Southern Europe
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Visiting Cascais and Estoril from Lisbon
The train to Cascais departs from Lisbon’s other station, ‘Cais da Sotre’. The line runs along the coast so be sure to sit on the left hand side to take in the sea views on the 35 minute journey. We loved Cascais, it’s a compact town with a pretty working harbour. We watched fishermen landing…
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Belem and Estrella, Lisbon
After breakfast we checked out of our room and left our luggage to collect later in the day. Then it was off to explore the district of Belem, catching a tram from the Praco de Commercial. Belem is dominated by its long suspension bridge ‘April 25th’spanning the river Tejo and by its ornate tower, ‘Torres…
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A spring break in Andalucia
Our Ryanair flight to Malaga departed on time at 08.45. It was the first time we had flown Ryanair since free seat allocations had been introduced. It was a big improvement avoiding standing and queueing ages to be able to sit together. We were also fortunate to have an empty seat next to us on…
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A day in Marbella
For breakfast we headed to a nearby bar which had cured hams hanging from the ceiling. We feasted on freshly baked croissants and frothy coffee before taking the 10.00 am bus along the coast to Marbella. Travelling by bus was the only option as there are no train lines on this section of coastline. The bus…
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By train to the Ronda Gorge
Our morning began with an early morning stroll around Malaga’s indoor fruit, vegetable, meat and fish market before taking the 10.00 am Renfe Media Distance (MD) train to Ronda. Our train was very comfortable with air conditioning and it was a relaxing journey over to Ronda. The main reason for our visit was to see the…
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Seville and the Semana Santa Festival
After breakfast we checked out of our accommodation in Malaga and on the way to the railway station, stopped to take a look in the Malaga indoor market. Here one can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish and it was busy with locals buying their fresh produce. Our train to Seville departed at 10.10…
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Sightseeing in Seville
We spent the entire day exploring the beautiful city of Seville. We walked everywhere, and along the riverbank to the Torre del Oro (The Golden Tower). Seville owed much of its success in maritime trade to its river which offered ships more protection than a traditional European port. Built in the 1200’s the tower’s name…
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A Day in Cadiz
This morning we boarded a train bound for Cadiz. Trains depart from Seville’s other station, St. Bernardo and the journey takes two hours. Cadiz is the most westerly part of Spain, situated on the Atlantic Ocean. In need of a coffee fix, we found some inviting cafes in the main square overlooking the 18th century baroque…
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Sightseeing in Cordoba
It was off to Seville’s main rail station, Santa Justa for the 1 hour 20 minute journey to Córdoba. It was a cool, overcast day, the temperature feeling much lower than in Seville. Cordoba was founded by the Romans and it became a major port city used for shipping olive oil, wine and wheat to…
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Seville and its Semana Santa festival
We allowed ourselves a little lie in and it was just after 9.00 am when we were eating breakfast. The day’s plan was to explore Santa Cruz, the former Jewish quarter of the medieval city. This district contains many of the older churches as well as the massive gothic cathedral. It was crowded along the…
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From Seville to Malaga
We checked out of our lovely Seville apartment mid morning, and walked along to the Santa Justa station for our train back to Malaga. It was good to be able to spend a few more hours in Malaga, as it’s such an underrated city with most tourists heading off directly from the airport to Marbella…
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A short break in Bergamo, Italy
We were up early as we had booked a 6.00 am flight to Bergamo. As it was such an early start to the day we fell asleep before take off and didn’t rouse from our slumbers until we were touching down in Bergamo Airport. In the airport we purchased 72 hour travel passes for the Bergamo…
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A day in Milan, Italy
After breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant we walked to Bergamo’s railway station and bought return train tickets to Milan. Trains depart frequently and the journey time is one hour. On arrival in Milan’s Central Railway Station we marvelled at the ornate hall with its large, curved roof adorned with frescoes and chandeliers. We rode the…
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Visiting Lake Como from Bergamo
Following an early breakfast, we boarded a train to Varenna. Unlike the Milan service, this train was very old and not particularly comfortable but it arrived in Lecco one hour later, on time and it was only necessary to cross the platform for the connecting service to Varenna. This second train was crowded with school children…
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Final morning in Bergamo
We went down to breakfast promptly when the restaurant opened at 7.00 am as we had a morning flight back to the UK. The Cristallo Palace had been quite a good choice of hotel, rated as a 4 star but probably more of a 3 star standard. Staff had been friendly and the W-Fi worked…
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A weekend in Fuerteventura
It was necessary to get up at 3.30 am as our flight to Fuerteventura was scheduled to depart at 6.20 am. Fortunately we managed to sleep for most of the flight so we arrived feeling refreshed. There was little activity in Fuerteventura Airport and we were soon waiting for a bus to take us to…
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A visit to Corralejo, Fuerteventura
After enjoying a good selection of breakfast dishes we walked along to Caletta’s bus station for a bus to Corralejo in the north of the island. To get there it was necessary to change buses in Puerto Rosario. The journey time was one hour and ten minutes. The landscape was barren and devoid of any vegetation but…
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A Day in Caletta de Fusta, Fuerteventura
After the previous day’s rain, we woke to a warm, sunny morning with no rain clouds in sight. To walk off our large breakfast we strolled along the seafront to its end. Just beyond the Sheraton Hotel we came across a small shopping mall and cinema complex. There was a long jetty to walk along…
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Returning home from Fuerteventura
As our flight was not scheduled to depart until 12 noon we had ample time for a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant before checking out and walking to the small bus station. The journey took just 20 minutes and the terminal building was considerably busier than when we arrived a few days earlier. As…
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A weekend in Mallorca – Day 1
We had booked an 8.00 am flight to Palma, Mallorcca with Monarch Airlines, so we were up very early to arrive at the airport in good time. We slept for most of the two and a half hour flight and soon found ourselves in Palma airport. We located the bus stop for Palma, Bus…
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Exploring Santa Ponca, Mallorca
After a good night’s sleep we enjoyed breakfast on the restaurant terrace overlooking the pool and Santa Ponca bay. We decided to stay local and explore on foot finding a coastal path that led us onto the main beach and around the bay to opposite where we were staying. The path then came to an…
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Visiting Port d’Andratx, Mallorca
It was too windy to eat out on the terrace so instead we sat by the window so we could still enjoy the view. Afterwards, we walked down the hill into Santa Ponca and caught a bus along the coast to Port D’Andratx. The journey took 40 minutes passing through the resorts of Pegeura…
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Palma, Mallorca
We woke to clear blue skies and warm sunshine so we were able to linger over our breakfast on the hotel’s restaurant terrace. Afterwards, we spent a leisurely couple of hours relaxing on our balcony enjoying the views of Santa Ponca bay for one last time. We checked out of our hotel at noon and caught…
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A weekend in Madrid – Day 1
We took the car to Manchester Airport, leaving home mid morning and as we were quite early we decided to stop for lunch at the Trafford Centre (Shopping Mall) which is north of the airport. Feeling refreshed, we continued onto the Boundary Farm long stay car park which is literally at the end of…
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