Mum's 'Home-coming' and The Tiki-Tour

May 2016 

A road trip full of discovery, reminiscing and laughter!

Mum and Dukie getting acquainted

Finally, the months, weeks and days had ticked over and Mum was about to arrive! Today was Wednesday 4 May, a day for a wonderful reunion! Over the past year, we had Skyped every week and WhatsApp'ed most. Technology is a wonderful creation but it's no substitute for the real thing!

I knew from the Emirates website that Mum's flight was delayed but I decided to head in early anyway. With my welcome sign in tow, I arrived at Heathrow and when I saw Mum coming through the gates it was just the best thing ever!! Back at the flat Mum was formally introduced to Duke Fluffington, Mike got home from work and the four of us had dinner and a lovely catch up.

We started Thursday with a trip up the London Eye, followed by lunch at the Borough Markets. We spent the afternoon at St Paul's Cathedral and timed our arrival fortuitously so that it coincided with a guided tour which was fantastic, and an orchestra that was rehearsing for a performance that evening. We completed our visit by whispering across the Whispering Gallery upstairs in the dome. Magical. As an early birthday present I got Mum tickets to the Kinky Boots musical which was fantastic!

Spring has sprung

April-May 2016 

We've had a relatively relaxed Spring since coming back from Budapest. First we had a weekend trip to Dublin. It was relaxing and good to see the Lonergan side of the family again - and to meet some of them for the first time! Mary was very welcoming and let us stay with her, and we had many cups of Barry's tea as we caught up - and I managed to get a few Guinesses in while in Dublin as well!

The house rules of the Merry Ploughboy, a pub we went to in the south of Dublin.

Budapest - city of baths

April 2016 

After our massive Moroccan trip, we had another planned to Budapest with our friends Steve and Meg for Easter 2016.

After skiving off work early, we landed in Budapest on Thursday night. We picked up some pizza and wine from the airport supermarket (only about 4 quid for both) then taxied in to our Airbnb accommodation.

The apartment was spacious, modern, well-fitted out and only 80 quid for 4 nights. 80 quid in London would probably get you one bed in a dorm for a couple of nights. After dropping our bags we had our dinner and polished off the wine in the bath.

The next day we started exploring the city. We arranged to meet up with Steve and Meg. We strolled along the Danube and got our first proper views of the city. We wandered along, past the Parliament building, and the famous chain bridge. Not bad, I have to say, but nothing spectacular - that came later.

Camels, Monkeys and Pigeons - Morocco

March 2016 

It took ages to decide: Portugal or Morocco?

With the promise of camel riding in the desert, Morocco won out and we booked flights for my birthday weekend. After a bit more too-ing and fro-ing, we made the call that a destination like this deserved a bit more time, so we flew out after lunch on Wednesday 9th March.

After a three and a bit hour flight, we landed in Marrakech, exchanged some pounds for Moroccan Dirhams (1.00GBP to 13.82MAD), and hopped on a bus to the city centre. I'll always remember Morocco for it's array of smells - sometimes pleasant, often pungent - and Marrakech was no different. After a short walk we found our Riad that we were staying in that night and quickly discovered the hospitable tradition of mint tea. Lots and lots of mint tea. Or 'Berber Whiskey' as it was also referred to in the North. You were offered tea whenever you arrived at accommodation or in shops, and you could take it with or without sugar. It was lovely!

Post-Christmas

January-February 2016 

Winter in London isn't too bad... until Christmas is over. Then it feels cold and dark all the time. 

So we tried to keep ourselves entertained during January and February, while trying not to look at all of the photos of picturesque, warm and sunny New Zealand on Facebook. 

December felt pretty warm, but January felt like proper winter. There was even a light dusting of snow at one point, and some of the ponds froze over.

Snow outside at 3am

When in Rome...

December 2015-January 2016

...you pack a huge amount of stuff into your trip! 

We flew in to Rome and landed early afternoon. After a slightly crazy drive in the shuttle, we were dropped off at our hotel.

We had a very cheap lunch at Navona Notte, a pizza, mussels, pasta, bean dish and flatbread for €25, and a nice bottle of red for an extra €12.

The Pantheon was amazing, even better than we'd expected. Rach in particular was pretty awestruck. And to think it was built 2000 years ago, and it's still standing.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

December 2015 

Christmas in London is a wondrous thing.