Bodnant Gardens - Wales

Twenty Years ago I visited Bodnant Gardens in Wales, which belongs to the National Trust. I had very fond memories of it and knew it wasn't too far and thought it would be a nice place to visit especially in the autumn. It was beautiful and quiet - not many visitors. We wondered around for a few hours. Places like this restore your soul.

Later we found a quaint little tea room for lunch next to the river.

Liverpool

We drove from Brighton to Liverpool thinking it could take 6 hours. We made good time and were in Liverpool within 4.5 hours.........AH!!!!! but we didn't know Liverpool were playing at home and Julie (ruth's sister) and Paul live right near the football ground. We arrived 2 minutes before the match finished, but all the roads were sealed off and we couldn't get to Julies. We tried a different way but to no avail and then a sea of people surrounded the car and we just had to stop for about 20 minutes until the crowds had dissipated. It was quite scary sitting there, so we locked the door, however they seemed a pretty placid crowd.

Brighton

Providing you're not driving, Brighton is a fantastic place. Tony even said if he had to live in England he would live in Brighton. It is a vibrant, happening place with many places to eat, shops and exhibitions to visit. It is full of interesting and very interesting people! The beach is a great place to sit when the sun is setting and watch the world go by.

Back to England

It is now time to go back to Blighty; a strange feeling, as I felt like I was going home in a funny kind of way. We left Caen for Portsmouth and 5.5 hours later we sailed into Portsmouth harbour passing many war ships, including Nelson's, HMS Victory.

We then headed into the congested English traffic on the left side of the road. It is the worst traffic anywhere.

Carnac Brittany - the place of ancient stones

We drove to Carnac, still in Brittany. A place famous for ancient stones. The weather was perfect for viewing the stones, a bit of mist and a bit of sunshine. Even though this place was not Stone Henge it was very impressive. Hundreds, maybe thousands of stones lined up in rows throughout the fields. We sat for a while at a picnic table nearby to absorb the atmosphere.

Michelle in Sene

Pierre Yves had organised for us to stay with his mum, Michelle, in Sene in Brittany. She was retired and very happy to show us the sites of here area around Sene. Sene is a small harbour with a few little fishing boats. It was Sunday and on our way they showed us several quaint towns.

We spent the next three days with Michelle. She was was wonderfully hospitable, showing us around many places. We visited Suscinio Castle on the Southern part of the Rhuys Peninsula. It was in a lovely setting and when we arrived there was a very atmospheric mist. We also visited the town of Vannes which was full of historic buildings.

Nantes with Stephanie and Pierre Yves

Going back a few steps ... three years ago, Tony met Stephanie, from France, on his bus as she was working in Healesville. We took them out a couple of days to show them the sites of the Yarra Valley and beyond and have remained in contact since.

Now we were in their area of France we thought we would visit them and see what their life was like in Nantes. We arrived on a Friday night and they made us most welcome. They confessed they hadn't spoken English since their stay in Australia. But it was still very good.

On the Saturday they took us around the city of Nantes firstly looking at an amazing contraption. It was a giant elephant made in the style of Jules Vern (Journey to the Centre of the Earth ) It was amazing, very imposing and quite scary but very impressive. Jules Vern was born in Nantes.

Next was the amazing Chateau des ducs de Bretagne. It had been recently restored and looked very impressive. While we were looking around the castle we noticed a flock of red jumpers wondering around with strange English accents. Apparently Wales were playing Fiji Rugby world cup in Nantes. Wales lost.

Stephanie and Pierre Yeves took us to a brittany pancake restruant for lunch and we had crepes. A large thin buckwheat pancake with ham, eggs and cheese and the sides folded over. They were very good.

La Rochelle

La Rochelle is an old port town. The buildings were made of white stone. A market meandered through the streets selling fantastic food. Lots of classy shops and many young people from the local university. Lots of cafe's next to the port where the boats were moored and a huge old castle in the background.

French food

The French are renowned for their food and rightly so. When we stayed in a Gite the owner said he was a chef and would make us a meal if we wanted for 20 Euro each. Because it was Tony's birthday we decided treat ourselves.

He cooked several lovely dishes which included, snails .....yum! confit of duck (duck cooked in its own fat and lots of it), toasted goats cheese, walnut tart and a selection of cheeses with lovely French wine. We won't have our cholesterol checked for a few months after we get back.

How come all the french are so slim?

Dordogne

We stayed in the Dordogne in France for five days. There were many small towns and quaint villages along the River Dordogne some of them a 1000 years old. While we were there the weather turned very cold and one day it was 8'c. We then had to find all our winter clothes out of the bottom of the case.

Bilbao - Guggenheim

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a wonderful architectural icon. Made from titanium, limestone and glass.

With Giant spiders and dogs it made for an interesting visit. We were however very disappointed because most of the galleries were shut and it was raining and our exterior photos of the building were not very good.

Pico de Europa - through the mountain road

We continued to drive north in Spain; winding our way through the mountain road of Pico de Europa; following the river through the deep rugged gorge These mountains were more appealing to me. The bottom 2/3 were very green and the top was white, rough and jagged. The contrast made them a really interesting landscape. Some of the rocks overhung the road and even small trucks struggled to get through.

Quintanilla - A Quaint Quiet Spanish Village

Whilst driving, again, on the highway from Madrid, Tony saw a small village on the right and immediately took the next turn off to try and find it;

I thought we were entering a farm, but we weaved our way though very narrow streets; there was not a tourist in site. Instead the locals looked at us with suspicion as if we were from a different planet. We just looked at them and smiled and said "Ola" (hello) and they replied "Ola".

The Spanish Rule

The Spanish have a strange rule - something like

If you have something beautiful lets put something ugly near it!

If there is a house with a view in a quaint village, they will build an apartment block. If there is a beautiful hill, lets use it as a rubbish tip. If there is a spectacular range of mountains lets demolish them by making a quarry for the rock.

The best thing we saw that typified this rule was an original painting with a no smoking sign stuck onto the painting its self.

North of Granda - Spain

Whilst travelling to Madrid, along the highway we saw hundreds of kilometres of olive groves. On the hills, on the mountains and in the valley's. Very ordered and textured - they just went on and on .......

Little Miss Toffee

Toffee is a very cute little dog that was rescued by Jane and Brian in Malaga. It is a happy playful thing and was a great playmate for Tony while we stayed with them. Don't you love her teeth?