Gypsy to Fabulous

Well, we may have been true house truckers for a while there, but the moment the Gypsy Fair was over - so were we. Before you could say "It's zero degrees in this truck", we were out of there, and into the nearest hotel. Pathetic, eh. While I adore soaking up the great outdoors, I am just not hard core enough to handle the truck in Winter! We were waking up with ice on the inside of our roof for crying out loud! As the other gypsies proclaim how they would never go back to living in a house, C.P. and I sneak looks at each other, knowing that although this is fun for a while, we'd take a warm, cozy electricity filled house any day. Luckily we were the proud recipients of a hotel as a congratulatory present from C.P.'s brother, who was amazed at our decision to live in a tiny box for a year. So for three nights, we lived the fabulous life, ordering room service, dressing "fancy" and frequenting amazing restaurants. The concierge took care of parking our truck right in front of the hotel and we forgot we were ever gypsies. Except for that embarrassing moment when we had to walk past the front desk carrying a giant laundry sack destined for the local laundromat. I'm sure they wondered why we weren't using the in-house laundry service. Can't shake the gypsy spirit that easily!

We've Come a Long Way, Baby

Well, the Gypsy Fair season is officially over, and I am therefore no longer technically a gypsy. We still have a journey northward in the house truck to commence, and on arrival in the big smoke we plan to attempt city living in the truck. Plus, once you have lived as a gypsy for a year and a half, that free and cheeky spirit is hard to shake. Our final weeks felt like the perfect culmination of our gypsy experience. Staying at Ivan's beautiful section, observing the village of mobile homes nestled amongst the greenery, I felt an incredible sense of belonging. We had come so far! A year ago we were on our own, meeting random folks on the way, but continuing onwards solo. We were baby gypsies, learning the code as we went along, never quite knowing where to park our heads for the night. Fast forward a year, and we had friends! Numerous buses and trucks whose inhabitants we saw every week. Gypsy gurus who taught us tricks of the trade. People we could sit around a fire with and strum a guitar with (not that I play guitar, but the notion sounds nice). Family and friends that will stay a part of our lives forever. But even perfect things must come to an end, and so we took the next step of our journey.

The Annual Gypsy Fabulous Cocktail Party!

You know you've become a true gypsy when the annual gypsy cocktail party is re-named after your blog. Yes, that's right, this was one celebration where we could revel in being as fabulous as our little hearts could manage. Not a hard task for our gorgeous hosts Mels and Jonas. The scene was Ivan's secret oasis. An overgrown section in the middle of nowhere (a.k.a Waitaki Bridge Village, Oamaru). House trucks came from far and away. Mels parked her coffee caravan - the amazing Lucky Star - in the middle of the party and fed us delicious freshly squeezed fruit cocktails. Gypsy muso's took the stage day and night... and all of the next day. Gypsy Fair palm reader Heather Feather did some great drum dancing in front of the stage. Kids, dogs and puppies ran amok enjoying their own little parties. We danced the day and night away as the cocktail bowls emptied out. To top it all off, we turned the decorative rope lights into wonderfully hypnotic skipping ropes. And then we slept it all off.

Race Around the World

We discovered we had something in common with the Earthrace team this week in Timaru - they are gypsies too, just of the sea-faring variety! So of course we had to park up with them and have a gypsy pot luck dinner. Sea gypsies - something I could aspire to perhaps? While sailing around the Mediterranean does sound glamorous, I would hope to do it in a slightly bigger vessel than the Earthrace boat. The crew were most definitely the only people who have ever been excited by the roominess in our trucks. However the boat is an amazing sight to behold, and owner / creator Pete is a radical dude with an awesome message to spread. But most importantly, his tattoos matched his boat - now that's fabulous!