Cities-Towns

28
Jun
2023

Bordeaux, Bordeaux

So good they named it I visited it twice.

The campsite was great, offered live music for two nights, the first being great musicians playing Django Reinhart-style French jazz, in a setting on Bordeaux Lac, only about 8-9 kilometres or so via well-designed cycle routes into the centre.

The Tchikiswing from Toulouse

More often than not, live music is a surprise and a gift for me; I even got up and danced due to the insistence of a Belgian couple

But Bordeaux – I’ll just bullet-point what I observed, as it rises to the top of my city list alongside the likes of San Sebastian, Porto, Copenhagen

  • Well-designed cycling city which the residents of all ages and types, with all manner of cargo/child-carrying bikes use
  • Shared public spaces, with walkers, bike and scooter riders, tramways, all co-mingling without hostility; the car is definitely not king and in fact I experienced courtesy from car drivers both here and generally in Spain
  • Absolutely beautiful, yet somehow understated public spaces and buildings being lived in, rather than museum pieces, and enjoyed by all; my favourite was the Jardin Public
  • Smaller, more personal scale than the likes of Madrid, with 1 million inhabitants according to Google, twice as many as Montpellier, similar to Toulouse, less than Porto or Copehagen
  • Sigificantly fewer canine family members in evidence – down to more apartment living for the suburbs I cycled through and the centre?
  • Cycled past camps under underpasses of what looked like groups of immigrants from Africa, and did see other people who I would describe as having fallen through gaps in society
  • Murky brown/sandy river water results from the meeting of the sediment-laden fresh water of the Garonne with the salty sea water of the Gironde estuary, according to Google

My phone camera is not as good as I would like to record what I love to see and be part of.

River front
Jardin Public
Jardin Public
‘Bacalan’ Food Destination
Without water
With water for everyone’s enjoyment
Cite du Vin
Contemporary buildings in the mix
Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, France, Places
30
May
2023

Madrid (& Copenhagen)

Stayed for 3 nights at the very pleasant Camping Osuna, 10 minutes walk from a metro station and from there 25 mins into the centre. Yesterday and today have seen many miles covered on foot here there and everywhere including free entry to the Museum of Madrid History, and the Royal Botanical Gardens. My overall impressions confirmed the opinion of others – that it is a very beautiful city in terms of beautiful historic buildings, parks, plazas, boulevards and avenues, cafe’s everywhere, both independent and global chains. Other observations included that in general people providing all this hospitality to endless tourists were helpful and pleasant, the prices were very reasonable, not too diverse a population in comparison with London, but many people to my eyes of seemingly latin-american origin.

I should have done a post on my trip to Copenhagen, and that too would have included ‘diversity not very much in evidence’, or better described by my travelling companion daughter as “where are the people with pink hair?”. We loved our visit to that city, its cycling provision, friendly people, good food and cafe culture. Being a fan, and it being my source of learning bits of Danish, I did feel as though I was on the set of my highly recommended ‘Borgen’ political drama. I can recommend the 3-hour cycling tour from City Bike Adventures Copenhagen and our immigrant North American guide made the tour so interesting, bringing his own observations as an outsider who chose to move there.

Below is Madrid, not Copenhagen

Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, Places, Spain
23
May
2023

Burgos

It was 5km lovely walk along the river from the municipal campsite to the historic centre in this town/city of population approx. 200,000 on one of the Camino de Santiago routes. What an amazing cathedral, the lookout from the Castillo, the old streets and beautiful river gardens, and the relaxed, non-busy ambience. Quite a few pilgrims of all ages/nationalities walking through.

A bit of history interesting to me is that Napolean lead his French army into Spain and occupied the castillo in Burgos as part of the support for their war with Portugal. The Duke of Wellington then came along and tried unsuccessfully to remove the French.

There is what looks like a significant museum of the evolution of humanity which I wanted to visit, but got there at 14:30 to find it re-opened at 16:30. I decided that by then, without a book with me, I wouldn’t wait, and instead completed the 3 miles back in need of a cup of tea. I’ve done about 8.5 miles walking today. The temperature reached 23 deg when the sun was predominant early afternoon and the 3rd photo was to remind me of the smell of blossoms in the warmth.

Recommend a visit here.

I love the smell from the flowers and bushes in the warmth
A significant place on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela
Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, Spain
14
Sep
2022

Excelled Myself Today

I’m looking forward to just sitting in one place for at least half of tomorrow, whilst driving the van across Austria and into south Germany. Today has seen an extraordinary hive of activity reminiscent of my brother-in-law.

Encouraged by my now-long-gone neighbours from Grimsargh – Gill and Greg – with whom I spent an enjoyable couple of hours last night chatting about the Longridge Aldi and the like, I did indeed get the SUP board out this morning.

That plus the 20 minutes pumping it up could be seen as exercise enough, but I then got on the lake under the blue sky and sun – all perfect for the activity – well before 10:00am. As I gracefully stood up and paddled up to the island, I realised that I was still listening to the R4 Today programme. I suddenly became aware of the incongruity of my happy – in beautiful surroundings, peace and quiet on the lake -pootling, whilst snorting at Nick Robinson’s interview with the latest Russian media mouthpiece, as he danced on a pin re the latest news of significant defeat. Now he insisted that the Russians would potentially need to step up their activity to liberate the Ukrainians from the US & UK occupation – or words/sentiments to that effect.

My age must tell, in that I am always incredulous at the “up is down”, “black is white” varieties of ‘truth’ out there, and how people can be so invested in their conspiracy beliefs, that they prefer not to apply their own brain power but hand it over to those who claim omnipotence. That’s Group a) anyway. Group b) know exactly what they are doing in their support of the omnipotent naked emperors. But how do they live with themselves suspending their consciences, as they continue to peddle lies to Group a), that can and are leading literally to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. And while all this fiddling goes on, Rome burns.

I switched it off. My mission was to be actively immersed in the surroundings above the board and take a selfie to prove that the prowess happened. This however is no easy task given that I also have to swap my sunglasses for my reading glasses to be able to operate the camera; the phone has to come out of its protective case and risk being lost to the deep, which would be a catastrophe. The photos below do show some limited evidence of me standing up on the board, and then reverting to kayaking position photos as my left knee had had enough by then. I did kayak over to the other side of the lake and back again, and Google timeline calls that 2.9 miles walking.

Revived by a coffee back at the van and having re-packed the sup board, i set off on the bike for the nearby town of Radovljika. This was also recommended for its medieval centre, and it was worth the 15 mile ride still in sunshine under the blue sky.

  • This beautiful building contained the music school and scales by clarinet were drifting out through the windows.

Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, Equipment, Places, Slovenia
04
Oct
2019

Harrogate welcomes the world – UCI Cycling World Championship

Given that I had intended being away when this event came to town, and based back in Longridge, Lancashire again, I had decided not to put my brain to the task of understanding the week’s schedule and how best to navigate the major road closures, as well as where to sofa-surf or driveway camp so that I could be part of it all.

Serendipity stepped in again though to enable me nevertheless to be a very happy spectator caught up in a world sporting event taking place in my home town and particularly as where my brother, and friends the next day, chose to stand for the women’s and men’s elite events respectively, was in the vicinity of what had become a european motorhome unofficial aire.

With delight, particularly as the first day delivered bright sunshine and blue sky after 24 hours of pouring rain, driving for many of those hours from a day-old stay despite weather forecast in the Lake District to the van manufacturer to try (in vain) to get a leak which appeared for the first time in Monte2 corrected, I realised that though I was not across the channel as part of a continental motorhoming tribe, it had actually come unexpectedly to me! (A very long sentence I know!) The cycling did of course figure 🙂

  • Men’s Elite ultimately 3rd, 2nd, & winner

What a fantastic event to in the end be led by circumstances and reacting decisions, and despite the appalling rain on the Sunday, I was so glad to have been there.

Partying between laps 🙂
Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, Events, Places, The Good
08
Sep
2019

“Take as a gift whatever the day brings forth” Horace

I am currently in my second swiss campsite following my friend in her campervan, where the above quote is pinned up. Yesterday I arrived at the first campsite at Davos Rinerhof at 1500m after 3 hours of driving through pouring rain, following a night of pouring rain, and feeling the same ridiculous ‘height fear’ as I followed the (very good swiss) roads, higher and higher. Ruminating on the whole ‘why am I not driving to the sunshine’ self-imposed pressure and catastrophising :)!!, by the time I arrived, I had already done enough speaking sternly to myself to change my mindset to precisely the sentiments I read, as I drank my friend-provided welcome cup of tea! Later on the rain stopped and we caught a bus and walked back along the valley through Davos, where I had stayed in Hotel Bunda with some of the family for our very first skiing holiday way back when. I also enjoyed a week’s skiing a second time in this place, when I went with another family several years later. Good times.

Today I awoke to the predicted snow, but put my trust in the forecast that southern Switzerland near Lugano would reach the heady heights of 20 deg. Gritted ones teeth to follow the satnav slightly higher before descending to get on the main road which then climbed to the San Bernadino tunnel.

I am genuinely in awe of the swiss road system, (railways also), and the same in France, as they forge their way in tunnels through around and up mountains. I don’t think we have anything remotely similar in the UK. Having popped out of the other end of the San Bernadino tunnel from a world of falling snow and 1.5deg into light, distant blue sky and sunshine, the amazing road descent in the most beautiful setting did deliver a new climate of the hoped-for 20 degrees.

Still in Switzerland just, we are now on Camping Tresiana between Lakes Lugano and Maggiore. Having a glass of wine to celebrate my success – glad I’ve not wasted £500 – having just received my diploma certificate, with my old, now ‘midult’ friend Carole, a mere 43 years after we went on our first youth-hostelling holiday together. We don’t look a day older!

My plan as of a few days ago which is still the intention, is to drive to northern Croatia this week and hopefully meet up with some other motorhoming friends, but there is potentially a spanner in the works, which may cause this to change.

Posted by admin in Cities-Towns, Places, Switzerland