Christmas and New Years 2002/2003

Leeds Castle, Bath, Stonehenge, Italy

13 January 2002

Well, it's been a while since I sent an update of all my travels, so I thought I'd send out a big one. Apologies for all the stuff that may have already been sent/discussed already, it's easier to resend rather than work out what's already been sent. :-)

Mid December I took Kristin on a dinner cruise up the Thames. The food was good, silver service, but we were busy looking at the night sights along along the riverbank to have much conversation. Even passed the MI6 building that some of you may have seen in the recent James Bond movie.

The weekend before Christmas we went down to Leeds castle, which strangely is in Kent, no-where near Leeds, but an hour or so bus ride south from London. The castle itself is beautiful and the grounds were manicured and interesting, given the most recent owner was a great gardener and bird lover. And due to the timing they had all the christmas lights up to make it even more appealing.

Christmas was great - eating and drinking and eating and playing games and eating and watching vids and eating.... The very mild temperature of 11 degrees led us (Kristin, my cousin Clare and I) to head out for a walk - no white xmas in London this year! We cooked a turkey (which was great btw - my first attempt so all good!).

Boxing day we said goodbye to my cousin and headed down to Brighton (we hired a car for a week) and have a look around. A walk on the pebbly beach in near zero temperatures was as refreshing as a dip in a frozen lake, but we got to see the old pier just days before it breathed it's last and fell into the see to wash up on the shores - I believe that news story even made it to NZ, why I have no idea!?!

Then in the weekend between xmas and new years, we headed to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was great, though of course surrounded by heaps of tourists, even in the blustery cold. We also managed a slight detour to see Avebury, another stone circle with less people and larger diameter, but it just 'aint Stonehenge :-)

Bath was very cool - and not just the temperature. The place is just ancient, with the entire town being a World Heritage site. Which basically means any changes to the ENTIRE CITY have to be made in accordance to very strict building rules to stop what a local guide calls 'architectural graffiti'. For example, a new building only built about 7 years ago was in the middle of town, complete with pillars, collumns and Bath Stone! The baths themselves were interesting, bit of Rome left in the UK, but reminded me a lot of the Polynesian Pools back home for the colour and smell of the water. They were actually shut down about 30 years ago, but they are opening a more modern version in March next year, so undoubtedly I'll be dragged back for the day spa :-)

Monday before new years we carried on with our culture immersion and saw The Nutcracker by the National English Ballet. The costumes were amazing, cartoons made real almost, and the dancing great. The main character managed 17 spins without putting his leg down! *grin*

Then of course New Years... just a clubbing event where we stayed out all night partying, and heading home around 6am.

A few quiet days relaxing for me - Kristin was working - then we were off to Italy, a resort called Sauze d'Oulx, to learn to snowboard. Well, fall really. And Kristin was skiing - in fact, good enough to come second in her class when they raced! The week was pretty much perfect for skiing/snowboarding, the day after we arrived it snowed, so I was snowed on for the first time :-) Then it was clear and fine and gorgeous, for fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. It was pretty much a snow one day fine the next type weather, but it did get down to -20C at the top some days! By day 3 we woke up sore and not wanting to move, compounded on my part by battling the flu, but by the end of the week I could at least stand on the board and turn, so we'll see if I can work on that next time. We also made friends of a South African couple who we shared our table with at the hotel, who were also learning to snowboard, we were usually the last out of the restaurant due to our long lasting conversations, and on the last night headed out to a local resaurant for some local Italian cuisine, and up to the ice rink to let Kristin and the couple try out the skates - no WAY I was getting on them! :-)

So back yesterday, and now I'm on to job hunting to see what's out there.

Happy New Year, and let 2003 carry on like it's started, with friends, fun and adventure!

Ciao! James

Leeds Castle (In Kent)
Me

Baths in Bath
Balcony of Baths in Bath
River Avon through Bath
Bath Cathedral
Stonehenge (!!!!!)

View out of our Sauze d'Oulx hotel
Us rugged up
Ice fountain in the old town
Snowing