Cubpants

We took a late flight out of London on Thursday and arrived in New York full of anticipation. Both Liani and I had wanted to visit New York and were both very excited about our four days in the big apple. We jumped a yellow cab into Manhattan and arrived at our very beautiful hotel - Le Parker Méridien overlooking Central Park. As it was our first stay in New York I had requested a room with a view over Central Park - the next morning we weren't disappointed and woke to what is one of the most amazing views in New York. Central Park is so vast, right in the heart of the city and is very beautiful. So first morning off to breakfast at Norma’s - the place to go for breakfast in NYC ... read more

After two weeks away in Europe with Mum and Liani visiting her family in South Africa, and one week in a small below ground studio in Wilsden Green, we finally moved in to our new flat in Hammersmith! Initially when I first saw this place I wasn't at all taken by it. There was way too much green carpet for my liking and I thought it felt small. Ummm, dont really know who that person was, because I now love our flat! The day we moved in the removalists bought all our boxes and Luke and Carmel arrived from their two month European trip on their way the next day back home to Aus! It was quiet hectic to say the least. We unpacked as much as we could and enjoyed our last family meal before ... read more

Day 5 & 6 Fussen - Luzern 19th - 20th Sept We backtracked on the train to Buchloe, and changed for our trip through the Bavarian region into Switzerland. Train travel in this part of the world is a very enjoyable way to travel and to see the beautiful scenery passing by. We changed again at Zurich and caught the Intercity service to Luzern. Our accommodation was in the old town which is gorgeous. Liani and I had visited Switzerland last year and had fallen in love with Luzern, but in the winter, so it was nice to see it in the summer. We did have plans to take a cruise on Lake Luzern and then ride the rack and pillon railway up to Mount Pilatus to view the surrounding mountains which are in snow year ... read more

Mum and I set off from Angel to connect with our tour bus which would take us to Stonehenge, Bath, through the Cotswolds and into Stratford upon Avon to see the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It was a lovely trip through some beautiful parts of Southwest England. Stonehenge is one of Englands most popular tourist sites and always crowded! The 5000 year old stone circle remains a mystery as to what it originally was - a huge astronomical calander or a place of sun worship and sacrifice? Construction began in 3000BC and consisted of four distinct stages of construction. The first stage - the Earthworks or Henge began when the outer circle comprising a ditch, bank, and the Aubrey holes was erected. 1000 years later the second stage - the Arrival of the Bluestones began when ... read more

Mum and I were off to through France for a week taking in Paris, Chamonix in the Alps and finally onto Nice in the French Riviera. We started in Paris and had three nights at Le Regent in Montmartre where Liani, Heath, Luke and I had stayed on an earlier trip. The city of Paris is beautiful, there is something so charming and romantic about the city of lights. On the first day we decided to take in the open top bus tour to give Mum an overall view of the city. Although I had been there before, I saw lots more of different parts of the city on the bus tour. After this we rode the tram back to Montmartre and climbed the many steps up to Sacre Coer. There was a mass taking place ... read more