I started keeping
a list of the different countries I had been to in about 2003 just to look at
myself, but after writing a small story of each of the football grounds I had
been to and more to the point enjoying doing that very much, I decided to do
the same with my travels. I first started doing it in November 2006.
As a lot of these are many years ago any comment I make which are up to date will be in bold italics, like this.
1. Porta de Pollensa Majorca May 1971.
The first time aboard for me and also to fly. Enjoyed it very much, we went with a lot people from the building site I worked on in Spalding in Lincolnshire. At the time it cost £32-00p for seven days, I don’t think you could get a good meal for two for that now. Pollensa, we did in fact stay in Port de Pollensa that is in the North of the Island and on the coast. We went on a few trips to Palma but in the main stayed near the town, nice holidays for ones first trip overseas some good memories.
2. Falkland Islands Dec 1983 until April 1985.
This was work.
Being a builder, I worked on the new airfield down there after the war. As the
only place to land in those days for an aeroplane was at Port Stanley and that
was reserved for army personnel so it was a night fight from Heathrow to
Johannesburg South Africa then two weeks on an ex North Sea ferry the MV
England down south. I stayed a fair while but I think it did get the better of
me in the end and with a young family at home and only seeing them once every
seven months was not good at times, but again a lot of good memories and I made
a lot of good friends, and best of all have no regrets about it at all. In 2020
I publish a fact/fiction book on my time there, The Lads from the Pleasant ‘B’
Team.
3. Cape Town, South Africa. June 1984 – Jan 1985 – April
1985.
I suppose this is
cheating in a way to put this in but the dates above were times that we spent out in the town on our way home. A lovely town and really enjoyed the days
out there but it’s a place to watch yourself and of course that was the days of
apartheid.
I got some really good photos when we were there,
loads of Table Mountain which is a sight to behold. I nearly got “mugged” there
once, but my mate Tony the Welder saved me. It is a long story which I will not
go into now.
4. Algeria July 1986 until April 1988
Again, this was
work, better than the Falklands, mainly because we came home every 3 months and the trip
was a lot shorter. I think I needed to get the working overseas thing out of
me, as when I was in the Falklands I had worked with a lot of lads who had done
the Middle East and Africa thing. I worked in a few different places over
there. We were building barracks for the gendarme, it was a large contract that
went on for many years. The country did see a lot of internal problems a few
years on but thankfully not when I was there.
I suppose this was the first time for me to see another culture at first hand and of course most important to see other points of views and too try to understand them. Some of the places I worked in were as follows, Tizi Ouzou which is about 60k East of Algiers, I spent most of the time there, then I went to a small town called Blida then finished in Batna which is a small town below Constantine in the East near the desert. I also spent six weeks on a site just outside Algiers, Reghaia. We were sent there from Tizi to get the site finished.
5. Paris France. July 1987.
This is me cheating again, but I am going to claim it as I did have some time in the city, all be it on a bus when I changed airports. It was my first time in France, as my first contract in Algeria ended mid-week (a Thursday) but there were only flights into London on Tuesday and Friday, so it was change in Paris.
I travelled on my own. We flew into Orly Airport and then a bus from there across Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport. I managed to see the Eiffel Tower, so that was good.
6. Antwerp / Brussels Belgium. Oct 1989.
Went for the
weekend with my sister Jean her husband Roy and my ex-wife. I really like
Belgium and the people are really nice had a very good weekend. Our rep on the
coach for the weekend was a young Scott’s lad who had spent a lot of time over
there and had very good knowledge of their history, but he did spend the
weekend telling us about it on the mike, and when I say telling us he did not
stop, one way of going to sleep if you want to. Stopped off at Brugge on the
Sunday on the way back and did the cannel trip. We stopped at a bar and Roy and
I had one local small beer each. When we were walking back to the coach I said
to Roy, “I can not believe this but I feel a bit on the funny side” he said, “I
was not going to say anything but I do too.” The beer was 8.5%, on the strong
side if you are not used to it. Spent the Saturday in Brussels.
The photo above is me eating mussels-chips (moules-frites) in Antwerp.
Went with the same people the next year but it rained the whole weekend, but still you have too make the most of things. Went to Brugge and Brussels again did not do the boats this time because of the before said rain. There was an exciting end to the weekend, the ferry coming home caught fire in the restaurant when we were about half way across the channel and we all had to sit out on the deck under the life boats for the rest of the trip a cold dark Sunday night across the channel. I did manage to get everyone signing, “Always look on the bright side life.”
The photo above is a market we went to in Gwent on the Sunday morning.
8. Vannes, France. August 1991.
This was at my
sister Linda’s and her husband Bob’s house in France. They had brought it a few
years before and were doing it up. It was with the people I had been to Belgium
with plus my youngest daughter Jean who was 11 at the time. The house was just
outside Vannes in the country, which is in Brittany. A very nice area with some
nice walks and a small village not far away with a few shops and bars. We took
my car so were able to go out days to the beach etc, but the first night we got
there we got into the area near their house at about 7 in the evening after
driving down from St- Malo, but did not find them until midnight, I was about
to give up for the night when my sister Jean saw our bother-in-laws car. Had
some nice evenings out on the patio having dinner and drinking in the late
summer sunshine.
The photo above is of daughter Jean on a trampoline at the beach. When we were there she spent a lot of time on these.
9. Paris France September 1992.
This trip was a
week after my fortieth birthday I went with my ex-wife and daughter Jean. We
crossed the channel on the Friday, by coach (on a ferry of course) and then on
to the hotel in Paris. The Saturday was spent at Euro Disney, which had opened
that April, and was about half finished at the time. It’s not my sort of thing
but we had a good day walking about and going on a few things.
On the Sunday we had a fair bit of time
the before the ferry back to enjoy the city. I like Paris very much it is very
vibrant colourful place. Before the trip around the town we did boat the trip down
the Seine and also had time to go around the Cathedrale Notre Dame. Taking
nearly two hundred years to build it is a most magnificent and impressive sight
in the middle of the river on its own Island. We had a lady as a guide who knew
the city very well and told some good stories as we passed all the sights.
Moldova was part of the old USSR. We went to the capital Chisinau which was a very pleasant place and very cheap. I nearly got locked up for drinking a beer in a public place but as the policeman wanted a cigarette and I do not smoke I took him to a shop and brought him a packet and gave him the change out of a note, he was then very happy. The weather was really good for the time of year and we had a really good time, only spoiled by ninety boring minutes of a 0-0 draw.
12. Eilat Israel. March 2000.
This was the first and up to now the only time I have ever been away aboard for a holiday on my own. I was told by my boss to have a week off before we started a new site so with just a few weeks to go I asked a friend who worked in a travel agent, Diana to sort me something out and she came up with this. Had a very enjoyable time and it was lovely to have good weather this time of year? Left Gatwick on a cold wet Monday morning while everyone was on their way to work and the next day I was walking around in shorts and tee shirt.
Eilat is really a beach holiday the place
is mainly hotels but it felt very safe there in fact it was a bit on the hippy
side. Spent the days doing my own thing, but at night I meet up with a couple
and a chap who was on his own at the bar for a drink. All us men where builders
and there was a new site going up next door and we would have an update each
night on what had gone on there that day. Went out on a few day trips, done the
desert safari by jeep, which was very interesting. Done the boat trip where at
one point one could see four counties Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Got out of the shower late one afternoon after I had been sunbathing and I saw in the mirror I had turned orange just about all over, it did wash off and I realized that because I had had sun tan oil on and the shower water was dirty, almost rust like it had all stuck to me, a bit of a shock at first sight.
13. Paris France. Feb 2001.
Went with Kate a friend for the weekend. This was one of the coldest weekends I have known for a long time it was really freezing. We done all the sights as you do when in Paris, this was the first time I went up the Eiffel Tower that was on the Saturday night about 7 o’clock. We went up to the second level and for some unknown reason I had a cold drink which they put ice in, I did think I was going to freeze to death up there. We did walk around the town a fair bit and went to Sacre-Coeur on the Saturday morning and Notre Dame again and went to the Louvre in the afternoon. Did more of the sights the next time I was in Paris but we will come on to that later. Cold or not I think Paris is great at anytime.
14. Sant Pol de Mar Spain. September / October 2001.
This trip was just a week or two after 9/11, to say the world was still in shock would be an understatement. Airport security had been stepped up (after the horse had bolted) and there was just a real funny feeling about flying. I went with Kate again, this was to be our last trip away together, but we did not know that at the time.
We went in the unfinished “Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada” and of course the Nou Camp, home of FC Barcelona. Other trips took us to Girona too see the cathedral; another day was spent wine tasting (Kate had mine and needed help back to the coach). We also went up to the monastery at Montserrat with its difficult access up the mountain it makes for a hair-raising trip, but with breath taking views and fantastic architecture, it was very much worthwhile going up there.
15. Namibia. June until September 2002.
We saw a lot of the country with our
travelling to the project sites and other places. A lot of it is just how you
would expect to find Africa open plains full of sand etc. With saying that
there are some lovely places and we went to Etosha National Park a few times,
this is where a lot of the big game is. If you have never done that sort of
thing before it is really good. We lived rough all the time we were there, in
tents. With very few home comforts, I found the living very hard, but enjoyed
it a lot. I was 50 while I was there and they made a real fuss of me. As good
as it was, I was not sorry to get home.
The photo above is me (middle, front) with some of our local co-workers.
16. Paris France. February 2003.
I went there with my now wife Anne, this was in fact a day return from London on Eurostar but we did pack a lot into the day. We went first class on the train, which is well worth doing if you can afford the extra cost. We again done all the tourist things, it was Anne’s first time there, but with a Metro map in hand she took to it like a duck to water.
It just about rained all day, but again we made the most of it. We went all the way up the Eiffel Tower this time but because of the rain and low cloud cover one could not see very much, but it was not so cold this time. We did the boat trip down the Seine had lunch, then walked down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. With a glass of wine at the Gare de Nord before the return journey to London, then dinner on the train, a lovely way to spend a Saturday in Feb.
17. Gory Jersey. April 2003.
I went with Anne on the Easter Monday for 4 days. It was an all-in deal in a hotel on the beach in Gory. It was the first time either of us had done all inclusive and I must say I enjoyed it, we still went out for drinks etc, but it was nice just having what you wanted in the hotel and not paying.
We went on bus trips around the Island and went into St Helier a few times. Done the German underground tunnels/hospital. There was a lot of stories to be told from there, very interesting.
We really liked the island as a whole but really enjoyed the capital. While it is British but at the same time seemed to have its own identity, the people were very nice and Anne reckons she has never been to place with so many toilets, or more to the point so many clean toilets. We spent a day at the zoo, as a rule I’ am not a fan of these but this one was for research and endangered species, with the weather being very good it was nice to spend the day walking around what amounted to a very big park. A new bus company had just started up there and the old one was not happy, there was moans on the local radio, they were not happy.
18. Barcelona Spain. March 2003.
This was a football thing about 8 of us went, my mate Graham organized it. He supports Barcelona and goes a fair bit. Did not do so much sightseeing this time, as I said before it was a lad’s thing so much of the sightseeing was from inside of the bars. Enjoyed the football, Barca won and it made for a good night out. We did La Rambla again which is good fun.
19. Funchal Madeira September 2003.
Up until now this is about the best holiday I have had and we enjoyed the island so much. Where do you start when telling a person about Madeira? The hotel was in the capital Funchal but a nice distance outside of the town so as not to be overwhelmed by the town. We went on a lot of day trips and saw a lot of the island. A volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean and is a dependence of Portugal. It would seem to be summer all year around but can become very humid. Went on the cable cars that gives a fantastic view of the island and sea. It has no beaches but has some lovely coves and inlets. We went to Reads Hotel for afternoon tea the Sunday that we were there, which is where Winston Churchill stayed a lot in his latter years spending a fair bit of time painting. It is known as the floating garden of the Atlantic a more apt name I could not think of. It was my birthday on the Friday and we were going out for the day so I put the cards out before we went and when we got back there was a bottle of champagne with the complements of the hotel, very nice sat out on the balcony in the sun sipping bubbly.
20. Faro Portugal Feb 2004.
Another football thing this time a friendly for England. It was a new stadium, which had been built for the 2004 European Championship. Only there for two nights but did have time the day after the game to walk around the town. Found it a very nice and friendly place and even as football fans we were treated very nicely.
21. Prestwick Scotland 31-03-04 / 01-04-04.
Well this was another football thing and we just passed though, but I have put it down because it was the first time I had been to Scotland. Graham came up with a way to save money on the way to an England game in Sweden.
Flew from Stanstead on the Tuesday night spent the night not far from the airport in B&B then back to the airport in the morning then on to Gothenburg for the game spent the night there then on to Copenhagen by train on the Thursday then that night a flight from there back to Stanstead.
We did not have that much time in Scotland but we
went out in the evening for the fish and chips (as you do when near the
seaside) then in a pub till midnight with their longer opening hours as it was
then.
22. Gothenburg Sweden 01- 04-04 / 02-04 – 04.
So back to the
airport and on to Sweden. If the police were very friendly in Faro, it was the
opposite here. As soon as we got to the airport it was like they were up for
trouble, that is the problem with being a football fan, in particular English.
Still had a good day there saw the town, (and the inside some bars of course) it is a
port and I always find them fascinating. Apart from it being dear found it a
really nice and friendly place.
23. Copenhagen Denmark 02-04-04.
So on to the train the next morning for what was about a 4-hour journey. I must say what I saw of the local area it looked really nice, and with many of the wind turbines it would seem they are doing something about global warming. The trip was mainly along the coastline then down to Malmo and then across the road/rail bridge on to Copenhagen. We spent the afternoon and early evening in the city and did some of the tourist type things. I must say it was on the cold side, but really enjoyed the whole day. We then had a late flight home.
24. Dublin/Wexford/New Ross/Waterford Ireland 14-07-04.
I went with my then girlfriend, now wife Anne to one of her cousins wedding. We stayed with another cousin Dick and his wife Anne. They live on a farm just outside New Ross in County Wexford. They have a small house on the land not far from their very large house, we stayed in the small house, to say we were made welcome is an understatement. I can really say it is up the top of the list of the best time I have spent anywhere.
We flew into Dublin and had a car booked and drove down to New Ross. Dick and Anne took us on the first night to see the oldest lighthouse (photo above) in Europe at Hook, I’ am told there’s another port along the coast called Crook and in years gone by depending on the weather the sailors coming in would say, “shall we go in by Hook or by Crook” and that where the saying comes from, but I was told by a Irishman and we all know what they are like with their stories!
I think the Irish are great, but do find it hard to keep up with their lifestyle, it is nothing for them to sit eating and drinking all night then at eleven say, “come on we’ll go to the pub.” Had two good days out in Wexford and Waterford meet a lot of Anne’s cousins at the wedding who were all really great and made a real fuss of me. We meet some more on the day we went back, we meet at Dublin airport and they took us for a drive around Dublin bay. Those five days was really one of those holidays when you say, “I came home for a rest."
25. Estoril/Lisbon/Cascais/Fatima Portugal. 04-09-04 / 11-09-04.
We stayed in Estoril, which is a short train trip along the coast from Lisbon, and a short walk from Cascais, which is a small town with a lot of restaurants and bars. Our hotel had sea view, which to me makes a holiday. As a child I liked Benfica football team from Lisbon and had always wanted to go there. I never got to the Stadium of Light, but passed both of them, new and old. Lisbon is a lovely city like many others across Europe, with some really great architecture. We went out a lot and enjoyed it all but I must say the highlight for me was a boattrip along Rio Tejo, The River Tagus, we were some hours on it and went up to The Ponte de Abril bridge which is a massive and magnificent structure. We went on a sort of church and cathedral tour one day when we went to Fatima to see the holy siren. I have never seen candles so long and so much hot liquid wax which run in an open gully in front of this area. Had night out in casino next to our hotel, it was a package deal for the meal and show, and of course a small bit of gambling.
26. Mauritius 27-08-05 / 06-09-05.
Well I suppose one could say Anne and I went here for our honeymoon. We got married in the July and had a week in Weston-Super-Mare the next week, but we had booked this before we had decided to get married. My friend Dianna who had sorted it all out through her company up-graded us to a honeymoon and for not much more money up-graded us on the flight to Club Class, which for a long trip (10 hours) I would really recommend it, if one was able of course.
We stayed at the Sands Resort, which is
situated on the west coast of the island. All of the rooms look out to the sea, the rooms were more like a suite, very nice. The
view is across the lagoon and the bay of Tamarin with the majestic ‘Le Morne’
mountain in the distance and with the coral reef makes for grandiose scenery.
The hotel had its own 250mtr long white sandy beach along with their own pedal
boats which we used a few times. We went out on a few day trips and done the
history tour. On the whole it is a poor island, but the people were lovely.
27. Edinburgh Scotland 18-05-06 / 23-05-06.
Anne and I spent a long weekend in the Capital of Scotland. This was really the first time there for both of us. We stayed in the city just a short walk from the centre. Apart from the fact that it rained and rained and rained we had a really great time. We did all the tourist things, went on the night walks about writers and the pubs. Went on loads of tours including the one by bus, around the city.
As we were on bed only in the hotel, we had breakfast each morning in the Elephant House Café, which is where JK Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book. From the rear windows it has a really good view of the castle, which is high above it.
Went to the new Parliament building, and as a
builder I must say "to like it would be a required taste." When ever I go
anywhere I think one of the nicest things is to meet the locals, well here all
the locals were foreigners, which I suppose, one gets in most major cities
these days.
Above is a photo of me outside, The Elephant House.
27. Lido di Camaiore Italy 02-09-06 / 09-09-06.
My first time in Italy, very hot while we were there, but it had been a hot summer all across Europe. We were on the coast in this town, Lido di Camaiore, which is really made for tourists in a very nice part of Tuscany.
We went to Pisa and saw the tower of course. Enjoyed the tour around the whole area, it was very interesting, and the tower, well it is just a sight to behold. That day we spent the late afternoon in Lucca. I had read about it in my paper about being this person’s most favourite place to go. Well I can understand why. We really enjoyed the walk around this small walled town. Also had a day in Florence, with the tour in the morning and on our own in the afternoon.
We had been told our room was over looking
a building site, and did we want to move. We said, “yes.” And ended up
overlooking an ally.
28. Amsterdam Holland 14-11-06 / 16-11-06.
Another football thing, England was playing Holland in a friendly. Got there on the Tuesday night and had all of Wednesday to have a look around before the game which was a 1-1 draw. I really liked it there I felt very relaxed (I was not smoking dope like a lot of the fans, none with me I add) walking around talking to the locals and never felt that there could be any trouble. Can’t tell you too much about the town as we done the bar thing, but will go back again one day to do the sights.
29. Barcelona Spain. March 2007.
Football again, I am afraid. England were playing Andorra in a European Championship group game here in the Olympic Stadium as their ground was too small to hold all the England fans. It rained most of the day, but England won 3-0, but the fans, so called, booed the team, as they were not happy with the manager, Steve McClaren. I managed to cut my leg, which medics sorted out for me, then I got robbed on the metro, but I shouted at the chap and he dropped my wallet. I went with Graham and some other mates.
30. Ireland 01-09-2007 / 13-09-2007.
After a few relaxing days with Anne and Dick, and taking their Labrador dog Oscar on some long walks in the country it was then on to Tipperary and Kathleen and Tim’s and their sons Robert and David. They live outside Tipperary (yes, “it is a long way”) in a small town called Emly. We went on day trips from there, and after a very wet summer all over we were having a bit of an Indian summer.
From there we left on the Monday and stayed in a hotel in Newbridge, which is close to the racecourse, The Curragh. After two nights there we went back to Dublin. Returned the car then had two nights at a hotel near the airport, from where we got the bus into the city daily to do sightseeing. We got the pass to go around the town on the open-air bus; it is good when you can hop on and off. We did the tour of the Guinness factory; I was very interested to find out how much the family did for its workers and the local area. Also went to the general post office where the siege took place on 25th April 1916.
31. Stuttgart, Germany/ Vienna, Austria/Bratislava, Slovakia/ Brno, Czech Republic. 16-11-2007 / 18-11-2007.
This was another one of my mate Grahams "around the world" to go to an England game, but it was ok. We left Stanstead airport on the Friday morning and flew into Stuttgart and had about 6 hours before the flight onto Vienna. Went into the town had a few drinks near a outside skating rink which was in a market which had bars and places for food, and we went up the tower at the station. It had snowed all over that area earlier in the week, which we found the same everywhere we went that weekend. We got the plane in the evening on to Austria. It was then a rush on to the hotel then on to the game, God it was cold. 1-0 to England.
The next day we got the 10-00 am catamaran down the River Danube to Slovakia this took just over an hour. We spent the day and night in the Slovak capital, had a good look around the town. There was a castle just behind our hotel but did not get to go in. The next morning, we got the train to the Czech Republic, which I must say I enjoyed very much, but still very cold. A few drinks in Brno and a little walk around then two cabs for the five of us on to the airport and a late afternoon flight back to Stanstead.
32. Paris, France. 25-03 / 27-03-2008.
Another football thing, I went with my mate Graham and some others. England were playing France in the Stade de France which was built for the 1998 World Cup. Ten years old, still looks good but oh boy the toilets, I will not get going on about them this time.
We ended up in a group of 14 at one point and done the tourist thing which even with being there a few times now I still enjoyed very much, but I did get my legs walked off. Before the game we sat and drunk beer at the bars that had been set up around the ground, and only found out the next day it was all non-alcoholic.
Got pepper sprayed by the police going in for no reason. I reported it to a senior police officer when I got in. He said, “you were late,” I said, “you pepper sprayed us because we were late?” He said, “I think it’s best you go sir!” I did.
33. Sicily Italy 07-09-2008 / 14-09-2008.
Anne and I had a week on the West coast of the island in a small town called Letojanni. The hotel was nice and we had asked for a room with a balcony and sea view which we got both. Did not go on so many trips this time as we really just wanted a rest, to lay about the pool and sit by the sea, and the fact that it was very hot it worked well.
We walked into Letojanni each day to get
a paper and watch the locals as they went about their day; I liked the little town
which one could walk to by the sea. We had a trip to Mount Etna the volcano, we
paid €31 each when we booked, but only found out when we got there that that
only took us to the restaurant and shop, and it was then another €49-50 to go
up! We did and not only me but a lot of people thought it was a waste of money.
It was very windy and it was really only a very large pile on ash. Our last
night was the Saturday, about 5/00 in the afternoon we had a very large thunder
storm with a lot of hail stones.
Photo above from our hotel room.
34. Caribbean Cruise 31-01-2009 / 14-02-2009.
Well I suppose one could call this a big holiday. As we will visit different places, I am going to write this each day as we go. We booked this a year ago and I have had a lot happen at work. The job I had for almost 10 years has gone as the firm went bust. I was out of work for 6 weeks, got a job now, but was put on a month’s notices the day before the holiday, so I want to have good time and try and forget all of that.
We are now on day 2 of the cruise, our first full day at sea. We flew into New York’s JFK from Heathrow on Saturday, it was cold there but it had also been cold at home. We spent Saturday night in a hotel near the airport the Doubletree but did not go into the centre like a lot of those with us; Anne and I were both worn out. On the Sunday we transferred to Cape Liberty and on to the Explorer of the Seas which is part of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It is a very large ship with 14 decks. There are many bars and restaurants, shops, gym, pools and many many other things to do. We have already been a bit disappointed as the first stop was to be St Juan, Puerto Rico on Wednesday, but on the last sailing the ships starboard propeller was damaged by a submerged object. The repair will be made at St Thomas on Thursday, so that’s now makes 2 stops we will miss as the last stop was to be the Virgin Islands but that was taken off the list some time ago as the dock is being rebuilt. Tonight, is formal for dinner, so it is the bow tie and all. Our cabin has a balcony so that should be really good once the weather gets better.
Charlotte Amalie. St Thomas. 05-02-2009. Day 5.
Our first day in port. The weather has been better for the last two days but today was very good, about 83 degrees. We docked in the night, I woke at 3/55 am and we were in then. We walked into town which is about 1 and ½ miles away, and spent most of the day there just walking around. It is a very nice Island, part of the US Virgin Islands. The road into town takes one beside the sea which keeps things cool. We went into an internet café which was only $5 an hour which is a lot better than 55cents a minute, that’s what they charge on the ship.
Its northern coast boarders the Atlantic
while the southern coast skirts the Caribbean Sea. The currency is the USD, and
has a population of about 56,000. The flags of 6 countries have flown over the
Islands and a settlement dates back to 1500BC but people lived there 1,000
years before that. It was once a pirate sanctuary but is now a haven for
shoppers, with shops everywhere selling mainly diamonds, and every other local person
wanting you to take a cab or a tour of the Island.
Phillipsburg, St Maarten. 06-02-2009. Day 6.
Roseau, Dominica. 07-02-09. Day 7.
Welcome to Dominica, well we are at sea now getting ready for dinner, our second formal night, bow ties and all. Another hot day, not a cloud in the sky for long periods of time. We spent the morning in the town but went back on the ship for lunch then ended up spending the afternoon lying about on deck, just having a lazy time.
I would say this was the poorest island with have been to with what we have seen up until now. Very close to the front was just like a shanty town. The island was British until it got independence in 1978, the fowling year it was devastated by 'Hurricane David.' I must say it has untamed beauty. Some people we have meet went to Trafalgar Falls which they enjoyed very much. We have a lot of West Indian crew on board and England are now playing cricket here and got a good beating today, so we should get stick at dinner, see you in Bridgetown Barbados.
Bridgetown Barbados. 08-02-09. Day 8.
This is the one I have been looking forward to more than any, and I was not disappointed. Tottenham was playing the Arsenal today and it was the early match on TV, we had heard it was on at a bar called the 'Boat Yard', we found it but to be fair we really came across it by accident while we walked down the beach. It was everything I thought it would be, white sands and blue seas. We went in the Boat Yard it was $15 to get in, but that gave one a sun bed on the beach, one free drink, access to the telly, beach sports (didn’t play any) while we did not spend all day there we had a nice time and enjoyed it. The game ended 0-0, but Spurs should have won it in the last minute. We had a barbeque on the ship by the pools when we got back which was good.
Barbados history is mainly one of sugar cane and slaves, which a lot of these islands were. But even at very early dates the islands were attracting tourists; it became fashionable to go to Barbados for health reasons. In 1966, it became an independent nation, administered by a Governor General and Prime Minister. Last stop Antigua, see you there.
St Johns Antigua.09-02-09. Day 9.
Hello from Antigua, well hello from a few miles off the coast as we set sail an hour ago. We are now on our way back to New York and then on our way home this coming Friday night. We did not dock until gone 10am; again, we only went around nearby shops and not on any trips. One of the things I don’t like very much and that is being hassled as soon as one walks off the ship by all the taxi drivers and bus tour people, that’s one of the things we have a lot of, where ever we have docked. We found an internet café in town and spent an hour there for $6 US, then went to a bar for lunch very close to where we docked, I think it was called Coast, and that gave free internet access if you made a purchase of some kind there. We completed the rest of our shopping for gifts there so that is done now.
Antigua is the keystone of the Arc of the Lesser Antilles. We went in between two islands which I have yet to confirm but I think is Montserrat and St Kitts. It was British since 1632 when it was colonized as a British territory by Edward Warner. Again, sugar was its main source of income for a long time until slavery was abolished in 1834. In 1967 it achieved Statehood in Association with Britain. Then on November 1st 1981 Antigua achieved full political sovereignty. Antigua has 366 beaches, one for every day of the year with one over for the leap year if a person wanted to do one each day for a year!
Explorer of the Seas. Day10.
This is ship we are on, I have found out some facts about it to inform, you, the reader. It a very large ship which has 1200 crew from 55 countries and carries about 3200 passengers at any one time. It was finished in 2000 after a two-year construction period, its gross tonnage is 137,308 and nets at 105,034. It was built in Turku Finland and sails under the flag of Bahamanian out of Nassau. It has 6 restaurants, 8 bars inside, 4 outside, 3 pools and 4 hot tubs outside, no inside pools. A gym, spa, theatre, 2-night clubs, ice rink, roller skate ally, climbing wall, 9-hole mini golf, golf driving range, basket ball /soccer (football) court, a mall which is full of shops and bars. Its fuel consumption is 1 gallon per 60 feet, which is a lot of fuel. Consumption of food is a lot was well. To give you a taster (sorry about the pun) including crew for one week, beef 19,000 lbs – chicken 18,000lbs – pork 75,000 lbs – eggs 75,000 – fresh fruits 45,000 lbs – fresh vegetables 64,000 lbs – milk 1,200 gallons coffee 1,500 lbs, these are just a few of the items used. The entertainment is good, as we eat at 8/30, so most nights we go to a show at 7/00 which we have enjoyed, they have groups and bands playing most of the time, there are a lot of quiz’s going on. A person could eat at any hour of the day with a café in the mall open 24 hours. We are going to an ice show this afternoon so I will tell you about that later.
We
are now home on the Sunday, back to work tomorrow. We got back yesterday
morning and were both very worn out and a laid in today. We have just been
looking at the photos and there are many of them. We really enjoyed it all and
had some really good fun. Points we were not happy about would be them going on
about tipping all the time, and the spa people wanting to sell things every time
one went near them, but that was the only things really for us. We were looked
after really well our cabin attendant Nick from Jamaica was great, as was our
waiter for dinner who was from India whose name I can’t remember. I enjoyed
watching the Americans as they are breed of their own, but most were very nice.
A couple on our table Sam and Barbara from New Jersey were really nice, an older
pair who had been on a lot of cruises. We had a nice table for dinner, Chris
and Julie from Birmingham, he was very funny, and Dave and Jackie from
Newcastle they were all about our age. The ice show was good but those who went
the week before said that was better that time. We went to most of the shows and the
other things they had on. One has got to say they really try to make it so that
one is never bored. In fact, there are times when you just want to do nothing
and try to relax. So that was my first cruise and Anne’s second it was very
good, as all things go, it went very fast but we will do it again, but with things
how they are on the job front, I don’t know when?
35. Bulgaria. 4/06/2010 until 11/06/2010.
Anne and I spent a week in Bulgaria with my daughter Jean and her boyfriend Paul. We booked it late, about 3 weeks before we went. We stayed in a small town on the Black sea coast called Obzor, which is an hour’s drive from the airport at Burgas another Black sea resort.
It was an all-inclusive package deal, the
first we had done on a week’s holiday. It was a 4-star hotel the Helios Bay
which was very nice, but it is easy to overdo it when all the food and drink is
free and you are able to help yourself.
We only done the one-day trip which was
the south coast of the country we had a two-hour drive to the historic walled
town of Sozopol combining a good beach with plenty of history and culture. We
spent a few hours there then after lunch we moved on and stopped for an hour’s
river trip, which to be fair was not up to much. We then drove back to Burgas
for a couple of hour’s shopping before heading back to the hotel. Over the week
we had one bad day then it was wall to wall sunshine each day in the late 20’s.
Over all it was a nice but a poor country with friendly people who on the whole
speak very little English. We did enjoy it very much and would go back again.
36. Tenerife. 09/09/2011 until 16/09/2011.
We had a week in Costa Adeje not far from Playa de las Americas. Again, we went with my daughter Jean her boyfriend Paul and his Mum and Dad Will and Gill. We hired a mini bus for the week so we had transport for days out.
On the Sunday we went to a zoo in the north of the island called Loro Parpue which is home to over 3,000 parrots along with other exotic animals including tigers, gorillas and chimpanzees. Along with a parrot show, the other shows we saw was whale's, dolphin's and sea lions. I am not really a fan of zoos as I think the animals should be in the wild, but as zoos go this one was not bad and the animals seemed to be well looked after, on the whole!
Went on a boat trip one day for three
hours to see whales and dolphins where they should be, out at sea. Jean and
Paul had joined a holiday club and this was part of it, us four parents paid
for our flights and it was self catering. We had apartments near each other.
They were ok but no air conditioning, we hired a large fan but as it was 30+
each day it was very hot and hard to sleep most nights. We spent another day
out, about an hour's drive from us in a bay surrounded by very high cliffs.
A small bit of history of the island. It
was at the battle of Santa Cruz in 1797 that Nelson lost his arm during the
fight. Tenerife was the last island to fall to the Spanish in 1496 and became
an important treading post. In 1821 Madrid declared Santa Cruz de Tenerife the
capital of the Canaries, but this was changed in 1927 when Madrid split the
archipelago into two provinces with Santa Cruz as the provincial capital of
Tenerife.
37. Benidorm Spain. 21-10-11 until 23-10-11.
This really was not even a long weekend it was my son-in-law to be, the next week, stag weekend. They were to get married next May but it was brought forward as they are moving to the USA and needed to be married for the visa. Eight of us went, one of them being Pauls Dad Will. The boys did a lot of drinking, I did not try to keep up with them as they were on shorts and shots, none of which I drink.
There was a small English bar near our
hotel called 'Cheap and Cheerful,' not a name I would have gone for as a rule but
it did "what it said." We had breakfast there and watched football. The town is “hotel
city” and is another Blackpool with sun, and we had plenty of that, some rain
but not much, but it was always warm. Will and I went around the old town a few
times to get papers etc and it was ok there, in fact the whole place was packed.
Paul had a good time the lads dressed him up on the Saturday night like
something out of the Village People, he took it all well and we had a good
time.
Photo of Will, Paul and I above.
38. Rimini Italy/San Marino. 22-03-13 until 24-03-13.
Another football thing with Rikly Tours as our mates call Grahams sorting of the travel to the football match's. This time it was just me and him. England were playing San Marino a small country up a mountain in Italy in a World Cup qualifying game. Graham above in San Marino.
We flew from Stansted on the Friday morning
after a night in a nearby hotel then on to Parma from where we got a train to
Rimini that took an hour and forty-five minutes. We checked into our hotel near
the beach in the afternoon then got a coach up to the ground for the 9 pm kick
off. England won 0-8 but the home team were part-timers.
As the ground is only a short way up the mountain we got the local bus all the way to the top the next day and did the sightseeing thing, which was full of history. We had a meal back in Rimini that night then the returned to the UK the next day, Sunday. The fight was delayed coming back for two hours as there was snow at Stansted. We had a drink outside a bar on the Saturday evening before the meal and a very drunk England fan came up to us to tell us, "I am going back to my hotel,” the road was very busy so I took him across the road as he was all over the place. When we got to the other side he wanted a hug, which in the end I gave to him, when we hugged he gave me a big wet kiss on the side of my face!
39. Orlando Florida USA. 06-04-13 until 21-04-13.
We had a villa in Davenport Florida for two-weeks from where we went to a lot of the theme parks. We went with the same people as we went to Tenerife with, daughter Jean her husband Paul and his Mum and Dad Gill and Will. The parks we went to were. Epcot, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, (photo above) Aquatic (a water park) twice, Kennedy Space Centre, Bush Gardens, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom and went on an airboat to see the alligators.
We really enjoyed it all, but they are long days out and very tiring. Anne’s cousin Anne who have not met since they were very young lives in Florida about an hour and a half away came to see us on the afternoon on the middle Saturday. She was really nice and I was pleased for them both to met up after all these years.
The parks are really good and of course have had a lot of money spent on them, and everything is expensive, but we enjoyed it all, so it was worth the money. I liked the villa very much, it had 4 bedrooms its own heated swimming pool and jacuzzi, I swam every morning which I really enjoyed. A very good two weeks holiday.
40. Praia de Sao Rafael. (Albufeira) Portugal. 07-09-13 until 14-09-13.
Anne and I went to Portugal for a week with my daughter Jean and her husband Paul, in September. We had a villa with a pool not far from the sea, you could see it from where we were but it was a 10 to 15-minute walk.
It was an 8-person villa so we had plenty
of room, we had the downstairs for sleeping and they had the upstairs. It had a
nice barbeque which we had meals from a lot of nights and with a couple of take-a-ways
we only ate out once which was on the Thursday which was my birthday so we went
to a local restaurant which over looked the sea, we had really nice night.
There was a row going on in the kitchen twice with a woman shouting at man and
there was a lot of crashing of plates, but the waiter walked about as if
nothing was happening.
We had a hired car so got about a fair bit for days out in Faro, Potinao, Vilamoura and a few other places. On the Friday afternoon before we left, we went to the sand sculpture which was very good. It was a nice hot week.
41. St George's Bay Malta. 9-9-14 until 16-9-14.
Anne and I spent a week at the Corinthia Hotel in St George's bay. It was a five-star hotel, we really liked it and they gave you a lot of freebies which I like and just made a fuss of you.
It was very hot but also humid. We spent a
lot of time swimming and relaxing, we also done a few trips, we went into
Valletta on my birthday and did the War Museum and the Cathedral then spent the
rest of the day just walking around the town. The day before we came home we
went to Gozo a nearby island which was interesting but it was a busy day, we also
went on a power boat trip around Valletta harbour one evening.
On the first day we got there we found out
Anne's boss Linda was about to die (she had been taken ill on holiday some
weeks earlier and never recovered) which she did the next day which took the
shine off it a little bit, but we had a nice time over all. This was in fact
the first time we had been away just the two of us since 2009 on the cruise.
The room was nice with not a bad size balcony with a sea view which we both like, also I had my paper delivered to our room early each morning which was really good, we also walked into the nearby town most days but it was very lively.
42. Dublin, Colon, Carlingford, Mitchelstown Ireland. 31-10-14 until 08-11-14.
We spent eight-days in Ireland this time. We went into Dublin on the Friday afternoon, Halloween, spent the night there then picked up a hire car the next morning and drove up to Colon for a 12/30 wedding of Anne's cousin's daughter then a forty-minute drive up to Carlingford (we went there the last time we were over) for the reception and spent the night at that hotel. It was a really good wedding and the Irish know how to party!
We spent the next night at the family
home in Colon and another party that night! On the Monday we drove for three-hours
to Mitchelstown in County Cork where my great, great grandparents came from to
London during the potato famine. I did not except to find much out as it was
over 175 years since they came over. But I did find out a fair amount and got
some good leads to follow up on from home. We flew home from Cork airport on the
Saturday, in high winds coming into Heathrow the plane was all over the place
and as we were about to land we had to abort and go around again for ten-minutes!
We had a fair bit of rain while in Ireland but we had a very good time all the
same.
Cousin Pat, "up in the air" in the photo above. A great wedding, lots of stories and fun!!!
43. Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar Cruise. 4/5/15 until 15/5/15.
This was a holiday
with the family, Anne and I had booked it with my daughter Jean and her husband
Paul then my sister Jean and her husband Roy said they would also join us.
Day 1 Southampton.
It was a Bank Holiday Monday, we got on the ship about mid day it was in fact the Explorer of the Seas the same ship that we had done the Caribbean Cruise on. We had paid for any time dinner which was good but we had the table booked for 6/15 each evening. We set sail at 4pm towards Europe.
Day 2. At Sea.
Anne and I went to a History and Culture Lecture "Mediterranean Treasures" in the morning which we enjoyed. We all went to the show at 9/00 which was "Fast Forward". This evening was the first formal evening for dinner.
Day 3. Bilbao Spain.
An overcast day to start with. Bilbao is not where the ship docks it is about a twenty-minute bus ride which we took into the town. We had a walk around and found a bar and sat outside with coffees etc, then went in search of somewhere for dinner and ended up back at the same bar.
We spent an hour or two around the pool
when we got back. We were woken at about 11pm with a man over board alert, but
it ended up to be false.
Day 4. At Sea.
We had a bit of rough seas and my sister Jean was feeling very ill. Every morning Anne went to a fitness class and we would then do a mile walk around the deck, we all spent time in the jacuzzi and I had a sonar. I took part in "Finish the Lyric Game Show" which I was rubbish at. It was General Election day in the UK.
Day 5. Lisbon Portugal.
The first news of the day was that the Tories had won the election. We got a bus into the centre of Lisbon, it was a nice sunny day we did our normal thing of a place for coffee then a place for lunch, but we had a fair walk around the town. I like Lisbon but you can't see much in a few hours. Today was the first day of four-which we would go into a port each day.
Day 6. Cadiz Spain.
Again, we got a
bus but this time it was for the beach it was a hop on and off bus which was
good, apart from not being able to get a newspaper it was a very enjoyable day.
Again, coffee then lunch but Paul and I had a good walk around for papers and
cigars for him. Anne and I had a walk around the area near the ship when we got
back, we went to the show at night "Invitation to Dance".
Day
7. Malaga Spain.
We got a small road train into town and while we all had coffee in the town Jean and Roy went back to the ship for lunch. It is full of Tapas bars there and we had said that we would take Paul for one for his fortieth birthday that had been in March. Jean and Paul got the road train back and Anne and I walked back stopping for a beer and ice cream, when we were back on the ship my mate Tony rang to see why I was not in the pub, Sunday afternoon. It was another formal evening for dinner. the show was Siobhan Philips. At this point the ship turned around and was then heading back home.
Day 8. Gibraltar UK.
This was a disappointing day in two ways, the first was
we were meant to meet our cousin Babette who lives there and there was a mess
up and we did not meet up. While we were having coffee in the morning my
daughter found on the internet that there had been a shooting in our street
across the road from us and on the internet, it showed our house, not good! The
town was rally packed with the ship in and we never got up the rock, another
Day 9. At Sea.
Another day at sea wondering around etc. after the show "Wild, Cool & Swinging" we entered a British TV Quiz Show which we won with another couple. We did in fact take part in a quiz most nights after dinner at 8pm, but did not win.
Day 10. Vigo Spain.
This I think was the poorest place we docked at, we had a wonder around but were in fact back on the ship early and had lunch there. It was a formal night for dinner, Paul and Roy said they would not wear a bow tie tonight so I came out with a tie and Roy had a dickie bow on so I went back and changed. Mark Walker was the show.
Day 11. At Sea.
This would be our last full day. I went to a talk in the morning and a quiz in the afternoon while the girls went to Bingo, no winners. We did not go to the Fare Well Show.
Day 12. Southampton.
Back home, Jean and Roy did not have far to go back to the IOW. The cabin chap we had was Simon from the West Indies, he was a really nice and looked after the six of us very well. Like all holidays when it is over it seems to have gone very fast, it was just under two weeks and I think everyone enjoyed it. Looking for the next one!
44. Dublin, Ireland. 06/06/15 until 07/06/15.
Another football trip with Graham, just an overnight thing to see Ireland and England, the first time they had played over there since a riot there twenty-years ago.
We flew into Dublin on the Saturday
afternoon and had a room booked at the Hilton Hotel at the airport. Once we
checked in we went and picked up our tickets in the city then spent the night
there in two different pubs watching the Champions League Final between Barca 3
v 1 Juventus, then back to the hotel where they had a band on.
On the Sunday we went back to the city and found a small café not far from the ground, Lansdowne Road which has been rebuilt and is really nice. The game was a poor 0-0 end of season friendly. We then went back to the airport for an evening flight back to Gatwick.
45. Munich Germany/Austria/Ljubljana Slovenia. 12/06/15 until 15/06/15.
More football, this was the weekend after we went to Dublin, with Rikly Tours again. We flew to Munich Germany on the Friday evening from Gatwick. The fight with Easy Jet was delayed, so we did not get to our hotel in Munich until past midnight. Then an early start the next day for a six-hour train journey though Germany, Austria and into Slovenia then the return trip back on the Monday with time to have lunch in Munich before flying home Monday evening.
Graham had got us booked into a hostel
which had been an army prison block and our room was a cell! We spent two
nights there the football was on the Sunday evening at 6pm their time, England
won 2-3, it was a very good second half. Ljubljana is the smallest capital in
Europe, some of the city is very run down but the old town is really nice and
the Saturday was really hot which makes it even better.
Wigan John who we meet in San Marino a
couple of years before who I have kept contact with was staying in the same
hostel and we saw him at breakfast on the Sunday which was really good. Graham
and I went up to the castle above the town on the Sunday morning, which was
good then lunch beside the river before the game.
46. Rimini Italy/San Marino/Paris. 04/09/15 until 07/09/2015.
Another football thing, back to a game in San Marino. We went from Heathrow this time to Paris on the Friday night with BA then on the Saturday morning we flew Air France into Bologna, then a coach into Rimini to get the match tickets then up to San Marino old town for a few hours and on to the game, 6-0 to England.
Wayne Rooney scored his 49th England goal to equal the record which he broke a few days later. We had a rest day on the Sunday which was nice and came back on the Monday.
47. Geneva Switzerland/Chamonix France 01/07/2016 until 04/07/2016.
This was for my daughter Julies (JuJu) wedding, this is where she now lives with her husband Stephen. It was a real family thing, there was 9 of us flew from London Heathrow on the Friday into Geneva Switzerland (I had not been to Switzerland before) then we had two hired cars which we drove over the border into France, Anne daughter Jean and I stayed in the hotel that the wedding took place on the Saturday.
We had a family meal (14 of us) on the
Friday afternoon before a get together back at the hotel in the evening. Everything
went really well it was a lovely setting and everyone enjoyed themselves. Some
of the family went into Italy on Sunday for the day before we all went out for
a barbeque/disco in the evening. Came home on the Monday, a really enjoyable weekend.
The church and hotel above which are next to each other.
48. Katelios, Kefalonia, Greece. 06/09/16
until 17/09/2016.
This was Anne and I's annual holiday. The hotel was a walk outside a small village, Katelios on the Greek Island of Kefalonia. It was a privately-owned hotel which did have its down sides which I will come to. We flew into a thunder storm which held us up for an hour before we could land. There were more storms, but over the eleven-nights the weather was good.
The problem with the hotel was that it had
a it had a sauna and whirlpool which was one of the reasons we choose it, but
not until we got there that we found out it was 55 Euros each for an hour and a
quarter, which would have been nearly 1,200 Euros for the holiday! But we did
have a nice holiday and met a couple Roy and Rose from Rugby whom we spent some
time with.
49. Glasgow Scotland, 09-06-2017.
Another football thing with Graham, it was a World Cup group qualifier. We flew up there on the Friday afternoon/evening and back on the Sunday evening from Luton which is the first time I have flown from there since going from there to Mallorca in 1971.
We stayed in a B&B in a part of the city called West End. It was a very enjoyable weekend, the people were very friendly to us and there was no trouble as far as I know, the football ended 2-2 which I think made it easier for the police.
50. St George's Bay Malta. 04/09/17 until 14/09/2017.
We stayed at the same hotel the Corinthia that we stayed at in 2014, only this time for ten-nights and we had an executive room and use of the executive lounge which gave free nibbles and beer throughout the day and wine in the evening.
Over all we had not had the best of years and I think we chose it as it was somewhere we knew and liked. We went to Valletta a couple times but over all just done a lot of laying around relaxing and of course reading the paper that was delivered outside of the room each morning and using the sauna, whirlpool etc, which we did not have to pay for. Not as hot as the time before but very enjoyable.
51. Dublin /Colon/Mitchelstown, Ireland. 11-09-18 until 22-09-18.
We had 12 days in Ireland this time. Stayed 3 days in Dublin (hotel at the airport again) had my birthday there, spent the lunch time that day in a bar in Temple Bar drinking Gunnies and singing songs, can't be bad.
Sister Linda and bother-in-law Bob came in
for the day from a cruise so we met up and spent a few hours with them. On the
Friday we went to Colon and stayed with Anne's cousins Bridgette and Pat for 3
days, we visited other cousins from there, then on the Monday we went to
Mitchelstown again and stayed in the same hotel as last time, the Fir Grove.
Anne met up with two-second cousins once
removed she found on the internet. On the Friday we went to a wedding which was
a son of one of Anne's cousins, which was really good. Enjoyed the time as
always in Ireland. We got back on the Saturday night, and went to a party at
daughter Jean's, then another party on the Sunday afternoon for sister Jean's
70th birthday, lots of partying.
52. Barcelona/ Seville, Spain. 13-10-18 until
16-10-18.
Another football thing with Graham, this was the new Nations League. The match was on the Monday night in Seville, but we spent the Saturday night in Barcelona and flew into Seville on the Sunday and came back via Barca on the Tuesday. Apart from me trying to play football with some kids which ended up with me crashing to a concrete floor and falling on my left shoulder and head, all was well.
We did the tourist thing around Seville which is a really nice city with lots to see. We used a bar near where we were staying and they looked after us every time we turned up, which was nice. A good away win for England 2-3, they were 3-0 up at half time!
53. Barcelona, Spain/ Povoa de Varzim, Portugal, Paris France. 05-06-2019 until 11-06-2019.
Another football thing with Graham, this was the finals (four-teams) of the above Nations League. We flew into Barcelona on the Wednesday night and stayed the night there (I didn't play any football this time) then flew into Porto the next day, and met up with some of Grahams mates who had hired a mini bus.
It was raining like you would not believe
and we got really soaked. Went to the football England v Holland the second
semi final, England lost 3-1 after extra time, that was at Guimaraes, then played
there again on the Sunday afternoon against Switzerland 0-0 aet, England won
6-5 on penalties. Graham and I went by train there and back, it took six-hours
in all.
Where we stayed, Povoa de Varzim was a
small seaside town, our hotel which was nice was almost on the sea front. We
had a couple of days between the games that we just spent around the town, and
went to a under 17’s match at the local ground on the Saturday morning, the
home side won 5-0.
After the game near us an old couple got
knock over by a bike, I gave first aid to a chap who was bleeding from the head
a lot until the ambulance got there 35 minutes later.
Spent the Monday night at Porto airport,
then got a 6 am flight to Paris, had a few hours in the city then an afternoon
flight to Gatwick.
54. Coral Bay (Pafos) Cyprus. 07-09-2019 /
18-09-2019.
This was our first time in Cyprus, we enjoyed it very much apart from flights at night both times as well as screaming children both times. The hotel was all-inclusive and adult only. It was a 30-minute bus ride from the centre of Pafos, we went there on the middle Saturday, to the Cyprus Spurs Supporters Club which was in Evis Bar to watch Tottenham, they beat CP 4-0, which was packed.
We meet some nice people, one couple from
Wokingham, just a few miles from us. Another couple we met Geoff and Ann, she
had a stroke and was still in hospital when we left.
Very hot all the time, over 30 each day. Went
on a yacht boat trip on the Friday which was very good, for 45 euro's we got a
meal, free bar and entertainment, people jugglers and singers. The hotel was a
bit run down but all the staff were nice, we had a car park view to start with
but got it changed for a sea view.
We went with Thomas Cook and at this point
of writing they are on the brink of going bust! We got home on the Wednesday
and they went the following Sunday!
55. Funchal Madeira. 02-03-2020 /
09-03-2020.
Liked the hotel, it was another all-inclusive, like last year, and it really was a case of how much can you eat and drink. On
the Saturday evening there was an earthquake 37km out to sea, we felt it at 5.2
on the Richter Scale. I was in two earthquakes
in Algeria when I worked there.
We meet a couple from Nottingham, Tony and Suzann with whom we went out with a few times. A week goes fast but it made a nice break at the time of year. There is a virus (Covid 19) going around the world at this time, which people are dying from and worrying everyone.
It is now Tuesday 12/05/20 20.
Well we were really lucky re the virus, ‘Covid 19,’ as we got back on the Monday from Madeira and we had a ‘lock-down’ start two weeks after that on the Monday, and at the moment we don’t know when it we end?
We had booked to go to the same hotel as I went to for my first holiday aboard in Mallorca in 1971, in September. But that will not happen, not at the moment. Because of my heart condition we cancelled the holiday but we had booked with Hays Travel who kept our £300 deposit. I wanted to give them a go to help them, but the people we dealt with were so rude about keeping the money, I will never book with them again.
56. London England. 07-09-2020 / 11-09-2020.
Not what we do as a rule, but as Anne was off work on her holidays we decide to have a few days in a hotel we stayed in a lot in London, Hampton by Hilton at Waterloo. We have been to London many times and of course we were both born there. We just wanted to get away as we were all “virus upped!”
We went to places we have been too many times and ate in restaurant’s we like, not many places were open but the fact there was no crowds was a real bonus in a lot of ways. The weather was nice and we spent a couple of afternoons sitting in Victoria Park next to Charing Cross Station drinking tea and eating ice creams, which was nice.
57. London – Brighton. 06-09-2021 / 17-09/2021.
We spent 4 days of the first week in
London at the Hampton by Hilton. In which time I went around the coin shops and
got a few bits. We went to see Back to
the Future – The Musical on the
Wednesday afternoon then on the Thursday afternoon we went Regents Park open
air theatre to see Carousel. Both
were very good.
We came home on the Friday as it was my
birthday on the Sunday and daughter Jean and her partner Darren took us to see,
As You Like It in the garden of the
Red Loin pub in Barns west London. Again, it was very good.
On the Monday we went down to Brighton and
stayed in the Holiday Inn on the sea front for 4 nights. We again went around
coin shops but it was a little disappointing as I thought The Lanes had loads
of that sort of thing, but it was mostly jewellers. On the Thursday afternoon
we went to see Midnight Bell at the
Theatre Royal Brighton, it was different.
While in Brighton we did a lot of
walking and spent most of the Wednesday in Hove going around the shops. Our
hotel was very close to ‘The Eye’ which is BA i360 which is a pod like the
London Eye which climbs high in the sky. We went up this on the Wednesday
afternoon after being in Hove. While it did not go to the very top, which was disappointing,
it was enjoyable. £16.50p each.
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