A brief introduction to Paris and learning about the past

Clock art at Gare St. Lazare

The day after the Kangaroo joined us we flew to Paris. Or, rather, we flew near Paris and took a bus the rest of the way (after a rather shady looking Frenchman tried to offer us a lift). From the moment we arrived it felt as though we were lost - it was also a far cry from the Paris I remember from 7 years ago.

Together we negotiated the metro system to get to Paris Gare St. Lazare where we intended to catch our first InterRail/EURail train to Caen. We didn't know about the "social action" (aka: a strike) which had started a couple of days earlier. After queuing for ages to get their passes validated, the Bear and Kangaroo were ready to go. Unfortunately, we had missed our train so we decided to have a late lunch nearby instead.

After filling up on burgers, fois gras, and French desserts we were on the next train to Caen - which just so happened to be packed so full we spent the 2 hour journey sitting on the floor.

D-Day posters at the train station

It was a relatively uneventful evening after that, which I believe C & J spent the majority of asleep. The next morning we caught a bus to Courseulles-sur-Mar, a little over an hour away. We were lucky enough to catch the bus with a lovely French woman who gave us advice and helped us find our train back to Paris, as well as making sure we knew when to leave in order to catch said train. This did, unfortunately, leave us with less than two hours to spend in Courseulles, but at least we had the opportunity to visit the Juno Beach Centre.

Map of the planned invasion

The centre was inspiring. It was built around the information and history of the Canadian forces who took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. We didn't make it for the anniversary itself, but we did our best to be there as close to the time as possible. There were still many commemorative decorations around - it was so strange to see so many Canadian flags in France!

Outside the centre there is a memorial garden with plaques and names for all those who gave their lives during the operation; inside they have a wonderfully informative and interactive exhibit about the history leading up to the landings and Canada's role in the war.

The entire experience was moving. I come from a military family, although (to the best of my knowledge) none of my family participated in either war. Despite this, the knowledge gleaned from our visit and the life, experiences and repercussions laid out before us was extremely emotional and informative.

Field of poppies nearby

I would definitely recommend a visit to the Centre for anyone who is interested in Canadian war history. There were other museums nearby as well - it was a rather long stretch of beach - but we didn't have time to visit them; however, I am sure there is much available for the inquisitive mind.

After our visit we hopped on another bus and made our slow way back to Paris.

'Til next time

~Crown

Porto, Portugal: the commencement of the main journey (day 1 & 2)

The Bear and I landed in Portugal on Monday to sunny skies and warmth; not that we weren't having gorgeous weather back in England, but it's a different type of warmth when the sun has practically set and you're still sitting outside in a tank-top and capri's.

We made our way by Metro to the centre of the city to find our accommodation for the next 3 nights. This required walking uphill (quite a ways) which was delayed by my constant admiring of the tiled buildings (on the exterior!) and cobbled mosaics of the streets and footpaths on the way. This was my first trip to Portugal, so there was lots to see.

After checking in and ditching the heavy backpacks, we ventured back downhill for a bite to eat. We found a lovely bakery/diner where we had "beef in butcher style" which came with fries, rice, vegetables and salad. It was amazingly delicious and only €15 for the two of us!

The next morning we took a walk through town, enjoying a bakery breakfast - pastries for breakfast? Yes please! I have fallen in love with Portuguese desserts - in the old hospital square with palm trees and a fountain to keep us company. Afterward we attended part of a mass at the church nearby (this on a Tuesday, apparently mass isn't just on Sunday's here). This church was amazing outside and in; outside there was beautiful tiles depicting various biblical scenes, inside everything was gilt. Luckily, despite the fact mass was in Portuguese, we were able to follow along.

After mass we walked some more. ... And more. It was a beautiful city and I found the best way to see it was on foot. We walked along the waterfront, through some parks and back up through the shopping district. So many tiled homes, churches and shops to see! Such an interesting way to decorate!

In the evening we were picked up by C's cousin to enjoy a home cooked Portuguese meal. It was so delicious, I could go on about it forever; and don't forget the freshly picked (small) crate of strawberries her aunt got! Such fabulous food. I could easily get fat there if I stayed any longer!

C's cousin and his girlfriend took us for an excellent night-time tour of the city by car afterwards. The city lights up and transforms the buildings; additionally, there were so many architecturally interesting buildings to see.

C and I saw so much, yet it was only our first day in Porto!

Next time: the last member of our team joins us, a bus top tour and Port!

Boa noite!

~Crown

A Day (and a bit) in Edinburgh

Old Scottish pounds

Our first (and only) day in Edinburgh was wet, wet, wet! It started raining before we had even woken up, and despite hopes to the contrary, continued all day. We took the bus into Edinburgh central where we started our walking tour of the city.

After a quick stop past the café where JK Rowling started writing the Harry Potter series, the Bear and I found a lovely little café called Hula where we had a delicious breakfast and made plans for the rest of our day.

Our first site of interest was a gallery just up the road (and hill) from the café. We can remember neither the name of the gallery nor the show; which is somewhat ironic seeing as it had to do with forgotten places or something of the like. I also don't think I would recommend it - the art was of wonderful quality and style, but the subject matter left some to be wanting.

Rain at the castle

Our second destination was Edinburgh Castle; this place I can highly recommend! We started our explorations with a free walking tour of the different buildings. All outside. All in the rain. This was followed by a visit to the Crown Jewels of Scotland, as well as the Stone of Destiny. The exhibition surrounding these items was interesting and very dynamic, it is definitely worth seeing! Walking into the room where the jewels were kept was breathtaking. It took me a moment to realise I wasn't looking at replicas but the real things - daft, I know, but there was so much information to mull over as we made our way to the treasury room that I, at first, hadn't realised I had walked into it!

This was followed by a tour of the royal apartments, then the Great Hall. Where we met "Queen Margaret" who told us all about her life in Scotland, as well as her legacy. We later visited her chapel which was built in her honour by her son and was the only building at the castle left standing after Robert the Bruce's forces came knocking; this by his direct order. It is also the oldest building in Edinburgh.

After these rooms we payed our respects at the Edinburgh War Memorial, another awe inspiring building full of regiments' banners, carvings, stained glass and books of the dead. We will remember them.

We also stopped by the rather large cannon that I took to calling "Big Bertha" - real name "Mons Meg". It takes huge cannon balls and has only been fired once, I believe. Afterwards we visited the prison of the castle, mostly it used to hold prisoners of war during the American Civil War and beyond.

Finally, we had enough of the rain and went to find some dinner, though not before a spot of shopping.

Tasty pub grub

We ate at Deacon Brodie on the Royal Mile where we sampled some of the local delicacy - haggis - and filled our tumms with hot pub grub; this was just what we needed after a day of trekking through the rain, and to prepare us for the walk back to the bus and, thus, "home".

The next morning we got up relatively early so we could eat and be on our way. We made sure to grab a Geocache en route, proceeded to get lost in Edinburgh (even with a Sat Nav) and, eventually - after driving the same stretch of road four times - were on the road towards The Lake District!

More Sat Nav mistakes and glorious sunshine (finally!) in our next entry.

~Crown

Enjoying the haggis, neeps and tatties

Due North - Part 2

Tuesday morning the Bear and I had grand plans of getting up early so that we could get to Edinburgh at a reasonable hour (instead of 10:30pm which was the reality).  As you may have guessed, that did not happen.

Breakfast

I woke up some time around 5 in the morning to sunshine and bird song - quite a pleasant way to wake up, I must say. However, I did not get out of bed until 7, then spent the next hour or so chatting with one of the lovely hosts of the campsite about all the archaeological wonders of the area.  After, upon discovering that Charissa was also up, we started to make breakfast on my little camping stove (a Biolite for those who are interested). Within an hour we had made tea, fried bread and cooked up eggs for a delicious ham, cheese and egg breakfast sandwich, which brought us to 10:30am.

Our camp site - what a view!

It took us another hour and a bit to pack up camp, so we didn't manage to set off until noon.  No worries! It's only a 6 hour drive.

Croxden Abbey

But, being the explorers that we are, we made some stops en route.  First we checked out Croxden Abbey, not typo far from our campsite.  It was HUGE! Well, as  ruins go! Croxden Abbey was a Cistercian Abbey hundreds of years ago.  I really enjoyed wandering around the ruins - it was fascinating to see.

Next we stopped at Sudbury Hall for lunch.  You may not recognise the name now, but what if I were to refer to it as Pemberley Hall? 

Sudbury (Pemberley) Hall

Sudbury Hall was the stately home used as the home of Mr. William Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.  It was a breathtaking structure and we both wish we had more time to explore.

However, the afternoon was running on and we still had to get to Edinburgh!  As we set off, Charissa was on the phone booking us accommodation for the night and I was grumbling about the rain - which, typically, had decided to start up again.

Angel of the North

We also took a slight detour in order to see the Angel of the North, as it was on the way.  We'be both decided that it resembles a bird more than an angel.

A number of hours, a few Service Station stops and many construction zones later (including the offering if cookies out the window to a lorry driver stuck behind us in a queue) we finally reached the Scotland/England border.

The border!

We finished or epic 6ish-someodd hour drive with the setting of the sun; and a beautiful sunset it was, too.

Finally, we had made it to Edinburgh!

More to come.

~Crown

Lunch at Sudbury Hall - cream teas and scones!

Due North - Part 1

So £700-someodd later and Bear and I have made it out if Surrey, around the M25 and approximately 175km up the M1 to find ourselves in Staffordshire.

In a tent.

In the rain.

Details, you ask? Well. After the big mess that was my MOT and subsequent garage visit (thank you ever so much to an amazing mechanic who was a huge help) we managed to get the car in for the MOT recheck just as the shop was closing. Fab timing! We then hopped straight onto the A3 to the M25 and headed north. What a beautiful day we'd been having!

Sheep on the way to the camp site

That is, until the last 30 minutes of our journey. That's when the heavens decided to open and we turned to each other with a look of dread.

At which time we started to discuss the roadside motels as a superior alternative accomodation. Especially when my Sat Nav decided to take us on a crazy route to get to the site (one can't get lost with a Sat Nav, surely!)

Some of our stuff in the tent

But, alas, we decided to drive on to the campsite anyway where we were met by a pair of brilliant hosts who have been nothing but kind and full if helpful advice -

More stuff

like parking the car at an uphill angle so it doesn't settle overnight and we shouldn't be stuck in the morning.

Dessert - classy!

C and I set up the tent - at 10:30pm! - in a light shower and are now to be found happily within with full bellies and ready for sleep.

So good night, dear readers!


~Crown

Aunty Gilly and the 7 Plasterers

Hi Ho, Hi Ho it's off to work we go... well not really for the crown and I, but definitely, for the 7(!) plasterers currently working in Aunty G and J's living room. It seemed as though all of them have piled in and all you can now hear from the kitchen is the bass of the radio and the chatter of  people working. Today we head up to Scotland and I'm really excited to go back to Edinburgh! I know a few people who don't particularly like the place, but I happen to love it there, particularly for the architecture. We'll be driving up and it looks like we might be doing some camping along the way up and possibly again on our way back down before we head over to Portugal next week.

The last week has positively flow by and I have done quite a lot. I don't know if it was the smartest idea to try and fit this all in in a mere six weeks, but hey, we're going to give it a good go!

Cheers,

C

Bear and Crown about Town(s)

Well, it's been a few days since my last update, so I thought I would share a couple pictures and some musings.

C and I have been spending the last few days visiting various towns around the Surrey countryside; namely: Guildford, Godalming and Woking.  We also visited Reading in Berkshire.

Guildford pub

We explored the cobbled streets of Guildford first, visiting a few shops and stopping for lunch in a traditional little pub with low ceilings downstairs and – in the winter – a roaring fire to welcome guests.  We both had some delicious steak & ale pie (mine with mash, C's with chips) which was one of those 'stick to the ribs' meals – perfect food to keep you going!  Guildford is an old town and one of the few in the country which has a Cathedral; most locations in England with Cathedrals are cities.  It's one of those old laws – not a city until you have a Cathedral!

View from the bridge at the Oracle

We went to Reading on Friday as AG, my friend whom we're staying with, was attending a dog show with one of her Irish Setters.  While she was off showing dogs Charissa and I went into town for a bit of shopping at the Oracle – I think it's starting to sound like we've been doing a lot of shopping; in reality, we've been doing a lot of window shopping.

We had another lovely lunch (this time at Wagamama's, a chain) and then went back to check out some of the show before heading back 'home'.

Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, G'ming

Saturday was a combination of sightseeing and chores.  I had to take my car in for it's annual MOT and had been recommended to a place in Godalming, so we figured we'd check out the lovely market town while we were at it.  Once more we did some shopping, but only in the charity shops of the town.  A charity shop, for those who don't know, are shops which accept items for donation and resell them then use the profits toward the charity of choice: for example, the British Heart Foundation, Age UK, the Samaritans or Oxfam.

We also met up with a couple more of my friends for lunch.  We decided to get some sandwiches from the shop and eat in the Phillips Memorial Park as it was such a beautiful day out.

Some allotments in Godalming

Unfortunately my car has failed it's MOT, and so I spent part of the afternoon making phone calls to local garages to try and get the car in as soon as possible.  Charissa and I were planning to drive up to Scotland on Monday, so the car has to get fixed.  I have managed to get it booked in first thing tomorrow (Monday) morning, so if all goes well, we should be on our way North by tomorrow afternoon.


Stay tuned!

~the Crown

Bear, Crown and Kangaroo