Travelling from Chester to Dublin via Honeyhead, Wales.

I always had a dream to travel to Wales, not sure why. My concept is of coal, Cardiff, dramatic rugged beauty, caring people, a wierd language and Tom Jones. So I was thriled to find out that yes, our trip did include Wales, even though it was a two hour rail trip along the top, from Chester to Honeyhead, on the Island of Anglesea. However, much of my curiosity about Wales in that short time was satisfied. The hills are ruggedly round and knobbly, often covered with bracken, the land green, the houses tall, narrow, made bluestone or concrete and chimney pots at each end. All signage is in English, and I presume, Welsh. At Honeyhead we were bussed to the fast ferry. This trip was one of the most comfortable I have ever had on a ferry. Not only was the sea smooth, the winds light but also our seats, the view and the food. One of the great plusses of the internet is the opportunity to view something before purchasing. Having looked at the 360 degree camera view of the ‘Jonothan Swift’ fast ferry on line, we booked upstairs by the windows, in the no children zone. Peace, quiet relaxation, and if we wished to dispose of cobwebs then we could avail ourselves of the extremely cold, windy decks outside. Just the perfect way to travel to Ireland, which would turn out to be one of the busiest holidays ever.......

The Chester and Liverpool Adventure

We travelled by rail from London to Chester, through gentle hill rolling green fields and hedgerows, still rather sodden from recent deluges. Very easy on the eye and this green eye candy, along with the gentle rocking of the comfortable Virgin Express train soon had our heads nodding. Our hotel at Chester was at “The Mill’ a former corn mill set on either side of the call, and converted into a hotel by its owners about 20 year ago. Both our room and bathroom were luxurious and spacious, thanks to the hotel website which family inspected when booking the best room they could find for us. The Mill Hotel was immaculately kept and compete with large spa, gym and swimming pool, whick I immediately took advantage of. We expecially liked the prints of Venice (one of our favourite cities) taken many years ago, which adorned the walls - so appropriate for a hotel spanning both sides of the canal and also boasting the only privately owned canal bridge. Chester and the River Dee were most significant for milling, waterway trade and transportation, and more recently for hydro power generation and tourism. The food, tudor style architecture in the main shopping mall and the walkway around the city walls is most popular with travellers. Ah, Liverpool! Home of the Liver Bird and the Beatles! No, we did not do a Beatles tour, but we did stroll down Mathew Street which features the ‘Cavern’ - not the original, and the many Beatles paraphernalia shops and pubs with names such as the ‘Hard Days Night.’ A stroll along the Docklands - now a World Heritage Site - gazing over the Mersey River - remember that song by Gerry and the Pacemakers?? and a visit to the Beatles Museum brought the nostalgia, the music and the exciting days of the 1960’s to the mind. The lads of went to the pub a beer and to watch the Irish v All Blacks game whle the gals quckly checked out the summer sales. While the shops and prices were the same as London, the overstocked untidiness and crowds and queues in the London shops wre missing - much more condusive to shopping!! And yes, we did purchase a couple of little items......

Cities with nooks and crannies - paradises for travellers who enjoy shopping

Many cities such as London, have nooks and crannies which are great for travellers to visit as these give one the real ‘feel’ of the city. Often one needs a ‘local’ fo find these so we were delighted when a friend introduced us to the ‘Lamb and Flag’ in Rose Street, Covent Garden. www.lambandflagcoventgarden.co.uk/ Situated around a couple of corners down some narrow cobbled streets, this pub dates back to 1772 and has played host to many famous people including Charles Dickens. The current owners have kept the original look of the plae depicting its colourful past and we were also treated to ‘recent’ anecdotes experienced in the lifetime of our local friend, also called Charles. A couple of days later we were the same area in London, looking for a Ray’s (not mine) jazz shop, located in the famous Foyles Bookshop - which is well worth a visit. On the way we passed through Denmark and neighbouring streets which turned out to be a small music mecca, with guitar, saxophone, sheet music and other shops selling simiar wares. It was thrilling to hear strings of music wafting from all the shops as we strolled by. Even the Regent and Oxford Street areas, looking fully scrubbed up and very clean in preparation for the Olympics, have lanes and alleyways leading off them enticing strollers to explore the boutique shops bars and eateries. London, like many other cities such as Liverpool, is changing its conjested inner city street to walkways which make exploring ‘nooks and crannies’ much easier. Chester is another city of nooks and crannies, which when we visited, may travellers were exploring. The main street, complete with clock tower dedicated to Empress and Queen Victoria, is lined with tudor styled buildings. between the ground floor shops were many staircases which led to the first floor shops or to lanes to other parts of the city. The city wall, often at first floor level, enables strollers to look into offices and residences as they pass by. More about nooks and crannies to come...

Singapore - the city of Sales - not!

It was quite by chance that I heard about the great sales of Singapore especially after being informed that it was no longer the place for cheap items. However when we visited Orchard Road where all the shopping malls were, it was most disappointing. Apart from the lamp post banners and a few shops having small ‘sale’ signs in their windows and advertising 10-15%off ‘some’ items there were no crowds and no people walking around with huge branded paper shopping bags. The shopping malls were old and tired but elegant. The shopping experience was most disappointing. especially as one cannot claim tax rebates at the airport from some shops. For shopping in stunning malls I recommed the newly revamped Westfield mall in cenral Sydney. From designer outlets enticing shoppers to shop using the five senses such as Kava, the quant elegant tea shop withfrilly table cloths and picket fences, to designer and department stores, the Westfield mall is a delight for shoppers and eye candy feasters. England is the place for sales in June! In London everything is on sale - from 10 to 70% off - and crowds and queues everywhere. Much better! In fact, everywhere we have been to - Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Galway - same sales, tidier shops and fewer people. Might have to invest in another sutcase....