Blogs from Wales, United Kingdom, Europe

A couple of weeks ago an accident befell Alex's new tent, due to freak winds. So he and Ineke took it to a repair man on the Wirral, and today we all went to collect it. It was well mended, much to our relief, and we spent a great day at the Wirral Country Park and the Marine lake at West Kirby - which is a man made lake for learning to surfboard and sail, but no-one trying it out today.... read more

Today is Mum's birthday, 88 years young. She and Dad went out for lunch, and Alex and I called with a birthday cake, candle and presents this afternoon. We had a jolly time, and the sun shone.... read more

Привет! 9 days to go so the blog is created..... Justine and i will be venturing to china, but taking the long route- from bangor/devon-london-moscow-perm-yekaterinburg-krasnoyarsk-irktskuk-ulan baator- beijing before our travel around china begins. Each leg of the journey is about 30 hours on a train, we chose 3rd class of course, so shall get the ultimate russian/mongolian experience.... so far we know that vodka is drunk with every meal and its rude to refuse. So definitely could be some interesting journeys there. Karl Pilkington, being the role model he is describes the train as sleeping on a shelf..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AqmnE_YWEE we've got that experience to look forward to. We've managed to get russian and mongolian visas... longest visa forms i've ever done yet!! But... chinese visa.... th... read more

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain After months of negotiating sabbaticals, researching destinations, planning our itinerary and saving some money, we are now less than 100 days away from our wedding and the start of our amazing honeymoon. We are both lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to many weird and wonderful places. For our honeymoon, we wanted something extra special, something that neither of us had done before and something we'd always remember. This is our trip of a lifetime covering: 19 States... in 80 days... over 8,500 miles... and 150 hours of driving. ... read more

We did it. The clans gathered from 4 corners of the world and we had a really good night. There were 90 people, family and friends, a band, good food and a spectacular cake. In the end Dad had 55 or so cards, and three celebratory meals before the party - one with Mum on THE day, one with Alex and me, Pat and Kerry the following day, and yet another with Liz and Jerry on Friday, when theyarrived. Lost of relations had a catch up, some staying close by. And an old colleague of Dad's was brought up from Somerset by his daughter and son - who arrived armed with a photo of when they visited our house in Ilford about 55 years ago - and which I'd forgotten all about. For some reason we ... read more

Welcome to Llandudno ! As the UK was embracing its first days of warm weather in early June, I decided to visit a place which I knew was famous for its Victorian festival early May each year, but which was nothing but a name on a map as far as I was concerned, and was I in for a pleasant surprise indeed ! Llandudno is a beautiful Victorian seaside resort located in the Conwy County of Wales, and offers amongst its many charms a breathtaking Promenade overlooking the sea and the beaches located between the Great Orme and the Little Orme. Elegant buildings so representative of the Victorian and Edwardian area are everywhere to enjoy, and the crown jewel certainly is the majestic Grand Hotel overlooking the pier. The beaches were boasting with life and activity ... read more