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Following Battle, Tom and I meandered back to Oxford. From there we made a few day trips out and about. Notably we made it to Winchester - the former capital of England (during King Alfred’s time). Winchester is a great place, a lot of the buildings are either still in use, or are open air museums. We found King Arthurs Round table, well it was a fake, a 700 year old fake, but impressive non-the-less!

With Kate in tow, we also made a trip to the Cotswolds. We were able to find some old stones, in particular, the Avebury Circle. It’s like Stonehenge but about 1500 years older! It’s thought to align stuff during certain periods of sun/moon etc! Neat I tell you… Funny thing is, the town of Avebury is smack bang in the middle of the stones, and the main road runs through the circle, having to turn a bend so you don’t hit any stones…

One other trip of note was a leisurely ride to Banbury. There is a canal that runs from Banbury to Oxford that used to be used to transport goods (pre-rail).  To drag the barges horses were used so there is a tow path alongside the canal where they walked. Now the canal tow path is a bike/walking track. The first few miles out of Oxford is very lovely and picturesque! However, we eventually hit foliage. Lots of it… and heaps of stinging nettles too. Of the 44 km, we managed about 30 before we gave up! Never again, I tell you. Ridding through nettles and other plants that are higher than you is not my idea of a nice ride. Good thing I had Tom to whinge at!

So that’s about the extent of my arm of Tom’s visit. There were some pubs involved too, but I won’t bore you anymore!

Our next trip was Australia! I didn’t take many photos there, but I’ll put some up soon.

How about some pictures?? (more here)

Tom landed on our door step in early July for some travelling. I had planned to have internet up by his arrival to make planning etc of some travelling easier. But alas, that was not to be (read previous post).

Without internet we had to do things simply. First we went to France (see post below). Upon returning to Oxford, Tom and I started doing day trips and things throughout the days to keep us busy. Kate was busy working, so when the cats away (or at work) the mice will play! We went down to the South East of England where our first stop was Windsor and of course Windsor Castle. This was the second time I’d been to one of the Queens weekend homes, and frankly I enjoyed it as much this time as I did the last time! I think my highlight is the “collection” of stuff on display. Most notably the bullet that killed Lord Trafalger and a red cape found in the carriage that Napolean fled from after his defeat at Waterloo!

After Windsor we made a bee-line to Brighton. Tom and I indulged in fish and chips as you have to when in Brighton. We then started looking for accommodation. It was a Wednesday night at about 9pm and we had no clues as to where we should stay. Well a quick call to Kate (back in Oxford) and she checked out some places in the lonely planet which we had conveniently left at home. We eventually checked into a *cheap* hotel - right up my alley! I think it was cheap ’cause it was above a night club. The club didn’t close until 3 am… Then the revelers continued to stand in the streets and yell at one another… Still it was cheap! and the following morning we had a full cooked breakfast. Cheap I tell you! I managed to sleep OK thanks to my trusty ear plugs. Never leave home without them, espeically when you are sharing a room with Tom. zzzzzzz (get the point?)

After Brighton we headed towards Hastings and the location of the battle of Hastings (1066). Funnily enough, the battle of Hastings took place in a place called “Battle”. I know our forefathers weren’t too bright, but you’d reckon that they’d be smart enough to steer away from a place called “Battle” ’cause you can guess what’s going to happen if you take your army there!

A quck history lesson… the battle of Hastings was between the Norman King William the conqueror and King Harold (of England). Turns out that when King Edward the confessor (the previous King of England) was on his death bed, he told Harold to go to William in France (Normandy) and inform him that Edward wished he, William, to suceede him as King of England. Harold, being a little industrious decided to take the English throne for himself. Well, when William found out, he wasn’t that happy… so he orded a huge fleet of ships to be constructed so he could go to England and have a word with Harold. Needless to say he did OK, hence why he was called “William the conqueror”. At the sight of the battle William (after winning) ordered the erection of a church etc to commerate the battle. Good stuff! (any history buffs, please correct me if I’m wrong!)

We then travelled to Bodium Castle (see pic below) which was the home of a Knight adventurer (a bloke who goes about gathering money for his own end). He built this place to let all the locals know who was boss in his area… Oh and he married the local lord’s daughter to cement the deal. Supposedly he got sick of England though, and returned to France… lovely place though!!

More to come…

Some pictures here!!!

The mega coffee giant Starbucks puts their tail between their legs and heads back to Seattle.

Yay!

Aussies want real coffee, not double decaff frappicino crap!

I know that most houses in developed nations have internet, but if you have had to listen to my diatribe about the trouble that I’ve had getting our new flat connected, you’ll know where I’m coming from.  It has taken 7 weeks!  I think most of the time taken was due to the lovely ability British Telco’s/ISP’s have of

1) losing your application

2) getting your application wrong (ie installing it at someone else’s house)

3) cancelling your order because they didn’t think you wanted it

4) promising they can connect you when they can’t then

and 

5) failing to tell you that they can’t until you hound them

If you want to know more, ask me, I’m happy to tell!!

As for the connection… i’ll let you know how good it is when I have time to sit down and download!  I will also  get some photos up for  the travelling I did with Tom and our quick trip to Oz. 

Wow, i’ve been on holidays for 3 weeks and 2 days now. We’ve been to France (with Tom in tow), we’ve travelled around the South of England, and we also made a trip to Oz for Kate’s sister’s wedding. Photos to come, gotta finish washing first!

It was great to catch up with people too… if we didn’t see you, sorry, it was a rushed visit… Thanks to those who put us up (Jo, D+N and Mum and Dad).

I also met my nephew Paxton for the first time.

What a trip. I’m ready for some sleep now!

Well we made it to France and back.  I’m glad we booked a slightly larger car than we normally book as we brought a bit of stuff back with us, namely wine, cheese, beer and some wine (or did I already say that?)

My birthday present from Kate was, you guessed it, wine!  I’ve now got a nice little cellar filled with lovely French wine.  I reckon I’ve got enough to keep me (and visitors) going for 6-12 months, but we’ll see.  Maybe another trip to France is on the cards!

Our trip started in Calais.  We drove South to Brittany to see Mont St Michel, an amazing monastery built on a tidal island.  We then slowly returned North via the medieval town of Bayeux where we were met with a medieval festival.  Bayeux is home to the famous tapestry that tells the story of the battle of Hastings in 1066.

Tom and I checked out the D-Day landing beaches, as well as several open air museums along that part of the coast dedicated to detailing the history of the allied landing on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944. 

Finally, with Kate’s French hitting an all time high, we stayed in a French B and B for the last evening (where the hosts didn’t speak English).  Kate managed to book our accommodation over the phone with only a French phrase book to hand!  I was so proud…

We then headed back to the ferry via some wine shops and home.

3 people, 4 days, 1135 miles in a 1.6 L Ford Focus, 108 bottles of wine and a great Birthday!

Next trip… Oz!

A few of my *many* photos are here

To France! For my birthday.  Tom’s coming too.  We’re taking a car over (on the ferry) to bring back some stuff, wine, cheese and coffee…

No one seems to think that my webpage banner is an ugly colour, are people colour blind? Or are the ~200 unique hits i’m getting a week from spam bots only?  Still no internet at home.  Does anyone else remember what life was like before the internet?  How do you answer questions like “what’s the weather like tomorrow?” or “Who was the 19th prime minister of Australia?” or “which jam company supplies to the English royal family?”.  It was Prince William’s birthday on the weekend.  Wonder if he got a special breakfast?

Needless to say, I spent an amount of time at work on the weekend, just seemed like something interesting to do…

From a shoe box to a boot box (ie something slightly bigger).

We now have very little furniture.  Time to make some!

My dream possession…

I do know someone who owns this, I could steal his!!