Hello again!
Boy it seems like ages since I last wrote a blog and i'm not even meant to be sitting here writing this one! At the moment I am sitting in a shopping centre at Chester writing this and we had planned to go 'sightseeing' today but unfortunately when we were about to start, terrential rain beat us to it! After waiting about 15 mins for it to clear, we counted a loss and I decided to hop on the net (and trust me to choose the dodgy computer!). Typical that as soon as I hopped on the rain stopped! But I have paid my dues so decided to stay on and use up as much of the money in here.
London was pretty uneventful, sleeping in and getting to the city late morning, early afternoon. Ahh very nice indeed. But due to our lack of research of what we actually wanted to do in London itself, and doing all of the important London sights with the boys last time we were here, we really didn't have a whole lot that we HAD to see! We did meander around Hamleys and Harrods though at a much slower pace than what we would have done had the boys been here. You will also never guess what we saw in Harrods - a pet 'wedding chapel'..... yes you read correctly! They had set up a pet chapel and when I saw the sign I just had to investigate! Unfortunately we couldn't go all the way in as there was a function (of the human kind) in that room, but I didnt' believe it was actually set up. So I asked one of the staff and he relayed to me that unfortunately it was true, and only last week, 2 Chi's were taken by their owners to the chapel by horse and carriage to be wed!!!!!!! Either some people have FAR too much money or they REALLY need help!!! Somebody please please, slap me silly if I ever become that nuts!! LOL it provided a good laugh though!
Next day we hired our 'compact' car to travel to Oxford and start our journey.... compact VW Golf, ended up being a Holden Zafria - which is a mini - van thing seating 7 ppl!!!!! Ah well!! The size has grown on us and I quite like it - enough room in the back for doggy stuff, so has been added to my list of 'doggy friendly' cars. Travelling so far has been relatively easy, with the help of my uncle's GPS which he lent to us to aid us along the journey. Good 'ol 'Jane' (aptly named as you can choose what voice you want being either 'Jane' or 'Tim') has got us out of many a sticky situation and 'usually' gets us to where we want to go. There have been a few times however when we have questioned the routes she has taken us! Oxford was lovely - I dind't realise that the town was so big! We mainly just ambled around and took a walking tour that took us into a few colleges etc (so long as we kept of the grass of course!).
Next day we headed off to Blenheim palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill as well as the 'Blenheim' colour of the CKCS) which was a lovely palace full of grandeaur and a very well maintained garden. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to wonder around the gardens properly as we soon had to be on our way to get to Stratford Upon Avon. We arrived there late in the afternoon and simply meandered around town for the rest of the day. One thing was for sure, was that we were starting to realise how ambitious we really were to get everything done that we had planned. The distance between places may not have been that far, but the traffic sure made up for that! So we decided that our 'itenerary' needed some tweaking and thus cut our Thirsk/ Herriot Country *sobs*. It was dissapointing, but both Mum and I agreed that we would rather go to fewer places and do them well rather than fly through and not see much. So I have since planned my next holiday - to visit the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District...... when this will take place I have NO idea, but it is on my 'to do' list now *g*!
Stratford was great - it is amazing to think that a house built in the 1500's is still standing today! Although - can't say I would have liked to be around in their times as the walls were usually made up of a combination of mud, clay and manure.... yuk! Although - what can u say - if you only showered once a year, it would have been difficult to decipher which smell was you, the animals or the house! Was also interesting to hear about their way of life then and the 'strange;' beliefs that they had! For instance, nobody slept lying down (they slept sitting up) as if you lay down you looked as though you were dead and thus the devil may come and take your soul away! After studying Shakespeare a little at school it was good to actually have a look at his 'town' as well as learn a little more. One thing is for sure is that I certianly wouldn't like to be a female all the time as you always seemed to be 'up the duff', and hardly any of your children would have survived!!! Yuk! No thanks!
On from Stratford we went to Haworth for the Bronte sisters. This is right at the southern tip of the Yorkshire Dales, and boy what a view you had everywhere you turn. We certianly had a lovely time getting there..... if you could call it that - Jane took us through some very narrow roads that coulr barely fit two cars through - but was very impressed with Mum - guess it was a case of close your eyes and hope for the best! Sarah - when you said the roads were narrow - I didn't know you meant THAT narrow!!!!! Haworth was a lovely little villiage that has really kept its 'old style' feel. All I can say is that we certianly worked off our 'full english breakfast' at Haworth with all the hills etc, we climbed up and down (I am sure there was more up than down!). The Bronte Parsonage was very interesting and also sad. It was amazing to find out what talent was in their family - 3 sisters who were writers/ artists, and a brother who was an artist also! However, it was sad that they all died within such a short space of each other and the father outlived his whole family. Guess that is what it was like in 'those' days. I must say that I didn't find this anywhere near as thrilling or exciting as reading about/ visiting LMM's haunts, but I guess that is because I kwow less about these authors than I do LMM! We spent the rest of the day in Haworth visiting friends and their new baby, and left late afternoon to spend the night in Chesterfield.
Next day we went to visit Chatsworth house and Lyme Park. Both of these houses were featured as Pemberley in the 05 and 95 versions of P&P respectively. Chatsworth really had all the 'flash' and was a stunning house. The gardens again were absolutely lovely. I was also suprised to see that they had a small display in 'honour' of P&P with the sculpture of 'Mr Darcy' from the film and one of 'Lizzy's' dresses on display. Well at least I can say that I got my pic taken with 'Darcy' although I knew he was too good to be true! LOL! Lyme Park was much less grand and a little dissapointing since the roof was being repaired and half of the furniture and paintings were put away so that it wouldn't be damaged by the work being done outside :(. However, I still loved visiting it as I love the 95 version of P&P soo much more, it was great to actually see the house. But I profess that I am not as mad as some as we were told that some ppl actually leave the house with the pond water (which is BLACK!) or dirt from the ground... that 'Darcy' walked on....hmm.... do ya think I should tell them that he 'aint real..?!?!?!
Another thing that was quite interesting about the houses was that Dogs were allowed on the grounds as well as in the gardens. This suprised me as at home I didn't think we were allowed to take dogs to a national heritage site. Still, I thought it was good to see as you could take your dogs to somewhere you enjoy (rather than the dodgy parks that no-one save dog lovers want to visit) and you can enjoy the day out with your dog!
Next was to Chester, which is where I said I was writing this blog from right? Yes well, I actually finished writing the blog, and smart me thought i'd copy and paste it into my email - so on I went to hit Ctrl + c and bang - my whole blog lost! With only 2 mins left remaining and having thus wasted my whole morning (as the rain had stopped after I put my money in mind you!) I decided to leave it and come back later to write!!! Chester was lovely but a bit more 'modernised' than what Mum remembered so she was a little dissapointing. I found it quite a nice little city, but by around 5 we had seen enough (the chapel, ampitheatre... well ruins of it!, walled city and some houses etc) and went on our way to Conwy, Nth Wales. We hadn't pre-planned to stay there but thought it might be nice to stay in Nth Wales as opposed to another night in Chester and i'm glad we did.
So next morning we had a wonder around Conwy and the lovely 'ruins' of the castle there. Conwy is another walled town but much more 'quaint' than Chester. Also went to visit the towns oldest house and Britains 'smallest' house - boy was it small - one tiny living/kitchen everything area, and a bedroom upstairs which only just fit a single bed! We then moved on from Conwy for our drive down to Llandeilo (ask Mum to try and pronounce it - quite funny really.... as for me, I say it the 'english' not the 'welsh' way and won't even try to make a fool of myself *g*). Was a lovely drive down - picturesque views..... We are to stay here visiting friends until tomorrow and then off to Bath.
Well I guess that is it from me again. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted - but suprisingly it has been very hard to find a computer, and hey - I haven't had the time :P. I'm still having a blast but starting to get a little homesick and I think i'll be glad to get home now. Can't believe it has gone so quick! Keep writing to me guys - Love to hear what you are all up to also.
Cheers.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Saturday, September 16, 2006
PEI - London
Well Here I am again to write another epistle about our travels. For those of you that are still reading them - boy you must be keen considering the length of them!
The past few days have been rather *uneventful*, spending the last day in C'twn just wondering around and taking it slow. Unfortunately we had seen most of the town the first day we were there (well within walking distance anyway), so we really didn't do all that much. Went to watch Anne of Green Gables the musical that night which, don't get me wrong was good and worth seeing but not as good as it was hyped up to be. The music wasn't as good as Anne and Gilbert and though the acting was good, somehow getting 30yr old adults to play an 11yr old girl simply doesn't work. Having said that I do think that Anne did considerably well considering the part she had to play. Ther were some really good parts and others where they had changed the storyline but it simply didn't add to the play.
From C'twn we went to Montreal to stop for a day before travelling on to the UK. Arriving at around lunchtime we caught a cab from the airport to the hotel. Little did we know that just a few short blocks from our hotel building there was a shooting going on at the college. Some of you may have heard of it - 19 people injured and 2 dead (one was the gunman another a victim). Ah we always like to spice things up a bit when we travel, so this caused a little bit of mayhem around the hotel...... What can I say - mum and I love living dangerously - first the plane ride, now the shooting and if a few of you remember - our trip 3 years ago to Europe had a bit of a drama too... Funny that since I've told people this my list of friends who want to go travelling with me has dropped dramatically :(.
Well basically all we did in Montreal was wonder around the city - mainly 'Old Montreal' which was very quaint and unique. You can certianlly see the French / European influence. Again, we didn't do much else other than visit a few churches including the Notre dame basillica - very spectacular and ornate inside. Another one we visited was the St Peters (?) cathedral which was a replica of that in Rome (ok I admit it - i'm terrible with remembering names so forgive me if i'm wrong..... too many saints anyway!).
We arrived early at the airport having nothing else to do in the short amount of time we had left. I must say I found the airport dissapointing - not really having much in the way of 'passing time by'.... but maybe I just noticed this because we had so much time to spare! Flight was uneventful and luckily I got a few hours sleep. After lining up for over 1 hr at Heathrow immigration we *finally* arrived at London to be met by Mum's brother who we are staying with for the weekend. Basically had another relaxing day as we are both pretty washed out - for some reason putting time forward always knocks me around more than putting time back! It will not be until Tuesday when we set off for our 'Country journey', so hopefully we will get to spend time with family as well as see a few sights that we missed last time we were here -hopefully inside Westminster Abbey and also to Windsor. Am really looking forward to this next leg of our journey which should also be very enjoyable!
Well that is all the news from me! Hope you are all well and keep me posted on the current events!
Cheers.
The past few days have been rather *uneventful*, spending the last day in C'twn just wondering around and taking it slow. Unfortunately we had seen most of the town the first day we were there (well within walking distance anyway), so we really didn't do all that much. Went to watch Anne of Green Gables the musical that night which, don't get me wrong was good and worth seeing but not as good as it was hyped up to be. The music wasn't as good as Anne and Gilbert and though the acting was good, somehow getting 30yr old adults to play an 11yr old girl simply doesn't work. Having said that I do think that Anne did considerably well considering the part she had to play. Ther were some really good parts and others where they had changed the storyline but it simply didn't add to the play.
From C'twn we went to Montreal to stop for a day before travelling on to the UK. Arriving at around lunchtime we caught a cab from the airport to the hotel. Little did we know that just a few short blocks from our hotel building there was a shooting going on at the college. Some of you may have heard of it - 19 people injured and 2 dead (one was the gunman another a victim). Ah we always like to spice things up a bit when we travel, so this caused a little bit of mayhem around the hotel...... What can I say - mum and I love living dangerously - first the plane ride, now the shooting and if a few of you remember - our trip 3 years ago to Europe had a bit of a drama too... Funny that since I've told people this my list of friends who want to go travelling with me has dropped dramatically :(.
Well basically all we did in Montreal was wonder around the city - mainly 'Old Montreal' which was very quaint and unique. You can certianlly see the French / European influence. Again, we didn't do much else other than visit a few churches including the Notre dame basillica - very spectacular and ornate inside. Another one we visited was the St Peters (?) cathedral which was a replica of that in Rome (ok I admit it - i'm terrible with remembering names so forgive me if i'm wrong..... too many saints anyway!).
We arrived early at the airport having nothing else to do in the short amount of time we had left. I must say I found the airport dissapointing - not really having much in the way of 'passing time by'.... but maybe I just noticed this because we had so much time to spare! Flight was uneventful and luckily I got a few hours sleep. After lining up for over 1 hr at Heathrow immigration we *finally* arrived at London to be met by Mum's brother who we are staying with for the weekend. Basically had another relaxing day as we are both pretty washed out - for some reason putting time forward always knocks me around more than putting time back! It will not be until Tuesday when we set off for our 'Country journey', so hopefully we will get to spend time with family as well as see a few sights that we missed last time we were here -hopefully inside Westminster Abbey and also to Windsor. Am really looking forward to this next leg of our journey which should also be very enjoyable!
Well that is all the news from me! Hope you are all well and keep me posted on the current events!
Cheers.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
PEI again
Hi Again,
Most of the hotels at PEI have free internet access so I have been able to grace you again with another blog - hopefully slightly shorter than the others, but PEI has a lot to tell *g*!
I only just realised that I started every paragraph in my last blog with 'OK' so lets see if I can refrain from that LOL! Please excuse all the typos too - i'm really bad at that!
Well since my last post, we have been all around Cavendish to visit Maud's old haunts. I should point out that although I say i'm here to see everything 'Anne' it is mostly Maud info thank goodness as that is what I came for. Avonlea village was a little bit of a dissapointment, which is what we were told it was going to be. After their Labor Day weekend (late August, early Sept) they shut down the summer season at the village which includes live plays which you follow around the village and they re-enact parts of Anne in various places eg: slate bashing at the Avonlea schoolhouse (which I might add was the Belmont school where LMM taught - and they moved it to the village). This was a real shame because if this was still running I think it would have been a great place to visit. As it were, it was incredibly small and we were done travelling around it in a few hours. For the price you paid to go in, I don't think it was worth it, but I still enjoyed it - they had some great shots that LMM took in her time - another of her passions is photography.
After Avonlea village we then went to Green Gables. It is just lovely but nothing like the GG in the movie - naturally it is more to what LMM based the book on (duh!) and it is nestled in a lovely woodsey area surrounded by trees and the like. We then had a stroll through 'Lovers Lane' and the 'Haunted Wood', both of which were most enjoyable. All of this is really close (i'm talking 100mtrs if that) from where we are staying which is between GG and LMM's Cavendish homestead. Infact Mum and I have just come back from another ramble through the homestead, Lovers Lane and the Haunted wood. In a nutshel - Green Gables didn't dissapoint.
Since we finished what we wanted to earlier than expected, we then drove down the the Cavendish shore which is apparently spectacular. We walked along "the Dunelands" which was a gorgeous walk, surrouned by dunes (obviously!) and lovely wildflowers. With the sea softly hitting the red dirt that surrounds PEI and the grasslands encompassing the area, the sight is just gorgeous. Mum and I ambled along and took many 'happy snaps' trying to capture the scenery as well as (well on my part) playing with the features of my camera :P. From there we drove to Delvay by the Sea which is a high-class hotel that LMM based 'White Sands' on and is also was the 'White Sands' used in the Sullivan productions of Anne. It is certianly a very nice hotel....... if only we had the money hey! Off to have Mum's long awaited lobster dinner which was unfortunately a bit of a dissapointment, the lobster not tasting as nice as we would expect coming from an area where lobster fishing is a way of life for many. But then I guess they are also at the tail end of their season here too.
Hmm.... maybe this isn't to be as short as I expected! Today we went to Park Corner and New London to visit more LMM museums. Park Corner consists of two museums - one being 'Silver Bush' the basis of 4 of LMM's novels (Pat of Silver Bush, Mistress Pat, Story Girl and The Golden Rd). It is still owned by the Campbells' (LMM's cousins who lived there in her time were Campbells) and LMM used to visit this place often when she was younger. She was also married at this house. It is a lovely house and I think aside from her Cavendish homestead it was her favourite. In terms of her novels, the 'Blue chest' that features in 'The Story Girl' is still there as well as some of its contents including the wedding dress etc of 'Rachel Ward'. Again, more of her stories based on truth and it is fascinating to see things you imagined come to life, and be exactly as you imagined it! Silver Bush is also where 'The Lake of Shining Waters' lies and just over the hill from one of the windows you can see a house which would have inspired 'Orchard Slope' (Diana's house in Anne). Aside from that it was just a lovely walk around and Mum and I indulged in a carriage ride around Shining waters which was most enjoyable.
The other house at Park Corner (literally across the road) is where LMM's Grandfather Montgomery lived and is the basis of Ingleside. This is my favourite house in all of LMM's books and continues to be so after seeing it 'in real life'! I just love it - a large front yard with lots of trees, huge yard and the surroundings are bushland (I can imagine the kids walking through there to 'Rainbow Valley' but it only takes you to 'Shining Waters'). Out of the back windows in the house you can also see the ocean not too far away but not before rolling acres of lush green grass. In this house lies the 'rosebud spray tea-set' from Anne as well as Magog (Gog died:( ) from Anne also. The gentleman who owns the house (descendent/relative of LMM) actually took Magog out for me to hold, which was a thrill as he doesn't often do this probably due to the crowds - ah the joys of travelling 'just out of season'.
The house at New London was a bit of a dissapointment not having much else save the Wedding Dress of LMM and we didn't really have any one take us around to explain anything in the house as we did in pretty much all of the others. We were out of there pretty quickly also adding to the house being a lot smaller than the others. The significance of this house in New London is that it was where LMM was born (yes I know - they do live and breathe her here!).
I've probably rambled on long enough and if you have read this far you probably deserve a medal! Or you are as nutty about LMM as I am. I think I've certianly boosted their economy by 30% since we arrived on the island! I think i'm officially (or finally!) LMM'd out but I'm satisfied with what we have seen and am pleased that not much has changed. I can't wait to get home and read my books or even read my old ones again with the new information i've learnt on this trip. PEI really has been a dream come true and I have to keep pinching myself that i'm actually here - I never thought i'd ever get here! Tomorrow we head back to C'town for a quiet day (but no shopping!!!) and later in the night to watch Anne of Green Gables - the musical (ok don't laugh again - remember what I said about Anne & Gilbert!). Well I think i've bored you long enough, but hey - this was the whole basis of the trip so I might as well tell you all about it as well as the significance of the things we have seen!!!!
Cya!
Most of the hotels at PEI have free internet access so I have been able to grace you again with another blog - hopefully slightly shorter than the others, but PEI has a lot to tell *g*!
I only just realised that I started every paragraph in my last blog with 'OK' so lets see if I can refrain from that LOL! Please excuse all the typos too - i'm really bad at that!
Well since my last post, we have been all around Cavendish to visit Maud's old haunts. I should point out that although I say i'm here to see everything 'Anne' it is mostly Maud info thank goodness as that is what I came for. Avonlea village was a little bit of a dissapointment, which is what we were told it was going to be. After their Labor Day weekend (late August, early Sept) they shut down the summer season at the village which includes live plays which you follow around the village and they re-enact parts of Anne in various places eg: slate bashing at the Avonlea schoolhouse (which I might add was the Belmont school where LMM taught - and they moved it to the village). This was a real shame because if this was still running I think it would have been a great place to visit. As it were, it was incredibly small and we were done travelling around it in a few hours. For the price you paid to go in, I don't think it was worth it, but I still enjoyed it - they had some great shots that LMM took in her time - another of her passions is photography.
After Avonlea village we then went to Green Gables. It is just lovely but nothing like the GG in the movie - naturally it is more to what LMM based the book on (duh!) and it is nestled in a lovely woodsey area surrounded by trees and the like. We then had a stroll through 'Lovers Lane' and the 'Haunted Wood', both of which were most enjoyable. All of this is really close (i'm talking 100mtrs if that) from where we are staying which is between GG and LMM's Cavendish homestead. Infact Mum and I have just come back from another ramble through the homestead, Lovers Lane and the Haunted wood. In a nutshel - Green Gables didn't dissapoint.
Since we finished what we wanted to earlier than expected, we then drove down the the Cavendish shore which is apparently spectacular. We walked along "the Dunelands" which was a gorgeous walk, surrouned by dunes (obviously!) and lovely wildflowers. With the sea softly hitting the red dirt that surrounds PEI and the grasslands encompassing the area, the sight is just gorgeous. Mum and I ambled along and took many 'happy snaps' trying to capture the scenery as well as (well on my part) playing with the features of my camera :P. From there we drove to Delvay by the Sea which is a high-class hotel that LMM based 'White Sands' on and is also was the 'White Sands' used in the Sullivan productions of Anne. It is certianly a very nice hotel....... if only we had the money hey! Off to have Mum's long awaited lobster dinner which was unfortunately a bit of a dissapointment, the lobster not tasting as nice as we would expect coming from an area where lobster fishing is a way of life for many. But then I guess they are also at the tail end of their season here too.
Hmm.... maybe this isn't to be as short as I expected! Today we went to Park Corner and New London to visit more LMM museums. Park Corner consists of two museums - one being 'Silver Bush' the basis of 4 of LMM's novels (Pat of Silver Bush, Mistress Pat, Story Girl and The Golden Rd). It is still owned by the Campbells' (LMM's cousins who lived there in her time were Campbells) and LMM used to visit this place often when she was younger. She was also married at this house. It is a lovely house and I think aside from her Cavendish homestead it was her favourite. In terms of her novels, the 'Blue chest' that features in 'The Story Girl' is still there as well as some of its contents including the wedding dress etc of 'Rachel Ward'. Again, more of her stories based on truth and it is fascinating to see things you imagined come to life, and be exactly as you imagined it! Silver Bush is also where 'The Lake of Shining Waters' lies and just over the hill from one of the windows you can see a house which would have inspired 'Orchard Slope' (Diana's house in Anne). Aside from that it was just a lovely walk around and Mum and I indulged in a carriage ride around Shining waters which was most enjoyable.
The other house at Park Corner (literally across the road) is where LMM's Grandfather Montgomery lived and is the basis of Ingleside. This is my favourite house in all of LMM's books and continues to be so after seeing it 'in real life'! I just love it - a large front yard with lots of trees, huge yard and the surroundings are bushland (I can imagine the kids walking through there to 'Rainbow Valley' but it only takes you to 'Shining Waters'). Out of the back windows in the house you can also see the ocean not too far away but not before rolling acres of lush green grass. In this house lies the 'rosebud spray tea-set' from Anne as well as Magog (Gog died:( ) from Anne also. The gentleman who owns the house (descendent/relative of LMM) actually took Magog out for me to hold, which was a thrill as he doesn't often do this probably due to the crowds - ah the joys of travelling 'just out of season'.
The house at New London was a bit of a dissapointment not having much else save the Wedding Dress of LMM and we didn't really have any one take us around to explain anything in the house as we did in pretty much all of the others. We were out of there pretty quickly also adding to the house being a lot smaller than the others. The significance of this house in New London is that it was where LMM was born (yes I know - they do live and breathe her here!).
I've probably rambled on long enough and if you have read this far you probably deserve a medal! Or you are as nutty about LMM as I am. I think I've certianly boosted their economy by 30% since we arrived on the island! I think i'm officially (or finally!) LMM'd out but I'm satisfied with what we have seen and am pleased that not much has changed. I can't wait to get home and read my books or even read my old ones again with the new information i've learnt on this trip. PEI really has been a dream come true and I have to keep pinching myself that i'm actually here - I never thought i'd ever get here! Tomorrow we head back to C'town for a quiet day (but no shopping!!!) and later in the night to watch Anne of Green Gables - the musical (ok don't laugh again - remember what I said about Anne & Gilbert!). Well I think i've bored you long enough, but hey - this was the whole basis of the trip so I might as well tell you all about it as well as the significance of the things we have seen!!!!
Cya!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Toronto - PEI
Thanks to all that replied to my blog! I'm glad you are enjoying it!
Ok for anyone that actually read this over the past few days it was meant to say more than one sentence but the computer buggered up and only printed the one line! ARGH! Luckily it was only a short blog! Basically all I had to say that nothing much else has happened since the last post. The last two days at Toronto were pretty quiet - for our travelling anyway. Tuesday was spent going around the city of Toronto including the CN tower as well as a tour boat ride thing around Lake Ontario facing the city and going around the islands. that was really interesting. The CN tower was good although there was a glass bottom floor and that played with your head. Although you know you are completely safe a couple of times I actually did a double take, thinking that I was falling through the floor! Wednesday we spent the day shopping - well Mum did most of the shopping anyway - Eve (family we were staying with) made the mistake of actually taking Mum into a fabric shop whereby she proceeded to spend up big and indulge herself! Well worth it I say - she doesn't do that half as much as she should! The fabric was cheap and I did enjoy going around with her and helping her decide what fabric to get :P. Wednesday night we caught the flight to Charlottetown. It was a teeny weeny regional flyer and with the weight of our bags (slightly too heavy for a regional flight) the poor plane was probably buckling under the pressure!!!! Arrived at Charlottetown PEI, late Wednesday night and was picked up from the airport by the B&B couple we were staying with.
Ok - so here is where the original blogger would have ended but boy we have a lot more to add now! Thursday was spend 'ambling' around Charlottetown area soaking up the atmosphere and ok, I admit it, shopping again..... only this time, it was my turn to go mad, which I expected anyway seeing as there is soo much ANNE stuff and MONTGOMERY stuff to be had! I couldn't believe it - all of those LMM books that I got online are everywhere here! I basically spent my money getting the Journals of LMM and the books relating to her life which I wanted but unfortunately you can't get in Australia. So I have to sacrifice some suitcase space and probably some of my hand luggage space to bring them all back *g*! In all honesty, that is all we did on Thursday, although it was a most enjoyable day! Friday Mum and I hired the car to begin our travels around the island. This is the point where you should start to worry with my *excellent* navigation skills and our driving on the 'wrong' side of the road is an adventure to behold in itself! I must say that I was suitiably impressed with Mum's ease at adapting to driving on the otherside and we didn't have too many hiccups except for a few times after a U-turn (no- we weren't lost...... honest!) where we would happily be driving on the LHS of the road and neither of us picked it up for a few secs....... thank goodness for quiet country roads!!!!!
Ok so Friday we slowly drove up to Summerside from Charlottetown - if you were to take the most direct route it would take around 45 mins we were told (yes, I said it was a small island!), but instead we took the scenic route and boy are we glad! The sights on this island need to be seen to be believed. They are just breathtaking - the most beautiful thing I have seen yet.... lovely blue ocean on oneside and rolling acres of countryside on the other! It is the most darling place in the world! We took our time and stopped many times to admire the view, take pictures or go for a little stroll. We arrived in S'side after a late-ish start around 5ish, naturally stopping at yet another fabric place on the way. We also stopped at Lower Bedeque, a site of one of the schools LMM taught at but unfortunately the refurbished schoolhouse was closed, so we just took piccies on the outside. Later in the night we watched the musical "Anne and Gilbert" - ok before you laugh hysterically and wonder what on earth has happened to me - it did come highly recommended to us from everyone on the island and dispite how corny it sounds, it was actually GOOD!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it and was suitiably suprised!
Today we had every intention of starting early for our longest drive yet (ok to the furthest point we were going) but due to a few 'technical' issues (the car was low in coolant) and wanting to pick up some 'munchies' etc, we didn't start till late again.... having said that we got to our said destination O'Leary in 35mins and went around the 'Quilt Gallery' and 'Potato Museum' - ok so laugh if you want but I knew before you did that there are 150 kinds of potatoes! Now that is valuable information!!!! The quilt gallery was a dissapointment because despite their advertisments (yes they have brocures) it wasn't a gallery but simply a fabric shop :(. Mum did find the Anne fabric she was after though! So that was a plus. The potato museum wasn't all bad but after a slow amble around we were all 'potatoed out'! We then made our way to Bideford which was another site of LMM's school where she taught and contained a Parsonage Museum where she boarded in her year of teaching. When we got there we were met by another group who were wanting to have a look in but no one was there to open up the museum. A poster was stuck on the wall telling us where to find them as they didn't have the staff to man the place all day - went down there but no one home :( - their house was all opened so we thought they couldn't be too far away so decided to stop outside the manse (lovely views I might add) and have some lunch. When we were just about to give up and go home - they turned up and we had a lovely tour around the parsonage - really really interesting - not just about LMM but also about the history of the town and the restoration of the place. Thoroughly enjoyed by both Mum and myself. We then drove on to the long-awaited trip to 'Anne's Land' which encompasses the surrounding area of where LMM was born and grew up in and around Cavendish. The drive from Malpeque (the gardens we wanted to see were shut :( ) to Cavendish was just stunning - the best we had seen yet. Mum and I were awestruck by the views. First big thrill was passing the "Lake of Shining Waters" and spotting "Silver Bush"! This is where it hit me that we were actually here!!! I still can't believe it now, I'm here, where Maud was, where Anne was created..... and the best bit is that is is exactly as LMM described, it still has that country feel etc. Sure, it is modernised a little, but the cusp of it is still the same. We also saw the (once in Cavendish) the old site of LMM's Cavendish home - breathtaking, you could almost expect her to come around the corner, everything as she described it... I can't believe it! We also visited her resting place and post office where she worked to send off all of her manuscripts - her grandparents owned this P.O. and hence she could send her mail without the knowledge getting around town. All of this is on the two corner blocks (cemetary on one side and P.O on the next, house behind P.O) opposite our motel.
Ok, I better go coz i'm about to get booted of the computer. Again, it is a long one - sorry - but there is just sooo much to tell! The holiday is really hit now, I feel like a 5 yr old kid at christmas! I am here - where I always wanted to come - where I dreamed of coming and it is exactly as I thought it would be..... honestly you have to come here if you love Anne! Off to Green Gables and Avonlea Village tomorrow!
Cya!
Ok for anyone that actually read this over the past few days it was meant to say more than one sentence but the computer buggered up and only printed the one line! ARGH! Luckily it was only a short blog! Basically all I had to say that nothing much else has happened since the last post. The last two days at Toronto were pretty quiet - for our travelling anyway. Tuesday was spent going around the city of Toronto including the CN tower as well as a tour boat ride thing around Lake Ontario facing the city and going around the islands. that was really interesting. The CN tower was good although there was a glass bottom floor and that played with your head. Although you know you are completely safe a couple of times I actually did a double take, thinking that I was falling through the floor! Wednesday we spent the day shopping - well Mum did most of the shopping anyway - Eve (family we were staying with) made the mistake of actually taking Mum into a fabric shop whereby she proceeded to spend up big and indulge herself! Well worth it I say - she doesn't do that half as much as she should! The fabric was cheap and I did enjoy going around with her and helping her decide what fabric to get :P. Wednesday night we caught the flight to Charlottetown. It was a teeny weeny regional flyer and with the weight of our bags (slightly too heavy for a regional flight) the poor plane was probably buckling under the pressure!!!! Arrived at Charlottetown PEI, late Wednesday night and was picked up from the airport by the B&B couple we were staying with.
Ok - so here is where the original blogger would have ended but boy we have a lot more to add now! Thursday was spend 'ambling' around Charlottetown area soaking up the atmosphere and ok, I admit it, shopping again..... only this time, it was my turn to go mad, which I expected anyway seeing as there is soo much ANNE stuff and MONTGOMERY stuff to be had! I couldn't believe it - all of those LMM books that I got online are everywhere here! I basically spent my money getting the Journals of LMM and the books relating to her life which I wanted but unfortunately you can't get in Australia. So I have to sacrifice some suitcase space and probably some of my hand luggage space to bring them all back *g*! In all honesty, that is all we did on Thursday, although it was a most enjoyable day! Friday Mum and I hired the car to begin our travels around the island. This is the point where you should start to worry with my *excellent* navigation skills and our driving on the 'wrong' side of the road is an adventure to behold in itself! I must say that I was suitiably impressed with Mum's ease at adapting to driving on the otherside and we didn't have too many hiccups except for a few times after a U-turn (no- we weren't lost...... honest!) where we would happily be driving on the LHS of the road and neither of us picked it up for a few secs....... thank goodness for quiet country roads!!!!!
Ok so Friday we slowly drove up to Summerside from Charlottetown - if you were to take the most direct route it would take around 45 mins we were told (yes, I said it was a small island!), but instead we took the scenic route and boy are we glad! The sights on this island need to be seen to be believed. They are just breathtaking - the most beautiful thing I have seen yet.... lovely blue ocean on oneside and rolling acres of countryside on the other! It is the most darling place in the world! We took our time and stopped many times to admire the view, take pictures or go for a little stroll. We arrived in S'side after a late-ish start around 5ish, naturally stopping at yet another fabric place on the way. We also stopped at Lower Bedeque, a site of one of the schools LMM taught at but unfortunately the refurbished schoolhouse was closed, so we just took piccies on the outside. Later in the night we watched the musical "Anne and Gilbert" - ok before you laugh hysterically and wonder what on earth has happened to me - it did come highly recommended to us from everyone on the island and dispite how corny it sounds, it was actually GOOD!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it and was suitiably suprised!
Today we had every intention of starting early for our longest drive yet (ok to the furthest point we were going) but due to a few 'technical' issues (the car was low in coolant) and wanting to pick up some 'munchies' etc, we didn't start till late again.... having said that we got to our said destination O'Leary in 35mins and went around the 'Quilt Gallery' and 'Potato Museum' - ok so laugh if you want but I knew before you did that there are 150 kinds of potatoes! Now that is valuable information!!!! The quilt gallery was a dissapointment because despite their advertisments (yes they have brocures) it wasn't a gallery but simply a fabric shop :(. Mum did find the Anne fabric she was after though! So that was a plus. The potato museum wasn't all bad but after a slow amble around we were all 'potatoed out'! We then made our way to Bideford which was another site of LMM's school where she taught and contained a Parsonage Museum where she boarded in her year of teaching. When we got there we were met by another group who were wanting to have a look in but no one was there to open up the museum. A poster was stuck on the wall telling us where to find them as they didn't have the staff to man the place all day - went down there but no one home :( - their house was all opened so we thought they couldn't be too far away so decided to stop outside the manse (lovely views I might add) and have some lunch. When we were just about to give up and go home - they turned up and we had a lovely tour around the parsonage - really really interesting - not just about LMM but also about the history of the town and the restoration of the place. Thoroughly enjoyed by both Mum and myself. We then drove on to the long-awaited trip to 'Anne's Land' which encompasses the surrounding area of where LMM was born and grew up in and around Cavendish. The drive from Malpeque (the gardens we wanted to see were shut :( ) to Cavendish was just stunning - the best we had seen yet. Mum and I were awestruck by the views. First big thrill was passing the "Lake of Shining Waters" and spotting "Silver Bush"! This is where it hit me that we were actually here!!! I still can't believe it now, I'm here, where Maud was, where Anne was created..... and the best bit is that is is exactly as LMM described, it still has that country feel etc. Sure, it is modernised a little, but the cusp of it is still the same. We also saw the (once in Cavendish) the old site of LMM's Cavendish home - breathtaking, you could almost expect her to come around the corner, everything as she described it... I can't believe it! We also visited her resting place and post office where she worked to send off all of her manuscripts - her grandparents owned this P.O. and hence she could send her mail without the knowledge getting around town. All of this is on the two corner blocks (cemetary on one side and P.O on the next, house behind P.O) opposite our motel.
Ok, I better go coz i'm about to get booted of the computer. Again, it is a long one - sorry - but there is just sooo much to tell! The holiday is really hit now, I feel like a 5 yr old kid at christmas! I am here - where I always wanted to come - where I dreamed of coming and it is exactly as I thought it would be..... honestly you have to come here if you love Anne! Off to Green Gables and Avonlea Village tomorrow!
Cya!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
LA - Toronto
Well All,
All I can say is that I hope this works as when i'm typimg on this computer I was trying to read my previous posts and it wasn't coming up!!!! The trip so far has been unbelievable! Better than what I ever imagined!!! So - should I start from the start?? Be prepared - this may go for a while (well we have covered a lot!) so you may want to grab a cuppa, get comfy and then start reading *g*! Well I could have written in LA but at $2 US a minute - sorry but I don't love you all that much!
I would love to say that the flight over to LA was uneventful but that would be lying *sigh*! Firstly much to my mothers and my disgust - we didn't have little TV screens infront of us *sob* so had to spend the 16 hr flight amusing ourselves! Shock- Horror!!! It was a fairly turbulant ride too which wasn't too good. Am thankful I don't get air-sick to say the least! To add to that - We had a drama on the plane with a young man 'going mad'. I don't know the full story but I believe he started bashing his neighbouring passengers for no reason and didn't seem to be drunk, but possibly on drugs?! Anyway he had to be restrained and ended up biting someone and was taped to his chair when they got him under control. Then due to the commotion he caused, we had to stop the plane in Tahiti to let him off and arrest him - I guess because of all the plane scares nowadays they weren't taking any chances! So I guess that is another stop we can add to the list too eh?! Even though it was pitch black and we weren't allowed off the plane *g*! Luckily the rest of the flight was uneventful but I didn't really sleep much - it was too clustered for that to happen :)
LA - what can you say about it? I absolutely loved Disneyland - Walt Disney certianly was a 'Peter Pan' at heart never wanting to grow up and it certianly can be seen by the themes around the park - I really felt 10 years old again! The parade and fireworks later that night were absolutely fantastic. We got to the park at 8:45am and left at aroun 10pm after the fireworks had finished and we meddled our way through the crowds. Some of you will be pleased to know that I went on most of the rides (mum also came with me!) including the rollercoaster in the 'california park' *g*!
Next day we went to San Diego Zoo which was pretty good but due to the previous day we were so tired that I don't think we appreciated it to it's full extent. I didn't know until shortly before we left that there was also an 'Animal Park' in San Diego - that would also have been good to go to - but hey - it is a good reason to always go back! I did enjoy the zoo but found it too spaced out and BIG - so in catching the buses around, you missed a lot that you otherwise would have seen by simply meandering. But seeing the Giant Panda's and Polar Bears made the whole trip worth it!!!
On from there to Hollywood which I must say I was dissapointed with. Once you leave Hollywood Boulevard the town does get a little seedy. But I still enjoyed it and all I can say is BOY can the stars walk streatch for a looong way!!!!! We saw pretty much all of them though (hehe - half of them we didn't know which goes to show what 'movie buffs' we are!). Also visited the Chinese theatre (where most of the premiers are played from) and the Kodak theatre (Oscars I believe). We then went on a trip around Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive - took us aroun to all of the 'stars' houses too - what a whole lot you could see too *coughs* - blacked out fences and roofs of their houses...
Next to Universal Studios which was also really good and obviously more targeted at the adults. But being the Disney lovers that we are - Disneyland was by far better than Universal. Again mum and I went on all the rides (are you shocked?!) and it was a really good day out. Also watched an 'animal actors' show whereby they got all of their birds/cats/dogs that actually feature in films to perform a little show. Was enjoyable but the trainer came out in me and I was sitting their analysing their training techniques or looking at what they were getting the animals to do and thinking - hmm - not all that difficult - but impressive *g*.
TORONTO:
Luckily an uneventful flight this time. We are staying with a friends family just out of Toronto and I have to say that from what I have seen of Canada so far I am in love with it! I don't know why but I just am! We were at Niagra falls yesterday which was most enjoyable and we spent the whole afternoon there soaking (literally!) up the atmosphere. Would have been great to stay later to watch the light show and fireworks that they do each night over the summer - but we simply couldn't as we had to go back home. We still went for the journey behind the falls as well as the Maid of the Mist which gave breathtaking views of the falls. Today we went to the Bala Museum (yep - starting the LMM tour early as this is where LMM gained her setting for one of my favourite novels "the Blue Castle" )- it is run by a couple who are a wealth of knowledge on LMM and have a lot of her original artefacts as well as a lot of her original prints of her books. I had a ball wondering around there and broke the bank as they had soo many books going into the history of LMM's life - I didn't want to turn up to PEI and find I couldn't get the books! After travelling all of this way!!!! Hmm... perhaps I should change my name from 'aussienut' to 'LMMnut' *g*! If this museum gave a taste of what PEI is going to be like - I am in for a treat! Tomorrow we are off to the Toronto city itself to meander as well as probably shop *g*. Which reminds me I also did some of that today and got some great clothes..... I am starting to wonder how I am going to get all of this home - good thing I packed lightly :)
Well that is it from me until the next time I can get to the internet. I am a bit skeptical as to whether this will work so please email me if you can read it :). I hope everyone is well and watch your mailboxes for postcards. If I don't have your addie can u plz email it to me as I'd love to send you one :)
Until next time - nighty night!
All I can say is that I hope this works as when i'm typimg on this computer I was trying to read my previous posts and it wasn't coming up!!!! The trip so far has been unbelievable! Better than what I ever imagined!!! So - should I start from the start?? Be prepared - this may go for a while (well we have covered a lot!) so you may want to grab a cuppa, get comfy and then start reading *g*! Well I could have written in LA but at $2 US a minute - sorry but I don't love you all that much!
I would love to say that the flight over to LA was uneventful but that would be lying *sigh*! Firstly much to my mothers and my disgust - we didn't have little TV screens infront of us *sob* so had to spend the 16 hr flight amusing ourselves! Shock- Horror!!! It was a fairly turbulant ride too which wasn't too good. Am thankful I don't get air-sick to say the least! To add to that - We had a drama on the plane with a young man 'going mad'. I don't know the full story but I believe he started bashing his neighbouring passengers for no reason and didn't seem to be drunk, but possibly on drugs?! Anyway he had to be restrained and ended up biting someone and was taped to his chair when they got him under control. Then due to the commotion he caused, we had to stop the plane in Tahiti to let him off and arrest him - I guess because of all the plane scares nowadays they weren't taking any chances! So I guess that is another stop we can add to the list too eh?! Even though it was pitch black and we weren't allowed off the plane *g*! Luckily the rest of the flight was uneventful but I didn't really sleep much - it was too clustered for that to happen :)
LA - what can you say about it? I absolutely loved Disneyland - Walt Disney certianly was a 'Peter Pan' at heart never wanting to grow up and it certianly can be seen by the themes around the park - I really felt 10 years old again! The parade and fireworks later that night were absolutely fantastic. We got to the park at 8:45am and left at aroun 10pm after the fireworks had finished and we meddled our way through the crowds. Some of you will be pleased to know that I went on most of the rides (mum also came with me!) including the rollercoaster in the 'california park' *g*!
Next day we went to San Diego Zoo which was pretty good but due to the previous day we were so tired that I don't think we appreciated it to it's full extent. I didn't know until shortly before we left that there was also an 'Animal Park' in San Diego - that would also have been good to go to - but hey - it is a good reason to always go back! I did enjoy the zoo but found it too spaced out and BIG - so in catching the buses around, you missed a lot that you otherwise would have seen by simply meandering. But seeing the Giant Panda's and Polar Bears made the whole trip worth it!!!
On from there to Hollywood which I must say I was dissapointed with. Once you leave Hollywood Boulevard the town does get a little seedy. But I still enjoyed it and all I can say is BOY can the stars walk streatch for a looong way!!!!! We saw pretty much all of them though (hehe - half of them we didn't know which goes to show what 'movie buffs' we are!). Also visited the Chinese theatre (where most of the premiers are played from) and the Kodak theatre (Oscars I believe). We then went on a trip around Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive - took us aroun to all of the 'stars' houses too - what a whole lot you could see too *coughs* - blacked out fences and roofs of their houses...
Next to Universal Studios which was also really good and obviously more targeted at the adults. But being the Disney lovers that we are - Disneyland was by far better than Universal. Again mum and I went on all the rides (are you shocked?!) and it was a really good day out. Also watched an 'animal actors' show whereby they got all of their birds/cats/dogs that actually feature in films to perform a little show. Was enjoyable but the trainer came out in me and I was sitting their analysing their training techniques or looking at what they were getting the animals to do and thinking - hmm - not all that difficult - but impressive *g*.
TORONTO:
Luckily an uneventful flight this time. We are staying with a friends family just out of Toronto and I have to say that from what I have seen of Canada so far I am in love with it! I don't know why but I just am! We were at Niagra falls yesterday which was most enjoyable and we spent the whole afternoon there soaking (literally!) up the atmosphere. Would have been great to stay later to watch the light show and fireworks that they do each night over the summer - but we simply couldn't as we had to go back home. We still went for the journey behind the falls as well as the Maid of the Mist which gave breathtaking views of the falls. Today we went to the Bala Museum (yep - starting the LMM tour early as this is where LMM gained her setting for one of my favourite novels "the Blue Castle" )- it is run by a couple who are a wealth of knowledge on LMM and have a lot of her original artefacts as well as a lot of her original prints of her books. I had a ball wondering around there and broke the bank as they had soo many books going into the history of LMM's life - I didn't want to turn up to PEI and find I couldn't get the books! After travelling all of this way!!!! Hmm... perhaps I should change my name from 'aussienut' to 'LMMnut' *g*! If this museum gave a taste of what PEI is going to be like - I am in for a treat! Tomorrow we are off to the Toronto city itself to meander as well as probably shop *g*. Which reminds me I also did some of that today and got some great clothes..... I am starting to wonder how I am going to get all of this home - good thing I packed lightly :)
Well that is it from me until the next time I can get to the internet. I am a bit skeptical as to whether this will work so please email me if you can read it :). I hope everyone is well and watch your mailboxes for postcards. If I don't have your addie can u plz email it to me as I'd love to send you one :)
Until next time - nighty night!
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