31 July 08 - 17:49Please Meet the Great Great Great Great Great Great Grand Daughter of the Burgermeister of Eligheim
After a lovely night on the Rhine, it was off to Erligheim and I will never hear the end of it!! Kathy was treated like royalty and it was a truly magnificent day. Erligheim is beautiful and its people are the same. They could not do enough for Kathy in her quest to find out information about her ancestors. The mayor (burgermeister) saw her personally and gave her tshirts, badges, cufflinks and even a hard cover book on the history of Erligheim. He then sent one of his employees out to show us where Johannes Gottlieb Frank lived. The little village was so picturesque and would have been alovely place to live. We ate a scrumptious meal in the pub where Kathy's ancestors would have ate as well. It was fine experience and we will explain it ...
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31 July 08 - 17:48Please Meet the Great Great Great Great Great Great Grand Daighter of the Burgermeister of Eligheim
After a lovely night on the Rhine, it was off to Erligheim and I will never hear the end of it!! Kathy was treated like royalty and it was a truly magnificent day. Erligheim is beautiful and its people are the same. They could not do enough for Kathy in her quest to find out information about her ancestors. The mayor (burgermeister) saw her personally and gave her tshirts, badges, cufflinks and even a hard cover book on the history of Erligheim. He then sent one of his employees out to show us where Johannes Gottlieb Frank lived. The little village was so picturesque and would have been alovely place to live. We ate a scrumptious meal in the pub where Kathy's ancestors would have ate as well. It was fine experience and we will explain it ...
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31 July 08 - 17:39Ypres and Holland
Well, I've finally found a little wifi place that I can use to update you on what we've been up to!!! What a fantastic time we have been having. It all started a day early because Kathy and I couldn't hang around any longer. We left on Saturday and travelled down to a little camping ground in Kent and set up for the night.
Then it was onto the ferry and a big day travelling through four countries!!! England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands!! How cool is that - you can travel through four countries in a day!!!
Kathy had always wanted to visit some of the big war grave sites in Flanders so that was our first stop. A very sombering experience. We also went to Ypres which had a wonderful archway listing the names of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the first world war. Very harrowing.
Then it was on to The Netherlands a a little beachside resort town called Renesse and our first ...
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17 July 08 - 18:28Our Kids Are Growing Up
Kathy and I were biting our lips as we looked through this collection of photos and realised that CJ and Eden are no longer babies. They were dressed up for their Year One disco at their school. Eden was adamant that she would wear makeup and CJ wanted his hair spiked and had to wear his Space Invaders t-shirt.
What happened to our dummy sucking, nappy wearing bedwetters???
06 July 08 - 08:53The Godiva Festival
I remember last year, Kathy and I looking on the Coventry City Council website and seeing thousands of people dancing and singing in the pouring rain at the Godiva Festival in Coventry and thinking "Wow, next year we'll be able to go to that."
Well, a year has passed and yesterday, with Jack and Stewart in tow, we headed off to one of England's favourite free music events and, as it should have been, the rain came down!!! Luckily, we were already in one of the main tents when it really hit. We spent most of the afternoon watching a comedy caberet which had one very important person headlining it......ME! I now have experience at putting someone in a straight jacket, as well as LOADS of entertainment experience. Watch out for me as a ...
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04 July 08 - 06:25Our New Camera
In anticipation of the wonderful views that we will be seeing as we travel around Europe, Kathy and I decided that a new camera was in order. After masses of research by yours truly, we decided on a Canon 400D Digital SLR. I then hunted around for ages finding the best price and managed to get a good deal. Its a 10 megapixel camera and I have purchased a 70 - 300mm telephoto lens for zooming in on interesting sights and a 18 - 25mm wide angle lens to get in the whole Colosseum!!
25 June 08 - 09:40Another Trip to the Aingers in Sheffield
I said it last time and I'll say it again, the entire Ainger family (including that Duncan Lennox character) are the loveliest people in the world. I don't remember feeling so welcomed in a place. Thank you again.
This weekend we went to a traditonal church fair which was terrific. Old fashioned games for the kids, face painting and real prices for second hand goods, jams and books. There was even a Punch and Judy show on for the kids.
That evening, after a traditional Guernsey dinner, we headed over to Aunty Lois' and looked through a whole heap of old Guernsey clothes and other things.
On Sunday we headed of to Chatsworth House. We strolled through the magnificent gardens and then, while Margaret ...
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25 June 08 - 09:27Our First Camping Trip
In preparation for our big European camping excursion, we went away for a weekend to a local camp site in Northamptonshire called Billings. How different are sites over here compared to Australia!!! These camping sites have restaurants, full on shopping centres, entertainment laid on.
While we were there, they had a massive US car club get together. It would have been heaven for anyone interested in that sort of thing. We did see the original cop car from the Blues Brothers movie which was pretty cool.
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31 May 08 - 12:33Chessington Zoo
Now, this was far better than Legoland. The rides were better, the queues were slightly shorter and there were some cool animals!!!
We really enjoyed Chessington. Learning our lesson from Legoland meant that we were there when the gates opened. We raced to the best ride and only had a 10 minute wait to get on. It was excellent - like the Lethal Weapon at Movie World. We then went on a few more gentle rides and visited all the zoo animals - lions, tigers, gorillas and the like.
A really good day out.
31 May 08 - 12:33Another Stroll Through London
It is so much nicer to wander through London when you don't have a care in the world and have heaps of time on your hands. We had such a wonderful day. We started by visiting The Globe Theatre and then crossed the Millenium Bridge towards St Paul's Cathedral. A nice stroll down the Monopoly Board (Fleet Street, The Strand and Trafalgar Square) led us to Leicester Square where we contemplated buying some theatre tickets (but didn't go ahead with it). We then moved onto Piccadilly Circus before heading to Downing Street then back to Big Ben and across Westminster Bridge.
What a truly remarkably British day!
28 May 08 - 06:47LegoLand
Judging by every adult's comments that we walked passed at Legoland, it was definitely a day for the kids!!! Legoland is cool, it's just BUSY, VERY BUSY! In the four hours that we were there, we managed to go on four rides - an average of one an hour. Not bad considering that each ride lasted for approximately 3 minutes!
However, the kids had an absolute ball and their excitement didn't wain for the entire day. Mini Lego City was amazing. The amount of work that must have gone into creating it is certainly worthy of a mention. It was also nice to have visited a lot of the places that had been reconstructed - the Sacre Couer, The London Eye, Edinburgh Castle.
More London touring tomorrow.
24 May 08 - 18:53Madame Tussauds and The London Eye
What a cool way to start our week in London - Kathy got up close and personal with three of her favourite stars - Robin Williams, Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery, the kids played with Shrek, The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman and I got to rub shoulders but thats all 
with Angelina Jolie!!!
A great fun excursion except for the cost - about $AUS160!!!!
We then travelled on to the ...
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22 May 08 - 05:46Happy Birthday, CJ and Eden
Someone arose at 4.30am and started moving around the house. That someone woke two other someones who tried desperately to get back to sleep. Those two someones thought something was suspicious when the other someone stopped making noise and so the two someones got up at 5.15am to find that the other someone had gone back to sleep. However, now the two someones were awake!!!
And so started CJ and Edens's birthday. Too many presents, again! This year's biggie was a bike. Thanks to all those who Skyped and phoned. It was a wonderful experience for the kids to be able to show their presents and talk to those close to us.
...
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21 May 08 - 07:18Belfast
I remember saying to Kathy about a year ago that one of the places I really wanted to visit was Belfast because I had read so much about The Troubles. Now, we have finally made it there and it was certainly worth the visit. Another one of those dodgy cheap flights meant that we left England at 6.30 on Saturday morning arrived back on Sunday night at about 7pm - all for £40.
We toured around for the two days on one of the open bus tours. They are magnificent - we did the same thing in Dublin. The commentaries are always humourous and informing. One of the most interesting things they said as we travelled around and saw all the new building that were going up was that for the first time in over thirty years, they are satrting to ...
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05 May 08 - 19:30Sherwood Forest - Men in Tights
If ever a place was to feel exactly as you think it should feel - Sherwood Forest would be it! As soon as you enter, it feels like Robin and his merry men will jump out and be soooo disappointed to find out that you're stone broke.
We absolutely adored it at Sherwood. And to our great fortune, it just happened to be May Day and Robin and his crew did jump out of the woods and posed for photos with the kids. There was also a great visitor centre, lovely walks through the forest and a lovely park for the kids to play in. Cj picked up a bow and arrow set, which you can see photos of us trying out here.
Yep, check off that dream as well!
05 May 08 - 19:22The Wonderful City of York
There are so many fantastic stories to tell of York. The whole trip up, the kids sang "The Grand Old Duke of York..." so many times that I thought I would have to cut their tongues out!! But on our arrival, we were absolutley abuzz!
We arrived at about 5pm and, with three hours of daylight to go and the threat of rain the next day, we thought we would do the castle wall walk. What a thrill it was. The feeling of walking along a wall that knights rode their horses on and peering through small crossbow holes at the magnificent sites of York was just amazing. We also managed to save an old guy who fell out of his car!!
The following day was full on!
A nice climb up to ...
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05 May 08 - 19:02Arbor Low
On our way up to York, we passed through the Peak District and discovered yet another stone circle. This one was in the middle of a privately owned farm and is known as the Stonehenge of the North. It was quite different from the others as all of the rocks were laying down. The henge itself was very large and the kids loved running along it. About 300 yards away, there was an ancient barrow as well - apparently more than 5 000 years old!
It's sombering to see, as you approach some of the stones, that people have laid wreaths and flowers for lost ones from the passed few years. Even today, these places hold a sort of spiritual power.
05 May 08 - 18:55The Plague Village of Eyam
Eyam is a place that Kathy has been longing to visit ever since we said we were coming to England. During her teaching in Australia, she had read a book with her class all about the village. It was the scene of of the most immense sites of self sacrifice ever known. During the Black Plague, this village self quaratined therfore not allowing the plague to spread to neighbouring villages. In the end, about 270 of it's 300 residents died. For more information, see here.
Knowing what had happened there made the experience extremely haunting. To walk amongst such a place of death really had you thinking about your own mortality. A truly great ...
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21 April 08 - 19:13One from the Archives For You!!
During our trip through Scotland, Eden's Diary Entry said the following:
Dear Diary,
Today Mum farted in the car when we were going to Edinburgh.
(And is accompanied by quite a graphic photo of Mum smiling whilst doing the deed with a cocked leg and Eden in a lot of pain!)
Of course, the truth is that we went past a farm being fertilised and I told the kids that it was Mum!!!!!
Certainly one for the memory books!!
See ya.
20 April 08 - 07:31Didn't We Have A Lovely Time the day We Went to Bangor
We finally hit the turps on Friday night with our neighbours, and therefore as a result, we left on our journey to Wales about four hours later than expected!!!
Conwy Castle and the village of Conwy itself are absolutely maginifient. The castle is really well preserved and sits right on the banks of a river/tidal inlet. The pictures that can be taken are just magificent.
For those of you not in the know, (like us until yesterday), Conwy is in North Wales on the way to the West Coast. We are actually on our way to Bangor (so we can sing the song "A Day Trip to Bangor"). We had a beautiful day, and had lunch on the way (but it cost a bit more than a pound you know!)
05 April 08 - 19:51Let the Battle Begin
After a really hard two days of work (which included a round of golf), it's the weekend again!!!
"And what are we doing, Dad?" asks Eden.
"We're getting in the car again and visiting another medieval site! The battle ground where the Normans beat the British. Isn't that exciting?"
"Who were the Normans?", asks CJ
"Dad was a Norman" says Mum while dad looks on quizzically.
"Cool. Can we take our Nintendos?"
"Yes, as long as you're nice to each other."
"Cool!" chorus the kids.
And our trip to Battle and Hastings was negotiated.
Another cool trip under the belt. You really get a feeling for the battle when you have an audio tour and are standing on the spot where King harold got ...
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03 April 08 - 20:18All you need is love
We finished off our Scottish adventure with a great visit with Paul and Caroline in Liverpool. Again the Ainger family has made us feel so welcome. They live in a lovely house with a large garden. The kids loved playing hide and seek with Paul and Caroline and it was a taste of little things to come for them both as well. We had a great tour guide in Caroline who showed us around the two wonderful catherdrals and then we stood in the wind and rain (thanks for your patience Paul) to visit the Beatles story. We had a great time. The kids loved the yellow submarine and we loved all loved the music of course. It was a wonderful end to a great holiday. Next stop, the battle field of Hastings. Have a great weekend, I know we will
27 March 08 - 21:30The Lochs
Being the experienced traveller that I am (ha ha), I have seen some beautiful sights so far on our family’s excursion around the UK but today would have to have been the most scenic treasure that I have had the pleasure of laying my eyes on as yet. The lochs on the trip from Stirling to Inverness are awe inspiring – true natural beauty. Although we spent nearly the entire day in the car, I hardly felt as if I had driven at all (I must admit, I wasn’t totally focused on the road at all times!) Loch Lomond is absolutely magnificent - especially with snow capped mountains as a backdrop. The small village of Luss (just off the beaten track and right on the banks of the Loch) was a step back in time and so peaceful that you just felt ...
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26 March 08 - 21:03William Wallace, Stirling Castle and the original Big Pineapple
I have a little more time tonight, so I must tell you of a few quirky things that we have seen over the last few days.
Quirk Number One:
On our way to Hadrian's Wall Kathy and I were laughing our heads of as we went through the small village of Once Brewed and then, two minutes later, Twice Brewed!
Quirk Number Two:
Strolling through Edinburgh Castle and seeing a bloke with a Hawthorne Scarf wrapped around his neck!
Quirk Number Three:
Seeing the original version of the Big Pineapple just outside Falkirk!
Quirk Number Four.
Watching Bob the Builder in Gaelic!!
And now my mind has gone blank as to the others!!! A sign of senility or just too much time with the kids!! ...
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25 March 08 - 21:18Meet the Clan
I'd like to introduce you to Eden and CJ's cousins' Tweedle and Twoodle McDuff. We met them at Edinburgh Castle and swapped them for the two terrors we have had in the back of the car for the past three days. They are direct decendants of those Frasers who DIDN'T come down from the highlands baout two hundred years ago!!
A great day today visiting the very intriguing Rosslyn Chapel and enormous Edinburgh Castle. We loved every minute of it. And, mum, I bought a great jacket from the Edinburgh Wool Mill!
23 March 08 - 20:22The Lakes District
All I can say WOW. We certainly weren't expecting a snow holiday when we were organising our Easter holiday but I'm not complaining. The Lakes District is probably the most picturesque place I have ever been. We visited Windemere, Grasmere and Keswick and loved every town. Add to this Castlerigg Stone Circle in the snow and we had a fantastic day (Plus the kids got to help Dad build a snowman!!!)
23 March 08 - 20:16I'm Dreaming of a White Easter!
What a fantastic feeling...to wake up on Easter morning to a blanket of snow. It certainly made up for Christmas and made an interesting start to our car holiday to the Lakes District and Scotland!
23 March 08 - 20:13Warwick Castle
Jack and Stew came up for a couple of days so we went off to Warwick Castle. An excellent day. Warwick Castle is owned by the same mob who own Madame Toussards so they have themed it up. The day we were there, they were having a mock battle between Hastings and Montague which continued throughout the day. During the day, it snowed then was sunny, then snowed again. It was awesome. A two thumbs up day.
18 March 08 - 13:47A Trip to the British Museum
Another great day out with Jack and Stewart saw us take off to the British Museum. After checking out how much stuff the Poms have stolen from the rest of the world (The Rosetta Stone, half the Parthenon, most of the mummies etc), we went on to see a display that they had only borrowed - The Terracotta Warriors.
Whilst there were only about ten of them, the fact that you could get up close to them made it very worthwhile. A thrilling experience. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed to be taen so you'll just have to take our word for it!!
09 March 08 - 15:13National Book Day
As part of their school's National Book Day celebrations, the kids got the chance to dress up as their favourite characters. Eden chose Cinderella (of course!) and CJ chose Captain Hook. They had an absolute ball!
To top off the day, Eden won a Large Easter Egg and a couple of cream eggs for her wonderful book mark design that showed The Four Musicians of Bremen!!! She was very proud (and CJ was devastated!!)
03 March 08 - 21:15The Four Musicians of Bremen?
If you didn't know the story of the Four Musicians of Bremen before you went there, you would have no choice but to know it back to front when you left!! After a 350kmh tail wind flight from Stansted we arrived to a VERY WET, WINDY and COLD Bremen. But would that stop the crazy family of Brehauts from having a good time. I THINK NOT!
Bremen in beautiful. It's marketplace is like walking into a history book of the middle ages with its Town Hall, Cathedral and many other buildings. It has a real feeling about it - something we have not felt since visiting Stonehenge. Add to this, a wonderful walk through the Schnoor District which is a collection of narrow cobble ...
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14 February 08 - 18:03Musee du Louvre
To follow on from the last post, we are now totally stuffed to the top with culture!!! Today was one of those experiences that words can not describe. The Louvre is the most amazing places that I have ever been. There is more history in one corner of one room than in the entire Brisbane Museum.
If I have one piece of advice for anyone ever visiting the Louvre, it is "LOOK UP". The ceilings are incredible.
Today was yet another day that wll be inscribed in my mind forever.
13 February 08 - 20:22Us Aussies are given a blast of kulcha!
Now, I know I'm not a cultured man but the realisation of this really hit home today as we walked through the metro and I heard the theme song from "Allo Allo" How was I to know that it was a French folk song????
You follow this up with a tip to Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur and you just realise how out of you depth you are. But Eden and CJ made up for it by grooving with a guitar player who was singing The Doors and John Lennon on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and kicing their legs in Can Can style in front of the Moulin Rouge.
13 February 08 - 20:10Escargo Eating Escapades
Well, there is no escaping it when you go to France. You must absolutely, without fail, no way out - eat snails. And so it was, on this Wedensday night in uptown Paris that we did something that scared us. We stuck those slimy, slippery little suckers into our mouths.
12 February 08 - 19:50Paris by Night
Just a quick entry before we lose internet connection. We took the kids on the Metro to see the lights of Paris. What a wonderful experience and topped off with a great photo in front of the Eiffel Tower at night. We're really beginning to love this place!
11 February 08 - 17:54Coat Hangers and Brickwork.
Ahh, to be in gay Paris with a view of blue sky and a blank slate. And where better to have that view than from the top of the Eiffel Tower. An experience beyond compare as yet. I must admit I was a touch petrified on the way to the top, but that soon passed when I was on the viewing platform. Sometimes, you've got to be tough in front of the kids. No sign of nerves from them or Kathy though!
Then a quick tromp up the Champs Ellysses to the Arc d"Triomph via some fairly snazzy High Street shops and another dream was labeled a reality. You've just got to love this type of holiday.
11 February 08 - 16:57Graves and Grooves
Day One in Paris and what a day. Waking up to the hustle and bustle of Paris Central is a wonderful experience. We decided to walk around today and we had a ball. We visited the Place de la Republique and the Place de la Bastille. We checked out the famous graveyard and saw Rossilini's, Chopin's, Jim Morrison's and Edith Piaf's graves.
Eden grooved her way to a funk band that was playing at the Bastille and then we ate scrumptious strawberries at a market two minutes away. A stroll down to the River Seine ended our stroll for the day but just wet our mouths for the days ahead.
09 February 08 - 19:10The White Cliffs of Dover
Its great being able to sit down in your studio apartment in the Republique District of Paris and find out that someone has an unsecure wireless line nearby. It means that I'll be abe to brag on a daily basis about what we get up to over the next week.
The first stop today was the lovely White Cliffs of Dover which, because we were travelling to Fance by ferry, were able to see from both land and sea. What an amazing sight. And don's you learn something new every day. I never realised that you could see England from France! Its just not that far.
A quick trip down the motorways and we found ourselves in the middle of Paris - the city with NO TRAFFIC RULES!
But more on the Paris experience tomorrow.
07 February 08 - 17:55In Dubin Fair City...
Where the girls are so pretty
Was there where my kids sat near Molly Malone.
What a whilrwind tour. We somehow managed to scam 1p flights (including taxes!) to Dublin and so, last Saturday, we arose at 3am and drove down to Luton for our 6.30am flight. Before we knew it, we had touched down in Ireland for a wonderful day.
We hopped on one of the tourist buses for the day and ventured to Trinity College, The Book of Kells, Christ Church Cathedral, The Guinness Factory and Temple Bar - a well known watering hole. A fantastic day that ended with us getting back on the plane at 7.30pm and arriving back home in Coventry at 11pm.
And what are we doing next weekend? ...
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27 January 08 - 14:28Australia Day in Coventry
After stuffing our staff and students with Kathy's homemade lamingtons and pumpkin scones on Friday, we borrowed a friend's portable barbecue, grabbed a couple of cans of Fosters, donned our Austalia T-shirts and went for a barbie at the local park. Nevermind the fact that it was about 7 degrees or that there was a nice stiff breeze, we're Australian and we HAVE TO celebrate our national day.
A few onlookers gave us quizzical looks as we burnt our snags on the grill and spread our tomato sauce nice and thick but....who cares???
I hope everyone had a great day over in Oz.
See ya!
13 January 08 - 14:58Visiting Grandpa's Gravesite
Having never known my grandfather, visiting his grave was an interesting occasion. We made our way to Mickleton - about 45 mins from our home in Coventry. The cemetary is located next to a beautiful old church. At first we had difficulty finding the site - not realising there were two cemetaries within the church grounds. However, after asking a lovely lady if there was another site, she was most helpful and, though our conversation, we discovered that she had known my grandfather!!! She remembered him as a 'rather stern old man!" I'm sure that Mum would agree!
We then visited our family home and the school I went to from our trip to the UK in 1976. The house was a lot smaller than I remember it but it was great to ...
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09 January 08 - 18:24Back to the Grindstone
Well, it had to happen eventually. Kathy and I started teaching again this week. Kathy is teaching at a Finham Primary School on the south side of Coventry and I am deputy teacher in charge at the Pupil Referral Unit which looks after kids who aren't coping in the normal high school setting.
At least we are now bothing earning pounds!!!
09 January 08 - 18:18Stamford - The Stone Town
Kathy closed her eyes, spun around twice as stuck her finger onto the map and off we went to Stamford. What a great choice it was. About an hour and a half away from home and we were surrounded by medieval architecture that was beyond belief.
After finding the most bizzare Australian shop in the middle of the town, we ducked off to Burghley House - a magnificent stately home where the deer roam free!! A quick trip to Trinity Bridge in Crowland and it was time to head off home again. Another fantastic day!
01 January 08 - 19:34Starting the New Year in a Very Old Place
We had a wonderful New Year's Eve with Kathy's cousins Jarrod, Stephanie, Barb and Kate in Newport, Wales and would like to thank them for their wonderful hospitality.
We wondered how we should start 2008, and after a little look through all our guides, decided that a trip to a Roman ampitheatre, followed by a nice walk through the stones at Avebury would be a nice start. And why not follow that up with a visit to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - yeah - Stonehenge would be ...
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11 December 07 - 17:35The Canary Islands
All I can say is WOW!!! What an absolutely fantastic holiday (and so bloody cheap!!)
After a 4 hour flights we arrived at Playa De Las Americas on the south end of Tenerife. OUr hotel looked out to Mt Teide - a dormant volcano which we visited on day four of our holiday. After spending the first couple of days looking around the commercial resorts of PLaya De Las Americas and Los Cristianos, we hired a car (with the steering wheel on the wrong side) and started driving on the wrong side of the road!! We toured the island from the very top (Mt Teide) to the very ...
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