Lucca - the tiny walled city

Well, what a stark contrast from yesterday. Lucca is a very pretty walled town with only a few tourists in sight. It was a bit closer to the accommodation and down the same motorway as yesterday.

We walked the 4 km along the tree lined wall around the city before venturing inside to check out the shops and find some lunch. We were not disappointed. We strolled through the narrow cobbled streets and looked at all of the quaint shops, we got a little disorientated and had to get out Lonely Planet to find our way back to the car, fortuitously we stumbled across a bakery just as Finn was falling to sleep. We bought some tasty morsels including some canolli's. I have wanted to try one of these Italian sweets ever since I saw them on the Cake Boss TV programme. A deep fried hard shell containing a chocolate mouse like filling, what could be wrong about that?! A really lovely day. Culinary high of the day - a spinach feta quiche/pie thing with short crust pastry, yum!

Off to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa

I never thought that I would ever see the famous tower, as it is a bit off the beaten track. It was a short hours drive from the holiday park where we are staying.

We parked the car and headed towards where we thought it was, then we saw the tour buses and tour group so we guessed we were headed the right way. Who thought finding to tower would be difficult. Then I looked up and I could see the top of the tower. It really was on a lean. That first sighting of such an iconic feature always surprises me, it is almost magical. it is a bit like 'wow it really does exist!' We knew we were getting closer as there were more and more crowds. We then had to run the gauntlet of tacky tourist stalls before entering the grounds where this beautiful building stands.


The tower is magnificent but the hoards of tour groups is very unpleasant. This is the reason why I try to avoid tourist hot spots if at all possible. It is not the tourists that I dislike. (actually that is a lie, I really dislike the stereotypical loud brass American tourists) But it is the tacky tourism stalls and the guys who hunt you down to try and sell you fake watches and sunglasses. I hate it! So to be honest, I am glad I got to see this iconic cultural feature but I wouldn't have been too upset if I had missed it and the tacky tourism either. Pisa really is a one hit wonder town, the remainder to the town is as unremarkable as the leaning tower is remarkable. Culinary high of the day - dinner including the yummy tomatoes and feta.

New house

We have moved apartment recently, to a new place out in the suburbs. Our old place at the Beacon was a very nice pad in the city but didn't really have the space for the impending arrival of junior. So for a little more pain in the wallet, we have scored a three bedroom place with heaps of room to spread out. I think Singaporean's are a bit adverse to older condos (old: read about 15 years) but this suits us fine. All of the new developments around town offer far less floor space and you are usually perched on some high floor, with few other other skyscrapers.

Here are some photos of the new place and neighbourhood.

Hanging in Hong Kong

After three weeks of recovery, we booked a short week trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a reputation as being the big competing brother to Singapore so we thought we better go and check it out. Plus it is only a short and cheap 3 hour flight from Singapore on Jet Star.

As usual we scored a good last minute accommodation deal on http://www.wotif.com/ in a nice part of town. We stayed in Hong Kong Island in a area called Wen Chai. About two MTR stops from Central Hong Kong and the business district.

The first few days were a struggle with torrential monsoon rain, we didn't do much exploring. We did find a nice mall with a series of great restaurants which kept us occupied for the first few nights. We didn't manage to eat much local fare, but did try a ribs place, gastro pub and trendy Vietnamese place.

We did a few touristy things including Ocean Park and a trip on the Cable Car up to Victoria Peak. Ocean Park is a local version of Disneyland, but with a wildlife slant. We saw a few pandas inside big enclosures, a big aquarium with a good array of tropical fish and then rode on some of the rides. The park is perched on the end of a mountain, which juts out into the ocean. The rollercoasts are perched on the edge of the cliff which makes both of them a little more exciting.


The view from the Hong Kong waterfront is one of the most amazing urban vistas in the world. We are lucky to get two clear nights. On the Wednesday night we rode to the top of Victoria Peak, along with a few thousand Chinese tourists from the mainland. On Thursday night we caught a cab across the harbour to Kowloon and the tourist mecca. After a nice dinner in some burger place we caught the night light show spectacular.

View from Kowloon across the harbour to the Hong Kong skyline.

View from Victoria Peak down and across Hong Kong, towards mainland China.

Overall Hong Kong was a chaotic, steroid pumped version of Singapore. The main difference is that is feels like a city of the edge of booming China, with lots of wealth and luxury cars. The shops and transport all seemed pretty similar but the city is crammed onto the coast of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and it feels dominated by the skyscapers. Singapore has a nice and accessible waterfront which Hong Kong is currently building in the midst of a new reclamation project.

Hanging in Vietnam

We are on school holidays at the moment so enjoyed a quick trip to Vietnam last week. We found cheap air tickets with Tiger Air a few months ago so headed away with four other friends. We began with a few days immersed in the chaos of Ho Chi Minh City, whilst staying in a small guest house in the centre of town. Ho Chi Minh is a bustling place with around 7 million Vietnamese people and about the same number of scooters. With recommendations from our work colleagues, we found a few excellent places to eat. A French/Moroccan place, an alfresco barbecue restaurant and a one very vietnamese place with authentic local cuisine. The tourism side of the city was a bit disappointing, we visited the historic centre of town where a tank busted through the gates of the palace to reunite North and South Vietnam in the late 1970's. On the last morning we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels to the north which was a little dull.


We then moved on to a quaint place called Hoi An in central Vietnam, via a flight to Denang and then a 30 minute taxi ride south. The coastline from Denang to Hoi An is a long line of newly built resorts, Greg Norman golf courses and other foreign owned investments. It is a unique juxtaposition to see the poverty and traditional long houses on the opposite side of the road to the glam and manicured lawns of the resorts. Nevertheless we dived off the main road to the ancient town of Hoi An, which was once a trading village with French, Japanese and Chinese influences. The town is now a protected UNESCO site with little traffic and renovated buildings. We enjoyed lots of great food in different styles alongside the river (Cargo, Mango Mango), plenty of art galleries and the ubiquitous tailors.



We spent plenty of money on tailored clothes at about $20 a piece and struggled to bring it all back to Singapore. It was good to spend a substantial amount of time in one place. We managed to spend 6 days in Hoi An with friends which was a nice contrast to travelling every day from place to place. Will definitely be back to Vietnam at some time and try to do some of the northern parts, Halong Bay, Sapa and Hanoi.


The rest of our photos are here... http://picasaweb.google.com/ajmccarthynz/Vietnam2010

A preview of our wedding photos

After a long time searching...

After a long time searching we located the piece of art that was the one! This is it’s story:

Andrew saw a picture he liked in Greytown only a few days after the wedding. He apparently showed me it but I didn’t remember a thing, I was still stuck up on cloud nine also know as wedded bliss. When I had finally come back down to earth Andrew and I started our serious hunt for the right piece of New Zealand art. We both knew this was going to be a challenge, as it had to comply with a list of criteria. A= has to the work of a New Zealand Artist. B=It has to be an original C=It really should show a landscape or something New Zealandish. And finally for the hardest criteria of all. D= we both have to like it!

So the hunt began, Andrew searched the internet and I, well….. I went shopping with mum to Queensgate. However, I did suggest that we go the Gallery over in Eastbourne at Days bay on our way to visit some friends. The Van Halen Gallery always has a variety of artwork on display. And there it was…….I saw the picture that I knew we had to have. The only bugger was that it was a print. With all of the generous contributions from friends and family we could hardly buy just a print. Or could we? I called Andrew over to show him, fingers crossed that he also liked it. That is it! Yelled Andrew. I know it’s perfect isn’t it! I am so glad that you like it.

So to cut a long story short. The Gallery rang the artist Debbie Hoare, an Eastbourne local and asked if she still had the original for sale. She said yes but it is in a gallery over in Greytown. So it turns out that Andrew had seen the original over in Greytown. They arranged to sent the painting over to Eastbourne and we managed to take it with us to Singapore all with a day to spare.

Today this wonderful scene of Wellington looking from Eastbourne hangs proudly in our home in Singapore. It reminds us of home and all of our friends and family that shared the best day of our lives with us. Thank you all so very much. xxx