clairesadventure

I decided to write up a little post even after so long a gap - as its nice to put closure on a blog that started out with me heading off into the big wide world.

And now I'm back. Excellent. Three years, 20 odd countries and an epic journey on a bike and I made home. Twas a blast and I could get all sentimental and cheesey but I think I'll just keep it simple.

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring and love to all of ya.

Claire

yup, its bin a right whirl (wheel?) wind since my last post and I definately can't give the last month or so the justice it deserves right here. We cycled with the caravaan through Holland and into Germany, staying at a varied mixture of places, doing some amazing actions and meeting wicked folks on the way. Tis an experience I won't forget.
Then we made it all the way to the G8 for a week of mischief and mayhem.. all in all a positive experience and we managed to be rather effective on our bikes slowing down traffic near blockades and zooming round the actions. Niether of us got caught too which was nice as those that did have a tough time (unsurprisingly).
After a wind down on the Baltic coast for a few days 5 of us cycled down to Berlin. Four day ride in very hot sun and accompanied by zillions of mosquitos.. ahhhhhhh the pain!
Great to be here and staying in a nice place ex-squat housing co-op thing. On saturday we took part in a demo to stop the eviction of a famous long standing squat called the Kopi, followed by a great party (they know how to put on a gig over here!). Berlin is one heck of a city, heaps going on, loving it!
Plan to stay 5 or so more days then head off again to Czech..
For more info and photos see the offical trip website on www.tour-de-world-co.uk
Hugs all round x

hello there.. how are you all?
well, cos we are being a bit slow on the "offical" bike ride website, and cos I have a spot of free internet at a lovely community centre I thought I would say hello and a quick update on the journey thus far.
All going fabulously, just over a week in and loving it. After a frantic week preparing and building bikes, and a wicked goodbye party (also very sad of course!) we left London for the world.
2 days cycling to the ferry port and enjoying the English country side at this time of year, yellow fields and bluebells. Then over to Holland and the first night slept in the dunes... really warm weather and great cycling - cycle paths everywhere and bikes rule over here (and its flat!). For the first week we were joined by a mate Dan who came as far as Amsterdam, good little posse and we had a blast. Amsterdam was beautiful, canals, green parks, sun and good times.. caught up with a mate Paddy whom we used to live with and his fellow Irish pal for a night of silliness.
Then 3 became 2 just briefly as Tabs and I cycled to Utrecht to meet the G8 bike caravaan. About 20ish people on it so far. First day for us was a critical mass around the town.. all happy and good vibes until the riot police showed up and arrested the lot of us!! 115 taken to the cells in what appears to be a carefully planned and strategic opperation, it was totally bizzare.
I made it extra difficult for myself by not lawfully having ID on me. Handed over to the foreign police and kept for 8 hours till it was brought to the station. We were all charged with not cycling on a cycle path and disobeying police orders.. hmmm. Also our bikes were impounded and had to go collect them the next day. Fun times but actually quite bonding!
Then got to have the first day cycling with the ride - in the rain!! Came to Nijmegen yesterday and drenched through. A welcome hot meal and accomodation was waiting for us though, very well received. Today we continue and the weather is set to stay wet but ah well.. good for the trees.
Hopefully more will be up over time on the webite - www.tour-de-world.co.uk
Until next time, big love xx

yup, thats right, its been 2 wonderful, colourful, meaningful two years over in the UK - its treated me well and couldn't have asked for better. Now its all coming to a close I'm getting rather teary eyed and emotional, this making a new life over the other side of the world just to leave again is tough man!
Well, lots has been happening since my last post - for most of March I was just working lots and lots to earn pounds whilst I could - but that was all good, it was a choice place to work and it was rather sad to say goodbye and finish up, Sobo has ended up being a big part of me life over here! But had a good send off - the whole staff rocked on up to roller disco for a night of dancing on skates and falling over ourselves..
Also during my last week at work we moved house - said so long to St Matts and East London to move into the Tottenham Job Centre (think WINZ building) in North London! Great place and huge, 3 stories high and lots of space... we all settled in to our lovely new home (about 20 of us, a mix of folks from St Matts and others from mix), but after a week got court papers! bugger! So not sure how long we will have, been to court and could be 6 weeks or 6 days till we get kicked out.. selfishly hoping we can stay till Tabs and I leave the country!
So my visa coming to an end has posed some stress also. I don't automatically get an extension and must leave the country to get a renewal. So after a finished up work I went to Ireland for 5 days. Stayed with lovely mate Renee in her cool cottage in Dublin and was treated to a fab time hill walking, Guinness drinking and Southpark watching! It was great to see her again, and also had a day hanging out with Mike whom I met olive picking in Italy, wicked...
Only down side was on re-entering England I didn't go through immigration cos of some special agreement - great!! Wish I had known that! But luckily had a few days to spare and quickly organised a day trip to France for try number two.
Big day catching a bus to Dover and the ferry to Calais and back, not much to do there but hang out in the big mall and buy cheap grog. Fat Freddys Drop were playing in the supermarket though so I took that as a good sign!
and sure enough, after a bit of interrogation on the border, I was given my tourist visa and let back in - phew!! I was soooo relieved and happy! Thank God for that booze...
So, now I am unemployed and able to concentrate fully on the plans for our trip. Going well except we still have loads to do, visas to apply for and train tickets to buy etc. And send my stuff back home.. We have a leaving date of May 1st, departing London a few days before to get up to the ferry taking us to Holland..
Very sad indeed knowing I have 3 weeks left in London with my mates here - Easter long weekend has been wonderful though, great warm weather so lots of outdoor activities. Picnics in the park, cycling along canals, houseboat parties, bonfires, sunbathing on the roof..
Hope you all have a good break, hugs and love.. thinking of returning to you all is of course the up side of leaving here!!
claire

Hey hey

So a few weeks back now I went to Austria to meet up with old school buddie and all round great mate Debra and two of her fellow teaching assistants for a short but sweet 3 day holiday. They had all come from France, but the main reason for Salzburg as our meeting point was to partake in the wonderful 'Sound of Music' tour, as this is where it was filmed! Now I realise some of you might find it hard to see the attraction here, and I feel very sorry for you.. hehe.. I know its not everyones cup of tea (from a copper kettle) but if you dig the movie this is truly the place to come!
But firstly, after all meeting up late on Monday evening and resisting the urge to talk and catch up all night, we all got up Tuesday for a look around town.. its a beautiful place with an old town full of little streets and turrets and domes and old stuff. Saw the main sights including Mozart's birth place (OK, so the city is known for another musical connection, not quite as much fun but I guess he was alright).
Next day up bright and early for the tour - got to see such locations as the Abby up on the hill where Maria runs to, the house and lake where all the kids go boating, the rotunda (see photo) and then out into the countryside for churches, tree lined avenues and lots of hills alive with musical sounds.. and we got to sing along to the songs (well, us lot did, everyone else weren't quite as enthusiastic, why?!?) in the bus along the way! Brilliant! Lots of cheesy good fun and quite interesting too.. back in Salzburg we checked out the gardens also in the film, and saw Miss Universe doing a telly shoot there and all!
Then we took the cable car thingee up to the big ol' castle on the hill - and learnt a bit about the city before the singing nuns came along. Great views too. Except I was feeling really burnt out by then and had to go back for a nap before flying home that night.
Cool little excursion and really enjoyed seeing Debs again - we both had to remind ourselves we were both in Austria, who would have thought it from our days back at Cobham?!

Since then its been work pretty much - doing as much as I can whilst I can, as I now have less than a month of me visa left!! These 2 years have, cliche and all, flown by! Might be a bit hairy but all going according to plan I will get a tourist visa extension to last me a month or so before Tabs and I head off on the Bike Odyssey - May is the set off.

Unfortunately St Matts has been served with eviction, been to court and after a year and a half we're being chucked out - got 28 days left. Pretty good though, time to find someplace else, even if it will only be for a bit.

Ummm, yeah everything else is dandy though, bit weird thinking of leaving London and the UK, really going to miss people here, going to be hard to say goodbye, and its really crept up on me... right, better go before I get too emotional and teary eyed..

MUCH LOVE
claire

Here we are, some photos from my mini break to meet up with Deb and co in Salzburg!

The crew: Dimity (Oz) Millie (Canada) and Debs


View of mountains from castle



The house and lake from Sound of Music




'I am sixteen going on seventeen...' the actual
rotunda from the film


More mountains from the tour


By the fountain as seen in the Doh Ray Me
song


Debs and I in the street...

Tally ho and a big warm happy two thousand and seven to you.

So, what have I been up to I hear you ask.. well, lots actually! Pre Christmas was spent getting back into the swing of thinsg at work, and havin fun times at the squat including a great big banquet full of yummy food and lovely company!

Stayed in London for Christmas itself, but about 20 or so round at ours and co-cooked the christmas meal for everyone.. another huge feed (from a huge skipping mission.. alas no 200 bottles of beer like last year).. and then it was karaoke till the wee hours. In fact the karaoke was a constant feature in that otherwise dull lull between xmas and New Years - had a projection sceen up, microphone etc very professional.. but found out one can indeed have too much of a good thing in this case...

New Years was chaoic, messy and above all a great dance! Out and about cycling round various parties, having a merry old time and groovin away the start of another year in Europe... wonder where I'll be for the next one??

Janurary has been cold but thats cos its winter aye. had a big snow fall last week - made everything look very pretty.
Went to a lake near Oxford for the day to visit mates who have squatted a building near a lake to help stop it getting trashed by a power plant.. Caught up with some mates I met whilst in Italy... Saw Evita the musical.. and found a cafe in Soho called 'Olly Olsen'! (think NZ kids TV!).. and been doing lots of research and planning for the great cycle home tour... yes its still happening! WOO HOO!

But most exciting is my recent trip to Barcelona.. naughtily took advantage of near free flights to go visit kiwi mate Bell who is squatting over there.. and turned out she was also living with another friend of mine Mari, crazy Finnish gal whom I met in Ireland.
Arrived Saturday night to see there cool 4 story apartmet block squat, cook a lovely dinner and then head off down the road to another squat for a benefit party.. for a squat in Copenhargen facing violent eviction after 20 years as a social centre..
www1.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358463.html for more info on the battle for Ungdomshuset.
Anyways, the gig was pretty hardcore punk and not usually my cup of tea.. and of course the crowd was mostly Spanish, but twas a wicked night anyways and we all trundled back to crash about 4am.
Next day, a slow start, then Bell and her fella Mario took me to a 'commodore' (not sure if its spelt the same as the car, but sounds the same!) a communal cafe happening in one of the squatted socail centres in the city... I know the theme is getting rather repeditive - but squat is the name of the game over here - and its brilliant, so inspiring!! There was a gang putting on a scrummy vegan feast for donation and lots of folks chillin out, eating and chating, info stalls, and just a really nice vibe.
Back to Bells and hung out on the roof for a beaut sunset.. then in the evening out to, ummm, yup another squat!! This time it was for a film and food.. the network is much stronger than in the UK and the crowd are really pro-active about doing things, suppporting the community and each other, and consciously living out an alternative model to capitalism... or something!
Sunday we headed off to the coolest park ever.. Park Guell, a Gaudi vision of alternative living. Its full of random sculptures and bridges and tunnels and arches and grottos and mystery! We mucked round there for ages and climbed to the very top for panoramic views of the city and sea... it got quite warm too - got a bit of sun in which was well appreciated after grey ol London.
Then Bell and I had a brief wander round the city centre and the 'Barri Gothic' with its winding allys and creepy old churches and buildings and turrents etc before I had to make my way off to the airport and home...
All in all a fabulous mini break and great to hang out with such on to it and passionate people, Spain is where its at! Hopefully I make it back there for a more indepth stay.

But next stop - Salzburg, Austria in a few weeks time to catch up with old school mate and good buddie Debra. Looking forward to seeing her and hanging out in 'Sound of Music' country! Yup, will be a different trip all together but I say squating anarchy and cheesy musicals are a good combination ;)

Much love to my faithful blog readers and hope the summer is blissful for ya in NZ.. not that its really the said thing but have an eventfull Waitangi Day whether you are protesting or relaxing, I'll be doing something to mark the occassion over here, not sure if I'll attempt the hangi again or not though!

Aroha and Joy
Claire

In no particular random order (cos I don't understand this computer)

Underneath the arches of Park Guell,
The squat loo - shrine to Marilin (sic)
Myeself, Bell and Mari posing a top Park Guell - stunning views of the city and ocean
Pointing out unfortunately named cafe in town
Cool mural outside wicked squatted community cafe

The view from Bell and co's squat roof..
The Amazing Sagrada Familia... Gaudi's yet to be completed gothic church
And the funky Park Guell and view from the top

Here are some pictures from the last few months....



Tabs, Hannah and I on Han's birthday.. we were taking photos whilst waiting fro a ride as Hannah had lost the key to the lock chainning all our bikes together.. doh

These two were from a big banquet we held at ours just before xmas..































The front of the squat morning of first snow fall..

hello all,
first of all scroll down now to see photos from Italy.. bit of a mixture, hope ya get the idea!
Well, wish I could elequently describe and project how amazing my little sojourn was, all seems like a bit of a distant memory for me now but will give it a go..

Will start with going back to the olives in Umbria and my step by step guide to...

How to pick olives
1. take your 2 big nets and lie them one below the tree and one above (cos the tree is on a slope) and hold the overlap down with rocks you find in the field. Also find sticks to curve up the net at the bottom of the slope so that the olives don't roll away..
2. Get your rake - of the kids sandpit variety - and start with the olives reachable from the ground.. take a branch and literally rake the olives off. These fall onto the net for collection at the end.
3. When thats all done climb up into the tree and perform amazing feats of contortionism and balance to reach all the branches and get as many olives off as you can (this is never all of them, 70% is about right). Meanwhile chat to fellow olive pickers, sing songs (even better if you can change the words to be about olives!) and every-so-often look out from your perch and appreciate the stunning rolling hills of Umbria all around you.
4. Climb down and then gently scoop up the nets so that the olives all end up in a pile. Sit down in the sunshine and pick out the bigger twigs and branches. Then get a crate and load it up with olives. Pack up the nets and go to the next tree...
5. When all the crates are full put them on the tractor and take them up to the barn were there is the leaf sorter machine (these are so important each area has its own local word roughly meaning 'to shake'). This is usually done once a week.. the crate is tipped onto the conveyer belt at a 45 degree angle and turned on so that the whole thing shakes and the leaves fall down the slots and the olives shake down to the end.. at the same time you pick out twigs from the top and move the olives around. Then tip the clean olives into another crate ready for the mill.
6. All the olives go back on the tractor to the mill half and hour away where they get munched up and squished to eventually produce lovely green fresh olive oil!!
7. Get some fresh bread, rub garlic on it, pour on plenty of new olive and top with salt... mmmmm its simply devine!!

After the olives I had a great break from WOOFing with my mate Kathryn up in Trento, surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery. One day I took the train half an hour north to Bolzano which before 1945 was part of Austria, thus it is still pretty much a German town, its the main language and the architecture and feel of the place is very different to Italy. Went to the archological museum and saw the 3,500 year old man that they found buried in the snow nearby. Then ate strudle and had Gluwien (mulled wine) after my slice of pizza - best of both worlds! Also went with Kathryn to see Verona, an hour south.. not my favourite Italian town but saw Juliet's balcony along with every other tourist there..
Kathryn also took me to a crazy local 'Alpinni' cantenna, it was in a small village and built into the side of the mountain. The walls were covered in old mountainerring memorabilia and just weird things like swords and numbchucks! We were served the famous sweet wine by a little old lady and the other staff were all of a similar generation.. really was like going into another world!!

From there I went to a place called Villa Lina just north of Rome.. they needed help with their kiwi harvest and it was a good half way point to stop before continuing further south. It really was an amazing place, an old estate with a grand villa and many other houses traditionally used by the lands workers. WOOFers were in the sheppards cottage, a lovely old 3 story building overlooking the vinyard. Unfortunately the work wasn't quite as romantic, a group of 4 of us were taken at 7.30am to a field nearby where we joined local women to pick kiwi for 7 and a half hours.
You have a bucket to hang in front of you, and reach up just above your head to pick 4-6 fruit at a time.. when your bucket is full a man comes to empty it for you. The gender roles were very defined here, 'its tradition' we were told. hmmm. The language barrier ment we couldn't really talk to the women, but they were nice enough and sung Italian folk songs a lot, a fitting soundtrack.
Had relaxing nights back at the cottage with the others, from the USA, Germany and Australia and at least now I can say I picked kiwi in Italy.. the irony.

A long train trip later I arrived Lecce, right in the heal of the boot, and was met at the station by Sylvia and Guiedo, who took me back to the farm about 2omins away, owned by Sylvia's sister Marita and her husband Loris. They were all really friendly and welcoming. Another WOOFer had also arrived that day, Adrian from Canada, who knew quite good Italian which was handy when their English was patchy! We were totally included in their extended family, and were made to feel right at home.. bit of a change from previous farms. They also displayed some typical Italian habits, like watching TV all the time, eating and drinking out of plastic cups and plates, not having dinner till sometimes 9.30pm and then it was always pasta.. really we had pasta every day for lunch and dinner.. except when Adrian and I couldn't take it any more and made risotto one day!
They were also meat eaters, which led to Loris, who has a crazy sense of humour, joking all the time about the food having meat in it "carne, carne!" and not only that but kangaroo meat.. yes, I did mention that New Zealand doesn't actually have kangaroo's but by then the joke had stuck and I heard about it at every opportunity!
The work there was pruning the pine trees, so not very exciting and I did get sick of it but at least there was company and the family and atmosphere was cool. They took us to see Lecce one night and we went back on Sunday, our day off.. its incredible! Full of baroque architecture and over the top decorations on all buildings. Loved it, especially under the lights at night. They also took us to a farming museum nearby that was way more interesting than it sounds, and the 2 of us biked to the beach one day too. Only 20mins ride away through fields and fields of olives, but very different to the north; the earth is red and flat and the trees very very old - 1,000 years even!
Whilst I was there a friend of theirs was doing a project for a wildlife sanctury/museum thing that needed English as well as Italian audio to go with the photos of the landscape, plants and animals. So I was drafted up to do the job!! First I spent ages with an Italian who knew good English translating the text into readible, sensical language - harder than it sounds! Then I read it all out in my best educational sounding voice! So, if you are ever in Porto Cessario, Puglia, Italy, seek out the museum and listen to the English option..
Had a really beautiful and enjoyable last 2 weeks in Italy, it was also nice and mild, 25 degrees or so in the day.

Then hopped on a plane and arrived back in London town.. and bumped into 2 guys I met picking olives on the bus back!! So, had a week back at the squat settling back into life and its been great!! Have a new, different room so not quite the same as before and things here are as crazy but wicked as always..

OK, think I have written enough for now, getting bored!
Love and festive fun times to you all
xxx