TravelStream™ news feed for member salandrich on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/salandrich en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 09 Sep 2006 23:00:59 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1157831880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1157831880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1157831880/tpod.html Sat, 09 Sep 2006 23:00:59 -0400 USA, UK and beyond.

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New Plymouth, New Zealand

Got back to NZ yesterday after an overnight flight from Perth. Found NZ having a cold spell with rain and nasty winds. I guess we deserve it after missing the winter and having such a wonderful trip.Thanks for staying with us through all our travels.
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Perth, Australia

Arrived here yesterday. Met by Anne (Anne and Brian are old friends from Taranaki Polytech days). Lovely cool crisp weather - so R is feeling the cold. Feel like we are almost home. Off to see more of Perth later. Will add photos when I have them.
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Singapore, Singapore

Arrived in Singapore after an overnight flight. Not too bad an experience as we got upgraded. Seats allowed you to lie flat, and the food and beverage service was over the top. Flight got in soon after 6am, the hotel found us a room by 8:45. Had 3 nice but sticky days here. Walked a lot (again). Did some shopping but not a lot. R bought a camera, I got an MP3 player. We went to a huge computer expo, we rode the bus around, went to Sentosa island, swam in the pool and ate some interesting meals. R spend a considerable amount of time watching the builders across the river putting up a new hotel.
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Rome, Italy

Pictures are of our couple of days in Rome. What an amazing city, much more to see than we realised. Great food too and reasonable prices. We walked excessive distances on both days, but saw a lot.Hotel was great, lots of character, but a nice room with all you could want. Included was a voucher for breakfast each morning in the cafe across the road. This entitled you to a standard breakfast of a sticky bun and a coffee. Made the mistake the first morning of just asking for coffee - we were given an eggcup each with very strong coffee just covering the base. A return visit to Italy is definitely on the cards.
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Woodbridge, United Kingdom

Those of you who have been jealous of our endless Summer will be pleased to know that is now over. England is back to being its unpredictable self, and I have finally got to wear the trousers and jerseys I have been carrying around for months.This is our last weekend in England, then off to Rome on Tuesday. Will update again if I get a chance.
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Cornwall, United Kingdom

After the Thames trip we went West - visiting my uncle Ron and Richard's Aunt Norma on the way. Destination was The White House at Watergate Bay, near Newquay in Cornwall. This is a bed and breakfast place owned by my cousin Jenny ahd husband Clem. Sadly, Jenny couldn't be there as her mother is not well, but Clem looked after us royally. Stayed 3 nights, went for some nice walks, met up with other family members and ate some delicious meals.Cornwall is very busy at this time of year as you will see. Left there to head back to Suffolk via a night with Richard's school friend Michael. Michael has done very well and has a gorgeous house in Farnham, Surrey. He and wife Sian gave us a most enjoyable evening with great food and NZ wines.On Sat my sister and I had a sale of my mother's household goods which went very well, though nobody wanted any of the big, dark furniture so that will go to auction. We did sell the microwave, fridge and washing machine which makes it a little less comfortable for R and I who are living there! We will move in with my sister on Thurs or Fri then leave Suffolk on Sun to stay with R's uncle who conveniently lives near Heathrow. We fly out for Rome on Tues 29th, then go to Singapore and Perth before getting home on Sep 9.
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River Thames, United Kingdom

We are just back from a week on the Thames with my mother's cousin Geoffrey. He has a very comfortable motor cruiser which he keeps at Reading. We went from there to the top of the navigable Thames, a place called Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Geoff is 86 but able to jump across a gap to the shore, run around the boat, organise all the meals with appropriate beverages and play a mean game of Upwords.The river was beautiful, a different view around each bend - and there were many bends. Every 20 or 30 minutes we would come upon a lock and a burst of activity would be required. All had lock keepers so no need to do all the manual labour - just secure the boat and let ropes in or out at the right time. There are also a number of bridges, most with a riverside pub or two adjoining. As far as Oxford we followed in the footsteps (if you can have those on a river) of the 3 Men in a Boat. We ate on evening in the Barley Mow which is described in the book (see picture). We inspected many other pubs - all most satisfactory, and wandered around several small towns getting supplies. The whole thing was unforgettable.From Reading we went West to visit more family members, and are now staying at Watergate Bay near Newquay in Cornwall, where my cousin Jennifer and husband Clem have a b and b. More on that in the next entry.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1154177280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1154177280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/salandrich/bigtrip06/1154177280/tpod.html Sat, 29 Jul 2006 02:54:17 -0400 USA, UK and beyond.

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Woodbridge, United Kingdom

From Manchester we headed South for Derby to stay with my cousin Pat and husband Doug. We were superbly looked after and entertained once again. Nice pub lunch on Sat and a lunch with a bunch of their friends on the SUnday. From there we went to Leicester to see Richard's mum's family (3 sets of uncles and aunts). He plans to go back to see them again before we finally leave. Stayed overnight in a nice pub near the canal in Market Harborough. Then on to Cambridge, where you now have to pay to see anything at all. Then back to Woodbridge via one or two of my childhood haunts. Should leave well alone, it was sad to see new houses in the front and back garden of my teenage home, and the house being prepared for demolition.Back in my mother's house there is a lot to be done preparing it to be rented. Years of photos, documents and whatsits to sort through. Very hard to throw such stuff away but neither Vicky or I want to keep most of it. Here till Fri Aug 4 when we leave for Reading to join my mother's cousin Geoffrey for a trip up the Thames.
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Manchester, United Kingdom

Apologies for not relying earlier but we haven't had easy access to the Internet for a few days. We have also been kept pretty busy by friends (from college days) who organised all sorts of things for us to do.We had a couple of days in Norwich and found out just how attractive that area is. Wonderful cathedral and narrow streets with lots of history. Out in the countryside we went to the Broads and to a beach where, at low tide, the sea almost disappears from view - it goes out so far. We found it though.Then on to Redcar in N Yorks. We walked on the beach, looked at the shops, went to the hot air balloon festival, celebrated Richard's birthday, visited Fountains Abbey (a World heritage site), went to Whitby, rode the N Yorks Moors restored railway and inspected Barry's allotment. Along the way we saw the villages where they filmed Heartbeat and the Vet programme.The scenery in these parts of England (and Suffolk where we were to start with), is just gorgeous. Everything seems on a small scale, esp after America, but that adds to the charm.We then drove across the Dales to Kendal and are now in Heversham where R went to school. We stopped for coffee at a pub in the middle of the Dales. The landlord told us that of the 36 people in the village only 3 were customers. He then described the shortcomings of the other 33 individually. The loos were down the road and round the side, no lights - good thing it was mid morning. See photo.We've taken a look at Windermere, very beautiful but a lot of other people were looking at it too.Meanwhile we are in the middle of a heatwave - even here in the North it is over 30, and due to remain so most of the week. Of course no-one has air con (though some cars do) or even a fan. I don't expect much sympathy.WednesdayNow in Manchester, staying with Gill who was our first Freeloader visitor in NZ. Came down the M6, or tried to - a bus had rolled and was across all 3 lanes. We had to wait in the car for 2.5 hours in the hottest weather the UK has EVER had in July. Now all showered and watered and Gill has broadband so all is rosy - esp me, it is still v hot.
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Bawdsey, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Arrived in London early Mon morning after an overnight flight from NYC. Got upgraded to business for no apparent reason, so were able to sleep a few hours in between the champagne and meals.Picked up our nice little hire car and found the M25 to be a breeze after our recent experiences. Unfortunately it takes 45 pounds to fill the tank.Rural Suffolk (where my sister and mother live) is rather different to downtown Manhattan, though the temperatures are actually very similar (though I don't expect that to last).I've visited my mother a couple of times, found her much the same. She can hold an intelligent conversation but soon forgets it.We'll stay at my sister's place a few days more then be based at my mother's house. We've got some travelling planned, mostly to see friends and family.R has been busy helping my brother-in-law put together a Summer house, and that is now just about finished.Are now near Norwich, staying with friends we first met at college a looong time ago. Nice when you find friends are always friends. We'll be on the move for the next 2 weeks or so, mainly visiting friends and family. I'll update this when I can
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