Howdy folks, I don't know if I'll keep this up, or how detailed I'll be compared to other recent trips like #bondsjour, but I thought I'd do a little roundup of our time in Auckland so far.
March 20, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Howdy folks, I don't know if I'll keep this up, or how detailed I'll be compared to other recent trips like #bondsjour, but I thought I'd do a little roundup of our time in Auckland so far.
I go through periods of intense posting, notably around the Sydney Festival (Jan), the Sydney Film Festival (Jun), the Oscars (Feb), and if I'm travelling (the most recent sojourn was #bondsjour), otherwise I'm pretty chill and low-volume.
November 11, 2024 at 8:28 PM
I go through periods of intense posting, notably around the Sydney Festival (Jan), the Sydney Film Festival (Jun), the Oscars (Feb), and if I'm travelling (the most recent sojourn was #bondsjour), otherwise I'm pretty chill and low-volume.
I forgot that before #bondsjour and junk, I was logging the things I achieved during my long-service leave, which continues for another month-and-a-bit as well. So today, I...
May 5, 2024 at 12:14 PM
I forgot that before #bondsjour and junk, I was logging the things I achieved during my long-service leave, which continues for another month-and-a-bit as well. So today, I...
I probably shouldn't have calculated this, because it makes me feel more exhausted, but that was a 39.5 hour trip door to door. #bondsjour
May 1, 2024 at 11:04 PM
I probably shouldn't have calculated this, because it makes me feel more exhausted, but that was a 39.5 hour trip door to door. #bondsjour
We're back in the country, lock your doors. #bondsjour
May 1, 2024 at 9:10 PM
We're back in the country, lock your doors. #bondsjour
We have successfully made it to Singapore, where I am eating a traditional McSpicy (confirmed once again that it's significantly better than the ones we get in Australia) #bondsjour
May 1, 2024 at 11:07 AM
We have successfully made it to Singapore, where I am eating a traditional McSpicy (confirmed once again that it's significantly better than the ones we get in Australia) #bondsjour
I don't currently look like the sort of person you should let into the Star Alliance lounge. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 7:49 PM
I don't currently look like the sort of person you should let into the Star Alliance lounge. #bondsjour
We made it through the queues at CDG, and somehow my Star Alliance status still exists (I used to travel a lot for work, and Air NZ was generous at extending status through COVID), AND somehow they allowed me to take 3 people into the lounge. Anyway, I'm now drinking a very large G&T. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 7:35 PM
We made it through the queues at CDG, and somehow my Star Alliance status still exists (I used to travel a lot for work, and Air NZ was generous at extending status through COVID), AND somehow they allowed me to take 3 people into the lounge. Anyway, I'm now drinking a very large G&T. #bondsjour
Also: I love my two kids, but international travel with them is significantly more painful than travelling alone. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 3:29 PM
Also: I love my two kids, but international travel with them is significantly more painful than travelling alone. #bondsjour
Well, we're at the airport. Getting here from the centre of Paris wasn't the longest leg, but it was maybe the most annoying: long lines to buy single tickets, packed trains with suitcases, and of course the airport shuttle train, coz the actual train doesn't go to our terminal. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 3:29 PM
Well, we're at the airport. Getting here from the centre of Paris wasn't the longest leg, but it was maybe the most annoying: long lines to buy single tickets, packed trains with suitcases, and of course the airport shuttle train, coz the actual train doesn't go to our terminal. #bondsjour
Next up is the part I'm least confident about, lugging our suitcases on a peak-hour RER train to Paris Airport. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 12:41 PM
Next up is the part I'm least confident about, lugging our suitcases on a peak-hour RER train to Paris Airport. #bondsjour
The TGV trip was pretty much uneventful, except that customs came on looking for the owner of the "bright yellow suitcase" and we're like "WE have a bright yellow suitcase, maybe they mean us!".
They did not mean us, which is a shame because it would have made this story more interesting #bondsjour
They did not mean us, which is a shame because it would have made this story more interesting #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 12:36 PM
The TGV trip was pretty much uneventful, except that customs came on looking for the owner of the "bright yellow suitcase" and we're like "WE have a bright yellow suitcase, maybe they mean us!".
They did not mean us, which is a shame because it would have made this story more interesting #bondsjour
They did not mean us, which is a shame because it would have made this story more interesting #bondsjour
Second leg is also complete, and I have obtained my final French Tacos of the trip. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 12:30 PM
Second leg is also complete, and I have obtained my final French Tacos of the trip. #bondsjour
(I think, including transfers and things, we have 5 legs to go) #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 8:24 AM
(I think, including transfers and things, we have 5 legs to go) #bondsjour
First leg of our journey (driving the rental car back to Luxembourg train station) is complete without complication. Next leg (TGV to Paris) is 20m late, which is fine since we have 10 hours in Paris to get to the airport. #bondsjour
April 30, 2024 at 8:23 AM
First leg of our journey (driving the rental car back to Luxembourg train station) is complete without complication. Next leg (TGV to Paris) is 20m late, which is fine since we have 10 hours in Paris to get to the airport. #bondsjour
Unless something amusingly tragic happens on our trip that makes for a good story, this may be our final #bondsjour post. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed the agonising ordeal of grinding them out every day.
April 29, 2024 at 9:09 PM
Unless something amusingly tragic happens on our trip that makes for a good story, this may be our final #bondsjour post. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed the agonising ordeal of grinding them out every day.
Tonight we had a final dinner with Sarah's brother, and said farewell to them (at least for a short while). After dinner we packed (mostly), ready for an early start for a very long trip back to Sydney over the next two days (Luxembourg->Paris on the train, then Paris->Singapore->Sydney). #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 9:08 PM
Tonight we had a final dinner with Sarah's brother, and said farewell to them (at least for a short while). After dinner we packed (mostly), ready for an early start for a very long trip back to Sydney over the next two days (Luxembourg->Paris on the train, then Paris->Singapore->Sydney). #bondsjour
...and a supermarket, where I was quite bemused to find you can still advertise cigarettes at the point-of-sale in Luxembourg. Also kegs of beer are for sale—have at them. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 9:06 PM
...and a supermarket, where I was quite bemused to find you can still advertise cigarettes at the point-of-sale in Luxembourg. Also kegs of beer are for sale—have at them. #bondsjour
Then, sadly, it was time to head home to pack and say farewell to the family before we leave tomorrow. But not before a quick pass by the Luxembourg Mustard Factory... #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 9:02 PM
Then, sadly, it was time to head home to pack and say farewell to the family before we leave tomorrow. But not before a quick pass by the Luxembourg Mustard Factory... #bondsjour
We stopped in for lunch at a pleasant pizza and dunkelweizen restaurant. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 9:01 PM
We stopped in for lunch at a pleasant pizza and dunkelweizen restaurant. #bondsjour
We then made a visit to the birthplace of Karl Marx, which is now a museum dedicated to his work. A bit of a pilgrimage for me, because as you might be aware, I'm pretty Reinhard Marx. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 8:59 PM
We then made a visit to the birthplace of Karl Marx, which is now a museum dedicated to his work. A bit of a pilgrimage for me, because as you might be aware, I'm pretty Reinhard Marx. #bondsjour
We also found these. Someone tell Mem Fox her long search is over. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 8:53 PM
We also found these. Someone tell Mem Fox her long search is over. #bondsjour
We've been playing a game while we've been in Europe to collect as many different countries number plates as we can (furthest afield so far have been Lithuania and Bulgaria). So you can imagine our surprise when we came across these two. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 8:52 PM
We've been playing a game while we've been in Europe to collect as many different countries number plates as we can (furthest afield so far have been Lithuania and Bulgaria). So you can imagine our surprise when we came across these two. #bondsjour
A fascinating thing we found in Trier was one of these "stumbling stones"; plaques installed in the pavement near the last places that victims of the holocaust lived voluntarily. #bondsjour
April 29, 2024 at 8:50 PM
A fascinating thing we found in Trier was one of these "stumbling stones"; plaques installed in the pavement near the last places that victims of the holocaust lived voluntarily. #bondsjour