Guaranteed to be green

Not making the traditional trip back to NZ for New Year celebrations this year we decided to head to Ireland for a few days escaping the city in a small thatched cottage on a farm outside Lismore in County Waterford.

The cottage was peat brick powered and surrounded by green fields with sheep grazing.

When the weather cleared we were able to see some of the sights, and Michaela even got a chance to get up and close with the Blarney Stone - apparently there was a "tingle" ...

M & S



Greek Sailing Odyssey



For this year's summer holiday we headed to the Greek islands for 8 days' sailing from Mykonos to Santorini.  We lucked out with a 50 foot boat that was just one year old - on board were us, 5 'new friends' and a skipper who resembed Fabio.  The days were sunny, the skies were blue and the food was great - we gorged on food, sunshine and swimming.  It was wonderful!  

Mud & Music

After trying (and failing) to get ourselves to Glastonbury for a couple of years running, finally we made it to the Isle of Wight Festival this year to see what all this English festival fuss is all about.  We arrived Thursday night in the rain together with about 50,000 other people to get set up and ready for 3 days of acts across 3 stages.  





Luckily we had pre-booked into the 'Respect' field - which just required us to agree to take our tent home again (!? didn't realise this was an option!?) and in return for this massive concession we got to pitch our tent on some high ground in a dedicated little area (with our little love flag flying proudly - top photo).  However the non-Respecters got the lower ground which, after a solid three days of lead-up rain, was starting to look like some kind of post-apocalyptic swamp refugee city.   We still had to trudge through most of it to get to the stages, but armed with some trusty new gumboots this was not a problem!

The acts were great - particularly the headliners (Tom Petty, Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen - Tom Petty below) and by Monday morning we were relaxed, slightly dirtier than when we had arrived but had survived our first festival.  There was even some sun on Monday morning for our ferry trip home! 



M

Summerhouse Scandi style

At the start of June following the Jubilee celebrations we sneaked off to Sweden to have a Scandinavian style bach holiday on an island in the Stockholm archipelago for a few days.  There was little to do but sleep, read, eat and relax.  

Firing up the sauna on the owners' jetty before an ice-cold plunge

albino snail?

herring and vodka for lunch!




Amazing Israel

The first Bank holiday weekend for the year we decided to reprise a great holiday from last year - a bit of a Middle Eastern adventure for 10 days or so with Angus and Jamie.  Last year Jordan & Egypt - this year Israel, although it was a close call with the Border Agency whether my passport would turn up and we would actually get to go.  Never fear, after an emergency courier from Liverpool the evening before we were on our way to magical Jerusalem.  

The view of Temple Mount and the Old City from the Mount of Olives

Our first night we arrived to stay in our pilgrim's guesthouse in the Old City late, after the shops had closed for the night.  It was incredibly evocative with the golden stone everywhere as we walked through Damascus Gate and wound our way through the cobbled streets.  The next morning we woke to hear hymns floating up to our window being sung by people walking the Stations of the Cross on their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - built on the site believed to be that of the crucifixion of Christ.

Damascus Gate by day

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (above and below)

The Eighth Station of the Cross on Via Dolorosa

The Garden of Gethsemane

While the sights in the Christian Quarter were amazing, the Jewish and Muslim Quarters of the Old City were also incredible, particularly the Wailing Wall (below) and the Orthodox neighbourhood. 

 Leaving Jerusalem we travelled into the West Bank and saw a different side of Israel.  Having seen (and felt sympathy for) the Jewish men and women pressed against the Wailing Wall as being the closest place to Muslim-controlled Temple Mount that they were permitted to pray, it was confounding to see the wall surrounding the West Bank (graffiti below on the Palestinian side) and in particular to travel to Hebron. 

In Hebron we saw armed Israeli soldiers patrolling a boarded up thoroughfare in the midst of 'Area A' - supposedly the Palestinian controlled area - so that Zionist Jewish settlers, ostensibly prevented from settling in the area, could travel to and from the synagogue along the road. Palestinian children had been prevented from travelling to school along the road and Palestinian shops were boarded up and abandoned. This is most definitely a land of fierce contradictions (although many Israeli Jews denounce the Zionists so there is a myriad of different views).

Israeli army checkpoint amidst boarded up shops in Area A in Hebron

While in the West Bank we spent a night in Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity which contains a small grotto said to mark the birthplace of Christ. It is incredible to think that every Christmas service all around the world is focussed on an event happening in this small place.  

We had had such a good time in the Dead Sea on the Jordanian side that we had to revisit it while in Israel. Armed with Moses the musical camel we took a road trip down to the Dead Sea and spent some time floating, soaking and hamming it up below sea level.  

Moses leading us into the desert

Shoreline - 422m below sea level

Also in the Dead Sea area is Massada - the remains of a fortified settlement on top of a mountain where in approx 80AD a Jewish community committed suicide en masse rather than be taken by the Romans who had put them to siege. It is a decent walk up but a reflective time on the top. 

Leaving behind the dry and dusty Dead Sea we travelled north to the chilled out Sea of Galilee with its kibbutzes and organic food. We ate well, relaxed and tried (but failed) to walk on water. 

Last stop Tel Aviv, via Nazareth, Haifa (home of the Bahai Gardens) and Acco, former Crusader stronghold.   We were packing it in! but for a small country Israel has so much to see.  

Basilica of the Annunciation of Mary, Nazareth

Ba'hai Gardens, Haifa

Crusader tunnel, Acco

Tel Aviv was a great last stop - incredibly clear blue water and golden sand right across the road, and a cool chilled out vibe (with amazing food) that meant a really relaxing wind down to the end of the trip. And a great place to spend a birthday!

Israel - you've been great and I hope to be back someday!

M