We're All Going on a Winter Holiday..or two..or three

At the beginning of this year I had no expectation of having holdays abroad, in fact all we had booked for this year was CenterParcs in December. But with the engagement and wedding of my close friend Dave (from Ireland) this all changed. I've been to Sweden with him on a 2 man stag weekend. Then a few weeks later our whole family went to his wedding in the South of France to the hometown of his bride Virginie. So buckle up i'm going to take you on a journey of my Winter holidays and how fantastic they were!!!!

Sweden
Dave decided he didnt want to have a traditional stag weekend with loads of mates all visiting one drinking hole after another. Rather he wanted a relaxing time going somewhere different. So we went to Sweden, and why not! We arrived at Arlanda airport north of Stockholm and picked up the hire car, this was the only part of the trip that we had organized at this point. We didnt have a clue where we would be staying that night. So in true adventurer style we got a map and made the simple decision should we go up or down? Down won! As we drove we decided why not drive around the big lake that Stockholm sits on called Malaren and find somewhere to stay for that night. Some of you may be aware that this sort of overly optimistic thinking is usually guaranteed to backfire, and the reality of this situation is that its unlikely we'd find ANYWHERE to stay that night and would end up sleeping in the car. But we were two manly men on a mission and were 'confident' that 'something' would turn up! (are you confident?) We pulled off the main road and headed for a big town on the map called Strangnas. I'd be happy to just find a bed for that night that meant i'd not have to breath in the other blokes air or smell his feet. So imagine the shock that the first hotel we went to although it didnt have a room available, it did have a hostle a mile up the road that we could stay at. What a touch! That was that sorted! So we got some grub and found this place. Now we could sit and have a drink. Booze is mega expensive in Sweden so we were well prepared. We thought we'd start the holiday off with a gentle bottle of Whiskey with a few port and Absolut Vodka chasers. (all in moderation of course) Have a look at the map of the trip, i've broken down the different journeys into 3 colours - Day 1 Yellow - Day 2 Orange - Day 3 Red.



The next day we got up and found this place was actally right on the lakeside and had its own minigolf course (heaven). Then it was time to move on again. We saw a place when driving the previous night that looked interesting called Mariefred so thats where we went. Mariefred is a quiet village that obviously enjoys tourism during the summer. It's primary feature is Gripsholm Castle which is on the lake. (see photo right) Also it had a cute mini railway and a nice place for us to have coffee and cakes. Here I introduce Dave to Swedish cinnamon buns, lovely served warm. After this we decided to drive over the bridges that run through the middle of the lake and make our way to the large city of Vasteras. Here we did the most Swedish of things and had Swedish meatballs in IKEA! (and viewed some tasteful soft furnishings of course) We hadn't got a place to stay that evening but thankfully I have some friends in that part of the world who directed us to a camp site that had villas by the lake in an area called Angso. This time we started on the Port and finished on Vodka. I cannot comment on the discussions and humour that went on during these evenings but there was stuff that I will never forget! We were both crying with laughter at our stupidity.

Day 3 - We had a look around where we were staying, everywhere we went was so clean and beautiful. Long distant views and countryside which was a delight to a guy living on the suburbs of London I tell you. Today we decided to go to Vasteras city itself which was ok, but even better was the really good minigolf course we discovered on the way!! Dave and I have had a friendly rivalry for years. It started when we played tennis in our late teens. The rivalry is still there, even if the sport isnt quite as intense. All forms of cheating were in operation. Coughing when the other guys was putting, contesting each point, you name it. But Dave was on a mission, he wasnt going to let this one slip out of his hands as i'd won the previous game from the day before too! He had to keep his honour, and he knew that if I went 2-0 up he was in for the biggest ribbing from me for the rest of the trip. After this we went to a nature reserve on a local island and decided to do one of the walks. I wont dwell on this for too long but some people could say that we got lost and it was all my fault, but i'd like to say we took advantage of the opportunity to discover new places! :) (do have a look at the images of this trip on flickr) That night we stayed with the friends I mentioned before Danny and Birgitta. We enjoyed a traditional Swedish roast dinner, where the sauce is probably the most important part of the food, unlike the English where I guess it would be the joint of meat itself. Drinking, well we had an audience now so a bit of dignity was in order. Red wine was flowing steadily and I thank Danny for making sure he had 5 bottles of wine to hand! Then of course we had some more Vodka, it would have been rude not too. That night Dave bitched about my snoring, which is unfare as what are you meant to do after a heavy meal and drinking booze? Surely snoring is part of the package? Go to sleep ya miserable moaner!!

Last day well we had a gentle trip back to the Airport, but stopped of at a beautiful village called Sigtuna for some lunch. This trip was purely fantastic from start to finish, it wouldnt have worked as well with anyone. Sweden did us proud and Dave and I did each other proud! Thanks for a great time bud, and we have to do this again in a couple of years as resolved!

Check out the photos!

France This was meant to be a trip for Dave's Wedding in Avignon but ended being one of the best family holidays ever. We were offered to stay with friends of the brides family, which we accepted with the view that we could travel and stay in hotels after the wedding. The truth is we didn't need to. For a start we stayed with the most hospitable and lovely couple you could ask for. Nicole and Joel didn't speak a word of English but they opened up there beautiful home to us. If they came to England i'd be embarrassed at how pathetic and unfriendly the English are in comparison including me! I noticed that the French in the South are much friendlier than they are in my personal exprience in the North including Paris. They are very security conscious in their homes, but once you were welcomed in you are one of the family.

The wedding was an experience. I was Dave's 'best man' which was a priviledge and worth the journey in itself as we are very close. We all as a family sat at the head table. In fact my daughter asked cheekily if she could sit next the bride for dinner, which meant that Dave had to move over, which to my surprise he did! Good on you mate thinking of the little ones like that. The food was fabulous, apparently its more important to get the food right at a wedding than almost anything else, forget the flash cars and the posh venue. They had two giant paella dishes full of lovely seafood paella. these dishes were 4 ft wide each and had to be carried around to the other side of the reception hall where the doors were big enough to get them through. I was asked to give a speech at the reception, but unlike any other wedding i've been to, I had to go on the stage in front of 300 people with an interpreter! Now you try and be funny in that situation eh? lol It serves me right, i've spent years preparing myself for this job then Dave gives me a curve ball. It's alright though, maybe i couldnt be as funny as i'd liked, but the happy couple and the audience enjoyed the sentimental bits in the French translation. As far as partying goes these people carry on for hours. The cake wasn't cut until midnight when they also opened up the champagne. It was after this that the party really kicked off and the dancing got wilder. It was a family celebration even at this time, not just for the young, which was refreshing. The party carried until 3 or 4 am but parents, children and grandparents were still there at that time giving it large. We couldn't keep up and must have looked like softies from a feather factory but we took our kids and Nicole's mother (88 years young) back home to bed at 2 a.m. such lightweights!!!

The next day all the close friends go back down to the reception hall again and help with the clearing up. Then we crack open the wine and champagne again and eat whats left of the food that had been stored in the fridges overnight. Another PARTY!

We went to some fabulous places on this holiday. Such as the Popes palace in Avignon, and the famous Pont of Avignon where we get the song from (sur le pont d'Avignon....listen here). Roman history is everywhere in this region. We visited le Pont du Gard which is a Roman Aquaduct and bridge. The Aquaduct would feed the nearby Roman city of Nimes another of the places we visited, that has the best working example of a Roman arena. We learnt about Roman Gladiators which was so interesting. Also that same arena is used for bull fighting today. It seems as if the south of France takes much of its heritage and nature from the spanish. Another trip out was to Montpellier to the beach, it was so hot and beautiful, in fact the weather was fabulous all of the time we were in France. Now you can't be in that area of France without visiting a wine region and chateau. Just a short way away from where we were staying is the famous wine region of Chateauneuf du Pape, we only spent a little time here and the wine is very expensive. We did better than that. You see to a Frenchman there is a better place for wine and this is where Joel's directions whilst I was driving really came into their own. The region of Gigondas is the place. A lovely region with a small village built on the side of a hill with an old church and some ruins at the top. Believe me the wine there was easily the best I have ever had! I even had the facility to compare it with Neuf du Pape and it won! There was some chat about tannins and alcohol levels, but for a novice it came down to taste and that the wine was gentle on the throat. Beautiful. Obviously I bought some.

What superceeded this all this and made it a real holiday was the discovery of the Haribo Museum. My kids thought they were in heaven. I mean, its a place about sweets, that gives you sweets, that teaches you about sweets, that has exhibitions all around making sweets and enables you to bag your own packet of sweets, then to finsh it off you can buy MORE sweets. WE LOVED IT!

So thats that for this post, i've tried to make it interesting but i'm not convinced that any of you actually made it this far. Just 11 more days and i'm off on holiday number 3 for this winter to CenterParcs, what a tough life I lead...ha ha

Check out the photos!