We were interested to visit Coimbra as it was the medieval capital of Portugal for just over 100 years from 1145-1255 when King Afonso moved his court to Lisbon. The city is also home to one of Europe's oldest universities. Trains from Porto to Coimbra depart from Campanhã station which is on the main north-south …
Our travels took us to the medieval town of Tewkesbury, noted for its well preserved half timbered Tudor buildings and its 12th century Abbey. We started our walk around town at The Cross adjoining the High Street which has a wonderful collection of Tudor buildings including the cantilevered 18th century Golden Key House, the top …
Our final day in Pisa and an opportunity to explore some of the city's less well known sights. Our first stop of the day was the University of Pisa Botanical Gardens (Orto botanico di Pisa) nestled on the street behind its more famous neighbour, the Leaning Tower. Admission to the gardens and botanical museum is …
Our final day in Manchester and the sun was still shining! After a leisurely breakfast in our cosy suite we gathered together our belongings and checked out of CitySuites, leaving our bags at reception to collect later in the day. Making the most of our weekend tram pass, it was then back to nearby Exchange …
For the first time this holiday it seemed a struggle getting out of bed, a sure sign that we must have adapted to the 8 hour time difference. Going down to breakfast the restaurant manager either had a good memory or maybe it was because we appeared to be the only European guests staying at …
It was such a treat waking up in our stylish room at the beautiful Boulevard Hotel and drawing back the curtains to uninterrupted views of the Irish Sea. Heading downstairs we were shown to a window table in the restaurant from where we could watch the waves lapping the beach whilst tucking into our delicious …
The weather forecast was good so we planned a visit to Upton House and Gardens near Banbury in Warwickshire. Arriving around 2.00 p.m. on a glorious summer's day the main car parks were already full but we were directed to an overflow parking area in a field which was only a short walk from the …
Setting off early one weekend we decided to visit Nostell Priory on the outskirts of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. Approaching Wakefield we stopped off for breakfast rolls and coffee at the Union Rooms in Batley which is just around the corner from a Mill Outlet so we had a quick look in there before moving …
I'd seen an article in a magazine about the Mottisfont Rose Garden and how beautiful it was in mid-summer so one sunny day we decided to visit. The garden is in Hampshire and on our way we stopped in Andover for an early lunch and a little look around the market town. Andover is located …
It was another warm, sunny morning so after breakfast we took the metro to Gyeongbokgung station so that we could visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. As we had purchased a book of tickets the previous day covering all of Seoul's palaces we did not need to visit the ticket office. We had arrived at 9.20 a.m. in …
Continue reading Day 6. Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Royal Guard Change, Seoul
