Saturday, June 24, 2006
Peugeot 306 1.4 XL
Well as the title of the blog indicates we have a new car. Today we drove over to a town just outside Cardiff, Wales to look at this Peugeot 306. Ever since we have been over in England I have had my heart set on getting a Peugeot. Well anyways the people were so nice and so helpful. The car is so clean, and in great running condition with a ton of upgrades to it. It has a racing steering wheel, CD player, new speakers, new sport gear shifter and racing pedals. After taking it for a test drive we were sold on it. So next weekend we are taking a bus to Cardiff where the people we are buying the car off of are picking us up and taking us back to their house to get the car. Gotta love the Welsh. Anyways check out the pics of the car below and let us know what you think. Cheers.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
That was some Good Timing
Let me begin by saying that has now been over a year since we left Canada. We left on June 16, 2005 arriving on the 17th as we had an over night flight. Seems strange to think that we have been gone a year, but we have done a lot and seen so many new things. Yesterday was no exception.
Jon came back up to stay with us on Friday night from Exeter and we had all of sat to pack as much in as we could as he this morning he left for Belgium by train. So anyways sat morning came very early for Jon and me as we had to get up at 5:30am. Well I should that "I" got up and went to wake up Jon. Going into his room he gave me the thumbs up sign so I went and got ready to go. 10 min later I went back into his room and he was fast asleep again. Jeez its not like he wasn't going to have a good day. Anyways we left out flat in Bristol at 6am and made our way to Stonehenge. On route we got lost in Bath and after asking 3 people (of which 2 were from other countries) nobody could help us find the A36. We found it on our own and made it to Stonehenge by 8am to find it was closed until 9. Oh well we just grabbed some snacks from a gas station and returned in time to be the first ones into Stonehenge.
After about 30min at Stonehenge we drove to Kew Gardens to get the tube into central London. Our first stop was Waterloo station where Jon got rid of his backpack for the day and we headed over to the London eye and Westminster. This is where our luck started. We stood and watched set after set of old warplanes flying across London doing air maneuvers, spraying colours, and guiding larger planes in for a air show over London.
We had to skip out on going inside Westminster Abby as the price and the lines where outrageous. We walked from here over to "the mall" (the street that Buckingham palace is on) and made our way halfway down before seeing the part of the celebration called trooping the colour so we ran the rest of the down the mall to see it. We watched the drums being played and the guards all in formation before they walked down the mall and off behind Buckingham palace. The lucky part of this is that it only happens once a year so it was good timing on our behalf. But the best is still to come.
When looking at Buckingham Palace there is a gate on the right side used visitors and car access into the palace. Jon and I were standing there when 2 police told everyone to stop crossing the entrance way and wait. The gates opened and 2 jaguars drove out. Jon and I were standing right at the front of the pack on the roads edge as this 2 cars came out and we were probably within 10ft of the cars. The person sitting in the back seat of the 2nd Jaguar was none other than The Queen of England herself. It was a pretty amazing moment to see her come out and wave to the crowd before the cars spend off around the corner. I must say that Jon and I did not expect that to happen at all and was the highlight of the day.
But the day was far from over. We went from there to Trafalgar Square, the British Museum (to see the Rosetta Stone and Ginger), and St. Paul’s Cathedral which due to yet again great timing was free to get into as there was a service in session for prayer. Usually £9 to get inside we definitely lucked out yet again. We walked along south bank after that passing Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and then on to the Tower bridge and the Tower of London. Ending the day at the park next to the London Eye we sat and watched all the entertainers trying to gather crowds and make their money. I said goodbye to Jon at waterloo station where he met up with family for the night before he heads off for 2.5 months throughout Europe. I made my way back out to Kew Gardens to get the car and then drove back across to Bristol which as basically on the other side of the country arriving home at a little past 10:30. It was a tiring day but after we saw I can't really complain.
Jon came back up to stay with us on Friday night from Exeter and we had all of sat to pack as much in as we could as he this morning he left for Belgium by train. So anyways sat morning came very early for Jon and me as we had to get up at 5:30am. Well I should that "I" got up and went to wake up Jon. Going into his room he gave me the thumbs up sign so I went and got ready to go. 10 min later I went back into his room and he was fast asleep again. Jeez its not like he wasn't going to have a good day. Anyways we left out flat in Bristol at 6am and made our way to Stonehenge. On route we got lost in Bath and after asking 3 people (of which 2 were from other countries) nobody could help us find the A36. We found it on our own and made it to Stonehenge by 8am to find it was closed until 9. Oh well we just grabbed some snacks from a gas station and returned in time to be the first ones into Stonehenge.
After about 30min at Stonehenge we drove to Kew Gardens to get the tube into central London. Our first stop was Waterloo station where Jon got rid of his backpack for the day and we headed over to the London eye and Westminster. This is where our luck started. We stood and watched set after set of old warplanes flying across London doing air maneuvers, spraying colours, and guiding larger planes in for a air show over London.
We had to skip out on going inside Westminster Abby as the price and the lines where outrageous. We walked from here over to "the mall" (the street that Buckingham palace is on) and made our way halfway down before seeing the part of the celebration called trooping the colour so we ran the rest of the down the mall to see it. We watched the drums being played and the guards all in formation before they walked down the mall and off behind Buckingham palace. The lucky part of this is that it only happens once a year so it was good timing on our behalf. But the best is still to come.
When looking at Buckingham Palace there is a gate on the right side used visitors and car access into the palace. Jon and I were standing there when 2 police told everyone to stop crossing the entrance way and wait. The gates opened and 2 jaguars drove out. Jon and I were standing right at the front of the pack on the roads edge as this 2 cars came out and we were probably within 10ft of the cars. The person sitting in the back seat of the 2nd Jaguar was none other than The Queen of England herself. It was a pretty amazing moment to see her come out and wave to the crowd before the cars spend off around the corner. I must say that Jon and I did not expect that to happen at all and was the highlight of the day.
But the day was far from over. We went from there to Trafalgar Square, the British Museum (to see the Rosetta Stone and Ginger), and St. Paul’s Cathedral which due to yet again great timing was free to get into as there was a service in session for prayer. Usually £9 to get inside we definitely lucked out yet again. We walked along south bank after that passing Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and then on to the Tower bridge and the Tower of London. Ending the day at the park next to the London Eye we sat and watched all the entertainers trying to gather crowds and make their money. I said goodbye to Jon at waterloo station where he met up with family for the night before he heads off for 2.5 months throughout Europe. I made my way back out to Kew Gardens to get the car and then drove back across to Bristol which as basically on the other side of the country arriving home at a little past 10:30. It was a tiring day but after we saw I can't really complain.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Visitors and Bombs (sort of)
So finally I have some time to sit down and catch up on what has been happening here over the last week. Our place here in Severn Beach is great, work is decent, and our car is falling apart. We have to get the car taxed (tagged) at the end of the month and it will require about £300 to get it up and running to pass the tests. So as we are still waiting to hear how much the insurance company is going to give us for the huge dent in the door we are probably going to pull the car off the road for a month or so. This will save us quite a bit of money and give us time to figure out if we want to get another car or fix the ford fiesta. I have my eyes on a Peugeot 206. They are awesome little cars.
In other news last Sunday I picked up Jon from Bristol airport. He was pretty awake and ready to go regardless of the fact he had just taken 4 planes over something like 15 hours to get here. We brought him back to Severn Beach where Megan made a awesome roast chicken meal for us before heading down to Western Super Mare to pier. This pier is a lot like the one we took Ryan to in Clacton only it’s not in Essex. (what a shame). I had to work the week Jon was here but Megan took Jon around Bristol and Bath over the week and on Friday afternoon we drove over to Wales to see Chepstow Castle. Still one the biggest castles we have found for such a cheap price. Since the car was really not to so well we drove back to England instead of going to a few more sites in Wales that we wanted to see. Next time I guess. Saturday morning we were up bright and early to head down to the city of Wells which as you might know by know is a place we take just about everyone that comes here to see the cathedral and try a famous Cornish pasty. I don’t think Jon was disappointed. After a quick stop in Wells we drove him down to Exeter where he is staying with family for a week before heading back up to us on Friday night. Who knows maybe Jon will even sign this blog since it’s mostly about his stay with us. Hahahaha. Below are some pics from Jon's stay with us.
In other news some of Bristol's roads where shut down the other day as they found what they thought was a WWII bomb that never went off in the centre of town where they are doing some new development. Actually it’s in the site of the one of the jobs I am working on at work. Anyways the roads were packed and people sat in traffic for a long time as the main roads and highways into Bristol where either shut down or packed with commuters. Well the next day I was reading the frontline of the paper and it turns out it wasn’t a bomb at all. Yes all this madness was caused over a large piece of metal that was cast into some concrete. Not England's finest day!!!!
In other news last Sunday I picked up Jon from Bristol airport. He was pretty awake and ready to go regardless of the fact he had just taken 4 planes over something like 15 hours to get here. We brought him back to Severn Beach where Megan made a awesome roast chicken meal for us before heading down to Western Super Mare to pier. This pier is a lot like the one we took Ryan to in Clacton only it’s not in Essex. (what a shame). I had to work the week Jon was here but Megan took Jon around Bristol and Bath over the week and on Friday afternoon we drove over to Wales to see Chepstow Castle. Still one the biggest castles we have found for such a cheap price. Since the car was really not to so well we drove back to England instead of going to a few more sites in Wales that we wanted to see. Next time I guess. Saturday morning we were up bright and early to head down to the city of Wells which as you might know by know is a place we take just about everyone that comes here to see the cathedral and try a famous Cornish pasty. I don’t think Jon was disappointed. After a quick stop in Wells we drove him down to Exeter where he is staying with family for a week before heading back up to us on Friday night. Who knows maybe Jon will even sign this blog since it’s mostly about his stay with us. Hahahaha. Below are some pics from Jon's stay with us.
In other news some of Bristol's roads where shut down the other day as they found what they thought was a WWII bomb that never went off in the centre of town where they are doing some new development. Actually it’s in the site of the one of the jobs I am working on at work. Anyways the roads were packed and people sat in traffic for a long time as the main roads and highways into Bristol where either shut down or packed with commuters. Well the next day I was reading the frontline of the paper and it turns out it wasn’t a bomb at all. Yes all this madness was caused over a large piece of metal that was cast into some concrete. Not England's finest day!!!!
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