Category: Travel

With nothing too grand planned for this weekend we thought we would go for a coffee tour of the city. With the first and best coffee place being shut on our arrival we were rather miffed as to what to do next. Until that is a young lady in her fluro yellow safety vest approached us with a brochure. Normally we would supply a nice smile, polite no thank you and quickly avoid making any eye contact to get away in a hurry however her brochure immediately caught our eye – Archaeology Open Day conducted by Oxford Archaelogy. We were there in a shot. We had previously walked past their dig site awhile back but couldn’t see over the fence so didn’t know it was a dig site. We managed to nab ourselves a very passionate young archaeologist who took us on an hour long tour of the site (instead of the standard 20 minute tour). It was very fascinating. Steve even managed to spot some animal bone protruding from the dig site. The area is going to become a multi storey car park with apartments and retail shops in the future so they have 6 months to pull what they can, record and map everything. So far they have found pottery, coins, shoes, evidence of the tannery works that was once there and animal bones. It has had medieval (AD 1066-1485) and post-medieval (1485-1800s) activity on site. The picture I have uploaded is of a well that is being excavated and three ovens found. Here is a link to Oxford Archaeology www.thehumanjourney.net

Second: Churches
St Stephen’s Parish Church was having an Open Day so we went up the tower. Great view from there of Bristol. The photo I have attached is looking out to the floating harbour. The tower on the hill in the top right handside is Cabot Tower. A bit of a steep and narrow staircase to the top but well worth the view. The same goes for St Stephen’s. The staircase was rather steep, narrow and passed by the bell tower. Fabulous day to get up there and the church stained glass windows were rather fascinating as well. Some dating from 1602.

Lastly: Musuems
On Sunday after having attended church we again went for a wander into town. This time heading for the Egyptian display at Bristol Museum. It was a bit of a let down for all the advertising around town for it. So we left and finally came across the Red Lodge an Elizabethan House built in around 1590. Situated on the corner of Lodge Street and Park Row it was free to go in (always a lovely price) and had a great big inviting red door. What more could you ask. Inside it is just stunning. On the second floor is the famous oak paneled room. I have attached a picture. Oak paneling floor to ceiling, elaborately carved and with a huge stone fireplace to boot. In one of the other rooms is a painting of one of the owners of the house (Mary Carpenter) who turned it into England’s first girls reform schools. I have attached a photo of the room as it is today and the painting as it was in the 1800’s. Not much has changed. Outside those windows is a very small but quaint knot garden. Lovely place to visit if you ever get the chance.
What a great weekend.

This weekend we went to Sudeley Castle – http://www.sudeleycastle.co.uk – which is just outside of Cheltenham in a town called Winchcombe. It took about 45 minutes from Bristol Temple Meads to Cheltenham and then 2 buses later we entered Winchcombe. This is a little township with the thatched roofing and Coltswold stone. Just beautiful. From here it was about a 10 minute walk to the castle through the countryside. The grounds are incredible with stunning gardens, oak and chestnut trees. Inside the grounds they had a display of what life would be like in the 15th century with wool spinners, gun powder maker, a guy making lead bullets and people cooking over open fires. Just after midday the joust began. I was very excited to see this. The knights looked incredible in their chain mail and colourful cloaks. They put on an incredible show even if the crowd was a bit lack lustre. Well I have finally seen a joust. Apparently they run courses in it around Warwick Castle area. Hmmm, my new sport? I think not.
After the joust it was into the gardens. Dad, you would have loved it. So many roses, lavendar, knot gardens, hedges, the smell from the flowers was incredibly heady and delightful on a perfect summers day. We have both even managed to come away a bit burnt. Unfortunately we under estimated the heat of the day.
Well, I can say that I truly have loved this area and would be more than happy to come back and just sit in the gardens watching the flowers grow and listening to the bees.
No wonder Katherine Parr (King Henry VIII’s last wife) lived here with her 2nd husband, Thomas Seymour until her death. It is spectacular.

Another day trip to Wales. This time a bit further up into Wales. Only around 1.5 hours on the train from Bristol. Bristol to Cardiff with a change into Caerphilly.
First impressions of Caerphilly were a quaint village town with great public toilets near the station. At 10p it was the best money I’ve paid so far for the “public conveniences” as they so nicely put it. So it may be strange that I am talking toilets but seriously, a nice smelling loo stands out after many nasty ones!
Walking down through Caerphilly village it is quite well stocked with shops and then you come to the bottom of the street and there it is. Caerphilly Castle. Literally in the middle of town about 4 minutes walk from the train station.
Built in the 13th century it is the largest and (at the time) best strategically crafted castle using man made moats as its key defence mechanism. With a huge moat and then two sets of walls to breach before getting into the inner sactum it is truly interesting to walk through and understand how hard it would be to breach it. However, it apparently didn’t see a lot of action.
Comparing this to Cardiff Castle is quite easy. Cardiff was more about how the Bute Family lived in there during their time with the luxurious room designs and colourful decoration. Caerphilly Castle is cheaper to get into and more hands on. It is not as glamourous as Cardiff but far more fun for a family. You can climb/walk/run all over the castle, investigate all the hidey holes, laze on the grass or on a park bench eating lunch in the sun. It was a great day out with plenty of photos today. Highly recommended at only 3.50 each (plus train fair of 11 pound each).

Last weekend we were well chuffed to have Kerryn stay for a night. As you may all remember Kerryn started the journey from Sydney with us. Her first long haul flight and having to sit with me and Steve for numerous hours. She has survived us very well indeed. After having spent 3 weeks travelling together in Dubai and France we parted ways in Provence, met in London for a day and then she came to stay for a night at our new home in Bristol. So what do you do in Bristol when you only have a day stop over and it is rainy? Go to IKEA of course. Anyway, it was great to see you Kerryn and hope your trip to the Cotswolds went well!
This weekend we decided to take a day trip to Cardiff in Wales. Only 1 hour by train (quicker if it didn’t stop so much) we were there for brunch. Having just come into Wales where do we go for brunch? An Irish pub. Hmmm. Not very Welsh at all. It was then on to a quaint indoor market where we had a great freshly squeezed OJ (just a nice as the Kerikeri oranges) and then onto some church investigations. We came across th Parish Church of St John the Baptist. What is really interesting here is the story of the St Johns Ambulance.
St Johns Ambulance:
In the 11th century a group of Benedictines in Jerusalem started the hospital of St John of Jerusalem (John the Baptist) which cared for sick pilgrims. They were the oldest of the crusading order and founded hospices all throughout Europe along the pilgrimage routes. During the reformation period the Order was suppressed but revived again in 1877 for public service in the fields of health, safety and first aid. The brigade as we know it today was then formed in 1887. The eight pointed cross on a black background that makes up the St Johns Ambulance symbol represents the cross of Christ (the sign of the redemption of humankind). The four arms of the cross symbolise the four cardinal virtues – prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude and the eight points of the star stand for the eight Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12). It continues to totally amaze me every time I learn about something else that I have seen all my life but had no idea that it came from something so interesting.
Next on our list we saw Cardiff Castle. Smack bang in the middle of the CBD you can’t miss it. We did the touristy thing and took the tour. Glad we did as again there were really interesting items that she pointed out on the tour that you would have no idea about. For example, in the dining room is a little monkey on the wall. Steve noticed it had a nut in its mouth. It turns out the nut is a button you could push to summon the servants.
The castle was well worth the visit, the rooms were spectacular, the lawns well kept and the keep in the middle of it all was a great climb up to the top with a stunning view of the city. One of my favourite parts though was the outside wall surrounding the castle. Part of the wall is called the Animal Wall because of the animal sculptures that adorn the top as you walk past it. They watch you as you walk towards the castle and keep an eye on you. I loved them, especially the wolf lurking on top of the wall covered by a tree (I have attached a picture). Would we go back again? I think so, especially in August when they are holding a medieval festival there. Well that’s it for now. Until next weekend when we go on another adventure: Da boch chi (goodbye in Welsh).

This weekend we had the pleasure of meeting up with 2 mates over from Australia in London. So having purchased our coach tickets we set off for London on Saturday morning. As you may while know from subsequent emails, conversations etc the weather here has been constantly overcast and rainy for 2 weeks now. So we kitted up as per usual and hit the streets of London to sightsee. The main target was Harrods. This is a place that you have to go to at least once during your stay in London.
I was quite surprised at the lack of grandeur of the store when we first spotted it. We only realised we had reached our destination as there were protesters with a picket line outside the building. It would seem that Harrods stocks furs. Not a good start to my introduction to the store. Having paused and checked my conscience I chose to continue and have a look through the store anyway. At first the overall sense of the place was gradeur, wealth, opulence and chaos with tourists everywhere. However, after a while it actually began to remind me of Dubai – it is all these things taken at face value but once you touch the stone columns, peer up into the cornices and scratch the surface a bit more it’s all for show. There is nothing wrong with this but I imagined Harrods to be more solid (if that makes sense). I loved the Eygptian room which continues up through all the floors via its escalator. The lighting here was great and it was a lot quieter than the rest of the store. It is in this area on the ground floor that you find a tribute to Dodhi and Diana. Actually you could probably more call it a shrine with a photo of each of them and a table set up with the wine glass and candles they left “as is” at the restaurant before the accident. Included in the arrangement is the engagement ring thought to have been purchased by Dodhi for Diana. Even more interesting is the statue at the other end of the building that depicts Dodhi and Diana with the inscription “innocent victims”. It is very well crafted sculpture and the facial features are incredibly lifelike, but again, it all seems very Disneyesque.
For the rest of the day we wandered around Kensington Park, Bayswater and finally ended up having dinner at a great Italian restaurant. We decided to splurge out a little seeing as I start my new job on Monday. The 2 meals we have had in England that have been great – both Italian!
Sunday we caught up with our mates from Australia. It was really cool to see some familiar faces. It seems like so long ago that we lived in Sydney. Gosh I miss that blue sky!

Saturday we took a day trip to Bath. After getting up reasonably early we took a bus into town to get our FirstDay SouthWest Ticket. Transport is proving to be quite costly here. However this ticket is a real gem. Only 6 pound each you can go anyway in the South West region on any bus run by the First group up until midnight. It pays to do the research! Going by train is a lot quicker but I enjoy the bus.
The countryside is delightful, incredibly green (more so than NZ), lush fields, incredible willows, oaks and silver birch. Arriving in Bath we were rather hungry and opted for a quick bite. OK so immediately it is evident that Bath is quite a bit more expensive than Bristol in relation to food and accommodation. I am thinking that we have made the best decision in making Bristol our home. We wandered around taking in such sites as the oldest house in Bath (where Sally Lunn a young French maid made her home and baked the famous Sally Lunn buns). Wandered through the Bath Abbey, visited the loos at the Roman Baths having decided not to pay the 10 pound for entry this time round.
At midday we met up with Tony (complete with Aussie green and gold) for lunch and a day of browsing the streets. The weather was stunning, the company great and a brillant day all round. It has given us a brief taste of Bath and I think we both agree that we will come back again once we are settled and earning the pound. I for one am keen to get into costume and do the Jane Austen sites especially with the September festival drawing near. Tony and I went into the Assembly Rooms where all the dancing and socialising used to take place under chandliers and string quartets. I could quite get into the part there in my Regency style costume! I just need to convince Steve of the same. 🙂

Went for dinner in town Thursday night. Not so used to the late night dining at this point. With a full tummy you usually end up having bad dreams. My latest was about killer seals. Go figure? Anyway, on a tour around the town we finally made it to the basilica. It is advertised that the bones of Mary Magdalene are entombed here with some other saints. The church is incredibly old (1295 AD) and as yet still unfinished. I’m pretty sure that it is a sure bet that it won’t be finished. The organ pipes are huge and we were lucky enough to hear them being played today (Friday) although I think the organist was practising. It is the only Gothic style church in Provence. Steve was very impressed and has decided Gothic style is his thing.

Today we went to a little village called Plan D’Aups. From here we did a walk into the hills and up a mountain range (Sainte Baume) heading for the Grotto of Mary Magdalene. Apparently this is a bit of a pilgrimage site. It was a beautiful blue sky day but the wind has been bitterly cold. The walk was incredible through ancient forests that have been there since the 14th century (possibly earlier). Legend told is that Mary Magdalene fled with her mother and brothers to this area to avoid persercution as a Christian. She is said to have lived and evangelised in this region and later died in a grotto that is perched on the side of a cliff. We climbed all the way up to the church cut out in the cliff. Stunning views of the area from there. The grotto is incredible complete with statues, holy water, stained glass windows and of course the Catholic sacred relic (in this case, Mary’s bony something-or-other).

Today (Friday) we visited the Chateau at Fontainebleau. After setting out at a time finally compromised on (8.30am) we arrived at midday. OK so Steve was correct in the fact that we should have left earlier. Located around 60 kilometers outside of Paris the Chateau was the original palace that royalty used to occupy until the royal court was moved to Versailles. A lot less touristy than Versailles (and in this not as well signposted to provide good “tourist idiot” proofing) we finally managed to figure out how to get into the Chateau. Personally I prefer Versailles for the incredible beatuy and colour of the gardens but Fontainbleau was far less pressured “tourist wise”. Interesting areas to look at would include walking in the gardens with the wild meadow flowers and checking out the bizarre “dog peeing” fountain in the Garden of Diana. What do I mean by this? Basically it is a round fountain with a circle of dogs that have the fountain water coming out like they are peeing. Can’t say this would be my fountain spot to sit on a hot sunny day!

Although overcast this could never stop you from enjoying Paris. Temp has been quite cool but loving it after the heat of Dubai. Walked about 10 kilmetres today and also attended the shareholders meeting from my last job. Must say it was interesting and insightful to see a shareholders meeting. It was held at the Palais des Congres and in all honesty at least 85% of the attendees would have been 60 years old +. This gave a large insight into the company and more so listening to the future plans. Very exciting times. We managed to get onto Skype today as well and chatted to our families which was lovely. We are so priviledged to have such amazing technology that allows us to cheaply and at anytime connect with friends and family overseas, talking and even seeing them on camera. In the french language department, so far we have managed to order our dinner last night. Tried to get 2 metro tickets today and failed miserably. All in the fun of traveling however.