Jer Mahon

Jer Mahon

📍 カナダもっと詳しく🇨🇦British Columbia

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European Summer
Authentic Ashfield
2023年8月26日, スコットランド ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Started our day with a run along a local forest road near the hotel. It was a bright and fresh start to the day. The gravel road we were following eventually turned into an over grown path where we startled a deer grazing deep in the forest.

After a quick stretch and shower we made it down for the buffet breakfast. A delicious spread it was 😋

By eleven we were on our way, heading along the rolling Galloway Costal route as we traversed northwest towards Crinan. Eventually we headed inland to cross the hills into the more rugged terrain of Ayrshire, where we stopped to stretch our legs in the coastal village of Girvan. More inland travel took us on a route to skirt Glasgow, and into the multitude of Lochs making up Argyll & Bute.

Late afternoon we arrived in Crinan at Great-Uncle-D's. We then all headed east over to Ashfield for a wonderful social evening, and amazing home cooked dinner.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Classy Cally
2023年8月25日, スコットランド ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Another travel day! Got the day started with a 7km run setting out on the usual local trails. Once things were tidied and packed up, we were off to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Our route took us along A689 through the North Pennines (AONB - Area of Natural Beauty) as we traversed through Northumberia and into Cumberia. Earlier on we saw a number of signs posted for a fair in Walsingham, that we did pass through. Apparently the Agricultural Fair is one of the oldest in Britain, or maybe a local claim to fame. 🤷‍♂️

The route followed various valleys, sometimes paralleling a creek, and sometimes through denser forest. Mostly, the hillsides were open and carved up by rock walls (fences) and dotted with sheep or cattle. As we drove further in to the nature reserve we climed higher into the moors, covered in blooming purple heather, and dappled in sun and intermittent showers.

We passed through a number of quaint villages where the buildings were mostly made of rough or chiseled rock with slate tile roofs; a big change from the red brick in Yorkshire and eastern Durham county. Driving through the market town of Stanhope, we passed the Stanhope Castle, built in the 18th Century, that is now a hotel! https://stanhopecastle.co.uk/

And just a bit farther up the road we passed the Kilnhope Lead Mining Museum. https://killhope.org.uk/

We took a number of slower side roads to enjoy the scenery, and avoid the congested motorway exchanges as we got closer to Scotland. Our first stop in Scotland was in Annan at the Annandale Distillery. The distillery was only recently revived in 2014, but was originally built in the 1830s, only to be abandoned in the early 1900s. Too many delicious choices in the store. We shyed away from the top, triple digit option 😲Thankfully they had a wee sampler pack of six flavours.
https://www.annandaledistillery.com/

We finally arrived at our evening accommodation, The Cally Palace Hotel. Originally called Cally House, it was initially built in 1766 for James Murray. The hotel has warm personality including gently creaking floors, thick walls, and the Bow Lounge with its magnificent gilt cuppola ceiling. We enjoyed the pool area, though it is certainly in need of a refresh past the 90s!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cally_Palaceもっと詳しく
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旅行者 Oreo cookie cows!
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旅行者Omg! That's where they come from 🍪😛
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European Summer
2
Delightful Durham
2023年8月24日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Had a relaxing start to the day with A working on his puzzle, and J pacifying Spike with lap cuddles. She's the most vocal cat we've ever heard! Today planned to visit cousins in Wylam mid-afternoon, so decided to make a day of it: a stop and explore Durham on the way.

Our first stop was slightly north of Durham, in Sacriston, to pick up locally roasted coffee from Durham Coffee Roasters! Their industrial warehouse shop is nicely done up. Multiple roasting machines, lounge area, coffee machines and a large selection of coffee! Needing to stock up for a few weeks, we couldn't turn down the deal on three small bags 🛍️

We then returned to Durham to explore the historical downtown area near the Castle and Cathedral. We wandered down High Street and found Durham Gin Distillery, sampling a few of thier products. The staff member was very helpful, including generously offering samples 🤪 we supported local and purchased some delicious spirits to enjoy later 🍸

Eventually found our way over to the Cathedral. The interior was quite spectacular between the gilding, the grandiose pillars, and layers of history. This is a very revered location due to St Cuthbert's shrine and the Venerable Bede's tomb.

Before we left Durham we stopped into a pastry shop to grab treats for tea with the relatives.

We arrived in Wylam just a little passed four. After a quick walk around the garden, we enjoyed a casual visit over tea and pastries in the courtyard ☺️ of their 10th century country home. It was formally a monks summer retreat, but now lives on as a few private dwellings with spectacular gardens.もっと詳しく
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ah Durham- man I miss it! Loving following your trip [Elinor Morrissey]
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旅行者 Who won?
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旅行者J did!
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European Summer
Commendable Crimdon
2023年8月23日, イングランド ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Today was our long run day, so decided to run a different route. While A was enjoying his hot air balloon puzzle, J was looking for trails. With the running destination settled upon, we headed off to Crimdon Beach and a portion of the Coast Trail. Most of the trail was fine to run on, but there were sandy sections while running near the dunes. We opted to do a section on the hard packed beach sand, which made a nice loop route. The beach and weather was spectacular!

By mid afternoon we enjoyed a light lunch of crackers, cheeses, and veggies. Finally rested up and content, we walked towards town again, this time to the mall. Surprisingly, the mall was nicer inside than expected. On the return, we stopped by Cameron brewing, and enjoyed a drink in there visitor center tap room, The Anchor. A half pint tasted great while we watch a horse race on the telly.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
Nautical Nostalgia
2023年8月22日, イングランド ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
We had a lazy start to the day, and a rest day scheduled for our half marathon training plan. A was occupied with the puzzle purchased yesterday. J was looking into trip planning for the next move into Scotland.

By early afternoon, we decided to get out and enjoy the weather. We walked through Hartlepool's downtown area, and over to the National Royal Navy Museum. They had a neat setup recreating the 18th century naval war period where Britain and France duked it out on the high seas for global superiority.

We wandered through the different shops and their displays depicting life at that time, and the type of skills, materials, and activity you might find at the docks. The highlight was walking around the warship HMS Trincomalee, built in 1817. We even witnessed how rope would have been made in a live demonstration.

Afterwards we meandered through the associated Hartlepool Museum and learnt more of the local history.

For dinner, a short walk to Foster's Fish Grill for a heathy 😉takeout fish and chip dinner 🤪. We ordered a fish fritter, not knowing what it was going to be; a piece of fish between two large potato slices, then battered and deep Fried. We were recommended this local place as they authentically only use lard for the cooking 😛. We supplemented with a fresh salad too 🥗👌もっと詳しく
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European Summer
Mediocre Middlesbrough
2023年8月21日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Another gorgeous day, and another training run. We did a similar route to Summerhill, but this time at a much quicker pace.

For the afternoon adventure, we headed back to Middlesbrough to shop for more required outdoor items for the Faroes. A found an outdoor shop with running packs, so we headed there. Near by was the Middlesbrough shopping, district that we decided to paruse for other deals first. This included a brand new 1000 piece puzzle 🧩!

Unfortunately, the pack A had set aside at the sport shop was too small, but we found a larger pack that might work. While reading reviews online we found a better deal across the Tees in Stockton: two for the price of one! The outdoor sport store sells annual memberships in order to get sale prices. We were fortunate enough to borrow the one from the lady next to us and save a few quid 🥳

Not too exciting of a day, but enjoyable nonetheless. A relaxing night at home with leftovers for dinner.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Wistful Wynyard
2023年8月20日, イングランド ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
A found a local coffee roaster whom only sells online or at markets, the closest being in Wynyard. On this picture perfect day, we headed out on our latest adventure driven by the need for good coffee!

An easy 15 minute drive south and west, we found our way to the Wynyard Hall, a privately owned 120 acre country estate.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynyard_Park,_C….

Parking near the estate gardens, we entered the market where we were welcomed at the first booth by Claire, who volunteers with the RSPB Charity. We had a wonderful conversation about nature conservation, both locally and internationally. Moving along to paruse the many booths, we successfully found the table selling the coffee, along with fresh baked brownies! Further on we bought some local procured cheeses, vegetables, hot sauce, biltong (South African, like jerky, but not), and a couple bottles of carbonated teas.

After the market, we decided to explore the gardens.

The main brick-walled area contained the ornamental plants and fountains. In one corner a little sidedoor next to the old groundskeeper's house took us to the edibles garden and the Glasshouse. The other corner was a large gate leading out to the forest walk, passing the final resting place of the famous race horse, Habeletonian. The forest walk was magnificent as we wove under ancient trees following the waterway. There were others in the forest, but it almost felt like we had it all to ourselves 😊

After arriving back at the house, we had a late lunch, and enjoyed many of our market purchases. As the day was still young, and weather favourable, we drove to Seaton Carew Beach. Initially, we walked along the beach, then up into the dunes to a concrete structured, installed presumably, as a breakwater for the Tees estuary. We then circled back along the bridal path, that separated Seaton Commons, with sheep out to pasture, and the golf course. As we had a few minutes left on the parking payment, we chose to enjoy the sun and breeze while people watching as they attended the limited amusement rides 🎪

Once home, we made a quick beef Stir-fry, and settled in for the night.もっと詳しく
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You look at home with a cat on your lap. [Barbara Mahon]
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旅行者True!!
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Beautiful, peaceful place to relax. [Barbara Mahon]
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European Summer
Historical Headland
2023年8月19日, イングランド ⋅ 🌬 22 °C
A late morning easy run took us out to explore the local trails. Following the general direction using Google Maps, we wove our way through a couple parks to get to the Summerhill Country Park. We managed a full lap around the main Summerhill trail before the return run home. Being a sunny weekend day, there were lots of people about enjoying time with family, friends, or solo.

Mid-afternoon we headed to the Hartlepool Headland where the historical village originated, and explored the old seawall. Apparently we didn't study much of World War 1, as we were surprised to learn of the German naval bombardment of Hartlepool on December 1914, which resulted in many fatalities and injuries. We also learnt that much of Victorian buildings were demolished, the port expanded, and much of the "newer" homes along the wall were from the 1960s.

Unfortunately J missed one of his pins, and we passed the Andy Capp carton statue near the old Pot Pub. 🙃

A quick grocery shop on the way back took us to ASDA, feeling strangely familiar to Walmart. Only later did we look it up and find out it is owned by Walmart. 🤷‍♂️

A made a delicious dinner of baked potatoe, salad, and roasted Peri Peri chicken.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Gotta Grotto 🦇
2023年8月18日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Friday began and remained dreary. The air felt heavy with stagnant moisture and low clouds. We decided it was a shopping day!

While shopping in Wessex, we discovered TK Maxx, a UK version of TJ Maxx/Winner's, where we acquired a really nice rainproof jacket. So headed out to find a similar, but slightly larger one for J. First stop was at the local shop in Hartlepool, then headed south to Middlesbrough. Our trip took us off the motorway through the industrial heartland of the area, which is quite spread out and very flat, with the occational hill or dunes.

After a couple missed turns and some back tracking, we finally made it to the first mall area. It appears we weren't the only ones with the same idea, the parking access was very slow moving, and the stores were bulging with people. A quick peruse of a couple stores, and we moved in to the next mall complex.

Not having much luck, we turned our attention farther afield, and found ourselves in the Dalton Park Outlet mall, north of Hartlepool. J found a rain jacket, and A picked up a few more items for the Faroe Islands adventure.

Driving a bit farther north we found ourselves at Marsden Grotto, just east of Newcastle. The Grotto is one of two European cave-bars. We descended the private lift to the beach level to enjoy a seafood dinner over looking the north sea.
https://www.thebeachguide.co.uk/north-east-engl….もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Great editing! ☺️
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旅行者 ❤️
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旅行者 SuperJ!!
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Cutie! [Celina]
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European Summer
Motorway Marathon 🚙💨🏁
2023年8月17日, イングランド ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Started the day off much earlier than our previous casual mornings. Though we did snooze 1hr after the alarm ⏰😂. Once out of bed, we went for a long run around the local trails. Just over a hour and 10km later, we began our final pack to head north to Hartlepool.

Saying our final farewell to Tiger and H, we were motorway bound. Two lane motorways are really not enough lanes as the slow lane is always conjested with lorries, and then the slow cars move over and impede the rest in the other lane. Ultimately even three and four lanes get conjested... We pretty much motored in the fast lane the whole 5 hour journey without needing to go much faster than the posted speed limit 🤣. Motorway rest stops are quite small. The one we used only had a fuel station and a Starbucks near Thirsk. The $10cad frappicino seemed a bit overpriced 🙃, but we savour it.

We arrived at Spike's house and met C. She is set to leave on the morrow to a folk festival for the week, and so we will be looking after Spike.

C gave us a quick orientation drive around town. For dinner she cooked us a delicious Italian meal: Eggplant Coponata, fresh baguette, and Pasta with Bolognese. For dessert, a fruit salad of strawberry and kiwi.

Her bird feeders were frequented even by the woodpeckers, along with a Pigeon clean-up the ground.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
💎 Bumping Bombay 💎 🎶
2023年8月16日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
We wanted to enjoy the local experience but almost left it too late! On Monday we were fortunate enough to prebook the last remaining tour time slot for the Bombay Sapphire distillery in Laverstoke, a short 4kms from Whitchurch. As it was such a nice day, decided to walk there for our noon tour time.

This mill site has been in operation since the 10th century, starting as a corn mill. Later in the 18th century it was bought and repurposed as a paper mill. The site sat unused for many years untill Bacardi bought it. They renovated for 4 years and the Bombay gin operations and tours started here in 2014. This is the only site that produces the Bombay Sapphire gins. After distillation they ship it in tankers to Scotland to be bottled🍼

Our tour started with mixing our own Gin and Tonic, gin of our choice, then a short video about the Bombay Sapphire brand while we sipped our beverage. Then the walking tour followed, on the production process for the Gin.

The soundtrack playing in all the buildings was a refreshing chill-lounge, hence the title of this post 🥳 Our tour guide couldn't directly recommend any of the cocktails in bar since she is only 17 🙃, and 18 is the drinking age.

We followed a different route back to Whitchurch, the mill path, with a total loop trip of 10km!

For dinner we kept it simple with pasta, sautéed greens, smoked kipper, and muscles.もっと詳しく
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What a great time you are having. So nice! 😊 [Pat]
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旅行者Now you need to find the Tanquerey plant for a true taste compare.
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European Summer
Southampton Sojourn
2023年8月15日, イングランド ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
We started the day with a progression run, as part of our training for the half marathon on the Faroe Islands. It was definitely turning out to be a nice day, and quite hot with the sun shining.

Remember the windmill we toured in the Netherlands? They mill flour these days for bakers. So today was the day to bake up my fruit&nut bread mix! It was a delicious success and a wonderful way to extend the memories; the best souvenirs of all 🧠 🥸

Decided an afternoon trip to explore Southampton was in order. We weaved our way south in the rental car, and into the old town. The fresh sea air smelled fantastic! Meandering our way along the southwestern section of the old city wall brought us by Tudor House, built in 1491 and became a museum in 1912.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_House_and…

Eventually we found ourselves at the Bargate, built in 1180, predating the fortified city walls build after the French raid in 1338.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargate

This area of Southampton High Street opened up in to a pedestrian only outdoor mall. We found a much larger sporting goods store to find a few items for the Faroe Islands.

As we were expecting G & S to join us for dinner, we beetled back to Whitchurch to get dinner on the go. The beef brisket A had been slowly cooking was fantastic! We didn't need to order pizza after all 🤣もっと詳しく
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旅行者What a feast!
2023/08/18返信する翻訳する
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European Summer
Andover Adventures
2023年8月14日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
The forecasts looked to be a dreary gray day. A figured the time was best used perusing "charity shops" in our quest to acquire items for the Atjan Wild festival on the Faroe Island.

We started off locally in Whitchurch, but the shop had a very limited selection of items, so we jumped in the car and headed west. Google maps suggested a half dozen shops within a short distance of one another around High Street in Andover.

Parking was quite inexpensive and close, and a quick walk brought us to the Salvation Army charity shop. It was pretty tight and cramped, but we managed to find a long sleeve sport top that fit J. We browsed the other nearby shops, but without much success. There was a sporting goods store advertising a killer sale, but they too had limited stock.

After a quick lunch at a grill cheese eatery we headed to the next town over, Basingstoke. The mall and parking complex was pretty disorientating to get around, let alone get in to, but we managed. We meandered through the mall, stopping at a couple sporting good stores. We found some success at one shop; hiking boots! The surprise at the end was paying for the parkade 🤯. Then the craziest most convoluted maze to exit to the street.

Happy with our purchases, we headed back to Whitchurch for dinner out with H. The local pub has Pizza Mondays. We enjoyed a pint of beer too in their huge backyard area.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
Winchester, part II
2023年8月13日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
A was very excited to use the sous vide cooker with the beef brisket we purchased yesterday. Sunday morning until Tuesday night should be perfect time for it to do its thing! Once the brisket was seasoned, and vacuum sealed, into the pot of 155F water to cook for the next 56 hours 🍖

Shortly after, we headed to Winchester to meet up with friends whom we met on our Malaga motorcycle tour in June. As the weather was quiet nice, we left a bit early to wander around St Catherine's Hill just southeast of Winchester, near the Itchen River. The path circled up the fairly steep greenery-covered chalk mound. At the top was a corpse of trees and the historical Mizmaze, a rectangular depressed grass mound labyrinthin.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-winches…

Midafternoon we met up with S, who graciously provided us a private tour of the High street area. Soon after his father G arrived, and we meandered towards The Black Boy pub; apparently a reference relating to King Charles II. The pub is quite eclectic with a variety of weird items and taxidermy animals: giraffe, elephant leg, polar bear head, squirrels, meerkat, warthog, chihuahua....
https://www.theblackboypub.com/

Their ladies joined us in the evening and we were treated us to a scrumptious dinner at Brasserie Blanc!もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Donnington Dash
2023年8月12日, イングランド ⋅ 🌬 21 °C
The mornings started off cool, damp, and grey, but we ventured out for a run anyways. We were quite wet by the time we returned to the house from the light intermittent drizzle.

After a hot shower and breakfast we were ready to explore. A found a castle ruin just north of Whitchurch, in Donnington.

The Donnington Castle is perched on a hill top, with spectacular views of the area. The ruins mostly comprised of the old foundation, with the gatehouse being the only structure left.

Our next stop was the Snelsmore Common, a country park reserve. The trails traversed open areas covered in heather, and forested area with pines, birch, ash, and more. Supposedly there was a herd of wild ponies🦄 🦄that had been placed in the reserve, but we didn’t see them.😭

Shortly after leaving the park, the rains returned. We made a quick stop at a grocery store on the way home for a few dinner items. The seasoned Lamb Shank from the local farm/butcher was world class! We enjoyed sharing another meal with H who ended up staying home with Tiger to write his master's thesis.もっと詳しく
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旅行者I think we were supposed to visit Donnington in January but weather was miserable. But now you have shown me. Thanks
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旅行者Happy to share and always amazed how small the world is 🌍❤️
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旅行者Yes, true. A friend posted on FB today that they were in Swindon, same day as you.
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旅行者 ❤️
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European Summer
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Winchester Wander
2023年8月11日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
After a late start to the day, trip planning for the September trip to the Faroe Islands, we decided to explore Winchester. We had been warned to avoid the train station area due to the Boomtown music festival happening nearby.

A 25 minute drive found us to the multi-storey parkade, just east of High Street. We were quick to leave the parkade due to a blaring car alarm that its owner couldn't quiet 😭...

We wandered into a park where the local council hosts "Fabulous Family Friday's". The park was set up with various children activities, and the weather was perfect for outdoor fun.

Eventually we exited Abbey Gardens park and found our way to the Cathedral rear access. It was very tranquil in the passage through the Watergate access. As with most of the old English Cathedrals, the grandiose architecture and engineering is always stunning and impressive.

After walking around the Cathedral grounds, we found our way to the old castle grounds, and remaining Great Hall and West Gate structures. The Castle that had been built in 11th Century after the Norman conquest, and later upgraded in 13th century, but was mostly reduced to rubble during the English Civil War in the 17th century. The rest of the grounds has various aged buildings used by the Winchester City Administration, with the newest buildings being the Law Courts.

Although the kingdom administraton moved to London in the 11th century, Winchester still played an important role in legal affairs and the treasury till the 13th century.

We finished our tour of Winchester with a wander down the famous High Street, which hosts a street market four days a week.

Once back at the house, A fired up the BBQ and we feasted on steak and veggies outside. It was an enjoyable warm evening on the patio.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Guys where are your sandals! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
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旅行者Limited wardrobe props, didn't have my size 😂
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旅行者 ❤️❤️❤️❤️
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旅行者 😀
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European Summer
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Whitchurch Waddle
2023年8月10日, イングランド ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Decided to stay local and explore the area. J found a butcher nearby, so we walked through various neighbourhoods and lanes to get there. Being a much warmer day, and fairly humid from recent rains, we worked up a bit of a sweat. The heavier moist air also trapped the farm animal scents 🐮💩to the point of being beyond pungent the closer we got... 😵

The butcher shop had quite a selection of local meats and cuts, making it challenging for decisiveness. In the end, we chose a variety of sausages, a couple of aged steaks, and a seasoned pack of lamb shanks to enjoy in the coming days. They even had ice cream, perfect for a refreshing snack!

On our return trip we took the local footpath along the river back to Whitchurch. The path was a mix of grazed and cultivated fields and wild tree cover sections. At the start we passed by the 400 year old historic Bere Mill.
https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/blog/hiwwt/heritage-st…
We then passed through a park near the elementary school, and a couple of other mills. The old town mill was converted into a residents (https://whitchurchonthames.com/mill.html), and then the functional Silk Mill and museum (https://whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk/)

A quick stop at the grocery store, and we were back at the house to prepare a bbq sausage dinner feast. 🌭もっと詳しく
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旅行者 Lovely kitty
2023/08/14返信する翻訳する
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European Summer
Salisbury Saunter
2023年8月9日, イングランド ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Had a nice lazy start to the day, then a leasurely run along a local footpath through forests and fields. We then set off for an afternoon adventure to Salisbury.

The majority of the drive there was uneventful as it was either a motorway, or a narrow lane road with very high hedgerows impeding any views. With so many twists and turns along the way, especially through Andover, we weren't sure what direction we were going.

Along the way we passed near Stonehenge, and Old Sarum, and into the city Center. Parking the car near the train station, we walked along the Avon "river" to the old town area, and noticed a couple of Swans. The central square was decorated and set up for the annual summer festival, with people about enjoying the sun after weeks of cold and rain.

After a light late lunch snack we kept meandering through the streets, and eventually to the grand Salisbury Cathedral. The designation of city apparently was usually only given if a Cathedral was present. But later learned that there are 13 British designated cities that don’t have Cathedrals, like nearby Southampton.

On our drive home we stopped by The Old Railway Hotel in Porton. It was a quiet Wednesday, but warm on their picnic benches and perfect for an evening meal 🍴🙂もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Next Stop, Hampshire 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
2023年8月8日, イングランド ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
It was a early start to the day to ensure we had plenty of time to get to Schiphol airport, and submit tax refund documents. So long Amsterdam, hello England!

After a short one hour flight to Bristol, we were greeted with a fine mist rain, and a faint whiff of manure. A quick shuttle ride to the rental car area, and we were off on our new adventure.

On the way to Whitchurch, we made a stop at the village of Castle Combe. Apparently there is a castle ruin in the area, but it wasn't in the village. Majority of the buildings in Castle Combe were constructed prior to 1600, and apparently very little construction since (not sure of the accuracy of that fact)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Combe
Many movies have been filmed here, like War Horse in 2012 with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Feeling famished, our first stop was for a meal at the local pub; nothing quite like a meat pie, fish and chips, and a pint to keep you going. We then explored St Andrews Church, and walked along the couple of streets before carrying on. Wholly, there are some narrow track country roads! Two way traffic but hardly wide enough for our little car 🚗🤣

Our route took us through North Wessex Downs where we passed through the village of West Kennet, that looked to be out of a fairytale with all the densely and meticulously thatched roofs covering brick or stone houses. We also noticed a large perfectly formed hill with a rock monument, later to discover it to be a neolithic site called Silbury Hill.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/place…

Eventually we reached the town of Marlborough, then headed south to our final destination to meet Tiger, our feline roommate for the week.もっと詳しく
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💕 [Barbara Mahon]
2023/08/13返信する
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European Summer
Coldest day ever 🐧
2023年8月6日, オランダ ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
Sunday August 6th 2023 was the coldest day on record for this date in Amsterdam 🥶 It all started with an onslaught of rain in the morning...

On our city walking we had passed Pathé Tuschinski, an older theatre with a beautifully crafted facade on Reguliersbreestraat. They are still in operation too! (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuschinski_Theatre)

What better on a cold wet day than a movie 🎫! There wasn't a lot of availability for an Oppenheimer matinee, so we settled on Mission Impossible. It was a wonderful film and classic Tom as expected. We weren't in the main screening room, but thoroughly enjoyed the front row love seat, side tables and foot rests! After our film we popped into the big hall for a look and photos 📸

Afterwards, we tried the Dam square for the final Pride stage performances, but couldn't get in with our tiny backpack (very strict rules). It was just as well as the gusty wind returned with a vengeance 💨 🧊🥶

Monday was our last day in Amsterdam, and thankfully the sun returned, although the morning was still slightly dreary. We decided a boat canal tour was a fitting end to the trip. It was quite relaxing and enjoyable to see Amsterdam from the canals as opposed to walking and dodging bicycles, trams and crowds. There was one bridge we passed under (Munplein intersection) that was over 60 feet long, and the boat barely had a couple inches of clearance to its low roof.

Once disembarked, back at the central station, we headed west as A found a coffee roaster. With freshly roasted and ground coffee in hand, we meandered east again and found our way to a locally-sourced eatery offering gourmet hamburgers. J enjoyed the Classic Lamb while A relished his Beefmeester burger and side of parmesan fries. We also picked up a bottle of Rutte Genever to enjoy later in the travels, one of the few brands we had learnt about earlier.

Fantastic educational video about this country 😂
https://youtu.be/eE_IUPInEucもっと詳しく
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European Summer
Canal Float Parade
2023年8月5日, オランダ ⋅ 🌧 18 °C
Canal Parade day was much gloomier than the somewhat sunnier Friday. We dressed in our Pride colours and viewed the floats a bit farther away than expected as the parade route was slightly different than what we had found earlier. We made it through half of the 80 amazing floats before freezing from the constant wind and intermittent showers. We were surprised at the number of organizer boats darting about to ensuring the floats could do their thing.

After warming up back at the hotel with a nice bath, we headed to the downtown area after the parade completed. As expected, the streets were literally jam packed with people. Sadly, lots of broken glass and litter ... We aborted that notion, picked up a couple of quick meals to reheat, and went back to the hotel instead 😀もっと詳しく
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European Summer
Rain 🌧️ for the rainbows 🌈
2023年8月4日, オランダ ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Amsterdam Pride is quite the event over at least a week duration. They had events and parties planned all over the city. Many of the events were focused on more specific groups, so a place for everyone; hence the #youareincluded theme. Workshops and low-key events occurred prior to the street parties and club nights.

The hotel across the street was putting on dinner and evening rooftop movies. We tried to get tickets to a great movie, but they were sold out already. 🎟️😕

We did attend the Amstelvelt street party for a bit. It was a nice open square and not too crowded like the city center parties. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed the later afternoon sun. Later, we went to an Open Air Cinema at George Gershwinplein. The movie was called The Blue Caftan, with great reviews. Unfortunately it didn't have English subtitles, so we left shortly after.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
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Pride Hub
2023年8月3日, オランダ ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
We arrived mid afternoon on the 2nd. As with the previous few days, the weather was all over the place: sun, wind, cloud, more rain, repeat. Once settled into our room at The Social Hub (Pride Hub for the week) we went downstairs to the lounge to enjoy a beer and DJ performance. It didn't take long to get loud and crowded when the rain moved everyone in from the patio.

We ended up changing our room this morning as the mattress was worn out 😑. Once resettled, went out to look for pride items to wear on the weekend. A found a costume and party shop full of fun items. We got a sequin pride hat and suspenders, and a couple festive flower slingers to add to J's white beach hat.

Our walk took us along the Ringvaart canal, that connects to the Amstel. The Oostpoort shopping area was quite neat, with its mix of old factory buildings and newer shops. Like Zandervoort, all the shops and buildings were displaying rainbow flags. We popped into a few of the shops. On the way home we did grab a few grocery items, and a late afternoon snack.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel planning and relaxing. A still wasn't feeling 100% from the earlier ailment.もっと詳しく
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旅行者 ❤️
2023/08/09返信する翻訳する
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2023/08/09返信する翻訳する
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European Summer
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Zandvoort: Pride at the Beach
2023年7月31日, オランダ ⋅ 🌬 20 °C
Before departing Rotterdam, we placed our luggage in storage at the hotel to explore a bit more of the city. J was adamant he needed a hair cut, since more than a month has flown by since Malaga, when it was done last.

A suggested a Barber school nearby, but they were fully booked for the week. We stopped in at a nearby salon on our way back. J had a great experience with his stylist as she was very thorough and meticulous. A on the other hand had a speed cut 😲, and didn't dare move due to the stylist going so quickly. A's stylist also gave him a complimentary ear hair removal blow torch treatment...🤯Needless to stay, A left the salon mildly traumatized.😓

It was a quick train to Zandervoort Aam Zee station . Arriving around 3pm, we were welcomed with the start of their Pride Parade. Our walk to the accommodations took us along the parade route, so we were able to see all the floats; ironically, the Durex condom van brought-up the rear... 🤣 Surprisingly the weather was cooperative for the event; although not sunny, at least it wasn't raining and gusty.

From the outside, the hotel looked fairly unassuming. However, stepping into the building was a whole different feeling🫨. We were first met with a musty smell. Then, the entry opened into the very-very quirky lobby with its seaside decor and retro furniture. They really liked their pastels and wooden cloud cut-outs (both for decoration and hiding cables), and fake dune grasses. Our room was on the top floor, and the stair case leading up was very steep and narrow; not at all easy to convey large cumbersome luggage... The general feel was that of a movie set combining "Amelie" and "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".

Our room continued with the quirky aged theme only with framed formula 2 racing photos. At least the bathroom had been updated, once you got past the 3" step. Though it's more of a built-in toe stubber for the unexpecting 😭

We decided to head to the village square where they had a stage setup with music and performances. The celebratory energy and festive spirit was very evident. While walking around the streets you could see many pride flags and banners, and the store fronts all had rainbow themed displays while boasting their wares.

A found an Italian restaurant near the square, so we were able to dine and enjoy the event. J ordered a "spaghetti with muscles", and A, a pizza. The pasta dish arrived without any muscles, only clams🤔, and you had to pick out the shrapnel of broken shells with mediocre sauce. As usual we shared our meals, but it was A that regretted it most as it gave him a sleepless night and caused his stomach much discomfort for the next 48 hours...

After dinner we ventured over to the stage and watched the performances while sharing a churros dessert. The performances were great, especially the guest singer. He had a delightful voice and energy, and was great with the kids that joined him to dance on stage.

We eventually did walk over to the beach, and the wind was insane; felt like walking in a sand blaster at times. A lady and her husband with ice cream cones were attacked by a flock of gulls 🐦. They were successful in toppling her cone and happily devoured the fallen remains. He quickly raced to the cover of a nearby building, saving one of their treats to enjoy 😲もっと詳しく
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旅行者 ❤️😎
2023/08/06返信する翻訳する
旅行者 Very “grand” !😉
2023/08/06返信する翻訳する
旅行者 ❤️
2023/08/06返信する翻訳する
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European Summer
Rotterdam Cycle
2023年7月30日, オランダ ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Started the day with a leasurely run, and a quick self-serve breakfast at the hotel. We picked up a couple bicycles from the hotel and set out for our day's adventure. Although the hotel was nice enough to provide a tour map, it felt a bit too contrived, so we threw it out the window. 🤠

J had found a museum on the history of Genever, and this took us over to town of Schiedam. The trip was not long, about 20 minutes on bicycle, but there were some good gusty head winds to overcome. Is that the virtual Dutch hill? The museum building used to be one of the many Genever distilleries, but it required a lot of repair work to bring it back to its glory. The lower level retained the original stills. It was quite fascinating to learn the history of the spirit, how it shaped the area, and how world events affected its trade. We also learnt that milling was very closely tied to the production of Genever, and a separate sister museum was near by, and part of the entry fee! Strangely, no samples as part of the tour 😕
https://www.jenevermuseum.nl/

Once we finished reading about the spirited history of the area, we stopped by the windmill museum. It was quite fascinating to find out these mills were built extra tall to rise above the buildings. There used to be 20 mills (now only 7), and they were dedicated to milling grains only for the production of Genever! They had run 24 hours a day, as did many aspects of the genever industry. The mechanisms are primarily wood, with a few metal parts, and the top of the windmill can rotate 360 degrees on rollers to follow the wind. The resident Miller has been working in windmills for 45 years, and very passionate in thier operation.
https://www.jenevermuseum.nl/museummolen.html

We headed back along the route we rode earlier, but ducked in to Lloydkwartier, where we had a late lunch by Schiecentrale in the shelter of the building as the wind was impressive. The original building used to be a power generation station that is now an eight building complex of commercial and residential sections, and has some very eccentric perspectives...
https://schiecentrale.nl/

Peddling by the Euromast, we found our way to the Maastunnel Noord Fiets- & Voetgangersingang, a pedestrian and bike route tunneled under Nieuwe Maas to the Charlois district. It felt like a trip into a movie set, see the video attached.

We followed the canal edges to the Katendretch area where the SS Rotterdam, a decommissioned Holland-America cruise ship is permanently berthed as a hotel, restaurant and event space. A local historical group had a display on in the lower deck as part of Holland-America's 150th anniversary. We were lucky as it was only on exhibit for two weeks. They had gathered decades of private memorabilia to showcase.

The final segment of our bike loop tour took us across Erasmus bridge and around to Markthal. Markthal is a very impressive open building with closed glass ends and many vendor stalls, similar to Grandville island market. We caught a glimpse of the unique Kunstkubus building (yellow cube building).

The varied architectural elements around Rotterdam are very unique, but not all eye catching in a good way, nor are some practical. Atleast your eyes won't get bored of the many juxtapositions of old and new!

With the weather looking more and more dreary, decided to return the bicycles, and head out for a hearty dinner. A found a nearby Argentinean Steakhouse, but they were full, so we enjoyed Japanese Ramen and currey instead.もっと詳しく
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European Summer
Nederland 🇳🇱 gebonden
2023年7月29日, オランダ ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
The translates to, Netherlands bound 👍

We were up early to pack the remaining few things and get ready to head to the Netherlands. J took Dubi for a quick walk while A tidied the apartment up. We walked over to the Waller train station, a short 15 minute walk away. The weather cooperate without the forecasted rain. Being a Saturday morning there were definitely larger crowds at Bremer HBF, where we transfered from the regional train.

Our first leg was on a newer speed train to Osnabruck, reaching speeds of 200km/h! The second leg from Osnabruck to Amsterdam was an older, more spacious, and comfortable train, with speeds up to 130km/h. We sat in the last car, and appreciated the relatively quiet 4 hour journey, although it was mildly stuffy with minimal cool airflow... The last leg between Amsterdam and Rotterdam was a bit grimy, felt like being on the late night drunk bus in Vancouver. 😵‍💫 Not because anyone was noticeable intoxicated, just it was in dire need of a power washing!

On our arrival to Rotterdam we were greeted with a full-on Carnival festival outside the station; drums, loud music, festive feather costumes, and large dense crowds. We managed to find a spot to cross the parade to get to the hotel. J had read about the festival, but wasn't aware we would be staying so close: two blocks! Even on our 18th floor room we could hear the heart drumbeat of the procession below.

The afternoon was gorgeous and sunny, so off to explore we went. We briefly entertained the idea of festival street food, but the lines were very long and the crowds too busy, so we moved on. Finding our way to Witte de Withstraat, brought more crowds of a different type. The street had a similar feel of Whyte Ave in Edmonton, but much narrower. We ended up settling on burger joint called Hamburg that J had noticed earlier. It was a cafeteria-eatry style service, pumping out early 2000s tunes.

Later we headed out to Ferry, one of the many gay bars in Rotterdam. We arrived fairy early, so the line up was short and quick. The clientele was quite diverse, and many seemed to be reviving fashions from the late 80s and 90s.

On our "early" walk home around midnight we were surprised to see multiple groups of young adults, from the street parade, darting around as if running away from something(police?). A few waves passed us and we were on alert if needing to get away from a mob/riot ⚠️😵‍💫 (Our thought 💭process was likely linked to a shooting 🔫 that happened earlier in the day.)もっと詳しく
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