Blogs from Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

"Beside the noble art of getting things done , there is a noble art of leaving things undone." Lin Yutang The plan had been to visit a different town with different shops and places to see . Ticked the box. Visit a museum - done . See a castle and a cathedral . Both visited . Take in a dockyard and ships and a mighty river . Been there done it worn the T shirt. So what was left - a garden . Not just any old garden but one of the finest in England . That was the order of the day today . Tomorrow would be a stately home . More a stately house owned and lived in by one of the greatest prime ministers of the 20th century. Well that was the plan ... read more

So when is a city not a city? An old definition of a city was a place with a cathedral . The more modern definition is a place with a sizeable population . Not historical but more around the way our country is growing in population . What were once towns can now be designated a city if the monarch allows it . Our own town Wrexham was moved to city status last year . The largest town in North Wales it more than deserved the honour but it was not well liked by many in the town . Many harked back to the market status of the town . The markets had gone years ago . They harked on about the Wrexham of the past with the shops full . Again long gone. The cry ... read more

The alarm pinged off at just before 6. We were off to Kent for a few days. A much needed break away from the usual day to day routine . In the darkness I tore off the calendar thought for the day. I had been stuck with a run of repeats thoughts from previous years but today gave me a much needed boost . " Today is your own" " Tomorrow perchance may never come" A bit morbid for a thought but extremely true . We have kept putting off trips since selling Gabby but today was one the first we forced ourselves to organise . Organising had not been easy . We had to choose days that fitted in between football matches . Places to visit had to be open. Car parking had to be ... read more

Back to reality now as we no longer have our rooms cleaned daily and served breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus afternoon tea). We truly had a ball on board ship and made friends with some wonderful people from Canada, Australia and even New Zealand! After Germany, we had stops in Vienna in Austria, Bratislavia in Slovakia and finally Budapest in Hungary. All had very interesting guides to escort groups of us around and a great way to gain local knowledge of the area and country. In Bratislavia we were taken to family homes to talk to them (via our translator/guide) and offered wine, coffee, tea and cake and the experience was really enjoyed by all. Prague, we had been told by many, is a beautiful city and it certainly didn't disappoint. Our next stop was Heidelberg, ... read more

Very eventful day today! We woke up early in Oxford and headed out for a wander through the Covered Market at 8:00. It’s a lot like Granville Island or Pike place - but likely older. We had a nice breakfast without any baked beans. From there we made our way over to Oxford Castle. We didn’t go in (because we didn’t think to book tickets in advance) but got to tour the grounds. It was mostly used as a prison from sometime in the 1600’s to the 1980’s. Now the cells have been converted to a luxury hotel. From there, we went back to Christ Church College where we did do the self-guided walking tour. The highlight was the dining hall which not only has been used for the same purpose for more than 500 years ... read more

25th September - It has been a while ! For the past two years my travel blogs have been virtually with Heygo (Previously Virtualtrips). I have travelled all over the world with them and it has been fantastic especially during the long lockdowns, but it is now time to get back to real time travelling. Our initial plan was to be on a Baltic Cruise but with changes to certain Ports of Call & dates our original cruise was cancelled. So we find ourselves on a cruise around the British Isles and then on to the Norwegian Fjords. A lovely surprise letter arrived a few days before our departure, Saga have upgraded our cabin to a suite complete with butler, so Thankyou Saga. A good journey to Dover with our friendly Saga chauffeur, an efficient & ... read more