Today was the start of the real holiday. The last 5 days we have to write off on account of bad weather. Sort of like a washed out test match. We did enjoy the family time but the weather was really appalling (I have probably said that before). We had the morning at my parent’s house just packing up and getting ready to leave.  As there are so many of us and a reasonable amount of luggage, we needed two cars to get to the airport. My Dad and Mom were both going to drive but then my Dad’s gardener (Morris) offered to take us. Just imagine your SA gardener offering to take you to the airport!

We had a flight from Southampton Airport to Orly Paris. It is about a 30 minute drive to the Airport from my parents home. The airport is probably the size of George airport (maybe marginally bigger with probably double the number of flights).  Checking in our baggage was painfully slow. We already had reprinted the boarding passes so all that needed to happen was to print of bag tags. That took about 5 minutes. We did have some time to kill and as we hadn’t had lunch we had a quick bite at Costa Coffee. When we were finished an announcement was made to say that the flight was delayed for an hour. Then just when you are thinking how you can kill another hour of waiting they announced that they had switched out planes and we would be leaving in 30 minutes. And then about 10 minutes later than started boarding. We eventually left only 20 minutes late and we will all quite accepting and happy about leaving only 20 minutes late. I reckon that is very good PR at work. Tell everyone you are going to leave an hour late and then leave 20 minutes late and everyone is very happy.

Of course it was cloudy and raining in Paris as we started to descend. We did get a view of Paris central and the Eiffel Tower sticking out though. Everything was very efficient and we were through passport control, claimed our bags and gotten the car keys in about 15 minutes from landing. We then had to walk about 1/2 km to get to the rental car. Then we spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how we would fit everyone in and also the luggage. Once we had done that we all settled in and I asked Stephen if he had the printed instructions of how to get to the hotel and he said no – he fantastically had left them at my Dad’s house. Next time I will give them to Michael. We called my Dad to copy and send them to us (via Iphone or email – wonders of modern technology) and at the same time Michael tried (and succeeded) in getting a satellite signal for the GPS and we got the directions from my iPhone as well. All covered! Stephen then tried to put his seatbelt on and it was stuck. Whatever we tried it did not move. So I ran back the 1/2 km to the Hertz counter, got a new car assigned and ran back again. Helen asked whether my shirt was wet because of the rain or sweat. It was the latter. (Rick – I reckon I get to eat one of those chocolates you sent along tonight!)

We repacked the car and headed out into peak hour Paris traffic.  What a nightmare. It was raining, I am driving on the wrong side of the road, foreign place, 1000 turns in the first 5 minutes (or at least felt like it), almost drove through a red traffic light (I can hear Sharon panicking again … I did say almost), made my own lane (when in Paris do as the Parisians do – see photo) and then promptly took a wrong turn that resulted in a 45 minute U-turn. Not a great start especially since it was 7:30pm already and we didn’t feel like we had made any progress. We did eventually get out of the traffic and onto the motorway that was free flowing. Stopped for a quick pit at the Services and bought Bolognese chips to keep us going until dinner.

We arrived in Chartres (the town we are staying in) at just after 8pm. We found the hotel easily but no parking outside and we were on the other side of the road. We did managed to make a series of turns that got us back in the right direction and Helen ran in to ask what to do with the car and luggage. We quickly offloaded, left the kids with the luggage and found the car park a few blocks away.  Back to check in. We are staying at the Grand Monarque Hotel (http://www.bw-grand-monarque.com/uk/index.php).  It is very nice. Our rooms are pretty spread out though but it isn’t really a problem.

 

We decided to head into the centre of the town (aiming for the impressive Cathedral) and find a Brasserie for dinner. The rain was gone and it was a beautiful evening with the sun still very much up in the sky. We did find one relatively easily and the waiter could even understand our English. We sat outside because it was such a nice evening. Everyone pretty much ordered the same thing. The only problem came when we asked whether we wanted our meat ‘Bloody or not’. We knew what he was asking – we just didn’t know if he understood our answer (turned out he didn’t when the food came but it didn’t matter).

By the time we were finished it was 10pm and it was twilight. The town has an illuminated walk. They light up several buildings around the town. So we did about 60% of the walk and were stunned at how beautiful the village was. It is what you would consider a typical French village. Cobbled streets, shuttered houses on the road, window boxes. Just close your eyes and picture what you would consider a typical French village and you would have it. Helen said she just expected someone to cycle past with a Baguette sticking out of his carrier basket on his bicycle. I am sure we will see that tomorrow. Fortunately we have a working camera and a good internet connection so I don’t have to describe it – you can see for yourself.

We got back to the hotel at 11pm and all headed for our rooms. We will have a later breakfast tomorrow as there is no point in rushing out of this place!

What does one do in England (to be more precise, in Hampshire) when you know it is going to rain. You could either spend your days indoors at home or find amusement indoors elsewhere. We opted for the latter option and went Ten Pin Bowling. That would be us and all other 20 lanes occupied by groups of over 70s. It was obviously pensioners day and my parents hadn’t even come with us. And what made it even more scary is that they all came with their own bowling ball (or two in the case of the people next to us), ball spray (who knows what that does) and cloth to (I assume) keep the ball as smooth as possible. We just got our shoes, figured out how the computer worked and started bowling. What made it even stranger was that we easily outscored the regulars with their own bowling balls.

Lara told us she was a useless bowler and then proceeded to be ahead of me in score until the 8th frame (I would never have lived it down if she had beaten me). Daniel was throwing the ball with such vigor and from such a height that I thought he would dent the lane. I had to explain that he wasn’t trying to bounce the ball into the pins. Stephen took the first game and then fell for my oldest trick – a little wager on the 2nd game of £5. He has lived with me for almost 16 years now and he still hasn’t learnt his lesson. I started the 2nd game with two strikes and never looked back after that and finished a good 30 points clear of Stephen. Daniel and I also had a little wager going over the 3 games – he took the first (I was warming up), I took the second (he fell apart), Daniel took the 3rd (I fell apart).

We then went to do the only thing that we could do in Bournemouth and that is shop. Lunch at Sainsbury’s Cafe and then some shopping. Boys into HMV, who knows where the girls went but we are pretty sure it involved a clothes store. Boys (teenage ones) then went to H&M do some clothes shopping of their own which ended up with all 3 buying something and M & D both buying the same jacket (just as well they live on different continents). Michael immediately wore his. We then also found the girls in H&M and waited while they tried on and made their purchases. By this stage I was thoroughly bored and having cleared my Gen Re emails I decided we should head home (it was 3:30pm at that stage anyway).

The rain was pelting down again and it looked much like yesterday.  Misty and miserable. All that was left to do was loaf around my parents home (or in my case do some work and reply to some emails). The rest watched tennis, went into Burley to buy fudge (a local specialty) and in M & H’s case – slept. Just before dinner a miracle occurred – the sun came out, the clouds cleared away and we could see blue sky. That prompted Helen and I to go for an after-dinner walk in the New Forest (where my parents live). It was a beautiful evening and we managed to do a brisk 3.3km walk. It was extremely muddy and so we stuck (in more ways than one) to the gravel/mud roads. It was beautiful though and at last we got to see the sun. Evidence of the improving weather can be seen by the two photos to finish off today’s blog.  The one is of the New Forest; the other of my parents home. Tomorrow we leave England for France. We’re hoping for better weather.

My weather forecast was correct. We woke up to constant rain this morning. We never saw the sun. The only thing variable today was the speed of my windscreen wipers as we drove back from Cornwall. They went from standard speed to fast depending on how hard the rain was falling. I know I have gone on about the weather, but really you have no idea how bad it was (and is still). I have been coming to the UK for 3 years now every month and I have not seen weather like this in all that time. It is hard to describe even. Words like abysmal, appalling, atrocious, abnormal, arctic – and that is just using words starting with ”A” that come to my mind. I am sure I could get through the whole alphabet if you pushed me. I won’t try to describe it any further. Here is what it looked like on the way back to my parent’s home today:

I did promise some more photos once we had better internet connection (which we now have for 2 days at least). So here are two of the promised pictures, Tregenna Castle and St Ives. This was the last (and only time) we saw the sky and sun.

 

And then of course we need the photo Lara & Broccoli.

That is the closest she would get to it I think.

Well back to today. We left for the drive back and decided because of the poor weather that we would take the shortest route. Turned out to be a good decision (see opening paragraph and picture). We stopped on route at a ‘Services’. These UK ‘Services’ are world famous. They are meant to have everything you might need. What mattered most to us was working plumbing and lunch. The Devils Restaurant (as Paul calls it – the one with the big yellow M) was not to be found but they did have Burger King. Most of us (excluding G&G, C and H) went for that option and we all agreed that it is much better than MacDees. Stephen kindly pointed out that the hamburger did cost R90 though.

We got back to my parent’s home at 3pm and headed out almost immediately to stock up on food for the next two days (9 people of which 4 are teenagers do eat a lot of food). The supermarkets here allow you to self-weigh and self-checkout. Just imagine that in SA. Everyone would weigh their fruit & veg with only 1 or 2 pieces in the bag, get the sticker and then go and add in double or triple that. And self-checkout! At least half the items would never get scanned and would just go straight into a bag. Consumers would love it but the stores would be bankrupt in days. The store we went to (Waitrose) even has self-scanners that you take with you and the trolley and you scan as you go. Brilliant idea that also would never work in SA. My Dad used to do it (at least when I last went with him to Waitrose) but we understand they have now figured out he is South African and so they audit his cart every time so it pretty much defeats the purpose of self-scanning. They insist the system ‘randomly’ picks out people for audit but after the tenth or so straight audit and an argument with the manager he gave up. Quite stupid really because when I was with him he double scanned a couple of items by mistake.

We decided to have a braai for dinner. Why not? Pelting down with rain, about 15 degrees outside. But then it is mid-summer. So we got the umbrella up and fired up the gas grill and did what all good Englishmen do in summer – had a barbecue. It was a great family dinner and the leftovers were put out for the local friendly fox so that he too would be well fed. There was a hope to spot the fox but I doubt we could see him through the rain anyway.

Well that is it for today. Off to bed now. Tomorrow we will aim for indoor activities (for obvious reasons).  Until tomorrow …

Given the very poor weather (constant rain) we spent the afternoon inside watching tennis.  Late afternoon the sun tried to come out but that was short lived.  It is now pelting down with rain (11:10pm). It is raining so hard I can hear it on the roof. As Paul would say this is rubbish weather. I don’t think I have ever been on holiday and had such bad weather. You really can’t sightsee in this (though we did our best this morning!).

This evening we had booked at Seagrass restaurant in St Ives (www.seagrass-stives.com).  It is run by a Masterchef semi-finalist in 2010. It was recommended to me by one of our UK staff who comes to St Ives on holiday every year. The restaurant is quite small (probably seats 25-30 people) so we had about 1/3 of the restaurant. The service was good. The food mixed. I am so tired of everyone else in my family making poor choices at restaurants that I have taken to give free consulting advice on their choices. I was perfectly happy (as usual) with my choices of scallops for starter followed by Turbot (a fish that used to swim in the sea at St Ives). However, everyone else was only happy with their starters or their main course (not both). Helen had Herring for starters (I did agree with the choice) but she complained it was too salty. Dad, Stephen and me all had some (or most of it) and didn’t see what the problem was. If I wrote about all the complaints you wouldn’t believe me and you would think they are all spoilt brats so I will resist.  I can say I was happy with my choices and licked the plate the sauce was so good (and this for a person who doesn’t like sauces and is supposedly a fussy eater … I am starting to doubt that description now).

No one complained about the desert though – everyone seemed to be happy with those. Don’t worry Sharon – Lara does still fit into her own clothes even though you haven’t seen a photo of her wearing them. I suspect she is keeping the T-shirts back for when the temperature rises above 12 degrees. We did rush back after the meal to ensure we missed another downpour as it was only drizzling very lightly when we left the restaurant (a unique event).

The good news is that today Lara only broke two British laws. We are trying to reign her in a little. Hopefully tomorrow it will only be one. (Even though Sharon says she isn’t panicking, I know better than that and I can feel the panic swelling up again.) We did cleverly bring a set of DVDs with us and so we have been watching that in the evening after supper. No chance of doing anything else in this weather – even a walk is out. And after 3 days of trying to get Helen not to selfishly flush the loo after going I have given up and now I dash for it before she can get there. At least I can remember not to flush.

We leave tomorrow for the great trek back to my parents home. Of course the weather forecast is for rain, rain and more rain. As my Dad said this evening, the weather is predicted to be variable. Either there will be light rain or there could be heavy rain.  Right now it is heavy rain!

 

Well I was right about the weather. Cold, raining, fog. The type of day you usually prefer to be indoors for next to a fire. Instead we decided to go to Lands End. We could not come to Cornwall and not go to Lands End. One of our UK friends who now lives in SA remarked “How do you see the sun in Cornwall? You fly at 30000 ft over Cornwall.” Of course over breakfast there was the usual moaning about the beds. Helen reminded me that I forgot to mention that my Mom gave up trying to sleep under the duvet and slept inside it instead. Not sure what my Dad did.

We did head out after breakfast. My parents decided not to come and so we took the bigger R-class so we could all squeeze in. Lara and Stephen didn’t seem to complain. On the way to Lands End we did a quick side trip to Michael’s Mount. The problem was that it was raining so hard and it was so misty that you could not really even see it. We could not bring ourselves to park and look at it. We just drove past and all admired it (not). We then headed for Lands End passing Penzance on the way (the place all pirates come from).

You also had to pay £5 for parking at Lands End and we almost did a U-turn at that point but I decided that since we had come that far we should at least get out of the car. So we all bundled out and headed for the tip of the land. Problem was it was windy and raining. Not sure if the rain was falling or just being blown out of the clouds. We braved the weather though and headed out for the point. On the way Daniel stated “I have figured out why the Germans never attempted to invade England” – I think he may be right!

The picture gives you some idea (Helen took some more but she is currently examining the inside of her eyelids) of what the weather was like. This was on the way back from the very end of the land. We headed straight into the restaurant to have coffee & hot chocolate. By the time we were finished the fog was so thick you could not even see that building in the distance and in fact you couldn’t even see the sea. It was the type of thing that you would only do on holiday. No sane person living in England would do that.  I just wonder why there were about 100 cars in the parking lot all doing the same thing we were doing. And we passed an open top bus tour with 2 people sitting on the top in the rain. The English are really a crazy bunch. But I guess if you didn’t do anything outdoors in the rain you would never go outdoors if you live in England.

We stopped on the way back at Tesco’s to buy lunch. That isn’t something I want to repeat in a hurry. 7 people all heading off in their own direction. When we finally got back into the car and fortunately I asked what we had bought for my Dad for lunch and there was silence.  So back into the store I went to buy something for him as well. Just as well I asked before we got back. Helen did the Cornish thing for lunch and had a Cornish Pastie. No one else followed her example. All she needs to do now is have Cornish Clotted Cream Tea and then she has covered the range of eating delicacies of Cornwall.

Helen said I must post this as a half day blog and seeing as I always listen to my wife I am going so.  Balance of the day will come later.

PS: I can see a number of people are now subscribed.  Thanks for doing that.  Thanks also to Sue & Sharon who have lead the way by commenting on the posts.

We came together for breakfast this morning. Mom and Dad managed to get lost on their way to us. Not hard to do that when you are wandering through a 72 acre estate to find another cottage. A little bit like finding a needle in a haystack especially when you don’t have a map. There was a little moan session over breakfast about the beds.  Lara started it when she said that her bed was noisy – every time she turned she woke herself up with the noise. That was quickly followed by Daniel complaining about the duvet which was as wide as the bed only and so he spent the whole night trying to stay under it. Helen and I could top that because our duvet was also only as wide as the bed and there were 2 of us sharing it. It became a tug of war. Whoever turned gave it a pull and held on tight. By the time Mom and Dad arrived they couldn’t add any additional complaints about the bed.

What is also really amusing is the bathroom set up.  Helen keeps on selfishly flushing when she goes to the loo. And that means it won’t refill for about 30 minutes. She just cannot restrain herself – ridiculous. And if you shower then it takes about an hour to refill the toilet. Helen was showering and I used the basin this morning and that stopped the water flowing the shower. Water can only be directed to one thing at a time it seems.  British plumbing! And the bathroom is so small that when Helen climbed out of the shower I was using the basin and there wasn’t space for both of us. She got back into the shower to make space for me to leave.

After breakfast we decided to walk into St Ives. Only 5 of us went (P, H, S, L & C).  D & M wanted to go and play tennis (which they did). Tregenna Castle is above St Ives – it is about 100 meters above the town.  As we were walking down we knew we would regret having to walk back up again. It is a very quaint town. You can just imagine pirates smuggling in their goods. The houses are built together and town planning obviously wasn’t an issue. The roads are ridiculous narrow and you wonder how a car can even fit down them. The seafront is basically restaurants, Cornish ice cream shops and Cornish Pastie shops. I said it was too early for ice cream – Lara said it is never too early for ice cream. We did resist her though. Of course because the sun was out (even though it was about 16 degrees), all the British were heading for the beach in their baggies. We did also pass one guy in a suit heading for the beach.

We got back just before lunch. We had booked at the Carbis Bay Hotel for lunch. It is about a mile from the hotel we are staying at. They have a massive restaurant and serve the usual traditional Sunday lunch choices – Roast Lamb; Roast Beef and even had Salmon and some vegetarian option (who eats that?). (Quick break while I got a beer and chips – when in England do as the English do.) The beef came with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen. And then the vegetables were mashed potato, roast potato and boiled potato.  I was quite surprised we didn’t get chips as well. As there was a very large party (about 50 people) celebrating a baptism, we didn’t get the food quickly but then we didn’t really have anywhere to go anyway. As we got back at about 3:30pm it was time for a Sunday pm sleep. Lara must think we are crazy – we come on holiday overseas and have a Sunday pm sleep! C, S & L watched TV for the afternoon (hopefully not the adult channel – Sharon is no doubt panicking again – actually maybe it is Bryan that is worrying more this time).

We decided to head for ice creams instead of dinner (Lara’s pleas eventually won out). As it had just started to rain lightly we drove down. Michael and my Mom stayed behind. The problem with St Ives (besides the width of the roads) is that there are only limited parking spots.  My Dad made the mistake of trying a parking place which was full and then we were stuck going in one direction only. We eventually had to down a road which we had walked down earlier in the day and Stephen had remarked “I would not want to drive the R-class (my Dad’s car) down that road”.  I said it wouldn’t fit. But we had no option. I have never seen anyone get so close to hitting the walls of the houses – on the LHS my Dad has about 5mm (not exaggerating). By the time we parked (and paid £5.70 for the parking!) it was windy and raining much harder. Probably around 12 degrees and we were going for ice creams. The things we do for Lara. And we couldn’t just go to any ice cream place (I was keen for the first one we found), we had to go to the one on the other side of the town. Admittedly the ice cream was quite unique and good. I had Apple Pie and Clotted Cream (one flavour) and chunky Chocolate. We rushed back to the car to get dry and keep warm. Lovely ice cream weather.

The rain looks set in.  The weather prediction varies for tomorrow.  From cold and rain to cold and rain to cold and some rain. One thing is certain is that it is going to be cold. It is July – it is summer – someone should tell the English though.  It is 9pm and we are watching Spain destroy Italy in the Euro 2012 final. It is now lashing down rain outside.  I doubt we will be in a hurry to get up tomorrow.

P, H, S, L, M & C

PS: We have photos but the connection is so bad that we cannot upload anything right now.  Check back at www.templetravels.co.za (probably tomorrow) and you can see some pics.  And while you are there, as only 7 of you have registered so far, please register.  You will get the email directly into your email and I don’t have to remember to send it to you.

So today was officially the start of our holiday. Helen, Stephen, Chloe and Lara flew last night from Cape Town to London. I told them one of them would have to write about the trip. None of them took it up though. Stephen said I can summarize the flight by saying none of them slept. Helen said the seats were uncomfortable. Of course I told them exactly what to do to make the seat comfortable (given I have some experience of flying to London) but as usual no-one listened. So much for using my air miles for business class. Only Lara had an excuse for not sleeping because she was a late addition and I could not organize business class for her. While they were flying to London, I took a train from London down to my parents house in the New Forest.

Helen and co landed on time at 6:10am and managed to get through customs and their bags very quickly and were on the road down to my parents home by 6:50am. They arrived just before 8:30am. While I was up tracking their progress, the rest of the household wasn’t. By the time they all arrived Michael & Daniel (nephew/cousin) were still dreaming. We had breakfast and after breakfast the romantic couples went for a walk to Burley and back. Helen tracked our walk on her cellphone and registered it as just over 4.5 km. The wonders of modern technology. Not bad a start for walking on holiday.

When we got back we had lunch. Over lunch my Dad was preaching on various subjects but particularly the importance of remaining rehydrated after flying. He started saying “You must drink a lot” and Daniel kindly finished his sentence for him by saying “of beer”. The timing was perfect. What I want to know (Meryl & Piers) is what you have been homeschooling your son in?!

After lunch we headed out for Cornwall. We are staying 3 nights in St Ives. Given there were 9 of us in total we had to take two cars. My Dad leading the cavalcade. The GPS predicted us arriving at 6pm. It seemed to take forever to get anywhere. The English roads are really rubbish (as Paul would say). They have no motorways and every person and his dog has a car. And if one person slows down everyone else stops. And the annoying GPS keeps on binging every two minutes warning you about another speed camera. Like I could miss the speed cameras that are painted bright yellow, are signposted and have large, bright white lines painted on the road. Whoever gets caught by them?!

We did have to make a few pit stops on route. The first one was because my Dad was nodding off at the wheel after the lack of sleep on the flight last night. Oh wait … he wasn’t on the flight – he was at home fast asleep. The fact that everyone else in both cars fell asleep (except Mom and Daniel) might have contributed to it. (I can just hear Sharon panicking when she reads this …) Michael was almost sleeping on Daniel’s lap in the back of our car (very cute). At 5pm we figured out that the GPS was actually on SA time and not UK time and that explained why it was only 11 miles away on the signposts and not an hour 15 minutes away that we thought! It definitely made the journey suddenly seem much shorter.

We are staying at Tregenna Castle in St Ives. It is a massive estate (72 acres) and our two cottages are about 36 acres apart. I definitely won’t be able to hear Dad’s snoring tonight. Michael & Daniel are sleeping with my parents in a cottage near the main hotel building. And the rest of us are staying in a cottage at the bottom of the estate. To get to our cottage you can walk 5 minutes or you can drive 5 minutes. That isn’t because my driving has slowed down to the average London driving speed, it is because we actually have to leave the estate and drive around it and come in the side to access our cottage. The accommodation is typical British. Low ceilings (I almost bump my head), ridiculously hot (all the central heating was turned on) and slightly musty. However, it is perfectly adequate. We had dinner this evening in the hotel’s restaurant. They had Guinness on tap. We were reliably informed (by my Dad) that David (my brother) is an expert on Guinness. Apparently he has read the book. Michael asked whether the book was “Guinness Book of Records”?

A blog from England cannot be a blog without a comment or two (or three) on the weather. It started off as overcast, cool and raining this morning. Then it cleared up. And then it was windy. And then it rained (while we were driving) and then it cleared up. This evening was partly cloudy. Of course even though the sun only set about 30 minutes ago (around 10pm), the temperature is around 12 degrees currently and the maximum for today was around 18. The weather is predicted to be the same tomorrow but they will probably be wrong.

As there is no Wifi in the cottage and the cellphone signal is worse than the Masai Mara (is this a 1st world country?), I am not sure whether I will be able to send this tonight. If not you’re getting it tomorrow.

Sleep tight (everyone here is except me – I am watching the English shout for Andy Murray).

P, H, S, M, C, L