Automne en Europe 2024

  I managed to slip up getting to the Bus Terminal that was going to take us to the ferry to Victoria.   The bus depot turned   out to be not down near the terminus of the Skytrain by the waterfront.   Fortunately we had enough time to order an Uber to take us to the depot which is what Bev had originally thought was a good idea.   I found out later that the Skytrain that would have taken us to the depot was near our hotel.   I was not very smart on that occasion.   The bus ride was uneventful, going through the suburbs to the terminal at Tsawassen.   It drove on to the ferry and we had a lovely 90 minute ferry journey not unlike the Cook Strait ferries minus the bus.   The turnaround was slick. One hour to get the trucks and cars unloaded and the new lot loaded on. The journey is quite picturesque similar to the Marlborough Sounds in some ways although channels are not as tight.   A ferry like the one we travel...

  I had the idea that the railway station was down near the waterfront so after some breakfast we wandered down Granville Street to Canada Place near where I thought the station was. The reason being to talk to someone about getting a ticket for us to take a bus and ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island (called the Busconnector). The website was not as clear as it could have been.  I tried calling their phone line but that proved troublesome as my phone wouldn't connect to the line and there was a huge wait when we tried Bev's phone. At Canada Place Bev had noticed there was this experience called Flyover.   It was advertised as an experience that activates all the senses.   Having failed to find the station I opted to book on-line later and figure out then how to get to the station. The Flyover turned out to be a really great experience.   We were placed in seats in a theatre with visuals that were like a flight simulation.   The...

  Autumn in London We are beginning our travel home.   There is a layover in Vancouver for a few days before we take the final flights.     Our plane did not leave until 5:30pm so we had quite a few hours to fill in before taking the Picadilly line to Heathrow.     Bev wanted to have a walk around Hyde Park which I thought was a good idea except I also had a desire to go to British Museum.   In the end I decided that a walk around Hyde Park would be nice given that the autumn leaves were in full bloom and   no doubt there would be a carpet of leaves making for a rather pretty sight on a very   nice but cool sunny day.       We ended up on the wrong train and had to backtrack to get to our destination in South Kensington.   I hadn’t realised there were three museums in the area and the desire to have a look around at least one of them overwhelmed me.   After a brief discussion we changed ...

  It was time to return the car in London.   We needed to get on the road reasonably early as there was a two hour drive to go - around 75 kilometres.   The GPS suggested the fastest route and I chose to do that.   The orange colours of autumn were in full display as we made our way to a motorway toward London.   After about 25 kilometres the GPS suggested a faster route by 10 minutes so wanting to make sure I had the car at the rental depot on time I took the off ramp. I am sure the GPS wanted to make sure I could navigate narrow lanes.   At one point we were locked into a one way lane with a truck and a van attempting to squeeze past each other.   It was managed without a scratch which I thought was remarkable.   There was no honking of horns either – it must be a regular occurrence.   Despite that hold up we managed to fill up the car closer to London and still get there ten minutes quicker.   I have been cookin...

Brighton Pier It was a sunny day for the first time since we arrived in   the British Isles.   It was lovely to see the sun even if it was a bit watery.     Our plan for the day was to visit Brighton and then return to look around Tunbridge Wells.   Bev had never been to Brighton and I couldn’t remember whether I had many years ago.   If I did it had not made much of an impression.   The drive to Brighton took about an hour along an A road which was reasonably uncongested.   For much of the drive the road was lined with trees that were very colourful and losing their leaves   It was very pretty.     We found a carpark very close to the Brighton Promenade.   Parking was not a problem but the cost was horrific (£11 for two hours).   We walked to the Pier but it was closed.   A little further along  there is an historic railway from which tourists along the waterfront for a mile or so ...

Stonehenge I had chosen to take the longer route to Tunbridge Wells as it avoided the likely congestion around London.   The route took us near Stonehenge and I suggested to Bev that we do a detour.   I was last there 27 years ago.   Things had changed, as they do.   Last time I am sure that we parked within viewing distance of the site and walked a few 10s   of metres to it.   I am not sure if we were able to wander through the stones at the time but it felt like we could.   This time the visitor centre was about three kilometres away from the site and we were shuttled to the site.   One could walk if you wanted to but it was a 30 minute walk which we did not have time to do.   The stones were as I remembered them but there was a lot more information available and it even pointed out where the stones were aligned for the summer solstice.   While there were quite a few people there I suspect it was nothing like the crowds in summe...

The Avon - Bath We were on the road again this time to Bath where there are some Roman Baths.     Our host G offered to take us to the rental car company.   It was very kind of him and in doing so we got a tour of Cardiff.   Going past the Principality Stadium where rugby matches are played including internationals like Wales against the All Blacks.   It is a massive but attractively designed building that apparently holds up to 75,000 people, which like Wellington’s stadium is in the middle of the city.   It has a retractable roof and G told has that when covering the field the noise in the stadium is deafening.     We went past Cardiff Castle while G regaled us with some of his experiences in business.   It was interesting to hear his perspective of things like the health system which he says is failing.   He had a doctor son working in it but prior to coming back he had worked in Palmerston North and Welling...