Moving Day

Well this past weekend was the end of my stay in Severn Beach. The weekend was spent cleaning the flat from top to bottom ensuring it looked spotless. In the checkout list was a line stating we had to get the carpets professionally cleaned. So I made some calls and got a few quotes. One was £130, another was £85, and the most expensive one was £150. There was no way I was paying those high prices to clean the carpets (that were not that great to begin with). So, I just didn't do it.

Luckily the place was so clean though that the fact of the carpet cleaning never even came up. She was so impressed with everything she said "I wish I had more tenants like you and if you need a great reference just let me know". The good news is I get my full deposit back which should just about pay off the flight to Japan in 10 days!!!





In other news I signed up for the Bristol Half Marathon and I have been out jogging "almost" every night. Its not until September 9th but if I am going to have to run the 13miles then I better start getting ready for it now.

I think this weekend Brad, Nada, and me are heading down to Taunton to see a car museum full of old Ferrari's and Lamborghini's, so stay tuned for that update next week. After that I will be out in Japan with Ryan for 11 days but I promise to do a full update on this blog when I return.

Windsor Castle and one of the Queen's dogs.

Windsor Castle has being a place I have wanted to visit ever since I came to England almost 2 years ago. On Saturday Brad, Nada, and me made our way down the M4 motorway to the city of Windsor. I have being to Windsor twice before but never made it inside the castle. I never really had the time. Windsor Castle is the largest occupied castle in the world and is one of three official residences of HRM Queen Elizabeth II who just happened to be at the castle at the same time. We didn't get to see her this time as she was out riding but we did happen to see one of her Corgi dogs being walked by the head Housekeeper of Windsor Castle.


We took a small 30 tour around the castle before it dropped off us in front of the entrance to the State Apartments. During the tour I found out that the flagpole that has either the Union Jack flying or the Royal Flag (when the queen is in residence) was donated by Canada on behalf of the Canadian people.

Windsor Castle is about 1000 years old but obviously it was on the same scale back then as it is today. The castle was built by William the Conqueror and was originally just a wooden structure and only the round tower was built then. The Round Tower is still the main focal point of the castle but today it is made of stone and quite a lot bigger.

Upon entering the State Apartments we first went into the Doll House area to see Queen Mary's famous doll house. Its was huge. At least 10ft tall. We also went into the drawing room to see one of the largest collections of Leonardo Da Vinci drawings in the world. They only had a few on display through but it was still really impressive to see. There was also works there from Michelangelo and a few other famous artists. From there it was on to see many pictures of the Queen and the Royal family before finally making our way into the State Apartments themselves. It took us about 1.5 hour to go around all the rooms you could and each one was unique and incredible in its own way. From the Waterloo room to the weapons room you could spend hours just walking around and looking at all the treasures inside. There was no photography allowed inside so if you want to see what its like I suggest looking it up on the internet or coming over to England to see it for yourself. Its worth the trip.

When we left the State Apartments we made our way back to a few places in the tour to get a few more pictures of the courtyard, guards, and gardens. It was starting to get a bit late and we were all quite hungry so we made our way down to St. Georges Chapel inside the castle walls where Henry the VIII and the Queen Mother are buried. The choir was inside practicing so we were able to watch them and hear the sound with the acoustics inside. Really amazing!!! The Chapel is also home to the annual gathering of the Order of the Garter. It is one of the oldest orders of knights and one of the most limited in numbers with no more than 25 members allowed. If one of the knights can't attend a meeting or gathering then one of the "military knights" who live in the castle stand in on their behalf. Click here if you want to learn more about it.

We left the castle and walked down the main street to a pub overlooking the castle. Brad and Nada treated me to a great pub lunch before we made our way back to the car and then back to Bristol. It was a great day out and another place to check off the list.





Dont worry we didn't forget to do a jumping shot!!!!

Phil and his Mum go to White Castle

Sunday March 11, 2007

A day out in Wales visiting Castles is always a great day out and today was no exception. After a 10am start we drove across the Severn into Wales and made our way towards the town of Raglan. We drove the long way past Tintern Abbey and through the Wye valley which is a wonderful drive through little villages next to the Wye River. Just outside the town is one of South East Wales more famous castles which is not surprisingly called Raglan Castle. This castle was built in the 15th century and is well known as the home of King Henry VII when he was a child. It is not in the greatest shape but then again it is 600 years old. The moat around one of the towers (the castles final line of defense) is still in tact which is a rarity in castles these days. Below are a few pictures taken today at Raglan Castle.






Moving on from Raglan it was a 20min drive though narrow hedge lanes to yet another castle. This one was not nearly as impressive but it was free to go in. The main reason we went was so we could give this blog post a funny title. Yes you guessed it! It was called White Castle. It was named this as the rendering on the outside was white but most of it is long gone. Only one of the towers was in tact but we could still climb up the 3 stories and take a few photos of the Black Mountains in the distance which was an incredible view from the top. Other highlights of the castle were the drawbridge on the way in and the fact that once again the moat was still in tact. 2 moats in one day!!!






Well as there was yet another Castle about 20min away and it was on our way home we took a small detour to have a quick look at the town Skenfrith. Here is yet another free castle which is owned by the National Trust and it is believed that the first form of the castle was built around 1160. It was pretty run down once again and this time there was no steps in the tower to go up but we had a quick look around the castle and then walked into the town to see the small church. Gotta love checking out the small Welsh churches that have so much history.




We made our way back to Severn Beach the long way again, through the Forest of Dean stopping at a petrol station for some sausage rolls and crisps. We ate at a small picnic area in the forest and then drove back through Chepstow to the Old Severn Bridge. It was another great day and made for a very long but eventful weekend.

On a side note I picked up a package from the post office on saturday morning. In it was a sock puppet made by the great Sara Wong and sent over to travel the world with me. So keeep a look out for it in the pictures!!!

Down the Caves of Cheddar

Well this is the first real site seeing post of the new blog and it has been a busy two days so far. My mum is over from Canada and she took a bus down to Bristol on Thursday night. Friday I had to work so she walked all over Bristol seeing the sites until I finished around 5:30. Friday night we went to the opening night production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the hippodrome which was really good. As I grew up with watching the movie as a child I knew the story line pretty well.


Saturday March 10th 2006

We made our way down to Cheddar Gorge and Caves. Usually when I go there is just for a drive through the gorge but this time we got the day pass and went into the caves. There are two caves there that you can go in and both are a fair size inside. The first one we went into was Gough's Cave which was founded in 1890 was about 1/4 mile long and at the end had a very impressive chamber full of Stalactites and Stalagmites which are formed by the calcium carbonate in limestone caves. The 2nd cave was Coxe's Cave and this one was much more narrow and had a lot of low ceilings that you had to get fairly low to get through. It was also a little cheesy with the props but still great fun to walk around anyways.







We had a quick look around the museum Cheddar man and the Cannibals where we saw England’s oldest complete skeleton, a bizzare skeleton (with what looked like a raptors head and human body), and a really strange giant replica of a creepy head.



Last but not least we climbed the 274 steps up Jacobs ladder to the lookout tower for a great view over the Mendips before we walked along the top of gorge hike which was quite tough terrain and some places very step and muddy. The hike was just over 3 miles but it took you down one side of the gorge then dropped down where you crossed the road and then hiked up to the top of the other side and then back into the town and then back to Bristol for yet another great dinner with family Lyn and Richard.

A New Adventure

As one chapter of my travelling has come to and end and brand new chapter is just beginning. This blog will document all the exciting places I visit from here on in. The good news is this blog is not currently limited to just Europe. I am expanding my travels to the rest of the world, and have already made any plans. Highlights this year will include:

April 2007 - Tokyo, Japan
August 2007 - Toronto, Canada (my sisters wedding)
October 2007 - Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa
October 2007 - Botswana to go 4x4ing
2008 - An unconfirmed relocation to Sydney, Australia for a year or two.

I will still remain living in Bristol England and have plans for a few weekend trips here and there. A few European destinations may or may not include, Budapest, Madrid, Oslo, and perhaps Iceland depending on funds. All of you are more than welcome to join me on these trips just give me a little bit of notice.

So thank you for taking the time to update your links and bookmarks and I look forward to reading all your comments over the next year or so. I hope you enjoy the site.

Cheers