Paris

We had a fantastic long weekend in Paris - thanks once again to the ease of the Eurostar. As Paris virgins, we ticked off the obvious highlights including Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, Disneyland (a rather impulsive visit), the Eiffel tower (numerous times), Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Montmatre and Sacre Coeur and enough cheese sandwiches to last a lifetime.

Notre Dame and the views from the top

I'm not really one for historical buildings but Notre Dame really did impress - marvellous ceilings, statues and a real aura about it. The queue was well worth it!

The Louvre

2 hours in the Louvre is like a hundred metre sprint but we did manage to see past the three security guards to the obvious highlight of the Mona Lisa and also got quite lost in the sculpture section. However, unlike just about every other muppet there, we didn't take any photos inside (nor did we take the Da Vinci Code tour!).

Arc de Triomphe

I didn't quite realise how long the walk from the Louvre to the Arc is!! It seemed so close for a long time and then we finally made it. The two highlights of the walk were the confirmation that a Quarter Pounder with cheese is indeed a Royale with Cheese in Paris (re Pulp Fiction) and 4 of the best street-break dancers you will ever see - better headspins than I could ever do!

Disneyland

Yes - we dodged the prams, wowed at Goofy with 7 year olds and rode the rollercoasters in style. Gabrielle closed her eyes and I must confess to clenching my teeth on Space Mountain - a good day of sugar highs mixed with adrenalin. That said, the highlight for me was definately the Haunted House.

... and check out the two New Zealand representatives in It's a small world.

Versailles Palace

My man tantrum at having to queue for so long wore off pretty quickly when we finally arrived in the gardens of the Palace. There was room upon room of art that was incredible, but became rather tedious after a while, but a real highlight was the enormous corridor telling French history through paintings. And if memory serves me correctly the treaty that ended WW1 was signed here as well.

The Eiffel Tower

We contributed a few more photos to the tally for the most photographed structure in the world - I was very dissapointed that you couldn't walk the whole way up and so we had to settle for a lift from the second level to the top - but the Paris sunset sure made up for it.

Montmatre and Sacre Couer

We spent out last morning wandering around the streets of Montmatre, eating crepes and watching the artists at work. Still yet to try escargot......maybe next time.

My next mission is to teach the French to play cricket - there a plenty of good looking athletes and they have the perfect attitude: relaxed with a twist of arrogance - and the countryside is crying out for heavenly cricket grounds!

English fashion

Thanks for the All Blacks tie Dad!! You will pleased to know that it was not well received at work today - especially when it was accompanied by my prediction that we will pump them by 40 points this weekend!

Saturday afternoon visitor

We had a very small interruption to a lazy Saturday afternoon on the couch. This young fella climbed up the drain pipe to our third story flat. He was shy at first, but after a while he

came right on in (encouraged by one or twenty peanuts).

He made the journey some 12 or 15 times up the pipe and down the pipe and back and forth across the road in an attempt to gather tucker for hibernation.

I could have thrown the peanuts down to him but it was nice to have such a visitor.

And by the end of the day we were dining together.

Ireland

Now that I am a real deal Irish citizen it was great to finally set foot on my home turf for a week of touring. We covered over 1000 miles in our Nissan - from Cork in the South to Derry in the North through the lush green fields, rugged coast and dry stone walls. A country filled with quaint character and characters where the little things matter. We steered clear of the cities and so we have good cause to go back and see Dublin and Belfast.





Old friends

It was a real highlight to meet up with the Elliotts (no relation to Gabrielle - well we hope not!) and Coopers and see around their farms on the border - interesting to see how the boys are preparing for the challenges of winter. It's nice to see where the family's roots are and Audrey's guided tour left no stone unturned! We also managed to meet the Minister of Agriculture - quite a bonus!

Killendarragh - the Starrett dairy farm:

Looking across to Northern Ireland from the front lawn

Blarney

We did the compulsory tourist deed of kissing the Blarney Stone that supposedly gives you the gift of the gab for 7 years and had a walk around the surrounding grounds. It was a great start to the trip but do you think we could shut up in the car afterwards?

Cashel Rock

Cashel Rock was a spectacular structure (no longer used) where we added to our thin understanding of Irish history. When you come from NZ, it's mind boggling that buildings still stand from over 800 years ago.

Bunratty

Bunratty (love the name) was another history stop with a well maintained village from the 18th century. We had a quick look around, a cuddle with the horse and then quickly went back to our centrally heated B&B to avoid the Irish rain.

Kilkenny

Kilkenny Castle is right in the middle of the town of Kilkenny and has tremendous grounds surrounding it - we went on a quite a walk around them and subsequently missed the tour - but the views of the outside were great.

Walking

There are plenty of good walking stops and we tried to get a walk in a day but laziness or Guinness often won over. However, the better spots we went walking were in Gorten:

and Killarney National Park:

The were plenty of other noteworthy sights - the city walls that surround the "old city"of Londonderry:

Kylemore Abbey in Galway (which is now a school):

My first swim in the Atlantic (Ireland's weather isn't that bad):

The town of Dingle and the coast around Dingle and the Ring of Kerry:

Our accommodation in Killarney:

So that's that - after the Irish breakfasts, the stews and the Guinness I think we may have to go on a diet for the next 7 years as well. Farewell until the next instalment.