…grayblog…

Category: travel

  • Photo extravaganza

    Hels on the walls of the Chateau d'Angers
    Hels on the walls of the Chateau d’Angers.

    Honfleur harbour
    Honfleur harbour.

    seagulls on Honfleur harbour wall
    For Lord Percy – a bunch of seagulls on the harbour wall at Honfleur, all facing the same way save for one that is facing the other way and appears to have no head. Raawwk!

  • Home

    We’re back after a day in Angers and two days in Honfleur, a change being as good as a rest.
    When we got home in the small hours of the morning, I picked my way up the lanes of Ruralville with around two inches of snow on the ground, heavy snow falling, my wife asleep in the passenger seat and two kittens in the carrier in the back – a combination of things that tends to make you drive with care.
    This morning, I had to travel up to Nearbyton in order to visit the local council. The snow was hanging on the trees and looked absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me and now a combination of warmer temperatures and strong wind has rather spoiled the effect – but it was good whilst it lasted.
    Busy busy this week, so expect quiet.

  • Bugger this…

    …I’m off to France. see you next week.

  • Das choo-choo

    Travel rantings. Switch off now.

    German trains. Teutonic efficiency? Pah! I’ve just travelled from Essen Hbf to Düsseldorf Flughaven. The train was incredibly crowded (with accomodation of the sort perfected under the Final Solution) and stiflingly hot. When it got to the Flughaven station (I could tell we were there as my face was pressed against the glass of the door), the door wouldn’t open, in spite of passengers both inside and out pressing all the buttons, and even trying to pull the doors apart using the handles. In the UK, if a train has a faulty door, it gets withdrawn from service. Apparently that isn’t the case in Germany. And there was no way through the carriage to the next door as everyone was jammed shoulder to shoulder and I had two heavy bags.
    So, on to Düsseldorf Hbf. And here I found another failing of the German rail system – no platform staff with whom to remonstrate! I’d built up my remonstration powers to their maximum level by the time we got there, yet there was nobody upon whom to let rip in best English shout-point-wave-arms stylee. Most disappointing – I needed the catharsis.

    So the next time that someone tells you that the railways are better on the continent, they are clearly talking out of their funny-shaped Bavarian hat.

  • It gets worse

    I’ve spent a very large chunk of my day sorting out work politics, being told by a client that I’m breaking the law (true) and generally battling with unpleasantness. It’s left me with a situation for which there is no suitable solution which I can implement that will leave everyone happy. Unfortunately, it’s the result of a situation that I inherited and did not create – I guess that is a consolation of sorts, but it means my reputation is not enhanced, I’m frustrated by it, I’m powerless to do much about it and my clients feel slightly upset about the whole thing.
    If anyone tells you that working with plants is a relaxing and enjoyable occupation, they’re simply wrong or at least very misguided.
    Meanwhile, I’ve got to prepare for Europe’s biggest trade show which is in Germany this week – I’m flying out tomorrow evening and returning on Friday evening. It’s a mammoth event spread over twelve exhibition halls and will be totally gruelling, particularly as I’m travelling on my own this year and will not have my German-speaking friend with me. The only highlight is that I hope to have dinner on Thursday evening with my friends from Schwäbisch Gmünd.

  • Roaming

    I’ve just signed up for BTOpenZone WiFi roaming. The question is, if I’m off in some far-flung place and need to find a hotspot, how do I do it? I’ve looked at the online directories and signed up for Hotspot Hotel which seems to be one of the best. However, that’s no good to me if I’m in Amsterdam and haven’t a clue where my nearest hotspot is so that I can log in and look up hotspots!
    What I really need is a hotspot directory that I can access from my mobile phone. I’ve seen a few American ones and BT Openzone run a SMS-based service that covers their hotspots in the UK. Has anyone got any recommendations for international SMS or WAP-based directories?

  • Mixed messages

    On the main church in Taormina, right at the top of the façade, there is a skull and crossbones. Catholic pirates?
    skull and crossbones on church in Taormina

  • Old men

    Three blokes on a park bench in Catania:
    three men on a park bench in Catania, Sicily
    The guy in the striped top seemed to be smiling and laughing all the time, whilst the chap in the checked trousers next to him seemed to be perpetually grumpy (we sat nearby for about 45 minutes, enjoying the last few minutes of our honeymoon, so got a good idea of what was going on between these people). I think that Checked Trouser’s grumpiness was a product of the fact that Striped Top had a big bag of chestnuts that he kept cracking open on the back of the bench and eating, and not sharing with his neighbour.

  • Picture double bill

    From the honeymoon – Mount Etna erupting.
    Mount Etna, seen from the north side from about half-way up the side
    We decided that close inspection of the crater probably wasn’t called for.

    From the wedding – Lord Percy and Peet ham it up.
    Lord Percy, Peet and the Angel of Death
    The full effect of the red wine was setting in by this point. (Photo courtesy of Mrs Peet).

  • Come on in…

    …the water’s lovely.
    Hels swimming in the bay at Mondello
    Alternative caption: Hels’s poor hearing meant that she was oblivious to the horns of the supertanker as it ran her down.