Snow Day!

Snow Day

As we went sleep (top photo) the snow was beginning to fall and we woke yesterday morning to London's biggest snowfall in 18 years. I looked out the window to see Lol making a snowman (photo 2) and I said to Ken, 'I wonder if we will be able to get to work?' to which Ken told me 'snow can't bring a city to a standstill'. But it seems it could. Lol, Bryce and I all had a day at home, Ken and Nay both could still make it so off they went to work (such good boys).

Lol and I went for an adventure to Regents Park in the morning (the last four photos) and then we stayed cosy and warm all day at home. The buses were back up and running today and so were the tubes, so everyone was back to work, except Lol whose school was still too icy to go back too.

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin

We flew into Dublin early Saturday morning, it was alot like flying over New Zealand - a little island, very green. We checked into our hotel and had a wander around the city then headed off to the Guinness Factory. We walked the 7 storeys and had our free Guinness at the top. My Irish genes didn't show through, I only got halfway through and passed my pint onto Ken's friend. 

We went to a friends for drinks on Saturday night and then went to a bar in town. On Sunday we wandered through the city and visited Trinity College. One of the photos above is Ken and Nay walking on the grass - ignoring the rather large KEEP OFF THE GRASS signs. Ken also found it more entertaining to climb on the statues, rather than look at them!

New Year in Prague

Prague

We had a four hour train journey from Vienna to Prague and then found our apartment. We were lucky again as it was in the city centre.

Prague was amazing, a very beautiful city. Our first mission was to visit the Prague castle. We walked over the famous Charles Bridge (which you can see in our photos) and up the hill to the castle. The cathedral inside the castle was amazing, especially the stained glass windows.

New Years Eve started at our apartment and we had a few friends around that were also visiting Prague then we headed out to a massive nightclub.

New Years Day was quiet but we did visit the town sqaure where they had singers and market stalls and yummy food.

Our final day in Prague Ken and I did some exploring. It snowed during the day and continued into the evening when we went out for a dinner. The snow made our winter trip worthwhile as had been battling -2 to -5 degree weather while we were away. The coldest we have ever been!!!

It was a great first trip to Europe - Dublin is next!

Our First Europe Adventure - Vienna

Vienna

We flew to Vienna on 27 December and found that the apartment we were staying in was right in the centre of the city. 

We caught up with some friends from Levin and Wellington that were also in Vienna on our first night. The next day we rode a Ferris Wheel which gave a view over Vienna and visited the oldest zoo in the world. The polar bears were the highlight. We also went out for a traditional meal of schnitzel - the size of our plates!

On our second day we went to St Stephens Cathedral which was just around the corner and went up the tower, we also visited  the Summer Palace which was extremely impressive - the grounds were impressive even in the winter. Ken and I explored the city in the afternoon and had a coffee in a traditional coffeehouse where Beethovan used to go.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

Our first Christmas away from home. Ken and I did stockings for each other this year, he was awake at 7am asking to open his presents.

Everyone got nicely dressed and we went downstairs and opened a few presents from home. We had a nice brunch and then exchanged secret santa gifts.

I had Lol and I gave her a brooch and a bottle of her perfume. Ken had Paul and he gave him an iPod shuffle, Lol had Becks and gave her a handbag. Nay had Ken and gave him a poker set and a set of magic tricks. Gaz had Bryce and he gave Bryce an iPod shuffle also. Becks had Nay and she got him a Hugo Boss t shirt and Paul had me and he gave me a black clutch.

We had nibbles throughout the day and managed to get a group shot of us all before a late lunch. The last photo shows that there were some tired people around at the end of the day