UK - York

During autumn break we were visiting Leeds - our main reason being we wanted to attend the concert of Andrea Bocelli in the First Direct Arena there.

As we were there before, it didn't take too long to re-explore Leeds itself, and so there was time for something else. We decided to take a train (about 20 minutes) to the city of York.

Leaving the railway station in York, it is not difficult to find your way into the town center. It's clearly shown and not very far on foot. Walking into the center, you immediately come across the famous Minster.

And from there, you walk directly into the Shambles, the very narrow medieval streets full of little shops. We visited a peculiar little museum there, where Roman baths were excavated.

After lunch, which we also took in bistro in the Shambles, we decided to visit Clifford's Tower, a remainder of the times of William the Conqueror. You have a great view over York from the top.

We continued our walk along the ancient walls that surround the city and had a warm coffee with some cake to warm up, as it was a pretty cold day.

Conclusion: there is more than enough to see and do in York, even for a short visit.

Italy - Florence and surroundings

I've been neglecting this blog for some time, while my sister and I did travel since my last entry.

At the beginning of July, we made a trip to Florence (or Firenze, in Italian). We stayed in a magnificent palace (owned by the Marchess of Camugliano) for what I think a reasonable price (300€ a night, which is not too much for a sumptuous suite). The service there was impeccable and all food came directly from the farms on the estates of the marchess.

This aside, the town of Florence is well worth a visit. We arrived around noon, so still had an afternoon to go exploring. Our first walk (the palace was right in the town center) we already came across the magnificent Duomo.

Later that afternoon, we went to visit the Gallerio dell'Academia, where you can see the magnificent statue of Michealangelo's David.

On our second day, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio, which is one of the landmarks of Florence. Pretty crowded, you need to be aware of pickpockets there. People who were also staying in our hotel had their i-phone and wallet stolen there. I always wear inexpensive jewelry when abroad and keep my purse close to my body, with my hand on the zipper.

From the Ponte Vecchio, we continued via the Uffizi to the Palazzo Vecchio, where we visited the state rooms and later the Boboli gardens.

The following day we did a day trip which brought us to San Gimignano and Siena. Tuscany is a beautiful area to explore. From Florence it is not far to other places, like the ones mentioned. San Gimignano is purely medieval and (for the lovers) also has a museum of torture.

And Siena is famous for the horse racing, which takes place in the center of town.

And of course, a visit to Pisa could not be missed. Pisa equally is not too far from Florence, and can be reached by train if you like. Wanted to see the leaning tower with my own eyes!

For me, July is a good month to travel to Italy. Nicely warm (I love temperatures around 30°Celsius!) and dry. Wonderful to sip an Aperol Spritz after a long walk, and enjoy a leasurely dinner at some fine Italian restaurant. Life can be good!

Belgium - Brussels

Brussels is the capital city of Belgium. In theory it should be perfectly bilingual, but in practice most people speak better French than Dutch (or Flemish).

You can easily spend a couple of days in Brussels. There is so much to see! Lots of musea, for instance. Unfortunately, we only came for a day and a half and hadn't the time to visit them. Next time, we intend to stay somewhat longer and visit some of the musea. A long time ago, when I was still teaching, we visited the African museum with school and also the museum with the dinosaurs. But there are many more worth exploring.

On our short trip we decided to go walking around a bit. We had a hotel close to the Central Station and from there it is only a short distance to the beautiful Grand Place, with its imposant City Hall.

Many small streets go from there and they're fun to walk through. Not far from the Grand Place you'll find Manneke Pis, the statue of a little boy peeing. And I can also advise to walk through the Galleries Saint-Hubert, which are the eldest in the country. Lots of fine shops and cafés!

The center of Brussels is not that big. From the Central Station it is not far walking to the Kunstberg (Mont des Arts) where you can find various musea. From the top of the stairs you have a nice view over Brussels.

And also not far it is to the Royal Palace. I believe you can visit this during the summer months. The King doesn't actually live there, though, it's only his working place. The royal couple and their children live in the palace of Laken, outside of the center in a big park.

There is certainly a lot to see and I can recommend a visit!

The Netherlands - Rotterdam

For us in Flanders, a destiny like Rotterdam is not far away. By (ordinary, not Thalys) train it takes about two hours to reach this city. We left Dendermonde on Friday afternoon and arrived in Rotterdam around 4 pm.

We checked in at our hotel, conveniently situated at about 7 minutes' walk from the railway station (a pîece of modern art). Already on arriving we could see that Rotterdam has a lot of spectacular architecture. As it was raining, we decided to stay in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and later on had dinner.

On Saturday we rose to a stormy wind (blew really hard) but the rain only came occasionally. So we put on our raincoats and went outside. We first walked to the site where the famous cubic houses are. One of them you can visit (3€ per person) and it's really interesting. So small, yet very comfy.  I could live in one of these houses. Perfect for a couple of for a single.

After this visit we went exploring into the Markthal. It's quite close to the cubic houses. Also this architecture is special. It's a great place to spend some time around. A lot of shops, enough to eat and drink... I love such places.

We continued our walk in the direction of the Erasmus bridge, which spans over the river Maas. Along the docks is Hotel New York, which used to be the old building of the Holland-America line in the 19th century. We lunched there abd afterwards watched a cruiser leave port - the cruise terminal is close to the hotel.

Later that afternoon we returned to our hotel via the museum quarter and some shopping streets. The rain began to fall heavier, so we thought it was better to go to the hotel.

The next day, Sunday, the weather was a lot better. The sun shone (every now and then a cloud passed by) and the temperature was a lot better. We walked to Delfshaven, a historic site dating back to the 14th century. The village with its fishing port originally belonged to the town of Delft, but later on they decided they wanted to become part of Rotterdam. We walked the distance (took like one hour and a half from our hotel) but you can also take a metro train or tram. When the weather is fine, this is a nice place to be. Lots of terraces and cafés, old houses and a windmill, old boats. We spend most of the day there before taking the tube back to our hotel.

All in all, we had a great time in Rotterdam - so close by, but so different from our town!

Monaco - Monte Carlo

When you happen to be staying in the South of France, it's not very difficult to visit the dwarf state of Monaco from there. The train connections are excellent - just know that boarding a train during the busiest time of day may be quite an event!

We took the train from Nice, just a good twenty minutes ride from the main railway station. When you arrive in the railway station of Monte Carlo, you have to walk through long corridors and take some lifts to the upper level. There are several entrances, so best check which one to take beforehand.

We left in the direction of the Casino. A walk of about ten minutes brought us there. Actually, while being built on a rock, Monte Carlo is walkable. Lifts or rolling stairs take you up and down. On arriving at the Casino, we noticed that it could be visited between 10 am and 2 pm, before the play rooms open for the activity of the day. The entrance ticket does allow you not only to visit the casino, but you can return later that day and take part in the activities. Not having been in a casino of this fame (once entered a playing hall in Reno, full of one-armed bandits) it was quite interesting to see the various halls and get explanation over your headphones.

The visit took some time, and when we finally left it was practically time for lunch. Just near to the casino is the famous Café de Paris, where we managed to find a place on the terrace and had lunch there. We found the prices to be less expensive than we thought.

After an excellent lunch we continued our exploration. We just walked randomly and explored some beautiful gardens near the seaside, then headed to the moders yacht harbor (there is also an old one, named Fontveille) and finally arrived at the palace of the Prince of Monaco. You can also visit this, but we were one week too early. From here you have a magnificent view over Monte Carlo and it offers a great photo opportunity. We also enjoyed a cool drink on a terrace near the palace. Having walked a lot, it was nice to sit down for a while.

Finally later in the afternoon we headed back towards the railway station to catch our train to Nice. It was an agreeable day, as Monte Carlo is quite nice. I wouln't mind staying here somewhat longer!

France - Nice

Some five years ago, while staying in Saint-Raphael, we made a trip nearly every day and one of them was to Nice. We liked it, so decided to return one day. This happened a couple of days ago.

My sister had a long weekend, so we left our home on Wednesday noon and got to the airport. Flying to Nice is cheaper than taking the train (how unlogical it sounds). We arrived around 3 pm. From the airport you can take a bus into the town center (cost: 6€) and you can get off at the central railway station. From here it's not too far to the promenade and other sights.

We had picked a hotel at the Avenue Victor Hugo (some 8 minutes from the railway station) and found we had chosen well. The hotel was very convenient for walking around town.

If it's the first time you visit Nice, something you must definitely see is the old town. From the railway station take Avenue Jean Medecin and just walk down towards the waterfront. At the Place Massena turn left and you're into the old town. Lots of cute little shops and a whole lot of places to eat. Just be careful where and what you take. I've seen some of the eating places serve pommes frites that I wouldn't give to a dog. My advice would be to find a restaurant outside this quarter - there are lots of them around.

Another place to see is the promenade. It's very nice to walk down (it's long enough) and enjoy the beautiful weather (when you travel at the end of May, you're almost sure to get blue skies and lots of sun, while still not too warm). You can take a rest along this promenade, as there are benches and chairs at regular intervals.

I would also like to mention that you can visit the yacht harbor. It's a bit of a walk (when going down Avenue Jean Medecin, turn left at the promenade) but it worth it. I just love the sound of the wind going throught sails and masts.

There is is lot more to see, of course, but then you'll have to stay longer. And I also must say the weather was too nice to go into museums and such!

Mexico - Mexico City

During the last week of December 2018 and the first of January 2019, we went to Mexico. Our first stop was Mexico City.

We arrived in the late afternoon, and after a restful sleep and a nice breakfast, we took off for our first trip - a guided private city walking tour (which I can recommend to everyone; it was organised by Tours by Locals). First we visited the Mercado, which is always fascinating. Then we walked through some streets where we could view street art  and murals - of which the most interesting are in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera. Then further to the Plaza de Constitution, the cathedral and the Templo Mayor. We got a pretty good idea of the old city center that way. Later on, we discovered more of it on our own. By the way, as long as you stay in the old center, you're pretty safe. We were not robbed by pickpockets or felt threatened in any way.

Paying the entrance fee to the Templo Mayor is worthwhile. It gives you a pretty good idea of how the old town of Tenochtitlan was created.

More Aztec ruins can be found in Teotihuacan, around a one and a half hour's ride from Mexico City. There our guide showed us the pyramids of the moon and the sun, and also the one called the citadel. Most impressive! Among the ruins is the Palace of the Jaguars, where high priests lived and gathered.

A third trip we took was to Xochimilco.

The waterways are a bit too touristic and can't compare with Venice (or even Bruges), but the interesting part of this tour was the visit to the Museo Dolores Olmedo, which houses a large collection of paintings by Freda Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The museum is in fact an old hacienda. The last owner, Dolores Olmedo, bequeathed it to the state of Mexico and then it turned into a museum.

And interesting too is a visit to a authentic pulque bar in the village... You really must try one of their brews (just don't exaggerate, it's quite heady).

What concern the temperature, even in December it was not really cold in Mexico. Summer wear could be used, although mornings and evening could get a bit colder. A warm jacket then is to be recommended! Also no concerns about the food. It can be spicy, but we never suffered any ill effects of it.