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.