Calle Campania

That's where we are. I'm writing this in bed while Wendy gives the little ones tickles before they sleep. We've just got back from dinner around the corner outside a bar/restaurant. We had Jambon soup, patatas fritas aioli con pollo and venison slices with bread. Delicious and the beer was great too. We've just changed time zones back to Spain and it's now midnight here or 11 in Portugal where we've just come from. Oh we're now in Sevilla or Seville by the way. I actually have to think, which city am I in now. I know we've been a bit out of touch again. Same old problem, lack of internet or lack of interest in blogging. It's important to keep up to date though as we're already thinking where was it that we saw the ...

When I last wrote we were in Prague, CZ. We have been on buses, planes, the metro, trains, cable cars, gondolas, trams, driven and had a fun time doing it. First we crossed back into Germany with me driving We got lost again of course. I blame the motorway being closed in Prague where we needed to get on. We went one way then back, then another and back, then randomly found the right road. Part of the problem is navigating at reasonably high speeds without knowing where to go is interesting. Once we were on there was a big pile up and we crawled out of the city. Prague is renovating big stretches of motorway. Europe really is growing and bustling into the 21st Century.

The drive back to Fuerth was uneventful apart from occasional snow storms as we drove along and thick mist which slowed us down. We ended up getting back to Fuerth at about 10 pm after an exhausting drive needing full concentration. I was thinking of Peter Zettinig's advice which is "when you are feeling tired drive faster, it gives you more adrenalin". Hmm still mulling that one over.

The next morning we left to drive to Frankfurt Hahn, bit of a misnomer actually as it's no where near Frankfurt but it's Ryanair's nearest link. We took a couple of wrong turns as it was difficult to know when to turn off. Road signs come up very quickly on the autobahns. Our rental car said maximum speed was 190 Km/hr, we didn't quite reach that but got up to 175Kms. Fast enough for me. We'd suddenly come up to road works and cars would slow to 90 and it's amazing how fast the distance closes. Some people were doing over 200kms in their flash BMW's, Audi's or Mercedes. At 140 we got passed by lots of small 1.3l cars too though. Petrol costs between 1.35 and 1.45 Euros here. We think we've got it hard in NZ with them being at $1.40 or so but that's only about 0.70 Euros per litre. Driving at a lower speed did reduce the consumption amazingly but sometimes we were rushing and paid in extra fuel.

The Hotel BB at Hahn was great and we left at 6:50am to catch the plane. To Faro this time instead of Marrakesh as planned. I'm so glad we changed our plans though because Portugal was great. Lisbon was a beautiful city with various influences from as far back as the Romans. Henry and I went into the Monastery at Belem which has been partly converted into archeological museums. We saw old Roman coins, Bronze age metal work, and how the people there used to make bread from acorns. Henry loved that bit and we plan to experiment when we get home and try out the ancient methods.

We extended our stay in Lisbon as the backpackers was really cool. Oasis Lisbon and Seville are great places to stay. Wendy found them on the web and once we stayed at the Lisbon one we wanted to do it again. Lisbon provided free wireless and for 5 Euros you get a huge meal. The first night we were there Mama didn't expect so many people and so hadn't made "enough food". I couldn't complain though the portions were massive and there was dessert included too. Delicious food thanks Mama, thats not Wendy by the way they have a really nice woman come in each night to make traditional food.

We spent one day having a quiet time as Wendy got a cold and Bella was over tired. We dosed ourselves with a Caipirinha and lemon juice and extreme garlic dishes. We wandered a bit then caught the number 28 tram which goes from hill to hill around the city. Some of the streets it goes down are unbelievable people have to squish themselves against the side so they don't get splatted.

Next day we took an early train out to Sintra to see the Moorish castle and the royal palace. In the garden that surrounds the palace there is a New Zealand section. We came across it by accident and thought this looks familiar. Can't wait to be back in our beautiful country. We are still loving travelling but need to take a break to catch our breath and have time alone. It's not normal to be together with your children non-stop for 6 months. It's easy to just stick together in a new city and not go out alone but it is important to do this too. We need to think about what to do on our return too! Hmm

More later...