Its all over

And so, like all good things, my travels are over.

I am now a permanent resident of Christchurch, New Zealand.

I have an address again, and a bed.  Both should never be underestimated.  The two and half years since I first left New Zealand to embark on my OE have quite simply been one of the best, yet most difficult periods of my life.  I feel like I have grown, I have tested my limits and I have subdued that burning desire to see the world.  For so long I felt like I was missing out.  Now that I have explored at least some of the world, I have come to truly appreciate all that I have here at home.  I appreciate so much more about my life now: the quality of my life here, my family and friends, the standard of living, the lack of corruption, the clean air, the infrastructure (although it leaves a little to desire), and so many other things.

I just hope that I can retain the perspective I have gained.

That's it for now folks.

Lucy

Another fabulous month

I'm sorry to gloat but I can't help reflecting on June and concluding that month nine of 'funemployment' has been another good one.

Since my last post I spent another couple of days in the French sun before flying back to the UK. From there Mum and I explored the beautiful Cotswolds for two days before returning to London for three action packed days of sight seeing. Highlights included: Brixton; Camden Markets; Regents Park and the canals; Borough Markets; Trooping of the Colours where we even spotted Kate; War Horse; an open top bus tour and lunch on the shores of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Thank you so much for visiting Mum. I loved having you here.

Once Mum left to return to New Zealand it was time for a wedding in the English countryside. A top day and the weather even behaved. The bride and groom make such a wonderful couple and I felt very lucky to be able to join in their celebrations.

Then it was onto Sicily to visit Rebecca, a very good friend who is living there. It was so awesome to experience the city with my own personal tour guide. I loved the grittiness of the city and the food was outstanding! Plus, of course, the company was fantastic.

I then had a whirlwind tour of Berlin. A very cool city. I found the history fascinating and was highly impressed by the number of free exhibitions. A panorama of the wall was a highlight, as was bumping into another friend who was visiting at the same time. I love it when the world feels so small.

And finally I'm now in Greece and about to embark on a week sailing with seven friends. I can't wait, although I'm a little sad as this will be my last trip in Europe for the foreseeable future.

The last month has reminded me how wonderful it is to hang out with old friends. While I have met lots of fabulous people on my travels, there is nothing quite the same as a laugh (or in my case the occasional snort) with old friends.

Bonjour

Mont Saint Michael, Brittany,
December 2011

Bonjour is about as far as my French extends.  I'm really bad at speaking it and I keep getting French words confused with Italian and Spanish words.  I haven't spent enough time in France, nor have I tried hard enough to learn the language!  Given that this is actually my fourth trip to France, I should have got further than Bonjour.

Paris, November 2011

Over the past couple of years I have had an autumnal weekend in Paris in November 2011, Christmas in Brittany in December 2011 and a few days cycling around Provence in June 2012.

My trip cycling in Provence with three other friends rates as one of my best 'mini-breaks' from London.  I found travel by bicycle such a great way to experience the sights and smells of a place.

It also helped that our trip was around Provence.  Could a region be any more beautiful.  We cycled around 50km a day stopping off at various villages along the way.  The one that stands out in my mind still is Gordes.  Gordes is on the list of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (the most beautiful villages of France) (http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en/the-most-beautiful-villages-of-france).  It was easy to see why, perched high on a hill filled with stunning architecture and a view across the valley below.  The village is close to Avignon and if you are ever in the area I'd highly recommend a detour to visit the town.

Gordes, June 2012

The other fantastic aspect of a cycling trip in France is that all the exercise negates any need to feel guilty about the calorific food.  If anything, the extra pastries were almost a necessity - I really needed that energy to get up those hills (and even then one of two hills may have defeated me, yes, I got off and pushed my bike, oh the shame).

I have now made it to the south west of France, perhaps slightly less touristy but without doubt worth visiting if you ever get the chance.  I'm currently in Lot-et-Garonne which is about half way between Bordeaux and Toulouse.

Penne d'Agenais, June 2013

On this particular trip, which I am spending with my Mum, we are house sitting for a family friend.  It has been a great way to spend a couple of weeks in the region as it has given us the time to relax but also explore at a more leisurely pace. We have driven to small country villages (Monflaquin (another village which makes Les Plus Beaux Villages de France) and Penne d'Agenais being two highlights); shopped in markets, marveling at the skinned rabbits and pigeons on sale; visited a chateau (Chateau du Bonaguil is well worth a visit, it was practically deserted when we visited in June - what a treat to be able to explore a chateau without masses of people around: http://www.chateau-bonaguil.com/); walked down quiet country lanes; and we have even managed to have a couple of swims in the pool where we are staying.

The late spring has proven to be a fantastic time of year to be here.  The weather isn't too hot (although we have had a little bit too much rain for my liking) and the produce is outstanding: white asparagus, impossibly sweet strawberries, cherries, and broad beans (which are a personal favourite of mine). There have also been the standard French treats: baguettes, cheese, pastries, crepes, did I mention the cheese.  And then there are the regional specialties: foie gras, duck confit, and prunes. I was even brave enough to try escargot for the first time, surprisingly delicious.

It has been a very relaxing couple of weeks.  We must be relaxed as Mum and I are both losing track of the days (although I'd argue her, more than I!)  I'm keeping track enough to know that I fly back to London in two days time.

Terrific Turkey

I am now in the beautiful south west of France, before I delve into the joys that is this region of the world, I thought I'd share some more of my time in Turkey, particularly given the rioting that has been happening in Istanbul and other Turkish cities over the past few days.

As I'm beginning to get a bit sick of traveling alone I decided to join a tour for my time in Turkey.  The  tour route was a fairly standard route, mainly in the western part of Turkey.  After visiting the sights in Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Cistern being highlights) we departed for Gallipoli which I have already posted about (but here is another photo that I couldn't upload at the time).

From there, we headed to the ancient city of Troy.  While there was a wooden horse, truth be told, the site was a little underwhelming.  We also visited Pergamum which was a little more exciting, especially the ruins of the amphitheater. But, the pick of the ancient sights was definitely Ephesus.  The detail and breadth of the ruins were just stunning.

After Ephesus it was onto a boat for three nights of cruising the Turkish coast.  It was very relaxing and surprisingly the scenery reminded me a lot of the Marlborough Sounds (a good reminder of the many wonderful places that will be on my doorstep when I move back to New Zealand).

Pamukkale was next on the itinerary.  Pamukkale is a crazy limestone terrace formation with yet more ancient ruins.  I imagine it is what the pink and white terraces would have looked like if Mt Tarawera hadn't erupted in 1886 and buried them.  A pretty unusual sight and nice to have witnessed.

From Pamukkale it was on to Cappadocia. The fairy chimneys in Goreme and surrounding areas were so beautiful, but my lasting memory of Cappadocia is going to be witnessing a hot air balloon crash that killed 3 other tourists.  (I knew I had good reason to be nervous about going ballooning.)

I loved seeing all the sights and witnessing the beautiful landscapes of Turkey. One of the most lasting impressions made by the country was the depth of the history.  Turkey has been inhabited since Palaeolithic times.  In contrast, New Zealand apparently has the shortest human history of any country in the world.  Polynesian people are estimated to have arrived in the 13th century and it wasn't until 1642 that Europeans were even aware that New Zealand existed (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/history/page-1).

I think it is part of the reason why, as a generalisation, that Kiwis love to travel - we all know that New Zealand is 'but a baby' in terms of history and Kiwis want to learn as much about the world as they can first hand.  While I have now traveled through several parts of Europe (with all its incredible history), my trip to Turkey really brought home just how young and isolated from the world New Zealand is.

The tour also gave an interesting insight (at least our tour guide's view) into the current issues facing the nation.  I got the impression from him that increasing conservatism within the government and the potential move away from a secular state was of real concern to citizens.  Accordingly, it was with much interest that I read about the recent riots.  If you are interested in reading more about this, then you might enjoy this blog http://defnesumanblogs.com/2013/06/01/what-is-happenning-in-istanbul/.
I haven't even mentioned a myriad of other interesting things I saw and learnt about, the shopping or the food - I guess you'll just have to go there yourself to discover this enticing country.

Under pressure

I'm feeling under a big of blog pressure at the moment (and let's be honest, given I haven't worked since September last year there isn't a whole lot of other pressure in my life).

1. Pressure to write more posts - it has been three weeks since I last posted.

2. Neglecting to write about certain things I have done in my travels.

In particular, my sister has noted (with apparent unhappiness) that I failed to blog about a recent trip to Darwin to visit her.

The five days I had in Darwin at the beginning of April were fantastic.  I lounged around in the sun in the beautiful pool at her house, visited one of the nearby National Parks, and ate and drank well but the highlight was definitely going mud-crabbing.  Mud-crabbing involves setting pots (like crayfish pots for the Kiwis) on a turning tide in the crocodile infested mangrove swamps.

I can personally attest to the crocodile 'infestedness' of the water there as we actually witnessed a crocodile swimming beside one of the pots we had laid.  The pots have to carefully collected with a boat hook, not only because of the crocodile threat, but also because of the potential for deadly box jellyfish in the water there.  (While Darwin is nice, there are definitely too many threatening species for me to want to live there).  While it was touch and go as to whether we would catch any crabs, we did end up with a couple, along with a bonus fish in one of the pots.  I think mud-crabs must be like the equivalent of paua in New Zealand - everyone has a theory on how to cook them.  It was hilarious witnessing the said crabs being cooked on the barbecue later that evening.  Literally every person who came out to investigate what was in the pot cooking, imparted their words of wisdom on how to cook the crabs.  The end result was delicious!

Anyway I never got around to posting about this at the time, and, as the saying goes, better late than never.

Relaying this now reiterates the amazing range of experiences I have had in the last couple of years of traveling, especially since I am now writing this from a country home in the south west of France.  

I'll try to update again soon about my more recent adventures in Turkey and France.

We will remember them

I visited Gallipoli today.

It is something that I have always wanted to do. It was sobering, in the pouring rain, thinking of the men who fought for their country and lost their lives doing so. 

The war in Turkey was not really either the Turkish nor ANZAC troops' war. Some might say a waste of lives for all three nations involved given the eventual outcome of WWI.

We will remember them.

Alone vs company

I have essentially been travelling by myself since September last year (other than 7 weeks in New Zealand and Australia and 3 weeks in Africa which a friend joined me for). Travelling without friends is something I have always wanted to do. I wanted to test myself to see if I could handle it. I also wanted to test some of my assumptions about the differences between travelling alone or as part of a group.

After 7 and a half months I'm going to sit on the fence about whether I prefer it to travelling with company - I have concluded there are positives and negatives.

On the plus side I have met a lot more people travelling these last few months than any other trip I've done. People approach people on their own.

I also get to do exactly what I want. Yesterday I was at Menaggio on Lake Como and I literally spent the whole afternoon on a park bench reading a book and watching the world go by. (Lake Como is absolutely stunning, by the way.)

I also don't have to worry about dragging anyone around yet another museum nor do I have to feel guilty when I can't be bothered visiting as particular sight.

On the downside, I have a bunch of incredible memories that I don't really have anyone to reminisce with about. Of course I have made a lot of new friends and so to the extent they were with me I'll have them to reminisce with, and I'll just have to remember the other bits myself - like the ridiculousness today of watching buses try to pass each other on the very narrow roads around Lake Como.  It is probably why I've enjoyed blogging as it has allowed me to express some of my thoughts to someone - even if it is the cyber world!

It is also expensive travelling all alone - the taxis can't be split with anyone and single rooms are expensive. It has meant I've had to sleep in a few more dorm rooms than I care to remember. I'm in a hotel room tonight because I'm flying to Turkey early tomorrow morning and I have to say it is absolute bliss being able to unpack without worrying about spreading my stuff all over the room! (Plus no one snoring to keep me awake!)

I love my own company and being able to do as I please, but I think after close to eight months I've had enough 'Lucy' time for a while. Luckily in just over two months I'll be boarding a one way flight back to New Zealand to begin a new chapter in my life.

Next post will be coming to you from Turkey. 

The joys of cake

I've been eating some wonderful food in Italy.

Wild asparagus, artichokes with pasta, zucchini pizza, cheese, home pressed olive oil, the BEST eggplant parmigiana I've ever tasted, gelato, biscotti and some delicious home made baking.


I got the recipes for two of the home cooked sweet treats I've been feasting on which I thought I'd share. We usually stop work around 10.30 for a caffe and cake break. (I could really get used to this lifestyle - I don't even need to feel so guilty about eating cake when I've been out doing physical work for two hours that morning!)


CIAMBELLONE
This is a delicious moist cake recipe.

3 eggs
3 glasses sugar (the glass used is a little less than a cup)
4 glasses flour
1 dessert spoon baking powder
1 glass milk or yoghurt
1 glass oil
1/2 glass amaretto (if you have it)

Simply mix all the ingredients together (no beating of sugar etc required). You can also add other flavours before baking - chocolate or raw chopped apple - 2 or so apples - work well.

Bake in a large ring tin at 180 degrees for an hour (cook for a little longer if it isn't cooked at the end of an hour). (Adding a tray with some water in the oven while cooking will help keep the cake moist.)


CROSTATA
This recipe is for a delicious tart.

Pastry:
2 eggs
120 grams butter
70 grams sugar
300 grams flour

Mixed the pastry ingredients altogether but don't knead too hard.

Roll pastry out flat and using approximately two thirds of the pastry line a greased round tart tin (approx 30cm size). Keep the remainder of the pastry and roll into 1cm thick 'snakes' for decorated the top of the tart.

Filling:
Cover the pastry with a good quality jam. Any flavour will do, but ideally it should be homemade! You can also add ground walnuts (hazelnuts would work well too) to the jam filling. The filling should be about half to a centimetre thick.

Cover the filling with a criss/cross pattern from the remaining pastry. (See photo below).

Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

Buon appetito!

The month of April

Now that May has arrived I can't help but reflect on what an amazingly diverse month April was.

My activities have included: attending a wedding of friend in New Zealand and saying goodbye to family and friends again; exploring Singapore and celebrating the big 2-9; going mud-crabbing in Darwin with my sister (croc sighting included - more on that another day); reacquainting myself with London (drinks in Shoreditch, Borough Markets, Camden Markets, Tate Modern, dinner in Soho, Kings Cross Caravan for dinner, pints at pubs in Tufnell Park and Clapham, among other activities); and now 10 days staying with a family in rural Umbria, Italy, soaking up the sights and smells of this beautiful region.

Three continents in one month ain't too bad!

On the agenda for May is Rome and Milan, Turkey for 12 days, London for 2 nights and France with my mum from 24 May. Yep, I'm pretty much just bragging!

Finally, the real Italy

My first foray into Italy was an accidental stop off in Pisa. It's a long story, but in short, a few hour stop off on the way from Budapest to Albania coming up two years ago, turned into a two day stopover for a friend and I after our plane was cancelled for no apparent reason.

I didn't warm to Pisa and it certainly didn't live up to my expectations for Italy. It was teaming with tourists (mainly Americans on tour buses - not that I have anything against them), the food served in restaurants was frozen pasta meals and breakfast involved packet croissants (you know the ones that physically can't go off because they are packed with preservatives).

My second trip was a much more successful trip to Sardinia with 9 friends for Easter last year. While we stayed at a lovely villa and revealed in the relative warmth compared to London, we didn't really get out and about in the villages of Sardinia. I came away from the trip feeling like I was yet to experience the real Italy.
This, my third trip to Italy, has finally allowed me to get a sense of the Italy that I was so sure was lurking here somewhere. The farm I am staying on is 4 kms from a town called Orte. I spent my morning wandering around the town and soaking up the 'italianess' of it all.

Cappacinos for one euro; locals having their morning shot of grappa; enticing bakeries with fresh ciabatta and pizza by the slice; crumbling buildings; roads so narrow the cars could barely squeeze through; flower boxes; delis selling fresh pasta and olives; vegetable stores brimming with artichoke, radicchio and tomatoes; little old ladies wearing headscarves and wheeling their morning purchases in those funny little shopping trollies; old men smoking on the street; clothing stores selling leisure suits (and frighteningly people wearing leisure suits); vespas; washing hanging from balconies high above; gelato shops; window shutters - my morning stroll lived up to every Italian stereotype I had in my head.

The other bonus which I must harp on about, not a single tourist in sight. Orte won't be in your guidebook, it's only claim to fame according to wikipedia appears to be its prominence as a road and rail hub and some battles during roman times - but for me it was the Italian experience I have been waiting for.

Italian ways

I have made it to beautiful Italy. I am staying on a small olive farm about 10 minutes from a town called Orte which is 40 minutes by train from Rome.

The countryside is stunning. Rolling hills peppered with pockets of bush, olive groves and meadows filled with spring grass. In exchange for food and board I am expected to work in the mornings: looking after 4 beautiful show jumpers; gardening and working in the olive grove. We stop during the morning for stovetop Italian espresso and lunch is an outdoor, sit-down affair: pasta; salads; bread; and cheese (today I counted the number, eight different types of cheese, heaven).

It is a fantastic way to gain an insight into the traditional Italian way of life. I'm here until 3 May when I hit the tourist trail again in Rome.

Lovely London

I have now made it back to lovely London. Despite the weather being a little chillier than I'm accustomed to, it is nice to be back to the English spring (with the long daylight hours) and the bustling city.

I really struggle with London in the winter, it's so dark and grey and long, that it's easy to get bogged down by it all, but spring is a different story as people start to come out of hibernation. The faces on the tube are a little less glum, European summer trip planning begins in earnest, and summer festival/event posters pop up.

While I am lucky enough to have avoided one of the coldest winters on record here, I can't help but get caught up in the changing vibe of the city.

As is always the case in London there is lots on, yesterday I wandered around a Roy Liechtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern, sampled some goodies at my all time favourite, the Borough Market and walked aimlessly around Selfridges.  After my time in Africa, I actually find places like Selfridges even crazier than I used to - materialism and consumerism at its very best (or worst, depending on ones view).  I also partook in having a few wines with friends in Shoreditch.  Today I'm going to take a walk on Hampstead Heath and perhaps go to the British Museum.

London is an utterly charming place when one doesn't face the usual constraints of day to day life.  I love being here when I am free to spend my days at will and don't have to face the daily commute or hectic pace of working life here.

And, just because I can, a few photos.

Just a saying

Not really a post today, but a cool little saying that I saw on a shop in Cape Town in January. Too true.

Smells of Singapore

After a fabulous six weeks at home I'm officially a 'traveller' again (rather than just unemployed).

I arrived in Singapore on Friday. I haven't travelled in Asia at all. The only place I've been is a trip to Bali with my family when I was 12.

I'm here for 5 days before I head down to Darwin to visit my sister. Since I've decided to delay getting a job again I'm on a pretty small budget. Yep, I'm even staying in a dorm room, gap student style.

Arriving here reminded me yet again what an amazing sense smell is. I was almost immediately transported back in my memory to that first overseas trip as a twelve year old. I think Asia has very distinctive smells: the food and all the amazing spices, the woody yet plasticky smell of the clothes, the flowers in the humid air.

To my nose Latin America also has a very distinctive smell, I think primarily from the cleaning products. I remember landing in Mexico City having first travelled to South America some 18 months earlier and not been able to stop commenting on the similarity of the smell.

In Europe the smell is more familiar but still memorable. One of my favourite aspects of a trip cycling around Provence last June was experiencing the beautiful smells of the countryside (including the infamous lavender) all day long.

Finally, there is the smell of home - one of my favourite things about NZ which I mentioned in my last post.

Of course I'm not just enjoying Singapore's smells, the food has been incredible and the architecture outstanding. Due to budget constraints I've mainly been sticking to hawker stalls for food and wandering the streets to fill my time. I've even satisfied my inner planning lawyer geek by finding a gallery (with no admission fee) solely dedicated to the town planning history of Singapore. (The Singapore City Gallery).

All in all, a great foray into the world of Asia.

Home sweet home

Now that I have put a link from my old blog to this new version I thought I had better get on with writing my first entry.

This blog is coming to you from the kitchen table of my parents home in the South Island of New Zealand.  I have been in New Zealand since mid February, attending weddings, spending lots of time with family and generally reveling in how awesome this little country is.

It is almost two years since I left New Zealand on my O.E. (overseas experience: a rite of passage for many Kiwis in their 20s). Since I left in May 2011 I have been lucky enough to visit many amazing places: Central America (including Cuba), parts of Central/Eastern Europe (Prague, Krakow, Budapest, the Balkans), I've lived and worked in London, I've taken many trips to Europe (the Northern Lights in Norway, Scotland, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Belguim) and mostly recently Africa (see http://lucyunderafricanskies.blogspot.co.nz).

But my favourite country in the world is still New Zealand.

So what is it about this country of only 4.4 million people that I love*:

- The space and lack of people.  My first trip to a European beach was in Italy at a beach near the town of Pisa.  I could not believe how crammed in all the people were.  I couldn't lie on my towel and stretch my arms out with touching the people sunbathing next to me on the beach.  Beaches here in New Zealand don't ever get crowds like that.  Even the most crowded beach here doesn't.

- The attitude of the people.  Of course this is a generalisation, but on the whole the kiwi can-do attitude is pretty awesome.  People are friendly too.  When I first arrived back home in February I couldn't get over how friendly everyone was - hearing that kiwi accent at customs was pretty awesome.

- The coffee. I'm back in flat white heaven (although I have to say that Cape Town did a pretty good flat white too).

- The hills and mountains.  It is always easy to forgot how amazing ones own backyard really is, but flying into Christchurch over the Southern Alps on a clear summer's day brought it home to me.  I'm yet to see the mountains of Europe or Nepal so I won't proclaim them the best in the world, but they sure ain't bad.

- The smell.  I can't explain it, but is somehow smells different.  Maybe its the grass.

- I'm proud of how New Zealand tends to punch above its weight.  This extends from our political system right through to our sporting exploits.  In 2012, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand shared the first place as the least corrupt countries in the world in 2012, in an Corruption Index by Transparency International.   In the 2012 Olympics New Zealand got the fourth highest number of gold medals on a per capita basis (http://www.medalspercapita.com/#golds-per-capita:2012).

Of course there are things that I dislike about New Zealand too, (the tall poppy syndrome really annoys me), but for me its home and like so many others I'm proud to be a New Zealander.

*Disclaimer: I'm a Kiwi, so this is inevitably 100% biased.  No apology issued.