Wednesday 27 January 2010

My New Header.......

was designed for me, by a lovely lady named Noor. Noor's blog is So Sweet Designs and back in December, I came across her blog (somehow) and saw this! All I had to do was leave a comment. To my great surprise ..I WON :-)

Noor has been very patient, as I had NO idea what I would like on the Banner. I hope you like it!

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Trip to Interlaken - Switzerland.


When we were asked to stay with our friends in France, that is where I thought our holiday would be based. I never dreamt of going to Germany, or Switzerland..in fact the truth of the matter is, I had no idea what we were going to do or where we would go. I just had France fixed to my brain!

Our wonderful friend Michael had other ideas for us, which was brilliant, we saw places that never would of occurred to us. On one of his days off, he drove us to Interlaken which is the secret capital of Switzerland's Bernese Oberland.


The town lies between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and has glorious mountain views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

I am not a 100% sure of the route, as I was in the back just in awe of the mountains we were driving through, and the little towns, where I wanted to stop, but as the time was getting on, and the weather was closing in, we needed to be there fast!! We drove through the mountains towards Luzern and then to Interlaken and on the way back we took the motorway.

Thursday 21 January 2010

Lots to Blog about but……….

My friends come first!  Yes I got some more mail this week.  I received a wonderful postcard from  Les Gets sent to me by my great friend Sally in Norfolk, who was on a skiing holiday with Geoff.  Sally is an avid skier, and nothing fazes her one bit.  They are both also into walking, not just in this country but in Spain, and other places!  So why not have a read of their blogs and see some of the great places they have been.  Must not forget to mention that Sally is trained  in Swedish Massage  as well as Indian Head Massage! So if you are in the need for a body or head massage and are in the Cambridge or Kings Lynn area..give her a bell. You will not be disappointed.

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My other mail came from my lovely blogger friend  Britt-Arnild who lives in Trondheim in Norway. She sent me a lovely Thank you letter, thanking me for the book that I sent her. It was meant to be!!! 

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Britt-Arnild’s blog is amazing, such beautiful stories about her life with her husband and family in Norway, with stunning photos too!!  Britt-Arnild has six other blogs, can you believe it.  Trondheim through all the Seasons being one!! I love this, seeing around her lovely town. Call in and have a read, and explore!

Big Thank you to Sally and Britt -Arnild

Thursday 14 January 2010

Blogiversary....3 years old today......

Whilst sorting my blog out today, I found out that it is 3 years ago I did my 1st blog post.....!!

My friend Sally started me blogging, even though I was not sure what I was going to write about or even how to keep it going. Sometimes I thought about giving it up but with all your help and support I have managed .

In the last few months I have had new readers from afar as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and a shock ... two new readers from Oxfordshire.

I have had such wonderful comments from you all, people from all over the world. Blogging has brought lots of fun, for instance, my postcard collection...which is growing. Thank you to all who took time out to send to me.

I visited Paris twice last year and made great friends there... Leesa, Dawn, Barbara, Kim, Andrea, Jennifer and Elizabeth (unfortunately moving back to the States) ...met Carolyn and Clive from Sydney too! I met lots of others at the great Picnic on the Seine.

Lots of blogger friends have connected on Facebook, Twitter or MSN ...which is great if we want to chat!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO YOU ALL
This is for you.


A Wonderful Place in the Black Forest......

This post is for my lovely friend Angie who was born here. I knew she was born in Germany, Black Forest but no idea it was here, until I got back. I saw her husband Dave and he just said to me "Titisee" I thought how did he know, I had been. . I think it was just as much of a shock to him, when I said actually yes I was there. After all I never knew I was going to be in Germany. Thought I was just going to France!! Hope you enjoy this post Angie!!!

Our good friend Michael drove us to the southern Black Forest in Baden-Wuttemberg, where the amazing Lake Titisee is!



Titisee is not only famous for the lake but also for the Cuckoo Clock, I have never seen so many in one place!


Such a wonderful place to visit and walk around, do a bit of shopping.......

or take in the stunning views.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

What did the Postman bring me today??

He brought me 3 postcards…yes 3 from two wonderful Bloggers.

Two of them are  from my great friend Leesa who lives in Paris. She has been wondering what happened to them…posted them before Christmas.  The first one is Strasbourgs’s Marche de Noel en Alsace. I was in the Alsace in  November, never made it up to Strasbourg, maybe next time! 

The Alsace is a  beautiful area, an area I don’t know much about, so would be great to return and discover more. Cimg4737

 Christmassy and Cute!!

The second card from Leesa will certainly warm you up and banish the freezing winter weather away…not for long but I am sure you can imagine the sun.  It is from Nice, where I have only flown into, never stayed.  Just look at the blue skies and sea…I wish.  You can dream though!!

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My third card came from a new reader, who is also a blogger.  Her name is LindyLouMac… who lives in Italy.  Lindy and husband spent New Year with friends in cold and snowy Suffolk. One day they went to the charming seaside resort of Southwold, and she thought of me with this lovely card.

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I just love these beach huts!

Her blog is News in Italy, which  I believe was started so that her family and friends could be kept up-to-date with life in Italy. LindyLouMac and her husband moved there in 2004, which I think is so great and a  big adventure.  LindyLouMac also has another blog, which I know will be of great interest to a lot of my blog readers….A Book Review Blog

Call in and say Hi to Leesa and LindyLouMac, I am sure they would be delighted.

A Big Thank you Leesa and LindyLouMac.

Friday 8 January 2010

Two wonderful friends, Two Wonderful Postcards....

My great friends haven't forgotten the Postcard collection which is so brilliant of them...and cheers you up, when the postman comes calling.

The first card is from my wonderful friend Dawn who lives in Paris..and I met for the 1st time back in April...and then again in August. Dawn also came to see me in Oxford which was brilliant, we had a great day out, and me as the guide this time :-)

She is so much fun, and we ( and our friends) have a great time together, going for Cafe, or walking, chattering none stop and all with our cameras out, just in case!!. You just never know, what we might see.
Dawn sent me a lovely card from Prague..

which I can say looks amazing. In the last few months or so , Dawn and Tom (husband) have been doing a lot of travelling to Germany, Strasbourg, Poland and also Scotland. Do look call into her blog and read all about her travels and see her fab photos. They are away at the moment, but just in case it is a secret I won't say!!

Dawn and Tom are due to go to back to the States this June (I think) and we will miss them lots and lots!


My new postcard holder.

My other card is from a great blogger friend Leslie, who lives in British Columbia. Leslie sent me a great card from Vancouver , where they are gearing up for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is very close to Leslie's heart as her Fiance has been hired to work there. A huge honour!

Leslie and Lorne, got engaged back in June 2009 , and are getting married this year! They were engaged years and years ago, and ended up going their separate ways, but were reconnected in 2008. I think that 2010 is going to be a fab year for them both..as 2009 didn't start off to well, but it improved thankfully. I think you should call into Leslie's blog and read it all for yourself. It is brilliant.

Thank you Dawn and Leslie!

Thursday 7 January 2010

It is cold …..

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The streets are empty………………………

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Icicles anyone!!

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Wednesday 6 January 2010

Thanks to Melange .......

we had a great supper last night!!


Melange is a great blog written by Robin. Robin is a writer and travel consultant in New York and has an overwhelming desire for Europe. She is deeply in love with Italy and adores Paris...call in and have a read, it is amazing, especially if you love Italy and France.

You might even find a recipe you like....Salmon and French lentils is one that caught my eye!!

Thanks Robin it was delicious!

Snowy Day…..


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Monday 4 January 2010

High up in the Vosges mountains…. .

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is the amazing Haut-Koenigsbourg castle which is located at Orschwiller, Alsace, France, in the Vosges mountains just west of Sélestat. The castle is nestled at a strategic location on a high hill overlooking the Alsatian plain; as a result it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. In 1900 it was restored under the direction of Emperor Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist attraction, located on the Alsace wine route.
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A fabulous place to visit, especially on a clear day. These photos were taken on the 19th November, so we were very lucky with the weather.

Friday 1 January 2010

First post of the year – Sunny Sydney……

A wonderful postcard from hot and sunny Sydney came through my post box last week, from my friends Carolyn and Clive. What a contrast to our weather, it really warmed me up… Thank you!!

Carolyn has a great blog…My Sydney Paris Life ..I hope you do call over to have a read. It is very interesting..and very cultural. An amazing read with lots of great photos too!

Imagine this….An American ex-pat, living with a Brit, in Sydney. The Brit’s father lives in UK. Her mum lives in the America and her son goes to college there..and they visit Paris too!!

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These two wonderful people are the reason I went to Paris for the first time back in April. They had arranged a trip, for a particular date, and our blogger friend Leesa, who neither of us had met, asked me if I could go over..why not, so took my friend Caroline with me… Leesa (bless her) had arranged a lunch for 14 of us!!!

So the story goes… An American in Paris (Leesa) married to a French man, asks me (UK) to go to Paris to meet An American and Brit from Sydney (Carolyn and Clive) along with lots of other great ladies…yes Clive was the only male!!

We all had a fantastic day, meeting up, having a wonderful lunch, and the chattering that went on.. can you imagine!!

Thank you Carolyn and Clive