Lord Bute Hotel Christchurch

... Michael's Church to help us sort and pack the boxes. You are all stars...

We can't wait to start seeing the smiling faces of people receiving your shoeboxes and we promise to keep you up to date with where we are, who we meet and the reaction your gifts receive.

Check back on Monday when the Trussell team will reach Bulgaria and start distributing your shoeboxes to men, women and children living in poverty...

Booked flight today - Guatemala on Feb 22nd 2010. So to mark the occasion I thought I'd start my travel diary today as well.

Two months to go - and a lot of list-making, planning, shopping, getting vaccinated, freaking out, and bouncing with excitement to do!

Hello everybody

We are still alive and well. We are in Cambodia at the moment. Apoligies for not sending any travel blogs for a while. As we're are trying to do 2 blogs at the same time it has become too much to keep both of them going simultaneously, so this one has been neglected for a while. If any of you are interested in our travels I can add your email ...

Sophia>>>>>
Right it is Wednesday the 11th November we'll be departing in a few days!!!! Realy getting excited and a bit nervous now just thinking this time next week i will be on the other side of the world!!! Busy time now though ahead last jabs tomoz as well as seeing katie and lexie for the last time till i get back!! Then the evening ...

... along the east coast from Brisbane to Melbourne. From there I'll be getting active in Tasmania, with visits to mountains, forests, beaches and cultural sites. Along the way I hope to write and document my experiences, so I hope you'll drop in from time to time and see how I'm getting on?!

Bournemouth has a very funny layout.. the two main streets of the town go up both sides of the hills that lead down to the park and eventually to the famous Pier.

I was a bit down in the dumps this day.. I think because I was watching all the families and couples having some fun. It was mid term break so there were heaps of kids around and the entrance to the Pier was packed with amusements and ...

... south is also lovely with a huge Priory, which unfortunately was closed but we wondered down to the habour and saw all the yacht moored for the winter. OOh and the nasty swans.. I didn't know they hissed!! lol

Did I mention that I stayed in cowplains in Portsmouth and cowpitt lane in the New Forest.. mmmm whats this theme with all the cows??
Frank and Robert, Deidre's son's and their partners took me out to the Queens arms in the Forest ...

Visited this town while I was visiting my Uncle in Portsmouth. Its a lovely little place, well not little but seems about the size of Newcastle. Not that I have seen its outskirts etc.

When I arrived I went to have a look at the old wall and the old castles etc set up by Henry the VI I think. But it started to pour down so I went ...

... hankering to return home to our family, our friends and our cat. We thought she must be missing us by now but ... well, you know cats. We were determined to make ...

... stuffing quite a bit of my stuff into her carryon as well. I got it down to 15.9kg and finally they let it through. I was surprised that they didn't bother weighing my carryon luggage. The joys of travelling with Ryanair and their lovely 15kg limit!! The airport started filling up fast, but luckily we had a seat for a while, Perugia airport is quite small in comparison to many others I have been in. Witnessing the rush and crush ...