Devonshire Tease

We continue our catch-up of places we didn't blog about in 2007, with our long weekend in the coastal county of Devon, which we took in August.

Devon sits next to Cornwall in the southwestern "toe" of England, and enjoys some of the best weather the UK can offer. While we were there we enjoyed fantastic weather - but we weren't alone as we crossed the Dartmoor National Park - Wild Ponies (!) had gathered near the road to Bec's absolute delight. Well, they were pretty cute:

Johnny tries to add an extra half-horsepower to Beatrice, while Bec makes lots of new friends:


We caught this one trying to get in. Unfortunately we have a strict no shoes - no service policy!


We spent the evening at a B&B in Totnes, and the next day jumped on board the South Devon Railway - a historic steam line that runs through the stunning Devon countryside. Johnny was in choo-choo train heaven!


As we rolled through beautiful stations that have barely changed since the 40's, it seemed only appropriate to take a traditional "cream tea" in the buffet car!

Ireland Part 2 - Foolin' around in Doolin

Before we get too far into 2008, we have a little bit of catching up to do from last year. You may remember a post back in August entitled "Ireland Part 1 - Attack of the Leprechauns" - well, here's the long awaited follow up!

After our disastrous Ryanair flight delay, we enjoyed a much needed sleep-in on the Saturday. This we followed up with a hearty full Irish breakfast, cheerfully delivered by our hosts, and we were ready to face the day. A glorious warm sunshine awaited us, and we discovered that tiny, rural Doolin and the surrounding countryside has lots to recommend it.

We visited the Burren with its stony landscape and ancient megalithic tombs:













And marvelled at the sheer beauty of the Cliffs of Moher:

A short ferry ride out to Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, showed us just how many dry stone walls it's possible to cram into a relatively small space. The effect is very picturesque, and makes it an excellent place for rambling.


We even found time to squeeze in a game of golf, hopefully not disturbing the cows too much.

There were a few drawbacks to Doolin's remoteness, most notably discovering the nearest ATM was in a town 15 miles away... But this was easily forgiven as we found ourselves in a friendly pub enjoying the rousing traditional Irish music that Doolin is famous for.

This part of Ireland is incredibly peaceful and unspoilt, and the people are so genuinely warm and friendly. It really is how you imagine Ireland should be.

Happy New Year!

In contrast to our Christmas, which was planned well in advance only to go awry at the last minute, we had absolutely nothing planned for New Year's Eve... until the very last minute! On the day itself Johnny managed to score us tickets for a dinner cruise on the Thames, which not only sounded like a fun night out but would also
afford us an unbeatable view of the London Eye fireworks display at midnight.

So, dressed in our finest, we set out to brave the cold and the hordes of New Year's revelers. Our night almost went the way of the Christmas cruise, however, when we underestimated the number of tube changes required to get there and almost missed the boat! Thankfully we made it, and soon we were cruising along past the illuminated monuments of London, enjoying our welcome drink and the company of our fellow passengers.




After dinner we danced the night away, thoroughly entertained by the excellent DJ and some enterprising guests who decided to adorn themselves with decorations from the Christmas tree. But the overwhelming highlight of the night had to be the fireworks, exploding with precision timing to the chimes of Big Ben... spectacular!

Happy New Year to everyone, and all the very best for 2008.