It had been a long week at work (taught 23 out of 25!) and a disappointing effort by the Pies on Saturday, so we thought we'd better do something on Sunday!
We visited the Gower Peninsula, which is about an hour and a quarter West of Cardiff. The Gower Peninsula begins at Swansea, but we didn't stop here as Swansea was the first place we visited this year (Jan 1, in fact - it is worth comparing the pictures from today with then!).
We drove down the coastal road, via The Mumbles and first stopped at Langland. A lovely beach , a row of green and white boatsheds and a nice coastal walk around to Caswell Bay. We stopped also at Oxwich and Port Eynon and leaving Oxwich had to back up about 400 metres along a narrow country lane as another car coming the other reckons it was much further the other way before cars could pass!
The highlight of the day was Rhossili at the Western tip of the Gower Peninsula. We were lucky to visit here on a day with very little wind and a pleasant Autumn day (about 17 C). There were a couple of hang gliders landing in the paddock that we parked our car! At the very tip is a headland called the Worm's Head, only accessible at low tide along a rocky causeway - we didn't get across as the tide was beginning to change! Picture Postcard Perfect!
After leaving the Gower, we travelled to Neath and visited the Aberdulais Falls - the site of a former tin mine.
A lovely Sunday drive - must be getting old!!
Check out the Photos on the Web Albums.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Snowdonia & North Wales
Llanddewi Brefi
We headed out early Saturday and after a couple hours drive and passing 22 places that began with Llan we arrived at Llanddewi Brefi. Little Britain fans may be familiar with Daffyd, the only gay in the village. Poor Llanddewi Brefi apparently has its road signs stolen on a very regualr basis - but we were lucky, the road signs were there!
Snowdon
By the time we arrived at Llanberis and I could finally get mobile reception and found out that The Mighty Pies had won!! LLanberis was now about the 35th Llan.. place we had passed or seen - what is it with the Welsh? It would be like naming places in Melbourne with the prefix Melb or Vic, imagine that! (Llan means church.) Llanberis is at the base of Mt. Snowdon (Wales highest mountain, 1113 m)and this is where Hilary and his team did their training for Everest. We intended to catch the Mountain Railway to the summit, but unfortunately we couldn't get a ticket - apparently you need to book ahead!! So we had lunch and went for a walk to the waterfall.
From Llanberis, we back-tracked to Beddgelert (means Gelert's grave). Beddgelert is a pretty little village in Snowdonia, who's claim to fame is the grave of a dog! I think we must be getting desperate for things to see!! Apparently Prince Llewelyn, a 13th century prince, killed his faithful dog, Gelert, cause he saw blood all over the dog's mouth and believed that it had savaged his baby son, when Gelert had in fact killed a wolf that had attacked the infant. Others believe that it was an 19th century hotelier's invention to boost tourist numbers!
Caernarfon
After leaving Beedgelert and almost circumnavigating Snowdon, we headed to Caernarfon. Caernarfon is on the Menai Strait, which separates North of Wales from Anglesey and about 10 miles from Mt. Snowdon. There is a grand medieval castle and a walled city situated on the Menai strait.
LLanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
From Caernarfon we crossed the Menai Strait and first stopped at Britain's longest named place, LLanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which means "St. Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the Red Cave". Once again it was a 19th century tourist idea and it still works!
Menai Bridge and Beaumaris
From Llanfair PG, we headed along the shoreline towards Beaumaris, which is a lovely seaside resort town with an old castle. Beaumaris sits at the other end of the Menai strait from Caernarfon. Next we crossed the Menai Bridge and had a quick look at Bangor before headed to our accommodation at Conwy.
Conwy
We stayed at the Youth Hostel and arrived about 6 pm. After settling in we walked into the city - once again a walled city with a glorious castle. We had fish and chips for dinner on the wharf just near the castle and then headed back for an early night.
Llandudno
After brekky on Sunday morning we headed to Llandudno (I think the "llan" count was up to 46 at this point) a few miles from Conwy. Llandudno is your classic British seaside resort. It has a lovely promenade along the beach, hotels lining the promenade, a pier with amusements, a cable car and tramway up the near mountain (the Great Orme) and water on both sides of the town.
The average age of the people we saw there was about 75, so I think it might be one of God's waiting rooms. We drove up to the Great Orme summit, but there was a sea mist blocking most of the views. After spending a couple of hours or so in Llandudno, we drove along the coastline of North Wales and then headed to Llangollen (another Llan!).
Llangollen
Llangollen is a lovely little town which has a canal designed by the 18th century engineer Thomas Telford. Telford's masterpiece is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, about 316 m long, which carrys the canal 48 metres above the River Dee. An amazing engineering feat! While we were there at least 10 canal boats crossed the aqueduct. Llangollen itself was very busy today and there were hundred's of motorcyclists.
Shrewsbury
Our last stop was Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury's claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Charles Darwin - so there were many references to Darwin. It has a nice little castle and an Abbey and has a lot of Tudor style buildings.
So we almost did a whole lap of Wales on the weekend and were blessed with very nice weather, about 20 C and very little wind (except from Kristin!!). All the photos have been posted on the Web Albums.
cheers!
PS the final "llan" count was 54!
We headed out early Saturday and after a couple hours drive and passing 22 places that began with Llan we arrived at Llanddewi Brefi. Little Britain fans may be familiar with Daffyd, the only gay in the village. Poor Llanddewi Brefi apparently has its road signs stolen on a very regualr basis - but we were lucky, the road signs were there!
Snowdon
By the time we arrived at Llanberis and I could finally get mobile reception and found out that The Mighty Pies had won!! LLanberis was now about the 35th Llan.. place we had passed or seen - what is it with the Welsh? It would be like naming places in Melbourne with the prefix Melb or Vic, imagine that! (Llan means church.) Llanberis is at the base of Mt. Snowdon (Wales highest mountain, 1113 m)and this is where Hilary and his team did their training for Everest. We intended to catch the Mountain Railway to the summit, but unfortunately we couldn't get a ticket - apparently you need to book ahead!! So we had lunch and went for a walk to the waterfall.
From Llanberis, we back-tracked to Beddgelert (means Gelert's grave). Beddgelert is a pretty little village in Snowdonia, who's claim to fame is the grave of a dog! I think we must be getting desperate for things to see!! Apparently Prince Llewelyn, a 13th century prince, killed his faithful dog, Gelert, cause he saw blood all over the dog's mouth and believed that it had savaged his baby son, when Gelert had in fact killed a wolf that had attacked the infant. Others believe that it was an 19th century hotelier's invention to boost tourist numbers!
Caernarfon
After leaving Beedgelert and almost circumnavigating Snowdon, we headed to Caernarfon. Caernarfon is on the Menai Strait, which separates North of Wales from Anglesey and about 10 miles from Mt. Snowdon. There is a grand medieval castle and a walled city situated on the Menai strait.
LLanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
From Caernarfon we crossed the Menai Strait and first stopped at Britain's longest named place, LLanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which means "St. Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the Red Cave". Once again it was a 19th century tourist idea and it still works!
Menai Bridge and Beaumaris
From Llanfair PG, we headed along the shoreline towards Beaumaris, which is a lovely seaside resort town with an old castle. Beaumaris sits at the other end of the Menai strait from Caernarfon. Next we crossed the Menai Bridge and had a quick look at Bangor before headed to our accommodation at Conwy.
Conwy
We stayed at the Youth Hostel and arrived about 6 pm. After settling in we walked into the city - once again a walled city with a glorious castle. We had fish and chips for dinner on the wharf just near the castle and then headed back for an early night.
Llandudno
After brekky on Sunday morning we headed to Llandudno (I think the "llan" count was up to 46 at this point) a few miles from Conwy. Llandudno is your classic British seaside resort. It has a lovely promenade along the beach, hotels lining the promenade, a pier with amusements, a cable car and tramway up the near mountain (the Great Orme) and water on both sides of the town.
The average age of the people we saw there was about 75, so I think it might be one of God's waiting rooms. We drove up to the Great Orme summit, but there was a sea mist blocking most of the views. After spending a couple of hours or so in Llandudno, we drove along the coastline of North Wales and then headed to Llangollen (another Llan!).
Llangollen
Llangollen is a lovely little town which has a canal designed by the 18th century engineer Thomas Telford. Telford's masterpiece is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, about 316 m long, which carrys the canal 48 metres above the River Dee. An amazing engineering feat! While we were there at least 10 canal boats crossed the aqueduct. Llangollen itself was very busy today and there were hundred's of motorcyclists.
Shrewsbury
Our last stop was Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury's claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Charles Darwin - so there were many references to Darwin. It has a nice little castle and an Abbey and has a lot of Tudor style buildings.
So we almost did a whole lap of Wales on the weekend and were blessed with very nice weather, about 20 C and very little wind (except from Kristin!!). All the photos have been posted on the Web Albums.
cheers!
PS the final "llan" count was 54!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
London: late August
We have just spent the weekend in London to say good-bye to Lucy and hello to Mary (Andy's sister) and her husband Dick.
We arrived, via a coach, early on Sunday afternoon and found our apartment (about 5 mins walk on the south of the Tower Bridge - which was convenient because Mary and Dick were just on North side of the Tower Bridge. We were wondering what are we going to do for 2 and a half days because we thought we had done London pretty thoroughly -but we managed to keep ourselves very busy and saw lots of new "things".
Sunday afternoon, after Lucy met us, we went to Notting Hill carnival - a massive street party organised for the Caribbean residents. It was very colourful, loud and extremely busy. Back in London we caught up with Mary and Dick and had dinner at an English pub. It was great to see Mary and Dick, seasoned travellers like us, forget how exciting it is when you see London for the first time!
Monday was a slow start and we were trying to find something "new" to do, so we caught the Tube to Regent's Park and walked through to Primrose Hill - which has a great view of the London skyline. From Primrose Hill we walked along the Grand Union (Regent's) Canal into Camden. The Camden market was in full swing and we had lunch there and did lots of browsing of the goods. Checkout the pics - some very interesting people. Unsure what to do next, we went back to Notting Hill and the carnival to us seemed twice as packed. On Sunday we saw parades of Steel Drum bands but Monday was the parade of the girls (and guys) all dressed up like the carnival in Rio. The music was so loud that my chest was throbbing when you walked past one of the trucks carrying the music gear. It was a fantastic sight.
Monday we caught up with dinner with Mary and Dick again - we had Indian - traditional English food - curry! A lovely meal, but then we had to say good-bye to Lucy - she caught a 9:00 am plane back to Australia and also to Mary and Dick.
Tuesday took us to Harrods (again!) but then to the Victoria and Albert museum (a mix of Art and Design), Kensington Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, Prince Albert memorial, Kensington Palace and the Science museum before we had to catch the bus back to Cardiff.
I went to school today (Wednesday) and it has rained solidly all day and more is predicted tonight!! :(
Cheers for now - check out the photos and I've also put a link to Mary & Dick's blog!
GO PIES!!!!
We arrived, via a coach, early on Sunday afternoon and found our apartment (about 5 mins walk on the south of the Tower Bridge - which was convenient because Mary and Dick were just on North side of the Tower Bridge. We were wondering what are we going to do for 2 and a half days because we thought we had done London pretty thoroughly -but we managed to keep ourselves very busy and saw lots of new "things".
Sunday afternoon, after Lucy met us, we went to Notting Hill carnival - a massive street party organised for the Caribbean residents. It was very colourful, loud and extremely busy. Back in London we caught up with Mary and Dick and had dinner at an English pub. It was great to see Mary and Dick, seasoned travellers like us, forget how exciting it is when you see London for the first time!
Monday was a slow start and we were trying to find something "new" to do, so we caught the Tube to Regent's Park and walked through to Primrose Hill - which has a great view of the London skyline. From Primrose Hill we walked along the Grand Union (Regent's) Canal into Camden. The Camden market was in full swing and we had lunch there and did lots of browsing of the goods. Checkout the pics - some very interesting people. Unsure what to do next, we went back to Notting Hill and the carnival to us seemed twice as packed. On Sunday we saw parades of Steel Drum bands but Monday was the parade of the girls (and guys) all dressed up like the carnival in Rio. The music was so loud that my chest was throbbing when you walked past one of the trucks carrying the music gear. It was a fantastic sight.
Monday we caught up with dinner with Mary and Dick again - we had Indian - traditional English food - curry! A lovely meal, but then we had to say good-bye to Lucy - she caught a 9:00 am plane back to Australia and also to Mary and Dick.
Tuesday took us to Harrods (again!) but then to the Victoria and Albert museum (a mix of Art and Design), Kensington Gardens, Royal Albert Hall, Prince Albert memorial, Kensington Palace and the Science museum before we had to catch the bus back to Cardiff.
I went to school today (Wednesday) and it has rained solidly all day and more is predicted tonight!! :(
Cheers for now - check out the photos and I've also put a link to Mary & Dick's blog!
GO PIES!!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Coach Trip Part 6: France
Hi all, We are back in sunny (not!) Cardiff, but are going back to London on Sunday to see Mary & Dick and to see Lucy before she heads back to Oz.
Bordeaux and Poitiers
From Bilbao we headed back into Southern France and the first port of call was Bordeaux. It has a really nice feel about it and apparently when they decided to re-model Paris 150 years ago, it was Bordeaux they used. We could have easily spent a few days there instead of a couple of hours! We stayed overnight in Poitiers, but there was nothing remarkable or noteworthy here.
Ambois and Orleans
The next day was all about getting to Paris but we had 2 stopovers. Ambois is in the Loire river region, which is dotted with castles. At Ambois there is Da Vinci's castle and his burial place, apparently Da Vinci was a close friend of one of the King Louis! We also stopped in Orleans for lunch and took photos of the Joan of Arc statue.
Paris
We arrived back in Paris for our last 2 nights of the tour and Paris doesn't disappoint! On Tuesday night we caught the metro to Sacre Coeur and walked through Pigalle to Moulin Rouge and then onto the Arc De Triomphe and caught the metro home.
Declan's birthday
How many people can say they spent their birthday in Paris? Well Dec can! The highlight of the day was hiring bikes and riding down the Champs Elysees. We had a lovely day seeing a lot of sights that we hadn't seen on our previous visit. Later in the day we met Lucy at the Louvre and walked up the Champs Elysees and then onto the Eiffel Tower for one last time when it was all lit up! !!
Check out the photos for more details! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and need another few weeks to recover!!! Cheers! Go Pies
Bordeaux and Poitiers
From Bilbao we headed back into Southern France and the first port of call was Bordeaux. It has a really nice feel about it and apparently when they decided to re-model Paris 150 years ago, it was Bordeaux they used. We could have easily spent a few days there instead of a couple of hours! We stayed overnight in Poitiers, but there was nothing remarkable or noteworthy here.
Ambois and Orleans
The next day was all about getting to Paris but we had 2 stopovers. Ambois is in the Loire river region, which is dotted with castles. At Ambois there is Da Vinci's castle and his burial place, apparently Da Vinci was a close friend of one of the King Louis! We also stopped in Orleans for lunch and took photos of the Joan of Arc statue.
Paris
We arrived back in Paris for our last 2 nights of the tour and Paris doesn't disappoint! On Tuesday night we caught the metro to Sacre Coeur and walked through Pigalle to Moulin Rouge and then onto the Arc De Triomphe and caught the metro home.
Declan's birthday
How many people can say they spent their birthday in Paris? Well Dec can! The highlight of the day was hiring bikes and riding down the Champs Elysees. We had a lovely day seeing a lot of sights that we hadn't seen on our previous visit. Later in the day we met Lucy at the Louvre and walked up the Champs Elysees and then onto the Eiffel Tower for one last time when it was all lit up! !!
Check out the photos for more details! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and need another few weeks to recover!!! Cheers! Go Pies
Monday, August 24, 2009
Coach Trip Part 5: Spain
Spain: Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid and Bilbao
Barcelona
After settling into the hotel in the afternoon, we headed to the beach, about a 30 minute walk. The beach was packed and we claimed our 5 square metres close to the water’s edge. The sand was very coarse but the water was refreshing and got deep quickly. It was fantastic to lie on the beach and have a swim, it has been the only thing that we have missed doing this year. The crowd on the beach was predominately young (15 to 25 y.o). There were plenty of people selling drinks, massages, hair braiding, coconut, doughnuts, etc.. From the beach we walked along the marina at Port Vell to the Christopher Columbus monument and then headed up La Rambla (the main pedestrian walk in Barcelona). We had dinner and looked at all the people and headed back to the hotel.
Next morning was an organised bus tour of Barcelona. First stop was the Barri Gothic cathedral (I’m officially over cathedrals now!) and the surrounding “roman” streets. From there we drove up Mont Juic, the area of the Olympic stadium (first built in 1929 –they wanted the 1936 Olympics, but had to wait until 1992), and also panoramic views over Barcelona. As we drove through the streets we saw plenty of the uniquely designed buildings (see photos) and finished at the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is a cathedral that has been built for the last 150 or more years, purely by donations fro the public. It was originally designed by the architect Gaudi. There are supposed to be 16 towers (pillars?) of which only 8 have been finished. The front and the back of the building are magnificent (see photos).
After a siesta, we spent a few more hours on the beach. When we arrived back at the hotel and cleaned up, it was decided that boys would have kebabs for dinner. So we gave Billy and Declan some money to buy these at the Kebab shop diagonally opposite the hotel. 10 minutes later they returned empty handed, because they couldn’t find the shop!!
Zaragoza
The stopover on the way to Madrid from Barcelona was Zaragoza – lovely basilica, square, river, etc..
Madrid
Madrid, the capital of Spain, 650 metres above sea level and bloody hot!! After we arrived late afternoon and settled in, we went for a walk around Madrid. Our hotel was situated close to Retiro Park (The Lungs of Madrid), so we walked through it and contained lots of fountains, trees, statues and a man-made lake. From the park we walk along the beautiful avenue which has the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia and magnificent fountains. We found something for dinner and then headed back to the hotel.
First thing Saturday morning we caught the metro to the other side of Madrid and visited the Royal Palace. The Palace also contained the Royal Armory & Pharmacy. Next door to the palace was the modern cathedral but like the people of Madrid –it wasn’t that impressive! We then walked down to the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art. Declan and Billy went to McDonalds and played cards while Andy, Kristin and Lucy went in. There were lots and Picassos and Dalis, and the main attraction is Picasso’s Geurnica. We then had to get back to the hotel for the included sightseeing of Madrid – which included Las Ventas (bullfighting arena), Real Madrid’s football (soccer) stadium and the square dedicated to Don Quixote. We left the tour in the middle of Madrid and walked around the city centre and ended up at the Prado museum – free entry after 6 pm – the art pieces included works from El Greco, Velaquez and Goya.
After the Prado we had a few drinks in an Irish bar on the way back to the hotel.
Sunday, we had a long day’s drive to Bilbao (situated on the NW of Spain, on the Bay of Biscay). It was extremely hot (about 38 C) and dry. Our stopover city for lunch was Burgos, a lovely little town and one of its statues was of El Cid.
We stopped in the main centre of Bilbao for only about half an hour and took photos of the Guggenheim museum. The hotel had pool and many of the tour had a swim, except for Billy, Lucy and 3 others who went to the Bullfight in Bilbao. Billy and Lucy really enjoyed the experience.
Barcelona
After settling into the hotel in the afternoon, we headed to the beach, about a 30 minute walk. The beach was packed and we claimed our 5 square metres close to the water’s edge. The sand was very coarse but the water was refreshing and got deep quickly. It was fantastic to lie on the beach and have a swim, it has been the only thing that we have missed doing this year. The crowd on the beach was predominately young (15 to 25 y.o). There were plenty of people selling drinks, massages, hair braiding, coconut, doughnuts, etc.. From the beach we walked along the marina at Port Vell to the Christopher Columbus monument and then headed up La Rambla (the main pedestrian walk in Barcelona). We had dinner and looked at all the people and headed back to the hotel.
Next morning was an organised bus tour of Barcelona. First stop was the Barri Gothic cathedral (I’m officially over cathedrals now!) and the surrounding “roman” streets. From there we drove up Mont Juic, the area of the Olympic stadium (first built in 1929 –they wanted the 1936 Olympics, but had to wait until 1992), and also panoramic views over Barcelona. As we drove through the streets we saw plenty of the uniquely designed buildings (see photos) and finished at the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia is a cathedral that has been built for the last 150 or more years, purely by donations fro the public. It was originally designed by the architect Gaudi. There are supposed to be 16 towers (pillars?) of which only 8 have been finished. The front and the back of the building are magnificent (see photos).
After a siesta, we spent a few more hours on the beach. When we arrived back at the hotel and cleaned up, it was decided that boys would have kebabs for dinner. So we gave Billy and Declan some money to buy these at the Kebab shop diagonally opposite the hotel. 10 minutes later they returned empty handed, because they couldn’t find the shop!!
Zaragoza
The stopover on the way to Madrid from Barcelona was Zaragoza – lovely basilica, square, river, etc..
Madrid
Madrid, the capital of Spain, 650 metres above sea level and bloody hot!! After we arrived late afternoon and settled in, we went for a walk around Madrid. Our hotel was situated close to Retiro Park (The Lungs of Madrid), so we walked through it and contained lots of fountains, trees, statues and a man-made lake. From the park we walk along the beautiful avenue which has the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia and magnificent fountains. We found something for dinner and then headed back to the hotel.
First thing Saturday morning we caught the metro to the other side of Madrid and visited the Royal Palace. The Palace also contained the Royal Armory & Pharmacy. Next door to the palace was the modern cathedral but like the people of Madrid –it wasn’t that impressive! We then walked down to the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art. Declan and Billy went to McDonalds and played cards while Andy, Kristin and Lucy went in. There were lots and Picassos and Dalis, and the main attraction is Picasso’s Geurnica. We then had to get back to the hotel for the included sightseeing of Madrid – which included Las Ventas (bullfighting arena), Real Madrid’s football (soccer) stadium and the square dedicated to Don Quixote. We left the tour in the middle of Madrid and walked around the city centre and ended up at the Prado museum – free entry after 6 pm – the art pieces included works from El Greco, Velaquez and Goya.
After the Prado we had a few drinks in an Irish bar on the way back to the hotel.
Sunday, we had a long day’s drive to Bilbao (situated on the NW of Spain, on the Bay of Biscay). It was extremely hot (about 38 C) and dry. Our stopover city for lunch was Burgos, a lovely little town and one of its statues was of El Cid.
We stopped in the main centre of Bilbao for only about half an hour and took photos of the Guggenheim museum. The hotel had pool and many of the tour had a swim, except for Billy, Lucy and 3 others who went to the Bullfight in Bilbao. Billy and Lucy really enjoyed the experience.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Coach Trip Part 4: Monaco, Cannes, Avignon and Carcassonne
An early start from Florence for a long day travelling to Cannes (French Riviera). We passed through Genoa and at least 170 tunnels (not a lot to see!). The coach passed Monte Carlo (Monaco) from a distance – everyone was disappointed that we didn’t stop but 10 minutes down the road we did stop at a perfume factory (not happy Jan!!!).
We arrived at Cannes late in the afternoon and it was very warm. We walked down to the city centre and dangled our feet in the Mediterranean Sea, had dinner and went up to the Le Suquet, a castle at the top of a hill overlooking Cannes and the marina – great views. More walking around the town (used McDonalds for free internet) before heading back to the hotel.
After leaving Cannes we spent a day driving to Carcassonne via Avignon.
Avignon was once (13th century) the Papal seat for about 7 Popes and several Antipopes. The main sites here are the Papal palaces, the Cathedral and Pont Saint-Benezet. The cathedral had several tombs of the popes, but Lucy wasn’t allowed in because she was inappropriately attired! (Maybe they realised she was never baptisied!). Pont Saint Benezet is a 13th century bridge that was partially destroyed by floods of the Rhone river, but now spans 2/3 of the way across.
Carcassone is close to the French/Spanish border (apparently it was right on the border in times past) and the main attraction here is the Citadel. The Citadel is a massive two walled fortress which has a town inside the walls, as well as the obligatory palace and church. It is a great sight to behold and looked fantastic at night all lit up.
Next stop is Barcelona for 2 nights the Madrid, more soon.
We arrived at Cannes late in the afternoon and it was very warm. We walked down to the city centre and dangled our feet in the Mediterranean Sea, had dinner and went up to the Le Suquet, a castle at the top of a hill overlooking Cannes and the marina – great views. More walking around the town (used McDonalds for free internet) before heading back to the hotel.
After leaving Cannes we spent a day driving to Carcassonne via Avignon.
Avignon was once (13th century) the Papal seat for about 7 Popes and several Antipopes. The main sites here are the Papal palaces, the Cathedral and Pont Saint-Benezet. The cathedral had several tombs of the popes, but Lucy wasn’t allowed in because she was inappropriately attired! (Maybe they realised she was never baptisied!). Pont Saint Benezet is a 13th century bridge that was partially destroyed by floods of the Rhone river, but now spans 2/3 of the way across.
Carcassone is close to the French/Spanish border (apparently it was right on the border in times past) and the main attraction here is the Citadel. The Citadel is a massive two walled fortress which has a town inside the walls, as well as the obligatory palace and church. It is a great sight to behold and looked fantastic at night all lit up.
Next stop is Barcelona for 2 nights the Madrid, more soon.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Coach Trip Part 3: Rome, Pisa and Florence
ROME
The pace has been very hectic and it is surprising how tired you can get travelling long days on the coach – but someone has to do it!
Rome, “The Eternal City”, was fantastic (I’m running out of superlatives to describe places!). We arrived in Rome late in the afternoon and we hopped on a couple of buses to get to the Piazza Popolo, where there was an Obelisk (the first of many in Rome) and lovely statues, fountains, etc.. from here we went to the Spanish Steps and onto the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain, although crowded, was very tranquil and a magnificent work of art. As we made our way to the Vatican via Piazza Novona and Castel Santa Angelo and crossing the Tiber river, it seemed that around every second corner there was another monument/statue/etc. If it wasn’t the emperors of the Roman Empire building monuments to themselves it was the Popes!
The next morning, another early start, we lined up to go into the Vatican Museum/Sistene Chapel (only about 20 minutes wait – free tip get there about 8:00 am). Most of our Coach tour paid 52 euro each (~$80) to go on a guided tour and quick entry. We caught up with them inside, as we all had been given the audio headsets for the day we also got the commentary from the guide – except we paid 52 euro for all 5 of us!! (A big win!).
The museum was nice, but really everyone is there for the Sistene Chapel and it really was worth it. We sat there for about 45 minutes (listening to the guide) and truly amazed by the artwork.
From the Sistene Chapel, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, if anyone ever tells you the Catholic church needs money, just send them to Rome! We have seen a lot of cathedrals and basilicas this year but St. Peter’s was out there by itself for magnificence! See the pics for an idea.
Next stop was the Colosseum, the boys were really looking forward to this – I think they were hoping to see some blood and guts! I was impressed that after 2000 years that it was still standing and in fairly well kept condition. We also visited the Forum, but the Forums that we saw in Athens and Ephesus (Turkey) were much better.
That evening we went back into Rome and wandered the streets, ate Pizza (you buy it by the weight) at the Trevi fountain and had one last look at some of the many sights of Rome. Like Paris I think you need at least 5 days in Rome – so we may have to come back another day!
PISA
The next day (I’ve lost track of the date and days of the week!) we headed off early, and as usual about an hour on the road the “oldies” needed a toilet stop. By early afternoon we had a short stop (about an hour) at Pisa. Along with the thousands of others there, we took our photos of the “Leaning Tower” and the went to our hotel in Signa (about 30 minutes from Florence). That evening we had dinner at the Pizzeria across the square from the hotel.
FLORENCE
Next morning (Sunday I think), we headed into Florence. The “David” trail began! We first went to the Gallery Accademia and saw Michaelangelo’s David (the real one) and it is a magnificent sculpture, the rest of the gallery had some modern works of Robert Maplethorpe and many 12th, 13th and 14th century artworks – all religious! Then we went to the Duomo, the medieval cathedral that took over 150 years to finish! After grabbing supplies for lunch, we went across the Arno river and up the hill to Piazza Michaelangelo, which gave panoramic views over Florence. One of the David replicas is up here, but has gone green because they stuffed up the cleaning of it! We had lunch overlooking Florence, then headed down to the Vecchio Bridge (full of jewellery shops) and then past the Uffizzi Gallery to see the third David (another replica). By mid afternoon (and it was very hot) we had had enough and caught the train back to the hotel.
We go to south of France next and then onto Spain later in the week.
Cheers for now!
PS Go Pies!
The pace has been very hectic and it is surprising how tired you can get travelling long days on the coach – but someone has to do it!
Rome, “The Eternal City”, was fantastic (I’m running out of superlatives to describe places!). We arrived in Rome late in the afternoon and we hopped on a couple of buses to get to the Piazza Popolo, where there was an Obelisk (the first of many in Rome) and lovely statues, fountains, etc.. from here we went to the Spanish Steps and onto the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain, although crowded, was very tranquil and a magnificent work of art. As we made our way to the Vatican via Piazza Novona and Castel Santa Angelo and crossing the Tiber river, it seemed that around every second corner there was another monument/statue/etc. If it wasn’t the emperors of the Roman Empire building monuments to themselves it was the Popes!
The next morning, another early start, we lined up to go into the Vatican Museum/Sistene Chapel (only about 20 minutes wait – free tip get there about 8:00 am). Most of our Coach tour paid 52 euro each (~$80) to go on a guided tour and quick entry. We caught up with them inside, as we all had been given the audio headsets for the day we also got the commentary from the guide – except we paid 52 euro for all 5 of us!! (A big win!).
The museum was nice, but really everyone is there for the Sistene Chapel and it really was worth it. We sat there for about 45 minutes (listening to the guide) and truly amazed by the artwork.
From the Sistene Chapel, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, if anyone ever tells you the Catholic church needs money, just send them to Rome! We have seen a lot of cathedrals and basilicas this year but St. Peter’s was out there by itself for magnificence! See the pics for an idea.
Next stop was the Colosseum, the boys were really looking forward to this – I think they were hoping to see some blood and guts! I was impressed that after 2000 years that it was still standing and in fairly well kept condition. We also visited the Forum, but the Forums that we saw in Athens and Ephesus (Turkey) were much better.
That evening we went back into Rome and wandered the streets, ate Pizza (you buy it by the weight) at the Trevi fountain and had one last look at some of the many sights of Rome. Like Paris I think you need at least 5 days in Rome – so we may have to come back another day!
PISA
The next day (I’ve lost track of the date and days of the week!) we headed off early, and as usual about an hour on the road the “oldies” needed a toilet stop. By early afternoon we had a short stop (about an hour) at Pisa. Along with the thousands of others there, we took our photos of the “Leaning Tower” and the went to our hotel in Signa (about 30 minutes from Florence). That evening we had dinner at the Pizzeria across the square from the hotel.
FLORENCE
Next morning (Sunday I think), we headed into Florence. The “David” trail began! We first went to the Gallery Accademia and saw Michaelangelo’s David (the real one) and it is a magnificent sculpture, the rest of the gallery had some modern works of Robert Maplethorpe and many 12th, 13th and 14th century artworks – all religious! Then we went to the Duomo, the medieval cathedral that took over 150 years to finish! After grabbing supplies for lunch, we went across the Arno river and up the hill to Piazza Michaelangelo, which gave panoramic views over Florence. One of the David replicas is up here, but has gone green because they stuffed up the cleaning of it! We had lunch overlooking Florence, then headed down to the Vecchio Bridge (full of jewellery shops) and then past the Uffizzi Gallery to see the third David (another replica). By mid afternoon (and it was very hot) we had had enough and caught the train back to the hotel.
We go to south of France next and then onto Spain later in the week.
Cheers for now!
PS Go Pies!
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