Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Missing Blogs

ROWERS (except Matt) 2

We have arrived in Rome and the ladies of the city are swooning. We were ripped off at dinner tonight by some New Zealand hating waiter #thehaters.  He promised to be our friends forever and even greeted us with “sup bros “ and “cheers mates”.   We went to the Coloseum today and got nice and sweaty and took heaps of selfies. There was heaps as gold on the ceiling of the churches and the ceilings paintings vexed us to the days with their Soodo-falling  illusions. Ananas juice is top stuff #seeyousoon

The Rowers (except Matt) and Lewis and Sood.

 

Your Train Itinerary

You guys will pass through Bologna today on the way to Venice and then at night you by train in your couchettes you will cross The Alps. No need for elephants any more these days! I am curious what the exact itinerary is for your train journey tru the Alps from Milano to Dijon (famous for it's mustard). Berthine.

Italy (up to now)

Italy has been amazing, much better than Greece I think (no offence).
Rome is a wonderful town, though it does seem very old but I guess that's consistent with other European towns.
Once when a group of us went back to the hostel via the metro from the Vatican, Qinhao managed to squeeze past a (hot) girl and the expression on her face after he had done so was absolutely priceless.
Florence is even better than Rome, as it's cleaner (probably because there are fewer people and because it's Florence). Il Duomo and the cathedral was absolutely amazing and one could spend literally hours looking at the superficial decorations.
Sienna yesterday was awesome too. One could get a massive slice of pizza (about 5/7 of an NZ pizza) for 3€ and it tasted really nice.
There are gelato places everywhere; it's amazing. We've all spent so much on it I'm the past few days.
Hopefully Venice will be absolutely wonderful and "WE SHALL APPRECIATE IT" – Mr Skeen

Couldn't be stuffed writing this in French, but wait till Beaucaire.

Xu


Felix tibi dies!
We are in Florence. It is my favourite place so far. The Uffizi was awesome but the religious paintings are becoming tiresome. The still life and portraits are my favourite. Churches here don't even compare to Rome. Also found some pretty decent shops here. Off to Venice and over-night train tomorrow. 

Luke

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Roma lingers

Yes Fred I can imagine about Roma, it has a very special relaxed warm sensual quality to it with some very friendly and warm people and beautiful huge marble statues and food and all the history right there things from the 1st century still standing in the midst of everyday life. I can thoroughly feel what you mean! I bet your sister feels the same about being there, imagine her she can keep
coming back and back. Watch some movies with Marcello Mastroianni in like La Dolce Vita that is set in Roma, it encapsulates some of the feeling.

Firenze

Is everything still 'peperduur' there? (Use google translate to translate 'peperduur' from Nederlands aka Dutch to 'pepper-expensive as pepper') When you'll come to Venice you can find out why and when Dutch people took on this expression to denote something very expensive.
How much for a gelato?

'a mum' (guess which one :) haha)

Backlog

22 July 

Leaving Rome, I'm really quite sad to be leaving, I was beginning to grow quite fond of the city. Last night, seeing as it was the last night, we splashed out at a restaurant and it was very quaint to be sitting outside in the cool Roman air (for once) eating our three course meal. As they say, good things never last forever, so off we are to Florence, on another adventure! It will hard to beat Rome, it had such character.

On another note, we've had two days of thunder!

From a tired Fred, bye!

Internet Access Resumes

On the way out of Rome. Man this place is different from NZ, there's just so much history hiding behind every building and side street. The roads themselves have been the roads of kings and ones and artists and architects of the highest grade. It's really just phenomenal. The food here's obviously awesome and the whole place is just intact and beautiful, unlike most of Greece which is just a shadow of what it obviously once was. It's just crazy coming from somewhere like Auckland and seeing this massive juxtaposition. It's really pretty awesome. And seeing as we only almost managed to get into one altercation with drunk Italian skinhead teenagers, I'm calling this one a success. Hopefully Florence is half as cool as this place has been. 
Henry L

Missing boys?

Dear Mr Crosby

Thank you for your instructions on the search for your missing son, James. After concluding our initial investigation, we agree there may be some possibility he has been separated from the touring group. We have scoured the tour blog but there has been no posting, nor mention of his name in any of the other boys’ postings. In fact, of the 24 boys on tour, we have only been able to positively identify 15, plus “rowers” (of a number undetermined). This raises the possibility that the tour group may have split into two, supported by the notable absence of any group photos, whereas on the previous tour there were many. Of the Masters, there is mention of “Bucko” and “Skeen”, but no mention of Mr Simento, who we understand was the one nominated to remain behind to search for lost boys. Our best appraisal is the missing boys (and poor Mr Simento) are likely lost in Athens, but could still be in Dubai as we noted a suspicious reference in one blog to boys “getting in touch with their Arabic side”. While you’ve expressed a wish to cancel James’ money card, we recommend you resist this course of the action, at least for the moment as any withdrawal may give a clue to the boys’ whereabouts. In the meantime we await your further instructions.

Yours faithfully

Miss Singh – Private Investigator

 

P.S. Please find attached our invoice for services rendered to date. We apologise it’s more than our original quote, but unexpectedly we had to engage the services of a French translator.

 

 

Martin Crosby

 

T. +64 9 630 1550

M. +64 21 757 014

E. martin @crosbybusiness.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

 

A blockage with the blogs?

We hope Tim didn't spin out descending the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

Sunday, 21 July 2013

Wylie post

Hi Matt

I assume that the trip is going really well. I have assumed that because I have not heard a single thing from you . No blog.  No contact. No request for money. Nothing.

Hopefully you are taking in some culture. You could certainly do with some.  Make sure you wash occasionally and shave your moustache. Drink lots of water and be careful  crossing the road.

We just had 4 days skiing at Treble Cone and now your sister is much faster than you.

 

Martin Wylie

General Manager

Fyran Boats Ltd

11 Reg Savory Place

East Tamaki

Auckland NZ

Ph 0064 9 2731700

MOB 0064 21 376450

 

Saturday, 20 July 2013

Dillan Gosha Blog

Magna Urbs Roma - Dillan Gosha

Now we are in Rome, the part of our trip which I have been looking forward to the most.  The city is much different to Athens and seems a bit nicer than Athens. I particularly like the roads and footpaths. The roads are made from black bricks rather than just flat black tar in NZ. SPQR (Senatus PopulusQue Romanus - the Senate and the Roman people)  can be seen many times on covers in the footpaths. However, this does seem a bit depressing as it seems that when you step on them, you are stepping on the once great Roman republic and empire, symbolising its downfall.

While in Rome, many churches have been seen. All have been magnificent inside, something which the outside does not always indicate. The roof of Il Gesu was incredible and actually looked like people were falling from the sky. The Vatican was also incredible. Photos were not allowed in the Sistine Chapel so we could not take any of Michelangelo's amazing work on the ceiling. St. Peter's Basilica was enormous inside and spectacular to see. After paying €5.00, I climbed up the dome for some great views down into the church and then even higher for some views across the city.

Mentioning churches rises another point. Some of the Greek and Roman buildings we have seen have been ruined by their conversion into churches as I would much rather see them intact in their original state. The Parthenon was converted into a church, then a mosque. Supposedly the sculptures on the temple were torn down because they were symbols of the Pagan religion. The gates of the Pantheon in Rome (which originally came from Corinth) were melted down and refashioned by Bernini into a sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica. The Pantheon itself was converted into a church. I wish that people had respected other religions more and built their own churches rather than modifying the Greek and Roman temples.

So far I have been sufficiently whelmed by Rome. I was underwhelmed by the Circus Maximus, which is now only a piece of grass with stones, bearing no sign of its use as a racetrack by the Ancient Romans other than its shape.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of tourists at the Trevi fountain, the Vatican and the Coliseum. Bucko said that the time spent in queue at the Vatican was longer with the first group even though we were there for what seemed like ages. Also overwhelming was the colossal Coliseum itself. Again I wish it was complete and not destroyed by quarrying.

Food in Rome has been great. I have managed to have pizza for every lunch and dinner except one. The lemon sorbet gelato I had was really really really nice. There are some weird things they put on pizzas which I have never seen before such as potato. Despite the previous run of sunny weather, it actually rained while we were in the Vatican and there was some impressively loud thunder.

Only two more days in Rome, although one is spent in Naples and  Pompeii. Feet are sore from walking around everywhere. For now the Legio Grammatica marches on to its next adventure.

Friday, 19 July 2013

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Do you guys have photos?
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your blogs. We are thinking of you every day and excited that you are all experiencing new  and interesting cultures, cities and history. We are with Sam in NYC running to an itinerary heavily influenced by his Europe trip with Mr Buckingham 4 years ago!! ie. the need for speed - and making sure we see as much as we possibly can :) Keeping enjoying  the fantastic sights, sounds, tastes & new knowledge. Love Mum & Dad


Having been on this amazing adventure through the artistic and archeological exploits of European culture, I'm more than certain that most of you will have no time to read this. But if you do, make sure you stop and go out and experience everything you can. You're on a once in a lifetime journey so go out there and wander the streets without a map or a plan. Because you're bound to just walk around a corner and stumble upon something incredible. 

Love, Sam 

Ps. Once you reach Beaucaire you will go mental with all the down time. So try and keep occupied. Patrick and I built a fort in our hotel room and played spotlight.  I guess you could try that.

From Mum: definitely get a map!!!!! xoxo

Enjoy the Italian food

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No we don't miss you at all! Less worries & drama with sickness, talkback etc. hahaha have fun woz & co loving the peace & quiet here ;)
Do enjoy the food in Roma with the beautiful herbs and do try the spaghetti vongole and I would love to be there for the trip to 'manicomio' Napoli to enjoy some real pizza Napoletana!!!

a mum

Thursday, 18 July 2013

your french Jason

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Hi Jason,

Your French does not always tie in and since you wanted to know here goes:
Je crois que le fait qu'il faut boire plein d'eau sur le vol. means: I think the fact that you drink plenty of water on the flight.??

Berthine

Ripped Off

16th July

I am writing this as we pull out from the Statione Ancona on the four hour train ride to Rome. The rowers are playing "Ruse" – a variation on Cheat – and 500, which they must be quite good at by now. The sun is bearing down thirty-degree heat on the beach-goers, wandering the beaches littered with umbrellas.

We have been resting for the last twenty-four hours on the cruise ship the crazy Europeans call a ferry. The pool was well used by many, and it was amazing to collapse on the chairs in the lounge. I'm sure the bar staff in the lounge was sick of the card games and shouts of disbelief as John and Rahul dazzled us with their card tricks. The cabins were surprisingly small, and as such it was quite a challenge to get things in and out of our suitcases. On the flipside, they were quite luxurious and the bathrooms were nicer than those at the "Hotel Economy" where we had just stayed.

Something we have collectively learnt during this trip is to never take anything for granted in Europe. An example of this is during dinner-hunting a few nights ago, we were met with a deal we could not refuse – a 3€ "Gyros", a kebab with sour cream, meat, and sauce. We found it was a cracker deal when we saw it had been decreased from the list price of 9€. First off they tried to convince us to pay for a more expensive meal, promising us free drinks if we spent more. This ruse did not faze some members of our group, and this quote from Rahul springs to mind: "You can't con an Indian." While we were bartering, they subtly brought out bottles of water, tricking us into thinking they were free. Later on, as Henry was settling the bill we found out that they were in fact 3€ each! It was a lesson well learnt; we sparred with them, and they won.

Another example of this was during the ferry ride; we wanted to try out some of the food on the ferry (which turned out to be quite lacklustre). The list price for a pork rib at the buffet was 8,40€, but Henry ended up paying 14,20€, after being smashed for the chips and bread he had chosen to get in addition which he was convinced were complimentary.

I would have mentioned all the amazing statues, temples, and other things, but there has just been so much, and I would probably put a shame on the history of the places with my poor knowledge. I will say that the very large marble and bronze statues have impressed me the most, with their intricate details of the drapery and of the body. The Parthenon was also quite impressive, it is literally jaw-droppingly impressive, both in scale and architectural beauty.

Now the view out the window has changed to steep hills, with the occasional tunnel, and I finish this blog post. 

Hope you're not missing your children too much yet!

Fred

Food

The record of Mercer iii

To those whiling away their time with less important matters...

Choosing which of the many Europian waiters to follow, while scavenging for a 3 euro meal, on the graffitied back streets of a foreign town is the hardest part of hunting for some Kai. Whether the decision to succumb to their persistent nagging comes across because of a herbal smell coming from deep within their gloomy taverns, the fact that you're simply too tired to walk any further or you like the look of the Italian chick standing outside, the result is always the same. A solid and master chef standard dish. After spending a little more than you'd hoped you move next door and scoop up an ice cream maybe later even feel like you've bargained for a touristy nick nack which you have no use for.

The nicest feeling however is the free reign one has over the super market raking up a sweet lunch. Pizza being the most favoured amongst the bradas since arriving time in Rome can be bought for 1-2 euros for 2 massive slices. Also popular are juice cartons, peaches, chips etc.

A quick update for mommy xoxo:everything fine I know your missing me however this is only one way.

Tristan.

Chaffey Number 2

So far so great, it’s incredibly hot here and the food is great here in Rome! I must admit though I am missing home and all the creature comforts but this place is amazing and we have done a consider amount more walking than I am used too but we have seen some many beautiful and amazing things here so far. What I have noticed here in Rome so far is the immense wealth the Church had in its time, the churches here are simply astounding and there is never an empty spot on the walls to be found. Pizza has been the diet of choice lately and I can’t say that I don’t enjoy it and some of the fruit here is extremely cheap considered to back home.

Washing would have been a problem but we managed to find a washing machine and dryer at the hostel here for only $4 euros for each and split between four it really wasn’t that bad! My hopes of growing out a little bit of a beard while on this trip were quickly dashed by the masters as I have to shave at least every 2 days, a thing I would never dream of back home. Today we saw the Colosseum and that was amazing to see after all those postcards and pictures today and also the pantheon was pretty amazing the detail that goes into the marble statues is astounding and almost lifelike. However the best church was the Il Jesu had paintings on the roof that literally looked as if people were falling down onto us, Mr Skeen says it is the third best in Rome. The highlight today was the Roman forum on the palatine hill which still relatively stands somehow and symbolizes how great the Roman architectures were!

P.S missing everyone back home and love the emails from back home!

 

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Athens by Jason Xu (and good luck with this one...)

Le vol, Athènes et les environs de Grèce (et le ferry)

Je commence mon article disant que c'était bien jusqu'ici. Nous sommes fatigués mais on a beaucoup d'énergie de continuer.
Je crois que le fait qu'il faut boire plein d'eau sur le vol. Dubaï a nous donné une indication qu'il fera très chaud en Grèce. J'avais un Big Mac à poulet à l'aéroport. On était trop fatigué après les vols. De pire si on n'avait pas beaucoup de sommeil. Quoi qu'il arrive, il faut qu'on continue.
Athènes, à mon avis, une ville avec plein de patrimoine mais les jeunes de nos jours à la 'détruit'. Il y a beaucoup de graffiti; certains sont, ironiquement, presque les pièces d'art mais la plupart ne sont pas agréable. La plupart des maisons est blanche et alors on peut voir, sans concentrer, les arbres verts, les maisons blanches et les rues grises.
Le jour avant hier, Dillan Gosha a été enlevé d'une boutique parce qu'il a dit qu'il n'achètera rien, et je le trouve amusant.
La Place Monastiraiki avait plein de touristes et était très intéressante. Il y a des gens qui a essayer de nous vendre des choses et quelques gens qui vient de Morocco. Malheureusement Fred a vu quelqu'un qui a volé quelque chose dans une poche d'un touriste. L'autre Jason et moi avons rencontré une couple australienne sur la place hier mais nous avons raté voyant une personne qui semble d'être sur l'influence de drogue.
Les soirs on était fatigué mais on retourne à l'hôtel les trois jours à environs dix heures et demi du soir. (Mais hier était environ 21h30)
Je l'écris sur le chemin à Patras et je voudrais aller en Italie maintenant après quelque jours en Grèce. Il faisait beau tous les jours jusqu'ici avec pas beaucoup de nuages alors on doit trouver l'ombre d'un arbre pour maintenir le homéostasie et de réduire le taux de transpiration.
Quelques choses à noter: le prix de sans plomb est environ 1,70€ mais le prix d'une bouteille d'eau minérale était 0,25€ pour 1,5 litres. Et le premier jour beaucoup a acheté la même bouteille à l'hôtel pour 1€… évidemment il faut qu'on paie attention aux prix en Europe. L'eau de la méditerranée est vraiment bleue, peut-être plus bleu qu'à Auckland. Le pollution d'air (ou la poussière) est vraiment pire qu'en Auckland. Le paysage est composé des montagnes couvertes avec des arbres largement rond, des pylônes, des usines abandonnées, des églises byzantines, les maisons blanches et, bien sûr, le graffiti sur le mur partout en Athènes. Ce n'est pas si prévalent à Corinth et je crois, Patras. (Edite: non le problème est pire qu'en Athènes) Aussi les voitures plus lentes sont conduites près de la bord de la rue, particulièrement sur les autoroutes. La plupart des magasins est fermée le dimanche et ça m'énervais hier. On voit que Grèce a investi plein d'argent à l'énergie renouvelable, avec de turbines de vent et des panneaux solaires partout. On a porté des lunettes de soleil toujours parce que la lumière ici est trop intense.
Après être arrivé à Patras, nous embarquons sur un bateau qui s'appelle Superfast XII. C'était luxurieux, avec quelque restaurants et il semble très propre. Nous avions des cabines qui a de la place pour quatre. La plupart de temps j'écrivais dans mon cahier et voyais les autres jouant aux cartes (y compris Batoque et 500). Le bateau s'est arrivé à environs 13h30 et nous embarquons dans un train pour la Rome. Ancona semble un petit peu plus moderne mais, pareil à Athènes, elle a aussi un problème de graffiti. (certains sont pire qu'Athènes incroyablement)

J'espère qu'on a des bons vacances, n'importe où on soit, n'importe qui. J'avais beaucoup à dire, mais soit que je ne pourrais pas écrire en français, ou je les ai oublié.

Xu (évidemment)
S'il y a des fautes, m'informez s'il vous plaît. :)


Felix tibi dies!

Lots of fun reading the blog

Thanks everyone!
 
It is great to read through your updates especially when it is so cold and dark here and we are stuck indoors working.  I can just visualise you all exploring and interacting with the people you come across.
 
Pleased you are enjoying yourselves and look forward to the next instalments.
 
Sheryl

Wow - wonderful postings guys

Thanks so much for the postings (and google translate) - glad you are
having an awesome time.

It is 38 degrees at the moment here in Auckland.... Fahrenheit!

Here's a tip: if anyone throws a baby at you, do what Quade Cooper would
do and throw it straight back at them!

Keep the great updates coming.
cheers
Rory

Hotel for the stay in Roma

Transit

Hi all. Currently on the train to Rome from Ancona, watching the picturesque Italian countryside roll by. The bus and train rides have been remarkably pleasant just sitting in our comfy seats, talking, resting, watching and playing lots and lots of cards. Despite Tristan’s and my utter destruction at the hands of the teachers playing 500, our enthusiasm for it hasn’t waned and it’s what we’ve been playing mostly, combined with bartoque, scum, cheat, and even some Race for the Galaxy you’ll be happy to know Dad :D.

I’m talking about small pointless things like cards not for lack of other substance, but on the contrary for too much else to talk about. All the art and sculptures we have seen recently have been amazing of course, although I still struggle to comprehend how long ago they were made. I’ve particularly liked these small figurines of animals and people made from clay that every household seemed to have some of, as they seemed like some of the useless things I’d like to collect and they were all beautifully crafted. The temples and ruins have been amazing, although a lot of imagination is needed to see what they would have looked like in their prime. My favourite has been the theatre at Delphi, as it was an outside theatre with the stage backing onto the valley, so the audience watching would always have this absolutely amazing view down the hillside to look at when the performances got too boring.

My biggest penny drop moment would have to be during our trip to the Acropolis museum, when I realised the Elgin marbles that Mr Buckingham kept going on about were not some very expensive marbles of the kind that a child would play with, but in fact the priceless statues that Lord Elgin pillaged from the Acropolis. Learn something new everyday J.

That’s all for now.

­­­-Hamish

 

Iter in Graecia – Dillan Gosha

After over 20 hours of flying, we touched down in Athens in the afternoon.  On our journey to our hotel many things became apparent.  The weather was much hotter than in New Zealand.  There were a large number of people on motorbikes, often two or three to one bike.   Graffiti was EVERYWHERE, in both English and Greek and some was quite artistic. Our lungs were assaulted by the people smoking in the street, much more than there is in New Zealand. Our night walk was up to Mount Lycevettos (or something like that) from where we enjoyed spectacular panoramic views across the whole of the city of Athens.

On the next day, we journeyed to Mt Parnassus, the location of Delphi.  This ancient archaeological site was home to the Pythia (the great Oracle of Delphi), and the Pythian games, with a theatre and a stadium.  We also went through the museum there, seeing the omphalos (the stone which marked the centre of the world), the charioteer and many other ancient artefacts. The next day of our journey started in the National Archaeological Museum, where Bucko told us to find the replica Athena Parthenos but then deliberately avoided it on his tour around. Many photos were taken here of the wonderfully detailed sculptures and statues.  In the heat, we ascended the Acropolis, taking in the massive Parthenon, which I wish was still complete – it would be amazing.  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos in the Acropolis Museum which had an attempted reconstruction of the artwork on the Parthenon, although most of it was copies from the British Museum.

Our last day in Greece was spent at the sites of ancient Corinth where there was a small museum and Mycenae, with some cool photos taken in the tombs and a dark underground passage.  From there we set out for Patras to board the ferry to Italy, although when I think of ferry I think of the small vessels which are used to go to Rangitoto and Waiheke islands and the ferry was much larger and quite fancy. We are currently on the train from Ancona to Rome and I can't wait till we arrive. PIZZA! The trip into Greece, for me, has been a whelming experience and I have learnt many things: some shopkeepers are quite pushy and may kick you out of their shop if you resist their attempts to sell you their stuff; cheese bought in the morning will melt in the hot sun at Delphi (but still tastes okay); the water sold at hotels is a rip-off – they charge 1.00 euro for one bottle where supermarkets charge 1.50 euro for six bottles of the same size; wearing cotton is not a good idea in the hot sun.  Despite the less pleasant things in Greece, such as the countless numbers of people selling, busking or just begging in order to get some money, the stray dogs walking around (I feel sorry for the poor creatures) and the smoking, I have enjoyed myself.  There is some characteristic which I can't put into words that makes Greece an attractive place to spend three days, possibly because it is different to what I am used to in Auckland.  Anywho, now the Legio Grammatica marches on to Rome. (by train)