Sunday 22nd April
Hi Everyone. Didnt blog yesterday as Emily decided she needed a day doing nothing, so thats exactly what we did and I must say it was nice to catch up on a little bit of sleep and get some washing done.
So, we havent yet seen much of Vancouver but plan to do some sight seeing there and also Victoria and Vancouver Island when we return from the Rockies!
This morning we picked up our hire car and headed up into the mountains. Mark has only attempted to drive on the left hand side of the road once so far!!!!!!!!! The weather has been abnormally warm for this time of year here, which is a blessing for us, as all roads are open but there is still quite a bit of snow around when you get up into the mountains. Emily had a great time throwing snowballs at her Dad and me. (I hope to post a short video with this blog but if I cant there will be plenty of photos)
The scenery has already been spectacular and we are only about 4/5 hours from the coast. We arrived in Kamloops about 5.30 this afternoon. It is very similiar to Jyndabine with the sparsly covered mountains and the rows of ski lodges. We will head off in the morning toward Jasper and will probably have the night there.
Well thats all for now. will catch up again tomorrow!
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Sunday 15th April
Today we went on a tour up to a place called Kualoa Ranch. Kualoa is about 24 Km from Waikiki, along one of Oahu's most scenic drives. It is one of Oaho's largest and oldest cattle ranches. This is the property where many famous movies have been made including Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young and Emily's favourite 50 First Dates. We took a tour around some of the property which was absolutely beautiful. After the tour we were taken to a place called secret Island. Here we got to do some Kayaking and snorkelling, and just relax on the beach.
For dinner tonight we went to the famous Cheesecake Factory. The meal was nice but the cheesecake after was awesome!
Well thats all for today. Tomorrow is our last day in Hawaii before we head to L.A on Tuesday. Not sure whats on the agenda yet, will decide in the morning.
Today we went on a tour up to a place called Kualoa Ranch. Kualoa is about 24 Km from Waikiki, along one of Oahu's most scenic drives. It is one of Oaho's largest and oldest cattle ranches. This is the property where many famous movies have been made including Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Mighty Joe Young and Emily's favourite 50 First Dates. We took a tour around some of the property which was absolutely beautiful. After the tour we were taken to a place called secret Island. Here we got to do some Kayaking and snorkelling, and just relax on the beach.
For dinner tonight we went to the famous Cheesecake Factory. The meal was nice but the cheesecake after was awesome!
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
12th July 2012
Hi all
We set of for London on the 2nd July for our last couple of days in the UK before flying on to Hong Kong. Along the way we decided to call in and see Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, which as most of you would know, was home to the legend of Robin Hood and his merry men.
There is little left of the actual forest now but there are various conservation groups committed to preserving and developing the area. It was interesting to read the many theories surrounding the legend of Robin Hood and we enjoyed a short walk through the forest itself. Unfortunately it was, as usual, raining so we couldn't go too far.
We arrived in London late that afternoon, had a good nights sleep and the next day took the tube into Westminster to take a ride on the London Eye. We were hoping to visit Warner Bros Studios to take a tour through the set used in Harry Potter but I didn't book early enough and so all the tours were fully booked.....this obviously didn't make me too popular with Emily.
The London Eye was awesome. Not as scary as I thought (I'm not too good with heights). The view from the top was fantastic.
That evening was spent packing and repacking so we were ready to fly to Hong Kong the next day.
I thought I had done quite well with the packing until we reached the airport and they wanted 90 pounds for excess baggage. There was no way I was going to pay so I spent nearly an hour in the repacking station at Heathrow Airport trying to make it all fit, which I did!!! Its amazing what some people throw out just to avoid paying for excess.
Our flight to Hong Kong was quite good but a bit more turbulence than most of our other flights and the absolute worst landing ever with toilet rolls flying down the aisles. The temperature when we arrived was a very humid 30 degrees.....a bit hard to get used to after the UK.
Our first day in Hong Kong we took Emily out to Lantau Island on the cable car from Tung Chung to see the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. Mark and I have been before but we thought she would especially enjoy the cable car ride, which she did. The Buddha itself is amazing, having taken 12 years to complete and with over 2 hundred steps to climb to the top.
The rest of our time was spent shopping. We stayed on Nathan Road in Kowloon, also known as the Golden Mile, which is famous for being a shopping mecca. The markets are also lots of fun and Emily had a ball.
We left Hong Kong on the 8th July for our flight back to Sydney. Emily had a chance to have a photo with some of the Qantas staff and she enjoyed a little visit to the cockpit of the A 380 we flew home on.
We arrived in Sydney about 8.30 on Monday morning and drove back to my sisters place where we stayed the night before finally heading home to Nabiac on Tuesday. We have really had a wonderful time and seen some amazing things but I must say it is nice to be home. We especially enjoyed the night we spent with my two nieces in Newcastle who missed us very much and were very excited to see us, as we were to see them. Now looking forward to catching up with everyone here at home and getting back into the swing of things after our break.
I have really enjoyed keeping this blog and hope you have all enjoyed reading it.
Well, as usual, I will leave you with a few pics and look forward to seeing everyone soon.
Hi all
We set of for London on the 2nd July for our last couple of days in the UK before flying on to Hong Kong. Along the way we decided to call in and see Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, which as most of you would know, was home to the legend of Robin Hood and his merry men.
There is little left of the actual forest now but there are various conservation groups committed to preserving and developing the area. It was interesting to read the many theories surrounding the legend of Robin Hood and we enjoyed a short walk through the forest itself. Unfortunately it was, as usual, raining so we couldn't go too far.
We arrived in London late that afternoon, had a good nights sleep and the next day took the tube into Westminster to take a ride on the London Eye. We were hoping to visit Warner Bros Studios to take a tour through the set used in Harry Potter but I didn't book early enough and so all the tours were fully booked.....this obviously didn't make me too popular with Emily.
The London Eye was awesome. Not as scary as I thought (I'm not too good with heights). The view from the top was fantastic.
That evening was spent packing and repacking so we were ready to fly to Hong Kong the next day.
I thought I had done quite well with the packing until we reached the airport and they wanted 90 pounds for excess baggage. There was no way I was going to pay so I spent nearly an hour in the repacking station at Heathrow Airport trying to make it all fit, which I did!!! Its amazing what some people throw out just to avoid paying for excess.
Our flight to Hong Kong was quite good but a bit more turbulence than most of our other flights and the absolute worst landing ever with toilet rolls flying down the aisles. The temperature when we arrived was a very humid 30 degrees.....a bit hard to get used to after the UK.
Our first day in Hong Kong we took Emily out to Lantau Island on the cable car from Tung Chung to see the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. Mark and I have been before but we thought she would especially enjoy the cable car ride, which she did. The Buddha itself is amazing, having taken 12 years to complete and with over 2 hundred steps to climb to the top.
The rest of our time was spent shopping. We stayed on Nathan Road in Kowloon, also known as the Golden Mile, which is famous for being a shopping mecca. The markets are also lots of fun and Emily had a ball.
We left Hong Kong on the 8th July for our flight back to Sydney. Emily had a chance to have a photo with some of the Qantas staff and she enjoyed a little visit to the cockpit of the A 380 we flew home on.
We arrived in Sydney about 8.30 on Monday morning and drove back to my sisters place where we stayed the night before finally heading home to Nabiac on Tuesday. We have really had a wonderful time and seen some amazing things but I must say it is nice to be home. We especially enjoyed the night we spent with my two nieces in Newcastle who missed us very much and were very excited to see us, as we were to see them. Now looking forward to catching up with everyone here at home and getting back into the swing of things after our break.
I have really enjoyed keeping this blog and hope you have all enjoyed reading it.
Well, as usual, I will leave you with a few pics and look forward to seeing everyone soon.
Sherwood Forest
The London Eye
One of the capsules on the Eye
Emily from the London Eye...Big Ben in the background.
The cable car to the Buddha
Mark and Em on the cable car
The view from the cable car
The Buddha
Em with the Qantas girls.
Sunday, 1 July 2012
1st July 2012
Hi all
Well we arrived in Cairnryan on the 27th to a beautiful Scottish afternoon. We decided to drive to Ayr about an hour up the coast and spend the night there. It was really beautiful driving along the coastline. Scotland has loads of golf clubs, many of them quite famous and very proper!! We came across the Turnberry Golf Club which was established in 1901 by a golf pro from the very famous Royal Troon Golf Club. We must have arrived just at the right time as there was a bagpiper playing on the steps of the club house....very entertaining and a nice introduction to Scotland.
The following morning we awoke to a not so nice day! It was very overcast and cold. We headed off into the Scottish Highlands and on to Inverness to see Loch Ness and of course the Loch Ness Monster. The drive through the highlands was amazing. The low cloud and the very green mountains were spectacular. We stopped briefly at Loch Lomond for a look around but by then it was raining so we werent there long, just long enough for a few quick snaps.
We arrived late in the afternoon at Drumnadrochit, a little village on the shores of Loch Ness. We were hoping to get accommodation here but unfortunately everything was full so we travelled on to Inverness for the night.
Thankfully, the next day was lovely and sunny. A great day to go out on the Loch in search of Nessie. We took a 1 hr cruise of the Loch, passing the ruins of Urqhart Castle along the way.
Loch Ness is very deep and the water a very deep, dark colour( due to the high peet content in surrounding soil) and on that morning it was like a sheet of glass. After the cruise we visited the souvenir shop where Mark tried out a few different hats...I think he is considering a change of image. Check out the photos and let him know what you think.
So did we see Nessie? Well I will post a couple of photos and you can decide for yourself!!
That afternoon we has planned to travel down as far as Edinburgh to have a night there and explore the city the next day. Unfortunately the weather really started to close in again and by the time we reached our destination the rain was unbelievable. The forecast for the next few days was not good, and as we had limited time left, we decided to keep driving all the way to our next stop which was York in England. We were hoping the weather might be a bit better so we could make the most of our last few days.
We arrived quite late in the evening, had a good nights sleep and woke to a much better day. We headed off into York for a walk down an area of town known as The Shambles. This is the oldest street in Yorkshire and dates way back to the 15th century. This street today is filled with teahouses and lovely little shops but it was once home to more than 26 butcher shops. For someone like me who loves history it is just amazing to see the old two story houses, so crooked that they almost meet in the middle of the street.
After the Shambles we walked through the town and on to Clifford tower, which is the ruins of the keep of a medieval Norman Castle. By this time, as is normal in England, the weather had turned again so we had a quick tour through, walked the wall and took a few photos.
Today we decided to take a drive through the North Yorkshire Moors and on to Whitby and Scarborough on the coast. I have to admit to not really knowing what a moor is until today. I was quite surprised to find it is a large expanse of uncultivated shrubland that in North Yorkshire is covered in Heather. At this time of the year it is just starting to bloom but apparently by mid July it is in full bloom and the moors are an explosion of purple.
We stopped in a little town called Goathland along the way to check out the old steam train that runs along this line. The station is very old but really pretty. It is actually the Hogsmead Station out of one of the Harry Potter movies and also features in other British programs like Heartbeat.
We had a traditional Sunday lunch while we were in Goathland, complete with Yorkshire pudding and then travelled on to Whitby.
Whitby is a very popular coastal town in Yorkshire. It has plenty of narrow little streets full of shops and is famous for its fish and chips. The town was absolutley packed today so we just had a quick look around and then headed to Scarborough.
Scarborough is the town that Simon and Garfunckle sing about in "Scarborough Fair". In medieval times Scarborough was famous for a 45 day long market held every year in August. Merchants from all over the world would come here to trade goods. Today it has a promenade lined with arcade galleries, shops, icecream parlours and fish and chip shops. It is a very pretty town.
After an enjoyable day we headed back to York and tomorrow we will head to London for our last 2 days in the UK before we fly to Hong Kong. We have 3 nights in Hong Kong and arrive back in Sydney on the 8th July.
Hopefully I will get one more blog done before we get home but for now some more pics and I will catch up soon.
Hi all
Well we arrived in Cairnryan on the 27th to a beautiful Scottish afternoon. We decided to drive to Ayr about an hour up the coast and spend the night there. It was really beautiful driving along the coastline. Scotland has loads of golf clubs, many of them quite famous and very proper!! We came across the Turnberry Golf Club which was established in 1901 by a golf pro from the very famous Royal Troon Golf Club. We must have arrived just at the right time as there was a bagpiper playing on the steps of the club house....very entertaining and a nice introduction to Scotland.
The following morning we awoke to a not so nice day! It was very overcast and cold. We headed off into the Scottish Highlands and on to Inverness to see Loch Ness and of course the Loch Ness Monster. The drive through the highlands was amazing. The low cloud and the very green mountains were spectacular. We stopped briefly at Loch Lomond for a look around but by then it was raining so we werent there long, just long enough for a few quick snaps.
We arrived late in the afternoon at Drumnadrochit, a little village on the shores of Loch Ness. We were hoping to get accommodation here but unfortunately everything was full so we travelled on to Inverness for the night.
Thankfully, the next day was lovely and sunny. A great day to go out on the Loch in search of Nessie. We took a 1 hr cruise of the Loch, passing the ruins of Urqhart Castle along the way.
Loch Ness is very deep and the water a very deep, dark colour( due to the high peet content in surrounding soil) and on that morning it was like a sheet of glass. After the cruise we visited the souvenir shop where Mark tried out a few different hats...I think he is considering a change of image. Check out the photos and let him know what you think.
So did we see Nessie? Well I will post a couple of photos and you can decide for yourself!!
That afternoon we has planned to travel down as far as Edinburgh to have a night there and explore the city the next day. Unfortunately the weather really started to close in again and by the time we reached our destination the rain was unbelievable. The forecast for the next few days was not good, and as we had limited time left, we decided to keep driving all the way to our next stop which was York in England. We were hoping the weather might be a bit better so we could make the most of our last few days.
We arrived quite late in the evening, had a good nights sleep and woke to a much better day. We headed off into York for a walk down an area of town known as The Shambles. This is the oldest street in Yorkshire and dates way back to the 15th century. This street today is filled with teahouses and lovely little shops but it was once home to more than 26 butcher shops. For someone like me who loves history it is just amazing to see the old two story houses, so crooked that they almost meet in the middle of the street.
After the Shambles we walked through the town and on to Clifford tower, which is the ruins of the keep of a medieval Norman Castle. By this time, as is normal in England, the weather had turned again so we had a quick tour through, walked the wall and took a few photos.
Today we decided to take a drive through the North Yorkshire Moors and on to Whitby and Scarborough on the coast. I have to admit to not really knowing what a moor is until today. I was quite surprised to find it is a large expanse of uncultivated shrubland that in North Yorkshire is covered in Heather. At this time of the year it is just starting to bloom but apparently by mid July it is in full bloom and the moors are an explosion of purple.
We stopped in a little town called Goathland along the way to check out the old steam train that runs along this line. The station is very old but really pretty. It is actually the Hogsmead Station out of one of the Harry Potter movies and also features in other British programs like Heartbeat.
We had a traditional Sunday lunch while we were in Goathland, complete with Yorkshire pudding and then travelled on to Whitby.
Whitby is a very popular coastal town in Yorkshire. It has plenty of narrow little streets full of shops and is famous for its fish and chips. The town was absolutley packed today so we just had a quick look around and then headed to Scarborough.
Scarborough is the town that Simon and Garfunckle sing about in "Scarborough Fair". In medieval times Scarborough was famous for a 45 day long market held every year in August. Merchants from all over the world would come here to trade goods. Today it has a promenade lined with arcade galleries, shops, icecream parlours and fish and chip shops. It is a very pretty town.
After an enjoyable day we headed back to York and tomorrow we will head to London for our last 2 days in the UK before we fly to Hong Kong. We have 3 nights in Hong Kong and arrive back in Sydney on the 8th July.
Hopefully I will get one more blog done before we get home but for now some more pics and I will catch up soon.
The Scotish countryside
The Scottish Seaside
As above
A sign as we left one small Scottish town
The Turnberry Golf Club
The Scottish Highlands
and the Loch's
The low cloud was amazing
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Em on the search for Nessie!
The ruins of Urqhart Castle
Nessie????????????
The boat we took out on the Loch
Em dips her toes in Loch Ness
Em with Nessie
Mark tries out a new look!!
A true Scotsman
The Shambles in York
As above
As above
Em in front of Cliffords Tower
Part of York from the tower
The North Yorkshire Moors
Just thought this sheep was cute
The Goathland Railway Station
As above
As above
And again!!
This carte actually appears in Harry Potter!
The ruins of Whitby Abbey
The town of Whitby
These people are fishing for soft shell crabs!!
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