The final chapter

After ten weeks of catching up with friends, making some new friends, travelling with family, exploring new corners of Europe by foot, bike, car, ferry, bus, train and plane, I am back in Wellington.
About those planes - Simon took me out to Makara Peak this afternoon to put some trees in the ground. I'm not claiming it offsets profligate carbon emissions, but in lots of ways I'm trying to do my bit.

Some highlights:

• bike school in London
  
• that first fresh peach
• Bjork in concert
  
• sunset on the Mediterranean
• swimming in Swiss lakes
• staying in a grass-roofed trekkershut in Delft
• the 2 cent ferry near Delft
  
• meeting Corsican cousins and seeing wild boar
  
• walking in the Alps
• sweet Swiss bike trails
  
• scoffing icecream with a knife and fork with my sister
• cheap beer and good chocolate
• finding a sought-after retro cycle cap in Belgium
  
• Dutch cargo bikes
• generosity from friends and strangers
  

Lowlights:

• getting rained out of my tent at midnight in Somerset
• discovering I'm not a cycling god on the merciless slopes of Alpe d'Huez
• roaming phone bills
  
• Heathrow
  

Mintie moments:

• mixing up my laundry with little Patrick's and travelling with undies many sizes too small
• polite Dutch cops when you bike on the motorway
• Corsican geezer who hadn't heard of Nouvelle Zelande, l'Australie, and possibly the southern hemisphere
  

Thanks for all the feedback. See you next time!

Chasing ancestors

Corsicans built villages high above the sea to escape raids by Genoese, Berber pirates, Romans, and anyone else sailing by.

Here's Olgiastro, near the village from where my ancestor migrated to Wanganui 150 years ago.

Why did he leave? What was it like back then? What would growing up in Corsica be like?

Corsica, the scented isle

Ok, now we,re up to date.

Spent the night snoozing on the ferry from Marseille, now I,m hiding from the heat in Corte,s cybercafe.

Corsica was home to an ancestor, so here I am checking the place out, one cool mountain river at a time.

Stinking hot outside. 70 km beckons.

Recent pleasures: fresh peaches, tomatoes, sunset over the Med, sleeping under the stars.

Only 2 weeks left. Every day counts.

Thanks Malcolm for the great guidebook _ wish you were here.

Take me away to Marseille

Remember the old song?

32 degrees, so a good part of my day was here, dodging papparazzi.

World Cup Football comes to Belgium

Team Klein is tough opposition; here,s Keiran and Tomas warming up for the final. Thanks for the lesson, guys. And thanks Keith and Bea for hospitality.

Delft

Jenny is making sure I get on the right train _ what a great sister. We had a week to explore the flatlands of Alkmaar and Delft. Am trying to blend in by wearing orange. Unsuccessfully.

Biking Switzi

Here,s Craig racing the Swiss hausfrauen down to the market to top up on sausage, patisseries and beer.

The Swiss go to the top of my list for their superbly organised long distance bike paths.

We rode 4 days and our frequent saying was, Ït,s all good.