Holiday Diaries

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Different places and different cultures fascinate me so holidays are always important. I usually write a holiday diary which is a very useful memory jog! Below are brief resumés of the trips. For lots more, click on the icons above or the name of the destination in which you're interested. 

Florence - September 2005

I had a lovely week in Florence with my daughter, who is studying History of Art. We saw almost all the major sites and galleries and travelled into the Tuscan countryside as well, also visiting Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano. 

Northwest Pacific Rim - July 2005

This was a wonderful trip, taking in Seattle, Vancouver Island & Vancouver. It was busy but very rewarding and a part of the world I'd like to revisit one day. This is a long diary and includes lots of links to the websites of places we visited including hotels, restaurants, museums, parks etc.

The Ridgeway National Trail walk - 2005

We spent a week walking the ancient 85 mile path through the Southern counties of Hertfordsire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire, staying in B&Bs en route. 

Jordan & Egypt - 2005

This was a fantastic holiday, covering the major sites in Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea with their beaches and monasteries and Cairo and the Pyramids. It was a very busy fortnight but a pretty good way to escape a British February - although sometimes it was colder than back home. We saw sites covering the past 10,000 years and came home steeped in history, biblical references and different civilisations. This diary is in 4 parts.

 Madeira

Since our last three summer holidays had been touring ones, we decided to go for something a little more relaxing this year and chose Madeira. It had everything we wanted; beautiful scenery, great walking, good hotels and food and plenty to see and do. No proper beaches but that's not a problem for us. Oh, and no yobs! We booked through with Style Holidays (through Magic Breaks who offer good discounts) and chose 2 hotels, the Porto Santa Maria in the old town and the Choupana Hills Resort up in the hills. This proved to be an excellent combination. 

New York 2003

We spent a few days between Christmas & New Year in New York, our 2nd visit. The weather was fantastic and although it was busy, we managed plenty of sightseeing. 

Iceland

We celebrated my birthday with a long weekend in this beautiful country in November 2003. We were fortunate to see it covered in snow and although it was cold, we also had some beautiful sunshine. Waterfalls, geysers, beaches, glaciers, Northern Lights - what more could you ask for? This dairy is in 2 parts. 

Ireland

In July 2003 we toured the south and west coasts of Ireland, staying mainly in small B&Bs found on the internet. Despite the changeable weather, we had a fantastic time and came back having learned quite a bit about many aspects of Irish history. This diary is in 3 parts.

Scotland

This was our visit touring trip to Scotland and it was one of our best ever holidays. It was arranged independently by me, with much reference to the internet, through which I made all the accommodation arrangements.  We visited the South West, highlands and a couple of islands. This diary is in 3 parts.

China

For something completely different, how about China? we did a whistle-stop tour at Easter in 2002, including a cruise through the Three Gorges of the Yangtse River, Beijing and Xian. This diary is in 3 parts.

Madrid

We're not very familiar with Spain, so for a change, decided to visit Madrid for a few days between Christmas and New Year 2001. It was perhaps not the best time of year, being freezing cold, but although we spent 3 nights there, there was so much to do we barely scraped the surface. 

France

An old favourite, we hadn't been for some years so we decided to have our first full-length holiday without the children, in France. We retraced some old steps, explored some new areas and visited friends on this touring trip in July 2001.

Egypt 

What better way to escape the hassles of a British Christmas than to go to a Muslim country with guaranteed sunshine and plenty to do? Yes, Egypt definitely sounded just the job. We spent a week there over Christmas, 2000, cruising the Nile and seeing some amazing temples.

New York

A friend invited us to his wedding in central park, New York in June 2000. How could we resist? We scraped together our air miles and soon after, there we were in the Big Apple for a 4 night break.

California

We spent the Easter 2000 break on a fly-drive trip to California, also taking in Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. We had a wonderful time, drove over 2000 miles and saw some wonderful sights. Highlights were the natural sights - Indian Canyons, the Grand Canyon for example. All the more stunning when viewed almost alongside the mad-made attractions! Los Angeles - Palm Springs - Lake Havasu - Grand Canyon - Las Vegas - Yosemite - San Francisco. You can read about the trip, look at some of my photos and explore further with the added links. 

Antigua

Our family holiday, taken in July 1999 was to the West Indian island of Antigua. This part of the world was a first for all of us and our main reason for choosing it was to give us all a rest from a hectic 12 months. It's a beautiful island with a very different culture to that we have come across elsewhere.

Venice

In May 1999, my husband Martyn and I treated ourselves to a weekend in Venice, a place we have always wanted to visit. It lived up to all our expectations. From St Marks Square and the Basilica and Campanile to the Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, to the Rialto Bridge and the gondolas, everything was as good or better than we had imagined. There is so much to see and do that a further visit is definitely needed :-)

Australia

Probably the best holiday we have had was to Australia during Easter 1998. It was our second visit - I have 2 sisters living there - but this time we not only visited them, but also spent time exploring other regions. I wrote a very comprehensive diary of this holiday in a LineOne forum so have reproduced it here. It's long but I did receive many kind comments about it so if you are interested in Australia, be brave and have a read! It's in 4 parts.