Monday 29 August 2011

Ta Da! A Finish

We had a Christening to attend yesterday, which was a perfect excuse to get sewing.

I used this little bundle of goodies.

August 2011 002

Which turned into the little fellow hiding behind my teddies.

August 2011 106

Meet “Roberto” robot.  I found the pattern in Patchwork and Stitching Vol 10 No 12.  I’m quite pleased with how he turned out as he is wonderfully squishy and cuddly.

August 2011 104

He had fun exploring the garden before we left home.

August 2011 103

I hope is well loved by little Jacob.

Of course, he is also a OPAM finish. Just in time. Yay!

Sunday 28 August 2011

Going for a Drive

Yesterday we went for a drive to the Burraga Sheep Show.  Burraga is about 70kms south of Bathurst and is one of those places you normally have no need to visit, as in not on the way to anywhere and there is next to nothing there.  The road was only sealed a few years ago, but it has made the village much more accessible and the road has become quite a popular motorcycling destination, as it makes a good loop back to Oberon.

The sheep show is also the village show with pavilion events and displays. 

August 2011 011

The Bathurst Spinners and Weavers were there, including my Dad with his spinning wheel.

August 2011 004

Of course, we had to check out the sheep.

August 2011 009

Lunch was in the typical small village park, complete with war memorial and playground.

August 2011 015

There are a few interesting old buildings too.

August 2011 019

As the weather was rather lovely and springlike, we then ventured to Burraga Dam.  This was build in 1910 to service the mine, which was the reason for the village’s existence.  When we last visited, a few years ago now, it was a real goat track to get in.  This time the track was excellent.

August 2011 028

We went out onto the wall to have a look.  Apparently there was a trout hatchery here in the 1950s.

August 2011 030 The walkway isn’t very wide.

August 2011 039

We were in no hurry to be anywhere, so just had a lovely wander around.  Most of the time we were the only ones there.  Mick remembers coming here for picnics as a kid, as he grew up just down the road.

August 2011 059

We hope to go camping out here one weekend, even though it is only about an hour from home.

August 2011 034

It is just so lovely and peaceful.

August 2011 024

It was nice just sitting and watching the view while having our thermos of tea and home made brownie we had bought earlier.

August 2011 079 
I played with the my new toy taking lots of photos.  I loved all the different textures and hope I don’t bore you.

August 2011 035

August 2011 043 August 2011 045

August 2011 069

August 2011 074

August 2011 044

August 2011 073

August 2011 076

August 2011 071 August 2011 086

August 2011 088

August 2011 077

August 2011 081

It was a rather pleasant way to spend the day.  I hope we have the chance to go out there again soon.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

The Promise of Spring

I love seeing everything start to awaken after the depths of winter.

It’s amazing the difference after a few warm days.

This morning there was a pea souper fog and the new growth in the orchard sparkled.

The quince with its lovely furry leaves.

August 2011 016

The apricot just starting to blossom.

August 2011 028

A lovely spiders web with reflections in the dew drops.

August 2011 024

It is also wonderful to be getting home from work with a little bit of daylight left.

August 2011 015

I have a new toy.  My old camera nearly wore out while on our trip, so I have a new camera.  Another point and shoot, but it has a wonderful zoom and plenty of great features.  Best of all, it is small enough to live in my handbag all the time.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

A Bit of a Change

Before

JH 31 July 2011 070

After

JH 31 July 2011 079

OMG!!

Wednesday 10 August 2011

ABC Tour – Cuckoo Clocks, Cake, Colmar, Coming to an End

SATURDAY 16 JULY - BLACK FOREST AND COLMAR

Today was our final day of the tour.  The week had gone so very quickly. We woke early to a beautiful morning with a lovely view out of our cabin window.  Luckily I took a photo when I did, as shortly after another vessel double docked and we couldn’t see anything.  We were now moored on the German side of the river again at Breisach, which is only about 70kms from Basel where we finish up tomorrow morning.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 005

For something completely different, we had an early start and hopped onto a bus.  This time we travelled for about an hour and a half up into the Black Forest.

Firstly, we drove through wine growing regions.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 010

The terrain then changed and became more hilly.  We stopped at a pretty lookout.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 039

MH Friday and Saturday 128

The style of buildings was also quite different.  Sorry about the quality of the photos, but once again snapped through the bus window.

MH Friday and Saturday 121

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 103

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 028

Then it was into the actual forest.

MH Friday and Saturday 134

Mick was so wishing that he was not in the bus but travelling on a bike.  There were quite a few out and about, as it was just perfect weather and roads for riding.

MH Friday and Saturday 156

I loved a convoy of old tractors and caravans that we met along the way.

MH Friday and Saturday 153

Our destination was a cuckoo clock shop which served traditional black forest cherry cake at the village of Niederwasser.  At the side of the building there was the world’s biggest cuckoo clock.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 065

MH Friday and Saturday 139

After our yummy cake, we went for a stroll around the village.  It was so nice to have a warm, blue day.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 093

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 073

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 077

MH Friday and Saturday 144

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 087

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 082

When we returned to Breisach there was quite a collection of cruise ships moored.  Ours is at the back.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 125

We had signed up for another optional excursion after lunch to the town of Colmar on the other side of the river in France.  Mick decided that he had had enough of walking tours through old towns and opted to spend the afternoon walking at a much faster pace around the smaller town of Breisach.  So, I headed off on the bus without him.

It turns out that Colmar is considered one of the most beautiful small towns in France.  We soon learnt why.  It turns out that it didn’t get destroyed in WWII, whereas most of the surrounding villages were razed to the ground.  Apparently it was liberated before it was destroyed.

One famous feature is “Petite Venice” along the river.  They even have punts.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 152

The buildings have always been painted up in many colours.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 156

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 161

The market hall has recently been refurbished and reopened.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 159

Lots of yummy things on offer.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 166

We went down the street than had housed the tanneries in times gone buy.  Apparently, it was really run down and the council obtained a large grant to fix it up. 

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 172

Don’t let the facades fool you.  Behind the original facades are  ultra modern homes and apartments, complete with lifts.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 173

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 174

There was a stork nesting on the church.  We actually saw several storks on nests during the day.  There is a frame on the roof for the nest to sit.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 198

Mick would have loved this sidecar outfit, but I think he would have been a bit big to ride it.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 220

I loved this crooked building.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 226

We had a lovely wander around in our free time.  It is amazing how a modern shopping precinct can use the old buildings.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 237

Before we caught the bus back to the boat, we enjoyed a nice cool beer here.  Very refreshing.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 212

In the evening there were lots to photos taken, email addresses swapped and goodbyes said.  We met some lovely people on this trip, which really added to our enjoyment.

JH 16 Jul Black Forest & Colmar 244 ReNae, RJ, Van, Marcia, Mick, Janice, Lena & Craig

Sunday saw yet another early start to be on the bus to Zurich to catch our plane home after ten weeks away.  It was with mixed emotions that we headed home.  It was sad for the long planned trip to be coming to an end, but we were really looking forward to getting back home.

We don’t know that we will do another trip quite as long.  It is a long time to be away from home and also to be in each other’s pockets all the time.  During our normal life, we are both at work during the day, so only see each other of an evening and on weekends (when Mick isn’t working), so you do get to the stage that you need a bit of space.  However, after doing a similar trip in 2007, we knew that would happen.

Overall, our trip was wonderful.  I don’t know what the highlight was, but the Rhine River Cruise was definitely up there.  We have never been on any organised holiday before, always preferring to do our own thing, but it was so nice not having to think or organise anything and we were so spoilt by the staff on the ship.  It was quite a luxurious way to travel.

The bike trip on Olga was great, although Mick found it quite hard handling the old dear.  We felt quite a sense of achievement in completing our lap of the UK, but were glad we didn’t have to go any further, as I don’t think she would have lasted much longer.  She actually performed better than expected.

We loved how we would arrive at a town not knowing anything about it or what was there to see and then quickly learning that there is lots to do and see and ended up staying for extra days.  Stumbling on the Beaulieu Auto Jumble, the Vintage bike run at Wells, lovely waterfalls at Braemar in Scotland, a concert at Kings Lyn, riding a bike in Hyde Park in London, catching a steam train into the North Yorkshire Dales, riding in a punt in Canterbury and so many other things I can’t think of at the moment.

Of course, the Isle of Man was fantastic.  Not only was the racing spectacular, it was wonderful to catch up with our friends over there.  They really make our visit special.  We have already booked our accommodation for TT in two years time.

It has been good keeping a record on my blog.  Even now I look back at it and find things I had forgotten about.  There is no way you could ever remember everything after such a trip.

We will have to see where we will end up on our future travels (other than the Isle of Man).  We have a couple of ideas, but nothing definite for a while.  It is just nice being home.