Flaine (France) - 19th to 28th of December 2008

We were up extremely early on the 19th to get out to Gatwick airport for our flight to Geneva. We spent a rather low key afternoon walking around Geneva's old town and waterfront and Ange climbed the Cathedral's tower (Warren had already done this when he was in Geneva in September).

Saturday the 20th we were picked up from our hostel at 1pm for the hour and a half minvan trip southeast over the French border to Flaine. Flaine is 1600m up the alps and is a "ski in ski out" resort where the chair lifts were within about 50m from our hotel. This is our hotel from the top of the beginner slope:After picking up our snowboards on Sunday morning, we spent the week boarding during the days and partying during the nights. We had lessons for a few hours everyday so by the end of the week Warren was coming down the slopes from the very top (900m above the resort).

Christmas day we had a bit of a sleep in after a pretty big night (the main Christmas celebrations in France are on the 24th), exchanged some secret santa presents and then hit the slopes in the afternoon.

On Saturday the 27th we had a few hours boarding in the morning before we had to drop our boards back, check out, and get back to Geneva. We had a quick walk around Geneva before an early night for our flight back to London early on the 28th. An absolutely amazing experience and we are both looking forward to boarding again soon!

December in London - 2008

The chilly air seems to bring out ice skating rinks all over London, so on Monday the 1st after work and a nice dinner we went along to Somerset House in the centre of town and strapped on some skates. Absolutely freezing but great fun!

Given we weren't going to be spending Christmas day with Warren's sister Carolyn and her fiance Glenn, we went over to their place for a Sunday roast on the 7th. We swapped some secret santa pressies, ate heaps and played some games - good times!

On Thursday the 11th we had another Christmas dinner, this time with our friends Nicola and Candice.On Sunday the 14th we went up to Wembley in North London for the Race of Champions. It's a car racing event inside the stadium where they put down two tracks side by side and two drivers battle it out in identical cars. Unfortunately Warren's hero Michael Schumacher couldn't pull off the win, instead WRC champ Sabastian Loeb took out the main event. Again rediculously cold sitting in the stands for a few hours!On Tuesday the 16th we again met up with Carolyn and Glenn to say Merry Christmas and to hand out our pressies from our families that had arrived from NZ. Beforehand Ange and I walked down Oxford Street to check out the Christmas lights.

Ange had her Christmas party on Wednesday the 17th and Warren had his on the 18th, so it was a busy month before heading off to France for Christmas early on the 19th...

Bratislava/Vienna - 21st to 24th of November 2008

Booked only four days earlier, we decided to spend a long weekend in Slovakia and Austria. We flew into Bratislava and had time for a quick walk through town and a pint.

Saturday morning we were up early for a walk through Bratislava and up to the Bratislava Castle.

We then got the bus out to another castle, this one in ruins, in Devin, about 20 minutes out of Bratislava.

Back into town for a real Slovak meal of dumplings with sheeps cheese (i.e. macaroni cheese) and fried spinach pastry, before jumping on the train to Vienna (just over an hour). We had time to head out into town for a few drinks and dinner, and didn't let the snow stop us!

Sunday we jumped on a tram for a loop of the ring road, before making Ange's weekend by spending a few hours in the Christmas markets.

We then crossed the road for a tour of the Hofburg Imperial Palace, the seat of the Austro-Hungarian empire for around 600 years. We went through the State Apartments, the Silver collection, and the Sisi Museum, and learned all about the 16 year old Elizabeth ("Sisi") who married her cousin, Franz Joseph (yes the man after whom the Glacier is named), the Emperor of Austria.

Monday morning we were up early to climb up the tower at St Stephens Church (I say climb, but actually the only way up was a lift!).

We had time for a wander around a different part of town and some food markets. After some purchases for lunch, we jumped on the underground out to the SchonBrunn Palace, which was Franz Joseph's and Sisi's summer palace. They spent most of their summers there, although it looked pretty spectacular in the winter too.

From the palace we picked up our bags from the hotel and headed back to Bratislava for a quick meal before jumping on our late night flight back to London. A very cold, but very romantic weekend in the snow!

Weekends in London - 17/18th and 26th of October 2008

We had some friends, Claire and Gary, arrive in London as part of their four month tour of Europe. We first caught up with them on Friday the 17th after work for a pint and a thai meal.

On Saturday we met early at Westminster and went to the Winston Churchill Museum, and cabinet war rooms. These underground rooms are near Downing St and the houses of parliament and were built to shelter the Prime Minister during the London raids of the Second World War. They were where the Prime Minister and his cabinet helped direct the war effort for the allies.

After a quick bite to eat we jumped on the ferry east along the Thames to Greenwich for a quick walk around and a pint.

Claire, Gaz and Ange carried on to Piccadilly Circus for dinner, but Warren was too sick so went home to bed.

The following weekend Claire and Gary were back in London after a week in the UK, so we met up with them on Sunday morning to head out to the Camden Markets.

After the markets we brought them back to Putney for a cider at our place before heading down to our local for dinner and a few more!

Paris - 9th to 12th of October 2008

Utilising another wedding present - this time from Candice, we jumped on the Eurostar after work on Thursday for the 2 hour train ride to Paris! We arrived too late to do anything, but were up early on Friday to beat the masses to the Eiffel tower. After only a 15 minute wait, we walked up to the second level then got the lift up to the very top. Despite the fantastic day, the view was spoilt a little by what we guessed was smog, but still well worth the trek up. A quick underground ride to the Louvre (again no queues!!) for a quick wander around, taking in its most famous residents, the venus de milo and the mona lisa. Then over the Islands in the middle of the Siene for a walk through the Notre Dame to check out the gargoyles.

Out in town on Friday in the Latin quarter, hanging out with the students that populate the area, until we had to leave to get the last underground back to our hostel. Saturday morning we had a bit of a sleep in before heading off to the Invalides to check out the war museum and Napolean's tomb (very impressive).

Followed this up with a walk up the Champ Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe before jumping on the underground again and heading up to Montmarte to see the Sacre Coeur, a church with possibly the best view over Paris.

There were all sorts of markets surrounding the church so we found some wine and some snails and sat on the grass watching the sun go down over Paris - a great evening. We stopped in on the way home at a spot just over the river from the Eiffel tower for some great night time shots of the famous landmark.

Sunday we were up early and off to some markets (mainly food but had a few clothing stalls) before heading out to Versailles to the Chateau de Versailles. It is apparently the biggest Chateau in France, and from the outside you would certainly believe it! We sat out the back in the amazing gardens next to the canal (basically a manmade lake) for a few hours and read our books until it was time to head back to Paris for our Eurostar back to London. Totally amazing weekend - Paris totally rocks and hopefully we will get back there at some stage!