Travelling Mc still travelling!

I'm off to Devon to visit my family. Its been at least 6 months and considering how great they are that length of time if just too darned long!

In previous trips I have had the joys of driving all over Dartmoor. From barren and craggy moor tops to the lush and remote valleys there is more than you could see in a weekend and I have never been bored in my visits there!

Chudliegh is a neat little village that I have been lucky to enjoy. Walking from the modern housing developments up the hill to the town centre you can see centuries of change and there are lots of local tales telling of tunnels between the pubs and the church and all sorts that has happened there over the years. The history doesn't hang heavily in Chudliegh, instead it seems to welcome all the new events knowing one day theywill be the stories people will be telling.

To the north of Exeter is a road that runs in an arc around the dartmoor. Dotted all along this area are villages and manor houses and home farms that seem to have been there since man arrived. You can feel an old way of life continuing on within these places and it always makes me feel really peaceful. Newton St Cyres still has a road that fords a stream which in winter becomes a bit more of a river!

The contryside is lush and rolling and the journey from one side of devon to the other is constantly amazing. There is always something to see and so many places you just want to stop and stare at what is around you it could take weeks to completely the journey if you stopped at every point like this.

Every time I visit Devon I reminisce and every time I get there there is something new to see or something old I had forgotten about. The whole county is amazing. Its worth it to take some time to visit and explore down all those odd little roads and see the small and quiet villages.

While this isn't much of a report on a single trip i can say it is a recommedation if you are looking to go somewhere that will touch your heart and stay with you when you go home!

Update: The big adventure this time took us out to the south coast to visit Budliegh Salterton and East Budliegh - the birth place of Sir Walter Raliegh. The actual house is way out in the countryside and just spectacular. It must have been an awesome place to grow up as a child! The nearest village is East Budleigh which is a picture perfect Devon village with whitewashed, thatch-topped houses and narrow little lanes and even a dog show to top off the image!
Budleigh Salterton is a typical Devon seaside town but with a stoney beach and red clay cliffs that are incredibly striking against the moody blue of the ocean and the vibrant green of the grass that topped the cliffs. Magic!!
I was also super lucky to get in to see Comedy of Errors at the Rougemont Gardens but you can read more about that on another entry!
I have just the best family! I had such a fantastic time with them and they spoilt me rotten!

Off to Cheshire for the weekend. Taking the dogs up to visit family in the lush and rolling countryside of the north!
A big test for the baby of the family - our 2 yr old GSdog Jack who has never travelled so far and is still being socialised.
Should be lovely. Its typically either very cold or very hot in the area we are heading too so there will be jerseys and jeans on hand if the weather looks like heading down hill as we head up to Cheshire.

Update: Weekend went really well! Weather was all over the place but started out nicely! Jack was a sweety and didn't get up to too much trouble (apart from running off with a border collie for a little bit!) Both dogs did really well on the 4 hour drive and didn't act up or anything! Cheshire was supreme with its lush rolling countryside and new potatoes for sale at every farm gate! Somehow we still managed to forget to get any before heading home but thats a step better than the 20 kilo bag Anton insisted on buying this time last year!

Its all good!

My first Trip to spain was glorious. the people were welcoming and the food was fantastic! (Both highly important in my book!)

We stayed about 2 seconds from Las Ramblas - the main strip in the city - and spent our time either wandering about exploring the gothic quarter or the waterfront or the shopping areas right near our B&B/hostel or we were on the tour buses heading all over the city seeing as much as we could. From the football stadium to Gaudi's architecture you can say that Barcelona has so much to offer you'd need to live there and not work - just visit things - to see it all. My most favourite experience was Gaudis Cathedral - the Sagrada Famille - which is still under construction over 100 years after its beginning and still has 20 years to go. I was told after my visit that it is a Kiwi architect who is managing the project now which makes it even more special to me.
The cathedral is amazing. Because the building was started over a century ago the orignal areas that have been completed look really ol dan make it look as if the builidng work is simply renovation being carried out behind an original facade. But its not - the facade is actually just the area that has already been finished while the main cathedral interior is still being worked on. Small fact: Gaudi's Cathedral is the only cathedral in the world still under construction.
You can walk up and around the 4 towers at the front of the cathedral and getup so high you ahve the most amazing view of the city! And then you can go underneath and see all of the scale models and gaudis workshop and his burial place - it is simply the best thing to see in Barcelona. Don't go up the towers if you are claustraphobic or get vertigo.

Truly a fabulous city - it has something for everyone from shopping to extreme tower climbing and historical and modern interest things absolutely everywhere! Well worth the visit.
End of story.

Travelling Mc!