http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Trabern/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Trabern en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:26:46 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:26:46 +0000 With less than two hours stopover in Hong Kong we headed for the Qantas lounge anyway. By the time that you are processed as a transit passenger it doesnrsquot leave very much time at all before you are reboarding the planeFor the last couple of days in London I kept thinking there was something that I wanted to check on the internet. Somewhere over Russia I remembered that the project that I http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-415288.html We were up early this morning to finalise our packing and have a quick breakfast before driving to Heathrow. It was 8.00am as Marilyn and Jim waved us goodbye from their front doorstep. Bernie already had Edna programmed so we put ourselves in her hands for the trip to the airport. We expected that she would take us on the M25 around to Heathrow but no we travelled on residential streets for mos http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-415285.html Over the last couple of days we have discussed with Marilyn and Jim where we might go on our last day in England. With the weather so lovely it was a tossup between the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley at Woking and National Trust Property Cliveden at Taplow. In the end it was decided that we should head to Cliveden as it would involve less travelling time.So when Jim returned from http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Buckinghamshire/blog-415273.html If anyone had ever told me that I would go sightseeing in London wearing shorts I would have laughed at them. However this morning dressed in shorts we caught the train to South Kensington so that we could visit the Victoria and Albert Museum. As with most museums in London the VA has a vast collection and it is not really possible to do it justice in only a couple of hours We really only skim http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-414370.html This morning we headed down to Reading to catch up with Janet and Phil who are currently staying in an apartment there. Reading is a very picturesque town with the Thames River the Kennett River and the Kennett and Avon Canal running around andor through it. We went out to lunch with Janet and Phil to a very nice restaurant on the canal. After lunch we enjoyed a stroll around Reading where Janet http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-413855.html This morning we headed up to London via Mottisfont Abbey and Garden hellip yet another NT property We are really giving our reciprocal membership a work out on this trip. The abbey ceased to operate after the dissolution 153640 when it was acquired by William Lord Sandys who converted it into a house. The abbey also has an extensive rose garden that it is renowned for. While June is THE mon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-413848.html With a heatwave being forecast for the weekend we headed away from the coast today hoping to avoid the crowds. We drove north to Wimborne Minster and then took the B3078 towards Cranborne. At Moor Crichel we took once again to the lanes and motored through Gussage All Saints Wimborne St Giles and Boveridge on our way to Sixpenny Handley for morning tea. Jim seems to know all of the best eating p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Dorset/blog-412946.html We had thunderstorms during the night and it was still rather wet and miserable looking this morning. Not to be deterred by the weather which we were assured by the morning show weather reporter would be clearing we headed off with Jim and Marilyn to explore Dorset.We headed around Poole Harbour to Wareham before driving into the Purbeck Hills with the intention of visiting Tyneham Village. Ty http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Dorset/blog-412944.html We had an early start this morning so that we could catch the ferry over to the Isle of Wight from Lymington. We were aiming to catch the 10.45am ferry so wanted to arrive in Lymington by about 10.15am. We pulled up at the ferry terminal closer to 10.25am and with no booking we were told to join queue 5 and we would be fitted on the 10.45am ferry if possible. When loading started we inched our way http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Isle-of-Wight/blog-412939.html I spent the night feeling rather queasy and not much better come morning. I would blame the Indian food but I ate exactly the same thing as everyone else and noone else has complained of feeling off colourThis morning we finished off our packing and loaded the car. Luggage for two is a much better fit in the Ford Focus than luggage for four About half an hour before we aimed to leave Albert c http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Dorset/blog-412934.html Not much done today apart from washing ironing and repacking ready to head off down to Poole tomorrow. We ventured down to Stalybridge after the last load of washing was on the line so that Bernie could have the No. 2 comb run over his head and chin again. That should keep him looking neat and tidy until we arrive homeWe took Kath and Albert out to dinner at Bowerfield Spice their local India http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Cheshire/blog-412933.html Because we are not travelling until this afternoon we decided to sleep in a bit more than usual and go down for a later breakfast. This proved to be a bad idea as the dining room was ridiculously busy at 9.30am We had to wait for a table for the first time and then queue up for our foodThe front desk told us that we could checkout late at noon so we thought that we could take our time to pac http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Cheshire/blog-412623.html Oh dear I am in trouble today. After being a bit grumpy for the last day or so Bernie has finally revealed that he really REALLY wanted to go to Port Aventura while we were here. I didnrsquot realize it was on our lsquomust dorsquo list more something that we might do. I thought that we came to Spain to enjoy the sun and have a really relaxing time just lazing about but Bernie thought th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-411068.html Pretty much more of the same today We read by the pool this morning and then went up to our room for a light lunch before returning to the pool for a bit more lazing aboutAbout 4.00pm we finally hauled ourselves off the sunbeds and went for walk along the sea front. We walked past all of the tacky tourist shops and bars on the way out and returned along the beach. It was quite blowy down on the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-411067.html Oh dear it was a bit overcast and drizzly this morning so we took the bus into Tarragona to check out the shopping centre. We had decided earlier in the week that if we had a bad weather day that we could have a look at the shops. Unfortunately it is not a very big shopping centre more Endeavour Hills than Chadstone so it didnrsquot fill in quite as much time as we would have liked And we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-411066.html After two big days of sightseeing we had another lazy day today. This morning we read our books down beside the pool. We went around to the No. 1 pool which is much nicer and very quiet. There are three accommodation blocks here at the Estival Park and each block has its own pool area. All guests are allowed to use any of the pools so we have been over to Block 1rsquos pool a couple of times. Mi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-411064.html We had an early start this morning as Bernie wanted to go back to La Sagrada Familia yes again to photograph the Nativity Faade in the early morning light before the tour busses arrived. Yet another tip that he picked up in our guide to Barcelona We were there and back to the hotel within an hour. Even at this early hour of the day there are trains running about every three to four minutes s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-410176.html Well we didnrsquot fall asleep on the train trip up to Barcelona this morning hellip and that would be because we had to stand all the way. Sort of like catching the train from Warragul to Melbourne and not being able to get a seat I was footsore before we even arrived in Barcelona for our day of sightseeingFrom the RENFE station at Passeig de Gracia we switched to the Metro to catch a tra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-410171.html Bernie finally spoke to someone at the Commonwealth Bank this morning who could shed some light on why both our credit cards were refused when we tried to use them in Barcelona yesterday afternoon. For some reason it took three phone calls before someone could admit to us that the Commonwealth Bankrsquos computers were down for a day and a half playing havoc with customerrsquos credit card tra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/blog-408872.html Well we just managed to fit in a trip to Barcelona during our first week in Spain We were up early this morning and hit the dining room right on opening time at 8.00am so that we could grab a pastry and a piece of fruit to eat on our way to the bus stop.We caught the local bus into Tarragona and then walked from the bus station to the train station to catch the train into Barcelona. Even though http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-408866.html