London

Our two days in London have been fantastic.

Monday we caught the tube (London underground trains) to Greenwich.  The Para-Olympics are just starting and a lot of the venue was blocked off, so we had to walk long distances to get from one part to another.

We went to the National Maritime Museum, the Old Naval College and the Royal Observatory. One section of the Naval College was originally going to be the dining room for the returned naval veterans, but was instead made into a tourist attraction. The whole interior is painted, and took the artist 19 years to complete. It is amazing.

At the Royal Obervatory, we learnt all about how time is measured and communicated all around the world. It even included how people used to use the telephone to find out the exact time ("at the third beep, it will be .....", Gavin and I used to ring that all the time"). Lots of exhibits and even a line marking the Meridian timeline - 0 latitude. Great views too.

We left Greenwich and headed back to the tube to meet Nicki and her husband Chris. They took us to a Turkish restaurant where we had a great night and fantastic food. I hadn't seen Nicki for 20+ years, (we went to primary school together), so it was chat, chat, chat. Lucky for Chris and Cameron, they had each other to talk to. Thanks guys for a wonderful night and hope to see you again soon.

Tuesday, we wandered the streets of London, walking miles again. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament before going to find the lolly shop from Harry Potter. After much debate, we agreed to walk to St Pauls Cathedral (up the Strand and Fleet St. It was like playing Monopoly). So many places to look at, Cam and Matt kept having to wait for me. (clicking with the camera and walking along with my mouth open in awe of everything).

Our feet were so sore that afternoon, we went back to the apartment for a rest before going to have a look in  Harrods. What a fantastic place. They even have an icecream shop and a pet shop in there; and the cakes and chocolates looked incredible. Unbelievable that I didn't spend a cent (may have had something to do with Cam having my purse in the backpack).

We had lovely dinner at an Argentinian Steakhouse with Rick and Wendy: a fantastic end to our time in the UK. Thanks to all the people we saw for great nights and company, we had an awesome time. Tomorrow we catch the Eurostar to Paris.

Off to London

After a great week in Bristol, we said goodbye to Rick, Wendy, Stephen and Charley, and caught the train to Paddington Station in London before catching a cab to our hotel in Earls Court.

We've got three days in London before we catch the Eurostar to Paris.

Bristol

Thursday was another relaxing day with a morning spent wandering around home and then discussing the sights of Bristol with Rick and Wendy. It was decided to kill two birds with the one stone, have lunch at a restaurant where we could see the suspension bridge and eat at the same time. Gorgeous view and lunch.

After lunch, Cam, Matt and I went to see the SS Great Britain, the first iron-hulled ship and former passenger steamship. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. It was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic in 1845, in the time of 14 days. The SS Great Britain was also used to transport people to Australia until 1881. 

We did a fantastic tour of the ship and attached exhibition. Incredible to see the conditions that these people travelled under, and a huge difference in the accommodation on board, depending on what class you travelled in. No good for me, the 3rd class ticket holders lived on salted beef and boiled rice (I would have starved!!!)

On the way to Stonehenge...

Our trip to Stonehenge was always going to be a touristy ride (stop and look at interesting sights), but I didn't expect it to take 3-4 hours (for a 1 1/2 hour drive).

The first thing we noticed was a huge traffic jam. The traffic was nearly stopped and we could see clouds of smoke coming from somewhere way in front. Cam thought it was a steam train/engine, and when we got close enough, we saw not one, but two steam tractors on the road in front of us. Of course, we had to stop and take photos.

Our next little stop was to have a look at a canal with locks to open the gates and alter the water levels to let boats move up and down the canal. It was only going to be a quick stop, but there was a canal boat coming, so Cameron and Matthew decided to 

help open the gates. Very interesting watching how it all works.

Well, the boat was in the big pond, so we left. Next stop: lunch. We stopped at a great little pub in a village and ordered drinks. Cameron picked a menu up off the bar, that said 5 pounds for one course, 6.50 for two. I ordered cottage pie from this and the barmaid said it was a menu for old age pensioners. Never mind, I got a beautiful fruit crumble for dessert, whilst Cam and Matt just had the normal menu (with no dessert).

So then it was straight down to Stonehenge, which had a huge fence around it, and would have cost  20 pounds for the three of us to go in (and you need to follow the path to walk around the stones, but not go too close). So we took our photo from outside, and kept going.

The traffic was bumper to bumper going the other way, so we pulled up and tried to ring some friends, but couldn't get through. Got through to Nicki, and she suggested going to Avebury.

What a great place that was. We went through a cottage where each room was set up in a different era (all rooms were interactive, you could touch everything, sit in chairs, play billiards or embroider fabric, even lie in the beds). They also have the largest stone circle in Europe, and you are able to walk through the fields, up and down the large ditches (barrows) and touch the stones. Best of all, it was a National Trust site, and free to members (us).

Our only complaint was that it rained, and we were miles from the car, so we all got wet. A small price to pay for such a good day.

Bath

We caught a park and ride bus to Bath on Wednesday and wandered through the city. More beautiful old buildings and lots of shops (although with my 2 companions, I haven't had much chance to shop).

We called in at the market place, where Matthew was quite excited to see a lolly shop. Between us we bought a huge piece of licorice, but were quite disappointed when we tasted it. Tough, chewy and disgusting, it went straight in the bin. Cameron had the best deal, he brought a pastry, whilst Matthew and I shared a coke to get rid of the horrible taste.


We then spent a couple of hours exploring the Roman Bath Centre and learning some early Roman/English history. Absolutely incredible to see the buildings and engineering that was in place hundreds of years ago. The craftmanship and work that went into everything is just astounding.

The afternoon was spent walking the streets, down to the city gates, along the river, up more hills and a huge set of steps until we arrived at the Bath Assembly Rooms, where they had an exhibition of clothing worn by royals throughout the years and a fantastic timeline of the British royalty. (We're getting very well eductated on British history).

After this it was time for afternoon tea and our journey home, so we could have a delicious home-cooked stir fry and couple of drinks. Another great day.

Back to England

Well, after our whirlwind tour of the UK, we're having some chillout time. We got off the ferry in Hollyhead, Wales and drove to Frodsham, where we had a fantastic dinner with Nigel, Sian and Luke.

On Monday, we took our motorhome back to Chester's and picked up the car. (It worked out we could hire a car for 5 days for the same price as a train ticket from Chester to Bristol). We had a look around Chester, had some lunch and then drove to Bristol to stay with Rick and Wendy.

Today we've been out with Rick and Wendy for coffee and lazed around the house. Matthew's had a great time playing on the xbox with Stephen, whilst we've been spoilt by Wendy 's cooking, and Charlie's coffee. Fantastic.

Ireland

We  travelled from Corofin to Blarney, making a brief stop at Adare (which I can remember something about being "the prettiest town in Ireland"). It was a great stop as there was a row of thatched houses and a beautiful little park. We also walked down to the riverbank.

We then went to Blarney Castle, where we walked all the way to the top so Matthew could kiss the Blarney Stone (like he really needs 'the gift of the gab'). Another interesting castle, full of history, (although the castle itself is in a state of disrepair).
Matt was really interested in the Poison Garden tho, (lots of poisonous plants in there and all the information on effects when touched or swallowed)

We caught the bus into Cork for dinner and a walk around before heading back to the camping park for the night.

Saturday, we headed up to Waterford to see the Waterford Crystal factory. Very interesting, and I would have bought some gorgeous crystal, but the budget wouldn't stretch that far (30,000 euros for a 1m tall crystal grizzly, thought he looked like the bundy bear).

It was also a great spot for lunch.

As we were catching the ferry early Sunday morning, we stopped at a park near Dublin. We made friends with a couple from near the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, (Fiona, Brian and their 6yr old son Danny) and had a few drinks. I left their van just before midnight, Cam and Matthew stayed until 12.30, and we were up at 5.30 this morning. (Lucky for Cam we brought the nurofen).

Today we're on the ferry to Hollyhead, and seeing Nigel and Sian this afternoon in Manchester.

Northern Ireland

We kept travelling along the Coastal Road on the way to the Giant's Causeway, stopping and admiring the scenery along the way.

The Giant's Causeway was awesome, so many huge structures formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. We had audio guides, so were able to listen to the fabulous legends and stories about the stones as well whilst we walked around (another 3-4 kms).

Half way around, our phone rang for the first time of our holidays. It was Mum, ringing to tell us that Matthew had been offered a place in the PEAC (extension programme for high school). Fantastic news.

Our next stop was Carrick-a-rede bridge, a rope bridge strung across a ravine. Scarey for me, who is scared of heights, but I did it (very slowly).

We then called in to Bushmills Brewery, but did not do the tour as it was going to be an hour's wait, so we travelled all the way down to Corrofin near the bottom of Northern Ireland.

Coast to Coast

We left Stirling this morning and drove along the coast of Scotland down to Cairnryan to catch the ferry.

We caught the ferry to Larne, where we were going to spend the night, but it was still early, so we opted to keep driving up the coast road until we'd had enough.

The coastal route was gorgeous, lots of glens, hills and lots of great views. We stopped in Ballycastle for the night in a holiday park. We had a good meal at the pub there, but the showers were terrible. (My first cold shower). Roll on tomorrow.