Jubilee spirit

The Sunday of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations featured a 1,000 strong flotilla of boats making their way down the Thames.  Happily Shaun's work is in prime spectator position so even in the rain we were treated to a grand display. 

The man-powered boats start to make their way towards Tower Bridge





Waka passing under Tower Bridge

M



Bar-celona

For Easter we decided to head (finally) to Barcelona, the city everyone had been raving to me about but which we'd never managed to actually get to.  Barcelona turned on some sunshine and we enjoyed a great 3 days wandering the streets, seeing the Gaudi architecture and absorbing the Catalan vibe.

S channeling his Euro metro side

La Sagrada Familia dwarfing the rest of the city..yet still under construction

Close up on the Sagrada pinnacles - crazy doves and tree tops

Inside La Sagrada Familia - the 'forest canopy'

What is this strange warm orb in the sky?

Gaudi architecture - La Pedrera

Rooftop of La Pedrera

Little tapas stop

Casa Batllo (above and below)

Time for a little mojito

Back to London nice and refreshed having spent the weekend surrounded by colour, crazy creative shapes and lots of sunshine. 

M

18 December 2011...

One year on and it was time for a wedding anniversary celebration somewhere cold, snowy and preferably with a Christmas market (which could provide commemorative boot-shaped mugs for the occasion).  So, Luxembourg for the weekend!

We stayed in a cute little hotel near the centre of the old town in Luxembourg (city) which was built across a steep river valley with some fierce-looking ramparts to wander. 

As Saturday night drew in we were treated to our first snowfall of the winter - big fat flakes tumbling out of the sky.  The next morning we woke up for a day of exploring castles in our rental car to a winter wonderland scene immediately north of the city which was fantastic.  Luxembourg - tiny country but a lovely couple of days.

M

Oh What A Summer!

Our summer holiday this year was the Walkers Haute Route that runs from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland across the Alps. We started at Champex Lac and hiked for 11 days up and over 10 mountain passes covering 170 odd kilometres.  We had brilliant weather, albeit surprising when we awoke to the mountains covered in snow one morning.

At times the trail was pasture complete with cows (their bells really do reverberate through the Swiss valleys) and at other times thin mountain paths with perilous drops and the danger of falling rocks.

One of the real pleasures of the Walkers Haute Route is that at the end of each day, whether we were in a village staying in a small hostel or in a mountain hut, we were met with fantastic hospitality and great cheese. And sometimes a stunning view like the one below from the dining room of the Cabane de Moiry which overlooks Moiry icefall.

Finally after 11 days we arrived above Zermatt with the Matterhorn standing proud to welcome us.

All in all it was a fantastic trip into the mountains that has whet the appetite for further high altitude wandering.

M & S

Training while its Raining...

Desk jobs don't exactly prime you for a lengthy hike in the Alps.  So, it was time to dedicate three of our summer weekends to the pursuit of fitness and firmer thighs walking up and down some hills in Wales.  We tracked a trail along a medieval dyke, wandered the high paths in the Brecon Beacons and scrambled up Mt Snowdon and its neighbour.  And in the moments when we weren't taking the photos below, it rained...and rained...and rained...

Alps here we come!!

M

Temple Tourists

Leaving Jordan behind we boarded the ferry with Angus and Jamie across the sparkling Red Sea to Nuweiba in Egypt.  We had a leisurely crossing which left 3 hours late! but the sea was so clear and the day so sunny we had a relaxing day of it. 

There was more relaxation to come as we arrived and made our way to Dahab, and then to Sharm el Sheikh in pursuit of some beach time.  After the snorkelling and relaxed backpacker life in Dahab it was difficult to head south to Sharm but we compensated with some more rigorous paperback reading and swimming. 



However before long we were back on the early morning routine, starting with a walk up Mt Sinai.  The thing everyone does if you're a tourist (or a pilgrim) is to leave the base at midnight, walking up and waiting for the sunrise.  We decided to leave at 5am primarily to catch some more sleep, which meant we would catch sunrise enroute and get up there an hour or two after dawn.  It turned out to be a great move - not only did we miss sitting around freezing up top for an hour or so, but as hundreds of walkers passed us on their way back down, we arrived at the top completely alone and spent half an hour at the summit taking photos and reflecting on the early morning views. 



Leaving Sharm we intended to fly direct to Luxor to start our temple spotting.  However Egypt Air had other plans - requiring a detour to Cairo for 4 hours which was just in time to watch the entire Royal Wedding celebrations from start to finish in the airport cafe.  Perfect timing, and we all got to see the dress.   Finally arriving in Luxor we headed up to our guest house's rooftop restaurant only to see Luxor Temple in the near distance which was exciting - and even better later that evening when we were able to visit up close with it all lit up. 

Luxor is temple central so each day we were up bright and early (again!) to see the incredible tombs in the Valley of the Kings (no photos allowed), as well as more temples including Deir-el Bahri, Ramesses III, Karnak and Edfu.  The scale of the temples was amazing and as we trooped around in the blazing sun we were pinching ourselves at their size, the intricacy of the carvings and the feeling of being in an open air museum.

Leaving Luxor we headed south via the crocodile temple to Aswan, a sleepier town where we spent our final few days in a guest house on the quiet side of the Nile.  We spent some enjoyable afternoons on a felucca (and even doing a spot of fishing!) as well as a quick trip south to see Abu Simbel which was awesome.  It was a great way to wind down a fantastic trip from Amman in Jordan to Aswan and very difficult to head back to work!

M