Tuesday 10 November 2009 Depart Auckland for Dubai _____________ Saturday 14 November 2009 Depart Dubai for London _____________ Wednesday 18 November 2009 Depart London for Barcelona _____________ Sunday 22 November 2009 Depart Barcelona on VOYAGER OF THE SEAS - 7 night cruise around the Mediterranean visiting Rome, Naples, Florence, Nice and Marseilles before returning to Barcelona _____________ Sunday 29 November 2009 Depart Barcelona for Sydney _____________ Tuesday 1 December 2009 Arrive Sydney _____________ Saturday 5 December 2009 Depart Sydney for Auckland _____________ Sunday 6 December 2009 HOME SWEET HOME! _____________ Monday 7 December 2009 Back to work - bugger!!!!

6/12/09 Well the jaunt is over and we are home in Churton Park!! Nice to be in our own surroundings. The reality of returning to work tomorrow has hit home as well! I am sure the reality of the holiday impact on the credit card isn't too far away either!!! A stupendous holiday - which has set the foundation for dreaming of future cruises!! We hope you have enjoyed our webpage and we look forward to catching up with everyone in the coming weeks. Aroha and John 3/12/09 The great drought has ended. I was very apprenhensive of the trip home, Barcelona, London, Dubai, Bangkok then Sydney. Not wanting to make a fool of myself - no food and no drink was the answer! We docked in Barcelona on November 29 and travelled for 2 days. On arriving in Sydney I had a glass of milk and breakfast. Having proven that I was almost heavenly in my commitment, I decided I should have a drink or two - readers should know that 3 days of abstinence have now been well and truly obliterated. We are staying at Darling Harbour with something like 60 restaurants and bars within 1km. I have done my best but unfortunately cannot test drive each place before leaving. Yesterday Leon and I went to the Sydney Fish Market and pigged out on king prawns. Last night we had dinner at Nick's seafood restaurant. The food was superb and again I had prawns. Today dawned beautfiully and Leon and I went to lunch - we chose a seafood restaurant - and you guessed it (boringly) we had prawns again. Subsequently we have just left a beautiful Thai restaurant about 100m from where we are. Incredibly difficult to order from people with absolutely no knowledge of the English language. Finally we did and had three main courses of Thai curry - beef, pork and chicken - only the intensity of the heat was different. We ran into Nigel Maddison yesterday and he had dinner with us last night. We have now booked an outside table at the Meat and Wine Company for midday tomorrow. As we have a 4am wake up call on Saturday - Friday lunch will have to be extended. The weather today has been beautiful as can be illustrated of the photo of Aroha and Leon at pre-lunch drinks on Darling Harbour. GOLD PURCHASE HAS BEEN ACHIEVED!! 2/12/09 Good Morning!! Some sleep achieved - and feeling great to be closer to home!! I have a feeling the jetlag isn't all over though - I have been up since 3am!! Its piddling down with rain outside - really not what I expected!! For those who have avidly been following the saga of this journey check out the last few daily reports as I have added bits and pieces and included some more photos. John will get to add a final wrap later in the day. While I managed to get some sleep on the flights home - John really only catnapped, so expect he won't surface for some hours to come yet! So my final comments of the trip are: (1) Dubai - nice, but not necessarily all I had imagined (2) London - very pleased I was with Ngatata at Buckingham Palace, glad I have visited London, but won't be in a hurry to return (not even to pass through!) (3) Barcelona - LOVED Barcelona. Warning - have some basic Spanish words in vocab for when you visit though! (4) VOYAGER OF THE SEAS - LOVED cruise. Might have to become our annual holiday John!!! (5) Sydney - I like Sydney (not as much as Brisbane though), so the next few days will be good to recover before our final little hop across the ditch and drive home. HARLEY - thanks for the email!! Purchases of gold/diamonds not yet achieved - but don't worry, that will be fixed by the time we leave on Saturday morning!!! 1/12/09 G'day Mates!! After a marathon round the world set of flights we have arrived safe and sound in Sydney-town!! We have lost a couple of days and are a little weary from the journey - but we are unpacked, Leon has arrived at the apartment and we are ready to chill for a few days!! So much for the warmth of Oz - it is breezy and we have just had rain!! John and Leon have gone off exploring and I am doing nothing - but will shortly go and find a pair of jandals into which my FAT FEET will fit - the joys of flying!!! In summary we have had a wonderful time, met some great (and not so great) people and are looking forward to arriving home! I have a feeling that an extra case is going to be needed before departing Sydney. 29/11/09 Sometime between late 29/11 and early 1/12 we took some VIP transport (see pic below) from the terminal to the aircraft. You really have to pass through some of these airports to understand how bloody huge they are. For example - what the photo below doesn't depict is that from the Lounge to the point where we got this VIP transport we had walked (and not dawdling either!) for about 8 minutes, got on the hilift (VIP transport!) and then got driven at around 40kmh for about 10 minutes to reach the plane. Late afternoon - Hello from Heathrow So far so good! Arrived Heathrow - John's chair delivered to aircraft door in ONE PIECE (well apart from the assembly I need to do). Out for a couple of fags, checked in to Emirates and now sitting in the Lounge awaiting departure at 8pm. We had a landing from hell - the captain must have misjudged where the ground was and BOUNCED us - it was pouring with rain and blustery - typical England really!! It is now 5.45pm and it has been pitch black outside for 3/4 hour!! In fact as we were flying in at 3pm - all the traffic on the roads had their headlights on and they were shining brightly. Early morning - Ola Barcelona! We have made it back to Barcelona safely and are at the aeroport (pic below) awaiting our flight to Heathrow - just the beginning of the epic journey to get to Sydney!! We had a gentle sway on the ship last night as the Captain had predicted. It was wild as hell outside, but the ship only experienced a gentle sway - which put me to sleep nicely. While the temperatures haven´t been too bad in the Med, we are both looking forward to the warmth of Oz for a few days. While waiting for our taxi this morning at the cruise terminal, we even began chatting about ¨next time we cruise¨!!! Final wrap-up will come from Sydney once we are over the jetlag!!!! Our return schedule goes something like this - Barcelona to London, 2 hours - wait 6 hours - London to Dubai, 6.45 hours - wait 2 hours - Dubai to Bangkok, 6 hours - wait 1 1/2 hours - Bangkok to Sydney, 9 odd hours!! 28/11/09 Bon Jour Toulon! We had a walk this morning around La Seyne Sur Mer (Toulon) - not much to report. Small village (mainly fishing) but it is home to the largest French Naval Base (see pic). I went on a tour of Marseilles this afternoon - the ABs are playing there tonight and it was nice to hear some "Kiwi" being spoken on the old Port of Marseilles and to see lots of black AB gear!! It is the second largest city in France - and was a sight to behold. A selection of photos are below. Between La Seyne and Marseilles (about 45 minute drive) is the Provence province - good wine area! Marseilles is much bigger than I had imagined - sprawled over a huge area. A couple of quirky things that tickled my fancy. Carparking really is at a premium when the authority are putting parking (and marking it out) on the sidewalk!! The Palais Longchamp which is actually a park!! The SMART car dealer whose caryard is on an area of about 15 metres square - why? - because the cars are stacked in a glass tower about 15 metres square and 10-12 layers high (really sorry I didn't get a pic of this - bit it was on the side of the expressway). Marseilles is divided into 111 "quarters" - with each having as their focal point a bakery, a church and a local bar! I guess that is all the French need to sustain life!!!! Bread, God and piss!! We are heading to dinner in a few minutes - and depart the Voyager of the Seas around 8am tomorrow morning for our lengthy return to Sydney which involves flying from Barcelona to London to Dubai to Sydney (via Bangkok). Captain Frank has just informed us that the night sailing to Barcelona could be a little rough - swells of 10ft and high wind. We have to be packed and have luggage outside cabin by 11pm tonight - so will be busy!! Our final dinner on the "good ship Lollipop" tonight meant that reality was about to set in. The ship uses a CASHLESS system - so no matter what you buy on board (excursions, alcohol, photos, videos, etc - you don't hand over cash - it is all charged to your Seapass). Time for photos to remember - John and Deborah from somewhere near Seattle (great couple!) and Ihsan (our table waiter) are included below. Au revoir 27/11/09 Bon Jour Villefranche We awoke to the ship being anchored in the bay at Villefranche with the sun coming up over the village - it was absolutely stunningly picturesque - just what you imagine of the French Riviera. Going ashore today was by tender boat - I had imagine these things would be small!! But they take about 200 passengers. I had scheduled a tour of Monaco and the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo for the afternoon so we had a leisurely morning. I left John at noon and got to shore about 12.20pm and wandered through the market just beyond the pier - some goodies purchased. Back to the pier to meet for the tour at 1.15pm. On the bus and off we set - the drive was spectacular and everywhere you looked you could see "money". Some of the photos will give you an indication (if I can get them loaded). First stop the Monaco Cathedral - where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier's tombs are - and where they were married. Then over to the Palace and some stunning views of Monte Carlo. Back to the bus and down to Monte Carlo - extravagance everywhere. We drove the streets along which the Monaco Grand Prix is raced - believe me the roads are not that wide!! John, left to his own devices again surfed the internet and yet again reports that New Zealand appears to be closed down. We are off to dinner shortly - but will expand on the rest of my tour and add the photos later. OH - one last mention. To our darling grandson HARLEY - stop whingeing and whining that you haven't had a message from us - unlike everyone else you have had two phone calls!!! 26/11/09 Buon Giorno Livorno Today was another ship day so not much to report. We berthed at an industrial wharf and so couldn't go for a walk on the port as the authorities do not allow it. Livorno is the port where the ship docks for visits to Florence and Pisa. We went exploring on the ship as there were decks, areas, things, we hadn't even seen!! Some pics below are of the casino on board and the schooner bar. There is also a pic of me with a Tequini in hand (the night before) - and was before I had tried it! It was like petrol, but I persevered through 90% of it and slept like a baby after it!!! Dinner last night was a celebration of Thanksgiving - the majority of the passengers are American!! Some are VERY loud yanks, but others are quite pleasant - luckily we have two couples in the latter category who we dine with, together with two English women (mother/daughter). Menu included turkey, pumpkin pie, etc BUT the highlight of dinner was that ALL the wait staff paraded through the restaurant and then adorned the sweeping staircase and performed for the passengers (the photo is poor, but you will get a sense of it hopefully). It was absolutely brilliant! I went to La Scala Theatre to enjoy HEADLINER SHOWTIME - the American Dream - a Tribute to Motown. This was an hour of pure musical bliss. It was surprising that the 4 singers came from three countries - USA, England and South Africa - but their voices were from heaven!!! The NEWS of the day is that we are now not going to Marseilles on Saturday. A potential wharf strike means the cruise line won't go there! BUT Captain Frank has arranged for a stop in Toulon - well a village near Toulon. The REALLY GOOD NEWS is that John will be able to get off the ship for the day. The village is (apparently) beautiful, full of markets and about a 15 minute walk from the ships berth. Pics taking too long to load - will get back to them later!!!! Ciao 25/11/09 Buon Giorno Civitavecchia Today is one of the days that sees us remain on the ship while docked in port. Civitavecchia is the port at which you disembark for a visit to Rome (an hour and a half's drive away) - none spastic transport available. Those disembarking the ship this morning were met by ROMANS (pic below). Back to a couple of things from later yesterday though. Pics below show John whiling away the afternoon on the balcony of our stateroom and one of Mt Versuvius in Napoli. We made a management decision that we would spend USD$20 each and have dinner in a "speciality" restaurant last night - PORTOFINO - yes an Italian restaurant. Sorry Linda - but there are more pics of food!! Our waiters Pedro (from Nicaragua) and Caesar (from Peru) were entertaining - in fact Caesar in an earlier life had been in a choir that supported Pavarotti. Later in the evening Caesar gave a rendition of some Italian opera song - which was very good. MICHELE - John said to tell you that the waiting staff were polite and well dressed!!! FRANCO - no need to worry ZICO is still the BEST ITALIAN I have had!! On returning to our stateroom - I was amazed for the 2nd night in a row, to find an "animal" made out of towels sitting on our bed (see pic). The night previous it had been an elephant! I have had 4 hours of indulgent pampering today - and feel magnificent for it! Nails, manicure and full massage - think the massage will be revisited before we disembark on Sunday! John's been on the internet and tells me that nothing is happening in NZ!! We might stay where we are!!! Mike - have you had a chance to look at the website APOD.com - coz if there is a problem we will check with the NASA man at dinner over the next couple of nights!! 24/11/09 Buon Giorno Napoli! Sunrise at 7am - and we docked gracefully at Porto Di Napoli - no mean feat given the size of this "the good ship Lollipop". 17 deg and no wind. We took our time and enjoyed breakfast at WINDJAMMER on deck 11. From here to the guest relations desk to see what we could do over the next few days that would allow John easy access on terra firma! In essence, there isn't a lot for the Spaz. Today we could make our way around the Port area - but as our good friend Mauro had warned us - Italians doesn't like spastics!!! (FRANCO and ANNA - you will be pleased to know that Aroha removed all her jewellery before going ashore - your warning, together with that of the cruise line - was enough to make sure she spent 2 hours removing it all!!!!) We made good progress until we hit the first pedestrian crossing - to get from the Port to the city. And hey presto - the crossing involved a step of around 6-8 inches - too big for the chair! We wandered around the waterfront enjoying the sun. As we anticipated it is not all good news for the spaz from here on it. Rome is about a 1 1/2 hours drive - a drive we would have to do in a taxi - consequently tomorrow is a DAY SPA day for Mrs Thorpe on board - massage, manicure and acrylic nails!!! There are some rosier opportunities to get amongst the public as the cruise progresses. The late great Garry Ward managed to spastic proof his house by having plenty of steps - the good people of Napoli beat him by about 8 centuries!!! This can be demonstrated by the pic below of Castel Nuovo. As predicted yesterday the dinner wine did become a problem. Briefly the delivery man was too late and the second bottle was quite delayed. Mrs Thorpe wanted to return to the stateroom so we had the just opened bottle delivered by courier. However the courier was bloody slow - panic set in and John ordered a 3rd bottle through room service. Yes, you guessed it, they arrived together! However you can be sure not a drop was wasted. Mid afternoon yesterday we attended a wine tasting. It was more like a floor show as the presenter attempted to present in English but had no real control of the language. He began by apologising that there wasnt enough Beuajolais for the tasting and was presenting a red from Canada instead. The next 20 minutes were dominated by a detailed history of Beaujolais wine - but not even a sniff! Finally our host Cellar Master explained the criminality of calling any sparkling wine from outside Reims "champagne". To my bloody amazement he demnstrated this with "champagne" from California. So a bit bemused!!! He insisted on referring to "german" throughout the presentation. Late in the session Aroha worked out that it was actually "ladies and gentlemen"!! CIAO - for now! 23/11/09 Ahoy! We are now nearly 24 hours into our cruise in a ship which can only be described as fabulous! It apparently hosts 3,500 guests, and if our stateroom is anything to go by there must be thousands of acres of just accommodation. In addition there is a Promenade deck about the size of Cuba St, more bars than Lambton Quay and innumerable restaurants, activity decks, etc. Like the frugal travellers that we are(!) we dined at our allocated table for dinner, asssuming we would move further afield as affluence overtook us. However the meal last night was absolutely phenomal, and on that basis I can't see us attempting any diversity. Forward thinkers - as we are - we bought 12 bottles of champagne duty free before boarding. These are held in bond until dinner time. So by my calculations with 7 dinners on board. We will finish up about 3 bottles short. We are currently sitting in HIGH NOTES (one of the bars) overlooking the pools - where wireless internet is available and watching the world past us by. There is land on either side - and according to the map - on port it is Corse and on starboard it is Sardinia!! One of the pics is of John at the 19th hole on Deck 14!! Made a brief appearance at the Ship's Art Auction earlier on - lots of art, lots of money and nothing stood out! EXCEPT a presentation centred on Sonny Liston's hiding by Cassius Clay in 1964. The glove allegedly used by Clay formed a key part of the item. Discreet inquiries suggested a reserve of USD$3,200 - just 3,000 too much. However I could always act for Dino or his rich brother should they wish to make a bid!!! MIKE - go to website www.APOD.gov, we learnt from one of our dinner companions (who used to work for NASA) that for those with an interest in astronomy - there isnt much better!!! 22/11/09 Well - Hello Voyager of the Seas!! We are onboard the "canoe"!!! Stateroom 6604 is more than we could have imagined. Still one bag to arrive - but in the meantime we have found the CHAMPAGNE BAR - SPORTS BAR - IRISH BAR, all one level down. We are about to undertake the compulsory emergency drill - except I have got John out of having to do it!!. Will get back to ya later with some pics of the shitty ship!!! 21/11/09 From John After the "suggestive" photo of me, aligned with a spastic beggar, Aroha sent me to work to pay for the cruise - and the rest of the expenses. However as it recorded (pic) the return wasn't worth a pinch of salt. Instead of being attentive, I was assertive, and consequently came out broke. There was far better news in the evening when we decided to celebrate our friend, Dermot's wedding in Wellington. Clearly we couldn't be there but our thoughts were with the bridal couple. Despite a long lecture from me early in their association, the wedding went ahead. It was sad that we couldn't partake in Dermot's undoubted hospitality. However instead we booked into the Attic, probably Barcelonas best restaurant. The pic shows us toasting the new couple and Dermot will be pleased to know the bill is on its way. As you can tell from the photo - together with tea, coffee and chocolate - you can get Jagermeister and Brandy in Barcelona with breakfast!! From Aroha You will be able to tell that I have been really taken with the people art (another pic today of a John Wayne replica). Saturday on the rambla(s) is huge - there are thousands of people - everywhere!! Despite this we made our way through the streets, looking for souvenirs and for pressies from Barcelona. To those of you who are expecting NEW BABIES in the 'family' (Matthew/Fiona, Zanotto's and Alissa/Jason) - I could have bought suitcases full of 'stuff' today - but showed some restraint!! The shopping largely achieved (I still haven't got anything!!) - off to the Sports Bar John had found yesterday in the vane hope we would be able to see the ABs. BUT - football (soccer) is the game of Spain - so no luck - there were about 6 games of live football on though. Back to the hotel room and Radio Sport commentary through the internet - which as a fall back position wasn't too bad! Still no steinlager either - although after sampling the San Miguel tonight, I can vouch for the fact that it is pretty close!!! We head off on our cruise tomorrow - yippee - we are both really looking forward it to. 20/11/09 Another day as a tourist in Barca! John had taken himself off down La Rambla yesterday (remember the peep show!!) and told me there was nothing to see beyond the end - I believed I knew better and headed us in that direction. Past lots more street art (another example below) and people who will draw you for a price! At the end of La Rambla is the Barcelona Colon (pic) a magnificent piece of art. Just beyond that is Rambla del Mar (see pic) - this is a massive commercial/sporting centre that has been built over the sea and includes restaurants, shopping centre, IMAX cinema, etc. In the sea are a couple of pontoons (see pic of one) which are eye catching! Another thousand miles walked - so lunchtime - which was enjoyed at el chipiron. We are yet to find bad food or wine. Unlike our earlier experience with fractions in this city (remember the wine measures) today we found that 1/2 means 1/2 - when John ordered half a chicken - it was more like the size of a turkey!!! I had some great grilled prawns! Sustained, it was time to head back to the hotel and again go our separate ways - me to do another turistic tour (in the opposite direction) and John wanting to catch up NZ news on the internet and see if he could find somewhere for us to watch the ABs tomorrow. The tour took about 2 hours through main parts of the city and some back streets as well!! Examples of Gaudi's work are Casa Batllo (pic with reptile skin roof!) and another building further up the road (pic with fascinating balcony art!) The key to todays tour was a visit to Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's Dream! While construction started late in the 19th century it is still under construction today!!! It is magnifique (see the pic). Today construction is funded by churchgoers, devotees and tourist revenue. When Gaudi died in 1926 only one tower was completed - today there are about 6. The only other site to rate a mention was Futbol Club Barcelona - I didn't leave the bus - but the complex is massive. The stadium holds just short of 100,000 and there are stalls on the street (see pic) selling the club wares (but the wares can be got at every second shop throughout the city as well). QUIRKY THING - I have come to the conclusion that Spaniards are hypochondriacs!! Every 3rd shop front is a FARMACIA!! John had success in finding a SPORTS BAR late in the day - but he is not sure if we will be able to see the ABs. We need to confirm the time of game (mid-afternoon we believe!) 19/11/09 TITBITS John's chair took a bit of a battering on the way to Barcelona - which meant I had to do some running repairs!!! Somehow, the joystick unit that John uses to drive the chair had been smashed off its rail! Thank god we had made sure I had some basic tools in my handbag. Driving the chair was precarious - as John held the unit in one hand and drove it with the other!!! Never mind the drama of getting a taxi - but the vehicle that turned up was probably the best set up I have seen - it was a run of the mill car (not sure what make), with a lowered pit in it and fold out ramps. Along with John the taxi could accommodate 4 other passengers. I was surprised at the number of amputees (single and double) that I saw today. They were all beggars. In fact I was surprised at the number of beggars full stop! NIGHT We've been to dinner at ATTIC - which is a few doors down from our hotel (and was recommended by Maitre'd of La Botiga). Some will recall the lift experience we had a few years back in Wellington - well we had the same experience in Barcelona!! Into the lift and sent to first floor, but the doors wouldn't open!! It only took about 30secs for me to press the (panic) BELL - to my surprise it only took about 30 secs to hear a female voice on the other side - and the only words I understood amongst many was UNO MOMENTO!! After a couple of minutes I again pressed the bell - and hey presto the door was opened! Lesson - take the service lift!!! That aside it was a very nice restaurant - and Rana you will be proud of John, he now reads the dessert menu FIRST!! I appreciated being able to read a menu which was in English - but I was mortified by one particular item - Asparagus with tempura and romesco scum!!!! The poor waiter (who spoke very good English) when asked what romesco scum was, replied "I understand what it says, but it is a foam sauce"!! Another Catalonia bubbles was tried - this time a 21.95 euro bottle - called Praxet! Very smooth. DAY Two keen tourists attacked Barcelona! It was refreshing the way that this non-tourist city waited for us without being pushed in our faces. Out of the hotel about 50 metres to the junction known as Placa de Catalunya - where a massive roundabout(park) is located. Steps were everywhere so I abandoned John for photo opportunities. He being the brave soul he is, took himself off to find a spastic entrance. Some 5 mintues later - he found his mummy - see pic!! With John in tow again, it took very little time for him to introduce himself to a fellow spaz! The photo shows the cordial meeting where a change of vocations was discussed. After learning of the life of a beggar - and despite the fact John had twice the other blokes assets - John decided he lacked the energy to create a new career path. Even keen tourists must stop for refreshments. The first stop was at Matamala - where Aroha was to have caffe latte and I was to have "piss" - to my astonishment(!) I was delivered a bottle of chocolate in a coke like bottle!! I fought back - and drank the chocolate!! It drove home a message for me - if our friends in NZ with GUSTO are serious with expansion they should come here and see how they sell hot chocolate in a bottle - Mauro!!! The serious refreshment stop at LaBotiga. Had a great meal in beautiful surroundings. At the same time we learnt a very important lesson. There house wine (champagne) called LaBotiga costs 10.60 Euro per bottle! We compare that with the previous evening where we paid 57 euro for a bottle of Moet. Our conclusion was thast the house champagne made in Catalonia was at least as good as certainly had a commercial attraction. Whilst on the subject of wine we should report that after asking a maitre'd on the previous day - it was explained that 3/4 meant a full bottle and 3/8 meant half a bottle. Please explain! Refreshed from lunch we attacked the Rambla Catalunya. It is another huge boulevard, equivalent to some nine lanes across. In the centre there is the equivalent of 7 lanes of pedestrian traffic and kiosks while one outside lane each way travels in opposite directions. A massive complex which virtually splits the city in half. The width of the street can be seen in the photo with the roundabout full of boys piddling! We decided to have a short adjournment at the hotel so we could prepare to 'go our separate ways' for the remainder of the afternoon. Aroha on a turistic bus trip and John in search of a hotel that he could get into! A couple of pics from the bus trip show an ugly colour statue thing and one of the many museums in the city. On exiting the bus at the wharf to make my way up La Rambla to find Mr Thorpe - there were some sights to amaze. The first was a particular shop front (Im not telling you which one - you can guess) I sort of expected to locate him in!!! The people art in La Rambla are bloody amazing - a couple of pics below show them. John reports that his solo venture was a waste of space. The first door he approached was the PEEP SHOW, he was keen, but lacked the balls (Rana) to go through the door!! Also he went to a rip off cafe for a couple of San Miguels (pints) - as he was exiting he found 2 whining Poms complaining - to him - of the price of their beers. He worked out (accurately) that they had paid just double what he had paid. He thought it was a fair deal and told them to relax! 18/11/09 Ola Barcelona! We have made it from London to Barcelona. A 2 hour flight passed quickly. The Barcelona arrival was less than perfect starting when the hi-lift plucked us from the plane and delivered us to a terminal door that was securely locked. After numerous radio calls by our helpers we were reluctantly let in! By this stage there was no hold up at the baggage area - the bags were on a stopped conveyor belt at the end of the hall. Then our command (or rather lack) of any Spanish was rammed home when we couldn't get a taxi to answer our calls. Two hang ups resulted in Mrs Thorpe accosting an executive of a taxi company who kindly made the call for us. Arrival on the tarmac was 2pm - we left at the airport at 5pm!!! When the taxi did arrive - it was a very nice young Spanish chap - who delivered us without incident to Hotel Rivoli Ramblas. To room, unpacked and off on our first adventure in La Rambla - a boulevard that must be about 3km long. Weather is pleasant - temperature on arrival today was 22 - down to about 20 now (930pm). We look forward to giving a more full report tomorrow 17/11/09 WHAT A DAY!! ONE I WILL NEVER FORGET!! (This is a long read) EVENING The end to this day was a dinner hosted by a friend of Ngatata at MURANO restaurant in Mayfair - which just happens to be one of GORDON RAMSAY's!!! The food and wine were superb - with prices to match no doubt! No tantrums from the kitchen like the TV shows - but I was confident I could have given him a run for his money if need be! Winos will appreciate that the 2nd least exoensive Champagne on the wine list was Bollinger - and this was the wine of the evening!! This set me up well to return to the hotel and pack for an early departure from the hotel in the morning - its off to Barcelona and Las Ramblas!! MORNING It has been my privilege today to accompany Ngatata to Buckingham Palace where he was invested by HRH The Prince of Wales. Anything you may hear or assume about Royalty or the establishment goes nowhere near what I have experienced today. I am not a royalist - but I am still gobsmacked and lacking in a way to describe the pomp, ceremony, history, grandeur and absolute opulence of Buckingham Palace. It was (and still is) overwhelming. Armed with ticket and ID we rocked up to the gates of BP where you go through a security check by British Police Officers (they just check that you look something similar to your ID!) Then you make your way across the courtyard, through an archway and into the inner sanctom of BP. Across the inner quadrangle and to the red carpeted steps of the Palace you are hit with the splendour of the place. Up the steps into the Palace and then the pomp, history and grandeur hits you. Up some more steps to cloakrooms off to each side (where cameras and cellphones have to be deposited). You then head for the Grand Ballroom along a corridor where age old artwork and china line the walls. There are pictures of earlier royal generations - for example Queen Victoria as a child - these things are like 6 to 8 feet square! Ahead of you is obviously the ballroom - opulent is the only word to describe it. There are 6 ginormous chandliers hanging from the roof - god only knows what they would be worth! Never mind the two huge paintings on the two main walls - which must be about 12 foot square! On entering the ballroom a selection of music is being played by the Orchestra of the Band of the Blues and Royals. After a brief time the pomp and ceremony is explained including that God Save the Queen will be played at the beginning and end and you should stand when Prince Charles enters the room and remain standing until he "bids" you to sit, there should be no applause, etc. Then it begins for real. The Prince arrives accompanied by two Gurkha Orderly Officers, four gentlemen ushers, backed up by 5 Yeoman, the Lord Chamberlain and a couple of other hanger ons!! Ngatata receives the highest award of the investiture so is the first recipient of 105 to receive awards today. One and a half hours later it is all over, God Save the Queen is played, the Prince departs, the crowd mingles and its off out to get some official photos!! I was also my pleasure today to meet Bruce's sister - Deborah. Her and I were equally in awe of the whole thing. GIN JOINT! Of all the gin joints in all the world - John Paki chose the Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, as our London Residence. So while Aroha visited Charlie, I was left in the bar. My research revealed that Paki had booked us into the world's most infamous killing joint! Barman, Nobby Anbrade, confirmed he had been the target of the world news media in November 2006. Even I recall the hideous killing of Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, on November 1, 2006. After Alex died late in the month Scotland Yard opened a huge inquiry. In short they tracked Alex back to the Pine Bar in our hotel (pictured) where he had been sprayed liberally with Polonium 210. Russia is regarded as the international source for the spray. To keep things brief Alex rotted away from the inside over two weeks until his death on November 23. During this time he made numerous TV appearances, blamed the Russian government, etc. However, as our friend Nobby pointed out there would have been hundreds of easier ways to get him direct rather than affecting the entire hotel and over 1,000 guests. It appears that Mrs Alex and "associate" were untouched by the spray thanks to some medical preparation. The associate went back to Russia where he was almost immediately appointed as a prominent ruler. So you can understand why guest numbers have been down, why cabs are reluctant to go down the street, and why John Paki chose the venue for us! Thanks JP! Photo is of Nobby in the Pine Bar. 16/11/09 Another one of those 'tickle your fancy' things - laundry is returned from the hotel service looking like you have just purchased it from a shop (like one of the top end shops to boot)!! For example, men's shirt is pressed, beautifully folded, carbdoard stiffener inserted, clips placed in strategic places to hold together and individually packaged in cellophone bags! Then delivered to you in a beautiful reuseable 'handbag' Well we have been shopping and most of you know I'm not a shopper of any repute, but I at least put my feet into shops such as Marks & Spencer, Selfridges (pic below) and John Lewis - all being huge department stores. I managed to walk past ALL the (real) jewellery shops!! In fact the only people to benefit (of any real substance) from the 3 MILE walk were Mr Thorpe and Mr Thorpe's sister. When John had had enough we managed to find ONE (among lots) of pubs that he could get into! Surprising the majority of pubs have steps - so finding one was no mean feat! Still no Steinlager - but FOSTERS/STELLA have been an adequate substitute! Half pint of Fosters at the Spread Eagle today cost one pound 60. We were in Oxford Street at lunchtime and the number of people and double decker buses was amazing (pic below)! Negotiating the streets of Mayfair with the powerchair for John has its challenges - cobblestones (bit rugged on the bum), abrupt end to kerbs that can be traversed by the chair, not knowing what direction traffic is coming from to watch for,etc. But that hasn't stopped us going, seeing and doing!!! I've included a photo of our hotel - Millennium Mayfair which is over the road from Grosvenor Square. The hotel has the flags flying from it. EARLY REPORT - quirky kind of things I have forgotten to include elsewhere: (1) Forget 12-ply toilet paper, its about 48-ply at our hotel (London)!! (2) The 'best' thing about the colder climate of London is that I don't have 'fat ankles' anymore!! (3) Still not over John's powerchair being lifted onto a trolley at Heathrow and left precariously balanced!! (4) Afternoon tea is a REAL thing here - with tea and scones - I thought it was a sort of "take the piss out of the poms" thing - but everywhere seems to have it!! (5) Having staff at the Dubai hotel say YES to everything, even when the answer should have been no!! (6) I am really struggling with the time changes - but John seems to have it under control! (7) A local pub down by the Tower of London - called, wait for it - THE HUNG, DRAWN AND QUARTERED (I'm not lying, I took a photo - see below!!) (8) How friggin short daylight hours are in England - starts getting dark at 4-4.30pm and doesn't come daylight until around 7.30-8am - Can't imagine what it is like in the depth of winter!!! John has promised to take me shopping down New Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street today - our trip could be over today and see us heading home!!! Im off to shower and await breakfast delivery - I need sustenance for the day ahead!!! 15/11/09 Hello London! (NOTE: If anyone sees John Paki - can they please tell him THANK YOU VERY MUCH from John and me! He will know what it means.) All of us from primary school onwards have been berated by the history of London. It has been boring, exaggerated and frankly incredible. Therefore Mr and Mrs Thorpe undertook the usual rounds to collect the "real deal". We apologise if this offends any of your preconceived almost religious understandings! Trafalgar Square has to be one of the most beautiful tributes on the globe. We all knew about Lord Nelson and how he turned the amadeu around saving the "union" what we discovered was that his lordship was killed by a sniper high in the spanish riggings - surely a cowardly act. Finally we were told that the Trafalgar victory took the steam out of both France and Spain as they planned future intrusions. Next on the itinerary was St James' Palace - it represented the most ordinary of early British architecture. We inspected the site close up (as you can see). Highlight of this visit was that the window above us from which Prince Harry moonied a group of Japanese tourists a few years ago. Down the street - past the chapel where Di laid in state prior to her funeral and around the corner and we were on THE MALL - where we were confronted with the Short Horse Guards. Soon after, Aroha also tripped over the royal band. (However to spoil the reputation of perfection, they were going to a private function - they had to halt for a short time until someone found a key to let them in). We also learnt that until about 6 months ago you could get photos with the guards, but some idiot from Chile (or somewhere similar) got too close and mimicked the actions of the guard, who turned on him, lifted him by his pants and 'dealt to him'. Mrs Thorpe then got up and as close and personal with the sentry (as you can!) at the entrance to St James Palace/Clarence House as you can see below. We trooped back to the taxi for a short ride to a destination in some side street of London from where we were to walk miles, literally!! Up alleys and down lanes we saw examples of age old buildings, learnt absolutely useless information amongst which there were many pearls of wisdom from our guide - Gordon - a gem of a Pom!! We then saw the UGLIEST BUILDING WE HAVE EVER SEEN (there isn't a photo - that's how bad it was!) which is home to Lloyds of London. The brief to the architect was to maximise space within the building - so his answer was to put all services on the outside of the building - so it is a mass of pipes, etc - we can't imagine what the view from inside the building must be like!! Across the road was the building which houses Swiss Insurance - its the faberge egg pic below. Quite a sight in reality. One of the highlights of WWII was the bombing of London. It was under heavy barrage thst broke open old buildings and revealed a wall which circled central London in a one mile radius in Roman and Medieval time. Close examination of the wall is unbelievable. It shows the original work done in 200AD followed by work by the various invaders and locals, each of which is clearly identified in the structure. The significance of this wall protecting central London became more evident to us later. Next on our walk was the site of ancient scaffold - for those who are wondering why the hell we are referring to the scaffold - it is because it is the beheading site of London dating back to 13th century. Among the many dignatories were left life there in the 1500s was an Archbishop of Canterbury and a John Cromwell (no relative of Oliver). The key to the beheading was apparently the very amateurish performance. Apparently Anne Boleyn asked as a favour of Henry VIII that he behead her with a sword - that meant one slice rather than up to 5 hacks. Across the road from this site was - you guessed it THE TOWER OF LONDON where John (and Gordon) who were left unattended while some tourist shopping was undertaken - were accosted by some mad man with three alsatians dog who gave them a diatribe about disability rights!!! Then was the Great Fire of London. Apparently it virtually wiped out everything! Public opinion said the fire started st the King's bakery. In fact we are told - it started at a commercial bakery which was cooking for the war ships. Since that time they have proudly talked about the bakery in Pudding Lane - however your sleuths uncovered the fact that Pudding referred to the raw sewage that ran down the street in those days. The monument pic below is the Great Fire Monument at Pudding Lane - with some 300-odd steps inside the monument - I chose not to go to the top!!! We wandered through more streets, alleys, lanes, etc until we reached the BRIDGE OF LONDON - from where we viewed the TOWER BRIDGE. We couldn't believe the current of THE THAMES and the filth in it!!! Here endth our version of a brief London tour. A bit later in the day we happened to bump into a couple of Kiwis - one of us knows one of them very well!! One of us is really looking forward to catching up with them on Tuesday!! 14/11/09 Its been one of those days! Taxi to pick us up at hotel was not spastic friendly - so I was delighted that it had turned up 1/2 hour early!! The check-in chick at the airport was not up on all the regulations about wheelchairs - so thst turned into a complete drama. Off to the Emirates Business Class Lounge - and you have never seen anything like it - it is absoutely massive - and opulent. It took me about 4 minutes to walk from one end of the lounge to the other (for - you guessed it - a smoke!). Due to leave Dubai at 9.50am we finally left at 10.25am - due to late passengers!!! Flight not too bad, but on arrival in the skies above London (some 7 hours after leaving Dubai), we learnt that due to a back up of traffic we would be circling for 40 minutes!! Once on the ground, we were then in a holding pattern for 'docking' as the gate we were going to still had an aircraft at it!! The arrival at Heathrow was spectacular, it was a replicate of an arrival at Wellington airport on a bad day - windy (gale force) and wet!! So - off the plane and into the terminal where we were delivered to the "special assistance" desk and told to wait until someone arrived. As you can imagine after some 12 hours I was ready for a smoke and not quite as tolerant as I can be!! So off I head with John in tow through all the right 'short cuts' and arrive at baggage claim to be delighted by the fact that the baggage and wheelchair were all awaiting us!! BUT - and it was a big BUT - the wheelchair (all 174 kgs of it) had been delivered to the area on a trolley!!! It took considerable time to find enough able men to LIFT the chair off the trolley, transfer John into it and head for the outside world. The only really good thing was that GARSON (our driver) was waiting for us, with a fully accessible van - and he didn't mind if I smoked in the van!!! Thank heaven for small wonders. Some 40 minutes later we were delivered to the Millennium Mayfair hotel in central London. I unpacked necessities, found out where the nearest pub (The Audley) was and went there!! Dinner completed (beautiful lobster linguine) - I am knackered and looking forward to our big sightseeing day tomorrow. Should have lots of photos for tomorrows viewing 13/11/09 We have had a very slow and restful day. Nothing much achieved except having lunch at Long Yi (Chinese) restaurant and enjoying a delectable Dim Sim lunch. If you ever pass through on a Friday (only day they do Dim Sim) you MUST try the onion pancake!! Roar Prawn - no Steinlager yet, but the legless one showed versatility and tried some Tsingtao! There is a huge air show here starting tomorrow and the fighter jets showed their wares in what we assume were practice runs today - the noise was immense given we are over the road from the airport!! Well, we are all packed ready to hit London-town tomorrow. We leave Dubai around 10am. The nearly 8 hour flight will be in daylight - and we pass over Afghanistan - so we might see our boys!! As a surprise for John I have arranged a 5 hour tour of London on Sunday in a private hire of a "spastic" taxi. Should be fun!! 12/11/09 Idea of costs here: 1 hour internet connection at hotel 40 diarhm ($20) 1 postcard 5 diarhm ($2.50) 1 bottle of pinot giorgio 240 diarhm ($120) 1 bottle of Tattingers 725 diarhm ($362) From John Left on my own I showed that I can be king - and that Aroha could be proud of me. Firstly, alone I negotiated my way back to our room and tried desperately to get in - except it wasn't our room! The cleaner corrected my error, and consequently I waved my plastic card at our door. When nothing happened I went back to the cleaner who kindly let me in. Ashamed but not bowed, I attacked our TV. After 15 minutes I couldn't get it to turn on! As no-one was available in the area I phoned reception who sent a man from the engineering department!! He on his own turned my TV on - another win for Australia and mankind! When I was allowed out again (many hours later!!) I watched sport on TV live. There was an inter-provincial game in India. A team performing brilliantly was Gujarat. The highlight was that Patel people dominated the 11. And a M Patel led both the batting and bowling. Therefoe Monty Patel of our own Tulsi restaurants still has a chance to pay first class cricket. I attacked the Tattingers evening tonight. While Dino, Craig and their gullible friends had tried the half price deal at Boulcott Bistro - here was my chance to drink as much as I could while still living. Naturally I assumed the Tattingers would be difficult to obtain - however the opposite was true and they poured it, poured it and then poured it some more!! From Aroha Dubai has many things, but some are "likes" and some "dislikes": (1) Like - smoking inside The Dubliner (irish pub) - but no smoking outside it. (2) Like - food! No matter whether it is the simplest fare or the more upmarket, it is superb - although we haven't been game enough to try the CAMEL MILK yet (3) Dislike - there are always "helpers" at your shoulder (4) Dislike - taxi driver around Dubai today! Driving on the wrong side of the road (like USA) and the speed they go at, horns tooting, etc. (5) LIKE - our hotel, absolutely!! I went shopping at Deira City Centre this morning (while John managed to get himself in a tangle at the hotel!!) - just like any shopping mall really. I did manage to come away with a few goodies - BUT NO GOLD!!! Our hotel is set in about 32 acres of land - across the road from the airport - and has some 15 restaurants on site. They are broken into two areas - La Promenade (upmarket at the front of the hotel) and Meridien Village. The entrance to the village has characteritures on the wall for each restaurant which is quite clever (pic below). Flavours of the world are covered with Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, Irish, Thai, Seafood Market, Beef Bistro, Lebanese. I will be able to regale John's tales better when we get home!!! 11/11/09 From John - Midnight report Sports Editor's Note: The eager sporting public of NZ should be aware of a minor matter. Despite the fact that the "big 20/20 game" starts here tomorrow apparently nobody knows. We and the hotel have spent the day trying to find out details and as of late tonight the phones haven't been answered. So much for a major occasion! Despite my intention of "drinking the gulf dry" we have had a modest dinner - due entirely to the price of the wine!! You will see from the photos that our hotel put on a wonderful "welcome Thorpes" meal for about 600 people. All our friends were there and it was a humurous modest evening. Aroha's midnight report Well jet lag set in and the afternoon was spent sleeping!! As we headed for dinner I noticed that John's chair needed a minor maintenance issue dealt with and I didn't have the right tools!!! Off to concierge where I asked for a crescent spanner - about 50 men appeared to help, one of whom said "you need a spanner in the 12 range". Bugger me if a 'maintenance man' didn't turn up (in about 2 minutes) with a 12 range spanner and hey presto all was fixed - that is service in Dubai!! Franco and Mama - the photo of the dessert at dinner tonight is to show you that the Arabs (although many of the staff are 'asian looking') can make pretty things to adorn their cooking - just like yours!! Rana - the zipped pants worked perfectly!! Thanks. From John You will notice the look of deep concentration as I posed with the bags outside Auckland airport yesterday. I was about to set a record unthought of by any member of the Thorpe family. I was to travel across the globe with the best champagne available and not drink a drop (Euan!!). Further there was a one hour delay in Sydney airport where once again not a drop was touched. In addition, no biscuit or bread roll was consumed during the 20 hour period. Not being one to tell tales, that more than made up for Mrs Thorpe's contribution from Sydney to Dubai when - amongst other things - she consumed very hefty G&Ts before breakfast!!! Now at 9am on Wednesday I have just discovered there is an Irish bar in our hotel. And further the main restaurant this evening is advertising all base drinks one can drink for 16 diarhms (about $8). One can only assume there will be some hefty crying in and around Dubai come morning. Incidentally, we have just discovered that the Black Caps are playing down the road tomorrow night - that is at night, after the sun has gone down - so might be a good opportunity to keep out of trouble. Finally, any donations to our home address would be welcome, as you can see by the accommodation photos we are REALLY ROUGHING IT (thanks Linda!!) From Aroha If ever travelling the hideous lengths of the last 24 hours - Emirates are going to win hands down every time from my perspective. The service (on the ground and on the aircraft) cannot be matched. You will see from one of the photos that each Business Class seat has its own bar area and together with the lie flat bed - it certainly does make travelling that distance more than bearable. The G&Ts - were actually just Gs - I can vouch for that confidently!!! OH - and its HOT!!! Having trouble with pics - so you will just have to wait a while until I sort out the gremlins. But below are photos of (1) John at Auckland airport prior to departure (2) The Business Class cubicle on Emirate (notice the personal bar!) (3) John in reception of Le Meridien (the dark photo) (4) The marble bathroom at Le Meridien (in which you could have a party for about 10 people!!!!) 9 November We have made it to Auckland after a night at Taupo. Weather is crap (grey and murky) so looking forward to getting on the plane tomorrow and heading for Dubai where hopefully it will be around 30 degrees during the day with a low of 18 overnight!

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