Britains Great!

So the Olympics started with a real bang.  All those who worried that the opening ceremony would be a damp, limp affair in comparison to the Chinese effort 4 years ago would never had envisaged Bond escorting the Queen to the event complete with parachuting from their helicopter transport!  Its appropriate then to give you a little taste of "classic" UK from our 3 week visit which was now over a month ago.

Middle England

It is a common story that those people who count themselves as globe trotters have rarely explored their native land to the same extent as their more exotic destinations and I can certainly count myself as ignorant of large swathes of the British Isles.  A 5 day stay in Ludlow was a perfect introduction to Shropshire and easily convinced us all that there is much more to be had in the local area.  The weather was mixed but the sun broke through one evening and it was a brief 15 minute run to the top of the neighbouring hill from our town centre accommodation to a fabulous lookout.  What more could you want than lush vegetation, an ancient castle, cottages, manor and church spire bathed in golden evening light.  Maybe the St George's Cross flapping in the breeze...that's there too!  Definitely worth the sweaty trot before dinner!

The Barbers

Now I don't normally like selective colouring in my pictures but with an overly sentimental and patriotic blog entry like this, I felt this version was a better fit than the straight black and while.  I did need a hair cut but unfortunately this establishment was closed so I cant confirm as to whether it was manned by an elderly gentlemen with impressive moustache or cut throat Sweeney Todd character, both of which would fit in with the narrow streets and exposed beamed buildings to be found in many a village we passed through.  There is even a trout river in (nearly) every valley, enough said!

Bridging the Teme

Crisp, Cold Carrington

Among Mountains

 Arriving back in the depths of a Kiwi winter, there was time for 1 last tramp before Amy's "condition" may prove it impossible for a little while.  She was as keen as mustard to brave the rather icy conditions and head deep into Arthurs Pass national park.  We had flagged this route as part of a late summer tramp but not quite made it and instead found ourselves crunching over a reasonable layer of snow up to the head of the Waimakariri river, destination Carrington hut.  The wide valley slowly narrowed and after passing Anti-crow hut and the thankfully placid river, one that has claimed lives when crossed in flood.  Soon we has steep slopes either side and really felt in the heart of the Southern Alps.  After 5 hours we arrived and found the hut empty, no-one else having taken the opportunity to make the most of the fantastic forecast.  Being split into two parts, each capable of housing 18 trampers, the two of us struggled to warm our room as the sun quickly dipped from view.  The wood burner really needing the help of some gas cooking stoves and more warm bodies.  All our clothes and sleeping bags (2 thin ones in my case) kept us toasty though and we hit the hay pretty early.

Carrington View

With 2 nights planned, we went exploring up valley on day two, heading towards the Waimak Falls hut but knowing we would not get there because of the snow.  Blue sky and untouched snow made for a glorious setting and a good escape from the bustle of daily life.  A late lunch at the hut was our reward for the mornings efforts and after some log splitting the fire was soon crackling to life early much earlier than the previous day which gave it time to do its job.  It was warm enough and the afternoon was spent reading and playing cards in our mountain home.  An early start Monday morning meant that we could retrace our steps and be in Sheffield for a pie by lunchtime, yum!

The Roche Moutonnée of Anti-crow

Athens in Trouble?

To not mention our time in Athens at all would be more than a little unfair.  With 3 days in total spent in the capital we set to work seeing all of the major tourist attractions that took our fancy.  It is an amazing place with ancient archways standing next to major roads, archaeological remains next to metro stations and above all, the Acropolis towering over the entire city as a constant reminder that the Greek civilisation has been around for a very long time.

Towards Lycabettus

Sightseeing highlights are highlights for a reason and we could certainly not fault those that we visited, the last of which was the new Acropolis museum.  This certainly is a fitting home for such important artifacts and a worthy middle finger to those countries who refuse to return plundered pieces with the excuse that they would otherwise not be well cared for.

While tourist-ville was trouble free, the shops and restaurants all looking busy enough, there were a few signs that all was not right with the world.  Our hotel was in a more residential area and there did appear to be a few too many people hanging round in the streets with nothing better to do; it is said there is currently a youth unemployment rate of over 50%!  The city is obviously home to many graffiti artists with most blank walls adorned one way or the other and the train carriages much more colourful than originally produced.

**** the Police

At no point though did we feel uncomfortable, quite the reverse with all those we came across being incredibly friendly and the majority putting us to shame with their perfect English while all we could mumble was "hello" and "thank you".  Athens is certainly an easy city to navigate, with things that are worth navigating to and I would be surprised if we were never to visit again.  And so it was that after a fantastic 10 day holiday we left Greece to spend a little under 3 weeks in the UK.

Speeding Metro

A Greek Idyll

From our current home, an island stranded in the south pacific, we headed to an island a little closer to "civilisation" en route to the UK for our annual trip.  In the current economic climate, under the cloud of the euro-zone in crisis and several countries on the brink of breakdown (if not anarchy were the media to be believed), Greece may seem like a rather strange choice.  In fact we had booked our flights 10 months earlier when things were not so dire and a little bit of excitement never did anyone any harm!

Glossa Outlook

So it was amid warnings of empty cash points, shortages, potential strikes and riots that we landed in Athens and made our way to the isle of Skopelos without incident and without much sign of any problems.  We met Mum and Dad at the ferry port and were soon in the village of Glossa; its steep narrow streets, tiny stores and white-washed houses seemingly untouched by time save for the whine of little scooters and a web of overhead wires.  Eleni's House became our home for the week.

Smugglers Cove

Skopelos is not a large island and yet it has a remarkable diversity and is the greenest isle in the Aegean.  A little car admirable handles the pot-holed roads as we explored from the northern lighthouse to the monasteries south of Skopelos town.  Of course there was also plenty of time to relax at the numerous secluded coves, empty so early in the season, and take a dip in the crystal clear water of the sea!  Once the hectic day was over, a beer on the balcony with a good book in hand provided ample opportunity to watch the setting sun.

Skiathos and the Pelion