Blogs from Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 4

I arrived at my house in Staffordshire in the first week of my trip to England. I was expecting the house to look smaller than I'd remembered, since this usually happens, but this time it played a trick on me and the size fitted my memory. My home had been tenanted for the last 5+ years, and I'd been wondering how this would affect the 'feel' of the house for me. During the 15 or so years that I'd lived there, I'd always chosen to live alone. Sure, girlfriends had stayed for weekends, but seldom longer and friends and family would come and go; it was always good to have visitors. In those 15 years I'd had two offers of marriage and one invite to cohabit, but after losing my previous home in a divorce, I'd ... read more

Geo: 52.757, -1.93461After 95 nights away, we walked through the door of home last Friday (14th) after the worst journey during our trip. What would usually take 3 hours towing time, took 4½ hours due to motorway closures and holdups on the M42 and M6 – it's little wonder that European tourists are so reluctant to come over here. Even with driving on the right-hand side, we never encountered such stressful traffic volumes and road works like this.Anyhow, we left Potes in the Picos de Europa on Monday (10th) just after 8am so as to negotiate the long and winding road back to the Autovia that would take us on our final Spanish transfer to Santander. Thankfully there was little traffic at that time of the morning, and well before the tourist coaches bound for the ... read more

Every luggages were alright... It's the departure ! I was sad to leaving my family, my friends and my girlfriend behind me but I have had no choice. I took the plane from Lyon, Saint-Exupéry to Birmingham, International during 1 hour and 45 minutes before taking the train from Birmingham to Stoke-On-Trent during 1 hour. It was simple for me to make this travel because I'm resourcful and I'm not afraid to travel alone. At approximatly 5:30 p.m, I m arrived to my accomodation on Stoke, on Caledonia Road. It's a student residence with 3 or 4 bedrooms per apartment. I'm actually with a german boy, and the last room is available. Not to mention my room, I have my own shower and my own toilet. We have share kitchen, share lounge and share TV. My ... read more

Day 9 - Golf? Aye, Golf! After yesterday's road trip we all needed some time out of the car. Michelle and Anne spent the morning playing Crazy Golf (Minigolf). Michelle tried to get the ball to go the wrong way through the dinosaur. After crazy golf we all ate lunch and then Michelle and Tony played 9 holes of REAL golf. The resort had clubs for Michelle, but they had to go down into the "haunted cellar" to grab them. Michelle got the hang of it rather quickly (except for the sand traps) but they both spent quality time looking for lost balls. After golf it was time for a dip in the pool. We rounded out the day with a driving tour of Barton-under-Needwood and dinner at a local tavern. Tomorrow we checkout and head ... read more

Day 7 - A Down Day Today we slept in, by a lot. It's nice to not have any plans. After checking out the welcome meeting we headed into the local village of Alrewas. Before leaving the US we watched a video on Amazon about the Canal Boats of England. They seem to be a lot like motorhomes or houseboats but they move along the old canals that were once used to transport materials. There are many locks on the canals and that seems to be the main challenge of traveling this way. As we were driving around Alrewas looking for a place to eat we came across a lock with a boat travelling through. Everything was very old and hand cranked. It was pretty neat to watch. The people we watched going through the lock ... read more