Mr Smith's World Tour 2005

KAMO INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Te Kura Takawaenga O Kamo


Mr Smith Goes To . . . . EVERYWHERE!!!
A SPECIAL EVENTS PRESENTATON


Mr Smith's Journey - A Travel Diary
20th April - to - 3rd August 2005

Our Principal, Mr J.A. Smith this year was awarded the
APPA/ASB Travelling Fellowship, so what did this mean?

Mr Smith travelled around the world for three months observing schools of different types all over the world (as well as the various "Golf Courses" around the globe). Places he visited were: San Fransico, Vancouver, Calgary,Scotsdale, Alberqueque, Chicago, New York, Edinburgh, SPAIN, FRANCE, Back to SPAIN, London ENGLAND, Casablanca MOROCCO, Lisbon PORTUGAL, Paris FRANCE, Athens, The Greek Isles GREECE, SINGAPORE and are now HOME.

These are the E-Mails that Mr Smith sent back as he travelled the world. They make interesting reading and remember there are a few photos (don't worry not as many as the 12000 odd photos he did take)



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We Are On Our Way!! - 20 April 2005
Hi everyone,
We are on our way!! Mrs Smith and I are taking off for S.F. at 7.00pm Wednesday.
Next message from The US of A. SAN FRAN

Regards
Mr Smith and Mrs Smith (She with the many lists)


SAN FRANCISCO - 21 April 2005

We are here after a great flight lounging in business class - UPSTAIRS on the plane. Soooo much room!! The hotel we're in is a mixture of cultures - Cape Cod and Asian. Mrs Smith assures me that everyone will know what it means.

Beautiful day and we are cruising in the local neighbourhood. We will wander today and attack the city properly tomorrow.


SAN FRAN Hills, bridges and wharves - 24 April 2005
(Photo Available)
Hi everyone,
Well 3 days in San Fran as us locals call it, and we have done heaps - surprise, surprise. Walked and walked, up hill and down. Have been on the cable car from fisherman’s wharf BUT had to wait for 30 minutes in a queue. Found the 1960 style local trams quicker and cheaper.

TODAY WE RODE the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE OVER AND BACK ON BIKES. All that early morning cycling paid off Mrs Drake. It was soooo windy that we got blown one way and struggled back. At one stage Mrs Smith couldn't move into the wind gust. Fisherman’s wharf is interesting. More like a winter show with all the stalls and noise.


The "ROCK" and VANCOUVER - 27 April 2005
Hi All,
Our last day in San Fran was a bundle of fun. We went and did the city tour. Tip for travellers - do the city tour first. We saw things that we would have spent time at had we known. Thanks to Dan we did get to see heaps. Alcatraz was a buzz. Got some great shots as it was squally weather and that helped with the atmosphere. Very depressing place when you think of how they lived


Vancouver
We did the city tour today. It confirmed that we love this city. Lots of trees, lots of cafes, lots of mountains and gardens. We toured everywhere and saw some amazing old mansions built in the 1920-30s. Wooden stylish and now owned by film stars and Chinese. We found Davie Street around the corner from our Hotel - Fabulous Street, a cross between Ponsonby and K’Road in Auckland. Some great sights and the food is wonderful and we can afford to eat here.

Our hotel is very nice. We are in a corner suite on the 19th floor with great views of the skyscrapers and the mountains and the water and the sunset. Tomorrow we go up Grouse Mountain and we are visiting our first school on Wednesday!! Ah it is tough.


Windsor House School Visit
Wednesday we went to our first school. Windsor House School. Rang the day before and arranged a time. 10.00. Great. I never thought to ask them how to get there as I can read a map. After missing the ferry, finally getting a taxi, going to the wrong school…TWICE and going from one side of Vancouver to the other we finally wandered into some prefab buildings and there we were in a corridor with kids. We had made it at 11.30am, we stayed there until school closed and the Deputy Head - who owns the school - had a meeting. Helen is her name and she is a lovely lady. She started the school at her house 30 years ago and is hoping to have her daughter take over next year. She has been publicly funded for 20 years.

It is as democratic as you could get a school. 184 students from 5-18 years. There is a council meeting every day except Tuesdays from 12 to 1 for any who want to go and discuss discipline and school rules. There was a big attendance on the day we were there. The feeling at the school is very nice and pleasant although they have difficult children who don't fit into the normal school system. Parents choose to send their children to the school. But hear this THE STUDENTS (5-18yrs remember) CHOOSE WHAT LESSONS THEY DO THROUGHOUT THE DAY FROM A LARGE TIMETABLE THAT IS COVERED WITH STICKIES ADVERTISING WHAT THE TEACHERS ARE TEACHING.

If the children want to do anything outside the advertised lessons they have to get a sponsor (adult) to supervise. There were plenty of parents and volunteers at the school.

We enjoyed our time there and met some very switched on kids plus some ordinary ones. Getting back to Vancouver was MUCH easier than getting there.


CANADA - ROCKY MOUNTAINS - CALGARY - 7 May 2005
Hi All,
Time for the next episode in the worldly adventures of “The Smiths”.

We are about to leave Canada and attack the US of A again. The teachers are much more interested in what we are doing than in talking about what they do.

Sunday saw us on the Rocky Mountain Train bound for Banff, through the Rockies. For as long as I can remember this has been my dream trip. It was all I expected, from the Aaaallllll Aboarrrdd!!, the spectacular scenery, wild life, silver service meals on the train, the looonnng freight trains we saw, staying at a chateau on Lake Louise just like in the movies, and in a castle in Banff - wow just like a Scottish Baron’s castle and all the views of mountains, lakes and snow. The lake was frozen over and won’t be thawed until June. It snowed a teeny bit for us. I went out early in the morning and explored some of the trails around the Chateau in the snow. I was hoping to see some wild life and went off into the trees ignoring the avalanche signs as it looked safe enough. Didn’t get to see anything.

When we met our guide later he warned us several times not to go into the trees unless we were in a group and made a lot of noise as the bears, wolves and cougars didn’t like being surprised. And here I had been thinking it extra smart to move like a breeze through the woods to surprise them and get a photo. We did see bears, wolves, elk and deer but from the bus!!! BUT NO MOOSE!

Calgary to Edmonton 280kms and maybe, at most, 6 corners on a 4 lane freeway. Cruise control on and off we go. Over the crest of a hill and away in the distance goes the straight road. 2.5 hours and we were there. Coming back it was dark and less traffic. Stopped for a meal at 11.00pm at a real 1950/60 roadside diner. It was like being in a movie set. Very busy, country music and big meals. Did a tour of the flash house area here in Calgary. We needed to do this or else we thought every building was the same - concrete, brick, square and boring. Had brunch at the best diner we have ever seen. All 1950’s artefacts and fabulous food. We took lots of photos this time.

Now we are off on the next phase and a warmer climate. We’ll let u know about our Phoenix adventures next.



PHOENIX ARIZONA and the GRAND CANYON - 13th May 2005
Whew! What a week
We have been here in Scottsdale - a suburb city of Phoenix since last Saturday. We are in a very nice resort although it is mainly a TENNIS one. They even hold 2 professional tournaments here a year, one for Juniors - and one for seniors - over 35, The “Senior US Open.”

There is also a golf course attached and the 11th and 17th fairways are beside the resort. Golf clubs are all over this area of Arizona, amazing courses. Many of them are situated right in town through people’s backyards. The city stretches for miles and in the areas outside downtown Phoenix there is a 3 storey building restriction.

We flew from Calgary to Denver on a very small jet very cramped. But they did give us a tiny weenie bag of plane shaped pretzels and a drink of water. We couldn't open the bags without injuring the person next to us. Denver airport is supposed to be the biggest in the USA and I believe them. They have 3 terminals of 60 gates each and a train running underground to get from one to the other. We had to get a bus to the rental cars place. Then we were off in a PT Cruiser. Getting dark so no time to waste. Very warm, lovely.

Meant to ask the man which way to go but didn't. We reached our destination 1hour 30 minutes after leaving the airport. The return journey will take us 20 minutes.

The resort is great, everything’s big. The temps are in the 85 to 95 F. range. A very dry heat. This means we have the pool to ourselves. Shops are the same everywhere I bought a cowboy hat. Now I feel at home.

We went north (I know this because of the compass) and visited Montezuma's Castle Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Montezuma's Castle is a building in the cliffs built by Indians 1500 years ago. Very interesting to see the work that must have gone into the making of this structure in which 35 people lived that long ago and then around 1400 they just disappeared, Very Mysterious. Onto Sedona and the Red Hills and a place called Tlotquepoque, (or very nearly like that). Very nice artists shops. Very Spanish and well presented with courtyards, alleys etc. On we went over Schedleys Hill. The views are tremendous. Then on to the Grand Canyon.

I have heard about the Grand Canyon, read about the Grand Canyon, seen photos of the Grand Canyon, seen movies of the Grand Canyon. but nothing prepared me for the GRANDEUR of the place. The word AWESOME is meant for this place. We stayed until we had to leave as it was a 3 hour journey back. Luckily the roads are great.

Golf the next day the Legend trails Golf Club and I played with 3 people from New York who were here on a conference. This was a great course. I started with 8 balls found 2 and finished by borrowing 1 for the last shot to the green. As we began the starter said. "We encourage people to drive carts all over the fairways but not in the rough. If you can see your ball in the rough go and get it on foot but take a club. Do not look in bushes as the snakes are rattlers and bite." We didn't look too hard for balls.

Time is running so next time we visit Tombstone and Nogales Mexico.


SCOTTSDALE - TOMBSTONE - NOGALES - 13th May 2005

Yoy!Ho!Ho!
We're at the Scottsdale. I skimmed over the Grand Canyon but it was truly great. I took heaps of photos but none as good as the postcards you get. This is nature's work and it is inspiring.

Yesterday we went on a road trip south. First though we went east to Tucson. Mrs Smith thought it was Tuckson! Why are we travelling to Tombstone? Because, it is the MECCA for all true cowboys. We left early as we also planned to visit Mexico. We arrived at "Boothill" Tombstone which is the first thing you drive past when you get to MECCA. It is worth the visit and highlight of the day even. 250 graves all from the 1800s. Each grave was covered in rocks just like in the movies. Mrs S’s favourite was "Les More, Killed by a 44, No les, No more." I thought she was going to die laughing. we had been given a booklet about the various graves so were able to read up about some of the deaths. Shot, killed by Indians, legally hanged, trampled by cattle.

The whole town (Tombstone), except for the schools, is in keeping with the 1880's. The locals working in the shops are also in semi period costume and there are locals, who act out the various gunfights every day for the tourists, wandering around. “Very Western” - surprise, surprise. Once I had had my fill of the west, we set off for Nogales Mexico.

A couple of hours later we were in Nogales. After speaking to a petrol attendant we decided to park the car in the good old US of A and walk like EVERYBODY else we just wandered over the border with all the locals. We had a Mexican meal at a cantina bought a few things. Back over the border. We are winding up our visit tomorrow and then it is off to Albuquerque on Saturday and into the real school visiting


ALBUQUERQUE - SANTA FE - "RUOTE 66" - 18 May 2005

Well we’re in Albuquerque and much cooler, not as hot as Phoenix. The last day there it nudged 100f which is about 36-38c. It is a dry heat but very hot.

We went to Rawhide in the afternoon. This is a cowboy town in the desert - a tourist place. We’re standing there shrivelling up in the heat and the blacksmith is there working his forge, pounding steel, “Yeah! Its starting to get warm these days.” Being Kiwis is a great icebreaker. You can sort people into 3 groups. Been to N.Z. (loved it); Know someone who has been to N.Z. (loved it) and haven’t a clue where it is. But have heard it is a great place.

Phoenix airport is big and the most security conscious one that we have been through. The check in counters for domestic American West Airlines are outside on the side of the road - I KID YOU NOT.

We had an interesting time as we were chosen for a security check! When we got inside it took 45 minutes just to get through the security checks. Huge queues of over 100 metres then we went straight to boarding.

We are in the land of the big SUVs and Utes. It is interesting that even the parking spaces are bigger to allow for these monsters that are everywhere. We have discovered that like Phoenix, Albuquerque has no centre as such. Our hotel is right on ROUTE 66 Yea! Real history. We spent time on Saturday night walking up and down the street watching the action. It is real cruising strip with all the low-rider cars, ”A CAR WATCHERS DREAM”

We actually have done some work here. Visited a Catholic Elementary School and a Middle School. One school has been enforcing a strict dress code. White, black and khaki colours ONLY! The school is largely 80% Hispanic.

We followed Mr Spark’s advice and went on the road through Madrid to Santa Fe. Planned to go on to Los Alamos but only made Santa Fe. On to Santa Fe and the Plaza.

After we visited the Catholic School yesterday we went up the Sandia Mountain Tram and it was a great experience. It is the longest aerial Tramway in the world. Rises from just over 6000 feet to 10348 feet into the snow.

This afternoon we headed off to Los Alamos - the home of the Atom Bomb. Quite an amazing place, a very good museum. Drove through some National Parks and Indian Reservations and back here to pack for Chicago tomorrow.

Catch Y’all from Chicago.


CHICAGO - The Windy City - 23rd May 2005

Hi from Chicago
Well we made it to the Windy City. It turns out that the term windy was bestowed on Chicago in the early 1900’s just after they rebuilt the city after 2/3rds of it was destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1897. The term windy was given to the delegates from Chicago when they toured the US to advertise their World’s Fair around 1904. They sold Chicago so well that 26 million came to the fair. At that time that was 50% of the US population. They still love their city and tell you about it often. But they do have something to skite about. It is a great place and we love it here.

O’Hare airport is like all others in the states huge. BUT it is attractive. Well laid out and easy to get around. There is a huge underground passage way with moving escalators that travel under rippling neon lights with this music playing in time to the ripples. Very classy

So we got through and onto the train. Zoom we are in the middle of Chicago and we get out at a central station. I still think it was the best choice and walking a little way pulling suitcases through all the people is a character building exercise. We arrive at Columbus Drive. Now to find the Hotel, discussion took place about map reading, asking, taxis. It turns out we were about 20mtrs from the doorway.

The hotel is very flash. It is amazing what you can do over the internet. Bell people everywhere check-in people, concierge people all wanting to help you. However we are here in Chicago. The plan - contact the school I have been emailing. Visit them on Thursday and have Friday and Saturday to look around.

Chicago is the first big skyscraper city I have been in and it is amazing. We are in the Fairmont hotel on the 31st floor. Next to us is the Aon Tower of over 100 stories and the 2nd biggest in Chicago after the Sears tower. We look out our window and the Aon Tower is beside us and it just goes up into the clouds. The other days have been brilliant. We went up to the lookout on the 94th floor of the John Handcocks building. Very cool being so high. We have been to a couple of shows. Both musical comedies, Both were excellent and very funny. The tickets we couldn’t get were for the new big musical “Witches” - what happened before Dorothy dropped in. The story of the white and the green witches from Wizard of Oz. We put our name into a draw that they hold each day 2 hours before performances for 20 tickets. You have to attend the draw but we missed out. We missed out on the baseball. The game was a local derby between Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox so they sold out pretty quick.

This weekend they are having their Open City Weekend . They have about 200 city tours advertised and you turn up at 7.30 am and hope to get on a tour that you want - and they are all free. Went on one that toured the sites in the city they have been used for movies and looked at the buildings and why they were used. That lasted 2 hours and was great getting into these fantastic buildings. Mrs S went on one that visited an ironmonger and glasswork and looked at design and then they travelled to Navy pier to see how the designers had used the glass and iron, Mrs S loved it.

We went back to Navy pier it is huge with entertainment, food, drink and shops. They have these fairground activities like a huge ferris wheel 150 feet high, a flight simulator. 3D movie game thingy, plus heaps of other neat things. At 9.00 they had a big fireworks display to patriotic music. A good way to finish here in the land of the “Have a nice day.”

Final impressions of Chicago . Great buildings, friendly people superb parks and public artworks, great theatres.


NEW YORK - The Big Apple - 29th May 2005

New York - New York
Well it had to happen sometime. We missed our flight. To be hugely correct we didn’t miss the flight our baggage did and we have to fly with our baggage so it is the next flight at 1.00pm instead of 11.00am.

We made it to New York and it is great. We did the usual tourist thing - unpacked and went straight out on to Broadway and Times Square. LIGHTS, LIGHTS, LIGHTS and lots of People. At 11.00pm Sunday night and the shops are open and people 90% tourists are everywhere. I spend some time Monday morning contacting my New York appointments and these happen on Wednesday morning and Thursday so it is off seeing the sights of New York. Getting tickets for a Broadway show prove to be too expensive. So we went to a Comedy Club instead.

We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, learnt to use the Subway, which made a difference from eating Subway. And just enjoyed N.Y. The noise, the bustle and the hustle. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and History, which is the biggest Museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris. Getting lost in there was easy. Getting there wasn’t. We took the wrong train up the wrong side of Central Park. But that was O.K. it gave us an opportunity to walk through the Park, it wasn’t raining although it was cold enough to snow.

On Thursday we went and visited some schools. We spent time at two Schools. Belhs High School and The Bronx School for Media and Communication. Both schools have only Year 9 attending them as they are schools that are being developed. As well as these schools we visited briefly 4 other schools that were in the same building. It is a four storey building that covers a whole block. There is no playground but there are 3 small gyms in the building plus a large canteen.

The school is set in the Bronx and we found the kids at the school very friendly and open. The neighbourhood comprises of large 8 to 10 story high blocks of flats lining side streets and shops and stalls. We got there, a large grey building resembling a concrete block. The front doors were huge and the place looked deserted BUT once we had opened the door we were greeted by a metal detector, security and had to have our bags X-Rayed and walk through the electronic gate then identify ourselves and sign in. All children and teachers go through this each day. There are 700 kids on this site and 1 entrance here and 1 in the canteen. Getting into school in the mornings is a slow process.

As mentioned earlier the kids were open and respectfully friendly. We were with one class for about an hour and then they headed off fishing. They wanted us to join them but we declined, an hour and half train ride to Pier 5 then out on the harbour in temperatures of 6 degrees. The weather here has been cold. We keep getting told by real New Yorkers that the temps are about 15 to 20 degrees colder than normal. We are hoping for better weather, on Saturday 7.00pm we fly to London.

We were off on our helicopter trip to look at the Statue of Liberty. I like helicopter rides and this was fine but we could only just see the statue briefly and that had been the high point of staying in New York for me so I’ve done the tourist thing and bought 6 postcards.

Next it was off to the Empire State building, which luckily we had bought express tickets for, then waited for a fine day. If you don’t have express tickets you are queuing on the street with the thousands just to get in the queue for the tickets, to get in the lift queue for the 2nd lift queue for the top! The navy were there by the hundreds too as they are in the city for Memorial Weekend and it is also fleet week. There is an aircraft carrier John F Kennedy plus other navy ships plus ships from other navies in town.

Express tickets are $14.00 dearer and having these magic tickets is great. They are like the magic pass. Wave them at an attendant and no queuing. It felt good to be walking past literally 100’s of people waiting to buy tickets before they even had to queue for the lifts. So tip for N.Y. visitors, go a day before - BUY EXPRESS TICKETS.

Well we are off to London tomorrow and then up to Edinburgh on Monday. Our last night and day in New York. Pity really as it is a great city to visit and with memorial day weekend on there are huge amounts of visitors arriving so the place is humming.

Catch you all from the British Isle.



EDINBURGH - SCOTLAND - BRITISH ISLES - 5th June 2005
Hi all from the Islands of Britain, - Scotland at the moment.
We are preparing to return to London to meet up with the Roberts and the Skudders and are looking forward to that.

All the cities that we go to are great which is basically because we are novices and the small “townness” comes out in us as I experience something new. We are finding that getting on the internet is not as easy here as it was in Canada and the States as the hotels we are staying in are ‘boutique’ ones.

Arrived in London after a great flight from New York. Made it to the queen’s country although we haven’t seen her yet. Already love it. Quick look around Hyde Park and then off to Edinburgh by train. Love Edinburgh and loved the 2 schools we went to. Balgreen primary is very much like KIS but as a full primary. Be All You Can Be is their mantra plus we were lucky enough to see a half hour version of Wizard of Oz, in a Scottish accent , costumes and all done by a P1 class. It was great and made up for Mrs Smith missing out on seeing the stage show “Wicked Witch”.

We travelled out to St. Andrews for the obligatory visit to the holy grail of golf. Brilliant evening. Doesn’t get dark here until about 10.30 and daylight is about 4.00am – they tell me.

We have also visited Mrs Smith’s relations in Wishall and Benerton over by Oban so have had a busy day. Great Castlesold building etc. but the highlight of our visit has to be the visits to the schools. Prospect Bank and Balgreen Primary. Very nice kids and staff who made us very welcome. I have to go now as the train awaits. So much more to talk about but it will have to wait.


SPAIN - 10th June 2005
Hi Everyone,
We had to catch the train luckily we had reserved seats this time so were able to get organised quickly and enjoy the trip. It is great zooming through the countryside. We met up with the Roberts and the Skudders in Stansted at a lovely country hotel and had a great catch up session. Not too long as we were off to Alicante in Spain at 4.00am the next day.

I am in a small town called Moraira up by Javea and Calpe on the Costa Blanca. Moraira is not on most maps and we thought it would be small - not so. Probably the size of Orewa but with heaps more shops and tourists everywhere and this is not the busy season. There is a tremendous amount of construction going on all over the province and I suspect it reflects what is happening all along the coastal regions of Spain. Interesting as you move inland as the roads where constructed for donkey and cart and while the surface has been upgraded the width hasn’t and we have a large 9 seater Mercedes van!!! The villages are also interesting once you are off the beaten track. I took us into the village of Benita Hell on our first morning. We have had a great time exploring the beaches - which rival New Zealands ones except that they have huge numbers. The Spanish people are lovely.

Caught up with my niece and her fiancée here in Moraira which was great. I was wandering around taking photos of the small fort on the waterfront. When I went down to the restaurant there they were featured as the chefs but the place didn’t open until 7.00 and this was midday. However when I went to get Mrs Smith and show her the restaurant who should be standing outside but my niece. They had come down to prep for the evening meals, What luck. We had a big catch up and then last night we all went back for one of the best meals we all have had for ages. They are certainly good at their job, the restaurant (Options) is lovely and the rest of the staff are also very good.

One of the interesting facets of life here has been the siesta in the afternoon. Everything closes down from about 1.30 to 5.00 each afternoon so any shopping has to be done outside these hours. At the moment it is not too hot and there is a lovely breeze especially at our villa as it is up in the hills. Magnificent views which I will bore people with when we return. Nothing opens on a Sunday here although when the tourist season opens some supermarkets do.

We are off to France tomorrow to stay in a villa in the village of Olonzac inland from Perpinan and while we have enjoyed ourselves here we are looking forward to another adventure and another Language to cope with.

Adios


FRANCE - 17th June 2005

Hi everyone,
We are in the village of Olonzac inland from Narbonne on the way to Carcasonne. It is Brilliant. We are right in the middle of the village and step out the front door into village life, as long as we step out before 9.00pm or after 3.00PM as EVERYTHING closes even in Narbonne, a huge city, most shops are shut. Schools close for the time and then reopen until 4.30 - there are a few bars and eateries open shops open about 10.00am have the mid-day break and then close at 5.00pm in the villages. A very relaxed lifestyle.

The villages as in Spain are designed for horse and cart and this makes driving a large van fun. On Tuesday there was a market day in the village. Markets over here have a late, relaxed start but by 11;00am it was all on. We literally stepped out into the stalls. Huge amount of produce, hot meals (paella etc.) sea food, great fruit - you name it, it was there; I stepped it out and there was 300m of stalls both sides of the narrow road/lane and then from our front door turn left and even more product stalls clothes, fabric, junk etc;). Mrs Smith was in her element - she even said it was better than the Golden Gate bridge; This is a travelling market and each day they are somewhere else and by coincidence they are here in Narbonne today so we can stock up again;

We spent 3 hours in Carcasonne. Locals had told us it was not much good BUT it was fantastic. Terry says the castle is better than the ones in England. It was huge and in the middle it had shops and markets just as it would have had in the 1200’s to 1600’s when it was a key French defence post. Everything was modern though. We are returning tomorrow as we only saw a little bit. Mineurve is another great village as it is built on the edge of cliffs. We have found the people to be friendly, more so when they know we are from N.Z.

Next week we are back to London and then a week of visiting schools and catching up with friends hopefully before we head off to Spain, Morocco and Portugal.

While the main purpose of this trip is to look at schools and systems and how they handle difficult students we have had a good time observing the locals; Educationally the highlight so far has been the school in Edinburgh that was so much like K.I.S in philosophy although visiting the schools in the Bronx N.Y. was an eye opener. I have seen some interesting things at some schools, once I get back to London I will be able to share with you all some other insights that I have noted.

Outside of the schools for me the highlight was the trip through the Rockies but this French village experience is pretty neat and I loved New York and Arizona New Mexico was great, Chicago was fun while Vancouver has been my favourite city.

Ka Kite (as we say in France)


SPAIN & ENGLAND - 27th June 2005

Hi to all
We are back in the City of London after 2 weeks in Spain and France. We finished our time in France by spending another day at Carcassone wandering around the castle, its battlements and shops. We made it back to Olonzac in time for the afternoon siesta which has become a habit. In some ways it is unusual as places where you want something like milk, bread etc. then you have to wait until 3.00 when if you are lucky the shops will re-open. By the end of our stay we had adjusted and were managing to fit in a snooze time or at least have supplies in - we did spend one day driving around through the middle of the day visiting shut wineries until we found one at Chateau Sainte Eulalie in the Minervios.

Both Mrs ‘S’ and I loved the village life and it was great to visit and stay there. It was just as we imagined France to be - a surprise really given that we were in France.


We have had a hot week as London has had a heatwave made more British by being in a hotel that does not have aircon, but does have windows and a fan. It is rather expensive to live here - even for locals I guess. Prices here are about the same as home except at home it is a $NZ and here it is the pound. We have spent this week visiting schools on Monday, Tuesday and today - Thursday. We did visit St. Josephs Catholic Primary School where Melissa Friar is D.P. Melissa is a niece of a good friend of Mrs ‘S’. As usual we have struck lovely kids and enthusiastic teachers in some very trying physical conditions.

We have seen the highlights of London - in particular the musical “We Will Rock You” which from its first song Radio Gaga to Bohemian Rhapsody was amazing, loud and it rocked. We also have been to Fame which has encouraged Mrs ‘S’ to revive her dancing career when we return home.

We finished our London time with a day spent getting to and visiting a School - Clarendon out at Hampton. A mere 4cm on the map and with the tubes overheating and on a go slow we took 2hours 20min to get there. There were 2 NZ teachers at the school and we were able to swap stories.

The school is a Special School dealing with students from yrs 3 to 11 who have predominately learning difficulties but also evidence behaviour problems. Attached to the school is a behaviour unit that parallels Parakiore but is non residential. Ann Crawford, the principal, was very friendly and we had a good long visit - in the heat - 33degrees.

We have not done all we wanted to here, just too busy visiting schools and organising ourselves.

Michael Campbell winning the US Open featured on the main sports page of the Telegraph for 2 days with big photos etc. Although the first report was more about how Tiger lost than Michael won. To win a Major puts him in the forever there class just as Bob Charles has been. A proud moment for all Kiwis.

The All Blacks had better win, the press here have already written up the Lions team as all conquering. If it wasn’t for the biased refs the Lions would have won all games including the Maori game by heaps.

Well off to Madrid tomorrow to join a Trafalgar tour of Southern Spain, Morocco and Portugal so should get more hot weather.

So now we are in Madrid and back in civilization, aircon for a start and we are off to Granada tomorrow.


MOROCCO - 1st July 2005
Friday evening in Casablanca
We have had a great time travelling through Morocco. It is an interesting country, very controlled even down to having a national guide with us the whole time - Hajib. You can take photos of most things but not official buildings. We travelled to Fes the first day here and realised as we drove through the country that we are in a photogenic but poor country but when you get to the cities you see that there is wealth.

The countryside is dramatic. Greener than I thought in places and desert like in others. There is a bit of a drought here and it shows in the landscape. As you drive along you see village and country life happening. Herds of goats and sheep being watched over by one or two males. The most common mode of transport is donkey and theses are used everywhere including the cities.

We went into the Medina in Fes . 12000 streets and 83000 shops. The streets are wide enough for a donkey with a load to pass. We stayed in the first night as the others went to have dinner and see a belly dancing display put on by gypsies. We saw these other dancers at a show in Marrakech. They had Berber horse tricks and dances in what is billed as the Moroccan Fantasia. An interesting night but we are spoiled in New Zealand with tikanga Maori and kapa haka. Mrs Smith had trouble convincing a guide that Maori and Pakeha went to school together as he had heard that aborigines had no rights.

Marrakech was fun and the hotel we were in has to be the best of all the hotels we have ever stayed in according to Mrs ‘S’. She reckons that the pool was perfection (The gardens were lush and full of roses and hibiscus and trimmed hedges in a very French style. Pools like the Taj Mahal in front of each block of the hotel, Fountains to swim through in the pool...)

The markets at Marrakech were the most amazing things. From the snake charmers and monkeys through to the actual streets. So much so that Mrs ‘S’ and 4 others hired a guide and went back during the afternoon once siesta was over. They had great fun.

(I’ll hand over to Mrs ‘S’ here as she can describe it better than me). “Great bargains are to be had if you stick to your price and don’t get put off by the constant questions they ask rather than tell you a price!!! I enjoyed it with a small group of us and bought some beautiful fabric and some silk tassels for my sewing days when I get back”.

It was very interesting seeing inside the house in the middle of a village. The customs out in the countryside are very much as they have been for centuries.

It is only this year 2005 that schooling has been made compulsory for all. Every village must have a school - the King has decreed this so it happens even though the locals don’t want it. They want to teach their children to work the fields or do craft to make a living and not waste time at school. The King is a direct descendant of Mohammed so not only runs the country, BUT is the religious leader.

This evening after a lovely group dinner, about 12 of us braved the streets and hair-raising traffic to go to the Hyatt where “Ricks Bar” is from the movie Casablanca. Inside are huge photos of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and the movie playing on a small screen non-stop. There is a large grand piano there so we had our photos taken around it. It’s a great world here and certainly opens our eyes to see what goals they have for tourism here. In Marakesh, by the year 2010 they aim to have 10 million visitors each year.


PORTUGAL - 6th July 2005
Ola, Kia ora te whanau
After finding Ricks cafe in the Hyatt hotel we were able to watch the movie Casablanca on the bus next day from Casablanca to Tangiers. It was quite amazing seeing everything we had just seen and experienced and were driving through in the movie. I can see how it has continued to be voted one of the top films of all time. The two brothers Epstein wrote classical cynical comedy lines, which are hard to disassociate from Humphrey Bogart. Interesting in that the movie was made in 1942 in a back lot in Hollywood.

A great choice by Trafalgar as it is a long bus day between the two cities.
Jorge our guide says the Moroccans don’t do maintenance. The one in Marrakech was 5 stars and a year old. After a while (3yrs.) Trafalgar won’t use it as it will be demoted to a 4 or 3 star because there won’t be painting and repairs done. But as they are building heaps more that won’t be a problem, so the one in Tangiers was the best we could have and was 76 years old!!! I’d love to get a water blasting business and clean up the outside of their buildings. That's all they need and there is plenty of water from the mountain snow.

It was very very hot so we didn’t wander too far from the hotel. Just round the corner were rows and rows of cafes with all the men drinking tea - a new learning experience for most NZ and Aussie travellers. I would have loved to have sat at their tables - I doubt they would have served me. The women have to sit inside. I found Mr Smith a lovely shirt, which was actually cool enough to wear!

After dinner with the group at the hotel, we went out on the street again and the temperature was hotter! We had a few dirham to spend as no-one will convert them back to Euros here or in Spain. We found an exquisite patisserie with tiny cakes and cookies - Moroccan style. Each was in a little paper cup and put in a box. So John and I chose dates rolled in sesame seeds, walnut biscuits with icing sugar, honey and almond rolled into a cookie....mm mmm.

Seville is a very pretty city. And it has the largest cathedral in the world as attested by the Guinness book of records. St. Peters in Rome is supposed to be the biggest according to the church but who is going to argue with a certificate from THE BOOK.

I went out in the 47oC heat to try and find a bookshop. No luck. I had heard that NZers are very good book buyers and I think it must be true.

History just rolls on by. Part of Seville dates back to the Celts in 400-800BC and every other dynasty since - Romans, Vandals, Moors, Christians etc.
Christopher Columbus is buried here or at least is supposed to be. We saw his tomb in the Cathedral. They are trying to use DNA to prove it is him and to prove his lineage - I suspect we will be told what they want us to know.

We are in Portugal now. The weather is lovely and cool here at 27oC. That's 20 degrees cooler than on our drive from Seville to Lisbon! What a difference it makes to our feet and our ability to think. We caught a taxi to a mall that is huge and has air conditioning, no bartering and no street sales people. The prices are just the same as at home so we only bought some stationery but had a meal and a good look round some of the 600 shops (3 book stores, 5 toy shops 4 electronic shops 20 men’s fashion and the rest for women to skulk around in).

The taxi rides to and from the mall were a treat. There seemed to be no speed limit, the driver seemed to play chicken with cars that indicated they wanted to change lane. I saw Mr Smith wince, look out of the window, look at me, look at the scenery, close his eyes even. I know he wasn’t praying. He just hoped that when he opened his eyes he would still be in the cab going along the road! It was quite entertaining.

(Mr Smith) Mrs ‘S’ said she never closed her eyes but I am sure she is lying but couldn't prove as I had my eyes shut. Did you know I can hold my breath for 6 city blocks 3 swerves and almost crash and a sudden stop when the truck wasn’t giving way. I could see the Speedo when I flicked my eyes open and we were doing 95 down an inner city street with traffic to the left of us dawdling along at a mere 50 - 60. It was as good as a fun fair ride.


PARIS - 14th July 2005
Hi everyone,
We ducked into and through London in 2 nights. We arrived Saturday after the Lions were humiliated - although that wasn't obvious from the Sunday papers. Had Sunday catching up with Mrs S’s cousin Jacquie, after a visit to Camden markets where Mrs S went ooooo aaarrr over the fashions and I bought a very fancy shirt, especially for school assemblies.

That evening we met up with Eddie, son of our friends Peter and Brigida, and his partner. We had a good meal and talked about the bombing. Scary really for those living here. Mrs S’s cousin had been on that train 10 minutes before and Eddie was at the location just before. But what we did notice as we zoomed around the underground on Sunday and Monday morning was that people were very aware of who was getting on and off and who was carrying what. We were impressed with the way that the Brits got the underground back to normal so fast. New maps up and announcements understating what had happened. "Due to last Thursdays mishap the Edgeware to Kings Cross line will not be operating as usual instead commuters are requested......" etc. etc.

The Eurostar to Paris was a smooth trip. I loved zooming along at 180 miles an hour once we were in France.

Ah gay Paree.
I love this place. They even speak French here which is sooo romantic and they recognise my All Black shirt!!! We had an absolutely great taxi driver from the Station to the hotel. She was a scrawny women of undetermined age. Our bags are heavy but she refused to let me put them in HER car. Those skinny arms were strong. And then off we go. Lisbon Taxi drivers take lessons from this woman. Zoom! Blast! Shout out French things. Then she discovered through clever questioning, “Where are you from?” that we were Kiwis. So off she goes about how great she thinks Kiwis are and New Zealand. That was great but I would have preferred her not to look at us as she spoke.

We arrived at the Astor Hotel. Very nice it is too. Very Posh. And then we found out that 14th July is Bastille Day. Our hotel is surrounded by the American, British embassies plus the Presidential Place plus offices of the interior etc. There are armed police everywhere. An extra 5000 have been brought in this week and they are patrolling the streets.

The Eiffel tower was more that I expected as was the Louvre. Mrs ‘S’ went to the Notre Dame Cathedral and she said it was amazing. The night trip on the Seine and the evening climb to the top of the Arc de Triumph gave us a great look at this beautiful city. What I like about it is that the streets are wide where they have to be and small and interesting where necessary.
I made a mistake at one cafe. I wanted a coke and it was hot so I asked for a medium rather than a regular. My handle of coke cost $19.00NZ. Mrs ‘S’ thought it was funny right up to bill paying time when I went to the toilet.

Speaking of costs, we were weren’t we?, Levonne found this arcade of fashion shops and I trailed along. To fill in time I went into a men's shop to look at jackets. Very lovely they were too. There was a 50% sale where everything was half price. Bargains. I saw this very light leather jacket. Soft mauve colour with faint ribbing lines all over it. Almost a shirt it looked so light. 50% price 2800 euros. Yes over $5000.00 and that was discounted. I saw another jacket that looked EXACTLY like my golf shower proof jacket but in fine leather, 50% price 1750 euros. The assistant didn’t hassle me at all - I think that my outfit of jandals, beach shorts, All Black top and Stetson that stunned him and I would not be at all surprised when we return to try on the jackets if his window display reflects my dress sense.

We are off to the Moulin Rouge tomorrow night as the concierge reckons that that is the best Parisian show in town for tourists and we could get in due to everybody wanting to be at the fireworks display to celebrate Bastille Day. Man that was a good timing exercise to arrive in Paris for that. Then on Friday we are off to Athens and the Greek islands. SOON I will have to start thinking of school but at the moment that can wait although I have got to say THAT I MISS IT - the people at least.


GREEK ISLES - 22nd July 2005
Heretismata apo Tin Ellanda, Periname thavma. Krima poy den ise edo.
Greetings from Greece. We’re having a great time. Wish you were here.
We have just finished a 5 day cruise around the Islands. For those with a map. Mykonos, Samo, Patmos, Rodos, Crete, Santorini and back to Piraeus - Athens.

Before we left Paris however we went to the Moulin Rouge Theatre for the 11.00pm show. Mrs ‘S’ has the show as one of the best she has seen. Great dancing, variety of acts, slickness of performance and amazing costumes. Not what I expected. Having an underwater dance in a glass pool with 5 large anacondas was pretty amazing. We left Paris on a high early the next morning and reached Athens about 5.00pm local time. Interesting city, crowded and dusty BUT an enjoyable city. The hotel pool rates a mention as the deepest one I have come across. Shallow end is 1.80m and the deep end 3.5m. No worrying about the kids. If you can’t swim don’t!!! Excellent idea as the pool was mostly body free.

We did the usual visits to the ancient sights - There were so many people at the Acropolis that it made the visit unpleasant plus the heat was in the high 30s. Getting good photos was a matter of luck.

We spent time in the Plaka - old town market place and wandering down the main street while Mrs ‘S’ shopped and I watched the street hawkers avoiding the police. A great spectator sport. The changing of the guard at the Palace is surely where John Cleese got his Ministry of Silly Walks from. A total crack up and all done so seriously.

All in all a great place to visit for the sights, shops and eating places. On our 3rd evening there we found ourselves in this area with all the cafes, bars etc after visiting an Eisher exhibition. We decided to have a snack but the first 6 places couldn’t take us. At last we found a place where the mothers and fathers were so they could keep an eye on their kids while the kids paraded in their flash gear.

Then we were off cruising. Early morning on the ship. I thought it would be pretty much like a tramp steamer as I have read all about the ships in the Mediterranean sea and how they are used to smuggle goods and people but to my disappointment is was a real cruise ship with swimming pool, numerous bars, a casino, library, shops, showroom lounge, dinning rooms and amazing food. Oh dear what a hard life we have had over the last 5 days. The other minor revelation has been that the Greek Isles are just like they depict them on postcards. Oh dear more camera usage - but wait the power system on the ship is American and I have sent all my American electrical gear home and the pursers office can’t help. So if I take too many photos I run out of battery. This is a good thing as I haven’t gone Photo, photo, photo, photo. Then I discover that the on board photographer has gear and she is very kind so I am back on the photo, photo, photo trail.

The heat on shore has been in the 40s during our visits and while I have been careful on the boat I fell asleep yesterday by the pool and got a bit red. Mrs ‘S’ didn’t have to use the lights to read last night - or so she said!!!

The cruising was great with my favourite being Santorini with the cliffs and the villages hanging on the edge very photogenic, but as with all the islands we had a real flying visit and then back on board, eat more food, drink more drink, get redder, watch shows and sleep until the next island. The heat was tremendous but the hottest had to be Rodos Island where we visited Lindus. The acropolis there was at the top of the hill and after a climb the view and the remains were worth it.

Now we are on our way home via 4 days in Singapore with the loss of a day to make up for us grabbing a day at the beginning.


SINGAPORE - 27 July 2005
Masupialn Calemari
Our last missive from overseas - from Singapore.
Cruising was great and when I do it again I will do it with a small group. Not that Mrs ‘S’ wasn’t marvellous company but .......Actually with a small group, say 4 couples, you would tend to organise your ship side visits yourselves and have a better time than rushing on the ships tours – Mrs ‘S’ actually took Greek dancing lessons and performed at the Greek cabaret night - and having a group would be more fun joining in. Plus when you get on board they give you a ship card that you use each time you leave the ship and reboard (So they don’t leave you behind), and any purchases you make on board are charged to your account. So when you decide to have a drink, it is painless. All food on board is free and there was plenty of that so another good reason for having friends with you. I wish she made me return with her on the last night as I went to try my hand at Roulette.

Our flight from Athens to Singapore was a 4 movie flight and having your own screen is great, having someone in front of you who kept moving his seat back, forward, up down all the time wasn’t.

The big scare for us happened the day after the flight. We got to our hotel at 7.00am and our room wasn’t ready - surprise! surprise! So we had to wait until 10.00am. When we got in the room set the alarm for 12.00 to have a couple hours sleep before exploring further and woke up at 4.00pm. Then we went out exploring and by happy coincidence this hotel (Swissotel) is ideally situated. 2 blocks from the same shopping centre in Chinatown that I was at with the kids going to Sweden last year and 200m the other way from a mass of riverside restaurants and shops. It wasn’t until the next day when Mrs ‘S’ went to write up her diary that she realised that we had left it in the seat pocket on the plane. This is volume 3 and has daily events from the cruise. These diaries are great as Mrs ‘S’ doesn’t just do as I do e.g. “ Arrived at Patmos. Went ashore. Went back to the ship. Sailed Off.” No. My 12 words would be 6 pages with photos things collected etc. So leaving it on the plane was a big crisis. However some phone calls and a visit to the airport and she has it back Whew!!

As usual Singapore is great BUT it is the rainy season. Interesting shopping. It all gets too much EVEN for Mrs ‘S’ and after 9 hours even she says “lets go back for a swim.” We have bought another suitcase!!!!!! The trains here are so easy and quick and cheap to get around on. BUT don’t be out late or you will get stranded as they stop at midnight. We know this because we very nearly had to walk as we RAN across a platform, down an escalator and into the train as the doors shut or we would be walking. We were at the Night Safari, which is brilliant, and took a different (wrong) bus to get to the train station and ended up at Choa Chu Kang instead of Yio Chu Kang. at least I got the Chu Kang right.

Our last day in Singapore and we are looking forward to being home. The last 3 months have been great.

We have been discussing the highs. Mrs ‘S’ has been keeping a list of the best food. Her all time best was in Marrakech - Tender beef stew with prunes and almonds. Mine was chunky monkey - don’t be alarmed Paige it is banana ice-cream with walnuts!

Mrs ‘S’ has taken over. Thanks to the special people who wrote so many messages back to us - keeping us in touch with our real world at home and giving us lots of laughs and good vibes when the going got tough as we trudged along. We have had three wonderful months of memory building and will have fantastic photos to look at and three volumes of the journey with sketches and snippets to remind us of those sunniest of days. Its been hard work at times so I don’t think the gym will phase us too much on Tuesday morning! We look forward to seeing everyone again and getting the mobile phone re-connected and running hot!!!

Adieu...Ciao...Bon soir...Au revoir...Ad-dio...See-ya...Buenos noches and
masupial cabanara

FROM YOUR TRAVELLING FRIENDS ......LEVONNE AND JOHN