To be jammed tomorrow...
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
06 June 2011
05 June 2011
Bandas!
What do you do when you've got up at 5.45am, flown a couple of thousand miles and spent all day swimming in the pool in the sunshine? You go out for moules frites for tea, of course.
So we did. With added souzaphones...
This was the Nuit des Bandas, in Pineuilh (nope, still no idea how you say it) not far from Sainte Foy la Grande. It's quite a festival...beer tents, moules/poulet and frites, and more souzaphones than you've ever seen in one place before, as five bands roamed around competing for an audience. This lot above were Les Pourquoi Pas - who were (a) very loud but (b) rather good fun!
So we did. With added souzaphones...
This was the Nuit des Bandas, in Pineuilh (nope, still no idea how you say it) not far from Sainte Foy la Grande. It's quite a festival...beer tents, moules/poulet and frites, and more souzaphones than you've ever seen in one place before, as five bands roamed around competing for an audience. This lot above were Les Pourquoi Pas - who were (a) very loud but (b) rather good fun!
26 August 2010
Denmark - the verdict
We had a fantastic time in Denmark, despite the rather rainy weather. We especially liked the Baltic coast - the beaches are lovely (and very family friendly), and it's slightly less windy than the North Sea side. (Although, if you're into kites or action sports, the wind and North Sea beaches would be right up your street).
But whatever the weather, there's acres of things to see and do, and endless Danish pastries and ice creams to feast upon. We may have come back about a stone heavier than when we left.
Would we go again? Yes, definitely. We rather like the idea of travelling to Esbjerg and then driving across to Roskilde and Copenhagen, stopping at some islands en route. Although I'm not sure we'd camp again. That's no reflection on Danish campsites, which were staggeringly clean, well looked after, and packed to the ginnels with facilities. It's more the fact that we've rather fallen in love with the idea of staying in a little log cabin on the edge of a pine forest...
Huge thanks must go to Visit Denmark who arranged our trip, and to DFDS Seaways for the ferry crossing. Look out for our video on the Visit Denmark website shortly....
22 August 2010
Denmark day 8
We've had the most ridiculously enjoyable day out today, at a place called Faarup Sommerland. It's a theme park - but before you get all overexcited, there wasn't a Disney princess in sight.
The place is set in woodland (good for keeping the wind at bay), about 5 minutes' drive from where we're staying. Its theme, such as it is, seems to be woods/logging/squirrels/goldmining...that sort of thing. We thought it might be good for a couple of hours of wandering around, and going on a few rides - boy were we wrong!
M started off by riding an Icelandic pony, and followed this up with a little light dodgem boats, a carousel and assorted biplanes (the sort that go round and round and up and down). We bounced a lot on trampolines, and climbed a bouncy volcano.
One of the things we really liked about this place was that there were a lot of active things to do, as well as rides to sit in. There were lots of playgrounds, an enormous climbing spider web (like at the zoo), and a fabulous action trail/treasure hunt, which took you out to a pirate ship moored in a lake via various devious means (usually involving slides, rope bridges, catwalks and hauling boats across lagoons).
As ever, there were lots of places to picnic. All of Denmark seems to bring at least three hampers of food and a couple of jugs of coffee with them for lunch - hence the natty little handcarts at every attraction, which can usually be hired for a nominal fee. They're also very useful for transporting tired small children.
After lunch, M and I braved the Falken - a huge rollercoaster that she was only just tall enough to ride on. I don't think I've ever been on anything so enormous (my last rollercoaster experience was the Mousetrap at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, about 20 years ago). It was wooden (so very noisy), hideously fast, and thankfully over in less than a minute. We both agreed it was completely terrifying (there may have been quite a lot of screaming on the way round), but brilliant.
To recover, we made Orb transport us round a lake on a pedalo, while we watched the ducks cruise past. After that, it was time for the aqua park. We hadn't taken swimming cozzies with us (the weather hadn't looked that great early on in the day), so M ended up in the pool in her t-shirt and pants (and had to be dried off on my vest). There's lots of slides/fountains and a pirate ship for littlies to play in - and some rather cool looking huge slides for teens and grownups.
By this point, it was about 4pm. Ice cream time! Given that the lovely people at Visit Denmark had given us free tickets into Sommerland, we felt justified in spending the best part of £10 on some completely enormous ice creams. Ice cream seems to be very popular in Denmark - two scoops is the minimum you can have, and several chaps were tucking into cones with four. We made do with two, with maximum sprinkles. And then felt rather ill afterwards...
To finish off, we went white water rafting (hilarious, but very very wet), and M had fun driving round a Danish village on an electric lorry.
We eventually crawled home, tired but very happy!
The place is set in woodland (good for keeping the wind at bay), about 5 minutes' drive from where we're staying. Its theme, such as it is, seems to be woods/logging/squirrels/goldmining...that sort of thing. We thought it might be good for a couple of hours of wandering around, and going on a few rides - boy were we wrong!
M started off by riding an Icelandic pony, and followed this up with a little light dodgem boats, a carousel and assorted biplanes (the sort that go round and round and up and down). We bounced a lot on trampolines, and climbed a bouncy volcano.
One of the things we really liked about this place was that there were a lot of active things to do, as well as rides to sit in. There were lots of playgrounds, an enormous climbing spider web (like at the zoo), and a fabulous action trail/treasure hunt, which took you out to a pirate ship moored in a lake via various devious means (usually involving slides, rope bridges, catwalks and hauling boats across lagoons).
As ever, there were lots of places to picnic. All of Denmark seems to bring at least three hampers of food and a couple of jugs of coffee with them for lunch - hence the natty little handcarts at every attraction, which can usually be hired for a nominal fee. They're also very useful for transporting tired small children.
After lunch, M and I braved the Falken - a huge rollercoaster that she was only just tall enough to ride on. I don't think I've ever been on anything so enormous (my last rollercoaster experience was the Mousetrap at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, about 20 years ago). It was wooden (so very noisy), hideously fast, and thankfully over in less than a minute. We both agreed it was completely terrifying (there may have been quite a lot of screaming on the way round), but brilliant.
To recover, we made Orb transport us round a lake on a pedalo, while we watched the ducks cruise past. After that, it was time for the aqua park. We hadn't taken swimming cozzies with us (the weather hadn't looked that great early on in the day), so M ended up in the pool in her t-shirt and pants (and had to be dried off on my vest). There's lots of slides/fountains and a pirate ship for littlies to play in - and some rather cool looking huge slides for teens and grownups.
By this point, it was about 4pm. Ice cream time! Given that the lovely people at Visit Denmark had given us free tickets into Sommerland, we felt justified in spending the best part of £10 on some completely enormous ice creams. Ice cream seems to be very popular in Denmark - two scoops is the minimum you can have, and several chaps were tucking into cones with four. We made do with two, with maximum sprinkles. And then felt rather ill afterwards...
To finish off, we went white water rafting (hilarious, but very very wet), and M had fun driving round a Danish village on an electric lorry.
We eventually crawled home, tired but very happy!
21 August 2010
Denmark day 7
We’re going to the zoo, zoo zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.
Daddy did indeed take us to the zoo – Aalborg Zoo, to be precise. It’s on the outskirts of the city, so about 40 minutes away from where we’re staying. We thought it would be good for a couple of hours, but in fact, we did 'stay all day'.
The zoo is fairly traditional – most animals are in large caged areas, or at least have a moat between you and them - as opposed to a safari park. The monkeys/baboons/chimpanzees looked happiest with this arrangement – they had huge enclosures to swing about in. The big cats (lions, tigers) didn’t have quite so much space, while the zebras/giraffes/elephants had enormous paddocks to play around in.
The polar bears were fantastic to see up close - I'd never really got a sense of their size before, despite seeing the animatronic Bjorn the Polar Bear at the Sage at Christmas. Their enclosure included an enormous pool with glass sides, which enabled you to see them underwater. One of them was ‘playing’ with a huge car tyre, and the chunks taken out of it with his teeth and claws were very impressive.
The African Village section of the zoo was excellent - it gave you some really good background on the savannah animals, and it was nicely done with reproductions of village buildings. I can imagine that this gets used a lot for school visits. We loved the elephants nearby - who looked to be enjoying themselves kicking water around in the mudholes, and spraying the people watching.
We all had different favourites among the animals – I thought the polar bears were amazing, Orb liked the giraffes, and M loved the goats. What can I say. We take her halfway across Europe, show her all sorts of exotica, and she goes for the goats. In her defence, you could at least get close up to the goats and stroke them, which you’re never going to be able to do with an elephant.
We ate at the zoo at lunchtime, having run out of ideas for picnics. The self-service restaurant was very quiet - I think most Danish families are the picnic type. M picked a Danish hot dog (called a Fransk hotdog), I had the salad of the day (broccoli, raisins, pine nuts and red onion), Orb had a massive cheeseburger, and we all shared some chips - for 145 DKK. Can't imagine London Zoo being that reasonable. The food was all freshly made, and tasted great.
The other good thing about the zoo is the marvellous children's playground - with a huge, spidery rope climbing frame. M spent ages there, and was very proud of climbing up to the second level of ropes and bouncing around. There's also little things for tinies - slide/seesaw etc.
All in all, it was an excellent day out. The entrance fee is 120 DKK for adults (about £13), and 65 DKK for kids, so it's probably not a place to go just for a morning - but there's certainly enough to keep you occupied for longer.
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.
Daddy did indeed take us to the zoo – Aalborg Zoo, to be precise. It’s on the outskirts of the city, so about 40 minutes away from where we’re staying. We thought it would be good for a couple of hours, but in fact, we did 'stay all day'.
The zoo is fairly traditional – most animals are in large caged areas, or at least have a moat between you and them - as opposed to a safari park. The monkeys/baboons/chimpanzees looked happiest with this arrangement – they had huge enclosures to swing about in. The big cats (lions, tigers) didn’t have quite so much space, while the zebras/giraffes/elephants had enormous paddocks to play around in.
The polar bears were fantastic to see up close - I'd never really got a sense of their size before, despite seeing the animatronic Bjorn the Polar Bear at the Sage at Christmas. Their enclosure included an enormous pool with glass sides, which enabled you to see them underwater. One of them was ‘playing’ with a huge car tyre, and the chunks taken out of it with his teeth and claws were very impressive.
The African Village section of the zoo was excellent - it gave you some really good background on the savannah animals, and it was nicely done with reproductions of village buildings. I can imagine that this gets used a lot for school visits. We loved the elephants nearby - who looked to be enjoying themselves kicking water around in the mudholes, and spraying the people watching.
We all had different favourites among the animals – I thought the polar bears were amazing, Orb liked the giraffes, and M loved the goats. What can I say. We take her halfway across Europe, show her all sorts of exotica, and she goes for the goats. In her defence, you could at least get close up to the goats and stroke them, which you’re never going to be able to do with an elephant.
We ate at the zoo at lunchtime, having run out of ideas for picnics. The self-service restaurant was very quiet - I think most Danish families are the picnic type. M picked a Danish hot dog (called a Fransk hotdog), I had the salad of the day (broccoli, raisins, pine nuts and red onion), Orb had a massive cheeseburger, and we all shared some chips - for 145 DKK. Can't imagine London Zoo being that reasonable. The food was all freshly made, and tasted great.
The other good thing about the zoo is the marvellous children's playground - with a huge, spidery rope climbing frame. M spent ages there, and was very proud of climbing up to the second level of ropes and bouncing around. There's also little things for tinies - slide/seesaw etc.
All in all, it was an excellent day out. The entrance fee is 120 DKK for adults (about £13), and 65 DKK for kids, so it's probably not a place to go just for a morning - but there's certainly enough to keep you occupied for longer.
17 August 2010
Denmark day 3
Today has mostly been about the rain. Not content with thunderous storms the other night which kept us awake for hours, it's pretty much poured down all day. I suppose we should be thankful we're not underwater, unlike Copenhagen.
But, there seem to be lots of things to do in Denmark when it's wet. We decided that we'd go with the water theme, and headed to the Kattegatcentret in Grenaa - it's a massive aquarium, stuffed full of sharks, stingrays and fishy creatures of all kinds.
The sharks made the most immediate impression - there's a huge tank as soon as you enter, with a tunnel underneath that you can walk through. Here's one friendly fellow...
M and Orb had lots of fun stroking the fish in the touchpools - the crabs were a bit nippy, but the rays were beautifully soft. We also saw some very cute seahorses, the obligatory Nemos (clownfish), and a bunch of red piranhas clearly planning world domination.
Outside there's some seals (and a chance to watch them being fed), and what looked like a fantastic children's playground with an octopus slide - sadly it was too wet to try it out. We did have a go at building lego lighthouses, which was excellent. We fully approve of the Danish obsession with lego, wo yes.
All in all, it's a rather good day out, although it is at the top end of the budget. It's 140 DKK for adults, 70 DKK for children - that's about £15.50 and £7.75 respectively. We took a picnic for lunch (as did most of the Danish families we saw), which saved us some cash.
Once home, it was still raining, so we decided we'd roadtest the campsite kitchen/dining room/tv lounge (one of several at Grenaa Strand Camping). As I said before, they're beautifully clean, and absolutely enormous. Here's a glimpse:
Showkitchen:
No fish gutting here!
Orb and M chilling out with some tv:
It seems to have stopped raining for now, which is a jolly good thing, given the foldy beast has sprung a leak. We may require a spot of filler...
But, there seem to be lots of things to do in Denmark when it's wet. We decided that we'd go with the water theme, and headed to the Kattegatcentret in Grenaa - it's a massive aquarium, stuffed full of sharks, stingrays and fishy creatures of all kinds.
The sharks made the most immediate impression - there's a huge tank as soon as you enter, with a tunnel underneath that you can walk through. Here's one friendly fellow...
M and Orb had lots of fun stroking the fish in the touchpools - the crabs were a bit nippy, but the rays were beautifully soft. We also saw some very cute seahorses, the obligatory Nemos (clownfish), and a bunch of red piranhas clearly planning world domination.
Outside there's some seals (and a chance to watch them being fed), and what looked like a fantastic children's playground with an octopus slide - sadly it was too wet to try it out. We did have a go at building lego lighthouses, which was excellent. We fully approve of the Danish obsession with lego, wo yes.
All in all, it's a rather good day out, although it is at the top end of the budget. It's 140 DKK for adults, 70 DKK for children - that's about £15.50 and £7.75 respectively. We took a picnic for lunch (as did most of the Danish families we saw), which saved us some cash.
Once home, it was still raining, so we decided we'd roadtest the campsite kitchen/dining room/tv lounge (one of several at Grenaa Strand Camping). As I said before, they're beautifully clean, and absolutely enormous. Here's a glimpse:
Showkitchen:
No fish gutting here!
Orb and M chilling out with some tv:
It seems to have stopped raining for now, which is a jolly good thing, given the foldy beast has sprung a leak. We may require a spot of filler...
16 August 2010
Denmark day 2
Today's been about finding things and seeing the lay of the land, as second days of your holiday often are. We've been into the nearest town, Grenaa, to find a supermarket and have a mooch around.
The supermarket was great fun. We're obsessed with food at the best of times, so having a whole lot of Danish food to play with was great. It was surprisingly easy to understand what was what - we speak absolutely no Danish apart from knowing how to say thank you (tak). But there's a lot that's reasonably similar to English (for example, I'm always amused that child in Danish is barn - or bairn, as you'd say in Newcastle) due to our Viking past. And we do know German - there's a fair amount that overlaps. Although ost (cheese) and skinke (ham) had us puzzled for a bit.
We found a Danish supermarked called Kvickly in Grenaa, and here's what we bought:
It included a few small cans of Tuborg, lots of bread/yoghurt/orange juice/fruit/salad/ham/cheese and some interesting sausages and frikadellen. This little lot (one bag and the overspill you see here) came to an astonishing 431.11 DKK. That's about £45. Ouch!
Our top tips for food:
We were hoping for a bakery so we could have yet more Danish pastries (except they're not called that here, of course - the Viennese seem to be blamed instead). We didn't manage to track one down in Grenaa itself, so we headed off towards the port instead. Pastries duly found (a round swirly thing covered in chocolate which was so vast it had to be shared between the three of us), we had a look around the fishing boats (and assorted jellyfish).
Tomorrow we're off on an excursion - depending on the weather. The weather's not been great so far - massive scary thunderstorms and pouring rain last night (which always sounds worse in a caravan), and dull grey cloud today. But it's warm - about 23 degrees - and the cloud cleared this evening so we ate tea in the sunshine - bliss.
The supermarket was great fun. We're obsessed with food at the best of times, so having a whole lot of Danish food to play with was great. It was surprisingly easy to understand what was what - we speak absolutely no Danish apart from knowing how to say thank you (tak). But there's a lot that's reasonably similar to English (for example, I'm always amused that child in Danish is barn - or bairn, as you'd say in Newcastle) due to our Viking past. And we do know German - there's a fair amount that overlaps. Although ost (cheese) and skinke (ham) had us puzzled for a bit.
We found a Danish supermarked called Kvickly in Grenaa, and here's what we bought:
It included a few small cans of Tuborg, lots of bread/yoghurt/orange juice/fruit/salad/ham/cheese and some interesting sausages and frikadellen. This little lot (one bag and the overspill you see here) came to an astonishing 431.11 DKK. That's about £45. Ouch!Our top tips for food:
- it might sound obvious, but look for food (eg yoghurt, milk) that's from Denmark - it's cheaper (and has fewer food miles)
- own brand stuff is usually cheapest, just like it is at home
- if you have space in the car, bring your own basics. We travelled with a crate of stuff - rice, pasta, couscous, marmite, jam, tea bags, coffee - you get the idea.
- discount supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl might be cheaper. We'll roadtest one, and get back to you.
We were hoping for a bakery so we could have yet more Danish pastries (except they're not called that here, of course - the Viennese seem to be blamed instead). We didn't manage to track one down in Grenaa itself, so we headed off towards the port instead. Pastries duly found (a round swirly thing covered in chocolate which was so vast it had to be shared between the three of us), we had a look around the fishing boats (and assorted jellyfish).
Tomorrow we're off on an excursion - depending on the weather. The weather's not been great so far - massive scary thunderstorms and pouring rain last night (which always sounds worse in a caravan), and dull grey cloud today. But it's warm - about 23 degrees - and the cloud cleared this evening so we ate tea in the sunshine - bliss.
15 August 2010
Denmark!
Here's our pitch at the Grenaa Strand campsite (as you can see, we'll have to mind out for the neighbours...)
We've settled in - the foldy beast is up, we've checked out the facilities (the indoor kitchen areas and showers are cleaner than my house has ever been), clambered over the pirate playground and eaten tea.
The best bit so far? It has to be the beach, two minutes' walk away...
We've settled in - the foldy beast is up, we've checked out the facilities (the indoor kitchen areas and showers are cleaner than my house has ever been), clambered over the pirate playground and eaten tea.
The best bit so far? It has to be the beach, two minutes' walk away...
11 August 2010
Cornwall (part 2)
You've had the fancy pics, now it's time for the lowdown (or more accurately, some ramblings about what we got up to in Cornwall).
We did a lot of splashing about on some stunning pebbly and sandy beaches, marvelling at how the sea in Cornwall is so clear. You can actually see the bottom - not something I've ever really experienced up here. It's also bloody chilly. We bought M a wetsuit, so she was fine, but Orb and I were absolutely nithered, standing there up to our knees in freezing cold water. Still, there was rockpooling to be done, shells to be collected (now turned into a rather fancy mobile), and beach snacks to be eaten (you can't beat jammy dodgers on a cold and windy day).
We also spent a day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which were absolutely beautiful, especially the jungle ravine. And I had massive allotment envy in the kitchen garden. M was most taken by the fact that they grow pineapples in horse poo, and with the small compass she was issued with on arrival. We spent the day regaled by a small person shouting "north east", "south west", "we're heading for the north pole" and other sundry directions.
The weather wasn't particularly kind to us, though. And rain on a campsite (even one as nice as Treloan) makes things a bit pants. We were rescued from the downpour by a blogmeet/tweet up with the lovely James BC, Patroclus and the Blue Kitten, who we terrified by providing an insight into life with a four-and-three-quarters-nearly-five-year-old-who-is-completely-bonkers-about-cats. In return, they provided fabulous cake and scones, and regaled us with tales of sofas. It were great.
We also ventured out on the obligatory Eden Project trip - which was fantastic (and which had better be, given the entry price - all I can say is thank god for Tesco vouchers). I think I actually liked the outdoor areas best (although I could quite happily take up residence in the Mediterranean biodome), and if their staff of gardeners could just come and sort out the weeds in my allotment and make it look as nice as theirs, I'd be eternally grateful. M and Orb, as you can see, had fun building dens...
We also tried the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, which was excellent (if wildly expensive, at £9.50 a ticket). The exhibition on lighthouses was fantastic - M was fascinated by the tales of the sea ripping off bronze doors, lighthouse keepers weeing in buckets, and semaphore flags. There's also some lovely boats hanging up in the main hall, a great view of Falmouth from the top of the tower, and a rather good exhibition on the weather (should have seen this before we went to Cornwall, sadly!). My only gripe is that having charged you a fortune to get in, there's a whole load of other stuff (like sailing model boats, or crab fishing) that requires further cash - I know it's only 50p a time, but you do feel rather as if you're being regarded as a cash cow.
What else? We toasted marshmallow pigs on the bbq, dismantled a gigantic (cooked) crab, ate lots of lovely Callestick Farm ice cream, found the best pasties in the world (St Mawes bakery on the harbourside - just avoid the Sloane Ranger yachties and you'll be fine), visited Fraggle Rock, saw peregrine falcons, and generally spent a reasonable amount of time mooching about. There wasn't much sitting in the sunshine of an evening with a glass of rose, but you can't have everything.
So now we've returned home, done an absolute mountain of washing and work, and now it's time to head off again. Thanks to the lovely people at Visit Denmark, we're going to be guinea pigs for 10 days, heading over to Denmark to test out some campsites and attractions. Wooooo!!! We're taking a video camera, the foldy beast and 900 small plastic kittens, so that should just about cover every eventuality.
Updates to follow as we travel...
We did a lot of splashing about on some stunning pebbly and sandy beaches, marvelling at how the sea in Cornwall is so clear. You can actually see the bottom - not something I've ever really experienced up here. It's also bloody chilly. We bought M a wetsuit, so she was fine, but Orb and I were absolutely nithered, standing there up to our knees in freezing cold water. Still, there was rockpooling to be done, shells to be collected (now turned into a rather fancy mobile), and beach snacks to be eaten (you can't beat jammy dodgers on a cold and windy day).
We also spent a day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which were absolutely beautiful, especially the jungle ravine. And I had massive allotment envy in the kitchen garden. M was most taken by the fact that they grow pineapples in horse poo, and with the small compass she was issued with on arrival. We spent the day regaled by a small person shouting "north east", "south west", "we're heading for the north pole" and other sundry directions.
The weather wasn't particularly kind to us, though. And rain on a campsite (even one as nice as Treloan) makes things a bit pants. We were rescued from the downpour by a blogmeet/tweet up with the lovely James BC, Patroclus and the Blue Kitten, who we terrified by providing an insight into life with a four-and-three-quarters-nearly-five-year-old-who-is-completely-bonkers-about-cats. In return, they provided fabulous cake and scones, and regaled us with tales of sofas. It were great.
We also ventured out on the obligatory Eden Project trip - which was fantastic (and which had better be, given the entry price - all I can say is thank god for Tesco vouchers). I think I actually liked the outdoor areas best (although I could quite happily take up residence in the Mediterranean biodome), and if their staff of gardeners could just come and sort out the weeds in my allotment and make it look as nice as theirs, I'd be eternally grateful. M and Orb, as you can see, had fun building dens...
We also tried the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, which was excellent (if wildly expensive, at £9.50 a ticket). The exhibition on lighthouses was fantastic - M was fascinated by the tales of the sea ripping off bronze doors, lighthouse keepers weeing in buckets, and semaphore flags. There's also some lovely boats hanging up in the main hall, a great view of Falmouth from the top of the tower, and a rather good exhibition on the weather (should have seen this before we went to Cornwall, sadly!). My only gripe is that having charged you a fortune to get in, there's a whole load of other stuff (like sailing model boats, or crab fishing) that requires further cash - I know it's only 50p a time, but you do feel rather as if you're being regarded as a cash cow.
What else? We toasted marshmallow pigs on the bbq, dismantled a gigantic (cooked) crab, ate lots of lovely Callestick Farm ice cream, found the best pasties in the world (St Mawes bakery on the harbourside - just avoid the Sloane Ranger yachties and you'll be fine), visited Fraggle Rock, saw peregrine falcons, and generally spent a reasonable amount of time mooching about. There wasn't much sitting in the sunshine of an evening with a glass of rose, but you can't have everything.
So now we've returned home, done an absolute mountain of washing and work, and now it's time to head off again. Thanks to the lovely people at Visit Denmark, we're going to be guinea pigs for 10 days, heading over to Denmark to test out some campsites and attractions. Wooooo!!! We're taking a video camera, the foldy beast and 900 small plastic kittens, so that should just about cover every eventuality.
Updates to follow as we travel...
08 August 2010
25 May 2010
28 April 2010
The farmers are revolting
Here's the latest in political reportage from Paris - tractors!!
I know there's only two here at the Bastille, but there were around 1,300 of them, apparently. We must have stood and watched about 400 of them go past, with lots of beeping of horns, waving of flags and victory salutes from the crowd. It's safe to say they're really not very happy with Mr Sarkozy...
I know there's only two here at the Bastille, but there were around 1,300 of them, apparently. We must have stood and watched about 400 of them go past, with lots of beeping of horns, waving of flags and victory salutes from the crowd. It's safe to say they're really not very happy with Mr Sarkozy...
26 April 2010
Eiffel Tower
The view from the top was definitely worth the wait for the elevators (and the inevitable tussle with grumpy Italian teenagers about the finer points of queue etiquette).
In other news, I appear to have bought an Eiffel Tower biscuit cutter from Dehillerin's. Oops.
24 April 2010
Paris!
We've been sailing on the river (looking for houseboats with cars, gardens and patios on deck - oh, and the odd monument, natch) and cruising the Tuilleries for carousels. The strange woodland chap below was hiding out in the Tuilleries too, waiting for passing small children.
21 September 2009
Why I love a good vide-grenier
Collapsible stables: 2 euros
Two small ponies: 20 cents
One small child happily washing/grooming and racing ponies: Bargain.
16 September 2008
Books galore
One of the nice things about going away for a week to France, apart from the fact that you can actually see some sunshine on a regular basis, is that you get time to read some books. Not that much reading was done in the sunshine - a certain young lady was too busy playing in sandpits, swimming in lakes and swimming pools and shopping at our favourite place in Bergerac (the fizzy sugar cubes for the bath were a big hit).
I did make a dint in my pile of books, though, mainly by staying up until the early hours until I needed matchsticks to hold my eyes open. It was such a luxury to read in peace and quiet (there's no broadband, hence no distractions).
Scores on the doors:
The Rose of Sebastopol, by Katharine McMahon
Found at the library, but I'd have been quite pleased if I'd bought it, as it wasn't a bad read. It lost its way towards the end (to be honest, it could have ended a couple of chapters earlier), but I liked the characters, and the way they were drawn (there were some nice sewing details too). And I'm a sucker for a long drawn-out romantic thread. Mind, I couldn't tell you anything about the Crimean War now - it obviously went in one ear and out the other.
The Palace of Strange Girls, by Sallie Day
I liked this one a lot, but I did manage to devour it in a couple of hours, which usually means it's light on the description and heavy on plot and characters. I liked the picture it drew of 1950s Blackpool (fairly accurate, according to my Mum who was brought up there), and I loved the way each chapter was opened by a quote from the I-Spy-at-the-Seaside book. Rather a predictable ending, but I liked how it got there.
The Ghost, by Robert Harris
Ooh, plot plot plot plot bit of character development plot plot plot. You know what you're getting with a Robert Harris, really, don't you? Not as good as Fatherland or Enigma - maybe because the subject matter wasn't as interesting - although I'm sure Tony Blair's memoirs will be a riveting read.
The Visible World, by Mark Slouka
I sort of liked this one - or rather I liked the fictional memoir which makes up the first half of this book. The romance thread lost me though - in fact I didn't bother with the second part (the romantic novel), as I could cheerfully have banged the main characters' heads together by that point.
I did make a dint in my pile of books, though, mainly by staying up until the early hours until I needed matchsticks to hold my eyes open. It was such a luxury to read in peace and quiet (there's no broadband, hence no distractions).
Scores on the doors:
The Rose of Sebastopol, by Katharine McMahon
Found at the library, but I'd have been quite pleased if I'd bought it, as it wasn't a bad read. It lost its way towards the end (to be honest, it could have ended a couple of chapters earlier), but I liked the characters, and the way they were drawn (there were some nice sewing details too). And I'm a sucker for a long drawn-out romantic thread. Mind, I couldn't tell you anything about the Crimean War now - it obviously went in one ear and out the other.
The Palace of Strange Girls, by Sallie Day
I liked this one a lot, but I did manage to devour it in a couple of hours, which usually means it's light on the description and heavy on plot and characters. I liked the picture it drew of 1950s Blackpool (fairly accurate, according to my Mum who was brought up there), and I loved the way each chapter was opened by a quote from the I-Spy-at-the-Seaside book. Rather a predictable ending, but I liked how it got there.
The Ghost, by Robert Harris
Ooh, plot plot plot plot bit of character development plot plot plot. You know what you're getting with a Robert Harris, really, don't you? Not as good as Fatherland or Enigma - maybe because the subject matter wasn't as interesting - although I'm sure Tony Blair's memoirs will be a riveting read.
The Visible World, by Mark Slouka
I sort of liked this one - or rather I liked the fictional memoir which makes up the first half of this book. The romance thread lost me though - in fact I didn't bother with the second part (the romantic novel), as I could cheerfully have banged the main characters' heads together by that point.
07 July 2008
The best sandcastle in the world (TM)
In case you're wondering what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks...
More to follow, when the bottomless pit of work has finished...
More to follow, when the bottomless pit of work has finished...
08 April 2008
Of blogs and travel
Blogged to death? Sadly, I think not. Despite my best efforts, this seems to be my first post in April - eek. Blame too much work, people staying (it's just rude to wander off and start blogging, I always feel), and the delights of attempting to work out a summer holiday.
Actually, that's taken up most of my spare time over the last week. You'd have thought it would be easy to arrange a trip to France for two weeks, especially when you don't have to find any accommodation, and you've resolved the 'how do we get there?' argument (trains win).
But no. For a start, you can't book a through trip from London to Bordeaux on Eurostar until three months before your return date. So, Sunday comes round, and the final dates become available. I spend three hours trying to work out the timetables, come up with a variety of prices, and coordinate UK trains with French ones. So long, it seems, that by the end of the evening all the cheap tickets have gone, and we're faced with paying an extra £50. Much swearing.
Still, it's only £250. Not a bad price for getting 2 people (plus a small, free person) several thousand miles. Unlike the cheapest rail price that I can currently find for travelling from Newcastle to London (£200). Much swearing again. It seems that not all the tickets for UK travel have been released yet - and I now seem to need a crystal ball to predict when that might happen. We live in hope.
Anyway, we attempt to book the Eurostar tickets, only to discover that the RailEurope website crashes when you use Firefox (more swearing). A delightful evening all round.
Only bettered by attempting to book a cattery the following morning, and discovering the only one with vacancies was charging £11 a day for the privilege. I love my cat, I really do, but £11 a day is ridiculous. Are they watching wall-to-wall Sky Movies and being handfed free-range chicken for this price?
Only car hire left to fix. I await imminent disaster.
Actually, that's taken up most of my spare time over the last week. You'd have thought it would be easy to arrange a trip to France for two weeks, especially when you don't have to find any accommodation, and you've resolved the 'how do we get there?' argument (trains win).
But no. For a start, you can't book a through trip from London to Bordeaux on Eurostar until three months before your return date. So, Sunday comes round, and the final dates become available. I spend three hours trying to work out the timetables, come up with a variety of prices, and coordinate UK trains with French ones. So long, it seems, that by the end of the evening all the cheap tickets have gone, and we're faced with paying an extra £50. Much swearing.
Still, it's only £250. Not a bad price for getting 2 people (plus a small, free person) several thousand miles. Unlike the cheapest rail price that I can currently find for travelling from Newcastle to London (£200). Much swearing again. It seems that not all the tickets for UK travel have been released yet - and I now seem to need a crystal ball to predict when that might happen. We live in hope.
Anyway, we attempt to book the Eurostar tickets, only to discover that the RailEurope website crashes when you use Firefox (more swearing). A delightful evening all round.
Only bettered by attempting to book a cattery the following morning, and discovering the only one with vacancies was charging £11 a day for the privilege. I love my cat, I really do, but £11 a day is ridiculous. Are they watching wall-to-wall Sky Movies and being handfed free-range chicken for this price?
Only car hire left to fix. I await imminent disaster.
21 February 2008
I don't think I'm cut out to be a travel agent
I've just spent the last two hours surfing the net, trying to find prices for (a) flying and (b) going by car to France in the summer. It's a tricky one - on the one hand, you have eco-hubby who hates flying, on the other, me who will be bored witless after about two hours of the 20-odd car drive from Gateshead to the southwest of France. Throw in the delights of entertaining a two-year-old en voyage, and the fact that there's not a lot of cash spare for the trip in the first place, and it becomes a tough call.
In fact, we've done both in the past. I tend to fly when it's just me and M, and we're being met by my parents at the other end. She's entranced by the weird vehicles they have at airports (those things that pull the aircraft around, and deliver baggage), and by the fact that you can see your suitcase being put on the plane (our flybe aircraft is usually one of those tiny ones with propeller engines and two seats either side of the aisle, so there's not usually a lot of baggage to hoy onboard).
The downside is the airport delays (eight hours at the two-shed terminal that is Bergerac airport was a low point), and the hell that is trying to carry a knackered toddler and hand luggage through the airport to the baggage hall after the flight, when the airline won't give you your pushchair back. Luckily, there's usually a horde of very nice retired folk on the flights out and back to the Dordogne, who are more than happy to help grab bags from carousels, amuse small children in the waiting areas, and help carry pushchairs up and down steps.
As for the road trips, well, it's just a very long way from up here, requiring much sitting in cars. There are advantages - ferries are exciting (especially the SpeedFerries one that zips you over to France so fast you bounce across the waves), and there's usually an overnight stop at a random hotel (which from M's perspective involves pain au chocolat for breakfast, which is always A GOOD THING, and has been talked about ever since).
But oh, the tedium! Broken by a bit of navigation - which I'm pretty good at, I have to say, although I'm not helped by the fact that the French seem to have an aversion to putting road numbers on their signs, and expect you to navigate by knowing the city 200 miles away which the road is pointing towards. There's the odd moment of excitement which culminates in a three-point turn, but in the main it's just miles and miles and miles of roads. France is big, let's face it.
Actually, I think I'm the world's worst passenger - all I want to do is read (but it does make me travel sick after an hour), I can't get Radio 4 very well the further south you go in France, and games of all descriptions (especially I spy and its ilk) bore me to tears inside the first five minutes. I may, in fact, be a worse passenger than the two-year-old. Oh dear.
So, suggestions please. My journey (if it turns out to be by road), would be enlivened by somewhere other than the Hotel Ibis in Chartres to stay (rooms ok, food abysmal), and something to occupy me (and the two-year-old), when I'm not driving.
Answers on a postcard. Please...
In fact, we've done both in the past. I tend to fly when it's just me and M, and we're being met by my parents at the other end. She's entranced by the weird vehicles they have at airports (those things that pull the aircraft around, and deliver baggage), and by the fact that you can see your suitcase being put on the plane (our flybe aircraft is usually one of those tiny ones with propeller engines and two seats either side of the aisle, so there's not usually a lot of baggage to hoy onboard).
The downside is the airport delays (eight hours at the two-shed terminal that is Bergerac airport was a low point), and the hell that is trying to carry a knackered toddler and hand luggage through the airport to the baggage hall after the flight, when the airline won't give you your pushchair back. Luckily, there's usually a horde of very nice retired folk on the flights out and back to the Dordogne, who are more than happy to help grab bags from carousels, amuse small children in the waiting areas, and help carry pushchairs up and down steps.
As for the road trips, well, it's just a very long way from up here, requiring much sitting in cars. There are advantages - ferries are exciting (especially the SpeedFerries one that zips you over to France so fast you bounce across the waves), and there's usually an overnight stop at a random hotel (which from M's perspective involves pain au chocolat for breakfast, which is always A GOOD THING, and has been talked about ever since).
But oh, the tedium! Broken by a bit of navigation - which I'm pretty good at, I have to say, although I'm not helped by the fact that the French seem to have an aversion to putting road numbers on their signs, and expect you to navigate by knowing the city 200 miles away which the road is pointing towards. There's the odd moment of excitement which culminates in a three-point turn, but in the main it's just miles and miles and miles of roads. France is big, let's face it.
Actually, I think I'm the world's worst passenger - all I want to do is read (but it does make me travel sick after an hour), I can't get Radio 4 very well the further south you go in France, and games of all descriptions (especially I spy and its ilk) bore me to tears inside the first five minutes. I may, in fact, be a worse passenger than the two-year-old. Oh dear.
So, suggestions please. My journey (if it turns out to be by road), would be enlivened by somewhere other than the Hotel Ibis in Chartres to stay (rooms ok, food abysmal), and something to occupy me (and the two-year-old), when I'm not driving.
Answers on a postcard. Please...
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