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!!
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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
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