It was February and we were hot. This was more like it! We'd finally escaped the English winter and made a bolt for the warmth of Morocco. For the next ten days, we wandered the maze of streets around the Marrakech Medina, got lost - a lot - and did a spot of...
Our 2021 New Year’s resolution was to do one road trip a month. We failed miserably in January, but we’re getting better. You can read about them on this page.
Spicy! (Part I)
February was as far as we could make it through the English winter of 2023/24. We hadn’t emerged from our hibernation cave for weeks, Russell’s golf clubs had rusted up, and I was in danger of permanently relocating my office to our bed.
Boating, Boarding School, and a Pig
You may have heard of Henley-on-Thames. It’s a 13th-century market town in Oxfordshire famous for its annual regatta. Henley Royal Regatta, founded in 1839, has only been interrupted by WWI, WWII, and COVID. It’s also where I grew up and went to school until the age of 13.
A Whistle Stop Tour Through Wales
It all started when Russell watched a documentary about Great British railway journeys. “I want to do that one,” he said pointing at the TV. It was a day trip to the Snowdonia Mountains in Wales on board The Statesman. “OK,” I said, “Let’s go.”
Five Days in Amsterdam
I’ve always wanted to visit Amsterdam. My only knowledge of it had come from films and paintings – the canals and bicycles, the red light district, the Van Gogh Museum and the cannabis culture. In July 2023, we finally got there, and it was just as I imagined.
A Wee Trip Down Memory Lane
When I was a kid, my parents would regularly take me and my two brothers up to Scotland for a family holiday. Mum would wake us all at 4 am, bundle us into the back of the car, still wrapped in our duvets, and we would start the long, long drive north, arriving in Argyll in time for supper.
Summering in the UK
For the last couple of years, we have summered in the UK. In part because most parents take their little darlings to the Continent during July and August, and we would rather not join them. But mainly because the UK is just so fabulous in the sunshine. Granted, summer and sunshine don’t always go hand-in-hand, but when the two align, there’s nothing better.
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli (Part II)
In Part II of our Sicilian adventure, we left Taormina and headed 30 minutes down the coast to the twin villages of Aci Castello and Aci Trezza. Separated by a mile-long promenade, these laid-back fishing villages were a complete change of pace – a sort of Port Douglas on the Med, if you happen to know Port Douglas.
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli (Part I)
If you’re a fan of ‘The Godfather’, you’ll recognise “Leave the gun, take the cannoli”. Peter Clemenza said it to his offsider after they’d stiffed a traitor. You see, he’d bought some cannoli for his wife on the way to the hit and they’d left the car with the dead body and the gun. But there’s no way he was going to leave the cannoli. It’s a Sicilian thing. . .
Expect Scattered Showers of Sleet and Snow – Chapter 2
As you will know if you read Part 1 of this post, we were in Ireland enjoying the unseasonally sunny weather, instead of the forecast sleet and snow. But maybe we were heading straight for it. Maybe the second part of our Irish adventure was a disaster waiting to happen.