Our London and Cambridge Adventure between Christmas and New Year 2015

Following our trip to Italy we spent several days in Roydon, Essex, enjoying the balmy winter weather, family, life in a small village, and the local pub fare.  However whenever we left this quiet sanctuary, it seemed as if all the London crowds travelled with us!  For example, we travelled by train to the Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford but by lunchtime all of London was there too! On another day we secretly escaped to Cambridge – but that did not work either!  Crowds of locals and tourists were everywhere, resulting in queues to get into the famous Eagle Tavern with its world famous ceiling in the RAF bar, the room in which the 'secret of life' was announced and even its own ghost!

 There was a crowd at the Ronald Searle exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum which was not helpful when viewing his and the works of other caricaturists of the 20^th century.  A magnificent building that the Fitzwilliam Museum is housed in – we did not have time to view all the works – but the décor was quite something.  A day of wandering around, lunching at the famous Fitzwilliam Café  - luckily we did not have to queue here to enjoy their delicious food – was ample to get a feel of this renowned University City. Sadly, not one of the University buildings was open for us to inspect, nor was the Polar Museum, which was recommended to us.

Back in London we travelled several times into the central city, to Foyles Bookshop, Rays Jazz Shop – both in new, better designed buildings, shopping, and strolling along in the early evening, enjoying the beautiful Street Christmas decorations.

On our last full day in London, which happened to be the first rainy day of our holiday trip so far, we decided to visit the British Museum. However all the London crowds were there first…… We joined the quickly moving queue into the building and enjoyed a lovely lunch upstairs before enjoying the exhibits.

Most notable of the items we had time to see was the Rosetta Stone and the story of hieroglyphs and the Parthenon sculptures gallery. We would certainly return to the British Museum and view more of its exhibitions!

Travelling around Venice Part 1

My first and  and all time favourite impression of Venice is walking out of the Santa Lucia Railway station, which is just like any other railway station in Italy, into a completely different world. Different buildings, different transport system, different noises – the quiet purrs of canal boats, the low murmurings of people, and No Traffic! 

Today was even better   - there were hardly any people around!   We checked into Hotel Abbazia, one of our favourite  hotels  - beautiful rooms, and foyers and better still, handy to the railway station so you cannot get lost looking for it – on other occasions we have spent much time looking for hotels along Venice’s many narrow and identical (to us) ‘road’ ways – never again……

It is always a delight to stroll around Venice, especially when there are no crowds!  As always upon our visits here, we discover new places.   Today’s discovery was one of a chain of  small Irish pubs!  Not quite the same as other Irish pubs world wide but definitely Irish, warm, friendly and with reasonably priced beer and cheap sandwiches -  ideal for a walking city!  And yes, we were doing a lot of walking on this day – St Marks Square – still no crowds apart from a few groups of tourists, my favourite lingerie shop, the Black Cat  Shop for our Black Cat Calendar, the Rialto bridge and markets and well, generally strolling – oh look – there is another of those little Irish pubs……..

Kilkenny, Castle, National Craft Gallery and Pub, Kilkenny Ireland

Kilkenny, Ireland is a very tidy traditional town, overseen by the large historical Kilkenny Castle, a U shaped series of buildings, surrounding one end of Green Park land stretching ‘into the future’ it seemed. Across the road in the Kilkenny castle yard, originally the buildings of the stables and coach houses of Kilkenny Castle, is National Craft Gallery, opened on 2000. All the buildings, beautifully restored, feature static and working exhibitions of modern and traditional Irish Art and Craft. The National Craft Gallery is a beautiful area to stroll around, indulge in shopping and appreciate the creativity of Irelands best crafts people.

As one tends to do towards as the end of a busy shopping and touring day, we all visited in interesting looking Irish pub, The Left Bank, situated in the former Bank of Ireland Building. As with several pubs we visited in Ireland, the 4 floors inside the pub as well as outside area, were stunningly and eclectically decorated and we spent much time admiring the different areas of the pub.

Kilkenny, even though we only had a glimpse of the historical houses and buildings looked a very interesting town, ideal for visitors to spend more time there and indulge in a local Irish adventure.

Titanic Exhibitions in Ireland - a one hundred year commemoration

As it is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic there is much interest in the ship and the travellers who sailed on her. In Belfast where the ship was built, a new state of the art exhibition centre (nicknamed “The Iceburg’ by the Befast residents) was erected and opened in March 2012 and by Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Belfast in late June had already received over 250,000 visitors. Everything is ‘Titanic’- the height of the magnificent building is the same height of the bow, an inside wall replicates the cladding on the ship, while outside the exact size of the ship is outlined on the ground. The high technological displays engages all the senses - sights, sounds, vibrations. A strong focus of the exhibition was of the building of the vessel, the people, who and why they were on the Titanic for that partcular trip, and the times. There is also a very touching movie featuring the team led by Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and what they initially saw on the sea floor in 1985. The only item that is not on public display is the Grand Staircase. This is s huge bone of contention amongst locals and visitors. Apparantly one has to attend a VIP function in order to view this famous Titanic artefact. Down in Cobh, fromerly known as Queenstown, Cork, another Titanic exihibition was available to visit. Ths town is the headquarters of the White Star Line company, which looked after the embarkation of passengers and mail before Titanic set sail. This exhibition had a different focus on the tradegy of the Titanic, focussing on the footsteps of the passengers and the times in Cobh. While there was some discussion about the high cost ot visit this exhibition, those of our fellow tourists who did visit felt that the exhibition was well worthwhile. In Cobh itself the town has preserved the buildings of the times in respectful memory of the people on Titanic and the subsequent disaster that befell them, three and a half days from setting sail from this pictuesque town, overseas to see the world. We have visited several Titanic exhibitions around the world, and the development of technology has enabled us to understand more about the boat, the times, why the disaster occurred. Many people have become quite emotional at Titanic exhibitions particularly in Ireland as they are descendents of the builders as well as the staff and passengers who had embarked on that fateful voyage. It also makes one humble and most grateful for the maritime safety rules and regulations in place today as a direct result of the inquiry into the Titanic disaster.

Cannes on a Wintery Sunday

We travelled by train to Cannes, past towns, seaside resorts, a huge luxury apartment block, more resorts, and as we arrived, so did the rain. Ever been to a tourist town in the wintery off season, in the rain? And being a Sunday, with no shops open? We quickly walked from the train station to the seaside, and walked more quickly towards the old town, past the famous Congress Centre where many events including the Cannes Film Festival is held every May. So we missed the hand prints of famous movies stars and various sculptures. But we did wander - very quickly - through the quaint picturesque outdoor Christmas Market - where stall holders outnumbered visitors and over to the old town and up the hill to get a view of the place. Fortunately the rain let up for a but for us to enjoy the view. A beautiful place, even in the gloom!

By now it was lunch time, but no cafes or pubs in sight. The day was So Gloomy we decided to travel back to Nice. Then we discovered a huge french food market - indoors, then fishmongers and many chocolate shops. One had many religious items for christmas, including something for each of the 12 days of Christmas - all in chocolate! Have a look at the pics to see more.

So that was Cannes! I'd love to return in summer! Back in Nice the day was even more gloomy and we set off in the rain to find a place to have a late lunch as there was nothing else to do - everything was closed. No crowds or tourists anywhere.

Al last, after walking for hours, it seemed, in the rain, and feeling very cold and wet, we finally found a street of restaurants, and some were open! Now, which one..

Hey, look at that! A Le Maori Restaurant! I wonder if it does hangi food. No? Well French fare will do! Look at the menu! All Black and Barvarian items. Someone obviously likes rugby here. I wonder if we should mention that our team the All Blacks one against the French at Marseilles last night?? Well, everyone agrees it was a great game. Look at the cutlery! Handles shaped like the Koru. Dessert? Yes please! Gosh, look at the size of our plates! No small arty servings here. And decent sized Stella glasses too. This seems just the place to stay on a wintery afternoon.

And then back to the hotel to pack for our next adventure!

Ah - Naples, Pompei and Sorrento

Our cruise ship the Costa Serena's last port of call was Naples. Anxious to view Mt Vesuvious we were up early an high up on deck, however mist shrouded this famous mountain and instead we were reduced to viewing the many superyachts lounging about -ready to hibernate for winter. Soon we were on a bus travelling to Sorrento, a quaint seaside tourist town. We left the port, passing many very shabby apartment buildings in the Naples city centre, boarded a train and travelled for about an hour through the Naples suburbs and surrounds. The land is very fertile, our guide informed us and it was interesting to see gardens, lemon tree plantations and glass houses dotted everywhere throughout the suburbs. Upon our arrival at Sorrento, we were directed to a place to have a 'technical' stop, which meant a toilet and coffee break. The local coffee is excellent here. I think it is Neopolitan. It has a unique taste and I have to say that coffee has never tasted the same since - it was so delicious! Off we went on our walking tour. Sorrento is old historic, quaint and very tourist orientated. The streets are narrow - many are just walkways and the whole place is geared for local and upmarket shopping. As it was near Xmas the town was decorated - Christmas trees, leafy bowers under windows and Xmas lights everywhere! It must look so picturesque at night!
Eventually we arrived at the water's edge. Er - not exactly - we were about 50 metres above the water on top of a rocky cliff. In Sorrento it is difficult to get to the sea. And there is no beach! Instead people have to pay to sunbathe on piers stretching over the beautiful, clear, blue waters. At last our walking tour ended -not surprisingly, at a pre arranged shop from where we could purchase almost anything made of and to do with lemons - from a huge array of sweets to lemoncellos presented in most decorative bottles, handcrafts and ornaments.

Thankfully we did not have much time to contribute to the local economy and shop - the prices were Definately for the Well Heeled Traveller, and soon we were back on the train. Oh, look! There are the ruins of Pompei! Why didn't we visit them? other Cruise Ship visitors confirmed what we suspected - one needed a whole day to inspect the genuine and replica ruins on display. I would like to come back to Naples and visit the Pompei ruins, and also inspect the city centre - a group of very tall newish glass buildings soaring like a sore tooth out of the eyesores of apartments in the suburbs by the port's edge.

And now it is back to the Costa Serena and get ready to finish our Italiabn cruise ship adventure at Slovena.

Our Venice Adventure and how to follow directions

Everytime we travel to Venice we enjoy a different adventure and this was no different. This was to be q short stay an overnight one before we boarded the Costa Serena for our cruise ship adventure.

By chqnce we heard that the last day of the Famous Biennalle Exhibition was on. Artists from eighty coutries including two from New Zealand were exhibiting so we went along to have a quick look. As everyone knows we all have different ideas about what modern art is and all I can say is that there was so,ething for everyone there. Take a look at my pics and you will see what I mean. Having enjoyed the exhibits at the main venue we set off to find the New Zealand Artists located at other venues in Venice. However we had forgotten than Venicians cannot or do not give precise directions. The best you might get from them is an area or locality. A main street might be a narrow alleyway; and left at the bridge might mean three bridges down the next canal. Needless to say after battling hundreds of locals and tourists Sunday walking we ran out of time to find them. Oh and did I mention it took an hour to find the locql Jazz Club which was five minutes away..... And speaking of getting lost more about that in the cruise ship item