It’s not just the monarchy that gets two birthdays! On Denise’s “official” birthday (actual birthday last week), we indulged in a three night break in London at the Rubens Palace Hotel. First afternoon we had an excellent afternoon tea at the hotel and, following the leaked news that the break was a delayed birthday bash, the hotel very kindly provided a couple of glasses of champers, a ‘birthday cake’ and happy birthday in chocolate in the tea selection (and a birthday card). Lovely service and a pretty good reflection of the hotel generally.
Travel
Aldeburgh Break
Excellent weekend at the Wentworth House Hotel at Aldeburgh to celebrate Denise’s ‘big birthday’. Been threatening to sample this hotel for a while and, although certainly not cheap, it was definitely worth the money. Excellent food (although sad to report that a big cream tea followed by a three course dinner in the evening is now seemingly beyond us) and lovely public spaces, it’s possibly best …
A Sunderland Christmas
Just back from Christmas with Scott and Ginnette in Sunderland. Lovely time, despite not feeling too good with man flu (cold, sore throat, cough etc.). Excellent home made food and an ‘extensive’ selection of alcohol. Boxing Day at the Stadium of Light to see an absolutely woeful display by the Black Cats as they lost 3-1 to Hull City, despite being gifted a goal in …
Tyne & Wear Sojourn
Just spent four days in the North East. Managed to fit in a couple of nights with family, a lovely meal out at a local Italian, a nostalgic trip to the Metro Centre (not as impressive as we remembered after 20 odd years away) and an unexpected victory for the oldies at Trivia Pursuit.
Day Trip Roundup
Just a catch up post to remind the oldies where we’ve been over the last week or so. Then, in our dotage when we forget all this we can check the blog and remind ourselves that we have actually been to these places. This of course presupposes that we will still be capable of operating a keyboard, mouse or touchscreen (note the order gives my age away!)
Rolling Down The River
Just back from a river cruise along the Rhine and Mosel. Blessed with fine weather and an array of lovely stop offs on both rivers. The Rhine was clearly and unsurprisingly the busiest of the two, whereas the Mosel was quieter but ‘blessed’ with a number of locks to negotiate (twice, as we went down and then back up from Koblenz.
Jersey Break
Just back from our annual jaunt to the Channel Islands – this time Jersey, an island we haven’t been to for over 40 years! Thought it would be a good idea to compare it to its slightly smaller cousin, Guernsey to see if it could match its tranquillity and picturesque coastline.
Cote D’Azur
Not long back from a leisurely seven day cruise around the Cote D’Azur (and beyond) visiting a number of places we hadn’t been to before. That was the plan anyway, and although it still turned out that way, a few stops didn’t end up being the ones on the original itinerary. From the airport to the ship in Barcelona and straight off again to squeeze in a visit to Antoni Gaudi’s Palau Guell, the first commission he received from his main client Eusebi Guell and built between 1886 and 1890. Worth the effort.
Cuba!
Just back from a two week trip to Cuba with friends. If ever a country betrayed the contradictions inherent in a changing political and economic landscape, then Cuba probably takes first prize. Which made the trip extremely interesting and enjoyable, if a little on the warm side. In our opinion, you couldn’t go all the way to Cuba and fry on a beach for the duration (although many do, apparently) so we managed five nights in Havana, two in colonial Trinidad and then spent a week in Varadero recovering!
Guernsey 2013
Just back from an excellent week in Guernsey. Our third visit in four years, so in danger of becoming a ritual! The self deprecating cheap shot would imply it’s something to do with our age but the island has more to offer than a friendly environment for those of a certain vintage.
Birthday Bash!
Last minute(ish) long weekend away in Ely at the Poets House Hotel. Very pleasant hotel with its butler service USP (which, perversely, we didn’t use). Excellent restaurant, which we sampled both evenings, and which looked to be popular with both hotel guests and locals alike. Just enough in Ely to keep you busy for two full days.
Sunderland and the rest!
Not long back from a visit to Sunderland to see son and daughter-in-law, punctuated either side of the weekend with a stay in Yorkshire on the way up and Rutland on the way back down. Lovely trip, very well looked after and we got lucky with the weather as well.