Easter in the Big Apple

In July 2013 my dream holiday collapsed spectacularly. I was heart broken and I did not get my money back either - a double whammy! Easter 2014, at least let me get some value for flights that were not used, as American Airlines went some way towards making up for what they did to my brother and I in July.

The trip we chose to use our flights on was an Easter trip to New York and after the travel fiasco nine months previously, we were due some good luck. That is exactly what we got, with a hassle free holiday and some lovely weather.

I visited New York City in October 2006 with my Mum, but my twin brother Ross had never been. As such, I wanted to make sure we got to see thing places he most wanted to visit. One of the places on his wish list was the Rockefeller Centre and that was our first stop on arriving in the Big Apple. There was far less queuing than I recall we had to do at the Empire State Building eight years previously and we went up late afternoon to see the Manhattan skyline both in daylight and at night. Wonderful 360 degree views make this a must-see attraction and we were treated to a wonderful sunset too. Looking both north and south, the vista is breath-taking, as you can see below.

Day two - Good Friday - saw us starting early and heading south to Battery Park. We boarded a boat bound for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and took in the great views of downtown too.

The afternoon was taken up with the tragic events of September 11, 2001. We went uptown to the Ground Zero Workshop on 14th Street first. Although it does not look like much from the outside, inside it is well worth a visit. It is one of the smallest museums you'll ever go to - just one room really. In there are stools and comfy chairs and a room packed with framed photos and artefacts dug out of the rubble of the World Trade Centre. One man - Gary Marlon Suson - saw the only man allowed on site during the recovery period after the attack and he took heart breaking but sensitive photos of the work that fire fighters and police did. There is a self-guided audio tour, enabling you to hear the stories behind the photos and some of them are funny, but many are upsetting and poignant. The photo "Why?" made me really well up, as did the stories of the dogs that worked at the site during this awful time. I can't honestly say I "enjoyed" my time there - that's the wrong word to use - but it is so worthwhile visiting and I can't recommend it enough. I felt emotional throughout, but it is so important that we always remember what happened on that day and honour the memory of the fallen men and women.

After this visit, we had a short walk along the lovely Highline Walk, before journeying south to the World Trade Centre itself. Tight security means it takes a while to get in at your allotted time, but once inside the site, you can wander along the edge of what was once two impressive towers and which is now home to reflection pools. The names of all those who died are engraved onto the edge of these pools and people are encouraged to touch the names and read their names. I felt I wanted to touch every single one to properly acknowledge their loss. Particularly poignant were the number of names I spotted with the words "and her unborn child" written afterwards, as well as the white roses that were present. This flower is placed on the name of every person who would have had a birthday that day. Towering above the pools is the new Freedom Tower, which is almost finished now and I think partially open.

On Easter Saturday, we headed for Brooklyn. Getting the subway to Brooklyn enabled us to walk along the side of the Hudson and then go across the Brooklyn Bridge. Amazing views more than make up for the large number of people you have to share the journey with and the bridge itself is also an impressive piece of architecture too.

In the afternoon, as the temperature picked up to a very pleasant warmth, we headed north to Central Park. Alighting the subway and 96th Street, we started at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and walked south. Being Easter and a beautiful day the park was packed, but its a lovely way to spend a few hours with nature and have the city just a short walk away.

Saturday night gave us the opportunity to wander around Times Square and the Rockefeller Centre plaza and see the lights and the hustle and bustle. The latter still had the ice rink present and with the ice, the lights and the flags this was one of the most colourful and attractive parts of Manhattan at night.

Easter Sunday was our last day in New York and we spent the morning shopping on 5th avenue and taking in a few of the sites, including the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station and the New York Public Library, before a brunch while we watched a very disappointing game of football (for me at least!)

The holiday ended with a further walk up 5th Avenue while the Easter Bonnet Parade took place. Perhaps parade was the wrong word as it seemed to be more of a free-for-all, as everyone wandered wherever they wanted and took photos of folks wearing wacky Easter attire, but it was fun!

The whole trip was tiring, but great fun and it was about time we had a successful trip!

Anglesey & North Wales

I possibly did not pick the best time to go to North Wales. Early November is not known for it's balmy weather and so it proved, but that's not to say that my short break in the wilds of Wales was not enjoyable, because it was.

One of the things that North Wales is known for is its castles and that was the primary motivation for going. I had long wanted to see Conwy Castle and I was not disappointed. For a modest entrance fee I went inside Conwy Castle, a structure that dominates the walled town of Conwy. Sitting as it does right on the coast (an inlet really), it is very beautifully located and views of the surrounding area are just as impressive from inside the castle.

Ruined as it is, you are not well protected from the elements at Conwy Castle. However, my time there coincided with the only spell of sunshine in my trip. That said, the wind was not far away and upon climbing to the top of one of the towers, I was nearly blown off the castle altogether. I hung on and was rewarded with breath-taking views.

The trip to Conwy Castle was the highlight, but I did also see Caernarfon Castle too on my trip and there are many more along this stretch of coastline too, which are all well worth a visit.

I was eager to see other parts of North Wales too and this included a trip across the bridge into Angelsey. The worst of the weather struck while I was there, so I perhaps did not see it at its very best, but I still liked what I did see. South Stack Lighthouse was my first stop and a blustery walk along the coast. I also stopped at many of the beautiful beaches along the west coast too.

My trip was sompleted by a visit to the Welsh Mountain Zoo, a very picturesque little animal park that boasts some impressive wildlife, including tiger, brown bear and performing seal lions and penguins.

North Wales and Anglesey has much to recommend it and I hope to visit again, although hopefully with better weather next time!

Farne Isles, Northumberland

My mission was to see puffins, and a colleague of mine suggested that the Farne Isles was the place to go. So, off I went and as it turned out, my colleague was right!

The best place to embark from when it comes to boat trips to the Farne Isles is Seahouses. I took two boat trips from there. The first included a landing on Staple Island, where I was treated to a barrage of noise (and smells) thanks to the many nesting sea birds that inhabit the island. Stars of the show are the Puffins, but Shags, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars abound too. I noticed very few Gannets there, but my stop off at Bempton Cliffs on the way had more than filled my Gannet quota - it was Gannet Central there! Staple Island was Puffin Central and a more adorable sight in the bird world is hard to find.

My second trip involved no island landing and the main purpose of the trip was to spot seals, something that was not difficult to do!

There is far more to Northumberland than the coastline and I also enjoyed some of the many castles there too, most notably Alnwick Castle, with it's Harry Potter theme (one of the films was shot there) and it's beautiful gardens.

If you get the chance, do visit Northumberland - the Farne Isles are one of Britain's real jewels in the Spring and Hadrians Wall is not far away either (although I missed out as the weather closed in).

Mid Wales - July 2013

The first thing to understand about my short break in Mid Wales is that I wasn't supposed to be there! Where should I have been? The Galapagos Islands! In that regard, its hard to be too bouyant about a trip to Waes, but actually it was my salvation. Let me explain.

My twin brother and I had booked our "dream holiday" to the Galapagod Islands the previous September. I'd had all my holiday jabs and packed my bags. I'd even got as far as Miami and then it all went wrong. Apparently there are volcanoes in Ecuador - I now know this. Apparently, one had erupted shortly before we were due to fly from Miami to Quito. Other airlines flew anyway, citing the risk as marginal, but American Airlines were not willing to take the risk and so our flight was postponed for 18 hours (not cancelled you notice, postponed). As a result, we missed our flight from Quito to the Galapagos Islands, missed the boat and the whole holiday was ruined! Its fair to say there are few things in this world that have broken my heart more - I feel sad just writing this!

We could have made a holiday in Miami or gone onto Ecuador late and tried to do something there, but there was the small matter of money. A holiday to the Galapagos Islands is not cheap and I could not afford to do something else on the spur of the moment unless I knew the insurance company would reimburse me for the ruined holiday. As it turned out, they didn't, so our decision to return to the UK was a wise, if heartbreaking one.

Back in the UK, I felt pretty low. Our parents were very sympathetic, but my father's sympathy quickly turned to pragmatism - what are you going to do instead? I explained my financial position and Dad offered to pay for a holiday for me. Bless him and his generosity. I didn't take him up on the offer, but I did agree with him and so I booked a hotel in Wales and packed up the car and off I went.

No sooner had I made the booking than I started to feel better. As luck would have it, this period coincided with some of the best and hottest weather of the summer, so I was in for beautiful scenery and beautiful weather.

I went to Gwbert, just outside Cardigan. If you ever get the chance do go there, because its a lovely spot. The view from my hotel was of the sea and there lots to see and do nearby. I went to Strumble Head and saw it's lovely lighthouse, not to mention the seals lazing about of the rocks below. The walk along the coastline there is part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, a National Trail, and was littered with butterflies during what I understand has been a much needed bumper year for British butterflies.

I took a boat trip from Gwbert, the aim of which was to see dolphins. No such luck on the dolphin front (and I couldn't help but feel that my luck just wasn't in!), but they are wild animals and there is not guarantee you will see them. I did get good views of seals, however, and we ventured into some sea caves too, which was fun.

Views of Carigan Island and the Animal Farm nearby were also very enjoyable, as was my afternoon on the beach at Mwnt.

All in all, it was a lovely trip. Although not what I had been expecting to see, I took my Dad's advice and made the best of a bad situation and there's always another year to see the Galapagos Islands.

Belgium - October 2012

Perhaps one of my more moving trips, this short break in Belgium incorporated the cities of Brussels, Bruges and the battlefields in the Flanders area of the country.

I was inspired to take this journey after years of seeing the photographs that History students at the College where I work come back with after completing a similar visit. I decided I had to see it for myself and I'm glad I did.

I'm going to start with my day tour to Flanders Fields. My tour guide for the day was Nathan (see the www.visitbruges.org website for more information) and a more knowledgable tour guide you would struggle to find. There were eight of us on the trip, all British, American and Australian. Not 10 minutes into our journey and we were all marvelling at the knowledge of our guide, as he recounted dates and statistics from the First World War. I learn far more about the Second World War in school, so it was all a welcome education for me.

The tour was very packed, with lots of places to visit during the day, and we started at the Langemark German cemetery, a very sobering place where mass graves of german soldiers can be found. The visit is perhaps more harrowing when you learn that almost all those buried there were 15, 16 or 17 years of age. We learnt that they were sons of eminent German officers, sent into take the town of Ypres because they thought it would be easy - not to and thousands were slaughtered.

From Langemark, we stopped off at a private garage and saw a store of recovered war munitions, ranging from rusty guns and grenades to unexploded shells. There were so many, but we were informed it was just the tip of the iceberg.

We moved on through the drizzle and cold (which seemed appropriate given the conditions the soldiers of the time often fought in) and went to the British Tyne Cott cemetery. Although there were no mass graves there, all too often we did see headstones which read, 'A soldier of the Great War, known unto God'. How sad. We went into the excellent museum there too and saw many recovered artifacts of the time and read many heartbreaking letters, including some from officers to relatives back in Britain explaining how their sons and husbands had met their end.

The Passendale Museum was the next stop to view the many artifacts on display and get a taste of life in the trenches. This included a section in which you can smell what the different poison gases used in the war were like - I could detect an odour in the Mustard gas, but could smell nothing with the deadly chlorine gas. The accompanying explanations make for disturbing reading as to how thousands of troops died. There were also video screens dotted throughout the museum, showing footage from the time. Particularly upsetting was the footage of a soldier clearly suffering from shell shock, who reacted with sheer terror at the mere approach of an officer; I had to walk away and compose myself before I could rejoin the group.

Our visit took in a real British trench and its German counterpart. The difference between the two was stark. For a start, the German trench had only recently been discovered and was well restored, while the British trench still had its hastily erected corregated iron roofs and was so shallow that no one would have been able to stand upright. The mud also gave an indication of the conditions of the time.

Inevitably the tour included Ypres itself, where we enjoyed a pleasant pub lunch, and we also visited the Flanders Fields Museum and the impressive Menin Gate. I would very much have liked to be there in the evening for the moving Last Post, but that did not fit in with my plans. Nonetheless, it was well worth a visit and the sheer number of names listed were moving on their own.

It's hard not to dwell on just that one day, so poignant was it. However, there was more to my trip and in particular Bruges was a delight. The cobbled streets and canals make for a very pretty picture, as do the windmills dotted around the edge of the river. It has some good architechture and beautiful art, but perhaps my favourite part are the shops. Paying obvious homage to its chocolate and beer, there are many wonderful places to visit to enjoy both. The choloate shops are on every corner (or so it seems) and theintricate hand-made chocolates smell even better than they look!

Brussels was my final stop and though nothing like as pretty as Bruges, it has it's impressive pieces of architechture and bustling squares, not to mention more chocolate shops.

It's hard to dwell for too long on the chocolate or beer (or the sign that quotes Homer Simpson's love of the latter), given the day tour I took. The phrase 'Lest we forget' came to mind repeatedly and for that reason alone I'm so glad I took this trip.

London 2012 Olympic Games - August 2012

OK, this is not really a holiday or much of a travel, but how could I leave out something as momentous as the Olympic Games?!?!

When London was named as host city back in 2005 I knew I had to be there. I viewed the Olympic Games as a once in a lifetime opportunity and to say I was excited does not do credit to how I was feeling. Small children the night before Christmas have not been as excited as I was about the Olympics.

I consider myself very fortunate to have got tickets, as so many people tried and failed to get any. I had a pact with my friend Sinead - I said if I got any she could come with me and she said if she got any I could go with her. So Sinead was my Olympic partner and she journeyed back from Ireland especially for the event.

We headed to the Olymmpic Park in Stratford on Monday 6 August 2012, with men's basketball tickets clutched in our sweaty palms! Doom mongerers before the Games had predicted travel chaos, security glitches and disorganisation. Nothing could have been further from the truth. We took the Javelin from St Pancras International to Stratford International and arrived around noon. Our first sight was the enormous Olympic Stadium!

We spent the entire afternoon walking round the very large Olympic Park, having a look at the exterior of all the venues, taking in some Equestrian action in the Park Live on the big screen (including seeing a Team GB gold medal to loud and partisan cheers!) and we went up the Orbit to take in the views from 200+ feet up.

The Orbit was both excellent and disappointing. People are divided on its architecture - Sinead labelled it an "eyesore", but it is certainly interesting and does afford you great views not only of the Olympic Park but large parts of London too. My main gripe was with the bizarre red piping, which obscured the view of the Olympic Stadium - it was actually impossible to get a photo of the Olympic Stadium without one in the way! What a shame.

Our tickets were for an evening session at the basketball, from 8.00pm - midnight. We saw two qualification matches, including Spain versus Brazil and Argentina versus USA. Predictably Spain and the USA won their matches, but it was hugely entertaining and the atmosphere was brilliant. We even had Michelle Obama, Evander Holyfield and Ludicris for company!

By the time we came out of the Basketball Arena it was pitch black outside and the venues were all lit up, including the Olympic Stadium. We left tired, but happy, having had a truly memorable day as part of the Olympic Dream!

My Olympic experience was complete the next day, with a trip to Hyde Park to watch the Men's Triathlon. approximately 300,000 other people had the same idea, so several of the nearest tube stations had to close for safety reasons and we had something of a longer walk to get there. We found a vantage point (albeit, not a brilliant one) and drank in the atmpshere as the triathletes zipped past for the cycling element of the race. We headed into the Centre of Hyde Park to watch the end of the big screen and arrived just in time to see the Brownlee brother cross the line to win gold and bronze.

It was a wonderful end to a brilliant (if exhausting) two days and left me feeling so proud, not only of the achievements of Team GB athletes, but also of all the organisers for what was such an efficent and well-run event. It really brought out the best in people, it made everyone in the country so proud to be British (and to show it, for I have never seen so many Union Jacks in my life!) and put a smile on people's faces. In years to come I will be able to say "I was there!" and that fills me with pride.

Well done GB, we done good!

Dorset & Devon - July 2012

Another rather delayed posting, but it's worth waiting for (honest!). This post concerns my short holiday on the south coast in Dorset and Devon. I had previously intended to complete this trip at Easter, but ill health and poor weather made me cancel the trip. Mercifully, things were much improved in July.

I was staying in Weymouth first and so the start of my trip centred around the sights in that vicinity. The two sights I wanted to see most of all were Durdle Door and Old Harry Rocks, two natural rock formations on this most stunning part of the Jurassic coastline. I was not disappointed with either, as they are very impressive geological formations. Perhaps the only draw back was the crowds at Durdle Door, which were significant. The climb at this point is also pretty steep, which I found hurt my knees and back, but recovery came quick and it was worth the pain.

While in Dorset, I also made my way to Portland and enjoyed a bracing walk by Portland Bill Lighthouse. While there I saw the entire German Olympic Saling team, as Weymouth was gearing up for the Olympics in just a few weeks time - Weymouth was the saling centre for the Games.

Weymouth seafront was my final stop before a leisurely and picturesque drive along the Dorset coastline to Devon. On the way I stopped at Abbotsbury Swanery and Sub-tropical Gardens, both of which are well worth a visit.

My destination in Devon was Brixham, a little town that I remembered only vaguely from my childhood, when my grandmother had lived in Paignton. The town is enchanting, with a bustling harbour, complete with a moored tourist tall ship that could be straight out of a pirate tale!

I spent some time in the very beautiful town of Dartmouth (surely one of my favourite places in Devon) and took a drive through Paignton (and down memory lane) on my way to Torquay. This was my last stop before hte drive back home and I visited the Living Coasts attraction, which includes all sort of coastal animal species, including penguins, otters, seal, birds and fish.