Update – Hong Kong

We arrived mid-afternoon on Monday and managed to train (with all the correct bags) and then taxi in two cabs to our apartment. It is tiny!! The whole place is smaller than our lounge at home, but it has two bedrooms and will comfortably sleep six of us.

We headed out for a little explore, the apartment is close to Cat St, the antiques market and a short walk along to the mid-levels escalator. We headed in that direction and ended up at a restaurant that I had been at with Christine and Gail – so we headed there for a lovely meal with a bottle of Gladstone SB to wash it down.

On Tuesday, we all slept quite late after a bit of a muddled night’s sleep. Once we were up and had had some breakfast, we headed back along towards the mid-levels and then kept walking along towards the Peak Tram terminus. We all enjoyed the Tram ride to the top – although I think Bridie was worried that it was the start of a roller-coaster and we were going to go down fast once we had got to the top. We had a look around the terminus and went up onto the top for a look at the smoggy view.  After that we managed a bit of a walk around the peak – there is a loop walk, we didn’t do all of it, but did the bit that was in the shade of the bush and then turned back when we hit the sun. The views from the walk were great and we had fun spotting creatures on the way – massive ants, loads of butterflies, a skink and a tiny snake.

We headed back down the tram and walked down the hill and caught a tram back to our end of town, spotted some good eating spots on our way back to the apartment and picked up some groceries for breakfast and lunch. We freshened ourselves up a bit and then headed back along Queens Rd to find a great hole-in-the-wall spot for a yummy Thai meal.

Wednesday 28^th, we walked to the nearest MTR station and trained out to Tung Chung to catch the cable car across to the Buddha on Lantau. There was a bit of a queue to get on the cable car, but it was a pretty amazing cable car/gondola ride, we stopped for our sarnies at the top and then walked up the 260 steps to the Buddha, which had a great view.

From there we caught the local bus down to Tai O, a fishing village on the coast. It was great, we had a nice walk through the village looking at the stilt houses all jumbled together, saw dried everything in the markets and loads of live fish, crays, eels, crabs all waiting for sale. The kids had a great time, all finished off with and ice cream before we caught another bus round to the Ferry terminal for the fast ferry back to Hong Kong.

We meandered our way back home, dodging a few showers and stopping for tea at a Vietnamese diner on the corner by our apartment, another great meal.

Thursday, we had a great day planned, bus out to Stanley Market, unfortunately when we (finally) woke up – we’re on our own time zone at the moment – the streets of Hong Kong were deserted. Quite un-nerving really, and a bit like a disaster movie. We headed for Central, but it became apparent that due to a level 8 typhoon warning, there was no public transport, all the markets and shops were shut – bar a few supermarkets, all government buildings were also closed.

We headed into the ifc mall and were in time to catch SpyKids in 4d. A good way to while away some time. Everything except the coffee shops in the Mall and the supermarket were shut. The kids learned how to window shop in Roberto Cavalli, Prada and Valentino. Once we were bored silly, we grabbed some snacks and headed back to the apartment for a DVD sesh. Yawn!! Around 4pm the warnings were downgraded, so we should be OK to fly out tomorrow, and maybe get out to Stanley in the morning for a few hours.

Update:  Disneyland!!!

We left Bordeaux bright and early Friday morning for our big drive north. We were away by 8:15 and all a bit sad to leave our lovely spot in the sunshine. The drive was epic, but went fairly smoothly until we got close to Paris and got a bit snarled up in traffic. We checked into the Davey Crockett Ranch at Disneyland just after 3pm, not bad going really, I think we covered around 600kms and had a couple of food and rest breaks.

We checked in and collected our park tickets and were also immediately sucked into forking our for the Mickey Mouse Wild West dinner show, we dumped our things in our little trailer and almost  ran for the park. There were still a couple of hours till closing and the park was relatively quiet.

We headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean (with an encounter with Goofy on the way) and all had a great time – even Bridie who was a bit worried while waiting in the queue. From there we wandered around a bit checking things out and went for a ride on the old-time carousel. The park was closing and it was time to head for the show – which was really great (if you got into the Disney spirit!) it was corny as hell, with everyone wearing cowboy hats, but they fed everyone a Texan BBQ meal while we watched the cowboys do rodeo tricks, texas longhorns, buffalo and loads of Disney characters do their thing in front of us. It was very well done, and Greer and Hannah were awestruck when the  cowboys came galloping out around the arena.

Day two – we had an early pass as we were staying at a Disney hotel, so we were up and at it and in the park by 8:30. Ash, Hannah and I were straight into Space mountain, then we all went on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I lose track after that, but we went all over the place and did loads. We liked the Tea cups, we left the long queue for Dumbo, we loved Space mountain (those of us over the height restriction) and we all loved the Rocky Mountain railroad (except Bridie who was terrified, but put on a very brave face).

We went out to the Disney Village for a lunch break and then checked out the Walt Disney Studio’s park. We didn’t stay long. It was full of rollercoasters, and was much more like Dreamworld or Universal. Not a bad thing, but not what we were there for, especially in the heat and with all the queues. We admitted defeat and headed back to the hotel for a fantastic swim in the enormous pool.

Fully refreshed we headed back to Disneyland for dinner at Pirates of the Caribbean and candy floss for pudding.

Sunday morning, we headed back to the park for repeats of Space Mountain, the mountain railroad, tea-cups and had heaps of fun in the Alice in Wonderland labyrinth. We lunched and really felt like we’d done everything when we headed for Charles de Gaulle to return our car and head for Heathrow.

All the travelling went smoothly, bloody immigration at Heathrow was mental again – nonsense considering our flight came in from the  EU, but I digress…we had plenty of time up our sleeves, so it was just a bore really. We had dinner in the airport and a nice swift flight to HK – arriving Monday afternoon about an hour ahead of schedule.

St Emillon

Another lovely day. We could easily slip into a nice groove for a fortnight's holiday here in Bordeaux. We had a leisurely morning and met Charline in St Emillon for an explore. It was a nice drive there, with loads of vines. The harvest is underway, so there are lots of vines still covered in masses of grapes, and some that have been picked, with heaps of cute wee tractors and mini-mechanical harvesters.

The kids all got a quest at the tourist office, with a trail to follow around the village. It was a great way to see the place and we wandered all up and down the streets, when we took their competed tasks back to the tourist office the prize was the key to the Belltower, we had our lunch at a park and then went up to see the amazing view. Such a beautiful town, vines, clay tiles and cobbled streets.

After lunch we visited a wine cave - an amazing medieval celler with a lot of old dusty bottles and barrels...and then we had a little degustation :) 

Then we said farewell to Charline, until dinnertime, and had a tour of St Emillon's cave, the catacombs and the Monolithic church - carved out of the limestone. We headed home after that, nice afternoon 25c and the kids all had a big swim. Charline and Pierre are heading our way for dinner again tonight and we head north again in the morning.

Lyn

Photo bonanza

Farewell dinner at Corrieri's

Farewell sugaring up by Auntie Barbara xx

Bridie is happy - the Eiffel Tower!!

Tired legs walking all over Paris

The Bells, the bells!

Sainte Chapelle - thumbs up all round

Footie in the Jardin du Luxembourg

Avert your eyes Raffie!! Bridie's friend Teddie. (I think B has a type...)

Our nightly light show

Chic in Montmarte

Boats in the Tuilleries

Bateau mouche

A crepe night out!

Statue at Versaille

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet (we want one)

Lunch in Seillac

Chenanceau

Chambord

Hounds at Cheverny

Cheverny (Marlinspike)

The Dune du Pilat - BIG!!

At the top with the lovely Charline

Our gite near Borbeaux - c'est tres beau

Rest day by the pool

More updates..

Phew, it's getting hard work keeping up to date, but we have internet again and a rest day planned for today by the pool, so will get sorted out...!

The 18th we decided to get a couple more Chateau's under our belts, so we headed for Chambord, which is truly beautiful. We decided though not to go inside and instead we hired a crazy pedal car that took all six of us, and went for a fantastic spin around the grounds with views of the Chateau and then a picnic lunch to finish. After Chambord we headed to Cheverny, Warren and I had been here before too, but we thought it was a good one for the kids as it was the model for Marlinspike Hall (Tintin) and has an amazing pack of english pointer/ French foxhounds that are kept in a big kennel for hunting. The Chateau itself was also pretty lovely and the kids all got a quiz to do on the way round, so that got their brains working.

On the Monday the 19th we had a a big drive day to get to our lovely spot near Bordeaux. the drive was pretty OK, the French toll motorways make driving big distances pretty painless. We got here about half two and the kids were in the pool within half an hour. We got stocked up on food and Charline and Pierre came for dinner. It was lovely to see Charline again and to meet Pierre. They are a great couple.

Yesterday was a biggie, we went into Bordeaux to pick Charline up, went to Pierre's clinic for a look see - he is a surgical specialist, so his practice has a CT and a radiotherapy unit crammed underneath a beautiful old building.

Then we headed for Arcachon for a climb on europe's largest sand dune - amazing!! It was very cool, we had a picnic lunch at the top and tried to fly a kite with mixed success. We headed down off the dune mid afternoon and had an ice cream and coffee stop before taking a boat tour of the Arcachon basin. Very lovely - we all caught the sun, saw the oyster farms and got a good view of the Dune from the seaward side.

We had rather a tortuous drive back with stops to buy Fruits de Mer and loads of Bordeaux traffic. The kids did really well as they didn't eat until after 8:30 and then got plonked in front of a DVD while we ate after. Needless to say, wednesday has been voted a day for lounging at the gite by the pool.

Lyn

Loire Update

15 September – 17 September.

No internet access at present so will do this and upload later.

15/9 Leaving Paris. We got our bond back. Phew. It was a short walk to the Europcar office on the other side of Gare de Monparnasse. We had sussed this out the day previous as it was not obvious. Drive on the RIGHT! Drive on the RIGHT! Drive on the RIGHT!

Navigated our way toward Versailles successfully. A short drive and parked at the entrance. After several reasonably efficient queues we were inside. Versailles is a wonderful palace, but there were a lot of other people appreciating it too. We braved the crowd through the interior and walked to the ponds and had our picnic. Re-energised we headed for the Hamlet. The kids did really well. We visited Le Petit Trianon and the Queens Hamlet. They enjoyed the Carp (swarming/ teaming) in the ponds, the goats, pigs, cattle, rabbits and chooks…

Exhausted we caught a bus/train to the Chateau and left. We drove to Seilliac on the Loire and were a little late. We have a nice place, plenty of rooms and beds, no linen however. Oh well. No food either so visited a local pizzeria.

16/9 A rest day. We are all quite tired with all of the travelling. Do some washing and head into town- Chaumont sur Loire is our local Chateau town. We drove through as there was not too much there and stopped in Amboise- a lovely town. Very nice pedestrianized streets and old town. Had breakfast in a patisserie- croissants, coffee, tea and apple juice and pain aux chocolate.

Lyn did a massive shop at our local Supermarche in Onzain and we whiled away the afternoon with an outdoor lunch and an evening BBQ. It was warm, sunny and the evening very comfortable.

17/9 Le Chateau. We drove to Chenanceau this morning and it was coincidentally a European national monument day (weekend) so kids were free- bonus. Toured through the interior without the obligatory self-guided headsets. These seem to really annoy Lyn. It is a lovely Chateau, my favourite. Looked through the gardens and had an ice cream to keep the kids going. The maze was a favourite though quite easy.  Had a picnic at the Chateau before heading into Tours. Found the central old town and had a look around. Stopped for a break as Ash was whinging about having a Crepe.  Bought some bread and explored the Halles an undercover market. Rabbit, Tiremes, rolled roasts, boneless duck, pate, tripe and tongue. Very interesting stuff.

We drove home had dinner and all went to bed early.

Warren

Last day in Paris

I'm not sure what our internet connection will be like in the Loire...probably nothing...so I'll update now while we have the chance.

Today was our last day in Paris. We metro'd up to Montmartre and wandered about there, had a look inside Sacre Cour (service in progress - brought The Sound of Music to mind...). Got FLEECED by sharks in the Place du terte, but Warren and the kids enjoyed it, I was spewing :)

Walked down the steps in front of Sacre Cour and found a fantastic carousel for the girls to go on.

Headed back to the Place de la concorde and walked through the Tuileries. The kids found a pond with a nice old man renting boats and we spent a good half hour or more there while they chased their boats around the fountain with sticks.

Walked along the Seine and got on the Bato-bus (boat) down to the Eiffel tower stop (emergency toilet stop for Bridie) which turned into a great wine/beer and ice cream stop. We bato-bused back up the Seine to the Ile de le Cite for an ogle at  the architectural detailing on the back end of Notre Dame, and a metro ride back to Montparnasse for an awesome feed of crepes, with a super waiter who gave the kids extra creme and Warren and me a french lesson.

Quote of the day from Ashlen : 'That was the best crepe I've ever had'

Churches and swingparks

We were all pretty tired after monday's efforts, so for today we tried to maximise Metro opportunities and keep it simple.

We metro'd up to the Ile de la Cite and walked around there a bit getting our bearings before we headed for Notre Dame. The kids were all suitably impressed by the grandeur and age of the place. It is amazing to think of how long it took to build, how long ago. We loved the stone carvings and the gargoyles.

From there we headed to join the slow moving queue into Sainte Chapelle. Suffice to say, the entrance system was a real sterotype of French beurocracy and a lack of care for the visitor!! Luckily, Sainte Chapelle is AMAZING and totally breathtaking. All the kids agreed that the painful queue was worth it to see the awesome stained glass and vaulted ceilings.

We wandered over to the left bank and ate our packed lunch by the Seine, next to the Pont Neuf. Then we meandered through the Latin Quarter (only interrupted by Ash stopping to wangle his father into buying him a Paris St Germaine football top)....we had planned to bus or train from here but it was a nice afternoon and we kept walking down through the Latin Quarter, past the Sorbonne and towards the Jardins du Luxembourg.

What a great park! We wandered through the beautiful grounds and past the pond, the kids kicked a ball around and then we meandered to the primo swing park. The kids got a good couple of hours of swinging on the flying fox with other naughty Aussies and Kiwi's who are missing school, and Bridie soon had a wee boy trailing after her - Ted - from the USA via London. Ted was keen for us all to go for Ice Creams and generally seemed to want to join our family :)

We did get some Ice creams, and crepes for Ash and Hannah,  and then continued our walk back through Montparnasse and home to the appartment, for a well deserved Burgundy.

Ash is quite keen on crepes and we did some research on monday night looking for the best crepes in Paris. Apparantly, Montparnasse is the home of the best crepes as all the Bretons got off the train here and set up shop. The best restaraunt (??) is called 'Josselin' and we walked past it on our way home, so are planning a wednesday night dinner there.....

Lyn

Eiffel tower

Today we went to the Eiffel Tower. We left for the tower at 11:00. When we got there we had lunch, for lunch we had sandwhiches. After lunch we went up to the 1st floor and looked at the view. You could see for miles and you could even see where we are staying. We didnt go up to the next floor because there was to many stairs for Bridie. After the Eiffle tower we walked down the river and saw a art exhibition. After that we walked up the otherside of the river and had a Crepe with lemon and sugar in it. Then we walked up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe then we got back on the metro and went home.

Ashlen

Wow ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo big .The Eiffel Tower is so old it is about 100 to 200 year's old. After that we went to the Arc De Triomphe that was cool to. I had a good day.
Hannah

Back to Sterling and Bridge of Allan.

Friday 9th September.
We had a breakfast at the hotel and then a walk on the beachfront before driving back to Glasgow via a moreland road to Dalry. It is a wet day.
A quieter day. Barbara and Susan have worn the kids out.
Cup of tea and caught up with their news and headed to Sterling for some shopping and lunch before back to David and Debbie's.

Some final washing and packing preparation before we took the Nicol clan to Corrieri's for dinner. A good note to finish on.

Saturday 10th.

Lyn David and I went for our last run, up to the reservoir above Bridge of Allan. The heavens opened for the whole run and we were soaked. the paths and roads were like torrents at times. Our shoes should keep NZ customs interested.
Debbie had prepared a decent breakfast, and we were full after that. She also had a decent lunch prepared so we had to steel ourselves for more. We all went for a walk into Bridge of Allan and the kids( incl. David) had ice creams.
After lunch we packed and said our goodbyes and headed to Glasgow to eat more food at Barbara's!

Quite relaxed.Graham and Catherine came after work and saw the kids.  Barbara had cooked a roast chicken which was good. Cath is a vegetarian and had these interesting vege rolls. Not really that nice!

Bed.

Sunday 11th.

Breakfasted, packed and said our goodbyes to Susan and Barbara and headed to the airport. Said goodbye to our trustee Vauxhall Zafira, what a car!
EasyJet to Paris. This was proving a little nerve wracking for Lyn. It all went smoothly but there was some concern about how we would get all of the baggage to the room. We seem to have amassed a whole third bag of clothing in the UK and are not travelling so lightly now. The bus to Montparnasse was obvious, most of the staff spoke some English at least as good as our french. The bus stopped right outside our apartment entrance. So in the end all worked out well.
Accommodation is reasonably pricey in Paris, we have a great room with a great view of the Eiffel Tower on the 7th floor but 4 nights comes to about 600 Euros. All very comfortable and modern.
We had a cuppa and everyone was a little peachy and in need of food so went for a walk and found a nice restaurant. Kids all tried escargot and loved it. Ash reckons that he will order "six escargot s' il vous plait" next time. They are all using words of french gleaned from our extensive vocabulary!
Back to the room and off to bed for the kids. Lyn and I had a few wines and watched a movie. The American. Quite good.

Warren

Susan and Barbara look after the kids!

Thursday 8 September.

After a run with David we head in to Giffnock and drop Ash, Hannah, Greer and Bridie with Susan and Barbara for a night/ party. Will report their experience tomorrow, suffice to say that Susan and Barbara do survive.

Lyn and I head into Glasgow for some shopping and lunch. It is very easy to do this without the kids around. Visited a few great shops and although we picked up a few items see that there is some great shopping choice in this city.

Once shopped out we took the coast road to Gourock to Largs. The Clyde and northern coast look pretty as its a nice day. Largs is a nice size town. The skyline has not changed. Nardinis is still there and open. We park and check in to  the Brisbane Hotel.  It is comfortable and well appointed and our room has a sea view. After a walk around town we stop for a drink at a bar before dinner at the hotel. There was a wedding at the hotel with some interesting types present.

Warren

Bannock Burn and Wallace Monument.

Wednesday 7 September.

Keeping up the pace of our Scottish leg of the trip we visited 2 historic sites today.
Bannock Burn Heritage Centre and Monument to the battle of 1314, and great victory for the Scots against the English was great. The centre had a very informative display and there was an actor in costume who took the kids through dressing for battle. The Chain mail and helmets were very heavy and they had a great time trying on all of the armour. He also told the story of the spider in the cave where Robert the Bruce became resolved to the task of ridding Scotland of the English. He also took the kids through the use of various medieval weapons- Morning Star mace, Claymore, Battle Axe and Hammer and Sword. Pretty gross stuff.

We had a bite to eat at the Wallace Monument and then caught the bus to the top, Bridie would have struggled with the climb. Lyn freaked out with the spiral and confined stairs of the monument so she and Bridie sat it out. The rest went to the top. There was a magnificent view of the Forth river and lowlands and the start of the highlands to the north. It was windy up there. Descending the stairs made you dizzy.

We relaxed at home before Lila and Bob came over for dinner. It was great to see them again and they are as lively as usual. Bob had a load of genealogy material to show us and Lyn now has one or 2 more generations on the family tree.

Video....

Photo update

Queens at Stirling Castle

Learning how the other half live on the Britannia

Afternoon tea on the Britannia

Doune Castle

Ready for Hampden

Got to fuel up first though!

Under the giant saltire

Riverside Museum - new Transport Museum

Ashlen the Bruce

Hannah Douglas and Ashlen the Bruce

Think there's a photo of me and Gail in the same spot 30yrs ago!!!