http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/BrokenDownAngel/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from BrokenDownAngel en-us Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:09:30 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:09:30 +0000 It used to be an annual tradition that my best friend and i would spend at least one day in Blackpool each Summer. This year we decided to restart the tradition We stayed in the Draytonian Hotel. It's one of the cheapest bbs in Blackpool. Whilst the hotel rooms aren't huge and the bathroom is shared the warm welcome from the hosts more than makes up for it We'd requested veggie breakfasts http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Lancashire/blog-308733.html I know this was only meant as a short get away but i couldn't believe it was time to leave already After checking out we made our last trip through Gennevilliers to the station. We had a few hours to spare before needing to be at the airport so went to see The Arc du Triumph. Afterwards we had lunch at a realy nice Italian restaurant nearby. It was a nice relaxing end to our holiday before http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-210124.html Feeling more confident in our journey to town made the walk to the station feel a lot quicker this morning. Had we arrived as planned we were going to go to Eurodisney this afternoon to see the 15th anniversary celebrations. However having been there last year we decided to do more sight seeing instead so we headed off to The Louvre. I love looking around art galleries and could have spent the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-210121.html As soon as we woke up we went to ask at reception how to get into the centre of Paris the receptionist looked a bit concerned mentioned they were building a Metro but at the moment we'd have to get a bus into Gennevilliers then a train. The bus stop was directly opposite the hotel but from looking at the timetable was designed for workers at the dock and had a service arriving early in t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-210116.html Arrived at the airport that morning to find the flight to Amsterdam had been cancelled. Although we were flying from Manchester it worked out cheaper to go via Amsterdam than directly to Paris So instead of wandering around Paris this afternoon we were stuck at Manchester airport trying to get on the next available flight. The poor assistant on the KLM desk looked stressed to the max as she http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-210104.html Before going to catch the plane home we went to look around Croke Park. The hardest part was actually finding the entrance we must have walked around each side of the park before working out how to get in I hope its easier for the fans on match daysAgain it wasn't a guided tour so we spent the morning leisurely browsing the displays which included several visitors. for an extra fee you can http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-177269.html One of the first things I spotted on the guide we were using was The Oscar Wilde house. after walking around we managed to find it but was disappointed to see if was only a plaque on a house rather than an actually museum. So after admiring the plaque and the statue in the park opposite we went to have a look around the National Gallery. The exhibits here were very varied and i could have spent http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-177266.html The next day we set of to explore explore Dublin. We left the bus on O'Connell street and started our Irish adventure with a look around Carroll's gift shop Rupert is still amazed at the amount of tat I buy but at least I can claim to have a magnet to remember each holiday by and we needed some oven gloves anyway We stopped for lunch at a pub on the side of the River Liffey. The smoking ban http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-177259.html The flight from Manchester toIreland was scarily quick. by the time we'd sat down and read the paper it was overWe took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and were scared that the taxi driver knew the hotel name straight away. We were staying at The Regency Airport Hotel which is about half way between the airport and the town centre. Both were only a short bus ride away.After checking in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-177250.html Due to the time diffeence we found ourselves waking up at times would be best described as silly at home 6AM onwards. At least this meant we were up in plenty of time for breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Rupert did suggest venturing out for breakfast round the corner to McD's but for me being veggie breakfast was the only guaranteed meal of the day and I made the most of itMonday was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Harajuku/blog-138976.html I think I could spend a whole week in Ueno Park as there's so much to do Shame we just had a morning to fit in as much as possible although this was partly due to Rupert getting 'museumed out' before meWe started off at 'The Museum of Western Art' stopping first to admire the statues by Rodin outside. The museum itself has a large collection of pre 18th Century paintings from the likes of Ru http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Ueno/blog-138968.html To say I love Disney is like saying the Pope's Catholic so when I remembered the lesser known of the Disney parks was in Tokyo Rupert realised it would be worth more than his life to refuse to go. Unfortunately the day we chose the heavens chose to open.Getting there was fun we'd almost mastered the subway system but the further you get away from the centre the less English you find In th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-138955.html This was a trip we'd arranged before travelling through Expedia. The coach picked us up in the morning and took us to what I can best describe as a bus terminus meeting a travel agents. It seemed any organised tour left from here so was very chaotic. Once we'd found the correct booth and been given stickers we found our coach.Onboard was our tourguide Harry who entertained us throughout th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Mt-Fuji/blog-138949.html Ok so when I started this up 5 months ago I promised to blog my holiday in Japan and have now finally gotten round to itWe set off from Manchester tea time on Wednesday to catch the plane to Paris where we changed over to the flight to Japan. There was just enough time to get off one plane and get on to the next before take off and then fall asleep for 13 hours before we landed again.I did wak http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-138943.html Waking up this morning was painful my leg muscles were still very sore and achy from the run so I opted for a lie in and to leave checking out until the last possible minute whilst Kath went off to explore.We met at Starbucks on the mile where the EnglishScottish accents led to me buying a latte in a paper cup and when asking for it in a mug being given a mug of milk Way too confusing for m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-126440.html When I signed up for the run the course description sounded like a nice run around the park...I didn't realise there was hills involved Stil I managed to finish the 5k course in 45 minutes which seeing as though the wind seemed determined to blow me off course or backwards i felt quite proud off. In the afternnon my legs were aching that badly I was only fit for visiting the gym to lie i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-126437.html Spent the day travelling from Manchester up to Edinburgh to take part in a 5k Winter run it sounded like a good idea when I signed up 3 months agoSo I got to Picc station near enough on time to find out due to high winds the train had been cancelled grrr So instead I had to get a train to pPreston then get the Glasgow train as far as Carlisle where we were promised an Edinburgh train would http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-126430.html Am currently at home at the moment but decided to start a travel blog to record my travels abroad. I'll be updating it over the next few days to cover where I've been this year and then updating it with each visit abroad and possibly a few from the UK as well.Visited Countries MapVisited US States Map http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-Manchester/Manchester/blog-103407.html