Mobile Librarians

Well, Dublin was everything we were hoping for. It is the friendliest capital in the world. A 40 minute flight and we were there, we caught Aircoach www.aircoach.ie into town and got dropped off at Trinity College . www.tcd.ie What a nice surprise we had there, our twin room turned out to be a spacious suite, kitchen/lounge/dining area, bathroom and two bedrooms. Great for a bit of self-catering too, and so cheap for the city centre location. Do stay here if you get the chance. Dublin was fully booked with the Fringe Festival and the Ryder Cup taking place and I understand the prices had been put up too, but Trinity got us in. Because we were on site we could also visit the Book of Kells early in the morning, before the crowds, and we had a really good look this time, its a beautiful manuscript. What did we do? Well loads of things, shopped in the great stores in Grafton Street, Brown Thomas is amazing, just go and have a look at the Jo Malone stand! We took a coach trip to Ma

Two of us are off to Dublin for four nights on Saturday, yippee! I deserve it as I have just moved house which has been very traumatic and unsettling. I haven't even been able to connect to the internet which is why there hasn't been any blogging. I booked the flights with Easyjet and we are staying at Trinity College . As I have mentioned before it is the Dublin Fringe Festival so we are expecting lots of noise and drunks, I think we will keep a low profile on Saturday and Sunday. We are hoping to go north this time to Malahide Castle which is said to be very nice. What I am looking forward to most is coffee at Bewleys and some of the great Irish pub grub, plus the music at Temple Bar . Bring it on! We don't know what the new security restrictions are going to be at the airports, we have heard that they are being eased this weekend but if that will be in time for us is still unknown. I mean, how is a girl to survive a flight and arrive at her destination looking her us

You can have excellent holidays at home too. We don't always go abroad, we love Britain, especially the South West. Come to our part of the world, check out: www.beautiful-devon.co.uk it's full of Devon tourist and travel information and has lots of lovely pictures. How could you resist us? www.classic.co.uk this is a West Country cottage specialist website representing over 450 self-catering properties in Cornwall, Somerset etc. It will even tell you how far the property is from the sea. www.corncott.com this site offers self-catering holiday accommodation throughout Cornwall at very affordable prices. Your Journey: Coming in the car? Plan your route using either the AA - www.theaa.com or the RAC - http://rp.rac.co.uk/routeplanner for free detailed plans. On the motorway and need a break? Check out www.5minutesaway.co.uk a directory of services and facilities available to motorists within 5 minutes of each motorway junction. Taking the train? Plan your journey and find

If you are to have a successful, enjoyable and affordable holiday it is essential that you do your research first before you book or depart to pastures new. Here are a few of our favourite websites: Travel Discussion Sites Trip Advisor - www.tripadvisor.com - this is a brilliant travel discussion site that gives excellent advice where you can benefit from other travellers experiences. I particularly like the reviews of hotels. You can read candid reviews of the hotels in any town or city virtually anywhere in the world. People speak their mind for good or ill. The hotels are listed in order of popularity, the price is indicated and you can also check out several websites for the cheapest deals. There is a lot more to the website so have a look. Also join in and add your own experiences to the melting pot. Virtual Tourist - www.virtualtourist.com - this is the original travel community on the web. You can join and build your own travel page. Here you can also research your trip, exp

Started getting itchy feet and needed something to look forward to, so we have booked ourselves a short break plus a little treat. I am going to Dublin in September with my work mate Sue for four nights. I booked the seats before checking the hotels, a near disaster as all the hotels were fully booked. It turned out to be the last weekend of the Dublin Fringe Festival . www.visitdublin.com However, our good old friend Trinity College came up trumps again. www.tcd.ie We have stayed there twice before, it's a brilliant central location and the buildings and atmosphere are fantastic. Plus it is much cheaper than any central hotel and the refrectory does a wicked full Irish breakfast! But I expect Dublin will be heaving and getting into the pubs could be a problem. Five of us have also booked to go to London in September to visit the Tiffany Exhibition of jewellery at Somerset House. www.gilbert-collection.org.uk Looking forward to that, we can but look and dream! You never know

The Loire was lovely, very civilised, ordered and somehow, more French than the south. We stayed at a very nice campsite near Blois called Le Parc du Val de Loire, www.valduparcdeloire.com , where we watched the World Cup unfold in the bar with some very excitable Frenchmen. We visited the chateaux, of course, we did Amboise, Cheverney and Chambord, and somehow managed to visit Blois, but missed the chateau! After four nights we headed for the ferry and home. Did we enjoy the experience? Like the curate's egg - good in parts. It did seem sometimes like a litany of disasters. Did I tell you about catching my foot on the ground sheet in the tent, falling backwards, bashing my head on the metal tent pole and nearly putting my head through the tent wall? Or about my electric window in the car becoming stuck in the down position with half of the rubber flapping about on the motorway? The window had become trapped the wrong side of the rubber and would not move. Cue husband attacking it

Friday arrived, our last day in the Cevennes. We planned to move on in the morning, head for the Loire region and stay for four nights there. A quiet, restful day was planned before the long day of travel. Ha, ha, ha! During the afternoon a live band could be heard tuning up and trying out it's sound equipment from the direction of the field by the river. Groan, we thought we were in for a disco that night and hoped it would stop about midnight, they usually do. About 8.00 p.m. it started, heavy metal, head banging music plus vocals at earsplitting decibels. Sleep would be impossible until it stopped. About 11.00 p.m. we lay down hoping for peace soon, my earplugs were in but it made little difference. 12.00 came and went, 1.00 came and went, and so it went on, they played ALL NIGHT! My non-violent husband was fit to kill someone by the morning and was uttering some very choice language. He decided we would have to stay another day as he was in no fit state to drive all day. After

For our next trip I was persuaded the it would be nice to escape the heat by going down a cave. How foolish was that! We headed for the Grotte de La Cocaliere, said to be one of the three most beautiful caves in France. www.grotte-cocaliere.com . There weren't many people there and we had to wait for a guide. Eventually an extremely saturnine Frenchman appeared and beckoned us to follow him. He unlocked a door in the rock and motioned us inside. This is where I started to have second thoughts as extremely steep steps disappeared down into the bowels of the earth as far as one could see. There was room to stand up but it was very claustophobic, dark and steep and the first thing the guide did was lock the door behind us. Dim lights lit the stairs as we went down, down, down for what felt like half a mile and was definately hundreds and hundreds of steps. I felt I was entering the realm of the dwarves from Lord of the Rings. When we reached the bottom my legs were shaking and trembl

One of the main reasons for the trip was to visit the Pont du Gard, the famous Roman aquaduct near Nimes. This was built in AD 38, taking over 1,000 men 14 years, to supply water to the town of Nimes. We have wanted to see this for a long time but have never been quite near enough. www.pontdugard.fr . The day we chose was very hot again, the temperature was 40 degrees C, thank goodness the car has air conditioning or we might have expired. There is quite a big visitor's centre at the entrance with a snack bar etc., but we went straight on to the bridge. What an impressive sight, how they built it all those years ago is unbelievable. Out came the camera of course, just like all the other tourists present. We strolled across the bridge admiring the views, heading for a lunch break at the restaurant on the other bank. At this point we became aware of lots of activity and noise. Yes, we had struck lucky again (not!), the entire place was swarming with all the emergency services of the

Well here we are pitched up in the Cevennes. What's it like? Well as a librarian I suggest you read Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Travels With A Donkey In The Cevennes", an account of his 12 day journey through the Cevennes with a stubborn donkey called Modestine. I don't think it's essentially changed very much. Here on the campsite it is very quiet apart from the wildlife. All day long until about 10.00 p.m. the cicadas belt out a noise equivilent to a pneumatic drill, just as they shut up and we are preparing to go to bed up starts the "Chorus Of A Thousand Frogs" (we are next to a river), then as the sun rises, from the field next door, so our very own version of Modestine salutes the dawn with much mighty braying. You can't beat rural peace can you! This is for my female friends, men just don't understand. What is a girl's best friend on a holiday like this? Her hairdryer of course, and what did I forget to pack? You've got it!

Our first little outing, a ride on a steam train, Le Train a Vapeur des Cevennes, from Anduze to Saint Jean du Gard, about 13 kilometres, www.trainavapeur.com . Out we go in the midday sun (mad dogs etc.!) and the temperature is now 38 degrees C. Lots of people on the platform, make our way into a carriage and collapse on a rickety wooden seat. Off we go to the sound of lots of wild hooting from the engine, into quite a long tunnel. This is where we realise that the old carriages have no glass in the windows. Lots of soots and debris swirling around the carriage, into eyes and up noses. We emerge to lots of coughs, sneezes and shaking of clothes and what am I wearing? My new white t-shirt! The journey takes us past some spectacular scenery including a man swimming in the nude. There seems to be a lot of noise from within the carriage, I pay a bit more attention to the inhabitants. Yes, thats right, we have got the carriage with the class full of 'special needs' kids on a day t

Here we go again then. Up early in the morning, pack everything away and on the road south heading for the Massif Central region. It's Sunday morning and most shops are closed. We spot a village patisserie and stop to buy some Quiche Lorraine for lunch. Back on the motorway its very hot again. Midday we stop at a service station/picnic area, buy some pre-packed salad and eat it with our quiche. As we near the Massif Central the clouds start building and we decide to stay in an hotel if we spot one. Just outside Moulins we book into a Mercure hotel for the night. The thunder started almost immediately and it was continuous, then there was the gale force winds and torrential rain, a real Big Daddy of a storm. This region is known as the thunder capital of France and is packed with extinct volcanoes. Shortly afterwards I started to feel ill, I think it must have been the quiche I ate. I haven't been that ill for years, I spent almost the entire night in the loo with s&d. Next

We travelled from our home in Devon to Dover ferry port towing our trailer behind us, a long, hot journey. It was a Saturday, so the M25 wasn't as bad as on a weekday. We arrived early and decamped to the Duke of York pub for a nice meal. So far so good. On arival at the port we were instructed to join the Speedferries check in line (there are about 6 double lines for various car ferries). Speedferries is the last line on the right, with a chain barrier next to it. Felt rather smug as we watched people getting in the wrong line and trying to reverse back etc. But as we approached the check-in cabin we appeared to be heading to the wrong one. I leapt out and asked some cars in front if they were going on Speedferries, NO , we were in the queue for Norfolk Line! Panic! We couldn't cross to the right one because of the chain barrier and we couldn't reverse because of the trailer. Out I leap again, vault the chain barrier, death defying dashs between moving cars, elbow my way t

I am sooooo looking forward to Wednesday and setting off for France, I have really missed our camping trips. Here is some information about an earlier trip we did to the Dordogne area. (Yes I know it's overrun with Brits, but you can avoid them if you try). We stayed near Sarlat which is wonderful in the summer, full of buskers, music, cafe life and warm, warm nights. Well worth a trip, and the local food specialities are great. Now I'm not very sporty, but even I could manage a canoe trip down the Dordogne. The canoes are the Canadian sort where you sit up on high seats and paddle, just like the movies of the Rockies. We even had to rescue someone who was in the water, which involved some tricky manouvers by my husband while I sat on the bottom of the boat getting a very wet bottom! But the views from the river were great, giving a whole new perspective. Another must see is Rocamadour, a spectacular village that cascades down a cliff face, I can't imagine what building it

We love Nice, what a fabulous place, everywhere just buzzes and the scenery is beautiful. Four of us went in November 2001 for the first time and the weather was still really hot. People were on the beach in their cozzis and two brave souls from our party went swimming. The pebble beach shelves away very steeply so be careful if you don't like to go out of your depth too much. We stayed at the Hotel Suisse right on the front, http://www.hotels-exclusive.com/french-riviera.htm fantastic view from our balconies right around the bay, but it was very noisy at night because of the traffic zooming around the corner. We didn't take breakfast at the hotel, it is very close to the Old Quarter so we went just around the corner to the Flower Market where there are lots of little cafes and restaurants. There was much more variety and cheaper too, and what a fantastic location, the flowers, fruit, veg., and local specialities on sale made a great picture. I bought some lavender jam, yummy!

I am looking forward to my next trip now which is in June. I am going to France with my husband for just over two weeks, taking our car and a trailer, touring around and camping. The prices for the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff were out of our price range (over £600) so we are driving to Dover and crossing to Boulogne with Speedferries (about £136) www.speedferries.com . We have just missed a special offer that is on at the moment, have a look at their website, they have £19 trips and cheap 10 trip deals. Too late for us!! Once in France we are going to head for the Cevennes area looking for a bit of rural peace, after that we shall probably head for my favourite bit of France - the Pyrenees . Bliss, bliss. I just love camping, the freedom, meeting new people, the relaxed life style, late mornings with a croissant, I can't wait! We are busy now researching the route and checking out camp sites, which are usually excellent in France (although the first thing I do is check out th

Well, we're back from Spain, but not yet recovered! We had the most accident prone holiday ever. Three of us fell over and injured ourselves (no, we were not drunk!), the worst affected among us getting a really hard bang in the mouth and badly injuring her teeth. Lots of time (and money) were spent at the doctors and dentist, followed by R&R instead of gadding about as planned. We did get to see the Alhambra , which was just as wonderful as we hoped it would be, but it did rain all day and we were like drowned rats! We wouldn't have missed it for anything (but seeing it in the sunshine would have made it even better!). www.alhambra.org This was typical of our luck this holiday, it was the only time it rained, the rest of the time was very hot. We also liked Mijas village, which while it is on the tourist trail is a very striking place with wonderful views, see the picture above of the view from the restaurant. Club La Costa, Marina Del Sol village was great and the apart

Signing off now for a week, we are off to Malaga airport in a few hours time, yipee!!! Looking forward to a week of fun (although the weather is looking a bit dicey, still they always get it wrong!). Will report back later on everything, got to go now and phone my friends and tell them to pack their brolly as well as the swimsuits! Bye!!! Viva Espana!

Another brilliant day trip was to Florence. We flew into Pisa airport on a cold February morning and the waiting coaches took two of us to see Pisa while the other three chose to go straight to Florence. We had a brilliant view of Florence from the hill outside, see the above photo. When we arrived it actually tried to snow (but not for very long) and we soon dived into a cafe for a hot drink! The buildings are amazing, of course, particularly the Dumo, both outside and in. The statue of David is huge, much bigger than I imagined. We met up with the others later and had a lovely Italian lunch, accompanied by much leg pulling and chat from the waiters, I think they must get that charm in their mother's milk, they all seem to have it and it seems to be genuine. We spent the afternoon sightseeing, Ponte Vecchio etc., had a bite to eat later, then piled back into the coaches, back to Pisa and home again quite late. These day trips are tiring, of course, but such a good way to see all t

Our next holiday is in one weeks time, five of us are going to Spain, near Fuengirola for a week. We are staying here because one member belongs to Club La Costa, www.clublacosta.com and three of us are staying in her apartment and two in an hotel nearby. We are flying with Easyjet from Bristol again, www.easyjet.com . Tip: Sign up for their emailed newsletter, you will get first chance at their special offers and notified when the latest seats are released. Book as soon as you can for the cheapest prices, it gets dearer nearer to departure date. The main reason for the trip is to visit the Alhambra in Granada. (One of us decided she wants to see it before she dies!). www.alhambra.org . I have been emailing coach tour companies today, tying up the loose ends before departure. It looks like we shall be going on a day trip with Viajes Torreblanca, their website has lots of good coach trips on it: http://www.viajestorreblanca.com/ we will give a report of it when we get back. There ar

This was our first trip to Dublin, friendliest of cities! Two of us went in June 1999, flying with Ryanair from Bristol, we were there in 40 minutes - great view of Dublin Bay as we came in! We treated ourselves to a superb old hotel called Buswells, very central, great full Irish breakfasts and old world charm. They have their own website, www.quinnhotels.com/buswells.html , but it's worth checking a few others for special offers. Bewley's Coffee House in Grafton Street is an Irish institution and a must see. Check out the stained glass windows. The cakes are fantastic too! Take the open-top bus tour, worth every penny to see all the sights. Another thing all the tourists do is have their picture taken with Molly Malone's statue, what a buxom girl she was! When we were there it was the annual Bloomsday Celebration. This takes place on June 16th and is a celebration of James Joyce and his book Ulysses. Everyone dresses in old fashioned costumes and reenacts the events of

If you want to visit the real Spain as opposed to the plastic one for tourists then Algeciras is a good bet. It isn't tarted up or full of English Pubs etc. It's a real, untouched, slightly scruffy town full of ordinary people, the way Spain used to be. However, there are lots of interesting places nearby to visit if the wanderer in you takes over. The most obvious one is just across the water - Gibraltar. Catch the local bus to the boarder and then walk across, cars can wait for hours to get in. Gibraltar is a British Colony (by choice!) and looks just like Britain used to in the 1950s, a real time warp. But it's a shoppers paradise because everything is so cheap (tax free). We took the cable car up to the top of the rock, fantastic view, but watch out for those evil monkeys! It's unnerving the way they stare at you, one even tried to get into the cafe while we were having a coffee, he came up the steps and was rattling the door handle! Another good trip is a visit to

Barcelona is a fantastic, buzzing city. We took a four night trip there in April 1999. The architechture is slightly unreal and jaw dropping, Gaudi and Miro have made the city unforgettable. Take a trip on the open-top bus, you will see all the main sights and orientate yourself at the same time. You can get on and off wherever you like all day long, it's a great way to get around. Our hotel was very central to the Ramblas, very Spanish and atmospheric. It was the Hotel Meson Castilla , www.mesoncastilla.com , we liked it a lot, we don't go for bog standard bland if we can help it. This one is full of lovely antiques, also the breakfast is included and quite good. TIP: Ask for a room at the rear, our's was at the front and the rubbish was collected very early each day. The Sagrada Familia is still stunning, no matter how many pictures you have seen previously, but we weren't brave enough to climb up the inside, the people at the top looked like ants! Gaudi's Parc

Went for a walk along the Tarka Trail today, the sun was shining and it really was Devon, Glorious Devon. I know we love our holidays abroad but on a day like today it is hard to beat living here. We are so lucky to be in such a beautiful part of the country, especially this time of the year when everything is renewing itself and the crowds haven't arrived yet so we have got it to ourselves. I'm not against the grockles, I'm one myself whenever I can be, but I did enjoy today. P.S. Here are some friends we met along the way!

The first time we did a trip as a group five of us went to Venice for the day. Yes! that's right, for the day! We flew from Exeter airport at some ungodly hour of the morning, arriving in Venice about 9.00 a.m. The company organising it was called "Just For A Day" and they did an excellent job of organising a brilliant day. We packed a weeks worth of sightseeing into about 12 hours and were still standing at the end. We all fell in love with Venice, we thought we knew what to expect because Venice is so well known and photographed, but the reality was something else! St Mark's Square for coffee at Quadri's, wandering the streets, standing on the Rialto admiring the view, a visit to a glass factory, a trip down the Grand Canal on a gondola, Bellini's at Harry's Bar, you name it, we did it. The weather was cold, but bright with a wonderful light. The only problem we had was coming back, one of the passengers never turned up, we waited over a hour, the rep. w

Our last trip as a group was to Paris, a return trip for three of us and the first time for one. How can anyone not want to return to Paris, it's so great - open, walkable, not too big, fantastic architecture, lots to do, you could never get enough of Paris. We booked our flights with www.opodo.co.uk flying with British Airways from Bristol. The prices with Opodo were cheaper than on BA's own site, they often are it's worth checking. Book as soon as you can and you will get the cheapest flights, the nearer the date the more the price goes up, or go to www.skyscanner.net which is a great site for showing you the cheap deals. We stayed at a decent mid-price hotel near the Eiffel Tower called the Eiffel Park. We paid 99 Euros for a twin room and booked it with www.france-hotel-guide.com . We did all the usual tourist things, but it was great. Up the Eiffel Tower to the top, on the Seine in a Bateaux Mouche, sat in the parks and eat our crepes, etc. The Musee d'Orsay is

We are a group of four or five "mobile" librarians, or put it another way, ladies who work in the library who love to travel! Holidays are high on our list of priorities and we are usually either planning one, on holiday or just back from one. We believe it is more fun to travel independantly making all our own arrangements, doing the research on the net. It usually works out cheaper too! We though we would like to share our experiences, they might help someone else, or just show that sisters are doing it for themselves! We shall be sharing our past group holidays, plus some others that we have taken with partners or other friends and our preparations for future trips of course. Bring it on!!! So please feel free to comment or ask any questions, we would love to help if we can, after all that is what we do everyday in our jobs!