The Only Australians in the Villaaaage

For one night only we are Myfanwy and Dafydd in Llangefni.  You will only understand the title of this blog if you watch Little Britain!

We are staying at the Bull Hotel, advertised as being a 4 star establishment which makes me think the star ratings system in Wales is seriously overrated!  Judging by this place if we'd have booked a 1 star we would now be looking up at the stars surrounded by half standing stone walls and being greeted by wandering sheep with a hole in the ground for a toilet!  I can't believe they have the nerve to call themselves 4 star, they must have made it up themselves, as i can't see anyone else awarding it to them!

It is a one night stop over.  Our ferry for Dublin leaves at 10am tomorrow from Holyhead.  The bar is downstairs and sounds a bit rowdy so hopefully we don't get any drunkard skunkard welshmen staggering about and knocking on the door at 3 o'clock in the morning!

We haven't had internet for the past week, so just catching up on some things tonight while we have it, and not sure if we'll have it next week either. 

And another thing or two:

• The Not-So-Magic Roundabouts in the UK are terrible!!
• Before we left home we put all our music onto the Ipod thinking it will be great on long car journeys to listen to our favourite tunes.  Only it doesn't work.  For some reason we can't tune it in.  Or if we do it drops in and out of range which is extremely annoying.  More annoying is that the only CD's we brought with us are Norah Jones (it was just in there) and The Wiggles:  You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.  So for those of you who think we've been galavanting around the beautiful countryside listening to really cool tunes (or what we think are really cool), we've actually been learning the words to 'Old Man Tucker' and 'One Finger One Thumb' off by heart!!
• I never mentioned the water in Austria.  It comes out of the tap lovely and cold and so velvety smooth tasting better than the bottled water we get at home.  The sad thing is I hardly drank any!  I will definately make up for it when we go back.
• Noah still hates the car.  He seems to spend 4 hours whinging and screaming only to fall asleep 20 minutes before we reach our destination! 

Before I go I just want to say that whilst i've been here in Wales I've noticed quite a few strange looking flags hanging about displaying a picture of a fiery red dragon?  Not sure what that's all about, except that it could be the spirit of Nana Lol following us around??!!

he he he he!!

I say, Chipping, Old Chap

Chipping Campden

The farm owners residence

Our next stop in England was just outside a lovely village called Chipping Campden (rather posh), in the Cotswalds, on a farm where the stables have been converted to cottages.  It’s a stunning area, beautiful historical villages (must be good as even Maciek is impressed) and endless countryside.  And our cottage is not unlike the one we had in France, a bit more modern and luxurious though. There’s even towel warmer in the bathroom, and lovely thick luxury towels to hang on it!

Horsing around on our farm

Harry and Emily taking charge

It’s been a very full week, catching up with family and friends.  Saturday was a BBQ at my cousin Warren and Caron’s house with Nan P.  A lovely afternoon where Harry and Emily looked after the kids the entire time so we could just relax!  And to top it off, Maciek got to see Cadel Evans win the Tour!

A couple of days out in Stratford-Upon-Avon with Uncle Stephen and Aunty Karen and then Nan and Grandad.  Some photo’s outside of Shakespeare’s house, a beer in a 16^th century pub, a boat ride on ! Avon, a picnic, fish n chips and ice-cream and a pink balloon made into a pony for Amelia which was put down for a rest and subsequently carried into the air by a breeze which prompted Karen to say “That pony’s just blown off!” which of course had me in stitches!

Caron was kind enough to offer to babysit on Tuesday night so me and Maciek could enjoy a much needed dinner to ourselves in a traditional country pub called the Howard Arms a couple of villages away.  I went the whole hog and ordered a starter, main, dessert and coffee and was so full i had trouble breathing while i tackled the tiny unlit country roads on the way home!

Nan P outside our cottage

50P ferry across the Avon

Shakespeares house with Nan and Grandad

Fish n Chips with Steve and Karen

A trip to Tamworth to see friends and family and a day out a Warwick Castle.

Warwick Castle dates back to the 11^th century and is extremely well preserved.  I have been twice before but now they’ve added some attractions to it which makes it feel a bit more like a theme park.  At various times throughout the day there are shows such as sword fighting, birds of prey display, jousting and we even saw a medieval trebuchet (catapult) shooting a fireball into the distant countryside (mind your head!), all in full costume with hidden speakers belting out medieval music to go with the display.  It’s very impressive.  There are people wandering the grounds in medieval costumes, playing the part, and a Princess Tower, visited twice by Princess Amelia!  We paid to visit the Dungeon with live actors (Maciek was called up to demonstrate an execution and had his ear chopped off!) and the Merlin Tower, both new since I last went.  I wouldn’t recommend them though, not so much for the extra cost but the time they took up.  As children are not allowed into the Dungeon Maciek and I had to go separately which took up nearly two hours, and personally we don’t think they are worth it.  It would have been nicer to have more time to wander around the castle and grounds, as even though we were there for almost 6 hours we still didn’t see it all.  Amelia was given a pea in the princess tower to put under her mattress and she went to bed that night SO excited at the prospect of waking up a real princess if she felt the pea (we put it under her sheet and crossed our fingers!) but to no avail!  She was very disappointed but that didn’t stop her dressing up for the rest of the week in her princess dress and tiara!



The real princesses!



Warwick Castle





Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…..

Colourful huts on the beach

I'll have a cup of Tetleys!

Torquay: The English Riviera.  Colder than the Alps.  Two jackets, a woolly hat and a raincoat just in case! 

After I’d tried to hand our passports through a closed window to the passport control officer causing a few embarrassed giggles (well I had been ill and washing sick of my children’s clothes for the past few hours!), driving off the ferry and into Plymouth was a bit tricky.  Being on the right side (the left) of the road in a left hand drive car which caused confusion in itself, the wacky enormous roundabouts consisting of 5 lanes and traffic lights, tiny roads and loads of traffic didn’t do much to help!  Once we got out of the town and onto the motorways it was fine though, and we found our way to our accommodation quite easily.

Pattisseries and vineyards were replaced by pubs and amusement arcades, and the number of barbers’ shops on one street was unbelievable!  Our apartment was close to the high street, seafront and cinema (might get a chance to see Harry Potter!), and a 5 minute drive to Aunty Val’s in one direction and Lyndsey’s in another made it a good base to explore.  It was clean and comfortable if a bit cramped!

The weather wasn’t too good at the beginning of the week, but improved towards the end.  Although the four days wasn’t quite enough to catch up properly with all the family, especially working around the kids and Daisy still being at school.  We chose not to do any touristy things.  Being in England and so close to familiar shops we decided to do normal things like shopping!  We were impressed with how cheap things were and so treated ourselves to a few new items to add to our wrinkled wardrobe!

We took Amelia and Noah to an indoor play centre which was a converted church!  It was awesome fun, huge slides which you needed a mat for and a mini helter skelter.  We also had a couple of meals in restaurants that also had a playroom for the kids, one of them with soundproof windows so you could keep an eye on them but not hear a thing!

I also had a practice at driving from Lyndsey’s to our place, THE MOST STRESSFUL 5 MINTUES OF MY LIFE!!  Poor Amelia was even worrying from the back seat “No mummy don’t drive, can’t you drive Daddy?”  Stalled the car, took a few wrong turns, got beeped at a couple of times.  So much for “I’ll drive in England and Ireland Maciek”.  So much to concentrate on, staying close to the kerb, checking the mirror which is in the wrong place, gear stick in your right hand, indicators on the left, checking the speed limit which is in miles, trying to follow Karen’s voice on the sat nav, trying to stay in the correct lanes which sometimes disappear and you find yourself not knowing where on the road you’re supposed to be……really don’t know how Maciek has done it so far, he definitely copes with it far better than me!

Rainbows Funhouse

It was lovely to see Amelia and Daisy getting on so well (it reminded us of me and Lyndsey when we were little – one tall and blonde and the other short and brown, holding hands and playing tig on the way to the shops).

Val, Lynds, Simon, Daisy and us

Maciek was able to watch Le Tour de France, and it was nice to see some T.V in our own language!  We didn’t make it down on to the beach (not even in our woolly hats!), and I didn’t get to see Harry Potter.  But it was nice to be in familiar surroundings, read menu’s, be with family, and I love the sound of the seagulls at the seaside – reminds me of childhood holidays!

Nightmare on Pont Avon: Ferry from Hell

The Pont Avon

Up early in the morning to load the car and get to the port on time we noticed how windy and cold it was and Maciek even wondered whether the ferry would be sailing.  We’d been looking forward to a relaxing journey after a couple of very long drives in France so with fingers crossed, we arrived at the port in plenty of time, not a mention of any cancellations, so whilst we waited in the queue to embark we ate a small bread roll and banana to tide us over until we could enjoy a FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST on board!!  Woo hoo!!

The ferry was enormous.  Amelia was so excited.  There were two cinemas, loads of restaurants, and an indoor play gym for the kids and heaps of space to sit.  We picked a spot right next to the kids gym and were feeling great about being able to sit in peace and eat our breakfast whilst the kids played.  I thought I might even get a chance to read my book, or maybe they were playing Harry Potter in the cinema?

As we took off, we were giggling at the amount of swaying going on.  I don’t usually feel travel sickness but I was beginning to feel uncomfortable after a short while. We wondered about the kids, given their past vomiting episodes in the car, but were reassured that they’d both had Kwells so surely they’d be fine, and they were busy playing anyway.  And we both took a Kwells just in case. 

The ferry was rocking considerably, and seemed to be rising up at the front and banging down into the sea sending waterfalls over the front windows.  I even joked to Maciek about sinking and then he said ‘it’s possible’ which wiped the smirk of my face!

Sick bag anyone?

Not long after that Maciek was sitting on the floor of the play area saying he didn’t feel too good and I noticed that Noah had been sick on one of the colouring-in tables.  Noah came to lie down on the floor near our seats but he was clearly uncomfortable and Maciek was lying across the seat looking so white he could have played the queen in an Elizabethan play (he’s even got the little red lips!)  Milly came to lie down just before Noah finally vomited, all over his teddy, and as I was cleaning it up Maciek joined in, crawling about on all fours sounding like a wounded donkey!  We had a small collection of sick bags on our table being slowly used up as Milly then started vomiting, only just grabbing a bag in time!  I felt awful but must have an iron stomach as nothing came up.  I went to the bathroom to attempt to wash Noah’s teddy and noticed people, including myself, staggering about like John Wayne after 10 bottles of bad wine!  The four of us slept on the floor for about an hour and a half, and when we woke up the sea and wind had finally settled, and people began emerging into upright positions again.  It was like the end of Sleeping Beauty, when everyone in the land wakes up from 100 years of sleep! Or maybe it was more like the bit from Michael Jackson’s thriller, when the zombie’s come to life and start groaning and staggering about!

What was meant to be a relaxing enjoyable journey turned into the most awful 5 hour ferry ride EVER!  So much for Kwells.  And the worrying part is, we’ve got two more ferry journeys to go, not including a 15 hour overnighter from the UK to Holland!  Eek!

Au Revoir France!

Roscoff

The past week has been a chance to unwind and chill out a bit, with no mountains to hike!  Except for a couple of days out we relaxed by the pool, or on the balcony, or even just on the couch with a coffee while Amelia and Noah played outside.  I had a chance to practice some driving (God know’s how Maciek has managed so far – it feels so weird!), I did okay though as it was such a small quiet village with no traffic apart from the odd cyclist or tractor!



Sunflowers



Driving through the countryside on our way to Roscoff we passed acres of sunflower fields (we’d been seeing them all week and by this point Noah was pointing out ‘sunflower’ instead of ‘bin’, which made a change and a much nicer thing to look at!).  But on the day we finally managed to take a photo of them, it was overcast, so they all had their heads down!  So unfortunately this picture doesn't show the blankets of yellow we saw everyday.

Another funny thing about France and Europe in general is smoking.  Nearly everybody smokes.  And most of the time it’s men driving cars, riding bikes, working on a building site, unpacking fruit that’s just been delivered to a shop, all with a cigarette seemingly glued to their top lip.  Don’t know how it stays there.  It’s like a symbol of the continent.  Man in cap (not a baseball cap, you know the ones) pedaling an old rickety bike through the village with cigarette stuck to top lip like an overgrown fang.  It’s just like the mandatory accordion player in touristy spots in the city.  It wouldn’t be Europe without it!

Another stupidly long drive brought us to the port of Roscoff.  We left our cottage at 10am and arrived at the Hotel L’Angleterre at 6.45pm!  We stopped for about 25 minutes along the way and Noah slept for 2 hours and nobody was sick.  Our hotel had no parking, so we had to park in a public carpark down the road and around the corner, which would have been no problem if it wasn’t for the 4 huge suitcases and various other back packs and bags we had to carry in (only to carry back out again in the morning and reload the car!).  And not only that, there was no lift.  And not only that, the staircase has to be the narrowest windiest one ever made.  And not only that the place was like a maze of these staircases and corridors, and the doors to get from one corridor to another were about as wide as two vertical 4 by 2 planks of wood!  At one point I just looked at Maciek and burst out laughing and couldn’t stop!

The pizza place at the back

Toot toot!!

We braved the weather (it was freezing and raining) to walk into the village for some dinner, which was so quaint and pretty (it looked and felt just like an English seaside village), and we enjoyed a lovely pizza (even if we were sitting outside as we’re too scared to dine in with Noah the Menace).  There was also a little fair/fete set up so Amelia and Noah had a ride and then Maciek bought us not one but two massive waffles piled high with cream!  So much for my diet then….

An Historical Day

The castle in the cliffs

We set out early on Thursday to fit in a few of the sights in this region, most of which are in the south east area, about an hour and half drive.  We began the day at Le Maison Forte de Reignac, which is a castle built into the cliffs.  It dates back 20,000 years as the caves were first used as dwellings for prehistoric man, and has been added to over centuries.  There are exhibitions of everything from stone age tools, skulls from various ages, drawings carved into the cave walls, kitchens, bedrooms and drawing rooms from more recent times (13^th century) to the dungeon area dedicated to an exhibition of an array of terrible torture instruments (yuk!). Even Maciek was impressed. 



Sarlat



From there we went to the town of Sarlat.  It’s such a well preserved Medieval town that it really is like being on a movie set, even more so than Soest.  All the buildings are built of the local Perigord stone which is golden in colour, and it’s a labrynth of narrow cobbled streets and alleys winding through arch ways and small market squares.  It never seems to end, and I was fascinated!  I wanted to explore every nook and cranny and climb every step that had been smoothed out and worn down in the centre from centuries of footprints – but that’s just me!

One of the many little alleyways

Although we were tired, we carried on to another village called Baynac on the river.  It’s just like Sarlat, only on a much smaller scale, and there is canoe hire on the river which is why we went.  But we found out you have to catch a bus which takes you to various points along the river then paddle back to the start, and the shortest one would have taken 2.5 hours, and as  it was already 4.30pm, we thought it would be a bit silly!

I had a great day.  Unfortunately the kids don’t share my love of all things old.  We went into the Roman Museum on Tuesday, and Amelia was asking ‘what was this in the olden days, and what was that used for in the olden days?’ and then asked ‘Where did we live in the olden days?’ to which I replied ‘we didn’t live in the olden days, we live now’ to which she sighed, slumped and dragged her feet and exclaimed ‘well why are we bothering to look at things from the olden days then!’ to which Maciek replied, a bit on the sarcastic side for my liking, ‘because it’s interesting.’

Cheese!!

Old things - BRILLIANT!

Happy 2nd Birthday NOAH!!

My first bike

nee naw nee naw nee naw!

On Tuesday in between small trips to nearby towns, including Brantome and Peregeux (the capital of this region) we managed to find a toy shop and bought Noah a little bike (no pedals, you can just run along and then lift up your feet!), a police car that turns into a fire truck by flipping over when it reaches a wall, and a shapes/colours/numbers puzzle (we snuck in a Rapunzel puzzle for Amelia too, all she talks about is Rapunzel).  We selected his presents then as I distracted the kids in another section of the store Maciek sneakily made the purchases, and even had them gift wrapped, which was a bonus as it meant I didn’t have to look around for sticky tape and wrapping paper!

Princess Funky Buns

He loves his new toys, and in the morning we went to the village bakery and bought some scrummy creamy cakes for the planned celebration, and tied some balloons to the tree outside.  The lady who owns the property (Alison) and her two sons joined us for a mini party of caramel popcorn, pretzels, Dora chocolate biscuits (hooray!) and jelly crocodiles, and of course the cakes and coffee! (chocolate filled profiteroles, eclairs and strawberry flans!)  We used a little sponge and custard cake in the shape of a pig for the two candles and all sang Happy Birthday to You!  He had a bit of trouble blowing the candles out as he’s only ever done it once before and of course we haven’t been practicing!

We saw these bikes a lot in Germany and Austria.  It teaches the kids to control the bike, balance and steer before worrying about pedaling.  As a result there were so many kids no older than 3 riding proper bikes with pedals, no problem.  Not a stabilizer in sight!

Just for laughs:  Amelia has three invisible friends – Rosetta, Maydee, and I Love You.  She also tells me that when she’s older and has her own kids she’s going to call them Rapunzel, Shine, Glitter and Santa (Santa is the boy).  LOL!!!!

Also, thanks to everyone for the birthday messages on facebook, skype and emails.  It helped make Noah’s day extra special! xx

Boating in Brantome