We decided to travel first class on the trains across Europe, not the least because it is not much more expensive than ordinary. To which Tone says "who are you calling ordinary?"
Yesterday on the train from Brussels to Cologne an attendant came along offering teas or coffees which many people took and started to drink.
When she got to the end of the carriage she came back with her wallet open asking us all for 2.90 euros! Not quite what we had expected, so a little muttering from our fellow travellers. All expected things to be as they are in first class at home with free hot drinks. Hey Ho, a lesson learned. Just as well we weren't on the train at lunch time!
The trip was pretty uneventful apart from this. Arrived in Cologne where we are staying for two nights.
As we walked out of the station and start to walk off towards the hotel where we were saying we both agreed that the highlight of our visit to Cologne must be the cathedral.
Not being sure where we were in relation to the cathedral we looked around us and there it was. Right by the train station and of course dwarfing all around. Fabulous scene to arrive to.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Shall we run the marathon before we go.
When we were in the taxi taking us from Paddington to the hotel at St Pancras the taxi driver reminded s that we were lucky to get a room as it was the Marathon the next day and most hotels were full for weeks.
We checked into the Pullman hotel and went to collect our tickets for the Eurostar from St Pancras.
Then in a taxi to the Clarence for supper.
Grandpa stayed at the Clarence and had dinner there on his night in London. It is no longer an hotel but a VERY lively pub in Whitehall. We had booked a table fortunately and we had supper which was great. Then a bus back to the hotel. Tracker Barron found which bus and it took us straight back. A glass of red wine which we took to our rooms. Grandpa says in his diary that he had met up with his friends and that they yarned till 2.30 but he was younger and had not had the lunch with wine etc that we had had so our 11.00 bedtime may seem tame but not to us.
21st April. Up at 6 and breakfast at 7. The dining room was FULL of Frenchmen in tight lycra (it quite put me off my breakfast if I am allowed to say that!) eating piles of bread and bananas and presumably about to run the marathon. We decided against joining them as we might miss our train.
The train was fantastic. Lots of hot coffee and we were the only ones in our carriage so really quiet. I started to write my diary. I have copied Grandpas diary into my journal on the left hand page and am writing my own on the other side.
We must make sure we are not telling you all so much that we miss something!
Brussels Sunday Market is huge. Right by the Station so that the taxi driver had steam coming out of his ears as we sat in the traffic.
Hotel close to the centre.
Walked to the Grande Place and had Moule Frit and a beer in a little café off the Place. Went to the museum walked and walked and are now back in the hotel. It does feel odd to be on our way to China but as the trip progresses we will get used to it.
So far it is everything we had hoped. Tomorrow Cologne!
We checked into the Pullman hotel and went to collect our tickets for the Eurostar from St Pancras.
Then in a taxi to the Clarence for supper.
Grandpa stayed at the Clarence and had dinner there on his night in London. It is no longer an hotel but a VERY lively pub in Whitehall. We had booked a table fortunately and we had supper which was great. Then a bus back to the hotel. Tracker Barron found which bus and it took us straight back. A glass of red wine which we took to our rooms. Grandpa says in his diary that he had met up with his friends and that they yarned till 2.30 but he was younger and had not had the lunch with wine etc that we had had so our 11.00 bedtime may seem tame but not to us.
21st April. Up at 6 and breakfast at 7. The dining room was FULL of Frenchmen in tight lycra (it quite put me off my breakfast if I am allowed to say that!) eating piles of bread and bananas and presumably about to run the marathon. We decided against joining them as we might miss our train.
The train was fantastic. Lots of hot coffee and we were the only ones in our carriage so really quiet. I started to write my diary. I have copied Grandpas diary into my journal on the left hand page and am writing my own on the other side.
We must make sure we are not telling you all so much that we miss something!
Brussels Sunday Market is huge. Right by the Station so that the taxi driver had steam coming out of his ears as we sat in the traffic.
Hotel close to the centre.
Walked to the Grande Place and had Moule Frit and a beer in a little café off the Place. Went to the museum walked and walked and are now back in the hotel. It does feel odd to be on our way to China but as the trip progresses we will get used to it.
So far it is everything we had hoped. Tomorrow Cologne!
Greetings from Brussels
It is very strange to have set off from Barry yesterday to go to Shanghai and to be mooching round Brussels today!
We had the most amazing send off yesterday starting with Charlie, Miche, Ellie, Emily and Ed taking us to Southampton where we all had bacon rolls for breakfast and Ed could hardly contain himself as the trains came and went. He nearly exploded when three trains came in at once and Tone had to run to keep up with him.
On the train to Bristol Parkway where my best friends Bridget and Ted met us to drive us down to Barry. Bridget and I go back a long way and totally true to form she said she wanted to come and wave us off and would provide a picnic for lunch. When we walked to their car we saw that they had laid out a little table with lovely mugs and home made biscuits and they had a little gas ring and made really delicious coffee which was so much better that Costa on the motorway (sorry Costa but its true)
We drove down to Barry uneventfully and parked in the station car park. Bridget started to twitter about whether we should walk up to Romilly Road (where grandpa lived at the time he left for Shanghai. She made a couple of phone calls out of our hearing and I began to wonder what was up.
What was up was that my sister Marie turned up shortly afterwards having left my brother in law walking the Pembroke Way to come and see us off too.
This just gets better and the sun was shining too.
We visited Dave who lives at 28 Romilly Road now and he showed us round the house. It is truly lovely and still has the floor tiles in the hall and the wall tiles in the porch that would have been the ones grandpa saw as he left. Dave described how the house had been and it was great to meet him. Thank you Dave for being so patient with us.
At about this time John Rowley from the South West News Services arrived. He wanted some pics for First Great Western trains to publicise the fact that they gave us free first class tickets to travel up to London.
We recreated the picture of Grandpa and his dad and friends going to the station and it is in the gallery or will be once I upload it.
I then realised a long held ambition which many will know about. I walked onto Barry Station and asked for two singles to Shanghai!
Tracy the ticket lady had been warned and as cool as a cucumber agreed and printed me off two tickets. To Cardiff! I hope it will make a good pic as John made us do it a few times. Thanks Tracy
Once John had finished with us for the time being we returned to Bridget and Teds car where they had laid out a picnic to beat all picnics.
Tables and lace tablecloths, oysters and champagne, delicious chicken liver pate and wonderful white wine, smoked salmon sandwiches, scrummy cheeses and red wine. Really good beer for Tone as Ted thought it might be the last decent beer until we get home.
As we started the picnic our friends Ruth and Brian turned up. They had driven up from Plymouth!!
And then Aly and Tony England arrived with their little dogs Wesley and Willow and the party was complete. Aly had brought flags to wave. More wine, champagne and beer and it was time to go onto the platform. John was there to take more pics and then I panicked because I though we might be on the wrong platform.
Bridget took me to one side and gave me a bit of a talking to! Thanks Bridge. I have been calm ever since. I don't dare panic in case you get to hear about it!
Just before we left Bridget gave us a survival kit which included string, an olive pick (essential) salt pepper etc etc and a miniature of port and a little bottle of balsamic vinegar dressing. She is a classy lady
And then the train was coming. We got on and John came too. Tony England is taking pics and everyone is waving and shouting goodbye and it is really the most terrific send off we could have wished for.
To all of you who came you made our day. We cannot tell you how much it meant to us.
We got safely to London and that will be another story.
We had the most amazing send off yesterday starting with Charlie, Miche, Ellie, Emily and Ed taking us to Southampton where we all had bacon rolls for breakfast and Ed could hardly contain himself as the trains came and went. He nearly exploded when three trains came in at once and Tone had to run to keep up with him.
On the train to Bristol Parkway where my best friends Bridget and Ted met us to drive us down to Barry. Bridget and I go back a long way and totally true to form she said she wanted to come and wave us off and would provide a picnic for lunch. When we walked to their car we saw that they had laid out a little table with lovely mugs and home made biscuits and they had a little gas ring and made really delicious coffee which was so much better that Costa on the motorway (sorry Costa but its true)
We drove down to Barry uneventfully and parked in the station car park. Bridget started to twitter about whether we should walk up to Romilly Road (where grandpa lived at the time he left for Shanghai. She made a couple of phone calls out of our hearing and I began to wonder what was up.
What was up was that my sister Marie turned up shortly afterwards having left my brother in law walking the Pembroke Way to come and see us off too.
This just gets better and the sun was shining too.
We visited Dave who lives at 28 Romilly Road now and he showed us round the house. It is truly lovely and still has the floor tiles in the hall and the wall tiles in the porch that would have been the ones grandpa saw as he left. Dave described how the house had been and it was great to meet him. Thank you Dave for being so patient with us.
At about this time John Rowley from the South West News Services arrived. He wanted some pics for First Great Western trains to publicise the fact that they gave us free first class tickets to travel up to London.
We recreated the picture of Grandpa and his dad and friends going to the station and it is in the gallery or will be once I upload it.
I then realised a long held ambition which many will know about. I walked onto Barry Station and asked for two singles to Shanghai!
Tracy the ticket lady had been warned and as cool as a cucumber agreed and printed me off two tickets. To Cardiff! I hope it will make a good pic as John made us do it a few times. Thanks Tracy
Once John had finished with us for the time being we returned to Bridget and Teds car where they had laid out a picnic to beat all picnics.
Tables and lace tablecloths, oysters and champagne, delicious chicken liver pate and wonderful white wine, smoked salmon sandwiches, scrummy cheeses and red wine. Really good beer for Tone as Ted thought it might be the last decent beer until we get home.
As we started the picnic our friends Ruth and Brian turned up. They had driven up from Plymouth!!
And then Aly and Tony England arrived with their little dogs Wesley and Willow and the party was complete. Aly had brought flags to wave. More wine, champagne and beer and it was time to go onto the platform. John was there to take more pics and then I panicked because I though we might be on the wrong platform.
Bridget took me to one side and gave me a bit of a talking to! Thanks Bridge. I have been calm ever since. I don't dare panic in case you get to hear about it!
Just before we left Bridget gave us a survival kit which included string, an olive pick (essential) salt pepper etc etc and a miniature of port and a little bottle of balsamic vinegar dressing. She is a classy lady
And then the train was coming. We got on and John came too. Tony England is taking pics and everyone is waving and shouting goodbye and it is really the most terrific send off we could have wished for.
To all of you who came you made our day. We cannot tell you how much it meant to us.
We got safely to London and that will be another story.
Friday, 19 April 2013
Feeling quite emotional
Today is very strange. Tony is working all day and I have cleaned the house, done the washing, finished the packing and read the paper. I wonder how Grandpa felt the day before he went?
Of course he was a 21 year old single man setting out for a destination which he would have known little about.
We can Google our route if we want to, we can see from Google Earth the places we will go to and we have guide books which tell us what to expect, how to behave so as not to offend the people whose countries we visit and the advice of many friends who have been to the places we will go.
Grandpa left his parents, brother and friends in Wales and did not have known what to expect. He would have known his route but will probably not have known anyone who had travelled it before. He would not have known when he would see his parents and family again.
He says in his diary that he sent post cards from his trip but later, once he was living in Shanghai, we read in Grannies letters "I think I will send this letter via Russia" She would have read in the North China Herald, for whom she wrote the Lady's Page, the list of ships and the routes they were taking after leaving Shanghai and would have had to decide which one to send her letters on. Or as in the case I have seen decide to send the letters by rail in a route that was the reverse of Grandpas.
We are only going for 7 weeks, we are of course leaving our children and grandchildren and friends and will miss them a lot. However we can email, Skype and if we really want to telephone home.
After all the planning and the discussing with all our long suffering family and friends we are ready to go and can't wait
Shanghai here we come!
Of course he was a 21 year old single man setting out for a destination which he would have known little about.
We can Google our route if we want to, we can see from Google Earth the places we will go to and we have guide books which tell us what to expect, how to behave so as not to offend the people whose countries we visit and the advice of many friends who have been to the places we will go.
Grandpa left his parents, brother and friends in Wales and did not have known what to expect. He would have known his route but will probably not have known anyone who had travelled it before. He would not have known when he would see his parents and family again.
He says in his diary that he sent post cards from his trip but later, once he was living in Shanghai, we read in Grannies letters "I think I will send this letter via Russia" She would have read in the North China Herald, for whom she wrote the Lady's Page, the list of ships and the routes they were taking after leaving Shanghai and would have had to decide which one to send her letters on. Or as in the case I have seen decide to send the letters by rail in a route that was the reverse of Grandpas.
We are only going for 7 weeks, we are of course leaving our children and grandchildren and friends and will miss them a lot. However we can email, Skype and if we really want to telephone home.
After all the planning and the discussing with all our long suffering family and friends we are ready to go and can't wait
Shanghai here we come!
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Plans changed
Don't be alarmed by the title of this post! We were due to travel from London on Sunday to Ramsgate and go as foot passengers on a freight ferry to Ostend and then on to Brussels by train
Sadly the ferry has been cancelled on Sunday so we have reverted to our original plan to go from London to Brussels. It is a pity but we did try
So far the only parts of Grandpas trip we are not able to replicate are the ferries. When Grandpa got to China it was not possible to travel to Beijing so he went to a place called Dalian and caught a ferry which took three days to get to Shanghai. We knew that this is no longer possible but had hoped to do the Ostend bit. It does mean we get to Brussels by noon so an extra half day there
Sadly the ferry has been cancelled on Sunday so we have reverted to our original plan to go from London to Brussels. It is a pity but we did try
So far the only parts of Grandpas trip we are not able to replicate are the ferries. When Grandpa got to China it was not possible to travel to Beijing so he went to a place called Dalian and caught a ferry which took three days to get to Shanghai. We knew that this is no longer possible but had hoped to do the Ostend bit. It does mean we get to Brussels by noon so an extra half day there
Out of the blue
This week has been mad already and we are only halfway through.
On Monday I had an email from an International TV Channel in Shanghai. They wanted information about our trip as they cover international stories and think they will cover our visit!
Yesterday I had a call from a news agency in the South West asking the same thing!
The Chinese connection came from an email I sent many weeks ago to the British Consul in Shanghai. Rob (Brett) had suggested they might be interested and although they did not respond they clearly have not ignored my email.
Sending emails with attachments to Shanghai has proved tricky, they lingered in my outbox for a day or two but they decided to go this morning so we will have to see what they make of all the stuff I sent them.
The news agency here have prepared a news release that they will put out on Monday after we have gone so look out for stuff about our trip in the papers.
They contacted us through the First Great Western Company who gave us free first class tickets from Southampton to Cardiff and from Cardiff to London and the train company want some publicity!
Apparently they will be in Barry to see us off!
It is interesting how over many months now people have said to us "this is a really good story why don't you tell the media" We have not done so because we shied away from taking the professional video camera we were offered and have not thought any more about it till now.
On Monday I had an email from an International TV Channel in Shanghai. They wanted information about our trip as they cover international stories and think they will cover our visit!
Yesterday I had a call from a news agency in the South West asking the same thing!
The Chinese connection came from an email I sent many weeks ago to the British Consul in Shanghai. Rob (Brett) had suggested they might be interested and although they did not respond they clearly have not ignored my email.
Sending emails with attachments to Shanghai has proved tricky, they lingered in my outbox for a day or two but they decided to go this morning so we will have to see what they make of all the stuff I sent them.
The news agency here have prepared a news release that they will put out on Monday after we have gone so look out for stuff about our trip in the papers.
They contacted us through the First Great Western Company who gave us free first class tickets from Southampton to Cardiff and from Cardiff to London and the train company want some publicity!
Apparently they will be in Barry to see us off!
It is interesting how over many months now people have said to us "this is a really good story why don't you tell the media" We have not done so because we shied away from taking the professional video camera we were offered and have not thought any more about it till now.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
A sailing weekend?????
We had arranged to go sailing in company with our friends Tony and Aly and Brian and Ruth this weekend. We planned to go to Salcombe on what would have been our first sail of the season!
However the best laid plans almost always go awry where sailing plans are concerned and luckily for us they went awry yesterday.
We knew that there would be no sailing so Tony and I suggested that the others join us for supper on the boat on Friday.
At this point Aly had to admit that she had hatched a plot.
So no sailing, no supper on our boat but instead the most wonderful evening at Jolly Jacks here at Mayflower Marine.
The idea was a Chinese supper to get us in the mood for our trip and as a goodbye from our friends here. The chef not only cooked the usual menu for a busy restaurant but also cooked a brilliant Chinese meal for 14 of us.
What a great idea, thank you all for coming and making our last weekend before our trip so memorable. Tone says he is surprised I remember anything but I just think he is insinuating that I drank more than anyone else which is simply not true! We are lucky to have such lovely friends and we loved every minute of it.
See you all when we get back.
I have put some pics in the Gallery
However the best laid plans almost always go awry where sailing plans are concerned and luckily for us they went awry yesterday.
We knew that there would be no sailing so Tony and I suggested that the others join us for supper on the boat on Friday.
At this point Aly had to admit that she had hatched a plot.
So no sailing, no supper on our boat but instead the most wonderful evening at Jolly Jacks here at Mayflower Marine.
The idea was a Chinese supper to get us in the mood for our trip and as a goodbye from our friends here. The chef not only cooked the usual menu for a busy restaurant but also cooked a brilliant Chinese meal for 14 of us.
What a great idea, thank you all for coming and making our last weekend before our trip so memorable. Tone says he is surprised I remember anything but I just think he is insinuating that I drank more than anyone else which is simply not true! We are lucky to have such lovely friends and we loved every minute of it.
See you all when we get back.
I have put some pics in the Gallery
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