Canada - Day 14 - 4th July

Well, it was a poor night's sleep due to early 4th of July celebrations!!

Today started cool, cloudy and windy. What a change in the weather. It has been so hot and sunny (up to 35 degrees Celsius) that this is quit a shock to the system.

We had planned to take the gondola to the very top, but the mountain was in very thick cloud and the wind gusting even in town!!

We watched Wimbledon Tennis, men's semi, on TV and then packed, as we need to check out by 11.30 in readiness for our trip down to Vancouver later in the day by train.

After our very healthy breakfast, we ventured out to Blackcoumb mountain, which is only ten minutes walk away from Whistler mountain. There are numerous trails on this mountain, many used my mountain cyclists. This place is all about mountain bikes and other outdoor activities in the summer, including every type of water sport you can imagine, horse riding, eveing summer skiing!

We found a couple of great nature hikes. Fiona happened upon a snake, again, and leaped into the air as is her usual response to such things. There were also black bears in the area as we found some fresh bear poop!!

After the three hour hike, we returned to town, for a cookie and water, checked out the Blackcoumb ski base area and then went back to our hotel.

We were picked up at the hotel by the Whistler Mountaineer coach at two thirty. By just after three the train was leaving Whistler for our three hour trip to Vancouver. The weather was a little cloudy but the scenery was, as always, ever changing and spectacular.

We arrived at our hotel, the Metropolitan Vancouver, for seven thirty, showered and popped out for some dinner. We went to "The Keg". we had visited one of these restaurants in Calgary. They were unable to delivery hot food to John, so we ended up woth a totally free meal. However, in Vancouver, the food was piping hot!!

Vancouver looks like any other busy business orientated town, it also has a great vibe about it.

Canada - Day 13 - 3rd July

Today started with heavy rain! What a surprise.

We were supposed to go canoeing early today but the rain looked wet and cold. So, we phoned up the tour company and managed to move the event to the afternoon.

We both felt tired and a little giddy from the train journey. This giddy effect is not unusual for people who have taken the two day train across the rockies.

After a lazy start, we put some washing on (our room has washing and drying facilities). We then walked around Whistler to check out the potential skiing facilities etc. It’s a very classy place with lots of restaurants and two large skiing mountains.

We visited the visitor centre, taking away a few maps of local trails. We found a good trail close to town and had a very relaxing walk. We arrived back at the hotel in time to change and meet our tour guide in the lobby.

We drove in an old school bus to the lake where we met our fellow canoeing buddies and went through the basics. Fiona and l decided to take a proper two person, Canadian canoe, everyone else had kayaks. We went across the lake and then into a fast flowing river.

The whole event was just wonderful, with the sun coming out half way through the trip. One of our team, Nancy, managed to get caught up in a tree. It took her ages to extricate herself from the situation. Before this both Nancy and a another chap manage to capsize their crafts, ending up in very cold water. They were both OK.

After the canoe adventure, we headed back to our hotel, showered and changed and then popped out to town. we had a wee drinkie in am Irish pub where the staff wore Scottish kilts (obviously a little confused) and then found an out of the way Indian where we had very good Chicken Tikka Masala.

Unfortunately, the Americans were out in force celerating the arrival of July the 4th until 3 AM, so sleeping was a challenge!!

Canada - Day 12 - 2nd July

We got back on the Rocky Mountaineer at 07:00 – again the sun was shinning and we have been told they are expecting record temperatures today. We are on our way to Whistler. I can’t think of a better way to spend a wedding anniversary – we had breakfast on the train with our friends Holde and George (he is 86 and looking pretty good on it).

The train follows the Fraser river to Whistler – there are some very spectacular gorges to see – we have just crossed the highest rail bridge on the trip – got some good photo’s and video of

this.

The landscape today is much more spectacular than yesterday – we went through flat meadow and marshland type land in the morning and saw several bald eagles and ospreys – we also saw a black bear. After a nice lunch, we got a free glass of bubbly as it was our anniversary and also a book of the history of the Rocky Mountaineer route. George & Holde also received some bubbly as it had recently been Holde’s birthday.

We then wound our way down the Fraser gorge which was truly stunning – we got hundreds of photo’s – it was not unlike the Grand Canyon – we then followed along the edge of the longest lake I have ever seen, again the scenery was amazing.

Not long after this our camera ran out of juice. We had met another couple called Jean & Brian, who were keen photographers and were enjoying retired life. Brian was kind enough to give us some batteries!!

We arrived in Whistler at about 19:00 and were taken to our Hotel, the Delta Suites. The room is fab – huge, woth washing machine and dryer which we are putting to good use.

We went for a meal in a restaurant near by which was also very good.

Whistler is a really nice looking town with loads of very nice and expensive houses – they are hosting the winter Olympics in 2010. This is definitely some where we would love to revisit for a longer stay, both in the winter and summer, as we only have a day and a half this trip.

Tomorrow we are going on an organised canoe trip down the main river in Whistler.

Canada - Day 11 - !st July

Today began with an early start, as we needed to get the car back to Budget before checking in for our Rocky Mountaineer train trip across the Rockies to Quesnel.

We checked in for seven AM. They took our suit cases from us and we received our Gold Leaf pins. Due to an earlier derailment, we had a small delay. Once on the train, we were shown to our fantastic seats in the glass domed viewing carriage. These carriages are huge and offer a magnificent view of the passing countryside.



We began with a bucks fizz, to celebrate Canada day (the day they threw out us Brits). We then met our immediate neighbors, Holge and Grorge. Holge originates from East Germany and George from Vienna.

Breakfast was very nice, we sat with an Australian couple. We are definitely at the younger end of the age spectrum on this trip, but everyone is great fun and up for a good time!

We had a few drinks and then it was time for lunch. The views are constantly changing and the train crew are great, looking after our needs and making sure we are comfortable.



The train has an outdoor viewing platform at the back of our glass domed coach.

As the day progressed the temperature increased. We are experiencing very hot weather at the moment. We have had fantastic viewing weather and we were able to get some good photo’s of the highest mountain in BC, Mount Robson.



We eventually arrived at Quesnel for about six thirty PM. This very small town has an enourmous logging and timber facility. The sheer number of logs, built into large stacks is mind blowing!!

Our hotel in Quesnel was OK, large rooms with two huge beds. The food was not so good, but we have been spoilt by the service on the Rocky Mountaineer!!
This mode of transport is both relaxing and exhilarating.



We can’t stop snapping photo’s and shooting video!! Another great day in Canada!!

Canada - Day 10 - 30th June

We were booked on an organised trip today – we were picked up at 08:15 – there was already an Australian couple on the bus who were good fun and easy company.

After we had picked up about 18 people we headed up slowly to Maligne Lake where we were going to do a cruise down the lake. Our guide and driver for the day was Joe and was both very informative and also highly amusing had us laughing most of the day and also crying at the bear attack stories he told (good news is only 2 people in 20 years have actually been killed by Bears).

After about 10 mins we saw loads of Elk on a sand bank in the middle of the main river – there were loads of baby Elks which were really cute and later in the day we saw them swimming back across to the main bank of the river. Then 10 mins later we spotted a Black bear in the forest close to the road – John got some good video but he was to hidden by the trees to get a good photo.

It was at this point Joe started to tell the bear attack stories – as soon as a bear is seen all the cars behind stop and amazingly people actually get out their cars to photograph them – bears can actually run faster than a race horse so this is not a great move and I think the guides are kind of waiting for a tourist to be killed at some point even though there are notices everywhere saying BEARS ARE DANGEROUS stay in your cars. They are also worried that the Bears are getting too used to human contact which they are trying to stop as once this happens the Bears will start to attack more people.

We then got to Maligne lake and took a 1 ½ hour trip along it stopping at an island at the other end for 10 mins called Spirit Island. The trip was very pleasant as the weather is again very sunny and very very hot.



In the afternoon we made our way to Maligne Canyon which is an amazing deep gorge with a waterfall which is truly stunning – there are several pot holes in the gorge where the water just goes round and round like a vortex. Just before we arrived there we saw another black bear this time with 2 cubs – so cute – they look so cuddly which is why I am sure so many people think it is OK to get out their cars, but after another Joe story on bears attacks ensures we’d never get out the car.

After the Canyon trip we headed back to Jasper and saw the same black bear we had seen that morning – yet again loads of people were out their cars and one mad woman even followed the bear into the forest for that perfect picture – lets hope it didn’t cost her more than she bargained for.

We are now off up the Jasper Tramway to the top of one of the ski slopes in Winter for another spectacular view and then into town for a meal. Tomorrow we are up very early to catch the Train to Whistler then Vancouver.

Canada - Day 9 - 29th June

The day started quite early as we have our drive up to Jasper ahead of us. The weather was again, blue sky and sunshine. We drove through amazing scenery. Everything is BIG here including the mountains and the rivers and the glaciers.

We stopped off on highway 11 at a helicopter tour company and took a 20 minute flight op over the local lake, up the river bed and on up and up and up into the mountains and above some of the frozen lakes and amazing glaciers.

There were just three of us in the helicopter, me, Fiona and a Chap from Scotland who had married a Calgary gal and now lives in Calgary. His wife was not happy to fly in the helicopter.

Due to the hot weather, air was rising out of the valleys and causing us to move both up and down and from side to side. The pilot, a very young lady, assured us this was quite normal!!

We came back in over the lake and landed with out and mishaps. An amazing experience, which showed off the vastness of this part of Canada.

After the flight, we continued the breath taking drive to Jasper, passing the famous Columbia ice fields. We were going to stop but it looked busy.

We eventually arrived in Jasper at about three PM. We were too early to book in, so we went down town and found a nice bar with air conditioning as the temperature was up in the high twenties. We had a cold drink and a good chat to a couple of Canadians from Toronto.

We came back to our room later and settled in. This place is not bad at all with another great lake view.

We went down to town for a nice meal and then came back and chilled out on the sunny veranda. We got chatting to the Americans on the level below us. They were having a BBQ, playing a mouth organ and singing!!!

Canada - Day 8 - 28th June

The sun was up early today, thanks to the endless blue sky. We had a good nights sleep in the massive bed.

After breakfast we decided to take a hike to Hamilton Lake, high up above Emerald Lake. The couple from Texas had already told us this was a tough, challenging track, so we just had to do it.
The route up was very steep in places, with many fallen trees across the path. After about two hours hiking, we hit some snow fields. John had his Merrell walking sandals on which did not protect against the cold of the deep snow.

After half an hours of walking in and out of snow fields, we reached the lake. Wow!! Two thirds of the lake was still frozen. We were the only people there and the silence was simply wonderful.

We sat on a large flat rock and had lunch. We saw some Marmot’s on the other side of the stream as well as numerous red squirrels.

After lunch we began our decent back through the snow fields and down to Emerald Lake. In all the hike took just over five hours and was well worth the effort.

After a quick shower, we took a canoe out on the Emerald Lake. The lake is so named due to it’s amazing colour, caused by the microscopic rock dust the is constantly washed down from the rockies. The water was calm and the breeze helped to take the edge off the high temperature.

After the canoe trip, we still had itchy feet, so decided to walk around the lake. This took just over and hour and took us through all types of terrain.
Emerald lake is fabulous, amazing scenery, good food and very peaceful. We are leaving tomorrow for our next destination, Jasper.

Canada - Day 7 - 27th June

Today started with sparkling blue sky and sunshine. We had an early breakfast, packed the car, checked out of Buffalo Lodge and popped down to Banff town to get a few photo’s in the sun.

We said goodbye to Banff and began our journey to Emerald Lake, not too far away from Lake Louise. The trip was problem free and within an hour and a half we arrived at Emerald Lake Lodge.

We tried to check in, but we were too early, having arrived at 10.30 AM. So, we left some bags at check in and drove to Takawka Falls. These are the second largest water fall in Canada and was very spectacular. The melting snow helped to put on a good show.

Lake Louise was next on our list, as we had planned to check this place out as a potential ski venue for next year. When we arrived the temperature had gone through the roof. We took a look around and decided to walk the 6 Glacier trail. The route goes down the right hand side of the Lake and then high up to the end of the valley, where there is a tea house.

The walking was quite challenging with some wonderful waterfalls and a few, small snow fields. The rock faces were vertical along the side of the lake and several climbers were doing their stuff. After two and a half hours of solid up hill walking we came to the tea house. This small chalet served very nice, cold lemonade!!

We discovered you could take an additional 1.6 km track to the very base of the glaciers and we could not resist. The views of the glaciers and of Chateau Lake Louise on the Lake were wonderful and well worth the extra hiking.

It took another few hours to get back down to the car park. We arrived back at Emerald Lake Lodge tired but exhilarated. The lodge itself is wonderful. We have a lake side room with amazing views. This place is quiet, stunning and just about perfect.

We had a very good meal in the main restaurant preceded by a drinkie in the sun on the lakeside.

After dinner, we sat in the outdoor fire pad, where we got chatting to some Americans who were toasting marsh mellows on the open fire. They were a nice couple from Texas, who loved Paris!!

Canada - Day 6 - 26th June - Organised Trail Walk

We were booked on a organised trail walk in Banff National Park today.

We were picked up at 08:45 - there were already 2 people on board - two women (in their 50's) from the Midlands - thay were doing Canada some what chepaer than us - they were staying in youth hostils - sounded really awfull - 30 women per dormatary.

We were 11 people in all - we picked up 6 people from the Fairmont banff spings which is a really posh looking Hotel - they all worked for Oracle and were on a sales reward jolly. We walked up to a Stanley glacier - the walk was about 1 1/2 hours - not the most exciting we have done - all the trees had been burned in a recent fire and no wild life - the weather was OK but really cold and windy - it reached a peak when we stopped for lunch.

After about 15 mins everyone was so cold we headed back down to the bus. We got chatting to a an australian girl who was really nice and lived in Camberra - she told us about all the snakes ans spiders ehy get - so we are not going there in a hurry.

When we got back to the bus the hike leader decided to take us to another walk up to a waterfall - it took us about 30 mins - the water fall was very impressive. On he way back to banff we saw 2 deers and a cayote.

We got back at about 16:30.

We walked into Banff for a drink - we went to an Irish pub which had lots of atmospher and had dinner at Tony Ramanos (John's choice of more ribs) - they were very nice. John tried an Oyster as they were offering them free at the pub. General impression? Not Impressed!!

Tomorrow we are off the Emerald Lake which looks great - the weather also looks to be improving over the next few days.

Canada - Day 5 - 25th June

Today started quite cloudy. After a healthy breakfast, we drove to the bottom of Sulphur Mountain, so named due to the numerous natural sulphur hot water springs on the mountain. These springs were the very reason that the Banff National Park was established in the first place.

We decided not to take the gondola up to the top, but to walk the trail instead. It was a great walk, not too steep, and with some great views and wild life to see. We came across some chip monks and ground squirrels, very cute.

Once at the top, the temperature dropped to just five degrees. We walk to the weather station at the very top where the views were spectacular. We also came across some mountain goats and very tame chip monks.

We then walked back down to the base, the walk took four hours in total and definitely burned a few calories off.

We had a very tasty elk burger for lunch in a restaurant in town, recommended to us by one of the waitresses in our lodge.

By now the clouds were evaporating and the sun getting nice and hot. So, we decided to go back to our lodge and take advantage of the sun loungers and enormous hot tub. We chilled for a couple of hours before getting ready for our organised evening nature tour with a company called Discover Banff Tours.

The bus trip took us a little further into the national park and we saw some bird life, ground squirrels, chip monks, elk, mountain sheep, coyote (Wild dog) and a golden eagle. We were just beginning to travel back to town when a chappie stopped his van next to us and told our English tour guide that a large grizzly bear was just down the road. Within a few minutes, there he was!! He was huge and was initially very nervous of us. However, once we had been there a few minutes he settled back into munching flowers.

We were so lucky to see him. There are only 60 in the entire park, which is huge. Our tour guide had been doing this job for over two years and this was the first time he had seen one this close.

We went back down to town for a healthy dinner of Sushi. A great day!!

Canada - Day 4 - 24th June

Today was spent driving from Calgary to Bamff. The drive up was fine as the early heavy rain in Calgary had passed over and the sun began to peep through. As we approached the rockies, the scenary changed dramaticlly, with steep mountain walls, water falls and lakes.

We arrived in Bamff at approximately 1 pm. Our room was not ready until 3, so we visited the town centre and had the smallest bowl's of soup imaginable!!

We then visited the various tourist info outlets, planning our rockies agenda.

Once back at our lodge, we arrived at our room and immediately asked if we could change our room. They were fine with this and we moved to a nicer lodge.

After settling in, we went to the sun terrace for a wee drinkie. The wine here is very good but also expensive.

We had a good evening meal at the lodge. Great cheese board and wonderful Salmon.

We have planned some good walks for tomorrow and the weather is looking good.

Canada - Day 3 23rd June

Had a much better sleep and we both feel more human, the weather was also great, sunny and pure blue sky. We decided to hire bicycles to see more of the city.

We decided to follow the River Bow cycle path around the city of Calgary – the girl in the shop said it would be about 60km. We set off (10:30) and it was really pleasant - nice scenery and really warm. The path went through various areas some very green others through housing areas. After about 2 hours we stopped to check where we were on the map – a local gave us some help and said that the path we planned to do was blocked due to severe flooding a couple of years ago so gave us another path to follow. The path weaved through various housing estates until it eventually reached a park with a massive reservoir. By this time we are feeling pretty tired and our botties are starting to get a little painful. The cycle path back to our hotel from the reservoir was really nice and followed the river – there were some really fab looking houses – the trip back seemed really long as we were starting to get really tired by this point – we eventually got back to the cycle shop at 15:30.

We went to a recommended restaurant for our evening meal called “The Keg”. John had fancied some ribs, and this place was supposed to specialize. The restaurant itself was pleasant enough, if a little dark. Everything was going well until John tucked into his second rack of ribs, which were stone cold. He sent them back. The manager came over and apologized and said he would not charge for John’s meal. 20 minutes later, the ribs had still not arrived. The manager came over and apologized, saying they had now burnt the ribs. The good news is that our entire meal, wine included, was now to be on the house!! The ribs eventually arrived back hot-ish!!

The evening finished with a wee glass of wine over a video, back at the hotel, which we did not see the end of, due to continuing jet lag.

Canada - Day 2 - 22nd June

We woke up really early (05:10) and went for breakfast at about 07:00.

After that we decided to go for a walk along the main river in Calgary (Bow River) – suffice to say there weren’t many people out at that time – some of the walk is very pretty and some goes through some dodgy parts of Calgary – they seem to have a real problem with down and outs.

We saw loads of ground squirrels – they look really cute but are apparently a real nuisance. They also have loads of other squirrels which are also cute and very black in colour.


We then wandered into the main town of Calgary where they have lots of shops and restaurants – the sun came out and was very pleasant - we stopped at a restaurant and both had a really nice ceasar salad. After lunch we then went up the Calgary tower which looks like the BT tower in London and is 530 Feet tall. The 360 degree view is amazing. Part of the floor is glass and you can stand on it looking down to the street below – its really scary.




We then went back to one of the parks near our hotel and took in the sun – there was lots going on to keep us amused.

At night we went to an Indian restaurant –the food was wonderful but the service really bad, they had a real problem getting stuff out (took them hours to get us 2 glasses of wine – took 3 attempts to get them) – I think it was cos they were doing so much carry out business. John said the curry was up there with his University experiences in Bradford.

We then went back to the hotel has a night cap and watched a video.

Canada - Day 1 - 21st June

After a some what wild dinner party at Shauna’s house on Friday night, we made our way to the airport for our flight to Calgary.

The flight was pretty good and on time, when we arrived in Calgary it was nice and warm.

We are staying at the Sheraton suites in Calgary centre which is very nice – for some reason they thought we were a loyalty card holder so they upgraded our room to a suite which was great.

We arrived at night so went straight to bed but sleeping was a little challenging the great effects of jet lag.

French & Italian Adventure May 16thy - June 16th

Day 1
Day one was spent driving from home to a little hotel just south of Boulogne. This Best Western hotel was very good for the money and we had a good evening meal and breakfast. When we arrived the weather was OK, with quite warm temperatures. During the night thunder storms rolled around and by morning it was raining and cold.

Day 2
We drove through rain and cloud for most of the day, arriving at our next Best Western hotel, this time on a golf course and in the town of Beaune. Fiona had stayed here many moons ago with Simon and Shauna. As the evening approached the weather improved and we had another nice meal at a local restaurant. However, they were very busy and they crammed us in between other punters.

Day 3
Weather wise, today started well and we drove out of Beaune towards some smaller towns. This is a big wine producing area, so we found a small town, booked into a cheap hotel and then found some good walking amongst the vines. We also drove around a few of the well known villages that produce well known wines including Mulionay Montrachet. That evening we had a cheap but good meal in town and then retired to bed. Unfortunately, the hotel had a party in full swing until midnight which kept us awake. The church clock kicked in at seven in the morning.

Day 4
We decided to head off further south as the morning brought colder and rainy weather again!! We headed for various towns but eventually ended up in a little known place called Florec. This small town was highlighted in the Lonely Plant “Walking in France” guide. We found a very good hotel which also provided apartments with full kitchens. We bagged one night and then decided to book for the whole week as the village has a great feel to it and the walking looks excellent. We had a fantastic pizza and bottle of local cheapy rose, which was very good indeed, even Fiona liked it!!

Day 5
Today started well, we found a couple of walks and mode the most of the weather. The temperature was good for walking and we completed the first walk in a couple of hours. We are still in spring time and the flowers are out the grass is still very green. We returned to the town square for a coffee where the day took a dramatic turn for the worse. John checked his phone messages. Susan had called to say that Adrian (Fiona’s Dad) had been taken into hospital with a suspected heart attack. We went for another walk to take our minds off the situation whilst waiting for some news. We phoned Andy and Joy who kindly looked up flight options from this part of France as we needed to get Fiona back to Edinburgh ASAP. It turned out that a flight would leave Nice on Tuesday morning flying direct to Edinburgh. We spoke to Susan (Fiona's Sister), booked the flight and booked the only hotel we could get in Nice. The Monaco Grand Prix is only a week away and the Cannes film festival is still in full swing. We stayed in another hotel for the night as our favorite one could not put us up.

Day 6
Today we drove from Florac to Nice. It was a five hour journey and when we got to Nice the weather was cloudy with spots of rain. We checked into the hotel, the room was so small you could hardly swing the dog!! After checking in we walked around Nice, bought some bread, cheese and ham for tea and then went back to our room. After a we drinkie, we went back out for another walk and then hit the sack.

Day 7
Today we had some very expensive breakfast in the hotel, took Heather for a walk and then drove to Nice airport. We checked Fiona in quickly as she only had hand luggage. We then said our good byes and Fiona headed off back to the UK. Heather and l then drove around the local coast (St Raphael, Agay) stopping off at a local cove to dip our feet in the sea. We the drove to Montpellier and then eventually on to Florac via the most amazing route up and over the mountains. We decided to stay at the local camp site. Putting up the tent was a long drawn out affair as Heather, try as she might, was not much help. Eventually everything slotted into place and John went off into town to revisit the excellent Pizza house and sink a carafe of rose wine. The weather was a lot colder than expected and the new sleeping bags were not up to much as they were for warmer weather.

Day 8
Today was a slow start, warming up took a while, however, the sun was out but John had managed to pick just about the only camping lot not in the sun!! After a locally ordered breakfast of Pain Au Raison, John chatted to his neighbors, a couple from Newcastle who now live in Chamonix running trekking holidays for UK clients. We then tackled the 17 kilometer walk called in Stephenson’s footsteps (John Louis Stephenson – the chap who invented railways). The walk was good but the weather was not so great, dry but cloudy and chilly in the wind. Still the walk was great, even though the books directions were not all that accurate at times. On the way home, we popped into the local supermarket and bought sausages, cheese and tomatoes. That was tea!! After that, John wrote this blog and then had an early night. Fingers crossed that the weather improves tomorrow.

Day 9

Today was not so good on the weather front but was dry if a little cold. John and Heather went walking again and then visited the local supermarket to buy some dinner. The tent had dried out and we had local frankfurters with bread. The evening was finished off in the tent playing Monopoly on the PC. That night the weather was very cold and l had to put the gas ring on inside the tent in order to warm up. Heather had her doggy duvet on so was nice and warm. It was a long night!


Day 10
The previous night was so cold, l packed up the tent as quickly as possible and headed down to the Riviera (Antibes), as Russ had said l could pick up the keys from Lynne’s parents (Dave and Barb) early. The trip down was fine (almost 6 hours) and when l arrived the Antibes the weather was warm and sunny (at last). I unpacked the car, dried out the camping equipment, and repacked the car. Heather was not so impressed with the lovely beach front apartment! Still we had a nice day relaxing in the sun.

Day 11
Today was a great day for weather and the and the day that Russ and Lynne were arriving from the UK for 4 days. Heather and I had some great walking along the coast and were back in time for Russ and Lynne to arrive. Russ and I went to buy some groceries and then we all headed off to a great breach front restaurant to meet Bruno, a business associate of Lynne’s. During lunch we met Richard and Judy from channel 4. We had a good chat about their book club.

Day 12
The weather was not so good today with high winds, large waves and some rain. We went into town
In the evening to meeting Dave and Barb and had a nice meal. On the way back home, a large back van reversed into the front of Lynne’s car at quite a speed. Not a great end to the day.

Day 13
The weather was not good today either. We visited a few local towns and had a nice lunch. During the day, we put on our swimming stuff and bin liners (to keep us warm) and then stood on the lower level of Lynne’s pad and let the HUGE waves wash over us. The water was very powerful pushing us back on may occasions. Great fun!! We also met with our neighbors, Bob and Caroline and their two kids. The evening was spent in town again where we found a good cocktail bar.

Day 14
Another day of poor weather. We visited some of Lynne’s building projects, popped round to Dave and Barb’s lovely house and took a look at a few properties, one of which Lynne’s business partner is thinking or purchasing. We went out to a local Italian with Dave and Barb, very nice!!

Day 15
Today the weather was a little better, but not much. We chilled out for much of the day and l then took Russ and Lynne back to Nice airport. Heather and l were chilling out when the door bell rang. It was Caroline from next door. We spent that evening with Bob, Caroline and the kids. They live in Sevenoaks and are both surgeons.

Day 16
Fiona flew back down to Nice today as Adrian is making a spectacular recovery. They have placed a stint in a blocked artery and he is feeling like a new man!! I picked Fiona up from Nice airport and we spent the rest of the day dodging showers, walking Heather and relaxing.

Day 17
Today, we resumed our walking, driving up to the mountains behind Nice and Monaco. The weather was cold with light rain. We found some good walking areas but the weather took the edge off. The area we found has a large fishing facility with lots of wolves in enclosures. We drove back in the afternoon and relaxed at home.

Day 18
Today we went up to the local national park. The weather was better although the altitude took the edge of the temperature. We eventually found a trail and walk up high. We begun to see Chamonix as the walk flattened out. As we approached the top we were surrounded by wild animals including marmots. The weather improved and we found a lot of great flora and forna. We had a pick nick near the top, within the snow line. We walked back down, crossing some fast flowing rivers. That evening we had a very nice Italian meal in town.

Day 19
Today, we decided to drive up to lake Garda in Italy, as the weather forecast for that area was far better than the forecast for Antibes. The drive was quite long (about 6 hours), but the weather improved on route. After taking the ferry across the lake, we found a nice camping site called Tonini’s. They had small apartments which we decided to use as the weather forecast had threatened storms. We found a good pizzeria looking out over lake Garda. Very nice!

Day 20
Today was not a great success on the walking front! We struggled to find a parking space at the base of the gondola station, so ended up walking quite a way. When we arrived at the gondola, there was a huge queue. So we joined the end. After a while, a German chap in front of us, came back from the ticket booth. Apparently dogs have to wear substantial muzzles in order to travel on the gondola!! So, we left the queue and then spent an hour finding a trail we could use. After finding the trail, we began the walk. It got steeper and steeper until, after two hours, we turned back, but not before Fiona almost stood on a large viper!! Luckily, Heather had not seen it. It was at least a couple of feet long. We spent the rest of the day sunning ourselves on the balcony. Unfortunately, a German couple with two young babies moved into the apartment next door and the babies cried all night. We hardly had any sleep!!

Day 21
Last nights baby crying and the difficult dog walking issues of the day before ended up with us deciding to leave Garda. We hit an internet café and looked for good weather. Florac in France was looking good, so we decided to, make our way back to Florac, but stopping off along the way. The day was sent driving to La Grave, just over the French border. The driving was spectacular, passing many well know Italian and French ski resorts on the way. La Grave was spectacular and we managed to get a steep walk in before the weather changed for the worse. We had thunder, lightening and heavy, heavy rain. We had a nice meal in town in a very traditional restaurant. The rain hammered down all night.

Day 22
Today, the sun was out early and the scenery around la Grave looked amazing with a fresh fall of snow on the tops of the mountains. The drive to Florac was equally stunning with abundant water falls high up in the alps. When we arrived in Florac the weather was OK. We walked some of the trails we had previously taken. We revisited our favorite pizzeria in the evening.

Day 23 – 28
The weather was mixed during these days and we had some great walking, completing the Stephenson’s steps forest walk, the Chaos walk (weather was cold and windy) and the massive five hour walk above Florac where we just missed the most amazing thunder storms. On day 28 we drove to see the Millau bridge whish is spectacular, was also found a great hotel in Melene, a small town in the Tarn Gourge.

Day 29
We drove to Melene, after a very long walk. On our way back to Melene, we took the steep road down in the rain. After arriving we had thunder and heavy rain again!! We ate in the hotel which had the smallest bar in the world. They served Leffe beer, so it was not all bad. We had a fantastic meal in the hotel, which we very quiet. Unfortunately, the maid had been in our room and found Heather on the bed!!!

Day 30
We had breakfast in the hotel and met another couple who had also been traveling around the area and were fed up with the unseasonable weather. We had planned to take boats down the Tarn river, but the water was running too fast due to all the heavy rain, so we could not do it. We spend most of the day driving to a small town outside Clermont Ferrant. The area also has limited skiing in the water. We arrived early and found some great walking but the weather was changeable. By the end of the day the sun was out big time, so we sat outside the bar and had a few drinks. That evening we had the worst meal ever in a local hotel. Fiona’s Salmon with boiled potato and apple was the worst.

Day 31
The day started with blue sky, so we eventually found a trail in a hiking book, loaned to us, by the hotel manager. The walk took some finding, but once found was good. We came across some large fields of flowers with thousands of busy bees. The droning noise was impressive. We then drove to our next destination, Chablis. It took about three hours and when we arrived, it was not as easy to find accommodation as we had been led to believe. Eventually, John asked a chap who worked in one of the many wine houses, if he could recommend anywhere. He told us to follow him and we ended up at the local posh hotel, which was great. We were offered a large discount and an upgrade. The room was great, on two floors. We headed out for a meal, finding a fantastic restaurant, where we had one of the best meals of the French/Italian trip.

Day 32
Today started well, with good weather and a fine French breakfast. We did the usual, making up ham and cheese rolls from the breakfast buffet and then spiriting them out to have for lunch! After much faffing about, we visited the local tourist info, leaving with a walking map. We found a great walk, amongst the many vine yards in the area. We found another walk in the afternoon. However, after about 1 hour of walking, the weather took a dramatic turn and it started to rain buckets. We ended up walking back in torrential rain and were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the hotel. Luckily for Heather, she had stayed at the hotel in the dry!! We went to a local Italian for an evening meal, as Fiona had fancied a Carbonara since arriving. It was the worst meal we have had in a long time. Fiona’s Carbonara was over cooked and my local ham dish was awful! We visited the hotel bar that evening to sample some more the excellent local Chablis wine which tastes even better than the wine they export to the UK.

Day 33
Today started with sparkling blue skies and another fine breakfast. We revised the previous days walk to try and find a compass and watch that John has lost. We did not find them, so ended up at the local police station to report the loss. The police were very polite but would not give us a loss report. By afternoon, we jumped in the car and drove to Paris (Charles De Gaul Airport) to pick up Shauna, who was joining us for a three day tour of the Champaign region. The flight was a little delayed, so we relaxed in the local hotel reception and then picked her up and drove to Epernay. Our hotel was OK and in a good position for town. That night we a great pizza with some of the excellent Champaign.

Day 34 -36
We toured many of the local small, privately owned Champaign houses, tasting as we went and buying a few at each house. Even though we have done this for years, the hospitality of the Champaign house owners still surprises and delights us.

Day 37
Today was spent driving back to blighty, via the channel tunnel in Calais. The journey back was good and we stopped off to buy some cheap boozed at the local beer and wine outlets. We met some chaps on the train who had been at the La Mans 24 hour car event. One of them had a new Aston, very nice indeed. As we arrived back in the UK the rain was there to greet us!! After a while the skies cleared. We dropped of Shaun and drove back to Chaddleworth in the sun. Another great adventure, comes to an end. The weather could have been better but over all we found some great walking areas in France and Italy which we will definitely go back too. The mountains around the bottom half of France are stunning!! Lake Garda is also worth another visit, but next time we will visit without a dog. Heather, did not enjoy this trip as much as previous European visits. She is almost 11 now and she prefers to stay at home. We will now be at home for a week before embarking on our next adventure. Canada, here we come!!

6th May - 9th May

Well, the yacht trip was very good although the trip out was not good. The day of our flight was bloody awful, with heavy rain, thunder and hight winds. We were delayed over an hour (from leaving the beach in Banyan Tree). Eventually, we took off, but the weather was so bad we landed in Male. Eventually we took off again and landed 20 minutes later in a sister resort, where the yacht was waiting. We were delivered by boat to the yacht which, on first impressions, was amazing.

After a lovely dinner with the other punters, we soon realised that the Russian group of 4 woudl just not fit in. The leader of the group was simply unaccpetable, loud, obnoxious, rude etc. etc.

Day two on the boat brought great weather and great snorkling. However, our room was noisy and hot during the night, so not a great nights sleep. The Crew, especially the chef, were amazing and luckily for us the Russians decided they did not want to eat with us, GREAT!! They sat at the front of the yacht, having ordered lobster, caviar and fine wines, which were brought in for them!!

We had a lovely meal with Victoria and Helier (From Jersey) and a nice professor and doctor from Austria.

Our second evening was spent, moored by another island owned by Banyan Tree. This exclusive island has been rented by the footballer, Stephen Jerrard, so we were not allowed to see the place. Fiona and l spent the night sleeping outside, as it was a bit quieter and a lot cooler.

Where we arrived back at our main Banyan Tree resort, we felt we had arrived "Back Home".

Next we day we were up early to fly back to the UK, which was very good, except for a bunch of drunk Navy lads who were returning from Columbo.

Fantastic Holiday. We LOVE Banyan Tree, and would like to return, maybe, to celebrate our 50th birthdays.

29th April - 5th May - Maldives Magic

The flight out was on time but Air Sri Lanka was not good. John’s seat was particularly uncomfortable. The food was not good at all; most of the time our food choices were not available, although mysteriously, other punters seated near to us but served after us seemed to get what they wanted!!

We arrived to a hot but very cloudy Male. Our private launch, took us to our Island in just 30 minutes. First impressions were that the Island looked similar to Coco Palm (Previous Holiday in the Maldives) but was a little smaller.

Our villa was available immediately, it was quite different to other Maldives accommodation, very classy, great location, with a back garden area with whirl pool and seating area, plus a seating area in the front garden and our own shaded sun hut down on the beach. (See photos).

On our first morning we met up with Graham and Helen, our Irish neighbors. They were out on holiday, celebrating a wedding anniversary and Helens 60th birthday. Lovely couple. The snorkeling was wonderful with great corals, the best we have seen to date in this part of the world. We realized that we should have bought an underwater camera case as there is just so much to see, including quite a few large reef sharks.

The food is certainly a touch above Coco Palm. The lunches are just amazing, fresh grilled sea food to die for. More gigantic prawns than you can imagine!! We are being good at breakfast (fresh fruit prepared to order including delicious lychees and the sweetest mango we have ever eaten.)

We had booked on the snorkeling safari and turned up Wednesday morning ready and eager. However, it turned out that the trip had been cancelled but we had not been informed. John had a firm word with the reception staff, who apologies profusely. We had planned our day around this trip so were a little peeved.

A little later in the day, one of the managers took us aside and apologized for the error. In recompense, he offered us an all expenses paid two day trip on their luxury yacht. This one year old yacht is huge, has its own chefs and crew, all air conditioned, with just 6 luxury births. They have their own on board diving crew. We are to visit some of the southern atolls, stopping off for secluded beach BBQ etc. What a result. This boat usually costs over $800 per couple per night, so we feel very lucky indeed.

The next day was Helens 60th birthday, so we met them on the sun set jetty for a champers celebration. (See photos). They then had a romantic private BBQ in front of their villa. Very nice!! Before this celebration, we went for our joint spa massage. It was wonderful, lasted one and a half hours and was the best l have had to date. So good, we have booked to go for another the day before we leave.

We also met with a very nice couple from Japan, Geoff and Katherine. John got talking to Geoff after Fiona pointed out that he was carrying a very neat underwater camera. He showed us some of his photos from the reef surrounding the Island. He also offered to download some for us onto our memory stick. They are a true representation of what we see every day on the reef. They both dive every day, so, so shots are from deeper water. These photo’s spurred John on to book a refresher dive.

The nest day, we had a lesson on the catamarans and the took one out, great fun. The reef is tricky to navigate as there is only one route in and out. However, once outside the inner reef you can sail for miles. Great fun.

The food just gets better and better, lunches are a real gastronomic treat and very relaxed affairs. The evening meal is a la carte, luckily the puddings are just about avoidable!!

We also visited the sister island, just five minutes by boat. We had a great snorkel, seeing turtles and sharks to boot. This island is smaller and less busy, great tea and coffee’s by the lapping sea. John managed to leave his T shirt there, however, the staff had it back within the hour!!

We also met with the islands marine biologist, Robert, who has also offered to supply us with some photo’s. He introduced us to a another guest, Oliver and his fiancé. He lives in Germany and has donated money to the island to help with their continuing quest to manage and conserve the coral gardens. They are actually building new coral gardens using a combination of cement and graftings from existing corals. Every night they feed rays by the jetty.

On Saturday, John went for his dive, which went well. He had to complete a written dive test before hand which he did remarkably well at!! The dive was great and he plans to do some more from the yacht. We chilled out for much of the day, taking another catamaran out for a spin. A sun set drink followed by another wonderful evening meal and a skinny dip finished the day off nicely!!

Sunday began with the snorkeling safari with some new chums, Donald and Shona Nesbit. They are here visiting from Glasgow. Shona chose not to snorkel. We saw, thousands of small fish plus, turtle and very friendly bread fish. Shona was shooting video of us from the boat.

Later on we had a lovely lunch with john eating as many grilled fresh prawns as he could.

Later in the day we took a catamaran out for a spin. However, the wind suddenly turned very squally which made getting back tricky. We just about made it in time as the wind became strong and the arguments flew!! We managed to get the boat back to base just in time.

We met with Geoff and Katherine just after this to go snorkeling. Geoff allowed us to take his underwater camera and shoot as many pictures as we liked. We were originally planning to photo just a bright purple anemone which Fiona has found near the jetty. However, the anemone was fully out, hence hiding the purple cover. We still managed to get good shots of the clown fish and then proceeded to swim out further. We ran off a load of shots but also got sun burnt in the bargain as we had not planned to be out so long. We bought Geoff and Katherine a CD of Banyan Tree music to day thanks.

A Champagne sun set on the jetty (allowing some great sun set shots) and yet another gastronomic evening meal finished off the day.

Monday started off as planned, with a late breakfast and a chill out agenda. We are eating with Donald and Shona tonight, meeting for a cocktail at sunset in the bar to show Shona the underwater pictures, as she does not snorkel.

The weather has been fantastic so far although some rain is falling this afternoon. When it rains hear it pours!! Tomorrow we are off on our yacht trip tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weather and calm seas!!