Cottage Sitting and Aged Dog Minding ...

We had a different w/e looking after old Flint and the cottage of our friends in Derbyshire. Flint is a 14 year old sheepdog and wobbly on his pins - like the rest of us who approach ancient age.

Taking the old dog on his daily perambulations is usually a delight, but this time the hill home proved to be too much. Gasp, wheeze and a slippery, muddy ditch found him collapsed and looking like he had given up the ghost. Not a good situation to be in and especially since our friends had only left for their w/e break two hours before ... Fortunately, he revived after a while so that we were saved from carrying him back to the cottage - he's a big, heavy beast which I have only once tried to lift over a gate much to the distaste of  my aging limbs. All's well that ...

The cottage is warm and snug - with two fires going - and the setting beautiful. Birds abound. Weather wise we had two sunny, late-autumn days; all colour and pale blue sky. I enjoyed playing fireman-in-chief with the outcome, one evening, of filling the lounge with great gouts of smoke more suitable for the production of kippers ...

An excellent w/e with a bit of a scare ...

Sublime Autumn Sunshine in The Derwent Valley

After a dull and wet day you are finely tuned to the beauty of a sunny, autumn day in England. The light is perfect; the scenery looks like it has been lit in a photographers studio; colours of the autumn leaves vivid, grass bright green and the sky a clear, light blue. Nothing could keep us from catch in the bus to Hathersage.

We took a walk along the bank of the Derwent River for a couple of hours and finished the day with a cafe stop. The view from the river up to Millstone Edge is iconic of the area.

That's England folks; drab and wet one day and exquisite the next ...

Sunny Sunday - Fox House to Padley Gorge and Hathersage

The sun shone so it was essential to get on the 272 to Fox House so that we could walk down Padley Gorge to Hathersage; trouble was half the county and their dogs decided to do the same!

Travelling on public transport is convenient, but sometimes the experience can be a bit smelly. This especially if one of your fellow passengers has and elderly and infirmed dog with them; especially if said dog evacuates its liquid bowels; the owner didn't even tell the driver what had happened!!! The smell!!! Anyway ...

We had an excellent toddle from Frog Mouth, down Padley Gorge and on to Hathersage where we found our way to the excellent delli-cafe. Suitably refreshed we boarded the 272 for a smell-free return to Sheffield.

A very enjoyable, sunny day in lovely Derbyshire.

What Is The World Coming To?

"Restless Times" is the title of the show on at Millennium Gallery in Sheffield. It's an excellent show with loads of exhibits; it's even well lit! The theme is "Art in Britain 1914 - 1945". There are paintings, drawings, prints, videos and sound. It's so interesting I will visit again - the lithographs are really worth several visits alone.

The catalogue, if that's what it is, is printed as a newspaper with the head line: "What Is The World Coming To?"

I'm off to a life drawing class at the gallery; then there's print workshop ant the end of the month.

Sunny but Cool in Derbyshire

During the last two day we have been out-and-about in Derbyshire; Hathersage on Sunday and Bakewell on Monday. The local bus service provided excellent transport; it still puzzles me why most folk don't use public transport instead of driving ...

Weather-wise we had two lovely days; each stated with cold and misty condition which cleared to sunny afternoons. Typical autumn weather for England; the sort that encourages wearing fleecy cloths and brisk walks in beautiful countryside.

Bakewell parish church (All Saints) has an ancient past and really well preserved Elizabethan tombs; unfortunately these are hidden behind loads of stored items so it's difficult to see them properly. The village was awash with people because the markets were in full swing. Did that stop us visiting a cafe? No. We managed to include both lunch and afternoon tea in the itinerary - don't ever have the Bakewell Tart if you're in Bakewell; the local version is almost inedible!)

Back at the cottage both friends and dogs were in fine fettle and poached eggs on toast plus a generous slice of cake rounded off another visit.

Sad to Leave Venice - Again ...

We are always sad to leave Venice and it was the same this time. We seemed to get more from the visit this time because we are getting so familiar with the ordinary life there. Wandering, vaporettoing (yes, I know there is no such word) and visiting cafes, art shows, shops - just an excellent way to spend time.

Pet dislikes? Huge cruise liners, tourist groups (one was 60 people, yes, 60, yanks), beggars selling fake fashion accessories, tourist menus (they actually eat the stuff!), people who insist intaking photos while standing in the middle of the small bridges and alleys, people who think that any flight of steps are actually seats ... and dog shit!

Next visit? Maybe a month ...

The vaporetto, bus, aircraft, bus, train and taxi trip took 8 hours door-to-door. No problems. We were delighted. Thanks to all the folk that make these things possible!

Don't You Just Love a Good Rail Network

What a day!

One trip to Castlefranco Veneto and then hop onto another regionale to Treviso. A busy 10 hour day in all, but well worth the effort. Molto stancoed again!

The day started with an aqua alta; the new siren has several tones depending on the hight of the expected flood. We didn't know what to expect until I asked a local, in ear punishing Italian, what the siren was for. The 52 vaporetto had to divert and go down the Grand Canal because the tide was too high to disembark passengers along the regular route.

A quick coffee at the station and onto the train.

How do they do it? Where ever you go in Europe you never seem to get a bad coffee - bad means: bitter and almost undrinkable no matter how much sugar you put into it. In Australia and The UK it seems that the sole aim is to perform around the machine and produce a bitter tar which even the most avide coffee drinker couldn't drink - it's a puzzle. Tell me who started the bucket sized servings? That was rhetorical folks - its the yanks and those dreary TV shows where everyone drinks Starbucks, Gloria Jean's or whatever (any flavour including sump oil and peanut butter) in one of those paper buckets - make sure the talent has the label clearly facing the camera ...

Back to Italy - I've taken my pill so I'll probable not have another rant for a couple of hours ...

Castlefranco Venito has a small, but interesting, historic centre. A walled city with a duomo andseveral interesting buildings.

Treviso was a large walled city, but much of the historic building are re-builds because the originals were destroyed by bombing during the European WW2. The old city has a very pleasant atmosphere and the re-builds are exceptionally good. The duomo is very plain but worth a visit.

Bologna - Arcades Are Us!

The 7.56 am train from Venice to Bolgnga was excellent; packed with university students on their way to Padua, Ferrara and the like - a regionale; none of your intercity prices thanks!

Bologna streets are a feast for the eye - if you are into architecture made mainly of brick.

The duomo is plain inside, compared to the usual Italian basilica, but the height of the building is emphasised by the simplicity of the structure. The main piazza is amazing and reminded us of Florence and Sienna - a huge piazza; castlelike buildings and loads of bits and pieces which are essential to give the impression that Renaissance Italy is still with us.

Yes, there were loads of tourist groups; it gets easier to ignor them even if they are loud-mouthed Americans. Why do they always behave in such a crass way? Posted answers to the Department of US Education and Training must be in written in large block capitals using a black crayon on a single sheet of A4, ruled pale blue or green paper; words of more than two syllables are not acceptable ... ;)

We wandered about for hours just looking at the architecture which is so complex and interesting that it compensated for the frantic traffic and milling crowds. A visit to McDonnald's provided a much needed loo stop - always a good way of finding clean facilities.

Train back to Venice was less packed and a 42 vaporetto got us home in time for a feast of pasta and insalata. A 11 hour day in all - door to door; we were molto stanco.

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 ...

Tea, Cakes and Bunches of Flowers at Taddington

The 272, late, took us to Haveasausage as is our  habit. At the cottage we received a hearty welcome and the dogs, as expected, explored my pockets for tasty treats. It always delights us to find such a welcome only 30 mins from the apartment and  the almost immediate change from urbanity to lush green moorland seems magical.

Another bright summer's day made for a tip to Taddington. The Derbyshire countryside is at it's greenest and best. Taddington's village folk were hosting their Well Dressing and have also decked out the church (St Michael and All Angels, mid 14 C) with flowers.

Tea, cakes and sandwiches, freshly made, were available so, naturally, we tested the fare. Bells were rung their round which made the whole experience seem like a scene from a BBC 19 C period drama. England at it's most English. All that was missing was a cricket match on the green; there is no green.

Back to the cottage for high-tea and a chance to solve the problems of the world ...

Offan a Bigger Surprise Than You Expect

A trip to Lichfield cathedral proved to be one of the most surprising we have had. I didn't feel like driving so we took the National Express coach for a relaxing day out. That was even more sensible because the coach was caught in nose-to-tail traffic, which moved at walking speed, while travelling on the M1 and it was raining - I had the pleasure of sitting back and letting someone else have the stress.

Lichfield city seems to be a very pleasant place with a quiet feel to the town centre which is a mixture of  historic and ultra-modern buildings. We walked into The Close which surrounds the cathedral. The building is truly magnificent. Constructed of fine grained pink-red sandstone sadly, affected by years of wood and coal smoke which gives the building a very dark colour and almost black in places. This doesn't diminish the impressive nature of the place.

Inside is fabulous. Well restored and lit. I can honestly say it left me speech less - a near impossible state. This cathedral is one of the finest you could visit - despite malicious efforts of the Cromwellian Taliban. The east windows are being restored so we didn't see 16th C glass bought by Boothby from Belgium during the early 19th C. The Rood Screen is Victorian and is like a piece of jewelry which looks really beautiful.

We can thank Offa (he of the dike) for getting permission from the Pope to create a Bishopric in 786 AD which started the whole process of creating such a magnificent building.