Archive for: April 2007

Limoges is the capital of the Limousin region and is today an industrial city.  Limoges is of course best known worldwide for its porcelain.  In 1771, kaolin was discovered near Limoges.  Kaoline is a rock rich in fine white …

Whilst the group went off on their optional sleigh ride , we preferred to spend our morning exploring this town with over 800 years of history. It was a bright morning, and as there was a lot to …

We arrived in Innsbruck at 5 p.m. and were soon marshalled into the Swarovski shop so that some of the passengers could get their Swarovski fix.  The visit was OK, but nothing special (I found the exhibition in the basement …

Everything was pretty shut when we arrived in Oberammergau, but there were still plenty to see just walking around town.  It’s not a big town and I dread to think what the place would be like when the Passion …

Yet another early start and this morning we were headed for Schwangau, a region famous for its castles, mountains and lakes.  The road journey was getting to be more interesting as the scenery changed.  There were screams of excitement from …

By the time we reached Heidelberg, it was dark and we were all cold and tired.  How wonderful it would be once we were back in the warmth of our hotel room.   Well! thoughts of warm comfort soon got …

The drive from Amsterdam to Cologne Cathedral took about 2 hours.  Here we hit our first Christmas market, in the courtyard just next to the cathedral.  We had two hours to look around the stalls, which were selling traditional …

The coach ride from London to Dover took about 2 hours.  It was pitch dark and those who could, rolled back to sleep again.  At Dover, we boarded the P&O ferry and the trip to Calais took about …

After 30+ hours on the road, we arrived at the Mostyn Hotel exhausted and cold.  We were very pleased that the Mostyn turned out to be just opposite the Thistle Marble Arch from where we were to join the …

For people who do not like the cold, a winter holiday does not normally come into consideration.  Having grown up in England, Tony still has vivid memories of waking up to the cold and damp of the mornings and …