Tag: adventure

The start of our next Adventure is looming…

Published on by 2jsworldofadventure1 Comment

Well!! it’s nearly time for “up, up and away”…..Mauritius here we come….

The suitcases are open on the bed and packing has commenced….smart trousers, shirts, dresses and evening shoes are in. Along with casual trousers, T-shirts, shorts, and swim wear….the don’t forget list is getting shorter…still got to find the swim shoes…!!

I went online to book our seats but alas although I could see we were booked on all 4 flights I could only find 3 out of the 4 flights with bookable seats. I phoned Mercury, who we have booked with…we are first time clients…..so we will see how we go……so far so good…..I had along wait to be put through to a customer service assistant. They were very helpful, reassured me we were confirmed on all 4 flights. However they can’t book actual seats for you but they did give me a direct line phone number to Emirate Air. I got through straight away. They very helpfully booked all our seats …the reason flight number 2 – Dubai to Mauritius – wasn’t showing is because it’s a full flight but as we were confirmed she managed to get us 2 seats next to each other…great…seats booked on all 4 flights was a total of £140… very reasonable as we usually pay £60 a seat each flight.

Having done this I then filled in the Mauritius landing cards….you have to do this prior to departing and you get issued a Q code which you need to have available to board the plane to Mauritius….

Travel insurance is in place, passports have more than 6 months on them, I picked up the Mauritius Rupees, which I had ordered from Tesco- they have to buy them in, they don’t stock them – So except all those little bits and pieces which are so important we are virtually ready to go…Why not read our blog every day so you can feel that you’re travelling with us…

A local trip out- Hitchin Lavender and Sunflower Farm

Published on by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

We hadn’t visited this local tourist attraction before, so it was a first for us. It’s strange how sometimes things right on your doorstep get overlooked.

Friends from our local camera club suggested a visit and as it was “Club Night” we decided to go. We all booked our tickets online – £8.50 per adult for a day, with readmission the same day- so I guess you could go midday …..when the sun would be the hottest so the sunflower faces would be facing up…..as well as going, like we did, early evening…. when the sunflower faces are beginning to say “goodnight”.

The attraction is a working farm. Parking is plentiful in a well cut field.

You enter by presenting your QR code either on phone or paper…..I suggest you take a screenshot of it because the signal on my iPhone wasn’t strong enough to bring it up…but luckily I had also printed it …just incase….😄

There are plenty of amenities here….toilets, canopies for shade, picnic tables, food & ice cream stalls, gift shop etc. In the later you can buy a bag for £5 this allows you to cut lavender…so don’t forget your scissors..

The lavender fields stretch up to the brow of the hill……Due to the intense heat we’ve been having, the lavender is now almost over…..

Further over are the bright vibrant fields full of Sunflowers .

We headed off into the sunflower fields….

If bees worry you then the sunflower fields are best for you….yes!, there’s bees but they stay on the faces of the sunflowers, unlike the lavender where they move speedily from each strand and seem to be constantly buzzing around…

The sunflowers were truly beautiful…

There were lots just beginning to open, so the fabulous display will go on for several weeks.

We came across the odd rogue poppy and an occasional ladybird…

We stayed in the fields until the sun began to set

We meandered back down the path and made our way to the barn, cafe and restaurant…..As usual we finished the evening with coffee, cake and friendly banta…

Another enjoyable evening with friends and cameras..doing what we love to do.

A couple of nights in Cardiff – capital of Wales.

Published on by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

John had a bit of book writing business in Cardiff- photos etc…so we decided a quick trip was required. The company ‘Secret Escapes’ had a good deal on in what used to be The Radisson Blu and is now The Majestic. There are several advantages to this hotel…..firstly although you have to pay for it, it has parking in an underground secure hotel only parking……secondly it is about 40/50 metres from John Lewis which is situated at one end of the main indoor shopping mall,,,,,,,thirdly there are loads of restaurants in various price ranges within an easy stroll,,,,fourthly and probably most importantly for John it over looks the railway line so he can see the trains from the window if he can’t be bothered to walk to the station which is only 100 meters away….So a great choice of hotels at a reasonable price with breakfast included ..£255 for two nights

The Majestic hotel formally called The Radisson Blu.

We arrived mid afternoon and even though we were well before check-in time we were allowed to go straight to our room. The lifts were swift and efficient and the room was pretty much the norm…aircon, large bed, bar fridge, hair dryer, ironing board, big TV, nice en-suite etc….

John went straight to the station and I went into the shopping mall I search of a few summer dresses to take on our hols…but alas I found nothing that pleased me…but I still clocked up nearly 10,000 steps …so all was good -exercise complete and wallet also complete 🤣🤣 The town was very busy and we later found out that Katy Perry was playing at The Castle and Lewis Capaldi was playing at Black Weir…..two big acts…no wonder Cardiff was packed with people….

In the evening we decided to go to The Ivy – Asian….a really nice restaurant. Before 6.30pm they do a Jade Garden Special for £28.99 per person…but watch out they charge extra for the nibbles

And for the rice …

…and for the dessert..

A bit naughty as they appear on the set meal menu but in very small print it does state the extra prices…which I had pointed out to me when I queried the bill 🤣

However, the starters and the main course were really good…

The service was excellent and the decor quite unique..

A really enjoyable meal in a quite luxurious place well worth the reasonably high price tag…

The following morning after breakfast, which was buffet style, we headed off in the car up the valleys. We stopped where John needed photos before heading back to the hotel mid-afternoon. Once again John went on to the station while I took my exercise through the shopping mall to the far end, this time in search of a suitable birthday card for our daughter-in-law who turns 50 in a weeks time…..mission accomplished I returned to the hotel to watch England V Panama in the World Cup…..John joined me part way through the match and together we encouraged them🤣🤣 After the match we wandered toWetherspoons for a cheap and cheerful meal.

In the morning we once again enjoyed a breakfast before heading for home..we arrived home early afternoon..John happy with the photos he had taken for the next book…a nice couple of nights away…Thank You Cardiff.

A day out in Bedfordshire – Woburn Safari Park

Published on by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

When the weather is too hot that even with aircon on it’s unbearable….its time to take to the car…smaller space to keep cool…..so off we went to Woburn Safari Park….A few shots from today….wildlife doing what wildlife does🤣🤣🤣
Not great photos because it was busy today so no opportunities to photograph with the window down….so everything’s taken through the window…..
Bears playing hide and seek up a tree, bears doing what bears do reaching fruit from a tree, tigers, rhinos, lions sleeping in the shade, the new dwarf buffalo with mum….

Dwarf buffalo calf.
Rhinos in the shade
Tiger sleeping
A bear reaching for fruit

While one lion acts as lookout the rest sleep.

I spy a bear!
Watching me!
Pretends to sleep
It wouldn’t seem like a good visit without a stripe or two!!

Finally we’ve booked a holiday…

Published on by 2jsworldofadventure2 Comments

We seem to have had a year of planning….weve planned a trip to Egypt – changed our mind because of the war and recommendations not to go to the areas we wanted to visit…..we’ve planned a trip to China but decided to wait until we don’t need visas as it’s quite a saving….we’ve planned planned a trip to Thailand Island hopping but we were both under-enthused as we’ve visited quite a few islands before….. we thought about once again returning to Alaska but when we mentioned it to good friends we decided we’d all go together either next year or 2028 …..so where were we going to go…..ummmm

Out of the blue John said….”let’s go to Mauritius”…Yes! What a great idea….so we have booked a hotel on the beach in a nature area with giant tortoises and nature walks….you can even horse ride along the beach….so I might have a dream come true..

We booked with Mercury Holidays online and so far it has been straight forward and easy. The website was very easy to navigate, it was easy to personalise and a good choice of flights with baggage included, a good choice of transfers. The paperwork, flight, hotel and transfer details were emailed to us immediately along with the codes required to check in and also to reserve seats…..Perfect.. 14 days of unadulterated luxury….more details to follow.

In the meantime we are editing, printing, mounting and framing photos for our first sale at BDHRA ( Bedford Disabled, Horse Riding Association) on Saturday 4th July at Balls Lane Willington Bedford UK…..if you’re around we’d love to see you.