Clifton and Cheddar Gorges

The sun was out this morning! It lasted til lunch time!

Clifton Bridge is a massive, old suspension bridge in Bristol. We set the GPS to take us somewhere near there, and ended up driving AND walking over it. It was a spectacular bridge, with a great view!

We drove in to the city to get to the Christmas markets, that weren’t much different to the others we’ve been to. We picked up a few things and I had some amazing raspberry hot cider. Then drove out to Cheddar – what a cool drive! It was so pretty! The Cheddar gorge is awesome, a massive limestone gorge that you can drive through. You can walk to the top but it’s a long way and it was too late. I doubt the girls would have been keen either.

Dinner was more individual microwavable meals from the supermarkets. They’re actually really yummy, and fresh! All in all a pretty cool, and very beautiful day!

Brighton to Bath to Bristol

A google map of where Tegan, Ebony and I have been so far

I've attempted to put a link in to a map I made of where we've been so far. Click on it and it should take you to the page where all the places on a map are.

We drove past (slowly) Stonehenge today. And we walked in to the reception of the Roman Bath Houses in Bath. Both cost money and it wasn't a price equivalent to our interest so we moved on. Bath was so amazing - super duper busy though. Bristol was literally around the corner, and now it's dark (winter solstice today; sun set at about 3:30pm) and we'll have Indian for dinner I think!

Brighton, UK

Don’t be fooled – Brighton does not mean bright and sunny. It’s the UK in winter so I don’t expect too much.

Harrods was our first port of call yesterday, in the rain. We bought some lunch in the food hall and pretty much got out of there – it was great but crazy busy. Our cupcakes weren’t fresh, which was a shame.

Once we’d packed the car we drove the entire 70km from London to Brighton, where we booked in at the Crown and Anchor, a little pub on the highway where we’re staying. Our room is nice and big, with a spare bed and a very large shared bathroom. The pub downstairs is very civil so we slept really well! We hung around for dinner at the pub – the chef was suppose to arrive at 5:30pm. At 6pm we were informed that the chef wasn’t coming in. We ordered take-away pizza and ate it downstairs instead. It was edible but it wasn’t the best pizza ever. But we got to eat it in the pub with a glass of wine. We were down there for about three hours, reading magazines and playing cards (it was rainy outside).

It took a while to get going this morning. I was up at 7:30am, then Ebony then Tegan. By the time we got ready to go, it was 11am.

Brighton Pier was the object of the day. And the pebbly beach. The pier is a pier with an amusement park on the end of it. The pebbly beach is very pebbly – when the waves wash over the pebbles, it makes a deep WHOOSH sound as the pebbles all move against each other. Landscape evolution in action! I took some great photos today. My wide angle lens hasn’t come off my camera for weeks. It makes taking photos of buildings and busy landscapes so much easier.

Brighton Pier VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Fish and chips were on the menu for lunch. We got two to share between the three of us, which was perfect. I got to eat both lots of mushy peas though, which was a bonus. We also checked out some great white cliffs up the road, made of a rock I don’t know that weathers to really clayey-chalky white, which is why the cliffs are so spectacular. Interest level from the other two parties was very vague so we moved on to The Lane where we saw lots of beautiful gems and silver and bought some cupcakes.

After last night’s attempt at a pub meal, we decided to check out Sainsbury’s for easy dinner options. It’s no Marcs & Spencers, but it was good enough. The cases (albeit tiny) of beer/cider were half price so we stocked up too. Conveniently, the massive tins of Roses chocolates were on special too. We got two.

We sweet talked the pub kitchen downstairs in to microwaving our dinner (he wasn’t impressed though) and ate our half-cooked meals in our room. The girls had soup, I had laksa with a side of broccoli and peas.

Tomorrow we’re driving to Bath and then to Bristol. I’ve got my alarm set for 7am, when I plan to open up the blinds and start packing so we get on our merry way. Two nights in Bristol and then we’re off to our Christmas destination – woo!

Home days

Such a beautiful day! Not only did we get to sleep in, we could do whatever we wanted – without having to climb lots of stairs or eat pre-cooked food. And the sun was out, at least when I woke up (at 9am). It’s so nice being in a house, with all amenities, and that homely feeling. :)

Chill out day – lazing around for a while and then I went for a walk, got lost a few times, went shopping – realised the credit card I was trying to use hadn’t been authorised yet so I had no money (got Tegan to bring me the other card, that was authorised)………. Spent lots of money, bought me a cool Christmas present that you’ll just have to wait til Christmas Day to find out about. No, it’s not a Canon 7D. Don’t worry, if you’re buying me one of those I am definitely still without.

Tegan had dinner for us ready last night (Tesco microwavable Indian – it was delicious) as well as lots of mandarins and grapes. Clothes washing was prioritised. We watched an entire season of a super cool show called ‘Awkward’. (Don’t worry mum, I’ve got it on my laptop for you). Then we slept, for about 10-12 hours (different people slept more and less).

Barnes (where Tegan lives) is really really nice. It’s not very busy and the houses are all terraced cute little things with well kept front porches and a loft up top. There are trees everywhere and even chirping birds!

I spent a fortune today. There was this great shop with fantastic 70’s style clothes. Fortunately the quality was terrible and I wasn’t talked in to buying too much. Namely: a Tinkerbell jumper, a really comfy jumper, pink velour tracksuit pants and a skivvy to go under the Tinkerbell jumper.

And then I got some Christmas decorations, a couple of presents (including mine: ohhhhh yeah), a coffee, a bunch of necessary stuff at ‘PoundLand’ (like the two dollar shop, but everything is actually one pound)……. And two bloody long Christmas paper rolls. Too long, they were annoying.

For dinner we shared more Tesco microwavable stuff – I had extra vegies and salad. I also bought a hunk of ham, that is the driest, most flavourless hunk of ham I’ve ever tried. We have decided that maybe all ham from shops taste like that, and that we’re just really lucky having awesome home-made ham every Christmas. So, probably no more ham and we’ll try for turkey next time.

Brighton is our next stop. Tomorrow, after we go to Harrods. I bet I spend more money… Argh.

Please, if you can, go to this website and follow the link to vote for Ebony, for her chance to win an iPad. The photo is one I took (of her) and the words are all hers.

http://experience.csu.edu.au/entry/228344

Sleep well!

xox