Last London days

Somewhat sadly, our time in London has now drawn to a close as we embark on a two-month roadtrip around the USA in September to make it back to NZ permanently in November - just in time for another summer! Here are some snaps from our last few weeks in this amazing city.

Thanks to everyone who came and said goodbye at our leaving drinks - the following photos are from a great last night out in London saying farewell to the city and all our friends, old and new.

Kelly, Rach and John.
Gemma, Kelly and Kelly.
MC's lovely workmates Chris, Dan and Lisa.
John with Guardian colleagues Tessa and Beata.
Old MFI workmates Vanessa and Angela.
Part of the Kakapuaka B Regents Park touch team extraordinaire - Grubby, Casey and Lisa.
Lisa, Hamish and Kelvin.
Tim, Richard and Amy.
Eleri and Henry.
Matt and Nige.
Paul, Scott and Mitch. They're sad to see us go...
Gemma, Huia and Naj.
Eleri, Kelly and Gem.
Rach and Hannah.
MC and Eleri.
John impressed with all the fighter jets at the Imperial War Museum.
178C Iverson Rd, West Hampstead.

The following are some Kilburn High Rd favourites from our 3 years living in NW6:

Lots of pounds were spent here on some top-quality goods.
The best Sunday Roast on the High Rd - all you can pile your plate with for a fiver.
Mmmm Spicy Basil. Lots of creamy red curry was purchased from this top-class Kilburn takeaway (or dine-in if you're feeling flash!)
Willesden Lane, our first road.
The best Indian in London? Maybe. Definitely the best for under a fiver anyway. And it's on Willesden Lane! And no-one else knows about it!
Flat 1, 44 Willesden Lane, Kilburn - our home for two years.
One of John's favourites.
Kelly and Mitch's place round the corner - it's NOT a massage parlour though so stop ringing the doorbell to ask for one!
Another High Rd favourite - Woody Grill.
Sam's Chicken - 2 burgers and 2 chips for 2 quid!!

One of the ways MC filled in her days of unemployment - making birthday cakes! A treasure chest for Pirates of the Caribbean-mad Rach.
Yum!
Huia's baby shower cake topper - attempt number 1.
Baby shower games - feeding each other baby food blindfolded - got a bit messy...
Naj and Rach.

Naj trying to guess which chocolate bar was in this 'crappy nappy'.
The mum-to-be is not sure about this one.
Cake number 2 by MC for Huia's baby shower.

And cake number 3 for Kelly's birthday.
MC's work for 3 years - The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

John at Thorpe Park for his birthday.
MC, Rach and some of MC's workmates went on a Thames boat cruise.
Girls on the Thames boat.

MC and Rach.
Pretty buildings on the Thames at sunset.

And so concludes our amazing 3.5 years living in London. We've had a ball and are sad to leave but are looking forward to 2 months in the States and then settling back into life in New Zealand. It's not the end of the blog though - keep checking for our USA roadtrip updates!

Cruising the Canal du Midi

For our final trip in Europe we hired a self-drive boat and cruised the Canal du Midi in the south of France for a week along with six friends (Rachael, Tim, Kelly, Mitch, Emma and Rohan). It was a relaxing but fun week, with lots of stops at quaint little French villages, wine tasting and lock navigating.

We had one night in Carcassonne, where we got to see a pretty sunset from the rampart of the castle.
Carcassonne castle at sunset.


And in daylight.
The castle is huge and has been restored to a high standard. This is a view from a window on one side of the castle looking out to the other side and the surrounding Carcassonne township.
MC, Rach and Kelly outside the castle.
John and MC outside the castle.
The village of Ventenac where we moored for a night. Our boat ("Sartene") is moored up outside the chateau where we indulged in a little wine tasting.
The boat came with bikes so we could explore a little bit further into the countryside. MC sampling grapes from one of the ubiquitous vineyards.
Sadly we were a little too late for the sunflower season - they looked a little sad.
Rach relaxing in the wee pool on the end of the boat.
Too much red wine and good food!
Kelly and Mitch chilling on the front deck.
Pretty bridge.
Rach is the king of the world!
Lock-keepers' sculptures at the Aiguille lock.
Captain Tim and First Mate Rach.
Seven smiling sailors....
... and one scary zombie!!! out for a delicious dinner in Homps.
Captain MC looking on as Rach mans the ropes in a lock.
Captain MC, Tim and Mitch.
" Le Jonathan"....
... and "Marie-Claire"! Sadly there was no "Nadine".
First Mate Mitch and Captain MC.
The girls (MC, Rach, Emma and Kelly) relaxing on the front deck.
Captain Mitch and First Mate John and Kelly, Emma and Rach soaking up the sunshine.
The boys up top.
Pretty house and vineyards along the canal.
Mitch filling up Sartene with water
The girls relaxing in the pool.
MC, Rach and Kelly in Beziers.
Looking towards the old town in Beziers.
Part of the amazing 5-lock Fonserannes staircase at Beziers. Luckily we didn't have to take the boat through these!
View of Beziers from where we moored the boat.
Captain John driving us through the Malpas Tunnel (the world's first canal tunnel).

Boats moored along the pretty tree-lined canal.
Captain John.
Arriving back to the boat after a spot of wine-tasting. MC's "baby" is actually 10L (for 20 euros!) of red wine from Gimie the local winemaker.
Wine-tasting with Gimie.
Beautiful day for a bikeride.
View from the top of the cathedral in Capestang. You can see the Pyrenees mountains in the background.
Emma, Rohan, John and MC on top of the cathedral.
Rohan, Emma, Kelly, MC, John and Rach at a pretty bridge along the canal.
Captain MC.
We received a lot of attention (and salutes and photos!) from passing boats who found this outfit a great laugh.
Don't tell the rest of the crew that John was driving with his feet.
MC on top deck.