Freelance Tour Manager for Rail Based vacations around the world
This Blog has been quiet recently - not because nothing has been going on but because quite a lot has been going on behind the scenes (Also, I was on holiday... very nice, since you ask). I'm excited to announce that I will be working with a new, additional company, in addition to working with …
I watched this and had to share. This the kind of music that just makes you feel better about the day - the last video that did this was Pharrell Williams singing 'Happy'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXf1nUVdVuM Jacob Collier and Dodie are huge talents in the making. He caught the attention of Quincy Jones, who had him flown …
The Blog has been a bit quiet recently, but it's not because I haven't been busy. I have been prepping up for my next Tour, the Grand Artic Circle Explorer... 21 Days, 5 Countries, 15 Hotels, 18 Trains & 3 Ferries - There's also a few coach transits, but I haven't got around to counting …
Well it's been another great day on memorial day weekend, but this time in New York City. this week has been Fleet Week, which basically means that the Navy visits New York and has a thoroughly good time. Everywhere you go in midtown Manhattan there are the men and women of the Navy in their …
Today we visited the Jersey War Tunnels, housed is an underground tunnel complex (yup - even more German concrete) built largely by Forced & Slave Labour and about 4 miles inland from St. Helier. The entry Gate Guardian is a German Sturmgeschütz III Assault Gun, shown in the header image (I tell you this because …
I imagine by now you’re all getting a bit sick of beach photos... sorry but it’s hard not too. We’re on Jersey now and had a coastal tour today The island is only 9 miles by 5 miles, but progress is slowed by the tiny winding roads in the North. Perhaps even more than Guernsey, …
Excursion around Guernsey today. Photos on the Facebook page
Today, an excursion to Herm Island, about 20 mins on the little Ferry from Guernsey. It's tiny - You can walk around the coastal path in about 2 hours. I took this photo in St. Peter Port harbour at Guernsey at about mid tide because it shows well the depth. Guernsey has the highest tidal …
We've arrived, but very little thanks to Condor Ferries who, short of not actually drowning us, haven't done much to make us love them. We received a call last night advising that the Ferry had a broken engine, one of the three fitted, meaning that the crossing would take longer (slower speed due 2 engines …
Continue reading "One of our engines is being a bit naughty"
So, we are in Bournemouth for the night. We came here by train from London Waterloo station, and arrived just-in-time for afternoon tea and a stroll along the front. The weather was a perfect English spring day: the Sun was out, no rain and just a slightly chilly breeze. I stopped for an ice cream …
I've just about got over the jet lag from China. My Fitbit is telling me that I've been doing a great deal of "Deep Sleep" which is what tends to be missing when on Tour, so I should be just about ready for the next one! I leave on Friday 10th May. I've taken on …
Made it to Shanghai for a whistle stop tour. I'm now in Hong Kong and boarding the flight back to London. Here are some last few images from our China tour. Home to sleep now.
Busy time out here in China. Yesterday we left our Yangtze cruise ship. The porters unloaded our bags the old fashioned way. Some things in China don't change that much after all. We had a guided tour of the massive Three Gorges Dam and the associated 5 stage locks that raise and lower massive ships …
We're nearing the end of our Yangtze River cruise. I haven't been able to post recently because the internet is unstable when you're cruising through a Gorge on a ship, but we're near a big city now, so fingers crossed this goes! This is a fair example of the scenery en-route. On our second night …
Pandar {verb, intransitive} [past: pandared, participle: pandaring] To wake up early to visit the Panda sanctuary in Chengdu the act of photographing Pandas To make "ooh" and "aah" noises while viewing Pandas doing stuff The thing with Pandas is that you have to get up early to catch them moving. By about 10am they've just …
A busy day today touring the city of Chengdu. It was a hot and humid day so we set an easy pace. We started with a visit to a local flower market in the street. Bonsai trees, plants, orchids and goldfish. From there we moved on to Jin Li Street, A centre for shopping, eating …
@GreatRailJourneys Well, I promised you a picture of a Chinese high-speed train, and so here it is. This morning we visited the Jade factory to see how this traditional Chinese stone is cut and polished. From there we moved on to see the pagoda in the centre of Xi'an, shown in the header picture above. …
@GreatRailJourneys Early start once more to beat the crowds but well worth it. We had them almost to ourselves (relatively speaking) for the first half hour. At 2,000 years old they impress me on every visit. Looking after us superbly was our Local Guide, Jason. A quiet afternoon after the drive back before a visit …
Continue reading "Warriors, Dumplings & Illuminated Goldfish"
Travel days are always a bit frantic for both Tour Managers and clients and today was no exception. We started the day with a short excursion in rickshaws to visit a Chinese family in their house in the oldest district (or Hutong) in Beijing. The family have lived in their house there for many decades …
@GreatRailJourneys An early start today to avoid the crowds, but worth it. The weather has improved so a warm and dry day, perfect for our visit to the Great Wall if China. We visit the Wall at the Mu Tian Yu section because, although slightly further away from Beijing, the views are better and the …
