Time in London

We've had another relaxing day in London :-)





-- matt (on jo's behalf)

Lazy Saturday

We've just had the nicest day - once we woke up - before that it was all a bit sleepy... We've been staying with one of our friends, Joe Wood, in South Bromley, London, woke up round lunchtime, grabbed some break-lunch and have come up to Fulham to have a look around the fire station that Joe's based at.
While we didn't get to slide down the fire-pole, it was fantastic to look round the station and through the trucks. Thanks joe!
Matt's now marched me into a lovely little cafe just down the high street to boost my caffeine - though from the photo it looks more like Matt needs it. :)




-- jo xx

Kath&Warwick

Ever had that pang for an old friend you miss so much where you just want to hang out & talk? It's so much fun when it actually happens!

Last weekend we were reunited with Kath Passaportis, now Kath Schley. She has been married for almost three years now, & we only met Warwick last weekend.

It was just like ol'times. Lots of fun, lots of laughter & lots of chats. We met Warwick & Kath in Chester, walked the Walls, had a sneek peek at the horse races, & enjoyed a lovely meal at a local gastro-pub.

This was all such a blessing, but was really just the back-drop for spending time together and meeting Warwick.

Hope it's not another three years before we see you again. Thankyou guys for a beautiful time.

-- jo xx

To Diesel, or not to Diesel...?

I’m in the passenger seat of our car, Matt’s driving, Maciek is in the back reading, and we are on our way back to catch a ferry back to Dover, England after a week Mountain Biking in Morzine, France. Our ferry is at 6pm, and I think this time we may even make it….we remembered to put diesel in our car this time! Our holiday had a little bit of a shaky start when Matt, (new nick name, Diesel), accidently filled our diesel tank with petrol ! Not just a little bit either, a whole 60 L tank!

So, we had to get the car drained, filters changed and then filled up again with diesel to get back on the road to pick up Maciek who was waiting at a train station for us and get to our ferry. While we were waiting, I managed to find a sticker ‘Diesel only!’ which I promptly gave to Matt as a ‘gift’ and is now on the back of his biking helmet.

To be fair to Matt though, the AA rescue guy said he picks up at least one car a day that has done the same thing, very easily done.

His new nickname is not going to rub off very quickly though.

Feel free to adopt it yourself! ;)

Birthday Present

Long-story-short, Jo was given an iPhone for her birthday (personally, I was pretty happy with the arrangement) and I've been doing my best to fill it up with fun (free) games.
Below, Jo's in the middle of an extreme water-slide game (not any more complicated than that, really) but the best bit is watching her face as she bites her lip in concentration while she ducks and weaves around in an effort to stay on course.
Fun for me; fun for her. Everyone's a winner :-)

Cheap Flights

Jo and I have just boarded a Ryanair flight from Milano back to Manchester when I noticed a girl had snuck onboard with double-bass case. Normally I wouldn't remark (if you can get away with it and you're not inconveniencing anyone else...) but this was a new carry-on record for me...
I pointed it out to Jo and she remarked, "yeah, she had booked an extra seat for it. It must have been cheaper than paying the excess luggage.."

Photo's below; crazy times.

Cinque Terra

How beautiful is this? And the best bit is that this is at 6:30 in the evening! This is Vernazza. Gorgeous days (scorching sun), cold beer, fresh & clear water to swim in, great food and quality family time. Matt and I have decided this is where we are going to retire (little white terrace, second row back, just behind the wharf & beach).

Vernazza is one of five coastal villages in Cinque Terra on the west coast of Northern Italy. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry, we hadn't either, but check it out on wikipedia, it is absolutely beautiful. We travelled here with my mum and dad from La Spezia, just outside Cinque Terra. We visited Monterosso on the first morning where there were cute little private beaches with colourful umbrellas & reached Vernazza by the evening. I took this photo as we were coming down in to Vernazza, and the water was as refreshing and welcoming as it looks. Finally, a swim in the ocean!!

You can walk between each of the villages, and so on the second day we came back to Rio Maggiore, (the first village of the five) and walked the opposite direction toward Vernazza and ended up there again. The walk between Monterosso and Vernazza is pretty 'sketchy', if it was in Enlgand or Australia, there would have been fences and signs saying "do this at your own risk"; but the Italians, are so much more chilled out...we certainly deserved the beer and pizza at the end of the walk. :)

If you are ever in Italy, skip Rome, and go to Cinque Terra...absolutely gorgeous.