Archive
Isle of Man – September 2020
Everyone has heard of the Isle of Man – well, at least in relation to the TT races which take place there every year. Apart from that I knew nothing about the island until the authorities there agreed with Guernsey to have an ‘airbridge’ as both islands were Covid free with similar approaches to dealing with any new cases.
So, the chance to actually travel somewhere in 2020? No brainer really! We booked our flights and browsed hotels, eventually deciding on the Mannin Hotel in Douglas. We like to be fairly central when visiting somewhere new, and this was perfect as it also had an underground garage so no issues parking the hire car.
We arrived on the Wednesday lunchtime, 9 September, landing to sunshine which is always a good start. We collected our hire car and drove to the hotel to check in. We learned after booking the hotel that Douglas Promenade is currently undergoing major reconstruction so the view from our room wasn’t quite as picturesque as it could have been!
We decided to have a walk along the seafront and then through the town centre, taking advantage of the nice weather. We continued to North Quay, which is the restaurant and bar area on the waterside. We decided on the Little Fish Cafe for dinner, and of course had fish and chips which were delicious.
Day 2 – Thursday
After a lovely breakfast, we drove west to Peel. Pretty little town, with a lovely beach (although it was very cloudy that day). We strolled around the dock down to Peel Castle, which we went into. We paid £10 for a Manx Heritage badge, which gave us entry into all the Heritage sites and more than paid for itself over our visit. Peel Castle is more of a historic site than a castle, as there is little left other than walls. Interesting nonetheless. From there we paid the obligatory visit to Davison’s Ice Cream Parlour – it didn’t disappoint, with lovely ice cream!
From there, we drove south to Castletown. This was very quiet and we walked around, looking at the Old House of Keys (the original parliament building) and used our badges to get into Castle Rushen – a castle still relatively intact, with lovely views from the top.
From there, we drove down to Castletown Golf Links and admired the view, before heading back to Douglas. Dinner was Chinese at the Majestic – just a few minutes walk along the Promenade from our hotel, and very good.
Day 3 – Friday
Today was due to rain, so we decided to go to the Isle of Man Motor Museum, which is known as a must-see when visiting the island. We drove north to Jurby and spent the next four hours (yes, four hours) wandering around a huge warehouse looking at hundreds of vehicles. If you visit the Isle of Man and have the slightest interest in cars or bikes, you must go.
By the time we left the museum, it had stopped raining so we drove to the Point of Ayre which is the northernmost tip of the island before taking the mountain road south back to Douglas. Dinner that night was the Barbary Coast on North Quay – fantastic burgers!
Day 4 – Saturday
We walked into town on Saturday after breakfast, to do some bits of shopping. Breakfast was a small one, as we were heading for Close Leece Farm for bacon sandwiches. We saw this on James Martin’s Islands to Highlands series when he came to the Isle of Man. It was so worth it – amazing bacon in soft fresh white bread. My mouth waters just thinking about it…. (There were other people there, I just took the opportunity for a nice photo when some people left!)
After our leisurely brunch – well we had to have cake afterwards, obviously – we drove back down the road to Archallagan Plantation. A wonderful forest that looks like something out of a film, and we walked around part of it.
From there we continued east to Laxey, arriving at the Wheel just after 4pm…..to find it closed at 4pm!
So we headed back to Douglas, via the Grandstand for the TT which was at the top of the road down to our hotel. We dined in the hotel restaurant that night, which was good – lovely fish pie!
Day 5 – Sunday
Our last full day in the Isle of Man. We decided to drive the remainder of the TT route that we hadn’t already covered. It’s incredible when you drive down normal roads with walls and houses, thinking that motorcycles go down those roads at 130 miles an hour!
We headed north to Ramsey, the only town we hadn’t visited. We found a pretty little coastal town, with a little harbour, a beautiful beach and promenade.
From there we drove south to Laxey again, to see the Wheel.
We went ‘down the mine’ first, then climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the wheel. I’m not a big fan of heights but make myself do these things – although it was very windy that day, making it even scarier….
From there we continued south to Groudle Glen, hopefully to see the water wheel and the railway. Unfortunately, the pathway was diverted due to necessary work, and we finished up walking much further than we intended, along the streams and through the forest. The diversion meant that we couldn’t find the water wheel (although subsequently discovered that it’s being renovated at the moment so not there!) but we did come to a station and saw the steam train.
Dinner that night was Just Pizza and Pasta on North Quay. We had tried to eat here on Friday night, but it was fully booked – it was well worth the wait. Real pizza which was so light I ate most of it – unusual for me! We strolled back through Douglas to the hotel for the final time.
Day 6 – Monday
We packed up and left the hotel, having decided to drive up to Snaefell, the highest peak on the island. We knew the railway wasn’t running, but hoped that we could drive to the top. We arrived at the junction that we’d driven through before but couldn’t find another road up. We drove up a track to a building, and discovered the memorial to Joey Dunlop. Speaking to some locals there, we learned that there is no vehicular access to the peak, it’s either by train or on foot (an hour’s walk). Given that you could see the cloud on the peak so views were unlikely, we abandoned the idea.
From there we drove south to Cregneash, where there are traditional thatched cottages. There are tours when it’s open, but it was closed today so we just wandered around the lovely cottages.
Our final stopping point was the Sound – the southernmost tip of the island with a fantastic cafe and wonderful views. We even saw seals! Coffee and cake went down a treat before we headed for the airport for our flight home.
We really enjoyed our few days in the Isle of Man. It’s a relatively quiet island and reminded us of Guernsey some 30 years ago. The population is around 85,000 so not much more than Guernsey but it’s four times the size! The roads are uncongested and the people are friendly. We had some lovely meals, although we did find eating out was a little expensive – more on a par with Guernsey, if not slightly more. We did all the sights and saw most of the island.
If there are direct flights again, we may return – if only to see the Promenade in all its glory when it’s finished! March next year apparently….
Madeira
View from Hillside Villa
Day 1
After a very early start on Friday 13 (!) December, we landed in a sunny Madeira around lunchtime, picked up our hire car and headed west towards our villa in Arco do Calheta. We couldn’t check in until later in the afternoon, but thought we would find it first, then explore the area a little. Having found it fairly easily, following the directions we were given by the owner, we drove back down to the coast into Calheta. Parking the car, we strolled around the marina and stopped at one of the restaurants for coffee and cake. By the time we finished, it was time to check into the villa, which was beautiful. We decided to have a quiet/early night as it had been a long day, so went back down to the supermarket we found in Calheta (Pingo Doce) and bought pizza for tea!
Day 2
Our first day to explore. We drove west then inland (steep roads!) and started a levada walk which was going to lead us to beautiful waterfalls. Sadly the rain started and we turned back as it got heavier – another day, we thought….. Being more or less in the centre of the island, we continued to drive north to Sao Vicente where we visited the volcanic caves. One thing I really wanted to see was the lovely traditional A frame houses. We weren’t far from Santana, so continued around the coast and stopped there. It was still raining so my photos didn’t quite have the blue sky I envisaged. We drove ‘home’ from there, and relaxed for an hour or two before driving down to Calheta marina where we had dinner at New Era. After we’d eaten, we strolled around Calheta and looked at their lovely Christmas lights and displays.
Calheta Christmas display
Day 3
View east towards Funchal from Cabo Girao
There was some blue sky to start with, so we drove to Cabo Girao viewpoint. This had amazing views towards Funchal although I was not keen on the glass bottomed section of the platform, walking briskly across it just to say I had! We continued into Funchal for a wander round the old town, looking at the colourful painted doors. We stopped at a small kiosk to have Bolo de Caco for lunch. This is a traditional Madeiran bread which we had with ham and cheese. We walked through to the cathedral, and found traditional dancing going on, with a large crowd watching. There was a Christmas market too, with a very large Santa, and a big display in the park. We walked down along the seafront, looking at the big Christmas displays – looking forward to seeing them lit up at night. We headed back to the villa, and the weather was so awful by then that we couldn’t face going out again for dinner, so bacon sarnies it was!
Day 4
Time for a bit of shopping (not least because of the continuing rain) and we went to Madeira Shopping which was excellent and we passed a leisurely couple of hours there, including pizza for lunch as we couldn’t resist when we found a Pizza Hut. From there we drove to Camara de Lobos which is a colourful fishing village – thankfully the rain stopped long enough to get some reasonable photos. Dinner that night was at New Era again as it was so good and not far away.
Day 5
Today we drove east past Funchal to Garajau where there is a smaller version of Christ the Redeemer – quite something to see. Then we visited Monte Palace Tropical Gardens – absolutely stunning, with plants, water features and a terracotta army to say the least. We walked around the gardens and then walked through the Monte Palace hotel grounds to see the Church of our Lady of Monte, which was stunning inside. Overlooking the road from the church was a wonderful view over Funchal, and we saw the traditional wicker toboggan – not my idea of fun, plus we were a little concerned that the guys were clearly spending their day in the bar! We drove back down to Funchal and, as planned, had dinner in Funchal old town – Forno Napoliatano – then strolled around for ages looking at the fabulous Christmas lights in the town and on the seafront. Well worth seeing.
Beautiful lights outside the cathedral
Day 6
Heading into Funchal, we stopped off at Forum Madeira shopping centre which wasn’t as big as we had anticipated. From there we drove into Funchal, and walked to the Mercado dos Lavradores – their fresh food market with wonderful displays of meat and fish, fruit, veg and flowers. Dodging the rain, we had lunch at Casa de Bolo de Caco. After tasty bolo de caco we couldn’t resist a pastel de nata to follow – well, we had to fill our time somehow while we waited for the rain to hopefully stop! After waiting for several minutes for the rain to ease, we went to find Livreria Esperanca – supposedly the largest book store in Portugal. I was looking forward to this, but was decidedly disappointed – it may be large but it was in a very old, very damp building and given the rain, it was clear that the roof leaks copiously. We left there and continued to La Vie shopping centre which was worth a visit. After leaving there, we sheltered in the entrance to an underground garage when the rain became torrential. Heading back to the car once the rain eased a little, we stopped at the cathedral to see inside. Tired of getting wet, we ate in the villa that night!
Day 7
Our last full day – and yes, it was still raining. We had arranged to meet friends in Funchal and have some lunch. By the time we had parked in Funchal, the rain had stopped thankfully. We met our friends by the cathedral, and walked through the Old Town and stopped at Estrela do Mar. We had a long and leisurely lunch with lovely food – watching the torrential rain every now and again! Our friends are local to us, although Guida is Madeiran by birth so her family live here. It was her birthday that day and we were joining them for dinner with the rest of her family at Santo Antonio. This restaurant had no menu (that we saw!) and had the hooks for the espetadas on all the tables. We were brought a selection of vegetables and chips and they just kept bringing more food! Dessert was birthday cake of course.
Heading home
We packed up and headed for the airport. Of course, the sun was shining….. We had a couple of hours in Gatwick before our final flight home.
We enjoyed our week, but the weather was a great shame. Madeira is beautiful but sadly we didn’t see it at its best. We didn’t manage any Levada walks which I was looking forward to, but managed most of the other things we wanted to see and do, so we don’t think we will return. Christmas week (the week after) it was apparently 27 degrees – that would have been nice…..
The rest of my photos are on Flickr here
Florida
My favourite holiday destination, especially when it’s four of us – me and my husband, and our daughter and her fiancé.
It had been a long countdown, with a couple of setbacks which meant we had to reschedule, but we were finally on our way. We always fly Virgin Atlantic, and for the first time we used the V Room in Gatwick, and had decided to fly Premium Economy. Prosecco at 10am – yes please! After the long flight, we picked up our hire car and headed for the hotel – All Stars Resort, where we usually stay – and then on to Magic Kingdom which is always our first stop. This was our first time visiting for Halloween – loved the theming!
Day 1
Our first morning and we were up early for a character breakfast at Ohana’s – with Mickey and friends, including Lilo and Stitch. Fabulous breakfast! After we’d finished, we headed to Epcot for a couple of hours before going back to the hotel for a swim. Then it was time for shopping! Nike Factory Store and a wander around Old Town Kissimmee before dinner at Uno, one of our favourite restaurants.
Day 2
Don’t you just hate Mondays……not when you’re in Florida! This morning was an early start – we were going to Galaxy’s Edge! It’s just amazing to walk into, you don’t know where to look first. We joined the queue for Smugglers Run and the chance to drive the Millennium Falcon. I was an engineer and the whole experience was just brilliant. I also couldn’t resist the most expensive bottle of Coke I’ll ever buy…. (I can’t remember but about $6 I think!)
From there we went to Animal Kingdom to see Pandora, which wasn’t finished the last time we were in Florida. Visually stunning (we also went back one evening later in the week to see it in the dark) and we also did Flight of Passage (everyone raves apparently but I just thought it was ok) and the Navi River Ride and the obligatory roller coaster – Expedition Everest.
Time for a bit more shopping at an outlet mall, with dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack on International Drive. Then our first game of mini golf at Pirates Cove.
Day 3
This was golf day for my husband, so he was up very early. I decided to get up after he had left to go for a run around the resort. I enjoyed my run – apart from the fact that I managed to trip over. I was more annoyed about my brand new leggings which now had holes in the knees! Once the men came back from golf, we went to Disney Springs for some lunch and little more shopping. Back to the resort for some down time before Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, which was great fun – we came back with so much chocolate!
Day 4
Time for a Denny’s breakfast so we headed to International Drive before driving east to Cocoa Beach. We always make the journey to Ron Jon’s when we visit Florida and spend a long time wandering around admiring t-shirts, surf boards and everything else – it’s a huge store on two levels. After that we drove to Cocoa Beach Pier, strolling down to the end where there was a bar. We sat with a cocktail while the men swam – I think we got that right! Dinner in Applebees on International Drive before driving back to Animal Kingdom to see Pandora at night – just beautiful – then a dash to Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks. You can’t say we don’t cram things in when we visit Florida!!
Day 5
I have an old school friend who lives in Florida, and we always meet up in Ghirardelli’s cafe at Disney Springs for a milkshake and good catch-up.
After lunch at Dennys, we drove to a mall, and to Golf Galaxy, a large golf shop that my husband loves.
We spent the evening in Epcot World Showcase for the Food & Wine Festival, tasting some lovely food. We visited ‘Mexico’ which we’d not done before, and loved all the Dia de los Muertos themed merchandise, and then watched Illuminations for the final time as the show is changing soon.
Day 6
Back to Hollywood Studios this morning and we went into Toy Story Land – another new venue since last time we visited. Slinky Dog Dash is great fun and Toy Story Mania is always a must-do for us.
Then it was fast pass time for our drink in Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge. Fabulous interior but they should have the band – and it’s very crowded (you have to book your time slot which is only 45 minutes). After further exploring Galaxy’s Edge, we drove to International Drive for Congo River mini golf and a visit to a Super Target. We love wandering around supermarkets wherever we’re on holiday!
Friday night means Old Town Kissimmee, preceded by a visit to Pizza Hut. It’s tradition. We spent time in the Hot Spot theme park first (the men did the big wooden roller coaster – not me…) then we get a drink and stroll around looking at all the wonderful American muscle cars, both classic and modern. We walk back up the inner street looking at the shops while we wait for the cars to cruise up the street at the end of the night.
Day 7 – midpoint and change of scenery
This trip we had decided to stay at two hotels for the first time – one in Disney and one in Universal. After our first week in Disney’s All Stars, today we packed up and moved to the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. Our daughter had stayed here before but this was a first for us. Lovely hotel, and so nice to be within walking distance of the parks – and a beautiful walk alongside a (man made) river. We couldn’t actually check in until later in the day, so went into Universal and did the Fast & Furious ride before venturing into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. First stop – frozen butter beer.
After our Harry Potter fix, we went to check into the hotel then headed to International Drive for dinner. Tonight we decided on Hooters – renowned for its waitresses but actually the food is excellent! We went for a walk around the ICON park which is where the Orlando Eye is – it has a lovely atmosphere in the evening.
Day 8
Universal day – we walked through Universal and caught the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade, doing various rides along the way. We went back to the hotel for a swim and decided to split up for the remainder of the afternoon/evening. We went back into Universal for a while and then strolled around City Walk, decided to eat at BigFire Grill. This was excellent, both food and service, and we would definitely eat there again – and can recommend the scallops!
Day 9
Change of scenery today – driving west to Busch Gardens. This drive used to take a good hour, but these days with better road links it takes about 45 minutes. The men went off to do all the roller coasters, and we strolled around looking at the animals and taking photos. We did feel that Busch Gardens seem to be investing in the coasters rather than the animals. We visit Florida about every three years, and there is always a new coaster there, but the animal displays/enclosures remain the same (now looking a little tired). We’re not sure we will do Busch Gardens again, although the men may well drive across just to do all the coasters.
We drove back, stopping for food on the way, and had a swim at the hotel. Millers on International Drive was the choice for dinner, which was really good.
Day 10
Mixed day today. In the morning, three of us went to Sea World to do the coasters. I try and do a new coaster every trip, and had promised myself I would do Kraken on this trip, which I did. The men did the rest while I strolled around taking photos. Back to the hotel to pick up Lauren, and we headed for Top Golf. This had only opened since our last visit, and having used our small version at home, we were looking forward to the whole experience here. It didn’t disappoint. There are around 100 bays, with different games to play for all levels of expertise. We ordered lunch (burgers and sliders) and couldn’t resist ordering donut holes afterwards – complete with their syringes of sauce. In the meantime, we started playing. If you want a break from the parks, we would definitely recommend a visit to Top Golf. Despite my husband wanting to stay there for the rest of the day (it’s cheaper during the day than in the evening) we headed back to Universal, and waited for dusk to ride my favourite roller coaster – Hulk. Then we played the mini golf there which we’d never done before – great course!
Day 11
Water Rides! We went into Islands of Adventure with the intention of getting wet. Well I didn’t, but the others did! After a change of clothes, we had lunch at Dennys on I Drive, then drove north to Ducati Sanford. My husband loves Ducatis and wanted to see a proper dealership – which this most definitely is.
They did Indians as well as Ducatis – he didn’t know which way to look first 🙂 After we dragged him away, we stopped at the Mall at Millenia and Outdoor World before going back to the hotel. We went for a walk along the (man-made) river to the Portofino Bay Hotel – which looks beautiful (and is quite expensive!). Dinner was Uno on I Drive.
Day 12
Water park day – we were going to Volcano Bay. We got the bus from the hotel (which is free as opposed to paying for parking (yes, despite being resort guests). A fun day, although we didn’t think it was as good as Blizzard Beach which is our favourite (and was currently closed unfortunately). Back to the resort, and we played the other Universal mini golf course before getting ready for Halloween Horror Night. A brilliant night – well worth the money. Not long after we arrived, I went to the ladies (it was still daylight at that point) and when I came out, all I could see was zombies!! There are ‘houses’ which we found were just about being made to jump, but it was outside that did it – different zones with different scary people. We walked through one zone which had people with chainsaws (not really obviously but they sounded real!) We walked past someone and unbeknown to me they followed us, suddenly starting the chainsaw right behind me – scary but brilliant. We sat and watched the goings on at one point (the scary people don’t come onto the pavements) and it was brilliant watching them scare people.
Day 13
That last full day comes around really quickly 😦
Early start – our second attempt to get on Hagrid’s Magical Creature Bike Adventure. The first time, it wasn’t running so we abandoned the queue. This was our last chance – it wasn’t running to start with but we stuck with it – and so glad we did. It was well worth the wait, not least because we got lucky and got front row seats! Time for breakfast so we headed for Dennys on I Drive. We’d decided to go to Disney Springs to look around the shops, including the huge Disney store. A visit to Disney Springs is never complete without a cupcake so time for Sprinkles. We went to Walmart on the way back to the hotel, and spent the rest of the afternoon around the pool and playing shuffle board. We had two suggestions for dinner so tossed a coin and Hooters it was. We sat outside this time which was really nice – love watching the world go by on I Drive. Back to the resort and a last walk round City Walk…..and we had to get Voodoo donuts….. 🙂
Day 14
Home time 😦
We packed up and checked out, driving to Disney Springs as the car park is covered so it would keep out stuff cool (like chocolate to take home!) We just wandered around and had lunch at Blaze Pizza – lovely pizzas, made fresh in front of you as you say what you want on it. I couldn’t resist a final Sprinkles cupcake – and had the same again as it was so good – black and white 🙂
Until next time….
[We visited in September 2019 – sorry, bit behind with the blogging!]
The rest of my photos are on Flickr here
Jersey
St Aubin’s Bay
Although Jersey is another Channel Island (I live on Guernsey), it’s a long time since I spent more than a day shopping there. We decided to have a few days there in the summer, and we were certainly lucky with the weather.
We travelled by boat, so just an hour on the Condor Liberation. We were staying in the Premier Inn in St Helier, so just a short walk from the harbour. After checking in, we went for a wander around – through town, Royal Square, and down to the Waterfront where we had something to eat. We strolled back through Liberty Wharf and Liberation Square, where there was a French market on.
Day 2, and more walking. We walked east through Howard Davis Park (smaller than I remembered!) and then back into town to their wonderful fresh food market. Then we caught the bus to the Jersey War Tunnels. If you have the slightest interest in World War II history, this attraction is absolutely worth a visit. It has a mix of old historic information and modern technological displays. The Channel Islands were occupied by German forces during the Second World War and the three larger islands all have a lot of historical buildings and attractions to visit.
We caught the bus back into town and went back to the Waterfront for pizza and the cinema. We only have a very small cinema in Guernsey, so to see a film in a ‘proper’ cinema is always a treat.
Jersey parkrun at Quennevais Sports Centre
Day 3 – parkrun day! I love parkrun and this was only the second time I had run outside of Guernsey. Jersey parkrun course is lovely, and we will definitely do this one again. Back to the hotel for breakfast then packing and leaving our bag with reception, we went for a walk around St Helier where we discovered there was a French Festival – hence the French market in Liberation Square the day we arrived!
We had a lovely couple of days, and were so lucky with the weather. We won’t leave it so long before we visit again.
If you want more information on Jersey, visit https://www.jersey.com/
The rest of my photos are on Flickr here
[We visited in July 2019 – sorry, bit behind with the blogging!]
Alderney
Despite being born in the Channel Islands, and having lived here for most of my life, I had only been to Alderney once before – and that was a day trip some 30+ years ago. My husband had been to Alderney earlier this year for work, and stayed at the Braye Beach Hotel, which he said I would love.
Having booked a week off at the end of April/beginning of May, we decided to go there for a couple of days.
Day 1
We touched down in Alderney at 3.30pm and after collecting our small case, we strolled down Tourgis Hill – the long way to Braye Beach (about 40 minutes walk). It was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies. Walking along, I was struck by how few cars there were – Alderney is so peaceful. We checked in to the hotel and admired our room which had a stunning view across Braye beach.
Wasting no time, we left the hotel and strolled around the little harbour to walk down the long breakwater. Then we walked up into St Anne – the ‘capital’ of Alderney and very picturesque, with cobbled streets, pretty buildings and a beautiful church. Fast approaching time for dinner, we walked back down Braye Road to the hotel. We had booked a table in the Vaults, their steakhouse restaurant. After a superb meal, we retired to the bar….
Day 2
We had arranged to meet a friend for coffee after breakfast, so spent a pleasant hour catching up. It was just starting to rain when we headed out, and we walked west, back to Fort Tourgis. This is a huge fortification, now sadly derelict, but it was fascinating to wander around it. You can’t actually get inside because it’s unsafe but you can go into some of the bunkers around the edge of the site and can walk through the main courtyard. Walking back down the hill, we saw a sign for ‘Watermill’ so followed the path down into the valley. The watermill is currently being renovated by volunteers and they appear to be making good progress, with some way to go yet.
The rain was getting heavier, so we decided to continue back to the hotel, and have a light lunch (not really needed after a full English breakfast, but just to keep out of the rain for an hour!) A coffee and a Croque Monsieur later and the rain started to ease off so we decided to walk back up the hill into St Anne and visit the Alderney Society Museum. Like a lot of attractions in Alderney, it is manned by volunteers and we spent a fascinating hour or so looking round it and learning new things about Alderney. By the time we came out, the rain had thankfully stopped and we walked up Longis Road, past the golf course, as far as ‘the Nunnery’ which like many of the forts on Alderney you can’t actually get into. We walked back along Braye Beach, and had dinner in the Seaview Restaurant in the hotel – again, excellent food and service.
Day 3
Our last day dawned with some sunshine again – thank goodness! After another great breakfast, we packed up and vacated our room. We left our suitcase with reception, and headed east – today’s walk was to the far north east point of the island, and the Mannez Lighthouse. We walked around the headland, looking at the lighthouse, the railway yard with a rusty old crane, and looked up at the ‘Odeon’, a German bunker (you can get a key to go in this, but we didn’t). From there we walked back along the coastal path, past Saye beach and around Fort Albert (another fort you can’t actually get into but can peer through the gates).
Back along Braye beach, and to the hotel for a last coffee before heading up to the airport. We were a little early, and our friend who works there suggested we walk round the corner to see the Alderney free range pig farm – some gorgeous little piglets!
Our time in Alderney had come to an end. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to get there, but I certainly won’t leave it so long before visiting again. Besides, we haven’t been on the train (again manned by volunteers and mostly running at weekends) and you can also have a tour of the lighthouse (only on a Sunday afternoon in the summer months).
A beautiful, peaceful island, with friendly people – everyone you walk past says hallo – and a relaxed pace of life. Perfect for a couple of days rest and relaxation.
Belfast
City Hall
We made a last minute decision to go away for a few days in July, and decided to visit this city, having never been to Northern Ireland.
We stayed in the heart of the city, at the Ten Square Hotel which was at the back of City Hall (of which more later), and we would highly recommend it – its location was perfect, our room gorgeous, and the staff and the food were first class.
We arrived early afternoon and, after checking in, went for a wander around the shops before returning to the hotel and venturing up to the top floor to the Loft Bar for a drink. Stunning views, with an outside area too, and we relaxed for an hour before heading back out to look for somewhere to eat. After a couple of options didn’t inspire us, we returned to the hotel to eat in Jospers where the food was lovely.
The next day (after a superb breakfast buffet) we had 48 hour tickets for the open top bus tour bus, so hopped onto that and saw the majority of the route before getting off at Crumlin Road Gaol where we had pre-booked tickets for the tour. We were fascinated by the derelict building opposite, which we later discovered was the former court house which had been the subject of arson and vandalism in recent years. A great shame as it was obviously a beautiful building in its time. The tour of the gaol was fascinating, and reminded us of Kilmainham Gaol which we had visited in Dublin a couple of years ago.
The Big Fish
After a drink and snack in the little cafe, we got back on the tour bus and headed back into the city. We walked down to the River Lagan – to see the Big Fish! – and then went to McHugh’s for dinner. The building was very old and the food was wonderful traditional Irish fayre. A stroll back to the hotel, and we decided we couldn’t resist a nightcap in the Loft Bar. We were familiar faces to the bar staff already, and Bob was slowly working his way through the gin menu with their recommendations!
City Hall foyer
The following day started with rain, so we decided to do the free tour of City Hall, only a few minutes walk from the hotel. The inside of this building is as beautiful as the outside, and the tour was interesting, lasting about an hour. We saw a couple who were obviously just married posing for pictures at the bottom of the ornate staircase.
From there we walked to the nearby Victoria Square shopping centre, where there was a viewing platform at the top. This was a huge glass dome, which had been closed the previous day as it was so hot! The views over the city were wonderful. We continued to walk through the town to the bus stop for the open top bus as we wanted to see CS Lewis Square which was on the route. Unfortunately it had started to rain but it was quite light so we had a wander around the square and looked at the wonderful statues, before getting back on the bus.
Mr Tumnus
Once back in the city centre, we had a walk around before going to the Kitchen Bar for dinner. It was ok but no more than that, so wouldn’t recommend unless we were just unlucky. As we didn’t linger there, we decided (it would be rude not to!) to go back to the Loft Bar and sit in comfort with the wonderful views.
View from the Loft Bar overlooking City Hall
Our last day was 12 July, which we had only discovered when we arrived was the N Irish equivalent of Liberation Day in Guernsey, with lots of marching bands. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any of these as we had booked our Titanic tickets for this day, so we walked down across the river in time for our tour. We would definitely recommend visiting this if you have the slightest interest in the story of Titanic. We have been to museums before, which focus on the sinking of the vessel but understandably this is all about the building of the ship and its voyage before the iceberg got in the way…. As they say in Belfast, she was alright when she left here! We had bought the White Star Premium pass which gave us the ‘Titanic Experience’ where you walk through various galleries which tell the story of the ship; the guided tour (an hour – really interesting and entertaining) around the site as a whole, both inside and outside where the ship was launched; and access to SS Nomadic – the only White Star Line ship that still exists today. We spent about five hours there before making our way back to the hotel for our taxi to the airport.
View over SS Nomadic to the Titanic building
We loved Belfast and its people, and would love to see more of Northern Ireland.
Link to the rest of my photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmnYSkYq
Cardiff
We spent a weekend in Cardiff last month, brought about by me buying tickets to see the Stereophonics for my husband for Christmas (he’s always wanted to see them).
This was our first time in Cardiff. Although there are direct flights from Guernsey, the timings didn’t work for us, so we flew to Bristol on the Friday and hired a car. The route between the two cities took us past Celtic Manor Resort – and as Bob is an avid golfer, we had to stop and have a look. Beautiful hotel, and golf course, and we had a browse around the pro shop too. Back on the road, we reached our hotel and after checking in, headed back out to a nearby Ducati dealership. As you can tell, this was Bob’s day! In the evening, we walked up into Cardiff City Centre, and found a Pizza Hut for tea. It was Friday, so that means pizza!
Saturday was my day – shopping! I managed to do a bit of damage to the credit card before we headed back to the hotel then we walked to Cardiff City Football Stadium where the Stereophonics gig was. One of the support acts was Jake Bugg whom we like too – he was great. The band themselves did not disappoint – they did 2 1/2 hours on stage and were amazing.
The sun was shining on Sunday which was our last day, and we were tourists, starting out at Cardiff Castle which was beautiful. After that we walked through the nearby park to the river, and picked up the water taxi to take us down to ‘the Bay’. This is where the famous Millennium Centre is – the building with all the Welsh writing on it! It was a lovely area, with shops and restaurants. We walked down the headland where there was a boat show on that weekend. My only disappointment is that the Doctor Who Experience no longer exists 😦 After struggling slightly to get back into the city (the boats stop at 4.30!) we eventually walked back into the city centre for dinner – Wagamama!
We loved Cardiff – the city is lovely with some beautiful buildings, and the people were so nice. Would recommend a weekend there.
My photos on Flickr
London/Algarve
This holiday was in October 2017 – it’s taken me a while to write this!
Our trip started in London, with the highlight being the NFL game at Wembley on the Sunday – a first for us.
We first visited the V&A Museum as we had tickets to see the Pink Floyd exhibition. This was fascinating – although too crowded despite you being given a timed ticket – and there were all sorts of memorabilia such as guitars and mock-ups of famous album covers. The tour finished with a large room playing a Pink Floyd concert on all the walls – it was like actually being there.
From there, we headed to Regent Street where it was NFL Saturday. We got there quite late but there was still lots to see, including games being shown on a big screen, and many photo opportunities.
Sunday was game day – our first visit to Wembley and our first NFL game. My husband is a Miami Dolphins fan and they were playing the New Orleans Saints. We arrived early to spend time in the Tailgate which is a huge car park filled with food stalls, experience stalls and a shop where you can buy pretty much any NFL merchandise. We bought a Dolphins shirt and an event shirt (showing the team logos and the date) respectively. Lots of photo opportunities again, including the Vince Lombardi trophy, and we got to see Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell too! We had a brilliant day – everyone was so friendly and you could see all the NFL team shirts being worn. People just have a love of the game, not only supporting one team. Sadly the Dolphins lost (0-20) so the game wasn’t great but still a fabulous day out.
Monday morning did not go to plan. This was 2 October and you may recall that Monarch went into receivership. Guess who we were flying with….. We managed to re-book flights with Ryanair later that day (returning the same day as planned) but via Stansted. We had some time to kill, so wandered down to the Thames via Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, went to the Natural History Museum to see the whale (Dippy’s replacement) then walked to the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial before going back to the hotel to pick up our bags and make our way to Stansted. We eventually arrived at our hotel in Albufeira at 12:30am, about 8 hours later than we should have done….
Our first day in the Algarve and the sun is shining – thank goodness! We stayed at the Vile Gale Cerro Alagoa which we would highly recommend. The breakfast buffet was amazing, with just about anything you would want to eat at that time of the day. We sat outside every day which was lovely.
Albufeira
After breakfast, we walked down into Albufeira town, which took us about 10 minutes. After admiring the view from the top, we took the escalator down to the beach – yes, an outdoor escalator!
Outdoor escalator!
We wandered around the town for an hour or so, then walked back to the hotel to get the car. We decided to drive to nearby Portimao and visit the shopping centre there. After a pleasant couple of hours, we drove back to the hotel and walked up the road to Pizza Hut – well, these things have to be done when you’re on holiday!
Beautiful – if derelict – buildings in Loulé
The following day we decided to explore a bit further afield. We headed east to Vilamoura where we knew there was a mini golf course – one of our favourite holiday pastimes! After a leisurely 18 holes, we drove down to Vilamoura itself and walked around the stunning marina. After the obligatory ice cream, we headed inland to Loulé which was a lovely old town with beautiful old buildings, many of which were derelict sadly. By the end of the day we were ready for a swim at the hotel, and then walked down to Albufeira for dinner. We then discovered that parts of the town are unfortunately over-run with loud karaoke and sports bars, mostly full of British people. We found a nice Portuguese restaurant in the quiet part of town…..
Continuing our explorations the next day, we drove to the village of Estoi, inland from Faro. Firstly, there were the Milreu ruins which were fascinating, although not a huge site, and a small museum. We then drove into the village itself – there was a palace which I’d discovered in my pre-holiday research that looked stunning and I was keen to see it.
Palacio de Estoi
We found somewhere to park, having passed gates to the palace on the way. We walked around the village – and I mean we did a complete circuit of the village! – returning to where we parked the car.
We then realised that the Palacio de Estoi is now a Pousada – i.e. a top class hotel – so it wasn’t possible to see any more of the palace than we had seen as we walked. Note to self – do more research before holidays….
We weren’t far from Faro so decided to drive down to the coast to see the main town. We discovered that it was a bank holiday which unfortunately meant that a lot of the shops and tourist attractions were closed. On the positive side, the parking was free! Faro has a small marina and the typical tiled streets with the canopies creating shade.
The view from O Cabaz de Praia
Back to Albufeira and the usual walk into the town from the hotel, and we found the best restaurant with stunning views over the beach. The Beach Basket or O Cabaz de Praia was first class – excellent service, delicious food and the wonderful view. It was so good, we booked a window table for the following evening.
Friday already – and Bob’s birthday. We went for our second game of mini golf, then went to Algarve Shopping centre (where there was also a Nike Factory store – our favourite!) We got back to the hotel, laden with our bags, to find a bottle of sparkling wine in our room, as well as chocolate covered strawberries and hotel robes and slippers to use! A nice touch, and very much appreciated. After a leisurely hour sitting on our balcony drinking and eating, we walked down to the pool in our robes for a swim. Another pleasant evening spent in Albufeira with another first class meal at the Beach Basket.
The next day was Saturday, and we drove west to Lagos, where there was a market taking place that morning. After wandering round – and finding churros which I was thrilled about! – we drove into the town, which has a lovely marina and harbour area. We found an indoor fruit and veg market, then a fresh meat/fish market in a lovely old building overlooking the water. Then we walked through the old town and back along the waterfront to see the castle and the maritime fort which we went into. The views were beautiful. After a lovely day, we decided to walk the few yards from the hotel and go to Pizza Hut again for our tea. Sometimes it just has to be done…..
Lagos
Our last day dawned and we were headed inland to Silves. Another picturesque village, overlooked by a stunning castle. The castle covered a huge area and we spent a good couple of hours walking around it. We had a drink in the outside café, and watching the birds of prey display which was fascinating, before strolling down into the village.
Silves Castle
Heading back to Albufeira, we stopped off at Sand City – a huge display of large sand sculptures. It was a bit expensive to get in, but worth it as we were there for more than an hour, walking around looking at all the different sculptures.
Olaf and Sven – made of sand
A final swim then a stroll down into the town and our last fabulous meal at the Beach Basket. We thoroughly enjoyed our week in the Algarve (despite ‘Brits-ville’ in Albufeira at night!) and would recommend it if you want a relaxing week in the sun.
We’re just not people who sit on the beach for days on end, as we like to see as much as possible of where we are – and we get bored easily!
Bucket List Holiday – USA
Our 2016 holiday was as much about experiences as it was about destinations – ticking off a lot of things from my bucket list. Two weeks, two places, two people. Actually, the latter isn’t quite true, but more on that later.
We started off with 24 hours in London (okay, so that’s technically three places). First stop was the Star Wars Identities Exhibition at the O2, which was ok but not worth £25 a ticket. It was amazing to see the models and exhibits, and the personality test to see if you would be on the dark side was good but there wasn’t really a lot there. After a lovely steak for dinner, we headed for Regent Street, to see the Christmas lights. 
To our amazement, Regent Street was closed to traffic, so we were able to wander around in the road and take photos. We discovered that there had been a parade by Hamley’s that afternoon (a la Macys!) and by the time we had walked up to Oxford Street and made our way back down Regent Street, the road was re-opening. To finish off the evening, we went to the Odeon in Leicester Square with our 3D glasses to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was really good.
The next day I managed to fit in a bit of shopping on Oxford Street before heading to Gatwick for our flight to New York.
New York, New York – so good they named it twice. It didn’t disappoint.
Our first morning started with a trip to Macys, then we found our tour bus that we had pre-booked and did the ‘Downtown’ tour.
We got off by Brooklyn Bridge and took photos to prove that we’d been on it. Picking up the bus again, we got off at the 9/11 Memorial site. This is the area where the Twin Towers used to stand, with each tower marked by an infinity pool. There are also fountains, but these weren’t operating on the day we were there as it was too windy. I found it very sobering walking around, looking at all the names of those who lost their lives on 11 September 2001, and it’s hard to imagine what it must have been like to be in New York at that time. 
After paying our respects, we went back to the bus stop and got the next bus back to the area nearest our hotel. We had dinner at the Tick Tock diner before walking up to Times Square. It was amazing to see a place that seemed so familiar from films and television.
Our second day began with breakfast at the Tick Tock diner which was a five minute walk from our hotel. Then it was off to the bus stop on 8th Avenue to pick up a tour bus – today we were doing the ‘Midtown’ tour. First stop for us was the Chrysler Building. Hubby loves art deco and the 1930s so the foyer of this building was on his bucket list. The building is a normal office building above the foyer, although even the lifts have striking wooden panelling. 
Not far from the Chrysler Building is Grand Central Terminal which was something of a highlight for me. Such a beautiful building inside that I happily stood at the top of the stairs for quite some time, before walking across and doing the same the other side! From there we walked up 42nd Street (stopping at the Pandora shop for my usual holiday souvenir – a bead or charm for my bracelet) to Bryant Park which is where the New York Public Library is. One of my favourite films is The Day After Tomorrow which is partially set in the Library. We walked around inside and saw the reading room which was very familiar from the film. We then got back on a bus and continued on the Midtown tour across to the west coast of Manhattan where we had 
tickets for the Intrepid museum. This was a WWII aircraft carrier which houses numerous aircraft as well as Concorde and the space shuttle Enterprise. Really interesting, and we were there a lot longer than we anticipated – just catching the last bus to take us back to 8th Avenue. Dinner that night was at TGIs off Times Square.
The next day was Thanksgiving, which only meant one thing to me – Macy’s Parade! After breakfast, we walked up towards Central Park and finished up standing just off 6th Avenue. 
Apparently 3.5 million people stand on the streets to watch the parade throughout its 2.5 mile route, and we can well believe it. Once the parade had finished, we walked along the southern side of Central Park, and then watched the clearing up – and repositioning of street furniture – around Columbus Circle before getting the subway down to the southern-most tip of Manhattan to catch the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry goes between Manhattan and Staten Island, taking about 25 minutes, and is free. 
There are views of the Statue of Liberty (on the right if you’re going from Manhattan) and then you get off the ferry, walk round and get on the next ferry back. Once back in Manhattan, we picked up the tour bus for the Uptown tour, getting off at the top of Fifth Avenue. We walked to the Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree (not due to be lit for a few more days unfortunately) and Radio City. We then wandered up Fifth Avenue looking at all the expensive shops. Saks’ shop front had the most wonderful light display, set to music ‘Carol of the Bells’. After dinner we had a final walk through Times Square at night.
Friday was our last morning in New York, and after breakfast we headed for the Rockefeller Center where we had tickets for the Top of the Rock. Unfortunately it was a very grey day but the views were just amazing and we spent more than an hour walking around each side for the different views across the city. My favourite was north, overlooking Central Park. After a final walk through Times Square and up 7th Avenue we returned to the hotel for our taxi to the airport. 
A fabulous few days in an amazing city which absolutely lived up to expectations.
Thankfully we weren’t returning home yet. Our next flight was three hours south – to Orlando, Florida. Somewhere we have been many times, but not at the end of November. Not dressed for Christmas.
We were staying with friends in Kissimmee, which was also a first, and it was lovely to not only catch up but also see how locals lived.
On our first morning we went to our favourite Nike discount store, then met our friends for lunch. We spent the afternoon at Downtown Disney (now called Disney Springs but old habits die hard!) before heading to Kissimmee Old Town for dinner at a favourite Pizza Hut and a wander around some amazing American cars. We finished off the day with a round of crazy golf – a favourite pastime of ours when in Florida!
Sunday didn’t quite pan out as we expected it to…. We went to Cracker Barrel, the store/restaurant where my friend works, and had a look at all the lovely Christmas things. From there we went to International Drive, to have lunch at another favourite restaurant chain – Uno. Our Christmas present from Lauren and Si (daughter + OH) was NBA tickets to see Orlando Magic at the Amway Center that evening, so we though we would have a proper lunch and just eat hot dogs etc at the game. Having ‘checked in’ on Instagram (my social media of choice these days) we had a lovely lunch and decided to head up to the Mall at Millenia for a bit of shopping. Walking out of the restaurant, everything changed – we were greeted by Lauren and Si. To say I was speechless….. They had planned to be in Orlando at the same time as us, but had kept it a secret. And they had, of course, actually bought four tickets for the NBA game! So the rest of the day was spent chatting and us getting our heads around the fact that they were with us.
The NBA game was amazing to watch. Sadly Orlando Magic didn’t win, but there was so much going on at every break in the game – young dance troupes/cheerleaders, someone from Cirque du Soleil at half time, and their wonderful mascot Stuff (the Magic Dragon!) Stuff has recently been voted as the best NBA mascot, and with good reason. Constantly messing about, interacting with the crowd, and highly entertaining. A fabulous evening.
Monday was Universal day. We spent the day in the two parks, enjoying the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – including Butter Beer of course – 
and some of the rides. Dinner was at Denny’s on International Drive before we headed back to Downtown for the drone light show, followed by Moana at the cinema. I must confess to falling asleep but the film was good – I just didn’t see much of the second half…. 🙂
Tuesday started with breakfast at Denny’s on the 192, followed by a visit to the Vineland Mall. Then we went and found the Kenworth truck dealership that hubby wanted to visit. He was in his element, sitting in a brand new truck, admiring the spacious living space behind the cab!
He has the keys!
From there we made our overdue visit to the Mall at Millenia before the main event of this week – Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. We arrived at 4pm – I was determined to make the most of it! We entered the park to see a huge Christmas tree at the top of Main Street. The park was busy, as Disney always is, but not ridiculously so. We walked round and did a couple of rides – I insist on everyone going on It’s a Small World as I love it 🙂 By 7pm it was dark, and the party started. There were food stations where you could have things like gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate (each station was different), and as the park emptied of the ‘normal punters’ the queues for any of the rides were minimal. By 10pm we were stood on Main Street ready for the fireworks. They were amazing – as Disney fireworks always are – but with the added bonus of snow – yes, snow, on Main Street as they came to an end. 
Ok, so it wasn’t really snow but very effective nonetheless! There were two parades during the evening, and we gave the earlier one a miss as we thought the later one would be less crowded, which it was. It snowed throughout, with Mickey and Minnie at the start and Santa at the end. Just a wonderful evening, and very much a bucket list moment for me.
Wednesday already. Hubby started his day with a round of golf at Falcon’s Fire with Si, while I went to Crosslands for a bit of shopping with my friend. After lunch at MacDonalds, the four of us headed east for Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon’s Surf Shop.
Christmas tree in Ron Jon’s – decorated with shells
Then we drove back to International Drive, with a craving for coconut shrimp……time to go to Joe’s Crabshack for dinner – highly recommended. Then it was more crazy golf at Pirates Cove on International Drive, followed by a wander around the Orlando Eye complex.
Thursday was our last full day. We spent the day shopping at a variety of shops and supermarkets. We love American supermarkets – Publix and Walmart are our favourites. Our last dinner was at Uno on the 192, not one we’d visited before but just as good. Our evening was completed by – yes, another round of crazy golf!
Our final day dawned 😦 We met Lauren and Si at Downtown and wandered around the shops, including Sprinkles (the best cupcakes) and Ghiradelli’s (the best chocolate). After lunch at Dennys on the 192, we headed back to our friends to zip up the suitcases and head for the airport.
We’d had an amazing holiday, with two big ticks off my bucket list – Macy’s Parade in New York and Magic Kingdom dressed for Christmas in Florida – as well as the wonderful surprise of Lauren and Si turning up. No particular plans for 2017 yet, but 2018’s trip to Florida is already being discussed….. 🙂
Rhodes
April 2016 and our first visit to Greece. We left Guernsey on the Saturday as we had tickets to see Jeff Lynne’s ELO at the O2 on the Saturday night. Needless to say, they were brilliant.
It was an early start for us on the Sunday on a 7am flight from Heathrow to Athens. At this time of year, direct flights between Rhodes and Gatwick are only on certain days as their holiday season doesn’t really start until May. We had a couple of hours at Athens airport – sadly, not long enough to actually go and see anything but we wandered around outside in the warm sunshine – feet on Greek soil for the first time. Our flight to Rhodes was on time and an hour later we were touching down, at around 5.30pm.
Our hosts for the week were Kevin and Sally – Guernsey expats (and friends!) who have lived in Rhodes for some 12 years. They run Afandou Village Apartments which we would highly recommend (check out their Trip Advisor ratings – all excellent). They collected us from the airport and did a slightly longer route back to give us a taste of the area (the journey usually takes about 20 minutes).
Our one bedroom apartment was lovely – large bedroom, with its own terrace at the back,
Our lovely bedroom at Afandou Village Apartments
large shower room and an open plan living area with a small kitchenette, and a small terrace at the front to catch the evening sunshine. Perfect for what we needed. Kevin and Sally said that they were having pizza that evening, delivered from the local pizzeria, and asked us to join them, which we happily agreed. We went for a wander into the village to get some basics for breakfast the next morning, then joined Kevin and Sally on their rooftop terrace for pizza and a few drinks….till 1:30am!
On Monday morning, our hire car was delivered to the apartments. Kevin and Sally had arranged this through the hire car company in Afandou village, as this was cheaper than collecting it at the airport. We drove south to Lindos which is further down the eastern coast of Rhodes.
View across Lindos overlooked by the Acropolis
Lindos is beautiful – the atypical Greek village with white houses, albeit very touristy, all overlooked by the Lindos Acropolis. We wandered around the village, buying a couple of souvenirs (useful ones, not tat!) and then had lunch in a rooftop restaurant called Delight. As with the rest of our holiday, we tried to sample as much Greek cuisine as we could, and our lunch was lovely. Unfortunately, the Acropolis was closed on Mondays, so we vowed to return later in the week to see it. As we’d had a late – and quite big – lunch, we drove back to the apartment, then walked down into the village for ice cream before an early night (after the previous late one!)
Tuesday started with some rain, but it didn’t last. We drove to Anthony Quinn bay (yes, named after the actor – more info here) which is beautiful, then drove to a little village called Koskinou which has houses with brightly coloured doors. We then continued south to the infamous Falaraki. This used to be a Club 18-30 haunt but not so much these days although it still has that look with the strip clubs and bars. This again was very quiet as the season had not yet started. We returned to Afandou village and had the first of several gyros. Gyros are the Greek equivalent of fast food. They consist of cooked meat, tomato, onion and tzatziki in pittas, usually served with chips. Delicious! In the takeaways / restaurants, you can see the meat cooking, which looks like doner-kebab meat, but isn’t processed in any way, just pure meat.
I went for iced coffee (which everyone drinks) with Sally at Afandou Beach kantina, while Bob played golf with a friend of theirs, Panayoti, who had visited Guernsey for the Island Games in 2003. Bob said the golf course was challenging, to say the least, but he enjoyed his game. We finished off the day with dinner in Afandou. We went to a small local place called Ouzadiko. Somewhere that we said we would never have tried without Kevin and Sally’s recommendation, but we had a fabulous meal – prawns in ouzo and Greek yoghurt with honey amongst other things! – and a great laugh with the locals. Most speak a little English which was just as well as we don’t speak any Greek. The owner sat with us when we arrived to go through the menu – which was in Greek. Good job he spoke English!
Mid week already – on Wednesday we drove to Rhodes. We wandered around the old town which is very pretty but very commercialised, such that when you walk into Athena square (the main one) they are beckoning you from the other side to come and eat in their restaurant!
Athena Square, Rhodes Old Town
We also wandered around the new town, and stopped for lunch at Augoustinos, which is renowned as being the best gyros place to go to on the island, which we would definitely recommend. We strolled along the harbour, admiring a huge super yacht called the Ocean Venture, then had ice cream in the old town before making our way back to the car. We were invited to dinner on Sally and Kevin’s terrace, where Sally cooked a lovely meal comprising a number of traditional Greek dishes. A lovely evening……till 1:30am again….!
On Thursday we drove west, across the island, stopping at the Panorama café which wasn’t yet open for the season unfortunately but it had stunning views. We continued down to the west coast, stopping at Elafos ceramic shop to buy a small Greek urn – well you can’t go home without one surely?! We then stopped at Kamiros, a huge site of ancient Roman ruins with beautiful views from the top.
Kamiros ancient city ruins
We drove back round the coast, around Rhodes harbour and back through Falaraki, stopping at Afandou beach kantina for ice cream. We went back into Rhodes old town in the evening, as apparently it is a ‘must see’ at night, but it was relatively deserted as the tourist season hadn’t really started yet. We had a lovely dinner at La Verka restaurant, which we found in one of the side streets.
Isn’t it funny how Fridays give you an entirely feeling when you’re on holiday rather than at work? We returned to Lindos and went up to the Acropolis. We’re glad we made the effort to return as it is quite amazing to see and the views from the top are incredible.
Lindos Acropolis
We did feel sorry for the donkeys which you can ride up on rather than walk – needless to say, we walked. After strolling back through Lindos to the car, we drove west across the island to Monolithos castle which we didn’t go into but viewed from the top – we could see there were a lot of steps and we’d already done quite a few! We drove back around the coast to Afandou and had dinner at Danielle pizzeria – calzones, which were huge! This was actually Good Friday for the Greeks, and in the evening we went into the village at 8:30 to see the local rituals. We went into the church for a few minutes to see what was going on, then followed the procession, as did most of the village, around the streets, being regularly showered in holy water! We returned to Mike’s Bar for drinks (and another late night).
Saturday was our last full day 😦 We drove up to Rhodes to see the Acropolis which we eventually found and weren’t really that impressed with. We thought the Lindos Acropolis and the Kamiros ruins were better, although you pay for both of these. We returned to Rhodes town for a gyros lunch then wandered back through the old town and had ice cream sitting on the steps overlooking Athena Square. We drove back to the east coast, to Anthony Quinn bay, where Bob had a swim – too cold for me, although he said it was lovely once you were in!
Anthony Quinn Bay – with Bob snorkelling!
We took Sally and Kevin out for dinner on our last evening and they took us to Anthoula Taverna in Kolymbia. We then returned to Afandou to see the Easter celebrations, where the whole village congregates outside the church with candles which are all gradually lit. It was quite spectacular to see. Afterwards we sat in Mike’s Bar till 1:30am again….
On Sunday morning we drove down to Kolymbia, having seen a little of it the previous evening and had a stroll round before returning to Afandou beach where we sat in the sun for a while, admiring the beautiful colour of the Aegean Sea.
Afandou Beach, looking out into the Aegean Sea
Then back to the village for a final ice cream before returning to the apartment to pack. Our flight to Athens was late afternoon, and Sally and Kevin had invited us for lunch on the rooftop terrace before we headed for the airport.
We absolutely loved our time on Rhodes. Our weather (with the exception of the couple of hours rain on Tuesday) was glorious – temperatures in the mid-20s so nice and warm without being too hot. We loved the island, loved Greek food (gyros in particular!) and loved the people who are friendly and helpful. Many speak at least some English, and I have vowed to try and learn a little Greek before we return. Our first visit to Greece – but certainly not our last.
julietwist 