We have just loved being up here in "the North". Graham was even heard to say that if we lived in the UK he could quite happily settle in this part!!!!! Even if he does refer to The Lake District as the Puddle District!
I have been in my element......taking the family to lots of old haunts I remember from all the holidays we had up here when I was growing up.
Of course our timing is perfect, with the school holidays being over and the weather has been great......1 day with rain in 2 weeks....unheard of!
We took a ride on the very scenic Settle to Carlisle railway which cuts a track over the moors and Dales with the help of viaducts and tunnels. The famous one is the Ribblesdale Viaduct with 24 arches, a masterpiece in engineering. The following day we drove up to have a proper look: very impressive.
Another day I took us to Malham, a Physical Geographers dream! It is Limestone country and within an 8km circular walk you get to see Gordale Scar with its towering sides, then up onto the Limestone Pavement and then down to take in Malham Cove and watch the climbers in action. Unfortunately we missed out on seeing the Peregrin Falcons that are nesting in the cliff, but read all about them in the visiters center.
We all decided we liked the "pavement" best although Sam renamed it "the Devils Cracks"!
We found out that a brand new James Bond Expedition had just opened in Keswick so that became a must see! Very good, with lots of the original vehicles on show. The curator was a very friendly guy who let the boys sit on the Water Bike and put on the blazer and Navy hat that Sean Connery had worn and then they + Graham got to sit in the Aston Martin Vanquish! That was definately the highlight of their day!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
UK
As we came into land at Heathrow it was a little distressing to hear the Captain tell us it was 5 degrees on the ground!!!!
Luckily we'd put our fleeces in an accesible spot so on they went.......it may have been 5 degrees but it felt like less!
Great to get down to Wimborne and catch up with family. The boys had a ball with their Uncle Colin who had them for a couple of days and took them to the Tank Museum open day and the Air Museum. Rumour is that Colin had to lie down at the end of each day to recover from the constant bombardment of questions from his nephews!
We have now headed north via Rugby to have a cuppa with friends and then Long Eaton to stay with my other brother.
Now we are in Kirkby Lonsdale, on the edge of the Lakes and have my sister's house for 2 weeks. It is a brilliant spot and perfect for exploring the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. We have had 3 days of warm sunny weather and so have been out and about to Lake Windermere and Lake Coniston.
Luckily we'd put our fleeces in an accesible spot so on they went.......it may have been 5 degrees but it felt like less!
Great to get down to Wimborne and catch up with family. The boys had a ball with their Uncle Colin who had them for a couple of days and took them to the Tank Museum open day and the Air Museum. Rumour is that Colin had to lie down at the end of each day to recover from the constant bombardment of questions from his nephews!
We have now headed north via Rugby to have a cuppa with friends and then Long Eaton to stay with my other brother.
Now we are in Kirkby Lonsdale, on the edge of the Lakes and have my sister's house for 2 weeks. It is a brilliant spot and perfect for exploring the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. We have had 3 days of warm sunny weather and so have been out and about to Lake Windermere and Lake Coniston.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Buenos Aires
We were all sad to say goodbye to Chile and have decided that we will definately go back some time. The flight from Santiago to B A was impressive in that it took us 40mins to cross the Andes and the skys were clear so we got to see how vast they really were.
We loved B A! It is a beautiful city with lovely colonial buildings and wide avenues. The main road through the centre is 9 lanes each way and they don't drive slowly. We crossed it a few times with the help of pedestrian crossings...... it took a while! We had booked a hostel ahead and found it to be very central. each morning we went back to the same cafe and had coffee, hot chocolate and Medialunas (croissants). We managed to find our way to the presidents palace which was lovely and I told the boys about Evita and of course finished with singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"! (Not too loudly).
We thought the Chileans loved their meat, but they have nothing on the Argentians. We ate at a couple of places, the second of which had a mixed grill for 2 or 4 on the menu. Graham was keen to go for the 4 person version, but I suggested perhaps 2 person would be enough. Well it arrived on its own bed of hot embers and we couldn't finish it. Steak, chops, sausages, ribs, kidneys, black pudding, liver, chicken and pork. (We didn't tell the boys what all the offal and black pudding was until afterwards!)
We wandered the streets at night and there was so much going on from street markets to demonstration marches which are apparently occur on a weekly basis and nobody really seems to know what anyone is demonstrating about. One man offered to braid Graham's hair. Until he took his hat off.
We had a day at a very old fashioned zoo. But at least were able to see some of the South American wildlife up close.
A word about the Argentinian drivers......
I had a terrifying drive from the centre of B A to the airport (26 km). One of the driver's techniques was to drive down the centreline between the fastest 2 lanes. This gave him the option of going left or right as he hit the traffic ahead. We are not sure what the speed limit was but at times in heavy traffic we hit 140kph. Oh, and there was a red engine light on and the petrol gauge read E! No seatbelts in the back either! Graham had one in the front and was oblivious to my terror in the back. That was until we exited at the airport and I had a meltdown!
We loved B A! It is a beautiful city with lovely colonial buildings and wide avenues. The main road through the centre is 9 lanes each way and they don't drive slowly. We crossed it a few times with the help of pedestrian crossings...... it took a while! We had booked a hostel ahead and found it to be very central. each morning we went back to the same cafe and had coffee, hot chocolate and Medialunas (croissants). We managed to find our way to the presidents palace which was lovely and I told the boys about Evita and of course finished with singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"! (Not too loudly).
We thought the Chileans loved their meat, but they have nothing on the Argentians. We ate at a couple of places, the second of which had a mixed grill for 2 or 4 on the menu. Graham was keen to go for the 4 person version, but I suggested perhaps 2 person would be enough. Well it arrived on its own bed of hot embers and we couldn't finish it. Steak, chops, sausages, ribs, kidneys, black pudding, liver, chicken and pork. (We didn't tell the boys what all the offal and black pudding was until afterwards!)
We wandered the streets at night and there was so much going on from street markets to demonstration marches which are apparently occur on a weekly basis and nobody really seems to know what anyone is demonstrating about. One man offered to braid Graham's hair. Until he took his hat off.
We had a day at a very old fashioned zoo. But at least were able to see some of the South American wildlife up close.
A word about the Argentinian drivers......
I had a terrifying drive from the centre of B A to the airport (26 km). One of the driver's techniques was to drive down the centreline between the fastest 2 lanes. This gave him the option of going left or right as he hit the traffic ahead. We are not sure what the speed limit was but at times in heavy traffic we hit 140kph. Oh, and there was a red engine light on and the petrol gauge read E! No seatbelts in the back either! Graham had one in the front and was oblivious to my terror in the back. That was until we exited at the airport and I had a meltdown!
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