Today our excess baggage was collected from Aunt Gwen's. It goes back without us, and I'll pick it up from Tullamarine Airport at the end of next week.
Most of the rest of the day has been spent uploading and labelling photos, and catching this up. Sadly, the trip is nearly over...
Tomorrow the car goes back, and on Saturday, so do we....
Cheers
=:(
Where We Live
Victoria - Australia
Day 34 - Tuesday 3rd April 2007
We headed straight for Cheddar Gorge this morning. On arriving we walked around a bit, then did the (rather nerve-wracking) drive through the Gorge. We stopped at the rock-cleft where Rev Toplady was inspired to write 'Rock of Ages' on the way out of the Gorge. We also bought cheese...
After Cheddar Gorge we did a long drive to Stratford-On-Avon to see Anne Hathaway's cottage, Mary Arden's house and the place where Shakespeare was born.
Settling out on the exhausted side of tired, we arrived back in Tipton around 8pm...
Cheers
After Cheddar Gorge we did a long drive to Stratford-On-Avon to see Anne Hathaway's cottage, Mary Arden's house and the place where Shakespeare was born.
Settling out on the exhausted side of tired, we arrived back in Tipton around 8pm...
Cheers
Day 33 - Monday 2nd April 2007
Happy Birthday Phillip!!
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast in the pub, then went to Clovelly.
I was amazed to see surf shops (specifically Billabong and RipCurl) in the carpark at the top of the village. Apparently a bit further down the coast people actually do surf!
Clovelly is a rather vertical town. The houses are arranged along a very steep path from near the carpark down to the shore. It used to be a fishing village. I rather suspect it's a tourist one, now. We paid 4.75 GBP each to walk down the street (as Mum kept putting it). The path was VERY steep, but the village was beautiful. We stopped halfway for a cream tea (we were in Devonshire, after all), and for Mum to post a parcel to Liam and Katey. At the bottom we wimped out and took the 4x4 back to the top. We had to. It would have been too much for poor Mum to walk all that way again, uphill... as it turned out, she had hurt her foot somewhere along the way.
After Clovelly we went to Tintagel, famed in folklore as the birthplace of King Arthur. A very picturesque town, and another long (steep) walk to the interesting bit. This time Mum had a coffee at the top, and Roy & I went down to see the castle - but only from the outside, of course. I've already filled my castle quota.
We decided to stay back at Horn's Cross again, and after arriving Roy & I walked down to the nearest beach from the hotel - Peppercombe Beach. A downhill mile to the beach, and I'm sure the mile back uphill was steeper... We ate at the pub again, and had an early night.
Cheers
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast in the pub, then went to Clovelly.
I was amazed to see surf shops (specifically Billabong and RipCurl) in the carpark at the top of the village. Apparently a bit further down the coast people actually do surf!
Clovelly is a rather vertical town. The houses are arranged along a very steep path from near the carpark down to the shore. It used to be a fishing village. I rather suspect it's a tourist one, now. We paid 4.75 GBP each to walk down the street (as Mum kept putting it). The path was VERY steep, but the village was beautiful. We stopped halfway for a cream tea (we were in Devonshire, after all), and for Mum to post a parcel to Liam and Katey. At the bottom we wimped out and took the 4x4 back to the top. We had to. It would have been too much for poor Mum to walk all that way again, uphill... as it turned out, she had hurt her foot somewhere along the way.
After Clovelly we went to Tintagel, famed in folklore as the birthplace of King Arthur. A very picturesque town, and another long (steep) walk to the interesting bit. This time Mum had a coffee at the top, and Roy & I went down to see the castle - but only from the outside, of course. I've already filled my castle quota.
We decided to stay back at Horn's Cross again, and after arriving Roy & I walked down to the nearest beach from the hotel - Peppercombe Beach. A downhill mile to the beach, and I'm sure the mile back uphill was steeper... We ate at the pub again, and had an early night.
Cheers
Day 32 - Sunday 1st April 2007
We left fairly early this morning at about 8.30am, and headed directly to Stone Henge. The three of us took the audio tour (holding little things near our ears all the way around Stone Henge, in the photos it looks like everyone is on a mobile phone). I know we took a huge number of photos there, but I can't bring myself to cull any yet, so yes, there are lots of Stone Henge pix!!
In the afternoon we went to Glastonbury. We didn't climb the Tor, the walk takes a couple of hours, and we didn't have that long. Glastonbury was rather beautiful, with some fantastic jewellery shops....
We drove on towards Clovelly in the evening, and stayed at Horn's Cross in a pub/B&B about 5 miles from Clovelly.
Cheers
In the afternoon we went to Glastonbury. We didn't climb the Tor, the walk takes a couple of hours, and we didn't have that long. Glastonbury was rather beautiful, with some fantastic jewellery shops....
We drove on towards Clovelly in the evening, and stayed at Horn's Cross in a pub/B&B about 5 miles from Clovelly.
Cheers
Day 31 - Saturday 31st March 2007
Another quiet day. Diane contacted one of the travel agent's preferred carriers and organised for the excess baggage to leave next Wednesday, Carol did some shopping, and then the afternoon was spent at Aunt Lil's having tea with the wider family.
There is also some video of the afternoon - it should go up onto YouTube soon.
We ended up having an early night, ready for the last trip of the holiday.
Cheers
There is also some video of the afternoon - it should go up onto YouTube soon.
We ended up having an early night, ready for the last trip of the holiday.
Cheers
Day 30 - Friday 30th March 2007
Today was a catchup day. Uploading photos, paying bills (the ones at home), starting to think about how to get excess baggage home, laundry... all that sort of thing.
So there are no photos from today!
Cheers
So there are no photos from today!
Cheers
Day 29 – Thursday 29th March 2007: Liverpool
Diane went to Liverpool today on the train from Birmingham New Street station. After visiting the Cavern Quarter (where the Cavern was, in Matthew Street), and the ‘Beatles Story’ exhibition, Diane bought Phillip a limited edition print of an Astrid Kirchherr photo from the Hamburg days. This photo features John Lennon, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe. Apparently she didn’t like Paul McCartney, and he isn’t in it. It’s a fantastic photo. I actually preferred a numbered print of a drawing done by Klaus Voormann called ‘Boulevard of Broken Strings’ with John Lennon walking (possibly a little inebriated) in the rain down a Hamburg street, kind-of like James Dean... Sadly this was the last print, and had been poorly mounted. It couldn’t be removed from the mount, and that meant I couldn’t take it home. I had a fun day, and got back at about 7.45pm.
Carol spent the day in and around Dudley – she went to book the bus tickets for our return to Heathrow, but found she was short some information, so had to go back to Tipton to check the flight details, and then back to Dudley to make the booking… She managed to also purchase a new, red, dog-patterned, very warm, jacket… We are now looking at the issues of excess baggage….
Cheers
Carol spent the day in and around Dudley – she went to book the bus tickets for our return to Heathrow, but found she was short some information, so had to go back to Tipton to check the flight details, and then back to Dudley to make the booking… She managed to also purchase a new, red, dog-patterned, very warm, jacket… We are now looking at the issues of excess baggage….
Cheers
Day 28 – Wednesday 28th March 2007: Blackpool, and Diane misses Liverpool…
We got to Blackpool at about 10am, only to find that it was a bit early - both in the day and the year! This is the off-season, and the town was dominated by construction works on the roads, foreshore and the many B&Bs. Sadly, it was foggy and we couldn’t see the top of the Tower… however, we had a very pleasant walk around the town before we continued south.
The aim was to go to Liverpool, visit some Beatles-type places and buy something Beatle-esque for Phillip. Hmmm. Driving into Liverpool there were quite clear signs that said ‘Attractions – follow City Centre’ arrows. So we did. Diane was driving.
As we followed the ‘City Centre’ signs there was a disturbing trend for the next entry under ‘City Centre’ to be something with “(Tunnels)” after it. Carol reminded Diane that she is not entirely happy with the whole traveling-through-tunnels thing, so when it looked like there was no option but to go through a tunnel, Diane thought she was taking the sensible option and turned off the ‘City Centre’ path. Unfortunately, she hadn’t looked properly at the map (the City Centre IS before the tunnels) and hadn’t actually read the signs on the turn-off, either. The turn-off was a no-way-off road that went under (ie, in a tunnel) the Mersey, and took us to what was effectively north Wales. Carol described this episode as Diane ‘trying to find Liverpool, and missing it’…
Diane gave up at this point and found the road to Birmingham, and decided that she would come back to Liverpool later on the train. We went into Wales, and out again, got thoroughly stuck in Whitchurch (in search of anywhere to have coffee – WARNING: there isn’t any), changed drivers at a roadhouse (well, the local equivalent), and got to Tipton around 7.30pm, having successfully negotiated the A-roads around Wolverhampton.
We were a little tired.
Cheers
The aim was to go to Liverpool, visit some Beatles-type places and buy something Beatle-esque for Phillip. Hmmm. Driving into Liverpool there were quite clear signs that said ‘Attractions – follow City Centre’ arrows. So we did. Diane was driving.
As we followed the ‘City Centre’ signs there was a disturbing trend for the next entry under ‘City Centre’ to be something with “(Tunnels)” after it. Carol reminded Diane that she is not entirely happy with the whole traveling-through-tunnels thing, so when it looked like there was no option but to go through a tunnel, Diane thought she was taking the sensible option and turned off the ‘City Centre’ path. Unfortunately, she hadn’t looked properly at the map (the City Centre IS before the tunnels) and hadn’t actually read the signs on the turn-off, either. The turn-off was a no-way-off road that went under (ie, in a tunnel) the Mersey, and took us to what was effectively north Wales. Carol described this episode as Diane ‘trying to find Liverpool, and missing it’…
Diane gave up at this point and found the road to Birmingham, and decided that she would come back to Liverpool later on the train. We went into Wales, and out again, got thoroughly stuck in Whitchurch (in search of anywhere to have coffee – WARNING: there isn’t any), changed drivers at a roadhouse (well, the local equivalent), and got to Tipton around 7.30pm, having successfully negotiated the A-roads around Wolverhampton.
We were a little tired.
Cheers
Day 27 – Tuesday 27th March 2007: South-West Scotland
We drove through the rural southwest of Scotland today – through South Ayrshire, then into Galloway and Dumfries. The countryside was lovely, but a persistant hazy almost-fog meant that a lot of photos are a bit softer in the distance than we hoped.
We found the town with the most book shops in the United Kingdom – Wigtown. Here we visited several of the shops and purchased antique books. We had lunch at a lovely pub called the ‘Wigtown Ploughman’ where a saluki had her own couch in the foyer… Our kind of pub.
We visited the Bladnoch Distillery – founded 1817, closed in the mid-1990s, and re-opened in 2001. The current owners have managed to buy back some of the last few years’ production and have some excellent 13, 15 and 18 year old whisky. Carol and Diane both went on the distillery tour, and on the way we found a bottle of methylated spirit (not produced by Bladnoch!) labeled “Kelpie”. This is an old brand of meths in Scotland – Kelpie is gaelic for ‘water sprite’. Carol didn’t get the bottle, but we do have a picture of her with the local Kelpie… Bladnoch also bottle small quantities of scotch from Islay, so among Diane’s purchases is a small bottle of Caol Ila 15yo single malt…
After Bladnoch we went to visit a German Spitz breeder in Lochmaben, where we saw lots of dogs, and took more than a few photos of them…
We went on to stay about 20 miles (they don’t have kilometers in England… or the rest of the United Kingdom, for that matter) from the east coast resort of Blackpool. Heading back to Tipton tomorrow, via Blackpool and Liverpool.
Cheers
We found the town with the most book shops in the United Kingdom – Wigtown. Here we visited several of the shops and purchased antique books. We had lunch at a lovely pub called the ‘Wigtown Ploughman’ where a saluki had her own couch in the foyer… Our kind of pub.
We visited the Bladnoch Distillery – founded 1817, closed in the mid-1990s, and re-opened in 2001. The current owners have managed to buy back some of the last few years’ production and have some excellent 13, 15 and 18 year old whisky. Carol and Diane both went on the distillery tour, and on the way we found a bottle of methylated spirit (not produced by Bladnoch!) labeled “Kelpie”. This is an old brand of meths in Scotland – Kelpie is gaelic for ‘water sprite’. Carol didn’t get the bottle, but we do have a picture of her with the local Kelpie… Bladnoch also bottle small quantities of scotch from Islay, so among Diane’s purchases is a small bottle of Caol Ila 15yo single malt…
After Bladnoch we went to visit a German Spitz breeder in Lochmaben, where we saw lots of dogs, and took more than a few photos of them…
We went on to stay about 20 miles (they don’t have kilometers in England… or the rest of the United Kingdom, for that matter) from the east coast resort of Blackpool. Heading back to Tipton tomorrow, via Blackpool and Liverpool.
Cheers
Day 26 – Monday 26th March 2007: Edinburgh
We took a leisurely trip into Edinburgh, arriving at the Royal Mile around 11am. This is the roadway between Holyroodhouse Palace at the east (low) end, and Edinbugh Castle at the west (high) end. We walked up the Mile, wandering in and out of shops and places of interest all the way.
We had morning tea at the Edinburgh Fudge Shop, and continued on our way up to the Whisky Information Centre. Not surprisingly, Carol had a light lunch in the café while Diane went on the tour. Afterwards we went up to the Castle forecourt and spent some time (and took a lot of photos) looking at the view from the top.
We stopped a few times on the way back down to the Holyroodhouse car park – to buy a celtic-inscribed hipflask (guess whose that is?!), and a box or two of fudge. We came close to buying cashmere scarves, but got back to the car without one.
Navigating our way out of Edinburgh wasn’t too hard; we stopped on the way for a coffee and to upload a few days photos and some blogs. Sorry, but not all of the pix are labeled yet … there are only just so many hours in each day!
Tonight we are staying in Kilmarnock, and tomorrow we go to see a stone circle near Wigtown (no, really, that is the town’s name), and a distillery nearby called ’Bladnoch’, which sounds suspiciously like the name of a certain Major from the Goons…
Tomorrow we will also visit a German Spitz breeder on Betty’s behalf. Should be an interesting day!
Cheers
We had morning tea at the Edinburgh Fudge Shop, and continued on our way up to the Whisky Information Centre. Not surprisingly, Carol had a light lunch in the café while Diane went on the tour. Afterwards we went up to the Castle forecourt and spent some time (and took a lot of photos) looking at the view from the top.
We stopped a few times on the way back down to the Holyroodhouse car park – to buy a celtic-inscribed hipflask (guess whose that is?!), and a box or two of fudge. We came close to buying cashmere scarves, but got back to the car without one.
Navigating our way out of Edinburgh wasn’t too hard; we stopped on the way for a coffee and to upload a few days photos and some blogs. Sorry, but not all of the pix are labeled yet … there are only just so many hours in each day!
Tonight we are staying in Kilmarnock, and tomorrow we go to see a stone circle near Wigtown (no, really, that is the town’s name), and a distillery nearby called ’Bladnoch’, which sounds suspiciously like the name of a certain Major from the Goons…
Tomorrow we will also visit a German Spitz breeder on Betty’s behalf. Should be an interesting day!
Cheers
Day 25 - Sunday 25th March 2007
Daylight savings started last night in the UK, and ended in Australia at the same time. So the time difference now is only 9 hours instead of 11. The chef in the hotel slept in, so breakfast was a little late, but that wasn’t a problem for us. We left the hotel at about 10am, but we didn’t manage to leave York for another hour … the road we wanted was closed for work, but the diversion signs were a bit scant, so we did the inner roads of York a couple of times before we found the A59 and started towards the M1 again.
We got to Durham at about 1pm, but Carol was not very well, and stayed in the car while Diane went to visit St Cuthbert’s Cathedral. Durham is a very beautiful town, by a river with old mills, and the mill races still in place. The riverside walk from the town centre to the cathedral was the most beautiful place I’ve found yet in the UK. Have a look at the photos – it is absolutely lovely. In the cathedral I visited the Cuthbert shrine – his grave, essentially. The Venerable Bede is also interred at Durham Cathedral, so I visited his shrine as well. In the museum attached to the cathedral I also saw Cuthbert’s pectoral cross and portable altar: these are reliably documented to be the actual items – England’s documentation of relics of it’s own bishops is really very good! Other items that were originally buried with Cuthbert had been looted from his casket in the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century: there are even records of what was taken! The cross and the altar were found on the saint when he was disinterred in 1899 for a post-mortem. The 16th century looters had avoided touching the actual body and so didn’t find them.
We left Durham at about 3pm, and continued north to Lindisfarne (Holy Island). It was our intention to get to the island while the tide was favourable, stay the night and see the sites early tomorrow prior to the tide going out again… Lindisfarne is linked to the mainland by a causeway which is unpassable when the tide is in, so access is limited. Today it was between 10.35am – 6.50pm, plus a few hours in the middle of the night, and similar tomorrow. However, when we called to try to book a night’s accommodation we found we couldn’t stay on the island, so plans were changed. We made a flying visit – arriving at 5.20pm. The aim of the visit was primarily to see St Mary’s church, which is built on the site of the original Saxon building in which Cuthbert and his community had worshipped. Parts of that building still exist in the structure of the Norman church that stands there now. Since Evensong was to start at 5.30, the visit had to be even shorter than it might have been on any day other than Sunday. We dashed about taking photos, but only one was taken in the church because the service was within minutes of starting. Then back to the mainland, pausing only to photograph some swans in the tidal zone. We were back on the A1 at 5.45pm!! (I said it was a ‘flying’ visit).
We drove on to Edinburgh, and stayed at a TravelLodge at Musselburg. So it’s Edinburgh tomorrow!
Cheers
We got to Durham at about 1pm, but Carol was not very well, and stayed in the car while Diane went to visit St Cuthbert’s Cathedral. Durham is a very beautiful town, by a river with old mills, and the mill races still in place. The riverside walk from the town centre to the cathedral was the most beautiful place I’ve found yet in the UK. Have a look at the photos – it is absolutely lovely. In the cathedral I visited the Cuthbert shrine – his grave, essentially. The Venerable Bede is also interred at Durham Cathedral, so I visited his shrine as well. In the museum attached to the cathedral I also saw Cuthbert’s pectoral cross and portable altar: these are reliably documented to be the actual items – England’s documentation of relics of it’s own bishops is really very good! Other items that were originally buried with Cuthbert had been looted from his casket in the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century: there are even records of what was taken! The cross and the altar were found on the saint when he was disinterred in 1899 for a post-mortem. The 16th century looters had avoided touching the actual body and so didn’t find them.
We left Durham at about 3pm, and continued north to Lindisfarne (Holy Island). It was our intention to get to the island while the tide was favourable, stay the night and see the sites early tomorrow prior to the tide going out again… Lindisfarne is linked to the mainland by a causeway which is unpassable when the tide is in, so access is limited. Today it was between 10.35am – 6.50pm, plus a few hours in the middle of the night, and similar tomorrow. However, when we called to try to book a night’s accommodation we found we couldn’t stay on the island, so plans were changed. We made a flying visit – arriving at 5.20pm. The aim of the visit was primarily to see St Mary’s church, which is built on the site of the original Saxon building in which Cuthbert and his community had worshipped. Parts of that building still exist in the structure of the Norman church that stands there now. Since Evensong was to start at 5.30, the visit had to be even shorter than it might have been on any day other than Sunday. We dashed about taking photos, but only one was taken in the church because the service was within minutes of starting. Then back to the mainland, pausing only to photograph some swans in the tidal zone. We were back on the A1 at 5.45pm!! (I said it was a ‘flying’ visit).
We drove on to Edinburgh, and stayed at a TravelLodge at Musselburg. So it’s Edinburgh tomorrow!
Cheers
Day 24 - Saturday 24th March 2007: Diane's Birthday!
Carol was much better this morning, and we ate a very good English breakfast in the dining room, and decided to stay in York an extra night.
Diane’s Dad and Betty, and then Phillip and Sarah, rang to wish her a happy birthday, and after taking the opportunity to chat a little, we organized ourselves, very slowly, to go straight into the York Minster (called a ‘Minster’ ‘cos it was a centre of teaching, but it is also a Cathedral – because it is the seat of a bishop). Diane was a little misguided in her choice of car park, and the result was a slightly longer walk than anticipated to the Minster – a very nice walk (through the old Priory gardens, and past the site of the destroyed St Leonard’s hospital – destroyed by Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries because it was run by Benedictines), but rather longer than Carol should have done.
Diane visited the Minster, and Carol rested in a café where she tried to eat some soup, but couldn’t have much. At the Minster shop Diane found an Italian Greyhound brooch of a design copied from a Roman plaque (I’ve seen pictures of the original plaque in a few texts – it’s obviously an IG ‘cos the head is too big for the body for it to be any of the larger hounds), so that was bought. Sadly, by then Carol was exhausted and a bit fragile again, so she went back to the hotel, and Diane came back to York to pick up the dry-cleaning, and go on the bus ride round the city sights. The last thing she did in York was to go back to a jeweler by Petergate to buy a ring and bracelet in silver with black pearls that had been seen several times over the two days in York.
Dinner was had in the room again, and we tried to get a good nights sleep ahead of the next day’s travel…
Cheers
Diane’s Dad and Betty, and then Phillip and Sarah, rang to wish her a happy birthday, and after taking the opportunity to chat a little, we organized ourselves, very slowly, to go straight into the York Minster (called a ‘Minster’ ‘cos it was a centre of teaching, but it is also a Cathedral – because it is the seat of a bishop). Diane was a little misguided in her choice of car park, and the result was a slightly longer walk than anticipated to the Minster – a very nice walk (through the old Priory gardens, and past the site of the destroyed St Leonard’s hospital – destroyed by Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries because it was run by Benedictines), but rather longer than Carol should have done.
Diane visited the Minster, and Carol rested in a café where she tried to eat some soup, but couldn’t have much. At the Minster shop Diane found an Italian Greyhound brooch of a design copied from a Roman plaque (I’ve seen pictures of the original plaque in a few texts – it’s obviously an IG ‘cos the head is too big for the body for it to be any of the larger hounds), so that was bought. Sadly, by then Carol was exhausted and a bit fragile again, so she went back to the hotel, and Diane came back to York to pick up the dry-cleaning, and go on the bus ride round the city sights. The last thing she did in York was to go back to a jeweler by Petergate to buy a ring and bracelet in silver with black pearls that had been seen several times over the two days in York.
Dinner was had in the room again, and we tried to get a good nights sleep ahead of the next day’s travel…
Cheers
Day 23 – Friday 23rd March 2007: Heading north
Carol had a very poor night, being extremely ill after Paris, and declined breakfast this morning. Diane had a cooked breakfast in the bar, and then packed the car. Once Carol made it downstairs we headed out of London, first north-east on the M11, then on the outer ring road (M26) to the west, and onto the M1 to go straight to York.
This was negotiated with disturbing ease, we were expecting all sorts of difficulties, but it went really quite easily. Carol slept on the back seat most of the trip, and when we got to York at about 2pm Diane booked into the first respectable-looking hotel she saw that had a ground-floor room and parking. Once Carol was deposited into an actual bed, Diane took the unfortunate clothes into a dry-cleaner, then went to visit Jorvik.
There aren’t any pix of this excursion … on the way we only stopped for petrol (and coffee, but I should have bought Red Bull – the car’s a manual: every time I tried to drink a cup of coffee I came to roadworks and had to change gears up & down and you can’t drink coffee and change gears at the same time), and in York the hotel and the dry-cleaners didn’t seem worthy of photos. Jorvik, on the other hand, was excellent, but it’s like a ride – an interactive …. Thing … and taking photos would have meant I’d have missed stuff. So you’ll have to look at the Jorvik site: xxx. BTW - The name ‘York’ is a corruption of the Viking word for the settlement they had called ‘Jorvik’.
Diane bought some amber jewellery after this Viking expedition … it seemed the logical thing to do…
Dinner was had in the room, Carol just had a little soup and went back to sleep.
Diane got online and updated some photos, but was very tired, and didn’t finish.
Cheers
This was negotiated with disturbing ease, we were expecting all sorts of difficulties, but it went really quite easily. Carol slept on the back seat most of the trip, and when we got to York at about 2pm Diane booked into the first respectable-looking hotel she saw that had a ground-floor room and parking. Once Carol was deposited into an actual bed, Diane took the unfortunate clothes into a dry-cleaner, then went to visit Jorvik.
There aren’t any pix of this excursion … on the way we only stopped for petrol (and coffee, but I should have bought Red Bull – the car’s a manual: every time I tried to drink a cup of coffee I came to roadworks and had to change gears up & down and you can’t drink coffee and change gears at the same time), and in York the hotel and the dry-cleaners didn’t seem worthy of photos. Jorvik, on the other hand, was excellent, but it’s like a ride – an interactive …. Thing … and taking photos would have meant I’d have missed stuff. So you’ll have to look at the Jorvik site: xxx. BTW - The name ‘York’ is a corruption of the Viking word for the settlement they had called ‘Jorvik’.
Diane bought some amber jewellery after this Viking expedition … it seemed the logical thing to do…
Dinner was had in the room, Carol just had a little soup and went back to sleep.
Diane got online and updated some photos, but was very tired, and didn’t finish.
Cheers
Day 22 - Thursday 22nd March 2007
This was our day in Paris.
We left on the Eurostar train at 6.34am. The trip took around 3 hours, with a one hour time change, arriving in Paris at about 10.20am.
Straight on to the bus, and we rode around some of the more famous monuments - Place de la Concorde, the Arc du Triomphe, the Paris Opera, amongst others.
Next onto a boat for a tour down the Seine, looking at the 12 bridges. We saw Notre Dame from the river, but didn't get to the Ille de Cite.
From the river to the Eiffel Tower. Diane went up the tower to the second level, while Carol waited with feel firmly on the ground. The view was fantastic! Sadly, the souveniers left a little to be desired...
Then off to Versaille where we spent a few hours being overwhelmed by the extravagence of the palace. Back into Paris, a brief shopping time, and to the Garde du Nord for the trip back to England.
It was over so fast! Paris is very beautiful, and very clean ... but there is not a lot of history around. Most of the city was rebuilt in the 19th century, and they did a really good job, but there are very few buildings reaching back more than 100-200 years. Notre Dame, of course, is the main exception.
The only real downside of the day was Carol coming down with food poisoning. At least she waited until we were back at Waterloo Street Station to get ill... Not well at all...
Cheers
We left on the Eurostar train at 6.34am. The trip took around 3 hours, with a one hour time change, arriving in Paris at about 10.20am.
Straight on to the bus, and we rode around some of the more famous monuments - Place de la Concorde, the Arc du Triomphe, the Paris Opera, amongst others.
Next onto a boat for a tour down the Seine, looking at the 12 bridges. We saw Notre Dame from the river, but didn't get to the Ille de Cite.
From the river to the Eiffel Tower. Diane went up the tower to the second level, while Carol waited with feel firmly on the ground. The view was fantastic! Sadly, the souveniers left a little to be desired...
Then off to Versaille where we spent a few hours being overwhelmed by the extravagence of the palace. Back into Paris, a brief shopping time, and to the Garde du Nord for the trip back to England.
It was over so fast! Paris is very beautiful, and very clean ... but there is not a lot of history around. Most of the city was rebuilt in the 19th century, and they did a really good job, but there are very few buildings reaching back more than 100-200 years. Notre Dame, of course, is the main exception.
The only real downside of the day was Carol coming down with food poisoning. At least she waited until we were back at Waterloo Street Station to get ill... Not well at all...
Cheers
Day 2 - Wednesday 21st March 2007
We headed straight into the city to Liverpool Street, then spent the best part of an hour looking for a post office that was marked on the map, but hidden in a shopping mall. Diane sent the paperwork for the new job by registered mail, then we started walking to St Paul's Cathedral.
On the way we saw a piece of an old roman wall that was first uncovered by bombs in the second world war, and was subsequently excavated and conserved.
St Paul's Cathedral can't be photographed inside, so you'll have to look at the guidebook (Diane has it) or the website - http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=54250WSbsQZLf9jpOaeYl1HFc5XTMFiN.
Next we went to Trafalgar Square. On the way we saw a pub with gilt frogs on the columns, Australia House, and Charing Cross. There were 11 Crosses originally - these date from the funeral of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I (12th century). Her funeral paused at 11 sites around the city, and at each site a Cross was erected.
We had lunch at Trafalgar Square, then walked through Admiralty Arch up The Mall to Buckingham Palace. Then to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
We took a river cruise from here back to the Tower, and from there to Liverpool Street Station, and back to the Hotel.
A rather long day... but Paris tomorrow!!
Cheers
On the way we saw a piece of an old roman wall that was first uncovered by bombs in the second world war, and was subsequently excavated and conserved.
St Paul's Cathedral can't be photographed inside, so you'll have to look at the guidebook (Diane has it) or the website - http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=54250WSbsQZLf9jpOaeYl1HFc5XTMFiN.
Next we went to Trafalgar Square. On the way we saw a pub with gilt frogs on the columns, Australia House, and Charing Cross. There were 11 Crosses originally - these date from the funeral of Eleanor of Castile, wife of Edward I (12th century). Her funeral paused at 11 sites around the city, and at each site a Cross was erected.
We had lunch at Trafalgar Square, then walked through Admiralty Arch up The Mall to Buckingham Palace. Then to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
We took a river cruise from here back to the Tower, and from there to Liverpool Street Station, and back to the Hotel.
A rather long day... but Paris tomorrow!!
Cheers
Day 20 - Tuesday 20 March 2007
We slept OK, and didn't get cold, despite concerns about the accommodation. Breakfast in the bar was good, then we took the train from Forest Gate in the east end to Liverpool Street Station.
We walked through London to the river, then along to the Tower of London. Here we picked up the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, but decided to stay on nearly the whole way round. Tomorrow when we come back we can take more time in some places. We tried to stay on the top of the open-top double-decker, but it was freezing.
We went on the London Eye - and it was incredible. The view was amazing. We took alot of photos. Carol was very nervous going on to it, and didn't get off the seat for the entire trip, but it was still well-worth doing! And by the time we got off we had both warmed up again.
Back onto the bus, and we returned to the Tower. Diane went into the Tower, and Carol went for a hot drink. She bought the black hat that you'll see in lots of photos from here on.
Diane got snowed on in London Tower. Lots of snow. When she got back to the cafe, she went and bought the white hat.
Then we walked back to Liverpool Street station, and waited two hours for a train. We arrived back tired, and a bit later than we hoped to.
Cheers
We walked through London to the river, then along to the Tower of London. Here we picked up the hop-on-hop-off bus tour, but decided to stay on nearly the whole way round. Tomorrow when we come back we can take more time in some places. We tried to stay on the top of the open-top double-decker, but it was freezing.
We went on the London Eye - and it was incredible. The view was amazing. We took alot of photos. Carol was very nervous going on to it, and didn't get off the seat for the entire trip, but it was still well-worth doing! And by the time we got off we had both warmed up again.
Back onto the bus, and we returned to the Tower. Diane went into the Tower, and Carol went for a hot drink. She bought the black hat that you'll see in lots of photos from here on.
Diane got snowed on in London Tower. Lots of snow. When she got back to the cafe, she went and bought the white hat.
Then we walked back to Liverpool Street station, and waited two hours for a train. We arrived back tired, and a bit later than we hoped to.
Cheers
Day 19 - Monday 19 March 2007 - Arriving in London
We got away fairly early and drove straight to King's Lynn.
Here we visited a town museum, saw the Guildhall with a fantastic chequerboard pattern on the front of the building made by using coloured flint. We took quite a few pix in the very picturesque gardens around the ruins of the Franciscan friary.
Next we headed south to Ely, and visited the cathedral there. Ely Cathedral was stunning. It's sited where Etheldreda founded a monastery in the 7th century, the cathedral was built in th late 11th to early 12th centuries. Very beautiful.
We got snowed on at Ely.
Then straight down to London. We drove directly to the hotel, and found it with no problems. We even managed to convince the owner to let us park the car in the locked yard at the back. The downside was that we had not actually checked our dates, and we arrived in London a day early... so we ended up in the backpackers last ditch room in the ceiling for the first night... It was a LONG way up all those stairs...
Take a look at the pix...
Cheers
Here we visited a town museum, saw the Guildhall with a fantastic chequerboard pattern on the front of the building made by using coloured flint. We took quite a few pix in the very picturesque gardens around the ruins of the Franciscan friary.
Next we headed south to Ely, and visited the cathedral there. Ely Cathedral was stunning. It's sited where Etheldreda founded a monastery in the 7th century, the cathedral was built in th late 11th to early 12th centuries. Very beautiful.
We got snowed on at Ely.
Then straight down to London. We drove directly to the hotel, and found it with no problems. We even managed to convince the owner to let us park the car in the locked yard at the back. The downside was that we had not actually checked our dates, and we arrived in London a day early... so we ended up in the backpackers last ditch room in the ceiling for the first night... It was a LONG way up all those stairs...
Take a look at the pix...
Cheers
Day 18 - Sunday 18 March 2007: "Mothering Sunday"
Sadly, neither Gwen nor Roy were well enough to come out to lunch for Mother's Day, so we got ourselves organised early, went to get the last week's blogs and pix up, then went to the Station Hotel for a really lovely lunch.
Then we headed out of Tipton, firstly to Lichfield where we visited the cathedral, then on to Melbourne - well, you have to, don't you? It snowed on the way, slowing the drive down a bit, but not enough to cause a problem.
We travelled some lovely typical (green) English countryside, had afternoon tea in Melbourne, and stayed in a Travel Lodge on one of the A roads at a place called Eye Green (really).
Cheers
Then we headed out of Tipton, firstly to Lichfield where we visited the cathedral, then on to Melbourne - well, you have to, don't you? It snowed on the way, slowing the drive down a bit, but not enough to cause a problem.
We travelled some lovely typical (green) English countryside, had afternoon tea in Melbourne, and stayed in a Travel Lodge on one of the A roads at a place called Eye Green (really).
Cheers
Day 17: Saturday 17 March 2007
We went to the Black Country Museum today. This is a reconstruction of parts of the Black Country, complete with worker’s cottages, foundries, canals, barge repair yards, an inn and various commercial type exhibits. Diane went on the canal and tunnel trip through Dudley canal and into the old limestone mines on a barge. It was an excellent exhibit and ride. (and I would like to do the 2hour one that goes on the Dudley canal all the way to Birmingham on 1 April…di)
We talked at length to the Carter, and learnt that illegal street racing OF CARTING HORSES is fairly regular on the A51 (a major road out of the district)!
We watched a heavy-chain maker at his forge add a link to a chain… the metal was a rod about 1.5cm diameter, about 20-25cm long, heated in the forge, shaped, linked and closed. A working chain-maker 100 years ago would do about 30 per hour. Apparently, machines these days do that number every minute.
We didn’t do the underground coal mine tour this time – but I wouldn’t miss it next time. The traditional fish & chips we had for lunch were excellent. Diane bought a fossil from Wren’s Nest (very prolific fossil deposits in the limestone of the area), and then we left the Museum to go to the Royal Brierly fine crystal exhibition (next door to the Black Country Museum).
We escaped with only minimal purchases (Diane bought a whiskey glass), but Carol is at serious risk of returning to have a kelpie etched onto something crystal before we go home.
Finally we went to the Priory ruins. Diane took a lot of photos there … well, they were ruins, and since castles are now out-of-bounds she felt she should make the most of it.
Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday (English Mother’s Day) so we are having lunch with Aunt Gwen and Roy at the Station Hotel (where we spent the first night in England) before heading to London via East Anglia.
Oh yes, the other thing that happened today is that the toy from the Retired Greyhound Trust arrived in the mail….
Cheers
We talked at length to the Carter, and learnt that illegal street racing OF CARTING HORSES is fairly regular on the A51 (a major road out of the district)!
We watched a heavy-chain maker at his forge add a link to a chain… the metal was a rod about 1.5cm diameter, about 20-25cm long, heated in the forge, shaped, linked and closed. A working chain-maker 100 years ago would do about 30 per hour. Apparently, machines these days do that number every minute.
We didn’t do the underground coal mine tour this time – but I wouldn’t miss it next time. The traditional fish & chips we had for lunch were excellent. Diane bought a fossil from Wren’s Nest (very prolific fossil deposits in the limestone of the area), and then we left the Museum to go to the Royal Brierly fine crystal exhibition (next door to the Black Country Museum).
We escaped with only minimal purchases (Diane bought a whiskey glass), but Carol is at serious risk of returning to have a kelpie etched onto something crystal before we go home.
Finally we went to the Priory ruins. Diane took a lot of photos there … well, they were ruins, and since castles are now out-of-bounds she felt she should make the most of it.
Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday (English Mother’s Day) so we are having lunch with Aunt Gwen and Roy at the Station Hotel (where we spent the first night in England) before heading to London via East Anglia.
Oh yes, the other thing that happened today is that the toy from the Retired Greyhound Trust arrived in the mail….
Cheers
Day 16: Friday 16 March 2007
Today was an infrastructure day. We caught up on our washing, we both posted boxes of excess baggage back to Australia (although it’s likely that we’ll get back before it arrives), Carol had her nails done, and Diane organized wi-fi access for the rest of the trip. We also (finally) got to upload the photos we’ve taken for the last week.
This evening we went to visit Aunt Lil and Uncle Fred. A video of their greeting for Leonard will be uploaded to YouTube in the next day or two.
Tomorrow we go to the Black Country Museum, and on Sunday (after Mothering Sunday lunch with Aunt Gwen and Roy at the Station Hotel) we head to London.
Cheers
This evening we went to visit Aunt Lil and Uncle Fred. A video of their greeting for Leonard will be uploaded to YouTube in the next day or two.
Tomorrow we go to the Black Country Museum, and on Sunday (after Mothering Sunday lunch with Aunt Gwen and Roy at the Station Hotel) we head to London.
Cheers
Day 15: Thursday 15 March 2007
We had a great cooked breakfast in the farmhouse before leaving Llaneddwyn at around 9.30am. We went straight to Harlech where Diane visited the castle, and was given a strict one hour limit this time.
Diane took a lot of photos, and raced out the castle gate to meet Roy and Carol in the Harlech carpark where Carol was talking Kelpies with tourists from Canada. Roy had gone to find loos and discovered that they weren’t open yet – they were due to open on 31 March…. We didn’t wait.
Next we headed further north to Caernarfon. Diane went to the castle here, too, but was limited this time to 30 minutes. It was a veritable jog around the towers and turrets, and then back out into the walled part of the town. We had morning tea in a small café, and Diane was told that she’d now seen her quota of castles. Carol even wrote to Liam that Diane had seen ‘too many’ castles….. that’s a ‘point of view’ perception thing….
Then on to Anglesey island and across to Holyhead. We were looking for standing stones, a Roman fort and hut circles. We found none of them, but drove right around Holy Island and saw spectacular scenery and very narrow roads.
Back on Anglesey we thought we could find the Burial Mounds between Bodedern and Trefor. Well, we did, but it was up a tiny track (tarmac’ed, but only just), and someone had tied up the gate so you couldn’t get through to the mounds). Diane was in the process of deciding whether to climb the gate or drive away when a car came the other way down the track, making the decision for her. She reversed Little Red back down the track to the main road, and continued off Anglesey.
We got to Betsw-y-Coed too late to tour, but we did drive around a bit and got some shots of the bridge ‘built in the year of waterloo’ and the waterfall nearby.
Now we headed straight back to Tipton … across Snowdonia, through Llangollen, and past a lot of fantastic scenery; we took a lot more photos. Including a couple of Carol nearly asleep in the car…
We got back to Tipton at about 9.30pm.
Cheers
Diane took a lot of photos, and raced out the castle gate to meet Roy and Carol in the Harlech carpark where Carol was talking Kelpies with tourists from Canada. Roy had gone to find loos and discovered that they weren’t open yet – they were due to open on 31 March…. We didn’t wait.
Next we headed further north to Caernarfon. Diane went to the castle here, too, but was limited this time to 30 minutes. It was a veritable jog around the towers and turrets, and then back out into the walled part of the town. We had morning tea in a small café, and Diane was told that she’d now seen her quota of castles. Carol even wrote to Liam that Diane had seen ‘too many’ castles….. that’s a ‘point of view’ perception thing….
Then on to Anglesey island and across to Holyhead. We were looking for standing stones, a Roman fort and hut circles. We found none of them, but drove right around Holy Island and saw spectacular scenery and very narrow roads.
Back on Anglesey we thought we could find the Burial Mounds between Bodedern and Trefor. Well, we did, but it was up a tiny track (tarmac’ed, but only just), and someone had tied up the gate so you couldn’t get through to the mounds). Diane was in the process of deciding whether to climb the gate or drive away when a car came the other way down the track, making the decision for her. She reversed Little Red back down the track to the main road, and continued off Anglesey.
We got to Betsw-y-Coed too late to tour, but we did drive around a bit and got some shots of the bridge ‘built in the year of waterloo’ and the waterfall nearby.
Now we headed straight back to Tipton … across Snowdonia, through Llangollen, and past a lot of fantastic scenery; we took a lot more photos. Including a couple of Carol nearly asleep in the car…
We got back to Tipton at about 9.30pm.
Cheers
Day 14: Wednesday 14 March 2007
Carol, Diane and Roy headed west this morning. We got to Bridgnorth at about 9.30, and had morning tea in a beautiful 16th century inn, which is now a café. Not a beam at true vertical or horizontal in the place. We took a lot of photos in Bridgnorth.
Next we went to Cleobury Mortimer: again, lots of beautiful 16th and 17th century buildings, but the highlight was the wooden spire of St Mary’s church. It dates from the 12th century, and over the years its wooden spire has twisted. It is one of only three English churches officially listed with ‘European Twisted Spires’. Apparently, inside, everything leans outwards, but it was all stabilized in the 18th century. The twist is more obvious at some angles than others – you’ll see it best in the photos taken from almost directly below the spire.
Then on to Ludlow. We parked in the Tesco carpark (which was uncharacteristically free – the machines were out of order) and walked up through the town, stopping to take lots more photos. We bought English cheeses and ‘oval alberts’ from a small deli, and fresh bread from a nearby baker. Diane went on to the castle and thoroughly enjoyed about an hour and a quarter of the ruins. This was a tad too long for Carol, who had been in the Ludlow market buying cutlery and a teatowel.
Next we headed to Knighton. On the way we passed through a dot on the map called ‘Walford’. We took a photo of the sign for Betty, but it’s not too clear.
On to Wales with some of the steepest, narrowest roadways we have ever seen. Sharp, pointy dry-stone farm walls on each side of the road, no verge and two way traffic. Little Red suffered a bit on the hills. It was entirely possible that Roy and Carol would have to get out and push (Diane was driving, so obviously couldn’t push – she had to steer). We stopped in Dolgellau to see if we could get accommodation, but since we couldn’t, we took some photos of the town, and then drove on to Barmouth. No accommodation in Barmouth, but to be fair, we only called at places where we could park (having not gone completely native, Diane didn’t park on footpaths or the wrong side of the road).
It was now around 6pm, and so we drove slowly north, looking for B&Bs, but there were no rooms available. In Llandeddwynn at about 7pm we saw another sign, and turned right off the road up the narrowest, steepest most overparked road we had yet encountered. The farmhouse at the top had rooms and we booked in despite the level of fear Carol experienced on the way up. She was not happy with the idea of going back down the road to get dinner, but agreed under pressure, and took the road with her head under a coat. It is probably worth mentioning that she wasn’t driving.
We had dinner at an inn a few miles back towards Barmouth – Ysglethin (at least, that’s the consensus view of the remembered spelling) Inn. We took some photos inside. The oldest parts of the building dated from the 13th century, and most of the rest from the 16th.
Carol took the return trip up the hill with her head under a coat again. Diane embarrassed herself by squealing the tires when she mis-clutched on the way up. One suspects that squealing car wheels is not a sound the locals would get much on the side of that mountain…
Cheers
Next we went to Cleobury Mortimer: again, lots of beautiful 16th and 17th century buildings, but the highlight was the wooden spire of St Mary’s church. It dates from the 12th century, and over the years its wooden spire has twisted. It is one of only three English churches officially listed with ‘European Twisted Spires’. Apparently, inside, everything leans outwards, but it was all stabilized in the 18th century. The twist is more obvious at some angles than others – you’ll see it best in the photos taken from almost directly below the spire.
Then on to Ludlow. We parked in the Tesco carpark (which was uncharacteristically free – the machines were out of order) and walked up through the town, stopping to take lots more photos. We bought English cheeses and ‘oval alberts’ from a small deli, and fresh bread from a nearby baker. Diane went on to the castle and thoroughly enjoyed about an hour and a quarter of the ruins. This was a tad too long for Carol, who had been in the Ludlow market buying cutlery and a teatowel.
Next we headed to Knighton. On the way we passed through a dot on the map called ‘Walford’. We took a photo of the sign for Betty, but it’s not too clear.
On to Wales with some of the steepest, narrowest roadways we have ever seen. Sharp, pointy dry-stone farm walls on each side of the road, no verge and two way traffic. Little Red suffered a bit on the hills. It was entirely possible that Roy and Carol would have to get out and push (Diane was driving, so obviously couldn’t push – she had to steer). We stopped in Dolgellau to see if we could get accommodation, but since we couldn’t, we took some photos of the town, and then drove on to Barmouth. No accommodation in Barmouth, but to be fair, we only called at places where we could park (having not gone completely native, Diane didn’t park on footpaths or the wrong side of the road).
It was now around 6pm, and so we drove slowly north, looking for B&Bs, but there were no rooms available. In Llandeddwynn at about 7pm we saw another sign, and turned right off the road up the narrowest, steepest most overparked road we had yet encountered. The farmhouse at the top had rooms and we booked in despite the level of fear Carol experienced on the way up. She was not happy with the idea of going back down the road to get dinner, but agreed under pressure, and took the road with her head under a coat. It is probably worth mentioning that she wasn’t driving.
We had dinner at an inn a few miles back towards Barmouth – Ysglethin (at least, that’s the consensus view of the remembered spelling) Inn. We took some photos inside. The oldest parts of the building dated from the 13th century, and most of the rest from the 16th.
Carol took the return trip up the hill with her head under a coat again. Diane embarrassed herself by squealing the tires when she mis-clutched on the way up. One suspects that squealing car wheels is not a sound the locals would get much on the side of that mountain…
Cheers
Day 13: Tuesday 13 March 2007
We left Aunt Gwen’s at about 6.50am, and headed to the Cotswalds. Roy came with us, and made himself useful early in the trip by navigating Little Red out of Tipton, while Diane drove.
Our first stop was at Chipping Camden (9.15am), where we were going to have morning tea, but nothing was due to open until 10am. So we took a heap of photos of this very picturesque village, and went on to Broadway. We took a photo of the Golden Pheasant pub because we can’t get a picture of a live one despite seeing wild pheasants everywhere.
We continued south through the Slaughters – Upper and Lower (yes, really, that is what the villages are called) and down to Avebury.
Avebury has a stone circle that surrounds the whole town. We spent about an hour walking around the site (and in the shops in the village), and then headed south to Amesbury.
We went to Amesbury to see Woodhenge and Stonehenge. We made an error of judgement and went to Woodhenge first. Woodhenge is an archaeologists reconstruction of an ancient site where a ring similar to Stongehenge had been built in timber about 4000 years ago. They’ve put concrete stumps in the places where the timbers had been. It was an interesting spot, and I’m glad we saw it, but…
We got to Stonehenge at about 3.55pm, it was an incredible sight as we came over the hills and saw it for the first time.
Unfortunately, when we got to the car park we were told that it was closing at 4pm. Diane asked how they close rocks at 4pm, and the security man (not missing a beat, and with a perfectly straight face) replied that they pack them away for the night. So we tried to get ‘private access’ (paying extra to go in after hours) but it was ‘full up’ on Tuesday night. As you can’t get at the stones (the site is surrounded by a wire fence) and you can’t park nearby (except at the now-closing carpark), Roy took a few hasty pics over the fence, and we strarted the journey back to Tipton.
On the way we thought we’d have a counter tea (or equivalent) at one of the pubs on the road. When the driver (Diane) saw the sign saying “Thatched 16th Century Inn, Good Food, Real Ale, 2 ¾ m” it looked just the thing and she turned left, and followed the signs. It was a very, very, narrow winding road to a place called Wootton Rivers. The pub was the most fantastic sight – even had thatched ducks on the roof top – so we took more photos of it. Sadly it was 5pm, and the Inn wasn’t open for meals until 6.30. Not wanting to delay the trip back by that much, we drove back down a road that we seriously hoped no-one else was now driving up, and kept going.
In the end we picked up a coffee at a petrol station and kept going. We got back to Aunt Gwen’s at about 8.30pm.
It was a fantastic day, beautiful scenery. The countryside is unbelievably green, and everything is very wet. They are clearly not short of water over here!!
Cheers
Our first stop was at Chipping Camden (9.15am), where we were going to have morning tea, but nothing was due to open until 10am. So we took a heap of photos of this very picturesque village, and went on to Broadway. We took a photo of the Golden Pheasant pub because we can’t get a picture of a live one despite seeing wild pheasants everywhere.
We continued south through the Slaughters – Upper and Lower (yes, really, that is what the villages are called) and down to Avebury.
Avebury has a stone circle that surrounds the whole town. We spent about an hour walking around the site (and in the shops in the village), and then headed south to Amesbury.
We went to Amesbury to see Woodhenge and Stonehenge. We made an error of judgement and went to Woodhenge first. Woodhenge is an archaeologists reconstruction of an ancient site where a ring similar to Stongehenge had been built in timber about 4000 years ago. They’ve put concrete stumps in the places where the timbers had been. It was an interesting spot, and I’m glad we saw it, but…
We got to Stonehenge at about 3.55pm, it was an incredible sight as we came over the hills and saw it for the first time.
Unfortunately, when we got to the car park we were told that it was closing at 4pm. Diane asked how they close rocks at 4pm, and the security man (not missing a beat, and with a perfectly straight face) replied that they pack them away for the night. So we tried to get ‘private access’ (paying extra to go in after hours) but it was ‘full up’ on Tuesday night. As you can’t get at the stones (the site is surrounded by a wire fence) and you can’t park nearby (except at the now-closing carpark), Roy took a few hasty pics over the fence, and we strarted the journey back to Tipton.
On the way we thought we’d have a counter tea (or equivalent) at one of the pubs on the road. When the driver (Diane) saw the sign saying “Thatched 16th Century Inn, Good Food, Real Ale, 2 ¾ m” it looked just the thing and she turned left, and followed the signs. It was a very, very, narrow winding road to a place called Wootton Rivers. The pub was the most fantastic sight – even had thatched ducks on the roof top – so we took more photos of it. Sadly it was 5pm, and the Inn wasn’t open for meals until 6.30. Not wanting to delay the trip back by that much, we drove back down a road that we seriously hoped no-one else was now driving up, and kept going.
In the end we picked up a coffee at a petrol station and kept going. We got back to Aunt Gwen’s at about 8.30pm.
It was a fantastic day, beautiful scenery. The countryside is unbelievably green, and everything is very wet. They are clearly not short of water over here!!
Cheers
Day 12: Monday 12 March 2007
We both woke up late … Diane somewhat later than Carol. We planned to get the train into Birmingham to pick up the hire car, and then drive back to Tipton.
It seems the train system is determined to make our trips more interesting … the trains were out (a truck had hit a bridge somewhere). So we took a bus to Wolverhampton Bus Station, and then another bus to Birmingham. On the upside, we saw some bits of Birmingham that wouldn’t otherwise have been on our program. The car is a fire-engine-red little Fiat Grande Punto. It has been nicknamed ‘Little Red’.
The drive home was an intense tutorial in English roundabouts. They are an experience, but you do get used to them (eventually). We also become aware of how narrow the roads are, and how relaxed people are about parking on both sides of the narrow streets all the way to an intersection… We are getting good at precision driving!
Cheers
It seems the train system is determined to make our trips more interesting … the trains were out (a truck had hit a bridge somewhere). So we took a bus to Wolverhampton Bus Station, and then another bus to Birmingham. On the upside, we saw some bits of Birmingham that wouldn’t otherwise have been on our program. The car is a fire-engine-red little Fiat Grande Punto. It has been nicknamed ‘Little Red’.
The drive home was an intense tutorial in English roundabouts. They are an experience, but you do get used to them (eventually). We also become aware of how narrow the roads are, and how relaxed people are about parking on both sides of the narrow streets all the way to an intersection… We are getting good at precision driving!
Cheers
Day 11: Crufts Day 4 – Sunday 11 March 2007
We knew all along that there were no trains from Tipton early enough on Sunday morning to get to Crufts before 9am… so we got a taxi to Dudley, then a bus to Birmingham (being a bit more careful about where we got off this time), and then all we needed was the train to the NEC… This simple trip was made more interesting because all trains on the line were cancelled (or delayed – it wasn’t really clear why) for several hours, so the train services were offering buses. There was a large crowd waiting at the bus point and two buses turned up, filled up, and left. Then a MINI-bus turned up… So we took a taxi to the NEC, and arrived at about 8.45.
Diane went to watch the Italian Greyhound judging, Carol went to see German Spitz (Klein). At 10.15 we both went to the main arena to watch the international finals of the Pedigree (Pal) Junior Handlers. Australia’s entrant – Claire Tyler – acquitted herself very well. There were 36 countries present, and Claire was shortlisted in the final 12. Her handling was exemplary, and we were proud to be represented by her.
Carol was back to the German Spitz in time for the Mittels, and Diane saw the Italian Greyhound Best of Breed. This IG went on to be placed fourth in Group. Diane spent some time exchanging contact details with various breeders, and Carol talked to a Mittel breeder from Scotland from whom Betty is hoping to import a dog.
Diane ordered a stuffed toy from the Retired Greyhound Trust … she had been looking at them for four days now and finally decided to get one, and they had run out! So they offered to mail one to Aunt Gwen’s. After this last minute shopping (well, you only come to Crufts occasionally, and after all, if you don’t buy it NOW, there won’t be another chance for a long, long time…), we went to the Arena to take our seats for the Crufts finals.
It was a fantastic spectacle. We watched the finals of the agility, more heel-to-music, Utility and Toy Group specials, and then General Specials.
The Tibetan Terrier that took best in show was a magnificent dog, and we were not surprised by the decision – both of us had it down as our choice for BiS.
The trip back to New Street was packed, and it was a rather late night. But we wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
Cheers
Diane went to watch the Italian Greyhound judging, Carol went to see German Spitz (Klein). At 10.15 we both went to the main arena to watch the international finals of the Pedigree (Pal) Junior Handlers. Australia’s entrant – Claire Tyler – acquitted herself very well. There were 36 countries present, and Claire was shortlisted in the final 12. Her handling was exemplary, and we were proud to be represented by her.
Carol was back to the German Spitz in time for the Mittels, and Diane saw the Italian Greyhound Best of Breed. This IG went on to be placed fourth in Group. Diane spent some time exchanging contact details with various breeders, and Carol talked to a Mittel breeder from Scotland from whom Betty is hoping to import a dog.
Diane ordered a stuffed toy from the Retired Greyhound Trust … she had been looking at them for four days now and finally decided to get one, and they had run out! So they offered to mail one to Aunt Gwen’s. After this last minute shopping (well, you only come to Crufts occasionally, and after all, if you don’t buy it NOW, there won’t be another chance for a long, long time…), we went to the Arena to take our seats for the Crufts finals.
It was a fantastic spectacle. We watched the finals of the agility, more heel-to-music, Utility and Toy Group specials, and then General Specials.
The Tibetan Terrier that took best in show was a magnificent dog, and we were not surprised by the decision – both of us had it down as our choice for BiS.
The trip back to New Street was packed, and it was a rather late night. But we wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
Cheers
Crufts Day 3 - Hounds and Terriers
Today is a Saturday, and since neither of us has a direct association with either group, we thought we'd sleep in a bit, and go a little later...
We got to Tipton Station to wait to catch the 10.29am to Birmingham New St Station, we had just missed catching the 9.59am...
At about 10.20 there was an announcement about a delay on the line, about 7 minutes... Then at 10.30 it was announced that power was out upline, and there would be no further trains - in either direction - for the foreseeable future. So we took a bus to the Wednesbury coach station, and took a 644 to Birmingham. Unfortunately, the driver didn't know where New St was, and we didn't have the street directory on us, so we got off a stop too late and had a bit of a hike through Birmingham. Still, we did get to Crufts at about 12.30. Lucky we didn't want to see anything...
Saw some beautiful salukis. Missed the sloughi judging, unfortunately. Watched whippets for a while, then agility and heel-to-music.
Group specials in the evening were great - the sloughi coming 4th in group, a bloodhound taking it out.
We arrived home at about 9.30pm rather frazzled. The crowds were very thick - I think being a Saturday probably doubled the numbers we had seen on Thursday and Friday.
Cheers
We got to Tipton Station to wait to catch the 10.29am to Birmingham New St Station, we had just missed catching the 9.59am...
At about 10.20 there was an announcement about a delay on the line, about 7 minutes... Then at 10.30 it was announced that power was out upline, and there would be no further trains - in either direction - for the foreseeable future. So we took a bus to the Wednesbury coach station, and took a 644 to Birmingham. Unfortunately, the driver didn't know where New St was, and we didn't have the street directory on us, so we got off a stop too late and had a bit of a hike through Birmingham. Still, we did get to Crufts at about 12.30. Lucky we didn't want to see anything...
Saw some beautiful salukis. Missed the sloughi judging, unfortunately. Watched whippets for a while, then agility and heel-to-music.
Group specials in the evening were great - the sloughi coming 4th in group, a bloodhound taking it out.
We arrived home at about 9.30pm rather frazzled. The crowds were very thick - I think being a Saturday probably doubled the numbers we had seen on Thursday and Friday.
Cheers
Day 9 - Crufts day 2 (Pastoral & Herding Dogs)
Hello!
We got back to Aunt Gwen's at about 8.30pm last night after watching the Group judging for the Gundogs (taken by a flat coated retriever). We were very tired, and slept well.
This morning we were back on the 7.29 out of Tipton, and watched the Cattle Dog judging... the Cattle Dogs here were not very typy, and very few of them moved at all well. They weren't helped by the handlers who WALKED them ... how on earth is a working dog supposed to show movement when it's walked?
The YouTube clips I tried to upload yesterday (Aunts Flo and Gwen) didn't go up properly - We'll bring the laptop to Crufts again tomorrow and this time I'll get them to work. sorry about that.
OK, that'll do, back to Rough Collie judging!
We got back to Aunt Gwen's at about 8.30pm last night after watching the Group judging for the Gundogs (taken by a flat coated retriever). We were very tired, and slept well.
This morning we were back on the 7.29 out of Tipton, and watched the Cattle Dog judging... the Cattle Dogs here were not very typy, and very few of them moved at all well. They weren't helped by the handlers who WALKED them ... how on earth is a working dog supposed to show movement when it's walked?
The YouTube clips I tried to upload yesterday (Aunts Flo and Gwen) didn't go up properly - We'll bring the laptop to Crufts again tomorrow and this time I'll get them to work. sorry about that.
OK, that'll do, back to Rough Collie judging!
Day 8 – CRUFTS at last!! (Gundogs)
Just to catch up, Monday evening in Tipton Diane went to bed at about 7pm, and didn’t surface until about 7am Tuesday. Carol seemed made of sterner stuff and stayed up later, but then it caught up with her on Tuesday.
On Tuesday Carol was not a bright little vegemite at all, and after getting up (briefly) around 9.30, she returned to bed and stayed there until about 6.30am Wednesday.
So Diane spent Tuesday testing out the Birmingham public transport system, and making sure she could find the right trains at New Street to get to the NEC. A general investigations day. Didn’t take any photos at all on Tuesday.
Wednesday Carol was back on her feet, and we went to Great Bridge with Aunt Gwen to go supermarket shopping … After lunch we did a moderately long walk to visit Aunt Flo in Cotterills Lane. There is a YouTube clip (hopefully up by now) of Aunt Flo saying hello to Dad, and another from Aunt Gwen and Roy.
After a few quiet days (some quieter than others for Carol…) today we are at Crufts. We were on the 7.29 Birmingham train from Tipton, and arrived at the NEC at about 8.10. We picked the guide and the days catalog, had a couple of coffees, and headed into the halls. We watched the early classes of the Gordon Setters, then went for a walk. We saw (and later bought) some beautiful brooches, hunted about until we found the Kennel Club stand and bought the requisite Crufts memorabilia – lapel pins and fleece jackets! Diane thought about getting Sarah a jacket, but didn’t think she’d wear it (note to Sarah – if you want one, you’d better let me know…).
I saw Sloughis, Cirneci, Azawahks, and something I’d never seen before – ‘segugio italiano’ (looks like a sighthound, but is a scenthound, used for flushing game – very few outside of Italy). Photos and video of these dogs will go up next time we have the laptop here at Crufts (‘cos it’s wi-fi-ed, but the laptop is heavy, so we won’t bring it every day).
Cheers
On Tuesday Carol was not a bright little vegemite at all, and after getting up (briefly) around 9.30, she returned to bed and stayed there until about 6.30am Wednesday.
So Diane spent Tuesday testing out the Birmingham public transport system, and making sure she could find the right trains at New Street to get to the NEC. A general investigations day. Didn’t take any photos at all on Tuesday.
Wednesday Carol was back on her feet, and we went to Great Bridge with Aunt Gwen to go supermarket shopping … After lunch we did a moderately long walk to visit Aunt Flo in Cotterills Lane. There is a YouTube clip (hopefully up by now) of Aunt Flo saying hello to Dad, and another from Aunt Gwen and Roy.
After a few quiet days (some quieter than others for Carol…) today we are at Crufts. We were on the 7.29 Birmingham train from Tipton, and arrived at the NEC at about 8.10. We picked the guide and the days catalog, had a couple of coffees, and headed into the halls. We watched the early classes of the Gordon Setters, then went for a walk. We saw (and later bought) some beautiful brooches, hunted about until we found the Kennel Club stand and bought the requisite Crufts memorabilia – lapel pins and fleece jackets! Diane thought about getting Sarah a jacket, but didn’t think she’d wear it (note to Sarah – if you want one, you’d better let me know…).
I saw Sloughis, Cirneci, Azawahks, and something I’d never seen before – ‘segugio italiano’ (looks like a sighthound, but is a scenthound, used for flushing game – very few outside of Italy). Photos and video of these dogs will go up next time we have the laptop here at Crufts (‘cos it’s wi-fi-ed, but the laptop is heavy, so we won’t bring it every day).
Cheers
Day 5 - Tipton
We got out of Hong Kong yesterday with no problems. We flew out at about 9.30am local time (which was 12.30pm Melbourne time, and 1.30am London time...). We arrived at Heathrow on time around 2.45pm local time (10.45pm in Hong Kong, 1.45am in Melbourne), and moved through the processing quite quickly. We came to a halt at the point of the coach to Dudley. There was a major accident on a motorway that resulted in lengthy delays for the coaches. Our 4:55pm coach didn't leave until about 6:15pm, and the delays were still significant ... the two hour trip to Dudley took about FOUR hours. When we finally arrived we didn't go on to Aunt Gwen's (Tipton), but stayed in the Station Hotel, just down from the bus station. We were utterly, utterly exhausted.
We woke early this morning after sleeping well, and had a full cooked breakfast (our first actual meal since lunch on the flight at about 12:30pm, London time, YESTERDAY). We really enjoyed that meal. Then a walk up Castle Hill Road to get some cash, and back to the hotel to arrange a taxi to Tipton.
We spent a few hours just sitting and talking to Aunt Gwen and Roy (her son), and then Roy took us for a walk to Owen Street and surrounds. When I get the photos up (looking for a wifi connection shortly) I'll flag them with map references where I can. Mum and I are now in the Tipton Library where we have access to old census data, parish records and assorted local history information. We'll head back to Aunt Gwen's shortly for a quiet evening in.
Tomorrow we'll have a go on public transport round here - make sure we can get to the Crufts venue without major dramas, then to the Black Country Museum for more local history stuff.
OK, off now to try to find where I can get wifi to get the current pix up.
Cheers
We woke early this morning after sleeping well, and had a full cooked breakfast (our first actual meal since lunch on the flight at about 12:30pm, London time, YESTERDAY). We really enjoyed that meal. Then a walk up Castle Hill Road to get some cash, and back to the hotel to arrange a taxi to Tipton.
We spent a few hours just sitting and talking to Aunt Gwen and Roy (her son), and then Roy took us for a walk to Owen Street and surrounds. When I get the photos up (looking for a wifi connection shortly) I'll flag them with map references where I can. Mum and I are now in the Tipton Library where we have access to old census data, parish records and assorted local history information. We'll head back to Aunt Gwen's shortly for a quiet evening in.
Tomorrow we'll have a go on public transport round here - make sure we can get to the Crufts venue without major dramas, then to the Black Country Museum for more local history stuff.
OK, off now to try to find where I can get wifi to get the current pix up.
Cheers
See if this YouTube video works...
Try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYfVR4wSbI
This is a the trip down Nathan Road in a taxi I mentioned. I know it sounds boring, and I am truly sorry if it is, but I was amazed by the crowds, the colour and the activity levels at 7pm on a Saturday evening - not a closed shop anywhere in sight.
Cheers
Di
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjYfVR4wSbI
This is a the trip down Nathan Road in a taxi I mentioned. I know it sounds boring, and I am truly sorry if it is, but I was amazed by the crowds, the colour and the activity levels at 7pm on a Saturday evening - not a closed shop anywhere in sight.
Cheers
Di
Day 3 - Hong Kong
9:37am
We slept in this morning. Not much, just enough to put some pressure on getting to breakfast. We still got to our pickup at the Kimberley Hotel in good time.
Now we're on the ferry to Lantau Island.
Our first stop is at Cheung Sha beach.
12.20
Next was the Tai O fishing village. Here we saw stilt houses, a produce market and a Buddhist temple. Tai O is a popular local tourist destination; older city residents like to come to visit the way things used to be, and buy dried produce that is very expensive in the city. Took LOTS of photos...
We visited a temple - magnificently adorned, and very ornate.
Next is the Po Lin Buddhist monastery, visiting the giant statue before the monastery itself.
2:50pm
We have been to the giant Buddha - you can't take photos inside the visitors centre, but we took a lot outside... Then we went to the monastery for a really great vegetarian lunch - nine courses, and they were all good. We wandered around the temples and shrines (taking even more photos) before meeting the guide for the trip back.
3:50pm
The trip back was by cable car. It took about 20 minutes. It was very high, but it was a buzz!! I took a huge number of photos... Now we are on our way back to the hotel.
Tonight we plan an early night (after the 'Ladies Market').
11:07pm
OK, so much for the early night (again) – we got back to the Hotel, reviewed our purchases, and got ourselves back out the door around 6pm. The Ladies Market (sells everything – haven’t been able to work out why it’s called that) was fantastic. Way better than any of the others (the Night, Jade and Stanley Markets). We bought more stuff… This made the packing bit something of a challenge, but it’s done now. I just have to get the photos up to Flickr, post this blog and … well, I took some video on my new toy tonight (the crowds on Nathan Road, the neon signs on Nathan Road and a taxi ride on – yep, you guessed it – Nathan Road), and I’d like to get it up onto YouTube…
I’ll add a brief entry if I can get it to go. In the mean time, have a look at our Flickr albums – all of Diane’s, Carol’s and Betty’s photos are up – I know a lot of them look the same, but we were all amazed by the same stuff, and we were there at the same time….
cheers
We slept in this morning. Not much, just enough to put some pressure on getting to breakfast. We still got to our pickup at the Kimberley Hotel in good time.
Now we're on the ferry to Lantau Island.
Our first stop is at Cheung Sha beach.
12.20
Next was the Tai O fishing village. Here we saw stilt houses, a produce market and a Buddhist temple. Tai O is a popular local tourist destination; older city residents like to come to visit the way things used to be, and buy dried produce that is very expensive in the city. Took LOTS of photos...
We visited a temple - magnificently adorned, and very ornate.
Next is the Po Lin Buddhist monastery, visiting the giant statue before the monastery itself.
2:50pm
We have been to the giant Buddha - you can't take photos inside the visitors centre, but we took a lot outside... Then we went to the monastery for a really great vegetarian lunch - nine courses, and they were all good. We wandered around the temples and shrines (taking even more photos) before meeting the guide for the trip back.
3:50pm
The trip back was by cable car. It took about 20 minutes. It was very high, but it was a buzz!! I took a huge number of photos... Now we are on our way back to the hotel.
Tonight we plan an early night (after the 'Ladies Market').
11:07pm
OK, so much for the early night (again) – we got back to the Hotel, reviewed our purchases, and got ourselves back out the door around 6pm. The Ladies Market (sells everything – haven’t been able to work out why it’s called that) was fantastic. Way better than any of the others (the Night, Jade and Stanley Markets). We bought more stuff… This made the packing bit something of a challenge, but it’s done now. I just have to get the photos up to Flickr, post this blog and … well, I took some video on my new toy tonight (the crowds on Nathan Road, the neon signs on Nathan Road and a taxi ride on – yep, you guessed it – Nathan Road), and I’d like to get it up onto YouTube…
I’ll add a brief entry if I can get it to go. In the mean time, have a look at our Flickr albums – all of Diane’s, Carol’s and Betty’s photos are up – I know a lot of them look the same, but we were all amazed by the same stuff, and we were there at the same time….
cheers
Day 2 - Hong Kong
We got up around 6.30, and had breakfast in the Hotel restaurant before heading to the Park Hotel (Carnarvon Rd, Kowloon) to meet our tour group.
We went to Hong Kong Island. We saw the world's fourth tallest building (looks alot like an electric shaver...88 storeys high...), went through some very claustrophobic under-harbour tunnels and our first stop was on Causeway Bay - the Aberdeen typhoon shelter.
This was described to us as a 'fishing village' where the people live on board their boats ... we went for a ride around the bay in a sampan. We saw the world's largest floating restaurant (can take 2000 people for a meal sitting). It was colourful and spectacular ... both Betty and Diane took alot of photos around the bay.
After the fishing village we went to the Dynasty Jewellery Manufacturer factory outlet. Strangely, none of us bought any of the diamond encrusted items we saw...
From there we went to Stanley Market down the most incredible narrow rollercoaster of a road... I think the driver moonlights as a car stunt driver. In several places he had to creep the bus forward just to get through unbelievably narrow (and short) spaces. In Stanley Market Carol and Betty both bought suits, and Diane bought pashminis.
Then up to the lookout called 'The Peak' to see the island and harbour from above. Betty stayed in the bus to avoid the Peak tram trip to the terminus at the base of the mountain - it was an extremely steep ride. Diane and Carol took quite a few pictures as the tram took them backwards down the mountain ... Carol is still in shock - "at least if I'm going plummeting down, I should be able to see it". Diane thinks that if they had faced forwards they'd have fallen out of their seats. It was very, very, steep. At the bottom, Betty commented that it had been a tense drive down the very, very steep road... We all feel that now that this downwards trip has been done, we don't have to do it again. It was good fun, though.
The tour dropped us back at the Park Hotel, and we went straight from there to the Jade Market. It was now about 2.45, and the Jade Market closes at 4pm, and we didn't want to miss it. We had fun. We bought earrings, necklaces, bracelets and bangles, rings, brooches, lucky charms and a jade dragon for Nan Ward (and it is NOT green...).
After the Jade Market we came back to the Hotel (Stanford Hillview) and had coffee and a show-and-tell session covering the day's retail therapy...
The hard work of the day was the purchase of Carol's new toy - a flashy (rather cute) HP PDA. It took an awfully long time to accomplish, but Carol is a very happy little vegemite this evening. While Carol was busy, Betty and Diane went searching for a Gucci handbag. Betty bought a very nice 'Gucci' handbag with matching watch...
By this time we were way too tired to do anything but eat ... we had a really nice buffet meal in the restaurant in our hotel. And now we've downloaded today's pictures, we can finally go to bed.
Tomorrow we are off to Lantau Island.
Cheers
We went to Hong Kong Island. We saw the world's fourth tallest building (looks alot like an electric shaver...88 storeys high...), went through some very claustrophobic under-harbour tunnels and our first stop was on Causeway Bay - the Aberdeen typhoon shelter.
This was described to us as a 'fishing village' where the people live on board their boats ... we went for a ride around the bay in a sampan. We saw the world's largest floating restaurant (can take 2000 people for a meal sitting). It was colourful and spectacular ... both Betty and Diane took alot of photos around the bay.
After the fishing village we went to the Dynasty Jewellery Manufacturer factory outlet. Strangely, none of us bought any of the diamond encrusted items we saw...
From there we went to Stanley Market down the most incredible narrow rollercoaster of a road... I think the driver moonlights as a car stunt driver. In several places he had to creep the bus forward just to get through unbelievably narrow (and short) spaces. In Stanley Market Carol and Betty both bought suits, and Diane bought pashminis.
Then up to the lookout called 'The Peak' to see the island and harbour from above. Betty stayed in the bus to avoid the Peak tram trip to the terminus at the base of the mountain - it was an extremely steep ride. Diane and Carol took quite a few pictures as the tram took them backwards down the mountain ... Carol is still in shock - "at least if I'm going plummeting down, I should be able to see it". Diane thinks that if they had faced forwards they'd have fallen out of their seats. It was very, very, steep. At the bottom, Betty commented that it had been a tense drive down the very, very steep road... We all feel that now that this downwards trip has been done, we don't have to do it again. It was good fun, though.
The tour dropped us back at the Park Hotel, and we went straight from there to the Jade Market. It was now about 2.45, and the Jade Market closes at 4pm, and we didn't want to miss it. We had fun. We bought earrings, necklaces, bracelets and bangles, rings, brooches, lucky charms and a jade dragon for Nan Ward (and it is NOT green...).
After the Jade Market we came back to the Hotel (Stanford Hillview) and had coffee and a show-and-tell session covering the day's retail therapy...
The hard work of the day was the purchase of Carol's new toy - a flashy (rather cute) HP PDA. It took an awfully long time to accomplish, but Carol is a very happy little vegemite this evening. While Carol was busy, Betty and Diane went searching for a Gucci handbag. Betty bought a very nice 'Gucci' handbag with matching watch...
By this time we were way too tired to do anything but eat ... we had a really nice buffet meal in the restaurant in our hotel. And now we've downloaded today's pictures, we can finally go to bed.
Tomorrow we are off to Lantau Island.
Cheers
Day 1 - Hong Kong
We left Fairfield at 4.35am ... got to Tullamarine at about 5, had a coffee with Phillip and Sarah, and then to the Cathay Pacific checkin.
Diane's passport refused to scan and caused some stress - apparently everything read OK except the nationality. Assurances from Carol that Diane was actually born here were ignored by the checkin staff.... in the end another scanner was used successfully.
We boarded at 8.30, and the plane left about 9.15. The flight was pleasantly uneventful, and we landed in Hong Kong on time at 2.55pm local time (5.55 in Melbourne).
Checked into the Standford Hillview Hotel in Kowloon at about 5.30pm. Feeling a little drained... Betty was already here (she was on a tour of the New Territories today), and after a coffee with her the three of us went to the Temple Street night market.
Diane bought a camera for herself (note to Sarah - this isn't intended for you - if I get you one as previously discussed, it will be on the way home...), we all saw Betty's new suits in the making, and Carol reviewed watches and PDAs.
Photos from the evening are a little scant because Diane was still figuring out how to use the new toy, and noone else took theirs to the market. Given that it's now 11.36pm local time (2.37am Melbourne time...), and I am pretty tired, the new photos may not make it up to the blog until tomorrow.
Tomorrow we all go on a tour of Hong Kong island, and then in the afternoon we'll go back to the electronics shop where Diane bought her camera, and we'll continue negotiations for Carol's PDA. In the evening we'll go to the Ladies Market.
All in all, today has been very full, and we are all very tired, but it's been a fun day.
Cheers
Diane's passport refused to scan and caused some stress - apparently everything read OK except the nationality. Assurances from Carol that Diane was actually born here were ignored by the checkin staff.... in the end another scanner was used successfully.
We boarded at 8.30, and the plane left about 9.15. The flight was pleasantly uneventful, and we landed in Hong Kong on time at 2.55pm local time (5.55 in Melbourne).
Checked into the Standford Hillview Hotel in Kowloon at about 5.30pm. Feeling a little drained... Betty was already here (she was on a tour of the New Territories today), and after a coffee with her the three of us went to the Temple Street night market.
Diane bought a camera for herself (note to Sarah - this isn't intended for you - if I get you one as previously discussed, it will be on the way home...), we all saw Betty's new suits in the making, and Carol reviewed watches and PDAs.
Photos from the evening are a little scant because Diane was still figuring out how to use the new toy, and noone else took theirs to the market. Given that it's now 11.36pm local time (2.37am Melbourne time...), and I am pretty tired, the new photos may not make it up to the blog until tomorrow.
Tomorrow we all go on a tour of Hong Kong island, and then in the afternoon we'll go back to the electronics shop where Diane bought her camera, and we'll continue negotiations for Carol's PDA. In the evening we'll go to the Ladies Market.
All in all, today has been very full, and we are all very tired, but it's been a fun day.
Cheers
d.day
Well, well. well , today is the day to drive to Melbourne then tomorrow morning at 8.55am, I will kick start my broom stick and fly to Hong Kong for my first ever overseas trip......I will meet Carol & Diane in Hong Kong on Thursday Betty
This time next week we'll be in ... HONG KONG!!
It is so close!! We go in about 143 hours (or so).
This weekend I'm going to do washing and ironing... and I may have to start packing, but I had rather throught that I'd be packing on Wednesday... What if I want stuff that I've packed in the meantime? Surely it must be inefficient to pack and unpack over several days?
Anyway. Had my hair straightened last night so I can spend less time on it while I'm away...
This trip is going to be SOOooooo good.....
Cheers
Di
This weekend I'm going to do washing and ironing... and I may have to start packing, but I had rather throught that I'd be packing on Wednesday... What if I want stuff that I've packed in the meantime? Surely it must be inefficient to pack and unpack over several days?
Anyway. Had my hair straightened last night so I can spend less time on it while I'm away...
This trip is going to be SOOooooo good.....
Cheers
Di
Just 6 short days.........
OK. This time next week we'll be on the plane on our way to Hong Kong. It will have started. So few days, but seems so long to wait!!
8 DAYS TO GO!!
Ok, this is getting close... plane tickets are sorted, passports organised, tickets to Crufts received, money exchanged... all we have to do now is PACK. Oh yes. And wait.
We can now upload our photos as we go to Flickr (click on the icon to the left), and anyone (well, anyone we tell) can go online and see all our holiday snaps. And where we took them.
I finish work next Tuesday, pack on Wednesday and we go on Thursday... so, so very close!!!
Di
We can now upload our photos as we go to Flickr (click on the icon to the left), and anyone (well, anyone we tell) can go online and see all our holiday snaps. And where we took them.
I finish work next Tuesday, pack on Wednesday and we go on Thursday... so, so very close!!!
Di
another test...
I'm sending this one via email ... I just want to see the pictures turn
up...
ONLY NINE (9) DAYS TO GO!!!
up...
ONLY NINE (9) DAYS TO GO!!!
another test...
I'm sending this one via email ... I just want to see the pictures turn
up...
ONLY NINE (9) DAYS TO GO!!!
up...
ONLY NINE (9) DAYS TO GO!!!
Who's on this trip?
Six Weeks to go!!!
Well.... Mum & I are going to Hong Kong, the UK (ie, Crufts) and Paris, but it isn't just us!
Aunt Betty (Mum's sister - german spitz & shiba inu person!) will be in Hong Kong with us. She actually will get there the day before we do, and leave after us, but we will be Hong-Kong-ing together!!
Check out our dogs (links to the left).
Cheers
Di
Well.... Mum & I are going to Hong Kong, the UK (ie, Crufts) and Paris, but it isn't just us!
Aunt Betty (Mum's sister - german spitz & shiba inu person!) will be in Hong Kong with us. She actually will get there the day before we do, and leave after us, but we will be Hong-Kong-ing together!!
Check out our dogs (links to the left).
Cheers
Di
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