PUGLIA - Italy

A 'Rail Discoveries' Tour - one week in October.

Taking in the sights and sounds of the region (see below). We were coached and railed from our all inclusive Spa hotel on the coast, 10 minutes from the pretty town of Polignano a Mare. 

It was full-on with little time to take your foot of the pedal. Aside from a very wet excursion to Matera the weather was lovely. The hotel comfortable. The food excellent and we probably indulged more than we should have. But you're on holiday....

There had been a last minute change to our rep, who was rather thrown in the deep end and, while she did her best, it was clear that this was her first trip to this fascinating part of Italy. It was also quite a large group to herd around. Counting 1 - 39 all the time !  

All that said the 'trulli' were amazing and worth it on their own. Certainly our top pick. Would have liked more time in Alberobello, and some evenings out in one of these lovely towns would have been nice. 

Molto bello !! 

PHOTO GALLERY

Martina Franca. White washed hill town. Statues. 

Locorotondo. Ceramica shops.

Martina Franca: music street. And a selfie reflection.

Martina Franca: Piazza Immacolata.

Les Crepes: Savory and Sweet. Rock Bands and Pop Artists.
Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, David Bowie or Bob Marley. Spoilt for choice ! 

Polignano a Mare. Sea cliffs and houses.

Matera. Looking good despite the rain.

Two panoramas of Alberobello and the 'trulli' houses.

Trulli - from outside and inside

Coffee stop and making friends by paying each other's bill. Full story from M. 

Our obligatory selfie. Trulli dodgy !

The hotel pool, that was colder than the sea, hence no one swimming in it...

Arrivederci Puglia 

Almost forgot there was a group photo. Not a very good one and probably captures the difficulty in organising such a large group. All in one place at the same time and paying attention... ??  Didn't quite happen

Outside a church in Lecce. 

FRANCE

Monet's Garden and the Palace of Versailles

Just realised we never posted any photos from this trip back in May. Four days away staying in an Airbnb near Vernon just up the road from Giverny and Monet's house and garden.

It did rain a bit in the morning as we visited the garden, but was lovely the following day for the trip to Versailles. 

Picturesque town of Vernon and our village had a nice friendly bar. 

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NEWS Flash
Having driven from Calais on the quiet French roads we past a toll booth that the following day would see a Prison Van being ambushed and officers shot dead. This was a mere 30 kms away from us !

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Monet's Garden

Palace of Versailles

Hall of Mirrors - Margaret not on her mobile, it's an audio commentary.
All done with mirrors !

CRUISING the Caribbean - 2023 -

Let's start with a short video involving the cruise ship:- 

INSTRUCTIONS: You need to click the arrow and then click again to begin watching. 

Some facts about our ship: 

The 'ARVIA' (had only been in service for one year - so brand new ! )

5,200 guests + 1,800 crew

Rising from deck 3 (medical) up to deck 19 (sky deck)

16 lifts; 4 pools; 30 bars / restaurants; 8 entertainment venues 

We were on deck 4 - inside cabin. starboard side, midships (get the lingo 😄)

Having seen these huge floating hotels sail out of Venice we said we'd never take one of them. But here we were aboard this huge vessel sailing the high seas in the Caribbean. 

Calling at Barbados (Bridgetown); British Virgin Islands; Dominican Republic; St Maarten; Antigua; St Kitts; Martinique; St Lucia; & back to Barbados. 8 countries in 2 weeks. 

"Hello Margie, hello Bill"

THE DAILY MANTRA OF OUR CABIN STEWARD, GANESH

The weather was perfect and while we think the ship wasn't full, it was very busy. Quiet places did exist on board and we found our inside cabin was peaceful and the TV webcam did allow us to see where we were - our porthole to the outside world. 

Here is a [graphic] sheet I created to show our day to day itinerary:-

Many ports and countries were similar and each visit was so brief that more time would have been nice. As a snapshot of the Caribbean it was very good and we did book excursions on four occasions along with a ferry across the bay in Fort de France, Martinique. 

With so many countries only briefly visited it would be crazy to pass judgement. However we did very much enjoy Bridgetown, St Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and definitely [though not expected] Martinique.   

VERDICT: Very efficiently run cruise and ship, great food and entertainment. Aside from the flights there and back, which we won't go on about, you couldn't fault the value for money!

😀How about some music to listen to in the background while you view our photos >>> 

Video LINK HERE [will open a new page] so just click back to your previous tab and view galley below

Music is Dédé Saint-Prix - 'Mi bel kous kanno'  > 

Colourful Caribbean wall paintings (and animals) were everywhere.

St. Maarten beach bum: surf backdrop as changing weather approaches.

Nelson's Dockyard and a complimentary rum punch.


Antigua: View from Shirley Heights to Nelson's dockyard.

St. Kitts: around the island, train trip.

Martinique: Beach bar across the bay from Fort de France. 

My best Brown Pelican shot. Martinique.


Martinique: More colourful buildings and wall paintings. 

St. Lucia: The Pitons famous landmark.

Leaving Tortola, British Virgin Island.

Drinks on the promenade deck as we pull out to sea. 

Always time for a beer...

Silent Disco Nights.
On the Red channel or the Blue, either way a world of your own !

And a suntanned farewell cocktail - cheers, here's to next time... 

SCOTLAND 2023 - [Coast to Coast]  

During June 2023 we toured Scotland. Visiting for the first time in 12 years. 

Having begun on the South Coast [in Fairlight naturally] we drove to the very top of mainland Britain to John O'Groats. Quite literally Coast to Coast !
We took our time and were away for nearly three weeks while enjoying some unexpected sunshine north of the border (see photographic evidence). 

We entered Scotland by the side door - the A1 - easterly approach from England, staying three days in Dunbar for easy access to relatives living nearby. Without wishing to sound like that song 'I've Been Everywhere' the following is likely to sound a bit like it. From Dunbar to Falkirk and The Kelpies and The Wheel. On through Perth, Forfar to a B&B near Arbroath (for 'smokies') and then we followed the coastline around Aberdeenshire. To Fraserburgh and then westward along the coast. Stopping to see a cousin in the back of beyond, near to Pennan (location for film 'Local Hero' - see link). The sunshine continued past Elgin and Inverness to Portmahomack (where it did rain briefly- see pic below). Continuing along the East coast we were now on Scotland's North Coast 500* - going East to West. Leaving the dramatic west coast scenery till last, though the East Coast, it has to be said, while gentler was beautiful and equally wonderful. Reaching our overnight stop and three night stay at Lybster, just south of Wick. From here we drove to John O'Groats and Duncansby Stacks and Dunnet Head. Also seeing the 'Flow Country' an area of peatland and wetlands in the far north east of the country. 

The narrow roads from Wick along the 500 were busy with motorbikes, cars and small motorhomes. No coaches or larger vans at all, because of the many passing points along the single track sections all along the North - Kyle of Tongue, Durness and Rhiconich - before two lanes reappeared and we drove on to Kylesku and eventually down to Ullapool. A very nice town and overnight stop (we almost stayed another night but the lovely B&B wasn't available.) 
Driving on south the sunny days disappeared behind us and it rained most of the way to Fort William. Next day we visited our Land ! A few years ago Margaret's nephew Jon Jon gifted us Highland Titles. We are Lady Margaret & Laird William Pocock of Glencoe. It's only a square foot of land within a Nature Reserve but it was nice to visit and see the good work being done. See pic. 
Our next overnight was south of the Highlands in Stirling, where we visited the Castle and the Bannockburn memorial. 
The final few days were spent with relatives once more around Penicuik. Before the long drive back to England on motorways and roads far far busier than we'd experienced in Scotland. In total we drove 2,350 miles - Coast to Coast - a great trip !

* Enjoy this neat YouTube video that takes you along the roads - West to East - watch on full screen and note the map and the wee dot bottom left of screen as you travel along. Click >  

PHOTO Gallery >>>

Pennan - panorama shot 

Portmahomack - the changing weather

Duncansby Stacks 

The Flow country - panorama picture

Blue skies at the top of Britain - I'm pointing to New York.
M went for Edinburgh, a mere 273 miles away, with Orkney 8 miles behind her ! 

A sunny cappuccino stop on Loch Eriboll. 

That's all folks - yours sincerely Highland Laddie and his bonnie Lassie. xx