New York City (by Tom)

The Big Apple was busy and buzzing! We took a train from Larchmont (Kieran’s house) to Grand Central Station. The taxi took us to the site of the 9/11 disaster. It was very sad. I was only three when it happened but it is still sad today. The Statue of Liberty was pretty big. By that time of the day we were hot so Rob and I went in a water fountain! We also went to the United Nations Building. I saw all the flags of the member countries. It was very colourful. My favourite part of the day was seeing the T-Rex at the Natural History Museum, and eating a hot dog in Central Park. A great way to end the day was a sail on Kieran’s boat in the Long Island Sound.

Washington (by Rob)

We went to Washington and saw the guards at Arlinton sematry. We saw the graveyards where the soldiers died. The guards look smart. They have big guns. We went to the Lincoln Memoril. It was big and well made. We saw the White house where the President lives. We went to the [Smithsonian] Space Museum and saw things about Buzz Aldrin. He went to the moon. We also went in a rocket. I loved the Lincoln statue and the solders, but my legs were a bit tired from walking.

...and now for something completely different...

It only seems fitting, after the world cup has kicked off in our former homeland (and Aus and RSA continue to excel!), to talk (yet again!) about soccer. We’ve hit another jackpot here. The boys are playing at another great club (http://www.dougmillersoccer.com/). Doug was a very successful professional player in his own right (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Miller) and is a lovely guy with a great attitude. The amazing thing about the US is just how very easy everything is (particularly when compared with Italy). The coaches, parents and kids are all super-friendly and see us as something of a (pleasant) novelty. After only one week we are already car-pooling, borrowing shirts and being invited for plays (the boys that is). Tom played in a tournament last weekend and Robbie has played two matches. As with AC Santa Lucia in Italy, we will be very sad to bid farewell to all at Doug Miller soccer!

Boys’ toys

Kieran and Barbara are great hosts and the boys are in their element. The property has everything a boy (of any age) could desire: a big backyard (perfect for soccer and MX), motorbikes galore (5 at last count), bicycles, scooters, a basketball hoop and a pellet gun!

Adding to the excitement are a yacht on Lake Canandaigua, a canal boat (see pic), Playstation 2, a big screen TV and an outdoor spa round off the excitement. So, we don’t need to go to Disneyland – but continuing with the dirt bike theme, we are going to the 5th round of the AMA motocross championship at Budds Creek (Maryland), just south of DC this weekend.

We are also going to spend a day in DC and two days in New York city. Both boys have lists of what they want to see in both cities and Mike has a few meetings in NY.

On an unrelated note, yesterday we took a drive to two of the fingerlakes (Canandaigua and Penn Yan) and admired the Amish and Menninite quilting work (we thought of you Jan and Bron). We also popped in to visit Cassidy's grandparents (Jake and Anne) and the beautiful lakeside cottage where we spent our first sabbatical in 1999.

Extended family

Kieran and Mike have been friends for going on 40 years (i.e. from first-year kindergarten). Best men at each other’s weddings, god fathers to each other’s first born (see pics). So, there has been plenty to reminisce about, a lot of stories beginning with “let me tell you about your father...” and much fun and frivolity all round.

The boys get on very well with Cassidy (they even told her she was ‘like a sister’). They went to school with her for a day and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go back the next day. Highlights included playing ‘American Football’ in gym (with ‘Coach Williams’), class question time (they were in the hot seat!), having jello in the school cafeteria and riding home on a (classic American) yellow school bus.

Positively Pittsford

The little village of Pittsford in upstate NY (near Rochester) is our ‘home’ for the final month of our “big adventure”. First settled in 1789, on the banks of the famous Erie Canal, it really is picture perfect. Nestled amongst huge walnut trees (crawling with squirrels and chipmunks!), surrounded by lush green lawns, is Kierans’ 140 year-old ‘cottage’ . The streetscape is very, very American: white wooden houses, big front porches (with rocking chairs/adirondacks/ swinging benches), dark grey roofs/shutters and, of course, the stars and stripes flying proudly. It’s great to be back in the gentle rhythms and routines of home life (i.e. not living out of a suitcase and rushing to catch a plane). Mike is working hard to meet a few deadlines and the boys and I are filling our mornings with schoolwork, cycling along the canal (see pic) and shopping at Wegmans. Yip - food features yet again! Wegman’s is like no other grocery retailer we’ve ever seen – we go there every day (I never thought I would say that!). Kathleen (Cassidy’s mum) has also very generously lent us a car. What a wonderful place to spend our last month!

Portland and Seattle (by Tom )

When we were in Portland we visited the Nike World HQ. When we arrived we went to a talk by the head of Running for Nike. Then we went on a tour around the Nike campus. All the buildings were named after famous Nike athletes. We got to go inside the Michael Jordon building and the Tiger Woods building. We saw their shoes and t-shirts and even their old school photos! There was a soccer tournament on so we got to watch a bit. There was a golf hole where Tiger Woods hit the golf ball into the hole from 300 yards away! In one of the buildings we saw from outside where they designed the gear (but we weren’t allowed in!). We then took a train to Seattle. We went there on Memorial day. It was the Folklife Festival. We looked around, went on rides , drank homemade lemonade and ate cotton candy. It was right under the Seattle Space Needle. After that Dad and I went to the experience music museum (www.empsfm.org). We got to play the guitar, keyboard and drums. We got to experience what it is like on stage. We sang ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ and we sounded terrible! It was a fun day. Next we are off to Rochester.

Canada (by Rob)

In Canada we stayed with friends for 5 days. We went to whistler for 2 nights where they had the winter olimpics this year. We also went on a cablecar to the snow.

We played in the snow and we had a coffee. We even went on another cablecar. When we were going up and down we saw 2 bears. I played trivial pisoot with Leyland. I like Leys dog called Blossom.

Vancouver: worth Whistling about!

Before going to Portland in the US (for a conference) we planned our flights so that we could spend a long weekend in Vancouver with our old friends, Leyland and Lise Pitt. We were very good friends with Leyland’s parents in Pretoria in the early 90s and have known Ley, Lise, Linda and Christine since then. Leyland also supervised Mike’s Masters thesis in '93 (at Henley - see earlier blog) and helped us to go to Australia in ‘96. Joined by Wade Halvorson (our oldest Australian friend - from Perth) and Nic Terblanche (from Stellenbosch), we all spent a glorious weekend up at Whistler: British Columbia’s famed resort and recreation complex and home to many events at the 2010 Winter Olympics (see below). Whistler is like no ski resort we’ve ever been to – it’s simply spectacular on every level. The highlight was a ski-lift trip to the very peak of Blackcomb (mountain) and then a cable car across the valley to the peak of Whistler - on the longest unsupported cable car span in the world (3km). See www.peak2peakgondola.com.

As always, meals were a particular highlight (Ley is a sensational cook) and the wines consumed were not overly modest – demonstrating that Italians don’t have a monopoly on ‘la Dolce Vita’! Another highlight from Whistler was seeing black bears in their natural habitat (see above) – and before you ask, no, they don’t always ___ in the woods.

Creating new memories with old friends

A great part of this trip has been catching up with our many old, dear friends scattered around the world (the ‘upside’ of the South African diaspora)! We have already mentioned Mike’s schoolmate, Sean, whom we spent time with in Italy and Germany, and the Reids. We then spent a great day/evening with another of Mike’s school friends, Colin Makin (top left). Mike and Col were in the same boarding house at Kearsney (1981-1985). Colin and Kieran (Tom’s godfather - who will no doubt feature heavily in future blogs) also shared a flat in Durban during their undergraduate days (in a block where Chris and Ann Beath once lived).

We then enjoyed a wonderful evening in Wimbledon with one of Lee-Ann’s oldest childhood friends, Cath Michell, her husband Charl and their two boys, Dan and Joe (top right). Lee-Ann and Cath spent many (if not most) school holidays together at Palm Beach on the Natal South Coast (where Lee's parents now live).

Finally, we had a lovely lunch (at Epson Race course) with Luke Jackson, his delightful wife, Suzanne, and their children, Erin and Rory (above). Luke and Mike began their working careers together as graduate trainees at Ford Motor Company in Pretoria almost 20 years ago. Luke also drove the bridesmaids at our wedding and spent a few months with us in Perth before Tom was born. It's been amazing seeing our boys playing with all our friends children and hearing (i.e. being bored by) many stories from their parents ‘good ol days’. Of course, it also makes us forty-something-year-olds fell old! On a less cheerful note, the only disappointment in the UK was not being able to see Mike’s cousin Gavin, who, along with his son Alex, had chicken pox!

Henley: steeped in family history

On a glorious spring day we took the boys to the beautiful Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames to show them some of their family history. The picturesque Business School (bottom pic) is where Mike completed his Masters thesis in 1993 with our dear friend Leyland Pitt (see forthcoming Vancouver blog). That trip was the first overseas trip for both M + L (and included an engagement in Paris - see earlier blog).

In 1999 we returned to Henley (from Perth) for our first overseas sabbatical: an ambitious trip which involved taking a nine-month-old (Tom) around the world (literally). In fact, Tom took his very first steps in the cottage at Henley where we stayed in’ 99 (top right pic) and spent his first birthday at Heathrow airport. In addition to London and Henley, we also visited Oxford, Wimbledon, Kew Gardens, Reigate and Brighton.

The Reidbucks

One of many highlights of the trip so far has been spending time with two of our oldest friends, Craig and Marijke Reid. The four of us go back more than half a lifetime: they were with us the night we met (!) and we attended both of their 21sts. During our Uni days we went camping with them in Lesotho, Zimbabwe (not something we’d do now!) and the Drakensburg and ‘Craigie’ was a groomsman at our wedding. Needless to say, we did a lot of late night reminiscing around the kitchen table during our stay: listening to 80s music, enjoying the odd bottle of red, and even walking like Egyptians (a la Bangles) after a spot of routine deer stalking in the woods with the neighbour (as one tends to do in Surrey!). The little Reidbucks (Josh and Dan) and our two got on famously and the mix of different accents in the house was an auditory delight! We all miss the Reidbucks terribly, particularly Smokey Reid, the cat:)

London (by Tom)

Here’s London for you. When we arrived (by train) we got on a hop on, hop off bus that took us to the Tower of London. There we got on a river cruise up the Thames to Big Ben and the house of Palament. The commentator on the river cruise was really funny! Big Ben was smaller than I expected, but it was really cool. We got off the boat and back on the bus, which took us to Buckingham Palace where the royal family lives. We were at the front gates when we saw Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, drive out in his Land Rover! We had a picnic in the park and then went to Trafalgar Square, South Africa house and down Whitehall to Downing Street. Where we saw the house of thenew prime minister of England David Cameron. It was his first day as prime minister. London is a really nice place to visit.

The best day of my life

Last weekend we stayed at Chelsea Football Club’s hotel at Stamford Bridge. It was a very emotional two days for me and it has been hard for me to write about it! On Saturday we went on a tour of the stadium, the press conference room, the Chelsea and opposition dressing rooms and the dug outs were they sit during a game. Then I met most of the Chelsea team! John Terry (left pic), Frank Lampard (right pic), Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Alex, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Pedro. Lamps is one of my favourite players which is why, I chose no. 8 for my club shirt. The game was a stunner! The singing was loud and never stopped and there were some funny songs! Chelsea beat Wigan 8-0. There were lots of records broken at the match. 103 goals for the season, Drogba hat-trick and golden boot, biggest winning margin in Chelsea’s history. If Chelsea can win another FA cup tomorrow it will be the first double in the clubs history. This was the best moment of my life!

“We love Paris, in the Springtime....”

After returning the campervan to Munich with 3,350km’s on its clock, we took an overnight train (last Tuesday night) to Paris. Mike gave a seminar at ESSEC and they kindly put us up in a nice furnished apartment for two nights, right at the Arc de Triomphe, a 100m from the top of the Champs des Elysees. On Wednesday we had a massive day (walking >10km), down the CdE, to the Louvre (Tom was desperate to see the Mona Lisa), then we tried in vain to find the restaurant where we got engaged (on 18 Dec 1993), but unlike our marriage, it does not appear to have endured! So, after lunch, we continued down the Seine then crossed over to Notre Dame (which Rob declared was the last church he is visiting on this trip). On Friday Mike spent the day at ESSEC and Lee-Ann and the boys had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. On Friday evening we flew to London where we were greeted by our old and dear friends, Craig and Marijke (and Josh and Dan), with whom we are staying. So, after nearly 3 months its Au Revoir to continental Europe and if the BA strike gets called off at some stage, it might be gidday USA a week from now....watch this space!

...and then back to France...!

From Barca back to France. We spent our 8th night on the Med again, a few metres off the beach, at Marseillan-Plage (just north of Narbonne). But, it was a different Med to the cote d’Azur (days 4 and 5). Windy and rough seas, but still charming (a bit like Cape Shank in winter). The next day we headed off for Lyon, but somehow got pulled towards the mountains and stumbled across a charming little village, Les Abrets (just north of Grenoble). The campsite was called Le Coin Tranquille, and it will no doubt return to being tranquil after we've left (www.coin-tranquille.com). We even had to order our baguettes the day before, and they were delivered fresh in the morning. We took a long walk in the countryside in the late afternoon and it was just so very, very rustic, authentic and ‘French’ (sounds lame, but true). Its not hard to see where Monet drew his inspiration from.

Breathtaking Barcelona

Barcelona!! (think of the Queen song). How does one describe this stunning city? We weren’t sure what to expect, but were literally blown away by the place. It’s a really impressive, liveable city on every level. Climate, public transport, gardens, museums, history (>2,000 years of it), great buildings, beaches, friendly locals - they seem to have it all. They are also fairly partial towards soccer. See pic (below) of the boys at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s 100,000 seat home ground. We were in the city on the day of the UEFA semi-final (Barca v Inter), but unable to find a spare $4,000 for last minute tickets, we watched the game live in a restaurant with big screens and dozens of obsessed locals. Quite an experience in itself (and yes, we did have Paella for dinner!).

And as an added Catalan bonus, our campsite was 5-star (literally and figuratively: http://www.vilanovapark.es/). The pic above is Mike outside Santa Maria de la Mar, the 15th century church to which Ildefonso Falcones international bestseller ‘Cathedral of the Sea’ (great book – highly recommended!) is written as a homage.

Fabulous France

.....after a pretty ordinary second day, we bounced back on 'day 3', with 48 glorious hours at ‘Bormes-les-Mimosas’, on the gulf of St. Tropez (roughly between Nice and Marseille), on the cote d’Azur. Our camp site was 2m off the beach and 20m from the gentle, crystal clear waters of the Med (Tom's right arm is pointing at our camper van), see: www.campdudomaine.com. Tom was initially a little surprised that “the ladies take their bras off on the beach”, and that this “would not happen in Australia”, but we’ve all agreed to continue to try to respect different cultures. We’re all learning a lot on this trip....

PS croissants for breakfast, baguettes for lunch and a cheeky Bordeaux with dinner...let the culinary crusade continue!

Munching in Munchen

After a spectacular alpine train trip from Switzerland to Munich, Sean (Mike’s school friend) took us straight to the Munich ‘Springfes’ (basically, Oktoberfes without the crowds). Sean was dressed in traditional Bavarian attire and looked quite the native (and not the boy from Durban North).

Much of the blog has focused on food and this theme seems set to continue. The roast pork, sauerkraut, dumplings and beer where all out of this world (see above pic: is Lee-Ann literally drooling over Rob's spare rib)? The next day we picked up our campervan (after a false start!) and spent the first night in Sean and Lidia’s parking lot. Our trip from Munich took us through Austria (past Innsbruck) and back into northern Italy. Night two was spent at Arco (on Lake Garda). The campervan is a joy to drive on autobahns and autostrada – thanks to its 6-speed, multijet, Turbo–diesel engine. But on tight, windy roads the Italian Rivera it was nothing short of a 7m long, 3.5t nightmare to drive! As a consequence, Day 2 was pretty stressful and we ended up spending the night in a campervan ‘car park’ in San Remo, with no facilities. 6 heart attacks later, we managed to get back on an autostrada headed for France....

Switzerland and beyond: a road trip awaits...

Surrounded by snow-capped Alps, on a stunning lake, Lugano is scenically quite breathtaking. Our hotel is literally right on the lake and we have a top floor room with panoramic water views. In terms of visual feasts, it doesn’t get much better! We can see Italy across the water, but we’re in Switzerland. The people all speak Italian, yet we’re definitely not in Italy. Everything is super-organised, super-efficient, super-neat .....almost to the point of being too perfect. Yet ironically, compared with the rest of the country, we’re told that the Swiss consider Lugano to be pretty laid back and relaxed! Obviously, these things are relative not absolute! After four wonderful days here (Mike had a conference), we head off today (by train) to Munich (via Zurich). We’ll spend the night with Sean and Lidia (whom you ‘met’ in a previous blog), then on Thursday we pick up our campervan (motor home), and head for who knows where (possibly France and Spain). Don’t expect much blogging until we get to our hotel in Paris on about 5 May. Arrivederci!

PS check out our new home for the next 2 weeks: www.ideamerge.com/motorhomes/germany/mrent/group7_T6911_4_specs_2.html