Belgium

From Holland we drove to Belgium and stayed in the lovely town of Ostend, our overnight stay meant we could get some great pictures of the wonderful abbey of St Petrus and St Pauluskerk both at night and in the morning.

Ostend also had a lovely harbour with lots of boats, including this great old wooden ship all alight. What a great view from a supermarket carpark!

and of course you couldn't possibly go to Belgium and not try some of the scrumptious chocolates!!!

With more than 55 varieties of beautiful Belgium chocolates to choose from there were some hard decisions to make!

But eventually the decisions were made.... can't wait to sample one!!

We also had a cone of hot chip and the girls enjoyed the novelty of eating the chips and mayonnaise with a little disposable fork

We also saw this fella while in the supermarket buying some supplies for dinner and couldn't resist sharing him with you. (He's made from different loaves of bread).

Just enough time for the girls to have a quick turn on the equipment at the abbey before it's back into the camper and on our way to France and the ferry. We had a lovely week away in Holland and it was a nice bonus to be able to stop in Belgium and sample some of the delights of Ostend.

The trip back on the ferry was very uneventful, which is just what you want from a ferry trip!! but we did manage to get a few shots of the White Cliffs of Dover from the back of the ferry.

and a few more a couple of hours later, from much closer!

We also decided to stay the night in Dover at the local camper van free camping area, which was on Marine Parade and gave us wonderful sea views, and the local police station was in the building directly across the road, which gave us 24 hour security!

 The view from the camper on Marine Parade

Holland

After a wonderfully English christmas with my parents, we headed to Holland to look at some boats and although we didn't find any suitable boats we had a lovely time.  The camper was great and as you can see in the pictures we had lots of fun.

One of the many windmills to be seen all over Zeeland

Zierikzee is one of the lovely medieval towns in Zeeland, with wonderful architecture, a great shopping area and a cute inland harbour, all the streets are cobbled and everywhere looks amazingly olden day.

Some of the residential streets.

Even when the houses are being renovated the fronts are covered to look amazing!

Some of the many push bikes you see all over Zeeland

Some of the boats in the harbour

New Years Eve in Holland is celebrated with lots and lots of fireworks going off everywhere, even during the day in the middle of a street with parked cars on either side!

The girls having some fun out in the fresh air.

Cold London

After a few days rest and some well needed jet-lag recovery time, we headed up to London to have a look at the sights and the Christmas lights.
The first stop was the London Eye, which was pretty cool, you hop into a capsule with about 10 other people and have a ride on one of the biggest ferris wheels around.  You get a 360 degree uninterrupted view of the River Thames and of London, all in the comfort of a heated capsule that moves slowly and smoothly, you are also given a 360 degree photo of London so you can easily pick out the different monuments and historic buildings, along with some of the more modern sights.
Laura and Amy all rugged up with the Eye behind them.

The lights around London were great, and although these photos were taken from about 4pm onwards it is more than dark enough to get a wonderful christmasy feel walking along amongst them all.  You can get quite jostled at times trying to get a great shot as others are rushing either side of you heading to the nearest tube and home. But London wouldn't be London without the crowds and the crush of the underground.  As we told the girls it's all part of the experience!

A quick stop at the International Market on the South Bank for a nice warming glass of mulled wine for Pete and I and some hot chips for the girls.

Hot Bangkok

 After the long flight from Auckland to Bangkok, Thailand we have at last arrived in Bangkok. The first thing we decided to do was to have a look at some of the temples in Bangkok.

Inside the temples are amazing statues, some made from pure gold and other made from concrete and covered in gold leaf.  This one is the 3rd biggest in the country and understandably made from concrete and covered in gold leaf

Some of the spectacular architecture around Bangkok's temples.

The next day we took a tour further afield, and drove out of Bangkok for about an hour and went to

the floating markets, which were great fun but quite touristy. 

A quick drink of local coconut milk to cool us down before the river cruise.

Laura trying her hand at bartering for the 1st time, and the clever fold away fan hats she purchased for herself and Amy.

Some of the local houses down at the rivers edge

 

The next stop was to the little town of Maekong where the local market is situated across the railway lines and sells a very large selection of fresh foods including smoked and fresh frogs, it was very interesting to see especially when the train whistle blasts to signal a train is on its way....

Almost off!!

Well after many weeks of frantic sorting, finishing the house and packing it is at last time to start our adventure.  But first is a Bon Voyage party for Laura and Amy at the school pool. Everyone had a great time even though the pool heating system had broken down the day before and the water was a little chilly, Pete did a great job with the sausage sizzle and after everyone had eaten it was time for another quick dip in the pool before the final farewells.