A few hours in Trier - Germany - June 2015

On our way to Austria for the F1 Grand prix, we

stopped in a few places before reaching our destination.

 

Our first stop was in Trier , which just so happened to be

20 minutes  from where  my second cousin and his family live.  We

had to set a date as we had never met.  We only had a few

hours and had a fantastic time.

It was just like we had known each other for years ♥

 

The took me out for a very tasty German meal and a beer ..( Bitburger - Germany's

Draft Beer No 1).. delicious it was too.. Fantastic few hours.

 

Danke/Grazie to you both.

 Julian is Italian and Jeannine is German.

 

After we walked back to the car ..took a few photos.

 

Anne, Julian and Jeannine..♥

Wish I could of stayed longer.

 

(I had permission for photo♥)

 

 

 

Trier  (formerly known in English as Treves) is a city on the banks of the Moselle and lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Founded by the Celts presumably in the late 4th century BC as Treuorum, it was later conquered by the Romans in the late 1st century BC and renamed Trevorum or Augusta Treverorum (Latin for "The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier may be the oldest city in Germany.

 

 

 

Above is  the PORTA NIGRA ...

 

The Porta Nigra  It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

 

I certainly did not expect to see the below when I walked close up to this building ..

 

AMAZING !!!

 

The Cathedral of Trier by night ...

 

The High Cathedral of Saint Peter (German: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier) is a Roman Catholic church and  is the oldest cathedral in the country. The edifice is notable for its extremely long life span under multiple different eras each contributing some elements to its design, including the center of the main chapel being made of Roman brick laid under the direction of Saint Helen, resulting in a cathedral added onto gradually rather than rebuilt in different eras. Its dimensions, 112.5 m length by 41 m width, make it the largest church structure in Trier. In 1986 it was listed as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thanks to Julian for taking this photo.  ( A panoramic)

 



 

 

Love this building and sign ..It is a PHARMACY !!!!!

 





 

Below are a few photos as we travelled out of Trier in the morning..

I will have to return , it is a beautiful city.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this very short tour  , I have more to come on this trip , hopefully soon.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥





My friend went to Vietnam ....

My lovely friend

Krissa

who is from the Philippines

and now lives and works in Singapore,

went on a business trip

and thought of me.

There was a lot of thought in this card

as it is connected to France.

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially

Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception

is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880

Special characteristics are that all the original building materials were imported from France. Tiles have been carved with the words Guichard Carvin, Marseille St André France (perhaps stating the locality where the tiles were produced). Some tiles are carved with the words “Wang-Tai Saigon”. Many tiles have since been made in Ho Chi Minh City to replace the tiles that were damaged by the war. There are 56 glass squares supplied by the Lorin firm of Chartres province in France. The cathedral foundation was designed to bear ten times the weight of the cathedral

I am sure Krissa would love it if you popped over to her blog!!

Connections to the World

Postcards and Stamps are the theme. She has a lovely collection.

Big Thank you Krissa .. ♥

(I had to put this lovely card up, hard yes, but a lovely card from a lovely friend)

Anyone been to Mongolia?

A surprise postcard

popped through my

letter box last week.

 

The surprise card was from

my good friend's  HUSBAND Trevor 
who has taken a trip by himself and
he remembered :-)

 

Marilyn is a lovely lady who I have known

for about 37 years , lost touch and a few

years ago we reconnected.

 

Reconnected through our sons who both joined the

Royal Air Force and they were based at the same camp

and bumped into each other. Small world.

 

 

Marilyn has given Trevor my address and he has been

sending a few cards .. Thank you Trevor.

Certainly go to places I have never thought of going.

 

 

 

Mongolia, a nation bordered by China and Russia, is known for its vast, rugged expanses and its nomadic people.

 

Its capital, Ulaanbaatar,

centres  around Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) Square,

 named after  the notorious founder of the 13th- and 14th-century Mongol Empire.

TREVOR said "Following in the footsteps of Genghis Khan :-)"

 

 Thank you Trevor, certainly is an interesting postcard for my collection..



Let's start from the very beginning .... Trip to Austria

 

 

And our first stop (at night) was

 

TRIER

 

Trier is a fabulous city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle.

The city  lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone

in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region.

 

 

My friend Linda and I were on our first Formula 1 trip to Austria but our third F1 trip together.

And this trip was more than just F1.

 

I couldn't believe we were going to Trier as someone special lives near there.

My second cousin Julian and his wife Jeannine and I had never met them.

As soon as I found out I contacted him by FB and we had a date!!

 

 

We texted each other as I was travelling nearer , got into the hotel , 5 minutes to sort myself

out (I thought)  and I got a phone call from reception .. they were there. Oh my word

it was brilliant.  We had a drink and a acquaintance chat , and they took me out

for a special German meal.  Absolutely super. Sorry no photos of the food.

We got on amazingly .

 

We shared  Flammkuchen - Alsatian pizza -- Delicious!
 I then  had Jagerschnitzel , which took me straight back to
 the 80's when I lived in Germany for 3 years.
 I have a packet Jager sauce mix ... we used to use these all of the time ..

 

It was an amazing few hours. Unfortunately I did not have time to meet

their children ..NEXT time hopefully. (Their eldest son was very

curious as to who this member of the family was)

 

. I have also met the eldest second cousin Steven  and his family  (In London) and have to return to Italy to meet the youngest Sara and her family.

 

I did go to Italy last year (F1) but

unfortunately timings were not good)

 

Who needs an excuse to go to Italy -- NOT me :-)

 

I will show you the photos of the city in my next post.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

A big Thank you to you all ....

NO I am not stopping my blog

but I am going to be so busy this week and maybe the

following week , returning to work after being

after being away over two weeks.

I really might not have time to blog.

 

 

I have so much to show still , more of France and even

Italy that I visited last year. And now Austria.

And more Postcards..♥

 

These are from me to you for all your support and lovely comments.

 

Thank You.

 

 

I would just like to say

 

 

Thank you to you all

for your support

 

Really means I lot.

 

 

I might have time to do a post this week , I might surprise you!

ENJOY 

 

YOUR

 

FLOWERS

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥



A trip to Bourdeilles - France .. Dreaming of France

This was a difficult post as for a start I had no idea where it was. I knew it was in France , I knew I was with Diane and Nigel but because my computer decided to rearrange all my photos out of their folders I had to sort them out.

It was this little plaque that helped me!!

After a long time researching I found out that he or she was an author.

I have searched and searched and unlike me I cannot find out any info except
that whoever he/she was they wrote books about Bourdeilles.

Must be in the name -- VERY SECRET!!!

JEAN SECRET

 

The castle of Bourdeilles was firstly a medieval castle, in the end of the 13th, then a Renaissance palace of XVI century, housing an impressive collection of nearly 700 items of antique furnishings. The fortress remained French until 1360 when the treaty of Brétigny ceded the Périgord to the English. - See more at: http://en.infotourisme.net/monument/bourdeilles/4936/chateau-de-bourdeilles#sthash.v8wfAQjE.dpuf

Chateau de Bourdeilles...





 

I think this Chateau is two different designs or there are two!

 

I am sure Nigel will be able to help me out on this one . 

Le Jardin du Presbytere

 



 

I hope you all have a super week . I am off on a trip to Austria

with my Formula 1 friends. I still have to blog about my last trip ..

Italy in September 2014.  Lots to keep me going .

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥



 



Le Jardin du Presbytere

 

Postcard from Penrith .....

As most of you know I am a

Formula 1 fan and go on trips

with my friend Linda.

 

I go with a company called Select Motor Racing and

they are brilliant, so well looked after and great fun.

 

Well since my first trip two years ago

I have become friends on Facebook with a few

of the  SMR "family" some I have not met

and Wendy is one of them.

 

Hopefully going to meet up with her

this year sometime.

 

Wendy sent me a lovely card from Penrith. I have never

been there, passed through on the train ..  

 



 Here we have the Clock Tower, The Castle , St Andrew's Church

and the The Giant's Thumb ..

 

The "Thumb" is in St Andrew's Churchyard. Please click on the link to

find out more.  I googled it and found out the alternative name is

Giant's Grave .

 

A church has stood on this site since 1133, and the present church was built in 1720,

 designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Christopher Wren,

and modelled on St Andrew’s Holborn.

 

  The Victorian Clock Tower erected in 1861, is

   known as the 'Musgrave Monument' and

commemorates the death of Philip Musgrave of Eden Hall.

 

Big Thank you to Wendy ..

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

 

An Old Sign in France ...

When I was on my trip 1 year ago

with Diane and Nigel

we did a lot of sightseeing ..

and as you know in France you

can see so many different things.

 

And one is the old signs .

 

We came across this sign . (wonder if Diane remembers)

 

Diane has a few blogs , here is a link to her PhotoDiary.

 

 

BYRRH  is an aromatised wine-based apéritif made of red wine, mistelle, and quinine. Created in 1866, it was popular as a French apéritif.

 

With its marketing and reputation as a "hygienic drink", Byrrh sold well in the early 20th century. It was even exported, despite the similarity of its name to "beer", complicating sales in English- and German-language speaking regions

 

Brothers Pallade and Simon Violet, drapers from Thuir (France), decided to take advantage of the wine fever in the region to develop an apéritif wine flavored with cinchona. They mixed dry wines and mistelles and initially marketed the resulting product as a health drink or tonic. This was because the local apéritif producers were displeased about competition with their established brands.

 

Rebranding the brothers' aperitif as a health drink got around this problem, and Byrrh was sold in pharmacies

 

Interesting as I was doing my google search

I came across a sign just like the above  

 being  sold on Etsy..!! (click on link)

and an interesting

post HERE using Byrrh in a cocktail.

 

Enjoy if you do make a Cocktail !!

 

♥♥♥♥♥

 

 

 

Tulips from Amsterdam or is it a Postcard?

My great friend Diane and her husband Nigel

went off on their travels again .

Taking in Amsterdam amongst other places. 

 

They went to quite a few different towns , go and have a read!!!
They saw interesting places.

 

 

 Here we have  the intersection of the

 Brouwersgracht and Herengracht canals in Amsterdam.

 

 

Brouwersgracht is part of the canal belt connecting the Singel, Herengracht, Keizergracht and Prinsengracht and marks the northern border of the canal belt. 

 

The canal served as a site for ships returning from Asia with spices and silks, and  Brouwersgracht had many warehouses and storage depots for the ships inventories. Breweries were also prevalent in the area due to the access to fresh water shipments. Today the warehouses are now apartments, some of the most expensive in Amsterdam.,

Herengracht  is the first of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, and is named after the heren regeerders who governed the city in the 16th and 17th century. The most fashionable part is called the Golden Bend, with many double wide mansions, inner gardens and coach houses on Keizersgracht. Samuel Sarphati (1813-1868) lived at the house at number 598 and Peter the Great stayed at the house at number 527 during his second visit to Amsterdam.

 

Thank you Diane , looks like you and  Nigel had a great trip.

 

♥ ♥ ♥

 

 

Anyone been to Sodermalm Heights - Stockholm ... ?

My lovely friend Krissa

who lives in Singapore has just been

on business and I received a card too!

 

 She thought of me when she

was doing a little bit of sightseeing. Thank you ♥

 

Krissa's blog is

 

 Connections to the World

(Postcards (and stamps!) collection )

Very interesting , a great read.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Sodermalm is an island that forms the southern district of central Stockholm and

 until the early 17th century  was mainly a rural, agricultural area.

The first urban areas were planned and built in the mid 17th century.

 

  Sodermalm is also often referred to as "Soders hojder", the Heights of 'Soder', which reflects its domain  of sheer cliffs and rocky hills.

 

 

 In the 18th century, the working class cottages that clung to Mariaberget, the steep cliffs facing Riddarfjarden, were replaced by the large buildings
 that are there to the present day.
 

   Today parts of Södermalm have rural feeling to them. . This area was mainly known as working class and  renowned for its poverty and regarded as a slum.

 

 While there has been a romantic air about Sodermalm for

many decades, its slow ascendancy towards a

better reputation began as late as in the 1970s or 80s.

 

Today it is considered a fashionable place to live or to go to, and it boasts prominent shopping districts and a wide range of cafés, restaurants and bars.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 

And for all you readers out there ...

 

"One of the literary phenomenons of recent years is the Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson, better known by their individual titles: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Stockholm provided the backdrop for these compelling thrillers, so it’s no surprise that fans are flocking to experience the city for themselves, and in particular, visit the places featured in the books.  And now thanks to an exciting new walking tour, you can step into the shadowy world of investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and anti-hero Lisbeth Salander. You get to see many of the locations, including Blomkvist’s apartment, the editorial offices of ‘Millennium Magazine,’ and the bars frequented by Salander. You’ll even pass the café where Steig Larsson would tap away at his laptop, authoring the novels that would go on to sell millions of copies around the world, and even become hit feature films."

 

The above information was taken from a website P &O Cruises... !!