After several attempts we’ve finally conned one of the banks in allowing us to stash our cash with them. Much to the Natwest Banking Consultant’s surprise we actually qualified for an ‘Advantage Gold’ account despite being both unemployed and non-UK residents. This may be because our Grandparents also bank with Natwest and the system’s check against the same postcode gave us some much needed favours.
Now this account costs £12.00 per month and comes with various offers of which only a couple are of interest to us. This includes travel insurance for 30 days of our trip and free use of an American Express Travellers Cheque Card. “The convenience of a card and the security of travellers cheques”. The great thing is it’s on a 90 day money-back trial period and there’s a good chance we’ll downgrade to a regular Current Account when we come back. So after a bit of grief with the banks we ended up with a good deal.
Only 11 more days in Bournemouth now before we head off. We think we’ll be away for 60-70 days, depending on how well we can stretch our weak Kiwi dollar, and at the moment the itinerary looks like this:
12-20 Sep – Paris
21-27 Sep – Madrid
28-06 Oct – Lisbon
06-12 Oct – Barcelona
12-18 Oct – Nice
19-23 Oct – Rome
24-25 Oct – Venice
26-01 Nov – Munich
01-?? Nov – Berlin
The dates are not set in stone but allows for about a week in each main city with longer stays in cheaper places such as in Spain or Portugal, and slightly less time Italy which is very dear. We’re also looking at doing day trips and one-night stays in places not far from those cities, like the town of Toledo which is an hour and a half south-west of Madrid.
This morning I went to the doctors to sort out the annoying ring in my ear, known as ‘tinnitus’, which I’ve endured for the past four days. Six quid later I’m on anti-biotics to get rid of it.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Lulworth Coves, Tea & Scones – pinkies up!
Yesterday we were taken out to Lulworth Cove which is further along the coastline from where we visited Swanage a couple of weeks ago. It’s a quaint little place but very popular with tourists and families looking for a day out. The pebble stone beach doesn’t bother many people but it wasn’t much fun to walk across in your jandals.
We left our Grandparents to sip on some tea whilst we headed up to one side of the cove before heading round to the other side across the pebbles. We clambered up a steep hill and ate some ham sandwiches packed for us in a Nan-erish little snack pack bag with cooler packs inside. She’s very cute like that.
We then tackled an even steeper hill to the top of the coastline over looking the entire bay. It was hard work on the legs, but the views were good.
On our way home we stopped via a local pub for a quick drink and then through a small village called Worth Matravers. Here we endulged Sheryl in the most English of English things, cream tea and scones. The scones were toasty warm and came with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Pinkies up!
On the way home we crossed over the car-ferry to Sandbanks, would you believe it the fourth most expensive place to live in the world. The past week was relatively quiet. Earlier in the week we went out to my cousin Andrea’s place for a bbq, the next day she came to our place for lunch. Angie & John have returned from Glasgow now but we enjoyed our stay at their place – it’s always nice to have a change of scenery.
Last week we booked our first couple of nights in Paris at a place called Bureau des Voyages de la Jeunesse, or the BVJ, in the Latin Quarter area of the city. It’s more expensive than what we’ll be paying for the majority of our European tour (€30 each for a double room per night, including breakfast) but one of the big attractions of this place is there is no lockout during the day. We’re not expecting to get much shut-eye on our 10 hour overnight coach trip, so an afternoon nap the following day sounds in order.
It looks nice on their website, more like a cheap hotel than a youth hostel, and got a mention in the Lonely Planet Guide.
We left our Grandparents to sip on some tea whilst we headed up to one side of the cove before heading round to the other side across the pebbles. We clambered up a steep hill and ate some ham sandwiches packed for us in a Nan-erish little snack pack bag with cooler packs inside. She’s very cute like that.
We then tackled an even steeper hill to the top of the coastline over looking the entire bay. It was hard work on the legs, but the views were good.
On our way home we stopped via a local pub for a quick drink and then through a small village called Worth Matravers. Here we endulged Sheryl in the most English of English things, cream tea and scones. The scones were toasty warm and came with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Pinkies up!
On the way home we crossed over the car-ferry to Sandbanks, would you believe it the fourth most expensive place to live in the world. The past week was relatively quiet. Earlier in the week we went out to my cousin Andrea’s place for a bbq, the next day she came to our place for lunch. Angie & John have returned from Glasgow now but we enjoyed our stay at their place – it’s always nice to have a change of scenery.
Last week we booked our first couple of nights in Paris at a place called Bureau des Voyages de la Jeunesse, or the BVJ, in the Latin Quarter area of the city. It’s more expensive than what we’ll be paying for the majority of our European tour (€30 each for a double room per night, including breakfast) but one of the big attractions of this place is there is no lockout during the day. We’re not expecting to get much shut-eye on our 10 hour overnight coach trip, so an afternoon nap the following day sounds in order.
It looks nice on their website, more like a cheap hotel than a youth hostel, and got a mention in the Lonely Planet Guide.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Party in Christchurch
On Saturday it was my cousin Michael’s 10th birthday, he lives in Christchurch 20 minutes away, and the family got together for a few drinks – we also met for the first time Andrea’s two 11 month old twins Jody and Charlotte. Don’t ask which one is which in the photos below. Andrea is my cousin who is getting married in September, and she’s invited Sheryl to her Hen Night later in the month.
On Sunday my Dad headed back home north to Sheffield after his week off with us down here. That evening my Grandparents took Sheryl and I for a ‘carvery roast’ at a nearby pub. Reasonable price (£8) for a sort of self serve roast and the food was ok. However, their Yorkshire puddings left a lot to be desired. They were small and crispy and looked like popadums. The water-like gravy left a very soggy pudding. Not a pretty sight.
This week we house sitting John & Angie’s place as they’re up in Glasgow for the week – I think we’ll be floating between there and my Grandparent’s place. We found it especially cute that the family left little notes for us everywhere!Our tickets arrived from National Express this week. National Express are the largest inter-city coach company in the UK. We’ve done plenty of research when we had spare time up in Sheffield and found a coach from London to Paris was our cheapest option, and understandably the slowest too. But we don’t mind that.
Getting from Bournemouth to London is a three hour journey (can usually be done in two) and we’ll be using the fantastic Megabus (www.megabus.com). These guys offer dirt cheap inter-city travel on brightly coloured double-decker buses and if you book well in advance (usually four weeks or more) you can travel for just £1 (that’s NZ$3).
Our coach from London leaves at 8.30pm on a Monday and travels to Paris via the ferry at Dover and arrives at our destination ten hours later bright and early the following morning. All in all it’s costing us £19 each to get from Bournemouth to Paris. After Paris we’ll be visiting the following in order: Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Nice, Rome (via Genoa), Venice and Berlin. Five countries in two and a bit months and a hell of a lot of mileage to be clocked up on the European rail networks.
Between now and then we’re hoping one of the banks over here will let us open an account and pop a few bob in. Due to the money laundering problems they have in the UK they’re just not interested in non-UK residents.
HSBC have been the worse. After sending us on a wild goose chase with the forms of ID they would accept, only to later not actually accept them, we finally got told we would only be allowed their most very basic bank account. This account would not even satisfy a techno phobic pensioner. They’ll give us a debit card that allows you to withdraw cash from their machines and that’s it. We wouldn’t even be able to make transactions in shops. Bugger that. We wanted the ‘Current Account’ we were told we could have in Sheffield but now told we would not be allowed those facilities for at least six months under their Basic Banking package.
We tried other banks with the same amount of enthusiasm towards us although Natwest would at least let us open something with a degree of flexibility. Even the Lloyds bank, who not so long ago owned our current bank National, said they would not let us open an account if we didn’t have a job. And even then it would be a year until they would offer us a proper Current Account.
It’s true what they say over here – the customer service in this country is generally pretty awful. All these problems and I’m UK born and bred with family living here. Kiwi’s travelling to the UK, you have been warned.
On Sunday my Dad headed back home north to Sheffield after his week off with us down here. That evening my Grandparents took Sheryl and I for a ‘carvery roast’ at a nearby pub. Reasonable price (£8) for a sort of self serve roast and the food was ok. However, their Yorkshire puddings left a lot to be desired. They were small and crispy and looked like popadums. The water-like gravy left a very soggy pudding. Not a pretty sight.
This week we house sitting John & Angie’s place as they’re up in Glasgow for the week – I think we’ll be floating between there and my Grandparent’s place. We found it especially cute that the family left little notes for us everywhere!Our tickets arrived from National Express this week. National Express are the largest inter-city coach company in the UK. We’ve done plenty of research when we had spare time up in Sheffield and found a coach from London to Paris was our cheapest option, and understandably the slowest too. But we don’t mind that.
Getting from Bournemouth to London is a three hour journey (can usually be done in two) and we’ll be using the fantastic Megabus (www.megabus.com). These guys offer dirt cheap inter-city travel on brightly coloured double-decker buses and if you book well in advance (usually four weeks or more) you can travel for just £1 (that’s NZ$3).
Our coach from London leaves at 8.30pm on a Monday and travels to Paris via the ferry at Dover and arrives at our destination ten hours later bright and early the following morning. All in all it’s costing us £19 each to get from Bournemouth to Paris. After Paris we’ll be visiting the following in order: Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Nice, Rome (via Genoa), Venice and Berlin. Five countries in two and a bit months and a hell of a lot of mileage to be clocked up on the European rail networks.
Between now and then we’re hoping one of the banks over here will let us open an account and pop a few bob in. Due to the money laundering problems they have in the UK they’re just not interested in non-UK residents.
HSBC have been the worse. After sending us on a wild goose chase with the forms of ID they would accept, only to later not actually accept them, we finally got told we would only be allowed their most very basic bank account. This account would not even satisfy a techno phobic pensioner. They’ll give us a debit card that allows you to withdraw cash from their machines and that’s it. We wouldn’t even be able to make transactions in shops. Bugger that. We wanted the ‘Current Account’ we were told we could have in Sheffield but now told we would not be allowed those facilities for at least six months under their Basic Banking package.
We tried other banks with the same amount of enthusiasm towards us although Natwest would at least let us open something with a degree of flexibility. Even the Lloyds bank, who not so long ago owned our current bank National, said they would not let us open an account if we didn’t have a job. And even then it would be a year until they would offer us a proper Current Account.
It’s true what they say over here – the customer service in this country is generally pretty awful. All these problems and I’m UK born and bred with family living here. Kiwi’s travelling to the UK, you have been warned.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Boat trip round Poole
On Thursday we went into Poole Harbour (not Pearl Harbour, an average movie starring the less than average Ben Affleck) which is actually the second largest natural harbour in the world, Sydney being the biggest. We had lunch in a pub on the waterfront before going on an hour long cruise around Brownsea Island. Don’t ask why they call it Brownsea, but it may be related to the photo below on the right.
We had a coffee at a place called Corkers and introduced my Nan to a Mocca – she was thoroughly excited about this.
Yesterday was my Grandparents’ 55th (Emerald) Wedding Anniversary and in the evening, along with my Uncle John and Aunty Angie, we went out for a few drinks and a meal in a pub nearby called The Angel. This place is pretty huge and does really well with it’s food side of things. They don’t take bookings – so I thought it was a pretty good idea that while you’re waiting for a table they give you a little hand held device, that looks a bit like a mobile, that vibrates and flashes when your table is available. Not very Ye Old Pub styles, but it's better than missing out on a feed!
I’m not sure sure about these southern English ales on offer. John was drinking a very brown thing called Badger, or Squirel or something like that. I stuck to the Hofbrau Lager on tap, and a glass of Exodus Marlborough Sauv Blanc which I haven’t heard of before but it was ok.
It's four weeks until we go to Europe now. At least we're not flying anywhere. Although we are leaving on September 11. Hmm...
We had a coffee at a place called Corkers and introduced my Nan to a Mocca – she was thoroughly excited about this.
Yesterday was my Grandparents’ 55th (Emerald) Wedding Anniversary and in the evening, along with my Uncle John and Aunty Angie, we went out for a few drinks and a meal in a pub nearby called The Angel. This place is pretty huge and does really well with it’s food side of things. They don’t take bookings – so I thought it was a pretty good idea that while you’re waiting for a table they give you a little hand held device, that looks a bit like a mobile, that vibrates and flashes when your table is available. Not very Ye Old Pub styles, but it's better than missing out on a feed!
I’m not sure sure about these southern English ales on offer. John was drinking a very brown thing called Badger, or Squirel or something like that. I stuck to the Hofbrau Lager on tap, and a glass of Exodus Marlborough Sauv Blanc which I haven’t heard of before but it was ok.
It's four weeks until we go to Europe now. At least we're not flying anywhere. Although we are leaving on September 11. Hmm...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Four hundred feet above Bournemouth
On Tuesday we went into Bournemouth town centre – home of the beautiful Upper and Lower public gardens that lead you quite some way through the heart of the town straight down onto the beach and the Bournemouth pier. Writer Bill Bryson once lived in Bournemouth when those very gardens were called the Upper and Lower Pleasure gardens. Someone at the council saw a problem with a public space being named ‘Lower Pleasure Garden’.
It was another scorcher of a day and everyone was getting into the full swing of summer with it now being school holidays. I always like walking up the Bournemouth pier, even if they do charge 50p a time. You quickly come to realise that nothing is free in this country.
After the third unsuccessful trip to open a bank account in this country (they don’t make it easy) we had lunch by the pier and then my Dad, Sheryl and I went up four hundred feet above Bournemouth in a great big helium balloon called ‘The Bournemouth Eye’. As you can see below the views were corker!
Today we took the trip to Swanage, a small seaside town 30 minutes or so from where we are in Bournemouth. From there we walked up the coastline into the Durlston Country Park and along the Purbeck Coast. We put in a solid effort of walking, three hours or more in total, but it was worth it. There weres some great views of the sea and the coastline as we walked along the cliff top.
It may excite budding Geologists out there that where we walked today is the UK’s first World Heritage site, and boasts rock formations still standing from the Jurassic age. That’s just great, but really the best part was just being able to walk along the cliff and see the sea. Oh, and the huge ‘Globe’ made of stone along the way! On the way home we stopped by Corfe Castle. They wanted a tenner to let us both go part way up the hill as the main castle area is no longer secure. Unsecure rocks? That sounds like fun to me. But we decided to give it a miss and instead go watch a restored 1930s steam train in action. All in all, a pretty fun few days.
It was another scorcher of a day and everyone was getting into the full swing of summer with it now being school holidays. I always like walking up the Bournemouth pier, even if they do charge 50p a time. You quickly come to realise that nothing is free in this country.
After the third unsuccessful trip to open a bank account in this country (they don’t make it easy) we had lunch by the pier and then my Dad, Sheryl and I went up four hundred feet above Bournemouth in a great big helium balloon called ‘The Bournemouth Eye’. As you can see below the views were corker!
Today we took the trip to Swanage, a small seaside town 30 minutes or so from where we are in Bournemouth. From there we walked up the coastline into the Durlston Country Park and along the Purbeck Coast. We put in a solid effort of walking, three hours or more in total, but it was worth it. There weres some great views of the sea and the coastline as we walked along the cliff top.
It may excite budding Geologists out there that where we walked today is the UK’s first World Heritage site, and boasts rock formations still standing from the Jurassic age. That’s just great, but really the best part was just being able to walk along the cliff and see the sea. Oh, and the huge ‘Globe’ made of stone along the way! On the way home we stopped by Corfe Castle. They wanted a tenner to let us both go part way up the hill as the main castle area is no longer secure. Unsecure rocks? That sounds like fun to me. But we decided to give it a miss and instead go watch a restored 1930s steam train in action. All in all, a pretty fun few days.
Monday, August 07, 2006
We be down in Bournemouth
On Saturday evening we arrived in Bournemouth after a four hour, traffic-free journey south from Sheffield. We’re staying with my Grandparents in Kinson, a suburb about 15 minutes drive from Bournemouth town centre, the pier and beaches etc. My Grandparents are stoked to see us and it’s certainly a case of two more bellies to fill for the feeding-machine that is my Grandma.
(above: My grandparents’ place…and Sheryl with my Nan and Aunty Elaine, minus face)
On Sunday my Aunty Angie and Uncle John had the whole family round for a bit of a get-together. The weather was great, albeit a little humid, and it was good to see everyone again. Plenty more new faces and names to inevitably forget for Sheryl.
My Dad has come down here for the week, having taken time off work, so we’ll be getting out and about a bit this week. On Monday we went out to Hengistbury Head and walked along the cliff and down onto the ferry that crosses over to the mainland. This distance between the land is only about 20 metres but the current is pretty strong and it’s a busy passing for boats coming into the harbour so you’re best not trying to swim it. The ferry goes from a little further back from the shortest point so you get a little more for your money. A quid each way – free for babies, dogs, cats and yes, parrots.
After a stroll down the busy beach and a small bite to eat it was back to where we came from and back on the ferry. Instead of walking back along the cliff we thought it a better idea to take a ride on the efficient local transport – the Noddy Train. What can I say? It was green, and we sat in it. On the way home we visited the town of Christchurch (small world isn’t it?) – it was market day so the streets were packed. We got home in time for roast lamb with the most perfect, crunchy, crispy roast potatoes you’ve ever seen.
(above: My grandparents’ place…and Sheryl with my Nan and Aunty Elaine, minus face)
On Sunday my Aunty Angie and Uncle John had the whole family round for a bit of a get-together. The weather was great, albeit a little humid, and it was good to see everyone again. Plenty more new faces and names to inevitably forget for Sheryl.
My Dad has come down here for the week, having taken time off work, so we’ll be getting out and about a bit this week. On Monday we went out to Hengistbury Head and walked along the cliff and down onto the ferry that crosses over to the mainland. This distance between the land is only about 20 metres but the current is pretty strong and it’s a busy passing for boats coming into the harbour so you’re best not trying to swim it. The ferry goes from a little further back from the shortest point so you get a little more for your money. A quid each way – free for babies, dogs, cats and yes, parrots.
After a stroll down the busy beach and a small bite to eat it was back to where we came from and back on the ferry. Instead of walking back along the cliff we thought it a better idea to take a ride on the efficient local transport – the Noddy Train. What can I say? It was green, and we sat in it. On the way home we visited the town of Christchurch (small world isn’t it?) – it was market day so the streets were packed. We got home in time for roast lamb with the most perfect, crunchy, crispy roast potatoes you’ve ever seen.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Family Fish n Chips
Yesterday we went into Sheffield again this time to pay a visit to my Uncle's Fish & Chip shop, run in the family since 1954 (now three generations). Fish 'n' Chips and Mushy Peas were the order of the day! Sheryl said they were the best she's had, but discovered there is no such thing as a ladies portion when it comes to Fish n Chips.
It was good to catch up with my Uncle, enthusiastic about the chances of his beloved Blades, and also Brenda, an employee of the shop for a solid 32 years. Later on we popped over to Hillsborough again and back into the city via the Supertram. About the most productive thing of the day was picking up Lonely Planet Small Talk Phrasebooks for Spanish & Italian. Buy one get one half price from WH Smith - nice. Here you can see images of the shop - if there are any Norton's viewing this - see bottom right. You may have to zoom in, it was the best Sheryl could do from the top of a wobbly and seemingly out of control double-decker bus.
It was good to catch up with my Uncle, enthusiastic about the chances of his beloved Blades, and also Brenda, an employee of the shop for a solid 32 years. Later on we popped over to Hillsborough again and back into the city via the Supertram. About the most productive thing of the day was picking up Lonely Planet Small Talk Phrasebooks for Spanish & Italian. Buy one get one half price from WH Smith - nice. Here you can see images of the shop - if there are any Norton's viewing this - see bottom right. You may have to zoom in, it was the best Sheryl could do from the top of a wobbly and seemingly out of control double-decker bus.
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