Travel Diary Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Jersey Diary – Day 6

October 27, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Though the morning started off looking grey, the weather was predicting a pretty nice day so we sat down as a family and tried to decide what we would do. Visiting a castle was top of my list and Chris wanted to see a museum and in the end it was planned that we would try to do both. We headed into St Helier and parked the car, walking to the place where we assumed ferries took us over to Elizabeth Castle. We had just missed the 12 o’clock ferry and so sat down to wait till the 12.30 one. The ferry was one of those amphibious ones, that went from land to sea. We travelled over to the castle and spent majority of the day looking around the castle and eating lunch. There was a great cannon display too.

Making our way back to the entrance/exit, there was a huge queue for the next ferry and so we decided to walk. At low tide you can walk the causeway back and forth to the castle and since it was now 3 o’clock and walkable, we decided it would be fun. Sadly half way through the walk, the path was still covered with water so I had to take my shoes off to pass and the others had to jump through the deeper patches. It was fun though and the weather was beautiful so we all laughed about it. As we got to land again, we decided there wasn’t much point heading to the museum as it was only open for another hour. Instead we bought Jersey Cream ice creams and sat outside to eat them. We popped to a nearby supermarket and then headed back to the apartment where we had sandwiches for dinner, cookie dough pudding and watched a movie. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Jersey Diary – Day 5

October 25, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Since I’ve only just made yesterday’s post, today – I’m making myself do today’s as well so I’m all caught up. Today was a similar day to yesterday, with more continuous travel around the coast. The first thing we did was head out to where we left off yesterday, though not the exact place but the next bit along. Instead of heading up the A10 though, we wiggled through some inland on the way there. So starting really at Bonne Nuit Bay, we first stopped there and took pictures, actually at two different points on the bay. Next we went around Egypt and over to Bouley Bay where again we stopped for pictures.

We continued on around the coast until stopping again at Rozel Bay, then on again until Fliquet Bay. Just a little further on was St Catherine’s Breakwater and here we stopped for quite some time, walking the length of the breakwater and back again. Next came a few stops along St Catherine’s Bay, before stopping again at Gorey and Mont Orgueil Castle. We parked the car here for an hour, took pictures, visited a souvenier shop and even grabbed a coffee. However since we’d had bacon butties for breakfast before leaving the house, everyone wasn’t hungry still – despite the fact it was now 2.30. We decided to carry on around and view the Royal Bay of Gouville as we drove along it. We stopped next at La Rocque Point, then Le Hocq Pt and finally Green Island (where we also took a bit of a walk). Finally we drove back towards St Helier, still along the coast – seeing a few more parts as we drove threw – then finally back to the apartments. Finally we had begun to feel hungry and so we decided to have take-away and get it delivered there. I’m guessing the rest of the evening will be spent eating and relaxing. Here are today’s pics!

Jersey Diary – Day 4

October 25, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yesterday we were out for so long and I took so many pictures, that when we arrived home I simply couldn’t be bothered to log on to my computer and write up a post. So instead I’m going to write what we did and throw a few pictures in underneath.

We started off in the morning, heading back to La Pulente, which is where we left off on the first full day. We followed the “Five Mile Road” along St Ouen’s Bay, stopping at random points for photos. After reaching the fort at the military museum, we followed the road around, staying as much as we could, close to the coast. We stopped at Grosnez Point, where there was Grosnez Castle ruins. Then we stopped again at Plemont Bay. We then headed to Greve De Lecq where we ended up stopping for lunch at a really nice cafe. After lunch we headed onwards to the Devil’s Hole where we took a pretty long walk and loads of photos. Finally we went to Sorel Point, before going back down the A10, popping into St Matthew’s Glass Church and then home again. Here are some of my favourite pictures from the day.

Today’s Route

Jersey Diary – Day 3

October 23, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Today was a pretty quiet day as it was pouring with rain for the majority of it. After having breakfast and backing up our swimming gear, we headed out to St Helier and to the Aquasplash. We got soaked from the car to the building which sucked a bit but it was okay once we got in and the kids enjoyed the swim while Chris and I managed some time in the sauna too.

After swimming we went to Tamba Arcade, which was much smaller than we expected but the girls enjoyed playing on Mario Kart, Whack-a-Minion and the Piano Keys game. Next we headed to KFC for some lunch before taking a wander into the town centre of St Helier itself. Sadly, due to the rain, we were really just running in and out of the occasional shop and didn’t see much of the place itself.

Finally we grabbed some more food shopping at the Co-op before heading back to the apartment. We were all pretty soaked and tired so spent the rest of the day watching TV, playing games and just relaxing. Hopefully we’ll get time to head back to St Helier on a finer day and actually see some of the statues and landmarks there.

Jersey Diary – Day 2

October 22, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Today is Day 2 of our holiday and the first full day in Jersey. We started off the morning slowly, with croissants and chocolate chip brioche, while sitting around in PJs drinking tea and deciding what we would do with our day. Eventually we decided to head out and tackle the south-west corner of Jersey, starting around St. Aubin’s Harbour and heading west around the coast until just after La Pulente.

First we stopped at St Aubin’s Harbour, where the weather was a bit dull but we managed to get a few nice pictures. I took the above panoramic picture which came out pretty nicely.

Next we came to Noirmont Point. Here there was a War Memorial and Command Bunker. The weather was so windy and so it was both freezing and terrifying all at the same time. We did have a lot of fun taking pictures though.

After that we did a short drive to Portelet Bay. This was really picturesque. There was a tomb and tower there but they weren’t glaringly obvious so I’m not sure if I captured them in the photo or not!

At St Brelade’s Bay, we parked the car and actually planned to have lunch as well as take pictures. We went on the beach and had a nice walk along it, before heading to Pizza Express for lunch. The meal was really nice and even better we used Tesco vouchers to pay for it!

After lunch we headed to the furthest south-west point, which was Corbière Point and Corbière Lighthouse. Originally we parked fairly high up and away from the lighthouse, but then we walked closer and in the end actually decided to walk the causeway and actually get right up close. Some of the pictures we took were really fantastic.

The last point of the day was La Pulente, were we stopped only briefly as it was really cold. La Pulente is actually the beginning of a stretch of road called “Five Mile Road” but we turned off pretty soon after and made our way back to Boscobel Farms. Hopefully we’ll travel the whole of “Five Mile Road” another day.

This map picture (and its very wobbly lines) show the route we took today. We are now back at the apartments, settled in for the evening and all just sat around relaxing. An evening of TV and wine lies ahead!

Jersey Diary – Day 1

October 21, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

I don’t often have time to blog daily but this week we’re away in Jersey and it’s definitely a “down-time” holiday. Because of that we’ll be in most evenings and I’ll have plenty of time to update. Today is Saturday and the day we officially went away, though technically we left the house yesterday and stayed in a Travelodge near Liverpool.

We got up this morning and grabbed a Subway lunch before packing the car up and heading to John Lennon’s Airport in Liverpool. We parked the car, walked to the airport and headed on through check-in and security. Once through we had plenty of time to waste so we looked around and then chilled out.

Eventually we were called to Gate 9 where we pretty much headed straight out and onto the plane. The journey was fairly uneventful (except for a bit of turbulence) and we arrived after only an hour. Once off the plane, we picked up the rental car from Hertz and then headed the very short distance to Boscobel Farm where we would be staying for the week. We rent a car in Dubai so we knew where to go.

We are staying in Apartment 1. It has a twin room (with extra pull-out bed), a double room and a sofa bed in the lounge. The kitchen and lounge are together in one room and then there’s a bathroom too. We’re on the ground floor.

We all unpacked and then headed out to a local shop for food. We found an Iceland as the first place and stocked up on food for breakfast and also sandwiches (plus several bottles of wine). We bought pizzas for dinner and then came home to cook them. We spent the evening watching TV and relaxing, before heading off to bed.

Our Flying Visit to Disneyland Paris

January 30, 2017 by Bel 2 Comments

Last weekend (20th-22nd Jan) we took a flying visit to Disneyland Paris. I have to admit that it didn’t turn out to be our best trip there, but considering it was raining the last two times and freezing cold the times before that, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. In all honesty, the trip itself was enjoyable for many reasons – one, that I got to spend time with the girls – two, that I finally got to stay in a Disney hotel and – three, my best friend Amy and her daughter were there at the same time as us. Aside from that though, there was a bit of an epiphany moment where I realised I had been trying to fill a hole that Florida had left, ever since we visited two years ago. I also realised that DLP is unfortunately not that replacement for us. Anyway I’ll save all that for another time and just fill you in briefly on our trip.

For the two nights we were away, we stayed in Hotel Santa Fe. It’s the cheapest of the Disney Hotels, having paid only £100 for 2 nights (no park passes included, but using discount from my annual pass) but actually it was pretty great. The whole hotel complex is themed around the movie Cars and we actually had our room in the row belonging to Lightning McQueen.

On our first day, the girls had decided to Disney Bound as Rapunzel and Flynn. Lily was Rapunzel and Megan was Flynn. This was actually my favourite of their two outfits for the weekend, but I definitely loved both. Lily’s “Best Day Ever” t-shirt was one she had already, so she only needed a pair of purple jeans and a new cardigan. Megan on the other hand needed all new bits, but I didn’t mind as I knew she’d get wear out of some of it. We did have a dilemma with the trousers though and ended up purchasing a boys pair from Tesco, the day before we left home.

On our first day in DLP, we spent the whole time in the main Disneyland park. We sorted out annual passes, went on loads of rides, bought Mickey shaped food (believe it or not, we’d never done that before), had our pictures taken in front of the castle (a firm tradition) and watched the parade. Of course we ate dinner, browsed shops and all the other things you’re supposed to do. Sadly, though we had intended to watch Dreams, it was definitely far too cold and we ended up heading back to the hotel early.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast in the hotel (this was included in the price). We also stashed a few croissants and pain au chocolat for a cheeky light lunch later. We got up early and headed into the park for EMH (Early Magic Hours) as this is something we have never been able to do before. It was amazing to be in the park while it was so quiet but I have to admit it may have been partly to blame for me not enjoying much of this day as I started out so cold and never really thawed!

During EMH we managed to meet both Stitch and Chip ‘n’ Dale. The girls were dressed as Mickey and Minnie for their Disney Bounding this day (which seemed to go down well with the character, plus Olivia was Daisy Duck which was so sweet) but sadly it was so cold that you never really got to see much of their outfits.

At 10am we headed over to the Studios as there were a few things we wanted to do there and this was our last day. We queued for Crusher Coaster for over an hour, only to end up feeling sick – and then got FPs for Ratatouille (our favourite ride by far) but not till 4pm that afternoon. We tried to meet Moana at 11.30am but her queue was already closed so we made an effort to waste time elsewhere. We went to the Armageddon special effects show, browsed the shops, ate lunch and saw the Art of Animation theatre show. After that it was time for a second wave of Moana queues so I joined the line while the girls played on the machines in the Animation building.

The queue for Moana seemed to take forever and even took a break right before it was our turn. However the girls seemed pleased to meet her as it was a character we hadn’t been able to meet before (being that she’s new and all). It was also the only time the girls actually got to show off their Mickey and Minnie Disney Bound so I was pleased to get a picture of that.

Finally it was time to ride Ratatouille so we headed over to that. The queue still took a while even on fastpass but it was worth it as always. After that we decided it was time to eat and ended up heading back to the other park and to Hakuna Matata as the girls had enjoyed it when we’d eaten there previously. We then did a little last minute shopping and headed back to the hotel.

As well as eating something Mickey shaped, drinking a Glowtini was also on my list of things I’d like to do, so with the girls in tow, Amy and I headed to the hotel bar and treated ourselves to a drink. It was actually really nice (I had red and Amy had blue) but it was expensive for what you get. The ice cube is funky though and at least you get to take it with you. After about an hour in the bar, we all headed back to our rooms and got an early night. I packed first as we were heading off early.

In the morning, we went for breakfast and then met up with Amy and Olivia to head to the park. We did a little more last minute shopping (for pins) and then said our goodbyes as they had one more day and we were heading home. Everything went perfectly to plan – catching the train, checking in for the plane, the flight etc. We were making great time for getting home — until I hit a barrier in the airport car park and completely broke my car. After a very long wait, a slow journey home and arriving back about 5 hours later than planned, we finally made it home. Sadly the last part put very much a dampener on the weekend for me and definitely made me think hard about whether or not our trips to DLP were worth it or not!

Overall though, it was a good weekend away, if not a little rushed. I truly wish it hadn’t been so cold as I know we all would have enjoyed it so much more.

Travel Diary – 21st June 16 – Paris Day Five

July 5, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Day Five was the last of our holiday and really just a short day as it literally consisted of heading home. We were awake early, as the shuttle bus from our hotel was 7.15am and we didn’t want to miss it. We had already backed the night before, so really it was a case of tugging on some clothes and tumbling out of the hotel. Though we made it on time for the shuttle bus, it was very full and so another bus was send to take a second load. We were in this one and it wasn’t a problem as we didn’t need to be at the airport until 8am.

After arriving at the airport, we made our way to check-in. We were nice and early which was good as we didn’t have to rush. It was also Nat’s first time flying and she was a bit nervous, so rushing would definitely have made that worse for her. Once we had checked in and gone through security, we took a walk around the shops. Nat had some Euros left to spend and so she bought some gifts for her boys and then we both raided another vending machine for some water and chocolate to take on the plane. Eventually we just headed for our gate and sat there waiting until we were called. We were some of the first to check-in at the gate, but actually this just meant waiting on another shuttle bus to be taken to the plane. However after about a fifteen minute wait, we were on our way to the plane and then we got off and boarded the plane from the tarmac.

The plane was one of the smallest I have ever traveled on and also it was only about a third full. This made for a very quiet plane ride though so I can’t say I was complaining. Nat and I settled into our seats, with really no one that near to us. It was actually really nice, again especially as she was a bit nervous. Once we were up in the air, items from the cafe and duty free were offered and Nat and I got very excited at the prospect of a cup of tea. Having only been able to find Earl Grey or Mint tea, we had gone almost five days without a cuppa and this was really becoming a struggle. Despite tea being £2.50 a cup on the plane, we still paid it and enjoyed it. The tea wasn’t even that great – but it was so needed.

The plane took just over an hour and then we were back in Doncaster. This was much nicer than if we’d traveled into London as it felt like we were almost home. My mum was there to meet us at the airport and she drove us back to Retford where I had left my car. Nat and I then drove home to Gainsborough, were we drank tea and pretty much collapsed. This was basically the end of our trip. We had a really great time for the most part, though being/getting ill and then getting soaked were really some lows of the holiday. I think we’d both agree there were more highs than lows but I was definitely glad to be home and seeing the girls and Chris was definitely a great moment.

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Travel Diary – 20th June 16 – Paris Day Four

July 4, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

By Day Four of our trip, our holiday was almost over! We had traveled on Day One, then attended the Fairytales Convention both Day Two and Day Three (as well as sight-see) and so by Day Four we were on our last whole day and this was to be spent in Disneyland Paris. Although I’ve been lucky enough to visit Disneyland Paris four times before, this was Nat’s first time. We had decided to Disneybound for the day and I had even made us Disney Ears to match. Sadly, even from the start of the day, we knew it was going to be a wet one and so taking an outfit picture was going to be unlikely.

When we got up in the morning, we both got dressed and ready. Nat was being Captain America and I was being Ariel. The hotel was too dim and there wasn’t really much room to photograph our outfits and so instead we decided we would try to take something in the park. However even on the way to CDG airport to catch the train, the rain started and we wondered if once again my curse to not have sunshine at Disney was about to strike!

The picture above, is pretty much the best picture that we managed to take all day. You can’t see our outfits at all but I was wearing a purple t-shirt, with green jeans and mint coloured shoes and a handbag. Nat was wearing royal blue jeans, red converse and a Captain America t-shirt. As I mentioned, we had ears to match!

When we first arrived at Disney, we headed into the Studios. I wanted Nat to ride Ratatouille while we were there, so snagging a fast pass was important – and she wanted to ride Hollywood Tower of Terror, so that was also top of the list. After getting our fast passes for Ratatouille, we did ride Hollywood Tower next. We then got a fast pass for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and then went on Armageddon Special Effects. We then did the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, followed by the Studio Tram Tour – all of which we managed, without getting too wet. However during the Tram Tour, the rain really started to come down. After getting off, we decided to head for food so we got Quick Service at the Front Lot. Despite the fact we ended up sitting on the floor, food was actually pretty nice. However after that it was time for Ratatouille and the rain was still coming down hard. Due to the fact we were Disneybounding, unfortunately we didn’t have coats – this was a bad move as we got completely soaked too and from Ratatouille, eventually ducking into the toilets to try and dry ourselves off.

Finally we headed over to the other park. There actually wasn’t a huge amount we wanted to do here, as a lot of the bigger rides are closed. Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain are both closed for maintenance right now and other than the parade and fireworks, we were really just going to see what didn’t have too much of a queue. Sadly on the trip between parks, we got drowned again. You can probably see from the picture below, just how wet it was.

The rain was still coming down hard and it showed no sign of letting up. There isn’t a huge amount of cover and although we headed for the castle, we didn’t want to just sit in there and shelter from the rain indefinitely. Instead we headed towards the Indiana Jones roller coaster, which I hadn’t ridden before. We didn’t realise it was outdoor either but by the time we got there, we were soaked anyway and with only a 10 minute queue, we figured “what the hell”. Sadly though, when we got off, we were pretty much done. It was only about 4pm and the thought of even making it till 5.30pm for the parade was unlikely, let alone the fireworks at 10-11pm.

As we’d walked through the two parks, I’d been half looking for a hoodie or jacket to buy, so I could take off my wet top and get warm again. In the end I bought a white DLP one as I liked it the most of all I’d seen and we headed into the toilets to dry off. We were lucky enough to find a toilets that was pretty much deserted AND with four hand dryers. I quickly slipped off my top and on with my jacket and then dried off my top. Nat dried her cardigan and once that was dry, switched like I had and dried her t-shirt. All in all, I think we were in that bathroom for almost an hour but honestly it was so worth it. I had been tempted to just wear my jacket and actually ditch my t-shirt, however I managed to dry it pretty well and put it back on.

Rocking the drowned rat look

By mutual decision, we headed out of the park and back to the train. We bought a ticket on the fast train again, but there was an hour to wait so we found ourselves a seat and refused to move so as not to lose it. At about 10 minutes before our train, we raided the venting machines for a drink, crisps, sweets etc. all to take back to the hotel. This is because we didn’t want to risk another plate of cold meats, fish and whatnot that we couldn’t eat! Eventually we were back at the hotel, freezing cold and incredibly tired. We both got changed into our pjs and climbed into bed, hoping to make it till about 10pm and then go to sleep. The evening dragged a little and neither of us could really warm up. While we’d had a good day, it felt a bit ruined by the rain and even more so now we were cold and feeling rough. However eventually we headed to bed, knowing we were getting up early and heading home in the morning!

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Travel Diary – 19th June 16 – Paris Day Three

July 1, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

So I’ve recapped on Day One and Two of our holiday so far and this is Three! Though I didn’t mention before, the week before we went away, I was really ill. By the Friday we left, I was feeling a bit better but I was fairly dosed up on paracetamol. However by Saturday I wasn’t feeling much better and I’d managed to infect Nat, so Sunday morning we were both feeling a bit rough, especially after our late night. We got up in time to go to the convention but in the end both of us agreed that other than some autographs in the afternoon, there wasn’t much happening at the convention that day that we wanted to do. In the end we decided to do some more sightseeing, checking our bags into the convention first as we were moving hotel that day. We headed to McDonalds and grabbed a quick breakfast, which luckily left us both feeling a bit better.

We caught the train from Versailles, back towards the centre of Paris and here we walked to the Louvre. This was a place I had hopped to see on my last trip and had been unable to, so it was top of my list when it came to places to visit still. The weather was nice and so walking was fine. We made sure we kept a bottle of water with us and plenty of pain killers, just taking our time and sitting every now and again.

After seeing the Louvre (only from the outside) we decided to walk up towards the Arc De Triomphe, along the Champs-Élysées. It took us about an hour in total, though we did stop off at the Disney Store on the way.

Finally, after a sit down and catch our breath, we caught a train back to the main line we needed to be on. The stop was the same as the Eiffel Tower, so we decided to get out and see the tower in the day time too. At the station there was a shop selling fresh baguettes and so we both bought lunch. After seeing the Eiffel Tower (and the football it was hosting, in honour of the Euros) we sat and ate our lunch before finally heading back to Versailles.

Back at the convention, we got our last few autographs and then checked out with our bags. We now had the long journey from Versailles to CDG airport, where we would catch a shuttle bus to our hotel for the next two nights. Unfortunately the shuttle bus wasn’t the easiest thing to figure out and at first we ended up on the wrong one. However eventually we arrived at our hotel and checked in. The restaurant was closed by that time but they made us up a starter plate and dessert plate to take back to our room. Sadly the food wasn’t really anything we liked and by trying to manage some of it, we put ourselves off even eating the desserts! In the end we just headed to bed, feeling ill, cold and tired but knowing Disney was the next day and trying to look forward to it.

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