Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
Long silence
Apologies for the long silence, been so busy since May with one thing and another. We did manage to get another holiday though. We returned to the Loire Valley for two weeks in early August. We found an excellent gite, Le Moulin de Maulne, near to Château La Vallière. It was about an hour from Angers and Le Mans and about 30 minutes from both Saumur and Tours.
The weather was great, nice and hot and we managed to get through all the books we’d stockpiled as well as a lot of the local wines. Sightseeing took a back seat as we went primarily for a break after a difficult few months but we did manage to visit the gardens at Villandry, Saumur, Angers, Le Lude, La Fleche, Langeais (excellent Sunday Market), the zoo at Doue, the Abbaye de Fontrevaud and the 24 Heures de Le Mans museum.
Nostalgia time!
We’re just back from a nostalgic trip to Paderborn-Sennelager. This is where we lived for a while whilst working in Germany.
Travelling again
Half-term we’re off to Paderborn for a few days. The first time back for several years and we plan to visit all the old haunts (assuming they are still there!); Maurizio’s, Akropolis, Deutsches Haus, Finke, Klingenthal, Kump, Bad Lippspringe, Sennelager, Schloss Neuhaus, Padersee etc etc. Looking forward to a Zigeuner Schnitzel too. We will be staying at the Ibis on the Paderwall, cheap and cheerful but handy for walking into the town centre.
Lodge Neuhaus (my mother Lodge) isn’t meeting when we are there which is a shame as I haven’t attended a meeting of the Lodge since 2000.
Photos coming on our return!
Holiday time again!
Just back from a couple of weeks in the USA. Flew to Boston with American Airlines for a few days, then on to Las Vegas with US Airways then back to Boston. American Airlines were a big disappointment, very poor in-flight entertainment (1 film) and not even seat back screens! The food was ok but we’ll defnitely be using BA in the future, the price difference is woth it. US Airways were ok, food and baggage were extras – think a slightly up-market Ryan Air and you’ll be close.
Boston was hot and humid for the first few days, we stayed in the Bostonian Millennium which is in a fantastic location just across from Quincy Market and Fanueil Hall. We booked a whale watching cruise with Boston Harbor (sic) Cruises which took us out to the Stellwagen Bank off the north-eastern tip of Cape Cod. We were lucky with the whale spotting – a multitude of humpbacks, fin and minke whales.
Las Vegas was very hot, between 102 and 107 during the day but a nice dry heat. We stayed in Paris-Las Vegas which was fine. Nothing to really shout about but all you need is a bed and the room was large, clean and comfortable. It is 8 years since we were last in Vegas and the development in that time is tremendous. Several new hotels have gone up and there is a huge development in the centre of the ‘Strip’ which just beggars belief.
We were lucky enough to see the Lion King at Mandalay Bay, Le Reve at the Wynn and the Bodies exhibition at Luxor. The show ‘Le Reve’ at the Wynn was superb, you can’t describe it, you just have to see it if you are in Vegas. The whole production is based around an amazing morphing swimming pool with mind-blowing acrobatics. I thought the Bodies exhibiton might be a bit gruesome but it was fascinating and very well presented.
Returning to Boston we took in the Museum of Fine Art, the Science Museum and lots of shopping. This time we stayed in the Back bay area in the Westin Copley Place which overlooks Copley Square and the Public Library. The Westin wasn’t quite as nice as the Millennium but still of a good standard.
Loire Valley 2008
Our only real holiday in 2008 due to pressures of work. We decided we wanted a relaxing holiday so booked a gite near to Doue-La-Fontaine in the Loire Valley. The gite was a lovely old farmhouse with a private pool and the weather was great. Our first visit to this area and I doubt it will be our last.
Interlaken 2007
Our first vist to Interlaken for 11 years. We flew into Geneva and trained it to Interlaken for a week late in August 2007. We stayed in the Hotel Rossli, a small family run hotel that we had last used in August 1995. We can still recommend the hotel, it’s within easy walking distance of the Hoheweg and Interlaken West station. Interlaken has changed a lot and not all of it for the better, there are too many ‘chains’ present on the Hoheweg with McDonalds, Tchibo and others forcing out the traditional Swiss restaurants and cafes. The scenery is still as stunning as ever……….
Boston 2007
We had October half-term 2007 in Boston, USA. This was our second visit to Boston and we stayed at The Lenox Hotel in the Back Bay area. Good hotel and a great location. Our visit happened to coincide with the Boston Redsox making it to the Worldseries (yeh – right) baseball finals against the Colorado Rockies. We really tried to get into baseball but failed miserably.
