November 2009 - A Night in Blackpool

Continuing with the “last visit before we leave” theme we decided to have a night in Blackpool to see the Illuminations. This would be our first visit since about 1978. The weather promised by the forecasters was not good and we pushed through flooded lanes and between waterlogged fields to get there.

The Illuminations haven’t changed much in the 30 years since we last saw them apart from becoming more commercialized and sponsored.

We booked a package at the Blackpool Hilton which is a huge hotel and is where all the VIPs stay when in town. Our night-out coincided with “Strictly Come Dancing’s” one visit to the Blackpool Tower in 2009 and we saw several people from the show whilst we were there. No complaints about the hotel and the food and service were exemplary.

The weather was atrocious but we were not to be outdone. Working on the principle that at least your skin is waterproof we went out into the pouring rain to “see the sights”.

One of the first sights was the long queue formed by the guests for “Strictly” who were standing along the pavement for about 300 metres waiting to get in to the Tower. I hope they enjoyed the show and that the long wait was worth it. We viewed them at about 3:30pm with at least another two hours to wait.

The rain continued relentlessly but we were determined to take a walk. Blackpool is not for the faint hearted on a winter day!

Since my last visit, Central Pier now has a fun-fair built on it and one of the attractions is Kathie’s great love, a big wheel. There was nobody on it when we arrived but we bought tickets and the owner set it off for us. "Must be mad" he probably thought. Anyway we did about a dozen rotations in this thing with the rain beating down and the wind howling. We must have started a trend because when we finished there was a queue of other lunatics waiting to have a go.

Childhood memories then suggested that we visit Madame Tussaud’s Wax Works but the price has risen to such a level that we gave up on the idea. Other memories were completely wiped out by what has become of the Golden Mile. Everywhere seems to be either a rock shop or a slot arcade. Still people only get what they want so visitors must like the place in general. It doesn’t appeal to me but other folk enjoy it.

We decided then to take a tram back to the hotel and come out again when the illuminations were on and make the entire trip in one of Blackpool’s illuminated trams.

Once on board the standard tram we realized that we couldn’t see out of the steamed up windows so gave up on the idea.

We did take another walk later and really enjoyed ourselves despite the rain.

On a serious note. I would like to congratulate Blackpool Council on the way they tastefully and respectfully incorporated their Cenotaph into the Illuminations. They had a projector showing images and verses on the Cenotaph commemorating the war-dead, especially those who have died in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.

We forgot to take a camera with us so the photographs here were taken on a mobile phone and are not of good quality.

The illuminated tram photos are (c) AN Other as I borrowed them from the Web.

October 2009, Alnwick Castle and Gardens

The Gardens

As stated in an earlier blog, there are several places we have wished to visit before we leave for Spain, and one of those is Alnwick (pronounced annick) Gardens in Northumberland.

We saw a programme on TV about the project a couple of years ago and were most impressed with the concept. Ten years ago the site was derelict but the Duchess of Northumberland decided to build a new garden which families could enjoy. The gardens now belong to an independent charity, The Alnwick Garden Trust.

It is a large beautifully landscaped garden with individually designed small feature-fountains, hidden rest areas, a garden containing deadly plants, the biggest tree house in the world, and the main feature a huge computer controlled water feature. The whole idea is for families to enjoy themselves so there are no “keep off the grass” signs, the feature-fountains are fun and kids (or adults) can stand in or under them and wait for things to happen. The main water feature has huge jets which shoot over a path from the upper to the lower level. Huge fun in the summer if you fancy a soaking!

There are events available all day and one can have a tour of the pump room or poison garden etc. A visit to the Tree House is a must and a walk across its rope bridges is an adventure for young and old!

The following photographs sum up what we saw.

The Castle

The castle dates from 1096 and is the second largest inhabited castle in England. The website is here and it will tell more of the history of this extremely well kept building.

It has been used in the making of many films including “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves”, “Elizabeth”, and probably most famously in the first two “Harry Potter” films. The tour guides have interesting tales about which areas were used and the difficulties of filming whilst remaining open for visitors.

The visit around the rooms of the castle reveals the extent of the art collection worth untold millions of pounds. On one wall alone we viewed four Canalletos and a Van Dyck. Each room has a very friendly and knowledgeable guide who will tell you all about the furniture, decorations and art. Photography was not allowed in the state rooms so you will need to follow previous links to get an idea of what is inside.

A lovely visit to a beautiful castle and its modern gardens, and once again a word for the guest house we stayed in. Alnwick is a very small town and nowhere is more than ten minutes away from the Castle and Gardens. We stayed at “Greycroft” and had the luxurious Green Room which we highly recommend.

The Rain in Spain.....not in the Plain

The Initial Downpour

One of the peculiarities of the Spanish road system is their lack of top-water drains.

Where in the UK rainwater runs down the edges of the road into drains, in Spain it simply continues to run downhill to the lowest point. This can result in rivers of water streaming down roads and often deep puddles forming where the water has nowhere left to run to.

In our area, the roads down to the sea are relatively steep so water from heavy rain rushes down towards the beaches and can cause much damage along the way or on the beach itself.

Along the front of our Apartment Complex, the road slopes into its midpoint from two directions and a large pool can form which is about 18” deep at its mid-point. The pictures below shows the effect of this, completely flooding a tennis court, the communal area, and the pool.

Our flooded access road and communal areas

(click for full size views)

Our beautiful blue-flag beach can be seen stripped of its sand down to bedrock.

Above you can see how the river of water has washed

the sand into the sea and discoloured the sea-water

Our once-beautiful beach

On La Zenia beach a new river course was driven across.

Bins washed down to the beach by the force of the water

All of the above will be repaired in quick-time but.........As soon as the rain returns to the plain the better!

August 2009 - Paris.

We have enjoyed many visits to Paris since we first “overnighted” there in 1980.

This trip was planned as possibly our last trip to the French capital as we hope to be exploring the cities of Spain from now on.

This Blog is more of a photographic taster of the best parts of our trip plus an adverse comment on the prices we found.

We enjoyed the visit immensely and, so as not to spoil the Blog, I will get the moan out of the way first. We have always advised our friends that Paris need not be expensive if you know where to shop, eat, drink, etc. If you wish to enjoy a drink somewhere posh, well then you will find it expensive but the choice is yours. The same applied this time but the difference is that the expensive areas seem to have spread everywhere, even to places where you would not have previously expected it. Be warned!

Now the good bits.

Park Citroen. This is the site of the old Citroen factory beside the Seine. It has been landscaped and specialist greenhouses and planted areas have been installed. Our reason to visit was for the Balloon Ascent.

This is a tethered lighter-than-air balloon which rises 150 metres above the park for spectacular views over the city. Suspended from the balloon is a round cage and one can freely walk around inside to get some great photographs.

The Big Wheel. This is in The Tuileries (the gardens of The Louvre) right beside the Rue de Rivoli. On here one gets a good long ride and again some great views over Paris.

The Orangerie. A small gallery recently renovated. Its main attraction is that it houses many of Monet’s later Water Lilly paintings. We had read of these but were amazed at the very size of them. Beautiful place to visit on a hot day as it is quiet and perfectly air conditioned.

Montparnasse Tower. To complete our visits to the “High Spots” in Paris we took the express elevator to the top of the highest building in the city, The Montparnasse Tower. The top floor is a visitor attraction 196 metres above the ground and one can walk to the roof which is over 200 metres above ground level. A good time to visit is in the evening just as it is going dark. One can view all the major attractions of Paris as they become illuminated.

Finally a selection of photographs from other places we visited such as The Seine, The Eiffel Tower, The Luxembourg Gardens, and the Palace of Versailles.

All in all a wonderful weekend. We may return to Paris in the future but we will probably pick April or December next time to avoid the crowds and the heat.........