There's no place like home.....

After a couple of days exploring Barcelona, and two nights in Singapore (saturday night visiting the Singapore Zoo on night safari - VERY COOL - wow! anteaters have very small heads!)...we headed home courtesy of Singapore Airlines........

We arrived in Te Aroha 9am on a cold but beautiful sunny winters day on monday.
The Southern Alps were covered in a fresh dump of pure white and we were greeted by smiling Kiwi faces. A fantastic end to a wonderful trip ........

...well, almost perfect......

...if only Rod hadn't left a bloody apple in one of the back packs...to be picked up at NZ Customs AFTER we had completed the forms, with "nothing to declare".... I should have known when the lady pulled the backpack aside and proceeded to speil off the ... "you packed the bag yourself?.... you read and understood the customs form?......"

$200 fine for a single APPLE! And to think how many pairs of shoes I could have bought in Singapore with that!!

Hmmmmmmm

Well, we are all home safe and well.
Thank you all who shared our journey through this blog site. It made you all feel so much closer.... We really looked forward to checking out the site on a regular basis to see your comments and learn of your own adventures.

Until next time........

Love, Janine, Rod, Zoe and Hunter
XXxx

Bugger!

What a race! Who would have thought we could have lost the match race by second!
VERY exciting..........and much harder to "stomach" than if Team NZ had lost convincingly.

A very flat tuesday evening.

So...we have comenced the packing up. Enjoying our last visitor, Wendy my second cousin from the USA who leaves today. I must away to book her taxi and think about packing the rest before we depart for Barcelona on tuesday, Singapore for 2 nights to arrive in Christchurch at 9am monday 16th. We are looking forward to seeing you all then.

Loads of love,
Janine, Rod, Zoe and Hunter
XXxx OOoo

Four - two .....

It's not over yet ..............

But unfortunately Rods results in the sweepstake are looking a bit better than Team NZ's odds and the All Blacks spirits after their loss yesterday. Not much to say other than we will have everything crossed today...........

Two - One

VERY EXCITING!
What a great race of tactics. We thought we had lost it after rounding the last mark....but the boys played a great race back to win. Fantastic!
Let's hope it's 3-1 by the end of the day.

We had taken a heap of photos of "out and about" the village ...but they have mysteriously disappeared off my camera. We will try and get some more for you today.

Two All!

Fantastic to see Team NZ pull away on leg three to end with a win today. Yippee!! Two all - bring it on!

We enjoyed a day of sun burn in front of the "big screen" at the village yesterday watching the first race and attempting to catch ourselves on camera with TVNZ. Forgot the "Hello Appleby School" banner but Hunter wore his All Black shorts with NEW ZEALAND printed across his posterior. By the end of the afternoon he had shaking his "toosh" to the offending Alinghi supporters (and man with swiss cow bell) down pat ...and managed to win him (and his toosh) a camera viewing on what I thought was a TVNZ camera. Turns out it was a camera man from "world feed" ... so sorry NZ...we have moved to bigger and better audiences!

The grass is always greener ....

Well - it was wonderful to get a change of scenery ...and we were actually looking forward to some cooler weather.........little did we know it was going to be almost single digits in Scotland! We managed to time the trip immaculately to co-incide with a week of rain...
Hump you say? Yes, I know you are now well used to it...... but hey it IS suppose to be Summer over here!

I did have a wee lump in my throat as we flew into view of green fields and hedges ......

We enjoyed catching up with Rods relatives in St Andrews (an hour north of Edinborough), and then a couple of days in the Lake District which is just beautiful. Visits catch up with friends in Newcastle and London with a ride on the "humungous ferris wheel" (the London Eye)...and of course a trip to Hamleys toy store.

One of the many highlights was a trip to a bird santuary on the Farn Islands (an hour north of Newcastle). We were excited to see Puffin birds (very cute)...but not too sure about nesting Turns and Shags, who, as any new mother would, fiercly protected their newborns by divebombing any intruder who passed along the 300m path from the boat onto the island. No amount of recommended waving hands above our heads stopped the attempts (yes -Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" reminded us of a wet sunday afternoon watching "Bambie"). However, Hunter took being "pooed on" with a sense of humour and it was well worth risking our lives for. We got VERY close to the birds on the tiny island.

We arrived back at 11.30pm on thursday night, 2 hours late when the plane was delayed...which under normal circumstances would have been "OK" had we not missed our one and only chance to attend the America's Cup Ball . Oh well - had nothing to wear anyway! I'm sure Niomi Campbell missed our catch up though.

On holiday ...again...

Well - you've got to make the most of these things!

Racing doesn't start until the 23rd June with the comencement of the America's Cup.
So we've got to fill in the time somehow!
We are planning to visit Rod's aunt in Scotland (via some friends in London and Newcastle)..and will be back on 21 June.

We have started saying good bye to some lovely friends we have met during our stay. Particularly a few from Victory Challenge ..... only Kiwis and Swiss left now!
We are looking forward to a few more visitors when we return from the UK.

Major excitement today - Hunter has touched the bottom of the swimng pool! He is now happily jumping off the side of the pool and putting his head under....... (a milestone for a boy who wouldn't get his hair wet 6 weeks ago!)
Zoe is "hyperventilating" at the thought of spending a day in Hamley's toy store in London.....

Hope you all have a good week.

Love,
J,R,Z and H
XXxx

We won!!!

Yippee! We have the first cup...let's hope there's another coming our way.

I think I have a bit of"buyers remorse" after nearly 12 hours shopping with the girls yesterday (and we still didn't get around the biggest shopping mall in Spain) - HEAVEN! ...even if I did have very sore feet!

We excitedly greeting Lisa and Gary at the train station this mornig. Wonderful to have them here and be able to show them around. Will keep you posted...

Four down one to go!

Well - looks like the America's Cup village will be the place to be tomorrow!
Yippee...let's hope it will be 5 out of 5!
The gap seems to be getting bigger....but who wants to count the chickens yet?

On the social front...yes - we may just get a few extra days to play with Rod home!... what?... of COURSE I care about the racing!

We have had a few lovely days with a wee treasure hunt around Valencia to help celebrate Zoe's 6th birthday. The clue leading up the bell tower, arriving 2 mins before 12 noon... to witness a VERY LOUD bell tolling 12 DONGS for mid-day was a little unfortunate however. Maybe 1pm would have been a better choice. Never mind - we made our way back down the 207 steps with ears in tact...if a bit wobbly from the experience!

We are looking forward to our NZ visitors...Lisa and Gary Reilly arriving this friday afternoon. A bit sad that the LV racing might be all over red rover though. Bugger.

Southern Spain

It was nice to have a break away in the South of Spain during the break between the Louis Vuitton semis and the final which commences 1 June. We only had 6 days to cover a huge amount of kms..and we're sure we only skimmed the surface.

A huge highlight for the kids was staying in a cave hotel, 1 hour north east of Granada. We saw a few caves still in use as regular houses, but most house tractors and a few tourist hotels these days. The cave had its own hot pool (and cold plunge pool), kids play cave complete with tunnels and slide into the dining area, bar and restaurant. We felt like hobbits, only with modern day conveniences (electricity to re-charge our mobile phones and even a washing machine!). All set in very arid countryside.

We also made it as far south as Tangier in Morocco. We caught the 1 our ferry from Algeciras to Tangier -the closest port town in Morocco, with loads of bussling markets with smells of spices, olives and raw meat! Without Arabian or French we communicated via sign language! We saw very poor people (young and old) begging for food....another little reminder of how lucky we are. On the whole Tangier was dirty and run down...although we didn't explore much of the new quarter. We were told it is becoming a "trendy" place to invest, with Micheal Schumacher and a Prince of Kuwait owning "flash" properties. We decided (unanimously) to stick to Appleby! I am sure Tangier was not a full representation of Morocco itself - and one day Zoe and Hunter may come back to explore the rural hinterland and ride a camel (when they can fund their own "OE")!

We had a night in another medieval village named Ronda on the way south where we visited a bull ring and explored the streets by horse and cart.

On the last day we visited a royal Muslim palace - the "Alhumbra". A magnificently kept palace and gardens built during the 11th - 13th centuries that has survived various dynasties. The most spectacular was the intricate carving of marble and extensive mosaics throughout. A fantastic day and a 6 hour ride home arriving back in Valencia around midnight last night.

A slow day today.......... but well worth it.
We hope you enjoy the pictures!

For Appleby School

I saw the photos of the cross country on your blog. Was it fun?
How far did you run?

from Zoe

And now for the Louis Vuitton Finals

Yay!

Team NZ won their semi final - which means it is Luna Rossa (Prada) against Team NZ in the final of the Louis Vuitton cup. The races for the final start 1 June - and again - will be the first to win 5 races.......

The winner of the LV will race Alinghi (the Swiss) in the America's Cup 23 June - 7 July (including reserve days).

We have a week break before the LV final and are heading out of town...... a drive to the south.
We will check the blog when we return to Valencia on 30 May.
Keep us posted of your adventures.

We were excited to hear we have had lots of rain over the last few days. We havn't seen rain here for about a month!

From Zoe

It was lovely to talk to Moutere last week.
It made me miss you all lots.
I wish you could all be here to have fun in the pool with me. I don't miss school - but I do miss my friends.

Grace- yes- the roller coaster was cool. I was scared at first - but then I went on it again at the end of the day..... and it was great fun. Good luck in the cross country. Run fast.

Harriet - good luck to you too. Have fun.

Love from Zoe
XXxx

One down, one to go!

Louis Vuitton semi finals - Oracle out and Luna Rossa goes into the final. The race is on for Team NZ to make one more win to get them to 5 and oust the Spanish. If Team NZ win tomorrow (tuesday) then the semis are over...and we get an extended holiday (YAY!!!). We have until 31 May until the finals start (1 June).

We have enjoyed a quiet day off today. Have just enjoyed a trip into the markets for azure queso (blue cheese), a little pan (bread) and some fruit and veges. I must away to the pool.

Loads of love,
J,R,Z & H

Warner Brothers Movie World

Saturday 12 May
South of Madrid

Sometimes you really appreciate spanish time.... as we left Toledo and headed for Movie World at 9.30am, arriving at 10.20, we thought we might have arisen a little too late to make the most of the day at the theme park, given we had to head back to Valencia that night. But no, we were one of the first cars in the car park and almost had Scooby Doo to ourselves! The park was still pumping when we left at 7pm, and we suspect, for many hours after that.

We had a great day, lots of rides, some too scary for Hunter and some far too dizzy for Mum (much to the amusement of H,Z and R)... Superman and Scooby Doo rule! Rod had to have more than one go on the "big kids roller coaster" - whilst the one in the looney tunes area was more than enough for those of us with more "gentile" stomachs. We arrived back in Valencia 1am sunday morning.........the kids sleeping the entire trip. A quiet day beside the swimming pool did the trick today.

Yep - life in Spain is tough.

Madrid (friday 12 May)

We rode the 30 minute train ride from Toledo to Madrid. Very exciting.

The small part of Madrid we saw (on foot between the train station to the royal palace via parks, playgrounds and plazas) was clean, tidy and green. It had a nice feel and we enjoyed the day, returning to Toledo at 7pm (still very warm and sunny) and ventured to the old city for a cafe dinner. It is getting dark at 9.30pm now.

Holy Toledo!

We had four days between the end of LV round robin 2 and the start of the LV semi finals - well, 3 actually as Rod had to go into work today (sunday) to "rehearse" for tomorrow's start. A small break - but we made the most of it and headed inland and north to visit Toledo (yep!) and Madrid.

Valencia - Toledo was a 5 hour drive in the car. We arrived about 3pm and spent a good 4 hours wandering the old city's tiny streets and tasting some (pretty ordinary) local meal. We love the delicatessions selling cheeses, pastries and cherizos (salamis) which you buy by the kilo (or "gramos" for cheese).... but the cafe food is pretty average (basic pastas, rice and bread dishes). You really need to book into a good restaurant, most don't even open until 9pm, and you won't have company until 10pm (!)..and be prepared to wait a while for food. In Spain, eating is a past time rather than a mean to an end.

Toledo has a population of 70,000 - but like most spanish cities, most reside in high apartment blocks - so there is a huge amount of people in very small spaces. The shops and cafes are all under the apartments and kids play in the plaza's, parks or the street.

The drive from Valencia to Toldeo saw intensive irrigated cropping once we reached the plateau (central spain) with lots of wheat, olive and almond trees and grape vines (although not nearly as intensively grown as in NZ - and most of the vines we saw grew on bushes not climbing on lateral wires). The most interesting is the number of wind farms we spotted along the way..one particularly large one we have photographed ....

PS- Toledo is famous for it's suits of armour and marzipan. We saw a model fortified city made of marzipan (and decided we would all feel rather sick if we even got past eating the main gate!)

Louis Vuitton Semi Finals

Well - the game is hotting up with Team NZ the winner of the Louis Vuitton Round 2 which decided which 4 teams go into the semi final. Being the top contender, Team NZ gets to choose who it races in the semi's. So it's Team NZ vs Espanol and Oracle vs Luna Rossa (Prada). The last few days racing has been much closer and more exciting. The weather is now settling down to a far more predictable pattern - still warm mornings, with the wind picking up about lunchtime for good racing in the afternoon. Long may it continue.... and good luck Team NZ!

A trip out on the media boat - Monday 7 May

Fantastic! Awesome! Now I am excited!

After a day out on the media boat watching the racing on the south course, we are now getting into the spirit of things! Rod managed to wangle me onto the media boat so I got to view the races first hand and rather close! There are 2 courses run each day - the north course is closer to the beach - which we can usually view from the promenade and the south course much further out.

Team NZ had a good win, and Victory beat the Spanish team, a wee upset that will prolong the agony to decide the forth player in the LV final. Fantastic weather, and once I sidled up to the American sailing channel reporters, I could actually understand what was being reported! My spanish has improved somewhat - but does not extend to deciphering an excited spanish TV reporter's commentary!!!

Some friends looked after the kids for the afternoon (who far prefered 5 hours play on the beach and in the pool to 5 hours on a boat). So, we all had a good day.

We can also start to see the end of each boat having 2 races a day, since the wind has picked up and we have finally caught up on the races postponed due to lack of wind in the early days. Rod has his first few days off since Easter (this thursday - sunday) so we are hoping to head off to Madrid. Hope you enjoy the pickies of the day out on the water ..... I did!

Friday 4 May

Hola!

Well an inconsistent week for sailing, some days with no wind and others with too much (hence another two days of catch up racing), todays racing was exciting.

The kids and I biked down to the Cup Village, watched a few races on the big screen, played on the playground, learnt to tie some knots and sailed a remote control yacht. Unfortuantely too much wind to go up in the hot air balloon .... we'll leave that for an adventure next week.

Tomorrow is flamenco lesson no 3. Yes - Zoe now has the full attire... and aparently we have a wee concert some time in July. Whilst Zoes teacher Ms Eva Munro is gorgeous (she sings the flamenco tune beautifully for both classes (2 hours solid)) ... the dance studio owner is a very scary buxom spanish Senora, with whom no one argues (so we are NOT allowed to watch the practices lest we distract the girls!!).

So, all in all, a realively quiet week of sandcastles, tennis and yes - the apartment pool is open! Yippee.

Sunday 29th April..

Well the round robins have finally caught up. After what seems like a month of no wind, racing has finally picked up and organisers have managed to run two races a day to catch up. We have raced solidly with no breaks (as originally planned) .. and hence people are getting a little weary....

Back to one race a day we are looking forward to hopefully having Rod home between 5- 6pm each night rather than 8-9pm!

The races don't usually start until 1pm, but Rod has a 10am meeting each day - so the days are long. We are all hanging out for the first break (since Easter) on 10 May.

We had an electrical thunderstorm here last night - like nothing I have ever heard before. No rain, and very loud continuos bangs. Here's to a good night's sleep tonight.

Buenas noches
(Good night)

Flamenco dancing

When in Spain .....

Zoe had her first flamenco lesson on saturday morning. Right up her alley - lots of stomping! So - we are now on the hunt for a flamenco skirt and shoes at the markets before lesson 2.

The Aquarium (Oceanograhic if you're spanish)

After what looked like it was going to be yet another windless day - things picked up and finally all races were completed. Team NZ won both their races (better day than yesterday). So - 2 1/2 days racing out of 10 (yesterday was supposed to be a day off - but that had to be scrapped to try and fit more days into the schedule to replace those lost). Where is the WIND???

But - true to form - the kids and I kept the positive campfires burning (what racing?) and continued to explore. Today we ventured to the national aquarium. A huge day with alot of walking in the sun...but some magical moments. After the dolphin show the dolphins came right up to the kids (viewing through a glass panel) and they "talked" to them for 20 mins. We also saw a white beluga whale, turtles, tropical fish (including lime green eels), mamoth walruses and of course, SHARKS!

No wind .....

Day four of Loius Vuitton - no wind (and no racing) again!

On the lighter side.... after severe cabin fever this morning, the kids and I took a bus into the old city and then a double decker bus on a tourist ride around Valencia. We stopped off for another play on the Gulliver playground, and jumped back on the bus an hour later. Weather heating up... we have gone from winter white to brown beach bums in 3 days. The sun is nowhere near as strong as it is in NZ.

The number of freckles on Hunter's face has doubled!

Day one - Louis Vuitton Cup

Sunday night (9.30-11pm) saw a great fire works display as each challenger boat headed down the cannal from the marina. Four major light displays depicting the four elements (water, earth, fire and air) were amazing... with a man lit up with hundreds of red tiny lights "bouncing" on a huge earth ball.....unfortunately our digital did no justice so the photo's can't give you much of an idea. Spectacular as it was... the finale was a bit much for a 3 1/2 yr old boy (VERY loud bangs with the sky lit up)...

When the Team NZ boat went through we had a small haka and I don't think there would have bee a dry eyed Kiwi in sight.

The boats head out down the canal (lined with spectators) on monday for the first day of LV racing. Each boat is pulled out by a small chase boat. Team NZ accompanied by a waka - and traditional haka as the boys made their way out. Wet eyes again!
Unfortunately- yesterday (monday) had NO WIND - the boats hang about around the course from noon until 6pm until racing was called off - and today (Day 2 LV racing) ..doesn't look like it will fare any better. At time of writing (4pm) there is no wind and boats are still milling around. It looks I won't be able to count on having Rod to play with on the reserve days.....

Lets hope the wind picks up soon........... (mind you the kids and I have enjoyed the first of beautiful sunshine, sand and beaches (ice-creams and coffees to boot) - there is always a silver lining!

Medieval Village - Albarracin

Easter monday - we took the work mini van and ventured 2 hours north west into the mountains to a small village called "Albarracin". The medieval village is still lived in and well looked after. We spent 4 hours adventuring and climbing to the top of the fortified castle walls. The photo's show more than I could hope to explain. Although it was cold, it was a magical day.... Very difficult for the kids to comprehend "500 years ago".....

Easter Sunday in Valencia

Rod's first day off since we arrived. We had planned a trip out of town but the weather prohibited - so we headed into the historical centre to see what was happening. After a stroll around the markets, coffee in the square when the kids fed the pigeons... and Zoe took a number of photo's of the old buildings, we walked up the 207 steps of the bell tower of the old cathedral. The steps got narrower and narrower as we reached the top.. and the view over the city was amazing. The main bell tolled 1pm whislt we were up there (we were glad is wasn't 12 noon or we may have required hearing aids!!). We wandered through the cathedral. The architecture incredible - we were quite in awe of the internal decorations and age of the building -also quite special on a holy day. Easter is Spain's most important religious festival so we are told. Fortunately our Spanish is improving - and we got what we ordered for lunch.

The Opening (Fleet racing - March)

Last night (sunday night) saw the opening of the racing. There were fire works during the day (which we saw from the promenade)... but we unfortunately missed the light and fire works show in the evening. We have all been a little sick with change in temperatures etc... but Zoe's took on mild asthma last night so we didn't want to risk a venture out in the very cold evening (and a night in Spanish hospital). Don't panic - she is fine, her mother being over protective (!).

We bought bikes to get around - rather than relying completely on spanish public transport. I suspect Hunter will be off his trainer wheels in a few weeks and Zoe will be rivaling Sarah Ulmer.

Fleet racing starts tomorrow (tuesday). Rod has worked every day since we have been here. A late one tonight - we are looking forward to his first day off next weekend!!!

We caught a bus into the old city a few days ago and went to the fish markets. It was a wonderful experience. We saw loads of fresh fish, a man cutting up live eels, pigs heads and skinned sheeps heads (eyeball intact) for sale! We had lunch in the square and were told off (by the policio!) for playing on the grass by the fountain. There is not alot of grass anywhere- so what they have is precious. How lucky we are in New Zealand!

We have awoken to a cold overcast day... so a little recovery and quiet day today.

Hope all is well with you all.

Words for the week:
Rocco - Red
Azure - Blue
Queso - Cheese

Loads of love,
R,J,Z and H
XXxx

From Hunter

Angus - I miss you. I want you to come over and play with me. I want to show you the cool playground(s). I want to ride my new bike with you.
Love from Hunter
xxxx

PS - it's very cool you have a new car.

Monty - Mummy forgot to take the camera down to the Cup Village yesterday to take a photo of the boats for you (and Fletcher). She will try and remember soon (I think she is on the road to demencia)!

From Zoe:

Harriet- the food on the plane was yuk

Hugo- were the hot pools cool?

Carl & Moutere - yes we are enjoying Spain. Yesterday we bought bikes from the supermarket (you buy EVERYTHING from the supermarket here)... we rode them home and then along the promanade to daddy's work. It took us an hour to get there, but it was on bike paths the whole way. My brother rode into a tree (and also into the back of the legs of a spanish lady on the way back) because he wasn't looking! It is great fun though. The weather has been much better the last few days. There is a very cool playground playground at the beach. There is a huge rope spider web which you can climb. I will try and take a photo of it today.

Love Zoe

Apartment living

The entire size of the apartment would fit inside Zoe's school classroom! Imagine that Moutere .... 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 kitchen and a living area.

We are four stories high, with 4 apartments on each level. We live in block 16, apartment number 16. We have a key to get into the main complex, and also a key to get into our block. If we have a visitor they need to "buzz" us at the entrance so we can push a button to let them in. We use the stairs (if we are feeling fit) and the lift (like when Mum got a load of groceries today!) to get up to our apartment. It is clean, comfortable and even has a dishwasher!

In May, when the weather warms up we can use the swimming pool (which is in the centre of the apartment grounds) ... it is too cold to swim yet. When we woke up this morning it was very cold and raining.

We will try and take some photo's of the apartment soon. Hunter is very excited as he can watch the train go past from our balcony window.

43 hours in the air......

Olah!
We are here. A very long trip.... and we are happy to report the legs from Singapore-Milan (1 hr stop over) - Barcelona were pretty much without a hitch. We were able to stretch our (tired) legs in Barcelona as we had 4 hours before we caught the train to Valencia. Zoe has been a great traveller... and after only 3 hours sleep - 1 of which was on the ground at the edge of the kids play area in Singapore airport ...(out of 38hrs at that point) fell asleep whist waiting for the train. Hunter has spent the last month very excited about the 3 hr train ride from Barcelona to Valencia... but after 5 minutes on the train, both kids were asleep for the entire journey. Maybe next time!

Arrived in Valenica 6pm local time monday evening (4am tuesday morn NZ Time). 43 hours in total. Not the recommended route.

Bed at 8pm to a great and welcome sleep for all.

Chch - Singapore ...

At Singapore airport - after 10 hours aboard.... not without incident ... Master Sharp managed to lock himself into the aeroplane toilet doing "number 2's" ... and then it took several minutes of "coaching" to help him "free" himself again.... followed by large claps of relief by onlookers!!!

However, thanks to the Baralett's toy car which he managed to drive up and down the isle for an hour.. the ten hours will seem quick compared to the next 15 hour haul to Barcelona. We do have an hour lay-over in Milan...

So.. 10pm NZ time... no sleep... the kids are now in that crazy giggly overtired state in the kids play area... only 5 more hours until we board (3am NZ time)...The itinery man has been sacked!

Never mind.. the adventure has started.... write again in Valencia!
j,r,z and h
xxxx

One more sleep ............ to christchurch saturday afternoon..... and then over the ocean sunday mid morning........ adios amigos!