Kent

Posted on February 17, 2016 by kathy

After five wonderful days in London, we caught the train from Charing Cross to Tonbridge, Kent, and picked up our hire car. We drove to Tunbridge Wells, where Michael grew up, and explored the town.

2.Pantiles

The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade, named after the pantile paving on the Upper Walk in 1700. Now lined with shops, galleries and cafés

3.Pantiles 4.Pantiles 5.Pantiles

the area was created following the discovery of a chalybeate spring in the early 17th century.

6.Pantiles

After lunch at The Duke of York

7.Pantiles Lunch

we visited High Rocks, which weren’t as high as they seemed to a young Michael. The drive was scenic

10.High Rocks

and the pub inviting.

We found our way through the back lanes to our B&B, The Duck & Drake, just outside Rolvenden.

12.Duck & Drake 11.Duck & Drake 13.Duck & Drake

The room was lovely

14.Duck & Drake

with a gorgeous view to greet us the next day.

15.Duck & Drake

We stuck a pin in the map and headed for Hastings,

where the ruins of the castle, built by The Normans in 1070, sit proudly above the town.

21.Hastings

We took the easy way to the top

23.HastingsCliffRail

for a closer look at the ruins

and the magnificent view.

26.Hastings

Back in the car park, this young gull had made himself comfortable.

27.Gull

We drove on to Eastbourne

28.Eastbourne 29.Eastbourne 30.Eastbourne

and after a leisurely lunch, we started back to The Duck & Drake, discovering Bodiam Castle along the way.

31.Bodiam Castle

Built in 1385 as both a defence and a comfortable home, the castle was used in Monty Python & The Holy Grail as Swamp Castle.

There were no curtains, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utuchVE_56M, but I think they would have obscured the scenery.

41.Bodiam Castle 42.Bodiam Castle

One last stop for a quick beverage at The Elephant Head

43.Elephant Head

where we made a friend

44 Boxer

and we finished the day with a fabulous meal at The White Lion in Tenterden.

Gunns Plains

Posted on February 12, 2016 by kathy

Gunns Plains is a rich, fertile valley in northwest Tasmania. Named after botanist and early explorer, Robert Campbell Gunn, the Leven River winds through pastures, grazing stock and rich, red volcanic soil. Forty minutes drive from our house is George Woodhouse Lookout where George and his wife, Lurlie, are resting with a view of their beloved plains.

1.sunny view

The view is breathtaking, even on a cloudy day.

2.cloudy view2

It is a place we like to take visitors, building them up to this astounding vista as we get nearer. It was a little disappointing, one clear June day, to find the valley under heavy cloud. Still beautiful but not quite the same.

3.fog1 4.fog2 5.fog3

The scenery is just as captivating once down on the plain.

6.plains1 7.plains2 8.plains3

I love the poplar trees as winter approaches.

9.plains4

Beneath this gorgeous landscape lies over 150 caves. The second largest was discovered in 1906 when a possum hunter’s dog fell into a hole. It was opened to the public three years later. The formations in the cave are magnificent, particularly the calcite shawls

10.shawl

and the flowstones are so varied.

11.flow

Stalactites, stalagmites, columns and young shawls abound.

This cute little fungus caught my eye.

21.fungus

The underground river still flows and is home to the endangered freshwater crayfish, platypus and eels. The delicate display of the glow worms can be appreciated when the torchlight is dimmed. We look forward to returning to the caves, maybe with our next visitors….

Ponte a Serraglio

Posted on February 10, 2016 by kathy

When we decided we had to travel to Italy in order for Michael to make another guitar, I wanted to know more about the area of Bagni di Lucca where we would be staying for that two weeks. I discovered that Bagni di Lucca is a collection of 25 villages in the Lima Valley, Northern Tuscany, known for its thermal springs since Etruscan and Roman times. I stumbled across a wonderful Blog, bellabagnidilucca.com and contacted Debra, the maestro of the site. Long story short, we rented her gorgeous apartment in Ponte a Serraglio for a week prior to the course. The one on the corner with the balcony.

1.apartment1 1a.apartment2

It was very light and airy

3.living room1

and the floor tiles were exquisite.

The views down river

9.view2 10.view3

and upstream

11.view5

were stunning and the piazza opposite was a hive of activity.

13.view4

The balcony was the perfect setting to watch the world go by, surrounded by beautiful flowers.

12.view1

A short walk along the river

20.riverside1 21.riverside2 22.view6 23.riverside3 24.riverside4

across a footbridge

25.bridge

is Villa Fiori, one of the many 19th century noble villas in the area. Sadly, it is in need of some restoration, I’ve added that to my list when the lotto numbers come up.

26.villa fiori1 27.villa fiori2 28.villa fiori5

Ponte a Serraglio is a gorgeous village with some interesting buildings.

29.corner building

The first public casino in Europe, built in 1837, was restored in 2005 after many years in ruins.

30.casino

I love the old doorways

We enjoyed a delicious homestyle Tuscan meal at Albergo Corona Ristorante one evening.

33.hotel corona 34.hotel corona

There was no shortage of dining options with Bar Italia

36.bar Italia

Ristorante da Vinicio

37.pizzeria

and Ristorante Cavalier Bruno all a short walk from the apartment and with excellent food (and wine, of course).

38.ristorante

Our last day in Ponte a Serraglio came too soon. What better farewell than lunch on the balcony, created by Michael from our remaining supplies.

39.last lunch1 40.last lunch2

We explored a few of the villages during our time in Bagni di Lucca, far too many for one post……….

London

Posted on February 2, 2016 by kathy

Our British adventure began with a few days in London. Neither of us had been for many years and we couldn’t resist seeing the postcard sights. The best view had to be from the London Eye.

1.London Eye

Opened in the year 2000, it is Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel at 135 metres. One revolution takes about 30 minutes, travelling at a rate of 0.9km/hr. This allows enough time to get on and off without stopping and do a quick sweep for explosives in between.

2.The Eye

The 32 pods each hold 25 people. I’m pleased to say we only had 8 in ours.

3.The Eye

Before long, the iconic landmarks came into view. St. Paul’s Cathedral and Waterloo Bridge.

Charing Cross Station with Embankment Place shopping complex above and Hungerford Bridge, often called Charing Cross Bridge.

A little higher

8.The Eye

and we could see across the 23 hectare St. James’s Park

9.St James's Park

to Buckingham Palace.

10.Palace

From the top

11.The Eye

it was a long way down

12.The Eye

and we were awed by the dimensions of the Palace of Westminster, otherwise known as the Houses of Parliament.

13.Parliament

As we descended, we had a close look at the intricate architecture of County Hall and a glimpse along the Thames to Westminster and Lambeth Bridges.

After lunch and a beer on Southbank we embarked on a Thames River Cruise. On the way we had a different view of County Hall and a closer look at Big Ben.

The Houses of Parliament were just as impressive from the water.

19.Houses of Parliament

The Tate Modern was not an attractive building, it looked like the power station it used to be.

20.Tate Modern

Hay’s Wharf was a trading wharf from the middle ages until 1969. The Wharf and Galleria now house offices, restaurants, shops and flats.

The glass facade of City Hall contrasts sharply with HMS Belfast, moored nearby and now owned by the Imperial War Museum.

Tower Bridge blends with the hue of the river and sky.

25.Tower Bridge

The Tower of London stands proud

27.tower

despite competition from The Gherkin.

28.Tower & Gherkin

The 40 storey commercial skyscraper in the financial district has dominated the skyline since 2004.

29.Gherkin

We walked the scenic route back to our hotel, past the Horse Guards Parade,

up The Mall, through Admiralty Arch

32.Admiralty Arch

to Trafalgar Square. Nelson oversees the hustle & bustle from his Column, keeping watch on The National Gallery.

Piccadilly Circus concluded our sightseeing.

35.Piccadilly Circus

I think we did well for one day!

Caddo Lake

Posted on January 22, 2016 by kathy

While staying with Michael’s brother and sister-in-law in Texas, we were taken to Caddo Lake, the largest freshwater lake in southern U.S.A. Half in Texas and half in Louisiana, the 26,800 acre lake was once home to the Caddo Indians. The land was bought by the Government in 1835 and within a year all were moved out.

There are a number of theories as to how the town of Uncertain, on the shore of Caddo Lake, got its name. We lunched at Uncertain General Store & Grill, their specialty being catfish, along with other tasty offerings.

1b.Uncertain