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.