Another knot tied

Another month and another wedding. This time we did not have to travel as far as California, but it was far enough for us to need to spend two nights away. This time the wedding was in the very attractive Cotswold village of Bibury, which is about a three hour drive from where we live.

 
We could have driven down on the day of the wedding, but the last time that we did that for a wedding we were late and ended up following the bride into the church. Had we been late for this particular wedding we would probably have missed the whole ceremony, as it was a civil service at an hotel. So we drove down the afternoon before the wedding, arriving late afternoon.

After a quick unpack we had a walk around Bibury and made the use of the last of the day's sun to take some photographs. The wedding was at the Swan Hotel, which is where we were staying.

I had previously spent a night there as a teenager, returning to Yorkshire from a family holiday in Devon. Bibury did not seem to have changed much in the intervening years. It is pretty unforgettable with the stream running through the middle of the village.

That evening we enjoyed dinner in the hotel restaurant, followed by a good night's sleep.

Unusually for England the weather was warm and sunny and the hotel decided that wedding would be held outside in their garden, which was lovely and very unexpected. However, the was one problem. Most of the ladies were wearing heels, which kept sinking into the damp grass! The ceremony was very brief and we then had celebratory drinks in the garden before moving inside for the wedding breakfast and party. And another member of the family is no longer young, free and single.

Sea, sun and storms

Another month, another destination, another airport and another airline. This time we were flying from Liverpool John Lennon airport to Barcelona in Spain. As we left the departure lounge to walk to the plane we were instructed to use the back staircase to board the plane, which meant turning left after entering the plane, but this time we were not in Business Class. This was our first flight with Ryanair and all passengers travel cattle class with them. Their colours are navy and canary yellow. The latter making the inside of the plane so bright I felt as if I needed to wear my sun glasses! The flight was uneventful but cramped, with a descent and landing which was painful on the ears. We are not in any hurry to fly with Ryanair again.

We had two nights in Barcelona, which gave us a day to expore the city before we embarked on our  cruise, which was another first. Our day in Barcelona was Friday 11 September, which happened to be the Day of Catalonia and a public holiday. Most of the shops and some of the tourist attractions were closed, but we did manage to get into

 
the Catedral de Santa Eulalia, which is so enormous that it felt like a railway station without trains. The area around it is so built up that it is impossible to take a photograph of the outside, but we did manage to see the geese that live in the cathedral cloisters, of which there are thirteen - one for each year that Saint Eulalia lived.

Late the next morning we joined our fellow passengers to board the cruise ship. By the time that we got to our cabin it was early afternoon and time to find some lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the ship. By the time that we sailed from Barcelona, at around 6 pm, the fine sunny day had turned to cloud and rain. Everything was going smoothly until the early hours of the following morning when we sailed in a ferocious thunderstorm. The ship, which was enormous, was tossed around a bit and with torrential rain pouring onto our balcony it felt as if we were in a washing machine. After about two hours we sailed out of it and docked at our first port of call - the French port of Marseille. Here we took the shuttle bus into Marseille and had lunch at a cafe around the Old Port - Vieux Port.

Late that afternoon we left Marseille to sail onto the next port of call, which was Livorno in Italy. From Livorno we had hope to get to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. So had rather a lot of other people and the bus was full, which meant that we did not get to Pisa. Instead we had a walk around Livorno and a leisurely drink in a cafe before returning to the ship for lunch. Our third port of call on the following day was down the Italian coast where we docked at Civitavecchia - the port of Rome. We had visited Rome for a few days some years ago, so did not want to go on an organised tour, but hoped to be able to get the train to Rome. However, getting from the cruise terminal into the centre of Civitavecchia took longer than we had expected so we decided that we would explore the port area instead.

 

We were surprised to find a pleasant little town with some old buildings, an open air market which I always find interesting, a beach and a promenade. By now the weather had improved from warm cloud and sunny intervals to blue sky and hot sunshine, which allowed us to sit in the sun on the ship in the afternoon.

The following day was a day at sea. With the improved weather we were able to relax in the sun by one of the ship's swiming pools, while we watched the world go by. Late morning a local pilot boarded the ship to guide it through the Straits of Messina, which run between the boot of Italy and the island of Sicily - below.

Leaving Sicily behind we headed north through the Ionian Sea into the Adriatic Sea and our next port of call which was Kotor in Montenegro. The following morning I was amazed to pull back the curtains and find this spectacular view.

We were anchored in the Bay of Kotor, which looks like a fjord. The small towns around its' shores were built by the Romans, giving them a Venetian feel.  The scenery was just stunning. The ship's lifeboats ran a shuttle service to get passengers to and from the harbour. This was a reassuring experience, as the lifeboats were much more substantial than I had expected them to be.

Now there was only one day of our cruise left and that was another day at sea. This time we sailed along the west coast of the Greek island of Zakynthos/Zante, before heading towards Piraeus - the

port of Athens, where we were to disembark. We now had a two night stay in Athens. By the time that we had disembarked and settled ourselves into our hotel it was late morning. We then took the hotel's shuttle bus into the centre of Athens for a spot of lunch, followed by an open top bus tour of Athens in the afternoon. Athens was very hot as was the top of the bus, but at times there was a pleasant breeze - the pros and cons of an open top bus. The tour took us around the main points of interest in the centre of Athens - past the parliament building which has recently seen a lot of controversial activity.

In front of the parliament building the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded by two presidential guards wearing Greek national dress. I don't know how they wear those outfits in the sweltering heat.

By the end of the bus tour we were in need of refreshment. Then we caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel for a much needed dip in the hotel swimming pool. The next day we went to the Acropolis, which is actually an area of Athens and not the building on the hill top. The Acropolis is the most important ancient site in the Western world.

The monument on the hill top that can be seen from almost everywhere in the city is the Parthenon. It is built from Pentelic marble, which gleams white in the sun and epitomises the glory of ancient Greece. It was completed in 438 BC, is dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos and is the largest Doric temple ever built in Greece.

The Parthenon appears to be pretty much in the centre of Athens, which is a vast city. This is the view from just one side of the Parthenon with buildings as far as the eye can see.

That afternoon we enjoyed a leisurely beer in Syntagma Square - the square in front of the parliament building. This was the weekend of the Greek General Election. The fourth since 2009. We watched as television crews set up their equipment in Syntagma Square in preparation for the result of the election later that night. After the drama of the previous election earlier in the year, this turned out to be a quiet affair.

Our holiday was about over. We were to fly home the following day. But there would be another twist in the tale before we made it home. Thunder storms and heavy rain were forecast for the Athens area. As we prepared to leave out hotel for the taxi ride to the airport storm clouds were gathering over Athens.

We had not driven far when the heavens opened and we were engulfed in a spectacular storm. Initially there was wind with thunder and lightening, both sheet and forked. Then there was torrential rain and hail stones. The road was awash with water. It was like been driven along a river. It was an experience! Unsurprisingly our flight back to Manchester was delayed. In fact nothing much seemed to be happening at the airport that morning. We heard that some flights had been diverted to other airports, to avoid the storm. Our plane had been held back at Manchester, in the hope that the storm would be over by the time it reached Greece, but as that was not the case, the air traffic controllers had had to divert the plane around the storms until it was safe to land. By the time that we took off, about one hour late, the storm was over and we had an uneventful flight back to Manchester.

All at sea

When I loaded the photographs from our recent trip onto my laptop I was surprised to find this photograph amongst them. It was taken by mistake. I am not going to ask you to identify this stretch of blue sea as I can do that myself by looking at the photos taken before and after, and it is in fact the Ionian Sea to the west of the Greek Island of Zakynthos/Zante. We are now fully paid up members of the retirement club, having been on our first real cruise. I'll post about it soon, but we are off again tomorrow to a wedding

Up, up and away

Shortly after my last posting our life took an unexpected turn. Hence my absence once again. For a change it was good news that turned our lives upside down. Husband's nephew, who has been working in San Francisco for the last six and a half years, announced that he was to marry his American girlfriend at the end of the first week in August. The wedding ceremony was to take place on the beach in Monterey, two hours south of San Francisco. And of couse we were invited.  This rather threw us into a tail spin. We are going away in September for twelve days and that had been booked for some time. Then we had planned to have a few days in France in October. My initial thought was that we were spending a lot of time away. As well as being nehew's uncle, husband is also his godfather and he wanted to go.  After about a week of researching flight schedules and ticket prices, we bit the bullet and booked ourselves a return flight to San Francisco. Then we had to find somewhere to stay. We decided on two nights in San Francisco, which would give us a day to sight see before we hired a car to drive down to Monterey.

In many ways that was the easy bit. Next we had to decide what to wear. The UK's cool, damp climate is not conducive to beach weddings. This was something new to us. The dress code was smart casual. It was easy enough to sort out husband, but more difficult for me. Initially I purchased a dress from a well known online retailer only to find that my sister-in-law (SIL), who is the groom's mother, had also bought the same dress and was intending to wear it for the wedding. Eventually I settled on another dress from the same online retailer, which suited me a lot better and I would never otherwise have bought.

So wardrobe sorted out and suitcase packed, we were off to Manchester Airport. The motorway was clear and for once we arrived at the airport early. Once we had checked in for our flight and were through security we headed for duty free. Then had a leisurely coffee before setting off for our departure gate, where we boarded a bus to take us to the aircraft. Whilst on the bus we looked at our boarding passes for the first time and noticed that we had not been allocated the seats that we had booked. In fact we did not even seem to be in adjacent seats. Husband, ever the gentleman, boarded the plane in front of me and explained to the waiting stewardess that we had not been allocated the seats that we had booked. She looked at our boarding passes and told us that there was not a problem, if we just turned left we would find our seats. So we did as instructed and it took us a minute or two to realise that we had been upgraded to Business Class. Before we were settled into our seats we were offered a glass of champagne and for the next two hours or so the alcohol flowed freely, as we were served a very decent  meal on proper china plates. Later into the flight we were served afternoon tea, again with china plates and individual cake stands. All good things come to an end and after about nine hours in the air we landed at Las Vegas where we changed planes for a flight to San Francisco.

Husband's nephew and his American fiancee, who we had not met, picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel. Because of the time difference, by now we had been up for almost 24 hours. Hardly ideal circumstances for a soon to be new member of the family to be meeting us for the first time.

The next day was our one day for sight seeing in San Francisco. In the morning we had a good walk around through Chinatown and down Lombard Street - San Francisco's famous crooked street and onto to Fisherman's Wharf which was heaving with people.

From there we could see the island of Alcatraz sitting out in San Francisco Bay.

In the afternoon we rested our legs and did an open top bus tour, which was an opportunity for taking photographs while sitting down. We got onto the bus outside Macy's in Union Square.

 It took us around most of the central points of interest, then we headed out to the Golden Gate Bridge

before turning around and heading back into the centre again.

It was not as easy as I thought to take photos from a moving bus and I kept getting the tour guide' s head in my  photos.

The following day we collected the hire car and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway or Highway 1 to Monterey.  We had been told that the coastal scenery along the route was stunning, but the day was grey and overcast and it looked fairly ordinary. It was late afternoon by the time that two weary travellers arrived at our hotel. Having completed the check in formalities, we were handed the keys to our room and told that we had been given a room upgrade. All rooms at this hotel were the same size. However, we were on a higher floor with an ocean view
 

rather than a harbour view. In a few days time we were to benefit from this upgrade. That evening there was an almighty thunderstorm, which rumbled on for several hours without much rain, but we had a good view of the sheet lightening from our balcony.

After the thunderstorm, the day of the wedding dawned cool, grey and cloudy. It did not look good, but by the time that we needed to leave the hotel, the sky was beginning to clear. We had a brisk 30 minute walk to the site of the wedding, known locally as Lovers' Point, which was to be held on a grassy area under a cypress tree,

in the middle of the photograph, next to the beach. As the bride and groom arrived, the sun came out. The bride looked stunning and the groom looked as smart as I have seen him for a long time. The wedding ceremony was brief and after photographs we made our way to the Monterey Plaza Hotel for the reception.

The day after the wedding we joined the bride and groom, family and friends for a picnic and ramble in Point Lobos State Reserve, a nature park with a dramatic rocky coastline

where we saw these sea lions relaxing on the rocks and caught sight of a whale.

Sadly it was another grey and dismal day without many photo opportunities.

The happy couple returned to San Francisco the following day. Honeymoon to be sometime next year. SIL and family also returned to San Francisco to fly back home to the UK. This left us with a few days to ourselves, which gave us the chance the explore Monterey and to nearby Carmel, where Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. Carmel is fairly small with a beautiful white sandy beach

and reputedly some nice shops, but it was so busy that we were unable to find anywhere to park the car and ended up back in Monterey.

Many of the visitors to Monterey are there to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We, maybe foolishly, gave it a miss. There was always a queue outside and the admission charge for an adult is 40 US dollars, which is about £30. There is plenty if wildlife to be seen around Monterey for free. The rocks near Monterey harbour are usually occupied by these black Sooty Shearwaters and Brown Pelicans

and of course the ever present sea gulls. Early one evening, about 150 metres from the balcony of our room, a whale put on a show for us. It was just too far out to photograph, but I had a good view of it through the binoculars provided by the hotel.

There is more to Monterey than wildlife. California's Latin heritage can be seen in downtown or Old Monterey where the architecture has a Spanish and Mexican feel. Amongst the old buildings in that part of town is Stevenson House - below

where Robert Louis Stevenson stayed, in 1879, while he wooed his wife to be Fanny Osbourne and researched his novel Treasure Island. Monterey's literary heritage does not end there. The author John Steinbeck was born in the nearby town of Salinas.

His novel Cannery Row immortalised the sardine canning business that was Monterey's main source of income for the first half of the last century.

 Now the Monterey Bay Aquarium is built on the site of the city's largest sardine factory. Then there are the car auctions, which seem to be big business. Amongst all the shiny sports cars and old jalopies I spotted this well maintained old Nash waiting for a new owner.

Our California dream came to an end and it was time to return home on what was to be the hottest, sunniest day of our holiday.  My photographs show that we had had some grey and disappointing weather, although very little rain. This time we took Highway 101 to San Francisco, rather than the coast road as it is a faster road. The grass at the roadside was orange/brown with patches of black where there had been small fires. California is desperately short of water. Some restaurants would only serve water if you requested it. The fires that were reported in the media happened after we had left, when the weather turned hotter.

The incoming flight to San Francisco was late arriving, which meant that we were late leaving for the flight back to London Heathrow. We arrived back late into a very wet, cold and miserable Heathrow airport after some especially bad weather over the south of the UK. Many flights had been affected and Heathrow was struggling to cope with the thousands of people who had experienced delays. We, along with several hundred other people, needed to transfer from one terminal to another to catch our flight up to Manchester. Needless to say we missed it, but were automatically transferred to the next flight by British Airways and given complimentary free access to one of their executive lounges - somewhere that I had not visited before.  The lounge was busy as so many passengers were experiencing delays, but there was plenty of space, power points for laptops etc, TV screens showing something other than a baseball match, newspapers and a self service buffet. It was almost worth the delay.

Retirement seems to have well and truly kicked in, as I doubt that we would have been able to drop everything and fly off to a wedding in California if husband had been working. As I said earlier next week we go away again,on a planned trip. All this gallivanting around. When did we find the time to go to work?