Sunday, August 31, 2008

Weekend in Brussels - Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st

On Friday at 4pm Josh and I went on the Eurostar to Brussels. The trip took only 1.5 hours, so was really quick. We went out for dinner that night at a fish restaurant that was recommended to us, and enjoyed a large pot of mussels. On Saturday we had breakfast in the old town area then went on a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city and saw all the sights. In the evening we had some drinks at different places, one where Josh tried one each of the different types of beers. We went once again to the street with all the seafood restaurants on and enjoyed Lobster for dinner - yum! Antonium - designed like the atom! We went inside and went up to the top part and got great views of the city Going up and down the sections
The European Sector: Headquarters of the European Union, they where having a meeting there on the Monday so on Sunday the police where blocking all the roads off with barbed wire fences!! Originally built to be the World Trade Towers Chips that you can buy in the street - all wrapped in newspaper, a nice treat for lunch on Saturday! Dinner on Saturday night - down the street that sells all the Seafood.
Cathedral of St Michel - looks like the Cathedral of Notra Dame in Paris! Josh and the aeroplanes in the museum (see caption below) - We went to the museum on Sunday morning. Tanks in the Museum The Museum that is next to the Arch, it was filled with tanks and aeroplanes and we went to the top of the arch from inside the museum and looked out over Brussels. Beers in the afternoon - Josh had a taster of all the different types of beers they produce!
The Place Royale Cathedral Triumphal Arch at Parc du Cinquantenaire - built under order of King Leopold II to celebrate Belgium's Golden Jubilee Cathedral of St Nicolas Stock Exchange
The Grand-Place is the main square, so very beautiful , there is a cathedral, town hall, Hotel de Ville and House of the Dukes and Guilds. Each of the houses has different symbol on it - check it out. The Houses are of the Haberdashers, cabinetmakers, , Grease-Merchants and so on. Each building now has something different in it - cafe, shop, museum or such like. Check out the pictures.
On Sunday we had another wonder around the streets then at lunch time went on a tour of the Waterloo battlefields, it was really interesting. It finished at 6pm and we headed back on the eurostar at 9pm. This tree was actually here when the battle occurred! Lion Monument on top of the Hill - The lion symbolizes new found peace in Europe. The lion weights 28 tons. View of the battlefields from the top of the monument The stairs we climbed up to get to the top of the monument - 226 steps to be precise. Lion Mound: The hill was created by women who carried the earth on their backs gradually up, until the mound reached this height. It was erected between 1824 and 1826 and is dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lies on the 18th June 1815 and marks the spot where one of Wellington's men (who was particularly important) was wounded. There where 300 000 men from 7 nations who met in battle here. Brussels is really pretty, the buildings in the Grand-Place don't do it justice. It was a nice relaxing weekend, and was definitely enough time to see everything we wanted - except Bruge - which we will have to do another time.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Long Weekend with Mum and Dad

Monday was a public holiday so Josh and I took Mum and Dad on a walking tour of London. We started at Marble Arch, walked through Hyde Park and stopped at the NZ ANZAC memorial. We walked down to Buckingham Palace where we saw the changing of the guard - with a marching band - to add to the ceremony, very exciting. Down the Mall, under Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square then Parliament and Big Ben. By the time we got to Soutbank, it was definitely time for lunch! We walked along Southbank, saw Shakespears Globe, walked past London bridge, Tate Modern, Millennium Bridge, National Theatre and along to Tower Bridge, where we went up in the lift and walked along the sides to check out the view of London - very interesting - we learnt all about Victorian Times.By this stage my feet where ready to fall off and we headed home, having been out from 10am to 5pm - non-stop walking, except 20min at the cafe for lunch. Josh and I rested up - back to work tomorrow. Mum and Dad will be with us until Thursday, doing some more sightseeing on their own and meeting friends.Views from Tower BridgeView of City HallSouthbank and the ThamesShakespears GlobeNZ ANZAC memorialNational GalleryThe fountain in Trafalgar SquareMarble ArchInside the Tower Bridge walkwayOn Sunday we went to Elim church and saw a little of the Notting Hill Carnival before heading down to Kensington where we had lunch and showed Mum and Dad the Diana Memorial Fountain, had a walk around Kensington Palace and Gardens, past the Royal Albert Hall and back home for dinner. After dinner Mum and Dad came with us to some friends and we introduced them before they headed home. Josh and I stayed for a bit - but not too long as we had the 'walking tour' organised for the following day.Friday night we once again had a nice indian at the local restaurant.On Saturday we met Jo and James at a pub in West Hampstead then went for a walk along the Heath.On the top on Parliament Hill

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Weekend with Mum and Dad 16th & 17th August

Us on our balcony: Mum and Dad went for a walk Saturday afternoon and took a picture.
Hillsong Church on Sunday morning
Greenwhich on Saturday Morning: The foot tunnel that goes under the water from the Isle of Dogs to Greenwhich Greenwhich Park with the Maratime Museum and the University in the background Greenwhich Markets
Dinner at the Turkish Restaurant and Josh belly dancing!
Pictures of Bank, London Stock Exchange straight ahead and the Bank of England on the left Pictures of Saint Pauls Mum and Dad on the tube escalators Tube station at Tottenham Court Road Mum and Dad came to stay with us this weekend. On Friday we went to the local indian restaurant for dinner. On Saturday morning we went to Greenwhich and had a look around the markets and had a walk in the park before heading home to have lunch and watch NZ beat SA in the rugby - a good afternoon. For dinner we went to a Turkish place that had some great belly dancing for entertainment, Josh was dragged up to join in - very funny!. On Sunday we took Mum and Dad to Hillsong then went to Chinatown for lunch. We walked from Saint Pauls to Bank and took photos of the sights. I can't forget the great cup of tea we had with Lou before heading home - exhausted. It was a good fun weekend. Mum and Dad are off this week and back again on Friday night - for 6 nights this time!!! Hope we can cope - ha ha!