Live from Center Parcs Longleat

Fridays journey to Longleat was just ahead of the rush hour and saw us joining the end of the check-in queue at around 5:30.
As usual, our apartment was pristine and ready for us, sadly some minor signs of age and disrepair were evident, like the knob on the hi-fi was missing, bedside light non-functioning and the aerial on the bedside radio was absent. But, what the heck! These are minor niggles and we know from previous visits that they would be fixed if we asked at reception.
Quickly unpacking we headed for the Aqua Sana for our evening of pampering in the spa which was lovely. Some updates have taken place in the spa since our last visit which was nice to see. Supper was enjoyed here too, a first for us, and the Mediterranean platter for two was delightful and reasonably priced.
Breakfast in bed started our Saturday followed by little else other than a potter around the shops and Mrs Y getting her nails polished. Weather not too brilliant but nothing to dampen our spirits.
Saturday was wrapped up with a pre-dinner game of snooker followed by a glorious meal at the Rajinda Pradesh Indian restaurant where the food is simply excellent.
Sunday is laid back so far with another lazy breakfast reading the Sunday papers followed by a stroll through the park to the Jardin de Sport for a lazy Starbucks.
Unfortunately this weekend has been hampered by car problems and will result in us being ‘rescued’ this evening and the car unceremoniously delivered to the garage for repairs. Hey ho, that’s the way life goes eh?
All in all a great and mostly relaxing weekend at Longleat. Every member of staff we have encountered from the room maid to the nail technician and the girls on reception have all been delightful, very friendly and part of the reason that we keep returning to our second home under the pine trees of Longleat forest. We will be back again for sure!

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Center Parcs Day

Today is Mrs Y’s birthday and as a treat we are off to Center Parcs Longleat for the weekend.

After loading up the baggage and affixing the bikes to the back of the ol’ PT, I’ll be outside the school gates at 3:00PM to whisk her off to our apartment in the woods.

I’ll keep you posted…

http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/villages/longleat/index.jsp

 

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Birthday Weekend in London

Sunday 26th May we caught the train to spend a couple of days in London to celebrate my birthday.

After checking in to the Holiday Inn Express in Stratford, we took the tube back in to the City centre and with a little time to kill before our 7:00PM appointment at The Shard, we enjoyed a walk alongside the Thames, taking in the Golden Hinde, Borough Market (which was closed), Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre which was bustling as it was a performance night and also Southwark Cathedral where we briefly enjoyed Compline and Eucharistic devotions, which was nice, but not our cup of tea.

Sight seeing done, we found our way to the Shard, to enjoy The View From The Shard up on the 68th and 72nd floors. We were blessed with perfect weather and the views of the city from above were simply stunning. The more you looked the more you saw and one by one you picked out landmarks laid out before you like a living A to Z map.

To cap it all, and with all the horror going on in the World right now, every member of staff, without exception, were so proud to be part of this spectacular venue and great ambassadors for our country. Who said the UK can’t do customer service eh?

Monday saw us heading to the O2 venue, not for a concert, but to walk over the roof! Up at the O2 was another birthday treat, the roof climb that takes you up 52 meters right up on top of the O2. Once we had been taught how to be safe, donned our snazzy boiler suits and tightened out safety harnesses we started our climb up the outside of the roof. Bouncy as a bouncy castle, the ascent was not that difficult and once on top we were unclipped from our safety wire allowing us to enjoy the views from viewing platform. Seeing planes taking off towards us from City Airport and viewing the Thames Flood Barrier were pretty amazing. The descent was a little more tricky, with the final stretching being more than a little steep, but we all made it back to base camp in one piece. A great experience and one to repeat when they get the zip-wire descent sorted out.

After our climb we ate in the O2 at Jimmy’s World Buffet, which was quite an experience !!! Stuffed full we headed back in to the city, picking up a couple of ‘Boris Bikes‘ by Wellington Arch in Green Park and heading off to circle Hyde Park. We saw Horse Guards on the way back to barracks, the new Bomber Command Memorial, the Serpentine, Lady Diana’s Fountain and a very, VERY busy Hyde Park.

Our two nights at the Holiday Inn Express Stratford were very comfortable. Price-wise, it was spot on, not too expensive and with it’s buffet breakfast I think it is good value. Position-wise it is pretty much perfect too, in a quiet residential area just a few minutes walk from Stratford station and the brilliant Westfield Mall it is also just a 10 minute tube ride in to London centre. Very welcoming and friendly staff too, and the girl on check out even knew we had been there before. Nice touch.

All in all a very enjoyable weekend.

 

 

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Center Parcs Longleat

One page at a time, we’re slowly getting to write about all of the places that we’ve visited.

Center Parcs Longleat is a place we keep returning to. and in just a few weeks time we’ll be back there again to celebrate Mrs Y’s birthday.

https://mrandmrsyoung.wordpress.com/center-parcs-longleat/

 

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Added another page – Dubai

Just added another page to our Travel Blog, all about our trip to the remarkable Dubai.

https://mrandmrsyoung.wordpress.com/dubai/

Panorama

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Dublin or Copenhagen?

Looking to tick off another item on our ‘Bucket List’ for October half-term, a decision needs to be made and it’s simply deciding between two cities, Dublin or Copenhagen.

Both offer famous brews… Guinness and Carlsburg. Both offer nice gardens… Dubh Linn and the Tivoli. Both offer interesting and diverse museums. Both offer a host of restaurants and coffee chops to dine out in. Tricky picking between them. Maybe the Little Mermaid will sway our decision?

 

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Possible Destination

One of our ‘bucket list‘ places to visit is Japan.Being a place full of ancient traditions and amazing beauty, Japan is way up there on our list. Looking at taking in some of the Cherry Blossom season if we can, so tailoring a possible visit around the Easter holiday 2014.

Hoping to visit Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka and Mount Fuji using the legendary Bullet Train (Shinkansen), something I’ve wanted to ride since childhood. Would love to catch some Sumo Wrestling too, but think it might be out of season.

Looking forward to attending a tea ceremony too.

We’ll keep you updated on our progress.

GB,

S&K

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Business in paradise.

Travelling features heavily in my working life and I often find myself zipping off to far flung places. Be it for sales support, Demo’s to customers or teaching new customers how to operate our testers, it often leads me to some weird and wonderful locations.

Recently, a  customer training course saw me holed up in Penang, Malaysia for three weeks. On previous visits to Penang I opted for the convenience of a hotel near to the office and to the airport, The Eastin, relying on my more than generous hosts for my transportation etc.

This time, being in Penang for three weeks I chose a different hotel and opted to rent a car to drive myself around.  With a good deal, including Internet and breakfast, at the Holiday Inn Resort Penang winning the day, I found myself in the beach resort of Batu Ferrighi.

Driving around Penang in my little Perodua was quite an eye-opener. They drive on the left as we do, and the steering is the same too, so it’s relatively easy to get started. The traffic is at best total chaos. At worst, total grid-lock. Not much variation between the two either. Scooters are everywhere in their thousands and find ways through the traffic that would make your hair curl !!! On the whole, despite being crazy, everyone gets along and it all sorts itself out eventually.

The Holiday Inn Resort was a delight. I was anxious of being lumped in with all the holiday makers, and I did stick out like a sore thumb at breakfast in my suit and tie every morning. But it was such a treat after a busy day in the office to be able to sit by the pool with my Kindle, listen to the birds, hear the wind in the palm trees and be calmed and soothed by the waves gently lapping up the beach whilst watching the sun set slowly behind the trees. As close to paradise as I’ve ever got.

Service was good. Staff very friendly. Room very big and well appointed. Internet was pretty good coping well with Skype calls home and keeping me in touch with my home and work emails. Restaurant was OK too, but with great places to eat nearby at crazy cheap prices, it was never busy as most people opted to eat out. The Friday Indian Buffet was very good though and I’d recommended splurging out on it at least once.

For me it was a lovely place to stay. I felt comfortable. Safe, and looked after. I also met some lovely people during my stay too.

I’ll be back for sure, but as a tourist next time !!!!

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We need a blog. Right?

16 Floors Up

View from the Tower

Sixteen floors up in my hotel room, watching the Batu Ferrighi Night Market traders preparing for another night, I thought it was high time we, my wife Karen and I, set up a travel blog.

We both just love to travel, doing so at every available school holiday that we can. Karen is a primary school teacher, hence the school holiday reference.

We avoid ‘packages‘ where ever possible, preferring to track down our own bargains and seek out the lesser known, quirkier, places to stay.

So, we’ll be posting blogs of places we’ve visited. Places we’ll be visiting in the future. Giving the reader our impressions and thoughts, and we’ll also pass on any hints or tips that we’ve found useful too.

Watch this space as they say !!!

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