Normal Transmission to resume asap (now with pics)
We are safe and sound in Muscat.
I realise its been a month since my last post - sincere apologies, we are not yet internet enabled at home. Apologies also there won't be any pics as yet, for one my camera was stolen in Rome, and the internet speed at this internet cafe is frustratingly slow!
Its been a crazy month, we packed so much in during that time, that since we've arrived in Oman we've just plonked ourselves down and not done just about zip!
Mum and Tyler left us last weekend - after 6 weeks it was so sad to see them go, but they were ready to see our family in New Zealand and be back in their own homes.
As I previously mentioned I was pickpocketed in Rome! It was a major downer during our visit there, it happened on the second day so we lost many precious and priceless photos like the boys slumped in the Vatican after too much sightseeing. The worst part was I had spent the whole time telling mum to watch out for her handbag :-( Aside from that we had a great time there, we were a little disappointed by all the graffiti and litter, but found it easy to get around using public transport and took in the most important sites like the Collesium, some catacombes, the Appian way, the Trevi Fountain, and of course St Peter's Basicila.
Some photos just don't need captions....
Feeding pigeons in St Mary Major square
We found it easy to communicate with the Italians, you just seem to add an 'a' or an 'o' to words we use in English. Brannan earned a round of applause and a 'Bravo' from a waitress in a gelato shop when he pronounced his gelato 'perfecto' :-)
It was quite hard finding a balance between what Mum and I wanted to see and how much the kids could take in. No sooner had we been at the Vatican for about 15 mins Tyler wanted to know where the electronics shops were?!?!
After our whistlestop trip to Rome we had two days in which to finish packing and cleaning the flat in Barnet. We managed to fill 15 cartons, with me emptying cupboards of personal effects and Mum filling the boxes. I made a really dumb mistake with the keys to the flat which left us locked out on our last night there, luckily Dorothy and Alan were putting us up for the night anyhow, but suitcases, wallets and cellphones were all still inside. It put us behind for our scheduled trip to Bristol as I had to return the next morning with keys borrowed from the land agents and spend several more hours cleaning.
Our trip down to Bristol was just as manic. We introduced the children to 27 extended family members over 3 days in 4 different homes. It was endless cups of tea, laughter, tears and reminiscing. Not much fun for Bran, Pet and Tyler really, but Mum had a great time. An enduring memory there for me was when her cousin Richard (whom she hadn't seen for 34 years) came charging at her to give her a kiss. Mum hadn't expected to see him and had no idea who he was :-)
Visiting cousins Suzanne, Colin and Auntie Eunice in Bristol
We returned to London from Bristol with just enough time to do all our laundry before catching the train across to Paris. Not sure if we were just too tired from our tripping around or if it was just the cold and mostly wet weather that got to us. Highlights were the night visit to the Eiffel Tower and Disneyland. Our hotel was pretty grubby (what do you expect for two stars!) and because we were travelling on a budget we didn't get to experience any of the wining or dining that Paris is famous for... although we do know where you can find McDonalds :-) Petra lost her first tooth outside the Notre Dame Cathedral so big excitement for her.
Take a guess where....
How about this one?
Nearly Disneylanded out!
After one last day in London we left England for good flying out for Dubai. Mum and Tyler had return tickets to London with a 10 day stopover in Dubai, so our plans were for us all to catch a bus across to Muscat after two days in Dubai. Mum and Tyler seemed just as taken with Dubai as we were last July when we visited. Its a completely different country that is bustling and filled with amazing sights. The temperatures were much more agreeable than when we were last there and so we managed to see in one day what took us four days last year. An enjoyable day was had by all at the Wild Wadi water park, although poor Mum got dumped on one of the slides which put her off completely :-)
Then it was time for the 5.5 hour bus trip to Oman. We had taken some pretty hairy journeys last year in Asia and so were prepared for the worst. I had been stressing about getting 5 people, and 16 pieces of luggage (10 large and 6 hand luggage) across the border, but the coach was very comfortable, the scenery fabulous and the luggage not a problem at all once each child was assigned responsibility for a couple of pieces each :-) It seemed strange to be lugging winter coats around, but we had needed them up until the last minute in London, although we did dump Petra's in the bin at Heathrow!
Mark met us at the bus station in Muscat, and we haven't budged far since.
I have so much to tell you all about Muscat, but am just about out of steam for the time being and I'm sure you will appreciate me finishing up here for now too.
Will be back as soon as I can.
Love to all
Hayls
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