2010:Europe Trip

19 June

Left Auckland destined for Incheon, South Korea. The first flight was around 11.5 hours and I managed to see ~5 movies on the plane. The Boeing 777 (Korean Air) had bigger screens than I was used to seeing on planes (widescreens) and they also touchscreens. At I met a couple of kiwi girls who had been on the same flight and were also heading to Europe (Paris however). Together we found the helpdesk which organised transport to hotels and caught a taxi van. It was quite misty and it wasn't possible to see very far at the airport and it became dark on the way to the hotel. The airport was quite modern and stylish as was the freeway to the hotel. I got to travel on the Incheon Bridge which was very impressive.

I stayed at the Paradise hotel which was half an hour away from the airport. It was a bit more run down than it looks on the website, but still quite nice. After dinner I went for a walk around the area (north and slightly east of the hotel [1]) which was very quaint. At night there were lights/lanterns everywhere and the buildings all had a very Asian feel to them with traditional architecture and art mixed in everywhere. I spoke to a New Zealand couple at the hotel who called it the china town (so it could have been a Chinese area?).

20 June

I managed to get some sleep and had breakfast at the hotel. I found a huge cockroach at the hotel and left it under a glass. The hotel did have free wireless but I went and used one of their three very slow computers in the 'Business Room'. There was a bus on the way back to the airport and the mist/smog had subsided a bit and I was able to see the Songdo Business District.

I caught a Beoing 747 (Korean Air) to London (11.5 hours) and this time the screens were the much older and smaller ones however still touch screen. I watched movies most of the flight. I took of at around 1:30 pm and landed in London at about 5:30 pm the same day making it a very long 4 hours (the day before the longest day of the year in the norther hemisphere). That could quite possibly be able, in the future, to take the title of the longest day of my life.

I was greeted in London and taken to stay the night in Mill Hill. I had a small stroll around the area before seeing the great news on TV that New Zealand had held up a 1-1 draw with Italy before I went to bed.

21 June

Today I had another walk around the area before being taken up the A1 towards Sheffield. I was surprised that I still haven't seen any seemingly densely populated areas. On the way to Sheffield we went through Sherwood Forest before going back down the M1 to see some of Derbyshire. On the way down we could see the crooked spire in Chesterfield. The main destination was the Chatsworth estate. The estate was very beautiful and the weather was lovely.

22 June

Today jet-lag was still hitting me a bit and the long hours of light weren't helping much either (17 hours of daylight). I spent most of the morning dazed in bed. Again there was lovely weather all day. One thing I find interesting is that whenever I look at the sky there are at least a couple of long contrails trailing behind jets. The botanical gardens are very close by so I went to see them. There was a riddle trail around the gardens so I couldn't resist doing it. It was interesting seeing the section inside the greenhouse dedicated to New Zealand flora (somehow it didn't quite capture what the bush is like, unfortunately). Some of the interesting things in the garden are a fosalised tree and a Victorian bear pit. In the evening we went for a walk through some of the parks to the Norfolk Arms for dinner and then back down to Hunters Bar.

23 June

Today I went for a bit more of a wonder around Sheffield and spent a bit more time in the botanical gardens. I went to get lunch from the supermarket, trying a few things we can't get in New Zealand. When I went to pay, the lady on the checkout looked genuinely surprised and checked the watermark. She said she had never seen a ten pound note like it before and called over the supervisor. Apparently the note (which we had from a while ago) is no longer legal tender. Luckily I did have a note she would accept. After watching England beat Slovenia I went rock climbing on some gritstone cliffs Burbage Edge.

24 June

Today I painted a gate and most of a fence. I also got slightly sunburnt.

25 June

Today I wend for lunch in the middle of Sheffield and walked around the winter gardens. Later I finished painting the fence.

26 June

Traveled to the lake district through Manchester and met family in Langdale

27 June

Went for a walk to x and watched the Formula 1 and England vs Germany game where England was knocked out of the world cup. Had Lamb Henry for dinner and then a pub quiz, our team came second.

28 June

Went rock climbing on one of the crags above the wainwright inn (apparently this pub has amazing lamb shank) and saw my first rain in England. Watched Murry play tennis.

29 June

Visited Ambleside for lunch and went mountain biking in the afternoon. Pub quiz at wainright and one of our teams came first.

30 June

Today we went for a walk and had lunch at Rydal Hall and an ice cream at Grassmere.

1 July

Today was the first wet day. We went on a family hunt to find the 'Malcolm Stone' and given a riddle and an indication on a map of where it was. The first to find it won a hundred pounds. I got soaked right through looking for it. We had a presentation to the winner in the evening and sang a couple of Scottish songs before playing boggle. The winnings were put to drinks at the pub.

2 July

Today we went mountain biking which was quite tiring and painful! The view of the valley we reached was wonderful though.

3 July

Today we played some tennis and watched Germany beat Argentina 4-0.

4 July

Today we went to see the Gala. Unfortunatly it was raining and we missed much of it (including the fell race and the Cumbrian wrestling). We did see some of the childrens plain race and sack race. There was a band playing an sheep sheering too. In the afternoon we watched the final mens wimbleton tennis game in the gym and went to play some table tennis before going swimming. For dinner we had tortillas.

5 July

Today we went for a walk and saw a few waterfalls. We found a couple of slow worms and ate some wild berries. For dinner we went to Warinrights for the Lamb Shank (lamb shoulder on the menu) which we had been looking forward too all week. It was very good and filling.

6 July

Today we went to the beach. We went to Whitehaven and had a look around a viewing tower which we could easily see scotland from. Next we went to a beach and had a swim in the freezing water. We then went south a bit to a stone circle before coming back in time for a semi final soccer game. After dinner of bobotie, we went to Wainrights to finish off a pub quiz and then to the Britannia.

7 July

Today we had a quiet day.

8 July

Today we went to Grizedale to go mountain biking. Some of the tracks were quite tricky.

9 July

Today was a bit wet so we played table tennis. For dinner we went to Wainrigths again.

10 July

Today we drove out of the Lake District back to Sheffield.

11 July

Today we drove back to London and watched the Final of the World Cup.

12 July

Today I took the train into St Pancras railway station and had a walk around London. First I went to the British Museum and saw many of the main attractions such as the Rosetta Stone. Next I went to the British Library and saw their list of precious works including a couple of copies of the Magna Carta, Song scribblings of the Beetles, and some pages of Leonardo de Vincis notes. The library also had a maps exhibition on.

13 July

Today I went to see St. Pauls cathedral. It was quite impressive from the outside but I didn't feel it was worth the entrance fee to look around inside. Next I walked over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern. There was a lot of strange art which made more sense after watching a film they had showing about many of the pieces. There were a few pieces I recognised such as ones by Picasso, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. Next I saw the recreation of Shakespeares Globe theatre which was also quite expensive so I passed on going through. After that I walked back over London Bridge, passing a prison museum towards the Bank of England. There I went through the museum where I cracked their safe and got to put my hand into a plastic cage and lifted a 13 kg gold bullion (which I suspect could be fake, although nothing alluded to that).