So we have 3 weeks left before we head off. 3 weeks to pack up our flat, fill Jo and Alex’s attic to the point where their ceiling may fall down, say our goodbyes and get on the road. Just one small problem being that we don’t yet have a vehicle… But we’re not worried… Much.
Of course we have the trusty Clio, and believe me we’ve spent A LOT of time in that car in the last 6 months, the seats are practically molded to our bums. But what we really want is something a bit bigger, a bit sturdier, a bit less prone to smelling like something may have died inside it. The whole car problem is being left to Nick while I deal with the more important matters such as creating a lengthy travelling playlist for my ipod.
Those who know Nick know that somehow things just fall into place for him, so I’m hoping that will happen in the next 3 weeks and suddenly there will be a lovely estate parked outside (who I will be naming Alan). If not, then it’ll be one last hoorah in good old NGR (named so after his personalised number plate just in case you don’t know).
The countdown is on, only a few more days to work then it’s the final push of getting things ready and then we’re off to Europe. Though don’t ask us where we’re going first, as we haven’t quite planned that yet…
Alan!!
Can’t believe how fast the last week went! Only 2 weeks to go til we’re on the road, and it’s starting to feel real. We now have the lovely, shiny Alan, who has plenty of room for us to sleep in, even for someone who sleeps in a star shape like me. We’ve had our leaving do, started packing up our stuff and ticked off quite a few things on our to-do list. Phew!
Starting to get excited now, can’t wait to get going. Glad to see that people have been reading the blog entries and I just hope you all continue to follow our journey and keep in touch!
Just 1 week left in rainy England and our life is mostly in various bags and boxes, not sure whether to be excited, worried or scared at the moment but thankfully we don’t have much spare time to be any of those.
We’ve lain down in the back of Alan to make sure we have enough room (we do) and the ipod playlist is ready – what more do we need?! A pink haired unicorn named Eugene…of course. Eugene will be joining us on our European leg and appearing in many hilarious photos. Watch this space…
Hello one and all.
I thought it was about time I said hello and stopped Pamela from hogging the limelight. Ok - let's face it she's the organised one and I haven't had time to write on here because my to-do list combined with my laziness makes it quite difficult to achieve much.
That said, as you are all aware after Pamela's grand unveiling... we have a new member of the family! Namely Alan. Alan and I went on a bonding weekend to Cornwall last week and I'm pleased to report it went very well and he seems to be a right little (ok, maybe not little) legend. He also seems to have forgiven me for taking him on roads my clio would barely fit down as well as down a road that was closed which ended up with us driving through a village street party and forcing the entire village to spread out and clear the road to allow me in my tank through.
The main thing I have learnt about Alan this week is that for some reason, birds really like him. And by birds liking him, I really mean they like to poo on him. I managed to scare of an angry mob of them at the weekend but whilst my back was turned yesterday about 500 (or it looked that many from the evidence) attacked him. The birds must have thought they won that round... but the real winner was Alan, as he got to go to his first car wash and he had a great time.
Most of the packing for the flat is now done and we have a few days next week to finish off the last few things before heading over to Dover on Friday..... Not long now!
Nick
So we’re finally able to get on some wifi and update the blog. It’s raining pretty heavily this evening and there’s been thunder and lightning so the thought of camping didn’t appeal to us so much, so we checked into a F1 hotel with a beautiful view of some mountains and the loading bay of Lidl.
So… where have we been… We set off from Bristol on Friday morning and had an easy run to Dover, where we got on a ferry full of kids and sailed across to Calais. From there we followed the familiar route towards Blois and ended up at a very pretty campsite in Andelys, outside of Rouen, which was right by the Loire. We set up the tent way quicker than I thought we could have (mainly fuelled by my competitive streak to beat the couple next to us) and had some dinner and a walk around.
The next day we once again followed the road to Blois again and ended up at the rather fancy sounding Kawan Village le Futuriste which was a campsite with a pool and a waterslide so we were entertained well.
Day three was a trip to Oradour which was brilliant – it’s a village that was ransacked by the Nazis, all of the villagers were killed and the houses were burnt down. The village was left as it was as a memorial to the people who lost their lives, it is a very sad and interesting place to visit. After that we headed to another campsite which was in the Rhone Valley so we saw lots of vineyards.
Today we went to St Tropez which was a bit crazy – it was very busy and had the biggest, most luxuriest yachts we’ve ever seen (until we get to Monaco I expect!!). We had an ice cream and watched the posh people on their yachts (or big boats?!) then it started to rain so we headed out to find somewhere to stay.
Tomorrow we are heading to Cannes and then to Monaco – so we better scrub up practice our posing!
Quote of the trip so far:
Nick: What’s the name of that town, it sounds like a superhero?
Pamela: Captain Pants (being completely serious)
Nick: Erm, no… it’s Eco Man
Pamela
You may remember a few months ago on a jaunt to Stone Henge I put the car window down to take a photo of some pigs, the car window then broke and was stuck down, resulting in a windy ride back to Bristol.
So... whilst enjoying the view in a litte town in France I innocently put down Alan's window to take a photo (no pigs involved) The window got stuck. In utter disbelief that this had happened again we found a little garage with a nice old man and my use of GCSE French came in handy (oh yeah I know the word for window) . He looked puzzled, he said it wasn't possible, he made us drive into the garage.... Another man came out to take a look and he pressed the button. The window went right back up as if nothing had happened. We looked like dicks. THANKS Alan.
Then I remembered the previous night I had hit my head when going into the boot and had sworn at Alan quite badly (sorry Mam). It was payback. Lesson learnt - never swear at the car who is carrying you around Europe. He has the power to make you look like a fool.
Pamela
Hello one and all. We are currently hiding at the back of a restaurant on the campsite stealing their free internet (from the looks we are getting we are going to be kicked out soon as we are the only people here!). We are at Lake Iseo in Italy, near Lake Garda. We arrived a few hours ago and started setting up the tent, only to be interupted by a huge thunder storm (with lightening, of course..). Anyway, let's go back a few days first...
Day 5: Cannes
We woke up early, packed the tent and headed off to Cannes, another stop on the 'rich and famous' tour of the South of France. We got into our expensive car (ok, our Volvo) and headed to the coast. We have decided for the first part of out trip to be mega tight and to try and avoid as many (if not all) toll roads we can. This was working well, and resulted in some excellent roads, mainly on the way into St Tropez and now into Cannes. Both were twisty mountain roads and all 2.5 litres of Alan came into effect and he performed brilliantly. We arrived in Cannes with our usually strategy, not having a clue where to go or what to see. This has been working out well though and is pretty much my philosopy on life, which Lula is now adopting well. We ended up right where we needed to be, on the sea front with expensive yachts, expensive shops and expensive cars. We had a look around, took some photos, soaked up the atmosphere then got in Alan and got out of there! (with no expenses, a job well done I'm sure you would agree (well Spav will anyway)).
Summary: Nice place, very expensive, bit high risey and high pricey.
Day 6: MONACO!!!!!!!!!!!! Via Nice (can you tell we were excited??). Today mainly consisted of 'This bend is on the racetrack' and 'this is where the cars go through' and 'this is where Senna crashed'. Pure delight for Lula, but she took it well and showed a huge amount of enthusiasm!! (bless her).
We headed off to Monaco all nicely prepared to get the early morning train, only to be told at the station that due to works there was no train until lunch time - doh. We therefore got a train to Nice, which was ok but not super nice. We had a look round the shops, got Lula a new nose stud (long story, she can fill you in on that one (especially as we literally just found the old one.... grrr!!). Nice ticked off the list, we got an earlier than anticipated train to Monte Carlo, arriving into an underground station and walking out to St Devote (for those F1 fans out there, I know there are a few). We walked around the city, took in all the sights and expensives buildings, saw more expensive cars and yachts in a few hours than I have in my life (including the new Merc SLS, got a picture don't worry...), the Casino, Hotel de Paris, turns 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 all the way to the end of the tunnel and into the swimming pool section (again, don't worry I have pics!).
Summary: Awesome place, incredible views, incredible cars, buildings, things to see, but we couldn't afford lunch. DEFINITELY worth a visit to anyone (Sue and Dave, get your bums out there!). Luis - I have details of campsites, trains etc so get planning boy.
Day 7: Today! We left the nice campsite and nice facilities (including a huge pool) and headed to.. destination unknown. This turned out to be a small error (my bad), so more planning is required from now on... We have ended up by a beautiful lake, Jeffy (our sat nav) had a terrible day and is currently in solitary confinement in the glove box (don't tell anyone incase they try to steal him, but I did lock it..), hopefully his punishment will mean his behaviour and directions improve greatly!! As soon as we put the tent in (on gravel, how the hell am I meant to put tent pegs into gravel?!?!? Any tips??) we got SOAKED by a thunder storm (literally, soaked). The irony was that I was then able to get the tent pegs into the soaking ground, hmmmm.
Tomorrow we will relax here by the lake and explore the area before heading off on Saturday to meet up with Jo and Alex at their campsite in Lake Garda, which should be a huge amount of fun.
Italy can best be described in one word… Hot. It has been crazy hot all the way through, which unfortunately has spoiled it a little as it’s been a struggle. The scenery, the food and the company have been brilliant but the constant heat of the sun has frazzled us a little too much for our liking.
We started in Lake Iseo, where we headed after a rather long, hot and tiring drive. We weren’t sure where to go at first so in order to get some free wifi and look up some places online, we went to McDonald’s for lunch where I could not resist the intriguingly named Crispy McBacon. However if I’d know it also contained some sort of fish based sauce I would have stuck to a cheeseburger. And the wifi didn’t work. Lesson learnt: McDonalds suck in any county.
We then got stuck in the world’s longest (and have I mentioned, hottest) traffic jam before eventually getting to a campsite. Then the heavens opened and what felt like a Tsunami hit just as we’d got the tent (almost) up. The next day we got shouted at for not having a swimming hat on in the pool so we just had to dip our feet in to cool down, as special swimming socks were not required.
After that we headed to Lake Garda where we were greeted with open arms and a well stocked fridge by Jo and Alex. Hurrah, an actual bed to sleep in! Our stay with them has really raised our spirits. We have been on a boat trip around Lake Garda, stopping off at a few towns which surround it, had a lazy day by the pool, swam in the river, eaten well, slept well, went out for ice cream and got a train to Venice for the day. Even though we’d only been away for a week before meeting up, it was really nice to see some familiar faces and share a part of our trip with them (and also rely upon their superior organisational skills). I will miss them and their dinners.
After a luxurious time in a caravan we’ll now go back to tents, which got me thinking…
As a novice camper (having only camped once before in my life at a festival, so that doesn’t count) I was somewhat apprehensive about spending the next couple of months living out of a tent. Although we will be staying in some hotels and we have Alan, on the whole we will be camping. For that reason I have tried to absorb as much camping know how as I could from other campers on site.
Some guys are clearly pros; they have their massive tent set up, big enough to stand up in, electric hooked up and all the home comforts. They emerge looking fresh and clean, their washing hanging from a line they had the foresight to bring. Others are less equipped (or should I just say “differently equipped?”), their tents are small, they haven’t quite worked out the best corner of the pitch for it to go on and they can’t get the pegs into the ground. We fall into this category.
Before we left the UK we were in an outdoors shop (not one that was in a field, one that deals in items such as sleeping bags and sturdy boots) and we were ridiculing the fact that they sold sink plugs. ‘Why on earth would you need to take a sink plug?’ we mocked. I was regretting this ignorance as I hand washed our clothes with a pair of pants stuffed into the plug hole. People who wear sturdy boots are in the know.
There are so many things we didn’t know, are learning on the way. In some campsites you need to take your own toilet roll to the loo, in others you need to press a button before the shower works, some don’t allow you to wear long swimming shorts in the pool, others insist you wear a swimming cap.
There is a consistency throughout though, we have found. Camping people are nice people. They have a smile and a nod for you as you turn up with your little tent and massive car. They offer you a cup of tea (OK this didn’t happen to me but it did happen to Jo), they are mostly friendly and welcoming.
Though it’s pretty much too hot to camp every night (and I write this from the shade of Jo and Alex’s caravan), it’s certainly not as awful as I thought it could be. It’s not slumming it, it’s actually quite cosy and peaceful to climb into the tent after a long day and zip up the door on the world. Just as long as I don’t have to get up for the loo in the middle of the night… Don’t get me started on that.
Pamela
I’m writing this from the luxurious comfort of Alex and Jo’s caravan right next to Lake Garda, with a glass of white wine and a couple of beers in my stomach. As you can tell.. things have picked up in the last few days! We arrived at Lake D’Iseo with spirits a little rocked due to a number of reasons: heat, rain, thunderstorms, lack of organisation (my bad). We arrived at Lake Garda: positive, happy with me knowing that Spav would organise everything as he always does, bliss. It started well, Luis managed to resolve a mobile phone and technological issue (well done Luis, you’ve come a long way and I’m very proud of you). This meant we managed to find the campsite quite easily and arrived in Alan to a wavey and very excited Jo (with Alex lagging a few metres behind her trying to look less conspicuous). We were essentially illegal immigrants, turning up at their home for the week without proper authorisation from the campsite. Jo had managed to sweet-talk Jerry (a 50 year old, down with the kids kind of guy) into allowing us onto the campsite, but only ‘unofficially’ and without the main camp knowing – as long as he was kept in the loop. Jo assured him he would be and our arrival went smoothly with Alan safely parked outsite the campsite (in a secure parking area, don’t worry all you Alan fans) and tucked up for a few days rest. We arrived at our home for a few days with big smiles and delighted to see Alex and Jo – an unexpected but very welcome home comfort. They had a fully stocked fridge, cold beer on arrival and lunch ready before long.
We have ended up spending 4 nights in Lake Garda with them and they have spoilt us! (Thanks guy and gal). First day we had a lazy day, sat by the pool and relaxed. Second day we went on a boat trip but Lula has told you all about that. The day ended with a massive thunderstorm, rain and lightning and Lula and I were both very pleased to be under a roof, not in a tent. Day 3 was another lazy day, with a well earned lie in (after a few beers and a bit of wine) followed by a relaxing day by the lake (including swimming in the lake, which was clear, relatively warm but bloody stoney and hard to get in and out of as a result!). We finished up with a BBQ (Alex excelled as usual) followed by a short drive to a town by the lake called Salo where we all had a ‘gelato’ (a fancy Italian ice cream) and a sit/walk around the lake. It was a great evening with a couple of great friends (and Lula of course!), a good time was had by all..
Today we headed to Venice, on a nice and early train (8.51am). This involved a 45 minute drive first (with Alex worried we hadn’t left enough time) which meant we had to get up just after 7am. Anyone who knows Jo will realise that this wasn’t going to be the best start to the day. I’m not the best early riser, but Jo is a lot worse (which makes me feel better). She isn’t the best morning person! We were all a little worried that we were going to miss the train, as we were queuing for tickets at 8.47am (so Spav was probably right), but luckily we got the tickets and onto the train and headed for Venice. Venice was much the same as the rest of Italy we have experienced so far… HOT! Being hot is great, don’t get me wrong – when you are sat by a pool or a lake with cold water, being cooked for and just generally doing nothing. The problem comes when its 35 degrees and you want to walk around and see stuff – it really does make it difficult. We managed to see all we wanted to see, had a few drinks and ice creams to keep us going and generally kept moral up by me being funny, as always. Pictures taken and memories stored we headed off back on the train to the campsite, where we have enjoyed another nice meal, cold beer and general banter/chatter.
Tomorrow we will leave Alex and Jo and head off somewhere… we aren’t sure yet, but either Austria or Switzerland, we will see what kind of mood we are in when we wake up – isn’t that the best thing about travelling and being unemployed? No commitments and no where in particular to go, just whatever you are feeling in that given moment. We are heading north out of Italy to get away from the heat, so wish us luck in finding some cooler climates.
I knew I was going to like Switzerland – I am already a fan of the Toblerones and Swatch watches, as well as beautiful scenery and cows with bells on. What’s not to like?! After coming from stifling Italy, Switzerland’s cool mountain air was just what we needed. There was something beautiful everywhere we looked… waterfalls cascading down mountainsides, pretty little houses and enormous sparkling lakes. Everything is expensive but you feel like you should have to pay extra to be here. In short, Switzerland is my new favourite country.
We have taken a million photographs so far and I hope they do it justice. Yesterday we went to Jungfraujoch which is known as ‘The top of Europe’ it has the highest railway station in Europe at 11333 feet. It’s heartbreakingly expensive to take the one and a half hour train ride there but once you get there you know you’ve spent your money wisely. It’s so beautiful and an amazing experience to be so high up on a mountain (thankfully without having to scale it yourself!) it wasn’t just the altitude that took your breath away.
Bern was pretty and relaxed, with beautiful buildings and stunning views, tomorrow we will see what Geneva has to offer. I really have fallen for this place but it’s not a relationship that can last forever. If only I had a secret Swiss bank account to keep me going…
Pamela
So as you already know (and the massive Toblerone gave away), we decided to go to Switzerland. It turns out it was close to Lake Garda and the drive there was quite short and easy, so it seemed like the best option. We drove from Garda past Brescia, Milan and Lake Como before stopping at the border to buy a 'Vignette' which you require when driving in Switzerland; essentially it's a sticker on the window that says you have paid for the privilege of driving on their roads - it's a legal requirement for everyone to have one and it lasts for 1 year. The scenery changed as we crossed the border and stunning blue lakes appeared and the road meandered through valleys with cliffs and hundreds of waterfalls either side of the road - it was stunning and a great first impression of this beautiful country. The weather changed though and we left the stinking heat of Italy to a wet and thunder-stormy Switzerland, not that we minded - after all we were seeking a cooler climate! We checked into a hotel as the weather was so bad putting up the tent didn't really appeal to us, and treated ourselves to a nice meal and a Swiss beer.
The following day we headed to Interlaken, in the centre and slightly south of the country. It's a popular town and it turns out the second best place in the world after New Zealand for thrill seekers (according to what we have read anyway!). There were paragliders, sky diving, white water rafting etc - plenty to do, and plenty to hurt the wallet. We stayed away from the extreme sports but wanted to make the most of the scenery so checked into a campsite situated in a canyon, with a huge waterfall behind us and snow tipped mountains in the not so distant-distance, it was a stunning location and Alan was pleased with the spot. The town we were camping in (or just on the edge of) was called Lauterbrunnen, we picked it as it seemed like a good base to explore the surrounding area from.
I wasn't expecting Switzerland to be quite as small as it appears to be - distances between the cities and areas isn't that great, so getting around is quick, cheap, efficient and easy - the roads are brilliant and quiet (god bless cruise control, my clio didn't have that so Alan already looks like a good purchase!!). We explored the area and went to a huge waterfall that is inside a mountain called Trummelbach - apparantly it's Europe's only visible indoor waterfall (or something like that!) - it was pretty darn impressive though and well worth the visit.
The following day we went to Grindelwald and got 2 trains to the 'Top of Europe', which is a viewing platform/building/area on top of the Jungfraujoch mountain, it was stunning. The price was astronomical but we figured we came all this way so we need to bite the bullet every now and then and spend big on things like this (even though it hurt). The lonely planet describes the experience as follows:
"The train trip to Jungfraujoch (3454m) is touristy and expensive, but you do it anyway because:
a) It's generally a once-in-a-lifetime experience and
b) you have to see it for yourself.
I think that we would have to agree with both points. The view from the top is spectacular, breath-taking. The weather was good so we were able to see into the distance, one side lets you see down the mountain, all covered in snow and cliffs, the other side a huge drop with green landscape in the distance, once you look beneath the clouds that is. Hopefully some of the pictures do it justice, so take a look at them!
Yesterday we went to Bern and looked around the capital city in the afternoon. It seemed quite small with not a lot of touristy things to do, but it had a great feel to it, was warm and sunning (but not too hot) and had plenty of open spaces, beautiful buildings and just generally had a nice appeal. We then drove on to Geneva and found ourselves a dirt cheap hotel that also has wifi - result! We were planning on exploring Geneva today but theres been heavy rain since we woke up, and exploring in the pouring rain isn't that appealing, especially as we have plenty of time and no need to rush. Therefore Geneva is parked until tomorrow, and we'll take advantage of today to do some planning for the next week or two.
We have both been really impressed and taken in by Switzerland so far, so long may it continue! The natural beauty and views are simply stunning.. hard to put into words. The page in my travel diary has a suitable quote for the day, so I will just share that with you instead:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away." - I think that suits Switzerland down to the ground.
Nick
Because one photo album is just not enough...
Whilst cooking up a delightful noodle based meal on a French campsite, we couldn’t help but overhear (ok… listen in to) a conversation some teenagers were having on the pitch opposite. It was two Dutch brothers (I mean that they were related, I’m not trying to be cool) talking to a German girl. They were all speaking English, talking about school, random day to day stuff and one even gave her a corny chat up line “Are all girls in your country as beautiful as you?” all in perfect English.
The older brother then went on to say how he studied 7 languages at school, 5 compulsory and 2 out of choice. Wow, this really put me to shame. There I was using my GSCE French (mind you I did get an A*) and having the old “Do you speak English?” – “Yes of course” conversation everywhere I went, and these kids were able to chat up young ladies in 7 languages!
We really do have it easy as English speakers; so many people speak English we don’t even need to try. Non native speakers use it to converse with each other if their first language is not understood, while we simply raise our voice and wave our hands to try to better convey what we mean if they don’t understand us.
Sometimes, however, I have had the best intentions of speaking the language and dive straight in with my phrase book only to have the recipient answer me in English – as if they can smell my latent English fear of speaking in another language. That won’t stop me trying though – I think it’s only best, I’m sure a badly pronounced platitude is better than none at all.
So for the remainder of our trip I will be using the Lonely Planet to learn some basics in German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian in order for us not to look too ignorant. Starting with the important things of course…
“Vennligst ta meg en kopp te.”
What more could I need to know?!
Pamela
After a week in Switzerland we decided to head to Austria but not before heading to the 6th smallest country in the world, Liechtenstein! We went to Vaduz, the capital, where we saw the lovely castle – the prince lives in it and on Liechtenstein’s National Day (15th August, fact fans) he invites everyone from the country over for a drink. It was a nice little stop on our journey and enlightening also – did you know that Liechtenstein is the biggest exporter of false teeth in the world? Well you do now.
We saw loads of places in Switzerland: Zurich, Lucerne, Basel, Montreux, Lausanne, Geneva, Bern. Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken. Our favourites were always the more traditional, picturesque settings with pretty houses and snow topped mountains. Whilst the cities were bustling and had their own charm and architecture, our hearts were always pulled back to the countryside, with its simplicity and beauty. As we drove into Austria the scenery was not unlike Switzerland, so I think that we will enjoy being here.
We are now just outside Innsbruck, in a pretty campsite surrounded by rolling hills and mountains in the distance. The only problem with being in such a setting is that it inevitably rains. Usually just after we’ve put the tent up (thankfully we haven’t been caught out during putting it up!) and it doesn’t just spit – it RAINS. Whilst every care has been taken to keep things dry, there are always casualties – the poor camping chairs just didn’t have time to move – we’re sitting in the campsite common area to avoid soggy bums (and to use their free wifi, an unusual thing at a campsite).
So tomorrow we will see what Austria has to offer, I have high hopes, but after Switzerland it has a lot to live up to! Fun fact about Austria? Pez was invented there.
Pamela
Yesterday we had a lovely day in Innsbruck – we started at the Swarovski Crystal museum which was full of sparkle and weirdness. The entrance is a big giant’s head spewing a waterfall out of his mouth, from then on there were massive crystals, artwork made of and inspired by crystals and some mechanical legs doing a dance (we didn’t get that bit) It was a lot of fun and quite an experience – as was the gift shop which was not cheap! Unfortunately I didn’t return with a massive sparkly ring or (even better than that) a crystal cow, but we did have a walk around the ‘giant’s garden’ which was very pretty and had great views of the surrounding mountains.
After that we headed into the centre of Innsbruck where we walked around and saw all the beautiful buildings and interesting shops, all the while under the imposing gaze of those mountains. I was informed that Innsbruck was my Granda’s favourite city as he went youth hostelling there when he was young (a wonderful thought that made me smile all the way round the city) I can really understand why as it was a very lovely city with lots of history and grandeur.
In the evening we had dinner at the campsite and talked to a lovely English lady named Tina who was cycling around Europe on her own. We had a great time talking and exchanging stories and reading material – as we were all running low on new books! We discussed our reasons for travelling and all felt that this was the best choice to make, to see new things and meet new people. It was a lovely end to a lovely day.
Today we’re heading to Hohe Tauern – a national park where we hope to see some animals and a whole lot of natural beauty. We’re pretty confident that Austria won’t let us down.
Pamela
Yesterday we went to the Hohe Tauern National Park in the south of Austria. Since leaving Italy we have had mixed luck with the weather - it's been cooler which is exactly what we wanted (and needed) but it's also rained quite a lot. We weren't anticipating rain in Europe in July... but there has been quite a lot of it. Generally this is fine, but when camping it's not ideal and when seeing certain things it can be a bit of a pain. The drive through Hohe Tauern was spectacular and jaw dropping, the only down side being that it was rainy and cloudy, which did limit some of the views. That said there was still plenty on offer and at the end of the 2 hour drive through the park was a stunning glacier (and free parking!!). The top of the park is known as the 'Top of Austria'. We have already been to the 'Top of Europe', so it's nice to add another 'Top of..' to our resume. Due to the rain we didn't get to see much wildlife, but we did see plenty of cows so Pamela was very happy.
For those interested in the performance of Alan (we know there is a cult following out there...), he was fantastic as always. We were slightly worried at one point when the MPG was showing in single figures, but we were climbing up a mountain at the time - so we have to let him off.
We then headed to Graz which was about 3 hours away from Lienz which is close to where the 'Grossglockner Alpine Road' ends (depending on which way you drive it of course!). We had left Innsbruck in the morning and headed to Mayrhofen, well known to you skiiers out there I'm sure. We had a look around there before heading over to a town called 'Zell Am See' which is near the northern starting point for the alpine road. On the drive over from Mayrhofen to here, we (accidentally) ended up taking another Alphine road, which had spectacular views especially of a huge waterfall. We are driving around Europe and you can't really go wrong with 2 alpine roads in one day.
We hadn't anticipated spending so much time seeing Mayrhofen and the alpine roads/national parks, so this meant when we left for Graz it was getting quite late and the weather was still awful - it rained virtually all day. We had learnt from our previous mistake of not having an 'emergency hotel' ready, so we decided that pitching up at 9pm when it's getting dark in the pissing rain wasn't appealing - reminded ourselves that we are away to enjoy ourselves and updated Jeffy (our sat nav) to take us to a cheap hotel, instead of a cheap campsite. Happy with our decision, we headed on 20 miles further than planned, past the campsite and into Graz to an 'Etap' hotel (which we have become very familiar with this year). Happy to have arrived, but very hungry - we thought we would check in and then dart of to get some dinner. No such luck..... the hotel was fully booked, arse. Plan B was the campsite, but we had travelled well past that and didn't fancy a drive back in the wrong direction and by this point it was dark. So what did we do? What all good western people do, we headed to McDonalds, got a big mac and a 'royal hamburger' (Pamela is trying lots of different burgers..) and abused their free wifi whilst formulating a plan.
Decision made, we headed to Vienna (known as "Wien" over here). We had driven through Graz on route to the hotel and take in some of the history/buildings, and to be honest there didn't seem to be a huge amount more to see according to our Lonely Planet. We had primarily been using Graz has a stopping point to break up the drive to Vienna anyway. Pamela got over her issue of using the phone and spoke brilliant, fluent english to the hotel staff in Vienna. Room secured, check-in possible 24/7 we headed off with an ETA of 11.30pm. We arrived, parked up and went straight to sleep after a whole day in the car. We are now going to explore Vienna for the next couple of days.
Nick and Pamela
So what have we been up to since we last blogged?
Vienna was beautiful with lots of lovely buildings, churches and fountains. Unfortunately it was raining for most of our visit but it didn’t spoil it – just put a bit of a dampener on it (ha – get it?!) We had a wonderful meal of local specialties at a great little restaurant (Wiener Schnitzel and Veal Goulash – Nick swears that the waiter had an unspoken admiration for him with his choice of dish – I just think he had a dodgy tash and a dicky eye) The next day we did one of the bus tours which was really worth it as we learned much more about what we were seeing. All in all, Vienna was well worth the visit! We then made our way to Linz where we camped for the night and, as per every other day – it rained!
On the way to Salzburg we visited some beautiful small towns surrounding big lakes (Gmunden, Traunkirchen, Ebensee, Bad Ischl, Hallstatt and Wolfgangsee). I was a lovely sunny day (hurrah!) so we stopped and had ice creams and enjoyed the views. We then got to Salzburg and set up camp (but not before getting stuck behind a giant pink bus full of Swedish people for about 10 minutes as it tried to make a rather impossible turn)
Salzburg is home to The Sound of Music (ladies) and Redbull (gentlemen) so before we started dancing round fountains, we made our way to Hangar 7, which is owned by the rather rich guy who created Redbull and is full of F1 cars, aeroplanes and a crazy flying suit. It was really good and Nick was very happy – we took quite a lot of photos so sorry if they bore you! After that we went into Salzburg which, in my opinion, was the nicest of the Austrian cities. Sorry if I’m over using the word, but it was totally beautiful, overlooked by the mountains, every building was a head turner. The weather was lovely and the food was delicious (bratwurst, potatoes, sauerkraut then apple strudel!) I would definitely recommend a visit.
The next day we went to The Eagle’s Nest, you get a bus up the mountain then walk through a quite creepy, long brick tunnel to the golden lift, then you’re there – up in the clouds in Hitler’s holiday home (which, I’m informed, he rarely used as he had a fear of heights!) It was very cloudy so the views weren’t as great as they could have been but it was a great thing to do. The building is mostly used a restaurant now so we had a nice lunch and then headed back down. We visited Konigsee lake (stunning) and then started the drive to Munich (queue torrential rain!)
We had the absolute pleasure of staying with Ian and Helen in Munich so we have been spoiled rotten and lived it up in their lovely flat. We had a real bed, TV and PG Tips. I’m not entirely sure why we’re leaving?! Munich is really nice – efficient transport and beer. Lots of beer! Nick has now tried all 6 of the local beers and enjoyed each (giant glass) of them. We had a great time in beer gardens, seeing the Oktoberfest site being set up, seeing all the historic buildings and eating well. I also had a very fun trip to the supermarket (really!) where they had a machine in the wall where you put bottles – they scan them to see if they’re recyclable then give you 25 cents for each one! They also had brightly dyed coloured eggs (for no reason other than to be coloured) and the most amazing flavours of crisps. Who needs museums when you can go to the supermarket!
Today we are leaving ‘Hotel Marshall’ and heading to Dachau, which should be a very sobering experience. We have really enjoyed our time in Munich but we must get back to Alan, I’m sure he’s missing us!
Pamela
I think I've just had one of the best meals I’ve ever had in my whole 28 years of being. Though I can’t be entirely sure, as my memory is terrible and experiences fade quickly, I’m pretty sure I haven’t had as great a meal as this in forever.
Firstly, those of you who know me well know that I just love quirky, different, you could even say weird, things (please no cheap jokes about Nick, thank you!) So when we drove past an aeroplane parked at the side of the road it immediately caught my attention, then when I realised it was a restaurant I nearly wet myself with excitement (those of you who know me know how likely this could have been).
I had to go. Even if there was a danger that it could be exclusively seafood (Nick pointed out that this could be the case if it was based on the theme of a plane that had crashed into the sea). After looking up the menu online (those of you who know me know that I cannot resist reading menus online!) we discovered that it was a Greek restaurant, this made me even happier as I LOVE Greek food, and with the help of Google translate we had a good idea of the delights that awaited us
We got to the restaurant ‘Silbervogel’ and boarded via the cockpit. I admit, the mannequins in the pilot seats did freak me out, I felt like they would come to life at any minute and kill us all. We were greeted by the ‘Captain’ and given a table on the wing, I ordered in my extremely limited German and nodded and smiled at all the bits we didn’t understand (oh the shame – but see a previous post for that).
Then came the food, firstly we were brought a lovely salad (believe me it’s good to have something healthy after eating mostly tinned food for weeks) then came my lamb (pink in the middle… mmmmmm!!) with a chilli sauce, rice, rosemary potatoes and vegetables and Nick’s steak, pepper sauce and all the trimmings. I was stupidly full. We were given a shot of something fruity afterwards which was actually very nice. The food was so good – though I think I would have been almost as happy if they’d just served me a toastie, it was just such a fun place to be.
This trip is bringing so many great opportunities for us and we’re enjoying every one of them (OK so maybe not putting up the tent in the rain… or when the gas cooker plays up) We can’t wait to have loads more on the rest of our Europe leg and then onwards…I just hope British Airways are reading, as I will expect high standards from your in-flight meals now!
Pamela
Hello!
Firstly, thanks again to Mr and Mrs Marshall for putting us up and looking after us so brilliantly in Munich. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, their company and of course, the Munich beer, which was unbelievably awesome - so thanks to both of you again! We left Munich and headed to Dachau which isn't far from the centre of Munich and was a concentration camp during WW2. I won't bore you with the details, because Spav doesn't like them, but you can google it to learn more about it if you want! I would recommend you do so as it's a very interesting and humbling experience. It was also very sad and quite a horrible place to visit, as you can imagine.
We left Dachau and headed West to the Black Forest to a little town called Schiltach, which was very pretty. We camped by a river and then spent the following day exploring the scenic routes and areas of the Black Forest. It's got some beautiful scenery, big lakes and big hills (which were more like mountains, but what's the difference between a massive hill and a small mountain?!). We went to a town called Triberg, drove down a road known as the 'witches hole' because its dark, remote and cold (apparently, I was still sweating). We also saw a glacially fed leg in Titisee (try saying that word without laughing, especially you Spav and Jo). We also saw the 'worlds largest cuckoo clock' and I planned the day so well we arrived at 11.50am just in time for the 12pm show (complete fluke). Pamela was very excited about that as you can all imagine!
We were going to visit Baden-Baden but it was getting late in the day and the main attraction is the thermal spa but you have to get naked with lots of strangers (men and woman, all together) and we weren't really feeling in the mood for that, so we decided not to stop. We stayed at a pretty little campsite in Heidelberg and I must have put on some weight because I managed to break the bench I was sitting on... oops. Pamela is still mocking me for that!!
Mr Keens - there were LOADS of bikers in the Black Forest so you should add this to your future holiday plans, it seemed good.
We woke up and saw Heidelberg Castle which was amazing, a HUGE castle on top of a mountain overlooking the town. We then took a scenic route from Mainz to Koblenz which was stunning. The road follows the river Rhine through vineyard-covered mountains with LOADS of castles, just dotted on top of hillsides every couple of miles (I'm not exaggerating, it's true!!). We saw a small town called Bacharach which was a medieval walled town which some beautiful old buildings and a cool Rathaus (isn't that right Jo?). It appears that I am famous over here as every town has a Rathaus that's named after me. Drove through a number of other scenic little towns on the way to camping near Koblenz. It was a really hot day so putting up the tent was no fun at all, it was just too hot really.
After that we headed to Hannover via the beautifully scenic little town called Cochem. The drive from Koblenz to Hannover was over 4 hours, and with the detour to Cochem it was a long day in the car. We passed a huge 8 or so car pile up on the motorway and just as we passed the incident a medical helicopter was circling the motorway and it landed just behind us on the motorway! We were the 4Th from last car to make it through before they closed the motorway, which was a big relief, but for a second we thought the helicopter was using Alan as a landing area!!
Yesterday we did a day trip to Hameln where they have bread in the shape of rats and we had Currywurst for lunch (mmmmm). It was another hot day so we are getting away from the rain a bit you'll be pleased to know. We then went for dinner on a plane but I'll let Pamela tell you all about that, and today we are relaxing and planning our attack on Scandinavia, which is very expensive so may be cut shorter than originally planned.
Nick
Hope you're enjoying the blog so far, thanks for the comments. Not sure who is reading it so don't know if it's people who have me as a friend on Facebook so I'm adding the link for photos for those of you who aren't and for all you Facebook-phobes (as you don't need to be a member to see them) here's the link for the 3rd photo album...
This story is mostly about water, in various forms, and how it has affected our journey of late. Let’s kick off with rain (yes, Mr Spaven I’m going to complain about it!) This is August (summer!) but it has rained every day for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately it really does matter on a trip like this. It means you get soaked when looking around a town, it means you don’t want to walk around as much – so inevitably you miss things. You then get to your campsite and have to go to the muddy, slippy grass and stand in the rain and put up your tent (which is suddenly 10 x harder cos it’s slippy and your hands are getting numb you then need to get all of your bedding into the tent without getting it soaked – not easy. Of course once you’re in, you realize you need a wee and have to walk (or run) up to the toilet block which is always that little bit too far away. In short, the rain makes camping a bit miserable… but it’s still better than being at work.
Secondly – fizzy water. Why does it taste so bad without lime in it? Fizzy water is evil! It disguises itself as innocent still water so you buy 12 bottles only to find in the middle of the night that it’s bubbly! Who’d have thought that “classic” = fizzy? Surely classic water is the still stuff? So yes, we have 11 and a bit bottle of fizzy water* if anybody wants them (again, Mr Spaven, we thought of you) Before my next holiday I shall learn the words for fizzy in ALL languages!
Thirdly, the sea, lakes and fjords! Finally I’ll tell you about the fun we’ve been having rather than my opening moan! We began our Scandinavian adventure by driving from Germany to Denmark then getting the ferry over to Norway. The ferry was fast and choppy and a lot of people vomited (thankfully not us) but that may have been the dodgy looking hotdogs they were selling. Once in Norway we saw some stunning lakes and fjords – the scenery was amazing and could rival Switzerland for the ‘most wows of the trip’ award. We were in the car for about 10 hours one day but didn’t feel bored once as the view was always spectacular and changing – at one point it looked like the moon, the next minute a herd of cows was in the middle of the road. We really enjoyed our time there. We visited Oslo which was very pretty but difficult to drive around as a lot of the streets were closed. The Den Norske Opera and Ballet building was a particular highlight.
Afterwards we headed to Sweden and visited Gothenburg however (another mention of water) there were no free toilets (they don’t put THAT in the Lonely Planet) bt there were loads of nice buildings, bridges and parks. I have not allowed myself to look in any shops as it’s so expensive (plus we had to buy 12 extra bottles of water) After Gothenburg we took a very long bridge over the water to Copenhagen where we were greeted by thick grey cloud and heavy rain – of course. So I write this from inside Alan, with no internet but plenty of inspiration. We have been ‘riding it out’ for about 4 hours convinced we can get our stuff to the tent soon (it’s getting dark!) Hopefully the tent won’t float away. Bt still, it IS better than being at work.
Pamela
*Since writing, we offloaded 2 bottles to Liv – she would have been forced to take more but it’s all she could carry!
I was really excited about visiting Copenhagen. Not for the culture, the lovely architecture or even for the Little Mermaid statue (and believe me we were singing “Under the Sea” the whole way there) but to see my wonderful friend Liv! Absolute chance meant that she would be home briefly from Thailand, and in Copenhagen when we would be there (and also back in Thailand when we get there too!) so we were able to meet up after 3 years apart! (Just in case you don’t know, I met Liv in Thailand where we taught in the same school and generally tore up the neighbourhood)
Getting into Copenhagen was stressful as it seems the whole of Europe is undergoing road works and this place was leading the way. We had just come from visiting Hamlet’s Castle which was in a quiet location on the water looking out to Sweden, it was very lovely and relaxing so our drive into the heart of the city was somewhat crazy. We arrived half an hour late and I could not work the parking machine (a frantic call to Liv and a classic cheesy movie-esque run into each other’s arms later and we were sorted).
Copenhagen was lovely and the company was even better, it’s so good to see a friendly face and have someone show us where to go. We went to a lovely café and caught up and talked about anything and everything. We then had a nice walk around and took some photos and were touristy. When we eventually said goodbye, Liv was lucky enough to receive 2 bottles of sparkling water as an excusive gift from us and Alan, we could see she was overwhelmed by such generosity, unfortunately she didn’t have a big enough bag to take more.
On the way out of the city we stopped to see the Little Mermaid statue (she was back from her trip to China!) as well as loads of fancy buildings and a giant inflatable beer bottle. It was a great day and it didn’t rain so we were very happy campers. We left Copenhagen this morning and are on our way over to Holland. We’re now on the road home as eventually we’ll end up at Calais, though we’re still not sure when exactly it will be. We’ve got this far without planning so why start now?!
Pamela
A lack of internet and time has meant I haven’t written a blog post for ages – luckily for you lot Pamela has, so you are pretty much up to speed with what has been going on! I thought I should write a nice long post anyway to cover what we have been up to in the last week or so, travelling from Germany to Scandinavia and back.
We ended up spending more time in Germany that we had originally thought. This was partly due to forgetting how big Germany was (although significantly smaller than France though, as a bet I lost to Pamela proved...) and party because we simply love Germany and all that it has to offer. As most of you know we spent 10 days or so exploring Germany a couple of years ago and it was one of the most interesting places either of us had visited, so having the chance to spend more time there on our way north was too good to turn down. We’ve already talked about the joys (and beer and company) of Munich, the sadness of Dachau and the beauty of the Black Forest, so on to Hannover, which was ok, and that’s all there is to say about it really. Hamburg was a little bit more interesting, with a lovely waterfront and grand buildings, but again it was no Berlin. Saying that, we weren’t able to give it the time it probably deserves and that may have affected our experience of it.
We were mainly using Hannover and Hamburg as convenient stopping place on our drive north, which resulted in us crossing the border into Denmark. Like most other European border crossings, it was unspectacular and over in a flash, with nothing other than a small sign to let us know we had arrived. We have since discovered to appreciate that small sign though, as we passed from Norway to Sweden without even a sign to tell us we had done so! We first realised we had actually crossed the border when Pamela noticed a Swedish flag hanging from a house! The reason that happened though was because we were taking a dodgy country lane from one country to the other to avoid the toll roads (you would be proud of us Spav, trying to keep costs down!!). We stayed in a town called Hovedgaden and camped in a very nice and well equipped site (with hobs that we could use for free – you have no idea how useful that is!). On our walk back from dinner to the tent, the caravan next to us had a couple of Danish people cooking a BBQ. I stared longingly at the BBQ and a minute later the very nice and kind man came over and said we could use their BBQ if we wanted! We thanked him for his generosity but explained we had just eaten. Funnily enough we also didn’t have any meat hidden in Alan just in case someone offered us the use of their BBQ… And also I would probably make a mess of trying to BBQ without Spav to do it for me, so it would have been an all-round disaster.
We had stopped at this Danish campsite because it was a good distance between Hamburg and Hirtshals, where we were due to get the boat to Norway from. We were going to go to Skagen which is the Northern tip of Denmark and meant to be quite pretty, but the rain meant we ended up avoiding it. The ferry was rough and the sight of a 12 year old boy being sick in the toilet sink almost forced me to the same fate, but luckily I manned up and just went back to Pamela and complained about what I saw instead. We departed the boat with Alan growing in excitement – he could tell we weren’t far from his home. As we left the port the customs officer walked in front of us and asked if we were British, how long we planned on staying and where we were going. All simple questions I see you saying to yourself – except they weren’t, as the honest answers were ‘Yes, no idea, no idea – should we go up the east coast or the centre of your no doubt beautiful country?’ I promptly replied with ‘Yes, we’re from England’ (cue big smile) and ‘4 or 5, to the Fjords and then Oslo.’ He seemed more than satisfied with my answer and we drove off and promptly made a decision on which way to head – up the centre of Norway won the contest.
We had been debating travelling up the west coast, but this mainly meant paying to drive to see a Fjord, seeing a nice town, and another nice town – etc. We thought that on our diminishing budget more pretty towns and more mileage might not be the best solution, and guessed that driving through a big national park would suit our taste. Hindsight shows that we were more than happy with our choice. The scenery was stunning, waterfalls, lakes, mountains – it had everything. A whole day in the car went by with ease and we covered a lot of ground. We also got stung by the toll road system in Norway, which is bloody expensive – be warned any potential visitors! The second day in Norway we visited Hardangerfjorden – the second (I think?) largest Fjord in Norway. It was beautiful. I could go on about Norway and re-use the same words over and over – ‘beautiful, stunning, pretty’ but I’ll stop there, as you all get the idea I’m sure. We will no doubt revisit this beautiful country in the future with a significantly larger budget, which will allow us to include Fjord trips on boats etc – which I think is the proper way to explore around here, if you can afford it!
The drive to Sweden was quick and easy. Well, as quick as the 50mph speed limit everywhere in Norway allowed us – god that’s painful, especially having come from Germany where any speed is acceptable. We were very conscious of spending a lot of money in Scandinavia and had at one point considered not coming at all, but it seemed too good to miss and Alan would never have forgiven us for not taking him home. The flipside of this was that we didn’t spend much time in Sweden and the only big place we visited was Goteburg (Gothenburg to me and you). It was quite small, but very pretty and we instantly liked it, especially as driving around it wasn’t hell like Oslo had been (mainly due to masses of closed roads, related to the recent attack? I have no idea…) After that we headed back to Denmark over the massive bridge that links the two countries. I had been excited about this for a few reasons:
1) I like big bridges
2) I thought it was going to be sunny
3) I’m sad
Turns out it was massive, but it was pissing it down with rain and we had to pay about 40 quid for the privilege of crossing it! Hmmm, not what I had in mind. That said, it absolutely huge so it probably cost a bit to build and maintain. We arrived in our campsite in Copenhagen to torrential rain and waited it out in the car. It barely stopped so we got wet putting up the tent, not a good start to the evening. I was able to read a lot of my book though which was good. The following day we went into Copenhagen to meet Pamela’s friend Liv, who I instantly liked and seems like a lot of fun. We are both looking forward to spending New Years with her in Thailand – I know it’s going to be a lot of fun! Copenhagen also seemed like a beautiful city with a lot of massive, gorgeous old buildings.
After leaving there and paying to cross ANOTHER bridge, we stopped at a castle that charged a fortune so we peered through the trees at it like proper cheap skates. Then we drove all the way to Bremen and sheltered from the pouring rain in a nice and cheap hotel. Oh, I almost forgot to say…. Scandinavia also provided us with our first (and second) chance to sleep in Alan. He proved to be very comfy and just about long enough. I had one of my best nights sleeps so am very pleased with him! The curtains did a perfect job – thank you Mrs King!
We are now in Amsterdam having spent a couple of nights here. We had torrential rain yesterday but today was beautiful sunshine and a bright blue sky. We enjoyed exploring the city and took a boat cruise around the many canals – it was a really nice day. Tomorrow we are exploring more of Holland with some equally nice weather – we hope.
So I've given you a few days to read my massive blog post... those of you who made the end well done! I should have put a secret word in there near the end to try to work out who would be bothered to read it all the way through! We left Scandinavia and skipped via Germany to Holland, which is a lot smaller than I expected. That's a good thing - it means we use less petrol which makes us both very happy! It also means it's a lot quicker to travel around and to get from place to place.
We arrived in Amsterdam and went out for a lovely meal near to the cheap hotel we were staying in. Lula ordered the biggest spare ribs I've seen so I did the manly thing and tried to help her finish them... We spent the next day in the city centre which was very busy even though it was a week day. We saw a lot of lovely architecture and treated ourselves to a boat ride around the canals which was great. As Lula put it.. if you are going to do a boat trip then Amsterdam seems like the most fitting place to do one. We didn't regret our choice! We did the other usual touristy things, including having a lovely afternoon stroll through the Red Light District. The Lonely Planet said we had to do it, so ummm.. yeah. It was 'interesting' to say the least (and I'll leave it there). The weather in Amsterdam was perfect - lovely and hot, but not so hot that we couldn't walk around and enjoy it.
Since then we have been to The Hague (not a lot there except a few big buildings), a lovely little place called Delft which has canals galore, and also Rotterdam. We also visited the region of 'Zeeland' and learned about the Delta Project which explained how they use Dams to stop Holland from flooding. It was very interesting and we managed to watch a film about it (which was filmed in about 1820 by the looks of it) with a private screening in the cinema! Afterwards we saw a sea lion show and then a high divers show - which was awesome. Check out the video Lula has just added to the videos area of the blog - it was crazy how high they dived from! The guy also set himself on fire before diving into the pool.
Today is a special day, because it's my birthday!!! Woohoo. Lula made me a lovely card and waking up in a hotel room instead of the tent was a good birthday present too. We then went to Brussels and had an amazing and filling 3 course lunch (thanks Mr and Mrs King) and we are so full we still haven't eaten anything since (and it's now almost 10pm). We explored Brussels which turned out to have some amazingly large and grand buildings and a few sights to see, the main one being the Manneken Pis - which is a small boy weeing. I was expecting a big statue, but it was absolutely tiny! Still interesting though...
We are now very close to Paris as we are going for my birthday treat to Disneyland tomorrow, which will of course, be awesome. We've booked our boat back to England for this Friday (19th Aug) to allow us some time to catch up with people and also do some serious planning for the next part of our trip. It also means we won't be completely broke before even getting on a flight...
Nick
We were nearing the end of our trip and it was Nick’s birthday coming up so we wanted to do something special and memorable so we did what any grown up would do… went to Disneyland! We started our day early and got there before there was a crazy queue and went straight on Space Mountain which was very fast and mostly in the dark so we had no idea which way up we were and where we were going, but it was loads of fun. We then had a walk around and got our bearings while checking out all the sights including Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Our next ride was the way less scary ‘It’s a Small World’ which was a very gentle and slightly surreal (bordering on creepy) boat ride through a world of animatronic dolls from all over the world singing and dancing. We then spent the whole day walking round and going on rides (including Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast and Thunder Mountain) the time flew by and the weather was great so we stayed there for about 12 hours.
We watched the parades which were brilliant but the highlight of my day was meeting Mickey Mouse! Completely by chance we walked past a small crowd gathered and wondered what they were doing – then I saw his ears and realised that the man himself was there posing for photos. We went to get one and were told by his security man (there for any sort of Mickey induced riots) that Mickey himself choose who he poses for photos with. We were rather honoured when he chose us and posed for a lovely photo. Despite the fact that it could very well just be a perv in a costume, it was a really great treat that made the Disney experience for us.
Of course the shops were great and we did indulge in a little bit of retail therapy as well as feeding our faces in excess (of both quantity and cost!) and by the end of the day we were truly knackered (parents take note if you want to tire out your kids and make them love you twice as much, take them to Disneyland!) We were happy to return to our hotel and collapse into bed ready for our journey back to England.
The next day we got the ferry from Calais to Dover which felt very familiar still, and we drove up to London for a quick family visit (thanks to the sat nav we were bizarrely taken onto the Woolwich ferry, as if we hadn’t had enough of ferries). Now we’re in Northampton, catching our breath and catching up with family before heading up north for more of the same. It is a bit strange to be back in England and we’ve driven on the wrong side of the road once – prompting our new mantra “drive on the left, drive on the left”. We’re looking forward to catching up with everyone and then heading off again on part 2. Until then I will be drinking as much tea as possible while watching as much junk on TV as I can. Simple things…
Pamela
Even though we aren't 'travelling' at the moment, I thought I'd do a quick update in case anyone is currently checking for a new blog entry or wondering where we have disappeared too!
Firstly I'll get this out the way... Happy Birthday Joanne!!!
Right, that's done - so, we are currently up in Co. Durham and I'm writing this from the glorious comfort of Pamela's Mam's house, looking out the window at the torrential rain. Nothing changes! We arrived back in England and headed to Northampton for a few days to catch up with my family, before heading up to Co. Durham to catch up with Pamela's. We had a lovely day out on Wednesday when we went to the Lake District with Pamela's brother and his fiancee, Peter and Kylie. We had a nice drive over to that side of the country and just as we arrived it started to rain - doh! We still enjoyed a nice boat ride though so a good day was had by all (I think!).
Pamela is off being spoiled on a Spa day today and I tried to play Golf with her step-dad Alan, but rain stopped play (which saved me from embarrassing myself too much as I'm a beginner and he's very good!). Next week we are off to Bristol to catch up with friends and in between all of that we are (trying) to plan the next part of our trip. There is a lot to do and so much more to see - all very exciting, but all needing a lot of research and time spent on it! You can see the general route on the 'map' page on this blog - only a few thousand miles to fill in though!
That's a quick update.. so now you will understand if we are quiet for a couple of weeks. We fly out to New York on the 13th September, so the blog will probably pick up again after that!
Nick
Hi Rat fans. We have compiled some fun and interesting facts about our trip for your enjoyment. Part one was amazing and we have had such a great time, part 2 can only be bigger and better, so keep reading – we fly out 13th Sept and will be updating as often as we can. Until then, be amazed by such amazing facts as….
Number of miles driven: 7442
Coldest temperature: -2.5º c
Hottest temperature: 35º c
Most Northern point: Hardangerfjord, Norway
Most Southern point: St Tropez, France
Highest point: 3454 metres
Number of petrol stops: 18
Number of countries visited: 13
Number of capital cities visited: 9
Number of transport modes used: 8 (car, ferry, train, bus, canal boat, passenger ferry, tram, underground)
Number of days it rained: 20
Number of ice creams eaten: 13
Number of items of clothing worn by Pamela on the coldest night: 9 (2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of pants, leggings, jogging bottoms, vest, tshirt, long sleeved top, hoody with hood up.)
Number of bottles of fizzy water accidentally purchased: 12
Number of bottles of fizzy water given away: 2
Number of bottles of fizzy water used to wash up: 4
Number of bottles of fizzy water drank after realising adding squash made it ok: 6
Number of CupaSoups taken on trip: 10
Number of cups taken on trip: 0
Number of mosquito bites: 20 (16 of them on Pamela)
Favourite country: Switzerland
Favourite dinner: Silbervogel (aeroplane restaurant)
Favourite experience: Jungfrau and Disneyland (too hard to choose between the 2!)
Part 2 of our travels began on Tuesday when we got up at an unholy hour to go to Heathrow and get on our first flight to New York. The flight itself was good and there was a great selection of films and some rather decent food. It passed by pretty quickly and suddenly we were in a very hot and sticky Big Apple. As we both have been to NY before, we didn’t have to do all of the crazily expensive things so we headed to Central Park for a lovely walk around, listen to the buskers and spot the turtles swimming in the lake. After an obligatory hotdog and pretzel we headed down to Ground Zero, unfortunately we couldn’t get to see the memorial as you had to book in advance but we saw the new building and all the info on the new site. We then had a free ride on the Statten Island ferry, seeing the Statue of Liberty on the way before heading to Times Square and the Rockefeller Centre. We had a lovely dinner and then went to see ‘Spider-Man Don’t Turn off the Dark’ on Broadway which was AMAZING. There was loads of acrobatics and Spidey himself flies up in the air and lands on the balcony... at one point he landed near us and high fived me. Clearly, this made my day. All in all we had a great time in New York, it was a great start to our time here.
Today we got up early again and headed to the airport to fly to Toronto, it was a short but bumpy flight as we encountered a fair bit of turbulence. After a bus and subway ride we were at our hostel (which is pretty much a hotel as we have a private room) where we dumped our stuff and went out to explore the area , ending up eating pumpkin cheesecake and being blown around in the wind. It’s pretty cold here, they’re discussing the unusually low temperature on the news as I type, so we will be wearing all of our layers when we go into town tomorrow.
It’s strange to think we’ve been in 3 countries this week. We feel very lucky and are really enjoying ourselves. Let’s just hope it continues to be as great as the last 2 days and we’ll have nothing to complain about... unless it rains.
Pamela
Hello everybody! So as you can see we're back! After a few weeks in England re-charging our batteries and planning the next leg of our adventure, we are now back and blogging from the other side of the world.
I'll start with the important stuff.. I managed to watch 3 and a half films on the plane!! It was very successful. The service was awesome and we got really lucky and had no one sitting in the two seats next to us, so we had a row of 4 just for us!! Very nice, if only we get that lucky on the 14 hour flight from LA to New Zealand - then I'll be REALLY happy. Never going to happen though is it?
New York was brilliant. There's so much to see and eating lunch in Central Park listening to a man playing a saxophone was as good as it sounds (no pun intended). The weather was HOT but not unbearable Venice hot, so we were happy. We walked all day and loved it. Highlights included:
Our time in New York was short and very sweet, but we always knew that it was going to be quick as we weren't really planning on going there originally, but as it's a huge amount cheaper to fly into New York and on to Canada than to fly direct to Canada, it was a brucey bonus that we massively enjoyed! So with our bags re-packed, we headed to the airport and flew up to Toronto, Canada. We arrived and managed to navigate the bus system which included a free ride (as part of the bus ticket we can only assume!) on the subway, so a very cheap journey got us to our subway station and then a 1 minute walk took us to our hostel. The hostel is nice, we have a big 3 person room (just for us!) and the location is pretty good, so we are happy!
Today we explored downtime Toronto. We went up the CN Tower which is one of the tallest buildings in the world and the view was stunning. We went up to the Sky Pod which is the highest bit you can go to and you can see miles! Apparantly on a clear day you can see all the way to Niagra Falls.. I'm not really convinced about this, and surely you must have Superman's eyesight to make that out at that distance! Anyway, it was great, and the view of Lake Ontario was great, especially in the glistening sun. We got off the train at Union station and the building is stunning, it looks like it's been taken out of Italy with the huge columns outside. Opposite was a massive posh hotel which when I win the lottery we will be staying at, called the Royal York Hotel. We had 'Poutine' for lunch which is chips, gravy and cheese, mmmm lovely. We saw the ice hockey stadiums (new and old) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the hockey hall of fame. We took a long walk past the City Hall which was a magnificent building (my favourite so far I think) and then through China town. All in all we did a lot of walking and had a great day.
Tomorrow we pick up a car and drive up and spend the next week exploring Ottawa, Montreal, Niagra Falls and things in between. So far so good for Canada, and I'm sure it's only going to get better....
Nick
After a really great time in Toronto, we got our hire car (a very fancy and shiny VW – but not a patch on Alan of course) and headed up to Napanee which was a half way point between Toronto and Ottawa. We checked in to our super cool motel room which had possibly the biggest bed in the world and a nice place to sit out in front and soak up the sun while reading and 200 TV channels – one of them playing old episodes of Coronation Street. We then went to Denny’s for dinner where we were offered a special ‘cheesy menu’ where all of the food was extremely cheesy (I mean covered in cheese, not really naff, though with names like ‘winner, winner, cheesy chicken dinner’ it was a bit of both) We opted for non cheese laiden food and really enjoyed it – I can see myself getting very fat on this trip!
After breakfast sitting in the sun outside the motel, we headed up to Ottawa via some very pretty towns along the lake. The weather was lovely and the drive was good as there was very little traffic. Once we got to Ottawa we checked into our lovely little B&B run by a very sweet old lady who knew our names when we arrived and even checked if we preferred tea or coffee. It was a short walk into the city centre which is so beautiful. The old buildings, views of the water and statues are all lovely and there was loads to see. We couldn’t see it all in the time we had, but thankfully we have tomorrow too. We went for dinner at a 50’s themed diner where we had more delicious food and possibly the sourest (but loveiest) lemonade I’ve ever tasted – see Facebook for a charming photo of my reaction.
Tomorrow we’ll see more of Ottawa and then head to Montreal on Tuesday where we will be able to use our French skills once again. I have to admit, it’s been nice being able to understand menus and signs etc as everything is obviously in English – though we have found it funny when adverts come on the radio for “Neesan” (rather than Nissan) and “Panteen” (rather than Pantene) – for once it’s nice to not be the one with the funny accent!
Pamela
We had a lovely and relaxing time in beautiful Ottawa where we were fed and looked after very well by our little b&b lady (hmmm didn’t actually catch her name!) We had a tour around the stunning Canadian Parliament building (think Hogwarts, but with politicians rather than wizards), walked around the markets eating ice cream and sat in the lovely parks soaking up the sun as well as seeing loads of churches, statues and great architecture. We had some great meals and certainly walked them off as we were both left with aching feet at the end of each night.
On Tuesday we headed to Montreal, stopping off in a small town called Val-David on the way, which was quirky and pretty. On the way there we went down what had to be Canada’s worst road, it was full of potholes and after going through one particularly big one the car got totally covered in mud all down one side. This did not please Nick as he had to clean it off at a petrol station... whilst trying to figure out how to use the complicated pump... and figuring out which type of “gas” was right... and speaking French.
We also found ourselves on another car ferry – our sat nav is addicted to them and makes us go out of our way to go on them. Whist it is nice and fun to go on them we always have a feeling of dread every time the voice instructs us to “board ferry” as something inevitably goes wrong each time we do. Thankfully we had no problems this time as the ferry was operational, it didn’t make us really late to our destination and no one was killed on the crossing. Hurrah!
We got to Montreal in the early afternoon and then sun was still shining. After checking into our hotel, which looks a lot like a ski chalet bang in the middle of town, we walked down to the old town and port to explore. Montreal is very beautiful and the French half of the French-Canadian city really takes over, with lovely cobbled streets and buildings that would not be out of place in Europe. We walked around til it got dark and then found ourselves at a lovely Mexican place, enjoying plentiful food and a great atmosphere.
Today it has been sunny and warm so once again we have walked all over town, seeing all the sights. We also ventured into one of the underground shopping malls (they have these as it gets so cold in winter) although we have not bought anything (due to our baggage allowance and budget!) We’re now resting our feet for a while before heading out this evening.
Tomorrow we are going to Kingston and Thousand Islands, then to Niagara Falls on Friday, which we are both really looking forward to. We’re both having a great time so far and definitely recommend Canada to you all!
Pamela
So we left Montreal and headed to Kingston, a small town between Montreal and Toronto. The weather was great and we had a lovely meal in a Texas themed restaurant, before spending some time walking around the town in the evening sun and sitting by the harbour, which was all very nice. We stayed in another class Motel, which looked just like one you would imagine from a film! They even have ice for you to help yourself to. Unfortunately one thing that they don't seem to have in North America is cheap beer, so I am having to put up with Coke in an effort to not be ripped off.... a small sacrifice I suppose!! The flip side is that the soft drinks are nearly always re-refillable, so I always get more than my moneys worth from that!
We skirted past Toronto on our way to Niagara Falls. Thanks to an awesome tip from Hayley and Kev back in Bristol, we went to the Falls on a Friday as you get to see a fireworks display as well - bonus! The Falls were incredible, it's hard to describe the scale and size to be honest, and the pictures don't really do it justice either. Although it's not the highest waterfall (it's actually ranked 50th in the world), it is one of the widest, which makes it spectacular. The 'Maid of the Mist' boat trip was brilliant - you get to go on an open top boat right into the middle of the falls (which are horse shoe shaped). At that point you are literally in the mist, as spray and water shoots so high into the air as a result of the drop it's just taken. We unfortunately didn't have the best weather, but this just made the mist even greater and made is even wetter on the boat trip! Luckily for everyone on board they provide free poncho's, as you will have no doubt seen Pamela modeling already in the pictures she posted. It was refreshing to get one for free and to not be charged for something as well, as you normally are wherever you go in the world when there are millions of other tourists. We are visiting at the very end of summer so there are less tourists which is nice.
So we took the boat trip, looked at both the American falls (on their side of the border) and the Canadian Falls (the Horse Shoe one) and then explored the town, which we liked. We returned to the falls in the evening once it was dark to watch the fireworks over the falls and also to see the waterfalls lit up by a number of hugely powerful lights which change colour, it was all very pretty! You can walk right to the side of one part of the waterfall and see the water disappearing over the edge, it's really very cool. I'd wanted to see Niagara Falls for a long time so this was a very special day! The weather wasn't the perfect blue skies we had been lucky to have all week, but that didn't really matter at all, the experience was brilliant. We also enjoyed looking at the 'strip' which is described by a lot of people as a mini Las Vegas, which we could understand. We liked it though, it was a bit silly but there were lots of funny neon signs and stuff. We also went on the wheel to see the falls at night from the sky and also to see the rest of the town all lit up. It was very quiet so they let us have longer than normal as well which was very nice of them!
The following day we headed back to Toronto to return the hire-car and to spend another day in the city. We stopped at a hippie looking cafe for some lunch (as it was close and cheap) and an extremely friendly lady started telling us what to see and what was free to do and how safe and lovely Toronto was, which was very nice. We then went into the city in the evening and saw the CN Tower lit up and all the huge skyscrapers, as well as walking to the harbourside to see across the bay and see the waterfront at night which was beautiful. There are so many modern, massive skyscraper apartment blocks by the water as well - it must be a great place to live. If anyone wants to buy a flat there I'd be happy to flat sit for you....
We then got ourselves (just about) to the airport for our flight the following morning. It turned out to be a lot more painful than expected because the metro was closed in our area and the buses were chaos and the airport bus never showed up, but never mind - we got to the airport wthl time to spare and I got thoroughly searched as we went through security. I had to go in an extra scanner as something on me was beeping, I'm hoping it wasn't the ones they installed in Manchester last year that apparently show you naked!! We adjusted our clocks as we are now a further 3 hours behind (so 8 hours behind UK in total) and landed in a wet Vancouver. We got the Skytrain (an above ground subway basically) which was cheap and easy to use and found our way to our hostel. On arrival the owner said she had another hostel closer to the metro station so they drove us to that one and we are staying there instead (it's about 5 minutes closer, but as I'm lazy and my bag's heavy I think I'm ok with that!). It's essentially a flat that they have somehow made 5 bedrooms our of. We went to the largest mall in Vancouver for dinner and looked around this area.
Today is very wet again unfortunately, which is a shame, but we can't have sun everyday I suppose! We donned our waterproof jackets and headed into the heavy rain, which hasn't stopped at all, all day. We got on the hop on/off bus and saw all the sights which was good, but our plans to cycle around Stanley Park were ruined by the weather, never mind! It seems like a really nice city and the park is huge and right on the coast, so in a lovely location. The weather means the pictures and the views weren't what they should be, but we still got to see a lot of the city, the different areas (such as Gastown and Chinatown) and absorb as much as we could! One of the highlights was the Steam Clock in Gastown, which was weird (with steam shooting out the top!) but awesome!
Tomorrow is an exciting day as we pick up our campervan!!! Fingers crossed it will all go well and smoothly.
Nick
We picked up our campervan, or as they call them here, our RV, on Tuesday morning. They showed us an informative video on how to operate the RV and then after a brief walkthrough they let us loose on the roads. Basically it's just like driving your flat around with you (I'd say it's about the size of an average London studio flat). It's big and your plates and cups rattle A LOT. As the non driver, my job is to assist with reversing by getting out and waving (in the way that men in illuminous jackets do when you park in a field) The instructions video stressed that you must get out and do this - mainly because the thing is so big you could easily knock a few people over and not even notice.
It is really cool though and was the part of the trip we were most looking forward to. It's nice to pull up and be able to cook - not have to put a tent up, have a fight with a crappy gas stove and then freeze all night. Though it is pretty cold - day time temperatures have been mostly good (vest, tshirt, hoody, coat) but at night it does get cold (3 pairs of socks, leggings, pyjama bottoms, vest, tshirt, hoody - hood up, 2 blankets and a sleeping bag!) But we survived it in a tent in Switzerland so this won't kill us... the bears might though.
So far, our wildlife spotting has been mostly deer and very big birds (of the feathered variety - not fatties) however today we were lucky enough to see a wild bear crossing a road in front of us, he then stopped by the side of the road to watch us as we past. It was really great seeing the bear (a black bear) in the wild and hopefully we'll see a few more, from a distance of course. We also went on a rather fantastic whale watching trip. We we went to a small town near Vancouver, where strangely a film crew had taken over to film 'Diary of Wimpy Kid 3' (no, we haven't seen 1 or 2 either) so after watching a bit of Hollywood action we boarded our boat and were taken out to see some whales (as well as seals and sea lions). The whales were amazing and it was a very special thing to see them in the wild. We saw the youngest (about 3 months) and the oldest (about 90 - 100) whales of the pods in that area. It was difficult to get photos as they were quite quick and I wanted to see them with my eyes rather than through the camera but we got a few good pics and videos. Mostly i was happy as I was the first person on the trip to spot a whale - sadly there was no prize for this.
After that we headed north and have visited Whistler, Lillooet, Clinton, 100 Mile House, Fawn Lake, Clearwater, Wells Gray Park and Valemount. Canada is a truly beautiful country and the scenery is so varied and pretty. The parks are stunning and seeing them at this time of year as the leaves are changing colour is so lovely. It may be a little cold but the views make up for it. Being able to drive around and see so much of the country makes us feel really lucky.
So, yes, at the moment life in Joanne (the campervan) is good. It's very quiet and peaceful (assuming cos we're just out of season) but when we do encounter other people they are smiley and friendly. Joanne, like her namesake, is reliable, practical and has a massive back end (only kidding Joey!!!) Let's just hope she doesn't get angry with us and break down. If she's anything like Alan then she'll be a true legend... only a few more miles to prove herself!
Pamela
So first things first, I need to say a massive thanks to Bill for all his help with planning the Canada and USA part of our trip. It's always difficult to know where to go and what to see when researching on the Internet or with books (mainly the Lonely Planet in our case), and having someone who has been before and has lots of good and useful information has made things great - we are very lucky, thank you very much!
We picked up our HUGE camper in Vancouver and drove to Steveston and went whale watching, which was absolutely brilliant. We saw Orcas, or Killer Whales to you and I. They are my favourite type of whales, because they are black and white and pretty, so I was very happy. Pamela was also very happy as she spotted the whale first, before anyone else on the boat (surprise). We were out at sea for over 5 hours and a lovely time was had by all. The guide reckoned we saw half of the whales family, so about 44 or so - they just kept coming! It really was an incredible experience. The only downside was not having a super-powerful camera to capture it all - don't get me wrong, Pamela's camera is good but when you are in a situation like that an incredibly expensive and large camera would be really helpful - unfortunately I had to leave one at home because I couldn't fit it into my bag for 4 months - but today is one day I definitely needed it John!!
After the excitment of whales we headed cautiously North and away from the city, which we had been really looking forward to. When originally thinking about going away, Canada was top of both of our lists and seeing the national parks was one of the main reasons. The views and scenic drives are just incredible, and we haven't even hit Japser or Banff yet, let alone Yoho. We are taking our time and have even been going for walks in the parks (check us out!! - we are trying to take your advice Bill!). The days have mainly been bright and sunny and warm enough and there are hardly any other tourists around so it's really great and peaceful. The leaves have started to fall off and the trees and mountains really are stunning, it's such a beautiful country - as expected.
We've spent the last 2 days and nights in Wells Gray Provincial Park, and as it's out of season we got in for free and got to camp for free - bonus!! We've seen numerous waterfalls and a few deers, and today we were very lucky to see a bear!!! It was incredible. I had been on bear patrol for past few nights, from the safety of the camper of course, but unfortunately I hadn't spotted any out of the window. I had considered leaving some of Pamela's lovely spaghetti bolognaise outside to try and attract one (or maybe a whole family?!), but decided that this was a bad idea for a few reasons:
1) You're not meant to
2) I like Pamela's spaghetti, but they might not.
3) They might try to get more from inside the van
4) I would probably be asleep and miss it anyway
5) You're really not meant to...
So spaghetti safely in my belly, we were really lucky to see one today. Driving out here has been nice, but in the city was not so nice. Everyone out here in the countryside seems to drive extremely quickly too, I don't think I have ever been over-taken as much in my entire life - I feel like an 80 year old hogging the road, but the van feels so big I am just smiling as over-sized lorries race past us. We have so much space in the campervan we are spoilt, it sleeps 6 but there are only 2 of us! We passed a hitch-hiker who looked about 70 and had a pony tail (he was a man, I forgot to add), so we didn't make eye contact and just kept going. We have 2 children's faces painted on the window, so perhaps that's convincing enough to make people think we are a family of 4 with 2 annoying sons.
Tomorrow we head to Jasper which we are both really looking forward to.
Nick
Like many other visitors to Canada, one of our main reasons for visiting was to go to the National Parks. Despite being in the fall/winter season, there is still loads to see and a fair few people around, although way less than in the summer months but it just means you get the views to yourself a lot of the time. Although the camping options are limited (as most, but thankfully not all, of the camp grounds are now closed) and the weather isn’t the best (layers!!) the changing leaves and autumn colours are beautiful. It really is a fantastic time to see the parks.
We started in Jasper where we purchased our National Park pass (very expensive but it lasts for a year so if you’re going to Canada, let me know!) We were advised that is is ‘rutting season’ for the elk and that the previous night a male had rammed a car (clearly the car was flirting with Mrs Elk) so we should be extra careful and be on the look out for horny and/or angry elk. Duly noted.
The town itself was lovely, with nice wooden fronted shops and cafes – they all look a bit fake, like they were made for a film set, a bit too nice, but I guess I’m comparing it with Bedminster Parade, so no contest really. After a bit of window shopping and some dinner (thank you Mam!) we headed for our campground, all the while checking for elk... wolves... bears. As there are no street lights around where we were staying it was amazing for star gazing. The sky was so clear and there were millions more stars than you can normally see, it was very special.
We managed to hike a little (and by hike I mean a brisk walk mostly up hill) to see canyons, lakes and waterfalls each lovelier than the one before. We haven’t yet seen something that was a bit meh... everything is just awesome. After a long day of strenuous hiking (and, erm, being driven in the campervan) we treated ourselves to a trip to the hot springs. The springs are up in the mountains and are cooled to a very lovely 40°c, the walk from the changing room out to the pools is a bit nippy but once you’re in it’s toasty. We had a lovely time soaking and taking in the mountain views into the evening.
On the drive out of Jasper we drove down the Icefields Parkway, once again stopping at lakes, waterfalls and mountains on the way. The glacial water is so beautiful – it is a gorgeous turquoise colour – we took lots of photos as it really is worth seeing. We then came to the glacier itself – Athabasca Glacier which was big and impressive and suddenly it felt a lot colder!
Our campsite was not far from the glacier and there was snow on the ground when we got there. It was a cold night in Joanne, so cold that 3 pairs of socks were required. We woke up the next morning to find that it was snowing (although it wasn’t settling) so we got on our way and headed to Lake Louise to continue our National Park adventure... wearing 2 pairs of socks.
Once again the drive brought us breathtaking views and walks to see lakes and canyons. The best by far was Peyto Lake which is the most amazing colour I have ever seen. Viewed from above, it is a vast stretch of turquoise surrounded by trees and alpine flowers (I read the brochure!!) Unfortunately, as is usually our luck when we go to see something we have been really looking forward to, the weather was crappy and the clouds were thick and the snow was falling – our view down to the lake was somewhat crappy. Never mind, we could see the colour of the water as the clouds cleared but it was not the photo opportunity we were hoping for.
The next day brought sun and clear skies, although it was still cold. So we headed out to Lake Louise – one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Banff National Park. The Lake itself is beautiful and (as I’m sure you get the forumla by now) was a lovely bluey green colour and surrounded by mountains. It is overlooked by the very fancy ‘Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise’ hotel (Dear Mr Fairmont, your hotels are stunning – please give me a lifetime of free stays... or a discount card??!) We had a look around the hotel and the shops that are inside and then went back to the ‘Fairmont Joanne the Campervan’ and got on our way.
Next stop was Lake Moraine (yes, there are A LOT of lakes) and dare I say it, but this one was better (sorry Louise!) You’d be fair in thinking that by now we must be sick of going to look at lakes but these are like nothing you’ve ever seen before, so once again the camera came out and we enjoyed another simply beautiful view.
Thankfully as the weather was so good, we were able to go back to see Lake Peyto when it was clear and sunny and we got the amazing view we had hoped for the day before – hurray for the sun! After that we arrived in Banff town and after a bit of window shopping and fudge purchasing we found our campsite to settle for the evening.
So after another great day of sightseeing and multiple sock wearing, we are now parked up at our campsite with the heater on, readying ourselves for more oohing and ahhing at the views tomorrow.
So we left Banff and our campsite set amongst the snow capped mountains (as has been the usual in the past few weeks!) and headed to Yoho National Park, which had a few spectacular sights. It was also Luis birthday that day, so happy birthday again Luis!! The day started with a quest to find Propane gas (it powers our heater, cooker and fridge). Unfortunately we chose to run out of it when we were in the most remote place we were visiting, and they don't have any in Banff or Canmore, but luckily we got some in Lake Louise so we didn't freeze to death! On the way to Yoho we stopped at the 'Spiral Tunnels' which train tracks follow, and we somehow managed to time our stop for when a train was going through them (random fluke). We then went to Takakkaw Falls up a very steep and tight road. At one point we took about 4 turns to get around a bend it was so tight. We also saw the 'Natural Bridge' that has formed with rocks going over the stunningly coloured Kicking Horse River (what a great name as well). Our drive finished at Emerald Lake which was another stunning lake in the most tranquil and beautiful setting. There were some big (rather expensive looking) cabins situated right next to the lake which must be: a) stunning and b) stunningly expensive. If we win the lottery this will be on my list of places to stay.
The drive through Yoho was really nice, with stunning scenery and lots of different coloured trees and landscapes. We parked up for the day by a railway line in the town of Golden and had a fight with the gas alarm that won't stop beeping (don't worry, it's because it's faulty not because we are going to die from gassing ourselves). The following day was spent in Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks, again two beautiful places. It was a cold day so we weren't able to walk and explore much, but the scenery we took in was stunning, as always in Canada it seems. We also stopped at the Rogers Pass visitor centre and watched a very interesting video on the area and learned about avalanches! My new job is going to be in the army firing cannons at snow, it looks like a lot of fun. We camped by a nice lake and the campsite owner was chopping wood with an axe. I had considered going to assist him, but it was raining so I stayed in the shelter of Joanne.
After another fight with the gas alarm, we headed slowly back to Vancouver. We had originally planned to go to Vancouver Island, but having checked the prices of the ferry and also our bank accounts we decided that we can't really afford to do everything, and unfortunately that one has been scarificed. The national parks make up for it though and it leaves us with something to come back for as well, so not an awful thing. It also means we can meander slowly back to Vancouver and take a slower route and explore a few more towns and areas, which has been a really nice surprise. We arrived in the town of Armstrong looking for something to do and somewhere to stay. A trip to the visitor centre proved to be very fruitful, and a lovely lady gave us advice as well as a very helpful gentleman. When the man left, we were informed that he was actually the Mayor of the town! She also took our photo with him so we are well in there with the good folk of Armstrong I think! A nice evening walk in the sun and an even nicer Pizza (thanks Carole) meant we finished the day with big smiles on our faces. The drive had been really nice as well, passing through rolling hills with woods and incredible yellow and red leaves on trees.
Our 'slow' route back to Vancouver then took us to the town of Princeton. The weather was great and the route was pretty and quiet, so it was a good few hours of driving. We stayed at a golf course (that's also an RV park I hasten to add) and as they are closing down for the season we got a load of money off, which is always nice! Today was much of the same, a 3 hour drive through some lovely scenery with nice weather and then an afternoon of doing some laundry. Unfortunately you can't get away from everything when you're away...
Nick
P.S. We have run out of all drinks except Water. Please send coke or beer to Vancouver for us. Thanks.
We are in Vancouver once again, having stopped off at a town named Hope (where parts of Rambo were filmed, oh yes!) and Fort Langley (where the Hudson Bay company was set up – now a very fun interactive museum where you can cook bread over a fire, oh yes!) on our way.
Our first trip to Vancouver wasn’t so great, it was a great place but it rained heavily for the 2 days we were in town. Thankfully our whale watching day was lovely and sunny but the other days were a wash out! Thankfully we had a second chance in this fair city as we had to return in order to drop off our lovely lady Joanne. This time we were blessed with lovely sunshine and so decided to make the most of it with a cycle around Stanley Park.
We hired our bikes, complete with unflattering but essential bike helmets, and headed into the park. As it was such a lovely Sunday afternoon, many people had had the same idea and the park was fairly busy. From rollerblading first daters to a wedding party getting some scenic shots of their big day – everyone was out.
After a shaky start on my part, the old saying ‘you never forget how to ride a bike’ came into action and we were off, pedalling round the park like experts, overtaking slow ladies and ringing our bells at the wandering pedestrians. The views along the way were beautiful, looking out onto the waterfront, a couple of beaches, lots of geese and even a collection of totem poles. The time flew by and soon we had come full circle, dropping off our bikes and having a well deserved cold drink. (Canada Dry if you’re wondering... my new favourite drink!)
And so we have one more day in Joanne before we return her on Tuesday morning for someone else to take her on their very own Canadian adventure. She has served us well, kept us dry and gotten us there (sometimes it took an 18 point turn, but she got there!) I can highly recommend not only Canada as a fine holiday destination, but doing it in style in a campervan (oops I should say RV). This has been the most permanent home we’ve had in the last 3 ½ months and we couldn’t have asked for anything more... well, maybe a TV.
On Tuesday we get a bus down to Seattle and we start our American adventure. After a couple of nights of luxury in a cheap hotel we then pick up RV number 2, which should be exactly the same as RV number 1, except she will be called Nessa, due to the ‘Oh!’ noise she makes when you use the water pump. Keep checking the blog for all the fun to come, I’m sure there will be plenty.
Pamela
Canada treated us well and we loved every minute of the time we had there, but as this is an around the world trip we had to keep moving, so despite the protests of many of the Canadians we talked to, we headed to the good old U.S of A.
Our transport there was a Greyhound bus (I was sad to discover that there were no greyhounds on board or even involved in the operation at all – just a pic on the side of the bus.) Our driver was a little bit strange and.spoke.in.one.word.sentences. but he got us there in one piece after a customary stop at the border. Just so you know – the folks at the border do not find jokes funny – I didn’t even get a half smile with my quip about bringing more than $10,000 into the country – they’re hard.
Our first stop in America was Seattle, Washington. Washington is known as the Evergreen State, as it rains a lot so we weren’t expecting to get any great weather. Thankfully we were wrong and we were spared the rain so that we could enjoy a lovely day around Seattle. We went up the Space Needle, went to a glass blowing factory, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market (home of the first Starbucks, The Wall of gum – basically a wall covered in chewing gum - and a large brass piggy bank), along the waterfront and to the Hard Rock Cafe with Nirvana and Foo Fighters memorabilia. All in all it was a really lovely and relaxed place to be with some sights definitely worth seeing (though the gum wall was a bit disgusting!)
Just north of Seattle we picked up our second campervan – Nessa, she is from California so we are taking her home. She is exactly the same as Joanne but with a few subtle differences inside but of course Joanne will always be our first love. We drove back down through Seattle and to the Museum of Flight where we got to go on Concorde and Air Force 1 (unfortunately they don’t fly!) it was a really interesting place and had lots of planes from WW1 & 2 and stuff about space so we were entertained for a good few hours.
We then went to see Mount St Helen, but our old friend, crap weather, paid us a visit and we couldn’t see much at all. Nevermind, you can’t win them all! Our travels took us out of Washington and into Oregon where we took the beautiful scenic drive down the coast, stopping at small towns where locals were more than happy to help us, telling us the best spots to visit. On some good advice we went to Winchester Bay to the sand dunes where there were loads of people on ATVs and bikes riding up and down. We took a more sedate walk up and along the beach as well as stopping off at a lighthouse and viewing seals from a great look out point. The sun was shining and it was all very pretty, more than making up for the previous day’s bad weather.
The next day (which was my Mam’s birthday so Happy Birthday Mam!) we headed further south to Crater Lake National Park, winding through small towns and forests to reach the park. The lake is enormous and the scenic drive around it is 33 miles with strategic view points all around. It was stunning – still and clear, it looks like a mirror. It is the deepest lake in the USA and I’m going to say it must be the prettiest.
Today we have kept on the move and after a little bit of resistance from Nessa (who threw all of our water on the campervan floor and tried to unscrew her own wing mirror – which was fixed by a very nice man at a campsite) we arrived in a very warm and sunny California. We got to a small and lovely little town named Weaverville which looks like it was made for a movie set and haggled with the campsite owner to get a better deal on staying here (Woo GO NICK!!) after a nice walk around town we returned to the camper as the sun went down (as it does get chilly then). So, so far our American adventure has been great and we have certainly enjoyed the sunnier climates, though I’m sure we’ll be complaining it’s too hot in no time – we are British after all!
Pamela
In North America there seems to be a drive through for just about anything. There’s the usual fast food ones (just 10 times more choice than in the UK), there’s drive through coffee shops, pharmacies and even banks. But even stranger than that, there is a drive through tree. In the Redwoods National Park there is a massive tree which has a big gap in its trunk that you can drive your car through for just 6 of your tourist dollars. Unfortunately Nessa was deemed too big for this so we had to settle for a tree you could walk through – just as fun. Unfortunately there was no walk through bank tree... as we all know, money doesn’t grow on trees!
After the giant splendour of the Redwoods NP we made our way back to city life and into San Francisco. We stayed just outside the city which meant we arrived by ferry, passing the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz on our way, both looking great in the sunshine. We started our sightseeing in the best way possible on a bus tour (well it was like an old tram carriage) around the city. From that we saw all the sights and had a rather crazy guide to point them all out. As San Francisco is built on lots of hills we had a fun time going up the very steep ones and an even better time going down them – it really was like a rollercoaster.
We had a stop at the Golden gate bridge where we could get off and marvel at it – it really is lovely. I asked the guide how many times it is painted (as I’d heard that it was always being painted – when they finished at one end they started back at the other) however he said it had only been painted once. Clearly I had been a victim of vicious bridge related rumours, oh the shame. To make myself feel better (and to warm up after a freezing ride back into town – it’s cold by the bay!) we went to a lovely diner and I had the world’s biggest fish and chips.
On our second day we arrived by bus which went over the Golden Gate Bridge. We were clearly the only tourists onboard as no one else even bothered to look up while we gazed out of the window and oohed and ahhed. We explored the piers and watched the sea lions (see the video page for a great video of them), ate ice creams and looked in the shops. Unfortunately we couldn’t go to Alcatraz as it was booked up until Sunday (and we were only there Thursday and Friday) so that was a shame – but it’s a reason to come back again!
We decided to end the day with a ride on the cable car (when I think cable car I think of one of those things at ski resorts that go up on a wire but this is really more of a tram). We waited in a long line and were told it should be about 45 min wait, it was fun watching the men lead the cars down and them turn them around on the turn table so they could go back out again. After the allotted 45 mins we were near the front of the queue but the cable cars stopped moving. Then nothing. We waited ages with no answers. The crowd got restless, a man in front started shouting, a lady next to me demanded answers. The car had got stuck and could not move – a man arrived in truck with flashing lights, he pulled a lever and instructed the men to move the car to the side so the one behind could get past. The crowd cheered and all was well again. We got our cable car ride, with my bum planted firmly on a seat, there is no way I was going to stand on the side and hang on – not down those hills!
So after the fun of the city we are now back to nature in Yosemite National Park, we enjoyed a day here yesterday and will have one more today before heading to Death Valley tomorrow – rather fitting for Halloween. Let’s just hope nothing too scary happens!!
Pamela
So we left San Francisco after a great few days and drove out towards Yosemite. We managed to avoid going through the centre of both San Francisco and Oakland which was a relief, as driving on the smaller roads can be a bit stressful in a huge RV! Once out of the cities we were back on the roads more suited to a large RV and headed East. Yosemite was a good drive away but with an early (for us!) start we made it to the outskirts of the park in the early afternoon. The main campsite was fully booked and the only other 2 open at this time of year were first come first serve, and opened at 10am. We therefore didn’t fancy our chances of getting a spot in one of the worlds most visited national parks, so settled for a nice campsite not far from the west entrance. It had the added benefit of having the Internet, so I was able to get up at 2am and watch the first ever Indian F1 race.. I know, I’m very sad.
As soon as we had checked in we headed into the park and all the way down to Glacier Point which gives you stunning views of the park from a high vantage point. The drive there was ‘interesting’, consisting of a twisting mountain road only just wide enough for our RV and someone else coming the other way. 3 of the tunnels we went through had a clearance high at the sides lower than our height, so we put on the hazard lights, took a deep breath and ducked as we drove through the very centre of them. I have to be honest, it wasn’t a lot of fun, and we had to do it 4 times in total over 2 days!! I think we both aged a few years, and wished for a few moments that we were in a nice compact car (like the Clio!!).
The views from Glacier Point across to Half Dome and the valley below were great and the following day we went to Yosemite Valley and the village, and visited the ‘Lower Yosemite Falls’ on a nice walk. It was by far the busiest park we had been in on the trip, with lots of people on the road (all in a hurry, even though we were in a national park!!) and lots at each of the attractions. We were used to having places to ourselves as we are visiting out of the main season, so it was a shock to have to share the area with so many people – we had clearly been spoilt far too much with peace and tranquility!! There is hardly any artificial lighting in the area so the view of the moon and the stars at night was absolutely stunning, as well as the sunset.
We left via the East exit and the Tioga Pass. The views were again, great, especially near the end of the road where there were snow capped mountains, massive drops beside the road and some beautiful views. We then got to drive down a dead straight road with the Sierra’s on our right, and desert in between, it was great.
We felt the temperature increase as we drove towards and into Death Valley National Park, I think even the shorts came out for a brief period! I was glad to be with Pamela rather than Spav due to sweat reasons (sorry Spav). We had a lot of fun exploring the area and there is some truely unbelievable scenery, it was such a contrast from Yosemite yet only a few hours drive away. We stopped at some sand dunes and then drove round ‘Artist Drive’, which is a narrow, one way road that takes you through huge red mountains including some that are right next to the road. We snaked through carefully – the maximum length allowed on the road was 25ft so we were lucky to be able to go on it! We also visited the ‘Devil’s Golf Course’ which is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and then on to ‘Badwater Basin’, which again, was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before! It consists of salt covering rocks and it goes on so far into the distance it’s amazing. The following day we saw the view of this from way up high at Daunte’s View and it looked like a huge pool of milk had been spilt. Very cool. From here we also saw both the highest and lowest point in North America from the same vantage point – Badwater is 282ft below sea level and Mt Whitney is the highest point at 14,505ft. Not bad from standing in one place and only having to turn around! We also saw the sunset over some beautiful rock formations at ‘Zabriskie Point’.
With another place ticked off the list, the next stop is Las Vegas which will be another huge contrast again. Driving through the desert has been interesting, even though the view obviously becomes repetitive. Paying for the petrol on the other hand, has not been so interesting.
Nick
I knew I would love Vegas before we even got there. It wasn’t because it’s a gambler’s dream, or that you can stay up all night, I barely know the rules of any of the games and I do like to be in bed at a reasonable time. It was because I knew it would be full of novelty, sparkle and bright lights... my kind of place!
Our Vegas adventure began at a rather expensive (but worth it for its location on the strip) RV park at Circus Circus. After setting up, we headed out onto the strip, got on a bus, and immediately were transported to a different world. A world where giant pirate ships are moored up outside of hotels, where you can get on a Venetian gondola whist looking at the Eiffel Tower, where fountains dance for your enjoyment and young women dance for your money.
We took in all the big hotels, each bigger and better than the last, with beautiful interiors and exteriors alike. We ventured onto the casino floors, a big, confusing explosion of light and sound and money being wasted. I have no idea of how to play most of the games – even the slot machines were confusing. I placed my 1 dollar bill in the one armed bandit and my gambling was promptly over when I did not win my fortune then and there. I don’t think there’s any chance of me becoming a high roller.
After a lovely dinner of a sandwich as big as my head, we headed down to Fremont Street – which is a street covered over by the world’s biggest TV screen – at the top of each hour they play a different tribute to a rock band – we saw The Doors (meh) and Queen (brilliant). The whole street was full of life, we watched bands, painters, sculptors and some really rather hilarious dancing girls. There was a restaurant called Heart Attack Grill where you have to wear a hospital gown when you go in and you’re served by girls in nurses uniforms – it looked great but due to the size of my dinner I would definitely have had said heart attack, had we attempted to eat there also.
Day two in the City of Sin brought more big and fabulous hotels. We saw the lions at the MGM Grand and participated in reviewing a screening of a unaired TV show – we had to do a survey, and then watch the show and rate each part with a little hand held box. We were sworn to secrecy about it so I will not be telling you that it was a show about a lady trying to find a wedding dress. After that we went to New York, New York (bet you can’t guess the theme of the hotel?!) where Nick succumbed to the gambling bug and also put a dollar into a one armed bandit (I know, I know, we’re crazy) also losing. As it’s Vegas, of course there is a rollercoaster all around the outside of the hotel so we just had to go on it. It was great and was pretty steep – we were right at the front so we got some good views of Vegas from up there (when my eyes were open!) I don’t think the people of Vegas have heard so much swearing since the old mobster days. Sorry!
Once our stomachs had settled from that, we had another lovely dinner and then headed to Mandalay Bay to see The Lion King musical. It was fantastic, the costumes were amazing and so clever how they created all the animals. Everything about it was great and I would highly recommend it (it’s also on in London). It was a great end to our visit and I would say Vegas is definitely up there in my list of favourite places we’ve been – so much fun, so much to see and full of randomness. Loved it.
After all that sparkle and fun we headed out to the desert, stopping at the Hoover Dam where the RV got searched before we were allowed in (I was on best behaviour and made no jokes!) It’s big and spectacular and when you walk from one side to the other you cross states from Nevada to Arizona. After that we kept going to Grand Canyon National Park where we camped up for a couple of days. Day one was sunny but very windy and I was convinced I was going to be blown into the Canyon (unfortunately it also meant that we couldn’t get a helicopter flight)
The Canyon itself is massive and very beautiful, I hope the photos do it justice. It really was a very special thing to see. We were told that some cold weather would be coming in overnight – when we were going back to our campsite it was raining and very, very windy so we could tell tomorrow may not be a great day... We woke up to a foot of snow. It looked beautiful and magical but also meant that there would be no flights and the road and trail that we hoped to go on was closed due to the weather. Shame, but we still had an amazing time.
We left the snow behind and defrosted on our drive into the Arizona sun. We headed out and got our kicks on Route 66. Well, what’s left of it. Unfortunately much of what was Route 66 is no longer there, and long stretches of what is left is just abandoned. It was great to be on it though and it is a big highlight of a road trip in America.
The last few days have been spent soaking up some sun in California before we give the RV back on Thursday and have a few days in Hollywood to celeb spot. We fly to New Zealand on Sunday and start a whole new adventure, if it’s as good as the times we’ve had in North America then we’ll be happy. Just as long as it doesn’t snow!
Pamela
The final part of our American leg found us in Los Angeles. We drove along the beautiful coast roads and relaxed on the beach watching the sun go down. We spent our final campervan based days in Long Beach, strolling along the harbour side, soaking up the sun and really relaxing. Soon it was time to give the campervan back, we bid Nessa farewell and thought that things from then on would be simple... easy...straightforward. Hmmm...
Our journey to Hollywood began with my bag pull along handle exploding in my hand. Well and truly broken and rather sharp and pointy. The walk to the bus stop was somewhat difficult, trying to pull the bag by a makeshift strap that REALLY didn’t work, whilst trying to read my hand drawn map and sweating somewhat in the heat of the midday sun. After a rather taxing walk we made it to a bus stop and plonked ourselves down on the pavement to wait for the bus, which, according to the schedule, should be there in 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes came and went, as did another, until a nice man in a nice car stopped and told us that the bus no longer went down that road. Bugger. Another difficult walk down a rather long street with no pavement and lorries thundering past and we found another bus stop – which thankfully did have buses. From there it was a 10 minute ride to the Metro where we would then have to change.
The Metro was... let’s call it an ‘experience’. People got on at every other stop to try to sell you something: bags of crisps, chocolate etc. A man with an accordion got on and played jolly tunes while his wife (pushing and carrying 2 babies) went around asking for money. This man would later appear on 2 further trains that we were on – thus giving me a complex that he was just following me to annoy me into giving him money. It didn’t work.
After yet another transfer... oh yes, Mr accordion man was there too... we finally made it to Hollywood, our final place of resting in the USA. As soon as we emerged from the station it was all kinds of craziness. People dressed as film and cartoon characters posing for photos or walking down Hollywood Blvd – it’s really not often that you see Gene Simmons and a Transformer having a chat on the way to get a coffee. There were tourists squatting down to have their photos taken with the stars on the walk of fame, placing their hands into the concrete hand prints at the Chinese theatre and a million people trying to sell you something.
After walking the right way, then the wrong way, then the right way again, we finally made it to our hotel and dumped the troublesome bags before heading out for dinner. We chose a suitably American diner and ate til our stomachs almost burst – American food portions are BIG... don’t get fries on the side!
Our second day took us on a hop on, hop off bus tour where we took in all the sights like Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive. We hopped off at Santa Monica pier and hired some bikes to ride down to Venice Beach which was lots of fun, even when Nick’s chain fell off, and it started raining. We saw the beach where they film Baywatch, unfortunately the Hoff was not present but it was still fun.
Day three brought a trip to Universal Studios and a bit of rain. It was an amazing day out and so much fun. We went on a tour of the studios where we saw films sets (Desperate Housewives, the Bate’s Motel, Jaws & loads more) cars (Knight Rider, The Delorian from Back to the Future, Fast and the Furious) and great rides (King Kong 3D, The Mummy and an Earthquake in a subway station) The rides in the park were amazing, especially the Simpsons one. The ‘House of Horrors’ was a walkthrough haunted house where people dressed up jump out at you, I was doing fine all the way through and had avoided anyone jumping out at me by walking very close to the man in front and gripping Nick’s hand so hard he probably lost all feeling in it, then right at the end Frankenstein’s monster jumped right at me and I screamed the place down for a good 5 seconds. Funnily enough, just before we had gone into the House of Horrors, the Frankenstein’s monster that walks around the park for photos had come straight over to me for a photo and grabbed me by the throat... I began to get a bit paranoid but thankfully he did not have an accordion with him.
For our last day in Hollywood we started with a nice diner based meal and then headed to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (where lots of film premieres take place) to see a film (Money Ball starring Brad Pitt in case you’re wondering) however our viewing was cut short before we’d even got to the trailers when a member of staff came in and said the screening was cancelled due to ‘technical problems’. Arse. Thankfully we were not only refunded our money but given free tickets to use whenever we liked. We liked the next screening of The Three Musketeers so in we went, a nice free film.
Our flight from LAX to New Zealand was long (12 ½ hours) and slightly uncomfortable (chairs in front all the way back in our faces and the lady behind’s knees planted firmly in my back) but with a few films, a free bag of snacks and some napping it was made much more bearable. A transfer at Auckland and a very easy 1 ½ hour flight and we were in Christchurch. 21 hours ahead of the USA and a day missing from our lives, we were tired and a bit confused as to what day it actually was, but more than ready for this part of our trip.
The USA was a mix of crazy, beautiful and unforgettable moments. A month of wonderful travel that I would recommend to anyone. We now start our adventure down under and hope that it too is full of amazing days, breathtaking sights and absolutely no accordions.
Pamela
So after a ridiculously long day, night, then day, which included losing an entire day, we arrived in sunny but slightly windy Christchurch, New Zealand. From being here a few years ago I knew that it was a quiet city (if you can call it that, it's really a town to me) with not a huge amount of attractions or sights, but a very pleasant place none the less. This is still evidently true, although there is even less to do because the majority of the city centre is closed off due to the earthquakes they have experienced in the last 12 months. It was quite surreal driving from the airport to where we were staying near the centre of the city, with our friendly driver Steve (from Steve's shuttle!) chatting away and pointing out all the homes that were wonky or completely missing due to the earthquakes. It was really strange. They have cleared a lot of the houses, by knocking them down and removing all the rubble, so all that remains is a plot of land. It's especially weird as there are rows of houses with some just missing, and there are a LOT missing. The city centre is cordoned off and most buildings have a notice stuck to the door saying unsafe, or safe etc. Huge skyscrapers that look barely 10 years old are abandoned with windows smashed, and lovely old buildings have their roofs caved in and parts missing. The rebuilding project must be huge and looks like it won't be done any time soon.
We didn't really struggle with jet lag as the time gap, although ridiculous actually worked out OK as we ended up being 21 hours ahead, which meant it was virtually the same time, albeit an entire day ahead of where we had been. The weather is nice and sunny which is good and we have both got slightly red faces from too much time in the sun and not enough suncream. It's a bit windy but it's actually quite nice especially when you're out and about exploring. We spent a day walking around the city, looking at all the condemned buildings and also went to a temporary shopping street that's been set up because the normal high street is closed off. They have used ship containers to create shops, and it's actually really cool and well thought out. We spent some time at the Museum (trying to be cultural!) and also in the botanical gardens (can you tell there wasn't much to do?), which was all very nice.
So then it was time to leave the city and head out to explore more of the South Island. We had hired a car that is advertised as 'El Cheapo', which was half the price of any other car rental I could find, but in return you get an old car with a lot of miles on the clock. We weren't sure what to expect but are actually quite happy with our Nissan Sunny! The driving has been a doss, especially after driving a 25ft huge RV, so we are enjoying not having to breathe in when driving through cities or over narrow bridges, and all in all not worrying about an over sized vehicle and where to park etc! It's nice to be back in a normal size car. The roads are really well maintained and very, very quiet. We had a long drive up to Nelson but stopped on the way at Hanmer Springs for a break and a few hours in various hot pools, all of which were different temperatures. We left feeling very happy and relaxed. We arrived late into our hostel in Nelson and as we did they started serving free chocolate pudding with ice cream, result!!
The following day we headed to the Abel Tasman National Park. We drove to a tiny village on the coast and then waited for our Aqua Taxi. We overheard someone say that the boat would arrive soon, and were a bit curious as we weren't right on the water so weren't sure where exactly the boat was going to arrive, or if we had to take a quick bus ride to get to it. A few minutes later a tractor came down the street with a speedboat on the back. Not exactly what we were expecting! We all climbed aboard and put on our life jackets (even though we were in a car park), which was a bit weird, but a few minutes later we were on the beach at low tide which is why the tractor is needed. We backed into the water, released the boat and were off up the coast - crazy!
We got to see the coast on the ride up, stopping to look at a really cool rock that is split in half almost perfectly down the middle. We got dropped off at Bark Bay and as there was no pier, the boat got as close to the shore as it could and we had to walk the rest of the way to the beach. Pamela got out first but the water was deeper than we had expected, so whilst she was trying to avoid getting her shorts wet she accidentally dropped a shoe into the sea!! Luckily for her, it landed the right way up and floated for an agonising few seconds before she could rescue it. The bottom was obviously wet so we relaxed on the beach for a few minutes trying to get it dry! Eventually she conceded defeat and put on a slightly wet shoe and sock and we started on a 2 hour walk through the national park. The walk was great, crossing rivers on rope bridges and walking under the shade of nice trees and huge leaves. The path hugged the coastline for most of the walk so the views were stunning, with crystal clear rivers and beautifully blue sea. Every so often we would see a little bay with sand and shallow water, they looked like a little piece of paradise. We really enjoyed the walk and definitely burnt some calories walking up some steep hills! We arrived at Torrent Bay beach and sunbathed for a bit, waiting for the Aqua Taxi which took us back to the car, and then we went back to Nelson for more chocolate pudding.
We then found ourselves in a nice little motel in Murchison which is apparently a town, although it looked like a tiny village to me. There wasn't much to do but we had a rare treat of a TV in the room (with sky and uktv!) and we ventured out to have dinner in a pub (one of only 2!). My steak was nice and cheap, but Pamela didn't really enjoy her Greek salad (she had to ask for dressing, and apparently a Greek salad without olives isn't a proper Greek salad?!). We then drove down the west coast, the road hugs the coast most of the way and therefore makes for a pretty drive. It started off nicely with great views of the sea and mountains, and the road continued to twist and turn all day. I had mis-judged the distances somewhat and we ended up on the road for over 5 hours, but it rained ALL day, heavily, so it was a good day to cover some distance. Unfortunately the rain ruined the views after the first hour and what should have been a spectacular drive turned out to be a bit boring because there was so much fog and rain we couldn't really see much scenery. The occasional views of mountains and the sea were very nice though.
We arrived into a soaking Franz Joseph and contemplated what to do. We were there for 2 nights, but the weather forecast for both days was awful, so a hike on the glacier in thunderstorms and heavy rain wasn't that appealing right then. We ended up watching a film in the hostel and then treated ourselves to a delicious curry down the road.. we had to drive as it was raining so hard and I'll take any excuse to drive somewhere instead of walk..! The following day rained, heavily, all day. And when I say heavy, I mean REALLY heavily. We were glad we weren't half way up a glacier to be honest. Instead we visited the West Coast Wildlife Centre where we learned about the animals in the area and also the glaciers, and we saw some real life endangered kiwis! They were very cute so we stole one and put it in our bag hoping to sneak it through customs next week. Unfortunately we don't have any worms to feed it and I don't think Pamela looks like it's mother.
On our 3rd day in Franz Joseph we finally got a bit of a break with the weather. We were relieved when we woke up and it wasn't raining, so we headed straight to the Franz Joseph Glacier car park and walked to the foot of the glacier and admired the view. It was strange to be standing in the same place 4 years after first seeing it! As soon as we started walking it started to rain, so we got soaked, but never mind. Back in the car we had to change out of our wet things (I was in my pants as another car pulled up next to us.. awkward!). Then off we went to the next town, Fox. Here we went to Lake Matheson and had a walk there, then we stopped in the town of Fox for lunch, before heading to a scenic lookout and seeing the Fox Glacier. We then hit the road and sheltered in Sunny (our car) from the rain (which was still heavy). We arrived in Wanaka just as the sun came out which allowed us to have a lovely walk around the small town and to admire the beautiful lake. We had a nice dinner and then went back to the hostel. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of luck at the hostel. We were under the lounge, which had a TV on the floor (some people are so stupid??), so we could hear everything from the TV which was very frustrating. Even more frustrating was that it was on until 4.30am... ARGH!! And we could hear all the people talking very clearly. Pretty annoying, but I guess the saying is true.. you get what you pay for, and our budget barely pays for a roof over our head!! Never mind! We decided that we are just getting old and grumpy.
Nick
So we left Wanaka and drove to Queenstown, a town I am already in love with from my last traveling adventure. It hit a new height though, that I definitely wasn't expecting. On the drive in we stopped at the original bungy jump bridge and watched some people do some bungy jumps. It was fun to watch and brought back a lot of amazing memories for me. We got chatting to an old English couple who thought I was mad for having done a bungy jump. We then drove into Queenstown and found our hostel with relative ease. We had a sat nav in Canada and the USA which was a godsend, but in New Zealand we don't, and we really don't need one (touch wood). There are so few roads and all the towns are so small it's pretty easy to find what you are looking for. We then left Sunny who has earned a few days rest and walked into town, which was only about 5 minutes away. Again, a lot of memories came flooding back and I was pointing out all the sights to Pamela. We walked past a sky dive shop and decided to wander in to see what the deal was. We left with a leaflet and made it about 100m down the road when Pamela said 'I want to do a Skydive'. At this point, it would have obviously been very irresponsible and uncaring of me to try to talk her out of it or to let her go on her own, so I checked that she was 100% sure, and then agreed instantly. Lula said that she wanted to just go and do it, in case she changed her mind over night and spent too long thinking about it. I wasn't convinced that we would be able to go today as it was about 2.30pm, but never-the-less we went and asked, and the response was 'sure, you can go in 20 minutes, go through there for a quick briefing that's about to start'. And just like that, we were headed off to do a Skydive.
Well, so we thought. The guy came in and said that the weather was playing up so there was a delay, could we all come back in 20mins. Sure, no problem, so a little stroll around town later we were back, into the minibus and off to the airfield, past some mountains where Lord of the Rings was filmed (and The Last Samurai, with Tom Cruise, not that any of you will have seen that!). We arrived and were both very relaxed and calm. It had all happened so quickly we didn't have the time to get really nervous or worked up, so that was good, plus we were both really happy to be there. We had to wait a while before eventually they took us into the hanger and got us all suited up. Pamela had decided that she wanted a hard looking guy to be her 'jump master', not some wimpy guy. She was very pleased when Kras, a stocky Bulgarian came over and told her she was with him. The lanky Russian Sergey was my date for the event. After a 10 second briefing on what to do, which basically considered of 'this is a banana, make this shape with your body', we were bundled into a plane and off down the run way. I had got in first, with Lula after me, so were going to be the second to last and last out the plane. The trip up to 12,000ft went very quickly, and unfortunately there was quite a lot of cloud cover, so they decided to go up to 13,000ft - result!! Extra free-fall time for no extra money, big smiles on our faces. Then we were fully strapped onto our guys and before we knew it moved towards the door under no power of our own. I got to watch my girlfriend disappear out of the side of an aeroplane, not something you see every day, and not long afterwards I got to fly down after her trying to save her (sort of).
The second I left the plane a huge 'wooohoooooo' left my mouth as I tumbled down and spun around. Sergey then started manhandling me and we were soon free-falling rapidly with the wind in our faces and me pulling my best skydiver pose (legs together behind you, head back (like a banana remember!!)). After a few seconds a tap on the shoulder meant I should put my arms out in front of me and we were flying, it was an incredible experience. We flew through clouds and it felt like hail stones touching my face, and was pretty cold. Soon afterwards Sergey pulled the parachute cord and we were sailing down with him pointing out all the sights for me, the town of Queenstown, the mountains, the lake, it was stunning - a really beautiful place to do a skydive. It was quite windy so we did big fast turns but my big Russian looked after me and we came to a perfect standing stop on the airfield. An incredible, amazing 7 minutes of my life. Lula was waiting for me (I had watched her parachute down which was pretty cool) and we were both happy to see the other was alive, and then quick to discuss stories as everyone does in that situation. The grins remained firmly on our faces well into the evening. You can't help but feel exhilarated and high after an experience like that.
I feel very lucky to have been able to do 2 skydives in my life now. The last one was in New Zealand as well, but it's very easy to forget the feeling and experience and it was incredible to re-live it. I am very lucky. I also had never really expected to do another one. I had said to Lula that if she wanted to do one, I would of course do one with her (and had therefore secretly been hoping she would want to do one!), but we hadn't really talked about it that often as I didn't want to pressure her into something, not that she is someone who can be pressured into doing something she doesn't want to do!! So when she made up her mind to do it I was a bit surprised as it isn't something you would usually expect her to want to do. I could see she was serious though and I knew she would enjoy it and that it's a once in a lifetime experience, and something she will have with her forever. She was so brave and barely seemed to be nervous at all, so I'm very proud of her, and very happy that she made an excuse for me to do another one :-)
Nick
As the gauge reached 12,000ft my heart started to beat a little bit faster but we weren’t quite there yet, we kept going. A Bulgarian man I had met barely 10 minutes ago, whose knee I was now sitting on, shouted in my ear that we were getting another 1000ft for free. Great... I think. The door of the aeroplane opened and Kras (the afore mentioned Bulgarian) put on my hat and goggles and ensured that we were very much strapped together. In a complete blur, everyone who had been sitting in front of me was now gone, hurtling towards the ground and now it was my turn. Kras expertly bumped us forward to the plane door, he sat on the edge and rocked us, once, twice, three times...
How had I ended up here? About to free fall at 13,000ft into clouds, allowing a man I didn’t know to have complete control over whether I lived or died in a very big mess on the ground. I blame the bungee jump...
Earlier that day we had stopped off to watch crazy people jump off a perfectly good bridge above a river. They hovered on the edge of the platform and just tipped forward, their feet attached to a rope and were gone... falling down and snapping back up. I could barely watch it made me so nervous. But after we left I started to think, what was it about the bungee that was so awful to me? It was the way the people snapped back and forth and more than that it was the way you had to choose to jump yourself. No one pushed you and no one could do it for you. But a tandem skydive, all of that was taken out of your hands. I began to feel brave, maybe I could do it.
We arrived in Queenstown and I just couldn’t shake the feeling, I really wanted to do it. We casually looked in the shop which sold the skydives and picked up a leaflet. We got about 10 metres down the road and I knew it was now or never, if I slept on it I might change my mind. We went back to the shop and 20 minutes later we were being briefed.
So here I was about to jump out of a plane – or should I say Kras was about to jump with me attached to him. And so we jumped... to be honest the first bit was pretty much a blur. Falling quickly and tumbling over, air rushing through my nose and clouds scratching my face. We then levelled out into the correct position and I remember thinking oh my god I’m actually doing this. In no time at all the parachute deployed and we were yanked in to a more vertical position as Kras pointed out parts of Queenstown and I tried my best to take it all in and get my breath. I looked up and could see Nick above us in the sky, a surreal and lovely image.
As we came into land men rushed towards us to get the parachute and I was instructed to lift up my knees and suddenly we were in a field, my final instruction was to stand however I landed right on my bum with an “Ok, sit” from Kras. It was an amazing feeling a rush like nothing else, it was over so quickly yet it will always stay with me. Kras got a big hug and kiss for getting me down safely as did Nick for joining me on the ground in one piece. And just like that, it was all over.
I know some people were really surprised to hear I did a skydive – and none as much as Nick when I told him I wanted to do it. In fact, I surprised myself. I was so pleased that I did something different and memorable and crazy. After all, that’s what this trip is all about.
Pamela
Our last few days in New Zealand were quiet, we did a lovely boat trip around Milford Sound with its stunning waterfalls and mountains and best of all, free cups of tea! We travelled through rolling countryside, stayed in small towns (although there aren’t many big towns on the South Island) and visited beautiful lakes on our way back to Christchurch. From Christchurch we hopped on a plane (though we stayed well inside of this one!) and just like that we were in the 16th and penultimate country of our trip, Australia.
We started off in Melbourne with a long and lovely walk around the Botanical Gardens which were very pretty and full of flowers, they were well watered as it started to rain half way round our walk but as you know we’re used to getting rained on now! Day two brought some sunnier weather for our very exciting Neighbours Tour. I love neighbours and I don’t care who knows it, so I was very happy to be able to go on this tour. We were picked up in town in a mini bus and were taken to the studios where we saw some of the sets, met one of the actors (Chris for those of you cool enough to also be a fan, we also saw Lucas walking past) and saw the cars and props. We then went to the street itself (a real street where real people live) and got to take photos and pose with the Ramsey Street sign like proper geeks – it was great. It was all a good laugh and lots of fun.
Melbourne is a really great city with amazing architecture and lots to see, they have a free tourist tram and bus service with commentary so we got a guided tour for free which is always nice. After seeing loads of the city it was only fitting that we have a meet and greet with one of its residents, and who better than our very own Matt Black. As Matt is living in Melbourne we met at a very English pub and it was great to catch up, we had a lovely evening and saw a bit of the city with him. The next day we explored the markets and the seaside by St Kilda, making the most of the sun while it lasted! The evening was spent with Matt and his friend Alex, it was good to spend time with a familiar face after so long.
We picked up our next rental car, Cammie, a lovely shiny Toyota (free upgrade!) and headed down the Great Ocean Road. On the advice of a lovely lady at an info centre we drove by a golf course where she said kangaroos lived. At first we didn’t see any, just men with golf trolleys and silly outfits, but then we saw one, and another, and... loads! There were around 20 kangaroos, lying, sitting and jumping around the golf course as people just played around them. They were so lovely and didn’t mind at all that people were there. The next day we drove down a road towards the sea and we saw loads of koalas, mostly in trees, sleeping and looking very cute, but one walked down the path right next to us. Both were great experiences and made it feel very Australian.
The Great Ocean Road was full of things to see, we went to the Lighthouse from ‘Around the Twist’, went on a treetop walk through the rainforest, saw the 12 Apostles and ‘London Bridge’ Thankfully the weather was kind to us and we had some sun so it was all very pleasant. The drive back up took us through lovely coastal towns, seeing giant pelicans and brightly coloured birds, we talked to friendly locals and had some great meals. All very laid back and enjoyable. Even the change in weather didn’t spoil our fun as the wind and rain set in (it’s been described as the coldest start to an Australian summer in 51 years!)
So our Aussie adventure brings us near Sydney and tomorrow we’ll drop off Cammie and meet another familiar face, our favourite uncle, Spencer. Once again it will be lovely to have someone to show us around, give us some handy tips and hopefully feed us a few good meals!! As it nears Christmas it will be nice to spend some time with family, though it won’t be the white Christmas we’re used to we know we’ll have an amazing time... knowing our luck it’ll be cold and rainy so will feel just like home anyway!
Pamela
It seemed fitting to steal the title for this post from Spencer and shameless plug his book at the same time (www.spencerratcliff.com to buy a copy!) It's the least I can do considering he has let us stay at his lovely house in the beautiful (but mostly rainy) Blue Mountains.
We dropped off the Camry (very sorry to say bye to that car) in Penrith at the start of the Blue Mountains and a few minutes later my Uncle (Spencer) came and picked us up. We had been expecting him in his big people carrier (the Tarrago I towed a boat with 5 years ago for those of you who remember my last trip here!), so were surprised when he showed up in his fancy convertible Jaguar (a very nice car I must say). Our first thoughts were 'erm, how the hell are we going to fit in that?!', but luckily the car was designed with golfers in mind (although not as big as your Range Rover I'm sure Alan!) so had a large boot that accommodated our bags a lot more easily than anticipated. Getting Lula in the back on the other hand was a lot trickier, as the back seats are barely existant!! Anyway, we all squeezed in ok so that was all that mattered and I was delighted to be getting a spin in the Jag. So, re-united with Spencer we headed off to his house in Woodford and spent the rest of the day catching up.
We then began a very enjoyable and relaxing time in Spencers company. We had a lovely night when Pamela got to meet my Australian cousins and I got to catch up with them again - which was really nice and great to see them after so long. Since I was last here there are 3 new additions to the Australian side of the family so it was great to get to meet them and just generally catch up and talk to them all. We were spoiled with a lovely dinner and Ryan made 2 amazing Pavlovas. Dessert has been a rarity on the trip, so that made them even better!! We spent some time exploring the mountains although the weather was against us for a lot of the time, had a lovely dinner at Deb's house and got to meet her family as well which was great. So to sum it up, we had a great time. So great that we have decided to spend Christmas there which will be great and also means we get to spend more time with everyone. The downside was that it meant I had to have a number of arguments with Qantas (who are ridiculous), but I can't be bothered to go into that (because Joey said it's a boring story) and it's all sorted now anyway!
We took a trip into Sydney one day with Spencer and he gave us an excellent guided tour of the CBD, waterfront, Opera House, Bridge and some other places. We also went on a really nice cruise round the harbour, which we really enjoyed (especially as we got free cake!) - except that the captain made up some rediculous lies on the commentry which we thought was a bit odd! (Sounds like something I'd do I know..).
So after a nice and settled time at Spencers (with our own room, for more than 2 days!! - a luxury we are not used to anymore) we embarked on a week long trip up the coast. We have another hire car (a Nissan this time, for those taking notes) and are enjoying the drive up the east coast. We arrived in Byron Bay yesterday and have spent a very relaxing and sunny 2 days here, just enjoying life without a care in the world! The reality of going home is setting in as we fly back a month today, which is a very scary thought. It will go doubly quickly because we are spending Christmas with Spencer and Charlotte and Jon (my sister and her husband) are joining us for the last week in Thailand, so there really isn't much left of our trip. But let's not dwell on that or I will start to cry.
We are off to Brisbane tomorrow and Australia Zoo the following day, where I hope to find Pamela a new home.
Nick
Yesterday we visited Australia Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter (aka the legend Steve Irwin) I’m not one to get excited about a day out but I was pretty excited about this one. It was a lovely hot and sunny day and we were pretty happy to find there wasn’t much of a crowd (people saving their money for Xmas no doubt) so we walked straight in and began exploring.
As Steve Irwin was known for his conservation of crocodiles, we weren’t surprised to see a whole bunch of the scary snappers first. They slinked in and out of their pools and sunbathed with one eye on us, I was very grateful for the fence between us! They ranged in size from little skinny things to big, fat, giant ones but they were all evil looking (though I’m sure they’re all lovely really... hmmm) We then went to see a show at the famous Crocoseum, where birds did crazy aerial stunts above our heads and the keepers demonstrated exactly why you should ‘Never Smile at a Crocodile’.
We then explored the whole zoo which is full of Aussie animals including koalas, Tasmanian devils, snakes, wombats and of course, kangaroos. There are two walkthrough kangaroo enclosures where you can stroke, feed and just hang out with the roos. I enjoyed this immensely and probably would have paid the entry fee to just sit in there all day. But of course there was much more to see.
We caught ‘Steve’s Safari shuttle’ to the South East Asia section where we watched the elephants being cleaned and health checked and also have a little swim. We also got to see red pandas and tigers, who were majestic and beautiful. After that we headed to Africa and saw the rhinos including a new (not so) little addition, zebras and giraffes.
We watched a very interesting crocodile talk where I was convinced the guy was going to be eaten every time he fed the croc a chicken and didn’t quite get out of the way in time. Thankfully he survived and taught us that crocodiles have not needed to evolve for 60 million years as they are just perfect (perfectly scary!)
The zoo was great and there were lots of chances to get hands on with the animals, I stroked a koala, wombat and all the kangaroos I could catch! The animals had loads of space and it seemed like they were genuinely cared about. Steve Irwin’s presence was really felt, with pictures of him all over and his messages throughout the zoo.
It was a lovely day out and a great place to wander round while soaking up the sun – we chose a great day to go as today it bucketed it down! We are now heading back down to the Blue Mountains so we can spend Christmas with Spencer and his family before we are off to our final destination, Thailand. We plan to make the most of our last week in Oz with a big Christmas and full use of Spencer’s laundry facilities! :-)
Pamela
After our trip up the coast we returned to the Blue Mountains and, of course, to the rain. Thankfully we didn't stay too long in the poor weather and went up to Sydney for a hot and sunny day at Bondi Beach. After a lovely clifftop walk we relaxed by the beach with a much needed ice lolly before we walked back and explored a few nearby towns. In the evening we took the ferry from Sydney to Manly where we stayed with Hayley and Joey. The next day we saw Dee Why Beach and took a tour of the Northern Beaches (including Manly) it was hot and sunny and people were taking full advantage of the beaches.
We returned to a bright and sunny Blue Mountains to prepare for our Christmas celebrations (this mostly involved Nick and Spencer spending 2 hours trying to arrange some tables!!) Christmas day was hot and sunny and involved a delicious lunch, some Aussie gifts (thanks Hayley and Hannah for our awesome hamper!!) and excited kids. Very Christmassy but very strange to be in the hot weather. Thankfully we're having Christmas part 2 with my family up north so we will get to have a cold and wintery Christmas too just so it feels right!
Boxing Day was spent the traditional way, eating, watching TV and rescuing a lost dog. On a drive out and about, I spotted a sign for a lost dog outside a house. About 10 minutes later I spotted the dog wandering the streets, took a photo of him and went back to the house to ask if that was him. It was so we took the owner to his location and reunited them. There were tears, howling and a million dollar reward!! Ok, so we just got a big thank you, but it was worth it!
We now only have a few days left before we fly to Bangkok on 28th. As I type this it is raining heavily so I don't hold out much hope for the good weather but I'm sure there'll be plenty of that in Thailand. We have really enjoyed our time in Australia and have loved catching up with the Aussie side of the family. We now have just 3 weeks left of our (almost) 29 week adventure, can't believe it's almost over but we plan to enjoy what is left of it before we head home to the real world. Looking forward to seeing you there :-)
Pamela
After a lovely 4 weeks in Australia we boarded our plane and took a 9 ½ hour flight to a whole different world... Bangkok. My one time home and perhaps the craziest place we included on our itinerary (sorry, Vegas!) For those of you who have been there you know it’s a hot, busy, unforgiving place but it tends to grab you by the proverbial you-know-what’s and you can’t help but come back eventually. Being seasoned travellers by now, we breezed through passport control with the penultimate stamp in our passports and headed out into the balmy night.
A stupidly cheap cab ride later and we were in the thick of it, choosing to stay among the farrang population of Rambuttri. As we arrived so late we went straight to bed, though most people were just beginning their night at that point. The next day we spent wandering the streets and market around the famous Kaoh San Road, snapping up a couple of bargains (practicing our fierce bartering skills of course), eating well and cooling off in the pool on our hotel’s roof.
The day after that we were packed up and getting on a bus headed to Koh Chang (English translation: Elephant Island) the bus left late (good old Thai time) and made sure it took its time on the way, stopping a few times just for good measure. After several seemingly pointless waiting sessions (which just happened to be at restaurants – kerching!) we finally made it to the ferry and landed on the island a good 3 hours later than we should have. From the port we caught a songtaw (English translation: a pickup truck with seats in the back) and headed to Lonely Beach where my good friend Liv awaited us.
Liv and I had spent a New Year here four years before so it was pretty special to be back again relatively soon. As it was New Year, a lot of the accommodation was booked up but after a bit of searching (involving me, Liv and her boyfriend on one motorbike casing several places) we found a nice bungalow overlooking the sea. There was however, a catch. The owner explained something in Thai with a very serious and worried look on his face, it was apparent that something was a bit dodgy with the bungalow... it was then broken to me... they had no towels. Yeah, ok. Booked.
New Year’s Eve was spent in good company at a restaurant/bar by the beach with a fire show, free chocolate cake and good music. They even remembered to do the countdown (they forgot last time I was here!) A great night was had by all and there was hardly any trouble (one man and a hedge were trampled by another at one point but the hedge seemed to come off worse).
The rest of the days here have been spent lying on the beach, swimming in the sea, eating delicious food and reading lots of books. We hired a motorbike and explored the island, which has ridiculously steep hills so there were a few scary moments (for me as a passenger, not for Mr Motorbike licence of course!) it was a lot of fun and meant we could see loads more than being on foot. Our other form of transport was a bit different though.
We had the pleasure of going on an elephant trek through the jungle. We climbed up a wooden tower where we were then high enough to step onto the back of our elephant, her name was Namphet and she was 29 years old and she carried us gracefully though a little bumpily through the jungle. We went through pomello orchards and down little tracks I really didn’t think we could fit down while Namphet ate from trees and bushes as she walked. It was a great experience and we both really enjoyed it. We got to sit on the elephant and they were really well cared for and looked after so we were really happy.
Our time on Koh Chang ends tomorrow when we will head back to Bangkok. We plan to visit my old neighbourhood and school and meet up with Liv once again. Then we have the pleasure of the company of Charlotte and Jon who are joining us for the last days of our trip. Hopefully they will have as much fun as we have had so far, it would be hard not to here. I just wonder if they will be bitten by the bug (and I don’t mean a mossie) and be drawn back here again. I know I will.
Pamela
Our last couple of weeks in Thailand were a great end to an awesome trip. After Koh Chang we headed back up to Bangkok and visited the school where I used to work. It was really nice to go back and see some students and teachers and doesn’t everyone love it when they go back to see old colleagues and they greet you with “Oh Pamela you have got fat! You look great!” Ah I love the Thai’s way with words. We also treated ourselves to a trip to the cinema to the VIP screening, an awesome experience that is worth the plane ticket to BKK alone. As we fully reclined our individual sofa seat, snuggled under a blanket, we were served juice and biscuits by a waitress before the film began. It was hard not to fall asleep, it was so comfy.
The next day we were joined by Charlotte and Jon, it was so weird to walk out of our hotel and see them standing there but so lovely to see familiar faces. We soon immersed them in Bangkok life, taking them down Kaoh San Road, eating pad thai, riding in tuk tuks, bartering, weaving through crowds of tourists, monks, stray dogs and endless people trying to sell you something. I think they liked it. We also visited Pat Pong, that is all I will say. For those of you who know about it, you will get the general idea. For those of you who don’t, it’s best to stay that way. We visited the Grand Palace and temples and took a day trip to the Tiger Temple. It was a great day, we got to walk a tiger and to sit with them and stroke them. Nick and I had been before (on separate occasions) but it was still great to go again, especially to take Charlotte and Jon.
After a long and hot day at the Tiger Temple we decided to help our feet out by going to one of those fish spa places. I was not keen at all but had my ‘go for it’ holiday attitude so in I went. Big mistake. This was the worst part of my entire 7 months away, it was soooo awful. Charlotte and I pretty much screamed, squirmed and whimpered all the way through, while the boys sat there laughing at us and having a beer. After that I needed a rest so to escape city life and fish that eat your feet, we took a trip to Ko Samet, the nearest island to Bangkok, where we relaxed on the beach, soaked up the sun, got massages, ate well and read lots.
We hired jet skis one day, which again (wimp that I am), I was not entirely keen on, so I was not surprised to find myself screaming for pretty much the entire 30 minutes we’d got them for. After a lot of coercion I found myself driving the jet ski which made me scream even more. I can only imagine how ridiculous it looked as a jet ski raced across the sea with me screaming and Nick laughing. After I had calmed down and got over that we hired scooters, which I was absolutely fine with... until we actually got on the road. Well to call it a road is extremely generous. To say dirt track may also be a bit of an understatement. It was like nothing else, the boys drove and me and Charlotte sat on the back (when our bums were actually on the seat) as we bumped over the worst terrain I’ve ever seen. Needless to say, I screamed a lot. To get over that, Charlotte and I had a foot massage while the boys went off and bumped around on their own, I am not sure if they screamed or not.
After a lovely time on Ko Samet we headed back to Bangkok and hit the shops. It was really nice to treat ourselves to things as we haven’t really been able to buy much in other countries. But as it’s so cheap in Thailand and we could fill our bags to the max, it was a great chance to get some stuff! So we spent our final day bartering and bargain hunting before having one last meal with Charlotte and Jon and then all of a sudden we were in a taxi heading to the airport for our flight back to England.
It felt like the last 200 days had gone so quickly, but it felt like forever ago that we started the trip. Our flight home was fine and we landed in a dark, cold and wet England feeling dazed and tired, so we got our hire car and headed straight to the first service station for a nutritious breakfast of a Double Decker and a bag of crisps. And just like that, we are home. We’re looking forward to seeing people, catching up and watching as much daytime TV as is humanly possible before we have to join the real world and get a job. The last 7 months have been the best of my life, with my best friend, we have loved (almost!) every minute and I cannot recommend travelling enough. Hope you have enjoyed our blog, and I apologise in advance to those of you who are going to have to listen to our boring anecdotes.
Lots of love, Pamela.