Ten Favourite Things

I have been home around seven weeks and I have had a little time to reflect on our wonderful holiday. I had some really amazing experiences, but here are my 10 favourite things in random order:

AUNTIE TERI AND UNCLE GEOFF
Visiting Auntie Teri and Uncle Geoff in Formby. Spending time and exploring with Teri and Geoff was really special. It was two years since I had seen them in New Zealand. They spoiled us rotten, and took us to some amazing places. It was also great to see where Nana and Grandad grew up and learn some family history. My favourite things from our time with Geoff and Teri are Conwy and Caernarfon Castles in North Wales, Puzzling World, Keswick, Lakes District, sailing on Lake Windermere in the beautiful Lakes District, shopping at Liverpool One (especially Everton 2 shop), the “Big One” ride at Pleasure Beach, seeing Nana and Grandad’s childhood homes in Blackpool and Liverpool.

MAREN, DIRK, LEVI, MENO, AND AVA
I first met Maren and Dirk when I was six weeks old when they came to stay with us. Mum and Dad told me that when they were staying with us I went through I bit of a growth spurt and would not sleep, keeping everyone awake. It was great to see them again and meet their fabulous children. Their hospitality was wonderful and it was great to take a breather from always being on the go and do “kids stuff”. Trying to learn to windsurf in the choppy Baltic, was a highlight, as was the Strawberry Farm and kids community sports group. I’m really keen to learn German. I hope the Weisner’s come to visit us soon in New Zealand.

ELLA, GRACE, CHRIS AND BRONWYN IN PARIS
When we were in Paris we caught up with family friends Ella, Grace, Chris and Bronwyn. We spent a very full day at Disneyland with them, as well as evening at the Eiffel Tower, exploring the Louvre and Sacre-Coeur and dinner (including snails) at Chez Marie.

SS PETER AND PAUL CATHEDRAL, ST. PETERSBURG
The SS Peter and Paul Cathedral is located in the Peter and Paul Fortress, located on Hare Island. The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the fortress (Saint Peter being the patron saint of the city). The current cathedral is the second one on the site. The first, built soon after Peter’s founding of the city, was consecrated by Archbishop of Novgorod on 1st of April 1704. The current building, the first stone church in St. Petersburg, was designed by Trezzini and commenced on Tsar Peter’s (Peter the Great) birthday on 30th of May 1712 and consecrated on 29th of June 1733 . Peter the Great died (28th of January 1725) before the completion of the new Cathedral.

Today the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral houses the remains of almost all (except Peter II and Ivan VI) the Russian Emperors and Empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II (last Tsar of Russia) and his family who were finally laid to rest in July 1998. Also buried here is Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia for 34 years.

The Cathedral’s golden spire reaches a height of 404 feet (123 m) and features at its top an angel holding a cross. This angel is one of the most important symbols of St. Petersburg.

FAVOURITE CITY IS LONDON
I just loved London, because there was heaps of cool landmarks and history, the people friendly, the underground amazing , westend shows brilliant, heaps of shops and the atmosphere buzzing. My three favourite London landmarks are Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Tower of London (my earlier post provides more information on the Tower). Mum also had her birthday in London, which was very special.

BIKING
Biking around a city is a great way to see the sights, without getting too exhausted and you can cover heaps of ground in a short period of time. We hired bikes in Copenhagen and Tallinn. Copenhagen is so set up for biking with cycle lanes and courteous drivers. Given we were in Tallinn only one day, by biking it meant we could see heaps more things, than we could have on foot or hop on / hop off bus.

DISNEYLAND AND WALT DISNEY STUDIOS, PARIS
We were luckily enough to visit four theme parks (Universal Studios – Singapore; Legoland – Denmark (second favourite); Pleasure Beach – Blackpool and Disneyland/Walt Disney Studios – Paris). While all the parks had really cool rides, my favourite park was Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios, Paris. We spent two very long days at the park, the second day with family friends the Kortegast family. My earlier post give a run down of my favourite rides.

CRUISE
The cruise was very cool. The ship was huge with about 14 levels. Our cabin was on level 8, and towards the back of the ship. The ship had an amazing theatre where we went and watched shows in the evening, heaps of restaurants, library, mini golf, tennis court, swimming pool, bars, and kids club. Going on a cruise was a relaxing way to see heaps of different cities (Stockholm, Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Kiel). The staff on the ship were friendly, especially the staff at kids club, our cabin attendant Herman, waiters, Melvin and Wander.

SHOWS
In the westend of London, we were luckily enough to see two shows, both based on books by Roald Dahl – “Matilda” and “Charlie and Chocolate Factory”. I have read both the books and seen the movies, but the shows were absolutely amazing. It is really hard to choose a favourite and both where fabulous and I would recommend both.

SINGAPORE BUMBOATS
On our last day in Singapore before flying home, we went on the bumboats along the Singapore River. The bumboats where a great way of seeing the inner city, as well as history of the city. The bumboats were once used as a means of transporting goods and cargo back in the early days of Singapore history. They were vital in driving trade activities on the Singapore River for over a hundred and fifty years as they carried cargo from one destination to the next. Originating from the 1600s in Europe, the current boats are very different from the earlier versions which had sails, were powered by oars or guided by long poles to move them up and down the rivers.

Home Sweet Home

We have safely arrived back in Christchurch.

While we had a great holiday exploring Singapore and bits of Europe, learning heaps, meeting new people and catching up with Auntie Teri, Uncle Geoff, Andrew, Dirk, Maren, Levi, Meno, Ava, Chris, Bronwyn, Grace and Ella its great to be home.

Thanks for following me around the world……its been a blast!!!!

Love Ella

Very Hot Singapore

Hi,

My last Singapore post was titled ‘Hot Singapore’, but I think Singapore has got hotter since our last visit!

We have had a busy few days in Singapore, visiting Universal Studios, riding the ‘Hop On, Hop Off’ bus, Tiger Sky Tower, Cable Car, swimming, shopping down Orchard Road and visiting Singapore Zoo for the Night Safari.

My favourite thing was Universal Studios.

Off for a Bumboat ride along the river now.

Love Ella

Paris Sights

Bonjour,

We have had a wonderful few days in Paris, looking at the sights and spending time with our friends the Kortegasts.

Some things we did:

Our accommodation was right by the Eiffel Tower. The Tower is stunning especially at night. The Tower was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Trade Fair. Parisians called it the ‘metal asparagus’ and it was meant to be taken down after the fair! Key facts: there are 669 steps to level two (I have climbed them twice). It is 324 metres tall. The Tower took two years, two months and five days to build. It requires painting every seven years, with 60 tonnes of paint!

The world’s largest roundabout (12 streets meet) – Arc de Triomphe. The Emperor Napoleon ordered an arch of triumph be built to commemorate his victories in battle. Trouble is, it was so big that it took 30 years to build. By which time Napoleon had been kicked out and the royals were back in power!

One of the streets that meets at the Arc de Triomphe is the Champs-Élysées, which is a famous shopping street. We wandered down the Champs-Élysées and did a bit of window shopping.

The spectacular Hotel des Invalides was built in 1670s by Louis XIV to provide housing for 4000 disabled war veterans (Invalides). Today it is the final resting place of Napoleon.

The Notre Dame church is massive and has three beautiful stained glass rose windows, that have survived 850 years of fire, war, and revolution. The cathedral is still haunted by the legend of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the spooky story of a hunchbacked bell-ringer!

The Lourve is the home of the famous Leonardo Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa. This painting was created over 500 years ago and took da Vinci several years to make, using hair thin layers of oil paint and glaze to create the smooth misty effect that hides all the brush strokes. Over six million people every year come to see this masterpiece. We queued for about an hour and a quarter to get into the Lourve!

Musee Rodin is the home of The Thinker. A sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

Our friends the Kortegasts were staying up by the Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur. When Paris fell to the Prussians in 1871, many Parisians saw it as a sign of punishment for not living decently in the eyes of God, therefore to make up for it built the Sacre-Coeur. The church is a brilliant white colour, with the limestone construction responsible for keeping it clean.

On our final night in Paris, we went out for dinner with the Kortegasts to a french restaurant called Chez Marie and I had a snail (escargots), which was a bit rubbery! My favourite food in Paris was baguette and cheese. Alex’s favourite was Mousse au chocolat (chocolate mousse).

I also loved wandering the streets, exploring and looking at the different buildings.

Au revoir,

Ella

Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios

We have just spent two amazing days at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios.

On the second day we spent the day with our family friends, Chris, Bronwyn, Grace, and Ella Kortegast, who live around the road from us in Christchurch!

My favourite rides were:

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – action packed loop the loop (360s) rollercoaster in the dark complete with rock music!

Big Thunder Mountain – racing through an abandoned gold mine over onto an island with dark tunnels, etc. Alex’s favourite ride!

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril – Rollercoaster racing through ancient temple ruins, with a 360 loop!

Space Mountain – another high speedroller in the dark, with 360s. Apparently I managed this better than Dad back in ’79!!

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – elevator ride that plummets faster than the speed of gravity!

Crush’s Coaster – racing through the dark on turtle shells, spinning and twisting.

Pirates of the Caribbean – leisurely boat ride through a Spanish fortress.

Peter Pan’s Flight – a flight through Neverland.

Haunted House – mystery ghost ride.

RC Racers – a ride on Andy’s from Toy Story’s racing car.

I do not have a least favourite, all the rides I would do again.

It was an amazing two days, with Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios my favourite amusement park this trip!

Love Ella

I Spy the London Eye

Time has flown since arriving in London on Thursday evening. On our first night we went to see “Matilda” at the theatre which was amazing.

Our hotel was in a really cool location – right beside the London Eye and is the old County Hall building.

Well it has been an action packed few days, here goes……

Day One (Friday):

We walked from our hotel across Westminster bridge to Big Ben and Houses of Parliament, along Whitehall and past No. 10 Dowling Street, where the British Prime Minister lives and stopped and saw the changing of the Household Cavalry at the official entrance to the royal palaces. Then continued up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column. We had a play on the Lions surrounding the column. The 52 metre high column honoured Lord Horatio Nelson, who led the fleet’s victory over Napoleon. The four Lion statutes are made of seized Spanish and French cannons.

A quick detour to Covent Garden to get theatre tickets to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and a browse around Covent Garden Piazza where there are heaps of cool street performers.

Back to Trafalgar Square, through the Admiralty to The Mall, on our way to Buckingham Palace. Walking down the The Mall we passed St James Palace (the official “Court” of the Royal Family) and Clarence House (where Prince Charles and Camilla live).

At Buckingham Palace we went through the Royal Mews.

Back to our hotel via St James’ Park.

After dinner we had a look at the lights of Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.

Day Two (Saturday):

We spent most of the day exploring the Tower of London (my favourite place). Started during the reign of William the Conqueror (1066-87), the Tower is actually a castle (White Tower) and has served through history as a palace, observatory, stonehouse and mint. It is most famous for its horrible past as a prison and site of execution. It is also home of the Crown Jewels which were fabulous.

My favourite part was the White Tower because there was a lot of interactive displays that helped teach us about the history of the Tower. Plus I liked all the stories and mysteries like the disappearance of the Duke of Clarence and the young Princes.

After crossing Tower Bridge, we also had a look at the HMS Belfast. This is a ship that served in World War II helping to sink the German battleship Scharnhorst (very pivotal) and shelling the Normandy coast on D-Day.

After dinner, Dad and I then went on the 135 metre tall London Eye and exploring around our neighbourhood which included a ‘pop up’ entertainment complex!

Day Three (Sunday):

After breakfast at a yummy French cafe (happy birthday Mum) we went exploring at Paul’s Cathedral with its majestic dome. A quick walk across the Millennium Bridge took us to Tate Modern Gallery (we played on a cool staircase statue outside) and the authentically reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe.

Back on the Underground to Hyde Park Corner and Wellington Arch, where we had a look at the funky New Zealand memorial.

We then wandered through Hyde Park before making a detour to the famous Harrods Department Store. After Harrods we went to Kensington Palace (home of Prince William, Kate and Prince George) and its gardens. Alex and I had a great time playing at the Diana, Princess of Wales Playground, before we took off to Hamleys, the amazing 6 level toy shop.

Back to Westminster for an evening service at Westminster Abbey.

Day Four (Monday):

We went to Greenwich and saw the Cutty Sark (the last of the great clipper ships to sail between China and England in the 19th century), Discover Greenwich Museum, the Painted Hall (stunning Baroque murals by Sir James Thornhill), Royal Chapel, Queens House and climbed up to the Royal Observatory, and straddled both the east and western hemispheres.

Back into the City for a bit of retail therapy along Oxford and Regent Streets.

Back to Piccadilly Circus / Leicester Square for a bit more shopping and a visit to Alex’s favourite shop (M&M World), before going to see “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” which was absolutely amazing!

Day Five (Tuesday):

Before we departed for Paris, we went to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. This is where Winston Churchill (the British Prime Minister) spent most of World War II, living in a warren of tunnels beneath Whitehall, coordinating the Allied resistance on a Bakelite telephone. The Cabinet War Rooms remain much as Churchill left them, including maps of Allied advances on the walls and a doodle of Adolf on the walls. The Churchill Museum provides a time line of his life and great achievements.

Wow, I think I’m finished!

Love Ella

PS – just walked up 669 steps to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower – what an amazing sight!

Nana’s Tour of Blackpool

My Nana spent some time here when she was growing up in Blackpool.

Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire in the North West of England.

Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism in England when a railway was built in the 1840s connecting it to Northern England. The railway made it much easier and cheaper for visitors to reach Blackpool.

In 1881 Blackpool was a booming resort with a population of 14,000 and a Promenade complete with piers, fortune-tellers, public houses, trams, donkey rides, fish-and-chip shops and theatres.

Blackpool’s major attractions and landmarks include Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Illuminations, the Pleasure Beach, Blackpool Zoo, Sandcastle Water Park, the Winter Gardens, and the UK’s only surviving first-generation tramway.

On our tour of Blackpool, we first went by where Great Nana and Great Great Aunty had their sweet shop. Then onto Nana’s High School (Montgomery School) and Nana’s House on Bethel Avenue.

We then went to Pleasure Beach amusement park. The park is currently home to nearly 40 rides and attractions, including ten roller coasters, of which five are wooden – the Grand National, Big Dipper, Nickelodeon Streak (Alex’s favourite ride), Wild Mouse and Blue Flyer. The newest roller coaster, ‘Infusion’ opened in 2007. When it opened in 1994, Pepsi Max Big One (my favourite ride) was the tallest, fastest and steepest roller coaster of any park in the world. It was also substantially one of the longest, measuring 1,675 metres long. Currently, the ride holds the crown as the tallest in the UK, measuring 65 metres and features a drop of 62 metres. I went on this twice and it was awesome.

The Pleasure Beach is one of the few parks left in the world to operate a traditional wooden Wild Mouse coaster. The ride was built entirely in house, post-World War II and is still in complete working order (Mum and Dad’s least favourite, along with the Grand National!). I wonder which ride was Nana’s favourite?

After dinner we wandered along the Promenade and saw Blackpool Illuminations. Blackpool Illuminations is an annual Lights Festival, founded in 1879 and held each autumn (from late August until early November).

Dubbed as “the greatest free light show on earth”, they are 10 km long and use over one million bulbs. The display stretches along the Promenade from Starr Gate at the south end of the town to Bispham in the north.

The lights were absolutely amazing and Blackpool Tower looked fabulous.

Love Ella

Laughing at the Lakes

On Sunday and Monday we spent time in the Lake District with Auntie Teri and Uncle Geoff.

Auntie Teri and Uncle Geoff have a Lodge in Millness, which is in the Lake District on the Eastern side.

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes, is a mountainous region in North West England. It is famous not only for its lakes, dry stonewalls / buildings, forests and mountains (or fells), but also for its association with early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets (Samuel Coleridge and Robert Southey). The Lake District was also the home of Beatrix Potter.

The Lakes National Park contains England’s highest mountain (fell) – Scafell Pike at 978 metres (a little bit shorter than Mt Cook!). It also contains the deepest and longest lakes in England – Wastwater and Windermere (which we went sailing on).

On the first day we went over the Kirkstone Pass, with its narrow roads, stonewalls, fells, beautiful Lake Ullswater and amazing views. We arrived in Keswick, where we had a fabulous time exploring puzzling world.

We returned to Millness via quaint villages of Ambleside, Grassmere (where Wordsworth lived) and Windermere.

We had a yummy meal at the Smithy (country pub).

On Monday we went on the Lakeside/Haverthwaite Railway which is a stream train (Alex’s favourite part) and then on a lake cruise of Lake Windermere to Ambleside and Bowness. Cruising on the lake gave us great views of houses on the Lake and boat houses, that look like garages, but on the water and you drive your boat in and shut the door!

My favourite bits where Puzzling World, the Stream Train and cruising on the Lake. I thought the Lake District was really beautiful and great for walking and biking!

Love Ella

Caernarfon Castle

We are now based in Formby, which is just outside Liverpool in the North West of England. We are staying with my Auntie Teri and Uncle Geoff (Grandad’s brother).

Auntie Teri and Uncle Geoff took us to Wales where we saw two Castles (Caernarfon and Conwy). I will tell you all about Caernafon and Alex will tell you all about Conwy.

Before I talk about Caernafon, a couple of facts about Wales. The Welsh have their own language, which is very different from English! Welsh is written in a Latin alphabet traditionally consisting of 28 letters (a, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, ng, h, i, l, ll, m, n, o, p, ph, r, rh, s, t, th, u, w, y).

Example of Welsh – no vehicles = dim cerbydau! Signs are in both English and Welsh.

Lloyd is Welsh. The name Lloyd originates with the Welsh adjective llwyd, usually understood to mean ‘grey’.

The longest place name “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch” is a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales.

Now back to Caernarfon (also see my pic collage below).

Caernarfon is one of a series of castles established in North Wales by King Edward I to secure the newly owned state of Wales following the death of the Welsh prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282.

The building of the castle started in 1283, with building continuing through to 1330, although the castle was never completed.

The castle is huge and has 9 towers. We were able to climb along the castle walls and up into the towers and turrets. At the top of the towers the view is fantastic. The largest tower is the Eagle Tower, which has three massive turrets at the top. When the castle was occupied, The Eagle Tower contained apartments on each of the three floors.

Caernarfon Castle is where the current Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) investiture was held 1 July 1969. The Investiture of the Prince of Wales is the ceremony marking the formal creation of the title of Prince of Wales, similar to a coronation.

Love Ella

Lots of Fun in Germany

On Sunday we travelled from Copenhagen to Rostock, Germany to stay with Dirk, Maren, Levi, Meno and Ava.

They live really close to the Baltic Sea in an area called Nienhagen.

A large part of the area contains forest. The forest close to their home is often photographed and is called the “ghost forest” which contains oaks and beech trees. The beech trees, in particular, have been shaped by the sea winds, grow mainly on one side and have twisted, snake-like branches, which gives them a ghostly appearance especially in twilight and mist.

On the first night we all went out for dinner to a really yummy Italian restaurant, with a cool playground.

On Monday we went into Rostock city centre. We walked down the pedestrian street to the city square. The streets are cobbled and surrounded by beautiful old buildings.

After lunch we tried to windsurf in the Baltic Sea, the wind and the waves were a little strong, but it was fun, but also a little scary!

On Tuesday we went to the “Strawberry Farm”, which is a massive playground amongst shops selling produce. My favourite thing was the Maizemaze.

In the afternoon we went with Levi and Meno to Sports Group and met heaps of other children and played lots of sports, such as Football and Dodgeball.

Levi and Meno are really cool and we played heaps of games with them. Ava is absolutely gorgeous and so much fun!

Some interesting things that we learnt and experienced staying with Maren, Dirk, Levi, Meno, and Ava are:

School starts at 8.00 (but need to be at School by 7.30) and home at around 2.45!

They have a hot meal at midday.

Even though we could not speak German and Levi and Meno could speak only limited English, we still managed to communicate and have heaps of fun.

The houses are different and windows open to the inside, instead of out like at home.

The currency is the Euro and comes in 1 and 2 cent denominations.

Love Ella