mybigadventures.com

We decided to visit Slovenia again, having not been since our Big Europe Adventure in 2007. We had really enjoyed our time in Ljubljana so we made our way there first, to spend a few days there, and then go onto Lake Bled, which we'd heard a lot about but hadn't got as far as visiting. 

It was a little dreary when we arrived, with drizzly rain. But it soon stopped and the sun came out. It was lovely to re-visit places that we distantly remembered - we spent our first day moseying around the old town centre, wandering around the streets and even locating the hostel that we stayed in when we first came. We looked up at the castle, saw the dragon bridge, walked back and forth over the three bridges, and just generally wandered. On another day, we visited the zoo, quite an impressive collection of animals and with only about a handful of other visitors, so very quiet! A real treat was seeing some baby marmosets, clinging onto their parents, and also a gorgeous red panda, who seemed quite camera shy and kept to the back branches of his enclosure. But not out of reach of the Ben's zoom lense!

On another day we went on an adventure a bit further afield. We hired a car and went to see Postojna caves and Prejama castle, about 45 minutes outside of Ljubljana. It was possible to see both on the same day but only if you hired a car - seemingly, out of season, public transport doesn't function and you can't get between the two sites and it's just too far to walk. So the car worked out a treat! We went to the castle first, as the cave tours were full for the earlier part of the day. The castle is veyr impressive, built into the cave wall and involving a cave system of its own. It has survived many a siege, and due to secret passageways between it and the local village, managed to sustain forces for months way back many centuries ago. There wasn't a lot of original fixtures and fittings to look at, although there were a few recreations to look at. But there was a detailed audio guide that explained all about the construction of the different sections and what it was used for. From there, we went to the caves. The tour was about an hour long and it started on a little train, that went along through several kilometres of caves. It was huge down there! And enormous stalagnites and stalagtites that were centuries old. All in all, we were told that we had traversed about 10 kilometres deep underground. Once back up on the surface, we spent quite a while trying to take photos of some swallows that were diving for insects above the weir outside; we did get a few quite good pictures, but the were so fast!

And from one castle, to another - we also revisited Ljuljana castle. It has had a lot of work done to it since 2007 - a lot of it has been re-roofed and rebuilt and it looks considerably more solid now. It has also become a bit more of an 'event' location, focusing a little too much on weddings and other events, rather than catering for tourists. Food options were quite limited and pricey, so our plans of having lunch up there fell by the wayside. Instead, we ended up getting an ice cream from a lovely ice cream palour we've discovered, called Vigo. We've been there a few times - Ben always has chocolate, but I like to try various things. It's delicious!

From Ljubljana, we headed to Lake Bled. We got the bus, as it's the most direct route and only takes about 90 minutes. It was a very scenic journey and avery busy bus, with people having to stand for part of the journey as it was so full. It was straightforward with only a minor hold up and we made it to Bled early afternoon. We checked into out hotel - quite an expensive place but when we got up to our suite (!) and saw the view from our balcony, it was completely worth it! It was glorious. We spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting and looking out over the lake - something which became something of a habit throughout our stay. When we did tear ourselves away from the view, we visited Bled castle, perched high above the lake on a rocky outcrop - a bit of a climb, but a lovely place to visit and great views. We also spent time walking around the lake, seeing a pair of kestrals nesting in the rock face and some very recent ducklings. And we couldn't be so close to the lake without rowing on it! We went twice, to mess about on the lake! Lovely sunshine and relaxing activities - an excellent holiday!

Yesterday we had a slower day, the weather wasn't quite as nice as it has been, not wet, just a little cloudy. In the end we headed over to Gwithian to walk along the cliffs and look out to Godrevy lighthouse. There were quite a lot of surfers out making the most of the waves so we stood and watched for a little while. Although the blue sky wasn't making an appearance it wasn't especially cold and made for a pleasant walk. Having managed to miss them all week, we decided it was about time to get some Cornish pasties for lunch. We dropped by Philp's in Hayle to get 3 pasties and scotch eggs to takeaway. They also did takeaway cream tea for four but we gave these a miss as we already have scones and cream in the cottage.

The lunch was very filling and we found ourselves stuffed for the rest of the day. Dani and I played some ping pong in the games room whilst mum read for a bit in the afternoon and after tea we watched 'Goodbye Christopher Robin' on DVD (the cottage has a really good selection of recent films). A bit of a lazy day, but it is a holiday!

Today we decided to head for Mousehole which is a small fishing village on the coast. We parked just on the edge of the village and set off for a wander. The weather was similar to yesterday with a lot of cloud although the sunshine peeped through a few times bringing with it a bit of blue sky. There were quite a few nice shops and galleries to look in and mum managed to pick up a few nice bits including a seaside sign and a tree decoration. We stoppped for lunch in The Old Pilchard Press cafe with me and mum both having a panini whilst Dani had the special of mackerel pate and toast. It was all very nice and the service was very good with a warm welcome and cheery service throughout. 

Later in the afternoon we decided to drop by St Ives for a wander around the shops. We bought a few bits, including a framed picture for mum and a pink dinosaur for me! We dropped by Tesco on the way back to the cottage picking up burgers and chips for tea. In the evening me and Dani went for a quick drive back to Marazion to see if St Michael's Mount was lit up. Sadly it isn't. I tried a couple of photos but the camera was struggling to focus. Headed back for a bit of TV and packing before bed, home tomorrow!

Today, we made a last minute change of plan and headed for Trerice. We were originally heading to Truro and nearby Trelissick gardens, but the weather wasn't particularly clement, so we decided to go somewhere different and leave Trelissick for a sunnier day. After a bit of Googling, we settled on Trerice, an Elizabethan manor house and gardens. It didn't take long to get there and it was a little damp, but not really raining. We wandered around the house first, looking at all the antique furnishings and particularly the clocks, as there were many! We went to the cafe for lunch, using our handy giftcard to pay for it. Dani had a tuna jacket potato, and mum and I had a cream tea each. We then went in search of the much-anticipated lawnmower museum, but much to our disappointment, we were unable to find it. However, Dani did stumble upon the second hand bookshop, and - grinning from ear to ear - she came out clutching a new tome. We had a bit of a wander around the garden and were pleased to see a little bit of blue sky appear making for a few nice photos of the Elizabethan Manor.

On the way back to the cottage we stopped by Wheal Coates Tin mine. The first mine is a short walk from the car park, and a little further along, there is another, clinging to the edge of the cliff. The tide was in and there was quite a lot of fog making for quite a dramatic scene. It was a little chilly as there was quite a breeze coming in from the sea so we only stayed about half an hour.

We dropped by Tesco again on the way back to pick up a few bits for tea before heading in for the evening. I added a few more photos to the Cornwall album and whilst at it I tweaked the website code a bit. I didn't like the way that the album preview displayed below a blog was always the same so I made a change so that it now shows the most recent photos.

Exceeding all expectations we had sunshine again today! We decided to make the most of it and headed over to National Trust St Michael's Mount. It's only a short drive away from the cottage, and is accessed from the town of Marazion. The tide times are a bit useless this time of year with low tide early in the morning and late in the afternoon / evening so the causeway wasn't an option for crossing, so we made our way by boat. As the weather was so nice, the water was very calm making for an easy crossing, plus it saved our legs a bit for the climb on the otherside. We were taken across by one of the island residents who pointed out his bathroom window in the cottages that sit at the bottom of the the rock on which the castle sits.

The climb up follows a winding path of uneven cobbles and stepped rock sections, and was no easy feat. It took a little while, but we all got there in the end. There are some terrific views from the top of the boats ferrying people below and the surrounding coast. We had a bit of a sit in the sunshine on the rocks just outside the castle entrance and Dani managed to spot a seal in the sea below! After a bit of a rest, we headed into the castle to wander around the historic rooms, it was all very insteresting, and although there was a steady stream of people, it wasn't exactly busy.   

Feeling quite hungry on the journey back down, we headed for the cafe where we had some tasty toasted sandwiches followed a little laster by ice-cream. We dropped by Tesco on the way back for a few essentials (clotted cream and scones) before heading back to the cottage for a bit of rest and relaxation. Splendid! 

After another busy term, we've eventually hit Easter. We're actually half way through the break at this point and have alredy spent the last week decorating the stairs and landing before coming away to Cornwall with mum. The weather this spring has been less than impressive so far with the "Beast from the East" weather just a few short weeks ago dumping snow everywhere. On the plus side it did reward us with a snow day, although in our case it was actually a "frozen pipe day", with the water pipes frozen leading to a lack of water across the school site. With all this in mind we weren't suprised to see the weather reports for this week predicting cloudy days and light rain. We arrived yesterday to Brook Cottage, our home for the week. It's in Carpis Bay which is just a short distance out of St Ives and is very nicely appointed with 3 bedrooms, a fully equiped kitchen and a games room including darts, table football and a table tennis table. Even better there was a welcome basket when we arrived with lots of essentials including tea bags, coffee, milk, some biscuits, a box of celebrations and a bottle of wine! 

Today, we had a wander around St. Ives. The weather was amazing with bright sunshine and blue skies. St. Ives looked as beautiful as usual in the sunshine with clear blue water and sandy beaches. We stopped for some lunch in Olives Tea Room where I had my first Cornish cream tea of the week. Dani had some coffee cake whilst mum had a quiche and salad. It was all very tasty and we left feeling very full up.

We finished off the day heading for Godrevy National Trust car park in Gwithian, but unfortunately arrived to find it full with the top car park seemingly closed. We found a place to park a little further along the road and headed up the path to look out to sea, there were no seals sadly but still quite a view. 

Here's hoping the weather continues a bit longer ...  

Happy Easter everyone. Just a quick question to think about, which would you pick - Lego and chocolate . . . 

. . . or chocolate Lego?

Mum's down to visit for Easter so after a bit of breakfast we headed out in to town. We headed to National Trust Fenton House in Hampstead and joined a short queue by the entrance. It was only as we got to the front of the queue that it became apparent that we weren't getting in. They had been running a timed ticket system for the day and all of the tickets had been given out already so there were no more slots. I guess we'll have to try again another day!

Feeling a bit disappointed we ended up having a bit of a wander. We had a walk up towards Hamstead Heath past the Royal Free Hosptal and saw lots of people heading for the fun fair that was based on the edge of the heath. We caught the 46 bus to St Pancras International terminal and then walked along to Kings Cross to have a look at a large chocolate Thomas the tank engine that mum had read about in the paper. The 6ft chocolate train was made by master chocolatiers from Sussex to celebrate the bank holiday weekend. There's an article on Eastbourne Herald website about the work that went into it and the 100Kg of choclate used. Given the massive amount of chocolate and effort involved, there didn't seem to be any information about it and lots of people just walked past without noticing it. A few people seemed to know however and watched a couple of people seem to walk right up and lick it to check it was chocolate - we decided we didn't need the proof! The weather was bright and sunny and warm all afternoon. Have a look at the photos and let me know what you think!  

Wow, it feels like it's been a really long term, but finally we have hit the Easter holiday, well, rather finally I have hit my Easter holiday, Dani has already been off a week. Unfortunately the holidays have not really worked out terribly well for us this year and this is the second time that our holidays have been out of sync. 

Ok so I realise its a little premature but never mind, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the long weekend ahead, and some of you lucky teacher types will be enjoying the further fortnight that you will be getting! Sadly I have to wait for my Easter holiday, although only a couple more weeks so not a total disaster!

School for me is going well, I've started picking up a few more classes now and after this weekend I'll be approaching my full teaching timetable although its pretty tame by normal teacher standards - but hey I'm only a trainee!

I can't believe its almost been a year since Dani and I set off on our big europe adventure, the last year seems to have passed me by a bit. Anyway only about 10 weeks or so left of the course and then . . . well who knows whats in store, all plans are out the window and Dani and I are currently playing it by ear! I'm hoping to give this page a bit of a face lift, its long overdue I think, but I guess we shall see what time I get, plus there of course is the problem that I'm pretty poor on the creativity and design front!

Right I think that's about me all done, no major news, Dani and I both pretty alright - I got an A on my 8000 word university assignment which I was pretty chuffed about and thats pretty much it really. I'll try and think of something else to write soonish. I hope everyone is well, its always nice to hear from everyone, sorry I've been a bit poor on the communication front the last year or so . . . see / talk to you soon. Cheerio ta ta