So, we went into a frock shop and I popped upstairs to the mezzanine level to try on a frock. And this is what I heard.... Edith Piaf's 'La Vie en rose' is playing on the speaker. Me Jenny, who is sitting downstairs waiting for me says to the shop owner: "Oh I love this... Continue Reading →
Ronda was a bit of a surprise. We'd forgotten we were going there... and what a lovely surprise she turned out to be. Apparently the 3rd most visited town in the south of Spain and all because the town is split in half by a gigantic 100 metre deep gorge and connected by this amazing... Continue Reading →
On our last night in Seville we wanted something a little bit easy. We'd had our tapas lunch and the thing about tapas is that you only have a few small dishes to share and that fills you up for a couple of hours and you think I couldn't possibly eat dinner.... then dinner time... Continue Reading →
Our plan was always to go on day tours in each of the places we visited and thus far the tours and the guides that our lovely travel agent Lyn Tyson organised for us have been outstanding! Honestly, there hasn't been one that we haven't liked (except the lady at the cathedral - but we... Continue Reading →
Today we're heading to the beach and our luck was in - Delia was again our guide. She picked us up with our driver, David, who was also lovely. He spoke a little bit of English, so we 'Spanglished' our way through the day with Delia as our interpreter. Cádiz, we learned is pronounced like... Continue Reading →
This morning we were meeting our guide to take us on a little walk around the interesting neighbourhoods where the tourists don't normally go. I was quite looking forward to it. We waited in the hotel's grand foyer... Check out his awesome furniture collection in the grand foyer... Then, the lovely Delia turned up -... Continue Reading →
Our tour tonight was across the river to the neighbourhood of Triana which has a very rich and colourful history. Until the 1850s, the district of Triana was linked to the rest of the city by a single floating bridge made from boats tied together side by side. It was a place where ‘undesirables’ were sent... Continue Reading →
Today was going to be a big day, but first things first - brekky. In the breakfast area there is a bottle of olive oil on every table. No butter, no salt, no pepper - just the essential accompaniment to any dish. This is looking down on our foyer waiting room which is typical of... Continue Reading →
See ya round Lisbon... today we're headed to Seville in Spain. Soooo much new (and some the same) history to learn... soooo much tapas to taste... soooo much sangria to sample.... soooo much flamenco to watch. We are staying right smack bang in the middle of the old Jewish Quarter in one of the most... Continue Reading →
After the chicken, we carefully made our way back over the slippery tiled cobbled streets back to our hotel for a chicken filled 'guts up'. This is our hotel on a slightly inclined street... It was lovely to sit inside our room and watch the rain come down as we dined on our hotel room... Continue Reading →
Today is our last day in Lisbon and indeed Portugal, and we were determined to get on that damn tram! Having learned our lesson with the No. 28, we decided to head down to the big archway and try our luck with the red historic tram. We just have to get through these crowds of... Continue Reading →
This morning we were tour guideless until this afternoon, so we had the day to wander at our own pace just looking at stuff. This is the Santa Justa Lift - built by Raoul Mesnier de Ponsard, an admirer of Gustave Eiffel's work, hence the similarities in style. It was built back in 1902 as... Continue Reading →
The search didn't take too long as Lisbon is all about the Fado. Fado is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon. It is commonly regarded as a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music... Continue Reading →
We arrived at the front of our hotel this morning to find our lovely friend Fernando waiting for us - what luck! So we would go to see Sintra with a local. The drive took about 20 minutes and this part of the world couldn't be any different from Lisbon or Porto if it tried.... Continue Reading →
Lisbon. Capital of the biggest city in Portugal and one of the oldest cities in Europe (and therefore the world) and the home of the original pastel de nata - apparently only 3-5 (reports differ) chefs know the original recipe! This is the view from our room!!! We are just walking distance to this beautiful... Continue Reading →
Our fabulous hotel in Coimbra was Quinta das Lagrimas. We arrived at the gate cause they don't let any old riff riff in this joint (except maybe these two ladies who jumped into my photo) And we were greeted at the door by Paulo who swiftly took out bags up the stairs. The room was... Continue Reading →
Well if we thought yesterday was a ghost town - check this out! You couldn't even see across to the other side of the river! We packed our bags, had our brekky and waited out the front of our hotel for our tour guide. As we were sitting watching the vans pull in, pick up... Continue Reading →
Yesterday marked the last day of summer holidays for the Portoians - back to school, back to uni and back to work. So when we woke this morning and pulled back the curtains, we were met with a ghost town. There are still tourists however... and we are two of them. Today we had nothing... Continue Reading →
What a massive day! We got up at the absolute crack this morning as we had a tour guide picking us up at 8am (or so Jenny had read). The sun hasn't even come up yet!!! Brekky didn't start until 7.30, so we had to be at the door ready to grab our plate so... Continue Reading →
Last night we headed out to find somewhere for dinner. Neither of us were very hungry so thought we'd just get a bit of cheese and bread to go with our bottle of wine. There is always a lot going on along the waterfront, and tonight we felt like something a little less....... conga line!... Continue Reading →