Barcelona to French Riviera We stopped for lunch in the Provence of Arles, home of the well-known Vincent Van Gogh. We took some time to see his amphitheatre, then tasted some Gelato before heading on the coach again driving along the scenic region of Cote dÁzure. We set up camp and our Contiki cook made some Frogs-legs to sample the local delicacy. Surprisingly not as good as snails, but not altogether bad – cross between chicken and calamari. Next to the campground was Antibes Land – a show ground with plenty of amusement rides open until 2am! We spent the next morning at the French perfumery (Fragenard), going on a small tour to learn about the extraction process as well as production of soaps, creams, oils and odours. The pebble beach would have looked magnificent ... read more

London to Paris and our Contiki Travels! Day 1 of our 46 day camping adventure we met up with our Contiki team in London at the Royal National Hotel where we boarded our coach and made our way to the ferry to cross the English Channel to France. The White Cliffs of Dover were dramatic high drop-offs against the calm seas. Only a few hours after hitting the bitumen once in France, we arrived at our campsite in Paris where we stayed for 3 nights. Passing the World War I battlefields on our journey into the “City of Lights”, we then spent the next couple of days indulging in the city’s magic, romance and history. We visited the beautiful Chateau Versailles, the biggest castle in the world – built for Louis XIII who in the ... read more

Cardiff to London Our final day on our Trafalgar Cost-Saver Britain and Ireland Explorer Tour led us to Bath where we visited the Roman Baths and admired the Georgian architecture. It was amazing to see the Temple Courtyard, the Sacred Spring, the Head of Sulis Minerva and most importantly the Great Bath that despite rainy and overcast weather still gave a sense of absolute awe thinking of the great history and controversies of unisex bathing held here. Around the city of Bath there were strange pig sculptures randomly placed on the corner of streets or malls (similar to the Superlambanana in Liverpool, and cows seen in Shepparton!) We continued with a stop in Salisbury where we sighted the cathedral close’s slender spire – the tallest spire in England. Although only about 15 minutes from Salisbury, ... read more

Tralee to Waterford Travelling back along the eastern border of the Ring of Kerry, Killarney was our first stop for the day where some fellow travellers took the opportunity to go on a Jaunting Car (horse-drawn cart with an Irish driver). After having a good look around the town we drove to Blarney where we visited the grand Castle that was built in the 1480’s. The Castles here in Ireland differ so vastly from those in England and Scotland so far – in that they are more of a squared-vertical tower rather than rounded turrets imagined by children in their prince and princess castles. It was here at Blarney Castle that we had our chance to acquire the ‘gift of the gab’ – each of us kissing the Blarney Stone (although Lachie did advise me ... read more

Sligo to Limerick Kylemore Abbey was first stop for the day with picturesque views over the lake. A few busy nuns were seen walking around the gardens in preparation for one of the many weddings that take place in the church here. A pair of loud donkeys watched tourists from a nearby hill, while some fishermen tried their luck on the lake. We passed plenty of small farms with hundreds of sheep penned in by dry stone walls, often sharing paddocks with the various breeds of cattle around. It was a late lunch stop at Galway in the town centre, then continued south to Limerick where a small group of us dined out at a local pub to enjoy some seafood chowder and Guinness. A late start had us venturing into Bunratty Castle and folk ... read more