Coming home

As we await the arrival of a cab to take us to Heathrow for our 1305 departure to Melbourne via Dubai,I think of the 5 days spent in London. Our Accomadation at Studio2let was of no consideration for normal size people, the bathroom was 6 feet long X 3 feet wide.In this tiny space they had a shower hand basin and a dunny ,l don't recommend this type living for my worst enemy . I leave this shoebox never to return and advise anyone who cares to listen if you are a member of the gnome family this will suit your needs. That is the only negative thing that I have say regarding the last 5 weeks of this touring adventure to ,Italy..... England.... Ireland and Scotland have given me great joy as we traveled to some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever encountered .Vince the cabbie arrives so we load up and join the procession to Heathrow and for the 80quid fare he gives us a running commentary, what a great cabbie yes Vince you done yourself proud and the pleasure was all ours .......WADDA

My last day in London...ALONE

Wadda will be spending his last day in this beautiful city of London alone doing his own thing which means no shopping. With a beautiful day forecast I've decided to cruise the river Thames all the way to Greenwich and then on to Londons flood barriers. 13 quid later we leave the Westminster dock bound for places never visited by WADDA before, as the crew points out points of interest along the way I cool my jets on the mighty Thames river. With no shopping or crowds to worry about this is heaven, my time is spent just at peace with the world. Arriving back in Greenwich I head for dry land to sus out GMT headquarters and the meridian line, but to my dismay the place is totally over run by types I care not to mention. With a 1.30hr wait to straddle the meridian line I head back to the boat ramp a bit disappointed ,as I've often said before shit happens. My time in this beautiful part of London is almost over as my boat comes in I glance skyward to the vapour trails, this time tomorrow one will have Waddas name on it. As my wanderings wind down I am looking forward to returning to my own country with fewer people and certainly a lot less cars and buses. By now Wadda is a little bit smarter so he hops off at London bridge to catch the tube home, but I spot a bus going my way how cool is this. After 1.30hrs sitting inside a red double decker bus with a noise sounding like air conditioning but wasn't , I arrived not to far from home totally knackered. The lesson learnt don't take the bus on Friday afternoon. I think it is cider time I'll be back, the others arrive back from the Tower of London and it's out for our last supper and a few drinks before an early night. I'll be back on Monday to tidy up the final blog . So good bye for now........WADDA

Going to Betty's Palace and some.

The decision has been made to go to Buckingham palace today but on the way some will ride the London Eye, also visit No 10 Downing Street . With the changing of the guards also taking place we take advantage of this spectacle as well, with thousands attending this Royal event security is very high. Where soon isolated from our wives in these massive crowds, they go on to view Betty's house while we head to Winnie's War rooms. Sparks goes to the war rooms while I park me bum in the park watching people ,squirrels and anything else that moves. The temperature is in the low 30s so there is plenty to occupy my mind, what a way to spend an afternoon. My peace is soon shattered with the return of our better halves and it begins to rain, we catch the tube to Mayfair for retail therapy. we walk the streets wondering just where do all these people come from. While strolling down New Bond street which I may add is the richest street in all of Europe. We spot the top of the range Bugatti worth a cool 1.5 mill parked in the street then go into a gun shop a check out a shotgun valued at jaw dropping 500.000 Aussie dollars. With everyone starting to slow down and the very warm weather we catch a cab to Barbican for a Turkish dinner, this is our last meal together as we begin to fly home on Saturday . As we ready ourselves for the long flight home ,today will be our last day chasing our dream in this fabulous country..............WADDA

A day at Kew gardens or was it Heathrow

Today we plan to meet some of the family who are left over from the wedding at the Kew gardens, this quite location should be a good place to relax. Oh how wrong was i as the main approach to Heathrow airport was right over the gardens, and every 70 sec a plane was landing, in the 5 hrs that I spent there at least a couple of hundred landings took place. The quiet day in the park was a disaster so my theory now is seen one park seen em all, would not waste my money on such a noisey place. With the temperature around 30c the people are feeling the pressure of this mini heat wave and we head to the pub, and a sweating heaving mass of locals have the same idea, This non air conditioned pub was just a hot and noisey oppressive pit of misery, out side the clouds are building. When it's time to go it's plssin rain can you believe it ,as I haul my bedraggled body back to the shoebox I start to question my theory on livin the dream. The minor slump in my enthusiasm is over and the best is yet to come, we will hit the tourist trail later today.........WADDA

A day in London

Today it is expected to be hot in good old London Town so we plan a trip to the British Museum, but as usual I'm up early gotta get some breakfast goodies and check out the squirrels in the park over the road. With the cramped living conditions my freedom with the little critters gives me a chance renew my vows with nature , with food limitations placed on me i begin my day on a near empty stomach. No large English breakfast today hopefully later in the week, coffee and toast is the best I manage. With museum about a10 min walk away we stroll through the lovely parks reaching our destination the same time as thousands of others, doesn't anyone work over here obviously not. 3 hrs later we head for the shops. Wadda needs to rehydrate a refreshing cider sounds like a good idea, the small hotel just around the corner called the Resting Hare sounds even better. After many hours of cider sipping we head home to the cosy and cramped garden shed , the cider gods have sent me to bed a happy man . Hoo roo............WADDA

Studio2Let

Our trip from Edinburgh to London took some 4.30hrs on a Virgin train traveling at about 125mph not bad for the poms I suppose. Our hotel for the next 5 days is called Studio2Let in the Camden district of London, the check in went fine and 3 flights of stairs later we arrived. Well for the first 10minutes it was heaven then we were politely told there was a mistake. Not even time to park my bum on the bed and we are on the move, more stairs but this time we are going down. Our penthouse has shrunk to about a shoebox size but we do have a roof over our head , next task is to shoe horn our stuff into this garden shed size room. Haven't tried the dunny yet but I think is a stand on the seat job no room for a long legged person to linger, maybe I'll join the squirrel club in the nearby park. Miss Denny's health has improved so we will continue to gad about this great city. In a bar we come across an American English professor ,he drinks gin we drink beer what a combination. Our time spent in the sidewalk bar was well worth the price of a drink , we didn't quite solve the problems of the world but his company was just great. Today was 29c tomorrow 31 hope I don't perish in these heatwave conditions, catch ya later.............WADDA

Edinburgh then to London

We arrived into Edinburgh on Saturday morning found our lodgings dumped the hire car and set about exploring the fringe festival. Rain is falling but no enough to deter this group of hearty travellers, Edinburgh is bursting at the seams with festival goers just like us. The good wife is coming down with some sort of illness, she looks like s..t so we head home we will tackle it again tomorrow. With the wife secured in the bedroom we head out for a pint or two and maybe something to eat, with our bellies full of pizzas and cider we head home to check on the patient. To our Suprise she's still alive so we will take her out again tomorrow. Awaken next morning to a cracking day no rain plenty of sun shine and the patient feeling a lot better. First up we tour the Royal Yacht Britannia which is now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh harbour. Dear old Betty lived the high life whilst travelling the high seas along with all the other royals. As we walk the Royal Mile to Edinburgh castle the crowds are just bursting the seams of this beautiful place, the street entertainment is drawing huge crowds which are continually blocking the road. Along with thousands of others we trek through the castle then we begin to amble towards home with the light fading and by now very tired legs . We again dine on pizzas and cider before retiring for our last night in Scotland, the pleasure has been all mine to travel around the countryside and stayin some great places. Last but not least the people of Scotland were  just so good to us Aussies both on the roads and in our everyday dealings with them.........WADDA.    Next stop London

A trip to St Andrews

Today were planning to go to St Andrews to visit the golf course that made many a golfer famous, this is a links course that runs right beside the windswept ocean . We again take the B roads to see more of this beautiful part of Scotland, and we are not disappointed drivlng  through the rich farmlands of golden crops. Arriving ar St Andrews the wind coming off the ocean is strong and very cool , of the people who have turned up for a hit some are ok and some wasting their money. At about 180 bucks a round I'm sure I'd be wasting mine ,many hours spent shopping now it's on to the botanical gardens. With the rain starting to fall we head back to Dunblane via the coast stopping at a small town called Anstruther right on the waters edge for some beautiful hot fish& chips . Today we are heading to Edinburgh for our last 2 days in Scotland so bye for now...........WADDA

What's been happening

Yesterday we left Witherslack to make our way to Dunblane in Scotland, our first stop was at Hadrians Wall. On the A6 it's full speed ahead and this little Ford diesel can really motor, a quick lesson in how the wall was built and we head to the Roman ruins. Very interesting if you have the time to take it all in, we take to the hedge roads again an head to the Scottish boarder. With some confusion in the car we become misplaced somewhere in the north of England, as I said were not lost we are just looking around. My expert navigator Sparks and Tom Tom eventually get us back on the road to Scotland, after about 100mile detour via Jedburgh. The Hilton in Dunblane was a welcome sight as the light faded , more food and more cider and it's lights out. After a big breakfast we hit the road to Killin up in the loch country to chase down some family history, the burial grounds for the Macnab clan is on a small island. The oldest grave marker is dated 1776 and there are 9 chieftains buried at this site ,we move on to Kenmore further up the loch for lunch another very pretty site. Nothing more to say so see ya later........WADDA

The Lakes District

Today we are going to explore the beautiful lakes around Windermere, but we spot a sign pointing to Levan Castle and gardens. The girls win the first battle of the day so it's castle gazing first up, it's ok if you like castles but my motto is seen one seen em all. We eventually head to the beautiful lakes district but the non working holidaying poms have taken over this beautiful place, our plans are soon devoured by cars and people . What a bummer with our well laid plans in disarray we head further north to Ambleside which is still busy but not as bad. With the rest of the day spent just cruising these tight narrow roads we arrive at a place called Coniston ,on the lake here is where Donald Campbell was killed in 1967 trying to set a new water speed record . All these towns and villages are so so pretty you never tire of there beauty, the weather has been mainly fine so still in shorts and thongs. Today we head to Dunblane in Scotland for 3 days so see ya then.........WADDA

England bound

Hi here we are on the Irish Sea between England and Ireland conditions are mill pond calm ,or as the Aussies would say flat as a shit carters hat. With not a cloud in the sky and no wind this is sailing heaven, I've discovered the big Irish Breakky on board so i better not miss out. As the English coast line appears we ready ourselves to ditch the slow pace of sailing and tackle the motorway to Witherslack some 180 miles to the north wish  us luck. As we travel further north the Welsh countryside is still amazing, with the motorway hugging the coastline it truly is special . The Ford Galaxy is fairly humming on these fabulous English roads and at 80 mph the locals are still flashing past, pretty soon we cruise into Witherslack. This one pub one store town called Witherslack looks like it might be a nice little spot to recharge our batteries for a couple of days. After a few ciders and a lovely dinner I call it quits for the day........WADDA

Leaving a beautiful country

Yesterday we left Ennis and headed to Dublin to spend the last day with some other family members who have been wandering this beautiful country. Another night of Irish music and cider leave us knackered so we retire, tomorrow we leave the land leprechauns and head England to continue our adventure. Up at sparrow fart to catch the ferry no big Irish Breakky today..".yet ..as we leave the shores of Ireland i will try to track down some food hoo roo for now........WADDA

Killarney to Ennis and the cliffs of Moher

Another beautiful day in Ireland as we begin the next leg of this fantastic journey through this beautiful country . The cliffs of Moher have been on my must visit wish list for quite some time and now is the time, we push north west for a couple of hours on up to County Clare to where these cliffs are situated. To our Suprise many thousands of other people had the same idea this is renta crowd at it's best, on arrival at the entrance there is a sorry car park full sign to greet us . With 12000 miles behind us we are not missing out on this famous Irish attraction , an hour or so later we manage to make our way into the car park. Wow what a sight this rugged section of coastline did not disappoint us, along with the thousands of other we looked out over the Cliffs of Moher with sheer amazement. Our journey to the cliffs complete we head back to the town of Ennis some 40ks away , I start to wind up my day with a few quite ciders and as evening falls my lights start to dim. Due to poor internet service I am posting this blog much later, actually it's 630am on Sunday morning and Wadda is not quite at full speed yet, so I'll say goodbye.........WADDA

The Ring of Kerry and return ops also Dingle

Our day today is pretty full on so its up early for the big Irish Breakfast and on the road by 8.30 ,for our journey around the Ring of Kerry. This world renowned tourist destination can be a nightmare to drive because of all the buses making the same trip. With our on time departure on time we begin this epic journey, alas all is not ok Miss Denny asks what time will we be in Dingle. As team leader i inform her that Dingle is not on our itinerary today maybe next time, i stand firm for maybe 10sec before relenting . The drive to Dingle and back to Tralee was just awesome this is a very beautiful part of Ireland, with that problem solved we tackle the Ring of Kerry. This stunning coastal route is more than we ever thought possible , with very narrow roads a tight bends the challenge is ours. In places the road is very steep as it climbs along the coast. You have to see Ireland for yourself just to believe how beautiful it is,we also visited  Muckross castle on the way home. Killarney is a very busy place at this time of year all the tourists are chasing the same beauty we discovered on our journey today .Tomorrow we head for Ennis and the cliffs of Mohar.....goodnight WADDA

Dublin to Midleton and Killarney

Yesterday we left Dublin in our hire car and headed south to Kildare to visit the Irish national horse stud ,it's pissin rain looking very dull as we head off down the motorway. As we arrive at the fun farm for stallions the rain stops and the weather clears, so we are ready to tour the fun farm . When the tour finishes we check out the gardens , no more to see so we hit the road again with no route planned to get to Midleton. Some 200 odd ks to the south lies our next stop over so we head off on the non motorway version of touring, while we travel through the back country of this lovely country to places we haven't even heard of it's just beautiful. Our arrival in Midleton some 4 hrs later to find the only 2 single rooms booked, good on ya Bookings .Com , the very helpful staff soon fix the problem. After more cider WADDA needs a early night because tomorrow its off to Blarney, first chore of the new day is attend to the washing. Blarney here we come so you better scrub the most slagged on rock  in the world cos we want to kiss this mythical peace of rock ourselves, I'll say it again this country is just so beautiful as we make our way to Blarney Castle ,people power drive this hocus pocus myth and I'm just lovin it. Wadda takes his turn at kissing this slimy old rock and loved every minute of this experience, we continue on toward Kilarnery sticking to the back roads. The weather today is just nice about 23 c this is what they call an Irish summers day, Kilarney might look like a dot on our map but let me tell you it's a busy busy place but beautiful. Tomorrow it's the Ring Of Kerry some 180 ks taking approximately 6 to 8 hrs should be spectacular, see ya then.........WADDA

Buggered

No blog today.......WADDA

A day in Dublin

With a big day planned for our day in this lovely city we hit the streets early, but first we need a big Irish breakfast. We find a cosy cafe and proceed with our mission, job done and we move on to the circle the city on a bus trip. Bottom deck full so we go topside into the cool Irish air this turns out to be a poor decision, it's freezing as Fangio the bus driver puts the bus through its paces. We bailed off and  find a coffee shop this is much more to our liking, and couldn't resist the beautiful cream cakes. While walking off a few calories we came across the Arlington hotel down by the river Liffy ,and they host Irish music dancing and food . We booked in for the evening session starting at 1830 should be ok, a visit to the Dublin castle is next on the to do list ,a couple of hours learning some of Ireland's history we make tracks for Leo Burdocks the famous fish shop. This world famous shop opened for business in 1913 and had every famous person through its doors,now it's had WADDA. Poor old Leo didn't recognise me so not to make a fuss I said nothing. Moving on to my next important place to visit i arrive at the Hairy Lemon pub to do a cider test, this is one of the places the cabbie warned me about on my arrival in this lovely city. I held my nerve as they knew I was an Aussie, if you ever go across the seas to Ireland visit Leo Burdocks fish&chip shop and the Hairy Lemon pub . Just home from a great night out at the Arlington hotel where we saw Irish singing & dancing also checked out their cider supply, met some very nice people from Israel they loved the Aussie. I'm out of here.....WADDA

Holyhead to Dublin

We have parked our wheels for a short time and head to Ireland via  a 3hr ferry ride ,this service is very smooth and pretty fast . As I sit hear waiting for this journey to end I think of the next part of this great overseas experience. Whilst checking out the boat I come across a Danish women and her young child playing a harp and singing Danish folk songs, breathtakingly unbelievable and also fantastic. About 1hr out of Dublin I am getting a bit toey to see some land, my time on the high seas is nearly over . Our arrival was an eye opener the moment we started to disembark because all people on level 7 had to proceed to level 5 now that you have reached level 5 please return to level 7 welcome  to Ireland .
Grab a cab and head to our hotel, the cabbie was great source of information about wandering around at night and with whom to socialise with, with his advice duly noted we bid him farewell. We wander the streets for a few hours of therapy shopping, tomorrow will be an all new experience in the Irish way of life. As evening settles it's out for dinner and sip some cider ,at 930pm the sun has just set and so has mine .............WADDA

Down Inn to Holyhead

Today's journey to Holyhead is around 180 ks and should take about 2.30hr if you follow the Tom Tom , we have no intentions of listening to a machine all day long we are going to wing it. As we trundle out of England and enter North Wales I begin to feel something special is about to happen,as the country side changes our arrival into the beautiful but brutal rugged Snowdonia national park . To my Welsh mate back in Melbourne why didn't you tell me how beautiful your country is,the Snowdonia region has just staggered me. We move on to Port Merion, just unbelievable,how glad I am that I discovered these beautiful places that are now etched deeply into my brain ...I will never forget the beauty.Our time in Holyhead will be short as we sail to the Emerald Isle tomorrow, I'll try the photo attachment plan again I might get lucky who knows.........WADDA

Down Inn to Telford & Ironbridge and return

Another big breakfast and a car full of dirty washing the 4 happy travelers set sail to do the washing, in some far away place called Telford. Aussie Al on my English Tom Tom steered us right to the front door of the laundromat in the back streets of town . This place is the wrong side of the tracks for my liking,with no other option we unload and the work begins to clear this backlog of dirty clothes. With the fear of losing body parts in this part of town the washing is done in record time, we hit the road and don't look back. Our arrival into Ironbridge is just oh ar and the odd o my god, i ask myself why the Poms have all this pretty country side . The scenery here is stunning and the river Severn just seems to be so peaceful,with Ironbridge being 300 odd years old it sure has some history . As we wander aimlessly around this very old town l smile inwardly to myself and say yeah this will do until tomorrow . On the way back to the Down Inn we arrived at Bridgnorth another beautiful spot on the river Severn to check out the cliff railway,after a short journey up and down the cliff face we head home. Tonight as we eat turkey from the carvery and drink cider I think only 2 more sleeps till we arrive in the land of the leprechauns, gotta go..........WADDA

Chipping Camden to Bridgnorth

We leave this lovely little village in the Cotswolds and head to Stratford upon Avon to visit the house of Billy Shakespeare ,the somewhat famous poet . The first thing to greet us was the huge numbers of people who obviously had the same idea as us ,this place is full on. Thousands of people are milling all round the truly amazing place,we push through the crowds to Billy's birth place. The house is a credit to those who care for it with wonky floors and crooked doorways it's still ok, outside hundreds of people await their turn to view this 500 year old house. When Billy passed away they dug a hole in the church floor and popped him in as well as the rest of his family, 3 quid later we visit his last resting place. After 4hrs of walking the streets of this lovely city it's time to head to our next location, as this holiday moves toward its 3rd week England is still full of surprises. We move on to Bridgnorth for the next couple of days to visit places like Telford,, Ironbridge and any other place that catches our eye. On arrival at our next place of rest at the lovely Down Inn just outside Bridgnorth with its old country style living and warm hospitality I'm sure our stay will be great. I'm out of here so see ya............WADDA

Yeovil to Chipping Camden

Today we are leaving behind the beautiful south west of England and head to the Cotswolds, this day will take in some great places including Bath ,Burton on the Water and Stow on the Wold. As we head to Bath the rain is pissin down , while I drive these very narrow and congested roads I remind myself that it will be all worth the effort. Beautiful Bath has lost none of its charm since my last visit as I ride the big red bus one more time, time is up we must press on. To my fellow travelers who at times think i may  be lost I just say no l am just looking around, works most of the time. Two more places of interest to show my fellow travelers, and it's off to Chipping Camden . We have discovered another little gem just full of more antique shops than you can poke a stick at yes Chipping Camden. Another English treasure what a beautiful little town and pretty country side , as we walk the streets of this historic town checking house prices the dream soon ends. Cider has become my drink over here some good some not so good, I can smell  breakfast so gotta go.........WADDA

A day at the seaside

With a big English breakfast tucked under my belt I'm ready to hit the road for a solid day of touring. With my girth expanding larger everyday I might have to lay off the big belly food for a day or two ,driving through this beautiful Dorset country side and passing through many postcard villages it's just mind boggling. Our first stop is Bridport ,just so beautiful and the street market in full swing with antique shops a plenty ,we continue on to places like Swyre  ,Abbotsbury and continued on to Portland Bills lighthouse. We participated in a high tea in in Abbotsbury very nice but not WADDAS idea of fun,this country inn is calling my name so see ya.........WADDA

Gatwick to Yeovil

With our first full day in the UK is about to begin were up early for the big English breakfast, to begin our next adventure into the English country side we need to pick up our hire car. Grab a set of wheels from Gatwick airport and head off in flogging rain towards the M23 and it's a nightmare. After many many twists and turns we hit A303 and push toward the southwest looking for Yeovil ,a quick visit to the hawk conservatory and we push on looking for Stonehenge. Getting off the main roads and on to some back roads we soon discover the old England and were very impressed .Stonehenge is our next place of interest, wow can you believe that this place exists and what an experience to visit such an ancient historical site. The crowds were unbelievable but the show was well run and well organised, it's getting late so we head to our Accomadation in Yeovil. We are a tad sad that this old country pub just not up to the standard required for international visitors , but life goes on its not the end of the world,gotta go...........WADDA

Leaving Europe for England

After 4 days in Tuscany the party is over, yes all good things must come to an end and today is that day. Our plan today is take a taxi bus from Lucignano to Fiumicino airport some 250ks away, as the bad boy bus driver cruised at 140ks we soon arrived at our destination shaken but not stirred. The flight to the UK was uneventful and no mid air dramas to worry about. Arriving at Gatwick we grab a cab and head to our hotel for the start of our UK escapades. Yes it is raining in Gatwick but that should be expected this is England after all, after a great feed we all retire early cos tomorrow we hit the English highways and country roads for a closer look at some real history.............WADDA

Sunday in Siena

With our wedding duties complete we have to concentrate on our remaining time over here ,but as Sunday morning arrives my ability to communicate via the blog is somewhat limited. My head was an empty space for quite awhile ,the decision is made to catch a bus over to Siena. The trip over was quite an experience, through winding hilly roads Fangio the bus driver delivers us to Siena. With most of my body parts re positioned I abandon the bus for a more solid footing on the ground ,we set off to explore this beautiful city. With churches and old building in no short supply pretty soon we've had enough and track down a gelato shop, it is still hot and thirsty weather so I continue to suffer. Back in Lucignano we gather in a shady spot to plan our evenings activities ,as 20 of us hit this lovely little restaurant they think KA CHING and it was worth every euro. Today we are catching a private bus back to Rome and head to the UK so my next blog will be from the old dart..............WADDA