Chapter 3 Hola Amigos, Greetings from the trail! Enough of the posturing, pontificating and positioning: we started our walk this afternoon (Tuesday)! 3.5 hours later, after a cheeky 8.5km stroll we had walked to Cape St Vincent. After posing for the usual snaps it was another 8.5km back to our hostel on the northern edgeContinue reading ““Walking on Sunshine“🎵”
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“Don’t stop me now!” 🎵
My ‘2026 Camino Portuguese’ has begun! My 600 mile coastal walk from the bottom of Portugal to the top of Spain starts on Wednesday. My pack is packed, I’m checked in and at the time of writing, ready and waiting for a Ryanair flight that deposits me in Faro, southern Portugal at 8pm tonight –Continue reading ““Don’t stop me now!” 🎵”
“1-0 to the Arsenal” 🎵
Chapter 1 My ‘Camino Portuguese’ 2026: a 600 mile coastal walk from the bottom of Portugal to the top of Spain: a walk that both celebrates life and honours the life of my lovely niece, Hannah Jones who died in July 2025. Last July my youngest sister Lizzie and husband David, received the news thatContinue reading ““1-0 to the Arsenal” 🎵”
The Allure of the Algarve
27 years ago, my wife Nicky and our 3 children enjoyed a fantastic family holiday on the Algarve, on the southern coast of Portugal. Fast forward all those years and she and I were fortunate enough to be offered our first return opportunity, with a 15 night, mid-October stay, in a villa belonging to friends.Continue reading “The Allure of the Algarve”
“You Shall Tell Your Sons” A city tour of Budapest, the ‘Polished Diamond of the Danube’.
In early August 2025, after a gap of 4 months I was fortunate enough to hit the Eastern European capital city trail once more, with an impromptu visit to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Wow! What a city. What a trip. We only visited for 72 hours, but were fortunate enough to pack so muchContinue reading ““You Shall Tell Your Sons” A city tour of Budapest, the ‘Polished Diamond of the Danube’. “
‘Polished Poznan’ – Our 4 night city break to Central Poland’s secret jewel.
Why Poznan? A fair question and one I remember asking myself, in the immediate aftermath of booking our flights back in March 2025 for a 4 night visit in early May. Truth be told, I think the answer lies in a combination of reasons: cheap flights, easy travel from Leeds Bradford airport (just 35 minutesContinue reading “‘Polished Poznan’ – Our 4 night city break to Central Poland’s secret jewel.”
What is one word that describes you? Niche! 😂
Welcome to Bucharest: the ‘City of Joy’ and where East meets West.
A travel blog after a 6 night visit in early March 2025 On our first day in Bucharest we were asked to describe our first impressions of the city in just 1 word. At the time I remember trying quite unsuccessfully to think of a single word to describe such an ‘up and coming’ city.Continue reading “Welcome to Bucharest: the ‘City of Joy’ and where East meets West.”
‘Beautiful Bratislava’ a 5 night stay in the Bohemian capital of Slovakia
A quiz question for you: which 2 capital cities are the closest in proximity? (You should disregard Rome and the Vatican City as the latter is not in a country) Answer: Vienna and Bratislava. It was purely on the basis of that quiz question and the fact that it features prominently on Ryanair’s winter destinationsContinue reading “‘Beautiful Bratislava’ a 5 night stay in the Bohemian capital of Slovakia”
Tip’s First Trip …….. and First Dip
My seemingly uneventful afternoon in mid November had started with Tip’s first trip out. It was to end with one soggy doggy and his dog sitter literally ‘in the dog house!’ Up to this moment I had never realised that dog sitting was so complicated or difficult. I had always presumed that dog walking wasContinue reading “Tip’s First Trip …….. and First Dip”
