Nov 10 - 11, 2014 - London - Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red and Paddington Bear Trail

Greetings All,

We were up at 6:30 am and out early after our breakfast to get to The Tower of London for the poppy display before the crowds. We walked to the Tower of London from our hotel (about 1.25 miles) arriving at 8:15 am. Even at that time the crowds were starting to form, but nothing like masses on Sunday. We were able to easily access the walkway to walk around the Moat and the front of the Tower. The picture on the left is from the bastion window and is The Weeping Window. It is the artist representation of a pool of blood running into the moat. The next picture on the right represents the wave of blood spilling over from

the moat and is at the front gate. We then headed over to the Tower Hill Memorial which commemorates those from the Merchant Navy and the fishing fleets who died during both world wars and have "no grave but the sea". Here we saw the wreaths that had been laid and small wooden crosses attached to the bronze columns. We located the memorial to Thomas Dawson, Fred's first cousin 3 times removed who was lost on the torpedoing of the MV Sitala in October 1940. It was a very emotional morning for me as thoughts went to my Mom who was very involved with the Legion and very much involved in the planning of Remembrance Day Services.

We now headed off to the search out the Paddington Bears and cover some of the trail. Out first stop was Horse Guard's but we saw no Bear and our second stop was The Canada Gate in Green Park again no bear. Mystified, I looked at the map Fred had printed out and discovered that not all of the bears were in place. Some were to be installed after November 11th and some still later in the month. It just shows that one should carefully read all instructions. Like I ever do as Fred frequently tells me. We continued now through Green Park and stopped at the Canadian Memorial to take pictures. On our last visit here a couple of years ago the water in the memorial was not running. Funds for the maintenance of the memorial were provided by Conrad Black, but due to his jail term they were no longer forthcoming.

The memorial is now operational and a number of wreaths had been laid around it. The Canadian Veterans, The Chamber of Commerace  as well as some personal ones. There was signage about staying off the memorial but an idiot father was letting his kids play on it. Most disrespectful with dirty looks given and comments made by a few people he finally got the message.

We continued our walk in search of the bears and walked along Piccadilly to Leicester Square, China Town, Regent Street and then Oxford Street. We stopped for lunch at a pub off Wigmore Street called the Pontefract Castle before heading to Marks and Spencer in search of s stag's head cushion I had ordered but which, the store had cancelled as it was unavailable. My thoughts being if any store had it, it would be the large store in London. We were successful thanks to Fred's alert eyes. We now decided to head back to the hotel as we had been walking for just over six hours. We took the tube back and while waiting for the train to arrive we were approached by a lady who had noticed our Canadian poppies and thanked us for wearing them. She is an expat who has lived in London a number of years and is always delighted to see fellow Canadians. We had a very short chat before our train arrived. Once back at the hotel we decided to rest for a while before heading back out. We must be getting old as we both fell asleep. Fred laid down and immediately crashes while I took a bit longer. A short nap for me I am refreshed but Fred was still out like a light.  We headed out late in the afternoon in search of the bear that was at London Bridge Station, however, he was very elusive. We walked around for about a hour before giving up but now know the area quite well and made a few new discoveries of historical sites. We stopped to purchase some wine for the room and headed back to the hotel. We headed out for supper to a pizza pasta bar but end up returning to the hotel as the bar was a self serve place and we had no desire to do buffet style eating and we were still tired and sore from our earlier walking.

November 11, we were awake early. After breakfast we had some time to kill before getting our train back to Liverpool, so we headed to St Paul's Cathedral to find Paddington bear. The location of the hotel was perfect, near South Bank and Tate Modern to be able to walk over the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral and the Bear In The Wood. We continued our walk and decide to see if we could find the ever elusive bear at London Bridge Station. London Bridge had a long line of buses crossing it we guessed due to morning rush hour. People were getting off the buses as it was faster to walk than wait for the bus to get to the stop. We finally came across our elusive

Wonders of The World (Peru) bear. Fred said no Paddington Bear was going to defeat us. We had discovered a total of 12 bears out of the fifty around London making us an Apprentice Adventurer according to the Trail map. But it has been fun and we did revisit some old familiar places as well as seeing some new ones on this visit. We came specifically for the poppies and we have really enjoyed this mini break.

Check out my Facebook page for more pictures and Fred's Flickr site which he still has to post to.

Cheers,
Sandy & Fred

November 9, 2014 - London

Greetings All,

We took a mini break to London specifically to visit the Tower of London and the Poppies that were commemorating the British and Commonwealth Soldiers who sacrificed their lives in WWI. We were up and out early on Sunday to catch our 8:40 am train arriving in London around 11:40 am. Departing Euston it was a short ride on the tube to London Bridge station which, was then a ten minute walk to our hotel. We checked in, left our bags at reception as our room was not ready for us and then headed off to explore by 12:30 pm.

We headed off to explore a new area and to check out a market, The Ropewalk, that Fred's brother had told us about. As it was Sunday we were not sure if it would be open but it gave us an opportunity to see some new sites. The market was a variety of street foods and we enjoyed a grilled steak sandwich which was delicious. With full tummies we continued our exploring, walking over to the Tower of London and the masses of people were incredible. We managed to get some pictures as for the most part people were polite; taking their pictures and then making room for others.

The crowd was just too much so we decided that we would return early on Monday morning to beat the crowd and to hopefully get better pictures without the crowd. The display is the artistic design of Paul Cummins and is titled "Blood Swept Land and Seas of Red" and it is taken from the first line of a poem written by an unknown soldier in WWI. The first poppy was planted on July 14, 2014 and the last one on November 11, 2014. There are a total of 888,246 poppies each representing a life lost.

The Paddington Trail opened in London on November 4 and runs through to December 30. It is a trail of Paddington Bear statues around the city depicting places and events that are in the Paddington Bear books. We came across our first bear in the Borough Market "Taste of Peru" as pictured on the right. As it was now late in the afternoon we stopped for some refreshment at The George Inn, a pub that dates back to 1677. The weather had been amazing and we sat outside on the patio enjoying our drinks. Thanks to the time change it now gets dark around 5:00 pm so we headed back to the hotel. Along the way we came across yet another work of art, by the artist Alex Chinneck, A Pound of Flesh for 50P. It is a house made of 8,000 wax bricks that will melt over 30 days (picture below). It is part of The Merge Festival of contemporary artists in the Bankside area.

Once back at the hotel we decided to have our dinner there rather then venture out again. We enjoyed a pre-dinner glass of wine that was recommended by maitre d' come bartender called The Chocolate Block. It is a South African wine, a blend of several grapes and was a rich full bodied red. We had a lovely dinner enjoying the special that the hotel had on offer. Fred had a salmon fishcake with lemon vinaigrette and pan fried cajun haddock for his mains, while I had a stuffed chicken breast and a dessert. While we were eating a Chinese family came in, mom, dad, kid and grandma. The demands they made on the maitre d' were unbelievable. They ordered 2 mains and two side dishes, 2 glasses of wine for the three adults and a complete kids meal. They then asked for extra plates and wine glasses and proceeded to split the meals and wine up between the three adults. I really don't know why people continue to amaze or shock me given our work and travel experiences but they do. When we left I asked the maitre d' if he would write his name down on a piece of paper for me. He promptly asked if anything was wrong and I told him there was nothing wrong, that he was a saint and when we get our usual survey about our stay I wanted to recognise him.
We headed up to our room to sort pictures and then to bed at a decent time as we wanted to be at the Tower of London very early before the crowds arrived.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

October 14 - 17th - Perth Scotland and Exploring The Area

Latha math All,

We headed off for a two day break to Perth, Scotland which is just south of the area area where the Mowatt Clan lived for a period according to Fred's research. Our drive was mostly highway driving as it was close to five hours to the hotel. Our first big stop was Braur House a small upscale shopping centre that Fred's cousins had told us about. The nav chick took us, what we thought, was the wrong way but as a result I was able to get a great picture of Highland cattle as pictured on the left. We headed back to the main road and drove another couple of miles further along to see if we could find the centre and did come upon it. As it turns out the nav chick was taking us in by the back way.

The picture on the right is of a war memorial for Highland Regimental
soldiers who where lost in WWI & WWII. Surprisingly, there were no kilts for sale in the various stores but a great deal of cashmere at prices well above our pocket book. After the brief stop we now headed off to our hotel which in located in Perth's town centre. It is a converted mill that was originally built in 1875. Water still runs through the lobby and is glassed in around the wheel which is not operational any longer.

After checking in we took a short walk around town in the area near us and it seemed as though they roll the sidewalks up at 5:00 pm. We did find a Sainsbury Local that was open and purchased some wine and snack for our room. We enjoyed dinner at the hotel, as the special rate we got include money towards dinner, a free drink and breakfast both mornings.

Now a bit of interesting information about the Gaelic language. The greeting above is Scottish Gaelic for good day. Modern Scottish Gaelic is made up of an 18 letter alphabet as follows,
ABCDEFGHILMNOPRSTU. We have not heard it spoken on this trip and until breakfast we had not even heard a strong Scottish accent or brogue when speaking to any of the hotel's staff.

The next day we were out early after breakfast heading to Dunnottar Castle - Dun Fhoithear which means fort on a shelving slope. It is a ruined medieval fortress.

The surviving buildings that we explored were from the 15th and 16th centuries. It was one of the best ruins we have explored to date. I loved the location a rugged landscape on the northeast coast of Scotland. It was quite a hike down and then up to the castle but an even harder one back. Dunnottar  played a prominent role in the history of Scotland with the rising of the Jacobite Rebellion. The Honours of Scotland or Scottish crown jewels were hidden here from Cromwell's invading armies in the 17th century. Once we finished exploring the castle we took a leisurely drive along the coastal route to Montrose. We took a number of back roads or roads less traveled as I like to say. We came across more highland cattle this
time there were some calves. They are very wooly even as babes as you can see from the picture on the right. We also saw some pheasants in fields that we pass by. It was nice to see some live ones as we had passed a lot of road kill on our travels. We continued along stopping in the village of Catterline looking for a church and cemetery where Fred thought some of the Mowatt's might be buried. We found one church and cemetery but there were no Mowatts buried there. There was another shell of a church with a graveyard but it was behind someones back yard and we couldn't find a way to get into it so we didn't enter.

We continue along and came to Kinneff Old Church. The church we visited was not the original building which was superseded in 1738 by the present building. The church played a very important role in Scottish history. As Cromwell's army advanced into Scotland in 1652 Parliament ordered the Honours of Scotland be removed from Dunnottar castle for safety. The Honours were snuck out of the castle by the garrisons wife and Mrs Grainger the reverends wife. They were then hidden in the church in the ground before the pulpit. They remained hidden with the Graingers digging them up every three months to preserve them from damp and injury. At the Restoration in 1660 the Honours where returned to Charles II and placed in Edinburgh Castle.

We continued along and saw some amazing scenery. The picture on the left is one of the sites we saw on our less traveled roads. We visited some lovely little villages on the coast and more sites of the Mowatt Clan. In one fishing village, Gourdon, we came across a lane that was named after the Mowatt's who are in the family tree. We have had a full day of exploring and ended it off with a visit to Pitlochry. We strolled around the town and purchased a bottle of Scotch that was distilled in the area. Edradour is a single malt whisky and the one we bought was aged in a super tuscan cask. The scotch is very smooth and yummy as we found out on our return home.

We had dinner out at the local Pizza Express and were amazed by some people who have kids. The couple behind us have a fairly newborn baby and both are busy texting on their phones ignoring the crying child. The mother finally picks up the kid then puts it down giving it a bottle but supports the bottle with a blanket and continues to text. Unbelievable some people should be neutered. I felt for the poor child.

We have had a amazing short break and will return to this area as there are other things to do in the area that we didn't have time for. Also with booking this trip last minute we were not able to purchase tickets to some of the annual events that were going on as they were sold out. For our trip home we took a longer route revisiting some of the roads we did back in 2006 with Fred's mom, aunt and uncle. We stopped at the Westmorland Farm Shop to pick up some venison sausage, wild boar sausage and game pie mix.

We hope you have enjoyed this posting. Next trip London to visit Tower of London and the see the ceramic poppies in dedication to the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.

Sian leibh,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 7 - 23, 2014 - To Canada to Visit Family and Friends

Greetings All,

This blog will be a bit different others that I have posted, as it is about family and friends and not about new sites we have visited on our travels. We traveled to Ontario for our niece's (Amanda) wedding and to try to see as many of our friends and family as we could in the short period. Our best friends Mike and Colleen graciously provided us with a home away from home while we were in Canada. The picture on the right is of their beautiful backyard. Colleen's gardens are always beautiful and she really out did herself in their new home in Bowmanville. We arrived very handily at their new place on the 7th as Toronto Pearson Airport has finally caught up with the times. In the customs/immigration hall there are now two areas; one for Canadians and one for all others plus an electronic checkin so we were through in record time.
Mike and Colleen put on a barbecue of hamburgers and hotdogs and a super surprise. Our son Christopher his wife Meaghan and our grandson Paul arrived to have dinner with us. We were not expecting to see them until the next day.  On Monday the 8th we sett out for Ennismore for a family reunion that Josie, Meaghan's mum was hosting. Meaghan and her brother Steven did all the arranging with Steven doing all the cooking to feed 16 people. We arrived early so we could spend more time with our grandson.

Grandpa got a lot of cuddle time with Paul who is a very happy baby. Paul was tossed from pillar to post once all the family arrived and he just lapped up all the attention. Tuesday and Wednesday were days to take care of some personal business and more visits with Paul as the kids came down to visit Colleen and us. Thursday the kids followed us out to Mississauga to visit Fred's Aunt Doreen so she could get to meet Paul for the first time. Cecilia Fred's cousin was visiting Doreen from the UK so she also got a chance to meet Paul as well. We enjoyed a nice visit and lunch with Doreen and Cecilia before the kids headed back to Ennismore. Fred and I then headed to Brampton to attend Amanda's wedding rehearsal/rehearsal dinner as I am honoured to be doing one of the readings at her wedding.

The picture on the right of Amanda and me was taken at the rehearsal dinner.

As I wanted to go to the Moraviantown Reserve to see if a headstone had been placed on my mum's grave on the Friday, we stayed in the west end overnight Thursday evening as this would save a good chunk of driving time for us. The trip was informative. We returned to Mike and Colleens after a very tiring day and finally spent some quality time with them. Friday afternoon I spent time catching up with Colleen and sharing the cooking duties for dinner. I felt as though we had been taking advantage of their friendship as we had been continually on the go since we arrived from the UK and had not spent a lot of time with them. It was nonsense I know, and being that they are good friends Colleen told me so.

Saturday September 13, the big day and the main reason for our trip to Ontario. Our beautiful niece Amanda was getting married to her soul mate Mitchell. Christopher, Meaghan and Paul were driven down from Ennismore to meet up with us. We had booked two rooms at a Marriott for us as the wedding was at 4:00 pm and we had hoped Paul would have a nap before heading off to the wedding. Paul, of course, had no intentions of napping. The wedding ceremony was outside as the sun decided to come out just in time and it was a wonderful celebration, uniting such a wonderful couple. The picture on the left was of their first dance. Our grandson had been amazing, awake since 2:30 pm he was going strong until 10:30 pm with only a 15 minute power nap on Daddy's shoulder. At 10:30 pm tired finally overcame him so Meaghan and Paul headed back to the
hotel for some much needed rest. I had a fantastic time and danced the night away with family. Amanda and her hubby sure know how to throw a party. The picture on the right is of the kids and grandson in their wedding finery.

Sunday the 14th saw us, with Christopher, Meaghan and Paul, stopping off in Mississauga to have lunch with Fred's brother Keith, his wife Sandra and our nephew Nicholas. After lunch it was time to head back to Ennismore for dinner with the kids, Josie and Jim and Andrew a school friend of Christopher's who had driven in from Guelph to visit the kids.  He came with a expensive toy for the guys to play with, a drone.

We were now heading into our last week and things were still hectic with lots more visits to get done. Monday the 15th we had a restful day with Colleen and celebrated her 65th birthday by taking her and Mike out for dinner to her favourite place Swiss Chalet. Tuesday saw us having dinner with good friends Steve and Karen, Wednesday saw us back in the west end visiting a long lost Aunt of mine Nora and friend's Derek and Carol for a late lunch. Thursday we had lunch with my cousins Larry and Corrine and then another lovely dinner with Mike and Colleen.  Friday saw me doing laundry and packing for a weekend break in Etobicoke with Fred's brother Geoff and his wife Tracey. The weekend getaway also included Tracey's sister Louise and her hubby Brian and Tracey and Louise's parents Norman and Claudette. We had a fantastic time with family on our last weekend remembering old times in North Bay and creating new memories. Brian and Louise were fantastic hosts and we enjoyed  our time together with them. Saturday we explored some of our

old stomping grounds in downtown Toronto stopping for refreshment along the way. The picture on the left is of one such stop. Sunday after an amazing brunch we headed back to Bowmanville driving along the lakeshore and are amazed at the continued growth. It seems any little plot of land has high-rises being built all with crazy prices from $500,000 to $2 million Canadian, depending on location, for an apartment. There certainly has been a lot of changes in the 5 years we have been gone. Our last day was spent with Colleen relaxing and doing laundry taking full advantage of the north american washer and dryer facilities.

We cannot thank Mike and Colleen enough for their hospitality on this trip and enjoyed catching up with the family and friends that we were able to meet up with. Sadly we could not see all we would have liked to see as time was short.

Until our next trip.
Sandy & Fred

Aug 20, 2014 - 41st Anniversary Break Durham Castle

Greetings All,

We were up handily for breakfast so that we could head back into Durham to explore the castle. The picture on the left is of Redworth Hall, or at least part of it. It was a massive place with a pool, gym facilities and a spa. None which we used as we were out and about exploring the area.

We had purchased tickets for the 11:00 am tour of the castle the previous day, but when we arrived we were told that there was no tour until noon as the 11:00 am tour was a private tour. I told the guy that we purposely bought tickets for 11:00 as we had other commitments that we had to meet. He checked with someone and we were allowed to join the private group who happened to be Japanese. We comment that our son Christopher would have loved to be on this tour as he could have practiced his Japanese. The translation from English to Japanese goes very smoothly and did not impact on the tour at all.

The picture above and to the right is of the castle. It is a Norman castle, originally built in the 11th century as a projection of the Norman King's power in the north. The holder of the office of the Bishop of Durham was appointed by the King to exercise royal authority on his behalf, the castle was his seat. It remained bishops palace for the Bishop of Durham until the bishops made Auckland Castle their primary residence and the castle was converted into a college. In 1837, Bishop Edward Maltby donated the castle to the newly formed Durham College to be used as student accommodation. The keep which was now dilapidated was rebuilt from original plans and was opened in1840. The castle still houses over 100 students and as such is called a living castle. Only foreign students with good grades are allowed to live there and in the non-term months the rooms are rented out as a B&B.

The picture on the left is the Norman Chapel and it is a scan of postcard we purchased as picture taking is not permitted within the castle. It retains some of the original paintings from that time as well as carvings on the support pillars which were built around 1078. The other chapel within the castle is the Tunstall's Chapel which was built in 1540. Both chapels are still in use today, with the Tunstall's Chapel being the more widely used of the two. During the tour we were shown a portrait of Bishop Tunstall who was a very adaptable individual depending who was on the throne while he was a Bishop. In the original painting he is holding a rosary which he had painted out then in then out, depending on which religious faith the reigning monarch practiced. The painting we see shows a blank spot between his hands where the rosary would have been. We really enjoyed our visit to Durham City which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the Cathedral, Castle and Palace Green.  The last picture is of the Castle Gates.

We took the scenic route back to Liverpool, rather than doing the motorway and enjoyed a nice dinner out at Deli Fonseca with John and Adrienne who had come up for the night to pick up some their stuff that they had left with while they were on their tour of Europe. We have enjoyed our mini break and hope you have enjoyed this portion of our travels.

Next up a trip back to Ontario .

Ta ra for now.
Sandy & Fred

August 18-19th, 2014 - 41st Anniversary Break

Greetings All,

We took advantage of a 2 day special offer I found at Redworth Hall in Durham. We took a partial scenic route, driving through a portion of the Yorkshire Dales. We had never seen the Dales when the heather was in bloom and it was spectacular to see miles and miles of purple hills. The picture on the left was taken at a stopping point where two sheep decided to check us out. We stopped at Skipton for our lunch, a lovely market town that has a castle constructed in 1090, played roles in history during the English Civil War and was the site of a prisoner of war camp in WWI. It is also a mill town on the Leeds - Liverpool
canal which allowed for the transport of goods to major centres. The picture on the right is of the canal that goes through the town. We enjoyed a lovely pub lunch at the Castle Inn, and afterwards we explored the town a bit but did not get to take in castle so I think a return is in order maybe a nice overnighter in one of the inns. From here we headed off to Redworth Hall.

We checked in and were a bit disappointed in the room as it was tired and need of a update. The bathroom, however, was extremely modern with a chacqusi tub and massage shower. Our stay included two nights, a 3 course dinner with a bottle of wine and breakfasts. As well there was an afternoon tea on the second day.

We had a couple of pre-dinner drinks before having a late supper. We asked that the bottle of house wine, that comes supper, be held so we could take it to our room and in its place purchased a bottle of better quality wine as we were celebrating our anniversary. For our main meal I had duck breast and Fred had salmon. We ordered dessert and commented on how long it was taking to get a fruit tray and cheese cake since the restaurant was now fairly empty. Dessert arrived along with a special treat from the chef. Two berry tarts on a slate with a raspberry coulis and a chocolate greeting wishing us a Happy Anniversary. A nice touch! Our house wine arrived
as we were ready to leave, so we were set for the night! A nice celebration for 41 years of  marriage.

The following day we were up fairly early for breakfast which was a disappointment as it was a buffet style, although we could order hot items from a menu. The bacon was way overcooked and the sausages where tasteless and kinda pasty in texture. I guess we have been spoiled with the sausage we get from our local butcher. After breakfast we headed into Durham. The city has archaeological evidence that this was a settlement since 2000 BC but has clear evidence that the present day city dates back to AD 995. Building of the Cathedral was started in 1081 and completed in 1280. It is

said to be one of the greatest churches ever built in the Norman (Romanesque) style and completed in the Gothic style in the Chapel. The picture on the left is of the Sanctuary Knocker on the north door. During the Middle Ages people could ask for sanctuary from the law in the cathedral and could remain there for 37 days. Then they had to decide to either stand trail or leave the country.  We spent a good hour exploring the cathedral before heading off to the castle. Sadly, all the tours for the day were sold out so we purchased tickets for the next day at 11:00 am.
We headed back to the Market Square and explored the indoor Market which is a permanent feature with 50 stalls selling all sorts of items from food to toys jammed in a relatively small area. For us, it was mostly junk but there are some interesting items as well.

We next headed off to Crook Hall and Gardens a medieval manor house built in the 13th century and one of the oldest inhabited houses in Durham city. The Medieval Hall merges into a Jacobean then Georgian home and is surrounded by 6 acres of various gardens and orchards.

The flower gardens which are mostly walled are densely packed with various flowers and must be lovely when they are in full bloom. We were at the end of the season for most things but there were still enough bees and wasps around to have me ducking and dancing around as they approached. Not a great place when one is so terrified of them. The picture on the right is one of the many figures hiding around the gardens.

We headed back into the city centre for a late lunch at Market Tavern. Fred had a venison pie and I had a wild boar and pulled pork burger. The portions were very generous and tasted yummy!! Rested and full we did our last bit of exploring for the day with a walk along the River. The city had the most amazing floral displays which adds to the beauty of the old town area. It seems we had timed things perfectly as we ended our rather full day it started to rain.

The last picture, on the left, was taken on our river walk and is of one of the planters seen around the city. We stopped to pick up some snacks and wine for our room before heading back to Redworth Hall.

Ta ra for now,

Sandy & Fred

May 21 - 25, 2014 - Beach Day, City Exploration and Relaxation

Hola mi Amigas

On Wednesday we spent the day at the beach.  It was a fairly short 40 minute drive to Es Trenc, a very popular and crowded beach on weekend,   During the week it is more relaxed and home to nature lovers, nudists and hippy types.  We rented sun loungers and a cabana a reasonable 7 Euros each for the day and relaxed enjoying the sun.  My three white companions lathered up well with heavy duty sunscreen and stayed mostly under the protection of the cabanas while I took full advantage of the sun.  The water was very refreshing but again I am the only one who took the plunge.  Fred and I walked along the beach to see what it had to offer food wise. At the far end where the sand was more uneven and a bit more rocky was the home to the nudist section. While we walked we also saw a sea turtle whose head broke the surface of the water just beyond the waves.  Sections of the beach/water were rather weedy but I did find a clear area for me to get in for a swim.  When Bryan and Alison decided to go for a walk we did warn them about the nudist section but she was still rather horrified to see them.  A full day of sun was enjoyed by all, then we headed back, stopping at a couple of stores for charcoal and strawberries for our supper.  After planning for Thursdays exploration and a full day in the sun, everyone was in bed at a reasonable hour.

Thursday 22nd we headed off early to spend the day in Palma De Mallorca for some city exploration.
The drive in was an easy run and parking was well marked and plentiful.
Once we arrived we decided to go our separate ways.  Alison and Bryan

were looking to do some shopping while Fred and I were more interested in walking around the historical sections of the town.  Our first stop was the Cathedral of Majorca.  Construction on it began around 1306 by King James II of Majorca and completed in 1601 by bishop of Majorca, JoanVic i Manrique. Since the completion in 1601 it has not expanded on the outside but has grown on the inside.  It is made of Majorcan sandstone known as"mares" and the forms and colours of the stone continue to awe all people .

The interior of the cathedral is awe-inspiring as well.  It is also known as the Cathedral of Light as the sun shines through 87 windows and 8 rose windows.  It is also home to the largest Gothic rose window in the world.  More pictures of the interior of the cathedral can be seen on my Facebook (Sandy) or our flickr account.

The next stop was a walled garden complete with a beautiful pond, vegetable garden, fruit trees and flowers.  We came upon it quite by accident as we made our way to Banys Arabs.  It was quite a peaceful stop hidden amongst the alleyways of the main tourist area.  We enjoyed our brief stop at the gardens before moving on.  The picture on the left is of the pond with koi, water lilies and a canopy of bougainvillea.

The picture on the right is of Banys Arabs, a 10th century brick hammam (bath house).  They are one of the few architectural reminders of the Moors on Mallorca.  The chamber with its  irregular columns are all that has survived and would have been the lukewarm room. There would have also been a hot room and a cold plunge.  The chamber and a small garden area are all that is to be seen, so it was a quick visit.

We continued our explorations and wander into the shopping where we purchased a cute T-shirt for our grandson Paul.  We found a small square, Plaza Major, which had market stalls, restaurants and buskers.  Outside of a nearby church I dropped some coin into a basket and was blessed by the busker whose costume was so good he actually looked like a statue as you walk by (picture below).

We meet up with Bryan and Alison for a late lunch near the Cathedral and all enjoyed a pizza, each of us having a different variety.  After lunch we again head off in separate directions as Bryan and Alison wanted to see the Cathedral, while Fred and I searched out a grocery store for some wine and baguette for the evening, then to enjoy a relaxing drink at an outdoor cafe.  We have enjoyed our day but have only really hit the major sites and have not explored any of the museums scattered around Palma.

Our last two days were spent relaxing around the pool and for me and Fred washing all our clothes in the North American style washer and dryer a treat for us.  We were back to reality quickly as in 5 days time we moved to a new apartment/flat.  Not far away, just across the road but away from the river.
We hope you have enjoyed this segment of our travels.

Adios,

Sandy & Fred

May18 - 20th, 2014 - Majorca, Spain

Hola mi amigos,

On the 18th May we headed to Majorca, Spain for a week with Fred's cousin Bryan and his wife Alison.  Our flight was from Liverpool to Palma and was uneventful.  We had a late flight out of Liverpool which meant we arrived at our resort Marriott's Club Son Antem at midnight after a bit of off the track touring with our satnav chick.  Our home for the next six days was a townhouse, it was new for us with our Marriott Destination points but perfect.  It had two bedrooms, one on the ground floor and one on the upper floor.  The bedroom upstairs also had its own terrace/balcony area and we had a lovely backyard with a charcoal barbecue.  After unpacking we hit the sack.

Monday after getting some basics at the on site market place for breakfast, we headed into the nearest town Llucmajor to do some food shopping as we were having meals in-house when we were not off exploring.  The balance of our day was spent catching some rays around the pool.  I took a quick dip as the water was very cold.  Supper that night was barbecued chicken with a salad with fruit for dessert.  Fred and I were chief cooks as you know I love to cook.  The picture posted on the upper left is of a local songbird, a Hoopoe who would visit the front yard nightly around the same time.

Tuesday we headed off to explore the island and did a driving tour of the Serra de Tramuntana area.  The Bryan and Fred split the driving with Bryan taking the first shift.  The picture on the right is one of the views of the coast looking down from our first stopping point.  The roads were narrow and winding and we passed many cyclists from various countries.  We had a few "holy shit" moments with Bryan's driving and I threatened to drive as we were, for me,  on the proper side of the road in Majorca.  We stopped in Estellencs for a walk about the town and to stop for a late lunch.  The town is on a hillside and the roads were narrow and cobblestoned with the homes being built in what looks like long walls.  Some of the doors were very small, so much so that I would have to duck to enter. Our lunch was delicious and relaxing.  I had a serrano ham salad, Fred had a spanish omelette, Alison had soup and Bryan had a vegetable omelette, which turned out to be a fried egg dish over veggies.

The picture on the left is of a metal statue of a donkey that we saw while leaving Estellencs.  Bryan graciously found a spot to pull over so that I could get out and take a picture.  I imagine donkeys were the work animal of choice in the past given how rugged and hilly the area was though we did not see any on our current travels.  Our drive continued on to Mirador de ses Animes and Torre Verger a watchtower built in 1579.  The tower was climbable and provided
amazing views of the entire western coastline.

The tower was used to warn the islanders of attacks by North African brigands back in the day.  From here we changed drivers with Fred taking over.  We now moved off the coast and inland and down the Serra de Tramuntana.  Bryan has chosen wisely in his portion of driving as now the roads are hairpin bend after hairpin bend.  Narrow roads where there is no room to pass or places to pull off.  The cyclists are still plentiful and seem to take advantage of the downhill travel whizzing by us in some cases.  The last shot is of terrace farming we saw on our drive down the mountain before

heading back to Andratz and then back to our townhouse.  Our initial plans for supper were a barbecue, but as the skies were threatening rain we opted to eat at the restaurant on the resort.  It was a late supper, Fred and I shared a seafood paella as my first choice, rabbit paella was not available.  Our waiter was extremely apologetic as my starter was also not available.  He did manage to get me a taste of the rabbit and also some snails.  Though I must say the snails or escargot in France were much tastier than the Spanish version, but unless you try you never know.  The paella was good but certainly not as tasty as the one we had in Estapona.  The last picture is of the paella which was an extremely generous portion.

Adiós por ahora,
Sandy & Fred

April 15 - 16, 2014 - A Birthday Break for Fred

Greetings All,

After a short rest to get over our travel back from Portland, we were off again. We headed off to Corsham and Rudloe Hall for a two day break for Fred's birthday.  We decided to go after Fred's birthday, as the package I booked offered two different locations for supper if we went on the 15th/16th.  The deal was two nights bed, breakfast and suppers. It has Marco Pierre White's name attached to it, so I thought given this we would be in for some great food.  The drive down was absolutely horrendous and took almost five hours due to construction on all the highways or motorways as they are known in the UK.  Unfortunately, our room was not in the main hall which is pictured to the right.  Once we settled in we headed down to the quirky bar for a drink.

There were a couple of pool tables, various foose ball tables, a wooden horse, pictured on the left, and a juke box that actually plays.  I had a cider and Fred had a beer.  We brought dress clothes for dinner but decide against changing as the walk from our room to the main hall is a gravel road and there was no way I could walk on it even with the small heels that I brought thanks to my sciatica.  We had booked for a 8:15 pm dinner but when we arrive we are told the booking was not till 8:30 pm.  We did not get seated until almost 9:00 pm.  From here everything went downhill.  The service was the worst we have had and the food is just mediocre.  I think we were expecting a great deal more with the food and service as Marco has his name attached to the hall.  Personally I think he should review and pull it off as it sure does not measure up to his perceived quality controls.  Our dinner did not arrive until near 10:00 pm and while we were waiting a customer had a meltdown about the service and the food he was served. We did not catch what was said but he was rather rude to the waitress so much so that she refused to continue to wait on their table.  We headed to bed as we had planned to visit a couple of National Trust properties in the area the next day.

Breakfast service was much better and we received our orders in a timely manner, cooked the way we asked.  Fred had a Traditional Full English which was not the usual Full English breakfast.  He got a fried egg, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and a grilled tomato.  There were no baked beans or black pudding which were not missed as Fred would not have eaten them anyway.  We had a discussion as whether Traditional Full English Breakfast as served morphed into what is served today in many places as a Full English breakfast. We will have to check that out.

Our first stop of the day was Great Chalfield Manor, pictured above on the right.  The house is a moated manor house that was built around 1465-1480 for a Thomas Tropenell, a modest member of the landed gentry.  The parish Church, rebuilt by Tropenell is today still an active church.  The manor was substantially altered in 1865 by the Neale Family.  In the early 1900's The Fuller family purchased and restored the manor to what we see today.  The house and grounds have been used in a number of films and today there was a film crew on site.  Entrance to the manor house is by guided tour.  As we waited for our guide, we had taken pictures of the well and columns topped with griffins in front of the manor house.  When our guide arrived he informed us that these were props for the filming of the movie and were made of paper mache.  They look quite authentic and we all had a

good laugh about the extra features.  The picture to the left is an original feature in the manor house and is known as a squint.  An individual could look through the eyes and see the comings and goings of servants and guests from an alcove in the upper level.  We toured the grounds and gardens with its tree houses and river running through it.  We would love to return and see the restored home how it really is without all the props that have been brought in for the film.

We now headed off to the next property which were gardens but unfortunately it was closed.  We took a walk around the village of Holt and stopped in at the local pub.  I had a 1/2 pint of Addlestones cider and Fred had a pint of a local beer.  Refreshed we headed off to the last property Westwood Manor.  The small manor was built in the 15th century with additions in the 16th century and plaster work in the17th century.  It was also the home of Edgar Lister a diplomat of the Ottoman court in the early 20th century.

He restored the manor, adorned the garden with a topiary, and as an expert in needlepoint he reupholstered all the furniture the house in the Florentine fashion.  The work he did was very detailed and intricate amazing considering the light he must of had to work in.  Sadly Mr Lister died in a car crash in 1956.  The home is tenanted so is only open a couple of days a week.

Next we headed into Bradford on Avon a lovely town on the River Avon.  We stopped at The Barge Inn for lunch in the beer garden.  The food was delicious and the portions were huge.  The weather was perfect and the garden was busy.  The picture to the

left is of Fred's meal beef casserole in red wine with root vegetable mash and parsnip crisps.  I had a bacon, brie and cranberry panni with fries and onion rings.  Washed down with a Stowford Press cider and Fred had a pint of Boondoggle beer.  We strolled around the town which reminded me a little of a miniature Bath with the Cotswold Stone Buildings and steep hills.  The town also suffered from flooding in the spring and we were told they almost lost the bridge which is over 100 years old due to the debris that built up around the bridge.  The Town had to bring in a special crane to remove the debris to relieve the pressure on the bridge and were able to save it.

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading off to the Pear Tree Inn for our second night's supper.  The service here was excellent and the food was good.  We headed back to Rudloe Hall for a night cap and bed.

After breakfast, we headed back home by the roads less travelled to avoid all the construction and we passed through some lovely countryside and pretty villages. The final picture is of a flax field we

passed on our trip home.

We hope you have enjoyed this last series of blogs .


Ta Rah till our next adventure.

Sandy & Fred

April 9,10 -11, 2014 - Our Last Day & The Journey Home

Greetings All,

Our time with family has flown by and I wished we had more time.  Paul was happier this morning after a rough night.  The picture on the left is of Grandpa and Paul in his Liverpool onesie.  He looks a much happier fan than two weeks ago.  Meagan continued to make up meals to be frozen and we finished the sewing lesson with the top of the outfit being made.  She had done a wonderful job for a first attempt and a poor teacher.  Our day was spent doing laundry, packing and caring for Paul.  I took many more pictures and headed outside with Smudge to get a picture of her in the garden.  She has been a great dog considering she had been the centre of attention for a number of years and was now playing second fiddle.  She did show protection
towards Paul making sure she was close to whoever was with him.


Our last dinner together was enjoyable and we all headed to bed early as Fred and I have a long couple of days of travel ahead of us.  We had made arrangements for a cab to pick us up at 7:30 am as Christopher and Meaghan had a 10:00 am doctor's appointment for Paul, his eight week checkup.  It would have been too rushed for Christopher to take us out to the airport and get back in time for the appointment given Portland's morning rush hour traffic.  I managed to hold the tears back as we said our farewells to the kids but I did have a good cry in the cab on the way to the airport.  We will both miss helping the kids and our cuddle time with our Paul but thankfully with technology today we can see them weekly and keep up to date.

Our flight to Vancouver was on a turbo prop plane and we had clear skies, as you can see from the picture on the left, as we were leaving Portland.  The flight was short and we had a long stop over in Vancouver; 7 hours before we took off for London, our final destination.  Once through security, we had plenty of time to kill. Thankfully there was free WiFi.  There was much more to do and see on the international side of Vancouver airport.  This was our first time leaving from here and we were quite impressed.  We had lunch at Milestones, a favourite restaurant of ours when we lived in Ajax.  The food was as we remembered, good quality and tasty.

I had taken a number of pictures in the airport as there were sculptures done by the Haida Indians, a saltwater aquarium with corals, fish and other sea life from the Pacific.  The picture on the right is a Raven wood carving.  We read, wander around and went for a drink and snack before boarding the plane.

The flight itself was uneventful, the food was terrible and we finally arrived at Heathrow at 11:40 am on Friday, a total of 17 hours since we left Portland.  We decided to split at immigration this time as Fred as a Brit went through with his UK passport thinking things would be faster and he would pick up the bags.  The UK Border Agent was very nice but told me that I should have stayed with Fred as they do not like to split families.  I told her that I was told that I could not go through the UK passport line that I had to come through the non EU passport line.  She asked who told me that and I said one of her co-workers on our last trip. She promptly apologised and said that we were misinformed.  Well, I told her the positive side was my hubby gets to sort the luggage which she had a good laugh about.  Sadly, our travel time was not over.  We now made our way via the tube to Euston train station for the final leg of our trip, a train ride home to Liverpool.  By now we were both exhausted and I was in agony with my sciatica.  Fred tried to get us on an earlier train but was unsuccessful.  To make matters even more difficult our train was not direct so we had to change at Crewe.  I felt for Fred as he lugged our bags but we finally arrived in Liverpool and had a short cab ride home.

It has been a wonderful trip and we will be off again in 4 days to celebrate Fred's birthday so stay tuned.

Ta Rah,

Sandy & Fred