La Nouvelle Caledonie

La vie est belle...

It's been so long since the last instalment of the Galopin Adventures that I thought we needed a fresh new look.

We've been on the island for a couple of months now and for some, life has settled into a fairly leisurely pace. For others it's been all go-go-go. So as not to bore everyone to tears, here's a summary of what we've been up to for the last couple of months:

Snorkelling - out in the lagoon with friends from the English Club and colleagues, onboard the Captain Cheri and the Hoki Mai

Learning how to fish NC style at Karekate with friends

Enjoying Waitangi Day with the NZ Consul

Stocking up for a cyclone as Noumea goes from pre-alert to alert one

Driving to Goro in the pouring rain hoping each successive stream won't be bigger than the last

Dining with friends and colleagues

Avoiding the local wildlife which we occasionally find in our corridor!

Enjoying the sunsets from our balcony

And I'm sure we've been up to lots more - memories have gotten fuzzy, so I'll endeavour to commit our adventures to cyberspace more quickly in future...

San Francisco - Alcatraz - Muir Woods - Sausalito

Eric and I at Ghiradelli Square... before eating and drinking lots of chocolate, mmmm!

What could be better just before Christmas than three days in San Francisco? It was great to have a break in the LONG voyage to France and although the San Franciscans kept telling us that it was unseasonably cold for them, we didn't really notice. It was 50°F (whatever that is - I'm sure it doesn't compare to the 0° to -5°C here in Bordeaux)!

Eric at Pier 39, with Alcatraz behind him

The giant redwoods (sequoias) at Muir Woods, about 45 mins north of San Francisco

The very famous Golden Gate Bridge - for some reason when I think of San Fran I always think of Full House. Anyone else with this problem? Damn those omnipresent Olsen twins I say!

The sea lions at Pier 39... the most amusing thing there. I could have spent hours watching these grumpy buggers continually pushing each other off the platforms! It's a good thing that there didn't seem to be any residential buildings nearby - you'd never get any sleep.

We had a wonderful time... and despite my intial concerns about the hotel being just about in the Tenderloin, no problems. Loads of freaks however, but hey, maybe that's just the US? Eric even let me in the shopping mall - trust us to arrive in San Fran and the first thing we find is a Westfield...

Merry Christmas!

We're All Going On A Summer Holiday...

Hmmm, maybe not so much a 'summer' holiday in the sense that we're going away in summer, to somewhere where it's winter! The tickets for Alcatraz are booked, the greenbacks are in our wallets and all I have to do is try not to forget our tickets and passports... and I must get some batteries for the camera.

We Galopins have been fairly studious lately with housey things . EGG returned at the end of November - nicely timed with Pip's departure so only one trip to the airport was required that day. Notice that I've linked her blog in so that you can check out what the Pipster is up to in Canadia.

You should also see Fred and Charlotte's blog - Chacha really does a much better job of updating their one than I do. You'll see we feature regularly - from dinner with friends, to crepe soirees at No. 81.

No doubt that I will begin to update this more from next year when life takes on a new twist... N.C. here we come! If this comes as a surprise, keep one eye on the blog and we'll let you know our movements.

x j

U2 - Vertigo 2006

What can I say? After all the waiting and anticipation - it's over. I've seen U2! The show was quite simply magical and emotional and amazing... Surprisingly, we got to the front of the second GA area and had a great view. At many points during the show, The Edge and Bono were only 15 metres away. The only thing I regret about the concert is not having Eric there to enjoy it too. Please, please U2, come back again!

The set was slightly rearranged from the previous night's concert, here's what they played...

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until The End of the World
Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For
Beautiful Day
Angel of Harlem
Walk On
Sometimes

Bad
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (in the Name of Love)
Where the Streets have no Name
One
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
The Saints are Coming
Desire
One Tree Hill

Bono also knows how to make the Milky Way out of a stadium of cellphone owners. I even got a txt back from him... as part of the Make Poverty History campaign. The man truly is a legend.

Bono came out dressed in an All Black Rugby shirt with the NZ captain's number 7 (yay for Richie) on it in Auckland tonight. At the end of The Saints Are Coming he pointed at his All Black shirt and asked the crowd "Do you know who this is?". The crowd roared as Bono proceeded to change his All Black jersey, revealing a green Irish rugby jersey sporting the number 13.

"Do you know who this is?". A show of Irish solidarity with Brian O'Driscoll, the Irish number 13 who had his collar bone broken against New Zealand in 2005, in a tackle with then captain Tana Umaga.

Eric's Travels

Since we've been married, Eric has travelled quite a bit. I'm really not sure I keep him on a tight enough leash... nearly 5 months out of the last 9 he's been away! They tell me at least we won't get tired of each other and I suppose that's true enough.

Anyone who knows Eric, knows that he always takes the sunshine with him. He probably hasn't needed it too much where he's been - New Caledonia and currently Indonesia. He'll be home on Tuesday. Here are a few photos of him in Soroako, Indonesia... enjoy!

Cooling off - Soroako style!

John & Eric marking their territory

On the lake

Hash runners in the jungle - watch out for Legionnaire's Disease!

Beaker the Squeaker

Introducing Beaker...
He's been with us since January this year and has continued to develop muppet tendencies.

Originally a Trade & Exchange cat, he has no pretences and very little modesty. His goals in life are three-fold:

1. Playing Xbox
2. Karaoke

3. Eating hail

I'm certain that his twin, Bunsen is out there too.

Un peu d'histoire

Salut! Welcome to our new blog and the adventures of the Galopins in New Zealand. To commemorate such an opening, I guess we should start with a quick history lesson for anyone who hasn't shared part of the ride so far...

To the left is moi (Jenni) and the man I call mon cheri - although the rest of the world knows him as Eric. Our personal adventure began on the 14th of February 2002, the day Eric arrived in NZ for the first time. There happened to be a barbeque that night and cliched as it is - the rest is history.

After much travelling over oceans between NZ and France, we've finished uni, settled down (sort of) and even got married... which pretty much brings us to the present and the reason for this blog. We are the first branch of the Galopin family in New Zealand!

It seems that despite the enormous advantages in communication that we have, life always seems to get in the way of us reminding people on either side of the world that we think of them often. Timely really, as my baby sister prepares to move to the other end of the world and we head back to our French home for Christmas.

So, that's it for the first entry - you'll be introduced shortly to some of the other characters in our lives and our adventures...