St.Andrews West Sands

Wind blowing sand about!

Goodness how time has flied by and it is the end of April now! The last 6 weeks have been really busy what with 3 trips out of Switzerland, Alessio had his First Communion and my parents were here for too! I just got back this afternoon from a short trip to Cologne, more about that later on!

While Alessio and I were in Scotland we went to St.Andrews which we always do as this is where I go to the dentist. Once the visit was over at the dentist we went for some lunch and then into the town. We park down by the west sands and had a wonder on the beach, it was a sunny but windy day! The wind was blowing the sand which you can just about make out in the 6th photo, it looked quite cool!

My father was with us and he and Alessio went about shell collecting and Alessio found some long bits of wood too. It was just nice to see the sea for a change and see how peaceful it looked!

Then we headed off to pick up my mother who had been having lunch with some friends.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Fjord Cruise to Mostraumen!

Frozen waterfalls

Frozen waterfall

Frozen sea water

Frozen sea water

Frozen waterfall!

The weather we are having at the moment kind of reminds me of my trip to Bergen in February! I am not joking it is really cold and windy here, okay maybe not as cold as this boat trip but pretty dam near!

One of the highlights was a 3 hour boat trip to visit one of the many fjords in Norway. The choice is endless, there are many different types and lengths of boat cruises to take. Since I was with Alessio I opted for a 3 hour fjord trip to Mostraumen, part of the Osterfjord, so hopefully I would not have to hear endless "is it nearly finished or how long now to go".

It started at 10am and there were many people waiting to go on this trip, once on we went up on deck and found a seat. Slowly the boat started and the captain informed everyone of the sights on both sides. Once we were out of the Bergen harbour, the boat started to move faster and that is when it got much colder!

We both braved the outside for at least 30mins and we were rewarded with such amazing scenery. Typical Norwegian colourful houses, bridges, snow covered hills and further into the trip frozen waterfalls!

We then got into the narrower part of the fjord and the captain told us that a few weeks earlier the sea here had been frozen. Now is had mostly melted but still in certain parts the boat had to move very slowly and break the ice. It was quite exciting being on a boat braking the ice, then we moved right up close to one of the frozen waterfalls and some of the passengers were able to collect water with a bucket and drink it!

It was a great boat trip and certainly one of the best I have ever been on, seeing the many frozen waterfalls was amazing.

A Day in Zagreb!

View of the Cathedral

Croatian Parliment

National Theater

For the Easter break I went with my friend Arlene to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Ljubljana is situated pretty much in the centre of Slovenia, which makes it good for days trips to many places. We decided to go to Zagreb in Croatia, it only took a little over 2 hours and the best part it only cost 15 euros return. We could not believe how cheap that was, so it was an early rise as the train left 8.25am, off we went.

It being Easter Sunday everything was closed, (not a surprise really) but we kind off assumed since it is the capital of Croatia something would be opened. We were just really happy to be in another country and it was a lovely day.

We walked around, visited the Cathedral which as it was Sunday was extremely busy, went on the little train that takes tourists around the old town. Zagreb is a very lovely city, lots of lovely colourful buildings, parks and churches.

We went up the Zagreb 360 observation deck and got a really fantastic view of the city! It is on the 16th floor and situated in the heart of the city.

We had a great day and saw lots of Zagreb, and can really recommend visiting this city!

Photo of the Week - Daffodils Galore!

Yesterday we returned from an extended weekend in Scotland, we had a great time and did lots of things. One of the things I noticed was an abundance of daffodils everywhere, they looked amazing, a sea of yellow!

This photo does not really show how wonderful it really is, there were just loads of them and not just here!

The good thing about having two days off during the week is that now I only have one working day left and next week I am working only three days (sorry about the boasting). Alessio has two weeks holiday starting at the weekend.

Wishing you all a good rest of the week!

Photo of the Week - Amusing Signs

Spotted these amusing signs outside a bar we were eating in Ljubljana, there was another but for some reason did not take a photo of it!

Tomorrow Alessio and I are off to Scotland for a extended weekend, my father is turning 70yrs old Monday. We will have four full days so it will be busy time for us



Some links to check!

This is twice I have seen an article about Mauritius in a matter of days. One was in the latest Sunday Times Travel Mag and now here. It makes me think about this as a destination to go with Alessio!

Some items for your home!

Some awesome loos!

While I am in Scotland I will finally get to see The Great Tapestry of Scotland! Part of it is showing in Dundee at the Verdant Works

My father helped stitch some of the tapestry set in Dundee, here is some information about the tapestry.

Postcards from Ljubljana

During the Easter weekend I went away to visit the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. It is a very lovely city and very small indeed, that really two days is quite enough to see it all. We didn`t visit any museums as they were all closed for Easter, there were a few which looked interesting though.

Our hotel was right in the centre and all the major sights were within walking distance. The castle which looms high about the city is reachable with a funicular. Once up there are some nice views and we visited some parts of the castle and stopped for a coffee.

The main square has the wonderfully colourful Francisan Church of the Annunication and the Triple bridge. It is as the name says three bridges connected together and joins the old town to the new town. The city is full of lovely coloured buildings and walking along the river is a great way to see these buildings, the river and many bars and cafes. There are many bridges here are some of the names the Butchers, Cobblers and the Dragon bridge.

Ljubljana is situated in the middle of Slovenia, therefore you can visit many places as a day trip. We visited Lake Bled and also went to Zagreb in Croatia. Also not far and would have been really nice to visit was Trieste in Italy. More about these day trips at a later date.

Towards the end of this week Alessio and I go to Scotland, my father turns 70 next Monday, so we will celebrate that at the weekend.