Friday 29 August 2014

Another delightful day out in France - Confolens

 I saw magical places with
Diane and Nigel ,
places I am sure
I would not of even
thought of seeing.
 
So it was fun to get out and
about in areas of France that
would normally be missed.
 

This time we are in
 
 
 
 


 
 
Unusual Cross , you see a lot throughout France.



Don't you want to just walk down and investigate? I know I do, 






 I love the wood work on these houses,
really remind of the Alsace and German houses.




 


 
Diane might not know I have this photo!!
 
(Surprise Diane!!)
 
I know she has one of ME!!
 
Click on the link above and have a read and scroll down for photo.



We have similar photos of this Arch and the church spire
except Diane framed it better that I did ...
 
(click on link above to see)
 
Love my photo as well !!



 

 
I have a few more photos of Confolens to come ,
but might take a few weeks as I am off on my travels .
 
(you will see where on my return)
 
Stay safe and take care
and
DREAM of FRANCE!
 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥



Tuesday 26 August 2014

My first review - ...Portable Phone Charger

I received an email by lady  who works for a media company and
had seen my blog
and thought it would be great to invite me to
test out and review
 a Portable Phone Charger
as I am always travelling
it just seems right!
She is working with a client who are
CELEBRATING
the
successful
launch of the
(click on above for info)

This is a
Portable Phone charger

(Click on above for info) 
I cannot fault it .  I can charge my phone Samsung Galaxy Ace ,
also my Amazon Tablet (just thought I would try it ) .  I ran my phone right down and charged it whilst travelling on the bus !!!
The charger is capable of charging the following

TeckNet® POWER BANK iEP330 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Portable Lipstick-Sized USB External Battery Backup Pack, Mobile Phone Power Pack, High Capacity Portable Charger with built-in Flashlight for Apple iPhone 5, iPad mini 2/1, iPad 5/4 (Lightning Cable not Provided), iPhone 4, iPad 3/2/1; Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Note 3/2; HTC One, Sensation, Desire C S X, Wildfire S; Google Nexus 7, Nexus 10; Nokia Lumia 920 800 900 N8; Motorola X; LG Optimus; Blackberry Z10; Sony Xperia Z- Black

Of course you have to remember to charge the charger , which can be done through the computer or by socket. If you have a  phone charger with detachable lead ,  you can do it through there.  It also comes with an iPhone adaptor .

I have tried both ways and it is fab. It also has little torch (flashlight) . It comes with a iPhone adaptor too . A great piece travel equipment . 


I was also sent a phone case to test out . Now whilst it is a great idea
I am finding it hard to get to grips with it .  As the cover gets in the way
when speaking on the phone , so I will persevere . !
My phone is actually  a bit small for it , which could hinder access to
on/off buttons and the camera ..
Other than that  I
Love the colour,
the fact that it is a card holder too
and of course a phone protector. 




I was not paid for this review by any company , this is my own point of view.

Sunday 24 August 2014

Fab Postcards From Friends.....

Over the last few months I have
been the busiest I have been for
 a while and I just haven't got round
to showing you these.
 
 
Fabulous Postcards from my good friends,
all places I have not been too . I would love
to just pack up and tour.  I can dream through
these wonderful cards. I am sure I will get to
a few of the places but not all.
 
First of all we have wonderful cards from my great friends
Diane and Nigel, who went on a road trip from France to Portugal
after  my trip to see them.
 
 
Since blogging I cannot get enough of churches and cathederals ,
not a bad thing I suppose !! 
 
 
Sevilla Cathederal
 
 
(Information taken from Wikipedia)
 
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral  and it is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also the largest cathedral in the world, as the two larger churches, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St Peter's Basilica, are not the seats of bishops.

After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral replaced the  Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus.

This cathedral seems to have a few history titles , Largest Gothic Cathedral, Third Largest church in the world and the Largest cathedral


"To see Seville they went on an Open top bus trip
 which does save a lot of walking !! But I think of using them for
another reason , you see the city from a different view!!"
 

 

PORTO
 
Is located along the Douro river estuary in northern Portugal, and  is one of the oldest European centres, and registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996. 

The picture on the card is the

 
(Festivities to St John)
in the Douro river.
 
This would be such a great day out , with lots of celebrations
and it takes place every year on the 24th June.
 
 


Love the white houses and the seaviews. Here is a link to the Algarve as I don't really know much about it , looks quaint though.  Looking at the cards does bring a bit of warmth back to chilly days.

Big thank you Diane and Nigel for your fabulous cards. 




♥ ♥ ♥
 
Next we are off to  wonderful Italy and Florence.
 
My good friend Helen sent me this , she was spending 5 days
here with her husband to celebrate her 50th birthday ( was earlier in the year)
I know they both had a fabulous time. Why wouldn't you , you are in Italy!!
 
Helen became a friend through Twitter and FB  and then we met up in Oxford.
 
Here we have the 
 
Piazza del Duomo - Firenze
(information taken from Wikipedia)
Piazza del Duomo (English: "Cathedral Square") is located in the heart of the historic center of Florence and is one of the most visited places in Europe and the world. You will be able to find Florence Cathedral with the Cupola del Brunelleschi, the Giotto's Campanile, the Florence Baptistery, the Loggia del Bigallo, the Opera del Duomo Museum, and the Arcivescovile and Canonici's palace.

Doesn't it sound so much better in Italian than the  English  "Cathedral Square"
(does to me) hahaha.




What really intrigued me was the stamp  and I googled the
 
Global Postal Service

to see what it is all about.
 
Click on link to read about this service.
 
Has anyone else heard of it ?



Thank you Helen .


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


Now we are going to
 
 
and thanks goes to my blogger friend
 
Jackie of Junk Boat Travels Blog
 
I have written about Jackie's blog before, it is
amazing, she is always travelling , so lots to read.



New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the Canadian federation that is constitutionally bilingual. It was created as a result of the partitioning of the British Colony of Nova Scotia in 1784.

Isn't this bridge just amazing ! I am not really good with bridges and heights, but even
I would have to go across this one.

(all information taken from Wikipedia)
The Confederation Bridge spans the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait. It links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. Before its official naming, Prince Edward Islanders often referred to the bridge as the "Fixed Link


So thank you to Diane, Helen and Jackie for adding to my collection !
 
All surprises too.
 


Friday 22 August 2014

A THANK YOU and A few of my favourites of Brantome

 
 
First of all I would like to say
 
a
 
HUGE
 
THANK YOU
 
FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS
IN THE LAST FEW POSTS,  I APOLOGIZE FOR
NOT GETTING ROUND TO REPLYING.
 
My August has whizzed by with
looking after the grandchildren , if you
are friends with me on Facebook  , you will see the events.
 
Hopefully I will be back to normal soon.
Every comment is so much appreciated.
 
 
Now on to more of
 
Brantome..
 
 
No matter where you go in France
you will always see shutters and
they all have their own charm.
 
 


 
 
 
Love the little Diamond Window!
 
 
 

Old Signs for shops ..


 
 

 
Little Alleys
 






No matter how many markets you see ,
you always end up taking photos.!!
 
Wonder what the fascination is ??
 
 
 
Walnuts in May , I have only seen them in December .


 
Look at the size of these Langoustine
around about £55 per kilo. !!
 

I saw this and Diane said you can always tie your horse up!!
 
 
Or Maybe take your boat out ..
 
I didn't notice the little slope  to the river until now.
 
 
 
 
Left this one until last as I know you ALL love
these Bicycle photos and this one is
no exception.
 

 
 
 
I do hope you have enjoyed these photos. I love taking them.
 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Sunday 17 August 2014

Brantome - Another wonderful town in France


Another wonderful place
Diane and Nigel took me to see !!
 
 
 

Brantôme is a place rich in history. The commune of Brantôme is regarded one of the city-gates of the Natural reserve the Regional Périgord-Limousin, but also as a jewel within Valley-of-Dronne.

 
It is certainly packed with history and beauty,
a market on a Friday , shops and cafés/restaurants,
and you can take a boat trip too!!





























 
 









Tower of St. Roch


This is the BENT river or Right Angled Bridge ..
 
Le Pont Coude
 
 
Le Pont Coude was built at the same time as the palace , the Monastery Gardens and the pavillion by the Abbot (1538-56). It provided access to the gardens on a far bank away from the town.
 





 
Brantome has a  brilliant market on a Friday ,
 with stalls situated near the river and near-by streets
as you can see and
there are the river trips too.



Oh I wonder who that is down there!!!



The Abbey in Brantome has its origins in the 8th century. A Benedictine abbey and it was founded by Charlemagne who allegedly donated the relics of Saint Sicarius, one of the children massacred by Herod.



The original abbey was destroyed by Vikings  then rebuilt in the tenth century and again in the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. It was  radically restored in 1850 by the architect Paul Abadie,  the abbey buildings we see today span a period of almost 800 years.

Paul also worked on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Croix of Bordeaux, Saint-Pierre of Angoulême and Saint-Front of Périgueux. He won the competition to design the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on Montmartre in Paris, and saw the construction commence , though he died long before its completion in 1914.



It certainly is a town of beauty and of interest .


 
I hope that you have enjoyed this snippet of a tour , I have a few more
photos to show you . I didn't do much history this time but I am sure
that you get the gist of the town and it's history.
 
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

BIG THANK YOU TO DIANE AND NIGEL.