Butler Urban Escape - World Wide Adventure: May 2015

Saturday 30 May 2015

A country road

Have I shown you how narrow some of of the roads are here. The hedges are on either side of the road and you can not see what is coming. This photo does not show how narrow the road really is.

Milton Keynes is home to the largest indoor skiing centre in the Northern hemisphere. Elliott and Harison have only been to the snow once or twice before. As they are not at school, thanks to the UK schooling system we need to try and keep them entertained.
So 5 private lessons were booked and off they went. They both enjoyed it and weren't too bad at it either. Now they have declared it as their favourite sport!!

After a hard day skiing on the slopes an afternoon tea must be in order. While the boys were hard at it Dad was whipping up a batch of his finest scones. You may not be aware of this,Grahame's scones are truly the best scones you'll ever eat. With fresh strawberry jam and clotted cream yummy.

Of course as a growing teenager there is never enough food to fill the hollow legs. A "little" Eaton mess goes a long way.

Thursday 28 May 2015

The Champs Eylsees and my driving

They made me drive in Paris and around the infamous Champs Eylsees and all through France. So I'm now driving on the opposite side of the road and in the UK right hand drive car, they drive left hand obviously.
It was bad enough driving to the right around roundabouts but to drive this one and survive(only just) is crazy. Yes someone nearly cleaned us up and it wasn't my fault. The french don't know how to drive around it either, what hope do foreigners have. There are no words to describe it except CRAZZZZZY.

To give you an idea

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lay8aZlsbB0/0.jpg

Elliott was able to capture a good shot.

Someone thought it would be a good idea to host a vintage Citroen car show on the edge of this roundabout and the adjacent square. So not only are you trying to negotiate your way around with pyscho french drivers but the merrily wandering car enthusiasts just dawdling onto the roundabout. I tell you, it's complete madness.

We also saw the Louvre, Notre Dame,of the Eiffel tower and many other sights. We firstly drove around and then decided to do the Hop on Hop off bus which is what we have done in other cities. It is a brilliant way to see a lot of sights and with audio commentary.

Notre Dame

The Louvre

We had a glimpse of the Palace of Versailles as we were there in Versailles but it was too late to visit and the next day was way too busy for us to go there. Disappointing but oneway we will get there.

Our visit to France was truly lovely in every aspect.

Crossiants and chateaus

We did it,we finally made it to France. Just like the UK,it's a place you dream of going to and not sure if you will actually get there. Now we have,the dream has become a reality. It also helps when you know someone who lives there and are fortunate enough to stay with them.

Friends of ours who we met in Arizona,USA when we lived there are French and have a beautiful B&B Bagatelle in Vouvray.

After 15 years of not seeing them we were finally able to catch up with our wonderful french friends Anne and Bertrand.

They hosted us in their amazing 300 odd year old chateau in an area called the Loire Valley. The home is beautifully decorated and welcoming. However we didn't stay in the home we were privileged to stay in the "caves".

Caves are quite a common feature in this area. They are built out of the limestone escarpment that backs their property. The caves were initially carved out many years ago and used as utility areas. Infact they have a massive cave that was used as the wine making and storage area above the caves that are now guest accommodation. Anne has impeccable taste in decorating and our cave rooms were luxurious and homely.

Note the original wood fired oven to the right.

We were introduced to real french food and oh how delicious it was,it lived up and beyond expectation. The boys ate their fill of fresh croissants and baguettes. The cheeses,the meats the strawberries and wine,how could we possibly live without it now we have the taste for it?

Our hosts informed us of the best attractions to see. So off we went to see the home Leonardo Da Vinci once lived in Château du Clos Lucé. We were able to see models of many of his inventions,his drawings a replica (or could it have been the "real thing"?) of the Mona Lisa. The beautiful gardens where he took inspiration for his botanical studies and of course the home where he even entertained Francois1, the King of France

Next on the chateau agenda was

CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU

King Henry II gave this castle to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, but when he died, his wife, the Queen Catherine de Medici threw out Diane and installed herself there. Everywhere you’ll see the symbols HDC, originally it was H and D entwined and after the King’s death Catherine added her initial C. A

Truly magnificent and expanding across the river in all its glory. Oh how the rich and noble lived.

This is like a fairy tale castle

We also the visited the enormous

CHATEAU DE CHAMBORD

built over a 30 year period in the 16th century just because, it was the show off castle to prove that Francois 1 King of France could out do other castles particularly those of the English. It is a status of power and was built for not as a defensive castle but one for recreation and the grounds used for hunting. It is a sight to behold,the sheer scale is unbelievable. It is one of the finest examples of French Renaissance architecture in France and undoubtably in the world (because it is in France!!)

http://www.ilovecastles.com/chambord.html

Wednesday 13 May 2015

National Trust

On good advice before we left Australia we purchased a National Trust membership for about $120. It's already paid for itself many times over. We have visited about 6 National Trust properties so far,from castles to manors to ancient stone circles. There is so much to see here.
The last property we viewed was Waddesdon Manor which is a Rothschild's estate. Amazing, beautiful and acres upon acres of stunning gardens and woodlands.

http://www.waddesdon.org.uk/collection/image-library

A load of cock & bull

In our travels we were taken to the lovely little market town of Stony Stratford which is not far from Milton Keynes. Once again a gorgeous little town full of delightful historical buildings and stories.
The story goes that the saying "a cock & bull story" was derived from this town. The Cock Hotel and the Bull Hotel are practically next door to each other. When a story was told at one hotel then relayed to the other hotel something was lost in translation and turned out to be a whole lot of cock& bull!

The Bull Hotel

The Cock Hotel

Also in this town is what was apparently a hideout of Oliver Cromwells. Now this is only of interest to us because one of our wonderful neighbours from Pambula is a descendant of Cromwell so when ever we see something related to Cromwell I let Jane know about it.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

The wedding

Grahame & I today enjoyed one of the best weddings we've been to today.

Katie & Stefan

The ceremony was in a beautiful old church in Shenley Church End,Milton Keynes. The church dates back to the 1200's.

The medieval building of St Mary's dates back to 1150. The chancel was rebuilt in 1190, the nave extended in 1350 and the tower in 1490. Much of the interior was restored around 1889 and 1909.

St Mary's Church is part of the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership. Anglican, Methodist, United Reformed Church and Baptist Union sharing in worship together.

www.watlingvalley.org.uk/sms

The ceremony was beautiful and filled with love,joy and tears and laughter.

After the service we then moved onto the magnificent Stowe House for what was to be a fantastic reception. Complete with singing waiters, dancing,chocolate fountain,casino (with play money),photo booth,champagne and delicious food it was a wedding full of fun and atmosphere.

Of course the bride was stunning and her groom looked very dashing indeed. All set in the beautiful English countryside.

Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Restoration Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on the restoration of the house. The gardens (known as Stowe Landscape Gardens), a significant example of the English garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust in 1989 and are open to the public. The house is open to the public on 280 days a year with tours during the school holidays, and during term time. The parkland surrounding the gardens is open 365 days a year. National Trust members have free access to the gardens but there is a charge for all visitors to the house which goes towards the costs of restoring the building.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stowe_House

London

Today we visited London and I had to drive through London. The road system here is a little crazy to say the least. The roads are old,narrow and poorly planned for the volume of traffic and I'm glad to say we made it in & out of the city unscathed but a little stressed.
First on the agenda was the London Eye which gave us a birds eye view over the city.

From the London Eye

From here we wandered around passing Westminster Abbey,Number 10 Dowing St (not that you actually get to walk past it),Trafalgar Square,Big Ben and then to Buckingham Palace were we saw some of the Changing of the Guard. The crowds were horrendous, thousands upon thousands of people there,perhaps they were there for the announcement of the new princess' name. It was very very busy.

The weather yet again was perfect,blue skys and the sun shining. We enjoyed our first trip to London.