December 27, 2005
Christmas 2005
Firstly we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas for 2005!
Once again, we have to apologise for the lack of web log entries we make to our site, no excuse we're just lazy :-) I also have to apologise to everyone that has tried at any point to leave a comment on this site as I appear to have been a little too successful in my effort to prevent spamming of the comments and managed to stop everyone! I will try to fix this in the future, promise.....
Anyway, we have done a few things worthy of blogging so here is the top three since asking Berit to marry me;
If you click here it will take you to our new 'Flickr' page where you can see pictures of the work involved in reinstating the fireplace in the dinning room which is the first significant DIY project in the house which we've finished.
Over the August bank holiday, Dad took part in his first hill climb and sprint in the MGA for about 20 odd years, click here for the pics. He didn't do too badly either, although he's currently rebuilding the rear suspension over Christmas in an effort to improve his hill climb times for next year.
We spent Christmas this year with Berit's Mum and brother John in Denmark, although for the 24th when all Scandinavians celebrate Christmas, we hopped across the sea to Sweden to Hörby to celebrate it with the family of John’s girlfriend, Kristina. Click here for the pictures.
That’s all for now, so we wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2006 :-)
August 01, 2005
Marry Me....
Unfortunately our lack of planning caught us out the next day when we found out that most of San Lorenzo was closed on Mondays but the Tourist Office gave us some walking guide maps so I managed to convince Berit to spend the late morning and afternoon walking to Silla de Filipe II (King Philip II's Seat).
Once at Silla de Filipe II, I did something that I had secretly been planning for a while... whilst down on one knee, I asked Berit to marry me. Luckily for me she said yes before I'd got to the end of the sentence :-)
July 30, 2005
The Wedding
After the ceremony, we made our way to a restaurant in the outskirts of Valladolid overlooking the mountains for drinks and canapees in the gardens followed by a truly impressive meal of lobster, white fish in garlic sauce, apple sorbet and lamb, chocolate cake, icecream and champagne. And then we danced into the early hours of Saturday. It was a magical day.
Valladolid, Spain
On Wednesday, we left a cold and wet Bristol behind and flew to Madrid to celebrate the wedding of our friends, Ana and Pedro, Arriving in Madrid, we teamed up with Tucker, Glen and Emily to spend the night in one of the hostels in the city centre and for a bit of sightseeing the following day, visiting one of Madrid's many famous museeums of art, Museo Del Prado. After a late lunch, we headed towards the bus station and a 2,5 hours ride to Ana's hometown of Valladolid (once the capital of Spain), where we were picked up by Ana and Pedro, friends and family and enjoyed a lovely evening-before meal (which included tripe, a Spanish delicatesse, and which Chris felt compelled to try) in the old part of town.
July 10, 2005
Camarthen, Wales
Saturday, we decided to take a break from the DIY and headed to Wales for a bike ride and a visit to Camarthen Castle. It was hot and sunny and the first stretch to Abergavenny was fantastic; the landscape beautifully green with scattered cottages and trickling steams. After witnessing a carnival, we continued through Abergavenny to the medieval town of Brecon, where the rivers Usk and Honddu join at the foot of the mountains and eagles soar overhead. After a quick stop we continued our journey to Camarthen only stopping for lunch along the way. At almost four o’clock we reached our destination, tired from the unexpected long journey (having set off at 10.30) and very hot. Unfortunately, Chris had done very little research on Camarthen Castle, and after a desperate search around the town and a visit to the tourist office, we realised the "Castle" we were looking for (and Chris had imagined to be in the countryside, surrounded by lovely gardens) turned out to be half a ruin hidden in the town centre. Disappointed, we headed home along the motorway.
September 26, 2004
Ibiza
Mid-week, Carita was able to get us onto the guest list to Pacha, one of Ibiza’s best-known clubs. Being clubbing novices, Chris and I were intrigued to find out exactly why people paid €50 to enter a club! Pacha was, arguably, impressive to look at, bathed in pink light, covering several floors and featuring a lovely outside terrace. Nevertheless, the music failed to impress! And we had perhaps more fun trying out the latest trends in fluorescent clubbing clothes at Cyberdog in Ibiza Town.
August 01, 2004
A day of rest
For a month – from 21st July to 20th August – two miles of the right bank of the Seine (near Pont Neuf and Hotel de Ville) is transformed into a long narrow beach complete with sand, palm trees, open showers, a temporary swimming pool, stalls, petanque courts, and cafés. And the road is closed for motorised traffic. The so-called ‘Paris Plage’ initiative was launched in 2002 and has become a permanent annual event; it provides a fantastic place to lie down and absorb the calming atmosphere of the riverside, and is host to numerous concerts throughout the summer. We experienced the ‘Paris Plage’ first hand on our way to Notre Dame today.
Notre Dame is situated on a small island (Ile de la Cite) in the middle of the Seine. The construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Louis VII and was completed approximately 200 years later in 1345. Under Louis XIV and Louis XV, Notre Dame was significantly altered, tombs and stained glass was destroyed, and during the Revolution treasures were plundered before the church interior was eventually made useful as a warehouse for storing food. Unavoidably, the Notre Dame fell into disrepair and an extensive restoration programme, which lasted 23 years and included the construction of a spire, was eventually carried out. Today, ongoing repairs are still carried out, but fortunately only one side of the cathedral appeared to be covered in scaffolding when we visited the building. Although quite impressive from the outside, the interior is far from perfect. Painted columns are covered in years of dirt and paintings have long lost their shine. However, the availability of modern technology, such as flat screens, seems to indicate that the church is not entirely out of touch with the times!
In order to save our legs a little, we opted for the Batobus (river boat shuttle service) on our way back to the city centre in the afternoon. The Batobus leaves every 25 minutes and covers some of the main attractions near the river Seine; including the Eiffel tower, Louvre and Champs-Elysees. A day pass (€11) allows you to use the service throughout the day, alternatively short trip tickets can be purchased at €7.5 for adults. While the shuttle service offers a relaxing alternative means of transport, one of the drawbacks, we found, was the apparent lack of passenger screening! One middle-aged German, in particular, spent the majority of his time onboard undressing me with his eyes. Chris’ attempts to stare back were in vain, and we eventually had to find other seats!
In the evening, we revisited the Eiffel tower. Although quite an amazing sight at night, this also appears to be the busiest time of the day and it took us nearly an hour to get to the top!
July 31, 2004
Montmartre
Today, we climbed the steps to Sacre-Coeur, which is located Northeast of the city centre. Avoiding the somewhat aggressive street sellers (and pigeons), we made it to the top to enjoy a fantastic 180 degrees view of the city. The first stone for the white catholic church of Sacre-Coeur was laid at the end of the 19th century; the church, nevertheless, was only completed in 1914 and not consecrated until 1919 after the end of World War I. The interior of the church contains one of the worlds’ largest mosaics, depicting Christ with outstretched arms, and the nearby bell tower contains one of the worlds’ heaviest bells at 19 tons. From the top of the Dome, one has a panoramic view of 30 km in all directions. Unfortunately, due to a recent paint attack, access to the Dome had been abandoned.
After a brief look around the church, we headed for the artistic quarters of Montmartre, a few blocks West. Montmartre is famous for its many street painters, cosy narrow streets and cafés. We both fell in love with some small portraits of an old man, but due to the sad current state of our finances, Chris settled for a sneaky digital pic instead. We then headed for Moulin Rouge in the red light district and in close proximity of Sacre-Coeur. Unfortunately, the show house looks nothing like in the film ‘Moulin Rouge’, but it does have the famous red windmill on the roof.
After an early meal near the opera, we took an evening walk to the gardens in and around the Louvre, which unfortunately, being as it’s still terrorist season, was locked shut. Luckily, the fun fair on the edge of the park was still open to keep us amused. The fun fair contains one of the largest Ferris wheels either of us has ever seen and, although seemingly appearing to be a temporary set-up, it has been there at least two years, as I was not well enough to go on it last time we were here.
July 30, 2004
A Paris
We spent most of yesterday, the day we arrived in Paris, browsing the streets near our hotel and around l'Opera. This also included a quick look at the large decorative Galeries La Fayette, Paris' famous shopping centre. From the roof terrace of the Galeries one has an unspoilt view of some of the best known sights in the city, including the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame and Sacre-Coeur. We rounded off the evening with a romantic meal, celebrating our two-year anniversary which, looking at both of our past records, is a miracle indeed :-)
Today, we spent some five hours covering a fraction of the art collections at the Louvre, one of the worlds' finest museums. The Louvre was originally a royal palace, until the transformation to public museum was commenced under Louis XVI (1774-92). The Grande Gallerie was opened by Napoleon in 1793, and in the decades following, the first collections and works of art were put on display. These included the former royal collections (which after the revolution became the national collections), works of art from churches, convents and the nobility. Meanwhile, additional buildings were added to the existing structure, decorated to suit this new 'palace for the people'. Finally, the signatory glass pyramid was constructed in the courtyard and inaugurated in 1989.
The museum is home to some of worlds most famous and significant pieces of art, including sculptures such as 'Psyche and Cupid', 'Venus de Milo' and 'The Winged Victory of Samothrace', and paintings including the 'Mona Lisa', 'Wedding Feast at Cana' and 'The Madonna of the rocks'. Sadly, the 'Mona Lisa' by Da Vinci had been moved to a new location recently and as such was no longer situated in the Grande Gallerie. Still it generates an enormous amount of interest (scrum some would say!) by visitors and has been the subject of continuous speculations, not least in the recent novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. For pics and descriptions of above mentioned pieces of art, please click on More below.
If you're planning to visit the Louvre we recommend that, unless your French is particularly good, you invest in a guide book or rent a portable CD audio device, as we did, since all the descriptions by the paintings are in french only. We'd also advise that you fake a leg injury and borrow one of those fold-up electric buggies as there's miles of walking to do and unless your very fit (not us!) it's hard on the legs. Still, it's well worth it!
We concluded our day of culture with a walk through the gardens around the Louvre (Jardin des Tuileries), continuing up the Champs %-3lys%-1e to Arch de Triumph.
Picture 1: Sculpture of 'Psyche and Cupid'.
Picture 2: Sculpture of 'The Winged Victory of Samothrace'.
Picture 3: Sculpture of 'Venus de Milo'.
Picture 4: The Mona Lisa (or La Gioconda) by Leonardo Da Vinci was painted circa 1503/06 on wood, and measures 77 x 53 cm.
Picture 5: The Wedding Feast at Cana (or The Marriage at Cana) by Paolo Caliari (Veronese) was painted 1562/3 on canvas, and measures 666 x 990 cm. This immense painting, which transfigures a religious scene into a lavish worldly banquet, was destined for Palladio's Refectory in the Benedictine Convent on San Maggiore in Venice.
Picture 6: The Madonna of the Rocks by Leonardo Da Vinci was painted in 1483 on wood transferred to canvas, and measures 199 x 122 cm. According to best selling author Dan Brown: "Da Vinci's original commission for his famous Madonna of the Rocks came from an organization known as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, which needed a painting for the centerpiece of an altar triptych in their church of San Francesco Grand in Milan. The nuns gave Leonardo specific dimensions and a desired theme—the Virgin Mary, baby John The Baptist, Uriel, and Baby Jesus sheltering in a cave. Although Da Vinci did as they requested, when he delivered the work, the group reacted with horror. The painting contained several disturbing "un-Christian" anomalies, which seemed to convey a hidden message and alternative meaning. Da Vinci eventually mollified the confraternity by painting them a second version of Madonna of the Rocks, which now hangs in London's National Gallery under the name Virgin of the Rocks. Da Vinci's original hangs at the Louvre in Paris." (source: danbrown.com)
May 02, 2004
Abergavenny, South Wales
Despite gloomy weather forecasts, today turned out sunny and pleasantly mild. So we decided on a bike ride to Abergavenny with Chris and Hayley. Abergavenny is situated 30 miles from Bristol in South Wales in the valley of the River Usk, amidst a beautiful countryside, forests, and is surrounded on three sides by hills, which form the southern end of the Black Mountains. It is also a preferred destination for 'bikers', with 50 odd bikes - seemingly at any one time - gathering there on weekends. Today was no exception.
January 01, 2004
Touring Guernsey II
Happy New Year!
We decided to do some serious sightseeing on this our last day in Guernsey. We first drove to Vale church, an ancient church, which has been a house of prayer for more than a thousand years since a priory was founded there in 968 AD as a daughter house of the Benedictine monastery of Mont S. Michel. Then we drove to Beaucette Marina to admire the boats. But the weather quickly drove us back to the car and we continued along the coast all the way around the island. We stopped at Plainmont Point, one of many places on Guernsey which still has remnants of the German occupation during World War II. Hitler planned to use Guernsey as a springboard for an invasion of Britain, and several thousand German troops were once garrisoned here.
December 31, 2003
Touring Guernsey I
We spent most of the afternoon driving around Guernsey. Paul and Linda showed us some amazing views along Guernsey's South coast, particular in the area of La Gouffre. This part of the island is blessed with some of the finest cliff top walks on the island and has beautiful views over the sea. On clear days, like it was today, it is possible to see the island of Jersey. After walking Tara and stopping for hot drinks, we continued to Fort Grey, a Martello Tower built in 1804 to defend Guernsey's West coast. Fort Grey overlooks much of the West coast, including Plainmont and a distinctive looking German observation tower from 1942.