tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68449127083148312112024-03-14T05:36:08.041+00:00xkerrywKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-7952799598440316402014-02-04T11:41:00.000+00:002014-02-04T13:21:37.426+00:00Pompeii<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday 4th October 2013</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SG1Hx657wHo/UvDP6DoXVfI/AAAAAAAABa4/3hKdEdx-5ck/s1600/1374157_10201509913602541_1301817305_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SG1Hx657wHo/UvDP6DoXVfI/AAAAAAAABa4/3hKdEdx-5ck/s1600/1374157_10201509913602541_1301817305_n.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've always been interested in how other cultures live their daily lives, especially hundreds or thousands of years ago when they had different technologies and priorities but still needed the same basic amenities that we need today. As we left Contursi to move north through Italy we decided to stop at the ancient city of Pompeii.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mOa_sEydmzU/UvDP965XRvI/AAAAAAAABcI/-yGeaaFVuSs/s1600/995205_10201509904202306_699887411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mOa_sEydmzU/UvDP965XRvI/AAAAAAAABcI/-yGeaaFVuSs/s1600/995205_10201509904202306_699887411_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IKO7FwI-T4Q/UvDP6t2sOEI/AAAAAAAABbY/Gy0ma8mUqB0/s1600/1381644_10201509912682518_1445928355_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IKO7FwI-T4Q/UvDP6t2sOEI/AAAAAAAABbY/Gy0ma8mUqB0/s1600/1381644_10201509912682518_1445928355_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_mXe7muXMg/UvDP7KGHKNI/AAAAAAAABbE/rG_Cu__zR6o/s1600/1383683_10201509904962325_650774535_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x_mXe7muXMg/UvDP7KGHKNI/AAAAAAAABbE/rG_Cu__zR6o/s1600/1383683_10201509904962325_650774535_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I had been to Pompeii when I was younger with my family, and I was surprised at how much I could remember of it when we walked those same streets again. Luckily one of the events I remembered didn't reoccur, and that was of my last visit to Pompeii where my sister came out of the toilets and was stopped by a man saying she had to pay to use the toilet, being only about 10 she got her purse out to give him a few coins but he took all her money. We fortunately didn't come across anything like that this time round!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe0BxMsFmM0/UvDP64nfkAI/AAAAAAAABbM/KKSIz3KW2Rw/s1600/1381683_10201509911482488_1893221441_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe0BxMsFmM0/UvDP64nfkAI/AAAAAAAABbM/KKSIz3KW2Rw/s1600/1381683_10201509911482488_1893221441_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bg3lTsrcbEE/UvDP73IHdFI/AAAAAAAABb4/gCm_ROJdps0/s1600/1384063_10201509912562515_1902098491_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bg3lTsrcbEE/UvDP73IHdFI/AAAAAAAABb4/gCm_ROJdps0/s1600/1384063_10201509912562515_1902098491_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The drive was pretty simple and easy, following the road until Mount Vesuvius started to loom up from the horizon. For some reason I had imagined the old city of Pompeii to be in the middle of nowhere in some hot, dusty, isolated location but it was right in the middle of the modern town of Pompei, which makes sense.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We parked up on the roadside and had a short walk to the entrance to get our tickets, as I'm between the age of 18 and 25 my ticket was half price which was a nice saving. It wasn't busy at this time of year so we went straight in. The first ancient ruin you come across is the enormous amphitheater, which is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheater, a century younger than the Colosseum in Rome, and the first known to be built of stone as they were previously built from wood. During games in 59 AD in the amphitheater a vicious fight broke out between Pompeians and residents of Nuceria which resulted in a ten year ban on the events. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgzqlCiwiwA/UvDP6LmTKBI/AAAAAAAABa0/3aAg5nisAzw/s1600/1375900_10201509902202256_1579856686_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgzqlCiwiwA/UvDP6LmTKBI/AAAAAAAABa0/3aAg5nisAzw/s1600/1375900_10201509902202256_1579856686_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5kFl9qqWLk/UvDP8QcjPfI/AAAAAAAABb0/Rs05yWHUdjU/s1600/1385842_10201509901522239_1875370444_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n5kFl9qqWLk/UvDP8QcjPfI/AAAAAAAABb0/Rs05yWHUdjU/s1600/1385842_10201509901522239_1875370444_n.jpg" height="288" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's always fun to walk around these places imagining what the people were doing in those ancient times. If you can block out the tour groups you can almost see the gladiators! As we wondered through other streets I was amazed at how well preserved paintings and other details were. The lack of air and moisture the artifacts had for nearly two thousands years meant that everything was left nearly as it was when Vesuvius erupted and buried the city under 25 meters of ash.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favourite part of the city was the bath houses, again for the detail in the artwork on the walls and ceilings and for the size of the place. On display in the bath houses are also a few plaster casts of people that would have died in the city during the eruption. They were discovered when they filled gaps in the solid ash with plaster and the shape of the cast came to be a body. It is thought the residents died from heat exposure and because it happened so suddenly they would have died and frozen in that position as they were buried. It's quite grizzly but gives you an idea of how fast it would have happened and how they would have had no chance to escape.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BWcw4P3LGaU/UvDP9j6VMBI/AAAAAAAABcM/kh_dMTq5_cc/s1600/564027_10201509909362435_1221392072_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BWcw4P3LGaU/UvDP9j6VMBI/AAAAAAAABcM/kh_dMTq5_cc/s1600/564027_10201509909362435_1221392072_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4RqEyAwLfAg/UvDP8tUg7XI/AAAAAAAABbw/7_rgVRBakvk/s1600/1391802_10201509909082428_177471012_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4RqEyAwLfAg/UvDP8tUg7XI/AAAAAAAABbw/7_rgVRBakvk/s1600/1391802_10201509909082428_177471012_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbgt6IKwi4U/UvDP8K9DGlI/AAAAAAAABbg/mx8DqsQIS8E/s1600/1384301_10201509909602441_39950056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sbgt6IKwi4U/UvDP8K9DGlI/AAAAAAAABbg/mx8DqsQIS8E/s1600/1384301_10201509909602441_39950056_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2yRkqkJLbqA/UvDP7hp2ItI/AAAAAAAABbU/bqA7kBviAhg/s1600/1383742_10201509906202356_1331437172_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2yRkqkJLbqA/UvDP7hp2ItI/AAAAAAAABbU/bqA7kBviAhg/s1600/1383742_10201509906202356_1331437172_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0whK9N7U9w/UvDP6OqTK8I/AAAAAAAABaw/JqVNEH6W3TI/s1600/1378588_10201509906122354_1662944407_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0whK9N7U9w/UvDP6OqTK8I/AAAAAAAABaw/JqVNEH6W3TI/s1600/1378588_10201509906122354_1662944407_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If we ever get the chance to visit Naples I'd like to visit the National Archaeological Museum as most of Pompeii's artifacts and art has been moved there. The Secret Museum refers to separate rooms where Pompeii's erotic art has been kept as it has offended many people over the years and the door to the room bricked up. Up until the 1960's it was still only shown to people 'of mature age and respected morals', mostly just men. The pervs!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The size of the city is impressive, with about two thirds of it excavated. It's hard to think of it as a devastating place where thousands of people died when you're walking round, apart from when you see the plaster bodies, because the structures are so well preserved and the layout and buildings so similar to a modern city. We left the ruins to pass through stalls and stalls of souvenirs, mostly tacky objects trying to depict Pompeii's erotic art, huge penises on everything! I was very tempted to buy a calender but 25 euros was a bit steep. We ended the evening in a cheep and cheerful cafe and started our drive to Rome. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxUZr4BgCZw/UvDP9RjhmYI/AAAAAAAABcQ/IUs7fL8pnzw/s1600/1395290_10201509913322534_408116082_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxUZr4BgCZw/UvDP9RjhmYI/AAAAAAAABcQ/IUs7fL8pnzw/s1600/1395290_10201509913322534_408116082_n.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-43993864326537439332014-02-03T15:24:00.000+00:002016-10-14T10:04:28.839+01:00Il Volo Dell'Angelo<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friday 4th October 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asNp6i_4KIs/Uu-xjJw4twI/AAAAAAAABZo/JUAqt8kWpU0/s1600/1382998_10201509846360860_307499953_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-asNp6i_4KIs/Uu-xjJw4twI/AAAAAAAABZo/JUAqt8kWpU0/s1600/1382998_10201509846360860_307499953_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we were staying at <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/diegos-farm-sicily.html" target="_blank">Diego's farm</a> in Sicily we were discussing where we were heading next and on mentioning Contursi Terme, Diego told us about a zip wire he had been on not far from where we were staying. He bought out his laptop and showed us a video filmed on his GoPro of him flying over the landscape on the zipwire, wooping and shouting as he flew along. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have always been a great lover of heights, Adam has a great fear of heights. We decided there and then that we would pay it a visit. As it was getting on in the year we had a quick look at the website to make sure it was still open and booked ourselves a slot in the afternoon of the last day the zip wire was running. Whilst I was getting steadily more excited to be zipping across the sky, Adam kept watching videos on YouTube and making himself more and more nervous about the impending flight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The zip wire is suspended between two towns, Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, in the Lucanian Dolomites. There are two different cables so you can go twice, fly to the other town and then come back to the one you started at, and they are between 859 and 888 metres high. It takes about 90 seconds to fly across, covering 1450 meters and reaching a speed of 75-80mph. I couldn't wait!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kbA4hgrb6w/Uu-ylImBFGI/AAAAAAAABaY/gItXI9j0ssc/s1600/castelmezzano_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kbA4hgrb6w/Uu-ylImBFGI/AAAAAAAABaY/gItXI9j0ssc/s1600/castelmezzano_03.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.volodellangelo.com/eng/web/item.asp?nav=6" target="_blank">Castelmezzano</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-71CkwgQ0Vo0/Uu-ylAmQwnI/AAAAAAAABac/KZHLpbfNHu8/s1600/pietrapertosa_dolomiti_lucane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-71CkwgQ0Vo0/Uu-ylAmQwnI/AAAAAAAABac/KZHLpbfNHu8/s1600/pietrapertosa_dolomiti_lucane.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image: <a href="http://www.volodellangelo.com/eng/web/item.asp?nav=7" target="_blank">Pietrapertosa</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We left early in the morning to get our slow little van up to the tiny mountain towns, only stopping to collect our exhaust when it fell off! As we started the incline Adam kept looking up and around to see if he could spot the zip wire, he was pointing at electricity cables and I kept saying yeah maybe that's it, but didn't tell him it would actually be a lot higher up than that!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We didn't realise how popular the attraction would be considering both the towns it connects are tiny, and as there was no official parking and everything was perched on a cliff we had to find a space to park on the winding mountain road and walk down to the ticket booth. Adam spotted some nice glass jars left by a dustbin that he made a mental note to come back for later! We were shuttled up in a van to the starting point and told to keep walking along the track until we reached the departure rig. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lprLUV35ANs/Uu-xixWdzJI/AAAAAAAABZs/DY2TTznPF-Y/s1600/1381906_10201509845040827_177126675_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lprLUV35ANs/Uu-xixWdzJI/AAAAAAAABZs/DY2TTznPF-Y/s1600/1381906_10201509845040827_177126675_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was easier said than done as I struggled up the steep hill, but it eventually leveled off a bit and the views around us were amazing. Only pedestrians and quad bikes could make it up the track, to bring back and forth equipment and harnesses, and their were picnic benches and viewpoints along the way for walkers. The medieval towns were surrounded by forests.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we reached the top there were a couple of other people waiting to go and we hung around waiting to go next. They had all the kit on, a sleeping bag like harness and a helmet, but they didn't go for ages and not knowing the language we didn't know why which put Adam on edge even more. He checked out the metal structures, equipment and the procedure of getting hooked up to the cable, I'm not sure if this helped him or not but he insisted he went first anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pg3_rrcgg7w/Uu-xkH81cOI/AAAAAAAABZ8/go8Aoi2RHEE/s1600/996009_10201509846000851_1438249044_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pg3_rrcgg7w/Uu-xkH81cOI/AAAAAAAABZ8/go8Aoi2RHEE/s1600/996009_10201509846000851_1438249044_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yClmHO_HI8g/Uu-xi4O3zGI/AAAAAAAABZk/QKMeP2E8-V4/s1600/1375808_10201509847240882_1089794656_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yClmHO_HI8g/Uu-xi4O3zGI/AAAAAAAABZk/QKMeP2E8-V4/s1600/1375808_10201509847240882_1089794656_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After about an hour the people working on the zip wire finally started getting it going again and we waited patiently in line behind the other 'angels' with all our gear on. But being polite and English the people that had accumulated behind us whilst no one was going on the zip wire somehow squeezed in front of us! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When it got to Adam's turn I could see he was quite nervous but he didn't back out and I watched his feet disappear down the mountain as he took flight. On my go they harnessed me up to the cable and I lent forward to be in a lying down position but suspended from the wire and I tucked my feet into a strap so my legs didn't dangle down and was told to hold onto the strap behind my back so my arms didn't flap about in the wind. They pull you back slightly to get some momentum and then you're released with a 'ciao!' to soar over the edge of the cliff and the valley. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wUBqE5emDUc/Uu-xjhht2FI/AAAAAAAABaA/TYPJrFAWgTs/s1600/734133_10201509884321809_2088030475_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wUBqE5emDUc/Uu-xjhht2FI/AAAAAAAABaA/TYPJrFAWgTs/s1600/734133_10201509884321809_2088030475_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can't really tell how fast you are travelling apart from the speed makes your eyes water a bit, and because you are so high up you kind of distance yourself from the fear of it. Like being in a plane is a lot less scary than standing at the top of a ladder because you can't really relate to being that high up most of the time. It was a pretty amazing feeling to have that flying super power for 90 seconds! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8d1u0NtbH6Q/Uu-xjkB0oNI/AAAAAAAABaE/qeFsrI9qzbc/s1600/1383834_10201509884121804_171481894_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8d1u0NtbH6Q/Uu-xjkB0oNI/AAAAAAAABaE/qeFsrI9qzbc/s1600/1383834_10201509884121804_171481894_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had to walk through the town to get to the second station and you could hear all the residents inside their cool stone houses having lunch. Mountain rock formed the walls and staircases for some of the houses with narrow lanes leading between them bringing you out to an opening to view the mountain. It would have been nice to have looked around more but we were in our sleeping bag suits and carrying a big chunk of metal that connected us to the cable. The flight back was just as spectacular and offered a different view of the valley. It was definitely worth the price and the tiring uphill walk and a great way to see Italy!</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-78896668315655902012014-01-22T17:58:00.003+00:002014-01-22T17:58:56.229+00:00Contursi Terme, Italy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday 3rd October 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnODska_hrs/UuACSVkCPiI/AAAAAAAABY0/Lm0Nh7XMWCw/s1600/734158_10201509895842097_1943361014_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnODska_hrs/UuACSVkCPiI/AAAAAAAABY0/Lm0Nh7XMWCw/s1600/734158_10201509895842097_1943361014_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Contursi Terme, famous for its natural spas, perched on the end of a hill</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We set off from <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/diegos-farm-sicily.html" target="_blank">Diego's farm in Sicily</a> on a lovely sunny morning to head towards the coast, pop on a ferry to Italy and head to my Grandads 'farmhouse' in Contursi Terme. I say farmhouse in quotation marks because that's what my family still call it as it did used to be a farm, with chickens and donkeys, vineyards and olive groves, set half way up Monte Pruno. It does still have the vineyards and olive groves surrounding it, among other worked fields, but none of my family live their full time to run it as a farm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2eM2COJbu4Q/UuACTEzTy9I/AAAAAAAABY8/0eRuigcHUXE/s1600/945838_10201509892322009_637920559_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2eM2COJbu4Q/UuACTEzTy9I/AAAAAAAABY8/0eRuigcHUXE/s1600/945838_10201509892322009_637920559_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been longing to visit the farmhouse, and Italy, for years but it hasn't been until now that I have been able to. I had been to the house twice before when I was 11 and 14 I think, and my memories of those holidays are of having water fights and sitting in a paddling pool outside the front of the house, driving into the town to get ice cream and being stared at by the locals curious as to who we were in their small, rural town, going to a beautiful sandy beach about an hour away and also watching thousands of fireflies from the balcony at night. To me they were the most perfect holidays and I couldn't wait to go back!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LBbAv7oCe98/UuAByBSPASI/AAAAAAAABYY/HBm_fgBFi_c/s1600/1381947_10201509888921924_1703263675_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LBbAv7oCe98/UuAByBSPASI/AAAAAAAABYY/HBm_fgBFi_c/s1600/1381947_10201509888921924_1703263675_n.jpg" height="326" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The view from the house at sunset</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before we left England I had Google mapped the way to the house and made sure I knew where we were to turn off as the house is located off the main road, up a very potholed dirt track and just sits alone, I don't even think it has it's own road name. Turns out I hadn't needed to be so prepared as when we were driving through the town we started getting beeped at by a car at the side of the road and as we slowed down I saw it was my Great aunt Maria and second cousin Mario, who recognised our van, we stood out quite a bit in this tiny town full of old, tiny Panda 4x4's. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were keen to show us the way to the house but first they wanted us to stop off at their's for a coffee. Zia Maria had previously lived in England and I was amazed how well she still spoke English considering she probably never had the use for it where she lived now. We had a quick chat about family, a strong coffee and she wanted me to call home to let everyone know we had got their safe! She loaded us up with fresh eggs from her chickens and tomatoes before we left with a promise to come back and visit in a few days. It was great to see her again, I found it funny that she couldn't always remember my name (she is quite elderly now!), saying it was a strange name or getting confused with my sister or one of my many cousins, but she could remember<a href="http://vagabondingadam.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"> Adam's</a> just fine! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9zHAoNVI_4E/UuAC84ZJ8ZI/AAAAAAAABZU/oycHtSmlYBA/s1600/1378626_10201509839760695_1373639337_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9zHAoNVI_4E/UuAC84ZJ8ZI/AAAAAAAABZU/oycHtSmlYBA/s1600/1378626_10201509839760695_1373639337_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1oNbIQioZw/UuAByu-yJkI/AAAAAAAABYU/efmGuLyDfCY/s1600/1385587_10201509891881998_1545342682_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1oNbIQioZw/UuAByu-yJkI/AAAAAAAABYU/efmGuLyDfCY/s1600/1385587_10201509891881998_1545342682_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The power cut candle and Zia Maria with her chickens</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went to see her a few more times during the week and it was great listening to her stories of my mum when she was younger, something else that amazed me was her ability to remember the exact date and year of when something had happened, every story had the year to go with it and I struggle to remember what happened a few months ago! It was also a massive coincidence that we found out she used to work on the same mushroom farm in England as one of Adam's old colleagues from Gatwick airport. It really is a small world. We also got the chance to ask some questions about Italy that had been bugging us, like why there were so many half built buildings around, like the one opposite her house. Apparently there were many reasons for this such as people starting to build before getting permission and then having to stop, running out of money, but also because sometimes they will build the main structure first and then leave it for a few years to see if it withstands any earthquake tremors. We had to drive pretty slow over some parts of the roads as you could see damage from previous earthquakes where it had just twisted the road up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N3evIlQRDF0/UuABzOD7uCI/AAAAAAAABYo/jeeC91GfzIo/s1600/1395889_10201509893682043_333295290_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N3evIlQRDF0/UuABzOD7uCI/AAAAAAAABYo/jeeC91GfzIo/s1600/1395889_10201509893682043_333295290_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday we drove an hour to go on the <a href="http://www.volodellangelo.com/index_eng.asp" target="_blank">Vollo Dell'Angelo</a> (Flight of the Angel), a 800m high zip wire across the Lucanian Dolomites and suspended between two towns. It was amazing! We heard about it from Diego, our Sicilian host and knew we had to give it a go. The rest of the time we spent chilling at the farmhouse, we did a bit of painting on the balcony on one sunny day, which we've never done together before, I think there was some healthy competition of who could paint the best scenery! We went into town for a drink and some wifi, I went for a walk up the mountain behind the house which was delayed at first as there were a few very protective sheep dogs guarding their flock in the next field that I couldn't get past until the shepherd led them down the hill. Yes they still have shepherds! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgF1YZgFyDc/UuAByOs0kvI/AAAAAAAABYQ/wgPYBgX8Wuw/s1600/1381567_10201509838200656_651935257_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgF1YZgFyDc/UuAByOs0kvI/AAAAAAAABYQ/wgPYBgX8Wuw/s1600/1381567_10201509838200656_651935257_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLNxa3dbIqQ/UuACUqT33BI/AAAAAAAABZI/T_DcdL7A2nU/s1600/935981_10201509887121879_347527230_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NLNxa3dbIqQ/UuACUqT33BI/AAAAAAAABZI/T_DcdL7A2nU/s1600/935981_10201509887121879_347527230_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Painting on the balcony and storm clouds rolling in</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was also some pretty epic thunderstorms that rolled across the valley in front of us, some thunder actually shook the window panes which I hadn't experienced before! It made for perfect evenings reading or catching up on Breaking Bad though! We've decided that our next stop is going to be the ancient city of Pompeii.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJ16coa6VGA/UuACSKNjReI/AAAAAAAABYw/D7AHLDsZPr8/s1600/1376977_10201509894802071_2013150355_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AJ16coa6VGA/UuACSKNjReI/AAAAAAAABYw/D7AHLDsZPr8/s1600/1376977_10201509894802071_2013150355_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-12577711583020089282014-01-16T12:10:00.001+00:002014-01-16T12:10:55.222+00:00Diego's farm, Sicily<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday 26th September 2013 - bit late on getting these posts up!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have just spent a week on the friendliest farm on the whole of Sicily. Confident that even though the van hasn't been fixed, it won't majorly break down on our drive up through Italy, we drove onto the ferry in Genoa for a 20 hour sail down to Sicily. It wasn't a very eventful journey, we spent most of it in what looked like a slightly larger version of an aeroplane seat, in a room full of other sleepy people. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KrUQqL9orIY/UtfIEjTbOWI/AAAAAAAABV4/lkQ-55MMuoA/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KrUQqL9orIY/UtfIEjTbOWI/AAAAAAAABV4/lkQ-55MMuoA/s1600/01.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Driving through Sicily</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adam's dad used to work with a guy from Sicily who knew Diego and on one of his many motorcycle trips stayed at the farm himself and said it was definitely somewhere we had to go and visit, with their unrivaled hospitality and almost self sufficient lifestyle. There is only a handful of people that work on the farm, including a lovely lady who had contacted them through a volunteer website and had stayed for over a year and was now like part of the family. When they first bought the land it came with a few dilapidated buildings which have now all mostly been resorted and extended. They are in the process of converting a building into a space where volunteers who would like to help out on the farm can stay, have installed solar panels and grow most of their own food. Anyone who wishes to help out on the farm is repaid with a comfortable place to say and delicious home cooked meals. We couldn't wait to get there!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The drive through Palermo when we disembarked the ferry was as crazy, dangerous and hectic as could be expected. The road through the city was wide enough for five lanes, with no road markings and quite a few crossroads. After a few near misses and Adam's driving getting increasingly more Sicilian we decided to pull over and get some sleep, ready to drive to the farm in the morning when we could appreciate the scenery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were to drive pretty much straight across the island and it took most of the day. The landscape went from green and mountainous with lots of towns on the coast, to just a handful of the population living in the middle of the island working their farms. We had vague directions to the farm, we thought we were in roughly the right place and stopped to ask for directions (who turned out to be English people!) when Diego and his girlfriend Cinzia drove past us on their way home. We spent the evening learning about how the farm was run, what they grew, meeting who lived and worked their and for dinner had pasta with a yummy chili sauce. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P0gJwPNk6RU/UtfJ1u9TYiI/AAAAAAAABXw/m2UlD4VwR4s/s1600/539771_10201400113737613_413011771_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P0gJwPNk6RU/UtfJ1u9TYiI/AAAAAAAABXw/m2UlD4VwR4s/s1600/539771_10201400113737613_413011771_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYnq2-Ah3hw/UtfJ0_BIXlI/AAAAAAAABXU/kKRC25oOqM8/s1600/1378153_10201400099017245_936274761_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYnq2-Ah3hw/UtfJ0_BIXlI/AAAAAAAABXU/kKRC25oOqM8/s1600/1378153_10201400099017245_936274761_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HpxkIu0m6uQ/UtfIKsTc41I/AAAAAAAABWI/5lAJ1rW5rbs/s1600/1377217_10201400095857166_1671754261_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HpxkIu0m6uQ/UtfIKsTc41I/AAAAAAAABWI/5lAJ1rW5rbs/s1600/1377217_10201400095857166_1671754261_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svDU946SiYc/UtfIMcoawHI/AAAAAAAABWk/vtYh8ZKxgzA/s1600/1380126_10201400095297152_664207435_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-svDU946SiYc/UtfIMcoawHI/AAAAAAAABWk/vtYh8ZKxgzA/s1600/1380126_10201400095297152_664207435_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cockerel, chickens and pigs in the pen next to our van was our alarm clock for the morning and as it was the weekend the farm was pretty relaxed. We were keen to start helping out to earn our stay and didn't want to take advantage of their hospitality, but we kept being told to relax, it's the weekend! We took a walk up the mountain through the farm, which is on Mount Etna, most of the paths are made from hardened lava stone, to explore and visit the donkeys. When we were past the vine yards another property came into view, as well as their 5 or 6 massive and loudly barking dogs. We guessed we weren't welcome any further and quickly hurried back down the mountain before they started chasing us!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVGkaR1kH-4/UtfILm-3HPI/AAAAAAAABWc/3-OZ-l3aSXw/s1600/1379354_10201400098137223_131324075_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVGkaR1kH-4/UtfILm-3HPI/AAAAAAAABWc/3-OZ-l3aSXw/s1600/1379354_10201400098137223_131324075_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3mU1iaaFJfs/UtfIKVFOb2I/AAAAAAAABWA/rR9KxfCXjkQ/s1600/1374179_10201400094017120_365022982_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3mU1iaaFJfs/UtfIKVFOb2I/AAAAAAAABWA/rR9KxfCXjkQ/s1600/1374179_10201400094017120_365022982_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the afternoon we helped make pasta by rolling the dough into long worm shapes, cutting them up into smaller pieces and then pressing the dough flat with three fingers whilst rolling it down to turn it into an almost tube shape. They don't make their own pasta very often as it does take a long time, and we also learnt that they eat it pretty much every day! I did not mind this at all as it's one of favourite meals and each time it had a different sauce and flavour. Pasta was usually served at lunch, always with parmesan on the table and a few other sides such as salad or whatever was growing and ready to pick on the farm. Dinners were also usually vegetarian meals as meat was often reserved for special occasions and festivals. Everything was always delicious and fresh. Adam and I offered to cook one evening and instead of going for a British meal we went with French, and made them tartiflette. But using Sicilian cheese which they thought was an improvement!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7LYGdyw7ho/UtfIKWdD-HI/AAAAAAAABWE/G7WmYnpDYPw/s1600/1375722_10201400096777189_536143481_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7LYGdyw7ho/UtfIKWdD-HI/AAAAAAAABWE/G7WmYnpDYPw/s1600/1375722_10201400096777189_536143481_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qr4t0-nKLUw/UtfIK9ozhBI/AAAAAAAABWU/jwV7LaTl-IU/s1600/1378302_10201400095897167_1665290199_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qr4t0-nKLUw/UtfIK9ozhBI/AAAAAAAABWU/jwV7LaTl-IU/s1600/1378302_10201400095897167_1665290199_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Monday came we were ready to start helping out, after testing the grapes for the right levels of sugar for them to be picked and finding the levels were too low, we were tasked with picking the olive's from their twelve or so trees. We had to drape big nets around the bottom of the tree to catch the olive's when they fell. It was pretty fun for the first day and a half but I can imagine doing it when there are hundreds of trees and it takes weeks it gets pretty tiring. We had music and shade from the trees so it wasn't too hard going, even if I did fall out of the tree when my ladder toppled over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piWA61Gov4E/UtfIOLaF9YI/AAAAAAAABW8/j8xFOaQYQHs/s1600/66130_10201400106337428_1978077059_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piWA61Gov4E/UtfIOLaF9YI/AAAAAAAABW8/j8xFOaQYQHs/s1600/66130_10201400106337428_1978077059_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4aw69psR94/UtfINJ8L8JI/AAAAAAAABWw/nlnjFnMagZA/s1600/521722_10201400103377354_700152680_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4aw69psR94/UtfINJ8L8JI/AAAAAAAABWw/nlnjFnMagZA/s1600/521722_10201400103377354_700152680_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfH-Aln3Y6M/UtfINg-fsDI/AAAAAAAABW0/G91fshBQfG8/s1600/521726_10201400108337478_1577294118_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfH-Aln3Y6M/UtfINg-fsDI/AAAAAAAABW0/G91fshBQfG8/s1600/521726_10201400108337478_1577294118_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Wednesday we took the train to a town called Randazzo for lunch. Going out for lunch turned into a whole day mission! We had to walk down the mountain to the train track and along the track to the abandoned station. The train only stops if it sees people standing there. We hopped on and shouted at the driver over the noise of the engine where we wanted to go and then the train with one carriage made it's way down the mountain, with a great view of the top of Etna and through different vineyards. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MmjnEFRE8YY/UtfJ0RqnTPI/AAAAAAAABXQ/hmo4ObWIsn4/s1600/1231285_10201400116617685_1302884905_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MmjnEFRE8YY/UtfJ0RqnTPI/AAAAAAAABXQ/hmo4ObWIsn4/s1600/1231285_10201400116617685_1302884905_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erA7Uh-hvZ4/UtfJ07tJatI/AAAAAAAABXo/vWRMV-XUwTg/s1600/1238248_10201400123057846_2018136110_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-erA7Uh-hvZ4/UtfJ07tJatI/AAAAAAAABXo/vWRMV-XUwTg/s1600/1238248_10201400123057846_2018136110_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The town was really pretty with some very old quaint parts. We wondered around the streets and through the squares before deciding it was time to eat. Finding a restaurant turned out to be a bit difficult, obviously we had forgotten about the siesta and we were right in the middle of it, all the cafes were closed and pretty much everyone was asleep inside. We found one place open, it probably used to be a restaurant, it still had lots of tables and chairs laid out like one, but now it was just one little old lady who had cooked a massive lasagna and was serving that to all who passed by hungry. I would have been happy to eat their but Adam was craving some meat so we kept hunting. We eventually found a great place called Sainto Georgio del Drago, who served bundles of meat, beer and massive glasses of Coke. We were pretty happy and chilled out there for a few hours before getting the train back. Which was miraculous enough considering you just have to guess where the train goes when it pulls into the station.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb_GpUixNII/UtfJ0MrgbdI/AAAAAAAABXM/bwyUx5cWXI0/s1600/1377394_10201400117977719_929877570_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb_GpUixNII/UtfJ0MrgbdI/AAAAAAAABXM/bwyUx5cWXI0/s1600/1377394_10201400117977719_929877570_n.jpg" height="180" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the last day we went to the beach in the late afternoon after Cinzia kindly offered a lift there and back whilst she ran some errands. We watched the sun set behind mount Etna and then went back to help make pizzas in their indoor stone oven. It was our last night on the farm and we had really enjoyed our week and couldn't thank them enough for letting us stay with them and experience it. I was going to miss their cooking! I also learnt that the Cactus liquor I had accidentally knocked a glass of over, took 100kg of cactus fruit to make just one litre! I felt quite guilty about wasting a glass and Adam felt guilty about drinking so much of it! Tomorrow we have a ferry booked to get us over onto mainland Italy to stay at my Grandad's house in Contursi Terme.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2iNqeJ7pSA/UtfJ1ESWZSI/AAAAAAAABXg/oRnEbd2HPtA/s1600/1393846_10201509812880023_1734996696_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2iNqeJ7pSA/UtfJ1ESWZSI/AAAAAAAABXg/oRnEbd2HPtA/s1600/1393846_10201509812880023_1734996696_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-50442414992969014282013-11-26T15:11:00.002+00:002013-11-26T15:11:31.390+00:00Money in Monaco<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday 14th September 2013</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KIJAXUPRTag/UpS4sHDKMII/AAAAAAAABU4/HoiDWMtIdP8/s1600/11201_10201400065136398_2073148760_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KIJAXUPRTag/UpS4sHDKMII/AAAAAAAABU4/HoiDWMtIdP8/s640/11201_10201400065136398_2073148760_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst our <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/lousy-mechanics-breakdown-perks.html" target="_blank">van was in the garage</a> waiting for a part it didn't initially need but now does thanks to some shoddy mechanic workmanship, we used our breakdown cover to its fullest and picked up a little hire car to get us around, mainly because we could, not because we needed it all that much. We stayed in a hotel and mainly used the car to pop down to the local Lidl for snacks but after spending a few days only moving from the sofa (Breaking Bad marathons) to the pool, we realised we should probably make the most of having this car and headed to Monaco for the evening. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-12hieZduf68/UpS4pHej4DI/AAAAAAAABUY/jR2ZMPkArV8/s1600/1157449_10201400076296677_1835237412_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-12hieZduf68/UpS4pHej4DI/AAAAAAAABUY/jR2ZMPkArV8/s640/1157449_10201400076296677_1835237412_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We just wanted to drive round it to see the buildings and drive through the Formula One tunnel. It's a pretty spectacular place even if you can't even afford to get out of your car! There is not a single shabby building in sight and there are is a huge police presence everywhere, looking after the expensive boats and cars. Not surprising that Monaco has the lowest crime rate in the world! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FkdxLCxqSdE/UpS4pVZRKuI/AAAAAAAABUc/msCJU3eexM8/s1600/1234962_10201400069536508_101206792_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FkdxLCxqSdE/UpS4pVZRKuI/AAAAAAAABUc/msCJU3eexM8/s640/1234962_10201400069536508_101206792_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adam was pretty pleased he got to drive through the world famous tunnel, multi tasking by shouting at me to get good photos of the red and white striped edges of the road. We would never have been allowed to drive through here in our van, we would have been redirected! The sun was just setting for a Saturday night, would love to know what those rich and famous got up to! When we drove past the casino in Monte Carlo we were slowed by the traffic, we weren't the only ones leaning out of cars to take pictures of more expensive cars... we didn't pose by the cars though...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TcloWdL0sAQ/UpS4pa_DwaI/AAAAAAAABUg/MkPqKLA8syc/s1600/1236163_10201400072536583_541382036_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TcloWdL0sAQ/UpS4pa_DwaI/AAAAAAAABUg/MkPqKLA8syc/s640/1236163_10201400072536583_541382036_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-55424277962558681682013-11-26T14:11:00.000+00:002013-11-26T14:24:33.038+00:00Lousy mechanics & breakdown perks<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday 18th September 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2A01pmAbGxE/UpSqgkvIHHI/AAAAAAAABT0/4X_xy9GTM3Y/s1600/578517_10201400033735613_907595684_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2A01pmAbGxE/UpSqgkvIHHI/AAAAAAAABT0/4X_xy9GTM3Y/s640/578517_10201400033735613_907595684_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been nearly two weeks since we left that <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/sparkly-mermaid-sea.html" target="_blank">perfect sparkly beach</a> at the bottom of the cliff and we haven't moved very far along the French coast as we've had a few problems with our van, as well as a slightly grumpy English mechanic! Driving along the coastal roads <a href="http://vagabondingadam.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Adam</a> started to hear clunking sounds coming from under the van and not wanting the steering, brakes or anything to start failing whilst we're veering round these cliff corners overhanging the sea we hit up the trusty free McDonald's wifi to try and find a reasonably priced English speaking mechanic. Not being far from Cannes, where a lot of well tanned Brits now live, it was easy to find someone so we pulled into their garage for them to have a look at old Mildred and try and help us out. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It did go a little bit downhill from there, but luckily there were some perks to the breakdown as well. After spending a Sunday in a tiny lay by round the corner from the garage (we didn't want to risk driving too far away in case we broke down completely), waiting for it to open, we rocked up Monday morning for a quick undercarriage inspection, much to Mildred's embarrassment. With our good friend Mia still traveling with us, we do get a raised eyebrow or two when one guy and two <i>laydaays</i> step out of the van (we're good friends but not like thaat!), so after a few jokes and a fiddle under the van we're advised to wait a few minutes for his French colleague to start tightening some bolts or something underneath the van. (I left the technical bits to Adam of course). We pay a small fee and off we go thinking we'd got away with something as that was a lot easier than we were expecting it to be.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe because it wasn't meant to be that easy. We get half a mile away and the van starts making all the same clunking noises but seemingly louder and more often. Another inspection from the, this time not so jokey, mechanic and it appears we need a new steering rack. The French guy who can't speak a word of English gets the blame from his boss as he did the work and obviously cannot understand a word of the blame being directed at him. Not his wrong diagnosis then?<br /><br />Perk number one, we get to stay at a quiet little campsite not far away that is being run by giant rabbits whilst we wait for the new steering rack to be delivered. The rabbits are all over the place and chill in the sun or wait for some lettucey treats from us. There's also a pool and nice showers and as it's the end of the season we get the whole place nearl</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">y to ourselves, apart from a young Italian couple who sweat it out in a tiny little tent opposite us, must have been roasting in there.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FvqZqFCJuEo/UpSqgWEtiSI/AAAAAAAABTw/Z1LN7EBebuc/s1600/1377257_10201400022495332_672659303_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FvqZqFCJuEo/UpSqgWEtiSI/AAAAAAAABTw/Z1LN7EBebuc/s400/1377257_10201400022495332_672659303_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6SivpCi8hKI/UpSrCi_97MI/AAAAAAAABUI/Ztr0ODujhpo/s1600/9687_10201400021735313_1534087580_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6SivpCi8hKI/UpSrCi_97MI/AAAAAAAABUI/Ztr0ODujhpo/s400/9687_10201400021735313_1534087580_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />A few days later the steering rack is swiftly delivered all the way from the UK and they set to work replacing it. By the afternoon all the work is complete and we do a test drive down the road to make sure those pesky clunks have gone. All seems good, we pay and leave, deciding to head towards Cagnes sur Mer as we are making our way towards Genoa in Italy to get the ferry down to Sicily soon. Mia will be heading back to England before we leave for Sicily so we want to get a few more beaches in on our way. Unfortunately about 20 miles down the road it's very clear that Mildred is not well, we pull over and Adam finds that the bolt holding the new steering rack on has sheered and we can no longer really steer the van properly. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perk number two is that thanks to our super cheap but really great European breakdown cover, (German company ADAC if you're interested), we're covered to be rescued (yay), and taken back to the garage, we can stay in a hotel for a few days whilst the repairs are being carried out and we can get a hire car! The scariest part was when the recovery vehicle turned up, Mia and I went to get in the cab of the truck but found a tiny puppy yapping away on one of his two spare seats, there was no room for the three of us so we had to sit in our own van, on the bed of the truck, putting us about 8 feet off the ground, speeding and swaying down the motorway with only a few straps to hold us down. It was actually pretty fun though. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-inuuGutDiWs/UpSqf-IExzI/AAAAAAAABTo/iqlvoLJfhqs/s1600/1374924_10201400036135673_1028768821_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-inuuGutDiWs/UpSqf-IExzI/AAAAAAAABTo/iqlvoLJfhqs/s640/1374924_10201400036135673_1028768821_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After thinking we had our van troubles behind us, Mia had booked her ticket home and we had booked our ferry crossing to Sicily. We could move our ferry booking whilst we had to wait for a new bolt to come in for the steering rack but Mia couldn't rearrange her flight so had one night in the hotel with us, separate rooms and everything! We didn't mind hanging around a free hotel for a few days with some cheap wine and a pool and when the van was fixed we had a few days to spare before we had to be in Genoa for the ferry so we took it slow enjoyed our last few days in France.<br /><br />This was all well and good until we actually found out that the steering rack didn't need changing at all, the clunking noises were coming from the shock absorbers! Onto Sicily we go with all the same clunks and bangs...</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-48769448470337223872013-11-12T15:28:00.000+00:002013-11-12T15:28:53.928+00:00Sparkly mermaid sea<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 8th September 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IgDlUc0uCTk/UoJHQCyy80I/AAAAAAAABTI/i7DnOIniXhk/s1600/20130907_122726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IgDlUc0uCTk/UoJHQCyy80I/AAAAAAAABTI/i7DnOIniXhk/s640/20130907_122726.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've just spent a few days on the most perfect beach I have ever seen. When we left Grimaud we followed the coast road which was the same road Adam took with his uncle when they went to Monaco for the day. He had seen some steep steps going down the cliff and we were looking out for them on our drive to see if there was a beach at the bottom. We were driving on the twisty road with big red cliffs above and below us when we saw the steps and pulled over to have a look. It took a few minutes to reach the bottom where there was a pebbled beach surrounded by cliffs and the sea was so green but clear and sparkly. One of the signs on the road said the beach had the top rating for cleanliness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O_VeEZsRsNg/UoJFWFWB0UI/AAAAAAAABSk/fo21Sm1qecQ/s1600/20130906_162621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O_VeEZsRsNg/UoJFWFWB0UI/AAAAAAAABSk/fo21Sm1qecQ/s400/20130906_162621.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0sagsY9Emc/UoJFFfYMUNI/AAAAAAAABSc/3iHkh8VYKas/s1600/20130906_163021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0sagsY9Emc/UoJFFfYMUNI/AAAAAAAABSc/3iHkh8VYKas/s400/20130906_163021.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-04iMDny3140/UoJGDQ9TGRI/AAAAAAAABSs/-YwNykf3pmU/s1600/20130906_163124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="370" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-04iMDny3140/UoJGDQ9TGRI/AAAAAAAABSs/-YwNykf3pmU/s640/20130906_163124.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was small but as it was getting late it wasn't busy with just a few people left. We hadn't known what to expect as we couldn't see the beach from the road so we didn't bring anything down with us but Mia made the long trek up the cliff again to get ready for a swim. We decided to stay in the lay by that evening so we could have a whole day on the beach.<br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RLSBAmE9cSc/UoJGY3vKPLI/AAAAAAAABS0/ftKfjvvvGmY/s1600/20130906_163656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RLSBAmE9cSc/UoJGY3vKPLI/AAAAAAAABS0/ftKfjvvvGmY/s400/20130906_163656.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zN09bJlDjU8/UoJH3nzhnAI/AAAAAAAABTQ/ksax9BvEkr0/s1600/20130907_122830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zN09bJlDjU8/UoJH3nzhnAI/AAAAAAAABTQ/ksax9BvEkr0/s400/20130907_122830.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vnAL81YlAf4/UoJGnKajtiI/AAAAAAAABS8/0El-mNbioQQ/s1600/20130906_165853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vnAL81YlAf4/UoJGnKajtiI/AAAAAAAABS8/0El-mNbioQQ/s640/20130906_165853.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a little island of rock to swim round and usually I hate being in the sea where I can't touch the bottom with my feet and it really freaks me out thinking about being in deep water but because the water was so clear it wasn't so scary to swim around the rock and I was pretty happy I got to do that. Usually I would be imagining giant squids looming about beneath me in the water where I couldn't see but I could see all the way to the bottom which was pretty amazing. Mia was in her element finding tiny crabs and fish. Definitely want to come back here again one day!</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-47126584401987400512013-11-12T14:00:00.000+00:002013-11-12T14:00:15.009+00:00Lifestyle of the rich & famous<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday 5th September 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Sunday we drove through the evening to try and catch up with David and Paul (Adam's uncle and his friend) on their motorbikes who had headed to Port Grimaud, in the South of France just across the bay from St Tropez. We decided to stop off at the beach in Montpellier first and when we arrived around midnight we parked up along the sea front where we had previously stayed a few months previously. No harm in visiting your favourite spots again! I remember when we first got to Montpellier on our last trip and saw the beach and sand dunes for the first time it really felt like we were 'away' and 'travelling', as the beach was so gold and blue and perfect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WppIcue-jMo/UoIvR5Bua1I/AAAAAAAABRU/fmji7jeaiwE/s1600/IMG_7551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WppIcue-jMo/UoIvR5Bua1I/AAAAAAAABRU/fmji7jeaiwE/s640/IMG_7551.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When we woke in the morning Adam said he could smell smoke. Mia had also thought she could smell smoke but thought Adam had had a cheeky cigarette in the toilet! We didn't think anything of it until we could hear crackling outside, looking out to see a lot of black smoke coming from the dry bushes in the dunes next to us not that far away. There was clearly quite a large fire starting but we just sat on the roof and looked down the beach to see if anyone else has noticed and listened out for sirens. When I saw some flames pop up over the bushes I did panic and bit and we decided to move the van further down the road where some other campers have also moved. I maay have over reacted but I was getting panicky because there only seemed to be a dustbin man that had noticed the fire and I thought the firemen would never get here in time! But when they did arrive, accompanied by a fire plane that kept swooping low over us to put out the flames, it died down very quickly and we thought it was now safe to leave the van and go sunbathe and swim in the sea. Nothing like a bit of fire drama in the morning to get the day going!</div>
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AzBK8jBXzKc/UoIvMOIQsfI/AAAAAAAABRM/TjEAa0EE5qc/s1600/20130902_095312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AzBK8jBXzKc/UoIvMOIQsfI/AAAAAAAABRM/TjEAa0EE5qc/s640/20130902_095312.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tcHdYne5Y3U/UoIunU9-2jI/AAAAAAAABQ8/c_AN0sWCgMk/s1600/20130902_105716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tcHdYne5Y3U/UoIunU9-2jI/AAAAAAAABQ8/c_AN0sWCgMk/s640/20130902_105716.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few hours of shell collecting and swimming we pack up again and start the drive to Grimaud which probably took a few hours. We knew where David and Paul were staying as we had stayed in the same campsite on Paul's recommendation previously. Trying to save on the euro's we found a very handy free Aire to park in 2 minutes away from their campsite with a few other GB vans to keep us company. The sun had just started going down and Adam, taking after his dad with his want to surprise people, wanted to go and find David and Paul who didn't know we had arrived yet. We go to look round the campsite trying to find their little cub scout tents set up next to their bikes, only after a while did we realise that was pointless because of course they would be in the bar! We found them with their pints in the bar looking out at the sea and we had a great night drinking lots of beer, wine and eating pizza. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AGuABSIrIo/UoIvGw75LyI/AAAAAAAABRE/4LGT-2jGmqs/s1600/IMG_7565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AGuABSIrIo/UoIvGw75LyI/AAAAAAAABRE/4LGT-2jGmqs/s640/IMG_7565.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />David and Paul had planned to take a trip on their bikes to Monaco the next day. They had one spare helmet and three people very willing to go along with them. The only way to decide was to pick straws and fate had it that Adam (another motorbike lover) won. They left mid morning on Tuesday and Mia and I had a veeery relaxing day on the beach where we had a good routine going consisting of sunbathing and swimming to cool off. I had never really been that interested in sitting in the sun before and usually got bored but I had some good books with me and I think I had definitely turned into a beach bum at that point. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BuydY6MdGk/UoIuU1C30eI/AAAAAAAABQ0/dPSbptSWpwI/s1600/IMG-20130904-WA0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BuydY6MdGk/UoIuU1C30eI/AAAAAAAABQ0/dPSbptSWpwI/s640/IMG-20130904-WA0018.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the guys got back that night they told us all about their trip to Monaco and how amazed they were with the amount of wealth their was in that tiny area, so many ridiculously expensive cars, amazing looking women and grand buildings. We had a BBQ in the campsite and David told us that one of his plans for their trip was to hire a small speed boat to take around the bay for an afternoon. He has a boat license and even owned a little sailing boat at one point and he invited us to come out with him and Paul. I was a bit nervous about it as the last time I'd been on a small boat was when I was on holiday in Portugal a few years ago and it was meant to be a nice little sunset sail down the coast with champagne and loveliness but I ended up being sick nearly the whole time (not so romantic!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z6uoZQJR190/UoIwfnWxjdI/AAAAAAAABRs/4LYuaP6Bosg/s1600/IMG_7598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z6uoZQJR190/UoIwfnWxjdI/AAAAAAAABRs/4LYuaP6Bosg/s640/IMG_7598.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went out the next afternoon loaded up with beers and baguettes and David was shown how to use the boat and off we went! We went around Port Grimaud looking at the huge boats and then out onto the open sea. It was like a rollercoaster when we were bobbing along at full speed and really bumpy but that was the enjoyable part for me, as soon as we stopped the boat further along the coast for a swim and the boat was bobbing up and down slowly I started to feel a bit queasy but luckily not enough to be sea sick. We took the boat into the St Tropez port and it was so pretty and calm. The boats were huge, some even blocked out the buildings behind them, I can't even imagine how much they would have cost! It was quite fun pretending we were as rich and glamorous as them, speeding around on our little boat. When we stopped the boat for a second time for more dips in the sea I felt a lot better and was so pleased I didn't have to feed the fishes! (Gross!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NPYTS7WRZZo/UoIxhOAYq1I/AAAAAAAABSE/t8jxFcU9R1k/s1600/IMG_7656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NPYTS7WRZZo/UoIxhOAYq1I/AAAAAAAABSE/t8jxFcU9R1k/s640/IMG_7656.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mCvNYbxmLgA/UoIv_uxnjYI/AAAAAAAABRk/_NVqbooPEgo/s1600/20130904_115136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mCvNYbxmLgA/UoIv_uxnjYI/AAAAAAAABRk/_NVqbooPEgo/s640/20130904_115136.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J72SRa9aSuA/UoIxvjgsQyI/AAAAAAAABSM/05yCKT15X3I/s1600/IMG_7634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J72SRa9aSuA/UoIxvjgsQyI/AAAAAAAABSM/05yCKT15X3I/s640/IMG_7634.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LF6T2XUR31g/UoIv0kM2dzI/AAAAAAAABRc/6PsWBoALceM/s1600/20130904_121047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LF6T2XUR31g/UoIv0kM2dzI/AAAAAAAABRc/6PsWBoALceM/s640/20130904_121047.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9k37-tuQ9FU/UoIwmt3NKRI/AAAAAAAABR0/h_NHgJU6Fz0/s1600/20130904_145038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9k37-tuQ9FU/UoIwmt3NKRI/AAAAAAAABR0/h_NHgJU6Fz0/s640/20130904_145038.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was an amazing experience to get to do that for the day and it was really nice of David to let us join him on his boat trip. They left early the next day to visit a little bit of Italy and Switzerland on their way back up to the UK and we decided that we will follow the coast and stop in the next nice place we find.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0PaPRa05yM/UoIxa7uYKvI/AAAAAAAABR8/6QIG2Hj0Q_I/s1600/IMG_7657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0PaPRa05yM/UoIxa7uYKvI/AAAAAAAABR8/6QIG2Hj0Q_I/s640/IMG_7657.JPG" width="640" /></a>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-14919800206699222012013-09-26T10:36:00.000+01:002013-09-26T10:36:27.417+01:00Moto Camping Dordogne<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 1st September 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have just spent a few days driving east to the Dordogne region of France. During that time we stayed on some very pretty Aire's, one by a river and spent a day trying to catch fish. (One fish was caught). We tried to go out for dinner but found the only restaurant in the town closed and had a very hungry walk back to the van to cook for ourselves, and the next day we successfully found a huge all you can eat Chinese and Adam tried his first snail. He said it was gross and chewy. Maybe I'll try one in a French restaurant and not a Chinese. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AXeCYRYNJFc/UkP9TXajzoI/AAAAAAAABPA/HKPGJDZIWSI/s1600/20130826_201346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AXeCYRYNJFc/UkP9TXajzoI/AAAAAAAABPA/HKPGJDZIWSI/s400/20130826_201346.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cEtPG-sP0RY/UkP9QgdqFVI/AAAAAAAABO4/0onGaQqd8kU/s1600/20130827_191140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cEtPG-sP0RY/UkP9QgdqFVI/AAAAAAAABO4/0onGaQqd8kU/s400/20130827_191140.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also passed through <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.it/2013/05/pyrenees-mediterranean.html" target="_blank">Rocamadour</a> again which we had been to a few months ago when we first came through France in our old van. Mia had never visited so we had another look round the city built into a cliff. That night we had our first run in with the Gendarmarie, the local French police, after they found us in a car park with a height restriction a lot lower than our van was. They didn't know how we got in but asked us to leave anyway.<br /><br />The reason for our quick scoot across the country was that Adam's uncle David had planned a closing party at a campsite he worked at one summer, and regularly visits, when travelling around on his motorbike. Adam's dad discovered the campsite a few years back and we heard about the friendly staff, cool swimming pool and the relaxed and/or party atmosphere enough times to want to visit ourselves. The campsite welcomes people on motorbikes, and their friends, so we were welcome in a van!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_dHiIDT6Wbc/UkP-F0Ah7SI/AAAAAAAABPg/5YB1XAys4K4/s1600/20130829_205419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_dHiIDT6Wbc/UkP-F0Ah7SI/AAAAAAAABPg/5YB1XAys4K4/s640/20130829_205419.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFY1X4zAEAI/UkP-JLvHvdI/AAAAAAAABPs/OFj07UcYTic/s1600/20130829_160602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FFY1X4zAEAI/UkP-JLvHvdI/AAAAAAAABPs/OFj07UcYTic/s640/20130829_160602.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We arrived to find Adam's dad, Jon, sipping a beer at the bar and when the handyman Glenn greeted us with a free first beer we knew we were gonna have a good weekend here. We spent the evening catching up, meeting the staff and eating the best steak I've ever had. I'm sure I've said that before about steak somewhere else but it was seriously good. Adam had a massive rack of ribs that he's wanted to try ever since his dad first started raving about how good they were, and I don't think they were a disappointment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_sbZ_Mi2zsI/UkP9-q4Fe5I/AAAAAAAABPQ/Fr2L1vnNf3w/s1600/2013-08-29+20.06.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_sbZ_Mi2zsI/UkP9-q4Fe5I/AAAAAAAABPQ/Fr2L1vnNf3w/s640/2013-08-29+20.06.51.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bar has constant classic rock playing and is decorated with all kinds of motorbike memorabilia and fancy dress wigs hanging up. We made use of those the first night as well as playing with the campsite dogs, Vincent, a German Shepherd with one ear, and Ollie, a dog that looks like a sheep. David and his friend Paul weren't arriving until tomorrow and they didn't know that Jon had whizzed over the day before to surprise them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gIGTIMy8Uqk/UkP9-ggRo7I/AAAAAAAABPI/-JCko3OZ_gw/s1600/2013-08-30+01.17.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gIGTIMy8Uqk/UkP9-ggRo7I/AAAAAAAABPI/-JCko3OZ_gw/s640/2013-08-30+01.17.58.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N2soW8s4hLA/UkP9-670kyI/AAAAAAAABPM/ATf7uI--GsY/s1600/2013-09-01+17.20.01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N2soW8s4hLA/UkP9-670kyI/AAAAAAAABPM/ATf7uI--GsY/s400/2013-09-01+17.20.01.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOxPOUCsmno/UkP-PhJ0sOI/AAAAAAAABQA/_ZqdgNXEFc8/s1600/20130831_173417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOxPOUCsmno/UkP-PhJ0sOI/AAAAAAAABQA/_ZqdgNXEFc8/s400/20130831_173417.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we lounged by the pool, some of us nursing hangovers. We could hear David and Paul's bikes coming a mile away and Jon went to hide. They were happy to have arrived having ridden through the night and couldn't wait to get out of their hot leathers and into the pool. Paul had spotted Jon's bike and tent so suspected something was going on when Jon came out to surprise them. Laughing and hugs all round. I think Adam gets his want to surprise visit people from his dad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ6z9K-SH9U/UkP-IvLUnEI/AAAAAAAABPo/eXBzOrk89l0/s1600/20130830_180243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ6z9K-SH9U/UkP-IvLUnEI/AAAAAAAABPo/eXBzOrk89l0/s640/20130830_180243.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />The rest of the weekend consisted of ticking off the beers on our bar cards, or sometimes for me drinking three measures of vodka with peach syrup after I asked for vodka lemonade, arm wrestling, pool lounging, rib eating, trying not to fall out of hammocks and sleeping off hangovers in the shade. Great weekend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1w0xj1LDgE/UkP-MD8sfvI/AAAAAAAABP4/4mLFghhhczg/s1600/20130830_235953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1w0xj1LDgE/UkP-MD8sfvI/AAAAAAAABP4/4mLFghhhczg/s640/20130830_235953.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David and Paul are continuing their bike trip going down to Grimaud on the south coast and then to Switzerland and Italy. Unfortunately Jon had to head back home </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">to work but we decided to follow David and Paul and meet up with them again a bit later in Grimaud, our van being a bit slower than their bikes. </span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-35935727452687783212013-09-26T09:15:00.000+01:002013-09-26T10:07:23.252+01:00White water rafting<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 25th August 2013</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4BVblkkjbvE/UkPqozNHugI/AAAAAAAABOA/13Ox_uxef24/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="369" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4BVblkkjbvE/UkPqozNHugI/AAAAAAAABOA/13Ox_uxef24/s640/6.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Today Adam, Mia and I woke up to lovely sunshine again after the rain had cleared and walked across the road to meet our guide for a morning session of white water rafting down the river Isere. There weren't many people booked in for that day so we got a whole raft to ourselves. After kitting us out with our flattering wet suits and helmets our guide gave us some quick safety tips and we lugged the surprisingly really heavy raft down to the river. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xr-iNnorzTU/UkPqj0kOgCI/AAAAAAAABNM/2yXSdc_-sX8/s1600/10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xr-iNnorzTU/UkPqj0kOgCI/AAAAAAAABNM/2yXSdc_-sX8/s400/10.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIA8AHwBc7E/UkPqk7Jr5UI/AAAAAAAABNY/T-4mJ_2pFgw/s1600/12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIA8AHwBc7E/UkPqk7Jr5UI/AAAAAAAABNY/T-4mJ_2pFgw/s400/12.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV7dOPtSc9I/UkPql3WPX1I/AAAAAAAABNk/sOHXs8kmfTE/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eV7dOPtSc9I/UkPql3WPX1I/AAAAAAAABNk/sOHXs8kmfTE/s640/1.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">None of us had been white water rafting before so we didn't really know what to expect but I found it to be a lot easier than I thought it would be and really, really fun! Our guide let us take most of the control and just shouted out instructions, I can't remember the technical terms for the moves but he had us sitting in the boat, moving our weight left and right and right and using different rowing techniques to help us move the boat where we wanted to go. I didn't realise the raft would be so responsive and it was really enjoyable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCGfMct_kSk/UkPql-exqcI/AAAAAAAABNg/t2nZv4H05Ig/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="346" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCGfMct_kSk/UkPql-exqcI/AAAAAAAABNg/t2nZv4H05Ig/s640/2.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />We did all get a bit out of sequence during the rapids and there was no hope for me rowing in time with the others when I got uncontrollable giggles whenever we got soaked or bounced around in the raft by the rapids. When we came to a calmer stretch our guide stopped the raft and told us that if we climbed onto the river bank we could jump in and swim downstream to a calm eddy behind a big rock. We got out and he rafted downstream a little to meet us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bhlIQ6PBlOU/UkPqmm7eirI/AAAAAAAABNs/ZegP4YMAmBw/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="334" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bhlIQ6PBlOU/UkPqmm7eirI/AAAAAAAABNs/ZegP4YMAmBw/s640/3.png" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />Adam went first and successfully made it to the calmness behind the rock in the middle of the river. I was up next and jumped in to the freezing water. I didn't so much swim, was more just dragged along downstream. I only made it to the rock as Adam put his arm out to catch me. We waited in the eddy for Mia, but unfortunately she was too far away from the rock and just floated past us, past our guide and ended up in the shallows a bit further along. Where I also ended up when we tried to get back to the raft. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F19zcd0Kfgo/UkPqoVcI_AI/AAAAAAAABN4/gvaDT80b7yo/s1600/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="364" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F19zcd0Kfgo/UkPqoVcI_AI/AAAAAAAABN4/gvaDT80b7yo/s640/4.png" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pDf-_BzxuB4/UkPqolRNkqI/AAAAAAAABN8/muLgzZWTqDY/s1600/5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="391" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pDf-_BzxuB4/UkPqolRNkqI/AAAAAAAABN8/muLgzZWTqDY/s640/5.png" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After rafting through some more calmer waters as well as rapids the guide asks us if we want another swim behind the boat. Adam is the only one to volunteer this time and jumps in for a freezing swim behind us. We had a bit of trouble dragging him back in the raft again! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vUiVjzsX9VM/UkPqrG3YaBI/AAAAAAAABOQ/s9KSqe4xGik/s1600/8.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vUiVjzsX9VM/UkPqrG3YaBI/AAAAAAAABOQ/s9KSqe4xGik/s640/8.png" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />The scenery around us was beautiful. Some clouds were still floating around through the valley we were in and we passed through a huge gorge where we were surrounded by rock. We came across another rafting group ahead of us who were taking it in turns jumping from about about 5 meters up on the rocks into the water and floating downstream. We stopped our raft nearby for a go but Adam was the only one who got out and disappeared round the corner to jump. Mia and I sat in the raft waiting to hear the splash and for him to come floating past us but we could only see people from the other group going past. I was about to get out the raft and see if I could have a go myself, after seeing other people doing it I thought it looked pretty fun, I didn't want to at first because I didn't hear the guide say where we would end up if we floated down the river, but after seeing it was just round the corner and not miles away, I wanted a go. However that is when we see Adam walking back down to the raft after chickening out of the jump! He is not very good with heights and when the guide said he could hit the bottom of the river when he jumped, that confirmed his decision that he should not be doing it! I didn't get to jump then as I had left it too late :(</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8QaSMRXsro/UkPqrvDaiiI/AAAAAAAABOc/qXm8HAlTUig/s1600/9.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="414" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8QaSMRXsro/UkPqrvDaiiI/AAAAAAAABOc/qXm8HAlTUig/s640/9.png" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />It was a really fun morning and definitely something I would like to try again on different rivers, maybe even with more rapidy bits!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5L3RmGdTDg/UkPqrBgtVWI/AAAAAAAABOU/60OvZZeo72c/s1600/7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5L3RmGdTDg/UkPqrBgtVWI/AAAAAAAABOU/60OvZZeo72c/s640/7.png" width="640" /></a>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-11847548952111367562013-09-14T13:31:00.000+01:002013-09-14T13:31:36.318+01:00Summer in Sainte Foy!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday 24th August 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a few days drive down through France (including the sat nav taking us down a dirt road that only farmers in their tractors use to get to their fields), the landscape started to change and the accent started. When we worked in Sainte Foy last winter we went down the mountain a few times to Bourg St Maurice if we needed to use the supermarket or fancied a McDonald's. The mushed brown snow always made it look a bit dreary compared to the crisp white slopes. But when we drove through on Thursday it was sunny, bright and the window boxes had bright flowers. It was a pretty little town. We stopped at the McDonald's mainly for the wifi and I finally bought a new pair of flip flops at the shop next door, stopping myself from buying a pair of board boots on sale.<br /><br />We drove a little further up the mountain on the only road leading to Sainte Foy, mostly in 2nd gear, poor little Mildred is no good on even the slightest upward slope. The view kept getting better and better and it really bought back what an amazing time I had their previously, only now their was no snow on the mountain, still looked beautiful though! We parked in the middle of the resort and popped down to the bar for a drink, only a few locals who owned chalet's their were around making the most of the warm sun before it started getting colder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lxtNcZiFRCU/UjRSWMB15yI/AAAAAAAABMc/qWGzi_g2KvE/s1600/20130823_115826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lxtNcZiFRCU/UjRSWMB15yI/AAAAAAAABMc/qWGzi_g2KvE/s640/20130823_115826.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />Mia seemed pretty impressed with the scale of the mountains having never seen any before and we walked up the grassy nursery slope for a quick look around. We were hoping the lifts would still be running for bikers going up the mountain so we could go up and see even more of the view, however we found the first lift had been completely removed and their were trucks around working to install a new and faster one in time for the winter season. We took a look at the chalet we worked in to find that without the snow the plants had taken over covering</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> most of the stairs and the entrance to the building.We moved our van just down the road to the car park where a paddock had been set up for horses. Some tiny kids were having riding lessons on teeny tiny ponies which was really funny to watch as they bobbed around all over the place. We watched the sun set with the company of a big horse and some wine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HER8VpUNtyU/UjRR2Rn3bEI/AAAAAAAABME/9wDzWW4CUCE/s1600/2013-08-22+18.23.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HER8VpUNtyU/UjRR2Rn3bEI/AAAAAAAABME/9wDzWW4CUCE/s400/2013-08-22+18.23.55.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzTkwpoa0R4/UjRR3sZB1mI/AAAAAAAABMM/U7fO9zXJHhg/s1600/20130822_181308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzTkwpoa0R4/UjRR3sZB1mI/AAAAAAAABMM/U7fO9zXJHhg/s400/20130822_181308.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Me on the steps up to the chalet we worked in and the installation of a new chair lift<br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uiQXYKJwjv4/UjRRLLokrMI/AAAAAAAABL8/3Y9Cah-wi6Q/s1600/20130822_202418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uiQXYKJwjv4/UjRRLLokrMI/AAAAAAAABL8/3Y9Cah-wi6Q/s640/20130822_202418.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we thought we'd try walking up the mountain without the help of the lift as it was such a nice day. There is a village where in the winter it is abandoned as you can only ski there but it is accessible</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in the summer if you trek over. We started the walk with the best intentions however after a few hours of up hill mountain walking we only reached the car park of where most people park and then walk to the village. We had seen butterflies, crickets, flowers and raspberries on the way up as well as the glacier on the other side of the mountain so we ate our sandwich in the car park and made our way back down. Our excuse being we had run out of water already and my feet weren't used to not wearing flip flops anymore!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dPKfqLulknI/UjRSW-IW4zI/AAAAAAAABMk/hQvIb1ri_CQ/s1600/2013-08-23+12.34.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dPKfqLulknI/UjRSW-IW4zI/AAAAAAAABMk/hQvIb1ri_CQ/s640/2013-08-23+12.34.03.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9tkizLj7I3s/UjRWlDv29eI/AAAAAAAABM4/sKxoj1HGdgo/s1600/20130823_130205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9tkizLj7I3s/UjRWlDv29eI/AAAAAAAABM4/sKxoj1HGdgo/s640/20130823_130205.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UigjjJZw1ik/UjRSbkkNceI/AAAAAAAABMs/HR-IEx0nzHM/s1600/IMG_7433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UigjjJZw1ik/UjRSbkkNceI/AAAAAAAABMs/HR-IEx0nzHM/s640/IMG_7433.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we drove back down to Bourg and booked ourselves on a white water rafting trip down the river Isere for tomorrow. We're hiding in the van at the moment on a rubbely strip of wasteland near the river waiting for a storm to pass over (very loud and thundery), but apparently white water rafting is most fun after it's rained so I'm not complaining. I'm just loving being back on a mountain!<br /></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0YYDZGP8qc/UjRSJvahMtI/AAAAAAAABMU/hd0h7NLupMw/s1600/20130823_134704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0YYDZGP8qc/UjRSJvahMtI/AAAAAAAABMU/hd0h7NLupMw/s640/20130823_134704.jpg" width="640" /></a>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-57015273880828353142013-09-14T12:14:00.000+01:002013-09-14T12:14:56.836+01:00A quick stop in Belgium<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday 19th August 2013</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point in our trip we were not quite sure what to do next. The short version of the story is that Adam is waiting to hear if some work is available in America on a two month contract that could bring us some more money to travel on if all goes to plan. However the firm are still in talks about the contract so nothing is confirmed yet, they just know that Adam is available to work at short notice. The downside is that we don't know if/when this is happening. Our plan before this was to start the trip in the Netherlands, go down through France, hopefully over to Germany for a little bit and then onto Italy for the later months of the year. Only problem we have now is we don't want to get all the way to Italy to have to turn around to get ready to go to America. With a few emails back and forth we have decided not to put any plans on hold and if they need us we will have the appropriate amount of time to return.<br /><br />With that sorted then we have decided to make a quick stop in Belgium, get to the south of France for some sunshine, visit Sainte Foy in the Alps, where we did our ski season, as we'd like to see what the mountains look like in the summer, and then get the ferry from Genoa, northern Italy, to Palermo, Sicily, and drive up through Italy. That should take us up to about October/beginning of November. Then we'll decide on what to do over winter, to ski season or not to ski season?!<br /><br />So back to our few days in Belgium. We got to Antwerp and with a little research found that a lot of vans park for free on the quay-side of the river Scheldt. This was found easily and we walked into the city center. We found a festival going on in the square outside the cathedral with a brass band playing and lots of ladies dancing in what looked like home made colourful outfits. There was one heavily pregnant lady that danced and marched past us nearly all afternoon, not dispirited by the drizzle!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cKRfOFQ1JUU/UjRCqovBVdI/AAAAAAAABLM/L5foaZkZnuo/s1600/20130818_114520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cKRfOFQ1JUU/UjRCqovBVdI/AAAAAAAABLM/L5foaZkZnuo/s640/20130818_114520.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Band and dancers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found a hidden street that had been mostly untouched since the 1500's, behind a big wooden door, and home to a veery expensive restaurant. It was really pretty. We had a pizza as the band and dancers paraded past us every 15 minutes. The next day we went back in to buy some chocolates and went on a flip flop shopping mission as ours were braking. Only Adam was successful though. Mia got to try a Belgian waffle though.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K0aQtpt15oQ/UjRCSmH2wVI/AAAAAAAABLE/AJ5XK7FWQgU/s1600/20130818_133803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K0aQtpt15oQ/UjRCSmH2wVI/AAAAAAAABLE/AJ5XK7FWQgU/s400/20130818_133803.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nGlsFbOH1U/UjRC5P-X86I/AAAAAAAABLU/Qw7F51uAy4I/s1600/20130818_133951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nGlsFbOH1U/UjRC5P-X86I/AAAAAAAABLU/Qw7F51uAy4I/s400/20130818_133951.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">1500's street</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bQQbemJ5WYk/UjRC9jIABhI/AAAAAAAABLc/kn1YwLGuQuY/s1600/20130818_134126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bQQbemJ5WYk/UjRC9jIABhI/AAAAAAAABLc/kn1YwLGuQuY/s400/20130818_134126.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L1nMyVEgUmU/UjRCEfnB4LI/AAAAAAAABK8/c4NGCQTHJuc/s1600/20130818_114948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L1nMyVEgUmU/UjRCEfnB4LI/AAAAAAAABK8/c4NGCQTHJuc/s400/20130818_114948.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">1500's door and Antwerp cathedral</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9QtMFNtS-Cs/UjRDKo_Xe2I/AAAAAAAABLs/HvL1Ipw8hyg/s1600/20130819_113749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9QtMFNtS-Cs/UjRDKo_Xe2I/AAAAAAAABLs/HvL1Ipw8hyg/s640/20130819_113749.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Chocolate!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a beeeautiful sunset the night before we left and today we crossed the border to France, ready to make our way down the twisty roads to the Alps. I'm actually really excited to see mountains again!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I-yUwneUvws/UjRDCSaAWgI/AAAAAAAABLk/_KcwfdItulY/s1600/20130818_214809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I-yUwneUvws/UjRDCSaAWgI/AAAAAAAABLk/_KcwfdItulY/s640/20130818_214809.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sunset in Antwerp</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-40970080296961020922013-09-13T17:32:00.003+01:002016-11-15T11:34:07.741+00:00Chilled campsites, trippy truffles & Efteling<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thursday 15th August 2013</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the busy and hectic time we had had in Amsterdam and Rotterdam we decided to go explore the more rural and quiet parts of the Netherlands. We wanted to take advantage of the hot sunny weather by relaxing at a campsite but also some excitement too. We decided to Google theme parks in the Netherlands, having loved Parc Asterix so much in France, and found not far away was a park called Efteling, the biggest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in Europe. Based on it's own fairy tale characters unique to the theme park as well as the old classics like Hansel and Grettel. Quite a lot of it was mostly aimed at younger kids but the roller coasters lured us in.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before that however, on Monday Adam wanted to check out where his dad and two uncles, with their parents, had lived for a few years when they were very young in a town called Hellevoetsluis. We found the bungalow with no problems, set in a very nice shady area from all the tall trees. We then found a campsite nearby, after trying two that were full. It was also Adam's birthday and his mission was to celebrate by relaxing in the sun, which I think we accomplished pretty well, with some fizzy wine and a chocolate cake.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Wn2FlJHmv4/UjM68oXWvoI/AAAAAAAABJ0/UMnSDhlDxlk/s1600/IMG_20130814_115537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Wn2FlJHmv4/UjM68oXWvoI/AAAAAAAABJ0/UMnSDhlDxlk/s400/IMG_20130814_115537.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Happy birthday!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next day Mia hired a bike from the campsite and we all cycled into the nearest town for a look around. We were on the coast so cycled past the lighthouse to a cafe for a cake and a drink (and free wifi), before cycling to a canal for Adam to whack out his rod. He was determined to catch a fish after trying and failing all day the last try. Mia and I amused ourselves drawing windmills and birds until excited yelps alerted us to a potential catch. Adam had caught a tiny silver fish and was panicking with what to do next. I was summoned to get the net to help get it out the water and then Adam spent the next tense few minutes trying to untangle the fish, the hook and the net from each other so we could get it back in the water. I was surprisingly</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> disturbed by this and didn't want the fish to go back into the water with a hole in it's mouth and probably die. I don't mind fishing if you're gonna kill it straight away and eat it but this seemed kinda cruel! I was assured he'd (I assume he was a he) be ok and off he swam back to his fishy friends and maybe the fish hospital.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Vdl0L8SUaE/UjM8Efg5U7I/AAAAAAAABKE/cyh3qHtvepE/s1600/2013-08-13+12.21.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Vdl0L8SUaE/UjM8Efg5U7I/AAAAAAAABKE/cyh3qHtvepE/s640/2013-08-13+12.21.13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tZrCNVHbi80/UjM77LDhqAI/AAAAAAAABJ8/oOAQ9zOJq6o/s1600/20130813_122345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tZrCNVHbi80/UjM77LDhqAI/AAAAAAAABJ8/oOAQ9zOJq6o/s400/20130813_122345.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qZmfcBw_l28/UjM8Hx78ObI/AAAAAAAABKM/Q-t2Uuz7NFQ/s1600/20130813_154743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qZmfcBw_l28/UjM8Hx78ObI/AAAAAAAABKM/Q-t2Uuz7NFQ/s400/20130813_154743.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFLDCFFwn8E/UjM8egoQAzI/AAAAAAAABKU/LFaCkyTeuW0/s1600/IMG_7154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFLDCFFwn8E/UjM8egoQAzI/AAAAAAAABKU/LFaCkyTeuW0/s640/IMG_7154.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Thursday we headed towards Efteling to try and find a place to stay nearby so we could get their early for the day. We found a campsite just round the corner and a walkable distance to the theme park, and considering it was another 10€ to park in the Efteling car park this was pretty handy. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we were in Rotterdam we bought some truffles from a smart shop and we were curious to try them. Truffles started becoming more popular in the Netherlands when mushrooms were made illegal a few years ago and their popularity has risen with different strains being grown. They are formed when the environmental temperature does not rise high enough for a mushroom to form and the 'roots' grow underground to form the truffle and the active ingredient is psilocybin. 15 grams of Atlantis truffles promised strong intense colours and dreamlike visions. We had nothing to do on this slightly drizzly day before Efteling and it was a quiet campsite so we tried them out.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's recommend not to eat beforehand so Adam ate his first thing in the morning. After seeing his funny reactions to things (staring at the curtain patterns a lot) I wanted to try mine so did later in the afternoon. The taste of the things were gross, a nutty texture but tasted like a muddy field with a bitter aftertaste. After about an hour I started to notice tiny movements more, like the wind rustling leaves, as it developed the leaves started to look a bit pixelated and at the height of it symmetrical patterns emerged and moved around kaleidoscopically. Colours did become more vivid and you just notice patterns in everything, mostly symmetrical ones. It was definitely something to experience outside as most things just became really interesting to look at. You do not 'hallucinate' and see things that are not there, nor are you completely unaware of what you're doing. I was fully aware I was staring at my kindle screen saver for 20 minutes while Adam & Mia looked at me quizzically! Adam & Mia put on the Harold & Kumar Christmas movie and I watched as Christmasy coloured snowflake shaped patterns kaleidoscoped on the screen then fell asleep. I did have a big giggly phase in the middle as well but can't remember what I was laughing at. There were no after effects the next day and as psyclobin occurs naturally in the brain anyway, all you do is increase the amount of it, their were no toxins going into my body to hurt me, it was just a relaxing and fun experience. (Hope that last bit reassures you mum if you read this!)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today we got up early and walked to Efteling. The entrance gate looks pretty spectacular with a huge thatched building shaped into points. The whole park was beautifully kept with flowers and gardens everywhere which added to fairy tale effect and the roller coasters were awesome. There was a 4d WWF film about pandas and saving the animals, a stunt show featuring trained birds, horses and a massive mechanical 5 headed dragon beast thing that breathed fire, a museum showing the process of their characters being made and a lot more. They even had Adam's favourite Netherlands snack, a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bami+netherlands+snack&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PzozUsDoEo7DswarloGIDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643&dpr=1#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=W8bvBhKfYn_FIM%3A%3B6bbQ5bDioaUpFM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F1.bp.blogspot.com%252F-aDMQJu15OI0%252FURbfjQPOMrI%252FAAAAAAAADYE%252FCZ5mMSKtMFU%252Fs1600%252FBamihap.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Funiversalphotograhs.blogspot.com%252F2013%252F02%252Fbamihap-deep-fried-dutch-snack-of-bami.html%3B1280%3B723" target="_blank">bami</a>, available in hot vending machines, so a good day all round!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Tomorrow we're looking to leave the Netherlands behind to visit Belgium. Chocolate is calling us.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pphGEWMmSYM/UjM8zqnsoQI/AAAAAAAABKk/8hcYhbs_DGg/s1600/IMG_7198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pphGEWMmSYM/UjM8zqnsoQI/AAAAAAAABKk/8hcYhbs_DGg/s640/IMG_7198.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pointy entrance to Efteling</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6TYXweBCXSM/UjM8gmZMj6I/AAAAAAAABKc/FxXjHKvSHpg/s1600/20130816_174350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6TYXweBCXSM/UjM8gmZMj6I/AAAAAAAABKc/FxXjHKvSHpg/s640/20130816_174350.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIU-aCT9hRE/UjM87bUc6eI/AAAAAAAABKs/0Ub_pF4TLxE/s1600/IMG_7227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JIU-aCT9hRE/UjM87bUc6eI/AAAAAAAABKs/0Ub_pF4TLxE/s640/IMG_7227.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-8440212902606186162013-09-07T14:17:00.001+01:002013-09-13T13:18:14.581+01:00Meeting friends in the Netherlands<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 11th August 2013</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whilst back home we heard that our good friend and once former flat mate, Mia, had quit her job and wanted to do a bit of travelling herself before deciding on any future plans. It was perfect timing for her to fly out to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam after our week at OHM festival. Adam and I had been to Amsterdam twice before, once for a long weekend a few years ago and most recently for New Year in 2011. Mia had never been so we were expecting to do some touristy stuff.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ok6HMD7xXxw/UjL_BLNjilI/AAAAAAAABI8/zkEPEpUM2tM/s1600/20130808_155003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ok6HMD7xXxw/UjL_BLNjilI/AAAAAAAABI8/zkEPEpUM2tM/s640/20130808_155003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mia, Adam & I<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After waiting for an hour and a half in the 15 minute maximum waiting area of the airport we got a text from a friend back home saying Mia couldn't get hold of us and was waiting in the long term car park. I'm not really sure how but eventually we were able to contact Mia, maybe smoke signals, and we saw her strolling towards us with two back packs and an excited grin on her face. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On our way to a campsite with an impossible to find entrance we came across an industrial estate with a few old rusty campers dotted around it. Never ones to pass up on a free place to stay we parked up outside the local fly tipping area (a mattress broken glass and a computer table) and took a stroll down to the pedestrian ferry from North Amsterdam across the River Ig to the Central Station in Amsterdam. <br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started off with a tour of some of Amsterdam's finest coffee shops and had a peak at the red light district in all its daytime glory. Mia had had an early flight so we didn't do much else that day and went back to chill at the van. It was later in the evening when we were in a less than sober state that we were stood outside the van when out of the darkness what can only be described at a bright yellow bob sleigh kart rolls past us without a sound with a mans head just visible sticking out the top. Weird night. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning we woke up to a clean street, the dustbin men had clearly been busy. However there were a few guys making sure they had some work on still by unloading 7 massive office tables onto the street. Not long after that a knock on the van signaled it was time to move on. If we've been told correctly I think that it used to be legal to park a camper van in most places in the Netherlands but then it became illegal and now it's been changed back to legal but really it's up to the mayor or whoever is in charge in that area. We were told we weren't allowed to sleep over night in this area and asked to move on. That's fine and no problem for us, but since we weren't going to sleep in the van anymore after being woken up we moved to park round the corner and headed back into the city.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went to visit the Amsterdam Dungeons which I had been to before but was looking forward to seeing again. Actors take you on a tour of dungeons telling you stories of Amsterdam's past including witches, torture, ghosts and psycho magicians. It was fun and creepy. It was a really hot day so we walked a little outside of the center to find a really nice park with a canal lake running through it. I love parks in city's as they're full of so many different people to watch. It was packed, full of bicycles and very relaxing, even though opposite us a guy was trying to take a hundred arty portrait shots of a tramp and his dog and a kid was running in circles around us trying to catch bubbles. <br /><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NLtXDrdfpIg/UjL_QwqWJAI/AAAAAAAABJE/K40ghCO-FnU/s1600/20130808_163610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NLtXDrdfpIg/UjL_QwqWJAI/AAAAAAAABJE/K40ghCO-FnU/s640/20130808_163610.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ThGAAi8EODE/UjMAEOR0_iI/AAAAAAAABJc/6ECenESLd7I/s1600/IMG_20130808_220431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ThGAAi8EODE/UjMAEOR0_iI/AAAAAAAABJc/6ECenESLd7I/s400/IMG_20130808_220431.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On our last day in Amsterdam we took a canal boat tour. There was information coming out over the speakers about the city but mostly I just liked getting to look at the buildings without worrying about being hit by a stray bicycle or tram. There are loads of house boats on the canals which were really pretty and I learnt that because land was short in Amsterdam it was divided up into narrow strips and sold on which is why the buildings are so narrow and tall.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6x68tO9umG8/UjL_rt2xzwI/AAAAAAAABJM/g2FK0ziek90/s1600/20130809_133605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6x68tO9umG8/UjL_rt2xzwI/AAAAAAAABJM/g2FK0ziek90/s640/20130809_133605.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Waiting for our canal boat</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We left Amsterdam the next day to go meet our friend Alec just east of Utrecht, who was driving from home in England to his base camp in Germany where the army have stationed him recently. Again we were going to stay on a campsite but on the way found a bit of wasteland being used as an occasional car park. We had a few beers, a camper van curry and a good night laughing a lot. We didn't get moved on that night but we did get a lot of beeps from passing cars trying to wake us up, the locals didn't really like us not paying for the campsite either. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcBU_1pThUg/UjL_-I7k3zI/AAAAAAAABJU/lXSMOXQAh8c/s1600/IMG_7104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcBU_1pThUg/UjL_-I7k3zI/AAAAAAAABJU/lXSMOXQAh8c/s640/IMG_7104.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Adam & Alec<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had never really experienced this before. Having spent most of our van dwelling time in France and Spain, where they mostly don't mind where you park as long as it's legal and not disruptive. A lot of Dutch people only ever holiday in their motor homes though so maybe they are just very protective of their camping culture. We don't mind paying for a campsite when we need one and enjoy going to them, but they can be expensive and sometimes we don't need the facilities, just a place to park, so if we can 'wild camp' somewhere we will.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we headed towards Rotterdam and found a nice place to park under a windmill, by a canal in Schiedam. It's a designated camper van space so hopefully no policemen knocking or beeping! We don't have much planned here apart from maybe feeding the ducks, spent quite a lot of money in Amsterdam so need a bit of a spending break!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aglaD40HFvU/UjMAFSDklaI/AAAAAAAABJk/g6gzLTejkMA/s1600/20130811_165347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aglaD40HFvU/UjMAFSDklaI/AAAAAAAABJk/g6gzLTejkMA/s640/20130811_165347.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Our van in Schiedam</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-25173817433772658062013-08-27T16:13:00.001+01:002013-09-08T15:22:43.179+01:00OHM Festival, Netherlands<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday 5th August 2013<br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-alsQBq47CW8/Uix8KxeUXXI/AAAAAAAABIE/r3yx8suBdYs/s1600/20130731_233726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-alsQBq47CW8/Uix8KxeUXXI/AAAAAAAABIE/r3yx8suBdYs/s640/20130731_233726.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">OHM 'Hollywood' sign</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the past week Adam and I have been at a very different kind of festival called OHM, Observe Hack Make. Adam being an electrical engineer and having just purchased some little techy projects like the Arduino and Raspberry Pi (I am as clueless as you may be), he wanted to go check out what the Dutch hacker camp was all about. I agreed as there would probably be some sort of pac man marathon involved which you can't pass up on. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All I really knew about the festival beforehand was that it was run by a small main group of people but then everyone who bought a ticket and attended was then also a volunteer and could help out at the festival however they wanted, and there would be lots of talks and workshops on things I probably wouldn't understand seeing as my hacker knowledge probably goes as far as knowing how to turn the screen upside down using the arrow keys.<br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we arrived a few days before the events started I was surprised to see how big and organised it was. I should have known that a bunch of people with amazing computer, electrical, blacksmith, logistical and many more skills would obviously want to show this off to their fellow brainy brothers. There were big top tents, LED street lighting, food tents, a 'lounge' tent with massive beans bags and fairy lights, bars and stacks of old TV screens that you could play any game on. A talk on hacking much easier to listen to when it starts with lazers and a smoke machine. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zQ6CYHP0KiY/UiyCE1eAtYI/AAAAAAAABIc/LAL-dB7R3xg/s1600/20130731_170226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zQ6CYHP0KiY/UiyCE1eAtYI/AAAAAAAABIc/LAL-dB7R3xg/s640/20130731_170226.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Lounge tent<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did go along to a few of the more technical talks even though I didn't understand many of the specifics but the bits of the week I most enjoyed were what people presented about 'hacking life', such as hitch hiking, and there was a big focus on whistle blowers such as Julian Assange, Edward Snowdon and Bradley Manning. Another big topic discussed was the war on drugs and how the governments are supposedly loosening their grip on this, as seen with two states in America making use of recreational </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cannabis</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> legal, as their new focus is the war on terror. It was certainly interesting. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAeQf4eV1YE/Uix-T_OFeZI/AAAAAAAABIQ/G20SjB8w4CY/s1600/20130731_232329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAeQf4eV1YE/Uix-T_OFeZI/AAAAAAAABIQ/G20SjB8w4CY/s640/20130731_232329.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a very surreal festival with people giving out free melon and moatloaf all day, groups making things outside their tents and an impressive lazor show at night. There was a sort of organised chaos to it all, a life size unicorn outside a bar (assuming of course unicorns are the same size as regular horses, I've never seen one), more bandwidth than the whole of South Africa and one morning I opened our curtains to see a fully suited Stormtrooper climb out of the camper van next to us. <br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took time out to cycle into Alkmaar, the closest town and I saw my first windmills. Very pretty. Today we found a small lake to lounge by, Adam tried fishing but didn't catch anything. I topped up my tan (first time I've ever been able to say that). Someone even brought their horse down to the lake for a splash around which was very cute.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KIHwdpTSS6E/UiyHGEHAG0I/AAAAAAAABIs/pXv1ik4uYyc/s1600/20130804_152131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KIHwdpTSS6E/UiyHGEHAG0I/AAAAAAAABIs/pXv1ik4uYyc/s640/20130804_152131.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-alsQBq47CW8/Uix8KxeUXXI/AAAAAAAABIE/r3yx8suBdYs/s1600/20130731_233726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-42368494077016427572013-08-24T12:11:00.001+01:002013-09-07T15:10:33.391+01:00A month at home<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday 29th July 2013<br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are currently on a ferry to the Netherlands after spending four amazing weeks at home. Even though we were only away in the van for two months it felt like a lot longer as we were living a much slower pace of life than we were running around in the Alps. There were two big events happening in our lives in July that we didn't want to miss out on and having never lived in a van before we thought two months was a conveniently good length of time for the testing out period before we could go home and see if it was right for us. <br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two things we wanted to come back for were my dads 50th birthday and Global Gathering, we already had our 5th year tickets so had to attend! It was also my brothers 17th birthday, my aunties 60th and my dad is a tripet so they were having a big joint 50th. We came back a few weeks early so we could see the rest of our friends and family too. <br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLN5JUeaTGY/Uistp9cdtJI/AAAAAAAABHQ/kU0OCF1h0M4/s1600/1016912_10152339469486564_1436422404_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLN5JUeaTGY/Uistp9cdtJI/AAAAAAAABHQ/kU0OCF1h0M4/s320/1016912_10152339469486564_1436422404_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DlsoYtB9mmc/UisvL5pHd5I/AAAAAAAABHk/LU0YLQ0N9qc/s1600/20130718_184815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DlsoYtB9mmc/UisvL5pHd5I/AAAAAAAABHk/LU0YLQ0N9qc/s320/20130718_184815.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chilling with my family and my brother's 17th</span></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing we squeezed into these few weeks is that we bought a new van! The old Smurf Mobile / Blue Beast / Betty Blue van was awesome and we had no problems with it (except our ditch incident) but we realised we need something different having lived in it. With winter coming up and us thinking about maybe taking the van to the Alps when it's colder we would need a van with insulation and heating. We also would have liked a better living arrangement layout as if we wanted to sit down we always had to sit on the bed and there was only room for one person to be stood up doing anything at one time. We wanted to upgrade slightly from our self converted van to an oldish coach built, small motorhome. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-puXLDfRyLIE/Uist-x9FlrI/AAAAAAAABHY/2da8am8AUEE/s1600/IMG_7388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-puXLDfRyLIE/Uist-x9FlrI/AAAAAAAABHY/2da8am8AUEE/s640/IMG_7388.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Our new van in the Alps (in the fuuuture)</span><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We didn't have long for any buying or selling but luckily we found just what we needed and within our price range and the old van sold quickly on eBay. I will miss that old Suzie Blue! ;( We now have an 1989 Ford Auto-Sleeper Legend. A small motorhome with a double bed above the cab (Adam finds a little claustrophobic, I find snuggly and cave like), a toilet, shower, tiny kitchen area, heating and a boiler. Woop. We fitted a 120 watt solar panel as well which is slightly bigger than we had on the last van. <br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zedosJcwWvE/UisvXoFUKvI/AAAAAAAABHs/8Xy7-XVBMQo/s1600/20130720_183046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zedosJcwWvE/UisvXoFUKvI/AAAAAAAABHs/8Xy7-XVBMQo/s640/20130720_183046.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My cousin, sister and I ready to partaay</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9LwwgMCvzRM/UisxftSGz8I/AAAAAAAABH0/af6r4kkh178/s1600/20130720_210130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9LwwgMCvzRM/UisxftSGz8I/AAAAAAAABH0/af6r4kkh178/s640/20130720_210130.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">My dad with his triplet sisters</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our first roadtrip in the new van was up to County Durham for my dads birthday. He has a massive family (he was one of eleven kids) and that's where most of them still live. We stayed at my cousins house and the party was in a club hall with a cheesy disco. After a few vodkas there were a lot of of moves being thrown. We had a big BBQ the next day and it was really nice to see everyone. I have a lot of family up there that I don't see very often, living hundreds of miles south. We also took a walk up to a massive reservoir and waterfall nearby and had a really hot day at Derwent Water in the Lake District. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Our next stop was Statford upon Avon for Global Gathering (with a quick overnight stop in Wales, boring story involving gas cannisters but lovely scenery). All I can say about Global is that it was as epic as it is every year :) It was boiling hot the first day and monsooned the second but every bit was great. Even when our tent flooded the last night and we had to trudge through the mud in the early hours to get to our van. We slept in the carpark a bit into the afternoon where we then had to make our way straight over to the ferry port in Newhaven to get to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands for a very different kind of festival called OHM in a few days.</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-40237079671291672852013-08-17T09:42:00.001+01:002013-08-17T10:31:13.304+01:00Parc Asterix<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday 28th June 2013<br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have just spent the day at Parc Asterix which was aweeesssooome! I've been to theme parks before but not one that has immersed itself so completely with one theme (haven't been to Disneyland...yet). Apparently in the cartoon, Asterix & Obelix, these two viking guys would time travel to Egypt and Rome and fight the soldiers. The park was split into these ancient villages with the rides themed to them. There were massive Zeus statues and pyramids. <br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8NlmFLJNNo/Ug9Bvj4WzKI/AAAAAAAABE0/-TAjKKtGBms/s1600/20130628_105551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8NlmFLJNNo/Ug9Bvj4WzKI/AAAAAAAABE0/-TAjKKtGBms/s640/20130628_105551.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first rollercoaster we went on was really old and wooden with nothing to keep you in the tiny cart, which is always a good scare factor. I couldn't help but duck as we flew around the wooden structure with massive beams flying past overhead. It made my stomach jump/drop quite a bit though so thumbs up from me. Another of my favourite rides was one where it was like sitting in a sledge where I sat between Adams legs and it was joined onto the track with little wheels on the sides and was like a bobsleigh where you were propelled around the track by the weight of it. Felt like you were gonna fall out the whole time so it was scary and brilliant. <br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5FO-YMV_WHA/Ug9B8QbXGQI/AAAAAAAABFQ/4IMhixwai9M/s1600/20130628_123226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5FO-YMV_WHA/Ug9B8QbXGQI/AAAAAAAABFQ/4IMhixwai9M/s400/20130628_123226.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mxucav1_TDU/Ug9BviwdlAI/AAAAAAAABE4/V_IfPbQbSFc/s1600/20130628_125954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mxucav1_TDU/Ug9BviwdlAI/AAAAAAAABE4/V_IfPbQbSFc/s400/20130628_125954.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I liked that the park had other things to see as well as rides, like the two stunt shows we saw. The first was in a small circular stadium where some 'Roman soldiers' did a lot of stunt fighting and falling on their faces without seeming to hurt themselves, as well as flying around on wires throwing in some acrobatic moves. The second was on a much larger stage made to look like an old port with a massive metal cargo ship as the backdrop. A painter/decorator was ambling about on stage as everyone was getting seated and then in marched some guards who were meant to be looking after the Mona Lisa painting. Two villains joined the scene trying to steal the painting whilst the painter just generally got in the way. They fought, flew around the room, had car chases and blew up buildings all on the stage and it looked pretty epic. They even made the massive ship in the background sink and had amazing pyrotechnics. There was no dialogue but it was still really funny, funnier than the slapstick humour I was expecting. <br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ig2lyAkoCR8/Ug9B_xgGu9I/AAAAAAAABFc/Jk12nu9t7Js/s1600/20130628_161058(0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ig2lyAkoCR8/Ug9B_xgGu9I/AAAAAAAABFc/Jk12nu9t7Js/s640/20130628_161058(0).jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also saw a dolphin show which completely conflicts with how I feel about dolphins being captured for shows. I watched a documentary a few years ago called The Cove and it was appalling seeing all these dolphins being slaughtered by Japanese fishermen when they weren't selected to be bought by park keepers and trainers. I don't think that the dolphins at the park were treated badly but it's how they could have been caught or how other dolphins are captured that is upsetting. Even so, I still had to see what they were up to, no excuse for that really! <br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdYdRIwqieo/Ug9B6yeMNSI/AAAAAAAABFI/55-s9qOeGwo/s1600/20130628_130231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdYdRIwqieo/Ug9B6yeMNSI/AAAAAAAABFI/55-s9qOeGwo/s640/20130628_130231.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're about to drive to the ferry port of Dieppe to get the ferry to Newhaven, England tomorrow morning. It will be good to see everyone again it's been an amazing few months and it seemed like we were away a lot longer! We've got my brothers 17th, my dad and his two sisters tripet 50th, my aunties 60th birthday and a festival to attend!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xA_-5jj16e8/Ug9B6jSKSWI/AAAAAAAABFE/Hyv2TPGReN0/s1600/20130628_130941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xA_-5jj16e8/Ug9B6jSKSWI/AAAAAAAABFE/Hyv2TPGReN0/s640/20130628_130941.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ig2lyAkoCR8/Ug9B_xgGu9I/AAAAAAAABFc/Jk12nu9t7Js/s1600/20130628_161058(0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-79667791872443273612013-08-17T09:40:00.001+01:002013-08-17T10:22:20.223+01:00St Tropez... sounds better than Grimaud!<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday 27th June 2013<br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf6XrvOIS-A/Ug8-1WLJ_5I/AAAAAAAABEI/O8sD1-SM2tc/s1600/20130622_211854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf6XrvOIS-A/Ug8-1WLJ_5I/AAAAAAAABEI/O8sD1-SM2tc/s640/20130622_211854.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After leaving Carcassonne last Saturday we drove a few hundred miles back into the sunshine of Southern France until we reached Grimaud, a small little town across the bay from St Tropez. We are a little bit more accustomed to the heat now and kinda missed it when we were in Carcassonne even though it was quite warm there. Adams dad Jon was just starting his holiday and had ridden his motorbike through the night from England til he reached the warmer weather and we met him at a huge family campsite where we stayed for the night, Jon pitching his tent next to our van with his motorbike in between as a snore barrier. Unfortunately I found out later that it doesn't work very well! We spent the rest of that day on the beach which the campsite opened up on to, introduced Jon to our boules and Jon took us for dinner where I had the best steak and mash I've ever had in my life. <br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ0IoxWq47U/Ug8_I7WOfZI/AAAAAAAABEQ/N_fFUHKYGdk/s1600/20130623_100443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ0IoxWq47U/Ug8_I7WOfZI/AAAAAAAABEQ/N_fFUHKYGdk/s640/20130623_100443.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we went back to the same beach, squeezing our towels into the only available patch of sand left. Or so I thought, a few hours later some women put their towels down to sunbathe in front of us, but they were practically in the sea. Although that was probably quite refreshing as it was boiling. When we had finished crisping up in the sun with had a massive bbq with a looot of vino and camp fire chats. <br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We couldn't decide if we should stay around this area or move on but because we all agreed we wanted to stay wherever it was sunniest we decided to see if we could find a cheaper campsite nearby. The one we were on was great but it had a lot of facilities we didn't need like kids clubs and cheesy evening entertainment so we were looking for something a bit more chilled. Jon went out on his bike to track a campsite down and Adam and I accidentally found a deserted sandy beach just minutes from the super crowded one we were on the day before. <br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQ6S1IPpc94/Ug8-0RXbFWI/AAAAAAAABEA/o4R7FUYsDrM/s1600/20130624_121547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DQ6S1IPpc94/Ug8-0RXbFWI/AAAAAAAABEA/o4R7FUYsDrM/s640/20130624_121547.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had to excuse ourselves from an overly chatty English women who had come over to the van seeing our British plates to head to our new tiny quiet campsite up the road. We went back to our private beach where there was no one to hit me round the head with their runaway pool inflatables and Jon stumbled across the nudist beach round the corner. A good afternoon all round. It was a really relaxing (when are we not relaxing these days though) few days and really nice to catch up with Jon. We filled the rest of the time eating a lot, drinking a lot, making and playing a checkers board, visiting the port and making friends with butterflies which were very attracted to Jons new beard. <br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8bOf8LV5_E/Ug8_wvW781I/AAAAAAAABEg/ZypAlUnsppw/s1600/20130625_174705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8bOf8LV5_E/Ug8_wvW781I/AAAAAAAABEg/ZypAlUnsppw/s640/20130625_174705.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-Y4ix1Cqqk/Ug8_xwFig5I/AAAAAAAABEo/hzVNYVLdI50/s1600/20130625_175755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-Y4ix1Cqqk/Ug8_xwFig5I/AAAAAAAABEo/hzVNYVLdI50/s640/20130625_175755.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jon left pretty early this morning to meet up with friends at other motorbike campsites and we had a 12 hour drive (shouldn't really take this long but our little old van is slooow) up through France to get to Parc Asterix. A theme park based on the cartoon Asterix and Obelix which I don't really remember watching when I was younger but Adam does. We got a bit lost on the way and nearly ended up driving onto a flight taking off from the airport in Paris but now we're in the Parc Asterix hotel carpark where we're gonna stay overnight so we're here in the morning for a full day of rollercoastering. I can hear people screaming on the rides right now so preeetty excited.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GHUL9oE8kv8/Ug8_cVhwapI/AAAAAAAABEY/bTzk9fc1UYw/s1600/20130624_164006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GHUL9oE8kv8/Ug8_cVhwapI/AAAAAAAABEY/bTzk9fc1UYw/s640/20130624_164006.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8bOf8LV5_E/Ug8_wvW781I/AAAAAAAABEg/ZypAlUnsppw/s1600/20130625_174705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-Y4ix1Cqqk/Ug8_xwFig5I/AAAAAAAABEo/hzVNYVLdI50/s1600/20130625_175755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-15126145832933467722013-08-03T16:53:00.002+01:002013-08-03T16:53:32.478+01:00Carcassonne & David Guetta<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday 22nd June 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Wednesday morning we left the empty ski resort of Les Angles and took a beautiful drive through the French Pyrenees (which followed an awesome river which I would like to try white water rafting in one day), and arrived in Carcassonne. A destination we chose because it was in the right direction and had a cool looking fortress we wanted to have a look at.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On arrival we found the most convenient place to park was a large Aire in the middle of the town and a 5 minute walk to the castle/walled city/fortress. We were also intrigued by the massive outdoor stage with stadium seating in the field next door where they were just starting some sound checks. We parked up pretty quickly and made our way over to the castle to have a look around. We found that the town is made up of an inner walled city, protected by two walls and a draw bridge, which is where all the tourists shops, restaurants, cafes and craft shops are housed, but has expanded outside of these walls to create the more expansive lower city.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fxnkAgbcSOQ/Uf0kACTTgFI/AAAAAAAABCo/w6yTfnMix3c/s1600/1044987_10200818760764152_1412229187_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fxnkAgbcSOQ/Uf0kACTTgFI/AAAAAAAABCo/w6yTfnMix3c/s640/1044987_10200818760764152_1412229187_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a quick look in the tourist information center first and found out we had arrived at the start of a festival going on all over Carcassonne with different music events taking place over the following weeks on different stages. The stage in the field next door to us was opening with a group of famous French rappers that evening followed by David Guetta in a few days time. We weren't planning on staying in Carcassonne for very long, we thought one day was enough to look round this castle, but since we still had enough time before we had to get home and that the castle was free entry, we made a plan to look round the castle over the next couple of days and stay to see David Guetta on Friday night. We were planning on meeting up with Adam's dad the day after somewhere around St Tropez so we would just have to make up the miles that day. I wouldn't say we were David Guetta's biggest fans but why turn down a free gig?<br /><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRcR1PGzaKA/Uf0kdS2jmGI/AAAAAAAABDE/ueCcsEhCHW4/s1600/1011144_10200818770284390_1536266501_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TRcR1PGzaKA/Uf0kdS2jmGI/AAAAAAAABDE/ueCcsEhCHW4/s640/1011144_10200818770284390_1536266501_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the rest of the day we looked round the castle, watched the horse drawn carriages, had a traditional regional French lunch in a cafe and then went back to the van to try and chill out but the sound check still going on was quiiite annoying. (Check, one, two, check, wooooo. Repeat 562 times). We decided to try and fix this by getting in a few bottles of wine and setting up our camping chairs next to the vin yard behind us so we could settle down and watch some traditional French hip hop for the evenings entertainment on stage. A few other people from the town had the same idea and watched from the vin yard with us. We made friends with a couple called Phillipe and Sandrine using tiny bits of French/English and mostly hand signs. They very much enjoyed and were big fans of the French hip hop group. (Wish I could remember what they were called...something along with lines of Sexual Abduction..maybe, I really can't remember).<br /><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9pJBpjV_Hq8/Uf0kAbWwtBI/AAAAAAAABCs/k9hVBTLtXM8/s1600/1016579_10200818767604323_766569054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9pJBpjV_Hq8/Uf0kAbWwtBI/AAAAAAAABCs/k9hVBTLtXM8/s400/1016579_10200818767604323_766569054_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlKepouJkFc/Uf0kATSJZdI/AAAAAAAABC0/n59lwd3IbSQ/s1600/944171_10200818768844354_140294458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zlKepouJkFc/Uf0kATSJZdI/AAAAAAAABC0/n59lwd3IbSQ/s400/944171_10200818768844354_140294458_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fTYs9xitYWo/Uf0keTu_9NI/AAAAAAAABDs/wFKVNtcZ1Mk/s1600/1044864_10200818759204113_1362659956_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fTYs9xitYWo/Uf0keTu_9NI/AAAAAAAABDs/wFKVNtcZ1Mk/s640/1044864_10200818759204113_1362659956_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday started off beautifully but unfortunately did not end so well. It was a really nice sunny day and we went to have another look round the castle, this time we followed the battlement walk which takes you all around the walls and has great views looking out from them. I can't remember much about the history of the castle because it had been invaded, knocked down and rebuilt so many times by different people but it was cool to see that in the walls themselves with all the different bricks and layouts.<br /><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hzP7wSDyb30/Uf0kdudH0-I/AAAAAAAABDM/XoU8pTIRBSc/s1600/1044274_10200818776884555_1862512156_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hzP7wSDyb30/Uf0kdudH0-I/AAAAAAAABDM/XoU8pTIRBSc/s640/1044274_10200818776884555_1862512156_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We set up our chairs again to watch David Guetta and it was actually quite a good show and you could hear that the audience loved their fellow Frenchy, even if Guetta himself did sound a little bored, maybe it's just the accent? We had a happy night raving away in the vin yard with Phillipe and Sandrine again. We started to wind down after it had all finished but noticed that the barriers to the car park were up. We had been in the car park for a few days now so we knew we had racked up a small bill but thinking we could get away with it decided to drive just outside the barrier so we wouldn't have to pay, as we were leaving in the morning anyway.<br /></span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDWF9OqFNUA/Uf0kdZL-NMI/AAAAAAAABDc/x_qufLDj_Ss/s1600/1017058_10200818781204663_72838466_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDWF9OqFNUA/Uf0kdZL-NMI/AAAAAAAABDc/x_qufLDj_Ss/s640/1017058_10200818781204663_72838466_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8WkGolkNjFk/Uf0kegLaShI/AAAAAAAABDk/NvGxcN1LJww/s1600/944445_10200818784564747_1267342614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8WkGolkNjFk/Uf0kegLaShI/AAAAAAAABDk/NvGxcN1LJww/s640/944445_10200818784564747_1267342614_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems they say karma is a bitch for a reason. Instead of just staying put we decide to get a few miles under our belts and drive a bit further out of the town to stay somewhere else for the evening. It's around 2</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">am by now but after jumping around for hours with all the excitement and loud music we're still not tired so it seems like a good idea. After driving about an hour into even more remote countryside we realised we've missed where we wanted to stay and try to turn around. We're surrounded by fields and on the reverse of the three point turn Adam accidentally puts the back of the van into a ditch at the side of the road, making the front wheels just raised enough to spin on the road and not pull us out. Brilliant, 3am in a ditch in the middle of no where! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the next hour we try and figure out what to do as we don't have breakdown cover (I may write a post on what <i>not to do</i> if you're going travelling in a van soon). We tried waiting to see if anyone would come along and we could see if they could pull us out as we had the rope for it. Three cars did come by, I thought it should be my job to wave them down as seeing a giant blue van blocking the whole of the road and grizzly Adams standing nearby might have seemed a little scary to the drivers, however all their cars were tiny so we had no choice but to direct them down the dirt track nearby to get around us. Eventually we called the AA and advised them we were stuck in a ditch with no cover and in France. They kindly gave us the number of a 24 hour garage nearby who miraculously understood our problem and where we were even though he spoke hardly any English. Twenty minutes later and 140 euros lighter we were out of our embarrassingly tiny ditch. Lesson learnt.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LC4Q22quFGg/Uf0kdbV7yAI/AAAAAAAABDA/1JuBpoFANJM/s1600/1003426_10200818785524771_453762139_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LC4Q22quFGg/Uf0kdbV7yAI/AAAAAAAABDA/1JuBpoFANJM/s640/1003426_10200818785524771_453762139_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Flashing lights of the tow truck</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-38621660355838629822013-07-18T16:20:00.002+01:002013-07-18T16:20:49.389+01:00Dali Theatre-Museum & a snow-less ski resort<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday 17th June 2013</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />It feels like today was actually two days as the two halves were so different to each other. We started the day in super hot and sunny Figueres, Spain, to visit the Salvador Dali Theatre-Museum and ended the day in cloudy Les Angles, France, in the Pyrenees mountains on an empty ski resort!<br /><br />The Dali museum was built on the ruins of the Municipal Theatre of Figueres which was destroyed by fire in the Spanish Civil War. The structure remained and Dali built and designed his museum on it as he thought there was no better place to display his work than in his home town. The whole building is a work of art with the giant glass dome ceiling, massive eggs and the displays inside. Dali himself is buried in a crypt in the center of the building.<br /><br />We spent about 3 hours inside the museum as there was so much to look at. It was a bit annoying that they had</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> group tours that were so big that when you were looking at something they would come and swarm around you so their guide could talk about whatever they were looking at and you couldn't see any more! It was also pretty frustrating that people would stand in front of the painting or sculpture so they could have their photo taken with it and then you couldn't see that either but other than that I really enjoyed looking around. Some of the work was so surreal I would have loved to know what was going on in his head when he created it! Adam's favourite was a sculpture of a small crocodile holding a lamp that he wants to have a go a recreating himself. Some of my favourites...</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HD13wol6qYk/Uef-hQQ0F8I/AAAAAAAABAQ/Alw8ir8lQY0/s1600/946868_10200818730243389_1626559048_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HD13wol6qYk/Uef-hQQ0F8I/AAAAAAAABAQ/Alw8ir8lQY0/s640/946868_10200818730243389_1626559048_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Gold mannequins in the windows of a circular courtyard</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1bTqLgc5fT4/Uef-heo0ZkI/AAAAAAAABAY/yyHprJ2FhS0/s1600/1044127_10200818729963382_1665623789_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1bTqLgc5fT4/Uef-heo0ZkI/AAAAAAAABAY/yyHprJ2FhS0/s400/1044127_10200818729963382_1665623789_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_hwCvhYuWc/Uef-hSseuTI/AAAAAAAABAU/CF1OMX_xewE/s1600/17501_10200818730523396_1485565395_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_hwCvhYuWc/Uef-hSseuTI/AAAAAAAABAU/CF1OMX_xewE/s400/17501_10200818730523396_1485565395_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The glass dome ceiling behind a raised boat // Sculpture on the wall made of drawers, sinks and other items<br /><br /></span></div>
</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdnM9N5Kfrs/Uef_A6oD5DI/AAAAAAAABA4/cpR8TpLnczo/s1600/1000088_10200818733723476_67020875_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KdnM9N5Kfrs/Uef_A6oD5DI/AAAAAAAABA4/cpR8TpLnczo/s400/1000088_10200818733723476_67020875_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRp0pYiyj38/Uef_AQWrZ2I/AAAAAAAABAs/I-xKRInUm8c/s1600/1005105_10200818733363467_1553657335_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRp0pYiyj38/Uef_AQWrZ2I/AAAAAAAABAs/I-xKRInUm8c/s400/1005105_10200818733363467_1553657335_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BL8oYAP9jiA/Uef_AdrnK6I/AAAAAAAABAo/joFKxznJtkk/s1600/1005617_10200818734323491_358472469_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BL8oYAP9jiA/Uef_AdrnK6I/AAAAAAAABAo/joFKxznJtkk/s400/1005617_10200818734323491_358472469_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5c4UmpOjYhY/Uef_BGWIRRI/AAAAAAAABA8/Z1rvPZ1zrcA/s1600/1013384_10200818733683475_445278698_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5c4UmpOjYhY/Uef_BGWIRRI/AAAAAAAABA8/Z1rvPZ1zrcA/s400/1013384_10200818733683475_445278698_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Surreal Dali drawings<br /><br /></span></div>
</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fd70YukoVVU/Uef_g5WxVsI/AAAAAAAABBI/qDqw8x-2jc0/s1600/1000380_10200818741243664_1758951637_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fd70YukoVVU/Uef_g5WxVsI/AAAAAAAABBI/qDqw8x-2jc0/s640/1000380_10200818741243664_1758951637_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">One half of a surrealist painting on the ceiling<br /><br /></span></div>
</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ty7WA1AmOk/Uef_g2CNgGI/AAAAAAAABBM/v2zHRSB0pVI/s1600/945062_10200818735403518_940847001_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ty7WA1AmOk/Uef_g2CNgGI/AAAAAAAABBM/v2zHRSB0pVI/s400/945062_10200818735403518_940847001_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mnXim3PsD1U/Uef_g7EonGI/AAAAAAAABBU/u8ZlvS-BY2U/s1600/1011296_10200818735963532_2118983992_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mnXim3PsD1U/Uef_g7EonGI/AAAAAAAABBU/u8ZlvS-BY2U/s400/1011296_10200818735963532_2118983992_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Creepy sculpture and 'Dematerialisation Near the Nose of Nero<br /><br /></span></div>
</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SshMymNtBo/Uef_3EFcU0I/AAAAAAAABB0/0DNSMFlK9m8/s1600/944182_10200818742003683_704979451_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7SshMymNtBo/Uef_3EFcU0I/AAAAAAAABB0/0DNSMFlK9m8/s400/944182_10200818742003683_704979451_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pu5t80_RE9g/Uef_3oznNLI/AAAAAAAABCA/-jq2HmWMxFs/s1600/993062_10200818742563697_2097495832_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pu5t80_RE9g/Uef_3oznNLI/AAAAAAAABCA/-jq2HmWMxFs/s400/993062_10200818742563697_2097495832_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tXOuVlc5ZDA/Uef_2oX7NlI/AAAAAAAABBw/hG1PJmjVv2U/s1600/1000133_10200818736963557_214362772_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tXOuVlc5ZDA/Uef_2oX7NlI/AAAAAAAABBw/hG1PJmjVv2U/s400/1000133_10200818736963557_214362772_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slr-KuIj8R0/Uef_2apnaaI/AAAAAAAABBg/Uk7dDpGg4oY/s1600/1001149_10200818737243564_814126019_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-slr-KuIj8R0/Uef_2apnaaI/AAAAAAAABBg/Uk7dDpGg4oY/s400/1001149_10200818737243564_814126019_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMOLWLz29eg/Uef_2VZZbvI/AAAAAAAABBk/QTOBlgSNG_8/s1600/1044772_10200818736603548_1966293234_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EMOLWLz29eg/Uef_2VZZbvI/AAAAAAAABBk/QTOBlgSNG_8/s640/1044772_10200818736603548_1966293234_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was quite a long drive out of Figueres to our next destination. Our plan was to go back up through the Spanish/French border and find a place to stop for the night before making our way to Carcassonne tomorrow. We had picked up a leaflet near the beginning of the trip that listed loads of castles to visit in France and the fortress in Carcassonne was free for people aged between 18 and 30 so it seemed like a good place to head next. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as we hit the mountains it started to get cloudier and cloudier. We had a look in our Aire's France book and found a free Aire on the French ski resort of Les Angles so headed there. The drive through the Pyrenees mountains was amazing. We had already been through the lower parts of the Pyrenees on our way to Spain and I thought those views were incredible but these were even better. We climbed over 1600 metres of sheer cliff edged roads. We could even see in the distance a mountain that still had snow at the top. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We parked up at the bottom of a ski lift just as it started raining. Another GB motor home with an English couple arrived shortly after and seeing our British plates they came over to say hi. We had a quick chat with them and they let us look around their motor home when we said we would be going back home soon to buy another camper. I'm not sure they realised our budget was more around the 5k mark than their 30k motor home but it was nice to see the inside anyway! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />There is a lot of thunder and lightening going on tonight but hopefully when we drive out of the mountains to get to Carcassonne it will clear up!</span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g-yqE2DPmlg/UegGloQI8fI/AAAAAAAABCQ/rGy1JlQQIQI/s1600/1016515_10200818755844029_645976090_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g-yqE2DPmlg/UegGloQI8fI/AAAAAAAABCQ/rGy1JlQQIQI/s640/1016515_10200818755844029_645976090_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jo48OCD1Mr8/UegGlrygmGI/AAAAAAAABCU/WI71fhJL6a8/s1600/11516_10200818755724026_1334918512_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jo48OCD1Mr8/UegGlrygmGI/AAAAAAAABCU/WI71fhJL6a8/s640/11516_10200818755724026_1334918512_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Deserted chair lift and ski slope with no snow on it :(</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-51000191494649584612013-07-17T18:19:00.001+01:002013-07-17T18:23:20.005+01:00Sonar festival, Barcelona!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday
16th June 2013</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: black;">We
didn't hang around long being gloomy after our <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-smurf-mobile-has-been-violated.html" target="_blank">van had been broken into</a> as we had a lot of things to look forward to this week! On
Wednesday we met our friend Rich at Barcelona airport and after a
quick trip to the supermarket to pick up large quantities of BBQ food
and beers we whisked him back to our favourite campsite in Gava, <a href="http://www.camping3estrellas.com/ingles/" target="_blank">The 3 Estrellas</a>, for a chilled night catching up.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dX1kZvKiKII/Uea9sbD2MPI/AAAAAAAAA-8/Bt8YZo09Oww/s1600/1044485_10200818695522521_65180990_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dX1kZvKiKII/Uea9sbD2MPI/AAAAAAAAA-8/Bt8YZo09Oww/s640/1044485_10200818695522521_65180990_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Rich and I and a whole lotta food</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rich
had flown over as he was going to <a href="http://sonar.es/en/2013/" target="_blank">Sonar festival</a> with some friends
that were all on different flights and some that lived in Spain. When
Adam and I were debating whether we should get tickets we found out
that Rich was going and since we have been to <a href="http://xkerryw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/global-gathering-2012.html" target="_blank">Global Gathering back in England</a> with him for the past 4 years, he is somewhat of a
festival buddy so we decided to get a Saturday ticket while Rich was
there for the whole weekend.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">We
ended Wednesday evening with a midnight beach stroll, the campsite
opens up onto the beach but we found at that time of night they lock
the gates shut. We were about to give up when a nice lady from Belgium
called us back and said she had found a way over. Thanks Belgium
lady!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">On
Thursday we took Rich on the bus into Barcelona and had a yuuuummy
tapas lunch (pork in cider was amazing) before Rich headed off to
find his hotel and Adam and I bought penny boards for each other as
it was our four years together! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Sonar
festival ran from Thursday to Sunday and had events in different
places in the city for Sonar Day and Sonar Night. We headed in around
9.30 for Sonar Night and it was held just outside the city center in
three warehouses and two outdoor stages in between them. There were a
few people milling around when we got there and we ordered a beer for
Adam and a massive pint of vodka Redbull for me (only available size
not my fault!)</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't really get the normal festival vibe I usually get but I think that was because we were only there for one night and not the whole weekend like we usually do at festivals and also because it was indoors! The warehouses were massive and the sound for each stage was kept inside them well as when you went outside you couldn't hear the sounds from different stages getting mixed up. We had an awesome night seeing Kraftwerk with their 3d show, Baauer, Major Lazer, Skrillex, Two Door Cinema Club and watching the sun come up with Diplo til around 7am. They were the ones I remember seeing anyway!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ncCpIw7aVQ/UebLvNRcbnI/AAAAAAAAA_I/FAwNSkO4m6k/s1600/1011848_10200818696162537_1661893536_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ncCpIw7aVQ/UebLvNRcbnI/AAAAAAAAA_I/FAwNSkO4m6k/s640/1011848_10200818696162537_1661893536_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sun setting behind an outdoor stage, not many people here yet!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1eNdrsZ1-pE/UebM1JFMN8I/AAAAAAAAA_c/Gi6A93BjqxA/s1600/1002820_10200818697122561_1018645448_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1eNdrsZ1-pE/UebM1JFMN8I/AAAAAAAAA_c/Gi6A93BjqxA/s640/1002820_10200818697122561_1018645448_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Bumper cars! Had a go on these around 5am</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4lRR8LlayXE/UebM1B8ddEI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/ICjY34FyR4k/s1600/1010028_10200818698082585_622808454_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4lRR8LlayXE/UebM1B8ddEI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/ICjY34FyR4k/s640/1010028_10200818698082585_622808454_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9MdpsgEy4w/UebM1dbgnaI/AAAAAAAAA_o/1gY98gX7UvM/s1600/6972_10200818699762627_1139762199_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j9MdpsgEy4w/UebM1dbgnaI/AAAAAAAAA_o/1gY98gX7UvM/s400/6972_10200818699762627_1139762199_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Kraftwerk 3d glasses!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Unfortunately
we didn't get to party with Rich as he was pretty much wasted the
whole weekend and none of his group had phone battery or even knew
where their phones were! But we did get to hear funny stories of him
wondering around Barcelona and getting lost when we met up with him
again on Sunday. He had spent a lot of time lost, wandering through
the areas of Barcelona populated by prostitutes, trying and failing
to use a pay phone to call someone to tell him where to go and
wanting to buy a dress to turn up back at the hotel in but
unfortunately realising he'd spent all his money. I'm sure we'll see
more of him at <a href="http://www.globalgathering.com/" target="_blank">Global Gathering</a> this year though so plenty more
shenanigans to come!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Saturday
was spent recovering and after we had dropped Rich back at the
airport today we left Barcelona after nearly a month of being there
to start making our slow journey home. We still have about two weeks
before we plan to be home but we're gonna take it slow and stop at a
few places on the way. We also plan on meeting up with Adam's dad who
will be on a two week holiday riding his motorbike around the
continent soon.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: black;">We
are currently in Figueres, Spain, as we plan on visiting the Dali
museum tomorrow. For tonight we have found a place to stay in a car
park next to a massive old fort. Just walked around it and it took
over an hour. It's quite high up though so really nice views and we
can even see Roses in the distance, where we stopped at the beach one
day previously.</span></span></div>
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A4Kh0xY1XyE/UebOYZO722I/AAAAAAAAA_4/uNWaULwFhjs/s1600/1005423_10200818711282915_693724166_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A4Kh0xY1XyE/UebOYZO722I/AAAAAAAAA_4/uNWaULwFhjs/s640/1005423_10200818711282915_693724166_n.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Big old fort walls</span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-71289414664541561922013-07-16T14:46:00.001+01:002013-07-16T14:46:20.921+01:00The Smurf Mobile has been violated<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuesday 11th June 2013</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today our van got broken into :(<br /><br />We have been staying for a few weeks in Gava, just outside of Barcelona. Some nights we stay on a nearby campsite, some nights we park on various roads nearby which are in residential areas by the beach. There is a motorway which runs parallel to the beach and some roads coming straight up from the beach have now been blocked off as this motorway passes through so there are a few dead end roads just used for parking and this is where we have been staying. There have been a few other campers around too. We usually park on the dead end roads at night, and if we go to the beach, move a few hundred meters so the van is closer to us on the beach and we can see it. We also move the van onto the main road running through the area when we go into Barcelona so that it is not on it's own where no one can see it when we are away.<br /><br />Hooowever, today we decided to leave the van parked in the shade and we couldn't see the van from where we were sitting on the beach. Equally as annoying is that today is the last day we would have been parking in that area. Tomorrow our friend Rich is flying into Barcelona airport as we are all going to Sonar Festival, so we would have been staying in the campsite for the rest of the week and then leaving to drive a few hundred miles to Figueres to visit the Dali museum. So frustrating!<br /><br />We have so far felt quite safe in Gava, it's a nice, quiet area mainly with residential houses and apartments, an expensive restaurant nearby and a children's play school. We did have one incident maybe a week ago which made us a bit wary but not enough so to make us leave or consider the security of our van. We were parked in one of the dead end roads in the afternoon and I think we had come back from the beach to sit in the shade. Adam and I were sitting on the wall next to our van just reading and trying to cool down when a battered white car comes down the road and does a three point turn. We didn't really look up as a lot of cars have been using the road to turn around in. There are two Asian guys probably in their late 30's in the car and they stop by us and roll down the window and start asking repeatedly questions in English like why are we parked here, how long are we going to be there. A bit confused and not really able to answer those questions Adam enquirers why they want to know. The driver gets out a tacky, computer printed, laminated card that has Police written on it and they advise us they are the police and need to see our passports. Hmmm unlikely. Adam asks to see their ID again they promptly drive off.<br /><br />Of course we have no idea if it was these same guys that came back when we were at the beach and broke in but I've had my suspicions. We returned from the beach to find the whole 4 foot window removed and thrown in a bush by the side of the road. Luckily it hadn't smashed and the seal was still there with it. At first Adam didn't think they had actually got in because the sink unit inside only leaves a small gap but when we got inside it was quite obvious they had been successful. All the good stuff was gone, amounting to quite a bit of money and the things they didn't have an interest in were strewn around. <br /><br />We called the police and reported the crime but were told we would have to go to the local station to report it there as well. We drove there with the window out in case they wanted to have a look. I know the chances of finding our stuff or even who did it are practically nil but the police couldn't have been more unhelpful or unsympathetic. We waited ages to fill in a form, they gave us a copy and Adam asked what would happen next. The officer advised they would call us if they find anything, but when Adam pointed out that they didn't even know what was taken as there is nowhere on the form to put this the officer didn't understand any more English. We drove back to the campsite to put the window back in ourselves. <br /><br />Pretty upsetting but at the end of the day it is just things and they didn't get our passports or any money and we weren't hurt and we didn't have to pay for any repairs to the van. It just sucks that our stuff isn't going towards feeding some hungry babies, it's going on crack. </span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-8948435546768684652013-07-16T14:12:00.000+01:002013-07-16T14:12:49.359+01:00Visiting mum & dad in Santa Susanna, Spain<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 9th June 2013</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have spent this week in the tourist resort of Santa Susanna on the coast of Spain as my mum and dad were there for a little holiday for about 3 days. I had been in contact with my mum whenever we had access to WiFi, sending messages back and forth and my mum kept asking if we would be anywhere near the resort and if so would we come and visit. I kept my replies a bit vague saying we weren't sure what we were doing and where we would be at the time of their arrival to try and keep our being there as a surprise. <br /><br />We arrived at the resort the night before my parents were due to get there so parked up in a supermarket car park which was near their hotel and had a look around. There was the main strip of bars, restaurants and shops a few minutes away so we had a look around and scouted out the beach. We hadn't stopped anywhere this touristy on our trip yet and even though the whole thing could be considered one big holiday, this week really did just feel like a typical holiday, mostly consisting of lounging on the beach :)<br /><br />My parents arrived at their hotel around midday the following day and I tried to get an idea of where their room would be so we could be standing outside waving when they looked out their window! However this didn't really work and my mum just thought my hints like telling her to look outside into the supermarket car park was just me looking at where they were on Google maps! They eventually came down to see us and got big hugs. My mum was a little upset their room didn't have a balcony and their room faced the bins so they didn't really want to open the window either so were trying to see if they could change rooms. We took them down to the beach to chill out on their first day.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The next couple of days were spent doing much the same, mum and dad were staying in an all inclusive hotel so we left them to have our own dinner and they joined us after for some drinks at one of the bars on the strip where we could play cards and watch cute little old couples dancing to some Spanish disco music. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adam and I had only been away about a month but it felt a lot longer and it was great to see them and I'm glad they got to have a nice relaxing break.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Mk7Qo0na90/UeVEXYPj1lI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/8KJqE5YIIGo/s1600/1004784_10200818673961982_1004547021_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Mk7Qo0na90/UeVEXYPj1lI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/8KJqE5YIIGo/s640/1004784_10200818673961982_1004547021_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Adam & I</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XskLN4-OwYo/UeVEX66vS_I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/2FlLHnDWVp4/s1600/1012356_10200818675002008_2076048726_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XskLN4-OwYo/UeVEX66vS_I/AAAAAAAAA-Y/2FlLHnDWVp4/s640/1012356_10200818675002008_2076048726_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">My mum & dad</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zy09ynyK9_I/UeVEYISfuJI/AAAAAAAAA-c/qP5WrlmQaG0/s1600/1016336_10200818675802028_2119423656_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JB0KRHCGLJA/UeVEn7H4vpI/AAAAAAAAA-o/BLySs-FQMAE/s1600/1044517_10200818676842054_1452558450_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JB0KRHCGLJA/UeVEn7H4vpI/AAAAAAAAA-o/BLySs-FQMAE/s400/1044517_10200818676842054_1452558450_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zy09ynyK9_I/UeVEYISfuJI/AAAAAAAAA-c/qP5WrlmQaG0/s400/1016336_10200818675802028_2119423656_n.jpg" width="300" /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sunny views in Santa Susanna</span></span></div>
</div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-24218424753320347692013-07-08T16:01:00.000+01:002013-07-08T16:01:10.451+01:00Mont Serrat<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday 3rd June 2013</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just outside of the city of Barcelona is Mont Serrat, a mountain named after the serrated edge of a saw due to it's jagged edged appearance. We knew there was a monk's monastery at the top so we took the van for a very slow drive up the steep accent. The drive up was cool but a bit scary as the road was right on the edge of the mountain cliff face with a sheer drop over the edge. Obviously there was a concrete barrier between us and the drop but because you could see all the way down it felt like the van would just swerve off of it's own accord any second. The view was incredible though. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The highest peak is 1236m above sea level and it's not considered to be a very high mountain but because it rises abruptly up from the river with no other peaks around it, it seems higher than it is. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZJe9cYOZE0/UdrJN8j7AhI/AAAAAAAAA88/gzDYZvFnEoI/s1600/800px-Montserrat_des_de_Manresa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZJe9cYOZE0/UdrJN8j7AhI/AAAAAAAAA88/gzDYZvFnEoI/s640/800px-Montserrat_des_de_Manresa.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo from Wikipedia</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We parked up and walked a short distance to the Benedictine Abbey that is home to 100 or so monks that still run one of the oldest publishing houses with the first book published in 1499. It is also home to the first boys boys choir in Spain. When we got to the abbey there were a lot of people making their way to the door so we went along with them. It was because the choir were about to commence their daily performance and even though it's quite a large abbey it was packed with people squeezing in and trying to push through the doors when they couldn't fit. It was too hot and squishy for us so we didn't hang around but I'm sure they sounded very angelic.<br /><br />There are a few walks you can take without having to have any mountain knowledge and be worried about getting lost, they take from half an hour to a few hours and you just follow the path round the mountain so we took the shorter of these to see the views. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jPOE_o5NhJk/UdrOI2jX_yI/AAAAAAAAA9M/dt2otzcaxPw/s1600/998831_10200818660161637_671176572_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jPOE_o5NhJk/UdrOI2jX_yI/AAAAAAAAA9M/dt2otzcaxPw/s640/998831_10200818660161637_671176572_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">View looking out from the abbey</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WHQVU4AuJg4/UdrOJffwSzI/AAAAAAAAA9U/_ffrUGbCc2g/s1600/1014332_10200818665521771_1795489571_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WHQVU4AuJg4/UdrOJffwSzI/AAAAAAAAA9U/_ffrUGbCc2g/s640/1014332_10200818665521771_1795489571_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">View of the abbey from round the mountain</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found out that inside the abbey there is a statue of a black Madonna which explained the two hour queue into the abbey that we saw to go and touch it. Apparently this is good luck. The statue has a black face and hands which could be due to overexposure from candle smoke or a vanish used on the wood. It is viewed as a bit of a magical statue and the legend is that it was found in the mountain by monks and they could not move it to their monastery so they built one around it. We stayed wondering around everything for so long that we found much later there was no queue at all to go see it so went to see what all of the fuss was about. It was much smaller than I imagined!<br /></span><div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SahMUPSMVxg/UdrRpsGl5QI/AAAAAAAAA9k/mAKdDPwu0XY/s1600/1004578_10200818663721726_554282884_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SahMUPSMVxg/UdrRpsGl5QI/AAAAAAAAA9k/mAKdDPwu0XY/s400/1004578_10200818663721726_554282884_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nU1sPs3XyYo/UdrRp7OORDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/CblW0FfSJ_0/s1600/1045233_10200818667481820_1040135819_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nU1sPs3XyYo/UdrRp7OORDI/AAAAAAAAA9o/CblW0FfSJ_0/s400/1045233_10200818667481820_1040135819_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I'm not a religious person but I liked the stories that went with the building and the area such as the hermits that used to live up the mountain and would build their houses out of stone on the cliff edges. We could see the remnants of one of their houses looking up from the abbey. No idea how they got up there!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGkBLym6wPc/UdrT_cWzQLI/AAAAAAAAA98/UhNbpbjsEvk/s1600/968789_10200818667921831_467725285_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VGkBLym6wPc/UdrT_cWzQLI/AAAAAAAAA98/UhNbpbjsEvk/s640/968789_10200818667921831_467725285_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844912708314831211.post-18024890051807452282013-07-05T15:59:00.001+01:002013-07-08T16:03:26.429+01:00Barcelona museums and parks<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday 2nd June 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We found out that on the first Sunday of every month most of the bigger museums have free entry, and with most of them costing between 8 and 15 euros per person we saved quite a bit on the two that we visited. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly we visited The Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat which is right in the middle of the city. The museum is housed in a Gothic palace dating back to the 15th century. However the palace wasn't always in this location, in 1931 it was moved stone by stone to where it now stands and whilst excavating work was taking place for the new foundations a Roman city was discovered in the earth below. The museum is now home to the excavated ruins and is the main attraction. A lift on the first floor takes you down into the ground to the ruins and as you descend a clock ticks back in time to the time when the Romans ruled. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I personally quite like things that have been dug up from thousands of years ago and have been preserved really well and it was like being on a episode of Time Team (which I am not ashamed to admit I do occasionally watch!). There was a glass walkway over the excavated streets so you could walk around and see them whilst still being preserved. You could see where entrances to the buildings would have been quite clearly from the walls that where still there, as well as pillars, sewage drains and roads that still had groves in them from the wheels of carts that would have been pulled up and down the streets all those years ago. There was the remains of a tower that would have been used as a look out post to protect the city and the Romans liked to reuse their building materials so in the walls of the tower you could see materials that had quite obviously come from different buildings. The buildings included private houses, laundry and dyeing workshops and wine and fish sauce factories. The Roman city was founded in 10 BC and was called Barcino. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xYB1bQ-kDnI/UdbOp0GzvMI/AAAAAAAAA7I/d5GF7DpPTLk/s1600/5868_10200818636121036_1784142954_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xYB1bQ-kDnI/UdbOp0GzvMI/AAAAAAAAA7I/d5GF7DpPTLk/s640/5868_10200818636121036_1784142954_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Giant basins stained red from storing wine in Roman times</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_1vggI1nz4/UdbOpun_4ZI/AAAAAAAAA7E/RZNknNgxqBk/s1600/480901_10200818634921006_1605985779_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e_1vggI1nz4/UdbOpun_4ZI/AAAAAAAAA7E/RZNknNgxqBk/s640/480901_10200818634921006_1605985779_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Reused building materials in a Roman tower</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We wondered over to Port Vell after coming back up to the surface from the Roman ruins to the heat and sunshine of the streets above. Thinking that people today are still doing pretty much the same things that they would have been doing all those years ago on the streets hidden below, walking around shopping at markets, going about their daily lives and drinking wine. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Port Vell used to be an old run down, obsolete harbor and home to just a few warehouses, a rail yard, refuse dump and industrial buildings, nothing that would attract tourists. When Barcelona was selected as the host of the 1992 Olympics the area was transformed and now it is full of expensive yachts and is a popular tourist destination with a massive wooden bridge taking you from the famous La Rambla to Rambla der Mar with restaurants, a cinema, shops, an aquarium and lots of bars. The pedestrianised area also gives you a good view of the Columbus monument.<br /><br />The only surviving warehouse (and it is quite an impressive brick building, not like the corrugated warehouses we have today) is now home to the Museu d'Historia de Catalunya which is organised with chronological displays of the history of Catalonia from cave man days to present time. The museum was huuge and while I started out with the best intentions to read all the information that was presented with the big life like displays of the first signs of life in the region, I couldn't concentrate on all of it. But Adam was impressed with the system they came up with to water their fields and I was impressed with the weight of a suit of armour that I tried to lift by pulling up the other end of a rope a suit was tied to. I was pretty hot and irritable wearing just a breezy summer dress in not even height of the summer temperatures, I don't know how they fought people in those massive heavy pieces of metal!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BVYw2JP1IKY/UdbVOmLOAzI/AAAAAAAAA7c/6hLKm9wstBE/s1600/1010015_10200818638641099_81757161_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BVYw2JP1IKY/UdbVOmLOAzI/AAAAAAAAA7c/6hLKm9wstBE/s640/1010015_10200818638641099_81757161_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Trying to lift a full suit of armour. My feet left the floor at one point!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wm8BdwmzrU0/UdbVPJWKSuI/AAAAAAAAA7k/47uubS5D3p0/s1600/1010766_10200818637961082_1828073986_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wm8BdwmzrU0/UdbVPJWKSuI/AAAAAAAAA7k/47uubS5D3p0/s640/1010766_10200818637961082_1828073986_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Adam testing out the complicated watering contraption that farmers used to use to water their crops</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all that education we were pretty knackered so walked over to a park that we had visited briefly when we were last in the city for a lie down in the sun. Turns out we are pretty lucky at stumbling across things as there was a lot going on in the park that day. The entrance was filled with little kids all being given cups of water that they poured into weird contraptions, they seemed happy to play with it, I was just pretty thirsty at that point. There were a few small stages dotted around the park with people playing music on them, massive bunches of balloons were being sold and the park was packed with people sunbathing, busking, using the free WiFi accessible in the park, dancing and slack lining between the trees.<br /><br />As soon as we had found a shady spot under some trees, a marching band drums past followed by these guys...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fx7xA1KP4Mg/UdbZZX-x2CI/AAAAAAAAA70/wqwi984k78A/s1600/gigantos.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fx7xA1KP4Mg/UdbZZX-x2CI/AAAAAAAAA70/wqwi984k78A/s640/gigantos.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are known as 'Giants and Big Heads' and I don't know much about them other than they are used quite a lot in festivals or when celebrating or having parades. They have papier mache heads and a wooden structure covered by clothes so that a normal sized person can wear it and make them look really tall. They danced as well which was pretty funny.<br /><br />Other things we saw in the park that day was a game of human towers, which is a sport they take quite seriously and looks like this...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QFOmRD54PnU/Udbbl5NWfoI/AAAAAAAAA8E/F-rNz4FiMDY/s1600/_40142452_tower_afp_300x220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QFOmRD54PnU/Udbbl5NWfoI/AAAAAAAAA8E/F-rNz4FiMDY/s1600/_40142452_tower_afp_300x220.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But on a slightly smaller scale. Then a ring master from a circus strolled past us shouting a lot of exciting things in a language I didn't understand and he was followed by a man in a human size hamster wheel running around (dressed as a hamster of course). I'm only slightly sure that this was just a normal Sunday in a park in Barcelona and not a massive trip on some sort of hallucinogenic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best part of the day was moving to sit in the sun and listening to a few guys playing bongo drums on the bench opposite. Most people were just sitting around half listening, some people dancing a little bit. Gradually more and more people started to sit on the hill around us and people walking past stopped to listen and about an hour later there was over 200 people sitting, standing or dancing crazily to these guys playing their drums and cheering them on. The noise attracted other people in the park with their own drums so the band expanded and people bought tambourines and didgeridoos to join in. We went and bought some beers and sat and listened for quite some time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_r7SfNg3REM/Udbehfrmy3I/AAAAAAAAA8Y/Jfu-dC27NSo/s1600/1000489_10200818641721176_1462343671_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_r7SfNg3REM/Udbehfrmy3I/AAAAAAAAA8Y/Jfu-dC27NSo/s640/1000489_10200818641721176_1462343671_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zS0Nr_MDKPs/UdbehdjN6LI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Wn3_cgxO0ec/s1600/1004592_10200818641961182_631946169_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zS0Nr_MDKPs/UdbehdjN6LI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Wn3_cgxO0ec/s640/1004592_10200818641961182_631946169_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11778003562873699419noreply@blogger.com0