Moustache - EINSTEIN'S WAS SMALLER THAN MINE. HIS IQ WASN'T.

 

H&A’s from Thursday July 3 to Saturday July 13, 2024.

We are back in Granada to help the family celebrate Brianna’s fifth birthday. 

The party will take place at H&A’s on Saturday. 

But before that we both needed to get haircuts. 

Hayden and Andrea had arranged for this to happen at their ‘go to’ places.    

‘I’d rather be poor than dead.’

This became our strategy, once the temperature in Granada reached 40°C. 

We would walk down into town in the morning and then catch a taxi back up. 

This was much better than struggling up the hill, in the middle of the midday heat. 

On Friday night Spain was playing Germany in the quarter finals of the European Championship. 

This almost caused a family feud as Brianna decided she wanted to support the country of her birth – Germany. 

It was a very close game but Spain won in the end. 

Most of the family were happy with the result, but not all of them. 

One of the important tasks we have to do now is plan the next stage of our trip. 

The original intention for this part was to hire a car and drive around south Western Europe and then go to the Channel Islands from France. 

This was blown out of the water when we found we couldn’t take a rental car there. 

Bloody Brexit. 

Now we have to develop a Plan B. 

We can only stay within the EU for 90 days and as we are booked to be away for over 100 days, we have a problem. 

Another issue was that we had booked tickets, on the ferry, to the Channel Islands but these were from Europe. 

Cancelling them meant we would lose a fair bit of money 

A good three days were spent reorganising and booking flights, accommodation, car rental and ferries. 

This was exacerbated by getting conflicting information, about  entering the Channel Isles, from Enterprise the car rental company. 

On the Wednesday night we decided to go and have a drink at Capitán Amargo Craft Beer Bar. 

Yes, another Captain, after Captain Bitter in Annecy. 

We were there in 2022 and it was great. 

I had a Spanish Garage Soup NEIPA (6%) and it was a wonderful unfiltered brew. 

This was the first draught beer for some time. 

We then walked into the centre of town and found Los Manueles on Plaza de la Romanilla for dinner. 

Friday was our last full day in Granada, however it was cleaning day at H&A’s, so we had to disappear into the city and get out of the way of the cleaner. 

The weather had remained hot for our entire time back there, with most days hovering around 35°C and the nights rarely dropping below 22°C. 

That night we all went to Restaurante La Cantina de Diego, in Monachil, for dinner. 

It was about 29 minutes away towards the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

There it was much cooler than down in the city. 

Which was the intention. 

 

Saturday July 13, 2024.

Granada, Spain to Gatwick, UK. 

In the morning we needed to do a final bit of washing, so we left with a clean wardrobe. 

It was a cooler day in Granada, one of the coolest so far. 

Is this a sign of things to come for our next adventure to the UK and the Channel Isles?

Once we reached the airport, late on the day, we were greeted with a chorus of Pommy accents. 

Well we are flying to Gatwick. 

Another good flight with Vueling.

It certainly is becoming one of the best airlines in Europe. The staff are organised as are the flights, especially disembarkation.

We complained about the noise in our hotel room at the Holiday Inn London Gatwick. This came from the broken air conditioning.

Our whingeing got us a free breakfast.

 

Sunday July 14, 2024.

Gatwick to Portsmouth, UK. 

The primary task today was to pick up the rental car from Enterprise and then drive to Portsmouth. 

As per all car rental companies, we were subjected to a lot of ‘Up-sell’ from the girl at reception, when we picked up the vehicle. 

Surprisingly we got another Vauxhall Crossland, NU22 LTO, almost identical to the one we had in 2022. 

And it was also blue but slightly darker. 

This one also had a GPS, which will make things much easier that using the iPhone, which we had to do in Rhodes. 

We made a few detours on the road to Portsmouth.

One to Worthing, a holiday resort town on the coast and another to Bognor Regis. 

This is the home of the infamous Butlin’s Holiday Camp. 

Opened in 1932, as an amusement park and then a holiday camp in 1960.

Butlin’s is now known as Butlin’s Bognor Regis. 

Late in the day we finally reached our hotel, The Holiday Inn Express – North. 

It was in a rather remote part of Portsmouth, so the big question became: where we have dinner?

We had thought of finding a local pub and having dinner there but there was a downside to that idea. 

The European Football Cup final was on tonight and we feared that everywhere, with a TV and a pint, would be full. 

So we opted to stay at the hotel. 

As we are staying here for three nights there will be more opportunities to explore the area. 

Also, we have to go into town centre tomorrow, to top up my travel SIM. 

Dinner at the hotel started off badly. 

There were four beers on tap plus a draught cider and all except the cider weren’t available.

The only beer that appeared to be a draught was a Guinness. However that turned out not to be an actual draught beer at all but a pump, that looked like a tap, however it used a bottle and pretended to be one.

It’s still the Britain of 2022, where everything is in short supply. 

I decided on the, very British, meal of Fish and Chips for dinner and when we went to order, we were told they had run out of fish.

WTF!

The game was between Spain and Great Britain, starting at 8pm. By 7:30pm the place was filling up. 

We stuck it out to the end of the game and Spain won, two goals to one. 

It was then very quiet and the bar was rather empty. 

As the last patrons left in the pub, they gave us a look of disappointment. Little did they know that we had secretly been supporting Spain. 

 

Monday July 15, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK. 

As mentioned, getting a new SIM Card was today’s main task. Then some wool for Thea’s new knitting project, was a very close second. 

Both of these involved taking the car into Portsmouth, as we were too far out of town to walk. 

We went to Vodafone to top up the phone and were told that it wouldn’t work in the Channel Isles. 

Bugger, Brexit again. 

We then went, two doors up, to 02 and got a new card there. 

Hopefully it will work. 

In Granada we were dodging the hot sun wherever we walked. Here in Portsmouth we are dodging the rain. 

We then found a half reasonable coffee at Jenny’s. 

There was a bit of a drive to Seeded, the local wool shop Thea had found. After a lot of consideration Thea made her purchases. 

Then down to Clarence Pier, where we had a snack lunch at the Coffee Cup. 

There we, and everyone else, were interrupted by a Pom, with a very loud voice, yelling at someone in French and then English. 

He was whinging about the issue, that due to Brexit, he couldn’t stay in France for long periods of time. This was exacerbated by the fact that he had many relatives in France.

His partner then asked him how he voted in the Brexit referendum.

His answer was “I didn’t bother voting”.

Enough said.

Thea now had knitting to sort out, so we returned to the hotel. 

The dinner offering, at our hotel, on the previous night was so poor and expensive that we decided to look further afield. 

The Farmhouse Hotel looked ok, so we went there. 

The food was good, as was the service and it cost us about half of what the hotel had cost us the night before. 

Even including the taxi rides there and back. 

They had what was promised on the menu and even had the draught beers that were displayed on the pumps. 

We might well return there tomorrow night, as it seems to be the best in the area. 

 

Tuesday July 16, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK. 

Breakfast was at the hotel and a bit better than the previous day. 

Well, there was still some food left. 

Thea had done a test knit, for her new project, and decided she needed more needles. 

So it was back to Seeded, the wool shop. 

When we first got up, the sun was shining, but not for long. So it was out with the coats, again. 

Another task for the day, was to do some shopping for our ferry ride to Jersey tomorrow. 

As we weren’t arriving until late afternoon, we needed a few things to take to our Airbnb for breakfast. 

Thea also wanted another USB adapter for her phone. 

This one to suit a British plug. 

This wasn’t easy, as we couldn’t find any electrical shops near us. 

We decided to fill up the car, as the price of fuel in Jersey was meant to be higher than in Britain. 

Once we filled up, Thea went into the servo to pay and came out with an adaptor. 

How simple. 

We did return to the Farmhouse pub for dinner. It was the best place we had found that was ‘close-ish’

They did have an IPA on tap but it was only 3.5%, so I opted for a bottled Brewdog Punk IPA. 

An IPA shouldn’t have an alcohol content below 5%. This isn’t natural and certainly not how it was originally brewed, back in the colonial days of the British East India Company. 

I know it’s wrong to ‘body shame’ but I have never seen so many grossly overweight people as there seems to be in Britain. 

Most menus show the kilojoules of every portion, so it’s not as though it’s hidden. 

I think it’s just another part of Britain’s problems. 

I feel really sorry for the Poms as they have so many issues. 

Both my parents emigrated from here but that was due to the world wide economic collapse, that caused the Depression.

This is different as it’s self inflicted. 

Bugger Brexit. 

 

Wednesday July 17, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK to St Helier, Jersey.  

We were up early this morning, then after a quick breakfast, it was down to the ferry terminal the catch our boat to St Helier our first stop in The Chanel Isles. 

It’s going to a long day, as the crossing is expected to take 8 hours. 

Security was vigorous entering the port area. They searched the car and even under the bonnet. 

I have no idea what they were looking for. 

Even though the ship was full of vehicles, mainly trucks and trailers, there were very few passengers. 

The seats weren’t comfortable. 

You had to pay extra to get into the Club or Horizon Lounges.

The other option was to get a cabin. 

I did have a project to work on but was limited by how long my computer battery would last. 

There was no power anywhere to be seen on the boat. 

I’m sure the paid-for areas had it. 

There weren’t even phone charging stations in the public area. 

At least airports have that. 

We did feel like third class passengers. 

Disembarkation was much easier than embarkation, with little fuss at the Jersey end. 

They didn’t even look at our passports and just waved us through. 

Parking wasn’t that easy and it took us a while to work out the the public parking block was much cheaper than street parking. 

We then went looking for dinner. 

After a bit of wandering we found Seafood Café. It was very busy, which is also a good sign. 

Their Seafood Pasta and Risotto were excellent. 

We had a Portuguese white wine which was great.

However it came with a screw top, which is very strange as most Portuguese wine has a cork, due to their huge cork industry.

Come 9:30, we were the last ones left. 

It was just a short walk back to our rooms, which was good, as it had been a very long day. 

 

Thursday July 18, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

After a late breakfast in the apartment, we took the lift and escalators to the Fort Regis view point. 

We thought that you could visit the fort but all that was there was a gym. 

The King and Queen had visited Jersey just a few days ago and there are still reminders of their trip. 

St Helier seems a lot more affluent than other places we have visited on the British mainland. 

In the afternoon we had a walk around Howard Davis Park. 

As we were passing St Luke’s Church, the bells rang out, very loudly. 

They frightened the Christ out of me. 

Nearby, in Liberation Square, was the Military Memorial for victims of WWII. It commemorates both British and US troops. 

History goes that on May 9th, 1945 soldiers from the Royal Navy and the British Army liberated Jersey from nearly five years of German occupation.

The statue, designed by Philip Jackson was unveiled by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on May 9th 1995 and celebrates 50 years since the liberation.

After the Allied defeat in the Battle of France, on June 15, 1940, the British army decided that the Channel Islands were of no strategic importance and demilitarised them.

However they didn’t tell the Germans, who regarded them as a stepping stone to Great Britain and  invaded them.

The Germans occupied the Channel Islands from June 30th, 1940 till May 9th, 1945. This was the only part of the British Empire to be occupied by the Nazis during the war.

The temperature was now warming up, which was great. It was now in the mid 20°Cs. 

Can’t complain about that. 

We were cooking at home tonight but went to the Cock and Bottle for a pre dinner beverage. 

I had a Liberation Brewing IPA. 

This seems to be the only IPA available in Jersey. It’s not bad, but at 4.2% a bit light for me. 

Thea had a Pinot Grigio, which was fine. 

I did a search of the draught beers and found that nothing was above 5%. 

They obviously like Session Ales here. 

Or is it like Australia where the tax on higher alcohol content results in a higher price? 

This is what’s killing the craft beer industry at home, it might be doing the same here. 

We were told my Spanish SIM wouldn’t work in the Channel Isles so we got one from O2 in Portsmouth. 

It was crap. 

Their network was so slow that it was running my battery down just searching maps. 

We need to get another card. 

This could be on the list for tomorrow’s tasks, before we head out to explore the island. 

It had been a big day of walking around St Helier. 

We had clocked up 9km. 

 

Friday July 19, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

The car had been in the parking lot for a day now, so it was time to take it out. 

But first we needed a bit of shopping and of course, a coffee. 

Matilda’s Coffee Shop was just down the street and served up a reasonable brew. And the supermarket was just around the corner. 

Then it was off to circumnavigate Jersey. 

The Corbière Lighthouse was our first stop. 

Just near the lighthouse viewing point were German WWII bunkers and lookouts. 

As mentioned previously, during WWII the Nazis occupied all four of the Channel Islands from 1940 until the end of the war in 1945.

Hitler believed that the islands could become a ‘stepping stone’ to an invasion of Britain.

The Nazi invasion of the islands had a profound influence on the local population. This is physically evident by the infrastructure that they left behind.

They built lookouts, fortifications, gun placements and storage depots. Much of this work was carried out by by workers from a forced labour camp that was situated on Alderney.

There was even a concentration camp there.

As you drive around you are constantly reminded by just how much the Germans built and how well they built it.

Today most of what was constructed in those five years remains intact.

I published a blog about this in July, last year and you can see it here.

Then a late coffee/lunch at Colleens Cafe, next to the beach at Grève de Lecq. 

A short stop at Bonne Nuit Bay and then a photo opportunity at Mount Orgueil Castle. 

The German watchtowers are everywhere. The Nazis were obviously very aware that they might be invaded at any time.

Our pre dinner drink was at The Mary Rose, a cute little pub not far from our rooms. 

Trouble was – it was empty. 

Friday night and there was only one other couple in the place. 

We returned to the Cock and Bottle, where we had a drink the other night. 

Managed to get a table in the beer garden but no sooner had we sat down we were told that the kitchen was closing. 

It was only 7:50. 

However it took 40 minutes for our meals to arrive. 

Short staffed in the kitchen I’m guessing. 

Bloody Brexit. 

 

Saturday July 20, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

A visit to Coffee Republic started the day and then some more shopping. 

We were eating in again tonight. 

Crossing the low tide shoreline to Elizabeth Castle was on the agenda. 

Easier said than done. 

It took us four attempts to find a car park that was near the low tide path. 

Once we reached the castle we didn’t go in.

It was ridiculously expensive and covered in scaffolding, as it was under renovation. 

Then we headed off to the centre of the island in search of the famous Jersey Cow. 

We did track a herd down and as soon as they saw me near their fence, they came running. 

It turned out they were more calves than cows as they were rather young. 

It was there that we discovered that Carlo, the Koala, was missing. 

He had done a runner somewhere between the Elizabeth Castle and the Windmill. 

He must have fallen out of Thea’s bag. 

We are rather sad, as it has been great fun getting shots of him, on his travels, to show the granddaughters. 

We originally found him in Sicily. 

There was a quick retracing of our steps to see if we could locate him, but to no avail. 

He was gone. 

Then it started to drizzle and by the time we had settled back into our room, it was pouring. 

We were eating in house again tonight but were hoping to have a pre dinner drink at one of the local pubs. 

This might not happen. 

The rain stopped and we walked to the Lamplighter, a very small pub that was about 5 minutes away. 

It was packed. 

This was a true British/Jersey local where everyone seemed to know each other. 

We managed to nab a free table, right near the front door, so we could see what was going on. 

It was alive and very loud. 

People were coming and going, mainly for a smoke outside. 

 

Sunday July 21, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey to Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

We had a late check out at midday but it was still a while to wait before the ferry. 

It was due to sail at 17:30hrs. 

Coffee was at The Yard. This was just down the hill from our rooms and, as it turned out, part of the Jersey Historical Museum. 

As we had seen most of the town, we decided to get a bit of education and visited the museum. 

We also stayed for a snack lunch, back at The Yard. 

After the one hour ferry ride from Jersey to Guernsey we headed off to find our rooms. 

Again we were staying in serviced apartments. 

We found them easily enough but couldn’t make contact with anyone. 

Our phones didn’t work and the text messages went unanswered. 

Then a Dutch couple came in and told us the the manager lived downstairs. 

Once she came in all was ok. 

She suggested where we could eat and we headed off to the Grange Lodge Hotel. 

The meal was ok but huge. 

We were later told we could have ordered half potions. 

A bit late but maybe next time. 

After all we were here for six nights. 

One task for tomorrow is to get a workable SIM card for my phone. 

O2 have been rubbish. 

 

Monday July 22, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

It was a wet start to the day so, after breakfast in the rooms, we headed out to shop. 

As we are able to self cater we were eating in tonight. 

Most supermarkets have booze included, that you buy within the store. 

This has its issues. 

Once you start to check out your purchases, if there is alcohol, you need to have a staff member ratify that you are of a legal drinking age. 

Having said that there is a great selection of both wines and beers available. 

I have had some fun with choosing some rather off-the-wall brews. 

I could get a range of beer strengths, some going up to 8%. 

You get nothing above 5.5% in the pubs 

Parking fees seem to be a big source of income for local councils. 

We noticed this on our last trip to the UK in 2022 and it’s the same here in the Channel Isles. 

In Jersey you buy a book of ‘Scratch Cards’ and leave that on you dash to show you’ve paid. 

However in Guernsey there is a much simpler system.  

You buy a permanent disk, on which you show the time you arrived and just leave that on your dashboard. 

Apart from paying for the disk, the parking is free.

However two hours is about as long as you can stay in most places. 

Guernsey also seems to have a lot more off-street private parking. 

Our accommodation, the Albany Apartments, have a decent amount of parking spaces out the front. 

And it’s free. 

We drove around the island, which didn’t take that long, as it’s rather small. 

Only 62 km² in fact. 

There is meant to be a ‘Surf Coast’ in Guernsey but we couldn’t find it. The closest we came was seeing surfboard wax for sale. 

We did stop at the German bunkers at Rte de Rocquaine. 

Bunkers and fortifications are right along the northwestern coastline. However in the southeast there are fewer, as this coastline is much more rugged and therefore would have been easier to defend. 

We then drove back into Saint Peter Port and walked around the town. 

Again, this didn’t take that long. 

The rain had stopped but it was still very grey and overcast. 

The roads in Guernsey seem wider and a little easier to negotiate, especially compared to Jersey. 

There was only one part where I was really challenged and that was getting to the lookout at Pleinmont Point. 

This was so narrow that all the warning lights and sounds were going off in the car. 

The rain started again late in the day, so going out for a pre dinner beverage was put on hold. 

Looks like it’s a night in. 

It was very comfortable in our rooms. 

We had a second bedroom, with room to put our cases and ‘junk’. 

The kitchen, dining area was tight but we could relax. 

We had been eating out constantly since we left Granada, apart from a couple of nights in Jersey. 

This was a good time to chill out and utilise the facilities. 

 

Tuesday July 23, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

Coffee isn’t easy to get in Guernsey. 

After breakfast we went in search of a cafe. I had marked a number of options on the map but just couldn’t find them. 

Well, one we couldn’t find and the other was in a park with no parking anywhere. 

We ended up going to Waitrose to shop and had a coffee there. 

As you would expect, it wasn’t great.

The next excursion was an attempt to get an idea of the German occupation of the Channel Isles, especially Guernsey. 

To this end, we visited La Vallette Underground Military Museum, which is built in what was a tunnel fortification to hold fuel for the German U-Boats. 

As the website explains:

‘Guernsey was officially occupied from 30th June 1940 when it was left undefended after the British Government decided to de-militarise it. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister at the time, was hesitant to make this decision but the Islands offered no strategic benefit.’

The museum isn’t large but gives a good understanding of how both the local, Guernsey population and the German invaders lived between 1940 and 1945. 

It also covers Guernsey’s involvement in WWI. 

At the entrance there was a German Citroën Light Truck type 23R. 

Apparently this was used in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

After moving parking spots, we then had a bit more of a walk around Saint Peter Port. 

It was then back to the rooms to do a bit of forward planning. 

Dinner was going to be at home again but we decided to go and try out a local pub for a pre dinner drink. 

The Victoria Arms is just around the corner and within an easy walk. 

It wasn’t worth the effort. 

It was small and full of blokes watching sport on TV and playing pool. 

We returned to the Grange Lodge Hotel and were made very welcome. 

They remembered us from Sunday night. 

 

Wednesday July 24, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

Late start to the day and then, after breakfast, we walked into the centre of Saint Peter Port. 

The intention was to go to Cafe Sorrento, which claimed to be open for morning coffee.

We figured an Italian cafe might be able to offer a good brew. 

When we arrived, it was well and truly shut. 

Well it was 11:45am. 

We are certainly not having much luck with coffee in Saint Peter Port. 

We ended up at Poids de la Reine. 

It was just ok. 

We wanted to buy some binoculars for Hayden and Andrea. This was as a thank you for putting up with us. 

They have such a great view from their house that we felt they would good use of them. 

The previous day we had found a camera store in the centre of town.

Thea had considered buying a new, small street camera, much like my Sony RX100. 

After a bit of research she found that the latest version, the RX-M7 was a good choice. 

When we returned to the shop, for the binoculars, we found that they had that particular Sony camera in stock. 

We ended up buying both the camera and the binoculars. 

Having just spent a lot of money, we decided to go off and spend some more. 

So it was lunch at the Thomas de la Rue Hotel, right on the waterfront. 

I did have one of the best draught beers I had had for some time, a Butcome Tall Tales Pale Ale. 

Delicious. 

After lunch we walked down to the port and booked our tickets to Sark Island. 

This was planned to be our Friday adventure. 

By accident we discovered that the rental didn’t have a spare wheel. 

This could be an issue. 

Although we have paid for roadside assist, I believe you still need a spare. 

I’ll be having a strong word with Enterprise when we get back to England. 

Huge tides have been a feature of both Jersey and Guernsey and they were very evident in the Saint Peter Port Harbour. 

All the boats were high and dry, lying on the sand, including a ferry to Sark. 

We didn’t feel like much for dinner, so went to Marks and Spencer’s and got something ‘snacky’. 

 

Thursday July 25, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

The weather had turned nasty again and it was wet and overcast. 

There was a full size ‘Laundromat’ down in the basement of the apartment block, so we used that. 

The next issue was where to get coffee. 

We had drawn a blank with the local options, so we might have to travel a bit further. 

The rain kept falling and we didn’t venture out for our morning coffee until just after 2:00pm. 

Coffee turned into lunch and that was despite the rain. 

That was at the Good Rebel, where we had coffee a couple of days ago. 

It was much better this time. 

Despite the weather we felt we needed to see a few more of the sights. 

The first was The Little Chapel.

This was created in 1914 by Brother Déodat and measured 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide. However when the Bishop of Portsmouth visited in 1923 and couldn’t fit through the door, Déodat demolished it.

The current version measures 16 feet long by 9 feet wide – the Bishop must have been a big lad.

The chapel was restored again in 1977 and then after being vandalised in 2003, refurbished again in 2010 and then again in 2015.

It was finally opened to the public in 2017.

Like coffee, finding tourist sites hasn’t been easy on Guernsey. 

This partly due to the fact that many of the addresses haven’t been that accurate and the GPS can’t fathom them out. 

Another reason is that there is so much road construction going on, that we are constantly being diverted to alternative routes. 

To a degree this was the case in Jersey, however it was mainly in the country areas. Whereas in Guernsey it’s everywhere. 

Our last exercise in getting lost, was trying to find Hauteville House, Victor Hugo’s home from 1856 to 1870.

This was his residence, while in exile in Guernsey, following his banishment from France after the coup d’état by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851.

Victor didn’t see eye-to-eye with Napoleon.

He wrote many famous books while in Guernsey, including Les Misérables.

The house is regarded as an ‘autograph to Hugo’ who had a great deal to do with the layout and decor.

It had taken us so much time finding the house that it was closed when we eventually did locate it.

It’s a pity as I would have loved to see inside.

Tonight we were dining in again, with another ‘Take home meal’ from Waitrose. 

We wouldn’t normally eat this type of food.

However there is so little in the way of condiments and cooking ingredients in the apartment, so heating food up is our only option. 

The rain didn’t relent, so we were glad to be staying in. 

 

Friday July 26, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, to Sark and return. 

The rain had cleared, which was great as we were sailing to Sark Island today. 

It was a 40 minute ferry ride away. 

We arrived very early for our noon departure, as we needed to secure a long term parking spot. 

After a bit driving around we got one. 

Then it was off to get a coffee and to mail some postcards to the grandkids. 

The coffee was at the cafe/restaurant/bar, Christies. 

The coffee was the best we had had on Guernsey and the most expensive. 

I guess you pay for what you get. 

Once the cards were posted it was down to the harbour to wait for the ferry. 

Once we arrived in Sark we got a tractor ride up a very steep hill to the township. 

Transport in Sark is limited to tractors, bikes and horse and cart. 

No cars here. 

We walked from Big Sark and almost got to Little Sark but gave up. We did reach Le Coupée, the narrow isthmus between Big Sark and Little Sark.

It was a fair distance and we realised we would have to get back. 

We may have been able to get a horse and cart for the return journey but that wasn’t guaranteed. 

Lunch comprised of a coffee for me and an ice cream for Thea. 

My coffee came from Hatters, a cafe on the The Avenue, the main street of Big Sark. 

We had it in the park that was next to the caffe. 

The coffee was excellent, which means today’s caffeine experience has been a good one. 

Our return ferry wasn’t until 6:00pm so we had some time to just wander around. 

Witches Seats are an architectural feature in Jersey and Guernsey. These are stones jutting from the chimneys on many old houses. 

According to folklore, these were seats for the witches to rest on before they flew to their gathering place.

At the end of the day we walked down the hill to the harbour, rather than taking the tractor. 

The ferry was much fuller on the return journey than it was coming. 

Then we had a 40 minute ride back to Saint Peter Port. 

It was our final night in Guernsey, so we had booked dinner at the Grange Lodge Hotel. 

So it was straight back to our rooms and then out again. 

It was a seafood special night at the hotel so we both went for it. 

Thea had Mackerel and I had Mussels. 

Both meals were great. 

The evening was topped off by the fact that we got so engrossed chatting to the owner and staff, that we forgot to pay. 

We were almost home, when the manager chased us down. 

How embarrassing. 

We have a big day tomorrow, travelling back, via the ferry, to Portsmouth. 

Another 8 hours on the water. 

 

Saturday July 27, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, to Portsmouth, UK. 

We checked out of our rooms relatively early as we had to be at the ferry terminal at 11:30am, to catch our boat back to the UK. 

We also needed to do some final shopping first. 

Thea decided that the Mini Mouse, she had bought for Andrea’s birthday would be lonely without her long time partner, Micky. 

We also decided that only having one battery for Thea’s new camera was a risk. So we returned to the camera shop and got another. 

There was still a bit of time before we needed to be at the ferry terminal. 

We therefore went back to Christies for another good but expensive brew. 

It was going to be a long day, so we needed all the fortification we could get. 

The Guernsey Street Festival was on while we were here and there were brightly coloured stage annexes all over town. 

Then we found out that our ferry back to Saint Peter Port was running 30 minutes late. 

Still more time to kill. 

Fortunately I had a project to work on for BTB, so that should occupy a few hours. 

The ferry made up a fair bit of time and in the end we were only 15 minutes late. 

It was getting late so we had dinner on the ferry.

Once we arrived we then drove to our hotel, The Farmhouse Inn. 

We had been here before, when we last stayed in Portsmouth but that was just for dinner. 

After checking in we had a quick drink in the bar before retiring to our room. 

It had been another very long day. 

 

Sunday July 28, 2024.

Portsmouth to Teignmouth, UK. 

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed off to try and sort out the rental’s missing spare wheel. 

Plus, getting a phone SIM that worked. 

The spare wheel issue turned out to be nothing. Apparently this model of Crossland doesn’t have a spare wheel, just an emergency inflation kit. 

Something that was news to me. 

Having given up on O2 as a wast of space, we returned to Vodafone and got a SIM from them. 

This one seemed to work ok. 

We then went for coffee back at Jenny’s Café. We had visited here on a previous trip into Portsmouth. 

The drive to Teignmonth was slow – very slow. It took five hours, for what should have been three. 

Once we arrived we headed out to shop. 

Again we were staying in self catering accommodation and needed to stock up. 

Well at least for breakfast. 

We walked into town, as we needed the exercise and it was down hill all the way. 

Dinner was at Ye Olde Jolly Sailor. 

We had intended to go to the Old Ship Inn but they don’t serve food on a Sunday night. 

The food was fine, however I did start off by ordering a Morrisons.

I thought it was a beer but it turned out to be a cider. 

After such a long drive, anything would have tasted ok. 

However it wasn’t the refreshing ale I was looking forward to, after hours on the road. 

After dinner we felt we needed more exercise so walked back up the hill home. 

It had been another long day, not in hours but in time waiting in traffic. 

 

Monday July 29, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

We both had a bit of work to do so got stuck in. 

Then we went looking for a coffee which turned out to be at The Mix in Dawlish. 

It was rather good and made with beans from Namibia. 

Parking is a real problem in the UK. Firstly finding a spot and then paying for it. 

The machines only take cash, which no one has anymore, or uses their App. 

The trouble is finding the App on the AppStore. 

I don’t know if it’s our phones but it doesn’t want to give us the local, UK, version. 

Dawlish claims to be the home of the Black Swan in the United Kingdom. 

It turns out that they were brought from Australia, as a gift, in 1906. 

We then did a tour around the countryside, up and down some very narrow lanes. 

There was plenty of horse poo in them. No wonder, they are only wide enough for a horse and cart. 

Which is what they were originally built for. 

We then returned to Dawlish for a coffee and ice cream at the Beach Bar. 

Which wasn’t on the beach but near it. 

The beach, like most in Britain, wasn’t anything great but it did have some sand among the rocks. 

Shopping at Morrisons was next. 

As we were self catering again, we decided to get most of our food in and be prepared for the next few days. 

We are staying in Teignmonth for five days and, luckily, our AirBnB was very comfortable and had everything, so it was easy to cater for ourselves.

As happened in the Channel Isles, we had to be verified as over 18 to buy the booze in the supermarket. 

The weather had improved and we had a top of 24°C today. 

The evening was rather balmy, so we had our pre dinner drink in the garden. 

 

Tuesday July 30, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

Part of the morning was spent trying to get a parking App. 

It wasn’t easy. 

It kept on telling us that the App wasn’t available in ‘our region’. 

Even though my phone had a local SIM, it still thought that the request was coming from Australia. 

We then had a very long drive to the Dartmoor Prison Museum. 

On the way we stopped off to buy some needles for Thea’s knitting. 

The shop was right next to a Costa Coffee, so our morning brew was there. 

Just Ok. 

Our trip to the museum was via the Dartmoor National Park. There we encountered and had to avoid, cattle, sheep, horses and more horse shit. 

It was a long journey because our SatNav kept on taking us down single lane back tracks – again. 

Thea was kept very busy trying find more major roads. 

The weather had improved and it was rather warm, nearly reaching 30° in the afternoon. 

The Dartmoor Prison Museum is housed in an old dairy building, next to the prison, and contains lots of weapons, memorabilia, clothing and uniforms

However the layout was a bit of a mess, with no real flow. Probably all done by museum volunteers with many of the exhibits donated. 

However the prison does have an amazing history. 

In 1805 the United Kingdom was at war with Napoleonic France. This resulted in thousands of French soldiers being incarcerated. They were originally put in ‘Prison Hulks’ or derelict ships but this was considered to be unsafe, due to the closeness of the the Royal Naval Dockyards.

This resulted in the building of a remote prison in Dartmoor.

The prison was designed, in the round, by Daniel Asher Alexander and constructed by local labour in 1806.

As a result of the War of 1812, between the United States and the United Kingdom, about 6,500 American sailors were imprisoned in Dartmoor.

After all the French and American prisoners had been released, paroled or repatriated the jail was left unused for 35 years.

It was then recommissioned again in 1851and used for civilian prisoners.

In 1917, during the First World War, it was converted to a Home Office Work Centre for conscientious objectors.

The  prison is currently inactive, due to safety concerns about high levels of radon in the soil.

After our museum adventure we had coffee and cake at the Fox Tor Café in Princetown. 

My coffee even came with a Biscotti, how Italian. 

The Brits love their dogs and there were a number of them enjoying the museum and the coffee shop afterwards. 

On the trip back Thea weaved her navigational magic and we managed to avoid all the backroads.

The GPS now had us travelling most of the way on A roads and even a bit of motorway. 

 

Wednesday July 31, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

After all the driving yesterday we decided to stay a bit closer to home today. 

One of the benefits of self catering is that most places have a washing machine. So first thing this morning, after breakfast, we did a clothes wash. 

I had a bit of work to do and Thea also had some Waltham Street committee arrangements to be made. 

We found Lollie Bean for coffee in Shaldon, which was over the estuary of the River Teign. 

The coffee was very good. 

We had a walk around Shaldon and then went off driving – with no particular place to go. 

This ended at Watcombe Beach. 

After finding a parking area at the top of the hill it was a very steep walk down to the beach and a tough one back up. 

The drive continued on to Torquay where we had lunch at Angels Tea Rooms. 

I didn’t have tea but a Devon Ginger Beer. 

The temperature was now around 26°C and rather pleasant.

Further on down the coast we found a statue to the famed author, Agatha Christie.

She was born in the area. 

Then it was a bit more of a drive around the coast and back to Teignmouth. 

We had achieved what we set out to and seen some of the local coastline, which in many parts is rather amazing.

 

Thursday August 01, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

Today we are staying very close to home and not even taking the car out. 

We have driven though Teignmouth a few times but not really explored it on foot. 

Just after breakfast we got a call from Pat and Graham, old friends from years ago. 

Thea worked with Pat when she lived in England. That was even before she met up with Denis and me back in 1972. 

They knew we were in the area and suggested we catch up for lunch, as they only lived about an hour away. 

This was perfect, as it fitted in with our plans well. 

But first we needed a coffee and we had that at Coasters Cafe. 

It was recommended on Google but not that great. 

The four of us had a great lunch at the Ship Inn. 

Beer, wine and chatter. 

Then we all went for a walk around town. 

After that it was back to another pub for yet another beverage. This time Ye Old Jolly Sailor, where we were on our first night. 

There was 50 years to catch up on, so a lot of chatter that needed lubricating. 

It was a long day but, yet again, we had achieved our goals. 

 

Friday August 02, 2024.

Teignmouth to Trowbridge, UK. 

We checked out of our accommodation at 10:00am and then started to drive.

It was meant to be 2 hours to Trowbridge but we knew it would take a lot longer. 

There was still a lot of stop-start traffic, especially on the Motorways. 

We stopped at Glastonbury for a coffee break and a walk. 

Coffee was at The Blue Note and it wasn’t that bad, despite the fact that it was a Vegetarian cafe!

Glastonbury, or Hippyville, is a very strange place. 

There are so many people here, still living in the seventies. 

I’ve haven’t seen so much long hair, freaky clothing, bare feet and tie dye since 1975. 

Also the whole area seems to have become a ‘spiritual haven’ for the lost or forgotten. 

Glastonbury is known for the five day music festival, that is now held yearly.

The festival started of in 1970 and attracted about 1,500 people. Today it attracts around 200,000 people annually.

The Glastonbury Festival was originally inspired by the ethos of the hippie counter culture back in the 1960s.

That mind set still lives on today. 

We then drove to Trowbridge and, with a little difficulty, found our accommodation. 

It was well presented and very comfy but a bit out of town. 

After looking around we decided that eating in was the best option so went and did some shopping. 

We would explore the area tomorrow.  

 

Saturday August 03, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

After breakfast we walked into Trowbridge to look for a coffee. 

It had drizzled the previous evening but the sun was now shining. 

Well it was in and out. 

We found La Bella Vita for coffee. 

Well it sounded Italian and they do have a good reputation for a brew. 

The average age came down when we entered. 

They were certainly not a young clientele and the majority of them were women. 

The coffee was good but I am certainly looking forward to a Long Black at Sunshine on our return. 

We then walked around town for a while. 

It didn’t take long, as Trowbridge isn’t that big and it’s not the most exciting town. 

There are at least three Malls but all are rather similar and who wants to shop anyway. 

As we were on foot we chose to stop off at the Lamb Hotel and have lunch. 

It really was a pub, not a hotel, however it was rather quiet. 

They had a good selection of draught beers, so I had a Henry’s IPA. 

It was ok. 

Thea found a rather pleasant Pinot Grigio. 

At the end of the meal I had another beer. This one a Folly Road Session IPA. 

I then went and looked at the taps. The Henry’s was 3.4% while the Folly Road was 4.5%. 

Go figure. 

The Folly Road was much better than the Henry’s. 

More fruity in flavour, colder and naturally stronger. 

It wasn’t a long lunch but very pleasant. 

When we were finished and about to leave, the locals started arriving. The TV was put on and the Olympics became the centre of attention. 

We chatted for a bit then returned to our apartment. 

It had been a very relaxing day. 

Tomorrow we will explore more but this time, use the car. 

 

Sunday August 04, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

It was a bit of a late start as ‘things’ had to be done. 

We then drove to Bath, a place that Thea, Denis and I visited in 1972. 

I must admit I couldn’t remember much, as it was only a few days after we all met. 

First stop in Bath, was at the Soho Cafe for coffee. 

The coffee was ok but after walking around a bit we realised that there we so many other places that looked so much better.. 

The main attraction in Bath are the Roman Baths, however we had visited them previously, so didn’t bother this time. 

Bath was made a UNESCO World Heritage  City in 1989. 

The city became a spa, with the Latin name Aqua Sulis or the waters of Sulis in 60 AD.

Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre in Britain, then rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries.

In the 17th century, due to the curative properties of its water, it again became known as a spa town.

It’s a great city and we spent quite a few hours exploring the streets and the Avon River. 

But it was crowded with tourists and all the main attractions had long queues to get in. 

That certainly wasn’t the case back in 1972. 

We were back to Trowbridge by 5pm and had the evening ahead of us, as we were eating in again tonight. 

Today was spent exploring Bath, while tomorrow we will head into the country to walk in the grounds and visit the museum at Lacock Abbey. 

 

Monday August 05, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

Coffee was at Boswel’s, a cafe in one of the three malls. 

We went to the mall, as we thought we might get free parking at the Asda next door. 

When we returned top the parking lot and punched in the car’s registration number, we were told that there was no charge. 

You can get lucky.

It wasn’t a long drive to Lacock Abbey. 

Once there we went to the ticket office and got passes for both the Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum. 

This is a National Heritage site and full of very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers. 

Lacock Abbey was founded in 1232 by one of the most powerful women in the Middle Ages, Ela, Countess of Salisbury.

Her original cloister was demolished in the 1400s and replaced by the current buildings.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s it was turned into a country house by Sir William Sharington. He incorporated cloisters into the design and added Italian-inspired Renaissance architectural features.

In the 1700s John Ivory Talbot transformed both the Abbey and its gardens.

He was influenced by the Gothic style.

In the 1800s William Henry Talbot (1800-1877) took control of the Abbey and left it much as it looks today.

He was a scientist, inventor and a photography pioneer. The Fox Talbot Museum, which we visited after some lunch, is a testament to his discoveries.

The museum not only contained an exhibition, about Fox Talbot’s role in photography, but also included an exhibition of contemporary photography. 

After the museum we then walked around Alcock Village, which was the village closely associated with the Abbey.

On the way back to our apartment we called into Sainsbury’s to buy tonight’s dinner and some booze. 

I must admit, the supermarkets really have catered to our transient lifestyle. 

There is plenty of pre-prepared dishes as well as salads and fruit. 

The wine and beer selection is also very good. 

Wherever we went there was a variety of products on offer. International beers and wines as well as a good selection of local craft beers. 

Tonight we watched the news, it was on the commercial channel, ITV, which isn’t the best. 

The main topic was the right wing protests that are currently occurring throughout Britain. 

This is a very disturbing trend. 

Racism was the main cause of the rise of Nazi German in the 1930’s but people seem to have forgotten this.

 

Tuesday August 06, 2024.

Trowbridge to Bramley, UK. 

Yesterday we had an issue with a tyre loosing pressure. 

We went to a servo and pumped them all up and reset the warning. 

It was ok for the rest of the day, however when I went out to the car this morning the tyre was rather flat. 

Not completely but still not really drivable. 

And remembering that I didn’t have a spare, we called the Enterprise Roadside Assist and they sent out an AA van. 

The guy was great but he couldn’t find a reason, so took the car and me down to Kwik Fit, a tyre and wheel outlet not far down the road. 

He felt that the tyre probably needed replacing. 

I was told by Kwik Fit that I would have to wait until it could be repaired and that they would call me when it was done, so I returned back to the apartment.

We were due to checkout of our apartment this morning, so we packed up everything and just waited for the call. 

It never came. 

I phoned them and finally got through, on the third attempt. 

They said they had issues with their phone line and that the car was ready. 

I couldn’t find either a taxi or an Uber to go and pick it up, as it was deemed to be too close.

So in then end I walked down to Kwit Fit and sure enough the car was waiting. 

It didn’t cost me a penny but I’m sure that the AA and Enterprise would have been charged. 

Once I returned and we had checked out we then started off on the road to Bramley. We hadn’t gone that far when the tyre warning light came on again.

We returned to Kwik Fit and they said all was ok, it was a system fault with the car. 

They reset it and off we went again. 

It did come on one more time and this time I reset it. 

Who knows what will happen tomorrow on our drive to Gatwick. 

We didn’t arrive in Bromley until after 4pm and checked into the Jolly Farmer. They had free parking at the back and very comfortable rooms. 

Ours even had an en-suite, with a shower, which is something you don’t usually get in pub accommodation. 

We had a bit of a walk around the village, which didn’t take long. 

Then into the bar. 

We had intended to eat in but they don’t do dinners on Monday and Tuesdays. 

At least there was another pub next door that did, the Wheat Sheaf. 

In the bar of the Jolly Farmer, Thea had a Pinot Grigio and I had a Crafty Brewing Hop Triple IPA. 

The pub had a great collection of beer mats on the ceiling and around the bar. 

It was a real eclectic collection of all forms of memorabilia. 

Apart from the beer mats there were beer mugs, posters, plates, bank notes and art. 

Just before we went to have dinner, at the pub next door, I went to check the tyres. 

Bugger, the same tyre was now almost flat. 

We decided to wait until the morning to get it sorted. 

We will now have to be up early. 

The meal at the Wheat Sheaf was rather ordinary and once we’d finished we returned to the Jolly Farmer. 

The Olympic Games was still dominating everyone’s thoughts and actions. 

So when a particular event was on, that involved the Brits, the bar emptied and they all rushed off to watch it on TV in another part of the pub. 

 

Wednesday August 07, 2024.

Gatwick, UK to Granada, Spain. 

We were up early, trying to get the tyre fixed on the car. 

It looked like it could be another visit to a tyre shop. 

We were in panic mode, as we had to get the Gatwick to drop off the car and get our 1:20pm flight. 

I called the AA again and they were great. 

The guy came with a spare wheel, because we didn’t have one, and once that was fitted we followed him to Gatwick. 

It was a very nervous 32 miles. 

The AA guy was a character and he loved to chat. He was also very critical of the ‘No spare tyre’ approach. 

Once we arrived he removed his tyre and was on his way. 

We returned the car to Enterprise and then we were also on our way to check in with Vueling. 

Despite our concerns we arrived at the airport nearly three hours before our departure time. 

The Roadside Assist that we purchased was worth every penny, despite the screw up the previous day. 

In the end we had a real feeling that both we, the AA and Enterprise had been conned by Kwik Fix.

In Granada we were staying in an apartment as Hayden and Andrea were having some renovations done on their house. 

The accommodation came with a free ride from the airport, so hopefully the driver would be waiting when we arrived. 

He was but the problem arose when we arrived and the apartment. 

We had no contact details or even phones that worked without WiFi so couldn’t get in. 

Thea had a brainwave and popped into the pharmacy, that was next door. 

There she found a girl that not only spoke English but knew who our contact was in the apartment block. 

As soon as we settled, in we headed off to the Vodafone shop to top up my Spanish SIM. 

Here the guy had issues with the internet and could not top up my phone. 

He sent us off to a Tabac, a shop that sell fags. There we were told that she also couldn’t do the top up. 

We then returned to Vodafone, intent on getting them to sort it out. 

Eventually things started to work and now, so did my phone. 

When we had arrived at Granada Airport the temperature was a stifling 40°C and by now it hadn’t got any cooler. 

We went off and found a bar and had a cool drink. 

It came with plenty of Tapas, so we also had a substantial snack as well. 

It was only 20:00hrs and the restaurants weren’t open yet. 

So we walked around the city a bit more and things started to come to life. 

We had a lightish dinner and then, very slowly, walked back to the apartment. 

It was still very hot. 

Well, we are back in Granada and it’s August. 

 

 

“Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterised by a dictatorial leader, centralised autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition.”*

*Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

Everywhere I look these days, I see young men with a moustache. 

Many of these ‘taches’ are, as my father once described: “Barely a football game”.

Now if you don’t get that analogy, it’s a soccer game, with only eleven players per side. 

Well my dad was a Pom and did sport a very nice Mo. 

 

H&A’s from Wednesday May 22 to Tuesday May 28, 2024.

Most of our time was spent at H&A’s with a few walks down the hill into Granada. 

Over the course of our three months in Europe, we had planned a few side trips and needed to get ourselves sorted for these travels.

We arrived from Australia with two large cases and one small one.

However, after doing a bit of research, we realised that the best way to travel around Europe was to only take cabin baggage, that goes in the overhead lockers.

You save time checking in and disembarking and it’s cheaper than having to pay for hold luggage.

As we only had one small, cabin luggage size case we decided to buy a new one.

We then realised that this created other issues, like what you can carry in cabin luggage.

No sharp objects like scissors or the small tool kit that I always travel with.

There was a positive side to this, as I found out when I bought a set of nail clippers.

These were a small size, safe to carry and also much more efficient than the nail scissors that I had been using for years.

Each morning Hayden would head off early to take Brianna to school but in the afternoons I would often accompany him to pick her up.

One evening we were invited to see a judo exhibition at Brianna’s school. 

It was held in the open area, out the back of the school buildings, with all the kids, their teacher and some volunteer parents taking part.

What a laugh.

It was totally out of control but they did have fun, and I guess that’s the purpose.

On our trips into Granada, apart from shopping, we did some sightseeing and reacquainted ourselves with a city we knew rather well and had great memories of.

 

Tuesday May 28, 2024.

Flight from Granada, Spain, to Catania, Sicily, via Barcelona. 

Our first side trip was to Sicily.

We had been here once before, back in the Summer of 1975. We didn’t do too much exploring back in those days, so this was a good opportunity to really discover this southern Italian island, that sits off the toe of Italy.

Some might say that the Italians are trying to kick it out of the Mediterranean.

Once we arrived in Catania, on the east coast, we went straight to the Enterprise car hire counter and picked up our rental. It was a Fiat Panda, registration GM 690XY. 

We then drove to our hotel/guest house, Suite Inn Catania. 

Every door had a key pad that you had to use, however there was no staff to give us the numbers, except one very uninformed cleaner. 

Half the key pads didn’t work and she had to resort to the analog method and gave us a set of keys. 

After we had checked in, we returned to the car, only to discover that we had a parking ticket.

This was after we had been told that we could park, free of charge, in the street outside the hotel. 

It was now very obvious that the hotel staff didn’t have a clue.

Car rental companies charge a extra fee for handling any parking infringements. So once we realised we had a ticket, we went straight to the post office to pay.

There were three charges, one was a community fine and then a commission to the company who issued it, as well as a charge from the post office, who took our payment. 

Well, we are in Sicily, home of the Mafia. 

Once our debt was paid, we then found a parking ticket machine and paid for the car until we were due to leave in the morning.

Then we went for a stroll. 

First stop was in the square of the Palazzo Sangiuliano, for a well earned drink. 

And what should we encounter there but another protest supporting the Palestinians. 

This one was in front of the University, like so many of them around the world. 

Dinner was at Barrique Bistrot in Via Etnea. I had a real desire for a Seafood Pasta and got exact what I was craving for. 

It was one of the best pasta meals I’ve ever had. 

An Espresso at the end just capped off a wonderful meal. 

 

Wednesday May 29, 2024.

Catania to Taormina via Mount Etna, Italy. 

Breakfast was at a little cafe next door to our guesthouse. 

After a bit of interrogation, we realised that the hotel receptionist didn’t see the stuff-up she had made in the parking information she had provided.

This hotel certainly needs to spend some effort on staff training.

Fortunately there were no more parking tickets when we reached the car in the morning.

Our drive up the coast to Taormina was good but leaving Catania was a bit hairy. 

It had been a while since I had driven in Italy and I had forgotten how the drivers act.

Italian drivers seem to believe that it’s your obligation not to hit them, no matter how badly they drive.

On the way to Taormina we passed Mount Etna and decided we should take a closer look.

We went to the Mount Etna chairlift staging area, with the intention of buying a ticket to go to the viewing area, that was up the mountain.

When we found out it was going to be €50 each we decided against it. 

€50 is a lot to pay to just sit in the cloud and it did appear to be very cloudy up there. 

Mount Etna, at 3,369 metres high, is an active stratovolcano, that’s within the city area of Catania.

While doing some research for this blog, I discovered that Etna erupted on August 14, causing the Catania Airport to close down.

Lucky we weren’t visiting a few months later.

Parking in Taormina was on level 4 of a 7 level car park, which was on the very edge of the town.

To get to the town centre we took the lift up to level 7. As most of Taormina’s streets are pedestrian only, cars are really not welcome or needed within the town area.

After a bit of an uphill climb we found our hotel and checked into our room. 

The hotel manager was a far cry from our recent experience in Catania. She was well organised, helpful and gave an extensive list of things to do. 

The hotel also had some rather lovely artwork on the walls and sculpture on the sideboard.

Once we had settled in, we headed off to explore the town and ended up at Teatro Antico di Taormina, that was opened in 301AD.

This is an ancient Greco-­Roman theatre, that’s still used today and is found at the very end of Corso Umberto I, Taormina’s main walking street. 

The town of Taormina is very elevated so the views from Teatro Antico were spectacular, as were many others on our walk around.

I was astounded by the crowds of tourists both here and at Mount Etna – well it is the tourist season.

At the end of the day we finished up at Café Wunderbar for a drink. 

The view should have been spectacular, except the haze got in the way – again. 

We have been plagued with haze right from the time we arrived in Granada. 

Dinner was going to be at a restaurant suggested by our hotel manager. Unfortunately it was booked out, so we went next door to La Trattoria da Ugo, which wasn’t that bad. 

The food was very minimalist but tasty.

However the prices, especially for drinks, were half of what we paid at Café Wunderbar, earlier in the evening. 

After dinner we did book a table, for the following night, at the suggested place next door.

During dinner, at La Trattoria da Ugo, we got chatting to an American couple, from Washington, who were travelling in Europe on holidays. 

They were celebrating three years of marriage and we’re shocked to hear that we had recently celebrated our fiftieth. 

 

Thursday May 30, 2924.

Taormina, Italy. 

A bit of a sleep in this morning, then off to find breakfast. 

Most cafes and restaurants didn’t provide breakfast but we did find Vecchia Taormina which was very close to our hotel. 

The croissant was very fresh and the orange juice, made from Blood Oranges, was also very good. 

So was the Double Espresso that followed. 

After I tried ordering coffee in my extremely bad Italian, the waiter was keen to have a chat, realising we were foreigners.

He was very interested in where we came from and seemed well informed about the Italian migration to Melbourne at the end of WWII. 

We soon realised just how much the tourists loved Taormina. Everywhere is crowded, which is made worse by the invaders from the cruise ships moored at Giardini-Naxos, down on the coast.

In the afternoon we visited Parco Florence, a beautiful botanical garden perched on the side of the mountain.

Again the views were spectacular.

Then we walked down, the very steep staircase, to Mazzarò, the seaside town that sits beneath Taormina.

We had a typical Italian snack lunch of Bruschetta at Hotel Villa Bianca, Ristorante Principe and then took the cable car back up to Taormina. 

At €6 per person, it was a hell of a lot cheaper that the €50 they wanted for the one to Mount Etna. 

However the trip was a very short one at only 3 minutes. 

Once back in Taormina we had a slow walk, through the town, back to our hotel. 

A pre dinner drink at Bar Billy and Billy, which was much appreciated after all the climbing, even though it had been all down hill. 

Dinner was at Ristorante Malvasia, the restaurant suggested by our hotel manager, that we couldn’t get into last night but booked for tonight.

It was very artisanal and great.

So good in fact that I had to finish the meal with an Espresso. 

This is now the third night in a row that I have had an after dinner coffee. 

Good Italian food calls for good Italian coffee to follow.

 

Friday May 31, 2024.

Taormina to Siracusa, Italy. 

Yesterday we visited the local Decò Supermarket and got ourselves a few provisions for breakfast. 

So this morning we sat on our balcony and enjoyed the cool morning air. 

There was even a clear view of Mount Etna. 

The serenity was broken by some guy, in a nearby square, who wouldn’t stop talking – in a very loud voice. 

So annoying was he, that even one of the local dogs started to bark in protest. 

Even though coffee was supplied in the room, we went off in search of a barista made, Italian brew. 

We returned to Bar Billy and Billy for coffee. 

This was where we had a drink the night before. 

However the waiter ripped us of, charging €8 for two Double Espressos. 

That’s the most I think I have ever paid for coffee. 

The main drive for the day was on motorways, back down the coast to Siracusa, so it was a good time to come to grips with the six gears of the Panda. 

I have know idea what size engine this little Fiat has but I’m guessing it’s small, hence six gears. 

We stopped at Marzamemi for a light lunch. This was past our destination of Siracusa, so we had to back-track. 

The restaurant owner was very excited that we came from Melbourne. And, after taking our orders, returned wearing a slouch hat, complete with a Kangaroo on the front. This had been sent by his sister, who lives in Melbourne. 

We then drove to Siracusa and found our Airbnb. 

It was a full size apartment with everything except a washing machine – dam. 

Then I found it, but it proved to be more trouble than it was worth. 

We ran a 15 minute wash but it wouldn’t drain and there were no instructions that we could understand. 

Multiple texts messages to the owner still didn’t resolve the issue, so we rinsed and drained them by hand. 

Dinner was at a little street restaurant, not far from our accommodation. Osteria Terra Mia was another very rustic place, with most of the seating in the street. 

This wasn’t a problem as it was a balmy 25°C outside. 

Again I finished off the meal with an Espresso and again it was great. 

There was a very mixed clientele in the restaurant, Germans, English and a couple of Aussies. 

Plus a few very large Italian groups, who seemed to feel that they had the right to rearrange the entire seating layout of the restaurant. 

Plus there was one mangy cat who wandered from table to table looking for handouts. 

The only one’s who obliged were the Germans.  

 

Saturday June 1, 2024.

Siracusa, Italy. 

We were woken by the sounds of the neighbourhood, especially the street sweeping that was happening just outside our window. 

Breakfast was in-house again as we actually had a kitchen. 

The previous evening we had shopped at the local Maxistore Decò, which was just up the road. 

After our breakfast we walked down to the Island of Ortigia and had our morning coffee on the way at Cafe Story. 

It was then time to wander around the island, where we came across the Temple of Apollo, which was very close to the rather large market area. 

Another interesting discovery was Archimede Square with old and new architecture, that ranges from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century.

On the walk south we came across Syracuse Cathedral. The site is ancient, with the Greeks building a temple here, to celebrate the goddess Athena, in the 5th Century. The first Christian church wasn’t built here until the 7th Century.

The current cathedral was opened in 1753.

We had lunch at the FM Bar, where they had a list of local craft beer to choose from. This was the first craft beer I have had since I left Granada. 

I went for the Majaria Hefeweizen, which was perfect in the warm weather. 

It was here that we met our second couple of Aussie travellers. 

Ironically they were all originally from the UK. 

It was a slow walk to the Maniace Castle, the last feature on Ortigia Island. 

Then we walked back to the Apollo Temple, via the port area. 

It was too early for dinner, so we returned to Piazza del Duomo and then around the corner to the FM Bar. 

Good craft beer has that sort of pull. 

This time I had a Pillirina, American Pale Ale. 

Again it was very good. 

Messina is my favourite of the Italian mass beer offering but it was great to get back to the full flavour of craft. 

We had a relatively early dinner in the market area at, La Lenza, a seafood restaurant. 

When we came to the same area earlier in the day you couldn’t move.

Now it was a different story, all the stalls had packed up and just a couple of established restaurants remained open. 

It was still early when we left the restaurant to walk home to our rooms but on the way we walked past Il Birraio, a Craft Brewery bar. 

Bugger. 

We had a relatively early start in the morning and the last thing I needed was another beer. 

We did get chatting to a Czech woman and her German partner, who were enjoying a beverage out on the street. 

She was very well travelled and we shared a couple of travel stories. 

It had been a long day with many kilometres travelled.

My phone told me that I had walked 9 kilometres. 

Now 2 kilometres had been getting to and from the island, so the other 7 kilometres must have been just wandering around. 

 

Sunday June 2, 2024.

Siracusa, via Villa Romana del Casale to Agrigento, Italy. 

There is still an ongoing issue with Italian toilets, as I don’t think the sewerage system has been upgraded since Romans times.

You need to put your shitty toilet paper in the bin and not down the toilet. This is due to the fact that the sewerage system just can’t cope.

No wonder there are a lot of crappy smells. 

We packed up the apartment in order to checkout. 

As requested, we tied up all the plastic bags in the recycling bins. 

However there was so little in them that it seemed to defeat the whole principle of conservation. 

It was a longish, 2.5 hour, drive to Villa Romana del Casale, which was inland. 

We were here to see the famous Roman mosaics, that are regarded as rather special. 

Unfortunately on the way we had a little incident. 

A bird, of some variety but rather large, flew into the side of the car. There was a very big bang as it hit, then bounced off. 

I feared the worst, in regard to the damage it might have done, so once we arrived in Villa Romana del CasaleI I checked out the car and all was ok. 

Then we needed a coffee. 

Fortunately there was a group of food and souvenir stalls, just near the entrance and we could get a coffee there. 

It wasn’t bad either. 

Before we headed out to explore the mosaics, I needed a pee, which was probably a result of the coffee. 

There is an old saying.

“Here I sit, broken hearted, paid a penny and only farted. “

It wasn’t a penny for a pee but rather 50¢.

It was the first Sunday of the month, so admission to the site was free, so I didn’t fee that bad about paying for the toilet. 

Villa Romana del Casale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the villa and its artwork dating back to the early 4th Century AD.

It was originally the residence of a very wealthy Roman, whose name has long been lost, and probably designed as the headquarters of his large estate.

It has the most amazing collection mosaics, showing the world as they knew it at that time. It portrays myths, legends, sports and animals, from Africa and Egypt to India. 

There was too much history to absorb and take photos of, so in the end I bought a small book detailing everything. 

It was an amazing experience and many of the mosaics were stunning. 

We spent over 1.5 hours there and then headed for Agrigento, on the southern coast. This was our destination for the next two nights. 

That was another 1.5 hours of driving.

Our room was in Esseneto Rooms, a terraced house, in a narrow back street, just below the town centre. 

To get dinner it was a steep climb up to Agrigento, but at least it was down hill coming home. 

Parking near our rooms wasn’t easy but luckily I found a tight spot, on the street, about 50m from the entrance. 

I’m glad we got the Fiat Panda, if only for its size. 

We had a stunning view from our bedroom window, which showed temples, in the foreground and the Mediterranean Sea behind.

Apart from the view, our room also had some great photos of the temples below.

We walked up into town and went looking for a pre dinner drink. It was only 18:39 and far too early to eat.

After a bit of mucking around we found Bar Athenea 90. 

The menu indicated that they had a local IPA. As it turned out it was a local, Birrifico Dei Templi, American Pale Ale. 

It was very pleasant.

The atmosphere was great so we decided to stay for dinner. 

Then, just as we were about to order, a rather large religious procession passed by. 

It was long and so full of religious significance, but even our waiter couldn’t explain it. 

Well it was a Sunday and we were in Italy. 

It was a great meal with excellent service and very traditional Sicilian cuisine. 

On the way to dinner we came across a stunning memorial to the women who have been victims of violence. Erected in 2021, it consisted of a pair of very large red, high heeled shoes, sitting upon a stone pillar.

It certainly caught our attention.

Tomorrow we were going to visit the Valley on the Temples. 

This was going to be a complete change in culture, as it is Greek rather than Roman. 

 

Monday June 3, 2024.

Agrigento, Italy, with a side trip to Valley on the Temples. 

Breakfast was at the hotel, which made it an easy start to the day. 

My eyes lit up when I noticed a plate of croissants, but they were stuffed full of chocolate. 

What a bloody waste of a good pastry. 

We had to be out early, as Thea had made a booking for us to visit the Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at 10:00hrs. 

This is a collection of Ancient Greek architecture that has been very well preserved. 

It was an interesting drive, especially trying to find the entrance. We had two GPS maps working for us but none of them were right. 

It was nowhere as well signed as our visit to the mosaics yesterday. 

The area has been occupied since the Bronze Age and settled as a Greek village since the 6th Century BC. 

We started to walk around the site and were drawn to the most complete temple in the valley, the Temple of Concordia. 

We then realised it was the one we could see from our bedroom window in the hotel. 

Over the last few days of touring, I have discovered two things that I hate. 

Large tour groups and people taking selfies, especially when they get in my way of taking a ‘real photographs’. 

We could have taken the shuttle bus or even hired a scooter but decided to walk. 

It was a long day of ‘Rockhopping’ as we used to call it but it was well worth it. 

Even in 30°C heat. 

We went right down to the Temple of the Dioskouroi, which was at the end of the site, and then turned back. 

Our return trip took us past the Temple of Concordia again. The sun had moved around and now there was good light on the back of the temple. 

We then had some lunch at the Doric Bar, which is where we had our coffee in the morning. 

Then it was a visit to our last temple, that was just near the exit. 

Temple of Juninho or Héra, dates from 450 to 440 BC and is in rather good condition – compared to some we have seen in other places. 

We then drove back to our rooms via the Turkish Steps. These are not man made but limestone cliffs that run into the Mediterranean. 

They have become a tourist attraction, after being featured in an episode of the Inspector Montalbano TV series.  

It was then back to the hotel with a brief detour, to a shopping complex, to buy a new travel adapter for our equipment. 

Our power board just stopped working and we were stuck with only one power outlet. 

After a bit of a rest in our rooms, we headed back up the hill to the town centre to look for a drink then dinner. 

After a bit of research we found Operá, a pub, restaurant and pizzeria. 

They also had their own range of craft beer. 

I chose an Operá Blonde Ale. At 5% it was fruity and refreshing, especially after all the walking in the heat. 

It was made for the restaurant by the Italian brewer Pitan.

At the end of our dinner, I didn’t have my usual espresso, but rather another beer. 

Good craft beer is harder to come by than good coffee in Italy. 

As you may have guessed, I do have a liking for good craft beer. In fact I have continually looked for craft beer bars and breweries, on our travels, all over the world.

Having walked nearly 8km, we arrived back at our hotel exhausted. 

It was time for bed, not beer. 

 

Tuesday June 4, 2024.

Agrigento to Palermo, Italy. 

Breakfast was again in the hotel.

And again I couldn’t find a plain croissant and had to settle for one stuffed with filling. 

This time it was a vanilla cream, at least it was better than chocolate. 

Once we checked out we were on the road to Palermo, on the north coast, via Corleone. This is the town made famous by the Godfather books, written by Mario Puzo and the film adaptation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 

After the last few days driving on Italian roads and ‘competing’ with Italian drivers I have come to one conclusion. 

They all think and drive like they are Riccardo Patrese, the very talented F1 driver from the 1990s’. 

However they are not that good and lack any talent.

It was then the final drive into Palermo. 

Firstly we dropped our bags off at the Hotel Mediterraneo and then we went and dropped off the car, we had done about 800km in Sicily. 

But before we did that, we had to fill the tank. 

Now there are two ways to get petrol in Sicily. Either you serve yourself or get someone to do it for you. 

The second option costs about ¢30 per litre more, so after watching carefully how it is done, we opted for self serve. 

We then got a taxi back to our hotel. At €25 I think we got ripped off as it was only about 8km. 

It was 16:30 by the time we got into our room, too late for lunch, so we went looking for a snack. 

No sooner did we start walking, than I noticed a sign. 

It was adverting the Palermo Craft Beer Festival from June 13-16. 

Bugger we are too early. 

It does look like the craft brew industry has taken off in Palermo and in Sicily in general. There seemed to be a number of bars and restaurants serving craft beer. 

We continued to walk around the city area, just to get a feel for the place, before doing it properly tomorrow. 

Then we found Le cuPolette, a craft beer bar reasonably close to our hotel.

They also had wine and, much to Thea’s delight a Prosecco, that was just ok, according to Thea. 

I had a 5% Farson’s IPA and it wasn’t too bad. 

Probably better than Thea’s bubbly. 

Then, after some research, I discovered that Farsons is a Maltese brewery.

Dinner was sitting outside at La Traviata and the weather had turned cooler but it was still rather mild. 

On the way to Palermo we didn’t get to stop in Corleone. However at dinner I did have a glass of red from that region and Thea had a white. 

As we were enjoying our dinner, I was suddenly reminded of the street hawkers. They appeared from nowhere and targeted each of the tables. 

The ones with kids were offered toys, while the couples were offered flowers. 

As has become the norm, I ordered an Espresso at the end of the meal. 

Unfortunately it came in a plastic cup. 

This was the only downside of the evening. 

 

Wednesday June 5, 2024.

Palermo, Italy. 

Again the hotel had breakfast included, so we wandered down, a bit late, to see what was on offer. 

The guy who seemed to be in charge of the proceedings scowled at us when we entered at 9:45. I think the close-off time might have been 10:00.

It was certainly a better offering than we had in Agrigento. 

And no chocolate croissants, just the proper sort. However the juice was nowhere a good as we have had the over the last few days. 

We headed off in search of the sites and stopped at the Ballaro Market. 

More a tourist attraction than a real market. Most of the food stalls has restaurants attached, which seems to be the way that things are headed these days. 

We then walked to the area around Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio. 

It was very poor and piles of junk lined the streets. 

Palermo is certainly the biggest city we have visited on this trip and the signs of poverty are everywhere. 

Beggars, dirty streets and so many buildings in very poor condition. 

We had a light lunch at Ristorante Fatima and afterwards a short walk to Palermo Cathedral. 

Built between 1169 and 1185, it’s another UNESCO Site. 

There was an earlier church on the site that was founded by Pope Gregory, who died in 604 AD. but there is no record of his birth.

The church was later turned into a mosque by the Arabs, after their conquest of the city in the 9th Century. There is even a column remaining from this era, evident by a verse from the Qur’an that’s carved into it.

Then we headed back to our hotel and had a rest before the evening adventure. 

We returned to the area around Le cuPolette, the craft beer bar, as there was a better choice of local restaurants in the surrounding area. 

And I felt like another Farsons IPA. 

This part of Palermo seems to be for the locals and the prices reflect this. 

A pint of beer and, a rather large white wine was only €8 ($16). This would cost us $25 to $35 at home. 

Tomorrow we leave Sicily and have a long day’s travelling to get to Rhodes in Greece. 

This will be made a bit shorter by the fact that we gain an hour as we move into Greek time. 

 

Thursday June 6, 2024.

Palermo, Italy to Rhodes, Greece. 

After breakfast, that was again at the hotel, I had a bit of work to do. Then once done, we checked out and put our bags into storage. 

Our flight to Rhodes, in Greece, wasn’t till 15:10 hrs so we had some time to kill.

We used this time for a last look around Palermo, before we headed off. 

But first, a coffee.

This we had at Al Moretto, a coffee roaster that was just over the road from our hotel. 

As we were walking through the main ‘Old Town’ area I was reminded, again, of how poor the city is. 

There are so many buildings in disrepair. 

We then returned to Piazza Bellini and took a closer look at two of the very old Greek churches. 

The Church of San Cataldo, built around 1154 and the Church of St. Mary of the Admiral, built around 1143.

Interestingly, the Arab-Norman style Church of San Cataldo, was used as a post office in the 18th Century, before being restored in the 19th Century.

While the Church of St. Mary of the Admiral is in the Norman-Arab, Byzantine, and Baroque styles, it stands today as a celebration of the architectural styles that have developed through the centuries. It is enriched by various tastes in art, architecture and culture.

On the way back to the hotel we both had a Granita. 

Well, we can’t leave Italy without having had at least one. And, as normal, there was the accompanying ‘brain freeze’ that you always get eating nothing but flavoured ice.

We then got a taxi to the airport and took an age to get through security. 

We had asked at the hotel reception how much should we expect to pay for the cab. They thought €50 to €55 we ended up paying €60. 

I think the taxi drivers are the biggest crooks in Sicily – they must be controlled by the Mafia. 

The plane was over an hour late in leaving Palermo, so our stopover in Rome will be a lot shorter than planned. 

It was so full that a number of passengers had to check their luggage into the hold, as there wasn’t enough room in the overhead lockers. 

Fortunately we didn’t, so our bags stayed with us. This meant that we could go straight to our connecting flight to Athens. 

We grabbed a snack on arrival in Rome and went to our gate. 

We were now on an Aegean flight (Greek), having just come off an ITA Airways (Italian) one. 

This one was also late in leaving, so it’s going to be a long day. 

Boarding for our one hour flight from Athens to Rhodes went smoothly. 

I get the feeling this flight just might be on time. 

This was the first flight we have been on, since leaving Melbourne, that had spare seats. 

We had arranged to be pickup at the airport, by a taxi that was organised by the hotel. 

Let’s hope it’s also on time. 

The flight had barely reached altitude and then it started the decent. 

The cabin crew had just enough time to, very quickly, hand out some water and a chocolate biscuit. 

On disembarking the taxi was waiting and the whole process was very orderly. 

Even the drive to the hotel was smooth, as there was no honking horns, passing cars and reckless driving. 

Greek drivers are much more polite. 

 

Friday June 7, 2024.

Rhodes, Greece. 

The Aegean AirlIne magazine ‘Blue’ had an article about Rhodes. The headline read: ‘Rhodes: The island of Knights and legends,’

This sounds as it might be an interesting few days. 

As it was rather late when we got to bed, the previous night, a sleep in was required. 

This meant we missed breakfast at the hotel. So, we went next door to Gran Caffe. It was a bit like being in Nikkos in Oakleyoppolis or Oakleigh, for those who don’t know Melbourne. 

After a bit of time on the road, a clothes wash was in order. So, after asking at the hotel, we headed out to find The Express Laundry. 

They had a very good rating and would do a service wash, which was better than us hanging around waiting. 

This was going to take 1.5 hours so we walked down to the old town port area, which was close by. 

There we visited the Rhodes Windmills and Saint Nicholas Fortress, both were on the Mandraki Harbour waterfront. 

The windmills are regarded as one of the finest examples of medieval Greek technology. 

The Saint Nicholas Fortress stands guard at the harbour entrance and was built between 1460 and 1467. The port entrance is also guarded by statues of a Deer and Doe. 

We visited them from both sides to get a better perspective. 

We popped in for a cool one around lunchtime, but didn’t feel like eating, as breakfast was so late. 

I had some work and Thea had some bookkeeping to do so we retreated indoors for the afternoon, where it was a lot cooler. 

It was now 35°C outside. 

Later in the afternoon we headed out again. It was still a warm 32°C but much more bearable. 

After booking a rental car for Sunday, we headed to the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, which led to the old town. 

Built in the 7th Century it is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece.

It was now time for our evening drink and what a surprise, I discovered Karoathos Cafe. 

They had a Greek craft beer collection on offer. 

I do enjoy a Hefeweizen on a hot day, so went for the Craft Weiss from an Athens Microbrewery. 

Very refreshing. 

I did go a little overboard and then had a Jasmine IPA from Strange Brew also from Athens. 

The one thing that has struck both Thea and me, is the difference between Italy and Greece. 

The Greeks are just calmer and nowhere near as stressed as the Italians. 

This has been evident in so many areas. 

The airline flights, the service in restaurants, the road manners and just the general organisation. 

Once we left the old town, we walked back to the area near our hotel, because it wasn’t so touristy. 

Then we went to Divan, a street restaurant that was close by, for dinner. 

The food was good but a bit slow. This was due to a big group, who had just ordered as we arrived. 

So much for avoiding the tourists.  

 

Saturday June 8, 2024.

Rhodes, Greece. 

Breakfast was at the hotel today, as we managed to get up and ready in time. 

The intention was to have another day of sight seeing and a bit of shopping, but that was after a coffee. 

However I did want to try and get a car phone holder, as there was no GPS in tomorrow’s rental car. 

As it happened, just over the road from the coffee shop was a ‘€1 Shop’. 

They might just have one. 

Ironically we have $2 Shops in Australia, so I guess €1 equals $2 in Europe. 

It was nothing like our $2 Shops and just full of tourist junk. 

We did eventually find a shop that had phone attachments and got one there. 

The woman who served us turned out to have grown up in Melbourne as a young girl and she did have quite an Aussie accent. 

It was priced at €17 but told me I could have it for €10. 

We then undertook some sightseeing and bought a museum pass that gave us four venues to visit.

First the Muslim Library of Hafiz, built in 1793 and then the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes.

The Archaeological Museum had all their artefacts in rooms on the first level – some dating back to 800BC.

It was warming up, so we went looking for lunch and a cool drink. 

As it happened Beerokouto, a Craft Beer pub, was just near the museum. 

We had to try it, as it was mentioned in ‘Blue’, the Aegean Airlines magazine. 

Accompanying our Greek Salad and Sourdough Toast was a herb we had never tasted before. 

It was called Descurainia Sophia or just Sophia. It had a sweet yet rustic taste and is grown in Crete. 

Beerokouto had a huge selection of draft and bottled beers. 

I again had a Jasmine IPA from Strange Brew. However this one was a draft and an improvement on the bottled one from last night.  

They also had beer mats, something I’d not seen on our travels so far. 

I asked if they had any to spare and our very obliging waitress produced a handful from their store. 

All brand new. 

After lunch the barman very proudly pointed out a beer tap with an Australian IPA and gave us a taste. 

It was great and we decided we must return again before we left. 

Next on our cultural travels was the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. 

It was vast.

The huge spaces, where the Knights could congregate, were in total contrast to their tiny living areas. 

This Medieval castle, built in the Gothic style and started in the 7th Century, was severely damaged in 1856. This was due to an explosion in a gunpowder magazine that was caused by lightening.

The castle was turned into a museum in 1948 and today is one of the main tourist attractions of Rhodes

At around 17:00 hrs we returned to our hotel for a rest. 

We had done a lot today, especially in the heat. It was now only low 30°Cs, compared to yesterday’s 35°C but still warm. 

Once it was a bit cooler we headed out again to find some dinner. 

I certainly didn’t feel like much having had a largish lunch at Beerokouto. 

As we left the hotel, we asked where the nearest post box was. 

“At the Post Office” was the reply. 

Now it appears that they don’t have street post boxes, just those at post offices and the nearest one was down near the port area. 

When we got there it was shut, no, in fact, it was closed down. 

The postal system, world wide, is in crisis as people just aren’t sending mail. 

Pity about the poor tourist who just wants to send a post card. 

Once done, not finding the post boxes, we went looking for dinner.

We ended up at a rather strange amalgamation of businesses. 

One serving the booze, another cooked meats, another pizza and a final one that did desert. Kotzachritsou Mi was the name on our receipt but certainly not out the front. 

I finished my meal with a Greek Coffee. 

Now, in the past, I have always had them ‘sweet’ but I decided to have this one without sugar. 

Wrong – the sugar ads to the flavour and makes it uniquely Greek. 

Without it, it’s just a coffee, with a thick sludge of ground beans at the bottom. 

Overall it wasn’t a bad meal and suited what we needed after a long day of sight seeing. 

We needed a relatively early night, as tomorrow we are on the road, in a hire car, to explore the island. 

 

Sunday June 9, 2024.

Rhodes, Greece, with a drive around the island. 

It was an early breakfast today, then we picked up the Butterfly Rental at 9:00 hrs. 

After a very thorough briefing on the Peugeot 108, POX 89 69, we hit the road. 

Or first stop was down the eastern coastal road to Lindos. This is both an archaeological site and a fishing village, that was first settled in about the 10th century BC.

The drive to Lindos was a real contrast to driving in Italy, as I have already harped on about.

After we found out where to park and paid the €7 fee we climbed up to the Lindos Acropolis. 

We seemed to get lost leaving the village and missed the main walking path. We then had to use the Donkey Path, which was rather uncomfortable and only really suited to the donkeys, not us. 

However we did descend on the Human one, which was much easier and naturally peppered with ‘opportunities to buy’ along the way.

Once we reached the Acropolis we used the ‘Mexican step method’ to climb up, as there were countless, very steep, steps.

This method consists of climbing the steps diagonally, criss-crossing as you ascend, thus reducing their angle of steepness.

This was first shown to us in Mexico, when we were climbing the Mayan Temples.

In classical times the Acropolis of Lindos was dominated by the temple to Athena Lindia, which was built around 300BC.

During the Hellenistic and Roman times more buildings were added. Then in the 14th Century AD they were overlaid by the fortress, that was built there by the Knights of St John, to defend the island from the Ottomans.

After all the climbing we got back on the road and headed to the Valley of the Butterflies. 

Now I understand where the car rental company name comes from.

It was a great drive through the centre of Rhodes, with great coastal views along the way.

In the valley it was much cooler than in Lindos and only about 30°C. 

The environment was in total contrast to where we had been.

Everything was natural and green. 

There were certainly many Butterflies to be seen and this was only the start of the season.

There were also waterfalls, streams, with crabs, and deep lush undergrowth everywhere.

We then drove back to Rhodes, via the west coast road. 

Once back into the city we just meandered around and then finally got the car back at about 17:00hrs. 

As far as dealing with the rental company, this was one of the best ones I have ever had. It was simple, easy to follow and they didn’t seem to be hiding things or adding on things you really didn’t need. 

Once the car was returned and they had checked there was no damage and the petrol level was where it needed to be, they just ripped up the contract and said goodbye. 

We had done 127km, and it was a very comfortable drive, that really only covered half the island. 

But we had been assured that this was the half worth seeing.

It was then a refreshing drink at the Top 3 Pub, which isn’t far from our hotel. 

I must admit a cold beer on a hot day is one of the best ways to refresh the system. 

I have found the Weißbier is great in hot weather, so I had an Erdinger. 

It was a great day with the car and so less stressful than the madness of Italy. 

I have yet another new found admiration for the Greeks.   

On our tours around Sicily and Rhodes, I have noticed how much ‘Ink’ people are wearing. 

To reinforce this observation there are at least three tattoo parlours just near our hotel. 

The tatts aren’t just restricted to young people. There are many who are in their mid fifties and sixties who are also well inked up. 

Tomorrow is a more casual day and our last full day on Rhodes. 

We will try and use up the other venues in our Museum tickets. We have two left – we were give four in total. 

The weather forecast is for a pleasant 29°C, so a lot easier to get around. 

We found Au Bon Bistrot for dinner. 

This was described as a restaurant that specialises in true Greek cuisine, which was just what we were looking for. 

The only downside is that they are into cats, which is evident in their logo and the fact that their Google Maps listing boasts lots of them. 

This was very true, as the place was surrounded with them. 

Despite the pussies the meal was great.

We had lamb, without the fries, but rather pita bread and all with a great Greek Salad. 

Perfect Greek – as we know it. 

It was such a wonderful day and night that we felt we needed a nightcap, so returned to Top 3 Pub. 

There I had a Brewdog Punk IPA – one of my favourites. 

 

Monday June 10, 2024.

Rhodes, Greece. 

Lazy start to the day as we didn’t have a lot planned. 

This meant breakfast next door, as our hotel breakfast finishes early. 

Well, too early for us. 

It was a toss up as to whether we would take the bus, or get a taxi, to the airport tomorrow. 

The hotel receptionist didn’t paint a bright picture regarding the bus.

In the end we said, “bugger it” and arranged to get a taxi. 

Rhodes is a tourist town and that is very evident by the number aircraft that are coming in to land and taking off again. 

The sightseeing destination for the day was firstly, Our Lady of the Castle. This Greek Orthodox church was first constructed around 11th Century AD.

It was then converted to a Roman Catholic church, after the capture of Rhodes by the Knights Hospitaller. It was then remodelled in the first half of the 14th century.

Inside was an amazing collection of Portable Icons and Worship art, from Greek Orthodox Churches, dated from the 14th to 18th Centuries. 

Next was the Decorative Arts Museum, where no photos are allowed. I suspect this is a private collection and not part of the government. 

These were the last two venues of our €10 ticket. 

All worth it except for the last one and it’s selfish, no photo, policy. 

There is concern, world wide, that tourism is taking over and ruining the lives of the locals. 

I have to agree. 

In the Old Town of Rhodes and even in the area where we are staying, there seems to be very little for the locals. 

There appears to be no places for them to buy food, with all the markets just selling souvenirs and everything else is dedicated and priced for the visitor. 

Most places don’t have prices on their goods, that’s up for negotiation and that depends on where you come from. 

I’m sure that if you are local, it might be a bit cheaper.

Lunch was meant to be just an ice cream but they saw us coming. 

Thea asked for a double scoop, each one of a different flavour. We finished up getting two scoops of each flavour – four scoops not two.

We paid for it in two ways.

Firstly price and secondly, because there was so much, it melted in the heat before we had a chance to finish it. 

There was far too much anyway. 

After a bit more meandering we headed back to our hotel. 

We just needed escape from the heat and that was the best place to do it. 

We intended to return into the Old Town and revisit Beerokouto, the craft brew pub for dinner. However as we were wandering around during the day, we walked past and noticed they were closed. 

Monday is the only day in the week they are not open. 

And guess what day it was? 

We went down to the port area for a drink and yet again sat outside.

We ended up at Island Lipsi, a traditional Greek restaurant that was right next door to Beerokouto, 

The food was ok, but not great. 

We got chatting to an English couple and had a rather social night. 

I ended up with a Greek Coffee (sweet this time) and an Ouzo. 

Thea just had the Ouzo. 

Then we received a complimentary desert, which we really didn’t need, especially after all the ice cream at lunchtime.

We had it just the same. 

 

Tuesday June 11, 2024.

Rhodes to Athens, Greece. 

After our five days in Rhodes, I think that there are three things that stand out. 

Tattoos, Vaping and boob jobs.

Sorry four things, getting ripped off. 

This is evident everywhere and the government is one of the biggest perpetrators, charging a 22% tax on every item of food you consume. 

After breakfast at the hotel we prepared to get a cab to the airport. 

Athens has always been one of my favourite European cities, but we haven’t been here since 2012.

It was an easy 40 minute flight to Athens and getting a cab was also well organised at the airport. 

Negotiating with the taxi driver was a bit more complex. 

This was made even more difficult by the fact that they all want cash. 

That way there is no tax for them to pay. 

No wonder they try to cheat the system, when you consider what the system does to them.

The International Atene Hotel was the swishest we have stayed in so far on this trip. 

Small but well laid out rooms with everything you need. 

We arrived at exactly the same time as a large Asian tour group. 

There were two, very small, lifts to transport people to their rooms. 

We waited and when we finally got our turn, found our room and got settled in. 

Then it was time to check out the local area. 

It’s very hot in Athens, with the temperature around 39°C. I think we will be taking things rather easily, at least until it cools down a bit. 

First thing we needed to do was find a bank and get out some cash. 

The bloody taxi had taken it all. 

Banks were non existent and even ATMs were thin on the ground. 

While looking for ways to get cash I found Padre, a craft beer bar but they didn’t serve wine. As suggested by the owner, Thea went to a minimart, next door, and bought herself a small bottle of warm white wine. 

This bar was really set up to be a take away and they only served their beverages in plastic cups. 

How disappointing. 

I did whinge about having to drink out of plastic cups and was given the reason.

The owner only purchased the bar two years ago, as a take away business, and intended to make it full service once he took ownership. 

This, he later found out, was going to cost him €10,000, a price he didn’t want to pay. 

Yet another government rip-off.

They did have 10 craft beers on tap, which was the most I’d seen on our Italian and Greek trip, so far. 

There were no banks open, near us, in this part of Athens and very few ATMs. 

The reason is basically the area is too poor and the ATMs were continually being robbed. 

However we do feel rather safe in our accommodation, The International Atene Hotel, as it is right next to a rather large Cop Shop. 

Athens isn’t the city it once was.

Much of it is run down and there is graffiti everywhere, plus there are so many abandoned buildings.

When I first visited this capital of the Greek Empire, back in 1972, it was a vibrant city and so different to anywhere I had ever been. Even the Greek alphabet added to its uniqueness.

For dinner we found a Greek restaurant, To Aønvaïkóv (Established in 1932) it was just near Omonoia Square. 

It was still very hot outside and the inside was almost full, as they had air conditioning. However we did manage to get a table. 

The meal was good, as was the service and it didn’t cost a fortune. 

 

Wednesday June 12, 2024.

Athens , Greece. 

Breakfast was included, so we had it at the hotel. 

Again I had a bit of work to do and then we headed out. 

We were staying very near Omonoia Square and the Metro. So we caught the underground to the Acropolis Museum. 

It was hot again and the museum gave us some shade and of course, air conditioning. 

It’s an amazing museum.

We have been here before, not long after it opened, and it’s a great way to see the history of Greek culture, especially Athens. 

But before anything else we needed a coffee. 

There was no shortage of cafes but finding one that served from ceramics, not takeaway paper cups was a consideration. 

The cafe we found, Leonidas, was perfect. 

I had a Double Espresso and Thea had a Frappe or Greek style iced coffee. 

It even came with Biscotti – what a treat. 

We weren’t the only people hoping to avoid the heat in the museum. 

It was very crowded. 

From the moment we arrived in Athens, I noticed that there were more Asian tourists than we had seen in either Sicily or Rhodes. 

I guess Athens is a cultural hub with no beaches for sun baking. 

So much of the Acropolis is missing, stolen or destroyed. 

And religion is to blame in most cases, except the Elgin Marbles. 

The continual invasions of Greece seems to be all about gaining power and influence in the name of different gods. 

True, it was built in honour of a the god, Athena, but it shouldn’t have been harmed in the name of other gods. 

One of the tremendous features of the Athens Museum, is that you can look up and see the Acropolis, which dominates the skyline as it overlooks the city.

Next was Syntagma Square and then a walk around Monastiraki Square, with lunch at Καφενείο Η Ωραία Ελλάς, another very Greek restaurant. 

It was 16:30 hrs, so not really lunchtime. 

We did spend a long time in the museum and as it was so late, we only wanted something simple. 

A piece of Spinach Pie, or Spanakopita, shared between us, plus a wine and a beer.

This is all we needed. 

The waiter was ‘pissed off’ and thought we should be ordering far more. Then he had the cheek to ask for a tip at the end. 

After returning to the hotel and doing a bit more work we went out for dinner. 

It was now 20:00 hrs, so some time had passed since our very late lunch. 

We decided to return to To Aønvaïkóv, the restaurant we went to last night. 

Again the food and service was great and the price was reasonable. 

It was then back to the hotel, for a relatively early night, in preparation for our flight to Granada tomorrow. 

 

Thursday June 13, 2024.

Athens , Greece to Granada, Spain 

Breakfast was at the hotel, then we checked out and left our bags in storage. 

Again our flight wasn’t departing until mid afternoon, so there was time for a little more sightseeing before we departed.

We had a short walk down to the market area, which took about 15 minutes. 

However the temperature was already 31°C. 

Mokka for coffee, which is an institution in Athens and situated next to the market. 

It was established in 1923. 

The Varvakios Central Municipal Market is mainly for meat and fish with a few vegetables. There are also antique stalls near by.

Athens is a city, built on a city, built on a city and excavations are everywhere. 

We wandered around the perimeter of the ruins in Ethnikis Antistaseos Square. These were near the City Hall and included an old Greek road running through the centre.

It was then back to the hotel to collect our bags and get prepared for the train trip to the airport. 

It was now 37°C, so it will be a slow walk to the Metro with our bags. 

The Metro was very efficient, until it came to actually getting to the airport. 

The train, that indicated it was going there, dumped us off at Doukissis Plakentias, three stations before and we then had to wait 15 minutes until another train came along that would take us there. 

We weren’t the only ones who were confused, as there were many tourists standing around scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong.

Then, once we got to the airport, we still had to do the check in, as Thea hadn’t been able to do it online. 

The upside was they allowed us to put our luggage in the hold and there was no charge. 

Then we were checked through to Granada, which was also a bonus. Let’s just hope our bags are waiting for us when we arrive.   

Now we just have to endure the 3 hour flight to Barcelona. Then the 3 hour wait for the flight to Granada, which is 1 hour 35 minutes.

Our plane was 35 minutes late in leaving Athens, so it’s going to be a long day. 

On the flight from Athens to Barcelona I made an amazing discovery. Google Maps worked in my phone, while we were airborne. 

I could plot where we were and the direction we were taking. 

Vueling don’t provide you with much information about you flight, so this was very useful. 

My excitement was short lived, as it was only active when we were over land. In this case Sardinia. 

Once we landed in Barcelona we went looking for something to eat. 

Pans & Company offered a range of things, unfortunately it all came in disposables. 

We had no choice. 

As we sat, waiting to get the departure gate for our flight to Granada, I started to count the flights arriving and leaving the airport. 

They we averaging one a minute. 

That got me to thinking, how many people fly every day around the world. 

So I Googled it and the figure, believe it or not, was 6 million. 

When the departure gate was announced, it was about 30 metres from where we were sitting in the restaurant. 

How lucky is that.

The final journey of the day was from Granada airport to H&A’s. 

This is about a 30 minute drive and relatively easy, if you know the way. 

We got a taxi easily enough but then things turned awkward. 

When he spoke to us the cabby thought, because we were tourists, that he had an easy drive into the the city centre. 

Wrong. 

H&A’s is on the side of a hill, the same one the Alhambra is on. And it’s a very steep and windy road to get there. 

He freaked, when he realised what he had got himself into. 

We finally made it, with much reassurance from us that he was on the right track. 

July 18, 2022. Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland, to Berlin, Germany. 

On the move again, this time back to Berlin by train. 

On the train, from Yverdon-les-Bains to Olten, there was a woman with a dreadful cough. We just hoped that it wasn’t Covid.

This train wasn’t very crowded, which meant we could keep our distance from the coughing woman.

However the train from Olten to Berlin was full and we had to wear a mask – yuk. 

It was a fast train and at some points we were travelling at 250kph but it didn’t seem like it. 

No sooner had we arrived in the capital, we were greeted by the welcoming call of the emergency sirens. 

The sirens are a very distinctive sound in Berlin, so much so that young Brianna can imitate them.

Dinner was at Lemke, a Berlin brewery very near our hotel. 

We had been there before. It’s a beer hall with good food and a variety of beers on tap. 

My favourite beer was a Hopfên Weisse, a Weizenbock IPA. At 7% it was a meal in itself. 

July 19, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

H, A and B were back in Berlin from Rome and they are now starting to make plans to move to Granada, Spain, later in the year. 

To keep out of their way we are staying in the H4 hotel. It’s in a good location, midway between Hayden and Andrea’s place and the commercial area of Alexanderplatz. 

It’s also not far for us to walk to our favourite eating area near H and A. 

After checking into the hotel the previous night, our first task of the morning was battling the hotel internet.

We needed to get this sorted, as I had work to do and we also wanted to start planning the next stage of our journey.

In the afternoon we were out with Brianna for an ice cream and then some park time. This is always special and there is a range of playgrounds, nearby, that she enjoys.

Having visited Berlin many times since H and A moved there in 2015, we have noticed just how well this part of the city is set up for family apartment living.

Playgrounds and parks are everywhere and some apartment blocks, like H and A’s even have their own ‘child friendly’ space within the complex.

Plus, there seems to be acres of space for bikes – well, we are in Berlin and everyone rides one.

That night we had a family dinner at Metzer Eck, our favourite German restaurant, that’s not far from their apartment.

This is one of the oldest, family run restaurants in Prenzlauer Berg, dating back to 1913.

This was before the two World Wars and the division of Berlin, into East and West, after the second.

It has a very cozy interior, where you are surrounded by antiques and family heirlooms.

The food is traditional German cuisine, served with friendliness and warmth.

Surprisingly, given my dislike for potatoes, Bratkartoffelen is one of my favourite dishes.

This is simply roasted potatoes with fried Spec or pork pieces and roaster onion.

There is an abundance of very good Asian restaurants in the area as well, but we much prefer the beer halls and simple, homely, restaurants like Metzer Eck.

We can eat Asian food at home whenever we feel like it.

 

July 20, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

It’s a scorcher today, with the temperature getting up to 38ºC. However in other parts of Europe it’s in the 40s.

Even Switzerland.

As I have previously mentioned countries like Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland are not built for these kind of temperatures. For one, no one has air conditioning, only heating.

Even the asphalt melts on the roads, as it’s not designed for the heat.

The cities are also much more crowded, with high density housing and narrow streets, that have little tree cover. 

Sadly Brau Factum, the craft beer hall, is in decline.

It was so close to our hotel, that I was looking forward to a pint of their excellent beer before dinner. 

Just like we did in 2019.

However now their hours are limited and the offering isn’t as extensive. 

Another victim of Covid19 I’m afraid. 

Dinner was at the iconic Hofbräu House, which is almost next door to our hotel, then a short walk down to the Spree River. 

It was still around 33°C, so no exertion was needed. 

July 21, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

Thea needed to visit the doctor for more tests, to see if she was on the mend.

After her appointment in the morning, we had a walk through the Tiergarten to the Brandenburg Gate, while we waited for the outcome of the tests.

Late in the day we returned to get the results – great news, she was on the improve.

After that we had a celebratory drink at Kaschk, a coffee and craft beer bar serving Brlo. It also has good wine. 

And the wine was cold, unlike the offering from the Hofbrau House the previous night. 

It was then to Khushu, an Indian restaurant, for dinner. We had been here in 2019 and it was great. 

History repeated itself. 

July 22, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

Now Thea had the all clear from the doctor, it was time to plan the next stage of our adventure. 

As we can only spend 90 days in Europe, we will now head to the United Kingdom. 

That night dinner was with H, A and B, this time at one of our favourite Thai restaurants, Anjoy. 

We do occasionally go to one of the numerous Asian restaurants in Berlin.

July 23, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

It was a Saturday and H and A weren’t working, so after coffee at The Barn, our go to spot in Berlin, then the market and two playgrounds, we had lunch at H&A’s.

Then in the afternoon another coffee and two more playgrounds. 

Brianna loves her playgrounds.

The evening concluded with a light dinner at Schankhalle in Pfefferberg. 

We discovered this restaurant, bar and brew pub, that’s very close to Hayden and Andrea’s apartment, in 2019 – it was good then and still is. 

 

July 24, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

Avocado on Toast at Kaffee Käthe for brunch.

We have been here many times before, as their take on this Aussie favourite is worth returning for.

Their coffee isn’t that bad either.

Then later in the afternoon, it was an Ice cream for Thea and a coffee for me. Then a slow walk down to the Spree and Museum Island.

There were still Ukrainian flags flying on many of the buildings, a constant reminder of Putin’s ‘Special Military Operation.’

It’s summer in Berlin and nothing seems to be open, especially the Craft Beer bars. 

So many of these places are privately owned and those owners go on holidays during, what they see as, the quiet period.

Pity about the poor tourists visiting Berlin.

That night we went to Tsomi, a Georgian restaurant, for dinner. We had passed this place a number of times and really wanted to try it.

Especially after visiting Georgia in 2014.

July 25, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

Another warm day, this one in the mid thirties.

We spent most of it getting ready to move on Wednesday. 

There was clothes washing at the H and A Laundromat, followed by a playground visit with Brianna.

Late in the afternoon there were thunderstorms and heavy rain, with the temperature dropping.

That night we went to an Italian restaurant, near our hotel, and were given a table looking into the kitchen – we were very close.

It was like watching ‘Master Chef’ live, while having dinner. 

Normally we eat outside but we wanted to stay dry, so opted to move in and their wasn’t much space left, so that was the seat we were offered.

July 26, 2022. Berlin, Germany. 

It was a quiet day planning the next steps, then a park and playground excursion with Brianna in the afternoon.

Our last dinner, before heading to Britain for a couple of months, was at Hayden and Andrea’s.

July 13, 2022. Barcelona Spain to Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland.

Another country today, this time to catch up with Denis, my mate in Switzerland. 

Denis had also missed the wedding in Italy, so this would be a good time to talk bullshit and relive old times. 

A common pastime of old farts. 

In the morning the lifts in our hotel in Gràcia weren’t working, so I asked to get someone to help us with the bags. 

When we got to the lift we discovered they were working again. 

The trip to the Barcelona airport and check-in was very smooth, as was the flight to Switzerland. 

Vueling performed well, even the disembarkation was handled in an orderly manner –  yet again. 

We found the railway station, within the airport, and booked our tickets. We weren’t due to catch the train until 14:05 hrs so we had some time. 

We then got some lunch. 

Two very small ham and cheese rolls and a glass of wine. 27SF or just over A$40.

Our short stay in Switzerland isn’t going to be cheap.

However we aren’t paying for accommodation, which will be a saving. 

 

July 14, 2022. Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland.

After a chatty night with Denis we had a latish start to the day. 

Even Switzerland was feeling the heat of the European summer, so we weren’t about to exert ourselves too much. 

It’s so dry in Switzerland that they have imposed water restrictions. 

Who said that climate change is a hoax?

Afternoon tea at the Restaurant Chalet du Surchet, then we had a short walk, along the hilltop near the chalet. 

As you would expect from the Swiss countryside, the views were spectacular.

We then drove around the area to get a better look before heading home.

That night’s dinner was at The Toucan Restaurant. 

Located in an old farm building and offering local food and wine, this is an institution in Arnex and we have been there a number of times before. 

With the weather being so warm, we ate outside, in their large shaded terrace area, as did everyone else.

This is unusual but so is the climate at this time.

 

July 15, 2022. Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland.

It was another unusually warm day in Switzerland.

Denis is a fan of art and we always seem to gravitate towards a museum or gallery when we stay with him.

Today was no exception and we decided to go to Lausanne to see an exhibition of Art Brut.

I won’t even try to explain what this art form is, but rather I’ll cheat and copy the the introduction that was on a poster near the entrance.

‘What is Art Brut?

Art Brut or Outsider Art, is made by self-taught people who often live on the margins of society, either as rebellious souls or as beings that are impervious to normative and collective values.

Among them are prisoners, residents from psychiatric hospitals, eccentrics, loners and outcasts whose creative expression exists for itself without any concern for public criticism or what other people might think.

They invent their own creative space, seeking neither recognition nor approval. 

Totally original in their chosen means and materials, utterly singular in their creative process, they produce works that are untainted by artistic tradition.’

As you would expect, from this description, the exhibition was somewhat of an eye-opener and very left field.

The term Art Brut was created by the French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985).

He was also responsible for gifting the museum, that housed this exhibition, to the City of Lausanne.

It was opened in 1976.

Dubuffet also donated much of the art featured in the show.

We then drove to Lake Neuchatel (Newcastle) for an afternoon drink at Terrasse du Pécos. 

It was then a walk into Grandson, a beautiful village that was also on Lake Neuchatel, where we had another brief walk around.

 

July 16, 2022. Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland.

While Australia has been going through a cold spell, the temperatures in Arnex have been in the 30’s.

The interesting thing about the type of heat that Europe is is currently experiencing, is that nowhere is designed to handle it.

All the homes, public buildings, restaurants and cafes have heating, not cooling.

Now the hot spell has spread to England and in some places the temperatures are expected to reach the 40’s. 

We spent the afternoon with a couple of Denis’s friends by Lac Léman, near Lausanne.

It was great to get views of the city from over the lake.

 

July 17, 2022. Arnex-Sur-Orb, Switzerland.

Rather than staying in Arnex during the day, we felt it was best to get into the mountains.

At least the temperatures were bearable there.

So the drive this afternoon was to Le Pont for a coffee.

Then on to Châtel (Altitude 1,432 m) for a walk to the viewpoint for a pre dinner snack, which included a rather tasty wheat beer, at Restaurant Châtel.

Denis is a real ‘tooth’ and always has been – it’s impossible to fill him up.

And now, the same can be said for Thea as well, who’s appetite certainly wasn’t abating due to her current medication.

We toured more local villages on the drive back to Arnex.

Over the years Denis has taken us through many of the villages around his home in Arnex and they all seem to have one or more of Martine’s relatives, the Morels, living in them.

I suggested to Denis that when the locals marry they need to get a DNA test, just to make sure they’re not marrying a cousin.

This was our last day in Switzerland, as we would be heading back to Berlin tomorrow.