Thursday 31st March Port Isaac and Doc Martin

An early start was required this morning as we had a bit of ground to make up.  We made our way through East Suussex, West Sussex, Sommerset, Dorset, Waymouth ( the sailing venue for the 2012 Olympics), Bridport, Devon and Cornwall.  There were wonderful fields on mass as we drove through this magnificent countryside.   Most of the fields were bordered by hedges, bush hedges, stone hedges, stone hedges with grass carpeting them.  A large number of wind farms to be seen.   From Cornwall we made our way to Port Isaac.  Port Isaac is the home town of the series Doc Martin.  Port Isaac is a small seaside village which is on the Cornish coast and has a fairly ruggard coastline which was rather stunning.  Mossing along to see the wee village and to see the home of Doc Martin,  little did we expect to see Martin Clune, Doc Martin himself.  They were in the middle of filming the next series.  In between takes we had the good fortune to see Martin Clune, and to speak to him, he asked me where we were from, and he said that he had been to Tasmania and that he had a Huon pine serving spoon.  I couldnt resist the temptation of having a photograph taken with him.  Even though the photo turned out to be  a shocking one of us both. Such a lovely man.   On our return from viewing the village we picked up a cornish pastie and  whilst we were eating it we were able to watch a few takes of the filming, what a thrill.  It was indeed well worth the 4 hour drive to the lovely Port Isaac.

From Port Isaac we then headed off to Wales and made our way to Cardiff the capital of Wales.  Upon entering Wales we saw the first forest of the day.   Most of the trees in the forests were deciduous and so largely were without foliage which seemed quiet strange.  In  the trees there were hundreds of ravens nests. I wondered how the birds know which tree and what nest to make their way home to.  Nature is an amazing thing.     We decided that we would visit  Barry.  Barry is home of the filming of Gavin and Stacy.  Stacy's character is from Barry. We found Stacy's house in Trinity Street, a neighbour called out to us "knock on the door", Spock did this but no one was home.  It is reported that the lady who owns the house will open her house to you, i was quietly pleased that she was out. 

Barry is located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than 7 miles south west of Cardiff.  It is a seaside resort with some attractions such as beaches and the Barry Island pleasure park. It is a place where I think that every young lady would need a 'Gav' to light up her life.

Port Isaac and Martin Clune were the highlight of my day for sure.We made our way through 7 countys today, a fair effort by anyones standards.

Wednesday 30th March - Introducing Sheila

 

This morning we left London city hailed a cab to pick up our hire car.  Introducing Sheila our new GPS, thanks Jo for the name what else would we call her being Aussies?   1000 and we were on our way, well nearly.  Firstly where do we plug Sheila in?   Where is the hand brake?   Where do you stick the key?  Is it a keyless start?  Where is the petrol cap?  And that is all before we had switched Sheila on.   It took us a wee while to understand Sheila’s little foibles and like a typical women she likes you to listen to her closely or  you have to do a U turn.   Understanding what exit she means when there are 5 of them is not quiet as simple as it sounds. We did many U turns but all in all she did a mighty fine job.  As did Spock, driving in the rain on the motorway which is up to 5 lanes in each direction,with me saying “slow down a bit” .   He was rather patient.   The beauty of these motorways is that you can change lanes every 3 minutes to get in front of the next car, this suits Spock’s style of driving beautifully.

We made our way to Maidstone which is home to Leeds Castle a magnificent castle which was built by one of William the Conqueror’s lords Robert de Crevecoeur.  Leeds Castle passed into the royal hands in 1278 and became part of the Queen of England’s dower.  Over the course of 150 years it was held by six mediaeval queens.

The castle as we saw it today is the result of over 900 years of alterations and changes.  The last private owner Olive, Lady Baillie left the castle to the Leeds Castle Foundation, a private charitable trust whose aim is to preserve this wonderful castle and its grounds for the benefit of the public forever. After we ambled around this wonderful castle in all its splendor we then visited its aviary which housed many fascinating birds.The castle has the most magnificent grounds, truly spectacular.

 

From Leeds Castle we made our way to Canterbury cathedral which is surrounded by a huge stone wall.  We were indeed blessed as there was a concert in the cathedral this evening as they were practicing whilst we were visiting.   How wonderful a free concert!! This cathedral is the burial place of all the Archbishops of Canterbury whom have tombs scattered throughout the cathedral.  The cathedral is huge with many alters scattered throughout.  Truly an amazing site made even more special by the orchestra practicing for their concert.

Then Sheila directed us to the White Cliffs of Dover, I don’t know who sings about the white cliffs of Dover but I am thinking that it is either Danial O’Donnell or Foster and Allen, Spock thinks it is Vera Lynn, who ever it is one can see why they sung about them.  The rain and mist was in full swing and whilst walking we were wondering if we would indeed see the white cliffs, but then they appeared through the mist.   We can only imagine what they would look like on a beautiful day, but we can say that we have seen them and touched them.  The port of Dover is massive and then we drove out programming Sheila to take us to Exeter.  But oops that was 392 kms away, too far for us today in this weather and at this time.   We decided to drive on to Chitchester, some 200 kms short of our planned destination but never the less on the itinerary.  We planned to stay in a quaint B&B, but my bladder was in no way prepared for mucking about finding it, so quickly into the Travelodge we headed and then straight over to the pub for dinner as we had missed out on lunch.  A few pints went down a treat.

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Stroll in St James Park

Many people commute by bicycle a few wear helmets most dont. Approximately every second car is a taxi cab, nearly all of them black taxis.  Strolling along towards St James Park there is a convoy of cars, taxis and cyclists all inching their way slowly to their distinations as it is peak hour.  Tooting of horns occurs occaisonally but mostly it is very civilised.  We are moving more quickly than the traffic at this time of night.  The park is full of spring bulbs and the trees are laden with blossom.  As we move swiftly around the park we see red squirrells frolicking, very agile little creatures that dash up and down trees.  Some people are feeding the squirrels and pigeons.  One pigeon was so rotund that we didnt think it would be able to lift off the ground.  A duck was being raped by two drakes.  Games being played by groups of friends, people exercising and others just reading on park benches.  The end of a busy day for many no doubt, and the end of our fabulous visit to London city.   Tomorrow we pick up a car and head to Devon. 

Tuesday 29th March - Harrods

Our big fat european adventure

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Tuesday 29th March - Harrods

How amazing is Harrods ?   7 levels of ultra expensive indulgences.  I am so pleased that Kaylene educated me prior to our departure on the brands of Jimmy Choo and Loius Vitton otherwise I would not have been aware of their importance in the fashion industry.  But on entering Harrods they were there right before my nose. No price tags on these items of course.   But not being a fashion followers we just casually strolled through the store until we reached the food court.  Now this is more our cup of tea, it was facinating and we spend quiet a lot of time strolling around here looking at all the different food items.  Some were reasonably priced others outrageous.   But what was most amusing was the pet kingdom and the pet spa.  Every indulgence for you pampered pet can be obtained from this section of the store.  Even kinky gear for the pooch.  It was a real hoot. 

Oxford street was a bit of a dissapointment, Marks and Spencer and Selfridges, but nothing that stands out.  I am sure if you are a devoted shopper like our daughter Anna you would be in seventh heaven but for those of us who arent it was a bit ordinary.

The National History Museum was amazing with some wonderful specimens.  There was an incredible broad range of exhibitions about earth and life on earth.  Several levels of insects, birds, mammals,fossils, fish,  lizards, dinosaurs and minerals.

The National Gallery displays one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of European paintings.  All major traditions of western european paintings are represented from the artists of late medieval and Renaissance Italy to the French Impressionists.  Most of the surviving late medieval pictures are religious, made for alters in churches or for private devotion.  Many have exquisitely decorated gold-leaf backgrounds. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Van Gogh, Monet, Hogarth, Rembrandt and many many more  artists from the 13th century to the 20th century done the walls of this magnificent building.  We enjoyed them, Spock a little more than me as i am just about museumed out now.  No more museums....we have done them all

Preview

Preview

Monday 28th March

The British havent had a pay rise in about 5 years and the inflation rate is 5%, so they are noticing it and with the threat of 500,000 public service jobs being cut over the next 5 years, well the ramifications are enormous.  I felt for the police during the protest rally on Saturday as they are going to experience cuts as well but they were having to control the crowd whilst no doubt wanting to be walking side by side with the protesters.  

The mornings are very brisk but the days have been crackers, we were even able to shed a layer yesterday, but we did cover quiet a distance, in fact we walked our little trotters off, hence the need to put our feet up and have a few to many pints last evening. The price of meals and pints are surprisingly much cheaper than we thought, for breakfast yesterday we payed $8 for the two of us for breakfast and cup of tea.  Last nights dinner was $7 per meal and $4.50 per pint, and in Australia the pints would cost us $7.50.  

Walking around London is like walking around the Monopoly Board, we are staying in Northumberland Avenue in TrafalgarSquare, today we are heading to Oxford Street. I have always been a big  fan of Monopoly and now I think I am more so.  I loved seeing a dog walker, a very effeminate man walking four poodles down the street.  This was a sight i was expecting when we got to Pais, not in London.

The British Museum is incredible founded in 1753, the Museums remarkable collection spans over 2 million years of human history.  We travelled the world experiencing the collections from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americans and the Ancient world.   Including iconic objects such as the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies.  On Spocks recent trip to Jerusalem he purchased a coin  450 BC the Athenian Owl, we looked for one in the museums coin collection but were unsuccessful, that was the only dissapointment for the museum.  The museum is huge and on several levels and it took the best part of the morning to see the small part that we did, one could easily spend a week at the museum and still not cover all the displays.  

The Imperial War Museum was the next on our list to see and we walked there loosing our way once or twice but enjoying the sights we were seeing along the way.   Walked through west end on our way, all the musicals are still running Pricilla, Billy Elliot, Wicked and many more.   The war Museum was full of relics from every war from world war I onwards, it was a magnificent display and a lot of fun.   The holocaust exhibition was very disturbing and emotionally exhausting, but very very powerful.   Foot weary we walked back to the hotel and rested up for a bit before we went around the corner to a lovely little pub for dinner and bent our elbows perhaps a bit to much.  But these ales and ciders are grand.

Monday 28th March - a few wee pints

The world'd biggest real ale and cider festival  is at a wee pub very close to our hotel and i have had about 4 pints to many.  Ales such as otter hoopy otter, Leeds Doubting Tom, Brains milkwood, orkney corncrake ale, triple fff ramble tamble, feral the runt, westons rasperry cider and the list goes on.  We didnt get right through the list but we made a resonable dent in it.   A great pub full of character and charm, but very cool when the door was left ajar.  I think that i got u[p to close the door 2 times per pint running tag with another gent who was seated close to the door also.  The pints are flat and warm but who cares they are good!  The tasting notes will come home with us and Spock and Krissy will try and mirror some of them i am sure.   Very little sleep tonight i guess as we will be getting  a few pees to the pint i am sure  and let me asure you we have had a few pints!!

Trafalgar Square

This picture shows how close our hotel is to Trafalgar Square, very centrally located.  It is literally one of my stone throws away.

Sunday 27th March 50th Birthday

Last evening we mossied around  watching the protesters who swarmed the streets, they were very peaceful apart from a few anarchists who were responsible for paint bombing and smashing some store windows of the stores that attracted a more wealthy clientele.  A caricature of Margaret Thantcher and others were waltzing around Trafalgar Square which attracted some attention and was quiet a bit of fun.  Our hotel is located literally a stones throw from Trafalgar Square so we were in the thick of the end of the protest.  The police presence was amazing, we have never seen anything like it.  There were hundreds of Scotish soccor supporters all frocked up in their kilts /skirts who were visiting for the game against Brazil today.  

We woke at 0420 this morning which was a good result after crashing soon after 2030 last night.  We were both feeling quiet refreshed.  Fortunately we woke early as we found that day light savings had commenced as it was 0520 local time.  It was also the first day of the english summer and what a cracker of a day it was.  Quiet a brisk start to the morning but it was 15 C by mid afternoon.  We have had a absolutely fantastic day visiting westminster Abbey and parliment square, Big Ben and the houses of parliment.  We then went on to see Downing street and picadilly circus.  Then we headed off to Buckingham palce  to see the changing of the guards.  It was amazing to see the number of toursits at Buckingham palace, they were about 5 deep lined up against the gates of the palace, we were facinated. A pub lunch of fish and chips and a warm flat pint for lunch went down a treat.  St Paul's Cathedral for me was the highlight of the day.  Its magnificient dome is very much part of the London skyline.  The cathedral was rebuilt after the great fire of london in 1666.  It is the cathedral where Charles married lady Di and where the Queen clebrated her golden jubilee and her 80th birthday.  I do indeed have something in common with the Queen as I was there to celebrate my 50th birthday!!  The tower of London was a spectacular fortress.  The Beefeaters who guard the Tower regaled us with stories of the past.  The Crown jewels were magnificient and we saw the solid gold crown used at the Queens coronation with its enormous diamonds.  The Tower is an amoury and there were so many displays of the amour used by the various kings.  Then we took a river cruise of the Thames which rises and falls 22  feet with the tide each day.  It was a glorious day.  There are many homeless people sleeping on cardboard boxes in doorways which i find a bit disturbing, they were just bedding themselves down for the night as we walked home from a wonderful dinner. 

Saturday 26th March Arrived Safely

We had a marvelous trip over to London.  Very straight forward and uncomplicated.  We are a wee tad weary but have just showered and are going to have a look around so we can get our body adjusted to London time.  Our hotel is right in trafalgar and we arrived when they were having a huge protest about the cuts to the public service.  So our taxi couldnt get us any where near the hotel so we had to walk, which was great as we had the opportunity to see hundreds of London Bobbies and a hell of a lot of people and Big Ben and walked across Westminister bridge where Big Ben and Parliment house is and along the Thames.  The taxi driver said that their were 1/2 million protesters, peacefully protesting i must say.  Dad, Grandma, Lorraine, Dominic, Anna and Krissy could you all send me an email please as somehow we cant access our contacts and that way we will be able to have your addresses. We are now in London and are safe and sound.  Love to all

Wednesday 23 rd March - Survival Kit

Last night at the QVH the girls had a lovely spread for dinner.   Kaylene and I were given our survival kits, the photo above shows some of the contents.   They were amazing and Kathy didnt leave any stone unturned.  Some of the survival kit items have already been placed in the case.  Jo Armstrong did say that her survival kit did come in handy on her recent OBFAH.   I had great fun showing Edna and Ursula the contents of the survival kit especially the condom and how big it would enlarged to by placing it over the neck of the chamagne bottle ( they both professed to have not seeing one before - I wasnt convinced by this at all).  There were squeals of delight all around. Ursulas husband, Doug raised his eye brows as he often does when Urusla and I are running a muck.   I enjoy these two ladies company immensely, they bring me such joy, it is such a privledge to care for them.   My thoughts and prayers are with Edna today as she is under going tests. Enid was very interested in our itinary and said that she couldnt wait to talk travel with me on our return as she is a well travelled lady and has been to all of the places that we are going.   I am very blessed to work at a facility where i thoroughly enjoy my work and the company of both the residents and fellow staff members.  Never a day goes by without me having a great laugh with both residents and staff.  But no more work for 10 weeks. OMG Bring it on.

Tuesday 22nd March

Yesterday i had the task of itemising all the contents of cases.  I had asked Spock to do it on the week end whilst i was at work.  But when i realised that he hadnt noted a $200 bottle of perfume, i thought that it was a job that i really needed to do.  Poor old Spock's excuse was that he didnt want to go through all my personal toilteries.   Well us women have no problem with rummaging through everyones gear and so I set to work itemising it all.  2 hours later mission accomplished. Brands, sizes, etc etc noted.  Pleased as punch.

  Last night I went out with the girls from work for a lovely dinner to celebrate Tan keal and my 50th birthday and to catch up with dear kerril Grun whom we all used to work with.  It was a fantastic night of fun and frivolity.  Tan Keal and i trained together at St John's hospital some 31 years ago and we have been working together again for the past 5 years, it is truely a joy to work along side her and have our  friendship reignited.   Our birthdays are a day apart mine on the 27th and Tan's 28th.  Dear Kath Jones made us this wonderful cake, a cake of cardboard but decorated so expertly, so for dessert we were all treated to a strawberry with a touch of cream on the end of the cake knife.   Kath is a legend with her cakes, they are either made of foam or cardboard.!!!!  

Then Kath came out with a survival kit for me, well what a treat this was, it contained every thing but our tickets.  Urinal, bedpan, walking stick, vomit bag, sewing kits, panadol, laxatives, toilet paper, notebook and much much more, you name it and it was in this kit.   This was great fun.

Of course i should have stopped drinking when i went home, but no of course that wasnt on the agenda when Sal came home with me...oh course it wasnt.  So Sal and i got stuck into a bottle of whisky and needless to say there isnt much left of Krissy's birthday Jamesion whisky!!!!  So i was feeling very ordinary this morning......very ordinary indeed.   But off to work i go for my last shift at the QVH.   I will miss my dear friends there.  I went to the pub to buy 4 bottles of wine, so that my little card group on a Tuesday night can continue to have their glass of wine whilst i am away.  I usually raid the bar for a drink of wine for them each, but I couldnt ask my replacement to get up to the antics that i do.  

Friday 18th March

Friday 18^th March

Well our seating has been pre booked and exit seats have now been secured and paid for.  For those of you who know Spock, a strapping 6 foot 6 and a bit man, sitting in normal seat allocation for one hour is problematic never known for 24 hours.  On his recent sabbatical to Israel he had his knees up near his ear lobes for the entire journey of 36 hours and he was less than impressed and even less comfortable.    Of course on his trip to Israel Spock had gone to the trouble of getting a letter from the doctor to say that he would benefit from an exit seat because of his height and back problems.  Well this back fired as they wouldn’t put him into an exit seat because with his supposed back problems he would not have been able to operate the emergency exit in the case of an emergency.   Today he was not going to get stung again.   One can only prebook exit seats 7 days in advance.    Well it is somewhat of a relief to be able to secure these exit seats this morning for the entire trip, of course they come at a price, but a price that we are only to happy to pay.

Wednesdat 16th March

Wednesday 16^th March

Our daughter Anna has recently moved to Townsville and seems to be settling in well, I do miss her dreadfully, but have had regular phone contact which is great.  It is somewhat of a relief to know that she is settled.  My folk have put in an offer on a unit in Bellerive which is flat and easy access, this is something that I have been discussing with them for some time now.  So when they found this unit and it ticked all the boxes it was like yah ! things are really starting to move in the right direction.  So fingers crossed that their offer is accepted, even though it will mean that we come home from OBFEA with a move to do. 

Tuesday 15th March

OBFEV – Our big fat European vacation

Tuesday 15^th March

The count down to this adventure started some 5 years ago, as our friends and family members embarked on their holidays overseas.  We decided that for us to do a trip of this magnitude that the kids had to be of an age where we they were independent and we wouldn’t be concerned about them.  Also the financial side was a huge consideration.  So we aimed for the big 50.  Both Spock and I turned 50 in the same year, that being 2011.  And here it is.  The decision was made that we would be out of the country for my 50^th.  That being March 27, we leave March 25 in 10 days time.

It has been a big year to date.  A year of significant milestones.  Dad turned 80 and that indeed needed to be celebrated.  Dad then went to hospital for an operation on his rotacuff, which he sailed through.  Anna moved to Townsivlle to work and then we have just celebrated Kristian’s 21^st birthday with a great BBQ,  some 10 days prior to his birthday.  And now with all that out of the way I feel like I can finally focus on the significant event that we are about to embark on.

Its hard to believe after all the planning that it is only 10 days away.  We have had a dummy run yesterday at packing our cases and it all seems to fit.   Spock has been fairly firm on the fact that he only wanted to take one case and one back pack, I was not so convinced that we could squeeze 9 weeks into the small space that I would be allocated.  So I gently pressured Spock into another case, he reluctantly ordered another case to match our original purchase.   When it arrived it was indeed a small case, nothing much bigger than a postage stamp.  It does however fit our down jackets, 2 pairs of shoes and a medications and will be carried on as hand luggage.  

Riny ran whilst we were having the dummy run and kindly suggested that we make a list of what we pack, thanks Riny a great suggestion which we will indeed do.   We have been given some great tips, from friends and family.  I think our very dear well travelled