This morning we waved goodbye as we headed to the Bangor train station in Northern Wales. We were sad to say goodbye to Elsie who took us in and treated us as her own kids... and grandkids. xoxo
We arrived this afternoon in Liverpool and have toured the famous street where the Beatles lived and played... Jim had a beer at the Cavern this afternoon while the kids and I uploaded photos!
We are booked on a 3-hour guided Beatles tour tomorrow morning and will see where they played, lived, and recorded, as well as visit the museum filled with Beatles stuff! Liverpool is very punk... it seems everyone has pink hair and there is Beatles music pouring out of every bar and restaurant... and there are many!
We return to London tomorrow for our last few days... we are tired and ready to come home. The kids are ready to see their friends, and really miss their own beds! Such an amazing trip and now we will cherish the memories for many years to come. We have been together 24/7 for nearly 9 weeks and I must say that all in all we've only wanted to strangle our children a few times!!! The kids have learned so much and Jim and I are a good travelling pair! When he forgets the train tickets, I remember them (yes, I redeamed myself the other day for the tickets I dropped under the train!) and when I turn left, he goes right and leads us to where we need to go!
Chances are slim that we will get a chance to blog again, so we are signing off until we are home...
xoxo lorill
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Gas Works!
This is the house that Pops lived in as a boy... and the window on the top left was the window he snuck out of to go to town at night when all was quiet!
Our dear Elsie
Photo op in Elsie's lovely garden on our 15th wedding anniversary! She is doing well and cracked us up every minute! I told her I make yorkshire pudding from scratch and she said she buys them from scratch! She dropped one-liners the whole time we were there, and cooked us lovely meal after lovely meal... it was a wonderful visit. We love you Elsie!
Hampton Court
We have been welcomed into Bill and Loretta's lovely home and they are really spoiling us rotten... it has been so nice to visit with them and they say Parker looks little different from when we were here 12 years ago!
Stonehenge was a sight to see!
It remains a mystery today as to the reason why these stones wheighing 55 tonnes were hauled from Wales to this site... quite awe inspiring!
Keona in Paris
We had a beautiful walk along the river our last night in Paris... watching the sun go down and the Eiffel Tower light up... beyond imagining!
Notre Dame
We rode the River boat up the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame... the Hunchback was on holidays but we enjoyed it all the same!
Eiffel Tower
Wow! This monument is so much more impressive in person! We couldn't stop saying wow! The line up to go up was an event in itself... watching the entertainers work the crowd and make us all laugh...
We walked up to the second flight of stairs and then took the elevator to the top... Veronique bowed out on the first level and we had to practically drag Jim! He came with us, white knuckled and holding onto Keona for dear life!, to the top... double wow! That is one view of the city... I'm sure on a clear day one can see the Mediterranean!
We walked up to the second flight of stairs and then took the elevator to the top... Veronique bowed out on the first level and we had to practically drag Jim! He came with us, white knuckled and holding onto Keona for dear life!, to the top... double wow! That is one view of the city... I'm sure on a clear day one can see the Mediterranean!
Bonjour Veronique!
Veronique met us at the hotel Saturday morning and it was so nice to see her again. She is very brave and took us in her car on our own guarded tour of the city. Our first stop was the Arc de Triumph and we marvelled at it's beauty. We walked all through the monument and the kids were truly captivated by the history...
Palace of Versaille
The Vinings with our eyes closed! We made our way on the trains to Versaille and were wowed with the wealth that inspired the French Revolution... the gold and gardens were incredible... the glamour of it all was impressive...
St Denis... Paris
We loved Paris... what a wonderful city! The night clerk at our hotel was fantastic... Jacques. He suggested we spend our first day at the Basilica de St. Denis where most of the Kings and Queens of France are buried. Tomb upon tomb, including Marie Antoinette! The church was so different from the ones we had seen so far...taller with beautiful stained glass.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Parker in Europe!
Hello F&F! (Friends and family),
We are checking in from London... love this city! We had a beautiful time in Paris and the surrounding area. The Palace of Versaille was a great adventure... learning about how the French royalty lived and how all the riches of the wealthy sparked the French Revolution. We also saw where all those Kings and Queens were buried in the basilica of St. Denis... tomb upon tomb of deceased Royalty... including Marie Antoinette! We told the kids they need to behave or they too might have their heads cut off!!
Veronique was a wonderful hostess and it was so good to see our friend who stayed with us a few years ago when she brought her students to Carihi. She showed us all the sights including the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower where we hiked to the second stage and then took the elevator to the top (yikes!), toured up the river Seine to Notre Dame, then returned to a restaurant for dinner. She dropped us at our campsite in Bois de Boulogne about 10 minutes from the Eiffel Tower! It was hard to believe we were camping in Paris! We spent our last day in France on an adventure to Chartres where we introduced the kids to their first mass!!! Nothing like seeing it for the first time in Chartres Cathedral in France!
Our trip under the chunnel went without a hitch and we arrived on Monday at Bill and Loretta's at about noon. We lazed arond Monday afternoon and dined in a lovely restaurant that evening where Parker had roast beef and yorkshire pudding the size of Montreal! He said the yorkshires were almost as good as mine!!!
Tuesday we visited Stonehenge and the surrounding countryside... it was impressive and almost overwhelming to think we were standing in the middle of such history. Yesterday was a tour of London via the parks... Changing of the guards at Buckinghoam Palace via St. James Park, then through Canada Gate to Hyde Park where we dined at the Lido for lunch which is next to Diana's memorial fountain. We spent an hour with our feet in the fountain water thinking of Lady Diana, then walked through Kensinton Gardens to the Peter Pan statue and finally Kensington Palace. It was quite a day to say the least!
Today the kids and I went up the London Eye (google it!) while Jim visited with his friend Bob from Victoria. We are right now typing this from Canada place in Trafalgar square, but can't download our photos so the pics will have to wait! We are off for dinner at Mr. Woo's (best Chinese food in London!) and then to the Palladium to see Sister Act!
We are off to Wales on Sunday and will check in when the opportunity arises!
Love to all...
xoxo lorill
We are checking in from London... love this city! We had a beautiful time in Paris and the surrounding area. The Palace of Versaille was a great adventure... learning about how the French royalty lived and how all the riches of the wealthy sparked the French Revolution. We also saw where all those Kings and Queens were buried in the basilica of St. Denis... tomb upon tomb of deceased Royalty... including Marie Antoinette! We told the kids they need to behave or they too might have their heads cut off!!
Veronique was a wonderful hostess and it was so good to see our friend who stayed with us a few years ago when she brought her students to Carihi. She showed us all the sights including the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower where we hiked to the second stage and then took the elevator to the top (yikes!), toured up the river Seine to Notre Dame, then returned to a restaurant for dinner. She dropped us at our campsite in Bois de Boulogne about 10 minutes from the Eiffel Tower! It was hard to believe we were camping in Paris! We spent our last day in France on an adventure to Chartres where we introduced the kids to their first mass!!! Nothing like seeing it for the first time in Chartres Cathedral in France!
Our trip under the chunnel went without a hitch and we arrived on Monday at Bill and Loretta's at about noon. We lazed arond Monday afternoon and dined in a lovely restaurant that evening where Parker had roast beef and yorkshire pudding the size of Montreal! He said the yorkshires were almost as good as mine!!!
Tuesday we visited Stonehenge and the surrounding countryside... it was impressive and almost overwhelming to think we were standing in the middle of such history. Yesterday was a tour of London via the parks... Changing of the guards at Buckinghoam Palace via St. James Park, then through Canada Gate to Hyde Park where we dined at the Lido for lunch which is next to Diana's memorial fountain. We spent an hour with our feet in the fountain water thinking of Lady Diana, then walked through Kensinton Gardens to the Peter Pan statue and finally Kensington Palace. It was quite a day to say the least!
Today the kids and I went up the London Eye (google it!) while Jim visited with his friend Bob from Victoria. We are right now typing this from Canada place in Trafalgar square, but can't download our photos so the pics will have to wait! We are off for dinner at Mr. Woo's (best Chinese food in London!) and then to the Palladium to see Sister Act!
We are off to Wales on Sunday and will check in when the opportunity arises!
Love to all...
xoxo lorill
Friday, May 15, 2009
Parker blogging in Paris!
Our trip on the TGV up through France to Paris was beautiful. We have figured out the metro and spent yesterday exploring the basilica of Saint Denis where all the Kings and Queens are buried, as well as the Palace of Versaille where they lived before they died! Oh the grandeur! Easy to see why there was a revolution... kids really enjoyed seeing the history there. Last night we were terrible parents and went to a jazz cafe... sans enfants! They were blogging at the hotel and the desk fellow, Jacques, told us he'd watch them for us... so we broke away for a few hours. The misic was good and it was to be out together! Today Veronique is going to be our tour guide and show us around her city... we check out in a few minutes and have two nights in the campgound in Bois de Boulogne... close to the Eiffel Tower! Then off to London on Monday morning and will try to check in from there.
Keith and Lu... a few travel tips as requested... eat gelatto every day in Italy... see the Leaning tower of Pisa as it was very charming... the little towns on the coast of Italy from the train north of Pisa looked amazing but we did not stop... Porquerolles;an island in the south of France is beautiful... Presqu'il de Giens campground was nice (mobil homes)good beaches, good wine, good cheeze and lots of... refer to the beaches. Arles is a really neat place, a taste of provence with beautiful fabrics Lu! Have a great trip you guys...
Love to all back home... au revoir for now!
xoxo lorill and family!
Keith and Lu... a few travel tips as requested... eat gelatto every day in Italy... see the Leaning tower of Pisa as it was very charming... the little towns on the coast of Italy from the train north of Pisa looked amazing but we did not stop... Porquerolles;an island in the south of France is beautiful... Presqu'il de Giens campground was nice (mobil homes)good beaches, good wine, good cheeze and lots of... refer to the beaches. Arles is a really neat place, a taste of provence with beautiful fabrics Lu! Have a great trip you guys...
Love to all back home... au revoir for now!
xoxo lorill and family!
Camping in Arles... or not!
So, a little travel advice! When one calls a company in England and asks for a campground near Arles... be a little more specific! We left Giens on the 8AM bus to the train station in Hyeres. We took the train to Toulon where we needed to switch trains for our journey to Arles via Marseille. We arrived in Arles qt about 2 oclock and asked someone for the campground La Mas in Couronne Martigue... we began to wonder, when we received a funny look! We were instructed to get a train ticket to Miramas and then another to Couronne... so after three hours waiting for the connection we were off again to find our campsite! The train eventually stopped in a little town near the sea. You know there isnt ,uch there when the train station consists of a sign... and nothing else! We walked down to a pizza place (please, no more pizza!) and the girl said it was about 5 km down the road! Jim was lovin' this place already! A very nice lady from Lyon who was camping just down the road took pity on us (easy to do if you could have seen us by now!) and called her friend with a car who came and loaded our bags and us in and we started off to find the place. After a bit of a search we began to wonder if the place really existed! We eventually found it and had pizza! Ugh! The campground wasn't much to report about, but the kids loved the pool... and the beach was nice too. We rented a car for the last two days and explored Arles and a castle in Les Beaux. It all worked out and we were able to return the car at the train station s we didn't have to walk. The beeping Aliens is another story!!!
Porquerolle... one of our must sees!
This island was incredible.... we rented bikes and explored it with wheels! Ji, is pointing at the bay where we had just had a picnic lunch and swam. The water was a little chilly... similar to our summer water back home... about 17 degress C.
Crazy cactuses!
On our walk home from Porquerolle we passed these huge cactuses and stopped to admire them. They were everywhere in Italy and the French Riviera...
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