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Jan/Feb 2021: Edinburgh’s Winter Lockdown

2 March 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Scotland, UK

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

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December 2020: Christmas Cheer(s) in London

20 February 2021 RandR.scot England, Europe, UK

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 7): Pombal

14 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 6): Coimbra

13 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 5): Foz do Douro

10 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 4): Vila Nova de Gaia

9 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 3): Porto

8 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 2): The Douro Valley

4 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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

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October 2020: Northern Portugal (Part 1): Arrival & Day Trip to Braga

3 February 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Portugal

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.

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Featured Flight BA633 (ATH-LHR)

30 January 2021 RandR.scot Featured Flight

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

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October 2020: Athens (Part 6): City Centre Roundup

28 January 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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

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October 2020: Athens (Part 5): Excursion to Aegina

26 January 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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.

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October 2020: Athens (Part 4): From Hill to Meeting Place

25 January 2021 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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

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October 2020: Athens (Part 3): Day trip to Hydra

27 December 2020 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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

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October 2020: Athens (Part 2): Acropolis & Museum

22 December 2020 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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

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October 2020: Athens (Part 1): Settling In

10 December 2020 RandR.scot Europe, Greece

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

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September 2020: Biggar & Lanark

8 December 2020 RandR.scot Europe, Scotland, UK

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

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September 2020: Two Galleries and a Georgian House

7 December 2020 RandR.scot Europe, Scotland, UK

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

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