30/5/11
On the way home we stopped in the small fishing village of West Bay. Part of the previously mentioned Jurassic Coast, the coastline here was stunning!
29/5/11
Next stop on the Dorset coastal tour was Corfe Castle. We drove by the castle when leaving Swanage a couple times, and each time the castle was just stunning. Situated on the top of a hill, it was quite a sight. The pic does not do it justice, but the wiki page has a few nice images.
26/5/11
Taking a break from the beach pics for some domestic goddess action. Today it's my cousins birthday, and I thought "what a great reason to bake a cake!" Unfortunately she is not here to eat the cake, but she is visiting next month so maybe I will bake her another! ;)
It was a very grey, windy, rainy day- perfect for baking. This is earl grey cake, with earl grey icing. Yum.
It was a very grey, windy, rainy day- perfect for baking. This is earl grey cake, with earl grey icing. Yum.
24/5/11
Next stop was Chesil beach. Chesil beach is 29 km long and connects Portland with the mainland, and then goes all the way down the Jurassic Coast. Its a pretty amazing sight to look at it on a map or google earth (click the wiki link to see the image of it). Large large stones made up this beach, and when the waves lapped the beach it made the most amazing sound on the rocks.
This is an area where divers go as well, and can enter from shore, instead of having to take a boat out. There was also a lot of rubbish washed up on this beach, not pretty. (Though an art project did come to mind ;)
This is an area where divers go as well, and can enter from shore, instead of having to take a boat out. There was also a lot of rubbish washed up on this beach, not pretty. (Though an art project did come to mind ;)
23/5/11
Next stop was Portland. A little "island" off the coast. At one time it was only connected to the mainland by Chesil beach, a long sandbar of sorts. The way to get back from Portland to the mainland was through ferry, but a road is built there now. We drove to the southernmost tip where there was a lighthouse and the stunning coastline. (The tiny blue dot in the centre of the pic is a child running around the large rocks)
Portland harbor between Portland and the main coast is one of the largest man-made harbors in the world, and will be used for the 2012 Olympics, as sailing will take place in this area.
Portland harbor between Portland and the main coast is one of the largest man-made harbors in the world, and will be used for the 2012 Olympics, as sailing will take place in this area.
22/5/11
The next stop was a seaside town called Weymouth. It has a really lovely sand beach, as well as a fairly large dock for fishing boats, and diving boats. This is the place to go when the sun is out, as I guess the beach gets quite packed. We stopped here for fish & chips for lunch and it was pretty darn good. As you may imagine, fish and chip shops are everywhere at the seaside. Weymouth was one of the first tourist destinations in the late 1700's.
21/5/11
The next stop would be Durdle Door. A short walk along a hilly coast line to see it. How amazing is that?! The beach below was small pebbles, difficult to walk on. (I've also just read that Pink Floyd used an image from Durdle Door in one of their album covers. Wild)
20/5/11
Lulworth Cove. A pretty little cove that is used for open water diving, and is on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
19/5/11
Another new adventure came this week as we took a trip down to Dorset. Dorset is a county along the south coast of England. I love being by the coast, as I love seeing the water and cliffs, and could beach comb all day. I think that may be as growing up in land locked Alberta the coast was always a treat to see. I've not been down to the south coast so this was all new to me. It reminded me very much of Ireland in some areas...
We started the road trip in Swanage, a pretty little coastal town. Over the next day we saw at least 6 different beaches all with different rock formations, sand ect. I will share some pics of each location with you over the next few days...
We started the road trip in Swanage, a pretty little coastal town. Over the next day we saw at least 6 different beaches all with different rock formations, sand ect. I will share some pics of each location with you over the next few days...
18/5/11
It's that time again- book time!
I enjoyed your comments from last time about which books you are currently reading, so make sure to comment again all you blog fans out there ;)
I'm currently reading the top two books, "One Day" and "The Berlin Wall". The other two books look interesting, but they are just on the shelf waiting. "One Day" is taking me forever to read, but so far I am enjoying it. It's a book I've seen many people reading on the train lately- so it must be worth reading right?
After seeing the Berlin wall I was interested in learning a bit more about it all. I took this book out from the library, and its pretty huge. So far so good. How ever I've not even got to the wall bit yet, just the many years leading up to it.
So.
What are you reading?
I enjoyed your comments from last time about which books you are currently reading, so make sure to comment again all you blog fans out there ;)
I'm currently reading the top two books, "One Day" and "The Berlin Wall". The other two books look interesting, but they are just on the shelf waiting. "One Day" is taking me forever to read, but so far I am enjoying it. It's a book I've seen many people reading on the train lately- so it must be worth reading right?
After seeing the Berlin wall I was interested in learning a bit more about it all. I took this book out from the library, and its pretty huge. So far so good. How ever I've not even got to the wall bit yet, just the many years leading up to it.
So.
What are you reading?
14/5/11
This photo leaves much to be desired, however I had to snap at least one pic of the Cardiff castle. Trust me, its much nicer in person. We went down to Cardiff for a afternoon/evening to rendezvous with my cousin that lives in the area. I've not seen him since I moved so it was about time! Cardiff is a lovely city, and a great night out.
12/5/11
Today we got a new grocery store here in town- Waitrose! (Or "little Waitrose" as its a smaller version for town centre).
It seems that UK grocery stores range in quality depending on food, brands, ect...I'd say this is one of the higher stores on the "UK-grocery-store-rating-scale". I don't find this same sort of range with stores back home.
Anyways, it was packed in there but we went to take a peek. Really lovely foods and a nice compact store. I think the two other town centre grocery stores (M&S and Somerfield) are in for a treat with a loss of some customers with this new store. Plus open 7 days a week and great long store hours. I love it already!
It seems that UK grocery stores range in quality depending on food, brands, ect...I'd say this is one of the higher stores on the "UK-grocery-store-rating-scale". I don't find this same sort of range with stores back home.
Anyways, it was packed in there but we went to take a peek. Really lovely foods and a nice compact store. I think the two other town centre grocery stores (M&S and Somerfield) are in for a treat with a loss of some customers with this new store. Plus open 7 days a week and great long store hours. I love it already!
5/5/11
Our day in Prague was fantastic... It was an enjoyable day of wandering around, seeing the sights, and taking many photos. Prague is fairly cheap, and is a fave travel destination for Brits. (And popular for stag do's).
It's the kind of place that you can spend your day wandering, and just soaking in the culture. We also got a kick out of the food- potatoes, cheese, creamy sauces, potatoes, deep friend goodness, cheese...well you get the point.
Prague was a communist country till 1989, which I found to be really interesting. One for a return trip I think...
It's the kind of place that you can spend your day wandering, and just soaking in the culture. We also got a kick out of the food- potatoes, cheese, creamy sauces, potatoes, deep friend goodness, cheese...well you get the point.
Prague was a communist country till 1989, which I found to be really interesting. One for a return trip I think...
4/5/11
Today was a travel day from Berlin to Prague. We spent the morning seeing some more bits of the wall around Checkpoint Charlie, eating some REALLY sugary pastries for breakfast, walking round Brandenberg Tor, and strolling through the park.
We then took a train to Prague, which took around five hours. The scenery was beautiful, and it was nice to see a bit of the countryside. We arrived in Prague to firstly find our hotel, had a traditional Czech dinner, and then did a bit of walking around. Prague is beautiful. We knew tomorrow would be a good day.
In the meantime we did have to sample some of the local beers that we've heard so much about. Cheap and pretty good...The ones shown here (0.5 l) were about 30 koruna each, or $1.70 Canadian. Not bad. I bought this DK travel book for both Berlin and Prague, so like a tourist, pulled it out after dinner to do some reading. It was nice to have these smaller books, as they did fit in my bag for the day, and I liked reading about what we saw that day. However, I am not sure if it was because it was the "Top 10" version and not the full book, but we found that there were some key sites missing from both Berlin and Prague. Do you bring a book when you travel? Which one do you rely on?
We then took a train to Prague, which took around five hours. The scenery was beautiful, and it was nice to see a bit of the countryside. We arrived in Prague to firstly find our hotel, had a traditional Czech dinner, and then did a bit of walking around. Prague is beautiful. We knew tomorrow would be a good day.
In the meantime we did have to sample some of the local beers that we've heard so much about. Cheap and pretty good...The ones shown here (0.5 l) were about 30 koruna each, or $1.70 Canadian. Not bad. I bought this DK travel book for both Berlin and Prague, so like a tourist, pulled it out after dinner to do some reading. It was nice to have these smaller books, as they did fit in my bag for the day, and I liked reading about what we saw that day. However, I am not sure if it was because it was the "Top 10" version and not the full book, but we found that there were some key sites missing from both Berlin and Prague. Do you bring a book when you travel? Which one do you rely on?
3/5/11
For my daily photo of our full day in Berlin, it had to be the wall.
We explored the majority of the city in one full day (well the central area). Both of us discussed that Berlin was different than what we expected, but couldn't put our finger on what it was. A city rich in history, a lot was learned and remembered about WW2, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall. Very interesting and a fantastic day.
We explored the majority of the city in one full day (well the central area). Both of us discussed that Berlin was different than what we expected, but couldn't put our finger on what it was. A city rich in history, a lot was learned and remembered about WW2, the Cold War and the Berlin Wall. Very interesting and a fantastic day.
2/5/11
I was lucky enough this week to do some traveling with my cousin. She is currently studying in the Netherlands, and it was lovely to see her and to catch up. Thought I'd post a photo from each day of our trip, and here is day one. She also has a fantastic travel blog, and its been great reading her stories of the past three months. We had a good chat about keeping up a blog, which got me a wee bit motivated to get back into mine, but also allowed me to decide on a date when to complete my blogging journey.
Traveling with someone is always a bit more fulfilling then alone I feel. Traveling alone has its benefits, but its always nice to have someone else with you to share the sights, local culture, and the general adventure of being in a new place.
This pic is taken on the first train from the Berlin airport to the city centre. I got confused, and slightly lost, but made it there in the end. I also loved the look of the seats- almost a little graffiti-like.
Traveling with someone is always a bit more fulfilling then alone I feel. Traveling alone has its benefits, but its always nice to have someone else with you to share the sights, local culture, and the general adventure of being in a new place.
This pic is taken on the first train from the Berlin airport to the city centre. I got confused, and slightly lost, but made it there in the end. I also loved the look of the seats- almost a little graffiti-like.
28/4/11
Royal Wedding day! We went to a local pub to watch it, and what a great idea. It was quite neat to watch it in a public space, to hear the 'oohs' and 'ahhs', champagne popping and cheering. I loved it!
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