Cadbury World and Sea Life Birmingham - 30th July

A fun day out today in Birmingham! First we visited Cadbury World and toured the Cadbury factory. There were plenty of free samples to eat along the way and a huge shop full of chocolate.


Next it was off to the National Sea Life Centre with plenty of awesome aquarium displays and a cool 4D Turtle Vision movie.

Hotel McGurren - 27th & 28th July

Visited our friends Drew and Jane in Horsmonden near London for a couple of days (Tarsha worked with Drew in Guildford).

The boys enjoyed playing with their girls Phoebe and Lucy and also met George the tortoise. We also visited the Bedgebury Forest where there were lovely walking trails and playgrounds.

Battle Abbey - 27th July

We left the Isle of Wight today and travelled up to Horsmonden near London. Along the way we stopped in at Battle Abbey - the site of the great Battle of Hastings in which the English army was defeated by William the Conqueror of Normandy.

Legend has it that William defeated King Harold of England after poor Harold took an arrow to his eye!

Shanklin Beach - 26th July

Tomorrow we leave the Isle of Wight and return to the mainland UK. We have had a lovely time here and will be sure to visit again and see more of the sights.

Spent a bit more time at Shanklin beach today as well as a quick visit to the Brading Roman Villa.



Shanklin is where our B&B is so we have had plenty of visits to the beach over the last few days!

Osborne House and the Monkey Haven - 25th July

After the Queen's visit Tarsha and I went to Osborne House - the former residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Amazing estate which was passed on to the nation after her death in 1901.

It was cool to see the rooms as they were right up until the day she died.




Later in the day we visited the Owl and Monkey Haven and the boys did the Marmoset Encounter where they got to feed and touch the little monkeys! Jacob also nearly lost his glasses to one particularly cheeky little fellow!

The Queen in Cowes - 25th July

Went to see the Queen today in Cowes - the last stop on her Diamond Jubilee tour through the UK.

Thanks to Carly and PJ we got a great front row spot for the walkabout. No royal handshake for the kiwis but otherwise about as close as we could get!

Carisbrooke Castle - 23rd July

Explored Carisbrooke Castle today on the Isle of Wight - once the prison of King Charles I before his execution...





Found a cool sword for Harry - Excalibur, the legendary blade of King Arthur!

Now we just have to worry about getting it back in to NZ...

Blackgang Chine - 22nd July

Went to the Blackgang Chine adventure park today too.

A busy day for the boys who spent most of the day going around and around and around on the raft water slide with Carly's boys (Sam and Harry).









The raft ride and hedge maze...

The Needles - 22nd July

Went to the Needles today on the Isle of Wight - an appropriately named piece of coastline!





We took the boys down to the beach via the chairlift for a quick play on the beach and then visited some of the local attractions - glass blowing, lolly making, and sand figures - great fun for the kids and grown ups!

Back in the UK - 19th July

Left France today and returned to the UK. Sad to be leaving Europe but nice to be back somewhere that only speaks English!

We caught the Eurostar through the chunnel to London and then headed straight down to Portsmouth to catch a ferry across to the Isle of Wight.

We will be staying here for about a week to explore and catch up with another friend from our days in Guildford - Carly Thomas.

High Rope Course - 18th July

Took the boys to a high rope course today on our last day in the Dordogne.

They really enjoyed navigating the obstacles and harnessing themselves in for the zip lines and rope swings high up in the trees...





In the afternoon it was into the car for the long drive back to Paris - tomorrow we are heading back to the UK through the chunnel on the Eurostar!

Lascaux Cave - 18th July

Visited the famous Lascaux cave today to see the amazing 17,000 year old wall paintings.

We didn't visit the real cave but a near exact copy (Lascaux II) - the real cave has been closed for years now to preserve the paintings. Only super famous people get access to the real cave and apparently we didn't qualify...

Canoeing the Dordogne - 17th July

Went for a canoeing trip down the Dordogne river today - awesome scenery along the way and good fun cruising down the river.










Good practice for a Wanganui river trip when we get back home - Harry has already said that Grandad will need to fix up the old Isles family canoe...

The Chasm of Padirac - 16th July

Explored the Chasm of Padirac today - one of the largest caves in Europe. We soon found out why it is such an amazing attraction as we descended 103m underground and then hopped into boats to sail along the underground river within the cave system!

Awesome rock formations within the cave chambers at the end of the underground river. Even the boys were impressed with these old rocks!

Later in the day we went to Rocomadour to watch a bird show with eagles, vultures, condors, and macaws all swooping and diving around us. 

Awesome setting in the Dordogne valley with ancient chateaus overlooking the river below!

Towards Dordogne - 14th & 15th July

Spent a couple of days on the road from Brittany to Sarlat in the Dordogne - our base for the next few days.  Found a couple of nice spots to stop along the way and enjoyed the French countryside.

No problems driving our rental car on the wrong side of the road yet...

Camping Brittany: 7th - 13th July

Finally we have struck some bad weather with the rain arriving just in time for our week of camping by the beach and pool - typical luck!!

Still we have enjoyed our cabin at the campsite and we have spent plenty of time in the pools. The boys have got in some archery too and we have explored a little of the Atlantic coast. 

It has been a good break from the constant travels and a chance to recharge a bit before we head back to the UK. 

We have 5 more days in France so tomorrow we are heading down to the Dordogne region to explore some more French villages and the caves at Lascaux.