After the beach the other day, we all went up onto the cliff to have Ayurvedic massages. Delightful! The boys said theirs was more like a rubdown, but mine was pretty deep tissue. Different customs here as well, no modesty allowed as you do the whole thing without privacy towels or anything. Interesting.
After the massage we were all too mellowed out to go to yoga in the 100+ heat, so we grabbed our things and headed to a restaurant for a bite to eat and some cool refreshments. We spent the evening chilling out, in preps for another early yoga morning.
But alas, we slept through our alarms, so we grabbed some breakfast and then Ryan and I headed down to the beach while Oli braved a rickshaw on his own to town to get a haircut. When he returned with his very Indian hair, he hung out on the beach for a while as well, sipping coconuts and jumping in the waves. After we had all burnt a bit, we headed in for a shower and then Oli and I went to the tailors to get some more clothes done and to have the ones we had made in Madurai cut down to size. We found out that we had been totally and completely scammed before, ahhhhhhhhhhh the perils of travelling. We met up with Ryan and some friends he had made on the beach for some drinks, which turned into more, which turned into watching how the locals dance at the clubs- if it was a bit more in sync, they could have passed for a Bollywood film! Oli and I called it quits at 3, and headed off to bed. The following morning when I went to wake Ryan up, he had apparently just gotten in after dancing all night, swimming at dawn, and then a game of cricket on the beach with some locals. Never a dull day with Mr. Stern.
We grabbed a rickshaw to the train station, then a 30 minute train to Kollam. When we arrived, we threw our stuff down at the hotel, then headed to the jetty to signup for the backwater canoe trip. It left immediately, so we hopped in (another) rickshaw and headed out of town for 45 minutes, before we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere with 5 other Westerners. We were led to a tiny canal with a long boat, and we hunkered down for our afternoon tour.
The trip was amazing, as we were guided through tiny little canals along houses and tiny towns, where we got to see men building houseboats, prawn farms, and lots of children begging for pens. It was so quiet and serene for the most part, and all of the people were incredibly friendly. It was an amazing experience. After the tour, we grabbed some dinner on the way home(burgers, how lame of us!).
The following day, yesterday, was the hell day. We left at 9am, took 2 trains, a few rickshaws, and a bus, and after 11 hours of travel, made it here to Sulthan Bathery, where we found out that the animal reserve is currently closed. UGH. So today we are going to head out to Mysore to view the palace, and then hopefully had overnight to Hampi. Love and kisses!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
From sea to shining sea......
Namaste, faithful readers!
We last left you in Trichy, digesting a delicious curry. The following morning we woke up and were out the door by 7am, and on the bus downtown, to check out the Rock Fort Temple. Built on a rock (surprisingly), it towers over the short city and gives a 360 view of the area. Gorgeous! We discarded our flipflops and ascended the many stairs up to the first temple, which looked amazing but as we are not Hindu, we were denied entrance. On the second set of steps, Ryan cut his foot open on some broken glass, and while Oli played nurse with him, I jumped up and down at the sight of monkeys and played photo shoot. We continued up to the summit, and were greeted by a very nice Hindu who gave us candy, blessed our heads, posed for a photo, and stole Oli's special pen. We climbed back down to the street and hopped back on the bus to head to the outskirts of town to checkout some standing temples. Phenomenal towers of vibrant colors and carvings, the temples are scattered throughout all of India, and are all still in use. We wandered around taking photos and enjoying the local people watching before hopping on a bus back to the hotel. We had the best Indian breakfast ever, then grabbed our bags and headed 5 hours south to Madurai.
Madurai has a giant complex of temples, with dramatic carvings and paintings around every corner. The place was swarming at 7am when we took a look around, after being foiled the night before by mixed up directions and wardrobe issues. We wandered throughout the complex, feeling a bit awkward taking photos while the people around us worshipped. After the temple we had a bite to eat then headed to the bus station to head down to the tip of the country.
Three hours on a bus and we arrived at the end of the subcontinent- Cape Cormorin. Our main goal in this town was to watch the sun set and then rise over the same beach. The Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea all meet at this point, making this town a very spiritual retreat for Hindus. Rad! We checked in at our 350 Rupee hotel ($7 for 3 people)then rushed to the sunset point. We trekked a few kilometers and once we arrived, we were greeted with the beautiful Arabian sea and an overcast sky. Shoot! We headed back to town and had a delicious but cold dinner nearby. When we arrived back in our room, we discovered that Ryan's bed was absolutely covered in baby ants. We requested a change of room, but they dishonestly declared the hotel full and gave him a sheet to cover the bed . We were the only people on our entire floor! We slept in our sleep sheets and surprisingly had no more problems.
We woke up at 5 to make sure we could see the sunrise, which we could just view from the rooftop outside our room. Of course, we were foiled again by the clouds. Doesn't it figure? We slept a bit more then grabbed a big breakfast before we headed out towards Varkala. Two bumpy bus rides and 2 terrifying rickshaws later, we arrived in the beach side resort town and checked in to our lodgings. Starving, we grabbed a pizza and attempted to watch the sunset- clouds again. The boys went out to check out the local 'nightlife' while I did laundry and tried to enjoy some solitude, though at the restaurant next door some people decided to see who could make the best and loudest animal noises... for an hour. Boo.
Woke up for yoga today, but the instructor never showed up. Grabbed breakfast, and now we are headed for the beach!!
Love and kisses, miss you lots. BTW there is a pause in beer photos because we have been in dry areas, but thank you so much for the donations and we will put photos up asap! xoxo
We last left you in Trichy, digesting a delicious curry. The following morning we woke up and were out the door by 7am, and on the bus downtown, to check out the Rock Fort Temple. Built on a rock (surprisingly), it towers over the short city and gives a 360 view of the area. Gorgeous! We discarded our flipflops and ascended the many stairs up to the first temple, which looked amazing but as we are not Hindu, we were denied entrance. On the second set of steps, Ryan cut his foot open on some broken glass, and while Oli played nurse with him, I jumped up and down at the sight of monkeys and played photo shoot. We continued up to the summit, and were greeted by a very nice Hindu who gave us candy, blessed our heads, posed for a photo, and stole Oli's special pen. We climbed back down to the street and hopped back on the bus to head to the outskirts of town to checkout some standing temples. Phenomenal towers of vibrant colors and carvings, the temples are scattered throughout all of India, and are all still in use. We wandered around taking photos and enjoying the local people watching before hopping on a bus back to the hotel. We had the best Indian breakfast ever, then grabbed our bags and headed 5 hours south to Madurai.
Madurai has a giant complex of temples, with dramatic carvings and paintings around every corner. The place was swarming at 7am when we took a look around, after being foiled the night before by mixed up directions and wardrobe issues. We wandered throughout the complex, feeling a bit awkward taking photos while the people around us worshipped. After the temple we had a bite to eat then headed to the bus station to head down to the tip of the country.
Three hours on a bus and we arrived at the end of the subcontinent- Cape Cormorin. Our main goal in this town was to watch the sun set and then rise over the same beach. The Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea all meet at this point, making this town a very spiritual retreat for Hindus. Rad! We checked in at our 350 Rupee hotel ($7 for 3 people)then rushed to the sunset point. We trekked a few kilometers and once we arrived, we were greeted with the beautiful Arabian sea and an overcast sky. Shoot! We headed back to town and had a delicious but cold dinner nearby. When we arrived back in our room, we discovered that Ryan's bed was absolutely covered in baby ants. We requested a change of room, but they dishonestly declared the hotel full and gave him a sheet to cover the bed . We were the only people on our entire floor! We slept in our sleep sheets and surprisingly had no more problems.
We woke up at 5 to make sure we could see the sunrise, which we could just view from the rooftop outside our room. Of course, we were foiled again by the clouds. Doesn't it figure? We slept a bit more then grabbed a big breakfast before we headed out towards Varkala. Two bumpy bus rides and 2 terrifying rickshaws later, we arrived in the beach side resort town and checked in to our lodgings. Starving, we grabbed a pizza and attempted to watch the sunset- clouds again. The boys went out to check out the local 'nightlife' while I did laundry and tried to enjoy some solitude, though at the restaurant next door some people decided to see who could make the best and loudest animal noises... for an hour. Boo.
Woke up for yoga today, but the instructor never showed up. Grabbed breakfast, and now we are headed for the beach!!
Love and kisses, miss you lots. BTW there is a pause in beer photos because we have been in dry areas, but thank you so much for the donations and we will put photos up asap! xoxo
Time for some visual updates.
We have finally found a competent internet cafe so we are able to share the last months worth of photographic evidence with you all.
To start, more England:
Then, our 1st glimpses of India with the photos from Mamallapuram:
And to get up to date with the blog, Trichy and Pondicherry:
More pics to come with the next update, enjoy!!
To start, more England:
Then, our 1st glimpses of India with the photos from Mamallapuram:
And to get up to date with the blog, Trichy and Pondicherry:
More pics to come with the next update, enjoy!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Barefoot and pregnant.....
Not us though... just lots of the people we see. And those who aren't pregnant are still definitely barefoot. It's amazing, seeing as we still have to do a sort of dance in the street to dodge cowpies, dog doo, and other unmentionables. Ahhh the brave locals!
So, last I left off, we were taking the 2 hour bus ride at 7am to Mamallapuram. What a wake up call! Well, for Ryan anyway. Oli and I conked out on the bus pretty quickly, and awoke to a mad dash to exit the bus in a small little village. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied some stone carvings... we had arrived! We grabbed out bags and headed out into the chaos. Immediately a tout latched onto us and tried to get us to come see his guesthouse, but we cunningly told him we had reservations and were meeting friends. He pointed us in the right direction (score!)and off we wandered, a bit shell shocked from the past 24 (or 36?) hours of travel. We found the place, a small little guesthouse run by a friendly man named Xavier, and he showed us to the room. Decent enough, for less than $4 each! We threw down our bags and looked at the clock.. 9:30am. Damn, we couldn't just pass out like we wanted to! We locked up and headed down to the beach, just a block and a half away down the dirt road.
Mamallapuram was hit pretty hard by the 2004 tsunami, and it was easy to see that they had begun to recover but that there is still lots of work to be done. Rubble litters the streets, and children run out of decrepit buildings begging for change, while piles of rubbish burn in the alleys. Cows swarm the roads, followed by goats and dogs. This is pretty typical of India as we have now gathered, but the rubble bit was definitely aftermath of the disaster.
The beach was strewn with fishing nets and boats, and we wove our way to the beach to dip our toes in the water. Delightfully warm! We then headed over to the Shore Temple, which we discovered was completely shut off by a metal fence, and we decided to leave that for later. Feeling pleased that we had at least ventured out, we stopped at a little cafe to have some pancakes, then headed back to the room for a short nap. Fast forward to 5pm- ahhh we overslept! Jetlag is harsh. We attempted to make sense of everything and set out once again, basically just wandering the streets until dark, then finding ourselves at the restaurant above our place having another delicious meal (this is a recurring theme- the food has been outstanding). Off to bed after watching Slumdog Millionaire on Ryan's iPhone.
Yesterday morning we woke up, headed out to see the Five Rathas, a group of stone carvings that were uncovered by the Brits 200 years ago. They each (apparently) resemble a wooden caravan of some sort. Lots of schoolchildren who were delighted to see some white people, especially one with shockingly red hair! We then ventured up to a hilltop monument to see over the entire town (a whole 2k people!), before heading down to the Shore temple for a quick wander. A local family asked us to take a photo with their teenage daughter- random!
We grabbed our bags and hopped on the next bus to Pondicherry- 2 hours south but still on the coast. More chaotic driving, interesting people watching, and varying landscapes. We decided to walk from the bus station in Pondicherry to our guesthouse, grabbing some samosas on the way. The guesthouse was full, and the next place was far overpriced, so we trekked back around town until we found the International Guest House- basically the same price as the night before but with private bathroom! We went on a walking tour (led by Oli) where we saw a poor elephant being poked with a stick, visited a tomb in an ashram, walked along the promenade by the bay, took pix of the Gandhi statue, wandered through a food fair, walked through the local park, and then grabbed dinner at a pretty great place! Early to bed, early to rise!
This morning we slept in until 9ish, stopped by the bakery for some treats, then hopped on the 5 hour bus ride to Trichy. We arrived in the afternoon, with Oli feeling poorly, so the boys napped while I read, and then Ryan and I wandered around this part of town before grabbing some dinner (mmmm paneer butter masala and garlic naan!). And that's the news!
Hope life is swell for all you readers. We are (unexplicably) enjoying India to the fullest! If you have any advice, or know anyone you can scam some advice off of, please let us know. Lonely Planet is a blessing and a curse! oxoxoxo
So, last I left off, we were taking the 2 hour bus ride at 7am to Mamallapuram. What a wake up call! Well, for Ryan anyway. Oli and I conked out on the bus pretty quickly, and awoke to a mad dash to exit the bus in a small little village. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied some stone carvings... we had arrived! We grabbed out bags and headed out into the chaos. Immediately a tout latched onto us and tried to get us to come see his guesthouse, but we cunningly told him we had reservations and were meeting friends. He pointed us in the right direction (score!)and off we wandered, a bit shell shocked from the past 24 (or 36?) hours of travel. We found the place, a small little guesthouse run by a friendly man named Xavier, and he showed us to the room. Decent enough, for less than $4 each! We threw down our bags and looked at the clock.. 9:30am. Damn, we couldn't just pass out like we wanted to! We locked up and headed down to the beach, just a block and a half away down the dirt road.
Mamallapuram was hit pretty hard by the 2004 tsunami, and it was easy to see that they had begun to recover but that there is still lots of work to be done. Rubble litters the streets, and children run out of decrepit buildings begging for change, while piles of rubbish burn in the alleys. Cows swarm the roads, followed by goats and dogs. This is pretty typical of India as we have now gathered, but the rubble bit was definitely aftermath of the disaster.
The beach was strewn with fishing nets and boats, and we wove our way to the beach to dip our toes in the water. Delightfully warm! We then headed over to the Shore Temple, which we discovered was completely shut off by a metal fence, and we decided to leave that for later. Feeling pleased that we had at least ventured out, we stopped at a little cafe to have some pancakes, then headed back to the room for a short nap. Fast forward to 5pm- ahhh we overslept! Jetlag is harsh. We attempted to make sense of everything and set out once again, basically just wandering the streets until dark, then finding ourselves at the restaurant above our place having another delicious meal (this is a recurring theme- the food has been outstanding). Off to bed after watching Slumdog Millionaire on Ryan's iPhone.
Yesterday morning we woke up, headed out to see the Five Rathas, a group of stone carvings that were uncovered by the Brits 200 years ago. They each (apparently) resemble a wooden caravan of some sort. Lots of schoolchildren who were delighted to see some white people, especially one with shockingly red hair! We then ventured up to a hilltop monument to see over the entire town (a whole 2k people!), before heading down to the Shore temple for a quick wander. A local family asked us to take a photo with their teenage daughter- random!
We grabbed our bags and hopped on the next bus to Pondicherry- 2 hours south but still on the coast. More chaotic driving, interesting people watching, and varying landscapes. We decided to walk from the bus station in Pondicherry to our guesthouse, grabbing some samosas on the way. The guesthouse was full, and the next place was far overpriced, so we trekked back around town until we found the International Guest House- basically the same price as the night before but with private bathroom! We went on a walking tour (led by Oli) where we saw a poor elephant being poked with a stick, visited a tomb in an ashram, walked along the promenade by the bay, took pix of the Gandhi statue, wandered through a food fair, walked through the local park, and then grabbed dinner at a pretty great place! Early to bed, early to rise!
This morning we slept in until 9ish, stopped by the bakery for some treats, then hopped on the 5 hour bus ride to Trichy. We arrived in the afternoon, with Oli feeling poorly, so the boys napped while I read, and then Ryan and I wandered around this part of town before grabbing some dinner (mmmm paneer butter masala and garlic naan!). And that's the news!
Hope life is swell for all you readers. We are (unexplicably) enjoying India to the fullest! If you have any advice, or know anyone you can scam some advice off of, please let us know. Lonely Planet is a blessing and a curse! oxoxoxo
Sunday, March 22, 2009
More...
After a very fun night with Tom and Catherine, including the most fabulous meal, we got on the tube to go to Nick's flat the following morning. We left there to go out sightseeing in London, something that I had not done for years. We saw the houses of Parliament, Big Bens, Westminster Abbey, No. 10 Downing St., Trafalgar Square and then to the Tower of London and the late night Jack the Ripper tour.
This was a lot of fun and was great to hear all of the facts about the case and then get to the theories ourselves. However, Jen was not impressed. We finished the evening with a good ol' English curry! Sunday followed with a trip to Harrods, and then to the V&A museum, we were able to make it out of here just in time to visit the Science Museum and go and play in the Launchpad area! Big kids!
We left London, leaving Ryan there for a few days and we were back of to stay at Nick's before meeting the folks again. We met them Monday morning in Burton-on-Trent, an old wool town not too far from home. We had another fun evening playing cards and having a "few drinks" before the pre-birthday birthday lunch on Tuesday.
We went to the Yew Tree, a Marco Pierre White establishment where we had the most fabulous meal (http://www.theyewtree.net/menus.php)! Thanks again Mum & Dad!! That evening we went and picked up Ryan from the station to start the influx of visitors to Wylye.... we went to the pub and ate Welsh Rarebit!
Okay, Jen taking over now.
So Wednesday we gave Ryan the classic Buchanan Salisbury tour, complete with multiple views of the Cathedral and numerous pints. We went back to Wylye for some more pints and a delicious dinner, and stayed up late chatting. Thursday was a mellow chill out day, with a few errands thrown in and some movie watching. Friday, trouble arrived from Vegas, by the name of Chrissi. We also had our old friend Mark train in from Eastbourne, and we started the prebirthday celebrations at the pub, followed by the most fantastic roast dinner, and more drinks.
Sunday (happy bday Oli!) we basically hung around until Nick arrived, then the boys minus Ryan killed some brain cells by playing guitar hero for hours on end, while Ryan, Chrissi and I went on a walk to the nearby village with James. We walked along the countryside, watching the sheep roam around, and found out the answers to such deep questions such as "What exactly IS thatch?" and "Who keeps these country paths so dang clean?!". Oh America, we must educate ourselves so we don't feel so silly asking such obvious questions!! Thanks James for tolerating us!
We ended up back at the house doing a bit of group band practice, passing around the mic and breaking some eardrums (poor Luce! sorry!), then it was time for a delicious paella and a surprise cake for Oli! It was in the shape of a pork pie, complete with pint of lager and pickled onions- it was eerie how lifelike the cake looked, though thankfully it didnt taste like pork. It was amazing! Well done Soz and Emma!
Then it was off to the pub for some drinkies before heading into Salisbury for the evening. I won't bore you with the details of our evening, but there was a heck of a crowd out there to celebrate, and we painted the town with lager. Seriously, that floor was lethal.
Sunday was a bit of a chill out day, watched a bit of Rubgy in the pub in Wylye, then off to bed at a reasonable time to head to Brighton for the next few days!!
Once again, details aside, Brighton was fab, a great mix of revisiting old haunts and memories and making new ones with some of our favorite people. Lovely! Wednesday we headed back to Wylye for out last evening there, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Thursday we were able to pick up some last minute supplies for our trip, and after a sad goodbye, we hopped on the train to Waterloo. Waterloo-tube-heathrow-Comfort Inn hotel. Bar food and bed, early morn! Check out- shuttle bus- 8am flight to Mumbai. Crappy plane but oh well! 5 hours in Mumbai airpirt, 2 cruddy meals later, we boarded our 3am flight to Chennai. MOSQUITOS EVERYWHERE; it was impossible to sit still in the plane until well after takeoff because of the swarms. Welcome to India!
We arrived in Chennai at 5am, emerged from the airport by 6, and were met by a sea of touts and rickshaw drivers. After a bit of chaos and frustration, we successfully found an atm and ended up in a legit cab to the bus station. Yet another sea of confusion, we found our way to the proper terminal and bay, and finally got on a bus to Mamallapuram at 7am. WOW. The lines in the road are strictly for show, as the buses are all over the place, dodging cows and motorbikes. Craziness! More soon my lovelies!
This was a lot of fun and was great to hear all of the facts about the case and then get to the theories ourselves. However, Jen was not impressed. We finished the evening with a good ol' English curry! Sunday followed with a trip to Harrods, and then to the V&A museum, we were able to make it out of here just in time to visit the Science Museum and go and play in the Launchpad area! Big kids!
We left London, leaving Ryan there for a few days and we were back of to stay at Nick's before meeting the folks again. We met them Monday morning in Burton-on-Trent, an old wool town not too far from home. We had another fun evening playing cards and having a "few drinks" before the pre-birthday birthday lunch on Tuesday.
We went to the Yew Tree, a Marco Pierre White establishment where we had the most fabulous meal (http://www.theyewtree.net/menus.php)! Thanks again Mum & Dad!! That evening we went and picked up Ryan from the station to start the influx of visitors to Wylye.... we went to the pub and ate Welsh Rarebit!
Okay, Jen taking over now.
So Wednesday we gave Ryan the classic Buchanan Salisbury tour, complete with multiple views of the Cathedral and numerous pints. We went back to Wylye for some more pints and a delicious dinner, and stayed up late chatting. Thursday was a mellow chill out day, with a few errands thrown in and some movie watching. Friday, trouble arrived from Vegas, by the name of Chrissi. We also had our old friend Mark train in from Eastbourne, and we started the prebirthday celebrations at the pub, followed by the most fantastic roast dinner, and more drinks.
Sunday (happy bday Oli!) we basically hung around until Nick arrived, then the boys minus Ryan killed some brain cells by playing guitar hero for hours on end, while Ryan, Chrissi and I went on a walk to the nearby village with James. We walked along the countryside, watching the sheep roam around, and found out the answers to such deep questions such as "What exactly IS thatch?" and "Who keeps these country paths so dang clean?!". Oh America, we must educate ourselves so we don't feel so silly asking such obvious questions!! Thanks James for tolerating us!
We ended up back at the house doing a bit of group band practice, passing around the mic and breaking some eardrums (poor Luce! sorry!), then it was time for a delicious paella and a surprise cake for Oli! It was in the shape of a pork pie, complete with pint of lager and pickled onions- it was eerie how lifelike the cake looked, though thankfully it didnt taste like pork. It was amazing! Well done Soz and Emma!
Then it was off to the pub for some drinkies before heading into Salisbury for the evening. I won't bore you with the details of our evening, but there was a heck of a crowd out there to celebrate, and we painted the town with lager. Seriously, that floor was lethal.
Sunday was a bit of a chill out day, watched a bit of Rubgy in the pub in Wylye, then off to bed at a reasonable time to head to Brighton for the next few days!!
Once again, details aside, Brighton was fab, a great mix of revisiting old haunts and memories and making new ones with some of our favorite people. Lovely! Wednesday we headed back to Wylye for out last evening there, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Thursday we were able to pick up some last minute supplies for our trip, and after a sad goodbye, we hopped on the train to Waterloo. Waterloo-tube-heathrow-Comfort Inn hotel. Bar food and bed, early morn! Check out- shuttle bus- 8am flight to Mumbai. Crappy plane but oh well! 5 hours in Mumbai airpirt, 2 cruddy meals later, we boarded our 3am flight to Chennai. MOSQUITOS EVERYWHERE; it was impossible to sit still in the plane until well after takeoff because of the swarms. Welcome to India!
We arrived in Chennai at 5am, emerged from the airport by 6, and were met by a sea of touts and rickshaw drivers. After a bit of chaos and frustration, we successfully found an atm and ended up in a legit cab to the bus station. Yet another sea of confusion, we found our way to the proper terminal and bay, and finally got on a bus to Mamallapuram at 7am. WOW. The lines in the road are strictly for show, as the buses are all over the place, dodging cows and motorbikes. Craziness! More soon my lovelies!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Back for more.....
So to continue....
We of course ended up a the village pub on our first night back and, to the hilarity of everyone, I got ID'd.... turns out I am 3 years older than the barman!! We went back after a few beers and enjoyed a delicious Chinese takeaway - how English! I was up early to give Dad a lift to his speed awareness class (naughty-naughty) and we ended up in Salisbury for a nice pub lunch and a wander around, with a little shopping thrown in too. After which we headed out of town to pick up Jamie with Mum. She was a little groggy after a nap and a bit of a handful, but it was great to see her school. We headed back home where we again enjoyed a few drinks at the pub and then a FABULOUS Thai meal that Dad cooked. It was delicious. After this, and a few more drinks we went off to bed as we were off to see Gran & Grampa in the morning.
We were off early for our 4 hr trip as planned and when we arrived in Duffield, as decided, Jen and I were left to see Keddleston Hall, a Manor house now owned in part by the National Trust. It is a classic example of such a house, with sprawling grounds, it's own church and large rooms throughout. Jen was very excited when we walked through the door and we realised that this played a big part in the filming of "The Duchess" and they had a special collection of costumes from the making of the movie.
After a wander around the house and ground we took the short drive to my Grandparents, which I hadn't been to in close to 8 years! It was great to see the house that I had done so much growing up in and wonderful to see them both again and show Jen around. After a nice bite to eat, cup of tea and conversation we left with the family for the hotel we were staying at nearby, where we were having dinner at later that evening.
The hotel was lovely, the room that Jen and I got was huge, with a giant bed and great bathroom.... such a change from our usual accommodation! We got ready for dinner and went down to the bar to join the family - 4 generations of Buchanans! We had a wonderful time with Gran & Grampa and after a lovely meal we retired for the night.
Thursdays agenda entailed us going back round to the Grandparents for light lunch and then back on the road for the journey, taking the long way home, through Gloucester, where I was born, so Jen could see my first house etc etc. We arrived back down south in time for us to meet Nick at a pub close by him, where we were to spend the night before heading to London in the morning.
It was nice to see Nick and Luce's house now that they had lived in it and we had a great night hanging out before they had to work in the morning and we headed to London in the early evening to go to Tom & Cat's and meet up with Ryan (from L.A.) too.
Again, it's time to leave, so we will regale you with more re-caps of the last few weeks soon, pictures to be included.
Bye!!
We of course ended up a the village pub on our first night back and, to the hilarity of everyone, I got ID'd.... turns out I am 3 years older than the barman!! We went back after a few beers and enjoyed a delicious Chinese takeaway - how English! I was up early to give Dad a lift to his speed awareness class (naughty-naughty) and we ended up in Salisbury for a nice pub lunch and a wander around, with a little shopping thrown in too. After which we headed out of town to pick up Jamie with Mum. She was a little groggy after a nap and a bit of a handful, but it was great to see her school. We headed back home where we again enjoyed a few drinks at the pub and then a FABULOUS Thai meal that Dad cooked. It was delicious. After this, and a few more drinks we went off to bed as we were off to see Gran & Grampa in the morning.
We were off early for our 4 hr trip as planned and when we arrived in Duffield, as decided, Jen and I were left to see Keddleston Hall, a Manor house now owned in part by the National Trust. It is a classic example of such a house, with sprawling grounds, it's own church and large rooms throughout. Jen was very excited when we walked through the door and we realised that this played a big part in the filming of "The Duchess" and they had a special collection of costumes from the making of the movie.
After a wander around the house and ground we took the short drive to my Grandparents, which I hadn't been to in close to 8 years! It was great to see the house that I had done so much growing up in and wonderful to see them both again and show Jen around. After a nice bite to eat, cup of tea and conversation we left with the family for the hotel we were staying at nearby, where we were having dinner at later that evening.
The hotel was lovely, the room that Jen and I got was huge, with a giant bed and great bathroom.... such a change from our usual accommodation! We got ready for dinner and went down to the bar to join the family - 4 generations of Buchanans! We had a wonderful time with Gran & Grampa and after a lovely meal we retired for the night.
Thursdays agenda entailed us going back round to the Grandparents for light lunch and then back on the road for the journey, taking the long way home, through Gloucester, where I was born, so Jen could see my first house etc etc. We arrived back down south in time for us to meet Nick at a pub close by him, where we were to spend the night before heading to London in the morning.
It was nice to see Nick and Luce's house now that they had lived in it and we had a great night hanging out before they had to work in the morning and we headed to London in the early evening to go to Tom & Cat's and meet up with Ryan (from L.A.) too.
Again, it's time to leave, so we will regale you with more re-caps of the last few weeks soon, pictures to be included.
Bye!!
Catch up time
It has been another 10 days since the slightest peep from us..... lame I know. But here we are, now in India!!
However there is a little to recap on first. The last few couple days in Rio were hot and sweaty! We braved the beach, only to turn around 2 mins later because of the extreme heat and we wandered the streets taking in the last of ou Latin flavour. When it was time to go we were sad to be leaving the continent that we had called home for so long, but happy to start the new leg of our trip and be going home to England!
The flight, as always, was non eventful, and in fact, relatively short for us considering the bus journies that we are now accustomed to. Mum & Dad met us at the airport (a little late!), complete with pork pies, pickled onions and a cheese $ onion sandwich! We went off into the cold new weather of England for lunch at a wonderful old pub right on the canal, not too far of the road home.
We headed back home to Salisbury for the evening with some great, old fashioned, English style home cooking..... mmmmmmmmmmmm!!
Sorry but our time is up here, we are safe, it is hot, there is a lot of yummy looking curry!!
We WILL update again soon xx
However there is a little to recap on first. The last few couple days in Rio were hot and sweaty! We braved the beach, only to turn around 2 mins later because of the extreme heat and we wandered the streets taking in the last of ou Latin flavour. When it was time to go we were sad to be leaving the continent that we had called home for so long, but happy to start the new leg of our trip and be going home to England!
The flight, as always, was non eventful, and in fact, relatively short for us considering the bus journies that we are now accustomed to. Mum & Dad met us at the airport (a little late!), complete with pork pies, pickled onions and a cheese $ onion sandwich! We went off into the cold new weather of England for lunch at a wonderful old pub right on the canal, not too far of the road home.
We headed back home to Salisbury for the evening with some great, old fashioned, English style home cooking..... mmmmmmmmmmmm!!
Sorry but our time is up here, we are safe, it is hot, there is a lot of yummy looking curry!!
We WILL update again soon xx
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Picture Update
Here (after 10 days) are our pictures from Brazil....
Brazilian side of the falls:
Rio de Janeiro:
Enjoy!!
Real blog to come soon xx
Brazilian side of the falls:
Rio de Janeiro:
Enjoy!!
Real blog to come soon xx
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