Travel

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Just back from a very pleasant week in the Cotswolds, preceded by a weekend in Bath with friends. The weather wasn’t always kind but it improved as the week went on. It was, however, very difficult to believe that it was the end of June on a couple of days when the temperature was more typically representative of a typical cold British autumnal day.

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Other than Barcelona, we have spent little or no time visiting the Spanish cities that are renowned for their history, architecture and culture which is, I’m sure you’ll agree, a remarkable oversight. Very pleased therefore to report on a pleasant week in a couple of lovely Spanish cities coupled with a pleasant trip down the Guadalquivir River. Fascinating to watch a relatively large ship navigate its way down quite a narrow river and its accompanying locks…..

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