As the weather was supposed to be rain we went to Lago Orta as recommended by one of our Galerie Shiraz customers. However the weather service was wrong again and although it was cloudy and a little chilly it did not rain. Again it is a wonderful little Italian village and the photographs reflect this. One amusing episode was the turkey with the $550,000 Aston Martin who squeezed his car down a very narrow alley as demonstrated by my model Penny, it took him a good five minutes with his mirrors retracted and a crowd of mobile phone photographers following him waiting for him to get stuck…… great entertainment
Switzerland to Italy today a nice easy run with time to stop and smell the roses. Hotel Felmis near Lucerne was very comfortable and by Swiss standards very reasonable, we left after an excellent breakfast and went down to the shores of Lake Lucerne to meet the swans, some of whom were busy swimming and some who were very sleepy. Expected to pay a few tolls today going on motorways and passing through the Gotthard road tunnel but surprise surprise no money changed hands, I cannot think it will never happen though later on. We made it to Lake Maggiore and stopped at Cannobio with a least one canvas in the bag, onward to Stresa.
Our room Hotel Felmis - Lucerne
Lake Lucerne
Snow capped peaks
Let sleeping swans lie……..
Penny loves tunnels
Gotthard road tunnel, 16 km long, keep the car between the green lines on the dash display………
A short run down to our overnight stop in Lucerne in Switzerland, only one night cause this place is expensive. For starters apart from tolls on the motorways you have to pay the yearly fee of forty Swiss Francs just for the privilege of using them even if you’re only there a day. No wonder the Swiss are rich……. but it’s still a nice place and Lucerne was for us a surprise, much better than Geneva which was the last time we were in Switzerland. The restaurant were we had a $70 snack in had the most refined loos we have seen from the urinal which was really old and actually had a tap with which to flush it, to the ladies facilities with lovely roses, as you can see from the “crappy” photos. By the time we had walked up to see the Dying Lion , don’t ask we don’t know, the heavens opened up and the rain poured down the first time in the trip, so it was back on the free bus to the hotel and get dry.
First pit stop in Switzerland
Room with a view…..
Dying Lion..
Gents urinal……
40 Swiss Francs later we’re legal
Space Age ferry
Malcolm this is how you do a family tree…
In the Ladies
On the bus back to the hotel absolutely drenched……..
The problem with names in Alsace is that a lot of the French towns have Germanic names due to the fact that nationality here has change five times in the last one hundred and fifty years. This is why when we went to Breisach am Rhein we thought it was another French town but in actual fact as you cross the bridge over the river you’re suddenly back in Germany, that’s the fun driving in Europe. Eigenhuis is built in three distinct circles, it’s hard to portray in photographs but you can walk around the village three times in different streets, apparently this was not for protection but they thought it would make the village more compact than straight streets and people would live closer. It is also said that the Alsace wine industry started here and there is plenty of evidence of wineries in the town. Eigenhuis is also a winner in the best European and French village completion and based of the lovely atmosphere and picturesque views. Last day in the Alsace region tomorrow onto Lucerne and expensive Switzerland for one night.
Friday was castle day and we went to a pretty imposing edifice only a short drive through wine country from Colmar. Alsace wine is a very important product in this area, with it’s drier climate it’s a perfect grape growing area, both white and red. It’s also harvest time and people are very busy picking and crushing, Haut Kœnigsbourg is a castle atop of the Stophanberch Mountain 755m above the plain, it was first built in the 12 century and has a very checkered history until during the thirty years it was sacked and burned by the Swedes, although what Swedes were doing so far south!!! It was left as a ruin for two and a half centuries, when Alsace fell into German hands in 1871 it was eventually given to Kaiser Wilhelm II, yes that Kaiser Bill, he was interested in the German knights of old and decided to restore the castle to it’s former glory. He commission architect Bodo Ebhardt to do the job and a magnificent job he did, it took him 8 years from 1900 to 1908. All was well in Kaiser Bill’s world until 1918 when he had to hand over the keys back to the French, so after spending millions on the restoration he lost it all, but it was worth the €9 each for entry. Did I mention St Hippolyte, no I didn’t….. but the Tour De France went by
Penny is very good at research for our trips, these three villages, close to Colmar, came up as contenders for new canvases for Gallery Shiraz, and so it is, here are some of those contenders …….
no not this one, Penny might buy it though…..
Colmar is in the centre of the Alsace wine industry and all around there are countless acres of vines all ready for harvesting and eventually drinking, there are many vineyards all offering “degaustation” which sounds awful but is actually wine tasting, might try some of that……
Colmar is a town in Alsace region of France which has been a mixed history of French and German occupation. Since 1945 France has ruled the Alsace region and will from now on given the stability of EU politics, (apart from Brexit…. lol ) This gives you a French town with a German background ranging from architecture to cuisine. Having said all that it deserves it’s reputation as a very picturesque place as the following pictures show……..
Castles on the Rhine today, a casual 100k drive down the edge of the Rhine River and some spectacular scenery. The interesting thing that I didn’t realise is the amount of river traffic on the Rhine, it is very much a working place, and not just the cruise boats full of Australians but there were barges full of coal, gas, containers and various other cargoes.
Some beautiful buildings in some of the communities located along side the river on both sides, there are any number of cross ferries, indeed we saw a school empty and lots of pupils headed for the ferry to go home.
We walked a few hundred metres to see the statue of the Loreley, a siren that lured sailors onto several rocky outcrops in the river especially when the water level was low. We didn’t expect to see the real one but she was there beckoning like mad…..
Mainz is also a typical Rhineland city, lots of medieval buildings surrounded by new modern edifices, but wandering around the old city was a joy and we also saw the best of the worst!
Once again we board a ferry at Dover and head for the European mainland , always exciting and amazingly always a perfect crossing.
As we had an early start a full English was called for and in retrospect should have been ignored, it was not the best and a piece of toast would have sufficed.
The drive to Koblenz was one of the longest of the trip and unfortunately we had to abandon a couple of side trips so it was straight to Germany. Koblenz was a bit of a surprise and we enjoyed our little sojourn there, we even included our own river cruise.
A drive down to Dover for our date with the Dunkirk ferry tomorrow. Not a bad drive even though it meant venturing onto the dreaded M25 clockwise and over the Dartford crossing for which we paid the princely sum of £2.50 . Weather wise a good day, a little cloudy in parts but later on arrival sunny and reasonably warm.
Went to see the White Cliffs and the Louis Bleriot memorial and place were he crash landed after reaching England from France, I recreated the crash but I wasn’t hurt.
Nice Hotel and even had a Pierre Marco White fish and chip shop but we didn’t partake……. Tomorrow we invade Germany…..
What trip to the UK could be complete without a trip to Wellesbourne Markets at the local airfield, stuff everywhere to buy and we did, hats, 200ft hosepipe, sandals and others………
While there a WWII Hawker Sea Fury took and and did a few circuits, all very exciting……
A few people attended…
Thought we could try this layout at the markets!
Hawker Sea Fury
Pimms at a local hostelry
Day 27 : ? Nothing Happened
Day 28 : Wednesday - Southsea
A couple of days on the south coast to see niece and great nieces in the Portsmouth area. We revisited Southsea which has some great memories for us, a walk over the common, along the front and upto the pier, passing a couple enjoying a portable BBQ……..
Southsea Pier
We stayed here in 2006 with Mum and Dad
Day 29 Thursday - Lee on Solent
Sue and Alan arrived today meeting at Lee on Solent for coffee and cake. There is a local airfield nearby and low and behold we had been there two minutes and a Spitfire took off and circled about. Turns out you can have a joyride in one from £2,750……..! In case you want to book go to https://www.boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk
Isle of Wight, Cowes in the distant
Oh the sound of that Merlin ………..
Lilia and Elise
Elise taking after her great uncle
Day 30 : Fleet - Mapleduram
Homeward to Coventry with a long visit with Mike and Ro in Fleet, longstanding friends of Leslie and Penny with a lunch date at the local Queens Head pub
Then by chancte by not programming in motorways into the satnav we arrived at Mapleduram in Oxfordshire. This was a destination Penny had written in her little book of places to visit, you probably have never heard of it but it was the location for the movie, “The Eagle Has Landed”. The mill race, church and Mapleduram House all featured as locations, unfortunately apart from the church the other two have been fenced off for private tours so the pictures are taken through it.
The old mill where the German saved the children and tore his uniform
The church where the hostages were held
Michael Caine was here : not many people know that!
Sunday day of rest, visit now to Sheldon Country Park a great little green park in the middle of suburbia. The park paths wind their way through parkland, woods and stream until you come upon the end of runway 015 at Birmingham International Airport. Crowds of mum and dads with kids and dogs were there and we only had to wait for thirty minutes for the days big draw, the Airbus A380 Emirates flight from Dubai. Amazing sensation standing on the centre line to watch and listen to the big jet going overhead.
The gang
Here comes the 380…….
Roman the Rumanian rescue dog belonging to Matt and Jen and staying with Sue and Alan while owners are on holiday in Egypt
Scott’s at Troon and a delicious lunch with the five of us, nice place, good food ( yes including haggis) and spectacular view of the marina.
Then onward to the seaside town of Largs to visit Nandini’s Ice Cream Parlour which has been here and delighted children and adults for years and is an institution when visiting.
Guiness Ice Cream
Tropical palms care of the Gulf Stream
Wednesday 21st August Linlithgow
New View of the Palace
Mary Queen of Scots
Another visit to Linlithgow the birth place of Mary Queen of Scots. The last time we were here took a photograph of the palace which we have sold several times although we never toured inside.
This time we paid the money and went inside, it was a bit of a rabbit warren, it does have four towers and we were trying to reach the the very top, the first three climbed we were met with a gate at the top, of course it was the last one that let us out, however the view was worth it.
Thursday 22nd August Dumfries - Kirkcudbright
Dumfries was once a large port importing hugh amounts of tobacco from Virginia and was also a centre of witch burning and has the honour of having the last public hanging of a woman. These facts and more were gleaned from the the smallest museum we’ve seen, very friendly staff and they even liked my hat. It’s located in a small house at the end of the bridge, this was once converted into two dwellings, one family had six children living in three small rooms and in the other an old woman who appears to be the local gossip, midwife and all round nosey parker!
The museum
raging weir
Local sunny beach near Kirkcudbright
Coast line, very Galway like
Scottish Night in Kirkcudbright (pronounced Kikcudbri ) Kids with flags dancing to a killie band and the local pipers!
Friday 23rd August This is Anfield
One of Penny’s bucket list items a visit to Liverpool FC at Anfield, I had been before, worked it out it was on January 7th 1961 when Coventry City played there in the FA Cup. Brilliant ground but shows the difference between the haves and the have-nots in football. An enjoyable visit and back to Coventry……
Schoolboy dream
The famous Kop End
Post match interview
Setting up the dreaded VAR
I swear you could play snooker on this surface
Pre match press conference
Saturday 24th August This is St Andrews Coventry City
Saturday brought us to St Andrews in Birmingham, the new “home” ground of Coventry City……… It’s actually the home ground of Birmingham City FC but due to ongoing problems with our owners it’s where we play for the time being.
It’s a nice ground with good playing surface and City today beat Gillingham 1-0….. 3 pts in the bag
Saturday was young Olivers first birthday with all the family gang, then it was off to the Fox and Hounds in Houston but we didn’t have a problem getting there (:-)
A very classic pub with a whisky menu to die for….
Selection of photographs from Queensferry with several possible Galerie Shiraz Canvases
Monday was a tram ride into Edinburgh for a look around, it’s real busy at the moment as the annual Fringe Festival is on, People everywhere and the Royal Mile full almost to capacity. Penny achieved a bucket list first and hand held an owl, in fact an European Eagle owl which is one of the largest owls around, she commented “it was very soft”! We then went to Rose Street and back to Shoogly Peg peg for my favourite, Haggis, Neeps and Tatties with Pepper Sauce, hmmmmmmmm!
Back to Bathgate after our Royal Deeside sojourn, the satnav took us unto 2000ft and into the clouds with a pea souper mist. Then we came to Fettercairn and it’s Royal Arch, built to celebrate Queen Vic and Alberts visit in 1861 mind you it took them two years to build it!
Onto Dundee and the squeezist multi story car park we’ve come across, had to park on the roof to find a spot with room to fit the car. The waterfront, like a lot of towns, has been renovated with the new V&A museum and a birth for the Discovery. This was Scott’s ship which was purpose built for his Antarctic expedition in 1901-04 in Dundee, it was also the last traditional three masted wooden ship to be constructed in the UK.
Then down the coast to St Andrews to which there is a lot more than the Golf Course. It is a lovely little town with its Castle and Cathedral, we managed to find some free parking at the harbour and although it soft rained for a little while the sun eventually came out and it turned into a nice visit.
Thursday is culture and history day, while the twins went tree hopping swing about 50ft off the ground the adults went to see around Crathes Castle and gardens. I nicked the following from the Scottish National Trust.
The Burnett family, who lived in the castle for over 350 years, had roots in the area dating back to 1323 when Robert the Bruce granted them nearby land. Alexander Burnett built the castle in the 16th century, an intricate maze of turrets, towers, oak panels and painted ceilings, many of which survive beautifully to this day.
Later that evening Marina’s nephew Harris, who we had not seen for some years since he was a little lad, come over fro Balmoral estate to visit. He is now a gamekeeper for HM the Queen at Balmoral and lives a life mixing in the highest circles, mind you he’s still good for some Royal insights…………
Today we thought we would say hi to HM at Balmoral but her secretary forgot to tell her we were coming and she had gone off ten pin bowling in Aberdeen with Phil. Not really but apparently they were all in residence so we could not look around the castle so went to Crathie Kirk where the Royals attend church and Princess Anne was married there.
Balmoral is something over 55,000 acres and is owned privately by the Queen and not the state, Victoria purchased it with Albert after spending some time together at a local hunting lodge, she reputedly paid £38,000 for it and it has passed from monarch to monarch since then. There was hiccup when Edward VIII abdicated and his brother, the new King was forced to make a financial arrangement to take it off hands and return it to the monarchy.
There are several circular walks around Loch, we choose the 3 mile one which was very pleasant as the weather stayed fine, we finished the day with a distillery visit and a drink at the Boat Inn
Today we set off for a four day sojourn at Cairnton Farm Cottages near Auchlossan. This is a working farm raising Black Angus cattle for over a hundred years, they have diversified and offer some accomodation with some walking, or in Malcolms case running , trails.
First though there was a stopover at The House of Bruar, the Scottish Harrods….. don’t say that too loud in Scotland….. It’s always a treat, this was our third visit and the food hall was just as magnificent as usual, as Marina said you could walk around all day and find something new to put in your bag, and the fish and chips were great.
We drove through the Cairngorms and stopped at a little place called Ballater which being close to the Queen’s Balmoral Estate boasted by appointment signs at various establishments.
Then it was onto the farm to ensconce ourselves in the home from home for a few days.
