, we so wanted to sleep. against everyones better advice.But Mom was sooo tired and her legs were bothering her. We slept about 3 hrs, and then joined a night tour to Tower Bridge which included dinner and a nice but very chilly boat ride along the Thames. It was very enjoyable. No wi-fi in hotel, so no pics yet, but hopefully when we move on. Today. we just finished a bus tour of London, very enjoable tour guide, Carlotte. We saw St Pauls Cathedral, ST James Palace, Buckingham Palace, the changing of the Guard, Big Ben, and many others. Lots of pics forthcoming. We are now waiting for another bus, which will take us to Windsor Castle. Mom is meeting lots of people from all over the World, and from other states in America. We leave London tomorrow,,, oh and before I forgot. Funny Story. I called yesterday for a 6:30 wake up call, just to make sure Mom had breakfast before our London Tour. We got a wake up call at 05:30 this morning, via FIRE ALARM. And let me tell you it was loud and a little frightening. People were running thru the hallways in their pajamas. We got dressed very quickly and walked down 5 flights of stairs, and everyone congregated in the streets.No one panicked, but I broke a major rule of mine,,, I LEFT my camera in the room!!!! How I wish I wouldve grabbed it. I did remember to grab my wallet, the room key and Mom without her teeth , mind you, but I did think to take her with me. , so at least that! No injuries, someone evidently was smoking in their room and set of the alarm. London is marvelous and exciting. I do think I will be back, so much to see... until tomorrow and hopefully I will post pics,,,,ps I am getting video tho, which takes away from reg photos, so I'm a little aggravated. I do like taking pictures,,,,,,,, Brian
P.S,, European keyboards are different, I remember this problem in France, configuration different, and its in a foreign language, I dont know how to change it, so pardon the misspellings...
P.S,, European keyboards are different, I remember this problem in France, configuration different, and its in a foreign language, I dont know how to change it, so pardon the misspellings...
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Queenstown Gardens Last Day
This was our Last Day in Queenstown. October 2006. A total day of relaxation, no stress. Tomorrow we will have to get on a plane for almost 24hrs. The Twins are here showing you what they did EVERWHERE! ALL THE TIME! Every time the bus stopped and there was water close by, They threw rocks. A boys favorite passtime.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Meet Uncle Max
This is A Repost of an Earlier Post from the Old Blog.
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
There is a man that is tall, smart, with a lot of blonde hair, mostly one of the handsome kinds you see walking down the street. If you ever see him, he may be buying a box of new comic books, just like he does every month. He’s been reading comics since he has been a little boy. If you ever get to meet him, he will be a really nice gentleman, saying thanks, holding the door and all the other stuff, or if you meet him when you go see a movie that he may like, he may be the cool guy in a costume. He really doesn’t care what people think about him, as long as you have fun, he says. He always loves to dress up , He loves the Lord of The Rings as a passion, just like my brother and I. He likes Star Trek, a lot less than The Lord of The Rings. He will watch the movies everyday: I love that about him because he is the one that got me into the Lord of The Rings. He loves playing Tennis and Ping-Pong. Even though I beat him all the time, when he wants to play me. He loves his job as a dispatcher. He got the call about Chris Farley overdosing on drugs.One day my Uncle took me to the movie theatre to see Star Wars, it as about 12:00 am. We saw the movie the day before it really came out. We both dressed up as Jedi’s. With our brown cloaks that felt so comfortable with it’s warmth, and with our colorful fake light sabres that make noise when you hit them against something. We drove to the movie theatre, when we got in, we saw tons of people that cheered for us, because we dressed up. I was so delighted because I had butterflies in my stomach that people will be laughing at us. My Uncle almost started crying. He was so thrilled. We bought our tickets and sat in the theatre. A girl next to us dressed up in the same warm cloak that will always keep someone warm. I remember that night where I almost made an accident in my pants. I know my Uncle will always remember that day for the rest of his life. Mostly every show we see we go to Toys R Us. We go there just to buy more LOTR action figures. Those days were one of the best days of my life. Seeing those isles and isles of toys were one of the best sights I ever seen. Then putting all the LOTR toys in the cart made me really happy. Seeing the cashier put them in the bag made me want to cry in joy, so I can put them in my collection, even my Uncle was excited because he had a collection too. My Uncle is a very special person in my life. He always wanted the best for me, and he still does. We’ve always spent mostly every weekend together. Every time it was Friday I wanted to run out of school to see my Uncle. My Uncle always had a big mind and he also has a big heart. Timothy A
Period 4 May 3, 2006
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006
There is a man that is tall, smart, with a lot of blonde hair, mostly one of the handsome kinds you see walking down the street. If you ever see him, he may be buying a box of new comic books, just like he does every month. He’s been reading comics since he has been a little boy. If you ever get to meet him, he will be a really nice gentleman, saying thanks, holding the door and all the other stuff, or if you meet him when you go see a movie that he may like, he may be the cool guy in a costume. He really doesn’t care what people think about him, as long as you have fun, he says. He always loves to dress up , He loves the Lord of The Rings as a passion, just like my brother and I. He likes Star Trek, a lot less than The Lord of The Rings. He will watch the movies everyday: I love that about him because he is the one that got me into the Lord of The Rings. He loves playing Tennis and Ping-Pong. Even though I beat him all the time, when he wants to play me. He loves his job as a dispatcher. He got the call about Chris Farley overdosing on drugs.One day my Uncle took me to the movie theatre to see Star Wars, it as about 12:00 am. We saw the movie the day before it really came out. We both dressed up as Jedi’s. With our brown cloaks that felt so comfortable with it’s warmth, and with our colorful fake light sabres that make noise when you hit them against something. We drove to the movie theatre, when we got in, we saw tons of people that cheered for us, because we dressed up. I was so delighted because I had butterflies in my stomach that people will be laughing at us. My Uncle almost started crying. He was so thrilled. We bought our tickets and sat in the theatre. A girl next to us dressed up in the same warm cloak that will always keep someone warm. I remember that night where I almost made an accident in my pants. I know my Uncle will always remember that day for the rest of his life. Mostly every show we see we go to Toys R Us. We go there just to buy more LOTR action figures. Those days were one of the best days of my life. Seeing those isles and isles of toys were one of the best sights I ever seen. Then putting all the LOTR toys in the cart made me really happy. Seeing the cashier put them in the bag made me want to cry in joy, so I can put them in my collection, even my Uncle was excited because he had a collection too. My Uncle is a very special person in my life. He always wanted the best for me, and he still does. We’ve always spent mostly every weekend together. Every time it was Friday I wanted to run out of school to see my Uncle. My Uncle always had a big mind and he also has a big heart. Timothy A
Period 4 May 3, 2006
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Greatest Thing
This post was initially posted March 19th, 2007 from Thomas
Hello there,
It has been four months since I was able to smell the flowers in hobbiton, climb and see the mountains, and been able to live a lifetime chance. Many things have changed since New Zealand. I still have been doing good in school. I’m about to go to High school. I just got done with a basketball league and my team came in first. I’m in baesball now, I just tried out for a team. I don’t know what team I am on. I still miss New Zealand and I always think about it and I wish I could go back to it. I look at pictures and I almost start to cry because I miss it so much. Some people still ask me how much fun my trip was. I say it was the greatest trip of my life. It was the greatest trip cause I was with two of the greatest people in the world. I met some of the coolest people I could meet. I think when I get older I will go back and smell the flowers of hobbiton. The people I miss in New Zealand is Vic and Raewyn, they were the greatest tour guides in the world. I miss Heather and Vivian too though. They were two fun people to hang out with. The greatest thing I miss is, my Uncle successfully guiding two young hobbits through Middle - Earth. Namarie.
Your Friend, Thomas
P.S. I love you very much Uncle Max… you are The Greatest Uncle in the world.
Hello there,
It has been four months since I was able to smell the flowers in hobbiton, climb and see the mountains, and been able to live a lifetime chance. Many things have changed since New Zealand. I still have been doing good in school. I’m about to go to High school. I just got done with a basketball league and my team came in first. I’m in baesball now, I just tried out for a team. I don’t know what team I am on. I still miss New Zealand and I always think about it and I wish I could go back to it. I look at pictures and I almost start to cry because I miss it so much. Some people still ask me how much fun my trip was. I say it was the greatest trip of my life. It was the greatest trip cause I was with two of the greatest people in the world. I met some of the coolest people I could meet. I think when I get older I will go back and smell the flowers of hobbiton. The people I miss in New Zealand is Vic and Raewyn, they were the greatest tour guides in the world. I miss Heather and Vivian too though. They were two fun people to hang out with. The greatest thing I miss is, my Uncle successfully guiding two young hobbits through Middle - Earth. Namarie.
Your Friend, Thomas
P.S. I love you very much Uncle Max… you are The Greatest Uncle in the world.
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