Category: Travelogue

Pic of the week 17/12/23

Last Sunday, at early o’clock, Becky and I headed to Bristol airport to catch a flight to Malaga and begin our Andalusian adventure. But first we had to navigate the hordes of excited young children and Christmas jumper and snow boot clad mums heading for a day at Lapland. Fortunately, our flight was on time and we soon rose into the still dark skies to leave the grim, grey clamour behind us. We landed to see blue skies, hopped on a Renfe train from the airport to Malaga central (3 stops) and then found the bus station, which was surprisingly busy and hectic, and we boarded our Alsa bus for the two hour trip to Cordoba.

Cordoba was calm, sunny and delightful. Cold in the mornings and evenings, it warmed up during the days, and was “chilled” for our whole stay. I loved the Romano bridge

It was peaceful yet purposeful, beautifully bathed in brilliant sunshine.  The Mezquita was something special

an enormous space, part Mosque, part Cathedral.  I loved the space and patterns, the mix of form and function. For me, it was a much more special, and beautiful, place than the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but Becky disagrees with me on that.

The Alacazar de los reyes cristiano was impressive, too

It was the gardens (again, basking in the beautiful sunshine) that I particularly enjoyed.

One of the things that I particularly liked about Cordoba was the sense that it wasn’t totally touristy – not everyone automatically spoke English and I had the opportunity to really practice speaking some Spanish.

We headed to Sevilla (by train) for a day, taking in the Plaza de Espana

A grand vista, and another chance to practice my Spanish speaking skills and then, after a bit of lunch , the Setas, or mushroom

A magnificent wooden structure that you could walk, affording fantastic views of the city, and also of itself – a bit of an engineering and architectural marvel.

And we’d timed our return to Cordoba to be late enough to allow us to take in the spectacular Christmas lights …

The next morning was another early start, to catch the 0830 Alsa bus back to Malaga. The 2hr 30 journey was a pleasant route through the Spanish hinterland and was enjoyable in its own right.  By the time we arrived in Malaga, the temperature had risen, we were in t-shirts as we took a paddle

and enjoyed a beer

Before later that evening, donning the puffa jackets and enjoying more magical Christmas lights

And then, the following morning, it was adios Andalusia and an uneventful flight back to the UK, after a wonderful, wonderful few days away.

Pic of the week 23/4/23

On Wednesday we returned from a week in Rhodes. It was a wonderful week, the first three days spent in Lindos  – small, picturesque, historic and with some great swimming spots (St. Paul’s Bay, and also the hidden cave swimming, off the main town beach) The water wasn’t warm, but it was swimmable, but it was crystal clear, and the most beautiful colour.   Swimming in St Pauls bay it was deep, but you could see all the way to the bottom and the colour was a deep bluey green. Beautiful and serene.

On day 4, the Saturday, we went by bus to Rhodes town, which initially seemed quite big, but by the end of our stay seemed much smaller (although we did walk miles!) It was (Greek Orthodox) Easter and we discovered that midnight on the Saturday into Sunday was a key part of the celebrations, so we went to the local church and stood outside as the crowds began to gather and the service was relayed via PA to the growing throng outside (of course, we didn’t understand a word of it) Whilst I’m sure that inside the church it was highly respectful and reverential, this was certainly not the case outside: it appeared to be an excuse for all the local hooligans to gather and throw around very loud fireworks! It certainly was a spectacle to behold!

The next day, we left the madness of Rhodes town and set sail (well via ferry) for rthe island of Symi, about an hour away. What a beautiful island! It being Easter Sunday, it seemed the whole population had gathered on the harbour front to eat roasted meat from the many, many spit roasts turning away. We wandered around the harbour and had lunch in a perfect taverna on the water front – on a holiday in which every meal was wonderful, this was the best. I had grilled lamb, it was delicious.

Back to Rhodes that evening, we spent the next couple of days exploring the old town and new, and finding the beaches on north-western tip of the island. Again, I swam in beautiful waters and we chilled in the sunshine.

A good time to go? Yes – I am sure that in the height of the summer some areas (Linods – I’m looking at you) would have been rammed full, and in the heat we wouldn’t have done all the exploring we did.  The water was still a bit chilly and this was a disadvantage of visiting in April, and there was a real sense that not everything was yet fully ready – things were still a little tired and tatty in places, I’m sure in a few weeks all will be spruced up and looking wonderful.

A good island to visit? I’m glad I’ve been, but I don’t think it was as pretty as some other Greek islands. Basically it is a long island with strips of beach down each side. The geology seemed quite angular – lots of right angle cliffs, and quite barren, although the flowers – the yellow daisy’s in particular – were beautiful and it was great to watch some swifts swooping and Lesser Kestrels soaring magnificently around the Acropolis. It didn’t, perhaps, feel as “Greek” as, say, Corfu, particularly around Rhodes town – the old town was again to disneyfied, like, but not as bad as, Dubrovnik, and the new town could have been anywhere-hot-on-sea. But, to be sure, I had a great time and a wonderful holiday.

Beckys’ blog (1)   and Becky’s blog (2)  give much more detailed accounts, along with loads of excellent pictures

Pic of the week 30/10/22

Becky & I have just enjoyed a wonderful week in Dubrovnik, Croatia.  We flew out on Wednesday 19 Oct, returning a week later on the 26th. We did a lot whilst we were away!

We stayed in the Old Town – a great central location to strike out from, but perhaps my only disappointment of the week: I thought the old town was too well preserved, almost Disneyfied, and lacked any of the gritty imperfections of Palma, Corfu or Naples old towns. But it was very picturesque – and boy, there were a lot of steps! On our last full day we walked the city walls and this was great – seeing the city now we knew its geography rather than using the wall walk as a means to discover.

On our first full day we went up Mount Srd, ascending using the cable car and descending using a long, rocky, zig zag path.  I really enjoyed this day, particularly when we walked along the ridgeway for 10 mins to find a spot to enjoy our lunch and the tranquillity of solitude gazing down over the town and the sea beyond.

The next day we went on a (pre-booked) tour to Mostar – a long day, but a great day: the history was fascinating and I now have a much better understanding of the politics of the Balkans, Mostar was beautiful, as was the Kravice waterfalls, but the water was blummin’ freezing!

Trips to Lokrum island, Lapad (effectively “new town Dubrovnik) and the town of Cavtat were all great days. Exploring Lokrum was fun, a Cavtat was a lovely seaside resort – I’d happily holiday there in the furure.

I swam every day, and some of the swimming spots were certainly up there with the best of them: crystal clear, deep water with islands and coves in the eyeline – just the way I like it!

A great holiday that has kept winter at bay a little bit longer – the sun shone every day and it was shorts and T-shirt weather every day.

Pic of the week 17/4/22

Napoli – what a brilliant, bonkers city!

Last Tuesday we flew to Naples for 5 days (returning on the Saturday evening) and it was a total assault on the senses.

The sky was blue, the sun was warm and – despite many warnings to the contrary before we left – the city was safe, but it was mad, manic and life was lived at 100 miles an hour.  The constant stream of traffic from every direction, the sound of car horns blaring through the air, scooters swarming past you from any and every direction like a plague of angry wasps buzzing their way through the crowds: it took some getting used to but by the end of our trip I was coming to terms with the chaos and will be my overriding memory of the trip.

But it wasn’t all crowds and blaring horns; the visit was interspersed with adventure and tranquillity. On day two we climbed Mount Vesuvius and by the time we summited and saw the crater all was calm against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling city and shimmering sea. But the journey to the jumping off point was an adventure in itself. First we had to take the  Circumvesuviana to Ercelano (or Herculaneum*) which meant getting a train at the Napoli-Garibaldi station. The first train was rammed – no way were we going to be able to squeeze onto that, so we waited for next, which wasn’t much less crowded. Then a queue to buy tickets for the Vesuvius Express and wait for our coach, driven by Nicola – a god of the road who gave no way and laughed in face of the precipitous drop to the side of the bus as we snaked our way up the volcano.  It was fun – in a roller coaster scary type way!

*I don’t know why we translate the names of cities/towns (Ercelano) into English (Herculaneum)

The next day was a more more chilled visit to the island of Procida, a one hour ferry trip from Napoli. A picture postcard pretty island of painted house and tumbledown streets. After an ascent to the Terra Murata, and gazing down on the beautiful Marina Corricela, we slowly ambled our way down to the marina and enjoyed an ice cream in the ferocious April sunshine (we had lovely weather all trip – wall to wall sunshine and slightly above average temperatures in the low twenties). A world away from busy, blaring city across the water.

Friday saw us explore the public transport, including taking a funicular railway to Sant Elmo, but didn’t go into the castle, choosing instead to enter Certosa di san martino, Before going in, we enjoyed magnificent views across the city from our elevated position, and the walked around the building and gardens.  The gardens were a little neglected – one could see they were once beautiful and have the potential to be restored as such, but currently the weeds are winning. We the walked down the Pedamentia a San Martino – a zig zag of steps leading down into the Spanish quarter, I enjoyed this (perhaps because it was downhill not up!) and then into the mayhem and madness of the Quateria Spagnoli, a maze of closely crammed buildings.

Saturday we went underground taking the La Neapolis Sotterrata tour.  Of course, this was not straight forward – some delightful confusion about queues and entry in true Napolean style, and even underground there was a certain controlled chaos and confusion as different tour groups arrived at the same spot at the same time, but this was all part of the charm of Napoli.

It was a great few days; not a “beginners” city, but a city that I came to love once I began to understand that there were no rules, but everything still seemed to work. A bit of a culture shock for the patient, rule based individual that I am, but that is part of the beauty of travelling – to experience and embrace different cultures from those we live every day.

Of course, I took no photos and Becky took hundreds – to see some of those pics, see her blog: http://dotsandspotsdesign.blogspot.com/2022/04/napoli-x.html

Pic of the week 24/10/21

So we are back from a few wonderful days in Majorca.

We flew out before even the sparrows were awake on Tuesday, leaving a dark, damp Bristol airport behind us, arrive two hours later to the glourious Majorcan sun and blue, blue Mediterranean skies.

We spent the late morning and afternoon wandering the city, eating pastries and drinking coffees before returning to the roof top terrace of our apartment so I could snooze in the sunshine!

The next day, we boarded a local bus and headed to Andratx, for market day – not too much to right home about, only a small market in a square, but we sat and enjoyed a coffee and zumo de naranja. I did feel I had stumbled into some of the language learning resources from the 80s & 90s that I have been using, as I listened to the stall holders try to sell their wares. I was very impressed with myself when I overheard the veg main explaining to a Spanish lady that the cabbages were the same price, whether big or small. I was pleased that, without really listening out for it, I was able to tune in and understand a real conversation in Spanish. (Before we left for Andratx, I had asked, and understood the answers, in Spanish, a couple of questions at the information desk.)

Then it was on to Port de Andratx – a very pretty port and one that harboured a lot of very expensive boats. We had an enjoyable walk around the harbour, before finding a tiny slither of beach, where we sat and soaked up the sun for a couple of hours, and I swam in the crystal clear warm sea.

We then walked round to the other side of the harbour for coffee, spotting an octopus – pulpo – swimming right where the sea met the harbour wall. A really quite impressive sight.

That evening we returned to Palma and, after eating, wandered around the ground of the Cathedral all lit up against the darkness. Very  peaceful and very beautiful.

The next day, we toured (on foot) the gardens and Cathedral grounds before walking along the sea front to Portixol where we enjoyed a leisurely, lingering lunch before walking back along the beach – with taking an obligatory dip.

And then it was Friday morning – time to get up, walk 10 minutes to the bus station, get the bus to the airport and fly home (circa 1 hour delay due to the airport being “busy”)

A wonderful few days away that felt longer. I enjoyed everything about it, Majorca is so close, yet offers so much, I am sure we will return before too long. I enjoyed practising my Spanish on native speakers – I think that they didn’t revert straight to English was a positive sign. I’m not giving up on my language learning, but I have achieved what I initially set out to do and be able to converse, albeit it falteringly, with the locals and no longer be that Brit abroad who expects everyone to speak English.

Pic of the week 15/8/21

Yesterday, Becky and I went to London. It was up with the sparrows to catch the 0749 train from Castle Cary, and before we knew it we were stepping onto the platform at Paddington.

First up was a visit to the National Covid Memorial Wall on the South Bank. It was peaceful, respectful, reverential and a sobering, moving and dignified memorial to the thousands who have lost their life. I think that it is all the more powerful that it evolved organically, an outpouring of emotion from the people and a reminder to those sat across the river in the House of Parliament that, through their inaction and corruption, there are more hearts on the wall – more lives needlessly lost – than their should be.

We then walked east, along the South Bank, enjoying the buzz of a city coming back to life after an 18 month tragedy, crossing the river on the Millennium Bridge. We ambled past Trafalgar Square, arriving in Covent Garden for brunch of coffee and filled croissants. Delicious.

Then a dash West, to Kensington Gardens to enjoy the Van Gough experience. I am glad that Becky enjoyed this show more than I did!

More coffee & cake followed and then a schlep  back across the city to the Sky Garden, at the top of the Walkie-Talki building, 35 stories high.

It was brilliant. To be able to look out across London was awe inspiring, humbling and a chance to try and spot a few haunts from my youth!

We were due to finish the day with a meal at the Real Greek, but an email telling us our train had been cancelled saw us hot-footing it back to Paddington to catch the earlier train – our only chance to make it back to sleepy Somerset before Sunday!

So instead of delicious Greek delights, we dined on shop bought sandwiches and crisps on the station concourse before getting a noisy (too many drunks!) train back to Castle Cary.

A great day.