With yesterday’s emergence of the UK into ‘meteorological spring’, now seems a good time to give a pictorial review of Edinburgh’s experience of the latest Scottish lockdown. This began on
December 2020: Christmas Cheer(s) in London
Arrival The last trip of 2020, and for an as yet indeterminate period thereafter, was once again to London. Outbound travel was on Sunday 13 December. The first two nights
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 7): Pombal
The small city of Pombal is situated 50km southwest of Coimbra, halfway between Porto and Lisbon. The population is a mere 18,000, although there are 55,0000 people in the wider
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 6): Coimbra
Coimbra is a city of around 145,000 people, situated 125km south of Porto. A three-night stay there formed the second part of our trip to northern Portugal. Coimbra is Portugal’s
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 5): Foz do Douro
Foz is the district of Porto where the Douro flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It stretches northwards from the river mouth through an area that is notable for its lack
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 4): Vila Nova de Gaia
As previously mentioned, the urban area south of the Douro and opposite Porto is officially a separate city: Vila Nova de Gaia (“New Town of Gaia”), or simply Gaia. It’s
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 3): Porto
With a city population of 240,000 and a metropolitan area that is home to 1.7 million people, Porto is Portugal’s second city. Its ancient name, Portus Cale, may even be
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 2): The Douro Valley
Our second full day in northern Portugal was dedicated to another day trip. The Douro Valley is one of the world’s oldest winegrowing regions and is a UNESCO World Heritage
October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 1): Arrival & Day Trip to Braga
Arrival Less than a week after getting back from Greece, it was nice to be off again, making hay while the sun was shining in this year of travel washout.
Featured Flight BA633 (ATH-LHR)
FLIGHT DATA for BA633 Date: 09 Oct 2020 Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 ‘Dreamliner’ (G-STBH) From: Athens (ATH) To: London Heathrow (LHR) Scheduled departure: 1955 (EEST) Actual departure: 1947 Scheduled arrival: 2145
October 2020: Athens (Part 6): City Centre Roundup
Thursday On returning to the city from Aegina on Thursday, we had time to fit in a visit to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as EMST. This
October 2020: Athens (Part 5): Excursion to Aegina
Thursday Aegina is another island in the Saronic Gulf, bigger than Hydra and considerably closer to Athens. It is named after the mother of a former king of the island.
October 2020: Athens (Part 4): From Hill to Meeting Place
Wednesday This was another ‘city day’, and just as Monday had begun with an ascent to the Acropolis, so this morning brought another climb. Our objective this time was the
October 2020: Athens (Part 3): Day trip to Hydra
Tuesday We knew that our intention was to take two side trips from Athens to nearby islands, and decided that in order to maximise city-country contrast, we should take the
October 2020: Athens (Part 2): Acropolis & Museum
Monday The transition from weekend to new week brought a move from ‘settling in’ to serious sightseeing. Top of the list were the city’s most popular attractions: the Acropolis and
October 2020: Athens (Part 1): Settling In
Saturday With our original plans for 2020 in tatters and multiple replacements having suffered a similar fate, Bruce and I tried one more time by arranging to spend a week
September 2020: Biggar & Lanark
Biggar The small South Lanarkshire town of Biggar (population 2,300) is less than 30 miles from Edinburgh city centre. That’s just a one-hour bus ride, half of which is spent
September 2020: Two Galleries and a Georgian House
That’s what I managed to clock up over just two days in September, albeit two days that were separated by a weekend. Scottish National Gallery (Friday 11-Sep) The Scottish National