hi all
i cant attach the detailed blogg update that linda has typed in the van as i cant access the e: drive so will update in a few days. I will also try and attach a few pics. we had some magic days around mont blanc and then walking past the eiger in switzerland. I hope everyone is well. we are in southern austria at the moment heading to italy tommorow. will visit venice then drive south doen the italian east coast then accross to naples and north through rome around southern france then around spain before heading back to london in late february. The van is running well. We had a scare in Austria when we lost 1st and 2nd gear but a 5 euro part fixed that. The germans and austrians are much better at englsh than the french which is lucky as we can only say gruss got (hello). Travelling in the van is very economical as there is a fantastic network of free parking sites often with water and power(1euro) accross much of europe. diesel is about 1.10 euro which is about 1.76 and we do about 8.5km per litre. We have been eating out a bit lately (linda has discovered bavarian food - pig knuckle and sauerkraut and dumplings!!- very tasty (except the sauerkraut)). The weather is starting to get quite chilly and the mountains are quite spectacular with the trees all red or yellow.
Anyway hopefully there will be more to read in a few days. I have to get out of this cafe - they are playing johnny farnham on the radio!
regards
john
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Still in France
Hi all
Sorry to keep you all in suspense for the next exciting instalment. We have seen some very beautiful places and met some beautiful people with a few car troubles along the way.
After Mont St Michael we visited Dinan where we posted our last entry and discovered French keyboards which have the keys a little bit mixed up.
Our car troubles began shortly before dinan with a blow out. We purchased 2 new tyres in Tours then a week later the exhaust came apart. John managed to tie the exhaust together with some old wire to allow us to get to Limoges where we parted with 610E for a new exhaust. A week later our engine became very sick in Montignac and we spent a week living in front of the Fiat garage in Montignac. A pinion that the timing belt ran around was worn out. The car is perfect now.
Loire Valley
Visited Angers chateaux with the 11th century ‘Apocalypse Tapestry’. Visited a troglodyte village at Rochmenier, Montsoreau chateaux and St Martin Church. We camped 2 nights on the Vienne River near Chinon after driving off the tar to camp next to the river and getting stuck after it rained all night. Chinon castle where Joan of Arc picked out the French King. Chenonoceu chateaux – very beautiful.
Orodour sur Glane has been left as it was in 1944 when the SS left after massacring the whole village. We met some nice poms here - Marie and John and their son Stuart and Collette. Had a big night and John was very sick the next day. We spent 5 nights around here waiting to get our exhaust fixed in Limoges including a night at Aixe sur vienne and a night at Solignac.
2 days after leaving Limoges we limped into Montignac with major engine problems. We were very lucky to meet a nice English couple who now live on the Vezere River outside of Montignac, Steve & Judy (both archeologists see www.cavesandcastles.com – highly recommended they run a b&b and take tours) who organised for their neighbours grandson Sebastian to look at our car. We ended up at the Fiat Garage in Montignac where Sebastion works and met Chris (who owns the garage) and Natalie (and Charlene, Noa, joe, Zoey, Papa and Mama). We were thinking we needed a whole new engine but by 2am after much whiskey and much improved Australian – French relations we realised that Chris would be able to fix it and that that was a worst case scenario. Luckily Natalie and Chris speak a little English and we were able to communicate reasonably effectively. We became good friends and they made us a beautiful French multi-course dinner which was exceptional. We met their best friend Xavier the local pharmacist who spends most of his time in the Alps skiing. It took a while to find the problem and order the required part. We were living in front of the garage watching friends and customers come and go and having a great time – just remember this is all in French!
4 August 2007 We hired a double kayak for 5 hours and kayaked 20 kms from Montignac to Tursac passing 3 huge 1000 yo chateaus built on cliffs, and 2 Troglodyte cities used by cromagnon men over 17,000 years ago. Kiyaking under overhanging cliffs, surrounded by forest, swimming in the Vezere was right up John’s alley! Very beautiful.
5 August 2008 Were about to depart Montignac when we met the most lovely English couple Judy and Steve (archeologists) who run caves and castles which is a b&b and tour package. Steve and Judy were most helpful and we were very blessed – they went off to arrange for Sebastian to come and look at our camping car (French for motorhome). John and I had a swim in the Vezere as very hot.
7-8 August 2007 Boring car stuff and very stressful speaking to insurance company in England and Chris the mechanic speaking French, with Steve translating everything.
9 August 2007 Judy left car insurance and consumer rights stuff under our wipers this morning when we awoke – very sweet! Dropped car at garage and went to Lascaux caves to check out 17,000 year old cave drawings - one of the first evidence of spiritual/art forms by man (cromagnon man) although the historians and archeologists recreated the images (original infested with rock virus!) based on Aboriginal methods of rock art. Called Charles – quite a bit – during our stressful car ordeal – we are very lucky to have his patient and kind and wise advice always there. I cooked dinner for Chris and Natalie and John in camping car at garage! “Petit” when asked if you want more Irish whisky only saves your soul in the morning if you say it a couple of times!!! Very late night…………. Great fun!
11 August 2007 We did a 20km walk and had a swim in the Vezere. Spoke to and watched some French people hangliding. Very hot!
12 August 2007.; Chris and Natalies including Xavier. Natalie a great cook – her father ran restaurants! Fantastic – many courses. Rocked on til the wee hours… great conversation, fun…
13 August 2007 John went on 15 km hike by himself whilst I wrote postcards and journal! Judy left a lovely card for us on windscreen addressed to Linda and John, Riverside View, A cote de la Vezere, Montignac (free camping on river so yes, waterfront!)
14 August 2007 Parts didn’t arrive. Papa Deni drove to Brive for us to get it. Car fixed, big celebrations – mostly in French – John and Alex broke out the French beer for everyone at garage – celebrations all around. Judy and Steve arrived with dinner cooked for us. Had dinner with Natalie, Chris and Xavier – very nice…til 4am. Called Charles twice and both times cut off!
15 August 2007 French Assumption Day – public holiday – Lunch (John said to add MAGNIFICENT lunch – French style – the best!! – always includes much vin etc!) at Chris parents Deni and Monique and her friends also. How lucky are we to meet such nice people! John liked Deni’s liquer cherries – he grows all his own vegies and fruit. Mamas friends place for a swim in the pool with everyone. Great fun. Fireworks that night in town. Poured with rain.
16 August 2007 Made Judy and Steve dinner on River Vezere – again until the early hours. Much fun and jokes and conversations and stories!
17 August 2007 Drove to Brive
18 August 2007 Drove to Sarlat – a beautiful medieval town – all cobbled narrow streets. Drove to Saint Vincent de Cosse and stayed on Dordogne River at aire de service privee – had swim – deeper than Vezere.
19 August 2007 Rained all day
20 August 2007 John did 28 km kayak on Dordogne from Carsac to St Vincent de Cosse past several magnificent chateaus.
21 August 2007 Left for Rocamadour – thanks Charles and Hugh for the France on a shoe string and France DKK books – invaluable for a trip like this xox. Did part of the centuries old pilgrimage at UNESCO site Rocamadour – 14 stations of the cross zigzagging up a steep cliff all cut into rock! The Saint Amadour’s body was found preserved in the cliff cave so a church was built at the site. Very typical story all over France – pilgrims then brought offerings so good to have a saint.
23 August 2007 Left Rocamadour for Domme. Beautiful fortified town with a beautiful view of the valley and looping Dordogne River from the market square. Drove through La Roque Gageac one of France’s prettiest villages with overhanging cliffs on River Dordogne. Drove to Bergerac and listened to live classical music and read about French history, ate pizza.
24 August 2007 Drove to Bordeux – then to Andernos where we got fined 11euros for illegal camping at the port. Hugh – lots of Beneteaus moored in this French port!! Charles sailed half way to Corsica and problems occurred with desalination plant on board affecting compass, including anchor prob – but he is ok.
25 August 2007 Swim at Grand Crohot a lovely beach on Atlantic. All the people made it look like Bondi! Camped in motor home in caravan park.
26 August 2007 Paid fine at police station even though they told us not to bother as we would be returning to Australia!!!! Drove to Perigeuax and walked around a medieval town and stayed on lovely River Isle. Met David and Sharon a lovely interesting couple, both retired Australian baby boomers and very knowledgable about European travel with camping car – got some great advice. See David’s blog at www.campervanman.741.com for interesting reading.
27 August 2007 Left Periguex and camped approx. 3 km west of Montvert in lovely spot overlooking green, rolling rural country side.
28 August 2007 Drove thru St Paul Des Landes, Polminac, Aurillac, Vic Sure Cere, Lioran (big winter skiing area), St Flour (town blt on cliff), onto Pinols (1020m alt.) All very mountainous and scenic.
29 August 2007 Drove thru Lestival and Langeac to Lamastre – camped here thundering and lightening all night.
30 August 2007 Drove thru Valence to Grenoble.
31 August 2007 John did a 10 km walk. We bought 5 5kg gas bottles to avoid further incompatibility issues with gas bottles and attachments after we leave France. Our English gas bottle and attachments were a nightmare to convert for France.
1 Sept 2007 We did a 15 km walk – beautiful day - up steep mountains past the Bastille. Returned to our camping car, sitting in the back, SMASH, a young man of middle eastern appearance had smashed our side window and was running off with our day pack, jacket and $1500 video camera. Very shocking experience. Went straight to police station in Grenoble after John and I fearlessly confronted the gang of boys at the end of the street. Of course they pleaded ignorance!
3 September 2007 Currently St Pierre de Chautreusse 1000m above Grenoble surrounded by amazing 2000m peaks. Heading to alps tomorrow.
Sorry to keep you all in suspense for the next exciting instalment. We have seen some very beautiful places and met some beautiful people with a few car troubles along the way.
After Mont St Michael we visited Dinan where we posted our last entry and discovered French keyboards which have the keys a little bit mixed up.
Our car troubles began shortly before dinan with a blow out. We purchased 2 new tyres in Tours then a week later the exhaust came apart. John managed to tie the exhaust together with some old wire to allow us to get to Limoges where we parted with 610E for a new exhaust. A week later our engine became very sick in Montignac and we spent a week living in front of the Fiat garage in Montignac. A pinion that the timing belt ran around was worn out. The car is perfect now.
Loire Valley
Visited Angers chateaux with the 11th century ‘Apocalypse Tapestry’. Visited a troglodyte village at Rochmenier, Montsoreau chateaux and St Martin Church. We camped 2 nights on the Vienne River near Chinon after driving off the tar to camp next to the river and getting stuck after it rained all night. Chinon castle where Joan of Arc picked out the French King. Chenonoceu chateaux – very beautiful.
Orodour sur Glane has been left as it was in 1944 when the SS left after massacring the whole village. We met some nice poms here - Marie and John and their son Stuart and Collette. Had a big night and John was very sick the next day. We spent 5 nights around here waiting to get our exhaust fixed in Limoges including a night at Aixe sur vienne and a night at Solignac.
2 days after leaving Limoges we limped into Montignac with major engine problems. We were very lucky to meet a nice English couple who now live on the Vezere River outside of Montignac, Steve & Judy (both archeologists see www.cavesandcastles.com – highly recommended they run a b&b and take tours) who organised for their neighbours grandson Sebastian to look at our car. We ended up at the Fiat Garage in Montignac where Sebastion works and met Chris (who owns the garage) and Natalie (and Charlene, Noa, joe, Zoey, Papa and Mama). We were thinking we needed a whole new engine but by 2am after much whiskey and much improved Australian – French relations we realised that Chris would be able to fix it and that that was a worst case scenario. Luckily Natalie and Chris speak a little English and we were able to communicate reasonably effectively. We became good friends and they made us a beautiful French multi-course dinner which was exceptional. We met their best friend Xavier the local pharmacist who spends most of his time in the Alps skiing. It took a while to find the problem and order the required part. We were living in front of the garage watching friends and customers come and go and having a great time – just remember this is all in French!
4 August 2007 We hired a double kayak for 5 hours and kayaked 20 kms from Montignac to Tursac passing 3 huge 1000 yo chateaus built on cliffs, and 2 Troglodyte cities used by cromagnon men over 17,000 years ago. Kiyaking under overhanging cliffs, surrounded by forest, swimming in the Vezere was right up John’s alley! Very beautiful.
5 August 2008 Were about to depart Montignac when we met the most lovely English couple Judy and Steve (archeologists) who run caves and castles which is a b&b and tour package. Steve and Judy were most helpful and we were very blessed – they went off to arrange for Sebastian to come and look at our camping car (French for motorhome). John and I had a swim in the Vezere as very hot.
7-8 August 2007 Boring car stuff and very stressful speaking to insurance company in England and Chris the mechanic speaking French, with Steve translating everything.
9 August 2007 Judy left car insurance and consumer rights stuff under our wipers this morning when we awoke – very sweet! Dropped car at garage and went to Lascaux caves to check out 17,000 year old cave drawings - one of the first evidence of spiritual/art forms by man (cromagnon man) although the historians and archeologists recreated the images (original infested with rock virus!) based on Aboriginal methods of rock art. Called Charles – quite a bit – during our stressful car ordeal – we are very lucky to have his patient and kind and wise advice always there. I cooked dinner for Chris and Natalie and John in camping car at garage! “Petit” when asked if you want more Irish whisky only saves your soul in the morning if you say it a couple of times!!! Very late night…………. Great fun!
11 August 2007 We did a 20km walk and had a swim in the Vezere. Spoke to and watched some French people hangliding. Very hot!
12 August 2007.; Chris and Natalies including Xavier. Natalie a great cook – her father ran restaurants! Fantastic – many courses. Rocked on til the wee hours… great conversation, fun…
13 August 2007 John went on 15 km hike by himself whilst I wrote postcards and journal! Judy left a lovely card for us on windscreen addressed to Linda and John, Riverside View, A cote de la Vezere, Montignac (free camping on river so yes, waterfront!)
14 August 2007 Parts didn’t arrive. Papa Deni drove to Brive for us to get it. Car fixed, big celebrations – mostly in French – John and Alex broke out the French beer for everyone at garage – celebrations all around. Judy and Steve arrived with dinner cooked for us. Had dinner with Natalie, Chris and Xavier – very nice…til 4am. Called Charles twice and both times cut off!
15 August 2007 French Assumption Day – public holiday – Lunch (John said to add MAGNIFICENT lunch – French style – the best!! – always includes much vin etc!) at Chris parents Deni and Monique and her friends also. How lucky are we to meet such nice people! John liked Deni’s liquer cherries – he grows all his own vegies and fruit. Mamas friends place for a swim in the pool with everyone. Great fun. Fireworks that night in town. Poured with rain.
16 August 2007 Made Judy and Steve dinner on River Vezere – again until the early hours. Much fun and jokes and conversations and stories!
17 August 2007 Drove to Brive
18 August 2007 Drove to Sarlat – a beautiful medieval town – all cobbled narrow streets. Drove to Saint Vincent de Cosse and stayed on Dordogne River at aire de service privee – had swim – deeper than Vezere.
19 August 2007 Rained all day
20 August 2007 John did 28 km kayak on Dordogne from Carsac to St Vincent de Cosse past several magnificent chateaus.
21 August 2007 Left for Rocamadour – thanks Charles and Hugh for the France on a shoe string and France DKK books – invaluable for a trip like this xox. Did part of the centuries old pilgrimage at UNESCO site Rocamadour – 14 stations of the cross zigzagging up a steep cliff all cut into rock! The Saint Amadour’s body was found preserved in the cliff cave so a church was built at the site. Very typical story all over France – pilgrims then brought offerings so good to have a saint.
23 August 2007 Left Rocamadour for Domme. Beautiful fortified town with a beautiful view of the valley and looping Dordogne River from the market square. Drove through La Roque Gageac one of France’s prettiest villages with overhanging cliffs on River Dordogne. Drove to Bergerac and listened to live classical music and read about French history, ate pizza.
24 August 2007 Drove to Bordeux – then to Andernos where we got fined 11euros for illegal camping at the port. Hugh – lots of Beneteaus moored in this French port!! Charles sailed half way to Corsica and problems occurred with desalination plant on board affecting compass, including anchor prob – but he is ok.
25 August 2007 Swim at Grand Crohot a lovely beach on Atlantic. All the people made it look like Bondi! Camped in motor home in caravan park.
26 August 2007 Paid fine at police station even though they told us not to bother as we would be returning to Australia!!!! Drove to Perigeuax and walked around a medieval town and stayed on lovely River Isle. Met David and Sharon a lovely interesting couple, both retired Australian baby boomers and very knowledgable about European travel with camping car – got some great advice. See David’s blog at www.campervanman.741.com for interesting reading.
27 August 2007 Left Periguex and camped approx. 3 km west of Montvert in lovely spot overlooking green, rolling rural country side.
28 August 2007 Drove thru St Paul Des Landes, Polminac, Aurillac, Vic Sure Cere, Lioran (big winter skiing area), St Flour (town blt on cliff), onto Pinols (1020m alt.) All very mountainous and scenic.
29 August 2007 Drove thru Lestival and Langeac to Lamastre – camped here thundering and lightening all night.
30 August 2007 Drove thru Valence to Grenoble.
31 August 2007 John did a 10 km walk. We bought 5 5kg gas bottles to avoid further incompatibility issues with gas bottles and attachments after we leave France. Our English gas bottle and attachments were a nightmare to convert for France.
1 Sept 2007 We did a 15 km walk – beautiful day - up steep mountains past the Bastille. Returned to our camping car, sitting in the back, SMASH, a young man of middle eastern appearance had smashed our side window and was running off with our day pack, jacket and $1500 video camera. Very shocking experience. Went straight to police station in Grenoble after John and I fearlessly confronted the gang of boys at the end of the street. Of course they pleaded ignorance!
3 September 2007 Currently St Pierre de Chautreusse 1000m above Grenoble surrounded by amazing 2000m peaks. Heading to alps tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Dover England to France
the letters qre not the sq,e qs Aust!! q vert pretty pqrtly medieval town with remains of 1000 yo castle qnd stone wall surrounding the city; Beautiful churches of stone; qnd cobbled streets everyzhere;
Blog 16/7/07
Greeting from Le Mont St Michel. In next few days will spend a few days looking at chateau’s in the Loire Valley before heading south through Bordeaux to Spain to meet Gabriele Salas.
Othello (15/6/07)
We went and watched Shakespears “Othello” at the globe theatre in London. Its 3 hours long but very entertaining. We walked past St Pauls and along Fleet St to the front gate of Liz & Phils place eg Buckingham Palace. Lots of police and guards (I think they should get Harry and William to guard the palace as they are too precious to go to Iraq)
Hampton Court palace (19/6/07)
Another palace....... Henry VIII probably its most famous resident in 1500s.
Hockham Hall (20/6/07)
Charles drove us to Norfolk, where we visited Hockham Hall which till recently was owned by Linda's relatives and near where lindas grandfather and many other relatives are buried = interestingly in grounds of an Anglican church. We returned via ‘Bury St Edmund’ where we met John Trappes Lomax (Linda's 2nd cousin) and had afternoon tea and interesting discussions on the plight of the Trappes .... qnd looked qt fqmily portraits.
Cumbria Way (21 – 25/6/07)
Caught the fast (and very expensive) train to Ulverston from London to start the Cumbria Way which goes from Ulverston on the coast in the south of the Lakes District to Keswick 50 miles north. The official end is another 20-30 miles north at Carlisle but we had to collect our van and 4 full days gave us a great taste of this beautiful area. We slept in our tent for the first 3 nights then stayed in YHA’s for the last 2 nights.
Most of the locals walked from YHA to YHA with a small daypack and their dogs (every 2nd walker had at least 1 dog!!!). The other strange thing about their national parks is they have sheep everywhere, although they have been part of the system for over a 1000 years. Not just your average sheep though, these sheep are unique to the Lakes District, called herdwick sheep which are born black and turn grey or white as they get older and which also know their little patch of the fels (mountain) so they don’t need fencing. The landscape is generally treeless with beautiful stone cottages and dry stone walls.
Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbitt) and William Wordsworth (poet) and John Ruskin (Socialist philosopher) were famous Lakes District residents.
We become grey nomads (26/6/07)
After catching the train from Keswick to Preston we collected our van from Jody (our used campervan salesman) and learnt how everything worked. We had a complimentary night at the Oaklands Caravan Park (don’t go out of your way to go here).
York (28/6/07)
Visited YorkMinster Cathedral (a very impressive gothic Cathedral). We had the full tour which included looking in the crypt and climbing the tower to look at the view.
While in York we also walked around the York Wall.
Norwich (30/6/07)
We visited Norwich castle where Lindas Ancestor Henry Kable was kept in the dungeon waiting for his cruise on the first fleet to depart. They have a wax work figure of Henry who is probably the most famous convict of the first fleet.
London Again (2/7/07)
With out tickets across the English channel booked weeks ago we only have a day and a half in London to show of our new home to Charles, Leo, Ania and Kathy, do some washing, thank our friends and continue our journey.
The English Channel (4.15am 3/7/07)
We cross the channel or “Le Manche” as the French call it at 4am when the tickets are cheapest. It gets light here at 4am so we see the white cliffs of Dover as we cross to Calais and eat kathys French breakfast. We stay at a little caravan park at Leubingham near Calais.
Calais – Le Havre (3- 9/7/07)
We make our way south following the coast. The PDA is invaluable, it is set to avoid motorways and tolls and so we travel along quiet roads through beautiful French villages. The French cater for campervans really well with many towns having an area where campervans can park for free and fill up water (2 euros) and empty toilets. We have bought the book showing where these areas are. The book is in French but we just look for “parking gratuit (free)”. Diesel is about $1.80 AUD compared to about $2.30 AUD in England. We are buying food from supermarkets and only paying occasionally for caravan parks so are living reasonably cheaply. There are millions of campervans in France, most driven by retired couples with their dog. The coast line is characterised by huge white chalk cliffs dotted with german fortifications (WW2). Where there is a break in the cliffs there is a small village. St Valery en caux and Etretat were 2 towns we thought particularly nice.
Normandy (10 – 15/7/07)
We continue along the coast. We visit the “Memorial de Caen” which like most museums and memorials around here is primarily about D-Day and the battle of Normandy.
We spent 2 nights at Arromanches where the British created the “Mulberry Harbour”, which consisted of hundreds of huge concrete lego blocks towed over from England and sunk off Arromanches to form a harbour where troops and equipment were landed. Most of these blocks are still there and it would have been very impressive.
We visit the Bayeux Tapestry which I learnt about in Yr 7 history. The tapestry depicts the William the Conquerer story which is probably the most important date in British history with many of the castles in Britain built after William the conquerer to help the Normans dominate the Saxons. The British War cemetery in Bayeux has words to the effect of “We who were conquered by William have liberated his homeland” (in latin).
Bayeux was also where our English gas bottle ran out and we had a nightmare trying to reconnect our gas. The French are Metric and the British Imperial so totally incompatible. My highschool French has proved totally inadequate and the only words we have are hello, goodbye, thankyou, yes and no. Most of the French do not speak English and it can be very frustrating.
We spent 2 nights at Le Mont St Michel which is an amazing site which has been catering to tourists or pilgrims for at least 800 years. The lower part is full of souvenir shops and restaurants while the upper part is the abbey. We had a tour of the abbey then walked through the mud to walk around part of the Mont.
We are checking our email occasionally – john.bickmore@gmail.com or linda.kable@gmail.com and have the mobile reconnected – 07766277478 (for emergencies only).
Blog 16/7/07
Greeting from Le Mont St Michel. In next few days will spend a few days looking at chateau’s in the Loire Valley before heading south through Bordeaux to Spain to meet Gabriele Salas.
Othello (15/6/07)
We went and watched Shakespears “Othello” at the globe theatre in London. Its 3 hours long but very entertaining. We walked past St Pauls and along Fleet St to the front gate of Liz & Phils place eg Buckingham Palace. Lots of police and guards (I think they should get Harry and William to guard the palace as they are too precious to go to Iraq)
Hampton Court palace (19/6/07)
Another palace....... Henry VIII probably its most famous resident in 1500s.
Hockham Hall (20/6/07)
Charles drove us to Norfolk, where we visited Hockham Hall which till recently was owned by Linda's relatives and near where lindas grandfather and many other relatives are buried = interestingly in grounds of an Anglican church. We returned via ‘Bury St Edmund’ where we met John Trappes Lomax (Linda's 2nd cousin) and had afternoon tea and interesting discussions on the plight of the Trappes .... qnd looked qt fqmily portraits.
Cumbria Way (21 – 25/6/07)
Caught the fast (and very expensive) train to Ulverston from London to start the Cumbria Way which goes from Ulverston on the coast in the south of the Lakes District to Keswick 50 miles north. The official end is another 20-30 miles north at Carlisle but we had to collect our van and 4 full days gave us a great taste of this beautiful area. We slept in our tent for the first 3 nights then stayed in YHA’s for the last 2 nights.
Most of the locals walked from YHA to YHA with a small daypack and their dogs (every 2nd walker had at least 1 dog!!!). The other strange thing about their national parks is they have sheep everywhere, although they have been part of the system for over a 1000 years. Not just your average sheep though, these sheep are unique to the Lakes District, called herdwick sheep which are born black and turn grey or white as they get older and which also know their little patch of the fels (mountain) so they don’t need fencing. The landscape is generally treeless with beautiful stone cottages and dry stone walls.
Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbitt) and William Wordsworth (poet) and John Ruskin (Socialist philosopher) were famous Lakes District residents.
We become grey nomads (26/6/07)
After catching the train from Keswick to Preston we collected our van from Jody (our used campervan salesman) and learnt how everything worked. We had a complimentary night at the Oaklands Caravan Park (don’t go out of your way to go here).
York (28/6/07)
Visited YorkMinster Cathedral (a very impressive gothic Cathedral). We had the full tour which included looking in the crypt and climbing the tower to look at the view.
While in York we also walked around the York Wall.
Norwich (30/6/07)
We visited Norwich castle where Lindas Ancestor Henry Kable was kept in the dungeon waiting for his cruise on the first fleet to depart. They have a wax work figure of Henry who is probably the most famous convict of the first fleet.
London Again (2/7/07)
With out tickets across the English channel booked weeks ago we only have a day and a half in London to show of our new home to Charles, Leo, Ania and Kathy, do some washing, thank our friends and continue our journey.
The English Channel (4.15am 3/7/07)
We cross the channel or “Le Manche” as the French call it at 4am when the tickets are cheapest. It gets light here at 4am so we see the white cliffs of Dover as we cross to Calais and eat kathys French breakfast. We stay at a little caravan park at Leubingham near Calais.
Calais – Le Havre (3- 9/7/07)
We make our way south following the coast. The PDA is invaluable, it is set to avoid motorways and tolls and so we travel along quiet roads through beautiful French villages. The French cater for campervans really well with many towns having an area where campervans can park for free and fill up water (2 euros) and empty toilets. We have bought the book showing where these areas are. The book is in French but we just look for “parking gratuit (free)”. Diesel is about $1.80 AUD compared to about $2.30 AUD in England. We are buying food from supermarkets and only paying occasionally for caravan parks so are living reasonably cheaply. There are millions of campervans in France, most driven by retired couples with their dog. The coast line is characterised by huge white chalk cliffs dotted with german fortifications (WW2). Where there is a break in the cliffs there is a small village. St Valery en caux and Etretat were 2 towns we thought particularly nice.
Normandy (10 – 15/7/07)
We continue along the coast. We visit the “Memorial de Caen” which like most museums and memorials around here is primarily about D-Day and the battle of Normandy.
We spent 2 nights at Arromanches where the British created the “Mulberry Harbour”, which consisted of hundreds of huge concrete lego blocks towed over from England and sunk off Arromanches to form a harbour where troops and equipment were landed. Most of these blocks are still there and it would have been very impressive.
We visit the Bayeux Tapestry which I learnt about in Yr 7 history. The tapestry depicts the William the Conquerer story which is probably the most important date in British history with many of the castles in Britain built after William the conquerer to help the Normans dominate the Saxons. The British War cemetery in Bayeux has words to the effect of “We who were conquered by William have liberated his homeland” (in latin).
Bayeux was also where our English gas bottle ran out and we had a nightmare trying to reconnect our gas. The French are Metric and the British Imperial so totally incompatible. My highschool French has proved totally inadequate and the only words we have are hello, goodbye, thankyou, yes and no. Most of the French do not speak English and it can be very frustrating.
We spent 2 nights at Le Mont St Michel which is an amazing site which has been catering to tourists or pilgrims for at least 800 years. The lower part is full of souvenir shops and restaurants while the upper part is the abbey. We had a tour of the abbey then walked through the mud to walk around part of the Mont.
We are checking our email occasionally – john.bickmore@gmail.com or linda.kable@gmail.com and have the mobile reconnected – 07766277478 (for emergencies only).
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Flight to London from Kuala Lumpur very long... albeit, I shouldn’t complain – Aust to London even longer!
Arrived Heathrow Airport 5.30am British time. Charles holding a sign “John and Linda Bickmore” – very sweet. It was 6 degrees, raining, grey and windy. All the Brits tried to say this was unusual!!! yeah, right.. it was as we expected! Charles drove us to his beautiful home - “Picton House, Strand-on-the-Green, Chiswick – has got to be one of the quaintest most beautiful parts of London. The house is over 200 years old and fronts the Thames. Just a beautiful view out the sitting room windows - Canadian geese, swans (owned by the Queen), Mallard ducks, cormorants and herons. Charles gave us a tour of the house, Marks and Spencer, and Fullers Brewery – a very old beautiful looking local brewery which has been in the same family for many generations (the local beer which John has been enjoying). Charles, John and I had lunch at City Barge (2 mins walk from Charles home) which was built in 1640. Of course, all the English things.. Yorkshire pudding etc. Charles and John had a few English beers (cold ones!!).
Tues 29 May 2007
Charles is friends of Kew Gardens - the Royal Botanic Gardens. So we all made the 10 min walk from Charles along the Thames to the gardens. They are just divine, stunning, and I just love big old English trees. Of course, they have an Australian Garden complete with a Wollemi Pine (looks crap compared to the English and tropical gardens (in the Palm House – all heated and humid) in my opinion but they haven’t completed it I hope!)
King George III (1760 – 1820) and Queen Charlotte and their 13 children all lived at Kew Palace in the gardens (built 1616) during the family and constitutional crisis “the madness of King George”. The king's apparent insanity is now recognised as the metabolic disorder porphyria.
Wed 30 May 2007
Charles is good friends with Leopold Abse (a famous retired progressive MP – abolished capital punishment, decriminalised homosexuality, softened abortion and divorce laws etc and was also a famous criminal lawyer) a very interesting man – he is 91 and his 2nd wife Ania is 41 - artist – and never a better marriage did one see. He joked to us last night that she married him for the sex, and he married her for the money !! they are extremely happy and never stop laughing – so much for the stuffy English ! He said a man must have a younger partner and never retire… he wrote 'The Bi-Sexuality of Daniel Defoe – A psychoanalytic survey of the man and his works', 'Wotan, My Enemy – Can Britain live with the Germans in the European Union?', 'Margaret, daughter of Beatrice – A politician’s psycho-biography of Margaret Thatcher','The man behind the smile – Tony Blair and the Politics of Perversion' and the one I have just finished 'Fallatio, Masochism, Politics and Love'. Ania took us to Piccadilly Circus, and to very English Shoppes eg one of my favs Laura Ashley.
Thurs 31 May 2007
Charles has pictures of our family on the wall – Robert Trappes of Bermondsey – Warden of the Goldsmiths Company – 1477-1560, and his wife Joan Trappes from the Portrait at Gonville and Caius College. London is truly amazing - the antiquity of everything and the sheer beauty (just like your coffee table English Gardens book – best roses in England that I have ever seen).
Visited Tate Britain (old Tate) – containing some of Britain’s art over the last 500 years. We saw Mark Wallinger's "What are the Principles of Free Expression?" which is a replica of the real original demonstration against the War in Iraq opposite Westminster (which we also saw). Saw Francis Bacon's famous triptych which shocked audiences in the 40s (we've obviously been desensitised!!), Lady of Shalott (1888) by Waterhouse, The Saltonstall Family (1637) David des Grange's life size family portrait, as well as Sculpture. Ania took us to her friend Pat Hopewell's exhibition of silk and metal at the Holborn Artists Studios, then dinner in Soho. Ania has an allotment in Chiswick which we walked through - very lovely.
Saturday 2 June 2007
Portobello Road Antique Markets - not John's thing but he was very loving and patient with my slowness! Lots of very good buskers - funky doods!! Leo and Ania's for dinner which was lovely.
Sunday 3 June 2007
Danny McAvoy came to Charles and we all went to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. John and Danny drank London Pride beer on the Thames - very common!! hee hee
Monday 4 June 2007
Walked from Westminster (very beautiful and imposing house of parliament) past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (Othello showing so watch this space!) to the Tower Bridge and back around the Thames. John took lots of photos.
Tues 5 June 2007
John visited the Science and Natural History Museum.
Wed 6 June 2007
We joined "The Historic Palaces" and the cost goes to charity. Visited the Tower of London - William the Conqueror's mighty white tower completed by 1100 and marks the start of the Tower of London's history as a palace and a fortress. Now holds the royal armouries collection including Henry VIII's armour. Saw the chopping block where Anne Berlin, amongst others, were beheaded!, Charles II's ravens, the Queen's coronation, the crown jewels and had the Yeoman (beefeater) tour.
Double decker bus home.
Thursday 7 June 2007
Thames Historic Walk - from Charles to Richmond and back all along the Thames. Drink at a very old pub "the Apprentice".
Friday 8 June 2007
Drove a hire car to Todmorden to look at a VW van that John has found. This way we got to see a majority of England in 4-5 days. England is not really that big - but maybe this is just because we are used to Australia which is so vast! Stayed in a hotel in Burnley.
Sat 9 June 2007
Drove to Preston and drove ourselves bonkers looking at motor home after VW van. Drove to Grasmere Cumbria in the Lakes District (only about 1 hour from Scotland) - where William Wordsworth (poet) grew up and died (saw his family plot). Stayed the night at a YHA. Drove through Windermere where Beatrix Potter grew up and was inspired to write and paint her books and drawings, and Ambleside. John was very happy here - very beautiful country which attracts walkers, and outdoorsy types. The countryside is rugged, beautiful, very green, treeless with jagged hills, and stone walls abound. Cottages and towns just so quaint and asthetic to the eyes. John says the only place quite as beautiful in Australia is Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains, and bits of Tasmania.
Sun 10 June 2007
Bought our HOME ON WHEELS from Campbell's in Preson from Jody - she is a 93 model diesel VW, completed 101,000 miles, (9,500 pounds, approx. A$23,000). She has a king size bed, lots of storage space, dining table and comfy benches - which convert to another bed, plenty of space (for a motor home) and can stand up in her, and, a shower and toilet (necessities in my opinion when you are living in a confined space and together 24/7 for 12 months!) We compromised - John would rather eurorail passes, packs and camping or a more human sized Westfalia VW with no shower or toilet (very small but economical - fuel is double the price in Europe compared to Australia - eg 1 pound for 1 litre of fuel so thats A$2.40 per litre). Alas..... I went for the Marilyn Monroe Fat American Style Cruise mobile French brand Talbot motor truck with fluffy carpet, ensuite and separate living areas!!!! Think rock star on tour!! minus the rock star! Cost a bomb to move!!!! We were very civilised in our bargaining together and check out what we got!!! :-)
Stayed in Blackpool on the English North Western Coast at a B&B called "The Canberra"!!
Monday 11 June 2007
Drove to Bath - lives up to its reputation as England's most beautiful city (pop. 90,100). Certainly the most beautiful city I have ever seen. There is a university here, was home to Jane Austin "Pride and Prejudice" etc, and the Roman Baths are 2000 years old. John and I reckoned we could live here quite happily - the Avon River runs through the town of cobblestoned streets (so chooky could go kiyaking). People live in barges alone the river just like along the Thames. Drove to Charles in Chiswick.
Arrived Heathrow Airport 5.30am British time. Charles holding a sign “John and Linda Bickmore” – very sweet. It was 6 degrees, raining, grey and windy. All the Brits tried to say this was unusual!!! yeah, right.. it was as we expected! Charles drove us to his beautiful home - “Picton House, Strand-on-the-Green, Chiswick – has got to be one of the quaintest most beautiful parts of London. The house is over 200 years old and fronts the Thames. Just a beautiful view out the sitting room windows - Canadian geese, swans (owned by the Queen), Mallard ducks, cormorants and herons. Charles gave us a tour of the house, Marks and Spencer, and Fullers Brewery – a very old beautiful looking local brewery which has been in the same family for many generations (the local beer which John has been enjoying). Charles, John and I had lunch at City Barge (2 mins walk from Charles home) which was built in 1640. Of course, all the English things.. Yorkshire pudding etc. Charles and John had a few English beers (cold ones!!).
Tues 29 May 2007
Charles is friends of Kew Gardens - the Royal Botanic Gardens. So we all made the 10 min walk from Charles along the Thames to the gardens. They are just divine, stunning, and I just love big old English trees. Of course, they have an Australian Garden complete with a Wollemi Pine (looks crap compared to the English and tropical gardens (in the Palm House – all heated and humid) in my opinion but they haven’t completed it I hope!)
King George III (1760 – 1820) and Queen Charlotte and their 13 children all lived at Kew Palace in the gardens (built 1616) during the family and constitutional crisis “the madness of King George”. The king's apparent insanity is now recognised as the metabolic disorder porphyria.
Wed 30 May 2007
Charles is good friends with Leopold Abse (a famous retired progressive MP – abolished capital punishment, decriminalised homosexuality, softened abortion and divorce laws etc and was also a famous criminal lawyer) a very interesting man – he is 91 and his 2nd wife Ania is 41 - artist – and never a better marriage did one see. He joked to us last night that she married him for the sex, and he married her for the money !! they are extremely happy and never stop laughing – so much for the stuffy English ! He said a man must have a younger partner and never retire… he wrote 'The Bi-Sexuality of Daniel Defoe – A psychoanalytic survey of the man and his works', 'Wotan, My Enemy – Can Britain live with the Germans in the European Union?', 'Margaret, daughter of Beatrice – A politician’s psycho-biography of Margaret Thatcher','The man behind the smile – Tony Blair and the Politics of Perversion' and the one I have just finished 'Fallatio, Masochism, Politics and Love'. Ania took us to Piccadilly Circus, and to very English Shoppes eg one of my favs Laura Ashley.
Thurs 31 May 2007
Charles has pictures of our family on the wall – Robert Trappes of Bermondsey – Warden of the Goldsmiths Company – 1477-1560, and his wife Joan Trappes from the Portrait at Gonville and Caius College. London is truly amazing - the antiquity of everything and the sheer beauty (just like your coffee table English Gardens book – best roses in England that I have ever seen).
Visited Tate Britain (old Tate) – containing some of Britain’s art over the last 500 years. We saw Mark Wallinger's "What are the Principles of Free Expression?" which is a replica of the real original demonstration against the War in Iraq opposite Westminster (which we also saw). Saw Francis Bacon's famous triptych which shocked audiences in the 40s (we've obviously been desensitised!!), Lady of Shalott (1888) by Waterhouse, The Saltonstall Family (1637) David des Grange's life size family portrait, as well as Sculpture. Ania took us to her friend Pat Hopewell's exhibition of silk and metal at the Holborn Artists Studios, then dinner in Soho. Ania has an allotment in Chiswick which we walked through - very lovely.
Saturday 2 June 2007
Portobello Road Antique Markets - not John's thing but he was very loving and patient with my slowness! Lots of very good buskers - funky doods!! Leo and Ania's for dinner which was lovely.
Sunday 3 June 2007
Danny McAvoy came to Charles and we all went to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. John and Danny drank London Pride beer on the Thames - very common!! hee hee
Monday 4 June 2007
Walked from Westminster (very beautiful and imposing house of parliament) past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (Othello showing so watch this space!) to the Tower Bridge and back around the Thames. John took lots of photos.
Tues 5 June 2007
John visited the Science and Natural History Museum.
Wed 6 June 2007
We joined "The Historic Palaces" and the cost goes to charity. Visited the Tower of London - William the Conqueror's mighty white tower completed by 1100 and marks the start of the Tower of London's history as a palace and a fortress. Now holds the royal armouries collection including Henry VIII's armour. Saw the chopping block where Anne Berlin, amongst others, were beheaded!, Charles II's ravens, the Queen's coronation, the crown jewels and had the Yeoman (beefeater) tour.
Double decker bus home.
Thursday 7 June 2007
Thames Historic Walk - from Charles to Richmond and back all along the Thames. Drink at a very old pub "the Apprentice".
Friday 8 June 2007
Drove a hire car to Todmorden to look at a VW van that John has found. This way we got to see a majority of England in 4-5 days. England is not really that big - but maybe this is just because we are used to Australia which is so vast! Stayed in a hotel in Burnley.
Sat 9 June 2007
Drove to Preston and drove ourselves bonkers looking at motor home after VW van. Drove to Grasmere Cumbria in the Lakes District (only about 1 hour from Scotland) - where William Wordsworth (poet) grew up and died (saw his family plot). Stayed the night at a YHA. Drove through Windermere where Beatrix Potter grew up and was inspired to write and paint her books and drawings, and Ambleside. John was very happy here - very beautiful country which attracts walkers, and outdoorsy types. The countryside is rugged, beautiful, very green, treeless with jagged hills, and stone walls abound. Cottages and towns just so quaint and asthetic to the eyes. John says the only place quite as beautiful in Australia is Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains, and bits of Tasmania.
Sun 10 June 2007
Bought our HOME ON WHEELS from Campbell's in Preson from Jody - she is a 93 model diesel VW, completed 101,000 miles, (9,500 pounds, approx. A$23,000). She has a king size bed, lots of storage space, dining table and comfy benches - which convert to another bed, plenty of space (for a motor home) and can stand up in her, and, a shower and toilet (necessities in my opinion when you are living in a confined space and together 24/7 for 12 months!) We compromised - John would rather eurorail passes, packs and camping or a more human sized Westfalia VW with no shower or toilet (very small but economical - fuel is double the price in Europe compared to Australia - eg 1 pound for 1 litre of fuel so thats A$2.40 per litre). Alas..... I went for the Marilyn Monroe Fat American Style Cruise mobile French brand Talbot motor truck with fluffy carpet, ensuite and separate living areas!!!! Think rock star on tour!! minus the rock star! Cost a bomb to move!!!! We were very civilised in our bargaining together and check out what we got!!! :-)
Stayed in Blackpool on the English North Western Coast at a B&B called "The Canberra"!!
Monday 11 June 2007
Drove to Bath - lives up to its reputation as England's most beautiful city (pop. 90,100). Certainly the most beautiful city I have ever seen. There is a university here, was home to Jane Austin "Pride and Prejudice" etc, and the Roman Baths are 2000 years old. John and I reckoned we could live here quite happily - the Avon River runs through the town of cobblestoned streets (so chooky could go kiyaking). People live in barges alone the river just like along the Thames. Drove to Charles in Chiswick.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Malaysia
We are currently in Chiswick (London) staying with Charles (Lindas cousin) - more on this later.
We spent a week in Malaysia, mainly in Penang which is off the western coast close to Thailand.
Fisrt impressions were - Very Bloody Hot, very nice peaople, great food, lots of banks and lots of development. Nearly everyone speaks english and all the signs are also in english.
We arrived at 9pm and stayed near the airport at the Concorde Inn. The next day we caught the shuttle bus back to the airport and took the train into Kuala Lumpor. Spent the day walking around town checking out the markets, food and had a look at KL bird park. The bird park had some amazing birds. The Toucans were a highlight although it was all a bit sad as most birds were kept in cages.
We caught the overnight train north to Butterworth arriving at 5.40am (we had a sleeper cabin). A short ferry ride took us to Georgetown (Penangs city), then a taxi to the Hydro Majestic at Batu Ferringhi (north coast). The hydro was being renovated - much of the foyer was opened up the morning we left, the pool was due to open the following day. We spent a day walking around Georgetown which was founded by Francis Light (on behalf of the East India Company). His son founded Adelaide. Walking anywhere in Malaysia is very hot work and I was ussually soaked in sweat within minutes. Walking in Malaysia is also fairly dangerous as there are no pedestrian crossings and in many cases no footpaths. The footpaths that do exist often have huge holes where a man hole cover has rusted away or the concrete cover over a hole has broken (obviously no public liability here). We also went to the night markets at Batu Feringhi where u can get a latest release dvd for 4 ringit (about $1.40) or a flash pair of sunnies or a rolex (genuine of course) for a few dollars. We have many movies to watch in our campervan!. Food in Malaysia deserves a mention - its very cheap - a meal might cost 3 or 4 ringit!! and ussually you could tell whats in it!!. We had 1 meal over the rd from the hydro at Miami Beach where 30 locals died and 7 are still missing from the tsunami. The little girl at the restaurant (shack right on the beach) is world famous as the "floating mattress baby of Miami beach" - the first wave came in, smashed the back wall down and took the 22day old baby (on a blow up mattress) out to sea. 15 minutes later the second wave brought her back inside another room of the shack and when the 2nd wave withdraw it shut the door so the baby stayed inside. They had heaps of news articles from all over the world.
We had a 6 hour bus ride back to KL to catch the plane to Heathrow. We had brekkie at 3am on the plane and spent the day looking around Chiswick with Charles before heading to bed at 10pm - so a very long day.
I'll get Linda to post some comments re London.
I hope everyone is enjoying Work
Regards
John
We spent a week in Malaysia, mainly in Penang which is off the western coast close to Thailand.
Fisrt impressions were - Very Bloody Hot, very nice peaople, great food, lots of banks and lots of development. Nearly everyone speaks english and all the signs are also in english.
We arrived at 9pm and stayed near the airport at the Concorde Inn. The next day we caught the shuttle bus back to the airport and took the train into Kuala Lumpor. Spent the day walking around town checking out the markets, food and had a look at KL bird park. The bird park had some amazing birds. The Toucans were a highlight although it was all a bit sad as most birds were kept in cages.
We caught the overnight train north to Butterworth arriving at 5.40am (we had a sleeper cabin). A short ferry ride took us to Georgetown (Penangs city), then a taxi to the Hydro Majestic at Batu Ferringhi (north coast). The hydro was being renovated - much of the foyer was opened up the morning we left, the pool was due to open the following day. We spent a day walking around Georgetown which was founded by Francis Light (on behalf of the East India Company). His son founded Adelaide. Walking anywhere in Malaysia is very hot work and I was ussually soaked in sweat within minutes. Walking in Malaysia is also fairly dangerous as there are no pedestrian crossings and in many cases no footpaths. The footpaths that do exist often have huge holes where a man hole cover has rusted away or the concrete cover over a hole has broken (obviously no public liability here). We also went to the night markets at Batu Feringhi where u can get a latest release dvd for 4 ringit (about $1.40) or a flash pair of sunnies or a rolex (genuine of course) for a few dollars. We have many movies to watch in our campervan!. Food in Malaysia deserves a mention - its very cheap - a meal might cost 3 or 4 ringit!! and ussually you could tell whats in it!!. We had 1 meal over the rd from the hydro at Miami Beach where 30 locals died and 7 are still missing from the tsunami. The little girl at the restaurant (shack right on the beach) is world famous as the "floating mattress baby of Miami beach" - the first wave came in, smashed the back wall down and took the 22day old baby (on a blow up mattress) out to sea. 15 minutes later the second wave brought her back inside another room of the shack and when the 2nd wave withdraw it shut the door so the baby stayed inside. They had heaps of news articles from all over the world.
We had a 6 hour bus ride back to KL to catch the plane to Heathrow. We had brekkie at 3am on the plane and spent the day looking around Chiswick with Charles before heading to bed at 10pm - so a very long day.
I'll get Linda to post some comments re London.
I hope everyone is enjoying Work
Regards
John
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sophies Own Blog
Sophie has set up her own blog to help us know what shes up to - check it out www.sophieinmelbourne.blogspot.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
3 days to go
After a few hectic weeks at work and long weekends rebuilding the shed we finally left Sydney after staying up till 3.30am on our final night packing the shed. We arrived in Melbourne at 6.30pm after driving from Keith (SA) this morning where we stayed with Jock. We have taken a week to get to Melbourne from Sydney stopping in Goulburn, Canberra, Albury, Deniliquin, Manoora (SA), Adelaide, Keith and now Brunswick. I think the new GPS navigator has impressed Linda by taking us directly to Lizzies place and avoiding any tollways.
Thanks to all who gave us a bed or meal over the last week. It was great to catch up with everyone. Sorry to those we missed we just didnt have enough time.
Well next post might be from Malaysia or Singapore?
Regards
John
Thanks to all who gave us a bed or meal over the last week. It was great to catch up with everyone. Sorry to those we missed we just didnt have enough time.
Well next post might be from Malaysia or Singapore?
Regards
John
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