Robert

2011-04-22T18:13:00.006+01:00

3 week Europe Trip to Italy,
through France and returning through Switzerland and Germany.
31st March ... 21st April 2011

One of our first stops a local market near Cannes South of France - a good place to relax.

Monte Carlo - the view over the harbour from the Palace was impressive with the countless boats over £1m - reminds me of Poole.

One of the many .. many churches in Lucca (Via San Paolino) - absolutely enormous - a lovely place to stroll around and get lost - as we did - but as the old town is enclosed by a massive wall - the way back to the hotel is best found by way of a walk along the top of the wall.

Can't believe how strong I am holding up this absolutely enormous building, the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans much more than I ever imagined. Definitely a wonder of the world as far as I am concerned.

We climbed to the top of this Federico 11 Tower which was rebuilt after the Germans demolished it.

This Monastery was very difficult to find but we were given a private tour as viewing is by tour only and we had missed the last one - unfortunately the guide spoke little English and our Italian was not up to it - but a beautiful place.

Florence El Duomo - well the bell tower part.

Florence Santa Croce - inside we saw some amazing pictures.

A view of Suri in front of the Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Fiume Arno, Florence.

Suri admires the gold in the window in one of the many jewellers ( madielle) on the ponte vecchio bridge, Florence.

We stayed on the outskirts of Rome at Rebibia and got the Metro in for each of the 2 days we visited. Here we are checking out the Colosseum - unfortunately too many tourists around.

The Roman Forum was amazing - so many centuries of the Roman Empire open for inspection and imagination.

Impossible to miss the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle 11 - close to the Forum.

Throwing my coins into the Trevvi Fountain - the hope is to return again - needless to say we did return as we were lost in the streets of Rome the very next day.

One of many meals - here in the centre of Rome.

Inside the Vatican after queueing for over one and half hours - it was worth it but very crowded and very tiring.

Inside St Peters Basilica - Suri caught the light as it shone through one of the upper windows. Another queueing job - unfortunately half of the Cathedral was closed off for a private function / service.

Guarding the Vatican - in their multicoloured outfits.

After Rome we visited Hadrian's Villa (c AD 134)- absolutely amazing - in an out of the way place near Tivoli - and covering such a large area of ground - it certainly must have been impressive in its day.

Chilling out with strawberries - we had a punnet most days - very tasty and very cheap.

We stayed just outside Venice at Padua and got the train in for each of the 2 days we visited - the views from every angle were magical.

Suri standing on one of the many bridges near St Mark's Square over the canals with an amazing backdrop.

Venice - The Bell tower - impressive even if it did fall down about 100 years ago.

Noticeably Venice was cooler on day 2, I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the water as I had expected it to be dirty, smelly and very polluted - but not when we visited -

Suri waiting for her Gondola ride.

After Venice we headed up to the Italian Lakes - not sure what I am planning here at Lake Garda - needless to say the water was a tad on the cool side.

The castle at Sirmione was well worth a visit and on this day it was free to the public.

Lazing on the balcony at our Hotel Meandro on the shores of Lake Garda - one of many great hotel finds.

One of many stops in the Alps to take in the fantastic scenery, here Suri poses in front of a waterfall in the background.

Stopping off in Switzerland on our way back - Berne was a surprisingly pleasant place.

Lunch in Berne.

We had a lovely time wandering around the old part of Zurich, here beside the Ferris wheel we stopped for a BBQ style lunch.

Still in Zurich looking for the Gnomes.

2011-02-14T09:40:00.006Z

	The Algarve 3rd - 13th February 2011
The Marina at Albufeira - shame that most of the shops are still not let - but a lovely place all the same.

Looking for Bill 'n' Ben at the Marina.

The view overlooking Alufeira beach was stunning.

A different perspective on things.

The sandy beaches all along the Algarve coast were just lovely.

Faro Se Cathedral within the grounds - a little ghoulish maybe but these were the bones / skulls of children used as part of the wall.

In the Jardin Manuel Bivar in the centre of Faro Suri found a beautiful tree with amazing flowers - not sure what the tree was called.

Praia das Marinha was a great place to start our cliff top walk to Benagil - a definite must do to anyone visiting the area.

Suri was fascinated by the Almond trees which were just coming into bloom and some still had the fruits on from the previous year - which we had to try - some were sweet but many were bitter.

The cliffs on the Algarve where truly spectacular.

The amazing stacks looked beautiful - and the sea was calm whilst we were there.

Posing on the ramparts of the Castle in Silves - a must visit place - later we had a lovely lunch at the Cafe Ingles - just down the hill outside the castle - highly recommended.

A particularly large statue of King Sancho I of Portugal situated outside of the gates to Silves Castle, which he captured c1189.

Checking out the bells at the Se Cathedral - Faro.

A fantastic view of the beach at Luz.

The amazing multi coloured rock formation at Luz was just spectacular.

A couple of worms in Albufeira - close to where we were staying.

Another cliff top scene close to Rei das Pralas.

Lord Baden Powell outside the Igreja da Nossa Senhora - this was the start of rather a long but must do walk from Ferragudo along the coast and return.

A rather obvious sign within the Fortazela (fort) at Sagres.

A novel way to show off the lovely pottery just outside Sagres - not up to the standard of Poole Pottery of course.

Together at Luz.

What a way to travel - by this outdoor double escalator down to the beach at Albufeira.

2011-01-14T10:30:00.002Z

Morocco - last trip of 2010 - first trip of 2011

The Cascades of Immouzzer - although at the time we visited there was not a great deal of water coming over the top.

In the Paradise Valley with the Oasis in the background - here we found a photo opportunity on the top of a shop.

Sunset on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic just North of Agadir.

Essaouira - Posing in the wall of the Castle Wall.

Essaouira fishing port - a very busy day.

A cliff top view

One of many good meals in the local restaurants of Agadir on the front.

The beach at Agadir - just great for topping up the tan - and the guys who sorted out the wind breaks etc were just great.

In central Agadir we found there was a local Moroccan pop star giving a free concert - everybody enjoyed the evening.

The view of Agadir Bay from the old ruined Kasbah

The Port as seen through a hole in the wall of the Kasbah

Arriving at the Fish Market in Agadir - here we had a good meal but was overcharged - a bit of a con really.

The Agadir Marina in the background.

Coffee Time chilling out in the Cafe watching the world go by.

The view of the Djemaa el-Fna Marrakesh taken from the roof top Cafe.

Snake Charmers in Djemaa el-Fna Marrakesh.

Lunch time again - Marrakesh.

So many Caleches

Typical market scene Morocco.

Butchers store in Marrakesh - lots of meat available.

Inside the Bahia Palace Marrakesh - one of many beautiful ceilings.

Inside the Bahia Palace Marrakesh - the ornate woodwork - apparently from Iran.

Inside the Bahia Palace Marrakesh

Outside the entrance to the Bahia Palace Marrakesh.

Trying to get in to the Friday Mosque - no success.

Agadir Marina with the words "God Country & King" on the hillside below the Kasbah - which is lit up at night - impressive.

A self portrait - with camera on timer.

Goats in the trees.

View of the restored Palace where we had a lovely lunch of Chicken Tagine and Couscous - close to Taroudannt in the Atlas Mountains.

Beautiful Bougainvilleas.

View of the Oasis.

Busy Taroudannt - trying to cross the road.

Carpet salesmen - no we did not buy.

Market stalls in Taroudannt.

Inside the Souk at Taroudannt.

Outside the Souk Market in Taroudannt.

On the ramparts of the historical wall around Taroudannt.

Checking out the Orange Groves on the way to Taroudannt.

Suri with her Arabic singer in a local bar on the front - Agadir.

Promenading along the main beach strip in Agadir - a very popular thing to do for everybody - locals especially.

New Years night - up to usual tricks.

Fireworks as 2011 arrives.

Party time - bye bye 2010.

Moroccan dance troop making lots of noise.

2010-09-25T16:00:00.101+01:00

2 weeks in Beautiful Corfu

The weather was really hot n sunny with no rain at all - so most of the time was spent relaxing and topping up the tan.

We hired a car for 5 days and toured the island - although it is quite small we did many miles and saw some really beautiful places. Beware of the mosquitos in September as we were bitten many times.


We stopped off to admire the view and have coffee and baclava in this posh cafe		- but the view was something else

The view of Paleokastritsa from Lakones Bella Vista was absolutely perfect

Posing after lunch in beautiful Paleokstritsa

Taking in the sun

Another lunch by the beach in Agios Stefanos

Suri takes a paddle in Dassia just North of Corfu Town

Pointing - not sure at what but I am sure it was worth pointing out

Another view from Bella Vista


Suri seated on the tub at Achillion	- with Achilles in the background watching over us

At Achillion again the view was marvelous though a little misty on this day

Check out the blue sandals

A bit of toe rubbing - not the only person to do it either

Posing in Messonghi

The long walk down from the Lighthouse above the Old Fort in Corfu town

The view from the top of the Old Fort in Corfu town was worth the trek to the top

Within the Old fort outside the St Georges Church - a rather unusual design

Taking in the view with the Old Castle in Corfu town in the background


View from our room at the Harris Apartments

In the Olive Groves - here the Olives had already been harvested

Our local beach just 3 minutes from our apartment in St George South

Corfu town outside the Palace of St. Michael and St. George

Outside the bell-tower of the Church of Agios (Saint) Spyridons which has a unique red dome and clock, Corfu Town - inside there was an amazing ceiling and lots of silver

Walking on the boardwalk in Agios Gordis

Corfu Town with the New Fort in the background

2010-08-17T13:26:00.035+01:00

Scotland Trip
9th - 16th August 2010

A few pictures from our short trip North of the Border (not in any particular order)

The Itinerary:

After a long drive North we stopped over at Carlisle, the next day we visited Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall before crossing the border into Scotland. Quite amazing.

We headed towards Ayr visiting Bruces Stone - which was probably not the original stone that Robert the Bruce stood on to encourage his men as it was probably now in the middle of the reservoir - but it looked good.

We stopped for a short while at Girvan to take a walk along the coast and to see the towering island of Ailsa Craig in the distance

After our stopover in Ayr we headed for the ferry at Ardrossan this took us over to the lovely Isle of Arran.

We decided to tour around the island heading South frequently stopping off to admire the views including that of Holy Island, and to take short walks, continuing around and up the West Coast arriving at Lochranza with just enough time to catch the tiny ferry - which took just 18 vehicles over to Ciaonog - where there is nothing ...... but a place to get on and off the ferry.

As it was getting late we headed on to Tarbert where we were extremely fortunate to find B&;B accommodation run by a lovely and generous lady.

Next morning before we set off we had the most amazing and enormous "Full Scottish Breakfast" - we could not finish it - it was just too much.

Well fed we headed for Dunadd Hill Fort - situated as suggested by the name, on the top of an hill with fantastic views all around the Kilmartin Glen. Here we put our foot in the sculptured footprint used in ceremonies by the King of Scotland c700AD. King and Queen for a moment.

Moving on to Inveraray we visited the wonderful Castle, with is magnificent Armoury - set off wonderfully in the entrance area. After we tried to check out the Jail but it was closed (or maybe full up). Quickly we moved on to Tarbet on Loch Lomond - where we eventually found B&;B accommodation.

Next morning we took a bit of a rest, this included a short boat trip on Loch Lomond - taking in the wonderful views with Ben Lomond (sort of) towering above.

When we decided to move on it was a bit of a long trek and a dash via beautiful Pitlochrey through the Grampian Mountains, which were impressive to see. Eventually we arrived in Inverness, where every B&;B and Hotel was booked up - fortunately one of the B&B ladies offered us a room in her sons house 5 miles away in Kirkhill - we are very grateful to her as it could have adversely affected the tour.

After breakfast we set off in search of Nessie - the Loch Ness Monster - but alas he (or she) could not be seen - it was a bit misty though.

We had a sort of whistestopltour of Inverness town- which were playing against Celtic (losing 0-1) that day - so a very noisy town with a significant Police presence, then off to the real battle at Culloden ( needless to say we English won -ooopsssssss).

Seriously ..... the exhibition was really well done and very informative, but outside was a bit of a let down and the audios provided were not very good. But all in all a good lesson in History - who knows what might have happened if only...........

We then stopped off at Brodie Castle - but to see the inside was with an escorted tour which took 1 hour and we had just missed the last one so we decided to give it a miss - shame really - but time was pressing and we had to get to Aberdeen for our overnight stop.

Next morning we took the scenic East Coast route stopping at many places for tea and coffee and..... We had a wonderful tour of the House of Dunn, near Montrose, before (just in time) catching the Steam Train on the Caledonian Railway, which took us to Brechin (as well as taking us back in time).

We whizzed through Dundee over the Tay Bridge and headed for St Andrews - not for the golf - but there was plenty of it going on around there.

We were running out of time and with such a long journey ahead decided to head back to Carlisle for the night.

Next morning before setting off on our final leg back home we (Suri) decided that we had to see Carlisle Castle, which I am glad that we did - it is particularly well maintained covering a lot of history - it is a shame we could not give it more time.

Eventually we set off on the very long journey back South.

Overall a really good trip - the weather was very kind to us with only a few heavy showers ---- even if we did miss such a lot ---------- but that gives a good enough reason to return...........

2010-07-17T09:53:00.001+01:00

Thomas 2 years of age

Time flies by so fast, he is growing up and changing so quickly.

Here are a few pics of him at home at one of his parties.

2010-07-05T18:05:00.000+01:00

Thomas visits us for the weekend.

A trip to Poole beach is great fun - making sandcastles and paddling in the sea.

Thomas finds a new hat to wear.

And climbing n standing on the recliner is great fun - good job he was wearing the cycle hat.

Just posing whilst pausing for a few seconds.

Time for a BBQ - no problem with the Atkins diet for Thomas.

A quick drink before dashing off to do something else.

Thomas shows Brod & Geoff his footballing skills - I think we might need him for the next World Cup.

Flying the flag - better not show this one to Brigitte.

Thomas shows off his new gloves - I think Geoff wants to borrow them.

2010-07-04T19:36:00.000+01:00

A short trip to Cornwall

24th - 28th June 2010

We were very fortunate with the weather, we stayed for 2 nights in Penzanse, 1 night in Falmouth and 1 night in St Austell.

All in all a great few days.

The Cornish harbours were a hive of activity - lots of people around - messing about in boats and people promenading - in an old fashioned sort of way.

We went early to St Michaels Mount and so it was not too busy, the climb was well worth it and the views from the top were magnificent.

We even visited an old Tin Mine - which was surprisingly interesting.

Although not easy to get to - The Lizard was a real find, we used the Tom Tom and it took us down and around so many narrow but beautiful lanes, fortunately the traffic was light and we had to squeeze by on only a few occasions.

The castles at Falmouth and St Mawes were particularly impressive - even the cannon fire was supported by theatrical smoke.

We took advantage of our membership of the National Trust and English Heritage visiting many wonderful gardens including Glendurgan Gardens, where Suri was nearly lost in the maze, and of course the recently found and restored - Lost Gardens of Helligan.

We went to Lands End - walking from Sennen Cove - just under 1 hour each way, but Lands End itself was a bit of a let down - not even an ice cream was available at 5pm to refresh us after the walk - so we had our ice cream in Sennen Cove - the shops there were still open at 6pm, we also visited the nearby Cape Cornwall which was much better and more interesting than Lands End.

Here are a couple of the garden features at Heligan - really well done they were.

The greenhouses were really good and the potting shed was for the real gardening enthusiast - ...... if only.......

2010-06-13T10:37:00.004+01:00

SWEDEN part 2

Here we have a few pictures taken with Suri's family.

Ahmad at his home in Stockholm.

Farzaneh with Mr Beam

More of Mr Beam after his shower

Trying a little Hubbly Bubbly

Fariba showing how it should be done.

Farzaneh and Ahmad under the glow of the outside heaters at a restaurant in Stockholm.

Fariba and Suri posing for the camera.

Kio, Miline, Nick and Som taking a well earned rest after a short hike.

Lunch outside at Kio's Summer retreat - a wonderful place.

Checking out the lake near to the Summer House.

Time for tea.

Checking out the view.

Bedtime stories for Nick and Som in their home town of Goteburg.

Karim in his home town of Eskilstuna

Karim and Hamir

Lunch outside the Kebab shop in Vastaras.

Karim enjoys a cigar whilst we relax with coffee and cake.

Dinna and Suri chat as we wander along the streets.

2010-05-28T16:45:00.003+01:00

A taste of Stockholm Part 1

We visited beautiful Sweden from 26th of May 2010 to the 12th June 2010, staying mainly with Suri's relatives - that she had not seen for many years.

Here Suri is trying out the old style phone boxes that are quite rare these days - mainly a tourist attreaction.

The Old part of the Town of Gamla Stan is full of narrow streets in the centre of Stockholm, mainly tourist shops and cafes but delightful to stroll down, and the Palace is close by.

A short distance from Stockholm is Drottningholm - the summer royal residence, here we catch the changing of the guards in front of the fantastic theatre - worthy of a visit in its own right.

We were taken to Drottningholm by Hamad, and we caught the ferry back to Stockholm - a great experience and the views along the way were memorable.

The Palace and grounds were impressive and well worth the trip, especially the Japanese Summer House - though as explained by the guide much was copied third hand and therefore did not represent true Japanase style.

Stockholm is made up of a large number of islands - the main way to get around is by boat, we took a ferry around the inner islands - there were so many we lost count.

2010-05-18T11:00:00.006+01:00

The Weekend of the 17th May 2010

Colin and Ann visited us here in Poole, we had glorious weather - it was great to see them again and Colin was looking so good after his op.

We visited Weymouth where we walked along the front before enjoying our fish n chip lunch, after which we visited the local Bennetts Water Garden styled on Monet's garden - well worth a visit - especially if you get a 2 for 1 deal as we did.

PS ignore the date stamp on the photos - it was incorrectly set.

2010-04-10T15:51:00.005+01:00

The Birthday girl reaches that half way point.

Congratulations Susan!!!!!!

Yes here we are in the British Legion Club in Todmorden again - this time we are celebrating my sisters birthday, unfortunately very few pics were taken by me so here is the best of a very small selection:

Emma and Suri are sitting outside under the new canopy and

then we have a bit of dancing going on with Sue and Suri showing us all how it should be done.

A great night was had by all, and it was good to see so many friends again.

2010-04-08T15:39:00.003+01:00

A short visit to Chester

Making use of the Park 'n' Ride facilities we headed into Chester, which is a beautiful city, with its old wall almost entirely around the city, and we did walk all the way around, as well as taking a rather short boat trip on the river Dee.

We checked out the Cathedral, which was impressive, and of course a little bit of shopping had to be done.

Chester is well worth the visit and the horse race track is so close, so we must try that another time.

2010-03-07T15:24:00.002Z

Thomas - just look at him

If only we could package these moments, as he is changing daily.

- I guess this is the best we can do.

Here we take a stroll in the local park in Stevenage, where Thomas checks out the play equipment, - the weather was cold but bright.

Looking forward to seeing him soon

2010-03-05T15:15:00.002Z

A trip to see John & Margaret

A good time was had by all and it was great to see John looking so well, and we were made ever so welcome, next time we will stay longer.

Thanks for putting up with us and we hope to reciprocate soon.

2010-02-09T16:08:00.006Z

Flowers from Upton Park

Suri wanted to show the world these photos.......

These pictures are from an unusual plant from Brazil, the photos were taken in June 2007 in Upton Park. the last 2 years the plant did not grow but this year it is growing again and hopefully I might be able to take more picture of it. i think it give a flower once every 3 years.

2010-01-18T11:18:00.004Z

Congratulations David

Held at The Barbican Centre in the City of London, where David received his Masters Degree

A good day was had by all.

2009-12-22T10:51:00.028Z

Cuba Part 2

For 6 days we hired a car and headed west; with some in trepidation as every car we saw was scratched and damaged in some way - fortunately we returned the car without any more dents and scratches than when we took it - though it was not without incident as we went over potholes, muddy rutted roads and on one occasion went part way off the edge of a road.

Here are some of our pictures to show where we went.

One of the best things about travelling is meeting other travelers here is Steve and Yvaana with the gorgeous azure sea as a backdrop.

We stopped many times along the road - here Suri is shaded under one of Cuba's enormous and very old trees that seemed to be everywhere.

A great find was Villa Soroa which had a welcoming swimming pool and was set beautifully and caringly in what remains of the Cuban Jungle (tropical forest really as all of the jungle has been chopped down and replaced with faster growing tropical trees), here we had lovely chalet - it was so good we stayed for 2 nights.

Close by was a magnificent Orchiderio ( Orchid garden) which was really a not to be missed place.

In the morning we woke up to find the whole place covered in mist - it was quite magical.

Close by we checked out the waterfall, it was suffering from a lack of water as we only had 1 downpour during the 2 week stay.

A familiar sight as we drove along was rice being dried out on the road - fortunately there were very few cars where we were travelling so most of the times cars drove around it - though there was one occasion when a lorry drove over part of it as it approached us.

Local farmers offer their fruit and vegetables that they have grown by the side of the road, we stopped to buy fruit at these - on this occasion the farmer took us in to his home and showed us around whilst his wife cut up and prepared the pineapple that we had bought from him - this was typical of the Cuban people in the countryside - always helpful and smiling.

Another place we stopped at was the Hotel Islazul El Mirador in San Diego de Los Banos - a quite old building which was in need of some repair - probably due to the lack of tourists - I believe we were the only tourists staying here. Part of the problem stems from the hurricane 2 years before which swept away the main bridge, but also the closure to tourists of the Spa next door due H & S reasons - though the locals were still using it.

In the town we came across this tobacco factory where leaves were being processed for making into big fat Cuban cigars.

On our drive we headed for Cayo Levisa a small island off the North Coast - but it took us so long to get to the jetty where the ferry left, that it was too late and so we decided not to go, all around this area were Banana Plantations - here Suri compares herself to a leaf.

In Vinales we visited the Jardin Botanico - a garden maintained by 2 elderly sisters - with help from friends and family - here in this large garden where so many varieties of plants and trees - even this unusual tin can tree.

The lady who showed us around was determined to tell us the name of every plant growing there.

The west of Cuba is well known for growing tobacco - here I inspect the inside of a traditional barn used for drying the leaves, as expected the smell was quite strong.

In the countryside towns old hotel reception areas are used as shops - this one is typical both in look and the fact that the shelves were almost bare.

The views over the Sierra del Rosario were impressive, the way the mountains rose up reminded us both of Guilin in China.

Our 3rd stopover was the Hotel El Ranch San Vicenti - just north of Vinales - another lovely place with cabins set in beautiful scenic woods, spoilt only slightly by a few minor things like no hot water, but with the heat this really was not a problem.

A bit out of the way and a tad difficult to find was the Cueva de Los Portales - the HQ of the Western revolutionary army under the leadership of Che Guuevara during the 1962 Missile Crisis. This is now part of a campsite. Whilst we were there I guess this was the hottest day of the trip.

Finally we headed out to the Playas Del Este - just a few miles east of Havana where the 10 miles of beach were fabulous and as it was Sunday there were lots of local people from Havana.

2009-12-21T14:41:00.000Z

Cuba - A sample of the cars we saw - including one being resprayed

2009-12-20T11:08:00.052Z

Cuba Visit December 2009 Part 1 Havana

Here are some of the sites of the city where we were based - We stayed at the 100 year old Plaza Hotel right in the centre of Havana - check out the hotel review at Tripadviser - see link to side.

Part 2 to follow.

Here's one just for Brod - an old steam train - caged in for some reason - located just outside of the station.

The Theatre was quite magnificent with murals on the wall at the entrance and inside was pretty good too. We saw the Cuban Modern Dance troupe - unbelievably energetic - if a tad on the repetitive side and a bit pricey at 20CUC (1CUC = 70p), though the locals paid only 2CUC.

Outside of the Museum of the Revolution - apparently this tank was used during the Bay Of Pigs attempted invasion by the US.

A little gem - a Russian Orthodox Church close to the pier - I am sure tourists rarely visit this pristine church.

The Castillo De La Real Fuerza was in great shape with much information about how the Spanish conquered Cuba - unfortunately none of it in English and my Spanish could not cope with most of it, but lots of cannons and cannon balls and real trunks of silver or so we were assured.

Many of the visitors to Cuba came by cruise ship and in my opinion they see very little of the real Cuba or even the real Havana, here is the Europa moored up close to San Fransisco Plaza.

A typical transporter for the Cuban armed forces, this was quite a modern vehicle - shame they had to take it out of the museum really :)

These Coco Taxis are everywhere and probably the best and almost the cheapest way of getting around - not to mention the air conditioning thrown in for free - this way you get the diesel fumes straight in your face.

A view of San Fransisco Plaza taken from the rooftop of the Convent De San Fransisco De Asisis - a beautifully restored building with many good artifacts to see - inside there are two lovely courtyards which are typically Spanish.

Along the Malecon - a long promenade running along the edge of the sea is this Black Flag Monument situated outside the "US Interests section" - intended to block the view - it certainly does - 138 flags - when we were passing they were being repainted so not all had flags on them.

One of our finds was this renovated Exhibition Hall along the Desamparado close to the station - not in most guide books - this is the place to buy any of the tourist type gifts that you may need - unfortunately for us we found it just hours before we left to return home.

A typical Havana scene - I could not resist this - this was a photo of a picture I found in one of the hotels - where we checked e mail and booked our hire car.

This was the Fabrica De Tobaccos Partagas building - unfortunately closed to the public when we visited - but there was a distinct smell of cigars around - but there again that was the same in many parts of Havana.

Close to the ferry terminal there is the Musea De Ron - which was poor value for money and not very interesting and only a tiny tot of 7 year old Havana Club at the end of a very short tour, we should have spent the money in the bar attached to the museum where when we visited there was some great music and singing.

Across the ferry is the Marble Statue of Christ watching over the harbour - well worth a visit for the view and the trip across on the ferry.

Close to the the Statue, is the Castillo De Los Tres Santos Reyes Magos Del Morro - known more simply as the 16th century El Morro Fortress - which is very impressive and when we went was deserted, with very few tourists. To get there we took a cab as it was across the water and access was through a vehicle only tunnel.

Just about at every bar and restaurant there would be a band and singer these were typical of them all - singing of course "Guantanamera" ("girl from Guantanamo") perhaps the best known Cuban song, and everyone sang along to the chorus.

This bar in Plaja Vieja brewed its own beer, we returned a few times to sample the food as well as the beer, their speciality was a 6 pint tube which sat on your table and you helped yourself.

Close to the station was the Casa Natal De Jose Marti - one of the heroes of Cuba though he only lived here a few years. He died fighting for his country on his first day in battle on the 19th May 1895 near Bayama. Today his statues are to be found everywhere.

The view of the Prado outside of the Capitolio building typifies the meting of Old and Central Havana with the big old buildings crumbling - with nobody caring about it at all whilst the hustle and bustle of traffic and people go on - this is the main thoroughfare in the heart of Havana which is full of potholes and at night the lights do not work so it is very dark - but this is Havana!!!

The Capitolio Building built in the 1920s as the new presidential and government building - it dominates the skyline of Havana and resembles the Capitol in Washington DC, this was built when the US pretty much ran Cuba as a colony. Inside is very impressive - we were able to see and visit most areas including the parliament, and stand / sit where Fidel has made some of speeches.

On the rooftop of a restaurant overlooking Plaza Armos - here I tried out a daiquiri - one of Cuba's famous cocktails - rum based of course - very refreshing I have to say when temperatures are in the 30's C

All around the Plaza Armos are booksellers and street artists here are a few on stilts.

More to follow.......................................... check back.

2009-11-11T17:15:00.003Z

Mushrooms

Today, whilst on her 4 mile walk through Upton Park, (she insisted I put that in) Suri collected some wild mushrooms - not sure whether they are edible or not, but after checking on line we decided to try one sort (we tried those on the bottom right of photo).

Well they tasted lovely fried in butter ..... and we are still here with no side affects.

Maybe try some more tomorrow - hey that is living dangerously.........

2009-11-06T10:46:00.001Z

Holes Bay Poole

Recently Suri took a walk through Upton Park and around Holes Bay, past the RNLI headquarters which is close to Asda, finishing her walk after the Lifting Bridge.

It was a beautiful day and she took some lovely pictures including some migrating ducks - she estimates that there were over 200 - probably Eurasian Wigeons but can not be certain see:

http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowlGallery/81/index.html

Also thre was a flock of Canada Geese and a family of Swans along with a couple of Little Egrets.

I hope you like the photos the bay is beautiful particularly when the tide is in and the sun is shining.

If you are in the area then check it out it is a very pleasant walk and there is so much to see - just keep your eyes open and be alert.

2009-10-22T16:58:00.001+01:00

Tunisia 7th -- 21st October 2009

A typical Tunisian beach close to our hotel between Sousse and El Kantaoui. In general these were mostly clean and tidy the sea was warm and clean - just what we had gone to Tunisia for.

Swimming in the sea was just great.

I have reported on the hotel - separately see link to the right.

As always Suri is drawn to the shops here she is trying to choose which magnet to buy - in the end more than one was bought - just to be sure and of course when a bargain is to be had - Suri usually finds it.

Within Sousse we checked out the Medina within the old walled town and the Mosque which was having a few repairs carried out so not all was accessible. Suri got a deal on the entrance fee, which is always a good thing.

Worth a visit but not a great deal to see.

Just around the corner from the Mosque was the Rabat, which was in good condition, though again in a constant state of repair.

I headed up the tower for a view of Sousse. This was quite impressive and it was great to wander in and out of the many rooms and along the rampart, which as Suri pointed out to me had no safety rail - but that added to the excitement of it all - no doubt somebody will fall over one day and rails will be installed.

After a few days we decided to head off and do a bit of exploring - so we hired a car and driver, as this was cheaper and easier than hiring a car, we went first of all to Kairouan, about 60km from Sousse, we checked out the Great Mosque - or Mosque Okba, which we were told is the oldest in Tunisia. see

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/tunisia/kairouan-great-mosque for fuller details.

It was quite impressive, but again not a great deal to see as access to the inside of the Mosque was not allowed.

As you can see I was given something appropriate to wear - to cover up my legs I think - here I am trying not to be seen in my new outfit.

The driver then took us to the Bassins Aglabites, which is where good drinking water used to be available to the the local - when we visited it was a sort of a green colour. The reservoirs were situated in a park, in order to get into the park we went out of a door in the local tourist office, unfortunately it locked behind us and it took a while before we could get someones attention and they could let us out - a bit scary .... not really.

Then we checked out the mosque Sidi Sahbi - the Mosque of the Barber who we are told had a few hairs from the head of Mohamed, this building was more elaborately decorated than what we had seen so far, with many colourful Arabic mosaics around the building - here Suri was allowed inside to view the tomb, but I was not - I wonder why.

Then on to El Djem (sometimes spelt without the D) about another 60km much of it over a dirt track of a road, to see the Colosseum, which was seen from a distance as we drove towards it.

The Colosseum had been restored on one side more than the other to give a better idea of the scale and magnificence of the building. We were able to wander and clamber all over the place without much restrictions, what a spectacle it must have been when the Romans were there.

I have seen the Colosseum in Rome (from the outside many years ago) and I think this one in El Djem is much better, the restoration work is really good and a visit is certainly recommended as a not to be missed site when visiting Tunisia.

The local Museum in El Djem had the best mosaics I have ever seen - most of these had been transferred from a Roman Villa located elsewhere in Tunisia, but bringing them together at the site of the remains of another Roman Building is great for tourists.

Another must see attraction if visiting the area.

Retuning via Monastir we headed, a little late in the day, for the golden-domed Bourguiba Mausoleum, built in 1963 as the burial mosque of ex-President Habib Bourguiba and his family. The two slender minarets, 82ft high, are particularly impressive in the late afternoon sun. To the right is the little Marabout of Sidi Bou Zid.

Although we arrived after the official closing time - a few Dinar gained us access and a private showing without any other tourist.

A great trip - cheaper than the official tour and we had our very own local guide who had some great info on so many things, including stopping off at a pastry shop where we were able to buy the best tasting hot Tunisian fig pastries covered in syrup - I can taste them now and we paid the locals' price as our driver also bought some for his family - mmmmm.

More shopping; these Gucci sunglasses are such a bargain that it is impossible to resist - especially if you are a seasoned negotiator like Suri.

What a great way to spend a few hours - out on the open sea on a Catamaran - just lounging about - diving and swimming in the sea ... with enormous jelly fish, then a drink and some food - perfect - especially as the sun was shining and the wind was in the sail.

By the way - the best way is to negotiate direct; as the official tour price is a tad on the steep side - and you get just the same trip.

Another day - we headed off on an organised tour this time - first of all to the Friguia Zoo, which was much better than I was expecting the walkway around the big cats was well designed both for tourists and for the cats themselves.

Immediately after the wander around the Zoo we queued up for the Zulu experience - not exactly Tunisian - but we had been told it was a good night out - in addition to the Zulu Dancers we had Belly Dancers, Tribal Drummers and a Fire Eater.

All this whilst being served our dinner, which I have to say was not the best, it was described as a feast but it was pretty bland, though the red wine was the best I tasted in Tunisia, to be frank that does not say a great deal, anyway by the end of the evening most of us were pretty merry and some people joined in the group dance at the end - no not me this time - but yes Suri was up there practicing her Belly Dancing.

During the second week we decided to do a bit more exploring - we checked out the train times from Sousse, and set off for Tunis, the capital, the train took about 2 hours - supposedly an express, but it was a good experience and I would recommend others to do this as it was far far cheaper than any tour just 13 Dinars return.

When we got to Tunis we joined up with a couple of Russian tourists who were on the same train and doing the same as us - so we got a taxi together to see the historical Roman sites of Carthage, not far away from Tunis, all went well 'till we arrived at the first location - the remains of the Colosseum. I could not believe it the Russians decided that the taxi driver wanted too much for showing us around each of the sites, taking us between the sites which were pretty spread out, waiting and taking us back to the train station - all in all for about 5 hours, the driver wanted 20 Dinars each - a total of 80 Dinars (2 Dinars = 1£), but the Russians would not pay this - as a result we paid 30 Dinars each - a total of 60 Dinars.

On leaving the Colosseum we saw the Russians walking - the driver said they were walking in the wrong direction - into the desert - we did not see them again, until by chance we were on the same train back to Sousse in the evening - they obviously did not get lost in the desert but probably did not see as much as we saw.

The Colosseum remains at Carthage - we were told that it was bombed by the Germans during WW11 - certainly there was not much left and it was in need of a bit of restoration and a tidy up.

The Mussee de Carthege is set on the hill overlooking the bay - a wonderful setting, much restored and informative, outside are the remains of the buildings - inside are many artifacts from the time when the Romans occupied this part of North Africa.

Further along is the Theatre Romain, which has been extensively renovated and is used for plays and recitals - though when we visited it was deserted.

The Roman Baths - Thermes d'Antonin were certainly impressive, situated next to the sea with a great view and although it was in ruin the renovation works enabled us to get a better picture and understanding of what the place would have looked like. It was certainly very extensive, it is located close to the Presidents Office so there were quite a few armed guards around - later as we passed by the building our driver told us - no pictures please - I suppose Tunisia is a sort of democratic republic - with a president in situ for many years and expected to be there for another - at least 4 years - assuming he is elected next time - but of course he will be.

In one of the smaller sites - a Roman Graveyard - Tophet de Salambo we found a lovely tree full of fruit a Pomegranate tree - I do not know why they had not been picked maybe because of its location within the Graveyard, but I persuaded Suri to leave them.

Finally the driver took us to the lovely village of Sidi Bou Said, which is set upon a hill overlooking the Bay of Tunis with its cobblestone roads, white buildings and blue doors and windows it should not be missed.

At the top there are some wonderful views - I am glad we did not miss it.

We stayed on a Half Board basis in the Hotel Marhaba Salem so we met quite a few people as we scrambled for the buffet food - here we are with 2 new friends from Denmark; Finn and Bente, which we intend to keep in touch with.

Overall a really good holiday and much warmer than the UK - blue skies most days though with a few drops of rain on a couple of days, and one noisy and very wet thunderstorm - fortunately late at night - some great lightning though.

2009-09-15T10:19:00.001+01:00

A short trip to BATH

What a beautiful place is Bath - even if it was a tad on the cool side - but no rain - till we were returning home anyway.

Most of the sites were within the town centre area so after catching the Park n Ride we just strolled around the place, here are a few pics - at the Roman Baths of course - but also bumping into Jane Austin n friends.

2009-09-04T10:32:00.003+01:00

Teresa & John's wedding

A great time was had by all, sorry for arriving a little late - still we did see the end of the ceremony, which as expected was held at the Hertfordshire Golf & Country Club in Broxbourne.

Here we are outside after the ceremony - just before the reception - held in the Colonial Suite - very nice, where we met many of their relatives.

To top it off in the evening the band was great music and there was much jigging about to 60's and 70's music - not all of it do I remember!!!!!

Congratulations to the newly weds may they have many happy years together..... whooooopeee.

2009-07-16T17:27:00.013+01:00

A quick resume of the latter part of the trip

- as its becoming history now.

After Sonnenberg we moved on to Chimeney Bluffs a set of amazing sculptured cliffs along Lake Ontario, then Hamlin Beach Park, followed by 3 Mile Point before getting to Niagara - where we spent a couple of days.

We did both the Canadian and American Falls tours - best way really, as it was very busy and it would have been difficult to find all of the places, park up and get tickets.

The Falls were magnificent, the weather was very good on both days and each of the events were great - the Maid in the Mist boat trip to the edge of the Horseshoe Falls, going down sort of behind the falls and trip up the Stylon Tower - where we experienced the firework display - extended on this day as it was the 4th July - something about declaring independence from England - way back.......

After Niagara we were heading back, along Lake Erie, calling in at the Lake Erie State Park, then the Letchworth State Park where the Gorge was impressively deep and very narrow in places - the Grand Canyon of NY State we were told. We checked out the Silver Lake, the Senaca Lake where we eventually got to take a boat ride on one of the many lakes of NY State.

Finally we stopped at Watkins Glen, which is a must see, narrow gorge, cut out by the river - really an amazing place to remember.

Arriving back in Midland Park on the Friday I dropped off the car and as a treat Joan took us back to Manhattan to meet her son Shaheen and his partner Teresa - a very good - if boozy night was had - certainly by me .... and the others I believe, here we checked out the Tube and the yellow Cabs, had a meal and found a great bar - the Broome Street Bar - which was on Broome Street - yep.

On the Saturday we had a BBQ and Sunday we headed home via Newark.

Many, many thanks to our Host Joan who was absolutely fantastic letting us use her home as a base.

2009-07-02T15:01:00.004+01:00

Sonnenberg Mansion & Gardens

We arrived early to this lovely place, we were in fact the first there, we took the tour - just the 2 of us, later other people arrived but it was good to have such a personal service. The house and contents were fascinating, the gardens included a Japanese Garden, unfortunately the rain came again but it was enjoyable and I would recommend a visit if in the area.

Later that day I did my good deed of the day, - a gull had a fishing hook and line caught in its mouth, I managed to catch it and with the assistance of a passer by we managed to unhook the hook and disentangle the bird from all of the fishing line.

Letting the bird go free was rewarding ..... at least it would live another day.

2009-07-01T23:42:00.001+01:00

The Finger Lakes

Today we headed for the Finger Lakes area, which amongst other things is famous for growing vines and bottling their wine - we checked out one of them with a tasting and decided to buy some to take back for Joan, there was a wide selection and it was difficult to make our minds up - but we managed eventually.

Then we found the highest waterfall in the region - The Taughannock Falls, we first of all viewed it from above then we walked along the valley and were able to get up quite close - spectacular it certainly was. This was followed by a stroll to and by the lake - Lake Cayage with a picnic in the State Park - these parks are really good with lots of facilities for fishing, picnicking, swimming and much much more.

2009-06-30T17:55:00.003+01:00

The Weather in New York State

In general we had good weather - always warm, but on a few occasions we had some torrential thunderstorms to cope with - so we got a bit wet, but it's not surprising really with so many rivers and lakes around.

When it rained then it was a good opportunity to check out the shops - here Suri is in a shop inside an old bank - the safe door was very impressive.

2009-06-29T14:57:00.005+01:00

Cooperstown

The centre of the Baseball business - and it's big business here with the Hall of Fame, loads of shirts and bats and other stuff - but watching a practice session - I still could not work it out - I asked one of the 100s of fans / enthusiasts visiting - why the batsman did not even attempt to hit the ball - he said - I dunno - in my opinion even more boring than test match cricket.

The New York State is blessed with lakes, waterfalls, forests and woods - here we relaxed as on many occasions by the side of the lake - this time it was lake Otsego.

2009-06-28T04:20:00.005+01:00

Olana

A Persian fantasy set high upon the hill not far away from the town of Hudson was quite different to what we expected - this was the home of Frederick Church a landscape artist of the late 19th century who travelled to the Middle East and was highly influenced by Persian art and architecture.

He built his house on the top of a hill overlooking the Hudson, the views were really good, inside the house there was certainly a Persian influence and Suri loved it - being able to translate some of the writings on carpets and other documents. To me the paintings were a little dull but everybody to their own views.

After an early visit - we were the first to arrive we set off to the Catskill Mountains where we discovered the Delaware Rail track - unfortunately we had missed the last train of the day but we were able to clamber all over them.

Later on we popped in to a custom / classic car event - the cars were immaculate - great to look at but we were expecting more of a fair atmosphere - but it was highly focused on the cars - still a good day out.

2009-06-27T02:16:00.008+01:00

Hyde Park - F D Roosevelt & Eleanor D Roosevelt.

This visit to Eleanor's retreat and FD's family home and library was a great lesson in American history, Eleanor's house was quite small but the guide brought the place alive and especially when he described her Human Rights work which she devoted herself to after FD's death - definitely must find out more about her - she would have been such an interesting person to have known.

Similarly the work that FD did after being elected President - after Hoover in 1933 was amazing - some contrasts with toady's economic problems - but far far more depressed economically with millions out of work in the 30's.

The car he drove was in the basement, which had been adapted due to the effects of his polio.

In the museum building and his old house were some amazing items of memorabilia - too many to list off.

2009-06-26T01:51:00.005+01:00

West Point

Security was lower than expected at this - the foremost and oldest US Military Academy - think about Robert E Lee, MacArthur, Patten and Eisenhower and you get the picture - the place itself was pretty impressive - but there was a distinct lack of students - future leaders the guide told us repeatedly, but a great location for a film or two. Not a bad idea too to be educated and to do pretty much every sport going - I am sure Colin would have loved it here - maybe he has played rugby against them

Fort Montgomery

Not far away this was the location of a great battle in 1777 between the English and the revolutionaries to control the Hudson - A good site for a camp and a difficult place to take in battle, a walk down the trail took us to the creek where we wandered over the bridge - a more recent structure.

2009-06-25T01:30:00.008+01:00

Picked up car and we are off on our car trip around New York State

We headed up the Hudson - our first stop was Van Vortland Manor - Croton on Hudson - a country estate manor of the Revolutionary War era - 18 century -quite small really but a nice place to start with 2 old women sitting on the veranda doing 18 century stuff - all dressed up - nice gardens - though a tad on the small side - saw our first wild deer on the outskirts of the estate.

After we headed for Sleepy Hollows found a nice lake before using the Tom Tom provided by Joan - not very sleepy and no headless horses to be seen - except in the souvenir shops.

2009-06-24T14:00:00.009+01:00

Strolling through Central Park

For our last day in the Big Apple we took the bus as usual - beginning to recognise the driver and the sights on the way in, then headed for Central Park - amazingly big and right in the centre of Manhattan - though not quite big enough to get lost in. There were lots of joggers, dog walkers and kids playing Baseball, people strolling - just like us - a great atmosphere.

At first the weather was good but then it turned to a little drizzle, so our stroll became more of a dash as we headed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the upper east side.

Here we went straight to the cafe, to give us the energy we needed to wander around this enormous and beautiful building - we were ready for this.

What struck me was the enormous number of artifacts from all around the world that had been loaned or donated by wealthy individuals or philanthropists, it made me wonder for example how much Egyptian treasures there were around in various museums as we had seen so much both in Egypt and in other countries, there must be so much and no doubt even more not on display. Also unlike in England there were few barriers - so you could get up close to the items on exhibit, though - no touching of course.

After seeing a good chunk of what was on view we decided we could not take in any more - I think that's how museums get you - you get to saturation point, we headed out - hoping for sun, but as we set off there was a downpour and everybody got soaked - but it was warm.

We finished off our visit to Manhattan by having a coffee, drying off and looking out the window - people watching - always an interesting pass time.

Then back on the bus where Joan fed and watered us in preparation of the next stage ..... on our own driving through New York State - should be good - looking forward to some new and exciting places.

2009-06-23T13:55:00.000+01:00

Empire State Building

On top of the world we were ..... after whizzing up to the top of the Empire State Building in a super fast lift, though the queues put a bit of a brake on the action.

Once up on the top we were fortunate to have good weather so the views were really good, and it was less crowded than I had expected after seeing all of the queues, we spent quite a bit of time checking out all of the landmarks.

After that we had a bit of lunch, with a bit of help from me Suri resisted popping into the biggest store in the world - according to Macys.

We then headed south towards Little Italy and China Town but eventually ran out of steam as it had been a long day and many miles walked - so Suri told me, though she could not prove it as she had left her pedo back at Joan's place.

During the day we checked out some of the wonderful parks that Manhattan has to offer- Bryant Park - Union Park - Manhattan Square and others where we saw amongst other things - a photo shoot of some unknown model - at least we saw her as the previous day we just missed seeing Harrison Ford on his photo shoot - still she was better looking than Harrison - oh and I decided not to challenge anybody at the chess tables.

We returned to Midland Park somewhat knackered -but Joan as always had some lovely food ready for us - what a great host she is.

2009-06-22T14:25:00.001+01:00

Manhattan - here we come

We set off on foot to catch the bus into Manhattan - the bus was on time and we made good time - til there was a diversion - the road / bridge / tunnel ahead was blocked and the police were creating chaos - still it was an adventure.......

We did arrive at Port Authority Bus Station - and hit the streets - 42nd Street West - down to the Piers to catch the Circle Line around the island - well worth it as recommended by Joan - we saw pretty much all of the sights from the water, including the Statue of Liberty, we went under every bridge as each landmark was highlighted to us - although it was 3 hours it was just what we wanted as no way could we see everything.

After the boat trip we headed off back up 42nd Street to Times Square and sat around taking in the views and the people just milling around, after that - up Broadway, then over to the Rockefeller centre - though we did not go up as we were running out of time and energy , passing St Patricks Cathedral - as t was closed, then into Grand Central Station - what a WOW this place is considering how many people use it each day - fantastic - highlight for me so far.....

2009-06-21T18:04:00.002+01:00

An escorted tour around the 7 lakes

Joe had to head off as he was working early the next day.

Joan took us for a drive up New York State where I used my navigational skills - so did not get lost once -though the SAt Nav did help towards the end!!!

We visited Stony Point - the place of a great battle 1779 - as the Americans would say as they thrashed the English who were i tad unprepared - fortunately there were only a few losses of life, the place itself was very scenic and there were people in costume to help recreate the life of the time - a place to recommend if in the area.

After that we headed for Bear Mountain Park - where we saw no bears but there were 7 lakes which were very impressive, though more place to park and stop and look would have been good. We did however stop at a couple of places - but each time it started to rain - pour down in fact.

After that we headed to Piermont on the Lower Hudson, a good place to walk right out into the Hudson on what was an old rail track but is now a nature walk, here Suri found the local mulberry bush and polished of many a handful.

On the way back we checked out a Pizza place - near a place called Ho Ho Kus, guess what it poured down - but at least we were inside

2009-06-21T13:49:00.002+01:00

Raining in Midland Park

A day for recovering after our late night - so confusing to the body this time difference, no wonder that New Jersey is known as the Garden State - if today is anything to go by - it rains a lot.

We spent much of the day chatting, though we did venture out a couple of times - to the shops where Suri bought more clothes.

In the evening we went to a lovely Italian restaurant check out the pic above - the decor was ever so authentic - almost Mafia like - but there were families there as it was the day before Fathers Day - thanks Dan and Geoff by the way............

2009-06-20T13:37:00.002+01:00

New York Trip

At last we were off to the Big Apple, the taxi, the bus and the flight went all to plan, we arrived in Newark where Joan - Suri's friend ( and now my friend) was there to greet us, but before that we had to get through customs - never straight forward when entering the USA, but still after a bit of interrogation they let us through, having convinced the men with the tazers that we were here to help them rebuild their economy.

Joan was there waiting for us, I didn't recognise her and she me neither so amazingly we sat next to each other, until Suri returned from the restroom - as they are called here it here and she then recognised Joan - and me too, which was pretty good too.

It's quite a short journey from Newark to Midland Park where we are now based - where we met Joe, what a lovely area - lots of trees and the houses and gardens are picture book.

After a few drinks and lots of chatting - Zebedee said it's time for bed!

2009-05-22T19:24:00.003+01:00

Our new guest checking out the garden and lounging in the sun.

2009-04-18T16:56:00.008+01:00

Easter Monday

Geoff, Brod and I went out for a lovely Bank Holiday Monday drive and walk, the weather was great.

We headed first of all to Athelhampton House, near Tolpuddle, where we looked around the house and the superb gardens. The gardens contains 12 giant magnificent yew pyramids set around a pool, and in the west garden there is an old circular dovecote

This is not a National Trust property, it has been in private ownership for over five hundred years.

A really lovely place, though a tad on the expensive side.

We had a meal then drove off towards Swanage, Brod looking out for steam trains as we drove along. We went through Swanage to Durlston Country Park, where we had tea and cake at the Lookout Cafe, which is perched high on the cliffs at Durlston Castle - a Victorian folly built in the 1880's here we took in the spectacular views of the Isle of Wight in the distance and Old Harry stack.

A took a short walk along the cliff, we saw loads of sea birds, the views were fantastic, we ended up by the lighthouse, which unfortunately had just closed, then the trek back up the hill to the car park.

A great day out all places recommended.

2009-03-27T11:01:00.004Z

Introducing our new neighbours

A pair of Blue Tits have taken up residency in our birds nest, which is at the end of the garden.

We put up the nest last year high up in our Palm Tree away from the cats - so it looks like a good spot.

2009-03-12T19:25:00.008Z

Gambia 2 weeks in the sun

Sue, Alan and I went for a relaxing break on the West Coast of Africa - see link for review of hotel - Badala Park 21st Feb - 7th March 2009

A roadside stop for a drink in the middle of nowhere on our Jeep trip to Senegal.

Sue and Alan took some pens for schoolchildren - here one of the schoolgirls showed her appreciation

Sue and Alan check out the local "weed" - a cash crop for the locals on this island in Senegal.

Underneath a famous Gambian tree at the entrance to Lamin Lodge.

Posing at the border of Gambia and Senegal.

Monkeying about at Ali Baba's restaurant.

Beach view close to our hotel - the sand and sea was just great .

School - end of term party on the beach - 100's of teenagers gathered to celebrate - dancing to drums and generally mingling.

Guess what we saw in Monkey Park - yep monkeys - but only a few as most of them had wandered over to the nearby hotel for some food and drink - left out by tourists staying there.

Our boat trip along the mangroves - a very hot day.

Smoked fish - in Senegal - I can not describe the smell - needless to say we passed by pretty quick.

The Main strip in Senagambia.

Canoeing up the creek - fortunately for us we had two oarsmen to do all of the hard work.

The approach over the mangroves at Lamin Lodge where we had dinner I had Oyster stew - highly recommended - and picked locally.

Enjoying a meal and an occasional drink in the evening in Senagambia

2009-02-12T15:45:00.012Z

Fuerteventura
24th January >> 7th February 2009

Unfortunately there are no pictures this time for our short trip to this windy island as I lost the camera, yes all my fault - I believe I left it in a restaurant where we were enjoying an evening meal, I think I was distracted by the downpour that happened half way through the meal - but that's simply an excuse. When we returned the next day it was not to be found .... so sorreeeee no pics.

Overall the weather was good, certainly better than back in the UK, but it was windy most days, but apart from the downpour mentioned the rain stayed away, with the occasional drop or two now and again.

Compared to the other Canary Islands in my opinion this is the least interesting as there are less sights to see, though we did get out and about in a hire car and covered pretty much the whole of the island.

We were based in Castillo in the Castille San Jorge apartments. (See my report on TripAdviser for fuller details of hotel accommodation) The resort is just south of the airport, and is pretty small, but with masses of apartments half built up on the hill overlooking the town, so potentially a very big place as the Golf Course is close by too.

The thing that hits you however is the credit crunch is really starting to have a bad affect on the place, which is entirely dependent on tourists and basically not enough people are going there to sustain the economy, whilst we were there a shop we looked round one day had closed down the next, similarly a pizza restaurant we intended to try closed down and was for sale later in the week. Our hotel was certainly less than half full and it was obviously the same wherever else we went.

Some of the places we visited and would recommend included:

Correlejo on the North coast where we are able to get fresh fish at good prices, this was also the busiest location on the island. Also just south of here are the sand dunes which are impressive.

Caleto Negro on the West coast was well worth the trip as the rollers came in off the sea giving spectacular views of the cove and the cliffs.

Morro de El Jable on the South coast is where the large beaches are, the Lighthouse is the local landmark.

Near Playas del Cotillo on the North West coast is an old Lighthouse and a very informative nature trail.

Overall for us a quiet and restful time was had with lots of sunbathing and walking, but good to be away from the cold and snow and floods in the UK.

2008-12-19T10:29:00.000Z

Thomas - 5 Months old now

2008-12-14T15:55:00.003Z

Check out the new link ..............

To Geoff & Brod's travels in New Zealand.

The link is on the right hand side and below:

http://insertwit.co.uk/

A great time is being had by both of them...... some great pics tooooooooo.

Don't miss them, click on the link within his site.

2008-12-11T14:03:00.019Z

Sharm el Sheikh

Here we are in Egypt - taking a short welcome break from the wintry weather in England.

This is the view looking back to the beach from the jetty out over the coral where it is easy to go snorkelling.

Here we are in the Indian Restaurant, which is within the Hotel grounds, celebrating Suri's birthday with a complimentary cake from the Chef - a nice touch.

Here I am relaxing by the Blue Hole, which is near Dahab, about an hours drive up the coast from Sharm, where I did a bit of snorkelling, here I saw some beautiful amazing coloured fish and coral.
The Blue hole is the sheer drop at the edge of the coral down to a submarine pothole (a kind of cave), apparently around 130m deep.

When in Egypt what better way to travel than by Camel.

Here Suri is enduring a very uncomfortable ride which lasted for about 20 minutes - far too long but good fun a must do when in Egypt.

The entrance to the reception area of the Hotel Hauza Beach. I have written a report on the Hotel at Tripadviser - check it out - see link on right.

Suri escapes the sun under the Bedouin tent whilst out in the desert on the Sinai. To get there we had a great Jeep ride.

Santa can be found wherever you travel these days here he is on his camel in the centre of Narma Bay, just a stones throw from the beach. I guess he needs this sort of transportation in the desert.

We saw many Whirling Dervish Dancers but this chap was very good - possibly the best, here he is performing for us at the Hauza Beach Hotel as we drink and eat our evening meal under the moonlit sky.

Suri as usual joins in with the Belly Dancing to strut her stuff. I think we saw three different acts whilst we were there.

Here I am the intrepid traveller crossing the rope bridge over the swimming pools, how I did it only I will know.

One of our nights out was to Fantasia in the centre of Sharm where we had a Moroccan style dinner this was a cuscus based meal. Here we are with our fellow guests and holiday makers in the rather sumptious though the meal was rushed and the venue a little OTT .

We took a trip on the Yellow Submarine to see the tropical fish and coral around Old Sharm. An experience not to be missed.

Suri poses outside on the quay in front of the Yellow Submarine.

2008-10-19T18:10:00.002+01:00

Gorgeous Thomas

Isn't he just.

Some recent pictures of the "little man".

2008-09-24T17:27:00.000+01:00

Congratulations

to Nigel - he married Paula last Saturday the 20th September

Also in the photos are Shounie and Rhianna - Nigel's daughters.

Well done bruv.......

Thanks to Lily for the photos.

2008-09-14T10:04:00.001+01:00

Thomas

More pictures taken on the 8th September - so he is now nearly two months old - time is passing too quickly.

He's so lovely.

2008-09-13T11:41:00.003+01:00

The Last few days of the Europe Trip

Although we missed lots of places, we briefly visited many beautiful places over our final days - from Innsbruck in Austria, travelling along the Romantic Road through Germany, along the Rhine to Koblenz, and finishing up in Le Touquet - Paris Plage, and .................

Boulogne Sur Mer ------ which was a surprise to me as it is much improved since I last visited it.

We are a little tired and weary from all of our travels ........... but we are now planning our next trip - check out the site for more.

2008-09-12T11:21:00.001+01:00

Salzburg

Wandering through the streets we found this shop that sold painted egg shells - we just had to have a picture and I did buy one - not sure where to put it now though..

The food stalls were just magnificent - the produce range was impressive

We took the funicular up to the castle on the top of the hill which overlooks the city - the views were stunning and the castle was much bigger than I had expected.

After all of the sunny weather we had been having to get fog was a bit of a surprise but it did not detract from the wonderful Austrian scenery. This waterfall was not unlike the one we saw earlier in the year in Kings Canyon in California.

2008-09-11T11:02:00.001+01:00

Vienna

Wonderful Vienna - truly a magnificent city, here I am in the Parliament building giving a speech to the Austrian ministers. The building itself was partly destroyed in WW2 but was rebuilt in the same style, fortunately the oldest and most historical part of the building was undamaged.

Here we are in the park with Mozart.

We took a tour of the Opera house the auditorium itself was quite small but the rest of the building - particularly the "behind stage" area was enormous.

I returned to Bad Aussee - I went ski ing here in my teens - unfortunately I recognised hardly anything of the place - mind you it is a long time ago and it was covered in snow last time.

Lake Wolfgang - I just had to have a swim - it was warm - believe me .................

2008-09-10T14:43:00.001+01:00

Lake Balaton - the place where the Hungarians go for their holiday.

For us it was time for some relaxation.......

We had a couple of days here just chillin'

Highly recommended, the water was warm - very sandy and an enormous area .... 70+km in length, and on both sides of the lake are sandy beaches and grass verges to lie about on with loads of shops, kiosks and bars selling local produce.

Getting across the lake on the ferry is so easy and a great trip in itself.

2008-09-09T14:31:00.001+01:00

Budapest

At last we arrived in beautiful Budapest and it certainly lived up to its reputation.

As it was Sunday there was free parking available in the city centre - fantastic - where else in the world would you get that, and the Chain Bridge was closed to traffic but was open as a market, where they were selling amongst other things sweet bread on a roll - very tasty.

We checked out the Cathedral - absolutely magnificent.

We stopped overnight in Budapest - so next day we went on a boat trip on the Danube, fortunately and unfortunately the Red Bull air display was on so we got great views from the river of the planes but the boat could not go up river as the planes were flying under the Chain Bridge.

In the afternoon we went up the funicular railway and checked out the Fisherman's Bastion and the Royal Palace - which is used as a museum of art.

Definitely a place to go back to.

2008-09-08T12:41:00.003+01:00

KOSICE

This was one of those rare rainy days - though it was still warm.

Here you can see some of their sites including the best ever fountain display I have seen.

Here Suri is in the underground archaeological excavation site right in the centre of the town.

This is the Plague Column built in 1723 to remember the plague that went through the town at that time.

This is a dragon sculpture, where the stream disappears under the street.

And of course our usual coffee and cake - this time it was Chinese style apple fritters - mmm.

2008-09-07T12:01:00.001+01:00

After Poland we headed into Slovakia, it was not easy to find, as the road signs just disappeared but we persevered and ended up in a lovely town called Bardajov.

This was a very quiet town which had a lovely old square with an impressive church and old town hall, here you can see Suri next to some old bells just outside the church.

I climbed to the top of the church bell tower for a great view.

Nearby was a particularly beautiful church, which as we stepped inside we found a wedding going on - this was not the first that we observed and would not be the last on this trip.

2008-09-06T16:24:00.000+01:00

Oswiecim: Auschwitz & Birkenau

No Words.

2008-09-05T17:16:00.003+01:00

WARSAW

Much of Warsaw was destroyed during WW2, but has now been rebuilt - pretty much as it was, and to some extent it is quite difficult to tell that the new buildings and cobblestones have only been there for a few decades.

KRAKOW

Set above the rest of the town is the old town which overlooks the river is the remains of the Old Royal Castle and the impressive Cathedral.

In the newer part of town. I climbed to the top of this tower, at the top was trumpeter who played each hour for a few minutes.

Looking down from the church tower - great view - in the centre was a market and to the right we enjoyed ........ another well deserved coffee and cake.

One of the many street artists that were to be found in most of the towns and cities.

The river Wisla - the longest in Poland runs majestically, we took a stroll along the towpath as it was a warm day, before we headed off South.

2008-09-04T18:19:00.001+01:00

MALBORK CASTLE

Malbork was as far North as we went - just SE of Gdansk.

The castle we saw on our visit is absolutely enormous.

Of course it has been added to and rebuilt many times since September 1309 when the Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen moved the Teutonic Order's headquarters to Malbork, these were the sort of Knights we see in films - lots of blood and gore and fighting.

Inside much of the place has been repaired and improved but this ceiling was a bit special.

Check out this massive medieval portcullis - this would have made getting inside very difficult - if not impossible.

On our trip we saw fields and fields of so many different things growing - there certainly was no shortage of veg.

Here Suri checks out a tobacco plantation, in the background there are barns where the leaves were being dried out - fascinating.

Also fascinating was this plane on the forecourt of a petrol station - not sure how it got there and it certainly was not going anywhere now.

2008-09-03T10:13:00.001+01:00

POLAND - POZNAN

Our first taste of Poland proper was when we discovered Poznan - a small town with a lovely square - Stary Rynek that had narrow colourfully painted gabled houses both within and around a large open square, which had lots of places to sit and have a coffee and watch the world go by, which we did.

Here is the old Town Hall or Ratusz, which is now a museum with some very interesting pictures, photos and memorabilia about the town and surrounding area.

We were followed around and watched by the staff very keenly - as if they were not sure what we were going to do.

Many of the houses had statues and other interesting carvings on the corners.

In and around the square were some beautiful churches, many restored after the bombings of WW2

We discovered that each town has a symbol with some sort of historical reference to it here in Poznan it is 2 goats and they are to be found on everything as souvenir items and also as here as statues in a small garden just a short walk away from the square - cute is the word I think Suri used.

Close by in the small village of Kornik is reputedly one of the great castles in Poland, it was very interesting, but a little on the small side, though it did have lots of antiques inside. Here I am outside of the castle enjoying an ice cream.

Most nights we did not have any difficulty finding accommodation - here is the view from the window of a Polish Motel that we stayed at in Gniezno - I think we were the only people staying there as we saw nobody else except the staff - it was very much the sort of place I imagined was all the rage in the communist years - very austere, dark and a little musty, I could visualise old men in uniforms sitting in corridors drinking vodka.

2008-09-02T18:22:00.003+01:00

Berlin

We took the hop on hop off tour bus around Berlin, which I think is the best way as the sights are fairly spread out in the city, whilst there we saw this amazing bike being ridden by 6 people - wow is this what they mean by people power!!!

The previously divided city is now very much one city as such a lot of redevelopment has gone on and continues to do so.

Here we are at Checkpoint Charlie famous in so many films made about the cold war and its affect on Germany and Berlin in particular.

Check this out - is this the wall? Was I there to help pull it down.

No but we did see and touch a very small section preserved - sort of for us tourists - just a short walk away from here. Oh and of course you can buy a tiny section of it ... really - no I did not buy one.

This is apparently the last Russian flag left flying in he City - somewhat torn and tattered

The Berlin Cathedral is absolutely enormous we went up the stairs and were able to walk around the outside of the dome - where there were some fantastic views all around the city.

Inside was pretty good too.

On the recommendation of William, we went to the Babylon - Myths & Truths exhibition, which was fascinating though I am still not clear about the myths - or were they truths - you have to see it for yourself - highly recommended.

2008-09-01T10:26:00.003+01:00

POTSDAM

Located just south west of Berlin - Potsdam is a truly historical place.

Set in the Neuer Garten the Schloss Cecilienhof is where Churchill, Truman and Stalin carved up Europe after WW2, it is a lovely house and as you can see they keep the geraniums in the garden as it was on the day of the meeting.

Just up the road is an enormous wooden windmill, now restored and in very good condition.

The Gardens of the Sanssouci Park are absolutely beautiful as is the Schloss Sanssouci and the Neus Palais.

We had a day here wandering around the gardens, and doing the tours of the 2 palaces and still there was not enough time to see and take in everything - the place is simply enormous.

There was lots of restoration going on and quite right too.

Here are a few pictures of our day there.

2008-08-29T09:48:00.000+01:00

Antwerp - Belgium

Our first stopover, we stayed at a youth hostel in the centre of town as we really could not find many hotels in the area - very unusual.

Antwerp is a really lovely town with a magnificent main square just around the corner from the beautiful Cathedral and some very unusual building designs.

And of course Belgium Chocolates - who can resist them - we certainly could not

2008-08-28T12:10:00.005+01:00

Our Europe Tour 2008

Just back from our driving tour around Europe - 3 + weeks on the road staying at a different place most nights.

Here is the Itinerary of the key places visited:

Dover

FRANCE Boulogne

BELGIUM Antwerp

GERMANY Kassel
Potsdam
Berlin
Frankfurt an der Oder

POLAND Poznan
Gniezno
Toru
Malbork
Warsaw
Krakov
Auswich

SLOVAKIA Barajevo

HUNGARY Kosice
Budapest
Balaton
Strombatherly

AUSTRIA Vienna
Bad Aussee
Salzburg
Innsbruck

GERMANY Augsburg
Wurzburg
Koblenz

FRANCE Le Touquet

Some photos out of the 800+ taken will be posted shortly

2008-08-01T14:38:00.007+01:00

Some early photos of Thomas

Just 3 days old Thomas with Grandad, Suri, Geoff , Brod and his mum Sophie

He is gorgeous.

- don't know where his dad is - maybe some of Thomas with Daniel next time.

2008-07-31T17:16:00.007+01:00

A day out at The New Forest and Hampshire County Show

This week we went to the show, it was a very hot day and there were many people visiting the show which is held in a few fields just north of Brockenhurst, it's held each year about this time in the year.

Outside of the show area was the usual fun fair.

Inside there were some great displays of livestock including cattle, horses and sheep, and in the tents were the rabbits and budgies and loads of craft stalls.

In the main arenas there were horse riding / jumping competitions and displays, and nearby we also saw some steam engines and old threshing machines being used.

And whilst we rested our feet we saw a short extract of Alice in Wonderland - supposed to be for the children but we enjoyed it too.

Apparently it rained last year - certainly no mud this year - at least whilst we were there.

Everything was well organised and good value for money, we intend to go again next year.