Tag Archives: Holiday

Christmas in April

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It really did feel a little like christmas on Wednesday when we made our first trip to the storage unit we filled prior to heading overseas last year.

This was our chance to bring some of the precious (and not so precious) things we had put away last year, home.

And every box was a new and exciting experience. Our box labeling was a bit haphazard –  as you’d expect when things were being packed a week before heading overseas – so boxes marked “books” contained plates and boxes marked “plates” contain pictures and boxes marked “pictures” contained books.

Hence the reason it was a bit like christmas.

The bad news was that even after removing around a dozen boxes, the storage unit still looked full to the ceiling. Yikes.

How quickly routine takes over

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We’ve been back in our house for nearly three weeks and it’s amazing how quickly the daily routines of life take over. Having said that, in the last fortnight we’ve had a family wedding, my sister staying for a few days and the arrival of painters to turn the house into temporary chaos so maybe that’s not exactly routine.

The girls have settled back in as if they’ve never been away and are back terrorising those who dare to walk past our front gate. If you have seen our dear old Daisy in the last few months you would not recognise her now. Since coming home she’s had a new lease on life – in the video she’s the wagging tail on the right.

Coming home

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Daisy rediscovers the delight of sleeping on our bed

On Friday we moved back into our home. It is almost a year to the day since we moved out and already that year seems like a blur. Since arriving back in New Zealand with five suitcases, two carry ons and two boxes of freighted stuff we have clearly accumulated some more as it required a small van to move us from the home of our friends to our place.

We arrived home with a little more than we left with

It was fascinating seeing the reaction of the dogs when they walked through the front gate. They knew this place – and immediately set about rediscovering everywhere they used to go and the things they used to do. Those that say dogs just live in the here and now are wrong, our girls remembered everything.

Even old Daisy with her heart condition, failing eyesight, deafness and tendency to collapse at a moments notice gained an added spring in her step and sniffed out her old haunts – immediately starting to bark at those poor passers-by who dared to walk on the pavement outside her front fence. I could almost hear them curse “those bloody barking dogs are back”.

As I write this Daisy is curled up in her basket beside me asleep, at peace with the world. And that’s a good thing.

A perfect day

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Wellington has not had a good summer. Apparently the weather has been generally cold, unsettled, blowy and not what you expect from a kiwi summer.

This week that’s all changed and today was a cracker. To prove it, I captured a shot of a young lady enjoying the afternoon sun – her identity remains a mystery.

It wasn’t quite a Tuscan sun but it wasn’t too shabby either.

A wee slice of New Zealand – Part 2

Gallery

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This gallery contains 18 photos.

The drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura which starts through rolling fields and vineyards soon gives way to the rugged Pacific Coast. The area around Kaikoura is famous for its wildlife. The abundance of wild life becomes apparent as you journey … Continue reading →

A wee slice of New Zealand – Part 1

Gallery

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This gallery contains 9 photos.

Over the last few days I have had the chance to travel down the east coast of the South Island from Picton to Christchurch. Along the way I called into Blenheim in the heart of the Marlborough wine region and … Continue reading →

Family advice

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This gallery contains 27 photos.

My nephew’s girlfriend and her sister are planning a trip to Tuscany in September. We have been asked for some advice on where to stay and what to do in and around Tuscany. It sounds as if the girls are … Continue reading →

A philosophical issue – toscanakiwi or not toscanakiwi?

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One thing we are struggling with at present is our distance from Tuscany. The whole reason for this blog was to let friends and family know about our time in Italy which is now over – for this year at least.  As our stories are no longer about Italy should we change the name of the blog? Should we broaden the name to cover, well, our travels in general? Should we continue the blog at all?

Everytime we have thought about this it has made our collective heads hurt.

But, after much thinking we have arrived at a decision. Although we are back home in New Zealand, our hearts remain in Italy, in the sun, enjoying “la dolce far niente”.

We are still, and will always be, kiwis in Toscana.

One of the treats of being home

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After the initial shock of moving back to New Zealand there are some things to look forward to that relate to being home. One of these was the chance to ‘unbox’ my cars.

For those of you who don’t know, I like old Porsches and have accumulated a few over the years. On Wednesday I went to the rented garage where two have spent the last year to check on them. Good news! They were both there (a relief) and seemed in good condition (a bonus). In the next week I’ll get a friendly mechanic around and we’ll start them up.

For a petrolhead like me this is bliss.

Freedom!

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A few days ago the girls completed their quarantine in Levin and were released with a clean bill of health. We are currently staying with friends and the girls have settled in quickly.

Heading home

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After the best part of 11 months living la dolce vita, the Mowday family are moving on. That meant a tough decision between opportunities that have come up to spend another summer in Italy or a return to New Zealand. And, ultimately, the decision was made by the health of our girl Daisy.

At 15 years old and with her heart condition, we felt she only had one big trip left in her and after some soul searching we felt that trip should be home.

That’s meant fixing flights for Jean and I (the easy part) and booking the girls in for a return journey and a battery of tests and treatments to ensure they aren’t carrying anything nasty back into New Zealand.

We also had to find someone to freight back the bits and pieces we have collected on our travels including Jean’s famous Italian vacuum cleaner.

The big question-mark over any planning was Daisy’s health and her ability to make the trip. That came down to a health check a day or two before we flew. If the vet decided she wasn’t well enough to fly, we were staying in the UK. Like the trooper she is, Daisy passed the health check and the girls departed on the same flight as us from London via Los Angeles to Auckland.

Thankfully they arrived in New Zealand none the worse for wear after their 36 hour flight and are now in quarantine in Levin. For my non New Zealand readers that’s a small rural town about a one hour drive north of our home city of Wellington. We’ve moved into a nearby motel so we can make sure Daisy gets her twice daily medication and to be able to spend some time with the girls as we countdown to freedom in 10 days time.