The Great Travel Adventure: England 5

Here we are again! This time we are off to London!! And what a city! I fell in love with just the little bit we managed to see. We arrived there on a Saturday afternoon to meet our lovely friend  Rickey (whom we had only ever met on Facebook) and checked into a hotel that Rickey booked us into and then headed off to a beautiful Turkish restaurant called Sarastro on Drury Lane (booked and paid for by Rickey) and THEN went to see a fabulous show called Dreamboats and Petticoats (booked and paid for by…you guessed it; the lovely Rickey!) We had an AMAZING night in the beautiful London and then enjoyed the next day meandering along the Thames. Enjoy the following two weeks of London!  

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

A lovely old pub.

A BIG paella in the making at Covent Garden.

Christmas decorations were already up at Covent Garden.

The Charles Dickens Coffee House…unfortunately no time for this one

A row of hire bikes…

Just something pretty that caught my eye

A pod of the London Eye… Would have LOVED to have been in one of those! Our time was limited

Westminster Bridge…on a gloomy afternoon.

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben…

…and again as seen from the other side of the Thames.

See you next week…

The Great Travel Adventure: England 4

Another round from England for you!  This time we head to  Brighton, via Arundel. We took a road trip from Amesbury (where we were based with Ray’s son and his family) to Arundel, taking approximately 2 hours, where we spent a bit of time exploring the area. We then headed to Brighton with Ray’s other son and his family to discover this cosmopolitan seaside resort.

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

Arundel Castle: is a restored medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067.

Just a little something I saw on the way

Old ruins by the River Arun.

Devil’s Dyke (to the left) is a 100m deep V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way in southern England, near Brighton and Hove. Devil’s Dyke was a major local tourist attraction in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Some lovely English country side in Sussex.

As we came back from a walk in that very lovely countryside, I spotted this bunch of trees.

St Peter’s Church is a Church of England parish church in Brighton in the English city of Brighton and Hove.

The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England, United Kingdom.

In the streets of Brighton…

…and Brighton Pier.

The Great Travel Adventure: England 3

Hello again! This week I take you on a journey through Bath; a small one but a lovely journey nonetheless.  Bath is a city in the county of Somerset, South West England and I fell head over heals in love with her! The history, the beauty, the culture; what a magnificent place. As I chose my photos for the week, I developed an overwhelming desire to be back there again… We visited the city of Bath with Ray’s eldest son, daughter-in-law and grand daughter. It was a most beautiful and memorable day and I am so happy to share these photos with you

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

Parade Gardens along the River Avon. On the left is a statue of Mozart.

The famous English red telephone booth amongst some gorgeous old architecture.

Part of The Circus; an example of Georgian architecture.

And again, taken from the other side.

The spire of St. Swithin’s Church taken from Hedgemead Park.

The nave of Bath Abbey.

Stained glass in the abbey.

A statue in the abbey, such beautiful artwork…

A different view…of the west entrance of the abbey.

And of course, the famous Roman Baths…

The Great Travel Adventure: England 2

This week’s photos come to you from the beautiful city of Salisbury. A lovely place and a city I could easily swap for Sydney. We meandered through Salisbury with Ray’s two sons and their families on our first visit there and again on our last full day in England, where we also discovered the beauty that is the Salisbury cathedral. What an amazing structure! 

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

A lovely little house that I spied on the outskirts of the Salisbury cathedral close.

Autumn in all its glory!

The magnificent Salisbury cathedral; I was in awe of this beautiful architecture!

One of many a stain glassed window of the cathedral.

Part of the magnificent ceiling.

The cloisters…

Just lovely, I thought…

Where William Goulding taught.

A wee bit skew

Looks nice and warm in there.

See you next week!

The Great Travel Adventure: England 1

We arrive…in England! I just adore this country and when we were there (now pardon the cliché here) I felt a sense of belonging; that England is meant to be my homeland… Weird? Maybe. But to me it felt as if I were home. The people are lovely, friendly and so polite and charming. England boasts a beautiful countryside and the Autumn leaves gave the streets a charming feel. I adore the history of this country and fell in love with the magnificent architecture.

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

The River Avon; where we went on our first full day in England with Ray’s lovely daughter-in-law and sweet little Myla, Ray’s grand-daughter whom he had never met.

A house along the road that runs along the river…

Some typical English homes.

Lord’s Walk; a beautiful, relaxing place to walk, taking you along the river path and up to the grassed walk lined with lime trees, with occasional opportunities to sit and contemplate…

Part of the Amesbury Abbey, possibly the gatehouse.

A row of shops in Salisbury, not too far from Amesbury.

A thatched house we walked past often in the two weeks that we stayed in Amesbury with Ray’s son, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter. A very pleasant stay indeed :-”)

Autumn in England; love it!

A lovely, moody kind of day as we walked across a farmer’s land (a short cut to the park).

Lovely Autumn greenery…

The Great Travel Adventure: São Miguel 6

The following photos were taken on a day our friend, Marco took us on a drive to Furnas and back to Ponta Delgada. We were again treated to some magical sites that this wonderful island has to offer. If you EVER have a chance to go to São Miguel, please do…

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

Vila Franca do Campo, the first capital of the island. Tragedy struck by way of earthquake and landslides in 1522.

Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Paz (The Chapel of Our Lady of Peace) is located on top of the Mount of Our Lady of Peace.

A little sneak peek of Lagoa das Furnas (Lake Furnas). Furnas is a civil parish in the municipality of Povoação, the parish is one of the largest in the island and in the Azores.

Several fumaroles and mud pools are located at the northern part of Lagoa das Furnas. People cook what is called cozido, a dish consisting of pork, beef, lamb, chicken, sweet potato, cabbage, carrots and yam. All ingredients are put in a pot which is then put in a canvas bag, lowered into the fumarole, which is then covered. The food is left in there for four to six hours; unfortunately we didn’t get to taste this dish but Ray guarantees me it is YUM!

Geysers and hot springs in the centre of Furnas.

A house near the geysers and hot springs, I loved the moody look of this image…

One of the hot springs up close, but not too close…they are hot!

The gorgeous Lagao das Furnas…

A tea plantation at Gorreana, on the north coast of the island.

The north coast of São Miguel, facing east.

I do hope you enjoyed São Miguel; we certainly did and I consider myself very lucky to have witnessed such a magical place on this beautiful earth.

Next week we are in the very beautiful England! See you then

The Great Travel Adventure: São Miguel 5

This week I bring you photos from our absolutely AMAZING day trip to Sete Cidades and  Lagoa do Fogo, via Ribeira Grande. Sete Cidades is a civil parish in the centre of the municipality of Ponta Delgada, that is likewise located in the centre of a massive volcanic crater approximately 5 km across, also referred to as Sete Cidades. The smallest parish by population (although largest in area), Sete Cidades’s population was 858 (2001), in an area of 19.22 km² (its density is 44.6/km²). 

What we witnessed on that day was magic and something that will stay with me forever…

Do have a look at my husband’s wonderful photographs: http://www.rayscam.com/

The view of Lagoa Azul, at Sete Cidades.

And here we see both Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde

Lagoa de Santiago, a lake a little past the first two…paradise.

We had lunch in Ribeira Grande, a lovely town, and we experienced some delicious food at a restaurant chosen by the tour guide.

A lookout at Rebeira Grande gave me this magnificent view of the ocean and moody sky. In the distance is Sete Cidades.

We stopped at the Caldeira Velha waterfall…

…such a peaceful quiet.

We spotted this feral kitty

Then we were driven to Lagoa de Fogo…

…where we took in this beautiful scene. I will never forget these magical places.

Join me next week for Furnas! Our friend, Marco took us for a wonderful drive to another volcanic crater :-)