Out for a hike above Cheddar Gorge!

We've done a lot of walking in the past couple of months, but it's been mostly flat city walking, not an actual trail hike that includes some climbing. And with our big ten day Albania hike coming up in just over a month, we need to get our legs in better shape.

So yesterday we went up to Cheddar Gorge to do their 5 km (3 mile) Gorge Top Walk.

The smallest city in England

We never did get any rain, but it was after lunch by the time some blue sky arrived. It turned out to be a nice afternoon, with high around 20C (68F).

Tony drove us over to the city of Wells... the smallest city in England based on the fact that it has both a cathedral and only 12,000 residents. We had gone through on the bus the other day and Lindsey had said she would like to go back and wander around. Helen stayed home... she has a bad foot and is trying to give it some rest.

Made it back to Helen and Tony's

On Monday, we walked almost 2 kms to the Bristol Bus Station and took the 10:55am bus from Bristol to Glastonbury. 

The bus was right on time, and it cost an amazingly cheap £2 ($2.50 USD, $3.40 CAD) per adult, and half that for Sadie.

April Expenses

We've been busy since the end of April, and just haven't had time to post our monthly expense report!

We started the month of April by arriving in Kuwait City on April 1st and had two flights throughout the month as we made our way to Istanbul and Antalya, Turkiye. 

Our budget called for $3,115 CAD ($2,300 USD) for the month, but we knew we had some medical things to get looked at, and ended up spending $3,512 CAD ($2,566 USD) in total.

Fantastic news!

Well, the "maybe some good news" from yesterday unexpectedly turned into fantastic news today!

I had mentioned yesterday that because our easyJet flight from Paris to Bristol was late arriving that we may be entitled to compensation. The European Union (EU) has some strict regulations governing the airlines and their commitments to their passengers, and if your arriving flight is more than three hours late, you can submit a claim to the airline.

Arrived in Bristol, England... and maybe some good news!

Yesterday's blog was posted late, so if you missed The view from the Eiffel Tower you might want to go back.

We were up at 5:45am to catch the bus to Paris airport for our 9:00am easyJet flight to Bristol, England. The bus outside the hotel arrived right on time, but we didn't have any small bills to pay for the bus. Only a €20 note. It was supposed to cost €2.50 each for the adults, but when I went to pay, the driver just waived us on through! So the ten minute bus ride to the terminal was totally free.

View from the Eiffel Tower

Friday was a bit of a hectic day! We had to be out of our apartment by 11:00am, but had arranged to be able to leave our bags behind, provided we were back to pick them up by 1:00pm.

So we headed out to return to the Eiffel Tower in the hopes of getting up there to match up another photo or two.

Busy day touring Paris matching my father's photos

For whatever reason, Paris has never been on our "to do" list. I guess that's why it took 62 years for us to get here!

We've only got a day and a half to explore the city, so we were pretty much planning on sticking to the highlights. But with lots of walking, we would see other stuff along the way.

Welcome to Paris!

France is not a new country for us. However we have never been to the actual city of Paris, despite having flown in and out of Paris airport a couple of times.

So when our granddaughter Sadie said that she wanted to see Paris as part of her trip across the pond, we decided that now is a good time!

Next blog post coming to you from Paris, France!

Our daughter Lindsey and granddaughter Sadie arrived in London, England yesterday morning after doing the overnight flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

They spent the day exploring London, and then the evening and overnight at Ruth's aunt who lives in the city.  Today, they plan to go to a theater show, among other things. Then tomorrow afternoon they will take the chunnel train from London to Paris.

Road Trip Savings: 5 Top Tips for Economical Car Hire Deals

No one can deny that cars are among the technological advances that have made everyday life much easier. An additional and extremely important benefit is that travelling has become much less tiring and much more fun. Brits know how great road trips are, as they’re their favourite getaway holiday plan. In doing so, they not only experience something out of the ordinary but also get to know their own country better. However, not all of them know how to save money when looking for a car. You can avoid pitfalls by following our top tips for economical car hire deals in the UK.

Liverpool’s Concealed Delights: A Day to Discover the City’s Hidden Charms

London is the top destination in the South of England, but in the North, the elegant Liverpool is a city that takes everyone’s breath away. Its musical legacy, its maritime heritage, and the urban beauty make it stand out. You may have read articles about the special character of this English city before. However, this one can be the first to reveal Liverpool’s concealed delights. Spend one day of your holidays going to the underrated attractions mentioned below, and you’ll get to know Liverpool in more depth.

Exploring the Unforgettable Journey of Kevin and Ruth: A Tale of Wanderlust and Adventure

So I was wasting time on the internet, and playing with the free ChatGTP Artificial Intelligence program.

Just for fun, I asked it to come up with a blog post about the history of Kevin and Ruth from Travel with Kevin and Ruth. And literally less than two seconds later, it came up with the text. It's quite amazing... and almost a little spooky! Here it is...

More photo matching coming up!

Saturday afternoon, we walked down to the beach. 

Even though the property where we are staying is billed as being a beach stay, it's still a 2 km (1.3 mile) walk to actually get to the beach. There is a big open "forest" area between us and the beach with a lot of walking tracks, but none of them appear to actually lead to the beach. So we had to go along the road.

Moving day

We chose our new place east of the city of Antalya at Lara Beach. Somehow we had to go almost 16 kms (10 miles) with all of our worldly belongings.

I checked the price of a taxi, but that was going to cost over 400 lira ($12.30 USD, $16.80 CAD). Not really that expensive, but we had lots of time so I checked into taking the bus. The problem of course was carrying all of our "stuff".