Skye Blue Photography

All good things have to come to an end….and it was time to leave to come home. These are the last few photos from our trip.

And back to London. We stayed in Trafalgar Square, RIGHT in the city. A stones throw away from the Museum which houses some AMAZING art, which I drooled over…Manet, Monet, Seurat, Pissaro….it took my breath away. But then there was the Tate Gallery, Modern Art, I was concerned how much Dad would enjoy this as my first time taking him to Modern Art was at the MCA in Sydney which had Cindy Sherman exhibiting….and it was Cindy Sherman at her best, very confronting. But this was where I was in my element….Salvador Dali (my favourite surrealist) and the Metamorphosis of Narcisus, alot smaller than I had expected, but none the less an exciting moment to see this, I had been let down when it wasnt in the Melbourne exhibition last year. A wing of Andy Warhol, a room of Pop Art and Roy Lichtenstein….I could go on and on.

Elly took us to Notting Hill which was colourful and no, Hugh wasnt home. Here we met up with Abbey, who is now home in Australia, and she had Lily in awe. Up onto the London eye and we could see soooooooooo far into the distance, including rain!!! (well it wouldnt be London without rain). We visited Buckingham Palace and saw a marching band in the barracks. After another 3 full on days, and although we had a fantastic time away, we were happy to come home to our own beds and some good home cooking.

What an experience. Words cant describe the rush that I felt seeing things like Big Ben, York Mister, Westminster Abbey, artworks I have taught for the past 10 years….especially the Mona Lisa, thick Scottish accents, tasting Yorkshire puddings for the first time, eating at Rick Steins fish and chips in Padstow…..gosh the list is endless and Im blown away Ive actually done this, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would do this. And of course now I want more. Italy next!!

But most importantly we got to see Elly. My little sister who had decided she would move out, and well half way across the world. In a way I thank her for doing this so I had the incentive to travel and also Mum and Dad! How we have missed you Elly, and what an excellent time we had together road tripping around. The car just wasnt the same without you curled up on the window asleep! Lily, I think, thinks that London is like a trip to Bowral and continually asks to come back to see you. Oh and everything including the Clock Tower in Camden is The Tower Bridge. So when will she be home….who knows, but London is very lucky to have our Elly, but we will be reclaiming her eventually!!!!!

Notting Hill

mmmmm are we lost??????

A room FILLED with cheese

More of Paris. Well who couldn’t cope with more of Paris! On our second night we had the most amazing meal. To begin with I had Frois Gras, like pate, and VERY nice. Next Beef Bourginon, amazing. Anyone that has watched Julie and Julia would understand why this was one dish I had on my must do whilst in Paris. I often make this dish at home, but it is nothing compared to what we had. And the BEST mashed potato!! And then, behind me in the cabinet, creme brulee. It had our name on it, and Im glad it did. It was AMAZING!!! I was in heaven. Our last night we had Italian…and it was excellent as well. A walk to the Louvre which was great to see all lit up at night. Our final morning we spent window shopping at some of the most exclusive shops on the planet id say. There was nothing to say except WOW.

Hotel Des Invalides

Jardin Du Luxembourg..I had read about his Garden and I am so glad we went, it was breath taking

And that was Paris in 3 days….Loved every second of it!

I had high expectations for Paris, and all those expectations were met, and more! After dumping our bags quickly at the Hotel, off we went exploring. Our Hotel was just off Avenue De Opera, which at one end was the Place De L’Opera and at the other end the MUSEE DE LOUVRE!! One guess which way we headed. We had been walking for not even 5 minutes when I was asked directions by a non english speaking tourists and I was rather impressed with myself to be able to actually help them (im better at reading a map than I thought). While walking down the street it became clear that the traffic rules in Paris is a basic free for all, and motorbikes are parked everywhere. At the end of the road you come to a wall with arches, nothing could have prepared us for what was beyond the wall. Waiting at the lights Dad had his first experience with a gypsie who threw a ring down infront of him, luckily for his reading on the Eurostar of the Lonely Planet he knew what this was all about and held tight to his bag. Through the arches and before us was a huge courtyard, to the left Musee De Louvre, to the right, Arc De Triumph Du Carousel and behind it Jardin Des Tuileries which at the end is the Champs Elysees and the Arc De Triumph. We stood in this one spot for a good 5 minutes overwhelmed. For me I just could not believe that I was standing here, seeing all of these things that I studied at University and especially the art works that I would eventually see in the Louvre. Then as we took a few steps it came into sight, the marvelous Tour Eiffel. And then that little rush of excitement came back as I had a little jump and squeal. I looked into the pram to Lily, and she was fast asleep!!!!!These are just a few of the pics, more to come I was just too excited and HAD to share ASAP!!!! Paris, the most romantic, picturesque place I have ever experienced. Everything is beautiful, the parks, the architecture and the people. Everyone I asked for help was happy to give us directions. I will be selling framed prints from Paris in the near future, if you are interested in purchasing any prints from Paris or England comment below or contact via email or phone call.

J’Adore Paris……

The Louvre. And the controversial pyramid, which really does not compliment and clashes with the beautiful surrounds of classic buildings, however it would not be the Louvre we know today without it

Was very annoyed at this truck in the photo!! How dare they park there!

Arc De Triomphe du Carousel

The City of Love. Everywhere couples lazing in the sun together.

And someone’s Carousel radar woke her up!!

Place Vendome

Day 2. Off to the Louvre. Inside the building was amazing. We stood and looked at the ceiling for longer than we viewed Mona! So many people inside, and what I couldnt believe was the amount of students there, starting at Lily’s age to high school students. Imagine that going to the Louvre for a school excursion! What I love is that Culture is a high priority here and sport is not.

Delacriox : La Liberte Guidant le Peuple

Liberty leading the people. This painting symbolises the French Revolution, and the day that the people rose and dethroned their king. It is a reminder that while these beautiful palaces were being built many people were dying of starvation and were poor.

And here she is….the Mona Lisa. I do believe that she is smiling, if not smirking. Still pinching myself that I saw this.

The Musee d’Orsay….didnt have a chance to go here too, but this place houses ALOT of timeless artworks

Shopping anyone?????

Yes that is 5 lanes of traffic you see, and Im on the bus so that makes 6! Dont know how it works, but it does and no one collides.

And here she is The Eiffel Tower

Baquette in the sun….was STILL pinching myself at this moment

One of these will be a nice HUGE canvas for my lounge room, but colour or black and white…cant decide

A town by the sea, somewhat owned by Rick Stein, was sunny on our 3 day visit here. A relaxed little town where I ate the most amazingly fresh seafood, and had Stein’s Fish and Chips (with a side order of mushy peas of course), and yes this lunch certainly lived up to the expectations! It was very hazy while we were here, which ma have been the volcanic cloud that had been moving over and disrupting all flights in the UK.

We stayed in the Cottswalds for 4 nights in a little town called Chipping Campden. Very appropriate for us! This town was quiet, and looked like Hansel and Gretal may have lived here once  I was sure that the height of the doors was to fit in Hobbits!. From here we had a day trip to Stonehenge and also to Bath. I think Bath would be nice for a few days, half a day just wasnt enough here.

These walls look easy to climb……well off you go then!

The most common line used on the trip “Ned would love this” Mum and Dad said of their Nature loving friend. Then when we got to this street ” Ned would pass out” It was picture perfect. A beautiful stream flowing down the street, cottages on either side of it. Tranquil.

Stonehenge…just in the middle of no where on the side of the road. Yes it was COLD here.

This guys music was AMAZING. 

Oh and the famous red telephone boxes!!!

Keswick (pronounced Kessick) was the next stop, in the Lakes district. Very picturesque, snow capped mountains against clear blue skies, a town where hiking is the most practiced past time, and where being a resident requires you own a dog, and take it everywhere. Even the pubs are allowed the dogs in it. This is also where the air space is used by the Air Force. Always in pairs, fighter jets would come screaming past. During 9/11 they were out all the time and hovering amongst the hills, where the locals would drive past a jet next to the road! The houses here built again out of a different stone, this area has a lot of shale. This is where Derwent pencils (the ones we all wanted as kids) originate from and are made.

Here we were able to get up close to the sheep and lambs. Although in getting closer and seeing the size of the mummy sheep, I made sure Lily kept her distance!

The park where Lily and I played soccer each day.

Just after the shot of Lily, across the sky line they came! VERY loud!

The accomodation…this photograph is purely for bragging rights…good pic Mum, this place was amazing!

Little miss getting ready in front of all the mirrors

The woods

oh and we stumbled upon a park

Loch Lomond

Looking up at our street from the bottom of the hill, daffodils…amazing

Before we left for Keswick, we went to the Botanical gardens. It was a gorgeous morning to be out in the garden, Im sure it was easily reaching 20 degrees. Very warm. Lily proved to be a little tree hugging girl, cuddling the trees and making friends with squirrels. And here a lot of fun shots, a bit of a homage to jet star why…well because we can!

From York we travelled to Edinburgh. The landscape changed as we headed north and the mountains became snow capped. And then eventually snow was on the side of the road. Lily has never seen snow so we stopped off for a play. Continuing on, the rivers flowed steadily, if not FAST, and the sheep became woolier! The landscape to Elly and I for all you Twihard fans reminded us of Forks (yes I had hoped Edward would pop out of the trees). Edinburgh was amazing. So much more than I had expected. The accents reminded me of my Nanna, who always said Scotland was miserable, grey and depressing. Well Scotland made an effort to prove her wrong. The first day was a bit nippy, but apart from that we had blue skies and the sun was even warm at times. This is part one of Scotland, however prepare for an overload!!!!. Hope you enjoy.x

The view from the window of our lounge room

Hitting the town

Inside Edinburgh Castle

The view over the city

More Views

The Royal Mile

The Scott Monument

The view of Edinburgh Castle from below at the park

This is inside the Minster. The ceilings were so high you almost get dizzy looking up. We were able to look around underneath also where the crypts are, which was a little creepy after seeing the doomstone! There was a service happening while we were in there and the sound of the choir was beautiful. The intricacy in small details is what blew me away in here. All of the carving in not only the statues, everywhere on the walls, on the doors and archways. I know a lot of people say that after a while all the churches look the same, this one I am glad i saw first as nothing really compared after it!

The Doomstone

Walking back to the car, this sign made us all laugh. mmmmm yummmy!