I have talked all day!

Well it's great to be home, I have caught up with the family & grandchildren - I have talked on the phone to friends, unpacked the suitcase, checked the e-mail and still had time to look at all the photos once more!!! (Several hundred) The washing will get done tomorrow and then Monday the post holiday blues will kick in!! I think that's how it goes....
I will miss writing up my blog, it's kept me in touch with my friends and family and I now have a record of my travels.
It was great to see the grandchildren today lots of cuddles and hugs, looking forward to lots more during the weeks ahead.
The highlights of the trip are too numerous to mention - every day was a new experience and adventure.
I suppose it's time to look ahead now and think about a job?
Probably one or two more posts and photographs, once I get them all loaded on to my home computer
Til next time....

Back home in Mordialloc

Letting you know that I arrived home safely this evening, was a long time journeying to get here...
Perhaps I will do a post over the weekend
til next time

Time to say goodbye yes it's time to get home

Looking forward to being home with my family, but sad to leave behind my very dear friends and family. It has been so much fun to see so many people. i have travelleda lot of miles just in the u.k!! I have loved being here and hopefully it wont be too long before I am back.. just have to earn the money.. waiting to get on the plane
well till next time whichwill be when I get home....

Packing the suitcase....

Packing! What can I say, I seem to have accumulated so much in the last 8 weeks. I have so many coloured brochures of where I have been and yes they would be great for scrapbooking, but I almost need a separate suitcase just for that, and of course the postcards for my collection and those fridge magnets!! and shall I pack the rocks from Findhorn? or the lovely carrier bag with the beautiful Charles Rennie MacIntosh design from - 'The Willow Tea Room' in Glasgow. I don't know what to leave out!! Perhaps I will just pay the excess baggage charge and bring it all home.

What I can bring back quite easily are the memories! great fun, getting lost in the camping ground at Aviemore, losing the shower key in Monifieth and couldn't go to Loo when I woke up in the morning ( and no bushes), the lovely lads in Birmingham who helped me to get to my hotel, meeting new people, meeting my son-in-law's Mum for the first time, catching up with 'old' friends, meeting up with friends from Melbourne in Birmingham and London drinking wine in London with Rose, chatting almost non stop with Flo for 12 hours!! my lovely holiday in Santorini with my friend Nik, spending time with my relatives, time with friends from Zimbabwe days, camping with Jock in Scotland, don't laugh the weather was great and I had my hair dryer!! the thrill of reaching John O Groats and then Land's End - too many things to mention here, fun things, sad things a couple of anxious moments, one not so great bus trip and only one 'disagreement' with bar staff in Stratford!!!

One last trip to London tomorrow to see Flo and a last chat before heading home on Thursday morning. I leave Taunton at 7 am..

back to packing and til next time.....

Trish loved the show 'The Jersey Boys'

I loved the show from beginning to end.. What an exciting performance, definitely want to see the Melbourne show when I get home, So many good old songs!

It was a warm day in London yesterday and very busy. J & I had lunch at a lovely old pub - The Three Greyhounds - opposite the theatre and a quick walk into Oxford Street before the performance, then tube back to Hammersmith and coach back to Taunton at 6.45pm. Today we visited Cheddar Gorge, was a popular place today!! Almost too busy... a lovely place to explore with the shops and all the cheddar cheese, pickles, fudge, sweets and other produce of the area.

I spent time this afternoon working on my photos, made the Sotland ones into a DVD with lovely Scottish music

Tomorrow I begin the packing - I seem to have so much more to fit in the suitcase - I bought some envelopes in case i have to send some parcels home.... - a bit more shopping too tomorrow!

Last visit to London on Tuesday to meet Flo.

I am feeling sad that the holiday is almost over, and yet looking forward to being home, I am missing my grandchildren and family. Baby Koby has grown so much since I left on 20th June - Candice has been posting photographs on Facebook, so I can his progress...

Til next time

Back in Taunton after visit to St Ives

An empty sreet in St Ives

Beach at St Ives

Grey skies today in Taunton, unlike yesterday - a lovely summer's day. In Cornwall it was beautiful and it was busy in St Ives. It was so busy, the beaches were full, the tiny picturesque streets were busy, many restaurants were full and queue's for ice cream were extra long. Despite that I enjoyed my day out and loved St Ives, with its narrow streets and pavements and the many beautiful shops and crafts. As I wandered into the craft market, I looked up and saw a restaurant called The Loft. I climbed the stairs and found a delightful restaurant, I sat at a table by a window and enjoyed the peace and quiet. - it was empty inside as everyone wanted to sit outside. The food was yummy, the piped music pleasant and the view magnificent. I think the waiting staff were quite amazed that I didn't want to sit outside...

Many of you will know that my sense of direction isn't all that great at times!! and I got a bit lost, if you have been to St. Ives you will understand the narrow winding streets I found my way back to the bus stop in time and enjoyed the uneventful trips back to Taunton.

Prior to St Ives the coach stopped at Jamaica Inn, Bodmin Moors the scene of Daphne Du Mauriers famous novel. That was a was a bonus as I hadn't expected to stop there.

Well a quietish day here in Taunton doing some washing - catching up on e-mails and downloading photographs. Tomorrow is the Big Day out in London to see 'The Jersey Boys' looking forward to that.

One more trip after that Flo and I are meeting in London, a last minute plan, but one that will be lots of fun, maybe a bit of shopping therapy afternoon tea at the Ritz!! Who knows what we will get up to.

May not have time to write up the blog tomorrow don't get back from London until quite late

So til next time...

I've been everywhere man !!

Land's End
St Michaels Mount

It was a great day today, I started off the day with a good English breakfast, followed by a brisk walk along the promenade here in Penzance, the Cornish ice cream looked good along the way and it was hot!! I indulged.. (will have to get back to those early morning walks when I get home and the healthy diet) I caught the explorer bus from the bus station and I managed to get a seat upstairs - open top and I am now nursing the sun/wind burn..still it was worth it.

First stop for me was Land's End - that was after a major traffic jam, which occurred after the stop at Porthcurno Telegraph museum (also the Porthcurno beach car park). The road is very narrow and the bus did not have the room to manoeuvre out of the car park and into the road, this meant that the cars were piling up further up the road which in turn presented difficulties as there was barely room for the bus to get passed all the cars once it did get out of the car park. The driver was amazing!! He had to get out from time to time and direct the cars closer in to the side so we could manoeuvre past. there was no road rage it was fun from the top of the bus as I could see the drivers folding up the side mirrors and anxiously checking the closeness of the bus. The hazards for me were the low branches and the hedges at the side of the road.....

Land's End is very commercialised, but move away from that and the view is magnificent. I didn't have enough time to do the cliff top walks even tho I had almost 2 hours there, By the time I had taken pics and sat for while dwelling on the meaning of life it was almost time to jump back on the next bus....oh and have a Cornish ice cream, toffee-fudge flavor this time.

I stayed on the bus until it arrived at Marazion (St Michael's Mount) The tide was out and I was able to walk along the causeway to the island and castle - check it out , it was a beautiful sight. i had a wander around , didn't really have enough time to visit the castle, the climb alone would have taken quite while. not sure when the tide was due in but you can be sure that by now it will once more be an island. I stopped for an ale at the Godolphin Arms pub overlooking the beach, causeway and island. Wonderful.

The bus travelled via St Just & St Ives but as I am travelling that way on Thursday I didn't stop to explore. The countryside was just as I had imagined it would be, beautiful green patchwork of fields with fat cows ( are you allowed to say that?) blue skies and blue sea, the beaches were packed - hundreds of people - but with the tide out there was more than enough room for everyone. well I could go on and on..

Back to Taunton tomorrow - leave here at 2.30, so still have a bit of time to look for the pirates....

I am not going to Paris.. decided to give it a miss, save it for the next trip...as I said previously I have a day trip on Thursday, a show in London The Jersey Boys on Saturday and still making up my mind about a day trip to Bath

Til next time..

Greetings from Penzance in Cornwall

I arrived in Penzance this morning. I travelled by train today which made a change from the coach. It rained all the way down here, this afternoon the sun was shining in between the showers and it's certainly wasn't cold. I went out for dinner and a walk and it's lovely evening. I am sure tomorrow will be a warm and sunny! I have noticed that the good weather follows me ;) i am catching an explorer bus tomorrow and will travel first to Land's End - after that I can hop and off the bus as I wish.

Penzance looks very pretty I love all the narrow streets and interesting buildings i went into a great old pub today called the Dolphin - i had to shelter from the rain..

More tomorrow after i have explored

tel then.....

Quiet Morning!

Beautiful day here in Taunton, having a quiet morning ironing and packing suitcase for my short trip to Penzance on Monday. This will probably be my last trip - most of the other things I am doing are day trips. I have been sorting through all the brochures I collected during my 4 weeks travelling. I have taken heaps of photographs - lots of lovely memories.

I felt a little homesick today, at this very moment my family are having fun at my cousin Ian' s 50th birthday party in Melbourne. There was a big surprise as Ian's sister Dianne and her husband John (who live in Perth Scotland and I visited just two weeks ago) arrived in Melbourne on Friday and surprised everyone this evening at the party!! I hope they are all having lots of fun - and I get to see Dianne when I get home before she heads back to Scotland.
til tomorrow....

Back to Taunton

Coventry Cathedral

I arrived back in Taunton last night - an uneventful journey this time!! I felt sad as I said goodbye to Flo and left Coventry, what a wonderful time we had. I hadn't seen Flo since 1982 when I left Zimbabwe and it was great to catch up and talk about school days, time in Zimbabwe, our families and our own adventures!. A favourite topic being our grandchildren. We both enjoy being a 'hands on' grandma - it was fun to share our adventures and the times we each spend with our grandchildren.

It's a beautiful day here today in Taunton, getting back here last night I realised that I only have 2 weeks left of my holiday.

I head off to Penzance, Cornwall on Monday morning for 3 days, hopefully I will get to Lands end. Probably go to Weymouth on Sunday, the weather forecast is good!!!

Til next time....

Last Day in Coventry

Flo & Trish - happy days!

Stained glass windows in Guildhall

Rain this morning for a short while and then sun this afternoon - lovely last day in Coventry. This afternoon we visited the Guildhall which was magnificent, had afternoon tea in Lady Godiva tearoom and then visited the Herbert Museum. We spent some time in the History centre - bit of a shock to find many things I enjoyed as a child featured in the current display!! i resisted all the beautiful scrap booking items in the huge craft shop we visited on the way home.

This evening we had a lovely meal at the Old Mill just outside Coventry. thank you Flo! We have taken some weird and wonderful pics using the self timer on our cameras!! Lots of fun. I wish I could stay longer - but hopefully there will be 'next time' either here or in Australia where we can have more fun, reminisce and talk over 'old' times. I wonder if any ears have been burning. It's 50 years since Flo and I met at school we can hardly believe it!!

Till next time...

Romeo Romeo, wherefore art thou?

The Garrick - oldest pub

Stratford public library

Had a great day in Stratford-upon-Avon. First visit for me and I loved it! We took a bus tour to begin with and then walked and enjoyed the beautiful old buildings. From time to time we had to duck into a shop to escape the rain!

We decided to have lunch in a pub - The Rose & Crown - We had planned to have a picnic but the rain was too heavy at that point to enjoy lunch al fresco. (Will tell you the story of lunch when I get home!) Later in the afternoon we enjoyed a drink at the oldest pub in Stratford The Garrick - a beautiful old pub. A stroll back to the car park took us past many historical places of interest, small shops with quirky gifts, the river with the Original Old chain Ferry (the last surviving one) , the canal boats, the brass rubbings and gift shop, some lovely old pubs and modern restaurants...... I could almost see Will scribbling away, - so many beautiful words and plays..

Til next time....deciding at the moment what to do tomorrow

Coventry Cathedral, The Canal Basin and shopping

and don't forget Lady Godiva..

The old Cathedral

We managed to leave the house by 12 mid-day - we were delayed! I wonder why... Our first stop was Coventry Cathedral, the old and the new. The old Cathedral was bombed in 1940, and the new Cathedral consecrated in May 1962. and I have provided a link to the cathedral website, if you want to find out more about the Cathedral. I found the old cathedral a stark reminder of war destruction at the same time it seemed a very peaceful place to sit and reflect. The new Cathedral is magnificent, with it's beautiful stained glass windows - the Baptistery Window and the beautiful and perhaps confronting Christ in Glory tapestry.

I admired the statue of lady Godiva and marvelled at her acceptance of the challenge to ride naked through the town of Coventry. A challenge thrown to her by her husband when she pleaded with him to reduce the high taxes he had imposed on the people of Coventry in the 11th century.

We then enjoyed the canal basin - a holiday on a canal boat sound fun and ended the day with some afternoon tea and shopping.! Another lovely (mostly) sunny day.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Til next time. Don't forget to tick the box and give me your feedback!!!

Coventry and friends

Near Aviemore - taken from bus


A tree carving of a monk - spotted in Coombe Park today

I arrived safely in Coventry after the very brief stay in Birmingham. Flo and I chatted almost non-stop from 1.15 when I arrived until bed time (about 10 pm) We had a lot of news to catchup on! After the dull weather yesterday, today was blue sky and sunshine and we had a lovely relaxing day with Flo's family. Late afternoon we headed off to Coombe Park, fed the ducks and wandered around the lovely parkland's.We haven't planned tomorrow as yet.

Til later....

Goodbye Scotland Hello Birmngham

Pictures of Inverness

Good Morning from Birmingham. I farewelled Findhorn on Thursday morning caught the bus and was soon in Inverness. The B&B was easy to find following my google map instructions although I was taken a longer route and with back pack (which was slightly heavier owing to pebbles gathered in Findhorn) suitcase and handbag with laptop I decided that a taxi would be the way back in the morning as my bus was leaving at 6.30. The B&B was great - hosts very friendly and the offer of a packed lunch for my long coach trip the next day was gratefully accepted (just as well I said yes). My room was the tiniest room I had ever seen but for one night it was great.

I did the walking tour of Inverness, although J & I had been there 2 weeks prior, there was plenty more to see - it rained again and that was the excuse to call in at the oldest pub in the Highlands. Inverness is a lovely town, very popular with the tourists and this being "homecoming year" for the clans there seemed to be a rush on kilts and all things Scottish!! At times it seemed expensive to eat out in Scotland , more so than London, however I found this great restaurant with a beautiful view of the river. The deal was early dinner two courses plus glass of wine for 10.95 GB pounds Definitely one of the best meals I had in Scotland, I couldn't resist dessert a great way to end my lovely holiday in Scotland.

Friday morning I was at the bus stop at 6 am ready for the bus - thank goodness I had this lovely packed lunch as nowhere was open! The trip to Glasgow was pleasant great scenery as we stopped in Aviemore (no clouds or rain), Pitlochery and Perth.

I had to change bus at Glasgow I wont bore you with all the details, enough to say, smelly water over the floor we started the journey with the toilet locked as it wasn't working. The driver seemed to be in an otherwise was mood and the traffic got heavier and heavier on the motor way. We had pit stops but being held up with traffic, and with strange odours (lol) coming from the toilet, the journey was long and tedious! The bus broke down 13 miles from Birmingham!!! What was fun, however was the group of Glaswegians sitting in the back seats, their humour and colourful language was great fun! I can't write it all down here, but it was a bus trip I wont forget. (I wonder if video taken got to the national Express Head office or the News of the World paper!!)

While we were waiting for a bus to come and rescue us, I got the chance of a lift into Birmingham, I was dehydrated by this time didn't want to drink as there was no toilet. Thanks lads for taking me to my hotel even when it was difficult to find. One young Finnish man with a Scottish accent who was on the bus and his two mates who came to pick him up from the stranded bus! Thank youso much - you have paid forward, I hope you get good Karma back.

The hotel is great and I did finally catch up with my friends from Melbourne, (even if for a much shorter time than we planned) - the reason for going to Birmingham. It was great to see Gordon & Nick - hope you enjoy the cricket and the post game socialising!!

However Birmingham is very close to Coventry which is where I am heading to next, in about 3 hours. Catching up with my school friend - we haven't seen each other for about 27 years so I am sure we will have lots to talk about.

I have blethered on here hope it's coherent!! I drank about a gallon of water once I got to the hotel. I am having a good time.. thanks for all the e-mails! Did I mention that I got to B'ham at about 9.30 only 4 hours late - 15 hours Coach travel !!

Til next time