Bristol, England
Olivia was really excited about going to Bristol as she had spent some time growing up there when she was a child. Her Dad was training to be a doctor at Bristol Hospital and she had made friends with Anna Steen at school and they became best friends. They had kep in touch over the years and when we got to the Steen's place the two of them had a wonderful reunion. It was so great to see where she had lived and to finally meet Anna and her younger brother Mikey too. We had a great time that evening with the Steens and it felt awesome to be in a family home once again.
The next day Olivia and I went for a walk into Bristol town to have a look around. It's a really beautiful city and the University is a stunning piece of architecture. There are buildings along the waterfront that are kind of similar to Wellington and made for a really picturesque setting.
The next night Olivia cooked everyone her Chicken curry which went down a treat! After dinner Anna and her partner Daffyd (Welsh for David) took us to a local pub down the road for a quiet beer. This gave us a real good opportunity to get to know him and of course for me to get to know them both better.
Charlotte is a teacher at a local private school and she thought that it might be a good idea for me to go with her one day to see how British School Children operated. I had a fun day there with the PE teachers going with them to their lessons and seeing what I might be in store for when I started work in a couple of months time. Whilst I was at school, Olivia went for a walk with Mickey on the Downs which is a big grass area very near to their house.
The next day Olivia and I went for a walk into Bristol town to have a look around. It's a really beautiful city and the University is a stunning piece of architecture. There are buildings along the waterfront that are kind of similar to Wellington and made for a really picturesque setting.
The next night Olivia cooked everyone her Chicken curry which went down a treat! After dinner Anna and her partner Daffyd (Welsh for David) took us to a local pub down the road for a quiet beer. This gave us a real good opportunity to get to know him and of course for me to get to know them both better.
Charlotte is a teacher at a local private school and she thought that it might be a good idea for me to go with her one day to see how British School Children operated. I had a fun day there with the PE teachers going with them to their lessons and seeing what I might be in store for when I started work in a couple of months time. Whilst I was at school, Olivia went for a walk with Mickey on the Downs which is a big grass area very near to their house.
Later that afternoon Martin came home and had a surprise for me. He took me in his car to show me the games of 'Racquets' and 'Real Tennis' that he plays. This was an awesome experience to see where the modern day games of squash and lawn tennis came from. That night Mikey insisted on taking us to his fabvourite cider house where we could try some 'real good cider'. Man it was strong but really delicious.
The next day Martin invited Olivia and I to come and watch him in action in the local courts as he is a barrister. After taking us to lunch we went into the courtroom to see him in action. His case ended up being suspended to a further date so we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a case about a local teacher that was on trial for molesting some of his former students. It was very interesting to say the least.
We went from the courtroom and met Anna and Daf' at a local micro-brewery called Zero Degrees. 
The beer there was great and we enjoyed a lovely evening chatting before going back to the Steens place where we had something else to drink and dinner. We decided then to go outside and go in their hot tub. It was so relaxing and was beautiful sitting under the cold winter night sky in the hot steaming water.
The beer there was great and we enjoyed a lovely evening chatting before going back to the Steens place where we had something else to drink and dinner. We decided then to go outside and go in their hot tub. It was so relaxing and was beautiful sitting under the cold winter night sky in the hot steaming water.
The next day we went to meet up with my Dad at a local hotel. He was over here working for a tour company that had clients from all over New Zealand that had come over to the UK for the Rugby World Cup. One of those clients suitcase had been put on the wrong bus at Heathrow airport and had ended up in Bristol. Dad had driven from Cardiff in Wales where the All Blacks would be playing France this weekend to come and pick up her suitcase and while he was waiting for the coach to arrive with it we went to a nice local pub for lunch. Dad brought a really nice bottle of New Zealand wine which went down really well with the bangers and mash that I had. Liv had a delicious Caesar salad. It was really good to see him and catch up on everyting that he had been up to over the last few weeks. He said that we could stay in his hotel room when we went to Cardiff that weekend and as we bade him farewell he gave Olivia a t- shirt that Mum had brought for her and my big puffy Kathmandu jacket that he had brought with him from home.
Saturday morning arrived and we said goodbye (for now!) to The Steens, got our supporters gear on and caught the train to Cardiff....
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