G is for… Getting away!

So we are back with alphabet dating eventually… we’ve taken some time off because I had a broken hand, then we went on holiday, then we’ve been busy working and skiing on days off blah blah blah. But I’m determined to get to Z while we’re still in New Zealand even if Joes less than enthusiastic these days!

G is for getting away! Well G was meant to be for Ghost walk 👻, but Joe got scared. Then it was meant to be for gondola but we decided that was a bit boring! So the sun is out and we’re on days off and we’ve decided to go on a spontaneous get away!

The destination we’ve decided on is Kaikoura we’ve been here once before and really loved it! Plus the drive is stunning and the weather is delicious!

We had a browse for places to stay the night before and stumbled upon Wacky Stays and this colonial wagon! It was within our budget and looked super cute so we booked it and got our things packed up in the car! When we arrived we headed to the pub for a few drinks and a chill, the weather was amazing and it really was starting to feel like summer! Damn it feels so good to get away!

We then headed to check out our little wagon! And we were not disappointed! We were treated but the owner and shown all around the facilities! The wagon came with a fully prepared outdoor kitchen and outdoor bath! To top it off the inside of the wagon was a little bit of luxury and so cosy!

On the property was also a little farm right in our garden so so so cute! I seriously could’ve lived here forever. We had a quick freshen up before heading into town for dinner! We had a few problems with dinner as everywhere Joe had researched for good seafood was fully booked so we ate at groupers garage! We’ve been there before and knew we liked it and even managed to polish off a few bottles of wine before heading back for more wine in our outdoor kitchen! We had a relatively early night as this weekend was all about relaxing!!! The next day we got up and checked out the farm animals, the highlight def being 5 piglets I wanted to take them home with me! Joe kept picking them up and making them squeal!

After chasing around after piglets like a pair of kids we utilised the beautiful kitchen and Joe cooked me a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast!

Check our the toaster! Pretty damn cool! We checked out pretty sad that we weren’t staying another night and drove down to the seal colony. Unlike last time we were here when we were tripping over seals- we hardly saw any!! But we still had a nice walk and chill! Sea air really is good for your soul!

Before driving home we made sure Joe got his seafood platter at the pier! We had a lovely lunch right by the sea although we both still prefer Conwy Mussels!!

Do we really have to go back to work? Hopefully there will be a lot more alphabet dating updates now, we already have plans for next week! And we both enjoyed/needed this weekend away!

Paris X

B.. b.. b.. bunkfest!!!

This is normally the highlight of my year when I’m at home so this year I was totally stoked to actually be able to make it back for Wallingfords best weekend!! Wahooo! get the face paint out girls I’m coming for ya! As well as this is was the perfect opportunity to catch up with everyone I hadn’t seen on my final weekend before heading back to NZ! For those of you that don’t know what Bunkfest is – have you been living under a rock or something? Its a little festival in my home town of Wallyworld there’s beer and Morris dancing! What more could you want? You can check it all out here…

http://www.bunkfest.co.uk

The weekend was amazing we drank danced and partied I saw loads of old faces! The highlights were meeting baby Max! And Conor and Charlottes appearance! As we hadn’t seen them since Asia and it was great to catch up! Check out our previous adventures here! I’ll leave some pictures here and you can all see how much of a good time it was!

Thanks to all our friends and family who came and celebrated with us! This was our last weekend at Home we said some always hard good byes and headed back to NZ via Singapore 🇸🇬. This blog is very out of order at the moment but I think this is my last post like this and now I promise I’ll be back on it missing you all as always!!!

Paris XXX

Taxidermy and Brighton!

So one thing I got planned as soon as I knew I was going home was a girls weekend away with my best mate Shabba! When you travel for a long period of time you really learn who your friends are luckily for me I didn’t need to travel to realise this one was a pure gem! I love you girl. So what better way to bond than a a trip to London for a taxidermy course and then a few nights in our childhood favourite town of Brighton!

Shabs picked me up from mine and we drove back to her house – un like me she’s a real grownup and owns a house – when we arrived I was given the grand tour and caught up with her loads! We had a chilled eve swapping stories and then got ready for the next day. When we first met (over 10 years ago – I know we’re old) we used to hang out in Camden loads so this seemed like the obvious first stop. Having not been in years I was surprised at how busy it was but other than that and the arrival of hipsters it hadn’t changed that much and we browsed the shops and ate kfc! The main activity for the day was a Taxidermy class. I understand this is weird for most people but if you are remotely interested this is where we attended

http://www.thebritishacademyoftaxidermy.org

We arrived early not really knowing what to expect and eyeing up other people in the room. I won’t go into all the gory details but it was great fun! And I’d highly recommend it! Saying this we left exhausted after 5 hours staring at a dead mouse! These are our results…

We headed back to Shabbas and got some dinner and gin before going to bed! the next day we awoke and headed for Brighton. It was our first holiday away together when Shabs passed her driving test and brings back loads of memories for us so we were excited! We spent the week shilling mooching the shops and doing pub quizzes with random men we found in a pub! So great to finally catch up and gutted that this long weekend has come to an end!

I love you wife! see you at Bunkfest!

Paris xxxx

The wedding of the year!

So the main reason for our visit home was to see Joe’s brother get married to Cait! And what a fabulous day it was! Around this we also spent lots of time in North Wales catching up with all of Joes family and friends. I have to say I had kind of forgotten just how beautiful North Wales is!

We spent some great times eating out at all our fave restaurants and discovered some new ones too. We went on some walks round our favourite spots and even fitted in a spot of indoor rock climbing at the beacon! We also visited our first little house together and obviously caught up with loads of friends.

But obviously the highlight was watching Deri and Cait get married. It was such a beautiful day and I wish we could do it all over again congratulations you two we love you both loads!!!! I even caught the bouquet so who knows there might be another Marshall wedding soon!

North Wales has a special place in my heart and we were very sad to leave but can’t wait to return one day in the near future! We have one more week in the uk where we’re heading down to Wallingford for Bunkfest then its off on our travels again.

Paris X