27: Home and a great weekend with friends

Well now the holiday is over, I thought I'd like to keep the blog going with other bits and pieces of things happening around me...

This weeked was a busy one - One of my favourite people in the whole world, my friend Sue from Adelaide was coming to visit to join in the X Block Reunion.  When I first left high school, off I went to Wagga to go to Uni and I had signed up to live on campus, but in a 'self catering' style residence where you cooked your own food, but shared a communal kitchen and bathrooms - there were quite a few of these 'blocks' on the south campus & I'd been allocated to X Block.  Sue and Sandra Kelly were the first people I met as I arrived as a nervous kid embarking on their first day of the rest of their life - and we been friends ever since. 

I've kept in contact with Sue and Sandra, but not any of the others, but last year somtime I got a Facebook message from one of the others there and over the past few months we've tracked down quite a few other X Blockers.  We met at Kathy's in February and promised to keep in touch and meet again - hopefully with a few more.

I picked Sue up from the airport on Friday night and of course we stayed up late catching up, then on Saturday morning, off we went to the shops to stock up on all the party essentials, plus a few other bargains we spotted along the way (like boxes of xmas baubles for $3 each which I plan to make a xmas wreath with, and some cute little ballet flats - 2nd pair half price so we go a pair each), then home to cook and get the house into party mode. 

What a great night we had - our first party in our half renovated house in Marrickville.  Sue came over from Adelaide, John flew in from Beechworth, Yvonne & Brian from Taree, Linda from Coffs Harbour, Sanda drove up from Wollongong (& decided she wanted to stay longer, so we found a bed for her), and Sydney siders Cathy and Jude, Margaret, Barbara, Margaret & Olu. 

Here some of us are in 1984?

 

 and now in 2011

So on Sunday after everyone had left and I had tidied up and had a rest, it was time to make my xmas wreath.  Of course I'm always in a hurry and didn't take the advice of others to glue the little tops of the ornaments onto the ball, and yes they do pop off (annoyingly). 

I untwisted your standard wire hanger from the drycleaner and bent it into an approximate circle (possibly could have been a bit fussier with this as well), then threaded my KMart baubles on.  I'd bought two tubes of red and 2 of green and each one had shiny, matt and glitter balls in them ($3 per tube and the balls are about 3cm), and I threaded 1 shiny of each colour, 1 matt of each colour and 1 glitter of each.  I'd got half way through and realised there were more matt than anything else, so if might be worth sorting your baubles first so that you get an even distribution of colour and texture. 

Then all you do is thread them on and adjust slightly so that they sit neatly together and hide as much wire as you can.  Then you twist the hook back together - I got Joe to help me with this and he cut a bit of wire off to make it neater, then I tied some ribbon around it and Voila!  here it is...  a little tweaking of the shape is needed, but not bad for first effort - might go back and get some more and make another to give away...

26: The last few days of our holiday...

We caught the Roisy bus back to the airport - very uneventful passage through immigration etc - the bird at the desk so busy chatting to her friend that she didn't even bother looking up at us while she stamped our passports.   So off we flew to Singapore (7am arrival) - again an easy exit and on the the MRT to Lavender to check into our hotel - luckily they had a room available so we had a nap for a couple of hours before setting off back into the city.  

It's been about 20 years since Ive been to Singapore and things have really changed - so much development and so many shopping centres - but the prices - there are not too many bargains to be had here anymore.  

We bought tickets for the open topped bus and did a few rounds of the city to get oriented - hopping off at various points of interest.  The skyscrapers here are amazing - I think they must have had some contest to come up with the weirdest concepts for building designs - the cruise ship on stilts (Marina Bay Sands) probably has to take the prize!

We stopped for a drink in the Singapore equivalent to Darling Harbour - again we were shocked at the drink prices - that was until the drinks arrived and we saw the size!  Now this is a Mojito!!!

Do not talk to me, or stand between me and my Mojito!

Of course, when you are in Singapore you must go to Raffles for a Singapore Sling...

25: Versailles

Finally, we found a really helpful woman at the metro who gave us a great little çheat sheet' on how to get the train to Versailles - just a list of the stations where you need to change and the symbols for the lines that we needed to follow - a really good simple idea that worked perfectly.

We bought our entry tickets at the Info Centre - the queue here seemed less than the place near the station or at the actual gates - very impressive they are too!

Wow this place is really big - 2000 hectares and so much to see -  room after room of paintings, sculptures, furniture, mirrors - a pity there were so many other people there trying to see it as well, and a pity many are so inconsiderate [read rude] about pushing in front of you when they want to look at something you might happen to be looking at. 

We spent a couple of hours inside the palace, then headed out into the gardens (for a loo break and a bit of lunch), and then down to Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon.  It was nice to see that the parklands are open (for free) to the public for picnics, cycling, etc.  There were lots of Parisians out enjoying the sunshine. 

Yes Joey, this is a really big hedge!

Joey doing a bad impression of a topiary

This couple were having their wedding pics taken outside the Grand Trianon.  The poor bride was melting a little in the heat - very cute kids though!

The other Noble/Clegg party were also at Versaille on the same day, but got there an hour or so after us - the place is so big we never managed to catch up with each other!

We finished up a really great day with the Musical Fountain Shows - it was interesting to hear that Australia is not the only place with drought issues - at Versailles they have restricted the use of some of the fountains due to water shortages.

24: And now for Paris

Off we go to Paris c/- "Easy Jet" - line up, have your passports open at the right page, onto the plane and find a seat you like - none of that seat allocation stuff - and arrive at Charles de Gaulle about 90 mins later - it was easy!  Caught the bus into the city - just one stop and it let is off at "Opera" right near where we are staying - a bit of map orientation (ie walking in the wrong direction) till we find the right street and Francois waiting out the front of our apartment to let us in.  As Joe described, 'petite' on room size, but clean and comfortable, has all we need and is close to the centre of the city. 

We nipped downstairs and to the Marche Prix (supermarket) for some things for dinner, breakky, drinks etc - all quite reasonable - then stopped for a drink at the cafe/bar downstairs for the apartment and were quite shocked by the prices.  Found another little place next to the boulangerie where we wanted to buy some bread, only to find it was shut.  Lucky though, the baker was in the bar and had two baguettes under his arm and gave us one for free!  

Back to the apartment to make dinner (spag bol) in the 'kitchen in a cupboard'.

Thursday 29/9/11

Joey back to the boulangerie this morning for an almond croissant (my favourite), raisin snail, chocolate/pistachio snail, and some brown sourdough bread.  Sampled a little of all for breakfast (packed the rest up to snack on during the day), then headed off to see the sights.  First stop is the Louvre, only about a 10 min walk from our apartment, then the Arc de Triumphe via the Champs Elysees.  We then headed down to the Seine and to the Eiffel Tower.  We can't believe how big and impressive everything is - but the queues....

The queue to get the lift up the tower went forever so we decided to take the stairs instead - I almost made it to the first level before the fear of heights thing kicked in, so I came down and Joey climbed on up to the second level, then took the lift to the top.  His pics of the views were very impressive, but the smog made it hard to see too far.

From there we caught the river bus (hop on, hop off) down to Notre Dame - what a fabulous cathedral - I loved all the gargoyles - wish you could buy copies of these to take back home, back on the boatbus to get us a bit closer to home (getting tired). 

The final bit of the walk home was though a great 'foodie' street Joe had found on his morning walk.   Got a few more veggies to add to our leftovers, ogled things that are not good for the waistline, then home for dinner.  A BIG day's sightseeing!!!

Friday 30/9/11

Paid the lovely Francois the rest of our rent money this morning, then we head off to Montmatre.  Caught a bus part of the way there, then walked the rest of the way up the hill to Sacre-Coeur.  Another impressive building at the highest point of Paris and we were lucky to be there while a mass was taking place.  It's nice being able to go into the French churches without having to pay the exhorbitant entry fees that you have to pay in England.  We had a bit of a walk around the artists area and thought we'd stop for a cuppa until we looked at the menu's and saw that a coffee was 5.50 euros!!  Wandered further down towards the city (on a seach for cheaper coffee) till we found another great street will great florists, fishmongers, deli's, butchers, and a hot meat shop where we bought a sausage as a snack (a bit rich for our liking), and finally stopped for coffee - hang the cost. 

We went past Moulin Rouge, and stopped in at the Galleria L'affayette - a very impressive (and expensive) department store - well more of a shopping centre really - and checked out the home store building (no purchases made).   From there back to the apartment to collect our laundry and find a laundromat.  Of course in Paris you can find a very nice bar to have a drink in and relax while you wait for the clothes to wash/dry. 

Very pleased to have clean clothes again, we caught the Metro over the Republique to meet up with Pete, Mandy, Narelle, Lyn and Des - their apartment rather grander than ours - we have the inner city pad while they have the surburban 3 bedder.  P+M+N had come across from Engand on the Eurostar which Pete clocked on his garmin as going 300 km/hr.  Lots of stories to exchange before we headed home. 

23: Edinburgh

A few housekeeping things to attend to this morning - checked email at an internet cafe and packed up some unwanted stuff and posted it back to save lugging to Paris, then walked to Edinburgh Castle.  It's set on a cliff above the city, quite like Stirling Castle was, where it would be impossible for anyone to mount a surprise attack.  We decided to take a guided tour - worth the 15 minute wait till it started as it gave a good overview and some recommendations of what else to look at without being long and boring. 

Edinburgh Castle is still a working castle, used as the barracks for part of the Scottish military, houses their war memorial, and includes a chapel still popular for weddings - they need to be small though as it only seats 23!  We stopped for a coffee, which turned out to be possibly the best we have had in the UK (though in reality it wouldn't have had to be much to be the best as coffee standards are not high here) while we waited for the 1pm gun.  Got distracted by the yummy scone and nearly had our daylights scared out of us when the canon went off!  Our tour guide had given us an explanation of why Edinburgh has a 1 pm canon instead of the midday canon other ports often use - those canny Scots - why use 12 shots when 1 will do the same job?

The 1pm gun

No, the 1pm gun doesn't fire these....

Joe was very impressed by the temporary (yes temporary) seating used for the military tatoo each year...  They were in the process of dismantling it after the tattoo in July - this year was the first time this new seating had been used and there were signs around listing how much more cost effective it was because it was quicker to put up and take down and could seat more people.

Headed back into town via the Royal Mile (castle at one end, Palace at the other), the Royal Terrace where we saw this very cute car, and the city where I may have sampled a couple of rather good whisky's...

22: Off we go to Scotland

Picked up our teensy weenie little car - a Peugout 107 - from the station at York (only 18 miles on the clock), packed in our luggage, said our farewells to Pete, Mandy, Narelle (will see them in Paris in a few days) and Pheebs, and off we set northbound.  We took back roads where possible and actually went through some of the places we walked through - funny seeing the c2c path and the walkers when you are in a car!  

Stopped at a few little towns along the way, including Masham which has the Theakstons brewery.  Didn't do the tour as Joe not quite the fan of their beer as Pete is, but the town very cute.  They were setting up for the annual sheep show over the weekend - I would have liked to stop as it looked like fun, but we are still a bit too far south to stop for the night.  We also stopped at very nice little castle ruin, can't remember the name now - need to check the map!

Had trouble finding somewhere to stay - Barnard Castle and Staindrop were all booked out, but we found a room at a Days Inn at a service centre just off the M1 at Bowburn - not scenic or with any personality but clean and functional.

Off again on Saturday morning, with laundry on our minds - almost out of clean clothes!  Found a laundromat at Morpeth so we stopped and had breakfast and a bit of a walk around town while we waited.  From there we went to Berwick Upon Tweed - what a great bridge that town has! 
 

We crossed into Scotland and made our way around the coast and found our way to Haddington - had a quick drink there, then made our way to Coulstoun - Joe very excited about visiting the family home which has been in the Broun family for over 900 years!  What an amazing house, set in the middle of a 2000 acre property - elephant tusks lining the stairways and lots of stuffed things, but also some lovely antique furniture!

We had a great dinner with Ludovic, the Laird of the property, Cameron and Freddy - great hospitality.  Loved sleeping in the four poster bed in the Rose Room - could have done with a stool to help me reach the bed though!  If you are in Scotland and looking for somewhere to experience life in a period Scottish country home, then you should consider staying at Colstoun



Next morning we backtracked a bit to North Berwick to Tantallon Castle, a wonderful ruin on a cliff face overlooking the North Sea.

The Castle overlooks Bass Rock - no people there, only thousands of sea birds - the island is covered in them and their guano.  Apparently in the 1800's the young gannets were the principal produce of the area, with their flesh described as "excellent if skinned and cooked like a beef-steak" & gannet eggs were a delicacy which often graced Queen Victoria's breakfast table!  If you have the time, go to the Scottish Seabird Centre where you can view what's going on with the gannets & puffins through live webcams on the Island.

Back in the baby car and onto the A1 to by pass Edinburgh, over the impressive Forth Road Bridge (a bit eerie as there were grid things beside the lanes where you could see through to the water {a long way} below), and up the coast stopping at a few little fishing villages along the way.  Stopped at Pittenwheen for lunch, hoping to get fish and chips overlooking the harbour, but nothing open, so we walked up the hill into town and had lunch at a little cafe/chocolate shop.  Yummy soup, sandwich and hot chocolate.  From there we went to St Andrews and had a look at their castle - not that big, but impressive in where it was built right on the edge of the cliff.

By this stage Joey was nearly beside himself with excitement about being so close to that revered birthplace of golf - St Andrews Old Course.  They were setting up for the Royal Dunhill tournament and we were able to walk around wherever we liked - Joey VERY impressed by this.

Headed from St Andrews to Stirling - no accommodation booked so we checked Lonely Planet for a couple of recommendations and found a really nice place within walking distance of the castle - we'll visit there tomorrow.

We walked up to the castle to get there around opening time.  It's built on a giant hill in town, with great views and is well preserved (& not in ruins).  You can understand why they built it were they did and why it was so hard to attack - getting up that hill unseen would have been impossible. 

Monument of William Wallace at Stirling Castle, overlooking his memorial in the distance

Off we go again on our way to Edinburgh - had booked into the Haymarket Hotel a few nights ago, but had only a very sketchy idea of where it was and the suburb not marked on our map - yes very helpful!  I had been thinking this might be a nasty, driving around looking for a needle in a haystack experience...  But hey, the road from the airport to the city took us right to where we wanted to go, and there was the hotel right on the corner - amazing!!   Found out there was no free parking nearby so decided to take the baby car back early since everything we wanted to see was within easy walking distance and the bus to the airport was only a five minute walk away, so dropped it off and headed into the city. 

We did a bit of a walk I had found in Lonely Planet that took us through some of the old parts of Edinburgh - little back lanes and around the bottom of the castle.  As always I can fiind interesting stuff to photograph...

  

My apologies to vegetarian readers, but this looked delicious.