Dashed Hopes – Unexpected Victory

Couldn’t not wrap up this football-centric year without a quick look at England’s 2026 World Cup roller-coaster journey. Who’d have predicted the final score of the third-place playoff when England started the 2nd half 4 goals to nil? But first, here’s a here’s a quick recap of our team’s performance since their first world cupContinue reading “Dashed Hopes – Unexpected Victory”

Hot or What? – Mid Spain

We didn’t discover Spain until 96, and in the dozen years until 2007, we only missed two years in Spain (North and Middle), but sadly haven’t been back since. 1998 saw us France’s Green Venice and in 2005, we spent our August week in Ireland – more about that in a few weeks’ time. InContinue reading “Hot or What? – Mid Spain”

Hot or What? – Northern Spain

Our first impression of North Spain was it felt an awful lot like Wales (mountains, beaches and lush greenery) but with heat. Our favourite patch was the Asturias, between Ribadesella and Llanes, about an hour’s drive west of Santander. Our last visit was made memorable by the wildlife – we saw a scorpion and aContinue reading “Hot or What? – Northern Spain”

Hot or What? – Southern France

So many of our holidays began on Brittany ferries, and we spent many a happy hour playing cards in the Commodore Lounge, having sussed early on what a different experience you could have by paying a little extra. I love this first photo, showing how protective Chris was of Jo. Lake District The one andContinue reading “Hot or What? – Southern France”

Hot or What? – Mid-France

Loire Valley We spent many October half-terms in gites in the Loire valley when the kids were growing up, and it’s the place I hanker after most when our ability to travel is restricted. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep detailed records of all the places we visited, but a quick tot up says there were atContinue reading “Hot or What? – Mid-France”

Hot or What? – Northern France

Brittany My first experience of France, was a family trip to Brittany in summer after finishing my a levels. Grateful to discover I had reasonably good sea legs on the ferry, I joined in with fascination as we discovered warm seas, stunning sights and scrummy crepes. I was particularly taken with the fortified island inContinue reading “Hot or What? – Northern France”

Hot or what? – My Greek Love Affair

In light of the recent UK heatwave – rarer on a bank holiday than unicorn droppings, let alone hen’s teeth – I thought I’d revisit some of our awesome holiday destinations. Any excuse to look through the holiday pix. As it happens, I’m currently having great fun remembering some of the fabulous experiences on GreekContinue reading “Hot or what? – My Greek Love Affair”