Rome wasn't built in a day...

"Veni, vidi, vici" - "I came, I saw, I conquered"

Julius Ceaser - 100-44BC

Photo with a modern day Roman soldier

The history in the place is absolutely amazing, dating back to before Christ.

Not a lot to write about today other than we had an amazing tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Again, started our day of as usual with breakfast at the hotel before departing for the Colosseum which is situated about 5-10km away from our hotel.

Our tour guide Marina.  The flower is so we could find her.

We got to our meeting point where we met our tour guide and wired ourselves up with the receivers and ear pieces.  The tour was 3 hours long and just like our tour guide the day before, this one also knew her stuff and clearly loves what she does.

Meriana and Jazz about to enter the Colosseum

We learnt so much about this place that it's impossible to fit it into a blog.  So my advise to you would be to make your own trip here to Rome (hehehe)

Photos are on Facebook and I have also included a couple of YouTube links so that you can see what Ancient Rome used to look like in comparison to the photos of the ruins.

Rome Reborn and The Roman Forum

Like all other trips, food is involved somewhere along the way, but I have to tell you that shops were quite few and far between during the tour (we did have food in the bags), but about half way through the tour we had about a 20 min stop before entering the Roman Forum.  There was a small shop and a library as well as a water fountain and some toilets.  Devika and Ian went off to get some drinks and also bought some pringles for when Jazz woke up (both she and Meriana were asleep in their prams at this stage).  Upon waking Jazzmyn was given her pringles to which she shared with Meriana.  It must of been a long time because even Ang was stealing food from the kids hehehe.  It was so entertaining because, everything we seemed to do on this trip was eat, but when in Rome!!!

just finished lunch

At the conclusion of the tour, of course we went to look for a place to have lunch, found a little quiet shop thingy about a millions miles away (seemed like it after walking around the Colosseum and Roman Forum for hours), had lunch and headed to our hotel for a rest.

The taxi ride to the hotel was certainly an experience.  The taxi driver at one stage thought he was a tram and drove along the trams tracks, then he thought he was a rally driver zipping in and out of the narrow streets of Rome.

 The streets of Rome are exactly how they are on movies, narrow streets with vespers and smart cars lining each side of the road.  The footpaths are covered with little pizzarias and ristorante with tables outside (some covered with those checkered red and white table cloths like in the movies) and covering those are large umbrellas.  Al fresco dining in its true form.  Placed among the eating places are souvenir shops with every little replica of and public figure and historical buildings you can think of.  From Pope John Paul II to the Colosseum, from Gladiators to the Basilica San Pietro and rosary beads of all size and shape from hear to Mexico, even glow in the dark ones.

Like the past few nights we dined al fresco on one of those small narrow streets, but we had a change from the normal pizza and pasta which we've been having the past 2 nights.  They were replaced with Roast veal, burgers and risotto.

After I finished last nights blog, we could hear some action outside our window.  Ang opened the window and we saw a mass of people walking along the street with candles burning and singing.  She managed to capture a bit of it on video.  When our cleaners came today, Ang played them the movie and asked what was happening.  The cleaners spoke very little English so rang down to reception and got them to explain what took place last night.  In the end she found out that it was the Stations of the Cross.  If you google you can find out more info about it.

but for now, it's buona notte from Rome, Italy and tonight I will leave you with this small clip of the   Stations of the Cross pilgrimage.

Sorry the video is sideways, I didn't have the energy to correct it.  I just wanted to share the experience of what we heard outside our window. (I may have corrected it in Youtube, but not too sure so will keep the apology here in case hehehe)

 

Hail Mary full of grace...

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Coat of Arms of  the Vatican City

I can  only think of two words which can describe today - Amazingly amazing!!!!

Our day started with breakfast at 7am, which was not as leisurely as in previous days as we had to be at Citte del Vaticano or Vatican City by 8:10am.

The dome of Basilica San Pietro - St Peters Basilica from our hotel

We caught a taxi which took us right to the entrance of Vatican City, one of the most holiest places in the world.  It was fascinating to think that as soon as we passed through these doors which looked like any other ordinary door into a hotel or shopping complex, we were no longer in Rome, we were in the Vatican state.  The Vatican has it's own radio station, t.v. channel, cafe and railway (the smallest in the world).  People from Rome can not enter the Vatican whenever they please, they need special permission, I guess just like how some countries needing a visa before entering into another, however the citizens of the Vatican do not need permission to enter Rome.

The population of Vatican City is 900 made up of 600 residence and 300 citizens.  Unlike citizenship of other states, which is based either on jus sanguinis (birth from a citizen, even outside the state's territory) or on jus soli (birth within the territory of the state), citizenship of Vatican City is granted jus officii, namely on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See. It usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is extended also to the spouse, parents and descendants of a citizen, provided they are living with the person who is a citizen.

Anyone who loses Vatican citizenship and does not possess other citizenship automatically becomes an Italian citizen as judged by Italian law. (thanks Wikipedia) 

Our tour guide - Angela

We had the most amazing tour guide, who knew her stuff and oozed enthusiasm throughout the whole 3 hours and 40minutes of the tour (she went over 40mins too hehehe).

Prior to the tour we were all fitted with the receivers and ear pieces which the tour guide used to communicate with us, because as you can imagine the Vatican City welcomes thousands upon thousands of visitors daily.

The architecture, the sculptures, the art works, the tapestries and the history was so amazing, that to truly appreciate it you have to experience it yourself. - I have uploaded photos onto Facebook for you to have a look at but if you look at Angela's she has given a description of the photos.

Meriana and Jazz couldn't help but notice the nudity of the statues and promptly made comment every time they saw one "hehehe look at his bum"
I must say, I quite enjoyed the tour as I wasn't stuck behind the camera for a lot of it.

During the tour we were able to get some rosary beads for mum (Kim) and Meriana.  We even got the blessed in the holy water in the St Peter Basilica.

Mums rosary beads

Ang blessing mums rosary beads in the holy water in St Peters Basilica

Meriana's rosary beads

Me blessing Meriana's rosary beads

The Capella Sistina or Sistine Chapel was another awe inspiring room which we had the privilege of seeing, unfortunately due to the age of the artwork inside, we were unable to take pictures as over time this will contribute to it's deterioration.  They no longer light candles in this room either because of the smoke damage that is causes.  The room is still used daily  by the Pope when he is in country, obviously this takes place early in the morning, before the myriads of people come along.  They also use the room for the Papal Concave.   A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened, during a period of vacancy in the papal office, to elect a Bishop of Rome who then becomes the Pope. (again thanks to Wikipedia).

The Basilica San Pietro was the last stop on our tour.  Inside are the tombs of previous Popes, John Paul II and many others.  The shear size of the building is amazing, but when you see the sculptures and the embellishments - It is just AMAZINGLY AMAZING!

Posting from the Vatican

We were able to send a postcard from the Vatican, so keep an eye out on your post boxes to see who the lucky recipient was.

Of course, without breaking tradition, we ended the tour with a pasta lunch (outside the Vatican walls) and a trip through the local market across the road before retiring to our hotel room for a rest from our big day.

Ravioli for lunch

We regrouped at 5pm in the lobby for dinner and desert which we found around the corner and we returned to our hotel room for an early night.

If for any reason you need to contact us in Italy, our number is 4476 240 70485 (not sure if the country code is included here).  Give us text hehehe.

But for now, it's buona notte from Italy, for tomorrow, we will be taking a tour of the Colosseum.

When in Rome...

Volare, oh oh
Cantare, oh oh oh oh
Let's fly way up to the clouds
Away from the maddening crowds
We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of
Where lovers enjoy peace of mind
Let us leave the confusion and all disillusion behind
Just like birds of a feather, a rainbow together we'll find

Volare, oh oh
E cantare, oh oh oh oh
Nel blu, dipinto di blu
Felice di stare lassu
E volavo, volavo felice piu in alto del sole ed ancora piu su
Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiu
Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me

Not much to write about today as it was jam packed with Rental cars, airplanes and taxi.
Angela, would have to be one of the most spoilt people I know (as cousin Berta would say "she's ruined")  Today is her birthday and I don't know how many other people who can say "On my birthday I had breakfast in Belgium and dinner in Rome"

The day started off with a skype back home while packing our bags ready to depart Belgium.  The Taggs called by our room as we were all to meet downstairs for breakfast by 7:30.

The Tagg's

The Rihia-Tamaki's

We had our usual breakfast we've been having for the past 3 days, then looked at the time to try and decide if we were to have one last look around Ieper before we left.  I went to ask at reception how long it would take us to get to the airport and she recommended we allow ourselves at least 2 hours.  So we decided to check out and get on the road early.  We piled into our van and headed to Brussels airport.

I felt quite sad leaving Ieper, it's a place I think I could easily call home, I'm not sure what it is about the place, but it's one of those places that has a hold of your heart (a bit like Raetihi is to me), which we will definitely do again before we return to NZ permanently.

On our way Angela read the complete blog out loud.  It's the first time I've heard the whole thing read at once.  I've never gone back to edit it, it's just been written as it was in my head.  We had a few, actually a lot of laughs because, when you read them all together, it sounds like all we do is eat and that all the eating causes the lifts to become overloaded.  Anyway all laughs aside, it made that 2 hour trip go quite quickly until we hit bumper to bumper traffic all due to an accident, until we saw the opposite side of the road which was more bumper to bumper than our side if that's possible lol, but 3 lanes wide and about 10kms long traffic was at a stand still.

We eventually got to the airport, returned our vehicle and checked in with 2 hours to spare before we had to board our flight for Rome.  So without breaking tradition, we went to find a place where we could eat.  After our early lunch we had a nosy around the airport got a few last minute souvenirs and jut chilled near the departure.

1:25pm they opened the gates for passengers to board and one of the advantages of traveling with children is you get to board the plane first.  So down the gang way we went and into our seats for the 2hour flight to Rome.

Arrived in Rome, walking to the baggage collection area and suddenly found ourselves outside the airport, how on earth we by passed customs and security is beyond us, but we were stuck with another problem, our luggage was still in the terminal.  hehehe.  We had to go to the Police to get clearance to re-enter and collect our luggage.  Ian and I went back to do this expecting to walk through to arrivals with the girls welcoming us like you see others welcoming other coming through arrivals but no, not one of them were there to greet us hehehe.  Can I still point out that again we some how missed customs.  Mind you we didn't even get an exit stamp from Belgium or an entry stamp into Rome.

We caught a taxi to our  hotel made our way to our rooms and then decided to meet for dinner 30mins after we get to the hotel (because you know, we haven't eaten in quite a while) by this time though it's 6:30.

As soon as you leave the hotel lobby, you look to the left and their right in from of us in the Basilica San Pietra (St Peter's Basilica, which Devika thought was our hotel when she saw it online hehehe) we will be visiting tomorrow during our visit to Vatican City.

Spaghetti Allo Scrogio

We walked around the corner and pretty much went to the first place we came across where we had an array of pastas and pizzas before talking a quick walk around the block and back to our hotel rooms so we could get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour, for tomorrow our tour of Vatican City starts at 8:30pm.

So we've made it to Rome, safe, sound and well fed (so don't worry - lol)

but for now it's Buona Notte from Rome, Italy for tomorrow we take a step even further back in time.

Lest we forget...

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
Laurence Binyon

Firstly, I'd like to apologise to you all, because there is so much I want to tell you and in doing so, todays blog might be a little disjointed, but I'll try my best to keep to the point.

Well, an emotionally charged day today. I was very humbled to be able to visit the grave of my Nan's brother who lost his life in world war 1. As soon as we crossed the road and got to the entrance I was completely overcome with emotion. Thoughts of our Koro laying here in foreign lands was completely pushed aside as I found his headstone and realised he was not alone, but with other members of his battalion who flanked either side of him. When we arrived at the cemetery, it was almost all covered in fog and as soon as we found koro's headstone the fog cleared and the sun warmed us.

When you visit each of the Commonwealth cemetaries, they have guest books which are housed in brass cupboards on the gate entrance. It was amazing to see names from some of our Whanganui whānau who had also been to pay their respects to those of our ancestors who rest in foreign soil. The feeling at that time, is completely indescribable and as I placed the photo and a poppy we took over, against his headstone, I immediately thought of all our whānau who have left the physical realm, the whānau who are still with us and also the whānau of his comrades who have yet to make this trip. So during my visit, I had all my whānau and extended whānau in my thoughts as I stood in front of our koroua.

With the advances in technology, I was able to ring my mother to tell her I was at koro's resting place. While I was talking to her, I could hear in her voice how pleased one of us could make it there. I also rang my cousin, who was in Raetihi at the time with our whānau from the South Island to let them know I had made it to our koro's resting place. I felt a sense of contentment and completeness (not sure if those are the words I'm looking for to describe it)

I still cannot believe that I actually made it to Ieper and to Koro Manukura's resting place.

If you've watched the video clip or looked at the photos on Facebook you will see that they are very well looked after here. One thing I learnt today was that the soldiers were buried near to wear they were killed or near the wrap station they were tended to. I also learnt that Birr Crossroads is the only cemetery that has the NZ Māori Battalion soldiers in it in Ieper.
We spent over an hour at the Cemetery before we headed back into town for a Belgium Hot Chocolate.

André Schaubroeck

We made our way back to the hotel where we let the kids run around for a little while before our tour of Flanders Battlefields.
We had the most knowledgable tour guide, André Schaubroeck, who changed the tour for us and took us around a lot of the New Zealand battle sites and memorials. The information we gained from todays tour is completely invaluable and one we will remember for a very long time.  Because the tour lasted over 4 hours, we were able to record on video bits n pieces which we will try and upload over the next couple of days.

In short we got to experience underground bunkers, trenches and battle fields.  We also got to see memorials and pay our respects to our fallen Kiwi soldiers here in Belgium.

We arrived back at our hotel at 5pm, Ian and I went down to the Fish n Chip shop to get some tea for us all as he and I were going to return to Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony.
If you're interested here is a bit of reading about the Menin Gate and The Last Post Association. http://www.lastpost.be/en/x/1352

Again, when my editor gets back to me with the edited videos, I will be able to upload them for you to get a fair idea of the history of this place.

This is my last post from Belgium for tomorrow we depart for Rome.
I want to thank the Flemish people and the locals of Ieper, from the bottom of my heart for the care and respect they give our soldiers who lay here, many miles from our shores of New Zealand.  The remembrance service they hold each night for all those men and woman who lost their lives serving their country.  This is an experience I will never ever forget.

I feel I have a close affiliation with this place and will miss it extremely.  We will definitely be coming back in the very near future.
But for now, it's goedenacht (which is Flemish for goodnight) from Ieper, Belgium and as we leave tomorrow, we can leave with the knowledge that our fallen soldiers are in very good hands.

We will remember them - Lest we forget

In Flanders Feilds...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium
John McRae

Day two of our trip and we were greeted by a crisp wintery morning, (although it's officially spring here in Belgium) which if you've been living in the Middle East, is very welcoming. The smell in the air is like that of living on a farm where you smell the animals, the manure which may sound gross, but again when you live in the Middle East where animals are not very common apart from the camels on the back of pick up trucks, is a little reminder of home.

Early morning walk

The quaint little village is something you can't experience through a blog or through pictures, it reminds me of the Victorian times which you could only truly experience in the physical form.

Meriana and I decided to go for a walk around our little village which was still pitch black at 7am. (Check Facebook for some pics we took this morning). We all met down at the restaurant at 7:40 for breakfast which was an array of breads and pastries, fruit, yoghurt and cereals, toast, eggs boiled and scrambled, bacon and beans. Also an espresso machine which with the push of just one button you could have any type of cafe coffee you wanted.

I checked my phone (forgetting it was on silent) and had a nice little surprise text from my cousin Jo whose been following the blog, thanks cuz.

9am we left our hotel rooms where we organised ourselves for today's trip to Brugge. Took us a little while to find the right road due to road works and no alternative route was sign posted, but we finally found the right autoban after a few or more than a few unplanned detours. Lucky we set off early enjoying the coolness of the air with the warmth of the late morning sun.

Entree 

Arrived in Brugge at 11:30 and went for a wander around to look at the historical sites and came across a horse and cart tour which took us on a 30min ride around the city centre. The history in this place is absolutely amazing. The feeling you get is indescribable. You're told stories about the war history and knowing that not so long ago this place had battalions from all corners of the globe and more so the French trying to conquer the Dutch to try and take over Brugge. This place is certainly a must to visit if you ever get the chance.  We called into one of the restaurants for lunch, which was pretty mediocre but against a stunning back drop.  For Devika on the other hand, after eating a bowl of Tomato soup and commenting on how delicious it was, she was suddenly reminded how she didn't like tomatoes and for a while she was trying to convince her husband and sister that she did and always had and then came to the realisation that she actually didn't like tomatoes and that she forgot she didn't like them.  one of the most hilarious conversations I've heard in a long time.  But she has an excuse for mild dementia hehehe.

We farewelled Devika's sister Geeta from Brugge as she had to go back to London for work. It's just one of those thing which none of us can avoid.

From there we made our way back to Ieper which took us all of about 45min, so by 4:45pm we were sitting outside the hotel cafe enjoying a cocktail in the warm afternoon spring sun while the kids had a play on the little playground they had outside. It was such a relaxing time out there.

6:30pm we went for a walk around the village and made our way to Menin Gate for the the Last Post Ceremony which they have at 8pm every night. This tradition has been in place since 1928, every night without fail the armed services hold a memorial service for all those soldiers who fell at the Ypres Salient Battle Fields.  There were larges numbers in attendance at tonight's ceremony, with quite a few school students on field trips, so tomorrow we will attempt to go even earlier and get a good spot where we can get a better pictorial record of the event.

We finally made our way back to the hotel at 8:30, had dinner and toddled off to our respective rooms to bunk down for the night.

I have uploaded photos on to Facebook from today, for most of you, you will quickly flick through the photos of buildings, but for us who are here, it is a reminder of historical beauty this place has to offer.

But for now it's bonne nuit from us here in Ieper, Belgium for tomorrow we will be retracing the footsteps of those young men and woman who sacrificed their lives for us.

Flight QR105 is now ready for boarding at gate 113...

It was certainly an early start to today especially after such a restless night.  We could hear music throughout the night through to the wee hours of the morning.  I woke thinking it must be nearly time to get up and it was only 11:30pm.  I kept waking during the night as the occupants of the hotel room next door thought it fine to chat all night.  The last time I woke was near 3am when what I thought was a fire alarm went off.  I looked out to the pool area and to my surprise saw some locals coming out from what looked like an underground night club.  I thought it a waste of time going back to sleep as we had to wake again at 4am.

4am came and I got up to shower and pack our belongings in preparation for the hotel check out. 

I rung down to reception at 4:40am for a Porter boy to come and collect our luggage at which stage Ang and Meriana were preparing themselves for the day ahead.  We made a stop at the Taggs hotel room to collect their luggage and all made our way to the lobby.

After check out was completed, we had to wait a few minutes for our taxi as there was a slight mix up as to how many taxis we needed.  All in all we got to the airport in time, made our way through customs, decided to order a coffee and something to eat only to find out we had to board our flight in 5mins.

One could say that, that was the fastest downing of food and coffee on record and us being the seasoned travelers that we are knew we couldn't take our coffees on board the plane so I downed mine and Ang left hers behind, much to her disgust as there was a lady on the plane with her coffee she bought from Costas.

We left the UAE with a light shower of rain which I thought was such a lovely sentiment.

Our seasoned travelers and their trolley bags

The first leg of our flight was from Dubai to Qatar.  The seating configuration on the place was 3-3.  The t.v. screens were touch screens so I decided to play a game.  I was really getting into my game, so much so that I was pushing the screen a bit too hard and was asked by the passenger in front not to push so hard (oops, my bad).  The flight was only 40mins and we had an egg sandwich or tortilla with orange juice.  The flight duration was about 45min.

Qatar, barren desert

Our stop in Qatar was very short, so short that there was only enough time to go to the bathroom before we had to board our next flight. 

We caught a bus from the terminal to the plane and boarded ready for the next part of our trip.  

Can I just day at this point, if you ever get the chance to fly Qatar airways, I highly recommend it. The seats are spacious and the cabin crew are absolutely fantastic.  Ground staff on the other hand, told us we could use the kid’s car seats on board only to find out when we get to the plane we couldn’t but a minor glitch which needs no further expansion.

The seating configuration for the flight from Qatar to Brussels was 2-4-2.  The 4 seat configuration was lettered D, E, F, G.  When we booked, we booked D, F, G with the hope that no one would book seat E. Ian and Devika had also booked the same directly behind us.  We had a bit of a wait on the tarmac before we departed, so Meriana was able to watch part of the Princess and the Frog during which time the cabin crew gave her and Jazz two mesh type bags full of goodies.  All with a SpongeBob theme, they got a soft toy, a snakes and ladders board game,   colouring in pencils, pencil sharpeners, colouring in books, an activity book,  stickers, cards, puzzles and a watch.  Meriana was over the moon about getting a watch and had the biggest smile on her face which looked like it could cover the continent of Africa.

After about 20mins we finally started to ascend.  We were quite fortunate in the fact that the flight was not fully booked so we were able to use all 4 seats.  We raised the arm rests of the 2 centre seats and made a bed for Meriana with the pillows and blankets and she promptly fell asleep.

Personalised with her name

They started to serve the children’s breakfast which was also served in a big SpongeBob plastic lunch box. They had fresh fruit, a small kit kat, a packet of gourmet jellybeans , a packet of chips, an orange juice, a slice of cake, a roll with butter and a hot meal of sausages, baked beans, hash brown and eggs.

Then came our breakfast and boy was that a meal and a half.  You had the option of either Cinnamon Pancakes with Blueberries and Strawberries or a Frittata with Chicken Sausages.  I opted for the pancakes as I had an egg sandwich on the last flight.  Accompanying the main meal was a roll with butter and jam, fresh fruit salad with creamed cheese (which I used on my pancakes) a fruit yoghurt, coffee/ tea, water and orange juice and a small packet of “No Smint, no kiss” mints. 

Before they serve each meal they bring around steaming hot refresher towels, which are handed to you with white plastic tweasers, from a plastic white tray. It’s the small things they do which you appreciate on a long haul flight, although, it’s not as long as the flight from NZ to the UAE, but 6+ hours is still a long time with a two year old tow, two, two years olds in fact, who by the way have been superbly behaved on the flight, such seasoned travellers the pair of them.

Anyway, I digress, back to the food, because after all, it’s all about the food, hehehe.  For lunch they served the usual drinks, tea, coffee, water, juice, fizzys, wines and beers accompanied by a hot chicken sandwich (Tortilla) and chocolate covered cookies and the children got club sandwiches and cookies with juice.

The time difference between Brussels/Rome and the UAE is 2 hours, which means the time difference between Brussels/Rome and N.Z. is 11 hours (behind N.Z.).

We arrived at the Brussels National Airport at 3:00pm, 30mins later than anticipated, but all safe and well, until we exited the plane and had no heart beat because we couldn’t find our passports, but all was well, because the cabin crew located them under one of the seats, but that’s a whole other blog on its own.  Customs was a breeze, we collected out luggage and walked straight out of the airport where Devika’s sister met us from London.  The girls went off to the bathroom, Ian went to pick up our Mercedes and I went and got a sim card for my phone, so at least we can be contacted if need be.

So for all our fans out there you can send us a text or flick us a call on 0032 488 68 63 65.

We loaded up the van and headed out into the Brussels Township trying to find our way to Ypres.  So we said au revoir to Brussels National Airport for the next few days..........”hey there’s the airport” on our way to Ypres and we come across “hey, there’s the airport!” and for the third time “hey, there’s the airport!” hehehe so after almost 2 hours of driving around in circles and with all 3 lanes bumper tp bumper with traffic, we decide to find a place to eat, because remember it’s all about the food, we came across Pizza Hut, fed our faces, Ang, Meriana, Devika, Ian and Jazz went to find a bathroom (because they are few and far between) while Geeta and I tried to locate Ypres on the iPhone.  On their return, they managed to get directions (same ones Geeta found on Google Maps) from a local publican, where he allowed the girls to use the bathroom.

After filling our shrivelling stomachs (because they didn’t give us much to eat on the plane, hehehe) and feeling a bit more refreshed and stress free, we headed off again to Ypres or Ieper , where we will call home for the next 3 days. 

We arrived at our hotel, The Ariane at around 8:30pm and promptly made our way to our rooms to settle in for the night. I shot down stairs to take a few photos, as opportunities have been few and far between today, but there will definitely be more to come tomorrow.

If I had to describe Ieper, the township we’re staying in I would say it reminds me of old day Europe, with cobble roads, brick apartment’s row on row down narrow streets, it’s almost taking a step back in time.  See Facebook for more pics

But for now, it’s bonne nuit from Belgium.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

Made our way to Dubai this morning, had to call in to Dubai outlet mall so Ang could buy herself a jacket and jersey because the weather in Belgium last night was rain and a temperature of 9 degrees. We get to Outlet mall and all pile into the lift, wondering why the door wouldn't close, so we look at the screen and it says OVERLOAD. OMG shame lol. It took a max of 13 and a load of 1000kg. Something wrong with that lift I reckon. Had some lunch and made our way to the hotel.

View of the pool from our balcony

On entering the hotel lobby we were overwhelmed by the myriads of people occupying the lobby area, it took them a bit of time to find our reservation, but eventually we got there.
We had all good intentions of giving the kids a sleep before we went to Mirdif City Centre for dinner at P.F.Changs, however Meriana wasn't having a bar of sleep as opposed to Jazz who had a good hour or so and it certainly showed in Meriana when it was time to go for dinner, there was melt down, after melt down, but she ended up having a cat nap from the hotel to  Mirdif.

Tracey

Our first port of call was Borders bookshop, to get Tracey some books (apparently bookshops are rare in her part of Beijing)  Tracey (for those of you who attended our wedding, was our wedding celebrant and Ang used to teach her son) will be joining us in Rome, which we're quite excited about.  From Borders we made our way to P.F. Changs where wee had a feast; and I mean a feast.  I seemed like they were bringing dish, after dish, after dish.  From dinner we rolled to the money exchange where got we got a few dirhams (local UAE currency) in Euros.

All in all some very excited travelers who I think will be staying away from lifts as much as possible after being told twice that we were overloaded hehehe.

but for now, it's goodnight from the desert, and our first step on the thousand mile journey has begun.  Tomorrow will be our first update from Belgium.

2 days...

O.k., well, you know how we had a few errands to run today?  One of them was to get the car serviced at Al Futtaim motors. We were told that it would take a maximum of 2 hours to service because it was the first check since we bought it.  Take it in at 11am and they tell me it will be ready at around 4-5pm bhahaha so I guess the other errands can wait until we  get to Dubai.

5pm, went to pick up the car and managed to squeeze a couple of errands in and was home by 7:45.

Meet the Rouvis

Angela and I have finished packing our bags and have all tickets, hotel reservations and tour reservations all printed out and in a folder.  Bloggie is charging as we speak (type) so we're able to take video snippets as well as photos.  Camera is charged and ready to go, only have a few last minute things to pack in the morning, toiletries, laptop, chargers etc...

For me, it is only starting to sink in that we are heading away on an adventure of a lifetime now that we have our bags all packed.  The Tagg whānau will be here at 10:30am and we have some other good friends we've made who will be taking us to Dubai and bringing our car back.

9:14pm, reasonable time to have things done, now we're relaxing. Ang is watching Desperate Housewives on her laptop, T.V. is humming in the background and me, well, how else would you know what we're doing hehehe.

Hopefully we will have a connection at the hotel for tomorrows update and watch how this trip unfolds.
For now, it's goodnight from us here in the desert!

Goodnight in Arabic:
tisbahin ala khayr ahlam sa'ida (males)
tisbah ala khayr ahlam sa'ida (females)

Testing, testing 1, 2, 3

View from the couch!

I'm trying out the blogger app to see how easy it is to upload on the run.
So far, so good!

Counting down...

O.k. so we're 3 days away from flying. We spent the day cleaning the house and doing the washing.  We've got a few errands to run tomorrow and then finally pack our bags before we head to our hotel in Dubai for the night.
We've decided to stay in Dubai as we get to sleep longer otherwise we would have to leave Al Ain at 3am as opposed to 5am.
We're taking this trip with some good friends we've made over here, whose life's events are uncannily parallel to ours.
They met around the same time Angela and I did, got married a month before us, had their daughter a month after us they're from Auckland and Ian is originally from Dunedin (hehehe) as he always says.  For those of you who stalk my photo albums on Facebook you would have come across them in most of our albums as well as seen their names tagged in many a post.
You will get to travel vicariously as I attempt to use this blog to keep our whānau and friends up-to-date with our overseas experience.