Hi
I'm just back from Madrid and will do some entries for it shortly. This is just to advise those who are able to get to Madrid in the near future that there is a really superb exhibition free at the CaixaForum (near Atocha Station).
It has numerous models, photos and films of works of Richard Rogers and fellow architects.
Jun 03, 2009 12:00 AMFamily wedding
Some may be interested to know that we were in Berwick-upon-Tweed at the weekend for my daughter's wedding.
I have posted two travel tips here about accommodation and restaurant.
Oct 03, 2008 12:00 AMCoimbra break
Here I am with my short break nearly over - I fly back tomorrow. I have done most of the things that Jorge so kindly recommended but I did not buy a tile at conimbriga. This place was my one disappointment.
Perhaps, when you information signs are tnadequate, you should remove them completely before you fit new ones - but it makes no sense to me.
Otherwise it has been great.
Jul 15, 2008 12:00 AMMixed weather - magnificent views again
Here showers and bright periods means downpours and remarkable sun - sometimes both at once. It would seem that a trip to Mikines, the best puffin and gannet island, would be too much for me by way of long steep slopes so Judith took us to look at this and some outstandingly spectacular [even for here] smaller islands. this trip included the most modern tunnel in the Færoes.
Jul 15, 2008 12:00 AMBack in Torshavn
Following the other trip on this date we went to the Nordic House, which I will include in a report and then, the weather being good, to the open air museum. Unlike many others in the Nordic countries, this was a farmstead that has been 'museumised'. Needless to say the picture is NOT outdoors but in the main farmhouse.
Jul 14, 2008 12:00 AMMuch wanted change!
In the last hour we were up yesterday the weather changed to a remarkable extent - even some blue sky was visible. Today has been very mixed but most of the time the visibility was good. In fact we only missed the views on the mountain road from Gjogv to Funninsfjordur on the island of Eysturoy.
We started, after necessary errands, by driving (or rather, being taken9 to Eiði on the far north-west of Eyturoy and then over the mountain road from there to Gjogv. The views were miraculous and in one place theere is a FREE telescope in place to look at two almost incredible stacks. Then we were taken to Elduvik before going farther south too a clothing shop. There seems to be no recognition of anything between free and very expensive in the Færoes!
Lastly - and the only time new to our friend and driver - we were beguiled by the presence of rocking stones in the sea into going to Oyndarfjordur - without a map you will be having difficulty. Google aps have no detail on the Færoes but Google Earth will enable you to follow our route. The rocking stones were somewhat underwhelming but the drive was superb.
I am not altogether looking forward to doing reports on all this because I fear I lack the descriptive ability to show how different all the places are and I fear superlatives may become tedious!
Jul 13, 2008 12:00 AMUnwanted change
Of views there are not; of mist there is much; of rain there is far more than enough. So I may have feared it would be like this throughout my visit and until today the views were terrific - but that feels little consolation.
We did the best posible in the conditions - a quiet morning and visits in the afternoon to the national museum and art gallery. Both these are in fine purpose built structures and we enjoyed our visits -but we have only three days left and much yet to be seen.
However hope is free.- and the picture is of Torshavn before the weather change. Believe it or not, this would appear to be the Færoes equivalent to Whitehall!
Jul 12, 2008 12:00 AMNorthern Islands
Some of the tunnels here are almost worth an entry for themselves and a trip from Torshavn to the northern islands involves several, a bridge across the Atlantic and a causeway.
We went to Vidareidi, which is as far as you can get without taking a ferry. The weather was not good for photography of many of the splendid hanging valleys along the way but undoubtedly these are some of the very best islands.
Vestmanna is on Streymoy and was the way from Vagar airport by ferry to get to Torshavn until the undersea tunnel was built. It still seems a busy place. In particular there are boat trips to see the nearby bird cliffs and coastal scenery.
The birds were fine - common and black guillemots, puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars. oyster catchers, arctic terns and gannets. There was a local boat out to catch puffins, presumably for restaurants and the line of the rope to be followed was horrendous to any normal human.
However the major delight of the trip lay in the amazing array of stacks, caves and natural arches. A VERY high degree of seamanship must be required to get the boat in and out of caves, round stacks and through arches. For the scenery this trip even surpasses the wonderful trip described in one of my Peru reports to the Ballestas islands - in fact it is THE best boat trip I have ever had.
I'm afraid that photography was difficult, due to the rocking of the boat - it's the Atlantic after all! I hope the photo at least gives some impression.
Jul 10, 2008 12:00 AMExcursion to Sandoy
Sandoy is a relatively small island south of Streymoy which we reached with Judith by car ferry, only 30 minutes but quite remarkably beautiful.
Sandoy is generally a more gentle island although parts of the coast are splendid. It's a great island for birds and we saw arctic terns, arctic and great skuas, puffins and black guillemots, merganser, brent and barnacle geese, rock doves and whoopers swans.
We had superb views of Skugvoy,,Stora Dimun, Litla Dimun and Suduroy to the South as well as Vagar and Mykines to the West.
On the trip over we had great views of Koltur and Hestur, smaller but shapely islands off Streymoy.
