Back from my travels…

Our 3.30 am alarm call allowed us to get to the airport at 5am in time for our 7.05am flight. We encountered a slight hiccup when the in-car SatNav directed us to a blocked road which, too late we remembered had happened last time we flew from Manchester airport. It was four years ago so we can forgive ourselves for repeating the same mistake.

Once at the airport, we booked into the meet and greet parking leaving the car keys before making our way to check in where we found we had to weigh our own bags and print the labels before we could check in through ‘fast track’ which we had pre-booked. Our hand luggage passed through the scanner with no problems but for some reason I set off the personal scan alarm which meant I had to go through the electronic body scanner station. This was an odd experience. After a few questions about what might have set off the alarm I had to stand in a particular way as indicated by a silhouette on the wall facing me whilst the machine scanned my body.

After passing this test we had breakfast which for me was pain au chocolate and fruit juice. By the time we had finished eating, the boarding gate had opened and on checking in we found that we were sharing our flight with a large group of English and Welsh pool players on their way to an international tournament.

We left rainy, cold and dark Manchester on time arriving in Malta 3.5 hours later in glorious 80-degree sunshine. We had booked a private transfer which meant we would arrive at our hotel sooner than if we had waited for a bus. As our driver took us to our hotel, he pointed out various things on our journey and when we arrived in Valletta, he gave us several tips on how to get around.

As we checked into the hotel, we were greeted by the concierge who gave us a refreshing drink. Our room was ready but needed to be checked off by house keeping before we could get the keys. This allowed us to enjoy our refreshing drink looking at the view of the hotel pool and the harbour beyond.

Our room was fantastic with a sea view and balcony looking out over a small harbour and in the bathroom, there was a small vase with a carnation. We left our bags in our room and walked up the 88 steps towards the city gate to Valletta. It was time for lunch so we purchased a snack from one of the kiosks near to the city gate before heading into the city.

Photo taken by Mr C

Photo taken by Mr C

We walked around the city taking in some of the lovely coastal views whilst orientating ourselves for future excursions. I spent a while sitting, cooling off enjoying Lower Barrakka Gardens whilst Mr C went exploring. I was treated to the sound of birdsong and lizards peeping out from the undergrowth.

Photo taken by Mr C

Explorations, complete we headed back to the hotel where we had a drink in the bar before heading to our room to unpack and freshen up before dining in the hotel. In the dining room there was a bit of miscommunication, we had intended dine from the Al a Carte menu but we ended up sampling the Indian Style buffet instead. After dining, we finished our drinks in the hotel bar before retiring for the evening.

It was a shock to the system returning to ‘Old Blighty’. We left Malta in 80F sunshine and landed in rainy 39F Manchester.

Photo diary accounts of our adventure coming soon…

Holiday diaries of my recent mini break in Windsor are coming soon. Watch this space…

Anecdotes and photos coming soon!

I awoke good and early but drifted off to sleep again and the next thing I knew it was 9.20am. There was no sign of Mr C and no sign of a cup of tea so I leapt out of bed, at which point Mr C, having been distracted by something on his computer, realised what time it was!

After making a cup of tea Mr C packed his bag and we set of on our journey to Newcastle, slightly later than intended. Our intention had been to have lunch in the delightful town of Kirkby Lonsdale which we had accidentally found on a detour on a previous trip. The SatNav was predicting that we would arrive there to late for lunch so when we spotted a suitable tea shop in a garden centre near Sandbach we decided to stop there instead. I opted for an egg sandwich which was delicious.

The SatNav in Mr C’s car seems to have a mind of its own and shortly after lunch we arrived at Crewe which should have taken us about an hour from where we live but by this time we had been travelling for two hours. We hastily reprogrammed the SatNav to a different route type and continued on our way arriving in Kirkby Lonsdale in time for afternoon tea and a cake.

Unfortunately Mr C nipped into the cafe and was almost seated when I arrived through the doorway. It would have been a lovely cafe for lunch but it didn’t do cake so I settled for a cup of tea. As we left Mr C noticed next door another tea shop (with a window full of cakes) and realised that this was where he had been aiming for, having seen it as we drove past. I was reminded of our recent trip to Elan Valley when a similar thing happened. I see a theme emerging…

We ensured that the SatNav was programmed for the fastest route and continued towards Newcastle. We drove through some delightful Yorkshire countryside and were taken off our normal A66 route onto the A67. This took us past Barnard Castle and Raby Castle, both impressive, which we intend to go back and visit when we have more time. On our final approach to Newcastle the Angel of the North revealed itself as if by magic, one moment it is quite hidden from view before appearing as if out of nowhere.

We checked into the hotel then made our way to our room where gentle music was playing and on the dressing table there was a lovely note welcoming us back and wishing us a fantastic stay. As we had arrived later than intended there was no time to chill out on the roof terrace before dinner.

The restaurant was busy due to a couple of large groups and our food, although delicious, didn’t arrive exactly as ordered. The steak arrived with fries rather than chips and my fishcakes arrived without the salad that was advertised on the menu. I did query this but was told that the fishcakes only came with fries (not fries and salad). On checking the menu again later, I realised that I was right and the waitress had been wrong.

We had a well earned nightcap in the snooker bar before retiring for the evening.

Collingwood Arms

I am gathering my thoughts, sorting my photographs and helping my mum (post house move) after arriving home later than expected on Tuesday evening…

Normal service and holiday diary will follow soon

We didn’t set off to Winchester as early as we planned and after picking up my mum and a brief stop on the motorway led to us arriving in Winchester at lunch time. We parked on the hotel car park and Mr C went to reception to tell them that we had arrived and would be leaving our car on the car park. He was informed that the rooms were ready so we decided to book in before having lunch. Booking in turned out to be a bit of a saga… The French receptionist couldn’t understand why two identical room bookings had different room rates. Mr C tried to explain that it was because one was single occupancy and the difference was the breakfast rate. The receptionist didn’t understand, but thankfully a colleague sorted him out. Eventually we booked in and took our bags up to our rooms!

After the booking in saga we set out for a late lunch in the Cathedral Refectory. Mum,Mr C & I all chose cheese and watercress scones, watercress being a speciality of the area and they were delicious We then made our way to the cathedral, stopping off at its gift shop along the way. The gift shop had some delightful christmas decorations and advent candles, which we decided we would come back and buy just before we left Winchester.

Our visit to the Cathedral was not as peaceful as it had been was on our previous visit. It was a Saturday and lots of guided tours were taking place. Previously I enjoyed peace and tranquility in the North & South transepts but on this occasion both were disrupted. The North transept is housing a temporary structure to display the Winchester Bible whilst the South transept is undergoing restoration. and is currently closed. It houses the Fisherman’s Chapel which I found so peaceful last time. The disruption led to us noticing features unseen on our previous visit and we very much enjoyed seeing the historically important Winchester Bible in its temporary home. We just missed seeing it on our previous visit when it was being shipped to America for display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

As we left the  we were caught by a brief shower of rain, so we retired once again to the Cathedral Rectory for a refreshing cup of tea, before returning to the hotel to unpack our bags, before we dined in the ‘Old Vine’, which was just as good as we remembered it from our previous visit. We called in at a pub on our way back to the hotel, but the music was so loud that we couldn’t hear ourselves think. We returned to the hotel where we could chat more easily and enjoy a nightcap before bed even though there was a wedding disco with kids noisily charging around the hotel.

I have just returned from my annual autumnal travels with my mum. On this occasion we travelled to the fine Cathedral city of Winchester