Following our trip a couple of years ago, thirteen of us returned to Center Parcs last weekend for a heady mix of sport, fresh air and moderate drinking (in some cases). Terrible spelling and slightly American fakery notwithstanding, Center Parcs is a fantastic place for a weekend. We managed to fit in a high-ropes course, badminton, squash, archery, table tennis, swimming, cycle rides, board games and, just occasionally, sleep.
Here are the highlights:
Some photos from our pre-term holiday in Greece. I can certainly recommend the island of Lefkada (a.k.a. Lefkas) as it is pretty, relaxed and easy to get around with a car (as long as you can avoid the local drivers). We got a cracking late deal on flights and a villa, with a great pool.
Round two for the Bennett wedding, this time in the Ukraine! We had a fantastic weekend, if massively hectic, involving jetskis, caviar, a-capella Take That, private jets, concerts, cruises and borscht. Irina’s parents pulled out all the stops to make us feel welcome and we had a truly fantastic time. It’s a shame the weekend didn’t last longer, although we were so wiped out after just four days that we went to Greece to recover (more on that later). These photos are a mere taster.
Photos of rocks and scenery to follow soonly, in the mean time here are the holiday snaps.
Just a quick picture this time, before breakfast. Here’s something from the Museum of Fine Arts.
Today’s photo: Hungarian Parliament. Modelled on Westminster it’s the world’s third largest parliament building. I woke up at 7 to queue for tickets for a free guided tour, and it was well worth it.
My trusty Sony V1 camera is about 6 years old now, and the batteries have had it. So I bought a new camera, and have been running around Budapest trying it out. As you do. It’s a Sony a-500 DSLR which seems to be fun, if complicated.
I’ve shunned the traditional tourist highlights for the time being, although there are still a few days to go the the relevant museums etc. I’ve found that museums have fairly awkward photography rules, mostly that they advertise a photography price at the entrance but refuse to let you take pictures anyway… Zoos and botanical gardens have none of that nonsense, so I could play with the camera to my heart’s content.
Many photos will follow I’m sure, but here is a taster 🙂
Unfortunately we’ve been stung by the exchange rate – I took out my travel money last Thursday and since then Hungary has had debt problems and the exchange rate has got 15% better. Luckily most things are still pretty cheap here – £1 a pint in most bars and £2 for bottle of wine from a supermarket 🙂