Mum and Dad had finally completed their epic tour of Scotland and Ireland so there was only one thing left to do. Chris and I flew to Belfast insanely early on Saturday morning and picked up a rental car from the airport. We were joining my parents to do the 'family history' thing in Northern Ireland. We had a quick look around Belfast before heading out to the country but the murky weather made the whole place feel depressing. I've included some photos that Mum took of the amazing murals that are a feature of Belfast. I'm sure the city has [View Full Entry]

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Off in search of another real little English village, we set off to the Kent area for another day trip. And a little English village we did find. Goudhurst came complete with a duck pond, confused ducks that were intent on getting to the other side of the road, a very expensive pub, a slighty un-nearving diary owner, a dressage competition with lots of pretty ponies (joy!) and a pizzeria that had run out of pizzas. After a bit of a look-about, we made our way along the upcoming Tour de France route and found a great pub near Sissinghurst. All [View Full Entry]

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Brugge has such a good reviews with all who visit, so we were keen to see if it lived up to its reputation. We weren't travelling alone this time. In tow were the parents who are visiting from NZ, so the proximity to London and small size, made Brugge an ideal place to visit with the oldies. In the 11th Century, Brugge was an international commercial centre as it had direct access to the sea. Traders came from all over Europe to exchange goods such as cloth. While it's prosperity has risen and fallen throughout the ages, it is now a [View Full Entry]

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Another trip to Cornwall, this time with the parents in tow. Determined to show off some of the country that we so enjoying. The trip included some visits to wicked little villages (like Polperro and Cadgewith), cream teas (they only get better) a few castles and estates (St Micheals Mount and Coteheal) and enough narrow roads to make the price of the Sat Nav. A funny incident (although we weren't laughing at the time) happened when mum refused to leave the island at St Micheals Mount. She was determined to buy a sea gull. Don't ask why. Nobody knows - there [View Full Entry]

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Just a few quick photos of the latest trip down to Cornwall. We stayed with Chris's relatives and relished the chance to get away for a bit. After weeks of beautiful weather in London, it all went pear-shaped on the second day with rain and wind! Visited a few neighbouring villages and did a road trip around the North Coast of Cornwall. Great pub lunches and a few too many servings of good ol clotted cream!! Won't write too much as we'll be back Cornwall in a less than a week. More photos then, but no more English wild flowers I [View Full Entry]

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Our little car got us to Dover in about and hour and a half which made 'The White Cliffs of Dover' an easy day trip. Dover itself was pretty unimpressive - a port town, sort of like Greymouth (please don't shoot me!) so we didn't stick about. The White Cliffs were great. As you can see from the photos - exactly as name suggests. Big and White. We got away fairly early (to beat the hoards of day-trippers wobbling along the cliffs in high heels and fancy clothes - scary!) to make the walk to the lighthouse. The walk was only [View Full Entry]

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Walking: This Easter we decided to visit the Peak District to do some walking (or ‘rambling’ as it seems to be called over here!) through the National Park. The Peak District stretches from the Midlands to the Pennines in the North (hell, hope that’s right) and according to the guidebook, it covers 1,404 sq km. The name is a bit misleading as the Peak District doesn’t really have lots of mountains. But there are enough beautiful valleys, hills, rivers, caves, limestone formations, lambs, birds, ancient rock-walls and endless rolling pastureland to make even the most [View Full Entry]

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Oh thank you god - winter is over! Spring has finally sprung and it is really beautiful. Over the last few weekends we have been out trying to make the most of any nice weather. Today we even felt sun on our faces, aahhhh.... (Chris has just asked that I point out that this has been one of the mildest English winters in like the last 600 years or so... and I have to admit, winter wasn't QUITE as bad as I expected. In reality I can only remember about 5 truely FREEZING days in London. It was damn cold in [View Full Entry]

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With our feet firmly planted on English soil until our next overseas trip in May, we've been checking out some more of the historic places outside of London. The little Ford Focus has been great, getting us out into the beautiful English countryside in minimal style! The photos from the last two weekends show Cliveden and Clandon Park. Clievden in Buckinghamshire, has acres and acres of beautiful gardens and walks along the River Thames. Awesome spots for picnics so we will be back. We had a long walk around the estate, soaking up the spring weather and checking out the country [View Full Entry]

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Chris: “Hi there, I think there’s been a mistake with the departure board… where do we check-in for the Malev Airways flight to Budapest?” Bored looking airport information guy: “oh that… down there a few hundred metres, past all those proper check-in desks, turn a corner and it’s just there… next to the abandoned pot plants and dusty wheelchairs” Well at least the check-in line was short… Anna: “Chris, we are going on a real plane aren’t we? Not one of those %$^£” pencils with wings?” Chris: “Of [View Full Entry]

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