Memories. 1991 Trip To England, Wales, France and Bali.

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After my last blog, "Memories,Sydney 1990", I was very pleased to learn that we were expected to travel in mid 1991 to England to attend the wedding of Di's brother Tim, to Lucy. I certainly wanted to experience more overseas travel so what an excuse. Plans were made. Extra holidays arranged so we could be away for 6 weeks. Plans on how Chris and Amy were to handle 6 weeks with out parents. Then the conversations with other family members re flights, accommodation, how to get around England etc. Then discussions about all the various places we would like to include in our tour. Exciting times. As Diane acts as my "travel agent" on most of these trips I can just agree or discuss the wishes of what we both would like to do. So on my part I just sit back and let the anticipation kick in.

Memories, 1991.

Anticipation!! One of my favourite things about holidays and travel. And I was full of it. I'm sure my work colleagues got sick of hearing about our intended trip. I couldn't really comprehend that I would be sitting on a plane for 8 hours, and then disembarking at Singapore, for a one night lay-over, then take our seats again to continue to wing our way to England for another 12 hours. Wow!!

Finally on the 7th July 1991 Diane and I, along with Annemarie and Corrado and our friend Renee, departed NZ, landed in Singapore late morning, crammed as much of the tourist thing in as possible during the rest of the day, had a great night's rest and before departing on our next leg rushed around ticking off the "to do" box. Really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Singapore and the sights. I have passed through Singapore many times since but have not stayed to do the tourist thing. Once we boarded the plane late afternoon, we flew via Bangkok then Copenhagen, and since we had crossed the international date line, arrived at Heathrow, London on July 9th to be meet by Di's brother John, to be taken by tube into London so we could make his house in Bromley our base for a few days, until all heading down south to celebrate the wedding. Our friend Renee left us at Heathrow to fly down to her home town, Newquay, in Cornwall where we were to catch up with her at a later date.

So here I am in London. Amazing. I couldn't believe that I was nearly 19000 km from home and experiencing so many firsts in my life, all within 3 days. Long haul Flight, Singapore, Long haul flight, Heathrow, London Underground and finally the first sights of London. Absolutely magic.

While in London we spent every minute we could touring around catching the sights. So much to see. So little time to see it all. What, where and how do we manage to fit everything in? Impossible, in just a few days, but excitement kept us going so we achieved most of the main attractions including the must do's. Walking along the Thames, a walk across Tower Bridge, which {as if by arrangement} opened for a ship to pass, onward to the Tower of London, where Diane, while standing at Traitors Gate had tears rolling down her face. We all came to the conclusion that in a past life she must have been tied to the gate when the tide came in. Onward to the most famous of them all, Buckingham Palace. The guards strutting about, the multitudes of tourists. {Oh, thats right, we're them} the changing of the guards, police on horses, just the sheer wonder of being there, at a place that you have been told about, a place you have read about, a place that holds so much history and mystery. Every where we went was met with open mouthed awe and I knew that in the years to come I would have to spend more time in this amazing city. Riding the tube and quickly working out how easy it was to access this wonderful city made me realise how we could get to see the Palace, then move onto Hyde Park, then onto the world famous Harrods Dept Store and onward. I found it so easy to be a tourist using the public transport and enjoyed our time so much.

Apart from a few more days spent there when we returned from the wedding, it would be a little while before we could spend lots of time, over a number of trips, getting to know this old historic city. It is certainly a fantastic place to visit and enjoy. I still have great anticipation whenever I am lucky enough to spend time there.

With other members of the family arriving we made plans to drive in convoy down to the town of Clevedon in the County of Somerset where we had all arranged accommodation in a guest house called Moorlands in the village of Hutton. Delightful place and so well sighted for getting around the area.The drive down was our first chance to see the English country side so we left the highways and took secondary roads to enjoy the sights. Loved it. A long love affair with the English country side, thatched roof houses, beautiful postcard villages, started for me, and has remained with me up until the present time.{ Wishing I could get back there.}

Over the next few days we had a wonderful time meeting, greeting and getting to know Lucy's family and friends. The Wedding Day was lovely. It was held at 'The Friary'Church, Clevedon, { Lucy arriving in a horse drawn carriage,} an old and beautiful church on the cliffs above the sea, then off to the reception at a lovely old country house {Cadbury Country Club } set in beautiful gardens. A wonderful day followed by a few days stay in the area that is so nice. Friendships made that remain to this day.

Following the wedding and after bidding family and friends good-bye, Charlie, Vivienne, Diane and I drove north, by-passing London, arriving in the city of Chester in the north west of England. We had decided to start here for a trip through the English country side and then into Wales to drive some of the coast line and also some of the mountain region, ending our Welsh experiance in Cardiff. Chester was my first time I realised how much Roman history is found in Britain, with the city wall surrounding it, and the Roman amphitheatre. So much history in this city, and as always not enough time to see everything. The promise to return has been broken unfortunately. Onward into Wales with its beautiful rugged coast line. Lots of castles to see and headlands with great vistas but we had to keep moving. Leaving the coast we headed across country through some of the slate mining area. We found this to be interesting but were left with some memories of a very grey countryside. One village we had a meal break in and walk around, we felt the only green we saw was the rugby field. This said I still found the experience of leaving an area of slag heaps,{ slate spoil-tips} then just around the corner driving into a beautiful lush green valley, was so very refreshing. In fact the grey areas were very minor and for the rest of the time you are moving through some beautiful countryside. The book "How Green Was My Valley"by Richard Llewellyn sprang to mind. Arriving in Cardiff in the late afternoon on our last day, my mind set was to get to Cardiff Arms Park so I could look at the hallowed turf. Cardiff Arms Park is the famous park where rugby mad Welshmen sing during their national teams games against their opposition, including our NZ All Black rugby team. I have been told how absolutely moving this can be. Finally finding our way there I was a little disappointed to find that the gates to the playing field were closed. Realising that I would only be able to see the field by looking down a passage way I went and stood at a gate and peered through. I was lost in thought, but my wife went and found a caretaker who then came and said" I hear your uncle played here for the All Blacks against Wales". I told him the story of my mothers brother playing there in 1935. He immediately opened a gate and told me to follow him down to the field. He invited me to go and stand on the field and pretend that I could hear the Welsh singing. I'm sure I did. One of the my favourite experiences I have had on my travels. Still stirs me.

Back into England to follow the coast down to Newquay, Cornwall, to meet up with our friend Rennie. Following the coast and dropping into some of the magical small villages, Clovelly being one of our favourites, onto Tintagel Castle, and its amazing coastline, with it's connections to King Arthur and Merlin, then onto Newquay to meet up with Rennie to spend a few nights at her parents place while touring around the south of England. Newquay, a well known surfing destination with nice beaches and wonderful headlands. What a wonderful coastline Cornwall has. It reminds me of many stories I read as a kid such as the Famous Five books. Love exploring these coastlines, looking at the old tin mines and the old fishing village's such as St Ives, Mousehole and Polperro. The open air theatre "Minack Theatre"carved into the cliff is overlooking the sea and is an absolutely amazing venue for all sorts of entertainment. A truely magical spot. Then of course you have Lands End. Cornwall and all its wonderful sights is one of my favourites and I have been lucky enough to visit and explore this area a few more times in the following years and still hope to return in the future.

Returning to London we bunked down at Johns place again for a few more days of exploring. Always discover new things to visit.

Viv and Charlie had decided to head to Paris so Di and I joined them. Leaving London, we headed by train to Dover were we boarded a ferry to Calais. As we left port and looked back at the cliffs of Dover I couldn't help but hum the song "The White Cliffs of Dover" sung by Vera Lynn during the 2nd world war. After a good crossing of that famous piece of water, the English Channel, we boarded a train to take us to Paris. Rattled along for awhile enjoying the scenery and the comfy seats but when the conductor came to check our tickets he informed us that we were not supposed to be in first glass and had to move. Pronto! So back to 2nd class we went. But still an interesting trip and nice to get to Paris in daylight so we could see some of the sights on our walk to find our Hotel. It did take a little time to locate this but after Viv bombarded a French policeman with her school girl french, we finally walked into the foyer of our accommodation. A small rustic hotel with the street front building being quite quaint and the rear building being quite run down. Viv and Charlie had booked ahead so their room was in the front, with a window overlooking the lane, while Di and I, who went on the spur of the moment, were in the back. Our room was very small with a small bathroom and the bed taking up most of the room. When I opened the window I found that it only opened about 20cm before hitting the next building. My first experience of one of the compact hotel rooms available in Europe. As I now know, these have reasonable rates and you get what you pay for, and after all you are not going to be sitting around in the room, just sleeping, as there is a great and beautiful city out there to explore. And explore we did. We were very fortunate that-in Di and I had a friend from Wellington visiting Paris at this time and George, the husband had lived in Paris for a number of years before arriving in NZ. Great to have an on the spot guide to show us the sites. Over the next few days we walked for miles, taking in all the main tourist attractions and many more attractions off the beaten track. We scaled the Eiffel Tower, cheating by using the lift, were I discovered Di had a real adversion to that sort of high structure. She spent most of the time on the viewing area creeping around pecking at the view through half closed eyes. But what a wonderful place to look out and see Paris spread out below you. Way way below you. Magic! Coffee on the Champs-Elysees, while looking at the Arc de Triophe and people watching. Walking the banks of the Seine, looking in awe at the Cathedrale Notre-Dame , and visiting the the Louvre Museum. So much to do and see. Viv and Charlie left after 3 days and continued some travels on their way back to NZ. Di and I moved into their room at the front of the hotel for couple of days and continued our sight seeing around about. Walking and utilising the underground we saw some amazing sights. What an amazing city, and I left with the feeling that it is truely one of the great and romantic cities in the world. Another broken promise! I did promise to return but unfortunately never have. My loss.

On our return to England we once again crashed at Johns in London, sleeping on the floor in the lounge and enjoying more of the London sights. Di and I then accompanied Di's parents, Lorna and Leo, on a few days tour down into the areas of Dorset, Hampshire, and Surrey. Once again I was introduced to some beautiful English countryside with lots of amazing village's thrown in. Love it. So after five weeks of a great introduction to England and a part of Europe, Di and I set off to return to NZ with a 3 day stopover in Bali to catch some beach time. This trip to England was a trip that really did plant the seeds of a need to travel in my head. We were spoilt with lovely weather most of the time, wonderful traveling companions, magic celebrations and we created so many memories that remain strong in my mind to this day.

Spoiled in Bali. Thats how I felt as I walked onto the golden sands in front of our plush hotel on the beach at Denpasar and looked out at the Indian Ocean of sparkling clear water. Swim Time. Yes. What a wonderful way to finish off our trip. Just lazing in the sun on the beach or at the pool, or a stroll though the streets of Kuta. Casual meals in the Hotel or a cafe. No pressure. The only down side for me was having to sit on the plane for the rest of the journey back home with a bit of sunburn through an over indulgence of lazing in the sun. So much fun and just such a good way to break the journey back home.

New Zealand was waiting for us along with our kids, Chris and Amy, who had survived { surprise surprise } without us. No matter where you go, what you see, how long you are away for, it is always a pleasure to return home, see family and friends and get back into your norm. Then start planning and waiting for the chance to do another trip. Always planning. Always dreaming. Pip/Rod

PS: Unfortunately I seem to have mislaid most of my photos from this trip, hence the delay in posting this post and the limited photos.

PSS. A lot of the delay in posting this has been because Di and I have decided to sell our house and look at moving on to different adventures which are limited by Govid. Selling a house takes time and energy so Travel Blogs take a back seat. Pip/Rod

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Photos

Moorlands B&B Hutton.
The guest house we all stayed at.

Buckingham Palace.
Di and I on our very first visit to the famous palace.

Amazing Flower Beds.
Walking to The Palace through Green Park.

Blagdon Inn. Devon.
Di, Charlie, Corrado, Annemaire and Vivienne enjoying afternoon tea. We also discovered their magic Death by Chocolate dessert.

Chester
Charlie and Di near the Wall at Chester.

Somewhere near Chester
Di enjoying the old English countryside.

Chester.
Charlie, self and Viv standing beneath the Eastgate Clock. This is on the city wall.

Wales.
One of the lovely Hotels we stayed in while traveling.

Tintagel, Cornwall.
Viv and Charlie taking in the old site of the Tintagel Post Office which was housed in this 14 century house.

Windsor
Charlie, Viv and Di walking the streets of Windsor.

Guarding Windsor Castle.
Windsor Castle, the village and the surrounds was a magic place to visit.