Jimbo1953

Venice The next day we were off to Venice. The drive through the Austrian Alps was spectacular. Lots os autobahns and lots of tunnels - longest was around 3.1km. Lots of bridges as well. The countryside flattened out as we entered Italy but it was still very pretty. Each day we stop at least three times for a comfort stop. I am still amazed at the need to pay to have a wee. Some of the stops have beautiful clean facilities but others are less than desireable. As we neared Venice we struck a very large traffic jam coming up to a tollway - it took us 45 minutes to get through. Cars going all ways but no visible aggression. Upon reaching Venice we transferred to a Gondola for a short ride. I think that the ... read more

Week 4 - Devon and London We had a wonderful week with Karen's cousin Dee and Jim. Their hospitality has been fantastic and we will both have many enduring memories of our time in Devon in spite of the weather. The whole area fascinated me. From the narrow windy lanes that run between the villages to the extremely old and varied architecture. We even managed to see where Karen's parents first met! Managed to have dinner wiith Auntie Joy and Uncle Marwood at their home - I admired Marwoods garden - he takes such pride in it. We spent a very long day travelling with Jim and Dee down to Plymouth. Visited the Hoe (promenade) and then The Barbican were the Mayflower left in 1620 to sail to the Americas. I also found out that Captain ... read more

Week 2 This is the end of our second week away from home. After arriving at Rhyl and being met by Kath, we were off to Abergele. I cannot get over the narrow streets and the amount of traffic they carry. In some places there is hardly room for two cars to pass each other and the smooth flow is only achieved by courteous and patient drivers. Kath and Karen spend a great deal of time catching up. I spent a great deal of time listening! We had hardly arrived at Kath’s home when we were off to their caravan. (actually more like a transportable home) in Pwllheli. On the way we stopped at a very large Tesco shop where they sold just about everything. A combined supermarket and variety store. They even had a bottle ... read more