Off to the Capital today – and a return visit to the Tower of London and more specifically, the Crown Jewels.Ann and I last visited back in February 2016 but we met good mates Roy, Susan, Lauren and Loki there today, who’d never been before! It meant an early start (for a Saturday) for us, …
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Category:Weather
Our Anniversary Weekend 2018 (34/7)
Friday, 14th (Our Anniversary)It’s our 7th Anniversary (or 34th in ‘old money’) and we’ve a busy few days ahead. There was just enough time to open our cards and presents before we left, heading north. Thanks for your kind words everyone! Ann bought we a very classy watch!These days, we normally go away to …
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France 2018: Day 8 – La Ciotat (Last Day in France)
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!(Monday) Day 6 – On the Buses!(Tuesday) Day 7 – Chateau d’If & Birthday Boy(Wednesday) Day 8 – …
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France 2018: Day 7 – Chateau d’If and Birthday Boy
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!(Monday) Day 6 – On the Buses!(Tuesday) Wednesday Whilst most would be content with a trip to …
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France 2018: Day 6 – On the Buses!
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!(Monday) Tuesday Blakey might have hated Butler, but he would have loved the route today. We’re on the …
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France 2018: Day 5 – Marseille, here we come!
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes (Saturday) Day 4 – Nimes in more detail(Sunday) Monday Welcome back loyal Reader! (The Bodyguard finalé was good wasn’t it!?) Today, we travel to our third and final Hotel. Our new …
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France 2018: Day 4 – More about Nimes
Our Adventures so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Day 3 – Arrival in Nimes(Saturday) Sunday We’re remaining very local today, and exploring Nimes in more detail. You can download a VERY large map (3448 X 2419 pixels) of the local area HERE Another …
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France 2018: Day 3 – All aboard the Train to Nimes
Our Adventure so far… Arrival in Lyon (Wednesday) Day 1 – Lyon (Thursday) Day 2 – Vienne by Train (Friday) Saturday 8.45am: A lazy breakfast here in Lyon before boarding the TGV Train bound for Nimes, or Nîmes as most of the French write it. It’s famous for being the ‘most Roman city outside Italy’ – …
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France 2018: Day 2 – Vienne by Train
Our adventures so far… Arrival(Wednesday) Day 1(Yesterday) Friday Today is our final full day here, and we’re jumping on the Train to visit nearby Vienne. Vienne is located 35 kilometres south of Lyon, on the river Rhône and is famous for its ancient Roman Theatre. Built in 1AD, It was re-inaugurated in 1938 and since …
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France 2018: Day 1 – Sightseeing in Lyon
Our adventures so far… Yesterday… (click to view) Thursday A local commented last night that the temperature here is a full 10 degrees above the average for this time of year – and there’s another scorcher in store for us today. In celebration, as well as the Sun, my kneecaps are out of trousers, but …
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Boughton of Youth
So, here we are again – Boughton House – and what’s become a regular event these past three years: it’s one of LunaFlix’s many outdoor cinema events. Our first visit to this novel form of cinema-going was back in 2016 when we saw Pretty Woman, and in 2017, it was La La Land. This year, …
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Picnic at… Sulgrave Manor
Another scorching hot day here and so we decided to make the most of it and met up with Ian and Ann McL at Sulgrave Manor. It’s a Tudor Manor House, home to (and built by) George Washington’s (deep breath!) great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Lawrence, in the mid-1500s. We’ve not been here before – can’t think why …
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Wimpole Hall
Chris and Gill parked at ours and we all made our way to Wimpole Hall. We haven’t been there since June 2011, when we went with Lee and Nicki. Today’s visit was our ‘Plan B’ – Plan A was originally to visit somewhere for a picnic, but the weather this week has been so hot …
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Highclere Castle
I’ve always wanted to visit here, not just because it happens to be the set for the Downton Abbey, but simply because it’s a beautiful bit of architecture. It was our gift to Nicki for her forthcoming, (ahem!) ‘significant’ birthday! Sue J joined us for the journey, arriving at ours just before 8am, whilst Nicki …
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Football’s Coming Home?
..and Tennis too… well almost… to OUR home anyway… We, as a nation, didn’t make it to the finals, but that didn’t stop us having the neighbours round for a very late Lunch – to enjoy the World Cup Final and/or the Tennis Men’s Singles Final. With record crowds expected at both sporting events, ours …
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Gardeners’ World
Today, we slipped into ‘gardening mode’ and headed off to our good friends Nicki and Richard who have just bought their first house together, in Banstead. We’re here until lunch-time on Sunday with a list as long as your arm of garden-stuff that need ‘sorting’. The specific target? Their back garden – a jungle of …
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A Sunday of Two Halves
A day socialising today – and just like the World Cup, made up of two halves! First half: 12.30 – Paul and Sue came round for Lunch… It was a gorgeous day weather-wise and Ann ‘pulled out all the stops’ in the kitchen for a mouth-watering three-courser… Smoked Mackerel on a bed of Watercress Horseradish …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 6 – Reflections…
Day 6: FRIDAY Morning Reader! It’s our last full day at Hotel Lapad in Dubrovnik, so thanks for stopping by and reading the final Blog! If you want to view just the Photos from our holiday without any of my chat/commentaries, click HERE – and if you missed any of my daily Blogs, use the …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 5 – A Walk around the Headland
Day 5: THURSDAY Back again Reader? It’s good to see you! Today is the ‘big one’. Well, it is for me! In a break from our daily No. 6 Bus journey routine, instead, how about an invigorating walk in a complete oval around the Headland? It’ll take in the area where we discovered all the …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 4 – Island Tour of Lokrum
Day 4: WEDNESDAY Welcome back Reader! Today’s destination? the island of Lokrum – just a No 6. Bus and a 15-minute Boat ride away!! As has become our regular routine, it was the short walk/get on the No.6/get off at the City Walls… and then find the Boat that’s going to Lokrum! One of the …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 3 – M&M&M&M!
Day 3: TUESDAY Morning loyal follower! Today’s Blog is sponsored by the letter ‘M’! It’s a day of Mooching, Museum, Mates and a Meal, here in a slightly overcast Dubrovnik. We’re mooching around the City, seeking-out the best of the local Museums to understand more of the history and culture here. The Museums vary a …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 2 – The Cable-Car and a Hidden Gem
Our Croatian story so far… Arrival(Saturday) The Old City Walls(Sunday) MONDAY Morning Reader! We slept well. The temporary problem of the AC Unit leaking on the carpet is solved! It was another superb breakfast in the Hotel’s Restaurant that’s ‘punching well above its weight’ for variety and service. On our travels today, it’s back to …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 1 – The City Walls
We slept well, but if we were going to get ahead of the hoards for a visit to the Old City Walls there would be no lying-in this morning! But, there’s always time for Breakfast, so on (a Sunday-unfriendly) 7.40am, we made our way to the Restaurant for the first time, to see what the …
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Dubrovnik (Croatia): Day 0 – Arrival
Crikey! Even by my standards, leaving at 3am is early! We’re heading for Birmingham Airport and Dubrovnik for a week of sunshine and culture. The last time Ann was in Dubrovnik was when she was 12 and we both saw a bit of Croatia back in 2006 as part of a Cruise for my 50th. …
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Bank Holiday in Matlock
Saturday It was a very pleasant drive up to our good friends Ralph and Karen (Best Man and Maid of Honour back in the day). This time though, with a small difference – they’ve moved house, literally just down the road! It was good to be catching-up again, as the last time we were at …
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Return to The Ashmolean
We’re great fans of The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, having been there in November 2011, March 2012, September 2013 and March 2014! As usual, we drove to Pear Tree Park & Ride, parked up and took the Bus into the town… …so much less stressful than attempting to park in the centre of town – …
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A Belter at Belton!
Wow! That’s two days in a row where the weather has been glorious! Luckily, we’d already planned a while ago to meet up with Dennis and Sandra for a day-out (plus a picnic!) at Belton House – and the great weather was now an extra bonus! Last time we were here, back in July last …
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Celebrating Janet’s Retirement – Again!
We don’t need any excuse at all to get together with Janet, but if were looking for one, it was to celebrate her retirement a few months back! So, together with Nicki (who stayed over last night), we picked-up Jo and Janet and headed to The George Hotel in Stamford for Lunch. As always, the …
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Cruise Day 9 (14th April): Cochin (India)
 A lazy start for our Tours so far – a relatively lethargic 9.30 today! Here we go then – our first visit to India in the shape of a six-hour combined Coach & Boat tour entitled: The Best of Cochin. Cochin is in the Indian state of Kerala, located on the west coast of …
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Cruise Day 7 (12th April): Colombo (Sri Lanka)
We’ve not been to Sri Lanka before and so this was going to be a real treat. We’re going ashore at Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city, leading (and very modern-looking) Port and commercial capital – home to some 750 000 locals. A hosted half-day walking tour is probably a good introduction to this country, just …
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