Lakes District

Welcome to the new and improved looking blog.

We had a fabulous weekend relaxing in the Lakes District with Helen and Chris.  It had been ages since we last hung out with them so its was neat to finally catch up. 
Nath and I arived in Hawkshead around noon on Saturday and looked through the small town.  The famous poet William Wordsworth was schooled in this wee village!  When Helen and Chris arrvied we had lunch and then did a small walk around a local lake. 

Proof that money does grow on trees!

On Sunday we rose early to hike (really we walked - but hike sounds more hard core) up a hill to get some amazing views over Lake Windermere.  There was talk from Chris that Lake Windermere was very large, but when I got home I conducted research comparing Windermere to Lake Taupo.  Windermere is 14.7 sq km and Taupo is 616 sq km!!  By NZ standards Windermere isn't very big, but it is the largest lake in England.  In the afternoon we caught a ferry over to another small village called Ambleside.  It was a lovely sunny day and cold beers were enjoyed in the afternoon sun.  We came across a park with a mini putt and pitch and putt course.  After Nath and Chris deliberated for a good 10min over which they would rather play we realised nobody else was playing and concluded that the golf office wasn't open. 

I like the horse fare

Looking back to Hawkshead from our vantage point on the hill

Approaching Ambleside

This Friday Nath and I are off to Turkey for a quick stop for ANZAC day.  We are not going to see a lot of Turkey only Istanbul and Gallipoli.  Our main mission in Turkey is to find a replacement for Naths famous Turkey t-shirt that Zane bought him years ago from the markets in Istanbul.  It was Naths fav tee but got stolen off his washing line Queen St.
This is a link to our tour: http://traveltalktours.com/traveltalk_anzac_a5.html    We are going to do a cruise on the Bosphorus and camp under the stars at Gallipoli.  Nath is really looking forward to having time off work and getting away.  I forget that I am in to my third week of holidays and Nath has worked right through them. 
Today I have started packing up our few possessions in preparation for our move up North.  When we arrive back from Turkey I have two days of work then we are in Paris and the day we get back from Paris is moving day! 
Massive hype for the Royal Wedding.  It is impossible to escape.  England is feeling very patriotic and there are loads of Union Jacks everywhere and lots of tacky of memorabilia.
Hoscakal (Turkish for goodbye).

Alcudia - Mallorca - Spain

Back in London and not tanned at all.  Only slightly less ghostly white than before I left for Spain.  Should have done more sunbathing rather than exploring the Island!

Our resort was in Alcudia, in the summer 6000 people stay at the resort.  A lot of the local shops were closed and getting a make over for the summer season.  Each day we were at the resort more and more bus loads of English holiday makers were getting dropped off.  It started getting noisey at night, and we had to queue in the dining hall.  I don't think the resort would function well when fully booked.

Looking arcoss the water to our resort

Basically Amy and I had 4 full days on the Island.  Day 1 we walked down to the beach and explored the local area and hung by the pool in the arvo.  On the second day we got more adventurous and caught a bus to Palma, the main town on the Island and where the airport is located.  Here we looked through the Cathedral which is really awesome inside and out, and tried Paella - a Spanish rice dish.

Day 3 was our attempt at tanning.  We sun bathed at the beach in the morning and pool side in the arvo but we still managed to stay white!  Our last day was the best - we did a day trip to Porto Cristo checking out the Caves of Drach.  On the way we stopped at the market town of Sineu.  Along with the traditional market fruits and vege there was also livestock for sale as pets or food I bet.  The Caves of Drach were amazing.  There were very cool lighting effects to cast shadows on the stalagmites and stalactites which made the cave feel eerie and huge.  The caves house the worlds largest underground lake - Lake Martel.  We sat infront of the lake for a classical music performance performed on boats travelling around the lake.

On thw way back to Alcudia we stopped off for a photo opportunity at on old Pirate lookout.  Back in the day this was used quite literally to keep an eye out for any approaching pirates and to warn people of their arrival.  

At the airport before our departure we were looking for some lunch and we came across a place called Ars.  Naturally the name alone was enough to draw us in, and so Amy and I ate Ars for lunch!  The best Ars I've had in a while.  I enjoyed eating Ars with Amy.  And so on, and so on.  'Amy you have Ars on your face' was a favourite comment of mine!

I've been back in London one day and now I'm off to explore some more of England - heading to the Lakes District tomorrow.  Staying with Helen and Chris in a little village called Hawkshead which lies on the banks of Lake Windermere.  We are only there for two nights but long enough to give us a taste of the area.

I received a letter from my school principal saying they had received very positive feedback from parents and pupils about me and he offered me a permanent contract!  Sweet, Im off probation, so I can stop sucking up to everyone now. 

Hoping that my washing dries today as its a quick turn around before I need to pack it again.

NZ teachers - enjoy your holiday!

Mallorca

Well so far so bloody awesome.  All inclusive is the sweetest deal ever!  3 meals a day, plus snacks, and drinks til midnight.  Loving it.  Lucky to get here though.  Firstly Amy and I both upset security by having too many liquids, so even though they were in 100ml bottles there were more than one zip lock bag each so we had to ditch come.  As a result I have no hair product or conditioner. Just letting you know my hair might not be looking its best in the photos.
Secondly I took us to the wrong terminal and we had to get an escort back, but the gate was closing as our escort picked us up so a bit of a panic was in the air.
Gotta go, jumped on someones computer once they left the internet cafe, 1 min left.
Weather is great.  Catching a bus tomorrow to Palma.
Good times indeed.
xxx