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Three months in Europe

juillet - septembre 2017
Une aventure de 88 jours par Brad and Mandy Pearce En savoir plus
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  • 55empreintes
  • 15pays
  • 88jours
  • 300photos
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  • 37,8kkilomètres
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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 42

    Belgium - Ypres

    14 août 2017, Belgique ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Ypres, Belgium
    Weather - nice

    We have been underestimating not so much the distance but more the time it takes to get from point A to point B, mainly due to the sheer volume of traffic on the roads (and the amount of roadworks, but the funny thing is, we never actually see any work being done? ). Brad thought we would have time to visit Bruges the afternoon that we arrived in Belgium but I thought we would be pushing it so we have put that off until we come back into France from the UK. So we booked a 2pm ferry from Dunkirk giving us time in the morning to head for Ypres, an area of the Western Front where Australian soldiers fought (and died) during WW1.

    The Menin Gate was where the troops passed through to go to the front, and it now stands as a memorial to all the soldiers that died in that area. There are over 54,000 names on the gate with over 9,000 of these being Australian. The statues of lions were originally in front of the Menin Gate and were gifted to the Australian War Memorial in 1936 and they are currently on loan from Australia as it is the centenary of the Ypres Salient Battle.

    We also visited In Flanders Fields Museum which contains a lot of artifacts in the area and they are still finding them today. It was very interesting but Brad did not seem to take any photos.

    Only a 45 minute drive to Dunkirk to catch the ferry (so we thought) but the traffic was horrendous and Brad is panicking thinking we were going to miss the ferry. We got to Dunkirk OK but finding the port was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Tiny little signs indicating 'Car ferry' - not great big street signs like we expected. It will be good to get to England where at least we will understand the road signs. However, we found the ferry in plenty of time so all is well. Next stop...England!    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 43

    Welcome to England

    15 août 2017, Angleterre ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Bletchley Park
    Weather - sunny 25°C
    Steps - 11250 or 7km

    The 2 hour ferry crossing and to see the white cliffs of Dover was amazing- they really are spectacular. Even though the steering wheel is on the wrong side (for this country) the actual driving is strangely familiar . We drove to the Cambridge area which was a bit slower than anticipated (traffic heading north out of London) and stayed in a little country village - just lovely.

    We had decided to visit Bletchley Park, which, if you have seen The Imitation Game movie about the code breakers during WWII you will know what I'm talking about. Very interesting- we did a free guided talk which added some fascinating tidbits of information. We only spent a few hours there but could have stayed all day. However, we had to get to York by evening (about 4 hours drive).

    On the way we passed through Nottingham so bad to check out Sherwood Forest on the way. The Major Oak (perhaps the one where Robin Hood hung out?) was an impressive 1,150 year old tree. The branches are being supported by props.

    All in all, a very nice day.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 44

    York

    16 août 2017, Angleterre ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - York
    Weather - fine
    Distance - 16400 step or 10.4km and 35 floors

    Had a great Airbnb in the little village called Upper Poppleton (doesn't that sound delightful!) which was located just outside York. It was easier to use the Park and Ride system which seems quite common in many places in Europe. Park your car and catch the bus into the city - saves congestion and you don't have to worry about finding a park.

    York is a beautiful city and the original part is surrounded by (most of it) an old stone wall. One of the touristy things to do is to walk the wall and it was such a nice day that it was a very enjoyable activity. It's about 5km and takes around 2 hours (plenty of steps). There are sections where the wall no longer exists but that just gives you the opportunity to visit other things.

    Our host recommended we visit the National Railway Museum and that was quite interesting. It had a replica of Stevenson's Rocket as well as The Flying Scotsman - both engines I had heard about. After walking the wall we visited the York Castle Museum which had a section looking at fashion through the ages and the reason why some styles came in and out of fashion. For example, back when men and women wore wigs, the wealthy and more important had larger wigs, hence the term 'Big Wig'. They used to powder them heavily to make them white but when the government put a tax on powder, wigs went out of fashion. It was all fascinating.

    We could have spent more time in York but we had to be in Edinburgh for the Tattoo the next day so drove from York, seemed to take ages and practicallt rained all the way. A lovely Scottish summer day!    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 45

    The Scottish Capital - Edinburgh

    17 août 2017, Écosse ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Edinburgh
    Weather - warm and windy - no rain☺
    Steps - 10,500 or 6.7km and 37 floors

    After driving to Edinburgh in mostly rain, we were pleasantly surprised to wake to a fine, sunny morning. We had to go into the city to collect our tickets for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo that we had purchased at least 6 months prior. While there we did a tour of the Edinburgh Castle. We joined a guided tour which is usually great because there are often some fascinating bits of information that you may not get otherwise. There is a tradition that is still carried out at Edinburgh Castle that they fire the 1 o'clock cannon. The original purpose of this was so that all the ships in the harbour could synchronise their clocks as they knew the cannon was fired at 1pm.

    Super busy in Edinburgh because it is festival season - not only the Military Tattoo but also the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with people busking, putting on various performances, dressed up mimes etc. The place was a hive of activity. I think the number of visitors to the castle every day was around 10,000 - 12,000. We didn't have time to see anything more than the castle as we had to get ready for the Tattoo which I will cover in a separate footprint.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 45

    Edinburgh Military Tattoo

    17 août 2017, Écosse ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We have always wanted to watch the Tattoo after watching it on TV for years and years (usually around Christmas time) so when we were planning this trip we booked our tickets about 8 months ago. To make it a little special we thought we would splurge a little and have the Amber package which included a 4 course meal plus good seats to watch the Tattoo. However, when Brad booked it with the travel agent he did not realise there was the standard Amber package and there was the super duper Amber package which had all this plus a souvenir plus wine, plus whisky, plus a seat in the Royal box for the best views for the performance (...plus extra $). Anyway, what was done, was done, and I must say it was worth every cent.

    So we had to get dressed in our glad rags because we were sitting in the Royal box and you never know who we might be sitting next to. (Actually, Prince William and Kate were in Edinburgh the previous day and guests at the place we were staying at saw them in town). The meal we had was excellent and we were then escorted to our seats where we were even provided with a blanket. The weather was fine which was a bonus because it has been raining a lot this summer.

    The performance itself was excellent, the precision marching, drummers and bagpipes, Highland dancers plus special performances from India and Japan and representations of all the Scottish Clans and a reenactment of the Jacobite Rebellion . The time went so quickly that we were sorry it was over. I'm sure the photos do not do it justice. I would certainly recommend this to anyone.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 46

    Edinburgh to Inverness

    18 août 2017, Écosse ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Dundee and Stonehaven
    Weather - rain
    Steps - 10500 or 6.7km and 37 floors

    Basically a driving day as we left Edinburgh and made our way to Inverness. We called into Dundee to go to the exhibition on the sailing ship Discovery that Capt. Scott used to explore Antarctica. It was quite a good exhibit and I found out some interesting bits of information which may come in handy if I ever get a trivia question about it.

    Moving on from there we drove to Stonehaven to do a cliff walk where birds nested. Ordinarily this would have been lovely but it was drizzling rain and while I had my jacket on, I foolishly decided not to put on the waterproof pants. I didn't realise the track had tall grass and was somewhat muddy underfoot and by the time we got back my pants were saturated. There were heaps of birds though and the area was pretty despite the rain.

    Rained all the way to Inverness where it suddenly stopped and the sun came out. Inverness looks very nice but we were not staying here, but a bit further out of town where the Airbnb's are a bit cheaper (expensive around Loch Ness country where we had tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 47

    Lochs and Highlands

    19 août 2017, Écosse ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Loch Ness to Loch Lomand
    Weather - some showers

    Getting a bit behind in my blogging so the next few entries may be a bit brief.

    Today was an interesting day, from Lochs to the Scottish Highlands, and there is no doubt that that this part of Scotland is both beautiful and dramatic.

    We started early with a visit to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre... in search of the elusive Loch Ness monster. It offered many theories on whether the sea monster does or does not exist (and in all likelihood all the supposed sightings can be explained) but I doubt you would convince the 1000 odd people who claim to have seen Nessie.

    After that it was just a short drive to Urquhart Castle, right on the shore of Loch Ness. A beautiful location and Brad was convinced he saw Nessie pop her head up (hahaha! ). It was quite interesting about the history of the castle which is well over 1000 years old.

    Continued down along the Lochs to Fort William and then, as it was on the way, we thought we would have a look at Skyfall (the house from the James Bond movie). It was down a bit of a a goat track, single lane only, and when we got there I think it was the place but quite a lot of movie magic has occurred so I'm not really sure. This is in the area of Loch Lomand where the hills/ mountains are massive and spectacular.

    Scotland is known for their Highland Cows (insert Scottish accent and say 'Heilan coos') and we did see a couple which would have made a lovely photo but unfortunately there was no where to pull over and take a picture.

    We leave Scotland tomorrow to catch the ferry to Northern Ireland for a few days before returning to Scotland/Wales/England again.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 49

    The Coastal Route, Northern Ireland

    21 août 2017, Irlande du Nord ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Larne to Ballymoney
    Weather - some showers
    Steps - 14800 or 9.5km and 91 floors

    So we are now in beautiful Northern Ireland after a 2 hour ferry crossing from Scotland. We had planned to visit The Gobbins in the afternoon (a walk around the base of the cliffs), however when we turned up we were told the guided tours are totally booked out until 30th August....at 3pm. Well that was no good to us and a lesson learned - if you want to see something it pays to book in advance. When we arrived at our Airbnb accommodation we told the host of our disappointment who mentioned he happened to know the owner (lived just a few houses away) and the next thing we know he has organised a time for us to go the next day. (These hosts were really wonderful people - we actually felt like old friends)

    The next morning we had a few hours to kill before our Gobbins tour so checked out Carrickfergus Castle, a 900 year old castle that was still in use in some form up until WWII - now just used as a tourist attraction. From there the Gobbins tour was enjoyable - even if the trek back up to the road was quite steep. Towards the end of our walk the misty rain started to come in and I'm sure it would have been miserable for the next groups that were starting the walk.

    After that we took a leisurely drive up along the Coastal Route - very scenic - until we got to Torr Head where the road turned into a one lane goat track with either stone walls or fuchsia hedges lining the road, plus, as we got higher in elevation we drove into the misty rain which further hampered our view. Another steep hill to climb but at least it had stopped raining.

    Finally we passed by The Dark Hedges, a strange avenue where the trees appear somewhat twisted. I think it has been used in The Games of Thrones (not sure as I don't watch the series - but a lot of filming was done in Northern Ireland ). Overall it was a busy day, but very enjoyable.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 50

    Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede

    22 août 2017, Irlande du Nord ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Coastal Route Northern Ireland
    Weather - fine
    Steps - almost 19,000 or 12km and a massive 101 floors

    Finishing off our journey along the Coastal route of Northern Ireland saw us taking in the sights of Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the well known Giants Causeway. We thought that each place would only require about an hour to explore each place... but we were Oh so wrong! Even though they are only a few miles apart, the crowds meant we had to purchase a ticket and wait for our time slot to cross the bridge, and also for the Giants Causeway we really found it difficult to find a park.

    Both places also required a lot of walking including a lot of steps, hence the 101 floor equivalent we climbed today. However, despite all this, the scenic beauty was magnificent and well worth the effort (even if I did lose my balance on the causeway steps and ended up in a little puddle, hurting only my pride). Some of these places are also used in the filming of Game of Thrones, but as I don't watch this show, I'm not really sure.

    It started raining so we decided to give Londonderry a miss and headed to our accommodation. Heading towards Belfast in the morning.    En savoir plus

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  • Brad and Mandy PearceThree months in Europe
    Jour 52

    Ships and Walls, Prisons and Castles

    24 août 2017, Irlande du Nord ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Snapshot
    Where - Belfast, Capital of Northern Ireland
    Weather - fine
    Steps - 12700 or 8km and 11 floors

    We did not know very much about Belfast but after our visit we found out some rather surprising things. We knew the Titanic was built in Belfast and consequently they built a whole exhibition around it which really draws in the crowds. It is a rather impressive building and the display was quite good.

    We took a Black Taxi tour around the Belfast murals. We were aware of the "troubles " that existed in Northern Ireland and particularly Belfast in the past but did not realise that there still exists a wall that separates the Loyalists (those that support the British flag - Protestant), from the Catholics , and the gates are locked every day at 7.30pm (3.30pm on Sunday). It is this wall that has murals on it that are ever changing depending on what they want to emphasise at the time. For example there is a mural depicting Civil Rights leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.
    The troubles still exist, although not in the sense of the IRA (Catholics) killing Loyalists (Protestants) and vice versa; but more in gangs and drug related problems.

    The next day we visited Crumlin Road Gaol which was still in operation up until about 20 years ago and it was a very interesting tour about what it would have been like to be imprisoned here. When it went out of service as a prison, it was reopened as a tourist attraction by some former inmates (one of whom was the First Minister - like a Premier).

    We had time to look around the gardens of Belfast Castle before catching the ferry back to Scotland and onto the southern area of the UK.    En savoir plus

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