My Birthday - October 2010

Lucky for me there is not much of a gap between our anniversary and my birthday, so it wasn't long till we were off on another adventure - this time a surprise for me :)

Hennie had organised for us to stay in a beautiful hotel in the village of Margaret at Cliff, just outside Dover. The hotel is an old Jacobian Manor House and we were very spoilt with a suite all to ourselves.

After checking in we walked into the village itself, stopping for tea and yummies in a little organic tea shop on our way to the cliffs.

The cliffs themselves - amazing to stand right at the edge and look out to see.

Sunday we were up early to mount our trusty steads and head out to explore this beautiful part of the country on horseback.

After the ride we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and check out. Our ride could not have been timed any better as the moment we walked into our room it started to rain so it was a little bit of time out in the hotel lounge before we headed down to the coast for some good old fish and chips by the sea side.

3rd Anniversary - Wales

And so the 9th of September rolled around and it was time to celebrate three fantastic years of being married. We take it in turns to organise our anniversaries and this year it was my turn so it was off to Wales that we went. It was all a surprise for Hennie and our first port of call was the village of Hay-on-Wye, renowned for being the village of books. There are literally shelves of books lining the streets and everything operates on an honesty system where you merely put the money for the books into a box.

And what is a visit to the countryside without scones and cream - the British are having an effect on my husband.

After a little wander around and weaving through the books we jumped back in the car and headed to where we were going to be staying for the weekend. I had managed to find this gorgeous authentic caravan which had been used to make the movie the 'Wind in the Willows'. It was absolutely beautiful. The caravan had been placed in the middle of a field and all we could see all around us were the green hills of Wales dotted with sheep.

Next to the caravan was a little building that housed the kitchen and the bathroom.

Sunday was an absolutely glorious day so we set off on a walk through the fields to the the local castle.

After the castle we wandered to the pub for lunch of some very yummy Welsh lamb and then wound our way back to the caravan on a different route to take in some different views.

The view from the bed out the door of the caravan - you can't do anything but love waking up to this.

Sunday night we got round to lighting the fire which we sat around as the sun went down and the evening closed in. Peace, quiet and tranquility!! London, where and what is London - surely no one needs us to go back there :)

Champagne (France) - August Bank Holiday Weekend

Mom's last weekend with us was a long weekend as the Monday was a bank holiday so it was off to Champagne we went. It was an early start to get to the Eurotunnel terminal. It was a little freezy at that point in the day as you can see in the photo below.

The view from the Eurotunnel terminal - beautiful! Not far from the cliffs of Dover.
And then it was onto the train for our journey under the sea.

We popped up on the continent and headed for lunch in Reims. Below we are standing in front of the cathedral in Reims. An amazing building both inside and out!! No photo could really do it justice.

How is this for a location for lunch? :)

With full tummies and raised blood sugars it was time to explore the cathedral

A wander through the city taking in some of the other sights that were on offer before we headed to do some more exploring of the Champagne countryside with its rolling hills of vineyards, little villages where everybody seemed to make champagne in their garage. It was everything that people had said it was and oh so French :)

Moet and Chandon country - we couldn't actually find the chateau in the countryside but we did find some indications that we were close :)

Nothing like a little late afternoon carriage ride through the vineyards - lucky peeps.

And then it was onto where we were going to be staying for the weekend - a beautiful self-catering gite in a tiny little village. We stayed right across the road from the village church which was beautiful as we had the church bells chiming every hour till 23:00. The next morning we started the day with fresh croissants from the baker who came to the door to sell his wares.

After our French fare we went exploring. Sunday was our history day and we headed deep in WW1 territory. We started in the Argonne forest where we saw some of the craters that had been formed by the landmines. It was amazing to see how the forest had re-grown and rejuvenated itself but still had reminders of a past devastation.

Here we are in front of one of the German underground tunnels and bunkers.

And then it was onto Verdun - one of the towns that was very much in the middle of the battle - for some lunch and the opportunity to savour some very yummy French pasteries.

Not far from Verdun was the Ossarary de Douaumont which is a massive memorial to those who died during WW1. It is a massive structure, very peaceful and contemplative inside and really makes one aware of the huge loss of life that was caused by the war.

In front of the Ossarary is a grave yard for all the French citizens of the area who lost their lives.

After getting our fill and a new perspective of WW1 we headed back to our gite for a little bit of R&R and the chance to enjoy a late summer evening.

Monday morning we were off to spend a bit more time with the champagne side of things. We started by heading to Chalon for some brekkie and a little wander through the streets and city.

Breakfast and the chance to get the caffeine levels to what they should be.

Some of Chalon's monuments and statues :)

And then it was onto grander and more sophisticated things in Epernay. We did a couple of drives up and down Champagne avenue trying to keep our mouths closed as we took in the grandeur of the many well-known champagne houses chateau's.

And then it was time to head in the direction of the Eurotunnel to retrace our footsteps that would return us to the shores of the UK and the road that would take us back to our little home in Wimbledon. Another great adventure with lots of memories that I'm sure we will look back on often.

Canterbury - August 2010

And so another weekend rolled around and with it another adventure. To Caterbury we went bright and early on Saturday morning. We started the explorations by joining a guided tour which was led by a retired history professor who had lived in Canterbury for 50 years. It was really great to get his personal perspective on how Canterbury had changed as well as the historical aspects.

After the walk we headed for lunch by the canal and then ended the afternoon off with a canal boat tour. It was amazing to see the cathedral, the private school, the old buildings and we even managed to fit a visit in to the Canterbury Tales attraction.

Then it was onto Eridge to see the family there. It was great to have a little bit of a family reunion. We paid a visit to the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, fortunately the spring was closed so Mom and Hennie could not savour the local healing waters. Sunday involved a visit to a local fair - lots of fun!