http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/VickiG/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from VickiG en-us Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:43:17 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:43:17 +0000 Basically on Contiki we had one day of travelled followed by a day in the city that we had travelled to. What I've done is basically summed up the main event in each city instead of doing a day by day account as I have done in the past. Oh yeah it managed to rain in every single country we visited We had some of the massivest thunder storms and we survived it all in tents Even though it was we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-419455.html Day 106 NewgrangeToday I went on a day tour out to see the Newgrange Tomb. Our first stop was to Tara Hill were the High KingsQueens of Ireland would rule from. The hill offered a fantastic view of the majority of the country. On the site there is also some ancient burial mounds. From here we moved onto the Town of Trim. Here we walked around Trim Castel which is the only standing castle in Irela http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-410246.html Day 88 DerryToday Emma and I were in at Paddy Palace by 8am to leave on our 6 day tour around Ireland We started off with a drive around phoenix Park Europes largest 5000 Red Deer running wild. Stopping for a photo stop of the Papal Cross and a look in on Aras an Uachtarain the home of the Irish President Mary. From there we drove into Drogheda where we stopped for lunch and saw the preserv http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-410229.html Days 8284After arriving and checking into our apartment we spent the next couple of days doing nothing too much at all. Actually the series of events is much the same for both so I wont bore you and just give you the quick overview of the next couple of days.We went to the various beaches strolled around and of course did lots of shopping. During the night we did our spot of people watching befo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Mykonos/blog-409440.html Day 78Today after Emma and Lauren had left I went on over to the travel agent to buy myself a ticket to Crete. While I was there I also managed to find out that Plykias the place I was heading too I would not be able to reach that day due to the bus times. I was then lucky enough to have the lady find me some accommodation in Heraklion where the ferry was due to dock.While I was waiting for the bu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Crete/blog-409435.html Day 74Today I was u pearly to catch the ferry to Santoroini and was due to meet the girls on the ferry. We later found out though that we had managed to catch two different ferries which meant that I had arrived several hours later than the others. This was fine except that it was pouring rain and none of the hotels actually have proper address. So when I finally made it to the town where the hote http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Santorini/blog-409434.html Day 71I arrived in Athens airport at 5.30am to find out that the buses were on strike until 8am so I was going to be stuck at the airport until services resumed. Well I can now officially tell you that airport benches are definitely not made for sleeping on Anyway I somehow managed to pass the time until the buses arrived. Well because there were so many people waiting I missed the first two an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-409432.html Day 67Today I met Roger down at the ferry dock for our trip over to Gozo. Once we got there and had booked ourselves into the hostel we started to walk into the capital Vittiros. We didn't make it too far before catching a ride on one of the Gozo buses. Once in town we headed to the tourist office for maps and alist of things we could amuse ourselves with. Our first stop was to check out the main http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Malta/Gozo/blog-408537.html Day 54I arrived in Malta at some ridiculous hour with no baggage or sleep only to have to wait 12 hr for a bus and then another 12 hour for the next one to get me to my hostel. After negotiating the busy streets I managed to find the place I'd be living in for the next 2 weeks. My next mission was to get toiletries so I could shower lucky for me I had a change of clothes in my carry on so I didn http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Malta/Malta/La-Valletta/blog-408535.html Day 53 Easter MondayI finally arrived in Girona before 9am and stopped for a morning snack I now had 14hrs to kill before my bus would leave for the airport. My first port of call was to find a tourist info office and hopefully a placce to leave my bag. I managed to do both and by 10am I was backpack freeWith my map in hand I went out to explore the old city of Girona. I walked through the old wi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Girona/blog-405677.html Day 50 Good FridayAfter an early start I arrived in Zaragoza mid afternoon in the main train station. With a little negotiating I found the bus I needed to take to the hostel and after a chat with the driver I managed to get off at the correct stop and found my hostel in no time. My next issue was that I was short on cash to pay for my stay and of course I couldnrsquot check in without making my http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/blog-405667.html DAY 46I finally arrived at my hostel at 7pm without managing to get lost even with my complicated directions I was quiet pleased with myself maybe my sense of direction was improvinghelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip..After settling into my hostel I headed down to the common room to cook my self some dinner to find myself face to face with one of the girls I had met back in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Valencian-Community/Valencia/blog-402403.html DAY 42When I arrived in Barcelona it was raining So here I was catching a bus then train from the airport to my accommodation for 4 nights. I looked a treat big pack on back small on front is somehow I tripped I had no idea how I was going to manage to get up Well I made it to my hostel with various pointing from locals in the right direction late afternoon. I settled into my room then went off http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-394967.html DAYS 37 38This Saturday after Ryan left at an unearthly hour I spent with Sylvia mum's friend from school. She took me around the twon showing me thier old school mum and das old house they shared with Shive and Jack mum's house she grew up in which has been changed so much I hardly recongnised it and we also went to a Church fate. The afternoon bought a visit to Shive's aunt Evelyn and St http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-394961.html DAY 34Wednesday Ryan Aunty Joan and I went to Malahide Castle. Here we had a tour around the grounds and castle. Which told us of the history of the castle how the Talbot family had lived in the castle for up to 800 years and the family ghost Puck. We had our lunch there and then headed over to Ian's so that Ryan could help him lift his motorcycle into the back of the van. During this time we h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-385055.html DAYS 2931Friday I spoke to my Uncle Alan who asked if I wanted to go to Wexford with them for the weekend which I did. Amy my little cousin didn't know I was coming so you should have heard the shrieks at the school gate when we picked her up. That night we played on the near by play equipment and realised that maybe I was a little too big to be playing on it After a lovely dinner cooked by Un http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Wexford/Wexford/blog-385052.html DAY 28This Thursday turned out to be the only day during the week that remained foggy for all but three hours of the day. I believe that it was because I had decided to go exploring this day. I caught the train into the city and bought a daily ticket for the Dublin hopon hopoff bus. This bus tour takes you around to all of the tourist sites in Dublin running every 10 minutes. I visited the Nat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-385047.html DAY 26Today dawned bright and sunny for St Patrickrsquos Day. Today I went into the city with my cousin Ryan and 2 of his friends to watch the parade. In there we met my other cousin Ian his wife and their son Daniel. We waited for over an hour for the parade to start and it was fantastic. There was so much colour and so many nationalities all taking part in the event. Some of the entries thoug http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-382904.html DAYS 2124On Thursday 12.3.09 we were up at 6am to head to the ferry to take us to Hollyheads in Wales. This ferry ride took us a total of 3 and half hours. Once we docked it took us 2 hours to drive to our hotel in Chester which is just south of Manchester. The hotel was called Holiday Inn. Here we caught up with my cousin Gill and two of her kids Ryan and Shane. All of which I havenrsquot se http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Cheshire/Chester/blog-382319.html DAY 17It was my second day in Ireland today and I went to my Aunt and Unclersquos local Church St Douloughrsquos. It is the oldest church in Ireland with over 600 years of continuous weekly use. The Church also contains one section with the original stone roof. As the church was completely stone and the heaters so high up everyone in the church remained rugged up for the whole service. It did http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-380897.html