Hi all,
We just had a great weekend in Scotland. We left Cardiff on Friday evening and arrived in Edinburgh about an hour later. It was amazing that everything run like clockwork and within 30 minutes of landing we had picked up our hire car and were at our accommodation in the city centre. We stayed at the Glenora Guest House, about 1 mile from the Edinburgh Castle, and would recommend it to anyone. The family room was enormous and without a doubt the best family room we have stayed in all year, I double bed and 3 singles. the breakfast the next morning was also superb, 10 out of 10!! In fact the accommodation in Scotland for all three nights was very good and surpassed most of our (hotel) accommodation in any other country this year.
On Friday night we went into the city centre and had a look at Edinburgh Castle all lit up and near the Scott Monument, there was a "Winter Wonderland" (most Uk cities have one at this time of year, rides, ferris wheels, ice skating etc..). Next to the "rides" was a German Market, where we had our dinner and our first mulled wine of the season.
Saturday morning, after a great Full Organic Scottish Breakfast, we visited the Edinburgh Castle and walked the Royal Mile down to Holyrood Palace (The Queen's official Edinburgh residence). We did a little bit of shopping and Kristin had another mulled wine (11 a.m.!!) before we left Edinburgh. I think, if time permitted, we could have spent several days in Edinburgh.
We left Edinburgh and headed over the Firth of Froth on the Froth Road Bridge (about 1.5 km long and running parallel to it a magnificent railway bridge) on the way to the Home of Golf, St. Andrews. At St. Andrews we first drove through the main street, down to ruins of the Priory and Castle. Next step was the Golf Course, and if you have ever watched the British Open at the Royal and Ancient, it was exactly how you imagined it to be! The Old Course was open to the public to walk around and was great to make the visit (next time? will need to play a round!). From St. Andrews we headed to Inverness, via Dundee and Perth. As we got into the Highlands, plenty of the mountains were covered in snow (does this count as a White Christmas?).
We stayed at the Columba Hotel in Inverness which is right on the river Ness in the heart of the town. Inverness (Scotland's third largest city) was nothing spectacular did have a lovely castle and I'm sure in the warmer months the riverside would be bustling and a great place to be. Sunday morning, we went to the Culloden Battlefields before heading down Loch Ness. The drive along Loch Ness was brilliant, and we were very lucky to a bright sunshiny day. We stopped at Drumnadrachit and did the Loch Ness Centre (it seems to me that this was another classic con job to improve tourism to the area in the 1930's, but then again I'm a cynic!) and then the ruins of Urqhart Castle.
The next stop was Glenfinnan, near Fort William, was has the Glennfinnan Monument (to Bonnie Prince Charles and the Jacobites) and the Glenfinnan Viaduct (the railway bridge made famous by the Harry Potter movies). We had lunch in Fort William, whcich sits on the base of Ben Nevis (UK's highest point).
The journey then continued through lots of snow covered mountains near Glencoe and further south we drove along Loch Lomand. Unfortunately the skies opened up at this stage and it was starting to get dark and late in the afternoon we arrived in Glasgow. Sunday night and Monday morning we walked around Glasgow, along the River Clyde, the Cathedral and the town centre. At about lunchtime we headed back to Edinburgh to catch a flight home to Cardiff.
A very enjoyable few days! We have a week and a half of school left (last Tuesday 22nd), then we move to London for a couple of days before we head off home! All the photos are available on the Web Albums.
Cya soon!
View Scotland in a larger map
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Rugby @ Millenium Stadium
Hi all,
The countdown has begun and the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel (I hope it isn't an oncoming train).
The weather has been very poor of late (probably the opposite of what most of you are experiencing and they are predicting 0 C overnight later in the week) and days are getting very short (sunrise: 7:30am and sunset 4:30pm)!
Anyhow the only real interesting thing going on, has been the Rugby Union International of Wales versus Australia at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
The countdown has begun and the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel (I hope it isn't an oncoming train).
The weather has been very poor of late (probably the opposite of what most of you are experiencing and they are predicting 0 C overnight later in the week) and days are getting very short (sunrise: 7:30am and sunset 4:30pm)!
Anyhow the only real interesting thing going on, has been the Rugby Union International of Wales versus Australia at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.Although we aren't great Rugby fans, it was a great day and even better that the Aussies managed to thrash the Welsh (33 - 12)! A dominant performance by the Wallabies!
The 4 of us went down to Cardiff with Les (Dave's father-in-law) and had a few pre-match drinks and also met up with Mike (who we met in Turkey, Paris and Cambridge). We bought our tickets through the Australian Rugby Union site and we sat with other Aussies, but were probably in the worse seats in the stadium (top level, back row).
It was a lot of fun sitting amongst the "Fanatics" and were entertained by 3 young (very pissed) Aussie gals in front of us, who had very little idea of the result by the end of the game! From the game, we had a quick wander around Cardiff, then walked to Canton and met Les and Kay for a drink (or ten!).
We are going to Scotland for a flying visit this weekend and that will be the end of the big adventure, beside a few days in London before we fly out. So I'll probably do one of our last blogs next week after Scotland.
Hope all is well and see you after Xmas!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Cambridge & East Anglia
Hi all,
It is 5 pm as I write this blog and it is pitch black outside! The weather lately has been very cool and wet, and are very envious of Melbourne's weather at the moment. Andy and Kristin are suffering through work and are certainly in countdown mode. Billy and Declan are still enjoying school, both are playing in the school rugby teams (Y8 and Y10) and Declan is also goalkeeper for the Year 8 Football (it is better known as soccer!). Billy has been doing cooking this term at school and has made some lovely dishes - the highlight being the Spicy Tomato Soup.
This weekend we headed East. We drove for and about three and a half hours Saturday morning and arrived at a village called Lavenham. Lavenham is in Suffolk, and as the Lonely Planet guide suggests "there is hardly a straight line in the whole topsy-turvy Lavenham, Eastern England's loviest medieval wool town", and I think they maybe correct! Checkout our photos and you will see buildings leaning at all angles. There is a lovely old church, Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, built about 1485.
From Lavenham, we headed to Ely about 15 miles North East of Cambridge. Ely has a fantastic cathedral and is your classic Georgian town. As the whole surrounding area is extremely flat the Ely cathedral is visible from quite a distance in all directions. Ely is situated in the Fen lands of East England. A lovely city and we thought that we should have spent a year in this Ely, not Ely Cardiff!
We arrived in Cambridge mid-afternoon in very dark and rainy conditions, and after a quick drive around the city, we decided to go to our accommodation, Arnie's Guest House. We have stayed in varying degrees of accommodation this year in a lot of different cities and countries, but unfortunately, Arnie's was one of our worse! Less said about it the better! On Saturday night, we caught the bus into the city centre and had a wander around before meeting up with Mike (we met earlier in the year in Turkey) and having a few drinks and a meal at "The Castle" hotel, a nice little pub near "Castle Mound".
Sunday morning, after our non-existent full English breakfast and cold toast, we walked around the city and focussed mainly on the colleges. After a dismal Saturday, weatherwise, Sunday morning was lovely in Cambridge (although a little cool!). Our first sight was the Fitzwilliam Museum, a grand neoclassical building, then we walked through the grounds and buildings of Peterhouse College (the first college in Cambridge -1284).
Next we went down to the River Cam by Queen's College and watched the "tourists" being "punted" along the river. Then we headed into King's College, probably the most impressive of all the college's, and it's Chapel worthy of being a cathedral in most citiess! The grounds were immaculate and buildings very impressive! We also walked pass the colleges of Trinity, St. John's and Magdalene. We managed to get a photo of The Bridge of Sighs (the 3rd Bridge of Sighs we have seen this year, Oxford and Venice being the others)!
There was a market in the city centre, which Kristin was very happy to see and after a quick lunch we headed off back to Cardiff! Lucky that we are now experienced traveller's of the UK, because our Sat Nav was not charging off the cigarette lighter and we had to navigate our own way home! It wasn't that hard, but if it was earlier in the year we may still be in Cambridge!
Checkout the photos in the Web Albums, and if you have a bit of time on your hands (and unlimited internet use) have a look at the Fireworks (around Bonfire night - Guy Fawkes - we had several nights of fireworks going off around the area and we had our own fireworks display!)
cheers,
Andy
View Cambridge in a larger map
It is 5 pm as I write this blog and it is pitch black outside! The weather lately has been very cool and wet, and are very envious of Melbourne's weather at the moment. Andy and Kristin are suffering through work and are certainly in countdown mode. Billy and Declan are still enjoying school, both are playing in the school rugby teams (Y8 and Y10) and Declan is also goalkeeper for the Year 8 Football (it is better known as soccer!). Billy has been doing cooking this term at school and has made some lovely dishes - the highlight being the Spicy Tomato Soup.
This weekend we headed East. We drove for and about three and a half hours Saturday morning and arrived at a village called Lavenham. Lavenham is in Suffolk, and as the Lonely Planet guide suggests "there is hardly a straight line in the whole topsy-turvy Lavenham, Eastern England's loviest medieval wool town", and I think they maybe correct! Checkout our photos and you will see buildings leaning at all angles. There is a lovely old church, Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, built about 1485.
From Lavenham, we headed to Ely about 15 miles North East of Cambridge. Ely has a fantastic cathedral and is your classic Georgian town. As the whole surrounding area is extremely flat the Ely cathedral is visible from quite a distance in all directions. Ely is situated in the Fen lands of East England. A lovely city and we thought that we should have spent a year in this Ely, not Ely Cardiff!
We arrived in Cambridge mid-afternoon in very dark and rainy conditions, and after a quick drive around the city, we decided to go to our accommodation, Arnie's Guest House. We have stayed in varying degrees of accommodation this year in a lot of different cities and countries, but unfortunately, Arnie's was one of our worse! Less said about it the better! On Saturday night, we caught the bus into the city centre and had a wander around before meeting up with Mike (we met earlier in the year in Turkey) and having a few drinks and a meal at "The Castle" hotel, a nice little pub near "Castle Mound".
Sunday morning, after our non-existent full English breakfast and cold toast, we walked around the city and focussed mainly on the colleges. After a dismal Saturday, weatherwise, Sunday morning was lovely in Cambridge (although a little cool!). Our first sight was the Fitzwilliam Museum, a grand neoclassical building, then we walked through the grounds and buildings of Peterhouse College (the first college in Cambridge -1284).
Next we went down to the River Cam by Queen's College and watched the "tourists" being "punted" along the river. Then we headed into King's College, probably the most impressive of all the college's, and it's Chapel worthy of being a cathedral in most citiess! The grounds were immaculate and buildings very impressive! We also walked pass the colleges of Trinity, St. John's and Magdalene. We managed to get a photo of The Bridge of Sighs (the 3rd Bridge of Sighs we have seen this year, Oxford and Venice being the others)!
There was a market in the city centre, which Kristin was very happy to see and after a quick lunch we headed off back to Cardiff! Lucky that we are now experienced traveller's of the UK, because our Sat Nav was not charging off the cigarette lighter and we had to navigate our own way home! It wasn't that hard, but if it was earlier in the year we may still be in Cambridge!
Checkout the photos in the Web Albums, and if you have a bit of time on your hands (and unlimited internet use) have a look at the Fireworks (around Bonfire night - Guy Fawkes - we had several nights of fireworks going off around the area and we had our own fireworks display!)
cheers,
Andy
View Cambridge in a larger map
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Tunisia
The Half term finished with Declan and Andy spending most of the last week with the "flu", but not to be deterred we set off for Tunisia on Sunday morning on our final big trip for the year - excluding our trip home!
When we arrived at Monastir airport, we had a little hassle getting an entry visa. Interestingly they let you go through customs (without your passport), collect your bags and enter the airport and get money (Tunisian Dinar) and then go back into to collect your passport and visa! When we got back in the "travel rep" of Thomas Cook was finding out what the delay was with the visa, managed to upset the man who was organising it, to which he threatened to refuse our entry!! anyhow half an hour later we were on a bus to our hotel - Vincci Nour Palace, Mahdia.
Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in Northern Africa, about 80 miles from Sicily and wedged between Algeria and Libya. Tunisia is about the size of England and Wales, population of about 11 million and about one third desert (the Sahara). Mahdia, where we stayed, is located on the Eastern coast about 150 km South of the capital Tunis. Tunisia has a rich Roman, Spanish, French and Arab history.
We went for the All Inclusive package at the hotel, so we wasted no time in getting a drink at the poolside bar not long after we arrived! The weather for the week was similar for most days, low 20's and a bit of a cool breeze, which made sun baking and swimming in the outdoor pool not as enjoyable as we had hoped! (But having got back to Cardiff where it is 12 oC, wet and windy - It wasn't too bad in retrospect!).
Monday afternoon, Andy and Kristin went into the local town of Mahdia, where we looked at the sites - ancient ruins, Great Mosque, lighthouse, Mahdia Medina, local bazaar and Andy had a haircut and shave!
We caught a taxi into Mahdia, we were warned that there were only 2 types of drivers - Michael Schumacher and Noddy and nothing in between - well take it from me there is only one type - The F1 wanna-be!!
Tuesday saw a lazy day around the pool, the bar and all-you can -eat breakfast, lunch and dinner! Someone has to do it!! Tuesday night dinner was at the Tunisian restaurant at the hotel and we had traditional Tunisian food - mainly Couscous! The food had a heavy French influence (former colony) and I quite enjoyed it (washed down with a local red), as did Kristin and Billy, but it wasn't Declan's idea of dinner - he went to the buffet restaurant and ate his traditional food - pizza!
Wednesday was another pool day and visit to Mahdia (the boys came this time) and lots more shopping! Wednesday night dinner was the Italian Restaurant - not as good as the Tunisian but ok!
On Thursday morning we headed off (quite early) on a 2 day tour of Southern Tunisia and this was the highlight of the week away! the first stop was about an hour away at a place called El Jem. El Jem has a Roman Colosseum, which compares well to the Colosseum in Rome, and even better you could access all parts of the colosseum, even the Gladiator quarters. If you look at the photos, you will see that the arena surface was in place and you can walk under the arena. It was quite impressive, even though a little smaller than the Rome Colosseum!
After a bit of a drive South and a stop for lunch at a hotel in Gabes (and by chance, sat next to another Aussie couple!), we headed for Matmata. Matmata is the area where the Troglodytes houses of the Berbers are situated. To give you an idea what they are like, think of the original Star Wars film (A New Hope) and Luke Skywalker's home in Tatoonie. These homes are carved into the mountains, and in fact it was this area that inspired George Lucas for the first Star Wars film and many of the scenes were shot here. After a visit to a troglodyte home we stopped at the top of the mountain at Matmata and viewed the "Lunar Landscape". Not far from here was the ancient town of Tamezret, which was totally destroyed by heavy rains in 1969 - I suppose that is a problem with building houses out of mud and sandstone! I suppose it isn't too bad an idea when most of the country has a rainfall in the 150 - 300 mm range!
Next we continued the bus tour to the town of Douz which sits on the Northern part of the Sahara Desert (the World's Largest Desert in Tunisia. At Douz, we went on a camel ride into the Sahara and watched the sunset over the Sahara - Special!! Everyone enjoyed the camel ride, although Kristin was complaining that she was a bit saddle sore the next day!
We stayed the night at a hotel in Douz, where there was a thermal swimming pool - this was quite nice - until we noticed back in our rooms that our bathers and towels were quite muddy! After dinner we had an early night, because we were having a 4 am start the next day!
Friday morning we headed off to the Salt lake, Chott El-Jerid, about 51000 square kilometres, making it one of North Africa's largest salt lakes. We stopped halfway across the 64 km causeway to watch the sunrise over the salt lake and the colours were very impressive.
From Chott El-Jerid, we went to the town of Touzer, which is a tourist centre based on a huge oasis. Here we went on a horse and carriage ride around the oasis and saw a demonstration of how they collect the dates. Next was 4WD trip to the mountain oasis of Chebika. Chebika is located in the Atlas Mountains (which forms a natural border between Algeria and Tunisia) about 20 km from the Algerian border. Natural springs from the mountain, allow the town to grow date palms and other other fruits and vegetables. Chebika also was severely damaged in the 1969 floods! Not far from Chebika are the waterfalls at Tamerza, but the flow of water was not very high and wasn't as spectacular as it apparently can be! It is more famous for the filming of The English Patient in this area.
After lunch at Gafsa, we headed to the Holy City of Kairouan, an important pilgrimage for Muslims. Apparently 4 visits to Kairouan can be considered the same as visiting Mecca once - only three to go!! There is a Great Mosque situated in the impressive medina walls. From Kairouan we headed back to the hotel via several stops at other resorts, dropping others from the bus tour.
The 1200km 2 day trip was a real highlight of the trip to Tunisia. The last day was spent around the pool, eating and drinking! Have a look at the Web albums (there are 8 different folders) to see the variety of landscape that we experienced in Tunisia.
We have started the last half-term (7 weeks), it gets dark about 5 pm and I think winter has settled in, so we are beginning to think that going home sounds good! (They don't have a day off for the Melbourne Cup here - how backward!).
Check out the Web Albums and see the sights of Tunisia. Cheers for now~
When we arrived at Monastir airport, we had a little hassle getting an entry visa. Interestingly they let you go through customs (without your passport), collect your bags and enter the airport and get money (Tunisian Dinar) and then go back into to collect your passport and visa! When we got back in the "travel rep" of Thomas Cook was finding out what the delay was with the visa, managed to upset the man who was organising it, to which he threatened to refuse our entry!! anyhow half an hour later we were on a bus to our hotel - Vincci Nour Palace, Mahdia.
Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in Northern Africa, about 80 miles from Sicily and wedged between Algeria and Libya. Tunisia is about the size of England and Wales, population of about 11 million and about one third desert (the Sahara). Mahdia, where we stayed, is located on the Eastern coast about 150 km South of the capital Tunis. Tunisia has a rich Roman, Spanish, French and Arab history.
We went for the All Inclusive package at the hotel, so we wasted no time in getting a drink at the poolside bar not long after we arrived! The weather for the week was similar for most days, low 20's and a bit of a cool breeze, which made sun baking and swimming in the outdoor pool not as enjoyable as we had hoped! (But having got back to Cardiff where it is 12 oC, wet and windy - It wasn't too bad in retrospect!).
Monday afternoon, Andy and Kristin went into the local town of Mahdia, where we looked at the sites - ancient ruins, Great Mosque, lighthouse, Mahdia Medina, local bazaar and Andy had a haircut and shave!
We caught a taxi into Mahdia, we were warned that there were only 2 types of drivers - Michael Schumacher and Noddy and nothing in between - well take it from me there is only one type - The F1 wanna-be!!
Tuesday saw a lazy day around the pool, the bar and all-you can -eat breakfast, lunch and dinner! Someone has to do it!! Tuesday night dinner was at the Tunisian restaurant at the hotel and we had traditional Tunisian food - mainly Couscous! The food had a heavy French influence (former colony) and I quite enjoyed it (washed down with a local red), as did Kristin and Billy, but it wasn't Declan's idea of dinner - he went to the buffet restaurant and ate his traditional food - pizza!
Wednesday was another pool day and visit to Mahdia (the boys came this time) and lots more shopping! Wednesday night dinner was the Italian Restaurant - not as good as the Tunisian but ok!
On Thursday morning we headed off (quite early) on a 2 day tour of Southern Tunisia and this was the highlight of the week away! the first stop was about an hour away at a place called El Jem. El Jem has a Roman Colosseum, which compares well to the Colosseum in Rome, and even better you could access all parts of the colosseum, even the Gladiator quarters. If you look at the photos, you will see that the arena surface was in place and you can walk under the arena. It was quite impressive, even though a little smaller than the Rome Colosseum!
After a bit of a drive South and a stop for lunch at a hotel in Gabes (and by chance, sat next to another Aussie couple!), we headed for Matmata. Matmata is the area where the Troglodytes houses of the Berbers are situated. To give you an idea what they are like, think of the original Star Wars film (A New Hope) and Luke Skywalker's home in Tatoonie. These homes are carved into the mountains, and in fact it was this area that inspired George Lucas for the first Star Wars film and many of the scenes were shot here. After a visit to a troglodyte home we stopped at the top of the mountain at Matmata and viewed the "Lunar Landscape". Not far from here was the ancient town of Tamezret, which was totally destroyed by heavy rains in 1969 - I suppose that is a problem with building houses out of mud and sandstone! I suppose it isn't too bad an idea when most of the country has a rainfall in the 150 - 300 mm range!
Next we continued the bus tour to the town of Douz which sits on the Northern part of the Sahara Desert (the World's Largest Desert in Tunisia. At Douz, we went on a camel ride into the Sahara and watched the sunset over the Sahara - Special!! Everyone enjoyed the camel ride, although Kristin was complaining that she was a bit saddle sore the next day!
We stayed the night at a hotel in Douz, where there was a thermal swimming pool - this was quite nice - until we noticed back in our rooms that our bathers and towels were quite muddy! After dinner we had an early night, because we were having a 4 am start the next day!
Friday morning we headed off to the Salt lake, Chott El-Jerid, about 51000 square kilometres, making it one of North Africa's largest salt lakes. We stopped halfway across the 64 km causeway to watch the sunrise over the salt lake and the colours were very impressive.
From Chott El-Jerid, we went to the town of Touzer, which is a tourist centre based on a huge oasis. Here we went on a horse and carriage ride around the oasis and saw a demonstration of how they collect the dates. Next was 4WD trip to the mountain oasis of Chebika. Chebika is located in the Atlas Mountains (which forms a natural border between Algeria and Tunisia) about 20 km from the Algerian border. Natural springs from the mountain, allow the town to grow date palms and other other fruits and vegetables. Chebika also was severely damaged in the 1969 floods! Not far from Chebika are the waterfalls at Tamerza, but the flow of water was not very high and wasn't as spectacular as it apparently can be! It is more famous for the filming of The English Patient in this area.
After lunch at Gafsa, we headed to the Holy City of Kairouan, an important pilgrimage for Muslims. Apparently 4 visits to Kairouan can be considered the same as visiting Mecca once - only three to go!! There is a Great Mosque situated in the impressive medina walls. From Kairouan we headed back to the hotel via several stops at other resorts, dropping others from the bus tour.
The 1200km 2 day trip was a real highlight of the trip to Tunisia. The last day was spent around the pool, eating and drinking! Have a look at the Web albums (there are 8 different folders) to see the variety of landscape that we experienced in Tunisia.
We have started the last half-term (7 weeks), it gets dark about 5 pm and I think winter has settled in, so we are beginning to think that going home sounds good! (They don't have a day off for the Melbourne Cup here - how backward!).
Check out the Web Albums and see the sights of Tunisia. Cheers for now~
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Liverpool, Chester and Ironbridge
Friday morning I got up to drive Kristin to work and the entire right hand mirror of the car was missing. Someone had obviously had decided that their need was greater than ours!
On Saturday we headed off to Liverpool (w/o driver's side mirror) and arrived unscathed about midday. We decided to have a much quieter weekend than our normal trips!
The first stop was Albert Dock, we didn't do The Beatles Story (did it Sunday), but grabbed a lot of information to decide what we would do. From the docks we walked to the Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican) and from the outside it looked very big, perched on top of the highest hill (St. James' Mount) in the city. It was constructed during the 20th Century of locally quarried (reddish) sandstone and a tower height of 108 metres. Inside there was some sort of Anglican festival going on with lots of different activities. We climbed the Tower (well mainly used the lifts) and got panoramic views of Liverpool. From the Tower, we spotted our next location to visit - the Catholic Cathedral (Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King).
The Metropolitan Cathedral was completely different to all other cathedrals that we have seen this year - and that is saying something because I reckon the count has to be over a hundred! It was very modern, built in the 1960's, but to me it just seemed like a very, very big suburban church in Melbourne!
From the Metropolitan Cathedral we walked down Brownlow Hill to the shopping centre of Liverpool and made our way to the Cavern Quarter. Here we visited Mathew Street which has the Cavern Club, made famous by The Beatles. So the "Fab Four", Kristin, Andy, Billy and Declan went into the club and by the looks of the place, I don't think much has changed in the last 50 years! The was a two-piece band playing and for a Saturday Arvo, it was quite crowded.
Next, we drove to Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields and took the obligatory photos. From there we found our hotel, the Throstle's Nest (I assume a Throstle is a bird, a thrush?)and had a quick break before going back into the city centre for dinner. Liverpool was rocking early in the evening and on the corner of Mathew Street and Temple Court, it was impossible to have a conversation in the street, due to the blaring music from all venues!
Sunday morning, saw us visiting Liverpool FC's ground, Anfield and around the corner Everton's home ground, Goodison Park. Then we drove to Aintree, the racecourse where The Grand National is held (on the first Saturday in April). After our sporting fix, we went back into Liverpool and Andy & Kristin did The Beatles Story and really enjoyed it.
We left Liverpool, via the Kingsway Tunnel under the Mersey River and headed to Chester, which once upon a time was a more important port than Liverpool! Now it is a quaint medieval town where the rich football stars have mansions! Besides having the obligatory cathedral and city walls, the most interesting feature of the town was the ROWS, a series of two-level galleried arcades, like having a 1st story footpath, which was convenient because when we arrived in Chester in was raining!
Our last location for the weekend was Ironbridge Gorge, a World Heritage Site, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. In the 18th Century, the Industrial Revolution was kicked started here by Abraham Darby, who discovered how to smelt Iron ore with coke, which led to mass-production of iron wheels, rails and locomotives. The town has the world's first iron bridge (still standing), constructed in 1779.
From Ironbridge we headed back to Cardiff, and are getting ready for another week at the "Salt Mine". As usual all the photos have been posted on the Web Albums.
cheers!
View Liverpool Trek in a larger map
On Saturday we headed off to Liverpool (w/o driver's side mirror) and arrived unscathed about midday. We decided to have a much quieter weekend than our normal trips!
The first stop was Albert Dock, we didn't do The Beatles Story (did it Sunday), but grabbed a lot of information to decide what we would do. From the docks we walked to the Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican) and from the outside it looked very big, perched on top of the highest hill (St. James' Mount) in the city. It was constructed during the 20th Century of locally quarried (reddish) sandstone and a tower height of 108 metres. Inside there was some sort of Anglican festival going on with lots of different activities. We climbed the Tower (well mainly used the lifts) and got panoramic views of Liverpool. From the Tower, we spotted our next location to visit - the Catholic Cathedral (Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King).
The Metropolitan Cathedral was completely different to all other cathedrals that we have seen this year - and that is saying something because I reckon the count has to be over a hundred! It was very modern, built in the 1960's, but to me it just seemed like a very, very big suburban church in Melbourne!
From the Metropolitan Cathedral we walked down Brownlow Hill to the shopping centre of Liverpool and made our way to the Cavern Quarter. Here we visited Mathew Street which has the Cavern Club, made famous by The Beatles. So the "Fab Four", Kristin, Andy, Billy and Declan went into the club and by the looks of the place, I don't think much has changed in the last 50 years! The was a two-piece band playing and for a Saturday Arvo, it was quite crowded.
Next, we drove to Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields and took the obligatory photos. From there we found our hotel, the Throstle's Nest (I assume a Throstle is a bird, a thrush?)and had a quick break before going back into the city centre for dinner. Liverpool was rocking early in the evening and on the corner of Mathew Street and Temple Court, it was impossible to have a conversation in the street, due to the blaring music from all venues!
Sunday morning, saw us visiting Liverpool FC's ground, Anfield and around the corner Everton's home ground, Goodison Park. Then we drove to Aintree, the racecourse where The Grand National is held (on the first Saturday in April). After our sporting fix, we went back into Liverpool and Andy & Kristin did The Beatles Story and really enjoyed it.
We left Liverpool, via the Kingsway Tunnel under the Mersey River and headed to Chester, which once upon a time was a more important port than Liverpool! Now it is a quaint medieval town where the rich football stars have mansions! Besides having the obligatory cathedral and city walls, the most interesting feature of the town was the ROWS, a series of two-level galleried arcades, like having a 1st story footpath, which was convenient because when we arrived in Chester in was raining!
Our last location for the weekend was Ironbridge Gorge, a World Heritage Site, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. In the 18th Century, the Industrial Revolution was kicked started here by Abraham Darby, who discovered how to smelt Iron ore with coke, which led to mass-production of iron wheels, rails and locomotives. The town has the world's first iron bridge (still standing), constructed in 1779.
From Ironbridge we headed back to Cardiff, and are getting ready for another week at the "Salt Mine". As usual all the photos have been posted on the Web Albums.
cheers!
View Liverpool Trek in a larger map
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
South England
Last week Gabby & Andrew Wynne (and their girls Madi & Steph) dropped in for a visit on their UK/Europe trip. It was great to catch up, have a few (too many) beers and some nice Indian food.
Billy has been a bit crook with a dose of the flu and the rest of us have been a bit 'flu-ish' as well.
Anyhow we spent the weekend in the South of England. We headed off Saturday morning and drove to Canterbury arriving just before lunch. Canterbury is a lovely medieval city which has city walls, a castle ruin, an abbey ruin and a magnificent cathedral. Canterbury is the foothold of Christianity in England, this where St. Augustine established the Christian church in about 590 AD. In the Cathedral there are some famous people buried there, these include Thomas Becket, King Henry IV and the "Black Prince" Edward Plantagent.
After leaving Canterbury, we headed south to the English Channel at Hythe, we were hoping to have a coastal drive as we headed west, but what we found was the coastal road was next to a high embankment which blocked any view of the water. We did stop at a beach called St. Mary's in the Marchs and the wind was blowing a gale and the beach had a series of groynes about 50 metres apart. Travelling along the South Coast we came across towns called, Rye, Eastbourne, Seaford, Hastings & Brighton -why did they copy those Victorian names?!!
The next stop was Battle, near Hastings, the site where William the Conquerer defeated the English forces in 1066, the last successful invasion of England, and thus changing the course of England's history and turning them into Normans.
We stayed overnight in Eastbourne at a bed and breakfast 30 metres from the beach. Eastbourne is your typical British seaside resort with the obligatory promenade and pier with amusement arcade and a shale beach littered with groynes.
After breakfast we visited the Easbourne International Lawn Tennis Club. The traditional ladies lead-up tournament to Wimbledon is held here. From Eastbourne we went to Beachy Head, which has a series of huge chalky limestone cliffs to the water's edge. There is about 5 to 10 km of cliffs like this called the Seven Sisters and a popular surf beach called The Birling Gap. Have a look at the Web albums to see how big and impressive these limestone cliffs look. Interestingly the cliff at Beachy Head drops about 200 metres straight down to the water, with no safety rails or warning signs.
From here, we went Brighton - a larger version of Eastbourne, then onto Arundel. Arundel is another lovely little medieval town with a magnificent castle (the home of the Duke of Norfolk) and yet another cathedral. From Arundel we headed to Portsmouth via Chichester (Another Bloody Cathedral!).
Portsmouth is famous for its Naval history and the Royal Navy has been based here since Henry VIII built his giant warship, the Mary Rose. At the maritime museum, there are 3 famous ships, The Mary Rose, The Warrior (the first modern iron ship) and The Victory (Nelson's ship @ Trafalgar), all very impressive.
On our way home to Cardiff, we went to Salisbury and had a quick drink with the Wynne's who had been visiting Cornwall and Devon and Stonehenge over the weekend (if you are interested in their travels I've put a link to their blog on the top right).
Next week , we may head towards Liverpool - weather permitting - there is a lot of rain around this week!!
Cheers.
View South England trek in a larger map
Billy has been a bit crook with a dose of the flu and the rest of us have been a bit 'flu-ish' as well.
Anyhow we spent the weekend in the South of England. We headed off Saturday morning and drove to Canterbury arriving just before lunch. Canterbury is a lovely medieval city which has city walls, a castle ruin, an abbey ruin and a magnificent cathedral. Canterbury is the foothold of Christianity in England, this where St. Augustine established the Christian church in about 590 AD. In the Cathedral there are some famous people buried there, these include Thomas Becket, King Henry IV and the "Black Prince" Edward Plantagent.
After leaving Canterbury, we headed south to the English Channel at Hythe, we were hoping to have a coastal drive as we headed west, but what we found was the coastal road was next to a high embankment which blocked any view of the water. We did stop at a beach called St. Mary's in the Marchs and the wind was blowing a gale and the beach had a series of groynes about 50 metres apart. Travelling along the South Coast we came across towns called, Rye, Eastbourne, Seaford, Hastings & Brighton -why did they copy those Victorian names?!!
The next stop was Battle, near Hastings, the site where William the Conquerer defeated the English forces in 1066, the last successful invasion of England, and thus changing the course of England's history and turning them into Normans.
We stayed overnight in Eastbourne at a bed and breakfast 30 metres from the beach. Eastbourne is your typical British seaside resort with the obligatory promenade and pier with amusement arcade and a shale beach littered with groynes.
After breakfast we visited the Easbourne International Lawn Tennis Club. The traditional ladies lead-up tournament to Wimbledon is held here. From Eastbourne we went to Beachy Head, which has a series of huge chalky limestone cliffs to the water's edge. There is about 5 to 10 km of cliffs like this called the Seven Sisters and a popular surf beach called The Birling Gap. Have a look at the Web albums to see how big and impressive these limestone cliffs look. Interestingly the cliff at Beachy Head drops about 200 metres straight down to the water, with no safety rails or warning signs.
From here, we went Brighton - a larger version of Eastbourne, then onto Arundel. Arundel is another lovely little medieval town with a magnificent castle (the home of the Duke of Norfolk) and yet another cathedral. From Arundel we headed to Portsmouth via Chichester (Another Bloody Cathedral!).
Portsmouth is famous for its Naval history and the Royal Navy has been based here since Henry VIII built his giant warship, the Mary Rose. At the maritime museum, there are 3 famous ships, The Mary Rose, The Warrior (the first modern iron ship) and The Victory (Nelson's ship @ Trafalgar), all very impressive.
On our way home to Cardiff, we went to Salisbury and had a quick drink with the Wynne's who had been visiting Cornwall and Devon and Stonehenge over the weekend (if you are interested in their travels I've put a link to their blog on the top right).
Next week , we may head towards Liverpool - weather permitting - there is a lot of rain around this week!!
Cheers.
View South England trek in a larger map
Monday, September 28, 2009
White Horses & Cheddar Gorge (again)
Hi all,
The weeks are beginning to get long and the weekends seem too short! Declan is starting to play soccer and rugby for the school again. Billy spends one day a week at school cooking all day (hard life for some!). Kristin is working lots and Andy has one ok week and then a horror week (only 2 free periods for the whole week!!).
Anyhow, this weekend we got up early Saturday to watch the Grand Final - at 5 in the morning and no beers it just doesn't have the right atmosphere!
Sunday, we travelled to Wiltshire and went on the White Horse Trail. There are about 8 White Horses and we managed to see 6 of them. We have been to this area twice before and had only seen a glance of one of them. Some of them would be 10 metres high and 40 metres wide. The White Horses are carvings on the side of hills, the geological structure is of solid white chalk with a thin layer of topsoil. These type of carvings have been given a name, LEUCIPOTTOMY. During WWII the horses were covered to prevent enemy recognition, but since then they have been cleaned and re-cut.
Of the White horses, the best were at Cherhill, Alton Baarnes and Westbury. Early in the year we saw the Uffington White Horse which pre-dates all the Wiltshire horses by several hundred years, but these three were much more impressive. At the Westbury White Horse, we had lunch and watched para-gliders sailing off the hilltop.
Later in the day we went to Cheddar Gorge, again (we had a family pass that allowed us to visit some of the attractions left over from earlier in the year). Last time it was in January and extremely cold, this time it looked a lot different and much busier. We went into the Cox's Cave, not as good as Gough's Cave that we saw last time and then went up Jacob's ladder (274 steps almost straight up) to the Lookout Tower. There was a great view of the surrounding area, and we could even see the Glastonbury Tor from the lookout.
The trip home was terrible, as we spent an hour and twenty minutes on the 20 mile stretch of the M5 from Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol.
Another enjoyable Sunday! We may go to the South of England next weekend. Check out the Web Albums for the pictures.
Cheers!
The weeks are beginning to get long and the weekends seem too short! Declan is starting to play soccer and rugby for the school again. Billy spends one day a week at school cooking all day (hard life for some!). Kristin is working lots and Andy has one ok week and then a horror week (only 2 free periods for the whole week!!).
Anyhow, this weekend we got up early Saturday to watch the Grand Final - at 5 in the morning and no beers it just doesn't have the right atmosphere!
Sunday, we travelled to Wiltshire and went on the White Horse Trail. There are about 8 White Horses and we managed to see 6 of them. We have been to this area twice before and had only seen a glance of one of them. Some of them would be 10 metres high and 40 metres wide. The White Horses are carvings on the side of hills, the geological structure is of solid white chalk with a thin layer of topsoil. These type of carvings have been given a name, LEUCIPOTTOMY. During WWII the horses were covered to prevent enemy recognition, but since then they have been cleaned and re-cut.
Of the White horses, the best were at Cherhill, Alton Baarnes and Westbury. Early in the year we saw the Uffington White Horse which pre-dates all the Wiltshire horses by several hundred years, but these three were much more impressive. At the Westbury White Horse, we had lunch and watched para-gliders sailing off the hilltop.
Later in the day we went to Cheddar Gorge, again (we had a family pass that allowed us to visit some of the attractions left over from earlier in the year). Last time it was in January and extremely cold, this time it looked a lot different and much busier. We went into the Cox's Cave, not as good as Gough's Cave that we saw last time and then went up Jacob's ladder (274 steps almost straight up) to the Lookout Tower. There was a great view of the surrounding area, and we could even see the Glastonbury Tor from the lookout.
The trip home was terrible, as we spent an hour and twenty minutes on the 20 mile stretch of the M5 from Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol.
Another enjoyable Sunday! We may go to the South of England next weekend. Check out the Web Albums for the pictures.
Cheers!
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