Blogs from England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2183

Land of Beatrix Potter and home to William Wordsworth is not usually somewhere that would appeal to us as a holiday destination, but England's Lake District is also known for its magnificent scenery and delicious food ... that sounds more like it! We arrived in Windermere at midday on the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend and set about trying to find somewhere to park our tent. A visit to the tourist office revealed that nearly every one of the at least twenty camping grounds in the area was either booked out or did not allow tents (what sort of campground is that?). Our only hope was a massive campground that apparently did not take bookings but 'never ran out of room as they just open up a new paddock when one gets full'. Sounded a ... read more

Just in case I have not bored you with the details in person I thought I should write down where we are actually going. We have bought a Great Escapade round-the-world ticket. We are allowed to travel up to 29,000 miles so decided to get our monies worth and chose a route that was over 28,000 miles! The flights are London - Singapore, Singapore - Bangkok, Hanoi - Christchurch (via Singapore), Auckland - Fiji, Fiji - Rarotonga, Rarotonga - LA, LA - London. All of this for £924 plus tax - bargain! We have got a couple of days in Singapore to start with. This time we have decided to pay more for accommodation hopefully this will translate into proper air conditioning and no bed bugs unlike last time! After that it is off to Bangkok ... read more

London is a more beautiful city than any American city I have seen. Modern buildings with aesthetically impressive architecture blend in nicely with well-preserved historic settings. There are many parks and streets are often lined with plush greenery. We saw many of the tourist sights and settings of beautiful London. We saw the changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. I must admit that the traditional dress of the officers is rather strange. Two officers wear these weird red, telephone backpacks—it’s very hard to explain, so look at the photo. We saw the exterior of Westminstor Abby and later enjoyed a musical, Blood Brothers, in the West End. After having drinks at the longest bar in Europe (very not conducive to talking to people… it’s too long of a bar!), we spent the night ... read more

Have found a great website Hostelsweb.com which I will use on my travels to research and book all my hostel accommodation online. How cool is that ? You've got to love the interenet havent you really ? Asides from earning my living from it and throough it, it really is bleeding useful for stuff like this !... read more

Race to the airport. Will be a crush of people. Damn bank holiday! Do I know how to pick the best flights or what? Of all the days to fly out of London I probably picked one of the busiest travel days in England since it is the last bank holiday before school starts. Oh well. It’s too late now to change things. I’ll be leaving for Heathrow shortly. Thank goodness it is only a 37 minute tube ride on one train...just have to get to the Piccadily line first! I've had a fabulous six weeks exploring England, Scotland, Paris and Germany. It's been especially nice meeting lots of new people and meeting up with people that I have met earlier on in the year in my travels and old friends as well. The next few ... read more