A NEW TEAM MEMBER …... (or two ?)

I am pleased to welcome another new Stampin’ Up! team member, Laura. She is my most local team mate which makes sharing even easier, being only about 5 miles away.

Laura works with textiles, curtain-making etc and is looking forward to creating with our Stampin’ Up! materials. Having a young son, she is also looking forward to running day classes whilst he is at school.

As we sat planning her launch party, Lewis left watching the football with my husband (well Manchester United hadn’t started yet!! ) to join us in my craft room and, seeing my shoe-box for prize door forms, immediately wanted to make one himself when he got home.

“Just like Sandra’s”

Here is the photo Laura sent which she has given permission for me to post here on my blog. Just look at that cheeky grin, he was so well behaved.

Happy craftin’

Sandra

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHANIE

I’m so excited to share my cards with fellow crafters, it can be difficult to keep designs back when planning their birthday cards, remembering who has seen what.

Here is the card I created for Stephanie, who celebrated birthday Sunday.

This little box was made for a little chocolate treat to accompany her gift, using the beautiful Stampin’ Up! Morning Mocha Designer Series Paper which are being featured, together with Everything Eleanor stamp set, at my next All-Day classes on Saturday 28th January in Bury St Edmunds and Sunday 29th January in Norwich. Please get in touch if you would like more information.

We enjoyed helping her celebrate with a drink or two in the local pub.

I was so disappointed that within just a few minutes of arriving at the pub, I had lost one of my large black pearl earrings. They were a gift with the matching white gold and black pearl necklace that David had bought me from the jewellers in Hawaii where my engagement ring came from on holiday for my 40th birthday. The price to replace was going to be shocking (yes David looked up when we got home) !!

Having walked to the pub over grass and gravel on the road, I never expected to see again. What was the chance of finding in the dark ?

However, putting key in the door, David shone his torch just beside the door mat and there it sat. What a miracle, I was so pleased !!! A good ending to a lovely evening.

Happy craftin’

Sandra

Friday 13th !!!!!!!!!!!!!

So OK, I've been lucky so far. In 30yrs of driving, I have been so lucky to escape huge car bills ....... until now ....... on Friday 13th !!!

Last night driving to my class in Bury St Edmunds, I noticed a bit of a rumbling in my car. Worried I might not get home, I phoned hubby to make sure he stayed up till I got home OK. Yesterday our local garage took a look. Unfortunately, I left my iPhone in the car when I left the garage so had to phone to ask them to keep it safe and the kind souls had to take for a test drive to listen for problem so brought it back to me at work, 5miles up the road (bless 'em). Then just before lunch came the horror phone call I was dreading. They diagnosed a 'dual mass fly wheel' which will cost about £2500 for Toyota to repair or £1500 at local garage !!!!!!!!!

On top of this, our en suite shower has been leaking through to the kitchen so we have had to brought forward getting a new shower and revamp for the whole en suite.

Such an expensive time.

Anyway, on a lighter note, here is one of the cards we made Thursday evening.

Happy craftin’

Sandra

Happy Birthday Jane

Unfortunately one of my regular class attendees, Jane, was poorly and missed Thursdays class so her birthday card had to be posted. We all wish her a speedy recovery and hope that the card arrived OK. One of the projects she missed on Thursday I think will be received from another class member for birthday!!

I quickly rustled up another card to post Friday and this year, whenever I create a birthday card, I am doing my best to make a few for my stock box. It’s not an SU design but I know she loved my Stampin’ Up! Owl Extravaganza class, so hope she will like these owls too.

Happy craftin’

Sandra

Paul and Thandi’s Wedding

Brother-in-law Paul re-married on Thursday and here is the card I made for the happy couple.

My card features the heart stamp from the Perfect Postage stamp set #126111 (W) #126113 (C). The images were stamped using Versamark ink pad #102283 and silver embossing powder. These were then punched out with the Postage Stamp punch #122344 and mounted onto a piece of silver hearts holographic card from my stash before being mounted onto a white A5 base card.

The greeting was from Occasional Quotes, a retired Hostess gift.

Happy craftin’

Sandra

IN LOVE WITH STAMPING - BLOG HOP

Hi and welcome to our ILWS Stampin' Up! blog hop.

As Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, we get the opportunity to pre-order products from new catalogues, a month before the general release date. As such, several demonstrators on ILWS have got together to showcase the products they have earned for FREE from recent Stampin' Up! promotions or purchased themselves from the NEW Spring 2012 Mini catalogue that you will be able to order from today.

Do you love to be among the first to receive information or fancy the opportunity to earn even more FREE products ? Then why not ask me about becoming a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and you could be joining us here next time. Just click on the 'contact me' button at the top of the screen to get in touch.

Now grab that cuppa, sit back and enjoy your hop. You may have just joined me from Emma's blog http://www.emma-daye.blogspot.com, she makes such wonderful projects.

One of my favourite things about Stampin' Up! is the co-ordination of stamps and punches together. Either can be used on it's own but teamed up together they are just great. Today I'm featuring two sets in the NEW Mini that do just that.

My first card to showcase is the Build a Cupcake stamp set with matching punch. I had been hoping this set would make in into the European catalogue last October but sadly not. I was so pleased it finally made it for the Mini. Isn't that cherry just so cute. This card also uses the new 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, it's quite a bit bigger than the existing one and is great for layering the two together for flowers. Like to have a go making some easy but realistic looking flowers, then get in touch to book your space on my next all-day Stampin' Up! class.

Next is the Perfect Postage stamp set with matching punch. An earlier post back in October, featured this small gift box so I have decided these small images would fit perfectly on these small notelets. I just love this years In-Colour Lucky Limeade and matching scallop edged ribbon.
I hope you've enjoyed the creations I've shared with you today and thank you for stopping by.

Now please continue enjoying your 'hop' round and pop over to Caroline's blog http://www.stampaholix.blogspot.com blog for some more lovely creations.

Happy Craftin' till next time.

Sandra

NEW **** SPRING 2012 MINI ****

This year is so special ..... up until now, here in Europe we have only had one Mini catalogue that has run from 1st April to 30th September.

We had some fabulous news at Stampin' Up! European Convention in November. Our ****NEW**** Spring 2012 Mini starts today 4th January 2012 and runs until 30th April. (In addition we also know there will be a Summer Mini too to look forward too later on).
If you haven't already got your hands on a copy, please use the 'contact me' tab at the top of the page to get in touch and I will post you a copy 1st class post or click on the image on the left to view the entire catalogue.

Please pop back at 10am this morning with a cuppa and enjoy hopping round several Stampin' Up! Demonstrators blogs who are show casing products from the NEW SPRING 2012 MINI CATALOGUE.

Bye for now and see you back here soon.

Sandra

12 for 2012 ........

It's the 1st day of 2012 and thanks to my hubby, I have started Christmas cards for 2012 ......

Chatting to a crafting friend in the village pub last night, hubby invited her to come for lunch. She had told me earlier that she had now used up all her bought card supply and she really needed to now start her Christmas cards much earlier this year, I suggested she stay and craft !! Well, who needs an excuse to spend the afternoon in a craft room chatting.

We both have 12 made. Steph chose 6 each of 2 different designs, completed with liners and packed with envelopes ready to pack away in shoebox. Mine are toppers for Convention 2012 swaps in November, providing the stamp set doesn't retire in September. If it does, then it really doesn't matter as I will have ample toppers to put on card bases and voile, Christmas cards ready made.

What a start to the New Year. Keeping design under wraps so it's a surprise for Convention goers :-)

Bye for now crafters, hope you had a good night last night.

Sandra

Christmas Cards 2011

Happy Christmas fellow crafters !!!

I thought I would post one of my very quick and simple Christmas cards which was an adaptation of my Convention swap that was themed in to my Black and Vanilla class held in December. Some had pearls added (yes, I got caught out with the postage) and some were spritzed with Stampin' Up! Champagne shimmer paint.

This year I have received so many beautiful handmade cards. These extra special ones usually go on the top shelf of the dresser but this year it was crammed full and couldn't see all of them - it was lovely to see the handmade ones making such a dramatic increase. Thank you all for your festive wishes.

When the season is over, please bring your cards to class before recycling them, even the bought ones. There are many great inspirations to chat through possiblities and creative ideas.

Happy craftin'

Sandra

CONVENTION - ROOMIE GIFTS

Just wanted to share our Roomie gifts from Convention with you. One of my downline, Emily, Emma and I all shared a room and exchanged gifts.

I made Emily and Emma these boxes using the new Morning Mocha Designer Series Papers. One contains a Terrys chocolate orange and the other contain a mini bottle of Asti.

Emily gave us these lovely wooden decorated gift box and plaque.

Emma made these wonderful gifts. Such a lot of work went in to these, they are simply gorgeous.Thank you once again for some be beautiful gifts. Thanks again for sharing with me.

Sandra

EMILY & SANDRA - Paris Pre-Convention

Neither Emily or I have ever been to Paris so when Stampin' Up! announced their European Convention 2011 would be held at EuroDisney we booked a few extra days to explore a few sights of Paris.

Thanks to Tesco vouchers and Airmiles, we were able to enjoy 2 tickets to Paris via Eurostar and 3 nights in Paris FREE OF CHARGE. I recommend getting a Tesco Visa card as I put as much as I can through here, especially my Stampin' Up! orders. I never use the quarterly vouchers at face value in the store as they are worth much more converted into vouchers.

This is Emily on the first leg of the journey from Downham Market ...... recognise the crafty bits as we begin assembling my swaps.

Our 1st sightseeing day we took a bus tour of Paris, travelling as the only passengers on the top of a double decker bus, with fabulous views, taking in all the popular well known tourist attractions. Just by the Arc De Triomphe look what Emily spotted ......... 'Le French Monsieur Brown'. I wonder if there were any Stampin' Up! parcels in there ??

Next a trip up the Eifel Tower was an absolute 'must' for me. The views from the top were wonderful although a bit cloudy to one side. Once down at the bottom we realised we hadn't had lunch and at 4pm were getting quite peckish. Another absolute 'must' for Emily was a crepe and she recommended the banana and chocolate spread .... delicious. She didn't really eat two but I had to take the photo quickly so she didn't try !

Our 2nd day browsing at leisure, took us to a station on the Metro called 4th September. At the coffee shop enjoying a proper hot chocolate, Emily tried out her French to ask the lady next to us if she spoke English ........ Only Emily could ask an English lady whether she spoke English !! We all had a good giggle and she was flattered that her French was so convincing.

Emily had searched the Internet and discovered there was a craft shop called UltraMod (well truly mad crafters have to find crafting opportunities wherever we go, don't we !!). Well this was more like a haberdashery and was a very old fashioned shop cram packed with buttons, braids and ribbons etc in every nook and cranny. A wonderful shop ..... and they allowed us to take photos !!

Having made an unwise meal choice the previous evening, Emily was keen to have some good quality food and we certainly couldn't complain here at the Royal Opera. A wonderful Croque Monsieur with generous portion of french fries.

The evening brought the 2nd half of our tour, this time an evening cruise along the River. Our guide was very fluent in English and pointed out all the sites (so much better than the taped recording on the bus yesterday)

The Eifel Tower at night

On arrival at EuroDisney and walking round village deciding on where to eat, we visited the many shops and of course the obligatory trying on of silly hats !!!

Well we had arrived and tomorrow Convention starts properly ... next post tomorrow.

Sandra

Convention Swap & Tutorial

Last year, Stampin' Up! announced their European Convention 2011 would be held at EuroDisney Paris. Here is my swap that I repeated 300 times !!!!! Yes, 300 swaps as I like to swap with as many people as possible to share many, many ideas. I have a lovely big box of swaps to share with customers and give me inspiration for my creations.

Several people asked me how this was made so here are a few pictures showing you step by step, so here is a very simple tutorial to show how it was created.

Firstly, ink up the fir cone from Autumn Days stamp set using Basic Black ink.

There is no need to draw a circle, post-it, mask or anything. My card here was 9cm square. Simply line up the edge of the wooden stamp with the edge of the card, and, with the stalks pointing inwards, stamp in the centre of the bottom of card.

Turn card and repeat at North, South, East and West positions.

Now stamp across the corner - I did mine freehand but if you prefer, use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. Don't be afraid of it - with a bit of practice, it'll be much quicker without ... trust me, 300 swaps, each one stamped 8 times, I was not going to use the SAMJ !!!! LOL

.... and this is the finished wreath shape. See how it makes a circle without the need for a guide !!

Next I used the berries and just dipped the tip onto the ink pad and stamped the tip randomly round the edge.

Finally punch stamp and punch out greeting using a range of Stampin' Up! circle punches as you prefer. Here I used Cherry Cobbler to bring in the colour of the berries.

A huge thanks to Emily for helping me assemble all the component pieces on the train from Downham Market to London and then on Eurostar to Paris. It was a good way to pass the journey. October and November were such busy months for me but I intend having started much earlier in the year for 2012 Convention.

Well, I hope you like this mini tutorial and enjoy creating yourself. For your Stampin' Up! supplies please contact me.

Regards till next time.

Sandra

Weekend Retreat in Mablethorpe

WOW, what a fantastic weekend !!!!

Emily and I have just held our first Stampin' Up! Craft Retreat Weekend with a lovely bunch of ladies, including a car load travelling from Suffolk who took a slight detour to a craft shop, some of my Stampers 10 group from Thetford, plus others from Wellingborough and Branston in Lincolnshire.

Using Emily's large house, kept our costs lower which of course benefitted our crafters in keeping the cost low. The 5* guest house next door provided accomodation for some of our guests, plus full English breakfasts and buffet lunches for everyone.

Those sleeping at Emily's were lucky (or not so lucky given they helped with her Convention swaps) to enjoy extra crafting time, being made to feel at home by Emily. I am an early bird but even I was surprised to go to the kitchen at 6:40am to find two of our ladies in their PJs catching up on unfinished projects from the day before.

Everyone had a fantastic time and we were really pleased with the feedback received. I think everyone will be back in October 2012 for another Retreat.

Emily's son Caiden enjoyed all the fuss from the ladies !!
Unfortunately I can't share details of the projects we made as we have a repeat of the Retreat Weekend on 3rd - 5th February 2012 and need to keep the surprise for another group of ladies who we are looking forward to spending a fun-filled weekend with us. I'm sure some of our projects will make it on here later in February.

If you are interested in attending a future Stampin' Up! Craft Retreat Weekend, please get in touch with me - my contact details have been updated on the tab at the top.

Many thanks for popping by and look forward to catching up again soon.

Sandra

Guest Demo at local craft group

Last night I was really pleased to have been invited to be a guest demonstrator at a local craft club that meets fortnightly in my 'next door' village, Foulden.

Although I have previously joined them a couple of times as a customer, unfortunately then I was working long hours and travelling so couldn't make it a regular commitment. I was thrilled to be asked to teach a group of 17 ladies of various ages and abilities.

This is the project they made .........

I was keen to create a project that they could reproduce at home on their own. The box lid was created using the width of an A4 sheet of card, making into a 21cm square and scoring at 7cm intervals all the way round. The bottom of the box was made exactly the same using 20.4cm square and scoring at 6.8 intervals all the way round.

We all had a wonderful evening and many of them asking me to go back in the New Year after their winter break.

Sandra

WEEK IN PORTUGAL

David and I have enjoyed a 'chill out' week on The Algarve, Portugal with sister-in-law and her hubby. We were extremely lucky with the weather too. Chatting to the taxi driver on our journey from the airport, he said they had the same heat wave experienced in the UK at the end of September, with the Vilamoura having their usual July and August temperatures.

Vilamoura Marina

We have been to Villamoura a few times now but this was our first time in a self-catering apartment. Mandy and Glyn were in the one below. This gave us more freedom and there was still a pool adjacent if we wanted to use, although with lovely beaches and warm water both sides of the Marina, we didn't bother.

David and I managed to fit in a couple of excursions to see the sights inland.

We also managed a couple of visits to my favourite Thai restaurant, sitting outside on the veranda. This is simply the best Thai food anywhere !!

David, Glyn, Mandy, Sandra enjoying a cocktail @ bar on Marina

Rui's bar is a small bar just off the Marina where Brits tend to hang out. The resident singer is a Scouser and we think he has been there for some 15years !! When he sang The Hole of the Moon by The Waterboys, we were all reminded of the Interpretive Dance artist 'David Armand' and impulse made us do all his interpretive movements !! Yes, OK so we had had a few drinks. For those of you who haven't seen or heard of him, I highly recommend Googling his name and looking at the many You Tube links. He is so talented and has so much energy. For an even greater laugh, play the clips to your friends / family without the sound on and see if they can guess what the record is.

David chatting to Manager of the Champagne bar

Mandy has a bit of a passion for Champagne, so we had to visit the Champagne bar a couple of times.

This is one of those holidays we choose to just chill out although I did take the laptop and fit in some craft planning ......... well it was a really bad time to go away on the day the New Ideas Book and Catalogue launched !!! Well that's what you get travelling with and fitting round other people.

A lovely relaxing break and now back to the grindstone.

Sandra

IT'S THAT EXCITING TIME OF YEAR AGAIN !!

The waiting is now over !!!

It's always so exciting to receive the new Ideas & Catalogue book each year. As an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, we get to see the preview one month early but with so many new items, it's difficult to have to wait until 1st October to be able to order.

Stampin' Up! have introduced many new changes this year. The biggest one being the NEW HOSTESS BENEFITS. There is no longer a 3-tier hostess level gift reward ... I know everyone wants to earn the level 3 and how difficult this can be to achieve.

How fantastic would it be to choose ANY of the exclusive Hostess gifts. Well now you can. You will now recieve Hostess Pounds which you can spend as you choose. If you do not wish for a any of the exclusive Hostess stamp sets, you can simply spend your money on any items in the catalogue. How fantastic is that !!!!

The next HUGE benefit is that for a £300 party, in addition to your £50 FREE SPENDS, you can choose an item from the catalogue at HALF PRICE. Yes, that really does mean, choose the most expensive item you wish and you will only pay half price. (I can tell you my choices are already made and I will have a doctors bag to keep my Big Shot on it's way to me today - I can't wait.

SANDRA's NEW CATALOGUE SPECIAL

I am really excited to be ordering many new items to share with you at my upcoming classes and I would like to share this with you.

Throughout October I will be placing orders every Sunday evening. For OCTOBER, I am offering all my lovely customers a fantastic offer to help you get your hands on even more new items. For every £30 of product ordered from today, you will receive a raffle ticket number for entry into my FREE PRIZE DRAW to earn fabulous gifts from the New Catalogue. Prizes will be Hostess benefits from that week's orders and you will be able to choose your gifts. If orders are over £300 in any particular week, there will be an additional DRAW for the HALF PRICE ITEM. So make sure I have a telephone number I can contact you on or leave me your wish list in order of preference !!

Please note - this is not a Stampin' Up! offer but my personal offer to you. It does not apply to Stampers 10 commitments as this is a regular commitment where Hostess for that month receives benefits and any individual orders over £150 as you will receive full hostess beenfits for the total of your ordrer.

BOOK A PARTY NOW

With such fantastic offers to be earned for FREE, why not contact me to book your own party now ? I would love to hear from you so please contact me on 07806 616704 or email sroberts07@btinternet and I will get back to you ASAP.

If you haven't yet got your hands on a copy of the New Ideas & Catalogue book, click on the image at the top left of this blog until I can get one to you. RRP is £5.95 but I am selling at £5 posted to your door.

Happy craftin' till I see you next.

Sandra

LAST CHANCE BLOG HOP

Thank you for joining us today and welcome to our LAST CHANCE Blog Hop featuring stamp sets and accessories that are sadly retiring from the current catalogue this month. Hurry though because with several bargains at 25% and 40% it is only while stocks last and already items are selling out. Please feel free to give me a call on 01366 728407 or 07806 616704 to place your orders and enter my draw for free hostess gifts.

Now, you may have just joined from Elaine at http://www.thesassystampers.blogspot.com where I'm sure you've seen some wonderful projects. If this is your first stop, grab a cuppa and enjoying a short break from the Saturday morning chores whilst browsing through some demonstrators blogs and 'hop' your way back to your starting point.

My first project today is one I made using the charity set 'Strength & Hope' with £1 from every stamp set sold being donated by Stampin' Up! to help raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. A very worthwhile cause and beautiful stamp set.

This fancy fold card also featured a greeting from Occasional Greetings which is currently at 40% discount.

Also featured is the Springtime Vintage DSP that appeared in the Mini catalogue on 1st April and will also sadly be waving goodbye by the end of this month.

The card below features Baby Blossoms, again from the Mini catalogue, a delightful set of 18 stamps featuring our two-step stamping technique.

The vase here is made by punching an oval and using the 'hole' to sponge through. I used the punched out image to place in the neck of the vase to give a curved shape.

Lastly, here is a card I have seen lots of times in 'blogland' recently. Use any leftover DSP and punch squares using either the 1-1/4" or 1-3/8" square punches and layer onto card, running through Square Lattice Big shot to give a quilted effect. Here I have used some more of the Springtime Vintage that is retiring this month.

The NEW Stampin' Up Ideas & Catalogue book is released on 1st october and will contain even more pages of exciting craft goodies. Be sure to contact me to reserve your copy and be among the first to receive over the next week or so.

Now, to continue 'hopping' around blogland, click here to join Natalie http://www.natalieoshea.co.uk/blog/html where I'm sure she will have posted some amazing projects as always.

Happy craftin' and thanks for stopping by today.

Sandra

Retirement List - BLOG HOP

In a moment of madness I added my name to the list on our forum IN LOVE WITH STAMPING for a BLOG HOP featuring Stampin' Up's Retirement list items. Little did I realise just how little time I had and when could I fit it all in !!


Sometimes it's good to work under a 'bit' of pressure and as I had problems with Blogger last time, I'll be back tomorrow with a few of my projects using items that are sadly retiring.

Happy craftin'

Sandra

Last Chance list

It's that sad time of the year again when we have to say Goodbye to some of the stamp sets and accessories retire from the current catalogue to make space in the warehouse for all the NEW supplies in the Ideas & Catalogue 2011-2012 book available on 1st October 2011.

Many items are reduced with some even 25% and 40% discount but hurry, they are only available while stocks left and will completely disappear on 30th September !!!!

For a copy of the current Retirement list click http://204.228.150.61/docs/lastchance/en-GB/Availability_en-GB.pdf

As an extra bonus, as soon as order reach £150 I will submit and do a draw from all those customers in that order to earn the FREE hostess level 1 stamp set. So, make sure I have your contact details......

Have fun snapping up those bargains.

Happy craftin'

Sandra

Doesn't time fly .....

As always I can't believe how time is flying past at such a fast rate in my busy life !!

I apologise that since my holiday I've not had the time to devote to the electronics and 'blogging'. Rest assured that behind the scenes I have still been extremely busy planning and prepping classes.

I'm pleased to say that I am still very busy with my classes with many being sold out and September places all full in all locations and even a waiting list.Some classes have not been able to be advertised as they have sold out in advance. So, if you are interested in joining me at one of my forthcoming classes, please call to reserve your space on 01366 728407 or 07806 616704. Bookings being taken right up to the week before Christmas.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Happy Craftin'

Sandra

BLOGGER IS BACK ..........

........ and so am I !!!!!!

Hi crafters

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Yipee, I have finally got my Blogger back.

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Some of you will no doubt be aware I've been on holiday for two and a bit weeks in the South of France with a bunch of Honda Goldwingers.

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I had posts scheduled for while I was away which didn't work and sadly I had to withdraw from an ILWS Blog Hop scheduled for Friday 1st July as I couldn't Blogger to save posts without throwing out error messages. It really was a bit silly of me to think I could squash something else in when I got home, in addiiton to catching up from two weeks of work and having two all day classes Saturday and Sunday to prep for, without realising Blogger was going to play up. This is the first opportunity I've had to try and sort it out.

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David and I headed for Maidstone Premier Inn the first Friday evening to meet up with 26 other fellow Goldwing traveling companions from all over the UK. A good trip down for us until the M25 - onto the M20 and the heavens looked as if they were going to open. Pulling up under a flyover, waterproofs on .... well at least the weather should be better the other side of the Channel !!

Late snack for lunch in the bar and of course a few drinks (well the holiday hads started), meeting new faces and getting to know each other then a nice relaxing evening meal followed by an early night ready for the long ride the following day.

Bright and early the next morning we were all at the tunel and, heading for our first week in Narbonne, we stopped overnight half way across France in Toures.

Continuing on the following morning to Narbonne, we spent a week touring round some stunning ride outs including Carcasonne, Millau Bridge - the tallest in the world, castles and chateauxs and stunning scenery.

I was pleased that we had CB radio linked into our headsets and intercom. With 14 trikes and solos travelling in convoy, at times we probably stretched over 1/2 mile. Travelling for ride outs when not on the motorway, going through towns and villages it is hard not get seperated at traffic lights, roundabouts etc. CB allowed us to keep smaller groups together until on the open road once again.
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Moving on for our second week, we set off for Lourdes on the 'scenic route', which took us over mountains and up in to the clouds. Unfortunately waterproofs on again but it was only the heavy drizzle from being so high up in the clouds and not the great British weather following us.

Arriving in Lourdes and the French/Spanish Pyrennes scenery was even more beautiful. Taking over the top floor of the hotel Dame De La Sarte, we had fabulous views from the balcony overlooking the Pyrennes, with snow still visible on the highest peaks ........... yes, in June.
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Our first ride out from here took us on parts of the Tour De France route and included lots of number of hairpin bends as we made our way up and down various mountain passes. David doesn't like heights and with very few barriers to stop accidents, we were so grateful we were on 3 wheels not 2. In total there were 6 trikes and 8 solo bikes travelling.

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The next couple of days we travelled up more mountain passes, including taking a cable car from the ski resort to Pic Du Midi to the 'space station in the sky', having stopped at supermarket for picnic lunches.

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We experienced some thunder and lightening behind the mountains one evening - sitting in the Irish bar next door to the hotel, we weren't in the least bothered, it was very refreshing after reaching really high temperatures. It was very picturesque watching the white lightening disappearing behind the Pyrennes.

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Overall a superb holiday and definitely the best way to tour. So much fresh air, I slept extremely well and wasn't awake at stupid o'clock like I am at home. Just as well really because luggage space for two weeks was very limited and therefore no space for crafting materials. I defnitely suffered withdrawal symptoms. LOL

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Having heard about the French toilets, this was not something I was looking forward to. I am so pleased to say I worried unecessarily as I managed to survive the whole of the holiday without having to endure this unbelieveable experience !!! Thanks Helen for the warning though.

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Pop back soon - I hope to be back into normal routine soon.

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Sandra