Hi everyone,
Well, home at last! It's been a week and I am still recovering, from jetlag and a weekend wedding in Queensland!
Just to catch up with all that Lyndal and I did since my last blog - in Bristol and in London and also I realise looking back on my blogs, I didn't even tell you about our time on PEI!
First to PEI - where Lyndal and I flew after we left Glenn in Toronto. It was really a wonderful experience to see all the well known sights to those who have read the "Anne of Green Gables" series. We saw all the places L. M. Montgomery was associated with that were used in her novels. We spent 2 nights here then flew out to New York and on to England.
Bristol - we had a wonderful 3 days with Narelle. She borrowed a friend's car and drove us on Saturday to Bath, which I had been to but Lyndal hadn't. We had morning tea in the Pump Room, not a cream tea, unfortunately, but still very nice. Later, we went on to Laycock, a very interesting National Trust village used as the village of Meriton, in "Pride and Prejudice", for all you Jane Austen buffs. Then we went a bit further north to a village called Luckington, where Narelle had discovered the house used for filming in "Pride and Prejudice". Next day we went to church with Narelle, which was really a great time of fellowship with other Christians. Then, we went down to the docks area of Bristol for lunch at a nice pub, then walked round to the SS "Great Britain". What a fascinating ship that has been so well restored (spent about 2 hours here).
Next morning Lyndal and I caught a taxi to take us to the Bus station to catch the London bus at 11 a.m. Got to London at 2:00 p.m. Had to catch the underground from Victoria to Gloucester Rd., which was a nightmare - lugging a heavy suitcase up and down stairs and then when we got to our appartment we found that our room was on the top floor, up 4 flights of stairs! We did some food shopping as our appt. had cooking facilities, but got take-away Indian as we were too exhausted to cook!
Next morning it was raining so we decided to do some indoor things. We walked to the V. & A. Museum which was just 2 blocks up the main road, then walked another 2 blocks to Harrods and had some retail therapy there! Really creepy shrine to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayad on the 1st floor near the escalators - lots of people looking at this. Had a late lunch then back to our appt. for a rest and some toasted sandwiches for tea.
We bought tickets on the "Big Bus" which had a stop round the corner from us in Gloucester Rd. So stayed on the bus till it got to the London Eye and we got off and went and queued for about an hour to get on that. Then we walked over the river and up to Trafalgar Square and then back down to Westminster Abbey, which I hadn't seen on my last visit to London in 2004. Lots of history here! Back on the "Big Bus" to Gloucester Rd. and dinner at what we thought was a fish and chip cafe but turned into a fancy restaurant at night (nice meal, though very expensive).
Next day was fine but a there was a chill in the air in the morning. Used our "Big Bus" 2 day ticket to get to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. We got a really good position near the main gate where they marched out of at the end of the ceremony. After this we walked around to the Royal Mews beside the Palace and had a tour of that, then picked up the bus again to go to the Tower of London. Unfortunately we were too late for a Beefeater guided tour so we decided to come back the next day. We went on the ferry back to Westminster Bridge which was included in the price of our bus ticket. By now it was getting late so we just caught the tube back to Gloucester Road, as it would have taken too long in the bus.
On Friday we got the tube to Leicester Square to get our 1/2 price tickets for a West End show, but, as with New York we couldn't get in to see what we wanted so had to settle for "Chicago". The tickets weren't cheap either - about $90! We caught the train back to the Tower and did the tour there - had some lunch here, then back on the tube again to Oxford St. for some shopping (crowds of people here). Our show was at 4:30 so we went back to the West End for our show which was pretty disappointing. Sat next to some Aussies, though. By the time we got back to our hotel we were pretty tired, so just eggs and toast for tea and an early night.
Saturday morning was a lazy time of just doing some laundry, posting back parcels to Australia and starting to pack. After lunch we went to the National Gallery - saw some wonderful paintings there, then back to our hotel and the internet cafe to do some emailing, then had a nice meal at a local restaurant (we were really spoilt for choice in our area).
Our last day in London, and we decided to go to Hillsong church at the "Dominion" Theatre in Tottenham Court Road right near the underground station. So we did that which was good to be with other Christians in London. Back to our hotel to have some lunch then pack up and wait for our shuttle bus to take us to Heathrow airport for our 9:30 p.m. flight home.
Got home at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday - boy was it good to be back home!
That's all till next year when Glenn wants to go back to Louisville, Kentucky for the National Quartet Convention!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
re.Paris, Bristol and London
Hi everyone,
Well, it is nearly our last day in London. I can't believe we are flying home tomorrow. We had a hectic 2 days in Paris - did a lot of walking and saw a lot of things including on the first day:- Le Louvre (all morning), Musee des Decoratif, walked along the Seine to Notre Dame then a river cruise to relax and see some more sights. We had dinner around the corner from our hotel which was in a great position (near the Metro), but very small. Next day we caught the metro to the lower end of the Champs Elysees and walked along looking and drooling at all the famous shops. Went over to the Arc de Triomphe then caught the train to Sacre Coeur which I hadn't seen before. It was very interesting because they were celebrating mass and the nuns were singing. Hawkers selling rip-off goods were everywhere out the front and we were accosted by them all the time. Then, there was a bit of excitement while were having coffee down below the Sacre Coeur, a police van drove up and out jumped all the gendarmes and they started chasing the hawkers and started arresting them and putting them in the van. Just like it was a T.V. show! So, after that bit of entertainment we went off to the Eiffel Tower to go up the top. But it had been cloudy and foggy all day so we decided to walk around to the Rodin Museum - that took longer than we thought it would, so we caught the train after going through it back to the Eiffel Tower. It was still a bit cloudy but we went to the top anyway. Back to the hotel where we just bought some takeaway to eat back in our hotel room and collapse into bed, as we had to get up early next morning to get our plane back to Bristol. Plane was half an hour late leaving as it was very foggy at C. de Gaulle airport.
When we got to Bristol we caught a taxi to Narelle's and left our bags there while we had a fruitless search for some historic houses which were both closed on Friday! We had a look at Bristol Cathedral instead and then caught the bus back to Narelle's where she was waiting to greet us.
Next instalment will have to wait till we get home.
Love, Merilyn
Well, it is nearly our last day in London. I can't believe we are flying home tomorrow. We had a hectic 2 days in Paris - did a lot of walking and saw a lot of things including on the first day:- Le Louvre (all morning), Musee des Decoratif, walked along the Seine to Notre Dame then a river cruise to relax and see some more sights. We had dinner around the corner from our hotel which was in a great position (near the Metro), but very small. Next day we caught the metro to the lower end of the Champs Elysees and walked along looking and drooling at all the famous shops. Went over to the Arc de Triomphe then caught the train to Sacre Coeur which I hadn't seen before. It was very interesting because they were celebrating mass and the nuns were singing. Hawkers selling rip-off goods were everywhere out the front and we were accosted by them all the time. Then, there was a bit of excitement while were having coffee down below the Sacre Coeur, a police van drove up and out jumped all the gendarmes and they started chasing the hawkers and started arresting them and putting them in the van. Just like it was a T.V. show! So, after that bit of entertainment we went off to the Eiffel Tower to go up the top. But it had been cloudy and foggy all day so we decided to walk around to the Rodin Museum - that took longer than we thought it would, so we caught the train after going through it back to the Eiffel Tower. It was still a bit cloudy but we went to the top anyway. Back to the hotel where we just bought some takeaway to eat back in our hotel room and collapse into bed, as we had to get up early next morning to get our plane back to Bristol. Plane was half an hour late leaving as it was very foggy at C. de Gaulle airport.
When we got to Bristol we caught a taxi to Narelle's and left our bags there while we had a fruitless search for some historic houses which were both closed on Friday! We had a look at Bristol Cathedral instead and then caught the bus back to Narelle's where she was waiting to greet us.
Next instalment will have to wait till we get home.
Love, Merilyn
Saturday, October 13, 2007
re. catching-up at Narelle's
Hi everyone,
Sorry it has been so long between blogs! Thanks for the comments - I'm glad someone is reading these.
Well, back to our travels; I have to consult my diary to remember everything we have done in the last 2 weeks. We had a good time in Stratford-on-Avon - did all the tourist things plus went to a performance of "Twelfth Night" on the night we stayed there. Next day we went on to Warwick Castle (all morning there), then on to Stoke-on-Trent to visit the Wedgewood Pottery Works to do a tour of the factory (fascinating). Next day it was up to the Lakes District for our 2 days there. By now the sun had come out so we were really pleased about that. Had a boat ride on Lake Windermere which was really beautiful.
On Saturday, after our visit to "Hilltop", Beatrix Potter's farm near Sawrey, we went East towards the Yorkshire Dales and Haworth, where the Bronte sisters lived in the Parsonage. Our B. & B. here was run by a lovely, friendly Christian couple who had lived in Perth for 20 years. So, that made us feel right at home!
Next day, it was off again West, to Wales and Welshpool where we visited Powis Castle. Next day it was on to Hay-on-Wye where we spent a very leisurely 3 or 4 hours wandering around the book shops and antique shops. Could have spent lots of money here - but no room in my suitcase for too much more. We had to stop in Abergavenny the next day to post all our purchases back to Australia. Probably won't get back there till after we get home!
Tuesday we drove to Bristol Airport where we dropped off the car (in one piece - no dints). We got there too early and had to wait fo about 5 hours for the plane to Paris.
I might leave the trip to Paris for my next blog.
Love from, Merilyn and Lyndal
Sorry it has been so long between blogs! Thanks for the comments - I'm glad someone is reading these.
Well, back to our travels; I have to consult my diary to remember everything we have done in the last 2 weeks. We had a good time in Stratford-on-Avon - did all the tourist things plus went to a performance of "Twelfth Night" on the night we stayed there. Next day we went on to Warwick Castle (all morning there), then on to Stoke-on-Trent to visit the Wedgewood Pottery Works to do a tour of the factory (fascinating). Next day it was up to the Lakes District for our 2 days there. By now the sun had come out so we were really pleased about that. Had a boat ride on Lake Windermere which was really beautiful.
On Saturday, after our visit to "Hilltop", Beatrix Potter's farm near Sawrey, we went East towards the Yorkshire Dales and Haworth, where the Bronte sisters lived in the Parsonage. Our B. & B. here was run by a lovely, friendly Christian couple who had lived in Perth for 20 years. So, that made us feel right at home!
Next day, it was off again West, to Wales and Welshpool where we visited Powis Castle. Next day it was on to Hay-on-Wye where we spent a very leisurely 3 or 4 hours wandering around the book shops and antique shops. Could have spent lots of money here - but no room in my suitcase for too much more. We had to stop in Abergavenny the next day to post all our purchases back to Australia. Probably won't get back there till after we get home!
Tuesday we drove to Bristol Airport where we dropped off the car (in one piece - no dints). We got there too early and had to wait fo about 5 hours for the plane to Paris.
I might leave the trip to Paris for my next blog.
Love from, Merilyn and Lyndal
Thursday, October 4, 2007
re. Niagara Falls, PEI and UK
Hi everyone,
Well finally I have been able to get to blog again. You must have been wondering what had happened. Is anyone reading these? I would like some feedback, if you are getting these blogs. Liz or Lois did you read the comments because I asked for a reply?
Niagara Falls was absolutely amazing - we had a fantastic hotel with an amazing view of the falls from our room. Unfortunately, the weather was damp but that didn't matter when we went for the boat ride under the falls because we all got wet! Though notso much with our rain ponchos on. Glenn left us in Toronto - he flew back to LA and then back to Sydney. Lyndal and I flew on to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, which is where I sent the last email from.
Left PEI on Sunday and flew to Halifax, then on to LaGuardia and a transfer over to Kennedy for our flight to England. Had to wait here for 4 1/2 hours for this flight. I never slept a wink and it was very cramped. It took over an hour for the plane to taxi out onto the runway! Arrived in Heathrow at 6:30 am to a very grey and showery day! Picked up the hire and car and took off for Oxford. Managed to find our way there alright.
Raining all day for our day in Oxford, but managed to go on mainly tours inside - Christchurch College (students were moving in for the new term), Bodleian Library, and just looking around. Found our B. & B which was really nice and I was exhausted and ready for bed then!
Next day we took off for Stratford-on-Avon, took us about 1 hour to get there. The roundabouts and signage is crazy here(we've managed to get lost a few times).
I will have to leave it there as my time is almost used up - I am using a computer at the Library in Windermere. We are here for 2 days so I might do some more blogging tomorrow.
Merilyn
Well finally I have been able to get to blog again. You must have been wondering what had happened. Is anyone reading these? I would like some feedback, if you are getting these blogs. Liz or Lois did you read the comments because I asked for a reply?
Niagara Falls was absolutely amazing - we had a fantastic hotel with an amazing view of the falls from our room. Unfortunately, the weather was damp but that didn't matter when we went for the boat ride under the falls because we all got wet! Though notso much with our rain ponchos on. Glenn left us in Toronto - he flew back to LA and then back to Sydney. Lyndal and I flew on to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, which is where I sent the last email from.
Left PEI on Sunday and flew to Halifax, then on to LaGuardia and a transfer over to Kennedy for our flight to England. Had to wait here for 4 1/2 hours for this flight. I never slept a wink and it was very cramped. It took over an hour for the plane to taxi out onto the runway! Arrived in Heathrow at 6:30 am to a very grey and showery day! Picked up the hire and car and took off for Oxford. Managed to find our way there alright.
Raining all day for our day in Oxford, but managed to go on mainly tours inside - Christchurch College (students were moving in for the new term), Bodleian Library, and just looking around. Found our B. & B which was really nice and I was exhausted and ready for bed then!
Next day we took off for Stratford-on-Avon, took us about 1 hour to get there. The roundabouts and signage is crazy here(we've managed to get lost a few times).
I will have to leave it there as my time is almost used up - I am using a computer at the Library in Windermere. We are here for 2 days so I might do some more blogging tomorrow.
Merilyn
Saturday, September 29, 2007
re. New York
Hi again,
What can I say about New York - it's everything we expected; lots of people, noisy, dirty and crazy people! The subways are dirty and old, but they are the quickest way to get from one end to the other. Except on Sunday, when we wanted to go down to the ferry, they were doing track work were'nt they? We got on the Staten Island Ferry to travel free past the Statue of Liberty and then back again. The day was perfect - blue skies and quite a cool breeze on the harbour. It had rained on Saturday so it was a bit cooler. A crazy system when got to Staten Island everyone had to get off the ferry, walk around the wharf and get back on again - crazy! At Battery Park we got on the London double decker for the tour of Manhattan, which was good - hopped off at the Rockefeller Centre and went up to the top. Great pictures of Empire State Building from here. Had some lunch here and then went to Grand Central Station, then picked up the bus again and went on around the Lower Manhattan area and hopped off at Central Park and walked through back to our Apartment.
Next day we walked from the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked half way across and back again. It was quite warm today. Caught the subway back to Times Square where Glenn got off to queue for our Broadway tickets while Lyndal and I went on to the MoMA. That was really great saw lots of famous paintings and Jane Fonda! She was just wandering around like any other art lover with a group of people. No one bothered her, so I guess New Yorkers are pretty blase about celebrities. While we were on the bus they got re-routed because of the Iranian President visiting the UN. There were lots of police around too. Had to meet Glenn back at Times Square because he couldn't get the tickets till 3 pm. So we waited there and got tickets for "Phantom of the Opera" that night (they were half price). We got back to Times Square about an hour before the show started and found that half of Broadway had been blocked off with seating in front of the big screens and they were broadcasting the opera live from the Met. and it was free. So, we sat down and watched the opera for half an hour! It was "Lucia di Lammamor" (sorry if I've spelt it wrong for all you opera buffs). So, going to a musical was a bit of come-down from that ! But it was really great. Not as good as the Aust. production though.
Our last day in New York was spent shopping for Lyndal and I, while Glenn did our washing and lay around the apartment watching TV. We went out to our local supermarket for tea! Yes there was a really expensive restaurant above the local supermarket. Had a really nice meal though.
I will continue on with our adventures, later, in case someone is wanting to use the internet.
Love, Merilyn
What can I say about New York - it's everything we expected; lots of people, noisy, dirty and crazy people! The subways are dirty and old, but they are the quickest way to get from one end to the other. Except on Sunday, when we wanted to go down to the ferry, they were doing track work were'nt they? We got on the Staten Island Ferry to travel free past the Statue of Liberty and then back again. The day was perfect - blue skies and quite a cool breeze on the harbour. It had rained on Saturday so it was a bit cooler. A crazy system when got to Staten Island everyone had to get off the ferry, walk around the wharf and get back on again - crazy! At Battery Park we got on the London double decker for the tour of Manhattan, which was good - hopped off at the Rockefeller Centre and went up to the top. Great pictures of Empire State Building from here. Had some lunch here and then went to Grand Central Station, then picked up the bus again and went on around the Lower Manhattan area and hopped off at Central Park and walked through back to our Apartment.
Next day we walked from the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked half way across and back again. It was quite warm today. Caught the subway back to Times Square where Glenn got off to queue for our Broadway tickets while Lyndal and I went on to the MoMA. That was really great saw lots of famous paintings and Jane Fonda! She was just wandering around like any other art lover with a group of people. No one bothered her, so I guess New Yorkers are pretty blase about celebrities. While we were on the bus they got re-routed because of the Iranian President visiting the UN. There were lots of police around too. Had to meet Glenn back at Times Square because he couldn't get the tickets till 3 pm. So we waited there and got tickets for "Phantom of the Opera" that night (they were half price). We got back to Times Square about an hour before the show started and found that half of Broadway had been blocked off with seating in front of the big screens and they were broadcasting the opera live from the Met. and it was free. So, we sat down and watched the opera for half an hour! It was "Lucia di Lammamor" (sorry if I've spelt it wrong for all you opera buffs). So, going to a musical was a bit of come-down from that ! But it was really great. Not as good as the Aust. production though.
Our last day in New York was spent shopping for Lyndal and I, while Glenn did our washing and lay around the apartment watching TV. We went out to our local supermarket for tea! Yes there was a really expensive restaurant above the local supermarket. Had a really nice meal though.
I will continue on with our adventures, later, in case someone is wanting to use the internet.
Love, Merilyn
Friday, September 28, 2007
re. update USA
Hi All,
Well finally I am able to access a computer with free internet! Here we are in Canada ie Lyndal and I. Glenn is now on his way home to Oz. He left us at Toronto Airport today and we flew on here to Prince Edward Island (from here on known as PEI).
Last time I blogged was in New Orleans, I think. Yes I just looked and we were about to go on the riverboat cruise, which was a disappointment as we just we down river past all the industrial areas. Next day was more interesting when we went on a swamp and bayou trip - saw lots of alligators. The captain would entice them up to the boat with marshmallows would you believe! We had some really great food in New Orleans the best we had had so far.
On Thursday we flew out of New Orleans for New York. We arrived at about 6:30 pm but had to wait for a shuttle bus to take us to our appartment in the Upper West Side. Boy, that trip was an experience with the bus (hardly a mini-bus) dropping everyone else off at their hotels - took about 1 hour to get in. Our appartment was in a great location - just off Broadway in W 73rdSt. Heaps of restaurants and shops. It was very small though.
Friday we spent not doing much - washing and sleeping and going for a walk along the river (2 blocks away). Saturday morning we walked up to the New York Historical Museum and then across the road from there to go for a walk in Central Park. Then off on the Subway to meet Lyndal at JFK airport at 5:30 pm Took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there!
I just need to get my diary, so I will continue this tomorrow.
Merilyn
Well finally I am able to access a computer with free internet! Here we are in Canada ie Lyndal and I. Glenn is now on his way home to Oz. He left us at Toronto Airport today and we flew on here to Prince Edward Island (from here on known as PEI).
Last time I blogged was in New Orleans, I think. Yes I just looked and we were about to go on the riverboat cruise, which was a disappointment as we just we down river past all the industrial areas. Next day was more interesting when we went on a swamp and bayou trip - saw lots of alligators. The captain would entice them up to the boat with marshmallows would you believe! We had some really great food in New Orleans the best we had had so far.
On Thursday we flew out of New Orleans for New York. We arrived at about 6:30 pm but had to wait for a shuttle bus to take us to our appartment in the Upper West Side. Boy, that trip was an experience with the bus (hardly a mini-bus) dropping everyone else off at their hotels - took about 1 hour to get in. Our appartment was in a great location - just off Broadway in W 73rdSt. Heaps of restaurants and shops. It was very small though.
Friday we spent not doing much - washing and sleeping and going for a walk along the river (2 blocks away). Saturday morning we walked up to the New York Historical Museum and then across the road from there to go for a walk in Central Park. Then off on the Subway to meet Lyndal at JFK airport at 5:30 pm Took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there!
I just need to get my diary, so I will continue this tomorrow.
Merilyn
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
re. train to New Orleans
Hi everyone,
Well here we are in New Orleans.
The train trip from Memphis was great even though we had an early start from Memphis - 5:30 am to catch the train at 6:50 am. Fortunately it came in from Chicago half an hour early so we were able to hop on and find a seat (no allocated seating). The seats are very comfortable with plenty of leg-room and wide aisles. A tour group got on with us at Memphis, which included some Aussies, Kiwis and Pommies. We got waylaid by a very talkative Kiwi lady who gave us some tips for our stay in New York. We had lunch in the Dining car with some nice friendly Americans from Texas. The meal was good too. They knew about Southern Gospel Quartets, too! So we were able to compare our favourite groups.
The train arrived early into New Orleans (unheard of in Oz!) and we just had a short cab ride to our hotel in the French Quarter a block away from Bourbon Street, where we went out for dinner at a really nice restaurant called the "Red Fish Grill" (delicious seafood and very expensive). We are on the eleventh floor with a good view of the Mississippi River.
We walked to the Public Library this morning to use the Internet as the one in the hotel cost $1 for 6 minutes. It wasn't free here - $3 for one hour and we had to wait about 45 minutes to use it!
This afternoon we are going on a riverboat cruise
Love, Merilyn and Glenn
Well here we are in New Orleans.
The train trip from Memphis was great even though we had an early start from Memphis - 5:30 am to catch the train at 6:50 am. Fortunately it came in from Chicago half an hour early so we were able to hop on and find a seat (no allocated seating). The seats are very comfortable with plenty of leg-room and wide aisles. A tour group got on with us at Memphis, which included some Aussies, Kiwis and Pommies. We got waylaid by a very talkative Kiwi lady who gave us some tips for our stay in New York. We had lunch in the Dining car with some nice friendly Americans from Texas. The meal was good too. They knew about Southern Gospel Quartets, too! So we were able to compare our favourite groups.
The train arrived early into New Orleans (unheard of in Oz!) and we just had a short cab ride to our hotel in the French Quarter a block away from Bourbon Street, where we went out for dinner at a really nice restaurant called the "Red Fish Grill" (delicious seafood and very expensive). We are on the eleventh floor with a good view of the Mississippi River.
We walked to the Public Library this morning to use the Internet as the one in the hotel cost $1 for 6 minutes. It wasn't free here - $3 for one hour and we had to wait about 45 minutes to use it!
This afternoon we are going on a riverboat cruise
Love, Merilyn and Glenn
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