18-26 January 2014 - Brisbane, Australia

What a wonderful way to have a family reunion - the wedding of my little sis. She and Mike finally decided to tie the knot and the great thing about this is that my two adorable nephews - Dash and Kylar - will be there to witness it (and be able to remember it as well)!

Family reunion
We all live around the world, so I flew in from New York, Geoff from Boston, Jason from London and Mum/Dad from New Zealand. We stayed in the same apartment and had 9 days to explore Brisbane, catch up with each other and to be part of Pen's wedding. Really enjoyed the time together and getting to see a lot of Pen, Mike, Kylar and Dash.  Just a shame Geoff got extremely sick and couldn't enjoy the visit like he hoped.

 

Sightseeing in Brisbane
We did have quite a few days to sightsee around Brisbane which included the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and the city center.  It was quite hot during the days so we didn't end up doing too much, but enough to get a sense of what the city is about.

 

Pen and Mike's wedding (21 January)
A gorgeous sunny day, radiant bride, two very overexcited boys, and an eager groom!  It started off with a registry wedding where the two boys were the ring bearers. Very cute seeing them playing around and being 'boys' during the ceremony! We all headed out to the park for photos and then gathered for a drink and cool-down before heading to the dinner venue. Everyone was chatting outside where the drinks were being served, before going into the restaurant for a delicious meal and beautifully written speeches from the bride, groom, friends and family. The day went off without a hitch (well, other than the hitching of bride and groom) and its certainly one I will remember with very fond memories.

 

Just a shame that the Lind family reunions don't happen more often - who knows when the next one will be!

10-19 September 2008: Tuscany, Italy (Jason and Caroline's wedding)

London
Not only was this holiday about my brother's wedding (Jason), but it was also the first Lind family reunion in 15 years! My parents and sister came out to London a week before and split themselves across myself, Jason and my other brother, Geoff's family. It seemed to work and we all had 'mini' reunions before flying out to Italy on Sunday 14 September.

Italy
The wedding venue was Villa Maiano - a beautiful villa (built in 1400) that is situated on a olive farm, about 10km from Florence. The Villa has 5 halls on the ground floor, splendidly furnished with original seventeenth and eighteenth century furniture and a panoramic garden overlooking all of Florence.

Our actual accommodation was in an old nun's convent next door - luckily the whole Lind family (11 adults, 3 children) could stay together in one apartment - though my 14 month old niece Grace ensured everyone was an early bird for the whole week! Three other apartments were booked for other family members of the bride, and friends.



The week in Tuscany was filled with catching up with each other (two sets of aunts and uncles were out from NZ and Australia), seeing some of Florence (and even Rome), going to a very exclusive spa resort (organised for the ladies), and generally helping with any wedding preparations that Jason and Caroline needed doing.

The sun was shining most days though the temperature had dipped from 35 degree the previous week to c.20 degrees while we were there. And of course the rain had to happen....on the wedding day...but thankfully only for the morning!

The wedding (Fri 19 September)
I was bridesmaid so had a few things to do like turning up for my hair appointment and makeup, getting ready and basically helping the other bridesmaids to ensure everything went smoothly for the bride! A few stress moments at the hairdressers and then when the makeup artist turned up late, but considering all, Caroline was fashionable late for her wedding, but only by about 15mins!

The wedding ceremony was held under a marque (i.e. as it was spitting slightly), and it went very smoothly. Everyone remembered their respective parts, (particularly the 'I will' part), there were three beautiful readings and also a singer. Once Jason and Caroline were official 'joined in matrimony', they went off for their photos and everyone else enjoyed the antipasta buffet and champagne. The sun also came out and the terrace (which also overlooks Florence) was put to good use.

The rest of the wedding was filled with a dinner (gorgeous food), speeches (well written), an improvised theatre production (extremely funny - though most of it was in Italian and French), cutting of the wedding cake (lots of fireworks), more speeches (letting the 'cat out of the bag' on a few occasions) and final the 'first dance'. Caroline and Jason did an amazing Latin American dance that they had practiced and was choreographed for them specially - I am sure the wedding photos won't do it justice! (Caroline changed into a figure-hugging red dress for this dance and then changed back into her wedding dress for the rest of the evening). [PICS TO COME]

After the 'first dance', there was dancing, drinking, eating, sitting around chatting, or cooling off outside on the Terrace - something for everyone. The party started to dissipate around midnight with the die-hard party animals staying on until 2am - when the DJ also packed up. Then some of the more awake (or should I say, less drunk) guests moved across to an apartment and continued drinking (and eating more of the wedding cake) until the early hours of the morning.

The wedding went perfectly, the bride and groom looked radiant, and everyone had a fantastic time. Thank you Jason to Caroline and I wish you the happiest of lives together!



More photos...

10-14 October 2007 - Poland

Krakow

Krakow is a fantastic town...right from the first moment when we (me and Sheree who is another of the bride's friends) got off the train from the airport. It was such character and the historical buildings are wonderful. We visited the 'old town' which were were actually staying in (thanks to my sis for the Green Hostel recommendation) and the square (the oldest one of this size in Europe) which is really busy with tourists and locals.

We ended up having a dinner of dumplings which is very traditional in Poland. Can't say we stayed up very late but did go and have a traditional Polish beer called Tyskie - a very light beer and one I may actually try to find in the many Polish shops we have in London now.

We had arrived in the late afternoon and by sunset were were shivering away as the night temps for our stay in Poland was around zero at night and about 9 degrees during the day. I can still feel the cold! Thankfully I had my fleece with me but could have still done with another layer.

Aushwitz/Birkenau

On the second day we got up (very) early and got a bus to Aushwitz and Birkenau concentration camps (costing all of 14zl return...which is a couple of pounds). It was a 90 minute journey time but between looking at the passing scenery and nodding off, the time went quite quickly. We got there just in time to join the English tour and over the next four hours we got to see, to some extent, the misery and horror that prisoners went through. There were some bits worse than others, especially when we saw the initial movie of the camp being liberated and the actual shoes, hair, glasses and clothes that the Nazis horded in warehouses.

What took me by surprise was the that the buildings at Aushwitz were made of brick and it looks more like a modern day prison than a concentration camp...I was expecting huts made of wood or something similar. Birkenau was more primitive with wooden huts (or what I would call barns) which was really barbarically basic. I have no idea how they could have survived a winter with no heating, barely any food, hard labour and one layer of clothes.

The guide ended the tour at Birkenau which housed most of the prisoners and I found that his grandfather had been held in the camp. It makes you realise that this can't simply be written down in history books and left as is, but it should continually highlighted as an example of what humans can do to each other and ensure it doesn't happen again (which of course it has in places like Croatia/Bosnia).

After the tour we headed back to Krakow and by the time we had found somewhere to have dinner and a coffee to warm up, we headed to bed for another early wakeup to see Wawel Hill - there is a castle and cathedral worth seeing there - and to get our train to Warsaw.

Warsaw

The train to Warsaw was on time and took us just over 2.5hrs. We got tickets the day before and it was actually cheaper to buy them at the train station than over the internet (which you can do). Warsaw was wet and cold when we got there but what warmed up us instantly was the beautiful hotel we were booked into (Le Royal Meridian Bristol). It is placed right by the 'old town' so we didn't have to go far to see some of the sites in Warsaw. The old part was actually rebuilt after WWII (as it was completely bombed out) and the Polish demolished a town in Germany to get the necessary material!

We didn't do much as it was wet and very cold so went down to the hotel bar for a couple of (very expensive) drinks and meet up with Ewa (bride), John (groom) and some of the groom's family. It wasn't a late night as we had the wedding the next day and the beers were just too expensive!!!

The wedding (Warsaw)

We woke on Saturday to see the sun shining but the temperature wasn't going to be hitting double figures as there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. We did go for a wonder into the old town again and visit a palace, but more to find a decent coffee than anything else. We needed to be ready for 1.30pm so after getting back and dressing, we were heralded into waiting taxis for the ride to St Anne's church. It is a stunning church, and is one of Poland's most notable ones.

The service (and Catholic mass) was done in Polish and though John is English he knew what was basically being said and what he was signing his name to!!! It was about 1hr and there were some photographs taken afterwards but it was so cold outside that we went back to the hotel. Some of us then headed to the 'local' bar for some more decently priced alcohol and the soccer for the blokes. We got back to the hotel for 7pm where the reception was being held.

Two thirds of the guests were Polish and the rest of us English but that didn't stop us socialising with each other as there were a few who understood English and translated. Ewa and John had 2 or 3 'English' people sitting at each table so we could get to meet some of the Polish wedding guests, and frankly, after the music began, everyone was up and moving around anyway.

It was such a fun evening, and with shots of Polish vodka to keep everyone going all of us made it till midnight when the wedding cake was cut. As to after that, some of it is clear and some of it is not so clear. I know I got to bed about 4am and think I was one of the last. The Poles certainly know how to party, and they certainly know how to drink vodka! I think the last of the guests left about 5am...and I don't think one English person had lasted the distance!!

The next morning, with many people feeling sorry for themselves, we checked out of the hotel, saw off the Polish contingent who were driving back to their homes, and headed to the airport for the flight home.

I will certainly go back to Poland (I think I invited myself to someone else's wedding during last night), and found the Polish to be very friendly and welcoming. There is certainly more to be seen in Poland!