Last weekend on the way home from Scotland (see previous post) we found ourselves stranded in Perth. Quite a lovely town centre which made the unexpected stop not so bad.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
29/2/12- Snow
Last week we took a ski/snowboard trip to The Three Valleys in France. The Three Valleys are the largest linked ski area in the world. The world...
Villages included in the Three Valleys are: Courchevel, La Tania, Meribel, Brides les Bains, Les Menuires, St. Martin, Val Thorens, and Orelle.
The area gives you 600km of skiable piste (or 600km of 'runs') and that does not include all of the off piste, which is basically everywhere. I didn't understand the sheer size of this place till we arrived and started making our way around each area.
If you are from home and you know the size of Sunshine. I'd say each of the village's area are around twice the size of Sunshine's skiable area. Insane.
The Three Valleys also has this Escapade pass. It is a good way to see all areas of the Three Valleys, and a good challenge too. There are 18 checkpoints around the hill which when you scan your lift pass is tracked that you've been there. Once you've hit all 18 lifts you get a certificate and pin. It forced us to go all the way east and west, to the highest and lowest points on the hill. (Our chalet hosts were very impressed that we achieved this!)
Lots of scenery photos were taken, so I've shared just a few below. We couldn't get enough of the amazing views and stunning scenery.
I see a second visit to The Three Valleys one day.
Day one. We were at one of the higher points in the valley, hence the blue sky. The rest of the skiing area is below all that lovely white cloud. One of those ski days where you couldn't see a thing.
On day two, we could finally see where we were going! The temps got to +15 by our final day! It was blue skies and sunny all week. (Except for the first day of course).
Apres ski- This chairlift goes through the village of Val Thorens, and over some mighty fine apres ski area. (See the hot tub?)
The view from 10,600 feet.
20/11/11- Back, brr...
Well we are back from Maui!
I'm already missing looking at this...
The view from our balcony aka lanai
And drinking these...
Mai Tai
An amazing trip, Maui really is an island paradise. Thank you for the comments on my last post, the flowers really are beautiful eh?
This morning I woke up to -31. Not cool Canada, not cool.
12/10/11- Nice marketing
Oh hello blog! I've missed you...
The schedule of my life in Canada is a wee bit different than England, and as I've said in previous posts I'm still getting used to it for this time I am home. It feels funny to be sharing images and stories of Canada, as the blog is called "This is Great Britain" not Canada after all.
But I hate to drop the blog for the time I am home, so I will march on and continue it. I'd think that my British followers may be interested to see bits of life over here?
A little tiddle from our Vancouver trip as mentioned in the previous post. One day we saw a Telus truck set up on the side of a busy street in Van, with a long queue of people outside of it. (For the UK crowd Telus is a mobile provider like Vodafone)
We did some further investigation and found out that the queue was for a free tshirt which you could choose the silkscreen image for your shirt. The choices you had were the ones below, we thought they were pretty cute so decided to wait and get one.
(We both got the iphone is the new nintendo print)
The shirt was pretty good quality and there was only a small telus logo on the back. Smart marketing telus, smart.
Everyone loves a free tshirt. Don't they?
Stockholm Sweden- 29/8/11
The second last port of our cruise was Stockholm.
(Post continued from my first cruise post ages ago!)
We first stopped at the Vasa museum to hear the amazing story of this ship...
As Stockholm is comprised mainly of small islands, we took a hop on, hop off boat to the islands.
Of course, no trip to Stockholm is complete without a trip to H&M!
Stockholm was pretty awesome. It was beautiful and unique- a return trip is a must. I could have put many more photos up for this post, but kept it simple.
The sail away from Stockhom was also beautiful. We cruised by thousands of islands on the way to open water. Some so small they housed a tiny cottage, and others larger with roads and numerous houses. If it wasn't raining it would have been a better view, but still fantastic.
5/8/11- Helsinki
Next stop, Helsinki!
I really had no idea of what to expect of Finland, and really the first thing that comes to mind when I think Finland is this man.
Anyways, we had a nice full day in Helsinki, though it was a sunday so some things were closed. I thought this was ok, as when we first got into the town centre it was quiet.
This is in a main town square, and I believe this is a church, sorry! I should know these things...We didn't go in, but it was listed on our walking tour route.
I found the city to be an interesting mix of modern and old, it was clean, and had some great views along the water.
This is a view of the Rock Church, from the outside. It's pretty amazing inside, but check out the wiki page for the pics. Mine don't do it justice.
We then took a long walk out of the city centre from the Rock Church, to the Sibelius Monument A great piece of modern art, it was heaving with tourists, but an interesting piece.
I'd add Finland to my list of countries to make a return to...Has anyone else been?
I really had no idea of what to expect of Finland, and really the first thing that comes to mind when I think Finland is this man.
Anyways, we had a nice full day in Helsinki, though it was a sunday so some things were closed. I thought this was ok, as when we first got into the town centre it was quiet.
This is in a main town square, and I believe this is a church, sorry! I should know these things...We didn't go in, but it was listed on our walking tour route.
I found the city to be an interesting mix of modern and old, it was clean, and had some great views along the water.
This is a view of the Rock Church, from the outside. It's pretty amazing inside, but check out the wiki page for the pics. Mine don't do it justice.
We then took a long walk out of the city centre from the Rock Church, to the Sibelius Monument A great piece of modern art, it was heaving with tourists, but an interesting piece.
I'd add Finland to my list of countries to make a return to...Has anyone else been?
30/7/11- Russia
Russia.
I don't know about you, but Russia is one country I've always wanted to visit. There is something so mysterious, dangerous, impressive and so interesting about the place.
We had two days in St. Petersburg. Because of visa rules we either had to purchase a Russian visa for those two days, or book a tour with the boat. We booked a tour. Day one was an overall view of the city, with some free time to wander.
I find Russia hard to describe, so lets keep it simple. I really enjoyed our time there, and am so interested to return one day.
Day two we took a day trip out of the city to marvel at the beautiful Catherines Palace.
I don't know about you, but Russia is one country I've always wanted to visit. There is something so mysterious, dangerous, impressive and so interesting about the place.
We had two days in St. Petersburg. Because of visa rules we either had to purchase a Russian visa for those two days, or book a tour with the boat. We booked a tour. Day one was an overall view of the city, with some free time to wander.
I find Russia hard to describe, so lets keep it simple. I really enjoyed our time there, and am so interested to return one day.
Day two we took a day trip out of the city to marvel at the beautiful Catherines Palace.
29/7/11- Estonia
Back to the cruise...
After our two ports in Germany, we stopped in Tallinn Estonia. I wasn't sure what to expect of Estonia, but was surprised at how beautiful it was. Nice to spend the day just wandering, and taking in the feeling of the town.
Beautiful and very fairytale-like. A main square, beautiful buildings...
Cobblestone streets...
And breathtaking churches. We enjoyed our day in Tallinn's Old Town.
After our two ports in Germany, we stopped in Tallinn Estonia. I wasn't sure what to expect of Estonia, but was surprised at how beautiful it was. Nice to spend the day just wandering, and taking in the feeling of the town.
Beautiful and very fairytale-like. A main square, beautiful buildings...
Cobblestone streets...
And breathtaking churches. We enjoyed our day in Tallinn's Old Town.
25/7/11- Germany
On the trip we had two ports in Germany. One thing I loved was in every port, the ship would fly that countries flag. Here you can see the German flag (whipping in the wind, on the left hand side) as we pulled into our first port.
The first day we arrived in a pretty place called Kiel. A major maritime centre of Germany, but more importantly where my Mom was born!
That same day we took a train to a nearby town (45 min away) called Lubeck. Lubeck was another pretty German town, the home of marzipan, also home to some interesting buildings like this one.
From the Kiel port we sailed overnight (slowly as it was quite close) to the next port called Warnemunde. From here many people took the train ride to Berlin. We have both been to Berlin (I've been quiet recently), and the three hour train ride too and from was not overly appealing.
So we spent the morning at a nearby town (15 min by train) called Rostock. Another small, but pretty town with a lovely town square, and a fancy clock.
That afternoon we took the train back to Warnemunde, where the boat was docked, to spend the afternoon there. Did you know Germany has beaches? We didn't. The warm sun brought out the locals to their beach to catch some rays...we enjoyed the sand and sun, and a fish & chip lunch (I know, so German! ha) from a fish shop that was located on a little fishing boat.
We were pleasantly surprised by these small port towns in Germany.
24/7/11- Days at Sea
Cruise ships are a great way to see the world. (Not to mention the fantastic service and food). Mom and I discussed that it was great to see all of these ports via the cruise, as doing it on our own would have made for a very different (and possibly more expensive) trip. A nice snapshot of the ports, allowing us to see many new areas.
Not only are the ports great, but we had three full days at sea. You could make these as relaxed (see below) or as busy as you'd like. The ship had events, courses, shows, exercise, food, ect ect ect to fill your days and nights.
Have you ever been on a cruise?
Our beautiful boat
How I enjoyed our afternoons at sea. (Reading 1984).
Not only are the ports great, but we had three full days at sea. You could make these as relaxed (see below) or as busy as you'd like. The ship had events, courses, shows, exercise, food, ect ect ect to fill your days and nights.
Have you ever been on a cruise?
Our beautiful boat
How I enjoyed our afternoons at sea. (Reading 1984).
23/7/11- White Cliffs of Dover
Well, I'm back!
The holiday was fantastic, here is what happened. My Mom traveled over from Canada the first week of July, and on the 9th we departed on a Baltic cruise. The cruise left from Dover- located on the south east corner of England. Dover is where the ferries go to and from France. Dover is also known for its famous white cliffs.
From there the cruise went up north and around the following ports: Kiel, Warnemunde (Germany), Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Very amazing ports, and a great cruise. Will do a bit of blogging over the next week about the ports we were lucky to stop at.
The holiday was fantastic, here is what happened. My Mom traveled over from Canada the first week of July, and on the 9th we departed on a Baltic cruise. The cruise left from Dover- located on the south east corner of England. Dover is where the ferries go to and from France. Dover is also known for its famous white cliffs.
From there the cruise went up north and around the following ports: Kiel, Warnemunde (Germany), Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
Very amazing ports, and a great cruise. Will do a bit of blogging over the next week about the ports we were lucky to stop at.
25/6/11
Today was spent in one of my fave cities!
Will share a few more photos tomorrow, but for now here is one from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Which city in the world is your favourite?
Will share a few more photos tomorrow, but for now here is one from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Which city in the world is your favourite?
31/5/11
The last stop of the coastal tour was the beautiful seaside town of Lyme Regis. Part of the Jurassic coast, and the end of the previously mentioned Chesil beach. It's known for the fossils found in the cliffs and beaches. Not only cool for your 'sciency' types out there, its a pretty little town with fresh fish and shellfish to eat, a harbor for fishermen and divers, a beach to sun yourself on, and pretty views.
And that's it for coastal pics. I split the posts over a week or so, but believe it or not- we saw all these beaches and sites over two days.
(I had to put two pics up as I love the sky and buildings in the second one)
And that's it for coastal pics. I split the posts over a week or so, but believe it or not- we saw all these beaches and sites over two days.
(I had to put two pics up as I love the sky and buildings in the second one)
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.
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.
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