Oct 2007

Bolton - July 2007
A rainy weekend in July we headed north to catch up with Robyn's family in Bolton. Although not the most scenic of cities in England, it was where Robyn's grandfather came from and we had a guided tour thanks to Norman!

1. Reebok Stadium - a must see on the Bolton tour!!!

We also had a few hours to kill in Manchester...and got absolutely soaked doing so!!!

1. Council Buildings and Town Hall
2. Manchester Cathedral

Southwold - August 2007
We had been told that Southwold was a really nice English beach, so we decided to check it out for ourselves. Unfortunately the school holidays were still going and it was a bit too busy for our liking. The beach and village are really different from eachother and we still prefer NZ beaches!!!

We stopped at Framlingham on the way which was really cool.

Game 1: NZ vs Italy (6 September 2007) - Marseille

Gareth arrived on Thursday afternoon and found himself a few people he knew (not a surprise at all really...) So he did a bit of sightseeing, drinking, eating and sunning himself (we love the Med!).

And a funny story...Robyn wasn't meant to be going as this was a 'boys trip', but someone pulled out so she got to go in the end (and was just a tad excited!!). Flights were horrendously expensive and the cheapest option was the last flight into Marseille before the game started. Just so you know, the flights back was fine! Thanks to the excellent English weather her flight was delayed and she arrived while the anthems were being sung looking very hot and sweaty having just legged it from the nearest train station. But she made it so that was the main thing!

1. View from our seats - it was brilliant watching rugby in glorious sunshine! Robyn even got a tan!!
2. Chris Jack Try
3. Doug Howlett Try

Marseille had a wicked carnival-like atmosphere, not like anywhere we had been before for a rugby match. The whole city was behind the World Cup and everyone was really welcoming. In a nutshell, we had a great time and caught up with loads of people we hadn't seen in ages.

1. Marseille Waterfront
2. All Black Trees in the middle of town
3. This street was renamed Rue de Rugby
4. Gareth annoying a local... (why are there always model animals in the streets of European cities?!)

On the Sunday we did a boat trip down the eastern coast, which was gorgeous and made us want to stay there!

It was filled with hundreds of little bays which were crammed full of boats and people. No idea how they all got there but was so peaceful and beautiful.

Game 2: NZ vs Scotland (24 September 2007) - EdinburghA bit of a change from Marseille, slightly colder and greyer, but thousands of kiwis made their way north. We saw so many people we knew...crazy times.
No funny stories this time; everything went according to plan thank goodness.

View from our seats at Murrayfield

And I had to put this one in...

Game 3: NZ vs ? in a semi-final - Paris
Well...it didn't go according to plan. We lived through watching the AB's lose in a pub full of English cheering for the French (something you don't see everyday) and we survived all the emails and jibes. Robyn had to sell her ticket to an English rugby supporter and made a nice little profit on the side; we then had to change our tickets. So we are now going to Prague instead! Yay for us!!!!