Wiltshire 5 May 2012

 

After our nice Bath experience, we wanted to look for a bed and breakfast to stay at. It was a long weekend so we were very lucky to manage to obtain a place to stay. After our stay at the bed and breakfast we went to a nice little village called Castle Combe, where some of the scenes from War Horse were filmed. It was really quiant and cute!

 

 

Arriving at the bed and breakfast

 

The little place where we stayed

 

Inside the little cottage

 

 

On our way to the village - very narrow lanes!

 

Castle Combe

 

Stream running through Castle Combe

 

 

The little village centre

 

After our visit to Castle Combe we went driving around and stumbled upon another little village that we wandered around, here are a few pics!



Wrapped up warm while walking around

 

Little lanes around the village

 

Saw this little creation while wandering around!

 

 



Bath - May 2012

This weekend we headed off on a road trip to see more of England. We decided our first destination would be Bath. We had heard a lot about how nice Bath was, and it lived up to our expectations. We looked around Bath first and our first attraction was the Jane Austen centre. Many of Jane Austen's books were based in and around Bath where she describes certain places in Bath and the people she met there while growing up.

 

After learning about Jane Austen we went to look for the oldest house in Bath, which is also home of the original Bath bun, now famously known as a Sally Lunn. We couldn't come all this way without tasting one of the lovely Buns. As it is very famous we did have to wait a little while to taste the creation, but it was worth it!! The place also had a kitchen museum which shows the actual kitchen used by the young Huguenot baker Sally Lunn in Georgian Bath to create the first Bath bun.

 

After a long day of sightseeing, what better way to finish the day with a nice soak. We first headed to the old Roman baths to have a nosey around and then headed to the new style baths for a nice soak!



 

Royal Crescent - this only shows half the street and as you see the whole street curves around

The Jane Austen Centre

Us, with the Cathedral behind

Outside the Roman Baths



 

 

Bath cathedral

About to go into the Roman Baths

View inside the Roman baths with the cathedral in the background

Inside the Roman baths

The famous Sally Lunn

Ash about to enjoy something sweet..

How it would of looked back in 1680

The modern pools at Bath ( Very nice )





River Thames boat party

We got invited to a boat party with our friends Catherine and Roger to celebrate a girl's birthday (so basically we were gate crashing, but she knew about it!) We departed from the pier at Putney and made our way towards the city. Unfortunately it was raining but we were on water and under shelter so didnt matter too much!

We had a really great night, the top deck was a dance floor so we spent the last bit of our evening dancing away (on a boat!) The cruise took us past Big Ben, Westminster and the London Eye, it was cool to see them from a different angle.

Paul and I on the lower deck having a drink

Cath and I on the cruise

Roger and Paul all suited and booted for the evening



Amsterdam!

Hellloooo Amsterdam! Cath, Roger, Paul and I went to Amsterdam for the weekend (as you do!) We headed off early Saturday morning for the 45 minute flight from London. As we didn't have long here we made the most of our time. First, as we were starving, we headed for breakfast and what better way to start the day than with pancakes! Amsterdam is an awesome city with a lot to see and do. We walked around the city taking in the sights and watching everyone scooting past on their bikes. After having a look around the shops we headed to the Heineken factory to learn all about the beer making process. At the end they give you are free drink and you get to hang out in the little underground pub which is really cool, we were feeling a bit tipsy and tired after the drink so off to dinner we went!

Roger and Cath at the pancake house

Me next to all the bikes and with a lovely canal in the background

Bit of a wobbly house!

Some of the marijuana merchandise

 

Town square

Wee fellow looking to take someone for a ride

Ummm rabbit soft toy but I am not sure anyone would want one!

One of the famous coffee houses

Paul outside a coffee house - appropriately named 'Funny People'

Cath and I in front of a lovely fountain

Some of the heineken advertising from over the years

The advertising history of the beer coaster

Cheers to a good day in Amsterdam!
 

One of the many bridges in Amsterdam

In order to top off the fabulous day, we hopped on a boat cruise to see Amsterdam from its famous canals. I was quite tired by this point so there were a few moments where I fell asleep with the motion of the boat, but luckily Paul stayed awake to capture some nice pictures. From what I did see, it was a lovely cruise with great commentary and a nice way to see Amsterdam.

Ahhh pretty - nice view of the bridge from the cruise

Looking down towards the numerous bridges

View from the water

Day two, and unfortunately our last day in Amsterdam, we made our way to B & B where we had another really nice breakfast to set us up for more sightseeing and adventure. As we all know Amsterdam is the town to own a bike in, therefore we became a local for the day and hired bikes to cruise around on and take us further than we would go walking. It was really sweet to bike around the town and we went out of the city to have a nosey. We really enjoyed Amsterdam and as it was a short trip, this city will definitely be on the list next year for the van tour!

Restaurant where we had a lovely breakfast

Looking across to our hotel

 

The tram service - exciting stuff!

On our bikes!

Cath and Roger in the lead

One handed!

Stopped for a nice black and white photo :)

 

Looking at all the house boats

View of around the city

 

 

 



St Patricks day 2012

 

Happy St Patricks Day!! Tonight we headed to our local Shepherds Bush pub, O'Neils to celebrate St Patricks day. It was a fun night that including drinking (of course) and listening to the Irish music played at the pub. A great night! 

 

 

Paul with his Guinness - oh and his hat!

Me with me wee hat



Rochester

It wasn't the greatest day in Sunny Britain, but we made our way to Rochester to have a nosey around. Rochester is about an hour out of London so it was a nice short drive and a chance to get out of the city. We visited the Rochester Castle, which was built in around the 1120's where it guarded an important crossing of the River Medway. After meandering around the castle we wandered around the little town and had a spot of lunch and a general nosey.

View from the Rochester Castle

Rochester Cathedral

The Castle itself!