Stuarts Travels

Just a few pictures from my day trip

This years holiday involved travelling over 12,000 air miles and driving for a further 2700 driving in 9 states .

I started in Washington state staying in Seattle where i stayed near the Boeing factory . This was a bit of a buss man’s holiday as i did the Boeing factory tour , seeing all the new 787′s lined up ready for delivery . Also while i was there i visited the Museum of flight and was able to see one of the remaining Concordes

http://www.museumofflight.org/visit

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/tours/index.html

As Seattle is fairly close to the Canadian border i did a trip to Vancouver , 9 years after i last went . Best parts to visit are the Gastown area , Granville Island market and Stanley Park .

http://www.granvilleisland.com/

http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a ride on the monorail to the Space Needle .http://www.spaceneedle.com/

It was originally built for the 1962 Worlds fair so next year it is having it’s 50 th anniversary .

The next part of my trip was a flight to Denver then a drive of 350 miles over two days up through Nebraska to South Dakota to Mount Rushmore

Seeing the Hitchcock film North by Northwest made me want to come and visit the 4 Presidents carved in stone .

Work started in 1927 and was completed in 1941 and i highly recommend going out of your way to make a visit .

http://www.mtrushmore.net/

There is a similar project not far away called Crazy Horse but it’s such a long way off from finishing that i wouldn’t bother going .

Driving back to Denver through Wyoming is quite an experience , one road of complete nothing and hardly seeing a soul . Makes you realise how vast America is .

Had a few days in Denver , one of which was spent at

Estes Park http://www.estesparkcvb.com/rocky_park.cfm which is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park .  A 40 min drive from the village takes you high into the mountains for a fantastic view .

Next it was a flight to Las Vegas which i have been to many times before . You have to see a show if you visit there and this time i went to see Cirque de Soleil – Viva Elvis , which was so good i could of watched it again .

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/viva-elvis/default.aspx

Also went to the Grand Canyon again as i hadn’t been on the new skywalk .

It’s a glass platform the juts over the canyon .

Pictures don’t do it justice but it’s so spectacular that seeing is believing .

The most spectacular place to have lunch

After three days it was a drive to California , first stopping in Palm Springs then onto Los Angeles . As this was the final stop it was a bit more relaxed , spending time cycling along Santa Monica beach and shopping .

However i did do a trip to San Diego and found a lovely waterside area

http://www.seaportvillage.com/ where i had the best cup cake of my life

http://www.frostedrobincupcakes.com/cupcakes

So all that covered 8 states over 17 days . The final state Michigan was just a stop to change planes to come home .

I went up to Scotland for a few days taking in Edinburgh and Glasgow .

I stayed in Glasgow at the Citizen M hotel which is how budget hotels should be . Amazing different style to the usual hotels , living room atmosphere to the lounges with everything the modern traveler needs . In the rooms you have free movies and themed wake up calls which were funny but the best bit was the mood lighting .

http://europetraveler.co.uk/citizenm-glasgow-hotel-review/

http://www.citizenmglasgow.com

On one day i went to visit Pollock House in Glasgow which my friend who lives in Glasgow was not aware of . The house dates from around 1750 and contains a collection of Spanish art and furnishings of an Edwardian country house .It’s set in Pollock Country park and has extensive gardens

A favourite  part of mine is seeing the old servants quarters where the Edwardian Kitchen Restaurant is housed .

http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Pollok-House/

A restaurant i would recommend while staying in Glasgow  is the Butterfly and Pig , which has some quirky touches to watch out for and reading the menu is fun .

http://www.thebutterflyandthepig.com/

So on my next trip i need to spend more time to spend at the Kelvingrove museum http://tinyurl.com/3yykjzk

Also the new transport museum will be open http://tinyurl.com/6j3mtpz

I had only been to Paris for a couple of day trips , so this was my first visit to really see Paris . I travelled on the Eurostar which i was very impressed with and i shouldn’t say this but easier than the plane . You clear passport control at St.Pancras so there is no messing about when you arrive and the journey time is just over two hours .

To finish the first day off after travelling i took a walk along the Seine up to Notre Dame , which is a must to see .

The next day i had a full day of sightseeing starting off at the impressive Louvre . This is a must to go and see the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo but you could spend all day in there if your heart desires.

You can’t go to Paris without shopping , so i went along the Champs Elysee then onto the huge department store  Gallery Lafayette which has an amazing atrium which held a huge Christmas tree .

This was followed by a night trip along the Seine on a boat  then a walk to the Eiffel Tower which in my opinion looks much better at night .

My hotel was in Montmartre which i would recommend as it was very much old Paris with its cobbled streets leading up to the Sacre Coeur .

I sat in the square watching the artists paint while having a hot chocolate .

Making use of the cheap Ryanair fares i went to Pisa for the day . Didn’t do my homework on this one as quite frankly there is not much there apart from the Leaning tower and the Cathedral . You are allowed to climb up the tower which i was surprised about and there is a great view from the top .If you are staying longer i imagine Florence has more to offer . So as i don’t have much to say on this one , i will post a few pics

Just had a short break in Barcelona my favourite Spanish city using my air miles which is a bit of a bonus . This year the option was to go on Swiss Airlines via Geneva which if you know my interests is an added bonus .
I spent one day on the beach and the other exploring Barcelona .I went on the hop on hop bus as it covered everthing i wanted to see and i didn’t want to waste time trying to work out how to get from one to another .
A good vantage point to view the whole city is up on the hill where the Olympic Stadium is sited

My favourite part of Barcelona is the harbour area and then up Las Ramblas , which is the main shopping street leading to the center

Leading off from this street is the most amazing market with wonderful displays of fresh fruit , fish and meats

Down Las Ramblas you will find street entertainers who i think put more time and effort into their performance than your average tourist trap ones

Also Barcelona is full of weird and wonderful architecture which makes the place different to your usual european city

One of my interests is aircraft , so when i saw this opportunity come up i couldn’t refuse . During the summer Air France are putting on their new  Airbus A380 on the Paris – London route

Inside the two decks it is very light and spacious with mood lighting to relax you . One thing you will notice is how quiet it is making it ideal for long haul travel .

An onboard camera situated on the tail lets you watch your take off and landing from your seat back screen

While i was in Paris i went to see one of the remaining Concordes on display . It is my aim to visit all them around the world , so far i have seen eleven with six still to be seen .

I went to visit my friend who i used to work with who now lives in Warsaw. The city is becoming much more Westernised  , i went in a new shopping center and quite honestly you could of been anywhere with the amount of British and European  stores. It’s a shame everywhere is losing their identity and becoming the same

The next day i did a trip that i was a bit reluctant to do at first as it’s not something that springs to mind when you go away on a break but i was persuaded to go . It was to the town of Lublin about two hours south on the train .

It was here in 1941 that the Majdavek Concentration Camp opened and is now a museum. Not all of it is was left standing but you walk through the gate and the very first huts you come to are the gas chambers complete with Zyclob B cannisters, it certainly makes you think . 78,000 people were killed here and 13,000 on one day alone on 3rd Nov 1943. You can walk inside some of the barracks to see the living conditions and one of them houses thousands of shoes which were taken from the prisoners. You end up at the crematorium and a memorial has been built over a huge pile of human ashes .

The whole place is very eerie as you would expect but something i’m glad i have seen.

I’ve always kept a journal of my travels but now the time has come to share them in a blog.

I’ve just been to Berlin , my favourite city in mainland Europe.My main purpose was to visit the Air Show which is held every two years at Schonefeld airport . I’ve been to the last few and combine it with some sightseeing . The highlight of the show this year was watching the Airbus A380 do an amazing display of climbs and dives considering its sheer size .

Also at the show was a selection of aircraft from the US Airforce

I also like Berlin for it’s varied history , most of it bad . I visited the Story Of Berlin museum , learning about the Cold War , Berlin Wall , Berlin Airlift and the Nazi years . It ended with a visit to the nuclear bunker underneath the city.

Another part of Berlin i find fascinating is the network of trains and underground . I often find the time to go exploring around the city and come across amazing old stations some still in their old style , some perched up in the air above the roads . My favourite is the Wittenbergplatz which was opened in 1902 and has been restored fully to its original style including 1920′s advertising .

Berlin is so fascinating i just know i will be back , i’m hooked .