Well this is confusing

I am off on noth trip and I haven't completed writing about the previous trip. Well never mind. I am at Auckland airport eating eir Internet bandwidth. 1 hour for my first flight. But the big question is. Can I update Facebook from here?

16th July 2010 - Rome Trip Day

Breakfast was a bit odd as in its selection,but yoghurt and bread filled us up. Then off to the Colosseum

It took us about 30 mins to get there after a short trip on the Rome underground (Castro Pretorio to Colosseo). The Rome Metro is not very extensive with only two lines. Apparently is really had to build more stations with all the remains in the ground means that it takes years as they have to be preserved first. I was tempted to take up the tours being offered but guides around the entrance gates but Gemma convinced me to ignore them.  

The Colosseum is grander than I imagined, it looks like I expected but I was not ready for the scale. It would really have been something to see working. We passed on the Palatine Hill as it was very hot and we had time issues. We went to a small food bar and had pizza slice and lemon drink. This was some of the best food we had in rome, though all the food was good if not the service. Then we walked to the restaurant to get the pictures. While we were walking along I noticed that Italian rubbish collectors are very pretty, we need to upgrade ours. We just hung around the square then back to the hotel to drop off the pictures and get ready for the trip.

We made our way to  the tour pickup point. This is the tour that Gemma was arranging when she was cooking me in the night with the assistance of her Italian boyfriend. Its a very small office with two seats for about 30 people. So we shuffled around and inside and out while we wait. There are several tours starting at the same time but it all gets sorted out. By 15:00 we were on the way to Tivioli.

Its a 45 min trip which was done at a good pace with decent roads. This place used to be where well off Romans came during the hot times. Quite a nice place.

We start off by looking at the Villa d’Este and in particular at the water gardens. The whole water system is powered by gravity, the fountains and the pools etc. Just putting your hands in the ice cold waters is quite a thrill. I found Pegasus and had a shot taken there. 

After a time we went to Hardrian Villa. The guide was working a scam of trying to get people not to go to the Villa so he could keep their entrance fee for himself. 

Unfortunately we only had one hour. Again I  did not expect the size of the place what can it have been like when it was working! 

Back to Rome in time for tea. We had dinner in a restaurant near the hotel. This time the waitress was a laugh and so we left her a tip which she seemed to be surprised about. The food was good and the beer was cold.

The place is full of Italian tourists, I expected foreign tourists but I did not expect so many italian, silly eh

Its really hot, the shower in the hotel was a god send.

I like Rome a great deal must come back again.

15th July 2010 - On a train

Not to Rome yet.

We slept badly as the ride is really rough and the noise level very high. Only coffee as there is no food left on train. The crew say they have no change but of course they have change they are just stealing from people. Time passed and so did Italy though there is no sign of the breakfast that they said they would pick up at a stop and we are 5 hours behind schedule. The guard says that we will be 4 hours late into Rome. This train is spectrally  bad (the company running it has lost the contract and service has since ceased)

Spoke to a person in the next compartment she thought she had left enough time to make a 3 hr connection in Bologna and is now very worried. They gave us water tea and a small stale bread for breakfast and we were 3 1/2 hours late into Rome Termini.

The hotel was about 10 mins walk from the station. Daniel checked us in, the place is spread over several floors but strangle the lift does not server any of them! The lift stops at mezzanine floors not attached to the real floors. 

The room is small and clean. The it was out again. Walked to the pantheon. At last a really impressive building. Stopped at a water fountain that they have scattered around, it was really cold and really good. Then a good walk to nova something. Quite packed, we had drinks at a cafe but the spoilt brat of a waitress was not impressed when I did not leave a tip.

Then down to Argentine square that Gemma knew. It was a bit early for dinner so we had a walk around. Watched a woman trying to be run over by a tram! Lots of Roman stuff, surprise!

We had a very nice dinner, with (for me) a 1L beer. Afterwards we took a taxi back to the hotel. The driving was fine, no like I had imagined it. When we got back Gemma realised that she had left her paintings in the restaurant , we phoned them and confirmed that they were there.

Went to bed, woke up boiling as the air con was off. Wondered where Gemma was, turns out she had snuck down stairs to see the boy on reception, as she had taken the room key with her the air con had switched off.

She was down there quite a while as she was trying to get a trip for the next day sorted and needed to send a fax. While the boy was sorting that out she had the work reception including booking some people in and handing out keys etc. Still she also managed to get us some free Wifi.

14th July 2010 - Outward from Paris

We had breakfast in the crypt again, still no air. We suspect that it is like this to make sure that we don't hang around and have a second cup of coffee.

We have decided to drop Vienna from our plans as transport from Venice to Vienna is to hard to arrange and seems to take up to much time. We have decide to replace it with Prague instead. At this time we have not completed our trip paperwork, we seem to be making it up as we go along, which is not really what we planned but seems to be the way its working out. Gemma had booked us into a hotel in Vienna that charged E99 if you cancelled which upset me, but after the trip I realised that even though they said they would charge us they never did.

Back to the Gare du Nord to take the Metro across to the other stations. In the Gare du Nord I watched a french teen run up behind Gemma just as she went through the turnstile which resulted in her not having to pay for her ride. She did this quick enough that Gemma did not realise what she had done. (I think Gemma would have blocked her if she had noticed) This is because your ticket is only checked as you enter the station not as you exit. This seems to happen a lot in Paris as we saw it elsewhere. The Metro system is still working well today.

Gare du Lyon still stinks today. We have somehow got lost trying to find the left luggage office. This seemed to have happened because we approached the station from a slightly different angle today which threw us off. Everything coming in to the luggage office is X-ray’d but I am not sure how effective it is as the guy watching the screen has his eyes shut.  Then its a Metro ride to the Louvre

Its a very busy day today is free entry. (Bastille day) Many fantastic paintings but what is it with the Italian slut. People swanning around as if its a religious icon, but its such a poor quality painting 

We walked and walked, it was packed as you would expect. On the way out we realised that they had closed the building to new people arriving because there were to many people for fire and safety.

My feet we hurting by lunch time, we used a food place that was as far away as we could from the crowds but we still had to wait 45 mins for food. It was good food though. Service was slow so I  suppose you are not supposed to rush. The lasagna and crepe was brilliant and the large beer a life saver. We had a window seat so that we could watch the poor people who had not come earlier enough queue up in the rain. One thing that amazed us was all the crowds were in the main areas, it was not hard to go down some gallery and find yourself alone.

As the underground station was shut we had to take a walk on the surface to another station. When we got there I was on the platform when I felt my wallet move, I turned round and found myself face to face with a gypsy girl. She was in disguise in jeans and T shirt but that is what she was OK! She realised that I was on to her and jumped back off the train just as the doors shut. I almost fell over when the train started but at least I kept my wallet. 

We went back to Gare du Lyon, for some reason Gare du Bercy is not on the metro system. There is a tunnel that leads from a Metro station by that name to almost there but not the whole way. I wonder how that happened. And what a shitty station it is. Its an old autorail terminal and you can see all the old loading/unloading yards. We were promised various things in the sleeper lounge (Wifi, coffee, tea etc) but nothing turned up just water. Even the air con was not working, quite a let down but little did we realise that the whole train ride was going to be spectacularly poor.

We were 20 minutes late on to the train and then 1 hour late out of the station. Much running around of the train crew,blowing of whistle, but not much action. The lights in our compartment blew when Gemma turned them on so we had a dark trip. One of the beds is broken and they did not attach a restaurant car and there was no tea supplies on the train,what a fuck up. But it gets far worse tomorrow!

13th July 2010 - Paris

It was a bit of a struggle getting up this morning. Breakfast was in a sort of dungeon. You went down a flight of stairs to the cellar of the hotel where there were two small rooms either side of the bottom of the stairs. The food and some sitting places was on the left with an overflow area on the right. The food was fine, normal continental food, cheeses, cold meats breads etc. the only problem was that there was absolutely no air flow. Just about suffocated. Still we managed to refuel some how. 

The wifi in the lounge was working fine and after some admin work it was off to the Gare du Nord. It's getting easier to move around now as its easier to orientate ourselves, on the way to the station Gemma and I spent our time looking at the bars and restaurants working out where our dinner will be this evening as there seems to be a good selection in that area

The underground station is under the main part of the station. There is quite a queue for the ticket office. We decide to buy a 3 day ticket so as to not have to queue like this again.  The pest of Paris (gypsies) were working the queues but I did not see them get anything. They are everywhere at the moment being a real pest. The ticket turns out to be a very uninspiring paper slip, after being used to real smart cards I don't think much of this. The trains are packed but frequent with stations noticeably closer together than London and with short dwell times. It seems like a good service. 

We walked along the river bank to the Effie tower, getting there about 10:30. It is packed of course with queues winding all over the area underneath the structure. We decided that the wait for the lifts was just to much but Gemma wanted to try the stairs that are in one corner leg. I was not to sure about that but decided I could do it at a slow pace. However then we found that that queue was over an hour long as well that finished any idea of going up the towers for us and instead we set off up the park towards the museums at the other end. 

On the way we stopped at a watering hole. Used the toilets which I was pleased to see where clean, it seems that the poor toilets that I remember from my youth have finally been replaced. All the public toilets we came across in France were clean and pleasant. 

After a very strange ham sandwich and a nice orange we set off again. We had trouble getting into the palace of the armies as we somehow managed at approach it from behind. It was quite good but not as good as the buildup on the website and reviews suggested it would be. Still we spent a happy couple of hours there and then had lunch in their canteen. , baguette , cream caramel and more original. Oringina is something that I remember from my trips to France as a youth. It's strange that the French used to not allow it to be exported. 

Then Gemma wanted to visit a textile museum so we under-grounded across to it. We walked for about half an hour then I decided I  had had enough and sat at the entrance , people watching.  After what seemed like half of eternity Gemma emerged happy but foot sore. We went back to a underground station in a different part of the general hotel area just to see what that was like. We discovered that there was a bar between there and the hotel so we stopped for some well deserved drinks. 

Back at the hotel we had a nap then went out for dinner. We went to la Luna again as we had seen some more items on their menu that we decided needed investigation. The owner was pleased to see us again. I had some really nice egg salad Gemma had pizza she was a bit overwhelmed when it arrived as it was about the size if a small planet. 

We then decided to check out the Gare du Lyon and the Gare du Bercy. Neither stations are at all attractive and at 23:00 both come across as sleazy. The path from the Gare du Lyon to the Gare du Bercy is not at well marked though it is easy to follow. The smell however caused us to rename it the Gare du pissy. The left luggage office was closed at that time but we now knew where it was and it's opening hours. 

Lots of places were closing now even the bar where I hoped to have another beer was shut. Went we got back to the hotel we had a shock as it was locked up. However after ringing for 5 mins the night porter showed up and let us in. We were really tired, Gemma did not even manage to eat the rest of her pizza. 

Tomorrow it's some more Paris and then off to Rome!   

12th July 2010 - London to Paris

We left Dad on the 08:58 Honiton to London express. Just kidding about the express bit, in fact the train seemed to take for ever to get there. Then rather than muck about with bags on the underground we took a Black cab to St. Pancras. 

The station was packed really packed, everybody and their dog was of on the trains today. We had plenty of time so we decided to have lunch at the station. What is it about British train station food that no matter what it is they fuck it up? It was just sandwiches from a fancy sandwich place but it was the worst that I have had for a long time. Why do they get it so wrong when other places can get it right?  

At 13:45 we were called to the train, as expected it was as full as the station had been. I am sure that the Eurostar had more space when I travelled on it before. It seemed quite packed and for an international service there was only just enough space for luggage after a great deal of moving of bags around. There was also no trolley service!  Tea from the buffet was black as I forgot that the default was no milk and that you have to ask if you want it.   They could do a better job I am sure. Still the service was smooth and fast and in not time we were at the Gare du Nord. 

We were only 4 mins late arriving. Gemma navigated to the hotel with only a bit of confusion as we initially could not tell which exit of the station we had come out of. We almost collided with a motorcycle crossing the road as Gemma looked the wrong way on the crossing which resulted in some words between Gemma and I. The Hotel le Rocroy is an interesting hotel, strange 70’s decor in the main areas but refitted in the rooms to a good standard. The receptionist is about 21 and typically French, Gemma reasoned that if she had been more laid back she would have been lying on the floor

Free wifi in the lobby but 3G is not working for some reason. After settling in its out for some exploring. We walked for a while working out where the various things we needed were located. For example where the nearest underground station was and found a nice bar. We ended up having dinner in an Italian restaurant La Luna, it seemed strange to be eating Italian in Paris. On the way back I saw a bunch of really rough women hanging around out side of a bar. Increased my pace (away) from there. 

Then we turned in. However at 23:30 we were woken up by the fire alarms going off. We had to evacuate to the street we Gemma claimed I did not do fast enough. It was a false alarm caused by a guest smoking in his room. 

11th July 2010 Avebury and Swindon

After a continental breakfast it's off to Avebury to see the standing stones. These stones predate Stonehenge. Unlike there these are tastefully done and in sympathy with the surrounding landscape. Perhaps because this is a Nat Trust site and not English Heritage.  Collocated with the stones and surprisingly interesting is a display of the work of the guy who invented negative photographs! (Fox Talbot) Another interesting place that we probably did not spend enough time at but it's time to set off to Fiona's. 

She does not live where I thought she did!  They are much closed to Swindon than Bath, on a modern estate on the edge of a traditional village. Fiona has turned into her mother, a fate for many daughters I guess. They have a nice modern house with a decent garden where we spend the time chatting and drinking cider. We caught up with lots of news and gossip. Unfortunatly francoise was unable to make it. When we had lunch realized that they did not know that Gemma was a veggie. Can't remember how we sorted that out.....

There is the possibility that they will visit NZ as their boy is out here for a while. 

It's 15:00 now so we move on, it's Gem's surprise. The Swindon steam museum is around here, we only have an hour until it closes but that should be enough to have a decent look as neither Gemma or I tend to hang around.  Several times on this trip we are the last people in a museum and  we end up being headed out because the staff are trying to close up. 

It's based on the old Swindon rail works. Not as much stuff as I would have expected but still very interesting and it kept us busy for our hour. 

Good motorway drive back to Honiton. It's time to give the car back, we have done about 1500 miles ( funny to be using miles again) and it has run very well. The girl on reception is not interested in checking the car ( its grubby but intact!), but she does emphasize that gypsies are in the area and I must lock the car up well as they are stealing everything. 

10th July 2010 - Bath

Roman Baths

We set off for bath at around 10:00 arriving there at about midday. It was an uneventful drive. Bath is a very nice Regency town but not built for cars! Thank god for the GPS. As it was we went round and round helplessly for a while. Using the GPS “find me a park” function we managed to get parked in a store car park some way up the hill but close enough that walking was easy. 

Between us and the Baths was the assembly rooms. Gemma of course knew all about their function and history having read Jane Austin's novels. I did not have a clue so I was a bit lost for a while. They were actually part of the Regency dating system, how young people of good family's could arrange a mate. There were about 3 main rooms but the largest was closed off. But the tea rooms were open and after the stress of paking both of us could do with a cupa. They seemed to be closing up which surprised us but then we realised that the reason for the closure was that there was about to be a wedding. However they still had time to serve us. Apparently it's very popular for wedding. 

The building has a set of rooms under it which form the Bath fashion museum. So off we went for a look, me in such a place!  Well it was a combined baths and museum ticket. I think Gemma got a lot more out of it than I did. 

Then it was further down through the main part of the town to the Roman baths. The town is packed, really packed. Fortunately for me most of them seem to be pretty young woman. Most of the seem to be foreign and in organized trips, perhaps university trips, they are too old to be high school. Anyway the baths are over run, there is a massive queue to get in , however to our surprise because we purchased a combined ticket we have priority access.  They did not tell us that at purchase and we only found out when a guy checking the queue told us off for waiting. Basically we went straight in without a wait. 

The modern supporting buildings have been improved since I was last there as has the flow of people but it still took an hour to walk round. I would have liked to spend more time there, why can't we build places like this any more.  I watched a young woman taste the water just after she had been told not to because the is Amoebic_dysentry in the water. Also moments after reading a wall plaque saying to be careful as the stones are slippery I slid on one and almost came to grief.  Gemma tried the waters (they do a filtered version ) and said they were not up to much. 

Lacock

Back into the main town for lunch then it's time to be on the road again. We are off to Lacock village. It's a village frozen in time, that time feeling like its the 30s. The buildings are all owned by the same landlord and he has not allowed any changes. First off we went for a a traditional tea but they had run out of scones. Bah!  The main building is a converted abbey from when Henry the 8th closed the ministries. It's been a private home ever since. Because of this large parts are still closed off but there is plenty to see. The cloisters are great some of the scenes in Harry potter were filmed here and used this area. 

The open area still has a fairly complete kitchen which is good to see, but then we are thrown out as its closing time!  Bah! Again. We still had time for a look at the formal gardens and then it's on the road again.  

We are bound for a Premier inn near by but for once all our technology fails us. The GPS coordinates are well off, over a mile. Another map also has the location wrong so we are in a real mess. Driving round and round trying to find the location, things got a bit stressful between the navigator and the driver at times. I found another location map that I had printed out so we give it a try. There it is!  Completely different from the GPS reference. 

It's a pub and a inn on the roundabout. Nice enough, Gemma and I have a meal in the pub and then as we are both whacked it's bed time.  

July 9th 2010 Padstow and Barbara.

We started the day with a buffet breakfast at the Novatel, which was nice enough but as usual all was over cooked. The whole place was surprisingly empty which I assume explains the room rate that we got. It seems to be set up for tour groups with signs carrying instructions for them all over the place but of the tour groups themselves there was no sign?  

We set off for Padstow through the secondary roads. Using the GPS I ended up going ways that I would never do if I planned it the old way and used a map. It's an easy enough drive there but if I had known what it was going to be like we would have gone somewhere else. What is it with the mentality of tourist spots that they think they exist to rip people off!  

Due to Rick Stein’s reputation the place gets a lot of visits that it would never have had otherwise.  However rather that giving the tourists who flock there something in return for their hard earned cash it is instead “do fuck all time”. No I understand how things work and I am not expecting cheap but I am expecting service for my money. 

It starts as you approach, the town is busy, so they should have opened the park and ride but that seems to be like work. Also some clear signs would have been useful but that would have been work and money!  It's chaos on the sea front and the traffic marshals are out. Clearly part of the Padstow old boys club. They are not actually doing anything just leaning against the wall have a smoke and a chat. I only realize what they are because of their uniforms and the fact that from time to time they step away from the wall and wave their arms about. Nobody takes any notice of them and it's mayhem. 

Eventually I get into the most expensive and smallest parking space I have seen in a while. The place is surprisingly pleasant given the number of people and if they got the cars sorted out it would be very nice. 

Every other place seems to be owned by Rick Stein now lol. Had some nice fish and chips along side the harbour. Not much sign of activity in the port, the fish was good as it was fried in meat fat for a change. Still without Stein this place would be dead. They only exist for the tourists so why don't they put some money into that side of things. One day Stein will be gone and this place will die and they will all be there with their hands out for tax payer grants because when the times were good they pissed it all away rather than investing it

Bach to Honton after our lunch, the trip started badly with lots of blockages of the  roads but it cleared after Exeter. We decided to visit Barbara, however Dad would not come. Some sort of feud that makes no sense and Dad is reluctant to explain. I suspect he won’t because it would make him look like a fool

Barbara is a small old woman now. Her short term memory has failed she acts like she is stoned all the time. It's sad to see her like this, she used to be very sharp now she can't remember your name after 5 mins. 

Mary came across and we had a good chat. She seems fine but I did not realize Simon was so sick. Communications fucked up in this family again. Why are we so hopeless at this? 

Then across the yard to see Mike and Tom. They have their hands full with this one. Physically fine but something wrong inside his head. I find it impossible to explain but they are trying their best. Perhaps it really is a bad deal for people after 40 to bred. 

Then it's back to Honiton for dinner with Dad and Hilda. Dad just keeps on bringing out food!  

Tomorrow Bath and culture, Bath the city silly not this one!. 

8th July 2010 Plymouth

I awoke this morning to the sound of my neighbors having a domestic! I packed up and again wondered why UK motels don't have laundries? Are we all mean’t to smell. It's not like they don't have facilities on site as I can see that they wash the sheets etc in a room at the end of the block. Fortunately I got my stuff washed at Dad’s though again I could not find a servant and had to do it myself.

By 10:00 I had made my way across to Dads and had breakfast and said goodbye to Gill and Peter. They will be back to Jersey soon, Gemma has been staying at Hilda's while Gill and Peter have been in the spare room. I find her up and ready so we are soon on the road.

We have a nice uneventful drive to Plymouth, but as we start into the town I realize that my memory for directions is not as complete as I thought. Either that or some of the landmarks have been moved around. Which might be the case though rather than being moved they have been hidden and disguised. The car park at Drakes circus has been encased in something so as you come up to it it looks like a very large work of art. One of the roundabouts has been turned into a T junction.

Drakes circus itself has been rebuilt into a large covered shopping arcade. Most if not all the shops that I knew there have gone. The top end is now all pedestrian precinct. I saw a Virgin Broadband stand in the entrance and had a look at their packages they would not talk to me unless I gave them my post code so I gave Dad’s. Almost signed him up for a years Internet which would have come as a surprise for him!

The UK is really getting into charity shops in a big way. They seem to be a growth industry, they are everywhere. The poor end of town is still the poor end of town. Bonus books has gone! Wow is I, the shop that I spent so long in as a student ferreting out the bargains etc has shut. According to the sign in the window I only just missed it as it had closed the previous month. How the memories of my youth are falling. The note said that he had to retire due to I'll health and could not sell the shop as a going concern.

We go looking for the pasty that I used to collect my lunch from and which made pastys different from any other place and whose taste and texture I associate only with student life. I am not sure if it has moved or is in the same place but they have upgraded the product. Oh noooos! Better contents different pastry damn another icon bites the dust. The food is nice but it's just not the same they have even repainted the shop! With the pedestriation of the shops many stores are putting tables outside in the continental fashion which is a change I definitely approve of. We go to Past Times but very little jumps off the shelves at us despite they having a sale on. In the end I buy a book of Eagle comic cutaways. Very interesting.

Then it's time to look at the Polly. Lots of new buildings here, the original buildings that I knew only form a core to the site now. There is an immense brown ugly building where the student car park used to be. However somebody has out some real money into this site it's quite impressive. We wander around, some of the things are the same. The SU is being rebuilt and though in the same place has been changed ( no glass pyramid ) and is no longer the same layout. However it's chaos inside so it's good to see something's never change. I wanted to but a t-shirt but only hoodies were available.

Then off to Saltram house. It's a NT place, quite interesting and this place still has its kitchen. It's 4 pm by now and our springs are running down. Onto the Novotel at the roundabout at the end of the A38. It's much better than the NZ Novatels less poor people and more tourist/business. 68 a night for a very decent room, though service in the restaurant was a bit odd thought as I write this I can't remember why?..

7th July 2010 Dads 92 Birthday in Honiton

I started the day with a real cafe cooked English Breakfast. Just like I remembered it, including the Black Pudding. But first I had to face the receptionist! How had I got in without paying? Who gave me a key! how did this happen bah! I explained to the dragon that I had tried to follow process but it did little good. She looked rather put out that I had been told that she had been fired as she had only had the day off? I suspect somebody got a right shouting at later behind the scenes. It turns out that the young couple next door had also got a key without paying and had gone before she could charge them. However it seems that it was a fairly common event and she knew who they were and would catch them later. Having paid I was allowed to eat!

I went across to Dad’s next and was surprised to find everybody up at 08:30. We had some tea and then showered him with gifts. I had to reuse Gemma's wrapping as I had been unable to get any for mine but Dad did not seem to mind. Gemma gave him a painting of cats and I gave him a book about a country vet and 8 DVD’s and military history that might be interesting to him. He seemed pleased with them all including the truffles.

At about 12:30 we all set out for a short drive to a hotel. (http://www.lakeviewmanor.co.uk/ ) Its in a lovely location along side a small lake set in its own grounds. It was time to feed Dad again. I had a really nice cod and chips (impossible to get in NZ) and Dad had liver and bacon. They come here quite often and hence are known to the staff and know the menu. We of course made sure that it was accompanied with plenty of the local real English beer. The oldies all seemed to enjoy themselves with the normal amount of fussing about which they seem to have to do.

The desert included a cake with a sparkler in the middle of it rigged up by Gemma and Gill. Not 92 candles only 12. Then we went and took pictures on the lawn.

Back home for a rest to try and digest all the food and then it was time to eat again. Just a like meal of cold meats salads etc.

Gemma made the salads. I tried some of Dads wine but found it to be undrinkable. Then we did some more family stuff talking about various family members that were not present. Lauren's photo caused some comment as they all think she is very grown up and very much like Gill.

Then the oldies were tired so it was back to the motel for me.

Gemma and Dad!