The differences between nz and Britain:

1) in new Zealand I go to work. In England I go to Christmas markets.



2) in new Zealand our currency is the nz$. in England the currency is the £. I sometimes forget about conversion rates and think I am getting a bargain. Eg £12 lunch does not actually equal a bargain.

3) in new Zealand you can catch a train to Johnsonville. In England you can catch trains to places you've only dreamed about. Like Wales. Or Birmingham (note: I have not been to Wales, that was a hypothetical).

4) in new Zealand you have two choices for winter coats: max or the Kingston coat factory. In England they are everywhere. Which is how I ended up with a new duffle despite trying to limit what I buy so it will be easier to catch trains through Europe.

5)in new Zealand ice skating is restricted to remote parts of the south island and dorkland. In England you can see ice skaters in every town. Which is why I am going to hell. Ice skaters bring me so much joy it must be sinful.

There are lots more differences of course. Like how the tv is different in each country. But I will skip to telling you how I am having a great time. York is my favourite place so far but Manchester sti has a couple of days to win me over.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Eating as donating

I heart Liverpool. I arrived yesterday and fell instantly in love. You need a warm jacket for the weather and coping strategies for dealing with the beatles overload (my strategy is listening to the stone roses on my iPod). But those things aside Liverpool is a treat.


I arrived right in time for an armistice day service at st george's hall. It was actually quite moving, and I confess that like the oldies next to me I had a tear in my eye. War sux.


It is also strangely moving just being in Liverpool. Grandma was born here and I have the address. But am sort of avoiding going. I am being overly sentimental about it I think, which I put down to the worst jet lag I have had yet (only sleeping 2/4 nights I have been in the country plus not sleeping on the flight here - well at least not sleeping much - I normally adjust much quicker than this).

Actually this tiredness it pretty stink. I have bursts of energy in the morning that die by lunchtime. But the fringe benefit is that today I am treating myself with what is rumoured to be a Michelin star quality lunch. Which has the added benefit of supporting my favourite museum in Liverpool: the maritime.



This afternoon, once I finish my lunch, I am headed to explore the rest of Albert docks. I understand there is a beatles museum and a boat tour. I am more interested in the latter. But the former is free. And since I haven't yet got the bill for lunch, I am guessing that free will mean the price is right. And afterall, I have just spent the last half an hour diligently supporting Liverpool museums.

I am such a patron of the arts.




-- Posted from my iPhone

Manx

I am in Manchester. 1st impression: good. No small feat since I arrived exhausted. Hrc though played the excellent hostess, providing a home cooked meal then taking me to the Hilton bar for cocktails. And unlike the first time I came to England, this time I didn't fall down any steps afterwards.

Yesterday, my first day proper, involved a walking tour of Manx. The stationery!!!!!!! I have bought enough postcards for you all to get five each and I don't plan to stop. The other highlight was the food. The English know comfort food. Bacon butties, fish finger sandwiches, apple pies. All punctuated with pots of delicious tea.



We also hit the high street. I wanted a winter coat. There is lots of choice and I have some finalists but trying things on when you have hundreds of layers on is not an exciting prospect. I ignored that though when it came on to trying on my new panda sweater. Thank you top shop for your mass produced awesome.

And I rode on the Manchester eye. Or ferris wheel or whatever. That was also awesome. In part for the view and in part for the unhelpful voice over telling you what you could see, even when you were at the bottom of the wheel and could actually only see the ticket booth. Highly comical.




Today has begun kind of sux though since it is five AM and I am wide awake. And have been for like an hour. Bloody body clock. I am sure today will be aces. Cos it will involve museum gift shops. But right now: my kingdom for two or three more hours of sleep.


Posted from my iPhone

Holiday rituals

When I go on vacay I have a host of rituals. Buying a new molskine. Overpacking. And my favourite: sitting in Wellington airport's koruclub blogging.

This vacation might be the best yet. And it involves the longest long haul ever. Thirty five hours or something. I struggle to do the math. But I take great comfort in two things: the first is the flight control iPhone app. The second is my travel wallet.










If only I had this wallet when I went to visit al in Westport. If I had then maybe I wouldn't have missed my plane by three hours and been forced to pay $350 for a twenty five minute flight the next day.

Also, if you follow me on Twitter (and you should cos I'm hilarious in 140 characters or less on a regular basis) you will already know about how I have a third reason to be confident I can manage the long haul..... Business class. Those years of airnz loyalty have paid off with something tangible at last.

Anyway, they are bringing out fresh food in the lounge and I would not want to miss out. But keep checking back. I am doubtless going to be sitting next to a celeb in business class and you would not want to miss the update.

**update**

Now in dorkland. Zero celebs. Which reminds me how some of my friends met Paris Hilton on their last holiday. Of course I saw Craig Parker when I went to Samoa so I am not without my own celbrity anecdotes.

Also, I am doing lots of stretches and am drinking beer- guaranteed to make me sleepy.

**update 2**

In hong kong. Best part of business class was that the stewards acted like they really cared for my welfare. They basically forced chocolate bars on me when they accidentally woke me up. If only my neighbour Sarah would do that everytime she plays lady gaga at three in the morning.

The downsides of business class are basically related to how it ended. Have to go back and sit with the paupers from here to heathrow. Also - apart from how I sort of got some sleep it wasn't actually enough.
-- Posted from my iPhone

pretty much the greatest thing ever invented is flight control.

this is a stock image. fyi, my high score is MUCH higher than 15

flight control is an application on my iphone that lets me play air traffic controller. i am so john cusack in pushing tin. and we all know, even in a lesser movie john cusack is always awesome.

i bought flight control because it gets good ratings as a game to play on an plane. and i am all about hot tips for in flight entertainment, since on saturday i'm embarking on EUROPE 09.

europe 09 is set to be the best holiday yet. lots of friend time. lots of me time. lots of train time. and not a moment too soon because wellington 09 has not been the thrill a minute i'd been hoping for. on the upside, wellington 09 has meant spanish tapas night at liquidate. my new monday tradition. so i can't complain too much.

anyway with the prospect of europe 09 comes the prospect of more blogging from me. get your rss feeds primed and ready to go. because, in the immortal words of michael jordan: i'm back.

i never blog anymore. mostly cos of twitter to be honest. which is obviously a cliche.

i only communicate in 140 characters these days.

such as:

i am going to melbourne. lucky ahe?

i am listening to a lot of MJ at mo'. esp thriller. reminds me of sleepovers in the 80s.

i spent too much money in the last 48 hours. so much for recessionbudget.

i have a snotty nose. hope i can still get thru border control.

i'm still alive and stuff. just too cold to think out a blog post fully. even this one is squeezed in between dinner and going to a movie.

what really inspired me to actually blog today was kind of jeff buckley. who has prompted a post from me before. but anyway i was watching the amazing grace documentary on saturday night (being a thirty something, having an early night). and there was this excerpt from his diary that was along the line that he wrote music for people who scream down the highway, listening to loud music, with tears in their eyes. which made me feel ill because of that time i listened to cold play and got all weapy.

but then today i was driving home from levin, where i'd spent my morning looking for an open cafe (fyi i don't really recommend the old railway station as a back up cafe) and then swimming in the swimming pool with the coolest four year old in history. driving along listening to my ipod on shuffle, when what comes on but kenny roger's reuben james. and i start to get all weapy again because IT IS ONLY THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME....



the first concert i ever went to was kenny. i was five. for most of my life i think that my father has had a kenny rogers look to him (the beard thing). we used to watch kenny on the tele as a family. and goshdarn it if my parents don't still fight over how my dad has taken kenny's greatest hits out of the living room and into his car without consultation. so i have a kenny soft spot anyway, but seriously a song about a no-count share croppin' coloured man, who didn't turn his back on a hungry white child with no name. it will bring me to tears everytime.