TravelStream™ news feed for member kathrynpreston on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kathrynpreston en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:22:34 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1220563560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1220563560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1220563560/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:22:34 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom

Got back to Welwyn Garden City to a media frenzy. Within minutes of walking in the door Matt was on the phone for live interview with a local radio station, the day before he'd been in the local newspaper and the day I arrived he was featured in 4 national newspapers - all about Crap Elvis and our round the world trip. It was al a bit mad and exciting.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759880/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:09:32 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

We left early to get to Perth in time to get ready for Kate and Pete's wedding. Checked in to our hotel and then dropped Carol off to visit a friend while we were at the ceremony. Again it was such a lovely ceremony and the bride and groom looked happy and handsome. It was nice to have another chance to see everyone at the reception, and it was a really lovely night.When Mum and Dad headed back to the farm they dropped me of at Karina's and I spent the night with her and Indi, I then caught up with Brooke and the boys before heading to Leon and Sophie's for a couple of nights and got to meet Jasmine and have more catch ups with Soph's Mum, Chris and Aislinn, Louis and Lisa and Emerson, Amanda and Michael. Managed to fit in a lot of catch ups. On the day of my flight back to London I went in to work and caught up with a few people before heading out to lunch with Theresa, Loren, Kirstyn, Ruth, Suza, Kylee and Christina in celebration of Theresa's birthday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1223759640/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:08:35 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cranbrook, Western Australia, Australia

Finally made it back to the farm and I was so excited to see the dogs. I think that they kind of recognised me but it wasn't until the next day that they figured out who I was and went crazy when I went to say good morning to them. It was nice to spend a few days at home catching up with Mum and Dad. The first day we had a bit of a family reunion at home for lunch as there was Uncle Graham, Aunty Glenys, Aunty Carol, Uncle Ken and Aunty Sandra, Joy and Tim, Grandma, Anne, Dennis, Jeannette, Me, Mum and Dad, and then Neil and Dallis dropped in while we were having lunch. Over the course of the day people left and eventually there was only Mum, Dad Aunty Carol and me. Aunty Anne had a bad cold so was lying low but I managed to get a few games of Chinese Checkers in. Grandma unfortunately succumbed to the cold and wasn't well herself. And ended up in hospital on my last day on the farm. This has really weakened her, but she's slowly getting stronger, thankfully. Had a great time with the dogs and it was so hard to say goodbye to them again, when it came time to leave.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219411200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219411200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219411200/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:07:27 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Albany, Western Australia, Australia

We arrived in Albany and had a cup of tea before Sam dropped me off at our chalet. Mum and Dad hadn't arrived as yet so Joy and I had a small lunch and then I had a quick rest before Mum and Dad arrived and we headed to the church to help with setting up for Neil and Dallis' wedding the next day. After the wedding rehearsal a group of us all headed into town for coffee (I had my first Milo in ages and it was really good!)The next day was the day of the wedding so Mum and Ashlee headed to the hairdresser and then Jeannette and I followed to have ours done as well. By the time that we'd finished having our hair done we had to rush to get ready for the wedding. We arrived at the church and Dallis' brother and I acted as ushers greeting all the guests. The ceremony was lovely and everything went smoothly. After the ceremony there was an afternoon tea and we all got to catch up, spend some time with the bride and groom before they headed off for photos. They also had some speeches and cut the cake. The cake was created by a friend and was really cool - it had green icing made to look like grass and mini John Deere tractors on the cake. The cake was a good reflection of the couple and their love for farming.The reception was held at the Albany Golf Club and was a really nice night. David (the photographer, and a family friend) allowed the photos taken over the course of the day to be out on a projector screen so that we could all see the photos straight away. It was a great night.The following day we all met at Dallis' Mum's house for lunch and Neil and Dallis opened their wedding presents and said goodbye to everyone before heading off on their honeymoon.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219324740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219324740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219324740/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:06:31 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mandurah, Western Australia, Australia

I met Sam at the train station in Mandurah and we went for some lunch and to pick up a few bits and pieces. It was great to have some time together to catch up on all the talking we had missed out on. This was also my first opportunity to meet Matilda who was born just before we left for our holiday. She was very cute and came to me for a cuddle as soon as she saw me. Then she refused to go to sleep as she kept checking that I was still there. In the morning we set off for Albany.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219238280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219238280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1219238280/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:05:43 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

I arrived into the airport in Perth and Theresa kindly picked me up so that I could spend the night at hers. In the morning we went into work together and I caught up with a few work friends before catching the train out to Stirling to catch up with Lisa and Isabella for an hour or so and then catching the train down to Mandurah.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218805500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218805500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218805500/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:04:05 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Welwyn Garden City, England, United Kingdom

A couple of days relaxing and preparing for my trip to Australia, Matt in Ibiza for the first week of my time in Australia. As it turned out Matt and Craig's flight was on the same day and same time as my flight so I said goodbye and Chloe took me to the airport while Matt's Dad took him to the airport.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218459780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218459780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218459780/tpod.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:03:02 -0500 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ledbury, England, United Kingdom

We arrived at the airport fresh from Ireland and were picked up by Matt's parents ready to embark on our next adventure. A Hale family holiday to Herefordshire. We headed off, picking up Chloe on the way through and headed to our farm stay holiday house just outside of a village called Ledbury. To our delight it was a gorgeous little 2 storey house with a pond that the two dogs jumped into within minutes of us arriving. There was also a spa which we also took advantage of. The first morning we took a drive around the scenic area nearby, though lots of little villages and through the nearby hillside. At the night we enjoyed playing a game called 'Spot the Intro' - Matt was particularly good at this game and over the course of our days away we played a few different formations against Matt by himself. The only way we finally managed to come a draw with Matt was by all teaming up against him. We had lots of laughs trying to beat him though! The second day we headed to the Forest of Dean and looked out over the river Wye, from a lovely lookout area. From there we drove a little further to Tinern and had a coffee at an old train station now converted into a little coffee shop. And then took a look at Tintern Abbey (ruins) I'm not sure when the abbey was built but they have been in ruins at least since the 1800's so are quite old. Our last day we went to a mountain slope where Matt and I tried our hands at mountain boarding. Which is kind of like snowboarding on wheels. Lots of fun.Achim came to visit for a few hours on our last night which was nice. We all had a curry and relaxed in front of the TV.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218114060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218114060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1218114060/tpod.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:40:51 -0400 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Portmagee, County Kerry, Ireland

We flew to Kerry airport in Ireland, and as we were meeting Al at the airport that night spent the day exploring some of the area that is part of the 'ring of Kerry'. We started with breakfast in Killarney and then headed to the nearby Ross Castle and Muckross farm. We then headed to Glenbeigh for a warm up coffee and then to the beach at nearby Rossbeigh. Matt had visions of swimming but when we realised how cold it was on the beach decided against it and settled for a walk.We picked Al up from the airport and drove to Portmagee, the town where we were to stay, at Al's Mum's B&B. Al's family are all from the area so we headed down to the local pub for a beer and catch up.The following day turned out to be the only day of sunshine for our stayin Ireland and Al took us for a walk to Bray's head, a look out on the tip of the Kerry ring. It was beautiful and from there we could also see Skellig Island where we were hoping to make it to over the course of our trip, but unfortunately were unable to do as the weather wasn't any good for the boat trip. In the afternoon, we went to the nearby Reen Castle, of which there is not much left to see but has a small ruin on land owned by family friends so we were able to access. While Al went to the airport to collect Clare we went to the 'drags' with Lisa (Al's sister) and her boyfriend. When we were told about the drags we didn't fully understand what this meant as in Australia if you go to the drags - you'd be going to car races. In Ireland the drags are actually dog races. They have beagles (not short like our beagle but tall long legged and very thin) who are bred specifically for racing. On the day of the race 3 or 4 people take turns to drag a canister of smelly oil through the countryside. This will go for a number of miles and eventually they reach the point where the dogs are with their owners having not eaten for 2 days prior to the race, waiting to start the race. As son as the dogs are released they race off following the trail of the oil in the knowledge that when they get to the end of the trail they will be fed. It was pretty amazing to see them running through the paddocks towards the reward. We then headed into town for a meal before meeting up with Clare and Al at the local pub where it seemed that the small pub was filled to the brim with all of Al's relatives.As it was raining we spent the next two days driving around the 'Ring of Kerry' and taking in the nearby sighs. With stops at local pubs for nice warm home cooked lunches.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1217681760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1217681760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kathrynpreston/1/1217681760/tpod.html Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:13:57 -0400 The life of a travelling turtle - I'm sure that my backpack makes me look like a turtle! Round the world with Kat and Matt!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Welwyn Garden City, England, United Kingdom

....
]]>