vilakins | Picspam: Holiday pics

It's been three weeks since I got back from holiday, but up till now I've been busy:

getting my car repaired
buying a new car
swapping the licence plates
grooming my old one to sell
getting an eye examination so I can renew my driving licence
renewing my driving licence
investigating new beds (ours is old, hard, and bits of me hurt at night)
ordering a new bed
buying new bedroom furniture to replace Greg's ancient white-painted student flat stuff and not before time

but here we go. The whole lot are up in an LJ gallery, but here's a selection, none of them large.

Wairere Boulders Nature Park, a very clambery and interesting place: a quiet Tolkeinish pool which Greg thought dark and full of banes but I thought very peaceful.

Cafe Number 6. Greg, being a Prisoner fan, had to eat there. It turned out to be so good we went back twice.

It even had round doorways, like the Prisoner's house. :-)

Obelix! A local concrete contractor with a sense of humour.

Haruru Falls, near Paihia

Russell beach

Russell beach at sunset

Villa Russell sign (sad B7 fan that I am). Blame

snowgrouse who said I had to take a picture and post it. A pic of the villa itself is in the gallery. If I ever run a B&B (and I'd love to), it will be the Villa Rest-All.

Especially for

linda_joyce, the lovely Welsh couple we met in Russell, Ray and Helen from Caerleon.

My broken-down car, about to be towed to Auckland. It's covered in mud on the sides from the dirt roads we went on to get to the Wairere Boulders Nature Park.

The resort cat, Tigger, very much at home on our couch

Especially for

hafren, the Hundertwasser toilets at Kawakawa. You could get married at this convenience. ;-)

The Kawakawa Toilets, designed by Hundertwasser. Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser spent the last part of his life near here and designed these wonderful public loos. Yes, there is grass on the roof; he had it on his house too, as cheap roofing and excellent insulation.

Kawakawa Toilets: the Ladies sign

Kawakawa Toilets: inside the Ladies' (cubicles off to right)

The ceramics I painted, before firing. No, the picture is not over-exposed. The colours go on very floury and pale; the firing, glazing, and refiring brings them up properly.

The ceramics I painted, after firing. The two triangular plates are for my niece and sister, the mug is for Greg who loves lighthouses and has it at his office, and the cat tile is so that I had something to keep.

Back home, Tessa claims a chair, still outraged about the cattery

Claudia curled up on the couch

Vic on Greg's computer chair