tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11902513666713172382012-02-16T06:47:10.066ZA journal of our travel experiences in Europ, England and Ireland - August to September 2009, written by Shane Ambry, passionate photographer and sometime bloggershambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-10511583861720375452009-09-03T15:19:00.001+01:002009-09-03T15:19:31.627+01:00

Well, that's pretty much it. Today we fly out for home. This morning we looked through the State rooms of Buckingham Palace (pretty impressive), then dragged the kids back to our hotel by tube. They are pretty shattered, so I am hoping they may sleep on the plane. We are on the Heathrow expresss out of Paddington at present - one last train ride for James. The trip home is this train trip

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-83095735214248342432009-09-02T10:41:00.001+01:002009-09-02T10:41:59.123+01:00

It's Wedneday today. We arrived in London on Monday afternoon, a bit tired from the journey but determined to make the most of our few remaining days. We are fortunate - our hotel is really well located on Sussex Gardens, near Paddington tube station and a short walk to Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens. After we dropped our bags, we wandered out from our hotel towards Notting Hill, hoping to

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-10814116965320922012009-08-31T09:24:00.001+01:002009-08-31T09:24:16.425+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-38862212973667568592009-08-28T18:58:00.004+01:002009-08-28T22:30:59.468+01:00

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.

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-21223500115043274662009-08-24T13:16:00.002+01:002009-08-24T13:24:36.901+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-44047396645079360342009-08-22T21:09:00.001+01:002009-08-22T21:09:07.043+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-60493085574256905802009-08-21T18:22:00.001+01:002009-08-21T18:22:18.575+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-69211499341711330132009-08-17T08:26:00.007+01:002009-08-18T21:16:13.418+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-53403162460970674782009-08-15T21:42:00.015+01:002009-08-18T21:19:40.345+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-21624878125686357332009-08-12T21:57:00.001+01:002009-08-12T21:57:42.909+01:00

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...

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-65954117520736986912009-08-11T13:01:00.002+01:002009-08-11T15:35:45.996+01:00

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 ;-PPictures to follow.

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-88903877051811606222009-08-11T07:15:00.007+01:002009-08-11T07:44:52.450+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-22020692769968171692009-08-09T20:05:00.014+01:002009-08-10T08:21:39.005+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-92035980173867593162009-08-07T10:37:00.005+01:002009-08-11T15:42:00.439+01:00

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

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-64964999347358322042009-08-06T01:02:00.003+01:002009-08-06T01:14:48.600+01:00

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 bagsThree flightsTwo layovers12 boarding passesOne baggage transferTotal travel time - 25 hours, not including transit to teh airport and waiting around

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1190251366671317238.post-74104868212704131902009-07-21T12:17:00.005+01:002009-07-26T04:27:03.174+01:00

Hi everyone and welcome to our travel journal!We are a few weeks away from jetting off, so I thought it would be good to get everything set up now so we can email the link to everyone. Hope you enjoy the blog as a way of keeping track as we travel.We will post photos and short updates as often as we can so that you can keep up with where we are. You comments are welcome, by email or directly in

shambrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16579423362853177514noreply@blogger.com0