TravelStream™ news feed for member bandglittle on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/bandglittle en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 01 Jan 2008 06:56:27 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1197597360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1197597360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1197597360/tpod.html Tue, 01 Jan 2008 06:56:27 -0500 Touring, exploring, and day-tripping around Australia - the place they call "the land downunder".

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Melbourne, Australia

G'day to everyone and Happy New Year!!

To all our family and friends, Happy New Year and all the best for 2008.

Gail & I celebrated the New Year by a visit into the city of Melbourne to watch the early (9.15pm) fireworks before the heat took it's toll and we went home to see in the New Year at midnight. The temperatures reached over 41C in Melbourne during New Years Eve and reached almost 44C in other parts of the state. It was around 36C at 9.00pm just prior to the early fireworks, and still above 32C at midnight as the New Year arrived!! Whilst we had a great evening in Melbourne, it was just too hot to stay any longer in the huge crowds that had gathered, so home was the best option.

Anyway, I have added a few comments in relation to Jacki & Sam's wedding below plus some extra photos as promised. If you choose the option of view as a slide show I find it gives the best results.

G'day All
Just a short note at this time of year to wish all our family and friends here in Australia and also over in the UK a very Merry Christmas and for a safe and Happy New Year.

It's hard to believe that 12 months has gone by since we were getting ready to celebrate Christmas over there in Northwich & Warrington, Cheshire, in all the winter glory (and freezing cold), and here I am typing this in Sunny Australia where the temperature today will reach 34C.

Much has happened in the past 12 months, which culminated over the past month with our son Alan & Jordy returning from the UK and moving back home, our eldest daughter Jacki getting married to Sam and spending their honeymoon in Bali, and daughter Cathy and partner Grant buying their first investment property to go with the apartment bought earlier this year.

Just a few comments on the Wedding of our eldest daughter Jacki to Sam Sorrenti, son of Rocky & Nella. The bride and bridesmaids slept over at our home the night before, and spent the wedding morning preparing themselves and the bride for the big day ahead. All too soon the photographer arrived and the day was in full swing.
As is custom the bride arrived at the church (along with her Dad and brother) 20 minutes late which had more to do with battling heavy traffic than any preconceived intention.
The ceremony went perfectly, punctuated throughout with the gleeful laughter and chatter of the twins Rainee & Cara.
The reception was beautifully prepared, and Jacki & Sam had ensured that the formalities would be completed very early so everyone could relax and enjoy themselves. Well this turned out to be an understatement as family & friends alike let their hair down and a memorable night was had by all.

On behalf of Gail and myself and Rocky & Nella Sorrenti we would like to that everyone for their love and best wishes for the Bridal couple.

To celebrate Gail's 50th birthday (although not 50 till 2nd January) we have all just come back from a week aboard a house boat cruising down the Murray River so that we could all spend time together again. We had a great time and our granddaughters Rainee & Cara loved having all the attention from everyone.
Anyway, may get time for more of that another time, but for now just wanted to wish everyone again all our love and best wishes for Christmas 2007 and a Happy New Year & 2008.

Love Brian & Gail
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1172967660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1172967660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1172967660/tpod.html Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:17:30 -0400 Touring, exploring, and day-tripping around Australia - the place they call "the land downunder".

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Melbourne, Australia

G'day to all my family & friends.

Sorry for leaving it so long since I last said hello, and I trust you are all happy and well. While I get to see our Aussie family & friends fairly regularly, I really enjoy entering a new travelblog, as we usually get a stream of "hellos" from our relatives in the UK in reply and this is great way to stay in touch.
We are all fine and well here, and with Spring having arrived on the weekend just gone, the weather here is simply glorious with clear blue skies, little wind, and warm sunny days.

Jacki has helped out writing this entry, as I just couldn't seem to find time, and as it's over 6 months since my 50th birthday, I just couldn't leave sending the photos to everyone any longer.
Of course, while not connected to the cruise along the Yarra River, I couldn't have an entry without showing off our gorgeous granddaughters!!

So I hope you enjoy the story of my 50th and the wonderful sights of Melbourne from the Yarra River, and thank you to everyone who could make it and who made it such a special night for me.

Love and bye for now
Brian


Hi Everyone,

It's Jacki here, Brian and Gail's eldest daughter. Thought I'd write an entry regarding Dad's 50th birthday. That's right, Brian turned 50 on Saturday 2nd March 2007.

For about 3 months prior to his birthday I was organizing a party for him, knowing they would be home from their UK/European adventures in time for it. We had his party on the 3rd March on a party boat down the Yarra River, which flows through the City of Melbourne much as the Thames does in London. My sister Cathy had her 21st birthday party on one of these boats and it was so much fun we thought we'd do it again. After working out with Mum, via secret phone calls to the UK, I had booked the boat and sent out all the invitations. Dad knew we were having a party for him but didn't know what we were doing, so the boat was a surprise.
I had also managed to track down some of Dad's old friends from different times in his life, and it was great that some of them were able to make it.

On the day, Cathy, her boyfriend Grant and I went in early as we wanted to get on the boat and set up some photo boards we had made up of photos of Dad throughout his life. The boat was leaving from Southbank in the City on the Yarra, so we caught a taxi and started walking towards the docks. We were given a specific time as to when we could get access to the boat and set everything up, and as I hate to be late we pretty much arrived right on time.

As we walked down the steps and boarded the boat we looked around for somewhere to put the cake down and start setting up and who should jump out from behind the bar but ALAN! My brother who was supposed to be in England at the time. In fact he had called the night before to say happy birthday to Dad and talked about the weather in England at the time. Little did we know that he had flown from the UK and had landed in Melbourne only hours before and was actually at a mate's place not 10 kilometers from our house waiting to surprise everyone on the boat. I had sent him an invitation as a joke, knowing he wouldn't be coming, and here he was. Unfortunately we had ruined his surprise by being on time to set up the boat, but at least it was only ruined for the three of us. Of course we all screamed and hugged each other as it had been over a year since we had seen him and Grant got to meet Alan for the first time! What had happened was that Alan had arrived early and was talking to the people setting up the boat, trying to work out a good way for him to surprise everyone when they arrived for the party. He thought about hiding somewhere on the boat then just walking out when we had started cruising, but there wasn't anywhere to hide. Which is why he showed himself to us when we went to set up. He had thought about getting the boat to stop along the way and then boarding, but we decided to keep him hidden away in a pub with Cathy and Grant. Then I would call him when we were ready for them to arrive, with Cathy and Grant coming on first then Alan jumping on at the last minute.
So off we went to walk down along Southbank until we came to 'World' restaurant where Grant worked, for them to stay hidden until the right time. We were nearly caught out as when we were walking along Southbank we passed by our cousins Carl and Jackie, Gavin and Gina and Paul, who were sitting by the river waiting until it was time to meet. I caught their eye and we all quickly ducked down out of site, but of course we couldn't' stay there as they had seen us! So I went along and said hi, while the others managed to sneak past them and make it to the restaurant.
So I was able to make it to the meeting point and greet everyone as they turned up ready to board. Steve and Carol were good friend of Mum and Dad's when we lived in Mildura (we left in 1988!) and they were able to come along, as well as Dennis and Rhonda who we knew when we lived in Lara (and moved from there in1995). They were both there waiting with some family members when Mum and Dad arrived. They had gone out for some drinks and Mum was just walking Dad along the Yarra, without him knowing where they were going, when all of a sudden there we were!
He got a great surprise when he saw his old mates along with most of our family.
Everyone was standing around chatting and catching up when the boat docked and we finally got to board. The boat is enclosed but has glass windows all around so you can see the sights. There was a bar up one end, with finger food out on a table also. We had a DJ set up at the front of the boat and a deck area out the back. It's a great set up for a party.
Mum was getting worried because everyone had pretty much arrived and Cathy and Grant weren't there yet. I kept saying it was OK, they would be here and I'd give them a call.
I had to tell them to wait until I was sure everyone was on board, so they didn't run into anyone on the way and spoil the surprise! Eventually we were all ready to go, so I made the call and Cathy and Grant arrived and boarded the boat. The boat started and everyone was excited to be off , and just before we started moving Alan jumped on board.
There was a moment when a few people saw him but I don't think it made any sense, as no one said anything. Then all of a sudden I called surprise and Dad turned around. The look on his face was priceless! He was so happy and just grabbed Alan for a hug and I swear you couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Mum and Dad and Alan were all hugging each other and you could just hear the ripple going through everyone: "it's Alan"
And this was just the start of the night! I have to say I barely saw Dad all night as everyone was there to see him, so he was kept very busy. It really looked like he was having a great time, catching up with everyone and chatting to all his friends and family. There was finger food and plenty to drink for everyone so the night was fantastic. We cruised along the Yarra past Southbank and down towards Williamstown. As it was night it looked fantastic in the boat, with all the lights of Melbourne on around us, just fantastic.
As it was getting time to do the cake and speeches I frantically searched all our bags for candles, and, you guessed it, I forgot them! You can't have a birthday cake without candles! Especially an important one like your 50th! So I ran around asking the staff if they had any, but as there wasn't' any hiding places on the boat no one could find any. Luckily the boat staff were fantastic, they radioed in to their office and organized someone to bring candles to the boat, meaning we had to stop off near the office while someone leaned over with the only candles they could find; tea-light candles. So that's what we had on the cake, 3 tea-light candles, instead of 50 blazing candles threatening to overwhelm the cake. Still it was great and everyone came together and sang happy birthday. I got up and talked a little about some of the amazing thing Dad has done in his life, then Alan got up and bought tears to everyones eyes.
After cake and speeches Dad opened some of his pressies. He got some great wine, tickets to go to the first round of the footy in the Medallion seats (fancy seats), and a 2007 football guernsey for the Cats, signed by nearly all the players. The Cats are now top of the ladder and are so far in front they will finish top of the ladder!
The boat then stopped outside the Crown Casino and everyone was able to watch the fire show that happens at night. They have huge towers that have small flames at the top of them, and they put on a show where the flames are lit up meters high, all in timing with each other. It went for about 10 minutes and we had front row seats in the boat, where you could even feel the heat from the flames.
Eventually it was time for everyone to get off the boat as the cruise came to an end. Some of us were still enjoying the night and a few drinks, so we headed down to 'World' restaurant to keep the party going. Alan who was still on UK time was probably the most energetic of everyone, and there was lots of laughter coming from Dad, Alan and Aaron (Erika's son) who were enjoying a beer. The night lasted till the early hours, with a couple of people going on to the casino long after everyone had gone home.

I think everyone had a great night with lots of drinking, laughing and catching up.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1171508040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1171508040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/australia-2007/1171508040/tpod.html Thu, 12 Jul 2007 03:07:18 -0400 Touring, exploring, and day-tripping around Australia - the place they call "the land downunder".

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Melbourne, Australia

G'day to everyone both here in Australia and overseas.

In an effort to reach all our family and friends overseas, and to say hello and to let you know how we are and about life here in Australia, I have started up a new travelpod entry titled Australia 2007. Trust it won't be too dull and boring, and I will try to only have entries that show off this great southern land and let everyone know what we are up to and about life here in Australia.
We have had so many requests for photos of the family and our two gorgeous Granddaughters, along with so many of our friends in the UK asking us to stay in touch, that we have found it difficult to write to everyone, so please excuse us for taking this easy way out.
It's hard to believe that it has been over a year since we left Australia on our UK adventure last July06, and that we have now been back home in Aussies for almost 6 months.
Much has happened during that time with Cathy having moved out whilst we were away, followed by Jacki, Sam & the Twins during March once they had bought their own home. So it's just Gail & I at home now, however family are never far away.
Alan is still over in Derby, UK with his girlfriend Jordy, and has just spent a week touring around Italy, something that Gail & I are sorry we missed on doing last year. He's also spent St Patrick's Day over in Ireland, and had a weeks break over in the Canary Islands on Lanzerote.

Have included some photos of the Twins, our home, and some places we visited back in Feb that you may be interested in. I also have some photos of a river cruise along the Yarra River that we went on for my 50th Birthday that I will post next time. Many of our family and friends here in Australia asked us for copies of photos taken that night, so this is the easiest way I know so that everyone can see them.

For those we haven't written to recently or caught up with since we came back, Gail's back working for my sister Erika at Gloria Jeans, a coffee shop/cafe along with my eldest sister Karen and her daughter Pauline. After a couple of months break once we came back to Aussie, I'm working as a Supply/Purchasing Manager with an Auto parts/service business and its all going well.

I have left the distribution list for this "travelpod" entry the same as for our UK journey, so if you have no interest in seeing Australia, then there is an unsubscribe button (I think) that you can use. The weather in Australia this time of year is cold and wet, and while we could do without the cold weather, after years of drought, the rain is a welcome relief to all.

Regards
Brian & Gail
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1165028100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1165028100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1165028100/tpod.html Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:07:24 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Conwy, United Kingdom


Friday 1st December

Well it's hard to believe it is December already. Without the benefit of reading the newspaper daily, or watching the nightly news, it's easy to lose track of the date, or even what day of the week it is.
Today Tony and Dee are taking us for a visit to the northern coast of Wales. This will be another first for Gail as she has never been there before, however Dee assures me that I would have visited some of the coastal beach towns along this region many times as a young boy with my Mum & Dad.
After negotiating the many motorways and intersections around Warrington, we are soon motoring along, and it isn't long before we pass a road sign announcing we have now entered Wales. As with Ireland, the Welsh people have their own language, and while it may not be spoken extensively (at least we didn't hear it during our day long visit), most road signs and council signs have both the English and Welsh information showing.
After an hour or so we reach the Welsh coastal town of Llandudno (hope I've spelt this correct) and while we were only going for a slow drive along the coast here, I ask Dee if we can stop for a while. It is a brilliant sunny morning, and Gail and I have seen so little of the coast of the UK that it just cries out for us to take a walk along the beach.
We pull over and enjoy a wonderful hour walking along the sandy beach, followed by a walk to the end of a very long pier that talks to you of the past Victorian era, with the women in their finest skirts and dresses, adorned with their delicate hats and sun umbrellas, while the men are decked out in their tight fitting three piece suits, and bowler hats.
After our walk along the pier, we head back to the car and continue on into Wales until we reach the town of Conwy and are immediately confronted with the magnificent sight of Conwy Castle.
Conwy Castle stands astride a small rocky promontory that juts out into the River Conwy, and the castle, town, and the medieval town walls were all planned and built around the same time. It began in 1283 when the English armies of King Edward I completed the conquest of Snowdonia (a region of Wales as we know it today) and terminated the rule of the Welsh Princes. (Was there anyone the English weren't at war with back then?) Conwy was one of a series of castles established in North Wales to secure the newly conquered principality.
Anyway, I have added a few more details along with the photos if you are interested, but for now I'll just say we spent a wonderful couple of hours walking around and exploring the empty ruins of Conwy Castle.

After our visit to the castle we realized that the extra time we had spent at both Llandudno and Conwy Castle has meant we will not reach much further into Wales today. We therefore settled down to an afternoon tea and decided to use the rest of the daylight hours looking around the ancient and historical town of Conwy. Like others Gail & I had already visited, Conwy is a medieval walled town, and with almost the entire wall still intact, a walk along the top allows for an elevated view of Conwy and the surrounding areas. We spend an hour or so taking in the views, although much care was needed as it was becoming quite windy, and in some parts the wall height does not extend far above the walkway we were on, and it is a very long way down! After making it back to the waterfront along the River Conwy, and while enjoying the seaside views, we pass by a house reputed to be the smallest in Great Britain, and at only 6 foot x 10 foot, it would be very hard to beat.
By now dusk was well upon us, and with the lights of the town's Xmas decorations going on, we were given a final reminder of how beautiful the town of Conwy is.
From there we started what would normally be a 90 minute or so drive back to Warrington, however as it is now "knock off time" on a Friday afternoon, the motorway in parts was at a stand still, which is not uncommon here in the UK. In fact Gail and I have found ourselves stationary on three lane highways on mid Saturday mornings and late Sunday evenings, so there is nothing more to do but sit back and crawl along with the rest of the traffic. By the time we reach Warrington, Dee and Tony have been driving for well over two and a half hours, so they deserve a medal as they then get dinner ready for us, and we enjoy another very pleasant evening before bed in preparation for our drive to Derby tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168564740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168564740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168564740/tpod.html Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:06:48 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Warrington, United Kingdom

Monday 8th January

After the travel and excitement of the past four days, we are planning for a much quieter and easier day today. Our travels during this time have taken us to many ancient archeological sites where we have visited the temples of Gods, and we have also admired the beautiful mosaic floors that have survived almost 2000 years. We have visited ancient castles, and wondered at the magnificent Roman Odeon theatres of the past. Our day in the snow with all its unbridled pleasure was one we will remember forever, as was our visit to the city of Nicosia for very different reasons. During this time we knocked up almost 850klm on the clock of our hire car, so we think a days rest is well deserved.
This turns out to be a good plan, as the somewhat cold and overcast weather conditions of the past few days have gone, and it has been replaced with blue skies, and warm still conditions. Gail decides to forgo the pool deck at our resort, and finds a quiet place on the sand next to where the waves from the Mediterranean Sea roll endlessly onto the shore. As for me, after driving into the center of Paphos to return the hire car, I take some time to do a bit of sightseeing along the docks area, and enjoy a drink in one of the many cafes along the breakwater, before catching a bus back to the resort in the mid afternoon to join Gail on the beach.
In the evening we decide to enjoy the Cypriot banquet that is on offer in our resorts restaurant as we have developed quite a taste for Cypriot food, and have eaten out at a variety of places during our stay here. As my favorite food is lamb, I have especially enjoyed the Lamb Kleftico on offer, and order this every time it appears on the menu.

Tuesday 9th January

After yesterdays rest, I am ready to get out and about again, as this is to be our last full day in Cyprus. Gail is not so keen, and the blue sky and warm sunshine has called her back to the beach for the day. So with plans to meet up later in Paphos in the early evening for dinner, I head off to the bus stop to catch a ride into the "Tombs of the Kings" World Heritage Site that I have heard so much about.
After standing at the bus stop for a while with no bus in sight, a young bloke pulled up on a motor scooter to tell me there was a bus strike on all day today, so no buses anywhere. Faced with a 6 klm walk to the "Tombs", I asked the young bloke for a lift, so after he stopped laughing, he invited me to jump on the back, and as I held on tight, we headed off weaving in and out of traffic towards the centre of Paphos.
Arriving at the site, I thanked the bloke for his help, and wandered into one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. The "Tombs of the Kings" are one of the major archaeological attractions of Paphos, and these monumental underground tombs which are carved out of solid rock date back to the 4th century BC. Although high ranking officials rather than Kings were buried here, it is the magnificence of the tombs that gave the locality its grand name. I spent a memorable couple of hours wandering around, taking an endless number of photos, with each tomb I visited being only surpassed by the next.
From here it was only another couple of klms walk into the harbor of Paphos, so I took my time and enjoyed the sunshine while admiring the wonderful Cypriot churches and buildings along the way. Once there I did some "last minute" shopping, before settling down in the mid afternoon sunshine at a cafe with a cold drink and a good book, alongside the 13th century medieval Fort of Paphos which we had visited when we first arrived in Cyprus. I wasn't sure how Gail would go finding her way in here without busses running, but as I couldn't contact her (no-one could tell me the resort phone number nor did they have a phone directory in the dozen or so places I enquired with) there was nothing to do but settle down to see if she made it here.
With the sun beginning to set, and no Gail in sight (later I was to learn that after waiting at the bus stop for over half an hour, and finally being told there were no buses running, she headed back to the resort to wait for me to ring) it was time to find a cab to take me back to the resort where we finally met up, and enjoyed an "antipasto" meal and a bottle of wine on the balcony of our resort room to toast our last night in Cyprus.

Wednesday 10th January

Today we must leave Cyprus, so after a leisurely breakfast while gazing out over the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, we spend the rest of the morning packing and getting ready for the bus that will pick us up around midday. We are sorry to be leaving, and curse not having booked two weeks, as it has been a wonderful place with so much more to see, and the weather forecast for the next week is just brilliant.
We are picked up from our resort right on time at noon, and it will be another nine hours before we are picked up by Tony from Manchester International, and driven back at Dee and Tony's house in Warrington. They have been so good to us, allowing us to use their home as a base while we plan each of our adventures and travels, that we can never thank them enough, and only hope we can see them both out in Australia when we can repay their kindness and hospitality.

Thursday 11th January

All good things must come to an end, and sadly this must also be the case with our "Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure". It has been over six months since we flew out of Australia for Thailand back in early July 2006, and although there is less than three weeks till we are booked to return to Australia, we both feel the time is right to go home now. We are desperately missing home, and although we try to talk to our daughters Jacki and Cathy every week, we both long to see and hold them again, along with our gorgeous Granddaughters, Rainee and Cara. When we left Aussie, the twins hardly spoke at all, and had only been walking for a couple of months. Now when we phone home, we hear them both chattering away over the phone, and the DVD Jacki sent to us for Christmas showed them both running around and climbing over everything. Also our daughter Cathy has a new man in her life since we left Aussie, and they have bought an apartment together, so Cathy moved out of home a couple of days ago to start her new life there.
Of course, the short days and cold overcast weather in the UK doesn't help to keep us here any longer, and if we were to stay, it would be by taking week long holidays at sunny resorts many hours flight south of the UK to places similar to Lanzarote and Cyprus.
So, a call to Qantas confirms a tentative enquiry we made prior to our weeks holiday in Cyprus is still available, so we have the booking confirmed and its all go for our flight home. We fly with British Airways from Manchester International 10.00am Monday 15th January to London, where after a 90 minute stop-off, we board Qantas flight QF30 at 12.25pm for the 22 hour 15 minute flight back to Australia. Taking into account the eleven hours time difference, it will be 9.40pm Tuesday 16th January before we are back on Aussie soil. While we were loath to bring our excellent adventure to an end, there is relief that we have made this decision, and are both very excited to be going home to family and friends.
The day is spent making our final arrangements for leaving, and preparing a small bag each of what we will need for our final few days here, and doing the final packing of our suitcases for home. In the evening we enjoy a meal with Tony & Dee for the second last time, and finish off with drinks where we are joined by Sue and Peter who have come around to say their goodbyes. They have all been great friends, and we are sad to say our goodbyes.

Friday 12th January

We head into Warrington this morning to pick up a hire car that we booked over the internet yesterday, and we are soon on our way to Derby where we will spend a couple of days with our son Alan, before we fly out from the UK on Monday. The drive takes us through the town of Uttoxeter where Alan works, so we time our drive so that we can pick him up as he finishes work around 2.00pm. From there it is back to his place in Derby, before we head into the city to catch up with the highlights of the first One Day International cricket game between Australia vs England on the giant screen at the Walkabout pub. We enjoy a few stubbies of VB while enjoying another Aussie win, and we are joined by Alan's girlfriend Jordy for an evening meal at Alan and Jordy's favorite Mexican restaurant. It was Jordy's birthday yesterday, so we give her a card and gift, and toast her birthday here in the UK. After moving onto another club for some late night drinks, it is back to Alan's for more chit chat, coffee and bed.

Saturday 13th January

Today, Alan and I are going to watch Derby vs Sheffield Wednesday in a Championship League match at Derby's home ground, and plan to stay with him for one last night before we will say our goodbyes. Alan and Jordy are currently planning to work in the UK for another six months, before doing some traveling of their own, and they plan to be back in Australia around the time of the AFL Grand Final in late September.
As for Gail and I, well we will drive back to Warrington tomorrow where we will visit my cousin Andrea and John to say goodbye, before a quiet and with luck an early night, to be ready for our long journey back to Aussie.

So there you have it. That has been our "excellent adventure", and we will add just the final epilogue once we land back in Aussie, before we return to some form of normality in South Caulfield, Melbourne.
To those we won't get a chance to see or call before leaving, thanks for your hospitality and friendship during our stay here in the UK, and we hope to see you all one day out in sunny Australia.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168223040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168223040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168223040/tpod.html Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:00:12 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Nicosia, Cyprus

Saturday 6th January

Today we took a drive into the Troodos Mountains, which rise to almost 2000m above sea level. Here there are some brilliant painted churches of Cyprus, superb examples of Byzantine art, and also located here is the Kykkos Monastery, founded in 1100, and where there is a golden icon of the Virgin Mary, allegedly painted by St. Luke.
Before leaving our hotel we were told it had snowed in the mountains the week before we had got here, but that the snow had since melted. However as we were driving up into the mountains, and through the low level clouds, we saw a little snow here and there and thought we were lucky as all the snow obviously hadn't melted as we had been told. However it must have snowed last night, because as we drove higher we could see more and more snow lying alongside the road. When we reached as high as we could drive in the slippery conditions, we got out of the car to a winter wonderland, and just then it started to snow again! Just a little so that it covered you in a soft white layer, but that just made my day. The snow was very deep as you can see from the photos and it was in the trees which looked magical. I have never seen anything so beautiful (except of course my children and grandchildren). I built a snowman, and made a snow angel for Jacki, and Brian and I had a snowball fight along with everyone else that was there, and it was just fabulous. Later when the sunshine had melted the snow off the road, we continued our journey up the mountains, and eventually made it to the top of Mount Olympus just as a brief snow fall came, and for a while there it was a total "white out". All thoughts of visiting churches and monasteries disappeared and we stayed up there for tea and ate in a little café while watching the snow melt off the trees and off the roof of the building we were in. So we have been to England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and didn't see any snow, but here in Cyprus where the average winter temperature is around 16 to 18 degrees we finally got to see snow. While the day had not gone as we had planned, we could not have asked for a better experience, and as we started on the almost 2 hour drive back to Paphos, we laughed and smiled like little kiddies all the way.

Sunday 7th January

After the childlike pleasure of yesterday, today was a sobering experience and one that will not easily be forgotten for either of us. Please understand we knew nothing of what we were about to see, and don't pretend to know the politics of the situation, so please don't be offended by our ignorance or any inaccuracies that you may read below.

We spent today in Nicosia, (also known as Lefkosia) which is the capital of Cyprus, and the drive took just over two hours along the major freeway on the island. It has served as the capital since the late Byzantine period of the 11th century after the coastal towns were destroyed following the attacks and looting of the Saracens. We wished to visit the Royal Palaces, ancient churches, and take in the regions historical past, that includes visiting the old town that is surrounded by the Venetian Walls built in 1567 to protect the people from the threat of the Ottomans.
Once we arrived in Nicosia it was an experience in itself, as you see Nicosia is a divided city (the only divided city in Europe) due to the fact that in 1974 Cyprus was invaded by Turkey, who took over and occupied almost 40% of Cyprus which includes part of the city of Nicosia. The UN sent in a Peace Keeping Force, which is still in place today, and they established a "buffer/no-go zone" across the country, so that through the middle of the city there are barriers with armed guards. This section through the middle of Nicosia, which is about 100-200 meters wide and is barricaded on both sides, has been deserted since the invasion, so for the last 30+ years it has been left to rot away. It is very eerie, and although I never felt threatened I certainly never felt comfortable, and it is a place you have to see to believe.

We crossed over at a check point in this "border" into Turkish Cyprus from Greek Cyprus, and had to have our passports checked and stamped and get visas so that we could leave one side and enter the other. It is quite freaky that on both sides of the "buffer/no-go zone" there are vibrant cities, but through the centre is a huge area of deserted city. Brian was fascinated and kept talking to the guards along the "buffer/no-go zone", but I wasn't comfortable at all. We were told we were not allowed to take any photos of the guards with their guns, and there were also a lot of areas where no photography was allowed, so not a place that I will go back to in a hurry.
Apart from all that, traveling to Nicosia on a Sunday is not a good idea, as in spite of the assurances we were given, we found all the churches, museums and other ancient sites closed and we were unable to see what we had originally came for. Therefore we settled for wandering around each side of the city for a couple of hours trying to get a feel for the life style and endeavoring to understand what it was that had happened. We had withdrawn some Cypriot Pounds from an ATM on one side, only to walk a couple of klms across the "border" where we withdrew Turkish Pounds from an ATM there.
The past three days could not have been of greater contrast, starting with visits to ancient archaeological sites where we looked on in wonder as we learned of the ancient past; followed by the unbridled joy of an unexpected day in the snow; and finally the slightly unnerving experience of being too close to a modern day war zone for our liking.
Oh, one other thing. While in the Greek side of Nicosia we stopped and had a coffee in what you would call a bit of a trendy, up market café. We ordered a cappuccino, a caramel espresso and a muffin. The cost was ₤7.35 Cypriot pounds, which you may think is not too bad. Well one Cypriot pound equals three Aussie dollars, so that coffee break cost about $22 Aussie dollars! Our Aussie money doesn't go too far over here!

G'day all, and a little addition to Gail's story from me. As we walked along the Greek Cypriot side of the wall for 2-3 klms inside the ancient town, I became totally mesmerized at what I was seeing. Gail and I were totally alone as few people ventured down to this area, and there were armed Cypriot soldiers carrying automatic rifles protecting their side of the barrier. The dividing walls were made up of sandbags, razor wire, and surrounded by burnt out, shot-up buildings, that were almost falling down. Nothing appears to have changed or have been repaired in the past 30 years, and inside the "buffer/no-go zone" dividing the two sides of the city, there were heavily armed UN soldiers patrolling up and down. Taking photos of any soldiers or of the "buffer/no-go zone" is strictly forbidden, so the few photos I have included were taken with a bit of a risk involved. Later, once we entered the Turkish occupied part of the city, I walked along the streets and up to one of the barriers, and peered into the "buffer/no-go zone" and looked back across to the Greek Cypriot side. A soldier was sitting within the barricaded area, inside a secure sentry box about 10 feet away from me with just his head showing. I smiled at him, but continued to peer into the desolate and deserted zone in sheer amazement at what I was seeing. After 10-15 seconds, the sentry stood and stepped into the open. He was holding an automatic rifle, with one hand supporting the barrel and the other near the trigger region of the weapon. He lifted the rifle to chest height and held it pointing about 6-8 feet to the right of me. Not wanting to alarm him or to make any sudden movements, and in an attempt to demonstrate my impartiality, in my broadest Aussie accent possible I said to him "G'day Mate, you going all right?" His facial expression did not alter, but as I continued to stand there almost frozen to the spot, he slowly moved the rifle so that it was now pointing just to the right of me, and still he made no attempt to smile or reply. At that point I slowly walked away, and while I was never threatened or had the rifle pointed at me directly, I was left in no doubt that this was serious business and that even after 30 years there was a sharp edge to those involved!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1170074220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1170074220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1170074220/tpod.html Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:43:54 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Melbourne, Australia

G'day All.

As our travelblog still shows our location as that of Warrington, UK, it is time to put our final entry into the blog and bring us back to Melbourne, Australia, and wind up our "excellent adventure". So for those interested, here is a quick run down on our journey back to Aussie.

Early Monday morning, the 15th January, we left Warrington as planned, and with final goodbyes to Deidre and Tony and many heartfelt thanks for all their kind hospitality, we checked in at Manchester International for the short flight to London. We were flying British Airways to London, and then transferring to a Qantas flight to Australia. We had a bit of a scare as there was only 90 minutes scheduled in London between our arrival and departure, and the domestic flight out of Manchester was 30 mins late leaving. Once at Heathrow, it looked like being a bit of a mad scramble on our last day in the UK as we had to catch a bus between terminals, however there was no need for concern and we made it to the boarding gate for our international flight with plenty of time to spare.
The initial flight was for twelve plus hours and this passed rather uneventfully, and after three movies, lunch, dinner and breakfast, plus a little sleep in between, we were soon landing at Hong Kong International Airport where we had a 90 minute stopover for refueling. There wasn't much time for anything other than a walk around the airport to stretch our legs and to do some last minute duty free shopping. We had left Manchester International Airport just after 10.00am Monday 15th January, and in addition to the flight time into Hong Kong having taken over twelve hours, we had flown through so many time zones that we had to advance our watches by eight hours. By the time our re-boarding call came, it was just after 10am local time, Tuesday 16th January, and as far as our minds and bodies were concerned we had been on the move for 24 hours, and we were beginning to feel it.

Soon enough we were back on board for the final nine plus hour flight to Melbourne, and we once again fell into a cycle of onboard movies, meals, and unsuccessful attempts to get some sleep.
From memory we crossed into Australia at the very top end, somewhere along the Northern Territory coastline, and at that point we had a little less than four hours of flying time remaining. I thought back to our recent flights from the UK to the Canary Islands and also to Cyprus, which at the time felt to take so long as they both were around four hours. It was then that I began to realize how big Australia really is when compared to many parts of Europe, as we will fly over this country for about the same time as we flown clear across Europe.

About ninety minutes out of Melbourne, and as were flying across the last part of Central Australia, the Captain announced the time in Melbourne was just after 8.00pm, so we needed to advance our watches a further two hours forward. He also advised that the current temperature in Melbourne was 37C, which was some 30 degrees warmer than that of London which we had left the day before. Later as we were making our landing approach into Melbourne Airport, I was gazing out the window at the seemingly endless city street lights that lay before me, when all of a sudden my whole view went completely black! I rubbed my eyes but black it remained, so I shrugged my shoulders and decided that after almost 36 hours (on the clock that is, as it was only 26 hours of actual traveling time) without much sleep, I must be seeing things.
Our arrival into Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport was smooth and seamless, and soon we were collecting our luggage from the carousal and heading towards the arrivals exit. Walking through the exit doors from the terminal into the familiar surroundings of Melbourne Airport we felt truly at home, and as our daughters Jacki and Cathy let out excited squeals as soon as they caught sight of us, we were soon all in one tight embrace, holding onto each other for the first time in over six months. It was here that we were introduced to Cathy's boyfriend, Grant for the very first time. Given that since we had left Australia, they had met, bought an apartment together, and into which they had recently moved, this only reinforced to us how long we had been away.
Walking out of the airport just after 10.00pm local time, we were hit with the still 35C temperatures, which reminded us of the conditions of our first arrival in Thailand some six months ago when we had left the Australian winter behind.
Jacki told us of the severe bush fires that were currently raging around Victoria, and coupled with the extremely hot weather conditions, the demands on the electricity systems were causing blackouts to occur around parts of Melbourne. This of course explained what I had witnessed when coming into land a little earlier.
PS: later I heard over the radio that the bushfires had now burned through almost 20% of the state of Victoria. Intrigued by this I looked up on the net to find that the land area of Victoria covered 227,420 square klms, so these fires have caused the destruction of over 45,000klm of bush land. Putting this into perspective for our UK friends and family, the combined land area of the two countries that make up Ireland, is 84,000 klm, so these fires represent the burning out of over half of that combined country! (For the real trivial minded, the entire land mass of Cyprus which we had recently visited, is only just over 9,000klm, so these fires have burnt out the equivalent of five Cyprus islands!)
Anyway, once home we sat up for several hours just chatting away and enjoying each others company again, before finally saying goodnight and making our way to bed. However this is when the frustration started. You see we were both still locked into UK time, and as tired as we were, we both could not get to sleep. We lay awake all night, only to doze off as the sun was coming up, and then we slept through till past lunchtime. This frustrating occurrence happened each night for the next week, where we would lay awake all night, and fall asleep in the morning and sleep most of the early daylight hours. It would not be until a week had passed before we fell back into the Aussie time zone, and where we could get to sleep each night before midnight. Of course during this first week, the above 30C temperatures did not help, and it is only in the past week that the daytime temperatures have fallen into the 20 to 30C region.
During the past two weeks, we have caught up with our daughters and their partners over many meals, and have loved the time we have spent with our beautiful granddaughters, Rainee and Cara. They have both grown up so much while we were away, and we are making the most of our time together, before Jacki, Sam, Cara and Rainee move out to their new home in mid March, a little under seven weeks time. Then, after having such a full house over the past few years, it will just be Gail and I, until of course Alan and Jordy return home from the UK, which they expect to be sometime around September this year.

So that's about all there is for our "excellent adventure", and as sorry as we are that it has come to an end, it is time for us both to "grow up", go out and get jobs, and become respectable and responsible citizens again. We had a great time over the past six months, and loved every minute of it, especially meeting all our friends and relatives from the other side of the world.
We had originally set this blog up as a diary of our travels for us to look back on, and as a way for our family and friends here in Aussie to stay in contact with us. However as we traveled around the UK, we added many others to our blog mailing list. There are our friends from Elland, Yorkshire, and my cousins and many other family relations in and around Northwich and Warrington, Cheshire. There is our son and other friends from Belper and Derby, in of course Derbyshire, along with an Aunt and Uncle down in Southampton, and another cousin also from the south of England. In addition to those in the UK, there is further cousin living in Malaga, Spain, along with her daughter who resides in Amsterdam in The Netherlands.
To all of you who gave of your time, friendship and hospitality, we thank you so very much, and we apologize to those we were unable to see, or to see as often as we would have liked.
With our soon to be partly vacant house, you are all most welcome to visit; where we hope to repay some of the kindness we have been shown.
For the benefit of those over there who were so interested in knowing more about Australia and the Australian way of life, if we should travel anywhere that we feel may be of interest to you, we will enter the occasional blog and forward to you an email so that we can stay in contact. For our Aussie friends and family that may be familiar with the places we visit here in Australia, there is always the delete button!

So long
Brian & Gail Little
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168058580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168058580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1168058580/tpod.html Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:24:02 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Pathos, Cyprus

Wednesday 3rd January

We are up at 3.30am for our 7am flight from Manchester International to Paphos International, Cyprus, and once again we are thankful to Tony for getting our tired butts out the door and delivered to the airport on time. It's a 4½ hour flight, and along with the two hours difference in the time zones, by the time we land it is 1.30pm in Cyprus, so going by the clock we have been on the move for 10 hours. Then there is a twenty minute wait for our luggage, followed by a ½ hour bus ride to the hotel, so by the time we are settled in and unpacked it was close to 3.00pm.
As we can't do much on our first day here with it being dark in a couple of hours, we just went for a walk and had a coffee along the seafront, which being the Mediterranean Sea. Tonight we had dinner in at our hotel, as where we are staying is about 7½ kilometers away from the main city center of Paphos, so all the restaurants are too far away to walk to. Even though it is a long way from the city centre, the Cynthiana Beach Hotel is quite nice, and the view from our window over the car park is the Mediterranean Sea which is only about 100 meters away. As we have found out during our travels, a lot of the hotels do not have double beds, so they have to push 2 singles together for us (this is very common all over Europe).

Thursday 4th January

The whole of Cyprus is an immense open air museum, and the living past is everywhere. Relics and monuments of every period from the misty pre-historic days of the stone age, down to modern times, Roman Theatres, Christian Cloisters, Greek Temples, Byzantine Churches, Frankish Abbeys and Castles and Gothic Cathedrals. It is also the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love and beauty. As you can see it is obviously an amazing place and one that would take a lot more than a week to cover but we will do our best.
Today we catch a bus into the waterfront and port of Paphos, where we spend a couple of hours wandering though the shops and tourist areas before heading out on the breakwater to visit the Medieval Castle of Paphos built by the Lusignans in the 13th century, but later dismantled by the Venetians. It was again rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 16th century when they conquered the island.
After that we visit the World Heritage Site that is known as the Kato Pafos Archaeological Park. (Note that while all English references refer to the town as Paphos, the signs around the town show the word spelt as Pafos). The park includes sites and monuments from prehistoric times, and up to the middle ages, although most of the remains date from the Roman period. The marvelous and world famous mosaic floors of four Roman villas form the impressive epicenter of the finds, and the mosaics within The House of Aion, dated from the 3rd to 5th century were particularly spectacular.
Also we visited the Roman Odeon (see the photo) from the 2nd to 4th century where musical concerts were given, and "Saranda Kolones" Castle built around 1200AD after the Frankish conquest of Cyprus, but destroyed by the earthquake of 1223 and never rebuilt.

Friday 5th January

We have hired a car for the next three days, so are off exploring, and a visit to the Temple of Aphrodite near the village of Koukila is a must when visiting Cyprus. It is written that the town and the temple were built by Agapenor, a legendary hero of the Trojan War. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the ancient world came here with many valuable gifts to take part in the annual celebrations in honor of Aphrodite and Adonis. The procession of the pilgrims starts at New Paphos, and travels through the holy gardens of Aphrodite to reach the sanctuary of the goddess at Old Paphos. The last King of Old Paphos was Nikoles who built New Paphos around 321 BC, and The Temple of the Goddess preserved its fame through Roman times, with the Roman Emperors protecting the Sanctuary until the time of Septimus Seviras. As you can see by the many photos we took it is fantastic, and there are so many artifacts here that many of them are just left on the side of the paths without any form of display or signage. We were speechless! There are also numerous murals and mosaics here which have survived almost 2000 years which are just incredible.
We then visited Kolossi Tower, where the original tower was built in 1210 by the Knights Hospitallers to which the area was ceded to by Richard the Lionheart after he had conquered the island in 1191. After the Mamelukes attacked and destroyed the original tower in 1426, it was rebuilt in 1450 and this is what can be seen today.
After Kolossi Tower we visited the ruins of ancient Curium, which were extensively damaged in the earthquakes of 322-343BC, and where the God Apollo was the protector of the town. Curium theatre was discovered and excavated in 1950, and the ancient theatre was built in the 2nd century BC in Hellenistic times and was carved out of rock into a circular orchestra. Next to the theatre are the ruins of the Baths and Annexe of Eustolios, and the baths are covered with excellent mosaics and inscriptions dating to the 5th century AD, and are designed and built in the same Roman style we had seen recently in the town of Bath, England.
From there we visited the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, and finally we viewed an ancient Roman Arena where chariot races were held, along with events such as the Roman Pentathlon.
It really was a full on day of ancient history, with most of the sites we visited dating before the Birth of Christ, and it was astounding to see how well some of the mosaic floors and some of the buildings have survived for over 20 centuries.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167737940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167737940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167737940/tpod.html Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:08:09 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Warrington, United Kingdom

G'day all.
Trust you all had a fantastic New Years celebrations, and wishing you best wishes for 2007.
This will be a short and brief entry, as I'm typing this at the Warrington public library, and only have a short time allowed. Sorry no photo's, but I will update this blog entry at some future time and attach some photos, and when I do you should get an update email if your interested.
After our last entry following our day visiting the Roman baths in the town of Bath, we ended up staying there another night, and used the day to do a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the town where we learned all about the towns history and some of the fascinating buildings and sites. It really is an amazing place, and we really enjoyed our visit there. After our tour we spent time in some of the historical buildings, including a visit to the Bath Abbey, where the coronation of the first ever English king took place, with some of that ceremony still used in the coronations of today. (ps sorry for any spelling errors, but as I said, I have to hurry!)
The next day (New Years Eve) Gail had read of the small town of Lacock nearby which has an abbey where parts of two Harry Potter movies were filmed, so it was off to there, but unfortunately we found it was now closed for the winter, but we did manage to walk around and take some photos. We later learned that Lacock Abbey, founded in 1232, was where some of the classroom scenes were filmed in the medieval cloisters, sacristy and Chapter House, and down the corridors where Harry Potter walked in "Philosophers Stone" and "Chamber of Secrets".

After that it was about midday, and as the weather was getting a bit nasty, we decided to make tracks back to Warrington before the sky fell onto us. After about an hours driving, the mobile phone rang, and it was our daughter Jacki wishing us Happy New Year, as it had just struck midnight in Aussie, so Gail had a nice old chat as we continued on our way north.
Mid afternoon the heavens opened up, and it belted down for the next couple of hours, and although it was only about 3.30pm, it looked as dark as midnight, however by taking our time we made it back to Warrington some time after 5.00pm. It had been a long and tiring drive.
New Years night was spent having a lovely dinner with Dee & Tony, and Sue & Peter, and we had a great time. Fireworks are still sold over the counter here in the UK, so on midnight not only was there the fireworks from London shown on the TV, but outside there were skyrockets and fireworks going off everywhere. Standing out front, the sky was ablaze with color and the rumbling noise of crackers going off in every direction was just brilliant. It sounded like the army was advancing under fire, and I've never experienced anything like it before.
The next day, after a long sleep in due to getting to bed after 2.00am, we unpacked and did some washing before heading out to Northwich where Gail and I spent the afternoon and evening with my cousins Les and Tony Little and there families. It was another great time with family, and I never tire of spending time and getting to know everyone more and more with each visit. Tony and Sarah invited us back to their home for dinner, where we met Sarah's family and Mum & Dad who were also visiting. We had a lovely meal, and a great chat to finish off a wonderful New Years Day.
Ok, so now we are up to date, its time to let you know of our next journey.
We are booked to fly out of Manchester International Airport at 7.00am tomorrow morning (Wed 3rd Jan07) for a week in Cyprus. We have heard a lot about Cyprus with its Greek history and ancient ruins, so we are very excited and look forward to sharing with you our adventures whenever we get the opportunity.
Once again, Happy New Year to all.
PS. its Gail's 49th birthday today, so we are planning to go out to celebrate tonight on our last night in Warrington, and to thank Dee & Tony for all their patience and kind hospitality over the past couple of months. Gail loved the early morning phone calls from our daughters back in Aussie!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167413760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167413760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bandglittle/uk2006/1167413760/tpod.html Sun, 31 Dec 2006 03:41:49 -0500 Brian and Gail's Excellent Adventure!!

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Bath, United Kingdom

Thursday 28th December

After the visit to my Aunt Iris yesterday, we booked into a hotel in Southampton for the night and enjoyed a relaxing and deep sleep after the excitement and travel of the past few days.
We are up and out of the hotel early as we are going to visit Stonehenge, which doesn't take us very long heading approx north from Southampton, and we are there in about an hour. It is quite an amazing sight, as one minute you are driving along the road past open countryside, and the next, just over the horizon you can see the stones standing tall and proud in a field. I wonder if there are many car accidents in this area, because you really do not expect to see it when you do.
Certainly the best known of all megalithic sites, Stonehenge stands in isolation on the Salisbury plain between the busy A303 and A344 roads. They say at first sight this unique and enigmatic site appears smaller than imagined (I personally did not think this), but the tallest upright stone is 6.7 meters (22 feet) high, with a further 2.4 meters (8 feet) concealed below the ground. When constructed about 2100BC there were originally two complete circles of stones, with a semi-circle in the centre. There were also four corner stones erected known as Station Stones placed around the outside, one huge stone known as the Heel Stone, and one stone that is lying flat which is known as the Slaughter Stone. We got some great photos which will give you a sense of what we saw, but to walk around them gives you a great sense of history and they truly are amazing.
There are many myths about the stones which try to explain why they are here. The best are that in 1135AD, Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that they were brought by a tribe of giants from Africa to Ireland, and from there they were flown by the wizard Merlin across the sea. Another legend claims that the stones were stolen from an Irish woman by the Devil, and re-erected on Salisbury plains by Merlin for Ambrosis Aurelianus, the then King of Britons. One thing that we were told which really amazed me was that years ago, and I'm not sure how many, that people used to bring along small chisels, and come to Stonehenge and chisel off a piece of one of the stones for a souvenir, and you can still see the marks in the stones where this happened. They are now being looked after by the National Trust, so they will be around for many more years to come for everyone to enjoy.
After Stonehenge we drove to Salisbury where we planned to stay the night. Brian wanted to look at the remains of an old castle, while I booked our accommodation and had a look around the city. After we met up again we went for a walk through the medieval part of Salisbury and also went for a tour of the Salisbury Cathedral. Then back to our B&B which had the most amazing bath which both Brian and I individually soaked in (pure bliss).

Today we are driving to the city of Bath, and again it is not a very long drive in the car so we arrive nice and early. The weather, which has been kind to us so far during our time in the UK, looks very dark and threatening; however the rain has held off for most of the morning. After parking the car, we go and locate the Roman baths which gave the city of Bath its name. The Roman bathing establishment, with its magnificent Temple and baths flourished in Aquae Sulis (this is the Roman name for bath) between the 1st and 5th centuries A.D. It was built around the natural hot spring which rises out of the ground at 46 degrees Celsius. Many objects were thrown into the baths as offerings to the goddess, and more than 12,000 coins have been found with some dating back to 100AD. They have also found curses that were written on lead sheet, and then folded and thrown into the water where worshippers believed the spirit or goddess dwelt, who would then make the curse a reality. The history of the baths is incredible and still they have not finished excavating it. We spent a lovely few hours exploring and listening to the commentary on the audio headphones, and I find it hard to remember everything as there is so much information in seems to go in one ear and out the other. However I was impressed that something built so long ago with as much history as this can still be standing today. Not all of it is original, but a lot of it is, and it makes you wonder if the buildings we build today will still be here for future generations to explore.
When we came out from the baths the weather had changed and had gotten a bit nasty. It was windy and showery, so we went to the information centre and booked some accommodation for the night. After settling in and having a quick shower, it was back into the city for dinner, then home for a night in front of the TV for me with a movie to enjoy, while Brian had a soak in the bath (in Bath)! Does that mean he had two baths? Hmmm, I wonder.
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