Neil R Smith » Travel

Ilfracombe Harbour

neilrsmith — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:04:43 +0000

TweetTweet

Lynton, Lynmouth and the Valley of the rocks

neilrsmith — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:26:08 +0000

TweetTweet

RHS at Rosemoor

neilrsmith — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:56:38 +0000

TweetTweet

A walk in the Chilterns

neilrsmith — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:20:57 +0000

This weekend, I went for a walk around the Dunstable Downs and Ivinghoe. After a 2 hour wander I sat and watched the sunrays behind the clouds. TweetTweet

British Museum

neilrsmith — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:59:22 +0000

This museum has had a facelift since the last time I visited, some 20 years ago. The building is truly beautiful, with it’s stately facade and massive towering columns. The interior courtyard has been internalised with gigantic glass roof.

Continue reading "British Museum"

Orlando, Florida 2010

neilrsmith — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:05:35 +0000

Our first break of the year was two weeks escaping the freezing temperatures of the UK to sunny Orlando Florida or so we thought. In the days leading up to the flight out, it was questionable whether we

Continue reading "Orlando, Florida 2010"

Salzburg, Austria

neilrsmith — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:53:01 +0000

I spent the weekend in Salzburg at the weekend. Gatwick to Mozart Airport via British Airways and arrived in 2 hours. I was expecting freezing temperatures and snow but it was surprisingly milder than the UK. We spent

Continue reading "Salzburg, Austria"

Luton Hoo for lunch

neilrsmith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:17:36 +0000

I took Sarah and James out for lunch at Luton Hoo this Sunday. Booked in at the ‘Adam’s Brasserie’ beyond the main house. The restaurant is set in the stabling area of the Luton Hoo grounds. The restaurant

Continue reading "Luton Hoo for lunch"

Bruges, Belgium

neilrsmith — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:32:26 +0000

We spent the weekend in Bruges in West Flanders, Belgium.We drove down to Folkstone and got the Eurotunnel and from Calais continued to Bruges. The whole journey only took about 4 hours. Bruges is a wonderfully little city, full

Continue reading "Bruges, Belgium"

Stratford-upon-Avon

neilrsmith — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:28:43 +0000

Stratford is a beautiful place to be. There are wide rivers, old churches and medieval terraces to see. TweetTweet

ThomasLand at Drayton Manor

neilrsmith — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Just returned from a trip up to Drayton Manor and ThomasLand. This is theme park within a theme park. It’s a separate zone for Thomas the Tank Engine fans (and their kids). The Thomasland was great for James. He

Continue reading "ThomasLand at Drayton Manor"

Motor Racing in Spa, Belgium

neilrsmith — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:46:00 +0000

This weekend I went to the F1 Grand Prix at Spa in Belgium. Myself and Paul travelled on the EuroTunnel to France and drove to Belgium. A journey that took about 6 hours. We stayed at the F1 Campsite

Continue reading "Motor Racing in Spa, Belgium"

Porsche Supercup in Spa, Belgium

neilrsmith — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:50:00 +0000

This weekend I went to the F1 Grand Prix at Spa in Belgium. Myself and Paul travelled on the EuroTunnel to France and drove to Belgium. A journey that took about 6 hours. We stayed at the F1

Continue reading "Porsche Supercup in Spa, Belgium"

Vianden, Luxembourg

neilrsmith — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:27:25 +0000

On my trip around to Spa in Belguim, we took a drive to Vianden in Luxembourg. We walked around the town in the late afternoon for a few hours before dinner. It’s a peaceful place to be, with

Continue reading "Vianden, Luxembourg"

One week in Devon

neilrsmith — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:17:00 +0000

I just got back from a week’s break in Ilfracombe, North Devon. It’s a very picturesque part of the country with fantastic coastline and changeable weather. I spent most of my time on the beach relaxing, meeting up

Continue reading "One week in Devon"

Farewell Sydney, hello longhaul

neilrsmith — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:14:00 +0000

Time to come home. We checked out of the Four Seasons hotel, loaded the car up with our luggage and headed to Botany Bay. Sydney Airport is just 10 minutes from the bay and planes take off over it.

Continue reading "Farewell Sydney, hello longhaul"

Australia’s National Maritime Museum

neilrsmith — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Located at Darling Harbour, the National Maritime Museum defines the history of Australia’s naval past. You can look around a submarine, a destroyer and the Endeavour (Captain Cook’s ship). The Endeavour was very impressive. A little hot inside, a

Continue reading "Australia’s National Maritime Museum"

Sydney by night

neilrsmith — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:57:00 +0000

I went out for a walk last night around Circular Quay to take some long exposures of the docked boat and the city including Sydney Opera House. It was still drizzling but I think it worked out ok.Ship docked

Continue reading "Sydney by night"

Sydney in the rain, just Sydney in the rain…

neilrsmith — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:56:00 +0000

…It’s a glorious feeling to be in Sydney again. It already feels homely and familiar. We already know our way around the streets and that makes it better. It’s raining here and for the first time this whole

Continue reading "Sydney in the rain, just Sydney in the rain…"

Four Seasons in four days

neilrsmith — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:25:00 +0000

I have spent most of the day driving south to Sydney. It’s been pouring with rain all day and the roads are a nightmare. The final approach over Sydney Harbour Bridge was crazy. There are so many signs on

Continue reading "Four Seasons in four days"

Port Macquarie to Newcastle

neilrsmith — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Forster view more We stayed in much better Best Western last night. The rooms were clean and there were no bugs on the floor. The restaurant had a chef, which was better then before. We didn’t stay long

Continue reading "Port Macquarie to Newcastle"

Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie

neilrsmith — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Apart from the Best Western motel, Coffs Harbour is actually a nice place to be. The harbour has a big wall that walked around and the city centre is full of shops. Inside the harbour itself, the boats sat

Continue reading "Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie"

The worst motel in Australia

neilrsmith — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:30:00 +0000

We arrived at the Best Western Parkside in Coffs Harbour around 6pm. It was raining and all we wanted to do was get in the room and have some food. The wandered over to the restaurant to find a

Continue reading "The worst motel in Australia"

Leaving Woombye and driving to Coff’s Harbour

neilrsmith — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:40:00 +0000

We left the Best Western Red Bridge Motor Inn this morning. We said goodbye to Dale, the man running the place while we were there and headed south towards Brisbane. The journey was going to take us all day

Continue reading "Leaving Woombye and driving to Coff’s Harbour"

Back to Australia Zoo

neilrsmith — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:25:00 +0000

Monday saw us visiting the Australia Zoo again. James stroked the kangaroos and even fed them. They gladly ate the grass, but didn’t appreciate him trying to stick it up their

Continue reading "Back to Australia Zoo"

Leaving Maryborough, driving south to Woombye

neilrsmith — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:24:00 +0000

We left Maryborough because of the rain forecast. We started driving south for what will be an epic drive to Sydney in the next 7 days. Our first stop is at Caloundra and the coast. All the beaches

Continue reading "Leaving Maryborough, driving south to Woombye"

Hot beaches and cold milkshakes

neilrsmith — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Today, the rain let up and we drove to the closest beach at Torquay. We bought James a bucket and spade set and he played with it the whole time we were at the beach. We were very aware

Continue reading "Hot beaches and cold milkshakes"

Noosa Heads

neilrsmith — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:30:00 +0000

We drove for about an hour today in the rain to Noosa. When we arrived we hadn’t seen so many people in one place since Brisbane. Everywhere we’ve been to has been empty and/or closed. So seeing everyone made

Continue reading "Noosa Heads"

Mary from Maryborough

neilrsmith — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Let me tell you a story, there once was a lady who lived here in Maryborough. She wrote a book about a nanny who looked after some children. The book is very successful and Disney even wanted to make

Continue reading "Mary from Maryborough"

Paris, France

neilrsmith — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 17:07:56 +0000

I just got back from Paris, France. It wasn’t a holiday as such, as I went with a friend from work. I wanted to spend some time there taking photographs for my portfolio and I concentrated on getting

Continue reading "Paris, France"

Leaving the Grand Canyon

neilrsmith — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 21:40:48 +0000

We left Las Vegas with a shiny car and after one day to the Grand Canyon it looked like a completely different vehicle. The road to the canyon edge was dusty and flat. It was on the return

Continue reading "Leaving the Grand Canyon"

Yosemite

neilrsmith — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 17:58:28 +0000

We drove from San Francisco to Yosemite in about 4 hours including breaks. Through Stockton and Mariposa entering Yosemite from the east. The Ahwahnee Hotel in Curry Village is the great retreat. This stone build hotel had about

Continue reading "Yosemite"

Las Vegas

neilrsmith — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 17:53:42 +0000

TweetTweet

Alcatraz Island

neilrsmith — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 12:55:52 +0000

Alcatraz has to be one of the most visited places in San Francisco. The prison on the island was obviously deserted. No prisoners have been there for some time and the place was filthy. Broken windows and dirty

Continue reading "Alcatraz Island"

San Francisco

neilrsmith — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 21:52:03 +0000

San Francisco Bay The first stop on our honeymoon was San Francisco. We landed by plane, headed to the Hilton Hotel. We planned to visited the Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombardy Avenue, use the Cable Cars, Golden Gate Bridge and

Continue reading "San Francisco"