Back to the Jack

We are waiting in Belfast airport for our flight to London.

An early start and a head cold are making me feel a bit groggy, but we are all sad to leave. The family and friends that we have in Ireland always make us feel so very welcome. There were tears aplenty from Louise this morning as we said our goodbyes.

Time is ticking away pretty fast now. A few days in London and we will be back on the plane home 8-(

On the positive side, we caught up with all the family and friends we had hoped to, and the wedding was great. In fact, the moon and planets lined up and all 13 Horisk children were in the same place for the first time in many years. We celebrated with a group photo.

Aside from family, we did manage a trip to Antrim coast and the Giant's Causeway.

Looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with London, and hopefully some sunshine!

Ireland in the Summer....

It's been raining.


And raining. And raining. But hey, we are in Ireland - what do you expect? We've had great weather up until now, so I am not really complaining.


Our time in Ireland is really more about catching up with friends and family than sightseeing, although we wanted to show James and Lauren something of the countryside.


So far, we have spent most of our time visiting people to catch up. It's been 'great craic'. We have caught up with a fistful of the Montague, Devlin and Horisk Families, and it's like we never left hre 13 years ago. We have also shown the kids a lot of the haunts around Gervahey and Omagh that their Grandad used to frequent.



Today we took the opportunity to drive up from Omagh to the Antrim Coast. We saw the Giant's Causeway, which was a highlight with the children. Anna Horisk came along with us too, which made the trip even more pleasant. We lunched at the Causeway Hotel, then drove home the long way via Glenshesk. All up a peasat day.



Tomorrow is the event we came here for - the wedding of Kieran Horisk's daughter Kiera and her fiance' Martin. 12 of the 13 Horisk siblings are in town for the event, so it's a grea time to be here.

Guiness Here we Come!

We are in the airport in Newcastle right now. waiting for our flight to Belfast. The week of touring has flown by. Weather has been a bit less than ideal, but we made the best of things.

We went to the lake district for the day yesterday. The kids loved the Beatrix Potter exhibit in Bowness on Windermere - even Jmes, which quite surprised me. I expected Lauren to like it but James to be bored. But as I often need to be reminded - never understimate a child.

The rain was bucketing down when we came out, and it was soon apparent that the kids' coats were not going to deal with any serious downpour. So we headed to a camping shop and were surprised and delighted to find that here in England waterproof coats in Summer are dirt cheap. So flush with our new purchase we jumped in the car and headed for Newcastle via the northern parts of the lake district. It was pouring down and the roads were slow going, but we still managed to get a feel for the beauty of the area. If only it had been sunny or at least cool and clear!

I would love to post some photos but we have been without a PC while wee are on the road, so these are all text entries. I will try to update the photos ASAP.

I never want to see another train again...

Only joking!

Today we spent the day in York. We wandered around the town, starting with a trip along the turrets at the top of the old wall - great views looking inside and out.

After that, we dropped down to ground level and pottered the street with about a million other tourists. Boy, was it busy.

We escaped the chaos with a visit to York Minster. The size and grandeur of the cathedral can't be eplained in mere words. It's amazing and even kept the kids interested for about an hour. They are in the process of restoring its most significant stained glass window, which will cost an astounding £19m...

After that we did some more dithering around the streets, and I got my photo taken in a street named after me - 'the Shambles'....

In the afternoon, we headed to the place that James has been nagging us about since we boarded the plane - the National Rail Museum. I don't think of myself as a train-spotter, but for James' sake I try to be interested. And I have to admit - the NRM is amazing. They have so many famous trains and interesting artifacts that it's hard (and exhausting) to take it all in. After about 3 hours we were all exhausted.

Back on the road again, I was reminded that an important quality for a traveller is calm adaptability. We have been ringing ahead to orgaise accommodation as we go, but it transpires that all of England is off to the Lake District this weekend, so there was no accommodation to be found within a 30 mile radius of Windermere. Still, we managed to find a manger called 'Holiday Inn' in Lancaster, and but for that stinky waft of stale cigarette smoke, we are ensconsed for the night.

Tomorrow - Beatrix Potter and the lakes...

Great coffee in Chester

A quick update:

Toiday is a transit day. We travelled from Caernarfon in Wales to York in Northand England for the next instalment of what is fast becomong 'James A: railways across Europe' - the York Rail Museum.

We stopped in Chester to stretch our legs and look around. Very nice old town, and as usual we wish we had longer to explore.

On the plus side, we found a Cafe Nero, which has the best coffee of any francise in England. No match for the good Melbourne cafe's but better than the usual dishwater we have been served. In some places.

From Chester to York was a bit tedious. A heavy rain dump and traffic accidents slowed the motorway to a crawl and our attempts to circumnavigate only led to queueing through small villages.

Anyway, 4 hours on the road and we are finally here. More English quaintness!

A trip down Memory Lane

So we have been staying with Stuart, Michelle, Max Caitlin and Milly. They live just outside of Wellingborough, in Higham Ferrars. It's a quaint little town with tiny thatched cottages. Using Higham Ferrars as a base, we have been catching up with family. It's been 13 years since we have seen them. The children have grown up a lot, but the adults seem much the same as they were last time.


We have visited lots of people and some of our old stomping grounds, like 211 Mill Road where we were based in 1996. It's great but also kind of surreal to be back.

We have packed a lot in to our visit. Catchups with family, a trip to Silverstone raceway, plus visitis to historic Warwick Castle and also Stratford upon Avon.

Tomorrow we are back on the road. We have until 24th of August in England to see some sights. We plan to take it as things come. Our broad itinerary is Wales (Snowdonia National Park), York (York Railway Museum in particular) and then the Lake District.

Photos are a bit behind at present, will post ASAP

Banbury, Bekonscot, Oxford

We have just spent a couple of busy days with Trish, Clive and the kids.

Day one was a trip to Banbury shops and a drive down the M40 to Bekonscot Model Village. Beconscot has been around for 80 years, and features 1.5 acres of 1:12th scale models. Most importantly for James, it also includes over 10 miles (at 1:12th scale) of fully operational model trains. The railway layout even has its own switch box and control room. James was in heaven!

Day two was a trip by train to Oxford. We walked around the town, soaking up the atmosphere then spent some time around the college campuses. To be honest, I would have liked more time in the university precint, but there is only so much you can expect from the children. By the time we got back to Banbury, they were pretty tired. But 'respect' to them, they were troopers all throughout a very long day.

After Oxford we wrapped up with a quick dinner of fish and chips, then packed up the car and headed for our next stop, which is Wellingborough and its surounds.

On the Road Again

I'm sitting at Stuttgart airport, waiting for our flight to England with mixed feelings. We had a fantastic 5 days with our good friends the Triolo family, so it's very sad to be leaving them behind but exciting to be on the way to England. Sandwiched into Nina's car (which we named Hugh - don't ask), we covered a lot of ground, laughed till we cried and seemed to eat our way across Germany...

So Auf Weidersehen Triolo's!

Next up, visiting relations (Trish, Clive Jazzie and Kyle) in Banbury, near Oxford.

Beuren outdoor museum

Just spent a great morning at the Beuren Freiichtmuseum. Original buildings from all around the region have been relocated and restored to original condition and located so it shows what a historic village would look like.

Think Sovereign Hill with class...

Now, as usual, we are on the hunt for coffee cakes and ice cream ;-P

Pictures to follow.

Schloss Lichtenstein and the bobbahn

On Sunday we took a trip about an hour out of Stuttgart to Schloss (castle) Lichtenstein. We took a picnic lunch and lazed in the sun beforewe went in to look around,which was very idillic. The forest around the castle is very dense and 'European' compared to the bush in Aus.

Lichtenstein translates to 'light stone'. The castle is over 800 years old, originating in the 12th century. It's been knocked down and rebuilt in various times, like most of these old places, but is still in amazing condition. We got to see old suits of armour, beautiful detailed carvings, historic paintings and the most amazing scenery from the castle down to the valley below.

After the castle, we found a nice cafe and knocked back some coffee, cake and ice cream for the kids. The wheat field beside the cafe was to die for,so I managed to cajole James and Lauren into a quick roadside portrait...

The last stop before heading homewas teh Sonnemuhle Bobbahn (toboggan run). There is one in Merimubula very much the same,but this was better because it was longer, faster and also the one we were at, if you know what I mean...

To wrap up the day we had a traditional Schwäbische dinner made of 'maultaschen' (think large ravioli and you're heading in the right direction).Tehy are traditionally made in large batches and froZen, then cooked in various ways. We had them fried up,and also served in a broth. Both delicious.

Teutonic splendor and the GoldGeldBlitzen...

We occupied our Saturday morning with a visit to Esslingen, which is a short drive from Stetten. It's an original walled village with old fashioned German buildings in very good condition. Of course, it also has some very modern shops, so there was something for everyone.

Nina'a friends Amil and Michaela generously offerred to come along, which solved the problem of having one too many people to fit into Nina's car. After some retail therapy we had lunch at an Asian restaurant - ever tried to order Asian food when the descriptions are in German? Very amusing.

We wrapped up the afternoon with an ice cream (ordered very inexpertly by Moi - a source of great amusement) and a stop at the playground. No lederhosen, but you could alomost hearthe oompah band in you head.

Of course we were still getting over the jetlag so a nanna nap was a necessary exercise in the afternoon.






We had big plans to attend the 'GoldGeld' festival in the evening. In essence, GoldGeld (literally translates to Yellow Gold) is a big party in a field on a Sunflower farm, to celebrate the end of the harvest. These festivals are held all over the countryside at this time of year. There was much excitement about the propect of seeing a band perform Queen covers.

Unfortunately, there was less excitement about the rain and thunderstorm that arrived about 20 minutes after we did. At first we tried to tough it out under umbrellas, but the rain just got harder, and standing in a flield under a lightening rod in a storm is less than appealing. So we took our remaining beer and trudged back to the cars, getting more and more soaked. By the time we got back to the cars, we were all so wet that some of us had to strip down to underwear before we could get in the car.
But we made a night of it back the Triolo residence on Kanstrasse,over a bottle of wine and some old CD's.

Jetlagged in Stuttgart

We have just arrived in Stuttgart.

Our great friend Nina collected us from the airport and ferried us to her beautiful home in rural Stetten.We dropped past the bakery to stock up on sweet and savoury pastries, and have just pushed back our chairs with full stomachs.

Many of my favourite memories from our last visit are of eating and drinking around the dining room table. 13 years have passed, but somethings have stayed the same...

Ladies and Gentlemen your flight is now ready for boarding

Well, the bags are largely packed, the tickets are on hand, boarding passes printed, currency exchanges dealt with.

In a few hours we are off the airport, which is the first tangible sign we are on our way, but also the first challenge:

• Eight bags
• Three flights
• Two layovers
  
• 12 boarding passes
• One baggage transfer
• Total travel time - 25 hours, not including transit to teh airport and waiting around before we fly. Add that in and it's 28 or so.
  
• 2 children to keep occupied
• 4 very cramped economy seats

But we'll be right, it will all be over before we know it!

Have a great month while we are away, and we'll be in touch right here, on Odyssey d'Ambry.