Catch up – France

Our trip to France started with a train trip from St Pancras under The Channel to Paris.  The trip went very smoothly and quickly.  The only issue we had was getting through baggage control at St Pancras.  Two of our bags were so full they wanted to inspect them both.  It is a bit embarrassing to have all you wears sorted through.

Getting out of Paris was a much more harrowing experience.Tommy did so well driving.  I think I would have given up and just stopped somewhere and asked to be picked up. Seems the French don’t believe in road rules!!!

Anyway, we finally made it out of Paris and drove to our little French house in Burgundy.  Turns out it is not so petite.  It is a beautiful historic French country house over 3 floors plus a cellar I am too scared to explore :). Of course Breanna bagged the room in the attic – good job Alek is patient.

After unpacking we headed to a nearby town to find a shop and some dinner.  Luckily we didn’t know where we were going so we stumbled on a great kebab place for dinner and fumbled our way through a dinner order.  After a yummy doner we picked up a baguette and couple of bits before heading home for the night.

Catch up – England

It has been a few days since I last wrote so I am going to split this entry in to a couple of entries.

We had a lovely last couple of days in Devon.  It was great to spend some time with Mum and Dad after 5 years.  They really do live in a lovely part of the world.

From Devon we headed to Sherborne on Saturday to catch up with friends.  It was so lovely to see the town again.  It is so beautiful.

It was so great to catch up with Mary, Greg, Keira and Callum on Saturday afternoon.  The kids are all so grown up.  Then we were off to Amy’s birthday party in the evening.  Amy is Breanna’s best friend from Kindy.  I am so glad the timing for that worked out so we could catch up with everyone.  Lastly I had a cuppa and cake with another friend, Rocky while Tommy popped down to the Cerne Giant with the kids and then popped into Debbie and Al’s so Amy and Breanna could have another catch up.

On Sunday afternoon we drove down to London via Shaftesbury.  Gold Hill is so fabulous – I definitely recommend it as a place to visit.  We had lunch in the loveliest cafe.

Once we got to London we checked in to our hotel. We stayed in a lovely Premier Inn in Hampstead.  What a lovely area.  I have discovered I am really a city girl at heart.  I think I might need to win the lotto so we can buy a place there 🙂

The only trouble with London was the 4 of us had to share a room.  This was ok for me but I have a terrible cold (thanks Tommy) so everybody else had to but up with my snoring 😦

Monday saw us head into London on the nearby tube.  It really is a great city.  We headed straight for the London Eye and were disappointed to see it was shut because of a problem.  So instead we went for a walk to see the sights.  I think Breanna’s favourite was all the pidgeons and squirrels in St James Park.  Luckily after a few hours of wandering the Eye had reopened and we got a night time ride instead.  I think that was even better than riding it in the day.

Tuesday was another travel day.  We drove the car to Marble Arch to drop it off and then hopped in a cab to St Pancras Station.

One tip I can give any traveller is to hire a car with a sat nav.  Germany was scary without one and England was so much simpler with an inbuilt one.  We were so pleased to find it easy to get around London with the sat nav.

Photos from today

These pictures are taken from up at Hay Tor – just a little wet and windy 😃

Loving the English countryside

Another couple of days in Devon = another couple of days of fun.  Yesterday Tommy and the kids signed up for archery in the morning.  They had a fabulous time. Now I know what to get them all for their next birthdays 😜

After that we headed to a discount store called Trago Mills for a look around and some lunch in the cafe.  I seem to be trying out all the traditional roasts in Devon.  And, they are all yummy!!

The afternoon saw Alek having a horse riding lesson.  Now he can trot confidently he wants to go on another hack but that might have to wait until we get back to Oz.

Today has been the worst weather we have had.  We were supposed to have a clear day so we planned to go up to the Moor and climb Hay Tor and see the ponies.  We got up there and we were still in the clouds.  We walked up to the Tor anyway but didn’t climb too high as it was really blowing a gale.  Breanna had to be satisfied with seeing the ponies from the car as it was too miserable to get out of the car again.

I can’t believe we have only been away for 2 weeks!!!!!!

Another Fabulous day in Devon

Yesterday we started the day with a hack around Finlake.  The gypsy cobs were great fun and I even managed to trot a couple of time without falling off :). Grandad’s horse, on the other hand, decided to lie down halfway round with Grandad still on!  Luckily he was able to hope off in time and convince Rocky to stand up and finish the ride.  Alek enjoyed his ride so much he is going for a lesson this afternoon.

Next we went to a local tea shop for an early Christmas lunch.  Very yummy.  Most of us went traditional with Turkey but Alek and Grandad tried the pheasant.

After lunch we dropped in to the House of Marbles which was pretty cool.  The kids suitcases will be a little weighed down by marbles on the plane home 🙂

Breanna finished another day with a horse riding lesson.  She has gotten so good at jumping I am too scared to watch!!!!!

A day at the beach

A ring in from yesterday Alek found a friend at lunch

My little bogan

Crossing the River Dart

Totness selfie

Strange Tea Bag art in Totness

Had a lovely day today.

We started the day at Totness a lovely country town.  Coming in to town a sign said that it was twinned with Area 51 😄. When we got there we could see why!  It was definitely a little kooky. We had brunch at a great hippy cafe which had some strange customers but did a great full ‘meaty’ breakfast. The town was so pretty and I was in danger of spending all our money in the gorgeous shops.

Next we headed to Dartmouth.  Again, another gorgeous historical town.  The harbour was beautiful and we had some hot chips and drinks with the seagulls.  After that we caught the funkiest vehicle ferry across the River Dart.  The vehicle carrying bit was separate to the tug that pushed it.

Our last stop was to the beach at Goodrington sands.  The kids enjoyed playing on the rocks and giving me a heat attack that they were going to fall in the water.  Breanna even found a star fish.

On the way home we ended the day by dropping in on Nanna and Grandad for a sandwich and a cup of tea.

Horse riding for everyone tomorrow …..

Devon

Well we have had a couple of lovely days in Devon.

Friday was all about travel and settling in to the cabin.  It was great to see Nanna and Grandad after 5 years.

Saturday saw us watching the squirrels play, eat a lovely lunch here at Finlake and then take a drive up to Dartmoor to see the fabulous Dartmoor ponies.  Breanna also had a lesson at Grandad’s horse riding centre at Finlake.  It was amazing and scary to see her jumping.  She was so excited to have her first 1:1 lesson and really enjoyed riding Gypsy.

Today the kids and Tommy played table tennis in the morning and then we had lunch at a lovely local pub with Nan and Grandad.  It was soooooooooo yummy.  I really enjoy a traditional English roast. Later on we had afternoon tea at a local tea rooms and got to explore some local caves.

Tomorrow we are off to the coast for the day.  I am ready to cross the next food item off our ‘to do’ list – fish and chips by the seaside 🙂

Photos from Germany

Germany and my first world problems

Well, a week and a whole country have passed since my last blog.  We had a lovely time in Germany which would have been just that bit nicer if I had been able to get some internet 😄  I can’t believe how reliant on the Internet I am, without Internet or English speaking tv I am lost 😛

We arrived in Frankfurt late on Sunday night and after picking up the hire car headed off to our accommodation.  After a comedy of errors we finally made it.  Try navigating in the dark, when your Sat Nav isn’t behaving, you can’t read the language AND you have to get used to driving on the wrong side.  Tommy did a great job.  The funniest thing was the next day Tommy drove to the shops for a few things and when he got back he noticed a hub cap was missing.  We spent the whole week wondering how much that was going to cost us to replace – turns out it was missing when we picked it up 😃

Our apartment in Bacharach in The Loreley Valley was lovely and the area gorgeous.  We were close to the Rhine and all the gorgeous castles.  We spent Monday exploring the area.  I will upload some photos soon.

Tuesday we drove into Frankfurt and explored the city and the Christmas markets before heading to the airport to collect Alek.  That was the best bit of the whole week 😀

Wednesday we drove up to Kassel to visit Alek’s host family who were all absolutely delightful.  Their English is amazing so we could chat away with them quite easily.  In the evening we drove up the local hill to play in a little bit of snow and eat some traditional German food – Schnitzel for me and wild boar for Tommy.  Thursday morning Alek took us into Kassel and showed us around the city centre.  We enjoyed a glass of Gluhwein and a currywurst at the Christmas Markets.

Yesterday was a travel day and after a short delay we arrived in Bristol.  It is so nice to be back in England.  I love the patchwork English countryside.  Dad picked us up at the airport and we stopped for a roast lunch at Sainsburys in Taunton before arriving at our lovely log cabin.  Within minutes of arriving we got to watch squirrels playing in the trees.  Can’t wait for the rest of the week …….

Day Two – Dubai

Had another fabulous day in Dubai yesterday.  We had a long walk along the beach in the morning.  The only thing missing was a coffee shop to sit in and enjoy the view.  So, we caught a taxi to the Mall of the Emirates to grab a drink and some lunch.  Gosh these Shopping centres are great.  The Mall of the Emirates has an indoor ski slope inside!!  We had an amazing time in their Penguin experience.  You get to meet a few penguins and even get a cuddle and a kiss.

Dubai has been really great.  It is such a multicultural place and everyone seems to be well blended.  The place is always so clean and tidy.  Taxis are really cheap to get around in even though you feel like you are taking your life into your own hands every time you get in one.  I would definitely recommend coming for e visit.  I can’t wait to come back at the end of our trip and try something a little more authentic.