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.
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!
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.
Very remiss of me to leave it so long before I update my blog, but finally I'm getting round to posting something about my holiday in Mallorca with the girls.
Perhaps rather different to my usual holiday, this trip took place in during half-term in June 2012 and was a group holiday. I went with my work friends Anne, Suzanne and Karen to Cala D'Or and met up there with some of Suzanne's other friends. The occasion was Suzanne's 40th birthday and the aim was to have a ball together.
I think it's fair to say that we all had different ideas of what makes a holiday, but it all worked out brilliantly. We often went off in small groups during the day, and then gathered all together in a big group in the evening for a meal and some drinks.
My daily travel partner was Anne nd together we made use of the hire car and travelled around the island taking in the sights. Although I had visited the island before, I visited entirely new spots this time around, including an old fashioned train journey to Soller, a visit to Cuevas Del Drach (caves) and a wonderful boat trip from Porto Cristo. Inevitably, a day trip to Palma was also on the cards and Suzanne joined us for some shopping and a visit to the magnificent cathedral, complete with "unique" and amusing commentary from Anne - who can forget the "Holy Goat"!
Evenings were spent with good food, drinks and great company and we laughed and laughed (cocktails may have helped!). There was even time to indulge in a game of crazy golf, which is an experience when in your best frock!
All in all, it was a fab trip with smashing ladies!
