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Four Broards Abroad 2025
  • Victora Perry
  • Victora Perry

Four Broards Abroad 2025

Setting off with 3 other dodgy women to Scotland then south of France. What could go wrong? Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 12, 2025
  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
    1

    Edinburgh

    September 14, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    We’re all struggling to stay awake and none of us likely to win but wanted to send you a few photos and a video (for Diane at work). Finally arrived after too long not being in a bed to a beautiful. Felt so much like home - in that it has the same weather and temperature as Palmerston North- even got fairly wet walking back from Sainsburys with the biggest raspberries I have ever seen (all gone) and a half bottle of rose from cotes de Provence that was calling my name. We pretty much landed and just kept going and took ourselves on a hop on and off us (except we didn’t do any hopping off until we’d done the circuit. Then contributed to the economy with a few bits and bobs and had well deserved haddock and chips for lunch (Barb didn’t eat her peas) then next minute bag pipes, men in kilts, flags from all the counties, Ukrainians (no I don’t know why) and 300 hundred horse all marched up the Queens Mile - turns out today is the nine hundredth anniversary of Edinburgh - and we wandered up to listen to speeches and bugger me if it wasn’t Princess Anne giving one as well. The photos are fairly self explanatory- biggest meringues I have aver seen. Shit I’m tired. I’ll add the photos in a sec they’re on my other device.Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    Day 3. The Highlands

    September 15, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Farewelled a picture book, pinch me am I really here? Set off in a 12 seater two night bus tour of the highland. A range of nationalities and ages the low light being an arms (“and ammunition”) dealer from Colorado - takes all sorts. Today we went via the Forth of Firth via Perth (the first one) and coffee at one cutest wee villages called Dunkild and gorgeous country walk along the river Spey. The water is a clear dark beer colour due to the peat. Then it rained and pretty much rained the rest of the day and then rained some more. PTL for merino! On to Avenue for lunch at the Wanking Owl. We that what we thought our driver said. It was the winking owl. I had Cullen skink. I thought why not. It’s just smoked fish soup with leeks and spuds. Then on we drove to Cullodon. The scene of the awful Jacobite slaughter of 2,500 men in only about 30minutes (when will we ever learn). It rained a lot there too so we did the brisk march around the field and dived back on board. Pleased to do it tho. And final stop was at a Neolithic Clava Cairns. A 4000 year old site with the just sones in a circle and a huge really huge stone cairn full of dead people. Also pissed down there. Then off to Inverness the most stoic Victorian town very proper and Presbyterian feel about it. Rained here too. But I’ve already used my temu travel umbrella ($9) and my $2 waterproof poncho. The other two have laughed at my mini salt and pepper shakers too but just wait I know we’ll use it. Another highlight was a stop of to se a 1700’s bridge for draft horses. Pretty dodgy for the horses I thought. Curled up in our guest house now about to drift off. Love to all. Xx
    One more thing we realised while going through our photos from the March. Princess Anne was riding and passed right next to us.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    The highlands continued

    September 16, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    East to wast highlands. Just so much more to a head around. Stunning majestic - hard to say more!

    Nailed it. Loved it all. So pleased with
    our wee tour and so easy being driven about with a dozen good value people from all over. The arms dealer is actually nice too. We seem to have covered a lot of ground and done heaps of new things. Despite yesterday’s rain we were not confident about the weather for today and were well prepared for rain but it’s turned out to be warm and sunny. Nonetheless am pleased with my planning wearing two merino layers and my puffer vest. We got to Loch Ness quite early and boarded a boat up the loch to an old fortified castle. Got a bit cold outside so we all took the advice of the guide and went inside and had a hot chocolate with “a dram”. Excellent advice and a well matched pair of flavours.
    I’ve been really taken with the Victorian era towns and streets and the stolid white and black highland houses. The scenery of the highlands has been majestic and so varied from east to west. The west reminding me of central Otago. Trees trees and trees - really big ones. Now I’m hankering for my own old stone wall at home. Last photo of today was a quite distant photo of the Monty Python castle. Also a game of thrones and an Outlander castle. Have the cutest air bnb right on the canal. Today we co hour the castle.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    A stroll around Edinburgh- worth it!

    September 17, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    A walk around Edinburgh
    So we set this morning strolling along the Leith through the olde Dean Village. Sublime. Don’t think the photos do it justice. It was magical. Then to the Scottish modern aer gallery. The height being g the flat white in the cafe there. Activities also included ginga spotting as I’m disappointed in the scarcity and feel the genetic strength is far less than I was expecting.
    The afternoon we set off to tour the underground vaults - long story about a big bridge was built across a ravine once the risk of English invasion was gone. They were fascinating but more shocking were the graphic descriptions of how people were treated and subjected to the full raft of atrocities especially if you were a lone woman or child trying to survive. Children were deemed adults at age eight. We lunched in what felt like Dygon alley from Harry Potter. It was actually the home of the man nickel and Hyde is based on.
    Dinner was at a lively restaurant called The Badger where we met Barbs noice Katrina who is a scientist researching options for serum diagnostic cancer cells. We very carefully Uber Ed into the city to meet at the right then realised at the end her apartment is less than five minutes walk away. Barbs pudding was called a hoiksoundindscottish name tea cake. See photo. The castle was just above the restaurant and was all lit up. We’re going for a look see Tom before our Ryan air flight to Toulouse.
    13000 steps today. So that justified pudding.
    The last photos are of the tiny wee scissors I bought on temu. Used the to operate on Trudy’s blister so feeling pretty damn smug about that.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    Farewell Edinburgh

    September 18, 2025 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Farewell Edinburgh.
    I lovely late check out saw us heading up the royal mile to the castle. Imposing as! So many awful tales tho of man’s inhumanity to man and particularly women. At the foot of the castle is a spot where they burnt 300 women alive for being g witches. Doubt that I would have lasted. They had a penchant for redheads. Ffs.
    Our feet got sore outside the Scottish trust run house and cafe. Turns out whisky ice cream is life changing! Even the hardly drinkers agreed. More wandering of streets then picked bags up from storage and made our way to an electronic shop where Barb bought a speaker so we can have music on the boat. I know I’ll be starting with The Proclaimers ‘Sunshine on Leith’. I loved Edinburgh. Felt my kin. Really did actually. Tuned into the local apple cider. Very disappointed that there were bugger all gingas.
    Now at airport about to Ryanair it out of here to Toulouse    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    Loving Toulouse

    September 19, 2025 in France ⋅ 🌬 29 °C

    What a stunner of a day. Our Ryanair flight was peering much as expected with 15 year old cabin crew who I don’t think have all passed their exams.
    Arrived about midnight to our Airbnb in the middle of the middle of town. An old mansion. On the fourth floor ( does have a small lift that has a max of two people which is less than barb and I that’s for sure. Still it was only four flights we were all bulgy bits touching. The apartment has four bedrooms and a huge we think 15 ft stud. With a kitchen that has all the microns even two high end coffee makers.
    Headed if to meet up with our guided bike tour of the city. There was us plus 6 40 something Belgiums that day I’ll gone to uni together and spent a long weekend every year have a surprise time that two get to organise and the other won’t fi d out till they get yo the airport. They were g treat fun and burst into the national anthem we we came across the Belgium embassy.
    After Uber g we we had a cuppa and a wee lie down the headed off for a stroll…. So fascinating to see what’s in the shops and all the people watching. The French have such a chic way of dressing. They can look eye catching in a tee shirt and a tote bag. I did have to suppress an urge one or twice to give them a shove.i think the photos are self explanatory    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
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    Toulouse to Carcasonne

    September 21, 2025 in France ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Suzanne arrived last night from monte Negro so we are now a quartet. Spent a lovely final couple hours showing Suze a few sites plus of course breakfast. Then off to train station to Carcasonne an amazing medieval town with a humongous fortress with huge ramparts. It’s a unesco protected site and such a treasure. Honestly I was thinking tonight how I’d so love for all my mates to share this. Have included the view from our gorgeous BnB which is honestly breathtaking. We have an early check in at 10am to learn the ropes of boat driving. Stand by for tomorrow’s report. The last two photos are from our wee living room.Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
    1

    Canal du midi day 2

    September 23, 2025 in France ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Canal du midi day 2
    It’s Tudes 65th birthday day. Barb lit a match in her croissant this morning for her. A bit of a blustery day but has remained warm and sunny. We’re getting very slick at canalwomenship quickly and working well as a team. Just like doing CPR with lots of good communication. We stopped before lunch and biked into a lovely medieval town - see photo of barb on bike. The bikes are good but did have a bit of a sort out yesterday as one had no good breaks one had a major malfunction and spat out its chain. Fortunately this was on the way to the supermarket so easily sorted.
    And just saying for all of you who scoffed at my temu buys I have to report that I have used ALL the stuff even the coat hanger clothes line. The weeny sissors. The sheets of clothes and hand washing and even my stain remover one as barb up ended in town today and talk about blood!
    We’ve gone further than we planned today so about to go through last lock then hors douvres that we all get VERY excited about, as have we have indulged in the cheeses galore and nibbles. Tonight barb made prosciutto with fresh melon and then we have paella for main. Oh a nice rose^ as you do.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler

    Les Somail

    September 25, 2025 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Cruised this morning to Le
    Somails. A delightful small village full of photo opportunities. Stopped off at tourism office and watched a movie there of the making of the canal. The supermrache is a boat moored on the canal. It was run by a lovely man who actually kept the geese as pets and one huge one was inside in a pen as it had been in hospital having been attacked by a dog so we all contributed to the vet bill.
    Forced down a pistachio sorbet as a pre lunch snack then did our best to finish yesterday’s lunch.
    Tonight we are in Argeliers. Also tinsy wee village. It’s my wedding anniversary which necessitated procurement (note how easily I slip in French) of champagne 😍    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler

    Beziers

    September 27, 2025 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Started off early to get to the seven locks in a row that dropped the canal 21m. We are so slick now and nail it every time. We have all been surprised at the frequency that people on the canal and in ports have commented that we are “quartres femmes” (4 females) we just roll our eyes and give the peace sign.
    We’ve had a gorgeous day in Beziers. At times to me I felt I was on a film set. We’ve found the French so friendly. They all say. “But not in Paris”
    All a bit sunburnt. Gelati flavours today include. White peach and cassis (black current) me, peanut and chocolate (predictable Trude), passion fruit (barb) which is described as divinely intense. Also see the before lunch patisserie. We just couldn’t help ourselves then we only needed half a sandwich. Amanda would support the pudding first strategy

    Surprisingly we’re struggling to eat tea which is a table platter.
    I don’t want it to end but tomorrow we only have about 30 mins to get to cassafieres so we thought we’d bike to the Mediterranean- why not really.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler

    Bordeaux day one.

    September 29, 2025 in France ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We left when it was still dark at 0645 via taxi to catch our train to Bordeaux. A four hour train ride. We all dosed and barb and I had two hours which was lovely but also didn’t want to miss anything but in the end gave in.
    Bordeaux has more than met expectations and we are sad we only have 3 days here. We arrived bed midday and left our luggage at the air BNB then meandered into the city in awe of its fabulous architecture from the first stone burned buoys in 1600s to the gothic church’s originally built in 1300 with a few add ons over the centuries. A highlight was lunch (surprise) where we stumbled on a gorgeous restaurant with outdoor tables and a small but more than perfectly formed menus. It was a set menu where you paid either 20 or 25 euros for seater main and dessert. We shared a terrine that tasted exactly as it should then 3 of us chose the beef tartare we we all raved over. Forced down pud plus I had a rose wine. Then we did the touristy thing and went for a city tour on an etrain. We thought we would orientate to the city but I ended up confused. See what boots.
    In bed now as we are going on a guided tour to Saint Emillion tomorrow and then an ebike wine tour. Pinch me!    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler

    Saint Emilion (11/10)

    Sep 29–Oct 6, 2025 in France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We had yet another memorable breaky in an old hotel that had a beautiful mosaic floor then off on our guided tour to Saint Emilion on an 8 seater bus then collected bikes (e) and set off for one of the best and most memorable days of my life - hence about 2000 photos.
    Cost per hectare Starts 300000 euro.
    The unmarked vineyard is Chateau Petrus. They took the sign down as they got sick of people like us stopping to take photos. Only 30,000 bottles made per year. Queen Elizabeth and JFK’s fave. Cheapest bottle $2000 -$10,000 up to $25,000. One in the St Emilion village was €13,400.
    Photos from Saint Emilion at a chateau with tasting area that include large area of glass grapes that creat an impression of grapes to be trod on that is on the upper deck also restaurant.
    The area around St Emilion has been growing Grapes and wine initially from first century. Then again on the 800’s.
    Several photos in the village of Busy local church. From 14th century cloisters and monastery. Where the saying of “100 steps” comes from. As it takes 200 steps around the cloister to think about life. There were also two natural springs used as wash houses in Middle Ages and now just prettied.
    Final photo from the church painted in 2018. And took 7 years Depicting end of bible explaining how love always overcomes evil and there was a section depicting the Seven modern deadly sins. Social media. Ego centralism capitalism lack of action in social warming. Industrialisation
    We did 20km today. Ebike was easy as ts it been one of the best days. The warm temperatures the gradually colours of autumn the multiple chateaux. Our guide Nina was a gem and hugely knowledgeable. Plus the wines we tasted were excellent.
    Dinner tonight was entrees and dessert and we didn’t realise until stumbling into it (yes I did) that it was Michelin rated

    Barb had the chestnut soup. Susanne had octopus with citrus and pineapple saloand parsnip puree and Trude and had L’egg. (Egg perfect) which was with a Parmesan emulsion and grilled corn.
    Dessert was millet-grille with orange blossom orange marmalade caisson and almond ice cream and Trude had lemon espurna marmalade megingue and lemon granita.
    I also had a glass of champagne.
    Knackered now. Xxx tomorrow suze and Trude leave early am. Barb and I are planning a meandering day. Hopefully at a market. Then tomorrow night off to the loire to stay in a chateau (bucket list) then leave via Paris the next day.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler
    113

    Leisurely day in Bordeaux

    October 1, 2025 in France ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    It’s down to the two of us now. Suzanne and Trudy left for Paris and San Sebastián respectively so we are left with me Barb and the city mapper app.
    We’ve had another luscious day. We drifted into town for the required cafe and pastry then meandered through the shops and most of the length of Rue Saint Catherine the longest shopping street in France. Ticked off some shopping and generally just enjoyed the people watching - even the children seem to have style and flair and of course eating. Drifted home for a cuppa about three then set off to e plot the Garonne water front and the stunning water architectural feature called the water mirror. Then more food snd a farewell glass of champagne. Took the longer route home wishing the fore parents of Palmerston North had a bit more foresight with regard to design and flair (0/10).
    Off at 10am on the train towards Paris to stay the night in a chateau. I can’t bloody wait! Well I can as am lapping this lovely city of Bordeaux up. The last photo is our air bnb. The top floor last three windows on the right.    Read more

  • Victora PerryFour Broards Abroad 2025Traveler

    Bordeaux to Paris

    October 2, 2025 in France ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Our day hasn’t gone quite as planned but there have been plusses. We arrived at the train station in plenty of time to then find our train was cancelled. There have been strikes and delays so we have opted to go straight to Paris and overnight there now instead of going to the Chateau as we wanted to minimise risk of missing out flight tomorrow. This means therefore that I will have to come back.
    We did tho manage another meander d d came across an old church being restored with several empty sarcophagus also with newly sealed ones that we found fascinating.
    We have found all the people we have encountered to be friendly and sincere. This may be because we haven’t spent time in Paris - we will find out later on today.
    So enjoying the warm and sunny autumn climate which is for me an ideal temperature.    Read more

    Trip end
    October 5, 2025
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