A day of traumas!

Well, what a day. It took me two, yes that's TWO hours to get over to the east end. Traffic was horrendous and I think it was national let you idiot drive day today. I don't understand why it takes people so long to pull away from traffic lights!! Or why they start slowing down when they approach green traffic lights! Or how some people drive so slowly! Anyhoo, I eventually met Mum and Nan in Asda and I spent a fortune - not one to go hungry! Also bought some t-shirts and stuff! Then when we were packing up the cars, there was an almighty bang - two cars had collided. As I looked round I could see the smoke from the airbags. The noise and the smoke brought back all the memories of my crash and I started to lose it a bit. It's so weird to think how quickly it all comes back, I thought I was totally over it. Luckily the people in the two cars got out and seemed to be okay. Bet it shook them up though! My mum was saying she couldn't believe how loud the bang was - it's a sound that I couldn't get out of my head for months after my crash. We headed back to Nan's for a bit and then Mum and I walked down Crisp Street to get some saveloys and pease pudding - yum! Not had it in years! Then it was back in the car for another two bloody hours to get home! Apparently there was some mechanical elephant being taken around the streets of London, so there were loads of road closures. Why?! Why would you build a mechanical elephant? And why would you drag it round London?! Could they not have waited until tomorrow? Who makes these decisions?! And the journey home was made slightly worse by the football scores. Brentford were 1-0 up when I set off. Then Bournemouth equalised. Then Andy Frampton put us back in front. Then they had a player sent off. And then they scored in th 91st minute! It didn't matter in the end, as Colchester drew at Yeovil. I really hoped Paul Terry's team would have done the business, but it would have been worse if Yeovil had won and we had drawn! So, it's the play offs again. My trip to Cardiff is once again a possibility. But we've got to get pass the curse of third place. Third place never gets promoted! We're playing Swansea in the semi's, first leg on Thursday. I'll miss the 2nd leg - it's the day of the parade. Booger! I wonder if the folks will be back from Italy by then. It's honours even between us and Swansea this year. We won 2-1 at home and so did they. Ah well, fingers crossed! And apparently the News of the World is going to publish some big news about one of the main England players tomorrow. Typical. That's all it's going to be until the World Cup - digging up stuff on the squad. The English press couldn't possibly just get behind the squad and support them!Pah!

Random thoughts...

So, Rooney's foot is still broken. He's still out for at least 6 weeks. Fergie is still doing his best to get "the boy" to Germany. And Sven is still going to name him in the squad. We know! Does it have to be on every news?! Please tell me it's not going to be like this for 6 weeks! And all the "woe is us, that's our World Cup over" talk is doing my head in! We're not a one man team! Sure, he's a great player (even though it pains me to say it!) and yes it would be great to have him fully fit and in the squad. But basically what everyone (media etc) is saying is that all we need to beat the best players in the world, is Wayne Rooney in our team. So, how come the team that he plays for, week in week out, hasn't won the Premiership, the FA Cup and the Champions League? And here was me thinking football was a team sport! Yes, he is a fantastic talent, and he can score great goals. But look at the Premiership's top scorers for this year...Darren Bent has scored more goals than Rooney! Look at the team that won the Premiership - who is their top scorer? Lampard. Is he not in the England squad? And then there is the team currently 3rd in the league - Their top scorer? - Gerrard has scored 10 this season. English is he not? If we had a weak squad with one talent, I'd be more inclined to panic. But we have one of the best squads we have had in years! We've got the best defender in the world (JT!), and our midfield is unbelievable. Whether Gerrard is pushed up a bit, or maybe Lamps or Cole, stick either Ledley King or Michael Carrick in the holding role (whoever is fit, both can do the job). We could go on for hours talking about the amazing players we have in our squad, but it's not the English thing to do, is it? Far better to look at the bad side of things, rubbish our chances before a ball is kicked. I wish our media would get behind the team, let the other players in the squad know that we believe in them, in their talent, and that they AS A TEAM can bring us back the World Cup. Makes me mad! But thank God JT's scan came back clear - now that would have been the end of our World Cup if he couldn't play! ;-) The whole country will probably be hoping Owen doesn't have to play on Sunday in case our nasty defenders hack him down too. Poor old Paulo - it wasn't his fault! What else has been happening lately? Went out for drinks in Hammersmith last night with Raz and Jane. We decided it was too nice an evening to be home indoors, so we sat by the river drinking and putting the world to rights. Raz still can't answer the all important question of "how many times have Liverpool won the PREMIERSHIP". LOL. The change in name made all the difference!!!! Glad the weekend is with us once more. Off to do the family thing in the east end tomorrow, not sure what the rest of the weekend holds. I can't believe the footie season ends on Sunday! Well, FA Cup, CL and play offs aside. I might see if the gang from Chelsea want to watch the two finals in a pub somewhere. I'm sure I can find some claret and blue for the FA Cup. C'mon you Hammers!! Got to go with the London side - and it's my mum's team! Not sure about the CL final. Part of me wants Barca to win, because they knocked us out - always better to go out to the eventual winners. And I don't want Arsenal beating us to the trophy! Mind you, we did beat them to back to back titles! But, again, feeling the whole London thing. And it is Danny's team. But I do hate Wenger! Anyway, enough drivel - it's time for dinner...

That's why we're champions....again!!

Well, what a day Saturday was! I met Emily just before 9am and we walked to the Bridge. The few hours before the game seemed to go on for a lifetime - couldn't wait for the game to get started! The Man Utd fans was great. Everyone goes on about how fantastic the Liverpool fans are for singing and that, but I thought the Man Utd fans were even better! They didn't stop from start to finish, despite losing 3-0 and with that losing any hope of winning the Premiership. The atmosphere was amazing! One of the Man Utd fans wwas telling me that the Liverpool fans had wrecked Old Trafford last week during the semi. apparently they caused half a million pounds worth of damage! Eeeeek! I wouldn't like to be at the Man Utd v Liverpool games next year! i doubt Anfield will be left the way they found it when they visit! When the Man Utd players came out to warm out I felt a bit sorry for Ronaldo. Which is amazing considering what I usually think of him! He came out after the rest of the team and when they were running back and forth across the pitch he was always just a bit behind. Then they split off into twos and thress to warm up, but Ronaldo was left on his own, kicking the ball about on his own. He didn't seem to have too many friends among the squad!I thought it was going to be a really tight game, maybe even a 0-0. So when Willy scored in the 4th minute I was amazed! And then JT went down after Rooney's tackle and stayed down, I felt sick! He couldn't get injured now! Not in this game and not so close to the World Cup! And you know when JT stays down, he's hurt! I was convinced he had broken something and that was his World Cup over! Especially when they brought the stretcher over! But, being the tough guy that he is, he was soon back on, and back putting in those important tackles! He was still limping a fair bit, but he got the job done as ever! Then Cech made that superb save from Rooney just before half time - thank God! It wasn't too long into the first half when my sympathy for Ronaldo evapourated - he is such a tart! People think Drogba is the worst offender when it comes to diving, but Ronaldo?! He only needs another player to look at him and he falls over! It's such a shame, because he has got a great talent, and could be amazing!Second half was just as good, if not better! Joe's goal was fantastic! And just as I was thinking about what a great game Ricky was having, he goes and scores a goal! Bless him! And Paulo was having another great game, I've really been impressed by him this season, I wasn't too sure about him last year, but he works so hard. His tackle on Rooney was fantastic, but then Rooney didn't get up and he was clearly in pain. It was right by where we were sitting. And then the stretcher was called over again and this time it didn't go back empty. As much as I don't like Rooney, I did fell so sorry for him. And then the Man Utd fans (who were suddenly all Welsh) started chanting "there goes your world cup" taunting the Chelsea lot, but it can't have been nice for Rooney, to be lying there, in agony, having his worst fear chanted about by his own fans!The actual presentation of the trophy was great, the usual "We are the Champions" playing. Before the team came out, the crowd sang the Peter osgood song followed by "There's only one Matthew harding" - it was quite emotional! In fact, the whole day was quite emotional! I was welling up! Jose threw his medal into the crowd - shame it wasn't down our end! The players did the usual running round with the trophy. Eidur's kids had a little knock about and the roar that went up when the eldest kiddie put it in the back of the net was incredible! Frankie had little Luna with him - she's tiny! I am so pleased I got to be there to watch it all happen. It was a case of "why just win it when you can win it in style". And to think I nearly went to LA and missed it all!!!!After the game, we wandered down the Fulham Road, soaked up the atmosphere, then went to the pub. Raf was hilarious - so so drunk! There was the obligatory "Champions" chanting - with jane doing her best to throw in a few man Utd chants, while Raz and Jas are still living on past glories for the reds. All great fun though!It was quite sad saying goodbye at the end of the evening, even though we will be seeing each other in a couple of weeks for the party and the parade, it was still our last home game. Pah! What will i do with myself now?! I can't wait for next season already!Anyway, we still have a couple more away games left. We are playing Blackburn tonight and it's kicking off in about 35 minutes and I have to watch it - hope it's not as bruising as last year! I'm quite pleased JT isn't playing tonight - this was the game that I thought he would pick up a nasty injury that would keep him out of the World Cup.C'mon the Chels!!

In other news...

Golf:We had our Entries v Accounts Match Play last night. I beat Inessa 9 & 8 - woo hoo! I was well impressed by my putting skills! Deborah beat Jodie 3 & 2 and Carol beat Kelly by about the same margin as I beat Inessa. So, I was the only Entries girl to be victorious! Pah! My team let me down! We had great fun though and I've now agreed to set up a "Champions League" so we can continue depsite half of the gang being knocked out of the official Tour comp already. I play Deborah in the next round. I'll try and get some practice in before I think - I really want to get to the quarter finals now!Football:Ican't believe it's our last home game of the season on Saturday! But just needing a point from Man Utd is a pretty good end! I've really enjoyed stewarding at the Bridge this season. I can't wait for next season! But we've still got the end of season party to look forward to and (unless the unthinkable happens) the Premiership parade. I think we are going out for a few drinks after the gane on Saturday. It will be a great atmosphere if we do win the title on Saturday. How weird, it was just after Chelsea's last home game, when they had won the premiership and had been presented the trophy that I last updated this! Almost a whole year has passed - where has the time gone? Jo will be back in the UK in a few days too. It's going to be strange not going to the Bridge every other week over the summer. But we've all agreed we will be meeting up over the summer - the boys want to try pitch and putt for starters. And I think Emily and I might do the stadium tour again. And we've got the world cup! And of course Danny is over for a couple of weeks. So, lots to look forward to.

Bad idea to start posting again...

Well, I thought I'd actually start updating this again. I figured it was a great way to keep a record of what I've been up to if nothing else. And then I spent ages typing up stuff about Iceland last week, then it disappeared, never to be seen again - great! And then I typed it all again and it disappeared again! So, here goes again!Wednesday 19th April:The alarm went off at 4.15am - so not nice! The drive to the airport was uneventful - thankfully! We were met as planned by the car people and we checked our bags in and went through. The flight was more or less on time. It was only a 3 hour flight, so that was great. Once we landed in Iceland, we got the bags, collected the car (Hyundai Getz) and heaed into Reykjavik. We found our hotel, which was pretty nice - all that we needed! We had lunch in the hotel - had some lovely fish! I was determined to have some seafood whole I was there so i was pleased with myself! Then we headed out to try the swimming pools! Apparently the geothermal pools are to Icelanders what coffee shops are to Americans - they go there to meet up and have a gossip. You have to shower before entering the pool as they have a low chlorine content. There is a scary woman making sure you shower without your swimsuit on - she tells you off if you don't, as Val found out! They even have posters showing you which body parts to wash - yes really! Once that ordeal was out of the way we headed outside for our swim. It's so relaxing and you totally forget you are in an outdoor pool and it's about 3 degrees out! After a couple of hours we headed out for dinner and then had an early night - we were pooped!The view from our hotel:Thursday 20th April:Up relatively early, breakfast at the hotel, then on the road to do the Golden Circle Tour. First stop was Pingvellir - the original site of the oldest exisiting parliament in the world! It's also "lies within a belt of volcanic activity and fissures which passes across Iceland, a part of the mid-Atlantic Ridge, the junction of the American and Eurasian tectonic plates". it also has a church and a lake. We thre coins in the "wishing well" and had a nice little walk round.Pingvellir:The wishing well:The flag represents where the head of Parliament used to stand:After that we headed to the geysir area. This is where the original geysir that all geysirs were named after is. But Geysir no longer works - people used to throw things into it trying to get it to blow so now it's blocked. But there is Strokkur - a slightly smaller but still active geysir.Strokkur the geysir:Then it was on to Gullfoss - the Golden Waterfall. Absolutely amazing - the sight and sounds of it were unbelievable. I can't remember the name of this church, but it was the next stop. Apparently there is a tomb of some bishop down in the cellar, but we weren't brave enough to go down the creepy stairs!We went to a lovely little restaurant for dinner and then headed back to the hotel for the night.Friday 21st April:We were going to go snowmobiling, but we could only find trips that were all day and we didn't want to waste a whole day on one thing. So then we thought about dog sledding - but that finished the day before! So we went to the mall to see what Iceland shopping was like - pretty much the same as ours! Then we wandered down the main shopping street looking for some souvenirs before we went to the zoo. It was a tiny little place, but we got to see seals and reindeers!We had a quick walk round the botanical gardens then went to the Hallgrimskirkja Tower. We wanted to go up the tower, but it was closed as there was a funeral in the church. So we went to Cafe Paris - I got my soup free as it took so long - tomato soup with an egg in it! Weird, but nice! Then we headed out to Hafnafjorour for some horse riding! The Icelandic horses are supposed to be small - they didn't feel very small up there! It was a lovely ride though, all through the lava fields and down to the lake. We were riding for about 2 hours. We even got them going at a fair old trot!Saturday 22nd April:Breakfast at the hotel again, then drove to the Blue Lagoon. That was amazing! Had a lovely relaxing massage in the lagoon and we joined everyone else in smearing the while silica stuff over our faces - apparently it's good for the skin! The sun was out and it was quite a nice, but chilly day. Then all of a sudden there wasa huge black cloud above us, it got a bit windy, the water got choppy and the hail started. It was quite eerie, especially with all the steam fromt he water. But after about 10 minutes it passed and the sun came out again. We spent a couple of hours relaxing, before we got out, had lunch and headed back to town. The Blue Lagoon:We decided to try the tower again - and this time it was open. We had just got to the top when the bells started to ring - right above us! it was deafening! The views were amazing! Although it was a bit cold up there!The Hallgrimskirkja Tower:View from the tower:We had about an hour to kill before the footie, so we drove up the coast road a bit and found a nice little area with a beach and a lighthouse. We got out and took a few photos before heading back to town to the Sports Bar.A lighthouse we found:The football - what was Jose thinking - Geremi?! With Cole, Duff and Robben on the bench?! We were very poor in the first hald, although their goal was ridiculous! No way was that a free kick! But our wall crumbled too easily. Shame JT's goal was ruled out, but I knew it wasn't going to be our day. If only we had played the whole game like we played the last 20 minutes or so, we would have cruised into the final. So, that's one dream I won't be fulfilling this year! Ah well, there's always next year!After the football we went back to the hotel for a bit before heading out to dinner and then down to the sea road to take a few last pictures. Then it was back to the hotel for bed.A viking boat along the sea road.Sunday 23rd April:No time for breakfast at the hotel, had to get to the airport. Got there in plenty of time in the end. We bought our souvenirs, had something to eat and drink then boarded the plane. Flight was good, London rain felt warm when we got home! I was pooped by the time we got home, but had to do loads of washing and cook dinner for us, so didn't get to relax until quite late. All in all, a great few days. Would recommend Iceland to anyone - apart from the girls at work who find the office too cold and set the heating to 90 degrees!

The amazing adventures of Dude!

Well, my mum's out at work at the moment, so I thought I'd pop on and post my holiday photos! Had a fantastic month!There was quite a bit of hanging around at airports, but I had a good book to read.The flying wasn't too bad. Mum doesn't like it too much so I had to look after her.Singapore was nice. We popped over to the Raffles Hotel for a nose and to get some photos.Next stop was Sydney. We went on a tour od the Olympic Park, that was great fun!And the Opera House was most impressive!So too was the Harbour Bridge. Mum climbed that!Then it was off to New Zealand! In Queenstown, we went up the Gondola!Had a wonderful time in Wellington. The Te Papa museum was really interesting!We were staying right by the Embassy Theatre.Auckland was huge! The harbour wasn't all that nice and it was raining so I refused to get out of the car to have my photo taken!When we got to Hollywood, I wanted to have my photo taken by the Chinese Theatre, but they were having loads of premieres so I had to settle for the Egyptian Theatre - but they did have the LOTR premieres there!We didn't see Mickey Mouse in Disneyland, he was hiding in his house, so I had to settle for a picture with his statue!I was too busy gambling in Vegas for photos!Dude

They think it's all over...well it is now!

So, where did I get to? Ah yes:Sunday 5th December:We did go up the Sky Tower again and watched other jumpers for a bit. And then it was time to leave NZ. We caught the bus to the airport and checked in. Didn't want to leave NZ. Loved it there! But we were soon on the flight to LA. And what a flight it was! We were thrown around all over the place up there! There were all kinds of tornadoes and typhoons around the Pacific and we flew through them all! Not fun! We eventually landed about 1pm (Sunday again) and we got a cab to the Days Inn on Sunset. We were absolutely exhausted so we had an hour's kip before getting up, showering and heading out for dinner. We settled for Pizza Hut after walking for a bit. Went to bed about 10 or 11 I think.Monday 6th December:Up early again and off to Universal Studios. Had a fab day. It was a bit overcast and had a few drizzly bits, but that just meant the park was fairly quiet. We watched the Blues Brother's show, which made us feel all Christmassy! Went on the Jurassic Park water ride and would have got soaked if we hadn't bought our dollar ponchos! It has an 80ft drop - excellent fun! Watched the special effects show, went through the Backdraft set, saw the Shrek 3D thing, T2 3D, did the Backlot tour which included the King Kong encounter and the subway earthquake and we watched the Waterworld show. I'm sure there was lots more we did but can't remember now I'm back! In the evening we had a wander round Universal Walk and had crepes...mmmmmm! Then went to the cinema to see Alexander. Colin Farrell is fantastic in it! Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep!Tuesday 7th December:Up early once again. We were picked up from the hotel by Starline and taken to their office. Once there, we collected our tickets for the tour we were about to take and hopped on the bus. The first part of the tour was up in the Hollywood Hills to see the movie stars homes. Among the many we saw were Tobey Maguire and Keanu Reeves' homes (they live next door to each other and Keanu's looks like a prison!), Courtney Cox, Leonardo Di Caprio, Nancy Regan - and loads more! Then it was off to Beverley Hills where Madonna has two houses and then onto Bel Air - saw the house they used for the Fresh Prince. Then we were taken to the Sony Studios where we had a walking tour through their backlot, which included going on to the three sets of "Joan of Arcadia" - that was very interesting. They are filming a couple of movies there too at the moment. They filmed some of Pirates of the Caribbean there! Then it was back onto the bus and back to Hollywood for some lunch before the next part of the tour. This was a walking tour through Hollywood. Our guide took us to the Egyptian Theatre (where all three of the LOTR movies had their Hollywood premieres), the El Capitain Theatre (where Disney premieres all their movies), a quick look at the handprints outside the Chinese Theatre (couldn't see too much as there was a premiere going on that night so a lot of it was blocked off) then had a quick walk through the entrance area of the Kodak Theatre. Then the bus took us back to the hotel. We walked back to where we had just been (d'oh!) and went to see The Incredibles at the El Capitain theatre. That was totally wicked! There was a live show before the movie - lots of singing and dancing! The premiere for Blade Trinity was taking place at the Chinese Theatre so we had a bit of a nose at that. Saw Ryan Reynolds and the girl from it - can't remember her name. Then we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner before heading back to the hotel.Wednesday 8th December:Got up early once again and walked back to Hollywood and Highland. We saw they were setting up for something else at the Chinese Theatre so we went to see what it was - the premiere for Ocean's Twelve! And there standing around was one of the cast! Not Matt, Brad or George though, just Elliott what's his name from Friends! Anyhoo, next stop was the Kodak Theatre. We bought our tickets for the tour and headed upstairs. We were told that today was a great day to do the tour as it was one of only 14 days of the year when we could go up on stage! For those of you that don't know, this where they hold the Oscars. So, it was into the theatre we went, down the stairs, quick stop in the VIP bar and then backstage and out onto the stage - very impressive! And very weird to be there! After thanking the academy we exited stage left and took the elevator the winners use up to one of the boxes. Very big for four people! Then we wandered through to where Winner's Walk is. This is the area that no one but the winners will enter on the night. They close the curtains so no one can see them as they walk through to the hotel next door to do their interviews. As we were leaving the theatre we were given a postcard of the theatre which apparently you cannot buy anywhere and only people that do the tour get them. I asked where all the LOTR cast had sat and the girl showed me and then said "but Orlando Bloom wasn't here" to which I replied "no, but I like Elijah Wood anyway" and she said "he's gay, cute though". Oooookay.We left the theatre and walked back to the hotel, called a cab and headed to the airport to collect our hire car. We had a Chevy Malibu, quite a nice car, lovely to drive. So we drove back to Hollywood and up into the hills to take some photos and then had a late lunch at Mel's Diner. Drove back to the hotel and dropped the car off and walked back to the Chinese Theatre to watch the goings on of the premiere! We saw George Clooney, Brad Pitt (who first of all drove past waving at everyone, then walked up and down the crowd), Matt Damon (stunning!), Bruce Willis (also walked the crowd), Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, Casey Affleck, Sharon Stone, the guy from Smallville, a guy from That 70's Show and i can't remember who else! Once that was done we walked to Amoeba Music and I bought some DVDs before going back to the hotel.Thursday 9th December:Again with the early start! Had some breakfast, checked out and jumped in the car and drove to Anaheim - Disneyland! We parked up and hit the park! It was all Christmassy - so lovely! We went on Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion (which had a Christmas theme), Peter Pan, Snow White, Toad Hall, Pinochio. Storyland Canal Boats, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Honey I Shrunk the Audience....loads! We watched the parade - really lovely! And we watched the fireworks - they had fake snowfalls at the end! Then it was off to the Disneyland Hotel! That was fantastic! Our room was gorgeous! Huge beds! Once we had dumped all our stuff, we went for a dip in the outside Neverland Pool (this was about 9.30pm) and then a nice relaxing hot spa. Then it was back to the room to get changed before heading into Downtown Disney for a wander. Then it was back to the hotel for bed.Friday 10th December:Got up about 8.30 I think, went for a wander round the shops in Downtown Disney and spent lots of money. Checked out of the hotel and caught the Monorail into Dinsey. Ran the parents, popped outside the resort to get my digital photos downloaded onto a CD and then we went into California Adventure Park. Great fun! Went to the Muppet Vision 3D thing, watched the Aladdin stage show, saw the Bug's Life 3D thing which was fantastic! Went on the Sun Wheel (Ferris Wheel), Mulholland Madness (mini coaster), the River Rapids thing - got soaked! After a day there, we went back to Disneyland and went on Pirates and Haunted Mansion again. At about 6pm we went back to the hotel and picked up the car and luggage and set off towards Vegas. At about 9pm we got to Barstow, we stopped there and found a hotel for the night. Saturday 11th December:Got up at 8am and checked out of the hotel. Drove the rest of the way to Vegas! Got there about midday. we drove up and down the strip trying to find somewhere to park, then decided to park at the Luxor. Then we walked down the strip. First stop was New York New York for lunch. Then it was the MGM Grand to have a go on the slots. We also went into The Belaggio, Ceasar's Palace, Treasure Island, The Venetian and a few others. We watched the fountains for a while too - amazing! We checked into the Luxor, got changed and went to the cinema to see Ocean's Twelve - fabulous! Then watched the fountains again and then watched the Pirates show at Treasure Island. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood then wandered back to the hotel about 1am.Sunday 12th December:Alarm went off about 9am and we got up and packed. Checked out of the hotel, took some photos around the hotel, wandered through Excalibur, did some last minute shopping and then watched the fountains for the last time before heading back to the hotel and picking up the car and luggage. We drove to the airport and after a while managed to finally find the badly signposted Alamo! Checked in and went to the gate to wait for the flight. We left on time and 9 hours later we were at Gatwick. And there were the olds waiting for us...

Our final hours in New Zealand

Friday 3rd December continued:So, after we finished up in the internet cafe, we headed back to the spa. We had about an hour in the hot spas. The coolest one was 36 degrees and the hottest was 42! That was warm! You get used to the smell after a while. Then it was time for my massage. Absolutely gorgeous! Mud pack on the back and all sorts. Then once my massage was over, I sat outside the relaxation room on the balcony by the lake and enjoyed the sunshine while waiting for Val. Once we were both done, we left the spa and headed off up north. We drove to Auckland - it's huge! They had proper motorways and street lighting and everything. It just doesn't fit in with the rest of NZ. We found our hotel, had the car valet parked and checked in. Hotel is nice, although they have messed up our booking twice. Once we had ditched the bags we had a stroll down the road to get some dinner, then it was back to bed.Saturday 4th December:Had a bit of a lie in this morning, got up about 9.30am. We went for a drive down to the harbour - not the prettiest one we've seen! It was raining too - pah! Then we took Ruggedy the Rav back. I was very sad to leave him. Such a cool car - so nice to drive. Then we went for lunch and a stroll round the shops. Didn't spend any money! Then we walked back to the hotel in the rain and had a cup of tea. We decided to go down Queens Street to look in the souvenir shops before going back to the hotel for dinner. I had a little nap and then we got ready for our night at the theatre. We went to see A Christmas Carol. It was brilliant! Bruce was fabulous in it! Then it was off to bed.Sunday 5th December:Got up about 9am, got ready and then packed. Then we checked out of the hotel and went up the Sky Tower. Great views! Then we went to look into the skyjump. When we got there the girl asked if we wanted to do it then, so we said yes! Got our jumpsuits on and got all harnessed up. A guy came down to collect us and took us to the lifts. Up we went. We found the Skyjump area and had all the harness and stuff checked again. I decided I would go first. I had my safety clip put on and I stepped up on to the walkway and walked outside. At the end on the walkway I had the two clips attached to me and the safety one was taken off. I then had to turn and face outwards and hold on to the rails. On the count of three I had to step off. i must admit to a few nerves! It's 640 feet high! Once you step off you are dropped two storeys, so you are level with the observation deck, and you hang there for a bit while they take your photo and then you are dropped the rest of the way. It is such a rush! Absolutely amazing! I then sat at the bottom and waited for Val to come down. The guy then asked if we wanted to do it again and we said yes! This time there were no nerves, just very excited! Up we went in the lift again. I went first again. This time, when I was dropped to the observation deck I was waving like a maniac at the people in the restaurant and on the deck. It was hilarious to see them all waving back, taking photos and filming me! Then it was time to be dropped. This time I had a better look around at the views. It was amazing! So pleased we did it! Then it was back to Mission Control to pick up our photos and certificates. Then we wandered down to the All Blacks shop so I could get my free socks! Because I had bought something in Wellington, they gave me a sock and told me to take it to the shop in Auckland, sing my National Anthem and get the other sock! Okay, so the girl gave me the socks without us having to sing! Then it was lunchtime and now we're here. We're going to go up the Sky Tower again now and see if we can see any more jumpers.Very sad to be leaving New Zealand, but we have so many great memories to take with us. And we now have LA and Vegas to look forward to!