April 23, 2012 - Paris

Bonjour mes amie,

Today we headed off for Paris by train from Liverpool.  The first portion of our trip (Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston) took just over two hours and we were on the quiet car.  I had packed a picnic lunch complete with wine which we enjoyed while enjoying the scenery and reading on our iPads. Once in London we took the tube from Euston to St. Pancras, one stop and then boarded the Eurostar to Paris for another 2 1/4 hour ride.  It was a nice relaxing way to travel especially for Fred who is always the driver on our journeys.  I dozed off on this portion of the trip as my throat was starting to hurt.  Once in Paris we took the RER which is part of the rail system in Paris to the Arch de Triomphe which was a 5 minute walk if that to our hotel (Renaissance Arc de Triomphe).

Once we had settled in we decided to explore the area.  As we were not very hungry, we looked for a place that offered sandwiches and lighter food.  We came across a cafe/bar called Indiana which offered what we were looking for and it was an Southwestern American style pub.  We had a good laugh as we came all this way to Paris to be surrounded by pictures of North American Indians as seen in the upper right hand corner.  Who would have thought that my heritage would pop up in Paris of all places.  Our waitress told us she wondered what these people would think of their pictures being here on display.  I laughed again, no worries here as they are long dead.

Tummies satisfied we headed to the Arch De Triomphe to get some photos of it at night.  We got  

some excellent shots as the traffic was much lighter than it is in the daytime.  Built in 1806-1836 by the Emperor Napoleon 1st it is 164 feet high and you can take the 277 steps to the top to get views of Paris. Following the war of 1914-1918 it was decided to bury an unidentified soldier beneath the Arch.  There is an eternal flame to mark the grave, which is replenished every evening at 6:30 p.m.  We could see the Eiffel Tower off in the distance and decided to walk to it to get photos of it lit up.  One would think we knew exactly where we were going as we just happen to take the right Avenue (of 12 that radiate from the Arc de Triomphe) that took us to the Jardins du Trocadero a square that looks down towards the tower.

It was now late at night but we still had to run the gauntlet of Africans selling junky trinkets of the tower.  Very annoying but I guess they got to make a living somehow.  The Tower was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1889 by Gustave Eiffel.  It is 1,052 ft high and weighs 7,340 tons.  It has 2,500,000 bolts that hold 14,000 girders in place.  The tower is repainted every 7 years and it takes 40 tons of paint to do the job.  There are 1,652 steps and 3 floors to the tower.  If you are energetic and walk up the tower you can only reach the 2nd floor and have to take a lift (elevator) to reach the 3rd floor.  The top of the tower sways up to 5 inches depending on the winds and the height can vary up to 5.9 inches depending on the weather.  Once the photo ops were completed we headed back to the hotel.

We decided to walk back to the hotel although we could have taken the Metro from here if we wanted, and for once Fred got all turned around.  I have a moment of directional clarity and got us going in the right direction which if you know me well enough is amazing as I really don't have a sense of direction; so this was a rare moment indeed.  Once we were back at the hotel we planned what we wanted to do on our first full day in Paris and hoped the weather was going to co-operate.

Au revoir,

Sandy & Fred

April 21, 2012 - Chirk Castle

Helo All,

After a bit of a lie in and breakfast we headed back home.  The weather again was wet and dry.  We decided to stop at Chirk Castle, which is located just outside Wrexham, about an hour and ten minutes from home.  It was very busy as it was a Saturday and in hindsight we should have passed and did our visit midweek.  The castle was first built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk.  It was bought by Thomas Myddelton in 1595 and the Myddelton family resided there until 2004.

So it became more of a family residence than a castle and thus is very well preserved.  The artifacts in the house span the period of time since 1295 and the decoration and furniture is very opulent.  We spent about two hours exploring  and stopped in the tea room for a scone which we shared and hot tea for me and beer for Fred.  As I mentioned earlier there were a lot of rug rats everywhere as well as adults and I really don't know which were more of an annoyance.  Misbehaving kids or rude adults both which Fred and I have no patience for.  Well lesson learned no sites on weekends ever again.  We stopped at the farm shop on our way out and purchased a couple of local brewed cider for me and beer for Fred as well as pheasant and herbed sausage. We had the sausage for supper on Sunday and it was very delicious and I would get again.  It would be worth a trip back to Chirk just for the sausage, all products sold in the store is sourced from the castle grounds.

We hope you have enjoyed our blogs of our mini trip to South Wales and stay tuned as we are heading off to Paris, The City of Love on Monday.

Hwyl am Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

April 20, 2012 - Dinefwr Castle & Aberdulais Falls

Helo All,    

Our first stop for the day was Dinefwr Castle and Newton House.  The weather once again was rain and sun or a combination of both.  The nav chick continues to take on some weird routes and the National Trust book had warned against following sat nav due to problems that had been reported.  Luck was with us as the weather had cleared up as we arrived.   As the castle is a ruin, we decided to head their first while the weather holds.  The walk to the castle was through the parkland that is part of the grounds.  Our walk took us up through a bog forest, a forest with ancient trees and pasture land. The walk was all up hill and half way there I am totally winded and I am not the one who is sick.  Fred was managing very well considering how bad his cold was.  A very good indicator that I must get into better shape before our trip to Maui.

As always, here's a bit of history on the castle.  Dinefwr became the chief seat of Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda, the first ruler of Deheubarth and later king of most of Wales.  Between 1155-1197 the castle went through various stages of growth and demolition.  Near the end of the 15th century Sir Rhysl ap Thomas rebuilt the castle and what we see of the remains today.  Around 1600 Newton House was built and the castle was then used as a summer house.

The views from the top of the ruins down into the valley are spectacular and we got a number of amazing photos.  We spent a good half hour exploring and climbing the various remaining turrets. I for some reason had issues with height at the highest remaining lookout so Fred was on his own to take final shots of the valley.  I am not sure if the narrow steps or the fact I got so winded getting to the castle contributed or it's just age catching up.

After the castle we headed back to explore Newton House, that has been restored as to how it would would look during the early Victorian and late Edwardian periods.  The rooms are all very large and airy with some amazing plasterwork on the ceilings.  The staircase was also very interesting but you will have to check out photos on Flickr or my Facebook wall to see them as the blog does not allow me to share all the pictures I would like.  While we were exploring the house a group of deer romped around the back which is the grounds deer park.  There was a stag relaxing, however, with our cameras he was just too far away for a decent picture.

Our next stop of the day was Aberdulais Tinworks and Falls. Once again the nav chick took us on some hairy roads.  The scenery was breathtaking but so was the ride for me at various points.  Fred once again was a master navigator, managing to ignore my grabbing of the door and seat.  The Tinworks was rather disappointing after our castle visit as there was little remaining of the factory and the falls were small.  We spent about 30 minutes here mostly taking pictures then decided to head back to the hotel.       

At the hotel we headed down to the lobby to access the free WiFi so that I could post pictures and download the Times.  Unlike our first night which was quiet, we were invaded by a bus load of seniors and a rugby team as well as a group that were in for a stag weekend.  Noisy is a understatement.  We checked out supper menu and turns out we had to book a table due to the influx of people.  Booked, we headed back to the room for a bit of peace and quiet before supper.  Almost sounds like we are becoming crotchety old folk, but we have always enjoyed our quiet times as they are accompanied with a nice glass of red wine.
Hwyl am Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

Wales Mini Break- April 19, 2012

Helo All,

Today, Fred and I headed off on a mini break for two nights to Swansea in South Wales, so that we did not lose points we have accumulated with the Accor Hotel Group.  The weather while traveling was a very mixed bag.  We had sun, hail, rain, sun, rain and yet more sun.  The Welsh countryside was very pretty and varied.  Mountains, valleys, hills and dales with many rivers.  The picture on the left is a sample of the countryside as we traveled to Swansea by way of Tenby, a seaside town.

It was cool but dry as we walked around Tenby.  The town certainly has its fair share of pubs and chippies on every street, which are for the most part narrow.  The homes, hotels and cottages along the bay are jammed together and very colourful.  One can only imagine how crowded the beach as seen on the right is in the summer.  The town itself is surrounded by remnants of the 13th century medieval wall and gates, St Marys a 15th century church and a 15th Century Tudor Merchants House.

The house has been painstakingly restored by the National Trust with the ground and second floor now completed.  The ground floor would be were the merchant carried out his business, the first would be were the family entertained, ate and did day-to-day things with the upper floor being the bedrooms.  There were fireplaces on each floor and these were substantial in size.  Once we had finished our exploring we headed off to Swansea and our hotel which will be our base for the next couple of days.

Once settled, we decided to have supper in the hotel.  They offered a 3 course menu for a very good price, so we went for that.  We both had coconut breaded scampi with a sweet Thai chili dipping sauce, Fred had hake and I had chicken with Fred having a sticky toffee for dessert while I had a mocha coffee.
Stuffed, we headed to our room to plan the next days activities.

Hwyl am Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

February 25-26, 2012 - London Walks

Greetings All,

After a bit of a lie in and breakfast we headed out to Covent Garden by way of the tube as I wanted to shop at Carluccio's an Italian restaurant and store to get some truffle oil that a couple of recipes I wanted to out try asks for.  We also popped into the Apple store as Fred wanted to check out a Apple iMac and I was looking for a stylus to use with my iPad.  The picture on the left is one of 200 Faberge Eggs that are situated around London as part of the Big Egg Hunt which lasts for 40 days until Easter.  On our travels today we spotted 5 eggs; only a hundred and ninety five to go LOL.

As it is a beautiful day we walked through St James's Park, and it is quite busy.  The daffodils are starting to bloom along with the crocus that are coming to a end.  Even the crane on the right is enjoying the sun basking on the shore of the lake in the park.  We continued on covering old territory but we always seem to come across something new.  We stopped in at the Gallery a local pub near John and Adrienne's flat.  Since our last visit at Christmas the inside has been upgraded and it has a new food menu that looks quite good. We sat outside and enjoyed a pint of bitter and 1/2 pint of cider before heading back to the flat for the evening.


February 26, 2012,

The boy headed off to Wembley for the Carling Cup Final, Liverpool versus Cardiff City.  I headed out for a walk along the Thames; the weather was once again beautifully warm and sunny.  The Southbank which is on the Thames was absolutely jammed with people all out enjoying what Adrienne had told me was the first real warm spring day.  I continued walking all the way to Borough Market about a 3.5 mile walk.

I came across four more eggs and as the tide was out there was an area of beach where sand sculptures were being done.  The picture on the left is of an old style ship and face.  The other which I posted on Facebook was of Batman and Robin looking quite gay sitting on a couch. It took me about 2 hours to reach the market with the crowds being quite thick in some places.  As well a lot of the walkway was torn up or under repair in preparation for the Queens Jubilee and the up coming Olympics.  With the crush of people out today just due to the amazing weather, I really hate to think of how busy London will be once the Olympics arrive.   I decided       
against walking back to the flat along the Thames and took a water taxi from the Tate Modern to the Tate Britain which is more or less just around the corner from the flat. The fee was very reasonable and you can use the Oyster Card which is travel card for the transport system in London.  It was a nice relaxing ride away from the crowds that took about 15 minutes from Tate to Tate.  While walking back I managed to fall because I was not paying attention to where I was walking.  A nice young cyclist stopped and helped me up ensuring that I was okay.  I reassured him all that was hurt was my pride.  I went down so fast that I did not get a chance to tense up so I did not hurt myself and was only slightly embarrassed falling on a busy street.  I decided to have a late lunch as Adrienne and I are meeting up with the boys at around 8:00 p.m. for supper at the Cask another pub in the area.  So I visited the White Swan and enjoyed a nice large glass of merlot, barbecued chicken wings and garlic cheese bread.  The wings were the best I have had since leaving Canada other than the ones I have made myself.   Adrienne and I met up with the boys for a celebratory supper and drink as Liverpool had won the Carling Cup.

Monday we headed back to Liverpool with hopes of visiting Chirk Castle in Wales, however, the weather did not co-operate so we headed directly back to Liverpool after enjoying a great 5 day mini vacation.  We hope that you have enjoyed this portion of our blog.

Ta ra,

Sandy & Fred

Feb 24, 2012- London Bound via Winchester

Greetings All,

Today we headed off to London with stops in Bath and then Winchester.  We had passed a Gypsy camp the previous day but due to traffic could not get a photo.  We are able to pull over and took a couple of photo's much to the anger of the resident.  He shouted at us and gave us the finger a number of times so a couple of very quick takes as I did not want to upset him further or risk getting shot at.  I had heard about gypsy camps from one of Fred's aunts but never dreamed we would see one especially in the Cotswolds.  We only stopped briefly in Bath as we had toured the town extensively last year.  I wanted to check out Kitchens, a shop Fred's cousin recommended.  After our brief stop we headed to Winchester,  home of Winchester Cathedral.

We took the back roads and came across a number of signs for Tank Crossings as posted on the right. Unfortunately I did not realize that someone had written on the sign as it was one of a number that we came across but traffic made it impossible to get a picture. 

Winchester developed from the Roman Town, Venta Belgarum and was once the capitol city of England.  The Cathedral is one of the largest in England with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic Cathedral in Europe.  The cathedral was originally founded in 642 and was known as Old Minster.  Construction of the existing cathedral began in 1079 and was completed on April 8, 1093.

The picture on the left is of the ceiling of the nave.  It continues to amaze us the quality and craftsmanship of the builders of the time who only had basic hammers and chisels for stone work.  Much of the limestone used to build the cathedral came from The Isle of Wight.  When Henry VIII declared himself the head of the Church of England the cloister and chapel house were demolished but the cathedral remained.

Many important historical events took place in the cathedral from funerals, coronations and marriage of various kings and queens over the years.  Jane Austin was buried in the cathedral and the picture on the right is her marker

As well around the choir there are a number of mortuary chest that house the
remains of Saxon Kings that were first buried near the Old Minster.  These remains cover the years 611 to 1100.  Additional pictures will be posted on our Flickr site as there is not enough space on blog to allow for the posting of all of them.  We spent a good hour and a half exploring but due to our late arrival things were shutting down for the day, so we missed out on visiting the crypt and treasury room.  After wandering around the old part of Winchester, we had supper at the Royal Oak, a quaint little pub that was quite busy.  Winchester is a place that I think is worth a revisit to explore more of the old town.

We next headed to London for our weekend with John and Adrienne as the boys are off to the Carling Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.  For me the drive is very nerve wracking as it was dark and I hate driving at night even as a passenger.  We arrived safe and sound in time to hit the local pub for a nightcap.

Cheerio for now,

Sandy & Fred

February 23, 2012 - Lacock Abbey & Village

Greetings All,

After a good breakfast we headed off to the county of Wiltshire to visit Lacock Abbey and Village.  The Abbey was founded early in the 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian Order.  The countess laid the first stone on April 16, 1232 and the first nuns were veiled in 1232.  The Abbey prospered until the mid 16th century when Henry VIII dissolved all monasteries and sold the Abbey to Sir William Sharington who converted it into a house and demolished the church portion of the abbey.  We were fortunate  as the crocus and snowdrops were in bloom as seen in the picture on the left hand side.  In addition there was an art exhibition by Derek Kinzett, a wire sculptor, called Inner Spirit.  The picture on the right is titled "Wood Spirit" and the scuptures were scattered around the grounds.  The Abbey while now a ruin is in very good shape and we can see remnants of some of the

paintings that once adorned the Sacristy. The picture on the left is of the warming room the only place in the abbey that would be heated for the nuns.
The cauldron is made of bell metal and was made in Belgium in 1500.  We spent a good two hours exploring both the ruins and the house.  The property passed to the Talbot family in the 1750's. The main hall of the house has a large number of terracotta statues around it that depict religious and historic figures as well as residents of the house.

Lacock has been used as a film location for a number of films the most notable being The Harry Potter series Chamber of Secrets and Half Blood Prince. With both of the pictures of the bottom being in the films.

We explored the village and stopped for a pint and 1/2pint in the pub before heading back to The Lamb Inn.  On the way back, we stopped for some photo's in Bilbury another quaint village that is about 15 minutes from Burford and looks like another great place to stay with the Swan Inn which is part of the Cotswold Inn Family being at this location.  Back at the Lamb we relaxed before having supper in the pub again good food but pub fare and not as elegant as our first night.

Cheerio for now,

Sandy & Fred