Lakes District

The Lakes District has a natural rugged beauty which we found very appealing. We stayed in Keswick which is a lovely little village with just a short walk through the park to the Derwent Waters. The area attracts many hikers which is not surprising but one needs to be fit! We went on several drives which took us to Windemere, Ullswater, Glenridding and surrounds, it was all delightful and Michael's camera worked overtime!

Cotswolds

We took the advice of Janie and Mick and stayed at Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds, a beautiful village with thatched roof houses and lovely old stone buildings. We were very central and enjoyed driving along the narrow roads and visiting many of the villages nearby. Everywhere was lovely,with pretty gardens, stone walls, green fields, wild flowers and old buildings with heaps of character.

Stratford upon Avon was also a nice place to visit and very interesting, especially to go and see Anne Hathaway's cottage and William Shakespeares birthplace. Bourton on the Water another pretty spot, and very popular with the tourists. Yes, we loved the Cotswolds!

Oxford

During our weekend with Janie and Mick we had a day in Oxford. Janie printed out the 'Inspector Morse walking Tour' from the internet for us to follow which proved to be a great idea, we not only saw many of the places that Morse was featured in on the programs, but also a lot of other places in Oxford. Afternoon tea which included sandwiches, scones, and a variety of tea cakes was just what we needed after our walk and was very much enjoyed by all.

Radley College

We had a super weekend with my cousin's Janie and Mick who reside on the campus of Radley College which is near Oxford. Both Janie and Mick have been teaching there for over 20 years and for some of the time as housemasters, as Radley is for boarders only.

We really enjoyed having a 'tour' of the college and the grounds, and can see that the boys get a wonderful 'all round' education.

Janie and Mick made us so welcome and it was fantastic to see them again after their visit to Australia two years ago. We also met their three cats, BB, Willow and Tatty and soon became friends.

Somerset

We had a lovely time in Somerset staying with my cousins Janice and Len who made us very welcome. We caught up with all of their family including grandchildren who we hadn't met before so that was very special for us. We were also made very welcome by Margaret and Steven my other cousins who live nearby, and again, we met up with their family and grandchildren. We have seen photographs of all the family but to actually be there and talk to them was fantastic.

We had a lovely afternoon in Bath whilst in Somerset, it is such an interesting place and very pretty with all of the hanging flower baskets and sunken gardens alongside the river Avon.

It was nice for the cousins to have lunch together at The Riverside Inn, the river Avon flows alongside and we saw several long boats passing by.

A drive to Bristol to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge was very interesting, it has a graceful appearance about it and the engineeering aspect was of particular interest to Len and Michael.

The photograph of Michael standing in the gorge of the rock was taken at Mendip Hills. It is of special interest because this is where the Rev. Augustus Toplady was inspired to write the words to the well known Hymn, 'Rock of Ages Cleft for Me'. Apparently whilst walking through the gorge he was caught in a storm and took shelter in the Cleft.

We felt sad about leaving Somerset, it was really lovely to see everyone. We left with very special memories.

Cornwall

We Love Cornwall!

These pics are all taken in Pt. Isaac (Doc Martin Country) which is a very picturesque place, and we can understand why it was chosen for the program.

Everywhere is very green and lush and the narrow roads are bordered with wildflowers. We saw lots of fishing villages
and loved all the stone buildings with their flower displays in window boxes .

After four days touring around Cornwall we travelled up to Somerset stopping in Exeter for a few hours. We enjoyed some quiet time in the beautiful Cathedral and were told the story about the ancient clock and it's unique mechanism, apparently the nursery rhyme 'Hickory Dickory Dock' originated from here.

Paris/Plymouth

Whilst in Paris it was nice to meet up with Margaret and Col, friends of ours who live in Sydney. They are staying in Paris for 3 months so they will be able to enjoy exploring the city in depth, and also practice their French which they have been learning for a couple of years.

Our journey accross to the UK on the Eurostar was great, taking only a couple of hours from Paris to London. We then changed trains and went down to Plymouth, another 3 hours on the train but most enjoyable. Keeping with English tradition we were served tea and refreshments 3 times on the journey.

Paris-continued

Our Paris trip included going up to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower, (the next level looked very high!) and also to the top of the Arc de Triumph. Both sites gave us excellent views of the city and for photography.

A walk down the tree lined Champs Eleeses was lovely, we stopped half way for a coffee on the sidewalk and simply watched the world go by - we also gave our feet a nice rest!

The Louvre is a fabulous museum but it took us ages to find anything. I think that getting lost is the overall plan of the place when one visits here. we eventually found what we were after and 3 hours later surfaced into the outside world again.

Our day at Versailles was also very busy as it is a huge place. After looking through the Palace including the beautiful Hall of Mirrors, we then walked through the gardens having chosen a day when the fountains were turned on to a musical accompaniament which added to the overall picture of the garden.

On our last day I had a few hours in La Fayette to do some shopping and generally look around but Michael chose to sit this one out - wonder why!

Paris

Paris-Wow, so much to see and do, our feet just won't be the same anymore!

We felt that we saw heaps yet really we barely scratched the surface. One of our days took us for a walk from de la Concorde, where the Obelisque is, along the Jardines de Tulerias, accross the Seine and then down to see Notre Dame. We were so lucky with our timing at Notre Dame, having only been there 20 minutes when an organ recital began which lasted for nearly an hour. It was a real bonus especially for Michael who loves pipe organs. After leaving Notre Dame we headed accross to the district of Germain, this area is rich in culture and was lovely to walk through the narrow streets and soak up the atmosphere with everyone sitting outside sipping their coffees. We joined them!

Tour of Neuschwanstein Castle

Our tour to Neuschwanstein Castle took us south of Munich and again we travelled through the beautiful Bavarian countryside. The Castle is set very high in the mountains and has magical views whichever way you turn. King Ludwig II planned and supervised the construction of the building over a 17 year period, and although it was never really completed, the king lived in it for 176 days before he died. Walt Disney copied this Castle to use in Disneyland.

We also stopped to view Linderhof Castle, another of the King's projects. It is much smaller and was a favorite of his.

Our 3rd stop for the day was at Oberammergau, a lovely village full of colorful and interesting buildings. This is the place that the Passion Play is held at every 10 years, and it so happens that this is the year the play is being held. It attracts many visitors worldwide from May until October while it is being held.

Munich - City Walk.

We all had a really nice day walking around the city of Munich, and even though light rain was falling most of the time it didn't deter us. We had a good mix of seeing Cathedral's, Palaces, Government Buildings, garden's and shops, although the shops were closed unfortunately because it was a public holiday! It didn't stop us window shopping though, and it was fun to look at all the 'posh' shops and admire the fashion's here. The childrens' fashion's are fantastic but expensive!

Munich/Liason

It was great to meet up with Richard and Andrew for a couple of days before they returned home after having had a super holiday touring Bavaria. We all decided to go to Hofbrau Hous Beer Garten for a meal and catch up with all the travel news, and also to tip the elbow with a Bavarian beer! Michael also indulged but his photo is on Richard's camera!

During our stay in Munich we went on a day long bus tour travelling through Bavaria to Rothenburg. The scenery was beautiful, everywhere very green and lush.

Rothenburg is a medieval city protected and surrounded by a wall. Dating back to the 12th century this city and it's buildings are very well preserved. The cobbled stone streets add charm and antiquity to the area.

The photo of Michael is taken after lunch and a fill of applestrudel pie and icecream, hence the satisfied smile!

The wooden soldier stands outside the Kathe Wohlfahrt shop. The shop is all about Christmas decorations, and upon entering you feel like you are in fairyland!

Innsbruck-Austria

We enjoyed our day roaming around the 'old' part of Innsbruck. The buildings are quite colourful and ornate but typically Austrian in design. The little shops are lovely and full of character.

The dog sitting in his basket was keeping his owner company who was busking in the square. He was wearing a fur collar to keep him warm but unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of it. He was too quick to hop back into his basket as it was quite cold.

We went on a bus tour around the town and it was interesting to hear that 30% of the population go to universities in Innsbruck and that Theology and Medicine are the main studies.

Today was our first really cold day, unusual for this time of year apparently.