Its The Final Countdown

This is part 2 of my Winter 2022/23 travel review. The European side.

My travel itinerary was decided by my Frequent Flyer numbers. I have been considering getting rid of my Frequent Flyer credit card for years now. The add-on fees for a ‘free Ticket”were usually in the hundreds of dollars. I was surprised when I was looking for the furthest cheap country I could get to with just the miles in my balance with the caveat that I had never been there before. I was looking through my list of countries I haven’t been to yet and wanted to check a few more off. I am especially close on countries that are listed as in Europe and most that I have left are clustered together albeit a bit hard to get to. Lo and behold, I was excited to see that one of my remaining countries was just a few Frequent Flyer miles and $26 dollars away. Except for a long layover in Heathrow’s Terminal 5, I couldn’t beat it. I booked my flight for Cyprus right then and there.

I have been through Terminal 5 before. It is really boring unless you have time and money for a sit down dinner. Besides the restaurants, there are couple convenience stores selling typical overpriced snacks and magazines. The duty free is pretty big but I think it’s no deal. The terminal is generally crowded. I must be getting old because I did not get any sleep on the overnight flight and I could have used a nap. Too much coming and going and uncomfortable seats. It took a while but I found a working unused power outlet. With the crowded terminal full of device addicted travelers, it took awhile. There aren’t many available power outlets and very few working USB ports. I was pretty popular when I plugged in my power plug adaptor with three USB ports and offered up the remaining 2 USB ports to my neighbors in the waiting area. All in all though, it was a boring 5 hours waiting for my plane to Cyprus.

Cyprus: It was way after dark when I landed in Cyprus’ main airport at Larnaca. I hadn’t had any real sleep since I woke up in Dallas 48 hours before so I was looking for nothing but a bed. I shared a cab to my AirBnB with an English couple. I was let out on a dark quiet side street somewhere and left to my own devices to find the hotel. It took a few minutes of walking through apartment blocks looking for the right one. It was too late and I was too tired to go out for dinner since I had no idea where I was at so I hoped the airplane pretzels would hold me til morning. And frankly, I didn’t care.

I woke up mostly rested and set out to explore Lanarca, a Mediterranean beach town that I knew nothing about. It was off season so there wasn’t much open, I walked the beachfront entertainment district. Being off season, not much was open. But the McDonald’s EggMcMuffin and a coffee was plenty. Larnaca seems like a place to go and chill on the beach to recover from the previous night’s party. Definitely not my strong suit even if I was in party season. So I just walked around Larnaca, drank coffee and ate gyros. Except for the lack of ancient ruins, it was indiscernible from an Athens suburb.

Cyprus had a Civil war back in the 60’s and 70’s. I remember hearing about it but had no idea where Cyprus was. This was when questions had to be answered by digging through aging encyclopedias at the library. Coordinating my Cyprus curiosity with any rare proximity to a library never happened. So it just kind of took of space in a couple of otherwise unused brain cells all these years.

My main memory from those days was hearing news about violence in the mysterious place called Nicosia. Since I was here, a visit would be worth a wall of encyclopedias. It was only an hour long city bus ride to get there even more reason. I even thought ahead and reserved an AirBnB before I left. Its a pretty modern city, at least the Greek side. The Turkish side was fine but it obviously had far less money invested there since things have settled down. I needed to show my passport at the crossing gate but that was the extent of the hassle. 

Definitely not much to see on the Turkish side. There is a half hearted attempt at a small entertainment and shopping district but I ran out of things to see after just a couple hours. The AirBnB was a bit of a walk from the action unless you call living on the block that turns over to street racing after midnight. Another couple of nights of no sleep So I was glad to get out of there and head to the airport to catch my next flight. 

Larnaca Pictures are Here

Nicosia Pictures are Here

Armenia:  Now that I made it to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, I was at a loss for what to do. I was surprised that I even figured out how to get there let alone figure out what I should do while I was there. There are very few English speakers (mostly Russian) to ask about such things. Very convenient because I am not one to ask people about such things. I googled a list of things to do in Yerevan because I had no idea. It turns out that it is famous for a lot of street art and modern architecture. A made a map and set out on foot to see as much of it as I could. It was easy to get 15 to 20 miles in a day walking around just looking at stuff. I liked it.

I gave my shoes a break on the second day and hired a car to see the far flung sites outside of Yerevan. Mostly ancient churches but I was happy to see Mt Ararat of Noah and the Ark legend. It can be seen from Yerevan but it is mostly lost in the city haze. It is way bigger than I expected. Its hard to believe Noah wasn’t able to see that coming in time to steer the ark around it. 

The hard thing about the countries saddling the Asia/Europe line is they don’t seem to get along. There are still some border disputes flaring up and bullets flying now and again. You have to plan your itinerary so that a previous passport stamp doesn’t preclude you from going to the next country.

 Outside of Yerevan, I found Armenia to be a pretty dismal place. Very much still in the Soviet Russia era. I was glad to head over the mountain to Georgia, especially after sitting on the side of a busy highway on a freezing windy morning for an hour waiting for a packed micro bus to take me there.

Pictures from Armenia’s capital city are Here.

Pictures from Armenia’s lake “resort” town are Here.

Georgia: I heard about Georgia while I was eating in a Georgian restaurant in Istanbul a few years ago. I am not even sure I liked the food that much but something about the restaurant put Georgia on the list. The thought of Georgia got stored away in another couple brain cells with plenty of free time on their hands. So much so that they started storing more info about the place as tie went on. Wine was invented there. The language is at least 8000 years old and two speakers on either end of those 8000 years would still understand each other. It is a big ex-pat community. A person can have an idea over morning coffee and be in business with it by lunchtime. It is super safe with very little crime. A ton of stray but mostly friendly dogs. People are friendly and many speak English. The list goes on.

I took a couple day tours. one to the Caucasus mountains on the Russian border and another to one of the wine regions. Both were well worth the time and money. 

I ended up in a long term AirBnB apartment that was a good base for exploring around Tbilisi. A town that has been growing by leaps and bounds the last few years. It experienced a huge influx of Russians last year that has really put a strain on the city. Rents are doubling and tripling, Traffic is atrocious and Russians can be arrogant pricks. They are a bit past wearing out their welcome. The hardest part for me there was the language. There is no connection to any of the Latin based languages so I couldn’t even make a stab at what people were saying. Its alphabet looks like scribble. It made it impossible to take busses anywhere because I couldn’t tell from the bus placard where it was going. Other than the subway which is only one line, I walked everywhere. Another 15 to 20 miles a day.

I did find a little tavern a couple of blocks from the apartment. Brown’s Bar (I am loath to give Facebook any traffic but the days we live in) is owned my an Englishman and run by a local lady. It was usually filled with English speaking Expats from all over the world. Regulars and us just passing through folks. It was a nice respite from the din of language ignorance.

I would have liked to stay longer but there were still plenty of places to see and I pretty much covered the whole city and beyond. But to delay my departure a bit, I decided to head over to the Batumi on the Turkish Border and on the Black Sea. It is the beach resort city for Georgians. If you are one of the Georgians that don’t mind a wet soggy vacation. I had no clothes for such a situation but went anyway. It was chilly but beautiful weather for the entire 3 days I was there. There is a nice old town section and a new modern section with overly lit up casinos and high rise apartments. I stuck around the old town mostly and was perfectly happy. I ended up in an Mary’s Irish Pub having very random conversations with bar stool neighbors from all over the world.

I am not sure I will make it back to Georgia in this lifetime, but if the opportunity arises, I would definitely go.

Georgia Pictures are Here and Here

Turkey: I saw travel ads for the Capadocia region and its odd geology the last time I was in Istanbul. It’s in Central Turkey. I stuck that away in the back of my mind since I couldn’t imagine any travel that would take me so far out of the normal tourist routes. Well, what do you know? My bus ride out of Georgia would take me a just a few hours’ bus ride from it. It took some thinking but and a few wrong turns, but I figured it out without too much trouble.

The main city of the region is Göreme. Lots of restaurants, cafes and a few bars. I didn’t have a room reserved so headed straight to the first coffee shop I saw. I ended up getting a really good deal on a real cave room with breakfast included. The roads are windy and hilly but I finally found the place at the very top of hill. It was nicer than I expected. The fairy chimneys, as they’re called, and the dense use of hotels make for obstructed views of the town below but still pretty good. The room had all the amenities of a regular hotel except for a TV.

There is a lot to do here. Starting off with the Sunrise balloon flights. Hundreds of them lit up my the torches. Having a hotel with a good viewpoint deck is all the better. I walked around the neighborhood and found The “Traveller’s Cave Hotel” that was probably a little better than mine. And mine was pretty good. the A bit out of the way but worth the effort. It is famous for its geology and for what the locals have done with it. Its main tourist attraction are the cave hotels. Rooms have been carved out of the volcanic rock towers. Cave hotels are cool but there is plenty else to do. Besides the balloon rides, there are horseback rides, ATV tours, self guided hikes through and over the Fairy Chimneys, Plenty of cheap guided tours to get you to the more far flung attractions. I took a tour that let me explore the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu (big enough to house 20000 people) some ancient cave churches and hike through the Ilhara Valley. All in one day. A $3 taxi ride will take you from Goreme to the city on a  ig rock called Uchisar. A 200 foot climb up the carved out inside of the Uchisar castle takes you to 360 degree views of the area. Its pretty impressive.

I was there for Christmas. Even though it is a predominantly Muslim community, There were plenty of string lights and even a bit of snow to simulate the Christmas spirit. I stayed a few days, roaming around the area and if I had a top 10 list. It would easy get a spot on it.

I could have made my exit out of Turkey a little less stressful but I was flying out of Ankara. I have not heard of any real reason to go there. It is just a sprawling city that just looks annoying as you come over the hill and see it for the first time. I decided to catch the first airport shuttle from the bus station and get out. I could have laid over in Istanbul but the new airport is pretty far out of town and it would just be a night at an airport hotel. I hadn’t been to the new Istanbul airport and it is huge. I did not leave enough time to make the connection so I ended up running through the maze of terminals to just barely catch my next flight to Albania.

Cappadocia Pictures are Here

Albania: As hard as I tried to stick to my no airport hotel rule, I got in too late and didn’t have the energy to risk getting into town too late to get a room. I ended up at a Tirana Albania airport hotel. It was probably the nicest of the hotels I have stayed at, on this trip and for as long as I can remember. I was glad that I did, I caught the airport shuttle bus in the next morning and it was an hour ride.

I came close to venturing into Albania on a previous Balkan Country trip but just didn’t hear anything good about it. So to be honest, I was a bit afraid. As usual, the fear was unfounded. It was one of the nicest places I went to. It was modern. with some throwback to the communist years here and there to distinguish it from other European cities. I was there for New Years. There was a huge festival at the city square and it was jumping every night I was there. Concerts, rides, food, drinks, shopping. Everyone seem to be having a good time. I was prewarned that everything closes down early on New Years Eve but didn’t quite understand. I walked for miles looking for supper but EVERYTHING was closed. Not even convenience stores. It turns out the culture is to eat and celebrate at hoe until the New Year then everyone goes out to the bars till the early morning hours. I stuck around for the fireworks but headed to bed hungry before the things got buzzing. Only to learn that New Years day was a shut down holiday. Absolutely nothing was open. It was a long hungry day until the the restaurant workers finally shook off the New Years Debauchery and I got myself a burger.

I took a day trip to the beach. There is an attempt to make it a destination with waterfront bars and restaurants but the beach itself is just dirt with bits of trash brought in by the current. Can’t recommend it. There are ruins of a pretty well preserved Roman Amphitheater. Which reminds me, Tirana has a very strong Italian influence in its food and culture. Lots of Pizza places.

Albania Pictures are Here

Speaking of Italy: I could have taken the ferry to Italy which was a means to an end for my next target. It was a 16 hour voyage that only left 3 days a week and I would have to take the 2 hour bus back to the beach. I decided on the 45 minute flight. I got into Rimini after dark on a cold foggy night. It was winter in a northern beach town so there wasn’t much going on. There are two parts to the city, the beach strip and the old town. I liked both but being off season, I cant say how the change in summer. I had not ever heard of it on any vacation itineraries so I can’t imagine that they get a lot of far flung tourists crowding the place. I like off season tourist towns because the locals are in a better mood from not dealing with tourists all day. There was a little bar that was too little for the crowd and everyone poured out into the street  and seemed to be having a good social hour. I speak no Italian so would be the tourist they were happy to be away from so I admired from afar. Plus, I had big plans in the morning and still had no idea what the plan was.

San Marino is a separate country from Italy, a microstate that sits at the top of a mountain. It is a bit sprawly down the mountain too. I had pretty low expectations of the day’s effort. Before the European Union, it was a big duty free destination. Since that became irrelevant, I was wondering how it passed the time nowadays. The bus route still includes stops at the desolate shopping areas for some reason before it trundles up the mountain. 

And I have to say the walled city of San Marino at the top of the mountain is pretty cool. Pretty touristy with the trinket shops and such but a good place to roam around. Lots of history and great views. Probably a pretty romantic place if your into that sort of thing. I, on the other hand, had to get back to Rimini to planning the next days travels. With as little information as possible of course.

I saw some pictures of these cool little houses in Southern Italy that I thought would be cool to see in real life. That’s pretty much all I knew but that’s plenty for me to base an expedition on. The closest real city to these little houses was Bari. I hear that you can see Albania from the Water front there. I couldn’t bit my weather wasn’t conducive. Bari is OK. A little to much focus on shopping for my taste but there is a good old town section. Old Italian ladies make pasta all day and sell it from their front stoop at night. It looked pretty good but I didn’t have a kitchen so I’ll have to assume its delicious.

I caught a morning train to Alberobello. That where the little Trulli houses are. They are round white stucco houses with conical stone roofs. Cool enough to get on the UNESCO World Heritage list. There are are few to see on the train ride in but the really good, AKA Instagram friendly are in town. Most are tourist shops now but a few are AirBnB’s and holiday rentals. I took a peak inside a couple of the shops and they weren’t all that special. I think its just their outward appearance that is notable. I do wonder if the leak when it rains. There is a nice little town of regular looking buildings with shops and restaurants around the Trullis so there is plenty to do. Pretty romantic effort if you are looking for points.

I was looking for Lava. I hopped a bus the next day to Pompei, No Lava here anymore but it did a bang up job when it was. Pompei is a quick metro train ride south of Naples. I have not heard much good about Naples so I mostly skirted it. The Bus dropped me off in the newer, unmelted part of Pompei. I bound my little Bed and Breakfast just after lunch and headed right across the street to the ruins. I was pretty surprised by how close everything was to town. I was really surprised by how big Pompei is. I think my watched logged 5 miles of walking in a couple of hours. It was a good thing to see but I grew weary of ruins after a while. I did get to see the lava covered remains of a guy. That was kind of cool. Not for him of course. Quite the opposite.

Mt Vesuvious is the big bad volcano that is still steaming away next to Pompei. I was half tempted to hike up it the next day. The trail doesn’t go all the way up anymore so I had to join a tour bus group to get up there. It was just as well. I got up, walked around and back down in 3 hours.  I still had most of the afternoon to catch the train for Sorrento. I asked about renting a car to cover more distance but was told that I’d just be staring at someone else’s bumper for the day and forget about parking. Its a bit of a slow trundling train but the final result was worth it. Sorrento is pretty to walk around and also pretty touristy. I enjoyed a couple of hours there but in the end, I am not the target demographic for the tourism board. I would like to explore the whole area more someday.

I still had a day left to roam around. I ended up catching another train to see more lava ruins. The Herculaneum. It is different from Pompei in that the ash didn’t burn everything up. They have found loads of intact artifacts, It has been excavated to be very close to how it was in AD 79. It is well worth a visit and easy to get to via the trains. 

Storms were brewing in the Mediterranean and arrived just in time to catch my train to the airport. I ended up having to catch a 10 Euro taxi 3 blocks to the train station it was raining so hard. Pretty easy effort to get to the Naples airport except for the deluge at the transfer spots.

Looking back, I covered a lot of Italy on this trip. Here are Pictures from all over (including San Marino). Here are pictures from a previous trip to the more touristy parts of Italy

Portugal: I flew from Naples to Porto and having to wear a mask on the plane kind of put me off. It was a Spain flight so it was neither Portugal’s or Italy’s fault. I got in after dark but the Porto subway has a stop at the airport. It was a bit slow but a bargain price and hassle free.

Porto, in Northern Portugal, is hilly city with lots of winding roads to confuse and tire you out. It is a really pretty city so you don’t really mind. I had originally planned to stay a month but after a few days, I was struggling to find ways to spend my days. Maybe it was just the cold but not quite winter weather, but I was just not feeling like it was a place I could find a reason to stay in for a month. I had a feeling about Porto when I arrived so I got a nice-ish hotel for a few days to get my bearings. I just just checked the summer price compared to my winter price, Wow! that is about 10 times more expensive than I paid. The breakfast buffet was pretty good too. No wonder I was hesitant to get into a self-catering airbnb for a month. Especially the AirBnBs I saw that fit my low budget. There was a big, days long winter rain storm in the forecast so I decided to catch the next bus out.

I should have bought a ticket when I made the decision. But sticking to my seat of the pants itinerary, I figured I would just buy it from the bus driver. That turned out to be a progressively expensive decision. The night before, an on-line ticket was 17 euro for an all day ride. When I woke up it was 25 Euro. an hour later at the bus, it was 50 Euro and the bus driver wasn’t selling tickets. It was early so the ticket offices weren’t open.I still had to buy on-line and pay the service fee that I was trying to avoid. I ended having to find a waiting bus with an open WiFi signal and buy that way and pay the service fee anyway and was able to settle in for a day in the bus.

Porto Pictures are here

Here are pictures from a previous trip to Lisbon Portugal

Spain: It turns out that Eliza Doolittle was wrong. The rain in Spain does NOT stay mainly in the plain. It rained from Porto to Oviedo, it rained hard. Nothing much to do but imagine what Northern Spain looked like when it wasn’t being buffeted by sheets of cold wet winter rain. I took advantage of the bus WiFi to have a room waiting when I got there. The hotel is pretty much next to the bus/train station and so I worried that my rule of no Airport Hotels was even more appropriate for bus station hotels. It was still a soggy 200 yard walk to the hotel but it turned out to be quite pleasant, in a soulless Business traveler accommodation sort of way. It was cheap, dry and close to the city center so I was happy. The rain let up around dinner time so I set out for food and some chilly Saturday night exploring. I assume that Oviedo is like any other Spanish city and night life is adequately named in that all the fun happens after night firmly takes hold. I found a few streets of bars and restaurants that were still catering to the dwindling afternoon soccer fans. There was definitely a lull in the air though. I didn’t know how much time I had before the rain started back up so I kept walking around town. I wanted to get in on some authentic Tapas but settled for a bowl of roasted peanuts and a beer at a standup bar. I just couldn’t figure out how to spend my time until this magical nightlife thing kicked in. I stopped at a very busy McDonald’s for dinner and headed back to the hotel.

The downside of being an early riser in Europe is it is antithetical to the way of life over there. I was up around seven on Sunday morning , the rain had blown through and it was already starting to look like a pretty day. A good day to start off with a huge breakfast and a few leisurely cups of coffee to watch the city wake up. 2 hours later, I was at an empty diner eating an expensive piece of toast and drinking a cup of instant coffee. It would be at least anther 3 hours before even the McDonald’s opened. I don’t even remember when regular restaurants opened but I was starving when they finally did. The kind of starving where you are just too hungry to decide where to eat. The kind of hungry where you brain wins the argument with your stomach that we have waited this long, there has to be an even better place just a little further. Then you just eat a donut and call it a night.  Ugh.

I had a good weather day on Sunday, lots of walking around a pretty much closed up city. I bet it is pretty fun in the summer though. Even if you don’t stay up past 9pm. The rain rolled in first thing Monday morning and I decided a soggy walk to the bus station was the better way to start my day. I caught the next bus to France.

Pictures from Oviedo Spain are here.

But the bus didn’t go to France. It stopped in the Spanish border town of Irun. It is where a path of the Camino De Santiago starts.  Someday I want to check it off but today I was headed in the other direction. The bus driver handed me my bag and said France was  “en esa direccion”. Using my High School Spanish but mostly following the direction of his pointed finger, I headed out into the rain. I had given up now trying to stay dry and just stuck close to the buildings an under awnings. It took a few tries but I finally found a metro station that would get me to the French train station I needed to get to Bayonne. A much appreciated short ride since I was about done with the day’s travel.

France: It was dark cold and pouring down rain when I got off the train in Bayonne. I decided to test my lucky streak and get a hotel next to the train station. It was a bit run down but it was fine for the night. I ventured out into the rain for dinner. The old town was across the river and I didn’t want to spend the next few days in soaked shoes so I stuck around the train station. Very little for food though. I finally broke down and sat a Dominoes Pizza place then called it a night. I would have like to have stayed in Bayonne for a while. I am really interested in France that is not Paris. But the rains had other ideas.

It was still pouring down rain when I headed out for the bus station in the morning. I stopped for a ham and cheese sandwich (Croque Monsieur) and a coffee at a little cafe. I am glad I checked the Wifi there. The Bus stop was just a wide spot in the road a 1/2 mile away. It was dark and pouring rain as I was standing on the side of the road still not quite sure that it was the right spot. I soon had company from future bus mates with better bus arrival timing to save standing in the rain. The bus cam as promised and I was off. I did not know where though.

I do not like arriving in new places after dark. It just adds a bit of stress that I don’t need walking around the dark. I made use of the bus WiFi to see how far I could get on a reasonable day’s bus ride. It turns out this bus was about it. So I picked Tours as mile final stop. I found an AirBnB for a long term stay and called it good. I should have read the small print at the bottom of my little phone screen.

It turns out that my non refundable AirBnB didn’t have an internet connection  I spent my first few days trying to figure out how to get it. I finally just bought a new phone and a local Sim Card. The thick walls of my AirBnB slowed down my connection to a crawl anyway. Probably just as well, I shouldn’t have been sitting watching Youtubes all day anyway. 

Instead I did a lot of walking around Tours and took day trips to the Chateaux in the cities all along the Loire River. After my stay in the cave hotel on Turkey, I was excited to see that there are also cave houses in the Loire Valley too. Since my housing was already spoken for I did not take advantage. I have since learned that the term for people that live in caves are called Trogolodytes. That surprised me because the 1970 movie “Trog” about a missing link caveman terrorizing modern day spelunkers. So good for Hollywood for doing a little bit of homework. Now I going to have to wonder if the movie Trog looks more French or Turkish.

Tours gets bitter cold in the winter so outdoor activities are pretty limited. It and the entire Loire Valley is flat and pretty bike friendly. I think it would be a good active vacation riding town to town in the day and eating french food each night.

Tours is a college town and the kids weren’t put off  sitting at the outdoor cafes by the cold nights. I think they wanted to smoke more than stay warm. I was there just as the retirement protests were starting. From what I have seen on the news, Paris has gotten the worst of it but the folks in tours succeeded in blocking traffic and interrupting train schedules. It all seemed more obligatory rather that a passionate protest. I had cancel a few day trips but had plenty of tie to make them up.

As the non French speaking, food agnostic, internet challenged troglodyte that I am, I think 30 days was plenty long enough to stick around for no reason. It was getting close to tie for me to head home. On way way out, I wanted to to Check out the Brittany and Normandy in Northern France. I am glad I did. I enjoyed driving my sporty little Fiat along the English Channel coast and through the backroads. There is a lot places to check off in the are. The D-Day landing sites, Mont Ste Michelle, the pleasant cities of Caen and Saint Malo. I would definitely put the area on a 30 day long stay list the next time I am looking for somewhere to stay. But next time, I’ll know more French.

Tours Pics and Normandy & Brittany Pics

England: My time was short now. Partly because I had reserved my flight home but mostly because I had worn the thighs out of my recently brand new Levi’s. They had become uncomfortably drafty and borderline obscene. I looked to get a new pair in when they started getting really bad, but they wanted 125 euro for them over there. I’ll wear them into a skirt before I pay that. Drafty nether regions aside, I still had some visiting to do in England before I was relegated to Heathrow’s Terminal 5 again. The Ferry across the English Channel seemed like a good idea but man is it boring. I landed in Portsmouth and spent a few days there recovering from a sprained wrist I got scurrying on slippery rocks around Mont Ste Michelle. My whole arm was pretty useless the whole time but it was still pretty nice to be able to understand what people were saying and read again after 4 months.

I have some friends that moved to the Beach city of Brighton, England during covid. They liked it so much that they bought an apartment and another building. Opened a coffee shop on the first floor and an Air BnB on the second.

I didn’t know what to expect from Brighton. Other than faded memories of the The Who’s “Quadraphenia” movie, I didn’t know much about it. I was expecting a little Beachside town resting up for the summer tourist season. I was mistaken. It is a city in and of it self. Lots of shops, cafes. restaurants and stuff going on all the time. The beach is a bit pebblely for my tastes but I don’t really like the beach in general. I was treated to dinner out and dinner in while I was there. Was quite a change from the solitude of the previous 4 months. I could have stayed longer but still had one more visit before I crammed myself into an super economy seat for 10 hours.

I have been to London several times. The first couple of times I barely went further than a few blocks off the Thames. Which you should do. Now I am perfectly happy to hang with my friends in the little towns outside of London that make up the Metro area. Plenty to keep you entertained. This visit, we drove East with a very light plan to avoid the rain that was expected. We ended up hiking around the National Trust land surrounding Winston Churchill’s House over in Kent. We didn’t go in but reading the reviews, it sounds like it is worth it

If you find yourself on London with all the main tourist stuff out of the way, here are a few things I enjoyed over the years. The Royal Observatory and museum in Greenwich with the 0 degree longitude line going right through it. Something else that is a little off the typical tourist trail but right in London is the Churchill War Bunker. I saw it a few years ago and thought it was pretty good and I rarely do museums. Speaking of Museums, I have still to visit the Tate Museum of art but one of these next visits, I’ll spend a day.

And with that, I packed up, said my see you next times and started the trip to Heathrow. Partly on the trains and the rest on the Tube. I was impressed that I could just tap my credit card and get my fare paid with out anytime at the Kiosk. I haven’t checked my statement to be sure but I don’t think there is a premium to be paid for the privilege.

England Pictures are here.

Some pictures from previous England trips are Here

And with that, I just have Malta left. As hard as I tried, there were days long layovers or many days of train and ferry travel to get there from where I was at. Russia and Belarus are on most Europe lists but I can’t really get there even if I wanted to. They are temporarily travel Listi non grata regardless of where they fall on the map.

 

Now back to the regularly scheduled blog efforts.