Despite our best intentions and careful notes, the blogging thing obviously didn't work - too much going on to find time, not to mention internet connections, to record our random observations. Here comes the last installment in our collection of observations about our experiences abroad: In a nutshell: after Santorini we went to Rome for four days; down to Sorrento and Capri for two; a day in Pompeii then on to Tivoli, with stops in Naples and Florence, culminating in a blissfully restful five days on a farm in rural Tuscany. We did all the requisite touristy things, ate cheese and [View Full Entry]

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We left Cairo for Greece, having to return to Dubai first to make the connection on Emirates. It was a brutal half day affair for a two hour flight, but we finally arrived in Athens with all our luggage and kids. Paul found us Athenian digs ideally located within the shadow of the Acropolis, across the street from a music teacher who had some impressive and loud opera students. Impressively loud. Josh found them irritating. We had one room stuffed with three bunkbeads and a tiny washroom. When you sat on the loo you had no choice but to put your [View Full Entry]

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Up early and on the road, with the comical hope of missing the insane traffic of Cairo. The traffic here makes Dubai seem serene - it's insane. They can fit four cars and a motorcycle abreast in a two lane road and seem to consider traffic lights (and their attendant traffic officers) as decorative. Mayhem to the soundtrack of horns. The driver told us they "Toot and Come On." He laughed every time he said this. Crossing the road was too traumatic to report without extensive therapy first. We made our way slowly out of the city then zoomed to Alexandria [View Full Entry]

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Our initiation into Egypt was abrupt and entirely appropriate. We landed after another acceptable flight on Emirates, making our way to the back of a long and disorganized line in passport control. People cut in front of us but we were so very Canadian in our response - we made room for them. Repeatedly. When finally a merciful officer indicated that we could go to an empty window across the hall it felt like we had won the lottery until a man who was obviously representing a group/throng/mob thrust his arm in front of us waving a handful of passports that [View Full Entry]

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After another marathon flight from Sydney, via Bangkok (>17 hours) we were grateful to land in Dubai. Astrid and the kids were incredibly jet lagged. The airport like the whole city, is under construction. We had to take an infield bus to the terminal. The ride with three jet lagged kids was interminable. After finally reaching the terminal we had to wait another 40 minutes to get through the customs line. It was probably close to 2 hours before we were out of the airport. In Dubai we were very fortunate to stay at a friend’s apartment. He is currently living [View Full Entry]

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Today we got on an Emirates flight and left New Zealand bound for Sydney Australia. It’s been more than a year in New Zealand and more than 15 months since we left Canada on a snowy night in January; it seems like a life time ago. There was a sense of finality filling out our departure cards, checking the box "leaving New Zealand permanently”. The last couple of weeks have been hectic and for the most part enjoyable but inexorably leading to this day. I was able to sell the Landcruiser for $28,000 NZD - a very acceptable price. It was [View Full Entry]

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After leaving the caves at Waitoma, we stopped off outside of Auckland to break up our trip to the Bay of Islands (a vacation hotspot a couple of hours north of Auckland). We stayed in a Top 10 Holiday Park in Manukau. In the past this chain of parks has been a very good value, with simple, but clean accommodation with a kitchenette and laundry facilities. At this particular location we actually stayed in a trailer home. It was fine for the night, but it is hard to imagine how families live in these modest accommodations. I tried to emphasis the [View Full Entry]

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We left Raglan on Monday morning, and before heading to the Bay of Islands North of Auckland, we took a side trip to Waitomo. This area is renowned for its limestone caves and glow worms. Having seen plenty of glow worms and caves on the South Island, I can’t say that we were all that psyched to see more, but it was more or less on the way. On the way into town, we happened upon the “Shearing House” where they shear rabbits rather than sheep. How could we resist? The bunnies are angora (long silky hair) rabbits from Rottweiler German. [View Full Entry]

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We spent a fine weekend at the beachside resort town of Raglan where we hooked up with another touring medical family (a neuroradiologist and his family from Arkansas who are currently living and working in Tauranga Bay). We actually “met” through our travel blog. While most of conversations involved the positive aspects of our experience, we were also able to share some of our “frustrations”. Talking about our common experiences with another North American family was somehow cathartic, whether it was the joys of low electricity prices and large dryers, or the bewild [View Full Entry]

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Our travel blog is back! It is amazing how fast our year in Reefton has gone. The last few months have simply flown by for us all. February was jammed packed with work, farewells and packing. I will try to go back and fill in some of the blanks on the blog, but for now we are back on the road again. On the way out of Reefton, we stopped at the town sign to take a picture of the family (see accompanying picture). This time we took a picture of the back of the sign to bookend our visit. The [View Full Entry]

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