Western Heritage Tour 2017

The week in Paris was fun, started off with a lengthy train ride from Beaucaire. We arrived at hotel Gay Lussac to drop off our luggage then headed out for a evening walk to the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and Champs Elysees. The fellas headed out for a few hours for free time to check out the shops up the Champs Elysees. We the headed to the Arc de Triomphe but were turned away because of our lack of reservation. That concluded our first day in Paris. The following day the group returned to the Louvre and we spent 5 hours admiring the artwork and sculptures dispersed around the gallery, including the Mona Lisa. Later that night we went the a mall to top up on food and buy ourselves dinner, followed by us heading up the only hill in Paris to see the Sacred Heart church, which was nice as it looked over all of Paris. The next day was Bastille day, so the fellas headed to the Champs Elysees to see the grande parade thrown by Paris, which showcased every military plane and vehicles imagi...

Touching down after a turbulent night before in Ancona train station, we dropped our bags of at our hostel. Our accommodation is very nice. The bunks are reasonably comfy and the bathrooms are clean, considering they are shared. I share a room with Hamish, Alex, Tommy, Josh Busch and Josh Jefferies. The first sight was Santa Maria Maggiore, a highly enjoyable experience as we witnessed Mass with a select few of Cardinals in attendance. The church for me was the benchmark in what I considered a good church, with most of the churches in Rome fortunately exceeding this. We have been to a lot of churches, so it's hard to distinguish which church is which, without looking at photos of memorable objects in that particular arena of God. For me, the most amazing and memorable churches we visited were Saint Peter's Basilica and Saint Paul's Without The Walls. Saint Peter's was an incredible experience, from the gold-covered walls, to the large sarcophagi that surrounded deceased...

Staying true to form here is an update on the burn situation - I've actually gotten proper lucky and have a bronze glow, a true Adonis. Peel scarring is minimal, only real backlash I've received is a filthy tan line. Solid effort. The train ride from Venice to Dijon turned out to be pretty hectic - our train was halted and thoroughly searched by Swiss Border Patrol at approximately 3am, meaning many confused/bewildered teens who were extremely tired later on in the morning. After what happened at the Ancona train station I was beginning to wonder if all our travel across borders would be interrupted (luckily Eurostar was pretty decent, if uneventful). Once in Avignon we made our way to our hotel in Beaucaire. After the density/volume of my previous blog posts I truly am sorry to disappoint readers, but there isn't much to say about Beaucaire. - It was definitely the nicest accommodation we encountered on tour, with a spacious 4 boys per room, a pool, and 3 course dinners pr...

Hi Tom Looks like France was amazing, being there for Bastille Day would have been just awesome. We saw a bit of the celebrations on the news here.  Now into the homeward stretch and  being in London and Cambridge  and seeing all they have to offer too will be memorable.  Give us a call when you catch up with Uncle Richard! Dad and Lily are in Queenstown skiing and no doubt missing you! See you on Sunday! Mum 😊 Connect with us The information contained in this email and any attached files are strictly private and confidential. This email should be read only by the intended addressee only. If the recipient of this message is not the intended addressee, please call Staples Australia Pty Limited on +61 2 9335 0555 or Staples New Zealand Limited on +64 9 271 7600 and promptly delete this email and any attachments. The intended recipient of this email may only use, reproduce, disclose or distribute the informa...

Touching down after a turbulent night before in Ancona train station, we dropped our bags of at our hostel. Our accommodation is very nice. The bunks are reasonably comfy and the bathrooms are clean, considering they are shared. I share a room with Hamish, Alex, Tommy, Josh Busch and Josh Jefferies. The first sight was Santa Maria Maggiore, a highly enjoyable experience as we witnessed Mass with a select few of Cardinals in attendance. The church for me was the benchmark in what I considered a good church, with most of the churches in Rome fortunately exceeding this. We have been to a lot of churches, so it's hard to distinguish which church is which, without looking at photos of memorable objects in that particular arena of God. For me, the most amazing and memorable churches we visited were Saint Peter's Basilica and Saint Paul's Without The Walls. Saint Peter's was an incredible experience, from the gold-covered walls, to the large sarcophagi that surrounded deceased...

The week in Paris was fun, started off with a lengthy train ride from Beaucaire. We arrived at hotel Gay Lussac to drop off our luggage then headed out for a evening walk to the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and Champs Elysees. The fellas headed out for a few hours for free time to check out the shops up the Champs Elysees. We the headed to the Arc de Triomphe but were turned away because of our lack of reservation. That concluded our first day in Paris. The following day the group returned to the Louvre and we spent 5 hours admiring the artwork and sculptures dispersed around the gallery, including the Mona Lisa. Later that night we went the a mall to top up on food and buy ourselves dinner, followed by us heading up the only hill in Paris to see the Sacred Heart church, which was nice as it looked over all of Paris. The next day was Bastille day, so the fellas headed to the Champs Elysees to see the grande parade thrown by Paris, which showcased every military plane and vehicles imagi...

Our journey began with a 17 hour flight to Dubai from Auckland. I had an aisle seat and I sat next to Derek, Sam and Charlie. I watched half of doctor strange and Star Wars rogue one. I successfully finished iron man 3 and trolls. After taking a sleeping tablet I was only able to get a couple hours sleep. I was quite disappointed with the Dubai airport, everything was expensive and over priced. However I was able to buy some cheap cologne for myself. Walking onto the plane for Athens we encountered the immense heat of Dubai. For this flight I  sat next to Derek again and watched Moana and a couple of episodes of the 100. Greece, Athens We arrived in Athens, saw the government building and the changing of the guard and saw some artefacts in the syntagma square train station. We dropped our gear off at the "economy hotel'. I was going to be rooming with Sam Budge and Derek for the next couple of days. We went to the central area of Athens for dinner, this was where I brought my ...

Hey bud, I just checked yr $ & it was very low.  You keep withdrawing € which has left you with very little £. I've topped you up. Travel safe. Mum

Happy Birthday!!! Hope you are enjoying your 18 th in Paris! We are enjoying reading the blog site, so send a blog about your birthday. It’s really quiet at home. Tai has gone back to Otago and Dad comes back from Vegas tomorrow. Ryan and Nico have been in their cave most of the school holidays and have turned into vampires again. Your Supreme top is fixed! Looking forward to seeing the results of your excellent haggling. See you soon. Everybody says Happy Birthday. Love mum. CAUTION - This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or reproduction of this message is prohibited. This email was sent by the Bank of New Zealand. You can contact us on 0800 ASK BNZ (0800 275 269). Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily ref...

Heather Golder has sent you a link to a blog: Hi Oliver. Great to see more photos. Must have been amazing to be in Paris on Bastille Day. Molly continues to improve. All missing you - see you next week. xx Blog: Western Heritage Tour 2017 Post: Olliver Wood Link: http://wh2017.blogspot.com/2017/07/olliver-wood.html -- Powered by Blogger https://www.blogger.com/

am i right in thinking the email option has been down for a few days? it should be back in operation now.

We've had a lovely day in Paris -- we watched the Bastille celebrations (which Donald Trump also attended), and couldn't help but be impressed with the array of fighter planes, tanks, rocket launchers and helicopters. We then toured Les Invalides, the military museum, and then shot through to St. Denis for a look at the first Gothic church. There's a concert tonight at 9.30 on the Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower, with the French National Orchestra and a state radio choir, which should be fabulous, all followed by a spectacular fireworks display at 11.30, so it's going to be a late night!! I'm so tired I'm almost dropping, but today's just one of those serendipitous opportunities -- I love Paris in the summer!! Hope you're all well, Warren B

Flights were good, the food was as expected (we both know what's expected of Emirates),  then touched down in Athens. Lads keen to experience the first taste of the life of the buck, most of them getting an unpleasant surprise as it directly contradicted their “private school” lifestyle. An experience of a less developed economy was a good one; as it taught the lads to haggle, have some knowledge of prices and quality and of course, experience with the Moroccans.This was an interesting one as innocent little Remuera boys are generally willing to have a conversation or handshake with these men, but as I have learned due to Andy’s misfortune, they are all out to make an easy buck so in conclusion ignorance is a virtue. The ruins of Athens were something else to see in the flesh, as they are just ruins. KIDDING. With some contextual knowledge of these landmarks at hand the group could really visualise the significance of these great ancient structures, as well as how long they have ac...

The group is currently in Beaucaire in the South of France after an excellent but intense time in Rome, Florence and Venice. Beaucaire appears to be a very rural place; it reminds me of a much nicer version of Kumeu. One of the main differences with respect to staying in Beaucaire is that we are staying in a very nice hotel, with in-house restaurant meals every night. We also transport ourselves in Renault minivans. These minivans have forced our poor teachers to relive their torrid teenage driving lessons, as unfortunately all three vans are manual, adding to the confusion of driving on the wrong side of the road. After many instances of looking the wrong way at roundabouts, stalling, accidentally running red lights, near-misses, kerbings, and the ever-present stench of clutches burning out, the convoy finally seems to be getting used to the driving after three days in Beaucaire. There is also a pool at the hotel, which is excellent for both sunbathing and cooling off; however, Sam ...

Sent from my iPhone Hey J, Your blogs have been as insightful as our evening conversations but I still miss you more than you would know. I bought a turntable and some albums that I look forward to enjoying with you on your return. Mum just looks forward to your blog. Don't let Ben K steal your thunder. I can just imagine how much you both are wanting to post a blog first. Love Dad xx (here are some pics of said turntable and some of the albums)

Wow, that second blog post of yours was 2000+ words.  Your typing speed must have improved heaps or it took you hours.  Well done. Looks like the required 500 words will be a piece of cake.  Not sure if you got this earlier post from us yesterday:    Hate to say it but we are missing you, although am enjoying not having to hunt for the TV remote and replenishing the choc chippie biscuits every couple of days! Really enjoyed your first (and seemingly only one to date) post and looking forward to another one.  It sounds like it has done the rounds in New Plymouth – probably even made it to the Bridge club . . . you know your Grandmother!  Everyone well here, though weather wet and cold – definitely envying the weather where you are and all the things you are seeing and doing.  Your team have had a couple of good wins against Westlake [2-0] & Kelston [6-3].  I hope you (and all of the boys) are taking lots of photos of everything...

Hi everyone, Well, we've reached the halfway stage at Beaucaire, and the group is finally getting a bit of a rest. The teachers had a fairly horrendous journey overnight from Venice to Dijon, with nocturnal interruptions from train staff, Italian customs, and then Swiss border guards who wanted to see all passports and to match passports to faces for two compartments before finally giving up, as well as sharing our compartment with two others who arrived about 11pm (one of whom was detained by the Swiss at 3am and not seen again.....). So, a much-needed sleep last night before heading out to Nîmes and Arles today. I think that many of your boys are here to shop more than to look at monuments and art — several have already broken out their second bag, they seem to be ploughing through their euros with enormous enthusiasm, and they ask constantly where the next stores are. I hope your bank balances are coping! We've had the odd bout of plague, weariness and colds, but everyone is...

Touching down after a turbulent night before in Ancona train station, we dropped our bags of at our hostel. Our accomodation is very nice. The bunks are reasonably comfy and the bathrooms are clean, considering they are shared. I share a room with Hamish, Alex, Tommy, Josh Busch and Josh Jefferies. The first sight was Santa Maria Maggiore, a highly enjoyable experience as we witnessed Mass with a select few of Cardinals in attendance. The church for me was the benchmark in what I considered a good church, with most of the churches in Rome fortunately exceeding this. We have been to a lot of churches, so it's hard to distinguish which church is which, without looking at photos of memorable objects in that particular arena of God. For me, the most amazing and memorable churches we visited were Saint Peter's Basilica and Saint Paul's Without The Walls. Saint Peter's was an incredible experience, from the gold-covered walls, to the large sarcophagae that surrounded deceased...

After my first days in Europe, Athens, I had seen the different cultures and the every day environment of Athens. It was a place I could see myself wanting to live in. Everyday was very hot, food was cheap and so nice. Shopping was the best part, the amount of choices you had was very different to your typical clothes back in Auckland. Especially at night the vibes of the city was just so relaxing. Everyone is out going, buskers having fun with the crowd and everyone just getting in there having a good time. The monuments we saw were outstanding. This was the very first time I had seen them apart from pictures and videos of them. But seeing them in front of my eye was awesome, taking pictures and all could not do justice. After Athens we were to travel to Italy by an overnight Ferry! I was looking forward to that so much! However when we got to the terminal our ferry had been delayed and we had to wait around in the Ferry terminal for a few hours which wasn't too bad as us boys wer...

At this very moment, I'm extremely red-skinned. "The sun isn't as penetrating in Europe" they said. Evidently they were wrong. Other than my vivid tan lines, the trip so far has been everything I had envisioned and more. On the plane ride I had the pleasure of sitting with Charlie, Derek and Josh, all great blokes. Very soon I realised I was underprepared for the long haul flight, with all 3 boys quickly pulling out their neck pillows and fidget spinners to keep them comfortable and entertained - while I on the other hand was quite bored, and only got 3 hours sleep on the 18 hour flight. The Airport at Dubai was extravagant to say the least. Filled with shops and cafes, the over-the-top nature of the airport became apparent when I saw 3 Porsches being given away raffle-style in the main lobby (as opposed to the Suzuki's/Kia's we have back in New Zealand). The airport's main redeeming feature was a rainbow light-up waterfall that could be seen from the elev...