Ryan Does It Again!

Train from Sheffield and flying from Leeds-Bradford airport was a snip. Ryanair got us to Treviso on time with no probs. The ATVO bus from Treviso airport to Venice took us to the Pizzale Roma where we caugth the No 51 vaporetto to Giardini. A short walk and we were at the apartment. Friends dropped in the keys and we were settled in ...

A visit to Prix supermarket and the cupboards were full of lovely food.

Two days of wandering, shopping, eating and just enjoying the city ... what more could we ask for? Trust us, it's an unique place to be. The via Garibaldi is always a great place to wander and it's just over the bridge to San Pietro - 95% locals and we now feel so familiar it feels like 'home'.

Rain,Rain and .... Rain

A few days in Derbyshire at our friend's cottage was accompanied by lots of rain. Well it's getting into autumn so   it's what we expect if we're truthful. The green and pleasant can't be green without the H2O so moaning seems a bit pointless.

I had a heat-in-the-mouth moment when I managed to drive one of the front wheels of the car over the edge of  the cottage driveway. Experience clicked into place - I jacked the beast up and levered the offending large blocks of stone out of the way with an 8 foot fence post. It was raining at the time which cooled my fevered brow somewhat. Shoving slabs of rock under the wheel allowed me to, eventually, drive the car back onto the road. Damage was not evident so another sigh of relief from my wallet ended the trauma. Hey-ho it's all in a day's excitement ...

We venture out in the rain and drove up to the high moors down narrow, winding and often steep lanes. The views were none existent in the rain and cloud so we drove down to High Bradfield village where we visited a splendid church. St Nicholas dates from at least the 9C and the existing building is, more-or-less, a 15C structure.

High Bradfield was a Norman stronghold complete with two motte-and-bailey fortifications.

Modern Drugs and Good Food ...

I am happy to report that an application of a wide range of pharmaceuticals and yummy grub has just about cured my bout of plague.

We have been taking plenty of rest in preparation for our next sortie into darkest Derbyshire. Time has been spent packing plenty of bright beads and small mirrors to trade with. The natives, we are assured, have stopped the reprehensible habit of eating visitors from modern, technological climes.

I still wonder if we should take a translator; the natives are very difficult to understand ...

Colds - Guaranteed to Keep You at Home

What a bummer! Coughs and sneezes definitely aren't the thing to have if you're supposed to be visiting friends or family. This w/e will be a tissue of boredom interspersed with the odd intake of prescribed  and otherwise available drugs, potions and such like. I always seem to be the weakest link in the contamination train and end up spluttering over all an sundry who are unfortunate to come withing 5 metres.

Feed a cold they say so I will ....

Longshaw Sheep Dog Trials

Another visit to the Longshaw Estate to see the sheep dogs do their stuff. We met our friends and enjoyed an excellent picnic while watching shepherds doing their thing - sheep trying their best to be as unobliging as sheep can be. The weather was at its best - sun and a light breeze. This sheepdog trial has been held each year for over one hundred years. The trial last three days and is one of the most prestigious.

Three packs of hounds provided a break in the days competitions. A very enjoyable day and made possible by using our stalwart transport - the 272 to Castleton.

Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg and Selestat

The Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg is an almost completely restored castle dating from the 12th C. The castle is sited a-top one of the most prominent hills (mountain?). Wilhelm II is responsible for the renovation which resulted in the castle being opened in 1908. While the place looks like a stage set it is still worth a visit if only for the views. The cafe serves an excellent Black Forest cake ...

St George's church

The castle is situated near Selestat which is a lovely village with a wealth of places to visit. The  St George's church (cathedral?) is amazing and St Faith's church has a really calming atmosphere.






The village centre is packed with cobbled streets and medieval buildings. We visited on Sunday so the whole of the town was quiet which made for an excellent meandering stroll. The regional train from Strasbourg provided easy transport (15.60 euros for two OAPs!) and the local bus took us from the station to the castle for 8 euros return - excellent value.

Back at the hotel bar a Ricardo and a beer replenished our energy so that we could tuck into our usual evening feast courtesy of the local supermarket.

Colmar - Day in a Medieval Town Centre

The regional train took 30 mins to take us to Colmar at the cost of 16.60 euros for two OAPs - it pays to be old! The town was, as we'd expected, full of tour groups but these did not detract from the delightful nature of the town centre. There are plenty of medieval building and norrow streets to satify any visitor.

Our first stop was Musee D'Unterlinden which is right at the heart of the old town.This museum is exceptional in all respects - exhibits and extent. The Isenheim Altarpiece (Le Retable d'Issenheim) is brilliently displayed - no dim lighting and shown in what was a church. The cloister is lovely and adds to the pleasure of the visit.

St Martin's collegiate church (the cathedral?) and the Dominican church are notable places to visit; the latter has columns which seem to be far too long to be stable and, unfortunately, we could not visit the cloister or photograph anything inside which was disappointing.

We wandered the streets and, naturally, sampled the coffee and cakes at a couple of cafes. The weather being perfect, it was an altogether excellent day trip.

Wandering Around Strasbourg

Visiting the European Institutions buildings is not that exciting but their achitecture contrasts so much to the historic buildings it is worth a quick tram ride - especially if it's raining. The European Parliament building is by far the most interesting.

Churches, as always, provide lots of variation and interest. The "twinned" church of St Pierre-le-Vieux (one part Protestant the other Catholic) provide clear examples of the divergent nature of their religeous doctrines; the plain and well lit versu ornate and dim - that's the buildings not the doctrines.

St Pierre-le-Jeune (Catholic) is a magnificent building and provides an excellent example of what a "new", if rather plain, basilica looks like.









St Pierre-le-Jeune (Protestant) comes as a bit of a shock when you enter. The profusion of decoration; virtually wall-to-wall frescos. The reason being is that it was a shared Catholic and Protestant church at one time. This church has to be the best one to visit if you have limited time in Strasbourg, especially since it has a delightful cloister.

St Thomas (Lutheran) is unusual in that there are five naves. The height of the columns is also remarkable so that the whole interior looks like a stone forrest.


A visit to Le Palais Rohan provides three museums; we chose the Fine Arts and the Archaeology Museums (no surprise there). The Archaeology Museum is splendid and extensive - if you are, like us, into old bits and pieces from long dead folk. The extent of Roman artifacts really showed our lack of appreciation of the Roman history of Strasbourg.


Wandering around La Petite France is a delight - if you ignore the tour groups - because there are many 16th and 17th C half-timbered houses and narrow streets.

Strasbourg Cathedral, Churches, Canals and Museums - Phew ...

What can I say - nothing that would really tell you how much we enjoyed Strasbourg. Travel in the city is easy with trams and buses covering all of the suburbs; they are regular and fares are cheap. Most of the historical places are in the centre so that exercise is free.

The cathedral is magnificent but sadly quite dim inside which doesn't let you see the place as well as you may like. There are dozens of tour groups which does distract but overall we couldn't fail to be impressed. The height of the columns is, by themselves, impressive.


We visited the cathedral glass window and art museum which is excellent - over 2 hours of browsing and not at a slow pace. The building itself is interesting being well restored and re-modeled. I particularly liked the tiny courtyard with a loggia which seems to be at the centre of the building.

Eurostar to Strasbourg

St Pancras

Just for a change we decided to go by train. Leaving Sheffield for London we arrived at St Pancras on time. St Pancras is on of the pleasantest stations; a magnificent, rejuvenated Victorian building with lots of cafes and shops. Booking into the Eurostar lounge was a snip - all the usual security and migration checks. The train left on time and arrive at Lille on time. A quick stroll around the station, coffee and a pit stop and we were on the TGV for Strasbourg only 10 mins late.

Strasbourg Gare

Strasbourg station has a really modern glass bubble covering the front facade which is really brilliant - if you like modern architecture.

The best part of travelling by train has to be not having all the bother with luggage compared to air travel.

Will we do it again even though it took a total of 12 hours from door to door? You bet! Trains - I love them ...

The Hotel Le Grillon was 5 min walk from the station. A very pleasant place with helpful staff and a great bar. The bar - La Perestroika - is exactly the kind you want to find in France. Friendly, alive and just the place to unwind after 5 or 6 hours tramping the street. The specialty of the bar was vodka ...