Snap back to reality (oh there goes gravity)

There's been a bit of stuff going on since our New York and Ireland trip, so I thought I would update you all on the g-o.

We are moving house on Friday. Tim and Charis (our housemates) have had enough of us and are moving all the way back to Melbourne to escape us. With Jane's job being down south and us living north, it made sense to move a little closer to Jane's work. So on Friday we will move to Balham in South London. Our address will be 14 Marius Road, Balham, United Kingdom SW17 7QQ. We will be living with another couple, a South African guy (Rick) and a Dutch girl (Leonie), who both seem really nice.

Tim and Charis leaving will mean a big change for us given they've been our makeshift family for the time we've been here. We've shared the ups and downs of setting up, working and British "customer service" so it will be sad to see them go, and very different for us. But we know they're going to a better place (yes they are only moving, not dying). The great news for all you Melbournians is that you never have to worry about getting to the airport again. Although they fly back mid-next week, it may take Tim until early Feb to leave Tullamarine such is his love of airports.

On Sunday, we are going to a wedding at Buxted Park in Sussex. Maddie and John who I worked with at Churchill are getting married. The reception is in the Orangery (see the picture on the right), so not such a bad place really. We're staying down there for the night which should be very nice. Jane unfortunately has to work the next day though. I will have breakfast with them and everyone else who's staying there, and then I have to go into town for a component of the Macquarie Bank interview process, psychometric testing (for those of you who have done it, it's 2.5 hours of misery). I'm talking to them about roles they have now in Sydney but I'm keen to get in with them, tell them I want Melbourne, and hope that when I get back to Melbourne they remember me. It can't fail...

Jane's new job is going well. She has now met 3 of her "clients" that she key works, with her 4th being the next person to move in. I visited her on Saturday night and saw her work. It's a new building and her job was a little different to what I expected, with it being split between generally managing a hostel and doing social worker/pastoral care/painting rooms/community sessions. But so far she has been enjoying it, though this week being a 7-day straight week is taking its toll, particularly give it will involve 2 over nighters. If you want to read more about Foyer, jump on here.

The only other news of mine is that through Oasis (Jane's employer) I may do the London Marathon. I've given myself 2 weeks of training to see how I pull up and whether or not I'd be committed to training and unfortunately, so far so good. I've done 42 miles (67 km) in 12 days, with my longest run being 8.4 miles (about 14km...still only 1/3rd of the way). So I'm working up to it slowly. My body is unhappy, but only 14 weeks more of pain, then one day of massive pain, a week of residual pain, and then I'm never going to exercise again. I still don't know if I can get a place in it though, and even if I do, I'm meant to raise £2,000, which given my limited contacts in London, could be difficult.

So that's just a little update on where things are at. Don't forget to update your address books and for now delete our old home phone number from your directory. Our mobiles remain the same and we'll let you know when we know our new home number.

The Emerald Isle

Chris and I enjoyed a relaxing few days in Ireland from Boxing Day through to New Year’s. It was a very different New Year's week as it was bitterly cold with rain and wind to add, rather than the unbearable heat that we are usually experiencing this time of year. We began the journey in Dublin after a sleepless overnight flight from New York. It was Boxing Day (or St Stephen's Day in Ireland) and nothing was open! Seriously nothing. We struggled our way through the day, trying to stay awake and having very little to do. We picked up our car in Dublin and enjoyed the massive sales the on the 27th when the place came alive!

Dublin was nothing remarkable to either of us but we did enjoy Kilkenny which is a quaint Irish town with narrow streets and cobblestone paths. We had an Irish pub experience there which was a highlight. It is just in the Irish culture to sing while you are drinking so the pub was alive with noise! I felt quite rude though when a couple of people started chatting to me (Ed's note: that should read "couple of men trying to pick her up") and after a few goes I had to tell them I had no idea what they were saying. Their accents were just so thick! That was a great night.

We travelled through to Waterford (where the crystal is made) and then onto Tramore, a seaside town. It was quite in the middle of winter but we stayed at a lovely hostel which made a difference. We spent the following day in the car, taking the scenic route to our next destination. We drove along the coast and saw some pretty amazing cliffs and waves. It was pouring with rain and it seemed to make it all the more dramatic. We loved that drive and the country towns we stopped at along the way.

We were fortunate enough to see the Rock of Cashel which was a highlight. It was an old fort and chapel which is in ruins. The abbey about a km down the road was incredible too. We were totally alone exploring these massive ruins. We loved it. Unfortunately many of the places we wanted to visit were closed over the Christmas break but we still managed to fit some things in.
Limerick was a nice little town also although our enduring memory will be an old bloke at the front of his pub on New Year’s not letting us in as he didn’t accept driver’s licenses as a valid form of id. Hmm? Maybe he just didn’t like Australians or something. Chris enjoyed exploring the nearby caves (apparently the best in Europe but still nothing to write home about) and we both enjoyed exploring Lough Gur which was an ancient Neolithic site that spread through the surrounding countryside.

We had a relaxed New Year and reflected on how much we are missing family and friends. We went to a couple of bars and then ended up back at our hotel for an early night. Ireland was very picturesque and it would have been great to spend more time there exploring the countryside but what we did manage to cover, we enjoyed all the same.

Feel free to jump on our photo site to see a few of our photos from Ireland (photos.yahoo.com/csmoyle)

Waking up in the city that never sleeps

We spent the week before Christmas in New York. After flying in we headed straight to Times Square (all of a couple of hundred metres from where we were staying) where we were met by blinding lights.

The first full day we spent there we walked from mid-town where we were staying to Battery Park at the lower tip of Manhattan. This took us past the old WTC site, Wall Street, Macy's and heaps of other landmarks you would associate with New York. We took a trip to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is and Ellis Island which until the mid-20th century was used as an immigration point for income immigrants. It's now an immigration museum.

The second day we were meant to take a surprise trip to Yankees Stadium for a tour as my Christmas present, but unfortunately the surprise was that there was a subway strike and we couldn't get there (the prospect of walking from 45th street to 161st wasn't that enticing!). Instead we went to Grand Central Station and then onto the UN Building. We did a tour of the UN but were told we couldn't see the General Assembly or Security Council as both were in session. When we got to the General Assembly though, they let us in just as Kofi Annan was addressing the General Assembly. We got to hear about 15 mins of his address, something he only does every few months or so. So we got very lucky there.

Rather than running through day by day, I'll give you the highlights from here. Firstly, was one day walking up to Central Park and going ice skating on the Wollman Rink. With views as you skate of the Plaza Hotel, the skyscrapers of Manhattan and the shops of 5th Avenue, it is just incredible. Jane hadn't skated before but picked it up very quickly.

Other highlights were climbing the Empire State (though at this time of year the views are a little shortened by the haze), going to see a Knicks game at Maddison Square Garden (Knicks were pumped by Spurs) and of course, Jane would kick me if I didn't mention the shopping. Bloomingdales, Saks 5th Avenue and Macy's were the highlights both inside and outside. After living in London too, the shopping was eminently affordable though we mainly picked up souvenir-ish kinds of clothes.

Christmas Day was spent with Tim and Charis (friends from home and our current housemates) at the Marriott Hotel Times Square having a very nice roast. We then jumped in a limo for the trip to the airport, before and overnight flight to Ireland. All up it was a bizarre but nice Christmas, though we're all looking forward to Christmas 2006 with our families and friends around.

As usual, check out our photos site (photos.yahoo.com/csmoyle) to see a few of our photos from New York.