To end our week’s vacation we decided that for the return trip we would take it easy stopping off at Cuenca for an evening. Having heard and read a lot about Cuenca, it was somewhere that I just had to see before leaving Spain. I wasn’t disappointed, the old town spans the immense cliffs of two river gorges with houses built the rocks. It was great exploring the twisty back stepped streets and taking photos. Truly a wonderful place, but I leave the photos to do the talking… On Saturday afternoon we made our way up to la Ciudad Encantada…
I’ve just finished The Truce by Primo Levi (thanks to Carter for the recommendation) which follows on from his first book If this is a man, in a continuation of his of his experiences in German Concentration Camps. It takes off from the day of liberation and describes Primo’s 10th month repatriation trip and as a result has a much happier tone to the hard hitting tales from Monowitz. Levi’s writing is descriptive and observant, yet with no trace of hatred towards the perpetrators can be seen, something that Levi describes well in the afterword. The more I read about…
On Sunday morning we drove South to Oliva for the start of my Catamaran Course, a birthday present from Espe (I’ve loved Dart catamarans from a very young age, and use to dream of owning one). We were due 3 hours tuition on Sunday and 3 hours on Monday. Espe had looked into various courses but this one ended up being the most convenient. Others had stated that I’d have to take a normal sailing course before climbing aboard a cat. Likewise I had been declined the use of a cat in Thailand, as the owner stated that sailing a…
On Friday evening we left Alcobendas at 5pm after another dental check up. Our destination: Alaquas, Valencia. Our route, the one with the most twists and turns. Having been so fed up of Spanish Motorways of late, I decided we were going to reach Valencia avoiding motorways. We completed the whole trip on nice roads with no inconsiderate Madrileños winding me up and managed to avoid traffic jams completely. We took the N320 via Cuenca as recommended by Philippe over a year ago. We missed our intended turn after Cuenca and found ourselves in the hills again with yet more…
So it’s true, British Drivers are the most uptight. Leaving Madrid for a weekend away I found myself getting increasingly wound up by the standard of driving of the Madrileños. Leaving Madrid for any weekend is tough as the roads are full of people escaping the city for the Mediterranean coasts. That is far too many people for the motorways to cope with, especially given that of only two lanes the first lane is plagued with slow moving lorries. A new points system on the driving licences and the “50 deaths on these roads this weekend last year” signs illuminated…
A week in Krakow wouldn’t be complete without a stinking hangover. My brain is pretty much mush today, but thankfully the engineers here are getting very good so the questions have not been so intense. Last night I met up with the myriad of Managers here this week and then with Gareth. Yes, thats right, Gareth. The boy gets everywhere! This summer he’s so far been to Spain, Wales, England, France, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. Not bad for someone who lives in Australia. He even managed to time his trip to Krakow to coincide with me being…
Due to the ludicrous travel policy of the company I work for, I have been banned from using Easyjet. Instead I have to book my flights via Amex, which cost more than double. The upside to this was I landed at the conveniently close Heathrow Airport at a reasonable hour on Friday. The downside was I had to get up at 5 on Sunday in order to get to Gatwick airport (the other side of London) for a 7:30 flight. No friends or family were willing to drop me of at that hour, so that meant a further 50 pound…
I flew into London on Fri night on yet another one of my fleeting visits on my way to Poland. This time, though, I flew into Heathrow at a reasonable hour instead of Luton at midnight so I was able to go out for the evening. Off the plane into the car of the ever reliable parents. A quick stop at the local chippy before being dropped off in Harrow. It’s been a while since I’ve walked around Harrow at night, and I’d forgotten how bad it was. Littered with wanna be rude boys, half of them dressed up as…