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Day 210 and I had an awful nights sleep. Woke up at 3am and didnt sleep until I got up at 6am. During this time Luke went to the toilet, but went all the way into town to use the 24 hour toilets as he needed a number 2. It was chucking it down so he got drenched. Burns and I left the camper at 6am and walked a few minutes to the Bard on the Avon, a British run pub which was showing the Champions League games. It was pretty busy for 630am and we watched as Chelsea bored everyone by 'parking the bus' at the Nou Camp. We walked back to the camper, seeing Laura go to the bank on the way. In the camper we drove and looked for somewhere to park. We ended up driving in circles cause of the one way systems and the lack of a car park. We drove 15km and made no progress what so ever. Eventually we parked up and we all headed to the Library. For lunch Burns and I had kebabs (his 2nd in 2 days). The girls had spent the day trying to find a Cotton On shop where they could buy some new clothes. The first attempt at getting to this shop involved them getting a bus to an industrial site owned by a different company called Cotton On. So when they came back to the Library they went on the internet to find the proper shop. They then got another bus and bought some new clothes. We all sat in the library in the afternoon reading and using the internet. Luke was sleeping on the sofa and a weird looking bloke (he looked drunk) kicked Luke in the shin and gave him a sandwich saying, "Eat that and It'll keep you awake". Meanwhile the rest of us were on the net looking at planning our trip to the US. We left about 6ish and drove about in the camper in the dark looking for somewhere to dump the waste as it was stinking the camper out. We ended up opening it in a petrol station car park, leaving a small pile of noodles and rice, then driving off with the waste pipe still open. Dinner was stir fry which Luke didnt have any of as he wasnt hungry. We also booked our Grand Canyon tour. It was raining again as we went to bed in the same car park with Burns pretty pumped up about seeing the Arsenal Man Utd game live in the morning.
Day 211 and I had another shocker of a nights sleep. Im guessing it is the rain and the fact I knew I was planning on getting up at 6am again. The pub was packed at 630am with loads of blokes up for the football (and a few girlfriends who some guys had dragged along). We even had beer this early in the morning as we thought it would be a good idea. I ended up having to go for a wee loads as a result. The game was good even though Arsenal lost. While we were here Helen spent a good hour or so on the phone to her Mum. By 10am we had driven to a campsite in the middle of the city where we parked up. Luke, who had only got out of bed to drive us to the campsite, got back into bed and stayed there till the afternoon. Coops and Helen went to the Arts and Crafts centre and spent all afternoon there. Helen and Laura were keen to tell me all about the things they bought, Place Mats, A wooden spoon, and some ear rings. I did my best to seem interested. Only after this did Laura mention she had found her bank card. Talk about getting your priorities right. By 3ish Luke and Laura went to the Cinema, while Helen Burns and I went to the Library to sort some more American things. As the laptop has a small screen Burns did the typing and clicking with Helen making notes which meant I had nothing to do, so I just sat there and read. The highlight of those few hours was seeing a drunk guy escorted out of the library. The weather had been rubbish all day and we walked back in the freezing cold to the camper (I was wearing shorts and flip flops). We needed to dump the waste and did so in the campsite, all be it in the wrong drain, which I think belonged to someones house. It stank of sewage as per usual. The girls cooked us dinner in the campsites kitchen, Fish, Mash and veg, while us lads watched the office in the camper, nearly wetting ourselves when watching Keith's Appraisal. After dinner we watched TV as for once we had reception, CSI and then the F-Word. During the ads I insisted on channel hopping as the ads were so annoying. Helen doesnt like this and would rather watch the ads. We saw a bit of the new season of 24 and the others went mental when I changed off the channel as I didnt want to see any of it. We were in bed by 11ish and surprise surprise, it started to rain.
Day 212 and we made the most of the campsite by lazing about and not doing much. The girls and Luke were going to head to Aikoura in the camper for the day while Burns and I were going to get some new books and laze about the library. We spent a good 45 mins looking round 2nd hand book shops and I eventually got a couple. After this we went to an internet cafe to upload some photos. It took ages, and to make things worse, there were some geeks doing some online gaming. They weren't your normal geeks, they were fat old men who were swearing really loudly and shouting out commands to each other like it was real. After I got all my photos up we went to Subway to have a cheap lunch. After subway we went to the library and we spent the afternoon re-reading the blogs that Luke and I have written while travelling. We were both in stitches reading them, with one of Lukes making us cry with laughter. It was about how he had to drive into Christchruch and struggle to park the camper. It was an essay of him getting pissed off, it was really funny to read. The other came back at 6ish and they went on the net for an hour. They told us about their day and how the girls kept falling down slopes of mud etc. In the camper Burns and I packed our stuff. Dinner was Mash and sausages which I thought was risky after how Lukes earlier attempt at cooking sausages in the small pan ended up. The girls tried to pack after dinner, Laura was rubbish at it and seemed to give up after a few minutes and Helen was asking if she could put some of her excess stuff into my bag. We managed to watch some more TV as we had signal. Luke and Helen needed the loo so they walked to Base hostel in town. They were gone for ages which had us wondering what they were up to. Turns out that on the way they saw a fire engine try to rescue a cat from a roof, and they also stole a spoon and a plate from Base as we had lost a spoon and plate from the camper. I was in bed by 11 with only 1 more day in the camper to go.
Day 213 and Burns drove the camper to the all day car park early doors. Burns and I chose to sort out the laundry while the others cleaned the camper. I was glad I didnt have to do this as it was a state. The Laundry took us about an hour to do and we met the others just before lunch. In town we met Nikki and Pete who were on the last day of their holiday in NZ. The girls wandered into starbucks for a coffee and a chat, so us lads went down the road to the Holy Grail sports bar to have some beer and play some pool. Pete told us about their trip and how when Nikki did her bungy she went feet first! After a few beers the girls 'dragged' us along to the arts centre. Burns couldnt help himself and he had a kebab. There were lots of paintings and craft areas which werent to interesting for me, but the girls seemed well keen on the wooden carvings. On the way out we saw people crowded round a fat hairy street performer. The first thing I heard him say as I got close was 'Would you like to touch my boob?' The fact that he said this to Laura made it even funnier. At this point we split up, the girls went off to shop with Pete, while Luke Burns and I went on the net and had showers in Base. It was so easy to walk in and use their facilities without anyone noticing. Back at the camper we moved to the car park where we park overnight and everyone started reading and lying down until it was time to go meet Nikki and Pete. It was very cold. I had heard on the news it would be -1 overnight. At 7ish we wandered over to Nikki and Pete's hotel, 'The Millenium' which was very posh and swanky. In their room we were all amazed by it, and the bathroom was so spacious, nearly as big as our camper. Luke even noted how the toilet roll cuts off in little triangles so its easier to rip. After the girls had finished straightening their hair, and not drinking some beer and cider they bought 6 weeks earlier and insisted they would drink, we headed to sticky fingers restaurant and bar. After we got our drinks in, 5 of us ordered the steak and the waiter told us it might take a while to cook all 5. The talk over dinner varied from the camper, best bits of travelling, our use of public toilets, and Nikki telling us what has happened in Hollyoaks for the last 7 months. Pete had enough of this and swapped chairs with her so the lads could talk about something else. For desert, we ordered 3 apple crumbles and 2 cheesecakes and we were again told, this might take a while. After dinner we went to the Holy Grail to meet some of N+P's mates but we left instantly as they weren't there. We then headed to Base as the drinks were cheap all night. It was pretty busy and we got on the $4 beers straight away. There were some very drunk guys making idiots of themselves on stage and this kept us entertained for a while. Luke and Laura left as they were feeling tired. The rest of us left soon after but had to go via The Millenium again to pick something of Helens up. The walk back was freezing, Helen had a dress on, and I was wearing flip flops in the freezing cold. We got to bed about 2ish for the last time in the beloved camper.
Day 214 and I was up at 7 and exhausted. I had the beer sweats even though I was cold and had dry mouth even though I had cleaned my teeth. We all finished packing and sorting our bags out before heading to the campsite in town to empty the waste. I emptied it with Lukes help and it stank so bad I couldnt stand to close to it. After half an hour of sorting the cupboards and all the other things we headed to the airport. We arrived at the Apollo centre by 915 and we sat down an waited to be seen to. We noticed that there were only 2 staff working and at least 10-12 customers waiting. The woman who we saw told us to make sure the fuel guage was completely full, so Luke and Laura went off to fill it down the road. it was already pretty much full, but the stroppy woman insisted. From the moment she started talking to us I disliked her. She seemed to be very moody and would only speak to one of us at her desk. We insisted we all be there as it was all of our money. She made us fill in an accident form for a light we cracked weeks earlier, but we wrote that we did it in Christchurch so we could get away with not reporting it within 24 hours. Luke and Laura returned with a full tank (but the guage itself wasnt full). The woman then told us to go and fill it up again as it clearly wasnt full. This made us hate her even more. Luke and I then drove to the same petrol station and refilled it. We got an attendent to fill the petrol up and I warned him that it might only be a litre. The pump clicked off under a litre and he looked confused. He then filled up the tank manually and the total amount was 2.7 litres. I paid the $2.70 and got a receipt to prove the little amount we had to fill up. Luke and I noted that the drive back to apollo would probably burn that small amount of fuel off. Back at Apollo after sorting lots of paperwork and admin charges we were ready to leave by 1130. As a group we filled in the feedback form and slated Apollo for their poor service, and Laura got the name of the moody woman and she is going to write a letter complaining about it all.
By 12 we were at the airport and found some chairs and sat down to relax after the apollo debacle. The girls and I had some food, and then they both slept on the airport floor while I started watching Oceans 12 on Lukes Ipod. After an hour or so we moved upstairs to some more comfortable chairs. We spent the next few hours chilling out reading. Soon we were getting hungry and Luke and Burns spotted a pizza challenge. They both bought massive pizzas for about $27 and the man serving them seemed amazed they wanted one each. When the pizzas came, jaws dropped. They were epic. People passing by our seats kept saying "Jeez, thats a big pizza" or "You eating that by yourself?". It took them forever to eat their first 4 slices, and they soon felt full. The cheese was so thick and greasy. I had 2 of Burns's leftover slices as he couldnt finish. Laura ate some of Lukes, though at one point she thought she could eat a whole one, and we said we would have paid for it if she could have but she didnt want to look fat and greedy. By 7 we were at the front of the check in line and getting our bags weighed. Mine was still the lightest even with other peoples stuff in. After another 3 hours of waiting and spending our remaining dollars we were on the plane by 10 and on our way to Fiji.
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