Tag Archives: Day trip

Transatlantic Sunset Tour: Day 6 ~ Basseterre, St Kitts

St Kitts logo

Our excursion today “St Kitts Scenic Railway” didn’t start until 11am, so we had a more relaxed breakfast at Lido’s on Deck 9. Then another lovely coffee at the Coffee Port on Deck 8. Now we had sustenance, it was down to Deck 4 and off the ship to enjoy what today had in store for us?! 🙂    

Welcome to St Kitts… 

Once an illustrious sugar colony, it now focusses its efforts on being a tropical paradise. A seductive blend of blonde sandss, and duck egg blue seas. 

Once we slowly navigated down the gangway steps, we looked up to see a view of the beautiful bay. 

The Caribbean never failed to surprise us, even when we thought we had seen the most beautiful places, the next place would leave us awe-struck with it’s breathtaking landscapes! 

A panorama taken from the dock pier overlooking the amazing span of volcano hills with the vivid blu sea in front

⇧ Sarah’s Panorama of St Kitts ⇧

 

As i was taking a photo of Sarah, a nice lady came over and asked if we would like her to take one of us both together? “Oh yes please, that would be so kind of you”. The photo she took is probably my fave photo of the trip! 🙂 

Me on the left in my bright orange shirt hugging Sarah on the right with the beautiful panorama of volcanic hills and blue sea behind us

⇧ Sarah & i at St Kitts ⇧

Showing my excitement, and love for the Caribbean. Sarah chose(and bought) me an amazingly bright and colourful Caribbean shirt, 🙂

Excursion Details – St Kitts Scenic Railway…

First up, board a tour bus for a drive along the south coast. Important landmarks lie around every corner here.

Second, hop on a train at the “Needs-Must” station, and St Kitts light railway takes you on a 3 hour tour of the islands best bits. You’ll chug over ravines over 300 feet deep, circle mount Liamuga volcano, take a sneak peak at the islands black sand beaches, and soak up the jaw dropping views over lush sugar cain fields,

The Bus…

Another soothing air conditioned bus ride. Our tour guide was fantastic, and told us all about the Economy, history(some grusome battles), and the monkeys! She said “Around 100,000 monkeys live in the tree covered hills, and they steal our fruit etc. So if you want to take one with you, it will help us greatly!”.

View from the bus at St Kitts

⇧ A view from the bus window ⇧ 

The Train…

We got off the bus at the “Needs-Must” station. The hot sun felt lovely as we waited for the train. We had no idea what to expect, and looking at the small narrow train tracks, we expected a little open top fun train, or something like. 

Then
this large double decker monster pulled up. “Wow, i didn’t expect that! It’s really tall, and doesn’t look wide enough to take the height”. I said as we climbed the stairs to the upper deck of the 1st carriage. “Yes! We get to sit at the front too! Unbelievable”.

As the train pulled away, the tour guide told us that the train will sway(strongly) side to side, so it’s best to stay seated, but if you want to stand then keep hold of the rail above the seats. She wasn’t joking!! It was the craziest train i’d ever been on, and i thought there is no way i can take photos whilst being violently thrown around! 

But
as usual, i didn’t let that stop me! My Nikkor lens has VR(Vibration Reduction) on it, so i’ll test it out. I really didn’t expect to have any photos from this amazing, unforgettable train ride, but was surprised when a few turned out not too blurry!  

We started off travelling through vivid green fields flanked by volcanos.

St Kitts 1

St Kitts 2

Then just as a lady asked us if we wanted a “Pina Colada”, we saw the first of many beautiful curved bays, with the sea crashing into the shore.

St Kitts 3

Sarah & i just kept saying “Wow, this is Amazing! How did we get here, it’s like a dream”. The beautiful hot sun shining down, a lovely cool breeze flowing through the train, and a Pina Colada in hand. Some of my fave things are Coconut, Banana and Pineapple, and this drink had them all! Mmmmm. 🙂  

St Kitts Train

Then as the train curled its way through the lush landscape, a 3 part harmony choir started singing. The ladies would come up to our deck and sing some beautiful songs as part of the trip. The voices were fantastic, and brought even more sunshine to this incredible journey. 🙂 

As the singers finished, we heard a horn next to us, so we all started waving at the people on the fun bus! 🙂 

St Kitts Bus

We were then treated to another stunning bay!

St Kitts 7

St Kitts 6

St Kitts 5

St Kitts 4

After passing through more sugarcane fields, the lady brought us a piece of sugarcane with spices. Wow, it was the nicest sweet thing i’d ever tasted! I always talk about this sugarcane everywhere i go.

Sarah St Kitts Train

⇧ Sarah sat at the front of the train! ⇧  

St Kitts Volcano

The tour guide then said “On your left you will make out the bridge we will be travelling over shortly”. I heard Sarah say “No way, the train isn’t going to make it over that, it looks too small and rickety. Steve, if you could see it, you’d be saying the same!!”. 

Train Bridge 1

Train bridge 2

Yes i would! After seeing this photo, i could tell exactly why Sarah was getting worried! 🙂

After the bridge, we travelled back towards the end of the journey. But not before we were blessed, by what is now my favourite church building.

St Kitts Church

This fantastic train ride came to an end back at “Needs-Must” station, where the bus was ready to take us back to the ship. But before we boarded, we still had a short time to look around the shops at the dock.

I bought another Caribbean shirt(blue one) so i could keep up with the vibrant colours surrounding us from all angles! Sarah even plaited my hair too! 🙂     

My Platt  Blue Caribbean Shirt

⇧ My quiet blue shirt ⇧ 

 Tomorrow will be our last Caribbean island, before we are at sea for 5 days crossing the atlantic for the Azores. 

We’ve booked a horse ride across the beach etc, so i’m a little nervous. But at least the horse isn’t blind(i hope) and will lead the way! Either way, i’m sure it’ll be another unforgettable experience! This holiday has been full of them! 🙂 

 Our Route 4 2day…

This evening Thomson Dream travels to St Johns, Antigua. We’ll arrive tomorrow morning having travelled 61 nautical miles, at an average speed of 4 knots.

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Transatlantic Sunset Tour: Day 3 ~ La Romana, Dominican Republic

La Romana

Sarah & i were excited to arrive at La Romana, Dominican Republic, and we were really looking forwards to our shore excursion. After applying strong suntan lotion, deet bands to our wrists and ankles and finishing off with our hats, we went to see if we could find where the excursion actually starts! 

Using my knees as suspention, i slowly navigated down the treacherous gangway steps until i reached land. yay! The hot sun was shining, I could hear a local band playing, and then i heard Jo’s voice, she is part of the excursion team. We homed in on her voice and she said that she was coming on the same excursion so we could wait for her and she’ll take us to the coach. Fantastic, we can now relax! 🙂

Sarah s Caribbean Outfit

⇧ Sarah’s lovely Caribbean outfit! 🙂 ⇧ 

After a short coach trip, and hearing about the history of the island by the tour guide, we arrived at Casa de Campo,

Roman-styled 5,000-seat amphitheater…

a photo of the circular seating of the Amphitheater left view

Amphitheater centre view

Photo of the circular seating of the Amphitheater right view

Sarah and the steps

⇧ Sarah relaxing in the sun, sat on the amazing steps. ⇧ 

Me at the amphitheater

⇧ My new hat kept my head nice and cool, thanks Suzanne ⇧

 After briefly taking in this fantastic amphitheater, it was a short walk to the lovely fountain.

Sarah fountain

Sarah fountain 2

I had no idea that Sarah had stopped sitting down and was now walking towards me, but it’s made a lovely photo! lol. 🙂 

 Another short walk around this beautiful place until we reached the church and river.

St. Stanislaus Church… 

Church Dominican Republic

Me walking in front of the   Church

⇧ Me walking around wondering what to shoot next! ⇧  

Whilst looking at the stunning church, at my 6 o’ clock was the stunning Chavón River. What a beautiful place, and such a blessing to be able to be here.

 The ChavĂłn River… 

Sarah at the Chavón River

Chavón River Chavón River 2

Just as i finished taking this photo, Sarah said “quick, take a photo of those ladies wearing the beautiful red dresses”. I span round and said “Where are they?” They were about 10 feet directly in front of me(i told you i was blind! lol). But just then they stood either side of Sarah and posed for the photo…

Sarah and the red dresses

Sarah and the red dresses close u

Some of you more experienced travellers will probably know what i’m about to say?!!

After the photo the ladies said “Tip
tip”, i was about to say “No, it’s ok you don’t need to tip me for the photo, i’m not that good!”. But then as we realised it was they who wanted a tip for posing for the shot, Jo(our Thomson excursion leader) quickly gave them a tip as we had no change at all. That was a lesson learned for Sarah & i, and we will be a little more discerning next time! I still think it was worth the mix up as the photos are lovely. 🙂 

Chavón River 3

At the bottom left of the photo above
you can just make out the paddle boat. That’s where we are heading next! 🙂 

 Paddle Boats & Palm Trees…

Paddle boats and palm trees

Rambo river

Me on paddle boat

 ⇧ Me reflecting on God’s beautiful creation ⇧ 

Sarah paddle boat

 ⇧ Sarah feeling relaxed in the sun ⇧ 

Rambo river 2

Sarah on paddle boat

The whole excursion was amazing. I’ve never seen such vibrant colours, breathtaking scenery and a chance to travel along the “Rambo River”. 

IMG 3249

Back on-board the ship…

We went straight to the ice cold water machine, and then out on deck to get some last shots before we sailed away. 

Dominican Republic 2

Dominican Republic 1

Sarah Portrait on board

 Wow,what a day! The south east corner of the Dominican Republic. was labelled “The fairest land under heaven” by Columbus. I don’t disasociate myself from his opinion!! 🙂 

 Our Route 4 2day…

This afternoon the Thomson Dream sails to Road Town, Tortola. We’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon having travelled 277 nautical miles, at an average speed of 14 knots. 

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🌮 Day Navigator 🌮

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Tuscany Tour: Day 3 – Siena

Photo while sat on the coach taken looking through the windscreen overlooking the mountains with Siena written on the road

While approaching Sienna, we were given a fantastic little radio thingy that you put around your neck. It has a single earphone so you can still hear the tour guide within a large radius,or if it gets noisy. We then met the new Siena tour guide who would guide the group and share interesting stories and history of this stunning place.

Welcome to Siena…

Me stood in front of the Siena Christmas Tree

We were very happy to meet in a little square around a huge Christmas tree (see above). I am now only wearing a thin shirt as it is like a summers day and it’s December!!  🙂

Siena Building

close up of windows on a Siena Building 2

Siena Arches

Walking through the narrow streets and hearing more about how the Medici family slaughtered and captured Siena, we arrived at the famous medieval square (Piazza del Campo). Yay another tower! 🙂 

Siena Campo

Campo Tower 

Siena campo windows

After a walk around the banked curves of the square (feeling like an Indy 500 car), the group then left the square and headed towards (what has now become my favourite bell tower of all time) Siena Cathedral!

Siena Cathedral…

Walking under a narrow archway, the group made a collective sound, it went something like (wooaaahhhhooww), Sarah said “Wow! A humbug tower!” I said understatedly “Oh right” as i could only look at the ground to try and navigate, and i can’t see the tower or any of it’s detail anyway. But when i got back, and was able to zoom into my photos to see what i was pointing my camera at
..”Wow, Wow Wow”. 

Siena Cathedrals humbug tower

Siena Cathedral Bell Tower

Siena Cathedral

a view of the stunning Siena Cathedral 3

 Sarah was very happy when we went inside and found more humbugs! 🙂

Inside Siena Cathedral 2

Inside Siena Cathedral

 The group then sat down to hear the final part of the tour guides history. Just after i said to Sarah “Wow, isn’t it amazing to think that all of this unbelievable place was done for Jesus?! It all points to Him!”. The tour guide said “And this was all done for Mary!”. I was not amused at all! 

We then had some free time and was told to meet back at the medieval square, now which way was that?? 

Siena Campo 5

We did eventually find it, and we met back up with the group. to then return back to the coach, but on the way we passed the Christmas tree where we had first started and it looked beautiful! It finished Siena off nicely! 🙂

Siena Christmas Tree at night

After quite a scare of nearly getting lost and left behind as the group disappeared into the darkness, Sarah and i boarded what we hoped was our coach (it was).  Now it’s off towards our final destination. 🙂

⇍ Previous Day — Next Day ⇏

Tuscany Tour: Day 3 – Vinci & Chianti

 As we left the amazing Pisa, Chiara (our tour guide) gave us some more interesting yet gruesome Tuscany history about the Medici family killing everyone again and taking over more villages and cities. She also mentioned a man called Leonardo Da Vinci, “no way” i said to Sarah “I thought he was a ninja turtle, not a real man!” She gave me a swift elbow in the ribs, and Chiara continued.

Welcome to Vinci…

The image below is of the landscape that greeted us from the coach.  

Sarah looking over the Vinci Hills

After taking in the amazing scenery, we headed off on foot to the Museum of Leonardo Da Vinci.

A view overlooking the town of Vinci with a bell tower on the left

A beautiful bell tower with purple blue sunrise over vince

A close up black and white of the Vinci Bell Tower

I really like bell towers!! 🙂

Sarah & i found inside the museum much too dark, so we struggled to see any of the fantastic creations on display. Sarah was using her iPhone 6 Plus with it’s wide aperture of f2.2 to view each design as it showed much brighter on her screen, rather than the dark blob in front of her (she’s a genius).

We did find a cool bike though!!

Vinci Bike

Now it was back outside to have a wonder around and see what we can find. It wasn’t long before we found a familiar object! 

Vitruvian Man

Sarah wasn’t happy with the “Vitruvian Man” and thought Leonardo had missed something out. So we added something extra

The Vitruvian Man & Woman! 🙂

Sarah stood in front of the Vitruvian Man  doing the same pose

Now for Chianti…

After another trip on the coach through amazing rolling hills, olive grows and vinyards, the coach parked right up at the top in Chianti where we were to do a little wine & local Tuscan food tasting.

I didn’t have time to take any photos as we were guided straight to our table and greeted with a lovely plate of local baked bread, olive oil, cheese and spicy meat.

The lady first pour a little Chianti Simple (table wine) into the huge glass and as she was going into great detail of how to hold the glass etc, i continued on the food (i couldn’t see anything she was doing, so her over complicated directions were wasted on me, lol). As i don’t really drink alcohol except a very full bodied glass of red wine on special occasions (normally 1 bottle a year and that’s usually Chñteauneuf-du-Pape i receive as a Christmas gift). My thought is that if i’m only going to have one glass on rare occasions, then i would like one that i enjoy! 🙂

I really know nothing about wines, only that some are red and some are white, and some are watery and some are thick (like coffee, lol) and i only like the thick ones, which now i know are called full bodied! 🙂

Then she poured a little of the Chianti Classico (full bodied..Yay!) and that was much better! 

But probably my favourite taste of the day was the 30 year old Balsamic Vinegar we got to taste! Wow, now that’s amazing, but expensive so didn’t get any to bring home! 😩

As we finished there was a mad rush to the little shop area. I stayed at the table as Sarah went to have a look and take a few photos for us!

Chianti Bottles on a shelf

Chianti barrells

look inside the Chianti shop

I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip so far?! Next stop Siena!! 🙂

⇍ Previous Day — Next Day ⇏

Tuscany Tour: Day 3 – Pisa

I forgot to mention in my older 2 posts in this Tuscany Tour series, that i didn’t take any of my DSLR’s with me to Italy (you’ve probably already noticed, lol). All of the photos taken were using my iPhone 5s or Sarah’s iPhone 6 Plus. 

I’d like to split Day 3 into 4 separate posts, as i don’t want them to get too long, and dare i say boring! If you’re just joining the “Tuscany Tour” for the first time then you can click here to start from Day 1.

Christmas Tree in the lobby of the Hotel Brunelleschi

Sarah & i were up bright and early, excited yet anxious for today’s big adventure. As we were in the reception area admiring the beautiful Christmas tree (see image above), the entrance doors opened as our taxi driver entered and escorted us to his taxi. It was still very dark (especially down the narrow side street) and already raining, and when i noticed the black minivan with blacked out windows (which only appear on episodes of 24) and the voice of the driver say “Get in”, i had a funny feeling that this could be anyone and we were in some kind of movie (this didn’t do my slight anxiety any good at all, lol). 

The driver was very friendly and nothing like the man i was imagining, he dropped us off at the exact collection point for the ‘My Tour’ coach stop where we were met by Chiara, the tour guide. She already knew we were blind & partially sighted and said it would be easier for us if we sat on the front 2 seats of the coach. “Yes!” i said as they’re our fave seats too, good start! 🙂

It took about an hour until we arrived at Pisa, Chiara was telling us lots of interesting facts and history of the Tuscany regions we were passing through, this (and my excitement) made the journey seem really quick. The coach parked right near the Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) and after a short walk in the group Chiara said “Now you have one hour free time, then meet back here”. This was just perfect for Sarah & i as we now have a point of reference to go from and to return.

Welcome to Pisa!

First for my tourist pose! 🙂

Me stood in front of the leaning tower of Pisa

And now it’s Sarah’s turn! 🙂

Sarah stood in front of the leaning tower of Pisa

Everyone was rushing straight for the tower, so we hung back and got a few photos of the Baptistry and the Cathedral.

Pisa Baptistry

Pisa Baptistry 2

The Cathedral  the tower

Lookin up at the Pisa Cathedral

Me looking at the tower

Sarah sneakily snapped me tower gazing and trying to soak up the atmosphere, and the fact that i was actually in Pisa, looking at probably the most famous bell tower in the world! 🙂

Pisa Tower

A zoomed in photo of the top 3 layers of the tower

There was only one small cafe opposite the tower, so Sarah & i went to check it out. We ordered 2 Cappachino’s and to my delight, a slice of pizza. I know you might laugh, but i just had to try the Pizza at Pisa! 🙂

Tower from the cafe

The image above is the view from the open windows at our table, it was just amazing being sat with the leaning tower of Pisa as the backdrop. 🙂

A panaramic shot of the baptistry, Cathedral & the tower in one shot

After this final panoramic photo, we met up with the group and headed back to the coach. 

This visit already made my day and i’d of been happy if that was the end, but this was only the beginning!!

Oh by the way
..The pizza was fantastic!! 🙂

Hope you’ve enjoyed the first stop of this “Tuscany in a day tour”. Please take your seats and see what’s coming next! 🙂

⇍ Previous Day — Next Day ⇏

 

Visiting Family In Doncaster

 I was blessed again last weekend to visit Sarah’s family up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK, and be there to celebrate Maddie’s (my sister in law)18th birthday and also get to meet everyone again. We had a lovely few days spending time and catching up with family. 

Maddies 18 cake

 ⇧ Maddie’s 18th birthday cake ⇧ 

Sarah  Maddie

 ⇧ Beautiful sisters Sarah & Maddie ⇧ 

Me  Maddie

 ⇧ Me & Maddie ⇧ 

Me Sarah  Maddie

 ⇧ Me, Sarah & Maddie ⇧ 

Brothers  Sisters

 ⇧ Brothers & Sisters Sarah, Maddie, Simon, Marshall & Alfie ⇧ 

Sarah  Marshall

⇧ Sarah with her brother Marshall “” 

Marshall

 ⇧ My brother in law Marshall ⇧ 

Me  Sarah

 ⇧ Me & my lovely wife Sarah ⇧

Sarah  Gran

⇧ Sarah & her lovel Gran ⇧

See also

People 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

Castle Rising Castle

Castle Rising main stairs

Castle Rising 2

Castle Rising 4

Castle Rising 6

Castle Rising 7

Castle Rising 9

My Thoughts 💭 

I thought i would use “Castle Rising Castle” for this weeks Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned.

Description

While on holiday at the lighthouse Me, Sarah & Brother Ben took a day trip to Castle Rising castle. I gave Ben my big Nikon as Sarah & I were doing an audio described tour provided by the ticket office for £1. It was a fun tour as the audio description was dramatised! I still got to get my compact camera out and shoot the shots above! 😀


See more of my Weekly Photo Challenges

Elephant’s Feet

Elephant s Foot

My Thoughts 💭 

After being back in my home town of Derby this weekend, i didn’t want to leave without having an ‘Elephants Foot’ from Birds. Other bakers around the country do similar styles of cakes, but never taste anything like one of these beauty’s, they simply can’t be beaten! My sister got me a box of 4 to take back home and Sarah & i can’t thank her enough! 😀

If you visit Derby or Derbyshire then i recommend that you try one! Please let me know what you think! 🙂

My 1st Passport!! :D

Passport

My Thoughts 💭 

Yipppeee my 1st passport arrived in the post today!!! 😀

It may be a shock to some of you that i’m 38 and never had a passport, but after my interview on Saturday morning at the passport office in Victoria, London to prove face to face that I am me, it finally arrived today.

So, I was wondering if all of you lovely friends could suggest some great places to see and experience?! I’ll finally be able to post some photos from places other than Norfolk! lol.

Me, Sarah, Ben (The Dynamic Force) and Rosie always talk (jokingly but seriously) about a “WordPress World Tour” where we would travel around and maybe meet some of the amazing people who we share our everyday journeys with on here! Is this a crazy dream?! 😀

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

Steve  Sarah Wedding 2

To celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary Sarah & I visited Hunstanton, Norfolk for a few days. We’ve stayed in the ‘Old Hunstanton Lighthouse‘ for our honeymoon and then each year for the next 5 anniversaries, but this year we didn’t have the time to stay for a week, so we stayed in a lovely guest house in the town instead. I didn’t take any cameras with me and only had my iPhone, but I had fun taking photos anyway! 😀

The Burleigh Guest House

⇧ The Burleigh Guest House ⇧

Gideons Bible

⇧ England, UK is a secular country so this was a lovely surprise ⇧

Me and Sarah

⇧ Me and my lovely wife ⇧

The wold trail sign

⇧ The wolf trail posts lead you towards the wolf along the cliffs ⇧

Sarah  the wolf

⇧ Sarah and the wolf ⇧

Sarah jumping for joy

⇧ Sarah jumping for joy! ⇧

Me on the beach

⇧ Me on Old Hunstanton Beach ⇧

Sarah sea 1

Sarah sea 2

Sarah sea 3

Sarah sea 4

⇧ Sarah enjoying herself in the sea ⇧

On our last evening we decided to have Sarah’s favourite doughnuts and watch the beautiful sunset from the sea front. 

Sunset breakers

Sunset sea front 1

Sunset sea front 2

Sunset 4 people

Suset sea front building

I decided with the image below, that I would combine my love of sunsets with Sarah’s love of doughnuts. It took a few attempts to get the sun in the hole, but I got it in the end! 🙂

Sunset doughnut

⇧ Sarah watching her doughnut shine ⇧

Sarah on the train

⇧ Sarah wearing her new top sitting on the train on the way home ⇧

When we arrived home after a 6 hour journey, we had an hour to get ready and go for our romantic meal at our favourite restaurant. Our friends who own and run Sicily restaurant made it extra special for us.

Sicily 1

⇧ They first surprised us with a lovely card and present ⇧

Sicily 2

⇧ Then amazing fillet steaks ⇧

Sicily 3

Sicily 4

⇧ Love heart potatoes ⇧

Sicily 5

⇧ Vegetables with pine nuts ⇧

Strawberries creamand coconut ice cream and peach

⇧ And finally Strawberries & cream with coconut ice cream in a peach ⇧

Now i’m back at my computer with 771 emails, so i’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon. I’m looking forward to reading your posts! 😀

Daily Prompt: From the Gut

Today’s Daily Prompt ~ “Photographers, artists, poets: show us JOYFUL

Psalm 118:24 (NASB)
This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Sarah on Wedding Day PNG

Sarah on wedding day part 2 PNG

⇧ Sarah’s joy overflowing on our wedding day ⇧ 

Sarah Joyful

⇧ Joyful on our honeymoon too! ⇧

Steve  Sarah Photo Booth

⇧ Joy in our marriage as best friends ⇧

Sarah Smiling

⇧ Joy in the everyday ⇧

Sarah s Gran PNG

⇧ Sarah’s joyful Gran ⇧

Sarah's Dad

⇧ Sarah’s joyful Dad ⇧

Bruce running alone on the beach

⇧ Bruce finding joy on an empty beach ⇧

Bruce Jumping with joy

⇧ Bruce jumping for joy! ⇧

Joy cannot be pursued. It comes from within. It is a state of being. It does not depend on circumstances, but triumphs over circumstances. It produces a gentleness of spirit and a magnetic personality.
Billy Graham

Check out “Steve & Sarah” on the “Weddings”  page

V8 Pickup

Pickup Truck

Description

While on holiday last year in Hunstanton, Norfolk I kept hearing a fat american V8 driving around the town, and one day it was parked up so I could snap it with my camera!

My friends dad always had american cars  and vans and I’ve enjoyed them for most of my life, so I was excited when I could finally put a picture to that beautiful sound.

Camera Used ~ iPhone 4s

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Brooklands Museum

 

Happy Birthday Sarah – Part 2

 

For part of Sarah’s birthday present I booked a 1 night stay in the Thistle Hotel in Brighton. The hotel was lovely and the view from the room had a full panoramic view of the beach and pier.

Sarah sat in the window relaxing with the view of the pier

We had a meal in the restaurant inside the hotel on the first evening which was lovely as the table had a similar panoramic view, and I had the best scotch egg (cooked in a posh way! lol) I have ever tasted! 

Posh Scotch Egg! :D

On the second day my friend Ben (excellent poem creator), Rosie & Vini came down to meet us for the day. We enjoyed a walk along the pier and Vini had a ride on the Horror Hotel!

Brighton 1

Horror Hotel 2

Brighton Roller Coaster

Helter Skelter 14

Rosie & Vini

hen
..

The Chocolate!

Choccey Wocky

 

Camera usediPhone 4s

 

 

Sarah’s Easter Question! :D

Happy Easter 

“How much longer do I have to wait till I can start eating my Easter egg Steve??”

I took this photo on a day trip to the Eden Project

The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world. The project is located in a reclaimed Kaolinite pit, located 1.25 mi (2 kilometres) from the town of St Blazey and 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the larger town of St Austell, Cornwall.[1]
The complex is dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that house thousands of plant species,[2] and each enclosure emulates a natural biome. The domes consist of hundreds of hexagonal and pentagonal, inflated, plastic cells supported by steel frames. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, and the second a Mediterranean environment
.read more
.

 

London Eye & Big Ben

London eye 7

The London Eye 2

London Eye 6

The London Eye

Beg Ben

Description

I have been on the London Eye a couple of times and it has rained both times! lol 😀 

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames in London, England. The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft).

It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually.[5] When erected in 1999 it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world
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Camera usedSONY Alpha a100

 

Castle Rising Castle

Castle Rising Castle

Castle Rising main stairs

Castle Rising 2

Castle Rising 4

Castle Rising 5

Castle Rising 6

Castle Rising 7

Castle Rising 8

Castle Rising 9

Description

While on holiday at the lighthouse Me, Sarah & Ben took a day trip to Castle Rising castle. I gave Ben my big Nikon as Sarah & I were doing an audio described tour provided by the ticket office for £1. It was a fun tour as the audio description was dramatised! I still got to get my compact camera out and shoot the shots above! 😀

Castle Rising Castle is a ruined castle situated in the village of Castle Rising in the English county of Norfolk. It was built in about 1138 by William d’Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, who also owned Arundel Castle. Much of its square keep, surrounded by a defensive mount, is intact. It is currently owned by Lord Howard of Rising, a descendant of William d’Aubigny.

Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is best known as the location of Castle Rising Castle, which dominates the village. The village is situated some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-east of the town of King’s Lynn and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of the city of Norwich.The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating Castle Rising from the site of the lost village of Babingley.[1]

 

Camera usedSamsung WB550

Leith Hill Tower

A landscape shot of the Leith hill tower in the centre

A framatic black and white photo looking upwards of the tower from the outside

A black and white photo of a Squirrel eating from the right side profile

Description

On the summit of Leith Hill is an 18th century Gothic tower, with panoramic views northwards to London and the English Channel to the south. Richard Hull of nearby Leith Hill Place built “Prospect House” in the years 1765 to 1766, later to become known as Leith Hill Tower, with the intention of raising the hill above 1,000 ft (305 m) above sea level. The tower is 19.5 metres (64 ft) high and consisted of two rooms “neatly furnished”, with a Latininscription above the door announcing that it had been built for not only his own pleasure, but also for the enjoyment of others. Hull provided visitors with prospect glasses, similar to a small telescope, through which to survey the extensive views towards London and theEnglish Channel, each some 25 miles (40 km) away, and thirteen counties on a very clear day
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 Camera usedSONY Alpha a100

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Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace 1

Hampton Court Palace 2

Hampton Court Palace Secret Garden

Hampton Court Palace 3

Description

Photos taken on my one and only trip to Hampton Court Palace (a few years ago now!) 😀

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, and the historic county of Middlesex; it has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it

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Camera usedFuji F10

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