Paul's blog

[paul]

Well... I suppose I ought to start one. Apologies for the lack of an original name.

I've not done much travelling for a few months now. Last trip was to France and Switzerland (Geneva - Evian - Lausanne - Geneva) with the family (my wife and our two little boys). We had a fantastic time and stayed in some wonderful places, including the Evian Royal Resort, a new Hilton Worldwide Resort (so new that the spa was still being built, unfortunately) and Lausanne Palace (wow!). Unfortunately, the day after we got back (at least we had got back), my wife had terrible back pain and had quite a badly slipped disk which in the end needed surgery. Thankfully she's now doing much better despite one or two complications, but it's been a long road. It was October that it happened and she's only really returned to normal this last fortnight.

Anyway, at least now we can look forward to more trips away. Next up is Tenerife - I was lucky to win a week away in a five star hotel through work - it was for two people but they very kindly managed to tweak things a little so that our sons could come with us. We are really looking forward to a week's relaxation given what's happened over the last few months. It's just 61 more sleeps, not that we're counting or anything.

Our main holiday will be late summer and we plan on 'luxury camping' in France. We were going to drive down to Porstmouth/Dover with our own tent, etc. and hop on the ferry, but we're trying to make the trip as hassle free as possible. That got me looking into things like Eurocamp and Keycamp (same company essentially) and others like them, because wtih them you can actually just arrive and use a tent that's already been put up for you. That's a little lazy, I know, but the prospect of putting up our tent (which really requires two adults) after a long drive, and with two possibly tired children who may or may not be in the right frame of mind, doesn't really appeal! Anyway, a bit more investigating still, and I notice these companies do mobile homes with all the modcons - oven, microwave, etc. and all those amenities would probably come in handy. I then found a UK company called Carisma who tend to go for the luxury end of the market (also one called siblu which I don't know quite as much about yet) and who tend to focus on the smaller sites (they still look substantial but aren't as big as some) that aren't inundated with Brits but do have a healthy mix of English and French, and that rather appeals to us. We probably won't drive that far into France but just opt for somewhere like Brittany or Normandy, or perhaps venture as far as La Vendee. Also, someone suggested to me that we drive across to Hull and get the ferry down to Zeebrugge so we didn't have such a lengthy drive down through the UK. That also appeals so I've been considering that (thanks to those who replied), but it does seem quite pricey.

Other than that, we don't have much else planned. I shall have a night at The Zetter in London in June in a rooftop suite (another competition prize... it's been my lucky year!!) and we plan to have short breaks away at The Punchbowl at Crosthwaite (actually very close to where I live) and at The Wensleydale Heifer (what a great name) in Yorkshire when we can arrange babysitting.

Right, that's it for me right now... best get back to work... just completed a couple of websites for B&Bs in the local area so need to issue some invoices and get some cash coming in...

Paul
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[ooen]

[paul]

Yes, I used to - very occasionally - have a lot of problems with some bad payers, to the point that I would have to take them to court to get the money I was owed. This was incredibly time consuming, often more time consuming than the job itself.

Thankfully - touch wood - this problem has completely gone now. (At least I haven't had a case for a few years.) The reason? Asking for a 50% deposit up front. It's a significant sum to ask for and does put a few people off (that doesn't worry me... we're not short of work that we can be doing in-house), but I'm finding that we're getting the kinds of people that we've worked for before, or that have been recommended by word of mouth, and not the kinds of people that have no intention of paying a penny in the first place.

Anyway, back to blogging... not much to report... I played golf yesterday - went twice round a beautiful little 9-hole course in Cumbria. I am very much a novice - I don't usually play more than once or twice in a year - but I did manage one birdie and one par so I'm happy enough with that. In fact, the birdie was on a par 3 and my first shot went to within one foot of the hole.
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[ooen]

[paul]

Yes, it's very occasional. I play probably once or twice a year usually. I enjoy it but the problem with golf is it's too time-consuming - especially when you have a tendancy to zig-zag your way along the course. I am quite good at finding the fairway off my drives, but sometimes it's the fairway of the previous hole, not the one I'm supposed to be on.

Anyone else here play?
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[paul]

Went to the Yorkshire Dales at the weekend. I really should explore out that way a bit more as there's some beautiful scenery around there. Visited Aysgarth and took these pictures...

<pics removed by Paul... sorry, the directory that they were in is now password protected>

Paul
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[ooen]

It's nice to spend time close to the water whether it's river, lake or ocean. It gives you peace ...

(Around there, there is only polluted river. Argh ...)
_________________
Online Education :: Career Development Forum
Health Chat Blogging about India ...

[Maid of Kent]

Why the photo of a nasty grey vermin?

At the moment we still have reds visiting our garden.
_________________
(\__/) Chinese Proverb - He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.
(=’.’=)
(‘)_(‘)

[paul]

They don't have reds out there...


_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[paul]

Took the day off today and ventured out to Ravenglass, via the Duddon Valley. On the way back, we stopped at Silecroft and I took these pictures. (For those that aren't familiar with the area, this is not all that far from Sellafield.)

















Paul
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[paul]

Just returned from two weeks in Brittany. I'm busy catching up on emails and paperwork so rather than write lots, I'll just post a handful of pictures from the trip:

Our nearest beach - La Foret Fousenant



The fort at Concarneau



A boat off Concarneau



Fishing at Beg Meil



Quimper



Quimper again



Quimper once more



Our two boys at Oceanopolis, Brest



A starfish at Oceanopolis



An ugly fish at Oceanopolis


_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[ooen]

[paul]

Oh, sorry, I perhaps should have said... Brittany is a region in France - known as "Bretagne" in French.



Paul
_________________
UK Hotels - UK Selfcatering - UK B&Bs - UK Attractions
Luxury Travel - Lake District Apartment

[ooen]

I was watching a documentary about William the Conqueror, and the name, "Brittany", came up in that.

[LIPpie]

Lovely pictures!

Still dreaming of how I can get started with this travel-working thing.