We head to Dells home for breakfast where we also met his good friend Tony, who is, we have to say, a very very funny man (in a ha ha way, not huh? way) it was great to finally meet him after hearing so much about him, and Dell is right when he says that Tony is a great guy.

Dell very very kindly made us breakfast this morning, fueling us for the long trip ahead and it was really sad to be saying good bye to him. Dell is such a great mate, we love spending time with him and are so thankful for the tour he took us on around the Highlands, we really had a great time. We’ll miss Dell heaps, but know that it won’t be long until we see him again, and that’s very exciting!

After large warm hugs and fond farewells we hit the road, Chipping being our destination. We took a bit of a detour and took a more scenic route, which was great but perhaps put a few extra minutes on our travel time. It was nice though as this route took us to a little carpark where all around you are these amazing rolling hills, a little take away drinks/hot food caravan and a large Stone that on one side says “Scotland” and on the other “England” As much as we’ve enjoyed England we were very keen to spend as much time as possible in Scotland, so we brought a hot drink and sipped these in Scotland before bracing ourselves for the nasty weather of England and the long drive home.

It was a uneventful drive home, Chris was a real trooper, my hero, and drove with only one or two small stops, all the way back to Chipping. Luke and I were both very grateful for this. We got back to Chipping at about 8pm, which was pretty good time really. We were so tired we fell into bed after a quick meal and “hi” to Sue and Patrick, promising to fill them in on all the news tomorrow

written by  Chris and Emily on August 18, 2009 from Buntingford, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Chris and I then had the fun task of trying to navigate our way back to Chipping through the early morning traffic. It was still early, but traffic was building. It didn’t take too long but it was still a little stressful and I’m just so thankful that we had the little GPS to help us find our way “home”

When we got back we decided that we would take a day trip to Cambridge. So, after a bit of brekki we head off. We looked about the city for a bit together doing a little shopping before Chris and I head to the cinema to see the new film “Inglorious Basterds” which was good, though a little gruesome at times. The movie went longer than we thought, so we rushed back to meet Luke and head home to pack our bags for our trip to Germany/France tomorrow.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 20, 2009 from Cambridge, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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As we had no transport we had to walk into the little village near Chipping, which wasn’t such an issue really, but when you’re carting a heavy pack and have to walk 3.6kms and pick up the pace as you’re running late it can become tiring! We got to the bus stop as the bus was pulling up which was a stroke of good luck but also promoted in us this little sense of proud satisfaction, we had made it JUST in time, picking up our pace had been necessary and we had done it, heavy packs and all.

The bus trip didn’t take long and soon we were at Stanstead airport with 3 hours to kill… and as we all know airports are really quite boring once you’ve discovered all the over priced eateries, news agencies and little last minute oops I forgot this and that travel stores.

We tried to go and check our bags in but the Ryan Air lady was very rude in telling us “You’re too early, go away and come back in an hour” It wasn’t the fact that she wouldn’t check the bag, it was the fact that she was rude about it. So, we went and sat down in a little over priced café to have a coffee and wait out the hour… As we sat it came vastly apparent that there was an unattended suitcase sitting at a table beside us. We waited and waited for someone to come back and claim it, it was a large suitcase, not one you could easily forget… We waited and waited and I noticed other people around us noticing it as well. Chris and I decided that we would wait another 5 minutes, if no one had claimed it then then we would notify someone… 10 minutes passed and still no one, so, up I got to find a security guard who duly followed me to the café, where we found… a man sitting with the case now. Typical. The security guard rolled his eyes at me and said in a very annoyed voice that “people should know better by now, sometimes they’re just stupid and don’t think, you did the right thing love, thanks for letting us know” So I didn’t feel too stupid then.

We were able to drop our bag (Ryan air lady informed us that yes we COULD drop our bag now, the baggage drop had opened one minute ago, such attitude!) and then gone through the metal detector where for some reason, unknown to me, I sent the alarm off and had to be searched. At first I didn’t realize what the lady was on about, she stood in front of me with her arms outstretched and it took me a wee while to cotton on as to what she wanted me to do as the whole time she was talking over my shoulder to a man behind me about some silly TV show that was on last night. I stood with my arms out where she gave me quite a thorough search really, a bit to invasive of my privacy if you ask me in such an open place, hands down my pants and up my top. Hmph. They didn’t find anything and what tripped it I don’t know as I was wearing my standard “no fuss and maximum comfort” flight clothes that have never caused me a problem before. Oh well. We then had hours to kill at the airport so the purchasing of tacky magazines was a priority and we settled in for a bit, before having to leap up and run to our gate. We kept looking at the board and it didn’t have a gate number or time and there was also no PA call for it, but then suddenly it came up flashing “BOARDING” so we had to RUN to the other side of the airport and got there in time to be some of the last in the line, we were now really quite buggered.

The flight really wasn’t that great. Bumpy, jolting and with crying children. It wasn’t the best flight we could have asked for, but we touched down soon enough (but not before the air stewardess went about the cabin offering cigarettes for sale) and then waited for Anya to pick us up! We had to wait an hour or so for her as she was finishing up work and it is about a 45 min drive from her house, but it was okay, we settled down with a drink and waited patiently.

Anya finally arrived and it was great to see her again! Big hugs hello and we head to the car where she asked “would you rather the autobahn or the quick way?” We opted for the autobahn (still a novelty for us all) and we head off…but then, there was a detour and we had to head off the road, and then… we got lost, even with a GPS… and then… Luke leant over and very casually asked “How far til we get home?” Anya said “about 70 or so” and Luke calmly asked “is that going to be enough petrol?” We all looked at the gauge and it was sitting on empty, and then the reserve light came on then flashed then off… oops. We were now lost and almost out of petrol and we were on little dark roads that seemed to have no civilized life form… we drove and drove and drove, past some amazing scenery, past an old castle on a hill in the middle of nowhere until Anya stopped and asked a little pizza shop that was open where the nearest petrol station might be, and thankfully it wasn’t far. We head there and filled up duly before heading back towards her home. What should have been a 45 min drive took us 3 hours and after this Anya took us to dinner, or, really, more like a midnight snack of pizza before we got back to her home and fell into bed exhausted!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 21, 2009 from Frankfurt, Germany
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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After this we continued on into the city centre where we took in the Port a Nigra once more and this time, took the chance to go up to the top and check out the inside of this amazing old wall as we did so, the views from up here were great, looking out over the city and all the people, it was nice to see the crowds but not be caught up in the middle of it all!

The tour of the top of the Port a Nigra didn’t take long so we moved on to the Dome, another landmark we had spent a lot of time looking at last time we visited but never got around to actually visiting. The Dome is home to the tunic Jesus wore on the day of his crucifixation (apparently) and is stored here behind closed doors and it comes out on display every 5 years or so. Unfortunately we don’t have 5 years to wait for this, so we got as close as we could and took the photos we could before having to move on.

Time now was ticking over into evening and we had some shopping to do for our road trip to France tomorrow, so we hit the supermarket. There was a time when I once liked going to the grocery store, picking up the weeks goods, looking over the bargain bits and bobs you could find, but lately I have found the whole thing a hellish ordeal. Perhaps it’s just the fact that Europe has so many people shopping at one time, it’s just too much for a quiet Tassie girl!

It was back home after this where we relaxed with a few drinks and waited for Inga to pop over for a quick visit. It was lovely to see Inga again and to catch up with her though; we kept all the goss for tomorrow’s long road trip to France!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 22, 2009 from Trier, Germany
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We hit the road bright and early, having to say goodbye to Anya once more and this time, for the final time on this trip. Anya has been fantastic to us through out this trip and we can’t thank her enough for her help and friendship. So, off we set, nibbles and drinks within easy reach, IPods at the ready and chatter and stories filling the little car.

There is a small stretch of autobahn highway between Trier and the boarder of Luxembourg which Inga was excited to drive along, it meant that we had no speed limit and could make up some good time for the start of the trip... and good time we did make, at 230 kms an hour. I don't know about you but I have never been in a car that travels at the speed of light, so while it was kind of exciting, it was also terrifying, and when I turned to smile at Luke he raised his eyebrows at me which let me know he was in the same boat as me... still, it only lasted a few minutes and we slowed down to a more reasonable 110km... Inga sure knows how to put peddle to the metal and make good time!

It was a lovely trip, we made only a few stops on our way down and didn’t get lost once (it does help that Inga has been there a million times before!) It took 8 hours which seemed to pass very quickly and we were then standing in front of a lovely little holiday home in Grust, France.

We settled ourselves in and had a small rest before making our way to a little sea side town where we had dinner and watched the sun set over the beach, it was a lovely way to finish off a long day!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 23, 2009 from Grues, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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After getting home we all did our own thing, Inga went for a little nap and Luke and I ended up going for a nice long walk in the heat of the day. The roads were deserted and nothing but dirt paths that lead you past corn crops and large Fields of fading sunflowers, which would have been amazing to see in full bloom but it looks as if we just missed this. As Luke and I walked along these dusty, dirty paths we came across a large green Field and we could make out in the distance a large animal that we had never seen before and about 4 smaller ones that looked like ferrets or something. We have no idea what these animals were, nor could anyone tell us, we only had suggestions of otters, ferrets and a badger.

Chris and Max turned up not long after Luke and I returned from this walk and it was great to see Chris again and to give him a cuddle. I know it was only a night apart but it felt like a long time after having spent so much time with one another.

Dinner was a simple affair of chicken salad and some wine and a relaxed night of chatting and laughter before falling into bed for a good nights sleep.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 24, 2009 from Grues, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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It wasn’t so bad, we decided to show the boys the beach that we had found yesterday and we again looked about the little town, picking up some postcards for those back home and head back home.

Inga took to her wind surfing class today and seemed to have a great time learning this. While Inga was at her class, Luke told us of a crop he had come across yesterday and wished to show us, just so that we could clarify to him what it was… We smelt it before we got there… then we saw it. A HUGE, MASSIVE, ENORMOUS Marijuana crop. It was just enormous. We took a drive past just taking in how huge this place was before making our way home to tell Inga of our find. It must be legal here in France, as this Field wasn’t hidden and as I keep saying, it was HUGE!

It was a quiet day and once we were home we got stuck into making our burgers which were, as always, delicious and devoured very very quickly!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 25, 2009 from Grues, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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The market was about a half hour drive away and we all squished into Ingas car and toddled off for the ‘day out’ The market was held in a large old shed and was filled with stalls selling all sorts of edible goods ranging from nuts and vegetables to bread, cheese and seafood. It took a little while to collect all our goods and once purchased we decided to reward ourselves with a coffee across the road before heading to an old church that proudly juttered out across the town. It was a nice old church, stain glass windows and big portraits of Christ being crucified everywhere. I quite like looking at paintings of Christ but I do have to say, I am becoming quite tired of seeing him look so pitiful and sad upon the cross. Surely there must be an artist out there somewhere who could paint him in happier times? Perhaps when he was turning water into wine or healing the sick, or even say, rising the dead, or with His apostles. There are many factors of Christ’s life that could be depicted but it seems everyone is set on showing Him in a pitiful state and when it’s all doom and gloom. Oh well. I’d draw one but I’m fairly sure the church wouldn’t proudly frame a stick figure Christ in bright crayon colours.

After this we all head back to the house to relax in our own ways, reading, writing, running, cooking… it was a nice afternoon.

The boys then got onto the seafood extravaganza that was tonight’s meal. Mussels, Langoustines, Cod etc etc, they tell me it was good. As I’m allergic to all things that live in the sea I was the odd one out today and had some grilled chicken instead, but that was fine, it was done to perfection so it was yummy.

We spent some time sitting outside looking at the stars and chatting before calling it a night and heading to bed.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 26, 2009 from Grues, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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After wondering about the cool underwater landscape for several hours we made our way back to our meeting spot and met up again with Chris and Inga and then head off to find a nice restaurant for dinner. We eventually found one that was quiet and comfortable and with a lovely, friendly waitress. Our meal was lovely and relaxed and we all left feeling full and content.

After this we took a little stroll around the town, taking in the port as it was all lit up beautifully with a golden glow. We walked on until we found a nice little pub and stopped for a drink and a game of ‘fuse ball’ which we have not played before but were taught the rules by Max. Max was the reigning champion in this game and I can honestly say that we were in no way shape or form a match for him! As we walked back to the car we passed a great busking band who were singing all sorts of fun, thigh slapping, feet tapping tunes you had to clap along too, they were great! We watched for a little while before heading to the car where we made the quiet trip home, we were exhausted!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 27, 2009 from La Rochelle, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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