Seville - 7 October 2010

The Old World and the New World were inextricably linked in Seville as it was here that Queen Isabel commissioned Columbus and it was from here that he set sail; it was Seville that held the sole trading rights for the New World; it is here that the Archives of that era are preserved; and it is here that Columbus remains in one of the grandest tombs that we have ever seen.

Our morning started with the Cathedral, the largest church building in the world and where Columbus' tomb is to be found. Next door is the Archive of the Americas, where the records of the era of exploration (and exploitation) are preserved, including the log of Columbus' trip.

A little further down the street is the Alcazar, a place to lose yourself (almost literally) for at least half a day. Rooms beyond rooms, within rooms and multiple links to and from the gardens mean that it is impossible to see it all in any methodical way, but that simply adds to the enjoyment as you re-enter rooms from a different door and see a whole new vista.

An added tour, and well worth the extra cost, is the Upper Palace – still the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family. Cameras are confiscated on entry to this area as they take no chances with people who ignore the rules.

After exploring the streets of Seville we headed out to the Plaza de Espana where an Exhibition was held in 1929. In spite of sections being closed and the workmen still on site there was enough of this impressive site left open for us to enjoy.

No visit to Spain is complete without a meal of tapas. Last night we arrived late from our flight, and didn't set out to eat until 11pm. This is not a problem in Spain, and we had a delicious selection of tapas at a small local restaurant Bar Alcoy, recommended to us. Today we sampled another venue for a late tapas lunch, not as delicious, but the venue is amazing, and well worth a visit for the ambience – El Rinconcillo. Dinner later in the evening at Dona Elvira was a good deal more expensive, but once again the setting was worth it, a tranquil square beneath orange trees.

Autumn Meet - 3 October 2010

The Autumn MG Meet at Hever Castle turned out to be a true start to autumn. On our drive north of London yesterday, there was little sign of autumn colours, but Kent was starting to turn golden.

Unfortunately the rain moved in at 11am, and after we finished looking at the Castle, it was raining heavily. It was time move to the warm cosy pub in the village, for lunch. This pub is nearly as old as Hever Castle. The oldest part dates back to the 13th century, and the remainder was built in 1647.

Bedfordshire – 2 October 2010

In what might be the last of summer sunshine, we spent the day exploring a small corner of Bedfordshire. It felt like experiencing a small slice of village life as we dipped into each. First off the motorway was Clophill, where the village Scarecrow Festival was just getting underway.

In Pirton, we wondered if we had stepped into the set of Midsomer Murders (or in this case Late Summer Murders!), as the village clean up was dragging weeds out of the village pond. In true Midsomer Murder style, we expected Joyce to be there helping, and that one of the villagers should have dragged up a body during the cleanup.

Hitchin is more than a village, more a proper market town. The large pedestrainised market square has quite a European feel, with an outdoor cafe. From each corner of the square are streets full of lovely old buildings. This town did not appear to be suffering from small town depression, so common in other places. Shops were appealing and busy, and the church full of wonderful flower arrangements in anticipation of a concert.

Just down the road is Letchworth, a planned city only built just over 100 years ago in 1903. It was founded by Ebenezer Howard as the world's first Garden City – the concept was to build a city in an area of countryside which would help to make it self-sufficient for food; years ahead of the modern food-miles concept. The town is attractive in spacious planned way, unlike old towns which grew by degrees.

The last stop was at Ashwell, the source of the River Cam, where it bubbles up on the edge of town. The town itself is full of wonderful old buildings, and a fascinating church which not only has the tallest spire in the county, but on the spire, the clock fitted in 1896 only has three faces, as the farmer on the north side complained that his farm workers would be distracted from their work if they could stop and watch this new feature!! What changes, people just find new things to complain about, especially new technology that might affect the workforce!

Off the rails and down the river - 25 September 2010

Today’s activity was supposed to be a steam train ride to York and back but this was cancelled during the week due to the steam engine being faulty.

We had seen a news item about the Great River Race where 300 or so crews row up the River Thames from the Docklands to Richmond, some 21 exhausting miles. A civilised way to participate in such madness is to book a table in a riverside pub (in our case the Dove), enjoy a great meal washed down with a NZ Sauvignon Blanc and wait for the crews make it to your viewpoint then find a nearby bridge (in our case Hammersmith) to stand on and cheer the crews on.

The overcast conditions and chill wind when the boats arrived detracted a little from the enjoyment of the day but at least we were warm and dry and did not wake the next morning with aching muscles.


The race has been run since 1988 and is based on a handicap start with the slowest boats starting first and, in honour of the Thames Waterman tradition, each boat has to carry a passenger over the distance of the course. The boats range in size and style: row boats, dragon boats, outrigger canoes, Irish longboats, lifeboats, surf boats and even one made from oil drums, the only common factor being oars or paddles as the motive power.

Cavtat - 19 September 2010

 Clearly if one is camping and flying home it is desirable to have a dry tent to pack in one's suitcase.

The weather forecast was for settled weather as fas as we knew and a check outsde at 0530 showed a clear and starry sky. So to hear the pitter-patter of tiny rain drops at 0630 was not a welcome sound but it did get us of to an early start. 

 As the rain gently fell we scrambled to get our gear into the car, not overly sure what we would do with a disorganised car-load of stuff in the pouring rain. The prospect of repacking it all under a service-station forecourt did not appeal. However, the rain was just enough to wet the tent and get us moving and although it had stopped, the sky still looked very threatening so the pressure was still on to pack-n-go.

As it was, it did not rain again and we enjoyed our last breakfast at Molunat in the glorious sunshine while the tent dried sufficiently to be packed away.

Just nearby the airport is the town of Cavtat and since we had such an early start we had plenty of time to wander around Civtat's two headlands and admire the mega-yachts tied up along the quay.

Molunat – 18 September 2010

For anyone wanting an idyllic spot in “another world”, then head for Molunat. We felt we had found a little touch of paradise. But unfortunately, paradise was not in touch with the real world. We arrived with 208kn in our wallet, and expected to pay by card, as we had done everywhere else in Croatia.

Unfortunately this rural backwater has not changed to the world of online payments, so by carefully selecting our dinner last night, we had just enough to dine. Saturday's priority was to find an ATM to pay for our campsite, and eat again. Fortunately we had asked for help with this, and a local lad directed us to Gruda. But on arriving, it looked most unpromising. But as we believed he understood our request, we persevered, and found a bank and working ATM off the main road.

Having left camp, we explored this corner of Croatia. The guide book said it is still very rural, and to expect locals dressed in national costume. Sure enough, we did see local dress, and the little settlements were quite delightful. We checked out a recommended restaurant for later, and a fort described as the most important in the area.

The fort took a little finding as there were no brown tourist signs anywhere on the road to it and when we finally located the fort we discovered why. They are clearly in the process of making it into a tourist attraction with renovation work to the walls of the fort and beautiful wide pathways leading to it from an unfinished carpark. We were just a little ahead of the programme as it was as secure as Fort Knox.

Defeated we returned to Molunat and enjoyed the crystal clear 22C water and 25C sunshine. What's not to like about that combination?

Back to the south of Croatia - 17 September 2010

As Krka is inland from the coast we decided to return to Dubrovnik via the inland route rather than the coast we had already seen. A guide book suggested that Drsni was worth a look but apart from a ruined fort left over from when the Venetians and Turks were scrapping over the area we couldn't see much to hold our attention so moved on south to Sinj which had even less to recommend it. Feeling rather desperate for a tourist “fix” we headed back towards the coast to visit Klis. This is a ruined fortification at a fabulous location guarding a pass up from the coast. The elevated vantage point afforded 360 views but unfortunately the distance was shrouded in a mirky fug.

EU money has provided a very flash motor-way down the interior of the country so we picked this up here and drove as far south as current construction permitted before heading back down the coast road from Ploce.

We had a bit of fun finding a campground for the night as locations that might look good in a book in reality turn out to be on a busy road, too far from the beach in either distance or height, closed, or simply scruffy.

Just before we ran out of Croatia and ended back in Montenegro we found a great spot at Molunat and settled in for the remainder of our time here.