Andy's World Tour of Europe 2000 Diary
Tuesday June 27, 2000
First stop of the day is Swallow Falls just west of Betws-Y-Coed. It’s a beautiful and picturesque site. Drove north and looked over Conwy Castle and Beaumaris Castle. Drove out to Holyhead to book tickets for the ferry to Ireland and the train tickets for when we return. Drove around Holy Island and Anglesey, constantly being buzzed by fighter jets from the nearby RAF base. Drove around Buul Bay and Amlwch, nice spots on the northern coast road, on our way to Bangor where we’d spend the night.
Wednesday June 28, 2000
Bangor to Holyhead. Took our hire car back to Hertz and waited for the ferry. Rang Mum and Dad while we waited. Ferry to Dun Laoghaire took about 90 minutes. A organised our new car hire. and drove to Wicklow. Fab meal at the pub. We kinda forgot to pay the bill and had to go back there and pay up! Very embarrassing. Coffee in a small coffee house where a drunk irishman took a liking to Tony’s sick sense of humour.
Thursday June 29, 2000
Wicklow to Britas Bay Beach. Took a snap of me on the beach then headed for Avoca, location for the TV series Ballykissangel. A cute little village, starting to cash in on the BK appeal with lots of souvenir shops that trade on the BK success. Naturally I bought a few souvenirs. Drove to Waterford (home of Waterford Crystal) but couldn’t find a parking space, much to Tony’s annoyance, so we drove (north again) to Kilkenny. Walked around the castle there. Drove to Cork and found a B&B where a guy knew someone from Tassie that Tony’s dad knows. (small world i guess!)
Friday June 30, 2000
Drove around the Ring Of Kerry, a peninsula at the southern end of Ireland. Nice coastline, and some very pretty villages. Roads in Ireland are rather narrow and the winding Ring of Kerry is no exception, a bit scary meeting tour buses going in the other direction. Overnight at Tralee.
Saturday July 1, 2000
Tralee to Limerick. Checked our email. Drove around the Burren. This is a rather strange rocky landscape. We stopped at a stone-age rock burial monument and later did a guided tour of Aillwee Cave. Drove to Galway. Walked into town and saw a movie (Chicken Run).
Sunday July 2, 2000
Galway to Dublin. This was the turn-around point of our trip and the start of our long journey home. Did some souvenir shopping on arrival in Dublin. Drove south to Bray. Walked down to the foreshore to find a place to eat. We found a pizza place in an alley only to find more noisy Spanish kids at the next table (or were they the same ones we encountered in London?).
Monday July 3, 2000
From Bray we headed for the ferry terminal at Dun Laoghaire. Took the hire car back and boarded the ferry for Holyhead. At Holyhead we transferred to a Virgin train that would take us straight to Victoria Station in London. Stayed at the Regent Palace Hotel (the same place we stayed at the first time we arrived in London only this time we knew exactly where it was). That evening we saw a film, ‘The Next Best Thing’ starring Madonna and Rupert Everett.
Tuesday July 4, 2000
A day in London. Slept in. Later took the tube to Victoria station. Walked to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. This particular week is special as there’s a special Australian troop regiment here. Tony got some video of the Aussie soldiers marching around. Went to Harrods, but just to have a look and did some last minute souvenir shopping around the Piccadilly area. Had a late afternoon rest at the hotel (Tony had arranged for a late checkout) and packed our backpacks for our flights home. The Underground was hot and crowded and difficult to manoeuvre about with our bulky packs but we managed to squeeze on a train that would take us to Heathrow Airport. I did some more shopping here (sometimes I can’t help myself) Our first flight is to Hong Kong (about 13 hours).
Wednesday July 5, 2000
Arrived at Hong Kong Airport about 6pm. Rested and read. Tried to sleep. Boarded our flight for Melbourne. Left HK about 2330.
Thursday July 6, 2000
Arrived Melbourne about 7 am then had to wait a few hours for flight home to Launceston at 1230. Mum and Dad and Tony’s parents where at the airport waiting to meet us. Obviously both of us were very tired and in desperate need of a shower!
© 2000-2001 Andrew Shepherd