Greetings from Dublin

Greetings from Dublin
I have found this great internet cafe near our hotel and I'm making the most of my time while Gary waits for our bags to be offloaded from the bus before we go exploring and find some place to eat dinner. The trip continues to be everything we hoped for! The Lakes District was breathtaking - it has been preserved (apparently greatly due to Beatrix Potter's conservation push) and is just how one would imagine English countryside to be. It is very popular with British tourists as well so was pretty busy as we were there on a weekend. Nonetheless we had a great time - cruised Lake Windermere, went on a steam train, saw Wordsworth's grave and just wandered through quaint villages - I loved it there. We stayed at the Hydro Hotel overlooking Lake Windermere - it was a lovely older style hotel with the smallest bathroom you have EVER seen...which wasn't a problem until everyone tried to shower in the morning and there was NO HOT WATER. Gaz was not impressed! But just to show how much he has grown during this trip he was heard to say to a fellow traveller later in the day "if that's the worst thing we have happen to us we will be OK". (I can tell you that is NOT what he was saying when the water was cold at 6am!!!!) Anyway, we survived and headed off for a lovely sightseeing day in the Lakes District. When we arrived in Warrington (lots of Rugby League towns nearby - St Helens, Wigan, Widnes etc) we dumped our bags and went on an excursion into North Wales with our tour director whose home town was nearby - it was such a quaint place and he took us to his local pub where we all had a pint (well I had to be different and have a chardonnay...or is that a shark 8...). The pub was an old corn mill and we sat by the banks of a river watching the water gush down and spin the water wheel...fantastic. We would all have been happy to stay there all night. But it was back to the hotel for a late dinner, hair wash, clothes wash and bed. I am still struggling with the stupid quilt/duvet thingies they have here and either end up freezing or boiling to death...but in Gary's words..."if that is the worst...bla bla bla". We set off this morning and had a couple of hours in Chester, a lovely old Roman town near the Welsh border - very pretty and interesting. A couple of short stops later (one at a castle and one in the town that has the longest name...which I will not attempt to type here or I will be here all night) and we arrived at Holyhead to catch the ferry to Dublin. Gary had been really worrying about this crossing because of possible seasickness and had been popping ginger pills all day. Well, they must have worked 'cause he was fine...though he did face inwards and not look out at the water once! I went up on deck and took photos of the retreating land and approaching land and came back to show him on the camera! We passed the nearly 4 hours very pleasantly with the new friends we have made - Trish & Michael from Brisbane, Jan & Clem from Ipswich & Gail & Kevin from Canberra - all really nice people...and Jan & Clem have 23 year old triplets which make for quite a few good stories! Gary is very excited to be here in Ireland so I'd better get back so we can go and explore. We have a city tour tomorrow morning, free time in the afternoon and then an Irish Cabaret complete with dancers, comedian etc tomorrow night so it should be a big day. Thanks for your emails and news...and in case you were wondering...yes...it's raining! loveP&G

Greetings from the Lakes District

Greetings from the Lakes District
Wow! What a time we are having!!!! Edinburgh is a fantastic city (sorry Davey, but it is) and we really enjoyed our time there. The castle has to be seen to be believed and we had a fabulous tour guide who also took us around the old and new cities - the "new" city was built before Captain Cook was out of nappies... Anyway, all in all a wonderful time. Gary & I also went to a pub for dinner where we totally bamboozled the bartender with our accent - Gary ordered a chardonnay and the guy thought he asked for a "Shark 8". I insisted on pointing to the menu to order my meal - I've seen what can happen, heh Davey? He was a really nice bartender though and it turned out he was Irish and had just moved to Edinburgh and got a job that very day as a maths teacher - he may have been put out when Gary said -"you don't look like a maths teacher" - I'm sure he's still wondering what they do look like!We headed for the Scottish highlands yesterday and heard lots of history from our guide - many battles, massacres & intrigue! I was a bit crook yesterday (but I'm fine now) and so I missed the whisky distillery tour but Gary seemed to enjoy it, including the samples! We also visited Blair Castle which was spectacular and witnessed some breathtaking scenery. Our day was topped off with an excursion to a disused 1700's fort and a toast to Bonnie Prince Charlie with Drambuie (which he invented), complete with bagpipes etc. (As I was under the weather I was treated extra-specially and was given (forgive spelling) Irn-Bru which Davey had told me so much about...it was quite nice. It is a Scottish soft drink which is more popular than coke, Pepsi etc). All that was topped up by a highlight dinner with the piping in of the haggis etc last night. Gaz & I both had haggis (which was surprisingly nice) and we also kicked off the dancing (as all the other pikers were hanging back - you need aussies to get these things going!)We have had a great day again today - the scenery was spectacular, travelling south from Scotland down to the Lakes District in England. We had a cruise on Loch Lomond and Gaz asked me where Nessie was - I wondered why the Loch Ness Monster would be in Loch Lomond...but who am I to say??? With the seat rotation in the bus, we were in prime position today, the front seat! Gary lasted about an hour and we had to swap - too many hills, sheer drops from cliffs etc and he could see everything way too much! Not to worry, the views were unreal and I was blown away by this area here - it is exactly as I had imagined the English countryside to be - narrow lanes with hedges and stone fences, sheep grazing...rain falling...Actually the weather cleared up beautifully by this afternoon and we had sunshine coming through the lakes. It is amazing - all the villages around here are the names of streets in Lakelands - we are staying in Windermere and have seen Ambleside, Ulverston (our street), Grassmere, Buttermere etc - Beatrix Potter lived at Hawks Head!We are going on a steam train ride and boat cruise on Windermere tomorrow and then on to Warrington for one night and then on to Dublin - the Gaz is starting to get very excited about setting foot in Ireland. I found out a bit about the Ross clan while I was in Scotland - I really need to pay more attention to the whole family tree thing!!Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone - thanks for your emails - I do appreciate it!LoveP&G

Greetings from Edinburgh

Greetings from Edinburgh
Wow, what a busy last few days!!!! We had a very smooth flight from Washington to Heathrow and landed 45 minutes early due to the winds of Hurricane Hanna blowing us over the Atlantic (I knew she'd be good for something!). After a fantastic shuttle ride in to the hotel - great bus, very friendly driver (UK1, US0) we walked around the corner to get a bite to eat. I had vowed I was going to eat the first thing I saw and it was KFC...so that's what we had. I may have eaten a passing bobby or Big Issue seller if I hadn't eaten then and there! We staggered back to the room and Gary had a bit of a nap, I washed (again) and we decided to have an early night as we were to leave at 7.30am the next day. At this point I need to mention the idiocy of continental quilts - i.e. a fitted sheet and then a quilt on top. Frankly, it is too hot with the quilt on & too cold with it off - an alternate option is required people!!! Perhaps a sheet (as they had in the US) or light cotton blanket??? (UK1, US1). Anyway, a bit of a restless night for me with wide awake time between 1.30am and 3.30am. The time difference was 5 hours so I guess that was expected. We boarded our bus and headed off to our first stop of Stratford upon Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - very interesting...and that's when the rain started...and it has hardly stopped since. (I know you warned me Davey!). We then moved on, stopping for lunch along the way, and arrived in York in the arvo, did a walking tour, roamed around a bit and then back to the hotel for a welcome drink and dinner with our group. Most people in the group seem very nice - 12 from US, 13 Canadians & 14 Aussies. We had dinner with 6 of the Aussies last night (3 other couples) and all got on really well. We all have kids/grandkids of a similar age. They are from Canberra, Brisbane & Ipswich. One of their daughters lives in Warners Bay! Anyway, had a good night! Back on the bus at 8am and off too Durham where we visited a beautiful cathedral and walked around the lovely market town. We went on to Jedburgh where we had lunch (and shopped) and then arrived in Edinburgh this afternoon. Did I mention that it is raining???!!! Oh well, we have got used to walking in the rain with our jackets on and heads down. I forgot to tell you the OUTSTANDING news!!!! My ghd hair straightener works again!!! (UK2,US1). Apparently even with the US adapter the voltage etc bla bla bla means it won't work in the US but it does here. Oh, glory be!!!! I look like me again and not some mad harridan with wild untamed locks! Anyway, back to the story...oh yeah - everything has been wonderful so far - the scenery, the tour director is awesome - Dillon, a Welsh dude - the food is good, the people are great - very friendly & polite, service is excellent (UK3, US1) and e continue to have great time. Gary has just done our washing - he offered & nearly died when I said yes - ha ha ha! We are here for 2 nights & do a city tour tomorrow - we have been out exploring a bit this arvo but the RAIN got a bit heavy (it's cold too!!!!). I'd better go - my time may run out soon and the in room machine I am using is akin to using an Atari in 1972!!!! (Very frustrating!!) (UK3, US2). Love & best wishes to all. Thanks for all your emails - I really love 'em. Good luck to the soccer boys for their GF on Saturday, good luck to Kyle & Kat for their wedding on Saturday and Happy Birthday to James for Saturday....just in case I don't get a chance beforehand. loveP&G

Greetings from the District of Columbia (that’s the DC bit after Washington)

Greetings from the District of Columbia (that’s the DC bit after Washington)
Sorry about my abrupt ending yesterday - you have no idea the pressure one is placed under when negotiating a timed internet booth!!! It gave me a warning at 5 minutes to go so I picked the pace up a bit, then it said 1 minute to go and I started to panic (and wished I had Joy's typing speed!), but when it said 30 seconds to go I went into major overdrive and managed to press "send" with 3 seconds to spare! I would have been pretty unhappy if I had lost everything and had to start again...anyway, that was yesterday... The torrential rain (we had between 5 and 7 inches in 12 hours) finally abated at about 6pm yesterday so Gaz & I took a stroll to a nearby restaurant and had a bite to eat and then came back to the room to do some washing. We had watched Get Smart earlier on TV as all the local stations & cable stations weren't working because of the storm...but of course the pay per view movie channel was working fine! The bad news re the laundry situation was that I must have left all my stuff (pegs, wash line, coat hangers, detergent etc) at the hotel in NY - quelle disaster! I will have to try to find some replacements in London - when I asked at the store here for pegs the lady thought I said pigs and offered me beef jerky - go figure! Anyway I washed and draped stuff everywhere and then stood with the hairdryer this morning trying to finish them off...not too successfully. I had a broken sleep last night thanks to our lovely children who decided to wish Gary a Happy Fathers' Day...at 2.30am our time! (I really didn't mind Al, and it obviously had little effect on Gary who said this morning "did I hear the phone ring last night?") Carly sent a text at the same time so I don't know if they were together or not. Alison, Danny, James & Carly have a meal roster happening so they seem to eat most meals together...I have heard rumours that there is a petition for it to continue when we return... After our buffet breakfast (loosen the belt another notch), we took a cab to Christ Church Episcopalian in Georgetown. What a quaint area! The church was extremely formal - ALL the men were wearing suits and ties and the language was all thys, thous and thees...reminded me of my Anglican church 40 years ago. They had a lovely choir and it was a nice service. We wandered around for a while (still searching for pegs!) and then took another cab (we have not had time to master the metro system here) and went to the National Archives (constitution, declaration of independence, bill of rights etc) and the National Art gallery. Both were very interesting but tuckered us out and we have returned to the hotel where we will be collected by shuttle bus in about an hour and then off to Dulles International Airport for a 7.5 hour flight to London. America has been great - things of note:1. the service is not that great even though they expect tips2. people are generally friendly...except bus drivers3. ALL meals & drinks are humungous4. EVERYBODY should see Las Vegas (& Grand Canyon) before they die Well, the countdown has started again. Love to all & we'll speak again...perhaps from London! loveP&G

Greetings from Washington DC

Greetings from Washington DC
Well hurricane Hannah has hit (well the tail of it anyway) and we are stuck in our (very sumptuous) hotel while it is pouring outside with 60 mph winds predicted for this afternoon. We really cannot complain about the weather as this is our first rainy day in over two and a half weeks. I hear you guys have been getting lots of rain too - will this affect the soccer finals James? - maybe change the grand final day? - I hope so! (For those of you who aren't intimately acquainted with the Cardiff Tigers Div R stellar season, James' soccer team has made it to the GF which is on 13 September, also the day a team member gets married and half a dozen of the team are scheduled to attend the happy event. Last I heard James was going to a) write a letter trying to get the game changed to another day/time or b) have a helicopter standing by...- only kidding Joy!) We arrived here in Washington after another uneventful plane ride - very short, only 45 mins. Gary did get a bit testy on the shuttle ride which did go to a lot of places including another airport before dropping us off at JFK...anyway, as I told him we got there safely and in plenty of time for the flight so what more can you ask for??? It was hot and steamy here and after booking in to the hotel (which is very ritzy) we took a short walk and had some lunch before going back to the room for a nanna nap - heh, I had been up since 5am!!! We then decided to do a twilight bus tour as we had seen the weather predictions for today...this was a great move! We saw the White House, Capitol Building and lots of memorials...to Roosevelt, Jefferson, Lincoln, WW2 and more. All were lit up and we took some great photos. The rain started about 9pm so we couldn't get out of the bus after that (unless we wanted to get drenched!) but still got the tour and history etc. Someone asked about tipping - we are trying hard to tip appropriately but it doesn't come naturally and seems to differ from place to place - some 10%, some 18% - I wish they'd just add it to the bill and be done with it! Gary's best tip was to our bus driver last night who asked for some Aussie cuss words - Gary whispered them in his ear and his eyes nearly fell out but he said he loved 'em. Time running out - gotta go

Greetings from Times Square, New York

Greetings from Times Square, New York
Well, we're not really in Times Square at the moment...but we have been there all day. Now where were we last time we talked...oh yeah, it was Tuesday night and we were about to go out for dinner. We ended up going to our neighbourhood diner, just down the street where we have eaten quite often. It is very Seinfeld-esque...and we know this is true because the other day we actually did eat in the diner from Seinfeld which is really called Tom's Restaurant and we have photos to prove it. Anyway, I had the biggest bowl of pasta you have EVER seen and had to ask for a doggy bag when they looked so crestfallen that I could only eat about a third of it...this was handy as I ate more of it (still couldn't finish it off though) last night. Gary had American pot roast with potato pancakes which he said was great as well. (These people in the diner love us because we fessed up to being undercharged at an earlier meal and gave them an extra 5 bucks for the fruit salad they had not charged us for - perhaps they have not experienced this behaviour before??) Anyway, Wednesday morning we were back on the subway but this time had to change at Times Square for the train to Queens...sounds simple, but we managed to go up and down about 17 flights of stairs before we finally worked out where to go...Gary & I of course continually blame each other for both our total lack of any real sense of direction! (Example: Gary actually asked me yesterday at the tennis which direction the sun sets in, east or west - now, even I know that one!) We finally made it onto the train to Queens but we weren't sure which stop to get off so we asked some other passengers who said they had planned to ask us! Oh well, the whole carriage decided we were all in it together and would just wing it. Thankfully a BIG stadium with US Open appeared outside the window and answered all our questions, so off we got! As we went through the security line to get into the stadium we were told that my backpack could not be taken inside as it has 2 straps, (even though it is quite small), and would have to go in a locker - they gave me a plastic bag to carry all my junk in. While I was off doing this Gary had taken it upon himself to yell loudly at the security guys every time they let someone in with a 2 strap bag. Apparently he had become extremely ANGRY because the security guy said "have a nice day" after we argued the bag thing with him. Gary told him in no uncertain terms that he would NOT have a nice day...bla bla bla. Anyway, I escaped, checked the bag, and then came back to find the security guys extremely thankful that Gary was moving on to "have a nice day". The tennis was great - we saw 3 matches - a ladies doubles between a couple of Spanish chicks with unpronounceable surnames and a couple of US girls from California (the Spanish chicks won); a ladies match between Safina (Matt's sister I gather) and some other chick who lost pretty quickly; and a real hum dinger between Andy Murray (I cheered for him for you Davey) and del Potro (who finally lost after 4 sets). It was really hot and sunny but we managed to stay hydrated and didn't get sunburned, all a plus. The weirdest thing about the Open is that the ball boys aren't all boys (or girls). Bizarrely, they have grey haired men stumbling around scrambling after balls and passing towels to players etc - it reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer was a ball boy - quite strange. We were pretty tired after all that sitting in the sun yesterday so decided to take it easy today - went for a walk to Riverside Park, found a diner for breakfast (felt a bit guilty about deserting our local), and then decided to go and catch a movie. It was REALLY hot and humid today (92 degrees) so air conditioning seemed like a good place to be sooooo...back on the subway to Times Square where we watched not one but two movies - Babylon 2 (I think) and Pineapple Express - the second one was better as it was a comedy, but Gary liked the first one as well as there was mega violence. Actually, the second one also had mega violence...but it was FUNNY violence! So we have now picked up our laundry - $19 for 19 pounds - awesome - and we will soon head off for our last dinner in NY and then catch an early night as the shuttle bus is picking us up at 6.05am for our 10.15am flight from JFK. (I guess they're expecting A LOT of traffic!). We decided to give the free concert with Usher & co a miss as they were expecting 60,000 people and Gary and crowds...well you know all about that. We are off to Washington DC tomorrow - New York has been great but it's time to move on... Thanks again for your emails - keep 'em coming! Hope everyone is well - catch up soon, luvP&G

Greetings from Broadway, New York

Greetings from Broadway, New York
Well we did move rooms...to a much more modern room on the 11th floor but unfortunately we lost our view of Broadway...but at least our feet stay dry in the bathroom as this toilet doesn't leak! You would not believe what happened Sunday night! We took the subway to Times square, got in the line at 6.15 for the 7pm show, the line grew...and grew...got restless...got edgy...slow hand clapping started at 7.05...and then at 7.15 a rumour started spreading that the show was cancelled! The air conditioning had broken down! For those of you who know Gary, you know that I could now be canonised as a saint for standing in that line with him for an hour! We did get to listen to the TOTAL soundtrack of Grease while we waited so I guess that's something though Gary says if he ever hears any of those songs again he will not be responsible for his actions... Anyway there was not a lot of information on how to get money back etc so we went to the box office yesterday afternoon (as they told us to do) and the box office had closed early for the Memorial Day public holiday...once again sainthood is mine! Soooo today (third time lucky?) we took the subway back to times Square and were told they could not give us our money back as we bought the tickets from Australia and would have to follow it up there...did I mention I will be immortalised as a saint??? After dragging Gary away from the theatre he agreed that it might be best if we give Broadway shows a miss - maybe we'll catch something in London... Okay, so that was Sunday...Monday morning we headed off to catch our bus tour of Manhattan and Gary fell down the subway stairs. (OK, kids, I can hear you laughing...but it wasn't THAT funny and I had to use quite a few of my baby wipes (mysteriously purchased by Gary when I asked him to get Wet Ones before we left) to wipe the blood from his knee). Got a few weird looks from New Yorkers on the subway too which is a feat in itself! He is fine - we went and got some oversized band-aids from the pharmacy and patched him up...though there were mumblings about suing the city of NY. We had a great bus tour which also incorporated a 1 hour ferry ride on New York Harbour/East River/ Hudson River. We saw all the stuff you need to see here - Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Ellis Island, Empire State Bldg, Central Park, 5th Avenue, Madison Av, Wall St, Brooklyn Bridge....you name it, we saw it! As we were driving down 5th Av, the tour guide was mentioning which celebrities lived in which buildings and said "Candice Bergen lives in this building and that might be her getting out of that car"...and it was! I took photos to prove it! We had a pretty quiet night in the hotel room watching James Bond films and episodes of Judge Judy...very entertaining! This morning I eventually woke Gary up at 10.50am as I thought he may have slipped into a coma - who knows, a delayed reaction to the baby wipes??? Anyway, just turned out he needed sleep, so we got a late start but went to the American Museum of Natural History which was amazing - you could spend a week there! Gary was impressed that they had a large exhibition of American Indians with all the tribes from his youth of watching western movies represented...though we didn't see the Hakowee tribe (F-Troop for those under 40...). We then walked down to the Dakota Bldg and saw the memorial for John Lennon - Strawberry field - in Central Park. Another trip on the subway and we were in Columbus Square where they are preparing for a free concert on Thursday by Usher (??? Gary tells me James would know him) & Keith Urban to mark the beginning of the NFL- American football season. That is one end of Central Park and we took a ride in a little peddle driven rickshaw thingy for 45 minutes around the park - saw the "Friends" fountain and lots of other recognisable landmarks from movies etc. We had a very nice (and fit) tour guide who peddled away while he talked about the park & its history. So here we are on Tuesday night - we will shortly go and grab some dinner - gotta be better than my effort of M&Ms and cheddar goldfish (strange choice of shape for biscuits but yummy nonetheless) which I had last night! It's off to the tennis (US Open) tomorrow which we are braving the subway (once again) to get to...but this time we will leave the island of Manhattan and venture into Flushing, Queens (that's where the Nanny comes from - for those over 40). Anyway, we continue to have a ball - Gary says he loves NY even more that Vegas...and that is saying something! We are getting our laundry done at a local place $1/lb sounded better than me slaving over the cramped bathtub and making the place look like a Chinese laundry! Hope you are all well - thanks so much for all your emails - it is great to hear from you all - sorry if I don't reply individually. Love to all,P&G