Day 3: - Happy Easter and a day of Cathedrals

Our day started with a crispness we are not becoming used to, and we were off to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King Liverpool! This is a very modern building, and WOW, is it impressive!

Catholic Cathedral Liverpool, originally uploaded by AussiePomm. 1. SJM Outside Catholic Cathedral Liverpool, 2. Catholic Cathedral External Liverpool, 3. Catholic Cathedral Alter CU Liverpool, 4. Catholic Cathedral Alter Liverpool, 5. Catholic Cathedral Baptismal Font Liverpool, 6. Catholic Cathedral Choir Liverpool, 7. Catholic Cathedral Organ Pipes Liverpool, 8. Catholic Cathedral Liverpool

Then it was off to meet up with Aunt Pat for Easter Sunday Mass followed by lunch with her friend Maree. This was a most excellent lunch, company and atmosphere!

Then it was off to Sefton Park to see the Daffodils which was simply AMAZING! The sheer amount of Daffs throughout the park is simply stunning and something we will never see in Sydney! We were told that the Daffs were planted for a pound donation!

Sefton Park Liverpool, originally uploaded by AussiePomm. 1. Sefton Park Daffs Sign, 2. Sefton Park Daffs6, 3. Sefton Park Daffs5, 4. Sefton Park Daffs4, 5. Sefton Park Daffs3, 6. Sefton Park Daffs2, 7. MPSJ Sefton Park Daffs, 8. Sefton Park Daffs1

As it was another particularly cold day we thought we would head onto the Anglican Cathedral to warm up...

Anglican Cathedral Liverpool, originally uploaded by AussiePomm. 1. Anglican Cathedral Entrance, 2. Anglican Cathedral Entrance Inside, 3. Anglican Cathedral Wood Carving Stall Ends, 4. Ladys Chapel Anglican Chapel, 5. Anglican Floral Arrangement, 6. Mum Inside Anglican Cathedral

So all up, another busy day, and some well earned rest is to be had! We are heading South tomorrow towards Bath. However, a slight change in plans is going to see us now venture into Wales and then back into the UK via Bristol!

Hope you all had a great Easter!

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Day 2: - York

After an early wake-up to get the car OUT of the carpark (4GBP if out by 6am, otherwise 12GBP)we had breakfast and hit the road in our ride; a Vauxhall Insignia.

Vauxhall Insignia is our ride, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We headed across to York in a cold, misty rainy day... It took us about 2 hours to find it and the 'Park and Ride' to get the bus into the city centre itself! What a great thing we did this, as traffic inside the centre of town was horrid! So we walked around a bit, got the 'Hop on Hop off' bus which took us around town for about an hour... Just before we hopped on, we got some Pasties, nice and hot (I had the Beef and pepper so EXTRA hot!) to warm our cockles as it was an open top Double Decker bus! After the trip, we then headed to the Cathedral or as it is also know, the York Ministry. There was WAY TO MANY photos taken, so I will do a mosaic below (sorry) but it would take me hours to put them all up!

York Mosaic, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.1. Grey Brigade York Battlement, 2. Choir Practice, 3. Funny Gargoil New Carving, 4. Stain Glass Screenprint, 5. Inside York Minster, 6. Choir Positions York Minster, 7. Inside York Minster, 8. Minster Spire, 9. St Michael, 10. Minister Spires, 11. Four of us at a York Bridge, 12. Horse and Carriage, 13. Julie and Michael York, 14. Me and mum York, 15. York Dig, 16. York Minster Spires, 17. York City Art Gallery, 18. York Busker, 19. York Random, 20. York Bridge

After the Cathedral, we then went to (after a suggestion from my neighbours Lynette and Denis) to make sure you go and visit 'Bettys' and so we did... I, on behalf of the Grey Brigade, wish to thank you Lynette and Denis for those extra kilograms we all put on...

Bettys, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Bettys Cream Tea, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We then headed back to Liverpool, got in around 10pm, with 3 very tired Grey Brigades and one very tired driver...

Happy Easter Everyone!

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RHS Wisley Gardens

As I said in my all too brief post last night, after a very long day (and a few too many home brewed ales and Maggie's friends...) I was totally exhausted. But I can now tell you of my day!

We started early, and headed for the M25 to head south to Wisley. The Gardens were yet to open, but I could tell be the carpark, it must be a popular spot! I was not wrong either. After getting through the entrance gates, it was like walking into another world. This Garden was WAY better than my last visit of Kew Gardens! Sure, Kew has the History, Science and sheer size, Wisely has the WOW factor and in many ways, a CAMP factor with it being full of color, texture and in general, spunk! Gardens beds of tightly packed Cosmos, other beds full of colour and finely manicure lawns (with please keep off signs, grrrr) were everywhere! I took over nearly 200 photos, of which are in my Flickr account, and I will upload many more when I get home due to batt life and nearing data allowance, but I have done 30 and split them over two mosaic's for ease of viewing.

Wisley Gardens Mosaic 2, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.1. Blueberry Protection WG, 2. Badger Protection Maize Maze WG, 3. Maize Maze TOP WG, 4. Maize Maze WG, 5. Dahlia 2 WG, 6. Dahlia WG, 7. Jennys Rose WG, 8. Arch Lawn Vista WG, 9. Cosmos Closeups WG, 10. Cosmos Terrace Beds WG, 11. Formal Lawns Entrance WG, 12. Wisley Gardens Flower Cone, 13. Maggie Flower Wall WG, 14. VertiGarden WG, 15. FLy on flower WG

Wisley Gardens Mosaic, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.1. Water Lilly Pond WG, 2. Bee on Dahlia, 3. Garden Art WG, 4. Recycle Station WG, 5. Root Display Glasshouse WG, 6. Glasshouse Close WG, 7. Glasshouse WG, 8. Water Vista Bridge WG, 9. Waterfall WG, 10. Distant Glasshouse WG, 11. Bee Flower WG, 12. Alpine Garden Bed WG, 13. Alpine Garden WG, 14. Zinnias WG, 15. Blueberry Protection WG

After that, Maggie took me to where she was living when over here, and her sons grew up until they moved back to Australia in the early '90s. We went to some of her old neighbours, were I was watered with home brew, fed with Moussaka (I picked out the Egg Plant: - YUK!) and had play time with Sally, an 11 month old Pointer who had recently been spayed after her first season. She was a playful pup, already pulled out 4-5 stitch's leaving 3 until next Tuesday, yeah right! I was also taken up to Keith's Allotment garden, which was a fascinating thing to do, eating the wild blackberries along the way...

As I said, a very tiring day. But I am now checked-in for my 26 odd hour flight home via Singapore, and will let you know how I am when I get there. The inbound flight I was told by my friends back home in the industry, left 4 hours late. This worried me as if it keeps this up, we will NOT make the 11pm curfew, so we will wait and see. They are telling me here that we will be departing only 30 mins late... Waiting waiting waiting!

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A little lost and ready for home...

Over the last couple of days, I have been feeling somewhat 'lost'... Not knowing what to do, where to go and generally, feeling as though ALL I want to do is stay in my hotel room and do NOTHING! Kind of lonely I suppose.

However, even though I have spent a lot of time in here, I have still been getting out and about and seeing the greater part of Central London. I went to the Portobello Rd Markets (what a mistake this was); too many GOOD things that I could not take home, AND simply WAY to many people! I think I have come to not like being in crowds...

1. Portobello Rd Markets, 2. Portobello Rd Markets crowds, 3. Portobello Rd Markets crowds II, 4. Portobello Rd Markets Silver, 5. Portobello Rd Coloured Houses, 6. Coloured Terraces Notting Hill, 7. Notting Hill Gate Stn, 8. Big Ben 6pm, 9. Ch 4 UK, 10. London Eye, 11. London Eye Side, 12. Westminster

I also got a couple of shots of both Westminster and the London Eye, but my shots of the Tower Bridge did not turn out like I had hoped, so they will not be posted! In case you're wondering about the '4', it is for Ch 4 here in the UK, and it is made from Umbrellas!

I am starting my trip home in just under 24 hours, so this will be my last London post until I get home. Then there will be some major 'redecorating' and so on, so stay tuned...

Cya!

Kew Photo Mosaic

Instead of clicking on the MOSAIC below, click on the linked text below to see a full sized photo...

1. Kew Tree Top Walk, 2. Kew Palm House WIDE, 3. Kew Palm House, 4. Kew LARGE Seed, 5. Kew Funny Seed, 6. Kew 3 Sedd Pods, 7. Kew Large Seed, 8. Kew Seed, 9. Kew Allium, 10. Kew Seeds Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Not much has really changed within Kew, but I do seem to be having a recurring theme throughout this trip, Sculptures. You will remember that back at Burghley I visited the 'Sculpture Garden', and now at Kew Gardens, the first thing I got to see when through the gates, was MORE sculptures, this time, from Willow Twigs.

There was an amazing array of different sculptures and things, but I also got to walk around the gardens. Much of it I saw back in 2004, so I did not go back into some of the exhibits, but more so walked around and enjoyed the Gardens. One thing I did go back to look at, was the 'Tree Top Walk', which on this trip, is a more permanent structure. In 2004, it was more of a scaffolding mess, where as now (see pic above in mosaic) tends to blend in more with the surroundings. It is built of a rusted steel (which blends nicely to look like tree trunks). I was going to go up, but the lift was unserviceable, and I did not at all feel like climbing the steps as I was a little sore, so I enjoyed the view from below.

The following day, I took "The Original Bus Tour" around Central London. This was a great trip, a little cold which was not so pleasant and against the forecast, but I got to see all of the sights. Due to it being extremely overcast (typical London?), I did not get a good pic, so I went for a second trip the following day. Thank goodness for a 24 hour ticket! I will do another mosaic tomorrow with those pics!

Is a Church a good place for a shop?

Stamford, is a place that is full of Church's... There are so many, that in fact, some have closed. One was a working 'Historical' museum of sorts, but this one, just blew me away. Is it just me, that this is not a good use for the now disused church, OR is it ok to use it for a set of shops? I think that if they had concealed the shops in some way (as opposed to them being so 'in your face', then maybe it is ok. But, from what I heard, inside make no resemblance to what it was originally...

They even moved a lot of headstones to make way for the carpark for the shopkeepers...

So, is this ok, a good use of a church, or could they have done better with concealing the shopfronts??

Off to Kew Gardens next, stay tuned...

Burghley Gardens: - Stamford

I had a trip to a lovely countr estate, Burghley Gardens. Its sort of a sprawling open gardens type of place, until you come up to the house!

Before we headed into the 'Orangary' for lunch, we took a stroll through the "Sculpture Garden". So here is a photo essay of the walk...

Magnetic rock that you throw your pennies at...

Of course, I had to have a formal lawn shot...

Southport and the Penny Arcade...

Today, Aunty Patt took me out to a new place that I had not been before, Southport Pier. This is quite an old pier!

And here is an old aerial shot of just how LONG it is...

Looking back towards Southport:

It even needs it's own TRAM to get out to the end!

There is a wonderful old 'Penny Arcade' with lots of old Penny machines, just for fun!

Even Aunty Pat had a go!!!

Ness Botanic Gardens

Tuesday, Aunty Pat took me across the Wirral to the Ness Botanic Gardens. It is in a very quaint parcel of land across the River Mersey. We got there, by way of missed connections and waiting, but that was OK as the day was lovely and warm...

Upon arrival, I was delighted by the lovely entrance:

Ness Botanic Gardens

Due to our day of missed connections, we were a little peckish, and had lunch in the little Cafe before heading out into the Gardens. I came across a little 'lookout' and the view was grand:

Ness Botanic Gardens

Upon rounding the corner to get to the lower level of the Garden, there was an embankment of (mainly) blue Blue Bells, with the odd white one thrown in as well:

Ness Botanic Gardens Blue Bells

Just a short distance on, there was a great maze mown into the grass as well:

Ness Botanic Gardens Lawn Maze

A short distance away was an amazing Yellow Arbour, and this amazingly blue flower:

Ness Botanic Gardens Arbour

Ness Botanic Gardens Blue Flower

Continuing along the way, we came across a 'Monet' styled bridge and a tricky little carving:

Ness Botanic Gardens Monet Bridge

Ness Botanic Gardens Woodwork