The Kings Head Inn Salisbury Wetherlodge

... pretty streets, especially when all the Christmas lights are up, is a lot of fun.

On the Saturday afternoon we went on a bus tour to Stonehenge and the town of Lacock. Stonehenge was impressive, but the presence of hundreds of tourists, a highway nearby and the fact you can't get very close to the stones does marr the experience somewhat. It doesn't feel all that magical or spiritual.

I didn't know anything about Lacock, but am really glad I ...

... 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!

... friend’s birthday party, Di and Ash took us on a lovely tour of Bradford-on-Avon, a delightfully quaint and whimsical little town. Our first stop there was The Bridge tea shop – where, finally, I had my huge scones with clotted cream and jam, and a delicious pot of tea! (Murray and Ash had outrageous cups of hot chocolate with mountains of marshmallows and chocolate flake!) The tea shop itself was really neat – housed in a former blacksmith’s ...

... lunch at the oldest pub in town, named, of course, The New Inn, we went to the Sarum College bookstore and hit a certain mount of paydirt, a whole volume on the Sarum use. (The problem with reading a blog by a church history/music nut is you have to put up with stuff like this.)
The truly weird (hidden, strange, arcane) thing about Salisbury is that, at the end of the 18th century, a very popular architect to the rich named James Wyatt was ...

... pub name in England, with more than 480 pubs in England bearing that name.

We got to Bath and saw the Roman baths which were very interesting, and after that we got to explore Bath on our own. We didn't have much time after taking so long at the Roman Baths, so there wasn't much we could do besides walking around the city and enjoying the architecture surrounding us. Bath is a beautiful place. I would definitely like to spend more ...

... Harry Potter movies. My sister is a massive Potter fan so we went mainly for her. It was actually a very interesting place. We had a quick look around the grounds and had a laugh at the oddly worded signs that were mainly advising one not to shoot the birds with bow and arrow. Then a man took us on a tour of the chapel which was full of information about stained glass windows and yes I know it sounds tremendously dull but little quirks ...

... of only three cars crept up to full speed and the outer suburbs of London soon gave way to the picturesque English countryside. Again I expect that we were now exceeding the maximum speed of any train from my home state of NSW, in Australia. My plan for the next seven days was to make my way around a few places in England and Wales then cross over to Dublin by ferry where I will join a three day tour of southern Ireland, though my plans for this period were ...

... petrol station, walked in, and when the young lady asked what I wanted, said "I am so happy to be in an English speaking country again"-we laughed. Ok, so they speak 90% English-10% another dialect of English. I didn't think my car held so much diesel, it took over 12 gallons at over $8.37 a gallon! Don't do the math-its over $100 to fill up the tank....think about that when you fill up your SUV and complain about gas prices....my car gets about 40 mpg. After a really pretty ...

... out hostel but made it there just in time to check in before 11pm as required! We are staying at a place called the 2go4 quality hostel, one of the newest in Brussels, and it is really nice- much nicer than out London hotel. The common areas are very modern- it looks like an Ikea in here- complete with lounges with flatscreens and an internet café. We booked a Double room with a private bathroom which is basically two bunkbeds and just enough room for a person to ...