Good Morning,
I think it is time for me to catch up on my blogs...I have been putting pictures on my Facebook but have neglected my blog!! Since my last blog, have visited Budapest, Hungary. We spent the first day walking around and happened upon the Parliament Library, 1956 Uprising when the Communist killed 2500-3000 civilians and over 13,000 wounded that started with a student demonstration that attracted thousands and then the crowd was fired on by tanks and soldiers on top of buildings that caused a river of blood thru the streets in the square where the Parliament building were. We took a private tour of the of the memorial of the 1956 memorial. While in Budapest, we became very familiar with taking the Metro, Tram and City Bus. We did have a few days that were rainy but we still managed to see what we wanted. While in the subways, we saw lots of people who apparently we're living in the Budapest. We saw the Chain Bridge, Liberty Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion that was built in 19th century to serve as a lookout tower. Matthias Catholic Church built in 1015. Another city with beautiful architecture. They also have a Statue of Liberty that is Black and Gold that sits atop one of the higher hills. We enjoyed the street musicians playing the violin and accordion as we walked around the town centers. Buda was the city on the West Bank of the Danube and Pest was on the East Bank of the Danube. They unified the two cities in 1873 and named it Budapest. We were going to take a trip down the Danube but it was a rainy/cold day so we decided to take the tram home!! Budapest is cited to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
We decided to take a day to go to Velkey Folkmar, Slovakia as this is the town where my Mom's Dad was born and where he lived before he came to America. It is a windy road up the mountain from Kosice, Slovakia. Once we arrived , we went to the only grocery store there and asked about the names that my Mom had written down of her Dad's parents. The women in the store did not speak English but there was a man in the store and he said to come with him and he took us to the city manager. The city manager was in his car going somewhere but he got out of his car and took us to his office. He only spoke a little English but he called his son and he was translating. After some time, he said he would go and pick up the translator. While we waited he had his secretary come and give us refreshments. He returned with his son and we spent about an hour or so with them. They could not find my great grandparents names but he gave us a contact in another city that may have records. He also gave us a beautiful book that he had written about life in Velkey Folkmar. Of course it is in Slovakian but has lots of pictures. My Mom and Sister had visited with my Zeda back in the 70"s to Valkey Folkmar. The manager told us that American's rarely come to their town. We would have stayed there overnight but there was not a hotel. We left them with heartfelt thanks and gave them our addresses to come visit with us if they ever want to come to the states. What amazing people to just stop their day and help us!
As we traveled to the country side of Poland, we found Kosice where we spent the night in a different sort of hotel that had a solarium like atmosphere on the first floor and the hotel rooms on the second floor. We found St. Elizabeth's Church just around the corner from our hotel. It is the largest Cathedral in Slovakia. Kosice is the 2nd largest city in Eastern Slovakia. We walked around the square and once again found great food in a local restaurant and amazing buildings. As we traveled to Kosic, we saw these birds sitting on very large nests on a couple of telephone poles. Not really sure the type of bird. It seems that Cannoli Oil is a crop that is also grown in Poland. As you can see by our smiles....we are still having fun moments and lots of laughter!!
On the road again out of Kosice, Poland....so many castles in the countryside. They liven up their landscaping with the purple and blue guard rails. Traveled through lots of small villages and we came thru this town that had all these older homes made of wood and wood carvings. We had rain and then saw snow on the mountains. In just such a short drive, we are seeing amazing scenery...and again, pictures cannot show the beauty that we are seeing.
We have almost daily planning sessions to see what we have seen and where we want to go next which makes it such a fun trip for all of us.
Please go to George and Pat's blog or my Facebook to see pictures. I will research putting pictures on my blog for next years adventures.
~" A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."~
We send our love and our prayers to each of you in our daily prayer.
I am trying to catch up on my posts......some of you may have seen this travel news with pictures on my Facebook!
Hugs,
Tom and Maryann
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Friday, May 13, 2016
Tihany , Hungary. 12 May 2016
Hello, Today was a day of on and off rain and downpours on our way here to Tihany , Hungary. It is a little village about 60 miles from Budapest, Hungary. We were on our way to Budapest via the Autobahn but since it was raining and it was to be raining in Budapest for a couple of days, we decided to venture onto the country roads . We had met "someone" in England, I think and he had recommended that we come to this area so we did. We will stay here for a couple of days before we head to Budapest.
We had spent 2 nights in Prague, Czech Republic. We stayed just outside the city and took the tram into the city. We decided to do a "hop-on-hop-off" bus tour. Even though we did just that, we did a lot of walking. We walked about Prague Castle area that is to be the largest castle in the Czech Replubic and is still used for government business and meetings. We then took a river cruise on the Vltava River and went under the famous Charles Bridge that was built in 1357. Stopped at a street vendor outside the Prague Castle and had a lite lunch. The view of Prague from the Castle area is beautiful. Amazing how big the city is. We also were able to watch the changing of the guard for the castle and apparently the Soviet Prime Minister was visiting and we saw his motorcade and then he exited his car and walked and shook hands with some people standing near by on the way into the castle. We took the tram back to our hotel. We had taken the wrong tram into the city...went the wrong way but had plenty of time so saw some other parts of the city...but were sure to take the correct tram back to our hotel!! The hotel was actually part of the sports stadium walls, so can now say "we spent two nights in a stadium"!!! Apparently you could book a room that had a window that looked out onto the field. The staff at the hotel were once again more than happy to assist us with our questions. As we left Prague, we decided to stop in Brno, Czech, Republic. We walked around and saw a beautiful church.....each city has so many old beautiful churches. We also will see crosses with Jesus Christ crucified either near a town entrance or exit or just out in the country on a routine day trip. We were told that 60% of people in the Czech Republic are Atheist but there are always several churches in each town and city , plus these crosses on the roadside.
We also had a nice lunch on the plaza as was a beautiful sunny day. We next ventured to the Brno Undreground. This is a medieval and mysterious underground. Within it's walls is a Kostnice which houses the second largest ossuary in Europe built in the 17th Centrury .It consists of three burial chambers which contain the remains of over 50,000 people who died during the Thirty Year War, the Swedish Siege of Brno as well as cholera and plague epidemics. There are walls built of bones and skulls in an art-like way. The skulls were placed in this art like gallery as all the city graves were full and there was no places to bury them .
We went into the tunnels and it was very sobering and sad.
We decided to head for Budapest on the 11 May and decided we would find a small village to spend the night vs. city. We ended up going over the Solvakia Mountain Range and found a nice bed and breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in Seneca. The owner was very helpful and we had a nice dinner in the local Solvakian restaurant just around the corner. It was nice to have a nice walk to the restaurant...passing by some nice homes that had vegetable gardens, grape vines and fruit trees. One of the homes had a really detailed irrigation system.
We will be here in this small village of Tihany on Lake Balaton another day before we head for Budapest and whatever adventures we find around the next curve!
We are still having great days and laughing a lot....sometimes not sure why! Tom and George are taking turns driving now too.
13 May 2016..add on. After yesterday's rain and clouds , we woke up this morning to a bright blue sky and sunshine. We decided to go to a little town about an hour from here that is known for it's spas called Heviz. On the way we drove around Lake Balaton. We had a nice walk around Heviz and found some nice little shops and they also had a local craft fair. Maryann was talking to a shop owner and he told her that the weather was to change from sunny to pouring down rain at 2 PM. Just as we were finishing our gelato , we noted a very black cloud and rain drops...it was 20 minutes to 2! We headed to the car just in time and arrived back in Tihany in time to go up to the Church that was built on an old volcano at the top of the hill and had amazing views of Lake Balaton. We had left the rain behind in Heviz and drove back into the beautiful blue sky and sunshine!!
Yesterday we celebrated Emme and Eiza's 3rd birthdays. We were able to FACETIME with Emme and sing happy birthday to our happy girl who was at the zoo with her Mom who took the day off to spend the special day with Emme. We also gave Eiza hugs in our hearts.
We continue to keep you all in our daily prayers.
~ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR PRESENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, THE BEST IS YET TO COME~ unknown author
Our Love and Hugs,
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
We had spent 2 nights in Prague, Czech Republic. We stayed just outside the city and took the tram into the city. We decided to do a "hop-on-hop-off" bus tour. Even though we did just that, we did a lot of walking. We walked about Prague Castle area that is to be the largest castle in the Czech Replubic and is still used for government business and meetings. We then took a river cruise on the Vltava River and went under the famous Charles Bridge that was built in 1357. Stopped at a street vendor outside the Prague Castle and had a lite lunch. The view of Prague from the Castle area is beautiful. Amazing how big the city is. We also were able to watch the changing of the guard for the castle and apparently the Soviet Prime Minister was visiting and we saw his motorcade and then he exited his car and walked and shook hands with some people standing near by on the way into the castle. We took the tram back to our hotel. We had taken the wrong tram into the city...went the wrong way but had plenty of time so saw some other parts of the city...but were sure to take the correct tram back to our hotel!! The hotel was actually part of the sports stadium walls, so can now say "we spent two nights in a stadium"!!! Apparently you could book a room that had a window that looked out onto the field. The staff at the hotel were once again more than happy to assist us with our questions. As we left Prague, we decided to stop in Brno, Czech, Republic. We walked around and saw a beautiful church.....each city has so many old beautiful churches. We also will see crosses with Jesus Christ crucified either near a town entrance or exit or just out in the country on a routine day trip. We were told that 60% of people in the Czech Republic are Atheist but there are always several churches in each town and city , plus these crosses on the roadside.
We also had a nice lunch on the plaza as was a beautiful sunny day. We next ventured to the Brno Undreground. This is a medieval and mysterious underground. Within it's walls is a Kostnice which houses the second largest ossuary in Europe built in the 17th Centrury .It consists of three burial chambers which contain the remains of over 50,000 people who died during the Thirty Year War, the Swedish Siege of Brno as well as cholera and plague epidemics. There are walls built of bones and skulls in an art-like way. The skulls were placed in this art like gallery as all the city graves were full and there was no places to bury them .
We went into the tunnels and it was very sobering and sad.
We decided to head for Budapest on the 11 May and decided we would find a small village to spend the night vs. city. We ended up going over the Solvakia Mountain Range and found a nice bed and breakfast at the bottom of the mountain in Seneca. The owner was very helpful and we had a nice dinner in the local Solvakian restaurant just around the corner. It was nice to have a nice walk to the restaurant...passing by some nice homes that had vegetable gardens, grape vines and fruit trees. One of the homes had a really detailed irrigation system.
We will be here in this small village of Tihany on Lake Balaton another day before we head for Budapest and whatever adventures we find around the next curve!
We are still having great days and laughing a lot....sometimes not sure why! Tom and George are taking turns driving now too.
13 May 2016..add on. After yesterday's rain and clouds , we woke up this morning to a bright blue sky and sunshine. We decided to go to a little town about an hour from here that is known for it's spas called Heviz. On the way we drove around Lake Balaton. We had a nice walk around Heviz and found some nice little shops and they also had a local craft fair. Maryann was talking to a shop owner and he told her that the weather was to change from sunny to pouring down rain at 2 PM. Just as we were finishing our gelato , we noted a very black cloud and rain drops...it was 20 minutes to 2! We headed to the car just in time and arrived back in Tihany in time to go up to the Church that was built on an old volcano at the top of the hill and had amazing views of Lake Balaton. We had left the rain behind in Heviz and drove back into the beautiful blue sky and sunshine!!
Yesterday we celebrated Emme and Eiza's 3rd birthdays. We were able to FACETIME with Emme and sing happy birthday to our happy girl who was at the zoo with her Mom who took the day off to spend the special day with Emme. We also gave Eiza hugs in our hearts.
We continue to keep you all in our daily prayers.
~ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR PRESENT SITUATION IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, THE BEST IS YET TO COME~ unknown author
Our Love and Hugs,
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Ramstein Germany 8 May 2016
Good Morning,
We spent a couple of days in Bristol, England with Louise and Alaistair. We stayed just around the corner from where Louise lives in their friends "flat". Louise and Alaistair fixed a nice dinner and breakfast for us. The streets where they live are very narrow and have cars parked on both sides of the street so driving down between the cars was very interesting. When we arrived, it was raining but Alaistair had requested that we bring the sun and so we did! The next couple days we had sun!!
We all went to the Tyntesfield Castle in Bristol and spent the day walking around the beautiful flower gardens. The castle is a spectacular Victorian Gothi Revival house built on an extravagant estate with many gardens and a wonderful view. We had a nice lunch in a building that used to be the barn so ate in an area that used to be a "pig pen". Alaistair gave us a guided walking tour of downtown Bristol. Tom was able to have a ride in Alaistair's 1930 Austin. Alaistair's dad had purchased the car new in 1930! Tom had been waiting to get a ride for a few years ever since Alaistair had told him about the car!! We left Bristol on the 3 May and drove to Dover, England to spend the night before we were to take the ferry to Europe. We had lunch on the pier overlooking the English Channel and with the Cliffs of Dover just behind us. The next morning we turned in our rental car and made our way to the Ferry. We had downsized our luggage and left some with Louise in Bristol as we were going to pick up another car in Calais, France. It took us 1.5 hours on the P&O Ferry to get to Calais, France. We picked up our rental car and were off to Spangdalem Air Force Base. The weather was sunny and warm and the country side was small rolling hills and green with many fields of Yellow Flowers (canola fields). We arrived in Spangdalem about 5 hours later and checked into billeting and then had a nice dinner in a restaurant in Gondorf. We used to take the girls there when we were stationed in Bitburg for picnics as they had a nice animal park. The next day we walked around Birburg and had a nice lunch. We also drove around Bitburg Air Force base where we used to live and talked about our memories!! We remembered the time we spent in Bitburg with Peggy and Larry in the area 5 years ago. The years do go buy quickly.
Today we are in Ramstein Air Force Base. We arrive yesterday and met with John, Penny and Alysia who are living here now. We have known Penny since 1980 when stationed with her parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. John had proposed to Penny in our backyard in Hawaii! They will soon be married 30 years! It was so nice to spend the day with all of them and catch up on the past years! We had lunch at a castle on top of the mountain in Landsthul with a great view.
We are staying at TLF on base here in Ramstein Air Force Base.
Tomorrow we will head to Prague...we think. We are discussing our route this afternoon.
~"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring"~ Anonymous ~
We send our love and our thoughts to you and are keeping all in prayer.
Please keep us in your prayer for safe travels.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We spent a couple of days in Bristol, England with Louise and Alaistair. We stayed just around the corner from where Louise lives in their friends "flat". Louise and Alaistair fixed a nice dinner and breakfast for us. The streets where they live are very narrow and have cars parked on both sides of the street so driving down between the cars was very interesting. When we arrived, it was raining but Alaistair had requested that we bring the sun and so we did! The next couple days we had sun!!
We all went to the Tyntesfield Castle in Bristol and spent the day walking around the beautiful flower gardens. The castle is a spectacular Victorian Gothi Revival house built on an extravagant estate with many gardens and a wonderful view. We had a nice lunch in a building that used to be the barn so ate in an area that used to be a "pig pen". Alaistair gave us a guided walking tour of downtown Bristol. Tom was able to have a ride in Alaistair's 1930 Austin. Alaistair's dad had purchased the car new in 1930! Tom had been waiting to get a ride for a few years ever since Alaistair had told him about the car!! We left Bristol on the 3 May and drove to Dover, England to spend the night before we were to take the ferry to Europe. We had lunch on the pier overlooking the English Channel and with the Cliffs of Dover just behind us. The next morning we turned in our rental car and made our way to the Ferry. We had downsized our luggage and left some with Louise in Bristol as we were going to pick up another car in Calais, France. It took us 1.5 hours on the P&O Ferry to get to Calais, France. We picked up our rental car and were off to Spangdalem Air Force Base. The weather was sunny and warm and the country side was small rolling hills and green with many fields of Yellow Flowers (canola fields). We arrived in Spangdalem about 5 hours later and checked into billeting and then had a nice dinner in a restaurant in Gondorf. We used to take the girls there when we were stationed in Bitburg for picnics as they had a nice animal park. The next day we walked around Birburg and had a nice lunch. We also drove around Bitburg Air Force base where we used to live and talked about our memories!! We remembered the time we spent in Bitburg with Peggy and Larry in the area 5 years ago. The years do go buy quickly.
Today we are in Ramstein Air Force Base. We arrive yesterday and met with John, Penny and Alysia who are living here now. We have known Penny since 1980 when stationed with her parents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. John had proposed to Penny in our backyard in Hawaii! They will soon be married 30 years! It was so nice to spend the day with all of them and catch up on the past years! We had lunch at a castle on top of the mountain in Landsthul with a great view.
We are staying at TLF on base here in Ramstein Air Force Base.
Tomorrow we will head to Prague...we think. We are discussing our route this afternoon.
~"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring"~ Anonymous ~
We send our love and our thoughts to you and are keeping all in prayer.
Please keep us in your prayer for safe travels.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
24 April 2016. Tipperary, Ireland
IT IS A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY!!
This is a song that was written by Jack Judge who was a British music hall writer. AND on our journey from Scotland to Tipperary we have made many new memories. We stayed at a B&B near the port of Carynryan Scotland where we took the Stena Ferry to Belfast. The B &B used to be a Vicar's house over 200 years ago. We could see the church from the window in our room. Once again the staff were so welcoming and the food in the Pub was perfect....especially the Carmel Banana Split was enough for 4 but Tom and I managed to eat it all. The next morning we had our A wonderful breakfast...and a fun talk with the cook. The B&B was secluded in the country...in fact on our way there we came upon a large tractor on the back road so had to back up a fair distance to let the tractor pass as ..."it was bigger than our car"!!
The next morning we arrived at the Stena Ferry and were one of the first cars to board. The accomadations on the Ferry were great. Had comfortable seating with a buffet with cakes, fruits, breads, coffe, teas and anything else you might want to drink. Even though we had a large breakfast, we felt obliged to eat more!! There was even a theater on board and WIFI with computers that we could use. The trip took about 2.5 hours and then we were at the port just outside of Belfast. We had made reservations just outside of Belfast and found that George had made another great choice in booking. We settled in and then went to the Titantic Museum...did you know that the Titantic was build in Belfast? Really enjoyed the self guided tour. The next day we traveled to The Giant Causeway which is in Northern Island on the Atlantic Ocean. What wonderful views. We walked down the trail along the water and were amazed with the structure of the round and the vertical rocks that the ocean waves had formed over the years. OF course we took the shuttle bus back up to the visitor center. Then we drove thru some country roads to the "rope bridge". Tom and I walked down the path and enjoyed the views but did not attempt the steps to the bridge. Pat and George did take the walk and walked on the rope bridge that connected to an island that was used by the Salmon fisherman. Maryann saw a lady struggling when coming up the steps so offered assistance and made sure she was OK...then we offered to walk back to the visitors center with her. We then took a drive to Donegal though the country side. Saw lots of sheep and some cows and amazing country side. Once again we found ourselves on roads that were more like bicycle paths!! The next day we headed to County Mayo. On the way we stopped by the Marble Arch Caves. Marble Arch Caves is one of the finest caves in Europe. We were guided thru this fascinating natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers with beautiful cave formations. At the end we climbed 175 steps to come out at the top and beautiful green forest. We stopped at The Three Way Inn that was out in the country and had another great Irish lunch and best part was spending time talking with the owner. Our encounters with the people we meet and have conversation with are some of the best times on this adventure. Amazing the friendly people that we have had the pleasure to just chat with. We then traveled to Ballina which is in County Mayo where we met Mary and Pete at their granddaughter's pub "Katie's Corner". Mary and Pete are cousins of our friend Gerri Cass in Tucson. What fun it was to spend time with them in this typical Irish Pub. They were so welcoming and we had such a nice visit just getting to know them and of course ..the guys all had a "pint" of beer!!
We then headed to Dublin and found lodging in a little town on the way to Dublin. The next day we arrived in Dublin and were driving around as wanted to go to the Guinness Brewery but finally just left as the traffic was crazy.....so decided to drive down the coast to Dalkey. Beautiful beach town but were unable to find a place to stay and once again the traffic was crazy with narrow streets....so we moved on and arrived in a town called Cashel and found a lovely B&B on Main Street that overlooked The Rock Castle. The B&B was called Baileys and the staff were again outstanding. The Rock Castle had been a High Cross and Romanesque Chapel in the 12th Century , Gothic Chathedray in the 13th Century and 15th Century Castle. We walked around the town and up to the Rock of Cashel. We decided to stay in Cashel for 2 nights. Once again we had some Irish food in a local Pub. Where do we find these neat pubs, you might ask....well we either ask the very friendly staff at the front desk or of the places we stay or we just stop on the street and ask someone....and so far they have Always been very pleased to eat in these places that the locals frequent!!
Our next stop was Tipperary. We are staying at Ballykisteen B&B here. We booked a week here. We have been singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" a few times per day . AND George and I were singing the part that we knew at the tourist information center this morning and one of the girls gave us a copy so would have the correct words! We were singing "It is a long way to Tipperary , it is a long way to go"..(but could not remember the rest so ..Maryann added another line) "when you go from Sagninaw, Michigan"!! Now we can learn the correct words. Pat and Tom were not really excited about us practicing in the car when we are "on the road"!!
We are staying at a B&B that is also a golf club here in Tipperary Junction. So are able to enjoy the pool etc.
We visited the a delightful Swiss Cottage that was built by Richard Butler, the 1st Earl of Glengall in the 1800"s for family The Butler family lived in the Cahir Castle just down the road but used the Cottage to entertain friends or as a country house for outings for the day. Once again we were amazed at the country side and the small roads that we traveled. Tom continues to be an amazing driver with George in charge of the Garmen and occasionally taking a different route using a map!!
Pat and I do give input but it seems that mostly our voices do not carry to the front of the car!! Hmmm. We celebrated our one month traveling together and we are all still friends and seems that we are laughing more ...hmmm. Tom and I attended Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church near by.
Sunday we drove down to Blarney and walked up to the castle. Pat and George walked up into the tower of the castle and George kissed the Blarney Stone. Tom and I had done several years ago when we traveled to Ireland with our girls. Now Tom said George is definitely certified in talking Blarney!!
We also visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery in Middleton, Ireland. Really a fun tour of Tom's favorite whiskey.
Tom and George were selected to participate in being an official whiskey taster at the end of the end of the tour and received the coveted certificate for "achieving the envied status of official Jameson Irish Whiskey Taster! We also stopped to taste some great gelato in Blarney and stopped by the woolen mill near Blarney before we headed back to our B&B.
On to Galway was our next day's outing and went to the Clifts of Moher and took a boat to get up close to the Clifts. As ALWAYS, we had some fun discussing prices with a couple of Irish boat tour companies and were able to get a nice discount on the tour. It was a beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean...were even able to be outside while on the water. The sun seems to come out when we are doing activities .. We then drove down the Wild Atlantic Way thru the small towns and even smaller roads...seems to be more cows than sheep in this area. On the way we stopped in Ennis and walked around and found a nice older lady going home from the grocery and she recommended a local pub for dinner. Once again the food was amazing. WHO NEEDS TRIPADVISOR when you have such friendly local residents that can help us!!
Yesterday we drove the Wild Atlantic Road to Dingle. On our way to Dingle we had to wait in "cow traffic". We came around a curve on another "one track road" and there was a dog herding about 30 or more cows down the road...what at scene!! We did not mind waiting. We followed slowly behind until the cows turned off to find that there were several cars waiting for the cows to go into their barns for milking. This is another reason to travel the back roads. We arrived in Dingle which is a quaint little fishing town in County Kerry and the only town on the Dingle Peninsula. It sits on the Atlantic Ocean Coast.The homes in the town are all colored bright colors and makes for a unique picture down by the waters. We stopped by Harrington's to have late lunch and were not disappointed with the fresh fish and chowder. AND once again able to spend time talking to the locals. After a nice walk about, we drove to Kilarney trough the mountains and once again were in AWE of the scenery . We walked around Kilarney and of course had ice cream /gelato before heading back to our Ballkisteen B&B where we have been staying.
Today was a day to spend here at Ballkisten and the town of Tipperary. We went for a walk this morning but started to sleet so came home and spent time in the pool.
I will try to add some pictures to FACEBOOK again as tried to do a few days ago and they did not go.
Just wish could capture the colors and the scenery on film but cannot capture the beauty of the country side or the fun times we have just talking to the local folks. Their friendliness is absolutely unbelievable ...whether on the road or in the hotels or in the pubs...always willing to talk and engage in conversation no matter what subject. We are getting a lot of comments about "what is going on with your American politics". Had an experience with ER medical care here in Ireland and was really was not a positive experience.
We have three more days here and then will leave for the port to take the Ferry to Wales and to spend a couple days in Bristol with friends before we leave to go to Dover to get the Ferry to Europe. We take the Ferry on 5 May to Calais France to head to Germany and beyond.
Have taken time to talk to people on the streets as we walk about...lots of travelers from the United States seem to be on tours here in Ireland. Everyone we meet whether on the streets, in stores or hotels continue to be so friendly and helpful with whatever we may need or with helping us find the best local eateries.
We are so blessed to have had such safe travels and to be able to travel with Pat and George. We know that St. Christopher and our guardian angels are with us everyday.
We are not always able to have WIFI or ability to FACETIME with our family but when we do it is so good to spend time with family via this IPAD. Love the time spent with the grand girls on line.
We are keeping you all in our daily prayer and thank you for your prayers for our safe travel. Please continue to keep Imogen in your prayers and all who have no one to pray for them.
Please check out Pat and George's Blog too at gpcannode.blogspot.com. Pat and George's Backyard for more details on our travels together.
We are certainly aware that you are praying for us in our daily travels..
Sending loves and hugs to each one of you.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
~~ "Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination"~~
This is a song that was written by Jack Judge who was a British music hall writer. AND on our journey from Scotland to Tipperary we have made many new memories. We stayed at a B&B near the port of Carynryan Scotland where we took the Stena Ferry to Belfast. The B &B used to be a Vicar's house over 200 years ago. We could see the church from the window in our room. Once again the staff were so welcoming and the food in the Pub was perfect....especially the Carmel Banana Split was enough for 4 but Tom and I managed to eat it all. The next morning we had our A wonderful breakfast...and a fun talk with the cook. The B&B was secluded in the country...in fact on our way there we came upon a large tractor on the back road so had to back up a fair distance to let the tractor pass as ..."it was bigger than our car"!!
The next morning we arrived at the Stena Ferry and were one of the first cars to board. The accomadations on the Ferry were great. Had comfortable seating with a buffet with cakes, fruits, breads, coffe, teas and anything else you might want to drink. Even though we had a large breakfast, we felt obliged to eat more!! There was even a theater on board and WIFI with computers that we could use. The trip took about 2.5 hours and then we were at the port just outside of Belfast. We had made reservations just outside of Belfast and found that George had made another great choice in booking. We settled in and then went to the Titantic Museum...did you know that the Titantic was build in Belfast? Really enjoyed the self guided tour. The next day we traveled to The Giant Causeway which is in Northern Island on the Atlantic Ocean. What wonderful views. We walked down the trail along the water and were amazed with the structure of the round and the vertical rocks that the ocean waves had formed over the years. OF course we took the shuttle bus back up to the visitor center. Then we drove thru some country roads to the "rope bridge". Tom and I walked down the path and enjoyed the views but did not attempt the steps to the bridge. Pat and George did take the walk and walked on the rope bridge that connected to an island that was used by the Salmon fisherman. Maryann saw a lady struggling when coming up the steps so offered assistance and made sure she was OK...then we offered to walk back to the visitors center with her. We then took a drive to Donegal though the country side. Saw lots of sheep and some cows and amazing country side. Once again we found ourselves on roads that were more like bicycle paths!! The next day we headed to County Mayo. On the way we stopped by the Marble Arch Caves. Marble Arch Caves is one of the finest caves in Europe. We were guided thru this fascinating natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers with beautiful cave formations. At the end we climbed 175 steps to come out at the top and beautiful green forest. We stopped at The Three Way Inn that was out in the country and had another great Irish lunch and best part was spending time talking with the owner. Our encounters with the people we meet and have conversation with are some of the best times on this adventure. Amazing the friendly people that we have had the pleasure to just chat with. We then traveled to Ballina which is in County Mayo where we met Mary and Pete at their granddaughter's pub "Katie's Corner". Mary and Pete are cousins of our friend Gerri Cass in Tucson. What fun it was to spend time with them in this typical Irish Pub. They were so welcoming and we had such a nice visit just getting to know them and of course ..the guys all had a "pint" of beer!!
We then headed to Dublin and found lodging in a little town on the way to Dublin. The next day we arrived in Dublin and were driving around as wanted to go to the Guinness Brewery but finally just left as the traffic was crazy.....so decided to drive down the coast to Dalkey. Beautiful beach town but were unable to find a place to stay and once again the traffic was crazy with narrow streets....so we moved on and arrived in a town called Cashel and found a lovely B&B on Main Street that overlooked The Rock Castle. The B&B was called Baileys and the staff were again outstanding. The Rock Castle had been a High Cross and Romanesque Chapel in the 12th Century , Gothic Chathedray in the 13th Century and 15th Century Castle. We walked around the town and up to the Rock of Cashel. We decided to stay in Cashel for 2 nights. Once again we had some Irish food in a local Pub. Where do we find these neat pubs, you might ask....well we either ask the very friendly staff at the front desk or of the places we stay or we just stop on the street and ask someone....and so far they have Always been very pleased to eat in these places that the locals frequent!!
Our next stop was Tipperary. We are staying at Ballykisteen B&B here. We booked a week here. We have been singing "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" a few times per day . AND George and I were singing the part that we knew at the tourist information center this morning and one of the girls gave us a copy so would have the correct words! We were singing "It is a long way to Tipperary , it is a long way to go"..(but could not remember the rest so ..Maryann added another line) "when you go from Sagninaw, Michigan"!! Now we can learn the correct words. Pat and Tom were not really excited about us practicing in the car when we are "on the road"!!
We are staying at a B&B that is also a golf club here in Tipperary Junction. So are able to enjoy the pool etc.
We visited the a delightful Swiss Cottage that was built by Richard Butler, the 1st Earl of Glengall in the 1800"s for family The Butler family lived in the Cahir Castle just down the road but used the Cottage to entertain friends or as a country house for outings for the day. Once again we were amazed at the country side and the small roads that we traveled. Tom continues to be an amazing driver with George in charge of the Garmen and occasionally taking a different route using a map!!
Pat and I do give input but it seems that mostly our voices do not carry to the front of the car!! Hmmm. We celebrated our one month traveling together and we are all still friends and seems that we are laughing more ...hmmm. Tom and I attended Mass at a beautiful Catholic Church near by.
Sunday we drove down to Blarney and walked up to the castle. Pat and George walked up into the tower of the castle and George kissed the Blarney Stone. Tom and I had done several years ago when we traveled to Ireland with our girls. Now Tom said George is definitely certified in talking Blarney!!
We also visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery in Middleton, Ireland. Really a fun tour of Tom's favorite whiskey.
Tom and George were selected to participate in being an official whiskey taster at the end of the end of the tour and received the coveted certificate for "achieving the envied status of official Jameson Irish Whiskey Taster! We also stopped to taste some great gelato in Blarney and stopped by the woolen mill near Blarney before we headed back to our B&B.
On to Galway was our next day's outing and went to the Clifts of Moher and took a boat to get up close to the Clifts. As ALWAYS, we had some fun discussing prices with a couple of Irish boat tour companies and were able to get a nice discount on the tour. It was a beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean...were even able to be outside while on the water. The sun seems to come out when we are doing activities .. We then drove down the Wild Atlantic Way thru the small towns and even smaller roads...seems to be more cows than sheep in this area. On the way we stopped in Ennis and walked around and found a nice older lady going home from the grocery and she recommended a local pub for dinner. Once again the food was amazing. WHO NEEDS TRIPADVISOR when you have such friendly local residents that can help us!!
Yesterday we drove the Wild Atlantic Road to Dingle. On our way to Dingle we had to wait in "cow traffic". We came around a curve on another "one track road" and there was a dog herding about 30 or more cows down the road...what at scene!! We did not mind waiting. We followed slowly behind until the cows turned off to find that there were several cars waiting for the cows to go into their barns for milking. This is another reason to travel the back roads. We arrived in Dingle which is a quaint little fishing town in County Kerry and the only town on the Dingle Peninsula. It sits on the Atlantic Ocean Coast.The homes in the town are all colored bright colors and makes for a unique picture down by the waters. We stopped by Harrington's to have late lunch and were not disappointed with the fresh fish and chowder. AND once again able to spend time talking to the locals. After a nice walk about, we drove to Kilarney trough the mountains and once again were in AWE of the scenery . We walked around Kilarney and of course had ice cream /gelato before heading back to our Ballkisteen B&B where we have been staying.
Today was a day to spend here at Ballkisten and the town of Tipperary. We went for a walk this morning but started to sleet so came home and spent time in the pool.
I will try to add some pictures to FACEBOOK again as tried to do a few days ago and they did not go.
Just wish could capture the colors and the scenery on film but cannot capture the beauty of the country side or the fun times we have just talking to the local folks. Their friendliness is absolutely unbelievable ...whether on the road or in the hotels or in the pubs...always willing to talk and engage in conversation no matter what subject. We are getting a lot of comments about "what is going on with your American politics". Had an experience with ER medical care here in Ireland and was really was not a positive experience.
We have three more days here and then will leave for the port to take the Ferry to Wales and to spend a couple days in Bristol with friends before we leave to go to Dover to get the Ferry to Europe. We take the Ferry on 5 May to Calais France to head to Germany and beyond.
Have taken time to talk to people on the streets as we walk about...lots of travelers from the United States seem to be on tours here in Ireland. Everyone we meet whether on the streets, in stores or hotels continue to be so friendly and helpful with whatever we may need or with helping us find the best local eateries.
We are so blessed to have had such safe travels and to be able to travel with Pat and George. We know that St. Christopher and our guardian angels are with us everyday.
We are not always able to have WIFI or ability to FACETIME with our family but when we do it is so good to spend time with family via this IPAD. Love the time spent with the grand girls on line.
We are keeping you all in our daily prayer and thank you for your prayers for our safe travel. Please continue to keep Imogen in your prayers and all who have no one to pray for them.
Please check out Pat and George's Blog too at gpcannode.blogspot.com. Pat and George's Backyard for more details on our travels together.
We are certainly aware that you are praying for us in our daily travels..
Sending loves and hugs to each one of you.
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
~~ "Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination"~~
Saturday, April 16, 2016
16 April 2016. St. Augustus Abbey , Scotland
Hello all,
We are now blessed to be in St. Augustus Abbey, Scotland for a few days. The Abbey is on the shores of Lock Ness. We may have seen Nessie but cannot be sure as Nessie swims very rapidly and mostly underwater. St. Benedict's Abbey used to be a fort that was constructed on the Lock Ness between 1729 and 1742 during the uprising of 1745. In 1867 the Estate was leased to the Benedictine Order of Monks and they converted it from a fort to this Gothic Abbey. In future years a church was built and also Gothic cloisters and a lawn. It was used as a school until 1993 and the monks taught in the school. It is now home vacation cottages and apartments. The walls were falling down so had to rebuild some of the walls. We are renting a two bedroom apartment in one of the newer areas connected to the Abbey. We have access to a pool, outdoor chess board, activity room with a huge pool table and reading area. The pool is located where the old Abbey Chapel used to be in the Abbey. Our apartment looks out upon a nice green lawn and just a short walk from Lock Ness. We took a walk this morning. Before we returned from our walk along the lock, we had rain, sleet and snow within a 10 minute time span. We had a relaxing time in the pool and sauna area this morning and then returned to our apartment and made a nice breakfast before we drove along Lockness to Inverness . We stopped at the ruins of an old castle on the bank for Lock Ness and then spent some time in Inverness before we took the scenic "track" road back to Fort Augustus. On the way back we saw about 20 or 30+ Red Deer fairly close to the road.
Had a very nice dinner at the Boathouse here on the Abbey property while we looked at the beautiful mountains and waters of LockNess.
Now to tell you about our trip here from Lakenheath. We stopped and walked about a town called HOPE and then traveled over the mountains to Lancaster. We stopped in Lancaster on our way north as Pat had traced her relatives back to that area. The Lancaster Golf and Country Club which used to be Ashton Hall where Pat's relatives were traced back to. We were just in luck as met a gentleman who was just finishing his golf game so took us into the private club and we were able to walk about the inside of Ashton Hall. ( please see George's blog) for more information. We were looking for a place to eat in Lancaster and found a man named Richard who was walking down the street and he walked with us several blocks and took us to this neat restaurant called the Merchant that was build in an old wine cellar. We then headed toward Edinburgh Castle and spent the night on the way. Walked around Edinburg and had a nice breakfast in one of their pubs that was recommended to us
by Norin, a person we just stopped on the street AGAIN and asked about a place. He walked with us several blocks to take us to the correct area. It seems that everyone that we meet and ask questions is just so glad to walk with us even if out of their way to show us where to go. He also told us about THE ELEPHANT HOUSE where J. K. Rollins would sit in the second floor and write her Harry Potter books. SO of course we visited the Elephant House Cafe. We left Edinburgh and went to St. Andrews Golf Course...where golf began in the 1800's. Then we headed to Oban where we had reservations at a B&B. SO...we drove from the East Coast of Ireland to the West Coast in about 3+ hours. When we arrived at Grove House, we were greeted by Billie who was a gem. Bille showed us our room and brought wine and warm towels to refresh ourselves. Then told us where we could get a good local meal. The Grove House was immaculate and the rooms were all decorated with beautiful linens, fresh flowers and lovely sitting rooms. Our room had some pink color so even our hairdryer was pink!! We also had some homemade candies with water in our room. What a cozy room. Billie wrote down the information that we would need to catch the ferry in the morning and other information that would help us discover the Island of Mull. The next morning , Karen, the owner made us a delicious fresh breakfast and there was a cereal and fruit and smoothie bar that was amazing. Karen even had fried Tomatoes just like Nannie Kit would make us when we visited with her in London when we were stationed in Germany and would go to London to see Nannie Kit! Karen was also just so welcoming and full of knowledge about the area. We had a nice ferry ride to Mull and took the scenic routes about the island...(the roads were like bicycle paths). Saw beautiful countryside and many more sheep and the Highland long haired cows. We did not make it to the ferry to got to Iona Island, we had missed the ferry and would not be able to make it back in time to catch our ferry back to Oban so we took another scenic route back to the ferry and returned to Oban on an earlier ferry. Billie recommended another local place for dinner and it was such great local food. We were having our dinner and Karen and her husband came in and so we chatted for abit.
Imagine being at a restaurant in Oban and meeting someone we knew!! Another wonderful breakfast was made for us by Karen the next morning and we also found out that Billie sang so with lots of encouragement , Billie sang for us and the other guest at our breakfast table. Brought tears to our eyes as her voice was just so beautiful. Encouraged her to go on "England's got Talent"!! We hope to see Billie and Karen in Tucson when they come to visit America. We felt so at home that we could have stayed at Grove House for several more days.
We left to travel to Fort Williams which was about an hour up the road on our way to Fort Augustus. We had stopped at Glenco as were going to take the scenic route north. We were on the road from Glenco amazed at all the beautiful mountains and water falls when we were going to pull into a roadside parking to take pictures when all at once we were sitting on the side of the road wondering what happened. The van had decided that we were sighseeing so he was going to go around us in a "no passing" zone and hit us which sent us to the oncoming traffic lane and he went and ended up on the guard rail. Tom desperately worked to keep control of the car as he lost the breaks as the car just shut off. We certainly had St. Christopher and our guardian angels with us. The drivers door and back door were smashed in and Tom's window shattered and there was glass all over the car. It also looked like the frame may have been bent. We were just blessed that there were no cars coming around the corner when we went into the oncoming lane. The police were amazing and helped us by calling the tow truck and ambulance to check us out. They also helped Tom call our insurance. The other driver was not injured either thank goodness. The police sited the other driver for reckless driving. The tow truck driver and the staff at the office helped us get a taxi to take us to our hotel. The taxi driver also said he would drive us to Inverness the next day to pick up another car. Maim who was the taxi driver was so nice and he is also a tour guide and shared with us that he was the driver for "the crew of the Harry Potter" when they filmed in the area. He was the personal driver for the producers. We told him about Molly liking Harry Potter so the next day he brought us a film schedule and signed it so we can give it to Molly. We were so blessed to not have been injured except for muscle aches. We thank you all for all the travel prayers as know that helped keep us safe , the Lord looking out for us and also Tom's awesome driving to try to keep control to keep us safe. We picked up another car in Inverness on Thursday and drove back here to the Abbey.
Today, we drove back down to Glenco and finished taking the drive we were taking when we were hit.
Today we had another nice dinner at a local pub that was recommended to us...and once again we were not disappointed.
Tomorrow we will leave the Abbey early in the morning and go south again to Cairnryan to catch the Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We will spend the night near the port tomorrow night as will be leaving to go to Belfast at 1130.
We are keeping you all at home in our daily prayer and thank you for keeping us in prayer as we know that prayer keeps us safe. Still have to have George show me how to do the pictures on my blog as Alaister helped him.
We were able to FACETIME with the grand girls today....always makes our day.
We continue to laugh a lot as we continue our adventures. We do realize that our pictures cannot do the scenery we are seeing justice but we will continue to keep trying to get the best photos we can.
We are also still continuing our adventure of figuring out how to use the various showers and washer/dryers in the places we stay.
We are so glad that we decided to stay here at the Abbey for a few days...certainly a piece of history looking about the halls, grounds and the grave yard along with each having Lock Ness just across the yard.
LORD, CONTINUE TO KEEP US SAFE ALL THE WAY THERE AND BACK HOME AGAIN. AMEN ~Unknown author~
Sending our love and hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We are now blessed to be in St. Augustus Abbey, Scotland for a few days. The Abbey is on the shores of Lock Ness. We may have seen Nessie but cannot be sure as Nessie swims very rapidly and mostly underwater. St. Benedict's Abbey used to be a fort that was constructed on the Lock Ness between 1729 and 1742 during the uprising of 1745. In 1867 the Estate was leased to the Benedictine Order of Monks and they converted it from a fort to this Gothic Abbey. In future years a church was built and also Gothic cloisters and a lawn. It was used as a school until 1993 and the monks taught in the school. It is now home vacation cottages and apartments. The walls were falling down so had to rebuild some of the walls. We are renting a two bedroom apartment in one of the newer areas connected to the Abbey. We have access to a pool, outdoor chess board, activity room with a huge pool table and reading area. The pool is located where the old Abbey Chapel used to be in the Abbey. Our apartment looks out upon a nice green lawn and just a short walk from Lock Ness. We took a walk this morning. Before we returned from our walk along the lock, we had rain, sleet and snow within a 10 minute time span. We had a relaxing time in the pool and sauna area this morning and then returned to our apartment and made a nice breakfast before we drove along Lockness to Inverness . We stopped at the ruins of an old castle on the bank for Lock Ness and then spent some time in Inverness before we took the scenic "track" road back to Fort Augustus. On the way back we saw about 20 or 30+ Red Deer fairly close to the road.
Had a very nice dinner at the Boathouse here on the Abbey property while we looked at the beautiful mountains and waters of LockNess.
Now to tell you about our trip here from Lakenheath. We stopped and walked about a town called HOPE and then traveled over the mountains to Lancaster. We stopped in Lancaster on our way north as Pat had traced her relatives back to that area. The Lancaster Golf and Country Club which used to be Ashton Hall where Pat's relatives were traced back to. We were just in luck as met a gentleman who was just finishing his golf game so took us into the private club and we were able to walk about the inside of Ashton Hall. ( please see George's blog) for more information. We were looking for a place to eat in Lancaster and found a man named Richard who was walking down the street and he walked with us several blocks and took us to this neat restaurant called the Merchant that was build in an old wine cellar. We then headed toward Edinburgh Castle and spent the night on the way. Walked around Edinburg and had a nice breakfast in one of their pubs that was recommended to us
by Norin, a person we just stopped on the street AGAIN and asked about a place. He walked with us several blocks to take us to the correct area. It seems that everyone that we meet and ask questions is just so glad to walk with us even if out of their way to show us where to go. He also told us about THE ELEPHANT HOUSE where J. K. Rollins would sit in the second floor and write her Harry Potter books. SO of course we visited the Elephant House Cafe. We left Edinburgh and went to St. Andrews Golf Course...where golf began in the 1800's. Then we headed to Oban where we had reservations at a B&B. SO...we drove from the East Coast of Ireland to the West Coast in about 3+ hours. When we arrived at Grove House, we were greeted by Billie who was a gem. Bille showed us our room and brought wine and warm towels to refresh ourselves. Then told us where we could get a good local meal. The Grove House was immaculate and the rooms were all decorated with beautiful linens, fresh flowers and lovely sitting rooms. Our room had some pink color so even our hairdryer was pink!! We also had some homemade candies with water in our room. What a cozy room. Billie wrote down the information that we would need to catch the ferry in the morning and other information that would help us discover the Island of Mull. The next morning , Karen, the owner made us a delicious fresh breakfast and there was a cereal and fruit and smoothie bar that was amazing. Karen even had fried Tomatoes just like Nannie Kit would make us when we visited with her in London when we were stationed in Germany and would go to London to see Nannie Kit! Karen was also just so welcoming and full of knowledge about the area. We had a nice ferry ride to Mull and took the scenic routes about the island...(the roads were like bicycle paths). Saw beautiful countryside and many more sheep and the Highland long haired cows. We did not make it to the ferry to got to Iona Island, we had missed the ferry and would not be able to make it back in time to catch our ferry back to Oban so we took another scenic route back to the ferry and returned to Oban on an earlier ferry. Billie recommended another local place for dinner and it was such great local food. We were having our dinner and Karen and her husband came in and so we chatted for abit.
Imagine being at a restaurant in Oban and meeting someone we knew!! Another wonderful breakfast was made for us by Karen the next morning and we also found out that Billie sang so with lots of encouragement , Billie sang for us and the other guest at our breakfast table. Brought tears to our eyes as her voice was just so beautiful. Encouraged her to go on "England's got Talent"!! We hope to see Billie and Karen in Tucson when they come to visit America. We felt so at home that we could have stayed at Grove House for several more days.
We left to travel to Fort Williams which was about an hour up the road on our way to Fort Augustus. We had stopped at Glenco as were going to take the scenic route north. We were on the road from Glenco amazed at all the beautiful mountains and water falls when we were going to pull into a roadside parking to take pictures when all at once we were sitting on the side of the road wondering what happened. The van had decided that we were sighseeing so he was going to go around us in a "no passing" zone and hit us which sent us to the oncoming traffic lane and he went and ended up on the guard rail. Tom desperately worked to keep control of the car as he lost the breaks as the car just shut off. We certainly had St. Christopher and our guardian angels with us. The drivers door and back door were smashed in and Tom's window shattered and there was glass all over the car. It also looked like the frame may have been bent. We were just blessed that there were no cars coming around the corner when we went into the oncoming lane. The police were amazing and helped us by calling the tow truck and ambulance to check us out. They also helped Tom call our insurance. The other driver was not injured either thank goodness. The police sited the other driver for reckless driving. The tow truck driver and the staff at the office helped us get a taxi to take us to our hotel. The taxi driver also said he would drive us to Inverness the next day to pick up another car. Maim who was the taxi driver was so nice and he is also a tour guide and shared with us that he was the driver for "the crew of the Harry Potter" when they filmed in the area. He was the personal driver for the producers. We told him about Molly liking Harry Potter so the next day he brought us a film schedule and signed it so we can give it to Molly. We were so blessed to not have been injured except for muscle aches. We thank you all for all the travel prayers as know that helped keep us safe , the Lord looking out for us and also Tom's awesome driving to try to keep control to keep us safe. We picked up another car in Inverness on Thursday and drove back here to the Abbey.
Today, we drove back down to Glenco and finished taking the drive we were taking when we were hit.
Today we had another nice dinner at a local pub that was recommended to us...and once again we were not disappointed.
Tomorrow we will leave the Abbey early in the morning and go south again to Cairnryan to catch the Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We will spend the night near the port tomorrow night as will be leaving to go to Belfast at 1130.
We are keeping you all at home in our daily prayer and thank you for keeping us in prayer as we know that prayer keeps us safe. Still have to have George show me how to do the pictures on my blog as Alaister helped him.
We were able to FACETIME with the grand girls today....always makes our day.
We continue to laugh a lot as we continue our adventures. We do realize that our pictures cannot do the scenery we are seeing justice but we will continue to keep trying to get the best photos we can.
We are also still continuing our adventure of figuring out how to use the various showers and washer/dryers in the places we stay.
We are so glad that we decided to stay here at the Abbey for a few days...certainly a piece of history looking about the halls, grounds and the grave yard along with each having Lock Ness just across the yard.
LORD, CONTINUE TO KEEP US SAFE ALL THE WAY THERE AND BACK HOME AGAIN. AMEN ~Unknown author~
Sending our love and hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Saturday, April 9, 2016
8 April 2016. Lakenheath
Hi from RAF Lakenheath.
We left our comfortable home at Kate's Cottage yesterday and arrived here at Lakenheath about 3 hours later. If you or anyone you know are going to be traveling to Cotswalds, Nicola who owns Kate's Cottage and is renovating several old building next door is very accomadating and would give them a 10+ rating... The new ones in the old buildings will also have American Washer and Dryers! We seemed to have some issues with the English washer and dryers and they are very small. The area is just couple blocks off the town square in Stow-on-the-Wold. And From our dining area and living area, we could look out and see a nice country field. We feel like we have a friend in Stow now. Already miss the stone fences and small rural area with all the beautiful little cottages...sheep and lambs all over the green countryside. BUT now we are seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath.
Before we left, we visited Twekesbury Abbey which was built from 1102 to 1121 to house the Benedictine monks. It was a huge Abbey and the grounds and the inside were amazing. We are traveling with Flat Kirsten so are having fun with her and taking pictures to send back to our "regular" Kitsten!!!
We are now seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath and this part of East Anglia which is East of England which borders the North Sea to the north and east. In fact yesterday we spent the day driving to Cromer and walking about the town and down around the beach. When we left Lakenheath the sky was cloudy and looked like rain but when we arrived at Cromer Beach, the sky was blue and the sun was out. We had a lovely walk around this neat little town with old style buildings. Cromer is know as the "gem of the Norfolk Coast". Even though the sun was out it was only about 50 degrees so we were amazed to see how many little ones were playing in the ocean waves. We even visited the Henry Blogg Lifeboats Museum down on the wharf. It was quite interesting. As we walked the pier, we saw several people fishing for crabs. We found a nice little restaurant for lunch that was on the second story overlooking the North Sea and had a lovely lunch..of course had to have crabcakes from the local area. Tom then drove us to Great Yarmouth which is another beach town but we were not impressed. Enjoyed Cromer much more. Great Yarmouth was very commercialized and we are now beyond the age of enjoying a carnival atmosphere. Although the beach seemed very nice.
This area of East Anglia is mostly flatlands. We see lands separated by green hedges and trees planted that seem to section off properties vs. the flat stone fences . We are seeing lots of fields planted with what looks like yellow flowers but it is "oilseed rape". I researched this and it seems that they can get more for this crop than vegetables etc. As the oilseed is being used in mayonnaise, margarine, salads and has low saturated fat and high in omega-3 and some even claim it is better than sunflower oil so brings a better price. (Rapeseed is one particular type of canola) We also saw a lot of this planted when we traveled throughout Canada several years ago.
We are just enjoying our days with Pat and George. Still lots of laughing. It seems odd to be staying in two different rooms since we shared the cottage for 2 weeks!! Today it is raining out . We went in town and had a nice breakfast this morning. Our plans for tomorrow are to head north to Hope and Lancaster , England before we head to Scotland. Pat and George do geniology and some of Pat's family came from Lancaster, England.
Maryann was seen again at the base for her stomach and started on a new medication. She is able to eat more in the last couple of days. We continue to follow our plan for what we are going to do on our adventure...maybe we should have added another month!!!! Tom is still doing great driving ...only had two episodes the entire trip when we noticed that we were not on the correct side of the road and wondered why a car was coming directly towards us. Of course on most of the roads , we have been traveling...they are one track roads so if another car is coming...must find a pull out or back up to proceed. George is still doing great monitoring the Garmen. Pat and I are still monitoring all from the back and give input as we feel needed.
We want to let you all know that we love and miss you and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Our friend's daughter Imogen is having a better day but still needs prayers as she proceeds with her chemo treatments.
"AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR DESTINATION". ~~Unknown
And Tom and I have always found this such a truth!!! Thank you Pat and George for taking this adventure with us.
George has been able to post pictures with the help of Alaistair so can check his blog at gpcannode.blogspot.com
Love and hugs.
Tom and Maryann
We left our comfortable home at Kate's Cottage yesterday and arrived here at Lakenheath about 3 hours later. If you or anyone you know are going to be traveling to Cotswalds, Nicola who owns Kate's Cottage and is renovating several old building next door is very accomadating and would give them a 10+ rating... The new ones in the old buildings will also have American Washer and Dryers! We seemed to have some issues with the English washer and dryers and they are very small. The area is just couple blocks off the town square in Stow-on-the-Wold. And From our dining area and living area, we could look out and see a nice country field. We feel like we have a friend in Stow now. Already miss the stone fences and small rural area with all the beautiful little cottages...sheep and lambs all over the green countryside. BUT now we are seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath.
Before we left, we visited Twekesbury Abbey which was built from 1102 to 1121 to house the Benedictine monks. It was a huge Abbey and the grounds and the inside were amazing. We are traveling with Flat Kirsten so are having fun with her and taking pictures to send back to our "regular" Kitsten!!!
We are now seeing a different kind of beauty here in Lakenheath and this part of East Anglia which is East of England which borders the North Sea to the north and east. In fact yesterday we spent the day driving to Cromer and walking about the town and down around the beach. When we left Lakenheath the sky was cloudy and looked like rain but when we arrived at Cromer Beach, the sky was blue and the sun was out. We had a lovely walk around this neat little town with old style buildings. Cromer is know as the "gem of the Norfolk Coast". Even though the sun was out it was only about 50 degrees so we were amazed to see how many little ones were playing in the ocean waves. We even visited the Henry Blogg Lifeboats Museum down on the wharf. It was quite interesting. As we walked the pier, we saw several people fishing for crabs. We found a nice little restaurant for lunch that was on the second story overlooking the North Sea and had a lovely lunch..of course had to have crabcakes from the local area. Tom then drove us to Great Yarmouth which is another beach town but we were not impressed. Enjoyed Cromer much more. Great Yarmouth was very commercialized and we are now beyond the age of enjoying a carnival atmosphere. Although the beach seemed very nice.
This area of East Anglia is mostly flatlands. We see lands separated by green hedges and trees planted that seem to section off properties vs. the flat stone fences . We are seeing lots of fields planted with what looks like yellow flowers but it is "oilseed rape". I researched this and it seems that they can get more for this crop than vegetables etc. As the oilseed is being used in mayonnaise, margarine, salads and has low saturated fat and high in omega-3 and some even claim it is better than sunflower oil so brings a better price. (Rapeseed is one particular type of canola) We also saw a lot of this planted when we traveled throughout Canada several years ago.
We are just enjoying our days with Pat and George. Still lots of laughing. It seems odd to be staying in two different rooms since we shared the cottage for 2 weeks!! Today it is raining out . We went in town and had a nice breakfast this morning. Our plans for tomorrow are to head north to Hope and Lancaster , England before we head to Scotland. Pat and George do geniology and some of Pat's family came from Lancaster, England.
Maryann was seen again at the base for her stomach and started on a new medication. She is able to eat more in the last couple of days. We continue to follow our plan for what we are going to do on our adventure...maybe we should have added another month!!!! Tom is still doing great driving ...only had two episodes the entire trip when we noticed that we were not on the correct side of the road and wondered why a car was coming directly towards us. Of course on most of the roads , we have been traveling...they are one track roads so if another car is coming...must find a pull out or back up to proceed. George is still doing great monitoring the Garmen. Pat and I are still monitoring all from the back and give input as we feel needed.
We want to let you all know that we love and miss you and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Our friend's daughter Imogen is having a better day but still needs prayers as she proceeds with her chemo treatments.
"AS WITH ANY JOURNEY, WHO YOU TRAVEL WITH CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR DESTINATION". ~~Unknown
And Tom and I have always found this such a truth!!! Thank you Pat and George for taking this adventure with us.
George has been able to post pictures with the help of Alaistair so can check his blog at gpcannode.blogspot.com
Love and hugs.
Tom and Maryann
Monday, April 4, 2016
4 April 2016 Cotswolds, England
I have been behind in my blogs.. But George had kept up with his...since my last writing, we have been to Snow Hills Manor. A house like no other, Snowhill Manor is neither a museum , nor a home. Charles Wade bought it in 1919 and restored it to keep all of his wonderous collections from all over England and the world. These were things that he bought for simply his joy...and to share with the community. We also visited Averybury which is the largest stone circle in the world. It is somewhat like Stonehenge and Neolithic Houses. These houses show us how people lived 4500 years ago in Adobe type homes with thatched roofs. Stonehenge is a masterpiece of engineering and building using only simple tools. The stone Circle could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings as early as 3000 BC. We also visited Warwick Castle which is a medieval castle built about 1068. ...even took a tour of the dungeon which was frightful! We took a day to travel to Lakenheath Royal Air Force Base to secure billeting for when when we leave the Cotswolds. We will stay there a couple of days before we head north to Scotland.
Maryann was seen by the doctor there for her stomach burning and they changed her medication. She is able to eat a little more.
We have been driving around some beautiful country side. Lots of farmland, sheep and lambs, quail and neat little villages with lovely flowers and some with thatched roofs.
We stopped at Waddesdon manor which was built by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 to display his outstanding collection of arms and to entertain the fashionable world. Baron Rothschild never slept at the. Manor....just used for parties. It was quite impressive. Spent time walking about the estate...we had a lovely sunny day. On our way home we stopped at "the Hollow Bottom Inn" for dinner which was recommended by Nicola, the owner of "Kate's Cottage" where we are staying. What a gem in the middle of the country...had a great dinner. Since it was a nice sunny day...we also went to Stratford Upon Avon and took a boat ride on the river. The town is popular as it is the birthplace of William Shakespeare and there is a Royal Shakespeare Theate there so we
booked tickets for Saturday and went back to see Hamlet. We had great seats and really enjoyed the performance...of course it was a play using current times instead of in the time of Shakespeare. We also visited Anne Hathaway( Shakespeare's wife's) home and walked about the garden. Once again we had a lovely sunny day to be out and about.
Yesterday we went to the Roman Villas that is near our village. It was one of the larger Romano-British villas in the country from the 4th century. We walked about the grounds. Again, we had a nice day with more sun than clouds.
Today , we went to Bibury. It has some very picturesque cottages. We went late in the morning and was lucky to have the sun to come out while we were on our way. We even saw a Black Swan.
And on the way saw some black cows with a wide white area in the middle. Also called "Oreo Cookie" cows. They are a hardy breed of cows from Scotland. They are one of the oldest breeds of cows in the world. Last evening we ate at The Plough in Ford....a village not far from here but in the country ....saw some more lovely "narrow" roads and country sides.
Tom is doing a great job in driving these "single track roads"...which means one car has to pull over so the other can pass by. George is manning the Garmen. Pat and I are giving advice "sometimes" from the backseat.
Today we went to Bibury and then came back to Stow and walked about and visited one of the churches here. We stopped at a bakery and bought some pastries.....bought echairs in memory of our travels to Paris several years ago when we lived in Germany and ate them in memory of our friend Jim Lettner!!
We had sad news that Maryann's Aunt Annie passed away..we will miss visiting with her on our trips to Lancaster. Maryann has a lot of fond memories of spending time with her Aunt growing up.
It is raining on and off today so was a good day for us to stay and enjoy our cottage.
We will be leaving here on Thursday for Lakenheath for a few days before we start north to Scotland.
Our cottage is very comfortable and we have made it our home for the past days. Nicola who owns the cottage is very welcoming and we enjoy talking with her.
We were able to "FACETIME" WITH EMME AND CARRIE AND KELLY, MOLLY AND SAMANTHA AND KIRSTEN" and my sister Joan on the weekend as they are 8 hours behind us.
We were going to go into London by train but decided would stay here in the country towns as we have all been to London before.
Also, check out Pat and George's Backyard...gpcannode.blogspot.com. Will give you more information about our wonderfilled adventure.
We are laughing a lot everyday.
Keep us in your daily prayers for safe travels.
We miss you all and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Please keep Imogen and her family in your prayers. Imogen a 3 year old who is a fighter who is in the hospital getting chemo therapy for her cancer treatment.
This was on the wall of one of the places we had dinner.....
REMEMBER, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IN THE END. IF IT'S NOT ALRIGHT, IT'S NOT THE END.
Love and hugs,
Maryann was seen by the doctor there for her stomach burning and they changed her medication. She is able to eat a little more.
We have been driving around some beautiful country side. Lots of farmland, sheep and lambs, quail and neat little villages with lovely flowers and some with thatched roofs.
We stopped at Waddesdon manor which was built by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 to display his outstanding collection of arms and to entertain the fashionable world. Baron Rothschild never slept at the. Manor....just used for parties. It was quite impressive. Spent time walking about the estate...we had a lovely sunny day. On our way home we stopped at "the Hollow Bottom Inn" for dinner which was recommended by Nicola, the owner of "Kate's Cottage" where we are staying. What a gem in the middle of the country...had a great dinner. Since it was a nice sunny day...we also went to Stratford Upon Avon and took a boat ride on the river. The town is popular as it is the birthplace of William Shakespeare and there is a Royal Shakespeare Theate there so we
booked tickets for Saturday and went back to see Hamlet. We had great seats and really enjoyed the performance...of course it was a play using current times instead of in the time of Shakespeare. We also visited Anne Hathaway( Shakespeare's wife's) home and walked about the garden. Once again we had a lovely sunny day to be out and about.
Yesterday we went to the Roman Villas that is near our village. It was one of the larger Romano-British villas in the country from the 4th century. We walked about the grounds. Again, we had a nice day with more sun than clouds.
Today , we went to Bibury. It has some very picturesque cottages. We went late in the morning and was lucky to have the sun to come out while we were on our way. We even saw a Black Swan.
And on the way saw some black cows with a wide white area in the middle. Also called "Oreo Cookie" cows. They are a hardy breed of cows from Scotland. They are one of the oldest breeds of cows in the world. Last evening we ate at The Plough in Ford....a village not far from here but in the country ....saw some more lovely "narrow" roads and country sides.
Tom is doing a great job in driving these "single track roads"...which means one car has to pull over so the other can pass by. George is manning the Garmen. Pat and I are giving advice "sometimes" from the backseat.
Today we went to Bibury and then came back to Stow and walked about and visited one of the churches here. We stopped at a bakery and bought some pastries.....bought echairs in memory of our travels to Paris several years ago when we lived in Germany and ate them in memory of our friend Jim Lettner!!
We had sad news that Maryann's Aunt Annie passed away..we will miss visiting with her on our trips to Lancaster. Maryann has a lot of fond memories of spending time with her Aunt growing up.
It is raining on and off today so was a good day for us to stay and enjoy our cottage.
We will be leaving here on Thursday for Lakenheath for a few days before we start north to Scotland.
Our cottage is very comfortable and we have made it our home for the past days. Nicola who owns the cottage is very welcoming and we enjoy talking with her.
We were able to "FACETIME" WITH EMME AND CARRIE AND KELLY, MOLLY AND SAMANTHA AND KIRSTEN" and my sister Joan on the weekend as they are 8 hours behind us.
We were going to go into London by train but decided would stay here in the country towns as we have all been to London before.
Also, check out Pat and George's Backyard...gpcannode.blogspot.com. Will give you more information about our wonderfilled adventure.
We are laughing a lot everyday.
Keep us in your daily prayers for safe travels.
We miss you all and keep you all in our daily prayers.
Please keep Imogen and her family in your prayers. Imogen a 3 year old who is a fighter who is in the hospital getting chemo therapy for her cancer treatment.
This was on the wall of one of the places we had dinner.....
REMEMBER, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IN THE END. IF IT'S NOT ALRIGHT, IT'S NOT THE END.
Love and hugs,
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