The Lost Gardens of Heligan

A cloudy, damp day, so ideal for visiting and wandering through the stunning "Lost Gardens" (www.heligan.com). Originally planned, planted and developed by the Tremayne family from 1770 through 1914, the gardens fell into dereliction, and disappeared after the Great War.

Rejuvenated and restored in the 1990s, the gardens now flourish under a staff of some 26 trained and qualified gardeners and horticulturalists. A national treasure, the gardens contain some breath-taking and unique living sculptures.









No sign of Peter or Mr McGregor!



Just as well we 'gardened' in the morning, because our trip down to St Mawes during the afternoon was in the rain. Somehow it was a fitting backdrop for the castle, built by Henry VIII in anticipation of Spanish aggression.



Nothing better to raise the spirits than a little unintentional humour in St Just of Roseland. Nestled away in a palmtree-filled churchyard, the church dates back to 1260

Farewell North coast, hello South

The next morning, Monday, broke cloudy and grey. Time to leave Padstow, and head south.



Brighter weather beckoned us, as we descended into the small fishing village of Mevagissey. Narrow streets lead to the harbour . . .



. . . . filled with brightly coloured fishing boats, and surrounded by houses clinging to the sides of the hills. All very attractive, belying the hard trade plied by generations of Cornish fishermen.





Beautiful to look at, but the Cornish coast is totally unforgiving for unwary sailors, as the Spanish Armada discovered to their loss.

Deep into the West Country, the North Coast

After the gentility of Wiltshire, we headed on down through Somerset and on into Devon to visit with Sam's twin, Andrew. Just in time for tea and cake, a welcome break and sustinence for our onward journey into Cornwall. Our destination Padstow, where we booked for two nights into the Metropole hotel overlooking the Camel Estuary. It was good to be off the road.



The next day took us exploring the local area, and visiting Port Isaac in search of Doc Martin . . . but not home! Pretty though the village is, even this time of year there were loads of tourists gawking into peoples houses, looking for some of the familiar TV series characters perhaps. Can't imagine how it must be living there.




So we continued on through to the next fishing village, Port Gaverne, for coffee at the local hotel.


Coninuing our touring, past rolling farmland against a backdrop of the sea . . .



. . .and onto Tintagel, site of King Arthur's fabled Medieval castle, now only the ruins remaining on the headland . . .



. . . turn around to see surely the ugliest building (the King Arthur Hotel, built 1899), but serving the best Cornish cream tea on the terrace overlooking the scene, So the best of both worlds.

En route to Cornwall

Back in our 'second home', and this time the intention is to head to the West Country, down to Cornwall, a county we have never visited before.
Cornwall, land of rugged coasts, hidden fishing villages, smugglers of old, tin mines, independent minds, and Doc Martin.

But a welcome break on the way, to visit with Graham and Judy in Biddestone (Chippenham) Wiltshire, land of Jane Austen, English Georgian gentility, quiet villages with old stone houses, duck ponds, village greens and pubs.



and stone stiles.



. . . and speaking of pubs . . . where else should one have dinner?

Springtime in Paris

Well, really not springtime, but probably early summer. Great weather, just comfortable and not too hot.

Our room at the Ambassador Hotel afforded us a view of the roof of the Opera . . .



brunch on the boulevard . . .



and an easy walk towards the Seine via the Louvre and gardens . . .





to await our water taxi . . .



the BatoBus, for a trip to the Tour Eiffel.





Then back on the BatoBus to the Musee D'Orsay (a gem of a place, thank you Serge)



Where else in the world can you get up close and personal with Monet, Manet, Degas, Rodin . . .





. . . or observe school students enjoying a class sitting in front of the originals.



Or thrill to a scale model cross section of the Paris Opera House.



Or check out an authentic Paris omnibus from the 1940s.



Finally to end our day in a cozy restaurant after a sumptuous meal with the perfect dessert

Springtime in Europe

Well, here we are again . . . just can't sit still.

In actual fact, it was really a question of 'what would we like to do for our wedding anniversary ?' . . and a visit to Paris seemed like a good idea. So off to London for a couple of days jetlag recuperation in Enfield . . .there the rhododendrons are at their peak. . .



Then by Tube up to St Pancras Station - stunningly refurbished in its original 1867 Victorian iron architecture



check out the Champagne Bar (empty) . . .



. . . board the Eurostar, under the Channel tunnel and in two hours here we are, in Paris at the Gare du Nord ! Magic.

. . .and home again

The long haul home, Auckland to Los Angeles in just under 11 hours, and then a day of respite on the Grand Canal, Venice Beach before heading out to Canada and home . . .





. . . . home, where nothing seems to have changed !

Last day . . .

A last trip on the green bomber . . . Auckland City’s (excellent) ‘Link’ bus service (wake up Kingston Ontario !!)



Lunch by the harbour – Greenpeace ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in the background . . .



. . .and a huge ‘thank you’ to friends John, Patricia and Kerie (Journeys International – check ‘em out - www.journeys.co.nz ) for preparing and smoothing our way for our month in their country. Thanks mates !

Farewell Queenstown

Liftoff from Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu, and farewell South Island. Great memories, and am sure we’ll be back one of these days.



Back to Ponsonby, Auckland for a final couple of nights, and Ponsonby Road with its eclectic mix of cafes and restaurants.





Sunday evening at Mission Bay, and a stroll in the park . . . .



. . . an evening with friends -John, Natalia the Russian Princess, Peter, Derek, Maralyn and Jeanie . . .



. . . and a feed of that never-to-be-missed NZ specialty, green lipped mussels !